Winter 2011.
Ginza, the most upscale shopping district in Tokyo. Famous for it’s boutiques, cafes, restaurants, theatre and art galleries. It is the most expensive real estate in Tokyo; each square meter costs up to ten million Yen. This is indeed a shopping heaven for the ladies, virtually EVERY cosmetic brands are here! And my personal favourite, the world’s largest Uniqlo store is here.
Ginza has a lot of old brick buildings. In 1872, after the Tsukiji area was burnt to the ground the government planned the construction of “fireproof” brick buildings.
The Ginza area was the model of modernization after the Tsukiji fire.
Larger streets were constructed.
When I was a kid, when I think of Japan I think of Ultraman. When I got here, I was wondering where would I see any posters of Ultraman. It was no where to be found, until today in Ginza in a Softbank outlet.
Even though Ginza is an upscale district, you can still see ladies in walking about in their traditional costumes on the streets of Ginza.
Finally Doraemon!!
Heading home from school.
The school kids have such cool and trendy looking school bags.
Behold! The Nikon House!
This shop has lots of used Nikon products!
Lots and I mean LOTssss!!
The classic Nikon FM2.
Nikon 35Ti.
Nikkor DC lenses.
I want this bike!
A monk walking slowly while doing prayers.
With a donation bowl in his left hand he walks the streets of Ginza slowly while reciting prayers.
This is an interesting looking building.
Too nice to be eaten!
How can it be eaten? They are so cute!
Zettai ryouiki!!
Peekaboo!
A cupid waiting to strike.
Wow, taking pix with a mobile phone in her right hand while talking on her other mobile in her left hand.
A HUMMER foldable bicycle.
A freaking long queue to buy lottery.
This is my favourite dining place in Ginza, Yurakucho Gado-Shita (In Japanese Gado-Shita means “below the girder”). I know Ginza is supposed to be known for it’s upscale expensive restaurants but this is my favourite. The 700 meter long stretch of dining area right under the brick arch, with the Yamanote rail track direct above. It is directly underneath the elevated north and south of JR Yurakucho station.
Up to a dozen small dining area were built into the brick arch underneath the track.
You can find a variety of small restaurants here. From yakitori to izakaya to beer halls to French wine bars.
Menus on display on the side of the walkway.
It’s a really cosy area.
I decided to dine here. But unfortunately when I flipped through the menu, it’s all hand written in Japanese without any photos. I didn’t wanna leave this place without at least dining here. So I decided to seek help from the guys on the next table. They kindly recommended a few dishes for me to try. They even invited me to sit and dine with them. It turned out that they work for Shell Japan and I used to work for ExxonMobil Malaysia so it was easy to converse from there on.
This set meal looks really yummy! Oishii!! 😋
Oh I love sashimi!!
This is Midori ( 篠崎翠 ). She’s cute, isn’t she?
A picture with Midori and her boss.
Midori saving my contact into her phone.
He’s really funny. He made me guess their age and if I guess it correctly they’ll pay for my dinner.
And I guessed it pretty close. They bought me dinner.
Meow…
The staff from the izakaya.
The interior of the izakaya. This is Izakaya style dining.
She is actually from Turkey and she speaks fluent Japanese. I really envy her!
My favorite place in Ginza to dine, Yurakucho Gado-shita.