One week ago x Day 1 x Tokyo to Ike to Akiba

Exactly one week ago I was at the airport waiting to board the plane departing for Tokyo on my first ever trip alone overseas. It's starting to settle in that I'm back and it is over but that 3 day trip was way too short even though at times it felt like the moment would last forever. Guess I should do my recap before the daily humdrum of life grinds the experience out of me. This will be a relatively pic heavy post so please bear with me.

After running into a few fellow Nana-tards at the airport, the flight and transit was relatively uneventful but my lack of in flight entertainment meant I actually wrote a huge chunk of text that I will upload next post (its stuck in my phone's notes), I actually managed to get quite a bit of sleep on the flight and landed late in the morning at about 10am JST.

Immigration was smooth save for the one guy in front me who seems to have had nothing on his immigration card filled in, or was terribly suspicious which held my line up for close to 15 minutes. At this point I actually forgot that I had brought the bruised apples from home to snack on and happily checked nothing to declare on my declaration. I even conversed a little with the friendly security guy on duty who was surprised I could write my name in mandarin, though it was hardly kanji and he understood smatterings of english - somehow I waltzed into Japan with 3 whole apples in my carry on. Apples that I proceeded to promptly consume over the day to rid myself of the evidence.

Parting ways with the two lovely ladies who entertained me in transit and on the landed parts of the flight ( wonder if they are back in Singapore yet) I chose the 1000yen express bus (instead of the express train which would have cost more than double) to Tokyo station (which was where they were headed too). By the time I stepped on the 11am bus, I was wide awake, armed with my first purchase in Japan, a 140yen bottle of pocari sweat out of - a vending machine, not the most memorable or unique thing but I was thirsty and the vending machine accepted 1000yen notes! The bus was super cool, with charging ports next to every seat, pity my adaptor was in my main luggage in the hold or I would have juiced up my phone.

My initial plan was to swing by Ikebukuro to shop the Pokemon Centre and Animate HQ plus scope out the YuGiOh collaboration Cafe but decided to hang around Tokyo to try and complete a mini side quest: flower spotting. It was cherry blossom season and though the season was ending and the petals was dropping all over I figured it would be a good idea to grab a boxed lunch and eat under a Sakura tree with its petals dropping all around me. Google conveniently pointed me to Daimaru linked to Tokyo Station (it is huge, sprawling and can easily get one lost in short order if you aren't keen on following signs) where there was all manner of edibles sold at the basement. I wish now that I took pictures of all the various Sakura appreciation bento on sale ranging from hamburgers (just the meat patty), to sushi, to salads and even dim sum- I finally settled on an alluring tempura boxed set.

Next was to find the Sakura, more googling led me to the nearby Imperial Palace Gardens, which I DID NOT REALISE was closed on Friday, so I walked around the outskirts like all the other tourists taking pictures of the walled moat and the structures hidden beyond. There were a few blossoming trees but nothing close enough to sit under, plus they didn't let you step on the grass itself. I settled for a spot near a rather prominent tree and sat by the gravel side eating my boxed lunch.

My first mistake was picking a tempura set, by the time I made the trek over the beautiful batter had gone soggy and turned from a crisp light yellow to a soft brownish mess. Naturally this detracted from the taste a little though the sauce laden rice and pickles were good enough to have been eaten on its own. My second mistake was mistaking the patterned styrofoam box for a real wooden box, that box actually influenced my decision to take the set since I thought i'd get a cool knick knack to keep- guess not. After lunch, I continued my walk to snap more pics of trees and a cool bridge that is apparently Tokyo's most famous bridge, there were people on it so there must have been a way across the moat but at that point it was almost 3pm and I was getting tired.

After walking one big round I tried to return to Tokyo station only to run into a smaller park nearby that was full of flowering trees, large grassy areas to laze around on and even benches along the side if the grass wasnt quite your thing. Mentally kicking myself while I cut through towards Tokyo station I was met with a crossroads. Do I head to Akihabara and wait for my check in at 4pm or resume my initial plan to visit Ikebukuro? It was at this juncture I had a revelation. This entire trip itself was one big YOLO, since I was already here why not make the most of it? It was what inspired me to spend 2 hours trekking along a closed garden space and since they would hold my reservation ( I had already paid by credit card when I made my booking) why not? So I bought a Suica with 2000yen value and headed for Ikebukuro.

Hopping into the station I had to take a few turns to catch the right line that went to Ikebukuro, a 30 minute ride away. There, Google maps saved my life big time as I headed off in randomly (very wrong) directions multiple times trying to find the Animate and Sunshine Plaza, when I finally made it to Animate I was informed there were TWO Animate in Ikebukuro, and to avoid heading to the wrong one I double checked- thankfully I was at the right one. The 7 story building was a place filled with the dreams of fans wanting to part their hard earned money for merchandise: everything from edibles to art books, character goods of all kinds and even places for budding doujinshi artistes to resupply.

Look at the kinds of goods, not just anime, manga, but even mobile games had a section. The theme for the season was Boku no Hero Academia, a series that I myself am pretty hyped for and there were character standees on every stair case landing as well the television sets were looping the OP and ED. Naturally I gravitated towards the CD/DVD floor was was promptly greeted with a live sized version of Nana promoting Nana Clips 7 and a large poster. The floor was amazing and I was more than tempted to pick up some old albums and singles~ there was quite a large display for My Petit Lady as well but it was hard to take pics of only Aoi Yuuki so I kinda left it alone.

The trip back to Akihabara showed the effectiveness of the JR line, half way there was a delay and the delay was announced ahead of time a few stations before and repeated up to the delayed stop- at that stop almost everyone left the train car! I thought it would be a long delay but the doors were just held open for about 5 minutes, guess that is long enough to derail the best laid, well scheduled plans. Nevertheless the train proceeded smoothly and dropped me off in the mecca of anime otaku~AKIHABARA! Though it was pretty late and I was tired and aching so I proceeded to check in and drop my bags off before heading out to look for a late dinner (I had no idea this would be my earliest dinner in Japan heh).

I settled for a 24h Nakau nearby my accomodation (thanks for supporting Nana Mizuki Live Galaxy 2016!) but they no longer had posters with Nana's face on it. After dinner, a quick nip into the nearby Family Mart to pick up some onigiri for the next day's queue and I was back to my bunk. No pics of the place cos I was a silly goose and didnt think to take pictures till I already checked out orz.

This concludes Day 1 of my Live Galaxy adventure, days 2,3 and a bit of 4 plus my reflections on the flight there will be uploaded soon (I hope). Can't wait to go back to Japan again, and hopefully to see more Nana live! Yay! <3 nbsp="" p="">

Countdown to Live Galaxy T-minus 27 hours x Trepidation

I was meaning to make it a series, at least one post every day or every two days highlighting the countdown but like always, time got the jump on me and before I know it - im flying off tonight.

As the clocks ticks my preparation time away I've become more aware of a few issues I'll need to tackle.

Firstly is the weather, it isn't cold enough for snow now but it is cold and windy enough for chaffed lips and dry throats- I'll need to rustle up a scarf and some lip balm before I go. A hat, ear muffs, hoodie or beanie will help immensely as well.

Secondly, In a particularly complex case of my overseas mobile data provider falling ill and disappearing for a few weeks, I finally got my hands on the unit yesterday, sans powerbank. Charging it overnight reminded me of an issue I might face. Without a "room" am I able to leave stuff charging when I'm NOT at the hostel? Seems like an issue we'd never consider but I guess I'll find out in a few hours. To showcase the severity of this potential problem lets list the items that might need charging:

1) Phone
2) Power bank
3) Mobile Wifi
4) MP3 Player
5) 3DS

Thats it for me, other people may also have their tablets, camera, other gaming devices and laptop. I'll have to prioritize what I need powered throughout the day

Thirdly, I'm not sure if I have enough cash to spend there~ minus live goods my spending and eating budget seems pretty slim. Might change another 100+ dollars (thats all i can spare) later before I leave (At ridiculous rates, it was so much better last week). Then again, what if I change too much at this bad exchange rate and get stuck with yen?! Better to have more I guess-

Lastly, my luggage space. Im bringing a backpack- which is 80% full atm and to my horror: it weighs nothing like 20kg. Having bought extra luggage space I feel like I've scammed myself. Even when full it wont hit 20kg, and I dont have much in the way of luggage space. Should I repack into a proper luggage? I'd hate to have to lug it around though, how perplexing. Might run out of space to bring goods back especially if I get any figures at all.

I'm only 6 hours away from my flight and another 16 odd hours away from Japan. Looking forward to updating with more news and possibly some pictures (my phone has no space for videos)

Countdown to launch T-minus 7 Live Galaxy x Introspection

In one week, at this very moment I should be fast asleep or I wont be able to catch the first train to meet my friends and queue for live goods at 4am+ (3am+ SG time). I know that I wont be able to sleep, as it is I already sleep on average at 1am each night. The past few days have gone by in a blur and I haven't fully come to terms with the haste at which my departure approaches, I have yet to change money, or begin packing.

While it isn't the first time I'm flying overseas without family it should be the first time I'm flying off alone. Granted it is a short trip, way shorter than I would have liked- it is a trip I've been meaning to embark on. I promised myself after Live Castle that if Nana ever returned to Tokyo Dome, I'd be there to catch it, so when the news came out in Dec my heart leapt out of my chest a little. I didnt expect my chance to come so soon (well soon, is relative to Live Flight+ since Live Castle was in 2011 and it has been 5 whole years)

I want to take this chance to get some things off my chest that have been weighing on my mind a bit ever since I decided to go for this live.

I guess this fandom came as a surprise to a few people, especially those who kind of knew me since childhood. I can't pin down exactly where I came to know Nana-sama, but I guess it would be around the time Nanoha aired- so around 2004-2005. Aside from the OP (Innocent Starter) and Fate's VA, the Naruto anime also led me to find out she was Hinata's VA. Hinata x Naruto was so pushed so it wasn't a popular pairing but I found it cute (I'm glad it prevailed in the end).

Her prominence in my mind faded until a good 7 years later, when Symphogear came along. That was the first time I truly engaged actively pursuing Nana as a fan. That show is my guilty pleasure, it hits all the right spots, hot blooded fighting, transformation sequences, mech-ish suits, magical powers and the singing + fighting mechanics all made it a standout concept to me, however poor the plot might be in hindsight. So if I had to pick, Synchrogazer would be my entry point, not Eternal Blaze or even Phantom Minds which I kept in my hard disk since it sounded amazing. I even used Synchrogazer as my alarm tone for a few months till I cant listen to it without feeling a jolt like I needed to wake up.

Knowing that Nana-sama does not stray past Japanese shores I was content reading second hand accounts of her lives, I have to thank a select few bloggers from Teamliquid for their detailed coverage of her live performances and exposing me to more of her older works. Then came 2013, when magically TMR brought her along for Valverave night at AFA. It was like a dream come true, and I was blown away by how good her live presence and performance was, I was hooked from that moment onwards.

AFA had already taught me that live performances had a powerful impact that recordings could not replicate, being there engraved the performance on your soul and left a high that could last days, even weeks. I can consider myself blessed that in a short span from 2013-2015 I experienced so many events including Live Flight+, which is amazing being so close - there are times I literally spaced out just listening and had to catch myself from being so lost that I forgot I was there, barely 5m away from her live. Meeting the local fanclub during the Live Circus live-viewing was also life changing, knowing there are others, definitely more seasoned fans and being part of the community helped immensely.

My fear is that with so much development so quickly, and now in 2016, I'm going to Tokyo Dome to watch a live, have I run out of goals as a fan too soon? This journey feels like it will end if I hit the climax this easily, before it had a chance to ripened and matured.

Today I got to see another fandom bear witness to their idol group disband after their final live performance. Some fans were moved to tears, others were unsatisfied with the way the last hurrah ended, and yet others remained ambivalent, without enough time to process their feelings yet. As I prepare to watch another milestone in Nana's journey unfold, I cant help but wonder- with the her lack of roles in the past and coming season, and therefore reduced participation in recent events as well as her more frequent forays into other genres, I pray with all my might that this live will not be the place she declares her decision to leave the seiyuu/anisong business. I have voiced this concern to other fans whose responses have ranged from downright dismissive to giving me a cursory agreement, but I feel there is a shift that is occurring, if not in her management, then in my attitudes.

Why do we chase idols, or games or shows, its all to distract us, go give us entertainment and interest in life. After we hit the peak, what if we gain a resistance to the things that used to interest us? Like drugs,  what if we grow too desensitized from the things we love, I'm afraid I will lose my sense of awe for Nana, I really am terrified beyond words. To extrapolate, this trip to Japan, on my own is where I will face the "mecca" of anime otaku, what if it does not live up to the hype somehow, what if I find that it "just isn't all that special". What then?

I will find out in seven days.