or; what happened to all my money.
Jun. 21st, 2010 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soundczechficSam has already posted about our trip to Japan, so I thought I'd skip all the stories and just show you my haul:
follow the link to see an annotated version.
I started off with just one program, then developed a serious problem. They weren't expensive, so it wouldn't be that bad, except books are HEAVY and we still had to fly home. I ended up putting almost all the books and magazines in the Dream Boys tote bag and taking it on the plane as carry on. Every time I had to go through security I wondered what it looked like to them - Can they see the inside of the books, or do they just think I'm super studious and carrying my textbooks around with me??
Finding that lamdash pamphlet was one of those moments where it felt like Kame was somewhere behind the scenes orchestrating the best outcome for us... it was our last day before we had to fly home and we'd been walking around trying to find duty free cosmetics. We ended up in the basement of the Shinjuku Yodobashi because it had promised "beauty products" but all we got were hairdryers and electric toothbrushes. So we were standing there feeling kind of angry and talking about what to do next, and then I turned my head and half naked Kame was staring at me from a cardboard cut out. It was kind of a beautiful moment. Sam took an instax photo with him and then kept sticking it in random places and waiting for me to notice it. At one point she put it on the wall of the elevator and had to yank it down quickly when a staff member got into the lift.
I always buy a heap of doujinshi and then feel sort of deflated when I can't actually understand any of it - it's like in my brain I'll take them home and suddenly magically be able to speak Japanese. It can be really enjoyable reading them and trying to figure out wtf is going on. I lucked out this time and got one where Jin, for some reason, is a bear that looks exactly like Gloomy Bear, and he turns into a human so he and Kame can have sex, and then they have a baby that has little bear ears. And at some point he's trying to get Kame to have more sex with him and he accidentally scratches him with his gloomy claws. Then he goes away and angsts a bit. Meanwhile Kame collapses from exhaustion (???). Then they're a happy family again. The end.
In another I thought it was a straightforward DJ about Kame missing Jin while he was in LA. Then I got halfway through it and realised that it's an AU where Kame is Jin's fan who is distraught about the hiatus (the first hiatus). I realised this because halfway through there is another Kame who is at the press conference upon Jin's return. Fan Kame watches real Jin/Kame on tv. Then he talks a lot to Fan Nakamaru. Then it ends. Pretty illustrations though. At least it didn't turn into hardcore porn.
It was my first time going to the Johnny's Store and even though people had tried to tell me how crazy it was I didn't believe them. You have to go get a ticket from a Johnny's staff member outside the station in Harajuku, and it has a time on it. That time is when you can come back and queue. So you might have to wait an hour before you can even join the queue. Then you stand in queue and lol at all the white people who walk past and look really confused about why there is a random queue of girls but no sign of what they are queueing for. Then another Johnny's staff member leads you through the backstreets, trying to usher you into a more orderly line as you walk. Then you walk into the shop and it is basically just a cramped room covered in shop photos, clusters of girls with pens and paper furiously scribbling down numbers. I didn't think I would have a problem resisting shop photos but once you're in there you get kind of swept up in the moment and inevitably buy more than you intend to. I wouldn't have been able to stop but Sam suddenly took control and was like, "NO. STOP. STOP. WE HAVE TO STOP."
I still managed to spend about $30 though. There are some photos of a handful under the cut - I bought more but I thought I'd just give you the general gist.
vampire kame might be my favourite photograph in the history of photography.
follow the link to see an annotated version.
I started off with just one program, then developed a serious problem. They weren't expensive, so it wouldn't be that bad, except books are HEAVY and we still had to fly home. I ended up putting almost all the books and magazines in the Dream Boys tote bag and taking it on the plane as carry on. Every time I had to go through security I wondered what it looked like to them - Can they see the inside of the books, or do they just think I'm super studious and carrying my textbooks around with me??
Finding that lamdash pamphlet was one of those moments where it felt like Kame was somewhere behind the scenes orchestrating the best outcome for us... it was our last day before we had to fly home and we'd been walking around trying to find duty free cosmetics. We ended up in the basement of the Shinjuku Yodobashi because it had promised "beauty products" but all we got were hairdryers and electric toothbrushes. So we were standing there feeling kind of angry and talking about what to do next, and then I turned my head and half naked Kame was staring at me from a cardboard cut out. It was kind of a beautiful moment. Sam took an instax photo with him and then kept sticking it in random places and waiting for me to notice it. At one point she put it on the wall of the elevator and had to yank it down quickly when a staff member got into the lift.
I always buy a heap of doujinshi and then feel sort of deflated when I can't actually understand any of it - it's like in my brain I'll take them home and suddenly magically be able to speak Japanese. It can be really enjoyable reading them and trying to figure out wtf is going on. I lucked out this time and got one where Jin, for some reason, is a bear that looks exactly like Gloomy Bear, and he turns into a human so he and Kame can have sex, and then they have a baby that has little bear ears. And at some point he's trying to get Kame to have more sex with him and he accidentally scratches him with his gloomy claws. Then he goes away and angsts a bit. Meanwhile Kame collapses from exhaustion (???). Then they're a happy family again. The end.
In another I thought it was a straightforward DJ about Kame missing Jin while he was in LA. Then I got halfway through it and realised that it's an AU where Kame is Jin's fan who is distraught about the hiatus (the first hiatus). I realised this because halfway through there is another Kame who is at the press conference upon Jin's return. Fan Kame watches real Jin/Kame on tv. Then he talks a lot to Fan Nakamaru. Then it ends. Pretty illustrations though. At least it didn't turn into hardcore porn.
It was my first time going to the Johnny's Store and even though people had tried to tell me how crazy it was I didn't believe them. You have to go get a ticket from a Johnny's staff member outside the station in Harajuku, and it has a time on it. That time is when you can come back and queue. So you might have to wait an hour before you can even join the queue. Then you stand in queue and lol at all the white people who walk past and look really confused about why there is a random queue of girls but no sign of what they are queueing for. Then another Johnny's staff member leads you through the backstreets, trying to usher you into a more orderly line as you walk. Then you walk into the shop and it is basically just a cramped room covered in shop photos, clusters of girls with pens and paper furiously scribbling down numbers. I didn't think I would have a problem resisting shop photos but once you're in there you get kind of swept up in the moment and inevitably buy more than you intend to. I wouldn't have been able to stop but Sam suddenly took control and was like, "NO. STOP. STOP. WE HAVE TO STOP."
I still managed to spend about $30 though. There are some photos of a handful under the cut - I bought more but I thought I'd just give you the general gist.
vampire kame might be my favourite photograph in the history of photography.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 01:58 pm (UTC)can't believe you bought.....copies of photos.........when i was however old i was when the spice girls came out, they used to sell these like, envelopes with five or so photos inside. it was like a lucky dip! i collected them. but i mean. that was before the internet was created -THE INTERNET, WHERE ALL PHOTOS END UP. that said, okay, maybe i approve of the vampire kame photo purchase.
where are those strands of origami cranes. what is that all about. i like those. did you by chance pull a few strands off?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 09:13 pm (UTC)AND I USED TO BUY THOSE SPICE GIRLS PHOTOS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:38 am (UTC)YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU GET SO CAUGHT UP IN THE EXCITEMENT. AND MOST OF THEM ARE SHOP PHOTOS THAT HAVEN'T MADE IT TO THE INTERNET YET SO PART OF YOU BRAIN IS LIKE, I MUST OBTAIN THIS RARE TREASURE....
they're at the peace park / atomic bomb memorial in hiroshima. so..... it didn't feel right to steal them.........
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 02:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 03:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:41 am (UTC)WHEN DO YOU LEAVE! exciting~
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 01:57 pm (UTC)Btw, Were you allowed to bring bags into the concert hall? Is it impossible to sneak a camera in?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 02:01 pm (UTC)TOMORROW SO EXCITING~ HAVE FUN
no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-21 11:00 pm (UTC)♥ YAY JAPAN
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:47 am (UTC)i didn't have that many photos of me on my camera! sam took some on hers... i creepily have a billion of her because i tend to just take hundreds of pictures. i hate having my photo taken though, i always feel like you can tell how much it horrifies me from my slightly uncertain facial expression.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 11:22 pm (UTC)I did see some pictures of you in sam's post :DDDDD A;LSKJF;LAJ....JUST CHANNEL KAME AND SMILE LIKE AN IDOL. :D
example
Date: 2010-06-23 09:30 am (UTC)Re: example
Date: 2010-06-23 01:35 pm (UTC)Re: example
Date: 2010-06-23 09:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 09:27 am (UTC)SO GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME
no subject
Date: 2010-06-22 10:48 am (UTC)we had the best time <3 so glad you could come to tenimyu <3 WE WILL MEET AGAIN SOME DAY SOON....
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 07:26 am (UTC)Do you want the Ueda keychain? I love Uepi but I have no use for it.
anyway why are there no pix of you? naked
that bear doujinshi sounds AFUCKINGMAZING. get someone on boysframed to translate it, pls 6_6
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 03:46 pm (UTC)i will gladly rehome the ueda keychain
i'm saving the naked pix for suicidegirls.com
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 12:41 pm (UTC)YOU HAVE KAME'S DAZED AND CONFUSED. YOU HAVE THE LAMDASH PAMPHLET. YOU WENT TO THE JOHNNY'S SHOP AND BOUGHT LOTS OF SHOP PHOTOS.
My life: :/
Your life: :D
P.S. Those are awesome pics :(
P.P.S. STILL REALLY JEALOUS.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 03:48 pm (UTC)i had to wait for ages to buy the kame dazed and confused because it was in the men's fashion section (it's a FUCKING MEN'S MAGAZINE, OH JAPAN) and this guy was browsing in it for ages and i couldn't see past him. i worked for that dazed and confused.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-04 03:06 pm (UTC)Okay creepy stalker comment is creepy. I JUST WAS INTERESTED IN THIS STORY IS ALL. ♥
no subject
Date: 2010-08-10 12:22 pm (UTC)