Going to Layers Paradise near the Tokyo Dome

 Epic Line for Layers Paradise!

 

Tokyo Dome is surrounded by a convention center, a mall, and this awesome amusement park!

The nearby Shonen Jump Shop.

     Layers Paradise is, according to DannyChoo.com and several other good sources, one of the largest cosplay events of the year in Japan. This is where many cosplayers come out with all their glory, to exchange high quality photography time with one another, compete in the costume contest, and dance at the DANPA (meaning Dance Party, I think) where everyone has memorized literally dozens (or more) of dances that integrate Para Para (hand motion dances). We decided to go in a group this year and cosplay ourselves, so I want to share that experience with you. I apologize in advance that I cannot upload the high. res. photos of any cosplayers at this time because you have to get special permission to do so. I will put up a couple of nice sweeping photos of crowds, but that's all I can do for now. Although I did register for a press pass, they ask that you don't upload anyone's "posing" photos without permission, so I'm going to abide by the actual rule and the social guideline.

This is the mass of preparing cosplayers in the morning. The center itself and some of the layout almost reminds me of the inside of Anime Boston, actually.

     So, first of all...we were the ONLY Americans (actually, foreigners, period...lol.) at this event other than THREE press people who were running around like maniacs with press passes and getting avoided by as many cosplayers as possible. Note #1 for you to take in: if you're not a cosplayer, you don't have well-known credentials, or you're not Japanese...you will probably be somewhat off-putting to Japanese cosplayers and they may shy away from taking your photo. Why? Because tons of Otaku foreigners flock to Japan interested in the origins of cosplay and do a lot of very socially unacceptable things like taking photos without permission (ALWAYS ASK!) and worse yet they upload them to the internet (which is definitely not allowed without written permission and you better speak fluent Japanese for this one because believe me they will just outright say no if you don't speak enough). It's not that they don't want their pictures online... just put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Would you really want some random stranger uploading pictures of you to the internet without your permission? Or, what if you were a cosplayer but during the week had an office job where (in Japan) it was bad if your employer or co-workers found out you were a cosplayer and found your photo on the internet!?! I can totally understand and respect why many Japanese people don't want their photos to just end up on some persons website. I don't even know if these cosplayers realize that the American press that went to this event are totally going to use their photos on their site. Seriously, I hope they at least gave them business cards.

    Note #2 for you to take in: we had no idea that we'd be the only foreigners cosplaying at this event. Now, we normally stand out a whole bunch as foreigners, which is fine. I've gotten over the fact that some people descriminate against us or think we're some kind of oddity...and I've heard the word gaijin so much that it just kind of washes over me now. Honestly, it doesn't bother me that much because many Japanese people don't care and are happy to see some foreigners in Japan. At the con...this experience took on a whole new...shade? It was interesting to see EVERYONE that passed us staring at us. Most said different things...but then we realized the main reason we were being stared at was because we were cosplaying as the one thing that NOBODY cosplays at these types of events = horror characters. I had been wondering for quite some time why I never saw any characters from the myriads of horror series and games from Japan at these events, but apparently it's because scaring the public - particularly children, is an unfortunate side effect of dressing scary and walking around Tokyo Dome. Woops...well...needless to say we cosplayed as some Zombies and a Frank West from Dead Rising and this got some ridiculous attention by cosplayers and staff. Many people told us we were scary, some said they recognized Kona (who cosplayed as Frank West from Dead Rising), and the staff from the event said "Please do not go outside the building because you are scaring the public." Alright, well, so much for that idea! Note to self, do not make realistic zombie costume at cosplay events in Japan...

 So we were a little terrifying!!! Meh! I didn't think it was so bad! (actually, I was pretty proud of our outfits/makeup. lol.)

     I raced to wash the blood off myself (which was a huge challenge because we had used theatrical makeup and all I had to wash was my Zombie-ripped, white T-Shirt turned inside out and some soap from the bathroom sink) and change back into my street clothes so I could return to anthropologist mode. I was trying to hang out and observe! Not stand out like a sore thumb and cause a big scene in which we got scolded by staff!!!

     Other than our immensely entertaining event in the morning we had a pretty awesome day and met some really great cosplayers who were, in every sense of the term - "Hard Core." The costumes were INCREDIBLE. Full detail, excellent craftsmanship - even weapons were done with an ultimate level of perfection. I think this event was something most people had been planning for a while, but it was definitely impressive when it came to the judging for the costume contest. A fantastic "Final Fantasy XIII" team won (I think Best in Show) an award, as well as some "Kamen Riders" and "Pokemon" (which were actually female personifications of Piichu, Pikachu, and Raichu...SO CUTE!). An honorary award was given to an ADORABLE team of two little kids who dressed up as Pokemon Trainers. SOOO CUTE! I didn't take pictures of them because that's totally socially unacceptable but I can assure you they looked perfect and looked like they were having a great time. Their mother was also cosplaying (I'm not quite sure who she was because it was from a newer Pokemon series I haven't seen). All I have to say about that is Family Cosplay is made of win.

     The DANPA was pretty cool. I've never seen so many people know so many choreographed dances in my life!!! Granted that most of the motions are with the hands and I was told uploaded online so that people can learn them in their bedroom before going...but still...the fact that people took all this time to learn all these dances is awesome. I have to admit, I really wish I knew some because it looked really fun! They even had a dance to "My Oh My" by Aqua, a song I haven't heard in a long time but it made me laugh because I had no idea that it ever came to Japan!

Here is some para para for anyone that hasn't seen it before:


 This is the song they had made a dance to...if anyone knows why they made a dance to this song then please send me a message!



     All in all it was a pretty fun event and next time we decided we're going to cosplay as some acceptable characters. I have wanted to cosplay as a certain Lady Une for quite some time now...so maybe I'll be getting to that for the next event. Since the cosplay club at TUJ is trying to budget for a Sewing Machine now, we should be able to start making some neat outfits for the next event. Wish me luck!

 More later, I'm tired and need to crash before teaching the kiddies tomorrow!!!
 Signing out,
 Lady Jones

PS: Bonus Photos!!!

I got a "DAME!" (Don't!) for taking this photo in front of the Lupin Experience...but it doesn't say "No Photos" it definitely just says "Don't Touch." My bad.

Went out for burgers at "Fire House" which is known for some of the best burgers in Tokyo. I have to say, it was pretty damn good. A little expensive for burgers but pretty reasonable considering Tokyo prices (about $10 for this big avocado burger, fries and pickle). Luckily Cosplay Club has a budget or I wouldn't have gotten to try this!

Random. Irony. Stuff. Things.

     Looks like the forecasted Cherry Blossom season has almost arrived in Tokyo, with sites now projecting the last week of March as a possible peak time for viewing. Amidst all the excitement I've been thinking about going to parties in the park with friends and getting pretty pumped for how awesome the whole thing will be...
 that is...if I can get rid of my hay fever.

 Got to see some Japanese Ume (Plum) Blossoms this weekend: Taken at Fussa Station

They're so beautiful and I really hope this isn't what is making me sneeze!

     What truly seems like a cruel trick of fate is the fact that I have spent the past week tearing up, sneezing and coughing uncontrollably due to severe onset of spring allergies. I, for one, am pretty confused, because my allergies in the US where never this bad. After asking around I came to find out that lots of people experience much worse hay fever here for a couple of weeks in early spring due to all the trees planted here after the war causing over-abundances of pollen in the city... Well, oh noes! That doesn't sound good at all!

     It's been so bad the past few days that I've been barely able to go a few minutes without coughing hysterically or wanting to scratch my eyes out. Seriously, it's that miserable. I can't wait for this all to go away! Luckily I did find some medicine that helped me to manage it a bit, but I'll be pretty glad when this couple of weeks is over, and I'm really hoping that's BEFORE cherry blossom viewing because I'm not going to miss that for sure!

     In other news, I had a fairly random day yesterday. Final Fantasy XIII is finally available here in English and I've been looking forward to playing it but I decided not to pick it up until finals are over. It's pretty much guaranteed that once I sit down to play that game I will sink far too much time into it until I've beaten it. Since next semester I'll only be taking one summer class and teaching kindergarten about 30 hours a week, I know I'll have far more time to devote to it. The current semester is nearly over and I have to admit I'm pretty glad because I've been working two jobs, balancing a full time course load, and trying to work on my blog and cosplay documentary at the same time. Honestly, it's way too much! But I just have to make it through April 20th and then things get a whole lot easier. I'll have a lot more time to devote to my photography, this blog, and my other side projects like Cosplay Research Project and all that fun stuff.

     And speaking of the cosplay project, I got to go out to the Air Base in Fussa this past weekend and have a great St. Patrick's Day party with a group of friends that live out there. Julia, one of my cosplaying friends, was a great host and we had a wonderful time. It's been quite some time since I've had Shepard's Pie, Potato Cakes and Guinness! Good stuff! Since she has an oven we were able to cook everything (most traditional Japanese homes/apartments don't have ovens, just FYI).

     Well I suppose that's it for now. More later and here's to hoping that my Hay Fever finally goes away!!!
 Lady Jones

PS: Some photos from my trip to Fussa for you to enjoy!

I tried to guess what this statue is, because it's pretty neat, but sadly there was no sign nearby.

Opposite of Fussa Station

Making potato cakes!

Haruhi Suzumiya as an AWESOME series.

Part of Julia's awesome anime collection. Yay Anime!

Some fun videos with food and animals!

You may have caught these on your youtube travels, but if not they are definitely must-see!
 The first is from a Japanese game show: "Stacking food on animals." I find it to be hilarious and yet somewhat mean to the animals at the same time...I mean...wouldn't you want to eat the food if it was being stacked on you!?!



 The next is the youtube dub series, "Cooking with Dog." I'm not really sure how this got started, but these videos are actually super useful.I have already begun planning far more meals than I ever would have attempted here in Japan thanks to these awesome videos.






Enjoy everyone!
 Lady Jones

Some Awesome Stuff Inspired by Sushi

 

I heart sushi. I could seriously eat it every day. Don't know how good that would be for me...but I would.

     Sushi has traveled the world to become one of the most popular foods to come out of Japan. The so-called "Sushi Boom" of the 1980's and '90s made sushi extremely popular in North America and especially in the U.S.
     I can remember the first time I went for sushi with my family in high school. The thought of eating raw food, particularly fish, was pretty shocking to most New Hampshire residents and my parents and I were included. We started pretty safe by ordering California rolls (which have artificial crab meat and no raw ingredients) but quickly moved into raw varieties and loved everything we tried. I can remember falling in love with Salmon and to this day can easily pack away nothing but salmon nigiri sushi (Salmon laid over a flat bed of rice) when I go out for Kaiten Sushi (sushi on a conveyor belt that customers pick by plate color/price) here in Japan. Of course, I have expanded my sushi preferences since spending time in Japan (the only sushi I have found that I don't like are Octopus and Natto (rotten soybeans)),

 Oh it looks sooo disgusting...I can't even handle how gross Natto is...let alone Natto sushi...

but it occurred to me recently that I'm ordering completely different sushi than I was back in the states and that it is true that only certain Western sushi has come back to become popular in Japan. I have to admit that I really miss Caterpillar Rolls, a popular Western Maki Roll that has Avocado and Eel (unagi) wrapped around it with a special sauce that is absolutely delicious. Of course you can get rolls with avocado and eel here in Japan, but no caterpillar role per se. I mentioned this to a Japanese friend of mine and he said he had never even heard of the variety, further proving to me that there is a lot of Western sushi that is truly of American origin and distribution. Curious about my discovery, I went on Wikipedia and found the following had been written about "Western Sushi:"

"Western sushi

The increasing popularity of sushi in North America as well as around the world has resulted in variations of sushi typically found in the West but rarely if at all in Japan. Such creations to suit the Western palate^[11] were initially fueled by the invention of the California roll. A wide variety of popular rolls has evolved since. Some examples include:

• California roll consists of avocado, kani kama (imitation crab stick), and cucumber, often made uramaki (with rice on the outside, nori on the inside)
• Caterpillar roll generally includes avocado, unagi, kani kama, and cucumber.
• Dynamite roll includes yellowtail (hamachi), and fillings such as bean sprouts, carrots, chili and spicy mayonnaise (In some parts of Canada, especially western Canada, a dynamite roll consists of a tempura-fried shrimp, masago (capelin roe), avocado and cucumber.)
• Rainbow roll is typically a California roll topped with several various sashimi.
• Spider roll includes fried soft shell crab and other fillings such as cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts or lettuce, roe, and spicy mayonnaise.
• Philadelphia roll almost always consists of smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, and/or onion.
• Salmon skin roll has grilled salmon skin with sweet sauce and cucumber.
• Crunchy roll a California roll deep fried tempura-style, often topped with sweet eel sauce or chili sauce.
• Seattle roll consists of cucumber, avocado, and raw or smoked salmon.
• B.C. Roll contains salmon skin, roe, cucumber, sweet sauce.
• Louisiana Roll contains blue crab and/or crawfish, spicy mayonnaise, creole seasoning or hot sauce, and sometimes green onion and cucumber.

Other rolls may include scallops, spicy tuna, beef or chicken or teriyaki roll, okra, and vegetables.Sushi rolls can also be made with brown rice and black rice. These have also appeared in Japanese cuisine.
In Hawaii, there is a predominant style of maki sushi that includes shoyu tuna (canned not fresh), tamago, kanpyō, kamaboko, and the distinctive red and green hana ebi (shrimp powder)."

 I couldn't help but find this very interesting, and now I think I may have to make some of these sushi rolls for some Japanese friends and see what they think!
 Well, enough about Western Sushi...it's making me hungry!
 Here are some awesome things I discovered recently that were inspired by the awesomeness that is Sushi.

 Sushi Cat is an awesome Flash Game designed by Armor Games
 "Sushi Cat is lonely. Lonely and very hungry. Help Sushi Cat out by guiding him to as much sushi as possible. Watch him grow fat as he eats more and more sushi along his way. Fill up his belly to win."
 Sounds pretty simple right? Well, it is for the most part, but sometimes it's true that simple games are pretty damn fun! This game is fantastic and a great way to kill 30 minutes between a class!

 This Amazing Sushi Bento Art I found on Google Images is sooo neat! I wish I could buy a bento like this!

 

The People at SushiorDeath.com brought us this fantastic advertisement from Canada. It reads "Here is a fantastic adverts for a local sushi bar in Canada. Yuzu Sushi in Quebeck used the agency Lg2 to come up with this one. An innovative use of a spare tire, don’t you think?"

And here are some of the best Bentos I have ever seen. Laura, you have some serious talent making lunch!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurabento/sets/72157614207302713/show/with/3352740938/

It makes me so hungry...now I feel like I have to run down the street to our Kaiten Zushi bar!!!

 and let's not forget the boatload of T Shirts, Pillows and other fun products inspired by delicious sushi!!!

 This sweet T Shirt called "Human Sushi" is available at oneinchpunch.net

     and this kawaii one is on Zazzle.

and last but not least, from my favorite retailer on the web ThinkGeek.com
 Sushi Pillows, Magnets and Plushies...
 Those plushies are seriously awesome and making me wish I could afford shipping to Japan because, interestingly enough, I have never seen sushi plushies out here in Japan (though I bet they probably have existed at some point. Just today I saw plushie Mameshiba at Don Quixote.)

 

Awesometastic.

Well I'm off to go get some sushi...because I'm really craving some now!

Hope you are out enjoying some sushi in the near future.

 Lady Jones