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everythingsinred · 1 year

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Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Mikan (pt. 16)

Hey guys. What's up? Long time no post.

Last time, we began one of the most exciting arcs in the manga, the Hanahime Den Arc (aka the New Year's Arc, aka the Discovering Natsume Arc, aka the Flower Garden Association Party Arc, aka That One Arc With Aoi In It, aka the Natsume/Ruka Backstory Arc... Really whatever you wanna call it). Today we'll continue exploring that arc, particularly one incredibly important theme that means the world to me regarding Mikan's very sweet feelings for Natsume.

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Chapter Fifty-Six

The kids dress up. Hotaru and Mikan are wearing very feminine kimonos for the event. Ruka is relieved that his and Natsume’s kimonos aren’t furisode, but they are both still self-conscious. (I wish I could comment more on this in a specific way, but I’m not versed in Japanese traditional wear to the point where I can say what looks more masculine and feminine. I am very western in this way. Serbian folk costume is more or less: dress=feminine, pants=masculine. I’m learning more and more but for now, whenever I see these chapters, I just think, “Wow, these clothes are so pretty!!” and that’s about it. Anyway I loVE folk costume. I’m obsessed with all cultures’ folk costumes.)

In any case, Mikan is quick to comment on how good they look, specifically commenting that Natsume doesn’t look as much like a drag queen as she’d expected (ahh… 2000s humor. RIP). This is "supposed to be a compliment," but he doesn’t take it as one. Mikan gets angry that she got him angry and swears that she’ll let his hand go as soon as they get to the party. That page alone has some intriguing panels. There’s one of angry Natsume, one of angry Mikan, and one of them snuggling! Bizarre! I like to think that this means Mikan is still thinking about it. She may be angry, but she’s still fixated on that moment, perhaps still concerned about his cryptic words. How sweet.

But she won't let go of his hand now, of course. Just later.

Narumi escorts them to the party, warning them not to do anything rude because the MSP is capricious. Even the smallest slight could offend her. This is as much a warning to us as it is to the kids. We will see MSP’s capriciousness soon for ourselves. In fact, the next page features the MSP mourning the fact that boys will be allowed in her palace against her wishes, only for her flower princesses to offer to create a fun diversion for her. Mikan isn’t present for that scene, but it’s important because we can see that the MSP is indeed so capricious that Mikan was destined to be bullied and mistreated before she’d even arrived in time to do anything offensive.

They arrive at the palace and it truly is a palace, much bigger than the middle school building and dorms combined. Mikan is awestruck by everything she sees, by Yamanouchi Shizune’s impressive appearance, the huge building, the party full of incredible decorations--she’s definitely the most visibly impressed.

I think it’s important that Mikan is not just the most childish character in the manga, but a “tactless hick” as well. Mikan grew up in the country, lived in a tiny village and went to a small school. There were no huge buildings or extravagant parties, nothing impressive for the culture fests. Mikan is easily impressed, not just by the fantastical alice elements of this new world (like we are too), but by everything new. It’s not just the alice world that’s new to her; everything is. Furthermore, she refuses to be quiet about her amazement. Whenever she likes something, she says it out loud and proud. No, she’s not the most polite girl, but she is so positive and upbeat. Mikan is not just our Alice in Wonderland, a character through whom the reader discovers a new world. She’s a character in her own right.

The group has to pass the middle school girls’ party on the ground floor before ascending to the Hanahime Party upstairs. As they move, they overhear a lot of gossip. All of them get a little annoyed having to listen to it, but the gossip thrown at Mikan is perhaps the worst, and a precursor to the way she’ll be treated by the flower princesses upstairs: she’s just an ordinary girl, plain and boring and unimpressive--so how on earth did she get invited??

They ALL get somehow targeted by these whisperings... so rude. Though I doubt Hotaru is very offended by a reputation of being "beautiful but strange."

I like Mikan being unimpressive on the outside because it’s honestly exhausting to see every single female protagonist in media being gorgeous and brilliant in every way, an independent and beautiful trailblazer! GA already has characters like that, who are beautiful or smart or both. Mikan doesn’t have to be smart or pretty to be important. The boys who like her are interested in her because of her kindness and excitable nature, not because of her beauty or intelligence. So this occasional outside commentary on Mikan being ordinary makes me happy. They assume that because she’s not gorgeous or academically impressive like Hotaru that there’s no reason why she should stand out. And yes, it’s true that Mikan was not invited because the MSP was impressed by her. No, she was invited because Natsume is impressed by her, because her invitation was a way to lure him in. She is important, even if it’s not in a way that’s instantly valued by the gossipy middle school girls at the party.

The gossip almost gets to her, but seeing Nobara in the crowd cheers her up. Mikan has met Nobara only three times so far. They spent a few hours together at the Christmas Prep, I assume, and that sort of time can get people close, but it’s still impressive that they have such a close bond after so few meetings. And even though Nobara seems obsessed with Mikan, it’s important to note that Mikan always seems just as excited to see her. She loves giving and receiving affection, so even though Nobara's obsession might seem bizarre to anyone else, Mikan welcomes the attention and never judges her for it. But Natsume yanks her back before they can rush to each other.

Nobara is horrified that Natsume is there, demanding to know why Natsume is here at all and then telling Mikan that he shouldn’t be here, that she should stop him. The whole hand-holding thing has been weird to Mikan from the start, but she just assumed he was up to some stupid sadistic trick. His weird comment about the ruse ending soon was a red flag that something else might be going on, but because Natsume never explains anything, she couldn’t really come to any new conclusions. Nobara’s warning here is just another alarm that something about Natsume’s behavior isn’t just annoying--it’s concerning. Nobara is genuinely frightened for Natsume and that comes across in her warning to Mikan, even if Mikan can’t linger to chat about it.

Mikan dragged Natsume around earlier without him complaining so I guess it's only fair he'd drag her around now.

Thus Mikan will keep Nobara’s warning in mind. No matter how quickly she seems to recover from serious or concerning topics, Mikan always remembers them. Nobara’s warning is important in another way too, because Misaki overheard her and made sure to relay the information to Tsubasa.

They finally arrive at the exclusive party to meet the Hanahime girls. Himemiya is beautiful. Mikan is always overwhelmed when around beautiful people, but she doesn’t forget Narumi’s warning, and her awe is staved off a bit by Himemiya’s bizarre behavior around Hotaru. She can be serious too! She doesn’t always get carried away. (Relatively…)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Conveniently (or inconveniently, if you asked Himemiya), the Ruka mochi gang instantly separate upon entering the party. Perhaps the “ruse” of Natsume’s has reached its end, because he rips his hand away. Mikan rejoices at her freedom, but it’s short-lived.

Because she is singled out pretty instantly.

All of the flower princesses have pretty flower names. Hotaru is given one straight-away on account of being a candidate to become one of them. But the rest of the group get names too--Natsume and Ruka seem to be easily adopted by the flower princesses. It’s just Mikan and Youichi who are left out.

I talked about the reasons why with Natsume’s essay but I’ll recap here. Himemiya is angry to have disgusting boys in her palace (she’s one of those... gross :P), and the flower princesses are trying to comfort her by entertaining her. This entertainment comes in the form of vicious bullying, something Himemiya doesn’t only tolerate--she encourages. (Himemiya is not "one of the good guys" in the way the HSP could be categorized as, even though she isn't necessarily "one of the bad guys" like the ESP.) There’s four candidates for bullying. Hotaru is obviously out of the question because she’s a potential flower princess herself, a beautiful and intelligent girl worthy of Himemiya’s attention and chosen as a candidate authentically, not because of outside pressures. That leaves the others, unfortunate cargo in Persona’s plan. I don’t think the flower princesses are privy to all the details in the plan, but the boys have obviously been permitted to come for a reason. Besides, they’re both very handsome, so the princesses don’t feel the desire to be cruel to them. Then there’s plain and ordinary Mikan, who didn’t deserve the invitation in the first place. What has she done to earn Himemiya’s attention? Nothing, really. She’s neither pretty nor intelligent, so the princesses write her off. She will be the one bullied by the princesses to entertain Himemiya.

Youichi is collateral, but definitely not singled out the way Mikan is.

No, I'm not really a big fan of Himemiya. I don't really get how letting teenagers bully a little girl is "entertainment." Maybe that's just me.

They proceed to the banquet, where a feast awaits them. Mikan mentions that she hadn’t had any breakfast because she expected to eat a lot at the party. But she doesn’t really get to eat anything here either, because the princesses move all the food to the other guests, conveniently leaving Mikan with nothing to eat. The bullying isn’t actually subtle, though the princesses put on airs about it. They move the food in order to serve the others, which alarms Mikan, but it’s strange to think that the others didn’t pick up on it.

When Mikan’s starvation is pointed out, it’s not because the princesses have noticed they’d made a mistake, it’s only to further bully her. If she’s not eating, it must be because her stomach hurts, so she should have some disgusting medicine.

The thing is that Mikan is still heeding Narumi’s advice. She’s trying to be on her best behavior, like he told her to be. We know that Mikan isn’t the type to let herself be bullied. She stands up for herself. She fights back. But fighting back here wouldn’t be in good form. She might just get further bullied. Additionally, she’s obviously not a princess candidate, but Hotaru is. If she acts out, it might reflect poorly on her best friend, potentially even robbing her of an opportunity she certainly deserves. So if you were wondering why Mikan doesn’t fight back or argue with these girls (when she's been bullied by far more threatening figures and never tolerated it), it’s because of that.

She’s pressured into drinking the medicine, meaning she won’t be able to eat for a while. She’s already hungry, now destined to get even hungrier, and she’s just consumed a foul “medicine.” If Nadeshiko’s comment is to be taken seriously, then the concoction is made of some truly sickening things, like frogs’ eyeballs and centipede legs. The medicine doesn’t cure sickness, it creates it. It also smells awful, so her friends don’t want to be around her, not even Youichi, who is also being left out a little (though not at all to the same extent).

Next, they start playing some games, where the loser has to pay some penalty for losing. The thing is, Mikan stinks so she has to play further away and thus never stood a chance of winning. In no time at all, Mikan is defeated. She’s on her very best behavior but is being bullied anyway. Her face has been doodled on, she’s been made a fool of, she’s hungry and sick and smelly. Nobody is standing up for her. Everyone else seems to be having a much better time than her.

It sure would be nice if someone were to... I don't know... actually call out the flower princesses for their behavior. Whatever.

Hotaru comes by with a wet towel, sure, but she’s decked out with an insulting gas mask and doesn’t stick around long. It’s obvious that her friends can see that she’s being mistreated, but they don’t do much to stand up for her. When the flower princesses brush aside the idea of inviting Mikan to play the next game, only Natsume stands up to leave. The others are obviously put off by it, but they don’t do much (that Mikan can see).

Hotaru gets back at Nadeshiko (the main bully) through a prototype of a game, but the thing is that this tactic focuses more on humiliating Nadeshiko than helping Mikan. Nadeshiko is 1. touched that Hotaru chose her to play with, even if it makes a fool out of her, and 2. just toyed with a little. Meanwhile, Mikan watches from a distance and only sees everyone having fun without her. Teasing Nadeshiko doesn’t really help Mikan at all, and it certainly doesn’t stop Nadeshiko or the other flower princesses from bullying her even more. I'm pointing this out because this is Mikan's essay, so only her POV is relevant to me.

Mikan watches sadly, hungry and sick. She feels lonely, miles away from her friends, the only one who’s having a bad time. She misses her other friends, her senpais and her classmates. She wants to go home. Even though she’d been so excited to come here, it’s actually a terrible experience.

And then somebody puts a mandarin shaped chestnut kinton on her head. Natsume tells her to eat up. The orange shape is perfect for someone like her. Natsume is the only person who actually comforts and helps Mikan with her bullying. He sits beside her. He may downplay why he’s there, but he’s obviously here because he was concerned about her. He came to feed her because her stomach was growling. She reminds him that she smells, that everyone’s avoiding her. But Natsume tells her he’d rather be around her than smell the stupid perfumes of the Hanahime girls.

He chooses her. (And she will choose him.)

Hotaru’s tactic of getting back at Nadeshiko didn’t actually help Mikan feel better. But Natsume is making the choice to isolate himself with Mikan. They’re aligned now. Mikan and Natsume are outside of the system of fancy perfumes and shallow performances. She may have been excluded by force, but he makes it clear that he’d rather be left out with her than included with them. She’s more important than they are. Sure, they might bicker a little, but both Natsume and Mikan actually enjoy that and find it comforting, normal.

And we’ve finally reached my favorite aspect of the NatsuMikan relationship. Yes, it’s been said a thousand times that Mikan is Natsume’s sunshine, that she brings light to his dark life, that she saved him and continues to save him. This is all true, but the more underappreciated side of it is that Natsume is Mikan’s sunshine too.

Natsume is capable of making her sad and angry, yes. But he also has the tendency to make her forget all her problems. He makes her feel normal again, sparkly on the inside. She even says something to that extent here, commenting on how talking with Natsume always cheers her up. He “sees through” all her problems and then blows them away instantly. “He blew away my cloudy sky. Weird guy.”

He is her sunshine! My favorite part of their relationship!

Mikan is Natsume’s sun. Natsume is Mikan’s sun. They comfort each other, bring each other joy and solace, more than anybody else.

It’s really awesome that Mikan makes Natsume happy. He has such a miserable life that he needs someone who can bring him joy. But there’s so much focus on his feelings that Mikan’s get overlooked. Despite how hard he tries to be unlikeable and to keep his distance, Mikan still cares about him. He still manages to make her happy, to cheer her up even when she’s being terribly bullied and excluded.

He leaves to go to the bathroom, but she tells him to hurry back so they can eat together.

Mikan has known Natsume for a few months now. She’s been very curious about him all along and has wanted to be his friend for a while. But he’s always so unpleasant and rude. Their relationship got to this point at a gradual pace. This is perhaps the first time that Mikan wants to hang out with him, alone, for as long as possible. Before, she felt uncomfortable even talking to him. She wanted to escape or find somebody else to talk to. Even just a few days ago, during the Christmas Ball, Natsume was the guy she settled for when she couldn’t find her other friends.

I really genuinely can't see how any other ship compares. In GA or otherwise. They will be always be number one to me. I just wish they'd gotten to eat together and chat a lil.

But now, she wants to hang out with Natsume.

And Natsume specifically, because you already know how important that concept is to me. She's not settling this time, just because he's the only one willing to be around her right now. Instead, she's realized that being around him makes her happy, so why not eat together and hang out? They could be left out of the party together.

He brushes her off and insists she eat without him.

Himemiya warns him though. If he wanders where he shouldn’t, he’ll be on his own to deal with the consequences.

The fourth red flag regarding Natsume’s presence here at the palace. Mikan is thoroughly worried about him now. She still doesn’t know why he even came here, but Nobara’s and Himemiya’s warnings as well as the cryptic way Natsume talked about the ruse all plant seeds of worry in her mind.

She’s distracted a little by the flower princesses’ phony apology. They pretend to feel bad and invite her to the kitchen to bring out the desserts, but there are no desserts. Mikan and Youichi are trapped in a dark room by themselves, locked up with nowhere to go.

Mikan is unworthy of her invitation. She should never have come here, as ordinary and unimpressive as she is. She is locked up now so she can think hard about how lowly she is compared to the others.

This is not Mikan’s first time being bullied, but there’s no way to get used to this sort of treatment. Mikan doesn’t actually think very highly of herself, and the frequent bullying she faces doesn’t really help. She doesn’t fully value her own alice, her appearance, her creativity, her great big heart or unwavering optimism.

Mikan is alone with a toddler in a dark room. The only person who made her feel normal and happy all day is gone.

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The flower princesses accuse Mikan of cheating her way into getting invited. She demands to be released, but they leave her and Youichi on their own. She pleads for someone to figure it out.

She eventually runs out of energy. She feels especially guilty because Youichi was only locked in with her incidentally. Mikan is the one who is hated. Youichi just got punished because of bad luck. She apologizes to him, which seems to move him somehow. He offers to share some candy with her. It’s very sweet how their relationship has progressed. When she first met him, he refused to share his howalon with her, but now he’s offering his candy unprompted.

But Mikan never gets to eat her candy because a mouse steals it. It’s for the best, though, because the candy was actually a Gulliver candy, and Youichi consequently aged ten years!

They’re eventually found by their friends, but only after Youchi kicks the door open for them.

The flower princesses who bullied Mikan are to face punishment for their actions, potentially even being kicked out of the group. But Mikan tells them to forgive the girls, even despite the awful things she just went through. She said just a few minutes ago that she hated them, but I think that now that she’s out, she can see the situation more clearly.

Before, they couldn't see what could make Mikan special because she was neither gorgeous nor particularly intelligent. But now they love her because of how kind she is (though it might not be entirely kindness that motivates her here).

Natsume never sees the hype in this sort of thing. He thought this party was stupid and shallow, something they were both above. And then Youichi showed his kindness by offering his candy, even if it was Gulliver candy. The party that she’d wanted to go to so badly doesn’t really matter anymore. She doesn’t want to be a flower princess anymore. She has people who love her and want to spend time with her even if she might be "unworthy." They don't need her to prove herself, so how good could a group that does require a degree of "worthiness" be?

Additionally, Mikan is a kind, compassionate, and forgiving girl. The princesses did all this because they were protective of their group, because they love Himemiya. So she forgives them.

(Though I think just chalking all this behavior up to two girls being spoiled is letting Himemiya off a little easy. She was obviously entertained all along and will continue this arc acting in ways that benefit her own amusement more than any moral stance.)

And it’s only now, when the princesses can see past her average looks and unimpressive smarts to see what makes Mikan so amazing and special: her big heart. Now she is Mikan no Kimi! Yes, she’s only given a flower name after she stops caring about it. For a while now, she's been more interested in eating kinton with Natsume than getting a flower name.

But Shizune points out that even though Mikan surely didn’t cheat to get invited, it is suspicious that she was selected. Becoming Natsume’s partner, somehow, and now this--she must be special somehow. Mikan has been asked this and has wondered it itself since she first enrolled. She’s singled out and can’t tell Shizune why because not even she knows. Nobody tells her anything.

And then Youichi reminds them all that Natsume is still missing. It’s only now that they get any semblance of an explanation for all this. Himemiya may be a freak, but allowing Natsume to attend was Persona’s doing.

Another arc with emphasis on saving Natsume, who prefers to save others.

Persona, for some reason, is allowed free reign in much of Himemiya’s territory, particularly here where her barrier alice is strongest. What is certain is that if Natsume was lured here, then nothing good is waiting for him.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

The flower princesses who bullied Mikan last chapter are now strangely protective of her after she forgave them. They insist that the group shouldn’t go after Natsume, but Mikan insists that they have to. She has a bad feeling that he might get hurt, and we know already from the Reo Arc that Mikan trusts her gut 100%. She didn’t think at all about consequences when going back for him then and she’s not thinking about the consequences of looking for him now. This isn’t optional.

Natsume has been acting strange all day. He wanted to come here, to look for something, and that’s strange because Natsume doesn’t ever want to do things. The fact that they’re being warned against going after him only makes her more concerned. Natsume’s already down there, probably in danger, so they have to go after him to make sure he’s safe. Luckily, her friends are all on her side. Hotaru, Ruka, and Youichi all take off with her, rushing to the basement.

I know my analysis here is short but I actually really enjoy this chapter. It's just... not a lot of content for me to analyze.

They’re trapped in the bowels of darkness for a while, descending the stairs into the basement. They’re confronted by Hayate, on the DA class’s discipline squad. He is here to punish Natsume, but because some stragglers have joined, he’s been sent to take them out. The discipline squad is used to working against the effects of the strong barrier down here. The other kids aren’t. Thus, Hayate is at a significant advantage. He probably would win effortlessly, except that he catches sight of Hotaru and falls instantly in love with her.

Chapter Sixty

Hayate loses all interest in fighting them now that he’s seen Hotaru’s face. The others are incredibly confused by his complete 180 in behavior. They decide to just walk away if he’s not attacking anymore. He continues to pursue them, trying to hit on Hotaru, until they run into another discipline squad member, Rui. Rui came here, looking for a “cute guy.” He’s the one to recognize aged-up Youichi.

A fight ensues. Rui’s alice is incredibly dangerous and Youichi’s is the only match for it.

Mikan wants to run, but Youichi tells her not to look.

And that’s not just him talking.

Mikan cares for Youichi, obviously, but it's interesting that so much of that care is related to her care for Natsume.

Mikan remembers all that she’s learned about the DA class from Reo, who described an organization that trains the children to be spies. There’s a darkness in this school and it manifests most powerfully in the DA class. Natsume looks out for Youichi, partly because nobody else does. After all, nobody looks out for him either.

Mikan has already seen little glimpses of what Natsume’s regular life is like within the DA class during the Z Arc, when she watched him fight, be strategic, think like a soldier instead of a kid. Youichi is only three, though, and he seems just as used to fighting. And he’s telling her not to look.

Because all the DA class kids are different from the rest of the school. They live a horrible, dark life, isolated from others because others won’t understand their experiences, because other kids bully them. Even a toddler like Youichi thinks in a way no child should, especially at three, that he needs to protect Mikan even if he gets hurt.

(Because Natsume told him to protect the others. That’s just how DA kids are.)

But Mikan doesn’t like that. Youichi almost gets hit by a surprise attack before Mikan tackles him, protecting him with her alice. Mikan doesn’t want to just sit back and be protected. She wants to do the protecting too, especially since her alice works best protecting others. The problem is that her alice is harder to use with this barrier, so she gets a little cut from Hayate’s alice. Rui recognizes her then as Natsume’s partner and taunts her that coming here was pointless because Natsume will be trapped in the dungeon forever.

Both Mikan and Ruka are horrified to hear that. Mikan remembers the ESP’s ominous warning on Christmas, that she should be careful not to lose anything important to her. It seems that the superstition might have some truth to it, because if Natsume gets locked up forever, then she’ll certainly be losing something important.

She demands to know why Natsume would be locked up, but Rui doesn’t seem to have all the details. He mentions Natsume falling for stupid bait and coming to find his sister.

Wake up, babe! New Natsume lore dropped! (We already knew that, though.)

Ruka is obviously affected by this news, but he knows about Natsume already so that makes sense.

Mikan is surprised by this. She’d been so irritated with him but all of this had been his desperate effort to find his sister. Of course, he never told her that because he never tells her anything, so it makes sense that she’d be irritated with him. In any case, she’s entirely concerned now. Natsume is being punished, being called a criminal. He was lured here with rumors about his sister, who shouldn’t be locked up anyway.

The point is that Natsume is here for a noble cause and he’s going to be punished, which is simply unfair. Mikan cares about him and doesn’t want to lose him because he matters to her. She was able to use an impressive amount of alice to keep Natsume at school with her, up to bat against the stealing alice threatening to take him away from her. She won’t let Persona take him either.

But Rui ramps up to punish them and move on, but he’s interrupted by Tsubasa arriving just in time.

Sixty-One

The group fills Tsubasa in on the situation. The priority is to save Natsume before he can get locked up. Turns out Rui is infatuated with Tsubasa. It’s interesting how these fights are complicated by the question of attraction. Hayate for Hotaru, Rui for Tsubasa. The DA kids are so weird. I don’t have a point about that. It’s just an interesting trend.

Something something the Reo Arc focused on Mikan showing Natsume that he has something to live for and this arc shows him how many people are willing to fight for him. Whatever.

Turns out Tsubasa’s curse mark was created as a punishment by Rui, who can inflict pain on him whenever he wants. Where Hayate’s crush on Hotaru made him pretty harmless, Rui is the opposite. He is sadistic in some ways, and won't hold back just because he likes Tsubasa. But Hotaru has had enough dilly-dallying. They need to save Natsume, not waste time on these idiots.

(And it’s so interesting that she looks at Ruka and assures him to his face that they will save Natsume. I'll save that for another essay, I suppose.)

Ruka surprises them all by summoning rats to attack Hayate and Rui. Mikan is shocked, and so is the reader (ideally) because Ruka has never used his alice violently before. It turns out his alice has some substantial potential to cause epic damage, but that’s not the kind of person Ruka is. He loves animals. Whereas Yuri hates her own alice, and Narumi and Reo view their pheromones as weapons or tools for manipulation, Ruka’s alice has always been an accessory to his love for animals. He uses his alice to aid communication, to tame animals through love and gentleness. He hates the idea of hurting animals, or manipulating them, so he would never use his alice like this normally.

But he loves Natsume too, and that’s how desperate he is to save his best friend: he’d even risk hurting these rats for him.

That’s as good a warning as any that this situation is serious and dangerous, on par with the Z Arc. Hayate and Rui might be funny characters, but this is not a comedic arc.

Ruka says that Natsume had started to lose hope in life before meeting Mikan (and the others, but… we know the truth), but that he’s different now. He loudly defends Natsume, insisting that he won’t allow Natsume to be called a criminal anymore, and he certainly won’t allow him to be locked up. Ruka announces that he’ll stay with Tsubasa and Yoichi while Mikan and Hotaru go ahead to save Natsume.

Saving Natsume without Ruka? That's not even possible! (Which is why Ruka would NEVER have left Natsume's side before his death, not for all the burns in the world, not for any of Natsume's pleading or Tsubasa trying to grab him, nothing. I will always be bitter.)

Mikan can’t hear his tragic internal monologue about this decision, but she doesn’t have to. Ruka not being there to save Natsume is ridiculous. Ruka has to save Natsume, because nobody loves him the way Ruka does. And of course she thinks this way, because Natsume’s biggest defender from the start was Ruka. Her very first day at the academy, she’d heard nothing but bad rumors about Natsume, but Ruka was the only person to shut those rumors down. He’s always by Natsume’s side, always standing up for him, always insisting that there’s more to Natsume than there might appear. Ruka has been saving Natsume time and time again, doing his best to protect his reputation and stand up for him, staying by his side, all in little ways. They might be small actions, but Mikan noticed.

Mikan wouldn’t feel what she feels now about Natsume if it wasn’t for Ruka.

So how could Ruka not be the one to save Natsume?

(Note: these paragraphs are really hard for me to write because I'm crying and the tears are fogging up my glasses. Natsume and Ruka’s friendship simply hits different for me.)

Tsubasa and Youichi join in, pushing Ruka away. They’ll take the fight from here. Ruka and the girls should chase after Natsume and save him. They head off together, and Mikan remembers what Narumi had told her in Chapter Ten, that she should make lots of friends at the academy because they will become precious treasures to her.

She’s always believed in him, but that feels more true now than ever. Her friends are precious to her, so she won’t let Natsume be locked up. And it’s true for them too--Ruka has a precious friend he would do anything for.

As they walk, Ruka tells Hotaru and Mikan that he should finally tell them the truth about Natsume.

About damn time that Mikan finally gets some answers. Not that she isn't already in love with him, but she's waited long enough!

Dear God, we’ve been waiting for this one for a long fucking time. More than sixty chapters to finally “discover” Natsume. Mikan has been looking so closely at him for so long to figure him out. She ended up seeing a lot that she liked, to the point where she’s gained a pretty sizable crush on him (even if she is unaware of it), but he remains a mystery. So much of what he does is inexplicable and bizarre.

Natsume would never tell Mikan this story. He never talks about himself like this. It only makes sense that Ruka would be the one to share, because he’s always the one to share. Natsume wants to protect people from his dark life, but Ruka wants to protect him, and the best way to do that now is by telling the girls everything, the entire story of how they came to the academy.

Conclusion

Natsume is Mikan's sunshine and she's willing to fight for him, no matter what! Today has already taught her so much, and yet the day hasn't even come close to ending! Tomorrow I'll post again! I'm not sure how many more parts this arc will have. Maybe two? We'll see. The analysis coming up is long and detailed! I'll be discussing lots of things!

I'm officially back! I got a new job (for real this time) which is Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm for the next four months. So I won't be posting on weekdays from now on (maybe on Fridays depending on how tired I am). I'll try to write in the meantime because I have a lot of analysis to do to maintain a good gap! I wanna be ahead of y'all.

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#gakuen alice #alice academy #ga #sakura mikan #mikan sakura #natsume hyuuga #hyuuga natsume #my meta #ga meta #ga meta: nm #ga meta: manga #ga meta: manga nm #let's talk about natsumikan #let's talk about natsumikan: mikan #nm: m song of the day can be...#sports by beach bunny #though i'd argue mikan's feelings are significantly more positive at this current moment than suggested by the song.#i get that. ive just been waiting to use this song for a while!#im scared for myself #i have a LOT of widow!mikan songs... probably the vast majority of the songs on her nm playlist.#or at least theres more songs for that particular period than any other era. and that sucks cuz theres a lot of other eras!#and i need songs for each post! im so nervous that ill run out of songs and have to start pulling out the widow!mikan tunes.... rip me #i always feel guilty for cutting out other characters in the title images. its a ship essay im so sorry

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wanou-dorm · 2 years

Note

👁‍🗨 I wanna suggest for the dorm 3 characters to interact with, cause they fit a theme... you can choose who will talk:

Nanoya Rachel Lyla

oh I see the Theme

A God ,

after Reading her Profile and chapter Shes from , the Nook here has some actual Tanuki balls.

Wasabi is under rated

Rachel

So I’ve read Relinookton Chapters so.

Shu

“ I swear I’ve Seen someone like Her around Onigashima , She dosent Look like Someone who you should trust “

Kurama

“… She has Some pretty Nice Kneecaps… pretty face Wouldn’t mind meeting her. “ He says tapping a Steel Baseball bat on his Shoulder. ( Unfortunately, If they met it would be a Bloodbath, they are both equally capable of destroying each other .)

Hiei

“Her Face looks Punchable and not in an Ace or Grim not even in an Annoying Azul way. Reminds me of the people who … You know what. Lets not talk about the Arm thing . This Racheal Chick Pissin me off and I haven’t even met ‘ er yet. “

Hoshiguma

“ I had a Crush on girl with a Similar presences to her once ,When I dropped my Disguse She Rejected me and called me “a monster “ . I don’t Trust Her. “

Shunpei

“ She looks like she’d Push off you a Bridge and a say have a Nice Fall . She’s Pretty but I can’t help but think She’d Kill me in me sleep or Spike my Drink to harvest my organs in a bathtub.”

Lyla

Shu

“ She Very pretty , Honestly looks friendly Enough , Sounds like she’s enjoy Time in Onigashima.”

Hiei

“ She looks like the Guys At those Rave parties.”

Hoshiguma

“ She seems like quite the Intelligent woman,nothing to striking ."

Kurama

"Remind me of Trey, nothing striking. But I think she'd look great in a nice green jacket . black crop top and oh. a green mini skirt with leggings , I gotta ask her model this ."

Shunpei

"I think I wrote an article on her ,but I don't remember , either why she very cute , wouldn't mind working with her .

Nanoya

Hiei

" Oh ,oh I know you your that cool Guy who talked to me at the cafe thing they were hosting at HSA. He so nice .. though he looks pretty sad ."

Shu

" If he can make Hiei happy , he's in my good grace , he looks like one of those samurai character you's see in shows from Onigashima."

Hoshiguma

" ... Hes Inner beast is ... lets just say it not a being that I'd say I'm familar with, However Nanoya seems like nice guy ."

Kurama

"...I have an Idea for an outfit for him and It will look so good . nice Pop collar trenchcoat , Gakuran oh and a hat or maybe a nice ornate Kimono. We can even match it up with your other dorm mates."

Shunpei

"Reminds me of my Younger brother, The only thing keeping me from posting any really bad impulsive news stories, He also looks like he'll kick my ass butt if I do something like that ."

#ask box #twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #twisted wonderland #twisted oc #shu ibuki #disney twst #disney twisted wonderland #fandorm #hiei ibaraki #twst fandorm #shunpei amagi #hoshiguma ooeyama #kurama no mae #Ask Wanou answered

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chessdaze · 3 years

Photo

Happy Halloween!! ...I mean Valentines Day!

I started like a 6 page comic last year for Halloween but it was around the time my mental health was REALLY getting bad so I never finished it and I still don’t have the motivation too. so instead I cleaned up and colored one (and the best) page from the comic and I wrote a small fic for it instead! Time to give you guys some Quinn lore! I hope you enjoy!

“I wasn’t sure at first….” Edelweiss started, looking over the other residence of the dorm gathered in the main foyer, “But the mafia theme was a good idea, Heaven.”

“Right!” The upperclassmen beamed above her, crossing her arms and puffing her chest out in pride. “Everyone looks great!”

Truthfully the rest of the residence had had much of a say in the idea - because once Heaven has an idea, it’s hard to get her convinced otherwise. Some at least agreed to the idea readily, and started planning out the event the dorm would hold - which was a play of sorts around two opposing mafia families, written by Edelweiss herself. The looks down at her own outfit, a simple black suit with a frilly blouse and a pocket watch with the initials for the dorm on them connected to her bright red bow instead of a tie. It was decided that those who lived on her side of the dorm would wear red ties, and those on the opposite side would wear blue ties. Simple but effective. But, that begged the question…

“Nevaeh!” The girl jumped slightly at her name being called so loudly. No one else in the foyer seemed to bat an eye, Edelweiss yelling had become commonplace. Nevaeh and Heaven were wearing nearly identical outfits, like the twins they are, black suits, respective colored ties, their clips pinning back some of their hair also have the respective colors - and their hair pulled back the exact same way. If they weren’t wearing the different colors, one wouldn’t be able to tell them apart at all.

“Y-Yeah…?” Nevaeh laughed nervously, which already tipped Edelweiss off to the answer of the question she had yet to ask, but she does so anyways as she steps up to the other twin.

“Where is Quinn?! We have a schedule to keep and I told them to be on time, today of all days!”

Not only for the event, but for the so-called ‘halloween carnival’ the school was having in general. The dorm representatives had jobs to explain what event their dorm was hosting and lead people to the area in which it would take place. There was still time before the school opened their gates, of course, but Edelweiss was not going to be late (not this time, she refused).

“Um, well, she, they’re--” Nevaeh stumbles over her words, which causes both Edelweiss and Heaven to raise an eyebrow at her. Definitely not typical Nevaeh behavior. But with them so focused on Nevaeh and her reaction, they missed someone else approaching the group completely.

“Right here, Edelweiss.” a familiar voice said, placing a hand on Nevaeh’s shoulder. They all looked towards the direction of the voice, and any profanity that Edelweiss would have said aloud was thankfully covered by a loud chime of one of the many clocks throughout the dorm.

Quinn was definitely there alright, head to toe in everything not on Edelweiss’s specific outline for the outfits for today - except for the color and pocket watch. The blue kimono looked beautiful on them, no doubt about it. Despite the rather steampunk-ish nature of them, with prints of gears on the kimono and on the hair pieces holding Quinn’s long hair in a bun and also dangling off the side of their face, the gear pieces catching the light and them looking even more beautiful as a result. The corset they wore instead of the traditional ties for kimonos hugged their waist unlike the former. Belts hung around their waist too and it was then it was noticed that instead of multiple layers of the kimono, they were wearing dark pants and black boots underneath it. If they were going for a steampunk look, they definitely nailed it. On a normal day, Edelweis might have entertained the idea of complimenting their outfit. On a normal day, but this was no such day and instead her face went red with anger.

“Sorry I’m late,” Quinn says so nonchalantly, closing the fan they had been holding in front of their face. Oh they had a fan now?! “It takes forever to change into this. Did I miss anything?”

There’s a moment of silence between the group, aside from Nevaeh’s nervous, flustered, laughter. Heaven was blushing as well but looked more confused or bewildered. And Edelweiss? Was just angry. Quinn was always like this! Ugh!

“What’s with that outfit?!” Edelweiss finally snapped, the twins parting and standing behind her, having their own quiet conversation while she yelled.

“Hm?” Quinn tilted their face so innocently, holding the tip of the fan up to her lips. “Whatever do you mean? It’s Halloween and--”

“Don’t be a smartass with me. You know what I mean!” She gestured to the twins behind her, who were still having some kind of silent sibling conversation. “I had put out a specific dress code! We all have to look unified for the play! Your outfit is--”

Suddenly it was like the temperature in the whole dorm dropped as Quinn moved their fan back down to their side and away from their face. Other students finally stopped in their tracks to see the conversation happening, inching backwards to not get caught in the crossfire of whatever was about to happen. Edelweiss felt a shiver down her back as she felt the red anger drain from her face when Quinn looked down at her - a heavy shadow casting over their visible eye.

“Are you saying my outfit looks bad?” Quinn asked, in such a tone that no one in the dorm has heard them use before. It was stiff, serious, intimidating-- “Well, Coney?” Quinn only used people’s last names when he was upset too.

“Well, uh, no! Th-The outfit is fine…” There she goes, folding into herself as fear is shown across her face and she stumbles a few steps backwards. “It’s great, even! But--”

“Aw, thanks!” The heavy tension is suddenly lifted at the drop of a hat, Quinn making an extravagant twirl. “It’s one of my favorites! I just had to wear it for the play.” Hevean has taken the chance while Quinn is talking to step in front of the shorter girl, while Nevaeh stands nearby, unsure how to react until Quinn calls for her. “Nevaeh, come with me.” Quinn all but orders as they head towards the door, Nevaeh following like a puppy after her.

“I’m going on ahead, Edelweiss.” Quinn looks over their shoulder with a smile, snapping the fingers of their free hand. In a puff of smoke and sparkles, a fedora appears in their hands. Which was put on the explanation of the dress code as an acceptable addition. But this one had a blue band around it along with a similar looking gear piece to Quinn’s own hairpiece. “You forgot this.”

“Oh! My bad.” She laughed and took the fedora, flipping it in her hands before putting it on her head as Quinn turned away from the dorm as he stepped out, “See ya!”

Silence still hangs heavy between Heaven and Edelweiss until the two are completely out of sight. Edelweiss takes a deep breath once they are gone, the other students moving about and doing their business. “You good?” Heaven finally asked, looking back and down at Edelweiss. The rabbit gives a small nod, reaching up to smooth down the fur of her ears that was currently standing on end.

“Yes, sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault, that’s just how Quinn is.”

Was it though? That seemed…so different than normal. After smoothing the fur down, she brings one hand up to her mouth as she thinks about the encounter. “Well...it might make sense if….”

“If?” Heaven questioned her, turning around to face her completely as she put her hands on her hips. “What’s up Ed?”

“Quinn didn’t want to do this theme.” Heaven nodded, remembering how they were one of the few people who wanted to reject the idea. “I didn’t tell you before but, he approached me in private to ask me not to do the theme, a few times in fact.”

“Really? She did?” Heaven blinked. “Why would Quinn be so adamant about not doing a mafia theme?”

“Well….” Edelweiss looked around for a moment before pulling on Heaven’s arm and leading her down to their side of the dorm - they get to the dining room and Edelweiss guides them both inside and shuts the door behind them. Their dorm wasn’t involved with making any food for the events, so it was empty in here, “Sorry just…didn't want to make these rumors worse.”

“What rumors?” Heaven blinked, clearly confused by this point. Edelweiss sighs and takes off her round glasses, rubbing at the bridge of her nose for a moment.

“There are a lot of rumors about Quinn, as I’m sure you’re aware.” Heaven nods - being in the same grade as Quinn probably meant that Heaven had heard a lot of the rumors, but especially because her twin sister kept hanging around them. “Well, one of the most damaging ones I’ve heard…..is that Quinn is from Underland.”

“Un-Underland?!” She says with a small gasp, “Isn’t that like, crime central?”

“It’s the organized crime capital of the world, yes.” Edelweiss says as she puts her glasses back on. “That city has the most organized crime families than anywhere in Twisted Wonderland, they pretty much run the place. The specific rumor is that Quinn is from one of those families….” As she trails off, she notices that Heaven’s face is getting red like hers did earlier.

“Shit.” Heaven breathes out before heading towards the door.

“Wait! Where are you-”

“I’m going to get Nev!” Heaven announced. Just as she was about to slam open the door though, Edelweiss grabs her wrist and pulls her back.

“Calm down.”

“I’m not letting some crime freak-!” Heaven said, trying to pull her arm out of Edelweiss’s grip.

“LISTEN.” She said sternly, causing the older to falter. “It’s just a rumor, we don’t know if it’s true or not.” Heaven slowly started to calm down as she listened. “Besides, even if they were from there, hasn’t Quinn proven that they’re, at least somewhat, a good person?”

“Somewhat.” Heaven agrees in a huff, looking at the hand holding onto her. Edelweiss gets the message and releases her - Heaven staying put now that she was a little calmer.

“Besides, even if it was…” Edelweiss shook her head. “Why the hell is someone like that going to this kind of school?”

---------------------------------------------

“Are you sure it was okay?” Nevaeh finally asks after they have walked in silence towards the main school building. They were wondering when she would finally ask. “I mean, that is one of your old outfits….��

“But it’s perfect for the part, no?” Quinn chuckled, opening up the fan again, mostly just for effect as they passed by people who stared. They cover their mouth with it and hums. “Besides Nevaeh…. I’m not one to be afraid of my past.”

“....” Nevaeh could only stare in awe, and maybe a bit of confusion, before she laughed and adjusted her hat. “Well, if you say so, Boss.”

“Good gods, that brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Quinn laughed behind her fan, looking off into the distance. “Feels like just yesterday you were calling me that while helping my family move contraband through the gates. You weren’t even a part of the family.”

“ ‘ey, my ‘rents said t’ be nice t’ ya, so I was.”

“Yes...yes you very much were.” Quinn stopped in their steps, Nevaeh stopping a bit after them, looking back with a confused look. “I never thanked you for all of that kindness, did I?”

Nevaeh blinked before smiling, grabbing Quinn’s hand and kissing his knuckles. “Y’ let me run ‘way w’h ya, that’s bout the best thanks ya coulda giv’n me.”

Quinn chuckles softly, still hiding their lips before their fan. “Your accent is coming out.”

“Eh, let it, it’ll help with th’ ‘ffect, ya know?”

“Sure, Sure. Now let’s go, before we’re actually late.” With that, the leader and their henchmen went to rule the night.

#twisted wonderland #three wishes institute #twst fanschool #twisted wonderland fanschool #twst #twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #twst fic #twst fanfiction #my art #digital art #comic page #original characters

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weerentheworld · 7 years

Text

Q & A

Favorite parts?

Food, bamboo forest, the stumbled-upon lantern festival in Hiroshima, cat cafe, yukata dress up, onsen, fushimi inari, giant carp flags, food! Seriously- the food in Japan is AMAZING! Not only are things super fresh and clean- but the standard of quality if so hight that it’s hard to find a bad meal. Plus I got lucky more than once and just happened to find some really good dishes.

Least favorite part?

Contiki logistics & Sickness. While getting sick is never fun, most of the issues I ran into seemed to be a result of going with Contiki. I did feel that the division of time was not communicated well in Tokyo especially in regards to the fish market- which was frustrating as it didn't seem to be the same as the online itinerary. And not being able to start our free day in Tokyo until 10/11 was very limiting in terms of what I could visit on that day. It was also frustrating that this Contiki had us signing up for excursions so far in advance (apparently this was usual for Japan but not for Contiki). I would have liked have had the option to bow out of the final meal, as I was getting a bit tired of the group by then, but I’d already paid for it… I also was not personally fond of the bar foods- too greasy.

How was it traveling with Contiki?

Above drawbacks aside, overall Contiki’s japan unlimited is a really good tour! The local guide while very nice was a bit hard to understand, but that's the luck of the draw. Some of the add-on experiences (dressing up in a Kimono) were really awesome, but some of the dinners had food that were of a quality that would have been great anywhere else, but was a little disappointing for japan. If I could do it again I'd skip the sake factory tour- SUPER boring. Also all the hotels on this tour are super nice (especially the one in Takayama & Hakone), but if you aren't okay with the majority of your money going to accommodations, you may want to look at other tour companies. It was different from other Contikis in that: you spend more time on trains than a bus, roommates are assigned and set for the entire trip, and there's little to no chance to do laundry. Ultimately I had an outstanding time, but the country was what MADE this trip, not traveling with contiki.

Why did you travel with Contiki? (as opposed to other tour companies or going solo?)

I knew I wanted to travel with a company because:

It means having someone else to handle the logistics of getting from A to B (I felt like I could handle this, especially in a country like japan where the transport is streamlined, but I just don’t like having to do so that much…)

I like having the historical/cultural context provided by group tours.

Since this was my first time visiting I knew I wanted to be able to see and do as much as possible, and I feel like group tours are really good at giving someone a sort of sample platter of visiting.

As far as choosing which tour company:

First thing I did was look at which tours were a) at least roughly in my budget, and b) when to the main places I felt like I HAD to see when visiting. The second thing I looked at was dates, and as it happened, Contiki was the only company that had tour dates which allowed me to maximise my vation time; ie add another four days at the end of the tour, as opposed to having to fly straight back. That made the decision pretty easy.

Dates aside though, I did consider a number of travel companies for this trip, and in the process of doing so I found a really great breakdown of some of the major tour companies by globotreks:

There’s also an article by Nomadic Mat which examines Contiki

Or check out my sister’s blog! She’s been to japan twice at the time of writing, once with EF, and once with her BF (sans a group).

If I get to re-visit I think I would like to do so solo, or at least independent of a tour (though there are some day-tours that look really fun!).

Hotels/Hostels stayed at:

On tour:

Tokyo- Hotel Grand Palace Tokyo

Hakone- Hakone Yunohana Onsen Hotel (Ryokan)

Takayama- Takayama Green Hotel (My favorite! Check out the onsen here!)

http://www.takayama-gh.com.e.sk.hp.transer.com/spa/index.html

Hiroshima- Hotel New Hiroden (The cheapest hotel on the tour, still 3 stars)

Kyoto- New Miyako Hotel

Wakayama- Henjoko in Wakayama

Osaka- Hotel Monterey Grasmere

Solo:

Kyoto- Mosaic Hostel Kyoto.

Very nice capsule-style hostel. Good location, but if you’re booking the women-only dorm be aware that unlike the large group dorm the luggage area is inside the room.

Osaka- Guesthouse U-En

The hostel itself was nice, but I was a little disappointed by the location on two fronts. A) It was a just far enough from the main sights to be annoying, B) but I booked this hostel KNOWING it was away from the sites because reviews said it was quieter- only to find out it was on a bar-street. It still wasn’t too loud, but there was still a fair amount of street noise at 1am, and the window for my bed was RIGHT next to a street-light.

Things I wish I’d packed

Travel tissues x 2 - I actually had a pack of these, I just used them up early into the trip...

Any just in case medicines you prefer/are likely to need- for example, I have sinus issue a lot, so I need to just start bringing packs of sudafed. I don’t always need it, but if I do, and don’t have it the cost and time it takes to try and find the local equivalent is a pain. (Maybe for you it’s an allergy medication, or a headache medication that you wouldn’t want to be caught without). That said- when packing always check to see if the medication you’re bringing to a country is legal there. If you’re not sure/if it doesn’t say it is illegal, most customs likely won’t care if it’s only a small just-in-case dosage, i.e. don’t bring more that you need and/or are willing to throw away.

A small thing of disinfectant/Neosporin

About 1.5 less the amount of clothing I packed.

Thing I packed I was glad I had

A carry-on sized collapsible duffle is one of the best things ever, especially for a location where you know you’re going to shop!

App-shout out

Kyoto rail app- as mentioned I had a really hard time finding a good map of the rail system in Kyoto. This one did a great job- absolutely worth the $5.

Regional highlights:

Tokyo- Cat cafes (while not necessarily better in Tokyo, due to the size and nature of the city this was where I found the most of them), Meiji Jingu Shrine, Nakamise street

Hakone - Onsen, Ryokan, Mt. Fuji (though not necessarily the Fuji visitor center), Matsumoto castle

Takayma- Onsen, Hida No Sato, old town area, Hida milk.

Hiroshima- Miyajima Island

Kyoto- Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle, Philosophy Path, Daigo-ji (Or really any other out of the way shrine/temple), Yukata dress-up

Osaka- Dotonbori, Melon bread (with ice cream)

Arashiyama- Bamboo forest, Yukata dress-up, overall area

Nara- Todaiji temple, Kasuga tausha shrine, deer

Coolest thing I found and couldn’t get a pic of:

It’s a tie between that one really awesome Geish shot I missed, and an interesting quirk of the hotel bathrooms; the mirrors had had something done to them where one spot didn’t fog over, staying clear even during the steamiest showers. Trying to get a pic just made my camera fog up.

Things I wanted to do (but missed), or would like to do next time:

Tokyo disneysea!

Spa world, Osaka, a really neat onsen complex that’s themed with onsen from around the world.

Hokkaido prefecture (famous for lavender, ice cream, and snow festivals)

Gihbli museum &/or clock

Nikko national park

Visit a kit-kat shop so I can find/see as many of the different flavors as possible

Visit a Tea shop (I so forgot to do this!)

Gotokuji (the Cat shrine)

Dress up in a Meiji-era Hakama outfit

A Food Market- such as Nishiki market, or Kuromon Market.

Visit an aspect of culture museum, ex: swords or bonsai

Tokyo sky tree shopping (didn’t have much chance to check out the various shops- including a whole food hall!)

The Hokone open air museum (I’m not sure how good this is, but I’ve seen pictures that make me curious)

Ginkaku-ji (the silver pavilion)

Japan’s Cat island

Walk along the Nakasendo trail (or another long trail/hike)

A japanese style garden, I saw a few but they were all attached to temples, and not specifically something I could walk through, or had much time to visit.

Attend a Tea ceremony

Visit Minoo Park, Osaka

Ride the Wakayama Electric Railway’s cat train, and see it’s station master.

Visit Hitachi Seaside Park and see the flowers

Check out Mori style clothing

See the buildings of historic shirakawago

Eat all the Ice cream flavors

Visit on of the smaller Islands, or one of the areas with more of an ‘island’ culture- ex okinawa

Take time to really check out a food hall or depachika.

Eat at a Dessert buffet

Attend a (summer(?)) festival as manga/anime taught me to think of it- where there’s a bunch of people and different stalls set up at night, and most people are wearing yukata, prefrably with fireworks.

Experiance the little things that make each season so disctinct in Japan, Ex: the diffrent flowers, and foods.

...and there’s probably plenty more I don’t know about!

Where’d I learn stuff?

As mentioned I kinda ended up writing my own mini guidebook for this trip. While I’m not suggesting it’s sane enough for everyone do so, here are the two most useful sites I used should you be interested in doing research of your own:

http://www.japan-guide.com/

http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/japan

Additional notes

It’s probably not a surprise that living (or at least visiting a location) overseas for an extended period of time is on my bucket-list. Japan is very much near to top of potential locations for such an endeavor. While it’s not a cheap country, it was less expensive that I feared (even with my shopping habit!), and there’s so much to see that I very much feel like I could easily spend a year exploring the country! Moreover, Japan’s reverent approach to the different seasons makes me feel like visiting in the summer would not be the same as visiting in the fall, adding an additional layer of experience to the location.

Hopefully I’ll have the chance to re-visit and confirm this idea for myself!

#Japan #travel #contiki

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