Trip 50

April 29,2025

A Rag Tag Hunt

Rag Tag, for those who are not ”in the know” is a discount (sort of) chain specializing in resale (pre loved) of luxury items. So many things to hunt, so many stores…

Cameras and electronics are an interest of mine, so we went to one of the BIC Camera stores. It’s everything electronics (phones, cameras, accessories), sporting goods, appliances. Just too much to name and to explore in a short visit. I was looking for a specific lens for my camera, but as I found (and really already knew), even during Golden Week (Ōgon Shūkan) it’s no less here than in the U.S.. No lens for me. There are additional discounts on some merchandise during this time. I priced some CFexpress (memory) cards I use in my camera against Amazon pricing; they were more here than on Amazon.

Another robot (BIC Camera)

Another big “scramble “ intersection

Massive Protest

Several hours after the protest march, we passed by the same square and saw five blue police buses, obviously used for transporting those who might be arrested, along with some uniformed police. But no sign of the protestors themselves where we were. The protestors had held signs, 99% of which I could not read, but looking at a few and their cause: Association for the Protection of Freedom: “Protect individual freedom, human rights, and health. Oppose totalitarianism and globalism and respects freedom and diversity; support mRNA vaccine victims.”

We passed a restaurant that had a robot greeter. It would raise up its arms to greet you.

Some observations about automobiles in Tokyo. I’d hazard to say that 99% of them are of Japanese manufacturers (the huge majority are Toyota, then brands like Mazda, Suzuki, Honda). There are a LOT of big squarish vans (the SUVs of Tokyo?) , some of which could certainly be limos. This could also be a function of the area in which we’ve spent more of our time (Ginza $$$$), with high end shopping/shoppers.

Many of the Japanese cars tend to have a squarish design, with not a lot of distance between the front bumper and the driver. Maybe this is due to the smaller engine sizes compared to typical American vehicles, but certainly a design difference.

There seem to be few foreign import vehicles. The import brands I’ve seen the most are: BMW, Maserati, Ferrari, a few Mercedes, Porsche, Tesla. But “foreign” cars are just a tiny portion of what you see as you walk around.

Rooftop views

Tokyo, largest population city, in the world. 14m.