Japan 2012 - Day 7

So... I ended up at Dream Party after all. Essentially, it was an event for eroge. There were booths selling games, merch, cd's etc, some booth babes, a bunch of itasha, a stage for companies to promote their games, usually by having whomever performed music to their game perform on stage.

The real action though, was on the fourth floor terrace of Tokyo Big Sight. There was a line to get up there before the event even started, and now I realized what it was. A majority of the cosplayers were situated there, and photograhpers were lined up to take pictures of whichever cosplayer they wanted. The general rule was the cuter the cosplayer, or the skimpier the outfit, the longer the line they had. Occasionally, when the cosplayer got tired, one of her "handlers" would give a countdown, and a crowd would gather to take photos until the countdown ended. Some cosplayers even had...I wouldn't call them business cards but contact cards with a picture and ways to get in contact with them via various social media outlets.

Bumped into an English teacher, Ramon, from the U.S. At the event as well, we ended up swapping stories about conventions and cosplayers in Asia vs North America, In Japan, they won't let you into a con unless you actually change at the con/event, meaning you can't wear your costume on the way there. (which explains all the girls with suitcases on the train). Also, a.. I don't want to say a majority of the girls but enough of them have scraggly teeth..... apparently Japanese people find it cute. I don't. A lot of the photographers often still live at home and therefore can afford awesome cameras (and there were a ton of pro looking cameras).

At the end of the event to kick everyone out convention staff went around and started giving countdowns to cosplayers, which resulted in a roving horde of photographers forming.

After the event grabbed a bite to eat, and then went to Akihabara where Ramon showed me some of the stores I had missed on my previous trips. More shop scouting before buying goodies.

... and pics!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151689784285612.850204.522485611&type=1&l=bcd7d1ef45

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151689825385612.850209.522485611&type=1&l=f20affdb00

 

Also reposted pics on Danny Choo's site as well...

http://community.dannychoo.com/post/en/1096/Dream+Party+-+Itasha+and+cosplay+part+1.html

 

http://community.dannychoo.com/post/en/1097/Dream+Party+-+Cosplay+part+2.html 

 

Japan 2012 - Day 6

 

Woke up to beautiful sunshine today. Decided to get McDonalds breakfast in japan lol. After that was an hr long train ride to Saitama where I met up with Kozzy and Pico-san and we went to have lunch at a restaurant inside the grounds of a Sake factory. Lunch was a bowl of rice, miso soup, and an assortment of small dishes including salad, grilled fish, sashimi, steamed tofu and bamboo, and a little bit of sake. After lunch we went to a small traditional style room to the side of the restaurant where we were served green tea in a bowl with some small candy on the side.

After that was a trip to Washinomiya shrine.... which is the Lucky Star shrine. (I did not expect this). The shrine grounds itself are fairly small. The road leading up to the shrine has some lucky star flags on the lamp posts leading up to it, and in the parking lot was a Lucky Star itasha (don't know if thats a permanent fixture). It is still a functioning shrine and in one of the buildings there was a ceremony going on. Not a lot of people there when I went. There were however a lot of the wooden message boards, and many of them had anime figures drawn/printed on them (mainly Lucky Star and K-on).

So wandering the shrine grounds took not as long as expected, and we returned to Kozzy's house after a bit of a drive to cool off and play with the dogs. Dinner was home made! Chicken and salad and fried rice with miso soup (should've taken a picture) >.<

After dinner was a ride home, stopping off at kami-igusa to take a picture of the smaller gundam statue outside kami-igusa station. Passed by sunrise studios as well before heading home.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151685204870612.849648.522485611&type=1&l=6b76c48191

Japan 2012 - Day 5

Took things easy today, by going to Akihabara again >.<

Went to the Good Smile Cafe today, had a "Miku" drink, which was a sweet almost syrup like flavor with ice cream on top, and a bowl of fried rice. The drink came with a coaster and the meal came with a placemat, which got damaged in transit on the way home. Finished off my drink and meal and went around taking pictures of all the nendoroids and figures, there were a lot of them! That took quite a while, and when I left there was a line of people trying to get in, I guess I beat the lunch rush. 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151658382590612.848956.522485611&type=1&l=5cb76a9c87

I checked out the rest of the building, which had lots of merchandise on sale, and lots of people trying to sell back their books/figures book-off style.

It started to rain again, so I went to the other place I had missed out on during my previous trips to Akihabara... Mandarake. Mandarake confirmed what I had seen in other stores, which was people reselling their manga and figures. Almost every store save for the official stores like Good Smile have a large amount of used figures for sale in and amongst their new ones. The easiest to spot for figures are the ones in little baggies, which can range from 400 yen to 1200 yen. Other figures that have been better preserved and kept in their box, or repackaged with all parts in their box, vary wildly in price depending on figure condition and rarity of figure. Three of the same figure, all in the box, can each go for different prices. So if you're not picky about getting used figures and want to complete your collection less expensively, then used is the place to go... certain nendos you can get for 1/2 price of the real thing, still in box.

Of course, some figures still go for 5686589548458 yen because they're just that rare. Also, there are various stores that rent out spaces to people to sell their stuff. In that case its up to the people renting the space to set the price of their products (essentially they rent a glass box locker). Some things you can get for super cheap, others buy things like figmas and try to resell at a higher price as to try and make some profit on it, usually with figmas/nendos that are rare or out of stock.

So, I got a figure-education today.

Still deciding on whether I want to go to the dream party thing or a J. League match or something else on Sunday.

Tomorrow (I guess today now) its a trip off to the 'burbs.

Japan 2012 - Day 4

Guess I should write all this down...

Today started with a trip to Akihabara again and a maid cafe... eventually we walked into a cafe called Pinafore. Was welcomed and served by the "veteran maid", spoke briefly to the "new recruit maid" and got my picture taken with the "cute maid". Interesting, but expensive experience. 4400 yen for 2 people for a Omlette rice, a coffee, and a picture.

After that was a short walk to the Katsuhiro Otomo Genga exhibit, proceeds of which are going towards reconstruction efforts in Eastern Japan after the disaster last year. Majority of the works were Akira-based, with some steamboy and a few other interesting pieces on display. The final room had the bike from Akira on display, which people could take a picture with, and wear the jacket as well. There was a message wall and a big dent in another wall you could take photos with.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151628990520612.848632.522485611&type=1&l=6d7913d77c

Line for the goods store was tremendously long so passed on that. Up next went to Odaiba to check out the new Gundam Museum, Gundam Front Tokyo.

Gundam Front Tokyo is inside Diver City Tokyo, a new shopping complex that opened last month. The 1/1 scale Gundam is outside the entrance, and while from far away actually looks small, close up its... amazing.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151629113240612.848636.522485611&type=1&l=0aa7d28ac5

Gundam Front Tokyo itself... well you need a ticket to get in and tickets were sold out, you need to reserve in advance. The free part of Gundam Front Tokyo includes a display of... many, many, many, Gundam models. After taking pictures of the Gundam models was about to head to a train station before I stumbled onto Odaiba Oktoberfest.... A group of Germans were playing traditional beer-hall music to a large assembled group of drunken Japanese people with beer on hand... full glass pints and beer bottles. The stage and the main sitting area were in the center under a large reinforced tent, with beer and sausage stalls ringed around it. Definitly fun to see and be a part of. The best part is that its on all week, part of the Golden Week festivities.

(maid cafe pics before Odaiba Oktoberfest pics.)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151645789810612.848826.522485611&type=1&l=57eb6b0ac5

After that I was going to leave for the train station again, but then the Gundam statue began to light up. Behind it on the wall of Diver City Tokyo there was a graphic playing various clips from various Gundam series. The Gundam itself was lit up in various different shades before the head started moving, the cockpit opened and closed, and the chest starting steaming simulating a "launch".

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151632904890612.848670.522485611&type=1&l=db84b12566

I got a lot of things done today. Lol.

Japan 2012 - Day 3

Akihabara today. Went to an art exhibit for the first bit at Akihabara UDX. Featured 105 pictures from 105 artists, with the theme of four seasons. Artists included Noizi Ito and aokiume... didn't recognize any of the others. After a lost in translation moment managed to buy myself a couple artbooks, then declined on getting signatures from a couple of the artists, only because I didn't want to wait for a couple hours... although it would've given me an excuse to stay out of the rain. Vindicated my own decision later on when I doubled back to UDX before I left and say a large but well controlled line waiting for autographs made of people who actually wanted autographs.... did not want bad karma from Akiba otaku lol.

The rest of Akihabara went like this. Walked around the main street (chuo-dori) once, then again to take pictures, then again to go into shops to see what they had for sale.... which is everything and every price... petit nedoroids from 500 yen to figures at 15000 yen. Snagged a couple small things before deciding that I'll come back again before I leave to get more things with the money I have left. (need to budget after all.)

No maid pictures, that'll be tomorrow.

Grabbed some gyu-don at a hole in the wall place before heading to yodobashi akiba, which also sells a lot of... almost everything (electronics). Even got to watch the end of the Clippers/Nuggets game (clippers won). After that decided to take the long way on the yamanote line (it goes in a circle) to Tokyo station to meet a friend... and eventually we met up and had some food outside the station, a large bowl of chinese-style japanese noodles. Then we drove around Tokyo at night taking pictures of various things like Tokyo Tower, before heading back to Tokyo station to pick up his daughter, who of all things, pressured us to go to a maid cafe. Which we apparently are going to do tomorrow.

 

Pics:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151608162290612.848368.522485611&type=1&l=a195386b51

Japan 2012 - Day 2

Not much of a plan today, began to walk around Shinagawa and got as far as the Nikon offices before it started to rain.... and then pour.... so plan B was to run to the train station and take it from there. Ended up at Tokyo station and took it from there... drizzled on and off for most of the afternoon before the sun came out, so took the opportunity to walk around the imperial palace grounds and the government buildings area... aka Japan's center of power (although you weren't allowed to take pictures of many of the buildings, which had just enough policemen around to deter people from doing things.....

Anyway, managed to snag pictures of the Justice ministry, and the diet... walked past many other buildings including the Prime Minister's official residence before circling around the back side of the Diet, past the National Diet Library, up to the other side of the imperial palace grounds, detoured around Hibiya park, then back to a corner of the imperial palace grounds where there was a statue of Kusunogi Masashige, then finally back towards the Tokyo train station. By this time the sun had come out and there was a nice breeze as well.

Had to reload my suica card and stopped off for a bite to eat at Shinagawa station, a noodle joint where you order from a vending machine, had tanuki soba for 400 yen, and it was less than a minute before I actually got my food. After a long day of walking around it hit the spot. Then it was back to the hotel.

Pics!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151597736160612.847768.522485611&type=1&l=2c2a47bb39