Sunday, May 9, 2010

Japan Day 9 P2

We made another B&F trip to Bank of Japan (日本銀行 Nippon Ginkō), which is the central bank. The bank, established after the Meiji Restoration, has been in charge of maintaining price stability and to ensure the stability of the financial system, thereby laying the foundations for sound economic development.

The Bank of Japan is headquartered in Nihonbashi, on the site of a former gold mint (the Kinza) and, not coincidentally, near the famous Ginza district, whose name means "silver mint".

Lotteria is a chain of fast-food restarants similar to McDonald's, taking the name from its parent company, Lotte. As it is considered to be a follower if McDonald's, it's not surprising that both sell similar burgers on their menus.

As Japaneses are pro-recycling, we often come across these in the shops. Rather than a single garbage bin, a number of specialised receptacles exist (liquids, paper, plastic etc) can be found at all Lotteria restaurants.

Alighted at Shinjuku to proceed to our next destination. Shinjuku has the highest number of registered foreign nationals of any community in Tokyo. Being influenced by what I saw in the movie Shinjuku incident, I was expecting to see lots of mafias/secret societies patrolling the streets. However, Shinjuku is just another stop along the Subway line and is home to hotels, department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, located in Shinjuku, held the title of the tallest building in Tokyo from 1991 to late 2006. The building consists of a complex of three structures, each taking up a city block. The tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 48 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor. The building also has three levels below ground. The design of the building was meant to resemble a computer chip.

As with all observatory decks, you will get a paramount view of the city buildings which look similar after a while. The green field in the middle reminds me of Central Park, smacked in the middle of the city. How I wish I can visit Central Park one day! *mental note to start planning*

Headed to Yodobashi Camera for some electronic shopping for friends. In Shinjuku, Yodobashi has several stores close together, providing a wide selection of electronics. We were brought to stores after stores to look at cameras, watches and audio-equipments. No pictures thereafter, as we were busy doing damages to our pockets :P

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