Greetings and salutations!
Of Japan, Friends, Videogames, etc.
The last week of September, I took a 4 day trip to the Tokyo area, which was fantastic. My friend Jon and I had planned it some time ago but last minute complications meant we were unable to travel together. Jon took the midnight train Fri night and I took the Shinkansen Sat morning. The ‘bullet train’ travels from Osaka to Tokyo in just over 2 hours as compared to 4.5 by car or 7.5 by bus. It’s certainly faster but also significantly more expensive.
Anyway, I was up all night Fri and my train left Osaka @ 6:00 am. I reached Tokyo near 8 and found our hotel in Kamata. Unable to check in until 3:00 pm, I decided to make my way to Makuhari and the Tokyo Game Show I had been looking forward to. Several train transfers and a bus later, I was in Makuhari which is actually a really nice suburb and I was immediately tempted to transfer there. In any case, upon reaching Makuhari Messe/the Nippon Convention Centre, I made my way into the show. See the PICS HERE.
There was the usual fanfare with the large posters outside and whatnot; that and the crowd had me fairly excited. Of course, a lack of sleep was wearing on me at the same time. In any case the not so detailed lowdown is essentially this – the TGS was quite unlike E3 and disappointingly so. There was WAY more people there so it was insanely crowded and lines were very long. There were WAY fewer vendors (Nintendo wasn’t even there) and displays. There was also pretty much nothing in terms of free swag. These factors, followed up by the fact that, in light of E3, there was nothing new, made for a sad show.
Yes there were scantily clad models and there were the cosplayers which you don’t see stateside, but overall it was not as fun as LA. Of course, I already knew from my last time at E3 that I was feeling less and less enthused about the whole video gaming world and maybe I’m just getting old. I did get to play PS3 though so in that sense it was a fruitful trip. I played Devil May Cry 4 as well as a heavily scripted demo of Heavenly Sword. Anyway, that combined with a wonderful Indian dinner with Jon and Aya of nan and assorted curries was pretty much my Saturday. Our hotel, the Hotel Vista in Kamata, was very nice but we did not have Internet access despite being assured we would.
I had no plans for Sunday as I was done with the TGS and Jon and Aya were off to a Dhali exhibit. The lack of Internet access meant I couldn’t catch up on work and I hadn’t intended to meet up with Kei until Monday so I was quite surprised when he called. Sunday turned out to be a fantastic day as I met Kei in Oji and attended the very church I had visited last time in Japan. It was wonderful to see everyone again, especially Ayako, and they all remembered me, which was great. After the service I showed them many of my photos from Israel and Japan.
After that Kei and I took off for Shinjuku and had dinner and hung out and chatted and what not. The next day I headed out to spend the day in the renowned otaku fantasyland known as Akihabara. While I was rather entertained for the first hour or so, much like the game show I quickly grew bored of the overpriced electronics and anime, not to mention the literal flood of hentai that now fills Akihabara. Eventually Kei and his girlfriend showed up and we had coffee before heading out to Chiba, where Kei attends university.
I found Chiba to be quite comfortable as well and the campus of the Tokyo Metropolitan University was beautiful. I also attended a public bath for the first time. It was a much more educational and more enjoyable experience than I would have guessed and I highly recommend it to others. Other than that, I met a few of Kei’s friends and roommates, took a ride on his motorcycle, and otherwise spent the time watching movies and playing videogames.
This leads me to a short segue explaining that I am now addicted to Everybody’s Tennis (Hot Shots Tennis in NA) and that Virtua Fighter 5 is WAY better than Tekken 5. In other videogame news, despite the packing on every PSP game that says ‘For Japan Only’ and region 2 indicators you CAN play Japanese PSP games on NA units. I was very happy to have this confirmed because it allowed me to purchase I.Q. Mania, for which I am very grateful! The last thing I want to mention in this topic to that everyone should check out the trailer for Halo Wars, the upcoming HALO RTS! The only other tech announcement I have is that, after smashing my Creative Zen into a few pieces, I have officially become a part of the iPod generation with my very own 5.5G 30GB iPod w/Video.
But enough of videogames, the trip was magnificent and I only hope I can take another one soon. In the meantime, I wanted to pass on a few tidbits I’ve learned in my time here:
Of a More Personal Nature
I've really been feeling lately...that I'm almost reaching something I've been seeking for a long time...and I feel like I will disappear entirely or start something completely new...I realize that makes no sense whatsoever but it's been a growing thought in my mind. As you may or may not be aware, I just celebrated my 26th birthday. This has, no doubt, given rise to certain questions regarding the course of my life. I find it simultaneous very frightening and reassuring that whenever I approach a major crossroads I always happen to be deeply questioning my own beliefs, and then suddenly they are affirmed in an extraordinary way.
Of Other Oddities
If the oil companies don’t manage to completely screw us over, we might just see the next generation of motor vehicle on the roads in our lifetime. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/v/ry6w3mRm-FM
Watch former President Bill Clinton lay the smack down on Fox News here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DI7u-TytRU&mode=related&search=
And get an eloquent response here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S6WmMi1QHU&mode=related&search=
Living in Japan, I am well aware of the recent North Korean nuclear test. I have no prepared comment at this time other than obviously this was going to happen. No one is actually surprised here, right?
With Hope,
Joseph
Tokyo Game Show | Halo Wars | North Korea Nuclear Test
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1 comment:
As always, it is wonderful to hear what you're up to. It sucks that you're doing it all way over there, but nice to know you're still alive =)
Thoughts and prayers,
Coke
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