VisibleSpectre's Figments

Hey everybody!  Tokyo has been crazy so far.  Most of the time I’m too sleepy to post when I get back at night, but we stopped in tonight to check for karaoke places.  About to go out again, but I’ll do a few quick replies first!  (Also I’ve been progressively finding gifts for super cool people and I’m excited to hand them over when I return!)

himeji castle is truly one of the awesomest places. oh gosh you guys this makes me so happy, you sound like you’re having the most incredible time!

I looked up Himeji castle just now and it looks sooo beautiful.  I’m sad to say that I don’t think we’ll have enough time to visit it while we are here since we densely planned our activites, but I will know in my heart that it is shimmy approved and that makes it automatically wonderful.  BTW, any hotspots in kamakura we should hit, or eat? :D

Oh, you should totally go check out Tokyu Hands in Tokyo. It’s this like ten-story mega-store. It’s in Shibuya; I bet you can find some Ghibli stuff in that district!

I took your advice and visited Tokyo Hands last night! Wow!  I got some sweet ass pencils and pens!  It was a really cool place, I didn’t even get to all the floors!

There was a ghibli themed store in the first floor of Kyoto Tower when I was there. An ice cream vendor near the Kamakura Buddha sells purple sweet potato ice cream. Any interest in the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara?

Have you been to the gundam cafe?  I’ve passed by it many times!  We weren’t planning on stopping in, but perhaps we are missing out?  I’ll keep an eye open for that Ghibli store!  Thanks!  I haven’t lost hope for some serious Ghibli buying.  Oh boy I’m gonna have to look out for that ice cream.

Woo boy, bigtime sleep was achieved.  Longest I’ve slept in months, and now I’ve just returned from my first full day in Tokyo!  Lots of fun at Sensoji and Akihabara.  A bunch of people mentioned the Ghibli Museum, so I’m gonna respond to that here:  When I came to Japan two years ago, it was one of my favorite things about the experience.  I was beyond stoked to return, until I found out that the museum is closed for scheduled maintenance the exact days we are in the country (to the extent that it closed yesterday and actually reopens the day we leave!).  But thank you for suggesting it!  Definitely one of the most amazing things in Tokyo, I could die happy in just the wing of the museum that is covered in sketches from the production of the various movies.

 thejerseydevile answered: :D Ghibli museum! Definitely worth it! (They also have an adult sized cat bus I didn’t see when I was there) Have fun!

They do indeed have a cat bus!  The kids crawling around in/on it were having a blast haha.  Thanks!!

 spicyshimmy said: AHHHHHHHHHHHH YOU GUYS HAVE AN AMAZING TIME YOU HEAR ME?!

AAAAAAAHHH WE WILL I PROMISE, THANKS SHIMMY!!

 andrastegrace answered: Kyoto is just fun to wander and find beautiful shrines! Tokyo had beautiful gardens in the Ginza area, and of course Akihabara is always fun

Just came back from half a day in Akiba!  That place is dangerous for my wallet - I’ll be sure to check out those Ginza gardens! Thanks!

 anniezard said: If the Sumo circuit is in Tokyo this time of year, it’s totally worth getting tickets. We saw it in Nagoya! Crazy fun to see. Seconding the Ghibli museum; I never got to go, so I need to live vicariously through you. Have a great time regardless!

*sends Ghibli museum vicarious waves to you* I hope you return to see it someday soon!  I’m not sure if Sumo is going on around here now, but I’ll look into it!  Thanks!

 phantomseptember answered: WHAT?! That’s awesome! Have lots of fun! I would suggest the Ghibli Museum. But I bet you’ve already planned for that one.

*tears* ;^; Ghibli whyyyyy.  Haha thanks though Phantom!  I’ll be having a tons of fun of course, despite the lost Ghibli opportunity (going to hunt down stores though and look for sweet Ghibli themed stuff).  

 poupon answered: get rice glue! then you can…. glue. rice. LISTEN.

Hey, look, listen!  You are the Navi of adhesive advice dearest Poupon.  If I see some I’ll grab it for all of my rice gluing needs.

 kiikiibee answered: If you like arcade gaming you can ride out to Yokohama! Asakusa’s shrine is very nice, and visit Himeji Castle! Have fun in Japan! :)

I spent the first half of the day at the shrine and the surrounding shops!  Great advice :).   I’ll look in to Himeji Castle!  Thanks much!

So… hello!  I realized I didn’t talk about this… like at all on here, but guess where I am currently.  Hint:  it’s Japan.  JAPAN!  Very excited, exhausted from the flight, but just wanted to make a little post before I go out to find delicious food (never very far here).  I hope everything in the USA is going well!  Don’t disappear while I’m gone, that would make things very difficult for all of us.  

Any of my tumblr buddies have any recommendations to check anything out in the Tokyo and/or Kyoto area?