Historic Tokyo: Big City Getaway Part III

The day after AnimeJapan, on Easter (3/27) I set out to explore some scenic spots in Tokyo that I had yet to visit. In the morning I stopped by a bakery to get some breakfast, and was surprised to see hot cross buns for sale. These buns are an Easter food popular in New Zealand and Australia, so in the spirit of things I got one for myself.

I first met up with Maria and Serena at Asakusa, Tokyo's spiritual center. The area felt like a condensed version of the shrines I have visited in more remote areas of Japan. They somehow managed to create a similar reverent atmosphere in the middle of the city. 

In a rare occurrence, the garden in Asakusa was open to the public for an ancient Japanese art exhibition. It was a fantastic exhibition. I was most impressed with the massive wood carving canvases, which created amazing sense of depth using mere inches of carved wood. We then wandered the garden grounds, relaxed and drank some green tea in the tranquil environment. 

Contrasting the garden, we forged our way through the jam-packed crowds at the Asakusa shopping stalls. Clearly designed to trap tourists visiting the shrine, these stalls sold some of the most random souvenirs I have seen, with many of them being completely unrelated to the shrine.

At the front of the shopping arcade is a massive gate for the complex, which has a gigantic red lantern. From what I heard touching the lantern was good luck, which is easy enough to do since it only hangs about 7 feet off of the ground. The underside of the lantern has an intricate woodcarving, so it was worth pushing through the crowd to see this iconic spot. 

We then caught the subway to the nearby Ueno Park for the beginning of hanami, Japan's cherry blossom viewing season. All over the park were people camping out and picnicking with friends under the newly blossoming cherry trees. Hanami is quite a big event in Japan. The cherry blossoms only bloom for a couple of weeks, so on those weekends everyone plans to get together and enjoy the great weather and beautiful scenery. Festival stalls pop up in all the parks across Japan, and many parks host concerts and other performances during this brief season. 

In Ueno we found some food stalls, of which I am a big fan of, and stumbled upon a traditional Japanese dragon dance performance. A pantomimed slapstick performance, it was quite fun to watch. In another section of the park, near the museums, was also an art exhibition and a big band performance.

Some other interesting sites in the park included a warped tree that makes a circle called the Moon Pine, as well as a big art display close to the museums.

I parted ways with Maria and Serena to meet up with another friend who lives in Tokyo. Together Kirsten and I went to the Imperial Palace. For Hanami, the palace grounds were opened to the public. We had to take advantage of this extremely rare occurrence. Before we were allowed to enter Inui Street, we had to go through multiple security checkpoints that would be at home in a US airport. We were then permitted to walk along the road lining the moat to the imperial gardens. While the trees were not quite in bloom yet, I am glad we got the chance to enter the grounds.

We then hopped into the East Gardens of the imperial palace (which are normally open to the public) The 'garden' is more of a massive grassy open space, which is an unusual site in Japan, let alone the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. Many many years ago the gardens functioned as the city center, crammed full of buildings and the Imperial Palace.  We chilled out at the park for a while, basking in the afternoon sun and temperate weather. We left to head to a highly regarded seafood donburi restaurant, but when we arrived there was already a line wrapping around the corner even though the restaurant hadn't opened yet. I'll have to go another time in the future. 

That evening before heading back to Tottori, I met up with an acquaintance from my last trip in Tokyo. Surprisingly enough, I joined Hiroki for a Buddhist ceremony to end my trip in Tokyo. It was an interesting experience to go to another religion's usual ceremony. 

O and on the night bus back, I went to the restroom at one of the rest stops. I think Japan's toilet culture might be getting a bit out of hand, there was a large digital display of the occupancy status and floor plan of the restroom.

AnimeJapan: Big City Getaway Part II

On March 26th, Japan hosts their biggest anime convention. I went early before opening, knowing Japan's propensity for long lines. But I was still unprepared for the massive queue I encountered. The line started far away from the property, all the way at the coast, snaking through a massive parking lot before doubling back towards the event halls. Thousands of people were already there, eagerly awaiting the doors to open.  After waiting for about two hours, I was able to get inside. Considering the amount of people, the line actually moved incredibly quickly. I checked into it later, over 135,000 people attended, so I am happy I managed to get into venue as soon as I did.

AnimeJapan's format is practically identical to TGS. This meant there is not much merchandise, and most of the booths were promo displays, and the cosplay section was again tucked in the back. This makes sense to me now though, since people can buy practically anything related to their favorite shows 30 minutes away in Akihabara. 

I met up with Jefferey and his friend James. Together we explored the convention. Seeing as Jefferey is a huge Yu-Gi-Oh fan, we lined up to have our photo taken with Dark Magician Girl from the show. I am sure 10 year old Charles would be quite jealous.

The Fate series had a strong showing, with cutouts of characters from the upcoming game, and professional cosplayers posing with decorated sports cars. It was amusing to see the hobbyist photographers layered on top of one another to snap a good shot of the models.

As I wandered around I saw a huge Garo display celebrating an anniversary I believe. I didn’t realize it was such a popular show, especially considering the anime adaptations of the live action series had only begun recently. The booth functioned as a museum of sorts, with props and costumes from the show set up on display, and art from the anime lining the walls.

Some of the coolest parts of the convention for me were sections which featured key frame art from notable series. One booth in particular had iPads featuring art and interviews of famous animators and directors. Another one had screens displaying 4 different periods of production of a show simultaneously, with each quadrant playing a different part.

I was able to find more keyframe art from the Monogatari series, which were different from the material I had seen in Hokkaido. The art was featured side by side with the final scenes, which was a cool comparison to see! There was also Gurren Laggan keyframe art, which is a fantastic series known for it's stylistic flair. Near that collection was full size Gurren statue!

Many other booths had life size cutouts of characters, or replicas of items from the shows. Some things I saw were the Berserk Sword, C.C. Sakura wands, and a real life Koro-sensei! A cool display had a Phoenix Wright and Detective Conan wire-frame illusion statue, which shifted characters depending on the angle.  Nearby were also official Phoenix Wright cosplayers to take a photo with!

Another  interesting booth featured a manga artist's desk, where an actual background artist was currently producing art! Hanging above were tons of other pieces of background and key art for various movies and series. 

There was also a large section with all of the upcoming series posters, which was cool and a bit overwhelming to walk through.

Within the halls I found a booth promoting tourism to Tottori. Our prefecture is known for a famous supernatural manga called GeGeGe no Kitaro, as well as the setting for the popular swimming anime Free!  It seems our prefecture is trying to capitalize on this and attract visitors. And of course there was a pear themed mascot in attendance, with lots of paraphernalia which seemed to pull people in, if nothing else just to get some fun swag.

An interesting section, which was also at TGS, was the career development area. Various colleges from around Japan feature their digital art programs with student work and live teaching sessions. AnimeJapan went even further, having career counseling on-site.

Close by to that section we saw a guy narrating manga on a projector. He even did the sound effects! 

At one point we walked past the food area of the convention, which, unsurprisingly, had an unreasonably long line. Yet the cause for this line was understandable, as the cafeteria was serving meals straight out of notable anime series! As cool as it would have been to eat a Jack Rocket's Burger from Blood Blockade Battlefront, we opted to actually see the con. And honestly, there is a good chance the meal would have sold out before we even got to order.

Later that afternoon, one of the open stages held a brief concert! This was odd to see, since most of the concerts and panels are lottery based, and have to be entered into months before the event. Thankfully this one was right on the showfloor, which served as a fun distraction.

One funny thing I saw was a small booth for Bananya (the japanese onomatopoeia for "meow" is "nya"). And yes from that description, the character is indeed a cat inside of a banana. Apparently a Japanese stationary company occasionally creates these characters, which spawn massive merchandising opportunities. Cute sells in Japan, no matter how absurd (there is also a somewhat unsettling egg yolk character who is quite popular, so Bananya is not some one-off oddity).

In another section of the massive event center, Good Smile, a figurine company, had a massive display celebrating their popular Nendroid line.  The line features characters from popular franchises in an adorable, bobble-head like form. Interestingly enough, not a single item was on sale in the entire booth.

Speaking of missed sales opportunities, there was an entire wall in the the convention aptly described by Jefferey as the Wall of "You Missed it Sucker". Every item enshrined in this display was a product that just stopped or is no longer in production. Japan clearly puts different emphasis on supply and demand. Suppliers never seem to be at fault, with consumers who missed out feeling ashamed for their lack of enthusiasm and prioritization, even if the items were obviously under-stocked.

We stayed until the end of the convention. At closing time anywhere in Japan, the locations will play a particular tune which equates to an announcement of "we're closed, please leave". I have found it both amusing and effective, so I decided to document it this time.

On our way out I got to walk under the architectural marvel of Big Sight. This strange supported reverse pyramid is an iconic building in Japan, but is actually not the main convention space. It is reserved for small, special events, with the more standard open halls being used for the actual bulk of conventions.


My visit to AnimeJapan was a great day spent with good friends geeking out over our favorite media.

Food Tourism in Tokyo: Big City Getaway Part I

At the end of March I caught a bus once again to Tokyo, this time for AnimeJapan. I set out there a day early though for some food tourism!

Arriving bright and early at 6am on March 25th, I hopped some train lines across the city to Sugamo, where the world renowned Tsuta Ramen sits in an unassuming location known to locals as the fashionable place for seniors. This is the only ramen restaurant in the world awarded a Michelin Star for their culinary expertise, and probably the only Michelin Star restaurant which would be financially wise to eat at. I arrived a bit after 7am to get a meal time ticket. Having exploded in popularity due to their multiple awards, Tsuta has implemented a system where you prepay for a time slot to eat in the restaurant. This way people don't end up crowding the street all day (because Japanese people will gladly wait in line for an entire day for something), just to walk away disappointed when the restaurant closes. Even at 7am, the tickets for the first window of 11am were sold out. Grabbing a noon ticket, I doubled back to Roppongi first for breakfast.

When I was last in Tokyo six months prior, I remember seeing a neat looking breakfast place called Eggcellent. It's entrance was a wooden archway shaped like and egg! The branding was so strong, that even half a year later I instantly remembered it. I was glad to see that it was actually open, since I have come to realize breakfast restaurants are exceedingly rare in Japan. Even pancake restaurants don't open until 11am! Apparently pancakes are considered a treat, much like ice cream. And truthfully, I think Japan is correct in that opinion.


Eggcellent would fit right at home in Boulder, with a chic design and overpriced but artistic organic meals. Granted being in the incredibly upscale micro-city of Roppongi Hills, this was to be expected, and worth it. Possibly even more than the food, I greatly appreciated the branding of the restaurant, from the austentatious egg door, egg shaped salt shakers, to even an egg (shaped) mint, Eggcellent's designer crushed it.

Close by to Roppongi sits Tokyo Tower. Having some time before my designated lunchtime, I wandered over to see this historic sight. Built in 1958, the interior of the tower keeps it's retro presentation. It had a good view of the city, one that is substantially different from Skytree which sits on the other end of the metropolis.

I then returned to Tsuta for a truly unique culinary experience. Entering Tsuta was akin to entering a temple, one that worships food. People reverently eat their meal in silence, the only sounds being the chefs ritualistically greeting customers and the slurping of noodles. The meticulously crafted meal had a perfect balance of noodles, meat, toppings, and broth. The pork was incredibly tender, and from what how it tasted was probably baked instead of boiled. I savored each bite amidst the other customers in the solicitous atmosphere.

With a full belly I then spent the afternoon strolling through Akihabara, looking for some rare CDs. I manged to find a couple! I also wandered the claustrophobic halls of Super Potato, the retro game shop of Japan. Buried within it's multiple stories are rare classic games, systems, and collectables. I even managed to see a Japanese Golden Sun poster! The logo design is much more detailed than the US version.

That evening I met up with Chiara, my friend from Denver, for an Americana dinner. We had found a great burger place which was celebrating it's 8th anniversary with an 8 cheese burger! Naturally I had to order it, and it did not disappoint.

On our way back to the station, we swung by a ice cream shop on Chiara's recommendation. Wanting to continue my gastronomic adventures, I ordered the ginger/chocolate ice cream. The pairing works quite well!

Parting ways, I crashed at a rather dated capsule hotel, with a full stomach and satisfied palate.