Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Back from Japan :(

 
Sigh. The past two weeks were like a dream. The only proof I have that I was in Japan are the posts on my blog and all the stuff and clothes strewn across my room. The trip just kinda felt surreal. Sunday afternoon I was at Maidreamin just outside Akiba station having lunch and the next day I was buying lunch from MyCube on Lygon Street.


 Walking to Akiba on Sunday, I passed by this maid cafe close to Yodobashi which had a pretty decent queue including a gaijin. Didn't notice the name but there was still a queue there on my way back so it seems to be a very popular maid cafe and I'll definitely check it out when next I go.



I'm assuming that's my name.


Went to the 2nd floor and was asked if I wanted the smoking or non smoking floor. The maid at reception was pretty cute but there weren't many people there so I elected to the smoking floor which turned out not to be such a good idea cause the maids weren't as cute there. I was planning to go for the ~4000 yen omrice but the quality of the maids made me a bit stingy and I went for the ~3000 yen pie set thingie which included the photo.

 What happens when I rank up?

Basically paying for the more expensive meals means that two maids will do the oishiikunaru chant on stage and get everyone to participate and then a group photo is taken. Besides that, there weren't that many people so it wasn't as interesting as my maid cafe experience the day before where there were people paying for champagne. The most memorable thing about that trip was this 40ish guy who came in with a girl cosplaying as Yui from K-on! Her cosplay was really, really good. I really wanted to take a picture of her. It made me wonder whether she was a girlfriend or whether there was a service to take a cosplay chick around for a day.

Bazaar at Asakusabashi. Despite being in Tokyo, the district really has a small town feel.

Big thank you to Inno, Sandy and especially bframe5 for showing us around. We wouldn't have dared to go to kyabakuras otherwise. Right now I'm listening to 'Tsubasa wo Hiroge' from the second Eva movie on loop and thinking of Akiba. Can't seem to find the Maidreamin song QSCS -すぃーとでいず except for this small clip on youtube. Should have bought the CD from the cafe. Will post more pictures when I get them from Hellcar and Rei, especially those from Harajuku. 





Random notes:
- I should have done the maid cafe thing earlier instead of waiting for Inno. I think its best to go cheap and scout various cafes and go for the big order when the maids are worth it. I wonder if there's an English site for maid cafe reviews in Akiba.
- Figures take up a lot of space but don't weigh much so you just need big bags. I put most of my photobooks into my carry on bag. Good thing they don't weigh carry on stuff cause I'm pretty sure it was very close to 10kgs.
- Nihonbashi, where Shinzanmono takes place is actually close to Asakusabashi where I stayed and Akibahara. Should have went for a walk there.
- The beef at Hungry Jacks is definitely better than in Australia but the burgers don't taste as good. The double whopper is a lot bigger though.
- If you're looking for a toilet, the best places to go would be arcades or multi level shops. They're usually located at the 2nd/3rd floors though. Just refer to the level directories.

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