2025/3/16-26 日本行：EP1 關西之旅 / 吉伊卡哇購物

去年六月左右，我們前往鳥取以及岡山遊玩，看到許多柯南相關景點也參訪了許多在地博物館。這次我們決定去關西以及四國觀光，因為四國是我們還沒有去過的區域之一。加上最近我們全家都喜歡上吉伊卡哇，我們想說趁這次的機會順便到關西去看看限定店舖賣的吉伊卡哇，還有當地流行的商品。

抵達機場，前往京都

我們首先降落在關西機場，並馬上當天前往京都住宿。在京都，我們提前規劃的行程只有一個：去京都伏見稻荷神社限定及伊卡哇店舖購買限定版娃娃吊飾。當天抵達京都已經大約晚上九點，沒辦法前往任何景點，於是我們決定去逛附近的唐吉訶德，又稱驚安的殿堂。

在台灣的時候，我們充分的查詢資料，發現在唐吉訶德內有販售許多吉利卡哇相關聯名商品，甚至還有專屬的區域。意外的是，唐吉訶德真的比想像中大太多，光是我們去的這一家就有三層樓，導致我們需要查閱樓層簡介，也要在各層樓快速閱覽是否有遺漏的吉卡哇聯名商品。

光是第一天晚上的吉伊卡哇狩獵行程，行李箱內就多了兩隻烏薩奇（吉伊卡哇卡通內的兔子角色）。其中一個是我在台灣就很想要買的兔兔連身裝，在網路上買正版的要 $2400 台幣，但是在日本的唐吉訶德購買卻只需要 $900 台幣左右，讓我毫不猶豫地買下去。

京都及大阪的吉伊卡哇狩獵！

第二天早上，我們馬上動身前往京都伏見稻荷神社，那附近有一家限定吉伊卡哇店舖，感受著穿著狐狸裝的角色娃娃，其中烏薩奇娃娃吊飾是我最想要買的。然而，可能是烏薩奇真的太過有名，店舖內剩下的限定款式並沒有烏薩奇的選項。這令我非常錯愕，而且因為不一定會再補貨，一想到我的包包上永遠都掛不了狐狸裝烏薩奇娃娃，還是有點難過。

既然都來到了稻荷神社附近，我們也決定進去參觀一下。這座神社最有名的就是千鳥居，每一個捐款的人都會獲得一個刻有自己名字和捐款時間的鳥居，並且和其他鳥居排列在一起，這就是為什麼現在會有一長排鳥局一直延續到山頂。

逛完神社之後，我們前往京都的 Kiddy Land 以及寶可夢商店逛逛。這兩個卡通都是我們全家都很喜歡的，不過相比之下最近還是對吉伊卡哇較有熱情。店內的裝潢都非常可愛，而且這間店竟然有三層樓高！！整間店販售的都是卡通周邊商品，其中吉伊卡哇的區域只有三樓的三分之一而已。即使如此，商品的種類還是非常多！

接著，我們就動身前往大阪車站。在大阪有非常多吉伊卡哇專門店，而且他們的規模都不是台灣快閃店能夠比擬的，也因為日本是發源地，他們擁有的娃娃和商品款式也會多很多。

在大阪我們主要也是前往尋找 Kiddy Land，這邊的也有販售許多卡通周邊商品，包括三立鷗，米飛兔，還有其他卡通人物們。有些店會將吉伊卡哇的部分獨立分開來，像是在梅田車站的就被分成一般的 Kiddy Land 以及專門的 Chiikawa Land。

在大阪我購入了章魚燒款式的吉伊還有烏薩奇，我覺得非常可愛，而且在台灣是不太能在實體店面看到的。另外，在那邊販售的商品也有很多公仔的抽獎和各種貼紙卡包，有很多新鮮的商品。最重要的是，價格和台灣相比，真的是便宜滿多，讓整個購物行程都能夠輕鬆愉快。

收集各處烏薩奇鑰匙圈！

在大阪之後，因為去的地方都較為鄉下，人口也比較少，很難遇到那麼大間又能夠發現許多新商品的店家。大部分的購物都是在百貨公司內的動漫和卡通雜貨店。雖然那些店家都還是有許多新商品，但整體來說我們比在京都和大阪買的少很多。

比較特別的是吉伊卡哇有和日本各地各縣市合作推出鑰匙圈，而且每個地區可能不只一種。我們在京都和大阪的 Kiddy Land 都已經收編許多地區的版本。但在後面的旅程當中，在紀念品店都還能夠看到當地特別的款式。最後我們在家裡整理出所有這次旅程購買的鑰匙圈，做成一個板子掛在我們的牆上。我認為這個意義非凡，而且非常能夠提升士氣。重點是真的超級可愛！！

整體來說，這次的旅程包括很多吉伊卡哇購物行程。雖然占比不高，但是因為我們事前有做好很多關於吉伊卡哇店舖的功課，所以購買行程進行的相當順遂，都有買到想要的小可愛。在之後的部落格當中，我會介紹我們實際去走訪，不是吉伊卡哇的景點，敬請期待！

2/15-16 TAI-VEX League: Scorekeeper Volunteer

During the last two days, I volunteered at the final competition of the TAI-VEX League for both the middle school and high school sessions. The whole league competition spans from October to February with 3 competition days, one in Taipei and two in Taichung. The ones I volunteered for were all in Taichung, each being the first and the last competition of the TAI-VEX League.

Scorekeeper referee was the job I volunteered for, we had to watch for violations during a match, and we also had to confirm the scores recorded with the teams on both sides. It was fun, yet it was difficult to keep up with all the moving robots while recording any violations.

This competition session was a bit different from the previous one. It focused on the Skills Challenges rather than the Qualification Matches because the main idea of the competition is to let teams try and beat their Skills Challenge high score to rank higher in the world ranking. Since I am in charge of the qualification matches, there was a long break between the morning and afternoon matches for teams to focus on Skills Challenges.

After all the matches ended, I also helped clean up the arena by taking down the competition field and tables. All the time spent cleaning up made me realize how difficult it is to set up an event like this. There are hundreds of name tags needed, and tons of wires need to be taped to the ground. All the hard work before the competition was the key to making an event successful.

I am really glad I came to help; it was a very enjoyable experience. If I have the chance to come again, I will definitely do so. Thanks to the event organizers who made this event possible.

1/25 FLL Explore Competition Volunteering

The First Competition nationals are held once every year around January. It has five consecutive days of competition, each with a different competition category. The one I participated in on January 25th was the FLL Explore and FLL Discover category, in which the participants are around 6-10 years old.

My volunteering position was team check-in and photographer. I registered with my friend, and we were both assigned the same job. The check-in time spans from the morning to the afternoon because the competition allowed teams to check in at least one hour before their presentation. This helps the teams that are presenting in the afternoon save time, as they don't have to check in in the morning first.

Our job was to confirm the participants' ID to the name on the registration sheet, including both the coaches and the students. We also have to count the number of people who actually came after all teams complete check-in, so the event organizer can pay the exact ticket money for the competition arena.

Some people also come to ask questions about the competition schedule, and this is also our duty to answer them or guide them to the places. 

We are also encouraged to take pictures of the teams at their pit because sometimes it is hard to predict when and where some interesting moments will occur. In fact, I did take some photos where the students were introducing their project to other people and they seemed so into it.

Lastly, at the award ceremony, we helped with delivering the medals to the judges who were handing the awards to the teams. There were about 60 awards so we worked really hard to keep up with the pace of the ceremony.

Overall, the volunteering experience was great! The volunteer manager was really kind and nice when assigning our jobs. She guided us through the specific details and chatted with us during the lunch break. I had a really fun time volunteering and will definitely come again next year.