Tokyo Vacation May 2018 Day 2

Mornings seem to arrive very early in Tokyo. At 6:30 in the morning, the sun was already high and especially bright, waking all three of us. Each of us showered and prepared for the day, planning to initially walk the few blocks from the hotel to the Can Do 100 yen store. We proceeded down to the hotel lobby where Scott was suddenly inclined to inquire about the morning breakfast buffet. The hotel staff stated that due to Scott’s level of Hilton Hotel repeat patronage, he qualified for two free breakfasts. In the sense that I was the odd man out, Justin offered to split the cost of the third breakfast. The breakfast buffet turned out to cost 4,000 yen, but the price seemed justifiable considering the impressive, virtually intimidating range of the buffet. The food offerings ranged from cold cereals to smoked salmon to assortments of Japanese cold noodles to English style baked beans.

When we finished our meal, we walked past the University Hospital and down to the 7-11. We noticed that the Can Do 100-yen store wasn’t open yet. So we returned to the hotel where we caught the free shuttle bus to the station. At Shinjuku Station’s west entrance, we wandered in circles a bit, waiting for the stores to open at 10am. When the J-Market store opened, Justin exchanged currency into Japanese yet. The advance ticket booking store offered an exchange rate of 107 yen to the dollar, the best rate we’d encountered yet.

We entered the station’s train terminal and boarded the Chuo-Sobu line headed for Nakano. The train stopped at several intermittent stations before Nakano. We exited the station’s north exit and proceeded across the car turnabout, entering the covered shopping arcade. I was particularly surprised by how few people seemed to be about. On the way through the Nakano Sunmall, Scott & Justin stopped to purchase panda-shaped taiyaki.

Since we’d arrived in Nakano around 10:30am, before most of the stores opened, we poked our heads into the Namco arcade. Scott pointed out an elaborate Densha do Go train conductor simulation game. Justin spent 100 yen to try it out. The game consisted of three large monitors providing a panoramic view, and a replica train dashboard. On the game tutorial, which was communicated exclusively in Japanese, Justin managed to stop at the station too early. Then he pulled too far ahead.

We proceeded into the basement where we found a Daiso 100 yen store. I purchased a three-pack of bars of bath soap since bars weren’t available individually. I also purchased a pair of finger & toe nail clippers. We proceeded into the grocery section of the basement and marveled at some of the fresh seafood offerings – amazed at both the quality and price of the foodstuffs.

When 11am struck, we made our way to the Card Shop Treasure store on the first floor. In a display case, I noticed a memo-sized clipboard with a monochrome image of an attractive topless girl printed on it. The clipboard was priced at only 100 yen. I also thumbed through the stacks of remainder telephone card packaging and promotional postcards, ultimately pulling out two shitajiki, a postcard, and a Youkai Watch plastic poster all for 10 yen each. I asked for the clipboard by referring to it as “Urushihara.” The attendant deliberately pointed out to me that the artist was actually Yoshihiro Kimura. She asked if I still wanted it. I did. On one side note, I was surprised to see that a single vintage Urusei Yatsura telephone card cost the USD equivalent of about $2,000.

The Mandarake stores opened at noon, so we began a lengthy process of browsing and shopping. Since we first entered an elevator, I recommended that we ride up to the fourth floor and make our day down.

I’ve heard countless armchair critics claim that Tokyo, and in particular both Nakano Broadway and Akihabara, have become too accustomed to foreign collectors and shoppers and have resultantly matched their prices to typical online values, leaving no bargains left to be found in Tokyo’s otaku stores. Granted, some items available in the various Nakano Broadway stores are priced at typical online rates. But bargains are definitely still available to hunters who search for them. I found and purchased items including an Ichiban Kuji Yamato 2199 laminated poster for 100 yen, a pair of loose six-inch tall bishoujo figures I couldn’t recognize for 500 yen each, a Gloomy Bear figure in package for 600 yen. I found a boxed set of marching Working! Mini-Popura figures (from the show’s opening animation) discounted to 3,000 yen. And unexpectedly Justin spotted a Fullcock Takagi type-M2019 Blade Runner water blaster in a display case for only 4100 yen including sales tax. I eagerly suggested that I’d purchase the water gun if Justin didn’t. So he allowed me to purchase it.

Justin’s purchases included a 2001 Bandai GMK Godzilla translucent black theater exclusive figure for 3800 yen, and a “blue spines” exclusive 2014 Bandai Godzilla six-inch figure for 1,000 yen. Scott’s interests were extensive but his purchases very limited for the first full day.

After extensively exploring the fourth then third floors, we took a break at Scott’s urging. Randomly wandering in a direction, we came upon a Hanamaru restaurant. Justin and Scott ordered bowl of udon. I ordered a plate of curry and learned that the curry was only available as a side-order with an udon purchase. So I ordered both entrees.

After lunch, we returned to Nakano Broadway’s second floor. At last, we finished our browsing at 6:40pm. Although we’d initially considered transferring directly from Nakano to Tokyo Character Street, we decided to delay the visit to Tokyo Character Street until another day, considering the time. On the way back to the train station, the pedestrian traffic was far heavier than it had been during the morning. Justin stopped into a small electronics store nearby the entrance of the shopping arcade, in order to purchase a short changing cable for his cell phone.

Largely by chance, we took the Chuo Rapid train line back toward the hotel. The train ride skipped all of the stops in between Shinjuku & Nakano. We took the hotel shuttle back to the hotel. After a short rest at the room, we walked back to the Can Do 100 yen store. Scott purchased a random selection of Japanese candies & snacks to try out. Justin purchased a tea cup. I purchased several bottles of water & Coke Zero. I also purchased several hundred-yen Japanese cat ears and rabbit ears headbands to bring home to re-sell at conventions.

Tentatively our plan for tomorrow is to visit Akihabara, initially scoping out the Akiba no FleaMa street market before lapping Chuo-dori and its parallel streets. Further tentatively, my friend Jon, who works & lies in Yotsuya, Tokyo, will meet us tomorrow in Akihabara.