take the last train to clarksville.... uh, I mean, Takayama

We are about to head over to Takayama but wanted to leave you with this shout out first..

we're gonna walk down to electric avenue (well we took the train and it's a bunch of avenues not just one)

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NOTE: at the end of this posting will be a link to the full web album of all the pics we took at the market (yes, still with witty captions) here's how it went down though and some choice pics to enjoy!
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Well, our trip down to Akihabara, the electriconics market distric (or Electric Town) of Tokyo was not what we expected. First, you can see Marc here in what appears to be a night time setting but no, it's just that the stalls are so closely packed together and have plywood thrown above them to form a total enclosure for the avenues so you can shop in the rain even

anita spots something she wants - no, she neeeeds; well, wait, no, what is that? no clue, it's like a 10 year old radio shack down here! so far we only see stalls with electronics parts; wires, transistors, wiring casings, magnets, tv casings, etc.

wait! vanity check. i see 7 me's:

we do manage to find a video arcade in here somewhere however and find something pretty cool. it's a video game that's controlled with playing cards. the guy just slides his actual cards around on the console surface (those aren't pics of cards on a second screen, they're real paper cards) to different areas to control the game! a coupla standard console buttons are also used but still, no clue how it worked - video camera? RFID? cool:

next, we learn to order lunch from ticket machines. that's a neat idea. there is literally no money or change in the shop since it's all inside the machine. you place your order by buying a ticket of what you want (we needed help to match the symbols to the actual food) and get a ticket that you hand to the chef.

ok, after lunch we start to find some more tech. this stuff is more than 10 years old now, but there's tons of it. where the heck are the futuristic mind control video game devices? hmmn, not here:

if only we could buy all this up and bring it back to sell on ebay - that's really about all that can be done with it. i mean it's cool and all but we want to see what's new! OK, finally we find one store that has some newer stuff in it. It's just one store, but it's a full block square and 7 stories tall! Yodobashi Akiba

now we're talkin

they have everything in here from the latest Sony TV's (apparently my new model isn't obsolete yet - yay) crazy amounts of cameras, and all kinds of games too. weird games

and even found a whole wall of Jenga games

super jenga, uno jenga, black jenga, eco-jenga - weird.


anyway, here's the full album to all that we found and saw that day, enjoy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marcbdg/AkihabaraElectricTown?authkey=ZjF8bioPCyM#

it's a small world after all

so there we were taking a break in a small area just outside the akihabara area when Marc runs into my pal from SF.


Ben Chin! Too funny, such a small world after all.....

ginza shopping mishap

Blob has been caught a couple of times shoplifting... not on purpose but because in several of the stores we have been to there is this policy that although the store is 7 stories high, you must pay for your purchases on the floor you found them at. I got caught and after they stopped laughing at me they told me where I needed to pay.

This particular store had a pet store on the top floor. We went to check it out and Marc found a puppy he wants... Don't be surprised if it comes home with us!

baum chicka baum baum

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NOTE: full album of the day's events included at the bottom of this posting
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Alright, we found some of the best baum this place has to offer. After the fish market we strolled on to the Ginza district to find a citibank and hit up the shopping area. We had an entertaining walk and at one point I was <--this close--> to meeting a japanese rock star... or perhaps he was an actor. Still not sure, here is our almost picture together:



We continued on to Ginza and after a almost helpful police officer or meter maid (couldnt tell the difference) escorted us in the general area of citibank we were able to find it. We saw a big department store (think Nordstroms on crack) across the street and decided to check it out. It hadnt opened yet and there was a small line forming.




Not knowing what the line was for we of course joined it and made friends with a nice lady from Gifu. We waited in the line for about 15 minutes and it grew to be pretty long... Finally the doors opened up and it turns out we were at a baum shop!!!!

Here is Marc trying to order us some baum:



...and...





And the rest of the silliness from the day can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marcbdg/GinzaTrip?authkey=4HW3Puijs0M#5259397849496540562

Tsukiji Fish Market - Attempt 2

We made it to the fish market on our 2nd attempt (2nd attempts seem to be our theme these days). We enjoyed delicious fish, and a very dessert....

ninjas have to eat too ya know!...