TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Akibahara in Chiyoda, also nicknamed as Akiba, was one of the places I wanted to visit mainly because of the ubiquitous ‘Maid Cafes’ there. I just wanted to observe the whole maid culture in the background and take pictures of course. Unfortunately I got sick in Japan. I spent most of my days shivering and coughing inside our hotel room. I managed to go out to a few places though but not to Akibahara. Dutchman however did visit. He usually leaves our daily travel agenda to me so each day that I am stuck sick in the hotel room, I gave him tips on where to go. He is a gamer so I sold him Akibahara as the gaming centre of Japan, which it really is. He is of course enthusiastic at the prospect of visiting, however, I forgot to tell him about the maids and the maid cafes. I am normally quite thorough with passing information but when you are sick, you become less sharp. So when Dutchman came back, the first thing he babbled excitedly about were the maids. He does not understand the who...

If I did not get sick in Japan , I would have tried this Pachinko game, which is also called Pachislot and Pachislo. Pachinko is a mechanical arcade game (read: pinball) that has taken the country by storm for decades already. It’s everywhere in Japan, even a friend of mine has gone crazy playing this game. She is addicted, she could not live without it. The goal is to get as many silver balls as you can, and these balls can then be exchanged for prizes. Dutchman however managed to get out during the day and came back with this video: He is a bit like me, always observing and very inquisitive, and naturally he quickly noticed, among many other fascinating stuff and goings-on in Akibahara, the noisy pachinko parlours. ‘The noise inside this game arcade is deafening!’ Dutchman told me. Gambling is illegal in Japan, however, Pachinko is given some sort of immunity and is classified as an amusement activity. I read that the balls and prizes can be exchanged for cash at near...