This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @japon: Ameyoko, le marché haut en couleur de Ueno
Remember that the person that speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @japon, a French guy.
Ameyoko, Ueno's colorful market
A few steps from Ueno station, is a popular place where I spent the end of my days in Tokyo. A few streets to cross, we hear the Yamanote (the train that makes a loop around Tokyo) that passes over our heads, and then it's diving into a festive and noisy universe.
Ameyoko is a market spread over a few streets. There is mainly food but also a little clothing and electronic gadgets. To attract the customer, sellers climb on a stool or a crate and shout slogans extolling the merits of their products. All the opportunities are good to attract the tourist, even to tell that all these beautiful promotions will stop tonight and that it is absolutely necessary to buy now!
Yet the atmosphere is not oppressive as it may be the case in other Asian countries. On the contrary it is a lot of smiles and you can take the time to look and simply put back the items, then leave without the seller to complain.
Ameyoko is one of the places where you can buy souvenirs at low prices, but also to please your taste buds. Between two shops do not hesitate to taste the Takoyaki. They are dumplings with a piece of octopus in their center. All covered with the famous sauce. It's hot ... It's very hot when put it in your mouth.
Around 7PM the shops close gradually, the place becomes quieter, it's another atmosphere. Young couples stroll the streets in search of a place to eat. In Ameyoko there are many small traditional restaurants, often specialized in one type of food. Ramen, yakitori skewered chicken, sushi, tempura.
I realized that the Japanese do not go to this kind of restaurant to spend the evening. It's just to eat, often very quickly, before going to do something else. Restaurants are often organized to be quick and inexpensive. I was a little surprised to see ordering terminals at the entrance of some restaurants. Here no waitress, but a machine with a series of buttons that allow you to choose your dish. We pay and then give the ticket to the cook. The staff is reduced to the minimum, all money handling is delegated to these terminals. It is practical and devilishly effective.
These restaurants are often set up as a large bar around a central kitchen. The cook prepares your meal in front of you and gives it to you. Everyone eats in silence, no one speaks. Everyone swallows his bowl of noodles and then leaves. The meal is folded in a few minutes. Me who thought to have conversations with Japanese in this kind of place, not a chance. The only time I had the opportunity to chat during the meal was with foreign tourists.
Ameyoko is still a very nice place to visit, both during the day and at night. Animated during the day, calm in the evening, I loved to walk in these small streets that have a particular charm when the various restaurants are illuminated.
-- @japon
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