John’s 2025 Tokyo Journey Day 7

Our subsequent to final full day in Tokyo started in earnest when Phil & I took the Keisei line practice to Shiodome the place we transferred onto the Yurikamome line that took us to the Tokyo Large Sight station. Simply throughout the Rainbow Bridge, as we handed into Odaiba, we may see the life-sized Unicorn Gundam, and close by it an enormous crowd of individuals gathered for the BMSG FES’25 music pageant.

We arrived on the Large Sight station at 10:30. My pal Jon knowledgeable us through textual content message that he’d arrive at 11:08. So whereas Phil browsed his telephone for updates on the upcoming Tokyo sumo match, I went downstairs to a merchandising machine and bought a 220 yen aluminum can of Suntory Hyper Zone Vitality Black Punch.

I believed the beverage was an vitality cola, nevertheless it describes itself as an “vitality drink.” It tasted like a cola combined with weak espresso. Jon arrived on time and instantly descended the escalator and thru the station’s exit gates. So Phil & I chased after him till we acquired him to come back again our manner. Then the three of us walked throughout the elevated walkway to the Large Sight conference heart.

I confirmed Jon the Comedian SDF 17 official web site. He seen that the web site didn’t stipulate the place precisely throughout the giant Large Sight conference heart the occasion was being held. So we went to the data desk, which directed us throughout the ground to the escalator. On the second flooring we instantly spied admission tables main into a comic book conference. The signage, nevertheless, mentioned nothing about “Comedian SDF.” As we tried to work out whether or not or not we have been on the right venue, an English-speaking information approached us. Once I confirmed him the occasion web site on my telephone, he mentioned we’d reached the right place. The conference admission was 1,500 yen. A duplicate of the printed conference catalog was a further 1,000 yen. I opted for each.

The ”small” conference flooring consisted of 9 rows of tables back-to-back, a complete of over 250 tables. One facet of the conference area, in opposition to the wall, was dedicated to shows of fan-created figures and jointed motion figures.

Two rows of tables adjoining to the show area got over to exhibitors who primarily supplied or displayed their custom-made, restricted version motion figures. The remainder of the room was full of newbie doujinshi artists grouped by parody. All the Kemono Pals doujinshi creators have been stationed collectively. All the Women Und Panzer doujin artists have been grouped collectively. All the Kantai Assortment artists have been collectively. All the Blue Archive artists have been collectively. The conference appeared to be themed towards army=esque bishoujo plus Kemono Pals.

I shortly realized the weird circumstance, by American requirements, that artists providing grownup and pornographic comics have been intermixed with artists promoting all-ages comics. Grownup comics have been labeled as such on their printed covers, however no different effort was seemingly made or required to differentiate erotica from all-ages materials. And little effort appeared obligatory as your complete inhabitants of the conference seemed to be younger adults, with a number of attendees like ourselves escalating into middle-age. I by no means noticed a single youngster on the present. There have been a average variety of cosplayers; almost all of them have been ladies. By tough estimate, the ratio of male to feminine artists was 80/20, however I did buy some erotic manga from younger ladies artists.

My conference haul was 23 doujinshi autographed by their creators, one doujinshi signed by artist “Fullauto Firing” with an accompanying easy sketch, two doujinshi from creators who declined to autograph their comics, two doujinshi from artists who weren’t current at their desk once I bought the comics, one Soiled Pair fortieth anniversary shade illustrated shikishi that value 1,500 yen, one shade mini-shikishi that value 1,000 yen, and one shade mini-shikishi that value 4,000 yen. I used to be particularly thrilled to seek out the Soiled Pair illustration. I used to be additionally thrilled to seek out artist “Blue Mage (Aoi Manabu)” whose doujin comedian “Soineya to Dagashiya,” I’d already bought a model new copy of from Mandarake 4 days earlier. I purchased a second copy straight from him that he autographed for me.

Once we exited the present and returned to the primary flooring, Phil requested that we detour so he may buy a drink. So we walked over to the Lawsons comfort retailer situated throughout the Large Sight constructing foyer. Once we reached the shop, I excitedly identified a poster promoting Heartcatch Precure items.

Jon defined to me that the poster was promoting one of many retailer’s ongoing Ichiban Kuji prize lotteries. For 770 I may buy a ticket that may be redeemed for a prize from class I by way of A; nevertheless, the shop’s singular A and B prizes, figures of Remedy Black and Remedy White, had already been received. Since I’d by no means participated in an Ichiban Kuji drawing earlier than, I made a decision to provide the lottery a shot, totally anticipating to win the “I” prize, a roll of Precure packing tape. On the Lawsons cashier counter, I handed over the acquisition card and 770 yen. The cashier picked up a field of Ojamajo Doremi tickets, scanned the field, and deposited my cash. Jon seen the error and defined to the cashier that I’d needed the Fairly Remedy lottery, not the Ojamajo Doremi lottery. The cashier apologized then needed to refund my fee to himself then re-deposit the fee into the money register machine’s coin collector. I randomly drew my ticket and peeled it open. I’d received one of many “H” prizes, a random Fairly Remedy keychain. One other retailer clerk introduced out 4 matching bins for me to select from. I picked one and dropped it into my backpack. The memorable expertise of successful a prize in an Ichiban Kuji marketing campaign is extra priceless to me than the meager prize I received. So I’ve no intention of opening the field to see which blind-box keychain I acquired.

Phil determined that the checkout line on the comfort retailer was inconveniently lengthy, so he as an alternative bought a drink from a merchandising machine. I recommended that we seize lunch at DevilCraft, one in every of Jon’s favourite eating places. So Jon led us on the trains from Koto Metropolis in Ariake to the DevilCraft bar and restaurant in Hamamatsucho.

We ordered a plate of waffle fries with meat chili adopted by a “giant” Detroit-style supreme pizza minus inexperienced peppers. Over the following few hours Jon ate a slice of pie, and he and Phil each had a number of beers. Our dialog ranged from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo to the Mission: Not possible movie franchise to St. Seiya anime installments to 1995’s Jyusenshi Gulkeeva tv collection to 1990’s Magical Taruruto TV anime to Studio A.P.P.P. and its 1999 Kacho Ouji tv collection to one-hit marvel bands that spun off from musician Prince and extra.

Round 7pm we parted methods on the Hamamatsucho practice station. Occurring recommendation from Jon, Phil & I walked to the very far finish of the #2 Yamanote line station in the hunt for the reproduction of the Belgian “Manneken Pis” statue. Once we realized that the statue was on the finish of the #3 platform, we walked round, up and down the terminal stairs, and to the tip of the #3 platform so Phil may snap images of the statue loving wearing a jester clown’s silken outfit for Halloween.

Then Phil & I took the trains again to Aoto. We parted on the station. Phil headed again to our rental home. I went to the Daiso retailer in the hunt for packing provides, however simply as I reached the shop, the intercom introduced that the shop was closing for the night time. So I walked again to our rental.

Phil caught up with the sumo highlights on YouTube. I referred to Google Maps and realized {that a} “small” two-story Don Quixote retailer and a comparatively giant Yoshinoya restaurant lay simply up the highway perpendicular to our home. After Phil was rested, we walked the ten-minutes from our home on 5 Chome to the Yoshinoya restaurant. After our dinner, we walked up the block to the “DonKi” retailer.

A radical examination of the shop turned up a wide range of surprises. The Don Quixote retailer appeared initially like a traditional Japanese grocery, however we found that it additionally carried small house home equipment together with tv and garments washers, bike helmets, clothes, exhausting liquor, youngsters’s toys, baggage, wrist watches, marital aids together with “concentrated horse penis extract,” and gag presents together with males’s underwear that dispense hand tissues by way of the crotch.

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