Tag Archives: Ueno

Mascot, Mascot, Mascots

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The elevator stops at a random floor. I stick my head out, but there’s nobody there—very odd indeed. Outside, the rainy season has decided to take a day off; the weather forecast for Tokyo today is ‘scorchio!’ I am up quite early so I decide to do my laundry. I chill out in the ball bath for a while whilst waiting.

Once finished I leave the hostel and decide to check out Kappabashi Street; a road I have walked past at least thirty times since being here but have never bothered to venture down. It is a shopping street selling many specialty goods, mostly kitchen products. This street is littered with pink lanterns. It also has its own special mascot, the kappa, a Japanese river imp.

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After walking the full length of Kitchen Street, I arrive at Ueno Station. Here I take a train to Ikebukuro.

I visit an art gallery, only to find a sign inside stating ‘closed today.’ I start to ponder if anything in Japan is ever open. Outside, I notice a sign reading ‘パフォーマンス中’, with ’12:15′ scribbled below it on a whiteboard. Translating the sign, I discern it means ‘performance at 12:15’. It feels like my Japanese learning is finally paying off.

I head across to a nearby McDonald’s to kill half an hour and to kill my healthy diet. I sit down in a private booth, there is a screen in front of me so nobody else can watch me eating. All very strange.

Back outside the performance is about to start. A man appears dressed as a type of Godzilla human statue. He walks slowly to the middle of a large open area and stands on a slightly raised platform. Here he remains perfectly still. Two minutes later someone puts a coin in his collection bucket. It is at this moment he comes back to life to give the person a ‘thumbs up’, before returning to his original position.

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It is a hot day. The sun burning in the sky, but there is not a bead of sweat on the man. There is a moment of comedy when a woman poses next to the statue for a photograph, presumably she thinks the statue is real. The man steps off his raised platform and sneaks up on the lady; when she finally notices him she lets out a loud scream and everybody laughs. After a while of literally standing around, I decide to grab the train bound for Harajuku.

At Harajuku Station there is a sign with arrows pointing to nearby tourist attractions. Takeshita Street, Yoyogi Park, the NHK Building, and Meiji Shrine. All four are within five minute walking distance from the train station. I toss a coin and it lands in the gutter. I toss another and it directs me to the NHK Building.

NHK is Japan’s national public broadcasting organisation, its equivalent being the BBC. Inside I see everything from props and set locations, the history of NHK, quiz machines to test my knowledge of NHK, a machine that lets you be a nature cameraman, and my favourite activity, a mock up television studio.

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At the mock up studio I am seated at a news desk and instructed to look at the camera. Next, I take part in a fake weather broadcast. I stand behind a Tokyo skyline and point at things which are being projected onto a large television screen. It is all very exciting.

I get the chance to witness a live broadcast. Behind a large glass screen, NHK is airing a television show called ‘Studio Park Kara Konnichiwa.’ It’s a live chat show featuring two hosts, a guest, a producer, and four cameramen. I stand and watch for a while, probably fifteen feet away from the show’s hosts, before eventually realising I can’t understand a word of what is being said. So much for my Japanese learning finally paying off.

Leaving the NHK media theme park, a statue of Domo-kun waves me goodbye. Domo-kun has been the broadcaster’s mascot since 1998, and is described as ‘a strange creature that hatched from an egg’. Goodbye Domo-kun! The exit leads out into Shibuya. I am surprised just how close together everything is in Japan and wonder why people waste so much time here on trains.

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On the train, I see an advertisement for the FIFA World Cup; it shows the mascots for the Japanese National team. They are the Pokémon characters Bulbasaur, Charmander, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Helioptile, Litleo, Meowth, Pancham, Pikachu, and Squirtle. I am looking forward to the World Cup and think Japan are worth a punt at 200/1. Back at the hostel I discover that England’s game against Uruguay is at 3 a.m. here. I am no longer looking forward to the World Cup.

I eat Wasabi flavoured crisps, watermelon, and my favourite food, Cheese Mushi Cake. I then head out to the English bar where I practice my teaching skills. Much to my delight, the English bar is playing Beatles Radio; a mix of original and cover versions of Beatles songs. I stay until last orders and head back to the hostel to find a party going on and a guitar.

I play ‘Give up the Ghost’ by Radiohead. After I finish a man says that the way I play reminds him of Thom Yorke. His comment makes my day. Later, three ladies from Thailand who had heard me playing earlier approach me and start talking to me in Radiohead; the perfect end to an evening.

Coffee and TV

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Today, the weather is a delightful 28°C, clear with occasional sun showers. I meet Andy at breakfast for a cup of coffee before we bid our final farewells. I then decide to walk to Ueno. It’s really quiet here so I keep walking and arrive in Akihabara. Here I go to the top of Akihabara UDX, a huge building full of restaurants. I go to the 4th floor to check out the Tokyo Anime Centre but the sign on the door says, “Today has become a closed day.” After a wasted journey I get the feeling that today will be somewhat uneventful.

Back at Ueno I stumble across Ameya-Yokocho, translated to Candy Shop Alley; it is an outdoor market of about 200 shops next to Ueno Station. Here I see loads of shoes and clothes shops mixed with pachinko parlours and restaurants. I see a section of the market closed off and about ten firefighters standing around looking very bored, presumably there was a fire here. Every store seems to have employed a person to stand outside to shout at passers-by, trying to encourage them to check out their wares. I wander the market aimlessly for about an hour, before getting bored and grabbing a coffee and a sandwich from Family Mart. For no obvious reason the sandwich doesn’t have a crust.

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Back at the hostel all but one person in my room has gone. Six beds are empty. I can’t really be bothered to head back out into the humid streets just yet, so I decide to do a little job hunting. I sign up for a student teacher matching website. I set my fee at an overpriced ¥5000 per hour for coffee shop conversational lessons. I ask Daisuke why my sandwich had no crust, and he just laughs and says something about how biting into crust is bad and that soft is better.

Back at my room I meet the one person who is still here. A Brazilian named Marcos. We chat for a while about Japan and traveling in general and he tells me that he is a published author. He shows me his travel book, it looks very professional. Unfortunately for me, I can’t read Portuguese.

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I head out for my third visit to my new favourite restaurant, Mizuguchi. As I take my seat I am given a small bowl of octopus sashimi in seaweed as an appetiser. I then order deep fried breaded salmon; it is served with a salad garnish and homemade potato salad, fresh Wasabi, and a selection of pickles. I also order a bowl of rice and a beer. It’s a lot of food but a long day of walking around has made me very hungry. The total cost is a bargain ¥1350.

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Back at the hostel I bump into Gomez, the manager. He tells me about a television event happening on Thursday morning. I enthusiastically sign up, not wanting to miss an opportunity. I am not to say anything else on the subject for now.

My earlier instinct of an uneventful day was correct. I finish the night with a couple of beers in the English bar, bid farewell to Matt and Kaes who leave tomorrow, and head back to the hostel to take a much needed early night. I am also now convinced there is a ghost in the elevator.

One Zoo Over; the Panda Impressed

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Today I once again decide to stay within the boundary of Taito Ward. Taito is where I am technically living. It is one of the 23 municipalities in Tokyo. It is home to five districts, one being Asakusa and another being Ueno; where I will be heading to this morning. Since arriving in Asakusa I have only ventured out of Taito Ward once, which was yesterday’s trip to the other side of the Sumida River.

I set off from my hostel about 9 a.m. It is 33°C today in Asakusa, and I am incredibly thankful that every building in Japan is heavily air‐conditioned. I start walking, remaining on the same road for ten minutes, before arriving at Ueno. A short stroll later and I am near the entrance to Ueno Park.

The park is home to the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Nature and Science, both closed at the moment; probably because it is Sunday morning. Ueno Park is also home to many temples, statues, art galleries, and a concert hall. I hear a crowd in the distance and decide to see what’s happening. Deeper into the park I walk, until I find the source of the noise, a baseball field. Baseball is a very popular sport in Japan, and a crowd of about forty people gather here to watch what is probably some amateurs practicing. After watching for about ten minutes, I decide to check out the Shinto shrine, Tosho-gu.

Another thing that Ueno Park is famous for is Ueno Zoo. I arrive at the entrance and am surprised to find it is open. I use the automatic ticket machine, with its English option, pay the bargain price of ¥600, and enter the zoo. The zoo is home to many animals, including the Asian elephant, the hippo, toucans, kangaroos, pelicans, puffins, flamingos, crocodiles, the reticulated giraffe, the red panda, and of course the two giant pandas, Siennyu and Shinshin. Unfortunately, the giant pandas are inside an annoyingly reflective glass enclosure making it very difficult to get a good photograph. This one was my favourite:

PANDA

After the zoo, I walk back to the hostel and rest for a while. I caught the sun quite badly and my face is a little red with sunburn. Eventually it is time to head out to get some food.

It’s lunch time in Japan, and most of the restaurants are very busy. I have a desire to eat fish today so take a while wandering around until I see a restaurant with plastic models of sushi and sashimi bowls outside.

The cool air conditioned restaurant is very busy and I am seated opposite a Japanese man. I order a big bottle (660ml) of Asahi, costing ¥550. It is served in the smallest glass I have ever seen; so small in fact, that I probably had to refill the glass no fewer than ten times during my meal. Browsing the menu I notice the restaurant also offers my favourite Japanese whisky, Hibiki. They offer both the 17 year old and the 21 year old for ¥700, much cheaper then back home. I order the tuna sashimi rice bowl set, served with a tofu based Miso soup, Daikon and seaweed. It is delicious. The tuna some of the freshest I have ever had. The food is ¥1550, making the total cost of the meal, a very good value for money ¥2100.

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On the way back from the restaurant I take a detour through the market streets of Asakusa and see yet more outdoor street performers. The first act features a man playing The Entertainer by Scott Joplin on a keyboard, as a male and female clown play musical chairs. There is no dialogue, just over exaggerated hand gestures and some convincing facial expressions. The duo of clowns eventually invite a woman from the audience to play musical chairs with them. The audience member wins the game, after a large amount of clowning about. The acts finish, pass around their hats, and move aside to let a second act set up.

The second act is a female balloon artist, tap dancer, and comedian. Again, much like the first act there is no dialogue. She is being filmed by two people with professional looking cameras. After making some balloon animals and flowers and doing pranks on the children of the audience, she randomly brings out some bright and colourful boards and starts to tap dance. She then starts doing tricks with her hat; she starts by rolling it down her back, then catching it. Tossing it over her body, catching it with her foot, before flipping it back up into the air, where she catches it in her hand. Next she rolls it up her arm and flips it back into the air before catching it on her head. It is actually very impressive.

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After she is finished, and her hat is passed around, the camera people leave, the performers leave and the crowd disperses. I decide to go for a few beers in the English bar next to the hostel. Here I end up talking to a Japanese man. He asks me where I am from, and I tell him England. “You know Oasis and The Beatles?” He asks. I tell him I don’t like Oasis. The very next thing he asks me is, “Do you know Radiohead?” After about an hour of talking about Radiohead, the Japanese man has to go.

Next an attractive Japanese lady comes into the bar and sits next to me. She is thirty years old and spent 7 years in England as a child. Her accent is incredible. She goes from sounding like a Japanese person speaking English, then her accent randomly changes into a posh sounding London accent, just for the odd sentence or word. After a few beers and a decent conversation, I decide it is time for me to sleep. I ask to pay my bill, which should have been ¥2320, but I am only asked to pay ¥1000. I have no idea who, if anyone has paid for any of my beer tonight. I don’t argue, pay my ¥1000, say goodbye to everyone and leave.