Day 3, here we go! I started the day early, waking up at 3:30am (thanks jet lag…) and walked to a vending machine to grab a can of hot coffee. Yeah, a can of hot coffee – it’s actually really, really good. I also snagged sweet red bean-filled pastry from Family Mart, a chain of shops that are similar to 7-11 or what we’d have available in gas stations in the US (except much, MUCH better). After watching more 鬼滅の刃 Demon Slayer, I got ready for the day and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant (Hotel Sardonyx Ueno) with a hot dog, miso soup, and coffee. It was an interesting breakfast menu, but satisfying nonetheless!
Breakfast at Square Enix Official Cafe, then more 秋葉原 Akihabara!
At around 8:30am I set out for 秋葉原 Akihabara again to see more shops. The first stop when it opened up at around 9am was the Square Enix Cafe, which was themed for the new game Dragon Quest Treasures. As a Squaresoft/Square Enix fan since the Super Nintendo days, I was absolutely loving it. I got the headline dish: a pirate 猫 cat rice ball, two small sausages, and a delicious piece of fried chicken with mayo. It was one of my pricier meals at 2,100円 (and I didn’t skimp on anything, it’s just relatively cheap there), but it was totally worth it! They also had a Square Enix store with some really neat merch.
Book-Off and Yodobashi Camera
After breakfast I walked toward Yodobashi Camera, a huge store with everything from vacuums, to video games, to music instruments. On the way, though, I found this amazing store, Book Off, that had a metric ton of used manga and games. I also finally snagged up Buddy Mission Bond, a really cool manga-style visual novel, for 5,000円 or around $35 (a great deal considering it’s ~7,900円 on the eshop!). I also realized that a new OLED Switch, while marked for 38,000円, actually came to around $250 bucks. Mine is the standard Switch, so I planned on grabbing one on my last day. I’ll be able to sell my current switch for around the same price!
I also found some other fun stuff, like all of the original るろうに剣心 Rurouni Kenshin manga for 250円 each, or around $1.75. Getting the whole 20-plus volume set would have been way too heavy, but I wish I could have gotten them all! One of my favorite anime growing up, without a doubt.
After this it was on to Yodobashi Camera, and man was it cool. I spent around an hour and a half just wandering the store. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves below – SO much cool stuff, even wireless earbuds themed for Goku, Vegeta, and Freeza from Dragon Ball.
Food at アメ横 Ameyokocho!
For lunch I stopped at アメ横 Ameyokocho, a street market with small food vendors and shops. I grabbed some really good fatty tuna and miso soup for lunch, then walked around checking out the small shops. I saw a crepe shop, マリオソクレープ Murioso Crepes, and remembered my wife telling me I HAD to get one if I saw a crepe shop. I snagged a fresh hot crepe with bananas, vanilla ice cream, and caramel drizzle for dessert, with the mandatory hot coffee. Yum!
Exploring 渋谷 Shibuya
After lunch, I went to Shibuya and experienced the crazy busy Shibuya Crossing. If you’ve ever seen The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, you’ll know exactly the crossing I’m talking about. It was wild. I stopped into a shop with thousands of CDs for rent (interesting idea) and used manga for sale. I also visited Tower Records, a 9-floor music store that had some amazing game and anime OSTs, then strolled through an upscale shopping district in 原宿 Harajuku on Cat Street. Oh, and I saw the Mario Kart racers! I’d have gone myself but you need a valid Japanese driver’s license to sign up. Next time!
I ended the day at a sushi spot in the basement of Parco shopping mall that had conveyor belt delivery. The sushi was amazing, and I made sure to compliment the chef on my way out 「美味しかったよ、ありがとう！」. On the way out I realized that this, THIS was the building that had the Pokemon Center! To add to my surprise, it also had the Capcom and Nintendo stores too – all on the top floor! Just amazing. Loved the huge Rathian and accompanying longsword on display for Monster Hunter.
Conclusion
Overall, it was a great day, and I can’t wait for my first ryokan experience in Kyoto on Day 4! If you haven’t already, check out the lead up to the trip as well as Part 1 and Part 2!
僕のブローグが読みています、ありがとうございます！ 次週、新しいブローグは読みておください。がんばります！
