It's not the destination, it's the (long, strange, giant-robot-assisted) journey.
COMIC CON: THE PRELUDE
NOTE: The last real update I made about my summer trip was the day before I left Tokyo. Forgive me if I re-recap it a little as part of my pilgrimage to Comic Con. If there's anything worth elaborating on with photos, it's giant robots.
TOKYO
After seeing proanon off at the train station, my day in Tokyo was devoted to getting to Odaiba. Why? Because there's a goddamn life sized Gundam in the park, that's why. I haven't watched a single one of the various Gundam incarnations, but you don't really have to in order to appreciate that building a 1:1 scale replica of a giant fighting mech is awesome.
It was letting off steam when I got there, like it was getting ready to take off any second. YOU NEVER KNOW.
Sylar is probably plotting to steal it.
I explored the rest of Odaiba, too. It has an, uh...interesting choice of theme.
"Sora Bears". Possibly "Solar Bears", since their shtick is to protest global warming and tell the world about the horrible trauma they suffer with the polar ice caps melting. Only Japan would make global warming cute and marketable. CAN YOU STOP THEM CRYING?
Most of the rest of my time in Tokyo was spent running around subway stations and visiting my usual haunts like Akihabara, Nakano, and Shinjuku. There's never any lack of signs that make me laugh.
The scone that will sack your village, rape your women, and chip away at the Roman Empire. (Can I get a Visigoth crueller to go with it?)
I love the contrast between VRY SRS TAIKO GUY and "Yippie!" kid.
Buskers clowning around.
Maids: the official mascots of Akihabara.
Actual company, or viral (LOL) marketing for Resident Evil? I have no idea. Either way, I'll put $50 on "Japanese pharmaceutical company unleashes zombie virus" in the Apocalypse betting pool.
Star Wars pachinko. R2-D2 doesn't chibi-ize very well.
I love subways.
Shinjuku: mecca of street musicians.
A SLIME APPEARS. Possibly with a popped collar and pants hanging off its ass. If it had an ass.
OKAY.
The one on the right says "Nice Guy". Remember kids, it's not infringement if you don't use a name!
Airport time.
A nice, rainy night to see me off from Japan.
VANCOUVER
I didn't sleep for as much of the flight as I would have liked. A direct flight to the U.S. would have been nice, so I could have chilled out a bit before the con. Still, after being out of the country for two years, a one-day stopover in Vancouver was a nice taste of Canada before heading off into the unknown wilds of San Diego.
I got into Vancouver pretty early in the day, but I was boring and tired and didn't do a whole lot besides appreciate being somewhere where I could eavesdrop on conversations and understand street signs again. I just took a bus up to Robson Street for dinner, walked around a bit, and browsed Chapters for a while. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE MISSED ENGLISH BOOK STORES, YOU GUYS.
I amused myself by taking pictures of Sylar along the way.
Since I'd apparently get raped or mugged or eaten by wolves if I went to Stanley Park after dinner hour, I wandered down to a park by the waterfront for a while.
I'd like to get back to Vancouver some time and see it properly, but it was just a layover to the REAL trip: San Diego. I'm lucky I caught my flight at all, since none of the THREE ALARMS I set went off properly. Good thing my body decided waking up at 4:30AM was a good idea anyway. THANK YOU JET LAG. This trip was my first time going to the U.S., which means my first time through American customs at an airport. And it wasn't that bad. It's actually nice to do customs before you go into the country, so all you need to do when you arrive is grab your bags and go.
I got to the Vancouver airport early enough to have a nice Tim Hortons breakfast before my flight (Canadian dining at its finest, LOL).
Apparently I wasn't the only one making the geek pilgrimage. My flight to San Diego was one of those little Air Canada Jazz planes, and half the passengers were folks bound for Comic Con. It actually ended up being the best flight of my trip. I chatted with a guy about Doctor Who and Torchwood while we were waiting to board. They had to do some seat switching for the flight, so I got bumped up to first class. The guy next to me in first class was playing his headphones pretty loud, but I didn't mind too much since he was really friendly and split a big first-class fruit bowl with me.
SAN DIEGO
After the sweltering 32 degrees-plus-hellish-humidity in Tokyo, San Diego was a godsend. Not too hot, not too humid. Nice weather is good, even if you spend most of your time inside a convention centre. My hotel was in dire need of a renovation, but it wasn't a big deal considering how little time I spent in it. I was a lot more annoyed by the fact that my laptop's power cord decided to choose that day to die on me, so I had to ration out the remaining battery power over the next five days. (Great timing, power cord.)
I spent the evening walking around Little Italy for some pre-con preparation. The locals seemed to know that Comic Con crowds were descending.
There's not a whole lot in Little Italy, but it was a nice enough area. I managed to find a great little organic food store where I could stock up on enough fruit, granola bars, chocolate, and sandwiches to make sure I didn't have to eat convention centre food for the next few days. I also ran across an art supply store, and the tote bag and a sketchbook I bought there would become essential con gear over the next few days.
And what an epic few days it was.
NEXT: "Welcome to Comic Con! Enjoy the line."
NOTE: The last real update I made about my summer trip was the day before I left Tokyo. Forgive me if I re-recap it a little as part of my pilgrimage to Comic Con. If there's anything worth elaborating on with photos, it's giant robots.
TOKYO
After seeing proanon off at the train station, my day in Tokyo was devoted to getting to Odaiba. Why? Because there's a goddamn life sized Gundam in the park, that's why. I haven't watched a single one of the various Gundam incarnations, but you don't really have to in order to appreciate that building a 1:1 scale replica of a giant fighting mech is awesome.
It was letting off steam when I got there, like it was getting ready to take off any second. YOU NEVER KNOW.
Sylar is probably plotting to steal it.
I explored the rest of Odaiba, too. It has an, uh...interesting choice of theme.
"Sora Bears". Possibly "Solar Bears", since their shtick is to protest global warming and tell the world about the horrible trauma they suffer with the polar ice caps melting. Only Japan would make global warming cute and marketable. CAN YOU STOP THEM CRYING?
Most of the rest of my time in Tokyo was spent running around subway stations and visiting my usual haunts like Akihabara, Nakano, and Shinjuku. There's never any lack of signs that make me laugh.
The scone that will sack your village, rape your women, and chip away at the Roman Empire. (Can I get a Visigoth crueller to go with it?)
I love the contrast between VRY SRS TAIKO GUY and "Yippie!" kid.
Buskers clowning around.
Maids: the official mascots of Akihabara.
Actual company, or viral (LOL) marketing for Resident Evil? I have no idea. Either way, I'll put $50 on "Japanese pharmaceutical company unleashes zombie virus" in the Apocalypse betting pool.
Star Wars pachinko. R2-D2 doesn't chibi-ize very well.
I love subways.
Shinjuku: mecca of street musicians.
A SLIME APPEARS. Possibly with a popped collar and pants hanging off its ass. If it had an ass.
OKAY.
The one on the right says "Nice Guy". Remember kids, it's not infringement if you don't use a name!
Airport time.
A nice, rainy night to see me off from Japan.
VANCOUVER
I didn't sleep for as much of the flight as I would have liked. A direct flight to the U.S. would have been nice, so I could have chilled out a bit before the con. Still, after being out of the country for two years, a one-day stopover in Vancouver was a nice taste of Canada before heading off into the unknown wilds of San Diego.
I got into Vancouver pretty early in the day, but I was boring and tired and didn't do a whole lot besides appreciate being somewhere where I could eavesdrop on conversations and understand street signs again. I just took a bus up to Robson Street for dinner, walked around a bit, and browsed Chapters for a while. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE MISSED ENGLISH BOOK STORES, YOU GUYS.
I amused myself by taking pictures of Sylar along the way.
Since I'd apparently get raped or mugged or eaten by wolves if I went to Stanley Park after dinner hour, I wandered down to a park by the waterfront for a while.
I'd like to get back to Vancouver some time and see it properly, but it was just a layover to the REAL trip: San Diego. I'm lucky I caught my flight at all, since none of the THREE ALARMS I set went off properly. Good thing my body decided waking up at 4:30AM was a good idea anyway. THANK YOU JET LAG. This trip was my first time going to the U.S., which means my first time through American customs at an airport. And it wasn't that bad. It's actually nice to do customs before you go into the country, so all you need to do when you arrive is grab your bags and go.
I got to the Vancouver airport early enough to have a nice Tim Hortons breakfast before my flight (Canadian dining at its finest, LOL).
Apparently I wasn't the only one making the geek pilgrimage. My flight to San Diego was one of those little Air Canada Jazz planes, and half the passengers were folks bound for Comic Con. It actually ended up being the best flight of my trip. I chatted with a guy about Doctor Who and Torchwood while we were waiting to board. They had to do some seat switching for the flight, so I got bumped up to first class. The guy next to me in first class was playing his headphones pretty loud, but I didn't mind too much since he was really friendly and split a big first-class fruit bowl with me.
SAN DIEGO
After the sweltering 32 degrees-plus-hellish-humidity in Tokyo, San Diego was a godsend. Not too hot, not too humid. Nice weather is good, even if you spend most of your time inside a convention centre. My hotel was in dire need of a renovation, but it wasn't a big deal considering how little time I spent in it. I was a lot more annoyed by the fact that my laptop's power cord decided to choose that day to die on me, so I had to ration out the remaining battery power over the next five days. (Great timing, power cord.)
I spent the evening walking around Little Italy for some pre-con preparation. The locals seemed to know that Comic Con crowds were descending.
There's not a whole lot in Little Italy, but it was a nice enough area. I managed to find a great little organic food store where I could stock up on enough fruit, granola bars, chocolate, and sandwiches to make sure I didn't have to eat convention centre food for the next few days. I also ran across an art supply store, and the tote bag and a sketchbook I bought there would become essential con gear over the next few days.
And what an epic few days it was.
NEXT: "Welcome to Comic Con! Enjoy the line."