In this blog, I'm going to list any miscellaneous thoughts or observations I had while in Japan, at least around Nagoya and Tokyo. Then we'll go into my swag / purchases. That section will be sorta photo-heavy. If you want to jump straight to that section, do a search for "swag/purchases" (make sure there are no spaces between the "/"), though you might not need to since there aren't too many new thoughts / observations this time compared to my first trip.
I should note that some items I bought aren't shown here, since they were gifts. Annnd some items that are shown I don't have anymore, since they were given away as gifts, and I'm too lazy to do re-takes. I'll mention in the captions what I don't have anymore, lol.
If you wanna read my first entry to see what thoughts / observations I had about Japan two years ago, go here.
MY MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS OR OBSERVATIONS
- Lines are just part of the everyday. This time, I experienced so many line-ups for things. And for me, I'm actually used to lines due to attending anime / fan conventions for the past 10+ years. But wow. The lines at the Sailor Moon Exhibition (to get into the exhibition, to get into the gift shop, to get into the themed cafe) nearly drove me nuts, lol... especially because it happened all in one day. So... If you want to try out the latest and newest thing or you happen to be a fan of something major (like Sailor Moon or One Piece or Snoopy, lol), prepare for potential long lines. Bring a book or a DS (if you have one) or something to keep your attention.
- Affordable history / cultural museums. I think this really says something about how Japan values its culture and history. From what I experienced, the most I paid for admission was 600 yen. I think due to the low cost, it encourages the public to actually visit these places. I was generally awed to see children (with a relative) and even young teens and their friends at these museums. I think it's really nice.
- Can't get that figure from a crane game? There's a shop for that. So in Akihabara, there are a couple shops that sell only prizes from crane games. They probably only stock the current stuff and it seems to stock mainly figures or popular items. This is a nice alternative if you figure it would be cheaper to buy the figure straight out instead of trying to get it from the crane game. Some of the figures do have decent prices, too. My tonberry lamp was in the shop for 3200 yen.
- Remaining plays in a crane game can be moved to another game. So if you are playing a crane game and got your desired item and you still have plays left, you could ask a staff member to move your remaining plays to another game. You most likely need to know some Japanese for this. I was lucky a staff member asked me this minutes after I got my Tonberry lamp. I had 4 plays remaining and walked away from the machine, thinking those plays were lost.
- Fashion: no leggings on women. At least from my observations, I didn't see any women wearing leggings. They either wore pants, long skirts, or showed off their legs with shorts or knee-high skirts. That's how I figured I stuck out while wandering around anywhere. Even when I was wearing a skirt I would be wearing leggings.
MY SWAG/PURCHASES
finding plain-style pleated skirts.
a sandwich box, and spoon-fork-chopstick set. The set is in case
I buy take-out and utensils aren't included.
bring home souvenirs), a mini chair, and a tie. A tie for 100 yen!
The pattern is quite decent, too, lol.
different designs and it's random which design you get.
My tonberry lamp from the crane games! I haven't tried it out
yet since it uses batteries and I don't remember which kind.
CDs I got from Super Retro Potato-kan. Graduation drama CD, and Xenoblade OST.
Mini soundtrack + special soundtrack, Megaten World (compilation).
normally gush about Janne da Arc, but I've liked their music for a
long time (since high school). I love how varied it is. I also love their look, lol.
The way the vocalist dresses in this video -- omg, sooo hot and perfect, lol <3.
I wish their hiatus would end.
during my Daigasso Band Brothers EX-playing days.
two CD bundles that were 100 yen each bundle.
Rockman E drink, First Aid deodorant, Leon strap, Resident Evil-themed green curry,
Street Fighter-themed curry, T-Virus perfume, memo pads,
Resident Evil-themed masking tape.
The curries and the T-virus perfume were gifts.
One of those straps is mine, lol.
A Conan-themed knapsack and a free poster from the Conan pop-up shop.
I received the poster for spending over 2000 yen.
colour trick tea packets (butterfly pea-flavoured), film reel chocolate crunch candy,
a pretty pen (or was it a pencil?). I don't have the tea packets nor the pen.
There were tons of postcard designs at the shop. The one I bought was
the most romantic. I was pleasantly surprised to see many guys taking that postcard. :)
Japan to use the container for other souvenirs, lol... ^^'
three postcards, a clear folder file, a canvas bag, and two keychains.
Out of everything here, I only have the canvas bag, lol.
because a friend sent me a pic of them before my trip. I just found it hilarious
to actually find them. If you're curious, you can buy them here. When I was buying them,
there were kids around me looking at the other gachapon machines.
Their parents promptly moved them away from me... LOL. :P
getting the panty over the bottle.
Trafalgar Law chocolate pastries, a mini puzzle, a frame for the puzzle,
a random button, a pressed coin with a print of Luffy. I don't have the button.
These were good. Just like with the Conan film reel, I ate this to use
the container for other souvenirs.
A face towel with Ace on it, a mini Law hat, an Ace-themed scrunchy.
an Ace bracelet. Well, the bracelet is close enough, lol.
an Ace-themed notebook, nice pictures of Sanji and Ace, a postcard collection of
the first 66 manga covers, Ace gummies, free pics of Luffy and Zoro,
masking tape, random pendant thing, three "shopping cards"
(will explain two pics below), Luffy and Ace medals with necklace and keychain chains.
I don't have the Luffy medal nor the random pendant thing.
I got them from filling out their respective "shopping card".
At the store, they have a shopping card system where every 500 yen spent gets you a stamp on a character card. When you get 10 stamps (i.e. have spent 5000 yen), you get a pic of the character. The first character to fill out is always Luffy, and it goes in a specific order. And... there are 10 character cards in total... meaning if you wanted to get all 10 pics you will have to spend a total of 50000 yen (over 500 CAD). Crazy! Lol -- though it is definitely do-able for those living in Japan. I'm currently on the third character card, which is Nami's.
The message on Luffy's was "Happy birthday!" (it was a birthday gift).
The message on Ace's was... "With my love". Lol...
Ace's story and actions really did touch me a lot. ^^'
A t-shirt with Ace on it. I really like the message: "Start living before you start dying".
I'm pretty sure this t-shirt is too large for me, lol.
Cost of Swag / Purchases (in Yen) (NOT counting what I gave to friends)
WEGO: 10550
Daiso: 810
The Loft: 300
Kirby wallets (from the crane game): 1000
Tonberry lamp (from the crane game): 2500 (I'd say this is a decent price for my lamp. It's definitely cheaper than this, at least. But search around if you want this but can't travel to Japan to get it)
Super Retro Potato-kan: 3200
Book-Off: 2900
Mandarake: 648
Capcom Cafe Gift shop: 3850 (this would be much higher [T-virus perfume itself costed 4200], but many of these items went to friends)
Conan Pop-up shop: 9050
Sailor Moon gift shop: 1944 (ditto here. Many of these items went to friends)
Gachapons: 600
One Piece gift shops (at Laguna Ten Bosch): 9150
One Piece gift shop (at Tokyo Tower): 12414
Animate (Villager amiibo): 1200 (I have no pic of this because it was originally a gift that I decided to keep for myself, lol...)
Lawson (3000 yen PSN card): 3000 (I have no pic of this because... I can't say right now, lol)
Grand Total (excluding gifts for friends): 63116 yen
And that's it! My Japan blogs are done!
Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me through my wordy adventures. Next time I go, hopefully, hopefully I'll be able to catch the cherry blossom petals falling. Also I'd like to go to the Ghibli museum. And... I want to try attending a live concert for my favourite band!! Please let them still be together by then *fingers crossed!*
Thank you again and take care! :)
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