Well, I don't think I mentioned this in my blog before, but I made a pact with myself. And that was that instead of wasting away all my time here, at least once a week, I'd get out and do something. Today was supposed to be that day. I got most of my studying done yesterday, and figured I'd do some sightseeing in Kyoto today. So, I got up, and it was raining outside.
I checked the weather for Kyoto. Rain all day.
I checked the weather for Osaka. Rain all day.
Well, screw you, weather. I guess I'll just say inside all day, studying and practicing my juggling.
Oh, yeah. I juggle now. Or rather, I'm learning. My speaking partner Miku gave me a few souvenirs from a trip she took as a thank you for the gifts I brought her from America. She's really too nice. Anyway, one of them was three juggling balls. So ever since then, I've been trying to get the hang of them. This video has been pretty useful. Right now I'm on step 9.
I guess maybe if I study all day today as well, I'll have some free time during the week to do something interesting.
Anyway. On the off chance that any of you were wondering about dorm life, heres a brief update.
My roommate is still crazy, but we're getting along much better. After we had a friendly chat about how things are going between us, he no longer acts like he wants me gone or dead, and we have conversations about things other than how much noise my lungs are making.
I'm also getting along pretty well with the other people in my unit.
I'm not, however, getting along too well with one of their friends who likes to visit. Often.
Her name is Jen, and she's from 4chan. For those of you who don't know what 4chan is, consider yourself lucky, and pray you never really find out. In summary, 4chan is the cess pool of the internet. Everyone's identity is anonymous, and in most parts of the site, there are no rules. Which means that flaming, arguing, personal attacks, racism, pornography, violence, and offensive jokes are not only allowed, they are practically encouraged.
4chan would be easy enough to ignore, if only it stayed on it's own website. But they make a habit of invading other sites they don't like (which is pretty much every site that is not 4chan), and what's more, they are something of internet trend-setters. Which means that their jokes and sayings tend to spread to all parts of the internet like some horrid virus.
Jen is the worst example of a 4channer. Practically everything out of her mouth is a 4chan-ism. If she's not spouting out their jokes or lingo, she's dragging in her laptop to show people the latest pictures she downloaded from the site.
What's more, she seems to have taken an instant dislike to me, and even worse, whenever she's around, the level of conversation in the dorm tends to degrade to the same level things generally stayed at in my old unit.
I suppose, all in all, I aught to be thankful she doesn't actually live here, and that things are fairly nice when she's gone.
Oh, and I am trying a bit harder on the making friends thing, with some amount of success. One of my "pals" that I talk to a lot in my classes was talking about his plans for going to a cool restaurant and then to an arcade after class on Friday. Since I, as usual, had nothing planned, I finally got the guts to drop some hints that I would be interested in going along with him. He picked up on it, and told me that would be fine. We met at his dorm, and I got to meet a couple of his friends, and we all watched Dragon Ball Z before going out on the town and having a pretty good time. The restaurant was awesome, and I don't think I have gotten as full as I did that night since coming to Japan. The arcade was a bit small, but also fun. We had some fun shooting zombies in Silent Hill, and then struck wacky and embarrassing poses in one of the ever-popular and ever-present Japanese photo booths.
So, that's my life, for better or for worse.
Blog at you later.
This is TIM, signing off.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
TIM goes to Den Den Town (Or: Kids, Don't Trust What You Read on the Internet)
Well, come Monday, it was finally time to do what I came here for: Geek Out.
I was bound for Den Den Town, aka Nipponbashi, the Otaku Capital of Osaka. Several days before, I had painstakingly researched how to get there. I went to the official English-language Osaka Tourism page, and printed out directions on how to get to Osaka from the Keihan Line (the train that runs through my city), and how to get to Nipponbashi once I got there. Then I printed out maps, lists of stores in the area, the whole shebang.
I had my alarm set for 9:00 in the morning, and actually managed to get up sometime around 9:30. Around 10:30, I was fed and sanitized sufficiently to go out in public. So I hoofed it to the nearest bus stop (having sufficiently gotten over my phobia of getting kicked off again), and headed for the station.
I took a moment to admire the Freudian sculpture at the entrance, and then began studying the map of stops. I found the one that matched where my directions told me I should go, bought my ticket, managed to find the right platform, and waited.
Finally, a train came by that had a sign on it indicating that it was both The Express, and bound in the proper direction. I boarded, rife with anticipation.
Well, the ride took a while. I'm not sure how long, but it gave me plenty of time to admire the scenery, and marvel at the continuing success of the Pokemon empire. I had to change trains a couple times, as per the instructions I had printed out, and I managed to do so without incident. Finally, I arrived! I left the train, full of excitement. I looked around the station, trying to figure out if it connected anywhere with the subway, the fastest way to get to Den Den Town.
The only thing I noticed, however, was a sign pointing the way to the Kyoto Tour Bus.
Weird, I thought. Why would people go to Kyoto from Osaka? I brushed it off and made for the exit.
And there I was! Osaka!
But...
It's not quite as... city-like as I expected. Oh, well, I figured. I must be on the outskirts. I looked around for the entrance to the subway, but couldn't find it. I did, however, confirm that the burgers sold there were NOT homosexual.
I found a bus stop, and thought that perhaps I could get to Den Den town by bus. But I didn't have any directions for that... which meant I'd have to ask someone. And I figured if I were to ask anyone, it might as well be the staff at the station. So, I backtracked and went back underground and found the help booth.
I entered, and said, in halting Japanese, "Excuse me. I want to go to Den Den Town, but... I don't know/don't understand."
Well, the lady at the booth didn't understand either. I decided to make it simpler.
"Den Den Town," I said. "Nipponbashi," and showed here the name on paper.
"Ah, Nipponbashi," she said. She pulled out a Japanese-language and English-language subway map, and compared them for a moment. Then she turned the English map towards me, and circled one of the stops. "Here," she said. Then she circled another one, one that looked very far away. "You go here. Transfer subway. Ride to Nipponbashi."
"Thank you very much," I said, and took the map with me.
Well, I was a little cheesed off. I had just gotten there, and I had to get on the train again?
I studied the list of stops again. Okay, here's where I am... where's this stop I'm going to?
Wait... THERE it is. Wait. It's on, like, the complete...opposite...side...
I frantically pulled out the map again, and found the two stops she had circled. I looked at the one I was headed for, then my eyes darted to the one I was at. Then they zoomed out a bit to take in the name of the city I was in:
Kyoto.
OH MY GOD! WHY? WHY DID THE DIRECTIONS FROM THE OSAKA TOURISM AGENCY TAKE ME TO KYOTO!? THAT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHERE I WANT TO GO!
The Keihan line was MADE TO CONNECT OSAKA AND KYOTO. I went AS FAR AS POSSIBLE in the WRONG direction. Did Osaka hate tourists so much, that it tried to ship them all to a different city?!
After frothing at the mouth for a while, and banging my head against the concrete wall, I composed myself enough to buy a ticket aaaaallll the way back, back past Hirakata-shi where I started, aaaallll the way to the other end of the rail line, AKA Osaka.
I fumed on the train for what seemed like an hour, listening to ANGRY music on my ipod, until FINALLY, I arrived.
At the REAL Osaka.
Maybe.
This time I didn't even see the light of day. I immediately found the sign directing me to the subway, so I went down, down, down, deep into the bowels of the Earth. Finally, I arrived at the ticket machine. Here's what the route looked like.
Fortunately, there was a handy chart nearby listing the stops in alphabetical order, along with the price of the ticket to get there. I've never been so glad I can read hiragana...
So, ticket bought, dingy subway boarded, and I was left to stew in my anticipation once again.
Finally, I arrived at the stop indicated by the directions I printed off...
Well, maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to rely on, but seriously, I'd like to see them get me to Kyoto from the OSAKA SUBWAY LINE.
Regardless, the train stopped, I got up, and sprinted up the stairs.
And up the escalator.
And some more stairs.
MAN was I underground.
FINALLY, I REACHED DAYLIGHT!
Huh. Looks like it had been raining. Oh, well. Gotta look around... make sure I'm in the right place.
Let's see....
Five Stories of Windows-related software.
Big, flashy electronics stores.
Giant ad for Manga shop...
An Akira billboard...
A Gundam painted on a four story Gundam shop...
Welcome home, TIM. Welcome home.
I was finally there. I just about fainted from excitement.
No, wait. That's hunger. The plan had been to get there in time for lunch. But what should have taken about half an hour and cost me about $5, had taken more like three hours and cost me closer to $15. So at this point, I was starving.
Now... an acquaintance of mine who had been there earlier had assured me that there were these things called Maid Cafes everywhere. Now, I know. It sounds...
creepy. I won't argue with you there. But I figured, when in Japan, do as the Otaku do, so I thought I might check one out.
Well, I walked a few blocks, and I guess all the maids were staying in out of the rain, because there were none to be seen. In fact, the only food I saw was a two story McDonald's.
Ah, well. Works for me.
I feasted on double cheese, and then hit the streets, refreshed and re-energized. First stop: That AWESOME Gundam building.
Now, you already saw the outer facade. But the show doesn't stop there. Right at the entrance, there's a big ol' person sized model. It could be mine for $1,750! And then on the inside, all the merchandise you could possibly want. And it wasn't just sitting in boxes on the shelf, either. They had lots of massive battle scenes and other displays. [x] [x] [x] [x]
And of course, the chixx0rz.
Not only that, they also had leggo gundams, and gundam puzzles, and costumes, and clothing,
and that's about when the clerk came up to me and pointed at one of the many prominent "No Photographs" signs you MIGHT have already noticed, but that I, in my excitement, overlooked.
I awkwardly apologized, and started to put my camera away.
JUST THEN, THE BUILDING SHOOK, AS A GIGANTIC ROBOT FIST SLAMMED THROUGH THE WALL, SENDING SPARKS AND SHRAPNEL FLYING EVERYWHERE! I JUST HAD TIME TO SNAP THIS ONE PICTURE BEFORE IT WITHDREW, TAKING MOST OF THE WALL WITH IT!
No, not really.
What actually happened was that I excused myself, and headed for the escalator to the second story. At the top, there was this MAGNIFICENT display of a life-sized gundam fist protruding through the wall, with the lights all flickery and everything, like it had just punched through and shorted out everything. I could only gape at it as I passed by.
Well, I know that they said "no pictures."
But I was a BAD GAIJIN! BAD!
I lurked around the top floor for a while longer, then walked back down to the bottom. Lurked there, then made for the escalator again. As soon as no clerks were in sight, I whipped out the camera and tried for one good shot.
As you can see, I failed. But, oh well. Better than nothing.
Anyway, somewhere throughout my cavorting about, I found this awesome little stress ball. It was just a little over a dollar, so I knew I had to have it.
Which left the rest of the shop.
Now, I've never been a huge fan of the Gundam franchise. I've seen maybe two or three episodes of any of the normal shows, and almost a full season of the "weird spin-off" show.
All the same, I knew I had to have a Gundam. Just one! They're so cool.
At first, I figured I'd be adventurous and get a model I'd have to put together myself. This was abandoned once I realized I couldn't read the difficulty ratings on the boxes, and I had as much chance as getting an expert level kit as a beginner one. So I started browsing the action figures.
They all looked pretty cool, but one caught my eye.
Okay, three. It was a three-pack; a trio of dark-colored gundams. I had never seen Gundams like this; they were almost always white, red, blue, you know, bright colors. I looked and looked for a single one that I'd rather have, but couldn't find one. So, I sprung for the three-pack.
Wallet: Ow.
Me: Shut up.
Total cost of this store: 3,612 Yen ($31.36)
After that, I set about exploring once more.
In the course of my adventures, I happened to meet my professor outside of a porn shop.
Okay, that's not exactly FAIR. Because about 80% of the shops there qualify as one, depending on your standards. But like most of them, the bottom floor was clean stuff (well, mostly. Separating the family friendly from the adult entertainment is not exactly a priority with the Japanese.)
Anyway, we chatted for a while, and then split off, with me going into the store he had presumably just left. The first thing I noticed inside was the cashier.
She was, how you say, very into the spirit of things. That is to say, she was cosplaying a character from one of my favorite anime. After waiting for her to be un-busy, and getting over a sudden bout of shyness, I managed to muster up the courage to stammeringly ask her if I could take her picture (in Japanese). She agreed, and struck a pose. Come to think of it, I'm not sure which character she was supposed to be...since none of them had hair like that...
Ah, well. No use worrying over the details.
In any case, after that I set about exploring the store. The place was jam-packed with figures and comic books of every kind. Couldn't read the books, so I mostly concentrated on the figures. A lot of them were actually from Gachapon, the little capsule machines you put a couple dollars in, turn the crank, and get a cheap prize? Well, those things are a much bigger deal here, with turns at them ranging up to three dollars, and the prizes are much better. Anyway, apparently selling them individually is big business, because you can charge more than the machines, since customers can choose which one they're buying.
Well, I ended up not buying anything there. I ogled over a couple Haruhi figures, but at over $100, there was no way I was dropping the cash for those things. So, it was time to move on.
The next shop I hit, I almost missed. From the outside, it looked like it just had some girly costumes. But then I noticed the stream of people of both genders going in and out, and decided it might be worth a look-see. I was glad I did. For this was the store where I hit my largest jackpot, and scored the deepest wound on my wallet.
It did indeed have costumes of every description, but oh, it had so much more. Namely, it had what I had been wanting all along: Haruhi figures at prices I could afford.
I actually explored the store for a long time before I found them. There was no lack of things to look at. Figures, Gachapon prizes, trading cards, costumes, CDs, DVDs, practically everything an Otaku could want. Finally, I came across a shelf jam packed with them.
But which ones should I choose?! There were too many. Different sizes, different poses, different levels of detail, sets, no sets, and of course, the biggest and most unpredictable variable: Price.
It was an incredibly hard decision choosing which ones to buy. I actually had to just put them all down and go somewhere else for a while to calm down before going back to decide which ones I wanted.
In the end, I bought three.
First was a matching set of my two favorite characters, the stoic Nagato and Haruhi, the great and terrible.
I also couldn't resist a smaller version of Haruhi, both because of the cool schoolroom set she came with, and her intensely dissatisfied expression.
Total Damage: 5,250 Yen ($45.58)
All in all, the damage was moderate, considering that this was my first run-in with collectibles from a show I love, that you absolutely cannot get in America. I WAS rather disappointed with their lack of Nagato figures, though (her being my favorite).
I wandered back in the direction I had come after that, and spotted a store I had briefly entered when I first arrived, before being driven back out by hunger. It most closely fitted the American description of a "toy store" of all the shops I had visited. Plastic, plastic, nothing but plastic.
It was beautiful.
It had a lot of retro junk, but also some semi-modern pieces. It was those that had caught my eye the first time I was there, and I aggressively searched them out again: Eva figures.
Now, this being probably the most famous anime series ever made, I knew I had to pay my respects. Plus, the merch was just plain cool. I didn't go bonkers, though. The main thing that caught my attention was one of the so-called Angels. He's a big sucker, but he doesn't move any. But I can't have him terrorizing my dorm room, can I?
Who shall rise up to oppose this fearsome beast?
None other than THIS GUY! Eva Unit 01.
He is EXTREMELY poseable, comes with two heads and about a million hands. Oh, yeah. I'm gonna have some fun with this one.
Unfortunately, this store, like pretty much FRIGGIN ALL OF THEM, did not allow pictures, for some reason. Which is a shame, because aside from all the merch, they had a life size Darth Vader, and a very odd display of a life-sized Spider Man with some sort of devil mask on.
I tried to take a picture of it, but the clerk came "sumimasen"-ing at me.
So, I did what I could. Crossed the bridge to the other side of the street, and tried to take a picture from there.
It didn't turn out great.
Total Damage from this store: 3,300 Yen ($28.65)
Aside from all that, the rest of the trip was pretty much aimless wandering. I was getting tired, my shopping bags were heavy, and my wallet was conspicuously lighter. I knew I didn't want to spend any more money, so I just kind of wandered in the general direction of the station, stopping at whatever shop caught my eye.
I told myself I was only looking, but man, was it hard. Of special danger were those wolves in sheep's clothing, the Gachapon machines. It seems so innocent, just one or two hundred yen per turn. But then you get another one, and another one, and another...
Well, you get the idea.
Anyway, about the time I found another stockpile of Haruhi figures, complete with several varieties of Nagato I barely managed to keep myself from buying (this time), I figured it was about time to head home.
On the train ride back, I took the time to muse about the preponderance of adult merchandise mixed in with all the tamer Otaku fare. As I said before, most of it was sort of tacked on upstairs, an addition to the regular stuff. But there were plenty of shops where it was all mixed together, and I did spy at least one store that was COMPLETELY devoted to selling adult videos.
Eh? What do you mean, "Did I buy any?" That's an absolutely preposterous question. I thought we already went over the prices of DVDs in Japan. D:< href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujoshi">Fujioshi streaming in and out of the shops, along with their scruffy male otaku counterparts, passing by each other without so much as a blush as they went about their shopping.
But what I really wonder about is the adult model/figure industry. All the shops I went in had, in addition to the tamer stuff such as what I bought, large quantities of significantly more risque figures. Well, perhaps risque is a bit of an understatement...
In any case, these are obviously getting manufactured by the truckload, and presumably being bought up like there's no tomorrow. But by WHO?
These aren't like a cheap rag that people buy in a gas station and throw away the next day. We're talking big, permanent pieces of "art" that go for tens of thousands of yen. What are these people doing with them? Shoving them in their closet? Setting them on their coffee tables as a conversation piece?
God knows.
All I know is that if I'm gonna shell out cash money for a model of one of my favorite anime heroines, she's going to be in attire suitable for me to stick her up on a shelf where everyone can see her.
I guess some people don't have to worry about visitors. :|
In any case, I did make it home alright, worn but happy.
The total damage to my pocketbook was about 13,287 Yen ($115.37), so that pretty much takes care of my spending money for... the year...
At least, the part I earned myself.
And I only visited the tiniest little fraction of the Otaku Heaven called Den Den Town. :|
I'll be back, but not until my wallet has time to heal. XD
As it turns out, the gundam I bought are More than Meets the Eye [/horrible pun.]
They actually all transform, which really takes me back to my power rangers days. Good times, good times...
For details on them, and more fun with my eva figure, just check out my photobucket account.
As for myself, I've spent three days writing this, so I think it's time to wrap it up.
This is Timzor,
Signing off.
PS: My shelves look much less empty now, yes?
Click
Click
I was bound for Den Den Town, aka Nipponbashi, the Otaku Capital of Osaka. Several days before, I had painstakingly researched how to get there. I went to the official English-language Osaka Tourism page, and printed out directions on how to get to Osaka from the Keihan Line (the train that runs through my city), and how to get to Nipponbashi once I got there. Then I printed out maps, lists of stores in the area, the whole shebang.
I had my alarm set for 9:00 in the morning, and actually managed to get up sometime around 9:30. Around 10:30, I was fed and sanitized sufficiently to go out in public. So I hoofed it to the nearest bus stop (having sufficiently gotten over my phobia of getting kicked off again), and headed for the station.
I took a moment to admire the Freudian sculpture at the entrance, and then began studying the map of stops. I found the one that matched where my directions told me I should go, bought my ticket, managed to find the right platform, and waited.
Finally, a train came by that had a sign on it indicating that it was both The Express, and bound in the proper direction. I boarded, rife with anticipation.
Well, the ride took a while. I'm not sure how long, but it gave me plenty of time to admire the scenery, and marvel at the continuing success of the Pokemon empire. I had to change trains a couple times, as per the instructions I had printed out, and I managed to do so without incident. Finally, I arrived! I left the train, full of excitement. I looked around the station, trying to figure out if it connected anywhere with the subway, the fastest way to get to Den Den Town.
The only thing I noticed, however, was a sign pointing the way to the Kyoto Tour Bus.
Weird, I thought. Why would people go to Kyoto from Osaka? I brushed it off and made for the exit.
And there I was! Osaka!
But...
It's not quite as... city-like as I expected. Oh, well, I figured. I must be on the outskirts. I looked around for the entrance to the subway, but couldn't find it. I did, however, confirm that the burgers sold there were NOT homosexual.
I found a bus stop, and thought that perhaps I could get to Den Den town by bus. But I didn't have any directions for that... which meant I'd have to ask someone. And I figured if I were to ask anyone, it might as well be the staff at the station. So, I backtracked and went back underground and found the help booth.
I entered, and said, in halting Japanese, "Excuse me. I want to go to Den Den Town, but... I don't know/don't understand."
Well, the lady at the booth didn't understand either. I decided to make it simpler.
"Den Den Town," I said. "Nipponbashi," and showed here the name on paper.
"Ah, Nipponbashi," she said. She pulled out a Japanese-language and English-language subway map, and compared them for a moment. Then she turned the English map towards me, and circled one of the stops. "Here," she said. Then she circled another one, one that looked very far away. "You go here. Transfer subway. Ride to Nipponbashi."
"Thank you very much," I said, and took the map with me.
Well, I was a little cheesed off. I had just gotten there, and I had to get on the train again?
I studied the list of stops again. Okay, here's where I am... where's this stop I'm going to?
Wait... THERE it is. Wait. It's on, like, the complete...opposite...side...
I frantically pulled out the map again, and found the two stops she had circled. I looked at the one I was headed for, then my eyes darted to the one I was at. Then they zoomed out a bit to take in the name of the city I was in:
Kyoto.
OH MY GOD! WHY? WHY DID THE DIRECTIONS FROM THE OSAKA TOURISM AGENCY TAKE ME TO KYOTO!? THAT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHERE I WANT TO GO!
The Keihan line was MADE TO CONNECT OSAKA AND KYOTO. I went AS FAR AS POSSIBLE in the WRONG direction. Did Osaka hate tourists so much, that it tried to ship them all to a different city?!
After frothing at the mouth for a while, and banging my head against the concrete wall, I composed myself enough to buy a ticket aaaaallll the way back, back past Hirakata-shi where I started, aaaallll the way to the other end of the rail line, AKA Osaka.
I fumed on the train for what seemed like an hour, listening to ANGRY music on my ipod, until FINALLY, I arrived.
At the REAL Osaka.
Maybe.
This time I didn't even see the light of day. I immediately found the sign directing me to the subway, so I went down, down, down, deep into the bowels of the Earth. Finally, I arrived at the ticket machine. Here's what the route looked like.
Fortunately, there was a handy chart nearby listing the stops in alphabetical order, along with the price of the ticket to get there. I've never been so glad I can read hiragana...
So, ticket bought, dingy subway boarded, and I was left to stew in my anticipation once again.
Finally, I arrived at the stop indicated by the directions I printed off...
Well, maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to rely on, but seriously, I'd like to see them get me to Kyoto from the OSAKA SUBWAY LINE.
Regardless, the train stopped, I got up, and sprinted up the stairs.
And up the escalator.
And some more stairs.
MAN was I underground.
FINALLY, I REACHED DAYLIGHT!
Huh. Looks like it had been raining. Oh, well. Gotta look around... make sure I'm in the right place.
Let's see....
Five Stories of Windows-related software.
Big, flashy electronics stores.
Giant ad for Manga shop...
An Akira billboard...
A Gundam painted on a four story Gundam shop...
Welcome home, TIM. Welcome home.
I was finally there. I just about fainted from excitement.
No, wait. That's hunger. The plan had been to get there in time for lunch. But what should have taken about half an hour and cost me about $5, had taken more like three hours and cost me closer to $15. So at this point, I was starving.
Now... an acquaintance of mine who had been there earlier had assured me that there were these things called Maid Cafes everywhere. Now, I know. It sounds...
creepy. I won't argue with you there. But I figured, when in Japan, do as the Otaku do, so I thought I might check one out.
Well, I walked a few blocks, and I guess all the maids were staying in out of the rain, because there were none to be seen. In fact, the only food I saw was a two story McDonald's.
Ah, well. Works for me.
I feasted on double cheese, and then hit the streets, refreshed and re-energized. First stop: That AWESOME Gundam building.
Now, you already saw the outer facade. But the show doesn't stop there. Right at the entrance, there's a big ol' person sized model. It could be mine for $1,750! And then on the inside, all the merchandise you could possibly want. And it wasn't just sitting in boxes on the shelf, either. They had lots of massive battle scenes and other displays. [x] [x] [x] [x]
And of course, the chixx0rz.
Not only that, they also had leggo gundams, and gundam puzzles, and costumes, and clothing,
and that's about when the clerk came up to me and pointed at one of the many prominent "No Photographs" signs you MIGHT have already noticed, but that I, in my excitement, overlooked.
I awkwardly apologized, and started to put my camera away.
JUST THEN, THE BUILDING SHOOK, AS A GIGANTIC ROBOT FIST SLAMMED THROUGH THE WALL, SENDING SPARKS AND SHRAPNEL FLYING EVERYWHERE! I JUST HAD TIME TO SNAP THIS ONE PICTURE BEFORE IT WITHDREW, TAKING MOST OF THE WALL WITH IT!
No, not really.
What actually happened was that I excused myself, and headed for the escalator to the second story. At the top, there was this MAGNIFICENT display of a life-sized gundam fist protruding through the wall, with the lights all flickery and everything, like it had just punched through and shorted out everything. I could only gape at it as I passed by.
Well, I know that they said "no pictures."
But I was a BAD GAIJIN! BAD!
I lurked around the top floor for a while longer, then walked back down to the bottom. Lurked there, then made for the escalator again. As soon as no clerks were in sight, I whipped out the camera and tried for one good shot.
As you can see, I failed. But, oh well. Better than nothing.
Anyway, somewhere throughout my cavorting about, I found this awesome little stress ball. It was just a little over a dollar, so I knew I had to have it.
Which left the rest of the shop.
Now, I've never been a huge fan of the Gundam franchise. I've seen maybe two or three episodes of any of the normal shows, and almost a full season of the "weird spin-off" show.
All the same, I knew I had to have a Gundam. Just one! They're so cool.
At first, I figured I'd be adventurous and get a model I'd have to put together myself. This was abandoned once I realized I couldn't read the difficulty ratings on the boxes, and I had as much chance as getting an expert level kit as a beginner one. So I started browsing the action figures.
They all looked pretty cool, but one caught my eye.
Okay, three. It was a three-pack; a trio of dark-colored gundams. I had never seen Gundams like this; they were almost always white, red, blue, you know, bright colors. I looked and looked for a single one that I'd rather have, but couldn't find one. So, I sprung for the three-pack.
Wallet: Ow.
Me: Shut up.
Total cost of this store: 3,612 Yen ($31.36)
After that, I set about exploring once more.
In the course of my adventures, I happened to meet my professor outside of a porn shop.
Okay, that's not exactly FAIR. Because about 80% of the shops there qualify as one, depending on your standards. But like most of them, the bottom floor was clean stuff (well, mostly. Separating the family friendly from the adult entertainment is not exactly a priority with the Japanese.)
Anyway, we chatted for a while, and then split off, with me going into the store he had presumably just left. The first thing I noticed inside was the cashier.
She was, how you say, very into the spirit of things. That is to say, she was cosplaying a character from one of my favorite anime. After waiting for her to be un-busy, and getting over a sudden bout of shyness, I managed to muster up the courage to stammeringly ask her if I could take her picture (in Japanese). She agreed, and struck a pose. Come to think of it, I'm not sure which character she was supposed to be...since none of them had hair like that...
Ah, well. No use worrying over the details.
In any case, after that I set about exploring the store. The place was jam-packed with figures and comic books of every kind. Couldn't read the books, so I mostly concentrated on the figures. A lot of them were actually from Gachapon, the little capsule machines you put a couple dollars in, turn the crank, and get a cheap prize? Well, those things are a much bigger deal here, with turns at them ranging up to three dollars, and the prizes are much better. Anyway, apparently selling them individually is big business, because you can charge more than the machines, since customers can choose which one they're buying.
Well, I ended up not buying anything there. I ogled over a couple Haruhi figures, but at over $100, there was no way I was dropping the cash for those things. So, it was time to move on.
The next shop I hit, I almost missed. From the outside, it looked like it just had some girly costumes. But then I noticed the stream of people of both genders going in and out, and decided it might be worth a look-see. I was glad I did. For this was the store where I hit my largest jackpot, and scored the deepest wound on my wallet.
It did indeed have costumes of every description, but oh, it had so much more. Namely, it had what I had been wanting all along: Haruhi figures at prices I could afford.
I actually explored the store for a long time before I found them. There was no lack of things to look at. Figures, Gachapon prizes, trading cards, costumes, CDs, DVDs, practically everything an Otaku could want. Finally, I came across a shelf jam packed with them.
But which ones should I choose?! There were too many. Different sizes, different poses, different levels of detail, sets, no sets, and of course, the biggest and most unpredictable variable: Price.
It was an incredibly hard decision choosing which ones to buy. I actually had to just put them all down and go somewhere else for a while to calm down before going back to decide which ones I wanted.
In the end, I bought three.
First was a matching set of my two favorite characters, the stoic Nagato and Haruhi, the great and terrible.
I also couldn't resist a smaller version of Haruhi, both because of the cool schoolroom set she came with, and her intensely dissatisfied expression.
Total Damage: 5,250 Yen ($45.58)
All in all, the damage was moderate, considering that this was my first run-in with collectibles from a show I love, that you absolutely cannot get in America. I WAS rather disappointed with their lack of Nagato figures, though (her being my favorite).
I wandered back in the direction I had come after that, and spotted a store I had briefly entered when I first arrived, before being driven back out by hunger. It most closely fitted the American description of a "toy store" of all the shops I had visited. Plastic, plastic, nothing but plastic.
It was beautiful.
It had a lot of retro junk, but also some semi-modern pieces. It was those that had caught my eye the first time I was there, and I aggressively searched them out again: Eva figures.
Now, this being probably the most famous anime series ever made, I knew I had to pay my respects. Plus, the merch was just plain cool. I didn't go bonkers, though. The main thing that caught my attention was one of the so-called Angels. He's a big sucker, but he doesn't move any. But I can't have him terrorizing my dorm room, can I?
Who shall rise up to oppose this fearsome beast?
None other than THIS GUY! Eva Unit 01.
He is EXTREMELY poseable, comes with two heads and about a million hands. Oh, yeah. I'm gonna have some fun with this one.
Unfortunately, this store, like pretty much FRIGGIN ALL OF THEM, did not allow pictures, for some reason. Which is a shame, because aside from all the merch, they had a life size Darth Vader, and a very odd display of a life-sized Spider Man with some sort of devil mask on.
I tried to take a picture of it, but the clerk came "sumimasen"-ing at me.
So, I did what I could. Crossed the bridge to the other side of the street, and tried to take a picture from there.
It didn't turn out great.
Total Damage from this store: 3,300 Yen ($28.65)
Aside from all that, the rest of the trip was pretty much aimless wandering. I was getting tired, my shopping bags were heavy, and my wallet was conspicuously lighter. I knew I didn't want to spend any more money, so I just kind of wandered in the general direction of the station, stopping at whatever shop caught my eye.
I told myself I was only looking, but man, was it hard. Of special danger were those wolves in sheep's clothing, the Gachapon machines. It seems so innocent, just one or two hundred yen per turn. But then you get another one, and another one, and another...
Well, you get the idea.
Anyway, about the time I found another stockpile of Haruhi figures, complete with several varieties of Nagato I barely managed to keep myself from buying (this time), I figured it was about time to head home.
On the train ride back, I took the time to muse about the preponderance of adult merchandise mixed in with all the tamer Otaku fare. As I said before, most of it was sort of tacked on upstairs, an addition to the regular stuff. But there were plenty of shops where it was all mixed together, and I did spy at least one store that was COMPLETELY devoted to selling adult videos.
Eh? What do you mean, "Did I buy any?" That's an absolutely preposterous question. I thought we already went over the prices of DVDs in Japan. D:< href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujoshi">Fujioshi streaming in and out of the shops, along with their scruffy male otaku counterparts, passing by each other without so much as a blush as they went about their shopping.
But what I really wonder about is the adult model/figure industry. All the shops I went in had, in addition to the tamer stuff such as what I bought, large quantities of significantly more risque figures. Well, perhaps risque is a bit of an understatement...
In any case, these are obviously getting manufactured by the truckload, and presumably being bought up like there's no tomorrow. But by WHO?
These aren't like a cheap rag that people buy in a gas station and throw away the next day. We're talking big, permanent pieces of "art" that go for tens of thousands of yen. What are these people doing with them? Shoving them in their closet? Setting them on their coffee tables as a conversation piece?
God knows.
All I know is that if I'm gonna shell out cash money for a model of one of my favorite anime heroines, she's going to be in attire suitable for me to stick her up on a shelf where everyone can see her.
I guess some people don't have to worry about visitors. :|
In any case, I did make it home alright, worn but happy.
The total damage to my pocketbook was about 13,287 Yen ($115.37), so that pretty much takes care of my spending money for... the year...
At least, the part I earned myself.
And I only visited the tiniest little fraction of the Otaku Heaven called Den Den Town. :|
I'll be back, but not until my wallet has time to heal. XD
As it turns out, the gundam I bought are More than Meets the Eye [/horrible pun.]
They actually all transform, which really takes me back to my power rangers days. Good times, good times...
For details on them, and more fun with my eva figure, just check out my photobucket account.
As for myself, I've spent three days writing this, so I think it's time to wrap it up.
This is Timzor,
Signing off.
PS: My shelves look much less empty now, yes?
Click
Click
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Woot! Otaku Town, here I come!
I'm psyched. Immediately after I made my last emo post, and started racking my brain for things to do this weekend, the answer hit me like a ton of brightly colored bricks.
I'm going to Den Den Town.
I'm going to Den Den Town.
I should probably explain. In Tokyo, there is a part of the city called Akihabara. It is well known as the otaku capital of Japan. There are shops that sell everything otaku: computers, electronics, games, toys, models, anime, manga, you name it.
Well, in Osaka, they have their own version of that district: Nipponbashi, or Den Den Town. Even though I'll be going it alone, I'm completely psyched about it. I don't know whether the stores will be open on Sunday, but my teacher said that most of them should be open on Monday, because stores like that usually open on holidays, even if they're not usually open on weekdays.
Why am I not going on Saturday? Well, I was going to, but my "home visit" (cheap knockoff of homestay for people who couldn't get a real homestay family) partner wants me to go with her to her friend's house to make takoyaki. Now, I haven't even met her FAMILY yet, the whole point of the program. And I don't think I'm gonna be a big fan of fried octopus dumplings, either. But hey. When you're a lonely nerd floating around in Japan, and you get an invitation to hang out with a couple cute girls and get some free food, you don't turn that down.
Aaaanyway.
Why am I not going on Saturday? Well, I was going to, but my "home visit" (cheap knockoff of homestay for people who couldn't get a real homestay family) partner wants me to go with her to her friend's house to make takoyaki. Now, I haven't even met her FAMILY yet, the whole point of the program. And I don't think I'm gonna be a big fan of fried octopus dumplings, either. But hey. When you're a lonely nerd floating around in Japan, and you get an invitation to hang out with a couple cute girls and get some free food, you don't turn that down.
Aaaanyway.
I've been looking all over the internet for stores to visit, how to get there by train, etc. I seriously think I haven't been this excited since I got here.
Wai!
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Man, could there be any more blue words in this post?
Wai!
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Man, could there be any more blue words in this post?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
That can't be a good sign, either.
I'd like to preface this with something:
I'M BORED!
Here I am, in Japan, the Otaku Mecca, and the best way I can find to spend my time is to putz around on the web, or aimlessly ride the train, when I'm not slaving away studying?
I mean, seriously. I've been here for weeks, and I haven't been abducted by aliens, sent back to feudal Japan, been contacted by a spirit, found a giant robot, saved the world
Okay, maybe I'm not being too realistic...
But I have been here a while, and haven't done ANYTHING relevant to my geeky interests. In fact, aside from that trip to Kyoto, I haven't really done...
ANYTHING.
And there's a three-day weekend coming up, and I actually won't be sick this time (hopefully).
So what should I do? Or maybe the better question is, who should I do it with? I still haven't exactly made any... "friends" per se.
There are a few people I pal around with, but I'm still not really in any solid groups. One of my "pals" is doing something interesting: Going to the Tokyo Game Show (think Japanese E3, open to the public for 10 bucks a pop), followed by a huge Japanese rave. I was very tempted to invite myself along with him and his buddies, but I found out that they have made arrangements weeks in advance for transportation, etc., so we wouldn't have been able to go together, anyway.
And as cool as it sounds, I don't think I want to go to a huge event like that alone.
I guess the only thing I can do is search the web for some interesting things to do in Kyoto or Osaka, and go all by myself.
:| Whee.
Oh, well.... it could still be fun, I guess. You take in more when you're alone, anyway.
On to the title of the post:
For about a day, I thought things were going well with the new roomy. We got along, he slept in the room, and above all, things were NORMAL.
Then came the next day. Or, yesterday.
This time, he wanted to go to sleep, and I still had studying to do. So, to try to be accommodating, I pulled my books, notebooks, and computer into the common area to study there.
A few seconds later, I had to go back in for a pencil.
A few minutes later, I had to go back in for a book.
A while after that, I had to go back in to get my dictionary.
Eventually, when I was done (and felt tired enough to sleep), I headed back into the room at around 2 or 3.
And of course, made a lot of noise putting all my stuff away, setting my alarm, etc.
Then I laid down to sleep. And that was about when Michael got up.
First, he stood around the room for a while, huffing and puffing discontentedly.
Then, he left.
And came back.
And left.
And did this a few more times. More restless pacing than you could shake a stick at.
Eventually, he left for more than a few seconds, and when he came back, he finally went back to bed.
The next day, he was acting SERIOUSLY weird.
I walked into the room, which before now, has always been extremely tidy. The place was a mess. Laundry everywhere. I couldn't stifle an exclamation, before I noticed that Michael was actually in the room. He was sitting at his desk, with a youtube video running, with his forehead straight on the desk, looking like he was about to pass out, or be sick, or SOMETHING.
I asked if he was alright, and he wouldn't speak to me directly, just mumbled. He managed to communicate that he was fine, but he obviously wasn't.
He stayed like that for a while.
I left to go do something for a minute, and when I came back, the room was empty. I got to my desk and turned to sit down, and HE WAS IN THE EFFING CLOSET!
He was just sitting in there, on top of the dresser and under the shelf, huddled up in the corner, all pulled up together. I jumped, and shouted something, and asked him if he usually spends time in the closet. "No," he moanbled.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked .
"Super Genki," he replied. (Genki is Japanese for healthy and energetic)
He stayed in there for a while, just sitting there. Eventually, he left and slouched out of the room. When he came back in, he sat at his desk again for a while in about the same pose I found him, making unhappy and frustrated sounds for a while. Then he went BACK into the closet and partially shut himself back in.
He stayed there for at LEAST a half an hour.
I don't know what to make of it, guys. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I feel like he's trying to send me a message.
Or maybe he's just nucking futs.
I'M BORED!
Here I am, in Japan, the Otaku Mecca, and the best way I can find to spend my time is to putz around on the web, or aimlessly ride the train, when I'm not slaving away studying?
I mean, seriously. I've been here for weeks, and I haven't
Okay, maybe I'm not being too realistic...
But I have been here a while, and haven't done ANYTHING relevant to my geeky interests. In fact, aside from that trip to Kyoto, I haven't really done...
ANYTHING.
And there's a three-day weekend coming up, and I actually won't be sick this time (hopefully).
So what should I do? Or maybe the better question is, who should I do it with? I still haven't exactly made any... "friends" per se.
There are a few people I pal around with, but I'm still not really in any solid groups. One of my "pals" is doing something interesting: Going to the Tokyo Game Show (think Japanese E3, open to the public for 10 bucks a pop), followed by a huge Japanese rave. I was very tempted to invite myself along with him and his buddies, but I found out that they have made arrangements weeks in advance for transportation, etc., so we wouldn't have been able to go together, anyway.
And as cool as it sounds, I don't think I want to go to a huge event like that alone.
I guess the only thing I can do is search the web for some interesting things to do in Kyoto or Osaka, and go all by myself.
:| Whee.
Oh, well.... it could still be fun, I guess. You take in more when you're alone, anyway.
On to the title of the post:
For about a day, I thought things were going well with the new roomy. We got along, he slept in the room, and above all, things were NORMAL.
Then came the next day. Or, yesterday.
This time, he wanted to go to sleep, and I still had studying to do. So, to try to be accommodating, I pulled my books, notebooks, and computer into the common area to study there.
A few seconds later, I had to go back in for a pencil.
A few minutes later, I had to go back in for a book.
A while after that, I had to go back in to get my dictionary.
Eventually, when I was done (and felt tired enough to sleep), I headed back into the room at around 2 or 3.
And of course, made a lot of noise putting all my stuff away, setting my alarm, etc.
Then I laid down to sleep. And that was about when Michael got up.
First, he stood around the room for a while, huffing and puffing discontentedly.
Then, he left.
And came back.
And left.
And did this a few more times. More restless pacing than you could shake a stick at.
Eventually, he left for more than a few seconds, and when he came back, he finally went back to bed.
The next day, he was acting SERIOUSLY weird.
I walked into the room, which before now, has always been extremely tidy. The place was a mess. Laundry everywhere. I couldn't stifle an exclamation, before I noticed that Michael was actually in the room. He was sitting at his desk, with a youtube video running, with his forehead straight on the desk, looking like he was about to pass out, or be sick, or SOMETHING.
I asked if he was alright, and he wouldn't speak to me directly, just mumbled. He managed to communicate that he was fine, but he obviously wasn't.
He stayed like that for a while.
I left to go do something for a minute, and when I came back, the room was empty. I got to my desk and turned to sit down, and HE WAS IN THE EFFING CLOSET!
He was just sitting in there, on top of the dresser and under the shelf, huddled up in the corner, all pulled up together. I jumped, and shouted something, and asked him if he usually spends time in the closet. "No," he moanbled.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked .
"Super Genki," he replied. (Genki is Japanese for healthy and energetic)
He stayed in there for a while, just sitting there. Eventually, he left and slouched out of the room. When he came back in, he sat at his desk again for a while in about the same pose I found him, making unhappy and frustrated sounds for a while. Then he went BACK into the closet and partially shut himself back in.
He stayed there for at LEAST a half an hour.
I don't know what to make of it, guys. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I feel like he's trying to send me a message.
Or maybe he's just nucking futs.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
THAT's not a good sign...
My new roommate slept outside last night because he couldn't stand the sound of my breathing.
I got all moved into my room yesterday. Things went smoothly enough, until around 1:00, when Michael, my new roommate, decided it was time to sleep. So we turned out all the lights, I put on my headphones, he laid down, and I continued to use my computer.
I was trying to be very quiet, but as I was sick, I couldn't help the occasional cough or sniffle. After a few minutes, I heard Michael mumble something. I took off my headphones and asked him what it was.
"Can you go blow your nose, or something?" he asked.
"Um... yeah. But, I mean, it's just gonna come back. I mean, I'm sick. Sorry," I responded. I went off to blow my nose, to little effect due to my congestion. I came back and continued whatever it was I had been doing.
A few minutes later, he mumbles something again. I take off the headphones again, and ask him what he wants.
"Can you take that outside and work on it? There's an Ethernet jack near the table, and there's no one else out there."
Well, I thought I was being pretty quiet, and my roommate from last year and I routinely used the computer while the other was sleeping. "Um, is it really bothering you?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm trying to sleep. I'm hardly ever in here except to sleep, but when I'm in here, I need to sleep," he responded.
So, I had to make a choice. Do I try to be as accommodating as possible, and let myself be run out of my new room the first night there? Or do I decide to be rude and inconsiderate, and stay there regardless?
I decided to compromise.
"I'll be done in a few minutes," I said. It was getting late, after all. So I took about five minutes to wrap things up, and shut down the computer. Then I laid down and tried to get to sleep.
I could hear that Michael was restless on his side of the room. I figured it might be because of my breathing. It was a little louder than normal, since I was sick and a bit congested. Still, it wasn't whistling, or bubbling, or anything like that.
But within a few minutes, with an exasperated sigh, he sat bolt upright, grabbed his pillow, and stalked out of the room. A few seconds later, he returned, and dragged his entire futon set out of the room. I tried to catch his attention to confirm what was wrong. "Dude?" I asked.
I only received a mostly incomprehensible mumble in return. It sounded something like "I'm just gonna go out here..." and then he left.
I'm not really sure what to make of this, to be honest. Is he an incredibly light sleeper? Has he never had a roommate before? Or his he just being spiteful because he had to give up the single room he was never supposed to have?
And what should I do? I don't think it's all that unreasonable to quietly use my computer while he's sleeping, and I certainly can't do anything about my BREATHING. And what's going to happen when he finds out I SNORE? I mean, I've had to put up with sleeping in the same room with snoring people before. It's just a fact of life. But I get the feeling that he's not going to react very well to it.
I talked to some of the other people in my unit about it. I asked whether he had said anything about me moving in, and they responded "Just a general sentiment of... regretting it."
I told them about the specific situation of what happened, and asked what they thought. I also brought up the problem of my snoring.
They seemed to think it would be best if I could change how I breathed, and to try not to snore. I pointed out that I can't control how I breathe, or whether or not I snore, since I'm ASLEEP. They responded that you can never be sure until you try, and "helpfully" pointed out that snoring is sometimes health related, and that maybe I should get out and be active more.
Other than that, they suggested that if my snoring is keeping him up one night, and he wakes me up about it, I should drag my futon outside and sleep in the common are to "meet him halfway" about it.
"Umm... you call that meeting him halfway?" I asked.
"Well, that's true. I guess you'd be doing all the work. But it was his room first."
"Yes, but he was never supposed to have a single room. He signed up for a double just like the rest of us, and if he had a single room for a couple weeks, then that was just his good luck."
"Well, you moving in here is a big adjustment for all of us."
What have I done? Have I moved from a unit of people basically indifferent to me, into a unit that actively wants me gone?
I got all moved into my room yesterday. Things went smoothly enough, until around 1:00, when Michael, my new roommate, decided it was time to sleep. So we turned out all the lights, I put on my headphones, he laid down, and I continued to use my computer.
I was trying to be very quiet, but as I was sick, I couldn't help the occasional cough or sniffle. After a few minutes, I heard Michael mumble something. I took off my headphones and asked him what it was.
"Can you go blow your nose, or something?" he asked.
"Um... yeah. But, I mean, it's just gonna come back. I mean, I'm sick. Sorry," I responded. I went off to blow my nose, to little effect due to my congestion. I came back and continued whatever it was I had been doing.
A few minutes later, he mumbles something again. I take off the headphones again, and ask him what he wants.
"Can you take that outside and work on it? There's an Ethernet jack near the table, and there's no one else out there."
Well, I thought I was being pretty quiet, and my roommate from last year and I routinely used the computer while the other was sleeping. "Um, is it really bothering you?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm trying to sleep. I'm hardly ever in here except to sleep, but when I'm in here, I need to sleep," he responded.
So, I had to make a choice. Do I try to be as accommodating as possible, and let myself be run out of my new room the first night there? Or do I decide to be rude and inconsiderate, and stay there regardless?
I decided to compromise.
"I'll be done in a few minutes," I said. It was getting late, after all. So I took about five minutes to wrap things up, and shut down the computer. Then I laid down and tried to get to sleep.
I could hear that Michael was restless on his side of the room. I figured it might be because of my breathing. It was a little louder than normal, since I was sick and a bit congested. Still, it wasn't whistling, or bubbling, or anything like that.
But within a few minutes, with an exasperated sigh, he sat bolt upright, grabbed his pillow, and stalked out of the room. A few seconds later, he returned, and dragged his entire futon set out of the room. I tried to catch his attention to confirm what was wrong. "Dude?" I asked.
I only received a mostly incomprehensible mumble in return. It sounded something like "I'm just gonna go out here..." and then he left.
I'm not really sure what to make of this, to be honest. Is he an incredibly light sleeper? Has he never had a roommate before? Or his he just being spiteful because he had to give up the single room he was never supposed to have?
And what should I do? I don't think it's all that unreasonable to quietly use my computer while he's sleeping, and I certainly can't do anything about my BREATHING. And what's going to happen when he finds out I SNORE? I mean, I've had to put up with sleeping in the same room with snoring people before. It's just a fact of life. But I get the feeling that he's not going to react very well to it.
I talked to some of the other people in my unit about it. I asked whether he had said anything about me moving in, and they responded "Just a general sentiment of... regretting it."
I told them about the specific situation of what happened, and asked what they thought. I also brought up the problem of my snoring.
They seemed to think it would be best if I could change how I breathed, and to try not to snore. I pointed out that I can't control how I breathe, or whether or not I snore, since I'm ASLEEP. They responded that you can never be sure until you try, and "helpfully" pointed out that snoring is sometimes health related, and that maybe I should get out and be active more.
Other than that, they suggested that if my snoring is keeping him up one night, and he wakes me up about it, I should drag my futon outside and sleep in the common are to "meet him halfway" about it.
"Umm... you call that meeting him halfway?" I asked.
"Well, that's true. I guess you'd be doing all the work. But it was his room first."
"Yes, but he was never supposed to have a single room. He signed up for a double just like the rest of us, and if he had a single room for a couple weeks, then that was just his good luck."
"Well, you moving in here is a big adjustment for all of us."
What have I done? Have I moved from a unit of people basically indifferent to me, into a unit that actively wants me gone?
Friday, September 14, 2007
I've go WHAT?!
Greetings, gentle readers. It's been a while. Despite having various things happen, and even more things being on my mind, I have been silent lately. This is due to a potent mixture of me being very busy, and very sick. Yesterday, I had my first vocab quiz, as well as my re-placement test for Reading and Writing Japanese. And I studied for and took both of them feeling like death warmed over.
I'm pretty sure I smoked the vocab test, and as for the written test...
Well. I don't think I should be in that level, anyway. D :
I've also made arrangements to move to a different room in seminar house. The unit I'll be heading for has two less people, and all the people there are serious studiers, and non-to-light-drinkers. From what I can tell, they're about as LOUD as my current roommates, but eh. You can't have everything.
And hopefully this group won't traumatize my speaking partner, leave porn lying around, watch (gay) adult videos on the internet in the common area, graphically describe their "encounters" while I'm eating, develop obsessions with certain words not fit for polite company...
Um.
I could go on, but what's the point.
To sum it up, I'm hoping things will get better.
I was even supposed to move in today, but that didn't happen.
After being sick AND sleep deprived (from studying) yesterday, after my tests were over, I came to the dorm and crashed. I actually crashed in between the tests, too, on a couch in the library. Anyway, I didn't wake up until around 8:00 at night. Then I got up, and sat around feeling wretched for a few hours, until I went back to sleep sometime around midnight.
And I didn't wake up until around 11:00 this morning, despite that being when my first class was.
I was feeling to crappy to care, though. I called the CIE (center for international education) and asked them what I could do about seeing a doctor. Thus begins my wondrous first encounter with the Japanese Medical system.
The first thing you should know about the Japanese Medical system is that they take one hell of a lunch break. It seems that the hospitals are open from 6:00-11:45 am, and then they close. And don't open again until 5:00 or 6:00 pm. Why this is, I have no idea.
In any case, I had no choice but to wait until then, and then go down to the CIE so one of the assistants could take me to the hospital and translate.
So I popped some medicine, and waited. I had originally planned to sleep some more, but by that point I was too awake to drift back off. So I killed what time I had by reading about Transhumanism, Transmetropolitan, The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, and watching Homestar Runner cartoons.
I don't know if it was the medicine, or all the rest I was getting, but by the time I was supposed to go see the doctor, I wasn't feeling like death anymore. I considered not going, but figured, in the end, it would be better to be safe than sorry. (Plus, mom would kill me if I didn't go.)
So, I headed off early. Or so I thought.
It was only about 4:00, and the hospital didn't open until 5. I knew dang well I didn't feel like walking all the way to the CIE, so I decided to take a bus.
Well, it was easier. But it took about the full hour to get there! We kept getting stuck in one spot for ten minutes at a time. We were about a block away from my stop for what seemed like 15 minutes!
In the end, I actually arrived LATE. I met up with the woman who was supposed to help me, and we headed off to the next-nearest hospital. It was about a 3 minutes walk away, as opposed to the NEAREST hospital, which was about 2 minutes away. But that one didn't open until six.
We arrived, and I noticed that we had to take our shoes off and wear these hospital slippers.
Big surprise, they were all Japanese-sized. I had to settle for a pair that my heels protruded about an inch from.
It was definitely a good thing I had a translator there, because we had to fill out some paperwork, like you would at any hospital. However, unlike at MOST hospitals, a doctor saw me within 3 minutes of filling it out. While we were waiting, though, we had to take my temperature.
The nurse came out with a bare thermometer, with no disposable health-guard on it or anything. I was thinking, "Man, no way am I going to put that in my mouth." As it turns out, I didn't have to.
I had to put it in my armpit.
We got the reading, which confirmed that I did in fact have a small fever, and a few minutes later I got to see the doctor. She asked me to open up and say "Ah," ( I guess some things are beyond cultural boundaries), and she used a metal tongue depressor and flashlight to give my throat a once over. She then talked to my translator, who told me I had Tonsillitis.
"I've got WHAT?" I asked. "Uh, just a minute," she responded, and pulled out her electronic dictionary and started punching buttons on it as the exam continued.
Eventually, she told me that my tonsils were infected. However, not in the serious cut-them-out-of-your-throat way. The doctor gave me 5 different kinds of medicine, to take three times a day (after every meal) for three days. One of them was a weird powder, which is apparently very typical of medicine in Japan. However, as much as I might like to experience medicine from the Japanese perspective, I asked for a medicine that I actually knew how to take, and got some more pills.
Then it was time to pay. I asked my translator if they needed my insurance information, but she told me that the proper way to be reimbursed is to keep the receipt, and then contact my insurance provider about a refund. Um... never done that before. But, what other choice did I have?
I paid the $40 I owed out of pocket and left.
Me and my translator split off, after I thanked her profusely for helping a clueless foreigner get some medical attention, and I bought some dinner from the convenience store nearby (since the sum total of the food I have at the dorm is one piece of bread.)
Then I braved the bus yet again, still half-expecting to be commanded to get off halfway there, and made it back home.
I've just had dinner and knocked back five different pills.
I suppose I aught to be feeling better pretty soon. I jusht hoep tey don't side ny hav effexs.
--TIM
I'm pretty sure I smoked the vocab test, and as for the written test...
Well. I don't think I should be in that level, anyway. D :
I've also made arrangements to move to a different room in seminar house. The unit I'll be heading for has two less people, and all the people there are serious studiers, and non-to-light-drinkers. From what I can tell, they're about as LOUD as my current roommates, but eh. You can't have everything.
And hopefully this group won't traumatize my speaking partner, leave porn lying around, watch (gay) adult videos on the internet in the common area, graphically describe their "encounters" while I'm eating, develop obsessions with certain words not fit for polite company...
Um.
I could go on, but what's the point.
To sum it up, I'm hoping things will get better.
I was even supposed to move in today, but that didn't happen.
After being sick AND sleep deprived (from studying) yesterday, after my tests were over, I came to the dorm and crashed. I actually crashed in between the tests, too, on a couch in the library. Anyway, I didn't wake up until around 8:00 at night. Then I got up, and sat around feeling wretched for a few hours, until I went back to sleep sometime around midnight.
And I didn't wake up until around 11:00 this morning, despite that being when my first class was.
I was feeling to crappy to care, though. I called the CIE (center for international education) and asked them what I could do about seeing a doctor. Thus begins my wondrous first encounter with the Japanese Medical system.
The first thing you should know about the Japanese Medical system is that they take one hell of a lunch break. It seems that the hospitals are open from 6:00-11:45 am, and then they close. And don't open again until 5:00 or 6:00 pm. Why this is, I have no idea.
In any case, I had no choice but to wait until then, and then go down to the CIE so one of the assistants could take me to the hospital and translate.
So I popped some medicine, and waited. I had originally planned to sleep some more, but by that point I was too awake to drift back off. So I killed what time I had by reading about Transhumanism, Transmetropolitan, The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, and watching Homestar Runner cartoons.
I don't know if it was the medicine, or all the rest I was getting, but by the time I was supposed to go see the doctor, I wasn't feeling like death anymore. I considered not going, but figured, in the end, it would be better to be safe than sorry. (Plus, mom would kill me if I didn't go.)
So, I headed off early. Or so I thought.
It was only about 4:00, and the hospital didn't open until 5. I knew dang well I didn't feel like walking all the way to the CIE, so I decided to take a bus.
Well, it was easier. But it took about the full hour to get there! We kept getting stuck in one spot for ten minutes at a time. We were about a block away from my stop for what seemed like 15 minutes!
In the end, I actually arrived LATE. I met up with the woman who was supposed to help me, and we headed off to the next-nearest hospital. It was about a 3 minutes walk away, as opposed to the NEAREST hospital, which was about 2 minutes away. But that one didn't open until six.
We arrived, and I noticed that we had to take our shoes off and wear these hospital slippers.
Big surprise, they were all Japanese-sized. I had to settle for a pair that my heels protruded about an inch from.
It was definitely a good thing I had a translator there, because we had to fill out some paperwork, like you would at any hospital. However, unlike at MOST hospitals, a doctor saw me within 3 minutes of filling it out. While we were waiting, though, we had to take my temperature.
The nurse came out with a bare thermometer, with no disposable health-guard on it or anything. I was thinking, "Man, no way am I going to put that in my mouth." As it turns out, I didn't have to.
I had to put it in my armpit.
We got the reading, which confirmed that I did in fact have a small fever, and a few minutes later I got to see the doctor. She asked me to open up and say "Ah," ( I guess some things are beyond cultural boundaries), and she used a metal tongue depressor and flashlight to give my throat a once over. She then talked to my translator, who told me I had Tonsillitis.
"I've got WHAT?" I asked. "Uh, just a minute," she responded, and pulled out her electronic dictionary and started punching buttons on it as the exam continued.
Eventually, she told me that my tonsils were infected. However, not in the serious cut-them-out-of-your-throat way. The doctor gave me 5 different kinds of medicine, to take three times a day (after every meal) for three days. One of them was a weird powder, which is apparently very typical of medicine in Japan. However, as much as I might like to experience medicine from the Japanese perspective, I asked for a medicine that I actually knew how to take, and got some more pills.
Then it was time to pay. I asked my translator if they needed my insurance information, but she told me that the proper way to be reimbursed is to keep the receipt, and then contact my insurance provider about a refund. Um... never done that before. But, what other choice did I have?
I paid the $40 I owed out of pocket and left.
Me and my translator split off, after I thanked her profusely for helping a clueless foreigner get some medical attention, and I bought some dinner from the convenience store nearby (since the sum total of the food I have at the dorm is one piece of bread.)
Then I braved the bus yet again, still half-expecting to be commanded to get off halfway there, and made it back home.
I've just had dinner and knocked back five different pills.
I suppose I aught to be feeling better pretty soon. I jusht hoep tey don't side ny hav effexs.
--TIM
Monday, September 10, 2007
TIM's Big TRAIN Adventure
You know what I did on Saturday?
I studied.
I studied, and studied. All day.
For what? A 20-point review quiz. Stuff I'm already supposed to know.
And I didn't even get halfway through the material.
Hmm...
Methinks I may be in the wrong class. Oh, well. The re-placement test on Thursday will decide that.
In any case. Rather than spend all day Sunday studying as well, I decided to actually get out and do something. The question was, what.
I haven't exactly made a whole lot of pals yet to go cruising around Japan with, so I'd have to go on my own. Using the dreaded public transport system, of which I know nothing about.
But, I figured, what the hell. And decided to go somewhere anyway. (Bravery or foolishness? YOU decide!)
I figured I had three options. Stay in Hirakata, go sightseeing in Kyoto, or shopping on Osaka. Well, I'd done all three so far already, with the exception that my Osaka shopping experience consisted of buying some CAT-5 cable and a USA to Japan plug adapter. So, I decided to give that another go.
Of course, I had been with other people the first time. And one of them had a bizarrely thorough knowledge of the Japanese Transport system, and was able to get us to Osaka no problem, despite numerous confusing train transfers.
How was I supposed to do it on my own?
I figured the only answer was... trial and (shudder) error.
So I braved the Bus again, for the first time since the Big Bus Adventure. And got to the station successfully.
While there, I stopped and had lunch at a little place called Mos Burger.
Their motto is "HAMBURGER IS MY LIFE." Well, I have to say:
Your life sucks.
Okay, that may be a bit harsh. But I definitely wasn't impressed. I guess that's what I get for going to a Japanese restaurant for American food.
After being sufficiently fooded, I decided it was time to stop stalling and head to the station.
After studying the rail system map for a while....
I concluded that I had no idea how to get to Osaka. Hirakata would be easy--the station was called Hirakatashi. But there was definitely no Osakashi.
But I DID spy a stop that mentioned that it was a transfer station for the Osaka Monorail.
That sounded promising.
So, I paid my fee, and got on the train.
Keep in mind that I meticulously copied down the name of the station I was from (including the kanji), and the name of the one I was going to, as well as the number of stops in between.
I nervously counted each one on the way, but finally I was there. I stopped to admire the scenery, then followed the signs to the place where you get your monorail tickets.
I could tell as soon as I got there that I had never been there before, meaning that this was definitely NOT the same way I had gotten to Osaka before. (The pepto-bismol pink trains were a good clue.) But, oh well. Decided to go through with it, anyway.
Wouldn't you know it, there was STILL no stop labeled as "Osaka."
Closest I found was... Osaka Airport. Well... that will at least be IN Osaka, right? It was also the last stop, making it the most expensive.
I bought a ticket anyway.
Once again, I sat through the trip nervously counting the stops (which seems pointless, since I was getting off at the LAST one). Finally, I arrived!
At an airport!
Woo-hoo!
Okay, so yeah. There wasn't much to do at the airport. Luckily, I had thought of this strong possibility on the way, and had taken note of a station that seemed VERY popular (the train practically emptied and refilled completely there, which it didn't do at any other stop). I figured there was bound to be something to do at such a popular crossroads, so I hopped back on the monorail and headed back for it.
I was a bit nervous, because the train I got on was NOT the same pepto-pink variety I had used to get there. Was it... different? Going somewhere else? The "Express" train?
Actually, the only difference was the stop announcements were actually audible in this one, and, get this--in English.
Yes, I counted the stops again anyway.
After arriving, I got out and surveyed the situation.
It DEFINITELY looked more interesting than the airport.
First stop: MISTER DONUTS.
I've heard about this donut shop, but had never been. And I was really jonesin' for some donuts and coffee, so I stopped by. I gotta say, this was the classiest I've ever seen donuts served.
After that, I started looking around. There were stores EVERYWHERE.
But they all seemed to sell clothes...
And I'm pretty sure local-made clothes aren't gonna fit me.
So, I started ranging farther afield, and found a department store. I thought, a-hah. This looks a lot like the one I visited before, that had EVERYTHING. So, let's see. This floor is clothes... let's check out the next floor.
Hm.
Also clothes.
Well, maybe the next floor...
Um, no. Also clothes.
All the way to the top, clothes.
So I ride back down, below the floor I came in on.
MORE CLOTHES.
I finally get down to the basement, and it's a supermarket. -_-
Undaunted, I continued exploring underground.
And found restaurants.
Lots, and lots of restaurants.
And a massive pachinko parlor. My main impression of it was "loud."
So, after wandering around for a while, I came to the conclusion that the only thing people do here are wear clothes, eat, and play pachinko.
I DID eventually find a bookstore, where I browsed their massive selection of comics for a while. That was pretty fun, but I didn't buy any, seeing as how I can't READ them yet, and I haven't even looked at the last two I bought.
About that time, it was getting to be 6:30, and I was getting tired. (Must still not be adjusted to tokyo time. >.<) So, I decided to head back, and managed to get back to the dorm without incident. I EVEN didn't get thrown off a bus. ._. In the end, I didn't explore nearly all of what was out there... I'm sure that if I look, I'll find an area that sells more of what I'm interested in. However, I did get more acclimated to the public transport system, and prove to myself that I can get from point A to point B and back again all by myself, with no hang-ups. I guess next time, I just need to have a better idea of what point B is. >.<
Next time, I'm using a city travel guide.
By the way, I failed the quiz.
I studied.
I studied, and studied. All day.
For what? A 20-point review quiz. Stuff I'm already supposed to know.
And I didn't even get halfway through the material.
Hmm...
Methinks I may be in the wrong class. Oh, well. The re-placement test on Thursday will decide that.
In any case. Rather than spend all day Sunday studying as well, I decided to actually get out and do something. The question was, what.
I haven't exactly made a whole lot of pals yet to go cruising around Japan with, so I'd have to go on my own. Using the dreaded public transport system, of which I know nothing about.
But, I figured, what the hell. And decided to go somewhere anyway. (Bravery or foolishness? YOU decide!)
I figured I had three options. Stay in Hirakata, go sightseeing in Kyoto, or shopping on Osaka. Well, I'd done all three so far already, with the exception that my Osaka shopping experience consisted of buying some CAT-5 cable and a USA to Japan plug adapter. So, I decided to give that another go.
Of course, I had been with other people the first time. And one of them had a bizarrely thorough knowledge of the Japanese Transport system, and was able to get us to Osaka no problem, despite numerous confusing train transfers.
How was I supposed to do it on my own?
I figured the only answer was... trial and (shudder) error.
So I braved the Bus again, for the first time since the Big Bus Adventure. And got to the station successfully.
While there, I stopped and had lunch at a little place called Mos Burger.
Their motto is "HAMBURGER IS MY LIFE." Well, I have to say:
Your life sucks.
Okay, that may be a bit harsh. But I definitely wasn't impressed. I guess that's what I get for going to a Japanese restaurant for American food.
After being sufficiently fooded, I decided it was time to stop stalling and head to the station.
After studying the rail system map for a while....
I concluded that I had no idea how to get to Osaka. Hirakata would be easy--the station was called Hirakatashi. But there was definitely no Osakashi.
But I DID spy a stop that mentioned that it was a transfer station for the Osaka Monorail.
That sounded promising.
So, I paid my fee, and got on the train.
Keep in mind that I meticulously copied down the name of the station I was from (including the kanji), and the name of the one I was going to, as well as the number of stops in between.
I nervously counted each one on the way, but finally I was there. I stopped to admire the scenery, then followed the signs to the place where you get your monorail tickets.
I could tell as soon as I got there that I had never been there before, meaning that this was definitely NOT the same way I had gotten to Osaka before. (The pepto-bismol pink trains were a good clue.) But, oh well. Decided to go through with it, anyway.
Wouldn't you know it, there was STILL no stop labeled as "Osaka."
Closest I found was... Osaka Airport. Well... that will at least be IN Osaka, right? It was also the last stop, making it the most expensive.
I bought a ticket anyway.
Once again, I sat through the trip nervously counting the stops (which seems pointless, since I was getting off at the LAST one). Finally, I arrived!
At an airport!
Woo-hoo!
Okay, so yeah. There wasn't much to do at the airport. Luckily, I had thought of this strong possibility on the way, and had taken note of a station that seemed VERY popular (the train practically emptied and refilled completely there, which it didn't do at any other stop). I figured there was bound to be something to do at such a popular crossroads, so I hopped back on the monorail and headed back for it.
I was a bit nervous, because the train I got on was NOT the same pepto-pink variety I had used to get there. Was it... different? Going somewhere else? The "Express" train?
Actually, the only difference was the stop announcements were actually audible in this one, and, get this--in English.
Yes, I counted the stops again anyway.
After arriving, I got out and surveyed the situation.
It DEFINITELY looked more interesting than the airport.
First stop: MISTER DONUTS.
I've heard about this donut shop, but had never been. And I was really jonesin' for some donuts and coffee, so I stopped by. I gotta say, this was the classiest I've ever seen donuts served.
After that, I started looking around. There were stores EVERYWHERE.
But they all seemed to sell clothes...
And I'm pretty sure local-made clothes aren't gonna fit me.
So, I started ranging farther afield, and found a department store. I thought, a-hah. This looks a lot like the one I visited before, that had EVERYTHING. So, let's see. This floor is clothes... let's check out the next floor.
Hm.
Also clothes.
Well, maybe the next floor...
Um, no. Also clothes.
All the way to the top, clothes.
So I ride back down, below the floor I came in on.
MORE CLOTHES.
I finally get down to the basement, and it's a supermarket. -_-
Undaunted, I continued exploring underground.
And found restaurants.
Lots, and lots of restaurants.
And a massive pachinko parlor. My main impression of it was "loud."
So, after wandering around for a while, I came to the conclusion that the only thing people do here are wear clothes, eat, and play pachinko.
I DID eventually find a bookstore, where I browsed their massive selection of comics for a while. That was pretty fun, but I didn't buy any, seeing as how I can't READ them yet, and I haven't even looked at the last two I bought.
About that time, it was getting to be 6:30, and I was getting tired. (Must still not be adjusted to tokyo time. >.<) So, I decided to head back, and managed to get back to the dorm without incident. I EVEN didn't get thrown off a bus. ._. In the end, I didn't explore nearly all of what was out there... I'm sure that if I look, I'll find an area that sells more of what I'm interested in. However, I did get more acclimated to the public transport system, and prove to myself that I can get from point A to point B and back again all by myself, with no hang-ups. I guess next time, I just need to have a better idea of what point B is. >.<
Next time, I'm using a city travel guide.
By the way, I failed the quiz.
Friday, September 7, 2007
You're a hard man to find.
Something that most of you probably don't know about is the nightmare that was registration. See, regular Kansai Gaidai students (native to Japan) register for classes like you'd expect most students to: by computer.
However, the staff has a super special way for us foreign students to do so. It involves lining up at a designated time the day before registration, and pulling a random number out of a box. This number is the order in which you are allowed to register.
Now, there are about 440 exchange students at the school.
I drew number 411.
This meant that the next day, as I was waiting in line for registration, the longer I waited, the more classes that I wanted to sign up for were full. I started out with a list of six classes I wanted. By the time I got to register, there were only two left--and they were held at the same time.
Extremely frustrated, I put my name on the waitlist for three other classes and registered for my spoken japanese, written japanese, the one class I wanted (Popular Culture as Social Practice), and Ceramics, which I was very glad I had already paid the fee for (otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten in.)
The first day of one of the classes on my waitist, Culture and Everyday Life in Japan, I got a note in my mailbox from the techer telling me to go ahead and come to class, because I would probably be able to get in. So, I did.
I would have gone to the other two classes on my waitlist, but they were both scheduled during my Ceramics class (Which lasted for four hours one day!).
A few days later, I got notes from the other two professors that if I was still interested in their classes, I should let them know, and try to register for them. I also talked to the professor whos class I actually attended, and he also told me I could go ahead and register for his class.
Well, I figured, since I had already missed the first day of the other two classes, and the class I HAD attended (culture and everyday life) seemed a bit more useful to be learning about than Japanese History or Cultural Globalization, I decided to stick with that one.
Still, I didn't want to just ignore the other two professors. I would still like to take their courses next semester, if I'm still here. So I figured it would be best to try to contact them, as they requested.
My first attempt, I just showed up at their offices. No one was there.
Well, I figured, no big deal. I'll look up their email adresses online and shoot them a mail.
So, I go home, and look up the staff directory.
There are no email adresses on it.
Which brings me to today, when I have a rather generous break between my classes.
I go to hunt down their offices again, and again they are not there. Then I try their classrooms. Also not there.
So I head down to the main office, and ask for their email adresses. The guy says that they're not allowed to disclose that information.
A bit paranoid, eh?
Well, how am I supposed to contact them, then? He told me that I should go back to their offices and check their posted office hours. I asked him if they had a mailbox I could leave a note for them in. He said yes, but "It would be better to go to their office." Which is Japanese-talk for "No. You can't do that. Go to their offices."
So, I checked again. The first guy's office hours were on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Friday, the day that he just happens to not be on campus.
So I checked the history professor's office. No office hours whatsoever. I start looking at the bulletin board next to his office, and a female proffessor approaches me, and asks if I'm interested in Ceramics (the subject of most of the posts on the board.) I answer "Well, yeah, a bit," which is the truth--I just happen to be more interested in Japanese culture, which is why I dropped my ceramics course-- but told her i was really looking for the professor's office hours. At which point she told me he usually doesn't post them.
You know, politeness only goes so far. If you want me to have the courtesy to contact you back, you really aught to have the courtesy to make that POSSIBLE.
I give up. Chances are, neither of them will remember who I am next semester, anyway.
Today's evaluation: Miserable Failure.
However, the staff has a super special way for us foreign students to do so. It involves lining up at a designated time the day before registration, and pulling a random number out of a box. This number is the order in which you are allowed to register.
Now, there are about 440 exchange students at the school.
I drew number 411.
This meant that the next day, as I was waiting in line for registration, the longer I waited, the more classes that I wanted to sign up for were full. I started out with a list of six classes I wanted. By the time I got to register, there were only two left--and they were held at the same time.
Extremely frustrated, I put my name on the waitlist for three other classes and registered for my spoken japanese, written japanese, the one class I wanted (Popular Culture as Social Practice), and Ceramics, which I was very glad I had already paid the fee for (otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten in.)
The first day of one of the classes on my waitist, Culture and Everyday Life in Japan, I got a note in my mailbox from the techer telling me to go ahead and come to class, because I would probably be able to get in. So, I did.
I would have gone to the other two classes on my waitlist, but they were both scheduled during my Ceramics class (Which lasted for four hours one day!).
A few days later, I got notes from the other two professors that if I was still interested in their classes, I should let them know, and try to register for them. I also talked to the professor whos class I actually attended, and he also told me I could go ahead and register for his class.
Well, I figured, since I had already missed the first day of the other two classes, and the class I HAD attended (culture and everyday life) seemed a bit more useful to be learning about than Japanese History or Cultural Globalization, I decided to stick with that one.
Still, I didn't want to just ignore the other two professors. I would still like to take their courses next semester, if I'm still here. So I figured it would be best to try to contact them, as they requested.
My first attempt, I just showed up at their offices. No one was there.
Well, I figured, no big deal. I'll look up their email adresses online and shoot them a mail.
So, I go home, and look up the staff directory.
There are no email adresses on it.
Which brings me to today, when I have a rather generous break between my classes.
I go to hunt down their offices again, and again they are not there. Then I try their classrooms. Also not there.
So I head down to the main office, and ask for their email adresses. The guy says that they're not allowed to disclose that information.
A bit paranoid, eh?
Well, how am I supposed to contact them, then? He told me that I should go back to their offices and check their posted office hours. I asked him if they had a mailbox I could leave a note for them in. He said yes, but "It would be better to go to their office." Which is Japanese-talk for "No. You can't do that. Go to their offices."
So, I checked again. The first guy's office hours were on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Friday, the day that he just happens to not be on campus.
So I checked the history professor's office. No office hours whatsoever. I start looking at the bulletin board next to his office, and a female proffessor approaches me, and asks if I'm interested in Ceramics (the subject of most of the posts on the board.) I answer "Well, yeah, a bit," which is the truth--I just happen to be more interested in Japanese culture, which is why I dropped my ceramics course-- but told her i was really looking for the professor's office hours. At which point she told me he usually doesn't post them.
You know, politeness only goes so far. If you want me to have the courtesy to contact you back, you really aught to have the courtesy to make that POSSIBLE.
I give up. Chances are, neither of them will remember who I am next semester, anyway.
Today's evaluation: Miserable Failure.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Depressed? Drink Boss Coffee.
I have found my kindred spirit in Japan.
And who else but Tommy Lee Jones?
Unbeknownst to most Americans, he has actually done a series of commercials for Boss Coffee, probably the most famous coffee in Japan.
In them, he plays an alien who is studying Earth--and isn't terribly pleased by what he finds.
He has a lot of trouble dealing with Japanese rules and customs, rowdy, loud, drunken people, belligerent kids, and trying to fit in at parties. Hmm... reminds me of someone.
Anyway, he apparently gets by by drinking Boss Coffee: Rainbow Mountain Blend.
The commercials are great, do check them out.
Note: The first one is the weakest, so you should keep watching even if it doesn't appeal to you.
Commercial 1
Commercial 2
Commercial 3
Commercial 4
Commercial 5
Commercial 6
Commercial 7
Commercial 8
Commercial 9
Something Extraordinary
Today, when I walked into my dorm's common area, I witnessed something extraordinary.
The first thing I noticed was that it was quiet. Now, this usually means that everyone in the unit has gone out drinking.
However, this was not the case. About half of the unit's residents were sitting in the common room.
Reading.
This is extraordinary because it is something I have never seen any of them do, apart from reading from the "sex" chapter of a Japanese phrasebook, or the positions guide on a box of condoms one of them bought.
And not one of them was drunk or dressed like a dinosaur--also a rare thing.
I guess the beginning of the academic year makes students of us all.
The first thing I noticed was that it was quiet. Now, this usually means that everyone in the unit has gone out drinking.
However, this was not the case. About half of the unit's residents were sitting in the common room.
Reading.
This is extraordinary because it is something I have never seen any of them do, apart from reading from the "sex" chapter of a Japanese phrasebook, or the positions guide on a box of condoms one of them bought.
And not one of them was drunk or dressed like a dinosaur--also a rare thing.
I guess the beginning of the academic year makes students of us all.
My new aspiration is a sandwich.
I have decided. My new aspiration while in Japan is to be a Teriyaki McBurger.
Let me explain. Just now, I was feeling pretty hungry and it was my lunch break. As much as I wanted to go to the cafeteria and get some actual Japanese food, I was unable to resist the siren call of the McDonald's next door. So, I settled on a compromise.
See, the Japanese have a nifty menu item we don't have in America, and probably never will: The Teriyaki McBurger. Sure, it's American. But it still has that dash of Japanese flavor.
While eating it, I suddenly realized that the Teriyaki Burger was a pretty good metaphor for what I was trying to do here. Because no matter what I do or how long I stay, I'm going to be American at heart. But like the Teriyaki Burger, I might just be able to pick up enough Japanese flavor--in the form of learning the language and the culture-- to be able to get by.
And I suppose that's enough.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
TIM's Big Bus Adventure
Hooray!
I got kicked off a bus!
Okay, maybe I should back up a little. Yesterday, I did not have much on my schedule. Classes had technically started, but there were no language classes, and none of my culture classes are scheduled for Monday. So after I sat in on a class I was on the waitlist for, I had absolutely nothing to do. So, what better way to make use of an afternoon than to go register with the government?
That's right, it was time to get my Alien Registration Card, or "Gaijin Card," (Foreigner Card) as it's commonly known.
Now, at this point, I should probably note that I am not a city boy. I have probably never used public transportation in my life before coming to Japan, at least not by myself. So now that I'm HERE, I'm not only trying to get a handle on the public transportation system, but I'm having to do it in a foreign country, where I can't ask anyone anything or read the signs. But I knew that I needed to get to the city hall by Bus.
No biggie. I'd gone to the station (which is near city hall) by bus before--once I even went on my own. So, I jumped on a bus and hoped for the best.
I was not disappointed. I soon arrived at the station, and proceeded to try to find out where city hall was. According to the directions given to me by a professor, you "go past the starbucks, turn left, and walk for three minutes."
So, step one, find the Starbucks.
Okay, found it. But which way am I supposed to be going when I pass it? Should I pass it on the left? On the right? So, I just took a stab at it. Passed the starbucks, turned left, and started walking. After about three minutes, I still didn't see any building with HIRAKATA CITY HALL printed on it. And the street basically ended. Well, I figured, that must have been the wrong way to go. So I go back to the starbucks, and set off in the other direction. Or rather, I tried to. There wasn't even a ROAD going in that direction. Well, that can't be right, can it?
So, I pulled out the crappy map they had given me and tried to get my bearings. To my surprise, city hall was actually indicated on it. So was the starbucks. Well, it looked like I had gone the right direction... but wait. Something's not right. It says that the starbucks is next to a convenience store. But I don't see one.
Oh, well. I head off in the direction I first tried again, anyway. I got to where I was before, and still couldn't see city hall. Then I squinted at the building across the street...
Did it say "Hirakata" behind that tree? Don't tell me...
So, I cross the street over to the building to get a better view, and sure enough, if you look behind the tree branches blocking the way, it does indeed proclaim that it is Hirakata City Hall.
Well, at least I found it. 45 minutes till it closed, too. Whew.
So I go in and submit the paperwork for my Gaijin Card, which was surprisingly simple. Then I start to head back.
And THAT'S when it started raining.
I was able to make it back to the station before it started pouring, where there's a lot of overhangs to hide under. I remembered that the starbucks I passed also had a book, cd, and DVD shop in the same building, so I figured that would be a good place to wait out the storm. So I look around for the starbucks.
And I spot one. Right next door to a convenience store...
And it is NOT the same starbucks I saw before.
That's right. There are TWO starbucks located within walking distance from a JAPANESE train station, and they're BOTH on the way to city hall.
After pondering the effects of globalization for a while, I went to the other side of the station and found the more interesting starbucks.
In any fellow otaku were wondering, yes, manga is cheaper in Japan. About five bucks a pop, as opposed to the 5-10 bucks you pay in the states.
Anime however, is not. I started browsing the DVDs, and was shocked by the price. They were charging up to 6,000 Yen ($51.00) for a single DVD with no frills.
Add that to the fact that I don't even think that the DVD player in our common area plays DVDs from this region, and you can guess I didn't spring for one.
I also ran into a rather interesting guy. What is interesting about this guy, is that while appearing very friendly, and talkative, whenver he decides the conversation is over, he apparently runs away. Without a word. Just escapes.
This has happened twice so far. I mean, sure. The problem COULD be on my end. But nobody ELSE runs away after talking to me for a few minutes...
Anyway. After the guy disappeared, I checked and found that the rain had stopped. I made my way to the bus stop that, according to my crappy map, would take me back to my dorm. I waited for it to come for half an hour, and got on.
A few minutes later, we pulled into a turnaround, and everyone got off but me. When I continued to sit there, the driver started talking to me over the intercom. I of course had no idea what he was saying, and he eventually simplified it: "Owari des." "It's over."
Well! How interesting. So, what could I do? I paid my fare and got off.
So, there I was, somewhere in the middle of a city in Japan, with no idea where I was or how to get back to my dorm. The most useful advice I've ever gotten from a fictional book kept flashing through my mind: "Don't Panic." So, I didn't.
I walked in one direction for a while, but didn't see anything very promising. So I came back to where I had been unceremoniously dumped off. According to the schedule, there would be another bus in about half an hour. A bus to where, though?
I had no idea. However, I thought I remembered seeing some familiar landmarks on the way to my drop off point, so I decided to start walking back the way the bus had come. I figured, if nothing else, I could turn back after 15 minutes, and brave the bus again.
Luckily, about two minutes later, I came across someone who was obviously as foreign as I was. I asked here where the heck we were, and as it turns out, we were right next to campus. Not terribly close to my dorm, but at least close to somewhere I know.
So, I went to campus, and from there I hoofed it back to my dorm, rather than try my luck on the bus again.
Now, those of you who actually know a thing or two about public transport are probably laughing your heads off at me, for making what is probably an obvious mistake.
That's fine, have a laugh. But when you're done, can you tell me how this stuff works?! (@_@)
I got kicked off a bus!
Okay, maybe I should back up a little. Yesterday, I did not have much on my schedule. Classes had technically started, but there were no language classes, and none of my culture classes are scheduled for Monday. So after I sat in on a class I was on the waitlist for, I had absolutely nothing to do. So, what better way to make use of an afternoon than to go register with the government?
That's right, it was time to get my Alien Registration Card, or "Gaijin Card," (Foreigner Card) as it's commonly known.
Now, at this point, I should probably note that I am not a city boy. I have probably never used public transportation in my life before coming to Japan, at least not by myself. So now that I'm HERE, I'm not only trying to get a handle on the public transportation system, but I'm having to do it in a foreign country, where I can't ask anyone anything or read the signs. But I knew that I needed to get to the city hall by Bus.
No biggie. I'd gone to the station (which is near city hall) by bus before--once I even went on my own. So, I jumped on a bus and hoped for the best.
I was not disappointed. I soon arrived at the station, and proceeded to try to find out where city hall was. According to the directions given to me by a professor, you "go past the starbucks, turn left, and walk for three minutes."
So, step one, find the Starbucks.
Okay, found it. But which way am I supposed to be going when I pass it? Should I pass it on the left? On the right? So, I just took a stab at it. Passed the starbucks, turned left, and started walking. After about three minutes, I still didn't see any building with HIRAKATA CITY HALL printed on it. And the street basically ended. Well, I figured, that must have been the wrong way to go. So I go back to the starbucks, and set off in the other direction. Or rather, I tried to. There wasn't even a ROAD going in that direction. Well, that can't be right, can it?
So, I pulled out the crappy map they had given me and tried to get my bearings. To my surprise, city hall was actually indicated on it. So was the starbucks. Well, it looked like I had gone the right direction... but wait. Something's not right. It says that the starbucks is next to a convenience store. But I don't see one.
Oh, well. I head off in the direction I first tried again, anyway. I got to where I was before, and still couldn't see city hall. Then I squinted at the building across the street...
Did it say "Hirakata" behind that tree? Don't tell me...
So, I cross the street over to the building to get a better view, and sure enough, if you look behind the tree branches blocking the way, it does indeed proclaim that it is Hirakata City Hall.
Well, at least I found it. 45 minutes till it closed, too. Whew.
So I go in and submit the paperwork for my Gaijin Card, which was surprisingly simple. Then I start to head back.
And THAT'S when it started raining.
I was able to make it back to the station before it started pouring, where there's a lot of overhangs to hide under. I remembered that the starbucks I passed also had a book, cd, and DVD shop in the same building, so I figured that would be a good place to wait out the storm. So I look around for the starbucks.
And I spot one. Right next door to a convenience store...
And it is NOT the same starbucks I saw before.
That's right. There are TWO starbucks located within walking distance from a JAPANESE train station, and they're BOTH on the way to city hall.
After pondering the effects of globalization for a while, I went to the other side of the station and found the more interesting starbucks.
In any fellow otaku were wondering, yes, manga is cheaper in Japan. About five bucks a pop, as opposed to the 5-10 bucks you pay in the states.
Anime however, is not. I started browsing the DVDs, and was shocked by the price. They were charging up to 6,000 Yen ($51.00) for a single DVD with no frills.
Add that to the fact that I don't even think that the DVD player in our common area plays DVDs from this region, and you can guess I didn't spring for one.
I also ran into a rather interesting guy. What is interesting about this guy, is that while appearing very friendly, and talkative, whenver he decides the conversation is over, he apparently runs away. Without a word. Just escapes.
This has happened twice so far. I mean, sure. The problem COULD be on my end. But nobody ELSE runs away after talking to me for a few minutes...
Anyway. After the guy disappeared, I checked and found that the rain had stopped. I made my way to the bus stop that, according to my crappy map, would take me back to my dorm. I waited for it to come for half an hour, and got on.
A few minutes later, we pulled into a turnaround, and everyone got off but me. When I continued to sit there, the driver started talking to me over the intercom. I of course had no idea what he was saying, and he eventually simplified it: "Owari des." "It's over."
Well! How interesting. So, what could I do? I paid my fare and got off.
So, there I was, somewhere in the middle of a city in Japan, with no idea where I was or how to get back to my dorm. The most useful advice I've ever gotten from a fictional book kept flashing through my mind: "Don't Panic." So, I didn't.
I walked in one direction for a while, but didn't see anything very promising. So I came back to where I had been unceremoniously dumped off. According to the schedule, there would be another bus in about half an hour. A bus to where, though?
I had no idea. However, I thought I remembered seeing some familiar landmarks on the way to my drop off point, so I decided to start walking back the way the bus had come. I figured, if nothing else, I could turn back after 15 minutes, and brave the bus again.
Luckily, about two minutes later, I came across someone who was obviously as foreign as I was. I asked here where the heck we were, and as it turns out, we were right next to campus. Not terribly close to my dorm, but at least close to somewhere I know.
So, I went to campus, and from there I hoofed it back to my dorm, rather than try my luck on the bus again.
Now, those of you who actually know a thing or two about public transport are probably laughing your heads off at me, for making what is probably an obvious mistake.
That's fine, have a laugh. But when you're done, can you tell me how this stuff works?! (@_@)
Sunday, September 2, 2007
ADORABLE
I just wanna say, my speaking partner is ADORABLE. The picture she had sent me earlier really didn't do her justice. She's also tiny, and was extremely nervous when we met, which just made her seem cuter. She also seems to be very nice, and we communicate pretty well despite the language barrier. Though, at this point, she's doing most of the work, as we're speaking in mostly English. I'll have to study hard so I can communicate in Japanese with her!She introduced me to some Japanese food at the convenience store: Rice balls, curry bread, some sort of sweet pork cutlet sandwich, and milk tea. The rice ball was wrapped in seaweed, which I found to be a bit weird. And in the middle was a sour "Japanese Plum," or something. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was so... FOREIGN. The pork cutlet sandwich was good, but it was weird to eat a sweet sandwich. It was almost like a pork... pastry. And the curry bread... I loved the bread, but not so much the curry inside. And the milk tea was delish.
Funny, even though I thought I wasn't crazy about the food, I'm getting hungry thinking about it...
I also took her back to my dorm so I could give her the present I brought her (A hat and shirt with my home state printed on it), which turned out to be... a mistake. My dumb roommates acted like freaks while she was there, using the word "sexy" as an adjective with about 75% of their nouns. >.<
Yesterday, I spent some time wandering around town. Found a cool toy store called Kiddy Land. They had tons of those little capsule machines. And check out what was in one of them!
How oldschool is that?
I found a few machines that I wanted to try out, but I couldn't figure out how to work them! I lost 200 Yen ($1.72) in one of them, and tried a second, only to have it fail, as well. (But at least I got my money back from that one.)
I tried to ask one of the clerks how to work them, but she didn't speak english. She then left, and came back with another clerk... who also didn't speak English.
Finally, someone came who DID speak English, and I was finally able to ask her how to work them. It was all a bit embarrassing, since they're really for kids. But at least I got them to work! The trick was in how I was turning the crank... I was doing it in one fluid motion, and you have to do it in stages (turn until it clicks, stop, do it again, etc.) I got a pretty cool mario keychain-like-thing for my phone (with a turtle shell and super stars on it), but my other tries weren't as lucky. In a machine that gave away Link's weapons, I got his dinky bow, and in a machine that gave away Eva models, I paid 300 Yen ($2.58) and got the launcher stand, instead of an actual robot. Ah, well.
I also ran across a blast from my past: The old Crocodile Dentist game I had as a kid!
How crazy is that?
While I was out, I also took in some night scenery, and saw the biggest plastic food I've ever come across.
And, that's pretty much it for today and yesterday. I'm just gonna take it easy tonight in preparation for starting classes tomorrow. I'm nervous, but excited.
Oh, and by the way...
OMG SECRET NAZI SHRINE, right?
WRONG! *thwacks*
To read about what the symbol really means, and has meant for hundreds of years before the Nazis mucked it all up, click here.
This is Timzor, signing off.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
In the minority
You know, as a white guy growing up in middle class America, one thing I've never been is a minority. But that's exactly what I am now.
Sure, things are new and interesting here. But when everyone else you see is Japanese, and they all speak Japanese, and the things you buy are labeled in Japanese, and the food you try to order is in Japanese, and made for the Japanese pallet, and half the time you don't get what you think you're ordering, because despite having taken Japanese for one and a half years, you still can't speak it...
You can start feeling kinda lonely.
And despite what you might have heard, most Japanese do not, in fact, speak English.
Heck, even the English majors I've met barely speak English.
The country isn't going to adapt to you--you have to adapt to it.
And that's a pretty tall order, if you've never tried it.
Sure, things are new and interesting here. But when everyone else you see is Japanese, and they all speak Japanese, and the things you buy are labeled in Japanese, and the food you try to order is in Japanese, and made for the Japanese pallet, and half the time you don't get what you think you're ordering, because despite having taken Japanese for one and a half years, you still can't speak it...
You can start feeling kinda lonely.
And despite what you might have heard, most Japanese do not, in fact, speak English.
Heck, even the English majors I've met barely speak English.
The country isn't going to adapt to you--you have to adapt to it.
And that's a pretty tall order, if you've never tried it.
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