Tag Archives: Rainbow Bridge

28th December 2016: Find all the things （　･`ω･´)! {Japan, winter 16/17}

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One of the items in my calendar this time was visiting the three Dragon Gates of Tokyo. These are three torii gates that have been carved in stone and have an ascending and a descending dragon on each one of the pillars. The legend says that touching the dragons will bring you good luck.

Two torii are located in Suginami [杉並]. The first torii I went off to visit was in the grounds of Shukuhōzan Kōenji [宿鳳山高円寺]. The gate is a bit to the side, in a small adjoined shrine to the left of the main building.

The second gate I visited is in Mabashi Inari Jinja [馬橋稲荷神社], about 15 minutes walking from the previous one (which I chose to hit first because it is closer to the station). As this is indeed a shrine, the torii is pointedly displayed, as it is the second one on the main entrance.

Although I would have wanted to hit the three gates on one day, going back and forth between the first two and the third was not a good idea. Thus, I headed off to Shinjuku [新宿] to check out the Tōkyō Tochō [東京都庁], the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, as the day was very clear. And bingo, it worked, and I managed to see Mount Fuji Fuji-san [富士山] in the background. Being a little bit of a geek, and since both observatories were open, I decided to climb both this time (just in case the stamp was different, of course!). Then (also of course) I was doing some shopping around…

And since I was in the area, I decided to go back to Isetan, having devised a plan to get some images of the kimono. Which succeeded. Then I saw other people taking pictures, so I shielded myself with them and took some, too.

After that I met with D****e and we went off to find some of Gackt’s Gakucchi and Hyde’s Chupacabra crane games and UFO Catchers. For this we headed off to Odaiba [お台場], where we had a chance to look at the Winter Illumination, especially the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ] looking… well, rainbow-coloured.

Then we went to say bye-bye to the Gundam in front the DiverCity and had some food inside. Somehow I feel like I’m talking about food all the time (*´∀｀*)ノ… This was very yummy and the writing on the algae cracked me up.

As we did not find the Gakucchi nor Chupacabra in Odaiba’s Venus Front, where we had read they would be, we backtracked to Shinjuku [新宿] to search for them. We did not manage to get the stuff out of the crane games but we got the bags that you got with putting 500 ¥ into the UFO Catchers…

30th July 2016: 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。 Last day {Japan, summer 2016}

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I had set up my alarm at an insane time in the morning because I needed to take the trash out before 8am (between 7 and 8?! Seriously, Japan?). But in the end it was good – you see my contract said that I had to clean the apartment, wash and dry the sheets and vacuum the floors. Which was okay, until the fluffy cover sheet took an hour and a half to about 95% dry. Oh, and I packed. 23.1kg of suitcase (^◇^;).

Anyway, the previous day I had been unable to get the Gakucchi clearfile from the UFO catchers, but I still wanted to try again. As I had to be back at the apartment by 4pm to give the keys back and pass the inspection, I headed off to the nearest Taito station, the one in Ueno. Unfortunately, they did not even have the GACKT machines. So I decided to brace myself and go to Akihabara [秋葉原] to try to find an arcade. The first three – the Sega ones – were not successful at all. I was about to give up and go home very sad when I was finally victorious! I found the clearfiles in the Taito Station. The staff-San I approaches was not very helpful at first – probably my Japanese was not the most articulate at that point either – but when she realised what I was trying to tell her she got me the clearfiles (I had an order, aside from the one I wanted for myself) and placed the plush I wanted on the machine for me to try. Of course I was not successful but I have the clearfile and that makes me happy.

As I had a bit of time, I headed off to Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園] and Meiji Jingu [明治神宮], as I wanted some omiyage. In the end, I offered an ema, and got some silly stuff. I also located the Like an Edison shop, but I stopped myself from going in because SUITCASE WEIGHT issues. I blame the Hyde is Dead photobook （；￣ェ￣）. I got back and bought some suahi from the street stand down my block, ate, sneaked out the rest of the trash, and sat down to wait for the inspection. At this point I was feeling kind of sad. Okay, without the ‘kind of’.

But the inspection / cleaner guy was adorable and he was pretty early so I could do stuff in the evening that would keep me going. I went to Tokyo station so they kept my luggage and then I headed to Tokyo Tower [東京タワー]. I got up to the main observatory, and had been considering walking up, but I did not trust myself without seeing the stairs first. So I climbed up on the lift and took pictures and enjoyed myself. I also wrote a postcard to myself to get the special post stamp… yes I’m lame like that, but I had a message for my future self （・◇・）/~~~

I walked down, because I figured out that I could so that more easily and I enjoyed it immensely. Then I stayed for a bit in the Zojo-ji [増上寺] matsuri in Shiba Koen [芝公園] , retrieved my luggage and headed towards the airport.

On my way I got to say goodbye to the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ] on the way. It might be worth mentioning at this point that I could not complete the check in, and that I has only registered until Frankfurt… whoops.

Fortunately, after a bit of haggling with the lady organising the check-in queue I managed to get through to talk to an actual assistant who could get me my final boarding pass. I found myself some karaage dinner before moving on.

17th August 2014: Meiji, more Odaiba, Rainbow Bridge {Japan, summer 2014}

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I started the day heading off towards Yoyogi Kōen [代々木公園], the park where Meiji Jingu [明治神宮] stands. I got my fortune in the shrine, and apparently, it shall be excellent from now on (and wouldn’t that be awesome). I got an English fortune and it came with a tiny Manekineko (lucky cat) and told me that my life was going to get better. I am going to cling to the thought. (Plus: I did not get dengue fever from my visit to Yoyogi Park).

After that I took a stroll down to Shiba Kōen [芝公園] and Zojo-ji [増上寺] in Minato [港], just because I could, but I had to move on before long. I did have the time to say hi to the mizuko, though, before I had to leave.

I met my friends for ComiKet [コミケット] in the convention centre Tokyo Big Sight, in Odaiba [お台場]. Comiket is reportedly the largest amateur comic convention in the world.

ComiKet was disappointing, mostly because it was insanely crowded, and we decided to make up for it walking back to the main Tokyo area crossing the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ], which was an amazing experience. Not only the views, but the whole walking on it… well, within it might be more appropriate… was great, and I am very glad I got to do it.

The day ended in Ikebukuro [池袋] eating okonomiyaki and monjayaki (with some sides because huuuuungry), which was quite yummy, although I have decided that I prefer okonomiyaki.

30th June 2013: Odaiba (revisited) {Japan, summer 2013}

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Once again heading to Odaiba [お台場] we lined for a couple of hours to get access to VAMPARK same-day tickets. I was honestly expecting something a bit more impressive than a 20-minute movie, crane games, and pictures, but the company made it fun. There was cute Chupacabra merch to be bought, too.

Chupacabra was designed by Hyde and looks like this. It is just too cute:

After that there was okonomiyaki and we headed off to Madame Tussauds Tokyo. Let me be honest here, the main goal of the event was finding Yoshiki in there, and of course there were pics. Quite a few (≧▽≦)

Then we went for a stroll on the beach to see the original reason why the island was built in the first place. Odaiba is an artificial island that was built to protect Tokyo from Admiral Perry’s ships as a daiba [台場], a battery of cannons. There were several fortifications around Tokyo bay, the Tokyo-wan yosai [東京湾要塞]. The battery we saw in Odaiba is the third one that built – although there was little left.

On our way back, as the sun set, we had some amazing views of Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ].

17th July 2012: The Sword and the Vampire {Japan, summer 2012}

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After a failed shopping trip to Shibuya [渋谷] and Ikebukuro [池袋] looking for an adaptor for D****e’s WiMax who fell victim of the Sakaki clumsiness, on the 17th I visited the Japan Sword Museum / Tōken hakubutsukan [刀剣博物館], where they’ve got the tightest security ever. Pictures were not allowed and there was a security guy checking on you and a bunch of cameras following your every move. Impossible to sneak them ^^”

Notice with the name of the The Japanese Sword Museum

Afterwards I took a rest in preparation of what was to come in the evening. Since I was feeling kind of down I decided to head off to Shibuya’s Book Off for a self-spoiling or twenty before going to pick up D****e at her workplace with a change of clothes.

We took the Yurikamome Line to Odaiba [お台場] and the Zepp Tokyo where we were attending VAMPS live concert “Beast at the Beach”. It was a very cool thing to go over the Rainbow Bridge [レインボーブリッジ], another of CLAMP Tokyo landmarks.

Rainbow bridge, which is white, extending over Tokyo Bay

The inside of Rainbow Bridge from the front of the train that crosses it

VAMPS’ vocalist, Hyde, is one of my favourite Japanese singers, and I went to see him with his “main” band in London back in April. Thus, this was the second time for me seeing Hyde in half a year, which is fun because not long ago I thought I’d never manage to see him XD

Although VAMPS is Hyde’s second(ary) band, but that does not mean he is any less energetic or enthusiastic about it. The music is fast and catchy, and Hyde had a blast during the lives. That man was born to be on stage, I swear. However – he is too short! Really, people, give him a higher spotlight! We want to see him!

We really patted his ego last night, and there were some very funny moments when he messed up his emcee. He climbed up onto the second floor for a few minutes and slammed his guitar there, having one hell of a blast. I was surprised that K.A.Z., the other main, barely got any attention at all, which is strange considering that he is good at what he does and rather easy on the eyes. The light effects were awesome, starting by the clock projected on the curtains waiting to signal the kick off at 6:66 pm (19h 06mins) to which there was countdown, of course. Sound quality was much better than any of the European concerts I’ve attended. Hyde had a blast, I did too and all was good with the world. Oh, and we toasted to Frank’s happy birthday with… water XD Expensive water though!!

Entrance to the venue from above. Lots of people are waiting, a lot of them with pink shirts

It was all in all a very fun concert, with powerful songs balanced with well-placed ballads that made the mix work really well. The only downside was my aching feet, and a big-headed girl in front of me XD.

Vamps Tshirt and concert booklet showing their logo, an open mouth with pointy upper fangs

A bottle with a lanyard to hang it around your neck

Afterwards there was purikura and very sore feet and a couple of cramps, but it was so. Damn. Worth. It. And I didn’t feel nearly as sore as after the LARUKU con in London.

Now, where the hell is Hyde’s lamb, people?