Honest to blog

Well that took a while.

My laptop died a few weeks back and so I've been out of blogging action. Also I am in fact a lazy human being who can't even be bothered to type a few thoughts now and again!

I've found myself being very lazy in alot of aspects of my life recently. My Japanese studies have been neglected and I'm pretty shocked that even after a year my listening, reading and most of all speaking is rediculously bad. I admit it's better than it was when I first came here but still I would have liked to have seen myself doing a bit better by now. Hey

Ho though, some days I'm filled with the drive to learn and study hard but I had a period of being very dissinterested in language. Perhaps due to my job allowin

g me to speak only English I had no fear of communication. The only words I have to speak everyday is "Arigatou Gozaimasu" to the clerks at the 7Eleven.

Conclusion, I need the fear!

One of the highlights for December has been getting the FLU. I was knocked out for a week, and I do mean knocked out. Flopping around in bed like a fish, sweating and crying for my mum!

I visited the doctor 4 times and 4 times I was put on drips of vitamines and antibiotics.

Seeing as I'd never in my life been on a drip before this was somewhat of a novelty but by the 4th time of being sat for 2 hours with a pin in my arm I was ready to get the fuck better.

It's funny, in England I would visit the doctor maybe once or twice a year if that but since I've been in Japan I have been to the doctor/hospital a total of 6 times! SIX! WHY IS THIS? Does riding the Chou line everyday mean really mean I am just begging for sickness? Should I really start wearing those masks to keep peoples nasty germs away? Or is it the fact I work with a classroom of toddlers who lick their snot off their hands and cough in my face? These are mysteries of the universe but nevermind, Tokyo made me sick. Not that getting the flu is uncommon but I haven't had it for a few years and so I'd fogotten how truely crap it is. I sware I get man flu...

The attitudes towards illness are slightly different here too. Like being put on a drip was, for me, a fairly extreme thing to go through. In England, you are told to drink fluids and rest for a few days while taking painkillers. There was a point in my illness where the doctor told me he was going to refere me to a hospital if I didn't improve by my next appoinment (The next day)...LIKE WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY? But I understand why now....

I'm not complaining, but (ohh but) the medicine here sucks. The Japanese drugs seem to be a good few years behind most other places, the painkillers you get are expensive and weak and are pretty much a waste of everyones time. Cold medicines cost around Y1500, roughly GPB10 which is, quiet honestly TAKING THE PISS. But I haven't found the perscription to be any better. The doctor gave me Tamiflu, which was made notorious in England for making people worse when they had flu, and another tablet I got was just a B12 vitamin...but I trust these doctors medical knowledge is greater than my own so I took the pills and felt the same. The drips however did have an effect and after my second dose of the purple bag I found I could sit down, stand up and move my head without wishing I was dead. The drips may have seemed extreme at the time but I have I feeling they are the only thing that would do any good.

It was a quicky, however Christmas is fast approching and I'm interested to see how 2 Brits and a Sweedish girl (Namely me and my housemates) will fare this holiday season....having no oven to cook a roast dinner, no Christmas crackers and no SPROUTS. Drama is sure to happen, please watch out!

Harajuku girls I am yo biggest fan

Let's talk about one of the things I love most about Japan. Cosplay!

I've tried my hand at cosplay many years ago but anything I attempted just ended up an embarrassing mess on me. So it really impresses me when I see people doing the character they're cosplaying justice. With cosplay's growing popularity it now seems really easy to find resources and people to help you with costumes. Online and real stores now exist for all your cosplaying needs so it's easier than ever to become your favourite character. Although i think cosplaying is alot more then just putting on a wig and a store bought costume and the people who manage to pull all those extra things together are a real inspiration to me. I get so excited to see someone looking exactly how I would imagine the character to look in real life and I become a total fangirl all over again.

I went to a cosplay event in the oldest theme park in Tokyo, in Asakusa. A pretty odd setting for a cosplay event but when I got there I realised it was pretty appropriate as there where alot of interesting places for everyone to have photos taken with various types of shrubbery!
As this was a cosplay event some of the cosplayers seemed a little too Pro and it seemed like they didn't want their photos taken by non-pro photographer white-assed-white-girl, which seemed a bit silly to me but most of the crowed were very friendly and put up with my bad Japanese when trying to compliment them on their effort.




There where alot more but these are my favourite and were the nicest people.

The next event was Tokyo Game Show. Although I saw alot of cosplays I couldn't take photos of all of them because it was sooo busy and there was no space to take a decent photo. However, there was a whole cosplay area where you could fight your way through the crowds and ask them to pose how you wanted :/ Mostly I just lerked around and took photos when I had a good oppotunity. Obviously, this being a gaming convention, there are only game characters...

2D Kingdom Hearts

3D Sora

Real Sora :D


Chaos Vincent Valentine

FFX ladies

Mai from King of Fighters being surrounded by pro cams :O

Asuka handing out Evangelion fans.

Persona 3 Portable

Resident Evil! CHRISS! LEON!

Snow and Sarah

Sarah and Vanille FF13

:3

FF7 Cloud and PERFECT Tifa

My ultimate favourite cosplay of the day and one that I was so lucky to get a photo of. Jasmine and me saw them standing in a queue for one of the games and nearly wet ourselves. I think they must have seen the pleading in my eyes as they agreed to a photo. HOW PERFECT ARE THEY. Just as a referance..

Ohhhh Bayonetta! <3
That about wraps up my cosplay report. I hope you enjoyed these awesome costumes!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to be asked to do a podcast on westerners views on gyaru and gyaru culture in the UK. I hope everyone realises that while I love the gyaru style and use elements of it for my own style I don't think I'm dedicated enough to call myself gyaru. Nevertheless I tried to put forward some of my opinions on gyaru culture.

The podcast isn't available yet but as soon as it is I shall post it. I am a little worried seeing as I had 4 hours sleep because I was clubbing in Shibuya until 6am! I don't think I was able to convey some ideas very coherently so please enjoy laughing at that!

I was asked to do the podcast by two wonderful people Matthew and Terri who run this fantastic place in Meguro called Tokyo Hacker Space

http://www.tokyohackerspace.org/

I didn't realize but there are many Hacker Spaces around the world! I was so surprised at the type of work that goes on in the Hacker Space. It's a place where anyone can take their ideas and use the resources to make it real, weither that idea is to do with art, the environment, computer hacking, fashion, language, music...anything! All the Hacker Space's tools can be used and they have a huge library on many subjects that are available. Workshops go on all the time and when they also hold BBQ's, movie and anime events and talks on various subjects. It really is a wonderful place to meet creative people from all over and I hope to get to visit them again soon!
Terri and Matthew were so kind to me and made me feel very at home, they even gave me ideas and tips for making my own podcast or video blog which I hope to get off my lazy arse and actually DO one of these days! They asked me lots of questions about the UK gyaru scene, what resources are used etc and gave me some facts about gyaru I didn't even know myself!

My podcast will be on..

http://www.japanpodcast.net/

Terri and Matthew do wonderful shows with lots of interesting insights so please take some time and listen to them!

In other news, work is going well. I've been asked to take on some extra English classes in the afternoons for older kids which is great. It's a fantastic opportunity for my teaching skills to level up and it'll mean a bit more money for shopping!
I've been checking out the party scene in Tokyo a bit more, I've been to a few dance music events in Shibuya and I love them. Before it felt like I hadn't been out dancing in an age, even though I LOVE to have a boogie! Le Fabric hosted a school girl themed event but Nozomi and I were the only ones dressed up!

It was a great night but the crowd got a bit thin towards the end and getting the first train back in the morning was a little weird in a full school girl costume! At least I didn't get ID'd on the way home like Nozomi. I didn't know that in Japan all minors have a curfew and will get pulled off the streets if they're caught out D: So very different from the UK where gangs of kids can stay out all night in front of my old work making a mess and skateboarding.

I went to a club night recently near Shibuya where my workmate was DJing. Great night although I ended up going for soba at 3am so I missed alot of it! Also Nozomi did the classic Japanese "I've-had-too-much-tequila" thing and passed out on a table.


Even though I'm going out more I've not been bad drunk for a long time. I'm finding it easier to keep myself in check so I don't end up a stupid mess like when i first came here. Maybe this is me growing up a little bit. Although I know I don't feel anything drastic I can see that I'm not the same person I was when I left England. Especially recently I feel like I'm taking on more responsability and it's not phasing me as much. I'm also taking responsabilty to make sure I get out and take oppotunities to see some amazing things, over the summer I felt very boring and that I wasn't using my time wisely enough but now I feel like im hitting my stride and I feel more confidant exploring Tokyo. The trains and cities don't intimidate me much anymore so I feel I can actually go and meet people. I went to a gaijin bar called the Pink Cow this week and it was probably the friendliest bar I have ever been too. The barmaid and 2 regulars chatted with me for hours and I ended up completly neglecting Jasmine and the two men we came with! I'm sorry, but I am definately going to pay it another visit.

Next time COSPLAY AND TOKYO GAME SHOW

I be looking for labels, I ain't looking for love...

I'll get everything negative out of the way first. Today was an utter failure. I hoped to go to the bank to sort out some finances. I was told there was a branch of my bank in Shinjuku near the shopping centre Alta, but alas I wondered up and down the main road with no bank. So I thought I would take a trip to Harajuku to scout out some hair salons. Of the two I found that actually did extensions the cheapest price I was offered was Y20,000...I was thinking more like Y12,000! So I turned back up the main street and tried to do some shopping. BUT NO, the universe was not my friend today and I couldn't decide on anything to buy except some AWESOME underwhere that turned out to be too small (they were all in packs and marked S,M,L).

Ok, that's out of the way! Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend Emma (http://blooomzy.blogspot.com/) . Just seeing her and hearing her voice was a surreal experience just because she reminded me of home and all my friends from my town! It actually made me really really happy rather than more homesick. It was great just being able to talk about home our experiences of Tokyo.

109 was obviously hit. I think the only shop I actually spent money in was CocoLulu...


I treated myself to the new "ACTION" hoodie, mentioned a few posts ago, and the complementing tee.



Dirty mirror!! D:

Wow and I only realised on the train that they gave me some cute buttons

I actually had a bit of inspiration while walking around 109 and thought it would be a great idea to do a virtual makeover for people I know. Just because when I go shopping I always see things other people would look fantastic in. One Spo currently have this incredably sexy Russian/military theme going on and I imidiately thought of Toni. Since One Spo have no online store I had to use one of my photos! So forgive my poor editing Toni, but I thought this outfit suited you to a T!

PRESENTING THEGETGOTOKYO's VIRTUAL BLOG MAKEOVER #1
:Toni in One Spo Autumn 2010


X3

Tomorrow I will hopefully manage to do the things I planned for today but also I am going to Le Fabrique for the house/trance night 'Disco Manga' which happens to be a 'Back to School' theme :D Perfct for me an my school uniform love!
After I came back from Shibuya I took myself to Donki to pick up this little number...

Also had a great message in the tag...

Thanks Teen Girls, I will!

I told you that Im crazy for these cupcakes, cousin.

Obligatory lazy Sunday post.
Due to my sickness still not letting up I have done very little today apart from play Star Ocean for a few hours, watch Six Feet Under for a few hours and nip down the shops for some Oreo's and juice!

For once I will actually show you what I wear down the shops


Despite not making effort with my clothes I try to practice my makeup every day whether I am leaving the house or not


You can also see how bad my extensions have gotten! I know I probably wouldn't get best quality for paying Y6,000 but I didn't want to go hella expensive on my first try. Now I know better though. I mean I seriously tried to look after these extensions, I bought treatments and really good quality conditioners, slept with my hair in plats every night and brushed them gently as so to not damage them but they were dry and brittle within a week. Extensions are amazingly cheap in Tokyo because they are extremely popular, I guess mostly due to the gyaru boom. Even though they are so cheap I still find spending that much money in one go difficult...like I feel like I shouldn't be spending it on myself so I guess I went for the cheapest option I found...which turned out to be a bit rubbish. So in the name of research I will be going to a different salon this week to document getting some better extensions!
I'm going on the hunt for English speaking salons too so I can give some reviews on service...basically if they don't bring me a coffee its an instant fail!

Swallow a little of that sea, now taste a little bit of the salt in me...

Hello there Internetland.

It's been a busy time at work as the holidays are now coming to an end, which means I've had to wrap up my summer school art classes, finish the progress reports for the class and help dismantle our classroom in preparation for the move to our new school this weekend. Also I have fallen a bit ill with a tempreture and lightheadedness...which has scared me a bit since the last time I was ill here I actually fainted on the train at Shinjuku station! The humidity here is unreal, obviously being a Brit I've never known a summer to go on for so long. My experience of summer is one week of blasting sunshine then back to gray skies. Here in Tokyo we've had the hottest summer on record since the war ended with everyday temperatures in the mid 30's....and it isn't going to start letting up for another month! I'm all for sunshine but I literally feel like I don't want to venture too far from home because of the heat! I know that keeping hydrayted is essential and having vendo-machienes everywhere makes that pretty easy but even so I'm not used to this intesity and find that it saps my energy so so quickly. Now I understand why I always see women with black umbrellas, long black sleeves and visors.
Staying in all the time gets me down sometimes but I know that this heat is not good for me. At the moment I'm planning to do things in the autumn when it has cooled down a bit and I feel like I can go on day trips!

Amoungst the mayhem that is the weather (Yes I'm allowed to talk about the weather) I've made a new header for this blog, the old one felt a bit outdated as the picture was old and crap! Maybe the new one is better?
Eventually I want to make this journal more colourful and fun to reflect my current fashion obsessions like Co&Lu. After Tuesday this week and taking myself on a little shopping trip and will try and make an effort to take photos of my purchases. Also I have the oppotunity to meet up with an old friend from my hometown Emma, or you may know her as bloomzy. From...

http://blooomzy.blogspot.com/

Also this week I have been asked to do a podcast for this website

http://www.japanpodcast.net/

I've been asked to talk about gyaru, and I while I don't consider myself an expert on the subject I'm excited to have the oppotunity to express my views to the internet, so please look forward to that!

I'm also still waiting for a link to the music video I was in a few months back. It seems incredably hard to find! I may just have to bite the bullet and buy the DVD! GASH!

Just going to end with some phone photos as my camera cable still hasn't been fixed. For now enjoy some awesome kids wearing CocoLulu *_~

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

I thought I'd take a moment to muse over some gyaru topics.
Firstly, I've been able to actually go shopping this month which has lead me to delve back into gyaru and my own gyaru style. Shopping in 109 is quite inspirational and CocoLulu shop girls have made me gaga for their clothes.

I'm especially loving this hoodie right now.

My only problem with Co&Lu is that I can sometimes feel very tomboyish in my baggy jeans and high tops so I have to think a bit harder about how to balance it out so I still feel cute and feminine. This is such a minor gripe though because the happy, energetic feeling I get from just LOOKING at their clothes gets me giddy! I WANT TO BE A CO&LU girl!!

These clothes are just MADE for summer and in the winter when it's dark and cold they cheer you up!

Unfortunately for me though Co&Lu in 109 only stock sizes S and L which is fine for me when it comes to tops and hoodies but jeans are a different story. British hips were not ment to fit into a Japanese size M sadly. Although I'm not sure that even an L size would look good on me considering the idea of the item is to hang loose on the hips for the casual look.

Moving swiftly on. Gyaru-sa, Gal Circles. I've had my share. Although I love gyaru and love to talk about gyaru with like minded girls I no longer feel like I have to be part of the community. My point of view, coming from my own experiences, is that a Gal circle should be something natural. A group of friends who enjoy this style. I think maybe western girls who know about this style seek out the community because they want people to share it with. But I think this can often be problematic when friendships are based on surface alone. I'm not saying that wonderful friendships can't come out of these groups and also that it isn't wonderful to meet new people with the same interests but for me personally I'd rather explore gyaru with people I consider close friends a.k.a Toni (http://mysparetimeretreat.blogspot.com/). There are alot of UK gals who I really like and respect but I wonder if I could ever be in a Gal circle again considering my change in attitude.
This has all been bought up by a recent event where I was reminded that you can love gyaru style more than anything in the world but it doesn't mean you'll get along with other gyaru. I think maybe one of the reasons there seems to be so much drama in the western gyaru scene is because circles form based on need, either to copy the Japanese concept of Gal circles or the need to find people to share the passion with but alot of the time it isn't considered whether personalities will clash resulting in feelings getting hurt.
Alot of Gals out there want everyone to get along and have fun being in a circle but you never know if someone will come along and rub you up the wrong way.

For now I'm happy not being in a Gal circle, although I respect all those out there who are in one and happy. I'm cheering you on!

Soz lol

Bit of a hiatus there. Let's recap the last month or so..

I MOVED. Yes we are now out of the guesthouse and into our lovely Tokyo apartment. We used a gaijin rental agency called Fontana

http://www.tokyocityapartments.net/about-us/

Moving with Fontana has been a really stress free time and i recommend them highly if you want to live in Tokyo. The staff are friendly, there are no key fees and you can get pretty much any furniture you may need for them for nothing. The apartments all come furnished but if you need anything else like chairs, tables or tvs Fontana will look in their storeroom for you and get you what you need. Check them out!

I'm now coming to the end of my 1 week summer holiday from school. Before the holiday started I was teaching summer school kids (aged 8 and 9) art. It has proven to be quite a challenge to get these kids fired up about art work. I'm teaching them how I liked to be taught, which was to be shown some artwork, discuss what was interesting about said artwork and try and take some inspiration from it to create something new. But honestly, I think these kids just want to play with clay =_=
I have to say, as much as I miss work and my kids it's been great to have a rest! I had the oppotunity to go to the mountains for a "Bonkura BBQ" hosted by people from the ParaPara community. It was probably the most awesome day I've spent in Japan. The mountains we just breathtaking, and the BBQ was beautiful. One of the best things was swimming in the river with everyone and just relaxing with friends.


GORGEOUS!
After we went to an onsen which was one of the things I wanted to cross off my To Do list. It was amazing and I would have loved to have been able to sit in there for hours but honestly after 20 minuets I was ready to pass out from the heat.

OH YES I also fainted on the train! After being ill one weekend I thought I went to a beautiful firework display in Yokohama with a workmate, I spent all day in the sun and humidity and fainted on the train to Shinjuku. Luckly that was my stop so I was carted onto the platform then wheeled to the rest room and told to lay down for a bit. Bit of an adventure. I was helped out by some lovely girls in yukatas who gave me cold tea!

My week off has resulted in me becoming a Shibuya whore, that is a whore for Shibuya shopping! Shibuya always seemed a bit of a let down to me before, maybe because I had such high hopes for the shopping and fashion district. But after a little shopping spree in 109 on the weekend I felt alot more at home. I went with a friend and it actually felt like being back home with my ultimate shopping maye Toni (http://mysparetimeretreat.blogspot.com/ CHECK OUT HER BLOG) . My love for clothes seems to be reignited a little bit, and CoCoLulu has definately had its influence on me.
Also I had my first experience in a Japanese salon. I went to an adorable place around the back streets of Shibuya for my extensions. The whole deal took about 45 - 50 minuets, and I was only 6,400 yen (about £47) lighter. Honestly not a bad price for the amount of hair I got (50 pieces down to the bottom of my bra line). Most other places seem to charge in the region of 9,000 yen but I'm pretty sure the hair will be higher quality and they will bring you a cup of coffee aswell. However for my first braided extensions these are perfect! Photos will eventually be put up when I can be bothered to dress up for them. There is a gyaru meet tomorrow in Shibuya which I will try to document for all the Gal lovers out there. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully.

Peace.

Money talks, money talks. Dirty cash i want you..

Wow that last post was pure frustration wasn't it? Let's move swiftly on.

My camera is out of action due to having a bent USB cable which I will replace sometime after pay day. So I can't bring you any photos of my new bike "Unit 1" or any of the new snaz I've shot.

This post is going to be about Japanese trade secrets, probably useless if you're not in Japan or thinking of coming here but here we go. I won't lie when I say that money goes very quickly over here. Even for someone like me who doesn't go out drinking often and doesn't go shopping at all. Even compared to living on your own in the UK i find Japan leeches your money even more, alot of this has to do with my concept of Yen, meaning that my mind hasn't really adjusted to the fact that Y1,000 is actually doesn't stretch that far here. I mean if you go to the corner shop and buy lunch and a coffee you're looking at a grand. Another way Tokyo zaps the monies is travel. Back home I would walk everywhere or be lucky enough to be given a ride, but here you take the train everywhere and everyday. From Nakano to my work (40mins and 1 change) costs me Y1,000 return, so Y20,000 a month (around £150) which is a BIG chunk out of my pay packet. And I would have gone on paying this unless I was told by my co-worker to get a monthly pass. Now I've never heard of these before, they weren't mentioned in any of the guidebooks and even people who have lived here for years didn't mention them. They're called commuter passes and you can buy them from special JR ticket machienes, you have to input your details and it will give you a paper ticket (or update your Suica train pass) to last you a month. You pick which route you take on what lines and it will give you a mega discount bonus for a month. Instead of paying Y20,000 on av. a month the commuter pass charges me Y13,300. A whopping saving there already! Also if you decide "Hey I'd like to go to one of the stops along my route" at anytime of the month then the card will not charge you anymore, so I can explore any of the 13 stops along my route for free. The Japanese seem reluctant to advertise this fact but I'm telling you now if you use the same route on a regular basis YOU NEED ONE OF THESE.

Another good idea is to keep an eye on Craigslist. Sometimes in the job sections are random one off jobs for foreigners they you just have to send an email to apply for. They are a good way to make some extra money and can be extremly fun. I applied to dance on a music video for Team JyunJyou

http://ameblo.jp/teamjj/

I spent a Saturday in a club in Shibuya with a bunch of other people being filmed dancing to a concert. Super fun, met some great people and got paid! You have to keep an eye out for these oppotunities right?

Another money spinner is food. Eating out alot can drain your money hella fast although places like Matsuya (you order what you want from a ticket booth and hand it to the servers) offer plates of food for Y290. If you enjoy eating the same food most nights a week then this is pretty cheap. Ramen bars offer up huge bowls of nutritious broth for Y1,000 and these will keep you full all day. Bento-ya means you can pick whatever you like for your box lunch so you can keep it cheap but these still work out slightly pricey and convinient store bento's are hardly worth what you pay for them (and they make me feel sick) . Supermarkets are favourite because I love to cook but the goods can really range in price, also I find cooking for one person quite hard as all my vegetables, fish and meat don't get used up in a week so I have to get creative with how I can combine them all for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also RICE! Buy in bulk! You can pick up a big bag for Y2,000 (5kg lasts me 6 week for lunch and dinner). Even with supermarkets I find you have to shop around though, some supermarkets will charge Y168 for spinche whereas my local will charge Y88, so it really is worth it to explore. Also try and find some markets where sushi and sashimi are so much cheaper.

If you have any more money making/saving ideas lemme know!

It's my party....I'll cry if I want to

Yesterday marked the 23rd anniversary of me being on this planet. I always find birthdays a bit odd and uncomfortable since theres this pressure to make the day feel special but that usually means just getting drinking to excess just "because it's your birthday!!". I'm not that imaginative when it comes to planning birthdays so I usually just cave in and say "Yeah OK pissup it is" but yet again this proved to be the worst idea. I've been feeling a little run down this week and haven't been sleeping well due to the humidity, couple this with being hormonal and homesick and it became bad times. Since I didn't really have any plans i agreed to go to a Para night that Max was going to. I don't know why I didn't just say "I'm just go wander around Akihabara" I guess since I have no money that would have been a bad idea too but it certainly beats giving away Y1000 and then blowing another Y2000 on karaoke that tried to charge us Y17,000....then going to a para club where nobody whould talk or even look at us then getting thrown out of our reserved booth and being denied a glass of fucking tap water! In the end I threw my drink on the floor and filled it up in the bathroom. I seriously just wanted to bomb Japan last night and I feel like an idiot for thinking I could make the day "special" by doing all this stuff. At the end of the day just being in Tokyo is special enough and I didn't need a fucking party because it made things worse. I'm now hungover, angry and tired. I would have been upset regardless but at least it wouldn't have been put down to "Oh, she just can't hold her drink very well". In all honesty I just wanted to be home yesterday with my family. I was made a beautiful video by my best friend Holly with everyone wishing me a happy birthday, that in itself made the day spiecial enough for me. The comments I recieved on Facebook, those make it special enough.
This morning I woke up at 5am and just wished so much to be home. I'm loving it so much here and I've got an awesome thing going with my job and my life here....but Goddamn I wish I could just teleport back for a little while...just enough time for a hug and a cup of tea.
So this is the tough time where I need to be strong and not give up. I'm certain this feeling won't last long. I think the lesson learned is just "Recognise your feelings and do what YOU want" If I'm feeling sad and homesick don't cover it up with fake cheeriness and think it's ok to have a few drinks....It will be the worst of times. It not like I was even that drunk, just stupidly tired and homesick.

So now it's time for work.

Yatta Yatta YattaYatta

Ouu laziness got the better of me there. Soz lol

Right lets crack on! About a month ago Max, Carly and I all thought we'd be super cool and find an anime convention to go to in Tokyo. We looked for one at the famous Tokyo Big Sight, home of the biggest anime conventions and we found one called "Dream Party" ....PERFECT!
The ride on the monorail to Tokyo Big Sight is AWESOME I'd just like to add. They designed it to go round the best scenic route possible, past all the amazing architecture and eventually past rainbow bride and to the seaside (well...sea at least)






So we made our way through Tokyo Big Sight and noticed THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of women making their way out...suspicious we thought. They all seemed to becoming from downstairs and we were heading upstairs, but we'll come back to them later. So we paid our Y2,000 to get into "Dream Party" and made our way into the huge warehouse where we were confronted by a stage and a few stalls with huge groups of men hanging round them. Not exactly what I'd pictured but whatever. They only woman besides ourselves that we could see were working on the stalls and in cosplay outfits. Weird. So we turned a corner and got stopped because Carly had been given a different coloured broucher than us....again we thought that was weird so we hopped back to the desk and got it swapped. Then we realised what the big deal was. We were being let into the 18+ area which was the magoritiy of the conventions tables and on these tables they were selling moe and love simulator games.

:O

XO

:O

AWESOME!! The whole thing was a riot and we walked around as the only gaijin and the only people not buying anything. Although if I'd had the money I would have gotten me one of these..

PRETTY SWEET RIDE EH?!

It was all a bit weird with guys seeming to queue for ages for 1 leaflet...not even a good leaflet with some boobies on it either...like just writing. Strange times. Of course there were voice actresses there giving little talks on their respective porno game stalls and live acts of cosplay girls singing moe moe songs. Feds were patrolling and you weren't allowed to film or take pictures so we snuck to the back but as it turns out there were far more interesting things to film than the stage. It was all getting a bit off the hook. Otaku were uniting and throwing their nuts all over the shop, every 5 seconds the feds would come and tell them to quieten down but ohhhh the raving otaku cannot be stopped. Carly, Max and I fell apart laughing at the antics, of course we joined in and became one of the mob and it was all fantastic fun!

Get a load of the moves!



YES!!

After wondering about in a serreal haze we trecked back downstairs to where there were STILL thousands of woman walking out of. We snuck into the warehouse sized room and....SWEET JESUS ITS A DOUJINSHI CONVENTION!!

:O

XO

D:



How did this happen?! Sorry, but the photo does no justice to how HUGE this place was...and this was only half of it! I was told again not to take photos but DANG. So we spent another hour wondering round in a daze of porn, this time of the gay variety, most of it Durarara related O.o (U WUT?!) Again nothing was bought. We couldn't even pick anything up to look because the artists are sitting right there and it would've be awkward...

Thing is everyone is just walking around reading their porn, talking with their friends about it and it's so natural. There was no weird, seedy vibe going on, it was a fun atmosphere and everyone was just chillin' with their comics. If I was into dating sims and doujinshi I would have been pissing my pants....I was still pissing my pants but from the sheer excitment at actually getting to experience this totally bizaar and awesome cultural activity unique to Japan. ROCK ON NIPPON!

I think this sums up my feelings on the day...




I have no idea where we went after for food, a few stops on the monorail. Came out after to see the PERFECT sunset over Tokyo.

And a Statue of Liberty...


So I have yet to experience a "real" anime convention in Tokyo, but I'm sure I will sometime and when I do I'm gonna be ready!

In real news, my job is still awesome! The kids are great and I feel like I'm beginging to find my feet as a teacher. It all comes with time I guess. I also reallllly liked being paid! For the first time in months I've been able to spend money without really feeling guilty! Glorious!
I went a bit blind a few weeks ago and went to hospital to get it checked out. From this one experience I have to say I find the Japanese healthcare system to be pretty good, they're very thorough with tests (the doctor even gave me some eye drops to freeze my pupils so it looked like I was on some kind of drugs for 6 hours!) and very kind. Of course it isn't like England and you have to pay for healthcare, it only came to Y2100 but at least I had the peace of mind that I probably wouldn't go totally blind. AND HEY I DIDN'T! My eyesight is back to normal :D
My Japanese is improving ever so slightly, I'm still rubbish but I'm making efforts now and I have lessons that I practice on my hour communte to work every morning...DON'T GIVE UP

Over the last few weeks I have been decovering a few secrets to save and earn money (sounds dodge but it isnt...) so I will post about that next time.

Ahhh this post was lazy ne?