the show on perceptions : November 14 2024

i was watching this show while on the treadmill in the gym. it was very interesting for me that i completely forgot that i was walking for an hour already. the show asked random people on whatever they can think of of a place. they then go to the place and check what is interesting in that place.

of course it is impossible to know every place, so it gets funny how people view certain areas.

one of the things they asked about was the great yamanote train line, that one which connects major stations in a loop.

it was just funny how even the japanese people don't know much about some of the stations along this line. i saw a coupls of "わからない" in there, and even i don't know much about them either. tabata (田端), komagome (駒込), and tamachi (田町) all got those "i don't know" treatment. i have walked at some of this stations in my yamanote trail series below and here is what i could have answered based on those walks so far.

strolling around the yamanote	stations
urban walking along the yamanote : August 17 2024	nippori (日暮里) to ikebukuro (池袋)
along the yamanote down south : August 22 2024	nishi-nippori (西日暮里) to tokyo (東京)
yamanote and lady luck : September 3 2024	tokyo (東京) to takanawa gateway (高輪ゲートウェイ)

ikebukuro - i totally get it why they call the station as the "checkpoint for people from saitama prefecture". ikebukuro as what i have also heard has a train line which goes to saitama after all. i guess for me, ikebukuro is known for the pokemon center. and personally, i go to ikebukuro for karaoke and darts but that is just because it is more convenient for Hive account@appleeatingapple and Hive account@wittyzell to meet there.

otsuka - sad but the influence of the very lively ikebukuro does affect this station. to be called a discount is quite saddening but at least that is a stepping stone to something. it does feel like ikebukuro in here but a modern one, which means that activity is starting to trickle down to this station.

sugamo - their description is perfect, "grandmas' flower garden". it is the shinjuku for older people after all.

komagome - there was a big park in there. that is all i know.

tabata - in my walks, i found tabata to be the home of may writers and artists. at least i had something to say instead of わからない

nishi-nippori - this is hard as it is very close to nippori; the whole temple and shrine complexes start from this station after all. sad to say but the station really is "west of nippori".

nippori - aside from the mentioned toneri liner, i would probably add temples and shrines due to the abundance of those within the vicinity. cemetery would also do for the yamanaka cemetery just behind the station.

uguisudani - 愛と欲望 (love and desire), yes perfect. there are lots of love hotels there.

ueno - true that there is a panda because there is a zoo with the famous pandas. but you can probably add museums and park to the description. the zoo and lots of museums are all located inside ueno park.

okachimachi - very closely linked with ueno indeed. market would be a fine description, too.

akahibara - otaku's oasis is perfect. and otaku can be for anime, manga and technology, all are in here.

kanda - they described it with "old books and curry". old books for the district near known for old books, but i have not tried that much curry in kanda. i know there are lots of izakaya (drinking bars) though.

tokyo - "almost a maze"! ha! totally relatable! tokyo station is just so big that i even dreaded when i still used to transfer trains in this station for work. well, the station facade is also famous.

yurakucho - "almost ginza"! this is also accurate. you can go to the ginza streets from yurakucho station.

shimbashi - sadly i could only see "interview" which probably refers to the many work interviews held here. there are many skyrise buildings in the area after all. and the very first train station in tokyo!

hamamatsucho - the monorail they referred was probably the one linking with haneda airport. the last time i was here, it was close to tokyo tower.

tamachi - i am so sorry but i too have no idea what is in here. it was just full of buildings, or was i just in the wrong part of town. sorry.

takanawa gateway - and i too would also agree with the description, the "new station".

i guess that was my cue to continue this walking journey.

the program also talked about other places. they featured this place in tochigi that no one really knew but had so many shumai (dumplings?!?) restaurants and shops. they even had a dessert which looked like a shumai.

and they featured this toy shop place in tabata. the owner was just so fascinating, he mentioned that children these days are so out of touch with human connection with the advancement of gadgets so he just wants children to continue interacting with each other through the toys he sells in the shop. very noble cause i think.