J-11 5/12
I arrived at my destination, Shinjuku station, around 7:30am feeling okay. It felt strange being in Tokyo again and knowing I'd be there for a good while. Also, as soon as I walked into the station I finally saw effects of the quake. In Osaka the only time I saw signs of the disaster was through the news and a signboard about the quake. In the station, there were many many alerts about trains that weren't running or schedules that had changed. I felt a bit humbled also worried. That particular station was huuuuge and so many people wearing the same thing. I was stunned to be honest, trying to merge into the stream of people wasn't completely fun.
Once I found where my train was leaving from I noticed there were some advisories. I felt dumb trying to read the Japanese only for the English to pop up two minutes later. It looked like my line was running on a limited schedule and I momentarily panicked. Another foreign dude noticed my panicked expression and asked if I needed help. He explained that it just meant there weren't that many trains so I should pay extra careful attention to the website schedules. I thanked him and headed towards my train. Immediately got to experience packed trains -_- Thank god I didn't have my heavy luggage.
Soon enough I arrived at Jimbocho station and managed to walk out of the wrong exit. I really don't do public transport well. But, it was okay. I was able to figure out where Sakura hostel was pretty quickly. When I first saw it.. I admit to being mildly apprehensive. It didn't seem as inviting as J-Hoppers. But, it was okay. But, I put my backpack near my newly arrived big stuff in the lobby, took out my laptop an camped out in the cafe until 1pm. Yeah. Couldn't check until 1pm.
So, I'm sure you guys are wondering why didn't I go see the show? Yeah. The previous night I got an email from my law professor saying he didn't get my final project (which I had sent in early) and I had until 11:59pm the 11th that night to turn it in. 11:59pm on 5/11 Eastern = 12:59pm 5/12 in Japan. Also, I didn't have project on me. Couldn't get my parents to get it for me. So I had reconstruct 7 pages of three months of research by memory. I was not a happy person. But, I got it done. I was angry and tried. Even if I was highly entertained by Japanese TV and Frenchmen trying to read Japanese. The food in the cafe was good too. All you can eat toast X3
At 1pm I checked in and headed down into the basement where my dorm was. Quickly found out that I had no signal on my phone down there and that my roommates were... an interesting bunch. I got a christian fundamentalist, drunken party girl, hippie business woman, and a Taiwanese otaku. Also I got the top bunk this time with half a curtain. :/ Well I made myself as comfortable as I could and around 4pm I started to get ready for shinko. I was nervous so I left an hour and a half before I had to be there, checked and triple checked train routes and times. Got there really early ^_^; Which was good because it was raining and I couldn't get an initial sense of how Tokyo worked. So I used up my extra time trying to not get wet and trying to find the theater.
Once I found it, it felt very natsukashii again. I went in, gave my ticket and sat my butt down in the second row. I felt very conspicuous, but didn't care. I studied the shinko program, trying to remember who played who in the honkouen. I didn't really know what to expect as I've only heard caithion talk about it and that wasn't much. Not that it mattered. It was SUPER easy to follow, all the young girls were adorable and there was Karan-chan<3 Cute, chubby cheeked, almost otokorashii Karan-chan<333 I love shinkos so much X3
After the curtain calls and speeches, I also got a wonderful glimpse of the rest of the Tsukigumi sei. They all passed right in front of me on their way out. Part of me was glad I hadn't gone for the first row. I would have had a heart attack.
Sadly the rest of the tale isn't good. I hadn't realised what a mess shinko demachi would be. It was raining and super windy. I tried to ask someone for some guidance, but I got stared at like I was a freak. It pretty much off put me from trying to figure out anything. I gave up on demachi after that. I didn't want to get in trouble and wait in the rain for nothing. So I left and promptly got lost. I pretty close to tears by this point.
I managed to find my station and head back to the hotel. I felt pretty dejected, so I didn't really eat. I didn't really have privacy either. Lady Fundamentalist kept trying to talk me about the joy of God. I just wanted to sit and cry in a corner. I was not happy with Tokyo. But, I tried to perk up because the next day would be Nijinsky shonichi!!! I had H-chan's iri time and everything. I was determined to make it a good day.
Next: Nijinsky, H-chan is a fricking Ninja, and Chigi is late.