Sunday, July 3, 2011

Walk in Akihabara -16-

I haven't come to Akihabara since the beginning of the last month. Basically I can enjoy my free time wherever I am as long as I have music to listen to, but Akihabara is visually stimulating as there are so many anime- and manga-related signs


I said before you can buy any electronic devices in Akihabara. There are many small electronic shops under one roof in this area and you can find very tiny screws to thick cables. My friend is an audio freak and I accompanied him today as he wanted to buy miscellaneous stuff for his audio system.

Each shop owner is sitting in their own shop waiting for customers to pick up small parts. Akihabara is known for anime goods, but long before that this area was the place in Japan where people from every prefecture came all the way to get electronic goods sold only here. 

 And the signs of GAMERS were changed from what I saw last month. I want to check it next time I come here too. 

 There is a small aisle that leads to the other side of Akihabara station, and on one side of the aisle I saw these figurines displayed. I didn't know what anime they were from though. 

 I had searched for a good Ramen shop on the Internet. The upper red line reads, "We're confident in the tastes of our Ramen". 

 This is a kind of Ramen "Tsukemen". You're supposed to dip the noodles in the left broth. I feel like having something very spicy in the summer. It was about 32 degrees Celsius today in Tokyo. 

 A new complex "AKIBA cultures ZONE" had been opened. I got inside, and there were so many Doujinshi on the 2nd floor. A shop clerk was announcing that they were going to take part in Comiket 80, which is going to be held this summer. 

The main street "Chuo Street" goes pedestrian paradise at 1pm Sunday. This is the first time I saw the street freed for pedestrians since the Akihabara stabbing incident took place in '08.  

 Policemen seemed to be vigilant, but people were enjoying the freedom they were given. However, extreme performances that people used to do were completely banned. When I came here 6 years ago, young cosplayers were dancing crazy to music.  

And I bought this Gundam memo pad on my way back home. It was only 300 yen. Which Gundam series are you familiar with? I got this at the Gundam Cafe, but it was based on the first series. 

The nuclear power plant in Fukushima is getting stabilized, and we're having far fewer earthquakes now. Why not visit Japan this year?