50 days in Japan

Introduction

2010-08-29T23:44:00.008+09:00

Welcome to my blog called "50 days in Japan". This is a traveler's journal for the 50 days I spent in Japan as my holiday. As you might realize, the trip is over, and this blog won't be updated anymore, until it's finished. It will probably take another month till I've finished it completely. You can choose to continue to read the introduction or jump straight to Day 0 and start reading and viewing my photos.

Will write more here later.

Some stats for the people who like numbers. Still need to count all the shots.

Handshakes: 67
Watanabe Mayu: 7
Ota Aika: 5
Kikuchi Ayaka: 5
Nakagawa Haruka: 4
Hirajima Natsumi: 4
Urano Kazumi: 3
Iwasa Misaki: 3
Ishida Haruka: 3
Matsubara Natsumi: 3
Komori Mika: 3
Nonaka Misato: 3
Matsui Rena: 2
Akimoto Sayaka: 2
Kashiwagi Yuki: 2
Satou Sumire: 2
Matsui Jurina: 1
Ono Haruka: 1
Hiramatsu Kanako: 1
Kinoshita Yukiko: 1
Nito Moeno: 1
Yonezawa Rumi: 1
Umeda Ayaka: 1
Minegishi Minami: 1
Miyazawa Sae: 1
Oshima Yuko: 1
Fujie Reina: 1
Itano Tomomi: 1
Kitahara Rie: 1

Events/minilive/concerts attended: 10
July 4th: Watarirouka Hashiritai - Seishun no Flag (LaQua)
July 11th: AKB48 - Surprise ha Arimasen Concert 3rd Performance (Yoyogi)
July 18th: SKE48 - Gomenne Summer (Yomiuri Land)
July 18th: Watarirouka Hashiritai - Personal handshake event (Ikebukuro Bunka Kaikan 3)
July 19th: SKE48 - Gomenne Summer (Nagoya)
July 24th: AKB48 - Ponytail to Shushu (Sendai)
July 25th: AKB48 - Ponytail to Shushu (Sapporo)
July 31st: Watarirouka Hashiritai - Extra handshake event (Yurakucho)
August 14th: Cave Matsuri (Akihabara UDX)
August 15th: Comic Market 78 (Tokyo Big Sight)

Shots (counting screenshots provided): 104
Mendol: 14
Majisuka Gakuen: 7
PVs: 35
Shukan AKB: 24
AKBINGO: 4
Nemousu TV: 9
AKB48+10: 7
Other: 4

Day 50

2010-08-20T18:49:00.001+09:00

Back home to Stockholm with Air China via Beijing.

Day 49

2010-08-19T18:37:00.008+09:00

Woke up at 4:45 to get on the first bus to Fuji Q Highland. Weather was unsettled during the whole day, and I was worried some rides were going to be suspended. Arrived at 9am and headed straight for Eejanaika since I knew that one has the longest queue line. Already at 9:10 the waiting time was 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was a great start of the day riding Eejanaika. It was my second time riding it, and I had forgotten how awesome it is. I tried to do a calm face at the photo section, but it was so damn fun I couldn't. The first time I went was soon after I arrived in Japan 3 years ago to study. That time I went on a Sunday during Golden Week, so lines were crazy. Only got to ride Dodonpa (3 hours) and Eejanaika (4.5 hours). I'm going to mix in shots with my photos.

pic of ee

screenshot

With a big smile on my face I went for Tondemina next. I thought it was going to be so-so, but it was actually alot better than I expected. I even went on this one three times during the whole day because the line was short. Pretty much everything was around 2 hours after lunch.

pic of tonde

Oshima Batting Center

To avoid getting too dizzy I went into the new Evangelion house, where they have a 1:1 scale EVA 01 right now. Only the head though. They also got a Seele room, and a 1:1 scale entryplug which you can try! Had to pay 1000 yen extra for it though.

While I was at it I thought I might as well do the Gundam house. It was really lame. You get a small pocket device and then you run around in a house looking for data centrals to collect all the parts for your Gundam. Only 1/5 of them work, the rest give you errors. I think it's entirely random. No idea what you get if you happen to collect all the parts within the time limit - 8 minutes.

pic of gundam house

About time to go on the second top ride on my list - Fujiyama. But while walking there I did a quick stop at the Panic Clock. Short and boing after the first half.

pic of mouse and panic

screenshot

pic of panic

Fujiyama is kind of old. It broke the world record for the highest roller coaster (79 m - 259 feet) in Japan when it opened in 1996. Since it's old, it's also a little shaky. But the lenght of the ride, 2 kilometers, the speed, and lots of G power time made the ride very fun. No wonder why so many people like it. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a little foggy, so no view of Mt. Fuji at all. Before getting into the line I had a choco-banana-vanilla crepe.

pic of fujiyama

screenshot

pic

screenshot

A crepe was far from enough to fill my empty stomach, so bought some takoyaki.

I really wanted to go on Eejanaika one more time, but with the line being just over 2 hours, I figured I should I try as many different rides as possible instead, so I know which ones are good next time I go. Because I will absolutely go back. First I tried Tekkotsu Banchou (Steel Frame Gang Leader), which is a slingshot high up in the sky. You get a nice view of the park while riding this.

Just for the experience, I tried Great Zaboon next, the water splash ride. A raincoat costs 100 yen. Very low quality as I saw lots of people who had their coats ripped apart when they sat down in the boat. Even with the rain coat on, I got pretty wet. If you don't use the hood, you're gonna be totally soaked. Poor Kitarie and Erepyon who had to go on this ride completely without rain coats. Actually, there were a few kids who did go without rain coats just for the lulz. Their parents had to squeeze the water off their clothes.

pic of shukan akb

screenshot of shukan akb

pic of splash

My rain coat was still useable, so I went to check the queue line for the other water ride, Nagashimasuka. But too long for me. I had about an hour and half left until the bus back to Tokyo would depart. Resulted in Fujiyama one more time, some Tondemina Pizza at the Pizza-La, and finally the Tondemina ride again.

The bus home was decorated with Gundam.

pic of bus

Back at Tokyo Station I finally got a chance to take a picture of the Japanese habit of sleeping just anywhere.

Finishing off with some more location shots.

Shukan AKB (09)

pic

screen

pic

screen

pic

screen

Oshima Batting Center

pic

screen

Day 48

2010-08-18T18:36:00.000+09:00

Last shopping in Akihabara, dinner with friends.

Day 47

2010-08-17T20:23:00.003+09:00

Headed out for Nakano with a friend from the house for some final AKB shopping. I couldn't resist more bearbricks and ended up buying three more, plus some expensive photos to complete a collection. This is the guy who had all the bearbricks on sale that I talked about earlier. You rent these glass boxes and put in stuff you want to sell, then you just go to the clerk who works there and say what you want to buy. The sellers can come back any time to collect their cash and put new stuff in. You can also see what each glass box currently have on their website. The one on the picture below is number C-199. I'm not sure how often they update the photos, but I think once a week or so. As you can see, this guy has a few new items like the Yuko daruma and 5400secs micro SDs, but still plenty of bearbricks.

Then we meet with another friend of mine who I met in Japan three years ago. As with many other people I know, we don't really stay in touch, but still make sure to meet whenever possible. Had dinner at an Italian resturant which means pasta and escargots.

And these are the bearbricks and pictures I got this time. Some of them were expensive, but I want to have 6 of each set so they take up a full spread in the binder. Still want more of the election posters.

Day 46

2010-08-16T17:18:00.051+09:00

With a vacation/trip for this long, it's inevitable that you won't be doing anything on some days. Today was such a day. So instead, let me tell about guest houses in Tokyo. For the times I've stayed in Japan, I've been at three different guest houses. The two first being Sakura House, and the third one the one I'm staying at now. A guest house is like a shared house - you get your own room but share things like kitchen, dining and living room, toilet and shower. It's convenient when you first come to Japan for a longer period as you don't need to pay large amounts of fees which you would most likely have to do if you want an apartment. You can then take your time to look for a place which will suit you the most. I would not recommend staying any longer than three months in a guest house. You can get a much better and larger place for a similiar or cheaper rent. If you're only here on a longer vacation, like me, it's a good and cheap place to stay at. And basically the only other place you could stay at would be hotels and hostels. For starters, today I had shrimps sallad with fresh vegetables and mayonnaise, with a cinnamon roll and a chocolate drink.

Kitchen area. People in guest houses tend to not clean up after themselves, and noone wants to clean up after someone else. Luckily the landlord do some thorough cleaning at least once a week. Leave food in the open and you can be sure to spot some cockroach during nights.

Dining area. Another good thing with staying at guest houses on trips is that there will almost always be someone to talk to.

How it looks from outside. There's a 10-15 minutes walk to the Yamanote line, so some people buy bicycles. Just be sure to leave it somewhere it won't by taken away by the authorities. They come with trucks on without notice and pick up all the bikes that are parked within non-parking areas. Everybody still continue to park their bicycles in such areas.

Day 45

2010-08-15T20:21:00.025+09:00

Today was the third and last day of Comiket 78. Comiket is short for Comic Market, and is the world's larget self-published comic book (called "doujinshi" in Japanese) fair. It's held twice a year, two-three days during summer and winter, at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba. This was my fourth time going - my first time was winter 2005 which was Comiket 69. I only went for the cosplay. I didn't even enter the common booth area, since I know there's a ton of people there, and there's not much to see unless you're after something special. Cosplay means costume play. Let's get on with the pictures, I'll keep writing between them. I couldn't identify them all myself, so many thanks to those who contributed!

First, a thinly dressed Hatsune Miku. Honestly, she's one of the the best and hottest cosplayer I've ever seen with my own eyes. Female sweat is moe.

Sasasegawa Sasami from Little Busters! and Miyafuji Yoshika from Strike Witches. Have not seen either.

There was a big group of Little Busters! cosplayers who got together, which you see in the picture below. As you can see some of them are male. Dressing up as a character of the opposite sex is called crossplay. There were many crossplayers, but did not take photos of them.

To not distract female reader's, I'm going to mix in some dudes here and there. This being two funny dudes - left one being Hikonyan, the mascot for Hikone Castle, and right one being General Vamp from Sunred. When taking photos, you can ask them to do a famous pose for the character. For General Vamp, someone said "Ano yubi wo shite kudasai!" ("Please do that finger!"), and he gladly made the pose.

Another Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid. Vocaloid is a singing synthesizer application for PC, and Miku is its mascot. The name Hatsune Miku is written with the kanji that literally means "the first sound from the future".

The age of the cosplayers vary, these two being a little bit above average. Furukawa Nagisa from Clannad and Yurippe from Angel Beats.

A few Evangelion cosplayers as usual. Top row, left to right - Nagisa Kaoru, Adam/Lilith, Kaji Ryoji. Bottom row - Shoryu Asuka Langley, Ikari Shinji, Ayanami Rei. I have only seen the first of the new Wevangeliwon movie trilogy.

Two more photos of the first Hatsune Miku girl. If you want them to look into your camera, you can either raise your hand and say something like "kochira onegaishimasu" ("please (look) here"), or you can try to wait until you're alone and get closer. Remember, you always need to ask the cosplayer for permission before taking photos. And be sure to thank them properly when you're done!

Sengoku Nadeko from Bakemonogatari. Very nice smile there!

A very tanned and sweaty Black Rock Shooter.

Lelouch Lamperouge from the popular Code Geass series.

Many friends get together and do duets. This is Koyori & Komugi from Nurse Witch Komugi-chan to the left, and the twins from Dragon Quest VIII to the right.

Also many trios. Shinra, Celty, and Shinra's father Shingen from Durarara. The paper he's holding up says "father-in-law". Not sure why, I haven't seen Durarara.

Cosplaying as a random maid is also quite popular.

The Bayonetta woman and Kasumi from Dead or Alive. They're both using an alternative version of their costumes - Bayonetta with a school buruma (gymnastic wear) and Kasumi in the black version.

Sometimes, it can get chaotic with all the photographers. When this happens, usually a staff member has to break in to let the cosplayer get some rest and space. Many of the girls are happy to pose for big groups though.

Obligatory Sailor Moon cosplay. Sailor Venus, Moon and Jupiter here.

Sion from the Melty Blood series and Dr Faust from the Guilty Gear series - both being fighting games. Gender unsure! Really, some people you just don't know if they're guys or girls behind the costume.

Not only anime and video game cosplay at Comiket. This is Ultraman and some dude from Kamen Rider, both tokusatsu series. Tokusatsu literraly means "special effects", and is a Japanese term for movies and TV series that have super heroes in them and use alot of special effects.

More duos. Piyoko and La Vie en Rose from DiGi charat and two maids from Kare ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama. DiGi Charat was one of the first funny anime that I watched. Glad to see that it's still fans around.

What's even more obscure than tokusatsu cosplay, is cosplay of Japanese famous religious people. This is Kuya, a Japanese priest who lived during the 10th century, and initiated the pietistic movement in Japan together with the most influential Mahayana Buddhism scholar, Genshin. But he is most famous for this wooden statue, which can be seen at Rokuharamitsu-ji in Kyoto. The six small statues coming out from his mouth stands for the six kanji 南無阿弥陀仏 ("Namuamidabutsu"), which means "I sincerecly believe in Amitabha", or as we would say in English - "Lord have mercy on me".

And this is Ishikawa Ryo, a pro golfer, and an Xbox mascot guy.

This girl I think is from the Toho-series. Toho means the Orient, and in the anime and video game world, it's referring to the shoot 'em up games made by Shanghai Alice. Shanghai Alice was originally one person, ZUN, who made everything in the games by himself. Not sure about what his company looks like today. His games got really popular, and I had to line up for 2 hours to get Shoot the Bullet at a previous Comiket, even though I was able to enter at 10 am, opening time. Usually, to be able to enter at the opening time, you need to start lining up from the first train in the morning, around 4:30am. Now there are self-made comics and games based on these self-made games. Deep!

Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee from the latest Macross series, Macross Frontier. I saw the first episode and liked it, but never got around to seeing more of it.

Kobayakawa Rinko, Takane Manaka and Anegasaki Nene from Love Plus.

These ones are all still unknown to me. If you know who they cosplay as, feel free to post a comment.

Many rich otakus like to spend their money on spicing up their cars with anime stickers and fill them with dolls and figures. These cars are called "itasha" and literally it means "painful car", because some people consider them painful to look at. I find them pretty cool.

By the end of the day, 15 minutes before closing time, this big group got together for a photo session. Mostly Toho characters, and two Friends from 20th Century Boys being fried on the ground.

If you still want to see more of my cosplay pictures from Comiket, be sure to check out my Flickr.

Day 44

2010-08-14T21:06:00.072+09:00

Today was the yearly held Cave Matsuri in Akihabara. Matsuri means festival, and summer is the season for alot of different festivals - cultural ones like obon, omikoshi, hanabi and tanabata, as well as popular cultural ones like Comiket and the Cave Matsuri. I decided to sleep it out and not line up for anything this time. I got to the Cave festival around 12:30, and was handed a ticket to the shop for 16:30. Let's take a look at some of the stuff they got for sale this time.

The new bath house door covers, called "noren" in Japanese. The one to the left says "women's bath", and the other one men's.

And Evac emblem you put on your belt.

5 chip pillows, which felt nice, but a little bit too expensive for just one. If it was 2200 yen for all five of them, then I would get them without thinking twice.

I thought I was gonna be able to just walk through and get my stuff, like two years ago when they had the Rakuen Baby festival at the same place. When I got there, there was an event going on at the stage - Wasshoi 5.5. The players in the newly released Mushihime-sama Futari Black Label & Death Smiles Mega Black Label Super Replay DVD was there to show the people some live playing.

I went there with a friend to show him some of Akihabara, so we went around to a few weird shops. In Akihabara you can find just about anything. If you can't make out what this is, don't bother.

Also checked the regular AKB stuff that I always do when in Akihabara. At the official shop I got the B3rd DVD, Ucchi's t-shirt and a CinDy clear file. In the hallway of the theater floor there is a big MVP frame with nicknames of people who have been lucky enough to get to see their stages a hundred times. And you can see the member's pictures being mirrored in the glass.

The Liberty near the big crossing is starting to sell more pictures. Prices are slightly more expensive than Trio 2, but you can find some cheaper ones here. I will stick to Trio 2 though as you can browse freely there.

Before going back to the Cave festival we paid a quick visit to Yodobashi Camera, to rest in their massage chairs, look at electronical dictionaries and iPod protection, and to meet up with a guy who wanted to sell one of his bearbricks. When we got back to the Cave festival I could buy the stuff that I wanted, and soon after there was another event going on - Midnight Live 360, which was being broadcasted on the Internet live. It was a continuation of last year, so not sure what it was all about, but I think IKD was there to talk about how it is working as a producer. And they were gonna take their time to listen to their fanbase to see what kind of shooting games they want.

Near the wall they had a bunch of framed artwork and sketches. People who wanted to, could write or draw something in the visitor's sketchbook. They also had the Ketsui helicopter 3D-pixelated inside a glass box.

Before heading home I met a friend there who I met at the same festival two years ago. I got to try the Daifukkatsu on his iPhone, which was great for being handheld and with touch pad. If I had an iPhone/iPod Touch, I would definitely get their games. I don't have enough interest in games anymore to hang around for longer, so decided to call it a day after this. Before jumping on the train home we had dinner at the nearby sushi-go-round.

This is the stuff I got today. First the Cave stuff, which is the men's noren, that I will put outside the shower or something, the new History Book with lots of data from all of their titles and events, Guwange chopsticks (called "ohashi" in Japanese), and a B2 sized poster of their latest title Akai Katana. I actually managed to not spend too much money on shit this time. Then it's the AKB stuff that I was talking about earlier in the picture below.

And this is what the bearbricks looks like unboxed. I will get a third one before I go back home, just because I'm thinking three of them will look good together on the shelf. I might get Ishida's, but not sure. I need to go to Nakano Broadway again.

Day 43

2010-08-13T21:48:00.005+09:00

In the afternoon I went to Yokohama to visit the park that appears in Kanpeki Gu~no Ne, some other locations, and to shoot some film after dark. Was short on daylight time, so I did Kanpeki quick, and then headed for the Ashita wa Ashita no Kima ga Umareru location. I need to buy these singles before I go home.

Watarirouka Hashiritai - Kanpeki Gu~no Ne

Chocolove - Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru

This shot was weird. I think they filmed at the other end of the building (seen in the picture below), and then mirrored it. Or I missed to check around the corner. Still look the same!

Chocolove - Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru

Instead of the Mendol locations, of which I wasn't sure I would be able to get to anyway, I did the three resturants that appear in Osawagase Food Show (100515).

Osawagase Food Show (100515)

Their food was a little bit too expensive for me, so I had tantan-men instead, a spicy ramen. Nothing compared to the bakuhatsu ramen though.

I wanted to get some film footage so headed for Osanbashi first. I will upload the finished movie once it's done. Enjoy a some random photos meanwhile. First, a stray cat. In Japan there are many stray cats, most of them are very thin since it's hard to find food in a city made of mostly concrete. I've seen many cats stick together, and play - or fight. I'm not really sure which. Have you ever seen large pet bottles filled with water tied to a street light or put near houses? It is said that the moonlight reflecting in the water inside the bottles will scare cats away from getting near ones house at night to look for food.

Day 42

2010-08-12T21:35:00.003+09:00

Another slacking/shopping day. Of couse it's Nakano Broadway again for more pictures. When you go by train, there's a train change guidance sign on the platform you can look at, to understand where on the train you need to be in order to step off near the exits, stairs, escalators, elevators, and train change. So smart. Also, right next to it is the big yellow sign with a level map of the station. Popular spots are also pointed out so you know which exit to take.

At Nakano I met up with a friend to buy and trade more pictures and look for bearbricks. Had udon with two deep-fried shrimps for dinner. Udon is thick noodles. At this place, you can add pretty much anything you want to your choice of udon. You also get to choose size, and often if you want it hot or cold. Cold udon and soba is very popular in the summer. Knowing Japanese really helps when you want to eat "real" Japanese food, the kind that every office worker eat at their lunch break, as everything in this kind of resturants is in Japanese.

And I finally got myself a bearbrick. There are small glass boxes that private person can rent, and that's where I found one I wanted. The same person also had the full complete 7 Eleven bearbrick box for sale. Price? 200,000 yen.

Day 41

2010-08-11T21:34:00.004+09:00

Went to Shinagawa and Odaiba today, to get more shots. First off is the Sakura no Shiori SNGW spot again.

AKB48 - Sakura no Shiori

Then it's some shots from the newly released Gyu PV from Watarirouka Hashiritai, where Mayuyu is running on the bridge.

Watarirouka Hashiritai - Gyu

Took the Rinkai line to Shinonome, where I found the Puccho candy in a small convenience store near the counter with a Mayuyu promoting it. It's pretty much like Haichuu - a gum that fades away in your mouth after 1-2 minutes. The soda flavor has some sour powder inside it. I wanted to walk from Shinonome to the ferry harbor where Persona had their first performance in Mendol. On the map it didn't look that far, but it took nearly two hours! I also got lost somewhere halfway thinking I had already walked past it. When I finally found it, there was a big fucking boat blocking the view, just like the Rolls Royce in day 38. Oh well, here are the shots anyway. Also included the start of Queen & Elizabeth's PV Love Wars.

Queen & Elizabeth - Love Wars

Mendol (Episode 1 - 24:09)

Day 40

2010-08-10T21:12:00.000+09:00

I don't know why, but somehow I just felt like sleeping through the day. In the evening I went to the local subway station, Machiya, with a friend. Bought the latest issue of Shukan Playboy. It has a big poster and alot of AKB pics. And all in cat girl and bikini outfits! There's also a magazine with French Kiss, SKE and SDN out now, but it's one of the more expensive ones.

Had tendon with octopus sallad for dinner. Don is a bowl of rice with something on top, in this case tenpura which is deep-fried fish and greens. Miso soup and green tea is usually always included with Japanese meals.

The local am/pm, another convenience store open 24/7. Don't go here too often though, as I don't like their bread.

I was actually waiting for AKBINGO sto start, then I realized that it's Tuesday and not Monday. Instead there was K-ON on TV.

To make up for the low amount of pictures this time, I'll give you a picture of something that arrived a few weeks back - my Black sukajyan. It looks awesome. I just want it to be winter or autumn now so I can start using it. But it works really well for wall decoration too.

Day 39

2010-08-09T01:23:00.002+09:00

Started the day early by cleaning up the room a little. Went out to send out some parcels and get some food. Let me tell you about the typical residential area in Tokyo where the guesthouse is located. Within 5 minutes walk, there are about five convenience stores, all open 24/7. There are at least two post offices nearby.

On the shopping street there're two super markets right next to each other, one having some items cheaper than the other and vice versa. I usually go to this one, Tomie Store, to stock up on drinks. Here, they cost about 100 yen for a 500ml PET bottle, which will save you quite alot than if you bought them all at convenience stores or vending machines for 150 yen.

Right next to the supermarkets is a book store with the latest magazines on display. In Japan, it's OK to read in the stores. This is called "tachiyomi", and literally it means "standing reading". Though some stores like to wrap everything up in plastic.

This is a very typical shopping street in a residential area of Tokyo. And every shopping street got at least one pachinko, which makes alot of noise everytime anyone walk past and the automatic doors open. You cannot make money from pachinko itself. The system is that when you've got a certain amount of balls, you can trade it in for a little toy. Either you keep the toy, or head over to the store right next to the pachinko who will buy the toy from you. The store knows how many balls are needed for each toy, and will pay you thereafter. This is how people make money from pachinko. You'll hear about people losing more often than winning though, easily spending over 10,000 yen in 15 minutes.

At the corner there's an Origin Bento, where you can chose a lunch box and they will make it for you while you wait. Also open 24/7, which is great when you're hungry in the middle of the night.

This is roasted chicken bento, for a mere 390 yen.

Since Kurisu was on day duty at Tokyo Dome today I decided to head out there. First I stopped by at Ochinomizu to get the Oogoe Diamond shot I missed earlier.

shot

screenshot

Upon arriving I changed my mind about getting the night pass. 3000 yen is kind of overkill for just a trading card, especially considering I recently was there and Thunder Dolphin was closed due to maintenance. So I just went around the park to get the Shukan AKB shots.

pic

screenshot

pic

screenshot

pic

screenshot

pic

screenshot

pic

screenshot

pic

screenshot

Sometimes you need to eat healthy food. They're having a campaign now in which you get a free strap if you buy a LL set (large fries and large drink).

There's still a couple of shots I wanna get from Tokyo Dome, so I will return when there's another of my oshimen's day duty.

Day 38

2010-08-08T21:52:00.001+09:00

Today was the last day I could use the JR Pass, and decided to head straight for Atami around noon for more AKB sightseeing. This place was visited in AKB48+10 episode 18 (broadcasted 2009/03/02). I decided to do this one because Krisu was there, who I'm starting to like more and more. Especially that she's got a little bit of sadism in her - jumping on the bridge to scare Sasshi, and pushing down Yukirin's legs in the onsen when she thought it was too hot.

AKB48+10 - Episode 18 (090302)

Eki-ben (lunch boxes at stations) are pretty expensive, so I bought something cheaper from the convenience store to eat on the train to Jogasaki-Kaigan. The line is private from Ito, so had to pay 560 yen despite having the JR pass. Upon arriving at the station, I immediately went for the small onsen at the station.

AKB48+10 - Episode 18 (090302)

The sign just outside the station was hard to see due to the summer.

AKB48+10 - Episode 18 (090302)

I didn't know where the bridge was located, but I saw a sign with the kanji for bridge, and lighthouse, so I just followed those.

This seemed to be a pretty famous tourist spot, but only for Japanese people with cars. It's summer holiday this coming week for most people, so could be another reason why there was so much people.

AKB48+10 - Episode 18 (090302)

A couple of other pics from the same location. It looked pretty dangerous with children playing around there without any fences.

Back at Atami I hopped on the Shinkansen for Shizuoka to see the 1:1 scale Gundam, now with laser sword. Actually both the 10 Nen Zakura school and one of the Densen Uta locations are also in the prefecture of Shizuoka, but the school is located pretty far away from any train station, and the Densen Uta location, which is also a school, I figured might be locked pretty well. The movie sucks anyway.

The model was amazing! Great detail and lighting. The special light show could be a little more flashy though. And I thought the sword was gonna be lit up, but it there's just some effects. I'll just post a bunch of Gundam photos now to let you jawdrop at. At the official shop I bought a commemoration t-shirt. I usually just buy t-shirts since that's something I can use.

There was also a screenshots from a TV show where Mocchi, Yuko and Natsumi try gyuutan frank (beef tongue hot dog). Anyone know what show this is? I had already eaten by the time I saw it.

On the train home this whole day felt kind of unreal, like a dream. AKB sightseeing in the afternoon and a 1:1 scale Gundam in the evening. Plus great trains and food. Japan is just too awesome. Overall it's been really nice with the JR Pass, being able to travel pretty much anywhere I want for free. I should really try to get it every time I go to Japan as a temporary visitor.

Day 37

2010-08-07T22:58:00.003+09:00

Today I went to Akihabara first to check the regular stuff. No new items at Liberty, but at the theater floor of Don Quixote there were less people than last time, so I could take my picture with the fishheads.

Nobody was trading pics which was a little dissapointing since I got a couple of ones I want to get rid of. But at the official store they got new items - B5th and K6th studio recordings CD's. Just outside Club Sega nar the station I saw a girl handing out flyers for some game, and her outfit looked completely like the Iiwake Maybe outfit. So I asked her if it was AKB cosplay, and she said "no, it's from this game" and handed me the flyer. Yeah right, I thought. After looking at the flyer, the cosplay was actually from one the girls in the game. Still a complete rip-off of the AKB outfit.

Then I went to Trio 2 at Nakano Broadway again to buy more pics. I've decided to try to get 3 or 6 of each set, because they look good together in the binder. Nakano Broadway is shopping mall located by the end of a long shopping street just north of Nakano station.

Trio got a few stores there, the first one is for all the boy bands like Arashi, SMAP, Hey Say Jump, etc. At Trio 2 they focus on female idols and movie stars. They got plenty of posters, old magazines, trading cards and pictures, promo stuff, etc. They got a special corner for the AKB pictures, which they really need to expand. There are always a bunch of people there browsing the pics. At Trio 3, they got Hello Project stuff, but I've never found that store.

Back home the BBQ party had already started, so I just dig in on whatever I could find. It's really nice that the landlord is doing this kind of thing for everyone, and it's a real pity more people living here don't participate or enjoy it as much as he would want them to.

Around the corner there was a bunch of people carrying around a shrine and making alot of noise. Not sure what the festival or activity is called.

When it got dark we did some fireworks. They got alot of different fireworks in Japan, and these were all for holding in your hand. Some of them were really nice and flashy, but very short.

And this is the loot from today. A bunch of pics and the two new studio recordings.

Day 36

2010-08-06T06:03:00.003+09:00

In the evening I went to Tokyo Dome with a friend to check what the AKB day duty thing was about. And to ride some roller coasters. Today was Nakata Chisato's day duty, but after talking to the girls at the information desk, the only thing you can really do is a stamp rally and watch some promotion video. If you apply for the stamp rally you get a trading card, and if you collect all the stamps, you get a QR code to download a wallpaper for your cell phone. Also, you get a lottery ticket which if you win will get you a pin badge.

First we went on the Tower Hacker which was really fast. I can tell how Sayaka was feeling in the recent episode of Shukan AKB, but wouldn't imagine her crying for that.

Then went on the Thunder Dolphin roller coaster which is 80 meters tall. The first part, going up, is the scariest, since it's really steep and it really feels like you're going to fall backwards.

Had a hamburger for dinner from one of the resturants in the Tokyo Dome area. The prices there are pretty crazy seeing as how you can get the same type of meals at the regular streets for half price.

We bought a ticket which would let you ride five times. For the last three rides we went on the Thunder Dolphin one more time, Linear Gale, which pretty much just went up and down, and finally Wonder Drop, a water slide. I didn't get wet but my friend who sat in the front got soaked.

Day 35

2010-08-05T06:03:00.002+09:00

Time to go back to Tokyo. I feel that I have seen enough of Japan for now, many of the obligatory stuff. Only two places left on my schedule. Enjoyed the very beautiful view on the train from Nagasaki to Hakata while listening to AKB music. This is the hotel/hostel I stayed at in Nagasaki. Share room, which is actually perfectly fine. Actually, it's just more fun, since you get someone to talk to and share experiences with.

And saw something funny on the scrolling text news at Hakata. There are now [b]48[/b] people above 100 years old in Japan now. Made a quick stop at Akihabara to check for new stuff and eat dinner. This is beef kebab from Star Kebab located on the street behind Sofmap Mac Center.

Day 34

2010-08-04T06:04:00.004+09:00

The main reason I came all the way to Nagasaki was for Gunkanjima, so went on a guided trip in the morning. There are only guided trips for it and it's illegal to visit it alone. Gunkanjima means "battle ship island" and the name comes from that the island looks like a battleship. It's located about an hour by ferry from Nagasaki.

It's all fallen apart and that's why they won't allow people in on their own. They recently restored it and now you can only walk on a very short route on the south side of the island, which was dissapointing.

There was some guy fishing there. Looked like he had been dropped off by boat as it seems impossible to get there any other way unless you're a ninja.

Was done around noon so went to check out the "Hollander slopes" which is a pretty steep slope with lots of western style buildings where people from Holland often walked/worked in the past.

After lunch at Gusto I made my way for the second point of Nagasaki - the Peace Memorial Park and the a-bomb ground zero.

After all that I had got enough of history and on impulse bought a ticket at Toho Cinemas for the new movie Inception, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page. Pretty good in my opinion. If a movie isn't good nowadays, at least the visual effects are often really cool. But cinemas at Japan are crazy expensive. I got the half price after talking them into that I'm a student but has no student ID card. The service, comfort, and cleanliness, however, is just outstanding at Japanese cinemas.

By the way, Nagasaki had alot of Sakamoto Ryoma advertisings and sightseeing spots. Next time I'd like to check those out.

Day 33

2010-08-03T06:04:00.007+09:00

Started the day with a breakfast buffet at the hotel. Biggest breakfast I had so far, and it was about time I had something decent. Bread and onigiri from the convenience store gets pretty awful after awhile.

With my stomach full, I went to the Hiroshima Castle just for a quick view of it, then walked all the way to this empty tree I don't know the name of, and finally arriving at the A-Bomb Dome. I think I was six days early for the yearly anniversary. People tie origami (folded paper) in a long knot to remember the people who died.

Took the tram back to Hiroshima station to get some local speciality, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, before getting on the train to Nagasaki. The resturant floor had only teppan food resturants like this one, and they all went crazy when a customer walked by, doing anything to make them choose their resturant. The one I chose was cool, and I could finally conversate in Japanese without them acting like I'm stupid. The chef was pretty skilled with the tools, and I mentioned Teppan Shoujo Akane (drama with Horikita Maki), but they didn't know about it. Obviously they knew AKB, but they seemed to be more proud of Perfume, who are from Hiroshima.

The train to Nagasaki was called Sonic, and both exterior design and interior looked nice with leather seats. Seats were more comfortable, but overall more inconvenient than the regular Shinkansen.

I headed straight for the hotel to get some rest. Both Nagasaki and Hiroshima were hotter than Tokyo. In the evening I went up the ropeway to Mt. Inasa. Didn't get too good pictures.

At the ground station there was a small temple with this cool dragon named Shenlong (Shinryu in Japanese). It's a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology that controls wind and rain.

Day 32

2010-08-02T06:05:00.003+09:00

Time to head out to west Japan. First stop is Hiroshima for more regular sightseeing. Something that puzzles me, is that Japan is so famous for having such good service, but the the way I experience it is that the service is extremely bad at famous tourist spots. I just wanna punch them in the face when I ask or say something in Japanese and get a reply in English like I'm stupid. Anyway, what I especially wanted to see was Miyajima, one of the Three Wonders in Japan. I only knew about a red shrine on water, and the large torii gate.

After seeing those, which went on pretty quickly, I walked around the town a little bit and noticed that there's alot to see on the island's biggest mountain, Mt Misen. There was a ropeway but I decided to walk the 2.2km trail up the mountain since it would feel more of an achievement. Was pretty much alone on the trail all of the time except for two or three groups of gaijins.

Up at the summit there was some big rocks and an obstacle-free 360 panoramic view.

Walked another path down which was longer, and stopped by a complete empty sky shrine.

Finally back down at the big gate I wanted to wait abit for the low tide so I could get closer.

On Miyajima there are alot of wild deers going around trying to snatch food from tourists.

Then back to Hiroshima to try to find the hotel. Spent another 2 hours walking in the dark trying to find it. When I asked for directions at one of the bigger train stations, they told me there are no stations, and that I had to walk or take a cab, but there's a big fucking monorail-type station right there. There was very little light, almost none at all, along the sidewalks. And they were very narrow and dangerous. When I finally found the hotel, there was a group of school students sitting in the lounge room who said I was looking cool. I answered that it was hot, haha.

Day 31

2010-08-01T06:06:00.003+09:00

Went to Niigata to check out a special aquarium which my brother had told me about. The entrance is free, but only open on weekends, and kind of small. Plus it was very well hidden in the middle of nowhere, one hour with bus from Niigata station on the highway.

The bus stop in the middle of nowhere.

The sign which led to me to the entrance was all faded and hard to see.

The design in the aquariums and their items are cool, but not really worth the 3 hours traveling, one way, for me who is not that much into aquascapes. But I'm sure anyone who likes aquariums will find this museum interesting and inspiring. This is one part of the bigger ones.

Small ones along the windows, and different tools on display.

Most buses in Japan works so that you step on at the back of the bus, and grab a ticket with a number on it from the machine. When you're steping off you look at your number and at the board to tell how much you need to pay. Then you step off at the front door, putting money into the machine next to the driver first.

Day 30

2010-07-31T11:24:00.002+09:00

First off to Akihabara to check for new stuff, but didn't find anything. The Liberty never seem to get in any new bearbricks. They got about 15 of them, but always the same ones. I'm looking for Uchida and Harukyan. Lots of people trading the new July theater pics on the 8th floor of Don Quixote. Today there was two B5th and one SDN stage. Didn't have access to any of them, and I didn't bring my pics so couldn't trade. Next time I'm going there and there is a stage I'll make sure to bring my pics. The theater floor is only open when there is a stage on that day.

Then off to the Oogoe Diamond steps in Ochanomizu. There was another fanboy there who took pics with his cellphone.

Oogoe Diamond PV

Continued to Shinagawa for a Mendol shot and the Sakura no Shiori location. There are big ads for the upcoming single Heavy Rotation going around now. This at Ochanomizu station.

img of mendol shot here

img of shiori shot here

I didn't know the indoor shots was at the same place where they circle around all the members. And I know I've seen these steps, and thought it was in the PV but when looking at it again it's not. Some photoshoot or something?

Since it started raining heavily at the first Watarirouka event, they decided to do it a second time, with only handshakes this time. Had three tickets, used one myself and sold the other two.

Again, extremely fast, and I had not planned anything to say and I couldn't get any words out! Oh well, at least Mayuyu said she remembered me from Sapporo. I'm starting to like her more and more after all the handshakes with her!

Walked from the event location, which was in east Ginza, to Tokyo station and got some random shots.

Day 29

2010-07-30T05:36:00.001+09:00

Yesterday was totally unplanned so needed more rest today. Didn't go anywhere except for dinner, which was tempura meal set from the Tendon Tenya.

Day 28

2010-07-29T05:45:00.004+09:00

Resting day. In the evening we went to see some traditional summer fireworks (hanabi) which was quite massive with great view.

Alot of people were going home immediately after it ended, and tons of bicycles were parked along the way. Some people had problems trying to find their bike in the dark. In the comedy movie "Boku-tachi to chuuzai-san no 700 nichi sensou" (700 Days of Battle: Us VS The Policeman) there's a similiar scene where they try to find their bicycles at a fireworks events.

Then the landlord took us for more free food and booze. For nice and serious people, he always does that when they're about to leave the house. This time a German and a Belgian guy were going home after their Japanese summer course. Squid and octopus are popular snacks, and very delicious. Before we knew it, it was already 3am.

Day 27

2010-07-28T05:53:00.002+09:00

Time to go back to Tokyo. Hokkaido was nice, but next time I'll try to go to more "unpopular" spots. Huge amounts of tourists, especially those old ones who come with bus, can be really annoying. Train back to Tokyo from Hakodate took 6 hours with one change at Hachinohe. Watched a few episodes of AKB48+10.

Katsudon as breakfast at Hakodate before getting on the train. Don is a bowl of rice with something on top of it. In this case, roasted pork meat with egg.

This is the train that went from Hakodato to Hachinohe. There is only one train going from Tokyo all the way straigth to Sapporo now, which is the sleeper train Hokutosei (and the luxury version of it - Cassiopeia). There are no Shinkansens operating on Hokkaido yet. The first one will be introduced in December this year.

This is the view from the train when getting close to Tokyo.

I also found this on the train! It's a power outlet which is perfect for computers. First time I see it, so I guess only some of the newer trains got it.