shigatsu, pt. 2

of all the places i went to and hung out at in japan, i spent the most time in shibuya and akihabara.

akihabara was the first place i really visited and branched out to. while i was usually being very route-conscious and adhering strictly to mental maps and directions, by the end of the month akihabara was the only place i was totally unafraid of exploring in full. after a while i ended up just exploring, wandering around, checking things out away from the main roads. i ended up there a lot, returning for presents for people because it was great for shopping. that, and i was kind of afraid of being out by myself at night, but i trusted the akiba area and was ok with being there after the sun went down.

weirdly enough, i had very few experiences with people there. most places, like shibuya and harajuku, have stories of interacting with people attached to them, but with akihabara i spoke to almost no-one. kind of fitting, since a lot of people there seemed to be the same way.

i think the don quixote in akiba was my favorite one out of all the ones in tokyo i visited. it was 8 floors, i think, with the top floor being the akb48 cafe or whatever it was, and the basement/ground floor being a pachinko area. the mandarake there was really tall, this ominous black building down a kind of side-alley. and there was a shopping center, apparently it was a "hobby lobby" that was several floors of anime and game shops. the top floors of most buildings were maid cafes or places where people wore those ball-jointed doll masks.

shibuya came up frequently, especially near the tail-end of my trip, and it initially confused the shit out of me. i exited at the hachiko gate every time, but i never found the hachiko statue until the day before i left the country. the streets in shibuya are really windy and hilly, and most of the time i was there, it was raining. i bought an umbrella at the donki there, and i got super lost trying to find the forever 21. i spent a lot of time at tower records.

it weirds me out because i feel so distant from these places already, but i essentially spent a month there. while i did try to go somewhere new every day, i'd also usually stop in akiba or shibuya on the way back to get something, because they became somewhat of a second-home away from temporary-home. i didn't like going to the same conbini multiple times in one day so i'd get food in akiba or shibuya and then bring it home with me. the day didn't feel like a success in terms of vacation because i only really feel accomplished when i get someone a gift, and both places were perfect for that.

it rained a lot in shibuya and i miss that. i miss seeing the people with their clear umbrellas and hearing the same kyary song on loop.