Tourists for the day!

Hello, yoons. (A little late, I'll admit, but....)

Some weekends here in Japan are better than others. This was a good one; it involved new places and new experiences.

So, despite the pre-arranged meeting time of midday, I receive a phone call from Hiro at seven minutes past the ninth hour of the morning (I was still asleep at this time) to say that he was around the corner and ready to meet up.....

So, (after a mad rush) I meet him in the street and cook him something British (a sort of dismantled 'cottage pie' as I do not have the baking dish...).
A couple of snogs songs later and we hit the streets of 秋葉原 (Akihabara), Tokyo's otaku central.

秋葉原

So...there was arcade after arcade after arcade and no matter how many times Hiro tried on the UFO-catchers, sadly he didn't win anything. (その日、全くついていなかった．．．）

We visited an awesome electronics shop selling all sorts of speakers. There was this one particular model that sent vibrations through whatever object it was placed upon and used that object as an amplifier for those vibrations. In short, it could turn your desk into one massive speaker. Ingenious.

Moving on, there was a five-floor porn shop, gradually getting more hardcore the further you ascended. Funny how 'Gaijin Porn' was in the same section as 'Bestiality'.....(what are they implying here?)

Next stop: Asakusa. We wandered around the surrounding markets that were selling all sorts of traditional paraphernalia (a real tourist trap). I hadn't been in several years so it was good to look around again. We had to have a go at おみくじ (a kind of Japanese fortune-telling) too, naturally.Needless to say, Hiro's fortune was fabulous and mine was abysmal.

浅草寺

Hiro and myself in front of 浅草寺

As evening approached, we met with Hiro's friend, Kayo, and her partner in crime, Daniel, also accompanied by visitor, Jennifer. After a warm introduction, we settled in a nearby restaurant to eat もんじゃ and 焼きそば.

After munch, we decided to indulge in some good ol' カラオケ. I was quite excited as I hadn't been to do karaoke in Japan thus far. Daniel was amusing on the mike and Hiro gave a rather splendid rendition of 'Stacy's Mom' (though I couldn't help laughing while he attempted 'Children' by Dir en grey - it involves rap, let's just say).

Jennifer, Kayo and Daniel at Karaoke

Hiro and Jennifer at Karaoke

Kayo and the gang were awesome to hang out with. We should do it again sometime!

Hiro's visit was short and sweet, and sadly we didn't get much guitar-ing done. Next time for sure, though!