A new trend in Japan? Cat cafes. (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

While reading through the WikiTravel entry for Akihabara I stumbled upon a phenomenon I'd never heard of before: cat cafes, specifically Neko Jalala.

This is not a cafe where cats can go for milk and catnip, but where people can go to play with cats. Now I know that maid cafes were all the rage in 2005-2007, so I guess someone is trying to come up with something new. I have to admit though, as a cat lover, that they're on to something :)

The cover charge for the cafe is pretty high, just like at the cosplay cafes. Looking at the pictures from the photo reports (below) I'd have to say that I'd be willing to pay it anyway. The place just looks too nice :) If I ever go back to Akiba, I'll damn well go to Neko Jalala for some coffee.

Report 1 and Report 2.

EDIT:
It seems that there's more cat cafes in Akiba :) Greedy Catz

Posted in: akihabara , cat cafe , japan , neko , neko jalala

A map to Akihabara (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

What a great find! A few weeks ago a reader of Akihabara Channel made a map with the most notable stores and cafes of Akihabara. Not only is this map very useful, it also clearly illustrates the sheer winnitude of Akiba ^_^

Thanks to this map I've also learned that I stuck mostly to the souther end of Akiba when I was there. There's a whole part to the north that I skipped out on! I know where I'm going next time I'm there ;)

Posted in: akihabara , akihabara channel , map , shopping , tokyo

Arrow Emblem DVDs in Akihabara (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Would you believe that I have actually found a set of Arrow Emblem - Grand prix no taka DVDs? I found them at Trader2 in Akihabara, for the princely sum of Y24.000, which was way over budget for me. Besides, the box was set 2 (PIBA-7168) as opposed to set 1 (PIBA-7167), which makes things a bit less interesting for me.

I was so close, yet so far ;_;



Posted in: akihabara , arrow emblem , dvd , grand prix no taka , hawk of the grand prix

Retro video game shopping (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Lemme tell you, shopping for retro video games is something wonderful, over here in Japan. While most of us are stuck to eBay in the Netherlands, over here you'll find loads of shops dedicated to the subject.

So far, my favourite is Super Potato, who have shops in both Den Den Town and Akiba. As you can see from this video at Akihabara News, their Tokyo shop is huge. With over 50.000 titles at your disposal, it's hard not to spend huge amounts of money :)

I was amazed to find -very- good prices on PC Engines (~Y1800 for a complete set of hardware), Wonderswan Crystals (~Y5000 for a brand-spanking new one, complete MIB) and Famicom Disk Systems (~Y3500 for a complete set).

It's just a shame that most of the stuff won't work in Europe, without convertors or step-down power convertors. But damn, the price is right! :)

Posted in: akihabara , den den town , retro , video games

Woot! (Wow, loot!) (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

As I mentioned earlier, I stopped by Trader2 this morning, in search of some specific items. One of the items on the list was a set of DVDs for Romeo X Juliet. By buying the original DVDs I can rationalize getting fansubbed versions of the series, just so I can understand the whole story. And as you can see from the picture, I've succeeded! :) I also managed to lay my hands on a semi-rare (yet uber-cheap) Cowboy Bebop DVD+book set.

Since Trader deals in secondhand goods, the prices of these DVDs were a lot better than their original price! Each DVD was knocked back from around Y6800 to about Y4000. That's less than the usual Trader discount, but that's probably because RxJ is a really new series. The Bebop DVD rang in at Y2400. In the end I was out about 76 euros for four DVDs. That's not bad, considering that none of this stuff will ever be available in the US or Europe.

I was astounded by the quality of the items, by the way. Japanese otaku really do keep their stuff in pristine condition! Two of the DVDs were still in their original celophane (inside the shop's wrapper), so someone'd been taking very good care of them :)

The item on the right, in the paper bag, is a gift I got for Marli-chan. I'm keeping this a bit of a surprise for her :p

I also got two of those phonebook sized manga, from Gamers. A little under 6 euros got me about 600 pages of reading pleasure! I really wish we could get manga this way in Europe! =_=; I'd love to take the books home with me, but I don't think I will, due to their weight. Then again, I may also just ship them home through the mail.

A bountiful day! ^_^

Posted in: akihabara , loot , shopping , tokyo , woot

Shopping in Tokyo (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Pics for day 4

This morning I left for Akihabara around 08:30, ensuring that I got there before opening hours. That way I could take my time exploring the place, while not having to navigate the crowds of thousands. I'd a few shops in mind that I really wanted to visit, so I wanted to scope things out undisturbed :)

Akihabara has become quite legendary on teh Intarwebs, leading a lot of people to think that it's a huge place. While Akiba does indeed span about three dozen blocks, I really wouldn't call it huge. One can easily traverse most of its streets in under an hour. Only when you start shopping, do you spend a lot of time over there. And seriously: it's -very- easy to get carried away in Akiba ^_^

I spent about three hours, visiting the most obvious shops: Trader2, Gamers, Asobit Chara and Mediaworld Akiba. An easy listing of all these shops (and many more) can be found here, at Akiba Channel.

One thing that's definitely worth mentioning is Sega Gigo, one of the many arcades run by Sega. The lowest two floors have annoying (and -very- noisy Ufo Catcher machines, but the higher levels have some very cool stuff! 4F is home to ten Gundam P.O.D.s (clip on YouTube), which are Gundam simulators that you actually sit in. Nice ^_^

5F houses card based video games, of which I have no idea how they work :D One nice example is Gundam Card Builder, set in the Gundam 0083 universe (clip on YouTube). This website provides detailed explanation on how it works. Basically, it's a video game that you control using both a keyboard and trading cards (like Magic the Gathering). The cards represent characters and mecha, which you move across a flat surface. The way you move the cards determines the actions of the mecha in the game. Confusing, yet uber-cool. If I have some time (and money) left at the end of my trip, I may just go back to try my hand at the game a few times.

Once I'd spent enough (and couldn't walk anymore) I headed back to my hotel to rest a little. I'd already started on this blog post, when Safari crashed ;_;

EDIT: Damn! I just remembered that I forgot to buy a Comiket #73 catalogue. I wanted one as a souvenir ;_;

I left for Ikebukoro around 15:00, wanting to at least visit the observation deck at Sunshine City. However, I couldn't find the building, so I gave up around 17:30. How I managed to completely miss a forty storey building is beyond me =_=

Anywho: dinner at the Ikebukoro station was quite tasty! I worked up enough nerve to eat among the Japanese all by myself and hopped into one of those small ramen shops. The measly sum of Y340 (about two euros!) got me a big bowl of Udon noodles, with tempura kakiage. Oishi!

Posted in: akiba , akihabara , ikebukoro , shopping , tokyo

I am -so- going shopping in Akihabara! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

For a while now I've been lusting after the Panasonic Lumix TZ3. It's a great little camera, with an uber-huge analogue zoom. Unfortunately the best price I can get it at in the Netherlands is around 300 euros.

Thanks to the greatness of teh Intarwebs and its plethora of fora and Price Watch pages I've learned that this camera can be had quite cheaply in Japan.

This means that I'll definitely join my mates when they travel down to Akihabara (a district in Tokio). It's a great place to just browse around all day... Or so I've been told ;)

EDIT: Hmmm... The price seems to have come down in the Netherlands as well. It's down to 260 euros at specific dealers. That makes it less worth it to get it in Japan. By buying in the NL I'll be able to take pics with it during the -whole- trip for only a few bucks more.

Posted in: akiba , akihabara , camera , lumix tx3 , shopping