Author: Fabian

And so, we reached the final curtain call for this crazy, wonderful, amazing, jaw-dropping experience of a trip. Today was our last day in Japan, and man, it was a little tough saying goodbye.

We woke up kind of late, about 6:15am, and with an 11am flight that necessitates arriving at the airport 3 hours early at 8am, and a 35 minute train ride from our hotel to Haneda airport, that means that we had be out of the hotel at 7:25am the latest. A bit of a time crunch, but we’re no strangers to that. We readied ourselves, checked out,  grabbed some konbini food, and we were off. The train ride was painless, and we got to the airport at about 8:15am.

Checking in at the airport also went pretty smoothly thanks to our pre-flight check in online, even though I almost walked into the security check with my checked luggage still in hand! Pavel caught me luckily, and we sent in our checked luggage and passed through security without issue. After that, we just had to sit and wait an hour and a half until our flight was ready to board.

While we were waiting, an old Japanese man approached us out of the blue! Turns out he was from the Japan Tourism Bureau, and just asked us to fill out a survey about our time in Japan and how much we spent on what kinds of things. Afterwards, he gave us both an eraser shaped like a sushi. It was a bit awkward at first, but I was able to verify that the bureu did in fact exist, and it wasn’t a scam or anything like that.

Finally, we were able to board, and got onto our flight! It was a 12 hour flight back to JFK, and so we strapped in for the ride. The flight, surprisingly enough, went by really fast! I ended up doing some writing, and watched both Terminator: Dark Fate and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which were very entertaining. Our in-flight meals were similar to the first time we flew, and I got a chicken teriyaki set again as well as some pancakes for our second meal/breakfast. I also played some more Octopath Traveler. Before I knew it, we were touching down in JFK!

Going through JFK was also pretty easy, which surprised me, as I thought there would be more hassle going through Customs and getting all my merchandise over. But in about 30 mins, Pavel and I were both through with our bags! My parents picked us up right as we left, and afterwards we were greeted almost instantly with a classic US welcome; The monorail we needed to take to get to our parking terminal broke the moment we stepped onto the platform, but no one was informed and the employees there didn’t even know what was really happening. We had to figure out that a shuttle bus would come to pick us up, and figure out where on our own. And even that took 20 minutes, by which time my dad was able to get a cab to the parking lot and come back with the car to pick us up. Compared to Japan, where everything was on time and worked consistently and conventiently, it was quite the welcome home shock. I don’t think there was any better contrast between Japan and the US than with this! 

About an hour car ride later, I arrived home and Pavel was picked up and headed home as well. And so, the most amazing trip I’ve ever taken comes to a close. I experienced so many new things, learned a lot about Japanese culture, saw local icons, played and made some really fun games, got to meet and get to know some truly amazing and awesome people, and have the experience of a lifetime. I’m truly grateful that I got the opportunity to go on this trip, and am already hoping to go back again sometime!

Until next time, Japan!

Today was another great day, but also a bittersweet one, as it was our last full day together in Japan. We had two more events left to do, and then we would be officially done with our trip! I think the sky was also sad it was coming to a close, because it was a torrential downpour almost all day. There had been a Typhoon warning issued yesterday, and so the rains today were carry over from that. 

Our first event was Unreal Fest, and once we arrived we realized what we were in for. It was a medium sized venue room, full of tables and chairs where game demos sat waiting to be playtested. It gave off sort of club fair vibes, but in a cool way, since it was full of games all developed in Unreal Engine. There were mech games, rythym games, and a section of almost 12 games all made during a local game jam! I played one where you take control of various marine creatures and swim around, taking in the ocean atmosphere, as well as another that was very similar to cut the rope, but with a bit more physics. 

There were also talks being held, and so me and a few friends attended one for Hi-Fi Rush! Unfortunately for us, it was entirely in Japanese with no translations or anything, so we mostly just watched the slides go by and tried our best to pick things up with Google Translate’s camera. It seemed interesting though, covering the technical obstacles and pipeline the team worked with to get the stylized art style working in real time.

After the talk, the fest broke for lunch, and so did we. A few of us went to this beef place nearby that let you cook the meat yourself, and it was delicious! I luckily got a whole staton and platter for myself, and man the food was good! 

Afterwards, we still had an hour before we needed to head to our second and last event of the day, so I did some last minute shopping at Bic Camera to use up some of the last of my yen. I bought Fire Emblem Engage and Pokémon Legends Arceus for about $80 total, whch for me was a steal!

After that, we all met up at the hotel to head out, but first, we had to say goodbye to Toshi-sensee, which was really sad. He had been with us pretty much the entire trip, serving as a translator, guide, and just a cool guy to talk with. We were all sad saying goodbye, and he gave a really touching farewell speech. Once we all said our farewells for now, we all headed on the subway to our last event; a studio tour of CyberConnect 2!

They’re the company that makes the 3D Naruto fighting games, as well as a plethora of other anime fighting games. They actually said that this was their specialty, which was cool. The office was smaller, but it wasn’t their main office; they have 3, and we were in the Tokyo one. They have two more in Montreal and Fukuoka, the latter of which is their main base and the biggest of the 3. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about the visit, as we did have to sign an NDA, but I’ll try my best to describe what I can.

It was a pretty communal studio and space, and they had so much cool artwork and libraries of manga and anime for reference and study! They also have an animation team in house, which is really neat, and the library they keep serves as good reference for them. They were extremely nice, and honestly it was a really cool tour! There were employees in the office today as well, so we got to see them too. One member had a huge umbrella attachment at their desk that shielded their entire workspace, which was something I’d never seen before. 

Once the tour was over, we got a great group picture, and then we were let free. Unfortunately, there weren’t any dinner places that could fit a group of our size, so we had no more group events planned, and were on our own for dinner and whatnot. So we all headed back as the rain got even worse, and then split off for dinner. A few of us went to have rotating sushi, which worked out for me as I had been wanting to try it to see if the sushi was as good as people say, and also didn’t break the bank since I had only about 3000 yen left on me! I have to admit though, the sushi wasn’t all that great. Compared to the sushi we had when we arrived in Kyoto, this just couldn’t compare. The fish was a little too slimy and not as fresh, and many of the rolls just didn’t mesh well. It was still a good time though, and honestly it was nice to just share one last dinner with my friends in Japan! 

After that, we hit up an arcade for a bit, and then me and Pavel headed back to our room to finally start packing our stuff up in prep for our early morning flight tomorrow. Our group got together one last time though, and we finished watching the Dungeons & Dragons movie! It was a little sad, but also a lot of fun, and we all said our farewells there, since Pavel and I wouldn’t see the rest of them before we left.

After that, I finished up packing, and then went to bed in prep for our flight back!

Today’s itinerary was pretty similar to yesterday’s, but we swapped our historical landmarks for more technological ones! We were also joined by an RIT alum who would be teaching at KCG soon, which was awesome! He had been living in Japan for some time already, so it was cool to meet someone who was from the states, but also very much used to and comfortable in Japan’s culture.

The day began with our group heading down the subway to Odaiba, and back to Diver City. This time, the whole class was able to see the Unicorn Gundam, and we all had some time to shop around the Diver City mall. I went back to Gundam Base to finally take pictures of all the displays and statues, and really take in the vibe and displays this time. I also was able to find a few more souvenirs, and try the famous Mister Donut donuts (they were pretty good, I have to say!)

Afterwards, we walked a bit farther down to the Musuem of Science, where we walked through a few really interesting exhibits! They were all themed around the future and about how technology and the future are interconnected, and many of them featured interactive portions!

The museum was pretty cool, I just wish I had had more time to explore it. Afterwards though, we went to what was probably the coolest artwork experience I’ve ever had: teamLabs. And oh man, it was incredible!

There were two exhbiits, the garden exhibit and the water exhibit. The garden exhibit was good, had a room filled with flowers and some glowing stones, but the water exhibit, that one was cool. It started with rushing water down a slope that we walked through, then transitioned into a room where the floor was made of bean bag chair type objects. Once we waded through that, we entered the LED crystal maze of mirrors, which was jaw droppingly stunning. Everything was reflective, and it seemed to almost go on forever. The lights, when dimmed, gave the room an appearance of a galaxy or night sky, and when illuminated was simply ethereal. It made for some amazing pictures!

After that room, we continued on into a room filled with rubber balls that were as big as a person, if not a little bigger, and the room changed color. An interesting experience for sure, but the room after was even more unique. It was filled to the mid-shin with water, but colorful lights and fish sihlouettes of various colors were projected onto it. And after that, the final room was a dome shaped one that had a 3D rendering of procedurally generated flowers floating through the air projected onto it. It really simulated a 3D space and depth once you let yourself become immersed in it! Oh, and the whole time, we had to have our shoes and socks off, and beautiful ethereal music played in the background. It was truly a one of a kind experience, and I’d recommend it to anyone who comes to Tokyo!

Once teamLabs was over (only took about 1.5 hours surprisngly), our group headed back to the hotel, where we finished the night off with some karaoke! I was pretty terrible, but luckily a few of us who went could sing, and it was a lot of fun! It was great to just try our best to sing in Japanese, fail somewhat spectularly, and just laugh it all off. The 2 hours we signed up for went by really quick, and I was honestly just getting into it and preparing to try and sing a Pokémon opening, but our time was up. Oh well, I guess that just means I have to come back!

Today was one of those long-walking days, but it was sort of by choice! 

In the morning, I got up early at around 7am and headed out at 8am to catch an early morning train to Shinagawa and Hamamatsucho station. The train was extrememly crowded though, as I had boarded during Japan’s rush hour, so we were all packed into the train car like sardines. Why would I do all this, you ask? Well, to see the Tokyo Tower of course!

And climb all 600 flights of stairs. 

Ever since I’d heard from a friend on the trip that you could get a certificate of some kind if you climbed to the top of Tokyo Tower via its stairs, a flame of determination had been lit within me. I had resolved to climb the tower before I left, and obtain that certificate of completion. Plus, it’s just stairs, how hard could it be?

Turns out, not too bad, but not easy either! I started climbing at around 9:15am, and didn’t arrive at the top until about 9:25ish. At flight 350, I began to sweat a bit, and by the time I reached the top at 600 flights, I was pretty sweaty and it was pretty humid. But I did it! 

The view from the observatory floor I was on was incredible, and below each of the cardinal directions there was a “Then and Now” photo comparison of the city skyline, which was cool to see! There was also a video playing that described the history of the Tokyo area and how it came to be as it is now. It was interesting hearing about the philosophy and values of Tokyo, and how it strives to keep tradition while also updating it, and making a  “relaxed cool” atmosphere. I also hadn’t known before that Tokyo had suffered two major destructions, and rebuilt itself twice.

Afterwards, I headed back to the hotel to meet with the group and head out for the day’s activities. The itinerary ended up getting swapped that day, which put a reservation I had made in advance in slight jeopardy, but I was able to switch it around no problem, so all was well! 

We first visited the Imperial Palace grounds/garden, and walked through the outer walls. They were so large, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how large and tall the buildings that used to sit atop them were. The garden was also extremely scenic and tranquil, there was so much green and water! 

After the garden, we took a train to Shibuya to go see the Meiji Shrine, but first things first: food. I hadn’t eaten since this morning before Tokyo Tower (which was only a peanut butter bread roll and green tea), so I was famished. I followed the group like a zombie for a little while, as we went into a nearby mall to find a food court. The group was thinking of going to a diner place on the top floor, but I really wanted to try some more Japanese or Asian style food, as I was in Japan after all. I found a nearby Gyoza/dumpling place on my phone with Google Maps, and so me and Belle decided to break off and head there instead.

The gyozas, I have to say, were absolutely delicious. The place was a sort of local hole-in-the-wall shop, where we sat down at a bar surrounding the steamers and place where they cooked the dumplings, so we could see them make it in real time. And the price was unbeatable! I was hungry, so I ordered 12 dumplings and a side of rice/chicken miso, and my friend ordered her own set of 6 dumplings, and it all only came out to about 1260 yen!

Once we were caloried up, we met up with the group again and went to see the Meiji shrine. It was probably one of the biggest and most regal shrines we’d seen on our visit so far; The walk up to it was filled with trees and a wide open gravel pathway, with huge Tori gates and large walls that separate the grounds of the shrine into sections. It was really stunning, and after cleansing with the water ritual and praying, I got a stamp for my stamp book as well! Once we all had a chance to experience the shrine, we split up into smaller groups and were off on our own the rest of the day. I went with a few other friends to the Pokemon and Nintendo stores in Shibuya, and then afterwards we all went to Shibuya crossing and took the train back to Akihabara. 

Once back, it was time for Monster Hunter Café! This was the reservation I had made in advance for Thursday, but swapped for tonight. Today was also my 21st birthday, so our reservation was for a sort of a celebration as well as for the experience! The props and decor of the bar was really good, and it was cool to see these items I’d only ever seen in-game realized somewhat in real life. They even had 4 switch docks/PS4’s that you could play Monster Hunter on! The PS4’s had Monster Hunter World installed, but since only one machine was in English and the others in Japanese, we couldn’t really figure out how to play together unfortunately. The ordering system for food and drinks was similar to the Pokémon café, as both went through an online order sytem where they bring out the food as you que it up. The food was mostly just ok, and the drinks were pretty good, but we couldn’t really expect much more from a themed café. I had a “Well-Done Steak” which was pretty tasty though!

All in all, quite a jam-packed day!

Today was our free day in Tokyo, and Pavel and I were determined to make the most of it! We woke up early, and hopped on the train down to Odaiba and Diver City to see the one thing we’ve waiting for all trip: the life sized Unicorn Gundam Statue. The train ride wasn’t bad at all, and it was awesome seeing the water and bay as we rode over the bridge to the floating city. 

Getting off the train, we immediately went to Diver City and walked towards the front, where we were greeted by the looming form of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. It was large, just as big as I imagined, and my jaw dropped as I giddily stared up at the giant mobile suit statue. It was honestly beautiful! 

After witnessing that and taking many pictures, Pavel and I went to a nearby restaurant for some fluffy pancakes before the mall opened. 

Once the doors to Diver City Mall opened, we darted up to the top floor where Gundam Base Tokyo awaited us! Filled to the brim with Gunpla and Gunpla models on display, it was a Gunpla fan’s dreamscape. I nabbed a few exclusives, and then spent the rest of the 1 and half hours there browsing Gunpla kits and spending a good chunk of money. I was so enraptured by the kits, I actually forgot to really look and pictures of the displays! 

After checking out, we exited the mall just in time to see the gundam statue transform! Its panels shifted and opened to reveal LED-lit areas underneath, representing its Psycho-Frame technology from the show. We were about to leave then for Yokohama to see the moving gundam, until suddenly another tourist from the East Coast told us it was closed this week for maintenance, which we verified. So unfortunately those plans were ruined, but that just meant newfound time for other things! 

We instead went back to Shinagawa first, to see a statue outside of Kojima studios, and then went back to Asakusa to do some souvenir shopping! We found a lot of local shops that specialized in certain things, like Edo glass jewelry, chopsticks from baseball wood, and Japanese style fans! I spent a lot here as well. 

All the shops closed very early however, so by 6pm all of them were basically closed, so we wandered around Senso-ji temple for a bit before deciding to head to the Tokyo Skytree! It was a spur of the moment decision, so we walked across the Sumida river to the tower, which turned out to be a great time! The sun was also setting, making for some beautiful pictures. 

The Skytree was great, and gave us a gorgeous view of the Tokyo skyline! I also get a pretty cool engraved medallion, and Tokyo-exclusive curry flavored pringles? 

Once we finished there, we visited a few more shops in the tower in lower floors for merchandise, and once they closed we headed back via subway to the hotel to unload our haul of the day. 

Overall, a very fun and successful free day! 

Today was mostly traveling, taking the Shinkansen to Tokyo and then from there taking the local subway to Akihabara. 

The Shinkansen ride was about the same as before, but this time I bought an ekiben to take with me on the train! An ekiben is just a bento box that many people buy to eat on the bullet train, and so I wanted to try one at least once on this trip! The one I bought was fried chicken, teriyaki chicken, egg, and rice, and it was pretty good. 

Once we’d done all the train hopping we needed to, we arrived at Akihabara! It was such a stark contrast to Kyoto, having multitudes of high rise buildings adorned with electric billboards, anime posters and images, or some combination of both. What was also cool was our hotel was right next to the subway entrance. Very convenient! 

We settled into the Remm Akihabara, and then headed out at around 4pm to explore as a group! We went to Mandarake and Super Potato, two of the main spots we wanted to hit here in Akihabara, but on the way to them me and Jas got a little lost! We ended up over-shooting by a few blocks because the streets were so crowded and we lost sight of the group, so we experienced the intensity of the popularity of Akihabara first hand.

Inside Mandarake, it was like a used or rare toy shop on the 7th floor, and then the other floors had many other items and things like manga, figure statues, and more. 

Super Potato was a cool collection of super old and retro games/merch that you could buy, and a cool retro street fighter type arcade setup on their top floor. It was very cramped and tight though, and the humidity was kind of through the roof, so I found it a little packed-in, but still a cool experience. 

Afterwards, we all split up and I joined some of the group for ramen at this nearby apparently famous place. It was pretty good, and honestly I really enjoyed it! I had a regular size, but they went up all the way to Mega and even “Manly” size, whatever that means. 

After that, I wandered around a bit and explored a few shops/arcades, and then headed back to the hotel. A pretty good first day in Akihabara!