Japan

Osaka/Nara/Kyoto/Tokyo/Kobe/Okinawa

1998.7.13 ~ 1998.8.15

Okay, now I'm going to start my long long journey of typing...yes..I'm typing..my incredible trip to Japan in the summer of 1998. I'm no expert in writing so what you are going to read might be just thoughts that suddenly pops up in my head....please bear with me..m_ _m

First of all, I would like to thank many people, people who loved me, supported me and helped me in many many ways:
My family - Mom, Dad, and Brother (thanks for the pocket $$ bro!!)
The Hasegawa Family - Thank you so much for all the support and all the joy.^_^
The Fukuda Family - Thank you so much for teaching me a lot about Japanese living and culture. My 19 days of your "Japanese Training" was very worthwhile!
Takashi Kumegawa (oton) & studio staff - The recording session was really fun!! I wish I can do it again!
Thanks for everything Oton!! Let's go shopping again!
Paulus Kusuma - couldn't make it in Tokyo without you!! Thank you so much!!!
Izumi & Megumi Satoh - I had such a great time with you guys travelling around Naha, Okinawa!! The pineapple factory
was so fun!! (not to mention the LIVE!) Megumi, thanks for being there when I needed someone to talk to. Too bad we could not meet in Tokyo.
Freda & Joan - Boy, did we "bleed" in Harajuku and Meguro or what? Ah~next time I'm going to sleep in the middle!! Being on
the side is too cold!!
Blitz & Dave - "No, you guys can't come over, it is too late"; "Quit the play station!! We gotta rest!! >_<" (hee hee hee...gomen.)
Yo-chan & Maria - Let's go karaoke again!!!! Thanks so much for the NTT Special Yo-chan! Love your shoes Maria, make another pair for me!!! ^_-
Laruku fans & friends- The LIVE was great and I'll never forget the "over night" L'Arc-only karaoke marathon.
Friends in Shiraho, Ishigaki Island - Yes, I really did "DIVE" to blue!! ^^ Thanks for all the fun times!
Inoka, Lith, Winnie, RP, Seat & Bee - Let's pray to kami-sama that we could ALL go to JP someday together!
Last but definitely not least : An-chan (cat) - I miss you lots!!!!!!!!!!! You're the cutest!!! XXOO

Altogether I went to 5 different cities, 3 other islands (Greater Okinawa, Ishigaki Is. and Awashi Is.) and stayed in 5 different places...
from scuba diving in Okinawa to the top of the Kasukabe (sp?) Mountains in Nara...
I guess I could go on forever typing about "Japanese Culture" if I was to write about Japan...hmm..nah..that's too boring...I'll try to summarize each different city and of course lead it into a "Cultural/J-Rock Talk" (do excuse me that mostly would be L'Arc orientated..^-^)
Yoroshiku ne!!

Tokyo
- Harajuku is THE place for talent goods. Numerous shops specialize on pictures, stickers, buttons, posters, books, lettersets,
key chains, bookmarks, photo albums, organizers, rulers, erasers, pens and pencils, calendars..you name it...all on your favourite
artists. (well of course, the more popular the more "products"!). In the picture section of these shops, you can see tons of girls each holding a piece of paper and a pen (as if going to vote or something..^^) copying the numbers of the pictures they want. If you're a L'Arc/Luna Sea/GLAY fan, you gotta be prepared for a work out..cuz in order to copy those numbers, you gotta squeeze between those fans, look up/down/left/right...on tip toe, down on your knees...flipping thru those wall postcard holders while still holding your pen and paper!!!
gosh, it is just soooo easy to spend $$ in Japan!!! It is scary!!!!
no matter how good you manage your money or how much you save, you can just pour everything out once you step
into Japan.
- The first "site" I landed in Tokyo was "Ocha-no-mizu". I had lunch there right after I arrived by Shinkansen from Osaka. Till now I'm so -_- that I didn't went to the ESP shop where there's the special Tetsu official key-chain and tons of other goods. ><
- Remember in L'Arc~en~Ciel in Utaban (Dec/1996)?? Hyde was asked what is his favorite food
and he said it is this "Chinese fried rice". Sakura said it is in Shinjuku, in this narrow cross street
just under the train bridge (sorry.. I'm bad at locating things..^^;). It was said that ever since that
show was out, lots of L'Arc fans went there to eat. If you tell the chef you're a L'Arc fan, he would show you all these L'Arc autographs..etc.....I went there on my last day in Tokyo,
I was the first customer, I ordered the fried rice Hyde recommended and it was extremely delicious!!!!!! Later the boss started talking to me..asked me where I'm from (cuz I was
speaking English to my cousin)...we talked and immediately switched to JP mode (^^)...I commented that the fried rice was very delicious and the boss was very happy. But dear me...I didn't spit
out one word about laruku infront of him!!
I guess he already had an idea that maybe I came because of L'arc...he asked me "How did you know this place?? Those young girls told you??"....I said no and then we skipped to another conversation...(about Canada..Japan..blah blah..) AH~~!! I guess
I was so embarassed (and hot..there was no air-con) that I didn't tell him I'm a big Laruku fan...Y_Y..I guess I didn't know
how to begin.. Next time I will, next time I will.....

Osaka (a.k.a The City of L'Arc~en~Ciel ^_^)
Osaka is the origin of L'Arc~en~Ciel. When I was living there, I just felt as if people were "throwing" L'Arc at me...I'm not kidding...
it was just too overwhelming.
Laruku has the whole area of Kansai. The time I was there, L'Arc was at their very peak. With 3 singles released, TONS of promotions, tv programs, CM x 4, NTT Campaigns, National Tour....you see Laruku more than you see your Mom.

NTT Personal:
Due to the NTT Personal Campaign in the Kansai area, numerous NTT shops, stalls..etc..can be found all over Kyoto,
.Nara, Kobe and especially Osaka.
They have posters, flags, pamphlets, stickers...many many things!!! I mean, if you're in the streets of Osaka, look up somewhere, and you can see Hyde looking at you. I'm not kidding! I heard news of some people stealing the posters and flags, therefore
among all NTT campaign (they have many different lines), only L'Arc's flag cannot be displayed out far away from NTT stations, otherwise it would be stolen!! One time I was in this department store Kintetsu and I saw these schoolgirls (in uniforms) searching
high and low for the L'Arc NTT pamphlets!! They just kept saying "nai desu wa~~~"
I wonder why they didn't go to the specific shops, or maybe they just want to grab a whole stack more ?_?
I was very lucky that one time in Umeda, a whole table set of L'Arc goods were displayed outside one of the main station of NTT. Cardboards, pamphlets, ads and that pretty pretty sticker of L'Arc that you put on your cell phone were all displayed...*_* I took the sticker, which was the last one on the table (!!).

Just a note to these ads - they can be rare items years later if you keep them neatly and safely. Why? One time I was in this
old magazine shop and they had this L'Arc section. Among which they have these promotional papers of ESP Tetsu, Fernandes Ken, singles, albums..etc..each costs over 3000 yen or something!!! My gosh!!! It is only a piece of paper!!

Okay, back to more NTT Personal..^-^ The CM itself has two versions, one was showed around Spring time with theme song "Dive
to Blue" and another showed around Summer time with theme song "HONEY". I like the Summer version better, everyone looked
much cooler. ^_^ The CM usually shows around night time. I remember I was having dinner one time and suddenly I heard a familiar voice (Hyde of course) saying "kimi ni aitai..." (I want to meet you) then "HONEY" immediately followed...I nearly choked on my Okonomiyaki..^^;;; it ended with Hyde saying in English "NTT Personal". Wah~~~!! I didn't move until few seconds later!

Tenjin Festival
- I wore this blue Yukata (a present from my Okan - Thank you sooo much!) and head to the festival site
with my host-sis and host Mom (Okan). It was the first time I wore those "clogs"...it hurt at the beginning but I got used to it later. I also had my hair done (again thanks to Okan), I had my hair
braided into a knot with a blue ribbon which matched with my Yukata. I was so happy!!
- It was very crowded that day over in central of Osaka...lots of people (esp. young people) were dressed in Yukatas and there were stalls of food, snacks, games....(I played the catching fish game..where you
use a paper net to catch the fishes) THe festival was just soo lively and so great!!!!
There was also the fire works!!!! And the large boats floating under the bridges!!!
Tenjin Festival is one of the biggest festival in the country, I'm happy I had the chance to attend it.

Osaka is really my favorite city in Japan. Don't know why, I find shopping in Osaka is better than in Tokyo...I feel more at ease in Osaka. I guess because there are more of the "natural" side to see in Osaka. I mean, while walking out the crazy shopping area of Shinsaibashi, you see this beautiful river...On Tenjin Festival Day, you see large boats floating across too!!
Then there's the Osaka-jo....so beautiful!!!!!!!!
Other places in Osaka that I've been to and loved:
Umeda, Namba (Namba Rockets!), Shinsaibashi, Tenjinbashi, Den Den Town (the Akibahara of Osaka [electronic town]), Kaizokukan (Osaka Aquarium), Hard Rock Cafe, kiddie land of Osaka,
GARE Osaka.....so many cool places..*_*
- In America Mura, there's this super famous place that sells takoyaki (fried octopus) called "Koogaryuu"
...the takoyakis there is extremely delicious!! Oh, and there's this v-rock indies shop there in America
Mura called "JEEZ" (= Japanese Educational Entertainment Zone ^^;;;;;;;;;) and there I found an
old L'ARc magazine (the one that I couldn't get/order in Van) called "Nikkei...something." (forgot)
When I brought it to the cashier and the guy there told me it's only 400 yen, I nearly wanted to hug
that guy!!! My gosh!!! One and only one left and it was only 400 yen!!! WOW!!
- oh, and just about my last day in Osaka, I went to Shinsaibashi again and took millions of purikuras.
(you see, in arcades, they have one whole floor of purikura machine...and cheap too! Only 300 yen!)
And I also saw the newly opened Hello Kitty Karaoke!!! It was sooooo cute and pretty!!!
It was grand-opening that day and I could see the Hello Kitty TV/microphones that they displayed
outside..and the karaoke rooms inside are soooo pretty too!!! Those ladies presenting the promotional
papers were wearing very cute hello kitty uniforms.

Kyoto
- The Arashiyama was so cool!!! At the foot of this mountain, there's this street known as "Harajuku II" (^^;;) which sells lots of talent goods!!! But, the street has this very
old Japanese style, where the stores are like...has bamboo made doors and stuff..not to mention the "Jinryoku-sha"
(Human powered car)!!! It was so fun!! (quite expensive though...) And the guys who pull
the cars are soooo kakkoii!!!!! Hahaha!! Definitely worth a try!!
- Kyogoku: a very nice shopping area...quite similar to Osaka's shinsaibashi. Again, many talent good shops!!!!Oh, and in Kyogoku, there's this very famous
restaurant called "Mishimatei". I had "Nikukaiseiki" (beef set dinner) there and my gosh...it just gotta
be the best beef I've ever tasted in my life!!!!!! The beef just melts in your mouth....my gosh...I
want to eat it again....Served by waitress dressed in kimonos, in a very elegant room +
fake garden...it was quite an experience!!!

Nara
- The beautiful temples are just breath taking. The deers are very cute too!!!
(deers & temples are actually the prefectural symbols of Nara ^_^)
- Nara is rather quiet and "country-ish"
when compared to a big city like Osaka. But it is very close to Osaka. Just about 1 hr (+ 30 min?
forgot..^^;;) and you'll reach Namba.
- Nara was the old capital of Japan (before Kyoto). Kyoto and Nara are the two old cities in Japan
which both were once the capital and was also greatly civilized. However, as time goes by, only Kyoto
picked up the pace in the modern world and Nara just stayed behind.....

Kobe
- Awashijima was a lot of fun but it was sooooooooo hot...everyone went to see the newly built
bridge and there were lots of people. There's also this Okashi Museum, where it sells tons and tons
of Japanese candies and snacks!!
- Minomiya and Takagashita (sp?): I really can't remember if I got the name right but oh my God...it's
one of the most elegant street I've ever been to!! When I was standing infront of Daimaru, I thought
I was in London or something!! Those lights on the streets...the feeling..*_* Hmm...kinda similar
to Vancouver's Gas Town too. The Chuukagai (China Town) there is also a must go.
- Harbour Land: Another GREAT shopping place. The night scene there is just fabulous!!!!!!!!!!! *_*
Then there's this wonderful restaurant called "Sharaku" (Eric Clapton went there..I saw the
autograph) and I got hooked to the delicious kushikatsu there!!! In this restaurant, they
just fry about anything edible and put them in to sticks. Beef, salmon, cheese, veggies..and even ice-cream!!! It is really the best!!!!!!!!! I went to this kind of restaurant two times. The first time
was on the day of Tenjin Festival in Osaka. BUt that time I was wearing Yutaka and couldn't
eat too much.

Okinawa
- VERY HOT. VERY VERY HOT. snorkeling was cool and the corals there were just beautiful
(Ishigaki's corals are world reknown)
- Naha's International Street (Kokusai Doori) is another great shopping place. I remember seeing
a guy handing out this "V-rock extravaganza" promotional paper thingy...and it says
on such and such days, they're going to play artists super rare old videos like L'Arc's "L'Arc~en~Ciel"....I wish I could go but couldn't fit it into my schedule...
Also, because it's Okinawa there are lots of American Military shops but quite boring for me. =P
- Then of course there's the L'Arc~en~Ciel LIVE @ Convention Center *_*...more in detail in my Live
Report page. ^_^

Visiting Nagoya - Does getting off the shinkansen and grab a drink in the Nagoya station counts? ^^;;
I saw the country sides of Nagoya on the way in shinkansen....which was very beautiful.

Miscellaneous ^_^:
- I met a friend who bought twenty L'Arc singles (ten each for Kasou and Honey) just for the
trading cards!! She still couldn't get the Lucky card...too bad..
- I also met another friend who went to ALL lives of this summer tour of L'Arc. She's like
following L'Arc around the country!!
- most happy thing is that I can dub everything in real time and gotta see the Japanese CM again!!
(in overseas, all CM are cut from video)
- Some of you might know those TW version of Japanese CD's, in Japan, although they are fobidden, in those underground record shops, they cost quite a bundle!! A L'Arc~en~Ciel "Single Collection"
costs 3500 yen!! Where as originally in Taiwan, it might only cost a few $US! Weird....
- Don't know if any Laruku fans noticed - The old "L'Arc~en~Ciel" has not been used anymore EXCEPT on the Danger Crue
Page. The pretty, elegant font of "L'Arc~en~Ciel" has been changed to a more normal looking "L'Arc~en~Ciel" on every goods.
In some goods, they just have a big " L' " and that's it.
- The L'Arc~en~Ciel Biography book "IS", the one that still has that "blue flap" with Sakura on it at the
front is now a rare item!!! My gosh!! It cost 60,000+ yen in the indies shop in Meguro.
- L'Arc is just sooooo famous now and ALL their old magazines (even just not so old ones like
those CD data with them on the cover) all worth a lot now!!! $_$
- "Floods of tears" was the most expensive item I ever saw in Japan. It cost 129,800 yen in one store
I went to. I remember not long before...hmm...before NIJI...it was only 180,00 yen....
- In Okinawa I found this very very interesting magazine. I mean...it's like every V-rock fans' bible!!!!!
It's called "Artist Fan" where fans from all over Japan send their precious pictures, magazines, tour
goods, promotional papers, posters..you name it..to the editor of this magazine and they post them!
Then as reward..the people who send those stuff to the editiors would get $$ (lotsa money).
When I went to Tokyo and Osaka, I coudln't find the mag anywhere!!!!! And when I show it to some
of ,my friends in Japan and they were like "Wow...*_*". Still can't believe I found it in Shinseido, Okinawa...
- In Japan, I learned 3 different Japanese dialect: Tokyo JP, Osaka JP and Okinawa JP.
Each are very different!!! The most difficult is one is Okinawa JP because it is like...totally off
from what I learnt...^^;;; Even the numbers are different...
I personally like Osaka-ben the most. It's just so so so cute!! I love the accent and the way they slur
the words. (Maybe L'Arc~en~Ciel is part of the reason why I love Osaka-ben too..^_^)
- In Laruku's Bandscore HEART, very strangely...at the back..it says "drums - Sakura"..?_?
- While I was riding the train from Nakano to Shinjuku, I saw the vocalist of FEEL (Ippei) sitting across from me. I knew it was him
because that week, he was on UV's cover...(the blue one)..poor guy..no one knew he was a singer and no one seemed to
approach him....we got off at the same time and he just walk thru the crowds - "with no trouble at all"...
Kinda strange though..cuz during that time..FEEL was having a lot of promotion..on a lot of different magazines..should
be quite popular...

Extraordinary Experiences:
- Kaiseki Ryoori: a traditional Japanese meal where each dishes is decided by the chef. Each dish is so beautifully done that I'm
sure you would want to take a picture of it before you eat. Everything is just so so so elegant!! Till now I couldn't believe I've went
to this kind of restaurant for 3 times. Oh! At the end of the meal, the waitress (dressed in kimono) would guide you to the elevator, call the elevator and press the buttons, bow at you 'n' times before she says goodbye. Okan, a really really big thank you for bringing me to such incredible places. m_ _m
- The biggest Ferriswheel of the world - Kanransha in Osaka
It is so incredibly fun but if you are afraid of heights...don't go.
Ah....when I saw Osaka Dome...reminded me of the up-coming concert of L'ARc in Osaka Dome (NTT Sponsor)...how I wish I
could go...T_T
- Kuchuu Teien: The absolute best!!!!! I love this building! It is the tallest building in Osaka and it reaches "n" stories high. When you reach the top, you can get the PERFECT view of Osaka.
- Cooking Japanese food was another great experience I had. Okonomiyakiwas my favorite.
The "flipping" part was hard though...^^;;;

.....to be continue...if L remember anything else later....^^;;;;

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