Path to Hachimangu Shrine, originally uploaded by demosthenesofathens.

At the very end of the Wakamiya Oji, past the huge red torii, the wide path to the Hachimangu Shrine was flanked by stalls selling different foodstuffs, some recognizable (like beautiful candy apples) and some not so much.

The daytrippers who arrived on the train with us were now walking ahead of us, and they all seemed to know what to do. I settled for a freshly-made grape lollipop (made from the biggest, roundest grapes I had ever seen), and made my way to the hand-washing fountain where the crowds were pausing before heading to the main shrine.

We're gonna miss the train, Harry!

We arrived at King’s Cross that morning, planning to start our day of sightseeing early. London being the kind of city it is, we had a lot of ground to cover: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge.

As I left Maoi at a bench and searched for a newsagent to buy curry-flavored crisps from, I stumbled upon this:

There's a train behind this brick wall, I just know it.

I saw children running smack into the wall and then leaving disappointed. As soon as they left, I tried it myself.

Smack.

It turns out I’m just another Muggle, too.

Hi there! I wasn’t able to post the photos from the First Philippine Cosplay Mini-Summit along with the mini article right away, but don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten!

Without further ado, here are some of the photos we took from Saturday’s event!

Dr. Jaime D.L. Caro of UP ITTC. Join the Y4IT Philippine Congress!

How can we help you?

See you all at the next event!

Oshino Village, originally uploaded by demosthenesofathens.

I stood on the wooden bridge, watching the waterwheel turn in the crystal-clear water. On the other side of the bridge, people took sips of the water from their cupped hands. Other people tried keeping their hands in the water for 60 seconds to see if they could withstand the cold.

I wondered about the history of the waterwheel, how old it was, who took care of it, what it was used for.

For all I knew, it was probably a hydroelectric plant. Go Japan.

(I apologize for the quality of the pictures in advance. Phone camera, not the ideal tool for the job.)

It was much too early to head to the Cosplay Fusion venue when me and my friends arrived at Rockwell, so we had lunch instead. The event was moved outside, in the plaza close to the Starbucks and the Mini Shabu-Shabu, and it was a swelteringly hot day, so we decided to stay inside and cool down.

We immediately noticed the toys and scupltures display by the Mango store, which we also saw at the last Toycon. There were statues from Fatboy Studios:

Fatboy Studios at Cosplay Fusion

And there were toys by MaxiCollector:

MaxiCollector Leonidas

We noticed that the Maid Cafe at press was packed, so we never made it inside.We also noticed long queues of parents herding their children into the theaters, which were all showing Transformers 2.

We had lunch at Myron’s, watching the people walk by. Every now and then a costripper would pass by, like a girl dressed up as a particularly deranged-looking female Joker. I remarked to my friends that a lot of the cosplayers seemed unsettled by the upscale ambience of the Powerplant Mall, where even the waiters were pretentious and tended to judge you by what you were wearing. Undaunted, Joker Girl simply waltzed into Myron’s for some grub, and I admired her for her audacity.

After lunch, we met with the artist I commissioned for my upcomic comic, a slightly shy girl everyone calls ‘Shuu’, and we went gaga over the designs and the roughs for the first issue. Our enthusiastic cooing over her work probably frightened her. Sorry, Shuu. We really like the designs. We won’t hurt you.

Afterward, we decided to check out the other toy displays on the 2nd Floor, in the open area close to National Bookstore and Sumosam. Most prominent displays: Iron Man, and a Darth Vader made of LEGO. Yes, that’s not my phone’s fault, he really is that blocky.

Iron... America?

Darth Lego!

By this time many cosplayers were gathering for the competition. The poster for Cosplay Fusion itself prominently featured the Gosengfiao sisters, smiling for the camera in colored wigs. Many of the contestants were hamming it up for the cameras: War Machine, characters from Spawn Samurai Warriors, EVA Unit 02,  a mechanical soldier from Hellboy II’s Golden Army, and the costume to beat, Mecha Godzilla, whose awesomeness I will save for the next post.

Spawn Ninja Girl, meet the Golden Army.

Anta Baka?

Then we all proceeded to the Plaza, where a stage and rows of plastic chairs were set up underneath a tent, to catch the start of the show. We were early. Many of the seats were still unoccupied. So we chose some good seats and prepared for the show.

(to be continued)