24 October 2017
The new shiny Tokyo
The streets abd fiid if Kichioji
Tonight I went to Kichijoji, which is quite west but not nearly at the western edge of the Tokyo Megalopolis.
I liked it a lot, I had never been there before. My research on the way there told me it was famous for being where Studio Ghibli is, which is a theme park for people that like anime from the Ghibli studio, and also for having a small zoo.
I however spotted it from the train window earlier today on my way back from the mountains, and saw lots of shiny things, and decided to go back there for dinner.
As it turns out, it is one of the nicest places in Tokyo I have been, very much like Ginza, extremely clean, not overly busy, massive.
Right now I am using my in room washer / dryer, which is very exciting, because its free. Its enormous and has no English and a thousand menu options, some of the characters are the same as Chinese which helps, although one of them clealy says Apple, and another says amusement park. So I suspect Japanese washer dryers can be used for drying apples into apple chips (which I love) and for sticking children inside to spin them like an amusement park ride.
In other news, tomorrow I go to Shizuoka, I have not been there before, the North Korean interactive nuclear missile map suggests its out of range from a direct strike on Tokyo, so thats good.
And now, I am fantastically tired, a feeling I love, struggling to keep typing and finish sentences.
The street outside the station in the terrifically neat and tidy Kichijoji.
Tomato Ramen! Not the same one as the chorizo tomato ramen soup with garlic bread in Shinjuku, but stil, thats what I want! Not yet though, I need to walk around some more before things close.
A very neat and tidy street with nicely manicured trees.
A giant Uniqlo. So very many puffer jackets.
There is also a network of covered shopping streets, almost closing time though.
This one has more of a soothing blue light theme.
There is also a giant Yodobashi, complete with top level food court, not today though, tomato ramen beckons.
And here it is, I selected a vegetarian option with eggplant and heaped coriander. It looks just like tomato soup but theres actually ramen underneath. Each bowl has the equivalent of 20 ripe tomatoes - very good for prostate health.
Then I was in camping goods street, and this awesome place caught my eye. Second hand hiking gear. Some of the jackets they sell for $100 secondhand are $500 new, and looked like they had only been worn once. I bought nothing, my Chinese construction worker pants and a $10 Uniqlo tshirt is all I need.
And here is a long exposure heavily edited shot of the pond in the zoo near the Ghibli studio. Lots of people were jogging around here, and 3 girls were playing tubas. It sounded horrible.