It's been awhile since I last updated this thread... Due to a couple of bad experiences late last year and early this year, I kinda lost my appetite for this hobby and decided to take a break. But since I just got back from Tokyo, I figured I'd post one last update.
My wife and I were supposed to go last March for the peak of their Spring season and I had also planned to go to the Tokyo Anime Fair... but we all know what happened to Japan last March.
It was hard to complain about our trip considering what had happened (especially after hearing firsthand stories from Tokyo locals about their trying experiences when the earthquake hit their country). So we just re-booked and hoped for the best.
However, due to the difficulty with re-booking our flight, we had to cut our stay there to 4 days instead of our original plan to stay for 5 days. Good thing life if Tokyo was pretty much back to normal when we got there... plus, Spring season started late so there were still a lot of late blooming Sakura trees. All in all it was still a great experience, even if I didn't get to meet any anime celebrities (I was really hoping to meet anybody from Kawamori/Itano to Yoko Kanno/Maaya Sakamoto to Megumi Nakajima/May'n etc.... oh well, there's always next year or the year after
) it was still awesome to experience a totally different yet very interesting culture... to see upclose the sublimely beautiful Sakura trees... to be able to go to Fuji and Hakone.... to experience their railway system... and to ride and witness firsthand their vaunted Shinkansen... to savor their authentic cuisine especially my favorite - yakiniku... of course, the uber clean environment and virtually smokeless vehicles... their various landmarks, shinto temples, parks, the Imperial Palace, etc... witnessing the beautiful chaos that is the Shibuya crossing - from within the crowd and from the 2nd floor or Tower/Starbucks... not to mention every 3rd or 4th Japanese girl between 20-30 yo. is a looker... and of course, last but certainly not the least - going to Nakano and Akihabara ;D.
Hauls part...
Since I was in quitting mode, I wasn't really planning to buy any toys... maybe one or two, if I found something I couldn't resist...
I was able to resist the lures of Nakano Broadway... I only bought a couple of vintage art books... but I almost bought a very beautiful animation cel of Misa Hayase (DYRL) but decided I (and my wallet) wasn't ready to go down that road yet.
...but then I went to Akihabara...
I definitely wouldn't advise anybody trying to quit this hobby to go to Akiba
. Good thing I was able to limit myself to bargain items and a few hard to find items that I couldn't find before or regret not getting when I had the chance.
It all started with a couple of expensive patches and a cheap shirt...
...and then I blew a big wad of cash on these books from K-books and Kinokinuya (it was all downhill from here). This is a first for me so I'm still shocked that I spent a lot of money on books with text that I can't understand
.
best deal ever! SHF Son Gohan for 1,000JPY from Yodobashi Camera - Akiba.
Stick and Ley's Legioss and Tread from CM's for only 10,000JPY.
GFF/CR Force Impulse Gundam for 1900JPY (to add to my small selection of Seed mechas... apat na!
)
Figma Saber Alter and SHF Piccolo. Bought these at Yodobashi also.
RD Zangetsu. Regret not getting this when it was re-issued.
Never could find these in Mongkok the last couple of years I went there...
Figma Saber Lily... mint/never opened figure (game not included)
VF100 Armored VF-25F Alto Custom.
*i'm still not sure i'm inclined to keep this since i don't have any other figures in 1/100 scale... any takers?
bought a few more Ichiban Kuji chibi mechs to expand my collection.
bought a few Gundam shirts from UNIQLO.
That's it for now. Maybe I can post an update in Dec. if I can convince anybody to get me a toy or two for Christmas, lol.
... oh, did i mention she has an uber awesome rack! ;D
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