Quickly approaching the end of our short holiday, we took a break from the city for once and headed to the beautiful island of Enoshima, located in Fujisawa City of Kanagawa. I was especially excited for this day because it was the most out-of-the-way place on our itinerary, and have seen photos posted of it from celebrities and friends.

Finding the machine to purchase the Enoshima 1-day Passport (popularly known as Enopass for short) at the complicated Shinjuku Station took us a while, and it was the first time we had to really bother with what “Local”, “Rapid Express” and etc meant, to make sure the train would stop where we needed it to.

The Enopass covers a round trip and includes admission prices to attractions on the island.

Onboard the train waiting for departure from the platform.

We had to transfer lines at Fujisawa Station. When we got off I lost my bearings for a moment because the train car we were in stopped at the very end of the station, and it was just a long narrow platform with nothing that led to the center of the station.

The station was funny in that we didn’t have to go down or up any escalators but just kept walking in one direction until we saw the platform for the correct train. The train that travels the route to Katase-Enoshima caters to less people and thus is a pretty short train with just six cars. After a total travel time of a little over an hour, we finally reached Katase-Enoshima station.

The station is some distance from Enoshima Island itself, so I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the surroundings which were part of Fujisawa City. Before we actually headed to the island, we visited Enoshima Aquarium, which was nearby. This would be the only stop involving animals of any sort on our trip.

The streets of Fujisawa.

Fujisawa City Tourist Center, of which there was a helpful map display outside.

The entrance to Enoshima Aquarium.

The guide map and admission ticket.

This was one of the instances where my broken Japanese skills helped when we were planning the trip. I did some researching on the Enopass in Japanese and realised the English website for the Enopass doesn’t state clearly the full extent of benefits at all. You can actually get 10% off your Enoshima Aquarium admission ticket by flashing your Enopass. (Some other benefits not stated in English are 10% off admission to Enoshima Island Spa, 50 yen off admission to the hall of Enoshima Jinja Shrine, and differing benefits at most shops and restaurants on the island. Check with the shops themselves if they are Enopass partners and what they offer.)

We purchased our aquarium tickets pretty quickly, on account of it being in the morning and there being not much of a queue. We given a pamphlet, together with a schedule sheet for the dolphin show. It was every one hour and we happened to enter at one of the starting times.

Not wanting to wait for the next show, we quickly headed for it. It was perhaps not the best decision, seeing how it was positioned at the end of the route through the entire aquarium. We essentially spoiled ourselves by passing by everything and we’d have to backtrack later.

Dolphins doing tricks, winning audience’s hearts over.

Beside the dolphin show stadium, you can look out to the sea where there’s plenty of surfers.

After the dolphin show, we went back into the main part of the aquarium to look at the creatures in the tanks.

Furry little penguins…

A young boy looks on as one of the penguins swims around.

Surreal-looking schools of fish.

Tortoises, crabs, stingrays and many others were spotted as well.

You can literally stand under fishes. The concave glass also adds that feeling that you’re closer to them.

Some of the smaller tanks around.

Visitors observing the fishes in the giant tank.

Done taking photos and admiring the sea creatures, we were ready to leave. Because we backtracked the entire route, we were back at the entrance when we finished seeing everything. I thought we’d have to walk all the way through again because they had a designated entrance and exit in the aquarium, but luckily we were allowed to leave through the entrance. This might differ on a peak hour maybe.

Some school kids were having a picnic on the aquarium compounds when we were leaving…

Enoshima Island seen from some distance away.

Walking from the aquarium to the island took us about 20 minutes. There’s a very long bridge into the island, which you can bypass if you take a cheap boat ride from the start of the bridge, directly to Iwaya Caves at the far end of the island. Since that didn’t gel with our sightseeing itinerary, we just went ahead with walking.

We might have succumbed to the boat ride had it been summer, but it was cold as usual. I guess I would recommend coming here during spring or fall because of the perfect weather for walking. It lets you soak in the atmosphere and is more enjoyable than sweating or freezing on a boat ride.

Enoshima Island Spa complex greets you at the start of your journey.

Upon arrival of the island, we headed for Tobiccho, the most famous restaurant on the island that serves the area’s speciality shirasu (white bait). In fact, they have two branches alone on this relatively small island. Although already anticipating a queue, I was still dismayed to find that there were about 20 other groups waiting, at 10 minutes to noon.

Thankfully, there’s a queue ticket system in place, and here again my broken Japanese came into use. I managed to get a queue ticket for three from the machine pretty quickly, and could understand that the waiting time was approximately 40 minutes. The ticket system lets people have the freedom to walk around and come back later instead of just queueing there, so we moved on.

The gently sloped path through the shops.

I bought tasty mitarashi dango for a snack.

The relatively crowded stairs up to Enoshima Jinja Shrine.

While we were at the shrine area, we got caught in some television programme filming. There was a camera crew that I didn’t notice at first, but a lady came up to Etine and I, explaining in Japanese that they were from TV Tokyo and would like us to walk through the Chi-no-wa (a giant ring in front of the shrine used for purification) and then pray to the shrine. She added that our faces won’t be shown. I translated this to Etine and she was fine with it so we said okay.

Both of us found the whole thing kind of amusing. We both threw coins into the offering box, clapped our hands together and bowed to the shrine, but later on we found out neither of us prayed for real or wished for anything, since we don’t believe in these things.

We returned to the restaurant after 30 minutes just in case, and we sat at the waiting area, which I would say takes up quite an amount of shop space. The actual dining area is on the second floor, and the first floor is just a waiting area, ingredients stock room and the washroom. I couldn’t tell if the kitchen was downstairs or upstairs though.

One of the staff members specially stands at the store front to confirm if the dining groups due to go in soon are around, and calls out the numbers on the queue tickets. At first we didn’t know that and embarrassingly thought it was our turn to go in. After another 15 minutes or so, we finally get seated.

Having read online that Tobiccho has an English menu, we asked for it. Although we saw around us that the size of the portions were really huge, we went ahead and ordered for ourselves anyway.

Etine’s mum ordered the most expensive set that had a mix of everything, and raw shirasu.

This “3-colored set” was mine, consisted of small shrimps, salmon roe, negitoro, and boiled shirasu on rice.

Etine chose this because there was raw salmon.

Some crispy veggie thing with boiled shirasu on top. It was not bad.

Since I’ve not tried other restaurants around the area before I can’t say that it’s the best, but the shirasu was tasty and mixing in the half-boiled egg made the entire thing so good. Etine said she found the food a little disappointing but it could also be because she doesn’t exactly like seafood besides salmon.

Anyway, all three of us couldn’t finish our food. Well, I finished all the seafood and rice without touching the vegetables (which I hate). We were feeling kind of bad since in Japan they really really mind whether people finish the food. Etine’s mum apologised to the waitress who cleared our plates, saying that the food was good but we were too full. The waitress smiled and said it was all right.

Continuing our adventures through the island, we made our way to Samuel Cocking Garden, where the Enoshima Seacandle (the island’s observatory) is located. Since we had the Enopass, we took the Escar, which are escalators that cuts a bit of the amount of climbing you have to do. It only goes up though, so when coming back down you’ll have to take the stairs. If you don’t have the Enopass you’ll have to pay a separate fee to use the Escars on the island.

An entrance to an Escar.

There was a small crowd gathered round a busker near the garden entrance.

The flowers in the garden were indeed pretty but it wasn’t really my thing to spend too much time admiring flowers that don’t belong to me. The main attraction here is really the Seacandle anyway. Etine and her mum enjoyed the greenery though.

Flowers being displayed rather creatively.

The vibrant colours admittedly make me feel happier.

It was just a short walk before we got to the observatory. It seems that you can choose to climb the stairs up but we took the elevator.  The spiralling stairs in the center of the tower would no doubt make you a bit giddy. It’s also not the safest stairs, the steps are a bit small and you could easily drop something through the railings and kiss goodbye to it.

The lift takes you to the glass-enclosed observatory area, away from all elements of weather. However, the star of the show is undoubtedly the top open-air deck, which you have to climb some stairs to get to. With the good weather on this day, it was really nice to take photos from the deck.

The Enoshima Seacandle.

View of the endless sea.

Inside the indoor observation deck.

The Seacandle’s stairway.

View of the Katase Kaigan area of Fujisawa city.

After happily spending time on the Seacandle, we made our way back down. There are quite a lot of vending machines around, so we grabbed a bench and a drink to rest for a while and enjoy the atmosphere. While Etine’s mum continued to rest on the bench, Etine and I walked around the ground floor of the Seacandle, where there was a goods shop and a heritage archive room. Looking around the goods shop didn’t yield any results, and the heritage archive was really small so we didn’t hang around long.

When we got back to the bench, we learnt that some other elderly ladies who had been sitting on the same bench, nearly got attacked by crows for the food she was eating. Looking up, we realised quite a few crows hang around here waiting to pounce on people for food, so this was probably not the best place to rest.

The sky was starting to dim a little, so we made for the Iwaya Caves, which was at the far end of the island. It was quite a walk to get there and there was a LOT of stairs. We were tired but I was the worst off. I literally don’t do any exercise and I guess the aches from the past days all caught up at once, as my knees started hurting really badly. But because it was about an hour before the caves closed at 6pm, I didn’t stop to rest.

It was refreshing to see buildings like these when you’ve been in the city for so long.

People enjoying the coastal area. You’ll never see this in Singapore because they overprotect everybody.

The bridge leading up to the Iwaya Cave entrance.

Inside the beginning of the cave route.

At one of the paths you’re given a candle as it’s completely dark in there.

There weren’t really a lot of things I wanted to take photos of in the cave to be honest. There were little statues around, but I was more excited just being in an actual cave, with head room so low you have to bend down half the time. And, while the top part of these low ‘ceilings’ are kind of covered up in soft felt, there’s still the occasional drip of water, so these combination of elements made it not a good idea to take photos. It was so dark in the cave, it affected the shutter speed and most photos turned out blur anyway.

We spent a little less than an hour in the cave, before finally coming out to daylight again. By the way, while we were there, the Iwaya Caves was celebrating its 20th anniversary, and so was handing out for free little “power stones” to visitors. You could pick between rose quartz, citrine, tiger’s eye and amethyst.

I took amethyst.

We went down to the coast. At times the water can come right up to where I’m standing when taking this photo.

There are people actually fishing.

Didn’t dare to pluck them, but apparently barnacles are delicious boiled with salt water.

Finally pulling ourselves away from the beautiful coast near the caves, we walked back. Along the way, the staff of some shops we passed by would say “otsukaresama”, knowing that those who walked all the way to the cave would be tired. Wanting to catch a bit of a breather, we stopped by a senbei shop, ate some senbei and grabbed a drink from the vending machines, and sat down to rest.

Exactly as it’s named (Ideal Grape Juice), it tasted great and had the right amount of sour and sweet.

Enoshima specialty, senbei.

After this short break, we headed back to Katase-Enoshima station to catch the super long ride back to Shinjuku where we would have dinner. We found an udon shop in one of the underground malls, and ate there. You could tell the udon was hand-chopped because of the inconsistency in width, but it was very delicious and springy.

Shinjuku at night.

Spicy udon.

Beef udon.

Mine was absolutely delicious. I could have eaten two bowls.

Feeling satisfied as ever, we took the train again back to Shin-Okubo to end our long day and retire for the night. All in all, albeit tiring, the trip to Enoshima was very refreshing and fulfilling.

Would recommend Enoshima to anyone going to Japan, except for those who have problems walking a lot. Also, since it’s not in the city, there are less people who can speak and less signs in English. While not necessary, knowing a bit of Japanese could help if you want to visit the area.

In this part of the series we take a look at the AKB48 sister groups own take on theater distributed photographs. Unsurprisingly, the groups of SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 derive their distribution formula from their Akihabara origin group but also add on to or modify their methods.

If you haven’t already, do take a look at the AKB48 Theater Photo Guide. Some knowledge of the AKB48 Theater Photos will help when understanding the differences between the AKB48 and sister groups’ theater distributed photographs. While HKT48 and to a certain extent SKE48 Random Photos mimic the AKB48 Theater Sets quite closely, NMB48 and SKE48 Individual sets are distributed in a different (possibly better) way.

SKE48 Random Photoset

SKE48 Random Photoset.

Release: Monthly
Quantity: Medium
Price: Medium

Where theater photos are concerned Sunshine Sakae’s branch of the 48 family differs slightly from the franchise’s formula. Rather than just one monthly theater set, SKE48 releases two types of photo sets each month; one random set that mimics the AKB48 theater photos and another to order set.

The SKE48 Random Photoset is SKE48 equivalent of AKB48 theaters. As the name suggests, just like AKB48 theater photos, the photos are sold once a month in random packs of 5 for 1,000 yen. Unlike the AKB48 theaters, there are only 3 photos to a complete SKE48 set.

The rest of the format is similar to AKB48 theaters, with the names, team and month being displayed on a bar at the bottom of each photo (though the random photoset bars are always white). Unfortunately, the quality of prints aren’t very good either, especially for the older sets. Instead of just performing costumes though, SKE48 random photoset photos occasionally feature the members in plain clothes.

SKE48 Random Photosets are not only released once a month at the SKE48 shop but also their online store. Like the AKB48 theater sets, one is limited to purchasing 5 sets at a time.

Despite having less photos per set, SKE48 random sets fetch about as much as their AKB48 counterparts on the secondary market, if not more for the popular members. This is largely due to the fact that the SKE48 can be considered rarer than their AKB48 counterpart and a rather large imbalance in the popularity of the individual members.

SKE48 Individual Photoset

SKE48 Individual Photoset.

Release: Monthly
Quantity: Low-Medium
Price: Low-Medium

Apart from the random theater photos, SKE48 also introduced “Individual” member photosets to the 48 family. These will be familiar to those who are acquainted with the Hello! Project and Johnny’s Entertainment style of distributing collectible photographs. Each of these photosets consists of a set of 5 photographs of each member and come as fixed sets that can be purchased individually for 1,000 yen.

Like the theater sets, the individual photosets are sold each month at the SKE48 shop and online. However previews of all of the photos are provided and fans can choose to purchase the pictures of their member of choice, while stocks last.

SKE48 Individual Photosets are interesting in that they usually feature the members in non-performing costumes themed after the season or specific holidays. Within a series, the costumes will also vary slightly from member to member. The 5 photographs consist of a combination of medium, far and full body shots of the individual members. Like most 48 photos, they feature a standard horizontal bar complete with the member’s name, team and month of distribution, but also add a larger SKE48 logo.

Due to the nature of their distribution, there are few SKE48 Individual Photosets being traded on the secondary market. For the most part, people usually purchase the individual photosets for personal collection, though there may still be a demand for the more popular members due to limited sets.

As far as photos are concerned, it would seem SKE48 fans are more selective of their purchases. The popularity for any given SKE48 photoset varies widely depending on the month’s costume. More popular costumes sell out quicker, while photos featuring undesirable costume rarely sell out, even for the most popular of members.

The photographs for less popular members can be purchased long after their release online, thus negating any inflated value, so take note if intending to purchase them from third parties. Do note that the quantity for photosets are not fixed, and vary per month and on a per member basis. Less photographs are printed for the less popular members.

One observation is that in the past, the individual photosets rarely sold out, or did so rather slowly, while certain members now sell out slightly faster. Whether this is a direct result of SKE48 being more popular or a lower print count, can only be speculated.

SKE48 Travel Photos

SKE48 Travel Photos.

Release: Events
Quantity: Low-High
Price: Low-Medium

There’s no real name for these, but for the sake of identifying them we’ll just go with SKE48 Travel Photos.

SKE48 travel photos are not exactly an entirely different category by itself but rather a variation of the SKE48 random and individual photosets. Previously, SKE48 would release candid styled photographs in either one of the above formats.

These are usually related to special events in the SKE48 calendar, such as field trips or video shoots. Examples include random holiday photos from SKE48′s trip to Hawaii for Pareo wa Emerald, or individual photosets for their trip to Nara some time ago.

Apart from the difference in photography style, the travel and other special one off SKE48 photographs differer in that they display a smaller bar with only the copyright information of the company. Like the other SKE48 “theater” photos, these are released in sets of 5 for 1,000 yen.

SKE48 Team Photos

SKE48 Team Photos.

Release: Events
Quantity: Low-High
Price: Low-Medium

The last type of photo released at the SKE48 theater shop and online store. These can also be identified as SKE48 Holiday or Message photos.

Like the individual photosets, these photos were non-random photographs. The difference being that they were sold as an entire team’s worth of photographs, for between 2,500 to 3,000 yen. The price varied depending on how many members were present in the team at the time.

The SKE48 Team Photos were mostly released seasonally during specific holiday events, to compliment or in place of the individual photosets. For each photo, there is also a pre-printed handwritten message from the respective member.

As fans would obtain an entire team of members with each purchase, like the other fixed sets, the availability of popular member photos are scarce. Less, or unpopular member photos tend to be traded around quite easily or sometimes even discarded. Loose copies of the unpopular members photos can be commonly found at shops reselling SKE48 namashashin.

NMB48 Individual Photoset

NMB48 Individual Photoset.

Release: Monthly
Quantity: High
Price: Low

NMB48 takes SKE48′s Individual Photoset idea and one ups it by making the individual photosets their default theater distributed photos.

Like the SKE48 photos, NMB48′s Individual Photosets are sold in fixed sets of 5 for 1,000 yen. New sets are released monthly and sold at the Official NMB48 Shop located a couple of street corners away from the NMB48 theater.

Visually, the NMB48 sets follow the SKE48 ones quite similarly. Apart from performing costumes, the photos also feature the girls in other seasonal clothing on ocassion. The older sets only display the NMB48 logo, but newer sets now include a bottom bar with the member information.

The NMB48 sets are also listed on their online store but unlike SKE48 who seem to set aside a certain number of sets for online sales, priority for the NMB48 photos seem to go toward physical sales.

Whether it’s because of a lower print count, or higher demand the NMB48 individual sets also sell out rather quickly and completely, even for the less popular members. When NMB48 was first formed, we noticed a phenomenon where the some of the more hardcore of NMB48 fans would purchase multiple copies of each member’s photo set.

We’re not sure whether this was done out of obsessiveness or a conscious effort to to deny other fans access to the photos. But regardless of the reason, this has the result of making NMB48 Individual Photosets quite a bit more uncommon. And like the SKE48 sets, since fans can choose which member’s photographs to purchase, the sets rarely change hands.

NMB48 Random Photo

Release: Monthly
Quantity: Low
Price: Medium-High

NMB48 do sell their own random photographs however, and this is where it gets interesting. Apart from the fixed 5 pieced set of each member, the NMB48 Official Shop also sells a 6th photograph to complete the set by random format.

Each month, these photos are sold in packs of 5 random photographs for 1,000 yen. These photographs are meant to “complete” the individual sets, with the members being shown in the same costumes as the rest of their photographs, in a 6th unique pose.

Apart from its distribution, the NMB48 random photos are virtually identical in format to the individual sets’, with the exception that the NMB48 leopard print logo on the picture is displayed in purple rather than yellow.

Like other random sets, fans are limited to purchasing 5 packs at a time. However the NMB48 random photos have a very low print run and sell out quickly. The actual number of random photographs available in comparison to the sets of 5 appear to be far fewer, making the 6th photograph far more expensive in value, especially for older sets.

HKT48 Theater Photos

HKT48 Theater Photos.

Release: Monthly
Quantity: Medium
Price: Medium

There’s not much to be said about HKT48 Theater Photos since it’s the one sister group to take the AKB48 photo format and use it wholesale.

The photos are released in sets of 4 and feature the HKT48 members in different manner of performing costumes each month. Just like in the AKB48 photographs, the HKT theaters feature a static bar with the information of the member and released month displayed. The color of the bar is changed liberally to match the month’s costume.

Whether it be because of a low availability, popularity of members or comparative newness of this group, HKT48 theater photos work out to be some of the most scarcely available on the secondary market and also some of the most expensive. Pictures for the more popular members can fetch a good 1,000 or more yen each, sometimes more. Even the least popular members tend to price at around the undergirls level of other groups.

It is clear that the standard format is also one of the most successful.

Unfortunately we’re missing a picture of the NMB48 Randoms. If anyone would like to contribute one do let us know!

Having set aside more time for rest this day, we headed off to Odaiba in the late morning feeling energised and refreshed. It was also yet another cold windy day, but at least the weather was really good and skies were clear.

It was the second time I visited Odaiba, but the previous time was four years ago, travelling with a tour group. Hence, there were still many things to look forward to, such as the DiverCity shopping mall which didn’t exist then, and taking the special Yurikamome train into the island. The Yurikamome works like the Japanese version of Singapore’s LRT system – driverless and short distances between stations. However, it has more cabins and a decent amount of seats unlike LRT trains.

Onboard the Yurikamome, looking out to the tracks.

The train at one point travels alongside cars, and goes directly under the Rainbow Bridge.

Getting off at Daiba station, our first stop would be AquaCity shopping mall, which I had visited before. I’m not sure if I remembered wrongly but the mall’s interior seems to have changed quite a bit since.

The facade of AquaCity Odaiba.

It was already 11.30am when we reached the place so we needed to find lunch. Upon reaching the mall’s entrance, we were handed a flyer advertising a buffet for an unbelievably affordable price. Etine got pretty excited and wanted to try, but seeing the price gave me doubts about the food quality so I brought this up, and we agreed to look for something else. I was feeling like having sashimi, but Etine really wanted to eat omurice, so we made an agreement that she’d choose what to have for lunch and I’d choose dinner.

We settled upon this omurice restaurant called Pomme no Ki, which turned out to be a pretty good choice. The omurice here was absolutely delectable! I regretted not choosing a bigger portion because it was so tasty I wanted more. You could pay 210 yen extra for a medium size (the regular size is called “small”), and 420 yen extra for the biggest size.

Curry doria.

This was also doria but I don’t remember what was inside.

Since it was an omurice restaurant, I stuck with eating omurice.

We still had room after gobbling down the rice, so we ordered the dessert we had been eyeing earlier. The ice cream parfaits didn’t disappoint, and it was very filling. Honestly, I don’t know where you could get such quality desserts in Singapore.

The assorted berries ice cream parfait Etine chose.

Blueberries, cheesecake, strawberry sauce and fresh cream over ice cream. My kind of parfait.

Stuffed with lunch, we were ready to start shopping. We spent quite a lot of time trying and buying clothes. In particular, I aimed for those Japanese brands I knew and you couldn’t find in Singapore. Bought quite few pieces of clothing in the end. I wanted to move on to DECKS, the shopping mall beside AquaCity, to check out Joypolis, the indoor amusement park, but in the end we took it out of the itinerary in order to accommodate more time for shopping.

After finally moving out of AquaCity, we crossed the road to the Fuji TV building. It was apparent that the building was a place that most tourists would just take photos of the exterior or at most probably only step in to look around, since the open-to-public areas here only sell merchandise of shows shown in Japan.

Being a pretty avid Japanese drama watcher, I roughly had in mind which dramas’ merchandise to look out for in F-Island, the name of the Fuji TV goods shop. F-Island is located on the 7th floor of the building, and there’s a long escalator on the exterior of the building that takes you directly outside the shop.

The Fuji TV building.

Escalator up to the seventh floor.

When at the open area outside the shop, I immediately looked for one of the J-drama posters I knew was up here, and it happened to be on the pillar closest to the shop. I got pretty excited and hung around taking a few photos even though the strong winds were killing all of us.

I was not alone in my excitement, since there were two women who spotted the poster and one of them squealed, telling the other she was very happy to see it. She then proceeded to snap a photo with her cellphone. Why the excitement for this particular late night drama? Because a Johnny’s Entertainment idol is starring in it, that’s why. It really was less about the drama and more about seeing this giant poster with him on it.

After enough photos, we went into the shop. This whole Fuji TV stop was mostly for me since Etine and her mum don’t really watch J-drama. After getting a few items off the shelves, we left the place as it was approaching evening light. Etine and I wanted to take photos of the giant Gundam outside DiverCity in daylight.

One of the many giant drama billboards on the pillars outside the shop.

Fuji TV drama goods on sale.

They were filming something on the ground floor outside the building as we left.

Needless to say, it was getting colder and breezier by the hour, so we walked pretty fast. Call me an inexperienced traveller, but I didn’t even know it could be this cold in spring. Of course we checked weather forecasts daily but knowing the temperature and actually feeling it is different. At some point I started trying to walk backwards instead, against the direction of the wind, so it would stop freezing up my face.

Upon reaching DiverCity, Etine’s mom looked around shops while Etine and I bypassed most of the shops. Our priority was making our way to the outside area, where we found the giant Gundam model and the Gundam Cafe.

We decided to go into the cafe first, where Etine happily bought a Haro Latte. I initially wanted to grab one as well but the price made me baulk. I’m not that big of a Gundam fan that it would justify me paying 380 yen for hot latte (but you know, 800 yen for a maid cafe latte is totally reasonable!).

It is pretty cute though.

After which, we went to take photos of the Gundam model in evening light. While waiting for it to become night, we went back into the mall to grab some Gindaco takoyaki (once again). When we were done we went back outside to take photos and it was just nice. The Gundam model looks a lot more imposing at night than in the day thanks to the lighting at the eyes and feet.

Gundam in daylight.

And at night, looking ready for battle.

Finally, we went back inside DiverCity to do shopping. However, the mall surprisingly had nothing much for us – the brands available were more upscale than the ones in AquaCity. We didn’t really find anything here to buy, so we were quickly done with the place. We decided to go towards Odaiba Kaihin Koen (Seaside Park).

We didn’t actually go down to the beach since it was already dark, and we admired the view from the open area outside AquaCity. There were some tourists around here taking photos too.

The view from Kaihin Koen. Tokyo Tower is visible, behind the bridge.

We were actually all kind of disappointed the famous Rainbow Bridge didn’t seem to be doing its rainbow light-ups often seen in postcards. Perhaps it was too early? It was dark, but only around 6pm when we were there looking out.

Since this was our last planned stop in Odaiba, we were about to go, when I spotted the Toys”R”Us sign outside AquaCity and remembered I wanted to visit it but had forgotten to earlier. It was for a lame reason that I wanted to check it out but anyway, I asked if we could make a quick stop at the mall. Etine and her mum were okay with it, so we went back in.

They continued to look at shops again, while I went to Toys”R”Us. When I was done and went back to find them, they were engrossed in trying and buying clothes again. We ended up spending another hour here before making our journey back.

On the train, I caught sight of a Kazoku Game (drama) poster at Shibuya station and quickly snapped a shot.

Reaching back at Shin-Okubo where our hotel was located, we went around the streets to find dinner. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of Korean food so there wasn’t really anything good there. Another unexciting end of day, but still Odaiba was pretty satisfying. In retrospect I wish we actually hadn’t set aside more time for sleeping and allocated more time for shopping, because we missed out Joypolis.

Come this July, Bandai Namco will be opening a brand new amusement park themed after the tremendously popular Weekly Shonen Jump comics. The new theme park, titled J-World Tokyo will open at Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City and will feature areas dedicated to the Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto world and characters. The first concept drawings of the park have been released.

J-World Tokyo follows the success of Bandai’s Gundam Front theme park at Odaiba’s DiverCity. Like the Gundam Front, J-World Tokyo will be an indoor theme park, this time located at the third floor of Ikebukuro Sunshine City. The opening of the new Jump theme park on 11th July will also coincide with the renewal of the Namco Namja Town amusement park located just one floor below.

J-World Tokyo. A JUMP themed amusement park.

While most of the park will be dedicated to zones featuring One Piece, Naruto and Dragon Ball (in order of size), there will also be general areas open to the entire family of Jump’s super stars. Some previews of what J-World Tokyo will look like.

Heroes Arena. Where you’ll find mini-exhibits for the various Shonen Jump titles.

Amusement Arena. Which will contain catcher games and gachapon machines.

Given the popularity of the Shonen Jump characters in Japan (and the rest of the world), we’re quite surprised that it took nearly this long to bring this idea to realization. Unsurprisingly, J-World Tokyo is also part of Japan’s ongoing “Cool Japan” efforts to promote “Japanese culture”, though mainly just anime, overseas.

So far prices for the park are definitely on the steep, if not obscene side of things. Entry alone is planned at 1,300 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children, exclusive of rides. Individual rides will cost an additional 800 yen a go. Given the fact that given that the park is located indoors, the types of rides available will be severely hindered.

One Piece themed carousel.

Another One Piece ride mockup.

So far, 5 rides have been planned. From One Piece we have the Dock Adventure Ride, an indoor track ride that will take visitors through a series of short animated sequences and a One Piece themed carousel. There will also be a Naruto themed maze and a Dragon Ball treasure hunt, which will be familiar to those who’ve visited Namja Town. Finally, there’s a 3D augmented reality Dragon Ball simulator.

Our impression is that the rides will be primarily targeted towards the comics younger audiences and thus might seem a little underwhelming for adults.

The J-World store will carry some exclusive merchandise.

If their past efforts were any indication though, Bandai Namco will do an amazing job with the merchandising of its goods. Fans of the Jump comics can look forward to exclusive merchandise at the J-World souvenir shop.

Like Namja Town, J-World Tokyo will also have a section dedicated to Jump themed food and snacks with the J-World Kitchen.

J-World Kitchen.

Concept art for some of the planned treats have been previewed, let’s see if you can identify which anime worlds they are theme after.

J-World Tokyo Food Mockup #1.

J-World Tokyo Food Mockup #2.

J-World Tokyo Food Mockup #3.

J-World Tokyo Food Mockup #4.

Momoiro Clover Z has been at the head of the idol sengoku jidai, a rising group that comes closest to threatening AKB48′s hegemonic hold over the proverbial Iron Throne of Japanese music. In April of 2013, the 5 girls from Stardust Promotions released their second album, titled 5th Dimension. The album reached the top of the Oricon charts, selling a total of nearly 200 thousand copies over three weeks.

The group had a website for their upcoming album before it launched, containing information about the album and its contents. Using crowdsourcing to play the game that was on the site, fans managed to reveal the tracklist, along with the composition and writing credits of each song.  On the hype front, the group couldn’t have done much better; fans around the world were activated to help with the unlocking.

Momoclo continues with an evolution of their theme from previous releases, but this time they took it a step further. Promotional material saw the girls in costumes that came out of science fiction, donning facemasks that would make all but the Hellraiser fans amongst us take a step back. While the radical look should earn some brownie points, one wonders why  it was done in the first place.

The album itself is a 13-track epic that covers more genres than you can shake a stick at. The members themselves have described it as an album with a flowing narrative, and one should listen to it as a concept album as a whole. Personally however, this might have been a lofty goal rather than something the group actually achieved, as there is no indication that it is a concept album. The tracks are individually great, but do not flow into each other as one might imagine in a concept album.

The album perhaps starts a little too ambitious. O Fortune from the Carmina Burana kicks off the album, setting an epic scene only to meet a letdown as Neo Stargate starts proper. It seems like a really awkward way to set the mood, and cheapens one of the most important points of an album. The album picks up steadily, however, and goes into a full gallop at Mugen no Ai. Accompanied by Marty Friedman and operatic backing vocals, Momoclo take their vocal range to the limit and end up with a song that befits their space opera image.

Mugen no Ai is the start of a stretch of solid songs almost unheard of in idol album history. 5 The Power is an organic hip-hop track, Roudou Sanka sounds like it came out of a blaxploitation soundtrack, and Get Down features a ridiculously catchy chorus with an oddly nostalgic sound. If you ever wanted to let your parents hear Momoiro Clover, that song would be your best bet.

Otome Sensou brings back the old Momoclo of yore, and it’s really the first time you hear the ‘idol’ in Momoiro Clover in the album. If you prefer Hashire to any of the songs before this, then Otome Sensou is for you. Tsuki to Gingami rounds up this crazy exploration of genres, and does it with style as the girls sing in harmony to a track that would remind many of Queen.

This is interrupted briefly by Birth Ø Birth, which in this writer’s opinion, is the weakest song of the bunch. Compared to the previous songs, the EDM influence in this song seems rather uninspired and unexciting. While the fact that the Momoiro Clover girls are not the best singers should be known to many, the vocals in this track sound especially bad; while some may appreciate the sentiment of not correcting it, it just sounds grating.

The ending of the album seems to be a homage to history. Jukyou Monogatari is an ode to Momoiro Clover; the excitement is infectious, even without watching them. Sora Tobu would not sound out of place in an old Morning Musume catalog. Saraba rounds up the metal quotient in the album, and Hai to Diamond ends the album on a softer note. It’s an uncharacteristic but poignant end to an album full of experimentation.

Momoiro Clover fans are so for many different reasons. Yet, no matter if you were a fan of their music, their personality or just the zaniness, everything comes through perfectly on 5th Dimension. If there’s only one idol album you should check out for this year, pick up 5th Dimension. You’ll realize why they’ve sold out concerts in 3 minutes and why their rise has been meteoric.

You cannot leave Okinawa until you’ve visited one of the island’s UNESCO World Heritage sites from the Ryukyu Kingdom. There are several throughout the island and the Zakimi Castle ruins is one of them.

The beauty in ruins.

Located on top of a hill, it dates back to the 15^th century and was declared as a World Heritage site in 2000. Within the past decades, the castle also played a role during World War II and the subsequent US occupation of Okinawa.

An intimate look at the walls that made up a castle.

It’s a picturesque place and the surrounding park around the national historic site gives you a sense of traveling back into time, without much signs of modernity in sight.

The surrounding park gives an added sense of serenity.

While it is interesting to visit a fully restored and reconstructed castle, such as the ever popular Shuri Castle, visiting a castle ruins like Zakimi can give you a closer look at the masonry work of the people of the Ryukyu Kingdom and also a deeper sense of authenticity.

Breathtaking view from the top.

The Yomitan Village History and Folklore Museum is also nearby the site if you’d like to soak in more history and culture.

Zakimi Castle
2975, Zakimi,Yomitan-Village, Okinawa

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After 3 days in Tokyo, we had a slight change of environment in the form of Yokohama. Having a bit of trouble finding the place to buy the special discounted Minatomirai Ticket due to wrongly understanding that it was not sold at Shibuya Station at all, our plans were delayed so during the day we had to cut short some places we intended to visit.

The Minatomirai Ticket included travel on the month-old Tokyu Toyoko Line, which apparently cuts short travel time from central Tokyo to Yokohama, and has been the cause for rise in visitorship to Yokohama. Because their website isn’t exactly clear, we exited at Yokohama station and re-entered before changing to the Minatomirai Line. Turns out it wasn’t needed and we could have just changed lines straight.

The sparkly clean trains of the Minatomirai Line.

Going to the furthest point on the Minatomirai Line, Motomachi-Chukagai Station was where our first stop of the day was. We went to Yokohama Chinatown, the biggest in Japan. Unfortunately, it had been raining on and off since we began the day, and of course walking the streets of Chinatown meant being outdoors most of the time.

Grey clouds looming above the entrance of Chinatown.

A giant panda entrance to a shop.

This was my first experience being in a Chinatown outside of my own country, and I must say it’s interesting to see the Chinese-ish architecture you don’t really see in Singapore’s. Perhaps a little on the exaggerated side but it adds to the atmosphere.

The vibrant streets are a mix of small clothes shops, souvenir shops, streetside dim sum stalls and Chinese food restaurants. We checked out a few shops, but didn’t stop by everything because it was a hassle opening and closing umbrellas. We also bought snacks from the streetside stalls. Since it was cold, piping hot meat buns were a delight.

Shop selling super random souvenirs. Leaf-holding frog figurine for 900 yen, anyone?

There are also a fair amount of men trying to get you to try hot chestnuts so you’ll buy them. I don’t eat chestnuts, so I avoided them all the way. Etine’s mum, however, was curious enough to try one, but this particular guy scolded her when she didn’t want to buy. Not sure if she was just unlucky, but anyone reading this might want to take note.

Although we were supposed to find lunch here, we kept buying dim sum, because everywhere we walked, there would be a streetside stall enticing us. The dim sum is not cheap, but I suppose it’s because it’s more of a rarity in Japan, and that Chinatown is essentially a tourist trap anyway. And apparently, many celebrities have visited Yokohama Chinatown before, so there are many places advertising photos of celebrities at their stalls.

Stall showing celebrities patronising. AKB48′s subunit no3b included.

After a fair bit of walking, we finally decided to settle down at a Shanghai cuisine eatery called Yan Tai, as they were having some price promotions. Living in Singapore, we basically eat Chinese food almost everyday, and this is Japan, so we went in there not really knowing what kind of standard to expect.

It turned out to be good decision to step in, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know if I was hungry and it affected my judgement or anything, but I think it tasted better than a lot of the hawker centre fare I’ve been eating.

Congee. Looks normal but tastes pretty good.

Mapo toufu! This was really really delicious and had just the right amount of spice. Would go back for this.

I don’t really remember what this is… black pepper chicken or something?

Yan Tai’s specialty dumplings. Only 2 were left before I could take a photo… and it actually tasted so-so.

With this yummy meal, we left Chinatown, going back to the station to take the train to Minatomirai. We had intended to visit the Yokohama Marine Tower before leaving this area, but as mentioned earlier, due to delays we decided to forgo this.

Upon reaching Minatomirai, we found that it had stopped raining though the sky was still overcast. We headed towards Yokohama Landmark Square for some shopping, although I limited the time we had there for fear we would not have enough time to cover everything we wanted to.

The majority of our time in this shopping mall was spent at Pokemon Center, where a wide array of official Pokemon merchandise are sold. It was also the place with the most traffic in the entire mall, which says a lot about Pokemon’s popularity in Japan still.

Was excited to see the iconic Landmark Tower, regularly shown in one of my favourite dramas, RESCUE.

Entrance of Pokemon Center. Photography not allowed inside.

Thereafter, we were going to make our way towards Kishamichi Promenade, but spotted something we hadn’t come across while planning the trip (don’t ask us how that happened, I have no idea). There was an observatory on the 69th floor of the Landmark Tower called the Sky Garden. We debated for a while whether to go up, but eventually did. It costs only 1,000 yen for a spectacular 360 degree view of Yokohama, and what’s more, we didn’t have to queue. Tickets are purchased via machines.

The staff were also extremely polite while ushering us up, although they didn’t seem to speak any English. Of course, we possibly don’t look foreign enough, but we were actually going in the same time as this Caucasian family, and the staff continued speaking in Japanese.

I did at least manage to understand that the lift we were taking to the 69th floor was the fastest in all of Japan. There was a speed indicator in the lift showing the staggering speed we were going at. In no time at all, we were on the 69th floor, greeted with breathtaking views.

Inside the lift with the speed indicator and the sparkly, reflective ceiling.

Amazing view of Minatomirai from the Sky Garden.

Another view from the Sky Garden. Yokohama Stadium can be seen in the distance.

We spent about an hour in total taking photographs and admiring the view. Okay, it was mostly my fault actually. Etine and her mum were done looking around in half an hour so they spent the rest of the time sitting down and waiting for me. Meanwhile I was too absorbed in the views to notice that they were already bored, and even spent 100 yen on those payable telescope things.

By the time we were out of the place, I had caused our schedule to delay further, and so we struck out going to check out the Nippon Maru ship museum. It was something we had agreed to strike out if we were more interested in other things than a museum, and we were.

Snaking through the Sunday crowd and getting across the super long travelators, we finally reached Kishamichi Promenade, whereby we took more photos of the scenery while crossing it towards the Akarenga Souko (also known as the Red Brick Warehouses).

Kishamichi Promenade. Sky still looking ready to pour anytime.

Akarenga Souko, with a special flower exhibition for the Spring season. In front of this pretty sight however, was something that looked like a construction dumping ground.

The smaller block of Akarenga Souko was apparently an exhibition space so we didn’t spend time there. The bigger block was filled with stylish cafes and shops. It looked completely different from a 2003 variety show I randomly watched recently, but I guess the interior changed a lot since then.

None of us spent any money here, although it was really interesting to look around. There was one shop in particular, an omurice restaurant called Yokohama Tachibanatei, that attracted a crowd. We poked our heads through to see what people were looking at, and we discovered the kitchen had a glass window for people to view the preparation process of the omurice.

I can’t adequately describe how fascinating watching it was. We actually stuck around watching a few rounds of it. The chef obviously had a lot of experience and was able to flick the omelette from the pan perfectly onto the ketchup rice on a plate. Everyone who came by to watch were so amazed that there would be audible gasps of surprise. And the chef liked to show a victory sign to the crowd. You can actually watch the process in the video on their website, where they got featured in a Korean TV show (skip the very front part of the video).

Watching the chef cook up delicious-looking omurice.

Unfortunately since we were there at neither lunch nor dinner time, we passed on eating there. I would definitely want to go back and try it some time when I get the opportunity.

There’s also this balcony on the second floor of the warehouse, which faces the Japan Coast Guard Museum building. Of course, I took out my camera there ready to capture the scenery, but to my surprise, there was this police-looking guy who was standing in the area directly below the balcony calling out to me and telling me that photography was not allowed.

Then I noticed there were a whole bunch of police-looking people near him, seemingly discussing something. But it was still weird that photography is not allowed from an open balcony, and I wondered if it was just for that day because they were doing something sensitive. There were others on the balcony with us but they were taking photos of themselves against the interior rather than with the view.

Done with the Akarenga Souko, we decided to proceed towards the Cosmo World theme park, where we planned to take the Cosmo Clock 21 ferris wheel and try to catch the evening to night view. On the way there, it started raining again, and it was so cold that my feet were freezing up and it was starting to hurt while walking, so we hurried towards World Porters Mall first to get some warmth.

The exterior of World Porters Mall.

It seemed the section of the mall we were stuck navigating had like a outdoor concept though, and I didn’t want to stop to look at any shops because of the weather. At some point we saw a pretty big apparel store that Etine’s mum suggested we could walk through from one exit to the other just to warm up. And… well, let’s just say a lot of things caught our eyes in that shop because everything was so attractively priced and they were having a 20% off promotion (last day!) on top of it.

We got stuck in that store for probably more than an hour, so there went the plan for evening views from Cosmo Clock 21, but all of us bought stuff from there so no complaints. Plus I hadn’t really been buying stuff the last three days, so I couldn’t have been more glad to be able to spend some (exchange-rate-dropping, loss-making) yen.

When we reached Cosmo World it was already pretty dark. Quickly purchasing three tickets for the ferris wheel, we went to the 4th floor where a long queue for the attraction awaited us. Let me just mention that I regret not taking a photo of the ticket – I thought we would have it as a keepsake, but the staff just take it from you when you enter the ride. Also, like all theme park attractions, they take a photo of you before you go in, and then try to sell it to you after the ride.

Going up… cabin is actually roomy enough for 8, so the 3 of us moved around a lot.

The inner framework of the ferris wheel is pretty to look at too.

Night view of Queen’s Square.

In 15 minutes, we were back onto the ground. Since the theme park doesn’t have any admission fee, we didn’t desire to take any other rides. We were heading towards the exit when Etine got attracted to one of those throwing game stalls to get prizes. Without any luck, we walked back towards Queen’s Square to find a place for dinner.

After a lengthy debate over what to eat, we eventually settled for this food court that -get this- had McDonalds’, KFC and Subway all in one. Amazing. They were individual stalls but all shared the same dining area. There was also a western cuisine restaurant, named American House, inside the food court and that was where we settled for.

We were so tired from the day that we had forgotten to take photos of the food that we ordered until after we cleared our plates. Thanks to that, my memory is blurry of what we ordered, but I remember there was California Hamburg Steak, Chilli Cheese Hamburger and fries. And they looked and tasted good.

Then, it was time to call it a day and bid Yokohama farewell. And I thankfully remembered to take a photo of the Minatomirai Ticket before the train gantry sucked it away upon completion of a round trip.

Minatomirai Ticket.

Spotted at a train station on the way back – snapped a photo since AAA was on it!

Nakata’s new muse has been having a phenomenal year. Kyary performed at the Nippon Budokan, turned 20, released more great music and is now well under way her first world tour. The music video for Invader Invader, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s upcoming 6th single was released last night. Check it out, it may be one of her best this year yet.

Invader Invader is yet another electro-pop number but there are some surprises built in. It’s being used as the CM song for her new advertisements with GU Japan and we got to see it in full at her YouTube MUSIC WEEK concert.

Compared to his previous acts, Nakata seems to be a lot more experimental with Kyary, and to amazing effect. Kyary’s previous singles have incorporated elements of house and rock. For Invader Invader Kyary Pamyu Pamyu gets all dub steppy.

Invader Invader is Kyary’s second single for GU Japan (the first being Fashion Monster), like the previous it’s a wonderfully catchy song, and judging by its reception at her MUSIC WEEK concert, definitely one for the lives.

Limited Edition Cover.

Invader Invader is scheduled for released next Wednesday on 15th May 2013. It will once again come in two varieties, a 1,800 yen Limited Edition with an extra photobook and a 1,200 yen Regular Edition. First press versions of the regular version will come with a bonus sticker.

Regular Cover.

Some time ago we looked at the Japanese SIM card rental options and deduced that if you’re visiting for a short holiday, the best thing to do would be to stick with your local carrier’s roaming plan. The situation’s changed quite a bit since then and many of the previous SIM card options are now defunct, though the previous conclusion still stands. However for those staying for a longer duration or who require internet access on the go, B-Mobile’s prepaid data cards provide an excellent alternative.

Following the rise of smart phones in Japan, B-Mobile began marketing their local 3G  enabled prepaid data SIM cards between the end of 2010 and 2011. For roughly 3,000 yen, B-Mobile’s data cards offer a month’s worth of data usage. They tap onto the existing NTT DoCoMo networks to provide speedy mobile internet access to just about any part of Japan. Recognizing the demand for data cards by foreigners visiting Japan, B-Mobile have also released special “Visitor Sim” cards last year though I wouldn’t recommend them for reasons explained below.

B-Mobile offers a wide range of different prepaid cards for sale off the shelf at most major electronic shops in Japan like Yodobashi Camera or Bic Camera. Their data cards are available in standard, Micro and Nano sized SIMs (at least for the newer SIMs). Do make sure that you get the correctly labelled package, otherwise you’d have to find some means to cut the card to the desired size.

It is important to note that all of the B-Mobile SIMs are data-only, giving you mobile internet access in Japan, but no traditional phone time or SMS. You can see the full range of B-Mobile products here, however only a few are relevant to travellers, their classic U300 and 1GB Fixed cards and their rebranded equivalents targeted at tourists.

U300. 1 month of unlimited data capped at 300kbps.

U300

The first data SIM card that was offered by B-Mobile is the U300. U300 in this case stands for Unlimited 300 as the U300 data card gives users unlimited data access for a month, which is capped at 300kbps. There are also additional limits to the U300 card in that it does not allow for Voice Over IP services like Skype or LINE or streaming videos. Sustained streaming have been disabled in the card.

The U300 card is the cheapest at 2,980 yen. Given these limitations though, there is little point for unlimited data access, but if you find yourself in Japan without any other forms of internet access this may be attractive to some visitors. The lack of phone calls may be overcoming by using a messaging application.

Since the U300 is considered an older product, you may have a little bit of trouble finding it at out of the way electronic stores. Sometimes it is not displayed prominently either, leading some to believe that they are not available in stores. In the case that you do not see it displayed, some have had luck asking the sales staff at the electronic stores as they may be tucked away with the rest of the less sellable stocks.

1GB Fixed. 1gb of uncapped data usable over a month.

1GB Fixed

The second data card introduced and the one that should interest most visitors is the B-Mobile 1GB Fixed data SIM. It costs slightly more at 3,480 yen but removes the restrictions on VoIP and streaming services. The access speed is also not capped at 300kbps, allowing for lightning fast 3G and 4G LTE access. Our experience with the 1GB Fixed card speeds was very satisfactory. Being Japan, we found the internet access to be much faster than any equivalent Singapore connections, even while traveling on the train, in the middle of the countryside. The downside to this is that data access is capped at 1GB.

With VoIP, one can use services like Skype or LINE to replace the occasional call in Japan. The 1GB data limit is sufficient for a couple hours of total calls and just about as much messaging or surfing you’d ned for a month. If you’re on holiday in Japan and using anything more than that, chances are you’re not enjoying the trip to its fullest.

Note: The one and biggest downside to the above two SIM Cards is that they were only created with the local user in mind and were meant to supplement existing lines. In order to begin using the B-Mobile data SIMs you will need to dial up a toll-free number and enter the product code into the automated systems with normal Japanese cellphone.

If you have access to a friend in Japan who can do this for you, then this is a minor issue. Picking up the U300 or a 1GB data card directly from an electronic store is the cheapest option, since you can forgo any extra shipping charges. However in our last trip, we found it extremely difficult to get anyone to help. I have heard stories where the shop assistants at certain electronic retailers would help tourists to activate their cards, but this is not the norm. In fact with the new B-Mobile Visitor cards, I might suspect some have been told not to.

Getting the SIM card to work without the help of a Japanese friend is much more troublesome. B-Mobile offers a hotline that can be accessed by landline, however to deter tourists from using this SIM activating your card this way now costs an additional 2,500 yen.

One possible solution is to get the B-Mobile data SIMs through local resellers. There are people living in Japan who have taken the opportunity to sell pre-activated B-Mobile cards albeit at a heavily marked up price. This should only be considered if you’re planning to stay in Japan for more than 14 days. Getting a reseller to activate the card and then ship it to you not only costs more, but you’d also be losing at least one day of data access in the process.

Visitor SIMs. More expensive, less days.

Visitor SIM 14-days Prepaid and Visitor SIM 1GB Prepaid

The Visitor SIM 14-days Prepaid and Visitor SIM 1GB Prepaid cards are the two B-Mobiles SIM cards targeted toward tourists and they follow the typical Japanese practice of taking foreigners for suckers.

If you’re visiting the B-Mobile website in anything other Japanese, these will be the only two cards that are displayed to visitors. Both cards are identical to the the regular U300 and 1GB Fixed cards respectively, with the exception that data access is capped to only 14 days, rather than the usual month.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the visitor SIMs also cost more than their Japanese counterparts at 3,980 yen each.

However, if you’re only planning to stay in Japan for a maximum of 14 days and want to do without the hassle of getting the SIM card activated yourself, the Visitor SIM 1GB Prepaid is still a viable alternative as the prices for the visitor cards are inclusive of delivery charges to your hotel when ordered online. All the cards come pre-activated so you can place an order in advance and have it delivered on the day in which you arrive at a hotel for maximum convenience. Airport pickups are also available but cost an additional 210 yen more.

Edit: The B-Mobile link above shows which SIM cards are available in which sizes, but for clarity do take note that only the newer Vistor cards are available as Nano size SIMs. The local versions of the U300 and 1GB Fixed are available in standard and micro sizes only.

We started off the next day waking up early, in order to pack up our stuff, check-out and move to our next hotel which was located one stop away from Shinjuku Station on the Yamanote Line. The initial plan was to take a taxi there since we had to carry all our luggage, but realising that we wouldn’t have to change train lines at all if we took one from Tokyo Station, we decide to save the money. Our hotel in Hatchobori did provide a free shuttle to Tokyo Station anyway, and most guests checking out took advantage of it.

Leaving our luggage at the reception of our next hotel, Shin-Okubo Sekitei, as it was not check-in time yet, we headed for the nearby branch of Gyoza no Ohsho to have lunch. Like its name suggests, it’s a shop known for its gyoza. We had a quick lunch here with all of us ordering sets that included gyoza, and it didn’t disappoint.

Here, I regret to inform that there won’t be any photos for today’s travel and food. We kept our cameras away in the luggage as Etine and I would be going for a concert right after, and didn’t want to risk any trouble with the bag check. We would also be splitting up from her mum, who would be doing her own shopping in Shin-Okubo and Shinjuku while we went for the concert.

The concert we would be going for was the opening day of AAA’s Eighth Wonder tour. For the uninitiated, their name stands for Attack All Around, and the group consists of 5 men and 2 women. They do a variety of genres in accordance with their name – what they’re attacking are actually genres. They’re also titled a “super performance group”, giving energetic dances and singing at the same time without lip-syncing. With their debut single BLOOD on FIRE, they won Best Newcomer at the Japan Record Award.

Lately they’ve been leaning towards a more electronic sound. Here’s their latest release.

So anyway, we made for concert venue, which was in Hachioji City, 1 hour away from central Tokyo. On the way there we started to feel kind of sleepy due to the long train ride after a filling meal. But the moment I got out of the train I regained my energy and started getting super excited because in Hachioji Station itself I could already spot other fans who were carrying AAA goods.

All along the station’s exit till Southern Sky Tower, there were a ton of fans decked out in AAA gear, ranging from official goods, self-made t-shirts, and cosplay outfits of the members’ costumes. There was also a dance cover group in the open area outside the shopping mall, but we didn’t stop to watch as we were freezing in the cold. The 9 – 11 degrees temperature was already cold, but adding were strong winds that happened to be blowing in that area. It was too much for my Singapore-bred self. I think Etine was able to put up with it a little better though.

Heeding the advice of online forums, we were there at the concert venue, Olympus Hall Hachioji (located on the 4th floor of Southern Sky Tower), at about 2pm. It was one hour later than intended due to several minor delays in the morning, but I’m glad we didn’t reach earlier because we ended up with too much free time.

AAA B2-size posters for sale on display.

The advice on forums said to be at a venue at least 3 hours before the doors open (4.30pm in our case), if you absolutely wanted to get your hands on goods. However, I guess this didn’t really apply to us as it was the first day of the tour and there’s less chance of things being sold out. So anyway when we got to the queue for buying goods, we got an official tour light stick and towel each, and I bought some a~panda keychains, the AAA mascot.

Other merchandise on display near the goods counter.

When we were done buying, we didn’t stick around the area since it was crowded with fans sitting around chatting. It was still 2 hours til the doors opened so we decided to walk around Southern Sky Tower, which was a shopping mall.

Most of the shops around were restaurants, but there was a supermarket and a 100-yen shop as well, so we spent our time in those. Etine ended up buying strawberries from the supermarket as they were cheap. Also, when we visited the washroom, it was filled with AAA fans who were there to change into their AAA cosplays.

Close to 4pm, we returned to the waiting area outside the hall. Finding an empty corner, we sat ourselves there. There were plenty of other fans around but none tried to talk to us, to which I was kind of sad, but then I didn’t approach anyone to chat either because I was afraid. Around 4.30pm, staff started shouting for people to form a queue to enter the place. Since there was no English spoken, I was only half-sure of what I had understood. Anyway, we joined the queue since there was nothing to lose (nothing to win either – the concert is ticketed seating).

This display was also near the counter, on the floor where staff checked tickets for entry to the concert hall.

We had to climb two floors of stairs after entering the place since our seats were on the third floor. Despite it being the third floor, the view we had was clear without any blockage. Props to Olympus Hall here – each row of seats are elevated so high that you had no possibility of being blocked by the front row unless you had a 2m-tall man in front of you.

When the hall started filling up, I noticed the Japanese fan beside me was holding a pair of binoculars… and that is when I realised how stupid we were to not foresee the usefulness of bringing binoculars when you’re seated this far from the stage. You can’t really see facial expressions from this distance.

It was not long before the lights switched off, squeals from the audience were heard, and colourful moving lights appeared on the screens that were on the stage itself. The thumping dramatic music at the beginning really got everybody into the mood and even Etine, who wasn’t a hardcore fan like I was, got excited.

Opening up with a totally new song which was very electronic-sounding, it set the pace for the concert. Most of the songs for the day’s setlist would be upbeat. The setlist consisted of songs from recent years (Still Love You, CALL, etc), most recently released singles (Miss you, PARTY IT UP), and new songs from their upcoming album. We were treated to a total of five new songs that would be in AAA’s upcoming album – this meant everyone in the audience on this day were the first fans to listen to these songs. After the encore there was also a medley of older songs that were fan favourites. Here’s one of them.

The MC portions were also enjoyable and you can witness how comfortable they are with the stage after 7 years since debuting. With my limited Japanese though it was still not easy catching what they were saying, and there were a few times where I was clueless when the audience laughed. I also tried explaining the parts I could, to Etine who totally didn’t understand anything.

During the encore MC, AAA also showed their appreciativeness to fans, and they specially asked for the lights on the third level to be turned on so they could see us and wave to us. Naturally, everyone on the third level waved back enthusiastically.

Being immersed in the music I like, watching the high-energy dances and entertaining skit, waving my light stick along with everyone in the audience to the rhythm, and swinging my towel to their song together with a friend, I could say that this was hands down one of the best times I’ve had in my life. Of course, there were many other songs I love that weren’t performed, but I was very satisfied with the show. Etine was also satisfied and ended up buying a~pandas because she became a bigger fan of one of the members.

The concert in total was about 2 and a half hours which was what I expected. 5pm is an early time to start a concert, but I think it was done in consideration of fans – it ended nicely at dinner time. Since we came all the way out to Hachioji, Etine suggested finding dinner in the area. The opposite side of Hachioji Station seemed to be quite a bustling place so we headed off to find food there.

Loot for the day, including Etine’s a~pandas and some flyers. Actually didn’t buy much.

On the way I spotted an electronics shop, so I quickly took a look inside to find the earphone model I had been searching for. And this time, I found it. Still 30 dollars cheaper than in Singapore, so I promptly bought it, then we continued on our journey for food. It was also raining at this time, so it became unbearably cold walking around the streets.

At one point we wandered into an alley with a sign that said “Lingerie Cafe” or something so I tried to stop Etine from going further into this alley. She, still a little blur, walked on a bit before spotting some dubious-looking men and turned back to me and said “Let’s go back to the main street.” Feeling a little scared of what else we could accidentally wander into, we in the end settled for…friendly old McDonalds’.

It’s not as disappointing as you might imagine. The McDonalds’ in Japan has a different menu from Singapore, and after trying the food, I’ve got to say the standard is so much better there. Etine ordered the ebi burger together with seaweed shaker fries. Except it wasn’t called “seaweed shaker” there. I first saw the photo so we mistakenly thought we could just ask for “seaweed shaker” and the staff gave us a confused look. Turns out, when I looked at the menu a second time, it was called “shaka-shaka potato”.

I ordered a teritama burger meal and it was really good. I wish it was available in Singapore too! We sat near a window where we stared back into the same dubious alley we had gotten out from. This time, I spotted even more dubious signs, and was glad we didn’t hang around in there long.

After we finished eating, we headed straight to the train station, since going back would take another hour and we didn’t want to be back too late.

Images and videos of AAA from avex trax/avex management inc.

Still reeling from the disappointment of missing the Tsukiji tuna auction in the morning, we took the train for tech gadget and anime paradise Akihabara, which would hopefully make the day better. Since it was still pretty early when we reached, there weren’t too many people.

Initially looking kind of sleepy, my friend, Etine, quickly perked up upon spotting a To Aru Kagaku no Railgun billboard poster in the distance. It was a little amusing. We headed for the Akihabara UDX building first as it was the closest to the station exit we had come out from. Etine, being an anime otaku, wanted to visit the Tokyo Anime Center in the building. We found out we were a little too early as the center hadn’t opened yet, so we loitered around until it did.

I’m a pretty casual anime watcher myself, but I gotta say I expected more than what we were greeted with, which was basically a bunch of flat TVs showing various anime, a small goods shop, and an exhibition for the hot anime of the moment, Kakumeiki Valvrave. Actually I didn’t know of the anime before, but seeing the number of seiyuus’ names I could recognise off the autograph board, I guess it’s quite a big production.

Those hexagonal shapes pieced together really remind me of Evangelion.

After looking through the place a bit, we went to the Tokyo Anime Center official shop which was a few floors down. This was much better, but still any anime shop around the vicinity could easily win it in terms of goods variety and amount. Etine ended up buying quite a lot of things anyway. We moved on to another anime shop, Animate, which was just around the corner in another building. Animate apparently spans 8 floors if I remember right, and we spent a fair deal of time in there. I still didn’t buy anything since nothing actually caught my eye.

By the time we were out of Animate, all of us had started to feel hungry. We didn’t have to decide what we wanted to eat this time, because we had it already planned in the itinerary, and it was the highlight of the day! @home cafe, one of the bigger maid cafes in the area, was our dining choice for the afternoon.

Once we were shown in to our seats by the cute maids, Etine and I became super excited. While I initially thought we would be the odd ones out, there were actually other female patrons in the shop. The maid serving us was named “Pyon” and she was really cute. My attention was mainly focused on Pyon, Etine was admiring every single maid in the cafe, while her mother didn’t look all that interested but it was understandable.

Etine ordered a banana milkshake while I ordered mocha latte for drinks, while her mum was fine with plain water. All of us ordered set meals as they were the most value-for-money on the menu. The drinks alone were already pretty expensive, because of the fanservice that comes with them. To be honest, I usually stay away from coffee on non-school days due to its particularly strong effects on me, but this was an exception.

Most expensive non-alcoholic drink I’ve bought. But the bunny drawing was worth the 700 yen.

My mocha latte came with the fanservice of the maid drawing with chocolate sauce on the foam of the coffee. I was asked to pick between cat, bear or bunny, and I chose bunny because the maid’s name was Pyon. With Etine’s banana milkshake, Pyon mixed the drink in a shaker, and while shaking it she required us to say the “magic words” along with her, which consisted of mostly cute-sounding onomatopoeic Japanese words, and then finally “Become delicious!”

The mocha latte tasted like any other coffee and the bunny was ruined within the first sip, so nothing special there. I also had a taste of the banana milkshake, and it was not bad but we both agreed it was a tad too sweet.

Following which, we were pretty much left alone for maybe 30 minutes. It took a long long long wait for the food to actually come. In the meantime we observed the neighbouring patrons playing games with the maids (chargeable). One of the maids spoke to us in broken English upon realising we weren’t local and asked where we were from. When the food finally came, it was another maid that served us because Pyon was taking a polaroid with another patron (chargeable). We were asked to pick a toothpick flag with a design we liked, so I picked a bear design because it was the cutest one. Etine ended up getting teased because she picked a flag that said “fujoshi” on it. Since Etine doesn’t really read or speak much Japanese she was a bit clueless.

Almost couldn’t bear to eat it.

So, after waiting that long for the food, how did it fare in the taste test? All 3 of us felt it tasted surprisingly good. It’s not that the food was amazing, but it was decent. And against our low expectations, it being a maid cafe (expecting a rip-off), it was good. Also, looking at the amount of different things on the plate and how detailed the decorations are, one can guess what took so long in the kitchen.

With our stomachs filled, we decided to pass on dessert and pay the bill. A pleasant surprise was that the entry fee was actually 300 yen for females instead of 600 yen. This wasn’t displayed on their website so I didn’t know beforehand. And then after we paid the bill, the maid presented to each of us a loyalty reward card of sorts where you’d get stamps for every visit after. It has a different front design for males and females.

We were asked how to write our names, and because it’s in English, the maid wrote it on tissue paper first to confirm with us. Then she proceeded to write our names in permanent ink in a really cute handwriting on the back of the card. It included titling us as “ojousama”s, a simple animal drawing beside the name, and a heart drawn into the visit date. All in all, it made our maid cafe experience a really good one and I’ll definitely return if I have the chance.

Making our way out of the DonQuijote building, we spotted a nail salon on the first floor, doing anime nail art and we were really interested in doing it (particularly so for me because they displayed Evangelion nail art). But we found out it would take 2 hours. Agreeing that it was too long (on hindsight, it wasn’t…), we passed it up and moved on. After walking around Akihabara a bit more and admiring the Gundam and AKB48 cafes from the exterior, we moved on to Tokyo Dome City (TDC).

The sky was overcast and it was cold so my photos dropped in quality as my hands were freezing.

It seemed we were there too early on a weekday as the place was pretty empty and the rides were hardly in operation since no one was taking them. I actually thought they were shut down or something because of bad weather. In the end we didn’t take anything since it felt really lame and no fun to take rides by ourselves. The star attraction of TDC, the Thunder Dolphin rollercoaster, had also been closed down for more than two years since the Tohoku Earthquake.

Workers seen on the Thunder Dolphin. One wonders what exactly they are repairing.

What do you do at TDC if not taking rides? Shopping, of course. We headed for LaQua, the shopping mall inside TDC. Here, we spent roughly two hours, including some time chilling at a green tea shop. There was also a CD shop where I found a rather rare Limited Edition of a CD I wanted to buy, but didn’t because I stupidly thought I would be able to find a Used version for less, in the coming days (spoiler: no such luck and am still kicking myself for this).

Although we had planned in our itinerary to spend the rest of the day here, it seemed we had already exhausted the place and didn’t know what else to do here. Then I remembered Etine was saying that she wished we had more time in Akihabara, so I proposed taking the train back there to continue shopping, since anyway from Akihabara we wouldn’t have to change train lines to go back to our hotel later on.

But before we could leave TDC, we stopped by MOMI&TOY’S to try their crepes. Definitely not disappointed. I never knew fresh cream could be this delicious!

Too yummy for words.

By the way, being a Japanese music fan and knowing Tokyo Dome, I didn’t neglect to take a closer look at the massive stadium since we were already at TDC. Of course you can’t walk into the stadium freely, but I looked around the outside area and took photos. Hopefully one day in the near future I’ll be able to attend a concert here!

Tokyo Dome’s gate guide.

After that, we made our way back to Suidobashi Station. We were dismayed to find the trains terribly packed. I had forgotten my own warnings to Etine prior to the trip to avoid taking the trains around 5 to 6pm as it would be rush hour. But with no choice since we were already there, we managed to squeeze into the second train that came.

By the time we reached Akihabara again, it was dark. This time, Etine’s mum decided to look at another mall in the area which had clothing stores, so we split ways until dinner. Keeping in mind many businesses in Japan close at 8pm, we quickened our footsteps, heading for Mandarake, another anime goods store. On the way, we passed by an Aoki suits store, with a big Kamenashi Kazuya endorsement poster displayed. Naturally, being a KAT-TUN fangirl, I paused to take a photo of it. However, stopping on a crowded sidewalk isn’t exactly the best idea, so I tried to take it quickly. Unfortunately no matter how many times I took the photo, there was bound to be someone walking into frame.

Hastily taken photo.

Mandarake was interesting to look at for the first few moments but due to the amount of things on display it was really cramped and I felt like I had a lack of oxygen. I guess it didn’t help being surrounded by anime figurines, something I’m not really interested in.

We walked around several electronics stores trying to look for a particular model of earphones which was on my to-buy list, because I was expecting it to sell for cheaper in Japan than in Singapore. Find it we did at a much much cheaper price, like about 30 dollars less, but the colour I wanted was out of stock. Sigh.

Afterwards we met back up with Etine’s mum at a Starbucks, wondering what to have for dinner. Finding that everything in the vicinity were expensive and it was late, we made the decision to go back to our hotel area and buy bentos from the nearby convenience store. A rather unexciting roundup to the day, but we were content with it since we were all tired from walking.

AKB48 theater photos are are series of photographs produced directly by AKS themselves. They’re the second main type of AKB48 collectible photos and with the ceasing of B.L.T. photographs can now be considered the most popular kind to be collected. AKB48 theater photos, in their current form emerged in 2009 as a more common alternative to B.L.T. photographs.

AKB48 Theater Photos

AKB48 theater photos and their matching colored bars.

Release: Monthly (Since July 2009)
Quantity: Medium
Price: Medium

AKB48 Theater Photographs are referred to as such since they are sold at the  AKB48 shop below the theater on the 5th floor of Akihabara’s Don Quixote building. The photographs are sold on the 26th of each month. Though in recent years, the number of days where photos are sold have expanded to 2, and now 5 days. During days where the theater photos are sold, you’ll be able to see a long queue spanning outside of the Don Quixote building in the morning.

Theater photos mimic regular B.L.T. photographs somewhat in that they are a number of studio shots of the AKB48 members. It also has a bar across the bottom of the photo. The theater bar details the name of the member, her team, and month of print of the photo. Unlike B.L.T. photographs, the theater bar changes in color each month (usually to match the costume worn in the photo). Theater photos also differ from B.L.T.s in that there are 4 to a set. The photos are always taken against a plain white background and feature the members in a different theater outfit each month.

When B.L.T. photos were still available, theater photos were considered of inferior quality and less sought after. All theater photos from prior to end 2010 were printed on low quality stock paper as if they were printed from a home inkjet printer (and quite possibly so). The quality of prints improved a little in 2010, before finally adopting proper photo prints in 2011. Even then, the actual technicalities of the taken photos continue to leave much to be desired.

AKB48 theater photos are cheaper than their B.L.T. counterparts. At a time when they ran simultaneously, theater photos consistently fetched almost exactly half the price of B.L.T. photos. This was due either to the poorer quality leading to a lower demand, or (much more likely) because of the higher supply and cheaper cost.

Theater photos are released in packets that cost 1,000 yen each. Each person in queue is limited to purchasing five packets at a time. The packets are sorted by team and each packet contains 5 somewhat random photographs of members from the respective team. It is not totally random, in that each packet contains a fair spread of popular and less popular members. In 2010, approximately 600 packets of theater photos were released each month per team. Assuming that all members were given an equal print run, this means that approximately 46 sets of 4 photographs exists for each member. The figures were later increased to about 1,000 packets per team in 2011 (~78 sets per member).

Now that AKB48 B.L.T. photographs have halted, AKB48 theaters have become the generic AKB48 photos to collect. Recognizing the increased demand, AKS has increased the print of theater sets to anywhere between 650 to 1,900 sets per team, multiplied by 5 days. Here’s the statistics for their most recent set: Team A: 800 packs, Team K: 600 packs, Team B: 1,100 packs, Kenkyuusei: 500 packs per day, for 5 days.

This puts the total at 4000, 3000, 5,500 and 2,500 packs respectively, or (assuming all are released equally) about 238, 187, 312 and 156 sets of photos in existence per member for teams A, K, B and the Kenkyuusei respectively.

The number of theater photo sets in print have multiplied many fold, but more interesting is the fact that even AKS has given up any subtlety to the fact that not all of their members sell as well. Because of the probable increased demand for theater photos now that B.L.T.s have ceased production, prices of theater sets have remain relatively unfazed by the increased print run.

As theater sets are sold physically at the AKB48 theater building, this creates the opportunity for trade. I’ll go into this in greater detail in another guide, but the gist of it is that people tend to trade into complete sets, either of this favorite members or simply since complete sets will be more likely to sell on the second hand market. But whatever the reason, the result is that you’ll find a lot more consolidated theater sets than other types of AKB48 pictures. As full sets have become the norm, the demand for lose pictures seem to be low. On a per photo basis, prices for individual theater pictures tend to be lower than their completed sets.

AKB48 theater photos were originally derived from “gacha” photos (which will be explained below). One of the incentives for purchasing theater photos (that were carried over from its gacha days) are in inclusion of random “2-shot” tickets randomly included in the 1,000 yen theater photo packets. These special tickets allow one to take a 2-shot, a photograph together with any performing member at the theater. Needless to say the 2-shot tickets are extremely rare and extremely valuable. In the past, the 2-shot coupons would go for approximately $300-500 dollars, but later with the popularity of AKB48, tickets could go for as much as 2 to 3 thousand dollars.

Gacha

A gacha back from April 2008.

Release: 2007-2009
Quantity: Low
Price: Low

Gacha were the original form of AKB48 theater photos that ran all the way until 2009 and even simultaneously with modern theater photos for a while as the system was being phased out. Like theater photos, these gacha were printed on low quality paper. Gacha’s featured the members in costumes mirroring those of B.L.T. photographs of the time. However gacha photos lack any bar or markings to identify the photo’s member or month, only a “©AKS” copyright notice.

Unlike their newer derivative, gacha were 3 to a set, rather than 4, at least when they could be considered a set. There were also months where the gacha pictures followed no apparent guidelines, breaking into a different number of photos, collections of “live” photos taken from their concerts, group photo shoots or even completely different costumes in each photo. The later sets would more resemble the format of theater photo sets as fans now know them.

Gacha are known as such because they were obtained from a gacha (capsule toy) machine at the AKB48 theater. Each go at the machine used to cost 300 yen and would give you a chance at winning you a random AKB48 related goody. Some of the other things that could be obtained from the gacha machine included member autographs, 2 and 3-shot tickets, the legendary 100-chu tickets which granted you automatic admission to any theater show of your choice and even some of their personal belongings. Many of these prizes have since been retired or adapted into other AKB48 traditions. Of course most people ended up getting the consolation prizes of AKB48 button pins, stickers or the gacha photos.

The low quality and general “looseness” of gacha make them unpopular with collectors, and they are generally considered less desirable than regular theaters to all except the most hardcore fans. Complete sets of popular members gacha might be worth quite a bit, but are so rare that we almost never see them being traded.

AKB48 Singapore theater photos. Some of the pictures were slightly off color.

Localized AKB48 Theater Photos

Release: Various
Quantity: Various
Price: Various

The overseas AKB48 shops have taken to distributing their own versions of AKB48 Theater Photos. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore each have their own versions of the photo sets, though distribution of the Singapore ones have ceased since January 2013 (for the November 2012 sets).

Like the Japanese equivalent, the localized AKB48 theater sets are produced by AKS. The photos are delivered once a month to the overseas shops for distribution. Initial sets of the photos were almost identical to the Japanese theater counterparts, the difference is that overseas theater sets always use a black color bar and are labelled with the overseas country’s 48 presence.

The newer Hong Kong and Taiwan sets now share unique poses for their pictures, but still follow the same costume for any given month. These Taiwan shop refers to them as “Let’s Exchange! AKB48 Photo Collection Oversea Version”. The photos feature the AKB48 members in the same costumes as the Japanese set for the month but in a separate 3 pose set exclusive to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The solid color bar is also noticeably absent from the new photos but the logo and names and team of the members are still printed at the bottom of the photo.

Overseas theater sets are also sold in packets of 5 random photos separated by team. Photos for Team A, K, B and 4 have been sold, at least while it existed. The research student photo sets were not sold overseas. Photo packs cost SGD$22 in Singapore, NTD$480 in Taiwan and HKD$130 in Hong Kong, approximately $20 all round.

Due to a smaller print count, overseas theater sets tend to be rarer than their Japanese counterparts, but are balanced out by their decreased demand. While I cannot give an exact number for the Taiwan based sets, we have a picture of the Hong Kong and Singapore sets.

The initial April 2011 run of the Singapore sets released less than 100 packets for exactly 3 complete photo sets per member. This stayed the same for a couple months before it was increased to 5 sets. Print numbers for teams A, K and B in the later sets were further inflated to approximately 120 packs per team each month (or about 10 complete sets per member). Due to the perceived lower demand, Team 4 photos sets were sold at about half the quantity. These were sold over the course of 3 to 4 weekends.

The AKB48 Official Shop Hong Kong is surprisingly fair, offering an equal amount of sets for all 3 teams. Currently, a total of 1,000 sets are sold each month (334 for Team A, 333 for B and 333 for K) or about 20 complete sets per member.

In the next guide, we identify the different sister group equivalents of theater photos.

Hi, I’m Grace, yet another Singaporean obsessed with many things Japanese. I’ll be writing about my experience of my recent week-long trip to Japan on this site.

It’s been almost two years since I had last been to Japan. I’ve gone to Japan twice before, one in central Japan and the other in Hokkaido, but they were both on tour groups. This was the first time I was going on a free and easy trip so it was easily a lot more exciting.

Actually, I had been yearning for this trip for a really long time, and as a graduation trip of sorts, it was part of what spurred me on to finish my polytechnic education. My plan back then was to take a solo trip, but my parents wouldn’t hear of it since they couldn’t trust me to be all alone in another country. I then pulled along my best friend from poly who also loves Japan and I believed I would have no trouble travelling with.

However, my parents were still not convinced it would be okay, while my friend’s parents are also strict and didn’t allow her to travel with just friends. In the end it was settled that we would be travelling with her mum, which put both my parents and her parents to a better peace of mind. Not what I had in mind initially but it’s still better than travelling with my own family members.

The itinerary was still completely planned by my friend and I, so very skewed towards our interests, and her mum was like a kind of guardian throughout the trip who followed what we planned. There’s also days where we split up, for my friend and I to do our own things and her mum would go somewhere else to do her own things. Anyway, we’re both waiting for graduation so we were pretty free. It seemed like waiting for the trip to come took forever but it finally did.

Waiting to board the plane.

On my previous trips to Japan, I’ve taken both JAL and ANA. This time, we took Scoot, the low-cost carrier under Singapore Airlines which started operating in June last year, as the prices were attractive.

We heard quite a lot of things about Scoot both online and through word-of-mouth and so we knew what we were in for. The seats were normally comfortable as like any other airline, and leg space was considered pretty good for a budget carrier. There’s no leg rest and the headrest area is just flat which is a little uncomfortable. They also don’t turn off the lights in the cabin besides for take off and landing. A small exception was when we were flying there they did dim the lights for a couple hours at about 3am. Well, all these are probably how they entice people to buy their neck pillow, blanket and eyemask pack.

We also heard from friends who had taken Scoot, that no matter how hungry you get, to never purchase their hot meals on board, because they taste really bad and you will feel like throwing it away after eating a bit. So we duly noted their advice and steered clear of the plane food. On the going journey it’s not hard to endure hunger since it’s the wee hours of the morning, but if you think you’re gonna be hungry, you might want to sneak sweets or small snacks on board. They clearly state that they don’t allow outside food of course, so be careful if you do.

Our departure was delayed by some passenger who didn’t turn up for the flight, so in the end we were about half an hour behind our itinerary but it wasn’t that bad since our first day wasn’t packed. Flying to Narita Airport by Scoot is undoubtedly cheap, but you also fly for longer hours because there’s a transit at Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport. You still take the same plane after the transit. To me transiting was a bit confusing, maybe because I had never been to Taoyuan Airport. The staff will direct those continuing on to Tokyo towards a counter to collect your transit card. You’ll have to go through scanning your handcarry bags once more and then wait for departure again. In case you get lost or anything, make sure you know Scoot in Mandarin is known as ku4 hang2 (酷航).

Transit card for use at Taoyuan Airport.

If you’re trying to catch sleep on the flight I recommend plugging in to music or wearing earplugs. Because the flight includes transiting, every single announcement they make on the plane comes in English, Mandarin and Japanese. It gets pretty annoying and longwinded and at some point I felt really pissed off. It wasn’t because I was trying to sleep but because the constant announcements were giving me a headache. Other than that it’s basically a smooth ride.

Anyway, upon reaching Narita Airport we headed to find lunch since we were famished from not eating anything on the flight. Since we wouldn’t be able to check-in to our hotel until 3pm, we ate at the airport in a slightly pricey udon and soba shop. The food was normally delicious.

Delicious tamagotoji udon.

Our original intention was to take the limousine bus to get to Tokyo Station. However, when we wanted to buy the tickets at the limousine bus counter, the kind counter staff referred us to a rival bus company, Keisei Bus, which was having a promotion – 900 yen to Tokyo Station. This was more than 3 times cheaper than taking the limousine bus so we were all pleasantly surprised and promptly bought the Keisei Bus tickets.

Roughly a little more than an hour later, we came to our stop at Tokyo Station. Here, we wasted quite a lot of time being lost trying to find the line that went to Hatchobori Station, just one stop away. Our hotel, Dormy Inn Tokyo Hatchobori, was located near Hatchobori Station. We underestimated the size of Tokyo Station for sure, but it didn’t help at all that the direction signs were confusing. We climbed up and down stairs with our luggage just trying to find the entrance to the correct line. I was quite frustrated by the time we found the train line. By the time we reached our hotel, it was already an hour past check-in time. We quickly put down our stuff in the hotel room.

Heading out again, we took the train towards Oshiage Station where the Tokyo Skytree was located. From joining the queue for tickets until we actually bought the tickets, the total time taken was around 25 minutes. We also learnt that there were strong winds and the Skytree would be closed the next day, while for the rest of this day the staff was restricting the number of people going up the lift at a time. Hence, it was another 35 minutes before we were able to take the lift up.

It’s so tall that when you look up, it looks like it’ll fall on you.

However, all the wait was certainly worth it when we saw the amazing view. We were lucky enough to catch the last of the day view and watch the city slowly light up as night fell. After spending ages snapping shots of the view, we finally decided to make our way back down. It was decided that we wouldn’t spend another 1000 yen to go up to the higher deck because the view would mostly be the same anyway, and we had already spent 2000 yen to come up to the lower deck.

Evening view from the Skytree.

Had a quick look through the Skytree shop located on the same level but there didn’t seem to be anything worth buying, so none of us bought anything. The strong winds were unfortunately still going on, so when we got to the lobby area, we were dismayed to find a long snaking queue for the lift down worse than the one we waited for when heading up.

Along the queue just a short distance before the lift, there was a glass floor feature. It took me a few minutes before I could bring myself to stand on it because it was kind of scary. My friend however didn’t waste any time and simply stood on it. I guess I’m weak. We took a few photos there then rejoined the queue for the lift. It was a total 40 minutes queuing before we finally took the lift down and got out.

The scary glass floor could use a little cleaning though.

Feeling cold and hungry, we went into Tokyo Solamachi just next to the Skytree. We couldn’t decide what to eat though, so we walked around. Then I remembered that I wanted to visit the official Rilakkuma store that was in this mall and so made my way there, while my companions looked at other shops. Finally, we regrouped and suddenly right in front of us we noticed there was a takoyaki shop in the form of Gindaco which looked darn good to us there and then.

So we ended up eating takoyaki… which didn’t turn out to be a bad decision and it tastes better than the Gindaco branch in Singapore. But okay, that was not really counted as dinner. We knew our hotel actually served free ramen at night so after the takoyaki we made our way back for the ramen. It was decent and definitely not what you would expect for something free.

Official Rilakkuma store in Tokyo Solamachi.

That isn’t the end of the day though. Back at the hotel we caught a few hours of sleep, and then woke up to head for Tsukiji Market as planned. However, we couldn’t find the ticket selling point for the tuna auction so it took some effort following people around. This was a bit of a failure in planning as we should have printed out a map or woke up even earlier. By the time we got to the place, we were told that tickets for the day had been sold out! It was a real disappointment, especially after waking up this early for it.

We thought about trying again the next day but then gave up the idea eventually as we would be even more exhausted without adequate sleep and the following day we had to wake early to change hotels. Unfortunately, for me at least, I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to see the famous tuna auction at Tsukiji before the market moves to Toyosu in 2015.

Since we made the effort to come out anyway, we had sushi breakfast (the sushi we had was alright but not particularly worth mentioning to be honest) before heading back to the hotel again to catch a bit more shut-eye.

The Tsukiji Market shop area in the early early morning.

This Thursday saw the international launch of the eagerly awaited third installment of Iron Man. To commemorate the new movie the folks over at Play Imaginative have set up a pop up display featuring the popular comic book hero. We take a look.

Play Imaginative have set up camp outside of Hotel InterContinental on the first floor of Bugis Junction as part of their Super Alloy Iron Man Preview Showcase. Over the next few months, they’ll be bringing over these exclusive fully metal models to Singapore.

1/4 scale Iron Man Mark 42, at 18 inches / 46 cm.

Various changeable limbs and heads, including one of Robert Downey Jr.

I must admit, the models are pretty amazing. At 1/4 scale, they’re a lot larger than I had imagined. As the actual products are not yet available yet, the figures on display are actually plastic mockups, but even then they look really good. It’s not far-fetched to guess that the final 90% die cast products will be likely be of even better quality.

Previews for all the different models are shown.

Super Alloy is an ongoing series of high quality scale replicas of DC and Marvel comic characters. Super Alloy War Machine, Iron Patriot and the new Mark XLII Iron Man models (among others) will be released between August and September. Currently Play Imaginative is taking pre-orders for the XLII armor.

1/12 scale models are much smaller at 6 inches / 15 cm.

Also being brought to Singapore at the booth is the Become Iron Man augmented reality problem. Using Kinect-like technology, fans can suit up in the Iron Man armor themselves and give it a spin. The Become Iron Man setup attracted a constant audience from the crowd at Bugis Junction. It was especially well received with the children passing by the booth. Marvel’s unique form of promoting the franchise and new movie definitely caught our attention.

Suiting up. The Become Iron Man showcase attracts quite the crowd.

Children (and some adults!) get to live our their superhero fantasies.

The Super Aloy Iron Man Preview Showcase and Become Iron Man system will run at Bugis Junction until 5th May. If you’re a fan of the series do check it out.

Super Alloy Iron Man Preview Showcase.

Iron Man 3 is out in theaters now.

As with all travelling  there are two major concerns when planning a trip to Japan: the first concern is what to do while you’re vacationing in the “Land of the Rising Sun”. The second, equally pressing concern, is affording the trip.

As young travellers, many people are stuck between when to pay off debt and when to save. Japan has so many attractions, like the amazing Nagoya Aquarium, and cultural experiences, like the Asakusa Temple, and anybody who can make the trip, should. If you’re lucky enough to be in a comfortable position financially, affording a trip to Japan is definitely a possibility. Below are four tips for planning a culture-filled trip to Japan while on a budget.

It helps to check out the transport routes ahead of time.

Plan ahead of time. One of the best ways to save on any kind of travelling is to plan well in advance. Starting to plan early affords the advantages of getting early-bird specials and having time to compare rates on the various expenses you will have like airfare and hotels. A good rule of thumb is to plan at least 11 months in advance. With nearly a year to plan, you will be able to find all of the best deals available to you in Japan.

Cash in rewards and club discounts. Savvy travellers know that there are all kinds of advantages from credit card rewards and discounts from club memberships to be taken advantage of when travelling. Most credit card companies offer perks such as frequent flyer miles and points, both of which can be cashed in for discounts on travel and expenses when you’re planning your trip to Japan. Club memberships, like AAA and AAPR, also offer members discounts on travel. As a cardholder or member you are entitled to and have earned these benefits, so don’t be afraid to take advantage. That’s what they’re there for!

Sometimes it can be helpful to mark out things that cannot be missed, like flights and work around these.

Set priorities. Every time you travel to a new place, there will always be more things that you want to than you can do. Restrictive factors like time and money see to this. To make the most of your vacation without breaking the bank, make a list of all of the things you want to do while in Japan. When you prioritize like this, you can give yourself a better sense of what attractions fit into your time and monetary budgets best. Another benefit of creating a priority list is that it can help you see the different attractions in spacial relation to one another, which can help you to better plan your transportation while in Japan.

Visit during the off season. Because of Japan’s long north-to-south formation, the country is home to a range of seasonal attractions. Travel to each region of Japan is more costly in each respective region’s travel season. For example, the Sapporo area of Japan celebrates its Snow Festival in February, so travelling to Kyoto or Hiroshima is cheaper during that time. What regions of Japan you plan to travel to should determine what time of year you travel, if you want to save money. Once you know what you’d like to see and do while in Japan, you’ll have a better idea of when is the best, and cheapest, time to travel.

The above a just a few of the many, many travel tips that can help you save on your trip to Japan. You can save even more if you’re travelling as a couple on a budget. The world is a fascinating and enriching place, and you should take every opportunity you can to visit all of its extravagant locales, Japan and beyond, without having to worry about money.

In this second part of our ongoing guide on collectible AKB48 photos, we take a look at the other special photographs released by B.L.T.. Like in the previous part, we’ll run through all the different types of limited edition B.L.T. photographs, along with how they are obtained. We’ll leave the market information and price speculation to another time, but given their limited print, may be more difficult to get your hands on.

U-17

U-17s are unique for their candid shoots.

Release: Every 3 Months
Quantity: Medium
Price: Medium

U-17 is a seasonal B.L.T. gravure publication featuring idols and actresses which are under 17 years of age. The trend for it is to have front and reverse covers, featuring a small number of members from a 48 group on one side and a model, actress or other idol group on the other. Like the regular B.L.T. magazines, U-17 magazines are ordered online through the official site. At time of ordering, you can choose between receiving 48 related photographs, or those of the other featured girls. U-17s cost 1,500 yen each and come with 3 random photographs. Unlike regular B.L.T. magazines, there is usually no limit to how many U-17s one can buy.

Physically U-17 magazines are a much better buy themselves. They are usually pretty thick and are chocked full of photographs and interviews with the featured artists, provided you’re in to that sort of stuff. Though it works out to the same on a per photo basis, the additional weight and shipping costs involved, coupled with the limited number of members featured tends to limit the sales of the magazine. As such, U-17 edition photographs are pretty rare, and can be expensive when it features popular members. The price usually increases greatly when the issue mixes popular and unpopular members, since the random factor creates a greater risk.

U-17s usually feature 4-6 members of any particular group in candid photographs. U-17s always have a red bar with the current season stated but otherwise follow a similar format as regular BLTs. Traditionally, most special B.L.T.s have a red bar, though the later sets also sometimes used black bars too. Each individual girl will have 2 candid individual photographs and a 3rd photograph that is shared with another member. Finally, there is a group shot of all the members involved in the shoot. This group photo used to be pretty common but recent issues have made it rarer, causing its value to be grossly inflated.

Individual U-17s sell for anywhere between 500 to up to 2,000 yen for popular members, with the group photo going for many times more. While we cannot give an accurate estimation of how many U-17s are available, the number is low, with the number actually in circulation being negligible.

Weekly Calendar

All calendar sets feature digital “writing” from the members.

Release: Yearly
Quantity: Very-Low
Price: High

The AKB48 B.L.T. Weekly Calendar was a calendar sold once a year featuring images of the group’s members. Like many of the other AKB48 B.L.T. publications, these have ceased production (Try-X handle the AKB48′s calendars now) but as of 2012-2013 were still available for the rival and sister groups.

Each calendar costs 2,500 yen and contains 5 random photographs. While there are a total of 7 different designs per member, one for each day of the week. The members are encouraged to add in designs to the photographs (usually the names of the days of the week in a stylized manner) and these are digitally printed onto the photographs themselves. The Weekly Calendar photographs are quite typical of normal B.L.T. photographs, except that they usually feature the members in their own plain clothes.

The weekly calendars are one of the few B.L.T. products which you can purchase directly from third party stores that ship overseas like CDJapan, or certain physical book store. Pretty much every other B.L.T. type product requires you to make a pre-order directly from the B.L.T. website itself, which does not ship overseas (though you may use a deputy service). Unlike regular calendars though, the 46/48 group calendars are released at different times of the year, so you have to keep a look out.

Again the cost per photograph is strategically kept the same, and you get a nifty wall calendar too. However not as many collect the weekly calendar photographs, due to the high difficulty of completing a set of 7 photographs. The larger investment per calendar and the fact that the photos do not fall under the regular B.L.T. series also deter collectors. Weekly Calendar photographs are thus quite a bit rare than the previously mentioned B.L.T. types but as a result of their lower demand, the individual prices of calendar photos tend to be not too different from regular B.L.T.s.

T-Shirt

T-shirts come with one B.L.T. photo of the respective member.

Release: Yearly
Quantity: Low-Medium
Price: Medium-Very High

AKB48 and the sister groups used to release annual self-designed t-shirts through B.L.T. as well. Nogizaka46 still released some B.L.T. tees last year but the trend now is for the 48 groups to release the shirts themselves. The B.L.T. shirts are available on a pre-order basis only. A few months before the shirts are actually released, designs for all available members are announced on their website.

The B.L.T. shirts cost 3,000 yen each and come with one limited B.L.T. photograph (usually of the member wearing the tee). Fans are limited to purchasing 10 shirts per shipping address, this couple with the high cost, makes the B.L.T. t-shirt photos some of the rarest, especially for the less popular members. Since one gets to choose which member’s tee to purchase, and thus which photograph to receive, there is a very limited market for trade.

The trend is for popular members to see a surplus of t-shirts due to third parties ordering them in bulk in hopes of reselling them, so you can sometimes find popular members tees for sale on the secondary market. Less popular members tees and photos are especially rare and can fetch very high prices. Due to the nature of the item prices for previous years tees can reach exorbitant prices (think hundreds) when unused and with photograph intact.

Like other B.L.T. products, 1 autographed photograph and 5 autographed tees are randomly distributed to those ordering. Much like autographed jerseys, depending on the popularity of the individual member, these shirts can fetch between a few hundred, to about a thousand dollars.

Others

B.L.T. has had many other one-shot AKB48 publications with bonus photos.

Release: Various
Quantity: Various
Price: Various

While sometimes not explicitly labelled as such, there were a number of other one shot publications that can be credited to B.L.T. or their publisher Tokyo News Service. This includes Kashiwagi Yuki’s first photobook and the PHOTORE series featuring Kashiwagi as well. The bi-yearly AKB48 Visual Book is a good example in that included photographs following the existing B.L.T. format, but in sets of 9 or 16.

Prices of all these other random publications vary greatly. Depending on the size of the run and demand, some of these photographs may fetch quite a price. However many of these books tended to have a larger print runs, or stay in print for a while. As a result the value of individual photographs tended to be lower. For example, each issue of the 2,500 yen PHOTORE books came with 12 photographs out of 150 designs and are thus valued lower than regular B.L.T.s.

In the next guide, we begin exploring the expansive world of AKB48 theater photographs.

There comes a times in every AKB48 fan’s life where they they come across the expansive selection of AKB48 merchandise. While some are content with supporting their idols through the occasional CD purchases, others dive head on into the world of collectible nama shashin. If you’ve reading this, then you’re probably at least considered purchasing some some.

Here’s our long overdue guide to everything about AKB48 photos. From pre-order store bonuses that come free with every single release to theater photos that are purchased directly each month, there are a wide range of different types of AKB48 photos. With a bit of experience each of these can be neatly categorized into one of the following types. Due to length, we’d be splitting this guide into a number of still sizable chunks. Over the next few posts, we’ll first take a look at the different categories of photographs and then offer some insights into the state of the second hand photo markets.

AKB48 B.L.T. Photos

The older B.L.T. sets only consisted of 1 or 2 photos.

Release: 2007-2011
Quantity: Low
Price: High

Commonly referred to as just “BLTs”, B.L.T photos are one of the most popular and commonly collected photo types (apart from theater photos). BLTs are directly obtained from purchasing 48-branded copies of the Beautiful Lady & Television TV guide. As of December 2011, exactly 5 years after it first started, AKB48 B.L.T. photos have ceased production, though the other sister groups (and Nogizaka46) continue to have their equivalent issues. 1 random photograph is obtained with the purchase of each magazine which costs 500 yen each.

BLTs can be easily identified by their colored bars below each picture which contains the series name, product id and name of the member in the photo. There is one BLT collection for each month, in which the girls would be seen in one of their recent single outfits, or a random theater costume. At first there started with only 1, then 2 photographs per member. For the most part though these consisted of a set of 3 photographs for each of the group’s members, for a total 144 or so designs. Each set consists of the member in a medium, close up and extreme close up pose. Later, they shifted to a set of 9 photographs per member, with 3 sets of 3 photos in similar poses, except with different background colors.

AKB48 BLT photos initially came about from an exclusively photo deal with the magazine publisher which allowed B.L.T. magazine to monetize photographs of its members. It would seem that that deal has no longer been renewed. BLT photos were considered one of the highest quality and most sought out collectibles by fans since all B.L.T. published photographs (with the exception of the PHOTORE ones) tend to use an exclusive grade of high quality photo prints. Quality-wise they’re quite a bit better than the other non-B.L.T. AKB48 photographs.

Initially, copies of AKB48 version of the magazine were sold physically once a month on Akihabara, with the girls being physically present to offer handshakes to those purchasing, creating long queues to purchase the magazine. Perhaps due to complaints of littering (where fans would simply toss the magazine after taking out the photos) this was later changed to an online order system only.

The B.L.T. “bar”.

Needless to say, the physical magazines were only an excuse to sell the photographs. There are only a few pages to each booklet, making them more of brochures than actual magazines. There was a limit of 5 copies of the magazine per person, which still applies to other B.L.T. publications now but fans have found ways around this limitation, causing a small number of mass buyers to had dominated the secondary market.

During 2010 to 2011, each B.L.T. photograph sold on the second hand market for about 300, 500-800 and 1,000-2,000 yen for theater, under and senbatsu girls respectively. We’ll go into more specifics about the prices of photographs in a later post. Due to the high cost of the magazine and increasing number of members, not many were willing to take the risk on purchasing the magazines. Getting anything less than a high undergirl would result in an automatic “loss”. Further worsening the second hand situation.

To encourage sales, special versions of each photograph, autographed by hand by the members were sent out at random. There are up to 3 autographed photos per design. These “signed” photographs would fetch hundreds of dollars each. Later they also added “digital” autograph messages that were printed on the photographs themselves. These were more common and less sought after.

Considering that between 300-500 people queued up during each release when they were sold in Akihabara and there was a limit to how many you could buy, the number of photos in print for the original 2007 sets were estimated to be as low as 10 copies per picture for the earlier sets.

We can estimate the later 2010 and 2011 sets to be more plentiful but still far lower in count than theater pictures. Judging from the prices, we can estimate the total quantity in print during this time to be about 1/2 of theater photos, i.e., about 30-50 of each picture in existence. Because the photos are shipped directly to people in Japan, many of the photos are spread out, with many sets going uncompleted. It can be extremely difficult to get hold of complete sets of BLT photographs, even on the secondary market.

SKE48/NMB48/HKT48/Nogizaka46 B.L.T. Photos

The related groups B.L.T. photos follow a similar format.

Release: Monthly
Quantity: Low
Price: High

SKE48 B.L.T.s seem to have been halted too, but the rest of the other groups still continue to release B.L.T. issues and its photographs each month. And for the most part, the of the other groups’ B.L.T.s follow an almost identical format to AKB48′s (one photograph per 500 yen magazine).

The exception to this is that the newer SKE48′s B.L.T.s were sold in two alternate cover magazines each month, each which its own set of bonus B.L.T. photographs, for a total of 2 x 3 photographs per member, as opposed to just 3 for the other groups. The SKE48 sets from both versions each month contained pictures of identical costumes, but with different colored backgrounds.

Due to the more niched markets, direct sales for the other group photos are somewhat smaller in number. While unpopular member photographs may be adequate or even plentiful, the more popular members have their B.L.T. photographs driven up to even higher than AKB48 standards.

Stay tuned until our next post where we discuss the other B.L.T. published photographs.

Being from Hong Kong, I have always envied Singapore because AKB48 actually went there and performed stages more than once. The most Hong Kong ever got was the 3-song “mini live” at the Genki Japan event, despite an appearance from Maeda Atsuko right after she announced plans to graduate. So I got my plane tickets in record time when Tokyo Auto Salon announced the AKB48 line-up, which included members like Kikuchi Ayaka and Kawaei Rina.

I arrived at Changi Airport at 5am on the morning of 4/12 and hurried over to Terminal 2 to meet up with other fans. After extensive “researching” on Google+ and twitter, we deducted that the girls would most likely take the red-eye ANA flight and land at around 6am. The girls started showing up at immigration around 6:30am. I have never been to an “airport event” before, so didn’t know what to expect.

Japanese passengers on the same flight seemed quite perplexed that AKB48 had overseas fans – many of them snapped pictures of us holding signs. The girls that have been here before (Maeda “Singapore Maeda” Ami, Sato Sumire, etc) probably told the first-timers about the airport fans, because they looked more elated and amused than surprised to see us. They pointed and waved at us on the way to baggage claim. We welcomed them with frantic photo-snapping amid loud cheers until they got into pre-arranged transports and left.

After meeting up with more people, including Mus, we headed to the Marina Bay Sands Expo Center, where TAS took place, to line up for the “Priority Passes”. These limited-quantity passes were handed out each day (in different colors to prevent abuse), and granted access to the mosh pit area of the stage. The announcement from TAS was a little vague in terms of what pass holders are entitled to, with regards to AKB48′s Meet and Greet event, so all the fans decided to do the safe thing by waiting in line. We walked the show for a bit after getting the passes, and you can see summaries of the show in the earlier post by Mus.

At 2pm there was a press conference for the media to meet AKB48 first for some Q&A – but since I was brand spanking new to the team, my name was not on the list and was not allowed in. Mus did go in and he took some excellent close-up photos of AKB48 members with my short telephoto lens.

We met up again in the mosh pit around 2:45pm. Some of the people in the pit have been waiting since 10am, right after they got the passes. At 3pm sharp, the opening ceremony started and AKB48 came on stage for ribbon-cutting. After all the formalities were done with, it was finally time to meet them!  They each said their names in quick succession, and then the mosh pit audience were ushered onto the stage for a high-five session with the members. I was a little disappointed but this was expected – a handshake session with all of them would probably take too long.

Fast forward to next morning – I crashed at a friend’s house and we left for the venue at 6:30am, because we want to secure Saturday’s mosh pit passes for the one-hour AKB48 concert in the evening. The line at 7am was already longer than Friday at 8am, but that was expected. Some people apparently stayed overnight, but that really wasn’t that surprising. When Kashiwagi Yuki came to Hong Kong for a handshake event, I lined up for 9 hours to get the ticket. I arrived at 6am and was number 499 in the line – the first person had been there since 4pm the day before.

Thankfully, not everyone was that desperate.

The girls came on stage at 4:30pm and did a repeat of the Meet-and-Greet session, for those that couldn’t make it on Friday. Afterwards most of the fans stayed in the pit to keep their spots near the front of the stage. There was another performance by a solo guitarist from 5pm to 6pm, but people hardly paid any attention to him. He was not bad at all, just had the misfortune of headlining for AKB48.  By 5:50pm the pit was full.  I ended up occupying the back-left corner with Mus and the Wotaroid crew.

This was my first “real” AKB48 live concert – it was everything I expected and then some. They sung and danced for one full hour, while we swung our glowsticks and MIXed for one full hour. The setlist was great, consisted of their most popular singles like Heavy Rotation, the must-have Aitakatta, newer songs like Gingham Check and So Long, and the full-spirited RIVER.

The lineup this time had both Stalwarts and new blood.

During the short MC in the middle, there was an emotional moment when it was Akimoto Sayaka’s turn to speak. She recently announced her plan to graduate from the group, and this was her last time in Singapore as an AKB48 member. She was a central figure in the earlier years of AKB48 and has been a pillar (both figuratively and literally) of the original Team K, as well as all of its reincarnations. She asked the fans to keep supporting her and it was met with loud cheers, followed by “Sayaka” calls.

The Wotaroid crew was also spectacular, doing their routines and getting everyone’s attention. Makes me want to learn the moves and join them next time.

Kikuchi Ayaka was cuter than initially expected.

After the concert ended, I headed back to the airport and hung around until my red-eye flight took me back to Hong Kong. We were guessing that the girls might go back to Japan on the same night, but our guesses were wrong this time. From their g+ posts, it looked like they went shopping and then had chili/pepper crabs again.  It was a great trip – A+++++, would go again.

For the rest of the photos from the press conference, visit us on Facebook!

There are many out there who might want to consider studying abroad when it comes time to plot higher education, as well as those at home in Singapore who are considering their options. As it stands, out of the many universities in Singapore there are really only a few that stand out. As the choice can often be confusing, here’s a brief summary of those on offer, followed by a focus on one university in particular: Singapore Management University.

There are four major universities in Singapore: the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the Singapore Management University (SMU), and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Of these, NUS is the oldest, and it boasts the largest range of curriculum, as well as student body. NTU is globally up-and-coming, the fasting rising in the global top 50 of universities (as such, it is also increasingly funded.) SUTD is the newest, distinguished by a unique East and West academic programme which builds on elements of technology, design, entrepreneurship, and management. Singapore Management University, meanwhile, is the most employable, with 96.6% of its graduates finding work within one month of (but usually before) graduation.

Singapore Management University

There are numerous advantages to studying at SMU. As mentioned, employability is almost guaranteed. The numerous and esteemed undergraduate programs on offer are certainly something to check out. SMU also takes pride in a different approach to teaching. Lectures are avoided in favour of seminar style tutoring, where students are encouraged to speak their mind, and debate is encouraged.

As a business and talent developer SMU takes pride in its students, and makes sure all are on the right track to career stardom. With six schools to choose from (including Business Management, Law, Social Science and Accountancy) you are assured of strong tuition, with leaders in academia there to help along the way.

SMU is located in Singapore’s city center.

For many, student life is as much as a draw as education. There are numerous co-curricular activities are supported mainly by student clubs, while bespoke excellence programmes – whether in the arts or sports – are supported by the Office of Student Life (OSL). Special interests, including debating, animal welfare advocacy and community service, are there to broaden students’ interests and allow them to play a much bigger role in society.

There’s also location, SMU is centrally located, right in downtown. Restaurants, bars and exciting attractions surround the campus, a great opportunity to chase up on culture.

The next admissions for undergraduate courses of SMU begin in October, so please check out the website and consider your future of higher education. SMU might be the choice for you.

The Arashiyama mountain west of Kyoto is home to about 130 wild monkeys. On one side of the mountain a small nature reserve has been set up to observe and feed these monkeys. During the day, the monkeys come down to the Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama to greet visitors and to laze around at the clearing here. For a token entry fee, one can visit the park to meet and interact with the Japanese macaques up close.

Overview

Popularly referred to as snow monkeys by tourists, the Japanese macaques are the only species of primate native to Japan. While you will most definitely come across these Japanese monkeys in zoos, apart from the Jigokudani Monkey Park at Nakano, Arashiyama is one of the few places in Japan where you can actually come close to these monkeys in the wild. Japanese macaques are unique in that they are the species of monkey to live in the coldest environments and the most northern dwelling primates. They’re a highly intelligent and have adopted some unique behaviours such as bathing in hot springs.

View Larger Map

Getting to Arashiyama

Arashiyama is a mountain a short distance to the west of Kyoto. You can access Arashiyama via local trains from Kyoto, Osaka or any of the other nearby cities. There isn’t a single direct train there, so you’ll need to be prepared to switch lines a few times to get there.

There are three stations which you can alight from. If you insist on using a rail pass, then you’d need to alight at Saga-Arashiyama station which is the furthest. There’s also the Keifuku Arashiyama Station a local tram station, which is connected to Saga-Arashiyama. If you’re traveling from elsewhere, then most likely the most convenient station to access the monkey park will be the Hankyu Arashiyama Station.

For those interested, we got to Arashiyama from Osaka by taking the Hankyu train from Minamikata near Shin-Osaka, changing at Awaji and Katsura, before finally alighting at the Hankyu Arashiyama Station. Hankyu operates their small, classic looking trains through many of the scenic areas around the Kansai region, so the ride there was quite pleasing. The entire journey took just under an hour and cost just 360 yen (SGD$4.50).

Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama is located on the Hozu (south-west) side of the iconic Togetsukyou Bridge.

Visiting the Monkey Park

The entrance to Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama is located along the southern bank of the Hozu River, across from the main shopping streets. If you’re arriving via the Hankyu Station, then you should already be at the correct side. Otherwise, you’d need to cross over the Togetsukyou Bridge to get there. The entrance to the park is actually hidden beside a temple along the mountainside but there are signs pointing out the way there so it shouldn’t be difficult to find it, once you’ve made it this far.

Short trek up the mountain side.

Entry to the grounds costs 550 yen for adults and 250 yen for children (4-15), those younger may enter free. The opening hours vary slightly between the seasons but the park opens daily at 9 AM to around 5 PM with no fixed closing days, except for when it rains or snows very heavily. Chances are no one would want to visit in such weather, but in the rather case that you do, check if they’re open during the blizzard first on their website. I’m pretty sure it’d be interesting to visit during the winter when the mountain is coated in snow. There are blossoming sakura trees on the mountain during spring.

Learning boards along the way up.

The wild macaques at Arashiyama roam around freely on the mountain. The Monkey Park Iwatayama is just a minuscule portion of their entire grounds. In order to attract the monkeys over for study, the park has been set up here and they offer food to them during the day.

The halfway mark.

There is an uphill climb to the 160 meter high area of the park area where most of the sociable wild monkeys hang around. For this, you’d want to come prepared for a little trekking. Rubber sandals can be borrowed from the front counter as a last resort. Along the way up, we ran into the occasional resident scurrying past, but the majority just stick around the top. As these are wild monkeys, you are cautioned against approaching or staring directly at the macaques.

Do not stare at them in the eyes.

Free roaming.

Yet, Arashiyama’s monkeys are surprisingly well behaved, mostly going about their own business as if we weren’t even there. Quite the contrast to the the monkeys you’d find at tourist attractions in other parts of Asia.

Clearing at the top.

Nice view of the surrounding landscape.

There’s a wide clearing at the top. From here, you can not only get a nice aerial view of Kyoto, but it’s also where most of the monkeys hang out. The building here serves as a rest stop for visitors, as headquarters for the park’s observation work, and also where you can actually interact with the monkeys. The staff feed the monkeys but you can also purchase generously sized bags of treats for 100 yen. It’s a small price to pay for the experience.

Rest stop and viewing area.

Small hut where the staff stay.

Nice backdrop.

Names for the ones that hang around the hut.

Above, there’s another clearing where more monkeys hung out at, at least during this Autumn season, to bask in the afternoon sun. The staff there followed us around to make sure that the monkeys behaved themselves. Impressively, they were able to name and identify them individually and the monkeys responded to them.

Let’s you get really up close with the mountain’s inhabitants.

Popular with the monkeys.

Fighting with the little one.

If you’re visiting by Kyoto or Osaka, Arashiyama’s Monkey Park Iwatayama makes for a nice side trip. It ended up being one of the most enjoyable experiences. It’s great fun meeting the Japanese macaques, who were unbelievably civilised and intelligent. Being able to visit and observe the monkeys in their natural habitat is an experience unlike any other.

Just chilling, with a mountain view.

Grooming each other.

First few pictures are courtesy of Randy.