I don’t really have anything to do today (don’t tell my boss) so I decided to wander around the neighborhood near my hotel a bit. As far as I can tell I’m in Chuo-Ku, which seems to be about a kilometer south of the center of Tokyo (and yes, I know what a kilometer is – do you?).
Wednesday is a national holiday of some sort in Japan – the translation seemed to be roughly “Culture Day”. I’m not sure what this means, but everybody has the day off and people are all headed to the shrines in their best clothes. I’ve seen lots of women and little girls in traditional dress, though all the men just seem to wear the same dark suits (selling dark suits must be a huge business in Tokyo).
It’s an interesting neighborhood – crowded, but not horribly so and with lots of little shops. Our hosts at IBM told us that it was an “expensive” neighborhood – too expensive for them to live in. I found a couple of real estate offices with ads for very small apartments (200-600 square feet) for $2000 to $3000 per month!
Enjoy!
Sake Shop
This is a shot of the Sake shop just down the street from the hotel. I can’t really figure out if this is a shop or a bar, but I suspect it is actually both as it has a large display of sake in the window and seating inside. Unfortunately, you can’t see the very large carved bear near the front door.
Random Street Scene
Side Street
This is a little side street off of the main street near the hotel.
am-pm
Am-Pm seems to be the convenience store of choice in Tokyo – there is one on almost every corner. This is one of the larger ones.
Me
Tina complained that I wasn’t posting photos of myself. There is a very good reason why I don’t do that and this is a fine example.
Are you happy now, Tina?
Engrish!
Look closely and you’ll see the billboard is an ad for “Mistful Life”! Oddly enough, there are very few examples of “Engrish”.
Seven-Eleven
There are many 7-11 stores in Tokyo, though not as many as am-pm shops. They don’t sell anything you’d want, though – no slurpees, no big gulps, no cigarettes, no beer, no donuts and, most especially, no hot dogs!
Apartment Ad
I saw this ad on the side of a new apartment building but I couldn’t find a price listed anywhere. I suspect, given the size of the apartment and the cost of the neighborhood, that this falls into the “if you have to ask you can’t afford it” category.
Notice that it’s labeled in English, which seems to be used to add a touch of class to things.
Small Shrine
I saw this small shrine down a little alley. I’m not sure why it didn’t have a big crowd around it as the big one across the street did.
Boss Coffee
You see ads for Boss Coffee everywhere.
Boss Coffee Closeup
The person on the ladder is actually part of the billboard.
Tokyo Stock Exchange
I was wandering down a street underneath a bridge and looked over to see this sign. Yes, this really is the Tokyo Stock Exchange!
Big Shrine
Here is the large neighborhood Shrine, which had a huge crowd around it and even policemen directing traffic. I can actually see the roof of this shrine from my hotel room. I was going to go in to check it out, but the line is way too long.
Hotel Lobby
Finally, this is a shot of the lobby of my hotel. Notice the Christmas Decorations? These appeared overnight on Monday – we came down Tuesday morning to find the whole lobby decorated for Christmas. Very bizarre, really. What is even more bizarre is the giant Santa Claus they have over the fountain in the back – he has a very disturbed look on his face! Unfortunately, he’s only visible from inside a restaurant.
That’s it for Tokyo – I’m headed to San Jose now.
