Category: Miscellaneous

Japan Pickups: Model Kits

January 29, 2023

One category I hoped to refill in Japan was model kits, since I’d built all the ones I had and needed new ones. They’re also usually much cheaper to buy in Japan than in the USA. However I had no particular kits in mind, so what did I find?

This is a stylish female robot kit that was designed for pose-ability. It was manufactured in many different color combinations and I had my pick. I remember seeing this in Australia for about $100 back in June but bought this at Yellow Submarine in Akiba for under $20!

I don’t know the character but I thought the kit was cute and the price – about $8 – was too good to resist. Visiting Japan at new years and taking advantage of the sales turned out to be a good thing!

The Umamusume anime – about horses anthropomorphized as young women – is very popular in Japan right now and there’s loads of merchandise available. Early in the trip I saw this kit in a glass resellers case in Akiba for a too-high price and vowed to find an affordable one. Despite my best attempts searching the many shops that sold new kits I never succeeded (which is weird; why isn’t a Bandai kit available?) but then on the penultimate day found a new one for a great price (about $30) at Akiba Mandarake. This one will be fun to build 🙂

There’s a wide range of Ultraman kits available now, and I’ve already made a half dozen of them. The above was a new release, and a no-brainer pickup at under $20.

Despite the low cost and light weight of these things they take up a fair amount of luggage space! This was one of the reasons we bought a new suitcase in Japan. In total our four suitcases weighed over 140 lbs!

Lastly I found the above on our unexpected last day. It was very cheap, was the only time I’d ever seen it, and it called to me so I got it and found space for it in our already-packed suitcases! Just now I built it:

It only has about 20 pieces including creepy rubbery gums. The mechanism to open the jaw is impressively simple and it works very well. It only took me a (fun) half hour or so to assemble:

This one will go to work and be displayed on a cabinet next to my dinosaur skeleton kit.

Kiyomizu

January 4, 2023

Yesterday we visited Kiyomizu Temple, one of the best-known temples in Japan and a very popular tourist destination. Even though we’d been to Kyoto thrice before, we’d never visited this place, which is a comment on how much there is to see in and around Kyoto.

The temple is hundreds of years old, and the famous verandah pictured above was built in 1633 and is all wood with no nails! Tradition states that if you jump off and fall the 15 meters and survive, your wish will come true. People used to actually do this, but it’s been prohibited for over 150 years now!

That’s a view from the verandah down into a courtyard below where water from a mountain stream flows into a small pond. Legend says that drinking this water also grants wishes. The lines were long when we got down there and we didn’t partake, but my wish would have been to find an S.H. Figuarts Zoffy figure in stock somewhere before we leave Japan 🙂

That’s a second verandah. The temple complex is large and spread across a mountainside overlooking Kyoto and has wonderful views. In spring with cherry blossoms in view this place would be beautiful!

Afterwards we lazily strolled the nearby shopping street with the endless crowds of Japanese who were visiting for hatsumode (visiting a shrine at new years to pray for good fortune). The shops sell all sorts of traditional souvenirs such as crackers and sweets and little ornaments, and it’s fun looking at it all. The above pic was taken outside one store, and is a cute reminder of the pandemic. Mask compliance here is incredibly high, and the few times we’ve seen anyone unmasked they are usually foreign tourists.

The afternoons activity was shopping, not to mention gatcha machine browsing and video gaming (more on that in a bit). We saw this display of companion robots (called Lovots) in an electronics store and they were adorable. At only $5000 plus $100/month for service they are designed to replace pets and are incredibly responsive. Text me if you want a video!

Today we’re going on a day trip. Check back tomorrow to see where!

To Kyoto

January 2, 2023

Yesterday we boarded a bullet train and headed to Kyoto, where we’ll spend the next five nights.

As always the trip was comfy (we rode first class) and super smooth and my ‘ekiben’ lunch (the usual port cutlet sandwich) was delicious:

As a bonus the weather was beautiful and we got probably the best view of Fuji we’ve ever had:

After we arrived we did a bit of shopping in the famous covered shopping streets not too far from the station:

And I couldn’t resist another ‘sugar coated apple’, this time served sliced in a cup. It was magnificent:

We’re staying in a fancy hotel here, right next to the station. It’s too fancy for rogues like us, but it’s very comfortable and we even have a patio with our own garden!

While we have some activities planned the mail goal of the Kyoto days is to relax to recharge for some final Tokyo madness. It’s much colder here (just above freezing in the mornings) so this will be easy. 🙂

Robot Claw