Japanese Electronic Dictionary

The other day I bought an electronic dictionary (電子辞書, denshi jisho) in Akihabara, the discount electronics district of Tokyo.

I've needed one for years, because they are basically essential for Japanese study. But up to now I really haven't had the money for one, but after being told I'll receive the JASSO Scholarship for three months, I decided that now is the time to buy!

I went to the same stall in Akihabara that Katy bought her's from, because it was very cheap (Y14,800, which is a very good deal). I was a bit worried about buying from a stall instead of a shop, but Katy's has been fine, and it comes with a one-year guarantee. Which probably means it will die as soon the year is up, but we'll see.

The one I bought is a CASIO Ex-word Dataplus 4, and it's a 2008 model. You can write kanji into it using the stylus, and look up both Japanese and English. It also reads out words in both languages. It's so incredibly useful! Especially being able to just write in kanji that you don't know how to read, and it tells you the reading and meaning.

There was a choice of either an American English or a British English model, so of course I chose British!

Electronics dictionaries really are invaluable study tools, so if you don't already have one and are serious about studying Japanese, I really recommend buying one!

Maid Cafe in Akihabara

Yesterday I met up with Matt, who goes to the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies near ICU, and James, who goes to University in Kobe, both of whom I know from Leeds. James was visiting Tokyo over Christmas and it was nice to see him, as I hadn't met up with him since the end of the Leeds year.

Matt invited me to meet them in Akihabara (秋葉原), which is the discount electronics district, and also centre of sleaze in Tokyo, with a wide variety of dodgy anime and manga-related shops and things in that vein.

We met outside the station and wandered around looking for a suitable place. I didn't really know how to feel about going to a maid cafe. The basic premise is that you pay a set amount per hour to go in (Y500 in our case), and then pay for food and drinks on top of that. But the different thing is that they are brought to you by cute Japanese girls dressed in maid outfits. It sounds very sleazy, particularly from a Western point of view, so I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it's quite a Japanese experience so I wanted to give it a go with an open mind.

We passed lots of maids on the street who were giving out flyers for their respective cafes, but all of us were too embarrassed to actually go up and take one!

But we actually came across one that James went to last time he visited Tokyo on our wanderings, so we went into that one. James said it wasn't at all sleazy, so we trusted his judgement. We were met by a maid at the door, who spoke in an unnaturally high voice as she guided us to our table. I was relieved to see that it wasn't all desperate old men, but there were some couples, and even a married couple with a child there!

It was all super-cute, with plastic furniture and fake Western things dotted around the pink and yellow room. There were about six maids working there, and they all used the same high, cute voices. We took our seats and looked over the menu. They gave us an English menu, which had the most hilarious bad English translations I've ever seen. I wish I'd written some of them down!

A maid came up to us and knelt down by the table, bringing out a "magic lamp", which was a plastic candle in a plastic holder. She showed it to each of us, proclaiming "it's a magic lamp!", before blowing on it, making it light up. We all clapped, and she looked very happy.

We ordered some food and drinks, and then just watched the general life in a maid cafe. It was very amusing when a salaryman ordered a cocktail, and the maid took him up to a mini-stage they had in the corner and called for everyone's attention while she sang and shook the cocktail shaker. No room for embarrassment here!

I wish I could have taken photos inside, but unfortunately they're banned in all maid cafes. I can understand the reasoning behind that.

Our food came, and we went through a very interesting ritual, guided by our maid, to make the food more delicious. It involved making a heart shape with our hands and then chanting something like "Motto oishiku naru! Moe, moe, kyuu!" as we pointed with our "hearts" to the food in front of us. Once we'd done it, the girl clapped and called "Hai! Oishiku natta!" (Yay! It's delicious now!) We obviously did a very good job.

Our hour was quickly up, but we asked if we could have a photo taken with one the maids (the only way you can have a photo). It cost Y500 per print, so we just took the one. Here's the result -

Our maid was definitely the most attractive one in the cafe.

After leaving the cafe, we went to meet some other friends from Kobe who were in Tokyo in Odaiba, which was also a lot of fun.

So now I can say that I have experienced a real Japanese maid cafe! And it definitely wasn't as sleazy as I thought it might be. The emphasis was clearly placed on cuteness, rather than sexiness. It also helps to keep an open mind with these types of things!

Whistlestop Tour of Tokyo

Yesterday my friend Georgie from University came to visit Tokyo on a visit to Japan. She was only here for one day so Rob, Katy and I had to decide where was best to show her. We decided on a few of the city centres around the Yamanote line (山手線), which is the above-ground loop train line which connects the centre of Tokyo.

We left home a little later than planned, at about 11am, and walked up to the station, where we got the Chuo-line all the way to Tokyo station. We arrived a bit late, and found Georgie talking to a station worker saying that she couldn't find us. We felt so bad! But there was no harm done, and we headed out of Tokyo station, Georgie flashing her Japan Rail Pass at the ticket gate guard to get through.

Our first stop was the Imperial Palace (皇居, koukyo), which is about 10 minutes walk from Tokyo station. It was very warm day (around 30C), but not too humid so it was quite comfortable, and the sky was a beautiful blue for the most part.



You can see Tokyo Tower from near the Imperial Palace.

This is Nijuubashi Bridge (二重橋), which is the famous bridge leading into the Imperial Palace private grounds. The bridge opens to the public only twice a year, once on New Year's Eve, and once on the Emperor's brithday (23rd December).

As we were walking around the grounds, we came across this dead cicada (蝉, semi) on the path. I was surprised at how big they are! But in comparison to the noise just one can make, they're actually tiny! I find the day-long chorus a bit much, but apparently the sound of cicadas brings happy feelings as it signifies summer.

I was amazed at how people thought it was safe to leave their bags here while they wandered round the area. This would cause a bomb scare in Britain!

On the way back to Tokyo station, we passed this cicada making a raucous noise on a tree. They're so loud!

There are lots of sacred koi carp in the Imperial Palace moat - we called this one Koi Boi.

After seeing the grounds, we headed back into the business district.

This is an inspirational poster for the 2016 Olympics, which Tokyo is trying to get. It reads "Nihon dakara, dekiru. Atarashii orimpikku!", which translates as something like "We are Japan, so we can do it. The new Olympic Games!" I hope Tokyo does get the 2016 Games, although it will put London to shame, being in between Beijing and then Tokyo, which are both bound to be spectacular.

I thought this travelator system was quite cool.

We headed for the Yamanote line bound for Akihabara (秋葉原), the electronics district, so Katy could buy a new camera.

I saw an advert for my old company, Gaba, on the train, which was a very surreal experience!

This is one of the screens inside the trains that displays information like the next stop, how long it takes to upcoming stops, delay updates, and which side the doors will open on, in both Japanese and English.

Just outside Akihabara station, there's an escalator leading up to a department store that has cool moisture being blown out onto pedestrians. I'd forgotten about that, and it reminded me of what a good idea it is!

We stopped for lunch in a big food court area.

After lunch, we headed for Yodobashi Kamera, which is exactly where I bought my first digital camera last January. It was so weird to think how different my life was then compared to now.

Katy bought a camera she liked, which has 14 megapixels! I was shocked. I thought mine was good, and it's only 8.1!

Then we headed for the one and only Shinjuku. We wanted to show Georgie, and indeed Katy, who had never been to the skyscraper district before, the numerous tall buildings that inhabit the business centre of Tokyo.

Here's my favourite building - the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁, Toukyou Tochou)!

Before going to the observation deck in the TMGB, we went over the road to the Sumitomo Ginkou building (住友銀行ビルディング) and took the lift to the 51st floor observation deck.

The Sumitomo building is hollow, and you can look right down the centre to the ground floor - I couldn't even see all the way down, it's so high!

I'd never been to this observation deck before, so I'd never seen the TMGB from such a height. The Tokyo Park Hyatt and Yoyogi Park (代々木公園) are in the background.

Not the best photo of me ever taken, but never mind.

We left the Sumitomo Ginkou building and crossed the road for the TMGB.

I remember seeing this building from the Limousine Bus that brought me into Shinjuku from Narita Airport on my very first day in Japan. How strange!

The TMGB observation deck is on the 45th floor, so I thought it might be slightly lower than the Sumitomo one, but it actually looked like it was slightly higher. The Sumitomo deck isn't 360 degrees though, so I still prefer this one.

It was too cloudy to see Mt Fuji but it is there - I promise!

We couldn't stay long, and I'd been there about 7 times so I didn't mind shooting off to our next stop. It's the centre of crazy fashion - Harajuku!

The crepes here are amazing! If you ever walk down Takeshita-doori then please try one!

Yes, God forbid someone would smork or tout...

We did a circular route through central Harajuku and then went back to the Western-style station, with the NTT Docomo building/ The Empire State Building in Shinjuku in the background.

Here's the Yamanote line train bound for Shibuya pulling into Harajuku.

And here it is! The mother of all things young in Tokyo - Shibuya (渋谷)! This is definitely my favourite place to be, for trendy people, flashing lights and loud noises, and of course - karaoke!

And who could forget the world's busiest pedestrian crossing!?

This is the 109 building (ichi maru kyuu), a big department store on ten floors in the centre of Shibuya.

Georgie and Rob were looking forward to taking a rush hour train, and for some reason were very keen to be shoved onto a train by a white-gloved guard, to avoid being trapped in the closing doors.

Their dreams were crushed however, when everyone got off at Shibuya and the train was quite empty for the journey back to Tokyo station.

We waved Georgie off at the Shinkansen bullet train (新幹線) barrier, as she was heading back to her friend's house in Utsunomiya (宇都宮), about an hour or so north of Tokyo. We said our goodbyes and waved until she'd disappeared.

I had a really nice day, and it was lovely to see all those parts of Tokyo again. I hope Georgie enjoyed what she saw, even though it was all so fast! I definitely want to go back and explore everywhere in more detail again. Well, I've got a year, so there's certainly time for it!