#15 Typhoon Afternoon

Once again it may appear as if I was neglecting this poor little blog (and perhaps I was) but I've been working on ideas to make it less crappy. But first for an important weather update! Right outside now a typhoon is whirling around! (that is an exaggeration and I apologise profoundly). It's the first one since I got here in mid August, which I am told is strange. I was unlucky (or lucky!) enough to have experienced a particularly long, hot, humid, Japanese summer. The weather in the past week has gradually gotten colder, wetter, as well as more overcast and windier. I was talking to a friend of mine here and we both agreed that last Thursday was the first night neither of us woke up in a sweat at around 4am, fumbling for the air-con remote.

Anyway, back to the typhoon. For those unsure, a typhoon is a hurricane, it just has a different name in different regions of the world (or something. . .contact a meteorologist if you want to know more?). This is a screen shot of two different pages of the Japan Meteorological Agency. There they have lots of weather warnings and information on storms and earthquakes, and in perfect English too!

As you can see, basically all of Japan is screwed. Especially the Kanto/Tokyo area.

It's now 11pm and the weather's pretty wild out there, although it is dry. I can't imagine what it'll be like when it rains (although I'm sure I'll wake up with the noise). It was a nice bright morning, then around 4pm it became darker and it was getting windy, shortly after there was some heavy rain but it died off to a light rain after a few minutes (I sound like a weather reporter here, I apologise). From pretty much then onwards the wind has just been gradually picking up. I'm still not exactly sure when the worst is going to hit, I think it's anytime from now until tomorrow morning. 

From my knowledge this isn't a particularly big one so I'm not too worried, but every now and then a gust of wind does seem to catch my flimsy Leopalace door. This isn't a new building though so it has withstood previous typhoons and should therefore be nice and safe. . .or so I assume.

UPDATE: It never did rain, and the 'typhoon' was a big disappointment in all. When I woke up the next morning it was the brightest, hottest day its been in awhile. Silly Japanese weather!

#14 A Quick Update from a Tokyo Tourist

So I have visited Tokyo Dome, Akihabara, Tokyo Tower and Shibuya (in that order too). And I have noticed a pattern emerging - they're boring. Well not the attractions, just going by yourself. My plan is to go alone and check it out, and then to go back with a group. While at Tokyo Dome I didn't go on any of the attractions, I didn't go up Tokyo Tower and I didn't buy anything in Akihabara or Shibuya. This has kept costs down while allowing to wander freely around these places without having the annoyance of only doing what the group wants. It means you get more of what you want done, but it also means it can get boring. It's just not as exciting as if there was someone beside you you can share the moment with. Nonetheless, here are some quick updates of what I've been doing:

Tokyo Dome - suprisingly big (Credits: ME!)

I thought Tokyo Dome was just a big concert area, plus a ferris wheel and rollercoaster. When I got to the entrance it said 'Tokyo Dome City' - and by god is it a city! There's a big shopping area, arcade games, children's amusements, a haunted house, an aqua centre, restaurants. . .the place is big, and it is good. The nice part is you can walk around without spending a yen, but then again if you do decide to go on the amusements you could be forking out about 10,000yen per attraction.

Akihabara (aka Electric Town)

The only thing I bought in Akihabara was a little travel  iron for about 1000yen. And it doesn't really work. On another note, the lights at night are great and the people shouting at you to come in and buy something is fantastic. There is a wonderful selection of just about every electrical item ever invented from lighting to fans to cameras to rice cookers. From the cameras I looked at I could tell that most of the models weren't available in Ireland, and these were more advanced. I'm planning on going back so I'll research the prices then - but from what I'm told most items are only up to 10% cheaper than at home, which isn't the massive discounts some people think are available.

Tokyo Tower, like the Eiffel tower except with a temple

I've been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. And Tokyo Tower is a carbon copy. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic structure and well worth a visit. It is situated in Shiba park, and right behind a massive temple, Zojo-ji. On the evening I went, there were film trucks and crew tidying up after filming there for some upcoming Japanese movie. So you can see it's a pretty cool place. Also around there is a Japanese graveyard (surrounded by cats, it was a little creepy) and, also creepy, were hundreds of statues covered decorated with wool hats and scarves. These Jizo dolls represent all miscarried, aborted and stillborn children in Japan.

At Tokyo Tower, just in case you  get bored of the amazing view or the fact you're at Tokyo Tower, is an aquarium, wax museum and amusements centre.

Shibuya shopping district

Shibuya is pretty expensive. While it does have massive shops like H&M, Forever 21 and Uni Qlo, you'll find these once again have similar stock and prices to at home. The Shibuya 109 centre is great for a look to see what's going on with Tokyo fashion - but that's all. The little boutiques in there aren't for those on a budget, to say the least. There are lots of little market type shops around the streets selling things such as shoes, but I still found they weren't cheap. If you're interested in fashion it is a great place to go, and if you're not it's still a good way to fill in a day, looking at all the shops and wandering through the winding streets. The famed Shibuya crossing - the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world apparently - isn't that exciting. After being in Tokyo for a few days you get used to the masses of people surrounding you everywhere. So when you're walking across a road with another 800 people it doesn't feel particularly special. However, if you were looking at it from a height it would probably look good. At the train station you can also see the statue of Hachiko, the dog who waited at the station for 9 years after his dead owner failed to return.

Note: I picked what places to go purely out of convenience of location as opposed to real desire - there is so much to see and do in Tokyo it is hard to make a list. I also want to save things that require an entry fee (such as Ueno Zoo and Skytree) for when I have friends with me. 

I happened to be on the train to work when I looked out the window and noticed the top of Tokyo Dome so the next day I decided to get off the train there, the same with Tokyo Tower. Akihabara is a popular place to transfer between train lines, so I was already in the area and decided to stay a while. I was meeting a friend at Shibuya so that's how I ended up there. Other locations such as Shinjuku and Harajuku have their own stations so they are convenient to find on the maps.

#13 Prices in Japan 2012

Whilst it may look like I've been slack at this blog, I have actually been cooking up something quite delicious. In many senses of the word. The one thing (actually that's a lie, there are many, many, many things) that annoys me about the internet is that it's hard to find relevant information. An example of such is the prices for things in Tokyo, or Japan in general for this year. Any ones I found seemed a little outdated, so I have begun compiling a list of the 2012 prices I have seen for food and other items over here, in shops such as 7/11, Lawson, Family Mart, Fuji, Maruetsu, Hac etc.

¥100 Store 

(The most popular one is called Daiso, but others are around. Also in reality everything is ¥105 because of tax)

Noodles, Sweets

Arts and crafts (and I mean lots)

Bathroom and toiletries

Every type of household item (bowls, hangers, dustbins, brushes, lunchboxes, etc etc)

Random items
*There are also some Lawson Store 100 convenience stores around (a version of the regular Lawson store), where nearly all the food is ¥105 or ¥210, and they have milk, meat, vegetables, snacks, bread etc).

Groceries

Generally, fruit is expensive to buy in stores, but cheaper if you get it from stalls (although I think more likely to go off faster). There are lots of fish (the prices can be quite reasonable considering there is so much choice), lots of noodles and not so much meat. Most common is beef and then maybe pork, but it can be difficult/pricey to get chicken or anything like that. Breakfast cereal is expensive, bread is thicker than home and tastes a little sweeter. There are lots of breads available such as croissants, cakes, rolls (like the hotdog buns), cheese slices and pizza slices. These are all well priced, usually no more than ¥150. There are food items available from UK/USA (like ketchup or sauces), but while at first you may be excited to see it, after you catch a glimpse of the price you'll see it's far more expensive.

Sample prices include:
Instant ramen cup ¥185
Small vegetable mix ¥100
Small frozen veg (such as corn) ¥100
900ml Porari Sweat (energy drink) ¥168
1l water ¥168
1l milk ¥198
Breakfast cereal (small box) ¥208
Curry soba noodles 3x pack ¥198
Tomato pasta sauce ¥298
Spaghetti ¥298

Household items (you can probably get some of these at the Daiso)
Dove shower gel ¥258

Hand soap ¥298

Washing detergent ¥198

Dove facial cleanser ¥980

Listerine mouthwash ¥398

Herbal essences conditioner ¥298

Kitchen cleaner ¥98

I got all of these for less than ¥200 at a stall

Ready meals: You can also get ready meals at places like 7/11, and they are fresh, tasty and really cheap. Prices are around ¥398. Apparently they contain lots of additives and stuff, so although great value and super convenient I wouldn't recommend them as a long term option.

Rice and some tasty chicken balls

Dining out

Fast food places such as McDonalds are pretty much the same as at home (about ¥600 for a meal), pricewise and menuwise. Generally you can get quite a decent meal in a restaurant for around ¥1000-1500. Sukiya is a ramen place with prices at like ¥500, and is renowned as one of the cheapest places to eat in Japan. If you're in Tokyo I recommend Chikara Meshi, it's really cheap, the food is really tasty, and I basically used to eat there all the time. A lot of restaurants have wax models and prices of the food outside, and inside the menu will likely have pictures, so if your Japanese isn't good you can really just point. Alternatively, there are even more restaurants that just have a vending machine as you walk in, so you press the picture of what you want and put in your money, then you get a voucher and you hand it to the waiter - no speaking involved!

'Ebi fillet-o' or a shrimp burger, one of the menu differences

Some plastic deserts in a cafe window

Vending machines

Unlike in Western countries, vending machines in Japan sell only drinks, no food. There are exceptions, but as you find at least one vending machine per every few steps (no exaggeration, they really are EVERYWHERE) you will notice they will not have food. The main drinks are water, energy drinks and types of tea and coffee in cans (which are hot!!). Some machines are only ¥100, but you will find prices in most are around ¥120-¥160.