#nerd pilgrimage

Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life

Karatsu Castle:

Moving on to the other side of the bridge.

From the right side..

...and from the left side.

For those that are still unaware, Ice Castle Hasetsu does not exist in Karatsu. There is actually no rink in Karatsu. Instead, the building below the castle is Waseda Junior & Senior High School.

See?

But I digress. Let’s get a closer look at the Karatsu Castle grounds.

Now can I just take a moment to say that yes, I get he’s a professional athlete, so he’s already in superb shape. But after walking these stairs? Damn, Yuuri. Running up steps in general sucks. But duuuuude. These steps are all over the place.

There are gaps, they’re at slightly different heights. There were multiple times I almost face planted because I stopped looking down...and I was slowly walking! I’d kill myself if I tried to run up these steps. So my most sincere kudos to best boi for doing his exercises without tripping and dying.

Aaaand look who I found!

Did I totally take my selfie with the castle on the wrong side and the wrong hand in the shot?? You betcha I did!!!

┬┴┬┴┤( ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ ͜ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤├┬┴┬┴

Please forgive me for that super fail...

...

...

INTO THE CASTLE WE GO!!

And once you get near the top, you see some familiar faces.

And!

AND!!

AND!!!

TWINSIES!!

*cough* ehem

Moving all the way to the top

Unfortunately, unlike the artwork, the roof extends out past the red railing, so I was not able to get a picture of the shachihoko, even with my selfie stick.

So I cheated and took a picture of the ones on the lower roofs.

Then, when you finally make your way downstairs, you see some more familiar faces, and a whole corner where you can blow even MORE money!

bank account cries

ALSO!

I MADE FRIENDS!!!

There were 3 other girls (one from Sweden, one from Portugal, and one from Switzerland...all in Yokohama for school) that were also there for YOI adventures. It was the second trip for 2 of them, and the first trip for the 3rd. We banded together.

Apparently they saw me first, but weren’t sure if they should talk to me. Then I saw them around the corner at the top of Karatsu Castle, but I wasn’t sure if I should approach them. So I continued to walk around the top level. And they hadn’t moved, so I ran into them. So I forced myself to be a social human being and say hello. It was a very, VERY wise decision.

We bonded over YOI. They spoke Japanese. I was saved from many awkward situations where I would’ve been otherwise lost with my essentially non-existent Japanese speaking skills.

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29 - Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life - Maizurubashi Bridge

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.2 - Day 24: New friend adventures!

Day 23: Anime vs. Real Life

MY YURI!!! ON ICE ANIME VS. REAL LIFE PICTURES:

BEGIN!

Outside Karatsu Station:

Next: Kyōmachi

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28 - Day 23: KARATSU!!!

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.2 - Day 23: Anime vs. Real Life -  Kyōmachi Shopping District

Day 24: Caravan and Minako’s Bar

So, anyone that goes to Karatsu (and is comfortable with their bank account) NEEDS to eat at Caravan. But definitely call and make a reservation, because otherwise you might not get in.

Now, when I say you need to be comfortable with your bank account, I mean it. This might be small town Karatsu, but the food is so good that this restaurant has earned a Michelin Star, and thus, the prices reflect that. If you get the high quality Saga beef, Imari cattle rank A5, the smallest portion you can buy is 4 oz. at ¥7000 (current Google exchange puts that at ~$61.96 USD). Now, you don’t have to get the Saga beef, and it the prices will be lower, but 4 oz. will still be ¥2500.

But half the fun of coming here is because Chef is a HUGE YOI fan.

When you’re seated, he’ll put the YOI people on one end of the bar, and regular customers on the other end. And while everything is being prepared, he invites you to behold the glory that is his YOI collection.

And here’s some pictures if the video doesn’t want to load.

He even has a TV in that sectioned off part of the restaurant, and will play all the episodes while you’re there, so you can either focus on the normal background music playing, or you can listen to YOI while you eat.

And because I’m American, he brought this out and placed it in front of me.

(*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ))

But let’s get to the food.

It was phenomenal. The beef melted in your mouth. The veggies were grilled to perfection. Even all the small sides were delicious. I could’ve eaten so much more if it wasn’t so expensive.

Now, you may or may not be wondering “hmm...what is that bottle I see in the background of that last picture?”

Well, it’s part of a YOI collection of course.

So in the show itself, you see it briefly in the background in Yu-Topia Katsuki, and it’s the food you see as the small break in episode 3 (if I remember correctly), and it’s even the label for the small bottle that comes with the Casual Yuuri Nendoroid.

Even the shot glass I used for the shot of sake Chef gave us was from the same place.

It’s a real life company in Kyushu called  (資)光武酒造場, or Google translated to (Mitsuaki) Mitsutake Brewery, located in Kashima.

It’s about 3 hours away (by train) from Karatsu. I personally didn’t have the time to go to the brewery itself, but I was ok with it since you could still find it’s YOI products in several places in Karatsu.

They have 4 variations of the drink, three are YOI specific. Victor (pink), Yuuri (blue), Yuri (yellow), and regular.

When you order one, you get to pick whatever stir sticks you want and whatever color straw you want. I, of course, ordered all three over the course of my meal.

And then when you were done, you could take the bottles back as souvenirs.

And because Chef is so into YOI, he does a small ceremony when the first set of drinks are ordered.

Eventually we were done eating, but the 4 of us that were there because of YOI were still talking. So Chef cleared a table for us in the room of goodies, and brought us desserts and tea so that we could continue to enjoy ourselves, but would clear the counter space for the next customers.

Now this is when Chef went above and beyond.

As we were all definitely of age, when we were finishing, he asked if we knew where the real life Minako’s Bar was located. I said I did, and he said he has a bottle there, and that we could go and tell them that Chef sent us, and we could drink at Minako’s bar.

Let me put this into perspective with how big of a deal that was for us.

Minako’s bar, and it’s real life counterpart, is a snack bar. Now, snack bars in Japan are not what their names make them out to be.

A "snack bar" (スナックバー sunakku bā), or "snack" for short, refers to a kind of hostess bar, an alcohol-serving bar that employs female staff who are paid to serve and flirt with male customers. Although they do not charge an entry fee (and often have no set prices on their menus), they usually either have an arbitrary charge or charge a set hourly fee plus a "bottle charge". (Customers purchase a bottle in their own name, and it is kept for future visits.)

So this isn’t some ordinary bar. This is: you buy a bottle, you put your name on it, it stays there, and they use it to mix your drinks whenever you go. Aka, not something you can just willy-nilly walk into for one night.

If that doesn’t make you pause, then think about this. A bunch of people have posted pictures of the hallway outside the bar, but how many pictures have you seen of the inside? Before my trip, I personally wasn’t able to find any.

But Chef gave us permission to drink the alcohol he had already purchased. He gave us his name to give at the door so we could enjoy this rare experience.

So without further ado:

Minako’s Bar!

Chef’s very distinct bottle.

They brought out a white paint pen so we could add to the bottle.

They even let us behind the bar to take pictures.

I spent the rest of the night wondering how my life ended up like this, but also thanking ever deity that it still happened. I’m also 100% convinced that if I had been the only YOI person at Caravan that day, with no one that spoke Japanese that could act as a translator, that the offer wouldn’t have been made.

Moral of the story: If you’re going to do a YOI trip, learn Japanese!!!!!!!

Kanpai!!

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.2 - Day 24: New friend adventures!

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 30 - Day 25: Caravan (again) and fireworks on the beach!

Day 23

On my way...

...change trains...

...almost there...

...almost there...

KARATSU CASTLE IS IN SIGHT!

I REPEAT, KARATSU CASTLE IS IN SIGHT!!

And while I’m no ballerina, so my foot doesn’t just easily go up behind me at head level, I can still get into a somewhat similar position!

I’M IN KARATSU!!!!!

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ) (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW!!!

And no, I did not take any anime vs. real life picture inside the station. I had all my bags. That will be another day.

I did get some fun random shots though!

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 27  - Day 22

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.1 - Day 23: Anime vs. Real Life - Outside Karatsu Station

So! Here’s a list of everything I’ve posted! Hope this makes things easier to navigate!

A map to all things Yuri!!! on Ice related in Japan (Google Maps)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 1 - a quick showing of *most* all the YOI clothes and accessories that I have ready for this trip (◕‿◕✿)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 2 - The basic day to day schedule of the places I’ll be visiting

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 2.1 - 1st edit to the timeline. Hopefully this doesn’t happen much more… (edit: ha…)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 2.2 - MAJOR SCHEDULE CHANGE!!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 3 - 2nd round of pictures showing clothes and accessories that I have ready for my trip ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 4 - Day -1

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 5 - Day 0: Airplanes (ugh)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 6 - Day 1: TOKYO!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 7 - Day 2

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 7.1 - Day 2: Museum picture dump (cuz Tumblr only allows 10 pictures per post…lame…)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 8 - Day 3

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 8.1 - Day 3 continued

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 8.2 - Day 3: More museum picture dumping

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 9 - Day 4

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 9.1 - Day 4 continued (Detailed YOI Museum part 1)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 9.2 - Day 4 continued (Detailed YOI Museum part 2)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 10 - Day 5

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 11 - Day 6

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 11.1 - Day 6: Alcatraz ER Menu (NSFW)

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 12 - Day 7: AirBNB Experience - Kyūdō

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 13 - Day 8: Move to Akihabara

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 14 - Day 9: Yokosuka!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 15 - Day 10

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 15.1 - Day 10 continued

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 16 - Day 11

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 17 - Day 12

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 17.1 - Day 12: Restaurant Azuma Omurice

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 18 - Day 13

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 19 - Day 14

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 19.1 - Day 14: I almost made a new friend...

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 20 - Day 15

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 20.1  - Day 15: FF food and drink

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 21 - Day 16

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 22 - Day 17

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 23  - Day 18

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 23.1 - Day 18…for realzies this time

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 24 - Day 19: Iizuka Ice Palace, aka. the real world Ice Castle Hasetsu

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 24.1 - Day 19 continued

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 25 - Day 20: Fukuoka Airport

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 26 - Day 21

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 27  - Day 22

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28 - Day 23: KARATSU!!!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.1 - Day 23: Anime vs. Real Life - Outside Karatsu Station

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.2 - Day 23: Anime vs. Real Life - Kyōmachi Shopping District

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.3 - Day 23: Karatsu Shrine

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.4 - Day 23: Yōyōkaku

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29 - Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life - Maizurubashi Bridge

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.1 - Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life - Karatsu Castle

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.2 - Day 24: New friend adventures!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.3 - Day 24: Caravan and Minako’s Bar

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 30 - Day 25: Caravan (again) and fireworks on the beach!

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 31 - Day 26: Anime vs. Real Life - Official art, inside Karatsu Station, the beach, and Katsudon

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 32 - Day 27: Waterfalls and chicken

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. ? - Day 28

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. ? - Day 29

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. ? - Day 30

My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. ? - Day 31

Day 2

YURI!!! ON ICE MUSEUM!

YURI!!! ON ICE MUSEUM!!

YURI!!! ON ICE MUSEUM!!!

YURI!!! ON ICE MUSEUM!!!!

IT WAS SO AMAZING!!

And since I have plans to go all 6 times, I figured I would just go in audio order.

So, audio A was Victor/Yuuri. Yuuri, of course, fanboys over all the Victor stuff in each section, and absolutely freaks out when he sees his Victor collection on display (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ)) He then gets progressively more and more drunk on champagne as you go on. At first, he’s excited to geek out with you over all things Victor, but then he flips about halfway, and gets all defensive and basically ‘Victor is MINE!”Half of Victor’s audio ends up being him apologizing to you for Yuuri’s erratic behavior ( _ _)ﾉ彡☆ In the end, they both thank you for supporting figure skating, and Victor bids you farewell in Russian.

I love the details that they put into the FS/SP costumes they have displayed (that we can’t take pictures of). I mean, these are (most likely really) expensive skate outfits, created for a mannequin, and the detail is astounding. Take, for example, Yuuri’s tux outfit that we CAN take a picture of. I’m sure many of you have seen it already.

But there’s still so much detail work and so much stoning. Even the underside of the coattails has stoned details! I didn’t even notice it until my second time through! I love the museum and it’s creators for throwing so much work into stuff like this!

Pictures with the gang!

Now I don’t know how many of you have seen, but these are your options to use for the pictures. And yes, those are glasses of Victor’s huge watery eyes. (I will be using those for the 6th time.)

So to try to tie in with who was ‘guiding’ me through the museum, I chose the onigiri plush to take a picture with in the museum...because Yuuri.

Then, I went and spent way too much money to get the Yuri!!! on Museum Masterpieces Collection Book, side V. Inside is pictures of basically everything you can’t take pictures of yourself, such as the rest of the skate outfits and the other pictures on the walls.

If I translated correctly with my phone, I should be able to get side Y after the 6th walk through. @lucycamui can you confirm or correct me on that?

Then when I went again later today, I did audio B, which is Yuuri/Phichit. Phichit basically gushes about how happy he is to have used The King and the Skater, and Yuuri is just along for the ride, unable to stop the extremely happy force that is Phichit when it comes to anything related to that movie. Again, they both thank you for supporting figure skating.

I decided to go full hamster with the picture this time.

Also, my friends that take skate lessons with me couldn’t come, so I brought them in spirit/’flat people’ form.

Also, finally figured out the Loppi machines, thanks to Lucy and YouTube, so I was able to save some money on the tickets by not buying at the museum itself.

#savings

Anyways, had some sushi for lunch (it’s so much better here than back home...gee, I wonder why...) at Pintokona @ Roppongi Hills. It was supposed to be conveyor belt sushi, but apparently they don’t use the belt for lunch. Womp womp. Then grabbed more snacks and food stuffs at Lawson’s and Family Mart, and passed out early again like an old person. And now here I am, wide awake at stupid early in the morning, catching up on posts, and waiting till I get sleepy again so I can take a few hours nap, then wake up and start a new day with new adventures. Huzzah!

More pictures in the next post. Got limited by Tumblr’s ‘10 pictures per post’ limit. Phooey.

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 6 - Day 1: TOKYO!

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 7.1 - Day 2: Museum picture dump (cuz Tumblr only allows 10 pictures per post...lame...)

Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life

Maizurubashi Bridge:

Thee famous bridge. Now to make this easier to keep organized, and for anyone that may do their own trip in the future, I have organized it by sections of the bridge, as follows:

So without further ado:

Section 1:

Was there a random guy fishing?! Heck yes there was a random guy fishing!!

Section 1.5:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Others:

Now in the anime, these two shots would’ve been taken from basically on a boat. Since I was not able to do that, I went alongside the mouth of the river a bit, and took them from the shore, and they’re just zoomed in, so sorry if they’re a bit blurry.

orz

Also, why is Tumblr letting me put more than 10 photos per post right now? Idk. Has this more than 10 photos been a thing for other people for a while? Who knows. All I know is that when I was uploading previously, it just popped up with that stupid warning. Am I going to take full advantage of this from here on out? Heck yes. Am I going to go back and re-edit my other posts so that there aren’t so many per day? Heck no. Already posted. Already done. If you really want to know if I have more photos of something because I was skimping to accommodate the post limits, just message me, and I’ll let you know.

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 28.4 - Day 23: Yōyōkaku

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 29.1 - Day 24: Anime vs. Real Life - Karatsu Castle

Day 19

My morning started out with a nice walk. Like, I was in the city one moment, and then surrounded by nature the next.

But soon I returned to civilization, and saw something in the distance...

...and upon closer inspection...

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*deep breath*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!!!

Even Makka wanted a picture!

*warbled cry of a silently screaming fangirl losing her shit*

<-Previous Post - My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 23.1 - Day 18…for realzies this time

Next Post -> My YOI Nerd Pilgrimage pt. 24.1 - Day 19 continued