I went to the first 
steampunkjapan meetup on Sunday in Yokohama. I went with 
kuroe and aionwatha and, as we came out of the station, Aion immediately spotted two Victorian ladies. We didn't believe her at first since they vanished soon afterwards, but they turned out to be bucktick and thucyken.We got to know each other while the organisers (
cortigiana and Duke) made their way back to the station (they had been there earlier to scout out all the different areas). What they hadn't counted on was every single member being a coffee fiend and needing a fix almost immediately.One coffee shop later, we headed to the Tin Toys Museum. It was the stuff of nightmares. In between the model dirigibles and planes, there were tin clowns, metal babies with fading paint, blank painted faces with thinning hair, mismatched features... It was terrifying! One of the attendants showed us a mechanical pig cooking bacon and eggs. Pure nightmare fuel. I liked it.
They also had the biggest dog I've ever seen in Japan, called Robby (after the robot). He seemed to be as famous as the toys on display. Absolutely adorable -- I can only presume he functions as a guard and stops the clowns from escaping.
After that, we went to a cheesecake and waffle restaurant and I had some great pine-ade (with a cheesecake, of course). After that, it was off to the Iwasaki Museum, which is devoted to fashion. There were some nice clocks, artwork by Alphonse Mucha, some replica dresses and a place to sit down that could double as a photo area.
We had a rest in the museum cafe and tried some spicy lemonade, which was great. After that, we went to Harbour View Park and took a bunch of photographs. Now the group photos...
I think Cortigiana is the only one whose dress you can't see in detail. She had a kimono that had been transformed into a bustle skirt. You really had to see it in person.
After that, we headed into Chinatown and wandered around. Everyone was staring and secretly taking pictures -- it was very, very strange. We'd got a few reactions like that in the park, but nothing on this level. A guy asked if he could have his photo taken with us and lovers were nudging their partners to make sure they seen us.
aionwatha got a coconut from a street vendor -- they stabbed it open and stuck a straw through the hole. She passed it around, but I think I was the only person who liked it. Then a few people got juice with tapioca.We sat down at a cafe quickly because a few people felt tired, but it wasn't particularly good. Duke ordered Super Special Coffee of Excellent Quality and I had Russian coffee (chocolate and coffee, but tasted of neither). After that, Duke and
cortigiana went home and we were left figuring out what to do.The answer was obvious... eat chuukaman! Chuukaman are often referred to as 'meat buns' in subbed anime and, as such, I never wanted to try them until I heard them referred to as chuukaman. They're steamed bread with different kinds of filling inside -- you can even get chocolate or cheese ones. The ones in convenience stores are rubbish -- you need to buy them from Chinatown.
We pledged to go to karaoke in Shibuya, but when we got there we realised we were too tired, so we parted ways.
aionwatha, kuroe and I briefly stopped off at the Animate in Kichijouji because it was raining. I ordered the Sebastian figure still dressed like a Victorian butler... It's okay, I don't think they noticed.Anyway, it was a fun event and I'm hoping to go to the next one. Or maybe just karaoke. Why has no one else posted about it so far?
Kuroshitsuji:
The seiyuu for Sebastian and Ciel have been announced. They are...
Sebastian: Ono Daisuke
Ciel: Sakamoto Maaya
It seems that 2ch were on the mark, once more. I really want to know who the rest of the cast are now.
They also announced that anime!Kuroshitsuji will be profiled in upcoming issues of Newtype, Animage, Pash! and Animedia. Each magazine will devote two pages to it except for Pash, which will have two pages and a pinup.
From Moonphase:
