shibuya
today we went to shibuya to the NHK Studio Park today so the big kid could get her picture taken with WanWan, her favorite TV character…….
it was a good day overall. even though it was raining, it was just a lisht mist, and it was cool so that made it a little easier. we went with friends a-san, m-chan and k-chan (that how japanese bloggers describe their friends so as not to reveal identies…. i personally find it lame) so it was a bit more fun since there were two kids there…..
we got to studio park and walked in on a live show with waku waku san. he shows kids how to make interesting and fun toys out of stuff just lying around the house…. he’s on every day with the rest of the afternoon nhk gang. the purpose of his so is to teach kids to use everything they can to save refuse, and to understand that you don’t have to spend alot of money to have fun! i love this dude!
we then hopped right in line and waited 30 minutes for picture taking with wan wan. as we were waiting, i think i was more excited than my kid! it was pretty cool. he was as furry in person as he is his on TV.
we then went all throughout the NHK museum portion (not really the museum, but a mini version of it). we got to see all kinds of cool exhibits, and got to walk over all of the active sets where shows are being shot. we even got to walk over the set of the show “yoshitsune” which is one of the historical drama shows, as well as the set for one of the afternoon kids shows, “okasan toishyo”. it’s the show with lots of music and dancing. we weren’t supposed to take pics, but i turned my flash off and shot one pic from up above. i’ll post it once i break it sown from being 1.5mb…..
after that we went to a great hamburg shop (yes i spelled it like that since there’s no bun on the hamburger) called Gold Rush. We saw it on debyua one night and decided we had to go. I got a dish with 2 hamburg patties and cheeses with a baked potato all sitting in curry! damn was it good! (unfortunately, i’m still tasting it)…….
after that we made our way slowly back to shibuya eki to catch the kaitoku back home……. we were all reminiscing back to our single/dating/honeymooner days. pretty much back to the time before we had kids…… there was so much to look at in all the stores there in shibuya, but because of the stollers and crying, it makes it a bit more difficult to shop. especially in those tiny tiny stores….
well, that’s pretty much it….. i guess i’ll try to get the pics up tomorrow…..
mata-ne!
EDIT:the pics from nhk studio park are posted in the sights of japan tab up top…. or you can click here.
October 11th, 2005 at 9:51 am
Wan-Wan is a hoot. I enjoy watching him since Inai Inai Ba is at my Nihon-go language level.
October 12th, 2005 at 3:02 pm
You came to Tokyo AGAIN without telling me??
October 12th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
dude, if you wanted to hang out with my wife, our friends, and 3 screaming children, i’m sorry for not giving you notice!!!
i did however walk by the apple store there…..
October 13th, 2005 at 8:54 am
is there also a mac frenzy in front of the apple store each time they release some new products? I am in Toronto and just got back from its Yorkdale apple store. Even though the iPod Video was released today there was a huge crowd occupying the store hoping for a glimpse. So, i am just wondering, how is it in tokyo
October 13th, 2005 at 3:01 pm
i wish i could tell you. i was there on monday….
i would have loved to see one up close, but i don’t think they’re in the stores yet…..
October 14th, 2005 at 3:02 am
Just curious since you mention that you are in the military in every show. What is your rank and what is your job in the military?
October 14th, 2005 at 4:10 am
great podcast. keep it up.
-dana
October 14th, 2005 at 8:05 pm
saving lives in middle management
October 16th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
Hey Josh -
I’m traveling to Tokyo f/ Shanghai just for one day to tour Akhiabara. Any ideas for a Japanese-speaking guide who knows there way around Aki. I’ve got such little time to spend there and I want to focus on what makes it worthwhile.
October 16th, 2005 at 8:58 pm
http://www.jtbgmt.com/sunrisetour/agent/
this is a link to one of the JTB tours pages. i can’t find any tours of akihabara since japanese people typically don’t care all that much about akihabara, but there is a private english speaking tour service provided in tokyo…..
click on private tours and you’ll see what i’m talking about.
hope this helps some!
josh