#tickets don't go on sale for another day or two so it's not a 100% guarantee but.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[pandoa]

Let me just scoot myself in here real quick AHEM! I would like to participate in this 100 followers event!

I would like epel with....

Daisies ~ “it’s our little secret, alright?”

AND

Freesias ~ “you’re an idiot” “no, i’m not” “i hate you” “love you too”

Thank you^^ you don't need to do this if you don't want to and congrats on 100 follower you deserve atleast 500 but I digress.

Daisies ~ “it’s our little secret, alright?”

Freesias ~ “you’re an idiot” “no, i’m not” “i hate you” “love you too”

~epel felmier x gender neutral reader~

warnings: just random people thinking epel is a girl while on a date with reader.. bless his heart. pls remember that although here, in this fic, it's to be taken as light-hearted comedy in a fictional scenario, misgendering others can have serious effects on people irl. always remember to never assume the important things about a person just because of their appearance. thank u <3

YAKOOO TYSM I KNOW YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHAT YOU REQUESTED BUT HERE YOU GO LMAO- we're actually almost at 500 atm hehe anyways HOPE YOU ENJOY MY DEAR YAKO

♡manly misunderstanding♡

Epel wasn’t too sure what it would feel like to overblot. But he was sure that he would be moments close to forming the oozing, black liquid from his pen if you and him did not walk out of the mall you both had been shopping in as soon as possible. Because what had disrupted your very first date together as a couple was just outrageous.

Out. Rageous.

“Hello, Miss!” an overly cheery voice called out to you both, specifically referring to your startled boyfriend who jumped up in surprise. “Would you like to try out our new moisturizer?” the saleswoman chirped, “It's one hundred percent made of natural ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter! Perfect for a self-care day!”

Epel hesitantly raised his pale hand in refusal, instinctively shielding you from the gazes of the insistent advertisers as if you were a jewel in need of protection—even despite the fact that he was clearly the one in need of more protection rather than yourself.

 “Ah—No, thank you,” Epel politely declined, “I think I’m alright—”

The bright saleswoman, however, continued to tread closer and closer to the first year’s defensive form as she eagerly passed down a fancy-looking bottle of lotion into his hand, “Are you sure? We are having a limited-time sale for this season only! Here, come into our store and see for yourself—”

“Young Lady!” Readily backing away from the previous shop, the two of you hastily moved forward to flee the creeping stares of the mall only to immediately be caught by another spokesperson. “Please have a sample of our latest concealer!” The seller, this time a very young and refreshing boy, called out to Epel, “Clogs no pores and nurtures your fair skin!”

“Ah—Sorry, I’m not very into that sort of thing—”

“Hi! Wanna try out this trending red lipstick? I bet it would SO match that cute top you have on right now, Miss. Post and share it with your girlfriends, too! Or even your boyfriends!”

“Please, just leave us alone—” 

“MADAM, DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN FREE TICKETS TO SEE POPULAR ACTOR NEIGE LEBLANCHE IF YOU ORDER A CASKET OF OUR RED APPLE SODA RIGHT NOW! THAT’S RIGHT! FREE TICKETS TO SEE OUR MEDIA PRINCE, NEIGE LEBLANCHE IF YOU PURCHASE RIGHT NOW! GET YOUR DRINKS TODAY!”

“OH FOR SEVENS’ SAKE!”

Hollering in frustration, Epel’s sanity had ticked its final thread of patience as he bolted towards the blaring red lights of the mall’s heavenly exit. You quickly followed behind him, concerned but slightly amused by your boyfriend’s struggle to escape the grasps of the endless sea of salespersons as they all flocked the young boy like a stray piece of food being surrounded by a wave of birds on the shoreline. Dashing past the tempting aroma of the plentiful food stalls, speeding away from any stranger who had so much as looked your way, and skipping across the wooden tiles of the mall’s boardwalk, you and Epel had finally stopped to rest as the advertisers were now nowhere in sight.

Well, you had thought so, at least. 

“...You know,” your voice said tiredly, finally catching your breath from the strenuous chase, “if the other first years saw this, they’d never let you live this down, right?”

“Shut up,” Epel glared back at you with no real ill intent. “It’s our little secret, alright? And no tellin’ Ace or Deuce ‘bout this! Nev’r!”

“Really~? What if I accidentally let it slip out one day during alchemy lessons that we were both chased down by a bunch of your fangirls and fanboys because of your beautiful looks? What would you do then?” a smug smile then slowly grew on your face, clearly trying to cause some sort of mischief between the two of you with your jokes.

The boy proceeded to maintain an exhausted stare at your comment, “You’re an idiot, (Y/n).” 

“No, I’m not.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you, too.”

Epel, upon hearing your words, stood still in shock for a fragment of a second as he took in what you had just said in its entirety. “That’s… that’s not fair,” he muttered in what seemed like a flash of defeat, “But you were kiddin’, right? You wouldn’t actually—”

“Hey, you there!” another unknown voice coming from the store adjacent to the both of you pierced your ears like a dozen nails on a chalkboard, “Would you like a special sample of this new cologne and perfume by a well-known rising actor and model? May I present to you, madam, Fairest and True, Schoenheit: The Fragrance—!”

“NO, PLEASE,” Epel curtly yelled as he leaped yards away from the salesman innocently holding out an elegant, violet bottle of perfume towards his stature, “ANYTHING BUT THAT—”

a/n:  currently imagining vil in a fragrance commercial like adrien agreste from miraculous ladybug. i am dying.

[chemical-cat]

So I don't know if there's a lot of truth to this claim, of course there's a few questions I have of my own regarding the situation but via tiktok (specifically more so "witchtok"), a tarot reader who goes by the user name: staci_luna_ (if you want to check out her direct page for yourself, here is a link to her page:

And more specifically here is a link to the video in this post that I'm going to be referencing: )

So essentially, if you didn't want to go into the videos themselves regarding this, the break down of the situation is that:

staci_luna_ has had her PayPal account placed on hold, this is an account in which not only did she already have hard earned funds placed in that are now in limbo, but it's also one of the ways her clients pay her and is even a part of her website. When she contacted PayPal regarding this, she was informed due to both multiple reports/disputes being filed against tarot readers, and also multiple people informing PayPal that tarot is fraudulent. Now according to Staci_luna_ this is PayPal's algorithm going through and automatically closing tarot readers/psychics accounts.

Within the comment section of this video, staci_luna_ also further elaborated that:

"@staci_luna_: Fortunately Stripe likes metaphysical companies. Square, Wix and I guess now PayPal have clauses they can take the funds and close the accounts." (This was in response to another user, who stated they had not run into an issue but they use Stripe as well)

"@staci_luna_: It’s crazy! I’m insured and been in business without incident for three years. When I called in PayPal said the algorithms was recently set up to auto close anything saying Tarot, Psychic, Reiki and they would do their best to fix it but no good news yet." (This was in response to another user expressing their shock)

Within the comments of this video, the overall consensus seems to be a 50/50 split, some users commenting that they haven't experienced any issues nor have they heard of this, and others stating that they have, one user going as far as to comment:

"Unfortunately!! When I tried to setup a PayPal for my website they said that my business model aka tarot/medium wasn’t valid!"

Now essentially when I first had this come through my feed, I was both scared at first as I use PayPal for my own business, and skeptical. Once my anxiety calmed down, I started thinking about some valid questions, now putting aside whether or not staci_luna_ is a 100% on the up and up (Little to no disputes filed against her), let's say for a moment she's had a few...

Was this a termination due to multiple disputes filed against her? (Whether for various failures to deliver or actual fraud)

Was she possibly targeted directly by another creator? (As out there of a claim as it can be, in this day and age you never know)

Is this legitimately true or is it another fear mongering tactic that's being used on tiktok?

Ultimately, I was left with a lot of questions, some of which can be answered and others can't. Being that I don't have any proof to suggest that staci_luna_ herself, would use this as a fear mongering tactic, or a reason to lie to try and cover up possible disputes against her. I'm going to treat this as an objective case scenario, I don't personally believe that staci_luna_ is covering anything up, nor is she fear mongering, but rather trying to warn others before they lose large sums of money. Staci_luna_ went on in the comments to clarify that:

Her PayPal account was a business account, had an EIN, and everything goes through her website under the name: Staci Luna.

For clarification: an EIN is a "Employer Identification Number", also known as a federal employer identification number, or federal tax identification number. Just like with your social security card number, this is a unique 9 digit number assigned by the IRS to businesses that are operating in the US, for the purpose of identification.

Now if we take this as blantaly true, this is 100% factual. What this essentially means is that there is a possibility that regardless of if it is processing through your account via the person sending you money on a "paypal.me" link, or its connected via a check out at your website, PayPal is targeting metaphysical shops, specifically tarot and psychic readers. It does not matter if you like Staci_luna_ have an EIN, PayPal still has the rights to not only terminate your account but also withhold any funds within the account should it be terminated. In PayPal's OWN terms of service:

"Hold the balance in your Cash Account, the balance in your business PayPal account, or any money waiting to be claimed through your personal PayPal account if you do not have a Cash Account linked to your personal PayPal account, for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability or if you have violated our Acceptable Use Policy"

"If we close your PayPal account or terminate your use of the PayPal services for any reason, we'll provide you with notice of our actions and make any unrestricted funds held in the balance of your Cash Account linked to your personal PayPal account or in the balance of your business PayPal account, or any money waiting to be claimed through your personal PayPal account if you do not have a Cash Account linked to your personal PayPal account, available for withdrawal."

These along with the rest of paypal's policies can be found in their terms and conditions, which do cover both business and personal accounts as well as their buyer and seller protection policies. The two listed above were found in the section labeled: "restricted activities and holds"

Now this is a lot to process and brings up the question, if my shop/my readings are processed through PayPal where do I go to ensure I don't lose my business?

So there are a few options, while some have been suggesting to move to venmo and cashapp, others are suggesting etsy and square. So where should you go? Well there are a few things to keep in mind with some of these platforms as well that could be a make or break point for your shop/business as well.

As mentioned before by staci_luna_ both PayPal and Square, reserve the right to terminate your account and keep your money. While PayPal does elaborate that they will place funds on hold for 180 days, and should your account be closed they will move your money from a cash account to your personal account (the differences between these are elaborated on in paypal's terms and conditions, as while they may be linked to each other they are two different types of accounts, if you have a PayPal debit card, then you more than likely do have a PayPal cash account). Square's terms of service state:

"We may terminate ... suspend or terminate your Square Account or your access to any Service, at any time for any reason. We may add or remove, suspend, stop, delete, discontinue or impose conditions on Services or any feature or aspect of a Service. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of termination or these other types of Service changes by email or at the next time you attempt to access your Square Account. "

" ... your Square Account is terminated or suspended for any reason: ... we will not be liable to you or any third party for compensation, reimbursement, or damages for any termination or suspension of the Services, or for deletion of your information or account data. "

These can be found in squares general terms of service in section 11 and section 12.

Venmo does now offer a business option, however this is a profile that is set up within your personal account, specifically for the use of receiving payments for the sale of goods and services. This is an option that within their terms and conditions they state is offered at their sole discretion, and may not be offered to all users. They go on to state several things within their terms of conditions as well, including if you use your personal profile to conduct business:

"Except for commercial transactions expressly authorized by Venmo, for example, transactions with authorized merchants or business profiles, or purchases made using your Venmo Mastercard®, personal accounts may not be used to conduct business, commercial or merchant transactions with other personal accounts, which includes paying or accepting payment from other personal accounts held by users you do not personally know for goods or services (for example, concert tickets, electronic equipment, sneakers, a watch, or other merchandise). If you plan to use your Venmo account to sell goods or services, you must have an approved business account or a business profile."

"If your Venmo account is closed for any reason, any business profile and any Venmo Debit Card affiliated with your account will be canceled."

"Payments sent via the Venmo app or the Venmo website to another Venmo user do not qualify as payments to an authorized merchant. ... Except for transactions for goods and services that are expressly authorized by Venmo, for example, purchases from authorized merchants, business profiles and Venmo Debit Card purchases, you are not permitted to use Venmo as a payment method for purchases of goods and services."

(If found in violation of the restricted activities policy) "Terminate this user agreement, limit your Venmo and/or PayPal account, and/or close or suspend your Venmo and/or PayPal account, including cancelling your Venmo Debit Card (if any), immediately and without penalty to us ... Limit your access to our websites, ... your Venmo or PayPal account or any of the Venmo or PayPal services, including limiting your ability to pay or send money with any of the payment methods linked to your Venmo or PayPal account, restricting your ability to send money or make bank transfers ... "

These can all be found within venmos terms of service under their legal tab.

It may be important to note that venmo is a sub-company under PayPal, as well as within their restricted activities section they do have listed that if you are using your personal account to purchase goods and services from another personal account (unless otherwise previously authorized by venmo - authorized merchant, business profile, or venmo debit card transaction), that you are participating in a violation of their restricted activities policy. Like with PayPal, venmo will hold any unrestricted funds for 180 days, but if they close or terminate your account/use of their services, they will make any unrestricted funds still available within your account avaliable for bank transfers. Because they are a sub-company of PayPal, it is unsure of whether or not the same algorithm applies as used with PayPal. Through their terms of service, it does appear that venmo DOES offer a buyer protection policy IF the goods/services are purchased through their authorized means (authorized merchants, business profiles, venmo debit card transactions), however if these are purchased from one personal profile to another there is no buyer protection policy. From what I could see, it does not appear at the time of me writing this, that there is a seller protection policy in place, however venmo does offer a similar dispute system as PayPal. (Through the research I've done so far, and the on going research I have done, it does not appear currently at the time of writing this that tarot readers accounts are being shut down when using venmo despite PayPal being venmo's parent company).

Cashapp, is a sub-company of square. Within cashapp you can only send money to another user, however you can opt for a debit card from cashapp. You can use this debit card to make purchases from merchants (similar to the venmo or PayPal debit card), it is important to note that in cashapp's terms of service in regards to the debit card: "you do not have the right to stop payment on a transaction originated with your cash card", in the instance of a lost/stolen card, you may disable the card via the app however this does NOT prevent the processing of pending transactions initiated prior to the disabling of your card. If you are also no longer deemed eligible for the cash card, the card may be canceled with no notice at any time (as deemed by the terms and services of the card). Within cashapp's terms of service are these: (within their terms of service because their parent company is Square, Square is used as the overall judgement in terms of your account and not cashapp itself):

"Square may terminate, close, or suspend your Account or use the Service at any time for any reason. "

"Any pending transactions at the time of termination, closure, or suspension of your Account will be settled. Any funds that we are holding in custody for you at the time of termination, suspension, or closure of your Account, less any applicable fees, (1) may be made available for you to cash out in Square’s discretion and subject to the other conditions in these Cash Terms, and (2) we may require you to link a new bank account that has not been associated with your Account to cash out such funds ..."

These can be found within cashapp's general terms of service.

In terms of Etsy, there are a few things to keep in mind with it specifically. Below is information I have gathered from etsy itself in its terms and conditions, as well as information that has been provided via forums such as reddit. While within the forums, I have no ability to prove whether these things said are true, it is something to keep in mind if using etsy is you're go to area.

Before we dive into etsy's terms of service, I want to dive into some of the things said on some of the forums:

While some users expressed that an advantage to etsy versus some other payment options were the ability to have a store front, easy managing, and that etsy will even send you a 1099 tax form. Others expressed that etsy can take a "hefty" chunk out of your sale prices, while .20 cents per listing and an extra relisting fee if you sell out or relist after 4 months, may not seem that overwhelming bad. There are individual fees that etsy charges at the point of sale as well. (All of these can be found on their website in more detail). Others have expressed that etsy has periods of times where they are strict with their rules and laid back with them at other times, specifically with metaphysical shops. Some expressed that, in order to avoid not just your listing being taken down but your shop as well that with tarot readings and other such listings you need to specify that they are for "entertainment purposes only", some users have specified that etsy has relaxed this, and that they have a set "tarot reading" listing, however you need to be selling an actual item and not a service. They further specified that some users have gotten around this by doing tarot readings via email, or in a pdf file (rather than via phone), or by sending an infographic with a reiki healing or something similar. Some have even said with listings that you need to give them something tangible, even if it's just a mailed copy of their reading.

An article on the matter stated that while etsy does allow tarot and psychic readings that "to qualify for sale, tarot or psychic readings must be sold in digital format or a physical document. Both the listing title as well as description need to state the format the reading will be sent in". (This was posted in 2015)

Within etsy's own community of threads, it seems there is some debate as to whether or not tarot reading/shops and other similar stores fall under etsy's 3 categories: handmade, supplies, or vintage.

Well, as of 2020 etsy has elaborated on this themselves:

"Etsy welcomes a wide variety of divination and spell-related items, as long as they meet our Seller Policy. Tarot, psychic, or other divination readings must include a tangible good, such as photos of the tarot spread, audio/video of a reading, or text of the reading. You may deliver the tangible good through Etsy Messages or email."

This can be found in their "our house rules - services" section.

Etsy does go on to list that there are several metaphysical services which can NOT be sold on their market place including:

Reiki and/or distance healing, spell casting, prayers, rituals, or items with a metaphysical outcomes (attracting wealth, love, gambling luck, more business, employment opportunities, or assistance with legal or relationship situations).

Ultimately, items sold need to have a tangible aspect as outlined by etsy themselves, and follow the same guidelines as any other piece sold on the site.

Etsy's terms of service, are this:

"... we may take actions that limit the visibility of your shop, listings or ads, or that impact your payment account. ... In the event a shop sees unusual order activity, or we otherwise believe that your actions or shop may result in buyer disputes, chargebacks, increased risk of fraud, counterfeiting, or other claims, Etsy may take actions such as limiting visibility of your account, or placing restrictions or reserves on your payments account, in accordance with our Terms of Service"

"In the event a shop sees an unusual spike in orders, particularly in a high demand category, a shop may see an increase or decrease in its search ranking. Often, if a shop sees an increase in fulfilled orders and good reviews, this may result in higher visibility and search rank. However, sometimes a rapid increase in orders can reduce visibility. "

"If Etsy has reason to believe you ... violate our Terms, including this Seller Policy, we may deactivate Your Content or suspend or terminate your account (and any accounts Etsy determines is related to your account) and your access to the Services."

These can be found in etsy's "seller policy" section.

While etsy DOES offer seller protection, it is limited and only applies to sellers which meet the requirements of their protection program.

As a tarot reader myself, who is now on the fence about potentially keeping my PayPal separate from my business, it opens the question of where to go. I dived into these terms and conditions on various apps, because through my own experience and what I have observed of other readers on multiple platforms, I know various readers use different services. My concern was if I was potentially losing my ability to use PayPal as a way to not only protect my customers but myself as a seller, what other options were out there that not only provided me but my buyers with the best interest in mind? A main factor being something similar to a buyer/seller protection like PayPal has. While venmo is a sub-company of PayPal and does offer a business profile to purchase goods and services through, there's no word on whether or not they will be affected like PayPal has. While square may seem like a very good professional fit, as well as it may be easier to use for tax purposes when it comes to book keeping, like PayPal they have the ability to terminate the account whenever they see fit, the same goes for cashapp. While etsy on the other hand, you have to fine tune each listing to ensure you're abiding by their guidelines, which while it may not be directly stated for those who do lots of love readings/relationship readings for example could potentially be affected. (A personal benefit I like is not only the store front aspect but the fact people can openingly rate your services, so it's not just by word of mouth).

Ultimately, it seems that no matter which platform you choose to use, there is going to be some type of pitfall or con in using the app. For me personally, I think for the well being of my own business until I know more information on whether or not PayPal is actively doing this or if they resolve the situation, I'm choosing to move away from PayPal as a main payment form for my clients. I'm personally, strongly considering moving to etsy because even though PayPal directly may not be the best option, there is still the option of clients being able to secure their purchase with PayPal while on etsy which gives them paypal's buyer protection but also etsy's. Personally, I'm still going to have my venmo and my cashapp as well, since on both I have the ability to make a business profile and fall under their guide lines but I'll be making a conscious effort to at least toe the line and provide some type of tangible source even if it's just applying etsy's guidelines elsewhere.

Ultimately the main reason I spent time on typing all of this and putting the word out, is that while it is on tiktok, both the original video along with a handful of others that I went searching to see if it was getting spread are getting almost no traction, so the word isn't fully getting spread. This has the potential to hurt small business owners, and I just want to help get the word out there for others. I definitely recommend diving into the terms and conditions on any platforms you are using for your services in order to best know where any dangers may potentially lie for your business. But I hope that putting even just some of this information out there gets to who it needs too.

[ghibli-collector]

If you don't mind answering, about how much did the trip in total cost? I've been trying to plan my own trip, not for as long as yours of course, probably just about 10 days, but I'll be planning for 2 people. I'm so glas you were able to have this experience and I hope to have my own someday! Safe travels 💙

Hi thanks for the question! ahh thats really tough! it depends where you're staying, how much you're planning on travelling, how often you like to eat and how much you want to spend on food too! 

I guess all i can tell you is how much individual expenses cost and what i booked! my flights from the Uk and accommodation for 3 weeks i could have gotten for about £1000 with me staying in a decent hostel in Akihabara but i paid extra for direct flights as the journey can really zap you. Theres also discount vouchers depending on which site you book through (i wish id looked those up i think i could have saved about £100). i think the biggest expense was the flight and the hostel was really affordable. i picked a hostel because the only time i really spend in the accommodation was sleeping time and the rest of the time id be out about and seeing and doing things. also a hostel is a great place to meet people from all over the world and people are usually really friendly and interesting! Also i stayed at the Simple stay peace museum hostel in Hiroshima which was under £20 a night and was in an amazing location right in the centre of Hiroshima. 

When you get there if you're travelling about the Japan rail pass is an amazing investment which gets you unlimited free travel anywhere around Japan on JR trains. see here for info: http://www.japanrailpass.net/en/ the pass costs are- 

7-day 38,880 YEN 29,110 YEN14-day 62,950 YEN 46,390 YEN21-day 81,870 YEN 59,350 YEN 

I went to Hiroshima and from Tokyo a one way ticket to get there was over 19,000 yen so getting the 7 day pass at only 29k was totally worth it to be able to travel to Hiroshima and back plus travel anywhere for the rest of the week. 

If you're staying in Tokyo you'll be using the Jr train lines and the subway system too as both systems sometimes only go to locations the others don't. the stations all have big track maps on the walls and ticket machines which show all the stops and how much it costs to get to each location, costs can add up fast but a lot of the time i ended up buying a day pass for the JR lines which was 750 yen and gets you unlimited travel for the day within the metropolitan area, theres also one that does metro and  JR train lines thats about 1500 yen. Some days you know how many journeys you'll need to do or where you'll be visiting so you can calculate using maps weather you're better getting two singles say at 200 yen each for the journey both way or the day pass if you're making more or further journeys. Journeys can cost from about 160 yen to 480 yen depending on the distance you’re travelling. 

To be honest i was buying the day pass most of the time and making a day trip to somewhere then going back out at night again so i was spending about 750 yen or more on travel almost every day. 

Food is a tricky one! if you're staying in a hostel they usually have cooking facilities so you can buy and cook you're own food but it can be pricey too depending where you shop but trying things in shops and convince stores is amazing because its a whole new world of food. if you're eating out depending where you're eating the cost can vary a lot! some days id go to a ramen shop and you can get a good bowl of ramen from 600 yen but usually id go for the deluxe ramen with loads extra pork for 900 yen! restaurants are usually a bit more expensive and i was usually spending like 1200-2000 yen most times when eating out.

An example would be a big mac meal would cost 690 yen which was similar prices to Japanese fast food places too! personally as it was my holiday which comes only once every year or two i like to eat at nice restaurants and sometimes i found myself spending 4000-5000 yen on a meal with like nice steaks and other things and if you saw some of my posts Japan has some of the best beef in the world and the most i spent on a meal was just under 12,000 yen but thats because it was Wagyu beef. 

As always it all depends on your original currency and 1000 yen was costing me  about £7 this trip but when i went to japan in 2014 1000 yen was about £5.50 which is a huge difference. But if you're from say America I'm sure the exchange is much healthier but unfortunately for me the way Uk press, tv networks and politicians have been handling brexit in the last year has weakened the strength of the £ significantly.  

Another thing to look out for is sales tax which a lot of the time is not shown on the original price of items and i think is about 8%. 

Hmmm in Tokyo every street is lined with drinks vending machines and it was really warm and sunny so i was drinking a few bottles of water when out and about every day which cost about 110 each which can add up over the duration of you're trip. 

Other expenses will of course if you're following my blog and are like me will be copious amounts of Studio Ghibli merchandise :P on the last day in the Ghibli museum i spent just under £500 which included my meal at the museums Straw Hat cafe, a framed hand painted cel reproduction and a load of other things hahahah :D 

Travel from the airport can be about 2000 yen depending which airport you fly into, Narita is further away from Tokyo and a shuttle bus into major hotels in the city centre will cost about 2000 and i think the express train is cheaper and maybe half that if you get the all stops train instead. Haneda airport is much closer to the city centre and is pretty inexpensive to travel to on the train then monorail which i think is a few hundred yen. 

When there i liked to be doing something every day which most of the time costs money :( like going up the Tokyo tower, Mori tower or Tokyo Sky Tree can be from 1800 yen (52nd floor observation deck of the Mori tower) to about 3000 yen depending what level of the Sky Tree you can't to travel up to :) The peace museum in Hiroshima cost 200 yen to get into and Disney land was 7500 yen for a day ticket bought on the day! oh and the Metropolitan building in Shinkuku has two towers which are high and ou can see the whole city and is freeeeee!!!!!!!!

I can't think of any other expenses off the top of my head but the key thing to remember is it all adds up and its best being prepared, but i think you can do the trip on a budget if you're smart and have a lot of will power! but TRUST ME there will be a lot of things there that you will want to buy and see. 

i hope this helps you prepare for your trip in some way! 

Justin

[culturejunkies]

Why bother caring about the Oscars? Its voters don't care about you!

By Kenshiro

Another year has come, where genre entertainment fans are up in arms about their favorite films not getting the prestigious Oscar nominations outside of categories where they typically receive them.  Joker is the only film to receive nominations of “note”…a whopping 11 of them, outpacing every other film in the running.  But the ones fans care about most, Best Picture of The Year, no genre entertainment movie has come close to winning it.  Black Panther was nominated last year, and despite the phenomenon that it was, no one had any false hopes of it actually winning it.  Joker this year will be no different.  Despite the fact that as a genre film it isn’t actually much of one, Joker isn’t close to being the best actual film up for the award in most people’s opinion.

But that’s not the point of this think-piece, the point I wish to bring up, is that time and again, the films that actually win the coveted Best Picture Film are NOT genre films. In fact, The Lord of The Rings: Return of The King is 1 of only 2 genre films to win the award in the last 61 years.  SIXTY-ONE YEARS. (The other was the dark fantasy/romance film, The Shape of Water in case you were wondering).  Sure there have been some other notable nominations: Raiders of The Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Avatar, A Clockwork Orange; but none of those films were ever in serious contention.

Joker has 11 nominations. It probably won’t win the one fans want though.

  The Academy Is Biased, And They Aren’t Bashful About It

The Academy, formally known as Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has a stated goal of “advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures”, yet its always the genre films, the ones that typically push the boundaries of what films are able to do on screen to tell stories, that get left out of its highest honor.  The Academy has a well known bias against these types of films, for lack of perceived depth or overall critical acclaim. The proof is in the results really, as two films in over 60 years is a less than 3.5% success record.

The Academy even attempted last year to introduce an Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film category. The award would basically honor blockbuster and popular films that ruled the public consciousness, like Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War.  The award was met is widespread negative reaction from the people who carry the most influence with the Academy: it’s voters.  The arguments against it were that it was pandering to mainstream fans (not sure why that’s an issue), lessening the chances of nominated films in the category for winning Best Picture (even though they could be nominated), and the problematic name implying that films like Black Panther (which provided the push for creating the award in the first place) would be viewed as “separate but equal” from the film that wins Best Picture. The award was quickly put right back on the shelf.

Avengers Endgame was never a serious choice, despite being the fastest selling, highest-grossing film of all time.

So Why Do Genre Fans Keep Caring About The Oscars?

There have been a few writers who’ve championed the cause for Blockbuster films, including Academy voter Gene del Vecchio who wrote this piece in the Hollywood Reporter on the subject.  Yet, there’s no bright star on the horizon that shows this is going to change any time soon.  The Academy has been playing gatekeeper on what determines what type of film is the Best Film for almost 100 years.  They view genre films as low-brow entertainment, that aren’t worth consideration since they are based in fiction and not historical retellings of actual events.  They eschew escapism choosing to favor films that have deeper social meaning or lessons to be learned/taught.

If they view the films we enjoy so much with such disdain, why do our tongues wag when one of our own gets a token nomination for its best award?  Its almost like the Academy is Lucy Van Pelt holding the football for us poor Charlie Brown’s to run up and try to kick it.  The Academy is a group of stodgy older people who are very much removed from the pulse of the mainstream.  Avengers: Endgame broke the internet when tickets went on sale…people were selling out theaters for DAYS trying to see it.  It got the people excited and people talking about what they saw and experienced.  Why is that type of film not worthy of being called Best Picture?  Is not a film that so captures the imagination of the world not the epitome of the Best Picture?

According to the Academy, the answer is no.  So to hell with them.  If they don’t value what we love, who needs them.