Japan: Ginza Pescaderia 2012-06-26

Ginza was a neighbourhood I visited relatively often due to it's being fairly close to my home base in Urayasu. A few stops on the Keiyo-Line and there I was, surrounded by glitz and glamour. This arrangement made it exceptionally simple when I needed to pop into the city for something after work. On this day, I went to the Apple store in Ginza and picked up an Iphone. My laptop had recently died and left me disconnected from the world and while I was able to eventually get a Mac desktop at an electronic's store in Urayasu, I was reminded just how disconnected I felt and decided to cave and reinvest in a cell-phone. I'd made it this long through my stint in Japan without a functional portable communications device and had rather enjoyed being untethered, but it was time...the old Blackberry I had been using to take photos was outdated and I was ready. After going through an extensive paperwork process and plunking down the yen for the phone upfront (no monthly payment plans were offered for foreigners with less than 2 years left on their visa) I walked into the streets of Tokyo with a shiny new iPhone 4s in hand. I still have the phone, but the cellular networks are/were differently configured between the countries and as far as I'm aware my Japanese iPhone isn't suitable for use with American cellular networks. Womp. I'm a Samsung girl these days.

New phone in hand and lust for tech fulfilled, it was now time to satisfy my physical hunger.

Wandering the streets of Ginza around 9pm, I found a small oyster bar on a busy alley off the main drag. 

Japan: Ginza Lunch 2012-06-18

After a few hours walking around Monzen Nakacho I had worked up a bit of an appetite. 

I hopped a train over to Ginza and quickly opted to try the Hot Tandori Chicken sandwich from Lotteria with an iced coffee and salad cup. The chicken had a nice spicy sauce on it that wasn't overpoweringly hot. The coffee was a lovely pick me up, but after my meal I happened upon a small pub that specialised in Belgian and craft brews from around the world so I popped in for an afternoon sip.

Japan: Ginza, Marunouchi & Hibiya park

After exploring Tsukiji fish market and taking in the view from the 19th floor during afternoon tea, Yuka and I went to Ginza to walk through the neighbourhood to Marunouchi and Hibiya park while enjoying the warm weather.

Japan: Ginza Illuminations & shopping 2012-11-29

A-chan asked a helpful police officer for directions inside the Police box!

Not just for Doctor Who anymore Police Boxes, aka Koban, are a common occurrence in urban Japan. Positioned throughout communities in an effort to make police readily accessible, they're also willing to help lost travelers find their way, some more happily than other's. 

Japan: Lunch in Ginza with A-chan 2012-11-29

Girl's day out in Ginza with A-chan!

Ginza is a beautiful upscale neighborhood of Tokyo.

A-chan had heard great reviews about a restaurant in the area from friends, so we decided to try it for ourselves.

Japan: Doggy basket 2012-11-24

Spotted these two at Inagekaigan station and found them too adorable not to photograph! 

Sweet little old puppy waiting patiently for his pop pop. ^_^

Japan: Ginza with Yuka 2012-06-28

The view of Ginza from the restaurant we had our dinner in, including the famous "Marui" building.

Ginza's name is derived from the silver coin mints that filled the area in it's earlier years and now-a-days it's a ritzy, classy neighborhood with glittering high-rises and gussied up pedestrians dipping into high-end restaurants or shops. It's not unusual to see women in fancy kimono or exorbitantly priced stilettos strutting the streets of Ginza. Even with it's high-class image, there are still plenty of reasonably priced activities and shops to take in!

There's even pineapples!