kenleewrites in 日本

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?

I’m going to introduce one of my favorite Tonkotsu ramen. Tonkotsu ramen use pork and soy sauce as the base for the soup. Hence it’s usually oily! Rasuta is one of my personal favorite and it’s pure tonkotsu ramen! Oily and yummy!

This is their basic “Rasuta ramen”. ¥600.

(more…)

Another leisurely Sunday stroll. I take this route pretty often and it ends at a park on top of a hill which overlooks the harbor. There’s even a rose garden in the park. If you’re thinking of seeing blooming roses, you might want to plan a trip there soon… real soon. Once at the end, you can decide to head off to Motomachi, Chinatown or make another trip back to catch the pretty ferris wheel lights ^^.

p.s. There was an African Festival today. Anyone been to Africa?

Ofuna isn’t far from Yokohama. Just 3-4 stations away… although the distance between each station is quite a bit. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to try walking there ^^. From Ofuna station, it’s about a 15-20 minute walk to the botanical gardens. Check the link here. It’s all in Japanese though. Just continue walking along the river that runs parallel to the train tracks. The Botanical Gardens will be on your right. Hard to miss. The weather was pretty cloudy when I went, hence you won’t see any blue skies in the photos above. If you’re a student. Entry’s gonna set you back ¥250. Else it’s ¥350. Bring along a picnic basket, a picnic mat, a good book (perhaps a great date too?) and you can spend the whole day surrounded by flowers. Remember, flowers are seasonal. Don’t expect to see what I took if you decide to go in June. You might be surprised and see something better ^^!