I'm pretty much running out of steam here for the last few days of my trip lol I am kind of having thoughts like I haven't even really done anything since I've been here, so I should take a day trip out of Tokyo. But on the other hand, I was in Sapporo for a week and I doubt most people could have the energy to do something fun and exciting every day for a month while also trying to work, maintain some amount of sleep, etc. So the verdict is out still on if I am going to take a day trip tomorrow or the next day (which will be my last full days in Japan for this trip)

But jumping back to the present, I actually had plans for today that I had scheduled maybe a couple weeks ago. An event had been scheduled for the Steins;Gate series. I definitely recommend watching, it's probably about time I give it a rewatch too actually. Anyway, I really liked Steins;Gate when I had watched it and although I've forgotten a lot of the details, I decided to go to the STEINS;GATE PHOTO EXHIBITION event at Shosen Book Tower.

The ticketing site had talked about how it would include photography of important places in the story but in real life with superimposed imagery from the series, which I thought sounded cool.

The event was on the top floor of the Shosen Book Tower and was pretty small exhibit, which I had expected in the first place since the tower's footprint is pretty small. Upon entry, I was given a map of that marked the locations of all of the places in the iconic photos.

I actually thought that was a little funny because there was another copy of the same map on one wall, and it was one of the only items in the exhibit that wasn't supposed to be photographed lol

Along one of the walls were portraits of the Steins;Gate cast, portrayed on top of IRL photos taken relatively recently in Akihabara (how recent though? I know the GiGO had Genshin posters on it for years, but is it still like that? I forgot to check today lol). For example, Mayuri is in front of the gachapon machines on the side of the Animate building.

There were also another 40 or so prints with various places in Akihabara, focused on more than just the central station-front area. There were actually a few places that I wasn't familiar with so I made sure to add them to my mental checklist

Fureai Bridge

In addtion to the photos of the locations that appear in the series, each is overlayed with text (styled to look like a VN) that talks a little bit about each location. For example, if Google Translate is to be believed, the description about Fureai Bridge, above, talks about how the bridge is a convenient shortcut from Yanagimori Shrine to the main Akihabara area, and talks about specific moments from the series that take place here. In the animate gacha photo below, it talks about how there used to be vending machines here but now it's gacha machines and talks about Okabe Rintaro and Makise Kurisu chatting here.

Animate again but this time without Mayuri :'(

Overall, I thought the photography was good, but was a little shocked at how few people the photographer managed to capture in the photos. For example, when I went to check out a few of these spots afterwards, it was hard to get photos without people in the foreground in some places (but waiting worked) and in some places, it was impossible. The animate building is basically as busy as you can get in Akiba, and the gacha machines are located right off the main street. I was able to get a photo without people directly in it, but it's cropped much closer and doesn't get a good view of the alley itself, so the subject is completely changed.

I was thinking about it while I was in the exhibit and I kept thinking the photos had to have been taken in middle of the night or right after dawn in order to capture such empty streets. I think I was right because in the gift area they were selling books that the photographer, Junya Watanabe, had published. Among them was a book called "Roam Around Night City - Akihabara"!

In addtion to the art, there was a giant phone mockup that looped through a few like group chats with the gang and a few video calls with Kurisu. I could only read bits and pieces so I can't relay that experience here lol

Overall, I thought the exhibit was fine. For ¥1,100 maybe a little pricy comparatively but I don't feel like I wasted my money or anything. I think the venue was also nice for it since the view from the tower is pretty good as well

After leaving, I decided to check out a few of the spots that I hadn't personally been to before (such as Fureai Bridge which I showed a photo of earlier). Before doing that, I decided to stop at Royal Host to get a hot fudge sundae (sunday?). The fudge came on the side so I had the fun experience of pouring it over myself. But then I promptly made a mess because the chocolate immediately ran over the edges of the cup all over the plate. I guess that's why it came on a plate in the first place haha

After checking out a few more places, I just wandered around for a bit. Even though a lot of the specific places from the Steins;Gate photo exhibit were really busy, there are places in Akihabara that feel much emptier, even one steet over from the main street. These places can be lifesavers when you are using a convoluted route to go home and avoid making eye contact with the maids

And finally, I'll leave you with a photo of one of my favorite closed shops (not that it's always closed, just at the time I took the photo). Why can't all stores with shutters have such nice art on the shutters?? I think this specifically place is a small art gallery / pop up space and I have seen it open a couple times with pop up events