Trip to Japan – Round 2 – Day 4 (2024)

20240130_090908 — – Stopping by Wendy’s for my morning meal.

This blogpost covers the day of January 30th while in Tokyo, Japan.

Had a lovely wake up at 7:00-7:20 AM timeframe. I’ve also lightly pre-packed my luggage to ready myself for tomorrow’s flight to Hokkaido, preferably to Hakodate. Caught up on Twitter/X, and planning. My frozen drink from the day prior was still frozen, still an ice cube. I left it out thaw (eventually chucking it when leaving). That mini-fridge was too strong.

Once ready, I headed to Wendy’s for my meal: burger, pair of hashbrown nuggets, and peach tea. I happily ate upstairs viewing the scenery, the morning life of Ueno, and just lost in thought.

Japan Trip 2024:

[Day 1] – [Day 2] – [Day 3]

Satisfied, I left for Ueno Station to head for Shimbashi Station to visit a stationary train on display, one I also had made note of the night prior (or a few nights prior) desiring to see a steam locomotive up close. I happily left the station, even curiously making my way towards the train from an overly fancy entrance-exit design. Station had a bit of a neat historical flair to it.

I happily, yet curiously made my way around the train in a 360 manner; Going around the train to see it from all angles.

20240130_100413 — – Viewing back towards Shimbashi station with some neatly designed entrances and exits.

20240130_100434 — – I belatedly discovered the train has a gimmick at 12:00, 15:00, and 18:00. Three times a day.

20240130_100503 — – Making note of the station and the train. It’s an interesting open-walled design.

20240130_100540 — – Happily viewing the CII 292 train from the front.

20240130_100554 — – Admiring the train from every angle I could. Like I said, 360 around the train.

I even walked behind the train, possibly forgetting to capture a picture of train from the rear, or it may have been awkwardly obscured preventing me from having captured it.

20240130_101417 — – JR Shimbashi Gate – A lovely historical flair to the entrance-exit. Hibiya Entrance. *(Waited for the least amount of people possible to capture this picture.)*

Satisfied, yet in a rush, I made my way back into Shimbashi Station to make my way towards Shibuya. I’ve also desired to Shinjuku, I however aimed for Shibuya simply for the fun of it. I also desired to capture a few points of interests I failed to capture on my 2023 trip to Japan. This is me making up for my past mistakes.

20240130_102504 — – Enroute to Shibuya while viewing a Shinkansen outside the door. Was a neat experience in motion.

20240130_102506 — – Admiring the Shinkansen, at least the little portion of it moving past the doorway.

20240130_102508 — – Happy Shinkansen thoughts.

20240130_104702 — – Slowly making my way around Shibuya trying to soak it all in, properly this time. It was raining the last time I was here in 2023.

20240130_104853 — – Waiting for a gap in the queue to snap a picture with just the ‘Hachiko Memorial Statue’. I didn’t need a selfie, just a picture of the statue. Too many photobomb moments.

You have to wait in a queue to take selfies, and group pictures, something I wasn’t really doing. All I’m doing is scenery pictures, hence the quick-picture snapping.

20240130_104940 — – Panorama – Shibuya Hachiko & Crossing area.

Screenshot_20240130_105329_Maps — – Google Maps tracker to prove I was there. I was at Shibuya.

20240130_105458 — – Mario Kart in the center-left of the image (the guys in the yellow).

20240130_105751 — – Noting the various scenic displays above mini buildings. TV Screen under ‘MAGNET’, a cloudy mountain display to the right of that, and more fancy advertisements. I find these advertisements neat.

20240130_105754 — – Attempting to re-center the image. I’ve also considered going onto the look-out, it however came with a catch making me decide against it.

20240130_110019 — – The catch was simple, however not appealing to me at the moment. $15 is a decent price, I simply thought “maybe later”.

Instead, I desired to visit and explore the nearby area to see what’s in and around. What stores, retail outlets, food joints, and attractions were to admire. I simply went with the flow. Nothing really planned.

20240130_111623 — – Stopping at C-PAL for Gacha fun. Some Hololive, and other amusements.

I played around with the gacha machines for a lengthy while, even obtaining some Dragonball themed stuff for a friend, among other goodies. I even attempted to obtain Suisei (at second glance, she doesn’t exist) simply trying to obtain every combo key I could manage. I had tons of gacha rewards.

I had to run to a nearby Konbini to obtain a bit more cash for more gacha fun. Also purchased myself a lovely honey tea drink, Spicy Chicken, and other neat little snacks.

20240130_112230 — – Further wandering the streets seeing what’s in the area. Also making note of the collab banners, something I found neat yet wasn’t in my interest zone. Simply taking images for my blog.

20240130_112409 — – Japan has overly lovely backroads and alleyways for street shops like these. I admire this design style.

Even if I’m out of my element, it genuinelly is highly fun exploring and sight seeing in Japan, something I’m not really allowed to do locally in Canada, let alone Ottawa. Sure, I can go, I however run the high risk of being stabbed or shot to death. Sure, I can also be stabbed to death in Japan as well, it however ranks far lower. To me, it felt as safe as Ottawa was back in 2000-2006. Maybe even 2012, until all the fake political nonsense ruined everything.

20240130_112448 — – C-Pals (C-PLA), or that’s how I noted it. Belatedly noting the fun happy capsule fun.

20240130_112904 — – Lost my capsule under a machine, something I had to fish out. I also noted someone else lost their capsule under there.

20240130_113807 — – Making note of more neat Japanese side-street fun. Lovely collab banners, awesome Japanese vibes, and just me being happy.

I was having a lovely happy time being in my own little bubble. A Japanese bubble, yet my own, far away from Ottawa idiocy. Away from stupid people, if still surrounded by “over-tourism” in some loose manner. People didn’t bother me, I hopefully didn’t bother them, and we were all happy folks.

20240130_113915 — – Letting my roommate know I have a Vegeta gift for him. It’ll be with me until I return to Japan.

20240130_114054 — – Once again noting what I won, compared to what was still up for grabs. Roommate was overly humble, yet still gifting him this for how much he has helped me out.

Satisfied, I decided it was finally time to seek out a model train shop. Let’s see what Japan has for Japanese trains to gift my roommate’s father.

20240130_114906 — – Making note of a further crossing, if truck photobombed. I was stuck in the middle of an ‘Y’ intersection.

20240130_114910 — – A better capture, hopefully. Even noted a cinema for me to eventually watch Gundam SEED FREEDOM movie here. Neat!

Models Imon – Train Gift Hunting:

I basically inputted an Google Maps location aimed at Imon, something I basically went clockwise around the block before making my way back to where I started. Almost. I was confused. I was searching for an entrance tied to Imon, something which took me many confused moments to discover. I passed by numerous ramen shops, food places, and such. Where was Imon? I eventually stumbled across it.

Screenshot_20240130_115641_Google — – Half of these train prices were insanely expensive. I had a loose idea, this was insane. 261,800 Yen = 2380,78 Canadian Dollars. For one train! Yikes!

I basically spent roughly an hour browsing. I was even searching for Tango-Yura’s train type, something they didn’t have. Instead, I purchased an Idolmaster truck for myself, an Tatra Tram for myself, and a blue train similar to what I had seen for Tango-Yura. It was close enough. The Tatra Tram was purchased for my childhood admiration of Slovakia’s trams in the city of Bratislava. I enjoyed riding on those Tatra trams for the fun of it, something which family, friends, and relatives would allow me to ride for the fun of it. I also even purchased an ‘Laid-Back Camp’ Anime livery N-Scale train. These were all N-Scale. The last one in red and grey was aimed at my roommate’s father, something he reluctantly accepted after the fact, yet treated horribly. It hurt me to see the train I gifted him treated so poorly. It costed a hefty price.

I’m however happy with the 3 N Scale trains and 1 Idolmaster truck for myself. I’m also happy with my Tatra tram for Bratislava vibes, even if it’s noted as ‘Dresden’. I’ll view it as Bratislava thanks to how I’ve grown up loving these Tatra trams in Bratislava, Slovakia. I’m also happy with the Hyugo Railway type train to be a proxy for Tango-Yura line, even though it’s a different line train. It’s close enough, and it works. Even the Yuru-Yuru Camp themed train because I saw it as a limited time neat train. I wish I could obtain an KanColle and Azur Lane themed Japanese train. Those would be sweet. I have to take what I can, boasting about every little bit of it because it genuinely makes me happy. I love trains, especially of the European and Japanese side of things.

I was even happy the clerk spoke English, even showing me the train working. I was even overly excited it had lights. The trains I had chosen had lights. I’m happy to have seen the trains working in the way they were demonstrated, something which took me all back. Yes, I also browsed the store end-to-end. 98% explored.

20240130_123316 — – This is exactly why Japan is so much fun. Various livery of trains, even in scale model forms. You would struggle to get this for anything Western. Coca-Cola is a given, and McDonalds. Everything else, show & game wise, is hard to come by.

20240130_123351 — – Models IMON – Floor 7.

Next up, I needed to head towards Daiso.

20240130_123930 — – Very ghetto, yet flashy street. The Daiso is located under that low-hanging pedestrian bridge. First floor feels like a basement area.

20240130_124347 — – Japanese Daiso has all these lovely stuff for your Busou Shinki, Frame Arm Girls, Figma, Nendo, and Anime figures. It has everything you desire, and it’s why I admire Daiso as much as I do.

Bought various things, including a travel bag for my Steam Deck and Japanese. I needed to purchase a bag, something I had done, which I would eventually swap to something else. Also trying out various neat Japanese drinks in the process.

– Craft Boss – Lemon Tea. (Of course, forcing Azur Lane’s AR mode.)

20240130_130112 — – East Mall – Shibuya Mark City

A little frustrated taking pictures in busy areas, especially seeing people worried how I’m taking images of them. Once again, just scenery related pictures to document for blogging purposes. I’m simply admiring, curious about Japanese architecture.

Walking around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do next. What should I do? Walking back the way of Toho Cinema, and towards Shibuya Station.

20240130_130510 — – Well, that’s horrible……… I’m well aware of the fact Japan isn’t perfect, it’s however better than most countries.

20240130_130613 — – Making note of a lovely advertisement.

20240130_130930 — – Making note of the various stickers at Shibuya Station. Some of these stickers scream “attention whore”. Pardon the language, there are however some very pathetic looking ones.

Gundam SEED FREEDOM Movie Time:

As noted, finally had the bright idea to walk back towards Toho cinema to buy tickets for a viewing of ‘Gundam SEED Freedom’.

20240130_131740 — – Making my way back, even walking past the 109 building a few times by now.

20240130_131841 — – Various ice-cream themed to Gundam SEED Freedom movie.

Finally purchased my ticket without issue. The problem? Trying to find out where to go, how to get there, and when to get there. Japanese cinemas handle differently than Canadian ones, especially in this location. Everything was an overly painful learning experience.

20240130_132414 — – Making my way up and around to where my viewing area was, oblivious to how Japan cinema etiquette work. I assumed I could just sit in the theater, something Japanese theaters don’t handle in a Canadian way.

20240130_132657 — – Going up and down the elevator on numerous occassions.

I found myself going up and down the elevator many times, especially when waiting outside for 1 hour (or so) prior to heading back, and still waiting another hour, or so.

20240130_132807 — – Found my Screen 2 theater, and where I would be sitting. Gundam SEED FREEDOM shall be viewed soon, if I can simply wait it out for a very long time.

20240130_133009 — – TOHO Cinemas. Familiar movie names on display.

20240130_133222 — – My ticket – 1/13 – 14:55~ (Gundam SEED FREEDOM) – Screen 2 – F-21. In hindsight, I should have also had my Yuudachi figure posing with this ticket, as everybody else had. Everybody else (after the fact) was sharing how they saw the movie while displaying their Anime figure with the ticket on the night, or the next following nights.

I genuinely became frustrated seeing the Japanese Twitter/X bloggers gaining more traction over my own Tweet/Post, yet it also makes sense because I failed to capture an image with an Anime figure of my own. No Shinki Renge, no Yuudachi. Just me being tired, frustrated, and absent minded. This one is on me, and I lost my opportunity for some ‘Japan Happy Thoughts’ moment here to connect with the Japanese locals.

I, at least, was nearing the time to see the movie.

20240130_134203 — – Granblue Fantasy: ReLink truck advertising for the game.

20240130_134206 — – Granblue Fantasy: ReLink was being advertised fairly often in Japan. You would see it advertised a lot to the point it was overly hard to miss out.

Screenshot_20240130_141252_Chrome — – Belatedly noting how to and when to enter Japanese cinemas. Trying to make sense of this while waiting outside.

Many minutes, and a few hours later……… Tons of “lost in translation”, confused staff, and painful waiting later…….

20240130_143300 — – Ordered my popcorn with a drink, never got a drink. Purchased a special Hokkaido hot dog.

20240130_144512 — – Japanese Popcorn and Hokkaido Cheese hot dog.

*Once again, I failed to take images with an Anime figure to make this more appealing. Once again, me being stupid.

20240130_144517 — – YAY!~ After much painful waiting, and Japanese ettiquette later, it’s Gundam SEED FREEDOM Movie time!

Tons of great moments from this Gundam SEED FREEDOM movie. Sure, some nudity caught me by surprise thanks to growing mainstream censorship movements. Everything however was still awesome, especially how the theme [FREEDOM] was playing with the main cast launching from space, and onto Earth to police a conflict on Earth. Everything was awesome.

Just happily following one scene to the next as everything unfolded. Seeing Kira nearly being NTR’d with Lacus as the victim, tons of sabotage and craziness. Lots of mind games, fighting, and scummy girl moments.

Stella made me laugh with how she protected Shin. She literally turned into a demon to save Shinn from possession from various mind games scaring the assaulter to death.

I genuinely had fun with the movie. Worth it! I understood the gist of it. It was fairly easy to follow, even for non-Japanese natives. Granted, I do need English translations for the finer details in dialogue to know the in’s and out’s of everything. The mecha designs were awesome. The Z’Gok was nicely done, and especially with the surprise it was hiding. It turned into a nice internet meme.

I had fun. I rate the Gundam SEED FREEDOM movie a nice 9/10. More could have been done in certain places, especially with a certain re-used asset. Music is awesome, characters were neat, the story was clear. I also should have posted pictures with my Anime figure. That’s my loss, and I have to shoulder my own absent mindedness.

Lastly, everybody waited for the credits to finish because there is always a secret at the end of movies. After that, we walk out, hand over our snack holders to the staff, and simply exit. I intentionally waited for others to leave prior to myself as to not be a burden to the other people. I left with the last batch of people.

A bit frustrated about my no-Anime-figure pictures, while other Japanese hobbyists took pictures, I simply made note of the movie by sharing my hype instead. I loved what I saw. I made note of the cinema, made my way around to take quick pictures prior to leaving. I made note of what I could in the area, eventually leaving to Ueno.

20240130_172637 — – Admiring the street beauty of the area. The lights on the trees.

A weird guy also strangely crossed the street capturing the attention of road security. They nudged him back. He appeared to be under the influence of something. He wasn’t right in the head.

20240130_174137 — – Double-checking to see what I’m allowed and not allowed to do. I made my way up a flight of stairs (after seeing another group of people) to take pictures at an elevated platform. Happily took pictures and made my way down.

I made sure I wasn’t going against the rules. I tried reading the atmosphere to see if security guards wee coming or not. I took three duplicate images, one extra one to finish off the elevated image part. I admire these images.

20240130_174216 — – This is closer to the Japan I’m used to, yet still ignorant about. I admire Japan like this.

20240130_174233 — – Pfft. A “no drone zone”. I never brought my drone with how draconian Japanese regulations are tied to drones. Would have been nice, I however had to stay grounded on both my two trips. Any elevated images were from towers, or special occasions. 😉

20240130_174247 — – Mid-way down the steps. At this point I’m not caring about people staring or not. I just desire images.

20240130_174508 — – This sign caught me by surprise. I love it when places are proud of who they are, and in a proper honest manner, unlike many Western places. Had to wait for a few folks to walk by, and even to allow me to take pictures.

20240130_174637 — – Making my way back to Shibuya Station, properly this time.

20240130_174642 — – Making note of advertisement trucks for blogging purposes.

20240130_174836 — – Making note of a nightly Shibuya Crossing, and an overly angry lady in the middle of the picture. Always the stupidest of expressions. Pretend you don’t see me, or something.

20240130_174850 — – I take duplicate images for the reason noted above. Also, McDonald’s closed down, now with Starbucks taking the place of McDonalds. The iconic McDonald’s over-viewing the Shibuya Crossing is no longer a thing. It’s a relic of the past.

Side-note: Some weird old guy who was under the influence tried to illegally cross the street. He made a small fuss, something which traffic guards were half-alert on. They saw him, gesturing him to go back. He wasn’t right in the head.

20240130_174858 — – Making note of Shibuya. Sadly, none of these advertisements call out to me. I missed out on ‘Oshi no Ko’, and it makes me very sad. Anime and games I both watch and play are not advertised here.

– Video – Shibuya Crossing at night.

20240130_175117 — – Blurry image of a double-decker tourist bus. It caught my attention, I took a picture of it.

20240130_175335 — – More for the scenery and lighted trees, less for the people.

20240130_180609 — – Making my way from Shibuya to Ueno Station via JY Line.

I accidentally farted on the overly packed train thanks to bump a train hit. I was stuck in the corner, as shown above, something to which I was ready to be murdered by a Japanese local for. A train full of people, and an actually smelly fart to ruin the day and night. I was fearing my night would have ended there, and then. I hated myself for releasing that fart, especially in Japan, and in a packed train. I resigned my fate to be yelled at, physically assaulted, and scolded.

I was embarrassed for releasing an overly stinky fart bomb. Yes, I even Tweeted/Posted about it on Twitter/X.

Thankfully nothing happened. Everything simply moved on as peacefully as Japan lives and breaths.

Screenshot_20240130_181057_Blue Archive — – A Blue Archive web event I couldn’t partake in. It was region-blocked to global only, preventing Japanese IP players from playing Global. I was sad. I was however happy I was rewarded with Swimsuit Hanako later down the line.

20240130_183016 — – Attempting to make note of station stop for blogging purposes.

20240130_183233 — – I safely arrived at Ueno Station, and I’m not dead! I’m alive! I’m alive! I wasn’t murdered for accidentally farting in a packed train. Phew!~

My next battle always happens when exiting Ueno, especially at night. I’m trying to go one way, people going the other way, and I can’t break past the stream of people. I’m trying to gesture I’m going a certain direction and I can’t go there. Too many people stopping me, flowing in a given direction. Ueno is hell at night.

20240130_183319 — – Making note of Ueno’s side-street from a far. No way I’m getting close to that.

20240130_183338 — – Noted, now moving on. Tons of places to eat, yet insanely busy to the point I simply go to a Konbini.

Yes, I’m well aware of the fact I should eat local food when in Japan. When I’m tired I simply desire Konbini food, something which is even better than Canadian food. I agree. I 100% agree I need to eat a nightly ramen, noodles, or something. I’ve done that on my 2023 trip, and I’m proud of having eaten locally. Even coin restaurants are awesome.

Because I was tired, absent minded, and stressed, I simply aimed for Konbini and then hotel.

20240130_183402 — – Making note of the Yamanote Line train. I love Japanese trains.

Screenshot_20240130_215003_Blue Archive — – Blue Archive – Koharu (Swimsuit) version get! Nice!

I finally obtained Koharu, even if she is a freebie. The internet meme girl is finally here, of the anti-lewdness mindset, something which makes her both cute and wholesome. If she was real she would genuinely hate Azur Lane, if with a genuine hidden curiousity for Azur Lane’s lewdness factor.

Screenshot_20240130_221317_Blue Archive — – She’s highly adorable. Her shy blushing heh.

Basically unwinded for the night by playing Blue Archive, Azur Lane, and catching up on Twitter/X. Noted my experiences, even wishing I took figure photography with my Gundam SEED Freedom movie fun.

After my gaming gacha was tended to I also had to book a flight Air DO. It was intentionaly set to Air Do allowing me to fly a Pokemon themed plane, something I had noted on my Hokkaido 2023 trip. January 31st, 2024 (Wed)

14:40 Tokyo-Haneda -> Hakodate 16:00
ANA4759 (Codeshare) | ADO763 | Economy | Gate 56 Terminal 2.
(Seat? 42B)

What really hit me, something which was painfully nostalgic, was viewing the Tokyo Skytree segment on TV. No joke, that serene Skytree segment hit my nostalgic vibes to the point it’s like recalling an overly fond memory of a friend gathering, or similar. It’s one of those “nostalgic” vibes able to wake up up from a dream with a panic attack. I won’t say it’s bad, it however hit me so fiercely it was as if I was with a friend. I’m well aware Japan isn’t perfect, it however is so peaceful, kind, and respectful to the point I’m able to let my guard down. I feel at peace. I felt genuine freedom on both 2023 and 2024 trips, and including up to January 30th. The feeling was intense to the point I had to Tweet about it. It’s like having a drink of beer while in a VRChat world with friends, and I mean lots of people. Just talking, having fun, then seeing similar vibes on other screens. It hits you hard, and nostalgically.

Even though I’m aware of people throwing me under the bus for stupid reasons (unfollowing me off X, no longer friends), I’m however happy treated me with kindness and respect, something which was awesome. The few who were evil to me on Twitter/X always were of the “showy” variety which explains their crude attitudes. Japan, in general, was kind to me and I love that. I respect Japan for treating me like a human. Granted, there are social rules, cultural rules, but that kindness and ‘face’ is what I admire. Traditional Europeans have similar behaviours as Japanese folks do allowing me to relate to that on a traditional level.

Japan Happy Thoughts. It made me desire to cry happy tears. Not sad tears, but happy tears. I was finally properly happy, and in Japan. Sure, I was a tourist, but I was happy. The music on top of the segment added to the nostalgic vibes. A dream before a sleeping dream moment.

20240131_000831 — – 12:08 AM. Relaxing to some background vibes, one giving me nostalgic vibes.

Below is an embedded Youtube video linking to [.que] – Anywhere, as heard in the TV segment. It connected with me on a VRChat world manner bringing back a ton of happy VRChat & Japanese memories, one desiring to make me cry happy tears. Japan being far more peaceful and rewarding than Canada had been, all in one moment. I genuinely felt like a human, even if for these moments. I was able to do what I desired to do, and of my own accord, something which is harder to do in Japan.

20240131_000952 — – For these various shots I could say – “I was there!” – making things all the more impactful. I was there! I traveled there! I’ve been to those various places, and with my own precious memories. I have my own happy Japanese memories!

20240131_000956 — – There are people in the world who refuse to let me be happy, yet Japan has allowed me to be happy. To be human, to be of my own entity, and to actually allow me to do what I desired. I was actually myself, and that made me cry happy tiers, especially on an old Pre-2020 VRChat note.

– [.que] – Blue Moment – (Sharing because it was part of the nightly playlist for that scenic peaceful segment.)

People may, or may not, understand the emotional impact that channel genuinely had on me. The scenic vibes, the music, it all hit me just perfectly enough to make me simply feel “nostalgic”. I been there in 2023, even proud of having been to those various locations. The same music also creatively used, highly common in Japanese created VRChat worlds for those artistic world vibes. It’s like being in a peaceful arctic blue sky (a dream), or even recalling the whole slew of happy memories with friends, family, and various friendly people. So serene.

During all this I was also forced to catch up on Azur Lane to progress in the event at the time. I even happily recruited new shipgirls for my fleet.

Screenshot_20240131_003343_Azur Lane — – Azur Lane – Fei Yuen get!

Screenshot_20240131_003534_Azur Lane — – Azur Lane’s Hu Pen get!

Screenshot_20240131_075839_Azur Lane — – Azur Lane’s Lung Wu get!

What a crazy emotional night. Yes, it’s self caused, with the help of that specific Japanese scenic TV channel. I even had Hakodate’s flight in mind, and what the struggles may bring. Everything was set, things mostly packed, and my new adventure to Hakodate was awaiting me.

(I wish I could have stayed in Shibuya, or even visit Shinjuku, my plans however wouldn’t allow it. I was being tugged to a new location.)

Sleep time!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Hokkaido is our next destination! Onwards to fun adventure! 😉

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Trip to Japan – Round 2 – Day 4 (2024)