Taking Another Walk in Nagoya ~

Heya~ Time for another walking post. The last one I made turned out to be quite popular, and people said they wanted to see more of what Japan was actually like. So here’s another one :). I actually made the trip last weekend, but certain things took up my time and I didn’t have a chance to write it.

Hit the jump for more about my day in Nagoya.

Nagoya from the Waterfront

The farthest left tall building is the JR Kanto HQ, the middle is Midland Square (the tallest building in Nagoya), and I can’t remember the third one :(.

Today’s first destination is Oosu, you’ll find out real soon why it was that was that way though!  I’ve covered leaving from home too many times, so no more of that.

Shops in Japan usually open around 10AM – 11AM, so my goal was to make it to Oosu before 10:30AM.  Upon arriving at Nagoya station… there were more people than I expected.

Nagoya Meitetsu Station

To get around inside Nagoya itself, your only options are the buses and the Metro.  I’ve never used the bus here, and don’t intend to start learning how to use it in Japan :P.  The subway stations are usually about 5 -6 minutes of walking apart, so if you want to save yourself a few hundred yen you can walk to your destination.  However, in this case I was in a hurry so I decided to take the Metro.

There are so many people, I can't see the incoming train.

Missed the first train, but oh well… I should still make it on time!  One thing that drives me INSANE with train systems in Japan is that compass directions are never directly specified.  Case in point, the picture below.  I got off a a transfer station, so I can reach Oosu.  Who wants to tell me which way is southbound?

I just want to go south :'(

Actually, the right way would be Akaike & Toyotashi, but you would never know that without a map or at least be very familiar with local geography.  Good thing I had a map :).  And bam we’re here!

Gee Store Nagoya

So why am I here?  Hehe, Gee Store was doing a promotion where the first 100 or so customers who spend more than 3,000 yen at their store with tickets to their event next month.  None of you probably know anything about Toheart2, but there Sasara and Maryan senpai are very prolific in otaku areas in Japan.  They even have their own radio show :P.

Sasara and Maryan's Student Council Radio!

The event is a public recording for one of their upcoming radio shows.  I made it to the store at 10:10AM, and 57 tickets had already been handed out.  Safe!  I’ve always had a thing for watching voice actors doing their work because I find it really amusing how their produced voices don’t match their faces at all, just like the vid below.  Kudos if you recognize the voice actor.

Wandering around Oosu a bit, I stumble upon a Tinkle art exhibition and auction.  None of you probably know anything about Tinkle, but Tinkle is one of the most famous doujin recently turned professional anime/manga artist groups  in Japan.  They are famous to the point where their booth at Comiket is several blocks long, and it is impossible to buy one of their doujinshi or art books unless you line up well in advance of the event.  They also do manga and light novel illustrations and their fans often buy large amounts of these books to own some Tinkle art.  Tinkle has, I think, two art books released at the moment, and you are LUCKY if you can find them locked in a glass cabinet somewhere.  The markup for these two books is at least 10x what they were originally worth, with prices up to 15,000 yen.  Their specialty is lolis…., but their art is truly brilliant.

Tinkle Sample. Plenty more available at Konachan.

This was an art auction/ art exhibition, with several never seen before Tinkle works being unveiled.  They were auctioning off numerous replicas of the original canvases created by the Tinkle artists, and the asking price for one of these was approximately 300,000 yen :O.  Gives you an idea of how much Tinkle is in demand doesn’t it?  Unfortunately, no pictures allowed inside, they had ladies ready to jump on me and steal my camera if I did.

Walking along one of the streets in Oosu

With the pending release of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva on July 2nd, 2009, retailers are busy trying to attract preorders from each other.  They undercut, add Miku merchandise to go with a preorder, and many other things.  But I ended up pre-ordering from a shop which had a 30% off deal for preorders.

Massive undercutting.

And a store steals Miku to use as their friendly mascot.

Just me? Or is does that Mascot look like Miku.

In my travels, I note that in the middle of the Oosu shopping distrct, there is a house for some reason.  This family must have owned this plot of land long long before this area was developed.  I shudder to imagine the value of the land this house is sitting on.  Without a doubt, the land is worth more than the house.

A house in Oosu? zomgz.

I decided to stop for some lunch before going for my final stop.  There’s a hamburger chain called Mos Burger in Japan that a lot of Japanese people say serves good burgers.  I thought I might as well give it a shot, and I ended up with this.

Conclusion: Most Japanese people have never had good hamburgers.

Last stop, the cinema to see a movie!  In Japan, due to import restrictions there are a very limited number of cinemas that actually show foreign movies.  Usually, if you’re living in a smaller city or region, you’re out of luck.  Tickets are also fairly expensive in Japan (1,800 yen) for adults but concessions are much cheaper than in North America.

Movie Ticket is on top. Can you tell me what movie I watched?

Inside the Cinema

Here’s a bigger hint for which movie I watched!  If you can’t read it, you need to brush up on your katakana!

Answer: Star Trek.

And that’s the end of my rather eventful day :).  O and to wrap it all up with a small loot pic.  I really hate going to Oosu, I always end up buying things I didn’t mean to buy.

Loot ~ that I didn't mean to buy.

The loot consisted of 2 t-shirts.  1 Black Rock Shooter shirt and 1 ToHeart2 shirt, Gekisou Yuki, and a Vocaloid 乗っています (Vocaloid on board) sign.  Note to self: Medium t-shirts in Canada = Xtra Large in Japan.  Damn I feel fat :(.

Well that’s it for now.  Until next time!