Since there was no way I could afford to fly home to the UK this Christmas, I had to settle with making the best of things here in Japan. Although Christmas is pretty much like any other day here, I didn’t want to just stay in my room all day so I met with some friends in Tokyo in the afternoon and had the strangest Christmas I have ever had.
First up I went to Akihabara on my own. The train service from Tsukuba goes directly to Akihabara, so it’s really tempting to pay a visit to some of the shops there if I have the time on one of my trips into Tokyo. I picked up a couple of Christmas presents for myself and my new doll. First was Figma Saber Lily! I had been eyeing her in my favourite figure store on my previous visit but restrained myself, but this time I saw she was still there and couldn’t resist. She’s second hand and came as just the figure with no game, but I only wanted the Figma anyway so I’m quite satisfied. Oddly the previous owner threw in a little extra – this pair of metal replicas of Fate Testarossa’s blades. They have been modified so that the ends of the hilts don’t have a loop any more, and neither the chain nor the little magic circle were included, but I’m not complaining because they make interesting Figma-sized weapons.
Then I bought a second pair of hands for Maya, my Dollfie. I bought him with a pair of FCS exclusive hands because it was my only opportunity to get them, but I also wanted some more practical ones as well. I was tempted to get another outfit or the other set of feet, but it would have cost too much money.
After that I went to Ikebukuro to meet up with my friends who had already been in Tokyo since the previous day, and our first stop was a rather odd place: a cat café. Essentially it’s a café where you go and play with cats. You pay based on the time you spend there and there was a free vending machine you could get drinks from, but the real attraction of course was the cats. These types of cafés are reasonably common in Japan, but it was my first time visiting one.
If you’re in Japan, like cats and have the time then I’d recommend visiting one just for the experience!
