Tokyo Day 1: Jetlag in Akihabara

As I expected, I didn’t get a lot of sleep - about four hours. I will say, though, the mattress on my bed is divine. So comfortable! I think I’ll sleep better when my body is less mixed-up.

Today, our first day in Tokyo, we decided to go to Akihabara a) because it’s nerd central and b) because it’s one of the closest locations to our hotel. Despite jetlag and fatigue from all the travelling, we managed to get up and out at a reasonable time. One great thing about Tokyo is, unlike a lot of cities, everything is open super late. Which makes it a lot easier for us to go at a steady pace, preserve our energy, and still manage to do what we want to.

I was up and ready a bit before Caz, so I decided to go out and wander the immediate area near the hotel. I found myself in little residential streets in the sunshine and had a lovely time walking around and just taking in my surroundings. I found a little shrine tucked away and saw people popping in for their morning prayer before work. I saw a little school with tiny kids being dropped off by their parents. I walked through a shopping street that hadn’t woken up yet, and I lost count of all the vending machines scattered around. I walked in a big loop and back to the hotel to meet up with Caz.

We visited our local Family Mart to check out the Japanese convenience stores (konbini) we’ve heard so much about. It was at this point that we felt the first wave of culture shock. It sounds silly but seeing everything in Japanese was what did it. The shop plays a cute jingle when people walk in and out, and we were in transports of delight over that. We looked around and bought some things for the fridge in the hotel room like a big bottle of water and strawberry milk. I also found out that Family Mart do their own-brand version of my favourite Japanese biscuit, SakuSaku Panda! Of course I grabbed a pack. We took all of our purchases home before striking out properly to Akihabara.

At Shin-Okachimachi station, it was a long underground walk to get to the Tsukuba Express, which could get us to Akiba within a few minutes. The extra walking was worth the speedy journey and, before we knew it, we were there. Stepping out of the station into the shadow of huge buildings plastered with advertisements was like a dream, albeit slightly overwhelming.

Our first port of call was to pick up the portable WiFi we’d prepaid for. We went with a company called Sushi Wifi as it was the most reasonably-priced and had generally good reviews. It took some poaching of free WiFi and scrutinising of Google Maps for me to find the shop. It’s a tiny place in an equally tiny side street so I kept getting turned around.

I couldn’t see anybody so I went in with a tentative “Konnichiwa?” and a man popped out from behind a shelf to greet us. I showed him our confirmation email and he asked for our passports. I had totally forgotten about this requirement and had left our passports in the hotel room safe! I told him as much and began some very British apologising, in both English and Japanese. He got out his flip phone(!!) and had a quick conversation with someone before handing the phone to me. “Moshimoshiiii!” I trilled, and the man on the other end asked me if we had any other ID. We had our British driving licences and he said that would suffice.

So this man, who had never met us, called his boss to see if he could accept another form of ID, and the boss said yes! I couldn’t believe how helpful and accommodating they were. I thanked them both profusely and we received our little pocket WiFi in a mock takeaway bag, which was an incredibly cute idea. The man in the shop gave a deep bow as we left.

Inside the bag was a pouch containing our pocket WiFi device, a powerbank, the various connector cables, and a mailing envelope to send it all back at the end of our holiday. So efficient! It was a breeze to set up the device too – you just switch it on and use the login details on the front to connect your phone. I was so impressed that we got connected while sitting on the kerb outside the shop that I already want to give them a good review! I’ll have to see what the performance is like for the whole trip before I can do that, though.

Akihabara has 4 Sega arcade buildings, and Caz and I went to number 3 to have a go at the claw machines, which was a lot of fun. Caz had a go on the Mario Kart machine, which promptly gave her motion sickness. As she leant on a railing outside to try to settle her stomach, she started shaking her butt and saying, in a really sleazy voice, “I’ll give the passers-by a show.” We fell about laughing because I think we were giddy with exhaustion. 

Feeling a bit peckish, we decided to go to a maid café. That’s kind of the law when you’re in Akihabara, and I’d read about a really cute-sounding one called Akiba Zettai Ryouiki A.D. 2045. It’s a cyberpunk-themed little place where the maids are actually cats in human form. We were greeted enthusiastically and seated, and the welcoming maid (who was absolutely tiny) outlined the general rules of the café and explained the different ordering options - this is if you want a performance from the maids or pictures as well as food and drinks. She kept stopping to say, “Ok? OK! Thank you!” to make sure we were understanding her, it was so cute. Then she asked us to close our eyes and placed cat ears on our heads! Caz’s were white, mine were black, and both were fluffy.

It was quite funny when we were asked in Japanese which language we preferred to be addressed in. I replied with, “Mhm, Eigo o kudasai.” And Caz thought I was just suddenly fluent in Japanese, when really I’d only picked up enough words here and there to understand what I was being asked. We were told that, when we were ready to order, we should call the maids over by saying “Meow meow!” or “Nyan nyan!” I was worried I’d feel silly when I did it, but all of the girls replied in turn and we were immediately served. It was unbelievably cute. I had some awesome blue soda float that looked like a science experiment, and a delicious berry parfait that was also served in a lab beaker. Caz had a ginger beer and the ‘waifu pancakes’. When our items were served the maids would put a ‘spell’ on them to make them delicious. My favourite one was “Moe, moe, KYUN!” and making a heart shape with our hands.

Caz and I were sniggering because there was a young Japanese guy in there, but he was super serious. When he wanted to order he said, “Nyan nyan.” in such a deadpan voice that we fell about laughing. He was amazing. Everyone in the café (and it got busy while we were there) was having so much fun and just enjoying the atmosphere. No one bothered the maids inappropriately, which I was glad about, or I might have had to equip my Feminist Rage.

My biggest piece of advice when visiting a maid café (aside from following the rules the maids outline for you) is to suspend disbelief and join in. Help the maids say their spells to make the food yummy, and don’t be embarrassed about it! It’s so much more fun that way.

We looked at a couple of shops (a Gachapon hall and a cosplay store) before we had to admit defeat. The jetlag was in full force and we felt like we could barely stand up any more. We got a cab back to the hotel to hang out there and take it easy for the evening. We ordered some more traditional food for dinner - Caz had a beef curry and I had a beef rice bowl. The food was tasty and filling and just what we needed, having only eaten dessert today (oops). My chopstick technique is not great, but I’m already starting to get used to it!

After we’d been energised with a bit of dinner, the jetlag sent us a bit haywire. It began when I saw that housekeeping had replaced a towel I’d used, but the one I’d used was still on my bed. This wasn’t a problem, of course, but I made a joke about how I wanted to hide the towels and see if they get replenished again. This somehow turned into us imagining the whole bathroom packed with towels and getting into a laughing fit for, and I’m not kidding, a whole half an hour. It’s not funny. At all. But we were helpless. It took a long time to calm down and when we did, we were more tired than ever. Towels, honestly.

Anyway, I’m hoping I get a better night’s sleep tonight, so I can feel better tomorrow.

Work hard, plague hard