Geek's Paradise and NTT Pilgrimage

It's been another exhausting day here in Tokyo. Tons of walking around again -- we must have logged another 20km going from district to district. We're both really in need of foot transplants! This is what we get for working desk jobs...

Today we went on two trips that were primarily of interest to me. The first stop that we made was at the Akihabara Electric Town. Basically this is a shopping district that consists of blocks and blocks of stores that sell nothing but electronics -- from computers to stereos to fridges. Anything that you could possibly want in the very latest electronics can be found in Akihabara along with almost every type of geek imaginable (including me I guess!). Akihabara is truly a geek's paradise. In fact, Akihabara is the place where we saw the most foreign males in all of Tokyo so far...

It was interesting to see the displays of electronics at some of the stores. Row after row of things like cell phones displayed right out on the street and none of them tethered down. This is definitely a high trust society. At home, all of the cell phones and their display would have been stolen! The selection of phones is also phenomenal -- way beyond anything that we have in Canada. As for other electronics -- where do I begin? It's just too mind-boggling to describe. At the end of the day, we didn't buy a thing -- there was just too much.

The most cryptic thing that we saw in Akihabara -- a sign at one of the stores stating that "We support engineers by satisfactory products offered". I think that I know what this means but I'm not 100% sure!

 

For lunch we took the train over to one of the primary business districts of Tokyo -- Shinjuku. There are many offices of Japanese companies here and a number of foreign firms as well. We saw the offices for Mitsubishi Motors and Pfizer (must have been a Viagra R&D facility). And, last but not least, the head office of NTT (Nippon Telephone and Telegraph). NTT's head office is absolutely huge -- I can't imagine working in this facility. I took a few pictures and was asked by a security guard to stop. NTT certainly employs very high security and this is understandable. Perhaps I could do a 6 to 12 months stint at NTT? Holly -- what do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

In one of the NTT buildings was a place called the Intercommunication Centre. This was basically a gallery filled with unbelievably mind-boggling and far-out communications concepts -- things like converting shadows into sound and other things which were interesting but basically way beyond my ability to comprehend fully. You basically needed masters degrees in Engineering and Philosophy to understand a lot of this stuff. Regardless, it was interesting and well-worth the trip. I'm sure that some of the engineers and R&D gurus at SaskTel would have found this NTT Intercommunication Centre totally engaging.

With our legs near collapse and our feet covered in blisters and ready to bleed, we began the long journey back to the hotel. Before we returned to our room, we made sure to go to Family Mart (a convenience store) to pick up some grub for supper and our breakfast for tomorrow morning (again, it is hard to believe how great convenience stores are in Japan compared to North America).

If you're ever in Tokyo and you're a bit of a geek, remember to visit Akihabara and Shinjuku -- especially the NTT Intercommunication Centre. Absolutely mind boggling/enhancing.

As for tomorrow -- who knows? This schedule that I've put together is turning out to be grueling! Talk to you later...