Quick Notes:
Wather: 9C raining, all day
Immigration office
Electricity museum in Shibuya
Yebisu Beer museum in Ebisu
Photography museum in Ebisu
English Pub in Ebisu
This trip to Tokyo was again primarily to go the immigration office. The first trip was to apply for the change and this time was to get the new VISA stamp. Being that last time it took us 4.5 hours we wanted to get there right as it opened so hopefully we wouldn’t waste the whole day. We left the house at 7:00am but still actually missed the train that we were wanting to take. It wasn’t a big deal because there was another train just 20 minutes later. Plus we were the first ones in line to board the train and we were able to get a seat for the 45 minute ride. On the train ride I slept a little but about have way to Tokyo the train became very full. There was a couple times that the doors had trouble closing because there was some many people. At this point people trying to get on would just put their back to them and push their way on the train. I guess it is kind of just understood that this is acceptable because no one ever said anything or acted agitated. Maybe one good thing is that I haven’t had to share my personal bubble with some sketching smelly person. Everyone on the train is dressed up going to work. Once to Akihabara we boarded another train to Shinagawa then took a bus to the immigration office.
Once there we went to the designated window and pretty much walked right up. She took our papers and said have a seat and wait for your number. We had about 50 people in front of us which was not bad at all because last time we had like 250 in front of us. Only about 20 minutes later we were called back up and she returned our passport with our new VISA. All of this only took about an hour which was amazing. Took the bus back the Shinagawa station to get some breakfast and figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of the day.
Breakfast, check. Jams (Jay-Z), check. Playbook, check. (More photos here)
Reading through some of the highlights we decided to go to Shibuya first. Shibuya is home of the busiest intersection in the world. When it is time for the pedestrians to cross all traffic stops and the intersection fills with people. Since all traffic stops you are even able to cross diagonally. I guess this is what they do in big cities. The guide book also noted that there was one of the better science museums in the area. The museum was dedicated to the production of electricity, so we put it on the agenda. But first we went to the Starkbucks overlooking the intersection so we could watch the sea of people.
Taken from the Starbucks overlooking the Shibuya intersection.
Tranquility in Chaos.
After the museum we started our way back to the station but we first stopped for lunch. It was just a random place that pictured some good looking food with a decent price. They had three specials and I ordered the chicken special. It was a fried chicken breast with a sauce that was a little spicy. I think it might have been a Korean style dish. In the middle bowl of pickle vegetables and some potato salad-ish stuff. The cucumbers were good, there was also I think eggplant which was ok, and the third one I did not care for (no idea what it was). They love pickled things here. Of course I also had rice and miso soup.
Lunch in Shibuya
Next we decided to go to the Ebisu area since there was a beer museum there, a rational decision. On our way back to the station we came across Condommania, truly on accident. It was listed in the guide book as one of the quarks of Japan and has hundreds of different condoms. So of course we had to check it out, though it was very brief. The little store was no large than 50sq feet and did indeed have hundreds of different condoms. On our way out we were approached by a gentleman and asked if we want to go upstairs. With different things running through my mind of what could be above a condom shop I quick said no. Again he asked if we wanted to take a look, he kept saying it was really nice. Again we said no. Then the third time I asked what was up there he said clothes, shirts, and pants. So being nice we then followed him upstairs, and yes he was selling clothes. After a couple of minutes of acting like we were interested in clothes that T-Pain (the rapper) wears we finally got back downstairs. Now back to the train station, but first we had a short discussion of where it actually was. Seems like we are constantly correcting each other, because we really only pay attention for about half the time. It is just a good thing that we alternate when our brains shut down.
Out of the Ebisu station we took the Skywalk, a series of moving walkways at least .5 mile long, to the Ebisu Garden Palace. The Garden Palace had numerous shops and restaurants, but we were making our way to the Yebisu Beer Museum. In 1876 the company started and they used the talents of a German brewmaster, for more details click here. It was a beautiful inside, extremely simple and elegant. It was very informative since they had english translations throughout the exhibits describing their history. After the self-guided tour we went to the tasting salon to see what they had to offer. Seth got the Black beer and I had the Cream Top Stout. It was tasty, complex and creamy.
Entrance to the Yebisu museum.
Next we made our way the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography which was located the Garden Palace. I thought it was going to be a collection of different artist but there was only two exhibits displaying the works of two artists. One was a Frenchman and we all know what they are interested in (naked women), so we went to see the Japanese artist’s works. He took famous photos in history and recreated the scene with himself in it. Some were interesting but mostly I didn’t see how recreating a photo was really art but whatever. Below is the best one that he did, in my opinion because he was creative. It might be hard to see but there are three dates on the right: Dec 8, 1941, Aug 6, 1945, Aug 9, 1945. If you don’t know your world/U.S. history Goggle them and see what is significant about them. The last date is on the ground on the left and it is Sept 11, 2001.
Artwork by Morimura Yasumasa
After the museums we were ready for dinner. Referring to the playbook there was a reputable English pub/grill in the area called What the Dickens. Trying to follow the basic directions and the simple detail-lacking map we wondered around for at least hour. Made our way back to the station to start over and hopefully get a better idea of where we were on the map. We found a bigger map and discovered we/I was way off. So we set out again with a much better idea of where to go. At the corner that we thought the pub was going to be it was no where to be found. Walked another block and still nothing. While stopping to take another look at the map Seth saw E=mc^2 on a building and said take a look at that. Then by chance he noticed the building directory and it said What the Dickens 4F. Finally we found it and there wasn’t even an advertisement out side of the building for the place. Went upstairs to a two level dimly-lit wood-accented pub/grill. Ordered a Guinness and finally sat down after wondering for an hour and a half. Thinking that we would get to relax for a while was shot down when I looked at the train schedule. The last train for Tsukuba was at 10:00pm so we only had about an hour at the pub. I had a small pizza and another drink then hurried back to the station. Took a train back to Akihabara then caught the second to last train to Tsukuba. Then got on our bikes, rode home, and crashed till 1:00pm the next day. Also, did I mention it had been all day? Well, it was but it wasn’t as bad as you would think. Thanks Mom for the umbrella.
Me at Yebisu
Wather: 9C raining, all day
Immigration office
Electricity museum in Shibuya
Yebisu Beer museum in Ebisu
Photography museum in Ebisu
English Pub in Ebisu
This trip to Tokyo was again primarily to go the immigration office. The first trip was to apply for the change and this time was to get the new VISA stamp. Being that last time it took us 4.5 hours we wanted to get there right as it opened so hopefully we wouldn’t waste the whole day. We left the house at 7:00am but still actually missed the train that we were wanting to take. It wasn’t a big deal because there was another train just 20 minutes later. Plus we were the first ones in line to board the train and we were able to get a seat for the 45 minute ride. On the train ride I slept a little but about have way to Tokyo the train became very full. There was a couple times that the doors had trouble closing because there was some many people. At this point people trying to get on would just put their back to them and push their way on the train. I guess it is kind of just understood that this is acceptable because no one ever said anything or acted agitated. Maybe one good thing is that I haven’t had to share my personal bubble with some sketching smelly person. Everyone on the train is dressed up going to work. Once to Akihabara we boarded another train to Shinagawa then took a bus to the immigration office.
Once there we went to the designated window and pretty much walked right up. She took our papers and said have a seat and wait for your number. We had about 50 people in front of us which was not bad at all because last time we had like 250 in front of us. Only about 20 minutes later we were called back up and she returned our passport with our new VISA. All of this only took about an hour which was amazing. Took the bus back the Shinagawa station to get some breakfast and figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of the day.
Breakfast, check. Jams (Jay-Z), check. Playbook, check. (More photos here)
Reading through some of the highlights we decided to go to Shibuya first. Shibuya is home of the busiest intersection in the world. When it is time for the pedestrians to cross all traffic stops and the intersection fills with people. Since all traffic stops you are even able to cross diagonally. I guess this is what they do in big cities. The guide book also noted that there was one of the better science museums in the area. The museum was dedicated to the production of electricity, so we put it on the agenda. But first we went to the Starkbucks overlooking the intersection so we could watch the sea of people.
Taken from the Starbucks overlooking the Shibuya intersection.
Tranquility in Chaos.
After the museum we started our way back to the station but we first stopped for lunch. It was just a random place that pictured some good looking food with a decent price. They had three specials and I ordered the chicken special. It was a fried chicken breast with a sauce that was a little spicy. I think it might have been a Korean style dish. In the middle bowl of pickle vegetables and some potato salad-ish stuff. The cucumbers were good, there was also I think eggplant which was ok, and the third one I did not care for (no idea what it was). They love pickled things here. Of course I also had rice and miso soup.
Lunch in Shibuya
Next we decided to go to the Ebisu area since there was a beer museum there, a rational decision. On our way back to the station we came across Condommania, truly on accident. It was listed in the guide book as one of the quarks of Japan and has hundreds of different condoms. So of course we had to check it out, though it was very brief. The little store was no large than 50sq feet and did indeed have hundreds of different condoms. On our way out we were approached by a gentleman and asked if we want to go upstairs. With different things running through my mind of what could be above a condom shop I quick said no. Again he asked if we wanted to take a look, he kept saying it was really nice. Again we said no. Then the third time I asked what was up there he said clothes, shirts, and pants. So being nice we then followed him upstairs, and yes he was selling clothes. After a couple of minutes of acting like we were interested in clothes that T-Pain (the rapper) wears we finally got back downstairs. Now back to the train station, but first we had a short discussion of where it actually was. Seems like we are constantly correcting each other, because we really only pay attention for about half the time. It is just a good thing that we alternate when our brains shut down.
Out of the Ebisu station we took the Skywalk, a series of moving walkways at least .5 mile long, to the Ebisu Garden Palace. The Garden Palace had numerous shops and restaurants, but we were making our way to the Yebisu Beer Museum. In 1876 the company started and they used the talents of a German brewmaster, for more details click here. It was a beautiful inside, extremely simple and elegant. It was very informative since they had english translations throughout the exhibits describing their history. After the self-guided tour we went to the tasting salon to see what they had to offer. Seth got the Black beer and I had the Cream Top Stout. It was tasty, complex and creamy.
Entrance to the Yebisu museum.
Next we made our way the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography which was located the Garden Palace. I thought it was going to be a collection of different artist but there was only two exhibits displaying the works of two artists. One was a Frenchman and we all know what they are interested in (naked women), so we went to see the Japanese artist’s works. He took famous photos in history and recreated the scene with himself in it. Some were interesting but mostly I didn’t see how recreating a photo was really art but whatever. Below is the best one that he did, in my opinion because he was creative. It might be hard to see but there are three dates on the right: Dec 8, 1941, Aug 6, 1945, Aug 9, 1945. If you don’t know your world/U.S. history Goggle them and see what is significant about them. The last date is on the ground on the left and it is Sept 11, 2001.
Artwork by Morimura Yasumasa
After the museums we were ready for dinner. Referring to the playbook there was a reputable English pub/grill in the area called What the Dickens. Trying to follow the basic directions and the simple detail-lacking map we wondered around for at least hour. Made our way back to the station to start over and hopefully get a better idea of where we were on the map. We found a bigger map and discovered we/I was way off. So we set out again with a much better idea of where to go. At the corner that we thought the pub was going to be it was no where to be found. Walked another block and still nothing. While stopping to take another look at the map Seth saw E=mc^2 on a building and said take a look at that. Then by chance he noticed the building directory and it said What the Dickens 4F. Finally we found it and there wasn’t even an advertisement out side of the building for the place. Went upstairs to a two level dimly-lit wood-accented pub/grill. Ordered a Guinness and finally sat down after wondering for an hour and a half. Thinking that we would get to relax for a while was shot down when I looked at the train schedule. The last train for Tsukuba was at 10:00pm so we only had about an hour at the pub. I had a small pizza and another drink then hurried back to the station. Took a train back to Akihabara then caught the second to last train to Tsukuba. Then got on our bikes, rode home, and crashed till 1:00pm the next day. Also, did I mention it had been all day? Well, it was but it wasn’t as bad as you would think. Thanks Mom for the umbrella.
Me at Yebisu
8:52 PM |
Category: |
0
comments
Posts
Comments (0)