Visiting Japan - BL day & Libre

Me and my media team went to Tokyo, Japan last week (my first time in Japan), and we took one day specially for a "BL Day" where we went to Animate Cafe who is currently having Junjou Romantica's theme cafe (only in September!), visited bookstores that sell yaoi manga and doujins, visited an exclusive BL cafe but most importantly, we went to visit Libre Publishings where we talked about AarinFantasy forum members and they are aware of the site's content so we talked about legality issues too. From AarinFantasy site's feedbacks, I've mentioned to them that it will be great to make more English published works and more accessible for international market. They were so kind to give us the latest BExBOY and GOLD magazines, cute shark character book and manga of Dakaretai Otoko Ichii Ni Odosarete Imasu.


Anyways, I had tons of fun in Japan even though it is typhoon season. How shall I say... it was really a Life Changing Experience for me (yes, I said it in capital letter)... not only the BL Day part but just knowing or visiting Tokyo alone... that I have seen, understand and learned many things. So if you like to know more about this particular BL Day in Japan (with more exclusive info and pics like what more we talked about with Libre, places to recommend etc), do stay tuned by end of this year for AarinSecret magazine! I will be writing a long one there :)

Important: Please don't worry that the site will be getting into trouble since we talked about legal issues with Libre. They have an understanding towards it but they do not support illegal sharing in any way, of course. It is more like a fan or acquaintance's visit to discuss about things, not business.

Pic: Libre were so kind to give us the latest BExBOY and GOLD magazines, cute shark character book and manga of Dakaretai Otoko Ichii Ni Odosarete Imasu.
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC01018.jpg

Pic: There is a life size Asami standee at the entrance of Libre!
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09463.jpg

Pic: Cafe latte at the Animate Cafe's Junjou Romantica theme cafe.
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09173.jpg

Pic: A JR bookmark given for every meal ordered. It is random and various designs/couple available.
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09202.jpg

Pic: JR Cafe - Hamburg set, Suzuki-san imprinted on the bun!
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09194.jpg

Pic: Animate Cafe Junjou Romantica theme cafe is only available in Sept 2015!
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09279.jpg

Pic: A JR advertisement at a subway station (Ikebukuro).
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09347.jpg

Both pics at bottom: At a BL Bookstore! Everything is BL only here!
http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09603.jpg

http://www.aarinfantasy.com/torrents...aaDSC09617.jpg

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wow! sounds like you really had a blast!

and now i want that JJR banner from the subway station...and i bet that many people would love the life-sized Asami...

Wow Aarin + team. I'm so jealous right now :XD:
Glad you had fun and thank you for the pictures. Also nice from Libra to give you some gifts ^^
I have to agree with keryless... that banner at the subway station is amazing! Could you imagine how cool it would be to have them in other places of the world? I mean like any ol german (for example) subway station just displaying ANY anime banner would make me incredibly happy, but a BL banner... *-*
Sorry, sorry I'll stop rambling now. But just hearing about your trip makes me really giddy. :hot:

Am going to Japan to steal that Asami. Libre be warned. :hahaha:

Sounds like an amazing time, and what great timing with the JR themed cafe!!!! :banzai: Were there any fan service events? :am:

Looking forward to see the winner of the contest..... I'm assuming someone from Libre picked. XD

This is so cool D: T.T I want to go to the Japan so bad. I will be looking forward with your updates!

Damn, why didn't I know about that BL bookstore when I went!

Sounds like you had a great time. Tokyo is awesome, ne!?

Its great to hear you had lots of fun while staying there. Now I'm really excited to hear more of your stories, especially the talk about this site and legality issues. Always have a joyful day, Aarin, Seffie & Lisa ♥��♥♥ヽ(´▽｀)/

BL Bookstore?!?! Totally missed that in Japan when I went...OTL
Well, I know where my destination will be when I go overseas XD
So jealous ATM >w<

Oh wow, it looks like you had a wonderful time there! I do hope Libre takes your visit seriously even if you didn't go there to talk business, and understands that fans outside of Japan aren't selfish leeches that just want stuff for free and that we really do want to BUY translated yaoi mangas! But anyway, it was cool of them to give you stuff, and I didn't know GOLD was so thick! Wish I knew japanese, would so buy it.
The JJR café theme is so cute, Japan really knows how to treat their fans right :D Life sized Asami :mlfy:
Can't wait to read the next AarinSecret! Thank you for sharing! :yay: :yey:

I'm looking forward to reading about your day!
a yaoi bookstore...wow!
and the poster! incredible!

:yay: for a fantastic trip

i wish i could go and avoid this horrible haze here:sigh:

:lovelove: that bookmark and cafe is sure fun

and those wonderful books in the bookstore:twinkle:

it is very nice of u to share such wonderful pictures with us

now i can visualize my imagination:hahaha:

wow!

such awesomeness :mlfy:


BTW , I am curious about that BL shop. Does it sell translated stuff too? or it is just Japanese ?

sorry if my question is kinda stupid but I have always wondered if there is English translated BL manga shops in Japan XD

ASAMI !!! Marry me!
i need that real life board on my bed
bet that tokyo is lively city with yaoi goodies!
i really want Asami!!!!
thank you for sharing photos! :hug:

that sounds so awesome I'm somewhat jealous xD
need to visit Japan one day, too! And make a BL related tour :lol:

btw I like the new design of the AarinSecret site @aarinfantasy; :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KadajChan

wow!

such awesomeness :mlfy:


BTW , I am curious about that BL shop. Does it sell translated stuff too? or it is just Japanese ?

sorry if my question is kinda stupid but I have always wondered if there is English translated BL manga shops in Japan XD

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Unfortunately, all the manga and doujins in Japan are in Japanese. I don't see any English translated manga/doujins selling there, not even the English section (which only contains imported books from overseas). So the amount that we (non-Japanese readers) are missing out is actually really massive. I actually sighed to my team members at that bookstore how much I am missing out because out of the 4 of us that went, I'm the only one who doesn't read kanji or Japanese. However, all 4 of us actually prefer to read in English despite knowing a few languages ourselves.

That's one reason me and my team went to Libre... which is to make them understand that we really want to support their English released works, in hopes that they can have them translated and make it more accessible for us.
There were lots of discussions regarding international fans as well. What I did was took most of forum member's feedbacks over the time and tell it to Libre like what's changing, what you all want/like, etc.

Wow that sounds amazing, I LOVE Japanese bookstores and not just for their regular manga and BL sections but also for having so many goodies and merchandise, like at Animate!
I wonder if the Libre office is open to curious fans, I'd love to stop by (admire life size Asami) and have a peek next time I go to Japan!

Glad you could give them some feedback about international fans, I've resigned to reading raws and understanding anywhere from 10-90% of the story because it's so hard to get English versions and they are not usually as good quality compared to the original.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kerlyness

...and i bet that many people would love the life-sized Asami...

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*raises both hands greedily* :eek:


Thanks for sharing, Aarin! ^^b And I'm glad for all the fun you had! :D

Ah, the life-size Asami~ :mlfy:

Thanks for all the pics, Aarin. I look forward to reading more about your adventures in the magazine. I would have killed to go to the JR themed cafe!! :imc: Alas, I have no money to travel to Japan but I will go one day. That coffee and the candy cigarette look so tasty. Hope you had lots of fun!

*take note.... BL bookstore...* This is the one place I shall not miss on my future Japan trip.

Sounds like so much fun! I'm glad you have a fun time. I'll be looking forward to the detailed report in AaSe Mag! :oops:

:onegai: i kept looking at that standee. it is big. it makes me wonder how tall asami is?
Asami real life standee looks like so tall
i looked for asami ryuichi profile for his height
:spin: so tall!

Asami's profile:
His birthday is August 4
Currently lives in Tokyo, and has also lived in Hong-Kong.
His blood type is AB.
He is 185 cm tall (6'1").
He weighs 75 kg (171 lbs).
His shoe size is 28cm.

i am short :cries: 162 cm tall (5'4")
i guess i have to jump and grab asami's neck! :hahaha::lalala:

Oh my GOD! My eyes are going to pop out of my head! Junjou Romantica + life size Asami + latte cuteness + bookmarks + more cuteness = cuteness explosion + nosebleed! :happy:

Did you take any other pictures of the city while you were there? Post them up, pretty please!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shattered

Wow that sounds amazing, I LOVE Japanese bookstores and not just for their regular manga and BL sections but also for having so many goodies and merchandise, like at Animate!
I wonder if the Libre office is open to curious fans, I'd love to stop by (admire life size Asami) and have a peek next time I go to Japan!

Glad you could give them some feedback about international fans, I've resigned to reading raws and understanding anywhere from 10-90% of the story because it's so hard to get English versions and they are not usually as good quality compared to the original.

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Actually Libre office is not openly open for walk-in fans or visitors, since it's a workplace. The story was we met Libre's editor/producer during Anicult event a few months ago. She invited us to come by her office for 'talk' if we visit Japan and we have set our date at that time itself since one of my team members already booked a ticket to Japan to attend Uverworld concert in Sept. That's how me and my team ended up at their office. ^_^;;

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AcreoAeneas

Oh my GOD! My eyes are going to pop out of my head! Junjou Romantica + life size Asami + latte cuteness + bookmarks + more cuteness = cuteness explosion + nosebleed! http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/images...nime/happy.gif

Did you take any other pictures of the city while you were there? Post them up, pretty please!

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Oh yes, me and my photographer went around the city taking more pics. However, he has not processed all the photos yet. I was thinking to include them in the magazine as well, like writing an article on where to go in Japan in terms of seeking for BL related stuff, places to recommend and also talking about my experiences there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aarinfantasy

Oh yes, me and my photographer went around the city taking more pics. However, he has not processed all the photos yet. I was thinking to include them in the magazine as well, like writing an article on where to go in Japan in terms of seeking for BL related stuff, places to recommend and also talking about my experiences there.

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That's awesome! I'm planning to go to Tokyo when I have enough money saved and I would love a BL guide! eheheh

Wow, I'm so envious right now!!! :cries: You really had a great time!

I wish I'll be able, one day, to go to Japan and visit all those wonderful places :beautiful:


BL café, BL bookstores....that ASAMI real life board:yummy:!!!! Everything ìs so amazing....
Thanks for sharing such great pics and memories :yay:

Asami! Asami! Asami! Asami! Asami! i feel cheated on kakashi :lol:
my best friend and i talked about travel to Japan in 2017 for samurai tours and some anime places/shrines.
yes it is a long time to make plan but "yen" money (for exchange money) is too much in japan so we need to save a lot of money.
i told my best friend that i gotta go to Libre Publishing company in tokyo but you said that Libre is not open for public. i checked offical website. it is private company. It makes sense; it is not for public and holds 60 employees. it is small numbers: employees.
i got wrong idea about junjou romantica scenes with many employees. *^___^* J.R. scenes looks like that manga companies must have a lot of employees working. 60 is small number.
i am sure that editorial manga job is hard to get. very competitive job.
i also assume that Libre address is private, too. i found one headquarters in Tokyo, Toshima (Animate Ikebukuro Head Office) i hope it is Libre building there. i want a BL tour. i bet there is about 1,000 yaoi/BL manga over there!
i can't wait to see more photos/your tour from you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by aarinfantasy

Actually Libre office is not openly open for walk-in fans or visitors, since it's a workplace. The story was we met Libre's editor/producer during Anicult event a few months ago. She invited us to come by her office for 'talk' if we visit Japan and we have set our date at that time itself since one of my team members already booked a ticket to Japan to attend Uverworld concert in Sept. That's how me and my team ended up at their office. ^_^;;




Oh yes, me and my photographer went around the city taking more pics. However, he has not processed all the photos yet. I was thinking to include them in the magazine as well, like writing an article on where to go in Japan in terms of seeking for BL related stuff, places to recommend and also talking about my experiences there.

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@charo ; Yup, the Animate Ikebukuro building is a HQ office, and just around the corner was actually that Junjou Romantica themed cafe aka Animate Cafe, which you can visit... if it's not JR, it could be any of Animate's anime theme cafe which you may like. But do visit the any Animate shops, I went the one at Akihabara (which has one floor for BL) and no time to go the other areas' Animate shops. Just too many to see, too little time >.<;;
2017 is around 1 and half years more to go, so maybe there will be some changes. My country's currency rate increased so much that it makes Japanese Yen even more expensive, so I went on a smaller but average budget travel, not too tight and not too lavish.

Nice report! I didn't knew about a BL cafe, so I will write that down on my 'Must visit when I am in Japan' list. ;)

i kept forget to ask you about Libre office.
i wonder what Libre office or editorial department looks like? see spoilers
does Libre office looks like as flowery stuff and stuffed teddy bears and bright color wall?
books are everywhere and built up pillars on desk?

https://40.media.tumblr.com/cec4521e...10_r1_1280.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/21033cbe...o9_r1_1280.jpg

or just simple office without flowery stuffs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charo

i kept forget to ask you about Libre office.
i wonder what Libre office or editorial department looks like? see spoilers
does Libre office looks like as flowery stuff and stuffed teddy bears and bright color wall?
books are everywhere and built up pillars on desk?

https://40.media.tumblr.com/cec4521e...10_r1_1280.jpg
https://41.media.tumblr.com/21033cbe...o9_r1_1280.jpg

or just simple office without flowery stuffs?

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I planned to mention this in the mag, but since you asked... I will just say it here! :D
The Libre office is actually quite similar to what you saw in Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi's editor's office, but minus the flowers and teddy bears. I mean, table arrangements are similar with stacks of books and papers everywhere... are all there. Oh yes, instead of flowers, they have some potted green plants all over the place, like the entrance area and the meeting room. At the partition walls are posters of latest Libre titles.
So I won't say it is just 'simple', since it has so many things all over the office. Umm, the walls are just plain white though ^_^;;; (not pink)

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Im very jealous that you guys got to do something as amazing as seeing all the things as you did there, it must have been super amazing!!

My friend in Japan got an extra one of the Nowaki and Hiroki i believe it was (the red pin) so im super excited to get that from her myself, though having a cafe with that theme even for september would be definitely worth the visit...

The editing office sounds like it would have been busy and i love it how realistic (in a sense) they made it feel as well in SIH :D

Really glad you guys enjoyed your visit:D

This is all amazing. I'm glad the trip was a success, @aarinfantasy.
Thanks for your hard work!

Wow it sounded like you had a great time in Japan, aarin and team! I didn't know about the BL bookstore. What's it called? I would have gone there when I went to Tokyo last time. :oops: Thank you always for your hard work!