Tag Archives: Japanese food

3rd & 4th February 2023: Final Fantasy Distant Worlds 35th Anniversary – Coral – in Barcelona (Spain)

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3rd February 2023: Mummies, fish, and music

Though I would not have minded to become a gamer back in the day, my joint issues discouraged this. Thus, my relation with the Final Fantasy saga is tangential. However, my sibling is a big fan of one of the instalments, and last year I accompanied them to Final Fantasy VII Remake Orchestra World Tour in Barcelona in 2021. Having had more time to prepare for this one, we got VIP tickets, and I planned a two-day outing.

Our arrival in Barcelona happened right on schedule, and we walked from the station to Caixa Forum Barcelona to see the exhibit Momias de Egipto. Redescubriendo seis vidas – Egyptian mummies; Rediscovering six lives, in collaboration with the British Museum. I am not sure whether the items are part of the actual collection over there or are in the archives, because I don’t really remember seeing any of the mummies. The Barcelona exhibits focus around six mummies and how they lives could have been before their deaths. Aside from the actual mummies and their sarcophagi or coffins, there are objects that they may have used in life, and images of what the bodies look like inside the wrappings.

It was at the very same time interesting and creepy, everything we can get to know through technology about these poor souls who passed away millennia ago. There was information about their age, illnesses, and objects they had been buried with – god statuettes, jewellery, funerary miniatures… One of the mummies in display was that of a small child with his face painted on the wrapping, that was more than a bit creepy, to be honest.

A collage showing a a mummy and a turquoise wrapping; a sarcophagus; four canope jars; three statuettes: Horus, an ibis, Thoth; close-up of a sarcophagus, with bright colours; a mummy and a plain wooden casket.

We took the underground towards the waterfront to visit L’Aquàrium de Barcelona, located in the harbour. With more than 11,000 animals and 450 species, it is the largest aquarium dedicated to the Mediterranean Sea. It was inaugurated in 1995 and it holds 35 aquariums, including an oceanarium with capacity for almost four million litres of water (36 metres diameter, five metres high) with two tunnels at the bottom. Species-wise, the aquarium does not have anything out of the ordinary, but the size of the tiger sand sharks is impressive. There are a few sharks, some tropical fish, axolotls, frogs… and a very fun sperm-whale room to keep the jellyfish in darkness.

A collage of the aquarium. Seahorse; swimming sharks; anaemone; baby dogfish shark; tiny crustacean similar to a prawn; sand tiger shark; octopus trying to eat the viewers; penguin showing off; fabulous tiny jellyfish

We grabbed an expensive-but-convenient bite to eat at the aquarium itself during some of the feeding events to make sure the cafeteria was empty. AFter we had finished viewing all the exhibits, we went on towards the hotel, which was well-placed between the auditorium and the shopping centre. Since check in had been so bad when we went to the previous Final Fantasy concert, this time we had booked different accommodation, and it was a total 180 – everyone in the hotel was super friendly, and we had zero issues. We procured some sandwiches for dinner, then got ready for the concert.

The Final Fantasy Distant Worlds 35th Anniversary – Coral – directed by Arnie Roth is a compilation of the background pieces from all the Final Fantasy games, from the first (1987) to the latest to date not counting the remakes (Final Fantasy XV, 2016). The concert was held at the CCIB – Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona. We had no idea what time doors would open, but I calculated that an hour should be good for queuing for merch and then get to our seats.

By the time we got to the queue, the concert booklet had already been sold out. When we reached the front, my favourite plush toys were also gone. I decided to get the previous year’s CD in order to get it signed later at the meet & greet event that was included in the ticket we had bought. Looking back, maybe I should have asked for the autographs on the tote bag we got for the spending.

The concert had two halves and an encore, and was… strangely not very coral, for something called so. The choir was placed over to one side, and only did three or four songs – they actually did not show up for the whole first half. The set list was accompanied by projected images on the screen and it was super-impessive to see the first 8-bit games at first compared to what the technology of the latest Advent Children (movie from Final Fantasy VII) managed to create.

    First half

  1. Final Fantasy I~III: Medley 2002
  2. Final Fantasy III: Eternal Wind
  3. Final Fantasy IV: The Red Wings ~ Kingdom of Baron
  4. Final Fantasy IV: Main Theme of Final Fantasy IV
  5. Final Fantasy V: Home, Sweet Home ~ Music Box
  6. Final Fantasy V: A New World
  7. Final Fantasy VI: Phantom Forest ~ Phantom Train ~ The Veldt
  8. Final Fantasy VI: Kids Run Through the City
  9. Final Fantasy I~VI: Battle Medley 2022

    Second half

  10. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali
  11. Final Fantasy XI: Ragnarok
  12. Final Fantasy XII: Flash of Steel
  13. Final Fantasy VII: Aerith’s Theme
  14. Final Fantasy XIV: Torn from the Heavens
  15. Final Fantasy XV: Apocalypsis Noctis
  16. Final Fantasy IX: Not Alone
  17. Final Fantasy X: 素敵だね [Suteki da ne] (Isn’t it wonderful?)
  18. Final Fantasy Main Theme with Choir ~ The Definitive Orchestral Arrangement ~

    Encore

  19. Final Fantasy X: Zanarkand
  20. Final Fantasy VII: One-Winged Angel

The concert was all right. I did not feel the general chill I had through the previous one. I really liked Liberi Fatali and One-Winged Angel, but I guess I don’t have enough of an emotional connection with most of the games. Aside from the conductor Arnie Roth, we had composer Yoko Shimomura present, and vocalist RIKKI, who is the original singer of 素敵だね in Japanese, and did the live version.

Collage. Three pictures show a classical orchestra with different things projected on the screen behind them - the logo of Distant worlds, several 8-bit screenshots of games, a very realistic depiction of a blond man with a very unrealistic sword. The last picture shows singer RIKKI, composer Yoko Shimomura and conductor Arnie Roth

The M&G was fun, and I got to tell Roth that when I grow up I want to have as much fun as he does at work. They signed autographs and took pictures with people – it was much less stiff than the usual, too. We headed off afterwards for a sandwich, a shower and a good night’s sleep. In general though, not much value for money considering how much more expensive the VIP tickets were, even though the seats were good. Also, the fact that most merchandising sold out showed poor planning.

Collage. The ticket reading the name of the concert, the autographs of the three main artists, and a plush of a Final Fantasy imaginary being, it looks like a white teddy bear with a huge pink nose, a red ball on top of it and cute wings

4th February 2023: Ramen with Friends

We had bed and breakfast at the hotel, and the latter was fantastic. The buffet had both a juice bar and a milk bar – both of which I sampled, of course. I overdid it with the fried egg, I fear, but they were just cooked and it looked just too appetizing not to fall for one. After breakfast, we packed up, vacated the room, and asked the hotel to keep our bags for a couple of hours. We went to the science museum Museu de Ciències Naturals NAT, where we spent a couple of hours. This is the only place where they refused to speak Spanish to us.

The museum is divided in several areas. The first one is “history of the Earth”, where you can see a few interactive exhibits, fossils and reproductions. The second one is the collection of living animals, most of the stuffed, some of them just skeletons. There was another one about fungi – with the edible ones exhibited in tins. Then there was one on plants, and finally rocks and minerals. Not a bad place to spend a couple of hours, but it is just one of those places that takes itself much more seriously than it should, to the point that it felt pretentious. Some items were exhibited over and over again, as if they just wanted to use up the room – I counted at least eight elbaite specimens in different locations, and there were a bunch of reproductions taking up important spaces, you would believe they were originals if not paying lots of attention to the writing, and the blue light made for horrid photographs.

Collage. Four pictures show prehistoric animals in blue light, stuffed animals, a tin of mushrooms along real specimens, a red algae and some shiny rocks.

We transited to Sants train station to drop off my sibling’s bag at the cloakroom there and went on to meet my Barcelona friends E**** and P***o who had offered to take us to eat really-real Japanese ramen. Since I had a feeling that the restaurant would be on the small-ish side, and my sibling’s luggage was a bit oversized since they had cosplayed for the concert, I decided on the Sants detour for convenience.

The restaurant is called KOBUTA ramen i més (Kobuta Ramen and More) and I was amused when all of us made the same choice – tonkotsu miso ramen with an extra of half an egg, and water; then we shared some gyoza (dumplings) and karaage (fried chicken). The restaurant is not cheap, but the food makes up for that, it is very authentic Japanese food.

Collage. A dish of breaded fried chicken, some dumplings, and a bowl of ramen, with the ingredients floating - algae, half an egg, noodles, pork meat and spring onion

Though P***o had to leave early, the rest of us headed off towards the bullfighting-ring-turned shopping centre Arenas de Barcelona. There, we climbed up the terrace for views, then sat down for drinks and a long chat. We also popped into the local comic store, since it was convenient, and eventually we headed off to the station.

Collage. Shopping centre las Arenas, a round building that used to be a bullfighting ring, there are two pictures, one by daylight and another one at night, lit up. There's a picture of the views- two clock towers leading to a palace; finally three glasses together showing brightly coloured drinks - yellow, orange and dark pink

The train ride home was surreal. People playing music on their phones, yelling, talking loudly and making the footrests squeak – apparently there had been some kind of sporting event for kids and a lot of families were coming back home. All in all, not a bad couple of days, lots of laughs, I got to see dear friends and eat nice food, and listen to cool music – in the CCIB, not on the train.

11th & 12th December 2021: Final Fantasy Remake Orchestra World Tour, Barcelona (Spain)

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11th December 2021: El Triángulo Friki

When the tickets for the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Orchestra World Tour first came out, 2020 promised to be an amazing year. True, we all know how that turned out, but the point was that I did not have enough fun funds at that moment. So I just looked at the Barcelona dates, sighed, and never bought tickets because I decided that it was a low-priority event for me. Then, what happened happened and the tour was pushed forward to 2021. By chance, back in summer this year, I saw that it would take place on a Saturday, the 11th of December 2021. My sibling overheard me mulling whether I wanted to try to go or not this time over, since I had not done much on the nerdsphere for a while, and the low priotity was conflagrating with higher priortity and the still lacking fun budget. They didn’t know about this, though, and they proposed we went together. I thought it was a good opportunity for a weekend out, so I did some checking. We found some tickets that had been turned back, in an amazing place, actually – row #5 on the stalls. We booked a hotel and trains, and just went on with our lives.

The train left around 8:00 and arrived in Barcelona short from 11:00 – both of us had been in town before and were looking for an “alternative” plan. I had been checking out different options, and by pure chance, on Thursday, I found out that there is an area in Barcelona called Triángulo Friki, something akin to “the nerd triangle”. It is an area near Arc de Triomph that holds a bunch stores which specialise in comics, manga, figures, merchandising and so on. I thought it could be a fun thing to see, as Japanese stuff a hobby I share to some extent with my sibling.

We took the commuter train to the area (commuter train tickets are complementary with long-distance ones, which helps, as the Barcelona public transport is very expensive) and wandered around a bunch of shops, under the agreement not to spend too much money nor to buy anything that did not fit in our backpacks. We… failed the mission successfully. On the sixth or so shop I got myself a Christmas present that sure as hell did not fit in the backpack.

A collage showing the entrance to a bunch of comic and gaming stores. Most of them have a window showing Funko pops

One of the shops we visited was Tsume Store, in association with Global Freaks. Tsume is a business that 3D-prints statuettes from anime designs, and Global Freaks is a merchandise shop. They have a partnership and Tsume is selling some of its statuettes through Global Freaks – we saw one of them, priced at 1400€. Most of the figures were just for show. On the other hand, Global Freaks had several things we bought (remember the “mission failed successfully” comment? We spent way too much money on stuff that did not fit in the backpacks). Furthermore, they had a reproduction of a motorbike from Akira (アキラ), a famous manga / anime – a cyberpunk action story whose main character, Shōtarō Kaneda, rides it through Neo-Tokyo.

Tsume / Global freaks store in Barcelona. There are different pictures of resine statues of different sizes (and prices), and a reproduction of an anime motorbike.

We walked towards the area where the basilica designed by Gaudí, and consecrated to the Holy Family, Basílica de la Sagrada Família, which had been decorated with a new twelve-point 7.5-metre 5.5-tonne star. As there was a Christmas market around the basilica, I thought that the start was just for Christmas, but it turns out that it is there for good.

A modernist cathedral. It looks a bit like it's melting. It has four towers, plus one with a star, and a triangular façade

We took an underground train to the area where the venue was, and we were there around half an hour before hotel was open to check ins so we decided to have lunch first in the adjoining shopping centre. We ended up at an Udon, a wannabe fancy noodle bar chain. This was our first time getting our Covid passport checked as it’s not necessary where we’re from. The whole process was fast – open the PDF, zoom in, get it read with a device, and a green light with our names on it lit up (eventually I just screenshot the zoomed-in QR). I still felt a little uncomfortable due to the amount of people in the restaurant, so we ate as quick as possible before heading off to the hotel.

A bowl of ramen and a peek of a tempura plate in the background

It was the worst check-in experience ever. First of all, I think it’s stupid to demand a payment deposit on an already-paid booking. Second, they tried to charge me for the room again, we were given one card key for two people which didn’t even work, and we were “upgraded” to a room with a city view (16 € more expensive than our booking), but that only had amenities for one guest. We needed to get off the lift to request another card in order to get to the 21st floor, and we finally got two working cards. Oh, and the hotel was hosting a bunch of teams for some kind of handball championship who thought masks were for lesser beings and got away with it, despite the super-strict Covid-policy the hotel claimed to have, and with the obvious blessings of the clerks, despite other guests’ complaints.

Two views of Barcelona from above, one with daylight, the other one at night. The buildings are apartment blocks, rather regular, and you can guess the long streets that separate the different areas

We stayed in the room, just chatting and taking in the astonishing views (nah, I’m not being sarcastic (≧▽≦).) The FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Orchestra World Tour concert was to start at 20:00, but doors were at 18:30. It took place in the convention centre CCIB – Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona, which… actually turned up to be the auditorium of the local Natural Science Museum. That was confusing for a minute.

We were quite literally across the square so we just had to go down. It took just a few minutes to enter, and then we went into the goods queue, because my sibling absolutely needed a chokobo plush. We were in line for about half an hour, as we debated how expensive everything was! They decided that I needed a chokobo too, so I’m the proud owner of a Chokobo Black Mage now.

An adorable chokobo plush with a mage cape sitting on the leaflets we got from the concert.

After we had all our goods, we headed off to our seats – which had been occupied by two different people who had bought row five on the dress floor – but had tried the main floor stands, never mind that a lady told you which door you had to use when you went in, in order to avoid these “mistakes” . I decided that I did not care about causing a scene, so I just grabbed an usher and had her clear our seats. The guy on mine took my flyer too, but I found some more when the concert was over. I’m amused though that someone would buy a ticket on the first floor and then happily stroll down to the fifth row on the stalls – more than double the price.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a video-game player, that’s why this event was originally a low-priority one. When my wrist problems started, I was recommended not to play them any more. But I love video-game graphs and Final Fantasy VII designs more than any. I mean, I own the Advent Children DVD just because it’s pretty. I have to admit though that the concert blew my mind. The stage was full with a complete orchestra indeed, and a choir – the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. At the back of stage there was a screen that projected scenes from the game, both animations and gameplay. In the little emcees by conductor – and producer – Arnie Roth we also got messages from composers and producers from Japan. Furthermore, the composer Hamauzu Masashi was in attendance. We did not get Yosh Morita, from The Prophets, as it was originally announced, but singer Ricardo Afonso did a very decent job out of the power ballad Hollow.

Empty stage with chairs for the orchestra. There is a screen in the background reading Final Fantasy VII Remake Orchestra World Tour in front of a futuristic cityscape

    Part 1

  1. Prelude – Reunion –
  2. Opening medley
  3. Mako Reactor 1
  4. Flowers Blooming in the Church
  5. The Turks’ Theme
  6. Tight rope
  7. Stand up
  8. Words left unheard
  9. Tifa’s Theme – Seventh Heaven –
  10. Those who fight – Battle Medley –

    Part 2

  11. Anxious Heart
  12. Hurry!
  13. Jessie’s Theme
  14. Shinra’s Theme
  15. The Arsenal
  16. Those chosen by the Planet – Fate’s Calling –
  17. Arbiters of Fate – Singularity –
  18. Hollow
  19. Final Fantasy VII Main Theme

    Encore

  20. Aerith’s Theme
  21. One Winged Angel

I loved the Those who fight – Battle Medley –, and I’d say that one of the highlights was the song Hurry Up. Apparently, during a specific part of the game you have to put the rather-uptight main character in a dress and teach him to dance in a night club. I also really liked the choir interventions. The concert ended on a hype – for a second I thought it would end in the slow song, but no, we got the fantastic theme for the bad guy Sephiroth, One-winged angel.

The stage again, this time it is full with the orchestra and the director. The screen shows the main character of the game, Cloud, with blond spiky hair and a ridiculously big sword, holding a bright ball in his hand.

The concert lasted for two hours and a half, including the intermission – in which I got to see (and hug!) friends. After the ending, we tried to go and grab some sushi at the shopping centre, but they were already closing down – so in the end we just got a salad and some chips at McDonald’s and took it to the hotel – then we showered, rearranged luggage and purchases, and went to bed.

12th December 2021: Walk by the ocean

Our original plan after breakfast was to take a walk by the beach, then check out and ride the underground, but we realised that we had a train station about 20 minutes away, and we could get a detour by the seaside and make it a bit longer – and if we took the train, we had a free ride.

When we checked out we got the same person who had checked us in. They still had to charge us for the tourist tax, and I had that ready in cash. They insisted that they had to deduct that from the deposit and give us the change, they could not give us a fifty-buck note. They had to give us the change. With lots of coins. They did not even check the room for damage, so what was even the point of the deposit?

We left the hotel, and walked towards the station. We spent a little time at the beach Platja del Fòrum and the mouth of the river Río Besòs before we reached the station – lots of people walking their dogs, and lots of happy dogs playing on the beach and with the waves. In the background, the former thermal station with three chimneys looming over the sand – Central Tèrmica de Sant Adrià de Besòs. Had we had more time, we would have taken the time to try and get to it, but due to external reasons we had tickets for the noon train and it was already 10:45 – and I am paranoid about schedules.

A sandy beach with a factory building in the background, it has three chimneys made of brick. The waves are coming in gently.

We took the commuter train, then the long distance train. When we arrived, before going home, we made a short stop to have some make-up sushi for the one we could not get the previous night. And some side Chinese dumplings.

Sushi and bao plate

Walking distance Saturday: 9.05 km
Walking distance Sunday: 5.54 km

19th & 20th August 2019: Bye-bye for a while, Japan {Japan, summer 2019}

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For my last day full day in Japan, I dropped my luggage off at Shinjuku station and met with D****e for lunch to say goodbye for now. I also got to say goodbye to Tokyo Tower [東京タワー] from Roppongi Hills [六本木ヒルズ].

Lunch was a bit sad, but the yakiniku was very yummy. After she had to come back to work I met with B**** for drinks and wandering around for a while in Shinjuku [新宿]. We mostly sat at Wendy’s, talking and drinking… whatever this is…

And then she took me to CocoCurry for goodbye-curry.

Then she came with me to Nippori station to help me carry my luggage to the train. I was so mentally exhausted that I did not even stop for a stamp at Narita Terminal 1. I had booked myself a hotel for the night at the airport because I felt that was the best thing for my mental health at that time, and I am glad I did. It was very handy and the transport to the terminal was very smooth.

I had been worried about my Fuji-climbing stick, but I had been told I could check it in. I bought a suit-cover which I sewed, and had no problems with it – I mean, I saw people checking-in kayaks, for fuck’s sake. My stick was tiny in comparison to that! The flight back was a-okay, unremarkable, mostly.

Walked distance: 19th: 11099 steps / 7.94 km. 20th: 5045 steps / 3.60 km. The displacement was a bit longer though… something around the 11000 km (≧▽≦)

The 2019 trip was a long one, full of awesome experiences that I won’t forget any time soon. I hope to gather experience from what went wrong, but not cling onto the bad feelings. I chose not to write about that, and look for the best in every day. Also, I did not really feel it, but a bunch of Japanese friends told me that my language skills had improved, so that made me happy. Now it’s time to go back to the real world and do adulty things, and start dreaming about the next adventure. また今度ね。

17th August 2019: OBURI in Ebisu {Japan, summer 2019}

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I spent the day at Ebisu [恵比寿], where I got to say hi and meet a lot of new new people today. First, I was meeting with E**chan for a late lunch, which unfortunately was a later-lunch as her train had an accident (not with her in it, thankfully) and she had to drive to another line station to get from her village outside Tokyo to Ebisu. I spent the time wandering the malls and the Ebisu Sky Walk, which is basically a long corridor without anything to see. In the end she arrived and albeit late, we managed to find some super-nice place in the Ebisu Atre building, and we were starving so it was amazing!! We both had katsudon [カツ丼] because we just saw the picture on the menu and fell in love.

Katsudon lunch set: miso soup, a bowl of rice with meat and egg on top, a cup of tea and grated cabagge to share between two people

A scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of green tea

Afterwards we went to the Oblivion Dust concert at Ebisu Liquidroom. A very fun and intense concert, even if Oburi has too much of an active fandom for me (≧▽≦). Unfortunately, KAZ had broken his hand early during the year so he was not there. The replacement was not bad, but not really him, you know?

After the concert I got to greet lots of friends and we had some izakaya food (damn, that was yummy but expensive).

The logo of Liquid Room, styled to look like an organic chemestry molecule, with hexagons for Q nd Os

Walked distance: No idea, I forgot the watch. But most of what I walked was on the Ebisu Skywalk [恵比寿スカイウォーク] as I was bored waiting for E**chan since I was early but her train was super-delayed due to the accident (≧▽≦).

15th August 2019: Downpour Shinjuku {Japan, summer 2019}

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Once more in Shinjuku [新宿], I stepped out at Tochomae station to go to the Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁] aka the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. To my surprise, there was a line for the observatory! Apparently they have closed the North Observatory for renovations (possibly 2020 preparation). When I got to the observatory there was a piano, and at that time, visitors were allowed to play it. I thought “Wouldn’t it be cool if someone did X Japan?”. And then two guys do 紅 with three hands. I was very impressed.

I hoped I would be able to walk around Shinjukucho Teien [新宿中央公園] before it started raining.

As I was in Shinjukujunisha Kumano Jinja [新宿十二社 熊野神社], where I got a shuuin, it started pouring.

Thus, I went back to the covered station underpasses as fast as I could and then tried to get my way round the inner passages… with dubious success. I did find the Shinjuku tourist office, because they had Coke packs there, but I could not find one that had sakura and Tokyo bottle in it (ó_ò).

Then I went to Tower Records to see INORAN’s guitar, which was on display prior to his tour.

And then I headed off to Roppongi [六本木]. And you know what I found in the first random vending machine I came across? The freaking Tokyo Coke bottle, which turned out not to be only in Shinjuku! I had been looking for it for days (;¬_¬)

Afterwards, I met D****e and M*****san for a nice shabu-shabu dinner.

Walked distance: 10978 steps / 7.85 km.

14th August 2019: The other side of Harajuku {Japan, summer 2019}

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After a sweep around the V-kei shops in Shinjuku [新宿], I dropped by Shibuya [渋谷区] (finally) to go to the big Tsutaya there, along with the Mandarake and Tokyu Hands. And there, in the most random vending machine in a backstreet, I managed to find the Shibuya coke bottle (which I drank with glee as I had approached the vending machine as I was thirsty). Then I walked towards Harajuku [原宿], but instead of Takeshita Doori, this time I turned towards the other side. I wanted to see the LemonEd flagship shop, as the Nagoya one did not convince me. LemonEd is a brand created by the deceased X Japan’s guitarist Hide, known for his bright colour combinations and hearts. I wanted to see the shop at least once, I guess, even if “bright” is probably not my thing (≧▽≦). There were many items, T-shirts and so on and I sneaked a couple of pictures.

I went on a little and arrived at Tōgō Jinja [東郷神社], which I really liked. I got a shuuin there too, and almost lost my shuuincho there because the miko would not call my number to give it back (;¬_¬).

I walked from Harajuku back to Shinjuku via Yoyogi [代々木], and I pretty much went around the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building [NTTドコモ代々木ビル] from all angles (and weather backgrounds).

When I arrived at Shinjuku station [新宿駅] though, I came across… the Salamander God in a Takashiyama Window… I’m not kidding you.

Once I was in Shinjuku I tried to find the Tokyo Coke bottle in another random vending machine… It did not work, but I found the Kabukichō Benzaiten [歌舞伎町弁財天], which I had seen in passing, and wanted to snoop around.

After kushikatsu dinner, we called it a day.

Walked distance: 19234 steps / 13.7 km.

13th August 2019: Steamy steamy Tokyo {Japan, summer 2019}

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Following recommendations from some Japanese acquaintances, I headed off to the Shinagawa [品川区] area to visit Hebikubo Jinja / Kamishinmeitenso Jinja [蛇窪神社 / 上神明天祖神社], a pretty shrine where I got a pretty shuuin (aaaand discovered another stamp rally).

Among rain, sun and drizzle it was exhaustingly hot. I continued on to find Kimyozan Yogyokuin Nyorai [帰命山養玉院如来寺], a temple with amazing guardians.

And then I found an obviously very dangerous and aggressive tiny pond, I mean, look at those meshes (yes, I know that it’s probably for children safety, but I shall still make jokes about it). It was the Hara no Suijin-ike [原の水神池].

Checking how to come back I came across Ōmori Shell Mound Ruins Garden, Ōmori Kaidzuka Iseki Teien [大森貝塚遺跡庭園] and the Statue of Ōmori Shell Mound, Ōmori Kaikyo no Ishibumi [大森貝墟の碑]. The Ōmori Shell Mound was apparently the first archaeological excavation in Japan. They dig out a seaside village from the Jomon period (14,000 to 300 BC).

Opposite I found Naritasan Ennoji [成田山圓能寺].

And before I left I noticed the ground decoration on the pavement – life evolution and… telephone greetings. Because Japan, I guess…

Then I looked at Tokyo Tower [東京タワー] from Roppongi [六本木], as I checked the Don Quijote for Tokyo Coke bottles, without success.

I also came across tiny Asahi Jinja [朝日神社].

Then dinner was supermarket sushi, which was very, very yummy.

Walked distance: 14009 steps / 10.0 km

12th August 2019: The Surviving Fuji thing? Think twice {Japan, summer 2019}

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We didn’t sleep in, because why would we? We had only climbed a mountain – a volcano – the day before. We went to Shinjuku [新宿] for an avocado burger at Kua’aina, and then we did a sweep over Tower Records and Tokyu Hands.

Then we went to see the Amano’s Fantasy Art Collection [ファンタジーアート展] exhibition / sale at Shinjuku I-Land Tower [新宿アイランドタワー].

Later we sang some karaoke and then had a bit of a Hokkaido dinner – kanimiso yummy!

Walked distance: 16580 steps / 11.8 km. And every damn step – especially on stairs – hurt. Throughout the whole day, legs were on fire. But my back withstood, which was good. We whined a lot about being sore though, because we could (≧▽≦)

10th & 11th August 2019: Once in a lifetime – The Great Fuji-san Adventure {Japan, summer 2019}

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So hm… Guess who got into their head that they wanted to climb Mount Fuji aka Mount Fuji-san [富士山]? *raises hand* Exactly! I was already toying with the idea in 2018 but as mentioned before, this one time I wanted to scratch as many things off the bucket list as possible, so… There I went (kinda pushed by a feeling that if I did not do it, by the time I were back in Japan it might be too late as my health is not… complying lately). D****e decided she was crazy enough to want to come with me though.

So off we went. We packed snacks, water, and everything we thought we might need (gloves in my case, that I eventually lost, and a ridiculous amount of layers). After a big lunch, we took the Shinjuku Expressway Bus around 4pm on Saturday the 10th and arrived at the Fuji Subaru Line Gogōme [富士スバルライン五合目] / Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station around half past five. We (she) had booked a mountain hut at the Seventh station so we “only” had to climb two stations, right? Right.

Right about the time of taking this picture it had sunk on me how much of a bad idea this had been (≧▽≦).

My first step was buying a Fuji-climbing stick, because (you’d never guess), stamps. Well, and because it actually helps climbing (and unclimbing (≧▽≦)) and you can get stamps burnt into it as you ascent – for a price, of course. Climbing Fuji can get expensive. So off we went up the volcano using the Yoshida Trail [吉田ルート], ascending side (noborigawa [登り側]).

The first hour was easy enough, there was light and it was almost a path. Then sunset came, and while it was pretty, it brought darkness upon us (yeah I’m being literary on this). Not that I had a problem with actual darkness, but other people’s torches kept blinding me, which made the most difficult parts hard to climb – because people are idiots who point their lights forward and not downwards, where the ground is. Sheesh. There were parts that were just a hilly way up while others were stuck rocks or lava flows that you had to climb with your hand and feet.

We made it to our “mountain hut” at the Seventh Station, appropriately called Seventh Station’s Torii-so Shichigōme Torii sō [七合目 鳥居荘], at around 9pm. We had been told it was the one with the red torii, and it was a sight for sore eyes (truth be told, the hut is closer upward to the 8th Station, so that threw us a little off about time).

After a small riff-raff with the owners – who claimed it was too late for food – we managed to get the dinner we had booked and then we were shown to the common dormitory where we got a futon and a blanket around 10pm. The idiot next to me decided to lie on the blanket instead of under it, so she had me uncovered half the time until she left. Thankfully she did so around 11pm because she was to see the sunrise at the top. After a small freak-out because my stomach decided that it did not want to digest the curry, I managed to get a few hours of sleep.

We were woken up by the noise around us around 4am, and we got outside to see sunrise. Sunrise from Mount Fuji!!! I mean… I can’t even.

After coffee (yes, I’m addicted enough to carry coffee to Mount Fuji), we continued on the way up. To be honest it was not as bad as I had imagined – as in I was rather convinced that I was not going to be able to make it, especially during the night freak-out. My painkillers kicked in and I only felt a small buzz between the ears as pressure changed. I think I lost my gloves on the 9th station. We saw a group of people evacuating an injured / ill climber – we awarded them like a million karma points. I remember hugging some torii on the way, and a million thoughts twirling in my head.

And then we made it. Around 11am we were at the crater. I could not believe it when I stopped in front of Asama Taisha Okumiya Kusushi jinja [淺間大社 奧宮 久須志神社] / Fuji-san Chōjō Yamaguchi-ya Honten [富士山頂上 山口屋 本店] aka Top of Mt. Fuji Yamaguchi Shop.

Of course I had to get all the stamps and the shuuin and the Coke bottle. We decided not to go around the crater to the actual top, just a handful of metres higher, because it would add some 90 minutes to our trek, and we preferred to just hang around the crater for that long. Because I was at the freaking crater of Mount Fuji! I was the Kami of the Mountain.

After an hour or so we set on our way back down – the trail was a zigzag of boulders and volcanic sand, so it was even more exhausting than the ascent. But we also made it – thank you, Fuji-climbing boots from the Decathlon Children Section for not letting me down, literally!! We were also super-lucky with the weather, we only had a few clouds just under the crater, and it was not too cold even for me – and no rain!

We actually made it with some time to catch our bus, so we looked at the souvenir shops and Fujisankomitake Jinja [冨士山小御嶽神社].

As we left, we could see Mount Fuji in all its glory, and I could not believe that I had actually been there!

However, the downfall had to come, and it came in the bus, about 20 minutes into the ride home – once I stopped moving, my body completely shut down in pain. My back spasmed, headache hit, left knee got stuck, and the roadtrip was hellish. I did not want to have any dinner even if I knew I needed it, but a hot pot in the conbini managed to draw me and it was exactly what I needed!

Walked distance: 10th: 9988 steps / 7.14 km; 11th: 21107 steps / 15.1 km. However! This damn thing does not take into account that I CLIMBED A VOLCANO!! I mean, come on! Some of those steps had a 70 cm difference in height! I managed to do it, and I feel damn proud of myself for it, and I will forever proudly display my Fuji-climbing-stick as proof of the feat. Also, just so you know 11th of August is Yama no Hi [山の日] (Mountain Day) so this was ironically well-timed, even if by pure chance!

I know that hundreds of people climb Fuji every year, but for me those almost 3,776 metres represent something special. Yes, I’m a sap. You don’t like it, go read another blog ☆⌒(ゝ。∂).

6th August 2019: Tokyo & Yokohama Book Off Rally {Japan, summer 2019}

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To be honest, this was a weird day because my mind was full with some personal stuff, so I just wanted to keep busy. I did a Book Off marathon and I found a lot of interesting things, both in Tokyo and Yokohama [横浜市]. I wanted to visit the Tower there, but it was closed for renovation!

At 6pm I met up with Sr-san for way beyond amazing sushi! Lots of new things to try too!

In the end what I was worried about was solved ε-(´・｀) ﾌ and I went back without any problems (on the way out the regular train line was down).

Walked distance: 17438 steps / 12.4 km.

4th August 2019: Gastronomy Day {Japan, summer 2019}

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I took an early shinkansen back from Nagoya to Tokyo [東京] because I was out early the day before and thus up at an insane hour. I was on the train before 9AM for sure (≧▽≦). I have witnesses!

And in Tokyo… basically I had lunch with D****e, curry soup, in Nakano [中野]:

We said hi to the Doraemon [ドラえもん] in Roppongi [六本木].

Then we went for lamb shabu-shabu for dinner…

And that was it. There went my diet.

Walked distance: 17978 steps / 12.8 km… somehow. From the hotel to Nagoya station, and then from Nakano Station to D****e’s house (oh, wait, I got lost on the way, that explains a lot). Then back to Nakano Station area for lunch, and once more to D****e’s house, and then to the station? Yes? Okay (≧▽≦).)

3rd August 2019: Higashiyama Sky Tower and ELL {Japan, summer 2019}

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In the morning I headed out of the Nagoya centre and to Higashiyama Sky Tower [東山スカイタワー]. This was a bit far out and I had slept in – did I mention tiredness catching up? I also considered the zoo/aquarium but in the end I decided against it.

A collage of the Higashiyama Sky tower, a rectanglar building with a cilindrical core, mostly built in glass and metal. The smaller pictures show the view of the park, and the earthquake damper

I had an amazing lunch set in the shopping mall underneath / connected to Nagoya Station on my way back.

Lunch set: cold soba, white rice, breaded prawns, pickles, and green tea

Then I headed out for Electric Lady Land because my second KAMIJO concert of this trip was held there. Bought goods, waited around, enjoyed the concert. ELL is a small venue and we were not many people there for the concert – it was strange that there were so much people in Tokyo to fill up the Blitz, but not enough in Nagoya to fill ELL. It was a more humble concert, with a smaller screen for the projections, but it was fun none the less. I was able to stand close to the stage, but I chose the wrong side – I stood left while KAMIJO donned right. I shall learn from that. The set list was the same, which gave me the chance to appreciate the new songs even better. Glad I got to attend both concerts, never mind how different and similar at the same time they were.

Notice reading ell. Fits all. Japan Tour 19 Persona Grata. Kamijo. Open 18:30, Start 19:00

Walked distance: 16231 steps / 11.6 km. We don’t trust this measure either as it counts the furutsuke as walking (≧▽≦).

30th July 2019: Journey to the East (1): Sakaiminato → Okayama {Japan, summer 2019}

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Early in the morning, around 9am, I set off to the Yumeminato Tower in the park of the same name. I had a plan of things to watch and walk around that unfortunately fell through due to, again, a perceived temperature of over 42 ºC and bright sun. But the Yumeminato Tower [夢みなとタワー] could not be skipped as it is part of my still ongoing Tower Stamp Rally. Aside from the customary observatory, the Tower featured an exhibition of “nearby lands’ customs”, with typical attires from Korea, China and so on…

At the feet of the tower is the Sakaiminato Fish Center [境港さかなセンター].

And both buildings are encased in Yumeminato Koen [夢みなと公園], a huge – and shadowless – park.

When I arrived at the Takematsucho station, my train had just left, so I snooped around Takematsu Jinja [高松神社] next to it.

Having to wait forty minutes, I decided to walk over to the following station, where I visited Amariko Jinja [餘子神社].

Then I just sat down to wait and have a drink till the train came. Once back in the centre of Sakaiminato, I realised that even if it was a Tuesday, the Museum of Sea and Life was closed. That did not stop me from hanging around Osakana Road [おさかなロード], the Fish Road, which follows the same ideas as Mizuki Shigeru Road – it has little sculptures here and there. Only these are not yokai, but fish.

Oh, and I found this shark on the way ʅ(・ω・。)ʃ？？

And speaking of fish, I had a great fish-fry snack in Mizuki Shigeru Road as I did an extra sweep to make sure I was not missing any yokai. I chose this place because the owners seemed nice, and they were.

After that I claimed my certificate at the Tourist Centre next to the station Sakaiminato-eki [境港駅], and that’s why it reads July 30th and not July 29th (≧▽≦).

Then I took the train back to Yonago and from there to Okayama (Okayama Prefecture). This took around three hours, and I was in Okayama [岡山] around 6 or 7 pm. I dropped my things off at the hotel and headed off for dinner. I ended up ordering a salmon set in a Takashiyama building, and although the staff was not the nicest, the food was delicious!

Right after dinner I walked to the castle, Okayama-jo [岡山城], hoping it would be lit, and it was. They were also rehearsing some summer light show, with music and stuff.

Then I went back to the hotel – unfortunately I had a smoking room, so I had to spray everything with freshener so I could breathe. But I slept rather well afterwards. I had started to feel the tiredness.

Walked distance: 22899 steps / 16.3 km. Most under the sun (soooo sunburnt!)

29th July 2019: Journey to the West: Osaka → Sakaiminato {Japan, summer 2019}

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I was determined to cross as many things on my bucket list as I could in this trip as I could, and that involved some crazy travelling – in this case, two hundred eighty-something kilometres, four trains, and a bit over five hours. From the hotel I took the Midosuji underground line from Doubutsuen-Mae Station to Shin-Osaka station, where I took the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama. There, I took the Yakumo Limited express to Yonago, and in Yonago I took the Sakai line to Sakaiminato [境港市] in Tottori prefecture.

Sakaiminato was Mizuki Shigeru’s hometown. Mizuki Shigeru [水木 しげる] was the mangaka who wrote and drew Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro [ゲゲゲの鬼太郎], and he was also a great connoisseur of Japanese mythology, especially yokai. And the town has just… embraced that, with glee. And stamps!

The magic started when I reached Yonago [米子市] Station – both the platform and the train in the Sakai line [境港線] were already all dolled-up for the trip.

The station Sakaiminato-eki [境港駅] also greets you with a huge yokai mural and amazing streetlights in the shape of Medama-oyaji, Kitaro’s father who looks like an eyeball.

As you come out of the station, you are greeted by a bronze statue of Mizuki Shigeru. And as you follow the road and turn the corner you directly go into Mizuki Shigeru Road… but I am getting ahead of myself. Right next to the station there is a a mall-like building that holds, among other things, the tourist information office, where I got a copy of the yokai booklet to carry out the Yokai Stamp Rally [妖怪スタンプラリー]. The booklet was 120 ¥, of course I could not let it go – there were 35 stamps to collect.

As you come out of the station, you are greeted by a bronze statue of Mizuki Shigeru writing among his characters Mizuki Shigeru-sensei Shippitsu-chū no Zō [水木しげる先生執筆中の像], and the Kitaro postbox [鬼太郎ポスト].

And as you follow the road and turn the corner you directly go into Mizuki Shigeru Road. However, when have you read me going into something directly without getting distracted? First I had to see the Yokai World Summit, Sekai Yōkai Kaigi [世界妖怪会議].

Finally I got down to Mizuki Shigeru Road [水木しげるロード] – which features dozens of small yokai statues all along. Shops line to the sides, and a bunch of them have the stamps that you ink on your booklet – and it was hard to get to them, it was so crowded! I walked the right side until the end, then I decided to come back to check into the hotel, which was close to the station, and drop the luggage (looking back I could have just dropped the luggage there, but I was eager to get started). My hotel was gorgeous! It was the most expensive hotel in the whole tip, but it was amazing! Outside it was just a brick building. Inside it was full of wood and tatami, and so was the room. There was an onsen on the upper floor.

I was a bit sad that I only had a night there, because I would have really stayed in that room for hours just lounging around. But there were things to see! So I went out again, and walked the left side of the Mizuki Shigeru Road. Here are some of the many yokai and Gegege no Kitaro characters that I encountered (and stamped) along the road (also, some food, because this was 3pm and I had only had a coffee and a cracker at around 8am).

Of course I also had to visit Yokai Jinja [妖怪神社] on the way (the amount of time and times I had to wait till I was able to take a picture of this without anybody was ridiculous (≧▽≦)).

At the end of the road I had seen the Mizuki Shigeru museum, Mizuki Shigeru Kinen-kan [水木しげる記念館] and I knew that it was open (on a Monday!) till late (in Japan!) so I decided to go there first before I had finished the stamp rally (this is relevant for dates). The Museum features comics, a replica of Mizuki’s office, some items of his mythology-artefact collection, and then replicas of different yokai, a haunted house and so on. For my own future reference, the big (moving, trying to be creepy but only managing to be awfully cute) replicas are: Nurikabe, Shirouneri, Otoroshi, Azukihakari, Betobetosan, Suiko, Akaname, Miagenyudou.

After the museum I somehow ended up at Ominato Jinja [大港神社].

I backtracked to find a couple of stamps that I had missed, including the very last one, at the Sakaiminato Ekimae Police Box, Sakaiminato Ekimae Kōban [境港駅前交番]. With that one I had all my stamps, but it was just around 6pm so the tourist office was already closed.

That did not mean I ran out of things to do! I went to the port to look at the sunset.

Then to look at the fountain Kappa no Izumi [河童の泉], which had been being cleaned every time I had walked by.

Afterwards I walked back to the hotel to enjoy a long bath at the onsen, and I walked out again to see the town by night, because of course it was completely taken by the wannabe creepy atmosphere – at least that was what I thought at first. Then as I was walking down the road, all the lights stated flickering and then they went out with a thunderclap and I jumped! They got me good!

To finish the day, I got free soba at the hotel for dinner! As I mentioned, I would have stayed in that hotel for days on end!

Walked distance: 13641 steps, 9.76 km in one afternoon/evening. It was bloody amazing and I had a blast!

27th July 2019: Osaka by drizzle and twilight {Japan, summer 2019}

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After the KAMIJO concert, I set off again, this time over to Osaka (where I was a train-challenged idiot and this time I can’t even blame it on the chaotic Osaka transport) and my first stop was Namba Yasaka Jinja [難波八阪神社], one of whose buildings is shaped as a lion-dog head. It was a very nice and fun shrine.

On the way to the station I walked through Namba Koen [浪速公園].

Then I rode to the hotel to drop off my things – and of course gotout the wrong station at Shin-Imamiya station (I also held a little prayer so I did not end up at a love hotel again – I had chosen wisely!). I had a bit of a rest and then I headed back towards Dōtonbori [道頓堀] and after once again checking the map before getting my butt there, I was able to find all the spots I wanted too – count me out of the Donki ferris wheel though.

The plan was waiting until sunset to see all the lights, but I miscalculated again and I did see the lights, but only against the twilight. Oh. But I made some time eating takoyaki [たこ焼き].

I got some rest on the way, so I was rested enough to have a stroll down Shinsekai [新世界] at night – including Tsūtenkaku [通天閣] and Billy Ken.

Afterwards, before going to sleep, I watched the NHK LunaSea special and… Kinda live-tweet-ed and live-Line’d it (≧▽≦)

Walked distance: 19319 steps / 13.8 km.

26th July 2019: KAMIJO’s Persona Grata {Japan, summer 2019}

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I headed off to Tokyo [東京] to freak out about the tickets of KAMIJO’s 2019 Japan Tour Persona Grata, which was a total blast. That was basically the highlight of the day, aside from lots of train rides until I got to Tokyo and some delicious yakiniku.

Lunch set. Salad, white rice and some raw meat for the grill, along with the sauces to dip

As KAMIJO’s fanclub has a European chapter and allows for very real benefits, I was able to ballot for tickets for the Japan tour, and I actually hit for Premium tickets for Persona Grata’s opening night at Mainabi Blitz Akasaka. The tickets included “seating in front of the stage” and special presents – the seating turned out to be first row, and enough presents, including an autograph, to more than make up for the money.

The tour doubled as an introduction to the new songs for the upcoming singles and I enjoyed them a lot. I discovered a couple of songs I really liked (I ended up getting most of KAMIJO’s discography in different Book Off trips this year), and it was really fantastic. I enjoyed every second, and having a chair really helped to get some rest when he was off stage and we had the “film” instalments. Unfortunately, the fandom is not too open so I did not get to make any new friends. Nevertheless, it was probably one of the most powerful concerts I’ve ever attended.

Night view of the venue, reading Mainabi Blitz Kamijo

Walked distance: 13515 steps / 9.66 km. I don’t believe this for a second, the watch is totally messing up between moving arms doing furutsuke, and walking.

24th July 2019: Morning in Kyoto, afternoon in Nagoya {Japan, summer 2019}

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After waking up early again (what can be done? Early night → early morning) I walked out the hotel and took another stroll in Maruyama Kouen. Only this time, instead of heading towards Yasaka Jinja and Gion, I continued straight and I found Daiunin [大雲院].

The roof of a pagoda, in oxidized green colour

I continued on to Nene no Michi [ねねの道], which has temples left and right. These temples have little statues that you have to touch for luck, wealth and so on. As I have been feeling so lousy this last year, I decided to find the health one.

Statuettes of the Buddha and local gods

On my way I climbed up the Daidokoro-zaka [台所坂], a bunch of gentle stairs that lead up to Kōdaiji [高台寺], a fun temple with a lot of yokai folkore. It also held some healing sutras, so I took the liberty to make them spin.

Temple with funny-looking lanterns decorated with yokai and ghost faces

From there, I went to Kongoji (Yasaka Kōshindō) [金剛寺(八坂庚申堂)], which is a temple with… colourful balls where people write their wishes. They are supposed to entertain the ‘good faith monkeys’ (Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil) that guard the temple, I guess.

Buddhist temple with a decoration of thousands of brightly coloured pompoms

After that, I walked towards the Hōkanji (Yasaka no Tou) [法観寺 (八坂の塔)], a five-story pagoda.

Five story pagoda

A bit farther, I also found Rokuharamitsuji [六波羅蜜寺].

Buddhist temple exterior

I went down towards the river Kamogawa [鴨川], where I saw some more wildlife – ducks, cormorants, herons (cranes? Have I told you I can’t tell cranes and herons apart?).

Black cormorant standing in the river

Finally – for my Kyoto trip – I walked down the Pontocho [先斗町] Alley before I headed for the station. It is renown for its restaurants, but everything was too expensive for my budget.

Narrow alley with restaurant lanternsand signs

Then I took a shinkansen to Nagoya [名古屋] as I was going to attend HYDE‘s Live 2019 that afternoon. As I arrived too early for 3PM check in, I headed off to Zepp Nagoya to see whether the goods were out. They were. A girl passed out at the queue a bit behind me due to heatstroke, and that was a bit creepy, but the staff took good cafe of her.

After the goods I went to leave my stuff and have a shower at the hotel, then I met up with several friends and even new friends. The concert, in my opinion, was considerably better than the 2018 tours – at least he finally has a whole album to make a concert from. It felt more coordinated than the previous one. The album was good and the concert was powerful, though I am still not too keen on how the VAMPS’s songs sound. HYDE put masks on his musicians and enjoys all the spotlight on himself. He jumps and rolls on the floor and enjoys being the only one people focus on.

Zepp Nagoya logo

When the concert was over I met up with Sr-san for dinner. We had misokatsu [味噌カツ] in a famous shop, and had a long conversation about the concert and HYDE’s new songs.

Dinner: breaded pork on rice and shredded cabbage

Walked distance: 23305 steps / 16.6 km.

18th & 19th May 2019: Madrid (Spain) for Jupiter (and fesFE[M]!)

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Believe this or not, we this weekend started at super-early on Saturday, when I took literally the first bus out to Madrid, and I think I was there around 7:30 or something to meet my friend. She had been having a rough time and she had asked me to “keep her head off things”. Up until a couple of days before, we did not even know whether she’d been able to come to the concert, so I had a whole plan up my sleeve. Unfortunately, a couple of steps backfired (^◇^；)

First we had breakfast at the coach station where we met, to catch up and to give shops and so on the time to open up. When it was a decent hour we took the underground to drop our luggage at the hotel (the lovely EXE Moncloa, even if I’ll be forever traumatised that the terrace was not open ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡). Then we took the underground again towards the neighbourhood of Chueca, and I had looked up a bunch of Goth apparel shop that… did not open at 10:00 as expected, but at 12:00 (≧▽≦).

Fortunately, some make-up shops were already open and we were able to pass the time amicably before we ended up at the TeamLab exhibit – that I had already seen, yes, I know, but she had not ☆⌒(ゝ。∂)

Teamlab logo and digital art: Waves, butterflies in red and green, and a dripping circle as if it were painted with a brush. All of them are light or bright colours on black.

After playing out in the exhibit for a while, we moved onto the Callao Gourmet Experience for a snack. I wanted to introduce her to the Niji Mochi shop, and we also shared a chocolate ice-cream shake.

Mochi and coffee with whipped cream

Afterwards we were shopping for a little before we moved on to have lunch. I had a surprise for her. While I care little to nothing about Korean food, she is a fan of everything Korean, so we hit one of the best Korean restaurants in Madrid, called Seoul. I gave her free reign to order for both of us and we shared. In my not so humble opinion as blog owner, the best was the green tea at the end.

Lunch: fried dumplings, roasted meat, rice with vegetables, and green tea.

Once fed, we went on and found an underground station and we rode towards the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, National Archaeological Museum, although we had not realised that it was museum day so instead of a quiet exhibition we had to deal with a ton of families!

Exhibits at the archaeological museum: bones from a mastodon, boar statue, lady statue, Neanthertal skull, Roman mosaic of an octopus, Horus statue, Iberian stelae, primitive animal that looks like a boar or a bull carved out of stone, Grecian vase

After that, my friend was tired from spending all night in the bus, so we went to the hotel to finish our check in process. On the way we stopped and bought a few snacks for the following day because you always have to be ready for a post-concert low.

We found out that we had not one but three Japanese restaurants in the area where we were staying, and we happily went to have dinner in one of them, called Naniwa. We had some decent sushi and takoyaki, and ordered takoyaki seconds because we had a discount (≧▽≦).

Dinner: sushi, fried chicken, octopus balls, chicken skewers

The next morning we went to the venue door around 9:00 and upon seeing nobody queueing yet, we went to have breakfast, then walked around the Moncloa park area, mostly chatting, until we went back to the venue. And went back to the venue. And went back to the venue again, just to find there were still no people in the queue.

Coffee and bread breakfast

In the end we ran into the supporting bands went to have lunch in a second Japanese restaurant in the block, Morikaen. On our way there we walked past a family all clad in “Sunday clothes”, and their little girl wearing aaaall white who just stared at us – in rock-goth black – with pure envy in her eyes. Here’s to you, little one. You’ll get there too.

Lunch. Tuna tataki, rice and cicken, breaded pork, octopus dumplings

After lunch, I decided that I was too tired to go up and down the streets and we stayed back to wait for the venue to open before we got into the chaos that was the concert. Honestly, I think this has been the worst-organised concert I’ve ever attended. My friend C***** and I had Premium tickets (there were five of them on sale), which included a handshake with the band, a picture with a member, autographs from all, the opportunity to purchase a Polaroid with the whole band (well… and either a backstage or soundcheck pass that never happened).

Jupiter is a Japanese heavy metal band with a very distinctive visual-kei style, and honestly we only decided to go because it was… easy and convenient, well-communicated and an opportunity to spend a weekend decompressing somewhere. As the time drew near and we could access more stuff, the excitement built up – I also managed to find the album they were promoting and it sounded really well, actually.

There were two support bands, a German one called VII ARC, and a Japanese one. As we went in, I sent C***** to the first row to save my spot and I tried to find out whatever was going to happen with the VIP extras because communication seems not to be the promoter’s first language. It turns out, the experience was throughout the supporting band’s act. Good thing I had asked, else we would have missed it (as someone did! One of the Premium tickets did not show up, and most VIPs never got their chance to even buy the Polaroid).

I got to talk to the support bassist as we waited for the picture, because the had been kicked out from backstage for the pictures – poor guy. Then I had my picture taken with Teru, my favourite member (I swear that if I ever get to do this again, I’m choosing Hizaki cause he’s just amazing). The problem with placing the experience there was that… well, we lost our spot and missed half of the Japanese support band’s acts – fesFe[M], who in the half concert I watched blew my mind. I mean, absolutely blew my mind. They are also a V-kei band, and they’re currently running with a “doll” theme and they were just fantastic.

The Jupiter concert was as expected, very energetic and fun. Even if we had lost our spot, the venue has some lateral raised spots, and I found a good place at a low staircase that allowed me to lean back and not be in too much pain – basically we watched the concert next to the fesFe[M] bass (≧▽≦). Kuze, Jupiter’s vocal, was really good live, more than expected.

After the concert, we bought fesFe[M]’s autographs and got our pictures with them, when we headed back to the hotel and had some dinner, and the following day we parted ways, a bit sad but happy that we had had the chance to meet up and have a fantastic weekend!

Schedule fo the tour

Fesfem playing. They are dressed up as dolls, and the main singer as a bride

Jupiter playing.

23rd & 24th April 2019: El Escorial, Vizmalo & Lerma (Spain)

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23 April 2019: El Escorial

The Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial aka Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial is located a shy hour away from Madrid. It is most known for the Monastery that used to be an official residence of the King of Spain. The Monastery was built between 1563 and 1584. It is the masterpiece of the Spanish architect Juan de Herrera, after whom the Herrerian style, a sub-style in the Spanish Renaissance, was named. The building is a sober building made of a granite, and it is the burial place of most of the Spanish kings and queens. Some urban legends say that it was based off the descriptions of the Temple of Solomon.

We drove in around 9:00, dropped off the luggage, and went out, as we had tickets for 10:00 – although the hotel did not want to let us in. Contrary to the nice weather that we had been enjoying, it was cold as hell. The whole town felt grey and sober, and the cloudiness helped the mood – we had breakfast at a nearby bar (the only one open) and headed off to the monastery. The building hosts many artworks, along with a chapel, the royal pantheon and the most amazing library ever. Pictures in the inner areas are forbidden, unfortunately. The Monastery is a Unesco World Heritage site.

At lunchtime we walked out of the Monastery and headed off to the Royal Carriage House / Cocheras del Rey, a museum / restaurant. We had lunch, then visited the museum as the entry was free with lunch. It was raining like mad by then so we headed to the hotel to finalise the check in.

After an hour or so the rain had stopped so we decided to walk to the Prince’s House and Parks / Parque y jardines de la Casita del Príncipe. By the time we arrived it had started raining again – pictures were not allowed inside of the house either, but OMG was the inside Baroque, with flashy wallpapers.

On the way back, we could catch a glimpse of the monastery through the park. By now it was raining like crazy, so we spent the rest of the evening indoors.

24 April 2019: Vizmalo & Lerma

We left El Escorial early in the morning and we headed north for lunch. Yeah, well, let me explain. We had a reservation for lunch some two-and-a-half hours away, in Vizmalo (Burgos). This was a bit of a silly whim, but we were going to visit an estate / farm and have lunch there – the St. Rosalia Estate / Finca Santa Rosalía breeds wagyu for meat, and holy are they yummy. We had a booking to see the estate first.

While it was still cold, the weather was slowly improving, and in evening we had some sun. We saw the orchards, the grapevines, the cattle, the trees and so on. Then we moved into the wine cellars and saw the barrels, before we tried the wine and some of the meat-dishes that they prepare and sell. The selling point of Finca Santa Rosalía are the wagyu, cattle of Japanese origin. Wagyu meat is completely different from any other beef because it is soft and tender, and in general delicious.

Lunch was brilliant, based, of course on the wagyu meat. The T-bone was scrumptious and even if it was on the “a lot of money” side, it did not feel too expensive for a once-in-a-lifetime experience considering the amazing quality.

After lunch we drove off towards Lerma, a city which was revamped by the Duke of Lerma back in the 17th century. After finding our hotel and dropping our stuff off, we walked to the Duke’s Palace turned luxury hotel: Palacio Ducal & Parador de Lerma.

We walked around and came across the Mirador de los Arcos / Archway Viewpoint.

Then we saw Colegiata de San Pedro / St. Peter’s Collegiate church, where there was a religious exhibition being held (“Las Edades del Hombre”), with the topic of angels. Pictures were not allowed, or we would have shown you a few… interesting representation.

Sunset crawled upon us and it was nice view. We had dinner somewhere around the town centre, and called it a night before we drove home the following day.

2nd January 2019: Jurassic and 19th Century Madrid (Spain)

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I was in the middle of winter holidays and a couple of family members asked me if I had plans – I said I was getting tickets for a dinosaur exhibit in Madrid, and they jumped in. We made arrangements to head over there on the 2nd of January and spend the day in Madrid. I don’t think they really realised what it meant to be around me and the “terrible lizards” (≧▽≦). But off we went.

General entry ticket for 2nd January 2019

The Jurassic World: Exhibition was held in Madrid. The whole thing is organised in-verse, as if you actually visited the island.

Jurassic World the Exhibition logo and title

After you walk in, there is first a small introduction on the “boat” as you travel towards Isla Nublar. There you are given the instructions (mainly, keep your hands to yourself), the boat makes dock and you are let into the Park. Keeping in touch with the spirit of the films (not the book though *giggles*) there’s a Brachiosaurus there to greet you, just like the first animal you see in Isla Nublar (and later the last).

Pretencious gate with two columns on the side, reading Jurassic World. A brontosaurus head peers down at you

You also catch a glimpse of a Parasaurolophus.

The head of an herbivore dinosaur (parasaurolophus) peering through the bushes

Then you get to the “stables” where you get to see a Triceratops mama with her baby.

Mom and baby Triceratops behind a fence that reads Gentle giants petting zoo

Afterwards, there is a small room that represents the laboratory where the dinosaurs are made – I could have made it out with a critter but there were only baby Iguanodon.

Fake amber pieces and DNA extactor along with an incubator with eggs and baby dinosaurs

Next, you walk into a tiny museum with some fossil reproductions and actual scientific information…

Reproduction of carnivore dinosaurs skull and bones, along with the drawing of a huge T-rex fooot print drawn on the ground to compare it to a human one

… right before everything goes to hell and back when you’re shown a hologram of Owen Grady talking to his velociraptor Blue and you get a… guy in a velociraptor costume prancing around (≧▽≦).

Person disguised as a verlociraptor

The next room shows the Tyrannosaurus rex cage (by the way #TeamTRex here, in case you did not know) behind her cage, menacing and staring.

T-rex animatronic, showing the huge head behind a fence

The final room is another garden in which you get to see a Stegosaurus being stalked by the made-up Indominus rex.

Stegosaurus

Head of the Indominus rex, looking like it's stalking prey

And at the end of the exhibition, after the shop even, you find the velociraptors, which have apparently escaped and are ready to attack!

Jurassic world velociraptors on a wrecked crate

All in all, being the dinosaur geek I am, I had a blast. I’m not sure that my poor family members that had wanted to tag along with me knew what they were bargaining for (≧▽≦).

However, they were still willing to put up with my for a little longer, and together we drove off to the centre of Madrid, and somehow ended up at the Museo Cerralbo. They asked if there was something I wanted to see, and the Cerralbo Museum was running a couple of Japan-related specials I was curious about. The museum stands in the Palace of the same name, and it holds the collection of the late Marquis Cerralbo.

The museum is… crammed and chaotic, but interesting in its own way. It holds thousands of pieces, from worthless-looking mementos to priceless paintings by masters such as El Greco. Art experts say that the Cerralbo collection was the most valuable of its time.

Collage of cerralbo museum. A room with two samurai armous. A centrepiece made with swords. A long table, set, with chairs along and an ellaborate lamp hanging from the ceiling. The hall of the museum, with a staircase with an ellaborate balaustrade and a glass lamp hanging from the ceiling.

The museum was holding a designated route focused on the Japanese pieces it has, including samurai armours.

Collage of Asian and Japanese pieces of the museum: hars, a samurai armour, and an hexagonal carey box

Furthermore, there was an origami exhibition on the lower floor.

Origami pieces: a phoenix, a snake, an orca, corals, and a life-sized hippo

After the museum we sat down for lunch at a fusion Asian-Japanese restaurant, because the family members “wanted to try” – although they were rather scared of the food. Eventually they managed to enjoy it too, and even have seconds – however I needed to make a run to get my tablet serviced.

Lunch. Sushi, chicken skewers, rice dish and noodles dish

Once it was up and running, and family had come to find me, we walked towards the shopping centre in Principe Pío for dessert – yoghurt ice cream with berries and smarties. A great way to end the day!

An old station from iron architecture epoch repurposed into shopping centre

Frozen yoghurt with berries sauce and smarties