setra | Entries tagged with japan

Multiple cuts is so much work....

Day 6 complete and now I get a whole day off!
( Work Today )

Since several people have asked, things are much better at my store. And will be even more better soon. I did talk with my boss a bit, and we appear to have settled things. With Inventory and the RVP visit over with for now, we're all hoping things will settle for a while, though it is August, so the roughest quarter of the year is still ahead of us.

I'm at a pretty much total standstill on Kiyomori... mostly because I broke the rhythm I had going and am a bit nervous to start back up. I /did/ however, get a couple yards of a /beautiful/ white brocade at the ARC last week and think it will work much better than what I had for his white layer. Additionally, we got in some new houndstooth suitings at work, so I have a new possibility for P4 costumes. Though I'm tempted to try to just throw together their casual outfits and buy wigs instead.

That pretty much covers my life updates. More tomorrow since I won't have work to distract me. :D

On an unrelated note, Corina and I figured out that the Heike memorial site thing I linked to before is most likely actually way way south at 赤間神宮, near the site of the Dan-no-Ura battle. Too far for her to see.

Also also, ( Random Mainichi Shinbun Rant )

There will be new TeniPuri games. For the DS. "Doubles no Oujisama" 'Girls, Be Grecious' (with female PC) and 'Boys, Be Glorious' (with male PC).
I ~~need~~ want Girls-side for Tezuka and Kura. I want Boys-side for Fuji and Sanada. But what I really want to know is: WHERE IS THE HIGA!? (Also, why no Zaizen, Konami? What did the punk ever do to you?).
The game seems to be about a 'street doubles tournament'. You get to play doubles with your chosen partner and you control the flow of the tennis by gaining the catchphrases (and moves) of other characters. Anyway... they're on my list now. And if I happen to stumble across a million dollars, I may try to get both just so I can have the super-special talk CD with Ryoma plus BUCHOU(s) (Including Kite, so WTH Konami?). (Even though you get the CD by mail order and I am not in Japan. ;_; So sad.)
Prior to purchasing either of those though, I really really want Haruka 3 plus Izayoiki for PSP. It's cheaper on Amazon.jp, but they won't ship it to me in America. Because they're jerks.

Unfortunately both fall a sad second place to my screen printer. Which I get to order on monday, I think. So excited. Oh yes. I may end up running my own IST that same day just so that I can pick it up and pay at my store. We'll see.

Today.
Work killed me. Don't know why it was so hard but it just felt /so/ long... ;_;

After dinner, I wanted to walk around the mall a little. Which resulted in me buying a new phone. Which overall will probably serve me very well. It's just not what I expected to do tonight. It's a Blackberry Pearl Flip. And I am a very pleased Maya so far. We'll see how long it takes me for it to drive me nuts.

The rest of the past couple of days, I've spent a lot of time looking at Izayoiki cosplayers online. Mostly for ideas and thoughts (dos and don'ts) on Masaomi. The very idea of the jacket is making me kind of crazy at this point.

Unless you are really really interested in the inner workings of my mind on fabric choice, color usage and embellishment technique for this specific costume, you probably don't want to click this:
( Links and comments under here )

I'm... tense.
I think that's the right word. I feel like I can't stop thinking, even though I'm exhausted and don't want to think about things at all.

I need to stop looking at stuff about tours/concerts/appearances/performances by my idols. It makes me feel... lonely. Small. Needy. Like... what am I doing wrong in my life that I can't plan like these other people can and get out there to see things. I just... it's been so long since I've been in Japan. And it's hard sometimes. Knowing that if I was braver or a stronger person, with more self-control, I could be there doing these things. I could be seeing these things live, really, and not just sitting here trying to live vicariously.

At the same time, I know I should be incredibly grateful for what I have, which is so much more freedom and shininess than a lot of people get. I AM greatful. I know that I'm lucky. I'm just... having one of those days.

And I have to go to the doctor tomorrow for the first time in like... two years. Starting with blood work. I still hate needles, and I'm not all that fond of doctors and I really really don't want to be told all the things that I already know are wrong with my body and lifestyle.

[Edit: "Beautiful Days" is making me cry. Damn hormones and lack of sleep.]

Current Music: "Beautiful Days" - Arashi

But /someone/ distracted me.

You know what, Masaomi?
You just keep being difficult.
Just keep it up and I'll give up on finding out what flower you ACTUALLY have on your damn kimono and you'll just end up with DAISIES! Or roses!
That'll serve you right.
So there.
Irritating jerk.

On the plus side, I did figure out how he wears the damn thing (it /is/ a kimono and not a noshi-type). *grumble*SlackerNotAProperHeike*grumble*

[Edit for Cosplayer Image Explosion: At least mine will not look like this. 　May not be as cool as these though.　I'm a little jealous of the armoring stuff on this one, but again... the kimono around his hips? Hello?
Also, for reference: Tomomori shirt?.　And speaking of my favorite Taira general... I have brocade jealousy - especially this girl's. (I secretly think ours will come out beautifully, but I have to whine.) We are not the first to have had the Shigehira idea. Also, look! Another Saku!]

In conclusion, not enough people cosplay Masaomi. Fewer really get even /most/ of his details right. (This one's my favorite.Yet so many of them have better wigs than I do. ;_; You make me sad Japan.

NOW... sleep. >.> I am so never allowed on the internet again.

But /someone/ on my Flist wanted desperately to see the two TeniMyu Saitohs together...

Whoever you were, you would likely enjoy this entry on Yasuka's blog. Just sayin'.

Also: I love Japan. Pictures from

felessan along with various shows and things that I've seen and learned about over the last couple of weeks have further cemented this fact in my mind. I love Japan more than almost anything else in the whole world. The more I know about it and it's crazyness the more I adore it. Seriously.

[EDIT]
Dear Okiayu Ryoutarou Fans,
Please to be READING the rules about commenting on his blog. Also, consider FOLLOWING said rules about commeting.
/I/ am a foreigner. /I/ do not speak Japanese terribly well, and I write it even worse, but I can understand the rules that he is clearly trying to state for us AND the reasoning behind them.
Could you all please act like who actually /speak/ his freaking native language and have the decency to respect the sanctity of the rules.
Thank you.
-Maya
[/rant][/EDIT]

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: "October" - Suwabe Jun'ichi as Atobe Keigo

I told

reposoir that I'd get her directions to Animate in Kyoto and Osaka... and I'll probably add some others on here for my own nostalgia.
(First! OMG Animate Hirakata-ten!? Why was this not there when I was at Gaidai? :3)

Animate Shop Listing

( Ramblings and directions about 4 animates I know well... more to come? )

And pulling some older directions out of emails to friends...
( Two Mandarake in Osaka - older directions )

There are Japanese editions of Nightrunner.
This boggles my mind.
Better? All the cover and insert art is by Yuki Kairi. Yeah. The Angel Sancuary one.
A lot of the names are not quite as I would have katakana-fied them... but then Seregil would come out sounding a little too much like uragiru in my version anyway.
It's very odd to me that I was considering purchasing the translations, especially since they come up to about $25 per book (because of multiple volumes). The art and the novelty would almost be worth it. I'll deffinitely be keeping an eye out for them if I'm ever in a book off again. >.>
Alec and Seregil have fully taken over my brain again. Well, when Nino isn't around. I feel so bad for my normal muses. I think they're in hiding. Except when Jess mentioned Masako earlier.... but it was the wrong one. ;_;

Um. Yeah. That's all.
Off for a whole three days now. My goal is to get Hyoutei polos and jersies done. May also be in Denver Saturday for an event of truly epic proportions... if I'm brave enough. We'll see.

[Edit: I missed GO-YA Day (5/8). I feel like a complete failure in my Higa.Okinawa fandom. At least I spent the whole day smiling every time I had to date something at work. ^^;;)

That's not just a musical of Journey to the West. That's specifically a musical adaptation of Kazuya Minekura's Saiyuki Manga. Doori had an audition today and my brain ran in tiny little circles imagining him as Goku. I am, however, incapable of thinking of anyone other than Genki who should get the role. He'd be so perfect (especially considering he's already playing Tokito for Wild Adapter Stage). ^_^

...that's all for now. The store is half clean. Tomorrow I get to be hard-ass on my closers, because tonight was stupid. Also, this damn cold sore had better go away before I stab myself in the face.

Now for some sleepies and then taxes and more Hyoutei if I have time.

My Dearest Japan,
We need to have a talk.
I take issue with your Dramas.
You seem to be suffering from the mistaken impression that only lesbian school girls can have happy endings.
You are sadly, sadly mistaken and you make me cry.
While you have apparently given up on ending BL storylines with improbable death-by-stabbing scenarios, your continued fixation with tragic love affairs frustrates me.
Your casting decisions attempt to make up for this, but fail to fully compensate.
I know that you /can/ make romantic dramas with happy endings. Seriously.
Consult your BL mangaka, they manage it all the time.
Please feel free to try harder next time. Yasuka's movie would be a great start.
Love,
Maya

Why yes, I did just watch 6 hours of 恋愛診断. What?
I cried in the end of the last arc. I admit it.

Incidentally, I'm going to upload the torrent for the full series and keep seeding for a while, since I know someone found me mentioning it here before.

Home from Japan. And it's still not real. I didn't have baranoneko's terrible plane experiences, and once home I got some food and started sorting out the things that I got for people over at

tenimyu.
The trip was wonderful, there were some dissapointing points, but many fantastic ones as well.
I'm exhausted at the moment, but people can be expecting goods updates and more trip commentary after work tomorrow.

NOTE: All goods/photos/dvds requested from TeniMyu will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis based on comment order on the original post.

I failed to get as many copies as needed of some things... some because they simply weren't availiable either used or new... and some because Animate's shipments were slow and time wouldn't allow me to wait them out. But that's another story.
For now. Home. Sleep.

Tonight I'm thankful for efficient plane trips, DL3, Takumi, Kazuki, and

ladyofthegate. Also, for the Yagyuu and Yuushi in my head. Mmmm... メガネ.