Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
OUR ADVENTURE IN "THE ELECTRONIC CITY":
October 12th, 2013, 11:58pm.
Well, we just got back from a crazy day in Akihabara. We woke up and made our way through the confusing labyrinth of a subway system and somehow found ourselves in the right spot. The signs literally read, "This way to the Electronic City." I thought I knew what to except, but I was in for a big surprise! We walked out of the train station, and like before, it was like we were taken from what we were used to, and plopped into a completely different world. All of the Subway Stations seem to be built in a way so that the exits are opening to a beautiful view of whatever that area has to offer. The first thing I saw were massive buildings, plastered with oversized posters and pictures of anime characters. The very first one I saw was Miku! She has long long long turquoise hair. Reminds me of my buddy, Skyler Nilsson. He would have died and gone to heaven in this place!!
We tried to get acquainted with all the different roads, but kept getting disoriented as all the stores look the same. I closed my eyes for a moment, just to have a listen to my surroundings. All I could hear was a jumbled mess of people talking, people walking, extremely Japanese music playing, and about a million different types of anime showing. There I opened my eyes again, and realized that the anime sounds were coming from GIANT jumbo screens scattered on basically every building you could see!!! It got kind of annoying after a while, actually. All Japanese people (and especially the anime characters) seem to speak in such a shrill, high pitched voices. I got used to it after a while, but sitting here, I can still here them rattling in my ears... Ugh. I bet it's going to be one of those weird things I miss about this place once I'm gone.
We continued walking, and saw thousands of tiny kiosks selling electronic gadgets and anime products. Everything from figurines to movies could be seen for as far as the eye could see.
Just as we reached the end of the first street, a loud engine noise boomed from right behind us. I spun around and saw the best thing I've ever seen in my life! About a dozen go-karts were lined up, ready to zoom down the street. But it wasn't just anyone driving those go-karts... They were people dressed up as all the characters from MarioKart!!! They yelled something in Japanese, honked their horns, and sped off! One of them even waved a banana peel at me! Right then I knew that I'd really enjoy Akihabara...
Shortly after, we entered our first store. It looked like a place for little kids, as the toys on display at the front seemed to beckon a younger audience. It was innocent enough on the first floor, but as you went up the stairs, things became quite a bit different. There were no toys at all, just rows and rows of videos. I looked a little closer, and noticed that they were all adult videos... I squinted my eyes to make a suspicious expression. My uncle seemed to enjoy it though! Hahaha! I looked around and noticed that there were many men casually shopping in this place. Some were even in business suits! Like come on, when will the Japanese give up the dressy clothes thing?!
As our day progressed, we noticed that this was all a fairly normal thing to do. All of the stores we went to had upper levels, all of which got more and more R rated as you went up. The second floors seemed to be a little rude, with some toys and games, and clothes. A level higher, there were more vulgar toys and even some videos. The NEXT floor up, however, was men only! So I wasn't even allowed to go up! Of course, as curious as my uncle is, he went up. He said there was even another floor up after the men only one! The men only one had some really messed up toys he said. Like, so messed up, I can't even go into detail on this blog! He went up to the top floor, (I don't think he was supposed to.) But he snuck a peak at what that floor had to offer anyways. Apparently there was a lady dressed in anime clothes (cosplay) and there were a bunch of men photographing her. He said they all turned and gave him a dirty look, so he quickly got out of there.
We checked out many different things, like the maid cafes, which were really nothing special. You basically just have to pay 10 bucks to have girls dressed as maids to serve you. It's all kind of weird, actually. Real agrees. The whole atmosphere of that place was all sort of weird. He explains it as not knowing whether or not the targeted audience is young teens or adult men. The singing group, AKB48, which is a huge thing at this place, have a variety of audiences. There are young girls and older men waiting in line to buy their products. It's all very strange. I guess things aren't as censored as they are in Canada. Parents seem to expose their children to anything here!
Which reminds me- I saw a mother walking down a subway hall, and her little girl, who couldn't have been older than 2, was walking about 5 meters behind her! In a huge crowded area, too! Talk about trust! This must be why everyone claims that Japan is such a safe place!
I finally bought something today too! Some of which I bought for people who may be reading this blog right now, so I won't say, but I did buy my first cosplay outfit! It's in the picture of this blog! I look like I finally fit in here, don't I???
Anyways, it's reeeally late here. It's 2:25am now. I've been writing for a long time! So I need some rest! I'm meeting with my Auntie's friend, Sohsuke tomorrow morning! I'll tell you all about it later!
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr
- comments
Paige Have you come across any of the vending machines yet? http://www.heavy.com/comedy/2012/08/the-20-awesomest-japanese-vending-machines-porno-panties-pringles/
Tamara Awesome, Linds! Takes me back to my days of directing Japanese anime (dubbing into English). Your outfit reminds me of Jubei-Chan (the main character of my series) when she was in schoolgirl mode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubei-chan:_The_Ninja_Girl Lovin' the updates! xo