2012 Japan trip Day 3 - Food and Beer and Food and...

Met up with Dave at the Chuo Dori Mister Donut shop, a fixed point we both knew and after some coffee and rings went wandering Akiba. There's a new depato (department store) near the station based in the old LAOX building, six stories of nerdy/otaku goodness called the Akiba Culture Zone. This is a place which will repay return visits as it contains many enticing things including two floors of manga.

A visit to Yodabashi Camera followed as Dave was after a new navi (GPS unit) for his bike, something with a bit more intelligence than his existing navi. Other geek-type shopping also happened and then after some more coffee it was time to go in search of okonomiyaki and beer.

The back streets up near Ueno station were crowded with Saturday shoppers, an ideal time for the local matsuri (festival) committee to hold a "battle of the temples" where teams compete to carry portable shrines through the streets with much chanting and surreptitious drinking going on. We eventually located one of Dave's usual haunts where eggy-type stuff was fried and consumed, washed down with beer and conversation. Afterwards we moved on to a pub and more conversation and beer before we rolled up to Ueno station at the end of a very pleasant evening.