Ooh, pictures!

[blodeuedd]

Another weekend nearly over... Can't complain, really, since I had lots of fun, in spite of my throat which is not taking to hint to get better already. It's been two annoying weeks of "I'm not really sick but my throat tickles/is kind of sore/I'm coughing stuff up but only sporadically" and it's getting old fast.


There were, however, herb roast chicken chips, KitKats, chocolate almonds, and Polish mead. Yes, M-P, I drank it, and it was good! Really honey-flavoured! <3



The mead, with thematically-appropriate coasters and bling.



Anyway, Jill came over yesterday and we had lunch at Miss Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant near Inokashira Park. The food was good, but they managed to bring both of us the wrong dish. I'd ordered pho bo (beef), but they brought me pho ga (chicken); Jill wanted the yakiniku buncha (vermicelli), but she got it with springrolls instead. We'd both ordered the second item in our respective menu section, but were served the first: did the waitress just tell the kitchen "Pho and buncha!" and let them decide which variation of each to prepare? I tried to explain this to the waiter, but his Japanese was very limited, and my Vietnamese consists of about a dozen words (and the lyrics to a song about love lost XD). Finally the woman who'd originally taken (and screwed up) our orders came over and we got the dishes we wanted, but still...

Back at my place, Jill took out her cross stitch project, and I got out my knitting, and we watched at least a dozen episodes of tenipuri, laughing at the horrible drawings (the infamous "Hyotei looks deformed!" episodes) and making slashy comments. This was the first time I'd watched PoT with another fan; the first time I watched alone, and then I got up to around episode 70 with my brother. I'd missed watching anime with someone who understands the gayness. ^_^



Tabitha kept getting between Jill and the heater. Meanwhile, in Magical Tennis Land, Sakuno looks none too smart. XD




It was so much fun that we need to do it again, and anyone else who would like to join us is invited! Bring your knitting, your cross stitching, your origami, your sketchbook, your [insert current project here], and let's enjoy sparkly tennis together! :D I'm all out of mead, though.


Today I got up early to go check out Yushima Shrine near Ueno. Last year I visited too late for the plum blossoms (and you all know how I feel about plum blossoms! For those who don't, know that I've taken about 234897 pictures of them since coming to Japan) and vowed that this year I would not repeat my mistake! Their plum blossom festival was starting today, so I thought I'd go take a peek to see how the blossoms were coming along, but I had to hurry because I was meeting Sarah in Ikebukuro to see that movie again. I wanted to be on the train by 7:30, but only managed 8:00. Not a bad thing, really, because by the time I made it to the shrine, the sun was only just getting high enough for some good lighting. The trees themselves are beginning to bloom, so I'll need to go back for more pictures! In the meantime, take a look:


It's rather difficult to photograph the plum blossoms from a distance, because there aren't that many on the tree, so they tend to get washed out against the background, unless you've got a clear sky.




















So the reason Sarah wanted to see the movie again was because Kane was the after-showing guest. I was cool with that, but I really wanted to see the movie again because... because it was just really cute and happy and made me smile, and the world needs more of that.

I caught some things I'd missed the first time, and some confusion was cleared up: like, it was Hiyoshi (sorry, still think it's funnier with tenimyu names! :D) who was handed the baby at first, not Ishida, which makes his continued hanging around make more sense, since he feels some sort of responsibility for the situation. Also, I was able to concentrate more on the dialogue, and understood more individual lines, rather than just the general meaning of them like I did the first time.

To my delight, I thought the movie improved upon a second viewing. While I didn't laugh as hard as I had the first time, I was able to appreciate the it's a pretty well-done film, quite touching, and the acting is rather decent! The Shishido -- oh fine, it's actually Kenji -- and Shota relationship is just so much "Aaawww!" ;__; *wibbles*, and Sanada (Masaru, or was it Masaharu?) with a baby strapped to his back, or playing with the kids, is a great big pile of <3. I... want to see it again. *grabby hands want DVD nao* Unless, maybe if I can figure out when KenKen is to be the guest? orz

After the movie, the man himself (not KenKen, the man! XD) came on stage to speak for a bit. God, but he's got an infectious smile. He was standing up there grinning, and the whole room was grinning back. He also has very broad shoulders and large hands -- how did Japan manage to produce this specimen?! Anyway, he talked for a while and we learned many interesting things, such as he wants everyone to visit Yamaguchi-ken, he liked fishing as a young boy (and he was grinning that grin, and the only thing going through my mind was "THE HAT!!! THE HAT!!!" in big flashing letters), and he wants to be a florist when he grows up. XDDD Actually, the question was more along the lines of, "If you weren't an actor, what would you like to do?"



After the movie I headed south to Yokohama, where Becca and I indulged in "Gambaru karaoke!", which meant singing songs we weren't actually able to sing. XD Only a few, really, then Becca discovered that there were Oliver songs in the catalogue, and she was very happy. My attempt at the Sparkle Twins' song wasn't so bad for a first time! And of course we sang the usual tenimyu songs, because it just isn't a proper karaoke session without "Viking Horn", now, is it?

We went to Tokyu Hands afterwards, and found out that though they carry some scrapbooking supplies, they don't sell actual scrapbooks, and that even if they did, they would not be on the same floor as the punches and stickers and filler sheets. Oh, Japan. @_@ We also found out that there is a restaurant up on the 6th floor, and we succumbed to the lure of scrumptious cakes. So scrumptious, in fact, that when Becca first tasted her chocolate and strawberry cake, her expression made me go, "Either Rui or Squeaky just walked in, or that is some DAMN GOOD cake."

I had a strawberry and orange cream tart, and it was perfectly delicious. <3


I hope everyone else had a nice weekend as well! Good night!

Comments

[krk.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I was very confused. :P I thought that stuff would be really hard to get there.