OH YEAH ABOUT THE TRIP
Well, I'm still having trouble putting it into words, but it was more then perfect.
okay sentimental part over
I actually went with a student ambassador organization (read as: 30 other high schoolers) because there was no way my parents were ever going so this was my only option for now. It was really fun though! I think if I went on my own I wouldn't know what to do or where to go, so it really helped me see as much as possible.
It was 2 weeks. We stayed on Honshu (the main island) the whole time, but in it visited Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Hakone, Gifu, Takayama, Hiroshima, Miyajima, and Kyoto.
Tokyo was the best part for shopping, definitely. I didn't get too many crazy things, but just walking around looking was great!
AND OH GOSH AKIHABARA
OH AND WE ACTUALLY WENT IN A MAID CAFE BY SURPRISE
I JUST
(couldn't take pictures of the maido-sans)
BUT THE BEST PART WAS THIS
notable sw33t l00t:
-Inkay/Reuniclus/Espurr figures
-Ash XY hat
-so many snacks
-Nichijou (2 volumes)
-Doraemon anthology (I think it has all of them)
-Jojo's Bizarre Adventure vol. 1 (that and the other 2 are all in Japanese, obviously)
-Kendama ball game
-lots of brochures/pamphlets
-Year of the Ox chopsticks/rice bowl from host family ♥
-Studio Ghibli soundtrack
And I have a million more pictures but
I'm too lazy Tokyo had most of the Vidya game stuff
But in a really condensed list what I did:
-Went through lots of Tokyo (Takeshita, Harajuku, Asakusa, Roppongi, Akihabara, Nijubashi, etc.) and saw shrines/stores
-Climbed Mt. Fuji! (well only about 100m in the middle) but it was really foggy so it was hard to see much
-Stayed at a traditional styled inn in Hakone! I tried the Onsen and wore Yukata!
-Did a 3 night homestay with a Japanese family in Gifu! (BEST PART--they didn't speak English so I really got to practice Japanese!)
-Tried tea leaf picking and morning markets in Takayama (I touched the pacific ocean for the first time!)
-Went to Hiroshima peace memorial park
-Visited Itsukushima shrine and grand torii gate on Miyajima (there were deer everywhere! One tried to eat my shirt)
-Golden pavillion and Nijo castle in Kyoto! Also walked around through Gion district
-STUDIO GHIBLI STORE IN KYOTO
AND THE FOOD OH GOSH I MISS IT ALREADY
I had so many things but just to name a few:
-Cow tongue (goooood)
-Takoyaki (aw yiss)
-Squid sushi roll (not the tentacles and that was hard to eat)
-Eel and salmon egg
-Onigiri from convenience stores (the best)
-Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima (SO GOOD)
-Melon bread (already miss it)
-Choco cornet (and the inner Konata in me didn't know which end to eat it from)
-pickled plum (8LUH)
-Sweetfish, with face and all! (don't eat the face/tail, but they were there
)
-Shrimp burger from MacDonalds (yes yes yes)
Kat, the closest i got to rhythm games was the Namco Taiko drum game, which was lots of fun
I didn't find many Bemani things! I'm assuming they're rare
but it was so great! I'll add more stuff later but if you have any more questions I probably forgot to mention things but gah