Akihabara is the famous electronics district. It is a few blocks from our hotel and one of Chris’s favorite places in Japan. Today, I am going shopping for some souvenirs for friends, a little momento of Japan. Chris wants to go to an area of japan that has old board games. We split up and I walk to Akihabara, visiting the shops. Most things are more expensive than the US, but I noticed a influx of some cheap Chinese goods, but that goes for wherever you go in the world.

My mission was for the cute and unusual. Found some things and headed back for lunch to meet Chris. He spent his time exploring around. He enjoys the freedom of taking the train. Sadly, I admit that of all my years of traveling to Japan, I never really learned the train system, except for the necessary places I needed to go. Chris is very good at it, some stations are in English, but for most you have to memorize the kanji.

For lunch we ate ramen, its so good on a cold day. There are 2 ramen shops right near our hotel. Upon entering the shop, you have to make your selection from a vending machine that dispenses a ticket, you give the ticket to the lady behind the counter that makes the ramen. It seems like a good idea, the cooks do not have to handle the money….good for me.

In the afternoon we walked around to see how the neighborhood had changed, if any. The hood is fine, few changes except for the restaurants. The 2 ramen places are new. Across the street from the hotel, one of my favorite Korean Bar Be Que, japanese interpetation, Yaki Niku, places closed. They had charcoal cookers and the most delicious sea weed salad. Now, it is a restaurant called “Chicken and Wine”, ???

Tonight we are meeting Masako, my first Japanese staff in San Antonio from 1992-1997 and her husband for the above mentioned Yaki Niku, japanese version fo Korean Bar Be Que. We met them at Shinjuku station and walked to the restaurant. Seated in front of a charcoal/gas grill in the middle of the table. Uncooked meat is brought out, lettuce leaves, raw vegetables, salad with sesame dressing, tasty, kimchi and other pickles, and that bowl of rice, “gohan”.

Had the traditional beer toast “Kanpai”, break your chopsticks “Ohashi”.
You cook your meat on the grill, wrap it in lettuce, like a taco, dip in sauce and enjoy. Its fun and social as well as tasty. Had lots of laughs and talk of old times with Masako and her husband.

The last plan of the evening was to video film the Tokyo night lights, Shinjuku is a great area, the buildings are lit up with neon, glowing with illumination. Walked behind Shinjuku station… ready to be dazzled by the lights….but who turned the lights out???? There were few…it seems that since the earthquake in Fukushima, and the nuclear breech and accident, there is a move away from atomic energy to importing foreign oil this caused the lights to dim in Tokyo to conserve energy.