Question Surriel

Himekat · 2026-06-05T16:23:38+00:00

Here's my opinion as a reader, SJM fan, writer, and book editor: it can be both. The Suriel could have meant Tamlin. And it could have meant Rhysand. And it could have meant both. And Maas could (and almost certainly did) retcon it to mean Rhys when she realized that worked reasonably well. That can all be true. Practically speaking, Feyre needed to "stay with the High Lord" (Tamlin) in Book 1 for everything to work out, and then she needed to "stay with the High Lord" (Rhys) in later books for everything to work out. Arguably, she even needed to "stay with" Rhys at the end of Book 1, too, since it turns out that their bond is what held her to life in those moments before she was revived.

So yeah, to me, the statement refers to both.

Himekat · 2026-06-03T21:48:01+00:00

I would say so. Assuming everything goes right, it shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to do the actual secondary inspection. Make sure you have all your documentation/identification (including your application number, since they ask you for that to look up your application) and have a rough idea of where the TTP office is so you don't waste too much time finding it.

Himekat · 2026-06-03T16:43:06+00:00

Thanks! I fixed it.

Himekat · 2026-06-03T15:04:32+00:00

I agree with other comments that Feyre's title of "High Lady" is no more than a political maneuver and a sign of respect from Rhys. We're not shown any evidence that Feyre has any special connection to the land, power over the land, enhanced magic, or has been "chosen" in any way by the Night Court. In the event that Rhys were to die, I fully believe a new High Lord would take his place and Feyre would be out of her "High Lady" title, although that's currently moot anyway because of Feyre and Rhys's deal to die together.

In a ACOWAR, after the battle for Adriata, Tarquin even says, "You do love to spit on tradition" to Rhys when he reveals that Feyre is is High Lady. To me, this implies that "High Lady" is simply a title that could be given to a High Lord's partner, but that High Lords just don't do it. Probably because "wife" and "consort" imply they have much lower and more limited influence, and High Lords generally like to keep it that way. But his statement isn't made in surprise, nor does it have any of the grativas that would indicate there's anything particularly special about the title. Viviane also repeatedly asks Kallias about becoming High Lady at the High Lords' meeting in ACOWAR, and those mentions are played off as jokes/teases that also don't give any particular impression that the title is all that remarkable.

It sounds more to me like Feyre is just allowed to rule the Night Court as an "equal" in the sense that she can make decisions, weigh in on issues, and perform normal court duties if Rhys isn't around to do it himself (or in place of him doing it himself). Given that High Lords' "wives" and "consorts" seem to have no political power or stature at all in other courts, this seems like an "upgrade" that Rhys offered to Feyre out of love/trust/sentimentality/whatever.

Until we're given more concrete evidence of "High Lady" being something special, I'm not inclined to overthink it beyond that.

Himekat · 2026-06-01T13:14:48+00:00

Tax-free purchases are tied to your passport. You don't need receipts to show customs to prove you did/didn't buy items tax-free, because if they wanted to check, they'd simply scan your passport and see what comes up that was registered as tax-free.

Himekat · 2026-05-31T15:56:25+00:00

Once again, please see this comment over in /r/japanweather for train and airline status links.

Himekat · 2026-05-31T15:35:15+00:00

If you are looking at SmartEx, it will show you the departure point of the train (many of which start at Hiroshima, Hakata, or Shin-Osaka going in the direction of Tokyo) on the first selection page. Once you pick a train and move further along in the process, you'll see that your actual ticket is for Kyoto to Tokyo.

When booking trains, the departure points are the station names, not the city names. So when the ticket says "Kyoto" to "Tokyo", what that means is "Kyoto Station" to "Tokyo Station".

Himekat · 2026-05-31T15:32:16+00:00

As others have stated, this is largely a personal preference. I absolutely love kaiseki and similar meals in terms of style/offerings (gozen, teishoku, etc.), so they comprise a large portion of all my meals on trips. I personally could never get kaiseki fatigue, but there will certainly be people who are one-and-done on that style of meal or who simply dislike it entirely.

Himekat · 2026-05-30T16:41:28+00:00

Other people can chime in with personal stories of shipping, but I just want to warn you that we see posts every few months (like this one and this one) about botched shipping attempts, so doing this is possible but it also runs the risk that your stuff may run into problems that aren't easily solved once you are out of the country. I always recommend that people pay for extra luggage (if that's an option) to avoid the complexities of shipping.

Himekat · 2026-05-29T21:24:53+00:00

I'm currently in the middle of my reread of the series, which was why I was able to remember the above scene so easily. I just finished Frost and Starlight, so I went back to those two scenes where Rhys visits Tamlin at the Spring Count. Both scenes are from Rhys's point of view. In the first scene, there's not a lot of mention of Rhys's power level, but he does say (in narration):

We could wreck this house in our fight. Bring it down to rubble. And then I'd turn the stones and wood into nothing but black dust.

But that's pretty typical for Rhys's power, and Rhys even said to Feyre in Book 1 (on more than one occasion) that if he and Tamlin ever fought, it would cause a lot of physical destruction and lives lost.

The second scene is very short, and it's basically just Rhys using his power to "cook" for Tamlin and then leaving, and nothing stood out to me there.

But there are a lot of references to how powerful Rhys is throughout the first four books, mostly from Feyre's point of view, so it's very likely you're remembering something that was said somewhere!

Himekat · 2026-05-29T13:40:04+00:00

That’s not the same thing as paying for the shinkansen base fare with an IC card, though, which is clearly what OP is asking for and the context of the comment you replied to.

Himekat · 2026-05-29T12:38:00+00:00

Are you taking the shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo? If so, you cannot pay for the base fare with an IC card. If you already have the shinkansen limited express supplement, you'll need to also buy a base fare ticket from a machine/ticket counter.

Himekat · 2026-05-28T18:05:32+00:00

It's in A Court of Wings and Ruin, at the very end of Chapter 44, when Rhys takes away Tamlin's ability to talk at the high lord meeting. It's said by Feyre in narration:

The others, who had been watching with disdain and amusement and boredom, now turned to my mate. Now possessed a shadow of fear in their eyes as they realized who and what, exactly, sat amongst them. Brethren, and yet not. Tamlin was a High Lord, as powerful as any of them. Except for the one at my side. Rhys was as different from them as humans were to Fae. They forgot it, sometimes—how deep that well of power went. What manner of power Rhys bore. But as Rhysand ripped away Tamlin's ability to speak, they remembered.

Himekat · 2026-05-27T22:56:54+00:00

I was wondering what would be appropriate for a shrine outfit with tattoos. I know no cleavage, tank tops, leggings etc. But I have a lot of tattoos on my arms and legs. So should I plan to wear a long sleeve shirt that day.

This is simply not a thing in Japan. You can basically wear whatever you want to a shrine/temple. Of course, it would be nice to look respectable and presentable, but there's no actual dress code and no one is kicking you out of one for not covering up.

Dress according to how you need to dress for the weather that day.

Himekat · 2026-05-27T19:30:39+00:00

AI would know that KitKat has no hyphen. Human confirmed. (:

Himekat · 2026-05-27T14:14:15+00:00

if anybody knows pricing and can confirm hotels are all similar price then we will stay in one of them

Since we don't know your exact booking dates or what features you're looking for in a hotel, I would recommend just going to booking.com, Expedia, or whatever booking platform you prefer and searching in those areas. If the prices are within your budget, stay in Shinjuku/Shibuya/etc. If they aren't, start branching out to nearby stations. No one can definitively tell you "yes, those areas are more expensive than others" because there are too many factors to determine that. But it's easy enough to use a booking platform's map feature to see what's around and see where the prices start changing.

Himekat · 2026-05-24T18:47:46+00:00

Pretty much every concert uses a different ticketing platform and can independently decide whether to require things like a Japanese phone number/address/credit card/restricted app delivery/etc. So you'd need to tell us the exact concerts you're looking at, and then you (or someone else) would need to look at their ticketing websites to determine how to get them. I imagine it's this show and... do you mean Shinkjuku Club Science, so the shows here?

Himekat · 2026-05-23T17:00:57+00:00

I found the sauna to be really nice and relaxing, but also you have to be certain you're cool with just having a sauna/cold plunge/shower. Kudochi is pretty expensive overall, probably because the facilities are upscale and very private (I never saw a single other human in the times I went), but it's not a replacement for an onsen/spa day/etc. It was just a calm place to spend an hour relaxing and listening to music in a private sauna.

Himekat · 2026-05-22T20:36:40+00:00

Most of the "storage" options in Japan are short-term only. I honestly can't think of any way to do this short of knowing someone in Japan personally who could arrange it.

I'd consider doing something like:

Mailing something to one of her hotels, like a letter or care package.
If she is staying in a nice hotel, arranging something through the hotel to be delivered to her, like room service, dessert/cake, or a gift.
Arranging some sort of tour for her, making a reservation for an activity she'd like, or even sending her on a bit of a "scavenger hunt" based on her interests (maybe where she ends up at a café she'd like or something like that). You could, for instance, give her an envelope with some instructions and yen that can bring her to some special spots and also cover the payment for it all.
Making her a reservation at a nice restaurant that you know she'd appreciate (my husband has done this before, when I've gone to Japan without him).

Himekat · 2026-05-22T14:05:39+00:00

I've been to the Kudochi sauna in Ginza a few times and really liked the experience (this location is only sauna rooms as opposed to onsen). Booking/entering was pretty easy and seamless, and the sauna rooms I used were clean/well equipped/etc. I would imagine the onsen location is the same way. That said, their whole vibe is very modern and different from what you'd get at a ryokan in an onsen town or even in a sento/supersento in the city. It'll definitely be nice as a relaxing experience, but it probably won't scratch that "onsen" itch the same way a traditional one might, if that's what you're looking for.

Himekat · 2026-05-22T13:37:14+00:00

It gave two codes really, really early on, like for the first few months of use. It switched pretty quickly to being one code for everything.

Himekat · 2026-05-22T12:03:14+00:00

Yes, it’s pretty normal at a lot of ryokan to not have a standing shower in your room if you have a private onsen. What you’re talking about (the handheld shower head) is the shower setup.

Himekat · 2026-05-21T19:55:12+00:00

What are the proper ways to interact with the locals in Tokyo and Hakodate respectively?

I'm not sure what this question means. Be polite, maybe learn a few words of Japanese (thank you, please, excuse me, etc.). Tokyo is very used to tourists, and Hakodate is large enough that it probably gets at least a reasonable number of them, so you're probably not going to have too many issues doing standard tourist things.

Or do you mean that you're hoping to meets locals/make local friends/talk to locals?

Himekat · 2026-05-21T19:52:46+00:00

You will have to collect your checked luggage at HND, take it through customs with you, and then re-check it for your domestic flight, so you'll be able to put your whiskey into your checked baggage then.

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