let's go exploring

From July 28th to August 10th, I was in Japan. For the first week of this trip, I was in the Kansai region; for the second, in Kantou. I spent all my time with my friend Eiko, and it was great to be there with her -- her relatives live in Yokohama, but it was her first time going to Osaka, Kobe, et al, too. Having her around also took a huge load off my shoulders, since I didn't have to worry about directions or transportation, like I normally would have. As a result, I was able to just relax and enjoy myself. :D I had a wonderful time during my trip, and I'd gladly do it again.

This post covers the 27th to the 29th of July. The first couple of entries -- up until Osaka -- were written while I was there, so the tone is noticeably different from what I wrote later.

( The flight )
( Narita Airport )
( Osaka )
( Hiroshima )

ETA: Pictures added!

During my conversation with Eiko last night:

Eiko: And there should be a bunch of events during July--
Me: So, we can go see hanabi?! :D
Eiko: Mmhmm!
Me: And, oh, what about the Ghibli museum? You mentioned that before, didn't you? Have you ever been there?
Eiko: No, but we can go there if you want! I just have to see where it's located...okay, it's in Tokyo.
Me: Okay, great!
Eiko: Oh, have you heard of the maid cafes? I've always wanted to see what they're like, but I've been kind of embarrassed...
Me: Hmm, what about a butler cafe? They have those too, don't they? I've heard they're really expensive, though.
Eiko: Yeah, but I'm sure we can find one that has a reasonable price and is still pretty popular.

Yeah, we're zipping along from topic to topic.

She wants to see the Takahashi comedy troupe in Osaka -- you know, the whole tsukkomi/boke routine. It does seem cool, but on my part, I'd love to see a Takurazuka show. I asked reni_m (the resident expert at Binghamton) about how and where to reserve tickets for one, and she pointed me to a whole bunch of links regarding audience etiquette and the performances next month.

They're showing Elisabeth from July 10th to August 9th, so I'd like to see that, especially since it's so well-regarded and dramatic. In fact, I've heard that tickets of Elisabeth tend to sell out on the first day, since it's one of the most popular shows there, along with Rose of Versailles. But they do leave some tickets available for purchase on the day of the performance, so it might be possible?

Eiko's also never been to Kyoto. Or the Kansai region at all, in fact. So it'll be our first time there for both of us. Our plans are nil so far, and yet there's so much we can do over the two weeks we spend there together. I'm not sure what the best plan is with regards to time management: on one hand, I'd like to see and do and experience as much as possible. On the other hand, I don't want to cram so much into (less than) fourteen days that it becomes tough to enjoy all of it. Short breaks are nice, even in a fast-paced schedule.

We'll be fine in Tokyo and Yokohama, since Eiko's been there so often, but Kyoto and Osaka and Kobe and Nara are still blank spots. I mean, how many prefectures will we realistically be able to cover? And in Tokyo alone, there's Odaiba! Akihibara! Shinjuku! Shibuya!

Still can't believe I'm going in less than three weeks.