Today I woke up several times and didn't have my cellphone with me so I didn't know what time it was so after a bit I freaked out and ran downstairs (clothed :P) and only found out it was 5am. After sleeping 3 more hours (I went straight to bed after Disneyland) I woke up, ate cereal, and walked a mile to the train station. From there, I realized that if you are claustrophobic, don't go to Japan because I bumpin' butts with some lady while having my face pressed against a window riding a train with 400 (just a guess) other people.
After being thankful I'm only scared of wide open areas and tunnel collapses, I walked around Shibuya for 20 minutes looking for "People waiting around a dog statue." Well there were a lot of people waiting and I found the dog wall but not the statue until a little while later. There I met Aki and her friend Kurumi. First thing we did was walk to the arcade (Japanese call it Game Center) and I was all like "Okay, I can play some Street Fighter IV" but took a sudden turn and I found myself surrounded by pink photobooths. Which if you look at the previous post you'll find links to the pics we took. After some confusing posing they jumping into a side booth where they could edit the pictures. All I did was spell my name in Katakana and English, the girls took over from there. They then got the images sent to their phone (and then sent to Corey's) and we stared at my awkward smile and I noticed all the pictures had at least one hand in my pocket.
We walked around a bit speaking in fragmented english/japanese before stumbling into a fair. I bought a postcard for Mark (Casey's dad) and then realized I have never seen so many gaijin (Japanese for foreiners, mostly applies to white people) in one place. So I've decided to label them all stereotypically!
Army/Navy - They might have wanted to be here or were just shipped off here but these are guys who work for the USA in Japan.
Guys lookin' to score - I guess I fall under this category. I see a lot of whities with Japanese GFs...but no white girls with Japanese boyfriends. Which is weird because Japanese guys have the coolest hair and styles. I was like "How do I stand a chance will all these Final Fantasy characters leaping around?" Some dude had an awesome hat and belt pants and all I could think about is how I'm parading around in a faux hawk and a sky blue shirt with cookies and milk on it.
French people - Yeah...I've seen a ratio of ~60% American, 35% French, and 5% other (including British). We all had a talk about mistaken nationalities and Yukiko doesn't care if people think she's Philipine but hates it when people think she's Chinese or Korean. I don't care what people think I am as long as they don't think I'm French. I don't know why. Maybe the school system raised me to think the French suck because of their smelly cheese and habit of retreating.
Ummm...tourists? - People who are already married and in Tokyo because they want to see the Tokyo Tower lit like a Christmas tree.
Anyways we walked into the most crowded alleyway imaginable (like the only way it could get more crowded is if people walked on each other) took a side staircase upwards and found a nice pasta resturant. I could read the menues but still didn't know what I was ordering. We all ate and had a fun time.
Afterwards they jumped into a whole bunch of clothes shops that only had girls in them (not even boyfriends) and I entered the twilight zone. It started out with us seeing a cute top and stepping into the store. Inside the entire place was coated with astroturf and fake vines with nature sounds playing. Walking up stairs we encounted 5 foot girls dressed like dolls who rung up the stuff and finally we escaped.
This is where my Japanese broke down and with it, my English. Aki was trying to explain how Kurumi had to go meet her boyfriend at a train station and something something. After a bit of confusion we left the topic and went on to "Are you on summer vacation?". To which I tried to explain I got ahead in school and summer vacation doesn't start until mid May. Well that failed horribly and I ended up confusing everyone (including myself) and then we returned to the topic of the train station. After 20 minutes of carefully picked words and the dictionary (which saved my ass plenty of times) they were asking if I wanted to go to Tokyo station to see Kurumi off with her boyfriend. I kindly said no (I don't know where Tokyo station is or how much it'll cost to get there, Kurumi said she lived waaaaaaay up in Akita so for all I knew, I might have been going there.) I thanked them for the wonderful time, got Aki's email address, and said our goodbyes.
Kurumi may be taken but Aki isn't :P
And don't get mad at me for not going, not only is this the first "I set up this date" date, but it was two girls who speak a different language.
So after saying goodbye and thank you, I walked around Shibuya lookin' for a freakin' game store to buy a PSP. After 30 minutes of me circling a huge block, I found an electronic store with games on the top floor. I walked up 6 flights of stairs (take that fat gamers) only to find their PSPs cost 1000 yen more than that other place where my VISA doesn't work. On the flip side (people still say that?), I bought a cool little Monster Hunter cat figurine (gotta have my Monser Hunter stuff. God knows its not in America D:).
Did I mention today was friggin' hot? I mean very very hot! So hot that I realized that fasion takes precedence before comfort. That guy with the hat and belted pants? Well he also had on two shirts. And Kurumi and Aki were both wearing jackets. I was all like "Shorts and flip-flops for the win".
Phew so I asked a guard which platform went to where ever I was going (thanks to Corey and Yukiko for smashing my safety blockade) I jumped at the nearest open seat (I've been standing/walking for over 5 hours) and sort of slept. The train intercom is very quiet. So everytim the train stopped, I would jump up and look out the windows to see if this is my stop or not. After battling the urge to sleep, I finally got off and walked the mile home. Flopped down on the couch, yelled "Atsui!!!" (Japanese for hot) to Ku (the dog) and layed there watching some Japanese guy on TV carve wood into a seashell box (he did a great job, screw all of you who think its okay to break things).
Used the super toilet; almost napped; Corey+Yukiko+Marc+Marika came home; bit of watching some show on the Illuminarty secret society hellbent on ruling the world; went to eat at a resturant where they bring you raw meat and you cook it; thought we were going to Yamata ...something (some electronic store. I can recall the name every now and then) but went home; sat on couch watched 300 (in English) and now here I am.
Gotta call my mom + the bank (online account is locked) tomorrow...oh shi- tomorrow won't work, its Sunday in America.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Quick Note On Pictures
http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s132/myogaman/nicholasjapan/
pictures are being uploaded here. I'll put the camera pics here as soon as i find a cord.
pictures are being uploaded here. I'll put the camera pics here as soon as i find a cord.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
May 9th
Today Corey and I sold my PSP for 4,000 yen and my debit card doesn't work at the store so I couldn't buy a new one. But that's fine. After that we went to Tokyo Disneyland and navigated the first ride, the parking lot. They had cones making a single road that weaved around the parking lot until someone points to your parking lot.
Outside of the car we took a monorail train inside and enjoyed Disneyland. There I...
-Ate green tea icecream
-Saw many fat Japanese people
-Rode many rides including Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain (which, using your phone camera, don't have to pay 1250 yen for).
-Saw a Hummer H1/2 (definitely not 3) parked in 2 spots and later driving down the road...which is insane in Japan. I remember thinking "Holy crap thats a huge car" when I saw a Toyota 4Runner in Japan, so how a Hummer can even exist is beyond logic. Did I already mention that rodes in Japan are half the size of the ones in America? In America, you have enough room to swerve left or right and still be in your lane, in Japan its precision or car accident.
Oh yeah, and I got a date tomorrow with two Japanese girls in Shinjuku so all you doubters, suck it! I know theres been betting pools going on, time to pay up.
So...later
Outside of the car we took a monorail train inside and enjoyed Disneyland. There I...
-Ate green tea icecream
-Saw many fat Japanese people
-Rode many rides including Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain (which, using your phone camera, don't have to pay 1250 yen for).
-Saw a Hummer H1/2 (definitely not 3) parked in 2 spots and later driving down the road...which is insane in Japan. I remember thinking "Holy crap thats a huge car" when I saw a Toyota 4Runner in Japan, so how a Hummer can even exist is beyond logic. Did I already mention that rodes in Japan are half the size of the ones in America? In America, you have enough room to swerve left or right and still be in your lane, in Japan its precision or car accident.
Oh yeah, and I got a date tomorrow with two Japanese girls in Shinjuku so all you doubters, suck it! I know theres been betting pools going on, time to pay up.
So...later
Friday, May 8, 2009
May 8th...again
Just saw a commercial that showed a few businessmen standing on a stage when an old ninja busts through the backdoor. Smoke blows out on the stage and there is the ninja surrounded with his ninja friends. The commercial ends with the words.
"Life. Good luck with that."
I don't know what they were advertising but it convinced me that Japan understands it holds 99% of the world's ninjas and is keeping its people in check.
"Life. Good luck with that."
I don't know what they were advertising but it convinced me that Japan understands it holds 99% of the world's ninjas and is keeping its people in check.
May 8th
Holy crap! Corey and Yukiko have ultra good internet! I'm downloading stuff 10x faster than home (and for you peeps at home, I'm only downloading homework and 2 games). Instead of going at 160kb/s, I'm crusing at 1.8mb/s. For those not internet savvy, it takes 1000kb to equal 1mb. Think metric system.
Anyways! Today Yukiko had to go to lunch with the other school moms and I rode bikes with her to the train station. I then had to find my home all alone but it was no problem! (I sound like a 6 year old.) I browsed a book store and only found Kin-Nikku Man! Thats Ultimate Muscle for all you guys back home. Apparently Yukiko grew up with Kin-Nikku Man which is awesome because I used to see that show when I was a kid.
I also went to a game store and learned the kanji for used. I hope to sell my PSP for at least 5000yen or else i'll just sell it back in the states. They also had some okay prices on PSPs. I think Akihabara had the best prices around.
After that, I bought some wasabi chicken sandwhiches and then caught bugs with Marc. We were walking around the wonderful park and mossy stone when I slid and ate it twice. Got some battle scars but nothing worth alarm (is that my vein?!). Marc and I caught some cool bugs too. Afterwards, Marc and I (english major at work) went on a walk through unknown (to me) territory and I bought some 270ml drink for 130yen only to find the same drink only in 1liter for 120yen. We got home and played games and I worked on my katakana.
Now I'm expanding my vocab while reading up on language developement importance in early childhood. If you want your kid to learn a second language DO IT EARLY!
Good night...err...morning? Whatever, later!
Anyways! Today Yukiko had to go to lunch with the other school moms and I rode bikes with her to the train station. I then had to find my home all alone but it was no problem! (I sound like a 6 year old.) I browsed a book store and only found Kin-Nikku Man! Thats Ultimate Muscle for all you guys back home. Apparently Yukiko grew up with Kin-Nikku Man which is awesome because I used to see that show when I was a kid.
I also went to a game store and learned the kanji for used. I hope to sell my PSP for at least 5000yen or else i'll just sell it back in the states. They also had some okay prices on PSPs. I think Akihabara had the best prices around.
After that, I bought some wasabi chicken sandwhiches and then caught bugs with Marc. We were walking around the wonderful park and mossy stone when I slid and ate it twice. Got some battle scars but nothing worth alarm (is that my vein?!). Marc and I caught some cool bugs too. Afterwards, Marc and I (english major at work) went on a walk through unknown (to me) territory and I bought some 270ml drink for 130yen only to find the same drink only in 1liter for 120yen. We got home and played games and I worked on my katakana.
Now I'm expanding my vocab while reading up on language developement importance in early childhood. If you want your kid to learn a second language DO IT EARLY!
Good night...err...morning? Whatever, later!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
May7th
Why doesn't anyone leave comments? There's a button down there so I can hear your thoughts. Put some comments on your favorite posts? What is your favorite post? Why? What? WHAT?! I can't hear you!
=================================================
So on May 7th (its May 8th and I'm in the future. Robot oppression is up 32%) Corey had no work and the night before we played Might and Magic Quest for the Dragonbone Staff until 3am. I then went upstairs and passed out.
But that's me getting off topic. I woke up at 10ish (I'm getting good at waking up without an alarm) and Corey and I went off to find PS3 and PSP prices. We went to Toys 'r' Us and found prices 1yen under standard price (omg the savings) and we some weirdo Dragon Warrior II arcade game. It was confusing and time consuming for a 100yen arcade game. Games should be pick up and play not spending years formulating the best strategy. But it spat out some Japanese playing card so I got that in my wallet.
Next was the JPN mall! After getting lost in the parking garage and finding a small room with 3 elevators, we made it up to Floor 2. This was evidently the clothes floor. Stores were not well defined like in America, I remember (it was that traumatic) stores blurring together with wide entrances.
Floor 3 . . .
Now I've never said anything about escalators in Japan but it essentially goes "Keep left if standing, right if walking up/down" and the up escalator goes next to the down escalator. So if you wanted to go up, you'd have to walk a half circle around the mall to get to the other up escalator. Floor 3 was weirdo stores (fertility shops and stuff) and also the food court. Did I mention I've seen no obese people...at all...ever?
Floor 4 . . .
Arcade (I learned that they call these Game Centers in Japan) and electronics. After Corey downed 1500 yen trying to win some rigged snoopy doll machine (and me losing 700yen on random games) we actually found the PS3s and PSPs. PSP was still expensive (so far the electronic store near the house is cheapest) and the PS3 had some 30,000yen deal (opposed to 40,000) but only if you bought it with internet. So if I ever need a PS3 and internet, I'm going to the mall. But we didn't need internet (Corey has blazin' speeds) and the PS3 was still just 40,000 yen. So we left. I also looked at notebooks and stickers for Andrew but apparently only girls use notebooks because there were no manly ones (or maybe I couldn't find the boy section).
Floor 1 . . .
This floor looked like Albertsons'. We picked up some flowers for Yukiko for Mother's Day and escaped into the parking garage...where we had no idea where we were...So after a bit of searching and looking around I spotted (or at least thought I spotted) the 3 elevator waiting room and from there we found the car.
Scooter Race!
It was a nice misty rain when we set out to pick up Marika from school. People gave us strange looks and sometimes jumped out of the way but it wasn't because we were forieners, it was because we were shooting down the sidewalk at 30mph on scooters. Oh man, it was the best fun I've had in forever, the embarressment of riding a child's scooter in public mixed with the exitement of possibly dying from sudden asphalt head trauma made this the best scooter ride ever.
I didn't even get mad when it turned out we went waaaaay off course. And I mean way off course. We had to backtrack and finally made it to Marika's school and then we were off to home. There Corey and I ate some corn chowder and played some Might n Magic. Eventually the game got too difficult and cheap, though, and we were forced to bail on it.
The rest of the day was pretty much normal. I stayed home and played with the kids before heading off to bed. Did you know they are making a Phantasy Star Portable (rippin' Monster Hunter off). I got the demo and the graphics and gameplay are bad and uninspiring, if you want Phantasy Star, go play it for free on your computer using SCHTHACK which is the best free PSO thing I've ever played.
Zebrahead - Anthem
"Feel like everybody else
just needs to see through different eyes
From the outside looking in
we shout the anthem of our lives
Come on and let me go
and just like everybody else
I feel the pain each time I try
But I'll fight the bitter end
to shout the anthem
the anthem of our lives
This is the Anthem
Out to all the misfits
If you feel you don't belong
If you don't give a $#!T
About authority
About majority
About conformity
Shout it out
Let us go!"
=================================================
So on May 7th (its May 8th and I'm in the future. Robot oppression is up 32%) Corey had no work and the night before we played Might and Magic Quest for the Dragonbone Staff until 3am. I then went upstairs and passed out.
But that's me getting off topic. I woke up at 10ish (I'm getting good at waking up without an alarm) and Corey and I went off to find PS3 and PSP prices. We went to Toys 'r' Us and found prices 1yen under standard price (omg the savings) and we some weirdo Dragon Warrior II arcade game. It was confusing and time consuming for a 100yen arcade game. Games should be pick up and play not spending years formulating the best strategy. But it spat out some Japanese playing card so I got that in my wallet.
Next was the JPN mall! After getting lost in the parking garage and finding a small room with 3 elevators, we made it up to Floor 2. This was evidently the clothes floor. Stores were not well defined like in America, I remember (it was that traumatic) stores blurring together with wide entrances.
Floor 3 . . .
Now I've never said anything about escalators in Japan but it essentially goes "Keep left if standing, right if walking up/down" and the up escalator goes next to the down escalator. So if you wanted to go up, you'd have to walk a half circle around the mall to get to the other up escalator. Floor 3 was weirdo stores (fertility shops and stuff) and also the food court. Did I mention I've seen no obese people...at all...ever?
Floor 4 . . .
Arcade (I learned that they call these Game Centers in Japan) and electronics. After Corey downed 1500 yen trying to win some rigged snoopy doll machine (and me losing 700yen on random games) we actually found the PS3s and PSPs. PSP was still expensive (so far the electronic store near the house is cheapest) and the PS3 had some 30,000yen deal (opposed to 40,000) but only if you bought it with internet. So if I ever need a PS3 and internet, I'm going to the mall. But we didn't need internet (Corey has blazin' speeds) and the PS3 was still just 40,000 yen. So we left. I also looked at notebooks and stickers for Andrew but apparently only girls use notebooks because there were no manly ones (or maybe I couldn't find the boy section).
Floor 1 . . .
This floor looked like Albertsons'. We picked up some flowers for Yukiko for Mother's Day and escaped into the parking garage...where we had no idea where we were...So after a bit of searching and looking around I spotted (or at least thought I spotted) the 3 elevator waiting room and from there we found the car.
Scooter Race!
It was a nice misty rain when we set out to pick up Marika from school. People gave us strange looks and sometimes jumped out of the way but it wasn't because we were forieners, it was because we were shooting down the sidewalk at 30mph on scooters. Oh man, it was the best fun I've had in forever, the embarressment of riding a child's scooter in public mixed with the exitement of possibly dying from sudden asphalt head trauma made this the best scooter ride ever.
I didn't even get mad when it turned out we went waaaaay off course. And I mean way off course. We had to backtrack and finally made it to Marika's school and then we were off to home. There Corey and I ate some corn chowder and played some Might n Magic. Eventually the game got too difficult and cheap, though, and we were forced to bail on it.
The rest of the day was pretty much normal. I stayed home and played with the kids before heading off to bed. Did you know they are making a Phantasy Star Portable (rippin' Monster Hunter off). I got the demo and the graphics and gameplay are bad and uninspiring, if you want Phantasy Star, go play it for free on your computer using SCHTHACK which is the best free PSO thing I've ever played.
Zebrahead - Anthem
"Feel like everybody else
just needs to see through different eyes
From the outside looking in
we shout the anthem of our lives
Come on and let me go
and just like everybody else
I feel the pain each time I try
But I'll fight the bitter end
to shout the anthem
the anthem of our lives
This is the Anthem
Out to all the misfits
If you feel you don't belong
If you don't give a $#!T
About authority
About majority
About conformity
Shout it out
Let us go!"
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
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.
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.
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