Japan, day 4, Tokyo Games Show

Tokyo Games Show (TGS), a game fair in... Chiba near Tokyo, was the sole reason for me to go around this date.

TGS started at 10:00. Few minutes after 10:00 I arrived at the station of Kaihin-Makuhari. And had to queeuee immediately after leaving the train. Yup, that was a queeue to the exit. :D


Even if I hadn't known the route, I'd find that place without any problems. One just needed to follow the masses. ;) If that wouldn't be enough, there were also signs and signs holders (yup, people!) saying where to go. ;)


I stood in line for the foreigners. I bought tickets, "registered" myself as a Polish and followed another guide. I stood in line with others, waiting for the possibility to enter. I think it lasted about an hour. The temperature was over 30 C, again. Some of the people were covering heads with terrycloth towels. Again. I know it's supposed to block the sweat, but still it looks strange to me.


There were really a lot of people inside. From all the games that I could have been playing, I was playing only smartphone/tablet games which didn't have a lot of people waiting. I didn't want to waste 1 hour to play TERA (tho it looked good). Some games caught my attention, just to mention Phantasy Star Online 2.

I haven't bought there anything except food. ;) Food stands got their own hall.

Before the food hall there was a place for cosplayers. You could take a photo of cosplayers. Through megaphones they were announcing the rules for taking photos.

One of the pavillions was only (!) for families with children (family corner). There were also 7 other games pavilions.

Below are some of the photos taken at TGS. I'll to go there again, when I have a chance.


A line for icecream called shaved ice (かき氷). Free, as it was a promotion of one of the companies that attended TGS. I was one of its last clients. :P I tried ice with melon syrup. And I became a melon fan since then. ;)


And lastly, few photos of Shinjuku station neighborhood (in Tokio). In big department stores with electronic appliances, there are brand-sellers (ie. Canon, Nikon sellers). But... when they see a foreigner, they still send whoever speaks English. :P

Japan, day 1st - Tokyo

Flight to Japan was quite nice. Especially when I finally got a courage to talk to the Japanese man sitting next to me. We talked in Japanese for a bit. He explained me what we can see below us (like Kasumigaura - 2nd biggest lake in Japan). And I learned that Narita is a small airport (sic!).

The plane landed around noon. I was afraid I will get lost already in the airport, but it wasn't that bad. Signs, moreover in English, were everywhere, I think. Exchanged JR Pass Voucher for JR Pass). Bought there Suica card too. It's prepaid transport/shopping card in area around Tokyo. Went by Narita Express to Tokyo. But I was so busy with my own thoughts, that I didn't pay attention to the announcements. I went in too early. The staff asked me politely to leave the train so that they can clean. But hey, some more foreigners also made this mistake. ;)

The travel lasted for around an hour. Below you can see some of the views from that route.




On Tokyo Station (Tokyo Eki) I used coin lockers. I've left the backpack and went to Shinjuku.


As it was almost lunch time, I've decided to eat in Japanese shop. After pondering for a while, I've chose small side-street shop (photos below). Even before I decided on my order I got a jug of cold water and glass, just like the others. It was free of charge. When I've decided, I just had to ring a buzz for the waitress to come. I ate menchi katsu (minced cutlet) with rice and ulung tea. It was very tasty, but I had big problems with eating it whole. Somehow, I've managed this. And payed less than 500 yen.



I was looking for 2 things in Shinjuku: mobile for rent and new digital camera. I found none of them. But it was fun to have a stroll there. I was surprised by the noise level on a Japanese street. There was (loud) music overflowing from the shop, the sellers were loud too... "Come and buy etc."

I went back to Tokyo Eki to get my luggage. And continued my trip to Akihabara. Wanted to look there for a camera too. I saw people standing around something... There were also the light, professional video cameras... I just had to see that too. They were, probably, recording a scene for a movie. Dunno about that really.




In Akihabara, in a shop with English ads in the entrance, I bought electric adapter for 250 yen. The seller was a foreigner, so we talked in English.

I boarded Tsukuba Express to Asakusa. I had booked 4-night stay in one of Asakusa's ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel). But... guess what... I've lost the way. I went to kouban (police station). In their great buildings (?) list, they couldn't find my hotel (Tokaisou). They showed me the way to the nearest internet caffe. Actually, it was more than that. You could read there manga, watch film, surf over the net, print anything. I just had to fill in the registration form (free). I've found my hotel and printed the map. I payed 200 yen in total (10yen was for printing in coin-operated printer). The policemen explained me how to get there - they drew the route and even rotated the map so I will see on it what's in front of me. Then, I had no problem with finding my hotel.



I was late by an hour, but I had a nice chat with the receptionist. Of course in Japanese.

The room was nice. It was almost trditionaly Japanese (except for a bed). I fell in love with Japanese-style baths. Hot shower and then relax in cold bath. Or opposite. It was great, anyway.



The temperature was over 32°C, but it wasn't that bad. I've rode a lot in air-conditioned transport. Luckily.

I had no jet lag, but I went to sleep around 21:00 Japanese time. That day was so tiring... but fun.