Back To Work...With A Date

In the "real" world, I started back at work today. So sad that the Christmas/New Year break is over! Anyway, it's still Winter Vacation in Towano, which means that you can date your girlfriend any time (rather than waiting all week to date on Sunday). So I decided to book a date for lunchtime today and play it at work.

And it turned out to be a very charming date, in fact. Rin-rin arrived with a new hairstyle, which is still semi-long, but which looks like one of the short hairstyles she wore previously. It's a nice change, though. Her clothes were part-casual, part-not, which again looked ok.

We stopped into the Coffee Shop for a quick refreshment. Rinko always complains about going there on dates, but then ends up enjoying it anyway.

Because I've been concentrating on unlocking the date locations around Ten Feather Station, I was able to date Rinko today at the Game Centre for the first time.

There are a number of choices at the Game Centre, and I chose to play Billiards with Rinko. You don't get to play an actual game of Billiards though - you basically just stand in the Billiards room and talk. But that's fine.

Next stop was the Ramen Shop for lunch.

It's a nice place to eat, and Rinko's meal of ramen and gyoza made me really miss the experience of eating out in Tokyo.

After lunch, Rinko fell asleep on the train going back to Shin Towano. (You can also see her little pink heart earrings in the next shot.)

And finally, this shot was taken while I was walking Rinko home from the station. I used a low camera angle here to show the sky, which was wintry but a deep shade of blue.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable date, and a perfect way to lift my spirits on the first day back at work.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Day in New LovePlus starts off with a "surprise" event which you have to play BEFORE the usual 8:00am time slot (I think you can play it any time between 5:00am and 7:59am). When you start off the game at this time, you get to watch the sunrise over Towano Bay with your girlfriend. It's very beautiful...and a great way to start the year.

And the 8:00am time slot was busy, too, with the traditional visit to the local Shrine for the New Year's blessing. Rinko wore a long-sleeved pink kimono and wore her hair in two VERY tight pigtails.

We checked out the Shrine (which usually has a lot of stalls set up for special occasions) and went to the inside part to say our prayers for the New Year.

When we were outside again, Rinko looked around at the stalls and there were three options to select. I chose the first one and had a photo shoot with Rinko at the Shrine.

The Rinko spotted a stall selling shaved ice (kakigori) and wanted some - despite it being the middle of winter.

Nevertheless, she was very happy when she ate it...

And, naturally, she offered some to me as well.

Rinko, you are very sweet. I'm looking forward to lots of fun times with you in 2014 (and hopefully a new game and new console before too long). I'm fairly sure now that I will transfer my current game data to the new game when I get it, because I've come a long way with Rinko this time, and I don't want all that effort to be wasted.

New Year's Eve!

Just before we were due to go out to watch the New Year's Eve fireworks, Rinko arrived at my house and cooked soba for me. This is a very traditional thing to do.

We ate together, then it was time to head off to the Event Hall for the New Year's celebrations.

The first part of the New Year's event plays out after the usual 9:00pm time slot. I went with Rinko to the event hall, where there was a big crowd of people to welcome in the new year.

Finally, between 11:50pm and 11:50pm, you can play the final part - the countdown to the New Year! I know it takes a lot of dedication to play a game this late at night, but then I've always loved the way LovePlus crosses over into real life.

Happy New Year everyone, from Rinko and me!

A Quiet Monday

Well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, which is sure to be an exciting time in Towano. But today was a very quiet Monday, with nothing much to report. I met Rinko at Aisha Dining a short while ago for a chat...

And then I walked her home. This is an interesting angle with the in-game camera, showing a detail of one of the shops in the background (usually out of sight when you play). The amount of effort that has been put into the design of LovePlus never ceases to amaze me.

And I finished off the day by calling Rinko out again (quite late) and meeting her at the Video Rental Store.

I can't wait to see what New Year's Eve has in store - and after that, it will be another year of magic in Towano. ^^

Thursday

Today was another quiet day in Towano. Rinko met with me again at the Coffee Shop to discuss plans for the new year. I think she said that her dad had given her permission to watch the fireworks with me.

In the next shot, Rinko made the "V" sign, which I've never seen her do before...