Going to Tokyo Aug 20th

Going to Tokyo aug 20th for my honeymoon, of course ending my trip with Akihabara. I am definitely going to Shirakawa. What I need though is what sort of anime events are being held around then or places I should go that I may not thought of. Anyone previous experience with japan will be a big help, for this is my first trip there. I will be staying for 14 days.

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Congratulations! :hauu: I hope you both have the best time. I hope you have ryokan trip planned for part of it because that is the best for max romance!

For Tokyo make sure you check out Mandarake at Nakano Broadway. Mandarake is a megahouse for doujinshi and older merch - it is basically an anime resale super store(s) and you can get tons and tons of manga, doujin, art books, and all sorts of other goods at amazing prices (I actually bought almost all of the Higurashi manga from them when I went years back). And it is about the only place you will be able to find goods that were produced more than a year ago. At least, that is how it felt when I went there.

I also highly suggest checking out the Ghibli museum. It is a pretty easy trip from Tokyo to get to. The museum is a bit more geared towards kids but has some amazing things in it and I found plenty to still enjoy. It feels very otherworldly - especially if you have mostly been spending time in Japanese cities. It was raining a bit when I went and it made the nature really vibrant and it is one of my favorite memories of going. Of course, that is dependent on you being a Ghibli fan.

Eat crepes. The crepe stands are fun and you can get some pretty intense ones. I had one with an entire slice of cheesecake in it! :joyful:

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Man, Nakano Broadway is too big I almost died in there trying to get around. But yeah the… uh… seven different Mandarake stores inside are incredible. Pretty much every store inside there is awesome.

@Pepe would probably have some good recommendations for you.

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Seems I have been summoned?!?!

But hey going there for your honeymoon? Big congrats to you and your (soon-to-be) spouse! As for where to go, well, it really all depends what you’re into. Nakano Broadway is indeed a great choice as they pretty much have everything there.

If you’re into music, I’d recommend Shibuya as they have lots of huge record stores, as well as more underground shops. If you’re more into female-oriented anime/manga, then Ikebukuro (specifically Sunshine Road) is the place to be; you can even check out the Pokemon Center there. As for Akihabara, well… the only tip I have is not to get overwhelmed lol. It helps to know what you’re looking for, as most stores will cater to a specific list of stuff. Here’s a rough list of where to check for what you want:

  • New anime books/CDs/DVDs/merchandise: Animate or Gamers
  • Old anime books/CDs/DVDs/merchandise: Mandarake or K-Books in Radio Kaikan (note that most of these will be second-hand but fairly good condition)
  • Video Games: Traders or Super Potato (for retro games)
  • Visual Novels: Akiba Sofmap (there are many Sofmap branches, each with a different specialty orz)
  • Electronics: BIC Camera, Yodobashi Camera, and various sidestreets
  • Anime Apparel: COSPA
  • Figures: Yellow Submarine, amiami, various Liberty branches (for older figures)

So yeah, I’d suggest going to those stores first to get what you want the most, then take it leisurely by browsing random shops after. It’s pretty tough to navigate Akiba, but I hope you can get used to it :push:

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Looking for more higurashi/umineko merc, since I have most of it cept one light novel, it just leaves me doujinshi, cds and unique stuff. I am not too much into figurines since I do not have proper shelving for them, plus they take space I could use for more books!

I need to find a place to find the latest higurashi pachinko machine to buy, I see them for around 100-200 but it been too hard to find way to ship them without spending 800 in total if lucky. Plus how customs would work for it…

Also need to find where to get the sailor moon lamp and best place for Sailor moon stuff for my fiancé.

The places you both mention I make sure to visit. I still need to know what sort events are happening. I know two or more people on the forums in japan, perhaps have a meet up treat them to some food~

If your Fiance is into Sailor Moon it might be worth checking out Q-Pot! Though it looks like the last day of their Sailor Moon team up is actually the 20th directly so there may not be time – still lots of really cute Sailor Moon stuff to be eaten and to wear! https://www.q-pot.jp/shop/cafe/?eng=1

For Higurashi merch I think you would be best off scouring Nakano Broadway. You would be likely to see older (and some newer) Sailor Moon good there too.

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Man, wish I could go to Japan, too. Have fun, buy lots! [S]And then ship it to me![/S]

Hoo boy I remember trying to help @Aspirety find the Umineko pachinko machine while he was there… We failed but we did find a higurashi one! The place was Pachinko Island in Akihabara, but I can’t guarantee that they would have it up to now…

seems that after the 12 hour plane trip we be there the 21st at 3 pm T^T

I think this lite lists available shops with Umineko pachinko and they are shown on the map
https://777.nifty.com/pachislot/uminekononakukoroni/3S0759/
Seems like 2 of them (umineko ones are called pachislot by the way)

Hopefully its to buy not to play, I am sure there are plenty of palors to play.
There suppose to be a house that Umineko mansion based on, need to find direction to it and its name again >_>

I thinking of buying a superfamicon from superpatato and bunch of sailor moon games.

Oh, I was just in Japan recently and it was fantastic (as always)! (Shirakawa-go was the absolute highlight of my trip, of course.) Kyu-Furukawa Gardens is the name of the real Rokkenjima, and these are the directions to it from the nearest station. Nishigahara Station is only about a ten minute ride from Tokyo Station, so it’s very convenient to get to. As you can see, unlike Shirakawa-go (which requires up to a 4-5 hour trip, and getting up at ungodly hours :disgust: ) Rokkenjima is easily accessible and actually in Tokyo, and thus doesn’t require a day-trip. Speaking of, if you haven’t heard of the website Hyperdia, I highly recommend it since (because the trains in Japan run so perfectly on schedule) it’s indispensable for knowing how long it will take you to get where you want to go, and how.

Of course, Shirakwa-go is more than worth it too. It’s actually amazing how much local history and local folklore influence Higurashi. (Especially look into Furude Shrine’s history, they have a museum and everything there.) Also, my advice is to head in a bit further once you reach the lookout point, because the really good view is past where most people take their photos. Furthermore, when visiting Furude Shrine, make sure to leave an ema. Seeing all the Higurashi art is really quite neat, especially when there’s quite a few really nice ones that made my crappy rena doodle look extra sad as a result.

Oh, and finally, according to the Japanese national tourism organisation there’s supposed to be a Higurashi monument around, though I didn’t get to see it myself (and I spent ages looking too.) The only thing I can really find out about it (outside of the mention in that article) is it’s probably the lifesized statues of the club members that you can see a picture of on the wiki, but I’m not totally sure. In any case, if you do manage to find it, make sure to take pictures and tell us where it is because I need to know!

Oh, and the gyudon in Shirakawa-go is to die for.

Anyway, as for anime goods, I can’t really add onto what other people have said. Akihabara is the main place to go, with animate and such as the big hitters but even then those are mainly focused on newer anime stuff… If you’re looking for events, the shopping mall attached to the station tends to have something on, and a lot of arcades and figure stores run limited time lottery for exclusive figures and such but… There’s a reason that Nakano Broadway is noted a lot. That said, if you want drama CDs or OST or the like, most CD places in Akihabara have a specific section of the “game cd” or “anime cd” sections just for higurashi.

Congratulations on your honeymoon, by the way. Hope you have a great trip :hauu:

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Wait you want to buy a pachislot machine? :shock:
If that’s so, they have used ones on Amazon for around 20000 yen (~180 dollars)


And the new one costs around 40000 yen (360 dollars)
http://www.a-slot.com/SHOP/oizumi19.html

By the way they released Higurashi pachislot on android/ios recently so they might do the same with Umineko in the future.

well I am off. I will post when I get back

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I hope your travels are safe and fun!

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Got back yesterday. Only found small amount of umineko and higurashi goods, I looked all over Tokyo too its pretty sparse. I did take videos of shirakawa-go (Hinamizawa) and of Umineko house and its gardens (unfortunately august was bad time, no flowers blooming). Was disappointed in akihabara and could not get a pachinko machine, I really went out of my way to try to get one. Got kicked out of a bunch of mah-jong palors. Visited Tokyo dome and aquarium (insert George and shanon moment :push: ), ocean and giant statue of Buddha. Went to a special Littlebuster event store (took vid) and gallery for moonlight express and the No game, No life movie.

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Wow that sounds like quite an adventure Daisu! I see you found the VisualArt’s Summer Sale with all the Little Busters merch :stuck_out_tongue:

I’d love to see your footage of Shirakawa-go and the Umineko house! I’d love you to elaborate on the Mahjong though XP

Welcome back!

Aww well at least you tried and found some goods at least!