I wore pants today.
It was July 1st, and the temperature would get up to a good 90+ degrees. Why
did I wear pants?
I dressed nice. We were going to the Japanese Parliament to get an up close view of where all their laws are made and political topics and points of view are discussed. All of the other schools participating in the Kakehashi Project would be visiting the National Diet at the same time, and at this point we were beginning to recognize some faces from the other schools. This was another activity that looked appealing on paper, but ended up actually being pretty boring. I was hoping we would meet at least one Japanese Dignitary but there wasn't one as far as the eye could see. It was a Tuesday, shouldn't something be in session? Apparently not. Every hall looked as empty as could be.
One of our goals on this trip was to observe the best qualities of Japanese leadership, so it came as a huge surprise that no politicians were here today. They would seem to be the biggest and best example of a person in a leadership position. Even if there were no official activities going on that day, you'd think the Japan Foundation would arrange for at least one official member of Parliament to show up and do some kind of a meet and greet. One of them has to speak English, and I'm sure more than one owed somebody some kind of a favor. It's politics, after all.
We were all just shuffled through the halls of the diet. We entered the rotunda where the actual laws are discussed and passed. That was pretty neat. The entire thing was beautiful. Much more decorative than our American Congress, House and Senate. There was so much more color in everything; it wasn't all just beige and brown. The walls, chairs and tables were all a finished reflective wooden surface. Stained glass covered parts of the walls and ceiling. We were told about the arrangements of the seats, and what purpose they served. The placement of the Prime Minister's chair and the Emperor's chair piqued my interest. To think we'd get to see the place where the two most important people in the country get shit done, and unlike in America, get shit done they do. In this particular room we had merged with some of the students from the other schools. Somebody asked how many days a year the Parliament is in session. They basically only get the equivalent of 2 months off across the entire year. (this includes weekends, holidays, etc.) So basically, its like a real job. Like most politicians serving a modern democracy, I'm sure most have their hands in the pockets of their own particular interests and largest donors. I know the Japanese are an honorable people, but I seriously doubt this extends to all politicians. This is how government works, right? At least that's what I learned since becoming an adult.
It seems like they get more done than we do, though. Our government has had its head so far up its own ass for over 15 years now. We've reached the peak of childishness in American politics, and its basically lead our progress to plateau. I can't really say much about how much the Japanese actually get done however. I honestly don't know much about the subject, but looking around at how clean the cities are and how smoothly everything runs I just assume that they get more done than we do. I mean shit, they have to right? Our Congress is full of obstructionists at the moment, and getting absolutely nothing done is their prerogative. Land of the brave, indeed.
The Emperor's viewing balcony was gestured to and the Diet's tour guide was asked how often the Emperor visits. "No", he chuckled. "Its never used." I wasn't really surprised. This place was boring, and probably felt like a chore most of the time for the Emperor. If I were him, I'd just show up for the most important debates and topics. We also got to view the Emperor's waiting room. What? No TV? Once again, if I were the Emperor, I'd put a TV in this place. A really, really big one.
Then again I'm not the Emperor, am I?
I dressed nice. We were going to the Japanese Parliament to get an up close view of where all their laws are made and political topics and points of view are discussed. All of the other schools participating in the Kakehashi Project would be visiting the National Diet at the same time, and at this point we were beginning to recognize some faces from the other schools. This was another activity that looked appealing on paper, but ended up actually being pretty boring. I was hoping we would meet at least one Japanese Dignitary but there wasn't one as far as the eye could see. It was a Tuesday, shouldn't something be in session? Apparently not. Every hall looked as empty as could be.
One of our goals on this trip was to observe the best qualities of Japanese leadership, so it came as a huge surprise that no politicians were here today. They would seem to be the biggest and best example of a person in a leadership position. Even if there were no official activities going on that day, you'd think the Japan Foundation would arrange for at least one official member of Parliament to show up and do some kind of a meet and greet. One of them has to speak English, and I'm sure more than one owed somebody some kind of a favor. It's politics, after all.
We were all just shuffled through the halls of the diet. We entered the rotunda where the actual laws are discussed and passed. That was pretty neat. The entire thing was beautiful. Much more decorative than our American Congress, House and Senate. There was so much more color in everything; it wasn't all just beige and brown. The walls, chairs and tables were all a finished reflective wooden surface. Stained glass covered parts of the walls and ceiling. We were told about the arrangements of the seats, and what purpose they served. The placement of the Prime Minister's chair and the Emperor's chair piqued my interest. To think we'd get to see the place where the two most important people in the country get shit done, and unlike in America, get shit done they do. In this particular room we had merged with some of the students from the other schools. Somebody asked how many days a year the Parliament is in session. They basically only get the equivalent of 2 months off across the entire year. (this includes weekends, holidays, etc.) So basically, its like a real job. Like most politicians serving a modern democracy, I'm sure most have their hands in the pockets of their own particular interests and largest donors. I know the Japanese are an honorable people, but I seriously doubt this extends to all politicians. This is how government works, right? At least that's what I learned since becoming an adult.
It seems like they get more done than we do, though. Our government has had its head so far up its own ass for over 15 years now. We've reached the peak of childishness in American politics, and its basically lead our progress to plateau. I can't really say much about how much the Japanese actually get done however. I honestly don't know much about the subject, but looking around at how clean the cities are and how smoothly everything runs I just assume that they get more done than we do. I mean shit, they have to right? Our Congress is full of obstructionists at the moment, and getting absolutely nothing done is their prerogative. Land of the brave, indeed.
The Emperor's viewing balcony was gestured to and the Diet's tour guide was asked how often the Emperor visits. "No", he chuckled. "Its never used." I wasn't really surprised. This place was boring, and probably felt like a chore most of the time for the Emperor. If I were him, I'd just show up for the most important debates and topics. We also got to view the Emperor's waiting room. What? No TV? Once again, if I were the Emperor, I'd put a TV in this place. A really, really big one.
Then again I'm not the Emperor, am I?
We had a large itinerary planned out for the day. Stop #2
would be Tokyo's Meiji Shrine and all of the accompanying land that
surrounded it, and let me tell you, there was a lot of land surrounding it. The best way to describe the area around the Meiji Shrine
is comparing it to NYC's Central
Park. There was plenty of
green and foliage to traverse through, but it was so close to the city that you
could see Tokyo's largest buildings scrape the sky from the park's
larger clearings.
We were the first group to arrive. Our tour guide led us in, and we made our way up to the shrine itself. It was a very long way from the parking lot. We passed by a gift shop and snack stand on our way in. About halfway up the path that led to the shrine, I decided to break off from the group to grab something to eat. I skipped breakfast again that morning, and we had done so much walking at the National Diet that by this time I was starving and I couldn't wait for lunch. I checked out my options. I didn't really want a large meal because I knew we'd be going to lunch right after this and I didn't want to waste it. A small snack was in order. It was very hot out today, and I was already sweating from wearing pants so I decided to get some ice cream. It was only 350 yen. I got a soft serve strawberry cone and inhaled it. It was beyond delicious, and I wasn't satisfied so I went for another. This time I got a banana and chocolate cone. Not as good as the strawberry one, but it still more than hit the spot.
With a little food in my tummy, I had been given the extra energy I needed to explore the temple grounds. I didn't bother looking for anybody else in my group to meet up with; I like exploring by myself, especially in a place as peaceful and quiet as this. There wasn't much to see in terms of the actual temple itself. Most of it was closed off to the general public, at least the inside part was. You could only look around the immediate outside of the temple, which kind of sucked. The big draw here was the area around the temple, so I picked a random pathway and walked off. Large roadways connected all the parts of the temple grounds. They were mostly used for walking, but small cars were allowed to go down some of them. Giant trees stretched over the walkways like a natural ceiling, blocking out the sunlight and creating an incredibly peaceful atmosphere. Large birds cawed in the distance, hidden somewhere deep in the forest. I couldn't see them, but judging on how loud they were I knew they were close.
I was stifling now. It was midday, and reaching over 90 degrees. Of course I decided to wear pants and a t-shirt underneath my button down on the hottest day of our trip. I had sweat running down my legs and all across my back. I felt gross, but the aura of serenity emanating from the temple grounds kept me in check. There was no use in complaining about the heat anyway. Why spoil my visit by bitching the whole time? I decided to grin and bear it.
We were the first group to arrive. Our tour guide led us in, and we made our way up to the shrine itself. It was a very long way from the parking lot. We passed by a gift shop and snack stand on our way in. About halfway up the path that led to the shrine, I decided to break off from the group to grab something to eat. I skipped breakfast again that morning, and we had done so much walking at the National Diet that by this time I was starving and I couldn't wait for lunch. I checked out my options. I didn't really want a large meal because I knew we'd be going to lunch right after this and I didn't want to waste it. A small snack was in order. It was very hot out today, and I was already sweating from wearing pants so I decided to get some ice cream. It was only 350 yen. I got a soft serve strawberry cone and inhaled it. It was beyond delicious, and I wasn't satisfied so I went for another. This time I got a banana and chocolate cone. Not as good as the strawberry one, but it still more than hit the spot.
With a little food in my tummy, I had been given the extra energy I needed to explore the temple grounds. I didn't bother looking for anybody else in my group to meet up with; I like exploring by myself, especially in a place as peaceful and quiet as this. There wasn't much to see in terms of the actual temple itself. Most of it was closed off to the general public, at least the inside part was. You could only look around the immediate outside of the temple, which kind of sucked. The big draw here was the area around the temple, so I picked a random pathway and walked off. Large roadways connected all the parts of the temple grounds. They were mostly used for walking, but small cars were allowed to go down some of them. Giant trees stretched over the walkways like a natural ceiling, blocking out the sunlight and creating an incredibly peaceful atmosphere. Large birds cawed in the distance, hidden somewhere deep in the forest. I couldn't see them, but judging on how loud they were I knew they were close.
I was stifling now. It was midday, and reaching over 90 degrees. Of course I decided to wear pants and a t-shirt underneath my button down on the hottest day of our trip. I had sweat running down my legs and all across my back. I felt gross, but the aura of serenity emanating from the temple grounds kept me in check. There was no use in complaining about the heat anyway. Why spoil my visit by bitching the whole time? I decided to grin and bear it.
Lunch came and went quickly today. It was more of the same
food. A lot of the students began to complain about getting the same meals over
and over, and I felt like the only one who really didn't care. This was a once
in a lifetime opportunity after all, and all the meals were paid for. Why bitch
and moan about it? Americans.
Next up was the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Hands down the most boring stop on the whole trip. I'm not very interested in stocks. I believe that a life working the stock market is a wasted professional career, regardless of how much money you make. The whole point of working stocks is to fuck the other guy into paying a little bit more than you did for imaginary shares in some company. It's all just numbers and rape. I really believe that you should have a passion for what you do, and while I'm sure that there are people that do have passion for trading stocks, can it really be that strong? Like seriously, who grows up admiring to become a stock trader? "When I get big I want to trade stocks!" said no child ever.
We had to wait around 40 minutes for our tour to start. There was a little historical museum in there but it was only one room and would in no way keep our attention for more than 20 minutes. Tired, we all just sat on the big leather couches in the lobby. Alice and I looked through her pictures and made some more jokes, our loud laughter filling the empty halls of the lobby.
I wanted to use the bathroom before the tour started. It was on the second floor so I ran upstairs and quickly relieved myself. When I came back out, another member of our group came out of the ladies room and joined me to meet back up with the others. We went downstairs to find the lobby completely empty. What the--? They must have started the tour without us. I asked the lady at the desk where they went, but she didn't speak very good English. She knew enough to tell me that they went up to the second floor, so we headed back upstairs. We went back up and thought we heard some of our group laughing and joking around the corner, but when we turned we saw it was a bunch of Japanese people. The group was nowhere to be seen. The girl that was with me kind of freaked out a little bit, but I stayed calm. It was just as well; I had absolutely zero interest in this place, so missing out on the tour wouldn't be a big deal to me.
We wandered around on our own for about 20 minutes. There were men and women working in small offices below us, but there was nobody on the main floor trading stocks. Like the National Diet, it would have been interesting to see these people at work but yet again there was nobody to be seen. Why even bring us here, then? Turning a corner, we saw our tour guide in the distance. We went up to him and explained that we got separated, and he told us that the group was in the auditorium behind him watching an introductory video. That's all we missed? An intro video? Not bad. We met back up with everybody and started the real tour. Unfortunately, it was boring as hell.
The tour felt like it lasted for hours, when in reality it was only about 40 minutes. I'm sorry, all of this was just really boring to me. Numbers aren't my strong suit. Math scares me, and I could care less about how much stock in a particular company is worth. Only somewhat enlightening, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was a visit I could have done without.
Next up was the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Hands down the most boring stop on the whole trip. I'm not very interested in stocks. I believe that a life working the stock market is a wasted professional career, regardless of how much money you make. The whole point of working stocks is to fuck the other guy into paying a little bit more than you did for imaginary shares in some company. It's all just numbers and rape. I really believe that you should have a passion for what you do, and while I'm sure that there are people that do have passion for trading stocks, can it really be that strong? Like seriously, who grows up admiring to become a stock trader? "When I get big I want to trade stocks!" said no child ever.
We had to wait around 40 minutes for our tour to start. There was a little historical museum in there but it was only one room and would in no way keep our attention for more than 20 minutes. Tired, we all just sat on the big leather couches in the lobby. Alice and I looked through her pictures and made some more jokes, our loud laughter filling the empty halls of the lobby.
I wanted to use the bathroom before the tour started. It was on the second floor so I ran upstairs and quickly relieved myself. When I came back out, another member of our group came out of the ladies room and joined me to meet back up with the others. We went downstairs to find the lobby completely empty. What the--? They must have started the tour without us. I asked the lady at the desk where they went, but she didn't speak very good English. She knew enough to tell me that they went up to the second floor, so we headed back upstairs. We went back up and thought we heard some of our group laughing and joking around the corner, but when we turned we saw it was a bunch of Japanese people. The group was nowhere to be seen. The girl that was with me kind of freaked out a little bit, but I stayed calm. It was just as well; I had absolutely zero interest in this place, so missing out on the tour wouldn't be a big deal to me.
We wandered around on our own for about 20 minutes. There were men and women working in small offices below us, but there was nobody on the main floor trading stocks. Like the National Diet, it would have been interesting to see these people at work but yet again there was nobody to be seen. Why even bring us here, then? Turning a corner, we saw our tour guide in the distance. We went up to him and explained that we got separated, and he told us that the group was in the auditorium behind him watching an introductory video. That's all we missed? An intro video? Not bad. We met back up with everybody and started the real tour. Unfortunately, it was boring as hell.
The tour felt like it lasted for hours, when in reality it was only about 40 minutes. I'm sorry, all of this was just really boring to me. Numbers aren't my strong suit. Math scares me, and I could care less about how much stock in a particular company is worth. Only somewhat enlightening, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was a visit I could have done without.
Next up: more shopping! We headed to a place called
'Harajuku', which was a combination indoor/outdoor shopping mall. It was known
for it's exorbitant prices. This was the place that all the rich foreigners
came to spend money on things they could buy cheaper elsewhere. It was full of
westerners. I noticed more here than any other place we had been to so far.
I thought this would be a good place to get some gifts for my friends back home. I looked around for anything game related, and found a small t-shirt shop featuring familiar game and TV characters. I found a Mario t-shirt that was in no way licensed by Nintendo. The artwork on it was kind of crappy, but it was a funny to see Mario doing something edgy. The shopkeeper saw me looking at it, and we had a brief exchange in Japanese. He asked if I liked Mario, and I said that I did very much and was interested in the shirt. This was the most complete conversation I had in Japanese since coming here. I thought the shirt would be a great gift for my boss back home, so I took it up to the counter. I asked how much it was, and the man behind the counter said it was around $28. "Oooo, totemo takai des ne." (Oooo, that's very expensive) I replied. I returned it to him, said "no thanks" and left. Overpriced seemed to be the theme of Harajuku, but that didn't stop most of the girls from buying clothing. I knew better though, and bought only a single item: a slurpee from 7-11.
Japanese owned, there were 7-11s on every corner. There was even one place in Tokyo where I saw two of them literally across the street from one another. They were much different from our 7-11s however; none of them had slurpees. What? How can that be? I can understand if one or two of them didn't offer them, but c'mon! The slurpee is the face of 7-11. Don't the Japanese know that aside from the convenience, slurpees are what make 7-11 great?
The 7-11 in Harajuku seemed to be the only one that had slurpees. I knew I needed to try one to see just how different, if at all, they were from the ones we had back home. Unlike the 7-11s in America, you can't freely choose a cup and go to town crafting your ideal slurpee experience. In Japan you have to tell the person behind the counter what size you want and he hands you a cup, lid and slurpee straw. Only after you've paid can you fill it up. I made mine with mango, lemon and some kind of blue flavor. Like the McDonald's I ate some nights before, their slurpees are different from ours. It was less crunchy and more foamy, but still cold and delicious. It hit the spot. I was still in my long pants and sweating profusely. It cooled me down to the point where I was actually comfortable again.
We got on the bus and headed for dinner. Tonight would be the night that we had the most free time, so naturally all of us wanted to head back to Akiba. I would be able to check off one of the things that I had most wanted to do while visiting Japan.
I thought this would be a good place to get some gifts for my friends back home. I looked around for anything game related, and found a small t-shirt shop featuring familiar game and TV characters. I found a Mario t-shirt that was in no way licensed by Nintendo. The artwork on it was kind of crappy, but it was a funny to see Mario doing something edgy. The shopkeeper saw me looking at it, and we had a brief exchange in Japanese. He asked if I liked Mario, and I said that I did very much and was interested in the shirt. This was the most complete conversation I had in Japanese since coming here. I thought the shirt would be a great gift for my boss back home, so I took it up to the counter. I asked how much it was, and the man behind the counter said it was around $28. "Oooo, totemo takai des ne." (Oooo, that's very expensive) I replied. I returned it to him, said "no thanks" and left. Overpriced seemed to be the theme of Harajuku, but that didn't stop most of the girls from buying clothing. I knew better though, and bought only a single item: a slurpee from 7-11.
Japanese owned, there were 7-11s on every corner. There was even one place in Tokyo where I saw two of them literally across the street from one another. They were much different from our 7-11s however; none of them had slurpees. What? How can that be? I can understand if one or two of them didn't offer them, but c'mon! The slurpee is the face of 7-11. Don't the Japanese know that aside from the convenience, slurpees are what make 7-11 great?
The 7-11 in Harajuku seemed to be the only one that had slurpees. I knew I needed to try one to see just how different, if at all, they were from the ones we had back home. Unlike the 7-11s in America, you can't freely choose a cup and go to town crafting your ideal slurpee experience. In Japan you have to tell the person behind the counter what size you want and he hands you a cup, lid and slurpee straw. Only after you've paid can you fill it up. I made mine with mango, lemon and some kind of blue flavor. Like the McDonald's I ate some nights before, their slurpees are different from ours. It was less crunchy and more foamy, but still cold and delicious. It hit the spot. I was still in my long pants and sweating profusely. It cooled me down to the point where I was actually comfortable again.
We got on the bus and headed for dinner. Tonight would be the night that we had the most free time, so naturally all of us wanted to head back to Akiba. I would be able to check off one of the things that I had most wanted to do while visiting Japan.
We boarded the train to head back to Akihabara. Last time
we ventured out to Akiba we got on the train a little after 8. That's pretty
late. This time we got on the train a little after 6, and as everybody knows,
that's 'Japanese Rush Hour'. Their rush hour is very different from our rush hour. Rush
hour in the states is Carmageddon, or the overcrowding of highways with
civilian automobiles. In Japan rush hour is the over congestion of public transportation
with human bodies, or the 'Aflockalypse'. You know, people flocking from one
place to another in massive numbers...and we just so happen to be stuck on a
fast moving metal tube during this dreadful period.
I think most westerners have preconceived notions about overcrowding in Asian cities, urban areas with far too many people than you'd think the city would be able to handle. I witnessed this while traveling on the bus and got caught up in it a little bit in Harajuku, but it wasn't until tonight that I was stuck in the middle of it.
The train was packed. No, I mean packed. It had to be a violation of the fire code or something. There weren't enough handle bars for people to hold on to; they were just leaning up against each other for support. I was pretty sure we were about to run out of air, but it didn't bother me. Getting meshed together in a mass of people was just another part of absorbing modern Japanese culture, right?
Just like Japanese Customs, for the amount of people here it was strangely quiet. I overheard somebody in our group mention that one of our students was claustrophobic. Uh-oh. This was not the place to be if you have a fear of tight spaces. I looked over at her. The look on her face was so pitiful. Her mouth frowned and quivered uncontrollably. Her eyes welled up as if she was about to start crying. Her posture gave away her weakening mental state; she appeared to be shrinking away underneath the weight of about 50 Japanese businessmen. Something had to be done quickly to avoid what looked like a quickly brewing panic attack.
So I started singing.
I quickly tried to think of a soft melody that would soothe her ailments but also make her smile. I immediately thought of a song from Sifl and Olly, (a TV show that ran on MTV back in the late 90s starring sock puppets that basically proves that I'm a child trapped in a man's body) where they sing their viewers to sleep with a lullaby. It was so quiet that even though I was singing softly I was the only one that could be heard besides the atmospheric sound of the train moving across the railways. I'm not sure if it was the almost absurd nature of the situation, the lyrics of the song or the fact that my voice is surprisingly velvety smooth, but I could tell that she felt better immediately. Her posture changed from slumped to straight, and her face brightened into a smile. Success! All of those private vocal lessons finally paid off.
The train stopped and some of the corporeal congestion was alleviated. We could breathe again! We wouldn't run out of air, after all. Arriving in Akiba, it was only a little after 7 so we had more time to explore. My particular group was headed for a store called Super Potato. I know, the name sounds strange and it still doesn't really make sense to me, but its basically an entire store devoted to used games. At dinner, the Japanese language professor that had come with us explained to me what it was. It was basically like the used game store I worked at here in Charlotte, except located directly in the heart of the homeland. Visiting the Japanese equivalent of Save Point was something I absolutely needed to do while here, so there was little debate about where to go that night.
We had some difficulty finding it at first, even with a fluent speaker in our group. Akiba isn't terribly big however, so it only took us around 20 minutes to find it. Going in, I looked at the floor plan. The store took up three whole floors, the first two being the actual store itself and the last being a small arcade. We jumped onto the elevator and headed up to the first of the three floors.
Even the elevator was decked out with gaming paraphernalia. Some of it were ads of upcoming events and gaming concerts, while others were retro posters and advertisements. The doors opened and I saw a big Yoshi on the wall that had a speech bubble above his head. It was in kanji, so I couldn't read it, but I assume it said something like "this way to Heaven". We followed the Yoshi sign into the first room.
I think most westerners have preconceived notions about overcrowding in Asian cities, urban areas with far too many people than you'd think the city would be able to handle. I witnessed this while traveling on the bus and got caught up in it a little bit in Harajuku, but it wasn't until tonight that I was stuck in the middle of it.
The train was packed. No, I mean packed. It had to be a violation of the fire code or something. There weren't enough handle bars for people to hold on to; they were just leaning up against each other for support. I was pretty sure we were about to run out of air, but it didn't bother me. Getting meshed together in a mass of people was just another part of absorbing modern Japanese culture, right?
Just like Japanese Customs, for the amount of people here it was strangely quiet. I overheard somebody in our group mention that one of our students was claustrophobic. Uh-oh. This was not the place to be if you have a fear of tight spaces. I looked over at her. The look on her face was so pitiful. Her mouth frowned and quivered uncontrollably. Her eyes welled up as if she was about to start crying. Her posture gave away her weakening mental state; she appeared to be shrinking away underneath the weight of about 50 Japanese businessmen. Something had to be done quickly to avoid what looked like a quickly brewing panic attack.
So I started singing.
I quickly tried to think of a soft melody that would soothe her ailments but also make her smile. I immediately thought of a song from Sifl and Olly, (a TV show that ran on MTV back in the late 90s starring sock puppets that basically proves that I'm a child trapped in a man's body) where they sing their viewers to sleep with a lullaby. It was so quiet that even though I was singing softly I was the only one that could be heard besides the atmospheric sound of the train moving across the railways. I'm not sure if it was the almost absurd nature of the situation, the lyrics of the song or the fact that my voice is surprisingly velvety smooth, but I could tell that she felt better immediately. Her posture changed from slumped to straight, and her face brightened into a smile. Success! All of those private vocal lessons finally paid off.
The train stopped and some of the corporeal congestion was alleviated. We could breathe again! We wouldn't run out of air, after all. Arriving in Akiba, it was only a little after 7 so we had more time to explore. My particular group was headed for a store called Super Potato. I know, the name sounds strange and it still doesn't really make sense to me, but its basically an entire store devoted to used games. At dinner, the Japanese language professor that had come with us explained to me what it was. It was basically like the used game store I worked at here in Charlotte, except located directly in the heart of the homeland. Visiting the Japanese equivalent of Save Point was something I absolutely needed to do while here, so there was little debate about where to go that night.
We had some difficulty finding it at first, even with a fluent speaker in our group. Akiba isn't terribly big however, so it only took us around 20 minutes to find it. Going in, I looked at the floor plan. The store took up three whole floors, the first two being the actual store itself and the last being a small arcade. We jumped onto the elevator and headed up to the first of the three floors.
Even the elevator was decked out with gaming paraphernalia. Some of it were ads of upcoming events and gaming concerts, while others were retro posters and advertisements. The doors opened and I saw a big Yoshi on the wall that had a speech bubble above his head. It was in kanji, so I couldn't read it, but I assume it said something like "this way to Heaven". We followed the Yoshi sign into the first room.
It was amazing. There are no words for how super the Super
Potato was. I could hear music from Final Fantasy VI playing on some speakers
shaped like a goomba next to the checkout counter. My heart skipped a beat and
sent tears to my eyes. Going through the store was like walking through time.
The first floor had their biggest selection of retro games, starting with the
Famicom and working its way up through the Gamecube era. There weren't only
Nintendo products but also Sega and Sony as well. (Nintendo claimed much of the
store's real estate though)
There were too many games. I didn't know where to start. They had loose games and complete games still in their boxes. Some were still sealed, some were open and used. I looked around as quickly as I could; the store would close in about 40 minutes. Damn. A TV played retro Japanese video game commercials. Nintendo ads from the 90s flashed across the screen: commercials for Yoshi's Island, the original Super Smash Bros. and Pokemon were only the tip of the iceberg. The room was small, so I had seen almost everything rather quickly and went up to the 2nd floor. Up here I had put some money into Nintendo themed capsule machines and got some little trinkets for myself and some of my friends. There weren't only games to buy but also toys and other seemingly random items. I purchased a figure of Link for a friend of mine back home who was crazy for everything Zelda. I hoped he didn't have this one already.
I didn't have enough money for all of the things that I wanted, which was essentially the entire store. I needed to get something that we couldn't get here in America, so I looked around for something of that nature. I went over to the Game Boy section and found copies of the original Pokemon games. Aha! Pokemon Green. There was something we'd never gotten, and it was still sealed in its original packaging. It was a little over $22, pretty expensive for an original Game Boy game, but totally worth it. I made my purchases and the store began to close.
No! It couldn't be! I didn't know Heaven had closing times. They locked up the pearly gates and I made peace with the fact that I would probably never come to this store again. It wasn't a big deal, though. Akiba was packed to the brim with gaming things to buy, and I had purchased what I wanted from here. Hell, if I was given more time I'd probably spend even more money that I didn't have.
There were too many games. I didn't know where to start. They had loose games and complete games still in their boxes. Some were still sealed, some were open and used. I looked around as quickly as I could; the store would close in about 40 minutes. Damn. A TV played retro Japanese video game commercials. Nintendo ads from the 90s flashed across the screen: commercials for Yoshi's Island, the original Super Smash Bros. and Pokemon were only the tip of the iceberg. The room was small, so I had seen almost everything rather quickly and went up to the 2nd floor. Up here I had put some money into Nintendo themed capsule machines and got some little trinkets for myself and some of my friends. There weren't only games to buy but also toys and other seemingly random items. I purchased a figure of Link for a friend of mine back home who was crazy for everything Zelda. I hoped he didn't have this one already.
I didn't have enough money for all of the things that I wanted, which was essentially the entire store. I needed to get something that we couldn't get here in America, so I looked around for something of that nature. I went over to the Game Boy section and found copies of the original Pokemon games. Aha! Pokemon Green. There was something we'd never gotten, and it was still sealed in its original packaging. It was a little over $22, pretty expensive for an original Game Boy game, but totally worth it. I made my purchases and the store began to close.
No! It couldn't be! I didn't know Heaven had closing times. They locked up the pearly gates and I made peace with the fact that I would probably never come to this store again. It wasn't a big deal, though. Akiba was packed to the brim with gaming things to buy, and I had purchased what I wanted from here. Hell, if I was given more time I'd probably spend even more money that I didn't have.
But it wasn't just the cool things to buy that made Super
Potato so unique. There was something about this store that had set it apart
from all the other places in Akiba...I think it was the amount of gaming
culture that it was immersed in. Treasures from all the ages of gaming's past
in one convenient location, most of them Nintendo related. Could I live here? I
wonder how much rent would cost. I didn't need a bed, I'd sleep right under all
the SNES games. Maybe I could fashion a pillow out of the life sized Kirby
plushies. Yeah, that would do it.
After leaving Super Potato, we explored Akiba for a little
bit. There were plenty of stores and places that were already closed when we
came here the other night. I saw a shop dedicated to adult manga. I decided to
check it out.
The store had hentai from the ground to the ceiling. It was amazing. People browsed and paid for their items as casually as most Americans browse their local convenience store. Like I said before, I wasn't going to kill myself looking for smut but I figured if there was something that contoured to my specific tastes it would be here. I looked around and noticed a new release book that could potentially fit the bill. Unfortunately the book was new, and as such was wrapped in clear plastic so I couldn't open it to check out its contents. I might as well buy it and take a chance. What the hell, right? Maybe it was exactly what I was looking for? I brought it up to the counter to pay for it. The clerk acted as the clerks from all the other stores did. It seemed as though there was no shame here. No judgment, no dirty looks from passers by. And why should there be? All the people browsing this store were human beings. The only difference was that here there was no societal obligation to cover it up.
Once again, God bless Japan.
After purchasing my naughty book I met back up with some of the group members that we had split up from when arriving in Akiba. They were looking for clothes while we were looking for video games. Fair enough. Alice was with them, and we decided to search out a photo booth to take some funny pictures.
The booths were called 'Moreru by Cherry', and they smoothed up your face to make you look super photogenic just like a model. Alice and I stepped in and took four pictures, making silly poses at one another for each one. After your pictures are taken, you could edit them by adding little drawings and words to give them extra flair. We spent about 20 minutes editing our masterpiece, making sure to put all the inside jokes from our trip on each picture. They came out too good.
The photo booths were in the middle of a large arcade, and while the girls took some more pictures I decided to go check out one of these Mario Kart machines. The game had a steering wheel and two pedals on the floor, just like a real car. That seemed a little strange for Mario Kart, a game that is usually controlled with only buttons on a controller. For an actual go kart 'experience', it wasn't as fun as regular Mario Kart. It was neat to control my character (I picked DK, naturally) with an actual gas pedal, but all it made me want was to play real Mario Kart.
It was getting late. I checked the clock. It was already after 9:30. When the girls were finished with the photo booths, we decided to head back up to our designated meeting place. We were all pretty tired, so 10:15 would be a great time to jump back on the train. Our otaku excursion in Akiba finished, there was nothing left to do but head back to Keio.
The store had hentai from the ground to the ceiling. It was amazing. People browsed and paid for their items as casually as most Americans browse their local convenience store. Like I said before, I wasn't going to kill myself looking for smut but I figured if there was something that contoured to my specific tastes it would be here. I looked around and noticed a new release book that could potentially fit the bill. Unfortunately the book was new, and as such was wrapped in clear plastic so I couldn't open it to check out its contents. I might as well buy it and take a chance. What the hell, right? Maybe it was exactly what I was looking for? I brought it up to the counter to pay for it. The clerk acted as the clerks from all the other stores did. It seemed as though there was no shame here. No judgment, no dirty looks from passers by. And why should there be? All the people browsing this store were human beings. The only difference was that here there was no societal obligation to cover it up.
Once again, God bless Japan.
After purchasing my naughty book I met back up with some of the group members that we had split up from when arriving in Akiba. They were looking for clothes while we were looking for video games. Fair enough. Alice was with them, and we decided to search out a photo booth to take some funny pictures.
The booths were called 'Moreru by Cherry', and they smoothed up your face to make you look super photogenic just like a model. Alice and I stepped in and took four pictures, making silly poses at one another for each one. After your pictures are taken, you could edit them by adding little drawings and words to give them extra flair. We spent about 20 minutes editing our masterpiece, making sure to put all the inside jokes from our trip on each picture. They came out too good.
The photo booths were in the middle of a large arcade, and while the girls took some more pictures I decided to go check out one of these Mario Kart machines. The game had a steering wheel and two pedals on the floor, just like a real car. That seemed a little strange for Mario Kart, a game that is usually controlled with only buttons on a controller. For an actual go kart 'experience', it wasn't as fun as regular Mario Kart. It was neat to control my character (I picked DK, naturally) with an actual gas pedal, but all it made me want was to play real Mario Kart.
It was getting late. I checked the clock. It was already after 9:30. When the girls were finished with the photo booths, we decided to head back up to our designated meeting place. We were all pretty tired, so 10:15 would be a great time to jump back on the train. Our otaku excursion in Akiba finished, there was nothing left to do but head back to Keio.
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