This is me (well, obviously, it's Bingley, but for this little spiel, let's pretend). Peeping out from my hiding place from what has been a more than eventful 2013. For the last month or two of the year, it's levelled out, but I have to be honest when I say I wasn't sure I was going to make it through this year in one piece.

Between family issues, medical issues, and job issues, I feel (or at least hope) that I've learned a lot and that perhaps I'll be able to cope better with whatever comes along next. I think I'm going to do my first Hatsumode though, just in case hoping isn't enough.

Anyway, since I've been awfully remiss in my blogging duties, my Android phone and Google+ account have put together a video of my last year and I have to admit.. I'm impressed. Google may be a bit invasive.. but damn if it doesn't do it so well.





Looking back through stuff like this, I suppose 2013 wasn't SUCH a terrible year after all. But I'm glad we're moving on!

Here's too an even more amazing 2014!! LET'S DO THIIIIISSSSS

(Did I mention Harry Potter land in Osaka?! 2014, you can't wrong~~)

It's finally here. I can see the puffs of smoke every time I exhale and I gotta say... it's scary. Now onward to mornings where I struggle just to get out of bed and weep at the thought of going out of doors for work (I suppose it isn't QUITE that bad but I need somewhere to angst a bit.)

Thankfully this won't solely be about me angst-ing (I think) on about winter. Instead, I'd rather impart a few tidbits of information to you on surviving the winter season here in Kansai. While it is rife with year-end sales, bonenkai and drunken company staffers, the atmosphere is heavy with moisture and cold, striking fear into the hearts of any who have a decent shoe or clothing collection.

And since I don't want to get too wordy here, I've opted for the video format. Obviously, video format has more words however, it's probably much easier to listen and take notes (haha!) or something to that affect.'

Anywho--


Things to take away from this:

1. Winter is a DANGEROUS time for the 'kabi' or mold. Especially on furniture near windows, where a lot of the cold air comes in from, and on the floors near these windows as well. TRUST ME, you want to take preventative steps. Having to toss out furniture because of the mold is bittersweet to say the least (and absolutely frustrating to say the most..?). I've also heard that tatami mats are prone to grow mold as well, so be careful if you have a couple of those lying around your house.

Here are the examples of a few things you can buy to protect your apartment and the lovely things inside:
→Kabi-Killer 
→Mizutorizousan (to get rid of moisture in the air)
→Dorai&dorai furo-raru dorai hikidashi ishou ke-su you (dehumidification packet, i.e. silica gel, for your dresser drawers)
→Okudake take sumi (bamboo charcoal that can be used to get rid of moisture and fight against dani. you just place it down and leave it until it shrinks. it's also cheaper than silica gel products)

I'll usually pick up silica gel for things like dressers and coat closets, while I'll use the charcoal in the shoe box or in the cabinets in the kitchen. Try out a few of them and see what works for your place and budget.

Another idea is airing out your apartment every few days by opening the windows, but seeing as it is quite cold now, I bet few are inclined to take that route.

2. Layering. It really is a love hate dynamic, but something worth mastering. It's really better to be able to peel the layers off as you wander through the saunas-- I mean, department stores. Though, 3 or more layers may be a bit much (I am very 寒がり or ..a person who is weak against cold weather..), I think investing in a couple of heat-tech like things is a nice idea.

→Uniqlo's Heat Teach
→TopValu (AEON)'s Heat Fact
→Ito-Yokado's Body Heater

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to tell you which one is warmer (Uniqlo definitely has the more expensive PR campaign), but I think the only thing that changes really is the price.

3. GET DAT KETTLE. That hot water, don't take it for granted. For it is PRECIOUS. Preeeeecious~~ (no, I haven't seen The Hobbit BUT Legolas :> ). A hot cup of tea or coffee (instant is how most people do it at home in Japan) does wonders when fighting the chill of the home.

→Electric Kettle by TFAL
→Instant Coffee

4. Enjoy that hot bath. You totally deserve it for not heading back to your home country after realizing what a trial it is to go through winter in Japan. And I mean that. Gold star.
If you're looking to make your bath more luxurious, bath salts..! They come in more relaxing scents, while some are made to help diets and other for skin care. Bathing powders (or salts) in Japanese is 入浴剤 (nyuu yoku zai).

→(mentioned in the video) the bath powder made to mimic famous hot springs in Japan
→BABU (which isn't actually powder, but a.. stone-thingy that dissolves in the water, The scents were nice though!)
→A well-known dieting powder that helps you sweat the weight away in the bath (I've never tried this one)

ALSO, I should've stated this more clearly in the video, but, while it is common for people to stay in the hot bath as long as they can to make their bodies feel warm by the time they step out, be careful not to pass out in the bath. It is quite dangerous and there's probably no lifeguard on hand to scoop you out, so if you start feeling light-headed, step out (SLOWLY, I usually get a head rush coming out of the bath tub), rinse yourself down with some cool water and take a breather for a minute.

UGH, this proved wordier than I imagined, but I hoped the links and information help make your winter season a bit more tolerable! :)

★Peaces★

You know, after I made that tiring post about all the random things I did throughout the summer, who would've thought I would end up doing a couple more summer-y things. Not I.


But before we continue on.
<---THIS.
Is my new baby (the sweatshirt is my baby). I hope I can get a Sailor Mercury too but.. *sigh* I've been doing a bit of compulsive net shopping these days, so it's looking like a no.
FOR NOW. *maniacal laughter*

Universal Studios Japan One Piece Premiere Summer

First things FIRST. Obligatory pic with Princess Fiona from Shrek. There was a Shrek running around somewhere too, but I always hate pushing kids out of the way for my own photo op, so I just watch. @_@

Also, a little info on this event, the One Piece Premier Summer. It's been going on for the past 4 years, with this year being it's forth, and starting from next year, there will also be a Spring event (it's usually only for Summer).

During the OPPS event, parts of the USJ theme park become One Piece themed. For Example..








The formerly foreboding (and expensive) Jurassic Park Restaurant becomes.. well, a (n expensive) Jurassic Park Restaurant with a One Piece flag hanging right abouts the T-Rex.
There are a few more One Piece touches like the One Piece Soundtrack on repeat (still not used to Roronoa's singing..) and, of course, a One Piece menu. All the kitchen staff are dressed like pirate crew members (you'll find Marine members in the Marine-themed restaurant), and some of the character posters are even signed by the voice actors! ALSO, you can have a crew member do a KANPAI (cheers) with you. You know, to get you excited for your $17 chicken thigh and nachos set.

The chicken was covered in a mystery sauce, but it was GOOD!

Thank the gods the food was good. Unfortunately for us, there was also a typhoon that day, so the hall was packed with people, i.e. no vacant tables. The staff weren't really trying to hurry people along OR prevent people from snatching tables as they walked in (instead of after you get your food, as it's supposed to be), so if you do end up going, definitely get your table before you get your food. The food will be ready long before a table is. That's really the only negative thing I have to say about this event though. Everything after this will probably just be me gushing repeatedly.

You'll also find little monuments like this! Obviously erected for Whitebeard and Ace. I learned he was dead that day. ._. *SIGH* I will still buy all the Ace merchandise I can find though. :D
The area around the JAWS attraction was turned in MARINE territory. Pirates beware!! :DD We didn't eat anything from this area sadly, but there's always next year! >w<)
One of the more awesome things I've yet to experience is Sanji's Pirates Restaurant..!! I thought it was a walk-in spot as well, but it's reservation only. And despite having planned this trip almost a month in advance, there were no seats for our typhoon day..!! ;-; My friend and I have made a definite promise to go next year though. I just.. want to hear Sanji say Alyse-swaaaan once.. Maybe twice.
Also! I think it's a dinner show type arrangement, so that's something! I'm really easy to please though so long as I can see (read: touch) Sanji, I'm a happy camper. :D








But the real action takes place at night! With the actual show. I believe the 'Premier Show,' which has tickets separate from the park admission, is only once a day. Seats are reserved with tickets that can be purchased online or at the park, and they come in regular and 'special' with special seats being in the center of the show where the characters usually congregate. My friend and I have also made a pact to buy those special tickets next year. SO MANY PLANS. *grin*

The short story for this show takes place during the current series, so everyone has their new outfits AND new moves! I'm really only familiar with the moves from the One Piece Kaizoku Musou 2, but that had all the moves from this live action show, so even if you're not an intense OP fan, it's really neat to see great actors well... acting it out. I was actually quite blown away because they made those characters seem very real and interesting..!

Zoro appears!!

Now I tried my best to take photos of the show, but we were a bit far (and to the left) of a lot of the action, PLUS camera phones are definitely not good at the night photography so I apologize in advance for the quality. *sad panda* Also, I took about a bajillion photos, so I'll upload a majority of them to W♥K Tumblr to save blog space.

Usopp and Chopper!!

A blurry Kung-fu Point!!

One of my favorite things about the show as how they had 3 of Chopper's moves!! It was so cute to see tiny Chopper hobble across the floor, but extra cool to see monster Chopper kickin' butt!
That tiny person on top of that steel prop is Luffy. He never got close enough to our side of the stage for a nice photo...

Franky!! SUUUUPERRRR!

Stalker zoom of Roronoa Zoro. I gave him a high-five..!! It was manly!! *swoon*
And then Smoker rode through! Chasing after the Mugiwara Pirates of course. That Smoker..!
Then they infiltrated a pop idol competition. Disguises were donned. Zoro has on a sparkly top hat while Chopper is wearing furoshiki. They also did a parody of Dance My Generation by GOLDEN BOMBER! I died. *dead*
THEN! Law pulled a body-snatcher (i.e. his special move Shambles) on the crew. Zoro ended up in Sanji's body, Chopper was in Franky's and I think Sanji was in Nami's. Shenanigans ensues.

Rengoku Onigiri!!!

And then Kuzan (Aokiji) showed up and was like 'Everyone, cool your tits' and they lived happily ever after. There's a bit more in there but KUZAN! Easily, my favorite One Piece character. I was not expecting him to show up so I freaked out like a 5-year-old when the speakers went 'ICE AGE.'

That's enough for now. I feel like I should add that I'm not a huge fan of the show.. but I'm a pretty decently-sized fan. At least I'm addicted to their merchandise. *kanyeshrug*

Maiko Beach

My very last summer activity was going to Maiko beach in Hyogo Prefecture. I was bothering my friends because I hadn't gone to the beach all summer, so Maha offered to take me to this lovely beach in Hyogo! Sooo much better than Nishikinohama in Osaka, I'm not really ashamed to say. The water was clear and cool! And even though it drizzled for the first hour or so, it eventually got warm enough for us to get in the water and swim! And get hit on by some guys from a nearby BBQ, all a good days worth of fun..!

Maiko beach sits right in front of Awaji Island, which is a popular spots for beaching and eating sushi! I do believe you have to take a bus OR car to Awaji Island though.

This is definitely going to be the spot for next summer..! I can't wait!!

Access Info:
Maiko Beach is accessible by the JR Tokai/Sanyo Line from Maiko Station or by the Sanyo/Hanshin trains at Maiko Park Station. If you're coming from Osaka City, you catch the JR at Osaka station. Unfortunately, the routes on JR can be a little confusing and in some cases, you might next to change trains at Sannomiya while in other cases you can stay on the same train. The Sanyo/Hanshin makes about as much sense, but it does look like it's a straight shot from Umeda (Hanshin) to Maiko Koen (Sanyo). I would definitely suggest double-checking with station staff or a friend even if you're unfamiliar with the trains. I've made the Ekitan smartphone application my BFF.

And that pretty much ends my summer! I've got a little link updating to do on this site, but hopefully I'll be adding things to the Things To Do tab. That's the plan at least. ;)

★Peaces★

P.S.!!
Here's a video of what goes on inside Sanji's Restaurant..!! It looks like all the Mugiwara Pirates amek an appearance..! Now I really wanna go ;o;
Dat Sanji.

Hellooo..!
What's this? Another post? Less than a month apart?
I know, it's crazy. But I was going through my photos and I realized I had.. well, nothing really important to share. But a few notables from my summer this year.

For one, my cousin was recently married to her Brazilian beau! A lovely wedding ceremony for close family ensued, and I got to see my nephew dressed like a real dapper gentleman. :)

And theeeeen, I went to NY with Shota and his parents!!
Where I had one of theeese!! It was amazing. And my mother-in-law loved it.

We did some other NY stuff like sightseeing and watching musicals on Broadway (we saw Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, quite entertaining!) and eating copious amounts of American foods (ohh BBQ, how I miss yoou), but the real icing on the cake...




THE DAILY SHOW!! A couple of friends and I went out for margaritas and political satire, a great way to begin any summer really. This was, of course, after John Oliver had taken over for Stewart, but either Jo(h)n is fine with me.
But no seriously, he was funny. And the crowd smart. Almost too smart..



We also had lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner, which was awesome! Singing wait staff are the best, and our guy was extremely nice/adorable and a great singer. I hope he lands a starring role on Broadway someday. :)







And then I came back to Japan and learned that a bunch of my friends had moved to Osaka, so this happened, an outing at BarONE, which was actually pretty chill. I enjoyed the crowd more than usual. The free champagne was a nice bonus.










Then we went to the movies (...I think we saw Iron Man 3), and I saw this poster. And I wept for cinema.
Did anyone actually see this flick?? I can't really imagine anyone spending theater cash on this one.













Then I made friends with Yana! I love meeting new people! :)
On the day we took this purikura, we went to check out a FRUiTS Snap event being held in Shinsaibashi. I don't think I made it into the FRUiTS book, but it was nice meeting the owner of SPINNS and some of the designers. Over all, a cool a$$ day.












Meeting the owner of SPINNS, God-san ------>
I can now say I've stared into the face of God, and he was hairy. And very funny.

I'll post more photos from that one my tumblr! :)







The rest of the summer was filled a bunch of events, some put together by friends, and one featuring my band! And we were lucky to have a ton of awesome support (thanks again Maha!! >w<) which really is priceless (though it cost everyone there 500 yen.. ;o; ). But I'm so glad they showed!! :D

At a friend's event in Kyobashi! It was.. interesting..

My band's, SecondLady's, event in Nagahori! X3

All-you-can-drink at Giraffe in Dotonbori~

There were colorful drag queens.

Then we went to the Don Quixote around the corner and found this..! O_O

And I also went to outdoor yoga with some friends I hadn't seen in almost 2 years!! Good times :)

Then I went to Kosho's reggae even in ..somewhere. Near Toyonaka. A bunch of cool people~

Also, I went to my niece's ballet recital. Not really in that order, but relevant nonetheless.
I was quite impressed with her level of determination. She barely has a firm hold on the whole walking business, and she's already tackling new forms of expression. AND she wants to learn English. Quite the go-getter. :)

And that's most of my summer in a series of randomly arranged photos. I have to admit that I spent a majority of it hiding from the heatwave in my house. I got bored enough to start Final Fantasy XIII, which I hadn't opened since I bought it back in 2011.

My favorite character so far is the chocobo that lives in Sazh's hair. Yeah... I think that says a great deal about the story this time (and subsequently, the characters). But really, I just needed an RPG to pass the time. I get my real good-times from Borderlands (STILL. 2nd playthrough).

OHH, almost forgot. My friend opened up a new skateboard shop in kita horie with one of his friends! So there was an opening party, but I made a video for that. :)

Osaka gets a pretty bad rap for being a bit homely and.. well, dirty. And it is, really, when compared to the shining tourist attractions of Tokyo and Kyoto. BUT New York is pretty dirty, and that doesn't seem to stop it from being the most fashionable spot on the east coast, right? So I try to cut Osaka some slack and give it the best PR I can because truly, it IS a wonderful city with a colorful bunch of locals just looking to have a good time, just the same as the rest of us.

But THIS. This was too much, even for the Osaka-jin hidden deep in the recesses of my soul. This wasn't my first time at Spa World in Shin-Sekai, but it was my first visit to the pool on the top floor. And it was quite the... experience.






Access

Spa World スパワールド
3 Chome-４-２４ Ebisuhigashi, Naniwa Ward,
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 556-0002, Japan
〒556-0002　大阪市浪速区恵美須東3-4-24
TEL: +81 6-6631-0001
Japanese Website: http://www.spaworld.co.jp/
English Website: http://www.spaworld.co.jp/english/

Spa World is easily accessible from the subway or from the JR Tennoji train station (it is about a 10 minute walk from the JR station though). If you're taking the subway, you can use the Midosuji Line or Sakaisuji Line and exit at the Doubutsuen Mae Station. Then look for a sign for the exit for Shin-Sekai (there might also be a sign for Spa World, but I'm not entirely sure) and it should be exit number 5. Spa World is the largest building the Shin-Sekai area, so it's very easy to find. I've yet to encounter English-speaking staff, but I'm always going in the middle of the night, so maybe some of the day staff speak English. Seeing as there's no information on their English site about it, have your Japanese skills ready!

The Spa World: What's it do??
Well, Spa World is essentially.. a world of all things spa-related. There's a gym, hot tubs and hot baths, sauna, foot baths, massage parlors, rock beds for sleeping, a "pool" and water slides on the top floor with a family bath, plus a hotel. There are also restaurants and ice cream counters. It really is a one stop and shop for all things relaxing. The entry fee system is a tad strange, but this is how I understand it:

Weekday Day Time Rates
3 hours - 2400 yen for Adults (1300 yen for kids 12 and under)
All Day (10 - 8:45 the following day) - 2700 yen (1500 yen)

Weekend Day Time Rates
3 hours - 2700 yen (1500 yen)
All Day - 3000 yen (1700 yen)

Afterhours Use
The afterhours rate is the all day rate plus 1300 yen. But it says this runs from 12am until 5am, so if you were to get there at 11pm, and leave at 6pm, I would think you just have to pay the all day rate? I've yet to test this theory, but I believe that's how it works.

Some separate fees include the hot rock beds, the foots baths, the massage parlours, use of the slides at the pool, swimsuit rental, water shoes rental, and socks and shoes rental for the gym. Use of the lockers is free (you get your 100 yen back after you open the locker).

Guests of the hotel are allowed to use the spa facilities without any extra cost, however, guests with tattoos are not allowed into the spa. :( Buzzkill, I know.

The Spa
The spa separated into two "worlds." One floor is the Asia zone and the other floor is the Europe zone (poor Americas ain't got no spa culture I suppose). These floors will be regulated to each of the sexes, so one floor will be for females only, while another floor will be for males only. The zones change between female and male use throughout the year, so check the signs before going to your floor!

The last time I went to the spa, the fem area was designated as the Europe zone. There was even a little log house the area for Finland, and while I'm unsure as to how accurate that is, it's cute? The spa was quite large, with large open area baths as well as an enclosed rose bath. Some tubs are also much hotter than others (as in one degree different, but for me, it matters), but there's usually a readout of the temperature somewhere near the bath.

The bathing area is quite spacious, and they've got what looks like really nice shampoo and conditioner laid out. Overall, it's quite a nice experience, even better when it's late night and there are very few people around. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep somewhere in the bath at least twice. Don't do that!

The Pool

There's a zoo somewhere out in the darkness.

The pool, although there is an indoor and outdoor pool, is only available during the summer season. And even though it's called a pool, it's really not. It's more like a lazy river with a landing zone in the middle for people coming down the water slides. To be honest, I couldn't actually imagine paying the 2700 yen just for the "pool," which is why I went during their summer sale which had a 1000 yen entrance fee (plus 1300 yen for afterhours use), but this also included a wristband to ride all the slides as many times as you want.
And here's where the problem started in earnest for me. As is advertised on the site, if you enter the facility after 11pm, you will receive a ticket for a wristband that allows you to ride all three slides as many times as you like until 5am. Unfortunately for Shota and I, on the day that we went, one slide was closed for mysterious reasons (they claimed maintenance, but seeing as no one was working on it, that's not really maintenance so much as just being closed). When I asked the staff why we weren't alerted upon entering the facility that we would not be able to ride all three slides as was advertised on the website and the tickets we received, I was greeted with questionable stares and essentially a #kanyeshrug followed with the excuse "Well, we have this event (the all you can ride event) so that we can do things like maintenance, but also make it cheap to use." Ahh, I see, because we're not actually paying for the slides, we can't possibly expect to use them as was advertised on your site.

Okay. Spa World, minus ten points.
Other things that turned me off the whole pool area was the general upkeep of the area. The floors are quite grimey, usually covered in hair and some times food from the food court area, that could all easily be trampled into the nearby lazy pool.

Young people (usually teenagers or 20-somethings) are usually seen running around main entrance, next to the empty lifeguard chair, and though you would hear a whistle every so often, it wasn't nearly enough.
Also, near the female and male entrances, there's a shower with green flooring that leads you to the elevator. The single most disgusting part of the pool. Just the amount of hair and.. I don't know what. It was brown and it covered a lot of the flooring. I didn't want to step on it with my bare feet, but I didn't have watershoes!! No watershoes!!

After walking through the hygienic disaster that was the pool area, I was hardly inclined to make the most of money already spent in the hot baths, and just opted on going home to wash. I hate to admit it, but the pool has put a sour taste in my mouth with regard to using Spa World. It's not really the cheapest spa around, or the nicest (and though it has 温泉 onsen in the title, most people, surprisingly a lot of Osaka people, don't consider it an onsen), so unless you're conducting some sort of social experiment or you really want to go, save your yen and go somewhere else? I hear New Japan has some nice baths.

Maybe that's a little harsh, and as time heals these wounds, I may retract some of these harsh opinions, but as of now, they stand, completely justified.

Spa World, you get ★★☆☆☆ 2 out of 5 stars. Clean your act up. Literally.

★Peaces★

Here's a hilarious and completely gross sign we found near the underground walkway that leads to Shin-Sekai. We originally thought it was a sign to discourage people from parking their bikes. Boy, were we wrong.
"NOTICE: This area is not a toilet. Please do not piss here. There is a toilet up ahead to the left. -From Naniwa Police"

...Werd. I promise to not let the next post be so gross. :)