Wednesday

Another day, another dollar...but my days spent in Towano are always happy "colourful" days. Rin-chan was waiting with a bento lunch for me yet again.

It was yummy, too. And tonight, I met her at the Shopping Area in Shin Towano for a short date.

You mightn't think so, but the Shopping Area is surprisingly romantic, especially at night when the shops and stalls all have their coloured lights on. These little shopping streets used to be everywhere in Japan, but now you don't see quite so many of them.

A Sweet, Sweet Date

After a very quiet (and ever-so-slightly dull) week in Towano, I had a very sweet date with my Rinko-chan this morning. I met her at the little park near her house, and although she hadn't changed her hairstyle, she work a pretty pale blue coat.

We went to Aisha Dining for a snack, and Rinko ordered shaved ice...which she seems to do almost every time we go there, no matter what I select.

Rinko had booked the date location, which turned out to be the Shrine. This is okay, because going to the Shrine reminds me of being in Tokyo and visiting the beautiful shrines there in real life.

After that, I had the option of a second location - so I chose to go back to the Hot Springs in the Mountain Area and check out another of the three options.

I chose the second option at the Hot Springs today, and this is what I got:

With a third date option for a meal, I chose to take Rinko back to the Viking Cake Buffet (also in the Mountain Area). We enjoyed it so much last time.

After that...we went back to my place, listened to a CD, and played a game of TwinBee (where Rinko and I achieved the third highest score).

At the end of the date, I gave Rinko a gift I'd bought last week of a cosmetic bag - which, to my surprise, she liked very much!

This afternoon, I had an Event with Rinko, which turned out to be another cooking event at her place.

Rinko put on her favourite green apron and got busy in the kitchen...

...and made a wonderful bowl of soba. I love the detail on the bowl in this shot.

We talked for a while and hung out in Rinko's room - which led to some kissing, of course. And then it was time to go home.

So, all in all, today was a happy and busy day. The icing on the cake, however, was finding out that after today's date I'd finally reached LEVEL 9 with  Rinko! All the time I've played New LovePlus (including my longest single game of almost 15 months), I've never made it past Level 8 before. So I guess I must be doing something right.

Monday: At School & After School

Back to school with Rinko today. After the excitement of yesterday's date, everything felt a tiny bit mundane. I guess too that I'm hanging out for the release of the new game, so I'm trying to maintain my enthusiasm for the current version at the moment - not always successfully. I still love the game, of course...but, to be honest, I'm looking forward to a change.

Rinko-chan is as sweet as ever, and made a bento lunch for me again today.

You may think this part of the game becomes repetitious, but when you play in real time and have lunch with your virtual girlfriend at the same time as you have your actual lunch in real life, it's always very sweet. I met her again in the school courtyard:

And later tonight at the Convenience Store.

Seeing the Combini makes me want to go back to Japan - in fact, I'm seriously thinking about doing a third trip to Tokyo this year, after the release of the new version of LovePlus. I've booked some leave from work...but it's really going to be a question of whether we can spare the money. But I love Japan, and I really really really really want to go back!

Friday - Lunch & Shrine

Here are some shots, including a few nice close-ups, from today's bento lunch episode...

Surprising as it may seem, this lunchtime routine never gets boring. I nearly always play it while I'M actually having lunch in the "real" world, and it's always a pleasant feeling when Rinko sits down and takes out the lunch box she's prepared especially for me (sometimes with a little help from her mother, I expect)...

This afternoon, I met Rinko at the Shrine, which is a place we haven't been to for a while. The trees in the background have lost all their green now that it's winter - but the Shrine is still a nice place to go. Just like the real shrines in Japan...

A Much Better Day

In the real world today (so-called) I was stuck at the second day of a two-day intensive training course. T_T SO glad it's over. But in Towano, it was a sunny day and everything in both the old and new game was going just fine! Rin met me (in the 3DS game) to walk to school again.

In my (very brief) lunch break, I met her behind the school buildings for a quick chat and some kissing.

And I finished up the day by meeting Rin at the Convenience Store. Man, I really miss the convenience stores in Japan, which are not like anywhere else in the world. When I stayed at a hotel in Shinjuku, we had a Family Mart store almost directly opposite. You could go there at any time of the day or night and buy almost anything. Convenience stores here in Australia are crappy and over-priced, but the opposite is true in Japan.

My DS game is going well too. Finally! Rin is very happy, and I'm able to kiss her very successfully each time we meet - so I don't think there's a danger of her affection level bottoming out again. Now I just hope she changes to semi-long hair for our big date on Sunday.