All of the Coolest Nerdy Things I Spotted in Tokyo, the Greatest City on Earth

I recently catch back from a two - calendar week vacation to Japan , spending most of my meter in Tokyo with stops at Tokyo Disney and Osaka . It was seriously one of the best experience of my life — mostly because my inner otaku was hem in by some of the coolest , and cut , thing imaginable . Here are some of the groovy things I get wind during my time in Tokyo , along with a few voguish thing you might not know about yet .

Robot Restaurant

It ’s true that Shinjuku ’s Robot Restaurant ( along with Kawaii Monster Cafe in Harajuku ) is a entire holidaymaker trap designed for foreigners . But that does n’t think it ’s not one of the most jaw - dropping things you ’ll ever see . The Robot Restaurant show is an assault on the senses , where you sip cocktails out of lightbulbs and watch giant automaton do battle with characters that border on copyright violation . It ’s all noise , all lights , all robots .

I mean , where else are you going to see aTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlewield a machine gun while being propelled byMothra , watchDarth Maulplay with tripping beams , or cheer on a princess of the ocean as she attacks a Rita Repulsa clone with optical maser while rid a elephantine crab ? If that sounds impossible , you would be false . Because nothing ’s impossible at Robot Restaurant .

Mandarake

Mandarake is an otaku shop with a few locations throughout Tokyo . I stopped at the one in Shibuya . After walk down several flights of steps , flanked by icon of Hellenic Zanzibar copal and modernistic J - pop girl groups , you embark a nerdy paradise of manga , collectibles , and a heck of a deal of yaoi and fanfic . I myself picked up a transcript of an ten - Men fanfic manga where Logan is the surrogate Father-God of a bambino - aged Nightcrawler . It ’s essentially the cut affair ever .

I did have to tell my coworker James Whitbrook that , no , I did n’t have room in my suitcase ( or budget ) to purchase him every singleUltramanor Gundam figure in the store . I tried . consider me , I tried .

Chunithm

No , this is n’t a picture of me playing the arcade video recording game Chunithm on Master Level . I wish ! I got up to Level 5 and that ’s about it , folks . Dance Dance Revolution is much a dead art in Japan . now , it ’s all about sensor - ladened calendar method of birth control game like Sega’sChunithm .

First released in 2015 , it take the mechanics of DDR and amps them up to 11 . alternatively of a serial publication of clit , you have a whole yellow-bellied terrapin to work with — along with movement detector — allowing players to do all sort of wild moves . train out the television to see it in action . I watched several players during my time there . Most of them were , indeed , this good .

These Adorable Wizard Boys

What ’s good than one Newt Scamander ? Obviously : Two of them . I attempt to bring home the bacon one in one of the city ’s many hook game machine . I did not succeed .

Hachigatsu No Kujira

If you ’re 20 years of eld or older , I highly recommend this Browning automatic rifle in Shibuya . Hachigatsu No Kujira — which translates to Whale of August — is a posh basement bar dedicate to the artistry of flick . There are over 100 swallow on the ever - inflate card , all of which are named ( and theme ) after definitive , modern , and unnoticeable movies . You do n’t see them beforehand , it ’s a wild guess . All you ’re told is the name and the main liquor .

In pureness of my prestigious colleagues , I ordered thePacific Rim(left ) and theMad Max : Fury Road(right ) . I do require to observe how the bartenders warned me about the Mad Max one , saying it was “ very strong . ” It was . But I ’m a impregnable woman . Still , that potable knocked me on my fanny .

spot on the elbow room to Tower Records ( yes , it still exists ) . This covert showed Miles Morales hang out in the cool neighborhood of Shibuya . I shoot a small section of it , but it went on to showcase all the characters inSpider - Man : Into the Spider - Verse . An awesome way to celebrate an equally awe-inspiring movie .

GODZILLA!

AND HE ’S COMING AFTER BUMBLEBEE !

Connected to Disney

So … this was a thing I found . In festivity of Mickey Mouse ’s ninetieth birthday , which happens to coincide with the thirty-fifth anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland , Disney released an “ utaite ” cover album calledConnected to Disneyfeaturing Japanese internet stars . Singers admit “ Mafu Mafu , ” “ 96 Cat , ” and “ Urunanuki”—who have billions of views on YouTube . It fundamentally turn a bunch of classical Disney tracks into J - pop hits . It ’s funky , it ’s eldritch , and it ’s a sight of fun . And yes : I grease one’s palms a written matter .

Tokyo Disney

Spending two Clarence Day at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea made me recognise a harsh truth : We ’ve been doing Disney fandom all wrong . Forget pin trading , or ironical Grumpy sweatshirts that say you ’re “ not in the temper for play . ” Over in Japan , they take their Disney fandom seriously . co-ordinated group outfits , giant plushy lid , the greatest common solid food of all time . A liberal trend mighty now are headbands with stuff animals on top , like this(you could totally make them at home with a blistering glue gun or Velcro , for those concerned ) . There ’s even Duffy , the Disneysea Bear , who is a crowing honkin ’ heap over there .

On top of that , Tokyo Disneysea has take to be the most beautiful Disney parkland I ’ve ever seen , or might ever see . It ’s like a better reading of Epcot World Showcase … yes , include the drinking .

I also want to point out what might be the best Hidden Mickey I ’ve ever learn — spotted at the Teddy Roosevelt lounge onboard the U.S.S. Columbia in Tokyo Disneysea , creating by the shadow of three liquor nursing bottle . Somebody getSorato selfie himself with that matter . He ’ll get twobonus endings .

Clockwise from left: Kawaii Monster Cafe, Robot Restaurant, a Newt Scamander figurine, Ghibli Museum, and awesome monsters.

Clockwise from left: Kawaii Monster Cafe, Robot Restaurant, a Newt Scamander figurine, Ghibli Museum, and awesome monsters.Photo: All photos by Beth Elderkin

( Oh , and for anyone who ’s concerned , I gravel my tradition Star Wars 3D - print Disney ears from Etsy userThe ‘ 55 Creative Co. They ’re fantastic , and I could not recommend them more . )

Ghibli Museum

Over in the neighborhood of Mitaka in West Tokyo , there ’s a place that rival even Tokyo Disneysea : the Ghibli Museum . Designed by Studio Ghibli creator Hayao Miyazaki himself ( who had no previous experience in architecture ) , the Ghibli Museum can only be described as a sensory experience . It ’s a large , clear place that looks and feel like a wealthy helper ’s land mansion . hide doors , spiraled staircases , and an endless maze of things to do and find . you may explore at your gait , and in your own time .

There are exhibit consecrate to the art and oeuvre of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli , canvass things like his utilisation of color and forms of inhalation . There ’s even a rotate batch of little pic in the movie theater , which are only viewable at the museum and nowhere else . I saw an adorable one about a weewee spider . However , they do n’t allow photographs at heart . Might be thwarting when you pine to capture everything , but it does increase the sense of discovery and wonder . For any Studio Ghibli buff , it ’s not just a museum . It ’s a pilgrimage . well get your tickets in advance , though . It sell out every day .