I've been doing some thinking.

I thought that I would share my thoughts, hey what is a blog for but sharing thoughts and ideas and stuff, well anyway...
I have done some research into how much stuff I can bring back before I pay duty on it.
From what I learned is that for a 7 or more day trip I can bring back $750CAD.(http://www.law-faqs.org/nat/tr-can-02.htm)
So I have done a rough tally and so far on on everything I have bought, minus a few things, this includes Figures, Dolls, Manga, Music and Games. So far my grand total is
143375yen or $1,291.30CAD
Roughly adding everything else(stuff that has no price tag) it's going to be about $1400CAD
Now with the help of Xe.com it looks like I can take 83,394.90yen worth of stuff with me and send the rest back.

Sofie buy herself was 75000yen so that is another about 8355yen.
I had also found a duty rates site but was for some other area, thus not applicable.
But I did also find out that if I bring more than $750CAD of stuff back that I do have to pay duty on it and I can't take the Items with me until I pay.
So if I do bring more, I need to bring a little bit more. Air Canada also offers currency exchange on the plane so I can get some CAD, which I hope it will be enough.
It is not like I am bringing tobacco or Alcohol back.

Another quandary I have been having is that The carrying case I bought for Sofie is to big as a carry on and I can't check her since she is way to valuable to me to do that.
So I have been thinking how to get her back home, I need to gather everything up that I am going to bring on the plane and see how much it weighs and stuff.

Also everyday that I take the train and pass Nishi-nippori I see an interesting vending machine so when I was in Akiba today I decided to take the Yamanote to Nishi-Nippori and see what was up with that Vending machine, and it sold books.
So I bought one(630yen), I was wishing that it was a Manga(which would be cheaper), but it was a book, I wanted to do this for a long time, I wanted to just walk around and take pictures of all the vending machine I pass and also the interesting ones I know about.

Well that is all for my thought for today. Also the internet is starting to really be dicey as of late, where it would the wireless would get really low service, or none...I think that with the others around(and myself) the server is getting a lot of abuse and can't handle the workload. Sometimes I won't connect until I restart my computer.

Well thats all.

Well I am starting to pack and see about sending stuff.

I know that it has been a long tie since I have posted anything,(There are some past post I need to do so I am kind of back logged with post right now) Well the crunch is on! I am starting to pack and get ready to leave back for home. I also need to find out about sending stuff back home I have a big bag which holds most of the figures. So instead of sending a huge box you need to forklift to carry with, I will be sending a smaller box.

Now the bag I have with most of my figures is under the Max overall WxHxL, but just by a few centermetes. Now as for my Doll she will be carried on the plane with me so I don't have to worry about her.
I was going to keep this a secret but on my last trip to Akiba, funny enough I had found something that I had been looking for a long but not during this trip, I didn't go there to get this item, but I spotted it. I bought a case of it for 1260yen, can anyone guess what it is? Here is a clue someone with the user name starting with an "S" is really going to have a good Christmas. Ok I gave two huge clues so it should be easy as to who it is.

Also another fun fact, Nippori is Tactile Town, I did not know this until a few days ago, I another thing is that it's only 10mins walk from where I live so if I had explored more of the area I would of found it and then I could buy some great material to make stuff.

So what do I have planned?
Mostly cleaning the place and going to my Second Dollfie meet on the 8th of Dec.

Well I have run out of things to say other than I am doing well and I am still alive, Sofie hasn't killed me in my sleep yet!

Ok later, Oh! and I am going to try to spend a few days in Kyoto,(I am going to take the Shinkansen and I still have a ton of pictures to take.

Later

When to Harajuku again today(Sun)

Ya nothing really intressting this time around, still a sea of people and still didn;t see much cosplay kids. Althught when I was leaving out in to Harajuku an elderly lady butted infround of me, she said sorry, I just smiled and bowed.
Since there wasn't much happening I went to Yoyogi Park again and took more pictures and checked out the Volks showroom there and spotted a few people doing photo shoots there and I thought that was interesting.

While I was in Yoyogi I had ventured around more and found some cool stuff, at this huge center(I guess that is what I can call it) there where people all over selling used clothing and other stuff, but the most interesting thing that I saw was the live performance on one of the side streets, there where tons of people singing, one was singing the Koda Kumi, Cutie Honey song, (from the live action movie) I am going to have to go another Sunday and get some video recording of the performance.

Well no thing really new cept that alright later.

The Countdown is on! 3 weeks!

Yes my trip is drawing on a close and soon I will be heading back to Canada.
On Saturday, I had submitted my 3 week notice so now I need to finish what I want to do. So on Dec 9th @ 1pm is when my inspection is after that I need to vacate and will be given my deposit back in cash, I was told.

I needed to get out for some fresh air.

Yesterday morning was a little strange...in the way that I was awoken by the chilling scream of a small child(about 9:30) the child was crying and screaming for a while maybe 5mins I looked out the window and saw the child all by him/her self with a bike in front of him/her. I wanted to go out and see what was wrong, but I may just scare the child more.
I few moments later I woman gets on the bike and proceeded to ride off and her and the child went down the street with the child still screaming.

After that affair I proceed to surf the internet and the grabbed some food and then clean my room a bit. About 1pm I decided the go and get fresh air and some exercise, so I was going to walk to Akiba to see what was new. My "next door neighbor" wanted to show me this really cool video they took, the technology the was displayed in the video was astounding...it was pretty cool. He also told me about this store that has retro games.

Well any way I had left to goto Akiba the first store I hit was the Kotobukiya on the second floor of the Rajikan building saw some interesting stuff, but nothing that was "Oh I have to buy this!"
my shopping is pretty much over. So I thought hey lets see if they still have the Nightmare before Christmas display, and yep they did, and they even expanded it. I saw what FF figures they where going to have next(the small "coin" figures) and it was FFIV, on Dec the 8th. So I think all try to buy a case of them before I go.

I then headed up to the 6th floor and to the "Vally of the Souless resin" or the Volks showroom.
To my supprize I has saw the guy from the Shinjuku Studio Alta store there and he and I bowed everytime we saw each other. There wasn't anything I wanted to buy but I like looking around.

I then headed to the 7th floor and there a Volks store there that sells figures for cheap...most of them. I saw some figures that I would pick up, I kept on saying to myself I need to ship some of this stuff back, so I didn't buy anything.

Then I headed to the 4th floor which has a store that sells cheap figures as well, most of the time, they are mostly on sale for 10 to 20% off. I saw a figure that is on my wish list that is "buy now" but it was like 13,500 yen(or like $120) It was big, detailed, and expensive...I thought, maybe I can find this cheaper somewhere else.

I then headed across the street to Gamers. There are some DS games I am looking for, but not really sure that I want to buy...like ASH: Final fantasy tactics A2, Final Fantasy Crystal cronicals: Ring of fate, Final fnatasy 12: Reventat Wings and Final Fantasy: You will buy this game even though it has nothing to do with FF and is a just a quick cash grab. That last one I think will win gamespot's longest title/subtitle award.

I was able to find those games but the last one has not be within my grasp for a while...I really wanted that one too....

Well any way in Gamers I had saw a few soundtracks I wanted to pick up. Also I saw the AIR series, AIR, Densha Otoko and maybe, Akihabara@Deep are the only TV series that I would even Consider paying 5000yen a DVD for. I thought about it and thought about it, in the end I didn't buy them, maybe I need to visit the sun mall again ,so I can see if I can find deals on Anime.

On a side note, with a lot of anime DVD's they are about 5000yen or more for 2 eps. I think that they use a different recording media that the us, I saw the first season of Dark Angel at the HMV in Takashimaya Time Square, was 11 Disks! That is nearly twice as many as the same series back home.

So anyway I headed out and then headed to Aso Bits City, and to the 4th or 5th floor filled with "Moe" figures. Looked around, last time I was there I saw a really cool figure of from GITS. I should of picked it up last time I was there because she wasn't there this time...
oh well...

Then I had found the Super Potatoe that my naighbor was talking about. Man oh man, if you love retro gaming, you owe it to yourself to check this store out. I should of bought a Super Famicom and some games to play, I also need to research to find out if the Game gear from the US can handle games from Japan, like the DS can. Yes I still have my Sega Gamegear.
Well anyway I was a treat for me to see old Super Famicom or SNES games there, most of them are around 500yen! You can even buy and Super Famicom! Or a Dreamcast! And bunch of retro machines. I am going back there again.

After all that I walked home. Planning what I was going to do the next day.

I went to Shibuya to meet with Hachiko.

I thought that I would would try out an experiment, where I start from Shibuya and walk to Harakuju/Shinjuku to Ikebukuro to Ueno.

How did that go? I'll tell you in a moment.

First I got off the train and I didn't know what exit that the famous Hachiko stachue was at so I thought to go out the nearest exit and find it by going around the station.
I had never been to the station before so finding the stachue wasn't all that easy, but I didn't care how fast I found Hachiko, so I just walked around and eventually I had found him. He was in the middle of the smoking area...

For those who don't know the story behind the statue, here it is:
In the 1920's a professor had a Akita dog, would come to wait at the Shibuya station for him to return. His maser died in 1925, but in loving devotion he continued to wait for his master for 11 years until his own death.(for the sake of not plagiarizing I have not written word for word what is in my lonely planet guide book)
So there is the statue in memory of him.


Also while I was there I found a Tokyo Hobit store, but I was confused as how to reach it, there was a sign saying that it is on the 5th floor, but on the first floor of the building that the sign is attached to is a restaurant. I didn't see a way to get to the 5th floor inside the restaurant.
So that is a place I will have to visit on another trip.

So anyway my experiment, I did walk from Shibuya to Shinjuku, I had followed the Meji-dori most of the way, but became adventurous and took a side street and past a huge stadium, and the Meji park...I think...at least there was a sign point in the direction I was heading saying "Meji Park" but I knew I was going the right way because of my many walks from Harajuku to Shinjuku I have seen the huge tower building, which I think is Shinjuku tower..Next time I think of it I will have to take pictures of it so you know that I am talking about.

Using that building as a base point I knew I where Shinjuku was, (also the signs in English helped) It was maybe an hour or so and I made it to Shinjuku, I was going to head to Ikebukuro, but I was tired of walking and so I thought I would go pick up a few items at the Can Do(which is the 100yen shop on the 8th floor of the Shinjuku Prince Hotel, I picked up some material , kitchen towels for a friend(which the total is now 17) and some food stuff(candy and junk food). I then headed home, I wanted to visit Tokyo Hands again, but was to tired.

I havn't been having a good sleep lately...more like...I have been staying up to about 2 / 1am and waking up about 12 / 1 pm. Someone keeps make a heck of a noise around 12 - 1 am and I want to wake up early so I can get my but moving and get stuff done...lately that has not been happing...also the other guys around me come back later (12am or later) and make a little bit of noise..not to mention that the noise of the traffic is really loud, even with my window closed.


I have also saw that I am on garbage duty again from Nov 22 to the 28th, so I need to take care of that between 7 and 8am, so sleeping until 12 or 1pm is not going to fly.

Well anyway that is enough ranting for now.
And I am still working on sending stuff back, so soon I hope to get all that stuff sorted out.

Also I should mention that there was a storm last night, thunder and lightning type storm, I was inside and the time, but when the thunder roared(and I mean roared) it was so loud that the building shaked a bit and set off a few car alarms. What did I do? Cower, hid under my covers? nope, tried to get it on "Tape" I got thunder but as for lightning I don't know I haven't looked through all the recording yet so there maybe some thing on film.

Well talk to you later

Hey I was going to try something diffrent....

but I just remembered that as part of he internet agreement I signed I am not allowed to upload content, when I first was at Sakura House, I wanted a definition of "content" because content can be anything(never got a clear definition)...well what was I going to do a video blog.

Well I had done a video blog, made into a flv (from a 337mb AVI to a 56mb FLV), tried uploading it to a website called swfup.com but every time i tried to upload it's say "connection timed out"..I wonder if send it via email or messenger...
Well the video is about 18mims long, I was just talking about different stuff.

like finding Jar of kitkat bars inside a vending machine while walking from Akiba.
and how I thought that Tokyo Hands was on the 2nd and the 8th floors, but it was floor 2 through 8 and on the 7th floor is there craft supplies, so I bought some craft stuff for Sofie(my Dollfie), I also checked out the 3rd floor since they had personal stuff there, which I needed. Like pit stick, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and such.

I then took a train to Akiba and bought a carrying bag for Sofie so now I cam carry here around with me, or maybe take her on the plane with me.

Also that is something else talked about was that I am still figuring out the mail system here so I haven't sent anything back yet, I need to do that soon thought. So I am sorry to everyone that it waiting for there stuff.

Another thing was, why I haven't been posting all that much, well that is because I haven't really been doing that much and I didn't really have anything interesting to say or post about. I do want to do more, like visit the Ghibli Museum, go to Ginza and Sibuya, go early in the morning to Harajuku on a Sunday. Visit the main showroom for the Volks, in Koyto, which I need to make a reservation.
I have yet to explore maybe 95% of Japan.

Also I had found a place that sells 250yen bento boxes, so I have been eating there for the past few days.

Well that is pretty much it, i hope to get out there and do more exploring and take more pictures. I should walk through Yoyogi and Ueno park again and try not being such a home body.

Alright later

ughh...being sick sucks....

I think I am paying the price of going to Akiba last Saturday with out an umbrella and getting my feet soaked...I have a cold...and it sucks..it started about Thursday/Friday and I wanted to goto Harajuku today (Sunday) but I just didn't really feel up to it. But yesterday I wanted to get some exercise so I headed to Shinjuku, walked to Harajuku and walked around Yoyogi park. The park was big, at the front gates where where Bikers and skateboarders doing there thing. I was relived that there where so many bathrooms around(pun intended) I also spotted some water fountains( the kind the shoot high in the air, not the ons you drink from, although I also saw lots of those), So of course I need to take photos of them, I manly waked around the main walk way of the park, next time I 'll have to explore the park a bit more. There was a lot of the park I had yet to check out. I didn't check out the park more because I was sick. It just leaves me with ore exploring to do next time.

To counter the cold I have been OD on vitamin C and drinking lots of water and eating healthier. I wasn't felling so good this morning, but now I feel fine, cept I kind of over ate and now I now I feel over stuffed.

So what did I do today?
Well other than try to get better, I cleaned my room, organized my figures, and take some photo shots of Sofie and did some of my laundry, I am going to go to bed soon, I need lots of sleep. Monday I am going to try to pay my rent, and if I am up to it I might just check out Shibuya, and Tokyo hands in Shinjuku, in the time square, close to the station.

Also I have learned how to resize muti-photos in Photoshop Elements, so I don't have to use the other program to resize photos, which is good, since the trial has expired on it.

Happy Novemberween!!

I hope that everyone has had a good Halloween...What did I do on this great day of the all hallows eve goto a costume party? Nope. give treats to little kids...Nope, Sing the soundtrack to the Nightmare before Christmas?...Nope, but I was listening to it, Watch my favorite Halloween movies, like NBX and Bettlejuice? Nope...What I did was remembered that the new Final Fantasy Tactics mini figures came out on, so I had a trip to Akiba. I had picked up a few figures and Manga! I had picked up fair amount of manga, like the first three volumes of Haruhi (for Sakura, if Sakura wants them) the eigth volume of Genshiken and Hellsing. Volume one of the series that Desha liked to watch in the TV Show. The official Book of Genshiken, with profiles and other tidbits in Japaneses so I can't read it Yay!

Also I saw a maid handing out fliers that had red cat eyes, it was really freaky and cool at the same time. An other person dressed as Goku from Dragon Ball Z, I guess that Cosplay is such an weekly event that Dressing up for Halloween is not done, also the face that Japan doesn't celebrate Halloween like we do back home.

Also I was working on some clothes for Sofie. It didn't really turn out how I wanted it to...but I look ok. Also I did my laundry. Woot what an exciting Halloween....

This week had been just my lazy week...But another 9 days it would of been a month since I have arrived in Japan..I am a little disappointed in myself that I have not experienced more of Japan.
One one hand I want to be really active and just walk and explore everywhere, on the other had is that when I get back to Victoria I will not have any time to relax or to work on my personal projects as I will be looking for a job and a place to live so this is my vacation and I do want to relax and enjoy myself while I am here as well.