So after the previous days at Harajuku & Shibuya... we went to do Alaric's geeky stuff >:(
First up was a visit to the Pokemon Centre! Honestly it wasn't worth a visit. If you're a real fan I think you'd be very disappointed, unless you're the kind that's happy with anything from your idols. It's basically just one shop selling Pokemon stuff, most of which featured the new Pokemons that us 1980-1990 kids have never seen before. Yeah. And it's just a shop, not an exhibition or museum or anything.
Oh and it's quite out of the way! Not near anything interesting
It was a shop in a big office building O.O
The Pokemon Centre isn't at Akihabara itself; it's located at Daimon.
The Pokemon Centre isn't at Akihabara itself; it's located at Daimon.
Token things that are printed on the spot. I don't think I've ever seen these in Singapore but in France they're really common. You'd be surprised how many cathedrals have these token machines as souvenirs haha.
In the Akihabara area was also a... CAT CAFE! *hyperventilates*
In Japanese "cat" is "neko". We got a bit lost so we had to ask "neko cafe?" if not no one understood us. Even if they don't know what "cafe" means, at least they know it's something cat-related lah haha.
We paid for... an hour I think + cat snacks. Approx maybe S$10 each but I've forgotten.
The cats there are so pretty! And... very spoilt lol.
Omg smiling stupidly at my computer screen because of these pictures.
They even have calendars made out of the resident cats.
Looks like a meercat!
It basically just looks like a living room to me. I think it's a converted residence.
If I lived in Japan I'd go work part-time at a cat cafe for sure!
Fat tiger cat looks at fat lounging cat & then moves on.
If I'm not wrong you eat in the dark/semi-darkness & the staff are supposed to be able to serve you in maximum stealth. Not sure of the exact mechanism.
Anyway Akihabara has loads of geek-related stuff!
It's where to go if you're interest in manga, toys, comics, memorabilia etc...
Or if you're one of those that like the barely-clothed female figurines.
Headed to a ramen place nearby after sushi.
It's amusing how many restaurant use a vending-machine system to take orders!
You select what you want at the machine, pay at the machine, sit down & get your food served in a bit!
No clue what this says or is (maybe just says "welcome"... or "stay out"); but looked nice.Went to a big building of claw machines opposite Akihabara station!
Alaric likes playing them sometimes & he particularly wanted this Japanese toy (if you can call it that) called a Gloomy Bear. Gloomy Bear is a pink bear that was adopted by a small boy as a bear cub.
Gloomy grew up & ate the small boy that rescued him. Morbid...
Akihabara is along the JR Line.
(Train lines in Tokyo are owned by different companies)
He was super helpful & helped Alaric win a lot of the plush toys lol. Spoke a bit of English!
Oh yeah Akihabara also has a lot of tech/gadget shops!
Didn't go into any though, so I don't know whether they're worth going to.
Akihabara is really more for the slot & claw machines, & manga/comic/pop culture stuff.
So I assume none of you will be interested.
Haha kidding! Ok lah the shops are interesting, but there's no shopping (clothes) if you're looking for that.
Tata! Next Tokyo post would be for Disney! :D
My sister just visited Akihabara and I asked her to please get me anything Pokemon. To my surprise, she said she didn't see ANY Pokemon merchandise at all!
ReplyDelete...and now I see there was a whole Pokemon centre right there and I cry for the souvenirs that could have been mine T__T
When I went to a neko cafè in Tokyo, the cats were soooo annoyed by us and didn't want to be pet at all :(
ReplyDeleteThese cats look so cute!!! :3
That "meercat" is so funny! Its expression is epic xD.
ReplyDelete@snowbunnie: Oh sorry the Pokemon Centre isn't at Akihabara! It's at another stop, the Tokyo train map has a glossary of well-known locations actually. Sorry for the mix-up! I'll edit the post ~
ReplyDeletei am quite intrigued by these photos! oh japan :D! i love the whole cat cafe concept. i remember hearing about a dog cafe in korea as well. i wish they had these sort of places in canada. and yea...not a fan of happy tree friends. and the leaf plates are pretty cool! ooo and i wanna try ordering using a vending machine too!!!
ReplyDeleteYour post makes me miss Japan so much... :'D so going to the cat cafe next time omg
ReplyDeletehi! the areas you went to look so interesting, now i want to visit Japan with my boyfriend. he likes gloomy bear too. i have no idea why. the back story behind gloomybear is so dark, reminds me of happy tree friends. and your sentiment towards the Pokemon Centre sounds positively grumpy. lol
ReplyDeleteHi,can i know which plane and hotels are the reasonable prices you are staying? very much wanted to go to tokyo with my love in the near future. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome. It's nice you let him geek out. My boyfriend is similar. :) It's cute.
ReplyDeleteOmg omg nOt fair!!! I wanna go akihabara too!!! I think every start of the a new month, they would close the street and then cosplayers would like cosplay right there!!!! And pokemon macoroni!!! And those are the starter pokemon frm black and white. Oshawott and tepig and....forgot the green one cos i hate that one haha. And if you like cats, you cld go follow wa_sabi on instagram. Hes a cat cafe staff, so full of nice hd cat pictures |:D
ReplyDeletethe cakes look so adorable!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteyou look so sweet in high socks~~ loving your japan posts can't wait for more and to go there myself!
OMG cat cafe?!
ReplyDeleteI follow them or someone else who post pictures of the cats on instagram! I wish there was something like that in the US. just curious... where do the do their business? lol i hope their litter box is all the way in the back room or something!!!! lol