#32 Yokohama

Although it is Japan's second most populated city, Yokohama really doesn't have a lot to offer in comparison to nearby Tokyo, and the main attractions can easily be done in a weekend. The fact that is only about 30 minutes by train from Tokyo makes it a good place to visit. The highlights include Chinatown, a museum about cup noodles, and an amusement park.

Minato Mirai 21

The Cosmoworld Ferris wheel/Clock

Landmark tower (on the left) at night

This is where most of Yokohama's entertainment is to be found. Home to the Landmark Tower, Japan's tallest building (keeping in mind Skytree is a tower!) Minato Mirai 21 is located beside the water which makes it much more spacious and pretty than many of Tokyo's bustling locations. It's also home to two great shopping centres, the Cup Noodles Museum, a large boat and maritime museum, and the Cosmoworld amusement park.

Cup Noodles Museum

It's a good laugh alright

It costs only 500 yen, which is probably the most appealing thing about this museum. The highlight is a workshop in which you design your own cup and pick out the flavours for your own custom made noodles, which costs a further 500 yen. This fills up very quickly and should be booked in advance (I didn't get to do it, sob sob). All of the exhibits are visual and don't require a knowledge of Japanese, plus you get an English leaflet. Honestly, it's not very exciting but I thought it was a good symbol of the quirky Japanese!

 

It was a whole room of every cup noodle ever. . . .there was a lot

Momofuku, the father of cup noodle

Once again the souvenir shop was overpriced and didn't have any interesting goods, so I just bought 2 logo pencils for about 20 yen each. Overall, it's not that exciting and it won't take you awful long to get through it, but it should be worth a visit just to tell your friends!

Cosmoworld

It's fun fun fun!

Cosmoworld is actually split in two, there's the more kiddy entertainment rides on the side with the Landmark tower, and then the rollercoasters and gaming arcades are over the water at the Ferris wheel. You can just walk through it and only pay for the rides you want to go on, which are all about 500 yen - 800 yen each.

There's a cute little street with indoor amusements

The Cosmoworld clock and the 2 rollercoasters

To go on the Cosmoworld Clock/Ferris Wheel (once the world's largest clock) costs 800 yen. It takes about 8 minutes to go around, and when you go in the evening you will be surrounded by cute young Japanese couples, although you will get a carriage to yourself (it fits about 6 people usually I imagine). It gives a good view of Yokohama and once again although it's not very exciting, it was quite pleasant. Also on the Ferriswheel side are some attractions that I didn't go on, so I can't verify if they are very worth the money.

There's a haunted house type thing, you walk through it with a torch (that also measures your scream on an amusing scale from wuss to nerves of steel both in English and Japanese). Outside the attraction were two scary looking doors and buttons that said "push me". My friend dared to push one, and the glass panel at the top of the door was actually a tv screen. They showed a film that made it look like we were looking into the room on the other side, and it was scary as hell (and I don't scare easily, honestly!). It showed a deranged looking girl in a bloody hospital gown and an axe walking steadily towards you, and when she eventually reaches the door, she slams the axe into it, at which point the door actually pushes out a little. Then it's over. We really weren't expecting the door to move and overall it was really scary!

Even with the scary movie outside, my friend and I still assumed it would be not scary like most haunted houses, but actually standing outside we heard horrified screams from inside, and a few minutes later a group of Japanese guys in their late 20s came out laughing hysterically and talking about how scary it was. It is now my biggest regret in life that I did not try out this haunted house, so if anyone dares to try it please let me know!

Chinatown

There's alot of this going on

This Chinatown is the biggest in Asia (apart from actual China perhaps). Basically it's full of streets with restaurants selling Chinese food, especially street vendors selling roasted chestnuts (I think) and the hugely popular Chinese dumplings (gyoza). There's also a lot of colorful Chinese temple-shrine things around, the nicest one I have pictured above. Overall it's a nice day out and I'd recommend a visit but again I didn't think it was the most fantastic thing in the world.

Panda kitty!

So, to recap Yokohama is a good place to visit, and I enjoyed it the few times I went. I haven't mentioned everything there is to do there, there's also a ramen museum, a zoo, an aquarium type theme park, a high class shopping street and a famous park/gardens. So go investigate and maybe you'll find some hidden gems. And to repeat, Yokohama is easily accessible from Tokyo, taking about 30 minutes on the Tokyu Toyoko line (it's the train with the red line on the side). 

I'll finish up with this picture I took of the Cosmoworld Clock at night. It lights up in all these wonderful colors!

Pretty

#31 Tokyo DisneySea

When I was learning Japanese at age 17 I had a test which was based on the Tokyo Disney resort website. From that moment on I had dreamed of visiting it, and after nearly 4 years I eventually had my chance!
Anyway, in Tokyo there are two Disneylands - Disneyland, and DisneySea.
To start with, DisneySea isn't a seaworld or water themed park as you might expect. It's like any other Disney park only it's simply laid out like Venice and features water all around (and it's located right on the coast too). Typically, DisneySea attracts more of an older crowd while Disneyland is more for children, although both are very popular! I only had the chance to go to DisneySea, so I can't really comment on Disneyland (but we can assume it is also a magical place).

It's pretty

Titanic? This is actually a really fancy restaurant, not a ride :(

Tower of Terror in the background

This is basically the reason it's called DisneySea

The main rides at DisneySea are Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones, Raging Spirits, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Toy Story Mania and Stormrider. It was really busy when we went so I only got to go on the first four rides from the ones above. I think Raging Spirits and Indiana Jones were the most fun, but my friend loved Tower of Terror.

When I went it was just before Christmas so that was also an added bonus with the decorations! The one thing that was strange was the range of goods on sale - they were really aimed for the Japanese market. There was a whole store full of boxes of sweets, a really common souvenir for Japanese tourists. There were also lots of phone charms, but only a few mugs, key chains and fridge magnets. The goods also didn't really advertise Tokyo DisneySea which I found really annoying, I'd have liked a fridge magnet or mug that prominently displayed where I'd been! 

I've been to Disneyland Paris and my friend had been to DisneyWorld in California, and we both agreed DisneySea was basically the same except it's in Japan, so if you've been to either then you get the idea. I had a great time, although if you're only in Japan for a short time then you should probably focus on doing things that are specific to Japan! Also be sure to check out Fuji-Q Highland, it's a Japanese amusement park about 2 hours away from Tokyo and it looks really fun (unfortunately I didn't have time to visit, but next time!).

Tickets for both DisneyLand and DisneySea cost 6,200 yen for one day for adults (or 10,700 yen for two days), and both parks are located near Narita Airport, about 20mins outside Tokyo by train.

This link will take you to the list of different attractions in DisneySea http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/tds/atrc/index.html

And this one will show you the rides at Disneyland http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/tdl/atrc/index.html

#30 www.japan-guide.com

As I mentioned Hyperdia was my favourite website for looking up the Japanese trains and subways, www.japan-guide.com was my favourite website when I was in Tokyo for looking up tourist attractions. It's absolutely perfect for looking up things to do in Tokyo and the rest of Japan too. It's really useful and includes prices, opening times and the best ways to get to the attractions. Just like an online travel guide for things to do in Japan.
Give it a look! Japan-guide.com/Tokyo

#29 Odaiba

This was one of my favourite places in Tokyo. And I had a lot of amazing places to choose from! Located across the bay (and the rainbow bridge) it consists mainly of a group of like 4 shopping centres. I didn't have much money to spend in Tokyo so I never bothered with shopping, but for some reason I really liked it here. It's really spacious in comparison to the rest of Tokyo, and coming from a pretty unpopulated country like Ireland it could be something I'd subconsciously missed. On a bright sunny day it is really pleasant to amble around and if you're not planning on shopping it can work out at a cheap day out. Although it's not one of the best known places in Tokyo, I would highly recommend a trip!

The main shopping centres are Palette Town, Diver City, Decks and Aqua City. Each features clothes shop and cafes and restaurants, pretty much the usual for Tokyo. There's also a maritime museum and a science museum, and Tokyo Big Sight convention centre isn't too far away. Of the shopping centres, Palette City was my favourite, it features a big Ferris wheel, views out into the sea, the Toyota showroom for those interested in cars, and a great Hello Kitty shop. But the highlight is inside the Venus Fort - what looks like a warehouse on the outside is the most fantastic shopping centre I have ever seen.

See? The inside has a fake sky ceiling, and is laid out to feel like you're in an old town in Venice or somewhere romantic. While the shops were pretty expensive, the décor is just so beautiful. At the end of the corridors (or streets?) is a big open area with a high ceiling and a large water fountain. Palette City really is one of Tokyo's hidden gems!

As well as the multiple shopping centres, Odaiba is home to the following:

The giant Gundam robot:

 Located outside the Divercity shopping centre, the giant robot is a great photo op! There's also a small shop and a cafe for those who are interested (I wasn't).


The Hello Kitty store:

"Hello Kitty's Kawaii Paradise" is the name of the Hello Kitty store located in Palette Town shopping centre. Kawaii means cute in Japanese, and the shop lives up to its name. On the day I went Hello Kitty herself made an appearance for the children. The shop is decorated like something out of Disneyland, it feels like you're in a cartoon world. There's also a Pancake cafe, but it was closed when I went.

 The Statue of Liberty. . . .Japanese style:

I don't know the origin of this mini Lady Liberty, but it makes a nice backdrop against the Rainbow bridge and the rest of Tokyo. From this vantage point you can also see Tokyo Tower.

The Fuji Television Building:

The ball at the top is actually an observation deck! It costs under 1000yen but I didn't bother because I wasn't sure if the views would've been particularly worth it. There's also a cafe and shop with products related to the TV station and some of the shows they air. But really it's only famous for its architecture.

To get to Odaiba it's probably easiest to get the Rinkai line to "Tokyo Teleport" and then all the centres are pretty obvious once you exit, with Palette city and the Ferris wheel right in front of the station. Or you could get the Yurikamome elevated train from Shinbashi, it's probably not as convenient and is a little more expensive, but it takes you over the Rainbow Bridge and offers good views of Tokyo you can't get from the ground, so it could be worth it!

#28 Rainbow Bridge

With a less than glamorous entrance, the rainbow bridge offers a surprising view of Tokyo. Depending on the weather, it can be a very pleasant walk and offers great views of Tokyo, as well as the reward of visiting Odaiba when you get across. It's also totally free, which is always a bonus!

Skytree on the left

It took me about 30 minutes to walk across. I went in the afternoon in late November and although it was a bright day it was quite windy, so I'd recommend wearing a coat. It's not one of the most popular attractions in Tokyo, but it is something a little different than wandering around the concrete jungle all the time and I would recommend it if you have time.

The best way to get there is to get the the Yurikamome elevated train from Shinbashi to Shibaurafuto, where you get off and it's only a short walk to the bridge entrance. It's probably not as convenient and is a little more expensive than the Rinkai line or the other trains, but it offers great views of Tokyo you simply can't get from the ground. If you don't feel like walking across the bridge (or if the weather is bad, or if it's closed), you can choose to stay on this train all the way across the bridge to Odaiba.

#27 Tokyo Tower

I mentioned Tokyo Tower in another post, but I hadn't gone up at that point. I eventually did it on a Sunday afternoon in late November 2012.

Check it out!

To begin with it's cheap - only 800yen to get to the first floor, and 600yen to get to the top, the "Special Observatory". I'm not sure I would recommend a visit to the top, although it's not very expensive, I had to wait for an hour to get to the top, and the room is TINY. You could easily walk around it in one minute, and honestly if there's a long waiting time it might not be worth it.

Lovely view of Tokyo bay and the Rainbow Bridge

I would definitely recommend a visit, it offers great views of Tokyo and when I visited on a Sunday I only queued for about an hour to get to the first floor. At the first floor I bought a ticket for the top floor, and I was told I'd have to come back in an hours time. I was free to roam around but the hour did feel quite long, and the tiny room at the top wasn't as exciting as I thought!

To compare Tokyo Tower with Skytree: Tokyo Tower is alot cheaper than Skytree, and although it's only about half the height, you can see plenty up there that makes it comparable to Skytree. It's also more likely to be less crowded. You could also go to the Goverment Buildings in Shinjuku, which is free. My favourite was Skytree, followed by Tokyo Tower, and then the Government Buildings. But if you can you should visit all three - even if you don't go up.


A note for those who have been to the Eiffel Tower in France: Tokyo Tower is very slightly taller in height, but it seems to be a lot narrower in width. Also there are only two floors instead of three, and the two are much smaller than the French counterparts. Also, Tokyo Tower is totally indoors, while the Eiffel Tower is primarily outdoors. To conclude the Eiffel Tower is probably better, but if you're in Tokyo you should visit the Asian version nonetheless!

#26 Tokyo SkyTree - The World's Tallest Tower

Visible from pretty much everywhere in Tokyo, Skytree is a new attraction, having opened less than a year ago in May 2012. It stands at 634metres tall and is simply fabulous. I took many of my own pictures of it, but none can show you the sheer height of this building, so I've stolen one from the internet to help. Keep in mind that many of the surrounding buildings are skyscrapers.


It is more expensive than Tokyo Tower, with tickets costing 2000yen to get to the first and second floor, the Tembo Deck, and a further 1000 yen to get to the top floor, the Tembo Galleria. However, as it is Japanese you can guess that it is very efficiently run. You can book in advance or you can arrive on the day and get given a number and time at which to come back, I went on a Friday afternoon in early December and I was told to come back in less than 2 hours. There is a shopping centre with shops and restaurants so there should be enough to keep you entertained. If your wait time is more than 2 hours you could probably have time to walk to Asakusa (famous shrine with giant lantern and tourist shopping street, 15min walk from Skytree).

I came back at my designated time and although there seemed to be a big crowd, I stood in line for just under an hour before I bought my ticket. Similarly, the line for the elevator only took a few minutes. The elevator to the Tembo Deck takes about a minute, which is amazing! Also from there, to buy a ticket and get the elevator to get to the top should only have taken about 10minutes (when I went to Tokyo Tower I had to buy a ticket and wait for an hour to get to the top).

To sum up: Skytree is definitely worth the money and the effort, it was dark by the time I went up and the lights of Tokyo are beautiful, and I imagine on a clear day you could see very far indeed. Japan you've done it again!


Note: The day I went to Skytree, I was unfortunate (or fortunate?) enough to experience a quite substantial earthquake. Just as I got out of the elevator and walked across the room, I thought I felt it was moving somewhat, a little like being on a ship - an invisible movement that can only be barely felt. I thought that maybe the building was designed with a little movement in it with many people on it. . .but after a few moments I really felt it was moving and I looked around at the Japanese tourists around me, many of who also seemed to be looking around in slight confusion. Again within a few seconds it began to noticeably shake and I found it a little difficult to keep my balance, and it was at this point I realised it was an earthquake. I was beside a group of old Japanese women, and I said (in Japanese) that it was scary and asked was it dangerous, and they replied it was fine! After a few seconds it was over and everyone went about their business again. There was absolutely no shred of panic among the Japanese - earthquakes are common and I had experienced them before, but not one that big or on a building that high up! There were very few (or none that I could see) foreign tourists - they all seemed to be Japanese. After the quake the elevators were out of service for about 40mins - and this is my only issue - many announcements were made, but all the announcements were in Japanese. I could understand the words "elevator and escalator...safety..." and an unknown verb that ended in "no". Teamed with the fact that there were big lines for the elevators I could guess that for safety reasons they weren't running. As a foreigner this could have been a very stressful experience, I didn't know when they would be running again or if it was a serious situation. As all the other information is in Japanese and English, I was disappointed that in a time of emergency they neglected the foreign tourists.

From the JMA website, it was a level 5 for most of Tokyo

It was a really exciting experience though.

#25 Blog Neglectarino

So I've neglected to update this blog. . . .sob sob! I came home from Tokyo almost a month ago on 21st December. Since I'm moving to Stockholm in 7 days, I thought maybe I should start summing up Tokyo and Japan in the coming days before moving on to a new country and topic.

Taken at Narita Airport on my way home - Luckily it flashes between both Japanese and English

#24 Japanese FOOOOOD

So all the Japanese eat is sushi, right? OH MY. You sir, have been misinformed. Food in Japan is wonderful. Really, really wonderful.

They have fish and beef and pork. They have rice and noodles. They have doughnuts and French bread. They have ice cream stores. They have green tea and cappuccino. They have burgers and pizza.

To summarise, Japanese food isn't just rice and raw fish.

In Tokyo, my favourite place is to eat is Chikara Meshi. You order from a vending machine (a total win for those with little/no Japanese), take a seat at the counter and get served quickly. It's also super cheap and delicious, and usually open 24 hours. They have different menu options depending on the location, but they all seem to have the standard curry rice and "gyudon" which is a bowl of rice topped with strips of fried beef or pork. . .It is super super yummy! A normal size of one of these will cost you 290yen, which is really cheap.

Tonkatsu is another great Japanese fried food that everyone should be made eat all the time. There's a chain called Katsu-ya that are quite cheap (700yen), and another called "Wako Tonkatsu" which is more expensive (1100 yen) but you get free extra servings of rice, miso soup and cabbage.
I've also come across Yayoiken, I'm not sure if it is a big chain store but it has a great selection at affordable prices (700-900yen), and also has free extra rice servings.

Tonkatsu! Behold the meal of Kings. . or is that Emperors?

If you want to try a Japanese burger, the natural option is Mos Burger. It's pretty good chain store and not too expensive, with a burger, fries and drink costing about 700yen.

There's McDonalds, which has the usual you expect plus lots of yummy extras that come and go with the season. I'm not sure about America, but that only happens very rarely in Ireland, while Japan seems to have a new menu item or special offer on every week. Burger King is the same kind of deal, but Denny's has a totally different Japanese style menu, so be warned! There are some Subway restaurants, but they weren't so common. I think the menu is more Japanese-orientated and therefore probably differs from the usual options, but you should probably check it out yourself!

The only McDonalds sign I ever saw in Japanese!

An 'ebi' burger (that's shrimp!) It was a bit bland but otherwise okay

As for sushi, it's actually not that common to find and can be expensive, depending on where you look. I've found quite a few though that have 105yen plates. On these plates you get 2 pieces of sushi. At first it sounds cheap, then it sounds expensive, but I think in general it works out pretty cheap, depending on how hungry you are I guess. I've found that 5 plates is usually more than enough for me, which could work out as cheap as 525yen, although I've seen men pile up as much as 15 plates (so maybe don't go for sushi if you're really hungry). The most common type of sushi restaurant is the one where you sit at a stool and the sushi goes by on a conveyor, and the price depends on the colour of the plate (eg.blue plate 105yen, red plate 180yen etc). There's also a version of this except you stand and eat instead, I like my comforts (like sitting) so I never tried this.


As for coffee and desserts, there's Mister Donut which is, as the name suggests, a doughnut shop. They all cost around 120 yen, and often have sporadic 100 yen sales. There's also many Vie De France bread shops which have savoury and sweet breads for around 150yen. The most common coffee shop I see is Doutor, but there's also plenty of a place called Becks, and the obligatory Starbucks. Baskin Robbins ice cream shops are quite common, but they're usually referred to as "31 Ice" in Japanese (because of the 31 flavours).

Mmmmmmm

If you want to get convenience store food, it's cheap and good! You can get little lunch box dinners for around 500 yen, and they'll heat them up for you if you like. You can also get corn dogs, which for me as an Irish person is a really typical American food. They have a broad selection of sweets and breads, usually for around 100-200 yen. There's also a selection of hot or cold coffees (sometimes in cans. .becuase that's just how the Japanese roll. . .go with it). They usually open 24/7 and the most common is 7-Eleven, but there's also plenty of Lawsons, Family Mart etc.

Spicy chicken balls and rice from 7-Eleven

If you don't speak Japanese it can be kinda scary getting food, but apart from the aforementioned vending machines, they are also displays in some restaurant windows. Then you can pretty much see a decorative selection of their food, so you can get a good idea of what's available without having a word of the language.

Plastic model pancake display in cafe window

You may have already heard, but vending machines are still really popular in Japan. In Ireland they're a dying commodity, but in Japan you can find at least two on every street corner. They are literally everywhere! However, the vast majority of the time they only sell drinks. I think I only ever saw one with food in it, and even then it looked like a breakfast bar kind of thing. There are also rumours you can get vending machines with weird stuff in it (like underwear. . .) but I can assure you I never came across any of those. You can however get hot drinks like green tea and coffee in these vending machines, which is kinda fun! Prices are around 120-250 yen.

So there you have it, a little glimpse of contemporary Japanese food! 

The Japanese are (from what I've encountered) really eager to help you, and while they will usually not have the best English, they're going to really try and understand what's going on. So I say whip out your Japanese phrase book, point and gesture, be patient, and everything will run relatively smoothly!

As for a disclaimer, I live in Tokyo and this has only been my own small experience. Somewhere like Tokyo obviously has a lot of Western food options because it is a big city with a large amount of foreign tourists and a lot of business ties with America, if you go to smaller areas or towns I imagine your options would be more limited to traditional Japanese food.

A small selection of pot noodles from the museum in Yokohama

#23 EARTHQUAAAAAAKE

There are earthquakes every day here in Japan, but it's not very often that you notice them, and they can be very localised. In the 3 months I've been here, I've only noticed two that were distinct earthquakes and not just the metro rolling underground or a truck going by.

One happened in the middle of the night. I awoke to a slight shaking, thought "Earthquake!!" and it was over.  The other one happened last night, which reminded me to write about it. I had just arrived home and sat down at the computer when I heard a kind of bang and felt a shake which at first I thought was someone just slamming their door. It took a second or two for me to think "Earthquake!!" and then it was over. It probably only lasted for five seconds.

I looked it up afterwards on the Japan Meteorological Agency website, and sure enough there was a level 2 seismic activity where I live. This is 2 out of 7, so it was far from remarkable. There are level 1s and 2s and a few 3s everyday.

Courtesy of the JMA website

I had to leave the office to go to a meeting one day, and after a few minutes on the train my colleague text to ask had I felt the earthquake, which I hadn't, as the train is always rocking anyway. He said that there was a definite shake for a few seconds and the office went quiet for a second, and when it was over there was a nervous laugh and a few moments of excited talk. It made me wonder how many others I've sat through while on a train and didn't notice.

If you're curious you can go here http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/ and see what recent earthquake activity is happening!

#22 Ginza (and crazy Japanese souvenirs!!)

So I was wandering around the streets of Tokyo one Saturday evening and I found myself in Ginza, the rich part of town.

This building is like the signature of Ginza

I'd be meaning to go for a look in Ginza, but since it was a little far out from where I live and I really can't afford to shop in Chanel it wasn't at the top of my list!

It is a nice place, and well worth a look, even at night with the flashy lights. There's every high fashion name you know, as well as a few you probably don't know (which makes them oh-so-exclusive). And not to mention a big Forever 21, H&M, Zara, and possibly the biggest Uniqlo I've ever seen.

It was also that bright on the inside

They also have a wonderful toy shop (one of the biggest in Tokyo I believe) called Hakuhinan Toy Park. The ground floor has a wonderful assortment with everything from Harry Potter Chopsticks to fake Sushi candles! The second floor has a big selection of plush toys and keyrings and things from both Western characters (Disney, Spongebob) and Japanese characters such as Totoro and Hello Kitty. From there up in turns into an actual toy store and is less exciting unless you are, in fact, a child.

Star Wars Chopsticks

Harry Potter Chopsticks

Samurai Sword Chopsticks

Japanese food phone/bag charms...the fish one was really big and heavy

Legs chopsticks

Sushi candle

Sushi pen!

He's sooooo cute!

 The Swarovski building was decorated fabulously, as well as having Hello Kitty items

The Chanel Fall collection

Being an expensive area, there isn't much in the line of cheap restaurants around the area that I could see, but I found a McDonalds off a side street though. On a Saturday afternoon the area is closed to cars so you can walk along the street. Nearby is the replica of one of the oldest stations in Japan, the old Shinbashi station, as well as the Advertising Museum, Tsukiji Fish Market and Hama Rikyu Japanese Gardens.

So, Ginza is a nice place to look at, but unfortunately not to shop at for most of us. If you have time to spare in Tokyo then you should pay it a visit, but if you don't there are better places to spend your time.

#21 Pokemon Center Tokyo

So I'd heard that the Pokemon Centre in Tokyo was a big let-down, but since I was in Japan I felt compelled to verify the rumours and decided to go there recently as part of a day out!

Located in Minato in Tokyo, the nearest station is the Hamamatsucho train station (3minute walk). This is also the closest station to Tokyo Tower (maybe a 15min walk), so you could do both in one day.

Not so fun?

I haven't watched Pokemon in like 8 years and I never played the games, so I am honestly not a huge fan, I will admit. However, I do like it and I was interested in going to check it out. It's a small shop, and doesn't have a great selection, I entered and left the shop in about 30 minutes. I went on a Sunday so it was pretty crowded too.

Once I entered the shop, I quickly realised I didn't recognize any of the characters except Pikachu. They had charmander outside but there were no toys or anything with him on it inside. The only toys were Bulbosaur and Meowth. Needless to say everything was expensive, but they didn't even have a good selection of anything either. As I found quite often in Japan, most things are aimed for Japanese people, and not Westerners. So they were plenty of phone charms (not even nice ones though!), as well as the little table cloths children use to put lunch on in school and things like that.

In the end I got a 100 yen packet of tissues with Pokemon Center on them (it was one of the very few things that actually mentioned Pokemon Center too! The Japanese need to work on their branding) and also I managed to find a Pokeball on a bottom shelf. The ball itself is hard plastic and opens in half to reveal some hard sweets and a Pokemon stamp. . .probably not worth the 500 yen but it was the one thing I was willing to buy. In Japan most souvenir and tourist type shops give you 2 bags, one to put your goods in and another as a souvenir, so I now have 2 Pokemon Center bags which in itself is pretty sweet too.

The bag was nice. . .and she gave me two!

So all in all, it probably was the let down people had said, but going there and expecting it to be terrible I actually found it was okay. I can say I've been there now, which is cool. So I wouldn't say don't go - just don't go out of your way to go either. If you only have a short time in Tokyo there are hundreds of places that are much better to spend your time! But if you find yourself with time to spare like I had, it's worth a little visit.

The shop itself is located really just across from the station in a high rise building. It's on the 3rd floor I think but they have escalators that take you straight up so you won't get lost. There's nothing really in the direct area of the Pokemon Center, so don't plan to spend more than an hour there, although for those who like nature there's a lovely landscape garden with a small 150 yen entrance fee just across the road.

They had koi fish and turtles in the pond!