Final Japan Post

We flew out of Tokyo around 5:30 PM on September 13, but before leaving we fit in one more activity. Because it was a Sunday we decided to visit Harajuku, which has a reputation for being a fashion district with lots of cosplay action. Sunday is supposedly the best day to go for the cosplay. So here's the proof that we were at the station...



We were around Harajuku from about 10:30 AM to about 12:30 PM. We walked all around the station and all we saw was this guy...



We even checked the bridge where they all supposedly hang out. Maybe there was some cosplay convention in the area or something? Or we were too early? We decided to walk around and give it some time. The area was pretty cool...



I was tempted to buy these...



But instead it became a poodle shopping day because we found two cute dog wear stores...



One had an entire section of Winnie the Pooh...



We got Berlin a panda costume and 2 sweatshirts. Remus got a Spiderman outfit and a t-shirt. Because the cosplayers were not appearing we ventured into the area where the Meiji Shrine is located...



Where we found the most awesome sink ever...



And seeing this made up for the lack of cosplay...



After the shrine, we checked again for cosplayers, but no luck. We had to head to the airport to make our flight, but before taking off we made sure to check out Japanese massage chairs...



So this is the final installment in my Japan posts. Charles and I had an awesome time and definitely want to go back. Hope you enjoyed!

Cat Cafe = last night in Japan

After taking the bullet train from Kyoto, we spent our final night in Tokyo. We were torn between spending time in Asakusa and Ikebukuro, but chose the latter because it had more manga stores. That's where we found this sign...



Before we get to the sign here are some general pics from the city that night...



I was geeked to see a pink crepe truck even if it was inferior to L's...



And I thought this was a cool pic...



So the sign ended up being an advertisement for a cat cafe. We had not heard of these things, but they are exactly what they sound like: a cafe with a bunch of cats...



It was 200 yen for 10 minutes with the fur balls. There were kitties all over the place...



Even in boxes...



There was a crazy coffee machine...



Which this kitty liked a lot...



Although the owners of the cafe did not speak English they were really nice. They sat down with us, showed us baby pictures of all the cats, and tried to answer our questions about the cats' names and histories. Although I would have preferred a poodle cafe, I think this is a great business concept.

See more cat pictures here.

Japan Day 3 = Phoenix Wright

Day 3 in Japan was mostly centered around seeing the musical version of the Phoenix Wright video game, but we did do other things. The show was at 2 PM so beforehand we walked around Akasaka, the area where our hotel was located. It was a really cute neighborhood with lots of little restaurants and shops. I loved this painted sewer sign...



And this pic which shows a store called "Bear Hug" and a fancy poodle going for a stroll...



I should do an entire food post because I took a picture of almost everything I ate in Japan. Food is just so cute there! Here was my lunch that day...



After lunch we headed to the theater. The subway station had this awesome light display on the stairs...



A huge crowd of people were gathered around the stage taking pictures of the banner...



I couldn't take any pictures during the show, but I must say that watching women dressed as men playing Japanese lawyers trying a case in California is highly entertaining...even if you don't understand what is going on.

After the show, we went to Shibuya, which lived up to all my expectations from The World Ends With You...



We followed the footprints...



But it still took us a while to find Hachiko...



I even got a pic with a fake commercialized version of the most loyal dog in the world...



For dinner we had sushi at one of those conveyor belt places which was full of hipsters...



We also visited the Tokyu Hands department store where we considered buying a language translation device for the poodles...



Finally we stopped by one branch of Mandarake...



Seriously Shibuya was one of my favorite places. I didn't feel quite cool enough to be there, but it was still amazing. I love areas full of energy, business, and activity.

Japan Day 2

Day 2 (September 8)
Day 2 was Akihabara. Lots of flashing lights, electric stuff, anime/manga toys, and other geekery.

Before heading out, I fit in a quick run on the treadmill which tracked your calories burned based on food...



I did actually exceed the candy level and made it to Chinese dumplings.

And example of the shiny in Akihabara...



Some girls from a maid cafe advertising (we didn't get to go to one)...



We had Korean BBQ for lunch which was yummy...



We didn't buy much. Charles got some electric geek stuff and I got a Dr. Black Jack figurine...



At night we got yakitori with a friend-of-a-friend (Misako) who absolutely rocked by helping us get our Phoenix Wright tickets. She also showed us around Ginza...



We went to a ridiculous small cute puppy store where pictures were not allowed. Apparently poodles are really popular in Japan right now. Unfortunately, The Barkery was closed.

Here's my summary pic for Day 2...random toys at one of the stores in Akihabara...

Japan Day 1

We're back in the US safe and sound with lots of great memories from Japan...and poodles back from the pet resort. I took about a million photos so I am not sure how many posts this summary will consume, but here we go with #1. At the end, I will post links to the relevant sets on Flickr.

Day 1 (September 7)
We arrived at the hotel around 5:30 PM so did not do too much. Here is a pic of the outside of our hotel, which was huge...



We chose this hotel because it was part of a flight/hotel package on Orbitz. It is mainly a business hotel and is very Western, but the location was good and the price was right. We were pretty tired the first day, but did make it out to Roppongi for a bite to eat.



And then we snoozed after getting cozy in our New Otani robes...





Day 2 coming up next...

Going to Japan!

In just about one week Charles and I will be taking off for a week long vacation to Japan. We will probably stay in Tokyo the whole time, but may try to do a night in Kyoto.

We''ll be leaving September 6 and staying at the Hotel New Otani. We would like to take it easy, but have a few goals for the trip...

1. See the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney musical. We have tickets for September 9.

2. Geek out at Akihabara.

3. Check out Shibuya...and definitely get a picture of Hachiko!

4. Go to as many onsen as possible. Ooedo-Onsen seems like a must, but there are other more city onsen: Jakotsu-yu Onsen and Azabu Juban Onsen seem to be good options.

5. Maybe try to catch some sumo. The Grand Sumo Tournament season runs September 13 to September 27. According to this guide, it looks like some of the action starts early on the first day...like 8:20 AM. There are still some box seats for 4 available so I am wondering if we should try to the airport, check in super early, and maybe we could catch some action from about 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM before our flight at 5:30 PM.

Pictures and crazy adventures to come.