Eleventh Day of My Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Daniel Jung

Okay, I decided to explore every last place I could check in one day. First, I decided to ride the Shinkansen to Yokohama to check out Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum.

After I finished checking the museum and buying some souvenirs, I took the Shinkansen again to get to Osaka.

I took the local train to Namba to find an okonomiyaki restaurant named Fukutarou.

A sign says Fukutarou Main Restaurant

When I got there, so many people were waiting there for hours. When there are so many Japanese people lined up, there is very good food there.

When I finally got called in, I made my order and wondered whether I will be able to catch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo in time.

When I finished my meal and paid my bill, I immediately took the local train to Shin-Osaka Station. When I got there, I noticed the only Shinkansens left at the time I was there were Nozomi and Kodama. Kodama is the slowest since it stops at every station. So, I decided to buy a ticket for Nozomi train to get to Tokyo faster. Since my JR Pass doesn’t cover Nozomi and Mizuho trains, I had to pay the full fare of 13,240 yen.

There are so many things in Japan I wanted to check out badly. Unfortunately, my plane leaves on Friday in the afternoon. So, this will be my last Japan trip post until I write another. Until then, later.

My Tenth Day of Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Daniel Jung

When I got to Kyoto, I decided to stop at someplace to eat for lunch. Since Kyoto is in the Kansai area, I thought about trying the okonomiyaki here.

Other images in Kyoto Prefecture:

I initially planned to go to Osaka next, but I decided to just return to my hotel in Tokyo.

My first ramen dinner in Tokyo:

Now I need to my laundry.

Ghibli Museum Trip 2013

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Daniel Jung

I visited Ghibli Musuem in Mitaka for the first time.

Here is the entrance:

After that, no picture-taking was permitted inside the museum (unless I’m at outdoor places).

Here are my exceptions:

After exploring the museum, eating at the cafe and buying souvenirs, I attended the short film screening of Kujiratori (Whale Hunt). I assure you that the whale isn’t harmed. They change the screening every month. When I have time and money again, I might visit the museum again.

Comiket 84 Day 3

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Daniel Jung

The third day is the day I’ve been waiting for. Even though it was another hot day, I decided to go to Tokyo Big Sight by 8:30 AM anyway.

Here is what it looked like when I lined up outside before opening:

I was further behind this time. When my line started entering the building by 10 AM, I immediately lined up for the latest Touhou Project game.

Despite the very long line, it moved fast. I eventually got the game for 1000 yen.

After exploring and buying more stuff, I immediately left for the train station. The line for the train station would get extremely crowded and slow around the closing time.

Here are things I bought for the third day:

A closer look to the 14th Touhou Project game:

That was the end of Comic Market (or Comiket for short) 84. お疲れ様でした！(Otsukaresamadeshita!)

Comiket 84 Day 2

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Daniel Jung

At night of my first Comiket day, I marked a lot of artist circles I wanted to check out on the second day. However, I decided to go back to Comiket after 12 PM. I would potentially miss my chance to get some things from the most popular circles, but I just didn’t think it was worth my time and life to get them. However, I managed to buy more stuff today.

Checked out the west hall for the first time:

Cosplayers:

I also visited the corporate booths as well. I wasn’t sure I was allowed to take pictures there, so I refrained from doing it.

Things I got from the second day so far:

Now off to the third day as quickly as possible!

Comiket 84 Day 1

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Daniel Jung

I initially planned to head to Tokyo Big Sight to line up by 6 AM (four hours from 10 AM opening). However, I ended up lining up at 9:30, which I am glad I did. Standing in line for an hour outside in a very hot day (about 100 degrees Fahrenheit) was enough to make me suffer. Also, I lost one of my towels before lining up. However, I had a pack of tissues to wipe up my sweat.

Here is what it looked like when I lined up for about an hour:

What it looked like inside Tokyo Big Sight’s east hall:

Things I bought at Comiket 84 on Day One (some are NOT SAFE FOR WORK):

Since today was mainly yaoi (gay male porn) day, I only acquired few interesting stuff. At first, I lined up for one of the circles where there were many girls in line, usually for yaoi books. When I confirmed that circle’s current work was yaoi, I immediately got out of the line and looked for something else. I eventually lined up for one of the popular circles (not yaoi) for hours to get a set. Also, I bought some more stuff from artists who didn’t have lines.

Around the early afternoon, I got fed up. I was already sweating as hell. Also, I drank at least two big bottles worth of tea that I felt like I needed to throw up. I initially wanted to check out stuff in the west hall, the cosplay section and the corporate booths, but I felt that I needed to get back to the hotel soon. So, I got into a big line for a train. I did hear that most attendees do not stay at Comiket all day long over the Internet. Fortunately, I already bought round-trip tickets in the morning.

Despite I already prepared myself for the event after I got tips over the Internet, I underestimated the brutality of standing in the middle of a very hot day. However, it was a worthy experience. I even learned a Japanese word for the “end of the line”, which was 最後尾 (saikoubi). Long lines are divided into separate, short lines. Unless there are extremely popular artist circles you should definitely line up for before their works sell out, DO NOT get in line before noon. It would be less crowded afternoon. I plan to get in line on the third day for Team Shanghai Alice, the one-man team of the Touhou Project game series. I’m going to have a long time to reconsider my future Comiket trips.

Fifth Day of My Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Daniel Jung

I took a shinkansen and a local train to Uji in Kyoto Prefecture to see Kyoto Animation with my own eyes.

Somebody at Kyoani Shop told me there was going to be hanabi (fireworks) at night. So, I looked for the place. At the same time, I made a friend named Yuka. Since she didn’t have plans for the day, she helped me tour her hometown. After that, she showed me where the hanabi would take place and went back home.

I hope I come back to Kyoto on another day. My day there was too short.

Fourth Day on My Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Daniel Jung

I didn’t do much on this day, since I was working on a certain project on my laptop. Around the afternoon, there was a blackout in my hotel. So, I decided to head out to eat lunch (from FamilyMart again) and head to two locations.

Zojoji Temple

Tokyo Tower

I hope I would go further away somewhere tomorrow.

Third Day on My Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Daniel Jung

I stayed up in the middle of the night for a certain activity. I’ll show what it was later. Here is what I started my day with:

Akihabara

Taiko no Tatsujin (one of my favorite games)

Gamers main store

Maid Cafe

Note about maid cafe: As 1 person, I was required to order at least 2 individual items. Also, the maid cafe charges additional fee according to where you sit at fixed time. I ordered one of the debut set, which consisted of omelette rice with ketchup drawing of cat face, melon soda and raffle, for 2,700 yen and got charged for using a table within 120 minutes for 1,000 yen. My total bill was 3,700 yen. I was kind of expecting to see a maid cafe at Akihabara and got what I wanted.

An English-speaking Swedish guy I helped out at the maid cafe

If you are a foreign tourist who is interested in going to Japan, I STRONGLY recommend you bring lots of cash. Japan is still pretty much cash-oriented country. This Swedish guy I met initially planned to pay his bill at the maid cafe with a credit card, but he got turned down. Also, he didn’t have enough cash. Eventually, I lent him some of my money and got paid back at the post office. I acted as the interpreter between him and one of the maids through most of the time.

Sushi Mizutani, where I dined for expensive sushi dinner

My bill’s total came out as 30,000 yen, since I had three extra tuna pieces. Overall, the meal was good, but expensive.

Hayao Miyazaki’s Kaze Tachinu at TOHO CINEMAS

Got picked up in the middle of the night and talked to cabaret girls

This is what I get for walking around midnight and not ignoring salespeople outside. From now, I’ll avoid staying out at night.

Second Day on My Japan Trip 2013

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Daniel Jung

Sorry for not writing this post in time. I wanted to wake up early in the morning to check out the fish auction, but I overslept. Anyway here are the videos and pictures.

Higurashi (cicadas) crying in the morning: