Comiket!!!

I came in to Tokyo this weekend for the sole purpose of attending Comiket (my friend was working there and invited me :) yay!). So yesterday, Kenji and I decided (after many beers) that we should go to Comiket together! Comiket is a manga convention in Tokyo where they sell many different fan fictions of popular anime/manga. Although I have been out of the anime and manga seen for a while, it sounded like lots of fun and I was excited to see the cosplayers (there must be some right!?). Kenji and I decided on going at 12 noon (which we both knew would be around 1ish) so in the morning I went to grab lunch with Yu-chan. We traveled to Shiodome in hopes of eating dim sum at Din Tai Fung (this place has the number one reviews in the Los Angeles Yelp, but I've never tried it >_<), but the line was out the door and... well... we were both hungry of course! Walking around in the building full of restauraunts, Yu-chan and I decided on this very Japaneezy looking restaurant (Yu actually found it haha) and we stepped inside. As always, we were greeted with the greatest politeness and sat down by this a-mazinggg bar (not alcohol bar :o). From there I ordered this incredible dish called Shoga-yaki (shoga is ginger and yak is something grilled, in this case pork) and after the first bite I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The perfectly cooked meat and the delicate taste of ginger set of fireworks in my head... I must cook you (one day :o).

Sights and sounds for lunch~

Shoga-yaki... just OMG

After a super satisfying meal, it was time for the Comiket, which was hosted at Tokyo Big Site (most adequately named). Upon arrival, the sea of people engulfed us as there were thousands of people swarming the area. True to Japanese nature, everything was neatly ordered and the traffic was smooth. I saw only  few cosplayers on the way in, which was disappointing, but soon after Kenji and I met up with Michi, we found our way behind the manga section and stepped into cosplayer paradise! There we saw a group go girls that cosplayed a full guy group (a spectacular sight) and immediately after seeing son-goku, I recognised that it was Saiyuki (a blast from the past). I watched that anime when I was a young lad still haha. They were very generous and took a pic together with Kenji and I! 

 Tokyo Big Site

 The all-female cast of Saiyuki!!! Well-done!

The cosplayers all worked very hard (super hot day)

The yoyo man was putting on one heck of a show. We got sucked in for at least 20 minutes watching the plethora of antics this clever man had to show. Even with the little Japanese I know, I was able to understand some of his jokes and I was just cracking' up the whole time!

Afterwards we took the train to find something to do afterwards and I looked down and did one of those double-takes (look... and then look again O_O). This is what I saw...

The toe placement is something incredible Kenji...

I've always said that Kenji is neither Japanese or American, he is just Kenji haha and it's moments like these that confirm my hypothesis. It was a great laugh for the train ride haha. To be fair, he did mention that always wearing them hurts his toes, so he just switches it sometimes... but still haha. Not sure what to do, we made way for Shibuya (my favourite place in Japan!!) and took a rest in a karaoke-kan. They have a pretty good deal before 7 and it ends up being like 160Y per person? something like that... but anyways it was worth every yen! The karaoke in Japan is something incredible and the rooms come fully decked out with ample seating, pleasant lighting, and a magic phone that you just say "beer" into and a few mins later beer comes to your room!

Getting beer with your karaoke pretty much happens like this... It was like a magic O_O

Not wanting the night to end after karaoke, we decided to get some good eats at an izakaya nearby the karaoke-kan. The food was delicious as always and we even tried a mentai-jyagaimo pizza (Mentaiko is a marinated cod fish egg paste stuff and jyagaimo is potato). Let me tell you, if you've never had either of those on a pizza... your whole life has been a lie haha just kidding, but in all seriousness, I could easily put down 2-3 of those pizzas alone...

 Kenji always gets quite excited at the site of beer, as do I ^^

The "Rock-n-Shibuya" crew!

All and all a great night which ended with a short detour to the arcade in Akihabara on the way home. The arcades in Japan are insane! They have like 5-7 stories on average and its just packed with all of the newest high-tech games that sadly never make it stateside (I have no idea why because they are amazing!). Time now to rest up and prepare for tomorrow's return journey to my wonderful seaside town of Kamogawa~