Japan Trip 2019

Hello and welcome back to Tiro Finale! At the end of July this year, I went on a much anticipated trip  to Japan with a good portion of the Tiro Finale crew. The occasion was of course Wonder Festival 2019 Summer held on the 28th of July. But perhaps more importantly, its a rare opportunity to meet and hang out with friends that live and work across the sea! One that I'm not gonna pass up if I can at all help it.

Snwplrd's ongoing series  will go over much of the details of the trip itself, so I will instead focus on giving my two cents on our trip there.

This being the Tiro Finale gang, our destinations naturally included visiting otaku culture hotspots such as Nakano Broadway. It's my third visit to this mall, but the sheer volume and variety of goods available in Mandarake and the myriad of stores here never ceases to make me giddy inside to see what potential treasures can be found in the jungle of figures and knick-knacks. A fun time as always, made the better with friends.

Alongside that naturally also included a visit to Akihabara. I've visited the otaku capital more than a few times by now, and with the expert guidance of veterans in the crew we cased the area with great efficiency, managing to visit all of our preplanned destinations, while still managing to spend a comfortable amount of time in each.

Places like Nakano Broadway and Akihabara are absolute meccas for the expected fare of anime, merchandise, gaming, arcades, books and electronics. New to me this time is realizing that these are also great place to shop for other things, specifically watches, with an immensely broad selection of quality timepieces from manufacturers my pleb self have never even heard of. Luckily I had a subject matter expert to show me the ropes (many thanks!). I was definitely tempted to finally get my own timepiece then and there, but alas the budget this time would not allow for such luxury this time around. But next time!

Moving on to ostensibly the main event of the trip, for Wonfes we got up early on the Sunday morning and trekked all the way to the Makuhari Messe convention hall in Chiba to get in line. It's my first time attending Wonfes and despite knowing what to expect, the sheer number of attendees waiting in line did feel a little intimidating. Luckily for us, the weather in Tokyo in the first few days was fantastically cloudy and cool considering it was the famously hot Japanese summer. Before long, what must be the at least kilometer-long line quickly shuffled into the event hall in an orderly manner, and before long we got into the hall proper.

And I must say, Wonfes certainly lives up to its reputation, if the prior accounts from the other Tiro Finale members were anything to go by. Booths from practically every figure manufacturer sprawled neatly across the massive hall, showcasing new and upcoming products, with many booths even selling a surprising amount of merchandise for what is essentially an exhibition event.  And despite the sheer number of attendees here, the venue surprisingly enough did not feel congested in the slightest, with hardly any overly long lines in most exhibits, allowing us to quickly and comfortably browse and admire the offerings in all of the booths. A great step up from the usually overly packed conventions I previously attended.

Just across the first hall are two more massive halls filled with many, many smaller manufacturers and other indies showcasing and selling their goods, ranging anywhere from cute animal knick knacks to some serious homebrews that make most official figures look adorable in comparison. An interesting experience to be certain, but unfortunately despite spending practically half a day there, we had to leave most of the third hall unvisited as the halls prepared to close down for the day.

I did really enjoy my time at Wonfes, and will definitely be interested in visiting future events if the timing permits. Definitely a recommended experience, especially with some friends!

In light of the extremely unfortunate events at Kyoto Animation's Studio one, we made arrangements to change our day trip to Numazu into a visit to Kyoto. The site of the event was a somber scene, with reporters and people coming to give their prayers alike standing in absolute silence in an already quiet neighborhood. It's a heavy scene to witness firsthand, and I probably can't quite describe the tragedy of it all, with the loss of all that irreplaceable talent and lives... I can order pray for the well-being of those affected, pray that they recover and get back on their feet, pray that the studio can get back on its feet and continue their admirable dedication to their  amazing craftsmanships, and pray no more such incidents occur again. I wish them all the best going forward.

Since we were in the area, we also took a short trip to Byodoin Temple in the nearby Uji city. Built back in the Heain period 10th century AD. The absolutely gorgeous Buddhist temple stood serenely in the middle of a small pond of a beautiful green tea-esque water. The serene scenery of the place was a welcome lift-up after  previous somber event.

For now I think I will leave my thoughts at that, and I might cover other things in another post. It was a wonderful trip down to Japan as it fortunately always is. But better than the place itself is the great company I had with me, many thanks guys for having fun together. Wish our next trip together can't come some enough!