Today was an early day, although not as early as I first intended. I left the apartment around 6:15 and walked to the convention center, about an hour away. I was a nice cool morning and the walk was really good. I was kept entertained by the lovely morning sites, the other pedestrians like me and an occasional chat on my phone. Near the convention site I started running into small groups who were also going to the con.

The crowds were expected, since the estimated number of visitors on the first few days is in excess of two hundred thousand people, but somehow I was not ready for what I saw. There were groups of people everywhere. I was rather lost when I arrived and just followed the crowds. There was a 7-eleven on route which offered a basic breakfast of mandarins, a donut and a drink. It was tasty but not super nutritional.

I found my group and then waited. I had in mind that the doors open at nine and I was there just after seven so it would be an okay wait. What I learned while waiting in the sun is that the doors open at ten and I needed a wrist band to enter. That started a small panic of being turned away, having waited too long and a number of other thoughts.

After waiting in line for near to two hours I left my spot to go talk to a staff person or volunteer to get information. It was perfect timing because once I had the information I needed the lines started to move so I lost my spot. But I was informed that if I get back into my group and head to the entrance I can still buy my pass, so I moved to the shade and watched as groups moved ahead and the apologized my way into a new group a little behind mine and started moving.

Yay movement, we are moving. But it seems a little early, only nine thirty and all. And then the movement stopped. And we waited again. But this time I knew what was going on. There was a younger man beside me who was using my shadow to reduce the glare on his PSP that he was playing. I found that amusing. And the two women in front of me got tired of standing at one point and sat down. About ten minutes before we started moving again and I nearly tripped on them as they stood up.

Our next waiting point was in front of the centre, about 200 meters away. A young man beside me was very friendly and smiling a lot. He asked me if it was too hot and I could see he had translated it on his phone. It was funny and I laughed with him as we waited. He would play a few seconds of some heavy metal while playing air guitar and headbanging and then stop and smile again.

At exactly ten o’clock the entire crowd burst into applause. It was opening time. I started seeing groups moving towards the convention centre and we were finally on our way. Herded like cattle really. But everyone was excited and happy to be heading in. I imagine it is a different atmosphere during the winter event. We headed up the stairs and near the end I was able to split off from my group and find where to buy my pass. For tomorrow I will know to get it in advance.

I entered the hall, pass on arm, and finally felt the sun off of me. My new shade is a permanent red, but for now let me tell you about the organized chaos of the event. There are line ups everywhere. These line ups are for especially popular titles that will sell out in a couple of hours and people will be in a line of several hundred just to get their copy. Some of those copies will be signed by the artists. Inside there are tables, about six feet in length. Each table will have two different book showings and each book showing will often have two people there. So four people sat at a six foot table. End caps will have large banners displaying the front cover so you can see what is being sold. The spacing between double rows of tables is about three people wide so you are constantly being jostled as you move in the crowds. I have experienced a con before at home. This is a completely different thing.

I wandered around tables, seeing people in costumes and noticing a lack of photography so I decided to ask some questions. There is an International Information booth on the second floor, which requires walking up a very long ramp, outside, so I made the trek. Once on the second floor I was amazed. There was still crowds. There were more crafts than I saw on the lower floor, but still a lot of books. Comiket hosts 35,000 participating artists. There is a scale of size in that which you cannot grasp unless you see it yourself. I had a lovely chat with a brithish man who has been living in Japan for ten years. He helped me figure out some of the customs of the event. Pointing out that the cosplay photograph areas were marked on the map and where I could find food. At this point it was nearly twelve.

I made my way outside to one of the cosplay photo areas and a number of people were out there showing off their creative skill. I put together the most basic request I could, “Sumimasen, shashin ok?” meaning “Excuse me, picture ok?” and got an ok sign so I snapped a couple of photos of a few of the cosplayers and thanked them each time. They were very friendly and the skill in the costumes was wonderfully displayed. I started to get hot and hungrier and so I went to find food.

I ended up outside, found a cafe and ordered an iced tea. Which was very standard southern US iced tea in that it was black tea poured over ice. More bitter than I would normally like but probably pretty good with some sugar. Also it was likely caffeinated which I generally avoid and not food, so I finished it and searched again for real food. I found a basement area, or lower level I guess and it had four restaurants, of which one was Indian, kind of. So I headed there. Lovely place, good food and cool so I enjoyed a sit down, some ice water and proper sustenance. With vanilla ice cream as a treat.

I headed back up to the convention floor which was much quieter now, but being nearly two o’clock it was also slowly shutting down. The convention ends at four, and a number of tables were sold out, or only had one or two remaining copies of the book for sale. Some were gone completely, others were chatting with the people beside them or behind them. I met a cosplayer who was selling DVDs of her work and was in costume from one of her DVDs. We chatted a little mixing Japanese and English. She was super friendly and kind. I she told one of the artists behind her about me and he was surprised I was there and said hi as well. Canadians are rare it seems.

Afterwards I headed out to the convenience store to buy a few missing things. A towel for one. If you visit Tokyo in August you will see many younger Japanese men with towels on their necks or over their heads. I thought it was silly because you are just trapping the heat. I realized that it actually serves two purposes. One it blocks the sun, I really need that on my neck and shoulders. Two, it provides you a way to wipe your brow and nose of sweat, because most of the time your hands will also be sweaty and a towel does the best job. Now I have a three pack. Vanity has been thrown away for comfort and convenience at this point.

I also bought a phone battery pack. It is not rechargeable, it uses four AA sized batteries and comes with a cable. Since my phone seems to only last about four hours now I feel it is necessary. Tomorrow I will not be at 1% by eleven. So with my new purchases in hand I headed home, with a short stop at a grocer on the way to pick up a one liter bottle of water for tomorrow.

I got home and said hi to one of my hosts. His English is not as good as hers but he seems friendly and kind. I took a nap and when I woke up both my hosts had returned from errands of some form. I mentioned my burned skin and asked where I could get something but she insisted she help and darted out the door. She came back with a couple of aloe products and a skin care spray. She felt so bad for my condition. I feel the need to pay her back.

Now it is time for bed and hopes that the burns get better with treatment. Back to waiting in line tomorrow, but this time with my towel and lots of water.

Today was the first full day of getting around and seeing sights. I started out looking around the area I had visited yesterday but without the stress of dragging luggage and figuring out directions. It was a lot of fun. I found an outdoor market which was beside a fresh seafood market. The variety of fish, seafood, vegetables and other foods was amazing. I will definitely go back to get more pictures and try other foods. I ended up buying a mixed pack of lean and fatty tuna sashimi as breakfast. It was delicious.

Afterwards I wandered around the market some more. I heard many languages, bought a drink from a vending machine which was too bitter, and checked out all the stalls. It is amazing what they were selling. Steak, vegetables, knives, bamboo kitchen items, food item of unknown purpose, nori. There were randomly scattered restaurants, all in a four block by four block area, or so. It is called Tsukiji market I think.

Around ten I decided that I needed cooler clothes and went on an adventure seeking a mall. The walk was about seven kilometers and along the way I crossed many bridges, passed many police officers and security people manning intersections, saw small and large cars and found another fish market. This one is spread over three buildings, one for fruit and veg, one for intermediate fish (we call them restaurants) and one for wholesale fish. The have glass observation areas around the loading dock so you can watch as all the fish is unloaded and sorted. I was there too late to see much activity, the wholesale market had shut down already.

Finally I found the mall I was looking for. Called Sea side mall. It is six floors and two narrow buildings in size. I wandered through it, looking for shorts and shirts, but was unable to find anything within my price range. I did buy some sandals though, and boxed up my sneakers and socks. The mall contains many activities for kids and adults. Madam Tussaud’s, Legoland, a rock climbing wall, an airsoft maze. It was a very interesting place. But expensive. It also had what I am now thinking is the best drink I have yet to find. It is grape juice but not as sweet as at home and contains little bits of tapioca. So good. I want more now. Around noon I wandered back to the apartment I am staying at and decided to change into shorts with the intention of heading back out for more exploring. Instead I fell asleep waiting for my phone to charge and woke up about three hours later. Too much sun.

After my nap, driving by curiousity and my stomach I wandered a little further into the city and found a light district. Lots of bars, people, restaurants and other businesses. I even passed a capsule hotel. It was still very hot and even in shorts with the sun down I was finding it warm. I ended up at a little restaurant which advertised English speaking staff and ordered some fried chicken, tuna and mushrooms which were very good. I am not usually a fan of fried food but this was different. While I had my food and was thoroughly flummoxed on how to properly eat it, a wonderful grandmother type person with her grandson showed me the proper way to dip and eat my food. She was very kind and friendly. I paid my meal, thanked her for her help and wandered a little more before heading back to the apartment.

Tomorrow is the first day of Comiket, so I will be getting up early to stand in a very long line for that.
Have a great night everyone.

My was today a long day. I think by this point it is technically two, but I am going to write it as one. It all started yesterday when I began packing for my trip at just after one in the morning. Because of the fact that I did not plan, and remember without a plan everything is just guesswork, I missed a couple of fairly important items, but nothing that cannot be replaced. Packing finished at just after two am. I was ready to go with my three suitcases which are actually two, or two suitcases which are actually three.

In the morning, on just a few hours of sleep, I grabbed a couple of forgotten items, but not all the forgotten items, and started loading the car. Small stuff first, luggage next and then finally the cat, because cat could not stay home for two weeks, so she is getting her own vacation with my parents. She will be spoiled by the time I get back and will likely refuse to want to get back into the car with me ever again.

So with a packed car, a very vocal and upset cat, and barely enough gas to get there I head to see my mom and make the first stop. After leaving her with a relieved black fluff ball and some instructions, I head to the bank to transfer money for the trip and take out cash, gas station to fill the tank and finally to my parking location where I meet with my amazing airport ride and girlfriend Liz.

I promise there will be pictures, but nothing was done up to this point because my brain was still in bed. Once she dropped me off at the airport, with a very nice goodbye, I made my way to the kiosk to collect my printed paperwork. And found out that sleepy Alex made a big mistake, because passport Alexander and sleepy Alex do not have the same name so I had to redo all the check-in stuff with a real person anyway. Also I went to the US check in gate to do all the paperwork only to be sent to the proper check-in gate after to drop my luggage. I really feel bad for holding up other people because I was too tired to read instructions.

Bag dropped, papers in hand and over two hours early thanks to a lack of traffic I made my way to the gate to sit and wait. And get food like stuff from Timmies. I filled my two hours with chatting and saying bye electronically to family, and listening to some wise words on my laptop.

My first flight boarded on time and I chatted with a lovely woman who does nursing work in the territories. Her flight challenges were dreadful but she was heading home to be with her parents in a difficult time and I was happy that she was nearly finished. She started in Yellowknife, traveled to another location in the territories that the name escapes me, then to Calgary, Toronto and finally Ottawa. The first day. When I chatted with her she was on day two which was Ottawa, back to Toronto, to Montreal and finally a town outside of Val-d’Or. We laughed over the ridiculousness of it. And the fact that she could drive to Montreal faster than those two flights.

Once we were all seated and the checks were done our beautiful warm and sunny morning flight was delayed by bad weather. A thunderstorm rolled through Toronto and we were left in our seats for nearly an hour while we waited it out. The gentleman beside me and I chatted timing of flights, he was heading to Austin, Texas for work, and we both had very close connections if the delay was extended.

Luckily the delay lasted only as long as scheduled. Forty five minute delay on a forty five minute flight, and I landed in Toronto with three minutes to spare before the boarding call of my flight to Tokyo. I hightailed it through the airport, walking faster on the ground than those who were walking on the automatic walkways. My calves are surprisingly not in pain considering the amount of near jogging I did all day. I will wait for morning for final judgement though. Through secured gates for reasons that elude me, and directly into the line waiting for my flight. Yay, I made it. I even had time to swing back fifty feet and buy a Canadian souvenir for my host family a a kiosk right by the line up.

Boarding was good, and I buckled in, then got up for things, then buckled in again about four times before I felt ready for thirteen hours in the air. And then we were delayed. Seems I was not the only one on a mad dash and a family of five, including twin babies of indeterminate age between two and eight months were also trying to catch the flight. And the airline was nice enough to delay even longer to ensure the matching luggage was secured. I felt certain my luggage would be a day or two because of the mad dash.

Finally the doors closed, the flight taxied out and we were in the air. I spent an hour or so sleeping, then I tried to read, then I slept a little more. Then I saw forms. Forms that were needed at customs time and that was the first of the oops items I suddenly remembered. A pen. Also around the same time item number two came to mind. A sweater because airplanes are cold.

All of that was forgotten when food arrived. It was food, nothing extra special in any way. I was fed a total of three times over the flight, as well as being overly hydrated. It felt like every twenty minutes someone was offering me water. At one point I had two empty cups, two empty small bottles and a flight attendant offered to fill all of them at once for me. I declined, accepting the filling of a single bottle and asking her to clear the rest away.

Between meals I did more reading, listening to some music and at one point I finally convinced a person to get me a pen so I could start filling out my forms. Hey look forgotten item number three, the address of the place I am staying at. Right I definitely need that. Well I guess I will pay for the in-flight internet option and download the files I need. So once I did that I was also able to fill my time with chatting online while in the air. That made my trip so much better. There were some wonderful conversations that Liz and I had that would not have happened if I had not forgotten to download the address, so that was a blessing.

I completed my forms, chatted with Liz, started this blog and did some music listening and fiction book reading for most of the flight. The best part was that no one had booked the two seat beside me so I had the whole row. I made very good use of that space, using all three trays at one point. It was almost like having a first class ticket without the fees. I had such a nice relaxing space that I almost missed breakfast, served at two pm local time. The ideas of meal types and spacing on the flight was interesting.

Look at all the melon. I luckily woke up seeing the people around me starting to eat and being able to catch someone as they were moving back through the plane. Not giving up a free meal when I am not sure where I am eating next.

Not long after that I started to shut everything down and pack up. We were about an hour out of Tokyo and I wanted to clear customs as quickly as possible. I took a photo in a no photo zone accidentally and waited for the luggage I was certain would never show up at the belt. I was so happy when my bag showed up, I grabbed it, walked through security and headed into the first real test of my travel. Sim card, money exchange, and subway ticket. The airport exchange rate was a bit harsh, but expected, the sim card was necessary for travelling around with my phone and the subway ticket was very reasonable.

I made my way to the subway, no idea what I was doing and just got on. Figured out what my transfer station was between emailed instructions, map app on my phone and help from the ticket counter agent I got off the right subway and onto the next right subway. Then I proceeded to get off at the right station and walk the wrong way. For an hour. With heavy luggage. In 38C humid weather. Drenched would be a good description of my state of being.

Also I got lost. Because my mapping app does not know Tokyo addresses and decided that the building name I provided was a city centre location and sent me there. And then I went the wrong way to get there. I walked about five kilometers of the Tokyo neighborhood I am staying at with two suitcases at 6pm or so. It was a struggle but I enjoyed a lot of it. I saw groups of people lining up for bus stops. I heard a young child sign Happy Birthday in English at very high volume. I saw mothers and father biking with two kids on the bike all over. And once I connected with Chie, the host I am staying with, I got the right directions and made my final trek to her apartment.

I have now completed my two day travel day story. I napped after finally being where I am supposed to be and am ready for a full night of sleep before my first full day of adventure comes.

Planning is everything. Without a plan all you have is guesswork.

-Alex Mayer

I have wanted to visit Japan for more than twenty years. In 2018, when I sold my house, I finally had the opportunity to start planning my dream trip of Visiting Tokyo. There were a number of thoughts, I have always wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms. The Olympics are to be hosted there in 2020. And then there is Comic Market. So I decided on Comic Market (Comiket), which is hosted in December and August.

Comiket is a giant fair for Doujinshi, amateur comics. These are manga comics that are self published, rather than being produced by giant publishing houses. In recent years the number of self publishing artists in attendance is 35,000, and that creates a comic event that gathers what I think is the largest gathering of visitors in the world. Over half a million people will enter the convention centre over three days. And in August 2019 the organizers increased the event to four days, running from August 9 to 12. This is the event I decided I wanted to be a part of.

Once I had my central event I started looking at flights, dates, other activities and making a good vacation plan. The Monday before the event is a holiday for most people at home so I decided to leave the Tuesday, so I would have a long weekend with my friends and family. That plan turned out to be fortuitous as my brother and his fiancee decided to set their wedding date for the Sunday before, which offered me the opportunity to be a part of a wonderful celebration and still proceed with my trip.

Once the flight was planned and booked I started looking at where to stay. Tokyo is a fairly expensive place to live, and as such hotels can be unreasonably priced. My Japanese school friend Chris recommended looking into home stays and there happen to be a location available for my selected dates only six blocks from the Tokyo Big Site arena, the convention centre used for the Comiket event. This was easily booked and the website payment structure is well developed. I paid a base booking fee, which goes to the website, of about 10%. The remaining amount is paid cash on arrival to the hosts, which means there is full transparency about the cost split.

Once I had confirmation of my flights and home stay I started my research of activities. Most of them will be spur of the moment based on personal feelings and weather but I have booked tickets to the Ghibli museum and the teamlab borderless contemporary art exhibit. I will be visiting an onsen for a day, and akihabara. Other location ideas which are currently fluid are Ueno park (plus all the other places on site), Mount Fuji, Tsukuba (tech city), Chiba, and other shopping/food adventures. I will speak with my host family as well to get more ideas.

Alright next time will be the flight out.