Wednesday, February 6, 2019

[Special Update] Jap Trip Day 3: Numazu Stamp Collection Part 2

Continuation from Part 1, this post will talk about the stamp collection experience in Uchiura & taking a ride in the Love Live Sunshine taxi!

First, my family and I took a bus down to Uchiura in the morning as the taxi was booked in the morning and the pick-up location was at sannoura tourist information center.

Saw the LLSS wrapping bus while waiting for the bus to Uchiura~

Took a while to reach Uchiura from Numazu; it is quite a distance away but not too long~

Passed by Awashima-
if you zoomed in(sry for the bad quality),
you can see Kanan's house(which is a frog museum)!

My family and I alighted at Mito Sea Paradise- tho it would have been nearer to the tourism center if we alighted a stop later. However, since there was some time, we decided to collect some of the stamps nearby(where the places have already opened...)

Mito Sea Paradise-
if you squint your eyes, the queue at the left was the queue to stamp the Sif thanksgiving stamp! 

Naturally, the first stamp of day 3 was Mito Sea Paradise You's stamp; with the addition of the Sif thanksgiving 2nd year stamp too!

After that, we walked to the 7-11 store, shown in season 1 episode 11; where Aqours members were talking to Riko on the phone! This store is also a stamp area and since it was Riko stamp, I bought the badge as well~

It's quite faint due to the colour...

Following that, we crossed the road to chidori kanko kisen- it's a harbour(or port?) where for a certain amount of fee, the ship/boat there can bring you around the area(I think...?)

Again, it's another stamp area of Riko:)

The pink is slightly better:)

And, the ships there had Shitake wrapping on them~

It's not very clear as I took from a distance; didn't want to walk on the beach...
Larger view of Mito Beach
I'm sure LLSS fans would be very familiar with this place but here's some FYI;

This is the place where Chika and Riko met for the first time where Riko was attempting to jump into the sea to swim but Chika stopped her cos it was only in April(which is Spring in Japan; you can imagine the sea temperature at that time...)

This is also the place where Chika was practising for the flip in miracle wave!

And, there are many more scenes in anime that this place was shown~

As to why it's such iconic place in LLSS, it is just outside Chika's house!

Yasudaya Ryokan- aka Chika's house!

Shitake~
Once done, it was around the time of the taxi pick-up so we walked to the tourism center. The distance wasn't short but neither was it long.

However, there wasn't an actual pathway for people to walk; so we were walking on the road. Since there wasn't much traffic, it was a nice walk:)

Upon arriving, the taxi was already there even though it was not yet the time!-  LLSS fans were taking photo of the taxi(and me as well, lol)

Here are the exterior of the taxi:







And now for the interior:

Have the same pillow;)

Aida san!!!



Apparently, these were all donated by fans!(Didn't know... If I know, would have brought some;
at that time, I bought a random LLSS coaster keychain from 7-11 but sadly, got Ruby...)

Aida san's sign!

Nesoberi~

So, the taxi was rented for 2h and my family told the driver that the places to go which are the far-away area. And that is the Osezaki side and there are only 2 stamps... Sigh... The amount of effort put to get that 2 stamps.

Oh but managed to see a You taxi while at Osezaki there:



The amount of nesoberi(wow...)



Uchicchi!
Apparently, the driver(of the You taxi) is actually the same driver my family and I saw while kinda stranded at this area(until the driver helped us to call a taxi, bless the driver)!

Sadly, he don't rmb but it was sure was surprising~

After that, the areas specified by my family were done without much time spare so the driver brought us to some of LLSS places:

This was in one of the stamp spots and it was the place shown in the cover of LLSS walker 1!

The bus stop- was shown in anime season 1 episode 2
where ChikaYou seen RubyMaru and Chika tried to lure Ruby out with a candy... 

Think the place where ChikaRiko scene happened in anime season 1 episode 10


Think it was the stairways to Benten Shrine- would love to try going... One day that is...
Good thing is that it's not too far from the tourism center(which is quite a surprise and as well as the school!)

Since there was still time left, the driver drove to the other uchiura stamp areas which we didn't take when we arrived in the morning(as the areas weren't opened or we didn't have the time)

This is one of the LLSS collaboration hotels that were selling Aqours members' hot spring towel and bucket(?)
And it's obvious what member set is this hotel selling~

^I tried to buy Chika/Riko set from Yasudaya Ryokan but sadly both sets were sold out...

With that, the eventful taxi ride experience was over- a little reflection of it:

Think I mentioned in my previous part, my japanese skills weren't very good so I couldn't exactly converse with the driver tbh...
The longest I ever talked to the driver was at the start and I asked which place will be the first stop. Following that, I just nod or answered 'yes' as he explained some of the LLSS places- there were times I couldn't follow him...

^I feel that I can understand japanese to a certain degree but to converse, it's hard. Plus my pronunciation is bad too(and this does not limit to jap only...)

My family and I told the driver to let us alight at Mito Sea Paradise where we went in for a while(cos I wanted the postcard & another awkward Japanese exchange again... But in the end, managed to get the postcard so it worked out:)

A few LLSS pictures taken from Mito Sea Paradise:

Apparently, these lanterns(?) were placed in different places by each year;
1st year was at NESOPASA and 3rd year was at Sun Sun Sunshine Cafe~

Uchicchi!!!

2nd year Thanksgiving standee~

Following that, there was a slight rush as we walked back to one of the stamp area which wasn't opened when the driver drove us there before we ran to catch the LLSS bus to Izu Hakone train station.

Think I was too tired and only realised the Aqours members were speaking in the bus, at around the end of the ride... As such, could only record a bit of Dia-Arisa:


^Not very sure what she was saying but I suppose it is some safety msg...?

And this was the bus I took~

And here's Izu Hakone Station~

Chika Chan!!!
^Apparently, there is a LLSS collaboration with Izu Hakone line where Aqours members standee were places in different stations of this line. And Chika is at this station!

Also, this station is a stamp area of Kanan.

Next, had some lunch at the station; since it would be a while before the station back to Mishima would arrive...

Soba is love(too)
Shout-out to the staff and their friendly services~

After quite a wait...


Managed to take pics of the signs of all members:










I felt a bit awkward taking the pics as I was like moving around while the train was moving... Luckily, the shaking from the train(while it was moving) was manageable~

And here's a better vid of the wrapping:


^This was taken after alighting so have more time to video~

And, Kanan Standee is at Mishima station~
This pretty much concluded the stamp collection of the current ones; went to some of the places where we missed out at days 1 and 2.

My family and I had dinner at Sun Sun Sunshine cafe- was quite a long queue(think cos of Yoshiko bday and as well as the thanksgiving sif event...) that I wanted to just call it off but my family was okay with the wait so~

Yohane Magic Circle- placed at the entrance;
you have to pass by before you enter~

2nd years parfait & that chalk work~

CHIKARIKO!!!

Riko set:) Was surprisingly filling(and got the 2nd years coaster^^)

Yousoba- don't exactly like it...^^;
Some pics taken of the cafe:




And here's 3rd years' lanterns





^Bias to my fave~

Oh and dining at the cafe will give you a 3rd years postcard(think I mentioned in last part). And so, managed to get all 3 postcards. Moreover, sun sun sunshine cafe was also the location to exchange completed thanksgiving stamp card for the A4 file:)

Posted in part 1 before but here's a refresh~

That was my day 3 of my trip~

It was less tiring as compared to day 2(since there was less walking) but still quite rush and my blister gotten from day 2 wasn't helping...

Think I will try make one more post of either NESOPASA or thanksgiving sif event. It had been like almost half a year since the trip; my memories of it aren't very clear.

As I'm writing this post, I had to look at my pictures and my stamp book to know how and why did I walk this way while linking the events of the trip...

This is Yaiji signing off; until the next post(which I'm hoping I get it out before my next trip...)

Yaiji~

PS: the taxi I took was the old one- the design changed in a few days(?) after my trip! Quite surprising & lucky(?) that I took before the change:)

Saturday, February 2, 2019

6 Months since Work...

It's been quite a while since I blogged- with work at hand, it felt like there wasn't time...

It was like a routine; wake up for work, work, get back home all tired after work without much energy left than relax by watching the TV, playing some games or reading some books before sleeping... And, the routine continues until the weekends... In which you just want to rest from the fatigue accumulated from the 5 days of work and before you know it, the weekends are over(and the dreading weekdays are back...)

And, that was the life I had for the past 6 months...

To be honest, I wasn't sure I could last for 6 months cos this routine was making me quite depressed that I had thoughts of whether it's worth living if this is the life it will be for like... 20-30 years down the road... Cos if this is how life is gonna be; working for the sake of money to survive, I rather not live to suffer...

I'm sure at this point, people will be thinking I'm naive, pathetic, selfish for giving up so easily and thinking this is suffering; when there are worse sufferings out there that people would want to die but can't...

But that's them and this is me... And I kinda hate myself for it; for being a weakling to get depressed over such things and thinking of death as the easy way out... Sigh...

People said not to think too much and I tried live my life each day while not thinking about it... But that's just avoiding the issue; I know I have to face it or else one day, all the thoughts kept inside will just explode and I wouldn't want to know what I will do...

As of now, I think it's best I take a break from work(which I am; in my march vacation- looking forward to it:) and de-stress a little so that I can last a bit more before I finally hand in the letter...

Just maybe I need a job change; cos this job is kinda damaging my mental and physical health... At this rate, I doubt my body can last long; whether I like it or not...

That's just some ranting cos I really need some outlet to let out... Some art updates:

  1. YohaRiko 31 Moments

    Managed to finish it before the year and had uploaded them(in batch of 5 per week) to my deviantart account(You can see here~)

    Currently, 25 works are uploaded and next week will be the last!- Will be uploading to pixiv(& maybe insta) once I work on the cover...
  2. [Revue Starlight Fanart]: Promise Tower

    Finished it around two weeks ago- so far only uploaded to my insta.
    ^Thinking of uploading the work to deviantart after uploads of [YohaRiko 31 Moments] are done~
  3.  Kurosawa Dia Birthday Fanart

    As mentioned from previous post, I decided to do a theme-based birthday fanart series for Aqours members!
    The theme is based on the arcade design of the members!

    Source: Insta || Deviantart
  4. Kagura Hikari Birthday Fanart

    Decided to try do birthday fanart for the kukugumi members(from revue starlight)! So starting from the Jan baby, Hikari(my fave~), will be doing a fanart of each member; based on the phone game designs! And the design chosen will be of the design I have in-game of that character!

    Source: Insta || Deviantart

    And next up will be... I think Kaoruko...? Not sure if there is a Feb baby...?
That is all for the updates on my art stuff and as well from me^^

This is Yaiji signing off~

Yaiji~

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Art updates- goodbye 2018~

It's been a long while- had wanted to make one last post before 2018 ends but was working on the last day of YohaRiko moments! In addition, had work in the morning...

Updates on my art progress:

I've finally finish YohaRiko moments of 31 days which I actually started back in August... With work at hand, the freedom and energy to draw just got reduced drastically...

I'm glad I managed to finish before the year ends:) Likely to start posting from next week; after I send for scanning(which I hope the quality would be better... Should have used a better and white-pages book instead-.-)

Following that, I am currently working on a revue starlight artwork- as of now, outline is done with some touch-ups to work on before colouring! Hopefully, I can finish before Jan 9...


^Updates can be seen from my twitter & insta~

Lastly, I'm also working on a small manga which started off as a simple doodle of ChikaRiko for ChikaRiko day(Nov 3rd). Currently, I've done about 15 pages where I'm having some difficulties concluding the story-.-

Beside these current work-in-progress, I'm thinking of doing a theme based birthday for Aqours; similar to that I did for U's of the arcade ver 2(which I loved it a lot~)
Again, similar to U's, I'm thinking of using Aqours arcade ver for the theme(love the blue & design~)

That said, I've yet to work on Dia's bday^^; Will try finish it(or at least get the draft out by today...)

Ending this post with a summary of art of 2018:

Template (already posted on my deviantart~)

It wasn't easy to find work done in Nov and Dec since I was working on wips so there wasn't many completed works; had to make do with doodles^^;

Overall, I think there is definitely improvement from last year but I believed it can be better:)
In addition, I did quite a fair bit of compilation; starting from FateXLoveLive to Aqours Pov(which actually got into pixiv ranking:) and then ChikaRiko 30 days challenge to the latest, YohaRiko moments of 31 days!- I enjoyed working on them a lot & think will be seeing more in 2019;)

That's it for now; likely to do a self reflection post of 2018 & resolution of 2019 in another post~ Also, the jp trip posts... I haven't forgotten but just... There isn't much time with the fact that I'm working on weekdays... Will try get it out soon^^;(before my next trip...hopefully...)

This is Yaiji signing off!

Yaiji~

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sunday, October 14, 2018

[Updates] Struck in hell

Following from my previous post, I managed to see some light in the following week...

But just when I thought I could get out with a few more steps, I was thrown back; with the light still there and visible but further from me...

I kept telling myself, "press on; it's just a few more steps to the goal!"
However, I do not know, when did a few more steps becomes a thousand mile...

At one point, I just want a rest and not think about it- which are the times when I end work or during the weekends...

But the constant, daily life of going to work reminds me that I am still in this hell and I am never getting out of it...

Unless I switch(to another 'hell'...?) There is this uncertainty that I may gain something if I stayed long in this hell and all these that I am going through are just the trials...

People think working in the company(that I am working in) is a blessing yet I think as hell; so I thought maybe I don't belong there...?
People said you should find a job/work that you will like since working gonna be part of you for a long time...
But just thinking that the pressure to meet demands of the people from doing what you like, it may just turn what you like to what you hate... Which was why as much as I want to venture into art industry(or choose art in University), the chance of me hating the art stopped me...

It's a huge conflict that I'm lost as to what I want... People said to build your career from young but how do I when I don't even know what I want... And, I hate working or rather the concept behind working...

Sigh... As of now, I don't think I will last long but I will try last at least until my probation(which is 6 mths) Tbh, I like to try last till the end of the project but with my current mental and emotional state, I doubt I have the motivation or strength to last that long; especially if I'm lost as to what I am doing in life...

All these negative thoughts are affecting my work performance; I would come to work and stare at the computer while hoping everything just burn away and leave me alone...

_________________________________________________________________________

Just a bit of art update:

YohaRiko 30-themes challenge is slowly progressing; currently, at day 20~

^At this rate, think I can finish before the year ends~

Oh and I never did say but unlike ChikaRiko, I imagine YohaRiko more in fantasy au...

To me, ChikaRiko has more of an emotional feel, thus most of the themes are based on realistic situations... And, I tend to think of myself as like Chika^^;(maybe cos I can relate much to her...?)

While for Yoshiko/Yohane, I can relate a little to her, in terms of her wanting to be unique, special... But that's it.

Her as Yohane persona is a little hard to relate but I don't dislike it; instead I grow to like it>^<

And, maybe b'cos of that persona, I think more of the fantasy au for YohaRiko...?

Regardless, it's fun drawing YohaRIko(XD) As of now, I had already done...

  1. Fate Grand Order_servant AU (day 2)
  2. Shoujo kageki revue starlight AU (day 5)
  3. Witch & Familiar AU (day 10)
  4. War AU (day 12)
  5. Ninja AU (day 13)
  6. Fate Grand Order_master AU (day 15)
  7. Ghoul AU (day 16)
  8. Phantom Thief (day 20- latest~)
^Quite a number of AU done and will be doing more~

Beside the different AU, a small series of manga was started; with day 9 as first part. The second part is day 17. I think I will end the series in another one or two parts... 

That's all then! Until next time, this is Yaiji signing off!

Yaiji~