Planning my trip!!

[fruittea_che]

Currently I'm planning a trip to Japan!
It's my reward for graduating haha...
Very lucky to have some help paying for it as a gift fro my parents.

Will be heading over there in February :3
It's been so hard to plan! There are a lot of things that I want to do that I just won't be able to.

For example I'm really interested in going to Ainu culture things because one of my best friends has some heritage and I really like the style of their traditional designs... but it is SO difficult to find museums and stores and information about Ainu that are accessible!! D:
The best places are too far in the countryside (ie the bus comes once a day...), or are just too far from my itinerary (8+hours one way by shinkansen)..... and the killer is that the ones that fit perfectly are closed for renovation but open just weeks after I leave xD AGH!!!

There are a few restaurants I can visit and a small part of museum but it's just not the same... I suppose it's also a symptom of Ainu culture generally not being well known and suppressed by Japan. Very sad! :( Hopefully one day I'll be able to come out here again in a different season.
I'd like to buy some art-pieces but I just don't think it's possible for me to go out there without a car and I am not renting a car.

I was really surprised even in Japan that Ainu people are not well known. I suppose that coming from an area where I was given a lot of education about the indigenous tribes in my area, somehow I must have stumbled onto a little bit of information on them? I honestly can't remember. It was before around 7th grade for me, because I remember playing Okami PS2 and thinking Kamui was a lot like Ainu stuff. I think it's cool Golden Kamuy has raised general interest in Ainu culture. I read a little bit of it, but only a few chapters. Basically enough to know what it is lol.


In general I'm super excited. I have 3 weeks there and then almost a week in Singapore, then it's back home~

I don't have much to do personally right now and searching for job has been hard ><
Also feeling some frustrations in my social life right now... feeling like I'm being ignored sucks. But the good news is that I also made up with someone else and I have plans to see some friends I haven't seen in forever! So incredible to retain friendships in far away places, thanks to the internet :3

Comments

[redpoem]

congrats on graduation!! I know it's early but I hope you have a good time in Japan!!
I don't know where you'll be going but if you're interested you should look into attending a con there (or look for the gachapons with cute stuff in it)

[fruittea_che]

Thank you so much! Im already pretty hyped about it!
I know I'd like to be able to attend comitia, and will be seeing A3 stage play.
And hopefully ill be able to do the 2020 tkrb stamp rally (ack, what is time?)

Have you been there before? Right now my plans are Tokyo, Kyoto/Kanto region and Southern Hokkaido! Would love suggestions.

[redpoem]

yeah I went for tsuruichi monme LOL
I'm not sure if you can visit all places you mentioned within three weeks. I mean it's possible but you should plan some leeway in case you want to stay somewhere longer or unfortunate accidents happen. if you cram too much at once, you're just rushing through your trip and that's not fun either. if you go to Hokkaido, please look out for shimaenagas for me

oh is there another stamp rally next year? I had the impression it was a time limited thing. you might as well visit the various shrines (and get their stamps) in Kyoto. I had a site bookmarked that listed notable shrines linked to swords, but I don't have it at the moment. I only remember Fujinomori and Awata shrine for... specific reasons. if you want to collect shrine stamps, you'll need a stamp book for those, I'd buy the one at Fujinomori shrine but you can buy them at many places. I have one from Awata shrine, but it's not as pretty imo, I can show it to you if you want to see.

I don't have any recommendations for places, though I wanted (but failed) to go to the Ashikaga flower park. you should pay attention online (on twitter) for time limited campaigns though. there's a tkrb collab with Animate cafe happening until mid-February, check it out.

oh but beware of tourist traps/spots. Harajuku's Takeshita-dori and Asakusa are popular tourist places, the former will have stuff targeted towards tourists, at the latter you'll find mostly tourists posing (in Japanese clothes) for selfies. Akihabara isn't that great imo, but Ikebukuro and Nakano Broadway are amazing.

another thing you should consider is how you transport your luggage. there's services in Japan that carry it for you from A to B, very useful if you travel long distances or don't want to carry them to the airport. please consider using this service, I had to carry my heavy luggage alone in the rain LOL

[fruittea_che]

Hmm i see.
I think i can make it work since im flying from kyoto to sapporo, then taking shinkansen down and visiting places on the way back to my tokyo flight! Im also more limited activity-wise bc i dont like snowsports like skiing/no flowerseeing under snow.

Thank you so much for the tips! Reconsidering Asakusa and Harajuku, might be better to avoid Shrine burn-out as well... I would definitely love to see your stamp passes.
Would they still be available now you think?

The new stamp rally is in Shizuoka(?) at city called Mishima, about 2.5 hours out from both Tokyo and Kyoto. Looks to be centered around Tonbogiri and Shinano (among others?). I also saw a traveling event on official twitter but unsure if id make that too. Alas if i could be there just a month earlier to see the live performances as well! Its okay ill go see A3.

Oh god yesss I will probably do that if available for my lodging. These noodle arms probably cant handle my shopping haha. Getting caught in the rain sounds miserable 😭

Also curious did you ever get to try the tkrb sakes on your trip?

[redpoem]

I think the sake was released after I returned (I went this February LOL), reminds me if you want to bring those back, put it in your check-in luggage (not the one you bring on-board). any stuff you can buy at the airport is fair game (to bring onto the plane) so you can do last minute shopping there. my sister really liked the tokyo bananas and (royce's) nama chocolate is good as well

stamps from shrines should still be available, just go to the counter and give them your book and pay (they usually cost between 300-500 yen, though some shrines don't hand them out). if you visit shrines make sure to donate some money and pray... yes I did that at all the shrines I visited why are you asking


these are my stamp book (left) and the bag I put it in (right), I bought them at Awata shrine. next to it is the stamp (red) I received, after they stamped it they wrote the black part in ink. was fun to watch. just click on the thumbnail for a bigger picture.

oh I see, I must have slept on that news. if you have the time (and energy) left, you should consider going there. well theres still time until February, there might be more things happening until then. oh and if you go to any cons, you should prepare and plan where to go

[fruittea_che]

Ooh~ Then I'll do that in Kyoto!
Very pretty. I want to do that too TwT

I think it was announced fairly recently. I only found an announcement when I specifically looked for stamp rally information... Do you know what the booklets are called?

I have one booth I plan to visit at the con (if they end up going...)! I think I need to wait until they announce booth placements or something, but I might just wander around. If I end up nixing Asakusa or Harajuku (depends on my travel partners too) then I might be able to fit a Touken only, although I'm not too into the pairings they have during that month.

[redpoem]

which booklet? the stamp books for shrine stamps are called goshuin-cho (御朱印帳)

you get the tkrb stamp rally sheet (don't think it's a booklet?) at the designated place(s), I just found info of it: website. yeah it's better to wait to see who will attend comitia. most people will only show/post their goods shortly before the event starts. when you line up for entry to a con, you can usually buy a catalogue with information like maps with circle positions. there's a tokyo fes and comic city (shizuoka) on 16th February as well btw.

[fruittea_che]

Wow took a look at ashikaga park and its gorgeous! Im visiting during February though so missing out on most of the flower activities 😭 i dont mind so much sakura/plum bc theres plenty of those where i live, but the hydrangea and wisteria look so beautiful.