2013 Tokyo Trip Day 5: Ikebukuro

20 May 2013
by magnetic_rose
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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 5: Ikebukuro

Continued from 2013 Tokyo Trip Day 4: Harajuku

I met up with university kohai and partner-in-crime Boom in Ikebukuro, which was “home” from last year’s Tokyo shenanigans. And yes, Ikebukuro is home to that infamous road, but this trip to the bustling neighborhood was mostly for shopping and a quick bite to eat (we’ll deal with the BL later, much later >:D).

magnetic-rose.net Ikebukuro

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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 4: Harajuku

16 May 2013
by magnetic_rose
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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 4: Harajuku

Continued from 2013 Tokyo Trip Day 3: Nakano

Harajuku is a mix of the weird and wonderful. On one hand, there are the mothers and their teenaged daughters shopping for lolita outfits together. On the other hand, there are the tall (and somewhat scary) African men touting their hiphop shops’ oversized wares.

Somewhere along the middle are shops geared more towards our tastes then the above mentioned subcultures: Kiddyland Harajuku, and the Evangelion Store Tokyo 01. Offering items you didn’t know you needed but definitely wanted, they are absolutely terrible places for people with poor impulse control.

magnetic-rose.net Harajuku

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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 3: Nakano

15 May 2013
by magnetic_rose
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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 3: Nakano

Continued from 2013 Tokyo Trip Day 2: Akihabara

Another shopping excursion spot for camera fiends is a little out of the way compared to Akihabara, but the prices alone are enough reason to go. Fujiya Camera Shop is a hole-in-the-wall in Nakano that offers both brand new and pre-owned cameras in a mind-boggling array of makes and models (Do you fancy a — say, Pentax Q10 in Evangelion colors?).

magnetic-rose.net Nakano Broadway

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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 2: Akihabara

14 May 2013
by magnetic_rose
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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 2: Akihabara

Continued from 2013 Tokyo Trip Day 1: Nihonbashi

April was harsh — two weeks in and I had my bag snatched by some bike-riding thieves; they got away with my phone, tablet, and personal medical equipment. However, instead of purchasing replacements in Manila, I decided to get them in Akihabara. Between the favorable exchange rate and 5% tax rebate, I got a 32GB iPad Mini AND a 32GB Nexus 7 from Softmap Akihabara (MAP) for the price of a 64GB iPad back home.

magnetic-rose.net Akihabara

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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 1: Nihonbashi

13 May 2013
by magnetic_rose
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2013 Tokyo Trip Day 1: Nihonbashi

One of the perks of being an Accountant by Day (remember kids — stay in school!) is that you get deployed to some really fun and fascinating places for work. What you do the rest of the time as a Supervillain by Night is up to you, as long as you don’t get into trouble with the law or do something really embarrassing for the company 8D

Which was how I found myself — barely two weeks into a new company, plonked down in the middle of Nihonbashi with two giant suitcases and a tiny shoebox apartment. Don’t get me wrong — I am loving the expereince so far! It’s really different from living in a hotel room (like on my other work-related trips) or in a dormitory (like we did on our holidays — money is better spent on things other than hotel rooms).

magnetic-rose.net Nihonbashi

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