Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Business tripping in Osaka (さらに少し遊び時間)

For the last 3 weeks, I have been called to work out in Osaka. I have been to Osaka a few times recently for work, but this is the first time in a while that I have come to Osaka and stay for a period of time, and actually have some free time here.

I'm still not used to the Kansai-dialect, but fortunately my Kanto dialect is enough to get me by, and most shops use the official "Tokyo-dialect". I know people say Kansai-folk are generally more friendly, but I don't know if it's a case of being friendly, or just simply more expressive (for better or worse). 

I had a long overdue catchup with some friends in Osaka, where we hanged out for lunch. As they knew of my current condition, they picked out a nice restaurant that served a lot of vegetables. I ordered a ginger pork dish that came with a nice serving of steamed veggies among other sides.

I also took the opportunity to take a look around Nanba and DenDenTown. I wasn't after anything in particular there, as I was just curious what has changed since I last went there about 6 or so years back. I don't know if it's because I recently decided to stop purchasing gunpla/toys or because I have already lived in Japan for more than 8 years now, but I just didn't care for it at all this time. I suspect it's a combination of both - though maybe more of the latter in that it's very easy for me to buy what I want in Japan online or physical stores, regardless of where I am in the country these days. The previous times I went to DenDen Town, it felt more like it was one of the very few chances I could shop and get many of the things I really want. When I went there with a friend on holiday back in 2013 and visited there in 2014 during my year of study in Japan, it was like a dream, and I could buy what I wanted because I knew that upon returning to Australia, those things I wanted would be very difficult to find or expensive to purchase.

Another thing that I noticed in Osaka is that there is Cinnabon cafe here. This is the first time I have seen a Cinnabon in Japan at all, as I have never seen any in Kanto - or at least Tokyo and Saitama areas. I did go to Cinnabon in the Philippines, and it was way too sweet for me (which says a lot as I like sweet things). Not sure if it's just an American thing, but it was way too rich for me to completely finish, and I know that the minibon I had at the time is the smallest cinnamon bun one can purchase. I'm not sure if the sweetness has been dialled back for Cinnabon in Japan, but I am in no rush to find out. 

Also, last week Konami released IIDX 32 Pinky Crush. Not a fan of the overly Pink colour theme (I personally like Epolis' theme better to be honest), and I tried some of the new songs, including Bling Bang Bang Born, which was a surprisingly popular song a few months ago, and I wasn't expect this song (or at least, a cover of this song to show up in a Bemani game. Though I only played on Hyper, it had few patterns that I am not quite used to yet, but was able to pass on my first try with not too much trouble.

In the meantime, my regular gym has many branches in the area, with one that I went to yesterday a few stops away from the hotel I am staying. There are several more along the way to central Osaka, but chances are that depending on the time of day I go, it can get very busy. It is a refreshing change to have easy access to my regular gym when I am on my business trips compared to my time in rural Hyogo earlier this year.

Not sure how long I will be working out here, though my employer is hoping to have me back in the office soon. In the meantime, I will just take some time to explore more of Osaka on my own on the weekend.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

自分の好きなネットショップ (My favourite online stores)

私はガンプラなど買うとき、ネットショップはめっちゃ便利だ。

Recently, I have decided to put a stop to buying new kits, having recently gotten engaged. I have been meaning to put this together for quite some time now, but for one reason or another, I never got around to doing it.

But I figured I would write about where I have been buying my kits since I started living in Japan. While there is always the option of going to a physical store to buy kits, unless you happen to live somewhere with easy access to major geek hubs like Akihabara, or Osaka's DenDen Town, usually stores are limited to the most recent series, or what has been reissued recently. If you looking for an older kit that hasn't been reissued, you might have some difficulties here. Enter the online stores.

While there are other online stores out there, below are the five that I have used when it comes to shopping for model kits online.


Amazon is usually my first choice when it comes to buying regular release Gunpla kits, because most of the time you can get current or recently reissued model kits at a good price (if not cheaper). Whenever something has been sold out at my local store, I take a look at Amazon shortly after to see if it's available there.

However, I must warn you that for very popular or highly anticipated kits, you may find yourself looking at inflated prices, especially if you are looking for a kit on the day of its release. In those cases, I would suggest you keep refreshing for the page and hope someone is selling the kit at retail price, and that you are quick enough to add it to your cart to purchase. Be aware of those scalping model kits (those that sell model kits at significantly higher prices), as nothing seems to be done about it - at least on Amazon Japan anyway.

Amazon also does sell P-bandai kits, but from my experience they are way overpriced - sometimes selling at 3-4 times more than the P-bandai prices. I understand that P-bandai kits have limited runs, and that demand is much bigger than supply, but that reasoning can only go so far in justifying the high prices. Fortunately, there is another site that I will talk about shortly that addresses this problem.

Rakuten

Rakuten is a bit of a weird one. It's basically like Amazon, but operates purely for the Japanese market. Though if I were to sum Rakuten up, it would be... overpriced. 

While it is generally more expensive compared to Amazon, the keyword is generally. I have managed to purchase kits and games at prices that have been cheaper than what Amazon offers. Hell, a while ago, I managed to get my hands on an Ichiban Kuji campaign version of the Master Grade RX-78-2 version 3.0 (unopened) at a surprisingly good price, and that campaign was from a few years ago, meaning it's not something one comes by easily. In addition, I was able to purchase the HG Gundam Livelance Heaven at a very reasonable price, cheaper than what Amazon was offering at the time. 

Despite my thoughts on Rakuten being overpriced, I would not be so quick to dismiss it either. You can find some things through this service at some competitive prices, and not just Gunpla. As a result, whenever I'm looking for things to purchase at Amazon Japan, I always have a tab open for Rakuten also. 

Hobby Search

This is something that I check frequently, but I do not purchase from often. I think the last time I purchased from this store was 2 years ago.

They frequently sell reissues of Gunpla, but I find they sell out again rather quickly, so it's clear that this is also a popular online store. For some of the very popular kits, they do a lottery where you register, and have the chance to win the right to purchase the kit. If you've lived in Japan, this kind of lottery system is pretty common where you win the chance to purchase something, rather than winning the product itself outright.

I have bought a few kits from here in the few instances where I could not find a particular kit at a good price at any of the other online shops I use. This is also the store I used to purchase the Real Grade Hi V Gundam, on release day and happened to completely sell out across the country


Premium Bandai (P-Bandai)

Any Gunpla fan not living in Japan (and even those living in Japan) will most certainly groan in frustration at the mere mention of Premium Bandai (or P-Bandai).

For those that do not know, Premium Bandai is an online store that sells products exclusive to its site. In the case of Gunpla, they sell colour or re-tooled variations of regular released Gunpla kits, or release kits of certain obscure mobile suits that may not have that much demand, or showed up very briefly in their respective anime/OVA/film. Examples including the HG Conroy Haagensen's ECOAS Jegan, a very slight retool of the regular release HG Jegan D-Type ECOAS version. These days however, P-bandai also release kits that many would argue should have been a regular release - examples including the HG Gundam Rose or Gundam Maxter from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, or even the HG Gundnode and HG Demi Garrison from the Witch from Mercury line. Even Cucuruz Doan's Zaku was strangely a P-bandai release, despite the mobile suit being one of the main features of the Cucuruz Doan's Island film - and it keeps getting many reissues long after the film was released. Hell, they released the Mercuius and Vayeate from Gundam Wing, with many asking "Why?"

Aside from the odd choices of what is considered a P-bandai release these days, another issue is the timeframe of when you can preorder the kit, which is 12:00 PM JST. For many highly anticipated P-bandai kits, you may have just a few minutes to put your order in before it is all sold out. To make matters worse, even if you are on the P-bandai website in preparation to put your order in, the high volume of visitor traffic may sometimes lead you to missing out. In those cases, your only hope is that P-Bandai will do another run very soon, which is sometimes the case.Even if you are unfortunate and miss out, there are still other options, with many physical stores and online stores selling P-bandai kits after market, though expect to pay a little more.

Kind of related, but I find it funny that I had an easier time purchasing the HG Gelgoog Menace (standard colors) from P-bandai than purchasing the regular release Gelgoog Menace (Lunamaria's custom), despite the numerous reissues since it was first released in March this year. I have searched both online and in physical stores, and have had no luck finding the kit at a reasonable price.

Surugaya

This is something that I have only just started using this year. I am kind of cheating adding this to the list, as Surugaya is also a chain of physical stores where you can buy and sell games, DVDs, figures and even model kits. As each store in Japan is going to have different stock, their website lists every store in the country that stocks a particular product. In addition, for many of their products, you have the option of either buying it second hand (中古) or, if applicable, you can checkout their market place where you can sometimes get products either close to - or even cheaper than - retail price. 

I have managed to even get my hands on the P-Bandai HG Gundnode for almost the same price than if I purchased through P-bandai directly (which I missed out on preorder for), including delivery fees. The P-Bandai HG Demi Garrison (at the time of writing this) is also at a very good price. If you are after P-bandai kits that are either not being reissued, or if you just missed out on the pre-order and prepared to wait a little longer for it to show up on Surugaya, I strongly recommend checking it out over the other online stores that I have listed. There's a pretty good chance that you can get what you are after at a reasonable price.

However, compared to other online shops I have used, Surugaya is the only one I have noticed that does not allow you to pay at a convenience store.

There you have it, that's the list of online shops I use... or used for purchase Gunpla in Japan. If you are living in Japan and looking to get your Gunpla (or general model kit) fix, I would recommend using multiple online shops to make sure you get the best deal. It can be a bit of a pain having to set up accounts and monitor multiple online stores, but しょうがない, it can't be helped. Of course depending on where you live, physical stores may be an option, but stock may vary depending on place to place, with smaller, rural towns generally having less stock compared to major cities.

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Some photos from the Philippines

So back in August, I went to the Philippines for about 2 weeks.

So, I went to Palawan for 3 days for sightseeing. In all the many times I have been to the Philippines, this was the first time I have been to Palawan. We went rock climbing, went on an underground river tour, and had a look at some various other sights. 



After that, we went to Butuan for a few days. For Butuan, it was purely to visit family... well rather family came to visit us. Mum and I stayed in a hotel with a large room, and what usually happens when going to Butuan is that the family will come to our hotel room and hang out with us for the day. In this case, they were able to get rooms in the same hotel as well so they could stay the night and hang out with us again the next day. Some of the family wanted to watch Deadpool & Wolverine, and I joined them. It was an ok movie, though I do appreciate Wesley Snipes' cameo as Blade. Give us a Logan-style Blade movie please.

For the final stretch of the trip, it was catching up with some family friends, and a little bit of sightseeing in Cebu.

This used to be an old Spanish base near a port. It had been abandoned for many years, and my mum told me that she used to hang out here with her friends as a kid. In recent years, it's been refurbished as a park/museum of sorts. The interior of the buildings was still being worked on, but it looks like they plan to put old photos/paintings in the rooms eventually.


Another place we went was the Temple of Leah. This is right up in the hills of Cebu. You will notice that the temple is a Roman-style structure, and maybe you're thinking it was built several hundred years ago. Actually, this was built over 10 years ago and was built by a very wealthy man in memory of his loving wife, Leah. Along with a golden statue of Leah, within each of the chambers of the temple is a collection of everything that she had purchased through her travels, and she had purchased quite a lot of fancy things, even alcohol weirdly enough.



Finally, we went to garden park further down the same hill. Unfortunately, I didn't remember the name of the garden, but there were a lot of structures and pieces of art where a lot of people would take pictures of. While I did that too, I was more interested in the view from the garden itself. While it was a cloudy, and occasionally rainy, day it was still a really neat view.

While I would like to go back to the Philippines again in the next few years, getting engaged recently has shifted priorities to finding an apartment and the wedding for the time being. Maybe after these two things have been sorted, we can perhaps look in to another trip to the Philippines, hopefully together with my fiancé. 

Sunday, September 1, 2024

婚約した

10年間のデートして、ようやく彼女と婚約した。

... いいえ、これから彼女と言えないでしょう。婚約者というだ。

Sunday, August 25, 2024

100 Question Time.

At Saikyo Central's recommendation, and inspired by his post, I decided to give this 100 question... questionnaire a try. Also, I am back from the Philippines, so expect a post and some photos of my trip soon.
  1. time and date u started this?
    • 7:40 PM, August 14th 2024
  2. asl?
    • Late 30s, M, Japan
  3. opinions on musicals?
    • They're ok.
  4. favorite snack?
    • Oh geez, where do I begin? Reese's peanut butter cups, koala march, Maltesers, violet crumble
  5. have u ever been in love?
    • Still am
  6. favorite pokemon?
    • Dragonite and Mega Kangaskhan
  7. mario kart main?
  8. tf2 main?
    • I don't play tf2
  9. do you laugh at youtube poops?
    • Nope.
  10. are you listening to music right now?
    • Yes. Turtle Power - Partners in Kryme
  11. favorite shape?
    • Star
  12. do you believe in astrology?
    • No
  13. do you believe in the occult?
    • No.
  14. opinions on vocaloid?
    • Luka forever, Miku never
  15. would you ever want to be a rockstar?
    • Why be a rockstar, when I could be a Gang-star. Or a Rap God.
  16. do you easily get stressed?
    • Yes, my job tends to have that effect.
  17. what is/was your favorite class in high school?
    • PE
  18. what pokemon type would you be? dual types are allowed lol
    • Dragon
  19. rei or asuka?
    • Misato. For two reasons.
  20. favorite html tag?
    • <iframe> I used it for a bunch of my early site layouts.
  21. are you religious?
    • Somewhat.
  22. opinions on nightcore?
    • Not my thing personally, but if you like it, great.
  23. did you go through any major phase? (emo, goth, weeaboo, etc)
    • A major Vocaloid phase over 10 years back. Then I expanded my music tastes.
  24. are you good at drawing?
    • No
  25. do you crack your joints?
    • Fingers and neck. Office work is めんどくさい
  26. do you read visual novels?
    • No
  27. can you sew?
    • Just the basics of sewing buttons.
  28. can you cook?
    • Yes I can.
  29. most expensive thing you've bought?
    • Student debt.
  30. opinions on cosplay?
    • I admire those that can do it well. 
  31. what's your most hated band/musician?
    • Don't have one. Maybe Bardot?
  32. are you a dramatic person?
    • When it comes to certain aspects of my job, absolutely
  33. what emoticon do you use most?
    • (# ゚Д゚)
    • Yes
  34. would you let a vampire suck ur blood?
    • Maybe
  35. do you have a celebrity crush?
    • Mark Hamill, Shuichi Ikeda, Kevin Conroy
  36. do you like snow?
    • Yes.
  37. were you really into greek mythology as a kid?
    • I liked watching Hercules the Legendary Journeys when I was a kid. I remember Kevin Sorbo arm wrestling that attractive blacksmith with the big boobs and losing.
  38. what are some things you could competently deliver a speech on?
    • Why Gundam 0083 Starust Memory and Zeta Gundam is Australia's fault.
  39. are you good at spelling?
    • Yes
  40. which touhou wud u fuk?
    • I only know the one that sang Bad Apple. Not that I would fuck her
  41. do you think there's going to be a robot takeover?
    • No,but stranger things have happened.
  42. HAS SCIENCE GONE TOO FAR??!?!??!?!
    • If covid is anything to go by, yes.
  43. would you be an angel or devil?
    • Devil. I can be a real piece of shit.
  44. sine, cosine, or tangent?
    • Sine.
  45. do you like licorice?
    • No
  46. whats one thing you cant stand that everyone else loves?
    • Fish, and until recently Natto. 
  47. what books did you like as a kid?
    • The Star Wars Expanded Universe novels. I think the novelization of Shadows of the Empire was certainly my favorite at the time.
  48. can you play any instruments?
    • I used to play the violin as a kid. Then I broke my arm.
  49. what song would you want to play at your wedding?
  50. do you believe in reincarnation?
    • Not really
  51. finish the sentence: I'm just a guy who ______
    • in his folly, tried to surpass the Gundams.
  52. have you been to another continent?
    • Yes
  53. whats your worst habit?
    • procrastinating, easily irritable.
  54. favorite vegetable?
    • broccoli
  55. whats something stupid that scared the shit outta you as a kid?
    • Fighting metroids in Metroid II. Combined with the music when fighting them, it took me quite a few years before I finally beat that game.
  56. whats one of your guilty pleasures?
    • Watching Gundam Seed.
  57. would you rather be a ghost or a vampire?
    • Vampire. 
  58. what do you fear most?
    • Accomplishing nothing.
  59. do you sleep with any plushies?
    • Not anymore
  60. what hobby do you just not understand?

  61. do you like the taste of alcohol?
    • Yes, but I can't drink anymore unfortunately.
  62. are you a hopeless romantic?
    • Given I've been in a long term relationship, I'd like to think that I'm not that bad of a romantic.
  63. which deadly sin best fits you?
    • Wrath
  64. which of your physical features do you like the most?
    • My... eyes?
  65. are your ears pierced?
    • No
  66. have you ever been in a physical fight?
    • No, fortunately.
  67. where do you buy your clothes?
    • ユニクロ
  68. where would you live if you could live anywhere?
    • Under the sea. No more accusations. Just friendly crustaceans under the sea.
  69. do believe in magic? or is it all a trick?
    • It's all tricks. 
  70. have you read umineko when they cry? you should!
    • No.
  71. what is the worst chore to do?
    • Gardening.
  72. what did your parents almost name you?
    • If I was a girl, Simone.
  73. what would you want your name to be if you were not your current gender?
    • Simone.
  74. what were your first words?
    • I really don't know.
  75. what do you want your last words to be?
    • Fuck you, and I'll see you tomorrow!
  76. when did you first regularly start going online?
    • '98
  77. what year do you miss the most?
    • Anytime between 2011-2015. 
  78. are you psychic?
    • Nope
  79. would you fuck a clone of yourself? you're not allowed to kill yourself.
    • Thank you, but now.
  80. what do you use to listen to music?
    • I use a computer. I used to have an Ipod, but it's not longer. I would like to get an MP3 player to use when I go to the gym.
  81. whats the biggest city you've been to?
    • Tokyo
  82. favorite animal?
    • Kangaroo
  83. what web browser do you use?
    • Firefox on my phone, Edge on PC
  84. are you allergic to kitty cats???????????
    • No, but I don't like them.
  85. do you like energy drinks?
    • not anymore.
  86. would ever spend money on tf2 unusuals/csgo skins/gacha pulls/etc
    • Never
  87. when do you usually go to bed?
    • 10:30-11 if Sunday/weekday, whenever on Fridays/Saturdays.
  88. how often do you wash your hair?
    • every day, I ain't a bum.
  89. would you download a car?
    • Absolutely
  90. what was your favorite show as a kid?
    • Beast Wars, Power Rangers
  91. whats the silliest hat you own?
    • Not a hat, but a wig. Long black haired wig that I used when I dressed up as Professor Snape one halloween.
  92. what album/song do you're feeling angsty
    • Little Birdy's 2nd album, Hollywood
  93. do you make OCs?
    • Yeah. I really would like to get around to making my comic/story one day. Or at least put the lore together.
  94. whats the goofiest thing you do when completely alone?
    • Talk to myself
  95. do you like fireworks?
    • Yes
  96. favorite painter?
    • I don't have one.
  97. favorite numbers?
    • 10万
  98. what genre of vidya gaems are you really good at? (fps, fightan, danmaku, racing, whatever)
    • Music games
  99. time and date you finished this?
    • Sunday, August 25 @ 9:50 PM. Yeah, it took me a while, but in my defense, filling this on my phone wasめんどくさかった, so I finished it off on my computer after returning from my trip.

Monday, August 12, 2024

Toji in ... the Philippines?

For the first time in a few years, I'm posting this entry from outside of Japan. Currently I am in Manilla waiting for my connecting flight to Cebu.

Travelling to the Philippines is a big deal for me this time for several reasons. First, it's been 5 years since I have travelled overseas. It's been an hour since I arrived in the Philippines and it feels so... weird. For one, having staff speak to me in English took a little getting used to. Plus the whole driving system is the opposite of Japan. 

The second is that it's been about 20 years since I last went to the Philippines. When I was younger, my family and I would go the Philippines every few years to visit Mum's side of the family. Her family is rather big, so it's hard for me to remember everybody's names, while they only have to remember me. Sadly all of Mum's siblings have passed away save one that is in Australia, so it's just visiting cousins this time round.

The final reason is that this will be the first time to travel to the Philippines without Dad. As neither Dad and I can speak a lick of Tagalog or any of the dialects, while mum and her family talk away, Dad and I would just talk to each other. Fortunately, Dad was able to go to the Philippines with Mum a few years back, so he was able to at least see Mum's family and relatives before he passed. I only wishes Dad was able to visit Japan just once, even if it was just Ibaraki prefecture.

One other thing I noticed while going through Narita airport to my flight to Manilla, is that mainland Chinese are usually the most difficult tourists to deal with. A simple purchase/transaction at a store that should only take 1 minute or 2 suddenly becomes longer: and I'm standing there just waiting to pay cash for a bottle of water. I have to commend the shop staff at Narita airport for having the patience to deal with them, because I certainly don't, even when I was working in hospitality.

I will be in the Philippines for two weeks, but expect some photos of my trip after returning to 日本.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

New Japanese currency (kinda)

 Starting today, Japan has introduced their new 1000, 5000 and 10,000 yen notes. This is the first time in twenty years since the last change in design. The fact that Japan has even moved forward with new designs is an indication that Japan is in no rush to go fully cashless any time soon. If anything, they seem to be happy with giving people as many options as possible when it comes to purchases - some opting to pay with their phones/cards, and others still happy to continue paying cash, myself included.

Though I am perfectly content to pay with cash, I'm not completely unprepared. I have a separate bank account that I put a little bit of money aside and have a debit card for in case of emergencies or for times when I need to pay for something in the evening, and I'm not able to withdraw money - or if I need to pay for an overdue bill which I cannot pay at the convenience store.

I'm looking forward to withdrawing money the next time round to see if I can get my hands on one of the new notes.