Operation Kairu ga Kaeru (カイルが帰る) Day 4 – Figures for All

Being as indispensable as ever, Kyle had been called in to work and would be indisposed for most of the morning.  This wasn’t an issue as I had been hoping to check out Akihabara (and pick up a few new figures for my collection) so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The plan was that I would go to Akihabara during the morning, then meet up with Kyle when he had finished work.  I knew Kyle wouldn’t be in work for long so I decided to set off early so I could maximise my time.  After leaving the apartment around half 8, I arrived in Akihabara at around 9.

At that point I realised the flaw in my plan.  Most of the shops open later than someone in the UK would normally expect, many of them opening around 10 or 11 (but closing much later).  With few other options, I opted to turn the situation to my advantage and took the opportunity to do a little recon.  In previous years I’ve sometimes had difficulty locating the figure shop I normally use.  This time round, finding the shop was relatively straightforward (found it within five minutes of leaving the station) and noted the Manseibashi police station as a landmark as this was close the main junction.

The Figure Shop I've Used Previously

Having already found the place I was looking for and walked around the area, it was still only 09:30 and I had some time to kill before the shop opened so I clearly needed something to do.  The morning heat was already building up and I knew I had to get indoors and get something cold to drink before I melted.  Having reached the plaza surrounding the UDX building (you can see it if you leave the JR Akihabara station from the exit next to “Gundam Café”) I decided to give Excelsior Caffe a try.  At times like this I’m grateful that my Katakana is improving and even more grateful that I was carrying my trusty smartphone.  Even in airplane mode, the Obenkyo application helped to fill in any gaps in Katakana words that I couldn’t quite figure out.  For those who are not familiar with Katakana, it’s a writing system used for foreign words.  Since coffee shops have almost the entire menu in Katakana, it’s pretty useful to know.

With a little stumbling I was able to order an iced coffee drink and enjoyed the nice, air conditioned, surroundings until I was sure the shops would be open.  Iced coffee drinks are very popular in Japan in summer and I can confirm that they’re much more refreshing than hot coffee.

With the Hobby Figure open for business, I set about choosing some figures to add to my collection.  One thing I was taking in to account was that I have a Revoltech Sheriff Woody “creepy woody” (do a search for “hentai woody” on google and you’ll see what I mean) figure on preorder – so I’d need some figures that I can make it look like he’s harassing.  I'm going to have a lot of fun ruining peoples memories of Toy Story with this!

This is why the figure is sometimes called "Creepy Woody"

After much deliberating (and cursing my lack of suitcase space – even with two suitcases on the way home) I opted for a figure of Leafa from Sword Art Online and a Nendoroid of Hachikuji from the Monogatari series.

Leafa From Sword Art Online (2nd arc)

Hachikuji from Monogatari

With a little time to spare before meeting Kyle, I decided to do a little more exploration and check a few more shops (and pick up a few more goodies). This was close to midday, the time I usually try to avoid being outdoors.  In Akihabara, I found there was a significant advantage to this time.  At the hottest and brightest point in the day, only the hardiest maids dared venture outdoors.  The end result – I only saw a single maid. You see, I’ve been asked before if I don’t like cute maids.  The answer is that getting pestered to visit maid cafes does get very old, very fast (although I will admit that the initial novelty is part of Akihabara).  Among the tokens and trinkets I picked up, one I was particularly happy with was a Sword Art Online “Immortal Object” flag T-Shirt.  This time I had the good sense to order a Large size – the Medium sized Evangelion shirts I picked up last time are just a little on the small side (though they are a good motivator to lose weight at least)

With everything I wanted to check in Akihabara sorted, it was time to meet Kyle at Akihabara station.  Upon meeting Kyle, a surprise was revealed.  Kyle was with Sato Sensei (from his previous school)  and she had kindly offered to show us around our choice of museum in Ueno.  Before heading out to Ueno, the three of us got some lunch (this was especially good news for me as I’d been on my feet all morning so I was looking forward to food).  The plan was to go to Sato Sensei’s favourite sushi restaurant (in Akihabara).  It was already known that I’m not a particularly big sushi fan but the restaurant also had a choice of hot and cold soba (buckwheat) noodle dishes.  I opted for a hot noodle dish, Kyle and Sato opted for an assortment of sushi.  Over lunch we chatted and discussed the differences between the education systems in the UK and Japan.

With our hunger abated we departed for Ueno.  The museum we opted for was the National Museum of Science and Nature.  We chose this as there was a special exhibition of fossils of prehistoric Japanese mammals.  This is something for which there is very little documentation/material available outside of Japan so it was a great opportunity to see a very rare sight.  The museum didn’t have many English translations available, so Sato Sensei’s translations of exhibit notes were much appreciated.

National Museum of Science and Nature

The fossils showed various, now extinct, mammals including elephants.  It was quite amazing to see how the elephants had changed in the time since Japan separated from mainland Asia.  Part of the exhibit included a model of how this process is believed to have happened.  From what I was able to gather, much of it involved changes in the sea level.

Some of the Fossils on Display

Among the many exhibits in the main area of the museum, there was an exhibit showing how modern humans evolved.  This exhibit showed mannequins/models of an early man and woman.  These models were… shall we say… anatomically correct.  Being adults with an interest in science and learning, the three of us thought nothing of this.  After walking away, we heard a kid yell “Oppai”.  I knew I’d heard this word before, unless I was mistaken it was “boobs”.  So I asked Kyle “did he just say what I think he said?”, before Kyle could answer we once again heard “oppai, oppai”.  None of us could keep a straight face at this point.

After absorbing so much information that our heads were at risk of exploding, we headed over to the museum café for a coffee and a snack.  This being Japan, the deserts were in cute shapes and I couldn’t resist the panda parfait.

Following an enjoyable museum tour, we thanked Sato Sensai and parted ways, with Kyle and staying to have a look around Ueno park.

Compared with Yoyogi park, which Kyle and I visited when we were staying in Shibuya, I can safely say that I prefer Ueno park.  This is, of course, a subjective opinion so do try to visit both.

Ueno Park

There’s also a shrine in Ueno park, so it provided a perfect opportunity for Kyle to add another shrine to the list of (400 or so) shrines he’s visited since he first stepped foot in Japan.  I found that shrine to be a particularly interesting one as there was a line of Torrii… what is the plural of Torii?  Anyway, I found it to be an interesting feature.

What's the Plural of Torii?

By the time we had finished looking around the shrine, we could tell it was going to get dark soon so we thought it would be safer to head back to familiar territory.  I should note that this wasn’t because we were afraid of crime or anything like that, it was simply that the area wasn’t familiar so could be problematic for Kyle.  Since we were attempting to cram as many activities in to the day as possible, we headed back to Akihabara.

While in Akihabara we made a rather sad discovery.  Kyle suggested that I buy an artbook from the “Panty and Stocking” series and that K-Books would be a good place to buy it.  K-Books is a well known bookshop in Akihabara that offers the usual manga and artbooks along with a wide selection of doujinshi (fan made comics).  The sad news is that we found that K-Books was nowhere to be found.  The 2 floors of the building it occupied were vacant.  There was no sign suggesting they had moved.  Could this be the shape of things to come?  I’ve heard that the “New Akiba” is trying to shake off the image of the otaku haven.  It does make me worry that Akihabara will become just another shopping district.

To console ourselves, Kyle took me to his favourite curry restaurant where I was introduced to “Home Run” curry.  This is the curry equivalent of “The Works” for pizza.

More Curry Than I Can Eat!

With that, we decided it was time to head back to Misato.  Leaving it until around 22:00 meant that the Tsukuba Express was at it's busiest, the same applied to the Musashino line as well.
It was a long day but I got to see some great sights and try great food.  See you later folks.

Operation Kairu ga Kaeru (カイルが帰る) Day 3 - A B and feck Ive lost my passport

Following the usual mornings awakening, provided heavy traffic (seriously, why did Kyle have to get an apartment right next to the main road through Misato?), it was time to settle in to the usual routing of fighting over the shower followed by finding a secluded place to get dressed, it was time to make plans for the day.  For this particular day, the plan was to visit Omiya – a city known for its restaurants, festivals (matsuri) and red light district (how Kyle knew this, I do not know and did not ask).

After gathering together most of the things we needed for the days expedition, I went to look for my shoulder bag/messenger bag.  After a few minutes of not finding it I started to get annoyed.  After a few more minutes fear gave way to panic.  I couldn’t find my bag.  I stored my passport in the front compartment as I needed to keep it with me at all times.  Oh s*&#!  Loss of passport is one of those nightmare scenarios that no traveller ever hopes to face.  It was time to build up a mental map (which means it’s one of those fancy, holographic, ones with expensive looking effects).  Where was the last place I saw it?  Was it the Apartment? I couldn’t remember 100% whether I had it there or not.  Was it the Ramen restaurant? I remembered not just having my bag, I remembered where I put it down and even in what way I picked it back up again.  Where else was left? The 7 11! Reconstructing the scene from my memories, I remembered putting it down when paying for my purchases, but not picking it back up again.  That must be it!

The day was particularly hot, making the trek to the 7 11 that much more arduous.  Would it be there? Would I have to call in assistance from the embassy? Arriving at the 7 11, I relied on Kyle to explain to the best of his abilities.  After managing to explain more or less that I’d lost a bag, they produced a bag that looked identical to the one I was looking for.  Was this it?  I nervously checked the front compartment and… there it was.  After thanking the staff and adding 私はとてもばかです！ (I really am an idiot) we headed back.  As we already had everything we needed and would therefore be able head on out, next stop was Misato station.  An important lesstion had been learned, always keep your passport on your person! (that’s it, I don’t think I can call myself a seasoned traveller anymore)

The journey to Omiya isn’t particularly short but involves transferring at one of the busiest stations in the area – Minami Uruwa.  The route involved taking the Musashino Line to Minami-Uruwa, then changing to the Tohoku line for the rest of the journey to Omiya.

Upon our arrival at Omiya, we saw that a Mikoshi was being prepared.  This could only mean one thing – preparations were being made for a matsuri (the Mikoshi allows a shrine’s Kami to be present at the Matsuri, well it’s not quite that simple but it’s as good an explanation as any).  Given that Kyle can’t get enough of Matsuri, he made enquiries about the dates and noted them in his calendar.

Preparing the Mikoshi

With Kyle’s hunger for Matsuri satisfied, it was time to satisfy my hunger for food.  We surveyed some of the many restaurants available and I noticed that not all of the establishments offered… food.  Yep, the red light district was right next to the restaurant district.  Well, I guess that’s… efficient?

Eventually we settled on a Ramen restaurant, as I only had shiro (soy based broth) ramen and was hoping to get tonkotsu (pork bone broth)  ramen while I was in Japan.  Tonkotsu is pretty much impossible to find in the UK, real tonkotsu broth involves slowly simmering bones to get as much flavour as possible out of them.  Once you’ve had real tonkotso, nothing else compares!

Anyway, we decided on a small restaurant and ventured in.  Studying the menu, it looked familiar.  We managed to pick a restaurant from the exact same chain as the one we went to last night in Misato!

After finishing enough food to feed an army (2 sides and ramen – that’s it, I’m not letting Kyle take care of the ordering again!), we began our journey to the major shrine in the area.

Not exactly what I was expecting to see after seeing a street filled with restaurants - no, I did not go in

An interesting thing about this shrine is that the path leading to it has a row off trees on either side.  On a particularly hot and bright day, the shade this added was a lifesaver!

The shrine was situated in the middle of the park so it was a particularly beautiful location.  The shrine buildings were beautiful, as I would normally expect, but with all the preparations for the upcoming matsuri there were a lot of vehicles and machinery.  This diminished the beauty of the setting somewhat.

The setting for the shrine

The main shrine buildings

The high temperature of the day had obviously taken its toll on Kyle.  He was feeling hot headed and not his usual bombastic self.  Kyle almost fainted on a few occasions, I’m not sure which was scarier: Kyle fainting or the possibility of me being crushed as a result.  Given this situation, I recommended that we should head back to Misato to get some rest.

See you all next time.

Operation Kairu ga Kaeru (カイルが帰る) Day 2 - The Chimes of Misato

My body clock was assisted in the transition to the new time zone by the therapeutic massage caused by a building violently shaking.  No, this wasn’t an earthquake, it was an HGV driving past the apartment.  Now I can see why Kyle removed the ema from his wall.

After a nice relaxing shower (definitely required after the air conditioner stops working in the middle of the night), Kyle came up with the suggestion of going to LaLaPort in search of a more comfortable mattress (namely because my spine seemed to be skewed at a 90 degree angle and this didn’t seem quite right).  Having recently become more health conscious, I suggested walking to LaLaPort rather than getting the train to Shin Misato.  Kyle looked at me with abject horror (how lazy!), I would soon discover why.  I soon discovered what walking inside an oven would likely feel like.  Drenched with sweat and feeling like we’d just run a few laps around Death Valley, we arrived at the air conditioned comfort of LaLaPort.

Kyle suggested we check out the furniture shop where he bought his couch; this seemed like a great idea as he knew they provided delivery.  But, as with most of Kyle’s ideas, this turned out to be a stupid idea as they only delivery within Japan (the UK was to be the Futon’s final destination).  Postage through JP (Japan Post) would likely have required a mortgage, this was clearly not a feasible option.

To console ourselves over our abject failure, we treated ourselves to an ice cream breakfast.  The taste was unforgettable, as was the brain freeze (the latter for entirely the wrong reasons).  After cooling off, Kyle suggested visiting a local shrine in Misato.  Little did I realise that the shrine in question just so happened to be on the other side of the city and in a rather inaccessible location.

A two headed panda - clearly something's amiss!

On the way, I noticed a small shrine next to what looked like a recycling centre.  I was told by Kyle that this is common practice and many businesses have a small shrine, usually dedicated to a Kami local to the company founder’s home.

Shrine at a local business

After that little insight, we continued our long trek (read: death march) to the shrine I had been told so much about.

The shrine was certainly worth it, in spite of the additional exercise and catching the sun.

Next order of the day was a shopping trip.    Kyle was looking to buy a ladies kimono as a present and a former colleague had offered to provide advice.  As I wouldn't have much to do and it would be a good opportunity to see another shopping mall in Misato, I was asked to tag along.  At least that’s what I thought, the truth was quite different.  After some debate and deliberations, we identified a combination of obi and sash (obi) that we thought she might like.  At the point Kyle pointed out that he needed to make sure it would fit and didn't have any measurements to hand.  I was told that this wasn't an issue because, apparently, the intended wearer is the same height and general build as me (well apart from my lack of… you know) and therefore there would be able to model it.  The penny dropped (as to the reason I was invited along) and my face turned the shade of red that can only be explained by total embarrassment.

You want me to wear what?

Fortunately, for me anyway, we were told by the shop assistant that the set couldn't be opened and tried on (my relief was quite visible at this point).  As a result we would have to work off of my estimated height (which is, as far as I'm aware, is the main measurement anyway).  From Kyles obvious disappointment I can only conclude that the pervert basically wanted to see me in a kimono.

Confident enough that the correct size had been chosen, Kyle made his purchase and had it gift wrapped.  This is one of the great things about shops in Japan.  If you’re buying something as a gift, the staff will offer to gift wrap it for you.  The wrapping is elaborate and certainly better than anything I could ever manage.

Mission accomplished, the last thing to do was grab some food on the way back.  After a nice satisfying bowl of ramen… that’s my brain done for one day.

See you next time.

Operation Kairu ga Kaeru (カイルが帰る) Day 1 - Arrival

I must be getting used to long haul flying because the 9 and a half hour flight passed faster than I expected.  The flight was pleasant enough although I never was able to find AC power.  Both seatguru and Finnair’s own website stated that there were AC power outlets in economy class.  Perhaps I should have just asked the flight attendants, oh well.

There was a young woman in the seat next to me who was returning home to Japan after some studying in Finland.  It’s quite rare for me to actually talk to other passengers (I’m used to sitting quietly when flying) but being dressed in suit led her to ask whether I was travelling for business.  This proved to be a useful conversation starter and for some of the journey we chatted about where we were travelling to/from and various places in Japan.

Upon my arrival, immigration and customs didn’t take as long as before.  This probably had something to do with making sure I’d completely filled out the immigration and customs cards before joining the queue as well as the queue generally moving quite quickly.

Preparing as much in advance as possible, I’d already arranged an airport rental phone online and simply needed to take a printed rental coupon to the counter at Narita Airport.

Before heading to Misato to meet with Kyle, first I needed to charge my Suica card with credit.  This is easy enough to do at any JR (Japan Rail) ticket machine.  Finding the JR ticket machine proved to be rather troublesome, there are a number of ticket machines for private lines and none of these will recharge s Suica.  Exercising my incredible ability to ignore what is right in front of me, the machine was next to the entrance to the NEX (Narita Express) platforms.

Having already made the journey a few times before, I didn’t have much catching the Keisei Narita Sky Access Line to Higashi Matsudo, then switching to the Musashino line to Narita (I think I have this committed to memory – so Kyle had better not move to another part of the country!).  After arriving at Misato, my navigational skills proved to be a little more reliable than I was expecting by managing to navigate my way from Misato station to Kyles apartment building.  I think he was a little surprised when I called from outside his front door, I don’t think he was expecting me to make it quite that far without help.

After not seeing Kyle for almost an entire year… we weren’t able to pick up the exact same conversation we had last time we spoke (which is what we usually manage to do) but it was pretty damn close.

The next order of business was unpacking and getting a little rest.

Arrival day tends to be a quiet day, usually because I’m jetlagged in to oblivion with my communication skills being reduced to monosyllabic grunts.  This time round was different. Although still a little tired (2 hours of rest did help a little), I felt compos mentis enough to do something other than sleep so Kyle invited his friend Yamashita san over (at this point I was a little concerned that I might not be brilliant conversation).  The plan was to carry out a little socialising followed by food and karaoke. Those of you who have never heard me singing karaoke, consider yourselves  very lucky.

Later that evening Yamashita san came round for a few drinks and a chat and we headed to get some food.  As we were in Japan, the choice of food was obvious.  Chinese! There’s a nice little Chinese restaurant in Misato.  After a nice selection of dishes and enough beers to make me not care about sounding like an orchestra of dying cats to tune of the Beatles, it was karaoke time. Courtesy of Kyles WiiU, we had a cheap and convenient alternative to conventional karaoke.  The Joysound application on the WiiU is basically the same software as found in Karaoke bars so when combined with a microphone you have a full karaoke setup.

All in all, an enjoyable and entertaining first day.

Operation Kairu ga Kaeru (カイルが帰る) Day 0 - The Journey to Japan

The Start of the Trip – Adventures in Travel

Congratulations reader, if you’ve got this far then you can clearly stand my style of travel writing!  As you may have gathered, it’s time for my (seemingly annual) trip to Japan.  Once again, I’ll be staying over with Kyle in his “spacious” abode.

So what do we have in store for this journey? This time round, Lufthansa proved to be a little more expensive than usual (usually they’re the cheapest option) and with my disappointment in their removal of the A380 SuperJumbo from the Frankfurt to Narita route I decided it was time to investigate alternative options.  This time round I’m flying with Finnair on the way out and JAL on the way back.  The short legs of these journeys are both codeshares.  So the way the journey looks is as follows:

Manchester to Helsinki (Finnair, operated by FlyBE), Helsinki to Tokyo Narita (Finnair), Tokyo Haneda to London Heathrow (JAL), London to Manchester (JAL, operated by BA).

So I’m travelling with 4 airlines I’ve never used before and 3 airports I’ve never used before.  This could get a little… stressful.  I think I’d started to take for granted the fact that I had become quite familiar with Frankfurt/Munich/Narita.  When you know where most things are in the airport it makes it easier to find the gates etc that you need when embarking, disembarking and transferring.

Enough of the aviation geekery.  So far the trip is getting off to something of a mixed start.  I cleared security in no time at all (although there was some queuing at the baggage drop off desk) so I’ve gotten through to the gates with plenty of time to spare (and time to write).  Unfortunately that was offset by a serious blonde moment – just after clearing security I came to the terrible realisation that there was something missing from my head.  I forgot my hat!  I remembered to bring it out to the car, brought it in the car but forgot to take it out of the car.  D’oh!  Fortunately, after enquiring about hats at the SuperDry (which only has baseball caps), the clerk helpfully pointed me in the direction of Timberland and Next as she remembered seeing the style I was looking for.

With the crisis averted (I certainly would not want to get a sunburned head again), it’s time for a cup of tea 

while waiting for the gate to be posted.  So far so good.

First time travelling in an Embraer

The flight to Helsinki was pleasant enough.  The Embraer jets (operated by FlyBE) have a surprising amount of legroom compared with the A330 used on the Helsinki to Tokyo leg (seriously, there was more legroom than any other flight I've been on).  A reindeer and cheese sandwich was offered as a free snack.  Now as much as eating reindeer appealed (oh look, I ate Blitzen hahahaha), I'm not keen on cheese so that ruled the sandwich out.

The layover in Helsinki was only two hours.  This was something I was a little worried about, flight delays or delays in clearing security left me wondering if I'd have to make a Usain Bolt style dash for the gate.   As it turned out, there was no additional security between disembarking the first flight and the departure lounge.  Helsinki is a fairly small airport so it didn't take much time to find the gate for the flight to Tokyo.  With a little time to kill and the fact that I hadn't eaten all day I decided to grab some lunch.  As luck would have it, the My City Helsinki restaurant was right next to the departure gate.  There were a number of Finnish and Japanese style dishes available, it generally takes around 15 minutes from ordering to food being ready (so not a big worry if you're pushed for time).

Meatball time!

After a lunch of meatballs, mashed potato, roasted beetroot and lindenberry sauce it was time of the flight to Japan.  9 and a half hours... it's times like this I really wish I could sleep on the plane.

As luck would have it, I'm getting used to long flights and was able to pass the time quite easily.  Next stop, Japan!

Bonus - Sunrise from the skies

Day 10 - Wind Down

Today I had hoped to get a full day in.  The weather, however, had other ideas.  At 33 Celsius, we decided it would be too hot to actually try to do anything.  We resolved to barricade ourselves in the comfort and safety of Kyles air conditioned appartment.  This at least gave me some free time to sort out a few things like making sure my bags are packed (except for a few supplies I will need today/tomorrow and checking in online)

Eventually, we succumbed to hunger and ventured out inn search of food.  Given the conditions, every time I stepped in to the sunlight I pictured a "Mass Effect" style "Shield Overload" warning (think the Tali rescue mission in ME2 - I'm such a nerd!).

The search for food at least proved to be a useful opportunity for Kyle to point out a local shrine he recently discovered.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, he's lived here for a year and only just noticed it!

The plan for lunch was to sample a rare delicacy, tomato ramen.  This unique dish is available at only 1 local restaurant.  As usual, the best laid plans of mice and men etc... They were out of tomato.  While this was a little disappointing, we were able to order some Saitama style food - I'm really going to miss this in the UK.

Lunch taken care of, we stopped off to do a little more shopping.  Among other things, I procured a bottle of locally produced sake (local - even down to the rice used in its production!) and a plush Nekobasu (catbus).

On the way back, I decided to take a photo of the local "Sunkus" convenience store.  Look at the logo and tell me what you think it looks like - what were they thinking?

That which has been seen, cannot be unseen!

Bags are packed and everything is ready for my return.  I'm still amazed that it's passed by this quickly but this has been a very eventful and enjoyable trip.  There was less idle time than last years trip and I managed to see more (even though this was a day shorter).  With the number of omamori I picked up this trip, my plane is going to be a flying good luck shrine!

Day 9 - Akihabara Again

While Kyle was working, I decided to make another trip to Akihabara as there were a few more things I wanted to check out.  First order of business was lunch.  Once again, I opted for the UDX building as I know the area and there is a wide selection of restaurants.  In some instances, however, the quality of the signage did not exactly inspire confidence.  Then again, thinking back to last year I remember this isn't unusual for the UDX building.

I've never been to a Restrant before!

As I went to a Ramen place last time, I opted for a Tonkatsu place on floor 2 (if not floor 2, there was only 1 such place at the time of writing).  Tonkatsu is a nice little lunch that certainly hits the spot.

As my Japanese is still a little flaky, they also have an English menu.  There were a few variations on the standard Tonkatsu available, including crab meat and a mince katsu filled with cheese.  All of them are served with shredded cabbage, rice and soup.  If you would like any more cabbage, the staff are happy to provide extra.  There is a dipping sauce available at the table.  I'm not sure how this one was made but it was definitely oil based and had a rice wine vinegar flavour - quite nice.  The complimentary cold tea was nicely refreshing given the heat of the day.

Lunch!

At one of the shops I noticed some "Tsundere" themed cookies which I decided to get as a present for a friend (although I think she may murder me when I do)             

Reminds me of someone...

All has gone well so far, it's just a shame that tomorrow is my last full day.