AEON Mall Tsuchiura

Having already explored many parts of Tsukuba, I've decided that today, I will ride the bicycle to the town next to Tsukuba — Tsuchiura. When people ask me if I know how to get to somewhere, I often answer, "I don't, but Google knows". This time, I've asked Google for my directions as well.

My route planned by Google Maps

The distance is approximately 6 kilometers and it's actually quite an enjoyable ride, being able to see the view of Japan's country side. Many of the road consists of uphill and downhill, so after overcoming the uphill part, one can relax while the bicycle goes downhill!

After riding for 30 minutes, I've finally arrived at my destination.

But before I talk about AEON Mall, let's look at this interestingly steep ramp.

This goes all the way to the top floor where there is an additional parking lot. Unlike Thai malls, this mall does not have parking lots on every floor.

The parking lot on the top floor

That's more than enough about parking (especially for a person who doesn't even have a car), so let's move on to the mall itself. AEON Mall Tsuchiura is a relatively large mall and is quite similar to Central Plaza in Thailand. In Tsukuba, malls near the station are quite small with limited space. However, that is compensated with the amount of quality shops available outside of shopping malls.

Inside AEON Mall Tsuchiura

Interestingly, here, the disabled toilet is also labelled as a "family" toilet.

That's enough for today. Tomorrow, Takano-san, my mentor from AIST will take me, my senior and two other researchers from Taiwan to tour Tokyo. In the afternoon, I'll also join Tokyo's first cross-faction Ingress meetup. It'll be a very interesting day!