Keripo's Corner Figures, Dollfies, Projects, Gaming, and TYPE-MOON
So right after finishing university, my friends and I decided to go to Japan for our graduation trip (May-June 2012). Japan was a high in our choice of destination for a vacation. For my friends, it was of cultural interest and a new place to see. For me, it was the Holy Land of anime, and also the place where my figure collecting hobby would emerge. But the loots and food blog entries will come at the end.
The following series of “Japan Trip 2012” blog posts will simply be pictorial guides of my adventure through Japan. I’ll try to caption most of the pictures and include as many anime-related pictures as possible. Sets of photos are roughly in chronological order, though some places (aka Akihabara) will have multiple sets since we went back there multiple times. There’s 30 or so albums of photos from my Japan trip, and each blog post will contain 2-4 albums worth, so prepare your mouse for a lot of scrolling. So without further ado, enjoy the tour!
Golden Pavilion
To Kyoto!
Arriving at our destination
The Golden Pavillion
There were a lot of school kids field-tripping here (and almost all of them would stare at the token blonde guy in our group). Twas amusing.
Lots of koi swimming around, probably used to tourists feeding them
Get the coin in the cup and you’ll have good fortune. Apparently everyone in our group was being stalked by some Momoji >_<
Souvenir shops everywhere we go
Burning a candle
More yukatas
More JCs
Some old palace/tourist spot nearby. I forgot what its name was. It was closed though that day.
Kyoto Tower from a distance
Himeji
Himeji Castle, an old historical castle that housed a famous princess and was a strategical stronghold during wartime. It was under renovation during that time, so the outside was enclosed.
Apparently it was a strategical castle and built to be easy to defend (high grounds, trick mazed paths, etc.)
The story of the Okiku Well
Closer up to the castle, looking around
Map of the castle
A group of gaijin
Jiji followed us
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Inari JR stop
Shrine entrance with its deity protector
That photobomb
More holy water
Inside
You shall (not) pass!
The Fushimi Inari shrine is known for its bright orange/red colour everywhere. You’ll see more of this later
What is this?
Dedication, that’s what it is
Shrine stuff
Starting the walk
The famous chains of torii
We chose the path less taken (I think)
Time stops inside…
…unless you cheat and poke your head outside
I went back-forth a few times since it was so cool
Yuuuuuppppp!
So if you’re rich enough, you can buy your own torii. There’s multiple tiers of torii too.
It goes on, and on, and on, and on…
So at this point some of us stopped to take a break while two of us (me included) continued on. Needless to say, we got lost.
The torii-per-square-metre ratio here was ridiculous
There was this really cool fountain inside a nearby mall that would drop water down and form cool patterns. The first picture has the character ? for the word “Fire”. The second I can’t remember but looks like the Banpresto logo
MyFigureCollection: http://myfigurecollection.net/blog/6056
Flickr Golden Pavillion: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keripo/sets/72157641643886695/
Flickr Himeji: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keripo/sets/72157641643886675/
Flickr Fushimi Inari Shrine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keripo/sets/72157641643366445/
