じーーン@アマギゴエ

One week in Japan is surely not enough, but money sure disappears fast. Three days in Tokyo allowed me to wonder around Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, and of course, Akihabara. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit the glamorous streets of Harajuku, but passed by and I know I’ll come back for a delicious shopping spree. This time around, most of my shopping took place in Akiba, as you may have already suspected. I managed to survive without spending over $100, but it’s really hard to. The thing that got me the most is that 100 and 500 yen are coins, so they make the value feel like quarters. *sweat* Like I said, money disappears fast.

The typical day in Akihabara.

I did chance Akiba on Sunday, and like I expected, the roads were still normal and not closed off like it used to be. It was something I looked forward to before, but that’s life. I still enjoyed visiting many of the big shops for the first time. You can’t see a huge Hidamari Sketch display anywhere else, can you. Aaya also released her 1st album that week, so there was a big display in her honor as well. Too bad I wasn’t around when she visited the store. Other than huge store set ups, I met an Initial D player that didn’t have any fingers. I also noticed that there seemed to by more gaijin in Akiba than any other place in Japan I went to. There were quite a few nico-related things I saw, like this CD on sale and an advertisement for LiveTune’s Re:Package album. The CD didn’t have any songs, or singers, I really liked so I decided against it, but I’m definitely going to have Re:Package on order.

From the Bape store in Kyoto, which was in the middle of nowhere.

For three days I got to stop by Kyoto and Osaka. It was raining a lot in Kyoto, so I only stopped by Kiyomizu and Rokuon-ji. It was cool seeing the old side of Japan; I even stayed at a ryokan, but for only one night. The price would have killed me otherwise. There was a festival going on called Gion Matsuri, but we only stayed during the 14th and 15th–the 17th is the biggest day. It’s definately an event if you’re with friends. Takoyaki is delicious. I also saw an street singer perform.

Mother and child attacked by pigeons.

All I did in Osaka was go shopping, so there’s not much to say except it was hard to understand Osaka-ben. Most of my shopping took place back in Akiba much to my demise. I should have gotten clothes to lighten up my wardrobe, but I just got a little swag:

Yeah, I did get Aaya’s new album. Not sure why I got Seigura, though. I guess that’s what you call impulse buying. It did come with some Gahaku illustrated hankerchief that made me giggle and two Aaya posters to adorn my walls. Don’t mind the Juno one in the middle. (Speaking of which, those who watched Juno in Japan’s theatres got a free pregnancy test phone strap.) I hope to come back some day.