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Going to get all caught up on the thread as a whole later on, but wanted to chime in and say thanks for kicking it off! My partner and I will be visiting from December 29 - January 11, and I think we want to try and see maybe three shows. WK, obviously, but I'd also love to see STARDOM if they're running a show. We're unsure about NYD yet as if we're going to see a handful of shows, I think we want to see them from different promotions. Also not sure if we're going to do the DDT New Year's show or if we want to do something fun in the city for New Year's instead. We definitely want to do the Ghibli Museum and general sightseeing, but not sure exactly what else we want to try and do yet. Neither of us speaks Japanese and it seems like most stuff in Tokyo is pretty accessible to foreigners, but stuff outside of the city isn't as much. Would be great to meet up and do some stuff while other goons are over there!
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Oct 5, 2018 22:04
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| # ¿ Apr 20, 2024 01:25 |
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I want to see a show at Korakuen Hall while in Japan but don't necessarily want to do two big NJPW shows back to back, so I was thinking of also trying to go to Tokyo Joshi on January 4. That show starts at 12, and WK opens doors at 3 so I'm guessing I'd have enough time to not even worry about missing anything but figured I'd put the feelers out there for anyone else who is doing two shows that day. So far our schedule looks like: December 30: Arrive December 31: New Year's Fox Parade (http://www.visiting-japan.com/en/articles/events/e13ki-oji-inari-kitsune-gyoretsu.htm) January 3: STARDOM at Shinkiba January 4: TJPW (maybe) and WK ???? January 11: Sadly, go back home We're also planning on going to spend a few days in an onsen resort outside of Tokyo for a couple of days, and we want to check out the Ghibli Museum. We're going to stay in Shinjuku the first few days of the trip at a hotel near Kabukicho, then Airbnbs the rest of the time. We wouldn't be staying in a hotel at all, I don't think, if it wasn't recommended for Buy Sumo Tickets to mail our WK tickets. Getting super stoked for this trip! It'll be the longest vacation we've ever taken and we're trying to not plan TOO much, but just enough to have things to look forward to throughout the 11 days we'll be there. Ganso Bomb fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Nov 6, 2018 |
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Nov 6, 2018 01:12
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:I'm doing both TJPW and NJPW. Most people who did both made it in time for the start of the NJPW Rumble (Korakuen Hall is literally 30 seconds walk from the Dome). They're even opening the gates 30 minutes earlier for WK because they're expecting more fans than last year so hopefully the queue won't still be filtering in. Awesome news all around! I'm not the most active poster here most of the time but I am stoked to know so many goons will be in town for a bit. I think we might finally be at the trip planning stage where it's more fun than stressful.
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Nov 6, 2018 06:18
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:I'm doing both TJPW and NJPW. Most people who did both made it in time for the start of the NJPW Rumble (Korakuen Hall is literally 30 seconds walk from the Dome). They're even opening the gates 30 minutes earlier for WK because they're expecting more fans than last year so hopefully the queue won't still be filtering in. How did you get your TJPW tickets? Someone on reddit suggested emailing Yuki Kamifuku which I did on Monday but haven't heard back yet. Not sure if that's a normal wait time, though, or if I should explore another option.
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Nov 8, 2018 06:14
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Still waiting to hear back on an email for TJPW tickets on the 4th. Really want to see a show in Korakuen during the trip.
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Nov 18, 2018 15:58
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extradite THIS! posted:Reminder: If you're interested in a visit to the Studio Ghibli Museum and you're already in Tokyo for Christmas, the tickets for December are available TODAY. Are you still looking to get Ghibli tickets? My partner and I are going to be around through the beginning of January and definitely want to go. We're doing STARDOM on the 3rd so if you're still interested in going on the 5th, we'd love to tag along! Let me know here or in a DM if you're into that. We have all of our lodging booked and are now just figuring out all of the things to do. I think we're going to get a trip to Mount Fuji & Fuji-Q Highland in, plus Anata no Warehouse in Kawasaki which looks insane. If anyone else is interested in any of that, let me know! Still trying to figure out if we need to buy tickets for Fuji-Q in advance or not, but my initial thought is no since it's just an amusement park?
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Nov 23, 2018 21:37
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We're staying at an APA Hotel in Shinjuku the first few days of our trip so we have a reliable place for BuySumoTickets to mail our WK tickets. Then, we're shipping off to an Airbnb near Shinjuku Park for another chunk before ending in what I'm told is a fancy hotel by my partner, who is keeping the location itself a secret other than it being in Chiyoda.Aesop Poprock posted:I have never heard of Anaya no Warehouse before and that place looks like the funnest thing ever to go while drunk My partner just told me about it last night – I think a coworker of hers who has been to Japan in the past mentioned it to her. It looks INSANE. I wonder how difficult it would be to navigate for non-English speakers? We're also hoping to do this haunted house which takes like an hour to get through at Fuji-Q and a show at the Robot Restaurant. We're slowly cobbling our plans together which is way less overwhelming once your accommodations are booked.
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Nov 24, 2018 22:36
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I'm excited to check out all of the various weird wrestling stores and load up on merch and junk. Will the NJPW shop sell the same stuff they'll have at WK, or do they generally have stuff that's exclusively available at shows (or at least big shows like WK)? Want to know ahead of time if I need to plan to figure out getting merch at the show or if I can sit back and enjoy myself and just shop on my own time another day.
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Dec 1, 2018 06:29
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El Gallinero Gros posted:*cough* Oh, I've been watching videos and looking at pictures of this place for a while. It blows my fuckin' mind.
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Dec 1, 2018 06:53
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So from what I've read/watched over the past few weeks preparing for this trip, eating on the go isn't really a thing and you'll look like kind of a dick if you do it? So what's the deal with eating in a stadium? Are you supposed to only eat at/near the food vendors in the Dome or are all rules basically waived for sporting events? Basically, want to know if I bring in some snacks in my backpack, will I be eternally shunned if I'm eating at my seat. Oh, and related to Toudoukan it looks like they have the new address listed on their site here: https://www.toudoukan.com/@en/page/$/page_id/775/ Oh poo poo, and they have a new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/toudoukan/ Ganso Bomb fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 00:37
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Thanks for all the info, y'all! I just want to make drat sure I do all the best eating and watching wrestling that I can possibly do in Tokyo.
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Dec 3, 2018 19:29
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So if doors are at 3 and the show starts at 5, what time does the preshow gauntlet start? Is that what kicks off at 5, or is it stuffed in before the actual start time?
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Dec 10, 2018 14:49
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harperdc posted:Rumble should start about 4 pm (I have photos of it on my phone from last year time stamped 16:06), card starting at 5 pm. Remember this is a long show and people need to catch the train home! We'll be those people this year! Looks like a painless journey back to our place which is nice since it's going to be a long-rear end day.
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Dec 10, 2018 15:46
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GEORGE W BUSHI posted:the Tokyo government should just make the trains run all night on January 4th like they do on NYE. Do they stop at a certain point? Been checking various times on Google Maps and it seems like there's always at least one that can be taken at/after midnight on the Chuo Line, then an Oedo Line at like 5am. Though it also is only like a 15 minute drive and Uber/JapanTaxi aren't too horribly priced for the convenience of a 15 minute car ride vs a 40 minute train ride. extradite THIS! posted:Check your PMs my dude, we're going to the Ghibli Museum HELL YEAH! Bummer about the later time, but like you said – at least we got tickets. Buying tickets to things in Japan from the states is such a crazy process, so I'm happy enough to just be guaranteed for all of the things I want to be doing. I'll shoot you a message later tonight!
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Dec 10, 2018 17:09
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harperdc posted:From just after midnight until 5 am, the trains are stopped. There are some exceptions, but if you operate on this belief you’ll be fine. Taxis exist but get expensive quick. Uber isn’t as integrated or extensive as other places, don’t let Google Maps lie to you. Gotcha. How late does WK generally run? Am I going to need to be checking my watch and ducking out early at the end? I mean, I assume if it starts at 5 it'd be done by midnight but I also don't want to assume anything in the world of 19-hour Wrestlemanias.
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Dec 11, 2018 02:10
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Just got the confirmation that our WK tickets were shipped out! We're in row 13 of Arena A in the east section, which looks to be the right side of the arena if you're looking at the entrance. Anyone else know where they're sitting yet?
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Dec 12, 2018 15:08
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Ooh, I'm also in the fan club so I have something to look forward to when I actually get my tickets!
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Dec 12, 2018 17:00
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I hadn't seen anything like this posted, so I figured I'd throw it together and see if anyone wanted to add their names. It's a Google Sheet with all of the events noted in the OP where everyone can add their name if they're attending. Might make for some fun meetups if groups of people are going to the same shows. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X7Z0luojKOVj3tSkPryHAFX1bVwxEGsQFLXwgfeWvw4/edit#gid=0 I'm only hitting up 3 shows on this trip - STARDOM on the 3rd, and TJPW + NJPW on the 4th. Maybe we'll dip into some others if we're looking for things to do, but we're also going to be doing regular vacation stuff outside of wrestling while we're there. Is anyone familiar with the area around Shinkiba 1st Ring? I'm curious about what else there may be to see/do/eat in that area where we could make a full day (or afternoon & evening) out of January 3. Edit: I did some more research on things around Shinkiba and found this crazy looking museum: https://borderless.teamlab.art/ There's also another museum by that same group (https://planets.teamlab.art/tokyo/) and a Wood & Plywood Museum which looks nice enough to kill an hour in or so. We're definitely going to get tickets for Borderless and from what I've read it recommends giving yourself 2-3 hours to walk around. That might be the only other thing we plan for that day since we want to try and not overbook ourselves each day, but there's also the Fukagawa Edo Museum around the same area which looks neat as well. We might go back to that area a second day for the Edo Museum and Planets exhibit. Ganso Bomb fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Dec 24, 2018 |
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Dec 23, 2018 18:51
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harperdc posted:Shin-Kiba itself isn't a garden spot -- most people know of it as either where you change trains to go out to Tokyo Disney, or the closest club for the poor kids out in Chiba to get to in Tokyo. But Odaiba is on the same train line(s) and has a lot more in the way of touristy stuff. Team Lab Borderless is there, and it's definitely worth a visit -- budget 2.5 hours or so, and just know the upstairs is pretty decent size too, so don't get burned out on just the first floor! Thanks! And yeah, we're planning on picking a single thing (MAYBE 2) to do each day and just loaf around that area in between/before/after things. We don't want to try and plan for too many things each day and wind up disappointed that we weren't able to do it all, so it seems like a safer bet to pick a landmark/specific thing and then loosely plan around that.
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Dec 24, 2018 19:00
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Its 5:30am and we're about to board our first flight. We get into Tokyo tomorrow at 3pm with the timezone shift. It's going to be a long day and I'm looking forward to deliriously navigating the airport, monorail, and subways on the way to the hotel. GO ACE
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Dec 29, 2018 12:33
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extradite THIS! posted:Afterwards I tried to find the DDT-operated Dropkick Bar in Kabukicho since it's close to where I'm staying. The only thing I could find was a building where I was encouraged by multiple dudes to go to their shady titty bar and no indication of Dropkick anywhere. Has someone been there, is it still there? And how would one actually find it? I don't know how much bar stuff we'll be doing (I don't drink but my partner does), but if google is to be believed the Drop Kick bar is a 7 minute walk from our first hotel. If you want to try hitting it up again, let me know and maybe we'll join!
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Dec 29, 2018 18:08
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We are successfully in Japan. The 12.5 hour flight was actually pretty good and not at all the nightmare I expected it to be. For our first night, we grabbed food from Lawson and are watching weird Japanese game shows in bed. Tomorrow, vacation begins proper but tonight is for maximum relaxation.
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Dec 30, 2018 12:16
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So, what's everyone doing during the day today? I expect most things to be closed for New Years but need to look around some more.
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Dec 30, 2018 23:05
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Thank you so much! I'll look into that. I was already scoping out the Mister Donut lucky bag but couldn't tell if they were sold out already since they seemed to release them early. How would you rate Laketown for folks who don't read/speak the language? As friendly as things in the central parts of Tokyo? Ganso Bomb fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Dec 31, 2018 |
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Dec 31, 2018 01:01
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harperdc posted:you don't need to go 45 minutes into Saitama (ewww) to get good deals, if you're staying in Shinjuku, all of the major shopping outlets back near the station (Odakyu, Lumine, Takashimaya, Isetan, Marui, etc) will have much of the same thing, including the Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera locations on the west exit. Or take a quick train down to Shibuya. That's the shopping that mega-malls like Laketown are trying to replicate... We definitely have lots of Shibuya shopping on our list. We plan to check out Shibuya 109 (seems like it's open today?) and at some points vintage and thrift shops in Shimokitazawa. Trying to figure out if we can still get tickets to see The Pillows tonight but Google translate doesn't do the best job at translating that information at times. The_Rob posted:I woke up and took a walk this morning in kabukicho and got asked to get a sex massage. As tempting as it was it wasn't even 9 am yet. We're also in Kabukicho and about to head out for some donuts and then real food. Let's see if I get the same proposition! If anyone wants to meet up at any point, let me know. My partner is feeling a little anxious and I think meeting some other folks in the same/a similar boat would help. Plus, meeting up would be fun anyway!
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Dec 31, 2018 01:50
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extradite THIS! posted:I just woke up and am hungry! Mind if I join? For sure! We're going to Mister Donut (1 Chome-２-１ Kabukichō, Shinjuku-ku) in a minute and will be the two American ghouls there. I'll DM my number to make communicating easier. Ganso Bomb fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Dec 31, 2018 |
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Dec 31, 2018 02:39
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extradite THIS! posted:I'm glad to report that Phenix Rising and his partner are super nice people. Had lunch at Genki Sushi which was a fun experience! Can gladly state the same about you! Was great meeting someone from the forums and hanging out a bit, even if you aren't a morning donut person. After we parted ways, we explored Shibuya some more and poked around the Shibuya 109 malls where we felt woefully unfashionable because everybody here is always so nicely dressed. Stopped by Inari Kio Shrine across from our hotel on the way home and will check out Meiji Shrine sometime this week as well. It's been one full day of vacation so far and I already want to live here.
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Dec 31, 2018 12:52
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Lazy morning so far today which is fine by me. I think we're going to head toward Asakusa and see the shrines there and then check out Meiji later on in our trip when it isn't going to be so overwhelmingly crowded.
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Jan 1, 2019 02:09
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Today for us was Asakusa for a big chunk and then Akihabra briefly to check out Super Potato and some more stores where this is more anime merchandise than I ever thought could exist. Asakusa was great! We had amazing street food dumplings, melon pan, and some other weird sweet with ice cream, beans, and these clear gelatinous cubes. Weird, but not bad. We observed the shrines from afar as there were droves of people filling the streets waiting to get in. It was really something to see. We walked around and poked into some shops as basically everything was open for a big street market day. It was an awesome start to the day. Our routine seems to be to fill the day with a lot of activities, then retire to the hotel with quick eats. One of these days we'll have a real dinner... maybe. We'll keep Koenji in mind, too! With 9 or so days left of vacation we've got time to fill. Japan rules, I love Japan.
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Jan 1, 2019 10:09
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Spent a couple hours in Harajuku today and it was fuckin bonkers. Shoulder to shoulder traffic which was to be expected given the sales. We want to go back again when we assume (hope?) it's not quite so insane. Moved from our hotel to the Airbnb today and it's like being in a palatial estate. It's gigantic (for Japan), right above a coffee shop, and right next to a Lawson. Beautiful. Tomorrow we have tickets to the teamLAB museum before we see STARDOM at Shinkiba 1st Ring. Feels like we've been here forever already and tomorrow is the first wrestling thing we're doing. Oh, we also ate hot dog on a stick which was delightful.
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Jan 2, 2019 07:29
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The_Rob posted:Went to Nakano broadway today. Super cool mall. So many collectible things. Lots of cool old Japanese wrestling things. Then from there went to diver city to see the gundam. The gundam base was cool but the rest of the place is kind of a poo poo show, and we finished it off with Akiba. Didn't do too much there as a lot of stuff was still closed. I think we're going to hit up DiverCity today too to kill some time. Were going to the teamLab Borderless museum this morning, then we have STARDOM at Shinkiba in the evening but will need to fill the afternoon up in that area. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know!
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Jan 3, 2019 00:20
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Unrelated to anything in particular but an important thing to note - pocket wifi rules. Just pop this little sucker into your bag and have wifi all day long. I think it totaled $70 for our 12-day trip with insurance. If you're coming here at any point, definitely pick one up. I don't know how it compares to SIM cards, but it's been flawless this whole time.
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Jan 3, 2019 03:18
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We just got done with the teamLab Borderless digital art museum. If you still have time here and haven't purchased tickets, DO IT. It's amazing. The line outside for ticket holders was massive but only took about 45 minutes to get through. I think we easily spent 3 hours here. We'll probably do their Planets exhibit before we go home, too.
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Jan 3, 2019 07:15
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Being on T-Mobile is nice because I get unlimited data internationally, but also can barely connect anywhere here. I did find some networks to connect to with roaming turned on and speeds were actually pretty fast but finding someone to connect to wasn't as reliable as pocket wifi. Heading to STARDOM in an hour or so!
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Jan 3, 2019 08:16
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Does anyone know the process for picking up tickets you reserved for a Korakuen show? Wondering if I need to wait in line at all or just waltz in and up to a ticket counter or something.
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Jan 3, 2019 11:53
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We got pocket wifi with unlimited data for our 12 day trip for $79 total. We went with Japan Wireless and this site (https://jw-webmagazine.com/pocket-wifi-in-japan-d1a8bc8ed6ff) offered a 1,000 yen coupon which basically covered the insurance. If you're bad to the bone and don't get insurance, then it's an even better deal. Plus they delivered it to our hotel with a prepaid to mail it back which it seems is standard, but a super nice standard thing to offer.
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Jan 3, 2019 13:57
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At Korakuen now for TJPW and the marathon day of wrestling. It's crazy being in venues like this (and Shinkiba, and soon the Dome) that I never thought I'd see in person let alone attend a show in. Thanks to every goon here who encourages everybody to take these huge trips. Wrestling is the best.
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Jan 4, 2019 03:32
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Did anyone happen to pick up an extra WK tote bag? We had hoped to avoid the merch lines at the Dome and pick one up at the NJPW Shop but it seems like the one piece of WK merch they weren't selling there.
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Jan 6, 2019 07:01
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I spent hundreds of dollars at the NJPW Shop and Toudoukan today. Did I need any of it? No. But I now have a signed Akira Hokuto book and a packaged Suzuki vs Lyger action figure set amongst other things. I'm a happy doofus.
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Jan 6, 2019 16:53
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