Tokyo 2022 (Part 5~Asakusa + Akihabara~)

This Part covers the agenda for 31 Oct after I left the Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens - something of a disjointed temple-anime run. This was a result of how the trip was planned: reading up on nice places to visit, starring them all on google maps, and then figuring out how to craft an actual itinerary out of them. Most things were easy enough to cluster, but this day's area of coverage was unusually large coz of some offshoots that I thought were worth visiting (one of which was the Gardens). It helped that I had a fair idea of my own pace and interests, so one day was good enough for covering this odd mish-mash!

Snapshot of 31 Oct's trail (with some changes), going clockwise from KK Gardens. I skipped Tokyo Skytree since I already got my desired views from Shibuya Sky.

The other "out of the way" place I wanted to visit was the Nezu Shrine. Since a future visit to Kyoto is contingent on other people and I have no idea when that's gonna happen, I thought it'd be worthwhile to visit this shrine for its torii gate tunnel. It was a lucky thing that there were only a few locals around when I got there so I had a pretty unobstructed view. 

Was interested to see that each torii had markings on them, some of which I could read like "家内安全" and err... "Soglasie Insurance". Found out later that these were donors to the shrine and I guess they received their blessings in return!

Since there was still some time to lunch, I decided to add to my step count and walk to Ueno Park. It was just a park, but the real goal was to hunt down Ichiran Ramen since there was a branch near there. Though I had to do some searching since it was hidden in a transit mall.

I generally have no issues eating alone but that meal was alone on another level. No people-watching to do during the ultimate introvert's meal hahaha. Great lengths were taken to make the experience as such in meticulous Japanese fashion, from the low serving window for no eye contact (was quite bemused to hear the service staff talking to me and yet only see her hands gesturing and dishing out the bowls) to the wooden feedback/request blocks. The ramen was good and I was definitely full from it, but this was a lunch that deserved to be followed by dessert! And my heart was already pinned on a quaint little dessert cafe I spotted on the way to Ichiran so I went back for it. Solo trips are meant for doing whatever I want anyway ^^

This meal cost about $12 including the soft-boiled egg. The exchange rate definitely helped, but in general I didn't find food costs expensive when comparing back to SG.

Must emphasise that I don't have a sweet tooth. But I enjoy those plain shiratamas and there's something very attractive about a simple Japanese dessert. The red bean was indeed rather sweet but the green tea helped, enthusiastically refilled by the staff that were always on standby, watching keenly for emptying cups.

Thereafter, it was straight to the next set of temples/shrines at Asakusa. Along the way there, I went up a side street full of quirky shops selling crafts, snacks and knick knacks. Unfortunately, I was really too full to be able to enjoy any more food at that point, so I had to give all those interesting looking snacks and desserts a miss. Ohwells, at least I could still buy some non-edible stuff that caught my fancy! One thing I thought might happen in Japan was that it would be very easy to spend money... and I was right xD From cute cat stickers to little tofu dishes to what my sister called an "algae cat", I picked up quite a number of small <$10 stuff while roaming around. Hey, frivolous purchasing while on holiday is an easy way to find happiness xD

The little pedestrian street near the metro station, very considerately sheltered from the elements. 

My algae cat <3 I bought it coz it looked like a Japanese Pusheen hahaha.

Back to the shrines, starting with the grand Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. I wasn't fully prepared for how crowded and touristy it would be on that day (a Monday). Could tell that the world had been dying to visit Japan again. At time of writing, China seems to be gearing up for a big bang reopening, so my experience here is nothing compared to what's to come. Then again, I should reign in my complaints since it's a sign that the world is finally returning to normal!

Got swept up in the crowd approaching the Hozomon. Looking at my daytime shots, I was truly blessed with great weather and lighting to showcase the vividness of the temple infra. Next time, I really should try visiting some of these attractions at night for a different feel. 

In all my trips in 2022, this was one of the most crowded tourist attractions I'd visited (it got denser towards the main hall). It made me think of the days where I almost had an entire palace grounds to myself in Seoul, which also happened in the same year. Oh the great contrast.

Research told me that there were 2 other temples nearby the Senso-ji that were just as worth visiting. In fact, they were all linked. This was the Asakusa Shrine, just off a path east of Senso-ji and much more serene by comparison.

This last shrine, the Hikan Inari Shrine, was a small, unassuming one literally in the backyard of Senso-ji, behind the Asakusa Shrine.

The real reason for visiting this shrine was to view its collection of kitsune dolls. Some had whiskers and some did not and (reading up afterwards) I assumed that those were male and female pairs.

Spotted many locals and tourists in kimonos on the Nakamise street! I wasn't paying too much attention to the people in real life since I was more interested in the stalls, but looking at the pictures now, it wasn't just the attire that was special - the ladies' clearly had their hair done up for the occasion as well.

Since I moved on quite quickly from the temples, there was ample time or Akihabara where, in contrast, I spent much more time (and money) than expected haha. My plan was really just to take a look around Mandarake Complex and Radio Kaikan since I didn't really know what to expect at an otaku haven. But I ended up combing all the floors of both buildings.

Thinking about it, anime and manga were a more significant part of my life only around pri and sec school. So it was mainly nostalgia that kept me at Akihabara. Almost everyone was following some series in those school days, whether it was Fullmetal Alchemist, D.Gray-man, Bleach, Death Note etc. I remember scurrying home after school to catch Gundam Seed on Kids Central at 6-6.30pm. Most of those series have ended and I don't really follow modern ones. One Piece is the special last one standing (except for opportunistic Gundam series) and I must've been following it for about 20 years now and still counting. The K-wave hit sometime around my JC days, so I'm not sure if kids nowadays are still into anime/manga like I was, or K-dramas and the lot instead. 

I thought it'd be interesting to visit Mandarake - a chain dealing with used goods and a natural attraction for collectors sourcing older, rarer stuff. Think classic Ultraman kinda stuff. Their 8-storey Akihabara branch was divided by genres and I climbed the stairs level by level to explore. Definitely got a bit of a culture shock at the 2 adult levels (1 each for guys and girls)... A few of the other levels were dedicated to toys and figurines. I spent a while at the DVD level, contemplating whether to impulse-purchase whole box sets, such as the Gundam Seed Remaster Blurays, before deciding against it. Region lock aside, Japanese products don't tend to cater to international audiences and there's no point without English subtitles.

"Tamagotchis! The digivice from Digimon Tamers!" was what ran through my head when I saw these. Felt like this was the place for adults to search for toys they wanted as kids and buy them if they wished. I left without picking up anything though, the pull wasn't strong enough.

In Radio Kaikan though, it was a different story haha. It had modern selections and a larger proportion of things were very much my generation e.g. 1990s-2010s series and Studio Ghibli merch. After spending a great deal of time being choosy, I came away with a few keychains and small figurines (some for gifting). The crowd here was also quite young, with many students clearly more familiar with recent animes that I am.

You could get these in SG actually, out of a gacha machine for $4 a try with about 6 possibilities of which one was a really ugly "logo" plushie. So of course I picked up the baicai and the packet katsu to bring home xD

I stayed my hand for these but I was actually very impressed to find authentic Digimon Adventure plushies! Looked so much better than the ripoff versions we'd get at pasar malams.

It was gloaming by the time I finished with Radio Kaikan.

That night I wasn't up for a fancy meal after a whirlwind of a day, so I dabao-ed a simple cheese curry rice and added on a randomly bought half-boiled egg... and surprised myself by finishing all the rice. Gotta keep the stomach happy and the legs strong while on holiday xD

Part 6 will come in the new year, and we're approaching the things I've been wanting to write about the most! I hope I still remember them well enough haha.