ina x japan
3000 year old princess
finally beginning the journey 14 hours across the globe.. in my retrievable relevant consciousness this is the first time i'll be getting on a plane. since to me, being a baby does not count, i don't remember any of that.. it's my first flight, and it's one of the longest flights i'll probably ever do in my life!
i've been wondering if i'm going to die or not, i keep having visions of it, but i've always had visions and nightmares of being in a type of vehicle and crashing / falling down into water. i can see it so vividly every time.
update on the flight: HELLISH! to be honest.. i silently cried in the boarding line because i was getting scared and overwhelmed by everything, then teared up on the flight, like twice.
it was so so cramped during the flight, but i tried to sleep during most of it. i also watched shows and movies on the screen in front of me, plus like twenty minutes of animal crossing until i got bored. yes, i have like 1000 hours in this game, but i'm like 1 million feet up in the air, tom nook isn't keeping me entertained i'm sorry!
day one: landing ♡
oh my god it's so so busy here. it was super confusing to board the train we need to take from the airport but we got on.. it's so quiet and clean this is really weird for me. in fact, EVERYWHERE is so quiet and clean. arrived at the station, and ended up getting lost on the bus. took the wrong one, there's like a new bus every thirty seconds it feels like, i guess it's super confusing because can't speak the language of course.
when i'm standing outside finally feeling my feet on the ground.. seriously nothing felt real. because it's so eeriely quiet, and everyone around me is walking so fast, neutral clothes in rows and rows; uniformly moving in silence. no speaking on the train, the bus, etc … the train station itself was stressful and densely packed. i'm already a fast walker by the way, everyone says this about me.. and yet they were QUICK! but it's possible it's because i was suddenly moving slow due to being confused. imagine it, you're standing trying to not get in the way, looking at a million bright signs that have unintelligible text that you can't read (imagine if every sign was like circa 2022 AI generated text that means nothing) and there's hundreds of people passing you quickly in a super uniform swirling chunk like flowing water; everyone knows where they’re going and there's no time to loiter… in fact, i think i saw a sign that said NO LOITERING when i was walking. but anyways that reminds me, i noticed right away that there’s arrows on the ground on where you should walk in the direction of the sidewalks, and in the station … it's actually very helpful, but sometimes people don't follow it. i had to get used to it since usually back home you walk on the right, but most often over here you have to walk on the left.
day two: otaku culture ♡
i have to open this entry with a weird discovery.. but all the toilet seats are heated here. [future ina: while editing this, i didn't realize how much i would come to miss small things about japan.]
today, i woke up at 1:00 am japan time. which is a huge jetlag time zone fail. i ended up getting dressed then walked to a family mart close by, but didn’t see much for breakfast. decided to keep walking to the 7/11 and got something. haul: a white bread sandwich with grilled chicken, veggies w a chili sauce and cut in half soft boiled egg. on the way back i got a sweet grapefruit juice from one of the vending machines. loved the juice, but the sandwich was just okay like eh.. however i loved the eggs. ate and then went to bed around 3am.
i slept for a while then woke up again around 7:00am, walked around the bnb a little bit then embarked to the subway... took the train and got McDonalds for the first time since arrival! i got a sausage egg mcmuffin and their white grape soda. tried their nuggets too.. it was ready SO FAST and tasted super hot and fresh. finished eating and then we went to an arcade nearby for a while to play maimai.. i really love how cheap it is to play over here.. not fair! after a few hours we went into some stores… but everywhere was insanely crowded. ate lunch which i don't even remember what i ate.. and then took train back.
however, one of the stores we wandered into was a massive store that had an entire floor full of adult mangas and erotics… like.. full images on display of (slightly censored) but graphic scenes, the store was just full of japanese girls browsing the books shoulder to shoulder packed. unfortunately some sections were depressingly small compared.. it's simply not as desired i suppose. i also noticed, there’s also like real life erotic women magazines with nearly fully exposed out casually in 7/11 and family marts. like what i assume to be japanese playboy basically. but you can't look inside any magazines of any kind, even normal ones; they're taped shut so you don't stand there and browse them. it reminded me of when i was little and i was waiting for my mom to finish shopping i would sit on the floor near the rack of magazines and just flip through them all without buying a single one.
we went back to the arcade for a long time.. and then i got a chicken and rice bowl with a bright orange raw egg yolk on top, with soup dumplings on the side… it was very yummy... then i crashed at home.
day three: harajuku ♡
first real day larping in japan.. but woke up failing since i ended up waking up around 3:00am, then went back to bed for a bit, then finally woke up around 7:00. went to conbini, and tried the egg salad sandwich and chiikawa strawberry smoothie. both yummers. also had mini butter chocolate croissants. got ready and then went to harajuku to go to laforet (the BEST mall, even after arriving home and experiencing the other ones, the BEST ONE). lowkey i shouldn't have gone to this one first because none of the others came close to comparing. also went to a few other spots this day, and once again everything is soooo crowded. and this is off peak tourism season, it was just full of people that live here. for lunch, we went to get conveyer belt sushi, and then of course went to an arcade again, a few different arcades actually.. even went into a few pachinko parlors. it's crazy by the way, seeing rows and rows of people.. some in their work attire, some girls with cute hair and fashion, just sitting there clicking away gambling with one hand, and then a cigarette smoking with the other hand. alternatively, gambling with one hand, and then doomscrolling on their iphone with the other. happened to peak at some guy scrolling through frieren stuff on his phone (i ended up seeing so many figures and posters for this anime during the trip). i did proceed to take two candies from the free candy jar before i left. (star shaped and really good btw.)
while walking, i saw a big fat rat. i also noticed.. why is there so many lewd bars and maid cafes? not hating by the way.. i'm just surprised because it seems like in some areas there's multiple per street- so are there really that many customers? damn! second thing i noticed, it seems that there are smoking rooms in almost every arcade.. not GIGO though atleast not the main GIGO branch which is the best arcade ever, it's more clean and ended up being my favourite. but that's nothing to do with the smoking rooms, sometimes they added to the vibe depending on the day. crashed at home.
day four: akihabara ♡
slowly getting better, i woke up around 5am. ate weird conbini food very early in the morning. i don't even remember what i got.. i think it was a gross sandwich did i didn't finish- it was egg salad and teriyaki chicken what the fuck was i thinking. and a strawberry banana smoothie but here's the catch.. it was strawberry banana SOY smoothie. i could really taste the soy so i couldn't finish it.
left around 10:00 am and took a new train line to akihabara… we walked around for hours and saw a bunch of figures, and multiple ball jointed doll stores…i was in heaven at those stores seeing all the dolls. there was a lot of bases and heads for you to start assembling your own, but at this time i'm not ready to begin! i don't like the concept of having too many dolls anymore, and also want each one to be super special.. the time isn't quite right for me to do it even if the prices are better over here. (autism). anyway, we went to a few different arcades (autism again), don quijote - i got a black fur monchhichi keychain. while walking around we saw this small manga / comic store.. we got a manga thing from there, and saw tons of things really… bloody tired and exhausted.. probably the most steps we ended up doing the whole trip, like 25,000? came across a weird 18+ store, literally horror! some of it was normal like cosplay costumes for sale. but then... like japanese diaper furry stuff in one corner, should i even mention this? degeneracy is international baby.. there was also lewd ai generated anime art on the walls, like something you'd see on twitter, which i couldn't help but chuckle at. i wanted to go in because curious my fault my fault… curiosity killed the cat.
later on, while walking we decided to eat at a place called cocos restaurant. nice surprise when it was actually good and quite unique! we got skinny fries, pizza, steak with onions and chicken karaage . also, a popular thing in restaurants like this is you purchase an item on the ipad called 'all you can drink', so you don't order any drinks you just go get self serve drinks whenever you want. unlimited but, how many soft drinks can you really drink? we went on the train to get closer to the bnb, but we were so tired by then we went to an arcade just to sit down (nowhere else to sit really..) and played a few games. quickly realized we were way too tired and went back to sleep.
day five: chilling ♡
i woke up early and chilled in bed for a little bit until we decided to start walking around the bnb. we went to Lawson and got their little chicken thingies in the cute container. kept walking and walking just taking in the sights nearby and how different it is to home. we came across a really cute little bakery, small business... we were a little confused and watched one of the patrons to figure it out. grab some tongs from the front, and a tray. put the food you want on the tray with the tongs on the tray too, and go pay for it at the front. we got a small garlic bread baguette and grainy sugar covered twist donut it was soooo good!! super cheap too, like all the food here. went to new small arcade at opening and played more (we've been playing a ton of bomber girl, btw). this arcade was super chill and barely anyone around, small town vibe as that was where we were at. our bnb was in a small town outside any major city that no one really knows about.. it was a cool contrast sitting down playing because the game we played on a lot was right by one of the back doors which was an automatic sliding door that opens out to a little barren field looking thing pushing in cool fresh breeze. anime girls in front of me, and then blank nature to the left. we ended up taking the train and went to the nearby city. walked around with no plans, but ended up at a few anime related stores, a big adult manga store again (accident i promise..), the mall… and ate ramen. the way you get the ramen is from a little ticket machine outside the restaurant. you click what you want, and pay at the machine- then walk into the restaurant with the ticket which they take from you. walked around more, a few different stores and toy stores so such stuff… we bought figures too. got tired then went home.
day six: shibuya ♡
sigh.. woke up too early again, had to wait for a while for laundry to dry which was so annoying… the bnb didn't have a dryer so had to hang it up to dry, which is apparently normal over here too. either dry it outside or in the shower room with the 'clothes drying' fan turned on. also, dying of starvation !
finally it finished, so we went to walk and got a chicken snack from 7/11. the chicken here is really good and cheap too. walked for a bit and then took the train to shibuya… walked around. we went and got a ticket for sushiro slot. while we sat there waiting a tourist lady kept getting popcorn on husbant's arm, instead of putting it to her mouth she kept throwing it trying to catch it in her mouth, like what the hell.. really weird. finally it was our turn though, and it was good but not amazing … just good for the price really. hama sushi is way better than sushiro i think, atleast this shibuya location was not good! we went to Shibuya 109 (super famous..) and it was kind of mid to be honest with you… didn't find anything i liked! we also went to magnet 109 which is marketed as the male version of shibuya 109 and it was really bad, like BAD! so we just kept walking around, the area is okay but too crowded and not many things to look at or do…. we saw a small protest.. there were so many police for like, three people. we were confused at what was happening because it looks nothing like the protests at home which is like hundreds of people with only four cops. by the way, we weren't even planning on going to see this but did by chance; shibuya crossing is a nothingburger. i didn't even realize we were on it, husbant said he saw tourists taking photos but i get i didn't notice because i was just trying to make sure i didn't smash into someone or get smashed into during the busy crosswalk! even though protest ended, there's tons of cops around shibuya. we tried Japanese KFC because husbant got a recommendation for it. it's super mid, and probably worse than regular kfc at home but i wouldn’t know … we then went to shinjuku and it was alright also… saw the 3d cat billboard which was cute i guess. kept walking and saw tons of prostitutes lol… but their prostitutes wear cute skirts and thigh highs with platform sneakers instead of skintight mini dresses and heels. funny how beauty standards and styles change depending on the place! plus, we saw some host club guys trying to get girls into the bars to spend money on them. dyed hair, hair clips, and cute dark outfits like male version of the girls (but not gay, they're catering to women). men in female dominated fields? went to another an arcade there which was pretty small, only one maimai cab. kept walking … eventually went back on the train back to our desired area, and went to another chill arcade that opens onto outside. stayed for a long while and drank lemonade at 10:57 pm… boba shops all closed (not even popular or common to see here.. x100 more shops at home, i realized it's not a japanese thing it's taiwanese?), pondering something sweet….
day seven: chilling ♡
i woke up at a decent time today and ate an egg salad sandwich .. actually, i woke up around 11 am this day. wow! we went onto the train and got off at harajuku again. we went to a small art thing which was free, but i was really sad because i saw a door, which said 100yen entry fee. had a coin and everything, and on the door there was a poster that featured a few artists i know and enjoy.. but it wasn't done being set up yet so we couldn't browse. sad sad, they didn't really know how to tell us since they didn't speak english but luckily we stayed outside the door opening and quickly realized. it's funny because i didn't even know this place would have them there, so i only got disappointed randomly. kept walking around, we walked around for a while. husbant got clothes and i got a keychain of a girl with a noose on it. inacore. we went to a nearby shrine which was really pretty and peaceful. we paid respects to it with coins and bowing like it instructed on a sign. took the train back to our desired area, and played some more games and hung out. we felt hungry so we got more sushi and strawberry parfait. after eating we went back to the arcade and played more games until we went home.
day eight: new unlock ♡
we woke up at 6:30am.. i have to get ready quickly because we’re leaving this airbnb to go somewhere else entirely! a new prefecture? i've been thinking.. i don’t even want to live in japan but i’m sad about having to go back home. there's so many amazing things here, i wish so badly i could have it at home. we successfully checked out of the bnb and had to take a detour to another city arcade bc husbant forgot his shopping bag from yesterday there!!! luckily they had lost and found and it was retrieved. like wtf, no one stole it... they didn't lose it further.. they had a whole database with every lost item which they hold somewhere. wow. they even folded the pants that were in the bag, i'm dead. we went to a shop and bought an extra small suitcase (carry on size) to put our overflowing stuff into. we only traveled with two carry ons so it was dicey to begin with. we boarded the first train for the journey to izu! …. it was confusing and feels shit … gonna be here forever aaaaa. my bag is heavy and it’s not even that comfortable it’s over, there's also a strange smell. swapped to the next train which was so convoluted to get, we were confused!
stopped at a local place for some food, they cooked fresh buckwheat noodles in front of our eyes plus some karaage chicken. the lady working there was really nice and said she liked my hair. i smiled and was shy about it. we ate most of it and then hopped onto the train! i could see the sea and even palm trees for the first time from the view of the train, it was crazy and so so beautiful!! the water is so blue, and it's sunny outside! after the train, it's now a multiple hour long bus… so much traveling is exhausting and boring, but at least the views out the window are amazing.
we finally arrived.. after the bus ride, it was about a two minute walk to the place. it's just a totally empty road for miles and miles... so it's lucky that this stay is so close to the stop. it's a building in the nothingness. the lady took a while to come to the front desk to come after ringing the bell, but we got checked in and unloaded our stuff which felt amazing after having it on our backs for so long. we went into the outdoor hot water bath and stayed in there for like two hours… watched the sunset and eventually the stars. finally got out, i'm a prune. after the hours long of travel and turning myself into soup in the water, it felt so nice to lay down. chilling on the futon in a yukata.. drinking grapefruit soda and crashed out.
day nine: going back ♡
woke up on the futon which was surprisingly comfy … slightly soft thing on top of the hard mats. getting ready to get some breakfast and the new jacket I JUST bought in harajuku, the zipper got stuck ugh.. genuinely want to fucking ____ myself. i only bought two clothing items here and one is BROKEN!!!!!! it’s black with straps and fur trim on the hoodie with black floppy bunny ears on the hood. but it’s BROKEN!!!! ug, idk why i’m so upset about it. had to put on my original fuzzy coat instead and went to investigate the breakfast situation. it’s apparently not included, it was difficult to communicate with everyone in rural areas since no english. the lady at the front said konbini and showed the map. we started walking down the long street, barely any sidewalks… we saw a big hawk or falcon sitting on some telephone wires. it flew away. we walked to a place and saw they sell sushi and we walked in but were confused.. a little kid ran out and was running around and then their mom (?) came and told us they do sell but it's too early right now only for lunch and said it come back basically. but she tried to help us and went on her phone to call someone but was like basically yea, no. so we were like thanks and kept walking. randomly, a car stopped and an older man ran over to us, we were so confused again. he showed a card with husbant's full name on it. he told us to come into the car. we were like what the hell, sure i guess… the drive was insane, so much beautiful sea views, palm trees, mountains. i've never seen such layered land like that, canada is so flat to be honest... on the way back we saw Fuji! i don't know how people are having to seek it out, maybe we were just super lucky with the fact it wasn't cloudy on this trip, saw it easily so often! it’s HUGE! ate egg salad sandwich again and sugar donuts in the ryokan. getting ready to check out now.. left and had to wait a while for the bus to come. decided to walk around a little trail for a little, it was lined with bamboo and seemed unkept so it was interesting. we were so scared the bus wouldn't come, but it finally did. saw so many beautiful views from the window once again! now onto another train. picked up and ate a salmon salt onigiri for the trip. THEN finally went on the bullet train and tried a strawberry mochi thing which was good but extremely sweet and two types of candy. both mid honestly! got off the train and went to arcade for a bit before check in time, to kill time of course.
checked in… we realized we accidentally got a love hotel, but it’s like not crazy like those ones you see online.. you know. it's just a bed with two chairs, coffee table, and a really nice bathroom. it was also cheaper than other hotels but looks stylish and clean so. maybe people are bothered by that. we didn’t even know! it should be okay though... at the arcade once more, and then we went to McDonald’s and tried exclusive Japanese items; but OMG DO NOT! PLEASE WHATEVER YOU DO!! do not eat the samurai mac. i mean you can if you want, i heard some people liked it but i really didn't. which is a shame, as it's two patties with cheese but the sauce is horror; i picked it because it said soy sauce flavour but no it's obviously gross teriyaki sauce. nopers. it was so so nasty i'm sorry.. ugh. after eating, went BACK to arcade and then went home!
day ten: being fat ♡
we woke up and walked to go get strawberry, fresh cream and chocolate crepes! they were super good and from a small little hidden place. after that we walked around and the sun was out and weather was perfect! went to an arcade after. ugh it’s SO sunny and nice out outside. wearing thin sweater! went to an arcade for a bit… walked around in the sun… drank coke zero.. lovely day. saw a bunch of local dudes walking into some random place so we got food there. probably the best food so far! obviously no english menu available and intimidating to walk into because no tourists or ipad ordering lol. a small rice bowl, some thin beef on a skillet, bowl of miso soup, and salad for super cheap.. it was so so good! andddd now back at the arcade. walked around more… then went back to the hotel for a bit to rest, then went back out. played for some hours at a different arcade, it’s funny to see old salary guys in the smoking room of the arcade taking breaks before hopping on a game. it’s so busy today. we got mcdonald’s again, but i learned from my mistake. got a regular mcdouble basically. back at arcade and drinking some water. went to 7/11 to get fibe mini, (didn't work). went home.
day eleven: ebi fry ♡
we woke up and then immediately went to japanese denny’s (never even been to a regular denny's). got omurice with a fried shrimp and karaage.. kawaii. it was very good, but one of the more pricier things in comparison to everything else we ate. we walked around, and then went to arcade (how many times did i go to an arcade this trip?). went to the subway and went to shinjuku! we went to the mall there and walked around but didn’t find anything again, mid…. or are we picky? sorry. kept walking around… but the weather started getting bad and quite rainy. headed back to base and went to an arcade again. BUT it smelt weird asf so we left to the other one. after a while, we decided to try a different location of sushiro which we tried in.. harajuku? this time it was soooo good!! immediately upon sitting down, it was different. because there was no ipad - it was a massive TV sized screen on the side of table for us to use, and higher quality and even had a game on it lol. ate the usual stuff but also tried mackerel sushi, and some other fishes that i can't remember but didn't try before… it was super yummy. a weird item we tried was a salmon nigiri that had a piece of mozzarella and pesto on it. it sounds so weird but it was good! got strawberry parfait too, and tried a bit of their yuzu parfait.
went back to the arcade, and when we left we had to walk in the rain and it was so cold why!! ended up bypassing some of the walk in the cold by going through the subway underground. got home and took a long hot soak in the tub, it had a jacuzzi which was relaxing.
day twelve: harajuku p.2 ♡
woke up late today, but ended up getting crepes again. so yummy... i wish i could have them again.. went to harajuku again but didn’t find anything, ugh! also that main tourist street in harajuku legit smelt HORRIBLE, i don't know what it was, but we had to run away. we didn’t even go on the street, simply walked by it and was horrified had to speed walk away quickly! we kept walking and got annoyed because nothing was there, and got a little lost. there was probably good stuff hidden away in back streets that we missed but it was nowhere to be found really. we were getting kind of tired and ready to go back home (real home, in canada). we retreated and went back on the train and headed to arcade to relax. but now i’m hot and still kinda annoyed.. i suppose not sleeping much is catching up to me.. went to don quijote and got a black gloomy bear to match my black monchhichi.
we walked into a random food place full of salary men, no english menu, and kind of confusing. when we got seated, we can see right into the kitchen from a bit of a distance which was cool. ate a super delicious ramen with pork, tons of some kind of veggie which i'm not sure what it was... perfectly soft boiled egg… and some gyoza and karaage…. so so good.. SO GOOD! kind of chilly out and feeling tired again. played more games. then, back at the hotel around 7:00pm (earliest ever) and gonna probably bed rot for a bit.
day thirteen: last day ♡
i woke up and ate some candy in bed. packed up and squeezed in my stuff tightly into my carry on to the best of my abilities and left to check out. now immediately at the arcade, no breakfast.. real unemployed hours. there are only obviously unemployed people here and seemingly retired older men in the smoking rooms. ate mcdonald's again (oops) and then went onto the subway and headed back on the journey home. some lady at the station was yelling angrily saying she better not miss her flight and how she's irritated, but the workers didn't understand because she was yelling in english. it was pretty jarring but i tried not to look. everyone traveling with kids seems so stressed, the kid won't even remember the trip anyways so what is the point... someone tell me... ? arrived at narita airport again, i hated this airport, it was so creepy and dingy and gross. everyone looked like a scary zombie and it was freaking me out.
security touched me and made me take off my uggs, annoying. i never have anything on me, but they insist on copping a feel! most people don't experience this treatment... am i carrying explosives or drugs? perhaps so.. the plane ride was horrible as usual. i felt sick a lot, because i was feeling overheated. the food was exceptionally middington or worse. at least i got a piece of chocolate cake from a plastic bag. there was also a lot of loud crying which wouldn't stop for hours, literally the meme!
final thots ♡
11 hours later, and i'm back in canada.. the vibes are immediately different; for one.. the airport over here is very nice and welcoming. huge contrast to hear people chattering on the trains as well... felt good. but then i saw the overpriced vending machines full of sloppa.. sad.. you can't win them all you know... the train home got delayed due to a medical emergency. a stabbing perhaps? well well i'm really and truly finally home now.
from my observations.. at least in the subway and dense areas during work hours / early morning, most people are walking around with a straight face / not talking or emoting in any way. i only see people that appear happy during the nights when all the wagies get drunk, or i suppose afternoon - night when the vastly unemployed young people begin hanging out. laughing loudly and saying things i don't understand from the depths of their stomach. propagating the rhythm game arcades, gacha / capsule arcades.. or inside / near the malls. people are often outwardly polite here during interactions, they follow a perhaps unspoken code of mutual respect for each other and their public spaces. i was really taken aback the first time in the subway where it was completely silent (sometimes it isn't totally silent, but it's still quiet.. and NEVER any videos or audio from phones playing out loud).. later on during my trip it seemed like it ended up getting louder and louder though depending on the train i was on; but either way it was definitely just quiet in general, and i'm not even just talking about the people! their actual trains are mostly very smooth and silent which is extremely different than back home, and not to mention very clean. when i got home i immediately noticed the dirty seats and floor in the subway and trains... and of course the loudness.. and of course, how large everyone is. lol
i will miss so so so much the super cheap delicious food that didn't feel sloppa or gross... the clean spaces.. the super clean public washrooms, feeling safe and not afraid to put my phone in the front pocket of the backpack, the konbini, feeling safe walking down random dark alleys (i lowkey did see a random big japanese dude with sunglasses and a suit in the middle of an alley standing all alpha-like near the street with the prostitutes which was kind of sus (yakuza pimp?) but we won't talk about that right now because it was only once okay.) the day after getting home, of course we have no groceries in the fridge so we went to get some sandwiches, and seeing the fact two sandwich combos with drink was 40 bucks... when most of our food at real restaurants in japan were sometimes less than 20 dollars... it hurt badly. i can't imagine how cheap it was when the yen was super down!
but anyways, i want to go back.. i'm not sure when though.. it was such a spontaneous trip and decision too.. didn't really plan much, and went on like a weeks notice. probably the best way to do it though, no? i hate anticipation and worrying.. ugh.. i miss you japan. it's too cold at home. but i'm also glad to be home, so i'll enjoy being home until i decide to go back maybe next year! ahh.. being in my own bed… okay i'm back online again.
thank you for reading !! ԅ( ˘ω˘ԅ)