Isekai Travels - Japan

Desember 2022 - Januari 2023
  • Ritz リッツ
I had a couple friends mention that they would be interested in reading a travel journal of what I experience in my time in Japan! I'm usually pretty bad at staying motivated to write but knowing that friends want to read is my motivation! Baca selengkapnya
  • Ritz リッツ

Daftar negara

  • Jepang Jepang
  • Amerika Serikat Amerika Serikat
Kategori
Perjalanan di kota, Budaya, Perjalanan kelompok, Penemuan jati diri, Perjalanan solo, Liburan
  • 10,6rbmil yang ditempuh
Sarana transportasi
  • Penerbangan6.703kilometer
  • Sedang berjalan-kilometer
  • Pendakian-kilometer
  • Sepeda-kilometer
  • Sepeda motor-kilometer
  • Tuk tuk-kilometer
  • Mobil-kilometer
  • Kereta-kilometer
  • Bus-kilometer
  • Pekemah-kilometer
  • Kafilah-kilometer
  • 4x4-kilometer
  • Renang-kilometer
  • Mendayung-kilometer
  • Perahu motor-kilometer
  • Berlayar-kilometer
  • Rumah perahu-kilometer
  • Feri-kilometer
  • Kapal pesiar-kilometer
  • Kuda-kilometer
  • Berski-kilometer
  • Menumpang-kilometer
  • Cable car-kilometer
  • Helikopter-kilometer
  • Bertelanjang kaki-kilometer
  • 55footprint
  • 43hari
  • 535foto
  • 57suka
  • JmoF - Day 3

    7 Januari 2023, Jepang ⋅ 🌙 41 °F

    Today is the Saturday of JmoF. Saturday is always a bittersweet day at conventions because it's usually around the halfway point where it feels like it only just started but it's also getting closer to ending. However, I don't feel like a single moment was wasted at this JmoF!

    We got breakfast at the buffet and was able to get a little down time in the room before attempting to hit up the Dealer's Room. The Dealer's room was at very odd hours in comparison to the American conventions. It ran from 12:30pm-3pm where American conventions would usually have the Dealer's Room running the entire length of the convention from 9ish-5ish. I liked this model a bit better because my friends who were dealers also got to actively participate in the convention! A lot of my American artist or dealer friends complain that the convention is more like work than a convention because they have to sit in the Artist Alley or Dealer's Room for the equivalent of a work shift. This doesn't give them time to enjoy the other events going on at the convention.

    We took a quick look at the Dealer's Room and I grabbed a couple books in Japanese that I'm thinking I might attempt to read someday and said hi to a couple of friends that were selling things. My friend Ware was selling a bunch of accessories and my friend/teacher Sekki was selling various shirts he had designed himself. One of those shirts can be seen in a previous post where I was passed out on the ground 🍻😴

    I also came accross the booth that was advertising a sort of "Business Card Trading Card Game" called RealTrekker where people could commission their business card as a trading card that has abilities and can be used in the game. I thought this was a super cool idea for a business that both elevates individuals and their creativity while making a game that can produce a profit. I really want to commission a trading card business card one day so I bought a starter deck and gathered some info on how to commission them in the future.

    It seemed that some dealers had already packed up and left by the time Atsu and I came down to the Dealer's room. My suspicion was that because the big Fursuit Photo was happening at the same time as the Dealer's room closing that people were leaving so they could be in the picture. We also were about to be late for the picture so we rushed back to the room to suit up and get ready for the big group photo!

    We rushed downstairs and ended up being some of the very last people to get into the courtyard for the photo. I feel like we ended up getting some nice spots on the edges though so it's easy to spot us in the large group photo. After the photo, the large group of suiters were funneled outside for the fursuit parade. The parade was much different than what I've experienced in American conventions. First off, it was pleasantly cool and many of the parades I've been part of are in the middle of summer so it was like I was dying of heat exhaustion 🥵 Since JmoF is in January, the weather was very nice for such an event. Everyone walked pretty much in a single file line while American parades are kind of a free for all and people walk in more horizontal rows sometimes. The area was also oddly quiet, which is normal for Japan but I thought strange for a parade. American parades usually have people playing instruments or music. Sometimes that's cool and sometimes it's annoying but only hearing silence was peaceful but oddly eerie at the same time. To me, it felt like something was wrong or out of place 🧐

    After the parade, we went around and talked with some people and got some more pictures. I was tired and wanted to get some rest but it seemed like the best time to interact with other suiters since we all were already summoned to the same place at the same time. I got some cool photos with various suiters and Atsu before heading to the room for a small rest. The JmoF Rock Show was starting soon and I wanted to make sure I did not miss it 😊
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  • The JmoF Rock Show

    7 Januari 2023, Jepang ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    I was super excited for the rock show because there isn't something similar in America. There are a couple furry bands but they usually only perform in a mixed type of performance like a variety show or is a single band that is featured for the con. This seems like the "main event" for alot of furry musicians wheras American bands are spread out all over the country and are rarely gathered at a single convention.

    Both Atsu and I were arrived the concert in suit since we came from the courtyard area after the parade. I had actually already met most of the second band at Wolf Bar a couple weeks back! It was cool seeing people I had interacted with performing and it felt like I had a bit more of a connection with the music. The band went by the name Underdrawing and they had immense musical talent up on the stage. I was particularly impressed by their ability to keep tempo and play complex melodies in a very clean manner. It was obvious this band had practiced a ton and really put an emphasis on working together to create a harmonous sound. The singer even came off stage and did some cool hype-man choreography. He sang into the camera and everything.

    The second band was headlined by a singer and guitarist I've talked to and mentioned before named Yoshiro. He seems to have a really personable attitude and was able to talk to the crowd as if they were his friends and lighten the mood.

    The third band went by the name Mirai Fluct and it contained my favorite japanese furry musician Totan on bass and had Yoshiro join in on guitar on some songs. The lead singer had a cool cat-like hoodie on and rehearsed some cool poses. I really enjoyed the driving rock groove this band put forward. I really appreciate when a band takes into account the tambre of the instruments when composing a song and I felt that each instrument was able to shine in their own way because of this.

    We ended up not staying for the entire time because it was about 4 or 5 hours of bands! I wanted to see them all but it is hot in suit and we had not eaten dinner and it was getting late. We popped into the headless lounge where it was clear Atsu was dying from the heat in the suit ☠️ As we drank water, Totan actually came in to the room too so I got to say that I thought the performance was really rad. We got one more cup of water and headed to out to find some food!
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  • JmoF - Night 3

    7 Januari 2023, Jepang

    After leaving the Rock Show, Atsu and I were trying to use our meal tickets before it was too late so we headed to one of the hotel restauraunts. We sat down and went with the all you can eat and drink option that was actually pretty affordable. I'm always suprised by how many "all you can drink" options there are here in Japan because in America it's almost never an option. I think Americans would use it as a chance to nickle and dime the establishment for all their alcohol 😅🍻

    Atsu then asked if his friend and maker of his fursuit head could come join us for the meal! It was fun getting to know Momon and I was really happy that we were able to have a conversation without having too much difficulty! I've noticed there is a big difference in peoples' abilities to speak more simple Japanese. Luckily, Momon spoke in a way that was very easy to understand so our conversation went super smoothly. He asked me lots of questions about the differences in American and Japanese conventions and we talked about why we are part of the community. We exchanged business cards and I made a new friend 😸

    Later in the night I wanted to go and do things but I was just so exhausted from constantly attending all of the events nonstop. Plus, Atsu had a performance the next day and since he has been getting very little sleep the last week we ended up passing out after dinner!
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  • 狐さんたち

    9 Januari 2023, Jepang ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Today is the Monday of the con so everyone is packing up and preparing to go home. However, before heading back to the normal world again Atsu, Shu, Atsushi, and I made plans to go to the Toyokawa Inari Fox Temple! We packed up the Van and I said my final goodbyes to both Ware and Sekki as I would not be seeing either of them for the rest of my trip. I gave Sekki a big American hug and pretended to break his spine just as he asked me not to do 🫢 It was sad saying goodbye but I still had a bunch of day in front of me and I was excited to spend it with my friends!

    We drove about an hour or so away to get to the shrine but it was definitely worth it! While on the way up to the Shrine, there was a bunch of food stands lining the walkways. I noticed these interesting sugar coated apples and Atsu ended up walking over and buying one for me, probably because it was pretty clear I'd never seen them before 😆 It was a very interesting treat because the hard outer coating felt like it would break my teeth if I bit down but it ended up being brittle and not as hard as it looks. The sugar got caught on my beard so eating it was a bit difficult but it's always fun to taste new and different things!

    Foxes are super adorable and Shu and Atsushi both have fox characters so obviously everyone was excited to see it. He also explained that the fox statues were actually tombstones for foxes who had died. Each and every fox statue had a different posture and expression so it was really amazing to see so many statues that were very similar but also very unique.

    Shu explained that the white flags were also placed by people who made donations to the shrine. By making the donation, a flag with a message written on it could be left. I'm not sure exactly what is allowed to be written on the flags or what the custom is for leaving one. There was a super long line for getting to the fox cemetary and the path was lined with these white flags from people who made donations to the temple. Again, I feel that I should become more educated on the zen and buddhist relgions before I revisit Japan so I can have more informed observations when visiting these temples.

    Shu was explaining to me that the some of the fox imagery has foxes with scrolls in their mouths because they bring messages from the gods. On the way out of the shrine I ended up buying some fox scroll treats and giving it to one of my Fox friends in America for their birthday a couple weeks after. People also would leave coins on the foxes but I'm not sure the exact reason why. It did make the fox statues look cuter though! I laughed because there were a couple of kids looking in in the small crevases of stone for coins and one exclaimed "Wow I found a 100 yen coin!"

    After observing the various foxes we made our way out to the area where we could receive Omikuji (fortunes). The fortunes were kept in these small ceramic foxes and after making a small donation you could keep the fox and remove the fortune within it. The foxes were so cute I had to grab a couple to give to friends when I was back in America. However, if you get an undesirable fortune you're supposed to tie it to the walls of the temple and leave it be. Hopefully none of the foxes I brought back have a bad fortune inside 😇

    We grabbed a couple foods. One of the strangest foods was a strawberry funari which was essentially rice with strawberry and fried dough. This was apparently not a normal think in Japan and we bought it specifically just to see what it would be like 😆 We all got a taste of it and gave our opinion on the taste. I don't think any of us liked it much and I remember saying something along the lines of "wow it's so good that you guys should eat the rest"

    On the way back to the station, I realized that we had not gotten a picture together as an entire group and asked if we could get one before we went our separate ways. We stopped at a reststop and took a timed group picture in front of a life-size dango for no particular reason.

    Shu pointed out to me a sign that instructed people not to feed the monkeys. Suppossedly the monkeys might get too used to getting food and possibly attack if you get to close with food. It's interesting because this is not a worry we would have at all in America. I suppose we do have "don't feed the geese" signs for feeding Canadian Geese, but I'd much rather have monkeys around rather than Canadian Geese. No one likes Canadian Geese 😆

    I said goodbye to Shu and Atsushi at the subway station in Nagoya and then Atsuya took me back to the nearby hotel that I'd be staying at in Nagoya. I would say this was the hardest part of the trip because I knew the best part was coming to an end and I wouldn't get to see the people I had such wonderful experiences with for a long time. However, I know it won't be the last time we meet and I can already begin looking forward to when we meet again ❤️
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