Tokyo, Japan

On flights into Tokyo you can sometimes get a view of Mt. Fujii. From Kochi to Tokyo it is a very bad view but you can JUST see it off in the distance.

 Golden Gai is packed with small izakayas and after a yakiniku dinner it was a nice trip to travel through these cozy streets and bars. We visited three different bars. Two were upstairs on the second level but those were very quiet. The one we found space in on the ground level was very lively and after we arrived was packed full. So you might have to wander a while before finding a spot on a busy night even if it is a Thursday.

Golden Gai

Tokyo Team Lab exhibit in Odaibas MORI building is a visual art exhibit with interactive lighting. The exhibit is called 'Borderless' because the designs move along the walls and create an endless world for the light figures that circle the buildings inner paths. 

Odaiba, Tokyo

They had many different types of exhibits a 'flower and butterfly' area with bright flowers and butterflies floating across dark hallways. Anywhere with waterfalls you could actually make the water move by touching the wall or standing along its path.

Team Lab Flower and Butterfly Area

Team Lab Flower and Butterfly Area

Team Lab Flower and Butterfly Area

Team Lab Flower and Butterfly Area

The walls of the Borderless area  with the designs circling the building coming through here. The designs include a parade of samurai (that interact with you by saying hello if you touch the wall), animals from around the world that wander the walls (also make noise if you toh the walls), penguins that swim across the walls as if the gliding through water, giant wave like swirls and flower/ butterfly designs that burst if you touch the wall.

Tokyo TeamLab Borderless

Tokyo TeamLab Borderless

 There is one very interactive area upstairs that has a very interactive floor.  You can colour in your own animal (butterfly, frog, lizard, bird, alligator) that participates in a game of life where if your creature eats one lower in the food chain it reproduces and it can also get eaten by a animal higher in the food chain. I picked a frog and it got eaten very quickly by all of the damn lizards people had but Williams bird lasted a very long time.

Williams bird

A large number of large coloured balloon/eggs were placed in a room. They changed colour slowly to music and you could push them around and they always come up the same way.

Tokyo TeamLab

 A small room with a mirrored floor had stage lights that created patterns in the air and below you.

Tokyo TeamLab

 Another small room had hanging strings of lights and a mirrored floor. It was quite crowded in this room but if you had the chance to walk through it while a bit emptier it could be so serene.

Tokyo TeamLab

Tokyo TeamLab

A small room with wave designs was one of the only places you could sit and relax. It had bean bag chairs on the floor and relaxing music played to the wave designs. The small room was hard to find but so nice when we did find it.

Tokyo TeamLab

 Another small room was lit up as a forest with designs of leaves and birds floating across 'trees' When you walk in the room you are below the trees but as you walk into it the room opens and you are above the patterns.

Tokyo TeamLab

We visited a Jazz Bar, Black Sun, for the night. There was live music when we arrived and once it ended they started playing music. It was small and had a lovely atmosphere that was very different from the regular izakaya we had gone to in Golden Gai the night before. I know it is odd but I think Tokyo is also a good spot to check out bars like this.

We had wanted to get dressed up in cosplay, but a few weeks before our trip (planned months in advance) to Tokyo ComicCon we figured out that it was all American comics and movies not anime as we wanted to dress up as.

Tokyo ComicCon

 We went to the event anyways since we couldn't figure out how to return or sell tickets in Japan and the venue was a lot smaller than expected even though it was packed quite full. The costumes were mainly star wars, DC or Marvel with a few exceptions.

Tokyo ComicCon

Tokyo ComicCon

 A small stage had Japanese Pop band dancing and singing while the crowd joined in with LED glowsticks like Japanese concerts are famous for. It was a small show but it was my first chance to see a show like this in Japan so it was a nice unexpected surprise at a ComicCon.

Tokyo ComicCon

Tokyo ComicCon

Many of the costumes were very impressive and there definitely were some people who were paid by booths to be cosplaying (like bee shown above).

Tokyo ComicCon

Tokyo ComicCon

 The Marvel shop actually required tickets to enter so even though it would have been one of the most interesting parts of the convention we didn't have the chance to go in. It wa very bloody confusing since they tell you you need a ticket but don't tell you where to get one.

Tokyo ComicCon

On our way to Oiwake in Asakusa we stopped at a small cafe/bar to warm up and ended up getting a surprise live reggae show!

 Oiwake is a traditional style izakaya with an extra bonus of live Japanese folk music. It costs 2000 to enter and see the show and you are also expected to buy food/drink. It is well worth it! The show is fantastic, the staff are friendly and come around to talk to you at your table during their intermission period of the show. Soon they will be closing and changing locations so I am not sure when they will reopen but if you get a chance to visit it is definitely worth it!

At Harajuku Station  is the entrance to Yoyogi Park over Jingū Bashi (Shrine Bridge -神宮橋). From there you can walk up to the Meji Shrine area or walk around into the park. The area is known to have performers and online it says that there are often cosplayers there on Sundays. We did see a few performers including a drummer, karaoke singer and the famous rockabilly dancers. 

 The park was busy with people going to a sake/soba festival in the park. It was a small festival and mostly just with food stands around a section of packed tables. But the warm soba soup was lovely on a chilly day like this.

 The park is colourful with fall leaves even this late in the year and walking around it was lovely despite the cold cloudy weather.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park

Despite the fact that nobody else was out cosplaying, we got dressed up and walked around the park in style! Mostly as an excuse to use the anime costumes we couldn't use at the Tokyo ComicCon. I still have no idea how to figure out when cosplay events are held in Yoyogi Park but I expect it is more frequent in the spring and summer when the weather is nicer. Maybe there is a facebook group of something that organizes this but very little info is online about it.

Nakano Broadway is second only to Akihabara for being a famous spot for everything geeky including books, games, cosplay, figurines and cards.

Nakano Broadway

Nakano Broadway

While waiting for the next train we stopped into a Pachinko place. It was my first time and just for the experience I laid out 1000Y. It lasted about 15 minutes but I think that was mostly me trying to figure out HOW to play. It is very confusing but basically the idea is you control the strength of force used to shoot the ball and you have to aim for getting it to fall down into the middle. These are accompanied by games and stories but I can't understand that part at all either so it was just a lot of noise and lights.

Pachinko