I was up at the crack of ten o'clock whereas Helen, lolling around in bed, kept us indoors until gone noon. After yesterday's mini heatwave -- they predicted 24C (well, that was my interpretation of the TV) but we measured at least 27C -- it's dropped back to the more usual 17 or 18. A bit of a bore as based on yesterday we've left our jumpers/fleece behind.
Today's destination is Akihabara, a sort of Tottenham Court Road on steroids. There's no easy train to Akihabara direct so we jump off our line about a kilometre away and press forward on foot. Just round the corner we spot a "Freshness Burger" joint and take the opportunity of a teriyaki burger and coffee for lunch. A menu with English subtitles is a key selling point.
Then, by a circuitous route (had my map reading not insisted we head north the first road would have taken us straight there) we arrived at the Electronic Arcade. Covering an area of two or three blocks almost every shop is dedicated to selling computers, things that attach to computers, things a bit like computers, audio gear and anything else electronic and gimmicky. Japanese phones are a sea change from European. Gone are the "two credit cards stuck together" PHS phones, now replaced by the super looking i-mode (CDMA?) phones that everybody has. Everybody. I haven't seen a single phone in Japan that hasn't been a flip-open with a `full' colour 160x320 display on the inside. The newer ones have a logo sized full colour LCD on the outside too, room enough for a picture (obviously), the time, possibly the incoming call number. Most have a camera for those cherry blossom or `which chopsticks to buy?' moments.
Plenty of PDAs, laptops -- half of which are wireless and Bluetooth enabled, higher resolution screens etc. than anything back home. The car audio gear wouldn't stand a chance in the UK. Combined GPS, navigation (with TV output!?) [DVD player] and in-car audio systems would be nicked before they were installed. A real shame as these are great toys. Helen found a Sony VAIO 1.13GHz, 256MB, SXGA+ (1400x1050) DVD/CD-RW etc. etc. for ¥119,000 (about US$1000) but all the usual caveats about buying abroad apply. But that is a good price... We finally settled on some miniDV tapes for me, at ¥1500 for three. Helen was pretty bored by now but I dragged her round a few more sites before a cup of coffee (I'm sure I had a coffee here last time) and heading back. There's a lot of aching feet involved in this job.
We're back fairly early, picking up a small parcel from Yoji, a copy of the underwater video from the Maldives -- he's back there this week, lucky man, and head down to use up our 90 free Internet minutes. 
I realise the first day I should be typing up is the last entry in the book I don't have [with me]. Yikes, I'm a book and a half behind, some 96 pages of scribble. That's a lot of typing and I don't see it being done before Blighty.
Tonight's food hunt should have been easy but we forgot to look closely enough at the cafe that looked good the other night. No food. D'oh! A half hour traipse in the light drizzle later and we find a pizza house offering some clues on the menu. Helen demonstrating her ease with Japanese by responding to a flurry of phonemes with a No smoking, please.
and then wondering why I hadn't remembered that flurry from last night. The food may have been insipid but at least we knew what is was meant to have been.
Back in our room, the plastic spoon I purloined from the coffee shop has been encased in a `disinfected for your health' bag -- the sort that wraps cups and glasses in hotel rooms these days -- even though the coffee stains [on it] from this morning suggest otherwise. Journals get written, next door get rowdy, beer is drunk and the sports channel report on the Premiership but rather than leave the names alone -- given English titles are used everywhere -- they are rewritten in Katakana/Kanji. Someone is top with 70 points...
Dai Ichi Inn Hotel, Ikebukuro, Tokyo N35.73201 E139.71260 Elev. 72m
Copyright 2003 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.