Nothing did pour apart from the fountain outside the Royal Festival Hall that entertained kids and adults alike to the rythms of Brasilian music played on steel drums and various other instruments.

The theme this time was Teddy Bears. I had found one small Pooh Bear that I got in a Secret Santa a couple of years back and ta-da, managed to leave at home!

Also had a BIG plan of making a bear outfit for either Pino or one of my DD girls but decided that I just could not be bothered the day before. I had left it too late, as usual.

Had brunch with hubby before catching a bus to the Southbank and the inevitable dollie madness.

Couple of new faces this time, again, not sure who they were, hope they turn up again so I actually do get a chance to find out lol.

Had to move spot due to the heat so ended up packing up Cinnamon and Madicken and never got them back out of the suitcase :/ so no piccies of them this time… I am really negligent of all my Unoa girls these days due to my current DD obsession. Have to do something about that soonish

Not so much badness around this time or maybe I just missed it?

Lots of zombies though

Hubby made some lovely breakfast for me while I was packing up my suitcase and generally stressing around to get myself ready to go.

Actually headed out a lot earlier than usual reason being, was headed for Trocadero and meeting up with the DC crowd.

Got there and was picked up by Cookiedude_2332. Headed for the Technika machine and found Jezatron, Krowbar and GabrielVH hanging around Pocky who was superglued to the Technika machine.

For some reason I had imagined it to be one of those dancing games but no, something onscreen guitar hero like not sure >.< Have to google it at some point... Or maybe go try it.

Was only there a very short while, then we headed for the Royal Festival Hall. Arrived after a short trip in a VERY hot and sticky tube.

Lovely as always and Twirl had been the first on site again, as always lol! Definitely not a Londoner.

Some really nice fellow Scandinavians just passing through was at the meet but believe one of them is moving to London so hope to see her around more often.

Over the course of the afternoon it got stickier and stickier and people broke up a lot earlier than normally.

The DC people headed of for Japan Centre and Trocadero and I decided to stick with the Rezin crowd since I didn't really speak to them during the day.

Decided on dinner at Ping Pong just around the corner as convenient, fairly cheap and it had aircon! That was epic fun! Raven, Mau, Suvi and Twirl had never had dim sum before so it was really fun to introduce them to this new adventure.
Our waiter was really sweet and seemed to like our collection of dolls and figurines that invaded the table after we had finished the food and headed onto dessert.

Next time, it has to be Chinatown dim sum though, tastier and cheaper by far! Not sure if they do moist coconut balls there though…

So instead of all the skyscraper restaurants and fancy hotel we opted for local grub and local apartment.

Worked out really well and can only recommend it if you want to save your pennies and spend them on dollies instead!

They both got their advantages, the first one would definitely be room service but the 2nd is that your apartment is yours.
You will never be disturbed by any staff and you can leave your stuff out and about without anyone but you moving it around.
Advantage if you are there on a dollie spending spree and don’t want anyone messing with THAT wig

Hubby and I did a blog post on this together where you will find more tips and tricks on how to do Tokyo on a Budget.

Hope it comes in handy if you plan on going to Tokyo for Dolpa or something like that

Took me two hours on the train on a journey that normally takes one hour >.< Stupid Sunday maintenance work.

Finally arrived after getting increasingly nervous that I was on the wrong train after Mau and Mich kept telling me I was not going in the right direction.

The rest of the party was having a sleepover in another part of town and well, over slept + did not have the address
They were a little delayed ^^

Great day, tried a lot of different lenses and got a few photos of the experiments.

Other than that, did not really photograph her outside of the events that I took her too. Shame really but think I might have some hidden on my Iphone that I tweeted at the time… Will update Flickr if I dig them out ^^

Pino did get a bit more outside event camera time, she just turned out to be easier to do cute stuff with.

Will be adding them to Flickr as I go along getting them unpacked and photographed.

Only thing I am regretting not getting was the long black Volks DD wig that I bought one of for Jezatron as they were sold out in black everywhere Oh well, another time ^^

Also, this meant that I could go visit the Tenshi No Sato place
Signed up via the website a month or so before as reservation is never really released any earlier than this.
You need to have a Volks web-user account so if you don’t already have one you need to make one first before you start with the booking.

You make the booking for yourself and any number of guests that you will be bringing.
The booking form asks you to pick a number, not sure why, I just picked number 1.
Did not seem to have any relevance at all when we got there but maybe I missed something.

Also, think you can book workshops as well as the ‘ceremony’ where you get a certificate for your doll but have no idea how to do this and was not really interested in any of this anyway, so was not bothered about finding out.
However, if you do have any info on this, please do share as I would be interested in knowing for another time ^^

After being late to the Dollshow, massively late to the Doll Summit and relatively late to Dolpa for the last doll event of this holiday, I was amazingly there before they were even open! Ta Da! Drumroll, bow and exit!

Getting there from Kyoto main station was super fast. I was expecting Big Sight travel times >.< My sense of distance for Kyoto has definitely not been developed fully yet. Will work on that
Directions as entered on the Volks site were super easy to follow, there is no way you can get lost!

Weather was lovely so wandered around the area and ended up at a Mr Donut across the street. OmNomNom!
When finished we headed over to the now open gate into the fortress that is Tenshi No Sato. Amazed that there is no moat around the place and a retractable bridge…

At the entrance showed our passports to the lovely giggling school girls behind the glass at the front desk and got our tickets, programme and other bits and pieces. Was at the same time advised that photos were only allowed in the entrance hall, top floor, small part of the third floor and the garden.

Then took the tour of the place where most was spent in the lovely garden due to the absolutely gorgeous weather.

Picked up a few bits and pieces from the basement store and was very tempted to pick up the on sale Mio there as well but managed to control myself.
Bought the Angel Robe outfit for Pino as this is the only place you can buy it and well to me, the only place it makes sense buying it. Some things should only be gotten if you have actually been there. A bit like wearing a tourist tee from a place you never visited seems odd. Just my five cents ^^
Was struggling with both shopping and carrying Pino at the same time which was noticed by the nice Volks staff who brought me a basket for her. So handy!
Noticed that everyone around me was carrying their dollies around in one after getting one myself… Fail.
Note to self: Get one at the entrance upon arrival.

Had a look around the FCS department but have not yet fully established my Japanese contact base so decided to leave this for the time being. Also, still not a big SD fan and most of the moulds were the SD type. There was one interesting face mould though that had the anime DD look to it so that might be the one to go for once I do get a shipping contact in Japan.

The gallery time line display was interesting and the One Offs were pretty amazing.

Had a tea and cake set in the cafe before heading back to central Kyoto.

Dolpa For Dummies
As I was heading for Tokyo this year for the Dollshow, again, I discovered by pure accident that Dolpa was on as well two days later.

Did I want to go, Hell ya!
(Pardon the swearing but in this instance, it is needed )

So I set out on an endeavour to find information on this in English as I to this point of time does not do Japanese very well. It sort of limits itself to Arigato, Ohayou gozaimasu, Konbanwa, doku desuka, nandemo kekkou desu and nani. Last one picked up from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
This turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.

There would be snippets here and there on blogs and if I were lucky I managed to dig out information from threads on Forums that were as long as “Gone With the Wind” O.o making it impossible to find anything.
PMing selected people who looked like they knew what they were talking about turned out to be the best info I did manage to find but if one is not as cheeky as me and daring to do so, info like this would not be obtainable by pure “search and destroy” tactics.

So, I decided upon my return back to Blighty that a Dummies manual on this was called for.

I by no means can call myself an expert on this subject as I have only attended one Dolpa in my entire life, I do plan on more if all things permit, but so far, that is it!
However, I wish this had been there for me when I first started planning this late winter/ early spring. Might have saved me some headaches and a few slip ups here and there ^^

Note: There are workshops at Dolpa too but as I did not attend any or attempt to attend any, have no idea how these works.
Any input on this please enlighten me ^^

Right, here we go!

How to Get Your Dolpa Guide Book
If you are currently stationed in Japan, just pop into a Volks shop/ showroom anywhere and they will sell you one.
Call a shop and they will reserve you one to pick up.

If you are not so fortunate as to be stationed/ living in Japan and read/ speak no Japanese you can order yours over the international site.
Make sure that your postal service gives you enough time for customs release, ashclouds and what have we.
Should you encounter any postal issues like customs detention/ ashclouds/ postal strikes, contact Volks IMMIDIATELY by mail and explain the situation to them.
Let them know where-abouts you will be staying and they will arrange a copy for you in the nearest store/ showroom that you can pick up once you get there.
You will have to pay for it there but the parcel you have been sent will be returned to sender when you do not pick it up.
Not sure how the US site works in regards to this. Please check for yourself if you are US based ^^

If you got contacts in Japan, friends/ forum contacts/ deputy services, ask them to pick you up a copy and either get them to send it to you, could potentially save you customs fees if they send it marked down and as personal effects. It will pass straight through.
Or meet up with them once you arrive in Japan, any excuse for a meal/ drink/ socialising is good in my book ^^
Or just get your Japanese speaking contact to reserve you a copy in your name to pick up on arrival, this means they wont have to cover any costs at reservation time and you can do the legwork yourself and pick up stuffs at the same time.
If you do speak Japanese you could call a store/ showroom and reserve a copy, sure they would do so for you, but if you do not speak any japanese, this might not be a very sensible solution.

You can also rely on it still being in stock in store when you arrive.
I visited a couple of stores before Dolpa and they both had the guidebook at the tills, so in my experience, it might be worth it, especially if you are in a country where they do charge you customs for everything and you got no contacts who can help you out in Japan.

You could also wait until you get to the Dolpa show and buy it at the door.
Note, this WILL mean you lose out on the lottery draw for a place in the line for limiteds and Sumika items as they start the queues for this an hour earlier than actual show and ticket sales starts!
So if you are there for the limited items this IS a bad choice.
However, if you are just coming to soak up the atmosphere and browse the stalls without looking for anything in particular, this could be the option to go for.

To reserve a Bento Box or not to reserve a Bento Box
To save on the cash for your dollie expenditures on the day it might be a good idea to buy the Guidebook with the pre-orderable Bento Box. Then you only have to pick it up and tuck in. This is what we opted for.

(There are no cash machines that I noticed at Big Sight and no dealers accepts cards. Only Volks will take your plastic money).

However, at Dolpa 23 the available-on-the-day Bento Box was a cuuuute Hello Kitty plastic bento box that would have been so cool to have for bringing my lunch to work in.
The pre-ordered was a huge heavy clay pot that weighed half a kilo >.< No way that was going into the suitcase!

But of course, there is no knowing if this will be different for the next Dolpa so go with what you find most convenient.
Or bring your own lunch! A lot cheaper but less convenient.

Also, if you are picky or have special food requirements being allergies, religious requirements or you simply choose not to eat certain things like meat, then the Bento Box should be opted out.

Think there are food places around Big Sight but this will make you lose time in the sense you have to find them, buy stuff, bring back etc.

Getting to Big Sight
This takes FOREVER!

Note, this place is in the middle of nowhere!
You have to take several train/metro lines depending on where you are staying.
Of course, if you are staying at a nearby hotel this is not an issue but if you as me decide to stay in say Nakano/ Shinjuku/ Shibuya area, prepare for an hour to an hour and a half on public transport.
There are two routes to Big sight.
I took the scenic overground, for London people DLR like train line, to it and landed at Kokusai-Tenjijo Station.
Not sure if the other one is under or overground but according to Mitsuki_Moon on DOA it is less scenic and slightly more cunfusing in terms of finding your way to Big Sight. However, depending on where you are staying this might be more convenient for you!
Check out your travel plans before you head out, will save you a lot of pain at early hours in the morning.

Once you get there, just follow the crowds, I am sure you will spot a lot of trolleys and doll carriers and lolita clad peeps that will be going to exactly the same thing as you ^^

At Big Sight – Getting Into Those Queues
Again, follow the crowds if you already got your guidebook.

If you do not have a guidebook then start joining the queues outside as these are for the folks who have not bought one, they are NOT the queues for limited items as i first thought.
Queues for limited items only start INSIDE the actual Dolpa venue area and you have to show your guidebook to even get into the area where they are.

Queuing for Limiteds
In my perception: You do not have to be there at 7am to get a good number. You can as easily draw number 5000 as you can number 1 at 7am in the morning.
Of course, if you want to be part of the buzz and the eternal wait for 9am when they start forming the lines then do get there early, if not, then just make sure you get there before 9am.

It is a lottery draw. You get to the entrance, there will be tables with big lottery drum thingys, you show them your guidebook, they will cut of a corner of your guidebook and you draw a lottery ticket.
This is your number in the line.

Best chance of getting a good number is to buy more guidebooks.
And even then, you are not guaranteed a good one.
Luck of the draw!

Me and hubby got there at around 8am and got equally crap numbers but some who had gotten their way earlier was not far of being having one just as crap as ours.

When you have your lottery ticket with your number that hopefully is within the first 500, you are let into the venue.
If not within the first 500-1000, then chose if you want to stay for the leftovers as you are likely not to get your first choice or join the line for the Sumika items.

I got a number somewhere near 3000 and Hubby got close to 5000.
I swapped my ticket with another attendee who was from the US who I unfortunately did not get the contact details of as I would like to thank her!!!
Did not think I would get anything at all but there was one doll left when my number was finally called: Chika the Dolpa 23 Yo-SD so went for her and I absolutely adore her. Her name is Pino btw ^^

Within the venue you will notice areas marked with big signs stating number sequences like 1-500, 501-600, 2000-3000 etc.
You go to the area where your number belong and do not have to stand in any particular order.
Just take a seat on the floor where there is room ^^ Bring your breakfast and have a picnic

They will start calling numbers around 9am, dont worry if you do not understand japanese, they will have nice big understandable signs.
They will be calling numbers in groups from 1-100, 101-200 so on and so forth.
When your number sequence is called, walk up to the speaker who is calling the numbers and Volks staff will guide you up to the numbered from 1-100 line that is printed on the floor at the top of the waiting area.
You then walk over and stand at your number. So say you are number 220 you walk over to number 20.
When they have filled up the line you have offically joined the que and it will start moving towards the doll selection point.

Once you get to the selection point you state what doll you want by pointing at the corresponding picture on the board they have at the selection point.
You will then receive two tickets. One is for payment, one is for pickup.
You proceed to the tillpoint.
After you pay you can either pick up your doll purchases or you can decide to leave the heavy box/es for later pickup – dont leave it too late, think the deadline was around 2-3pm.

After you pick up the box you can send it to yourself within Japan, not sure if they do overseas shipments.
If you do want to ship it abroad and they do not provide this service at Dolpa, do pick up a transport carton tough.
They were 300 yen, so worth it or you will have a bit of trouble trying to find one at the post office, they do not do dolliebox size cartons there.
And I do suggest you courier them home by EMS unless you fly business or premium economy your weight limit is somewhat limited to the early 20kg limit.
Considering the resin ones weigh between 2-3kg each then you can easily be paying overweight charges at around £60 per kg or something just as ridicoulous as that.
Much cheaper to ship EMS. Just make sure you get a Japanese address to put on the parcel just for show!

As far as I know, it is one of each doll per person so you could potentially buy them all should you get a good number.
I believe this is why they disappear so fast as all the scalpers of course buy one of each where us mere mortals only buy the ones we actually want and can afford.

If I am wrong about the one of each doll per person, please let me know!

Queuing for Sumika items
For this, you HAVE to get there early! It is worked on a first come first serve basis and it is one of each item per person only.
If you are in a group it might be worth splitting up so one half do the Sumika items and the other half do the Limiteds if you get good numbers for the Limited’s line.

Quite simple actually compared to the whole Limiteds business, just get there early and join the line!

To me it looked slightly disorganised but it might not have been. Maybe people were just eager to get in ^^

Doing the Dolpa
When you finished standing in line and have paid for your Volks purchases you enter the actual Dolpa dealers area or if you ditched the lines, then you enter once they open at 10am.

Some people run when the doors open, you are welcome to follow but you don’t have too ^^
They know what dealers to attack and what limited goods are on sale, if you are into all this you might know and will be running too, if you don’t, no need to run, unless of course you want to and follow one of the runners just to see what is so interesting. You might just pick up something awesome ^^

Know I missed lot of fab goods but hey, there is always YHJ! for that later lol.

If you know who and what you are looking for it might be an idea to queue up to get into the dealers area instead of queuing for Limiteds and Sumika items, especially if you get a really lousy number.

Most of the things on sale is frilly and fluffy as this is what the Japanese seems to like most: Kawaii!
There is some fetish gear and goth stuff around and some wicked weaponry but mostly it is lolita or casual things on display. Few crafty stalls around too.

I was of the perception that no other dolls than Volks’ own were permitted but I did spot a couple of Mama Chapps and Azone girls in and around the various stalls.

Also, good idea to do a bit of price comparison as some of the dealers will have the same things for sale, same goes for the Dollshow actually. So keep your eyes peeled. Getting a bargain will be kinda hard unless you speak Japanese

But, you might acquire lots of strange freebies.
I ended up with a strange handmade fan from Little Wonder Wardrobe and lots of clip art card board cut outs of doll sized cereal packs?

Make sure you pick up business cards from the stalls you like!
Same applies to Dollshow.
This will enable you first of all to remember who you saw and what you liked but also gives you the web address for later browsing and shopping purposes.
A lot of the dealers will be private and most likely not ship abroad but then at least you have a link to give to your shopping service of choice.

Lottery for One Offs and Limiteds
There are forms within the Dolpa Guidebook that lets you enter into a lottery draw for the one offs that are on display as well as the Limiteds.
I did not go for any of these as don’t really like Volks SD boys and girls :/ so I have not tried and tested this myself. This is how it was explained to me by Cassie ^^

So, if you after having a look at the display fancy a chance of getting your hands on one of these, fill in the form and put it in the box that corresponds to the doll that you want to try for.

Winners are announced from the stage at a set time of the day and name will be called three times. If you do not respond within the three calls it will go to the next person.

If you do not do Japanese, hit the information desk and ask for an English speaking helper to help you fill in the form and give you a time table.

We were really luck that there were an American girl working for Volks at this Dolpa who’s name was Cassie. We ran to her every time we had a thing we needed to sort out. So a big thank you to her for all her help!

The Japanese staff might say they can’t speak English but in most cases that is not entirely true.
They might not speak it very well but they often do understand you and will help point you in the right direction.
There is no harm in trying!
This goes for general out-and-about as well!

Getting your bingo plates and how to play
There is a booth somewhere that will stamp your guidebook and give you a bingo plate in exchange.
If you cannot figure out which one, just hit the info desk, or show your guidebook to random people and ask for the way there
Also, ask them when it is if you do not read the japanese time table.

When calling out the numbers someone will write the numbers on a big board at the same time so you can play even if you do not understand Japanese.
If you get bingo, wave your hands wildly in the air and shout bingo and enter the stage area.
Someone will check your bingo plate and if you are the only one that waved your hands wildly in the air and shouted bingo, you get to pull a string and the price at the end of it is yours. Aything from gift vouchers by the looks of it to full-set dolls.

If more than one did the above, you get to play paper/rock/scissors for your place in the line to pull a string, but ehm, they do it very fast and not really sure if they got the same rules as here in this part of the world. So… Good luck!

Dolpa, Done!
That’s it!

Time to head back to base and go through all the goodies acquired, blogging, tweeting and taking pics and posting them where-ever you see fit ^^

Feedback
If you feel any of the stuff I have entered is incorrect, please drop me a line/ comment and I will update asap. Especially if you have done this a lot of times input will be highly appreciated as again, this is my very first time doing this!

If this Dolpa for Dummies guide helped you in any way, also please let me know too^^

Was aiming for 8ish.

Big Sight is a long way away when you stay in Nakano! Wauw. But got there in the end.
Think it took us 1 1/2 hour something like that.

Arrived and saw massive lines, got a bit confused but followed the crowd in the hope they knew what they were doing. They did

Got in contact, when at the door area with my resident DOA contact Mitsuki_Moon. She told me that she had gotten an awesome low number. Lucky lady!
Also seen some other people on twitter that had gotten well, awesome numbers.
My turn to pull a number.
Something 2000 and near 3k >.<
Hubby's was even worse!

Went inside and tried to figure out what to do. No-one of the Volks staff spoke any English and did not see the Akihabara store manager anywhere.
Outshopped the Akihabara showroom a couple of days earlier and he was very apologetic when I started beeping when I went through the door. Thinking in hindsight, I should have made a scene. Maybe it could have gotten me freebies... ^^
Did later spot him but he was busy so did not go say hi.

In our dithering around looking for the DOA people someone looked familiar and said hi: It was Mai nd her sister from the Dollshow!
She was kind enough to ask the staff how the whole line thing worked as neither of us had been to a Dolpa before.
We were right. Sumika was first come, first serve. The lottery number was per number.

Considered to go for the Sumika items since well, our numbers stank but the line there was already massive and looked a bit disorganised… Decided to stay put in the limited line.

Said thanks to Mai and headed out to find the DOA peeps. Finally spotted them and sat down to have a chat. There were three Americans there of which I have found out who two of them are but not the third. She is still a mystery. One of them was kind enough to swap tickets with me as hers was ever so slightly better and she was not going for any limiteds. Wicked!

Numbers started being called so we went over to our line area *sigh*

We got approached by an American Volks staff who was extremely helpful when we joined the line and she was our life saver for the rest of the day.
She went to find out what was left and everything was gone apart from Chika. Well, since I had been enduring line culture for a couple of hours I was not gonna leave empty handed so decided to just get her. It would be a cool doll to have as a sort of very expensive tourist token
Met Mai again in the line to pay for the doll. She had also gotten a rubbish number, less rubbish than mine, but she still ended up getting the leftover as well. Her sister had gotten more lucky so she actually got what she came for. Lucky gal ^^

Limited payment line was right next to the sumika line. Wauw. Plenty of scalpers there! Or some very serious collectors who collects everything!… Ya right >.<

Got my Chika and started our tour of the hall after having our boring pre-paid crockery pot bento. Wish I had not pre-ordered so I could have gotten the Hello Kitty bento! *miffed*

In the dealers area got poked by Danny Choo who was running around with his tv crew and asked to come over to the Tsubuyaku table later with Mio and his outfit.

Went over to the table after finishing the rows we had started on and placed Mio with her friends from the Doll Summit. Finally caught the busy man and handed him his outfit. He seemed a bit stressed out so did not really wanna bother him so kept it short + there was a whole hall of dollie stuff that needed exploring.

Left Mio and went of to spend money!

Great stuff around, generally high quality, too many frills for me though lol.
Picked up a pinstripe fedora, several pairs of shoes and wigs, weapons for the girls and a few sewing accessories. No clothes as I am still pretty determined that I should do this myself.

Picked up Mio and tried and meet up with the DOA people. No luck. Met up with Mai instead who was crashing with her sister outside the entrance. I was able to find two asian people in a crowd of asian people but finding the white people? Did I manage that? No. Tells you something about my tracking skills!!!

NWM!

Bingo started and joined that. Rather boring tbh and I don't think it was because we did not understand what the speaker was saying. The locals looked bored too ^^

Didn't win anything but well, it was good fun anyway.

Time to head home.
Was exhausted to put it mildly. Big place for tiny feet like mine.
But fantastic experience and so hope to get the chance to do it again!

Went back to Nakano and dumped all the bags at the apartment and sourced a brilliant restaurant that had an open grill. Nice. Food was absolutely gorgeous and service immaculate. Shame about the smoking people next to us >.<

Kinda forgotten how but think I got chatting to Danny about it at some point, either at the event or afterwards online.
Mentioned that we, hubby and me, were of to Tokyo in a couple of weeks time and were gonna hit the Dollshow and Dolpa.
If I was interested in attending this Doll Summit thing that he was arranging with some other people on 3rd May, in between the two events?
Sure, why not ^^
Just had to sign up via tsubuyaku.fm – Easier said than done when you, as me, do not read or speak Japanese. Thank goodness for auto translate and general common knowledge about how websites are build *sweat*

Got Mio signed up to attend and was looking forward to it.

Then a couple of days before heading of to Japan, Danny Choo pulled out. He was planning on bringing a French TV crew but some of the Doll Summit attendants were not so keen on being on telly so he had to reschedule for Dolpa instead. Shame.

Was a bit split over this because, when I sign up for something, I sign up for something! Not because of who is going but because I actually do wanna attend whatever event it is that I am signing up to. However, as he was the only person I remotely knew and had ever spoken to + the fact that I still don’t speak any Japanese made me a little doubtful about the whole thing.

In the end, decided to just go for it!
After a little gentle pressure from various interest groups

Hubby went for an anime museum instead and general sightseeing and photo tour instead. Kinda got the impression that yet another day surrounded by dolls was not his idea of a good time

The Tama Centre turned out to be some way away from Shinjuku and central Tokyo in general + managed to get on a slow train as well heading out there. Nice scenery so pleasant but rather long train journey. Arrived around 3pm.
When arriving at the station found out that it was also the station for the Sanrio Puro Land, home of Hello Kitty. And it being Golden Week and children’s day you can imagine how packed the place was!
Loads of interesting stalls on the way up to the Tama Centre but did not stop and look. Next time

Arrived at the Centre and found the gallery, went in.
Glare!
And got the crossed arm gesture *no admission*
Tried to explain who I was and started pulling out Mio when I saw my Twitter name-tag *Dark Dollhouse* on the table and pointed at that instead. They all went *aaah*
Handed over 500yen and was in.
Wauw! So many Dollfie Dreams! And a plane! And loads of accessories! And SO much camera gear and tripods.

Was lead to an empty spot on a table and they indicated that I should put Mio down there and pose her.
Nice guys ^^ Shame, I have no idea who they were or what their usernames were or anything. Hate this language barrier thing!!! Seriously have to work on that Japanese for next time I go over there!!!
So, sat her down, posed her and wandered of to start taking pics of all the gorgeous custom faceups and gorgeous home made outfits. They just do it better than us, sorry us, but seriously, they are really Otaku in the real sense of the word.
Us, we do it very well too but they are just that little bit more crazy obsessive than most of us are. Know I am generalising but this is my blog and I am allowed to
Just very impressed with the whole thing m(_._)m

At first, Mio was all by herself, bit like me, getting the stares but no approaches, but then, nice girl came over and sat her MDD down. All customized by her. Started taking pics and saying *kawaii* – excellent! Finally something I understood lol.
More joined and I started approaching more people myself and indicating that I thought their dolls were amazing. Worked wonders. Got a few *thank you*s ^^
Unfortunately only got one business card :/ Shame, so many nice people there.

At some point shortly after I arrived there was a presentation round and I ended up with a mike in my hand O.O Bollocks!
Rambled something of in English and got an applause. Red face!

They started setting up for big shoot around 5pm and I headed back to Shinjuku to meet up with Hubby around 6pm.
Short but sweet ^^