7 am, bright and early. I swing open the blinds and get another welcome surprise by a warm glow from a corner window in the hall. I crawl out on all fours, stand up and stretch out my limbs like a starfish. I’m out of the hive and ready to take on the day; but not after hitting the hot tubs with my capsule bunk buddies – naked.
I was changing hotels once again this morning, but this time to Shinjuku, where I am going stay for the remainder of my trip. I managed to book the last three nights online and was provided with some of the worst Japanese to English translated directions ever! Let’s just say after hauling my luggage in the wrong direction, over unpaved roads, pot-holes, up and down stair in the subways stations, I was absolutely finished with moving my stuff till it was time to go to the airport!
With respect to the capsule, there was nothing wrong with it, I just wanted to see how it would feel to be in Shinjuku, Tokyo’s busiest district – with everything in walking distance. Once I arrived at the hotel I just felt exhausted from the whole hellish commute that calling it a day, contemplating whether I even wanted to leave the hotel at all. I buried myself under the sheets like a cat and took a lengthily power-nap, which I figured, would solve the problem.
Awaking from the two hour snooze made me feeling a lot better. Before heading out, I dropped some yen into the vending machine in the hotel lobby for a coffee and aimed for my first stop, Shibuya.
Sorry for a history drop but something to know about Tokyo is in 1943 a special ward system was established that split the core of Tokyo into 23 municipalities (wards). This was to give the already enormous Tokyo core some more leadership and for better focused control in different regions. Shibuya is one of those wards and it’s best known for its fashion, entertainment, major nightlife. “Shibuya” is also used to refer to the central business district which surrounds the Shibuya station, one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations. Shibuya has achieved great popularity among young people in the last 30 years. It’s also particularly famous as the origin of the kogal subculture.
If we were to omit that all together, Shibuya also offers tourists two other reasons to visit: the “Shibuya Crossing” and the famous Hachiko Square, both just outside the Shibuya Station.
The crossing is considered to be the world’s busiest intersection. When the light turn red, crossing sign lights up people from all four corners of the intersection mend the streets and cover up every square inch of asphalt. Same phenomenon happens when the lights turn red; streets clear and traffic moves through clearly.
The other, Hachiko Square if famous for the story of Hachikō, a faithful dog, remembered for his loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner’s death.
In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner’s life Hachikō saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn’t return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.
Hachikō was given away after his master’s death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After time, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn’t see his friend among the commuters at the station.
The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. Realizing that Hachikō waited in vigil for his dead master, their hearts were touched. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait. This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station. –source wiki
Hachiko’s statue stands in the station plaza as a tribute to his faithfulness and loyalty.
After wandering the streets and shops of Shibuya I traveled back to Akihabara. As mentioned in a previous post I’d return to nuzzle in all the gadgets and hopefully checkup on some of the smaller shops. Walking through the Akihabara streets I paused at a store which hanging manga, toys and colorful bright signs all around its entrance just to draw customers like myself off the streets and into their shops. Without much hesitation I wandered in to see hoping to find something neat to take back home with me. The first floor was like all the other stores around; magazines, toys, games, lunch boxes, kids stuff. But it wasn’t until I wandered downstairs; is where I found all the fun. Curiously, I made my way in and around all the Hentai magazines, toys, amenities, and any other unique material you can think of. At the end of it all I discovered an elevator, totally operational and ready to take you to any of the 7 floors provided. I hoped in and went for the top floor for starters.
Now get this, the whole interior of the elevator was draped in pornographic inserts from all directions, including the ceiling. Even looking down at your feet didn’t help as it was just a big mirror anyway. For all you curious folk out there, I wasn’t able to take any photos because of cameras and on looking staff. I won’t go into detail, but consider this place a library. Each floor catered to ever ones demographic; just pick a theme, ride the elevator and choose from a whole assortment of movies, books, magazines, and toys. I won’t lie, each floor was quite entertaining but, no, I didn’t leave with any purchased goods that night! – Maybe some free poster souvenirs, but I swear that’s it!
Finally, on my way back to the hotel I dropped by the Taito Game Station to test my luck in winning a prize from those vending machines. As I giggled from at distance at others struggling to win, I came across a machine with these adorable figures dressed up in cute cow outfits. I dropped in about 5 attempts, horrible as they were I wasn’t laughing now. Decided to play the tourist card today and waved over a cute girl attendant to help me out a little. English was a problem between us, but I found using my blue eyes and showing a genuine warm smile was a international language within itself. It worked; she left me a handicap by leaving the doll just centimeters from the edge of the glass and left me with instructions on where to aim the arm to knock it over. Easy, I was left with a victory no problem – or so I thought! Poor girl I must have called her over at least four more times and dropped in at twenty bucks before finally the tables turned to my success. Oh boy, when that figure fell into the grasp of my hands my eyes lit up like Christmas lights! Success at last! The short walk home to the hotel was now prolonged because I turned it into an awesome photo session.