Berubes In Japan: So this just happened.....

PARENTAL ADVISORY - THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT

Well, today I think I'm finally on Japan time. I did wake up at 4am but went back to sleep until 9am and don't need a nap by 4.

Today was Jesse's day. I promised we'd spend the entire day at Akihabara shopping and going through all the anime and game shops. Despite losing interest after the first 15 minutes, some pretty interesting things did happen.

First we started with a breakfast of deep fried pork cutlet and rice with egg and a seaweed soup. Yes, that's breakfast. And we ordered it from a vending machine, received a ticket, and handed it over to the chef. It was delicious!

Then the fun began...oh the countless hours of staring at merchandise I wholly did not understand only to be re-excited by things so ridiculous you can't help but enjoy. Like rows upon rows of stores selling nothing but electronic components... and by that I don't mean TV's and DVD players. I mean booths selling actual electronic components like capacitors and transistors. Someone I'm sure could find enough stuff there to build a space station. I did manage to find some souvenirs for some of the boys (Bryden and Carter) and something weird for Joel as requested. Although, finding something weird wasn't very hard.

Jes then spent about an hour to an hour and half in a 5 floor arcade going from game to game. The fifth floor dedicated entirely to rhythm games (think dance dance revolution and guitar hero on steroids). Fairly odd to see a middle aged man in a suit going at those things with the vigor of a Tasmanian devil with a cigarette hanging out his mouth. Did I mention every working man wears a suit in Japan.

Now, in my blog from the first day I mentioned that I wasn't able to get cash using any of my TD cards in the 7-11 machines. Only with my American Express. Well, we found a post office today and the ATMs there DID take the canadian debit cards so we're all good for cash.

Then THIS happened.... running perpendicular to the main street in Akihabara are little alleyways with small shops, restaurants, and bars. We found one that was highlighted by a banner at the entryway that seemed pretty interesting so we thought we'd walk down to find somewhere to eat. Well, we quickly realized that along with the regular bars and restaurants were an over abundance of more.... adult-themed establishments. From your tamer lingerie clubs and strip clubs to your more... let's say advanced "clubs" and "love" hotels, many of which are guarded by an official looking man... in a suit of course, guarding the door. As we navigated through the smaller streets I was approached by one man who said something I didn't quite understand. When I told him so he pointed to his crotch and said "penis". I said "OK?". He went on "Penis. Penis massage. Penis massage inside"as he pointed to an inconspicuous doorway. Both Jes and I burst out laughing and kept walking... only to be approached by yet another man pointing to a poster of half naked "ladies" at the entrance of another club asking if we wanted to go inside. Time for lunch.

So now we're taking a well deserved break back at the hotel so we can go back and hit some more anime shops. Tried to convince Jes to do something a bit more cultural like visit the Imperial palace but I could tell he showed no interest and looked saddened that I was cutting short his anime day. So maybe we'll get to the imperial palace on our last day.