Erk's 2014 Pacamerican Circle

[erkpod]

The waves of people in Shibuya never seem to stop.

 

[erkpod]

Watching the women trying to attract people to buy new CDs outside Tower Records was interesting - obviously scripted.





Some of the floors had interesting mixtures of musical styles.

 

[erkpod]

One of the first harder albums I owned - now 1000¥!



I could be here for some time (and I was) & I could have spent so much money (I didn't).



I was looking for the CD of a Japanese metal band I know the music of. The lady on the metal/hard rock level asked me to write the name down (common by Japanese to English speakers) & she looked them up on the computer. They weren't in the metal or hard rock on level 5 but on level 3.

The lady who I spoke to on level 3 didn't need me to write their name down or look them up on the computer - she knew they were in the J-Punk section & eagerly directed me there. I have both albums that were available in the store.



Tower Records' motto is No Music No Life.



Yes, melodic death metal is a sub-genre. I like to think of it as death metal where you can understand the words.

 

[erkpod]

One thing I find interesting about Tokyo public transport (especially JR above ground) is that they run such an efficient and high capacity system on what is not gleaming new infrastructure or even seemingly designed for anything near current loads. You can see that from some of the shots of the platform sizes, shelters, etc. Having visited other Asian countries prior to Japan, my expectation was for everything to be shiny and new, so it came as quite a shock the first time, but does make sense.

That is certainly true. The standards are different in Japan compared to Australia but I would love to see in Australia some of the features here such as better signage & ticketing, platform doors & the passengers. Japanese commuters are very well behaved & well trained (pun not included).

 

[jastel]

If you are still at Shibuya Station area look for Hachicko the loyal dog statue, that's a nice story.
Also there is a Godzilla statue outside the Toho cinema if you like those movies.
If you want to see some weird stuff go to the Tsujuki (sp) seafood markets.

I have enjoyed your TR, done a lot of the same places to.
Did you go to the Pinball Museum in Las Vegas? It is excellent, most games work and you can relive your misspent youth and see if you can get multiballs rolling.

 

[Grooba]

Did you go to the Pinball Museum in Las Vegas? It is excellent, most games work and you can relive your misspent youth and see if you can get multiballs rolling.

Noted down for my next Vegas trip, thanks jastel!

 

[TomVexille]

Loving the train pics from Japan Erk. Keep up the good work.

 

[erkpod]

Wednesday 19 February
Day 50



Plan today:

Check out of hotel.

Trains to Nippori.

Dump bags in lockers.

Go to The Railway Museum.

Back to Nippori to collect bags.

Skyliner to NRT.

NRT Airport Appreciation Time.

Fly NRT - SIN on SQ11.

Next entry probably from NRT or SIN.

Japan, it's been fun.

 

[erkpod]

Day 50 pics



I made my way to Nippori as planned. Two large lockers at 500¥ each paid for with my Pasmo card.





While walking to get food at Nippori, I spotted the Pol-ice doing a community safety meet & greet outside the railway station with a cool truck with a TV attached to it. Used the translator app as an ice breaker & asked for a photo which was allowed.

 

[erkpod]

After food, I was waiting for a train to the Railway Museum.

I saw something on the information board that wasn't translated into English. I thought it might be an express train not stopping at Nippori.





I was correct. The screen didn't change & another train sped through. Then another train & another train & another train. Not a word in English but plenty in Japanese.

So I decided to explore my options & worked out that I could catch a Yamanote line train to Tabata & try connecting there. Nippori is a major stop & interchange so something must be going on. I could understand skipping Ughgushidani but not Nippori.

My train driver senses were playing up.

I finally boarded a train on the correct line at Tabata but it wasn't going all the way. Train driver senses tells me to catch that train to the terminating point & see what happens.



The onboard screens were showing me that there were delays on my line due to a passenger injury & later that service had resumed (different line but same issue shown on this photo for illustration purposes only).

I had to change trains & saw that the train I needed was on another platform.



I've seen this happen at home & elsewhere - the ends of the line often get a reduced service to balance things out for the rest of the line & the majority of passengers.




I did not need to rush as 4 other trains arrived from Tokyo to connect with my new train before it departed... finally.

 

[erkpod]

Finally made it to the Railway Museum.

First stop, the simulators.





The subway & shinkansen simulators are free & you merely wait in line. The steam loco simulator is 500¥ & reservations are required. I would have had a go but the next time was too late.







Watching other people ranging from toddlers to adults & everyone in between was fun (some people should be watching the road ahead!!) but it was time to have a go myself.

I'd been here in 2011 so it was no shock. The first time, I approached the platform as I would at home & stopped awesomely. The second time, I tried to drive like a local & I overshot by 20 metres. Off to see the simulated manager on Monday...

 

[erkpod]

If you want Japanese railway trinkets & keepsakes, the 2 museum shops are for you. I comically asked the staff if it was possible to buy something which plays the train melodies (eki melo) - I did see them in 2011 but didn't buy any - and was told the closest was a train money box. I took 2. They play eki melo when inserting money or pressing a button. One of them is also a clock.



For the younger potential train drivers amongst us, there's a toy driver's control stand you can buy. I didn't.







If you're into Japanese model trains, there's some to buy at the museum shop but also around the corner from my hotel in Higashi-shinjuku. There's a massive train set in a special room (complete with grandstand seating!) that you can watch.

 

[erkpod]

More simulator pics





There's 3 JR East subway style trains to choose from.



Custom is that each person on the free simulators drive from one station to the next. A screen shows you in simple terms the speed you are going & the distance to the next station.



The way the monitors are arranged form frames that aren't there on the real thing. The brightness was out (too light) & like many sims like this, there's an unrealstic sensation of speed (or lack thereof).



Side on view of the steam loco sim. The noise on this thing is awesome & it has been cranked LOUD!

 

[erkpod]

At 1000 & 1500, there is a demonstration of a steam loco being turned around on a turntable, complete with whistle blowing & a train crew waving out the window as the loco rotates 360°. There's Japanese commentary.












The loco isn't under steam (imagine that!) but the whistle sounds great. It takes around 7 minutes to fully rotate (it might not take that long in real life.

 

[erkpod]

There's plenty to see from various eras of Japanese railways with an empathsis on passenger carriages. Many of the driving cabins are locked up.

There are QR codes everywhere to help Engrish speakers know what they are looking at & limited translations on display noticeboards.

 

[erkpod]

If you have kids with you (or are fun sized!), there are mini trains to ride.





There's 2 eateries & you can also eat on a train there.

For the Japanese speakers, you can also go to train driver school for 40 minutes - I need to research this one.







There's also 2 guided tours a day but again I need to research that.

If you love trains, allow 1/2 to a full day for this. If you like trains a little, allow at least 2 hours.

 

[erkpod]

I'm just about to board SQ11 at NRT so I'll skip ahead just for a moment.

 

[bass_ke]

I've not seen SQ girls since my days at BNE.

They are certainly noticeable everywhere you go!

 

[erkpod]

I'll skip ahead just a bit more for the moment. I arrived at SIN's T3 Transit Hotel at OMG o'clock (0400) & booked an 8 hr stay.

Breakfast at the airside Hard Rock Cafe & then cleared Immigration, collected my bags from Lost & Found & cleared Customs.

Now at the Four Chain View Hotel in Geylang (and not Gayleng as I wrote by mistake on my inbound form).

 

[erkpod]

I've not seen SQ girls since my days at BNE.

They are certainly noticeable everywhere you go!

Let's just say that after a week of freezing weather in Tokyo, they were very noticeable!