It was a gorgeous, sunny Christmas Eve day in Tokyo today – chilly in that not-quite winter way the city is most of the time (if you grew up in a place with real winters).  As couples all over town prepared for the biggest hook-up night of the year, I pursued more sedate interests on my own.  I started off in Ginza, checking out the Christmas decorations at the big depatto.  People often ask me what Christmas is like here, and I say it’s like a funhouse mirror reflection of an American secular Christmas.  No single photo can show that like Colonel Sanders in a Santa suit, but this one doesn’t do a bad job.

Cafes are popping up all over the place in Shinjuku at the moment.  And the fact that they’re all tied in to really good series gives me some hope that quality anime can still be popular enough to be modestly profitable.  Hi Score Girl and Golden Kamuy are on the docket if time permits, but first off I stopped by the Made in Abyss cafe and gallery at the Kadokawa Anime Cinema, a new theatre dedicated to showing anime films (thus, the name).

Made in Abyss is custom-made for this kind of thing, given that it’s incredibly gorgeous both in terms of art and music.  There were some amazing tie-ins on sale, including a desk calendar that knocked my socks off but – ¥5500 for a calendar?  I can’t go there.  There’s a natural skepticism at spending 600 Yen for an iced coffee or 800 for a piece of cake at one of these places, but think of it this way – you’re voting by doing so, showing the production committee that this is a series you’ll spend on.  For those of us that can’t or won’t spend five figures on a Blu-ray, a cafe may be our one chance to do that.  Besides – I got a Marulk coaster as my random gift…

Afterwards I stopped by my old school stomping grounds of Shibuya to check out the Ao no Dokutsu (Blue Cave).  It’s a holiday light-up running along Yoyogi Park between Harajuku and Shinjuku, and it’s become one of the most popular in a city that loves its light-ups.  I really like Shibuya, as madcap as it is.  Tokyo is really 23 (or more) different cities rather than one.  But if there’s a district that comes closest to being “Tokyo”, for me it’s Shibuya.  Everyone comes here, even if they have their own “dedicated” neighborhood – cosplay girls, hipsters, yakuza, posers, skater bois, well-off professional couples, families with young kids.  It’s Tokyo’s melting pot, and it’s never dull.