Tokyo

Well its been forever since I updated this beast, but there is good reason for that. I hate posting things like: studying, went to class today, rinse/repeat. Since I was mostly busy with school work or generally in a slump of nothing going on, I wasn't updating this.

That has however changed now that it is summer vacation. I was unable to do anything during Golden Week since it caught me off guard, and all I caught was a minor cold. So for summer vacation I've had plans ready.

First was to attend Comic Market in Tokyo. This will take a while to explain so buckle up and take notes if needed. Comic Market or just Comiket is special convention that takes place twice a year over the course of 3 days, one in summer (natsu-comi) another in winter (fuyu-comi). Its a unique event, thousands of vendors show up at Tokyo Big Sight to sell doujinshi. Doujinshi is essentially a "fan-fiction" of sorts, printed works sold directly from the artist to the reader. This offers a unique interaction between fans of popular and not so popular works.

Being a huge fan of manga this has been on my goal list since I first heard of it. Still there is more to it than just comics, some fans take to creating home-brew games based off of their chosen series. Others still choose to dress up as their favorite characters. Further official corporate groups join this gathering and offer unique and rare items of their series (these are the guys who hold the copyrights to most of the material that is, under US Law, being infringed upon).

So how does that work?
The doujinshi "circles" (artist or group of artists) do not actually create their doujinshi to make money. It is a means to express their fandom and reach a large number of fellow fans. Most often the cost of producing their doujinshi as well as travel and board will leave them with a net loss or breaking even (also note that many circles will purchase doujinshi in their free time or if they sell out of their doujinshi). Thus there is a mutual agreement, the corporate boys don't truly lose out in any regard as they essentially receive free advertising and in some cases act as sponsors.

All that said, I attended all three days. I have seen things. Things that nobody should ever have to see, things that I wish the whole world could see, and things that lack words to describe. At this point let me mention that I am probably the most open minded person any one reading this will ever meet. (That may sound egotistical but hey, life is more fun that way).

A small comparison:
Lincoln, Ne (hometown) Population: 256k (2010 census) City Area: 195 km²

Tokyo Big Sight Comiket Population: ~500k (Comiket 76) Big Sight Area: ~100 km²

 That should be a good example of how packed it was.

What I saw while I was there (mind you I went all 3 days). I saw truly dedicated fans, not the twilight freak-out fans, but people that have a passion for something and pursue a unique hobby. I was people of all ages: old, young, hipsters, preps, and the like. There was no true dominant group or sub-culture, there was however a dominance of female attendees (to which I had absolutely no objections).

I also saw some different stuff.... very different stuff. Stuff like 20 cross dressed guys posing for pictures in what made me think of a twisted Victoria's Secret cat walk. I saw some things I would rather not mention as they we just too.... out there. Still a what was cool about it was how happy everybody was, the cross dressed guys were giving it 100% the vendors selling 18+ products we happy to talk to you even if you didn't buy their doujinshi. I actually met a lot of cool people, a little strange by some standards by still very interesting to talk with. I was even given a free doujinshi for helping an artist out who had forgotten his wallet back at his circle.

I am most certainly going to attend the next comiket, and maybe if things go right and I produce by own manga as I have long sought to, I will see my own story being turned into a doujinshi (though hopefully not 18+ -_-). I did actually make a contact with an art supply company who hooked my up with some good supplies while I was at comiket (something I had yet to find in Sapporo).

If you're wondering about the limited number of pictures of big sight, it took some videos, but even that was difficult dude to the congestion.

Moving on from the Comiket nonsense
(though its important to note that it was to main point of the trip)

Since comiket was from 10am-4pm (I didn't stay the full time each day) I used the remainder of each day to explore and see some sights.

I rode on the Yurikamome about 8 times and crossed the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge (above) just as many. This is siginificant since it has a great view of the eastern portion of Tokyo. Also the name in English is "Lesbian Seagull" (in all honestly it is actually the lily seagull, but lesbian seagull reminds me of beavis and butt-head). Why ride it so much? It was the best route to Tokyo Big Sight.

I also got to check out a few other places of particular interest:

Tokyo Tower (Picture at the top of post). The tower was pretty cool, giving a great view of most of the city. I happened to go when there was a Pokemon event going on so it was a little crowded and I hope to go back another time when its a little less congested.  Above is a shot from the observation deck.

Walked around Ginza shopping street for a little while. The shops here were all super expensive, but still pretty cool to browse. Also checked out the Sony building while I was here, pretty cool stuff though also really expensive.

The metro was in all regards, amazing. Always, always, ALWAYS on time. This fishnetwork of rail systems was incredible, Sapporo has 3 lines while Tokyo has something like 12 or 13. I actually found it impossible to get lost, I even fell asleep on a train and ended up at a random station. So long as you can use you head a little its easy to find your way to a familiar station.

Yushima Tenmangu Shrine in Yushima, Ueno. This was aside from comiket my favorite place of the entire trip. Established in 458 (yes it is over 1500 years old), enshrines Sugawara Michizane (the God of Learning). I picked up an Omamori and took a relaxing walk around what was probably the single most peaceful place on earth that I have ever been. I plan to visit again when I go back to Tokyo in winter.

When I walked down the stairs of the shrine I must admit, I was VERY tempted to investigate this.

There were more sights that I would have liked to photograph but in some cases it was just too crowded to I didn't have my camera at the ready (often the trains pass great photo spots). Still I could post tons of photos and not cover everything. Thought there is one I took that gave me a good laugh and made me do a double take when I first saw it.

Yes there is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty in Tokyo (also the two towers in the background gave me a bit of nostalgia). This is at Daiba, the same place that I took photos of the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge, there was a event going on here so as with most places it was packed.

That's it for now. Especially since this post has gone on way longer than I expected. Next time: Kansai Region.