Mission in Hamamatsucho...
May. 27th, 2012 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranIt's Saturday morning in Tokyo, and I've just caught the train from Narita after the overnight flight from Sydney. So, what am I doing at Hamamatsucho Station?
Well, here's a clue...
Hamamatsucho is the station for the Tokyo Pokémon Center, and Liem is mad keen on Pokémon at the moment. But it's still a bit early and the Center hasn't opened yet. From a distance, I can already see people waiting outside. Not a good sign. Time for a walk to kill some time.
I head into Tully's for a coffee and a chance to sit down (I barely slept at all on the flight over) and I attempt my first Japanese conversation of the trip. Kapuchino o onegai shimasu! ("Cappuccino, please!") I say, looking at the big sign behind the counter. "Cappuccino!" says the store attendant, and asks me to point it out on a picture menu. I stare at the menu. Maybe it's the jetlag, but I can't see any cappuccino on it.
Me: Aaaaaaaaaa...
The store attendant frowns and looks at the menu too. We both scratch our heads for a few seconds wondering how the heck a cappuccino could not be on the menu.
"It's up there!" I say, pointing at the wall, and the attendant laughs and rings it up.
Okay, coffee achieved and legs rested. And now, the Pokémon Center is open.
By the time I arrive, the crowd has vanished...
Because they're all in here!
The store is quite small, but it is filled with Pokémon products, and kids and families hunting for toys. The aisles are quite difficult to move through already.
Liem's favourite is Charizard (the giant flying lizard in the background), but it turns out that many of the Pokémon have different names in Japanese. I choose some smallish toy models based on which ones look the most familiar. There are none labelled "Charizard", but "Lizardon" (bottom right) looks quite close...
And, when I get home, it turns out I guessed right! Liem takes one look at Lizardon and shouts "CHARIZARD!!!"
The little models come with rotating stands which form interlocking gears, so Liem can "battle" them by spinning them until the last one is left standing.
Charizard/Lizardon, Pikachu (right) and Glaceon...
Next stop: Nakameguro...
Well, here's a clue...
Hamamatsucho is the station for the Tokyo Pokémon Center, and Liem is mad keen on Pokémon at the moment. But it's still a bit early and the Center hasn't opened yet. From a distance, I can already see people waiting outside. Not a good sign. Time for a walk to kill some time.
I head into Tully's for a coffee and a chance to sit down (I barely slept at all on the flight over) and I attempt my first Japanese conversation of the trip. Kapuchino o onegai shimasu! ("Cappuccino, please!") I say, looking at the big sign behind the counter. "Cappuccino!" says the store attendant, and asks me to point it out on a picture menu. I stare at the menu. Maybe it's the jetlag, but I can't see any cappuccino on it.
Me: Aaaaaaaaaa...
The store attendant frowns and looks at the menu too. We both scratch our heads for a few seconds wondering how the heck a cappuccino could not be on the menu.
"It's up there!" I say, pointing at the wall, and the attendant laughs and rings it up.
Okay, coffee achieved and legs rested. And now, the Pokémon Center is open.
By the time I arrive, the crowd has vanished...
Because they're all in here!
The store is quite small, but it is filled with Pokémon products, and kids and families hunting for toys. The aisles are quite difficult to move through already.
Liem's favourite is Charizard (the giant flying lizard in the background), but it turns out that many of the Pokémon have different names in Japanese. I choose some smallish toy models based on which ones look the most familiar. There are none labelled "Charizard", but "Lizardon" (bottom right) looks quite close...
And, when I get home, it turns out I guessed right! Liem takes one look at Lizardon and shouts "CHARIZARD!!!"
The little models come with rotating stands which form interlocking gears, so Liem can "battle" them by spinning them until the last one is left standing.
Charizard/Lizardon, Pikachu (right) and Glaceon...
Next stop: Nakameguro...
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 07:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 10:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 08:48 pm (UTC)I was talking to a two year old later that day and he started sneezing. "Achoo!" I said, and, quick as a flash, he pointed excitedly up to a little Pikachu figure up on the shelf (catchphrase: PiiiikaaaaCHUUUUUUUU!).
no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 11:15 am (UTC)Did I tell you ever the story of my older daughter winning a pokemon card drawing contest? Hers and four others were made into official pokemon cards, and she got a $500 gift card. Here's her card:
(and if I've inflicted this on you before, please forgive me! It's a proud-mother sort of thing)
no subject
Date: 2012-05-27 08:43 pm (UTC)