Day 267 - 24th of May

9:11am　地下鉄　－　銀座線

天気：雨天

We’re on the Ginza subway line, from Asakusa to Shibuya. From there, we will change to another line, get to Shinjuku, and make another transfer for 三鷹 (Mitaka), where we will find the Ghibli Museum. It’s a bit of a late start, but I think we’ll make it on time…

9:29am　山手線

Now we’re on the Yamanote line for Shinjuku. Wow, the trains here in Tokyo seem so much longer than those of the Keihan line. I’m thinking, “Isn’t that train coming up too fast?” but no; two extra carriages really make a difference. Also, the city train system is so complex; there are so many different routes you can chose to get to your destination. The trick is, is to find the most efficient, and economical way; I think we’re doing an okay job of that.

9:41am　快速

Finally on the rapid express to Mitaka. The tickets we have are for the 10 o’clock admission, and I don’t know how strict they are with the time. At this point I’m freaking out a bit; what if we don’t make it in time?

1:59pm　快速

We’ve just got back on the train, and we’re making our way back to Shinjuku to see if we can find the Square Enix building. The Ghibli Museum was amazing… After getting off at Mitaka Station, we walked briskly through the rain towards the museum, which was about 15 minutes away in a basically straight line past the waterworks. Every 200 metres there would be a sign saying how much further the museum was, and this only spurred me on; it was a little frustrating too. It was already 10 past by the time we made it, but I had nothing to worry about; they let us in no problem. As soon as we got inside, all the stress lifted, to be replaced with giddy excitement. I really did feel like a little kid again, entering a magical house of spiral staircases, corridors and cubby holes. It was such a wonderful experience, and I’m sure it’s one of the most kid friendly museums in the world; so many things to see, do, and touch. They even had a huge Cat Bus to play on and in; too bad it was for primary school kids or younger. We leisurely explored the entire building, learning about the history of animation, the animation process in an interactive and hands on manner. There were so many beautiful stained glass windows, and even the bathrooms were impressive; there were a lot of them too. On the roof there was a garden, and a statue of the robot from Laputa (I dare say life size), looking right at home. In fact, the whole building was covered in greenery, and it was surrounded by trees; a secluded world all of its own. The highlight of the museum would have had to have been the short film. We got to see こねこバス (Konekobasu – Kitten Bus), which was an adorable 14 minute story about Mei’s adventures with the kitten bus; it made me so happy. The language was really easy to understand too.

After that, we did a bit more exploring, and then of course, went to the gift shop, “Mamma Aiuto”. I didn’t go too overboard, I don’t think. We got really lucky, getting to the counter just as a huge line had dispersed. They even gave us an extra bag, just in case one got wet; so considerate. By this point, we were very hungry, so after we backtracked for our umbrellas, we went looking for something to eat. We found a Lawsons just across the road, and decided that that was more than satisfactory. After we finished making our purchases, we had the challenge of trying to find somewhere dry to sit and eat. The next 20 minutes consisted of us wondering around the nearby park, trying to find seats that were actually undercover; it was a little ridiculous. Eventually, we came to a Benzaiten temple, and ate at its base. It was a beautiful building, painted in a vibrant red. After eating, we spent some more time enjoying the park and the lake in the rain, and then made our way to 吉祥寺 (Kichijouji) Station. We’ve almost arrived at Shinjuku now. After the Square Enix building (if we can find it), we might also visit the Pokémon Centre…

2:41pm　銀座線

Realising it was taking too long, I went over to the map and realised that this line didn’t actually pass through Shinjuku; whoops. So, now we’re making our way back the other direction…

4:54pm　地下鉄　－　都営大江戸線

Now we’re on the Toei Oedo subway line, heading to 大門 (Daimon), to see if we can find the Pokémon Centre. Finding the Square Enix building was a success, although a little anticlimactic… Once we got to Shinjuku, we found an information kiosk, and soon had a map showing us to the “Square Enix Building”; it was a bit of a walk. This turned out to be the actual headquarters of Square Enix; just the 12^th floor of the massive building. The two women at the reception desk looked very confused, and I don’t blame them. I was a bit confused too, until they explained to us that this was the headquarters, and directed us to the goods shop; this was the place Rachael had actually been referring to. The way she described it, it had sounded really big. In fact, it was a single, small floor of goods; in the end I didn’t even buy anything. There really wasn’t anything that jumped out at me, and it was all quite expensive; I did get to take a picture of the semi-naked Sephiroth statue in the floor before the clerk came back though. So while it didn’t exactly live up to my expectations, I can now say that I’ve been to the headquarters of Sqaure Enix in Tokyo!!! I’m hoping it’ll be a little less hassle to find the Pokémon Centre, and that we have a good amount of time to browse…

6:40pm　ラメン屋　－　大門

We’re in a ramen shop near Tokyo Tower, which is almost entirely shrouded in fog; only the base is visible. Walking around Shinjuku this afternoon, it was also very foggy, the sky pressing down on the skyscrapers. I can’t wait to see it when it’s lit up… Anyway, we did the Pokémon Centre with relative ease; it was just up the road from Daimon station. It was definitely the largest of the three I’ve been two; makes sense since its Tokyo. I didn’t buy that much; just a few more things for my brother. I wonder if I’ll ever get around to visiting the other Pokémon Centres in Japan; there are at least two more that I know of. Well, it’s been a super day; Ghibli, Square Enix, and Pokémon. And to top it all off Tokyo Tower is on the menu next. I have to eat the rest of Carly’s ramen now; she says she’ll spew if she has another bite. I’m not complaining; more for me!!!

9:00pm　浅草線

We’re on the train back to the hostel now from Daimon. The tower was amazing… We didn’t bother going up to the top, but we took plenty of photos from the base; the orange glow looked so cool in the fog. We made our approach through 増上寺 (Zoujouji) Temple, the tower a beautiful incandescent backdrop; a fusion of ancient and modern. We made our way around the main building, and through a cemetery, before reaching the tower. It was massive, and the first 4 floors were dedicated to shops; there was a Makkas of course. On the bottom floor, there was actually a Michael Jackson exhibition, the annoying voice over disturbing the otherwise quiet lobby; there was hardly anyone inside. After buying a few souvenirs, we exited and had a crepe each for dessert; my first and last in Japan. After waiting out a sudden down pour, we made our way back to the station… I think that’s it for the night; when I get back, I’m going to collapse!

Day 203 - 21st of March

11:41am　普通電車

天気：風が吹いている

I’m on the local train with Jazz (Jacinthe), Julie, Rachael, Alvaro, Priscilla, and Hugo, and we’re making our way to Den, den town for the Nipponbashi Street festa. It’s incredibly windy today, but the sun is out and it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain; coming up to Hirakatashi now…

11:50am　特急

Now we’re on the limited express to Kyobashi, and from there we’re going to take the subway to Nagohoribashi, and then change lines to get to Ebisucho…

4:12pm　地下鉄

We’re on the subway from Nipponbashi to 北浜 (Kitahama); going to try a different way back home. Kitahama is on the Keihan line, so we can transfer there for Makino; much more direct…

4:27pm　準急

Now we’re on the semi-express to Kyobashi. Julie is going to transfer there for Nishijo, to meet with a friend. The train has stopped for no apparent reason; we’re underground at the moment… well now we’re going again. It’s just Hugo, Jazz, Rachael, Julie and I; Alvaro and Priscilla went off shortly after we got to Den, den town, which was absolutely packed with people. As soon as we got there we were in the midst of cosplay heaven; Rachael was in her element. The whole day, she was running about taking photos of anime and manga characters, most of which I didn’t know; trying to keep up with her was a lot of fun actually. Weaving our way through the crowds, and continuously bumping into people, or getting bumped into was actually very exhausting. First off, we went to watch the parade. It took a while for things to get started, and the first half an hour was mostly stuff happening on a stage right up the end of the street; couldn’t really see much. Getting hungry, I bought some onigiri from a nearby shop, and it was really good. The parade eventually kicked off at about 1:30, and we got to see a marching band (which I later found out to be the Osaka Police Band), a heap of cosplayers, samurai, maids, and some of the sponsors; there was an absolutely adorable giraffe mascot!

4:42pm　京橋

We’re changing over at Kyobashi now… the parade was over soon after it had begun. We decided that we would slowly make out way back up the street and get the subway back from Nipponbashi. Julie wanted to do some shopping, and Jazz decided to go with her. Hugo, Rachael, and I on the other hand went to Makkas for some lunch. It took a while to get there since Rachael kept on getting distracted by all the cosplayers, and when we did get to the front of the store, I had an interesting experience. An old man with a budgie came over and let me hold it, putting some seed in my hand; it was so cool. Then he put it on my head (luckily I was wearing my beanie), as Rachael and Hugo floundered to take photos. Finally in Makkas, I just got some fries, and we managed to get a table on the second floor, getting excited every time cosplayers could walk past; they need food too. After eating, we continued looking for characters, and I was so happy whenever I saw a character from Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy; we even got to see England, and Japan from Hetalia. Throughout the day, we crossed paths with people from uni, including professor Hester, who looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, taking photos with his fancy camera. We eventually met up with Julie and Jazz, and after a bit more looking around, and a few purchases at one of my favourite shops there, we made our way further up the street to Nipponbashi station. Coming up to Hirakatashi now…

5:01pm　準急

Now we’re on the train back to Makino. When I get home, I’m definitely going to have a quick nap. Then I have to get ready to go out again; I’m meeting up with Alex, and her Aunt and Nan in Kyoto. I’m going to see if I can find a karaoke place close to the station, so we don’t have to come all the way back to Makino; hopefully I can gather enough energy for the night ahead…

7:01pm　牧野

I’m at Makino station; I rode here in the freezing cold. I’ve just been on the phone with Alex, trying to sort out what we’re going to do tonight. I really don’t want to have to go all the way to Kyoto just to meet her and then bring her back here. She says her Aunt and Nan aren’t that fussed anyway. I suggested that she just meet me here alone, so she’s going to talk to them about it, so hopefully she calls back soon; I guess I’ll go and find somewhere to eat dinner…

7:09pm　牧野

Well it looks like I’m going to Kyoto, to go to karaoke with Alex and her Aunt for an hour, and then Alex and I are coming back here for the rest of the night at karaoke… it’s going to be a long night!

10:23pm　特急

I’m on the express back to Tambabashi with Alex. We met in the central area of Kyoto station and practically threw ourselves at each other; it’s so good to be together again. After unravelling ourselves, she took me to where they were staying (Keihan hotel – how ironic) and I was soon introduced to her aunt, Sandy; I remember her Nan from the going away party. Sandy was hanging out to go to karaoke, but Nan had decided to just stay put. We rugged up (except for Alex of course), and then made our way back out into the night. I didn’t really know where I was going, but luckily Alex spotted a Karaoke place nearby, and we decided to just go for that. It was a little pricy, but we were only staying for an hour, so it was okay. For Sandy, it was all over too fast; she had just started to get into it too. But Alex and I were hanging to get going, so we walked her back to the hotel, and then finally got to start catching up. Before I was even thinking about more karaoke, I had to eat, so we walked a little way down the street to a restaurant chain called なか卯 (Nakao – I think I’d been to one of these before). It used the vending machine ticket system, and there was even buttons for whether you would be eating in, or taking out; so efficient. I ordered gyudon, and Alex just got some karaage. We talked for a while, and then finally got going, eager to start our all night karaoke session…

11:37pm　牧野－カラオケ

We’ve been at karaoke for about 20 minutes now, and I feel great; my voice is so much better now. For some reason, I just couldn’t project when we were at the other place; I don’t know if it was the cold or just nerves. Anyway, here we go…

Day 192 - 10th of March

10:37pm　セミナーハウス

天気：曇り

Finally back on top of my blog. It’s been another cloudy day, and I’m really craving some decent, warm weather right now; it is spring after all! Anyway, I didn’t let the weather stop me from having a pretty good day... After getting ready in the morning, I spent a little bit of time studying for today’s vocab quiz in Speaking, and then got to uni. The quiz went fine, and we basically spent the rest of the time going over some more keigo grammar patterns; all stuff we’ve seen before. As usual, I went to the convenience store in the break to get a snack, and then sat with Henry, finishing my homework, and doing some reading for Gender and Sexuality. In Reading and Writing, we finished reading the story about the old wood cutter with the big lump on his cheek; we had to practice retelling parts of the story, which was fun. Then I went straight to the 4^th floor, before realising I still had about 20 minutes before my next class. So what did I do; I went and bugged Rachel and Katie in their class (Monsters). It hadn’t started either, so we just talked for a while, and I found out that Katie still wasn’t enrolled in the course; she’d just been sitting in on it the entire time. Which means that, she’s been learning heaps, but doesn’t have to worry about exams, or assignments, or anything; I wish I could’ve done that. Ash and Rachel were going into Hirakatashi after class, so I decided I’d join; with that, I left.

Then it was straight on to Gender and Sexuality. Hester started off explaining mid terms; we have a take home exam, and an in-class quiz. I’m a little concerned about the exam; it needs to be 5-6 pages, and it’s due next Friday. I guess I’ll try not to do too much this weekend; wish me luck. Then he asked for some feedback from the people who went to Takarazuka and everyone had a really positive, enjoyable experience; including me. Then the rest of the class was spent going over OL (office ladies i.e. Japanese women in the workforce), a topic that I’ve already covered in his other course last semester; so it wasn’t anything new to me. Still, if it means that the quiz will be easier for me, I’m not about to complain. Getting out of the classroom, I walked over to monsters, and found that they were still watching a movie; a very gory and disturbing one at that. Finally, it was over and, after figuring out that they had a catch up class this afternoon that they didn’t actually have to go to (since it would be covered in monsters), Ash and Rachel were ready to go.

We walked down into Hirakatashi, which was pleasant apart from the cold, and made our way over to the Saty building. We were, of course, going to Animate on the 5^th floor; both Ash and Rachel were looking for stuff. And when I got there, I couldn’t help buying some stuff. I got another FFXIII clear poster, and found the complete FFVII novel, “On the way to a smile”, in Japanese; Rachael had showed it to me before. So now I have something else to read. I also got an FF: Dissidia post card book, which is really, really cool; not bad for a day’s work. And not nearly as bad as Ash; she really is a compulsive shopper. That done, we had a short browse around the rest of the department store, and then headed out, and back towards uni; but not before a stop at Kiddy Land’s gachapon (again Ash). Getting to the uni, Rachel and Ash decided to continue on the Fresco to do some grocery shopping, so I bade them farewell and made my way home.

I was extremely hungry by this point; it was almost 5, and I hadn’t eaten since 11. So I made myself egg on toast, and felt very full afterwards. Getting back to my room, I skyped my family for a few hours, and got my homework done, finally feeling like eating again a bit after 8. When I got to the kitchen, I found Ash and Rachel, and decided I really wasn’t all that hungry, so I just sat with them and talked for about until 9. It was then, that I finally got up and made some dinner. I made yakisoba, even though I hadn’t defrosted any meat; my vegetables were going bad and I had to use them. Still, it tasted great, and as usual I have plenty left for another meal. I sat with Alvaro, Rebecca, Jeremy, and Chelsea, and we talked about Studio Ghibli, trips to Tokyo, and politics. Before leaving the kitchen I had a Milo, which was a sweat treat. I spotted Simon in the computer room, and caught up with him; we hadn’t had much of a conversation in a while. He told me about his getting lost on a bike ride for 7 hours on the weekend (typical), but said he’d found a shoe shop during that time. So hopefully on Friday, we’ll be going to check it out and finally by some shoes for the gym! So that’s been my day. Got mid-terms coming up next week, and then it’s spring break; it’s all going so fast!

Day 190 - 8th of March

天気：曇り

I got a good night’s sleep, and was able to get out of bed at 7:30 this morning. This meant that I had a good hour and an half more to study for my lesson test, and it certainly payed off. I actually found this test much easier than the first one we had (even the listening was easier to understand), and was finished just after the half an hour point. I went over to the convenience store, and picked up a snack, before going back to the lounge, and hanging out with Katie, Sarah, and Cate, getting some more kanji practice in. Reading and Writing came round, and we made a start on the story in the book, and covered some more grammar patterns; all one’s we’ve come across before thankfully. After that, I was free. I did some grocery shopping, and then I went home, had a quick lunch, and talked with Rachael for a while in the computer room, before making my way out again. I was going to meet Ash in the CIE lounge, since she was going to Joshin to buy a new MP3 player. Since I had never been, I was interested in joining her; on my way back to uni, I took some photos of this beautiful tree in full bloom now (I don’t think it’s a plum blossom), in front of Komatsu.

Unfortunately, it was a bit past our meeting time (2:30) when I got there, and not finding her, I immediately went back to my bike, to see if I could be clever and catch up with her on it. Well, I didn’t see her the whole way there; I must have been too far in front. When I got to Joshin, which is basically just across from Midori, I waited there for a little while. There wasn’t much to look at in all honesty; it mirrored Midori in many respects. Still no sign of Ash, I contemplated just going home, before deciding that I might as well look around some more shops since I was out there. So, I continued up the highway (in the direction of Kappazushi and the Lake), and went in a few of the places Ash had told me about. The first was called FAN 倶楽部 (Fan kurabu – Fan club ~ this is an example of "ateji" - kanji used phonetically to represent native or borrowed words. The kanji may or may not have anything to do with the original meaning of the word, and be chosen solely for phonetic value. In this case though, the kanji roughly translate as "together, fun, place", so you could argue whether that was a meaningful interpretation or not), and I had a field day inside. It sells second-hand clothes, books, guitars, CD’s, DVD’s, records, comics, games, and trading cards. The sheer amount of stuff they had was incredible.

I slowly made my way through the maze, looking for anything of interest to me. They had a corner filled with old poker machines, and a huge section with games from the Fami-Con (a.k.a the NES). There were thousands upon thousands, of Yugioh trading cards, some baseball cards, and I even spotted some Magic cards; that brought back memories. There were rows and rows of figures from every anime imaginable, all hanging up in little plastic bags, or displayed behind glass. In a cardboard box on the floor, I spotted some Final Fantasy books (my internal homing device doing its job), and found Final Fantasy VII: Official Establishment File, in relatively good condition. I contained images and information of the characters, and I thought it was a really good find; a collector’s item. Looking on the shelf above, I found some more Final Fantasy related books (mostly walkthroughs), and decided to pick up the one for FFX-2, since it was really cheap and compact. I browsed the rest of the store for a while, having a quick look at the CDs, and bypassing the rows and rows of manga, before making my purchases; I was very satisfied. The guy even gave me a discount on the FFVII book; score.

The next place I went to looked, from the outside, looked like a regular shop, but the inside was of… devious intent. The front quarter of the store was just like any other typical DVD/comic book store, but behind the big black curtains with the 18+ logo in red was a world of naughty pleasures. Ash had told me this, so I decided to check it out just for curiosities sake, and it was indeed very enlightening. I just thought the whole concept was bizarre; why have a tiny portion of your store dedicated to non-adult goods (there was no one in that section), when clearly the whole purpose of it is to go to the adult section. It seemed almost like a façade to me; you really wouldn’t know what they were actually selling from just looking at the exterior. Anyway, I came out empty-hand, but full-minded (well…) and made my way back home. I decided to stop by Top World to see if I could find the Old El Paso Taco Kit, I’d seen some girls using at the dorm; they told me they’d found it there. And sure enough, it was there; along with all the other hot sauces. I was over the moon actually; they had Nachos sauce too. However, it was wickedly expensive, so I held out on that, and just bought one of the kits; tacos this week!

Getting back, I had a good look at my purchases, before it was time for dinner; chicken parmigiana. I noticed that Yuji had left his cookies out, and let him know as soon as I saw him. He was making them around lunch time, and let me try one; they were… interesting. I stayed up in the kitchen until just before 8, and then went down to the lounge for Hugo’s movie night. Since he has so many movies on his portable hard drive, he has decided to have a viewing night once a week; he rigged up his laptop to connect with the TV. This week we watched Leon: The Professional, a French directed movie starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and a very young Natalie Portman; this was her debut film. I found it really enjoyable, and moving. It finished just after 10, and had attracted a number of viewers including Simon, Yuji, and Alvaro; a success. After an orange in the kitchen, I came back down, and got my blog as up-to-date as possible, until it was time for sleep.