Japan Day 2014!

In the weekend, I went to Japan Day! Had a great day enjoying japanese culture, eating japanese cuisine and seeing people again ^^.

There were quite a few cosplayers there who were helping out the Overload stand~ Ah, I love the atmosphere around the group ... maybe I don't know many of the people very well but they are always friendly and welcoming.

Since I did not have a cosplay prepared I was contemplating either wearing my Norway cosplay again, or wearing my go-to schoolgirl lolita outfit. I decided the latter, since I imagined the weather would be quite warm.

Here's Amey and I~

And *cough* obligatory selfie lol.

I saw and had a chat with some fellow cosplayers.

I ate delicious food.

There was a long line at the Takoyaki stand, but it was so worth it. Nom.

There was also this special samurai ramen for only $4! Also very yummy.

Navigating through the various stands~

Oh, looky there it's a Titan!

Traditional Japanese Dolls.

Portable Shrine.

Witnessing the cooking process of takoyaki! 

Sort of inspiring me to get out my pan out again to make a hopefully successful attempt haha.

A random balloon structure that looked pretty neat.

Professional ice sculpting!

I thought this stand had very cute signage ^^. 

I love how they incorporate mascots.

There was also this guy, who was singing a candyfloss jingle! I very much admired his enthusiasm, and it sold me the candyfloss haha. Haven't eaten candyfloss in so long that I almost forgot how good it tasted.

After going through the showgrounds a few times, we decided to take a break and had an attempt at Geocaching. We reached some cool spots that we never would have found if not for the directions~

Amey looking cool at the top of the hill.

The roots of this tree were pretty intricate, and nothing like I ever seen before!

We headed back and joined in the bon odori dance near the stage. It's some kind of traditional dance in the culture, and seems to incorporate a lot of hand movements.

To be honest, I was nervous about joining but then I was like "Oh, what the hell" and it turned out to be really fun to participate in. Should do this kinda thing more often ^^

You never regret the steps you take, but you always regret the ones you don't.

Here was my haul at the end of the day~

$5 Snack Pack from Japan Mart! I always enjoy looking at the cute food japanese food packaging. Sometimes, I cut the package carefully so I can keep and look at them again hehe.

Some books from the secondhand books stall for $1 each. 

Mostly children's books. Didn't realise that I bought a book about toilet training hippo until I tried to read it. Oh well, now I will never forget the word for poop in Japanese (うんち).

Not part of Japan Day, but since I'm a roll with posting pictures ..

I bought some Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyoujin) cellphone straps from Angie's group buy! Thanks to Angie for organising it <3

All in all, it was a great day!

Japan: Kingdom of Characters Exhibition

Went to the Japan: Kingdom of Characters Exhibition at the Gus Fisher Gallery on Shortland St, Auckland.  The exhibition is a showcase of the impact of characters, as they are integrated into Japanese society.  It is not uncommon for both children and adults to own something that pertains to the appreciation of characters.  It seems that this big boom for the love of characters began at the end of World War II, just when comic and animation also became increasingly popular in the Western world as well.  They say that the group that has been hit with most of this impact is the Japanese high school girl, and in the exhibition an example of a girl's room is presented.  Hmm, well it has a lot of pink and kitties that's for sure ^^

I want to make my room super cute too!  Started a few weeks ago with a bunch of posters that I acquired from the years of purchases from Doujin Overload and Armageddon.  Just some more renovation and can be done ohoho.

They also have spotlighted ordinary people of different dynamics and their experiences with this character culture.  I found it very cute that this middle aged man always dreamed of having a Kamen Rider belt when he was a young boy so when he could afford to buy it for himself as a man, he took the opportunity haha.  And there's the high school girls with accessories dangled excessively on their cellphones.  Haha, I think I have seen those around.  I have also had the temptation to do this myself, but then again its a bit impractical. All for sake of super cuteness! >u<

Go check out Japan: Kingdom of Characters in the Gus Fisher Gallery at 74 Shortland Street!

It runs from the 9th January to the 1st of February 2013~  More details about opening times here.

The grand opening will be this Friday at 5.30pm!

Also had an art jam with Keito this afternoon.  It's been a while since I drew pictures, and even better to draw with a friend.

Well, time for dinner now!  

Pasta salad tonight >u<

Persona 4 One Coin Figurines

Welcome to the unboxing of my first official one coin figurines that I bought from Amiami!

 They have been sitting many months locked up inside a SAL mail package waiting to breathe. 
 Until now!  Mm the smell of fresh packaging~

The box in all its wonderful glory!  It seemed so precious~

Close-ups of the front of the box.  On one side, there is an adorable close-up of Souji with his glasses, and on the other side are the other compilation of characters that are also included in this set.  Two of the figurines are secret, and are not revealed until the buyer opens it for themselves!

On the back, images of the tarot cards are shown.  The colour combinations are really nice, and I really like this muted stained glass window look.  Dark and mysterious~

Time to open it up!

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