kenleewrites in 日本

I don’t go there quite often because it’s a little far north for me. Came across this AV factory. Seriously, AV factory?!? I don’t think the ‘A’ and ‘V’ mean ‘Audio’ and ‘Visual’… hmm… hey… Audio and visual isn’t wrong either if you think about it. ^^.

I believe it was a Saturday when I went (sorry for the late post). As you can see, there’s a police presence there. That white car on the right which is permanently parked there on the empty stretch of road. I like going for walks. It’s a good time to refresh my mind. I don’t really think of anything when I just stroll around. Blank. Just take in the sights and enjoy the surroundings around me. What about you? You like going for strolls?

Now we’re going to take a walk into the Kotobukiya store in Akiba. It’s right opposite the JR station in this building behind the jumping guy.

I was hoping to take a picture of the store but… “you can take photos freely! o only items. x not people!!!”. ^^. That was also the case when I visited some hobby stores in Sendai. Don’t mind don’t mind. ^^

I found this Cyclone going for ¥9900. Wonfes all black edition. Good thing I bought mine back at Wonfes for ¥6000. If you have limited edition items, they can fetch pretty high prices.

I thinking of getting Naomi (third from right). A little pricy though. But sukajan, short skirt, tank top and a katana… we’ll see. ^^. I’m a fan of Shunya Yamashita’s work. Mirei san (second from right) is also pretty nice. A got a different figure of her in a different color. Haven’t taken her out yet. ><. Will get to it soonish.

I did get a figure though. One of these in this picture below. Care to make a guess? I’ll give you a cookie. ^^.

You suppose this mousepad is comfy? I can’t imagine anyone using this at work… ok… maybe some of us will. ^^. Will you?

Yodobashi is the ultimate electronics store in Japan. Ok… I’m not really sure which is bigger, Yodobashi or Bic Camera. But, I prefer Yodobashi. Somehow Yodobashi stores feel a little brighter than Bic Camera’s. A little brighter doesn’t mean much, but I just feel more at home with the atmosphere in Yodobashi. I suppose other people might feel differently. If you live in Japan, which do you prefer? Yodobashi or Bic Camera?

In the Kanto area (where Tokyo, Yokohama Kawasaki etc. are), I’ve only been to 4 Yodobashi-s. The main headquarters is in Shinjuku. That’s where it all started. And if I’m not mistaken, the buildings haven’t changed much. All they did was just expand into the surrounding shops. There’s also a Yodobashi in Ueno, Yokohama, Kawasaki and the latest megastore at Akihabara. All these stores are located within 2 minutes of exiting the station… provided you get out at the right exit (lots of exits at major stations).

The photo here are taken when I went for a walk in Akihabara. Thus, only Yodobashi Akiba (a nickname of Akihabara) photos. Danny has quite a number of Yodobashi Ueno shots when he went for a walk there. It’s the tall thin building in the corner. I tend to visit Yokohama’s Yodobashi alot… because the others are located just that little further away. ^^.

Prior to coming to Japan, I always shopped for electronics at different places. For home appliances I would go to home centers. Cameras, a camera store. Computers, a computer store. Now if you were to ask me, I would just say Yodobashi. I don’t think I can survive outside Japan anymore…. ><. What about you? I would like to know where you go shopping for electronics?

Oh.. crap. I was supposed to be blogging about the Yodobashi Jingle. Seems like I sidetracked quite a bit in the introduction. ^^. I got this bag when I shopped at Yodobashi Akiba.

I don’t know if many people notice it, but their jingle is on the bag! I’m not musically inclined… maybe someone can back me up here and tell me I’m right. ^^. The jingle itself is catchy… maybe a little annoying if you have to hear it 24/7. I wonder how their staff deal with it. ^^.

Accompanying the jingle, there are some “meaningful” lyrics. Every store uses the same jingle, but to a different set of lyrics. The Shinjuku store’s lyrics gives directions. Tells you how to get there. “Take the Yamanote line… or the Chou line… to Shinjuku and you’ll find Yodobashi Camera!”. Pretty neat eh.I find it a little more easy on the ear than just “Bicu Bicu Bicu Bic Camera”. I was quite amused with Bic Camera’s theme when I first heard it. ^^

If you think the song sounds familiar, then you probably heard it before somewhere a long long time ago. The Yodobashi jingle is a bouncy cover of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

This youTube user was generous enough to share with us Yodobashi Shinjuku’s theme song. He made a pretty entertaining video to accompany the tune. I wonder how he got the song. Did he buy the CD
? I wonder if I just walk up to the store and ask one of the clerks if I can have a copy of the song, would they gladly hand me one? ^^

A good thing about Yodobashi though… the cameras are all laid out for you to try. Bring your own SD card, and you can take some photos and bring them home. ^^. This is trying out the fisheye lens on a friend of mine. Just out of curiosity… Anyone of you have a fisheye lens?

Now isn't this a nice looking chocolate. I got it as a gift from someone who got half a dozen from someone who went for a vacation in Las Vegas. 3 isn't my lucky number. I just like white chocolate. ^^. Do I have a lucky number? hmmmm… I don't think I do,, but I tend to favour two prime numbers; 7 and 11. ^^ what about you? What's your favourite number?

These pictures were taken quite a while back when I went to Hiroshima for a short vacation. Just wondering, how often do you go on a vacation?

As a postgrad student, sometimes I get to attend conferences and present my work. Conferences can be domestic or international. During those times, my accommodation and traveling expenses are usually covered… so it’s kinda like a mini vacation. It’s all about managing time; work and play. Most of the time I play too much. >< Just like me reading too much Detective Conan recently… I dreamt I was trying to outsmart him in my dream! You know what that means? sigh…

Anyway, there wasn’t a conference in Hiroshima. It was all play for me. ^^. There quite a few things to see around Hiroshima. There are the famous landmarks you have in Hiroshima (Atomic Dome etc.)and others around the outskirts. The number one go to place would be Miyajima. That island is really beautiful and if you’re there the whole day, you’ll get to see the tide recede from Itsukushima Shrine. When I went in the afternoon, Tori (the famous red gate you see there) was inaccessible because of the tide. At the end of the day around 5pm, the tide receded and you can actually walk straight up to it. It’s pretty fun.

If you have time, Kure is a pretty nice town to visit. It’s a few stations away from Hiroshima though. There’s a Navy HQ there and the whole area is like a shipbuilding town. The famous battleship Yamato used in WW2 was built there. I was overwhelmed with the sheer size of the ship I saw been built. It was huge!

Iwakuni is also a little far from Hiroshima, but it’s a pretty nice place too. There’s this old bridge (reconstruction of the original) Kintaikyo. The original was washed away quite a while ago because of a typhoon I think…

What do you usually do when you go on a vacation. Immerse in the local culture (if it’s another country), take in the sights, watch tv in the hotel or just wander around aimlessly in town? Maybe check out the otaku scene? ^^.

A catalog of nice things (including gadgets) that you can buy while on the shinkansen. Not sure if you can take it home with you on the day (not sure if you want to take it home with you on the day), but at least I think they’ll deliver to your doorstep. Most of the things are pretty pricey, but they are quite unique.

If you have alot of caps, and I mean alot, this is probably what you want.

To keep cats away. The artist probably didn’t like cats. ^^. nah… I think it’s basically because there are more stray cats than dogs around. You think?

Great if you have a problem with seiza.

I really do like this umbrella. The only thing that’s stopping me from getting it is the steep price. I’m definitely not going to pay ¥10,290 for an umbrella. I didn’t even pay ¥8000 for the lightsaber umbrella.

Interested in wondering how much gold you’re packing? ^^

Oh yeah, if you’re interested in seeing more, I think there’s an URL of the catalog somewhere in the photos. Maybe someone might want to… I don’t know, buy me a new umbrella? ^^