#utsukushiishoujomangas

[utsukushiishoujomangas]

Trip to Japan recap! (Part 1 - The Shoujo stuffs)

Hello all,

I don’t usually post off-topic (other stuff than manga caps or answers to asks) but I thought this might interest some of you. I’ll start with the shoujo manga related stuff and then put the rest in separate posts.

Click here for Part 2: http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164134921428/trip-to-japan-recap-part-2-kyoto-and-nara

Part 3:

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164334394698/trip-to-japan-recap-part-3-himeji-hakone-and

Okay to begin with, here’s a poster for a light novel (Cake Ouji no Specialité from Takafumi Nanatsuki). I thought the guy really looked like Kakeru from Orange. And I was right since Takano Ichigo illustrated the covers. xD

I went to a bookstore in Kyoto so here’s some series I recognized. There were a bit more than I took pictures of, but a Caucasian dude was staring at me weirdly as I took pictures. Maybe he was surprised to find a young guy with such interest in shoujo mangas?

Koe no Katachi by Ooima Yoshitoki

Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare by Sakisaka Io

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet by Yamamori Mika 

Short Cake Cake by Morishita Suu

Takane to Hana by Shiwasu Yuki

Konyakusei by Iwa Chika

ReRe Hello by Minami Touko

Honey by Meguro Amu

Tsubasa to Hotaru by Haruta Nana

Niijiro Days by Mizuno Minami

Aozora Yell by Kawahara Kazune

ALL THE SHOUJOSSSS 8D

Other side

Kyou no Kira-kun by Mikimoto Rin

Chihayafuru tie-in snacks!

Koi to Uso ad in the train

Kimi no Na Wa tie-in products at Akihabara

Some detergent with cute shoujo manga-like artwork on them :D

In Ochanomizu (neighborhood to the southeast of Akihabara), I passed by the headquarters of Hakusensha, a magazine, manga and light novel publishing company that has, among other unsavory stuff, Melody, Lala and Hana to Yume (and their deriviatives) magazines under its belt.

Notice the Madara (from Natsume Yuujinchou) plushies and the posters for Fukumenkei Noise (AKA Anonymous Noise) and 3-gatsu no Lion (AKA March Comes in like a Lion).

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In Harajuku, there were cute billboard ads with shoujo manga-like art. ^^

EDIT: These are parodies on shoujo tropes. xD See: http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164085761818/you-are-right-i-cant-speakread-japanese-i-was

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Next we went to Ikebukuro, a neighborhood like Akihabara (in the manga/anime sense), but catering more to the female crowd (shoujo/josei manga/anime, boy bands/male idols, BL/yaoi, butler cafes instead of maid cafes, etc). I personally found Akihabara a bit crude with the maid cafes (there was even a high school girl cafe) and the few adult material shops in the sidestreets, but whatever floats your goat.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There’s also the biggest Animate of all of Japan (or so I’ve heard). Animate is a chain store selling manga/anime merchandise (magazines, manga, anime CDs, figurines, charms straps, posters, cups, clear folders, plushies, doujinshis, you name it).

Here was part of their shoujo manga magazine selection:

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Their selection of shoujo mangas were on point, as expected :3

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Omg Queen’s Quality volumes on sale! 8D

Too bad I can’t read Japanese... :/

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii art on the elevator wall xD

Sono Voice, Yuuryou Desu ka? by Sanada Hatsune and Amazato Sugar. No scanlations yet I’m afraid. :P

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And a sneak peak of what’s inside~

Hope you guys enjoyed it and stay tuned for part 2!

[yzzy-gggg]

Get to Know Me Tag

tagged by @active-mind-15

Nickname: Ysa (pronounced Isa)

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Sagittarius

Height: small (as in 5′0″... 160 cm...)

Time: 10:53 PM

Birthday: December 11, 1998

Fave Band(s): uhm... I'll go with BTS and VIXX

Fave Solo Artist(s): LiSA cuz she bomb af, Bruno Mars and John Legend

Song Stuck in my head: “Despacito” cuz it plays every single fucking time I turn on the radio.

Last Movie watched: uhhhh... A Dog’s Purpose

Last Show watched: Boku no Hero Academia SO SO GOOD AH

When did I create my blog: probably like 3 years ago but I wasn't active until like March

What do I post: KnB, Akashi (a lot lot lot), Boku no Hero, Izaya lolol and shit about my life ye

Last thing I googled: Eclipse Chicago time (so I knew when it was safe to buy sugar lol)

Do you have other blogs: yep one other called @akashi-seijuroooo (except I like never use it oops)

Do you get asks: yes, but I've only answered like one cuz I suck I’m so sorry :(

Why did you choose this name: cuz my username for everything was yzzy-gggg which is a spin off of my actual name and that was my Instagram name at the time

Following: a whole fucking lot of blogs

Followers: 31

Favorite colors: currently pastels (pink, blue, purple) and white since they’re so cute and dainty and ever since my trip to Japan I’ve been trying to go for the cute dainty look

Average hours of sleep: solid 6-7 but now that I’m bout to go to college (pls pray for me) it’s gonna drop to like 5 LOL

Lucky number: 4, always has and always will be (also it’s Akashi’s jersey number unf babe)

Instruments: BACK IN THE DAY I played piano (quit in like preschool lolol), guitar, and clarinet. But quit everything to focus on tennis

What am I wearing: a gray nike tank and black shorts with some pink spandex underneath. also a neon green bra. I just had tennis practice lol

How many blankets do I sleep with: one in the summer and two in the winter and with a shit ton of stuffed animals (and always always with my baby Bokushi plushie he’s my child so)

Dream job: a YouTuber or Instagrammer since some Instgrammers get paid thousands of dollars just to post pictures like my god

Dream trip: a countrywide trip to Japan where I explore every single place in Japan (I love Japan so much someone take me back PLEASE especially so I can see Okinawa)

Fave food: OH BOY this is hard. but I’m gonna have to go with authentic, real Japanese ramen cuz that shit is SO SO good especially the one I had in Japan

Nationality: Filipino, but born and raised in America (Japanese at heart tho lol ;) but also everyone thinks I’m Chinese or Korean the first time they see me)

Favorite song now: “Sayonara Moon Town” (the second ending song of Boruto you must listen to it cuz it is v nice)

 This was fun! I low-key really enjoy these things ^^

So I’m supposed to tag 30 people but I’m not particularly friends with 30 people sooo... I’ll only tag like 3 lol

I tag: @thekuroiookami @boku-no-knb and @utsukushiishoujomangas

ya’ll don’t have to do this but if you’re bored or want to, then you should go for it~

[utsukushiishoujomangas]

Trip to Japan recap! (Part 4 - Otaku and miscellaneous, Food and Drink and Lychee)

Last recap post!

Part 1 (Shoujo Stuff):

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164067970528/trip-to-japan-recap-part-1-the-shoujo-stuffs

Part 2 (Kyoto and Nara): 

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164134921428/trip-to-japan-recap-part-2-kyoto-and-nara

Part 3 (Himeji, Hakone, Tokyo):

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164334394698/trip-to-japan-recap-part-3-himeji-hakone-and

In this post I’ll just put the remaining interesting miscellaneous pictures (food and drink, non-shoujo otaku/pop culture, and lychee stuff - my favourite fruit ^^).

Otaku/pop culture stuff:

Haikyuu! standees on sale! 8D

Wall ad for the Haikyuu! stage play in Shibuya station.

Apparently they had a Hanasaku Iroha train tie-in and even made a model for it.

For all you Persona 5 lovers out there, our airbnb apartment was in Sangen-jaya, the real-life neighborhood on which Persona 5′s Yangen-jaya is based on (san meaning 3 in Japanese and yon meaning 4 lol). 8D

There was an event in Ikebukuro’s Animate (manga/anime/otaku-stuff chain store) celebrating Final Fantasy’s 30th Anniversary. Here’s a large Tonberry plush:

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Instant Mabo Curry pack from the Tales of Series ^^

Still in Ikebukuro, my sister and I booked a time slot for the Swallowtail butler cafe. I was the only male client in the cafe for almost the whole duration of our stay (you have to book a timeslot in advance and the 2 person ones go out fast). I personally find Akihabara’s maid cafes tacky, but the Swallowtail butler cafe had more an atmosphere of a fancy restaurant. The food and decor are European-style. The service is excellent (you ring a bell to call your waiter to refill your cup of tea!? and the waiters come to the side of the table and bow after every time they service your needs). Alas, no pictures are allowed once inside the cafe proper.

We went to a Pokemon Center (Pokemon merch store) in Sunshine City (a skyscraper complex in Ikebukuro with a shopping mall, a small museum, a planetarium, an aquarium, a hotel, a theatre, and a theme park - Namja Town) situated in Ikebukuro (again) and there was some sort of event with a gigantic inflated Exeggutor.

We also went to arcades (in Ikebukuro). Taiko games are fun. I really enjoyed drumming to Koi by Hoshino Gen, a hugely popular Japanese song (as of writing). It’s also the theme song for the drama adaptatio of Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, an ongoing Josei manga series by Umino Tsunami.

Crane-games at the arcade. These are hard. The cranes are so weak they have a hard time picking anything heavier than a tiny plush. 

They had meat chunk plushies LOL! This totally reminded me of Shibata from Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasai xD

I then went and took purikura (photo booth stickers photos, you can’t possibly not know this if you’ve read shoujo manga for any amount of time lol) with my sister (solo guys weren’t allowed lol). xD

I found it pretty fun (even if I look horrible with the filters as a guy); definitely go try it out if you’re ever in Japan~

Food:

Bento box sold at Shinagawa station (pics taken in the Shinkansen). Major train stations all have stores selling bento box meals for Japanese businessmen short on time.

I looove Japanese-style pork cutlet. *_*

Steak Doria (Japanese-style rice gratin) in a restaurant near Futako-tamagawa station, Tokyo.

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Matcha tea and accompanying sweet in a small shop near the exit of Kinkaku-ji temple.

A Kyoto-style set meal in a restaurant in Kyoto station.

Bento box sold in a supermarket we ate for breakfast. While not obviously high-end cuisine, I was surprise to find out how good these tasted for the price paid.

And the meal wouldn’t be complete without soy sauce, here in a cute little fish disposable container.

Delicious tonkatsu pork cutlet set meal.

Sweets offered to us by the hotel staff at Hakone.

With green tea~

I don’t understand why there’s no “seaweed” flavour potato chips sold overseas (where I live). These are sooo good and tasty .>.<

Here’s the washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) dinner we were served in our room by our Hakone hotel.

The menu. 8D

We also had a traditional breakfast in the morning.

Back in Tokyo we went to Genki sushi in Shibuya, a conveyor sushi restaurant but with a twist: instead of having a selection of fresh sushi rolling around up for grabs, each seat has a tablet on which you can select the fish you want. And then the sushi plate would come up to you on any of 3 rail levels. Other than that perk, it was very tasty and cheap (~1000 to 1500 yen can easily fill you).

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No trip to Japan would be complete without a ramen meal. So here’s one of the two I had, with a side of nice gyoza dumplings.

Another cheap tonkatsu meal from a restaurant in sangen-jaya. 

The restaurant featured a ticket vending machine more commonly seen in ramen restaurant in which you order what you want on the machine and hand it over to the staff once you take a seat. Very convenient if you don’t know the language (if there is an English option on the machine, that is).

Kiwi Fanta (with added vitamin E) from a vending machine. This has a pretty snazzy taste, I think I prefer it to the classic orange Fanta. But you know, it’s not available where I live. :/

Now THIS drink is special. It’s basically your ubiquitous Japanese melon soda, but you have to shake it (very counter-intuitive for a drink in a can lol) or else it’s just some weird-tasting slime. The drink has a very fuzzy flavour.

I thought I had more pictures of vending machine drinks (vending machines in Japan have a very large variety of drinks and it’s well-known that Japan has a diverse selection of flavours when it comes to drinks), but apparently not.

Lychee:

Typical lychee drink xD

Raspberry-lychee ice cream. Absolutely heavenly ^o^

Lychee detergent ^^

This actually tastes better than it sounds lol :3

Creamy lychee ice cream. I preferred the other one to this. :D

Salty lychee gummy. ;D

And the best for last, the lychee lipstick. I wonder how a lychee-flavoured kiss tastes like *_*

And that’s all folks! ^^

Hope you all enjoyed these posts (I know I did writing them lol). Writing these posts from home make me want to go back already :s

I might do a final (very short) post of the shoujo-related loot I got from Japan…

[utsukushiishoujomangas]

Trip to Japan recap! (Part 3 - Himeji, Hakone and Tokyo)

Hello all,

Here’s part 1 in case you missed it:

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164067970528/trip-to-japan-recap-part-1

Aaand Part 2:

http://utsukushiishoujomangas.tumblr.com/post/164134921428/trip-to-japan-recap-part-2-kyoto-and-nara

Our primary method of long-distance transportation: Shinkansen (Bullet train)!

We dropped off our luggage in Osaka and left to visit Himeji Castle, widely regarded as the best intact Japanese castle (survived 400 years through WW2 and the 1995 earthquake!), its original construction dating back to 1333 (rebuilt in the 1600s).

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The castle itself sits on a hill, making the views from inside spectacular!

The breeze through the windows is also very refreshing~

It’s a bit hard to get good pictures inside due to the sun’s glare.

The castle itself has 7 floors, all of which are accessible through very steep wooden stairs.

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Sign at the entrance of the castle complex.

Back in Osaka!

We were too tired to go out explore Osaka, so we just grabbed takoyaki at Shin-Osaka Station (Osaka being known for street food style food; eg: takoyaki, okonomiyaki, etc). So no Dotonbori/Glico Man, Denden Town, Abeno Harukas, Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Aquarium, Osaka Castle, Hep Five Ferris Wheel pictures to show here… >.<

The next day we went to Hakone, a region known for its picturesque views (with Mount Fuji in the background if weather cooperates) and onsen (hot springs) within reasonable distance from Tokyo (1h30 from Shinjuku station) making it the perfect weekend getaway for Tokyoites. The bus ride winding through the valleys isn’t really a pleasant one (tight roads, many abrupt turns) but from what I understand, we passed through the old Tokaido road linking Tokyo and Kyoto. The road was once made for foot travel, not cars so that makes sense.

The view over Lake Ashi was worth it though.

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Our hotel was in Ryokan style of traditional Japanese inns.

The price was indeed expensive, but it included a hearty Japanese-style dinner served in our room and a breakfast.

It was hard to take good pictures of the lake view owing to the sunlight glare, but it looked much brighter IRL.

We visited Hakone Shrine next.

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Two of Lake Ashi’s famous sights, the floating Torii gate, along with…

The pirate ship! xD

The sight just outside our hotel.

No pictures of the onsen (for obvious reasons) but I can say that anime/manga portrays it accurately (other than the usual tropes surrounding it).

The next day we took a cruise on the aforementioned pirate ship, and managed to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji (the tall faded mountain in the distance). 8D

Odawara Station, where we changed to the Shinkansen.

Back in Tokyo Station, we passed by the Suica store. Suica is an IC card, essentially a rechargeable card with electronic money used mainly to pay for train/metro fares (transport fares are mostly based on distance traveled in Japan, so buying a ticket every time you go out is a huge hassle), but it can also be used in many stores. 

The penguin mascot is so cute. ^^

How Tokyo Station looks like from the outside.

We went out in Shibuya for supper. Here’s the famous Shibuya 109, that probably appears in every manga where the protagonists go to Shibuya for shopping. xD

The famous Shibuya Scramble about to unfold.

Mario-like go kart rides. Not sure if legal (foreigners driving vehicles on your streets without permits) but looks cool. :D

We then went to karaoke. Sooo cheap (360 yen per hour if I remember correctly; ~3.25 USD) and even the English song selection is better than those where I’m from, which is kind sad in a way. o.O

The next day we wanted to go to Mashiko, a little town known for its pottery, but got a bit confused on how to take the very local train there. Two young JR staff at Shimodate Station helped us out but after much lost time we decided to go back to Tokyo anyway. Here’s some pictures from your typical countryside Japanese train station.

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Next up is Ueno Park. This is Saigo Takamori’s statue, a tragic figure in Japanese history. A samurai from Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, he helped the Imperial faction win against Shogunate forces during the Boshin War (civil war between modernist forces advocating the restoration of power from the Shogun to the Emperor and the Tokugawa Shogunate). Thereafter, disgruntled samurai in his home province rebelled because their samurai privileges were being stripped. Takamori was personally against the rebellion, but eventually agreed to lead it and died in battle against the very forces he helped establish. He is the inspiration for Hollywood’s 2003 film The Last Samurai.

Ueno Park also has many museums, like the National Museum of Nature and Science, which has a nice whale statue in front. :D

We didn’t go there though, instead opting for the Tokyo National Museum, Japan’s largest art museum. The pavilion buildings are nice-looking.

No pictures from inside as that would drag this post on even more. :P

Back in Ueno Park.

The top of Ueno Station.

Views on the Shohei bridge, near Akihabara where we went shopping after.

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I went to Yokosuka alone the next day, a city with a strong naval heritage (hosts a major Japanese and American naval base).

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I went there for the Mikasa, a preserved pre-dreadnaught battleship from 1902. What can I say, I like naval stuff. I won’t post the other 1.1 GB pics of it I took. >:D

Night shopping at Akihabara again.

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Next up is Senso-ji Temple, Tokyo’s oldest temple.

Tourist-filled, but Nakamise Shopping Street in front of it is a great spot for souvenir-shopping.

Our final day was spent mostly in and around Harajuku. First stop is Meiji-jingu, dedicated to the first modern (post 1868) Japanese emperor, Emperor Meiji.

There was a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony when we were there:

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Many foreign tourists here, so you won’t be the only one if you hang your Ema wishing plaque here for all to see. ^^

No visit to Harajuku would be complete without a stroll through Takeshita Street. Very touristy. Pretty sure it’s no longer the “central point of Tokyo teenage culture” anymore like it’s advertised in all tourist brochures.

View on Shibuya Station from our airbnb apartment on the last day. Needless to say, I was very sad that day.

 Shibuya Station.

Hachiko and the Green Car in front of Shibuya Station.

I reached the maximum photo limit (30) while drafting this post, so I’ll make a final post with miscellaneous stuff about my trip (food, drinks, non-shoujo otaku stuff). So keep watching out for that one. Hope it was entertaining ^^