Making new friends

Right near where I am staying 

Very civilised commuters

Maybe we could squeeze a few more people in
if the tourist would stop putting her arm in
the air to take photos

I got the one I wanted!

For Clinto

The big camera / electronics store

Me and Mr President

Owl Cafe

Who are you looking at?

Akihabara

It’s Monday morning and time to tackle the trains on a work day. Hope they are pushing people into carriages. Local train packed but doable, change lines much more crowded, but so civilised Everyone lines up in rows of two, as the doors open the lines part to let the other people off, then everyone gets on. Very impressive. I watched this spectacle three times and no one stepped out of place.

Firs stop for today is Yobodashi, the biggest camera and electronics store in Japan with 9 floors to explore. I have a long list and a mission. Item 1, tick, item 2, tick, ooh a new selfie stick, why not. Pink or orange. Finally, decide on the orange. Shopping done but I seem to have brought more for me than for Stephen. Oh oh, that might mean he will get more t-shirts. Clinto has clued me all up on this store and now it's time to explore the toys. What are these strange machines at the top of the escalator, a bank of them. What are all those young girls giggling and pouring all their money in. Hmm, they are capsules - seems to me a bit like poker machines. So I better see which one I like the best, the owls win. Like the look of the brown one, score the colour I liked best comes out first. Lucky me. I think the strategy is that you keep going until you get the one you want?

Be still my beating heart it is nearly the allotted time for my next activity. I find the right street and sit outside on the stool and get chatting. Surprise, surprise. Whitney is from Louisiana, USA and currently working as an English teacher in China and here on holidays. She is as excited as me, they let us in first and we are in Akiba Fukurou, an owl cafe. This is the most surreal hour anyone can spend, seeing owls up close, touching them and holding them. Mr President is by far my favourite. What an experience. The hour just flys and its time to say goodbye and move on.

Akihabara is known as ‘electric town’ and started after WW2 when people set up stalls and sold spare parts for radios. Today it is a thriving metropolis with maid cafes, anime, manga and of course, electronics. It's full of energy and over the top, just like everything in Tokyo. My favourite part is watching the geeks get over excited.

Well, that’s the day gone already now its travel to Shinjuku for night time activities.