It's nearly midnight, we've been out on the piss, but if I don't jot down today's doings, I'll never get to it. I'll update with pics later. Now with pics
Woke late-ish (body clock is an hour later than local time).
Met Em and boys in Hiroo, and then she helped set us up with Pasmos (a Pasmo is a bit like a Myki, except you get the Y500 purchase price refunded when you return them. Each trip is Y200 (~$2) on the Tokyo Metro, from anywhere to anywhere.
We went from Hiroo (H03) to Akihabara (H15), around a 25min trip. Akihabara is the electronics centre, and we ended up spending most of our time in a 9 floor massive department store, Yodobashi Camera, dedicated to electronics.
And there was also something is Basement 1, as well as five levels of parking below that.
After perusing Yodobashi, we then ventured into the neighbouring streets to try to find another store Em was keen to show us. Unfortunately, after being turned about a bit, the weather (cold, wet, windy, awful) got the better of us, and we ended up back at Yodobashi, floor 8 for some lunch.
We considered a good dozen options, discarding some like pasta and burgers quickly, tossing up between various more traditional Japanese fare offerings. Once Em saw we were under control, she returned home to deal with her stuff. We ended up at one place which offered options that appealed to the four of us. For less than $9 pp, we each got a main (pork with ginger for me, steak for JD, fried chicken for the boys; each served with finely shredded cabbage), some magnificent fresh raw fish, a bowl of delicious miso soup, some rice, some tofu and some pickled bits.
Ky had hit the wall by then, so he and I headed back, while JD and Jos stayed on and browsed some more. Most things aren't significantly cheaper than Oz, but the range is incredible, and you know the latest offering will be available. And you can easily buy duty-free (ie less the 5% GST/VAT). Ky napped, I blogged, and the other two got back an hour or so later.
After pottering about for a bit, we then headed across to Em's. She had organised a babysitter, and was looking forward to a night to bitch about old times with her brother and to completely let loose. She took us to a Korean BBQ place - great food, half the price of the Singaporean one we'd had a few nights back, and far better service. After that, we then went to a tiny tiny (British) pub (the Tipplers Arms), where we met a few of Em's friends (Japanese women, formerly married to expats of various sorts). It was all a bit surreal, being in a British pub, with a belly full of Korean food, in the middle of Japan.
Anyway, it's time to kill the lights - we have to pack up everything in the morning as we're changing rooms.
Woke late-ish (body clock is an hour later than local time).
Met Em and boys in Hiroo, and then she helped set us up with Pasmos (a Pasmo is a bit like a Myki, except you get the Y500 purchase price refunded when you return them. Each trip is Y200 (~$2) on the Tokyo Metro, from anywhere to anywhere.
We went from Hiroo (H03) to Akihabara (H15), around a 25min trip. Akihabara is the electronics centre, and we ended up spending most of our time in a 9 floor massive department store, Yodobashi Camera, dedicated to electronics.
- Floor one has phones, and at least one person who believes SIM cards are not available for foreign phones. (She's wrong, but it's a common misconception.)
- Floor two has computers and peripherals.
- Floor three has cameras,where I bought a new point-and-shoot - a hot pink Canon Ixus 255H (sold here as an Ixy 610F). Not a lot cheaper than Aus, but good enough. JD played with some virtual reality goggles, and was tempted but not swayed.
- Floor four had audio & visual - 4K tvs (quadruple the resolution of normal high def tellies, AUD$15k-AUD$26k)), 3D tellies and the rest.
- Floor five had home appliances - fridges and coffee makers and so on.
- Floor six had toys. Weird, wacky and wonderful. And musical instruments. (My mild headspins/wibbly legs kicked in, so I found a place to sit out most of this)
- Floor seven - no idea
- Floor eight was food (more later), and
- Floor nine - no idea.
And there was also something is Basement 1, as well as five levels of parking below that.
After perusing Yodobashi, we then ventured into the neighbouring streets to try to find another store Em was keen to show us. Unfortunately, after being turned about a bit, the weather (cold, wet, windy, awful) got the better of us, and we ended up back at Yodobashi, floor 8 for some lunch.
We considered a good dozen options, discarding some like pasta and burgers quickly, tossing up between various more traditional Japanese fare offerings. Once Em saw we were under control, she returned home to deal with her stuff. We ended up at one place which offered options that appealed to the four of us. For less than $9 pp, we each got a main (pork with ginger for me, steak for JD, fried chicken for the boys; each served with finely shredded cabbage), some magnificent fresh raw fish, a bowl of delicious miso soup, some rice, some tofu and some pickled bits.
 |
| JD had already snarfled his tofu with ginger by the time I got a pic. |
Ky had hit the wall by then, so he and I headed back, while JD and Jos stayed on and browsed some more. Most things aren't significantly cheaper than Oz, but the range is incredible, and you know the latest offering will be available. And you can easily buy duty-free (ie less the 5% GST/VAT). Ky napped, I blogged, and the other two got back an hour or so later.
After pottering about for a bit, we then headed across to Em's. She had organised a babysitter, and was looking forward to a night to bitch about old times with her brother and to completely let loose. She took us to a Korean BBQ place - great food, half the price of the Singaporean one we'd had a few nights back, and far better service. After that, we then went to a tiny tiny (British) pub (the Tipplers Arms), where we met a few of Em's friends (Japanese women, formerly married to expats of various sorts). It was all a bit surreal, being in a British pub, with a belly full of Korean food, in the middle of Japan.
 |
| And yes, smoking is allowed inside (but absolutely not on the street). Go figure. |
No comments:
Post a Comment