Asakusa and Shibuya
Today I met Ami and went to Asakusa. There was some trouble getting there as we met in Akihabara, so I had to figure out the subway from Ueno to Akihabara. But it was done with the minimal amount of confusion, and we found each other in Akihabara near the subway. We went back through to Ueno (go figure, I should've met her there) and from thence changed to the subway line going towards Asakusa.
Here is a picture of me in Asakusa. I like this one of the high schoolers taking pictures. After that, we went into the temple, where we first waved insense over our heads here
The temple and traditional market were much more impressive than the pictures suggest.
We ate Udon (rice noodles) at a small place near the market, and I bought sandals, chopstick holders, and cards (to send to mum). Also, we tried many delicious foods of which many I cannot remember the Japanese names for, but one was rice crackers (still warm) and one was onnidofu (most likely spelled wrong) which was hard jelly squares made from seaweed powder and eaten with fruit, and cakes with red bean in the middle (mine was green tea flavor, and Ami's was pumpkin). Yum yum.
Then we went to Shibuya and had a fun time just walking around, people watching, and going in eclectic little shops. One had action figures of many famous movies, so there were replicas of the guns and lightsabres from Star Wars (which really lit up and made sound affects like in the movies). Ami and I couldn't resist having a mini-battle with them. I bought a cool hat from a 2 story hat shop, and we had fun trying on all the strange hats...and then, we parted, promising to meet again sometime soon.
I then met up with A from work, and we wandered around Shibuya looking for an all you can eat Shabu shabu place. (Shabu shabu is very thin meat, which you cook yourself by swishing it in boiling broth in a pot at your table. You also boil veggies at the same time.) Of course, it took many turns to find it, but it was certainly worth the trek. Afterwards, A didn't have enough money so we had to go on another quest to find an ATM that worked with his bank. This took a full 25 minutes. I now know Shibuya very well. Shibuya has a reputation for being a city for teens and university students, so there were many flaunting the latest (sometimes hilarious) styles. Then it was back to Tsuchiura by a late late train, and the end of adventures for the day.
Here is a picture of me in Asakusa. I like this one of the high schoolers taking pictures. After that, we went into the temple, where we first waved insense over our heads here
The temple and traditional market were much more impressive than the pictures suggest.
We ate Udon (rice noodles) at a small place near the market, and I bought sandals, chopstick holders, and cards (to send to mum). Also, we tried many delicious foods of which many I cannot remember the Japanese names for, but one was rice crackers (still warm) and one was onnidofu (most likely spelled wrong) which was hard jelly squares made from seaweed powder and eaten with fruit, and cakes with red bean in the middle (mine was green tea flavor, and Ami's was pumpkin). Yum yum.
Then we went to Shibuya and had a fun time just walking around, people watching, and going in eclectic little shops. One had action figures of many famous movies, so there were replicas of the guns and lightsabres from Star Wars (which really lit up and made sound affects like in the movies). Ami and I couldn't resist having a mini-battle with them. I bought a cool hat from a 2 story hat shop, and we had fun trying on all the strange hats...and then, we parted, promising to meet again sometime soon.
I then met up with A from work, and we wandered around Shibuya looking for an all you can eat Shabu shabu place. (Shabu shabu is very thin meat, which you cook yourself by swishing it in boiling broth in a pot at your table. You also boil veggies at the same time.) Of course, it took many turns to find it, but it was certainly worth the trek. Afterwards, A didn't have enough money so we had to go on another quest to find an ATM that worked with his bank. This took a full 25 minutes. I now know Shibuya very well. Shibuya has a reputation for being a city for teens and university students, so there were many flaunting the latest (sometimes hilarious) styles. Then it was back to Tsuchiura by a late late train, and the end of adventures for the day.