It's Saturday and of course we don't have school.
The Kyoto trip was cancelled, and nobody really had anywhere in mind that they wanted to go.
I woke up at around 10ish, waaaaay before Demetri.
I didn't really have anything to do so I just internet-ed until I got hungry.
By the time I came back with a bento, Demetri was up.
It was around then that I started thinking about what I wanted to do today.
We got a knock on our door from Maaike and Lali.
They wanted to know if either of us wanted to go to "Sanrio-land" (that wasn't the real name, I forgot what the real name was). It was pretty much just a theme park based around Sanrio characters.
Although Demetri rocks a Hello Kitty backpack and a hat (and God knows what else), he wasn't down to go. He had researched it beforehand and found out that the park itself was pretty lame; very few rides and essentially a giant shopping area. That, and he didn't know any Sanrio Characters besides Hello Kitty.
I wasn't down to go to begin with.
And on a side note, I dunno if you've picked it up from the previous posts, but things have been getting a little tense over here.
People are getting very edgey with each other, rivalries (not the good kind) are popping up, and attitudes have been going down the shitter.
That being said, I really just wanted to go out by myself today. ALL of the previous trips have been with a group, and more often than not, it would end up with half or more of the people dissatisfied or just straight up pissed off.
This would be the first time I'd gone out by myself since DAY 0, but even then, that was just around Nishi-Kasai.
My destinations would be two places.
Washimiya and Satte.
It was around an hour to get there (one way), but you'll see why I decided to go to these places.
Anyways, Demetri was busy being pissed off at Eric cuz something that Eric told him to do fucked with his computer and he was trying to fix it. I told him about my plans to go out to Washimiya and Satte. He kind of wanted to go, but I had to kind of talk him out of it. I was afraid that the things that I wanted to see would just piss him off, being that it was an hour away, and also since he was already pissed off at Eric. Besides, he was fixing his computer.
So I was off.
I ran into Jamar on the way to the train station. He had similar style plans as I did: just pretty much roam around by himself and chilling out. The difference is that he's always been going off on his own, while the rest of us would be in a group.
I guess I can kind of see now why he would prefer to be alone most of the time.
I took pictures of the directions to the places, since I tend to fuck up a lot of directions when I'm by myself.
One for directions to Washimiya...
(The station is called Washinomiya for some reason. But the city is Washimiya. Confusing, yes.)
And one for Satte.
So THIS is a map of the complex Tokyo Metro system.
If you can find it, T16 is where I live (Nishi-Kasai, right side).
Also, to put things in perspective, my destinations weren't even on this paper. I think you'd have to go two whole pieces of paper up to map where I was heading.
Anyways...
My route was to go to Kayabacho (T11/H12), transfer to the Hibiya Line, go all the way up to Kita-senju (H21/C18), and then from there the route goes off paper. But you can see the first route picture for an idea of how I traveled (it wasn't exact).
The Skytree line was the longest part. It was kind of tedious, but I had to pay attention to make sure I missed my stop.
But guess what?
I missed it anyways.
My attention sucks harder than my Japanese.
A good thing came out of it though...
I ended up closer to my destination.
Also where I ended up was named after one of my favorite things to eat...
Since I was thrown off my planned course, I instantly went into dumbass-mode and I was just like, WHAT DO I DO?
But the station master office helped me out. All I had to do was show them the brochure of where I wanted to go and they pointed me in the right direction. I luv Japan.
So with the help of the Japanese peoples and my own chakras, I ended up where I wanted to go!
So why did I want to go to Washinomiya Station?
About 5-10 min from the station is a shrine, called Washinomiya Shrine. I wanted go see it.
It's known as the oldest shrine in the Kanto region.
But that was not the main reason why I wanted to see it.
Right when I got out of the train platform, I was greeted by something that brought a smile to my face and let me know that I was in the right area.
But I can't post it yet, or it'll give everything away.
Just outside the station, I tried to guess where the shrine was...but of course I was gonna get lost in a place that I've never been in before.
I stopped inside a small shop thingy (I don't even know if it was a shop or not. Maybe it was a hang out spot).
Two old ladies were sitting inside.
I decided to ask them for help.
This is pretty much how it went down...
[START]
Me: (sticking head in the shop) Anno....sumimasen...
Ladies 1 and 2: Hai?
Me: (easing myself into the room) Eego ga dekimasen?
Lady 1: Nope. (In Japanese)
Me: Oh boy...uhmmm...chottomatte kudasai.
Ladies 1 and 2: (laughing to themselves)
Me: (pulling out a notebook and pen and drawing a picture)
Me: (pointing to the pictures I just drew) Kore wa doko?
Ladies 1 and 2: (talking amongst themselves deciding whether or not it was a shrine)
Lady 1: Washinomiya [insert Japanese word for shrine]? (sorry I forgot the word).
Me: (getting excited cuz they understand) HAI!
Lady 1: (takes the notebook and pen from me and begins to draw a map)
Lady 1: (while she's drawing she calls out what she's drawing)
Lady 2: (translating in simple English words what Lady 1 is saying) River, bridge, red bridge...
(Then a bunch of getting oriented with the map with them)
Me: ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU!!! (full-on 90 degrees bow...ok maybe 45 degrees)
Ladies 1 and 2: Haaaiii, domo.
[END]
So this was the map that the Lady 1 drew me.
The box and the line are the station that I just came out of.
To the right, slightly, in a smallish box, was where I just asked for help and where they both were.
The road I would have to take went towards the right of the map to a bridge.
They told me to get to the first bridge, and then turn left (going up the map now) to a second bridge, which was red.
I would need to cross that bridge and straight down that pathway I would find the shrine.
Their map was pretty damn good because with relative ease I found myself at the red bridge.
When I got to it, I immediately felt a rush of happiness.
Those ladies were super nice to help me get to the shrine. I'm forever in their debt.
I crossed the bridge...
And I got there.
The sight nearly brought tears to my eyes.
And no, I'm not kidding.
I almost cried like a bitch.
Do you see it?
Do you understand?
Actually, it looks kind of different than what you would've seen, if you saw it at all.
Maybe this picture will help...
That's fucking right.
The Washinomiya area is a real place that found its way into multiple settings of Lucky Star.
In case anyone reading doesn't know, Lucky Star happened to be my favorite anime of all time (until Nichijou came along, but Lucky Star is still 2nd, if not tied with Nichijou).
I've rewatched Lucky Star 10 times to this day.
I listen to the soundtrack BGM regularly throughout the day.
I fucking LOVE Lucky Star.
One hour to get here?
WORTH IT.
Anyways, since I've told you all why I came here, let's back up a little.
Remember when I came out of the train station and I saw something?
This is what it was.
This place really takes pride in the fact that it's a big part of Lucky Star.
Before I got help from the old ladies, I tried to find my way using these flags stuck on poles.
These things were EVERYWHERE.
I've never seen a single anime celebrated as much as this city has done with Lucky Star.
It absolutely blew my mind.
Also, before I go on a giant tangent with Lucky Star, let me talk about this city.
You guys have already probably seen the urbanization of my area of Tokyo and some of the other areas that I've been to (excluding Nikko).
This city was classified as a suburban kind of city when I was reasearching it.
It was absolutely beautiful.
If Cerritos is classified as suburban, I'd say that this city would lean more toward countryside.
It was absolutely beautiful (I HAD TO SAY IT TWICE CUZ IT'S FUCKING TRUE).
While the urban areas of Tokyo usually focused on your consumerism, your own schedule, and your own desires, this part of Japan (Saitama prefecture, to be exact) seemed to rely heavily on the neighborhoods and the community of the residents. I saw many people just hanging out together, young and old, much talking and conversation among people (rather than the rushed process of grabbing convenience store food and such), and a slower pace of life overall.
Just with my small conversation with the two old ladies, I could tell that this part was a lot different from the main city.
I believe myself to be absolutely lucky to have experienced this part of Japan. It's something that only I can say that I did (within my travel study group) and my experience alone. Nobody can say anything about what I did without actually going there themselves, and that made today really special to me.
BACK TO FANBOYISM.
As you saw in the previous pictures, this place was a direct inspiration for some settings in the anime Lucky Star.
In fact, the Washinomiya Shrine is where the two Hiiragi sisters work every year for the new year.
I've heard something like the voice actors and the creator of Lucky Star (Yoshimizu Kagami) had a giant event there for Lucky Star.
Up near the entrance of the shrine was this plaque.
I had come all this way.
It was time to enter.
If you recall WAAAY back to Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, I took a picture of wooden plaques that you can write your wish on.
Washinomiya Shrine had this as well.
But with a HEAVY influence of Lucky Star (and other anime).
Other than the plaques, the shrine didn't deviate very far from the other shrines I've seen, probably since it's the oldest in our area.
It was also very empty too.
Only a couple of people were around.
I walked around the entire shrine (wasn't too big) and took some pics.
Like I said, the shrine wasn't too big, so I pretty much saw everything I needed to see.
It left me with a feeling of intense happiness and satisfaction.
I left the shrine.
The building to the right of the shrine entrance was decorated with Lucky Star stuff.
You can barely see the cardboard cutouts through the window in this picture.
The town was too nice to leave right away, so I walked up the street that the shrine was on.
It had a different beauty to it than the city did (the city is beautiful too, don't get me wrong).
The space seems more open.
I began to feel the weightlessness of not being with a group.
There were no obligations, no people to satisfy, and no people to piss off.
It was nice to just leisurely stroll down the neighborhood with myself and my thoughts.
The buildings began to thin out, so I walked back.
Lucky Star things continued to decorate the buildings.
I went into a mini-market place that also had Lucky Star outside the building.
I say "mini-market" as opposed to "convenience store" because it was like the Korean markets back home but just super small. It had fresh seafood and all sorts of other things like Asian markets should have.
And MORE Lucky Star shit inside.
With the things that I just experienced, I felt fully satisfied.
Plus there was another place I wanted to see, so it was time to head back.
I took the same path back that I took to get to the shrine.
I stopped by the place with the two ladies.
When I poked my head in again, I noticed that Lady 1 was gone, but Lady 2 was still sitting where she was last time.
I entered and thanked her again for her help.
Without them, I'd probably be wandering around for much longer than I needed to.
I showed her the picture that I took of the entrance of the shrine and she gave her approval.
Then she pointed at something that was hanging near the ceiling.
When I walked towards it, and when she explained what it was to me, I nearly shit myself.
It was a drawing of Konata and the signature of the man who made Lucky Star, Yoshimizu Kagami.
How do you finish off a good expedition?
Like that.
Again, I was getting really emotional.
It's not like Lucky Star was particularly moving or had a straightforward message.
But I enjoyed it to the point of repeatedly replaying the episodes many times.
This man's work had reached me all the way in the US and has provided me with a world that I could laugh with and appreciate.
Seeing something like this...just makes you realize how far you can reach to people with a work such as this.
Also, I have no idea how I missed it the first time I came into the room.
She let me take pictures of some other things too.
They really were nice people.
Off to the next stop...Satte.
Satte happens to be the birthplace and past hometown of Yoshimizu Kagami. His old house (since he moved out of Satte) has been transformed into a museum of Lucky Star and one of the rooms has been recreated to look like the room of Konata Izumi, the blue haired, otaku girl.
I got to the train station a little early though, so I just ended up walking up and down the tracks.
I found one last Lucky Star related thing at one end of the track.
I think that whole time, from the time I got to the shrine to the time I was waiting for the train, I had a giant mental smile.
The train didn't come for another 30 minutes so I just took some random pictures out of boredom.
Also, there were two very cute girls both wearing these athletic suits with marijuana leaves all over them. Sorry, no picture.
So the train came and after switching some lines, I found myself at Satte!
There were the same kind of flags that they had in Washinomiya.
I decided to see if I could actually find this place myself this time.
So I followed the flags.
They went straight a while, and then stopped and turned.
So I thought to myself that this was FOR SURE the way to the house.
But I was walking for a while and no signs were showing up.
So I ended up pulling the same kind of drill.
I wandered into a nearby bookstore and asked a worker inside if she knew where the house was.
She had to call multiple people before someone in the back came up and tried to tell me that it was closed.
I don't know if he meant it was closed for renovation, closed indefinitely, or just it was past the opening hours, but in any case, my chance for the day was shot and I wouldn't be able to go that day anyways.
At the very least, I can say that I've visited the hometown of Yoshimizu Kagami.
It was getting dark and I decided that it was time to head back home.
The train ride seemed a little shorter. Maybe because there were less people using the train.
Akihabara was on the way back so I decided to stop by.
I was on a mini-mission.
Gamers was my first stop.
To Josh Kyo Kim, if you're reading this.
I'm sorry.
Gamers didn't have Love Hina at all.
=\
But I did get you something else.
Again, apologies.
But if I do find it somewhere else, I'll get it.
Then I won't really know what to do with this one.
Also, I got something else...
MYSTERY BOOK.
Go ahead and decipher this with photoshop if you like (I dunno if that's even possible).
If you end up finding out what this is, I will say this:
If you see it, and you think that this is for you, it probably is.
Doesn't matter, it'll get to you soon enough.
Anyways, since I was already at Akihabara, I decided to stop by the arcade.
To do...what else?
STREET FIGHTER.
It was sad though, nobody was in my arcade group so I ended up playing single player arcade all the way through. I need to be more selective about where I sit.
I felt like I needed something else so I played 100 yen worth of jubeat (3 songs).
I realize how much I suck after I stepped up to the medium level.
But oh well.
It was getting late so I decided to head back.
Demetri was gone when I got back to the room.
He didn't tell me anything about where he was going.
Right now as I'm typing this, it's 4 AM and he's still not back.
Should I be worried?
Probably not, since Kevin is also gone.
I asked the rest of them and they said they're probably out drinking/clubbing.
Although if I wake up and he's not here, I'm gonna start to get worried.
I went to Eric's room real quick to talk shit and talk about my day.
I wanted to tell Nathan too, but that fuck went to sleep before I could see his pretty face.
I really liked today.
I got to go adventuring all on my own, and it felt like I was just backpacking across the countryside.
I'm kind of bummed out about not being able to see the house in Satte.
Or playing anyone in Street Fighter.
Overall though, this may very well be one of the coolest days I've had here in Japan.
I can't believe I'm saying that right after I said that in the last post.
Shoutouts to Snowbourn.
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