Aya's Super Awesome Adventures in Japan: 2014

12/29/2014

BEST OF - Akihabara

I was originally going to call this a series, but... Well, we'll see how that goes. This is a way for me to exercise my blogging power and summarize stuff for people who don't want to read through my posts to find stuff at the same time. I don't like to choose favorites most of the time, but it's kind of hard to think of any place quite as wonderful as Akihabara. As the nerd capital of the world (that's what I'm calling it) it is a perfect place for someone like me.

The Moral of the Story

I spent a month and a half in Japan, and I had lots of fun. I made many mistakes, good and bad. I learned many things. It took me more than a year to finish this blog.

So, what do I have to show for this? What will I do differently next time?

PS: The Return Trip

What's the worst part about going to Japan? The "going to" part. The "going back" part is just as bad, though. Here's how I survived, and, as a bonus, how about a hint to what the future of this blog holds?

T'was my last day in Japan. That fateful Friday, I spent nearly the entire day wandering the streets of Akihabara. This was the end. The grand finale.

The Grand Finale - Akihabara Fun Part 1

Hello folks, it's a long time in the making, but I've finally decided to continue documenting my journey during my last couple of days in Japan.

Kappa-Bashi, The Kitchen Town

In the last couple of days I was in Japan, I had pretty much run out of plans, to be honest. After a quick Google job, I decided on a couple of places to drop by, and decided I would use the rest of my time to explore Akihabara.

Yoro Park - The Site of Reversible Destiny

On Wednesday the 17th, I visited what is almost certainly the weirdest place in Japan. A park in the remote town of Yoro, called "The Site of Reversible Destiny" is weird in name and in appearance. It's right smack dab in the middle of Japan, so I had to take the Shinkansen to get there. This is where the story of Yoro Park begins.

Enoshima, or The Elfen Lied Pilgrimage, Part II

After wandering around the Kamikura area for a while, I had arrived at the last stop of the day, Enoshima station. Across a long bridge and at the top of an island mountain, there was a certain iconic lighthouse waiting for me. It was time for the climax of my Elfen Lied anime pilgrimage.

Gokurakuji, or The Elfen Lied Pilgrimage, Part I

Elfen Lied is a dark, creepy anime. Those who have heard of it either love it or refuse to watch it because of its ridiculously high level of gore and shocking scenes. All opinions about the anime itself aside, the animation studio Arms did a great job recreating the area surrounding Enoshima, such that it took me several hours to get together all of the screenshots and match them up to the mostly haphazard photos I took while I was there. I hadn't seen Tari Tari before going to Japan, but it's worth noting that the high school anime takes place in this area as well.

Clannad Pilgrimage the Second, and Shibuya Crosswalk

Wait, it's Tuesday already? Did I skip something? Yes I did. I'll talk about it plenty in the next post, so don't get too flustered. Today, we're going back to Hakonegasaki station to see more Clannad stuff, and then the famous crosswalk in Shibuya!

Wandering the Countryside, and a Yuru Yuri Pilgrimage

On Monday, I was surprisingly short on ideas for where to go. I had some plans for later in the week, but I was waiting for a more positive weather forecast. I decided to reach for something a little more obscure, because obscure things are usually the best things. This was no exception.

Harajuku and the Toy Store

After visiting the Clannad park at Hakonegasaki, I took a different series of trains to a different destination. I read that Harajuku was a great place to see people wearing strange outfits and even cosplaying on Sunday, so I decided to stop by there. What I got was mostly disappointing.

Clannad Pilgrimage

Clannad is a masterpiece. It was originally a game made by Key, but it has been adapted into several other forms, including an anime by Kyoto Animation. That means that it has real-life setpieces! On Sunday, I decided to take a trip to one of the most iconic places featured in the anime; the park with the fountain.

The time I spent in Akihabara was pure, nerdy bliss. I couldn't go anywhere without being surrounded by all of my favorite things. The first time I got to walk around and explore the hundreds of stores was no exception.

The Lucky☆Star Shrine

A night's sleep had done a lot for me, and I was more than ready to face a new week, on my own in Tokyo. There were lots of places to check out, but for my first trip, I chose the Washinomiya Shrine, just a little ways north of Tokyo. That's right, that's the Lucky☆Star shrine. Another day, another anime pilgrimage!

The K-On! Pilgrimage, Part 2, and Tokyo Hostel

Wanna see the trip here and the K-On! museum inside the gift shop? Read my previous post.

tl;dr? Check out my video tour here.

I was finished basking in the glory of the K-On! shrine and had purchased some souvenirs, so I was more than ready to go take a close look at the school itself. Outside the school I was surrounded by countless scenes from the anime.

Migration, and The K-On! Pilgrimage, Part 1

Uh oh, listen to the sound of that title. I really must be hyping something up with that wording. Surely I have something to follow it up with. Can I put my money were my mouth is, as it were?

The Last Hoorah

Crunch time. I was leaving tomorrow, and everybody was nervously packing and cleaning their rooms. Luckily, we discovered a vacuum cleaner in our closed, which had a convenient "tatami mat" setting.

The classes were all but over. All was said and done. Wednesday was an exciting day, but also a sad day. No more classes, no more arranged activities. I spent the morning before our last class taking pictures of some things just for memory's sake.

Hot Springs, Yakiniku, and Kitties

I was leaving on Friday, and it was Monday. It was the final countdown. To some degree, every fun activity was permeated by a sense of dread, because we all knew that it was almost over.

Tanabata, The Star Festival

There I was, on the seventh of June, laying in my bed, sick. I wasn't feeling very sick, but I could feel it lingering inside me. I'd be damned, however, if I was gonna miss my very first Japanese festival at Tennoji. I sat up and prepared for an awesome day.