So, I just booked a flight to Japan

[Inquisitive Raven]

Do you know if the places you're staying have laundry facilities for guests? If so, you could probably get away with fewer clothes by washing them at the hotels. You should probably buy stuff like detergent locally.

[Bob Schroeck]

Don't forget to break in the boots before you leave.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[robkelk]

...
Seems like I have all the shit in ordered but I amn't any sort of traveller so i've no idea what I'm forgetting.
...

I've been lead to believe that there are shops in Japan.

One always forgets to pack something when preparing for vacation, but one can always purchase a replacement in a large city.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

Not so much forgetting to pack something, but forgetting to pack something important, that can't be replaced.

Also, is there anything anyone would like me to grab. Probably photograph-wise since most of yous are in the States, mind.....
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

Don't go out of your way to get a photo of the Tokyo Skytree, but if you're in the area...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

I'd request pics from Azabu-juban, but Google Maps and Street View serve all my needs in that area... and nothing else comes to mind.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

Skytree's on our list of things to do already.

We're actually closer to Tokyo Tower, mind. And Tokyo-3 (Just on the other side of the mountain....) If I'm lucky I might even snatch a photograph of an Eva Unit.....

Real photographs, unfortunately, because I'm also bringing a real camera with me.

Boots will be cool. Already pretty comfy when worn for a full day.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Bob Schroeck]

Well, then, if you make it up the Tower, I'd love to see photos (panoramic or otherwise) of the view. Particularly to the West-southwest.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

I'll try.

12 hours until we go to the airplane place and I haven't packed *shit*.
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[Black Aeronaut]

Ah, I forgot about your impending trip.

I'll hold off on expecting you to post anything in TNB. Have fun in Japan!

[Dartz]

Nobody warned me about the Heat. No wonder anime heroines dress so skimpily....

Also. 500euro for a nanoha boxed set.
Mother of god.

Yes. And the other things too. But it's late in the evening and I'm going for a point.

And one hell of a 6-course dinner....
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[robkelk]

IIRC, electronics are cheap and media is expensive. By the end of your trip, you'll be thinking "only €500 for a Nanoha boxed set."
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Dartz]

Kinda does explain piracy... There's expesive, and theres 'half my month's wages on one boxed set' expensive. Even if it was the entirety of televised Nanoha.

And also led to a mundane accidentally discovering the darker side of fandom - and by darker side, I mean the 18+ doujins - and by discovery, I mean wandering in to the wrong isle and being confronted face first by Futanari....

Which was bloody hilarious.

Either way, I've just finished up ona 6 course sortof mini-kaiseki dinner at the Hotel's restaraunt - which was far better than me, struggling with chopsticks (They make my hand hurt) - It looked beautiful, and it was tasty. It wasn't filling in the way Yank food is - a massive plate of stuff so easy to eat that you stuff until you burst - it was just sort of, I've eaten most of everything and it all tasted a little bit different, and I just realised I'm full and satisfied. Even if I probably did it wrong, the restaraunt staff were nice and understood it was my first time (With an intense look offrustrated concentration....). One more stupid foreigner story I guess, but I tried....
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[Black Aeronaut]

Trust me, Dartz, they appreciate you trying. They especially love you for trying to order in Japanese.

[ordnance11]

Dartz wrote:

---

Nobody warned me about the Heat. No wonder anime heroines dress so skimpily....

Also. 500euro for a nanoha boxed set.

Mother of god.

Yes. And the other things too. But it's late in the evening and I'm going for a point.

And one hell of a 6-course dinner....

Dartz, it's not the heat. It's the frakking humidity!
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Dartz]

The result is the same.

Arrived in Odawara last night. The bus struggled it's way up the hill past Hakone Yumoto station. (which looked oddly familiar somehow - what's that logo in the window? Amusing that the only reason that show was probably set here was to charge resort time to the company account. And now it's a local attraction for enough strange foreigners to make it worthwhile) along a switchback Road crying out for a decent sportscar. Eventually arrived in the dark, down a long hill to find a small place with its own hotspring and a wonderful fresh bamboo smell in the room.

TV turned on for background noise....Pokemon is still on, but WTF happened to it?

I finally understand why lobsters scream when they hit the pot. Good Onsen are totally worth the journey. Too small slippers that didn't fit my size 13 feet aside...

The air conditioner in the room is hateful loud at night in an otherwise silent room.
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[Dartz]

Met this badboy....ravaging near Ginza

And suffered the ravages of Akihabara
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[DHBirr]

I can't quite make it out -- who's the figure in the box just above the camera?
Oh, and Minmay?  Minmay, not Misa?  Seriously, hombre?

*****
"The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that this was some killer weed."
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Black Aeronaut]

You're thinking of that Harmony Gold knock-off bullshit that people mix up with Macross.

Lyn Min Mei is cute as hell.

And her Japanese voice actress can actually sing.
EDIT:
And Dartz, kinda surprised you didn't go for one of these: http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Galler ... C%2083.jpg

The CX650 Custom - Like a little cousin to the Shadow at the time, and the same engine that was used in the CX650 Turbo (only without the turbocharger, of course).

[Dartz]

It's a present for a former owner who's retired...... but still runs Kawasaki's. And lol'd at Bakuon.

DHBirr..... I've no idea. It's a Bome figurine and the copyright is 1995. It just looked nice.
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[robkelk]

DHBirr..... I've no idea. It's a Bome figurine and the copyright is 1995. It just looked nice.

Bome, eh?

(goes and looks)

If my Wikipedia skills are still good, she's Nakoruru from the game Samurai Spirits (and later appearing in King of Fighters).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakoruru

EDIT: Confirmed by a friend of mine - she's Nakoruru.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Dartz wrote:

---

It's a present for a former owner who's retired...... but still runs Kawasaki's. And lol'd at Bakuon.

*Googles*
Oh!

OOOHHHHH!!!

*Starts scribbling down IDEAS*

[Dartz]

It is indeed Nakoruru - my own google hath failed me. Thanks very much. Is it wrong that my second thought is, how does she fit into Fenspace?

In other news it looks like Tokyo Tower will be missed, due to someone getting it mixed up with the Skytree and squealing about it when they realised they were different.... We really didn't have enough time to do much of anything.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Dartz]

And I spoke too soon. We ended up passing it, so it was little skin of our backs to hop up at Akanebashi station and take a peek.

It is a bit more of a tourist trp than the sky-tree, and obviously feels far older but at the same time has a more personal charm to it. We didn't have much time to wander around, mind.....

One thing to note. It is surrounded by a clusters of small parks, older buildings and, I think, around 6 graveyards. At least, I think they were graveyards.









(Edited by Bob, to change imgur links to their "huge thumbnail" images.)
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[Rod.H]

That seems rather light for a Akihabara run, thinks I, till I remember the pile of japanese kits & goodies I've got probably fill 2-3 (or more) typical suitcases. I also rediscovered my unbuilt example of the SBY kit and either a cosmo zero or falcon.

Edit: Sendai'd. Yeah, those are graveyards.