mitsuwa market, little tokyo and other j-towns (where to get toma goodies or japanese food/stuff!!) / some toma pics f/a recent magazine!♥

to those of you~ reading this in Brazil~
oi! tudo bem?

and to everyone-chan~ how's it going?

happy FI-DAY!
ah, i mean friday. =P
(Fi is fiona sit's nickname)
enjoy your weekend~


if you're like me, a fan of toma's who lives far away from japan, then u might find this post helpful! if u wanna find a place to buy toma/japanese things and pretend you're in tokyo =P...i did some research...i didn't know about any japanese communities in the usa besides little tokyo, but i found out the biggest one here is in san francisco (pic on the left)! i forgot that LOTS AND LOTS of japanese ppl live in california since a long long time ago...

here's some useful links to check out if u wanna go to little tokyo:
http://www.elittletokyo.com/
http://www.visitlittletokyo.com/
http://losangeles.metromix.com/style/roundup/hello-little-tokyo/169768/content

and here's a wiki page that talks about/links to ALL the J-towns in the usa, and all over the world! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japantown

[little tokyo pics, credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hercwad/2774398548/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauvre_lola/441656627/]
[the biggest J-Town in the USA, in SF. credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/colorsocks/2472720974/]
[liberdade, brazil. credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onildo_lima/3318910682/

surprisingly, the largest japanese population outside of japan is located in Brazil (pic of Liberdade on the left)!! i actually found this out when i took an asian american studies class a while back...but now i remember why that is (check their wiki page for an explanation). ja~ that's why today's shoutout is to brazil toma fans!! hi hi!! ~_~

wow, all the j-towns in asia are in the philippines!!
(gomen, can't find any pics of them though!) EHHHH! now i understand! why so many ppl that come here R f/the philippines. haha.
wait, so a lot of u f/the philippines who come here...are japanese, right?
or are there a lot you who are filipinos who are fans of toma...mm...i guess both?

it's a little confusing...
i know toma's got fans of all colors f/all around the world,
but then, are a lot of u fans that come here japanese and living outside of japan,
or are a lot of you not japanese, but a fan of toma nevertheless, like me? but at least those of u that i've talked to in the comments or cbox, a lot of u are like me. =D well, that's why i started a poll! =) i hope many of you will vote! yoroshiku onegaishimas! the poll will end in 2 weeks, on 3.19.2009, at 3:19pm PST. you know why it's 3.19pm, right?? and march 19 is a special day! do you know why?? hmm...if u don't, you'll have to wait till then to find out!


.......................(fans in the usa~)come to MITSUWA MARKETPLACE!! ^_^



[mitsuwa market/food pics credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/189890016/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boutmuet/2978755613/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathan0525/2836521096/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/pancakejess/1237120741/]




[yummy, pretty mochi ice cream!! u gotta try it!! they've got some in the frozen food section. though maybe not as pretty as this one in little tokyo. credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12861589@N03/2232736772/]




*** every1 in the USA, if u get the chance, go to a mitsuwa marketplace by march 8!! that's this sunday!! that's the deadline to enter the once a year anniversary sweepstakes!! u can win gift certificates, big screen TVs, even a trip for 2 to Japan!!! ^_^ ***

http://www.mitsuwa.com/english/index.html
[this is their official website. check it out! even if u don't live near one, u can buy food, books/magazines/manga, etc. online! but they will only ship within the usa.]

i didn't know about mitsuwa marketplace until i looked for little tokyo & other j-town info in the usa!! was so happy to know of such a cool place that sells all kinds of japanese merchandise...it's like a really really neat, small japanese mall, ne. u can check out the little shops, buy magazines f/the bookstore, hang out at the little food court area and eat ramen... i went to one w/neesan (my older sister) and yappari, Winkup was sold at the bookstore there!! sugeh!! and she was flipping thru another magazine (i forgot to check the cover to see which it was, gomen! but maybe u can tell which magazine it is by looking at the bottom left corner of the pic of the whole page.), and there were some CUTE pics of toma while filming for Voice!!! kyaaa~ HOUNTO kawaiiiiii. *_* so i took some pics of it (ah, sorry i didn't buy it too) and posted it below for everyone! haha. it's rare that i am able to share anything new here that hasn't already been posted elsewhere already, but this might be one of those times! you're welcome! ^_^ enjoy.

[yeah~ NEWS pics...yamashita's pic right next to toma's ikita kotoba!!
ahh~ i'm sure they did it on purpose, right? heehee~]

i'm so happy to finally have a copy of Wink Up (3.2009), cuz it's like...toma's magazine. ~_~ his monthly ikita kotoba is in Wink Up, after all!!♥ and i loved all the toma pics & arashi pics in this issue. AND A TOMA FOLD-OUT PIC!! I PUT IT BY MY DESK, SO NOW TOMA'S LOOKING AT ME/I'M LOOKING AT HIM A LOT!! LOL. u know, i was surprised, how THICK the magazine is! lots and lots of good-looking guys in there, really!

[I LOVE LOVE the pic where toma's got his eyes shut & pouting ♥, but dunno what happened and what he's holding? and LOVE the pic where he's hiding ♥ behind the photo as the other 2 are yelling at daiki. lol!! and the one where he's pouting, they're all such cute toma moments!!]

see these and more pics f/that magazine page here, in FULL SIZE!! ♥
http://s508.photobucket.com/albums/s322/ilovetoma2/

(probably later, some1 will post up better quality scans. i hope so.
if some1 already has, pls give me the link! thanks!)

(10/26 edit: u can also buy Japanese food, books/manga, CDs, stationary, toys, etc. at marukai, book-off, and kinokuniya in California and other places in the USA. for more info:
http://ikutatomalove.blogspot.com/2009/10/little-bit-of-toma-stuff-about-book-off.html )