Tokyo: events, events!

I have returned once again!

Today, I shall begin the task of tackling my travel backlog. Let us return to last November for a moment, and take a look at what I did in Tokyo on the 9th and the 10th. This will include both the events I went to as well as my first experience with night buses and a cabin hotel.

My trip began on the 8th, as night buses tend to be the cheapest mode of transport available. I travelled by Sakura Kanko (さくら観光), a round trip from Kanazawa to Tokyo costing about ¥10 000. (For reference, a one-way train trip would be about ¥14 000 as far as I know.) This company's buses have four seats in one row, two on each side of the aisle, meaning that you'll be sitting next to someone by default. I'm the kind of person who finds it hard to sleep on vehicles and/or in a small space, let alone when trying to not accidentally punch a stranger, so not much sleep was had on the way to Tokyo. (More sleep was had on the way back as I was quite exhausted at that point.) I've used this company three times so far, and I'd say it's a good option as long as you're fine with sitting next to a stranger - unless you're travelling with a friend. The company has a waiting room in Shinjuku, Tokyo, which is a short walk away from the station. If you're early enough, you can grab a chair and ask about the wi-fi. Sakura Kanko also doesn't seem to ask for tickets, though I tend to have some sort of payment verification with me just in case!

Ikebukuro early in the morning.

My main purpose for visiting Tokyo was Tales of Fanfesta in Namco Namja Town, Ikebukuro. In practice, it meant that Namja Town, an amusement park inside Sunshine City, had a bunch of Tales-themed gyoza and ice cream that came with cards, as well as a Tales garaponia, a type of a raffle with prizes such as microfiber cloths and postcards. Tales of Fanfesta is not the only special event Namja Town hosts; at the moment, they have both an Otomate and a Hoozuki no Reitetsu event. During Tales of Fanfesta, the other event was Danganronpa.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World cardboard cut-outs.

Lulu (Tales of Xillia 2) ice cream.

Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia) gyoza.

Yuri Lowell (Tales of Vesperia) ice cream.

Surprisingly enough, I gained a new friend thanks to the event! A Japanese Tales fan came to talk to me upon noticing that I was eating a theme gyoza all by myself. We talked a bit about e.g. Tales and cosplay, and Ayako even saw me off to Ikebukuro Station as I had to leave. We've since exchanged quite a few e-mails, and also met a second time during Comiket. I'm really glad we happened to meet in Namja Town! I've met few Japanese with interestes similar to mine, and talking with Ayako is also very useful in the sense that she doesn't speak English - leaving me no choice but to somehow say what I want in Japanese!

After Tales of Fanfesta, I spent about 40 minutes in a train, heading for a certain university festival. Why? Because Morikubo Showtarou, a voice actor, was to have a talk show there, and I had a ticket! It felt rather weird going all the way there from central Tokyo, especially since I didn't see any other foreigners around, but I definitely wanted to seize the chance to see one of my favourite voice actors. There was a lot I didn't quite catch, but fun was had regardless!

Waiting for the talk show to begin.

My accommodation of choice was First Cabin Akihabara, a couple of minutes away from Akihabara Station by foot. I doubt I'd be able to sleep peacefully in a capsule, so I decided to try something between that and an actual room! A regular cabin is the size of a wide single bed, high enough to stand in, and has a locker in it. However, the lockers are not big enough for something like a small suitcase, and the cabins cannot be locked. At first this made me nervous but after three stays, I still have both the items I've kept in the locker and the ones I've kept elsewhere in the cabin. Only the people staying at the cabin can access the floors, and only the floor of their cabin. Women have one floor, along with their own elevator, and men have two.

One of the cabins.

The cabin "doors" aren't great against noises but in general, the loudest noises to be heard around the cabins are opening/closing suitcases and doors. Noises from the bathroom are muted quite well by the wall. At least for women, there's a powder room with eight sinks or so, and the floors also have coin-operated laundry machines. There's a larger bathroom on the first floor; I've never used it, though. Overall, the hotel is very clean and modern, and I definitely recommend it should you need to stay in Akihabara for a night or two! However, if you're with friends, you might want to consider going elsewhere if you're not willing to either remain silent or talk in a separate room meant for talking/calling.

On Sunday, I visited two exhibitions in Akihabara: Tales of Viva Festival in Kotobukiya and a BlazBlue museum at Gamers. Tales of Viva Festival was very colourful and pleasant to look at. The BlazBlue museum had less to show but was worth taking a look nevertheless. Photographing was not allowed in the latter, so seeing a bit of Tales of Viva Festival will have to suffice.

Kotobukiya before opening.

A general view of Viva Tales of Festival.

Tales drawings by different artists.

Plenty of rubber straps!

Badges and clear files.

Colette Brunel (Tales of Symphonia) figure.

Zelos Wilder (Tales of Symphonia) dream cushion.

After the event roll, I headed back to Ikebukuro to find out that the main store of Animate, one of my favourite merchandise chains, had moved. Whereas I had regarded the previous one large compared to other Animates, the new one made it look quite small! I also tried out the Animate Café Caravan which was selling Free! drinks at the time of my visit. I quite liked the Rin drink I bought.

Captain Levi kindly suggests that you use the stairs rather than the elevator.

Animate Café Caravan.

Rin drink & coaster.

The old Animate main store.

From Ikebukuro, I headed to Shinjuku and maneuvered my way to Square Enix Artnia which had replaced the previous Square Enix Showcase. Although I liked the café, I prefer the Showcase to Artnia. There's no winning Sephiroth-in-the-floor, and I would've loved to see Genesis' costume again after having actually played Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Artnia also doesn't have that much merchandise for sale, and the beautiful merchandise statues were nowhere to be seen.

A parfait in Square Enix Artnia.

With Shinjuku, my trip drew to a close as I arrived at the bus waiting room, sitting there for a couple of hours before it was time to return to Kanazawa. Not a whole lot of stores are open once it gets late, so I'm very grateful that there is a waiting room. It's not that big, though, so you might not find a seat unless you're there by 9 PM or so; depends on the day, I suppose.

And that's what my first trip during my exchange was like! Next up in the travel backlog, Christmas in Sapporo!