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.

Akihabara!

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.

Graduation Day

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.