Day Two, Part One: Akihabara

Akihabara is Tokyo's Electric City. Unfortunately, I saw it during the day - though Shinjuku provides me with more than enough bright lights. However, I did see the anime stores and huge electronic stores that the neighbourhood is known for. I saw the future... and it looked like a 42" flat screen television that is barely 6 or 8 inches in depth or cell phones that have video screens that are supremely clear.

That morning, a sale or comic release (I can only guess) had a line-up of young guys waiting at one of the anime stores. Nearly all of the hundred or so people waiting were male, probably between ages 16 and 36 - not surprising I guess.




Just a few minutes walk from the centre of electricity and comics is Yushima Seido, a Confucian Shrine that used to be the Shoheizaka School building, reconstructed in 1935.




And just a couple minutes further walking brought us to Kanda Myojin, an ancient shrine thought to have been built in 730. Very calming quiet grounds only metres away from light, shout, and crowds.