Wanderlust V2 - Japan & Beyond

Can it be the second day already? I feel like this trip will go fast! Today we went to Akihabara Electric town... Is Tokyo a ghost town? You tell me!!

Left to Right: Aoi, Mama, Ishi

Cute toys !

Eva lockers!

Today is only one day away from lift off! Tomorrow at about 4am I will be on a plane, groggy and weird!!
There was a small 6.5 earthquake yesterday in the Sendai area and also a Tsunami warning. Fortunately it was small and the Tsunami warning was over as quick as it began. It appeared there wasn't too much more damage and none of it affected Tokyo. So pretty soon I'll be on my way reporting from Tokyo or simply enjoying myself too much to make any kind of proper postings. Heh:) This time I will be seeing different things like Fuji-q land, maybe some marimos, a mountain nearby!! I only regret that the aquarium and zoo will be closed. Also that I will not get to see beauty and the beast Takarazuka style.. ^^ BUT WE"LL BE IN JAPAN!!  WOOHOO!!  Again I shall be doing it on a budget heh.

Me and J ( don't know if she wants to be named) are going to Tokyo and staying there the full time. We are going to visit Fuji-Q land ( it is open now!) and have great accomidations! I'm really excited and proud of Japan for really putting so much effort into revival! If you think about it, it's only been about a week since the disaster! I'm really excited!!! I will update more as it comes along. We also found out, near our stay is a "bigbox" a huge building with shopping, fitness, arcade, and restuarants! WOOT:)

It's getting more difficult to waylay my family and friends about this. Most of the sensational news is getting through to them and most won't listen to me. I've been reading several articles and reports over the past few days since the Earthquake happened. Also I've been reading people's first hand accounts of going to Tokyo and finding that it's not torn into pieces and radiated, but trying to get back to normal. A few less lights for conservation and slightly reduced schedules ie, instead of the train coming every 4-5 mins, they are coming every 9-10 mins... That's still fast here, compared to the buses! Also the Metro is running as normal, without reduced schedules. As of now I would still like to go, but I'm getting annoyed by people who don't actually inform themselves and now are trying to yell at me about it. Sorry, I actually take the time to research what's going on, so in order to convince me, general panic is just not going to make it happen. I'm make a more solid decision next week.

Unless you live under a rock, you probably have heard of the 8.9 earthquake that devastated northern Japan over in Sendai and surrounding areas. It was quite stunning and I was very worried about friends and family who currently live in Japan. The phone lines went down, the transportation was stopped... Very scary. At this point the death toll is still undetermined and rising, as well as a large number missing.

Please view my friend Kyra's blog about the Earthquake in Tokyo area Little Gajin Blog.

Many people at work asked me if I were still going to Japan as well. I said I would definitely go barring airports being down. I have another 2 and half weeks. The places where I have made my reservations said they are still intact and doing fine. I think it's more supportive to Japan's economy to go rather than everyone cancel going to Japan all at once. Also know you can support Japan through the Red Cross efforts!

My prayers go out to Japan in their hard times.

As you can see from the title I'm a bit behind on the news. I guess I should be trying to fill a post a day, but I have no followers to speak of so I'm pretty casual here haha;)

Anyways I wanna share my acquisition! A Polaroid Pogo Printer. It fits in your hand and is light as can be! It prints 2"x3" pictures that are waterproof and uses special crystals without any printer cartridges. It's just enough to have fun and fit into my sketchbook! See how it fits my hand?? I love it! I bought it on ebay with a few packs of paper. February is almost over folks! So close, weeks away from being on my trip! I can't wait. School is just killer omg! I can't wait..

I guess I should share I went a little Otaku! I am liking BJD( Ball Jointed Doll). Normally I don't like dolls really, but I found out that there are really much smaller dolls instead of nearly child size dolls! The dolls I like are around 27cm (10.6 inches). About the size of a barbie doll!

Since this development I've been looking for doll cafes and doll stores in which to visit while in Tokyo. And my companion expressed an interest in maid or butler cafe or the like.. So we'll see about that. Hanami should be happening full force when we get there unless it's just too cold. But I hope it warm enough for us to enjoy Hanami. I have seen the weather has been around the mid 40s. I am considering buying thermals or undershirts to help me keep warm.  Ta ta for now!