Geek central, Akihabara is Tokyo’s biggest hub of all things Japanese. Condensed into a 6-block radius - electronics, arcades, claw machines, stores selling weird items, maid cafes and neon. The neon is busy and bright and quite a spectacle.
The maids are out in force targeting the guys. Their menus offer a set price for all you can drink in a said time scale, as well as offering ear-waxing and relaxation.
The young girls are freezing, look really miserable and you have to ask is it really worth it? And the guys, paying to sit in a maid bar? Japan’s society is suffering with a lack of relationships and this seriously can’t be helping.
Jonny Monsoon struck once again …
As the rain lashed down on Tokyo we embraced the grey skies and umbrella-snapping winds and went to see the infamous Shibuya Crossing. The only place where 7 crossroads come together and the lights all turn red simultaneously and thousands of pedestrians all cross at the same time. Perhaps not quite the busiest time of day and not quite the spectacle that I’m sure it can be, we did manage to locate a tourist free empty cafe overlooking the crossing - quite an achievement in itself.
We were however, fascinated by the static crowd of photographers with tripods all taking the same image from the same standpoint, the amount of selfies, vloggers and even tripod selfies.
Shibuya selfie - this is taking vanity to a whole new level.
I was happy to take advantage of the rain, umbrellas and people on such a dull wet day. I was pleased to find the subway glass entrances had signs of graffiti on them, something you don’t see here very often.
Almost home time…
A bit of Christmas shopping to round off the day, Tokyo style.