Hey all! I'm leaving for three weeks in Japan next monday, I'll be staying in Tokyo and Osaka and will visit Kyoto as well. Any members out there willing to meet for some toy hunting or a drink/meal/ramen? If you have some recommendations of less known places I must check that I might not have heard about, I'll take them as well! Last thing, do you think I have any chances to visit a sofubi painting studio or a pouring factory? If yes, who should I contact? I know about all the others aspect of the industry for having worked at S7 but this is a part I'm really curious about! Best, Arnaud
Hey Arnaud, that is great news! Care to share the details/reason for the trip? Will this be your first one? Three weeks is a decent amount of time man, I am very jealous. I am sure it will fly by with the incredible things to see and do there. Should be a fantastic trip!! (and I look forward to the travel logs upon your return ^_^ ) P.S. - are you still homebasing out of Montreal?
Yeah, we are stoked! First time yes, I'll be going with my fiancée, this is our graduation present to ourselves (Masters Degree yay!). We'll start with 10 days in Tokyo were we found a calm Airbnb near Shinjuku (Shimo-Ochiai Station). Then 3 nights in Osaka (Airbnb right near Dotonburi, walking distance to Mandarake Grandchaos!), we'll take the train to Kyoto for a day or two from Osaka. Then back to Tokyo for 3 more night near Shibuya! We wanted a long trip to make it worth the price of the flight and the long traveling time (stopover in Dubai ^-^). You can follow our adventures on Instagram or on my facebook (Arnaud Adc), where I'll try to livestream often, even in toy stores if they allow it. We are not in Montreal anymore, we are back in France where we finished our degrees. We might go back to Canada in the future but for now we are aiming at a job hunt in Hong Kong
Nice man! Congratulations to you both, that is something to be proud of. Glad you guys made it to the end. Coincidentally, I was involved in a similar Japanese immersive experience with a buddy of mine following our Master's degrees. (gah, how time flies!) One thing I am sure you will realise right away is how close (i.e. easily accessible) things are there, so even if something is in another neighbourhood, or even the other side of the city, the system of trains and subways there makes it almost irrelevant where you are staying. Definitely try to plan out a little on the area before though, because it can quickly get overwhelming, and once you accept that your well-intentioned plans will inevitably get thrown out the window - there really is so much there - it is good to have a general idea so you can pace things. Meeting up with local or expats helps a lot, especially to see the 'real' city you will easily miss or just not have time for. Anyways, just thinking about it has me pretty excited. Hope you guys have a blast man, but I have no doubt you will. (also, pack very light.... you will have wayyyy too much to bring back with you! at least, that is my recommendation)
