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2024.08.22-2024.09.02 ~YRYR&OMRK side~

not a lunatic

Stuff happened, and I ended up going on another trip to Japan (with friends this time).

I'll skip the days where nothing YRYR and OMRK-related happened to keep it from being too long, maybe I'll put it in another blog post someday because the other pilgrimages were also fun.
(also I did enough YRYR-related things to put it in the title this time)


Before the trip

"Let's watch OMRK dear friends and go to Takaoka again!", I thought. So a few days before the trip, I went to check the website to see where I could still watch the movie.

Despair

I couldn't watch dear friends.
I think it was still in cinemas somewhere but not in places where I would visit, so it doesn't look like I could watch it.
It was honestly pretty frustrating, but I'm going with friends this time, so plenty of other things to do! (there really were plenty of other things, I'm exhausted)

2024.08.22 - Departure

This was a pretty crazy day in Jakarta with massive protests happening on the streets and traffic all over the place, but luckily my friends and I made it to the airport safely with plenty of time to spare and we left the country around 11 PM local time.

It was delayed, of course

I can't remember anything about the flight except that I watched The Concierge for the first time and just slept for the rest of the flight. It was a good movie…

2024.08.23 - Arrival

Landed in Haneda. It was too cold when I visited in February, but now it's too hot. Countries with four seasons are weird. It's somewhat similar to the weather in Jakarta though, so I adjusted pretty quickly.

I only noticed now that my thumb is in the picture

While I was browsing twitter on the way to the hotel, the OMRK account tweeted something amazing.

What incredible timing. Seriously, what are the chances of dear friends being available for streaming on the day of my arrival? It won't be on a big screen, but I'm happy enough that I could watch the movie.

(it took me several days for various reasons, but I eventually watched dear friends late at night on Sunday.)

2024.08.26 - Takaoka

After 3 days together, it was the day where my friends decided to split up for a day. The Hibike Euphonium otaku went to Uji, the Lycoreco otaku went to Skytree (again), and I went to…

For the second time this year

(the aforementioned Hibike Euphonium otaku also wrote a blog post about his trip here if you're interested)

This was my first time taking the Shinkansen without using JR Pass, so I was pretty nervous about missing the train and whatnot.

Originally, the plan was to follow the Nachuyachumi route and go to Kanjoji Park, but I decided to take pictures of manhole covers and visit sacred places of dear friends instead because I finally watched it the night before.

By the way, a few days later, news came out that the Kanjojiguchi bus stop would be abolished soon leading to the Nachuyachumi route being impossible to follow, so I kind of regret this decision now to be honest. Not that I had any way of knowing this at the time, but still…

Well anyway, for the manhole covers, Toyama City Tourism Association has provided Google Maps with all the locations, so it's convenient and easy to follow from your phone. I'm actually surprised this was made by the Tourism Association and not the Waterworks Bureau. I guess manhole cover tourism is something that people do.

First stop, Toshino Kyoko!

In front of the large crossing outside the station

It's right outside Toyama Station, so it's probably the first manhole cover that most people see when they arrive in Toyama! Being placed in such a major location like this, maybe you're the main character after all…

Several minutes away towards Maroot, it's our first student council member Chitose!

I hope they also add Chizuru in the future

After this, the path split into two. Either walk towards Kansui Park or take the tram towards Toyama Castle. I decided to walk first and go to Kansui Park.

Right after Chitose, it's Ayano-chan!

Insert pun here

This was actually very difficult to find because I didn't expect it to be in the grass at all and spent 10 minutes wandering around the park before finding it. There were kids playing around the area, so I probably looked super suspicious walking back and forth with my phone out…

Just across the bridge is Akari, the main character (apparently?) of YRYR!

＼ｱｯｶﾘ～ﾝ／

I thought it would be hidden somehow as a joke, but it was easy to find.
That was it around the area, so I walked back to Toyama Station.

I was getting hungry at this point, so I decided to put the manhole cover hunt on hold and head to Takaoka for lunch.

It's the familiar-looking station once again

I also started the OMRK stamp rally while I was there, but since some places are closed on Monday, I didn't even try to get another stamp and just kept the sheet as a souvenir. I also bought the tram collaboration ticket sheet, but I guess I was such in a hurry that I didn't take a picture of it after buying it.

It's Megumi right at the start
(picture taken at home) The nearest station to use these is about 6000km away from where I live

I ate some snacks after and decided that I wasn't that hungry after all, so I went to visit the settings for dear friends first before eating lunch. 

Same as last time when I did the pilgrimage for dear sisters, I followed Moritz-san guide for the location. Thank you as always for providing helpful information both in your blog and in your books!

The first location

It's Otaya Shopping Street, where Nadeshiko and friends came to hang out! Come to think of it, is it the only scene in the movie where the high school group is seen hanging out outside school? I guess the scene in the cafe also counts, but that's not in Takaoka…

Nadeshiko, Megumi, and Ai waited for Miho here
The other side of the shopping street, where Nadeshiko called Miho cute

The snacks didn't do much and I was already really hungry at this point, so after walking up and down the shopping street a few times I decided to head back towards Takaoka Station and go to Ramble for lunch. 

I passed by the Lawson on my way back
Kusaya and surstromming flavor seems to be sold out

Time for lunch! The walk between Otaya Shopping Street and Cafe Ramble was further than I thought, and I was starving when I got there.

I didn't think I'd be here for a third time

Maybe because it was summer holiday, but when I arrived, there were quite a lot of people and all the window seats were taken even though it was well over lunchtime.

Carbonara

It's what Sakurako ordered in chapter 213 of YRYR when she was hanging out with Kyoko and Chitose! I'll be completely honest with you, I can't remember what it tasted like at all because I was so hungry that I ate everything in like 10 minutes including the potato salad. All of Ramble's lunch menu is delicious though, so I'm sure this was too.

Should probably go again and eat it slower next time.

I've never had a cone of soft serve in a cup like this

Thinking about it again, did I really only visit one place for the dear friends pilgrimage? Does it count as a pilgrimage then?? I guess I passed by some other locations but just didn't notice. I really need to plan better...

It's getting late, so return to Toyama and get the rest of the manhole covers.

Upon returning, hop on a tram and get off at Aramachi to find Yui! Looking at the map now, I think you're supposed to get off one station after Aramachi instead, but it's a close walk so it doesn't matter.

That's 3 members of GRKB done

Next, walk toward Toyama Castle, where Chinatsu is waiting!

At least she's supposed to be anyway

Apparently, due to earthquake restoration work, Chinatsu has been moved temporarily to the Toyama City Waterworks Bureau building, and I seem to have completely missed this information up until now. Or maybe I just forgot, seems likely considering how many things happened over the weekend.

So where is this Toyama City Waterworks Bureau building located, you ask? Right next to Kansui Park, which I already visited earlier for Ayano and Akari. I have to walk back there again, so I really screwed up here…

There's another one of these like in the station

For now, take the tram across the bridge to Toyota Mobility Toyama G Square station. No, that's really what the station is called. What a long name.

A short walk from the station with a really long name, it's Gofuku Park where the Oomuro sisters are located! It's cute that everyone is in a park! I thought this was the Misakicchi park from dear sisters, but that's a different one I think.

Sakurako was there
Hanako-sama was also there

Someone else took a picture of Hanako-sama just before me, and it was the only time this entire day that I saw someone other than myself take a picture of the manhole covers.

And of course, Nadeshiko and her smartphone

Now, the Toyama City Waterworks Bureau closes at 5:15 PM, and it was 4:20 PM when I took the Nadeshiko picture. The building is about 30 minutes away according to Google, so I have plenty of time to spare.

Chinatsu-chan, picture taken 5 minutes before the exhibition closes for the day

I got lost on the way and it ended up being more dangerous than I thought.
Well, that's everything! Return to Toyama Station and get ready to return to Tokyo!

Before buying the Shinkansen ticket, I decided to rest for a bit and tweet the pictures that I had taken for the day.

Right after I hit tweet, I realized something. Excluding the president, aren't there four members of the Student Council? I found Chitose early in the day, followed by Ayano, and Sakurako was at the park earlier, shouldn't there be one more?

Himawari, I'm really sorry

The manhole cover for Himawari is so far apart from the others that I completely missed it on the map. It's about 30 minutes in the opposite direction from everyone else. Why is it so far away…

This is probably one of the coolest location though

That's all! For real this time! I'm tired! Return to Toyama Station and get on the Shinkansen back to Tokyo!

I went to animate near the station instead (I got on the train properly after this)

If I had planned my route better I would've had enough time and energy to go to Osaka for the collaboration cafe, but I was too tired so I had to cancel the plan.

This is my third time in Toyama and Takaoka but there's still a bunch of things that I want to do, so maybe I'll plan a trip where I just spend a week in the prefecture and do various pilgrimage. I've only been doing YRYR and OMRK, but I also really want to do True Tears and other P.A. Works pilgrimage someday.

2024.08.29 - Kazusa-Ushiku

Go to Chiba in the morning with friends for Oreimo and Oregairu pilgrimage.

Chiba Park, the setting for Oreimo

Both of them had other things to do afterward unfortunately, so I went ahead to Kazusa-Ushiku on my own.

It's always exciting to get on a train you've never taken before
2 train rides and 1 hour away from Chiba Station

It's Kazusa-Ushiku Station, where Akari was left behind when everyone else went to the pool in episode 5 of YRYR season 2!

Platform 1, where Akari ran and fell trying to catch the train
Interior of the station, it's still mostly the same as in the anime
Unlike in the anime, there were no ad boards on the back. Are those tombstones?

This episode is definitely one of my favorites in season 2. It's impressive that a whole section of the episode is just Akari talking to herself, and yet it's very interesting. I guess there's a reason why she's the main character…

(fun fact: the twitter header I'm using comes from the storyboard for the opening of this episode)

The station building hasn't changed much either

Actually, the Tanabata episode where Yui kissed Chinatsu in the first season is also set on this station! I think there are other episodes where this station appeared as well, so it's interesting that it's being used often.

There's actually black coffee in the vending machine
Akari, staring into the sky while wishing she could drink black coffee

Even after taking a bunch of pictures, the next train was still over 30 minutes away, so I understood Akari's pain a little.

I'm waiting for the next train while eating lightly salted potato chips (coffee bought beforehand)
I took pictures, ate chips, and went back

Maybe I should've gone out of the station a bit and explored more, but I had an event to go to in the night, so I went back on the next train.

2024.08.31 - Akihabara

Remember the pop-up shop at Gamers in February?

I forgot to go because I'm an idiot.

In order to not make the same mistake twice, I decided to go on the very first day it opened this time.

I returned to the hotel around 6 AM after a night out in Akiba the day before, slept for 2 hours, took a shower, and went back to Akiba.

The poster outside the store

The store opens at 10 AM and I arrived about 15 minutes before that. I was expecting a long line, but there was hardly anyone outside the shop.

Around 10 AM, everyone was guided to go up the stairs. One by one the people ahead of me got off the different floors, and eventually, I was the first in line to go to the 6th floor where the pop-up shop was held.

After a short wait on the stairs we were allowed to go to the floor, and I started crossing things out of my shopping list while taking pictures. Which I think is allowed. I think.

With how often she appears with everyone, Himawari is practically a member of Oomuro family at this point
The destructive power of maid Nadeshiko is too high
There weren't any goods with the high school group this time, but I hope there will be in the future
I wasn't planning on buying the big acrylic stand, but I did anyway
I only bought 2 each of the blind items, so I'm happy enough with the result

That's basically it for the day. I thought about putting up a tweet to trade the non-Nadeshiko goods for even more Nadeshiko, but I can't imagine it going very well since I can't speak Japanese at all. I should really start learning…

That said, if you're reading this, would like to trade, and for some reason also currently in Jakarta, do let me know.

2024.09.02 - Home

I remembered to fix Kyoko's skirt this time, but forgot to fix Yui's

The flight home was kind of weird. There was so much turbulence that I couldn't sleep, the food was so terrible that I almost vomited, and for some reason it was freezing inside the plane the entire seven and a half hours even after I put on the blanket. But the luggage came out after only waiting for 15 minutes and we went through customs with no problems, so maybe it was a good trade-off?

The end

That's all for this trip! Thank you for reading this far! Seriously half of this blog post ended up just being pictures of various manhole covers.

If you'd like to read about my previous trip in February where I went to watch OMRK dear sisters you can find it here.

Below are just my thoughts on the movie, the songs, and some other stuff that contains spoilers for the OMRK dear friends, so feel free to stop reading now and continue on with your day.

An ad in Toyama's tram. I thought it was cute so I'll put it here

Parts below may contain spoilers

Thoughts on OMRK dear friends

(everything written here is based on the version distributed on U-NEXT as I didn't watch it in the theater)

Despite spending 25 hours a day on twitter, I somehow managed to avoid almost all spoilers about the movie. The only thing I got spoiled about is the fact that a certain shopping street appears, but nothing on the story itself.

I'll start with the opening. The sequence from dear sisters was reused, which I guess is common for a multi-part movie like this? GuP had Grand Symphony for, like, five parts so far. Would've been cool if it was a new one, but the opening from dear sisters is really good so I guess it's fine.

However, I don't really like how they spliced in those small clips of the characters in the opening. If it was drawn in a similar style as the rest of the opening (the real-background-augmented-with-drawing kind of style, I don't know what it's called) it would've been great, but it just looks off to me.

About the movie itself, is it weird if I don't enjoy this as much as dear sisters? You'd think that being a fan of Nadeshiko I'd enjoy a movie where most of the scene is just her flirting with friends, but that doesn't seem to be the case oddly enough. Maybe it's because they made arguing with friends sort of a theme for everyone to deal with in the latter half, it makes me anxious even though I already know it'll end up alright.

Also, it's still too short! If it was longer I'd be fine with the more angsty stuff, but now it's just taking up time for the cute-and-fluff stuff. Please make a third movie to make it a nice and round 120 minutes total (?).

Overall, I think it's a good movie and I'd still recommend everyone to watch it, but the plot (if you can call it that?) feels heavier here so I personally enjoyed the more light-hearted dear sisters better. The scene where Sakurako asks Nadeshiko if she has a girlfriend is absolutely hilarious though, I'm glad they animated that.

Thoughts on the songs

My Sunny Side!

5u5h1 is back! This time as a composer! I'm really happy to see him again in the second movie.

I really like this song actually. I think it fits the image of OMRK well from the arrangement to the lyrics. Isn't it placed too far back in the movie though? By the timing, you'd think it's the ending song, but the movie is still going. I wonder if it was meant to be used as an opening, being sung by the sisters and all.

パッチワーク・エトセトラ!

It's too funny that only a few minutes after the chill insert song from 5u5h1, everyone is hit by J-Core from Kijibato in the credits.

It's a banger. I don't even know what else to say about the song. It's currently pretty high on my "songs I want to hear in the club" list. Could use more kicks though. I'll be waiting on soundcloud (?).

Not related to the song, but I remember a few months ago, Kijibato DJed in a seiyuu music event, a Hasunosora-only event, a doujin music event, and a breakcore event all in a span of a few weeks. The range of music this guy plays is crazy. I hope I get to see him live one day.

Overall

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like the release for this is kinda lackluster compared to the one for dear sisters. The CD release schedule that comes like a month after the movie was odd, and it was delayed for like 6 weeks which made it weirder. Also, there's no lyric video this time. Please make a lyric video so VJs around the world can use it.

What's even funnier is that despite the long release schedule and the delay on top of that, they still managed to have a typo in the CD.

Lantis, what is wrong with you…

No complaints about the music itself though, 5u5h1 and Kijibato absolutely killed it with their songs. I'm still hoping that we'll get a character song album for OMRK in the future with these two coming back for more songs. If Kijibato can make J-Core, maybe 5u5h1 can also make something more bold like his recent stuff.

5u5h1's music kinda fits Miho's image (?)

By the way, I forgot to preorder from Amazon and Amiami fucked up my order so I still haven't received my physical copy. I can't comment on the OST because of this sadly.

Who is Nadeshiko's girlfriend?

It's Megumi.

Hear me out here.

Did you notice that towards the end, only Nadeshiko and Megumi wear a scarf inside the classroom? Maybe they're trying to hide something, like the necklace from earlier in the movie…

Also, have you ever wondered why she's often the furthest away from Nadeshiko in the promotional material? Like in the tram ticket collaboration picture I put above? Or in the life-sized standee location in the movie theater? It's obviously because they're trying to keep their distance around their friends to hide their relationship.

She's actually the closest in the dear friends release celebration poster, so the theory was quickly debunked

On a more serious note, I hope it never gets revealed and just be left to everyone's imagination.





(it's definitely Megumi though)