2014 Animated Spring Tour

Good Morning!

I’m Joel. I live in Oregon, and am 36. Huge anime fan for forever. This will be my second time to japan, counting a 2 hour lay over in an airport. So really looking forward to leaving the airport this time.

What can I say I’m most exited about Akihabara!

Any ways I’m looking forward to meeting all of you. I was told John Thomas is my roomate and not sure if that is Jon in the previous post if so send me an e-mail. Or if you are John Thomas go ahead and shoot me an e-mail. Strikestwice@hotmail.com

Joel

Hello! Nice to start meeting everyone! :)

My name is Ariana, I’m 28, and live in UT. Never been out of the country before, and I’m also traveling solo.

I’m most excited about Fuji Q (roller coasters yeah!), seeing the temples, and bringing home a lot of Japanese snacks! ^_^

Hi there everyone ^_^

My name is Bonnie, I am 24, from England, UK, and I will be travelling solo. Super nervous – it’s my first time to Japan, as well as my first time abroad alone – but I really hope to make some good friends while out there :)

I’ll be meeting you guys out there, as I’m flying straight from London (damn, that makes me even more nervous!) and feel like I’m at a bit of a disadvantage not flying out with you guys.

I have to be honest; I am most excited about the shopping! *blushes* I really hope to track down a Volks store while in Tokyo, so any fellow BJD fans, let me know and hopefully we can find one together ^_^;

A little disappointed that I can’t go to the Onsens, but hopefully the foot bath portion should still be fun :)

My ideas for the free day in Tokyo are Universal Studios, Disney Sea, and Joypolis on Odaiba Island. I like my amusement parks, in case you can’t tell. :) I have a friend who went to Joypolis on her tour and she said it was super fun.

Hello. My name is George, I am 32 and I’m from Maryland. This will be my second trip to japan.

Bonnie there is a Volks store in Akihabara.

Well hello everyone!

My name is Autum and I’m 32. I am from the western US and will be joining the tour along side my husband Justin (29). We have been planning this trip for several years and this will be our first time out of the country besides a short trip to Canada a few years ago.

Justin and I are looking forward to several stops on the tour, my husband is a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s work and is excited to visit the Ghibli Museum. We are also looking forward to the cherry blossoms.

On our free day Justin and I will be traveling down the coastline to visit a couple of scenic beaches. I will be taking a ton of pictures on this trip. I’m hoping for nice warm, clear weather!

* I also like BJD Bonnie and hope to own one some day. I might be joining you and a few others at the foot bath portion of the Onsen as I can be extreamly shy in person…far too shy for the entire experience! ;)

Hey all,

Chris from Washington D.C. here. I’m a fan of anime but even bigger fan of japanese music. Have wanted to visit Japan for as long as I can remember, so I am really psyched!

The tour has checked off a lot of places I wanted to go so I haven’t thought too much about my free days. Will try to go to Yoyogi park if I can, otherwise I will be content walking around aimlessly taking pictures.

Looking forward to meeting you all and having some adventures!

I am pretty open on free days, I think everyone has a fear of the onesan.

I can’t wait to visit 104.

I love that game! :)

Is anyone else bring games for the hotels? I’m bringing my Death note mafia set. It’s really fun but takes a lot of players.

I’m still trying to decide what to do on the free days; I kind of want to check out Tokyo Disney, but I also really, really want to visit one of the Volks stores…

George – is it the one in the Mandrake(SP) shopping centre? I’ve heard of it from some of the BJD forums; I really, really want to check it out ^__^

Hi Autum ^__^

Apparently there are several second hand BJD stores; I’m going to be seeing if I can track down a second hand Volks Dream Dynamite while out there ^_^ Do you have any favourite BJD manufacturers?

It is the Volks Hobby Tengoku store it is near the train station and arcade Club Sega.

Mugen – Ooooh, I shall have to try and check that one out! Thank you ^___^

Is anyone else thinking of going to Tokyo Disney on one of the free days? :)

Hello,

My name is Aubrey, I’m 28 and live in Arizona. This will be my first trip to Japan (a long-time dream of mine) and first trip outside the US.

I’m a big fan of Osamu Tezuka’s works, so I’m excited to visit that particular museum. I’m also looking forward to Anime Japan and doing some shopping (hoping to find some art books, figures, etc on my wish list). Of course, just walking around Tokyo and taking in the sights sounds like a good time to me!

As for free time/days, right now I’m thinking of going to Ikebukuro to check out “Otome road” and maybe stop by Shibuya to visit Hachiko. But I also like the sound of visiting a park or just exploring some random neighborhood (though I still don’t think I have a grasp of how big Tokyo is, or its layout, so I’m not sure how much is feasible in a day).

Bonnie, I too like BJDs and would enjoy tracking down a store (I’m sure my dolls would appreciate a souvenir ^_^).

Neal – what is it you are thinking instead of doing Disney Sea? :) I really hope that some others are going to Disney – I really want to check it out, but I must admit, I’m a little hesitant to try and get there by myself ^_^;

Aubrey – Ooooh, a fellow BJD fan! ^___^ May I ask which dolls you have? o: I’ve only got a Hujoo and Bobobie so far, but I am determined to track down a Volks Dream Dynamite while in Tokyo~! Those lil’ pretties are so hard to find in the UK and US *pouts* Well, from the sounds of things, we should have plenty of luck finding BJD-goodness ^__^

Hi! My name is Nicole, I am 27, traveling solo and coming from Toronto Canada. So excited for the trip! I missed the live chat because I was at a convention.
I’ll be going to Tokyo Disney on my free day :)

Hi. With the anime convention in the Spring tour, is it okay to cosplay? If it is something simple.

Hazzard and I plan to use a free day to visit Joypolis for a fun day of unlimited rides.

Hi guys, Lanny here. ^_^

Gonna try to respond to all the open questions here.

1. Cosplaying at AnimeJapan: (Moved Nicole’s question here since it’s more appropriate.)
We would recommend against it, but will double check.

2. Tokyo Disney Land and Disney Sea
Only one person mentioned here is going to Disney Land. There are two others going to Disney Sea, but we STRONGLY suggest you go separately from these two for various reasons.

3. Sega Joypolis
This can be done on your free day or on the AnimeJapan day, as it is on Odaiba.

4. Universal Studios
This is located in OSAKA, and can be done on your free day. I’m not sure who’s planning on going except for mention from one person.

5. Meiji Jingu/Harajuku
We are visiting Meji Jingu on the Harajuku day.

6. Onsens
GAIZ, THERE’S NOTHING TO FEAR. That naked stuff will get old pretty fast, especially once you discover HOW AWESOME the hot springs are. Trust me, those who feared it the most ended up loving it.

7. Games
We’ll be bringing some card games. More are welcome.

Ooohhh something just occurred to me!
I wonder if it would be possible to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine at some point? That is another extreamly cool place I would love to see!

The maps you sent out are great. Just in case any Attack on titan fans are here, Lotteria a fast food place all around tokyo has attack on titan toys with giant sized burgers.

1. Yes, the guidebook will have the full and finalized itinerary for the tour. Keep in mind that we may adjust the timing of certain things due to scheduling differences. We do our best to keep to the itinerary, but THINGS HAPPEN~!

2. We ARE visiting the Fushimi Inari Shrine on the Kyoto day.

3. Yes, we can give directions to Tokyo Disneyland. Keep in mind there is Tokyo DisneyLAND and Disney SEA.

4. We might send out requests for the anime cafes, but it’s not something we will be going to as a group overall.

Hi everyone! Kris here, 32 year old from Orlando, FL! Just a little about myself, this will be my third time to Japan but the first two times were YEARS ago before I started medical school. ><; I’ve been telling myself I was gonna go back once I finished residency and that day is soon here! Super excited! Definitely looking forward to hitting up a real kaiten sushi spot again!(conveyer belt sushi)

I love collecting various things from my favorite shows so will definitely plan on rummaging through Akihabara @_@. First time I went I checked into my hotel and got into the train straight for Akihabara, just enough time to peruse some shops before they closed down for the day. But oh man, it was overhwelming. Being jet-lagged and a little dehydrated I remember nearly passing out somewhere I think it was the 5th or 6th floor of the Animate Store(Yes, there are THAT many floors!). I’m gonna date myself with this tidbit but one of my favorite finds and still in one of my display cases is an official replica Alchemist’s watch from Full Metal Alchemist. I had to use some rudimentary Japanese to ask them to open the very nice display case to sell it to me, but I was then and now a huge fan of the show and could not leave Japan without it!

To all the first timers on the Tour, congrats! You are finally checking off that visit to our “Holyland” ;)

I am one of those flying in the day before we leave to Japan,. As this is my first time in California I am thinking of visiting a park! Who would like to join me? Which park will be the best to visit?

Konbanwa, I’m Helen. I live in Los Angeles and this will be my first time going to Japan. i’m going with my sister and a friend. We actually were considering going to the Travel Pop Japan Spring Tour a few years ago but for various reasons decided not to go, which in the end was a good thing since the Tsunami happened during that trip. I found out about this tour company when i went to the the Anime Expo in Los Angeles last year.

Anyways, for free days we’re still figuring that out. I do want to go to Disneyland if its not too hard to get to and just take a photo in front (don’t need to go in) then do other touristy things. They’re are a few things my friend would like to get. My sister is still researching the places on the maps that Lanny sent.

We’re super excited about the trip and meeting everyone.

Oooooh, have any of my fellow horror lovers heard of Alcatraz ER restaurant? I really, really want to check it out ^_^

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://alcatraz-er.net/&prev=/search?q%3Dalcatraz%2Ber%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Dco4%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Dfflb

Hello Everyone! I’m Christina, 22 (I feel so young!), from VA. I’ll be traveling with a friend of mine, Adam. I’ve been out of the US twice, and this will be my second trip to Japan (and my first tour-group outing).

I’m a big fan of anime (as I’m sure we all are), mostly the stuff from the 90’s. My favorite anime’s include: Detective Conan, Trigun, and Steins;gate.

I’m looking forward to everything! Seeing the sights, buying all the things, and eating the food!

For the free days (or maybe even nights as I heard most of our plans end fairly early), I was thinking about visiting Artnia (the Square Enix café/bar), doing some Karaoke, visiting a few Hard Rock Cafe’s (for some pins!), and seeing the Doraemon movie (I really wanted to see the Conan movie, but it won’t be out yet :( ).

I have a few (decent-sized) tattoos, so I guess I won’t be going to the Onsen… :( But I went to one on my first trip, so it’s not upsetting enough to kill my excitement!

I can’t wait to meet you all, I just know we’re going to have a blast on this trip!

I’m not going on this trip, but I just wanted to jump in and comment on Onsen. I went to one on the Japan Holiday Tour this past year. I was nervous too. But seriously, once you see that everyone else is naked and doesn’t care, you totally don’t even care. Seriously. And I’m usually self conscious about my body. It’s super relaxing and feels amazing. Everyone should do it.

Not long to go now o: So excited ^_^

Almost time!

HYllo Neal. Are you ready to visit candy mountain?

My name is Jon, I am 26, I live in Co and going Solo as well.

I am most looking forward to Fuji Q (Oddly the the haunted house is my first stop) and it has been my dream to visit a jar temple since I was five.

This is my first major solo trip and second time out off of the continent. I have also asked Pacset enough questions they might leave me in LA by “accident”

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by himagain.