Continued from 2014 Japan Trip Day 1: Tokyo.

Our second day in Tokyo found us in Mitaka to visit Ghibli Museum for the fourth or fifth time. As with our previous visits, we came with one of our favorite kohai (and Tokyo resident) Boom — who also very kindly secured our tickets for us. Ghibli Museum never tires us, even with multiple visits 🙂 Not only are the permanent exhibits a joy to see again and again, there are also rotating exhibits that change every six months or so. We definitely recommend this as a stop not just for Miyazaki Hayao fans but for everyone who has fallen in love with Japanese anime.

And speaking of Japanese anime, we also dropped by the neighboring city of Nakano, another favorite stop for anime fans and figure collectors. Personally, Nakano is a much better place to hunt for rare second-hand toys and figures. It is more accessible and easy to navigate compared to Akihabara, because all the specialty shops — whether Gundam kits, vintage Godzilla posters, or faux school uniforms, are found in the same building: Nakano Broadway. Hang on to your wallets as you get lost in Nakano Broadway’s maze of hobby shops, cosplay stores, and the odd Tenga shop :3

We finished up the day with a visit to Tokyo’s famous (infamous?) buffet dessert chain Sweets Paradise. Just as the name implies, it’s an eat-all-you-can buffet of cake, tarts, pies, ice cream, and other sweets — also accompanied by a bottomless drink bar as well as several pizza and pasta selections. For just JPY 1,530 plus tax (approximately PhP 600), you are given seventy to ninety minutes to gorge on everything you care to eat and drink. For travellers on a budget, it’s a great way to have your cake and eat it too!

I am gonna go off tangent here for a bit and say that our stop at Sweets Paradise was well worth it because we got to see the wild and elusive JK — joshi kousei or high school girl, in their element. Sporting short skirts (despite the freezing winter temperatures!), knee socks, and pull-overs, they descended on the cake buffet like the Uruk-hai at Helm’s Deep. They ate so many sweets that I can’t figure out where they put it all. Definitely something worth experiencing for moe fans — just keep a tight lid on the creep factor, keis? :3

Continued in 2014 Japan Trip Day 3: Tokyo.

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