Those fans of Evangelion can check out the display on the 9th floor ofe-Beansstarting September 16th! I popped in there today just to see what's up and it appears to have several pieces of artwork and other goodies for viewing. I don't know enough about Ev. to justify the entry fee (1500yen), but I did manage to snap a few pics.
Above is a mural outside the E-BeanS building and below is a mural outside the display.
This poster is for sale. I do believe it commemorates this event. For details click here.
This guy is so cool!
This guy...not so much.
A Clear File I picked up.
There was a little bit of Shin-Godzilla goodies for sale but they were all out of my price range, except for this.
Fans of the above should check it out some time before October 22nd.
Wandering into the basement of e-Beans, I came across several empty stores which won't be open for another two weeks. One of two stores that were open is Saad (expensive leather goods) complete with a cigar-store Indian.
There's also a few used clothing stores (Hanjira & Don Don Down) selling fairly cheap garb which is the best place to buy either Japlish or WTF slogons on clothes.
There's not much else of interest here so I ventured upstairs. The third floor is home to yet another Maruzen Books (yawn) and if you go up two more floors, you'll find the massive bookstore, Junkudo on the 5th to 7th. It's no different except that there is now a separate section for kids books with one with NO kids! There's also a mysterious looking massage parlour (Green Oasis) ensconced within.
On the eighth floor, my Otaku shop has returned and I picked up a mystery-bag. More on that in a separate post.
Coolest part of the entire renovation is the addition of a rooftop patio upon the 4th floor! This weekend, they offer complementary Miso soup with mussels and round the clock bands and/or clowns! It's adorned with more giraffes, a teepee and several gardens and gazebos. I heard a cool jug band (Hotch Potch) with washboard and kazoos and a pretty good jazz singer.
There's also a stage for fashion or singers on the first floor and on the 10 floor there is another patio. There was an old lady on stage singing but she wasn't supposed to be doing so. It was a little creepy. There's a nice view from the tenth, I must say.
Today was the grand reopening of Sendai's most eclectic Department Store complex, eBeans. It was severely damaged in the quake and has undergone a facelift nip & tuck so that the front-most part has lost 6 floors!
I wandered through the front four floors and the back ten floors today and though the back ten has barely changed, the front four have undergone a major revamp.
Let me show you a few pictures of the second floor, some of which are rather odd.
Gone are all the trendy fashion stores selling overpriced garb for young gals and in their place are trendy boutiques selling overpriced items from Ghibli, Monchichi and Miffy! The first floor and basement have been earmarked for fashion but all but two stores won't be open until December 3rd.
Mysteriously, a menagerie of metallic monsters has menaced the main mezzanine!
Apart from an Italian Tomato and a few cafes, there few places to dine so I had Takoyaki (Octopus balls) for lunch!
There were several walls featuring art from birds to cats to 3D Gorillas!
That's about it for the second floor. It's time for bed but hopefully I can return to showcase more of eBeans, the magical fruit!
