You could only use them once a month, but they went out really often through REs so the price tanked pretty hard.

The only place I RSed before this year was the Apothecary, so I was big mad when they merged it with the magic shop. 🥲 It's just not worth bothering with anymore.

Well, I would always try to RS in Freya and the Holiday Shop, but I wasn't very good at it. I was too lazy to study up on which items to go after, haha. So we'll see how things go when Freya opens up this year!

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I see, I vaguely remember that about Morty cards.

I'd forgotten about the Magic shop (and Freya actually ^^'), no wonder the Apothecary felt kind of different xP

Woo, good job! 💪 💪 💪

I've noticed that you've long surpassed our year in number of achievements 😊 and it wasn't that long ago you reached 2000! Well done ^^

Haha, thank you! I've been going and filling in all the wearable achs with items from the seasonal shops/GoOutside/etc., so that's helped. n_n

Not putting off buying the stuff you needed forever then xD

Hahahaha, exactly. I've even bought everything I wanted from one years of the Menagerie - not just the ach wears! Progress!!

How have you been? How are things irl? n_n

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Impressive! Who knows if I'll ever get round to it 😂 At most I've bought up the stuff I wanted from the Zombie Den for my gallery because priorities xP

I've been good lately, nothing exciting really going for me right now ^^' I'm missing traveling and holidays abroad, I'm one of those who loves doing researching and putting together an itinerary and being the sort of tour guide. I'm finally catching up on Attack on Titan, just started season 4 last night. Are you into anime?

And how about you? How's everything going?

omg I totally missed your reply!

I miss traveling too. :( We're going to a cabin on a lake next week, and we've done a couple other similar trips, but it's just not the same as getting to explore a new country! Although I'm not that great at the itinerary part, haha. I like to travel with other people that are better at that. Sometimes I can act as translator, though, and that's always fun. What's your favorite place that you've traveled to? n_n

I used to be realllly into anime, but it's been a few years since I've really watched anything. I still listen to a lot of Japanese music, though. I'm actually watching the livestream of the Fuji Rock Festival right now!

Things are going well! Everything is still marching forward with the condo purchase, so that's good. And yesterday I got to see some of my coworkers in person for the first time since last March, so that was nice!

No worries xP

I know what you mean, there's something so special about being immersed in a different culture! I love exploring and trying new foods ❤️ Ooh, translator, what languages can you speak? I pretty much only speak the one really ^^' My favourite place has to be Tokyo, Japan 😍 What's your favourite place you've visited?

I'm not super into anime but I usually watch the ones that interest me, or some of the recommended ones. What kind of shows do you like to watch? I used to listen to some Japanese music but I'm more into K-pop (even before it was cool xD) It is nice that it's become more recognized and mainstream now.

Glad it's all going well!! I'm sure it'll continue to run smoothly and you'll be there in no time ^^

Haha, looks like you're RSing based on color today!

Yeah, Japan is awesome! Though it's hard for me to pick my favorite city. Tokyo is incredible, for sure, but the people in Hiroshima are so fun and friendly. Plus I lived outside of Nagoya for a year when I was in high school (exchange student), so it will always have a special place in my heart. <3

Japanese is my best language other than English, but I've studied a bunch of other languages at least a little bit. My last project was learning some Thai for a trip to Thailand, but I ran out of content on the app I was using and fell out of it. And now we're thinking we'll go to Italy next instead (next May for Eurovision, if things are looking better then...) so I'll probably jump to Italian next. xD But I always joke my superpower is being able to learn 10% of any language, haha.

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Haha, it does! That was unintentional xP

I've only been to Tokyo (and Yokohama a little bit) so far ^^' I definitely need to explore Japan more, but after visiting Tokyo once I fell so in love with it that for a time it was hard to imagine a year where I didn't visit. I'm certainly a city-girl at heart xD That's so cool that you lived there for a year!!! That must have been a really amazing experience 😍

I did try to learn as much Japanese as I could before the first time I went but I haven't really kept it up unfortunately ^^' I guess I know basics in case I need help in Japan, but I certainly should learn more! I think you're super cool for knowing Japanese ❤️ I've always thought that people who are good with languages are really cool, I find it pretty difficult... :/

Our plan was to visit South Korea next, that's probably where we would've gone last year if we could, then maybe after that we would've gone to somewhere else in Japan, maybe Osaka/Kyoto? Here's hoping we can travel again soon fingers crossed you can go to Italy soon

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Japanese people tend to be super friendly and welcoming in general, but it's definitely at a whole other level when they realize you speak the language. <3 I started learning when I was 11 or 12, and then of course lived there, so that really helped! And I also took Latin and German in high school, and then studied Linguistics in college, so I definitely got a lot of exposure to language study as a concept, haha.

Tokyo really is so awesome. Early 2020 I went to a wedding in Malaysia and had a 12-hour overnight layover in Tokyo on the way back, so I spent it all in Shinjuku Ni-Chome, and it was definitely the best layover I've ever had. xD

You know, I went Kyoto when I was there the first time (2007), and went again in 2019, and I was shocked how different the vibe was. There were plenty of tourists the first time, of course, but it was just on a whole other level the second time, and it was a LOT more foreign tourists who, idk, just didn't seem to be super respectful of all the historical, cultural, and religious significance of some of the sites? Made it all feel weirdly cheap, which was not the case at all the first time. Osaka was kind of similar, but that vibe works better for Osaka, hahaha. Would definitely recommend going to a Hanshin Tigers game if you get the chance. Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's just such an experience!

Next time I definitely go I want to visit one of the other islands, since I've only ben to Honshu. There's an aquarium in Kyushu where you can do a meet-and-greet with their walruses. 😍

I would love to go to Korea too! I studied a little Korean but didn't make it very far, haha. But I did learn the writing system at least! By far the easiest writing system I've ever learned.

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Ooh, that ring is nice! And I see you're updating the HA--I love the teal! It's my favorite color. n_n

Japan is nice though I couldn't go to Hokkaido with my relatives and My Mom since I had to work :/

Hokkaido is definitely on my list too. I just want to go everywhere, hahaha!

I had French and Latin classes in school but I guess it didn't really stick cos I don't really remember any of it xP I would have loved to do an exchange during school time to Japan (actually back then I might have been a bit scared ^^'), as an adult I can see that it would be a really amazing experience especially if you were learning the language ❤️

A similar thing is happening in Tokyo as well. The first time I went was less touristy, and the last few times there were so many. The vibe is similar but different, but for a big city I think it doesn't have as much of an effect comparing with somewhere like Kyoto. Maybe I should have visited Kyoto sooner ^^' I usually visit the main Shinjuku area around the station/Kabukicho and the Shin-Okubo/Korean-town area. I haven't explored Ni-Chome much but am aware of it. What do you recommend there?

I'd heard the grammar in Korean is similar to Japanese? When I was more optimistic about my language learning I'd thought after being comfortable with Japanese I'd learn Korean. I had a little look, but I think I'm not ready yet cos I just get confused whilst still kind of learning Japanese and confuse the two xP

Hi there MilkWay! I'd love to go to Hokkaido too 😍 I want to go everywhere as well xD

Haha, I was scared in a lot of ways! But that's one of the reasons why I'm so glad I did it, it really shaped me in a lot of ways.

Ooh, we stayed right in Koreatown one of the times we were in Tokyo! It's a super cool area. I've probably been to... maybe ten bars in Ni-Chome? Last time I went to agit and adezakura, and both were awesome! Goldfinger was also super cool - it's women only on the weekends which is pretty awesome, hahaha. We also went to a bunch of mens' bars the previous time we were there because we did a bar crawl, and they were all super cool! I feel like you can go to any bar in the neighborhood and it'll be a good time. n_n

There are a lot of similarities between Japanese and Korean, but not as much as you'd like haha. I thought the same thing, and it definitely does help because you're already used to things like politeness levels and particles, but they're not as similar as, say, French and Spanish.

I often stay near the Korean Town, its not far from Shinjuku station but less busy and has a nice atmosphere :) Also I like that there's a large Donki there, convenient for souvenirs and gifts ^^

I'm not really a bar person, I don't really drink and I'm a shy person ^^' but I have heard the nightlife is really cool there!

During lockdown I kind of got into some Korean dramas, and by chance was recommended some Korea-related novels that I read too, and so took a little more interest in the culture and food. Would be nice to visit one day ❤️ (even if I don't know any of the language xP)

You know, I still haven't been to a Donki! Though I've always heard great things. I love me some Daiso, though! And Tokyuu Hands for something a little ~upscale.

Fair enough! I'm not a club person at all, but I love a nice, chill dive bar, haha.

Ooh, what novels? I read Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 last year. It was pretty bleak, but really good. Any kdrama recommendations? n_n

Really! Donki is kind of crazy and jam-packed, so much stuff everywhere and almost anything you can imagine is there, even stuff you'd probably never imagine xP I discover some new fun or crazy products every time!

I love Daiso too! And Seria and Cando! Tokyu Hands is also fun too ^^ I love shopping in Japan, the products just feel so well designed and well made, and are always so cute or aesthetically pleasing ❤️

I read that one too actually! I did quite a bit of reading last year, hmm.. If I Had Your Face has a similar feel, it's about women in Korea too. I also read Pachinko which is also pretty bleak, but a good read, it's about Koreans in Japan. I also read In Order to Live, and The Girl with Seven Names, both of which the authors were real life North Korean defectors (who had different experiences), very interesting reads. I did read other non-Korean related books too, but once I started I kinda went down that path for a bit ^^'

Hm, for Kdramas, I think Crash Landing on You is really good! It's a love story between a North and South Korean, the characters are so likeable and fun, but prepare tissues cos I cried like every episode 😢 I also liked It's Okay to Not Be Okay, it's about mental health with a fairy tale theme, and actually I also really loved the characters and cried a lot xP