We're Zero & Cat, a couple from San Diego who like going to conventions, cosplaying, and staying busy. We both have Cystic Fibrosis and have had double-lung transplants, but we don't let that get in our way. Zero is a web developer, avid toy collector, and community lead on the Transformers TCG Continuation, while Cat is an artist with a strong passion for cats, Nintendo games, and all things cute. Growing up here Southern California, San Diego Comic-Con was both of our first conventions, back in the days when you could just casually decide to go down there and buy a ticket. Zero started attending conventions in the mid '90s, and Cat in the mid 2000s. We started doing conventions together and cosplaying in 2014, and have been staffing conventions since. Between the two of us we've attended and/or staffed:

• San Diego Comic-Con
• AnimeExpo
• BlizzCon
• FanimeCon
• LA ComicCon (formerly Stan Lee's LA Comic Con formerly Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo formerly Comikaze Expo)
• Anime Los Angeles
• TFCon
• Long Beach Comic Con & Long Beach Comic Expo
• AnimeCalifornia
• Pacific Media Expo
• HentaiCon
• HanadokiCon
• PAX Unplugged
• TitanCon
• Fangaea
• San Diego Anime Con

...and probably more that we're forgetting about. Most of what we do at conventions is run game shows, with Jeopardy being our most popular. We also run a number of other games such as Charades, Cosplay Chess, Chopped, Pictionary, Debates, Scavenger Hunt, and more. We've also assisted in the designing & running multiple escape rooms, as well assisted with an AMV contest.

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Yesterday was a break day, as we were a bit wiped out from Shibuya. We also needed to do laundry in a bad way. So that was our plan, laundry day! It seems, however, the weather had other plans.

The washing machine here is on the roof. We're not sure how typical that is. We've heard of it before in apartment complexes here, but most homes we've seen videos of have them inside. Nevertheless, we weren't about to do laundry in the rain.

Saturdays are always a bad day to something in San Diego due to how many other people are doing the same thing. It's the same thing here, only magnified.

We went to Shibuya today. We knew it'd be busy, but today was one of the only days we had free. We braced ourselves for the crowd, but it was still worse than we could imagine. From the moment we got off the train, this felt like the biggest station we had been to. As we made our way through all the people, finally finding the exit we were looking for, we were transported to a familiar scene: construction going on, thousands of people, car horns, people yelling, there were even a few people begging for change. For the first time here, it felt a little bit like we were back home in Downtown San Diego.

Once we got our bearings, the first task was to cross the street. This took at least 10 minutes. There was a 2-person wide line that stretched from the front area of the station to the nearest crossing area. We didn't realize it until after the fact, but we were actually at the infamous Shibuya crossing that there's so many videos of.

Our primary destination was Shibuya PARCO. PARCO would be analogous to cross between Macy's and Westfield. They started as stores in the 1950s, but are much more known now as a line of shopping centers with numerous retailers in it, each of them many stories tall. Think mall-meets-skyscraper. Each floor, at least the ones we've been to, have had a theme. Men's clothing stores on this floor, women's on this floor, jewelry on a floor, etc, all with bars, restaurants, and cafes sprinkled about.

Before we could get there though, we happened across a Disney store and went inside. It's still so interesting to see what characters get merchandised here, or more-so, what characters don't. Much like we saw at Tokyo Disneyland, there mostly legacy Disney characters, and a bit of Lilo & Stitch (well, less Lilo more Stitch) and Baymax from Big Hero 6. Despite the cool crisp air outside, it was hot and stuffy inside the Disney store. The place was not designed for that many people to fit in there. It also wasn't designed with handicapped in mind. I had heard from a few people over recent years that a lot of Japan, especially Tokyo, had done a lot to make itself more wheelchair accessible. It was all part of the lead up to the Olympics, along with many public signs also including English. We've definitely seen it during our trip here, as (most) stations have elevators. Not the Disney store though. So it was quite an undertaking for us to go up the set of very narrow spiral stairs to the second floor. If we were hot downstairs, it was now worse after walking up those stairs. We briefly looked around and noticed another set of stairs, with the third floor being plushies and action figures. It was the floor made for us, but we just didn't have it. We went back down, Cat bought some honey caramel popcorn, and we left.

Shibuya PARCO is home to Tokyo's Nintendo store, as well as 1-of-5 Pokemon Centers in Tokyo, a Capcom store, a Jump Store (a popular magazine in which many famous manga character originated from), and many other stores we completely ignored. The Capcom store was small, and was mostly Monster Hunter merch (a very popular game they make that's significantly more popular here in Japan). We were hoping to find something neat featuring Zero from the game Mega Man X (where Z's namesake comes from), but they had nothing. Likewise, the Jump store barely had anything Dragon Ball, it was mostly One Piece (a long-running very popular anime).

The Nintendo store ate most of our time. They had so much to look at. They had an entire wall of Amiibos (little figureines that can unlock things in games), and we grabbed 7 of them to add to our wall of Amiibos. We also picked up a few things for some friends, some things to go on our Mario shelf, and some neat little holders shaped like old Famicon disks to hold our Suica cards (used for all public transportation).

The Pokemon Center had a very neat Mewtwo statue in front, referencing the original Pokemon movie where he breaks free from the lab. There was also some cool art of Mewtwo & Mew made to look like it was spray painted on the walls. Each of the Pokemon Centers in Tokyo are different from one another, including decor and items stocked. We both agree the one we went to in Skytree Town had a bit more interesting items, but we of course still found things we liked here. They had a neat "design your own t-shirt" thing, where you could pick what Pokemon to go on it, what slogan if any ("Pokemon", the type of Pokemon, "Shibuya", etc). It wasn't for us, but it was neat. The check-out line was long though, nearly out the door, and we were in for about 40 minutes. We were both watching the clock because there was a nearby Mandarake that closed at 9:00 that we wanted to get to.

Knowing we'd be somewhat close, Z had ordered a few things from Mandarake (a popular anime goods store) for us to pick up. We weren't expecting to spend so much time at the Nintendo store, and so much time in the PokeCenter line, we left Shibuya PARCO and took the train a couple stops away to Nayuta. It'd be a stretch to say we "run" any where, but we were absolutely walking with intent. After a couple wrong turns, we realized we had to walk through a neat underground tunnel to get there. In the first basement of another PARCO, we made it to Mandarake 45 minutes before they closed.

Mandarake primarily deals in used goods. Granted, "used" in Japan often feels to have a different connotation than it does in the states. Two of the items Z was getting were "used", but they were still in their original packaging and each still tied in place as though they hadn't been fully opened. The other item was sold at $40 off because the packaging was damaged; it took us a few minutes to find the slight indent in the back of the box. Z just threw away the box.

We finally returned home, each of us carrying two large bags.

It took a handful of train rides and a bit of a walk, but we went to Gotokuji Cat Temple today. Originally built in 1480, this Buddhist temple is now mostly known for the immense number of manekineko (beckoning cat) they have there.

When you first enter there's a large black incense burner adorned with a shishi (lion-dog) on top. The dirt ground was also pink, covered with recently fallen sakura petals.

Around the back is where all the manekineko were. They were lined up on a dozen or so modern-ish bookshelves. There had to have been thousands, if not tens of thousands, of various sized manekineko.

We spent a couple hours there looking around at all the buildings and structures. There's a marked off area, shaded by tree coverage, where feudal lords are buried from the 1600s.

We later read on their website that there are cats who live there too, and we happened to see one. We could tell (s)he was an older cat from the way it's fur looked and how it moved. It was sweet, with little fear of people, though it did walk away once loud children started to get too close.

Knowing it would soon rain, we cut our day short there and went home to make some fresh curry.

Even though we spent yesterday in Akihabara, we primarily were just shopping, so we went back today to walk around and see more of the town.

We started off with Cure Maid Cafe. Maid cafes were popularized in Akihabara in the late 90s, and have become a bit of a staple in anime culture. However, while most maid cafes feature bubbly waitresses in cute maid-themed outfits with shorter skirts, who act like seeing you is the best part of their day, Cure Maid Cafe is more quiet and refined. The waitresses instead wear long Victorian-inspired outfits, with a more simplistic decor to match. Z ordered a pear tea, while Cat ordered lychee tea, and we shared a fizzy drink that had a scoop of sorbet in it. The waitress brought the order over, putting a small strainer into our cups before pouring the freshly brewed tea. They also have a number of food options, but we weren't hungry yet. Unlike other maid cafes that will gladly let you take pictures with the waitresses (for money, of course), photos of the staff are prohibited at Cure; the staff is there to provide a calm relaxed atmosphere in an otherwise excited city, not to be part of the excitement.

After our time at Cure, we looked around some of the smaller shops, including one that sold souvenir Kit Kats (which have unique seasonal flavors here). We made our way to the Mandarake in Akihabara. It's a 7 story building that sells pre-owned anime & pop-culture goods. Each floor has a specialty: one floor for Blu-ray, DVDs, and VHS (yes, VHS), two floors of doujin (fanmade comics, a huge industry), and of course a floor for action figures & robots.

We then went to Neko JaLaLa, a small cat cafe behind the main busy area of Akihabara. Unlike Moff Cat Cafe that we went to in Harujuku, this place was much smaller and more intimate. We could tell that most, if not all, of the four people already there were regulars. They knew the cats by name, and were more hands-on than other animal cafes would typically let visitors be. The place was littered (in a good way) with cat toys, scratchers, things for them to climb on. The people there were welcoming despite how familiar they were with each other, let alone the language barrier. Of all the animal cafes we've been to, it was our favorite.

By that point we were hungry, so we went to Denny's. It's such a different experience from the Denny's at home. For one, breakfast ends at 11AM. The people there were dressed relatively nicely, but most people here have been (we haven't seen a single person in pajama pants, flip-flops, or shorts unless they were blatantly tourists). The food was more higher-end, being a step or two above Chili's or Applebee's, let alone Denny's. Cat got spaghetti in cod roe sauce and a bowl of onion cheese soup (basically French onion soup), and Z got a rich beef stew with a prosciutto Caesar salad. It was all delicious.

We also learned that Denny's Japan is part of the larger 7-Eleven Japan company. Oh, and Coco's still exists here.

We went to Akihabara today, the Electric Town. Akihabara has become the center of anime culture, with 7+ story buildings all around with giant video billboards advertising the latest shows and video games. In the '80s it was something of a city-sized radio shack, catering to electronics of all types. Now days, the best I could describe it to people of San Diego is it's a ComicCon town. All the excitement and hype of ComicCon that goes on all year-long in this small area.

When we order things from Japan, most of them ship from here in Akihabara, so it's unsurprising that this was where we spent the most money of the entire trip. We got everything from keychains, to Transformers, plushes, candies, and more. That's also why we didn't get a lot of pictures: it's hard to take photos when your hands are full carrying bags, and the place was rather crowded.

Afterward we ate at Ginza Lion, a restaurant underneath some of the popular stores. Japanese businessmen (salarymen as they're called) have a culture of the company going out for drinks after work. It's not *entirely* required, but it is if you want to get promoted within the company. It was interesting to see how the restaurant had three sealed off "cublices" for the salaryman to gather in, then watching many of them leave needing the help of others to walk out.

We mostly spent today recouping from Disneyland yesterday. We made a quick trip to the grocery store for a few things, and cooked our first meal here. It's not much, but pretty good for only having a single burner and no oven.

After taking a break yesterday and doing nothing besides going to the grocery store, today we went to Tokyo Disneyland! It was really similar to our Disneyland Classic in California, but different at the same time. Like a song you know well that's been remixed. However, it was much less crowded, and the people who were there were much more organized. A lot more people dressed up too, especially to celebrate Donald Duck. We went on a few rides, had lunch and dinner there, stayed for the fireworks, then went home.

The shopping aspect is probably where it felt the most different. We didn't see *ANY* Nightmare Before Christmas, or Pirates of the Caribbean, or Haunted Mansion, or Marvel, or Star Wars merchandise. It was all Mickey & Friends, Classic Disney, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, Lilo & Stitch, and Big Hero 6. That's pretty much it. When you get off Star Tours, you're just... outside. We went to the shops by the Teacups to see if there was any Wonderland merch, but nothing. All the merchandise sold throughout the various lands was the exact same merchandise sold at the collection of stores in the front of the park. Also, some stores required a reservation to get into, which filled up early in the day. That was weird too.

All said though, it was a great time. We really enjoyed it.

We went over to Harujuku today, spending most of the time going into various animal cafes. We went to Moff Cat Cafe, MameShiba Shiba Inu Cafe, amd Moffu Samoyed Lounge. They were so fun! The shiba inus were so well trained to do tricks, while the samoyeds were rambunctious and excited. The kitties were really cute, but we went at a time of day were they were mostly tired and wanting to lay around.

Coming from San Diego, it's amazing how few cars there are on the road, at least in our area of Adachi.

After our lunch at McDonald's, we went to Tokyo Solamachi in Sumida. It's a large shopping area, spanning the first four floors of Tokyo Skytree, which itself is 31 floors tall, most of which are business. We went to a few shops there, including our first Pokemon Center. We'll likely go back at some point to eat at the Kirby Cafe, go to the observation deck on the top floor, and apparently there's an aquarium there we didn't know about.

We left an hour later than planned, went to wrong terminal, waited in line to get our boarding passes & check luggage, but still made it with more than an hour to spare.

(click on a photo for full screen a description)

Images to be posted throughout the day!

We're going be at SDAC on Saturday, November 16th! We'll be hosting Anime Jeopardy at 5:00 PM in Panel Room 2, Legacy Center. We've added a bunch of new clues and categories to the game, and have an hour & half to squeeze in as many rounds as we can. Come test your trivia knowledge!

We were featured as a "Patient Stories" post by the American Society for Apheresis. You can watch/read it here. Zero briefly describes how we met and how his treatments affect our lives. This was originally pitched to us as being for the AFSA annual meeting, so we were a little surprised to see it get posted online.

We're going to be at Hentai Matsuri next month, and we're hosting two panels there! Both are on Friday, June 14th. At 3:30 we'll be in Panel Room 2 running Ecchi Jeopardy, which is exactly what it sounds like. Then at 5:00, we'll be in the upstairs panel room hosting Cheeky Charades. which will be a lot of fun. Imagine charades, but the prompts are things like "reverse cowgirl". It's going to be a blast!