Ame Yoko

Ame Yoko was such a disappointment!! I had heard that there would be Japanese goods for sale there, but it was mostly grocery shops and shops selling American clothes. AmeYoko started as a black market after world war 2 and became known later as ameyoko because a lot of candy (ame) was sold there. Ame is also short for amerika--as I found out today. American goods were traded much in the black market. Anyway, thinking that I would find traditional Japanese gifts, I headed out to ameyoko. The powers that be were entirely against my going. First I got locked inside the house. Yes. Inside. The locks on this house are crazy and if you lock the bottom lock from the outside, you can't open it on the inside without using a special key and pressing a well hidden button simultaneously. I walked to station, made it all the way to Shibuya without incident, and transfered to the Yamanote Line. Everything went smoothly for two stops. Apparently there was an accident somewhere along the line because the train stopped in its tracks for 10 minutes. Three or four rail lines were stopped, so I think there was a jumper. And then, despite my perserverence (?), ameyoko sucked.

I went to Akihabara tonight, after I was done with lessons. It was a technology lover's heaven. For me, it was interesting to see the neon, but the only thing I fell in love were some downright sexy telescopes and astrophotography equipment and a $500 denshi jisho (electronic dictionary). Arisa and Taka say that electronic goods prices can be negotiated in Japan just like in the rest of Asia, just not as much. I'd have to buy more than one thing in order to get it down, though. Sigh. Maybe one of my friends will want to buy something.