šø Eastward Travelogue ā” Akihabara / Kanda Shrine / Ochanomizu šø
This spring's eastward travelogue, abridged due to word count limits, for the full version, visit my personal blog at eteluna.top š š¶āāļø Arriving at Akihabara Station, I took the escalator up from exit number three of the Hibiya Line, and was greeted by the large shopping mall, Yodobashi Camera. š¬ Walking straight in, there were many foreign tourists. š I took the elevator to the sixth floor, which was filled with games and gaming consoles. I checked the price of the PS5, 66980 yen including tax, minus the 10% consumption tax, it's 2880 RMB, while JD.com sells the Japanese version for 3299, indeed a bit cheaper. š° šļø ... No shopping plans for now, so I left Yodobashi Camera for a moment, crossed through Akihabara's JR station, and bought a bottle of lemon-flavored carbonated drink at a convenience store. š„¤ I also spotted my first trash can outside of the hotel. (Finally, a place to throw trash, so touching) š® š¶āāļø Exiting the passage, I found myself at the electrical street entrance of Akihabara Station, a place featured in many works. š¬ š° I arrived in front of the Radio Kaikan with its yellow sign. It's slightly different from the building in Steins;Gate, I heard it was rebuilt. The outer wall was adorned with a massive Uma Musume advertisement. š š¶āāļø ... After leaving the broadcasting hall, I headed towards the main street of Akihabara. Since it was a Sunday afternoon, the main street of Akihabara was turned into a pedestrian paradise, becoming a walking street. š¶āāļø š The green railway bridge, with the yellow Sobu Line trains passing overhead, is a landmark of Akihabara. š šļø ... After shopping at two malls, I felt a bit tired and didn't want to continue, so I decided to head to the next destination, Kanda Shrine, located to the west of Akihabara. šÆ š¶āāļø Entering Kanda Shrine from the north, I took the back entrance, walking up some steps. š§āāļø š° First, I saw some small shrines, seemingly called mawari-sha, including three Inari shrines: Suehiro Inari Shrine, Mikuni Inari Shrine, and Ura Inari Shrine. Although there are 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan, three are right here. š¦ š¶āāļø Moving to the center, I found the main shrine dedicated to Kanda Myojin, with many people paying their respects. I learned from the nearby propaganda that this place has a history of 1300 years. š š° Next to the main hall, there's a small room that houses a horse, and donations here are used to buy food for the horse. But I didn't see the horse. At the entrance, traditional Japanese musical instruments were being played, surrounded by a group of foreigners. š¶ šļø The shrine is situated on higher ground, a perfect spot to rest and enjoy the breeze. I left the shrine through the main gate. š¶āāļø š¶āāļø ... I walked to Ochanomizu. I had planned to make a pilgrimage to the sacred sites featured in "Your Name," like this one. š¬ š½ļø For dinner, I had yakiniku near Akihabara. The restaurant's name is Tottori Wagyu Orein 55 Head Purchase Specialty Store Charcoal Grill Sankou-en. š„© The menu was completely incomprehensible, so I relied on my classmate to communicate with the owner in Japanese. š£ļø š„ The meat was delicious, grilled over charcoal. The long, thin strips were the most fragrant, possibly intercostal meat? There were three dipping sauces: lemon juice, soy sauce, and barbecue sauce. The oolong tea served this time came with ice cubes. It's rare to hear Japanese people speak so loudly elsewhere. As I was eating, another table of Chinese people arrived. Chinese people are everywhere. It was a delightful meal. š š Enjoyed to the fullest! š½ļø #Kanda Shrine # Akihabara# Ochanomizu
