Asakusa and Ikebukuro

So first off, here are all the photos i took today at Asakusa, Ueno, Ikebukuro, and Shinjuku. There's not much of Ueno and Shinjuku though....-____-;;; Everything can be found at my Picasa Account






Went to Asakusa in the morning to go around the Sensoji Temple area to buy some traditional souvenirs. My mom just wanted to buy kokeshi dolls since that area has a large concentration of these kind of arts and crafts. It was so hot there because at the path leading to the temple grounds, the management's smart idea was to not make that path open-aired, but instead cover the top. Hence, trapping all the hot ambient air inside, and the hot air being released from the shops' air conditioners.




Went to Ueno first, then Ikebukuro, searching for a suitcase or bag to carry all my newly-bought stuff, ok, mainly yaoi doujins, to Hong Kong. At Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, there was the Tokyo Hula Festa. Groups of people performed different types of hula dances. I didn't watch much of it, so i can't really give a full detailed report. I couldn't stay and watch, because had to shop for a bag -____-;;

At Sunshine City, there was also a mini free GeGeGe no Kitaro fair. There wasn't too much too see, but lots of Kitaro merchandise to buy though.



PREVIEW: not too sure where i'm going tomorrow. might still go try looking for a bag, but definitely i'm moving to the Holiday Inn in Narita, close to the airport. Staying there for a night, and then flying to Hong Kong.

Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri

I got back to the hotel kind of late today, so i'm just gonna post the link to all the photos i took today of the Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri at my Picasa Account

I also went to Tokyo Character Street in the morning. Didn't buy too much, because don't wanna carry it to Hong Kong and back to Tokyo. So gonna wait to buy the rest of the Gintama and Jump merchandise that i have been eyeing :D

The Shinjuku Eisa Matsuri is basically a street festival where different groups perform traditional Okinawan music. The main instrument of these performances was drum. I love the strong, powerful, raw, beating sounds of drums. So i definitely found this matsuri to be a treat :D

The performances were divided into two periods. The first period ran from 1:30pm to 4:00pm in various streets of Shinjuku, where the second period ran from around 6:00pm to 9:00pm.
I wanted to go see the second period performances, but i was too lazy to use a map, so i just followed one of the performance groups that were walking to the performance area. In their costumes, with instruments and all, they walked through Kabuki-cho.

Kabukicho in the evening is filled with so many hosts. I think they may look slightly better than Sapporo ones XD. But it's just funny how the drum group lead me through all those host/hostess clubs to get to their destination.

I would like to write more about today, but it's late, and i need to sleep...orz....


PREVIEW: Tomorrow may be going to Asakusa for souvenir shopping. My mom likes buying kokeshi dolls.

Doujin Shopping at Otome Road

For all the photos i took today, please see my Picasa Albums



So today i left Nagoya for Tokyo by Shinkansen (bullet train). It's so difficult dragging around heavy luggage from the hotel to streets to station, especially when you're in Tokyo. But thank goodness i didn't arrived during rush hours. However, by the time i got to the streets of Shinjuku, it started raining. Sucks having to drag heavy luggage in the rain while you're lost looking for your hotel...orz......

If you noticed, i am staying in Shinjuku, at Best Western, in the Kabuki-cho district. Reminds me of Gintama hehe.... Again, there's tons of host/hostess clubs all around my hotel; so you can see many of them walking the streets in the evening and night.





So after i got all settled at my hotel, i went to Ikebukuro, home of Otome Road, and fujoshi paradise~~~~ It's got the biggest Animate in the world! Nine floors high, brimming with anime goodies!!! This year, i noticed they added cosplay stuff, like costumes, wigs, and accessories. Also newly added, is more non-anime merchandise, like those cellphone straps that look like passtieries. Bought lots of stuff, but still got more to buy when i come back in August, because that's when the Gintama Fair starts in all Animates across Japan, and also new Gintama merchandise is coming out then too. I didn't actually buy any figurines yet, cuz i'm saving to buy that at Nakano Broadway. You can get cheaper second hand anime stuff, and slightly older stuff that's sold out elsewhere, like those many Hetalia figures. Also, going to buy more Gintama stuff at the next Jump Shop i visit. i have my eyes on many things ^0^




Here's a very small sample of some of the doujins i bought today, and when i mean very small sample, i really mean very small. I plan to go back and buy some Sengoku BASARA, Kuroshitsuji, Saint Young Men, Hetalia, and Gintama doujins. Definitely BASARA, since i haven't got any yet, because i couldn't carry more; my arms were filled Gintama and Hetalia ^^;;

Also an interesting note, i bought a Italy X Germany doujin, i have never seen this before O___o it's always Italy as the uke, and not vice versa.

Toyoda??

Again posting a few photos that highlight my day today. The rest can be found at my Picasa account



Today i took a tour of the Toyota Kaikan. Basically, a factory tour where they made Prius, Camry, and Premio. The tour took place inside the Tsutsumi Plant. There's also a museum at the main building, and where the tour started.

This is the oldest looking bus stop i have ever seen. Notice the working rotary phone in the corner. I have never seen a working one before that was not part of some exhibit.

Here's the english website for Toyota Kaikan. You have to make a reservation online if you want to take a tour to the factory. It's a very interesting place to visit, especially if you are into cars. I also really recommend taking a taxis to Toyota Kaikan once you reach Toyota-shi (Toyota City), since there are no signs anywhere to indicate your destination. It is especially bad if you don't know any Japanese, kanji or kana. So i definitely recommend directly taking a taxis there; even though it costs more, but at least you will get their easily with no trouble.





Here's a robot that plays the trumpet. You've probably seen this many times on TV before.
Too bad they don't allow any photography at the actual working factory. That was interesting because it had robots welding cars. When you see them at work, you just can't help thinking what would happen if the robots started a rebellion, or it can remind you of Wall E. The rest are just people assembling and testing the cars before they're shipped off to be sold.



After going to Toyota shi, i went to Kanayama because there's a Jusco there. Only went there because my mom wanted to, and i wanted to buy quality cheap socks XDDD i tend to buy Converse socks. Had a tomato cheese omurice at the Aeon Mall food court at around 4:30 pm. Bought some Mister Donut donuts there too, since they were having a summer festival sale.

In the end this is what i had for dinner.



THE DAMN BESTASS DONUTS IN THE WORLD!!!!!! can't compare to Krispy Kreme or anything i had ever had in my life.

Reason why i love them so much, and especially this kind is because 1) it's matcha (green tea) flavour, covered in matcha frosting, and the dough part is filled with matcha flavour too. 2) The most important reason to me, it the texture of the dough. It's like those mochi bread, kind of slightly chewy, like it's made with mochi powder or glutinous rice. I'm a glutton for gluten -___-;;





Love the main mascot of Mister Donut, Pon de Lion.




Another one of the many donut-animal hybrid mascots of Mister Donut.


Preview: Tomorrow i'm leaving Nagoya by Shinkansen (bullet train) for Tokyo.

Nagoya Castle Conquered!

I'm gonna post my favourite photos i took today.



Taken at the subway station closest to Nagoya Castle. If you notice, there's a sumo wrestler getting out of the station; in yukata and hair in topknot. Beside Nagoya Castle is a sumo stadium. Recently, there is a sumo competition going on. Saw lots of sum wrestlers when in the area. On the trains/subways, walking around the street, just getting to their destination. The most interesting sight was seeing about six sumo wrestlers getting out of a typical Japanese Toyota van. Those vans are smaller than their North American counterparts. Also noticed that every time one of them walked by, there's a scent of baby powder. Hence, i conclude that sumo wrestlers smell like baby powder XD





Outside of Nagoya Castle. Notice the golden shachi ("gold dolphins") on the rooftop; Nagoya's visual representive. To bad they didn't allow photography inside the castle. Inside, was just like a modern museum with exhibits showing life in Nagoya during the Edo period.

Truth be told, the museum like setting isn't my favourite. i mean, i love museums in general, but they renovated the inside of the castle like a museum; with A/C, glass cases and such. Compared with Himeji Castle, near Nara, around the Kansai area, it is very different. Out of Osaka, Himeji, and Nagoya Castle, i like Himeji Castle the best, because of its setting. Himeji has a very traditional inside. You have to take off your shoes when you go in, in both Osaka and Nagoya you don't. Himeji was just like how it was originally, complete with the traditional narrow ladder-like stairs, and no air conditioning. Bottom line, even though Himeji is the smallest castle, and a bit farther from the big cities, it is definitely worth the visit.





This is the Jump Shop in Nagoya; located in the Sakae area in the mall, Oasis 21. I've been to almost all the Jump Shops in Japan except for the one in Yokohama (which i might go this year), and the one in Fukuoka (i think that's where the other one is......-___-;;; too lazy to look it up now). As a Gintama fan, i recommend going to the one in Osaka because it's got the giant Sadaharu, complete with a shoji panel setting, and on ground level, so you can stick your head in Sadaharu's mouth. The one in Nagoya, it's high up so you can only look. Back in the summer of 2005, the Jump Shop in Nagoya had a deck of the Merry-Go (the ship) from One Piece. That's where they place the bookshelves. It was neat. Speaking of One Piece, the coolest thing i have seen before was an actual working Merry-Go sailing around Odaiba. There were life-sized figures of the crew on the deck. Best part was that you can buy a ticket and ride on it :D

The only reason i went to Jump Shop today was so i can make a mental list of all the things i want when i get to Tokyo. I don't want to buy things now and carry it around with me to Hong Kong.






I absolutely love how this building looks. Located in the Osu Kannon area.




Look!! You can try to get a Harry Potter cloak from a UFO Catcher. Located in the shopping arcade in the Osu Kannon area. I've learnt my lesson of never playing them when i first visited Japan when i was four years old. Never could get anything...orz.....


If you're ever in Nagoya, and need to look for anime merchandises, cards, dvds, cds, etc... go to the shopping arcade in Osu Kannon. Also, i should mention Sapporo, doesn't seem to have a concentrate of an area that sells anime things. But the closest i would have to say is the near the Odori area; located very close the to TV Tower. There's an Animate and Toranoana. There's a Mandarake inside the Cosmo plaza located in the Tanukichoji Shopping Arcade. Mandarake is on the 6th floor, or maybe it was the 5th, can't exactly remember...orz.....





A giant Maneki Neko ("Beckoning Cat") in the Osu Kannon Shopping Arcade.





Also in the Osu Kannon Shopping Arcade, a homemade Ultraman!! :D It was made of tinfoil and cardboard, placed in front of a older women's clothing boutique. It looked out of place XD


For all the photos i took today please see my Picasa account



Preview: On the next entry, of jACKEt's 2009 Summer Adventures, I will be going to the Toyota Factory. Please look forward to it~~<3

Sapporo ---> Nagoya

Did lie when i said i was going to update daily during my trip to Japan and Hong Kong. It's just that i stayed in Ramada Inn in Susukino in Sapporo, and they don't have free internet access. I refuse to pay for internet access!!! But all the hotels i will be staying from now on will have free internet access, so i will be updating everyday :D.

So here are all the photos i have taken so far uploaded onto my Picasa account

Normally, i always have a picture with each of my entry, but i have so many photos and i'm too lazy to use the image resizing tool right now, so please just look at all my photos at my picasa -___-;;


I'm tired, so please excuse my non-linear writing in these travel entries orz.....

So i went to Sapporo and Furano; my second time. This time I stayed in the Susukino area in Sapporo, the entertainment district. Filled with restaurtants, bars, host/hostess clubs. To give you a picture of the area, right across the street from my hotel, there's a building filled with floors and floors of hostess clubs. The hosts start scouring for customers at around 2pm and still out around midnight. i noticed they get off work around 9am in the morning. It's funny how both the hosts/hostesses have this semi-uniform of light brown/orange hair. I think the hosts sent scouring the streets for customers are either newbies/uglies armed with flyers or posters of all the most popular hosts in their club. I mean most of them are kind of ugly-looking XD I guess all the handsome/popular ones stay at the host club, and don't have to go around begging for customers.

i visited Furano again only for the lavender. Last time i went, i went in mid-June...i think...can't exactly remember. The last time, the lavender weren't fully in bloom, so not as beautiful as this time. Went to see lavender at Farm Tomita, and also had Hokkaido's famous melons; mainly cantaloupes.

Actually the only reason i went to Sapporo again was for the food. The cheaper and fresher seafood, and produce. The famous crabs, melons, dairy products.......all taste so goooooodddd~~~~~


ok definitely gonna update again tommorrow~

Vacation Time~~~

Gin-san and Hijikata from Gintama.

i was going to draw an oekaki of Yamazaki dressed as a Moulin Rouge escapee today, but, alas, i didn't have the time -___-;;; So instead i give you a quick drawing i drew from last Halloween. For anyone that's curious the background is a photo of the Sapporo Beer Museum <---where i had a glass of beer at 10 in the morning XD

On to my main point now. i'm going to Japan and Hong Kong for three weeks. So definitely no new drawings or oekaki from me. But i will post photos instead. Probably a few daily, and the rest will be uploaded at my Picasa account

You may have, probably not, notice a new Twitter widget i placed at the bottom of this blog. (please take your time and scroll down to see for yourself) You can follow me on Twitter too.

i finally got Twitter to work on my DS!!! that took me a while today, and hence, ruined my plan of drawing a smexy Yamazaki. So hopefully i can update Twitter a bit more often than this daily blog here ^___^

Roma quod Germania

Rome and Germania from Hetalia.

Originally, i was gonna draw Rome and Germania dress in their official outfits; Rome as a gladiator and Germania as warrior/hunter. Then i remember the fact that Romans admired blond hair. Some of the Romans' slaves had blond hair. Germania has blond hair. Roman women would dye their hair blond or make wigs from slaves' hair. Hence, Gemania was either gonna be dressed as a slave or a women; I chose the latter XD The slaves' clothing lacked the cloth that i wanted to try drawing.

Apparently, Roman women's clothing wasn't that different from men's. So, technically, Germania is crossdressing here. Rome is just dressed as a typical citizen.

Pet Shop Cat

Inspired by a young cat i saw in a hammock at a pet shop.

Due to me watching KuroShitsuji, and how Sebastian loves cat's paws, i had to go touch a cat's paws to see the appeal of it for myself. Now i totally get it. The pads on the paws are soooo squishy~~~~<3 <3 When i poked the pad, the young cat tried to claw my finger. Good thing it had its nails trimmed. But even if it didn't, and i got scratched, drawing blood, it would be so worth it~~~~

The Big 2-3-3, Alfred!

America from Hetalia.

For the Fourth of July, aka Independence Day. Commemorating the 233rd anniversary since Steven Hiller saved the Earth from attacking aliens.

Okay joking aside, this is the real history:

Public Holidays Are For Protesting

Hong Kong from Hetalia.

I have noticed for the past years in Hong Kong, every time there was a national holiday, people will be on the streets marching to protest against their dissatisfaction(s) with the government. People will bring their whole family along. So, of course, for the 12th year that HK return to China, people took to the streets again. I kind of find it funny that that's what people do when they have time off. I wrote this on my Facebook status, 公眾假期 = 上街示威, meaning Public Holidays = Going to the Streets Protesting. XD
I can only see many more protests towards the government in HK's future.

On a less political side of things, yesterday was Canada Day. Many Canada Day celebrations that were going to be held in Toronto was cancelled due to the workers' strike. There was no parade and city-held celebrations. But the most visible thing is the amount of garbage all over the streets of Toronto. Nineteen parks so far has been turned into temporary garbage dumps, and the bags of garbage pile up to the basketball nets.
Due to these circumstances, the Hetalia Canada Day meet was moved from downtown Toronto to downtown Mississauga, the suburb of Toronto, where i live. I found out today when i was on the Hetalia LiveJounral community, and people posted photos of the get-together. It looked like fun~~~

Also, last night i was watching fireworks from my window. That was cool :D