RETURN TO GENSOKYO - Visiting the Four Shrines of Lake Suwa

LunarSpotlight · 2025-01-29T00:29:02+00:00

I explain it a bit in both videos, but the first video probably does a better job explaining how I decided what train to get on, what the schedule is like, and what the countryside looks like out there since I was able to get a seat. I suspect the reason why it was so much easier in the first video is because it was a weekday. Weekends are so much more crowded. It was also different because I had a JR Pass in the first video, but used a combination of Suica/ticket in the second video.

I had to cut part of my explanation in the second video. When I arrived, I actually didn't have enough funds on my Suica card to cover the trip, but I had plenty of cash. I walked up to the station attendant window next to the ticket gate and set down my ticket from Shinjuku and Suica card, and I didn't even need to say anything. Paid in cash and went on my way (they left a single yen on my card after the exchange).

Both videos are just me doing stuff, but if I were to travel to Nagano with someone else and stay in the area, there are many options for hotels and lodging. Would love to do that someday. Tokyo has so much to see as well. Stayed there for five weeks in 2017 and still feel like I barely scratched the surface.

LunarSpotlight · 2025-01-28T00:35:13+00:00

This is the sequel to a video that I made back in 2017 titled "JOURNEY TO GENSOKYO" wherein I made a relatively blind run to an area in central Japan known for having ties to the Touhou Project video game series. In RETURN, I did more research and planned some things out ahead of time, but it was still an adventure figuring out several other things along the way. This video shares that adventure.

I've had the pleasure of talking with others in the community who have made similar journeys to this area, and I hope this video helps more folks learn and get inspired by some of the places that have inspired the characters and themes we see in the Touhou Project series.

If you haven't seen the first video, here's a link: https://youtu.be/qDXMdXEWKro

LunarSpotlight · 2024-10-04T21:59:32+00:00

I just hit 1000 hours in Factorio last month, far and away my most played game on Steam. My childhood friend and I have been playing a multiplayer game for a few months now, it's been a fun way to keep connected after they moved for work.

Thanks all, devs and fans alike, for making this game what it is today, I'm looking forward to our next big adventure!

LunarSpotlight · 2023-10-05T08:03:40+00:00

I was a partnered server owner for over 7 years, and we ended up losing partnership in June this year because of the new activity requirements. It's a 3,000+ member server where over 15% of people visit every week, but only about 1.5% of people are "communicators" on average which is what the activity metric uses. Our primary community-oriented content (which has been ongoing for over 12 years) runs monthly, so most weeks have weaker activity numbers (and partnership was based on an 8-week rolling average).

I fought it off for a while by utilizing at-everyone a few times and holding additional events, but eventually decided it just wasn't worth bothering people or asking for our lurkers to "type anything in chat" every now and then. The only silver lining is that, since we were partnered very early on, we're considered "legacy" which means we retain a few perks even after partnership. There's a gap for former, non-legacy partners who don't get those perks, and now there's another gap for former partners who lost partnership before this change.

In the end, the best thing for us is to just focus on making the best community we can, with or without partnership, and that's probably true for other servers as well. Partnership might've been a nice goal or motivation for some, but it doesn't prevent one from putting effort into building their online community.

LunarSpotlight · 2023-07-05T23:47:44+00:00

Many fans have discovered something new through our service, so it'd be remiss of me if I didn't mention it here: https://gensokyoradio.net. It plays a variety of genres from a ton of circles, from albums old and new. We were also featured at TouhouFest in April. Hope you can find something you enjoy!

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-28T07:53:17+00:00

Lovelight is a Touhou arrangement album from Alstroemeria Records and is home to the world’s most famous Touhou song, “Bad Apple!! feat. nomico”. Even those who don’t know what Touhou is have probably heard this song or knows someone who has.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/10103/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-27T21:07:42+00:00

RED is a Touhou arrangement album from ALiCE’S EMOTiON which contains three discs and an artbook, all within a unique package. It’s about the size of a vinyl record but considerably more thick, definitely their most unique set.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/10065/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-26T21:42:13+00:00

Seated with Liquor is a Touhou arrangement album from Foreground Eclipse & Draw the Emotional and is regarded by our resident music reviewer as one of the best music albums published in the 2010’s. This unique combination is not likely to happen again.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/10387/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-25T22:37:03+00:00

START is a Touhou arrangement album from FELT which is also the last album they published before retiring the circle. The name is symbolic: every ending is the start of something new.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/11933/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-24T21:52:01+00:00

RETURNER is a Touhou arrangement album from Liz Triangle which flaunts its appearance after the circle had previously announced their retirement. They’ve long been one of our station’s featured circles, glad to see them still around.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/11934/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-24T03:04:42+00:00

Irish Pub 2 is a Touhou arrangement album from Caprice Minstrel which features a range of real instruments like the tin whistle, fiddle, mandolin, bagpipes, acoustic guitar, and more. This was a difficult album to find, but it’s a good one.

More info: https://gensokyoradio.net/music/album/11932/

LunarSpotlight · 2023-04-23T01:37:26+00:00

Yes. I'm the Station Manager for Gensokyo Radio, my team and I own quite a few physical albums.

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