#and taking the shinkansen back to tokyo would take an entire day

[goldennika]

hmm looks like i'll have to make a quick stop in tokyo again later this year before heading home from sapporo

#the layover schedules are a bit awkward for me #and taking the shinkansen back to tokyo would take an entire day #oh well at least i'll have time to prepare for it #considering nagoya too since i've never been but i don't know if i'd want to split my weeklong trip between sapporo and nagoya #rambles

[a-forbidden-detective]

Here’s where the story ends…

—

This is written for @flashfictionfridayofficial with the prompt #FFF234 How It Ends. The title is from The Sundays’ song with the same title.

* Decided to expand this story into a heartbreaking Toto/Kawasemi-san affair that will devastate the three: Toto, Ron and Kawasemi. I am certain that Toto will choose Ron, but Ron, he wouldn’t take this sitting down. It is becoming a project.

Fandom: Kamonohashi Ron no kindan suiri/Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

—

“How beautiful are entrances, compared to exits!”

(Herakles, by Euripides, tr. Anne Carson)

The clock struck at half past three in the early morning as the Shinkansen surged to reach Tokyo metropolitan area. In less than two hours, it would be dawn.

Seated all by himself in the seventh row inside Carriage No. 14 was Toto, who looked at his reflection in the glass window. What he saw was someone he didn’t know; someone whose reputation was questionable.

Thoughts of his superior and his friend bogged down his brain. Never had he been so preoccupied with the matters of the heart until now.

In his mind’s eye, he could still see Kawasemi’s downtrodden face at the restaurant and later, on the bed he momentarily shared with the older police investigator. Defeated and forlorn. All because of one Totomaru Isshiki.

Busy with his thoughts he noticed that he was not particularly alone in the carriage. There was a mother and daughter, a bubbly three-year-old girl, seated on the first row and a lone female tourist seven rows behind him.

Toto wore his eye mask and blocked the little girl’s noise by putting on his earplugs. The overhead lamp of the train suddenly offended his eyesight. He recounted the events that happened before he and Kawasemi said goodbye at the main train station’s platform.

After he told the Aichi police officer about his decision, he’d like the earth where he was sitting to swallow him.

“So, this is the end of the road, Isshiki, for us,” Kawasemi lamented. His voice cracked beneath the composed façade of his.

Toto couldn’t spare to look at his superior after his declaration that he took his clothes with him and dressed up at Kawasemi’s big posh bathroom. The flat was located in the center of Nagoya.

When Toto left him alone, the older man who had never smoked in his entire life, had the sudden urge to just stick a cigarette between his lips and inhale it to calm his nerves.

If Toto were a different person who was not in love with his best friend, perhaps, he’d give Kawasemi a chance and be contented with it. Why did he, in the first place, allow himself to be swayed by his weakness, that is, the call of the flesh to sleep with his superior?

It was sheer panic, of course. The fear of losing Ron once he would tell him what he really felt about the forbidden detective. Then came Kawasemi along who at first was unreachable, a living legend among his veteran colleagues when Toto started in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Investigation Division 1. The same Kawasemi-san who he always admired from afar, the model police investigator whose professional success was suddenly halted when he lost his trusted assistant, but now got his groove back.

“You are the only one who let me realise my folly, Isshiki,” Kawasemi confessed the first time he brought Toto to his flat.

He could still remember the day when he disagreed with him during the hand collector case without hesitation, told him openly how wrong it was to treat Yamane and his colleagues using the magic of his tweezers. True, Toto’s words clipped his wings and pierced his heart, but he also fixed them because he showed his true colours, according to the Aichi police officer. Did he really? Somehow, Toto was not even sure of that.

He was goddamn tired, but sleep was elusive. There was no use even looking outside to marvel at the landscape as everything was pitch black. The guilt nagged at his thoughts. But his affair with Kawasemi was over. And for that he was relieved. Once and for all, he had to tell Ron what he was truly feeling. He glanced at the wrapped birthday gift in his shopping bag.

Less than an hour and he would already be in Tokyo. Not long now.

~ fin ~

#kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri #totomaru isshiki #kawasemi omito #ron kamonohashi #flashfictionfriday #flash fiction friday #fff234 #rkdd fanfics #rkdd fanfic idea #ron kamonohashi's forbidden deductions #toto et kawasemi #how it ends #brief toto/kawasemi #rontoto

[riku-in-japan]

Japan Trip 2023!!

It's been 4 long years and a full pandemic, but we are finally heading back to Japan again! Giving me 17 days to enjoy everything the country has to offer. (Because days 18 and 19 will be eaten up by traveling) In hindsight, I wish I had pushed my husband to book a few more days, because I'm just starting to feel it's going to be too short. At least, assuming I don't have to cancel half of my plans due to bad weather or a typhoon destroying every hiking trail in existence just before I arrive. (As happened in 2019...)

We have yet to book our hotels, but that doesn't keep me from creating extensive travel plans that may or may not be the death of me.

For example, I'm currently considering visiting Naritasan Shinso-ji Temple and Naritasan Park on the day of arrival. (Because my husband has never been there, and it's so pretty!) Our plane is scheduled to land at 9:45. So, even if it takes roughly 2 hours to make our way through customs, baggage claim, and to exchange our JR Railpass vouchers, there should be plenty of time to have a look around the area. Of course, we could decide to drop this plan if I realize upon arrival I'm just too sleep-deprived for sightseeing. (We would practically arrive in Japan at my usual bedtime, so I don't expect to sleep much on the airplane. To my body, this day would become an all-nighter! It's exactly for this reason I never do any extensive sightseeing on the day of arrival! Well, until this year... maybe.)

However, I managed to cook up an even more insane plan... You see, we will be spending a week of our stay in the Kyoto/Osaka area. I already pretty much have more places I want to visit than days to go around. And then, we came up with the brilliant idea we might want to throw in a day-tip to visit Hiroshima too. Osaka-Hiroshima is only 2 hours by Shinkansen, so it's honestly not too bad. My husband really wants to visit the Peace Memorial Museum (again), but I'm not entirely sold on the idea. (The Peace Memorial Park was incredibly impressive and do want to visit the museum sometime, but I just feel like this isn't the right year for it somehow.) So then, I had the brilliant idea to combine two plans. I will delay my own arrival in Hiroshima by giving myself a couple hours to visit Himeji Castle in the morning. So, my husband will have time to visit the Peace Memorial Museum. When I'm done in Himeji I make my way over the Hiroshima too, so we can meet up and visit Miyajima together in the afternoon, and then maybe we can explore Hiroshima a bit more in the evening until it's time to catch a train back to Osaka. Brilliant plan, right? *sarcasm*

Only while planning this, did I realize Himeji Castle is actually a lot closer to Osaka (by Shinkansen) than I expected, so... I may return to the drawing board and actually give Himeji its own day. There actually seems to be quite a lot of stuff around the castle itself, so it might warrant more than a two-hour visit. I'll have to figure it out as I plan out the other days.

What probably surprised me most, looking at my rough itinerary was... that I only have 3 days dedicated to Tokyo itself! The days that should have been for Tokyo are slowly getting allocated to an assorted number of other places... Like Mt.Takao, Kamakura, Nikko, Isehara... I fear my days in Tokyo will simply become one big shopping spree. I have spent plenty of time in Tokyo over the years and it will probably be the place I will visit most often in the future, so it's not that big of a deal, but... realizing I am effectively only spending 3 days of my whole trip in Tokyo certainly surprised me.

Either way, like always, I'm planning to blog about my travels... so, look forward to November! That's when the adventure begins!

#Japan 2023

[redheadinjapan]

My First Week(s) in Japan as a JET

Well, this was supposed to be about my first week in Japan, but the first week has quickly turned into the first weeks. It’s strange to think I’ve been in Japan for almost a month. Part of that is because the first week was so different, between orientation and traveling, but time also flies when you’re trying to adjust to a new location, new schedule, new everything. What does time matter when your first classes are tomorrow and you barely know what you’re doing? So, here’s a quick look at my first week(s) in Japan as a JET.

I started off the move with whatever the opposite of a bang is. Right as we were rushing to the airport, I learned my flight had been delayed, first by several hours, then later by nearly a day. While it was nice to have the extra time to spend with people and double-check my bags, it also put us behind schedule. None of us knew what this would mean for orientation, since we hadn’t heard much about it to begin with. It turned out our two-day orientation got cut to one, with the work we missed assigned to be finished in the next couple of weeks. While the orientation touched on many important topics like Japanese law, teaching English to young kids, and disaster preparation, we missed a lot due to the delay and jet lag. However, the time did give us the chance to set up a phone number or get pocket wifi from phone companies at the hotel. Plus, they also had currency exchange machines, which was good for anyone like me who hadn’t been able to change all their dollars to yen. I could do a whole post on the Tokyo orientation–and probably will later–but after our extra short stay, we were headed to our placement towns.

Though everyone started in Tokyo, we were all ultimately going to various locations across the country. Based on our placement location, we met in the lobby at a specific time so they could help us get to our transportation. Some people took planes, others trains or ferries. I took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Niigata City, the last stop on one of the lines. A representative took us to the train station and made sure each of us got on our trains. My trip was only an hour and a half on the fast train that makes fewer stops. Naturally, I managed to lose my ticket on the train (I forgot I needed it to get out of the train station when I arrived, or else I would’ve looked harder), so the person from the Board of Education who met me at the station had to talk my way out. That same person helped me get my bank account and apartment set up, buy some necessities (like a futon), and visit my schools over the next few days.

Because of our late arrival since they staggered the groups as a COVID precaution, I started classes the day after I went to visit all my schools. Normally, JETs arrive during the summer and spend some time working at their schools before the students come back at the end of August. This gives you a chance to meet the other teachers and work on your self-introduction lesson. However, that might differ for early arrival JETs who arrive in April and JETs who get upgraded after the main groups leave. For me, the timing meant that I was thrown right into classes with students and teachers I didn’t know. My first week(s) in Japan as a JET were a little bumpy, and I’m only now starting to feel like I have a grasp of what to do. I did get lucky that my first day started with a free period and my second day was largely free too due to sports day practice. It gave me more time to get ready.

My first week(s) in Japan as a JET have flown by. I’m growing more and more used to everything, but I still have a long way to go. Right now, I’m still mostly doing self-introductions or pronouncing words and checking spelling. I’d certainly like to get more involved in my schools and student activities, but for now, I think it’s okay if I take my time. It is, after all, an entirely new–well, everything!

#japan #jet program #first week(s) #actually about 4 weeks #whoops #first week(s) in Japan #assistant language teacher

[thehikingviking]

Utsukushigahara Highlands, A Walk Through the Clouds

We had originally planned to climb Norikura-dake, one of the tallest peaks in Japan. As we approached the trailhead, we were stopped by a bicycle race. The road beyond Norikura Kanko Tourist Center was closed to both cars and busses. We were a long way from Utsunomiya, and even further from California, so I was frustrated to say the least. I perused the map and researched alternate objectives on the fly. I needed to chose a hike short enough such that we could do it with a late start while carrying our child, at least part of the way. I selected Utsukushigahara Highlands, as it was on the way to Saku, which had a Shinkansen station. Our dear friend Jon would join us for the hike then take the train back to Tokyo later that day.

We had already driven quite a bit that morning, and now we had to drive even further, but after a long windy ride we made it to the Utsukushigahara Nagawa Municipal Parking Lot. It was wet outside from a recent rain and the entire area was shrouded in clouds. There was a visitor shop at the end of the paved road and a dirt road continuing beyond towards the summit plateau. Today's "peak" is referred to as a highland, and while it was not striking in a traditional mountain sense, it did have almost two thousand feet to topographic prominence. Situated between several major mountain ranges, I now wonder how the views would have been from the top, considering we were socked in all day.

The dirt road took us through ranchlands. A wooden fence on each side barred us from the ponies and cattle, or rather them from us. It was a little mysterious and often I would find myself having to guess what the large animal was through the pea soup. 

The walk vaguely reminded me of hiking through the Diablo Range in California; grasslands, cattle and rolling hills.

The dirt road made for easy walking. We let Leif walk at first, but eventually his lack of urgency had us put him in the carrier. The summit area was covered with a large building called Ougatou, which translates to King's Head Hotel. Behind the building was a large radio facility and several shrines.

We walked around until finding the summit rock and a benchmark. From car to summit it was only 2 miles with about 300 vertical feet gain.

We stepped into Ougatou to get out of the weather. We ate beef curry and coffee jelly with soft cream inside the luxurious summit shelter. The curry was so good that I ended up eating two servings.

I could have sat there all afternoon, but we all wanted to get home that night. Rather than retracing our steps back down the bland dirt road, I picked up a trail system that circled around the southern part of the ranch.

The trail dropped down a couple switchbacks then contoured alongside the highland.

I left the trail briefly to investigate a rocky cliff that seemed a little out of place in the gentle rolling hills.

Leif wanted to walk again, so I let him do so for a while, but eventually I picked him up again because we needed to cover distance faster.

The trail reconnected with the dirt road. It was a longer, but slightly more aesthetic hiking route. We stopped for a short time for Leif to feed the pony.

The clouds began to clear as we reached the trailhead. We looked around the shop then began our trip back home. This wasn't the most spectacular hike, but it was good for our two year old.

#peakbagger #summitswagger #nature #hikingviking #Utsukushigahara

[cozy-neko]

5 pm on a friday afternoon hits a little differently when i’m with you

suga finds himself falling in love with you more and more each day of the week.

warnings: if you squint, you might see some love-making

rating: light | medium | heavy

word count: 1039

monday

on mondays, the karasuno volleyball club has morning practice instead of after school practice. it takes suga 30 minutes to walk to school and practice starts strictly at 6 am, so he’s out the door by 5:20 the latest. you never fail to show up sitting at his doorsteps at 5:15, a sleepy smile on your face and a warm breakfast bento for koushi in your hands.

if suga showed any sign of exhaustion on his face, it’s clearly wiped away as soon as he grabs your hand in his and pulls you up to your feet. on mondays, suga falls in love with your insistence on spending quality time together. even though suga is the only one with morning club activities and you have a whole extra two hours all to yourself in the classroom, you wouldn’t give up the peaceful morning walks with koushi for anything else.

tuesday

on a particular tuesday, suga is stuck in bed with a fever and cough. he somehow manages to text you and daichi that he will be absent today due to his cold. he doesn’t expect much to happen during this bleak day and sleeps the morning and afternoon away. when it’s exactly 3 pm, he wakes up in cold sweat and a nasty cough racking through his chest. he’s panting, and his entire body aches. he has chills, but he’s sweating bullets at the same time. he doesn’t remember passing out.

when he comes to again, it’s dark out, but his body no longer aches, his fever has gone down, and he finds himself comfortably tucked in. he doesn’t remember how the damp towel on his forehead got there or the bottle of pocari sweat, canned peaches, and over the counter medicine sitting on his nightstand. as his sits up, he finally notices you sleeping peacefully next to his bedside, his hand gripped tightly in yours.

“dummy,” he whispers and lightly strokes your head with his free hand. you unconsciously nuzzle into his gentle touch, and he can’t help but let out a soft smile. “you could have caught my cold.” on this tuesday, suga fell in love with your acts of service. the following week, it’s his dummy’s turn to miss school and his turn to nurse you back to health.

wednesday

to his teachers, he’s sugawara-san. he’ll respond to suga or suga-san when his teammates call for him for a toss. his parents will call him kou and even sugawara koushi when he’s in trouble. but when he’s with you, he’ll always be your koushi. 

“koushi, good morning!” “koushi, how did you do on your science test today?” “koushi, let’s eat lunch together with everyone today!” “koushi, how was volleyball practice today?” “koushi, can we get ice cream today please?” “it’s okay, koushi. you tried you best, and there’s always next time.” “goodnight koushi. sweet dreams.” 

hearing his name coming from your lips was like music to his ears. it didn’t matter what words of affirmation or casual talk followed his name; he wanted to hear it all. on wednesday, suga felt the whole world stop as you shyly murmured a “koushi, i love you” into his ear.

thursday

when you told suga your dream college was in tokyo, he blanched. suga knew that attending university in tokyo was a high reach for him. it wasn’t like he was bad at studying; in fact, he was pretty damn good at it. but university in tokyo meant you either get perfect scores on your entrance exam or a scholarship to even think about attending. it also meant a 2 hour shinkansen ride and not seeing you every day if he were to stay in miyagi. 

“come with me, koushi,” you encourage him. “you’ll do wonders in tokyo.”

three years later at 3 am on a thursday, the two of your limbs are intertwined with one another, both afraid that if one of you let go, the other would disappear. the both of you are breathless and panting to catch your breaths as you hover over him. your bodies are slick with a sheen of sweat, blankets, pillows, and clothes thrown carelessly onto the floor. suga gazes up at you with tear-filled eyes and he realizes then and there at 3 am on a thursday with glow-in-the-dark star stickers above your head, that he loved you so much that it made his head spin, his chest tight, and his heart hurt.

friday

suga is slightly out of breath, calves and thighs burning from having just finished two hours of spartan volleyball practice. college-level volleyball is no joke. as he tries to catch his breath, he looks up, eyes immediately locking onto the sight in front of him. beads of sweat drip down the side of his face, and his breathing hitches in his throat. if he thought this small break would allow him to catch his breath for even a second, he was wrong. absolutely wrong. suga knows he'll never get used to the view, and he's not talking about the tokyo skyline view.

you're standing three feet in front of suga, a big grin stretched across your flushed cheeks. your hair is a mess from the humid wind, there’s dried paint splattered all over suga’s old karasuno volleyball club t-shirt, and your knees are bleeding from taking a tumble earlier, but to suga, you are the most beautiful god damn sight he’s ever laid his eyes on.

“koushi! hurry!”

5 pm on a friday afternoon hits differently when i’m with you, suga thinks as he jogs the remaining three feet uphill to reach you. he gently grabs your hand in his and places a chaste kiss on your knuckles before pulling out some band-aids. kneeling down in front of you, he carefully peels open the band-aid, and with trembling fingers, sticks them onto your clumsiness.

“dummy, you’re such a mess,” he tells you with a soft chuckle. his voice is gentle but trembling, and his heart is beating way too fast for his liking. he can feel the blood rushing to his ears, and for a second, time freezes and the world stills.

“5 pm on a friday afternoon hits differently when i���m with you. please...marry me?”

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! #hq x reader #sugawara koushi #hq sugawara #hq!! #writings #ugh what a weak ending #kinda sad and not content but i wanted to get this out

[kchuarts]

Flowers in Blood

A/N: I am SO sorry for the late update. I've been in a funk and blegh. Well, 2 months later here we are and I'm updating!

 Summary: Love hurts 

Warnings: none really that I can think of 

Taglist: @lucywrites02​, @shiningloki​

Chapter 19: Cyclamen

SMACK!

Abbadon hit the floor after being struck by her brother, tears in her eyes. “He was one of your men!! Why do you have to take it out on me!?” 

“He was one of the finest I had!! He did not waste time and kept his promises, unlike YOU.” Daniel pointed a finger at his younger sister and grabbed her by her throat. “Travis being killed is a greater loss to me than losing you as Wolfsbane’s leader!! He was not soft nor did he hesitate to go through with murder!!” He shoved Abbadon to the ground and breathed heavily, staring at her with such malice in his gaze. Truth be told, Daniel never felt any true love for his sister and only used her as a pawn in his games. He knew that one day she would do exactly as she has done and try to escape the family business of crime. “In addition, he didn’t have a snivelling brat that I had to lock up-” 

“YOU LEAVE MY SON OUT OF THIS!!” Abbadon stood to her full height, teeth bared and fists clenched. “Nikolai has nothing to do with your vile follower’s death! The only one who is at fault here, is you.” She snarled. “Maybe if you were not such a piss poor crime lord, none of your lackies would be dead!” 

“So you think you are better suited for the job then, dear sister?” Daniel growled, snapping his fingers. At the sound of the snap, four of his bodyguards came in with their guns pointed at Abbadon. “If I remember correctly, you wanted no part of this. All you wanted to do was run away with that silly dream of yours. It is not my fault at all here, I did nothing wrong! It was their piss poor decision to be vulnerable.” 

The honey brown eyed woman knew what Daniel was trying to do and his gaslighting tactics would not work on her. She had grown up with this form of abuse and had become a master at detecting it. “Say what you want, Daniel. You know deep down it is your fault because you cannot process it through that thick bloody skull of yours.” Abbadon pursed her lips tightly as the barrel of a gun was held beneath her head. “Do it. Kill me and see how far it gets you.” She did not fear death. 

For a moment, Daniel considered blowing her head off but raised his hand for his men to stand down. A sick smirk spread across his face and he clicked his tongue, “Would you want little Nikolai to suffer? Knowing his mother chose death instead of him? Such cowardice… Perhaps I can raise a little soldier out of-” 

WHACK!!

Abbadon’s fist connected to her brother’s face and almost immediately she was tackled to the ground. “I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE MY SON OUT OF THIS YOU EVIL FUCKER!!” She screamed, struggling against the men holding her down. 

The leader of Belladonna wiped his now bloodied lip and chuckled to himself. “The anger of a mother never gets old. Take her away back to her cell. I no longer want to see this traitor for the time being.” He paused and then looked at Abbadon with a smile. “Oh and if she tries anything, make sure that little Nikolai learns a lesson of when his mother decides to be a bitch.” 

“My, my.” Another woman’s voice enters the room. She giggles at Abbadon and motions the bodyguards to stop for a moment. Her long purple nails sink into the auburn haired woman’s jaw as she forces her to look into her black, cat like eyes. “Abbadon, you look positively dreadful. Then again, you’ve always been hideous in my eyes.” The Korean woman gave Abbadon a toothy grin before letting her go, but not before slashing her nails across her cheek. She continued to laugh as Abbadon cried out in pain from the unprovoked attack and made her way over to Daniel. “I hope that you have made yourself comfortable my dear leader.” She purred, wiping her now bloodied nails on a handkerchief before offering her hand to Daniel. 

Swiftly, Belladonna’s leader took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of it before releasing it. “I can assure you that I much enjoy Seoul more than I do Tokyo. Thank you, Churihyang.” 

Daphne’s leader, Dea “Churihyang” Park, had become Daniel’s most favored branch due to his partial favor to Korea and Dea’s tenacity. He enjoyed having her as an ally. While she was certainly lazy in some aspects, she never failed to impress. “Excellent! My dear leader I have much to show you~ I’ve got new women that I need you to inspect.” Dea smiled wickedly, giving a chesire like expression and led Daniel into the den of The Tigress. 

------------------

What felt like days had finally come to an end once Jonathan and Katie had reached a nearby city. There was no possible way they would be able to make it back to Tokyo as they hadn’t the faintest idea of where they were exactly. In the meantime, they stopped by the local clinic and had Katie assessed for any sort of damages. 

“Sate, hidoku sonshō shita mono wa nani mo nai yōdesu.” A female doctor nodded, smiling at Katie. “Tadashi, seikō suru mae ni sukunakutomo 2-shūkan matsu koto o o susume shimasu. Anata wa mada kanzen ni chiyu shite imasen.” She added. 

The brunette nodded and inwardly sighed at the fact she couldn’t have sex for around two whole weeks. “Arigatou. Kanarazu adobaisu sa sete itadakimasu.” She tried to hide her disappointment from the news. It wasn’t the end of the world but she wanted Pine to claim her again and make her forget that whole experience. 

Jonathan looked over at the clock on the wall of the waiting room and chewed the inside of his cheek. “Could really go for a smoke right now.” He muttered under his breath. 

“Ja, arigatou! Sayonara!!” Katie came out of the office and looked at Jonathan with a pout. “We have to wait two weeks.” She whined. 

“Oh come on, it’s not like it’s the worst thing in the world to wait.” Pine took her hand in his own, lacing his fingers into hers and walking out of the clinic. “Right now I could use your help in finding a place to buy cigarettes.” He peered around, his hunger for nicotine needing to be sated. 

Katie scoffed at him and giggled, “I can wait two weeks for sex but you can’t wait for more than a minute for those gross cigarettes of yours.” 

Jonathan rolled his eyes, pulling her along in search of some smokes. 

Once they had found some cigarettes, Katie and Jonathan returned to the hotel they were staying at. “Oh my god it feels so nice to wear pants again.” Katie fell back against the bed and laughed as she heard Jonathan sigh loudly at her comment. 

“You’ve been saying that ever since we got new clothes. It’s getting a bit annoying.” He stared out from the balcony, cigarette between his lips. 

“I know, but I’m just telling the truth.” Katie rolled over to the side Jonathan slept on and propped herself up on her elbows. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at what a nice ass her boyfriend had. In truth, he had a nice everything. The only thing she could do without was that nasty smoking habit of his. “Can I suck you off?” She asked abruptly 

Jonathan inhaled quickly and began to cough violently, turning around and patting his chest. “I beg your pardon?” He got a control of his coughing and looked at her bewildered. 

Katie’s cheeks turned red and she gave a coy smile, “Can I give you head? It’s not fair that you have to wait for me-” 

“No.” 

“No?” Katie was taken aback. 

“No.” Jonathan confirmed and put the cigarette out in the ashtray, walking in and sitting in the chair next to the bed, facing her. “You don’t have to do anything to please me. Just you being alive is more than enough satisfaction for me. I want you to remember this; you don’t owe anyone anything.” His face fell into a serious expression. 

Katie thought about it for a moment and realized that she was using an old habit of hers when she was with Travis. He had always told her that it wasn’t fair for him whenever she got something she wanted, and that she owed him more than her own worth. “Oh…” She sat up, biting her lip and feeling the urge to cry come on. “But Travis-” 

“But Travis what, Kate!? He’s dead!!” Pine snapped at her and immediately regretted doing so as he saw her eyes glittering with tears. His face softened and he shook his head, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that- but Kate, please realize that he cannot hurt you anymore and that he is gone. You are free.” He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away. 

“He is still here though!! You don’t get it!! I see him in my dreams and I hear his voice tormenting me every single fucking day! You helped quiet his voice for a while but his voice… It’s so loud.” She grabbed her head, covering her ears. 

Jonathan sat there and inhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair. “Katie I think we need a break.” He let the words fly out of his mouth without abandon. 

“What?” She looked up, her eyes wide.” 

Pine growled out of frustration and stood up. “You just can't let him go! You’ve been so hyperfocused on him this entire time and while I believe you love me, you still have an unhealthy attachment to a dead man. You’re acting like a child- because you are one!! I should have never-” 

“Never what?! Don’t fucking finish that sentence!! Don’t you dare!!” Katie sobbed, her mind racing a mile a minute. He was breaking up with her when she needed him most. “You know what? Nevermind.” She got up quickly, her lip quivering. “If you really think that low of me, then why did you decide to want something with me? You’re still playing games, Jonathan Pine. I-I’m done. My heart cannot take anymore of this shit.” Her voice cracked a little and she stormed out, exiting the hotel. Tears ran down her face as she made her way over to the Shinkansen and took the first train back to Tokyo. 

Jonathan didn’t even try to chase after her this time and just sat there, staring at the ground. He ran his hands over his face and began to cry in broken sobs. Not only was he angry at Katie for her sudden actions and potentially putting herself in danger, but he was angry at himself. She needed him and he fucked up bad. He could only hope that she would return to the rental, pack her things, and fly back to the USA. That’s what he originally wanted after all, he didn’t truly love her did he? Who was he to talk when Sophie’s death also plagued his mind, each day and night. 

By the time Jonathan had gotten back to the rental, all of Katie’s things were gone. It hurt his heart to have the place so empty. Sure, they had a hell of a time and not exactly pleasant but he missed the sound of Katie’s voice. “It’s for the best.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair and sitting down in a chair, thinking what to do next. 

“Is it?” 

Pine got up quickly, pulling out his gun that he now carried on him. “Roper! I know you’re here!” He growled, looking around the house and finding Richard making himself at home in the kitchen. 

“Tea?” Roper held up the kettle but put it down as he heard Jonathan load the gun, making it ready to go. “Alright, don’t then.” He muttered and pulled a gun of his own out. “You know it’s ironic that here we are in Japan where guns are heavily restricted-” 

“ENOUGH!! Why are you here!?” Jonathan’s hands started to become clammy. 

Roper looked around, raising his eyebrows “Your little vixen is gone is she? Oh dear, hopefully she’s somewhere safe. Masayuki is dead so you don’t have to worry about him… Also, nice job killing Travis-” 

The look in Jonathan’s eyes was one of intent and he wasn’t about to play around anymore. 

“Fine, fine. No small talk either. I just thought I would stop by since I was in the neighborhood. Check in on my old friend Andrew Birch.” He gave a toothy smile, now walking in a circle as Pine still held his gun up. Roper was not one to back down either as his gun was also aimed at the other man. “I’m here to tell you that you’re not done. If you haven’t figured it out already, we both have a common enemy; Daniel.” 

“What’s he to you? I thought all of you crime lords were the same, don’t you have some sort of alliance going on?” Jonathan felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he concentrated, watching Roper carefully for any sudden moves. 

“All that time under my wing and you didn’t bother to learn that we don’t form alliances? Pish Posh, Andy! I expected better from you. Even Corky knew better and he was inebriated half of the fucking time!” Roper’s smile faded and he raised his gun a little higher, still walking a circle of questionable predicaments. “No. He is nothing more than a nuisance in the scheme. His work is so sloppy and I can tell he’s stopped with being all fancy and putting flowers on the crime scenes. He messes everything up and someone has to put an end to the short-tempered bastard.” Roper shrugged. 

“Then why come here? Why come to me, knowing that I want nothing more than to put a bullet in your skull?” Jonathan hissed, narrowing his eyes. 

“I’m here to tell you that the Japanese police force is after Todd Redwood and Kit Redwood. They are warranted for arrest and will be sentenced accordingly for all the crimes they committed. I know I said I wouldn’t help you anymore, but this little game is just too fun! If I were you, Andrew Birch, Jonathan Pine, Jack Lindon, Thomas Quince, Todd Redwood… I’d run.” 

Jonathan swallowed hard, “How long until they reach us?” 

“Twenty minutes. Pack your bags and I’ll get you out of here and on the way to Seoul. I know that Miss O’Connor is already there and by herself. If you still have any care for her in the world, I suggest you hurry. The Tigress has a fondness for women with green eyes.” Roper watched as Jonathan made a run for it to grab his belongings. 

It only took five minutes for Pine to grab his things and hop into Richard’s car, speeding off toward the airport. Thankfully, Richard owned his own private transportation so Pine wouldn’t have to worry about being caught… Until he did. 

Richard whipped his head around, hearing police sirens blaring as he drove like a maniac. “We’ve got company!! Do me a favor and blow some tires.” He focused on the road. Several more police cars came into view, speeding toward them. 

Pine nodded, pressing the window button and leaning out of the car. He aimed his gun at the wheels and shot at them. Jonathan sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t hurt anyone or cause a giant mess. Unfortunately, one of the police cars flipped over, causing two more to crash into it at full speed. Jonathan felt sick and hurled out of the window at the fact he had killed innocent officers just trying to do their job. 

“A pig is a pig! Get over it!” Roper rolled his eyes. 

“Th-Those were innocent men!! They have families!! I-I killed them-” Jonathan felt sick again and threw up a second time out of the window. 

Richard groaned loudly, hitting the gas and finally out running the officers to cease Pine’s antics. “Come off it. You’ve killed a man or two plenty of times before and now you’re getting upset over it? You’ve grown soft!” He slaps Pine’s back, making sure he didn’t have anything left in his stomach to vomit. 

Jonathan coughs and rests his head against the headrest of his seat, closing his eyes. When he closed them, all he saw was Katie. It had only been a day since he last saw her but it was killing him. 

“So, we’ve got around five hours at the rate I’m driving. Why don’t you tell me what happened between you and your little lass.” Richard prodded. 

“No.” Jonathan growled. 

“Suit yourself. I completely understand the lack of trust and I would do the same exact thing.” 

True to his word, Roper and Pine reached the airport in five hours. Jonathan stepped out of the car and stumbled a bit. He shot Roper a glare when he heard him snort in amusement. 

“Not even a thank you? After all I’ve done-” Richard began to speak. 

“You haven’t done me any favors yet. Until you’re six feet under ground, then you will have done me a favor.” Jonathan huffed, opening up the trunk and pulling his belongings out. He quickly made his way to the plane and didn’t even look back. All he wanted was for Katie to be safe, he understood why she was mad at him. He could only hope that she understood his frustrations in turn. 

Once Jonathan had boarded the plane, Roper pulled his phone out and got into his car. “He’s on his way now. I don’t know where lassie is over your neck of the woods, but she shouldn’t be too hard to find. Remember, don’t grab him until you have her.” 

Katie paced back and forth, biting her nails as she began to panic. She had gotten herself into a big mess trying to do this on her own. First of all, she didn’t even know where to start or who to ask. All she knew was that Daphne needed to be taken down and arrested, not killed. She was so tired of all the death around her, all the frustration. Travis’s death seemed to impact her more than she thought as the moment of him falling replayed over and over. “Cam…” She broke down into tears, falling to her knees and holding her face in her hands. “Cameron I wish you were here!! I don’t know what to do anymore!!” She continued to sob, curling into a fetal position. “I’m so lost and, and Travis is dead and Jonathan hates me-” She stopped for a moment, her mood suddenly turning angry. “That stupid son of a bitch!!” She stood up, punching the hotel pillow over and over. “I hate you!! I hate you! I hate you, Pine!! You fucking asshole!!” her sobs became more intense as she then grabbed the pillow and hugged it. Katie unleashed a heart wrenching scream into the pillow so as to not draw any attention to her room. That was the last thing she needed. 

The brunette gasped as she came up for air but let out another ugly sob. “I still love you!! I still love you Jonathan!” She couldn’t deny herself. Katie knew it wouldn’t take a day for her to get over Travis and that it would take time, but she needed Pine’s love and help. “I’m so stupid!! I’m so fucking stupid!!” She buried her face back into her pillow and screamed again. 

Katie sobbed for around three hours until she could cry no more, eventually passing out for the evening. Her last conscious thoughts were of being in Jonathan’s arms, where she felt the safest. 

The door to Katie’s room clicked open, yet it did not wake her up. Jonathan walked in, sighing and knowing that this was a horrible idea. He saw Katie laying on the bed, tightly clutching a pillow with tear stains on her cheeks. Carefully, he moved her into a more comfortable position and pulled the blankets over her. When he walked in, Pine noticed a couch and decided he would take up that for the night. He figured that she wouldn’t even want to be near him at all since their fight yesterday. Jonathan made himself as comfortable as he could on the couch and found some difficulty trying to fall asleep. He hoped that he would wake up before her as he finally fell asleep. Pine did not know what would happen if she woke first. 

#flowers in blood #spies in love #the night manager #the night manager canon divergence #jonathan pine #jonathan pine x ofc #tom hiddleston #my writing #fanfic #writing

[whatdoyouexpectthistime]

MJS Aftermath - SIX FEET Part 3

While humble had never been easy for Miho, she had much bowing to do when she eventually went home to face Goto’s family. Though difficult, her apologies were sincere, for she had no desire to hurt them or compound their suffering, even if they did not agree with her point of view. A compromise was struck, and though she would not concede her belief that Goto was still alive, she accepted no accord would be met and did not pursue further attempts to convince them the whole funeral thing was a sham.

She resigned herself to being the most supporting daughter and sister she could be, though Issei seemed unsurprisingly angry at her still.

Shinichi, Seiji’s father, would have liked traditional Shinto customs observed, but the circumstances being what they were, there were several steps concerning the corpse that could simply not be performed as one might with a fully intact body.

Still, Miho returned to the Goto family residence out of Tokyo to help in the preparation of food offerings; her only real contribution that all offerings be made at a reasonably cool temperature, the way Seiji would have been able to eat it. But her resolve did not waver.

As the process proceeded toward the wake, she’d had several follow-up conversations with Liana, who had pledged to use her journalistic sources to investigate what current criminal organisations within Japan would have access to highly restricted flammables, despite knowing her husband would not be impressed if he found her meddling. So far, she had come up empty, though several organised crime groups had certainly been more active of late; Liana did not keep this from Miho or Jazz, the latter who was staying in accommodations nearby to continue offering Miho her support.

On the day of the wake, everyone visibly donned the darkness of their grief, and Miho robotically greeted mourners to accept their condolences.

She wanted to shout out how pointless all their words were, their tears, when Seiji was still alive somewhere – not a pile of bones awaiting further cremation – but she kept it buried behind a stoic, if tired mask.

Priests prayed and prayed and prayed, before mourners were fed, but Miho had no appetite. Under Subaru and Jazz’s watchful eyes, she remained quiet, while those who didn’t know her very well at all whispered about how strong the wife of a police officer had to be, how brave she was.

“This is normal, right?” Subaru whispered to Jazz as the pair observed Miho’s blank expression.

Her eyes were directed at the coffin, but there was nothing to see in her gaze at all.

“Miho’s never normal,” Jazz replied just as quietly. “And you know she’s only doing this for Goto’s family; she still won’t believe he’d dead.”

“I guess, maybe I can’t blame her, after that whole thing with her ex-husband’s faked death and all,” Subaru noted, but he was scowling – after all, this was difficult for him too. “But, how long do you think this will last?”

Jazz tilted her head a little as she considered her best friend, then looked up into Subaru’s face.

“I think you know her well enough now,” she said. “If she believes something, no one will sway her.”

“So, what do we do?” he scowled, as people began to line up to say their final farewells.

“We just be here for her, if she needs us,” Jazz shrugged, drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly. “For her, this isn’t nearly over.”

Shinichi first, Haruka then Issei, then it was Miho’s turn to stand before Goto’s coffin and bid farewell to the man she loved more than her own life.

It seemed silence fell, a thick blanket of tense expectation for those who knew how she felt; but when she spoke it was so softly only the closest ears could have overheard.

“I will never let you go,” she whispered, glaring at the coffin intensely. “And when I find you, I’m going to kick your ass for putting me and your family through this.”

That was his send off, and when all had passed and said their goodbye, the immediate family travelled to the crematorium.

It was ironic – Miho even wanted to laugh at the idea a man reduced to bone would be cooked all over again in the name of tradition – but she managed to hold it in.

Instead, she took some time alone before they all returned to the house, staring across the rows of headstones, of mausoleums.

“Not today,” she grated under her breath, jaw clenched as she was struck with an overwhelming pang of loneliness.

“Mrs. Goto,” Kaga said, clearing his throat. “I was going to congratulate you on whatever you said to unsettle Captain Ishigami,” he continued, his voice low. “But there will be more appropriate times for that.”

Miho hadn’t had as much to do with Kaga as she had Goto’s direct superior, but she knew the man was callous, or clumsy, or a mixture of the two – enough to not be offended by his awkward, misplaced dig at Ishigami.

“Tell me, Captain,” Miho said, her voice thick, her watery eyes fixed on the distance. “Do you believe it? What you’ve seen on your surveillance tapes? What you’ve heard, read in reports? Would Seiji be so incompetent as to fall prey to a death and make his wife a widow?”

For a man rarely at a loss for words, Kaga’s lips parted but no sound emerged. Unusually, he seemed to be thinking carefully before speaking.

“Would Lieutenant Goto intentionally put himself at undue risk?” he rephrased, but Miho intercepted his dodge.

“Not what I asked,” she snapped, inching a little closer to him.

“I am sure of what I observed, and am satisfied with the rigor of our forensic investigators,” he answered slowly, and Miho jumped on his hesitation.

“Damnit, Hyogo, you know what I’m asking!” she barked, giving his chest a bit of a shove, and Kaga snatched her wrist.

This caught the attention of Liana, who was standing nearby with a phone pressed to her ear.

“These are questions for Captain Ishigami,” Kaga told her, lowering his head and his tone.

“He was as slippery as you, and it’s suspicious,” Miho hissed.

“You’re grieving,” he asserted, trying to sound accommodating, maybe even sympathetic. “You’re raw and hurting and wanting all this to be a horrible nightmare, but…”

“I DISBELIEVE!” she snarled, shaking herself free, and several others looked over, including Issei.

“Captain Kaga,” Liana began amiably, as she approached to defuse a true blow-up of the situation.

She had since ended her phone call, and gave the pair her entire focus.

“Please, allow me,” she smiled warmly, slipping her hand into Miho’s.

Not quite with his tail between his legs, but certainly without reluctance, Kaga nodded and shifted away from the two women.

“You just saved him a black eye,” Miho hissed, scuffing her toes in the gravel irritably.

“Just a black eye?” Liana smirked cheekily, and this got Miho to smile wickedly.

“Yeah okay, he might have lost a little more; I’m fed up with getting chided for not being morose enough,” she muttered, allowing Liana to turn her away from the gathering at the shrine.

“Well, I just got off the phone with reliable source,” Liana explained quietly, “who said a known terrorist group on Public Safety’s watchlist called Kurai, had recently been planning a serious attack, but now the group is in chaos - something about an internal power struggle.”

“When?” Miho prompted, giving Liana her full attention.

“That’s what caught my attention,” Liana nodded. “According to my source, an attack targeting shinkansen lines was supposed to happen two days after Goto’s supposed death.”

Miho’s brows drew slowly down, but she wasn’t drawing any major conclusions yet, but the wheels were definitely turning. Liana’s acceptance of Miho’s belief in Goto’s survival was warming, a relief.

“No terrorists though,” Miho noted.

Any disruption to the train network would be big news – a case of terrorism, if it had occurred, would have been all over the news

“So their plans were disturbed,” Miho added, thinking aloud.

“I wasn’t able to get much in terms of specifics,” Liana admitted, “but,” she continued quickly, “Kurai is having a bit of a management crisis, which might explain why their plans fell through.”

“Seiji,” Miho exhaled. “This is totally his doing.”

“Entirely possible,” Liana smiled, but quickly her expression fell. “And if that’s the case, his death, could all be a part of the investigation.”

About that idea, Liana did not look at all impressed.

“I’m going to need to speak to your husband again,” Miho growled, and while Liana would defend Ishigami when he was in the right, she had no issue taking him to task when he was wrong.

“We’re staying here overnight,” Liana revealed. “I’ll give you the hotel address.”

 “Spill it,” Miho charged, the moment Liana opened the door of her hotel room.

Stunned, Ishigami blinked at the instant onslaught, but Miho did not even allow him to draw breath.

“He’s not dead, and you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on or…”

“Stop right there, Mrs. Goto,” Ishigami said, emerging from his stupor.

“I will not stop!” she snapped – in his face, teeth bared and savage. “Whatever this is? Terrorists? All of Japan, the world in peril? Because if it’s not, the bullshit you’re putting me, and Seiji’s family through it outrageous and I…”

“You need to calm down,” he tried to reason, but Liana could see the cracks forming in his demeanour.

“Would you? If I told you Liana was dead, tell me you wouldn’t be in my face demanding answers,” Miho pressed, finally stabbing a finger against his chest, and there Ishigami lost his cool.

“That is enough,” he snapped, and even Liana flinched.

Miho’s lips continued to move, but no sound emerged.

After a few tense seconds, Ishigami adjusted his glasses and exhaled a slow sigh.

“Kurai,” Miho prompted, more tempered in tone. “Seiji infiltrated them, didn’t he?”

Walking to the window, Ishigami sighed again.

“Yes,” Ishigami admitted, softly. “And… his death… is essential to not only the success of the operation, but to his survival because…”

Hanging off his every word, Miho leaned forward; Ishigami turned back to the room and pair of expectant gazes, his own serious.

“There is a mole in Public Safety.”

“Who?” Miho blurted.

“If I knew that, all this would not be necessary,” Ishigami grumbled, fiddling with his glasses again. “The only way to protect him and his contact within Kurai, is to convince everyone in Public Safety he is no longer in play.”

“So… who does know he’s alive?” Liana asked.

“Myself, Chief Namba, and now the two of you, against my better judgement,” he answered wearily. “Though I must say, I am immensely relieved to have brought your suffering to an end.”

“I’d still be livid if I didn’t know you genuinely did this to protect Seiji,” Miho nodded slowly. “But am still pissed off you didn’t think me capable of feigning grief.”

“This is a case of substantial import,” Ishigami insisted. “Telling anyone what you have learned could not only destroy our chances of bringing down Kurai, but lead to catastrophic infrastructure damage and death.”

“I got it,” Miho huffed, running her fingers through her hair in a frustrated manner, before reaffixing her gaze on him.

Softer.

Beseeching.

“Have you had contact with him?” she asked, voice so much smaller. “Is he injured?”

“Not… recently, no,” he admitted, motioning for her to sit.

She complied.

“But his last communication was directly to my private number informing me of his status – unharmed – a brief situational report, and his strong suspicion he and his contact had been compromised by a mole in Public Safety.”

It wasn’t until a cup of tea appeared before her, that Miho realised Liana had snuck away. With a small smile, Miho accepted the offering.

“So, what do you do now?” she frowned, before blowing softly against the rim of her mug.

“Well,” Ishigami began again, moving to also sit. “I will have to inform Chief Namba that you’re now aware of the situation. He will probably wish to speak to you himself.”

  Though he was the Chief of Public Safety, when Miho followed Ishigami into Namba’s office, the broad-shouldered looked decidedly uncomfortable.

“So, where do you want it, Jin?” she dropped, flat and cold and staring daggers.

“Excuse me?” Namba blinked, looking from Miho to his subordinate.

“I believe she means to hit you,” Ishigami translated, and Namba’s brows twitched.

“Hit is the polite translation,” Miho snorted, pointing at him sharply. “I get your need for secrecy, but all this is bullshit – I should have been told.”

“Ah,” he nodded, shifting a little before his fingers knitted together before him.

“No doubt Captain Ishigami has now explained the seriousness of the situation?”

At this, it was Ishigami’s turn to squirm a little.

“I think we both know, Mrs. Goto is not one to let something go once she has sunk her teeth into it,” he said, then wished he’d used different phrasing when Miho bared her teeth.

“You knew marrying a skilled undercover agent could result in time apart,” Namba explained. “And that strict rules of confidentiality would prevent you from knowing the details of his missions.”

This was true, but in Miho’s mind, what they had done to her and the rest of Goto’s family was way beyond that.

“You killed me,” she asserted, tone low and dangerous as she leaned forward across his desk. “You carved out my heart, and you set it beside the heart of his mother, and father and brother…”

“For Lieutenant Goto’s safety,” Namba insisted.

“And that’s the only reason I haven’t crawled over this desk and ripped out your throat,” she growled, at which point, Ishigami did the brave thing and put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“That is quite enough,” he told her firmly. “We are all sorry for the pain you have experienced, but as I said earlier, the greater good was, is served by the continuing secrecy of Goto’s mission.”

Surprisingly, Miho didn’t throw his hand off. In fact, she straightened and let out a long breath to balance herself before resettling her gaze on Namba.

“So, I suppose you want to get him home,” he then said, a sparkle lighting up his eyes. “And since you no doubt know most of what’s going on - if I’m right about your interrogation abilities – I have an idea of just how you can help do that.”

“Sir?” Ishigami frowned, but Namba held his hand up.

“If it was to become known in Public Safety circles, that you had received a missive from Lieutenant Goto prior to his death, and that you felt it necessary to take action upon that information…”

“That could draw the mole out to ensure what I fictionally know doesn’t reveal their identity,” Miho finished thoughtfully, already nodded.

Ishigami, meanwhile, was not.

“I am very much against this,” he declared. “Involving Mrs. Goto in this investigation is…”

“A brilliant idea,” Miho interrupted.

“Irresponsible,” Ishigami corrected. “A traitor in our midst willing to put the safety of the public and his or her colleagues at risk, in the firing line of the Kurai, is not someone against whom a civilian should be pitted. I should also think Lieutenant Goto would not want his wife put in undue danger.”

“Lieutenant Goto knows better than to tell me what I can and cannot do,” Miho sniffed, then flashed a nasty grin toward Namba. “Flush that son of a bitch in my direction, Chief.”

“Chief Namba,” Ishigami said, as serious as he may have ever been. “I will go on record with my disagreement; Mrs. Goto should not be any further involved in this!”

For a few seconds following the rise of his voice, the two others looked at him a little surprised.

“You don’t want me in danger, I get it,” Miho told him finally, her expression softening a little. “But Seiji can’t come home until the mole is revealed, and this will work. I doubt Chief Namba has a mind to strip me naked, tie a bow around my neck and shout-out to all potential traitors to come have a poke.”

Both men immediately blushed.

Like, fires of hell heat in their cheeks you could see in pitch black.

“For crying out loud, you’re both grown men,” she huffed. “The point is, I’m not signing up to die, but to be very well guarded bait. Do you have people who are above reproach? Kurosawa, surely,” Miho answered, before they could. “He idolises Seiji. There’s no way he would do anything to put him in danger.”

“Soma and Kaga,” Namba put in, though at the last name, Ishigami’s nose wrinkled.

“I’m not so sure about the last,” he declared.

“Leave him out then… Subaru… call Subaru in. He would never let anything happen to me.”

“He may well have a few things to say in opposition,” Ishigami added.

“Then he can stow it too,” Miho huffed. “Chief Namba, will you set this up?”

With only a few seconds hesitation, Namba nodded his assent, and Miho exhaled.

“I’ll wait for your instructions,” she sighed. “Whatever it is you need me to do, I will, don’t question that for a second.”

“I don’t think anyone would dare,” he noted, and there concluded the meeting.

Dun dun duuuun... the final part!

#voltage #voltage fanfiction #hlitf #her love in the force #her love in the force fanfiction #her love in the force angst #seiji goto #miho #kaga #namba #soma #kurosawa #shinonome #angst #drama

[ignis-scientia-estrogen-brigade]

~ISEB in Japan: A Photo Journal~

If you’ve been following me on Twitter lately, you’ll know that I’ve been traveling through parts of Japan the last couple of weeks with my Ignis Play Arts Kai figure in tow. I posted a few pictures over there during the duration of my trip, but those barely scratched the surface of everything I got to do while in Japan. So I thought I’d put together a blog post of my journey while it was still fresh in my mind, featuring everyone’s favorite strategist in what I’ve been dubbing my Great Final Fantasy XV Adventure of 2019!

[Image-heavy content + commentary under the cut]

A brief backstory: I’ve wanted to go to Japan my entire adult life. For years, I’ve watched friends make the trek while I’ve been stuck at home with a severe case of FOMO. The only thing that ever stopped me from going was money (or a lack thereof), so I made the decision last summer to buckle down and sock away every dime I made to make it happen. My only concern before hopping on the plane was that I had missed the wave of FFXV popularity by about a year, but I would quickly learn that—other than not getting to eat any of Ignis’ recipes at the Square Enix Cafe—I had little to worry about.

Literally the only reason I brought my Play Arts Kai figure was so I could take this picture of Ignis at the Citadel (a.k.a. the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building), which was the very first place I stopped at on my first full day in Tokyo. The building + the surrounding plaza, while not 100% accurate, is a fairly impressive facsimile of the one in the game. It’s located in Shinjuku, which also boasts a lot of similarities to Insomnia. Having finished Episode Ardyn mere hours before jetting off on my trip, it felt like I had stepped off the plane and right into the game!

There just so happened to be an Animate right near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, so I popped in to get a feel for what kind of FFXV merch I’d be able to find two years after the game’s release and a year after its height of popularity. Turns out, there was quite a lot of swag to be found! Truth be told, I’ve never been one to chase down official merchandise (unfortunately my job doesn’t really afford that luxury), but I gave myself special permission while on vacation to buy anything I wanted. So I did! Including everything you see above. ^^;;

The next thing I did was take the train to Ginza to meet Lyle/@landscape-gonna  (@landscape_gonna on Twitter), and I simply cannot say enough nice things about her. If you don’t know who she is, there’s a 99.9% chance you’ve seen at least one of her Ignis costumes, and they are A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. We had chatted a bit previously on Twitter before I went full-on stan mode, asking her if she'd be willing to meet up with me (a total stranger) to have lunch and talk Ignis and Final Fantasy. Not only did she say yes, but she gifted me with copies of her incredible cosplay zines and was not the least embarrassed when I busted out my Play Kai Arts figure in the middle of a busy Japanese dessert restaurant haha.

See? Zero embarrassment here.

We even did Noct’s ultimate pose! In public!

I can’t begin to articulate how special meeting Lyle was for me—being brought together from opposite sides of the world to share in our love for Ignis/FFXV is a memory I will cherish my entire life. So Lyle, if you are reading this: どうもありがとうございます ! ٩( ᐛ )( ᐖ )۶

Lyle wasn't the only friend I had in Japan. Another friend of mine, Asuka (who happens to be well-versed in anime/video game culture), volunteered to be my guide through Ikebukuro/Otome Road the next day. Quick otaku lesson: Kbooks is a chain of stores that specializes in the resale of licensed merchandise. For example, if you missed out on some of the limited availability items from the Movic and the Square Enix Cafe collaborations, you might be able to find them at a Kbooks. Otome Road in particular has something like seven different Kbook shops in a 3-block radius, each one specializing in different products (sports anime, idols, cosplay, etc). I, of course, beelined for the video game shop...

...which is where I found this fucking thing:

I’m not gonna lie, I almost bought it. I just didn’t know what I would do with it besides scare the living daylights out of people when they least expected it lol.

Yoooo Adam I found ya boi in Ikebukuro

We popped into the cosplay Kbooks shop since it was right across the street and I found an Ignis costume for sale! Please enjoy this picture of me pretending to come up with a new recipeh (since this is likely the closest I’ll ever come to cosplaying as Ignis).

One of the things Asuka introduced me to was Hanami (picnic under the cherry blossoms, basically). I had timed my trip to coincide with the blooming of the sakura, and the experience of being in Japan during that time was indescribable. I took a bajillion pictures of the sakura while I was there and unfortunately none of my photos ever quite captured the beauty and magic of them in person, but here’s a lil’ pic of a tree in bloom at Yoyogi Park (with the Movic Ignis charm I bought at Kbooks earlier that day).

Another item on my Japan checklist was to stay at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Hakone, a town famous for its onsen/hot springs. Nothing in Hakone is cheap (at least, not during peak sakura season), and I had spent an absurd amount of money on a night at one particular ryokan with a private bath (shy husband haha). The private bath could only be reserved in 30-minute increments, and by the time we finally rolled into Hakone the bath we wanted only had one slot available for the rest of the night. So what did I do?

If you said, “Waste the first 15 minutes of your 30-minute, super-expensive onsen experience taking the perfect Ignis-in-a-hot-springs photo” then you would be absolutely correct lol.

I actually wasn’t planning on taking a bunch of photos of my Ignis figure on this trip, but after my husband tucked Ignis into my futon while I was in the bathroom, documenting my trip vicariously through Ignis ended up taking on a life of its own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I popped back over to Tokyo after my stay in Hakone, which is when I finally got to make the Great Nerd Pilgrimage™ to the Square Enix Cafe! Had the FFXV collab been going on while I was there, I might’ve forked over the cash to eat at the cafe, but I opted to skip out on lunch so I could spend more money in their shop. They still had a small collection of FFXV merch...

...including this acrylic Ignis stand that I wanted but thought I would never own after failing to find it at Kbooks earlier in the week. Huzzah!

Also, I just feel the need to let everyone know that this is what the outside of the Square Enix Cafe in Tokyo looks like lmao.

Our next stop was Kyoto, which we arrived in on Gladio’s birthday (April 2nd). Unfortunately I didn’t have time to draw anything for his b-day, but we did stop for a Nissin Cup Noodle in honor of Gladio!

One of the most memorable moments of my trip was when this boating incident happened, and it requires a little bit of backstory. On my first full day in Kyoto, I attempted to field two of the most popular tourist destinations in Kyoto: the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, and the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Both places have their beauty and historical significance, and I suspect during the off-season are inspiring sites to behold. In my case, both places were absolutely swarming with tourists, which really put a damper on my enjoyment of them. Defeated, I followed a local canal back toward my hotel, which is where I spotted a miniature boat enthusiast controlling a boat that looked eerily similar to the Royal Vessel. I pulled my Ignis figure out with the intention of simply taking a photo of the boat in the background; when the man saw me holding my figure and fumbling with my phone, he flagged me over and gestured for me to put Ignis in the boat. I wish I had documented how it all went down a little better, but as I was literally wheezing with laughter, the above was the best I could capture.

One of the more off-the-cuff decision I made was to dress in kimono for a day while in Gion (Kyoto). As the cherry blossoms were at their height during my stay there, you couldn’t sneeze without hitting someone who was dressed traditionally for the numerous festivals that were taking place throughout the city. As a white foreigner, I initially had reservations about wearing a kimono (for fear of cultural appropriation), but I did everything I could to be as respectful and reverent whilst wearing the garb (and the rental shop was certainly happy for the patronage). It was an amazing experience and I would definitely do it again!

Speaking of being respectful, I made it a point not to take pictures of Ignis while visiting any shrines (because nothing screams ‘douchey American’ quite like whipping out an action figure on sacred grounds), hence why I don’t have pictures of any of the major shrines we visited in this post. I did, however, spot this miniature shrine arch in an alleyway, and thought it would be okay for my equally miniature strategist to pay his respects.

Literally, a tiny shrine in an alleyway. I suppose even alleys have their deities!

Osaka is about 20 minutes away from Kyoto by train, and since I had already traveled all the way out to Kyoto, I went the extra few miles to stop by the Square Enix Cafe in Osaka. They actually had a smaller selection of FFXV merch than the one in Tokyo and I didn’t end up buying anything, but I would’ve never stopped wondering if I had missed out on something if I hadn’t gone and seen it for myself!

My last day in Kyoto was a week into my trip, and I still had five days left to go. After walking ~10 miles every day (no joke, I have the GPS screenshots to prove it!), I was really starting to feel the grind. I’m sure Ignis was also desperate for an Ebony after being lugged around in the bottom of my purse for a week lol.

Back on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo!

Weeeeeee (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Said hi to Fuji-san!

Stopped for a delicious matcha parfait! (Shout-out to my husband who never once got annoyed with me whenever I busted out my figure in public spaces lol)

This was without a doubt the craziest and most unexpected find of any of my merch runs. I had gone to the video game Kbooks in Ikebukuro earlier in the week and had sifted through all their Ignis merch with a fine-toothed comb. This particular Movic charm was one I had been on the lookout for, but it was a rare pull even when they were readily available a year ago, and the only Ignis charm I came across in my first trip to Kbooks was the normal Ignis one (see my Hanami pic). I had no real reason to return to Ikebukuro after I got back from Kyoto, but on a whim I went one last time and BAM—this guy was hanging out there in his lil’ baggie, just waiting for me to get my grubby little hands on him. Jackpot!

All in all, I spent way too much money and I couldn’t be happier for it. The only thing I couldn’t find for the life of me was the Ignis cologne by Movic, but after searching through several Animates and Kbooks, I began to suspect it might be an online-exclusive item that wasn’t available in stores. (Which was probably a good thing for me cause I was already stretching my budget to the limit by this point haha.)

On my last night in Japan, I went back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building—only this time I went at night when it was all lit up! I also went up to the observation deck on the 45th floor (something I didn’t know you could do the first time I was there) and enjoyed a fantastic view of nighttime Insomnia Tokyo. It was the perfect bookend to a perfect trip, and my heart is absolutely overflowing right now with love for both Japan and Final Fantasy XV!

#final fantasy xv #ignis scientia #ffxv

[lunawings]

King of Prism SSS Episode 6 commentary (Minato)

The final episode of Part 2!

This was originally my favorite of the three episodes we are shown in the theatrical “Part 2″. But it was also the one I was most awake for at the time haha. Nowadays I think Joji’s is probably my favorite of the Part 2 episodes, but this one still has a very, very special place in my heart......... AS BIG AS THE OCEAN.......... 

And right off the bat we’re referencing the hidden curry subplot in Pride the Hero. Well, maybe it was obvious to some people, but I definitely wouldn’t have fully known about this subplot without reading about it. Basically early on in Pride the Hero there is a scene where Hiro casually refuses to eat Minato’s curry. Minato can be seen working on his recipe during the movie, but in the end it’s Kouji’s honey/apple curry recipe which gets Hiro back on his feet. Minato sees this as a failure on his part. 

If there is ever a scene where anyone is crying (there will be a few more examples of this before the end of SSS) take a look at Leo. If anyone else is crying, it’s basically guaranteed that Leo is also crying too. He doesn’t even know why Minato is crying here!!! LeoooooOOO..............

Everyone always cheers for Taiga here! Good job.

Okay, according to the Part 2 pamphlet, from left to right...

Misaki, Nagisa, Gen, Kou, Shiho. 

They all have sort of marine-related names. (cape, shore, broadside of a ship, sailing, saltwater...)

And these two we already met in Young of Prism. 

(Ushio means tide, Tsubasa means wing....)

I really love the voice work on Shiho here. She really sounds so natural. So cute. Favorite Minato sibling.

I know I said Yukinojo’s grandpa was best King of Prism old man, but I’m not sure anymore. Minato’s grandpa is also in the running ahah. I love his intense drama and yet down to typical old man-ness at the same time. HAVE A FISH.

OVER RAIN

Okay this one is forgivable because he says their abbreviated name “O-Ba-Re” which I always struggle to translate. Usually I just spell it all out or put OtR.

It was established in this episode that Minato can taste when something has been made with love. 

This means that Yamada-san’s ramen noodles were clearly MADE WITH LOVE at least.

I think at one point I posted a shitty out of context spoiler about the DARK HISTORY of Edel Rose. Here you go ahah. 

The cheering audience loves Yukinojo’s reaction here. Everyone be like.... nu nu nu nu nu nu..............

This is the only time I know Taiga has been associated with soba except for when they just kind of decided to make it his food item on Prism Rush........ (because I guess pudding a la mode wasn’t a thing back then..............) 

Minato’s reaction is notably a bit more low key than the other boys during Kakeru’s turn.

Kakeru’s catering WASNT MADE WITH LOVE 

Every time I see this I think to myself that I have got to figure out where this is and go there. But I haven’t yet. 

Shizuoka isn’t that far from me and I go there every few months or so for Love Live stuff or to visit Shizuoka Prism Stone, etc. A few days before Part 2 premiered I was actually in Shizuoka and actually spent a good amount of time thinking of things I might see from Shizuoka in Minato’s episode. I was at a tourist attraction (Izu-Mito Sea Paradise) where I went to the snack bar and noticed they had Mishima croquettes. It was the first time I had heard of them. But I decided on something else instead. 

So every time I see this, I think......... should have got the croquette....... 

(and now I must live with the regret.............. forever......................) 

I talk a lot about how this or that is art in SSS. 

But Minato meeting Kouji REALLY IS ART 

In the stream someone called this a “prismgasm” and now I can’t get that out of my head thanks.................................

I love how Minato is not the first, but SECOND Edel Rose boy just entered into Edel Rose against his will by a family member ahaah. (After Taiga by his sister.) 

Okay so, let’s pause for a minute. 

As you can see here this is a senior high school application. So this means Minato was never in the junior high division of Kakyouin Academy and went straight to senior high. 

If we rewind back to Kakeru’s episode, you’ll remember that there was a flashback where Yukinojo met Kakeru back in the heyday of Edel Rose, and they were both wearing junior high uniforms. So this means that a.) The first member of the seven to enter Edel Rose was probably Yukinojo and b.) Kakeru and Yukinojo are the two who have known each other the longest. 

I don’t think you can make an exact timeline of who joined when, but it’s possible to piece together a rough estimate of the order everyone joined by the end of SSS.

So this actually destroys my headcanon that the reason Minato calls Kakeru “Kazuo” is because they have known each other the longest and he knew him before he was Kakeru. So now I don’t know what to think about that anymore ahah. 

Anyway Minato why are you taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo. It’s only like 3 hours from Shizuoka!!! That is insanely close (...... from my perspective...............) what a waste of money haha. 

Favorite Minato face of all time by far. 

Oh gosh this scene. This scene. Where do I even begin. I love, LOVED seeing this side of Minato. He’s always everyone’s rock (excuse me harbor) so it’s really mindblowing to actually see him all nervous and flustered and just oh gosh it made me love him so much more. 

And not to mention Kouji just dragging a boy he’s known for three seconds to eat a children’s lunch......

Everyone goes nuts for this at cheering and agrees they still want to eat this kind of lunch as an adult. I guess I don’t quite understand because I was never a child in Japan haha. But this was the only moment at the mostly quiet 8am showing (when I saw it for the first time) where I could hear people laughing/freaking out.

I have mentioned this already but I just have to say I really love this line. This moment. This whole concept. Minato can taste love. 

I didn’t think it was noticeable from Young of Prism, but when we actually met all of Minato’s siblings and saw that Tsubasa is basically the only one who doesn’t have a marine color scheme or a directly marine-related name.... Even before this scene in the back of my head I was like..... hm...... 

The least they could have done was given her a marine-themed name geez

I had to go back and slightly change some wording in my Young of Prism translation because of this reveal.

I WAS REALLY EXCITED WHEN I SAW THIS, AND THEN ACTUALLY DISAPPOINTED WHEN KOUJI CAME

I WANTED TO SEE SHIN’S COOKING

SHIN BABY WHAT WERE YOU GONNA COOK

Also his face

It’s not “a” new dorm, he’s probably talking about the new dorm that the new boys still live in (but our seven moved back here by choice in episode 1 remember........)

This is another scene where I’m kinda wondering if this plot thread seems sudden or out of place to people who don’t know the side materials. 

Minato’s confidence issues have come up on Prism Rush several times before, and I was actually waiting the entire episode for it to come up here. 

This episode in particular really requires a lot of extracurricular homework doesn’t it....

I believe this is mistranslated. He used ~すら which I think should be “All I could do is watch......” JLPT N1 textbook grammar Minato why......

The least they could do would be to leave a note that says “Minato” means “harbor” but that’s TOO MUCH TIME I GUESS GOTTA GET THOSE EPISODES OUT IN AN HOUR CHOP CHOP

I really like this speech. It’s shockingly down to earth and refreshing. Especially compared to Kakeru and Yukinojo’s episodes. 

Like the other members of the old dudes club, Minato’s family has a tradition too. But Minato is not particularly expected to carry on that tradition since his family realizes it’s no longer viable 

Instead they encourage Minato to enjoy his youth, find himself, and if he doesn’t become a star that’s OK.... of course he can come home anytime. 

Nrrrgggghhaaaaaa such good supportive parents ahhhhhhh

Been waiting a couple months to read this. In the theater all I can ever catch is Shin’s message. (But still the point comes across.) 

“Well that was fast” - the cheering audience (about the sunrise, ruining this beautiful scene lol)

THIS.... SHOW.........

So, a while back I casually mentioned that Kakeru and Taiga’s prism shows were in my top three. Nobody ever asked what the third one was. But. It was this one. I LOVE this show.

From the very moment Minato looks up at the camera here I just get goosebumps from head to toe, and it just stays throughout the entire show. No other prism show has ever made me feel quite this way. 

So towards the end of the Prism Rush Main Story, there is a chapter where the boys are talking about what they want to accomplish in the Prism King Cup. (This is before they know who will be in it.) Minato has a line where he talks about wanting to perform a show like warm soup or something, and as soon as I saw this show I just immediately remembered that line and thought THATS IT. 

THAT’S IT

ITS SOUP 

Even though there are so many cool colors, somehow, it just makes me feel so.... warm. 

Although it didn’t stay for as aggressively long as Joji’s did, this was the first song from Part 2 which got stuck in my head and it’s just... it’s so nice........

Also, even though I have complained about Minato always getting stuck in chef uniforms for his performance outfits I do kinda like this one. It’s the floating jellyfish scarf thing at the back that makes it I think. (I have no idea how else to describe that.) 

I hope he gets a sailor suit next time though eheh. (I like how Minato has a marine theme now too, not just food. Well, he probably always did but it’s more prominent now.)

So Minato technically lost to Joji, but the individual match-ups mean nothing in the long run. (Except for you know..... the last one...... when it’s down to the wire and each side has put up their strongest member...............if you remember who that match-up is--)

It may not be obvious at first, but Minato’s prism show was pretty low leveled compared to the other boys. 

(He did start doing prism shows later than most of them after all... Um Shin being a special case.) 

He only did two jumps and they weren’t even connected. So that being considered, this score is pretty amazing for him. It makes me think the Shuffle members must only be doing like one jump per show to be scoring in the 7000s geez. 

And thus the curry plot goes full circle. Minato, good for you. 

Thus ends what I know as the Part 2 episodes, and also the halfway mark of the series. (There are 12 episodes in all.) Ready or not, on to Part 3.

I really like and have been looking forward to the Part 3 episodes. I think they are a little better than Part 2, but maybe not quite as good as Part 1. I also think Part 3 is possibly the most heart-wrenching collection.... Leo’s episode in particular, which is coming up next week, I have a very strong and personal reaction to. That combined with feeling the need to point out all the PriPara references may mean my post for next week may take some extra time and be frighteningly long ahah..... ha....... 

#king of prism sss #king of prism #king of prism shiny seven stars #shiny seven stars #minato takahashi

[asterinjapan]

Back in time

Good evening, this time from the train from Osaka to Okayama! It's a little past 8:30 pm now, and since I'll have to get up early tomorrow for my trip to Tokyo, I'll be typing most of today's report on my phone. Just a heads up in case you spot any weird typoes, haha.

Anyway! Today was indeed a busy day, although very much fun in a lot of senses. You see, today I was meeting up with a friend to go to Universal Studios Japan, and then to a concert by KOKIA, my absolute favourite artist. So that's 3 great things in one sentence already, haha.

I'll be splitting the report so that one half just concerns the concert, because I tend to do very detailed reports on those. Seeing KOKIA live is such a treat, I don't want to forget a single detail! So below follows the report on the rest of the day.

I had to get up early to catch my train, so of course I woke up wayyyy to early at 4 am, pff. I went right back to sleep and woke up a little before my 6 am alarm, which was still too early, because breakfast starts at 6:30, haha. Oh well, plenty of time to get dressed in peace!

After breakfast, I made my way to the station to catch the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka station. The train goes past Himeji, though sadly I wasn't in a good position to take a picture of the castle. I did however notice that you can see Okayama castle from the train as well, be it from quite the distance. The views weren't really superb today, which was to be expected, since there was rain forecasted for pretty much the entire country. Oh well, not much I can do about that but take an umbrella, haha.

The trip was smooth and I met up with my friend at the station. We were going to Osaka station from here, a mere 5 minute ride, but it was quite tricky to even make it through the shinkansen gates. It was really busy for some reason, though they had just announced a train further south had stopped running due to heavy rains. Uh oh... but so far so good in Osaka, no rain yet and we eventually made it to Osaka station and from there, 2 quick trains bound for Universal Studios Japan!

We first caught up a little over drinks, with matcha latte for me of course, before we made it to the park entrance and got tickets. Since it was a Saturday I suspected it would be busy and we'd need to draw a number for the Harry Potter part of the park, but apparently the weather forecast worked in our favour, because there were no numbers needed to enter today. Yaaay! I went to Universal 4 years ago as well and mostly spent my day in the Harry Potter part, haha, so I wasn't complaining about starting here. Actually, this part of the park only has two rides proper and they're both a bit wild for us, but just looking around here is an attraction in itself. I got all nostalgic over the music and the scenes, and after shop browsing for a while and having our picture taken in front of the Hogwarts Express, we went into the wand shop to experience some magic happening as a random audience member was picked to be chosen by a wand. Sadly this wasn't me, haha, although I have a great wand at home I bought here last time. It was a fun little show (this time Ollivander spoke both very good English and Japanese, haha), after which we ended up in the wand shop, but we passed through it in favour of the castle.

You can go into Hogwarts castle for a pretty intense adventure (I did it back in 2015, my stomach wasn't very happy), or you can choose to take a stroll inside and look up on awe at all the amazing detail they put on here, haha. We opted for the latter, and I definitely made use of the invitation to take pictures by going wild with my current camera. Much better quality! Ah, I love this camera so. The castle has a ton of talking and moving paintings as well as some projections and a ton of replicas from the movies. Aside maybe from the last bit, where we first had to wait for a while for unknown reasons and then were rushed through, it was really great.

Once outside, we spotted some performers coming out dressed like the students from the wizarding schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang from the fourth book/movie, so we stayed to watch. I think i read somewhere that this was a limited time show, and they were really good, very athletic. (I'm personally not a big fan of the movie approach of "the French students are only girls who dance pretty dainty ballet and the vaguely Russian students are only manly guys who grunt and stomp with sticks", but hey, that says nothing about the performers here! And the costumes were lovely. )

After some more shop browsing, we were in for a surprise once we were outside: the sun was shining bright! Absolutely not according to the forecasts, absolutely not complaining, haha. I took some very pretty pictures of the castle if I do say so myself, and then we went for lunch here. The salad served at the Three Broomsticks was pretty big, plenty enough to share. After this and of course some butterbeer (non-alcoholic), we left the wizarding world behind us and moved into the rest of the park.

This mostly ended in sightseeing, since the rows were too long to consider queuing up with the concert time getting closer, but that was a lot of fun too. They put in so much detail, and since it is almost Halloween, a lot of people had come dressed up.They do in the Disney parks too, but Disney has pretty strict rules about which characters you're allowed to dress up as, while here it seems to be "anything goes". I saw a guy dressed up as a piece of corn, quite some elaborate costume dress ups, a surprising amount of guys in Sailor Moon outfits, a lot of fancy gothic dress up, and a surprising number of uh, nuns. Alright! And of course, there was the usual mix with outfits from the Harry Potter part and uh, Minions. They have their own spot here.

We also went into the Jurassic park area, which was closed for maintenance last time, although sadly we didn't see a lot of dinosaurs roaming around. There was a scarily realistic Velociraptor animatronic inside the gift shop though! (I think it might have been Blue? Look, I only saw Jurassic World once.) But well, I still love dinosaurs, so this was still cool, haha.

Once we were getting closer to the time of the concert, we went back to the station to catch the train to Osaka station. Luckily the concert venue was very close and actually within the same building in which they have the big Broadway musicals here, currently the little mermaid. It was the lion king last time I went here and got lost at Osaka station, haha. (That station is like 5 different stations all connected, so it's a bit of a maze.) We got seated, got ourselves a drink (it's kinda like a jazz bar here, so you sit at a table and you can order food and drinks), made a quick trip to the merchandise shop, and then sat back to enjoy the performance.

I'll save those details for my next post, haha, but rest assured I had a great time. KOKIA had two performances tonight, so it was a little shorter than a big hall concert, but she did make time for an autograph session! Naturally we queued up with our newly purchased albums, haha.

Ah, such a good time! It was around dinner time now, so my friend introduced me to akashiyaki, which is "sort of takoyaki, except not", haha. Akashi is a city in the nearby Hyogo prefecture, and these are dumplings made of egg rich batter and octopus you need to dump into thin fish broth before eating (thank you, wikipedia). Although takoyaki, also balls with octopus, is more popular and better known, akashiyaki apparently came first. It was really yummy! We shared akashiyaki and then had a takoyaki gratin, which sounded kinda odd, but ended up being delicious as well. We eventually had some desserts at a nearby tea shop that sold SO MANY matcha things, I nearly had a crisis deciding until I opted for the matcha roll cake, incidentally the best roll cake I've ever had.

It was time to part ways with the promise of reunion, and I made it to Shin-Osaka alone. Familiar territory after last year, haha. I caught a shinkansen for Okayama and I have just arrived in my hotel safe and sound, very tired but very pleased.

Tomorrow will be tiring without a doubt, as I'll be in a train for 4.5 hours straight (I did this to myself, I know). But then I'll be in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, my home away from home at this point, haha. I guess I'll ditch my things at the hotel and then rush to Shibuya for my favourite little shrine there, because I must owe some deity something for how lucky I've been so far. Did I mention it was dry the whole time we were outside? Yeah.

I love Tokyo, so I'm very excited about going back there, but it also means saying goodbye to Okayama and entering my last week already. Time really flies, huh...

Well, stay tuned for pictures and the concert review while I go pack my suitcase (the title will make sense after that review, haha, although Harry Potter and dinosaurs are both things I grew up with) and then see you tomorrow from Tokyo!

#report #japan 2019 #report: japan 2019 #places: universal studios

[putschki1969]

Japan ~ Summer 2018 #3 🎌✈️

Quick introduction: Hello my lovlies!! As most of you might already know, I went to Japan this summer. It was a rather spontaneous decision based on the fact that both Hikaru and Wakana had announced their solo lives. At that point I was suffering from a serious case of Kalafina withdrawal so I felt like I had no choice but to go. I just needed to see them. Also, it was my 30th birthday so I thought I would treat myself. You only turn 30 once, right? On a side note, the timing finally gave me the opportunity to do something I had wanted to do for a few years now. Climb Mount Fuji. o(〃＾▽＾〃)o So yeah, that’s the backstory of my trip. I stayed in Japan from July 30 till August 14 and pretty much my entire trip was dedicated to Kalafina Pilgrimage. Let me tell you this, it was by far the best summer vacation of my life, worth each and every penny! And believe me, there were a LOT of pennies involved XD

Notes: This report will be a bit different since I thought it would be nice to include some travel tips here and there. I guess you could see this as some sort of travel/Kala-guide. Many of my followers have never been to Japan so some general info would be useful to make things easier for you if you ever decide to travel to Japan.

Please note that this is Part 3 of my report. It is dedicated to my time in Fukuoka and Okayama. Part 1 can be found HERE! Part 2 is HERE!

Without further ado, let’s get to it 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Aug 6 (Mon) ~ Flying off to Fukuoka

My flight was scheduled for around 9 am so I checked out of my hotel pretty early. I had packed all of my stuff the previous evening so I wouldn’t have to worry about that in the morning. I had never been to Kyushu before so I was really looking forward to that trip. While I don’t hate Tokyo, everything is just a little too hectic for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like big cities and I much prefer them to the countryside but Tokyo is just a tad TOO big for me. It’s cities like Osaka where I feel most at home and I expected Fukuoka to have a similar vibe (and it did!). Out of convenience I once again took the Narita Express to the airport and then I waited till I was able to check in. This time I travelled with Peach which is a pretty cheap airline but even though tickets are cheap, their service is totally fine (it’s a lot of self-service though so be prepared for that). Didn’t have any issues with them. Plus, the plane is pink so of course I was immediately smitten XD Previously I have travelled with Jetstar and their service was also a-okay. I think the flight took less than two hours but I can’t remember right now. I had a window seat so I got a lovely view of Mount Fuji. I couldn’t believe that just a few days ago I had actually climbed that thing. It looked so tiny XD Btw, I was super lucky because on that day I found out that yet another typhoon was heading to Tokyo.

Once I had arrived at Fukuoka airport I waited for my luggage and then I took the subway to Hakata Station. It’s only two stations away so that’s VERY convenient. Generally speaking, there is really no other airport that’s more conveniently located than Fukuoka airport. You get to the city center in less than five minutes, in comparison it will take you around an hour to get to Tokyo from Narita or to Osaka from Kansai airport. Haneda or New Chitose are quite close to their respective city centers but it still takes around half an hour to get there. Either way, within a couple of minutes I was at Hakata Station which actually reminded me a lot of Shin-Osaka Station. I immediately went to the Midori no Madoguchi Ticket Office to reserve a ticket for the Hello Kitty Shinkansen which I was planning to take the next day. I was scared that it would be booked out since the shinkansen is always packed during commuter hours but luckily I got myself a seat, BANZAI. Then it was time to drop off my luggage at my hotel. I booked a nice hotel right outside of Hakata Station (still managed to get lost on my way there though :P). It’s called JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom, I really recommend it. Convenient location, fancy looking but not too extraordinary. The prices are okay, not exactly cheap but also not super expensive.

Then it was finally time to get to Tenjin to do some Wakana 10th Anniversary Film sightseeing. I had no trouble getting there since Tenjin is pretty close to Hakata Station (you can take the subway or a bus, I guess you could even walk if you wanted but meh, it was way too hot for that). My first stop was 656 Muttsugoro Manjyu Tenjin ( 中央区天神2丁目5-35 Fukuoka, 福岡県 〒810-0001). It’s a little hidden but with the address and google maps you should be able to find it. 

And you should definitely make the effort to find it because that ham&egg thingy is freaking delicious. THANK YOU SO MUCH for that awesome recommendation, Wakana! I feel so bad for Hikaru because I didn’t really like her Nanakosi but THIS HERE, it was absolutely heavenly. I regret that I only bought one. Could have eaten ten of them I think. There are some onions in there too and a light sauce so it’s actually a very refreshing little snack. Soon after I headed to Kego Park (it’s where Wakana walked around in the movie - nothing special really but it was still nice to check out the area). I wish I had seen it with all the Christmas decorations but oh well, maybe next time I travel to Fukuoka. Then it was time to go to the Karaoke place that Wakana had worked at in the past. All of these places are within five-minute walking distance so it’s super convenient. You can do it all in one go. I had never really done a solo karaoke session so I thought that was the perfect opportunity for it. And honestly, it was SO MUCH fun. I am not a big singer and I am not a group person so being by myself felt really nice. I sang pretty much all of my favourite Kalafina ballads XD I stayed there for quite some time actually. Karaoke is really cheap if you don’t go in the evening.

In the evening I did some window shopping in the Tenjin area and then I went to WEST Udon to have some dinner. Wakana always recommends their udon so I just had to check it out, there are restaurants all over the place so it’s not hard to find one. I went to one in Tenjin since I was already there. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture. At this point I think I was already super tired so my brain had stopped working. Ughh, that’s why I really hated the heat, I didn’t really do much that day but still, the heat took a huge toll on me, I constantly felt exhausted and couldn’t do as much as I would have wanted to do. Anyways, I got myself some curry udon because that’s my absolute favourite. I am not a fan of clear soups so I didn’t get any of the dishes that Wakana usually orders. Afterwards I headed back to my hotel to get some much needed rest before my upcoming shinkansen trip.

❗ Some tips ❗ 

As a holder of the JR Pass decide whether you want to fly or take the shinkansen. Domestic flights can sometimes be cheaper than a shinkansen ride but if you already purchased a JR Pass, you will save money by taking the train. Of course you have to take into account that the shinkansen will take a bit longer than the plane so I only recommend this if you have some time to spare.

I feel like you can make most of your JR Pass if you travel via Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Odawara (Mount Fuji area - stay there a couple of days), then to Nagoya and finally you will reach the Kansai area where you can take a long break to check out Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Himeji, etc (I recommend staying somewhere near Shin-Osaka because it’s super easy to reach all of the popular Kansai destinations from there). Once you are done you can take the Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama, Hiroshima etc and last but not least you will reach Hakata in Fukuoka from where you can explore the Kyushu area. If you are more interested in the northern parts of Japan, you can take the Tohoku/Hokkaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hakodate and from there you can go pretty much anywhere in Hokkaido. So yeah, as you can see, you can have lots of fun with your JR Pass (and believe me, you will save a TON of money).

Midori no Madoguchi Ticket Offices are your best friend if you are planning to do a lot of long-distance travelling. Many trains and buses require you to book a seat in advance and it’s much easier to just let a staff member do the work for you instead of trying to deal with one of the ticket vending machines. Plus, many reserved seats for long-distance trips can ONLY be purchased at the office. In case you have a JR Pass you just have to show it to the person working at the booking office, you won’t have to pay anything as long as the train/bus is operated by JR.

I mentioned it in my last post, always reserve your shinkansen seat in advance. This is particularly important if you are traveling during commuter hours (and if you are taking one of the faster trains). 

Aug 7 (Tue) ~ Hello Kitty Shinkansen/Okayama

Time for my Hello Kitty Shinkansen ride!! This special shinkansen started operating at the end of June and it was meant to have a limited runtime. It turned out to be really popular so it’s still running but back then I thought I wouldn’t get another chance so I was hell-bent to get on that train. Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time. This new adorable train provides a Kodama service on the Sanyo Shinkansen line, which connects the western cities of Osaka and Fukuoka. It’s all included in the JR Pass. The train runs twice a day (back and forth between Hakata and Shin-Osaka Station) but keep in mind, the Hello Kitty shinkansen isn’t in service every day. Anyways, I boarded my train at 6:40 in the morning. Kodama is the slowest among the different trains so it took quite some time to get to Okayama but hey, I had lots of fun in the train and I got a lovely view of many beautiful places in Japan.

During the whole ride I was checking out all the cool Hello Kitty stuff. There’s an entire car dedicated to cute displays, you can also buy lots of merch there (which of course I did because I can never resist XD). Another car has special interior but otherwise it’s just meant for sitting. It’s non-reserved seating so you can sit wherever you want as long as there is room. When I boarded the train this car was only half-way full but by the time I had reached Okayama, the entire train was packed. As you can probably tell from the amount of pictures I took, I had a blast! I love everything pink and cute, I was literally in Hello Kitty heaven. (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) So glad I made that trip even though it was quite time consuming. But oh well, I had wanted to go to Okayama anyways so that was a perfect opportunity.

Now you might wonder what’s so special about Okayama. Okayama's most famous attraction is Korakuen Garden, which is ranked as one of the three best landscape gardens in Japan. Okayama Castle is located just across from the garden so that’s very convenient. And of course I don’t go anywhere without a hidden Kalafina agenda XD Okayama is the birthplace of Keiko’s mother and she has mentioned on a couple of occasions that it means a lot to her. Back in 2016 she went there for the first time (for their “Kalafina with Strings” Christmas Premium LIVE TOUR 2016). She was deeply moved to finally be able to visit. One of the places she visited was Korakuen Garden so obviously I had to go there as well. I took a cute little cat-bus to the garden. I really love Japanese buses! They often have a special design. This bus goes all the way to Yumeji Art Museum. A black cat, named Kuronosuke, serves as mascot of the museum so the bus was designed to honour that cat. An actual cat actually shows up in the bus and the museum once in a while, it even has its own office at the museum! Either way, I was literally the only person on that bus so I had lots of fun XD Once I had arrived at the garden it was my main goal to find the very same bridge from that LINE blog picture. And BANZAI! I found it! Look at me standing on the same bridge as Keiko!! *weeeee*  It was so hard to find someone to take a picture for me because there were hardly any people. Plus, I hate approaching people. Oh well, the things I do for Kalafina (and for Keiko in particular :P)

The garden was truly gorgeous but boy, I think that was one of the hottest days ever so I was literally dying. Thankfully the garden was MUCH smaller than I expected so I was finished rather quickly. There isn’t much else to do in Okayama so after buying some souvenirs and strolling around for a while I decided it was time to head back to Hakata. I took the faster train back home. Thank God for shinkansen air conditioning! It was so nice to finally cool down a bit. Although tbh, the air conditioning is pretty strong on those trains so I was actually freezing my ass off. It’s a miracle I didn’t get sick from all those dramatic temperature changes. Once I had gotten back to Hakata it was almost time for dinner. This time I decided to go to Yoshida because Kalafina have ALWAYS eaten there, it’s pretty famous actually. They are known for two dishes. Their live-squid and their sea bream ochazuke. Needless to say, I went with the second option. This special dish features rice topped with sea bream sashimi marinated in a secret heirloom sauce. Hot tea is poured over the top of the fish and rice to complete the dish

I’ll be honest, I don’t like raw fish so this wasn’t my favourite dish in the whole wide world. But it was okay. I definitely recommend it to everyone who likes sashimi. Or you could always try the live-squid :P

❗ Some tips ❗ 

Here you can find all the info you need if you wanna take the Hello Kitty Shinkansen. It’s a great experience so you should definitely do it if you are travelling somewhere between Hakata and Shin-Osaka.

It’s best to reserve a table at Yoshida because they are always packed.

Next up we have my final two days in Fukuoka, please look forward to it.

#kalafina #personal #travel report #travel diary #fukuoka #Japanese food #japan #okayama #hello kitty #hello kitty shinkansen #korakuen #Wakana #keiko

[sambart93]

2018.09.30 KAT-TUN CAST in Miyagi, Sendai [Report]

No change in the song list (posted here). I’ll go through things that happened in song order (hopefully)...

We had such great seats for the con! We had ‘stands’ and the second row of the ‘back area’ but it basically meant we were first row for the Encore trolley that the boys are on, so we’d be super spotable when they came around! Also, we didn’t realise until the con started, but when KT get on the big lifts that take them around the arena, they ended up on the same level as, and about 10 feet away from us! They were so damn close to us for such a long majority of the show!! It was amazing!!

ALSO with the size and the way Sendai’s arena is set up, there’s no seating at the ‘back’ of the stage so they had turn around and face us rather than out into the stands like they do at Tokyo Dome. Also we could see a lot more of the staff working. We could easily see staff running around and moving cameras and moving the various stands and apparatus the boys stand on during the con; and the sound system and sound director was in plain sight. I love being able to see these things so I spent a lot of time watching them in Sendai xD

OH! AND! Nakamaru talked (the night before at the con) about how much he loves Zunda, and so for Saturday, Sunday and Monday all the Zunda stalls in Sendai station were sold out before the end of the day?! Damn influence! We saw so many fans lining up for it! And I LOVE ZUNDA but because of how things played out (stupid typhoon), I didn't get to buy it *cries* next time I shall! But I am so happy Maru loves Zunda just as much as me haha

UPDATE: The friend I went with is a freaking angel and managed to get the Gin/GenTape from the concert for me!! I am so freaking happy!!

Now let's get into the report.

01. New Genesis: So me and my friend knew this time where they’d start so me and my friend were keeping an eye on the chandeliers (I'm calling them that okay?!) to see when they would get on them, and we saw them getting into place and everything which was so fun and interesting to see. I absolutely love the Juniors outfits and theme during this too!

10. Don’t wait and Sweet Birthday: Ueda was right in front of us for ages and he undid his shirt as he was going past and right in front of us so obviously, everyone in the entire back left side of the arena went completely crazy. My friend was barely alive after it. It’s so ridiculous how well defined his abs are and how even on the other side of the arena, you can see clearly see and distinction on his chest xD

MC

Kame and Maru ended up surprising Ueda for his birthday. Kame came out with a cake from the bottom right of the stage while Maru was playing ‘Zunda zunda’ on repeat on his DJ deck xD but when Kame came out everyone freaked out so he put his finger to his mouth, but it took the camera men a long time to get that shot of him so it took a while for fans to figure out what was going on xD And then Nakamaru started talking non-sense while Kame was trying to hurry and put the lights on the candle. And the Kame signaled us to stand up, but we all took it as a ‘please sing’ so we started singing Happy Birthday, and then he started freaking out (again) and waving his hands about for us to stop. Finally Nakamaru queued Ueda to come back on stage, and he walked on, saw the cake and his face was a picture. It was absolutely hilarious; it was half 'deer in the headlights’ and half angry confusion. Then we all started singing and he grew into an embarrassed face. Eventually the song finished, he blew out the candles and his face lit up. He was like 'I had no idea this was being planned. I did hear someone in my ear piece say something like 'please say happy birthday’ but I thought it was to the staff!’ and then Kame started saying 'it’s all Nakamaru’s fault this was a mess!’, and Maru replied 'sorry I got too caught up in my DJ-ing of 'Zun-Zunda-Zun-zun-zunda!’ that I forgot to tell everyone to be quiet and I forgot Kame was going to come out’ xD Then Maru did a remix with the boys and in ended up being a call and response of:

Maru: UEDA! Fans: UEDA!!!! Maru: Omedetou! Fans: Omedetou!!! For ages and Ueda was loving it, he was like 'Louder! LOUDER! LOOUDDDERRR!!!' xD He absolutely loved it once his embarrassment faded off (which was rather quickly) haha

Kame also told Ueda to try the cake, so Ueda just stuck his finger into it and then licked the icing off his finger. Of course this made the fans go CRAZY, and Maru was like 'THAT'S how you try it?!'. Then Kame spotted green grapes in the cake but was like 'HEY MARU!!! THERE'S ZUNDA ON HERE!!! It looks like Zunda!' poor Maru xD

14. UNIVERSE (宇宙Six): The audience was a bit more fair to these guys at Sendai. At Yokohama everyone except the Junior fans sat down for their song and turned their penlights off and such. But at Sendai, more people stayed standing and had their penlights on. Me and my friend really liked their song in Yokohama so we also stayed standing and danced along to their performance at Sendai. Their song is REALLY good! I hope it’s on the DVD and/or somewhere else so other people can enjoy it!

19. ツイテオイデ: Nakamaru was on the far right of the stadium and all the fans were fanning him with their uchiwas - it was ridiculously hot in the stadium! Even Ueda was sweating like mad and Ueda NEVER sweats!!

22. DON’T U EVER STOP: Ueda was right in front of us again for this!! And I was half trying to sing but also half try to make a face that wouldn’t look weird in front of him xD I’m not the best looking person so I have to at least TRY and look decent xD

23  KISS KISS KISS - I already mentioned just how hot it was in the stadium that whenever they had a free chance, they were getting water bottles from the staff below. And just before this song started, Kame grabbed a bottle from the staff and he took a big drink and then instead of handing it back, he just put the entire bottle in an inside pocket and kept it with him.

28. Peacefuldays: Kame spotted us during the encore of Peaceful Days and he gave me and my friend proper looks and stares before giving us fanservice which was like a wink pose thing which we all loved!!! It was great!! We totally freaked out in front of him xD

*

Before and after the concert people, including myself, were freaking out because a big typhoon was coming and the JR railway had decided to stop all it’s trains for 8pm.... Well the concert wouldn’t finish until about 7:30 and people wouldn’t be able to get back to Tokyo until at least 10pm. So because many trains were being cancelled, I was rushing to find a hotel to stay in so I could just take a train tomorrow, people were leaving the concert early in order to make it for their train home before it got stopped, it was chaos. Also Kame was supposed to be doing GOING! that night at midnight so fans were like ‘he won’t make it to the shinkansen in time right? Will he just not do it tonight? How will he get home?!’ but he made it for the show, somehow, and we figured Ueda and Maru stayed in Sendai because they ended up filming Tame Tabi there on the Tuesday after the cons. So because of this, during the End Greetings the three of them were like ‘thank you so much for making it and coming here today even though we have this terrible typhoon coming. Please get home safe!’ and we were all like ‘YOU TOO!’. It was mental.

*

And that’s all! This one was a lot shorter because I already flailed about my favourite parts in the first report.

#kat-tun #kamenashi kazuya #ueda tatsuya #nakamaru yuichi #report #live report #concert #concert report

[wherespacepooh]

Hanyu’s Celebratory Parade ~ I will be the King Plunderer of Gazes! (2) | Sponichi 18.04.27  Photographer column

Part 2 to Nagakubo’s hilarious recounting of how exactly he managed to pull off the heist of arguably the best shot out of the entire parade. This one has a distinctly spy-movie bent to it, and more Tanaka-san and Noto-san :3 – gladi

Tanaka-san on the right, Nagakubo-san on the left (@Sendai Broadcast)

Noto-san the red vest to the left ✨(@ Miyagi Tele)

Translated by gladi. Feel free to repost with credit. Photography and original text by Yutaka Nagakubo, belongs to Sponichi. Source here: 

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2018/04/27/kiji/20180426s00079000159000c.html

[Yutaka Nagakubo –– May I take a picture? Series]

On the fourth floor of the building that faces Higashi Nibancho Dori, [the road] where the parade would take place, was our secret base. Late into the night prior, the elites of the Sponichi Photography Department had gathered here and decided on where they would station themselves respectively. The procession advancing amidst a hundred thousand and more spectators –– here’s the best spot for properly capturing that.

“Chief! Please shoot from this spot.” A shiver ran down my spine. I –– who had never been addressed by my title in my day-to-day. What could be behind these words that reek of sontaku (t/n 2017 buzzword describing the social strategy of ingratiating themselves to their superiors by preempting their superiors’ whims)? Was that an attempt to gauge one’s magnanimity, or was he aiming after me? “No, Editor, you discovered this location. You take it!”

“Chief should take it” “Editor, you should” …This dark, insidious talk unfolding surreptitiously against the new greens of the City of Trees came to a halt when photographer Yoshimoto Kogaito volunteered himself, “In that case, I shall” –– Dacho-Club style. ** “Please, go ahead!”

** (Dacho-Club is a comedic trio, whose signature Douzo! Douzo! (tr. "Please, go ahead!") gag opens with member A refusing to do something. B and C volunteer themselves and fight over who gets to do it. A finally decides he wants a piece of it too and raises his hand, at which B and C go “Douzo! Douzo!” (Please, go ahead!) and the act ends.)

Morning came, not a wink of sleep to be had. I was responsible for [shooting] scenes during the parade set-off and the ceremony prior to its start. At the press reception, there were already a couple stepladders placed in line. The first one was at 4:00 a.m. And then there were familiar faces in twos and threes. Just past noon, a photographer in the red official vest who would board the parade car appeared as well, speaking in hushed tones with a man in gingham. When I strained my ears, I could hear frequent mentions of “Mizuho” and “in front of the bank.” Certainly, a bank assault was most unlikely but, without a doubt, a nefarious plot [was brewing]. I wanted in, too! Anyhow, immediately after the start, there would be something happening in front of Mizuho Bank –– my intuition was telling me so.

The ceremony ended, and the man in gingham sprang into motion. I hurried after him to keep watch. Toward Mizuho Bank, where something was going to happen. Upon arrival at the reporters’ space, I encamped to the man’s right side without hesitation. The parade had started, and the procession was drawing near. At that point, from within my viewfinder, an incredible spectacle unfolded. While the man in the red vest on the parade car was mouthing “Gingham, gingham, Tanaka-san,” that Hanyu-san directed his eyes straight [at me] and was pointing this way.

Th-this. Wasn't this Hanyu-san’s finger gun that renders [anyone] into a vacuum state [of mind] within a 5-meter radius?! I had seen fans who were shot were left with their lips quivering at last year’s ice shows many times. Dangerous. And then, the next moment –– while shouting “[He’s] there! [He’s] there!” the best ever "Yuzuru Smile” appeared on his face as he waved his arms with all his might.  

I…  are we that close? Perchance he maybe remembers, like, my name –– that should be the extent of it. The man in gingham, who I was marking, had put his photographer duties on hold and was waving. Aah, so that was it! This bubbly exuberance was directed at him. But it’s worth being called gaze burglar if I can take such fantastic shots. Be it Nobuaki Tanaka in gingham, or Sunao Noto in the rest vest, I’ll become them!

The excitement, the stirred emotions of having taken a great picture, a great smile. By the time I realized that I had left Kokaito and Sontaku Editor behind in Sendai, I was already on the Shinkansen on my way back –– and it was around Ōmiya Station too (t/n already two-thirds of the way).

–––– Department Head of Photography

◆ Yutaka Nagakubo. Born in 1962. After returning to Tokyo, people reached out to me saying they'd seen footage of the parade. A 56-year-old who believes he can still run around, can still keep it up, but is concerned about the wrinkles on his eyelids.

(t/n 能登直 Sunao Noto - photographer also from Sendai, been following Yuzu since he was quite young, the lack of hair is sort of his trademark. His work is most often seen in Sendai Broadcast, Sportiva.

田中宣明 Nobuaki Tanaka - also photographer who’s followed Yuzu for a long time. His work can regularly be found in Ice Jewels)

#yuzuru hanyu #hanyu yuzuru #羽生結弦 #Photographer stories #sendai parade #parade #2018 #sponichi

[nightglider124]

Japan: My Trip

Thought I’d put together a little photo diary of my two weeks in Japan because why not and I just like to share with my tumblr pals.

Read on to find out what I got up to.

Sunday 13th May

This was the day I flew out to Japan. I packed my bag and was ready to leave at 11am UK time. I’m not gonna lie to ya’ll, I was an emotional mess, leaving my family behind. 

You should know, I’ve never been on a trip without my family and I’ve never been out of Europe. So, going out to Japan with just my best friend was a big thing for me. So, was pretty tearful and then my mum like burst into tears; she’s a worrier. 

Anyway, my dad dropped me off at the airport to meet my bestie and we did all the boring airport stuff and soon enough, we were on the plane. The sky is ridiculously pretty at different times during an overnight flight or at least, a flight that crosses different time zones. 

Pretty uneventful. I mostly ate, slept and wrote chapter 1 of CTD: Bound. 

Monday 14th May

So, I arrived in Japan’s Narita airport at 11am.

Then I went up and grabbed my suitcase as well as going and grabbing my pocket wifi - Something that is tremendously helpful if you go to Japan. I don’t know what it’s like for you guys but in London, I pretty much have wifi anywhere I go whereas in Japan, it wasn’t as easy to come across; at least not for free. 

The pocket wifi was a godsend. It can connect up to 10 devices and it lasts all day long when fully charged. Now, there were a couple times it tapped out but you just need to turn it off and turn it on again. 

It cost about £60 for 2 weeks but if you’re going with people, it works out better. Me and my friend split it so we only paid £30 each but very worth it.

But, yeah, defo recommend this for anyone who is going to Japan. It was a big help, especially when needing to look up locations and/or directions.

Next, we went and grabbed our Japan rail passes which look like so:

This was probably the best thing I bought for Japan. Not even joking. 

Even if you aren’t going very far, this thing helps so much. It’s a pass that allows you to use any trains that are owned by the JR company which is a fair amount that helps you get around Tokyo and surrounding districts. Note: You have to buy it before you fly to Japan and take the exchange form that comes in the post with you to Japan. You exchange it at the airport and they give you the passes above. Just make double sure your passport has been stamped because otherwise, they won’t let you have it. 

Anyway, this was £310 for 2 weeks but again: WORTH IT. It does depend on what you’re doing but me and my friend were out and using transport every single day. We also went far. We went to Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka - All covered by the passes. And for example, £310 is basically a return ticket to Kyoto so you are already making your money back. 

So, we picked these up and using them, hopped on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Shinjuku (Sound familiar, Titan fans? Yes, it’s the ‘roughest part of town’ according to Robin in the Trouble in Tokyo movie). It took about an hour and then we checked into our hotel which was: Shinjuku Prince Hotel.

It was a really nice hotel actually. The staff were friendly and spoke really good English. I recommend staying here; it’s right in the heart of busy Shinjuku and was only 5 mins from the station. We booked a deluxe twin room because two rooms worked out more expensive and it was not too shabby at all. I didn’t actually take any pictures so I snubbed some off google.

Anyway, we were running a little late and we had tickets to the Studio Ghibli museum so naturally, I was freaking out because the website expresses that they are strict on being on time for your slot. I nearly had a breakdown because... dunno if ya’ll remember but I had a right time trying to get a hold of these tickets. They sell out so quickly it is unreal. Anyway, our slot was 4pm and they only allow you to be 30 mins late. 

We arrived at 4:50pm and I was close to tears as I ran into the park it’s situated in. I was so annoyed and so scared they weren’t going to let us in. But...

They did!! The guy was so sweet; I think he could see by my face how much I wanted to go inside. He was like all smiley and was like it’s okay, go on in. I was like THANK YOU JESUS. Here are some photos:

They don’t allow photography inside to preserve the magic of visiting. And honestly, it was so nice inside. It felt just like a Ghibli movie and seeing the animation process and the short film and the original drawings... it was all so amazing. Being a Ghibli fan makes this 1000% better but it’s still great for people who aren’t as into it. My friend isn’t really into Ghibli movies but she thought it was still pretty cool whereas there was me in like awe over all of it.

Anyway, we stayed there about an hour and as you can imagine, we were frazzled af. We were tired from the flight but I wanted us to force ourselves to stay up so jet lag wasn’t as much a problem. 

After, we made our way back to Shinjuku where I took some pics from my hotel room:

Then we grabbed some McDonalds which was literally just across from us; something quick so we didn’t starve. I facetimed my family, showered and fell asleep.

Tuesday 15th May

So, the first full day we were there, it was a more chilled, sightseeing day. Nothing too taxing and we felt a lot more refreshed after a proper sleep.

First, we went and checked out the Tokyo Imperial Palace which was really pretty but we couldn’t go inside. It was mega hot the entire time we were in Japan; I thought I’d die. I hate the heat.

And because I was out in the heat all day and didn’t think to put suncream on... yeah, you can see where this is going... 

More on that later, because then we carried on to the Yasukuni shrine which is just down the street from the East Gardens of the palace. 

The shrine was cool and everything was so pretty; very tranquil and peaceful.

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Sunshine City mall in Ikebukuro where I forced my friend into the Pokemon Centre Store which was LIT.

I was fucking excited, ya’ll. I got some really cute stuff too. Got myself some Mimikyu chopsticks, an Eevee tail key holder, a Pikachu glasses case, a Pikachu makeup bag and a little Mimikyu figure bc Mimikyu is a fave and I have no cool stuff with it on. 

I also got my brother most of his souvenirs in here because we have loved Pokemon since the dawn of time. I mean, we’ve fallen out of it in recent years because all the new gen pokemon etc... we’re more for the original pokemon and original series and games. Seriously, when kids come up to me like, do you even know Pokemon I’m like bitch step back you don’t even KNOW. It’s like I got a Pokemon CD for my brother and it had a japanese version of one of the songs from the first movie and we were like screaming. That film man, don’t even look at me.

Ahem... the Pokemon store was so wicked but mega expensive like shit son. Glad I took so much money with me because I NEEDED IT.

After the Pokemon store, we went down a level to the Studio Ghibli store where I didn’t get as much stuff as I thought I was gonna. 

But, I got a Spirited Away fan with No Face on it, a Totoro and No face figure as well as a Totoro bib and hat for my niece. 

Then we went and had fooood where I noticed... I was extremely sunburnt... Like in the below pic, you can’t see it that much because it hadn’t really come out full pelt yet.

Pls ignore my hamster face but see my chest? Burny burny burnt burnt. I got back to the hotel later that night and I had the shakes where it was hot and all the heat was there rather than all over. It was horrible.

I’m lucky I decided to wear full on makeup that day otherwise my face would have gotten buuurnt. Well done, Estee Lauder foundation, well done.

But yeah, it wasn’t the best end to the day because then I was all uncomfortable and my skin was sensitive and I was mad at myself for not putting on cream so then I got all upset and cried but I think I was still tired from the journey too and I was overwhelmed but yeah; kinda sucked.

Other than the sunburn, I also didn’t pack shorts for under my dress so my thighs rubbed and were in agony as well as my vans gave me like 4 blisters on each foot so I couldn’t walk or at least was in extreme pain when I tried so getting back to the hotel was a damn hoot.

Besides all that, it was a pretty good day!

Wednesday 16th

This was the day we trekked all the way down to Hiroshima which is like a 5 hour journey by train. We had to take two trains but it was actually not too bad. It certainly didn’t feel like it took that long to get down to Hiroshima. 

One thing I will say about longer train journeys; remember to reserve a seat. Some like the one from Narita Airport are reserve only so you have to reserve a seat for it. But, others don’t need it and have “non reserved” cars but mark my words, if you’re travelling on these trains at a busy time, it really pays off to reserve a seat. We didn’t for Hiroshima and whilst we found seats for the 3 hour part of the journey; on the second train, we had to stand for like 45 minutes because there were no seats and then even when we did get to sit down, it was separated so yeah; book your train seats, people.

Once we arrived in Hiroshima, we hopped on a ferry which took us to Miyajima island. It’s about a 10 minute journey and once again, it’s covered by the JR pass. I loved that thing to death not even kidding.

Here’s some pictures I took on the ride over:

This island is home to the big red Torii gate that people may know of. I picked up some cute souvenirs and ate katsu. And there were even deer roaming around the place! A couple got married too whilst we were visiting and it was so nice. Again, it was mega hot so I was dying from that aspect but otherwise, I could live on this little island.

Unfortunately, we spent so much time at the island; we didn’t get round to doing the two other things we had planned which were seeing Hiroshima Castle and the Atomic dome memorial. I was kinda bummed by not seeing those but the last train was at 5pm and we weren’t staying the night so we had to get said train. It was okay though; it’s something to add to the list of things to see when I eventually revisit.

We got back at about 10pm and then it was lights out because we were exhausted.

Thursday 17th May

This was another sightseeing day that was fairly local considering we were pretty tired from Hiroshima still. 

We traveled over to Asakusa which has the lovely Senso-ji temple and shrine. It was really cute, the walk up to the temple is lined with all these little shops and souvenir like places which have charms and fans etc. Really nice.

Inside, they do this thing where you pay 100 yen and you shake a metal box that contains lots of sticks with numbers on. When you bring out a stick, you find the number it matches and you bring out the fortune. You get a good fortune, regular fortune or bad fortune. I got myself a regular ol’ fortune XD. 

But, they also have this rack so that if you get a bad fortune, you tie it to the rack to rid yourself of the bad fortune whereas a good or regular one; you would carry it with you.

Other than that, we hung out and then went back to our hotel for a while before heading out again to check out the nightlife of the area. Everything was mega lit up and was so nice. We went and grabbed dinner and also went and got crepes. They were a m a z i n g. Like they were so good ugh. 

After that, went back, showered and slept. Pretty uneventful day; just being touristy. 

Friday 18th May

Again, more sightseeing on this day. We went and saw the Tokyo Metropolitan Building and looked out over Tokyo.

Then, we went to the Meiji Shrine.

Aaand lastly, we went to Shibuya for the evening.

Yes, those are people dressed as characters from Mario Kart driving in the streets of Tokyo. This place was crazy. XD

After seeing the crossing scramble that is so infamous, we trekked back to the hotel and fell asleep.

Saturday 19th May

This day we literally went on trains all day to collect stamps. In Japan, they do these things called Eki stamps which are stamps you can find at stations, museums, shrines, tourist spots etc.

I haven’t got any pictures of mine but i got like 50 of them whilst I was in Japan. Going on one train line at all the stops got me like 30. 

We had nothing else planned on this day so my friend suggested the collecting stamps XD.

Sunday 20th May

This was one of my two absolute favourite days whilst I was there. It was the day I went and saw Mt Fuji and went into Aokigahara forest. 

It was approx 2 hours from Tokyo but we’d booked a tour instead of trying to do it ourselves. It worked out a lot easier. When we reached the highest point you can go to on Mt Fuji, by vehicle anyway, we had 30 mins to sightsee. We took pictures and went into the souvenir shop etc. 

My god, it was so frickin’ cold up there. Obviously. We were high off the ground like shit, it was freezing. But, pretty pictures.

We then went caving in an ice cave that is iced over all year round and is not usually open to the public. 

After that, we were taken back to Shinjuku where we grabbed food and went back to sleeeep.

Monday 21st May

We went to Kyoto on this day. We managed to see all we wanted to as well but then again, Kyoto was only a 2 and a bit hour train ride away.

When we got there, we saw the Fushimi Inari Taisha.

They were pretty but boy, was there a lot of people. I had to wait for so long to get pictures with none of very few people in it.

Then, we headed over to Kinkaku-ji which is this golden temple.

Again, very pretty.

Lastly, we checked out the Arashiyama Bamboo grove which was pretty also.

After that, we headed home to our hotel. We had an exciting day the next day.

Tuesday 22nd May

TOKYO DISNEYLAND, BITCHES.

I was excited and I can see why people hype Disneyland up. No matter which one you visit, there is this big sense of nostalgia and magic. It was unforgettable and wasn’t half as busy as some theme parks get here. But, I suppose we did go on a Tuesday.

Would hate to see it on a weekend.

The mike melonbread was delicious <3

Disneyland catered to the childish side of me and I loved every single bit of it. <3

Wednesday 23rd May

On this day, we visited Osaka which is about the same sorta time out from Tokyo as Kyoto is. Again, not too much going on. We checked out Osaka Castle.

And then, we checked out Dotonbori which was also very cool.

After that, we headed back to Tokyo. There wasn’t too much we were desperate to see in Osaka and it was raining which wasn’t the nicest.

Thursday 24th May

Last full day meant Harajuku and Shibuya for shopping day. I haven’t got any pictures but omg we went and did those purikura photo things? They are hilarious. It was funny doing them but even looking at them; they funny XD

I bought a bunch of stuff for myself as well as my family as souvenirs. It was funnn. 

Friday 25th May

The day I flew home to London :(. I was sad to leave Japan but I was really happy to be coming home. No matter how much you may call your country a shit place, there’s no place like home. 

Omg, I went over my bag weight limit with all the stuff I bought. I’m allowed 23kg and my suitcase was 27kg -.-

I paid £65 for that extra weight because I was not about to be that person who opens their suitcase in the middle of check in trying to decrease the weight XD

Pretty straight forward afterwards. I flew home and when I got to my house, my family let me have reign on dinner so we got KFC.

So, that is what I got up to in Japan. I loved every minute I was there. It is so very different than London and it has much more beauty than any city I’ve been to has.

I can’t wait to go back someday and I encourage anyone and everyone to go there. It is something else! <3

Thanks for reading if you made it to the end! I appreciate it ^.^

#night in japan #night wants to travel #nightglider124

[nashvilletonihon]

How Can A Week Feel Like A Month???

It’s Monday morning here and it’s already hot outside. A stifling, oppressive, humid heat. The kind of heat that saps every last ounce of strength from your body and makes you physically exhausted. I stayed indoors yesterday, barely running my AC because I have no idea how much my electric bill will cost. My only reprieve is the fan circulating hot air around my apartment. In actuality, it’s really not so bad. I’ve dealt with no AC before and while it sucks, it’s not the end of the world. There’s only another month or two of summer and after that I’m sure I’ll be begging for warmer weather again. 

I have officially been in Japan for a week. One. Week. 7 days. That’s it. I feel like I’ve been here for a lifetime already. How have the days gone by so quickly and yet dragged on as if they would never end? This week has been rough. I left Tokyo Orientation on Wednesday and traveled to Kyoto City for, you guessed it, more orientation. Saying goodbye to the friends I had made in Tokyo was incredibly hard but I honestly didn’t have much time to think about it because a 2 1/2 新幹線 shinkansen (bullet train) ride later I was standing in my hotel room in Kyoto City wondering how I even got there in the first place. Thankfully the evening orientation meeting was only an hour long. Once we had changed back into our civilian clothing (I never want to wear another article of business attire ever again) we headed to an 居酒屋 izakaya (Japanese tavern) for dinner. There are 12 new Prefectural AET’s in total. 6 came in Group A and have already been teaching for a few weeks. The 6 of us in Group B arrived this past week and are still trying to wrap our heads around everything. 

Here we all are with 2 current JETs (Jacob & Jonah who are across from me), our Prefectural Advisor Leah and Karino先生, who works with Leah at the Kyoto Board of Education making sure we have all of the information we need to succeed in our new roles as Assistant English Teachers. 

Dinner was wonderful. The food was fantastic and the drinks were flowing. Four 梅酒 umeshu (Japanese plum wine) drinks later and I was actually feeling pretty good about things. For just a moment, I forgot about my stress and anxiety and focused on genuinely enjoying myself. It was...nice. So nice I even considered going out for karaoke afterward but the looming knowledge that I had to give my speech to the Board of Education AND meet my new supervisor/co-workers the next day quickly put an end to that. (Don’t worry, it all went well.)

The next few days sped by faster than the scenery outside of a 新幹線 window. I met 水口先生 (Mizuguchi-sensei), my supervisor who is so incredibly warm and kind hearted. She was there to receive me at my apartment when I rolled up after being in a car for 3 hours, sweaty, smelly, with my make-up melting off and completely exhausted. She showed me around my apartment, helped me to put some things away (they were all in the living room per the cleaning crew), took me to the store to buy some food and personal items and let me follow her around like the lost puppy that I am while I stupidly asked her “What does this mean?”, “Do you like this?”, “What do you use?” She even went back to her house to gather some towels for me to shower with since I didn’t have any. 

AND THIS WAS ALL JUST THURSDAY NIGHT. 

Friday was even worse. 水口先生 picked me precisely at 9 AM to begin a day full of important errands. The first stop was Kyotango City Hall where I had to change my address. 

I should mention that I currently do not have my residency card. Due to a glitch in the matrix there are about 2,000 of us JETs who do not have this incredibly important piece of paper that is vital to setting up a new life in a foreign country. So, you know, there’s that.

Holding our collective breath, 水口先生 and I walked into City Hall hoping against hope that they take the stupid little stamp marked “Residency Card will be issued at a later date.” in my passport as the real thing. With 水口先生 explaining in Japanese and me standing there, passport clutched in my hands and a pleading look on my face, I heard some of the few words in Japanese that I actually know... “大丈夫です.” Daijōbudesu. (It’s ok.) I had to stop myself from sinking to the floor in gratitude. It’s ok. It’s ok.

45 minutes later and I now had a Residency Certificate from City Hall. (Not the be confused with my Residency Card which I still don’t have and still desperately need.) Feeling elated and unstoppable, we headed to the Kyoto Bank to set up an account. An 1 1/2 later, boom, bank account open and bank book in my hand with my card scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks. We even set up automatic withdrawal so I don’t have to worry about taking care of rent and car payments separately. 

After the bank, we stopped for lunch. I think 水口先生 could tell that I was struggling. I had spent the entire morning intently listening to every conversation she had with others to try and pick up on any kind of Japanese I knew. (Spoiler alert, it was ZERO.) She pulled into a quaint little parking lot next to a restaurant called Ma Maison. Upon walking into the establishment I almost started bawling like a baby. It was decorated just like my Grandma Keether’s kitchen. Old school farm equipment, plates, mason jars and herbs hung from the walls and ceiling. Vinyl tablecloths and old wooden chairs decorated the seating area. For a moment, it felt like I was home. 

After lunch, we jetted over to Komori Auto Shop where I picked out a car. (Don’t get too excited guys, just wait until you see a picture of this thing.) 2 hours of discussing insurance, filling out paperwork and setting a date to pick the car up (August 22nd at 8:30 AM) and that was that. I will soon be able to drive in Tango like a regular citizen. Lord help me. And them.

The entire day was going so well. We were on a role. Unfortunately it came to a screeching halt at Y! Mobile, the phone company store where I was hoping to purchase a Japanese SIM card and internet. As of right now I only have internet in my apartment. (THANK GOD FOR THAT.) However, once I step foot outside, I’m on my own. I have no way of looking up directions, getting in contact with people or vice versa. It’s awful. I’ve only been walking around the area that I know, too scared of getting lost to venture any farther. Of all the places I didn’t think my passport stamp wouldn’t work, the cell phone store was not one of them. Who knew they would be so strict when it came to purchasing a phone plan? So now I have to just sit here and wait until my RC comes in the mail. Whenever that is.

Throughout this entire process so far, I’ve been trying to focus on the positives. They are few and far between but I know that it’s only because everything is so new and overwhelming. I’ve started making a list to keep track because if I don’t, the negatives will weasel their way to the forefront. Here are a few of the positives I’ve experienced in the past week:

I remembered the word for vegetables when ordering lunch in the Tokyo train station. (It’s 野菜, yasai, in case you were wondering.)

I have been complemented on how natural my Japanese sounds. (Although I’m pretty sure they’re just being nice.)

I used the self checkout at the grocery store and didn’t mess up or require assistance.

I’ve made a once cluttered and jumbled apartment into my temporary home. (It’s quite nice actually.)

I haven’t cried in 4 days. 

 That last one may seem unimportant, or trivial even, but it’s huge. Especially since I’m on the verge literally every minute of every day. An accurate representation of me would be something along the lines of this...

It’s a process. I just have to keep reminding myself of that. I know that once I get busy with school, (which will be next week after お盆祭り, Bon Festival. https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/obon-festival-2018-in-japan) the time will fly by and I’ll be getting ready to leave for the States again before I know it. I’ve got a mantra I keep repeating: “Take everything in stride. Feel your feels.” I won’t downplay my homesickness or my loneliness. To do that would be to deny myself the very real fact that they are there. Instead, I will make peace with it and remind myself that this isn’t forever. A year will fly by and the memories I make here are going to be worth it. The stories I share with my friends, family and boyfriend back home are mine alone to tell. I can’t let them down. I won’t let them down. 

That being said, I think this post has gone on long enough. I’ll close it out with some photos I’ve taken over the past week. Check out the captions below the pictures for explanations. 

A traditional Japanese breakfast at our Kyoto City hotel. 

Myself, Kelly Bell and Lizzie (UK) at the Tokyo Train Station. (It’s the largest and busiest station in the Japan.)

My all time favorite snack in Japan. おにぎり. Onigiri. (Rice ball.) These delicious little guys can be eaten by themselves, or be filled with any kind of savory treat. My two are ボニと bonito (dried fish skin) and 鰻 unagi (eel).

When people ask me why I won’t be eating fruit in Japan. (These grapes are $8.00!!!)

Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy long post. Hopefully it wasn’t as much of a downer as the last one was. Again, there will be more posts and more positives. Until then...

じゃあまた (See you!)

- レイチェル (Rachel)