After practice I got to meet up with Angela Sun (!!!) and Elizabeth. We first went to Ikebukuro to
It was one of the machines where the plush is hanging off the edge and you have to push it down. Well push it down we did but eventually it refused to go down any further. We ended up asking an employee how to win from there but he ended up opening the case and giving it to us! Not as exciting as the feeling you get when the plush falls down the prize chute but it was still a satisfying experience.
Yatta! 95% of the work: Edeng
Somewhere in-between looking at the various UFO catcher arcades, we went to Tokyu Hands where we wandered around until reaching the "home security" department area. Among other things there were the personal alarm devices that make loud noises that supposedly thwart away attackers. Well, I was curious to see (hear) exactly how loud it would go so I ended up activating one which ended up blaring a really obnoxious alarm that resounded throughout the floor. I'm sure I scared some customers away from our section because it was really really loud. The employees came over to try and stop it but they too had some trouble. (why do you put these things out on display if you know people like me are going to try to play with them?) I tried my best to profusely apologize for my dumbness but it seemed like they didn't care too much.
Lesson of the day: don't do it.
Big news: I also managed to finally get new shoes! We passed by a huge shoe store and we stopped to look at their "sale" items. Besides Uniqlo Shoes, shoes are usually expensive (5000 - 10000 yen!!) but there were some amazing shoes for 4000 yen. I figured that if I use them for a long time (and it looks like they're sturdy with thick pads) it would pay itself out.
The new!
I really like them! They're watermelon colored, sparkly, and big! Elizabeth also got a pair but with a different color scheme. :D
When coming to Japan I only brought one pair of shoes. Besides regular walking around I also use them for baseball (warm-ups) so they have gotten dirty and worn out really quickly. My other shoes at home are also in a battered state. I did get pastel green shoes from Uniqlo a while ago but I wanted something more substantial. I'm not going to wear these new ones to practice so look out for them when I get home!
The raggedy taggedy old. The shoe lace even frayed!
After touring around Ikebukuro (池袋 - the pond bag) and eating dinner, Angela and I went to Asakusabashi where there was the Torigoe Shrine Matsuri. There were really huge mikoshi (portable Shinto shrines) with a ton of people holding them up and swaying them while other people played drums and flutes. There were also a lot of guys (males) that were part of the mikoshi support group that were not wearing anything on their legs (no shorts or pants, but at least a loin cloth) so sometimes a little butt was visible if you looked down. D:
Cute Japanese ladies and a float with drum people.
Lots of people shaking the mikoshi. They were all really genki!
And, of course, there were a lot of food stalls. Points of interest: ramen burger and giant tako tentacle takoyaki. Seriously when they stuck the tako in the batter filled pan they stood up like a tree of sucker goodness. It was amazing how they managed to turn the batter into a ball with that much filling but the end result looked amazing.
The ramen burger was a "patty" of fried ramen noodles that was placed in a bun (?) with regular ramen fixtures (bamboo, green onion, egg, ect) as toppings. It smelled really good and I had never seen anything quite like it before.
Ramen burger tabetai!!
Angela got baby castellas (caste iron cooked cake bites) and I got kakigori (shaved ice) with ramune flavored syrup. I wish I could have eaten more but I was already full from dinner. :P
Festival foods.
Thanks for the fun time Angela and Elizabeth! Let's do it again sometime. :)
