May 6th

Today I went to Akihabara and had a bunch of fun. I bought gifts for Khayman, Kristian, and myself. (Sorry Kristin, I haven't found anything for you). Also bought Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G because it is half the price of Persona. Also thinking about buying a new PSP and selling my old one in the States (because its only worth $20 here D:).

My JPN GF PLZ shirt
I noticed at least 4 girls giggle when they saw it
Many couples starting holding hands when they saw it
A lot of adults had a very very vague look of "Not another Gaijin lookin' to score"

I thought it was hilarious how many couples starting holding on to each other though, most was started by the boys too XD ("oh no, this kid's out to steal my girl...and the worst part is...HE HAS A CHANCE!")

At Akihabara, the trip there was easy and uneventful. I found true love once while riding the trains though I was paralyzed by being 4 inches away from 40 strangers in a tin can travelling 100kilo/s.

I met up with Yukiko's brother and wife(?) who spoke almost no English. Thank god I barely remember my high school Japanese. He asked if I wanted to see some game stores to find Persona and off we went!

It sprinkled off and on before dumping buckets later on and let me tell you, Japan has a ton of porn just sitting around. Its like thats how most games sell. After doing some searching for the cheapest prices (I don't know if I told you but Japan sells its games based on popularity, thusly epic games start out at nearly 7,000 yen). I found MHP2ndG for 2,200 yen which was a steal! We also went to a book store and I found Claymore 17 (didn't buy) and some massive boobs manga porn (almost bought...for Kman. Though I tried to get the name but I couldn't read it fast enough XD). At the bookstore I bought a 20 year anniversery Mega Man art book for 3,200.

Later I found out Monster Hunter is the shit in Japan. More on that when I get home (or whenever). We stopped off for a coffee drink and we talked about when I'm going home to America and what occupation I had (don't ask me how I knew Gakusee was Student). It was fun. There was some promo for Babylon A.D. going on. After seeing those pop stars, I half expected Vin Deisel to popout and give some deepthroat speach.

Time passed and we found some weirdo hobby/antique/porn shop (not that that is a bad thing) where they had nudity shown on every disc and pretty much every magazine but its only offensive if you actually think nudity corrodes the brain. I saw some awesome gundam figures that are older than me (and 100,000 yen [1000.00 dollars]). It was pretty awesome.

We then headed off to an arcade where we played some Half-Life 2 arcade game with pedals and joysticks. It was an FPS and played like it, it was just weirdo controls. Afterwards I tried my skillz at Street Fighter IV and found out I am pretty good with Ken. I also learned that they have cards that keep track of your rank and skills so you know how many wins/losses you have.

After escaping the arcade I asked to see an old game shop. I found out that old, rare games (in the USA) are dirt cheap (and in Japanese). I bought the original Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei I & II. I also found a couple things Kristian might love.

Remember how I said Japan rates its prices by popularity? I found Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 and Shin Megami Tensei III:Nocturne AND Final Fantasy VII BRAND NEW and cheap. Unlike their American counterparts which are over $50 each, the Japanese ones are less than 20 (no freakin' lie). Not only that but FFVII works on every Playstation, USA and JPN. What was the coolest thing, though, was how not only were these games new, they were for the original console. They still sell PS1 games. So awesome (geekin' out here).

Also saw Monster Hunter G for Wii (which I would buy but Wii is not Region Free) which has a Monster Hunter Tri (3) demo in it. Can't wait for that little #*$&er to come out in the States.

Right about here we did a bit more exploring and finally headed home. I took the right train the Shinjuku and the wrong train to Home but Yukiko helped me on the phone so I didn't get raped (shirt doesn't help) or mugged (being American doesn't help).

We picked up Corey from work (after I got home) and I played some MH only to learn my game saves (USA) can't be ported over to a new game (JPN). Which is fine, I wonder if the JPN version can play online with the USA versions. We'll find out when I get home. After Corey got home, him and I immediatly left to the electronic store to look at PS3 and PSP stuff. PSP is 18,000 (great price) and comes in MH colors and I think with a free shirt. If I buy that and sell my PSP at home for $50, I'll be happy. Japanese PSP > USA PSP.

So now I'm sitting here thinking about PSPs and Monster Hunter and Corey wants a PS3 so I'm helping with that. All in all everyone at home can suck it because Japan is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than America X10 (maybe not 100).

Phew, thats enough text.