When I planned my trip to Japan last April, I had one non-negotiable location.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t a fujoshi spree in Ikebukuro. Nor was it even paying homage to Akihabara.
There was one thing that I really wanted to do in Japan — I wanted to see Haru, Nagisa, Makoto, Rei, and Rin’s hometown, Iwatobi. I honestly love beaches and I loved the scenery I saw in Free. I thought, if I’d visit the place, I’d get to appreciate the boys’ life a little more.
If I visited Iwatobi, my fujoshi life for this year would be complete. Maybe.
Hence, I turned to Japanese websites and found out that Iwatobi was based on Iwami, a coastal town in Tottori! I couldn’t resist the temptation and researched all things Iwami.
With season 2 happening, I hope this post inspires you to visit this awesome town!
So you’ve been seeing all these blogs or twitters highlighting these so and so items for these so and so anime at these so and so events. Chances are, you’d want these items. Chances are, you’ll be going to Japan soon. Chances are, these are limited edition or event-only items or even gashapon. Chances are, these items are sold out. Chances are, you’ll be fighting for these items.
In order to help you make your trip less disappointing, here are some tips I’ve learned about buying goods for all your fujoshi needs.
A few weeks prior to my trip, one BL author, Mio Junta, had been tweeting a couple of Yowamushi Pedal goods in her twitter. Not only did she tweet about her dining experience but she also tweeted tons of awesome and really cute images of cakes, pastries, and merchandise with characters of Yowamushi Pedal in it! Apparently, it’s part of an ongoing event held at Namja Town. Given that my trip was a few weeks away and that my life had been completely consumed by Yowamushi Pedal, I didn’t care if I haven’t slept for 48 hours by the time I arrive in Tokyo. My roommate wanted to bring me to the Tiger and Bunny cafe but since we lost the lottery for the reservation, I told him I wanted to visit Namja Town and I wanted to eat the face of my favorite character.
As such, I’m happy to share with you my experience in visiting Namja Town. Not to experience the fun arcade games developed by Namco but what it’s like, as a fujoshi, to experience a special event tied to a fandom. It was honestly an awesome and eye-opening experience.
For friends in twitter, you probably know where I was last month or so. 😀
When my roommate moved to Tokyo for a year for his research (and I, in turn, moved to Australia), I made a vow that I will abuse his couch and visit him while he was in Japan.
What made me particularly excited about this trip was not the fact that I was going to Japan, but the fact that I was going to Japan on a holiday. I’ve often stopped by Japan and mostly it was for work or for a conference. So it was frustrating for me to see Japan as a business traveller. It was fun, of course, meeting friends along the way but it wasn’t exactly the kind of fun this fujoshi wanted.
But how does one plan a perfect fujoshi holiday?
It isn’t an easy task, I tell ya. A number of my friends who were planning a holiday to Japan has approached me time and time again, asking for suggestions on what to do, what to eat, and where to go. The thing is, this varies for every fujoshi. But no worries, I’ve learned a lot from this trip and I’m happy tell you guys about my experience!
I visited lots of awesome places and met so many awesome people and I think those things didn’t happen if not for the careful planning involved in this holiday. So here’s some of the things I learned in preparation for your fujoshi holiday!
