Ginza - the ghost town

Shortly after the quake there were massive power-conservation efforts across the country due to the power shortage (something about a nuclear plant malfunction - haven't heard much about it really).

One area that gave it the old 大学 (Daigaku - college) try was Ginza. If you are unfamiliar with Ginza, it is kind of the Times Square/5th Avenue of Tokyo - Times Square for its bright lights, and 5th Ave. for its abundance of high-end shopping. (Fun fact 銀座 (Ginza) means silver chair - like the horrible Australian one-hit-wonder of many years ago!)

Of course it isn't exactly like a blackout during the battle of Britain, but considering this place usually makes the Strip look like a shining example of restraint...






Bonus images - Shinjuku station, obligingly referred to here as "The World's Busiest Train Station (tm)" with over 3.5 million passengers per day. This shot was taken right as 1.5 million slightly drunken business men should be stumbling through the gates backwards while offering off-balance bows to their coworkers and apologizing profusely to the coin-locker they just bumped into.




My local station is busier than this at 10:00 pm

Bonus Part II:

Here is a picture of Shinjuku at a normal rush hour:


One of these things is not like the other (sing along if you know the tune)

Note: This is not a country for people who need 'personal space' and 'me days'