I managed to pull an unprecedented feat in Kansai - 4 days, 4 cities, 2, hostels, 2 major festivals. Nothing short of luck had allowed me to pull this off, especially since everything was planned on ground. Time for the final stop on my summer trip - Tokyo (again).
I'm actually glad that there's only 3 days left. I miss the simple life in Miyako. There, if I want big city convenience, I can go to it at my choosing (2 hours away in Morioka) and fade back once I'm tired of it. But when you live in a big city, like Osaka or Tokyo, it's your daily life and there's no escape. Maybe I just miss my big apartment, my car, or not sweating my ass off 5 mins after I leave the house...
Today's main objective: Summer Comiket! It's a convention with lots of fan drawn manga (based on actual series), most of which would make even adults blush. I've little to no interest in doujinshi, but it's an experience to rub elbows (and sweat) with anime fans and legit cosplayers. Plus, I saw it in Oreimo, so I have to go.
Today's preplanned for a change. Due to my last-minute booking, my bus stopped at Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture. For those who know the anime "Sword Art Online", the Seibu Tokorozawa Station appeared in the 2nd opening theme. The real thing only has minor differences, mostly for licensing issues. Of course, it's no accident that I picked this stop.
I met up with my Illini bro Lee at Tokyo Big Sight for Comiket, after fighting through various snafus like people. The event's just as it's depicted in Oreimo - floods of people moving in, out, and around the building with absolutely no breathing room, in the blazing heat. There's even a massive line leading into the adjacent FamilyMart. Surprisingly, lines move constantly and smoothly, but it's just huge and slow.
My props to the cosplayers. While the Americans are catching up in recent years, the Japanese are still the masters of the art. In my opinion, some female anime characters just look better on Japanese girls. This's what many American cosplayers still don't get: to look good, you have to cosplay to a character's facial and body type, something you can't replace with even the best costumes.
Not to mention the dedication. And to endure the August Tokyo summer in some of those costumes is truly admirable. The Magica Madoka team I spotted was pretty awesome looking. There's also someone dressed up as the Unicorn Gundam.
Rest of the day was spent catching with Lee and checking out the festivities around Fuji TV station in Odaiba. On the way out of this man-made island, we got stuck there due to power outage on the train line. We think someone may have committed suicide on the train tracks somewhere to cause this.
Oh, I got to see my hated Gundam statue at night. Not bad, but it changes nothing between us.
After my bro and I parted ways at Asakusa, I met some of my dorm mates at the hostel. Before I knew it, I got pulled into an early expedition for Tsukiji Fish Market's famed tuna auction.
Great start for Tokyo leg redux, but a 3:30am wake-up...
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