282. my name is evil, lynch.

Last Tuesday, March 8th, was my very first lynch. SHADOWS only show.

I went for breakfast/lunch with little sis at Midori Sushi at Shibuya Mark City before going for my graduation ceremony. I met up with little sis again to grab some coffee before heading to Ebisu Liquidroom for the show.

We didn't wait too long for lynch. to start, my ticket number today was 666. I was so happy. Lame, I know. We also didn't bother getting to the front today because I was in formal attire, also, we were going to see them in Osaka again anyways so we were saving the best for last.

lynch. opened to ADORE, which made me soooo relieved. I haven't seen them play ADORE for a while now. Today's setlist was refreshing because there were no songs from the latest album (except ANTARES) and also, they played songs that I haven't seen them played live ever, despite seeing them so many times.

 Little sis and I had a lot of fun during EVILLY. I haven't seen lynch. with her for almost two years, so it was fun headbanging with her. I was really happy to finally see DEVI live. It's one of my favorite songs from them. VARIANT was also a first, I like that song because it's more experimental but it sounded kind of messy live. All the songs played that night were the ones they haven't played in a long time, so I had fun watching them. Also, NO. FUCKING. MIRRORS!!!!

SETLIST :

1. ADORE
2. MOMENT
3. vernie
4. EVILLY
5. UNTIL I DIE
6. STARZ
7. roaring in the dark
8. DEVI
9. BALLAD
10. CRYSTALIZE
11. VARIANT
12. PHOENIX
13. SCARLET
14. alien tune
15. enemy
16. a grateful shit
17. DAZZLE
18. LIGHTNING
19. from the end

ENCORE 1 :

1. GREED
2. ANTARES
3. pulse_
4. GALLOWS

ENCORE 2 : 

1. THE FATAL HOUR HAS COME

Even though it was refreshing seeing all these songs, I wish they played an allusion or THIS COMA instead of BALLAD. I haven't seen an allusion in such a long time, I really want to see them play it again. an allusion is my all time favorite lynch. song. Also, I wished they added ALL THIS I'LL GIVE YOU and INVINCIBLE, I was pretty bummed out they didn't play it because those two are my favorite headbanging songs. 

I had the most fun during GALLOWS though. GALLOWS is such a fun song to headbang to. I felt a little different seeing them this time since I have already seen them in February. I still love them the same. Again, AK's hair was really pretty today. Hazuki was really funny during MC "promoting" his orange juice. Little sis was telling me "Yup, this old guy is still so attractive. Fuck him." lol. I agree. 

I gave the most =___= face when they closed to THE FATAL HOUR HAS COME. Seriously. Little sis and I went straight home after that. I cooked dinner for the both of us once we got home. She bullies me to cook a lot at home because she likes my cooking. 

This show was a really refreshing one. It made me feel more "alive" as you would say, though February's show made me really feel a lot and I mean a lot, it was really different at the same time. Enjoying them with someone I care about is definitely different, I still remember H holding my hand while watching them because he could tell how happy I was. 

281. owls, wood sculptures & okinawa

March 5th, Saturday :

Both little sis and I got up early because I made a reservation at an owl cafe, Owl Village at 11am. I chose the earliest time slot because I had a feeling the owls would be cranky and tired from people after a couple of hours. 

Both little sis and I like owls. I think I like them more because she hates birds and have a long, bad history with them (for some reason, they always steal her food and poop on her). Nonetheless, she was pretty excited to check out the owl cafe but I could tell she was a little scared. Surprisingly, we arrived at the cafe on time and there were other people already waiting to get in.

The cafe was pretty small, only fitting 3 tables at a time. Probably to not freak or stress the owls out. The staff gave us some instructions and we were good to go play with the owls. There were two huge owls which kind of scared me actually, another two medium sized owls, and 2 really tiny owls and a white barn owl (yeah, the Harry Potter owl). I can't remember what the other breeds are but the biggest owls were the least friendly, and one of the medium sized owl was still sleeping, haha. Well, they are nocturnal.

This little guy is called Waltz.

This one is like a cat, it plays with you and always wants to be pet. Apparently, it really likes humans.

These two small ones looked more like toys to me.

The big ones as you can tell, are probably angry 90% of the time.

I really wanted to try to carry the owls, little sis was a little hesitant because she was afraid they would poop on her, haha. So, I tried first and she followed.

She finally overcame her fear and tried "carrying" them. I could tell she was really cautious. Right after she handed the owl over to another guest, this owl pooped on that poor girl. Little sis must have rubbed off her bad juju on the other person, haha.

Next, I wanted to try carrying the big owls. They were hesitant to move. After a few failed attempts by the staff, the owl finally flew and rested on my arm but boy, are they heavy. My arm ached for the rest of the day.

In Singaporean terms, "this owl dam dulan me".

Translation : This owl must really hate me.

Also, I thought this photo was hilarious.

After carrying the owls, little sis and I continued playing with the smaller ones since there was still some time left. It was an hour course to play with the owls for 2000yen per person with a drink. I don't think it's too bad, considering the maintenance for the cafe. Though, I do kind of pity these owls for being locked up in a small room and not being able to fly. It was fun and interesting and definitely an experience, but I don't think I would go again. And the reason why I like owls : 

They look like they're doing a satanic ritual hahaha.

We were both hungry after leaving the cafe, so we decided to get some coffee at Light Up Coffee. It was just 15 minutes away from the owl cafe. The coffee was good but too light for little sis's and my taste. The decor at the cafe was really nice though, they had several art prints on the wall and a shelf full of books by artists I like. 

I haven't been to this side of Kichijoji, so it was fun exploring it with little sis. There were a lot of unique home decor and furniture shops. 

Light Up Coffee

The only donuts I like! We got some after coffee.

I really liked this home decor store, it was their factory outlet so everything was pretty cheap!

This store had a lot of unique plates, clocks, spoons and all the housing equipment. I'm pretty sure they are all individually hand-made. Little sis bought a mug and really cool clock made of stone from here. I really enjoyed looking at the craftsmanship and detail of the stuff here. Sadly, no photos inside of the store.

Once we were done with this street, we crossed over to a street that I was more familiar with. I brought little sis to a store I always go to whenever I'm in Kichijoji. It's an art store on the first floor and a gallery on the second. They always change the artists every week, so I never know what I will find here.

by : Kumakichi Mokko

I immediately fell in love with these wood sculptures when I laid eyes on them. They are small, probably the height of your index finger but I really loved the ~feel~ I got when I look at them. In the end, I bought two and they are happily standing on my desk now. This artist does wood carvings and I love the mystical looking creatures he creates. I want to collect more of his work! 

It feels like all his creatures come from another planet where heroes and magic exists. 

Little sis and I had some time to kill before meeting my friends for dinner, so we went back to Nakano Broadway to search for even more vintage anime goods. It was a success, she finally managed to find a Rurouni Kenshin A4 poster, and I found a Fushigi Yuugi poster at a shop selling anime cells. The ones we found were cheap too, only 500yen. 

Contented with our finds, we slowly made our way back to Kichijoji to the Okinawa izakaya I went a couple of weeks ago with Furo and Nan. I wanted little sis to meet both of them because they are really funny together. We spent the rest of the evening with the both of them just talking about anything mostly. Little sis commented that they have very intellectual conversations and could tell why they are my friends, haha.

The Okinawan food was really good but I had an allergy reaction the next day. My whole face was red and covered in rashes. I had to wear a mask out for the next couple of days. Nan also had the same allergy reaction and we both think it must be something in the sauce at that izakaya because the others were fine.

We always end up staying at izakayas for too long, we finally left Kichijoji at close to midnight. It was such a loooonnng day but a day well spent.

280. in with the old & new

Little sis just left Tokyo this afternoon and I can feel the loneliness creeping in already, I gave myself some time to get used to being on my own again and by tomorrow, I'll be right back to studying. I have final term exams coming up again. Before I forget everything, I thought I should write about our adventures as soon as possible.

The first week she was here (it already feels so long ago), we didn't do anything much but go to cafes we love and I brought her to some places I have found on my own. It was really nice introducing her to my friends as well.

March 2nd, Wednesday :

Every time my mom or my sister visits, we never fail to get Totoro creampuffs! We had to sit outside in the balcony area this time because it was fully booked. Thankfully, the weather was really nice that day, we didn't mind sitting outside. We had the usual, mentaiko pasta ( The pasta here is still my favorite in Tokyo) and Totoro creampuffs for dessert! Little sis and I shared the strawberry and banana caramel creampuffs. The strawberry creampuffs here are legendary to me because I don't like strawberries, this is the only strawberry flavored thing that I will happily eat. 

After lunch, we went to Frankie Melbourne Expresso just a few minutes walk away in Shimokita. I miss  Melbourne so much and the mocha here hits the spot. I couldn't really enjoy my mocha because I had to rush off to class, so I drank it in less than10 minutes while little sis stayed there and talked to the staff. This place makes me miss Melbourne a little less.

I met up with little sis again right away after class and we went to Nakano Broadway. I've been wanting to show her Nakano Broadway since it is one of my favorite spots in Tokyo because of all the vintage toys and cool stores. We went around, little sis did some shopping and she managed to find some merch from her favorite childhood anime, Ranma 1/2. (I'm always playing Ranma gachapon because of her) We stopped by Bar Zingaro to get some coffee but she didn't like it. At least there was this cool collaboration piece by Katsuya Terada and Kim Jung Gi to stare at! We didn't do much but went straight home after that.

March 3rd, Thursday:

After class, we met up in Hamamatsucho to get pizza at Devilcraft! Little sis wanted a break from Japanese food, so it was a good idea to come here. We got Hell's House Tortilla chips, Devil Works pizza and fries. Hamamtsucho still holds a special place in both our hearts. 

We were so stuffed after dinner, we walked to Roppongi. Little sis wanted to check out Murakami's exhibition but the line was so long, we decided to skip it. We went to the merch store instead and I finally got a new phone cover after a year! This time it's Yoshitomo Nara. 

Little sis really wanted cinnabons, so we went to get some before heading home. I got the Classic Cinnabon and little sis got the Caramel Peacanbon (which is much better than the classic in my opinion) and the special Nutellabon. We both agreed that the peacan one was the best. We didn't stay out too late because I had to get up early the next morning.

March 4th, Friday:

I had to get up early because there was a school field trip to a farm in Chiba. I usually skip school field trips because they don't interest me and makes me feel as if my school is treating us like children on purpose. I forced myself to go because my attendance rate is really low and  I knew I was gonna be skipping a few days of school the following week to go to Osaka with little sis.

It took 2 hours by bus to get to the farm and we had barbeque lamb for lunch. The farm was pretty huge and the view was pretty nice, I would say. 

There was a petting zoo with sheep, ducks, capybaras, rabbits, tortoises and some lambs. I wanted to see alpacas but there were none. ):

I still have no idea what animal this is?

There were several games at the farm as well, like bungee jumping, go-karts and a maze. I didn't bother playing any of those. We wanted to go strawberry picking but the area was closed. We spent a couple of hours just aimlessly walking around, I got soft serve and at about 2pm, we left back for Tokyo.

I met up with little sis at the Pokemon Centre in Ikebukuro and we had udon for dinner. There was nothing much to do in Ikebukuro, so we just went to the arcade and played a 4D zombie game because I miss playing Resident Evil with my sister. In the end, we spent 2500yen on just one game. It was fun but I think we went a little overboard. 

We didn't do anything much but walked around and decided to go home. The first few days were nothing but ordinary, little sis and  I just did our usual routines when she was in Tokyo for two months in 2014. It was nostalgic, honestly. I really miss that period of time because I know I can't get it back. Both of us lead our own lives now but we still try to have as much fun as possible whenever we are together. 

It was fun showing her new places and introducing her to people. I get reminded of how our lives have changed but she's still my favorite person in the world.

279. in the woods

Last Sunday, on 28th February, little sis and I got up early to make our way to the woods. We booked a little cottage with a private onsen located somewhere near Mount Fuji before she arrived in Japan. She's up for anything, so she figured she wanted to try staying in the middle of nowhere for a night.

It took about 2 hours to get to Kochibuzawa station, we got bento sets on the way there. Once there, we had udon at a nearby standing counter and got on the bus that we thought would take us to our cottage. We got on the wrong bus that brought us to a factory outlet instead.

We were surprised there were so many factory outlets in the middle of the woods. From Zara to ABC Mart. We got some soft serve and looked around for an hour before deciding to take the bus back to the station. In the end, I bought a really cute Sylvanian Family tomato garden. Everything was almost half of the usual price! They even had koala and kangaroo miniatures which I've never seen before. (I bought them because Australia) 

We got back to the station at close to 4pm and decided to just get on a taxi to get to the cottage. It didn't take too long but the drive was literally to the middle of nowhere, deep in the forest.

We checked in and went straight to our cottage. It was a lovely little cottage and looked like something out of The Moomin's. I love forest-type (mori-kei) things, so I was pretty happy with the cottage. It was really quiet and peaceful, something I really needed. A break from the busy city. 

It was a two-storey cottage, with two beds, a kotatsu, several extra futon, a big television, a living room area, separate bath, shower and toilet and our very own private onsen outside.

Little sis decided to walk around the woods before going for dinner. There was nothing much to see but trees and other cute houses. Since it's the end of winter, the trees were still barren. We talked to an old man walking his dog. The dog started barking at little sis (as always, dogs hate her for some reason), so we moved away from the dog and walked around the cottages. There were pretty cute houses and some of them really had the "cabin in the woods" feeling because everything was mostly made out of wood and they had cut up logs in front of their houses. I particularly liked this cute pink house.

We were getting hungry, so we decided to walk to the reception area to have dinner.We had a ryokan styled dinner. It was good but expensive. There was literally nothing else around the area, so that was the only place we could eat. We got back to our cottage close to 8 and watched some variety television shows before getting into the onsen.

It was really nice to have your own private onsen, I don't have to worry about my tattoos (though they are so small =_=), or worry about being naked in front of strangers. We could also see the stars from our cottage so we spent even longer than expected in the onsen. We didn't do much but watch television and lazed around the house before going to sleep.

We got up at 7am the next morning since I had classes in the afternoon. Little sis and I decided to use the onsen another time before leaving the cottage.

We checked out at 9am and there was a free shuttle service to the station. It took about 2 hours to get back to Tachikawa. I studied for my test on the way back. 

It was a really nice getaway, everything was peaceful and serene. I wished we could have stayed another night. My brain always feels like it's on overdrive when I'm in Tokyo for too long. You're always rushing off to somewhere, you're always on the move. It gets so noisy inside of my head sometimes that I lose focus on the things I really want to do. I'm glad little sis decided to stay somewhere so far away and quiet. It really did do me some good.