Finding Yamapi : A journey into the Kansai part of Japan
what does it sound likes ? finding Nemo ...?
sorry my dearest f-lists for spamming your friend pages xD .. at first i thought i would write all of my trip in some notebook but finally i think i'm too lazy to write out an entire story and stick a ton of photo in it. in stead, i decide to memo in my LJ. Typing is easier than writing, isnt it ? ヽ(*´∀`)ノ
anyway, i cant speak english very well .. so, sorry in advance for gramma mistaken *facepalm*
05.01.2010 - 10.01.2010
it's my first trip abroad without my parents or travel agency! .. so surprised that mom and dad allowed me to go
There're only my friends and i for this overseas trip (actually, Yamapi solo con trip ~) i was a little unsure how it would go since it is the first time we will be in Osaka, plus we doesnt speaks Japanese well! but we still didn't plan everything in advance like where we were going each day of our trip. just only auction con tickets (the most important thing >///////<) and booked a flight and hotel ... seemed like stupid people're going together haha~
however, it's the happiest and funniest trip i ever have .. a good time spent (* ̄∇ ̄)ノ
5th of January 11:00 PM at Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thailand)
an in-flight meal does suck as expected (*´ー`) i know good food is difficult to heat up when you're on a plane serving tons of people... but gave me some noodle that tasted like it came out of the frozen food section and sticky, mushy mess in early morning ?
i definitely wasnt going to take that ...
after 6 hours, we finally reached Osaka, Kansai International Airport. i'm absolutely amazing about this airport 'cause it located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka bay. To avoid noise pollution problems, so planners decided to build the airport offshore. Japan can makes even an island!
during on the railroad from airport to the mainland, sea scenery is so adorableee~
gave me the opportunity to sit and watch the landscape move by, something I always appreciate and love about train travel as for me its the most relaxed form of travel.
on Nankai railway 07:00 AM
Ticket machine at Kansai International Airport
we stayed at the hotel called Cross Hotel Osaka in Shinsaibashi area, it was quite a nice place
Not more than 5 mins walk from subway stations, and the back door of the hotel links to the food and entertainment street such as Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi alley and Daimaru! and it also include the buffet breakfast in the morning, delicious western and japanese cuisine
Overall the staffs are excellent especially the female receptionist, she is absolutely kawaiiii~ very friendly and helpful. If visiting Osaka again, I'll certainly stay here again
~ you are wondering do i earn money from advertise that hotel ? xDD
The first thing we did after having dropped the bags off was go to Osaka - Jo Hall to try and get pi's con tickets for today (6th Jan) because we only auction tickets at Arena zone for the final con in day 7th so, we thought if we came early we could buy any tickets that someone who's member got but want to sale (if i remember correctly, 1 member can get 6 tickets) and we didn't wait too long.. just we reached there, there was an old man walked to talk with us. At first we were wondering what does he want ...(´・д・`?) then he asked us .. did we want to buy pi's tickets !? awwww i havent thought we could easily find tickets before. after talked with him, finally i known who is he .. he is one of yakuza gang (japanese mafia
) who i heard the rumors for a long long time that they would sale ghost tickets to fangirls but the prices are very expensive too. we talked in japanese between each other the best way we can because yakuza-san cant speak english at all (; ̄д ̄)and our big problem was i cant speak japanese very well too .. body language and drawing talent were useful in that situation xDD
We just wanted low-cost tickets, not more than 10,000 yen because we already had good seats at arena zone for tomorrow so, for today stand seating is OK. Yakuza-san told us to wait here and he would find suitable tickets for us. We known they'd like to sale their tickets to any other who effort more money but we didnt care .. we could wait, It was a few hours before the beginning of the concert .. if they couldn't sale, they'd come back to us ♥
Just to even things out, whenever i think yakuza is member of Johnny family, i cant stop laughing xDD
i know even if they're member but no way they'd become fanboy, for sure ... so i have to say that Imagine It! kinda funny~ for examples, Yakuza-san ...
download everything related to those guys, watch every performances on TV broadcast, buy singles, albums, DVDs, photo books or anything else, update what happens from J-web everyday or even go to their concerts and show beloved boy's uchiwa xDDD
mmmm... actually, all above are my hobbies d(≧∀≦)b
While waiting for yakuza-san we're searching around trying to get something to eat for lunch. In Japan, we saw so many things we had never ever seen before in our country ♥
Junior high school girls in Pokemon cosplay lol
i'm so curious! despite freezing temperatures (around 4-5 degrees celcius) some japanese girls walk the streets still wearing short skirts and hot pants, without even long johns or stockings! how could they do that !? sugoi ne~( ´艸`)
Hotel New Otani Osaka : the opposite site of Osaka Jo-Hall
the hotel that i thought yamapi stayed here during his solo con ;D
we had been waiting for yakuza-san for over 30 minutes then we found that there were some girls who sold tickets too! but they secretly sold 'cause yakuza never want their competitors. So we're going to talk with one of those girls. She's so cute! both personality and clothes (she wear pink-dress with lolita style xD) she also cant speak english well but better than yakuza-san. She told that she's member and got 6 tickets so she wanted to sale 2 of them! (if you dont know, original cost from JE is about 6000 yen. at first yakuza tried to sale us over 25,000 yen! what the hell of them !?) after talked, she'd like to sale 7000 yen per one ..reasonable price ..so we decided to buy those 2. How lucky ~!! When she known we came from Thailand she said that she love Mi-ku
at first i was confused who's that man ? after repeat that name 3-4 times finally i got who is he. He's Mike, younger brother of unit Golf & Mike (if you dont know, they're Thai duo artist that used to released unit GYM along with yamapi! and released Japanese singles and albums at Japan too .. but i'm not sure i'm not their fan ・゚・(ノ∀`;)・゚・ so surprised! havent thought they're popular before xDD For response her feeling, i told i love Mi-ku too~ mmmm..i'm a liar *ROFL* after that we talked with other girls and finally got tickets for all of us (5 persons) of course with a cheaper price than yakuza-san
gomen ne, ojii-san i didnt want your very high-cost tickets anymore *devil laughs* That day gave me many good memories by talking, laughing and sharing with those girls. i'm really impressed japanese people. most of them always nice and very polite.
Inside Osaka - Jo Hall : before concert start
The show same as many reports that you ever read before. it was great and very impressive
Actually, the main reason i came to see pi con was i thought ryo-chan would come as guest, for sure!! ~( ̄∇ ̄*) They're best friend since childhood til now, no reason ryo'd not come to pi first solo con, right ? To see ryo-chan in person is always my ichiban wish but i should know ... this world is unfair! Jin came, Toma came, Tackey came and others junior also came but .. no ryo whyyyyyyyyyy ? i was definitely disappointed
RyoPi is the one thing i want most, wanna see they singing together, teasing each other, smiling and laughing together *sigh* one reason i could think for THIS was Johnny-san not allowed ryo-chan and other NEWS members to go .. i dont understand what Johnny-san actually thinks as always
Can you imagine how i feel when reached home and looked around internet then found that ryo and jin spent times with friends in south korea, plus papa pics with clingy girls during i've stayed at his hometown ? *speechless* Σ(ノ´Д`)ノ anyway, ryo looks super cute with the hoodie over the hat ♥ furthermore my fangirling self is so happy that JinRyo're laughing together in those photos .. chubby & skinny with big cheesy smiles and victory sign hehe~
however, i was totally enjoyed pi's solo con. He's more kakoii and gorgeous than i ever thought. Gives off an idol aura all time xD i approved! The nearer he is, the more you can see his perfect face lol My seat was in an arena zone, thanks god that i having this kind of ticket, so I could see pi very clearly! In my opinion, i love Aoi performance the most. this song was great, it showed how much he has grown. hope that one day he'll sing this song in single or album. Not saying anything about the con to avoid spoilers 'cause i think JE'll release this DVD con soon and i definitely buy it
after con finished, there're sooooooo many girls (included me) walked out
though the weather is very cold but our heart warmth by pi's feeling that sent to his fanclub lol
(oh~ please dont split off your coffee ;P)
many silver ribbons fell when fireworks went off during his performance. all of fangirl tried to get as much as they can xDD (pink ticket for zone arena and the green one for stand seating)
Osaka castle : take a picture at Osaka-Jo Hall park before sunset
lastly we went back to dotonburi and shinsaibashi, somewhere near our hotel to get dinner and walk around. We found a cute place for dinner, it's an udon shop
The dish i ordered was 'Kitsune Udon', one of representative food of osaka. In its simplicity allows me to fully appreciate the udon itself .. delicious and filling dish by adding a thin piece of fried tofu. The sweetly flavored kitsune is perfect match for the udon noodles
and the price is very reasonable. Some quote said that "the people of osaka are happy and openhearted because they eat good food" ... completely agree! almost of their foods quite delicious and their people are very friendly. As awesome as ryo-chan's hometown hehe xDD (my fangirling-system work again) After that we set off without a final destination in mind, with the goal to just explore this area. we walked for a few hours, and found shopping, shopping, and more shopping
'shopping' is always the word I was looking for!
Dotonbori : masses of neon lights
on both sides of the dotonbori-gawa canal are lined with advertisements and neon signs. The entire sides of buildings are decorated with neon lamps. The illuminated signboards and neon lamps reflect on the dotonbori-gawa canal at night, making dotonbori even merrier >////////<
lots of people sauntering up and down the streets under big multi-coloured neon lights which gives the street a life and vibrancy to it. Strolling through this area it feels like being adrift in a sea of light and color bringing a sense of detached.
Fukuyama Masaharu advertisement neon sign : fuku-chan is kakkoi as always ;D
down the street, it was entertaining to see the colorful mascots of each restaurant. Important symbol of dotonbori is Gulico Man, an olympic runner billboard located near the canal. it's the place that anyone who had visited osaka must take their pictures for kept coming, so we did too xDD
Glico Man [グリコマン]
Kani Doraku Crab : This six and a half meter crab on the front of the crab restaurant Kani Doraku. It is mechanized, being able to move its arms and eyestalks.
pachinko parlor : one of the business that you can find all over japan
Shinsaibashi - suji : shopper's heaven
it covered with a roof and lined with shops on either side, creating an enormous, all-weather, urban shopping mall. The stuff here is slightly cheaper than in BKK especially maquillage shiseido, DHC or any brands of cosmetic > < I bought lots stuff including Kanjani8 single GIFT (Shiro, Aka, Midori), yamapi loveless singles Lot B that we couldnt find at Thailand, JE magazines, shiseido anessa sunblocks, brush on, eye shadow, shu uemura eyelash curlers, Kose & Russ-K goodies (as NEWS's fan we should buy them at all LOL)
A busy crowd inside shinsaibashi
a yummy crepe at Crepes de Cocorico. They're very delicious and fresh but for to go orders only. i queued for it more than 15 mins in bitterly cold weather! Then again, for someone who's never tasted osaka crepe before, I think it was quite an achievement for me to go through such "pain and torture" for a moment of sweet, creamy crepe xD
Lovely manhole cover at shinsaibashi, show not only a fascination with Japanese manholes but also the area they occupy and how they blend into the sidewalk and surrounding streetscape
Russ-K shop : for NEWS fans, it's a place you must go!
At shinsaibashi, it's on the 2nd floor of Indio shop. After got inside I absolutely loved the clothes and accessories. Saw them by myself was better than could look but couldnt touch feeling that i always think when looked around its official web xDD Finally, I ended up buying 2 round neck sweatshirts, 2 jackets (those ryo-chan and yamapi wear in winter campaign), ryo-chan's key necklace and the hand watch which i've realized i shouldnt buy the white one 'cause rightnow it's becoming the grey one~ ( ̄∇ ̄*)
The salesperson was kind enough to let me take pics
my RyoPi ~!! wanna bring these back home and paste on my bedroom's ceiling lol
Lawson : a convenience store that i went everynight b/c it's located next door to our hotel~
even if i bought so many things from it but i cant get a point stickers for apply to get the NEWS x Lawson campaign items
*sobs sobs*
mow ice cream
last year there're some papa pics of ryo and his smoke, a bunch of fangirls freaking out with those pics but who's care ... sure, smoking's bad for his health, but he's a human like we are! he has his own life like smokes or drinks, and perhaps have sex during his spare time. The main problem for him is that he is too skinny! i have friend who's a chain smoker too. his stomach easily with just a cigarette instead of food, which is in ryo case quite bad. black impact = bad impact after all lol
セブンスター・ブラック・インパクト (Seven Stars black impact) 7mg tar, 0.7mg nicotine
thanks
dr_p for informative info. After reading her post and seeing Orthos no Inu papa pics it's a cigarette brand i need to buy even if i dont smoke
may be this brand will get more buyers now, ryo should do a presenter with that lol
as a ryo's bigfan i must collect even a brand of cigarettes he smoke lol
i went into the shop and asked the shopkeeper to take these photos. She might be wondering what was i doing ? xDD its price 300 yen (about 110 bath) at first i thought ryo'd smoke the more expensive thing than this :P
Okay, i will stop for now because I’m getting tired.. and I havent even watched the 2nd episode of Sunao ni Narenakute~ Hope it has somewhat been interesting reading about my osaka trip =) Anyways, conclusion is traveled through Osaka which was incredible!
Then again, sorry for my bad english ~ヾ( ̄∇ ̄=ノ
part 2 will coming soon ♥