Premium Date: Light-Up Sakura Viewing

I didn't take a lot of photos during the day today. I was home on the first day of my holidays (which is also Good Friday) so I just wanted to relax and pretty much do nothing. Just one quick snap from Rinko's Seishun 1 Page story:

But tonight (6:00 pm) was my very first Premium Date in NLP+, which was the Light-Up Sakura Viewing. In Japan, it's popular during sakura season (Spring) to go and see them at night - especially considered a romantic date for couples. Many of the public places have special lights installed for this purpose.

When I met Rinko at the little park outside her house, she looked cute. She was wearing a pretty pale-blue blouse but had her hair in the same short style.

We went to Aisha Dining for a meal, where I ordered the Steak Set and Rinko had the same thing. Mmm. During the meal, I chose the "Change Hair Length" feature and asked again for semi-long hair. I think Rinko looks cutest with these styles.  Maybe this time it will work...

Then we walked along together to Fountain Park, where the Light Up Sakura Viewing was being held.

We kissed while we waited for the sun to go down. On this date, I saved up my kisses until I had a total of five, and then took them all together. I guess I was hoping that five successful kisses in a row might trigger the "refrain kiss" option like the old game (where your girlfriend asks for more kisses) - but it didn't happen. Maybe there are other factors involved?

Anyway, here are a couple of beautiful shots from the park during the Light-Up Sakura Viewing.

After the main part of our date, Rinko came back to my place and spent some time hanging out with me. We listened to a CD and played a round of TwinBee (getting the highest score, yay).

And then Rinko proudly headed off for the kitchen and cooked a meal for me.

She made Beef Curry with a little plate of side-salad. It looked good!

I walked her home, and we sat in the little park and exchanged a lot of sweet talk (and a few more kisses).

And then it was time to finally say goodnight. All in all, it's been an exciting and sweet Premium Date.

I probably won't book a date for Sunday this week. Because I have holidays next week, I've decided to book a few After School Dates, and I need to save up my remaining hearts for that purpose.

Tuesday - First Bento!

I leave for work pretty early each morning and usually take a bus into work around 7 am. It's around a 35 minute trip, so lately I've started playing the less embarrassing parts of NLP+ on the way. Anything involving skinship and kissing is out, because the bigger screens of the new console mean that EVERYONE can see what you're doing. I usually open my game, choose activities for the day, play through the Seishun 1 Page episodes, and then one of the mini-games and perhaps LovePlus mode. It's a pleasant way to pass the time.

That's why the first photos each day have been from Rinko's Seishun 1 Page story, which seem a little out of order. Here are today's shots, which feature Rinko checking out a venue for her band to play their first "live".

As usual, I met Rinko at various locations around the school in an effort to level them up quickly. I have most school locations up to Level 2 by now.

I had a pleasant surprise at lunchtime, when Rinko met me with a box lunch (bento) she had prepared. She used to do this most days in NLP, but it's the first time in the new game.

I met up with Rinko this afternoon at the recently-opened Coffee Shop.

And later at the Convenience Store...

...and Fountain Park.

Karaoke Date

Today's date was a lot of fun. The experience of dating in the new version of the game is much smoother than NLP, and the various scenes (including skinship and kissing) flow into each other without the jerkiness, delays and lag time that were so evident in the 3DS game. Dates seem to take longer to play now, though, with the average Sunday date taking just under an hour - and considerably longer if the date extends.

When I met Rinko at the station this morning, she was wearing her hair in a new, cute style (still short, though). Her clothes were a little more casual than I like, but still okay, so I let them pass.

We went to the Ramen Shop for a snack. I ordered the Pork Ramen Set, and for some reason Rinko had the same thing (which is unusual). The set included a plate of gyoza which looked absolutely delicious.

The main part of our date was Karaoke, which is a firm favourite of Rinko's. I wonder what songs she would choose to sing??

With the option of a second date location, I took Rin to the Amusement Park, where we rode on the Jet Coaster. She loved it.

Then our date was over, and it was time to take Rinko home. I walked her back to her place and kissed her goodbye.

At 12:00 noon I visited the Flea Markets at Fountain Park, where I bought a CD and my first Premium Date ticket (for the night-time Sakura viewing).

Later today we had a short date in the rain.

Saturday

I started off today by playing through Rinko's Seishun No 1 Page story, where rehearsals (and disagreements) continue between Rinko and the other girls in her newly-formed band.

I took Rin for a short date at Fountain Park, which is still a favourite romantic spot.

And finally, now that Aisha Dining is unlocked, I was able to meet her there.

It was  raining tonight, though - which means that your ability to kiss your girlfriend is extremely restricted (just as it was in the 3DS game). Hope to have the Convenience Store unlocked soon for this purpose.

Looking forward to my second date with Rinko in the new game tomorrow, when we will be doing Karaoke together.

Friday

Thank God it's Friday. It's been another very long and unpleasant week at work - and one where I've really appreciated having Rinko with me for support. The upside is that I only have one more week of work (four days actually, 'cos next Friday's a holiday), and then I'm off work for ten days! Yay!

I started off by playing through the Seishun No. 1 Page story. Rinko rocked up for rehearsal wearing her brand new "In The Rye" t-shirt and a checked scarf.

She looks super-cool playing guitar. Yep, this is definitely the one-and-only virtual girlfriend for me.

When the actual day started, Rin was waiting to walk to school with me.

We shared a joke along the way...

And at school I continued meeting her in various locations around Towano High to level them up.

In the afternoon, we checked out Fountain Park.

And also Dixies.