Japan Winter 2010 Trip
My Japan trip in pluses, minuses, question marks, and dollar signs... because I'm too tired to write up an actual entry. XD Definitely not as detailed as my previous trip entries have been, but this will suffice. Most of these were from my jotted notes or a couple thanks to Twitter updates.
12/17/2010 (Friday), LA
- no sleep makes for nausea and headaches
+ Vancouver International Airport has free wifi!
+ watched "How to Train Your Dragon" and thought of JAB XD
- watched beginning of "Inception" and felt nauseated (literally), so slept
12/18/2010 (Saturday), Japan
+ getting prepaid SIM card for Softbank
- having to wait until 8pm in Narita International Airport for activation of said SIM card
+ getting to Yoshi's and sleeping!
12/19/2010 (Sunday)
- waking up early (4-5am) to catch first train towards Chiba's Makuhari Messe for Jump Festa
+ Tachibana-san saved me a spot next to her in line
+ Tachibana-san gave me one of her stamp rally sheets with stamps filled, exchangeable for Square Enix JF Christmas postcard pack (in the end, I got 2 packs)
- LOOOOTS of younger kids, got tired watching them run around ^^;;
+ meeting other KH fans via Tachibana-san: Arima-san and her schoolmate (they worked on the AkuSora antho!)
+ doodling KH characters on loose-leaf paper together
+ playing KHBbSFM demo: trio battle against Monstro
+ new KHBbSFM trailer featuring THAT GUY?! and OMG even cuter little Riku and Sora! ♥
+ met Mew briefly
+ Italian for dinner with Yoshi, followed by crepes! =9
$ KHBbS avatar straps
$ Square Enix Christmas CD
12/20/2010 (Monday)
+ Ikebu for Seikaido (art supplies) and Loft (present wrapping/packing materials for Negi)
+ seeing an elementary school boy in uniform (see last image) and thinking of gunfair right away
+ met up with Lindsey in Nakano
+ karaoke with Lindsey and Yoshi
$ Wakamatsu Kaori 2011 calendar
12/21/2010 (Tuesday)
+ Ogikubo for Book Off and bookstore
+ shio ramen with fish-based broth for dinner with Yoshi =9
$ manga
12/22/2010 (Wednesday)
? turning 26
+ Ikebu to meet up with maiki
+ Book Off
+ Animate for MAAAAANGA
- no women's day discount for "Tron" movie, so no go
+ bagel lunch, desserts, karaoke, arcade (DDR)
+ dinner with Yoshi at German crepe restaurant
$ lots of manga
$ winter bunny seal for cellphone
12/23/2010 (Thursday)
+ rented "Eve no Jikan", "Hachi", "Gedo Senki", and "Ibara no Ou"
+ got through "Eve no Jikan" and "Ibara no Ou"
+ dinner with Yoshi at Mos Burger
12/24/2010 (Friday)
+ Glee event in Shinjuku with Maiki and 2 of her schoolmates
? Spokespeople for Glee... Becky and Hibiki combo
+ bread place inside station =9
+ Christmas Eve dinner at Yoshi's friend's place in Roppongi (great view and good food!)
$ manga
12/25/2010 (Saturday)
+/- working on handdrawn KH nengajou
+ lunch with Yoshi at Chinese restaurant
+ finishing "Hachi" and "Gedo Senki"
+ ordering in dinner from Freshness Burger
12/26/2010 (Sunday)
+ timed buffet at Bittersweet Cafe (too many desserts!) with Yoshi for lunch
+ walking from Harajuku to Shibuya
+ fruits dish at Fruits Parlor
+ udon for dinner with Yoshi
+ Baseball Park Escape Mystery Game at Meiji Jingu Baseball Park
$ manga
12/27/2010 (Monday)
+ met up with Maiki and Sou in Ikebu to go to Namjatown for gyoza and ice cream
+++ yuzu gelato! =9
+ took Sou to Fewmany store, Square Enix store, Pokemon Center, and Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe
+ dinner with Yoshi at sushi place in Shibuya
$ postcards
$ KH clearfiles
12/28/2010 (Tuesday)
+ met up with Sou in Ikebu, spent all day together
+ exchanged money for JPY
+ bought day pass for Toei bus to go to Tokyo Tower and Todoroki Valley
+ brunch at bagel cafe
+ Todoroki Valley = ♥
+ dinner in Akiba for Kyushu Jangara ramen
+ checked in to hotel by Big Sight (yay! no first train madness the next morning!)
12/29/2010 (Wednesday)
- lining up at 5:30am (no sun yet!)
+ with Sou
+ saving spot in line for Tachibana-san
+ Tachibana-san helping with letters/content/translation
+ got free new doujin+omake from Negi (after passing her big bag of goodies =D)
+ finished shopping at 11:17am
+ met Arika-san
+ Tachibana-san helped me find out about worst-case scenario procedures, just in case
+ went back to Yoshi's, OMG THEY GOT DELIVERED, ordered in pizza
- back to hotel by myself
12/30/2010 (Thursday)
+ met up with Yoko and MB at 8am
+ IN! no problem! set up in less than an hour, lots of time to sit and look around before opening
+ got Ayli's Fafner straps from Animate
- loitering around in Sunshine City for hours (yay for English music? XD;)
+ okonomiyaki for dinner with Yoshi, Sou, and Maiki
+ all-night karaoke with Maiki and Febby (Yoshi left at 3am, kuriuskat had to go really early)
$ doujins
$ phone straps
12/31/2010 (Friday)
+ slept in
+ headed out to Yoshi's grandmother's place, met relatives' 2 new dogs Riku and Ren
+ watched Kouhaku (IMO, best songs were Arashi's "Monster" and "Troublemaker", Ikimonogakari's "Arigatou", and Sakamoto Fuyumi's "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru")
01/01/2011 (Saturday)
+ lots of sleep
- Meiji temple not open at 6pm
- Yoshi went to camp overnight for Apple store lucky bag
+ lots of sleep
01/02/2011 (Sunday)
-overslept, supposed to meet Kaitlin in Ueno
+ ice cream in the park
? lunch at Hard Rock Cafe in Ueno Station (overpriced for so-so food)
+ met up with Maiki at Ikebu, got my stuff from earlier
+ wander around with Kaitlin, she found stuff she wanted
+ bought conbini food for dinner for me and Yoshi
01/03/2011 (Monday)
+ dimsum lunch with Yoshi and Lindsey
+ Belgium dark hot chocolate in Delirium Cafe
+ Kichijoji for Lindsey's TV
+ Book Off (yay, found the rest of the Darren Shan manga!)
+ "Tron: Legacy" 3D movie with Yoshi (Lindsey had to leave.. D=)
+ yakitori dinner with Yoshi and Lindsey in Ogikubo
- feeling motion sickness? from all the 3D of "Tron: Legacy"
$ Darren Shan manga
$ Pokemon Black game
01/04/2011 (Tuesday)
+ sent off luggage to airport
+ off to Kamakura
+ fishy/seafood lunch with Yoshi and his dad along the drive to Hakone
- traffic from Kamakura to Enoshima
- more traffic from Enoshima to Hakone
+ onsen!
-smelling like sulfur afterwards
01/05/2011 (Wednesday)
+ early bus back to Odawara station, saw sun rise
+ saw Mt Fuji from train
+ slept in all day once back at Yoshi's apartment
+ combini dinner for 2
01/06/2011 (Thursday)
+ OMG, Tachibana-san sent me a package with fuzzy brown pants and jacket XD (like teddy bear!)
+ lunch with Yoshi at potage ramen place in the neighborhood
+ found Shiro Hige bakery (TOTORO CREAM PUFFS! ♥)
+ sukiyaki dinner with Yoshi and his dad (sans raw egg for me)
01/07/2011 (Friday)
+ lunch with Yosi at oyakodon place in the neighborhood
- parting from Yoshi
+ pleasantly surprised that heavy luggage was actually well under the weight limit at airport =D
- almost didn't get assigned seat for flight
+ ran into Yoko and her son at vending machine inside security gate XD
+ watched "Jumanji" on the way back
Pics to follow later this week.
12/17/2010 (Friday), LA
- no sleep makes for nausea and headaches
+ Vancouver International Airport has free wifi!
+ watched "How to Train Your Dragon" and thought of JAB XD
- watched beginning of "Inception" and felt nauseated (literally), so slept
12/18/2010 (Saturday), Japan
+ getting prepaid SIM card for Softbank
- having to wait until 8pm in Narita International Airport for activation of said SIM card
+ getting to Yoshi's and sleeping!
12/19/2010 (Sunday)
- waking up early (4-5am) to catch first train towards Chiba's Makuhari Messe for Jump Festa
+ Tachibana-san saved me a spot next to her in line
+ Tachibana-san gave me one of her stamp rally sheets with stamps filled, exchangeable for Square Enix JF Christmas postcard pack (in the end, I got 2 packs)
- LOOOOTS of younger kids, got tired watching them run around ^^;;
+ meeting other KH fans via Tachibana-san: Arima-san and her schoolmate (they worked on the AkuSora antho!)
+ doodling KH characters on loose-leaf paper together
+ playing KHBbSFM demo: trio battle against Monstro
+ new KHBbSFM trailer featuring THAT GUY?! and OMG even cuter little Riku and Sora! ♥
+ met Mew briefly
+ Italian for dinner with Yoshi, followed by crepes! =9
$ KHBbS avatar straps
$ Square Enix Christmas CD
12/20/2010 (Monday)
+ Ikebu for Seikaido (art supplies) and Loft (present wrapping/packing materials for Negi)
+ seeing an elementary school boy in uniform (see last image) and thinking of gunfair right away
+ met up with Lindsey in Nakano
+ karaoke with Lindsey and Yoshi
$ Wakamatsu Kaori 2011 calendar
12/21/2010 (Tuesday)
+ Ogikubo for Book Off and bookstore
+ shio ramen with fish-based broth for dinner with Yoshi =9
$ manga
12/22/2010 (Wednesday)
? turning 26
+ Ikebu to meet up with maiki
+ Book Off
+ Animate for MAAAAANGA
- no women's day discount for "Tron" movie, so no go
+ bagel lunch, desserts, karaoke, arcade (DDR)
+ dinner with Yoshi at German crepe restaurant
$ lots of manga
$ winter bunny seal for cellphone
12/23/2010 (Thursday)
+ rented "Eve no Jikan", "Hachi", "Gedo Senki", and "Ibara no Ou"
+ got through "Eve no Jikan" and "Ibara no Ou"
+ dinner with Yoshi at Mos Burger
12/24/2010 (Friday)
+ Glee event in Shinjuku with Maiki and 2 of her schoolmates
? Spokespeople for Glee... Becky and Hibiki combo
+ bread place inside station =9
+ Christmas Eve dinner at Yoshi's friend's place in Roppongi (great view and good food!)
$ manga
12/25/2010 (Saturday)
+/- working on handdrawn KH nengajou
+ lunch with Yoshi at Chinese restaurant
+ finishing "Hachi" and "Gedo Senki"
+ ordering in dinner from Freshness Burger
12/26/2010 (Sunday)
+ timed buffet at Bittersweet Cafe (too many desserts!) with Yoshi for lunch
+ walking from Harajuku to Shibuya
+ fruits dish at Fruits Parlor
+ udon for dinner with Yoshi
+ Baseball Park Escape Mystery Game at Meiji Jingu Baseball Park
$ manga
12/27/2010 (Monday)
+ met up with Maiki and Sou in Ikebu to go to Namjatown for gyoza and ice cream
+++ yuzu gelato! =9
+ took Sou to Fewmany store, Square Enix store, Pokemon Center, and Meiji 100% Chocolate Cafe
+ dinner with Yoshi at sushi place in Shibuya
$ postcards
$ KH clearfiles
12/28/2010 (Tuesday)
+ met up with Sou in Ikebu, spent all day together
+ exchanged money for JPY
+ bought day pass for Toei bus to go to Tokyo Tower and Todoroki Valley
+ brunch at bagel cafe
+ Todoroki Valley = ♥
+ dinner in Akiba for Kyushu Jangara ramen
+ checked in to hotel by Big Sight (yay! no first train madness the next morning!)
12/29/2010 (Wednesday)
- lining up at 5:30am (no sun yet!)
+ with Sou
+ saving spot in line for Tachibana-san
+ Tachibana-san helping with letters/content/translation
+ got free new doujin+omake from Negi (after passing her big bag of goodies =D)
+ finished shopping at 11:17am
+ met Arika-san
+ Tachibana-san helped me find out about worst-case scenario procedures, just in case
+ went back to Yoshi's, OMG THEY GOT DELIVERED, ordered in pizza
- back to hotel by myself
12/30/2010 (Thursday)
+ met up with Yoko and MB at 8am
+ IN! no problem! set up in less than an hour, lots of time to sit and look around before opening
+ got Ayli's Fafner straps from Animate
- loitering around in Sunshine City for hours (yay for English music? XD;)
+ okonomiyaki for dinner with Yoshi, Sou, and Maiki
+ all-night karaoke with Maiki and Febby (Yoshi left at 3am, kuriuskat had to go really early)
$ doujins
$ phone straps
12/31/2010 (Friday)
+ slept in
+ headed out to Yoshi's grandmother's place, met relatives' 2 new dogs Riku and Ren
+ watched Kouhaku (IMO, best songs were Arashi's "Monster" and "Troublemaker", Ikimonogakari's "Arigatou", and Sakamoto Fuyumi's "Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru")
01/01/2011 (Saturday)
+ lots of sleep
- Meiji temple not open at 6pm
- Yoshi went to camp overnight for Apple store lucky bag
+ lots of sleep
01/02/2011 (Sunday)
-overslept, supposed to meet Kaitlin in Ueno
+ ice cream in the park
? lunch at Hard Rock Cafe in Ueno Station (overpriced for so-so food)
+ met up with Maiki at Ikebu, got my stuff from earlier
+ wander around with Kaitlin, she found stuff she wanted
+ bought conbini food for dinner for me and Yoshi
01/03/2011 (Monday)
+ dimsum lunch with Yoshi and Lindsey
+ Belgium dark hot chocolate in Delirium Cafe
+ Kichijoji for Lindsey's TV
+ Book Off (yay, found the rest of the Darren Shan manga!)
+ "Tron: Legacy" 3D movie with Yoshi (Lindsey had to leave.. D=)
+ yakitori dinner with Yoshi and Lindsey in Ogikubo
- feeling motion sickness? from all the 3D of "Tron: Legacy"
$ Darren Shan manga
$ Pokemon Black game
01/04/2011 (Tuesday)
+ sent off luggage to airport
+ off to Kamakura
+ fishy/seafood lunch with Yoshi and his dad along the drive to Hakone
- traffic from Kamakura to Enoshima
- more traffic from Enoshima to Hakone
+ onsen!
-smelling like sulfur afterwards
01/05/2011 (Wednesday)
+ early bus back to Odawara station, saw sun rise
+ saw Mt Fuji from train
+ slept in all day once back at Yoshi's apartment
+ combini dinner for 2
01/06/2011 (Thursday)
+ OMG, Tachibana-san sent me a package with fuzzy brown pants and jacket XD (like teddy bear!)
+ lunch with Yoshi at potage ramen place in the neighborhood
+ found Shiro Hige bakery (TOTORO CREAM PUFFS! ♥)
+ sukiyaki dinner with Yoshi and his dad (sans raw egg for me)
01/07/2011 (Friday)
+ lunch with Yosi at oyakodon place in the neighborhood
- parting from Yoshi
+ pleasantly surprised that heavy luggage was actually well under the weight limit at airport =D
- almost didn't get assigned seat for flight
+ ran into Yoko and her son at vending machine inside security gate XD
+ watched "Jumanji" on the way back
Pics to follow later this week.