| Two weeks left! |
[Jul. 28th, 2009|10:54 am] |
I can't believe it's almost over! Two months! I guess it's because of the routine school gives you. It's been super fun though, and I still have the best part left, traveling! The plan is: Osaka (hp on 3D theatre, pkmn centre, aquarium), Hiroshima (peace park, museum), Fukuoka (snorkeling, bathing and sightseeing) and lastly Tokyo (mandarake shibuya, disneyland, mt. fuji) again. It's too bad I haven't been able to post the way I wanted, and I have tons of pics to show you guys. That will have to wait until I get home. I'll be traveling Japan with a newfound friend (Jonathan) and he's letting me borrow his laptop for storing pictures. We've booked places to sleep for all the remaining nights so I feel like the situation is under control.
Last weekend, this big fireworks event took place by the Nagara river in Gifu, and we all wore Yukatas and went down to the beach to watch. There were thousands of people there, and different kind of food stalls with japanese specialities. The Fireworks were awesome. They continued for 3 hours and took shapes of hearts and smiling faces. It was certainly something to remember.
I also sat down yesterday and calculated to total weight and cost for sending everything I've bought home to Sweden. Total weight was... 32 kg?!?! I had no idea it was that much. I was thinking maybe 10 on it's peak... So of course I couldn't send the stuff by airmail, I had to send it by ship which takes up to 3 months. (Siiiigh) Anyway I got almost everything I wanted to buy while here, the only thing I couldn't get was the Kaiji anime on dvd. Strangely, there are not a lot of shops in Japan selling anime dvds, and Kaiji is double the trouble since you can't get all dvds at once which makes it really expensive. (One dvd is 5000 yen, and there are 9 dvds. It's too much money for a poor student like me who's already bought the complete manga series lol)
I have to be honest and mention that I'm a bit homesick. I'm not tired of Japan, but I miss my friends, family and cats a lot. I wish you all could be here with me. |
|
|
| Crisis |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|12:34 pm] |
| [ | Mood |
| |  cranky | ] |
Right now I'm borrowing a friend's computer to tell you guys that my own computer is officially broken. No the computer itself, I think it's the power adapter that stopped working. Not that much of a surprise since I bought it on ebay. Still, it's making things a lot more complicated. I have nowhere to store my photos now, and I don't really have the money to buy a new adapter or a memory stick. I'll be back later with more info.
Btw, Bocchan wants to become an author hahaha<3
|
|
|
| Nerdpost go! *Now with panelsquee* |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|12:19 pm] |
Last sunday I went to Nagoya to look for good places to shop since Nagoya is Japan's third biggest city and lies about 10 minutes away from Gifu by train. After getting lost for a few hours(?) I finally found the Mandarake store I had been searching for. I didn't have a lot of money with me since the post offices were closed, but I certainly found some good doujinshi!
This was the first time I found anything by Underdog/takeshi which is my favourite doujinshika, so I'm suspecting he/she lives somewhere near Nagoya! (Ahhh, I wish I had gotten a response to the mail I sent her/him) I found a SaKaiSa doujin by takeshi I had never seen before, and when I read it I actually started to cry. It may seem weird to an "outsider", and the doujin wasn't all that sad but the way takeshi portrays the relation between Kaiji and Sahara, the way he/she draws it, it's so unrealisticly perfect. I can't remember reading anything more vivid, human and beautiful than this. I sent Nam-san some candies and a letter, I also included candies for takeshi so I hope Nam will send them forward. I really want takeshi to know how thankful I am for being able to join his/her and Nam's anthology. (And I want takeshi to know how much his/her comics mean to me. T_T )
A heads up! When I get home I will have a few doujinshis for sale which I didn't like or have got a double of. So later this summer, keep an eye out on the Zawa Zawa com and my other journal.
( Kaiji s4 ch5 )
|
|
|
| Gifu no seikatsu (Now with pics)! |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|12:53 pm] |
Now I haven't told you guys about my daily life here, have I?
I live in a dorm about 3-4 kilometers away from school. Gifu is a large city, so I was a bit worried we'd have to live in the middle of the city somewhere. But! Our dorm is located on a hill covered with bamboo forest, it's like a small refuge from the city. From the dorm you can see the mountains on the other side of the valley, and if you need to do some shopping you just walk down some narrow and steep stairs through the bamboo forest to be right back in the city again. Except that the dorm is pretty worn down (feels like it was built in the 60's) I like living here a lot. Everyone has their own small room with two big lockers, tatami mats, a balchony and a futon to sleep on. The futon is a bit too hard for my taste, but you get used to it. So far, there's only suedes from my Japanese class in Sweden here, but later on some Koreans will move in here. There's also a bunch of so called tutors who take turns to sleep here and make sure everything is ok. They're our age and we often go out to eat or sing karaoke together.
( Pics! )
A couple of people have started this kind of "game-club" at the dorm. Since old consoles and games are so cheap in Japan, some guys have bought a Super Famicom, a Sega Saturn, a Nintendo 64 and a PS2 along with a buttload of games. (They bought some for a bout 10 yen, lol) I haven't bought any games yet, but I sure am one of those who play a lot! It's usually during the evenings that we play, and w e have a lot of fun. Mario Kart is one of the games we play the most. Two days ago, we played Silent Hill 2. Or rather, we were like 5 persons who watched another person playing it, and since he'd played it before it was like watching a movie. (We had the lights out and everything) We played through the whole game that night, and I'd never have guessed how much depth and story there actually is in that game. I was positively surprised. Not that it's any games I would be playing by myself in a dark room, but watching someone else play it was very interesting. (Sometimes I get scared by playing Morrowind, so playing Silent Hill wouldn't be a great idea) Also last night we completed Super Metroid. Wonderful game with wonderful music.
( Kaiji S4 Ch4 ) |
|
|
| Osaka! |
[Jun. 23rd, 2009|02:09 pm] |
I have been super busy the last days running and cycling through both Gifu, Osaka and a lot of other places. I spend so much time exploring that I don't have much time to spend infront of the computer. Here comes an update of what I did last weekend though!
I went to the event in Osaka last sunday (Super Comic City) where a petit fkmt-event was to take place and indeed it did. After getting some good guidance through the subway to intex Osaka by Alicia or as others may know her, the nook, I finally reached my destination. The event was small but oh so awesome. There were cosplayers (Factory Akagi, Old Akagi, Zero, Kaiji, Uniform Gai, Yukio) and I won a small mahjong pin (red dragon) in a lottery they had arranged. They were all really friendly and talkative. I also got to meet some artists I admire, including the sakaisa artist 笑平san! I walked up to her and told her I wanted to buy all her books, and when I told her my nick was doraya she nearly fell off her chair! She was so surprised to see me there and I was so surprised she even knew who I was XD So she gave me all her books for free drew me a picture (I gave her some as well) and then we exchanged mails. At that time, I could certainly feel my chest pounding! x^D
After walking through the convention I head for the center of Osaka where I was supposed to meet up with Alicia. Since it was a while left before she'd arrive, I went into a big mall and did some exploring. There were tons of interesting shops, and on the roof of the mall they had built a small park, which was a nice break from the hectic city. There was this super skilled performer who was juggling with knives and balancing on a tower of different junk, it was really awesome. Then I went to the place Alicia and I had decided, and after saying hello, we went to go sightseeing, or should I say shopseeing? We went to a lot of famous brand stores like h.Naoto and Baby the stars shine bright. Alicia treated me to a drink which I think was some kind of cold strawberry tea with milk, and it was delicious<3 Wherever we went there was always something to investigate. For example, the streetlights were formed as those wooden mannequins you look at when you're trying to draw authentic anatomy. And when we were about to go home suddenly this diamond-clad-car shop pops up and we just have to take a peek. It was tons of fun!! Then we took a picture together and said goodbye before we went separate ways. My feet hurt a lot since I had been walking in wet shoes all day long, (It was raining really heavy when I was riding my bike to the station that morning) and sitting down on the train was really a relief. The ride home took a lot longer than the ride to Osaka, but when I finally got home my feet were pretty much dead. My feet was hurting, but it had been on hell of a fun day and at time, I was a very very happy person.
Unfortunatly there was no new Kaiji chapter this week. Damn you, young magazine!!
( Pics here! )
|
|
|
| YUS! Laptop accesssss |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|12:45 pm] |
I'm making progress, I'm making progress~
After disturbing the busy teachers in the media section twice I finally got access to the wireless connection on the University. Though, it's a pretty limited web access as I can't view pictures from photobucket, nor view videos from youtube. Since I'm using photobucket to post pics here, I'll have to find another web based uploading program that isn't banned over here. Suggestions anyone?
I still can't use my mail since it's not web based, and I have a feeling trying to get it to work will be a pain.
Yesterday I climbed one of the mountains surrounding Gifu and visited Gifu castle. The castle in itself was a bit boring since it didn't seem old at all, but they had a small musem inside with some weapons and armor. It was really cool! Then I went to the top of the castle and took in the view, it was fantastic. I took a lot of pictures which I hope to be able to post here later. We've heard a lot of stories about the bugs in Gifu, my senpais told me about finding something called Mukade in their beds and rooms and told us to watch out for them since their bites are worse than a wasp's sting (Even worse than a bålgeting's). So far we've found and killed five (there is actually a special spray for this kind of bug). Two of them was found in the rooms of my friends. I really don't want a mukade in my bed <:^S
I just got internet to work, and today I'll have to start planning my trip to Osaka and the fkmt-event. Tomorrow I'll try to figure out how to post pictures here.
( Kaiji S4 ch3 )
|
|
|
| Updates! |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|03:49 pm] |
Hello everyone! Since there's finally an opportunity, I decided to pop in here and tell you what's going on here in Japan. I've been in Tokyo, and have now moved into the dorm in Gifu, everything is going according to plan and I'm having a great time. The only problem is access to the net. I'm currently on a guided tour through the university, I'm typing on a japanese computer now. It seems as If I will have some problems getting acess to wireless connections in Gifu. Unless I can figure something out from the japanese windows manual I was given (and I have linux on my laptop) about the school wlan connection or find a cafe with wlan it looks as if I won't be able to post as much as I wanted.
Anyhow! In worst case scenario I'll still have a buttload of pictures to show you when I get home!
I've started collecting the Kaiji manga now and are currently up to vol 6 on 2nd season and vol 3 on 1st season. Also, I went to Mandarake In Akihabara and got my hands on like 30 Kaiji doujinshi (!!!!!!!), a bit disappointed in Animate though, since that store had it's own skyscraper, but there wasn't a single Kaiji thing in there except some manga and like 2 dvds. But, now on to......
( KAIJI SEASON 4 SPOILERS )
I don't have much more time to type right now, but I'm sure there will be more opportunities soon. I hope you're all doing well!
|
|
|
| I need some more icons orz |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|06:12 am] |
Today I left Småland after some loafing around at home, cuddling with my cats, and saying goodbye to my parents. I must admit it was pretty heavy on my heart to bid them farewell. Even though I'm only going to be gone for two months I'm still going to the other side of the world. When I finally settled down on the first train, an old lady started talking to me and we continued to talk until the last stop. We didn't really have anything in common except that we both love cats, but we managed to keep eachoter interested and it was a fun experience. When we were about to exit the train she grabbed my arm and said "Good luck in Japan" with a firm voice before we said goodbye and went separate ways. She was really cute<3
I met up with my brother in Linköping and we rode with the train to Stockholm together. He didn't have a ticket, and managed to freeload all the way lol. We played a lot of DS and I showed him games like "Cooking mama" and "Osu! Tatakae! Oendan" which are both really unique and super fun games. Seriously, I gotta do some fanart for the last mentioned, the characters are awesome<3
View of the capital of Sweden, Stockhom.
When in Stockholm, we met up with our sister, and together we went on a hunt for a restaurant. We found a luxurious Italian trattoria where we had a steak each and I changed cameras with my sister. The food was delicious, and once in a while the waiter would sing opera to the customers (!). After we were done eating and discussing post-apocalyptic roleplay (Something called lajv in swedish), we went to a cafe and sat down to have some coffeé and hot chocolate. After we were done there we went to the central station once again, but to go separate ways. It was a great farewell, I really enjoyed the evening with my siblings. Right now I'm in my friend's (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) citzera ) uncle's house in Stockholm, and tomorrow we're going to the airport to board the flight.
Getting a but nervous nowww ( ÓwÒ)
( Some more pics here )
|
|
|
| So full~ |
[Jun. 3rd, 2009|06:54 am] |
Today I finally began my journey towards the east- by going a few kilometers north, to Småland (Smaland) where I grew up. My two friends Stina (Ichijou cosplayer) and Emelie (maaayyybe Hyodo cosplayer) gave me a really cozy farewell<3 I got to test my new traveling trolley which even though it's large size, proved to be surprisingly easy to manuvrer in the crowded train. Im really happy I bought it, it's so perfect ... and green<3
When I arrived in Vimmerby/Småland my mom picked me up and we went to a café to get a bite before we went shopping for dinner. And what an awesome dinner indeed, beef tenderloin with aspargus and fresh potatoessss. Such a luxurious dinner was a huge and super nice contast to the instant ramen I've been eating the last days rofl.
Anyway, before the dinner, me and my mom went out in the woods to enjoy the nature. A small woodpecker family had moved in close to our house, so we watched them for a while before walking deeper into the forest to pick lily of the valles (Still don't know how to write that in plural). Almost emmediatly after we got home it started to rain. ( >_>) After that I took a nice hot bath, and then my dad came home from work. That's when we had our dinner! We watched a norwegian kids' movie which was surprisingly good (Friends forever) and had a really cozy evening together.
This is what farewells should be like, but I'm still gonna miss everyone.
And now, onto the pictures!
( Clicky here )
|
|
|
| First post! |
[May. 23rd, 2009|04:38 pm] |
ようこそ！
Welcome to my Japan-journal! This is where I'll be keeping you updated on my adventures in said country this summer.
 About me
As a student in the Japanese language of Lund's University in Sweden, I had the opportunity to apply to this summer course at Gifu University in Japan. I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for many years, and now I have finally made it this far. It's really like a dream come true. I named the journal after a song by The High-Lows, "胸がドキドキ" which basically means "My chest is pounding". It's a very positive and happy song, and that is the way I want to remember Japan.
About the trip
I will be in japan from 6/6 to 10/8 if I got everything right. Which is about ... 65 days or two months. I'll spend the first weekend sightseeing in Tokyo with some classmates, and after that we'll go to Gifu by Shinkansen. Then after some welcome parties and stuff we will have approx. two lessons of one hour each every day five days a week, and sometimes we'll go on excursions on Fridays. I will probably spend the weekends traveling and experiencing the country. When the course's done, I will be using a 7 day Railpass to travel the country for a few days. Important! Friends and relatives, do not text or call me when I'm in Japan! I'll be the one charged with insane fees! Use instant messaging or mail to reach me instead.
About the journal
Posts will be written in English and if I need to use Japanese words, I'll link to wiki or something so everyone can understand. Keep in mind that I LOVE Japanese comics and culture(not to mention my favorite series Kaiji), so there will definitely be some geeky posts here and there. I'll try to update as often as I can, but that will depend on how much access to the net I'll have. From what I've heard, there aren't a lot of wireless connections in Gifu.
You can browse through my posts by category if you click the "tags" link on the link list above. Could be pretty useful if you're looking for updates on anything in particular.
Comments are always appreciated and welcome! You don't have to be a member of LiveJournal to read or comment on my posts. Comment by clicking the "reply" text at the bottom of the entries. If there is something you don't understand about the navigation etc., feel free to ask!
I promise there will be a lot of pictures! ( ^w^)/
// Maja / doraya
|
|
|
hot
awake
busy
bouncy
sleepy
peaceful
calm
