Every other train network I've been on has taken days before I can get the platform selection right first go, Tokyo on the other hand has taken me days to screw up, but screwup I did - right track, wrong direction. Forty minutes later we're back to the beginning and heading to Kappabashi Street, AKA Kitchen town.

This is the precinct for everything a restaurant needs, deck out a whole kitchen, the front of house, even the street signage. We're after Sampuru, the fake plastic food they put in the windows to display their dishes. With over 100 different vendors it was a while before we found what we were after - but we did. A Sushi clock and an ice covered can of Yebisu. But with all this kitchenware around us I can't resist the urge to buy a knife while we're here.

We head to MOS burger for lunch, delicious! A group of senior citizens beckon for us to join their table. From the counter as I'm ordering I can see Fid strike up a conversation of gestures with the guy on the end while the girls are flashing pictures of our trip interspersed with google translate signs explaining them. Such a lovely warm group.

I've had people tell me about Akihabara for decades, but none of those stories can prepare you for the place, just astounding. We approach from the other end of Chuo dori heading towards the main station. We don't make it very far before we're pulled into shops, and then the arcades. These are high rises of arcade floors, all as riotously loud as a pachinko parlour with chaotic lights and patrons. We're in Don Quijote.

My family is made up, Fid finds a few different Pokemon machines and the girls find a Tsum-Tsum one. Fid convinces us to verse him in a Poke battle. He annihilates me, I was completely without any understanding of what was happening in front of me, Fid on the other hand was busy dissing my poor performance the whole game. Next he convinced Boo to go against him, until:
B: "Did you just kill me?"
F: "Hell yeah, Slice & Dice baby!"

We don't have a plan so we're looking for a place to camp and make one up. Maid cafes are the thing to do but so many looking like brothel fronts we decided we'd only go to @Home, both the ones we tried had a special early closing today at 3:30, so we tried AKB48 a massive J-Pop group who've spun off a cafe in Akihabara. No luck their either, Gundam Cafe it is.

We're into Yodobashi, an electronic department store with everything. There are rows and rows of hair dryers, then rows of straighteners. If you've ever had to track down that one thing on the net, you could have just bought it here, they'll have it. On the computer floor there are shopping isles of CPUs, then RAM, then fans. The camera floor had hundreds of every imaginable accessory. My mind is racing with what to buy, but with all this choice I can't make up my mind on anything.

Top floor time for dinner then back Don Quijote for the kids to go arcade insane. This city is so safe we've been lulled into a real sense of security. We sit in a Spanish bar across the road and send the kids into the Arcades until kid lockout time.
 
Somehow it's after 10pm, time to head home!