#NoNo Japan

[datssokoolwhat]

(NoNo)Japan and Japan

The Russian Empire Sold Russia Alaska to the United States most likely due to their economic depression along with strategy concern. (cost was for 7.2 Million.)

California and Alaska!!! 😍 and ig Texas.

[redsamuraiii]

Nao Nagasawa showing her Henshin again in 2021!

She first appeared in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger in 2003!

Video Clip by JordanTheNickelodeon&NickJrFan

[cheltranslations]

#illuN/Comedy！@Nonaka Miki (24.09.25)

[nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui]

Other options included:

many families owned a printed encyclopedia (often a whole series of 20+ books with entries sorted A-Z) where you could look things up

using an encyclopedia was practiced from elementary school onwards not just to check spelling but because it was a genuine life skill

if the encyclopedia entry (usually a short summary. think 1-2 paragraphs for most topics, more only for Very Important Stuff) wasn't enough and you didn't happen to know an expert then you usually went to the public library

if you were lucky the library had one or two books on the topic right away

if you were unlucky they'd have to get the books from a different library (bigger city or university library) and you had to wait for 1-2 weeks until you got your info

I once had to do a presentation on Friedrich Engels for history class in grade 10. Not exactly an obscure personage and moreover he was born in my region! Still there was only one book at the local library (later got two more through inter-library loan)

However the library people recommended to visit the Museum of Early Industrialization in Engels' birth town. It not only had the industrialization part but an extra section on Engels inside his parents' old house and also a small library and of course an archive

So I went to the museum three towns over in order to do enough research for a stupid high school presentation

The museum and archive visit was acknowledged and praised as exceptional on high school level ("of course you can't do that for every topic. only when the museum is nearby") but the library part was considered a normal effort. Which may explain that today - while I'm fine with students using online sources - I get depressed when students cite a single wikipedia page and nothing else

if they even use wikipedia. if they don't just give the Google Search Results page as a reference

I realise that this is starting to sound like a 20 miles through the snow with your little sibling on your back. Uphill. Both ways. story but that's how it was.

It was awkward and bad but on the plus side people got creative about acquiring information and understood the effort of it (and understood why retaining information was important I guess. Because you genuinely couldn't just look everything up within seconds)

[othercrossee]

I'm still hellbent on the idea that they could literally pick anything else that correspond to their initial idea than the fucking military 💀💀💀💀

[chotachica]

Nono im speechless. This MAN came out after being sealed in a fucking dice for like at least a month and immediately made fun of the the King of Courses by making a 'your mom' joke, invited w the stupidest most gentle smile ever his deads ex boyfriend walking corpse to a date on Dec 24th aka Christmas Eve aka Japans equivalent to Valentines day aka also the anniversary of said boyfriends death to beat each other up, apparently completely obliterated?? someone??? and is now going to beat the shit out of his practically adopted child whos body is also being possessed by also said King of Courses. It's not even that he woke up and chose violence he just went absurdly INSANE

[kusuokisser]

terusai go apple picking but of course hijinks occur

kokomi has a basket filled with literally the most perfect apples you could ever find but then she fucking. trips. and like other people offer her their apples (because she is the perfect pretty girl) and shes like "nono its okay, i can find more!" and kusuo has already made his way to the other end of the orchard. in his mind if he were seen with a better basket of apples than her the entire population of japan would be out to kill him or something so hes looking for the shittiest and least desired apples he can find. just ends up giving kokomi his average basket so he doesnt have to eat gross wrinkled apples for the rest of time.

kokomi buys kusuo apple cider and donuts from the place and suddenly she is invited to every future apple picking adventure! yeah sure kokomi you can come any time (dont forget your wallet dont forget your wallet dont forget your wallet dont forget your wallet dont forget your wallet dont forget your wallet) <- kusuos subliminal messaging

[khr-guilded-cage]

Should I write the fic I have in my head of a Demon Lord going to the KHR world and creating his own group of flame users (not exatly mafia, more of a flame users safe group for civilian that wanted to escape mafia, he is a good guy). Not sure from which fandom he is from

In this world, Tsuna dies in the Ring Battles, and a distant relative of Vongola Simora is found, a 25 years old oc living in Japan

But the Demon Lord married to the woman for years but Vongola didn't know?

Bow Timoteo has to deal with the fact he pretty much handing over his empire to another famiglia?

And Vongola trying to make my oc break up her marriage? Trying to 'advise' her that the Demon Lord is dangerous and would usurp her? Or simulate that he cheated on her or something

Nono would acuse of 'interfering in another family's business and the Demon Lord wouk polite inform that Vongola named his wife of 3 years heir, he married her first, (whatever his group name is) is her Family

Trying to get more control over her while begin careful begin he is her legal husband, so they could not make enemies out of their future Don Consort?

They have a very uncommon surname - Darkusrus or something - that everyone knows its the Lord's surname, so Vongola keep insiting in calling their 'heir' by her maiden name or demanding she changes it

Same thing for their children, they would be raised as Darkusrus, not Vongola

Nono would think that mean the Demon Lord is now his undeboss or something, and their have a new subordinate Family. His wife would disagree and openly distrust Vongola's men and use her husband people as security and stay in her husband's teritory most of the time, they could even do much because thats her people, she is (kind of) a Donna already, they could not simple deny her marriage so easily

The Demon Lord would meddle in Vongola's business as much as he wants because he is her husband and she is his wife, they were more family than Vongola ever will be

When Nono tried to protest about having 'another famiglia's people protecting his heir, she would simple says she belong to the Demon Lord's faction, if they leave, so would she.

And a Demon Lord not pleased with those people trying to maniputate his wife or Vongola (they weren’t in good terms before because Vongola insistence in drafting his famiglia as 'underbosses', not even allies) or to make her their puppet civilian heir like Tsuna

That got poor Tsuna killed by the way

She isn't a moldable pawn Vongola could simple threaten and use as they please, she has her husband backing her up

She is already part of a group, and have her loyalties in place (aka Not Vongola)

She is smug about the though of usurping Vongola as a revenge, her husband wanted Vongola for his plans, his pawns, the irony.

His wife wants revenge of course, for her and Tsuna

[neptuniadoesstuff]

My Reference Sheet of Phen 228.

A "censored" Ref of my ver of Phen 228 (Canon) for my Modern AU aka "Branches of a Paranormal Federation".

(What is censored are the faces & the severed limb as those are where the gøřə is.)

Bio (Major):

|| Code Name: Phen 228 | Aliases: "Watanabe Bird", "The Boiled One", Hakunata (Based on strange written letters that look similar to English) | Year & Place of Discovery: 2003, Pennsylvania (By the Ephrata Branch) | Current Wearibouts: Unknown | Other: Was discovered to have other variants of it whom have somewhat similar abilities although with different out comes | Main abilities: Cognito-Hazardous properties (When looked at, can cause quesdocoma & the manifestation of its being, can't be seen by others, only ones who are effected) | Ways to combat the effects: Wear blue-light glasses & earplugs, must be about 5 feet away from the screen at all cause ||

(Btw this is just info the Ephrata Branch has put down, as I'll be putting my own info here based on my head canons & the design/lore I gave Phen myself for this au. Although the Hakunata part is only for this AU & not the canon lore. This includes the design.)

(WARNING INCOMING! BL00D, GUTS, & GØŘƏ WILL BE HERE, PROCEED WITH CAUTION! FOR THESE ARE THE UNCENSORED REFS + FULL BODY REFS OF PHEN 228!)

(Also... Slight disturbing imagery for the reference photo)

The actual uncensored ref sheet & the full body ref. Yeh uh.. they look pretty messed up lookin but it's clear that Phen rlly isn't supposed to look.. Clean.. (Although I am waiting till the simps arrive.. Which I hope they don't-)

Bio (Written by... an outsider aka me lol)

|| Name: [REDACTED] | Aliases: Hakunata (A nickname given to by his sister) | Gender: Interseggs/Genderless (But is represented as male), He/They/It (Or any Pronouns but those are preferred) | Age: 100? (Not sure, I doubt Phen has a canon age-) | Height: Whatever rlly (But is normally like... REALLY TALL-) | Pride: No Idea. I doubt this spirit demon thing cares about being attracted to anything- | Species: A strange hybrid of a human & fallen angel | Family: A child named "Rei" & some other Phens (Example: Kasinoshi or "Priest) | Personality: Somewhat malicious, is a bit obsessive with a certain family, but seems to... weirdly care about his victims? (Idk its a whole bag of worms) | Occupation: Some false prophet frikker idk. Might've been a war criminal from Japan in a past life (WWII) | Powers: Able to give anyone who looks at it w/o protection pseudocoma & sleep paralysis, also able to communicate with anyone who is affected with their "curse". Can fly apparently (But is pretty lazy & doesn't rlly use their phantom arms to fly at all) | Other (aka unimportant stuff): Prob likes torturing a certain family he effected back in 2003, despises kids (except its own), gets very uncomfortable with anything sus (like me), loves stealing & consuming ppl's spines, prob not understanding how modern tech work, might commit a few war crimes here & there (which is a big nono), & is usually seen indulging himself in some Japanese things bcs it reminds him of the old times (Yes even the modern stuff) ||

& here is the Original/Reference Image!

(Update: fix some stuff in the Extra info thing bcs I don't grammar well.)

Credits lol-

Character: Phen 228 (Belongs to Doctor Nowhere aka Silas) (Although the design of Phen 228 not from the original image belongs to me.)

Art: Mine.

Reference Image Creator: Silas Orion aka Doctor Nowhere.

Program: IbisPaint x.

Bubs' TOS: Plz don't repost/steal, trace, or recolor my art WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! If you do, I'll take yur femur and pelvis.. SO, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! (The PNS on my blog's pinned post clearly means "Please No Steal" plz follow that rule.) If you do post my art on anything like yur blog or somewhere else (With my permission) PLEASE CREDIT ME!

[dollsonmain]

So on Yahoo Japan there's an old-old Mimi in a Nana box, and an old-old 4-sisters in a Mimi box from different sellers.

My Mimi came in a Kun box, and not having a Kun head to match the box stresses me out.

Those two auctions having the wrong boxes but the right ones for the other auction stresses me out.

That is very silly.

There's an old-old Nono with the default faceup, too, and I've noticed that almost never are SD13 Four Sisters heads for sale (either they're THAT unpopular or the people that have them love them too much to sell them), but there is one today.

[naveries]

then teach me

synopsis. it was a small get-together, family friends, the usual. and like the many other ones before. you sat there, quiet but composed. you never noticed though how he wishes he could steal a glance from you. only to grow curiouser and curiouser.

pairings. rich!beomgyu x rich!yn (both are in their early teens)

includes. fluff, y/n is a bit bitter & sad, y/n plays piano though!

you moved here almost 3 months ago. yet you're still not used to the spacious-vintage-old-school-rooms, so you had trouble finding the kitchen for a while there until you tripped on the metal divider on the floor.

it was dark out. so as you always did, even in japan, you washed the left-out dishes of your mom's fancy painted glass china and spaced out for a while. opening the window wide letting the night breeze rush to your face.

the old crackling stereo was quietly playing in the background, a lovely song really. listening peacefully until a foreign voice startled you.

the old crackling stereo was quietly playing in the background, a lovely song really. listening peacefully until a foreign voice startled you.

"it still smells like paint chemicals in here" he crept by the entrance. you jumped, splashing yourself with a bit of water.

“oh gosh!, you scared me” you spun around, bringing the wooden bowl to your chest, and relaxing your shoulders a bit.

“oh sorry..! i wasn’t trying to, i just…“ he says quietly. stepping foot into the room, raising a palm in solace

“no no it's okay" you figured he was probably just lost. "just go down that hallway, then up the stairs-” you pointed towards the archway behind him

he turned back following your hand's trajectory only for him to turn back towards you waving his hands close to his chest “ah- nono, i know how to get back”

“oh then, are you hungry? there are snacks in the cupboard”

“i actually wanted to uh-“

“relax?” you kept interrupting him, as you darted your eyes towards the small dining table by the patio door.

“y/n-ah, let me finish!!” he exclaimed softly

you finally looked at him “right right, go ahead. sorry” you apologized

“i wanted to talk you about how you played piano earlier in front of everyone. it was amazing”

“oh, thank you…” you said turning back around. rinsing the soapy bowl in hand. your hands were getting pruny

he looked “it was very beautiful, you looked so immersed into the song and your voice is really beautiful and-“

he suddenly stopped as soon as he saw an unreadable expression, your eyes in a daze; looking down over your shoulder

“ah- sorry did that” about to reach out a hand, he retracts it. scratching his head feeling his chest tighten by his forwardness. “make you uncomfortable?” laughing in an attempt to soothe the atmosphere

you look up startled “nono of course not! i was just- i’m not used to hearing compliments about my... well anything”

“what do you mean? everyone talks so great about you! they'd say that you’re smart, very poised, adored, ”

he listed the things already heard before, but there was a gleam in his eyes as he stared at out the window. by chance, it made it seem like he actually meant it coming from him. you were puzzled.

he was staring somewhere in the room while you were staring at him. he looked almost shy to say these things but he was trying anyway, making an effort to assure me. you noticed something else when your eyes gazed down from his. he was smiling

he's as handsome as they say he is you thought to yourself

he then looked back up at you catching you by surprise. you were having a mini panic because you spacing out ogling at him. how do you explain that to someone you just met?

“not to mention you seem nice anyway” he chuckles

your posture stiffens up a bit “oh uhm- yeah. i guess, its just the way a person says it i guess? or whatever. thank you though, but I'm not that special as to what you think. or what im assuming you think anyway of me” you expressed

“i think your wrong” he laughs quietly

“excuse me?” your head jolts up, not looking at him still

“no wait, i mean- from what i think you see yourself as. youre more than what you believe” you looked to his reflection from the dark window seal where he was staring at you from.

you just gave him a subtle glare, unsure as to what he was planning or what he meant. but you didn't wanna let your guard down.

"that one time, the maids had gotten the dessert wrong and you baked for us instead, even after your mom asked if you were getting tired"

"ahh- well... those are just times when someone could use the help, anyone would do it really. I'm shocked you remember that much"

"i still think it's cool of you either way"

you paused for a moment not knowing what to say. until you said

“if anything, i’d wish to be more like you. you have a sense of freedom, you know how to look for things you love and pursue it on your own accord” you then looked down from his gaze turning off the faucet.

you then turned to faced him. hands gripped on the counter top behind you. “im tied to what makes me enough to whomever, not that i think i am anyway. i still have ways to go” you said looking down to apron covering your floral tea dress.

“you make me seem selfish y/n”

“i guess… no wait, you’re not- THATS NOT WHAT I MEANT!”

he glanced down and chuckled

his laugh filling the room. taken aback you didn’t expect him to laugh out of nowhere. but it was a tantalizing, echoing in your ears.

“i’m kidding, i know what you mean” he met your gaze with a teasing smirk, your ears began to sear.

a bit lost and vulnerable. your eyes darted in so many directions as your mouth drooped a bit only for you to close it in embarrassment, pursing your dimples.

“this is gonna sound bitter, but i doubt i can handle as much. to keep both stable i mean” you dried some of utensils and walked over to the cupboards to lay them neatly away

“maybe for someone who’s good at it like you, this comes off as irresponsible and lazy. but i just wanna cling onto whatever steadiness i can feel, even if i might me deluding my self” you let out a laugh, “bitter no?”

you were so focused on what you were doing you didn’t realize until he turned on the faucet to wash his hands and grabbed the remaining utensils on the dish dryer to help you.

“it sounds like you resent me a bit for that” he said as he handed you a few forks he dried up.

you timidly took the forks thanking him.

you sighed and smiled bitterly "its something i dont understand, that’s all" you then turned around and away from him. taking the plates, drying them and opening the cupboards.

you couldn’t reach the high shelf, you then tried tippy toeing but that too failed.

“here” he said looming over you, finding his hand under yours.

you handed the plates to him and watched as he put them away without a problem. you both were almost the same height, not that much taller than you. it just so happened the extra 2-3 inches came in handy for him.

“thanks” spinning around to face him looking down at you, your eyes widened a bit by how close he was. he too was shocked but became lost as his eyes roamed your facial features. you were able to have a better look at him,

that was when the winds speed smacked against the window, startling you both.

you looked away awkwardly, as did he. pursing your lips you slipped right from under him. heading towards the sink again.

“i can teach you if you want” he said looking back at you

you fumble several of the ceramic tableware in your hands, taking in sharply that these plates not only cost a fortune but will shatter easily.

“p-pardon?” you turn back ungraciously

“wait no that sounds wrong, not like that!” hands waving up in defense

“i- what is then?” you ask

for a second he pauses but straightens his posture, fixes his hair, then walks up towards you reaching out a hand.

“choi beomgyu”

“i already know your name”

“just- i mean, y/l/n y/n.”

“hmm?”

“i’ll teach you everything there is to know on becoming someone like me”

he winked with a smile, staring intently at you.

“uh- no, word that better” you teased raising an eyebrow

“charming, self-assured, confident- you know what i mean!”

“do i?”

“just shake my hand y/n-ah”

you giggled, smiling down at the hand he held out as you took your hand in his.

“then teach me”

A/N. so my tumblr has been being SOOOOO rude and not showing up on hashtags, but it was recently fixed THANK GOD. so now i’m uploading this thing i wrote when i was feeling sad 🥲🥲

should i do part 2?

[redsamuraiii]

Hero Mama League (2018)

While the West struggles to come up with an "ideal" super heroine, Japan casually makes a wholesome one with a super mother.

Cool to see all three of them returning after so long and still looking good! I can only hope I'll be able to grow "old" gracefully like them!

Nao Nagasawa as Nanami Nono aka Hurricane Blue.

Ayumi Kinoshita as Marika Reimon aka Deka Yellow.

Ayumi Bepput as Houka Ozu aka Magi Pink.

[dark-elf-writes]

Oooh yes! I imagine Reborn threatens any spies he can before ripping that seal off as soon as possible so Tsuna can grow. He grins when a Cloud stalks his grandson only for the Cloud to bond. When a Sun hovers and Rain draws near. When a Misty girl who needs a family comes close.

Just yeeeees.

Reborn would go to his grave denying that he is soft for anyone. That being said you don’t make it as far as he has in the mafia without placing an incredibly amount of importance on family.

It is child’s play to silence the spies watching over Tsuna’s progress. To twist them until they were singing inly what Reborn wanted them to say. To break the ones who would not give in. To take out Nono’s eyes and ears one by one until any information that made it out of Japan was exactly how he wanted it.

Unsealing Tsuna is harder. His grandson’s flames are angry at being sealed for so long. Wanting to lash out at the perceived threat that bound them, but…

(Reborn pushed the barest hint of his flames into Tsuna’s knees, soothing away the hurt and redness from where he had fallen.

Nana laughed as she watched Tsuna reaching for the twinkling stars she had conjured on his ceiling, her flames twisting and dancing like a mist’s should.)

The sky flames do not burn him. Do not burn Nana. They do however do a number on the room leaving Tsuna’s bedroom a mess of ash and embers before the child finally burns through the initial shock and crumbles against him.

Tsuna clings to him and cries — in relief, in horror, in fury — until he finally falls into easy slumber for the first time since he was five years old.

Comparatively finding his little Sky guardians to protect him is a simple matter. Tsuna seems to pull them in unknowingly. Collecting shattered children like he himself had been shattered and offering them the only thing that could soothe the odd collection he had found.

A home.

Nana never looked happier than she did cooking for a full house of kids (he remembered a little girl leaning against his side, a legion of baby dolls in front of them “I want to be a mama when I grow up. One with a hundred babies.” She never made it to a hundred, but he was sure their rag tag collection of mafiosi, middle schoolers, and criminals had to count for at least that amount). Tsuna was closer to the happy child Reborn remembered before his flames had been snuffed out, bright and laughing and loving everyone he met.

Now if only half of those brats would stop making moon eyes at his grandson whenever they thought no one’s as looking and he finally received permission to assassinate his daughter’s useless husband and life would be perfect.

[tsukikumai]

Feeling playful?

Ike Eveland x reader

slightly nsfw!! Established relationship.

On your way home, Ike decided to experiment a little… (might be out of character)

You were heading back home, after a fulfilling date with your boyfriend. It was your anniversary, 1 year anniversary to be exact. It’s hard to take in the fact that you had already spent a year with this amazing person. “hm?” he hummed, raising an eyebrow. You realized quickly you had been staring at him. Admiring his short, curling hair, the way his round eyes faded from one color to another, resembling the hues of the ocean. “Is something wrong, Love?” Ike questioned again, this time he placed his smooth, warm hands on your thigh. You jolted at the sudden movement made by him, you finally respond to his question, averting his gaze. “N-nothing.” You placed your hand on his, trying to take it off as you weren’t one for PDA, but to no surprise he didn’t falter. You pouted in response, only to be met with an evil grin.

=========more under the cut==========

He moved his hand further up your thigh, his hands slowly crawled towards the gap in between, the tip of his 4 fingers rested there, with a slightly tightened grip. His free thumb roamed around on this smooth surface he loved. You shot a look at him, but he is Ike Dodgeland and just chuckled. Suddenly, his face moved closer to yours, his mouth inches away from your ear. “I know you were lying,” he spoke, the warm air tickling your ears, “you were checking me out weren’t you?”

You immediately felt blood rush towards your ears and face.

“Oh? Look at that, seems I was correct.” He laughs, moving even closer. “How cute.” You felt something move on your thigh, looking down, you realized his pinky was stretched out, shuffling closer and closer (TO YOUR NONO SQUARE). You immediately slam your hand down on his to stop his movement, checking the rear mirror to see if the driver was paying any attention.

“Don’t worry, Darling” his sweet voice flows into your ear. “I’m sure this is everyday for them.” Your heart pounded harder and harder by the second, feeling Ike’s face inch closer and closer.

You had never been more relieved to hear the driver speak, the sun casting in as the door of the taxi opened automatically (these are a thing in japan). You quickly rushed out the car, but stopped by the door of your shared house instinctively to wait for your boyfriend as he had the keys.

You see Ike give his usual smile towards the driver as he gave a few bills to him. He took wide, swift steps towards you. Looking up at his face, his kind smile washed away, as a new expression was smeared over his face. Was this playfulness? Ike usually dislikes PDA but once in a while, he gets playful, and acts exactly like what he just did.

Suddenly, you felt your body float, no, this wasn’t the work of a sorcerer, this was the work of a strong novelist. He lifted up your body bridal style. One arm hoisted your legs, hooking the back of your knees, his left arm gently held your back.

“Wha-“ you spoke surprised, “Ike set me down!”

He hummed in response, using his right hand to unlock the door. “Ike! Put me down! What’re you doing??” You tried to wiggle yourself out, but to no avail as you were in the hands of a former karate brown belt.

The door opens and he took a wide step in.

“We’ve got to finish what we started, shouldn’t we, älskling?”

*clack* *click*

[clothyume]

Rainbow After the Rain/ Episode 5

Season: Autumn

Characters: Souma, Izumi, Shu, Aira

Aira: I see. I thought that was a strange combination 

So you guys came to the shopping district looking for a souvenir for Itsuki-senpai’s friends in Paris 

Choosing a souvenir must be difficult if you travel to and from overseas a lot 

Shu: Yes. It’s not a problem if you just buy randomly, but each time I’m asked about my sense, and I become wary of what I’m choosing  

Aira: I don’t know if I can help, but if you’d like, I’ll send a list of ‘sweets I’d like to try’ over Hold Hands 

Shu: Oh, I’d be grateful for that. Certainly send it over. I might find something good 

Aira: Ehehe, got it. It’s a little embarrassing though 

Shu: There’s no need to be embarrassed. Your aesthetic sense has now stimulated my sensibilities, and paved the way for me 

Izumi: Okay, okay. You’re exaggerating 

Anyway, can you send me that list too, Shiratori? 

It’s not as urgent as Itsuki’s, but I’d like to bring back some souvenirs too 

Souma: I’d also like to learn Shiratori’s “sense” for future studies. Of course, I don’t want to be unreasonable but… 

Aira: It’s okay! It seems like Japanese sweets have a pretty good reputation among foreigners 

Souma: Hm. You go through a lot of trouble to research these things, Shiratori. Do you also have the opportunity to buy souvenirs overseas? 

Aira: It’s not that. You see, I’m actually a quarter non-Japanese*

*He’s actually a quarter French but he doesn’t explicitly state that here so I decided to leave it out. 

Because I look different from other people, there was a time in the past when I was searching for what it means to “be Japanese”

Izumi: I see. So for you it’s got the wider meaning of self discovery… 

Aira: Nono, it’s not as serious as it seems! 

I just had the opportunity. In the end, my hobby is just taking vague notes about the things I like 

You see, when it comes to “being Japanese”, the first thing you imagine is Kanzaki-senpai 

Souma: Yes. The Japanese spirit and traditional influence are both good cultures that Japan is proud of 

When I think of sweets, the first things that come to mind are simple things, such as dorayaki and yokan, but that’s not the case for Shiratori

Aira: Not exactly, those things are what come to mind first for me too when someone says “Japanese” 

But, I think modern Japan is more than just that 

When it comes to more recent souvenirs, it’s not just the appearance of the sweets itself, but the cuteness of the packaging and containers that attracts attention!

The collaboration cookie tin I showed you earlier is a good example! Japan today is a country that develops cute products like that!

For example mascot characters, each local area creates cute characters to promote their own area! 

Things like sweets and fashion develop into a genre called “Yume Kawaii” 

Even in the world of idols, the number of cute super lo~vey goods being sold is increasing! 

Izumi: Hey, how long are you gonna keep talking? Aren’t we getting off topic? 

Aira:  Wah!? I’m sorry, I just started infodumping without thinking. My otaku side is showing, huh… 

Izumi: No, it’s fine really. Actually, I don’t think what you’re saying is wrong either 

I’ve seen that influence first-hand in France too. It’s no trivial matter 

In any case, I’ll use the list you sent me for future reference. Thank you, Shiratori 

Aira: You don’t need to thank me! I’m honoured that my otaku knowledge could help my senpais!

Previous | Next

[giuliacolla]

A TRIP TO JAPAN

We recently flew from Milan to Tokyo for a 12-day holiday in Japan. The trip was organised by an Italian tour operator for a group of 12 people.

All in all it was a pleasant experience, firstly beacause Japan is a marvellous country and then beacause the group was well assorted: 3 young couples on their honeymoon, a middle-aged couple, and two mature ladies of our age.

From Milan to Tokyo we had an adventurous flight but at last we reached the Japanese capital.

If you visit Japan neither in April (cherry blossom) nor in mid-October (foliage) it won’t be crowded and two days in Tokyo are good enough to enjoy shopping in Shibuya, taste an ice-cream or pancake in Harajuku and visit both the Meiji Shintoist Temple and the Kannon Buddhist one without queuing. Moreover, as soon as you enter the beautiful park of the Meiji Temple, you breathe absolute peace.

Worth visiting is the nearby city of Nikko, where the Shikyo Bridge and the Futarasanjin are a World Heritage Site.

In the following days we had two nice excursions, the first one from Magome to Tsumagotwo, where you walk for 8 km in the ancient street that three centuries ago connected Tokyo to Kyoto.

The second walk was in Takayama, a beautiful small town in the mountains.

In the evening, though, we were quite disappointed: the dinner based on the famous Hida meat, booked from Italy for 300 euros each, we found out we could buy there for 30 euros.

We consoled ourselves at the Mercure Hida, where we had the pleasant surprise to get a complimentary access to their onsen (thermal SPA), wearing nice kimonos provided by the hotel.

The following day we went to Shirakawago - by the way, in all our trips by bus or train we were accompanied by absolutely well-organised, guides speaking Italian, provided by MTJ - where we witnessed the most beautiful village we have ever seen; then in Kanazawa we went to the Samurai Noumura house and its splendid garden Kenrouken.

We spent the night in Kanazawa at the Onyado Nono, where we enjoyed another marvelous onsen for free.

Then it was Kyoto, the former Japanese capital, where we spent the last 3 days

Here is the tea ceremony, followed by a tour of the ancient city of Higashiyama.

Then we visited the bamboo forest, the rocks garden and the Ryoanji Temple (World Heritage Site)

We then went to Nara, where, at the Todai-ji, we admired the biggest bronze Buddha in the world, and we had a nice walk in the park that hosts 1200 deer.

The last stop of our journey was the Osaka Kansai airport (designed on an island by Renzo Piano)