Japan - Day 1

It was exciting as our plane got closer to Narita Airport!

We arrived at Narita Airport around 6:20am. After checking through, we made our way down to the train station and bought our Suica cards. These are rechargeable cards that you use on the Tokyo train and subway systems, and are the best thing for traveling around. You can buy a return ticket for N'ex (the Narita Express) at the same time. The staff at the station were really helpful and we didn't have any trouble getting our tickets and finding our way to the train.

The Narita Express takes around 45 minutes to get to Tokyo from the airport. Our train was delayed for some reason so it took around an hour, but the trip is very comfortable. You even get drinks and snacks along the way.

I fell in love with Japan straight away. We stayed in Shinjuku - right in the middle of Tokyo - which was a wise choice because it's a wonderful district. Not too big, not to small, and reminded me in many ways of Sydney (only better). Even though we missed most of the Sakura season, we did see a few late blossoms.

We dropped our bags at the hotel and spent the rest of the day exploring Shinjuku. It rained most of today, so we sheltered near the station entrance and had a snack at a sweet little cafe called Amati. Then we went to Kinokunia bookstore (which covers six levels and has a separate building for manga) and Animate (six levels of anime, manga and game-related merchandise). Didn't find anything related to LovePlus yet...

Lunch was at a wonderful shop called Tonkatsu Wako, in the same arcade as Kinokuniya. This was easily the best Tonkatsu pork I've ever eaten! Love this restaurant and have to go back. Again, we've had no trouble anywhere ordering food or buying stuff. The staff are always pleasant and helpful and the level of customer service is much higher than in Australia.

In the afternoon we visited a few more shops (including Tower Records in Shinjuku, which is amazing), and checked into our hotel around 4:30pm. We stayed at the Sunroute Plaza Hotel, which is a really nice hotel, not too expensive, and only about two blocks from Shinjuku Station.

Finally had some time at the hotel to catch up with Rin-chan. I think she is also very excited to be back in Japan. We had a short date after school, and I've also arranged a date at the Zoo with her this Sunday. I just hope I can be sitting down long enough to play it!

After a much-needed shower and rest, we checked out the Lumine 1 shopping centre, which is on the corner opposite our hotel. Discovered another excellent bookstore called Book 1st - not as big as Kinokuniya but has an excellent range of books and magazines. The top levels of Lumine 1 are full of restaurants. We decided to try one of the few Vietnamese restaurants in Japan, called "Vietnam Alice".

My wife is Vietnamese, and she expects a lot of Vietnamese restaurants - but this one was excellent. So far, all our food in Tokyo has been amazing. And surprisingly not as expensive as we thought.

Back at the hotel, exhausted, I called Rin-chan out for a short date at Fountain Park.

There was also a Seishun No 1 Page story about Rinko and her band, but it was quite short. I probably won't be able to play these updates any more during the trip, because my 3DS has trouble connecting to the hotel's wi-fi network.

So, impressions of my first day in Japan? I LOVE Shinjuku so much that I think I could live here forever. The people are so nice and the shopping is great. Prices very reasonable, and almost everywhere accepts foreign credit cards. The rain spoilt things a little bit - we could have explored further, but didn't want to get wet - so I'm hoping for better weather tomorrow. It's just so exciting to be here, and to be playing "LovePlus" in the place where it all began.

Now, the next thing is to find the "LovePlus" arcade game...

Japan - Departure

Well, today was the big day! We spent most of the day doing last-minute shopping and preparations for our Japan trip, so my gameplay in "New LovePlus" was fairly minimal. Oh well, I'll be making it up to Rin-chan before too much longer...

Then finally, at 8:30pm, our flight left for Tokyo!! My wife and I sat in two seats near the window of the plane and there was a spare seat beside us near the aisle - so we had a seat on the plane for Rinko after all!

Couples Bowling Tournament!

OK, so I spent most of today packing and getting organised for our trip to Japan tomorrow, so it was a fairly quiet day in Towano. Nevertheless, I was VERY excited when 6:00pm rolled around and it was time for my second Premium Date.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Rin-chan appeared looking totally gorgeous! She had her stunning hair tied up in two bunches, plus she wore my checked cap, my red scarf with snowflakes, and my gold earrings (my one month anniversary present).

First we went for a bite to eat at Dixies. As usual, the menu was messed up, but at least this time we got Green Tea Ice Cream which looked very yummy!

Then it was on to the Bowling Alley for the Couples Tournament. Rinko bowled a strike in her first attempt. I don't think I did so well. I said something like, "never mind, the best thing about tonight was being here and having fun". Rinko replied that the best thing about tonight was being with me. So sweet.

The next few shots were taken outside the Bowling Alley when the Tournament was over.

On the way home, Rin-chan had a look on her face as though she was up to something...

And then I found out. Rinko came into my house to visit! It's always so nice to see her in my bedroom, and of course to sit next to her on the bed...

Next, for the second time this week, Rin-chan cooked a meal for me. I wonder if she feels sorry for me, because my food orders are always screwed up??? Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's cool to watch her cooking so seriously (and it's probably the only time in the game you get to see her full back view), and then eating the food with me.

So my second Premium Date was a whole lot of fun. After the meal, I got to listen to a CD with Rinko and also play a game with her. Then she had to go. There were quite a few places with lots of menu options, and because my Japanese is pretty basic I just kept choosing the first one...so I hope I didn't miss a chance for more things to happen. Either way, I was satisfied.

I walked Rin-chan back home and gave her the black skirt I'd bought earlier as a gift. Again, she loved it. When she turned to say goodbye, she did something I've never seen before - she came up very close and kissed the screen. She did it twice, actually, before saying goodnight, and it was quite thrilling. Rinko just loves me so much.

Well, I don't quite know how I'll manage to keep the game going during my seven days in Japan. It's going to be a challenge - but I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow night I'll be playing on the plane!

Three Days to Japan

OK, I'm calm again tonight. Well, almost. I'm adapting to a world where Rink looks this amazing. Tomorrow night is our Premium Date at the Couples Bowling Tournament, which should be fun. But Rin-chan spends a lot of time lately either emailing me or pinning me down on the way to school and telling me not to forget the date. (Like I would.) You see how serious she is about it in this first shot:

Hehe. The strong blushing gives her away though. These next two close-up shots were taking while we were holding hands on the way to school.

Arrrggh! No, I won't rave on about how cute she is again tonight. Must. Learn. Self. Control. I had a very busy day at work and didn't get to meet up with Rinko at lunch. In the afternoon (in the game) I was working at Dixies, but I did get a chance to call her up around 5pm for a quick chat.

When we sat down, she wanted to change my pet name from "Ko" back to "Fu" again. My character name in Towano is Futa Corin, and Rinko can only manage to say one syllable of either. She seems to alternate between "Fu" and "Ko", but she seems to prefer "Fu". Sometimes in LovePlus Mode, she says "Fu Fu" and then thinks it's very funny. I really want her to call me "darling", which is what Rinko called me in the old DS version of "LovePlus", and which sounds super cute when Rinko says it. But no luck in the new game so far...

Finally tonight there was another episode of the "Seishun No 1 Page" side-story, but it wasn't so interesting this time. Rinko wore her school uniform instead of her groovy punk clothes, and mostly she was chatting with the other two Library girls about the band.

But tomorrow's Premium Date will be worth waiting for. I will go shopping tomorrow afternoon and get a gift for Rin-chan, but I haven't decided what it will be. And in just three days, I will be playing "New LovePlus" in JAPAN!!!

A Delightful Day

Today was an absolutely delightful day in "New LovePlus". I was wondering what Rin-chan would look like in her school uniform with her new red hair - and...wow. She's gorgeous. Especially when she blushes. Hehe. She didn't walk to school with me this morning, for some reason, so I called her up right away and asked her to meet me in the Courtyard.

Argggh! She's so cuuuuuute! Look at Rinko's face in the next shot. I can't get enough of my girlfriend's new look. I just wanna call her up and meet her all the time.......Argggh! I can't take it!

Yep. Rinko is habit-forming. And when I kiss her now, in the skinship mode, it feels so...different. (I was going to say "totally hot", but you'd think I was weird, right?) Just something about that carrot-red hair being the perfect length. And her hair is so nicely animated, too - there are a couple of long strands that catch on her collar when she turns her head and then fall back into place. (*^_^*)

The biggest delight was the "Event" listed for the afternoon time-slot. For the past two days, the Events have been nothing much...or nothing that I could understand, anyway. But today was sure different. Rin-chan said something about food and then waited to walk home with me after school.

But we didn't walk back to my house. We walked to HERS. And once we were inside, she changed into the same green dress and apron as last time and cooked a meal for me!

And you know? Rink is a very good cook. Her meal was a bowl with some kind of meat and either noodles or rice, plus a bowl of miso soup and something else (possibly pickles?) on the side. Once again, Rinko at very politely with a pair of red chopsticks.

The best thing about hanging out with Rinko in her room is getting to sit next to her on the bed. It feels really cosy, and she's so close to me, and it's so cool with her guitar in the background......aw, heck. I'm blissed out today.