I can't believe how quickly this month has gone by...I've had a lot of help and support and nothing but kind messages have been coming in. I'm eternally grateful.
I meant to send out this update before Japan's long holiday but it escaped me...even after 10 consecutive days off I still had a lot to do and didn't have much time to truly relax but I'm getting things together, and a lot of what I've been working on has been taken care of now! First off, order updates:
- After three months, I'm finally done with late-January to April releases! There are just a few people I have left to take care of when it comes to shipping but the bulk of orders are shipped and have arrived at their destination. Thank you all so much for your patience, it was really the toughest thing I've had to do taking care of a mountain of orders while taking care of personal matters.
- I've ordered Starish Secret Party, BGS, and Anime Japan items! These are due to arrive in the summer. HEAVENS Garden items will be ordered this weekend! Please check my Group Order Information page for the release timeline.
- The Secret Garden Party group order is still in my plans, but the form won't open until June. Currently the items aren't made-to-order so I'm still hoping they'll either change that or have enough once I can start shopping.
- If you're interested in miscellaneous items, I recently put up a huge sales post in the UtaPri Buy/Sell/Trade group on Facebook! I'm working on trying to clear out as much as I can throughout the year. If you're not a member of the group, feel free to join (and make sure you read the rules and answer the questions first)!
- I don't think I mentioned this in my last blog, but I had posted a feedback survey to hear everyone's thoughts on my group orders. I'm very glad to hear that no one is having any serious issues! If you haven't filled out the survey and would like to provide your input, you can see the form here.
That's all for order-related updates! Next, a brief report on the UtaPri-related activities that I had a chance to do in the last few weeks:
- I made a quick stop at Animate Shinjuku to see the exhibit for QUARTET NIGHT Live Future. Unfortunately they didn't allow photos of the stage outfits but I was able to see them up close and it was amazing! I'm a little disappointed that they never had an online order for all of the live merchandise, since the pop-up shop didn't carry everything that was sold during the concert.
- The display at the Broccoli Girls Shop in Shibuya Marui was great! I REALLY enjoyed UtaPri's theme this year, "I'm Addicted to Your Love." I was able to pick up some merchandise in advance and trade with other buyers; I'm really glad they are making more accommodations for trading items! I was also lucky enough to see Piyo-chan, and later Penguin and Onpu-kun! Down on the first floor of the department store were crepes featuring last year's April Fools theme, "Shining Quest." I really loved that theme so I was glad to see them do something for it! And yes I did eventually order all four crepes!
- Also in Shibuya was the BGS Collaboration at Concept Cafe by Sweets Paradise! The food was delicious and a really good price! Even though the cafe featured several series published by Broccoli, it was pretty obvious that everyone was there for UtaPri. The cafe also featured Shining Quest, and I must say that the food was really good! This is the same cafe that hosted last year's BGS collaboration as well as PRINCE CAT Winter Holiday. I always feel like this cafe is very reasonably priced, so I ended up going there three times during their opening period!
- I went to Namjatown in Ikebukuro on the first, second, and then fourth days after they opened their UtaPri collaboration! It was enjoyable, though I must say it was exhausting because it was during Japan's long Golden Week holiday, meaning it was extremely crowded. The food is quite pricey but I tried all of it, it's hard to say which is my favorite! I also played their lottery games and received a variety of prizes. I'm pleased with how easy it is to win the top prizes, as I was able to get them several times! I'm also glad that they set a limit on merchandise, although the limit was quite strict. Because of that, I had to visit several times to be able to pick up everything I planned to buy. (By the way, Namjatown items are NOT sold online so I was glad to be able to pick up some items to sell! If you'd like to see what I have left, please see the sales post on Facebook or wait until I migrate to Tumblr!)
- I was also very fortunate to secure reservations for the Maji Love Kingdom karaoke collaboration rooms at Karaoke no Tetsujin. I visited the STARISH room on May 2nd and the HEAVENS room on May 6th--I'll be visiting QUARTET NIGHT's room in early June. Even though I went by myself, it worked out because I was able to focus on taking photos and video! I also did my own drink challenge in which I ordered the entire idol group's drinks...I definitely couldn't finish all of them but I'm glad I got a taste as well as the coasters that came with them!
I have a ton of photos from these events that I need to post on Twitter and Instagram, hopefully I can catch up this month. I'm so happy that I can finally get some time to relax now, although more group orders will be arriving soon...but I'm in a much, MUCH better place now than I was back in February through April so I know I can handle it!
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