Year number two!! And even though I really enjoyed last year's fest (watching KORN is something I'm not likely to forget for a few years), this year was an improvement..! I stayed until the end of that last show on the main stage, ate delicious food and somehow managed not to spend a buttload on merch (that was a bit of a challenge). AND I didn't get separated from my group (for long) which I was paranoid about this year.

Though I must admit the Sunday line-up was a bit sparse. The only bands I really wanted to see were Death Cab for Cutie (which was probably my fave live from that day), ONE OK ROCK, Franz Ferdinand, and Green Day. I watched a little of the HIATUS (and got to see a bunch of middle-aged women mosh?? it was weird and unexpected), and some odd electronica band called St. Vincent (methinks). Most of the time was spent lounging with friends, trying to fight off heat stroke as it was incredibly sweltering weather that day.
I'm not really into live reports, so I'll try to steer clear of that and just describe the pictures in the order I shot them throughout the day.

Photo op number one: A change in decor.
I noticed they tried to up the ante with these potato-sack banner. Nice :)
We showed up pretty early, around ten ante meridiem, to catch one of the early acts on the main stage, ONE OK ROCK.

They were really good! I love the singer's voice..!! ;w; And he's grown up a LOT since the last I saw them (via the internets with their video Naisho something-or-other. I'm a pro with titles). I like him with his natural hair (I think it's natural at least lol).



Providing drinks next to the main stage.

See if you can find Spiderman in this picture! He was lucky enough to make it on stage with Green Day :<







After ONE OK ROCK, we wandered over to the Mountain stage where Alexandra Stan was getting her set ready. We didn't stay through her first song, but she seems pretty well known/liked.








Prancing around the Mountain stage sign, trying to fend of the delirium and probably early signs of dehydration (though to my credit, I downed over 2 liters of liquids throughout the day).

A shot from the hill behind Oasis, which is where most of the food stalls are. Plus lots of water machines to spray the masses down with.

Note to attendees: Don't bother with any fancy hair-dos and extensive make-up. It'll just melt off/sweat off/get washed away.

Wandering near the arena area. Official merch is also sold here, along with this new and over-priced sweets cafe they started these year.

PRO TIP: If you need a bathroom break, I would definitely suggest using the bathrooms inside the arena. The wait isn't as long, you're indoors, and they bathrooms are pretty clean. There are washiki (Japanese toilets) though, so be prepared. *sumo stance*
Bathroom needs and hunger satiated, when headed back over to the Mountain stage for Death Cab for Cutie..!! I love them sooo ;w;

I was dancing and singing throughout the entire set. I even got to start my own slow clap. YEAH! :D


It rained, very sparaingly, but overall the weather was great. The clouds that did give up a respite from the sun were lovely too!! :D I love cloud~

Surprise festival bonus!! :DD


HARD GAY!
And his partner whose name I never remember.

But anyway, Hard Gay!! He's probably one of my favourite comedians/wrestlers in Japan. Plus he's hot and incredibly romantic. His wife is so lucky!! :<
LOOK! It's an optical and meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection of light in water droplets in the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky!!
  A bit of Franz Ferdinand because I only got to see the very last bit :<


It was either Hard Gay or FF and seeing as I was much, much closer to HG.. The choice was relatively easy. FO!

And then the sun got tired and decided to go to bed. Or the earth continued doing it's natural thing and rotating, forcing the sun to appear lower in the western sky until it was completely obscured by the curvature of the earth. Thank you The Universe :D (I'm secretly planning to one day get a degree in either Astrophysics or Theoretical physics, probably the former since I'm more familiar with those theories wishful thinking).

Blah blah, I type too much :>

And then Green Day was like BOOM. Music. And we all started dancing/head banging/moshing/hardcore dancing. Good times for all.

The festvivities were capped off with a lovely display of fireworks. Awesome day and evening. Although it did take us 2 hours to get home, it was totally, completely, and without a doubt worth it. I'm looking forward to next year!!

Also, I took video this time since I had my point-and-shoot. But I haven't strung them together yet cuuuz.. I'm lazy :> Soon, I will!! Plus I have lots of stuff from my trip to Lake Biwa with my family that I'm also eager to share.

Summer is almost over, and there's some relief and some sadness that comes with that knowledge. I'm getting read to trudge back into employment, still not doing exactly what I want, BUT my households has needs and I've been a bum long enough. :)

Hope everyone else had a spectacular August! ♥

★Peaces★

A few weeks back, I got a flyer in my post box for a local matsuri called Bucchigiri Matsuri.

Actually, the flyer appeared on my refrigerator one day, but I assume it came through the post box :0 Either way, I decided to check it out seeing as it was only a 6 or 7 minute walk from the apartment. Hence the 'super local' title. :D





 The festival was held at Horikoshi Shrine, in the Tennoji district of Osaka. It's a really small local spot, just a block north of the Tennoji Station.

From what I read on the official website, they've got a pretty long history, dating back to the 6th century CE. I think it was established by Japan's first empress regent Empress Suiko at the same time as Shitennoji (temple) which is right across the street (but the article was a bit difficult to read, so I could have gotten some bits wrong D:).  You can read it here.

I don't think this festival is to commemorate any particular Japanese holiday. Just a nice summer gathering of people in the area, which is a nice break from all the huge summer festival going on everywhere.

There were a couple local artisans selling shirts and crafts, then this guy ←←. I don't think he's selling those blocks, just playing with them. I wanted to play too, but I felt weird asking :<



They also had some performance arts..! :) This guy did some sumi-e, while his son preformed some songs from a CD he released last year.

There was also a magic/acrobat show, but I missed most of that. D:







Previously mentioned son, singing his songs. :3












And dancing girls! A local Japanese dancing school (I guess) doing traditional Indian dances. The little girl was super cute. :D










The following day, I headed out to Takatsuki City (still in Osaka)to visit the Osaka Prefecture Short-term Animal Shelter (大阪府動物一時保護センター).

From here, you can adopt rabbits, ferrets, cats and dogs. You do have to make an appointment in order to see any of the animals though. And you have to take a bus from Takatuki Station for about 40 minutes into the mountains.
It is located next to an onsen though, so you could make a nice day trip out of it :)

We were in the market for adopting a nice cat to live with us and keep me company as I start looking for more work from home (and also because Shota really wanted a pet, but a rabbit was out of the question).

Unfortunately for Shota, he had a severe allergic reaction to the cats there. I mean super itchy, rashy, red-eyed reaction. We couldn't stay in the room for more than 30 minutes. And so I knew a cat from the shelter might be out of the question, though I don't think they were particularly dirty or anything. They weren't quite as friendly but it's very likely they've been a little traumatized. They were all kittens though, none older than 6 months I think.

So after a long and sad ride back to the station, I tried to make peace with the fact that I wouldn't have a furry little friend to take home :(

But we decided to inquire about cat allergies at one of the pet shops near the station, and what do ya know.




We walked out with this little guy. He's a type of short-haired cat (an Ocicat, a breed from America :3) so Shota has an almost minimal reaction to him.

I still wish I could've adopted one though, because usually if they don't get adopted, they get put down. But it does make me wonder what happens to the cats in pet shops since they always seem to be under 6 months old, and I can't imagine they sell that quickly. But perhaps they do.. I really hope they do. And I really hope the cats from the center don't get put down too. They were uber cute ;3; Kitteh...

So now we sit at home together, entertaining one another when we're not dying from heat, watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory or The Universe.

He so cute :DD

I actually have a few more things and photos I'd like to share, but I'll have to save that for another post. Also, we're almost upon mid-summer (or a little past it), and I still haven't seen a beach. I'm getting antsy :< *random admission*

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!★





And I leave you with this video of Bingley jumping around to some Charlotte playing in the background~

My ticket!!(≡ﾟ∀ﾟ≡)

Hello All!
A couple weekends back, I finally bit the bullet, and threw down some money for a Summer Sonic ticket (only Sunday though. tried to honor my savings a little..(　´ⅴ｀)). Summer Sonic is an annual music festival that occurs simultaneously in Tokyo and Osaka. Most of the bands play one night in Tokyo then fly/bus/hike down to Osaka. It's been going on since 2000 and this year's headliners were RHCP and The Strokes, who are two of my favorite bands..! I was totally ready to rock my socks off. In fact, I didn't even wear socks, just in case ( ´ ▽ ` ).

I got friends in loooow plac--.. wait a sec..

In Osaka, the festival is held in Maihama, which is close to the Cosmosquare subway station and the Sakurajima Station on the JR line. They have shuttle buses that run from both stations for a prepaid fee of 600 yen or 800 yen at the bus. Since I went with two other people, we just split the difference of a taxi, which saved us about 300 yen a person. Plus it was much, much cooler in the taxi. Great little "woo-saa" moment before getting down and dirty.

Yui at the Mountain Stage.

We got there a little before 12pm, so there weren't any lines for getting our wristbands. However, because there weren't any big lines, we actually walked right the wristband area and walked all the way into the festival. We then had to walk all the way back, get the wristbands, then go back inside. It was a big loop de loop, so by the time we were next to one of the stages, we were drenched in sweat (=´Д`=). 

 We hung out by the Mountain Stage a for bit, listening to YUI, and contemplating a cool drink, but the lines were so long back there, that we headed back out to the main food area.

Does it look hot to you?

 The food area was just a wide flat space lined with tiny food venders (the Mountain Stage was on top of a hill behind it). I think one of the nice things about Summer Sonic is that you can bring your own food and drink and just kind of camp out anywhere on the grounds (=ﾟωﾟ=), which is also probably why there were lots of families there too. Next year, I'll probably do the same too and save a few yen.

So we popped a squat off to the side, trying to steal a little shade and enjoy our drinks. It was really too hot to enjoy anything like yakisoda or takoyaki, which was there, or have a cup of Jack and coke, which was also there ～(´ー｀～), so I stuck with my tea and water.

The Ting Tings @Ocean Stage

 Afterwards, I made my way over to the Ocean Stage, which is the biggest stage, officially ready for some good music and good times. The crowd was still pretty sparse since the band on stage wasn't so popular, but the music was pretty good and there was space for grooving. I decided to inch closer to the front so I could get a better view of the stage, but my two comrades weren't too keen on sunburn, so they stayed toward the back in the shade.

After Viva Brother, The Ting Tings came on. I've only heard one of their songs, but there set was pretty lively. Great music for dancing, so I took advantage of the space I had shook my booty (=^ωﾟ)ﾉ. 

 Once they were done, it was time for a set change, so many people pulled the same move as this guy. It was still pretty close to high noon (well it wasn't noon, but the sun sure was high up), takin' a squat down in the shadows out of the sun was a nice way to escape the heat and keep your space near the front.

Unfortunately, the next act was Kimura Kaela, who is a pretty big name is Japanese music, so the front got really crowded. The Kaela fans were actually kind of pushy, so while I was pushed toward the front, I also got knocked into some big sweaty dudes (who knew big sweaty dudes were fans of such a tiny, cheerful lady （´･∀･`）). I was able to enjoy her performance behind towel and sweaty backs and as you can imagine, it was awesome (;´▽`)y-~~.

Sadly, my phone had kicked the bucket by now, so I wasn't able to take any more photos. And this was right before KoRn was about to take the stage. You can imagine my disappointment (;´Д`). But since KoRn and Kaela fans don't mesh so much, I was able to get a little breathing space before they got on. After they unveiled the H.R. Giger mic stand though, it was back on. People were rushing the stage again, but this time they were metal heads.

The metal heads were pretty nice, everyone left enough space for some good head banging to occur, though at the times people tried to mosh. I think Japanese shows have a pretty strict policy with moshing and crowd surfing, but people still tried even though you risked being pulled from the front.  

After KoRn's show of bada$$ery, it was time for another band I'd never heard of called Beady Eyes. More KoRn fans started clearing the area, so I was able to scoot right to the front against the bars, but Beady Eyes fans started moving in as well, so space was still precious.

Beady Eyes seemed like a pretty mellow band, they kind of reminded me of Rooney, so I don't remember much of their set （　´∀｀）. But after them, it was time for The Strokes!!

I'd only been to one other Strokes show, but their sets are pretty elaborate (lots of light work), so it took longer than the allotted time for them to get set up, and by the time they went on stage, it was already 8pm! That was the time I was supposed to be meeting with my friends so we could head back downtown together （ ノ*ﾟДﾟ*）. I stayed for a couple songs anyway, because I really wanted to see them, but then I abandoned my spot so I could meet my friends...

I kind of regret leaving because.. in the end, I couldn't find them. Without my phone, I couldn't call them either, and later on, I found out that they had changed the meeting place..(ﾟДﾟ;）! So I missed my friends and most of The Strokes..ヽ(；´Д｀)ノ! I was pretty dejected about that, so I just wandered back to the taxi stand and headed back to the train station. 

It was a pretty long day, surviving on fluids alone, but I would say it was worth it (=´ω｀=；. I've never had a spot so close to the stage, and the crowd wasn't that bad. I'm definitely planning on going again next year, to both days. And I'm also on the look out for any more music festivals in the kansai area. The next one I find, I'll definitely post on here..!

★Peaces★ 

Shitennouji (temple) located in Tennouji-ku, Osaka, is holding it's annual Tanabata Festival! Let's check it out!★

Shitennouji was Japan's first and oldest Buddhist temple. It's long history can be found on Wikipedia and it is easily accessible by JR trains or subway.

This temple is pretty big, with a a few ponds and many small pavilions for praying, so it should be quite a sight all lit up for Tanabata Festival (if you're not sure what Tanabata Festival is, check out this Wiki article too!)( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


Access Information:
Shitennouji is easily accessible by JR, Kintestu and subway trains. If going by subway, take the Tanimachi Line* or Midosuji Line* to Tennoji Station. You can also exit at Shitennoji Mae Yuuhigaoka Station on the Tanimachi Line. On the JR trains, the station is also Tennoji, but on Kintetsu, you have to get off at Osaka Abenobashi Station.
*NOTE: The colors also represent the color of the train lines i.e. Midosuji is the red line and Tanimachi is the purple line. In some cases, lines also come in light greens and dark greens, so I will try to denote them when possible. JR trains and Kintetsu trains are NOT color coded.


From Tennoji Station or Abenobashi Station, head out to Tanimachi-suji  (when exiting from the JR Station, it'll be the big street right in front of the station. You can also exit from the JR Station when using the subway. Kintetsu's station is located on the same side of the street as the JR Station, just a block or so south). Heading north on Tanimachi-suji but on the same side as the station (that means when facing north, you're on the right side of the street), you'll cross Kokudou Number 25 (Route 25) and the temple will be to your right. It's pretty hard to miss because I don't remember there being any buildings blocking the temple gate at the entrance.


七夕のゆうべin四天王寺 
Tanabata no Yuube in Shitennouji
The name of the event in Tanabata no Yuube in Shitennouji which roughly translates to 'Evening Star Festival in Shitennouji.' It's going on for three nights, from July 7th to July 10th, and I do believe they will have different events for each night. I didn't want to rip photos from the temple's site (that just seemed kind of wrong(；´Д｀)), so here's a link to Wagamachi no Ooee's site with information. There's also a post about it on Osaka's Tourism website, but it's only in Japanese. Here's a rough translation of the post from Osaka's tourism website:


「期間中は、七夕にちなんで四天王寺境内に300本以上の笹で組まれた笹トンネルやLEDの光で輝く天の川が登場します。願いを込めた短冊を飾った笹のトン ネルをくくれば星に願いが届くかも。また、七夕縁日が立ち並び、七夕復興祈念コンサートや天体観望会などのイベントが開催されます。10日には願いを込め て書かれた短冊が四天王寺境内にてお焚き上げされます。」

"During Tanabata in Shitennouji (temple) there will be over 300 stalks of bamboo linked together as a tunnel, and with shining LED lights creating the Milky Way, on display. If you decorate tanzaku (Japanese paper) with wishes and tie them to the tunnel of bamboo, your wishes may be sent to the stars. Also, during the Tanabata festival, there will be a reenactment of a Tanabata Prayer Concert, star gazing and other events taking place. On the 10th, wishes written on tanzaku will be burned in Shitennouji."


For more information and some lovely photos please visit the Wagamachi no Ooee website here and here and the Osaka Tourist Guide website. (Also, excuse my shoddy translating skillzzヽ(°▽、°）ノ I took a lot of liberties)


I know this is terribly short notice, but tanabata is one of the more widely known festivals in Japan, so I thought I'd share some info for anyone visiting the kansai area during that time!


★Peaces★