Pilgrimage to Land of the Rising Sun

[iewnehz]

the castle looks like Lego leh..

haha

[Tanzy]

The climax of my Japan trip! Morning Musume Spring 2004 Best of Japan concert!!!

WOW! SAIGOU!

I don't know where to start to tell you how great and unique the experience was! The fans were enthusiastic and eager to get the attention of the girls. It's extremely interesting to see guys dress up in minimoni costumes or 40 year old man hopping around like a girl. Those guys with photos of their favorite MoMuse pinned to their clothes were far out man! People were doing warming up exercises before the concert started and most fans had towels which were good for waving around and wiping sweat, although the combination of both freaked me out a bit. I was trying not to get swiped by one in front of me.

I'm quite deaf in my left ear now because the guy beside me kept shouting Labu Labu Aishiteru! and Aibon! .

There was a central performance area with cat walks going out to four corners forming an X. There wasn't any real front area, which was great, and everyone got full coverage. I guess I was lucky because my sector got more Charmy and Mikitty time.

When I saw Charmy I nearly melted. She is so sweet..... Too bad cameras were not allowed and all bags were searched.

On the whole, WoW! (And I'll say it backwards) WoW! All I can say is, try before you die. If you can't go for a concert, then sucks to be you! OK, just kidding, but you really are missing out a lot if you are a hard core musume fan.

Below is a pic of the necessary concert equipment.

[flubberina13]

Wow...you're really enjoying yourself...

This is a good time to spend in reflection and anticipation of a great life journal to come...

[Tanzy]

Life journal? Hmm, my photos are my journal. No need to write.

Here's a pic of Osaka-jo Hall where the concert was held. Osaka-jo or Osaka Castle can been seen in the background.

[Tanzy]

The world's largest fish tank is in there.

Osaka Aquarium. Quite a world class aquarium but tries to cover too much. Someone else here has posted pictures of it before. The main attraction is the whale shark. The jelly fish gallery is far out! I'm inspired by their tank design and may try to keep jellies.

[Tanzy]

Looks like sashimi material to me. Yummy!

I've tried it at Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. It's really sweet meat.

Deep water spider crabs.

[Tanzy]

The whale shark. Gotta get myself one of these fish tanks now.

[Tanzy]

FOWLR with one and a half feet long tangs.

[Tanzy]

A seriously overcrowded tank but it doesn't matter. It's all sardines.

[Tanzy]

Nearly a foot thick acrylic used for tank construction.

[Achilles Tang]

MORE PIX OF OSAKA AQUARIUM!!!!!!!!!!!

[coralreef]

Saw the Morning Musume DVD CD..(white color).....can't find in singapore easily....!!!

It's the concert????

[Tanzy]

I'm back in Singapore and totally sunburnt. It got very hot in Kyoto. Unfortunately, after leaving Osaka, the accomodations no longer have in room internet access so I could reply here.

Anyway, I have >1500 pictures of Japan to sort through and I'll post more including Osaka and Miyajima aquariums.

The white DVD? It's not the concert. It's a collection of PV/MTV of some of their songs. It's near impossible to find MoMuse DVD in shops locally.

[Tanzy]

Closer picture of the whale shark in Osaka Kaiyukan.

[Tanzy]

More of the same whale shark.

[Tanzy]

If you are not bored yet.

[Tanzy]

OK, the last one.

[Tanzy]

This sun fish lives in a giant plastic bag so it doesn't bump itself on the tank and get injured.

[Tanzy]

Next up, Miyajima Aquarium. Located on the island of Miyajima near Hiroshima. It's about 70 minutes by tram to Miyajimaguchi from Hiroshima then 10 minutes ferry to the island and 20 minutes walk. If you take the train from Hiroshima station to Miyajimaguchi, it's about 20 minutes.

The aquarium is not world class. It looks underfunded and understaffed. There are no crowds here due to the isolated location. They have a daily sealion and seal show but there was no one watching it. The display tanks are simple and often bare bottom but animals are in very good condition. The tanks tend to be small which means it's easier to see the animals and there aren't nonsense clutter for them to hide in.

Their reef display beats Osaka's hands down. Take a look at their stags.

[Tanzy]

SPS at the Miyajima Aquarium.

[Tanzy]

Wonderful coloration. The acros are encrusted and growing well.

[Tanzy]

They called this the Nemo and Dory tank.

[Tanzy]

They have this.

The tank was really dark so it was very difficult to get a good shot.

[Tanzy]

Kawaii ne!

Fugu deshita.

Oishii sou!

[Tanzy]

I couldn't figure out what this is.