I've heard all about the maid mania among Japanese otaku's and wanted to see if I can find a cafe where waitresses dress up in frilly costumes and greet you as their masters. Apprently, they greet their customers as "Sir" or "Miss" and even kneel down while taking orders. I suppose the majority of the otaku's come in for their fix of gratification while the rest of us check them out out of curiousity.
I didn't manage to find those much-talked about cafes, but I did bump into one of the waitresses who looked like a promoter standing just outside the Akihabara station. She was talking to a suited man when I found her, and thought she might only be interested in chatting up guys. So I was quite delighted she was very obliging when I asked for a photo with her.
After getting my Fujufilm 1GB xD card, I decided to check out Ueno, one of the few places in Tokyo where elements of the old Shitamachi can still be found. The only highlight of Ueno must've been the Ueno Koen. According to my Lonely Planet Japan guidebook, a large population of Tokyo's homeless fill up most of the available space in this park. They're characterised by their blue tents and shoes neatly lined up outside their, er, homes.
Other than the many galleries and museums that make the Ueno Koen a must-go, Ueno is also noted for the Ameya-yokocho Arcade. It's like our "pasar malam" where shopkeepers are not as abashed as their counterparts in the rest of Tokyo, ostentatiously promoting their wares and foodstuff.
I saw everything I needed to make myself some homely food. Pastes from familiar foods - laksa, sambal, curry, soto and some others from South East Asian nations. The rest of the ingredients almost made my mouth water as I tried to recall when was the last time I had my daily "nasi lemak" from the "makcik kantin" downstairs. Since they were all so pricey, I had to contend myself with some bihun and tom yam paste, all for Y600!
Almost every tourist guide I read tells me that if I only have a day to explore Tokyo, I should not skip Shinjuku. Everything modern and bustling can be found here, and if you're a shopping freak, you will love Shinjuku and what its shopping complexes offer. I checked out Takashimaya, an upmarket departmental store just a stone's throw from the very busy Shinjuku station.
The very little that I remembered from my Basic Econs class was that demand drives supply. Here in the land of the rising sun, the Japanese ladies' love for fashion and all things beautiful must've drove stores to dedicate up to 6 floors for women's clothing and accessories. And I thought the 3 floors in Mitsukoshi Niigata was amazing back then. Even the attire for matured ladies and pregnant mummies look so stylish.
Since I couldn't make it for Harajuku on a Sunday where Tokyo teens come out and play dress up, I could still visit its Meiji-jingu, built in memory of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, during whose rule Japan opened itself to the outside world. The shrine was built using Japanese cypress and supposedly boasts Japan's tallest wooden torii gate.
The Japanese may not profess to being religious, but they visit shrines on important events such as New Year's Day and there are many of such places of worship dotted all across Japan. Most of these have a little hut selling charms to bring luck to lovers, success to businesses and good results to students aiming to do well in schools.
Since it was so hot and humid, I had to cut my stay at Harajuku short. But a little peek at Omotesando gave me an insight into this shopping street which was coined as "the closest Tokyo gets to Paris", with its selection of alfresco cafes and branded boutiques. Japanese youth also "lepak" la, not just Malaysians, and they dress in even ahem, fancier garments as compared to our "pemuda-pemudi". So there was no cause for panic, as demonstrated by our caring governtment back in the 90's. Heh.
pasar malam - night market
nasi lemak - coconut milk infused rice with condiments such as cucumber, peanuts, fried anchovies, boiled egg and spicy sauce
makcik kantin - canteen lady selling food
lepak - loiter
pemuda-pemudi - youth
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