Maruzen

Harajuku, Akihabara, and a View I Won’t Forget

Food, Japan, Travel Comments Off

Dec 212011

Today was my last full day in Tokyo, and there was a lot of stuff I had to get done, so more so than a touristy day, it was more of a shopping/shipping day.

For starters, I’ve been battling this nasty sore throat for two days now. It hasn’t really gotten worse, but it hasn’t really gotten better. What makes it worse is going outside, or going into really dry, overheated environments. What makes it better is hot soup, cold drinks, hot showers, Ricola, and steam.

I’m glad I bought those Ricolas in Nagoya!

I wasn’t all that hungry when I woke up, so I just had some yogurt and some Emergen’C… and now I know I’ve been thoroughly trained to wash my trash by living in Japan, because without even thinking about it, I washed not only the yogurt cup and plastic spoon before I threw them away, I also washed the tear-off foil lid, too.

But the hotel doesn’t do recycling like that here, so it was a wasted effort.

It took me a while to get started today, just because I generally felt so awful. It’s probably because I’m all run-down from the last few weeks of running around like crazy without taking time to rest. My body is screaming at me to take a break. I know this.

But I’m only in Tokyo for a day and half more, and I have no idea when I’ll be back. So I kicked it into gear and got going.

The first order of business was to get the last two boxes shipped. Another reason to love the Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, as if I didn’t have plenty, is that there’s a post office right across the street. Awesome. The only downside is that they don’t do insurance on surface mail packages. Oh well. It wasn’t valuable stuff.

After a brief break, I was off to Harajuku again, to find one of the very last souvenirs, for one of my godchildren. He’s into ninjutsu, which makes it very difficult to find a good present. I don’t want to get anything that’ll get him injured, so I went to Kiddy Land again, and found him a Samurai Kirby.

Then I stopped at Shakey’s for an interesting pizza buffet lunch of grilled onion, then pepperoni (still normal), then shrimp, anchovy, pineapple and bacon, pineapple/chicken/bbq sauce, and “Mexican,” whatever that means. I skipped “corn and mayonnaise,” because it looked gross and offended my American sensibilities.

I like corn. I like mayo. But on a pizza?? No way, no how. I’m used to the seafood stuff by now. It’s actually not bad, if it’s well-made.

All the pieces were really teeny tiny. That’s why I could eat so many.

Then I went back to Shinjuku for a brief break, then off to Akihabara, finally. The place is a zoo, now, even more so than before. Between Gundam and AKB48 cafes, I’m just waiting for the inevitable Disneyfication of Akiba.

The Vita has only been out a few days, and I already saw 3 used units for sale… all of them 3G units, if that says anything. I tried to find some used games, but the deals on the pricing just weren’t that good. Book Off has better deals.

I picked up some manga, but that was it.

I can’t believe that’s all I’m going to buy in Akihabara. I’m sure in a few months I will most surely regret this, but there’s not much I can do. I haven’t figured out a way to manufacture extra time or extend my temporary visitor status. If I stay too long, I’ll get tossed out for good, and that would be bad.

I stopped off at Oasis, my favorite pay potty in the world. Such an experience for 100 yen. I recommend it to everyone. It’s across the street from Yodobashi Camera, near JR Akihabara. You can just tap your Suica and go. (Pun intended.)

Then I headed to Yodobashi Camera to gawk a bit. It’s 9 floors of electronics. Same as it was last time I was there 4 years ago. Not much to add. Lines were huge for the Vita now. Weird. Honestly, I don’t know what to think about it.

I played with one of the demo units for a while, and I really like the graphics and play, but the price is just keeping me from buying it. Curse you, weak dollar!

Then it was time to head to Maruzen to spend the rest of my points on a few books. Marunouchi is a nice area this time of year. Starting tomorrow night they’re going to have a light display every night for a week. Too bad I’ll miss it.

One of those Special Traveling Memories

After that, I headed back to Shinjuku for dinner, at the soba shop I went to night before last, Sou Hon Kei. This was another attempt to fix my throat. Roasted duck bits and soba in soup. It was absolutely awesome. It helped soothe my throat and my spirit. The view was splendid again as well. This time I sat in the Japanese style section, so it took a bit of getting used to.

But eating duck soba and watching the trains and people come and go in Shinjuku, and staring at the beautiful skyline? That’s one of my priceless moments from this trip. It was just incredible.

I very reluctantly pried myself away from the table and the view and headed back towards the hotel. A brief stop at the local Family Mart for a few snacks for later, and that was that.

I stopped by the front desk and paid the extra fee to check out late, because my flight leaves at 7, and I want the extra time to chill out in my room before I leave. I did it four years ago, too, and it worked for me.

Right now, it looks like I’m going to be flying coach back. I can’t say I’m excited about that. I’ve been trying to see if I can get some kind of upgrade to business class, because as soon as I get home, I have a four hour 250-mile drive waiting for me the next day. I need all the rest I can get!

Now it’s just frantic packing time, and I’ll be physically, if not emotionally, ready to head home tomorrow.

A Master of Saying Nothing

Food, Japan, Japanese Language, Travel Comments Off

Dec 132011

We have our main class (AIJP) final tomorrow, for chapters 5-12. We’ve all been studying like crazy, too! Most of our classes have been review, and I’ve been reviewing whenever I can, including on the train.

Today I was awesome in JBPP.

I have fully mastered the art of saying nothing.

It’s important to know how and when to use filler words. Even in formal situations, there are times when they’re necessary.

I really have come a long way!

But I still have a lot of things to do before I can leave town.

Last Excursion to Nagoya, For a While, Anyway

After class, I went to the post office to pay some bills, get some cash, and then I headed to Nagoya for (probably?) the last time until I leave for Tokyo.

While I was waiting for the train at JR Okazaki, I snapped a couple of photos:

When I got to Nagoya, I stopped by Maruzen, and found some good æ›¸é“ books, then went to the æ›¸é“ supply store in Sakae to get things like stones for carving seals, knives for carving, etc.

While I was in Sakae, I took a few pictures. First, the area near one of the supply stores:

Then I headed to the park, and saw this weird little sign way off in the distance:

Aww, it’s kind of cute!

Okay, maybe creepy-cute?

I also grabbed an obligatory shot of the Nagoya broadcast tower:

And I tried a little too hard to be artsy about it:

For dinner, I made my last trip to Mokumoku. That food is great, especially the beef stew. I’m going to miss it!

Then I went down a few floors to Tokyu Hands to get a few more æ›¸é“ supplies for me, and some souvenirs for family members.

Going Home

By then it was getting on 9 pm, so I grabbed a train back to Okazaki. I wanted to say “home,” because really, by now Okazaki feels like home to me, but in a few days I will be leaving home to go to Tokyo, then back to my other home in the US.

Sigh.

This is all kind of bittersweet for me. I have had an incredible experience here, and a wonderful time, but it’s a little sad, too.

It’s also incredible motivation for me to get back here as soon as I can. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take, but I will come back to live here for a while. (More than three months, I can assure you!)

Jackson Pollock and The Tallest Toilet in Nagoya

Food, Japan, Photography, Photos, Travel Comments Off

Dec 112011

Today I went to Nagoya again. (Again?) Yes, again. There was a Jackson Pollock 100th birthday commemorative exhibition going on at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, so you’re darn right I was going. It was a collection of a lot of his major pieces, even pieces from Iran, which I would never be able to see in the US. So of course I was going.

Jackson Pollock is one of my favorite artists. There’s no way I wasn’t going.

I stopped at the post office on the way out of town, only to have my ATM card declined. Twice. Apparently I hit the limit when I was in Toyohashi, and it’s not US midnight yet. Doh.

I still had plenty of money, but I’m always paranoid about not having enough cash on me here. In a pinch, I can usually use a credit card, but there’s always a chance that my card will be randomly declined. Either it’s security or just incompatible networks, it’s embarrassing and annoying. I wish there was a way to tell them, “Hey, it’s me! Let it go through!” Sadly, not yet.

Also, a lot of stores here will only take cash, so that’s also something to keep in mind.

It’s Not All Paint Splatters!

I got to JR Nagoya around 1, then made my way to Sakae, where the exhibition was.

On the way, a gratuitous shot of Oasis21 with my IXY, which I keep in my pocket now pretty much all the time.

The museum was close by. They had an amazing number of Pollock’s paintings. As I said before, some came from places the US doesn’t have good relations with (like Iran), so I got to see things up close and personal that I probably would never be able to see in the US.

I also got to see a lot of Pollock’s early period work, and his really late work, both of which were surprisingly different from what I’m most familiar with, but were both impressive in different ways.

They even had a mock-up of his studio that you could walk around in, and a photo of his paint-splattered floor you could walk on. It was pretty cool.

They also had paint cans and brushes and other tools he used to create his paintings with.

After a couple of hours of geeking out, I headed to the gift shop and bought some post cards and a clear file. The clear file is awesome. It’s clear, but has a band from one of his paintings on it. Way cool.

Walkin’ In The Sky

I headed back to JR Nagoya, and decided that it was time to check out the Midland Square building, which is pretty darn cool. I had been meaning to go there for a while, but with all of the rain, it was impossible. Why? Because the observation deck is all outside! It’s 47 stories up, and the observation deck is 5 stories high, and all outdoors. According to their website, it’s the tallest outdoor observation deck in Japan.

It’s cool.

Well, it’s also cold, because it’s mid-December.

But I was willing to tough it out. I got some really nice shots, and even shot a little video of the walk around the periphery.

So here are some of the nicer shots of the Nagoya Skyline from my little Canon IXY:

JR Nagoya:

The spiky sculpture in front of JR Nagoya, from 47 stories up. Scarier than it looks!

You can see people boarding a Shinkansen!

Nagoya Castle in the lower left corner:

Looking down from the top:

I really like this angle and this shot in general:

The light in general was strong as the sun was setting, so there was a lot of dramatic lighting:

I felt the call of nature, and headed to the restroom there. That is one fancy and technologically advanced restroom. It’s almost as cool as the one at Oasis in Akihabara. Almost. But pretty close. There’s a hand dryer built into the sink, so as soon as you’re done washing, you can dry your hands without getting other peoples’ restroom cooties on your hands. And unlike a lot of air dryers in the US, it only stops when your hands are dry.

Of course I took a picture. It was cool!

I went back out and took some more photos. I only had my IXY with me, and just as I was getting into it, the battery started to die.

Boo.

I got a few more shots of Nagoya Castle, with more dramatic light as the sun was getting on with setting at a much quicker pace than I expected:

I managed to squeeze out a couple more photos, and then it quit completely.

This shot is one of my favorites:

And after the Christmas tree photo here, the camera called it quits for a while:

Well, I did manage to get this shot of JR Nagoya:

Not bad for a “cheap” little point-and-shoot camera, huh? It’s really not about the gear, it’s where you point it!

Supplies!

Satisfied with my trip to Midland Square, I decided to go look for some office supplies to take back home. I found Shimojima (ã‚·ãƒ¢ã‚¸ãƒž) using Google Maps, and hopped on the Sakura-dori subway line to Marunouchi. I got off there, and started walking. It’s a few blocks away.

Shimojima is 4-5 stories full of office supplies. They had stuff I didn’t even know I needed. So I stocked up!

I bought stuff like A3-sized clear folders, which are 20-page binders with 20 clear plastic pages. I can stick my good calligraphy pieces in there and keep them protected. I learned this from S-buchou.

I also stocked up on Frixion refills. Yeah, they erase in high heat, but for just jotting stuff down, they’re pretty neat pens. And the US version doesn’t take refills.

I also got some erasers, and a couple of cardboard tubes for putting paper, posters, and calendars in for safe transport. (Going back to Tokyo is going to be difficult!)

Then I headed to Sakae and Maruzen, and picked up some calendars. They make great gifts for the folks back home. They’re one-page calendars with traditional Japanese-style prints on them, printed on good quality paper. (And they’re only 1000 yen a piece. Not bad!) It’s a suitably Japanese-enough present, but not tacky. And after a year, they can toss them or whatever.

It’s almost as good as food.

I stopped off at a drug store in the Sakae Underground shopping mall to get some pain relief patches for my increasingly sore muscles. All of this moving around and carrying stuff is making me sore.

Then I headed to Hisayaodori to get some more books.

Then a trip to JR Nagoya, to go to the Tokyo Hands there, to get some Nanoblock puzzles for my neighbor’s kids.

After that, I needed dinner. Badly.

I’ve been at Mokumoku a lot, because it’s a good restaurant, but I needed to try something else. So I went Breizh Cafe Creperie. Crepes are BIG in Japan, but they’re not necessarily cheap. I got a salad, a bacon and tomato crepe, a chocolate crepe (as big as my head), and a ginger ale for 4,000 yen.

Yikes.

But they were some really fine crepes.

I finished up around 9:30 or so, then grabbed a train to Okazaki. I got home around 10:30 or so.

It was a very successful day!

N is for Nagoya and N is for N1

Japan, Japanese Language, Travel Comments Off

Dec 042011

The N1 test was today, at the Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin Campus. I checked with Hyperdia, and it was going to take 80 minutes just to get to Fujigaoka station, which was still 15-20 minutes away from the campus.

I left around 10 a.m., and caught the 10:30 train to Nagoya. I got to the station, then changed over to the Higashiyama subway line at 11:05 and caught the train to Fujigaoka.

When I got to the station, I started looking for the buses to the university, but I couldn’t find them. All I could find were buses to a place called “Fruits Park.”

I have no idea what a “Fruits Park” is. Maybe someday I’ll go visit all of the fruits there.

I flagged a cab. And as soon as we started moving, we were stuck behind… yes, a bus headed to the university.

D’oh.

2,000 yen later, we got there. The traffic was awful.

I got to the campus, and started hiking. It has a lot of open space. I got to the first building I could find that looked right, but it was the wrong building. The next building was the right guess. (Also, there were signs at that point.)

The construction of these buildings is just weird. All of the halls are exposed to the elements, like a motel or an apartment building. So the lecture halls were all like apartments for people with really bad taste in furniture. (Or who had lecture hall mania?)

The room we were in started off being really hot, and then got to be really cold.

The exam itself was a bear, but that’s what I was expecting. And like a bear, it tore me to bits.

Honestly, it felt like I had walked in on some other language’s test. I don’t know what that was supposed to be, but it wasn’t like any Japanese I knew. It was almost, but not quite Japanese.

I saw one of my N1 grammar classmates there, and we waved to each other, the same way fellow prisoners wave to each other, I think.

JBPP came in really handy. I nailed the business questions. At least there were a few of those.

Listening was more hide-the-football, only harder. No surprises there.

Well, there’s next year.

The worst part was the seats. They were built about 40-50 years ago for people who were, on average, a full foot shorter than me. My knees were screaming by the halfway point. Some kind soul had added a shelf below the desk, further upping the pain level.

I couldn’t wait for the test to end, and because it’s the JLPT, we can’t leave early for any reason.

After the exam was over, all 5,000 of us piled out of the buildings and raced to the bus stop. This is where the organizers did a great job of planning. There was a fleet of municipal buses, waiting to whisk us away to the station.

I exercised my long, sore, tired legs to get ahead of the main body of the crowd, and got in the second bus. Why? Simple. If 5,000 people are all going to the same station, what do you think that’s going to be like? Yeah, I think so, too.

I got to the station, hopped on the Higashiyama line, and got off at Sakae to go get some books at Maruzen, which is quickly becoming my favorite book store. Since I’m still in Japan, I decided to stock up on books for the next N1 I take, so I can have the materials ready! I also got some books to keep polishing my business Japanese.

I also splurged on the latest issue of “Science for Adults” magazine, which always comes with some neat thing or another to put together. This month it comes with an electronics kit you can put together to build basic circuits. Fun.

After all of that testing and shopping, I headed back to JR Nagoya, went to Mokumoku again, then went home. I got back around 10 p.m. or so.

And it doesn’t let up after this, either. We have tests just about every day this week at Yamasa.

Makes Me Want to Eat My Phone!

Japan, Japanese Language, Travel Comments Off

Nov 132011

Started off the day by going to Book-Off in Okazaki on 248 to check on a few things. For starters, don’t even bother trying to find Japanese textbooks at Book-Off, because they don’t seem to carry them. I did find some other cheap books there, though.

I headed back to the apartment to drop off my used books, then headed to JR Okazaki to head off to Nagoya again. It was a late start, so I didn’t get to Nagoya until 3:30, and I finally got to Maruzen in Sakae around 4:30 or so. I spent a lot of time looking at book covers. Maruzen has a lot of book covers there, and in a lot of sizes, but unfortunately, they don’t have any big enough to deal with the ultra-thick books I’ve been buying lately.

I went back to the 3rd floor to look at the Japanese language education books again. They have a really good selection. I picked up some good practice books, because for some reason, I suck at particles. I really want to fix the stuff I keep getting wrong.

I Discovered Oatmeal!

Then I went to the grocery store next door, it’s in the Meiji-ya Sakae building. (Look for æ˜Žæ²»å±‹æ „.)

The store had a lot of neat “foreign” foods, and a nice selection. It even had Odlum’s Steel Cut Oats, which are sold in the U.S. as McCann’s. Of course, now I feel like a fool for shipping so much oatmeal over in the first place, but I had no idea they would have oatmeal, let alone proper steel cut oatmeal, in Japan. It’s really smashing stuff for breakfast.

Book-Off was having a 105 yen sale, so I grabbed a few books (yeah, I just bought some in Okazaki, now I’m buying more in Sakae).

After that, I headed over to Osu to see if I could find the Kenkyuusha dictionary for my electronic dictionary at the big electronics store there. No luck. I went to one of the used video game stores there, and found Valkyria Chronicles 3 for the PSP for 1200 yen.

This Time, Try Asking Someone

I decided to go back to JR Nagoya and check Bic Camera again to see if I could get my hands on that Kenkyuusha dictionary. This time I decided to ask around a bit. After some asking around and explaining, the salesperson found a copy of the dictionary I wanted. It’s the Kenkyuusha 5th edition å’Œè‹± dictionary for the Casio electronic dictionaries. Score!

I used all of the points I had saved up for now to reduce the cost of the dictionary by about 2500 yen. See, this is where point cards are really handy. A 12,000 yen dictionary only cost me about 9,500 yen. Still expensive, but much cheaper than the paper version, which runs around 20,000 yen, and it fits in my pocket. (Sort of.)

Makes Me Want to Eat My Phone

I looked around to see if I could find a privacy guard for my Nexus One. I couldn’t find one that would fit, but I did see a lot of crap I can glue on my cell phone.

They had all kinds of fake crystals and candy and cupcakes and such… I think I’ll pass for now. I don’t want to cut my hands to shreds on platic candy. (Or see plastic candy all the time and get hungry.)

All of this running around made me hungry, so I headed to Mokumoku again to store up on more vegetables and that great beef stew. I really needed those veggies, even if they cost 2500 yen. (Hey, it’s all you can eat.) Dinner was once again delicious, even if my wallet took a hit. I’ll make up for it during the week by eating cheaply.

I know, I could buy local vegetables and make them more cheaply, but I don’t have the time for it right now.

I made it back to JR Okazaki at 10 pm, and got home at about 10:15 or so. I stopped at Family Mart to get some sandwiches, because I eat Spartan during the week. (If Spartans ate pre-made convenience store ham sandwiches, anyway.)

Installing the Dictionary

I spent about an hour installing the dictionary. I had to run it in Vista emulation mode to get it to run in Win 7-64, then I had to load a piece of software from the Casio website just to get the laptop to recognize the electronic dictionary. Pain in the butt, but it works.

If you have trouble installing dictionaries or getting your Casio recognized by Windows 7, I would head to the Casio Japanese website and look for the bonus software for the Ex-Word series. Installing it will install the correct USB drivers for detecting the Ex-Word series of electronic dictionaries. Now you can run the install software on the dictionary disc.

The good news is that you only have to do it once.

The Student’s New Clothes

Now I need to find some big & tall sports clothes. My North Face shirts are rapidly disintegrating, and it’s getting colder these days. Apparently, the velcro on my pants is chewing up the special knit fabric on the North Face shirts, so the net effect is that my shirts are rapidly getting torn up.

Argh.

The main problem is that Japanese men’s clothing sizes don’t go much beyond the US M size. That’s right, their XL is just a bit baggier than our M.

Sunday Is For Laundry, and Another Trip to Nagoya.

Japan, Japanese Language, Photos, Travel Comments Off

Oct 022011

It’s Sunday, a day for laundry, and for going to Nagoya again.

So, laundry.

I have this really long metal pole that hangs horizontally in the middle of my apartment, over the TV. It’s suspended from the ceiling by two other big metal poles.

Apparently this is my clothes dryer.

I come from a country renowned for its household appliances. We have machines that wash dishes, machines that dry clothes, and ovens so big you can stick a dinosaur-sized bird called a “turkey” into it.

Alas, you will find none of these mythical machines in my apartment. They’re generally scarce in this country.

Well, I have an oven, but I don’t even think I could fit a chicken in it, let alone a turkey.

If I want to see a dishwasher, I can just look down. I have two of them sprouting off of my arms.

And while my washing machine had some misleading text that implied it could also dry clothes (wouldn’t THAT be awesome?), sadly, I am left with metal pole for my drying needs.

But I bought clothes that all dry really fast, so I just let metal pole do it’s stuff while I head to Nagoya.

This time, I need some JLPT prep books for N1, and for some accessories for my Canon IXY. And, it’s a good reason to get out of the house and do some exploring!

Before I headed out, I tried to find the Kinokunia I went to four years ago near JR Nagoya. I couldn’t find it anywhere on Google Maps. I did find Maruzen.

Before I left, I took a few test photos with the IXY. Here’s my apartment’s front door, and here’s my bright green bike that I’m renting from Yamasa.

Isn’t this a lovely shade of green?

The price on the bike isn’t bad. It’s 9,000 yen for 3 months’ use. That’s around 750 yen/week, if my math is correct. Yes, I could buy a bike for that much, but what would I do with it when I was done? I would have to sell it, and that would be a royal pain in the butt.

I headed to JR Okazaki (again), and along the way, I took this photo of the rusty clock/sign thing near South Okazaki Hospital. I’m a sucker for a rusty sign.

I got on the train to Nagoya, and saw some interesting looking ads. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do while I’m here, and whenever I see stuff like this, I want to be able to record it. What better way than with the IXY? They came out a little blurry, but I wanted you to get the idea:

Buying Camera-Related Stuff at a Camera Store, What a Surprise!

When I got to town, I headed to Bic again to buy some stuff for my camera. Mainly I was looking for a strap set of some kind. Something I can use to hang it around my neck, or maybe a wrist strap. I also wanted a nice case for it, too.

I found a strap set after some digging around, but I never really found a case I liked. I managed to find a clear plastic cover for the LCD display. I used up a bunch of points to knock the price down, then went back to the station to find out what happened to Kinokunia.

I asked at the info booth, and apparently, that location closed. Bummer. Well, there’s Maruzen. Google Maps said it’s near the Fushimi station on the Higashiyama Line.

The Nagoya subway system uses a card similar to the Suica card I use in Tokyo and here to go back and forth between Okazaki and Nagoya. Both cards work the same way– you fill them with money, then tap them at the wicket to get in/out, and it automatically deducts the proper fare.

Sadly, the Suica card won’t work on the Nagoya subway, so I had to buy a card for myself. It took a few extra minutes, because I had to give the nosy machine all kinds of info so my card could be returned to me in case I lost it. It’s kind of a pain, but it’s worth it to know I can get it back.

Google Maps Is Great, Except When It Isn’t.

Card in hand, I hopped on the Higashiyama line, got off at Fushimi, and wandered around for about 15-20 minutes before I realized that Google Maps was dead wrong. There was no Maruzen there of any kind. There were many things that weren’t Maruzen, but Maruzen was not among them.

So I went back to JR Nagoya, asked at the info booth, and they told me it was in Sakae, one stop over. Sure enough, as I walked past the Maruei department store, I could see the sign for Maruzen.

On the way, I saw this:

That’s pretty cool.

Google Maps was a bit of a disappointment, because I have had generally good luck with it. But that mistake cost me about an hour of wandering around and asking questions.

Maruzen is a nice bookseller, with solid inventory. It took me a few minutes to figure out where all of the JLPT prep books were. Oddly enough, they were in the Foreign Language section. I guess because foreigners need it more than Japanese people do? Dunno.

I picked up the new Kanzen Master N1 series. All of them. I’ll need them for the upcoming N1. Looks like it’s a bit different from the old Kanzen Master books.

I spent a lot of time just wandering around the store as well, looking for more books, just in case. But I decided to keep it to just the JLPT books for now.

Then I headed back to JR Nagoya, and back home to Okazaki.

It was an exciting afternoon, in that I had an adventure! Those are always fun.

Oh, and when I got back, my clothes were dry!

Tonkatsu, Point Cards, and Burning Eyes

Food, Japan, Travel Comments Off

Sep 272011

This was my first full day in Tokyo. I started with the hotel buffet for breakfast. 1,200 yen for all you can eat, either Western or Japanese style.

Some of the Western stuff is a little odd, but it’s good enough for me. Plenty of yogurt, and a decent strawberry sauce. Other stuff was available, of course: poached eggs, “baking bread,” whatever that is, Japanese-style bacon and sausages that don’t taste like either bacon or sausages, and some good croissants and OJ.

The most important points here are that: I didn’t have to make it, and it was right there in the hotel, so I didn’t have to find a place to eat breakfast.

It’s the most important meal of the day, you know.

Point Cards

Belly filled, I headed off to Kinokuniya in Shinjuku to get my JLPT application. It wasn’t too difficult. Just ask at one of the desks and you can get an application.

I also picked up a Kinokuniya point card.

That’s one thing you should definitely do while in Japan– pick up point cards whenever you get a chance. They’re very handy. You get points for every purchase, and then you can cash them in like money. A lot of times, though, they expire at the end of the month, so be careful. Better to use them as soon as you can, especially if you’re just on a short-term visit.

You may need an address and phone number for the point card. If you decide to specify one, well, I leave that up to you.

Ginza

Application in hand, I headed off to Ginza to do some shopping. First I stopped off at Itoya, which is my favorite stationery store. It’s 8-9 stories full of interesting stuff to buy.

If they don’t have it, you don’t need it.

I was looking for the a calendar similar to the kind I picked up 4 years ago, which is a standard yearly calendar on nice paper with a traditional Japanese woodblock print on it. But after combing through the store and the annex, I had no luck. I spent an hour wandering around, because Itoya is a great place to just wander around and look.

I managed to find double-sided sticky tape. I’ll need that for my JLPT application. (To attach the photo.)

It was soon time for lunch.

Rengatei

In the US, I usually watch a show called “Tokyo Eye” that comes on TV-Japan on Saturdays, and they did a show on a Ginza eatery called Rengatei, which is famous for being either one of the first, or the first place to serve tonkatsu in Japan. (Sorry, I can’t remember which.) It’s been in business since the 1890s, if I remember correctly. I’ve been dying to try their tonkatsu, and thanks to remembering to star the place on Google Maps, today was my chance.

Their tonkatsu comes with a pile of thinly sliced cabbage, and I ordered some rice and lemonade to go with it. The sauce they have is a bit thinner than the usual tonkatsu sauce. I poured it on the side, and dipped the katsu in it, as well as the cabbage.

It was a great tonkatsu. I’ve never had anything that light and crispy. The regular is 1,300 yen, and the large is 2,000 yen.

And it’s worth it.

Kyukyodo

After that, I went to Kyukyodo, because I still hadn’t managed to find those calendars. Kyukyodo is a very nice stationery store, but it can get pretty expensive. The 3rd floor still has a nice gallery full of calligraphic art. This time there was a display of calligraphy carved into wood. There were some really interesting pieces there. I spent some time talking to the dotients in my broken Japanese.

On the second floor, they had some nice seal carving knives, and some great-looking calligraphy books, but nobody was interested in helping me, and I wasn’t interested in carrying them all over Japan, so I decided it was probably for the best.

I’ll get that stuff in Nagoya.

Marunouchi & Maruzen

I got on the subway and rode to Tokyo Station to go to Maruzen. Maruzen’s always a pain in the butt for me to find. I spent a good 10-15 minutes lost around there looking for it. I did the same thing four years ago, too.

Google Maps wasn’t much help, because once I was underground, there was no GPS signal, and one building is a lot like another. I did find it eventually. I didn’t buy anything, though. Again, the issue was the whole “Carrying books all over Japan” thing.

I inquired about the BJT, or Business Japanese Test, because I was thinking about taking it as a backup to the JLPT, but nobody there had ever heard of it, and didn’t know where to get the forms.

I suppose I can ask at Yamasa when I get there.

After that, I headed back, since my eyes were starting to hurt, and it was getting late.

As the evening went on, my eyes wereÂ really starting to hurt. I stopped by the drug store kiosk in JR Shinjuku and bought some Visine, and tried it when I got home.

Eyes On Fire

Using Visine was a big mistake. It made my eyes burn even worse.

My eyes have been hurting ever since I got off the plane, and they’ve only been getting worse. So I decided to use Skype to call my insurance company’s overseas “OMGHELP” number. They were very helpful. They told me to go to any doctor I wanted to, and they would pay the claim when I got back, so long as I filed the right paperwork, and I had a year to file the claim.

Awesome.

They even told me the papers to get from the doctor, and not to worry if the papers were all in Japanese.

If you’re ever in that kind of a bind, make sure you get the paperwork taken care of.

I spent a couple of hours trying to find one of the “recommended doctors” on their website, but it was kind of a pain in the butt. I never found any of them in Google Maps. I’ll probably just ask at the front desk in the morning.

So I Was Shopping in Ginza Today…

Japan, Photos, Travel Comments Off

Nov 092007

I’m going to use my new favorite phrase now.

So I was shopping in Ginza today…

… yeah, that’s my new favorite phrase.

Some massive stores in Ginza (with matching prices, I’m sure!)

Seibu department store:

Anyway, I was shopping in Ginza today, looking for two stationery stores mentioned in Time Out Tokyo. But first, I hit the Sony Building to look at their shiny toys.

I saw a 70″ 1080p (not i) HDTV that’s coming out soon. Drool.

They also had some great artist-designed laptops, but not only weren’t they for sale, but they had chiclet-style keys, which aren’t my favorite. I also saw those same kinds of keys on the new iBook at the Apple Store, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Sony building isn’t as big as you’d think. But the way it’s laid out is interesting. You start on the first floor, look at stuff, climb 3-4 steps, look at more stuff, and so on… until you hit the 6th floor, where you can buy stuff. There really isn’t anything earth-shattering here, just a lot of Sony stuff. Some of it is neat, most of it I’ve already seen at Bic and Yodobashi. The 70″ Flat panel 1080p HDTV was nice. Very very nice. Probably costs well over $20k, though.

Kyukyodo

Then I got my bearings again, and went to Kyukyodo, a very nice stationery store. I looked around a bit, then saw an interesting calligraphy exhibit on the 3rd and 4th floors, and moved on. It’s a nice store, with some really good-looking calligraphy tools, but if you really want stationery, head a few blocks down Ginza Dori to Itoya.

Paper Paradise

Itoya. It’s like heaven for those of us who love pens, paper, paint, brushes, and all of that good stuff. I found all kinds of neat things there. I found brushes for my brother-in-law, and I also found brush markers for myself (don’t worry Bill, I got you a few as well.) They’re black ink markers, but they have a synthetic brush tip. Not felt. It’s an actual brush. Very cool. I got my mom some fine paper and envelopes, and I bought myself a pretty printed calendar and some flat bar paperweights for calligraphy.

If I had time, I would have spent all day there. They have 3 different buildings. They even have a scrap-booking center, if you’re into that. (My sister is.) The main building has 8 floors and a basement full of goodies. Just look for the big red paperclip next to Matsuya department store.

Just a ways back towards the station and across the street is the Apple Store on Ginza Dori. It’s nice. It’s an Apple Store. I checked it out, but it didn’t really do much for me. Really, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all. It’s not like they have anything special there you can’t get at the mall, you know?

Look, it’s LV! So it’s Ginza!

Ginza is nice, but it’s mostly overpriced. Itoya was one of the more reasonable places I found there. Most of the other stuff is boutique stuff with names of people I couldn’t care less about.

But then those who know me, know that I’m not one to worry about names as much as I worry about pockets. You can’t have enough pockets!

Maruzen

After that, it was time to move on to Marunouchi, and a visit to Maruzen, the other wonderful bookstore in Tokyo. After a short ride on the Marunouchi line, followed by lots of wandering underground, and offers of help from nice people, I found exit B-4, and found the way to Maruzen. (I wound up closer to Tokyo station than to Otemachi station, though.)

So Maruzen. Ahh… so many nice Japanese books. I did find a really nice JP-> JP dictionary that was mentioned on another site here:

http://tinyurl.com/2cx9x2

I thought I was looking in the right area, but in the end I had to cave in and ask for help.

I also raided their manga section. Manga is a great way to learn Japanese while being entertained at the same time. The downside is that it’s pricey outside of Japan. $3 for manga here, compared to $9-$15 in the U.S. I’d buy more from Amazon.co.jp, but the shipping is too painful.

So I’m stocking up here.

The downside– it’s all heavy.

Carrying it all around drained me. I was starving, so I stopped at a cafe underneath Maruzen, grabbed a bite, then hit the Marunouchi line back to Shinjuku. Then I took time to grab a quick shower and rest a little.

Harajuku, Kiddy Land, and Roppongi

Tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be rainy, so one priority tonight is to find an umbrella that does not suck. Most of the umbrellas you can get here fail utterly to cover my American bigness. I’m not fat, I’m just tall with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. (Wait, am I fat???) I’ll put it this way– I’m not fat for an American. In the U.S., I use a golf umbrella, and that works okay.

After a little rest and recovery, it was off to Harajuku to go to Kiddyland, a 5- story toy store. But it’s not the kind of toy store you’d expect. They have some cool stuff, and some weird stuff. Not all of it is for kids, either. I found some presents there. Prowling all the various levels was fun. The 4-foot high stuffed Hello Kitty was a little creepy, but Kitty-chan is popular here.

One thing you’ll notice pretty quickly is that most stores in Japan are multi-floor, so there will be a cashier on each floor to take all of your purchases to. I suppose it’s not really different from US department stores, really. Stores are taller in the big cities in Japan because it’s cheaper to build “up” than “out,” unlike most of the US.

I guess because I live in a more suburban area in the U.S., I’m not used to going to stores with a lot of floors. I’m more used to 20,000-50,000 square foot one-story monster stores with just one checkout area.

I set off for Roppongi to see Tokyo Midtown and have dinner there. Tokyo Midtown is a huge building with lots of expensive stores and some expensive and some kind-of-reasonably-priced restaurants. I had dinner there, because I heard there were a lot of good restaurants there. And they do exist. It’s just that some close at 9 p.m., some close at 11 p.m., and some close at midnight. It’s a little confusing. Most of the carry-out restaurants close at 9 p.m., so if you remember that, you’re one step ahead of the game.

I found a nice little restaurant and had some fried cheese wontons, followed by some squid tempura (which was incredible: so soft, and not chewy), and some small slices of roast duck with grilled spring onion. With 2 ginger ales, that wound up costing 3,300 yen.

Ouch.

But it was so good.

A tip– if you go to a restaurant and can’t make heads or tails out of the menu, ask if they have an English menu. A lot of restaurants do.

“Eigo no menyuu ga arimasu ka?” It’s a very handy phrase to know.

Then I made a blunder. I got Tokyo Midtown’s tower confused with Tokyo Skyview, which is also in Roppongi. Midtown does NOT have an observation deck available to the public, or so the sign told me.

Shinjuku at Night

It was almost 10, so I caught a train back to Shinjuku, and after consulting the 4 squids trying to hump each other, also known as the map of the Tokyo subway and train lines, I figured out which tentacle to ride back.Â I’ve consulted many versions of this map, and nobody seems to be able to make it not look confusing.

Just go with it.

The train ride back was crowded. Even at 10 p.m., the trains are packed. Get used to it. I recommend wearing clothes that breathe. Much as I love cotton, it doesn’t breathe. That’s one big regret right there.

When I got back to JR Shinjuku, I took a few photos from the bridge:

JR Shinjuku at night:

Times Square:

Time Square decorations:

The rain has already started, and I don’t have a decent umbrella, so that will be my first objective for tomorrow. Or maybe my second. First I need to figure out what to do in the rain. At least in Tokyo there are a lot of underground passages to get from one place to another, and that’s pretty darn handy.

I’m thinking I may head to Jinbo-cho to check out some print stores, and some book stores there. One other thing I need to locate is a cardboard tube, and maybe someone there will know where I can acquire one.

There are SO many things I want to buy here… ugh. Must restrain self, must restrain self…

Yeah, right.