listening: akira sakata - silent plankton
watching: my cats running around the house ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
it's been a while since i wrote anything! the past couple of weeks have been a combination of boring and busy. i haven't gotten to go on many outings, game, or craft much, because i was busy wrapping up all of the import procedure to bring my cats over. they're here now, and recovered surprisingly quickly from their long journey. my husband is coming in 2 days as of writing this, i'm very much looking forward to us all being back together. 
picking up the cats from cargo was a pretty wild experience. because it took a while to get their paperwork ready to take from the airline to customs and quarantine, i spent a lot of time waiting and walking around in the haneda airport cargo area. the security guard let me sit in the employee break room for a while, too. i never thought i'd end up in the cargo staff break room of a major international airport, but i guess now that's something i can say i've done.
picking up the cats from cargo was a pretty wild experience. because it took a while to get their paperwork ready to take from the airline to customs and quarantine, i spent a lot of time waiting and walking around in the haneda airport cargo area. the security guard let me sit in the employee break room for a while, too. i never thought i'd end up in the cargo staff break room of a major international airport, but i guess now that's something i can say i've done.
on the weekend before last, i went to my neighborhood's sakura festival. i had planned to wear lolita, but wasn't feeling up to that on the day. i didn't stay long, but i got a photo of the city's soccer team mascot, and watched one round of wrestling from a local indie promotion. the wrestling match was a lot of fun!
the next day, i found out about kura's pokemon collab, on the very last day it was available. so i took the bus to kura nearby for lunch. the scream tail roll was my favorite of the collab items
the iron valiant peach soda float was good, but it turned a really gross color when the sherbet melted into the soda lol. i liked that the pikachu cake had popping candy on it to evoke pikachu's electricity, but it was too sweet overall imo. but i think pikachu's standee is the cutest of these three, so i'm still glad i got it.
on the way to kura, i had spotted a park with really pink sakura trees. i wanted to check it out, because most of the ones i had seen so far were more pale pink or white. kinda weird, but i really liked the design of this restroom too lol. very 1980s.
i decided to walk the rest of the way home, and saw a lot more nice scenery and flowers. this was my first time ever seeing snowdrop in real life!
in keeping with my esoteric outfit shots, i accidentally took this picture of my outfit when photographing the snowdrops haha.
the next day, i found out about kura's pokemon collab, on the very last day it was available. so i took the bus to kura nearby for lunch. the scream tail roll was my favorite of the collab items
the iron valiant peach soda float was good, but it turned a really gross color when the sherbet melted into the soda lol. i liked that the pikachu cake had popping candy on it to evoke pikachu's electricity, but it was too sweet overall imo. but i think pikachu's standee is the cutest of these three, so i'm still glad i got it.on the way to kura, i had spotted a park with really pink sakura trees. i wanted to check it out, because most of the ones i had seen so far were more pale pink or white. kinda weird, but i really liked the design of this restroom too lol. very 1980s.
i decided to walk the rest of the way home, and saw a lot more nice scenery and flowers. this was my first time ever seeing snowdrop in real life!
in keeping with my esoteric outfit shots, i accidentally took this picture of my outfit when photographing the snowdrops haha.
i also noticed last week that the pocket park on my street has two kinds of sakura trees! one is a super pink weeping cherry, and the other has the more whitish blossoms. i've been having a lot of fun taking pics of the flowers by themselves, and with my pokemon plushes. i finished making the pokemon fit lolita accessories i had been working on, and took them out for a photoshoot.
i also got a guide to identify the different types of sakura-- i couldn't find anything particularly useful in english, but this guide in japanese is very informative.
i also got a guide to identify the different types of sakura-- i couldn't find anything particularly useful in english, but this guide in japanese is very informative.
i've been selling some of my unwanted lolita items on fleamarket apps lately, and it's convenient to turn around and buy other people's secondhand items with the money i earn there. mostly i've been picking up retro games, they're not as jacked up in price on paypay fleamarket and rakuma, as they are on US markets or the brick-and-mortar game shops in tokyo that cater to tourists and otaku. also i got a lot of game guidebooks-- koudelka, boku to maoh, and lots of pokemon ones. i love the low poly 3DCG pokemon illustrations in the guidebooks for N64 and GC games, especially.
i picked up a wii and completed my gaming center, for now. made sure to get the backward compatible model so i can play the gamecube games i got, as well! i also ordered some lidded boxes for the cubby holes where i keep the handhelds. (cropped out of this photo) i don't like how messy it looks right now.
hopefully those arrive soon so i can stop looking at the ugly little piles.
i picked up a wii and completed my gaming center, for now. made sure to get the backward compatible model so i can play the gamecube games i got, as well! i also ordered some lidded boxes for the cubby holes where i keep the handhelds. (cropped out of this photo) i don't like how messy it looks right now.
hopefully those arrive soon so i can stop looking at the ugly little piles.
yesterday, i went up to shibuya to shop at a y2k/gyaru secondhand popup shop that had just opened. i realized it's my first time actually going to tokyo in the 1 month+ since moving here! to be honest, i expected to spend more time up there, but my neighborhood has a fair amount of things to enjoy within walking distance so far. every time i tell someone where i live, the first thing they say is "oh! it's easy to get to shibuya from there." and i have to say, that's true lol.
i usually don't like going to shibuya, because it tends to be pretty crowded and unpleasant to navigate. however, getting there just as the department stores were opening, on an overcast weekday, it wasn't too bad at all.
i felt kinda cringe taking this outfit photo in the mirrored column, until i noticed a businessman plucking out all his grey hairs with tweezers in the reflection of the window next to me. i guess we're all a little cringe sometimes lmao this was my first time wearing this versace tee since getting it. idk why, but "aloha florida" is extremely funny to me. when i was at the popup, the owner complimented my alba rosa hoodie, that meant a lot to me. btw i always forget to put that prada bag on my collages, but that's my everyday carry purse. although i just bought a new (used) everyday purse, so that will change soon.
i usually don't like going to shibuya, because it tends to be pretty crowded and unpleasant to navigate. however, getting there just as the department stores were opening, on an overcast weekday, it wasn't too bad at all.
i felt kinda cringe taking this outfit photo in the mirrored column, until i noticed a businessman plucking out all his grey hairs with tweezers in the reflection of the window next to me. i guess we're all a little cringe sometimes lmao
this was my first time wearing this versace tee since getting it. idk why, but "aloha florida" is extremely funny to me. when i was at the popup, the owner complimented my alba rosa hoodie, that meant a lot to me. btw i always forget to put that prada bag on my collages, but that's my everyday carry purse. although i just bought a new (used) everyday purse, so that will change soon.
on my way back from shibuya, i stopped at mizonokuchi for lunch and to check out the nearby bookoff. i ended up getting some more retro games; the yamato PS2 game is a gift for my husband when he gets here in a couple days. i'm especially excited about the touch detective rhyhm game!
before and after lunch, i spent some time wandering around mizonokuchi as well. this is the next major area north from the station by my house, and there's a lot to see and do. of course, i had to take sakura pictures lol. i also thought this poster on the side of a pachinko parlor was cool. honestly i find pachinko (and gambling in general) kinda depressing, but a lot of the pachinko places have designs and lighting that i find really cool
i got on the wrong bus on the way home, and ended up kinda lost, but an old man gave me directions back to the station. i've gotten to where i don't mind getting a little lost or taking a wrong turn, because it's an opportunity to see new things in the area.
i'm not really sure what next week holds-- honestly probably some boring paperwork and chores lol. with my husband arriving, i need to go help him register our address on his ID, and show him how to use all our home appliances and stuff here. once that's over with, i look forward to showing him around the neighborhood and having some more adventures together instead of by myself all the time.
before and after lunch, i spent some time wandering around mizonokuchi as well. this is the next major area north from the station by my house, and there's a lot to see and do. of course, i had to take sakura pictures lol. i also thought this poster on the side of a pachinko parlor was cool. honestly i find pachinko (and gambling in general) kinda depressing, but a lot of the pachinko places have designs and lighting that i find really cool
i got on the wrong bus on the way home, and ended up kinda lost, but an old man gave me directions back to the station. i've gotten to where i don't mind getting a little lost or taking a wrong turn, because it's an opportunity to see new things in the area.i'm not really sure what next week holds-- honestly probably some boring paperwork and chores lol. with my husband arriving, i need to go help him register our address on his ID, and show him how to use all our home appliances and stuff here. once that's over with, i look forward to showing him around the neighborhood and having some more adventures together instead of by myself all the time.