Japan so far
Sorry it has been so long since I posted. Most of my days seem to consist of going out early in the morning and coming back late in the evening. Warning, spoilers for any series I am watching below. This post is long, babbly and full of a mix of real life, doll and anime hijinks. You've been warned.
I've decided I hate flying through SFO. I absolutely hate it. Not only does it force me to catch a 6:30 am flight from NY to make it in time to transfer for KIX, but to top it off you don't actually save nearly any time flying. I left my house at 4:00 am and did not arrive at Kate's until close to 7:00 pm. My flight from SFO was completely full and I was just thankful I have status and was not forced to sit in the middle section or the back. Also, the one good thing about SFO is there are always plugs for one's laptops.
I am also completely in love with my new video Ipod. It was something of a last minute purchase before I left to Japan, but it's just been lovely this trip. I watched 18-20 of Geass on it (no idea why the fangirls were acting insane cause wow, so much LuluSuzu), Jurassic Park 3, a ton of 24 (killing off Assad sucks, though it was nice he was slashy with Wayne. Is being a President the most dangerous job after a redshirt for CTU?!?! We've now lost: former president Palmer, The president from season 4, Logan might die, and Wayne is not in great shape. I actually now like Milo but please kill the Chloe and Morris storyline now, k' thnx. And Hellllloooooo all the whiners who wanted to know where Aaron was? What would you pick, trying to protect Wayne or getting sex with Martha? I am pained to admit I do not want Logan to die, even if he is being preachy. Jack and his family are so messed up. Also, no update on how the cougar is doing?), 3 episodes of Les Miserables (Wow, I like Cosette, she has ummm personality! But what the hell, the character designs are all cute and adorable and you think children's anime, and then Madame Thenardier beats Cosette with a broom until she passes out o_O; Also, I admit it's disturbing watching and knowing how bad life is going to suck for Eponine and Gavroche. Javert looks like Snape's older brother. I wonder if there will be doujinshi lol), Shounen Onmyouji (Akiko, please die now, actually let's just make this the adventures of young Seimei and Seiryuu), and I've been watching the "ancient" J-drama Double Score. In 2002, I'd seen an episode on TV when I was following live-action You're Under Arrest. At the time my Japanese was very limited, OK it still is, and I had no idea what the "actual" story was, but after thinking the girls of You're Under Arrest was an item, it was decided the detectives of Double Score were and umm wow, were we ever right in certain respects with both series. lol The main characters of Double Score are so so so so so so so so slashy. Finally, in this excerpt, I must admit I need the March Newtype to get the pull out poster of Kira in the white Zaft uniform hitting on Shinn after he was giving his happy drugs and Daddy Deakka and Mommy Yzak look on proudly and Asuran records the moment for prosperity. One question, HOW did Kira get to be in Zaft, let alone a commander?!? What did he and Asuran decided to switch off, since Asuran kept going AWOL, or was this a clever plot by Zaft as they know Asuran always quits to join up with Kira?
So back to the trip lol I arrived late Thursday, and then went to meet Kate's host family with her for Okonomiyaki. They made some vegetarian just for me, but I was also half dead from not having slept the night before and not having slept well on the plane. If you asked me to tell you what anyone said I would be very hard pressed.
Friday, we ran some errands in the morning and then Kate and I left for Osaka. We were girly and bought some make-up. I really like the lip gloss and have worn it nearly everyday. I like the eyeliner and eye shadow too, but have been lazier with that. We went to te wonderful Mexican place in Shinsaibashi before heading out to Kyoto which my special rapid is only about 35 minutes and 540 yen away. We were staying at a tiny place muscatlove found on line because it was not so expensive and close to Arashiyama. Rather than dealing with the subway which seemed expensive and involved several transfers, we took JR to Arashiyama and walked to the tiny station on the Keifuku Arashiyama line. In fact if the train hadn't come a few seconds before we reached their, we would have missed the station it was so tiny o_O We only had to go 3 stops and then follow a map to reach the place, it was surprisingly fast and easy. For such a cheap place in Kyoto, the room was large and the bed was comfy. We had a shared bathroom down the hall and a Japanese style bath we could use. I can not tell you how wonderful Japanese baths are. This one was the perfect temperature and I loved that it was so large and deep! I could just completely stretch out in it and it made the aches go away.
Saturday was our trip to Tenshi no Sato. I had thought that Ken might not be able to talk to us much because he was so busy but he actually made the time to spend the whole day with us! We also got to eat lunch with Shigeta-kaichou and ask him some questions for the article. I'm so excited to start working on it, and I hope to start soon, I just want to get a few more questions I emailed out answered first preferably. I'm also really hoping to volunteer at the NY Dolpa. ^^;
When I went to buy my new Mamu, my credit card was rejected O_O I was most upset as 1) I had called the company ahead of time to tell them I was going to Japan and would be spending a lot on dolls. 2) My limit is quite high and I KNOW I had enough room, since I pay my bill in full each month. 3) It is incredibly embarrassing. They kindly called some number and the amount was approved. I had to call Kennis to ask him to work on the card for me so I could use it in Tokyo.
I found out some top secrets, got to actually take pictures in the FCS room, and got a chance to ask some questions people have just been curious about. Since I had the chance to ask and I am not sure this information fits for my article here are some of the questions and answers, paraphrased:
Q.: Is there a hotel/ryokan attached to Tenshi no Sato or plans to add one?
A.: No, and no plans.
Q.: Was Shinku not released Internationally because of copyright and will that mean Haruhi will not be released as well?
A.: Yes, the issue is copyright.
Q.: Why don't Yos come with outfits unlike the other LEs?
A.: I don't know actually, we need to ask Mikey.
My only regrets are, I think I forgot to take pictures with Shigeta-san, I wore these horrible shoes, that while cute looking killed my feet, and not bringing another jacket cause it was nippy! I took a shinkansen to Tokyo and Kate returned to her home. It was a long train trip for me, nearly 3 hours by Shinkansen and then another 45 minutes, but I checked into my hotel on Odaiba and got to see Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge lighted in green lights in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I would not have suspected that lol
Since I hadn't known when Dolpa was originally, I booked Tokyo in hopes of seeing both bittenbefore and going to Haru Comic City to indulge in my other hobby, doujinshi. lol I couldn't actually cancel, since I would have lost my hotel cost. It turned out well, as there were so many Geass circles, though I seem to have lost my handheld doujinshi mirror I bought. I arrived at Big Sight at 7, and decided the chill the day before was nothing when the wind came off the bay while waiting in line. lol I got taken in by some fangirls who were amused I liked Geass and knew Seed. lol Haru was interesting, the Seed circles are losing out to Geass, and oddly my old love PoT was next to both. I bought so many Geass books. I think I've bought duplicates unintentionally, actually I know I've now bought unintentional duplicates. I also checked out Shounen Onmyouji, and umm wow the art is worse than the art for most Clamp books. o_O I missed my chance to meet Kouga Yun again as she was doing something there and probably releasing some more doujinshi Loveless items, but I could not read the Japanese saying where she was. ;;_;; I also missed the Superatural doujinshi bfore they sold out lol Pot was pretty dead with no lines really, while Geass really does seem a big upcoming series. Bleach, Gintama, Naruto, and Reborn are all still huge. I didn't check out FMA carefully since I couldn't find the Greed circle. Ah well that is what SCC is for. I was too tired to look at HP, but did look at Clamp and a few other things. I also got two sketches of Suzaku and killed my feet even more. I stayed pretty much to the end, and learned how to Takyuubin my doujinshi back to Kate. Can I just say how wonderful this is? You don't need to carry back anything and it's surprisingly cheap AND you get next day delivery. I now want to use this whenever I can. >>;
Post Haru, I kept trying to get in contact with dilettantka so we could meet for dinner. I went to Mandarake Nakano and resisted an actual brown eyed Erika for only 1200 yen. I had wanted a real brown eyed Erika for so long, and she was so cute, but her hair was sort of blah, and I guess I have my Erika I re-painted and while not perfect, it's pretty good. They also had Shinku for sale for 170,000 yen. I of course also looked at doujinshi, again, and then bought a pair of Japanese penny loafers trying to get some desperate relief for my feet. I got to meet Eda, we bonded about a few issues we are both facing and then fangirled and ate at my favorite Indian restaurant in Tokyo. It was so much fun, and I am so glad we were able to catch up! I also went to the Takarazuka theatre to get DVDs for reynardine and a small thank you gift for bwinter
Monday I stayed in a little longer than I intended in my room talking to Kennis and missed breakfast, before heading to Ikebukuro to do some shopping. I went to K-books and Character Kings and was running so late I actually skipped Animate. Eventually, I headed back to Osaka.
Tuesday, I planned to go back to Sato to order some FCS. I took up a later traint han I intended cause I was lazy in the morning and then decided to do some shopping first so that I actually got it done this time. I bought postcards and a few souvenirs and met Sporkninja and Wannabehokage from DoA. They're both super nice, and Sporkninja was happy as she had also managed a Mamu. We were having so much fun talking that I didn't make it to Sato until 4, and I had a 6:30 train to catch back in Kyoto station as I needed to be back at Kate's by 9 to karaoke. The FCS staff was super patient with me and helped me order the dolls and then I went to pay... and my card was rejected... again. We spent 20 minutes trying to contact the card to no avail, which sucked because I was getting anxious for my train and cause without my card I could not pay! I had to finally call Kennis (thank god I can finally use my cell to dial the US) and have him call the company. Finally at 5:40 I paid, and RAN all the way to Arashiyama eki and literally just made the train. The trip from Arashiyama to Kyoto is only about 15 minutes, but the problem is if I missed that train I probably would have missed my connection in Kyoto and that was the last direct train going to Kate's. I was so thankful when I boared that train. I went to a new place to Karaoke and it was really nice though the Native American theme was a little weird. It's funny every place in Japan has a slightly different song and video list. I did: Reason, Michiyuki, Believe, Sexy Sexy, Over My Head, and Regret. I was really surprised they had Regret, which is why I just had to do it. I'm hoping to karaoke with again at least once before leaving Japan. Oddly, I like doing English songs too. I'm at a point where I know some kana and can read them from the screen but can't read them all or necessarily fast enough for songs. I need to practice before my next trip. >>; I also tried some purple fizz thing I hear muscatlove likes which gave me a nice buzz. lol
Yesterday, I caught an earlyish train to go to Osaka for I Doll. I'd never been to an I Doll flavored show before so I was a bit curious of what it would be like. Unfortunately, I could not get a seat reservation and the non-reserved sections were completely full (we're talking multiple people in the aisles) so I was stuck in the smoking session. I got so nauseated, I thought I was going to puke. It did not help that someone eventually sat next to *ME* and started smoking o_O; Gah! I am forever in twotone's debt for her directions. (Was there something you wanted in Japan, I forgot, please let me know ASAP) I don't think I ever could have found I Doll without her. I Doll West is small, sort of like Doll Show use to be, It's just one floor, and though I only got their 1 hour before it started, I was in the first 100 or so people. We got to wait inside, which is love. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Hitomiya was going to be there! So much happiness! There was another circle with pretty glass eyes but they were all 16+ and I am really looking for 14 and below now. I Doll is big with the "B"'s namely Blythe and Blue Fairy. I saw so many TFs there! It also has a lot of Little Junior and Petit Ai things. I liked I Doll a lot. Afterwards, I headed to Namba to do some shopping. I had forgotten my Animate card is no longer valid, and now I need to spend 3000 yen there before I leave Japan or lose the money. GAH! Plus, I need to fill out an application to get a new type of card. I am tempted to get more Copics. I want that large Suzaku figure, but I didn't see any left.
Today is my day to relax, go to the PO and maybe see if I see any sakura. They've only just started to come out I've noticed from the train. It's quite exciting because while I expect I will miss the main part of it, I will get to see something hopefully!
I've decided I hate flying through SFO. I absolutely hate it. Not only does it force me to catch a 6:30 am flight from NY to make it in time to transfer for KIX, but to top it off you don't actually save nearly any time flying. I left my house at 4:00 am and did not arrive at Kate's until close to 7:00 pm. My flight from SFO was completely full and I was just thankful I have status and was not forced to sit in the middle section or the back. Also, the one good thing about SFO is there are always plugs for one's laptops.
I am also completely in love with my new video Ipod. It was something of a last minute purchase before I left to Japan, but it's just been lovely this trip. I watched 18-20 of Geass on it (no idea why the fangirls were acting insane cause wow, so much LuluSuzu), Jurassic Park 3, a ton of 24 (killing off Assad sucks, though it was nice he was slashy with Wayne. Is being a President the most dangerous job after a redshirt for CTU?!?! We've now lost: former president Palmer, The president from season 4, Logan might die, and Wayne is not in great shape. I actually now like Milo but please kill the Chloe and Morris storyline now, k' thnx. And Hellllloooooo all the whiners who wanted to know where Aaron was? What would you pick, trying to protect Wayne or getting sex with Martha? I am pained to admit I do not want Logan to die, even if he is being preachy. Jack and his family are so messed up. Also, no update on how the cougar is doing?), 3 episodes of Les Miserables (Wow, I like Cosette, she has ummm personality! But what the hell, the character designs are all cute and adorable and you think children's anime, and then Madame Thenardier beats Cosette with a broom until she passes out o_O; Also, I admit it's disturbing watching and knowing how bad life is going to suck for Eponine and Gavroche. Javert looks like Snape's older brother. I wonder if there will be doujinshi lol), Shounen Onmyouji (Akiko, please die now, actually let's just make this the adventures of young Seimei and Seiryuu), and I've been watching the "ancient" J-drama Double Score. In 2002, I'd seen an episode on TV when I was following live-action You're Under Arrest. At the time my Japanese was very limited, OK it still is, and I had no idea what the "actual" story was, but after thinking the girls of You're Under Arrest was an item, it was decided the detectives of Double Score were and umm wow, were we ever right in certain respects with both series. lol The main characters of Double Score are so so so so so so so so slashy. Finally, in this excerpt, I must admit I need the March Newtype to get the pull out poster of Kira in the white Zaft uniform hitting on Shinn after he was giving his happy drugs and Daddy Deakka and Mommy Yzak look on proudly and Asuran records the moment for prosperity. One question, HOW did Kira get to be in Zaft, let alone a commander?!? What did he and Asuran decided to switch off, since Asuran kept going AWOL, or was this a clever plot by Zaft as they know Asuran always quits to join up with Kira?
So back to the trip lol I arrived late Thursday, and then went to meet Kate's host family with her for Okonomiyaki. They made some vegetarian just for me, but I was also half dead from not having slept the night before and not having slept well on the plane. If you asked me to tell you what anyone said I would be very hard pressed.
Friday, we ran some errands in the morning and then Kate and I left for Osaka. We were girly and bought some make-up. I really like the lip gloss and have worn it nearly everyday. I like the eyeliner and eye shadow too, but have been lazier with that. We went to te wonderful Mexican place in Shinsaibashi before heading out to Kyoto which my special rapid is only about 35 minutes and 540 yen away. We were staying at a tiny place muscatlove found on line because it was not so expensive and close to Arashiyama. Rather than dealing with the subway which seemed expensive and involved several transfers, we took JR to Arashiyama and walked to the tiny station on the Keifuku Arashiyama line. In fact if the train hadn't come a few seconds before we reached their, we would have missed the station it was so tiny o_O We only had to go 3 stops and then follow a map to reach the place, it was surprisingly fast and easy. For such a cheap place in Kyoto, the room was large and the bed was comfy. We had a shared bathroom down the hall and a Japanese style bath we could use. I can not tell you how wonderful Japanese baths are. This one was the perfect temperature and I loved that it was so large and deep! I could just completely stretch out in it and it made the aches go away.
Saturday was our trip to Tenshi no Sato. I had thought that Ken might not be able to talk to us much because he was so busy but he actually made the time to spend the whole day with us! We also got to eat lunch with Shigeta-kaichou and ask him some questions for the article. I'm so excited to start working on it, and I hope to start soon, I just want to get a few more questions I emailed out answered first preferably. I'm also really hoping to volunteer at the NY Dolpa. ^^;
When I went to buy my new Mamu, my credit card was rejected O_O I was most upset as 1) I had called the company ahead of time to tell them I was going to Japan and would be spending a lot on dolls. 2) My limit is quite high and I KNOW I had enough room, since I pay my bill in full each month. 3) It is incredibly embarrassing. They kindly called some number and the amount was approved. I had to call Kennis to ask him to work on the card for me so I could use it in Tokyo.
I found out some top secrets, got to actually take pictures in the FCS room, and got a chance to ask some questions people have just been curious about. Since I had the chance to ask and I am not sure this information fits for my article here are some of the questions and answers, paraphrased:
Q.: Is there a hotel/ryokan attached to Tenshi no Sato or plans to add one?
A.: No, and no plans.
Q.: Was Shinku not released Internationally because of copyright and will that mean Haruhi will not be released as well?
A.: Yes, the issue is copyright.
Q.: Why don't Yos come with outfits unlike the other LEs?
A.: I don't know actually, we need to ask Mikey.
My only regrets are, I think I forgot to take pictures with Shigeta-san, I wore these horrible shoes, that while cute looking killed my feet, and not bringing another jacket cause it was nippy! I took a shinkansen to Tokyo and Kate returned to her home. It was a long train trip for me, nearly 3 hours by Shinkansen and then another 45 minutes, but I checked into my hotel on Odaiba and got to see Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge lighted in green lights in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I would not have suspected that lol
Since I hadn't known when Dolpa was originally, I booked Tokyo in hopes of seeing both bittenbefore and going to Haru Comic City to indulge in my other hobby, doujinshi. lol I couldn't actually cancel, since I would have lost my hotel cost. It turned out well, as there were so many Geass circles, though I seem to have lost my handheld doujinshi mirror I bought. I arrived at Big Sight at 7, and decided the chill the day before was nothing when the wind came off the bay while waiting in line. lol I got taken in by some fangirls who were amused I liked Geass and knew Seed. lol Haru was interesting, the Seed circles are losing out to Geass, and oddly my old love PoT was next to both. I bought so many Geass books. I think I've bought duplicates unintentionally, actually I know I've now bought unintentional duplicates. I also checked out Shounen Onmyouji, and umm wow the art is worse than the art for most Clamp books. o_O I missed my chance to meet Kouga Yun again as she was doing something there and probably releasing some more doujinshi Loveless items, but I could not read the Japanese saying where she was. ;;_;; I also missed the Superatural doujinshi bfore they sold out lol Pot was pretty dead with no lines really, while Geass really does seem a big upcoming series. Bleach, Gintama, Naruto, and Reborn are all still huge. I didn't check out FMA carefully since I couldn't find the Greed circle. Ah well that is what SCC is for. I was too tired to look at HP, but did look at Clamp and a few other things. I also got two sketches of Suzaku and killed my feet even more. I stayed pretty much to the end, and learned how to Takyuubin my doujinshi back to Kate. Can I just say how wonderful this is? You don't need to carry back anything and it's surprisingly cheap AND you get next day delivery. I now want to use this whenever I can. >>;
Post Haru, I kept trying to get in contact with dilettantka so we could meet for dinner. I went to Mandarake Nakano and resisted an actual brown eyed Erika for only 1200 yen. I had wanted a real brown eyed Erika for so long, and she was so cute, but her hair was sort of blah, and I guess I have my Erika I re-painted and while not perfect, it's pretty good. They also had Shinku for sale for 170,000 yen. I of course also looked at doujinshi, again, and then bought a pair of Japanese penny loafers trying to get some desperate relief for my feet. I got to meet Eda, we bonded about a few issues we are both facing and then fangirled and ate at my favorite Indian restaurant in Tokyo. It was so much fun, and I am so glad we were able to catch up! I also went to the Takarazuka theatre to get DVDs for reynardine and a small thank you gift for bwinter
Monday I stayed in a little longer than I intended in my room talking to Kennis and missed breakfast, before heading to Ikebukuro to do some shopping. I went to K-books and Character Kings and was running so late I actually skipped Animate. Eventually, I headed back to Osaka.
Tuesday, I planned to go back to Sato to order some FCS. I took up a later traint han I intended cause I was lazy in the morning and then decided to do some shopping first so that I actually got it done this time. I bought postcards and a few souvenirs and met Sporkninja and Wannabehokage from DoA. They're both super nice, and Sporkninja was happy as she had also managed a Mamu. We were having so much fun talking that I didn't make it to Sato until 4, and I had a 6:30 train to catch back in Kyoto station as I needed to be back at Kate's by 9 to karaoke. The FCS staff was super patient with me and helped me order the dolls and then I went to pay... and my card was rejected... again. We spent 20 minutes trying to contact the card to no avail, which sucked because I was getting anxious for my train and cause without my card I could not pay! I had to finally call Kennis (thank god I can finally use my cell to dial the US) and have him call the company. Finally at 5:40 I paid, and RAN all the way to Arashiyama eki and literally just made the train. The trip from Arashiyama to Kyoto is only about 15 minutes, but the problem is if I missed that train I probably would have missed my connection in Kyoto and that was the last direct train going to Kate's. I was so thankful when I boared that train. I went to a new place to Karaoke and it was really nice though the Native American theme was a little weird. It's funny every place in Japan has a slightly different song and video list. I did: Reason, Michiyuki, Believe, Sexy Sexy, Over My Head, and Regret. I was really surprised they had Regret, which is why I just had to do it. I'm hoping to karaoke with again at least once before leaving Japan. Oddly, I like doing English songs too. I'm at a point where I know some kana and can read them from the screen but can't read them all or necessarily fast enough for songs. I need to practice before my next trip. >>; I also tried some purple fizz thing I hear muscatlove likes which gave me a nice buzz. lol
Yesterday, I caught an earlyish train to go to Osaka for I Doll. I'd never been to an I Doll flavored show before so I was a bit curious of what it would be like. Unfortunately, I could not get a seat reservation and the non-reserved sections were completely full (we're talking multiple people in the aisles) so I was stuck in the smoking session. I got so nauseated, I thought I was going to puke. It did not help that someone eventually sat next to *ME* and started smoking o_O; Gah! I am forever in twotone's debt for her directions. (Was there something you wanted in Japan, I forgot, please let me know ASAP) I don't think I ever could have found I Doll without her. I Doll West is small, sort of like Doll Show use to be, It's just one floor, and though I only got their 1 hour before it started, I was in the first 100 or so people. We got to wait inside, which is love. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Hitomiya was going to be there! So much happiness! There was another circle with pretty glass eyes but they were all 16+ and I am really looking for 14 and below now. I Doll is big with the "B"'s namely Blythe and Blue Fairy. I saw so many TFs there! It also has a lot of Little Junior and Petit Ai things. I liked I Doll a lot. Afterwards, I headed to Namba to do some shopping. I had forgotten my Animate card is no longer valid, and now I need to spend 3000 yen there before I leave Japan or lose the money. GAH! Plus, I need to fill out an application to get a new type of card. I am tempted to get more Copics. I want that large Suzaku figure, but I didn't see any left.
Today is my day to relax, go to the PO and maybe see if I see any sakura. They've only just started to come out I've noticed from the train. It's quite exciting because while I expect I will miss the main part of it, I will get to see something hopefully!