Just got back to Tokyo after spending a couple of weeks in the US. Had an incredible time at Anime Expo and will be posting my photos soon - currently buried in several projects and 5 tons of mail ><
The day before we left the US, we travelled from Monterey to Santa Barbara.
Reina sitting comfy in the back of the car ready to head to next destination.
Filling up on gas before driving back to Los Angeles.
Stayed at one of the airport hotels.
Most of the cars we saw in the US were either black, white, silver or red.
Next morning - brekkie time.
When I'm in the US I eat Cinnamon Toast nearly every day! We dont have this in Japan ><
Packing up to head back to Tokyo.
Heading to return our rental car to Hertz.
Unloading from our trusty steed that kept us company for the past 2 weeks.
Gorgeous car - Infiniti FX but not sure which flavor. Would be perfect to Itarize!
Car dropped off - shuttle bus to the terminal.
5 USD to use the trolleys. Free at all other airports I've visited.
Checking in - we took Korean Air to and from the US.
Lounging in the lounge.
Business class for this trip.
Took this photo to remind me where I want to be sitting next time ^^
Cant remember when I took this - either from the plane or airport hotel.
LAX Takeoff - didn't know it was by a beach?
Nomnoms on Korea Air which has to be one of the best airlines I've travelled on. The stewardesses look like they all stepped out of a K-drama, the service is excellent, I get to practice my Korean and most important of all - the seats fold to be relatively flat.
Bibimbap!
Dessert to go with my inflight entertainment - I chose Man on a Ledge and Wrath of the Titans. Wanted to watch John Carter but the sound was in mono for some reason so didnt bother ^^;
There is a poll embedded in this article.
This is where my Korean comes in handy. Still need to get the Korean site up n running ><
Video taken by Michael Tang below of me speaking some Korean and other languages.
More noms. When I started to travel business class, I found it interesting that all airlines served food on crockery with a table cloth and all.
My view from the window for about 12 hours.
The seats on Korean airlines fold pretty flat - not completely flat but good enough to get sleep. Most seats in business class on other airlines fold out but end up being sloped so that you are sliding downwards! From the space provided however, it looks like they are able to make the beds fold flat but they purposely dont and the reason being I guess is so that they can charge more for First Class.
The best business class I've traveled on was Swiss Air - seats fold completely flat! Photos in the Tokyo to France post.
About to land at Narita Airport. This photo taken on the Galaxy S3.
Our ride from the US which is about to fill up with more passengers before heading off to Korea.
Returning our rental pocket Wi-Fi which we used for the duration of our trip in the US - paid 16,000 yen for 2 weeks which was a lifesaver. Folks arriving in Japan can also rent one for their time in Japan too. Details here.
About to catch a train heading into central Tokyo.
Moe characters used to raise awareness of something called Furikome-sagi [振込詐欺[ふりこめさぎ]] where folks are tricked into debiting cash into other peoples accounts. Old folks are usually targets - somebody calls up and says "Its me! Your son! I need some cash as I'm in trouble - please pay into this account."
Tickets in hand and heading to the platform.
Looks like the station attendees had some time on their hands.
Off to the toilet to offload some fuel and see this sign - its asking folks to deal with poo which did not hit the target. More often than not - one will encounter poo which has been left on the floor by the side of a Japanese style toilet (the hole in the floor type).
The sign also says that the poo becomes hard to clean after time has passed...
Poor lady has her baggage snatched.
Grabbing a drink before boarding.
Its been many years since we tried the Narita Express so thought we'd give it a whirl to see if the service has improved over the years. It previously used to take hours to get into the city on this line.
A sign at the station welcomes visitors to Japan - by saying that perversion is a crime...
The yellow belts let us know that the cars are being cleaned.
If you are taking the Narita Express - make sure you request not to sit at the front of the carriage because you will be sitting with little leg room staring at the wall.
Tokyo from the train.
Out of all the methods to get into Tokyo, the Narita Express still remains the most expensive. Today we are heading into Shinagawa and plan to take a taxi from there.
Arrival at Shinagawa.
Taxi get - only a 15 min ride from here back to base.
Never touch the doors when you get into a taxi - the driver will open and close them for you with a switch.
The sign says that the most common item left in the taxi is an iPhone.
Playing around with the feature we used a lot while in the US - the Google navigation app on the Galaxy S3.
Welcomed back home by Mirai-chan.
Baggage dumped at home and off to get dindins.
Ultraman gets the pachinko treatment.
Its that time of year when folks wear Yukata.
Our local shopping arcade has a load of Tanabata decorations up.
Speaking of Tanabata, looks like we will be expecting some Mirai Suenaga Tanabata somewhere soon...
Ramen for dindins.
Off to get groceries.
Some simple stuff to keep us going before doing the heavy duty shopping at Costco.
Officer - I can explain.
I needed to take their Mirai outfits to Anime Expo for the Itasha display which is why they are nekkid and I've had no time to dress them yet.
Reina relieved to be out of the baggage.
Going through bits in my bag - goodie bag from Korean Airlines.
iPhone 4 and Galaxy S3 Mirai cases - samples only though.
Catching up on news the next morning. Some cute girlies on the streets being interviewed.
Another cutie on the streets. Caption this image.
Lunch is noms made by wifey.
Ordered some stuff from Amazon in the morning and get it the same day. 4 X 3TB HDDs for the new TV show production.
Mirai fanart from comrades at AX.
Some do-nots for folks staffing at AX looking after the Guest Of Honors.
Something fell from the ceiling - if you want one then I've got 6 of them to give away.
Something else that fell from the ceiling - some nomable prezzies from Kotobukiya.
Time to clean up the office a bit. The AX program guide featuring Max and Mirai Suenaga.
Some research material for the work that I do with various illustrators.
Good Smile have moved offices - right next to the Tokyo Sky Tree! The big boss Aki Takanori asked me to join him there and even gave me some space too! But it looks like I'll be getting my own new offices soon...
Guess why I picked this up.
Mintochuu does a Mirai!
Some of the mobile options for folks who are travelling in and out of Japan - all details at Telecom Square.
Mirai Summer Uniform for dolls - sample back from the factory! Still needs some tweaking though but I want them to be ready for purchase in August. The stitches in the skirt are just there for transportation.
Reina-chan grabs some fresh air by the window.
Spot the odd one out.
Office still messy but good enough for operations. Going to have 4 people in here over the next few months working on the new TV show and company expansion projects.
More Tokyo arrival posts listed up below.
