Hello guys. Long time no see. I haven’t been updating for quite a while.
That’s because I went to Tokyo with my family (And therefore accumulated an enormous work backlog). Its so worth it though. Even if my bank account will be crying for a little while.
Of course, since I’m in Tokyo I visited the Holy land of Anime Otaku – Akihabara – if only for a few hours.I wish I could have stayed longer but we are on a tight schedule.
Still, even from my brief visit I think its a pretty nice place. But, then again, the whole district is filled with anime. What’s there not to love? ^^
Anyway this post is just a brief run down of things you guys might find interesting if you guys ever go there.
CAFE
One thing, I’ve noticed though is the cafes. There are a whole bunch of them littered around the place and its not just the popular maid cafe (which I think fits the adage too much of a good thing judging from how many they are) but the themed cafes.
In fact, one of the things I went to Akihabara for is the Eorza Cafe (Final Fantasy Online Cafe). Mostly because I played almost every single Final Fantasy game in existence and still sporadically drop on the MMORPG version. Not to mention, a free company member in FFXIV who lived in Tokyo said the whole cafe is beautiful and a “work of art”.
Sadly, as you can see in the bottom picture on the left hand corner – the cafe is sold out. From my limited pantomime experience (get used to doing that in Japan), there seems to be a need for a reservation ticket and one has come really early to get a time slot.
Still, not all is lost.
Remember when I said there is a bunch of themed Cafe in Akihabara? Even if I can’t get my first choice, I still managed to visit one!
Gundam Cafe! Its beside the AKB48 Cafe near the JR train station. The one with the giant robot near its entrance, you can’t possibly miss it!
Anyway, unlike the Eorza Cafe, this one has no scheduling. Instead, you are just required to fall in line ( Also, something you have to get used to in Japan). Thankfully, when we went to the Cafe the line was relatively short so we only need a thirty minute waiting time.
Once inside, you’ll instantly notice that its a pretty small cafe. Though, most of the decorations are gundam themed along with the menu. The server is also wearing a reproduction of a gundam crew member’s uniform. (Though, I can’t exactly place what series its from.)
All in all, its what exactly you can expect from a themed cafe.
As for the food, just look at it yourself.
I really appreciate the presentation even if I think that the serving size is a bit small. But, then again, this is Japan which meant most of the serving size is smaller than we are used to. The taste itself is good (in a sense of “good enough”). Its not something that is worth raving about but its not something that will make you dislike it. But, then again, you’re presumably visiting the cafe for the atmosphere and the decoration and not for the food.
Still, the one thing you can’t miss regarding this gundam cafe is the RESTROOM. I’m not kidding. Its almost gave me a mini heart attack when I tried it.
And of course, these are some of the souvenirs I got. (And things, I learned while I hunting for them.
- Lovelive is freaking crazy in Japan. Every store it seems has some lovelive merchandise. On the other hand, I can’t find a single SAKI merchandise. Its almost enough to make me cry if I actually hate lovelive. Good thing, I like that series as well.
- If you’re trying to find regular manga, they are dirt cheap and readily available. But, it’s actually easier to find ENGLISH MANGA in the West than in Japan.
- Bargain hunting for figurines is fun. Finding figurines without boxes even if the figure themselves are in pristine condition drastically reduce their price. Not to mention that Japanese people seems to have a stricter standards in their quality control. A single almost unnoticeable scratch seems to be enough to knock a 1000 yen in a figure’s price.
- GASHAPON machines are the evilest things in existence. They are temptation incarnate. This is how I managed to bring a suitcase filled with them. … I’m still debating if I should actually open them and just admire their pokemon-like structure.
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