This is my fourth trip to Tokyo, but I haven’t actually done much in terms of going crazy buying stuff for my nerdy needs. It has always been tightly budgeted.

This time round, we’re staying at Akihabara and this means crazy times! Long blog post!

Day 1: Akihabara

We went to many shops around Akihabara, Sailor Saturn are really rare! Found the memories figurine at ¥1600 and the Super Sailor Moon SH Figuarts at ¥2100, both really rare deals! Lots of gashapons were turned, but frankly there isn’t much variety. I guess it’s really too popular and it empties really fast.

Side note, I got 4 Chibi Moon brooches. 4! >_<

Day 2: Part 1 – Azabu Juuban

Well, Azabu-Juuban is near to Nakano Broadway, so we figured to explore that place as well. From Azabu-Juuban station, take exit 4, and you’ll find yourself standing in Sailor Moon’s home town.

Frankly, there are no particular buildings in Azabu-Juuban that was featured in the anime/manga, but what we noticed is that this town belongs to the richer side of Tokyo. It’s surrounded by various countries’ embassies; there’s a lot more coffee places in Azabu-Juuban.

The buildings also, are quite similar to the art of the buildings in manga/anime. In particular, we find apartments looking similar to Mamoru’s apartments.

There’s a few great food places in Azabu-Juuban, starting with Naniwaya Souhonten. This taiyaki is grilled on the spot after you order and is absolutely cripsy with lots of red bean paste. Sweet and amazing!

We had lunch at Afuri Ramen, which specialises in yuzu flavoured ramen. The taste is refreshing and the noodles are simply amazing!

Actually Azabu-Juuban is really near Roppongi Hills too (technically they are the same area), so we see many advertisements for the nearby exhibition.

So the route is actually very up-hill… so get a pair of good walking shoes and start climbing! First up, Hikawa Shrine.

This is a small shrine, and is actually not the shrine featured in the manga/anime, but the location is correct. The shrine in the manga/anime is 火川 whereas in the actual location it is 氷川. If you want to see the shrine featured, it is located in Akasaka.

When you head down the road, you’ll reach Sendaizaka, as featured in the Sailor Mars vs Jadeite episode/chapter.

A long long walk down the right side will bring you to the all important park in both the anime and manga, Arisugawa Park. It’s not exactly the same, but familiar enough for you to go “ooooooh…”.

If you want to avoid climbing uphill, you can start from Hiro-O station and go the opposite of my path.

Day 2: Part 2 – Nakano Broadway

Nakano Broadway is a place with a lot more older stuff, but not necessarily cheaper. For example, the SH Figuarts were mostly selling above the prices listed in Bandai Premium. However, you can find some really old stuff there. I’m not interested in the old dolls of the 90s, but I found lots of them there.

Managed to find a few more other items not found in Akihabara as well, like the individually packaged Ice Cream Figurine set (which of course I bought Saturn), the Hotaru figurine and a few other figurines. That the Cardcaptor Sakura SH Figuarts only cost me ¥1500.

There’s also a Neko Atsume event going on in one of the crane game shops in Nakano, which we chanced upon. Got some cute stuff out of it!

Gashapon variety is the same as Akihabara *sad face*.

Day 3: Part 1 – Sailor Moon Exhibition @ Roppongi Hills

We went to this exhibition on Monday, which proved to be a good thing, as there wasn’t much of a crowd. Take the exit 1B or so to the exhibition, which you should end up right in front of Roppongi Hills. (I did not, so I took the long route.)

Most of the exhibition did not allow photography, so I will just show those that allowed.

The whole lot of us got stuck at one section when it started playing the opening and ending themes of the old anime… haha! It was a very magical exhibition, being able to see the full colour manga, original sketches of the manga and the animation cels. There were sections on character design, old toys and figurines.

There was the shopping thereafter that was FULLLLL of people. The Princess Serenity figurine and Roppongi Moonstick was out of stock, so I placed an order… hopefully will be able to reach my forwarding shipping address in Japan. There is of course a lot more on sale, such as the perfect edition manga (¥1600++ per book) etc. Oh my heart itches but I can’t justify buying another set of manga.

After the exhibition, just right outside is the Chibi Moon cafe! Of course we queued our way into the cafe. This is what we ordered…

There is a lot more variety on display.

There is some sort of lucky draw here but well, I don’t stay here 😦

Day 3: Part 2 – Watching Sailor Moon on TV!!!

There was an earthquake around 9.30pm Tokyo time and being people who has never encountered one, it was hilarious looking back. Of all things, I grabbed a towel, and went “table! we need a table!” when there was one right in front of us. Hiding under the table and laughing at each other through all that shaking was quite an experience.

AND THEN! At 11pm!

This is small but a dream come true. Over here, Sailor Moon was not shown on TV, in fact the most common touchpoint for us is the manga. Therefore this is an extra amazing moment for me.

Afternote: This is one hell of a great weekend, but I think I overspent >_<