Decided to sit somewhere different today instead of facing Ueno Park, now same view as my room.

Almost forgot my key card this morning ^^;

Plan was to tour Weathering with You spots around Tabata and Shinjuku but very heavy rain. Weather Girl must be off today but might still manage to take photos and videos with umbrella in one hand.

UK doesn't have these umbrella driers or places to stoll wet umbrellas.

Guess they would be vandalised in no time.

Don't know what the event was but two mascot characters at the station.

Cute.

Tabata Station wasn't far from Ueno.

While waiting for the train, a foreign guy passed by and wanted a fist bump. Indian Philippine don't know who it was. Maybe someone from the hotel? xD

Rainy day kind of works for this part of the movie.

Not so great for this sunny one.

And had to be careful not to let the rain into the camera.

Quiet little area, Tabata. Or maybe because it was raining.

On my way to the area where Hina's home is located but actually more interested in the rail crossing with Skytree in the distance.

Seems every area in Japan has their own unique tiles.

If you look down anyway.

This was actually a cul-de-sac residential area. If you brave it you might upset the locals who don't want you wandering in.

A woman said you can't go in but I replied I'll just be a few minutes to take a photo then I'd be off which was honestly what I was going to do. I was travelling alone too, no live streaming so wasn't going to make a lot of noise either anyway.

Unfortunately it was raining heavily so it was cloudy of course. Visibility was low but I'm guessing you could see Skytree in the distance on clear days.

Don't really intend returning to disturb the locals again so that's that.

Tabata spots here were done but decided I won't be touring Shinjuku afterwards because the wind and rain was just too heavy.

Didn't stop me from admiring the little places in the area as I made my way back to the station, though.

Little music pub seems like it might be a cosy place for drinks.

I don't actually drink since I'm not that fond of the taste of alcohol.

Soba place had some Kimetsu figures on display. I think all the hype's died down now but it's a pretty good demon hunting action show overall.

Was all soaked by the time I was back at the station. Fortunately the heaters on the trains were on full blast underneath the seats so my trousers dried fairly quickly. That and my shoes are waterproof =D

So since it wasn't a good time to be shooting photos outside, I decided to visit the shops in Odaiba instead which I had originally planned for another day.

On my way to Odaiba, a station I was passing through had a gacha area but coins only. HK uses IC cards for gachas these days so Japan should join in too really.

Was still raining heavily by the time I reached the automated monorail for Odaiba.

Some people go by the old name "Daiba" which was when the manmade island was used to repel foreign ships. As the area was under direct control of the Shogunate at the time, the honorific "o" particle was added and it's now known as O-daiba mostly.

There were actually a few Weathering spots in Odaiba too. By the time I got there the rain had let up which was probably a good thing as I toured those spots.

But I'll be sticking with the change of plan. Still have trouble navigating the place because of all the walkways and stairs. Google Map doesn't help very much.

Weathering goes back to 2019 so just like Your Name locations have changed since then.

Shopping centre Venus Fort's lease expired back in 2022 so both it and the ferris wheel has been demolished to make way for Toshiba's new sports arena.

I'm not versed in Gundam lore but the original Gundam RX-78-2 from the 1979 show was taken down in 2017 apparently and now it's Gundam Unicorn that's up.

Dedicated souvenir shop on the stair's gone sadly. Think it would have been a great place for the fans.

Imagine Gundam with Xmas decor on it...

It was lunchtime and since there was a big spacious food court here I decided to get some lunch first.

Had ramen from this same place when I first visited Japan and Odaiba.

Still around just no angry dudes serving this time xD

Not the best food but gives you something to run on.

Niche store selling variety of souvenirs still around which had Urusei Yatsura themed Sake last time I visited with a special sculpted glass.

This time didn't see anything other than raging Dragon Ball eye masks haha. Plenty of other Anime stores though which I don't think were there the last time.

Bins such a rare sight in Japan... Guess they're around in big shopping centres at least.

Doraemon store just had to be next to a Poop (Unko) Museum.

Now that's literally a crappy store!

The Doraemon Future Department Store isn't exclusive to Odaiba but the one here was nicely decorated. You have to look up to see all the sculptures.

There was a decor of Doraemon with his butt sticking out through a Pass Loop haha. You can actually buy it.

No time cloth screen cleaner or perpetual calendar which I saw online and in other people's video visits so was kind of disappointed... Only giant paper calendars or full size cloths.

Saw a pencil case and neck ties. Both cost around the same so it was either or. Think I have enough pencil cases so decided to go for the store limited blue tie. Got some "special mix" green tea too that supposedly goes well with Doraemon's favourite snack Dorayaki just for the tin really.

Was going to get the green tea sweets for the tin too but not much of a sweet tooth these days after losing a molar.

You could buy a postcard and stamp to send to yourself or someone. Even create your own name tag or t-shirt too.

Managed to win something 1st shot at the badge crane game machine so was quite chuffed although I paid for 3 shots. Other 2 shots landed nothing. Maybe rigged to pay for 3 shots?

There were a lot more people taking pictures outside at the Time Square than inside. I didn't wait for the show because it was once per hour and there was still 30 mins until the next one.

Sculpture was pretty detailed with gadgets and different eyes. Memory bread must be a fave for beating exams.

Captain Santa just reminds me of Popeye... which I actually liked as a kid. It was a fun after school cartoon.

Actually managed to fill up one 128GB card today. Might be because of the high FPS or all the 4K vids I've been recording.

Well, all the daily time lapses I've been setting up too. Shooting in RAW takes up a lot of space but means you have more room to adjust the photos later and proof you took them.

A tourist offered to snap my photo with my phone but thought it was her who wanted me to take a photo. I said it's ok because I just find selfies have a more interesting angle. Not to mention a stranger snapping a photo makes me socially anxious... ^^;

Love padlocks... I know it's supposed to be dreamy sweet and all but if you need to rely on something like this then your relation is probably in trouble.

Can't get enough gacha around here. A full store filled with them.

Off to Tokyo Small World next. Been looking forward to it.

These Gate of Venus statues next to the Fuji TV building look pretty eery...

Got a front seat on the monorail this time which was pretty fun.

It was 5pm dark by the time I got to the place and it turned out to be right next to an Under Armour store.

If it was day you'd see the giant EVA-01 outside so best visiting during the day if you want photos with it.

Ticket vending machine outside was all sold out so had to go inside to get one directly instead.

Place was definitely as impressive as seen on their site and various videos. Photos and videos alone don't do the place justice. There's so much detail on the dioramas it's impossible to cover it all so here are some of my favourite parts.

There were just 2 hours until closing time so I fairly much rushed my way through with the camera running so I can re-appreciate later.

I started with the top floor Gallery A which already has 8 different themed dioramas including Sailormoon and the main attraction I was after, Evangelion. You're greeted with a space centre one first.

Every diorama has buttons you can press to activate some movement and you have to spot where so it's fun watching the models come alive. Here the screen had an animated ad and the courier vehicles moved.

There's so much detail you could probably spend the day here if you appreciate miniature models. There were plenty of people gazing at them happily excited.

There were also bigger transitions you can't trigger yourself so you have to wait like the rocket launch.

Asian and European fantasy "Global Village" area wasn't quite my cup of tea but I could still appreciate the craftsmanship and effort that went into it all.

For the Anime themed areas you can try and spot the characters.

I'm not quite sure how well the Sailormoon area represents the show since I never watched it but the people appreciating the models there looked happy enough. I just know the characters from catching a few episodes.

Some of the answers are already shown on their site though.

Kansai Airport area was a bit bland but had a full sized business lounge. If the place wasn't closing soon I would have chilled there but wanted to see everything and leave plenty of time for the Evangelion area.

And yes! The much awaited Evangelion area, the main highlight for me!

The lead into the area was really well done with all the wall aesthetics signs and fonts looking right.

The Nerv launch hangar actually has its own little corner and you can watch all three units being launched.

Tokyo-03 itself had its own area and it's actually a mix of the original and Rebuild locations.

Wait long enough and you can enjoy a light show of the Geofront rising and transitioning through the hours.

It's awesome.

And just like the Sailormoon area, there's plenty of characters to look out for.

Even the cafe area had miniatures, each table had a different one. It was closed of course by the time I had finished my tour.

Up side of going to places close to closing time is how quiet it is, no queues though.

Popped by Akiba again afterwards hoping to find find a cheap Figma Pokemon Red figure at Book-Off or some other store that isn't going for 5x RRP. Don't think secondhand is worth that much. Especially when it's not as detailed as my Steins;gate scale.

No luck of course. Came by the gacha game cart machine I saw someone tweet about once. Just 400 Yen (£2!) per pre-owned game cart. It had PS Vita games too but they were all gone sadly. Could have used a few more games for my handheld.

It's Bocchi, Kikuri's favourite drink. Actually saw someone that looked like one of my former colleagues but probably just a look-alike. Didn't look like they recognised me anyway, haha.

Tonight's bento dinner from Family Mart had two layers interestingly enough :o

Just two purchases from the Doraemon Future Department Store. Three if you include the paid bag xD

They always ask if you need a bag and I always have enough room in my backpack but the carrier bag itself can be a souvenir too imo.

And the actual contents of the tea once I finally opened up to try; green tea with added vanilla and pomelo. Nice scent.

Was a fun day, despite the heavy rain!