Real life Hasetsu an Yurio On Ice Pilgrim

Real life Hasetsu an Yurio On Ice Pilgrim

The real life version of Yuri Katsuki´s hometown „Hasetsu” is called Karatsu. A beautiful small town located near to Fukouka in the Saga region of Japan.

The Anime “Yuri On Ice” became popular all over the world. With the rising popularity, also Karatsu became more and more popular among foreign tourist.

As a huge fan of “Yuri On Ice” I took the chance to visit “Hasetsu” and explored together with friends Yuri´s hometown.

Many of you might know, that Cosplaying in public is not well received in Japan. As a foreigner you might get the “baka gaijin” (stupid foreigner) bonus, but in general if you appear in Cosplay at an event they might refuse to let you enter until you put off your costume.
Karatsu is different. With the “Saga on Ice” campaign they encourage Cosplayers to take pictures in the real life spots of “Hasetsu” and to explore this city while cosplaying.
The residents were very friendly, supportive and obviously used to “Yuri On Ice” cosplayers.

Fukouka Airport:
We decided to go by Airplane to Fukuoka, because this is how Yuri Katsuki arrived in Japan in the first episode.
We were too tired so we didn´t took any pictures.

We took the Kuukou Line to Karatsu, like Yuri did. The Kuukou line connects the Airport directly with Karatsu. It takes you about an hour to reach Yuri´s home.

When you are lucky you will be able to ride the new type of train, which also Yuri took.

Karatsu Station:
Karatsu Station is the spot were Yuri got fetched up by his family.

When we arrived, we also looked up the tourist information, were you could get free English “Yuri On Ice” sightseeing maps.
We also found tons of merchandise.

At the North exit of Karatsu you can also find the infamouse octopus statue, where Yurio took a Selfie.

Sadly the original is not an octopus but an lion.

Koyomachi (shopping district):
Of course we also visited the shopping district Koyomachi.

We went there very early in order not to disturb anyone during our shooting.
It was amazing, the shopping street played the “Yuri On Ice” OST non stop.
 

We also found next to merchandise and the tiger shirt, which Yurio discovered during his visit. The shop owner gave us a “Yuri On Ice” fan and flyers. She was super friendly and told us to take more pictures. XD

Tsubomi Snack Bar:
Tsubomi Snack Bar, is the bar where Victor was looking for Yuri and where he met Minako.

It was closed during daytime, so we didn´t went inside.

Hasetsu Castle:
The Castle is obviously one of the main spots to visit.

We visited Yuris jogging course. The stairs and the bench at the castle.
Also the spot where he talked to Victor.
And the most important place: The selfie spot of victor.
You could find photo spot signs with information’s about the location and the scenes of the Anime.
Karatsu did some promotion campaigns with the castle. You could find lot´s of merchandise in the shop and the characters all over the castle.
I loved it! (We also loved the aircon and free wifi ^_-).

The bridge:
Also one of Yuris jogging course: The bridge.
With an wonderful view to the ocean and the castle.

Especially during the night, the castle looked so beautiful.

Yu-Topia:

Yuri´s home and hot spring resort in Karatsu. We visited Yuri´s home and got some original Katsudon!
They even had the TV, where the family gathered together to watch the ice skating competitions.
They also offered a photo spot area with lot of “Yuri On Ice” characters.
Their merchandise booth were full of “Yuri On Ice” special edition stuff.
I really loved it there. Luckily it was pretty empty and were allowed to take some pictures. We got also asked by some Japanese fans for a selfie. You could meet “Yuri On Ice” fans in every corner, silently fangirling (BTW we were the only foreigners there).

Sadly we didn´t had time to visit the hot spring.

Makkachin´s vet:
We visited Makkachin´s vet and saw a lot of cute cats and dogs. Their window was full of “Yuri On Ice” merchandise and Makkachin´s.

Udon store:
During the Anime the ice rink showed some advertisement for an Udon store in “Hasetsu”.
Apparently this Udon store really exists and had a small collaboration with the Anime.

We visited the store, found the poster and the exact spot of the poster.
We tried to get the same seats but it was super crowded. The food was really amazing!

Fukouka (Yatai Stores):
After our stay in Karatsu we moved to Fukuoka and spent there a few days.

The ending of “Yuri On Ice” showed some famous spots of Fukuoka, like the Yatai stores or this unique tower.

Conclusion:
We really really loved this place. If you are a huge fan of “Yuri On Ice” I would really recommend to visit this town at least once in your life. The people are really welcoming and helpful and you can also meet a lot of fans there. Doing this photoshooting was one of my dreams and it was way better than expected.
We also could took some pictures in the Ryokan which provides the Yukata´s of the collaboration edition (I will write a blog about it later).
You could say it was one of my highlights during this travel!

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to write me a message ^_-

Pictures by Meermiau or Shiroku
Yurio by Chiko Chan
Yuri by Shiroku

Map of the “Yuri On Ice” sightseeing spots in Karatsu

 




World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 16: Last words

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 16: Last words


I really need to say, that the World Cosplay Summit was a bit chaotic, because the schedule for the next day were missing or people just didn’t know what to do.

But still it was a life changing and great experience. I experienced so many awesome events, could meet so many great and talented people and had so many moments, which I want to remember forever.
I never expected to make so many friends and to have so much fun in these 2 weeks.
A lot of people told me it is stressful. For me only the championship itself was stressful. You had so much time at the other days and events, could take your time and feel the spirit of all the people who shares the same passion as you. Actually I rested and ate more than the last 7 months before the WCS…
One of my most precious memories.

I never met so many Anime fans at once in my life and I really would recommend everyone, who loves Cosplay as me to go there, to meet the people and to feel the spirit of this community.

I wasn’t sure if my efforts would pay off. I am not a really good Cosplayer, nor a very good performer. I just gave my best in order not to regret it. These 7 months were very hard, where I pushed myself to my limits and barely met any friends or family. I know that other could do much better, but I am satisfied, because I know I gave my best. I don’t regret anything and just to experience this support during the end of the 1rst stage, it was worth it! Every single minute I spent into this costume, skit and preparations. Everything it was worth it.
 
 
Thanks Eriko chan and Yuuka chan for all your work!
 It was great and I am so happy and grateful for this experience.
I really miss the people and want to go back. I will try my best to meet them again, to have fun with them again and to create more great memories with them.
I am also grateful to have Chiko as my partner, because I never could imagine experiencing this life changing event with someone else as her.
I also was so grateful how much effort Patrick, Iris, Mo and Laura spent just in order to make the trip as comfortable as possible for us. Thank you so much for this support!
Thanks Chiko for being an awesome partner!
Thanks Patrick for all your hard work!
I don’t know if I did a good job as representative, but I honestly don’t care. I gave my best, I am happy with what I could achieve, it was more than I ever expected. And I also nevery expected to gain so much personally.
I am just so so grateful for this.
Thank you! And thank you for all your support!

It really kept me going and I nearly cried when I red all your messages and Tweets after the WCS. Thank you so much for being with us and for thinking about us. I never though that you guys would support me so much!

This was one of my best time in my life.
Thank you for being part of it!

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 15; Day 10 Special tour

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 15; Day 10 Special tour

After a very short night we wake up, got some breakfast and got into the Lobby to check out at 10am.


Because they forgot to tell the participants to check out at 10 am, the students where running around at about 9:45 am, knocking at the doors of the representatives and panicking, because most of them were still sleeping. XD Poor students, but it was kind of funny situation.

The first bus was supposed to leave at 10, but you can guess that it was impossible.


The elevator was packed and we waited a long time just to get into the elevator to the lobby.
But because we were in the B block bus, we still hat time till 11:30 am till departure to the special tour (we got that information at about 10:30 am XD).

In the bus

So we sent our luggage’s to the next hotels and waited in the Lobby.

At about 11:30 am we departed with the bus and made a small stop at the sea.

This stop wasn’t planned. Because the A Block bus departed too late, they arrived too late at the “Soba making experience”. It was planned, that after A block finished their soba making the B block bus would arrive and the next people would start making their own noodles.
This is why we had a stop in order to catch up with the delay and were sitting around at an air-conditioned iceshop. Actually it was really fun! We all got some Kakigori and spent some great time with each other.

Kakigori party *o*
After getting back into the bus, we arrived at the “Sagami soba making” place and met the other teams from the A bus, made a small group picture and went up to the Soba making place. At first we got a small introduction, washed our hands, put on our apron and cap, watched an introduction video and started to stretch the dough and cut it. Of course we got filmed in this beautiful outfit. XD
It was really fun although Chiko and I were very bad at cutting slim Soba noodles. XD
Making noodles
Afterwards we went to the restaurant side and got our selfmade noodles with some Tempura and Sushi. It was really fun and Team Denmark gave me all their noodles.
Our lunch

After getting our lunch we went back to the bus, went shopping in a super market and drove to a traditional Ryokan near to the beach. We got our room numbers beforehand and I was so lucky to get a room with the both Brazilian girls.
The Ryokan was in the middle of nothing (but you still could get a LOT of Pokemon XD) with a lot of nice traditional Japanese rooms. They also had a very nice Onsen with an outdoor part for both genders.

In our room with the Brazilian girls in our Yukatas.

After arriving we could choose our Yukatas for the stay and brought our whole stuff to the rooms, changed and went back to a meeting hall where we made some group pictures.

Group picture

Afterwards we met in the dining hall were we got some really tasty traditional Japanese course dinner.
At every row you could find a sign with your countries name. So we searched for Germany and sat down with our cute Omotenashi student Yuuka chan and our awesome organizers Patrick, Iris, Mo and Laura.
After some warm words we got our food, which was SO tasty! They also had Tempura and a whole lobster. They also arranged a small Karaoke contest where I took part.
After eating I sang a song and had a lot of fun with the other participants during Karaoke.
We also made a lot of pictures and exchanged some presents with our cute students Yuuka chan and Eriko chan. To make a picture with this hat is a tradition of the WCS.
After finishing our food we went to the Onsen and relaxed a bit.
It was a really fun time with all the girls at the outdoor Onsen.
After the Onsen we had some party and spent our last time together.
At the next day we needed to say bye bye. And I really cried a lot. Because I was so sad to say good bye. I know that I can somehow meet the European friends again, but I wasn’t sure how it was with the people from the other countries. I will give my best in order to meet them again and to spend more time with them. It could make so many friends, who I really started to love. I am still missing them a lot.

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 14: Day 9 2nd stage

World Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 14: Day 9 2nd stage

When we arrived at the Aichi Arts Center we had some food from the backstage buffet and changed slowly into our costumes.
We also checked our props and talked a bit with other participants.

We also got a small briefing how the walk through the stage should be during the introduction of the teams and what will happen at the award ceremony.
Backstage

At the 1rst stage I wasn’t that nervous. I was ok, a bit excited but it wasn’t anything bad.

Of course I wanted to give my best and really hoped that everything will go right. But I was so nervous and couldn’t really calm down at this day. I was hopping around and try to stay calm but it didn’t work.
I can tell you… It was really nerve-racking for me.

Backstage with our props

Before even having our performance we had an walk through and introduction of the teams.
This time we were starting number 17.

Introduction of the teams

We put our props into the square, moved it to the 2 standby squares and to the stage.

We were supposed to go on stage directly after the Team before us and already set up all our stage props. Suddenly the staff pushed our props down from the stage and brought everything to backstage again.
It was quite a problem, because they broke two of our props during that process and we needed to repair it with a lot of time pressure. Luckily we could manage that.
Also team Denmark was already waiting at the backstage area and couldn’t make any place, because the next team was waiting directly behind them.
The stuff tried to make place for the upcoming act, but there was no place to move away. So it was quite difficult.
After the World Cosplay Karaoke Winner performed (wah I really liked her voice!!) we could finally go on stage.

Actually it also didn’t go that well, but at least better than performance the day before.

I didn’t really care, because we knew we gave our best and are satisfied with our achievements.
After we went down from stage we gave some interview and packed our props, because we knew we don’t have much time after the award ceremony.


The winning ceremony

At the ceremony we walked one after another on to the stage and posed there. It was a great feeling and all the stress just fell from you at once. I was so happy that we didn’t hurt each other to much during the performance or just fell from the stage. (We really feared that might happen…)

Team Indonesia became the World Champion and I am really happy about that because they are such great people. I really liked their costumes and they also made a really awesome performance.
I also loved the costumes of Denmark, because they were just amazing!
France was just so cute and I really love both of them.

Backstage with the host, Team South Korea and Taiwan

After having a really great day we went into an Izakaya with some other teams and had food and drinks.
We still needed to pack, because we needed to check out the next morning. This is why we couldn’t stay to long and went to our room for packing at about midnight.
After packing and planning, how to transfer our luggage’s to which place (Hotel, airport etc) we just fell dead into the bed and had a very good rest.

world Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 13: Day 9 Osu Parade

world Cosplay Summit 2016 – Part 13: Day 9 Osu Parade

At the last official World Cosplay Summit day, the Osu parade happened at lunchtime and the 1rst stage were held at the evening.

Our costumes for the Osu Parade

Some of the finalist’s weren’t participating at the Osu parade in order to rest or to spent the time for preparations.
We participated and it was good choice.
Already changed we waited in the lobby, got into the bus and went to the Osu Kannon shrine.

When we arrived we waited in the back of the shrine, went the stairs down and posed for a group picture.

Sadly also here we weren’t complete (actually the only real complete group pictures were at Laguna and the championship).

After some minutes in the hot burning sun, we went one after another down through the Osu shopping arcade. I have never seen so many people at one point. The walk was about 1-2 Km and at every corner, people waited in order to get a picture of you. That was an amazing feeling and experience.

Because the walk was roofed it wasn’t that hot and we also got some water checkpoints, where we got water from our students. Luckily we chose cosplays with fans and used our ice sprays. It really saved us! It was really really fun and a great experience.

At the interview

After arriving at the end point, 6 teams were chosen to give some interviews to radio and television.
So we went there, gave 3-4 interviews and went back to the bus.

After we arrived in the Hotel, we took a quick shower and went to the event location.