東京 [DAY 1] ヾ(@°▽°@)ノ
I've clearly been procrastinating with regard to writing this long-overdue post, but editing 500 or so pictures wasn't a joke! 笑 Anyway, though you're late on the news, I caught a bus from Akita on the night of the 6th, to Tokyo, and stayed there until the night of the 9th. It was plenty fun, and I'm really glad to have went! (;w;)/ Here's day 1!
Since it was an overnight bus, I arrived at Shinjuku around 7AM on the 7th. Rui and I were going to meet at 8:30, so I spent practically all that time 1) looking for a bathroom (why were they closed? why were they all the hole-in-the-ground types?!) and 2) looking for the station exit to Kabukicho that we were supposed to meet at. After an hour, I found it, but man, JR Shinjuku's a ridiculously difficult station to navigate, even with maps! So we met up eventually, had breakfast at McD's, and walked over to Kabukicho, Tokyo's red light district, for a look. It was too early to see anything interesting, though!
A 15-pc promo that started that day! Mmmm | Kabukicho at 9AM
It was difficult to decide where to go, because most shops were closed until 11, but I was content with taking pictures of every new city I stepped foot in. So it was off to Shibuya! I wanted a picture of the famous scramble crossing, but when I asked Rui where it was, she was all "That was the crossing." It was a lot smaller than I thought. Or rather, it just had a different feel than in pictures I saw online! Nevertheless, I took lots of shots. Also coincidentally found the Hachiko statue by JR Shibuya!
Crossing! Or part of it. | Hachiko the loyal Akita inu! | the GazettE display at Tower Records
Afterwards, was a trip to Meiji-jingu, because I wanted to be a tourist. It was a long walk, but the foresty trail to the shrine felt like an oasis within the city. Really quiet. We didn't get to see any weddings, but I have too many pictures. And rocks in my shoes from the walk to and fro.
Sake barrels donated to the shine | Meiji itself
Courtyard | Hand-washing area
From Meiji, we walked to Harajuku, passing by Softbank on the way, where I bought my phone. It's white and cute and a little hard to use but only because I'm not used to it yet, I think. Around 6000円 all-in-all, including 3000 in prepaid credits. Then we stopped by Deal Design, where I laughed at the little Reita shrine they had, and was asked "Do you like GazettE?" by the sales lady. I'm sure that's how they reel customers in. 笑 Anyway, I bought an earring designed by the derp himself. "Everything else is too expensive in this store!" I thought as I saw the prices... before I got to Chrome Hearts, that is. CH didn't even display their prices next to the jewelry. Was it a fear of scaring customers? 笑 I didn't buy anything (ofc; I'm no rockstar), but for some reason, we got free water.
My phone! | Autograph & some jewelry displayed behind the cashier | Fancy water!
Harajuku for real next! It reminded me of Myeongdong a bit, with the shops, but the streets were far narrower. To be honest, it was too hot to seriously go around to shop, but we did go to Closet Child, and some Idol Photo shops, before heading over to Takadanobaba. Had a late lunch at Cafe Gusto, and some karaoke while it was still happy hour! 53円/30 mins. But seriously, why so expensive?! Regular rates are 400円/30 mins...! But we sang almost the whole DIVISION album. Though I didn't memorize some songs, it was super fun. (´ω｀★) I went karaoke-ing downtown before, but didn't get to sing any GazettE songs because no one probably knew them, lmao.
Takeshita-dori, a street in Harajuku | Hamburg steak lunch!
Karaoke time~~!! | Song of the night, hands down.
Finally, we went to Ikebukuro for dinner at an izakaya. I don't know the name, but everything we ordered was really tasty! Had gyoza, karaage, takoyaki, chicken katsu, yakitori, and tebasaki wings to share! So much chicken Got me a cassis orange and some beer, too. I found it really unfair that the most expensive dish of the night turned out to be a plate of cabbage that was automatically given to us even before we ordered. Shouldn't that be complimentary?! (;¬_¬) Or at least cheaper, if it's just cabbage. But at least, there was free ice cream for ladies.
Favorite dishes of the night!! Gyoza and Yakitori!
Going back! | Spoils of the day (+ from Closet Child 池袋)
Rui's relatives were staying at Hotel Metropolitan so we got a room there for the night, too. Nice hotel! I had a good rest~ which was necessary, since there's a lot to do for the next day. (｀・ω・´)”
Since it was an overnight bus, I arrived at Shinjuku around 7AM on the 7th. Rui and I were going to meet at 8:30, so I spent practically all that time 1) looking for a bathroom (why were they closed? why were they all the hole-in-the-ground types?!) and 2) looking for the station exit to Kabukicho that we were supposed to meet at. After an hour, I found it, but man, JR Shinjuku's a ridiculously difficult station to navigate, even with maps! So we met up eventually, had breakfast at McD's, and walked over to Kabukicho, Tokyo's red light district, for a look. It was too early to see anything interesting, though!
A 15-pc promo that started that day! Mmmm | Kabukicho at 9AM
It was difficult to decide where to go, because most shops were closed until 11, but I was content with taking pictures of every new city I stepped foot in. So it was off to Shibuya! I wanted a picture of the famous scramble crossing, but when I asked Rui where it was, she was all "That was the crossing." It was a lot smaller than I thought. Or rather, it just had a different feel than in pictures I saw online! Nevertheless, I took lots of shots. Also coincidentally found the Hachiko statue by JR Shibuya!
Crossing! Or part of it. | Hachiko the loyal Akita inu! | the GazettE display at Tower Records
Afterwards, was a trip to Meiji-jingu, because I wanted to be a tourist. It was a long walk, but the foresty trail to the shrine felt like an oasis within the city. Really quiet. We didn't get to see any weddings, but I have too many pictures. And rocks in my shoes from the walk to and fro.
Sake barrels donated to the shine | Meiji itself
Courtyard | Hand-washing area
From Meiji, we walked to Harajuku, passing by Softbank on the way, where I bought my phone. It's white and cute and a little hard to use but only because I'm not used to it yet, I think. Around 6000円 all-in-all, including 3000 in prepaid credits. Then we stopped by Deal Design, where I laughed at the little Reita shrine they had, and was asked "Do you like GazettE?" by the sales lady. I'm sure that's how they reel customers in. 笑 Anyway, I bought an earring designed by the derp himself. "Everything else is too expensive in this store!" I thought as I saw the prices... before I got to Chrome Hearts, that is. CH didn't even display their prices next to the jewelry. Was it a fear of scaring customers? 笑 I didn't buy anything (ofc; I'm no rockstar), but for some reason, we got free water.
My phone! | Autograph & some jewelry displayed behind the cashier | Fancy water!
Harajuku for real next! It reminded me of Myeongdong a bit, with the shops, but the streets were far narrower. To be honest, it was too hot to seriously go around to shop, but we did go to Closet Child, and some Idol Photo shops, before heading over to Takadanobaba. Had a late lunch at Cafe Gusto, and some karaoke while it was still happy hour! 53円/30 mins. But seriously, why so expensive?! Regular rates are 400円/30 mins...! But we sang almost the whole DIVISION album. Though I didn't memorize some songs, it was super fun. (´ω｀★) I went karaoke-ing downtown before, but didn't get to sing any GazettE songs because no one probably knew them, lmao.
Takeshita-dori, a street in Harajuku | Hamburg steak lunch!
Karaoke time~~!! | Song of the night, hands down.
Finally, we went to Ikebukuro for dinner at an izakaya. I don't know the name, but everything we ordered was really tasty! Had gyoza, karaage, takoyaki, chicken katsu, yakitori, and tebasaki wings to share! So much chicken Got me a cassis orange and some beer, too. I found it really unfair that the most expensive dish of the night turned out to be a plate of cabbage that was automatically given to us even before we ordered. Shouldn't that be complimentary?! (;¬_¬) Or at least cheaper, if it's just cabbage. But at least, there was free ice cream for ladies.
Favorite dishes of the night!! Gyoza and Yakitori!
Going back! | Spoils of the day (+ from Closet Child 池袋)
Rui's relatives were staying at Hotel Metropolitan so we got a room there for the night, too. Nice hotel! I had a good rest~ which was necessary, since there's a lot to do for the next day. (｀・ω・´)”