I had a chance to go to Vancouver Downtown the other day, and what was supposed to be a side excursion to knowledge turned out to be another shopping trip. Not that I'm complaining. XD

Before departing on my journey to venture into the unknown and scary territory of Vancouver Downtown, I did a quick search on Google Maps for Japanese book stores, hoping to locate the one tipped off to me by the girl at Sakura Media. Well, the result rendered two possibilities within walking distance, Sophia Books and Book Off. I went to Sophia first because that seemed to be the less likely one (I always leave the best for later) and, as expected, walked out empty-handed. I did see a volume of the Kyouran Kazoku novel series, but I didn't get it. It's not quite my cup of tea.

Then I walked into Book Off and knew, right that instant, that I just hit the jackpot! Not only did the store offer a wide selection of books and manga in Japanese with great prices, but also Japanese music and DVD, and even console game software. And it's 20% off everything in the store, with the exception of the $2 items, during the whole month of February!

After about two hours or so, I re-emerged into the night with a big and heavy bag of loot and a thinner wallet. I would have grabbed more stuff, but I was taking the transit that day so it was best to keep the luggage relatively light.

To keep the long story short, here's a list of what I got:

CD
- Sound Horizon: 5th Story Roman (the most expensive purchase of the day, but absolutely worth every single penny! I didn't even imagine I can get it outside Japan without ordering online!)
- Sound Horizon: Shounen wa Tsurugi o
- Atari Kousuke: Kizuna/Natsu Yuuzora
- Atari Kousuke: Hana
- Utsunomiya Takashi: easy attraction
- Kamen Rider Kabuto OP Single: NEXT LEVEL
- Sousei no Aquarion OP Single: Sousei no Aquarion (the seiyuu version is superb!)
- db songbook featuring Kuwashima Houko
- Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IV

Books
- Library War
- Library Civil War
- Library Crisis
- Favorite (darn the American spelling...) Japanese-English dictionary

Yup, I finally went and got a Japanese dictionary. The Rikaichan add-on is awesome, but it's much more convenient to use a paper dictionary while reading a book. Maybe that will motivate me to start rolling the novel translation project I've been planning forever. Speaking of which, I might switch my target from the Saiunkoku Monogatari series to the Library War series... We'll see.

Yeah, I went in to look for manga, but I ended up not buying any 'cause I already grabbed so many things. Maybe next time, whenever that will be.

I was really tempted to buy the anime DVD there, but they're Region 2 DVD... :(

Their DS game selection was rather small compared to the other consoles, but at least they are in Japanese! Too bad I already bought Dragon Quest IV; I rather play it in Japanese than in English. Ah well, at least now I know where I can get a few of the Japanese games. I had to put two DS games back to the shelf because I was trying to keep my next month's credit card bill down after my anime spending last month. CT, FF III, and DQ IV are probably enough to keep me busy until next year anyway.

All in all, it was a fruitful day. The only disappointment was that the Japanese eatery I was planning to have lunch at was no longer there. Granted, it was at least a good four years or so since I last went there. The sushi cafe express I ended up going was relatively cheap (man, one has to go broke eating out in Downtown all the time), and the food was not bad. Not the best place to chat and relax with friends, though.

I think all I have left to buy is the Gundam 0080 DVD from Sakura Media and hopefully AIR TV if they have it (gotta use those coupons!), and I'll be good with my ACG shopping for a long time. Until chance leads me into either Sakura Media or Book Off again, that is. I can't decide whether it's a curse or a blessing to be living so far away from everywhere... =v=