It’s over 10,000!

On October 8, 2009October 8, 2009 By Asian EdIn Computers and Internet1 Comment

I never thought I’d do it, but here I am. Checking on my blog’s stats tonight, I realized I hit a nice milestone of 10,000 hits since moving to WordPress in April. Here are some stats:

Average of 61 hits per day
Busiest day was Sunday, May 3rd, when I posted “Completing my otaku lounge”
Incidentally, that’s been the most popular post to date, with 393 views
Second place went to “L4D x Lucky Star Win!” with 350 views (kind of curious about this one)
Of all the Tokyo entries, Day 2 – TGS surpassed all others
Not surprisingly, posts that were originally made on Live Spaces that were migrated to WordPress didn’t see much activity
Also not surprising was that most visitors arrived here via DannyChoo. Thanks Danny!

Here’s to much more content in the years to come, I don’t have any plans to stop any time soon. Thanks to all you loyal readers out there!

A day in Kyoto – Shrine visits

On October 4, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, TravelLeave a comment

Greetings from 34000 feet above above the Pacific Ocean! Please excuse the poor quality of the picture, the built in camera on my netbook can only do so much in such low light!

plane

It has been an awesome trip culminating in an eventful side trip into Kyoto. With Saturday being the only full day we had in the historic capital of Japan, we set to work visiting several shrines in the area. Our first stop was the Fushimi Inari shrine, which is most famous for it’s numerous gates along the walkway built into the mountain.

Since schools are in session on Saturday in Japan, we ran into several large groups of students out on school trips. The main street leading up to the main entrance was crowded with locals and students. Compared to some of the other places we visited that day, there were far fewer tourists in the area. First though, a quick stop for some breakfast at a small restaurant along the way.

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Saying goodbye to Japan

On October 3, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, TravelLeave a comment

It is another beautiful day in Kyoto, but sadly I won’t be enjoying it fully today. It’s time for me to take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo and bid farewell to Japan. It has been an awesome week, with all sorts of great experiences and stories. I still have some more content to put together from yesterday’s walk around Kyoto, though that’ll probably wait until I get back to the United States. Before signing off, here’s a look at what I’m having for breakfast today. Cream filled melonpan, tea, and some roasted beans from Fushimi Inari Shrine.

Thank you Tokyo and Kyoto for all the great memories, hopefully we’ll cross paths again in the future!

Kyoto Day 1 – Traveling to Kyoto

On October 2, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, TravelLeave a comment

This afternoon we left Tokyo behind and jumped on the Shinkansen for Kyoto. It had been a great week in the biggest cities in Japan with a lot of sightseeing and shopping, but it was finally time for some R&R.

It would be about two and a half hours by train to go from Tokyo station to Kyoto station, which is pretty impressive considering the 300+ mile distance between the two cities. We got to the station a little early, so we ended up looking around for food and generally taking it easy. Eventually, the train did arrive and we got on. This is my first time on the Shinkansen, so I was pretty excited and grabbed a window seat.

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Tokyo Day 7 – Washinomiya Shrine

On October 1, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, Travel3 Comments

Weather in Tokyo yesterday was probably the best it’s been all week, with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and low humidity. It was the perfect day for taking the train out to Saitama for a shrine visit. Today however, it doesn’t look like we’re so lucky. One again, the commuters in Shinjuku have their rain protection employed.

Fortunately for us, we’ll be on the Shinkansen bound for Kyoto for the first half of the day. Yesterday was very eventful, starting out with going to Washinomiya Shrine in Saitama, making a quick stop in Ueno on the way back, and then finally Ginza for Kabuki theater and shopping. Before leaving Ginza, we stopped in a bakery for some sweets.

This particular melonpan was filled with some sort of melon flavored custard, which (according to Shana) borders in blasphemy. I, on the other hand, think it’s quite delicious and want to figure out how to make it. Umai-ki!

Enough about today’s breakfast, it’s time to talk about yesterday’s main event: Washinomiya Shrine in Saitama.

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Tokyo Day 6 – Ghibli Museum in Mitaka

On September 30, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, Travel4 Comments

It looks like it’ll be another cool and cloudy day in Tokyo today. There wasn’t any sign of rain when I woke up this morning, so hopefully it’ll be a dry day for our excursion into Saitama.

Breakfast this morning consisted of a choco coronet that I bought yesterday in Nakano along with some coffee in a can from the vending machine. Jiji decided to join me as well this morning and he enjoyed looking out the window at the commuters going to and from the train station.

Speaking of Jiji, he decided to come home with me after I saw him at the gift shop at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. It was a bit of a journey to get out there, but it was well worth it.

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Tokyo Day 5 – More Shopping

On September 30, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, Travel3 Comments

After a few days of nice weather, the skies in Tokyo clouded up and gave us a little rain to contend with. It’s currently sprinkling a bit right now and the locals are out with umbrellas.

It’s days like this that it’s nice to sit inside and enjoy some delicious taiyaki…

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Tokyo day 4 – Tokyo Tower and shopping in Akihabara

On September 28, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Figures, Otaku, TravelLeave a comment

In a slight departure from normal, this will be a light update. Not as much photography this year, although there may be a Photosynth coming in a couple days. We got a relatively early start this morning (left around 10am) to go see Tokyo Tower. Since it is scheduled to be replaced in a few years, we decided now was as good as time as any go up and visit it. After seeing it blown up in so many different anime, it was nice to finally visit this landmark and see it in person. There was a bit of a haze today so visibility was limited.

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Tokyo day 3 – Harajuku and Shibuya

On September 28, 2009October 8, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, Travel1 Comment

It’s another beautiful day in Tokyo! After yesterday’s entry, I went out for a walk to take some photos around the hotel. What resulted is a beautiful 314 photo Photosynth set of the plaza outside of Shinjuku station…

It was off to have a quick lunch at the station and then off to the Harajuku area. It’s known as one of the trendier districts in Tokyo and is full of boutiques, clothing shops, and some of the most interesting fashion I’ve ever seen. Sundays are typically the day when the younger folk get dressed up and go hang out in the streets. Cosplayers are no exception here, and they typically hang out on the bridge next to the station…

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Tokyo day 2 – Tokyo Game Show

On September 26, 2009October 2, 2009 By Asian EdIn Otaku, Travel7 Comments

Good morning from Shinjuku! I’m happy to report that the jet lag is slowly going away, and I slept most of the way through 6am this morning after going to bed around 10pm. After a quick run to the convenience store for some breakfast items (I had no idea what I bought, to be honest), I’m ready to do a quick rundown of yesterday’s events!

Yes, that is Saber Lily, more on her later. ^.^

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