I'm going to be in Japan on Sunday!!! :D

[Nobiyuki77]

I'm so excited!!!!! I'm going to Tokyo first for about 4 days, then we're taking a train to Matsumoto for a day, then heading for Kyoto/Osaka for the remainder of our time there!!

Tanoshimi ni!!!!

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

Due to the exclamation points, romanji and lack of an explanation why...I feel almost required to do this.



http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/wapanese

[phyco126]

So that is where all the pretty girls have gone? Good thing I saved my money.

[Nobiyuki77]

Due to the exclamation points, romanji and lack of an explanation why...I feel almost required to do this.



http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/wapanese

1) I see nothing wrong with being excited.
2) I'm studying Japanese with a private instructor.
3) I see nothing wrong with being excited.
4) See 1)

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

Encyclopedia Dramatica is a comedy site. I always thought that was obvious.

[Guild_Premier_Ghaleon]

Why in God's name is everyone going to Japan but me? Ugh.

[Nobiyuki77]

Well I'm having a blast. I've taken a lot of pictures and done a little blogging, but I realized that I forgot to post them here. So without further ado.

10/19/2008
Hello to everyone in America! Nobi here, reporting from Shinjuku for the first installment of…

… deep breath…

“NobiswonderlyawesomeamazingblogofbeinginJapanwherethereareinsanelightseverywhereandwhythehelldon’tIlivehere???”

^^;;

Anyhoo, it’s been a loooooooooooooooooooong ride in more ways than one. In an attempt to prepare for the jet lag of taking vacation in a country that’s 13 hours ahead of the US, we opted to pull an all-nighter before boarding our 10AM flight to Japan. We assumed that with our fatigue (and some Benadryl), we’d be so conked out that we’d sleep for the entire flight.

Well, I can’t speak for Jen ‘cause she was in a different seat, but boy this didn’t work for me at all. I can’t sleep on planes. At all. No matter now tired, no matter if I’ve had Benadryl, I simply cannot sleep on a plane. I tossed and turned so many times I’m sure the people next to me must have thought I had some horrible condition or something. Thankfully I’ve never had problems with jet lag anyway so I’ve held up pretty well.

Japan Airlines is something else however. It’s quite literally the best flight experience I’ve had, and I’ve flown a lot. The stewardesses were wonderful, the food was delicious (I mean, REALLY delicious), and there were these cameras below and in front of the plane that showed what the takeoff and landing looked like without having to stare out the side window.

Once off the plane, we made our way through customs, got our money exchanged, got our JR passes, and took another train for an hour and a half to our hotel in Shinjuku. A very nice older gentlemen helped us find our hotel after we were horribly unsure of where the heck it was, but alls well that ends well.

Japan is so far ahead of us. It’s not space age stuff, it’s just little stuff. Like the card keys for our hotel room. You don’t slide it in a slot to open the door like in US hotels. Here, you just lightly press it against a pad and it opens the door! Also, you can’t use the elevator without the card. You have the push the card on the panel to register that you’re an actual guest, then chose your floor. The card even activates the lights and electricity in the room! Crazy! XD

After resting for a little while (Jen was feeling a little motion sick from hours on plane and train), we got some very delicious food at a place called Hanakatsu. I had a Roast Hirekatsu (whatever the heck that is) and enjoyed every bite. We walked a little through the streets near the hotel for a convenience store and there was a TON of stuff to see (including some videogame stores that I perused to not waste the day in the hotel room). Game arcades and camera stores and a huge karaoke center. Nice way to end the day!

I’m including a link to the pictures I took (I’ve resized them for web browsing) and a link to a small 40 second video of while we were on the train (it’s boring, but I thought the country side was pretty and wanted to record it) and have uploaded that to YouTube for better access and less “Why am I downloading a 32 MB file for the most boring 40 seconds ever??”

Pictures
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-19-2008/

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67m2bdpiAHo

10/20/2008
First full day in Japan. It ended up a wonderful day.

It was almost a disaster that destroyed the entire trip.

Allow me to expound. I brought about $4000 with me, I pull $400 in my wallet and the remaining in an envelope and put in my boot to hide it. Early on in the day I cross the street in a hurry to beat the light, I have someone call out to me, and is holding the envelope of money! It had fallen out of my boot somehow and THANK GOD the Japanese are so nice and brought it back to me.

New rule: Money stays in backpack.

Anyhow, I went to Akihabara, the Electric Town, to get my "for myself" shopping out of the way 'cause this is the place for videogames. There is no other. I'm dead serious. You'll see the pictures and movie for yourself in a minute. The amazing store known as "Super Potato" opened at 11:00AM, and I stayed there for 3 HOURS! I could have stayed longer if I REALLY wanted to blow all of my money, as it stands I spent about $500ish (I'll have to count exact).

After Super Potato, I went to get some lunch. To enjoy something I can't in America, I went to a maid cafe. Let's just say it was a... surreal experience. Like, they were all calling me "Goshujin-sama" (something like "My Master") and were all uber cute and acting all cute and stuff. Then when they served me my food they made these cute motions and said random words and made me repeat along with them. I'm SOOO glad Jen (my older sister who's with me on this trip) wasn't there for that. I don't have a picture on my camera (it was not allowed), but I did get a picture with one of the maids just to prove I was there. All and all I'm glad I went, but I just don't think I'll do it again unless I'm REALLY hungry. ^^;

Then I went back to hotel to drop stuff off, went back, bought some more stuff, and am now back in the hotel. Tomorrow I'll probably go to Ueno and Tokyo. And now, pictures and a movie of the game store "Super Potato".

Pictures
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-20-2008/

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veg0S6BL2wM

10/21/2008
Hello again everyone.

Woke up today, went to Hanajuku and Yoyogi Park with Jen. Beautiful place with lots of gardens and trees. Then I separated from Jen and went to Akihabara again to pick something up for Allan that I forgot previously and then proceeded to go to Ueno Park and spend about 4 hours there before returning. After resting in the hotel, Jen and I trekked to Tokyo Tower, and that was a lot of fun.

That's about it really, mainly because it was a take pictures day, so the pictures really speak louder than the words. So, without further ado.

Pictures
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-21-2008/

Movies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2lP3IaMtJ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3-72ucIZjw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjgIuISJ-xc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au80XbjRg9k

10/22/2008
We woke up and headed out for Nikko at about 8:00. We had to catch a couple of round-about trains to get there (I can't remember off the top of my head), but after a couple of hours on the train we finally arrived at Nikko and boy was I tired. This was NOT helped by the VERY long uphill climb. Jen had plenty of energy though. Lucky her. XD

The temples in Nikko were gorgeous though. The sheer amount of craftsmenship that went into them is unbelievable. I'll let the pictures do the talking for this one.

By the time we got back I went to bed and couldn't be moved. Sleepy times

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-22-2008/

Movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfLIE4JqeHQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWGtsoRkI-w

10/23/2008
Today we woke up very early and caught the early trains to get to Hakone. We took the Shinkansen and it was really nice (and crazy fast! o_O). Once there, we took a bus up to the top which was like Indiana Jones the Ride: Real Life Edition. From there we walked to this area were we boarded a boat modeled like a pirate ship (yar!), and crossed the lake until we got to these cable cars that took us up and down the mountain. The views were breathtaking. There were TONS of school kids out today as well. There was this girl on the ropeway that was so scared and was clinging to her friend. It was adorable. We made such good time that we got back at 4:00 and I had time to go through today's and yesterdays' pics and movies! w00t! ^_^ So without further ado:

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-23-2008/

Movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGdzNNZOGYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RogNdmF9NrI

[Alex_Pwns_Hiro]

Don't forget to keep an eye out for Lunar stuff in the stores!

[Kizyr]

Good to see you're having fun!

Akihabara is nice, but don't spend too much time there. I actually don't like Tokyo all that much in general (too big, too crowded) so I wouldn't stay there too long myself. Since you're already out near Hakone, you must be going to Mt. Fuji while you're at it, right? It's not too far.

Have fun in Kyoto and Osaka when you go.

When you go to Kyoto, by the way, here's a tip: don't extensively plan out where you'll go, and be prepared to walk a whole lot. It's much more fun when you just try and go from one end of the city to the other (like from the Gold to Silver Temple, or vice versa) and hit up anything that looks interesting on the way. Oh... get a map, too; don't just do it completely randomly.

If you'll be out near Kyoto, also, stop off at Nara on the way for a day or half a day. You might want to see the little travel guide I put together for Danni way back, too. KF

[Nobiyuki77]

Don't forget to keep an eye out for Lunar stuff in the stores!

http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... %20062.jpg

http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... %20065.jpg

http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... %20075.jpg

[Nobiyuki77]

10/24/2008
Last night Jen got to watch Himitsu no Arashi-chan on the HD TV here in the hotel room. She was very very excited. I also finally found "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2" and immediately picked it up. ^_^

Jen and I were very tired, and figured rather than go 3 hours one way and 3 back to go to an onsen when they'll literally be all over Kyoto, we took the day off to go around the Tokyo area. I went back to Akihabara mostly to do some additional shopping (very little of which for me), and it was raining the majority of the day, so there are no pictures for the day. Still a very very highly productive day though. I spent the evening packing into boxes to ship lots of my stuff home.

10/25/2008
Last day in the Tokyo area. I went to mail my packages, but the post office across the street from our hotel was closed! D: So I asked at the hotel front desk and they told me about another post office that was open. However it was forever away and they didn't have anything to help me carry it there so I had to lug two big ass boxes to the post office. It cost about $171 to ship it all. Ah well, live and learn.

Went to Tokyo and went to the Imperial Castle area, but they wouldn't let anyone in (obviously) so I've only a few pictures of my time there (20 I think).

Went back to Shinjuku and found a Kinokuniya book store. Found a Sakura Taisen V artbook and a Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney) artbook and bought them.

I has a blister on my pinky toe from all of the walkings. D:

Tomorrow Jen and I leave and head for Matsumoto for a day to look at the castle and stuff. From there we will go to Nagoya and Kyoto the next day. Pics now.

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-25-2008/

[Nobiyuki77]

Hello again everyone. ^_^

Today Jen and I woke up fairly early to bid our farewell to Tokyo. After checking out of the hotel and making a pit stop at the convenience store to get some snacks for the train, we went to the station and boarded the train to Matsumoto. The train took about two and a half hours to get us there, but it was a pretty quiet trip; I played DS while Jen played Solitare on her phone.

Once we arrived in Matsumoto, we made our way for the hotel and damn was it cold!! >>;; We hustled as fast as we could with our luggage in tow to get out of the cold and into the hotel. Thankfully the room was ready for us when we arrived; we put our stuff away and warmed up before heading out to see the castle.

On our way there, we saw what looked like a string of small shops/stalls near a really really pretty temple. We perused the stores, I got some takoyaki, and then we went to the temple and took a zillion pictures. There were these two little girls in kimonos there and they were too adorable for words! :3

After a lot of walking and looking we finally found our way to Matsumoto castle. This, for me, turned out to be a mixed bag. On the outside, it's unbelievably beautiful and amazing.

On the inside, it was painful and annoying.

See, the temple had these stairs that had a very high incline (some as high as 61 degrees!), and there were tons of places to bump your head if you're a tall person like myself (which I did a few times, as well as misstepped and hurt my feet). So all you tall people; you'll prefer the outside of the castle to the inside. *nods*

Overall though, it was a very worthwhile experience. Tomorrow we head to Nagoya and then to Kyoto. Lots of pictures today so enjoy. ^^

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-26-2008/

Movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHyQeKotthc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHAxYRxv7bo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNZGelRtGq4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGfTc3CORu0

[Kizyr]

Nagoya, hm? Have fun in my other hometown. KF

[Nobiyuki77]

Nagoya, hm? Have fun in my other hometown. KF

Other hometown?

[Nobiyuki77]

10/27/2008 and 10/28/2008

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, I had no internets. D:

Yesterday, we went to Kyoto from Matsumoto. The trek was long and hard, especially with all of our bags in tow, but we finally made it to the Ryokan! It was awesome.

Note to self: Next time, don't bring boots to Japan. It makes things harder.

However, this isn't true for girls. Japanese women EVERYWHERE where boots here, and it's SO HOT! *ahem*

Anyhoo, I loved the Ryokan. Next time I come I'm going to try to do my entire trip in one.

Today, we moved into the regular hotel and then wandered around the town. I found a huge temple during my adventures, it was cool. I got lost on the way back though... Actually, I didn't find my way back until suddenly, I was back at the Ryokan we stayed at yesterday.

Go figure.

Then, I made my way through a few trains to Kurama to go to an Onsen. Onsen = Love. Yes it does.

Onsen = love.

Tomorrow I will attempt to go to Conan town. For now, pictures and movie.

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-27-2008/
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-28-2008/


Movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7-4qWvV0Kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR3lbfTh47w

[Nobiyuki77]

10/29/2008

Today I went to Conan Town (Hokuei-cho), the hometown of Detective Conan creator Gosho Aoyama.

A word of warning: This is NOT an easy place to get to or find!!! I left at 8:52AM and should have gotten there at 1:00PM-ish. I got there at 2:30PM and had to run through everything! >>

So I got on the first train from Kyoto to Kurayoshi, the closest station it would take me. Fair enough, long trip but I’d manage. Anyhoo I get to Kurayoshi and was supposed to take a train from there to Yura, however when I asked the people at the station they told me to take a bus. The bus driver however had no idea where I was going (he’d never heard of the place. Really? Isn’t it these people’s job to know this kinda stuff?) and I had to go to 2 different buses and lots of walking around lost and frustrated in between just to find it! To make matters worse, half the people I asked had no idea what I was talking about, despite it being so bloody close!

Grrrrrr… maybe it was my poor Japanese… that’s probably it. But still… grrrrr….

Anyhoo, I got there and started rushing through to find the various statues and museum as I had to make sure I found my way back to the train that would take me back to Kyoto. The statues are pretty nifty, and the museum was pretty nice; it had tons of stuff from Conan, lots of merchandise on display etc. There were originals that I was taking pictures of before they informed me that I could take pictures of the displays, but not the originals on display (so those are omitted from my web pictures). Bought a few souvenirs before heading back (I figured if I went all this way and went though this much trouble for this damn place, at the very least I’d better bring something back to show for it…). Thankfully the people at the Yura train station were a LOT more helpful than the people at Kurayoshi in helping me to get back and I’m writing this on the train headed back to Kyoto. *phew *

To summarize: Is Conan Town worth going to? Not if you’re going a long ways like I did just to go there. However, if you happen to be in the neighborhood and would like to see it than yeah, it’s totally cool.

Sorry, no movies today.

Pictures:
http://www.studio-zel.com/images/Pictur ... 0-29-2008/

[Nobiyuki77]

Thoughts on Japan trip

Well, my trip to Japan is nearly done. One more day and then I get ready to go back to Tokyo to get on a plane to the states. This has been a wonderful experience, and I’m going to post some of my random thoughts and feelings about the trip.

This has been long in the making, and I’ve enjoyed nearly every minute of it. I’ve wanted to go to Japan for so long, and now that I’ve been here for two weeks I’ve done everything I’d like to do. Unless an opportunity arises where I get an incredible job working in Japan or something, I can say that I won’t need to come back for a good long time.

I spent a lot of money, but not everything I brought with me. Unless something amazing (or horrible) happens tomorrow, I’ll come back with about $1,200 or so to put back into savings. I had a few successful interactions with Japanese people, and ate some delicious Japanese food.

I saw some of the most amazingly beautiful architecture there is. Japanese temples and shrines are truly beautiful and peaceful. There’s a lot of picturesque landscape and nature to see here.

If I had any regrets about this trip, the chief one would be the fact that I simply didn’t know enough Japanese. I know enough Japanese to start a conversation well enough, but continuing it is another matter altogether. There were several times during my conversations with Japanese people that I found myself at a complete loss for words, not because I had trouble thinking about what I wanted to say, but because I didn’t know how to say it in Japanese. Hopefully in a few years this problem will be rectified before I come back.

Regarding the next time I come back, I think next time my trip will just be for a week. This was the big first trip of “ZOMG I’m in JAPANZ!!!” but now that I’ve seen most of what I wanted to see, the next time I’ll just come back for a week. Also, I think I’d spend most of my time in Tokyo, with maybe a daytrip to the Osaka area via Shinkansen ‘cause it’s pretty cool there too. Plus they have great Takoyaki. Yes.

I also think I’d like to come alone next time. Just a personal preference, my favorite days were the ones were I was out and about and didn’t feel restricted in any way, or felt like I had to go and stop when my sister did. There were times where she wanted to stop at a certain spot and I wanted to keep moving and visa versa. We’re kinda opposites in what we wanted to see and stop to explore. Plus I think I put too much stress on her anyway, so alone would be best.

Japanese women are amazingly hot. I mentioned this before but it’s worth mentioning again. They have such amazing detail to fashion, and they love boots. I love boots too! XD They wore the most amazing leggings as well that had elaborate designs, some printed, some cut. There’s nothing like it in America. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m going to move out here to Japan to get it on with Japanese chicks, but I wouldn’t mind it if one found their way to me. :3 So many different styles and types, but most of them were just plain beautiful. *nods *

The Shinkansen is the greatest mode of transportation ever. Don’t argue, just accept. The Yamanote line in Tokyo is a close second though.

Beware, for there is porn here. Everywhere. Like, don’t bring your young’ins to these streets where the shops are ‘cause it’s like, in plain sight. No matter what country you’re from, if you walk past a shop that sells porn and there’s no doubt it’s a porn shop. The difference is that in the US, you know it’s a porn shop because all the windows are blacked out so that no one can see in, and there might be a silhouette of a woman in neon; in Japan, there’s posters of naked women all over the front in teasing poses and barely covering up, if at all. Not for the conservative minded to be sure.

For some reason, it’s difficult to find trash bins. There just aren’t a whole lot of them lying around like there are in the states. They do separate their trash bins by type though, which is totally interesting, if a bit complicated.

For that matter, it can also be hard to find a public restroom in times of need. The best places to find one that I’ve found are McDonalds or a Game/Pachinko Center.

Speaking of Pachinko Centers, they’re EVERYWHERE. I’m not kidding you, walk two blocks and you’ll find four more. And they’re packed with Japanese people just sitting there flipping switches and levers on the various pachinko machines. It’s crazy! O_o The close second would be Karaoke centers, which are also everywhere.

If you’re going to shop for Retro games (like I did, shamelessly), start in Osaka. Then go to Tokyo. Tokyo (Akihabara) has better selection in general, however Osaka (Nippon-bashi aka Den Den Town) tends to have better prices.

If there was any non-shopping area that I’d go back to visit on a second trip, it’d be Hakone. Hakone was just drop dead gorgeous. The view, the nature, everything just worked for me.

I need to lose weight so that I can put a male kimono on and have it fit me properly without opening weirdly toward the middle. D:

And that, for now, ends my random thoughts/things I learned in Japan. If I think of more, I will post again.

[Benevolent_Ghaleon]

I thought the whole "laying an Asian" thing was part of Asia trips. You did say you have poor Japanese, so that may get in the way.


Hurry up and do this. You almost have to come home.

[Kizyr]

Nagoya, hm? Have fun in my other hometown. KF

Other hometown?

The Nagoya area is where I stayed for 7 weeks in 1999, and another 5 months in 2004. I got to know the area well enough that I consider it a second hometown. There's not a lot to do tourist-wise, but it's a great city to live in.

Japanese women are amazingly hot. I mentioned this before but it’s worth mentioning again. They have such amazing detail to fashion, and they love boots. I love boots too! XD They wore the most amazing leggings as well that had elaborate designs, some printed, some cut. There’s nothing like it in America. Nothing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m going to move out here to Japan to get it on with Japanese chicks, but I wouldn’t mind it if one found their way to me. :3 So many different styles and types, but most of them were just plain beautiful. *nods *

The rice is always thicker in the other guy's paddy.

American girls have a lot of fashion sense just the same way. (Although both that and what you said are generalizations, but anyway...) The only difference is that you're used to one, and so nothing stands out anymore. I'm not the kind to notice fashion, but there are some things about Japanese fashion that I like (both mens' and womens') and certain things about American fashion that I like--and, likewise, things about both that I don't care for. You could hang out with some fashionistas for a while and they'll probably point out what I mean more specifically.

Beware, for there is porn here. Everywhere. Like, don’t bring your young’ins to these streets where the shops are ‘cause it’s like, in plain sight. No matter what country you’re from, if you walk past a shop that sells porn and there’s no doubt it’s a porn shop. The difference is that in the US, you know it’s a porn shop because all the windows are blacked out so that no one can see in, and there might be a silhouette of a woman in neon; in Japan, there’s posters of naked women all over the front in teasing poses and barely covering up, if at all. Not for the conservative minded to be sure.
...
For that matter, it can also be hard to find a public restroom in times of need. The best places to find one that I’ve found are McDonalds or a Game/Pachinko Center.

I've found porn to be clearly marked. The signs (literal and symbolic) are just different for them. But, with the exception of doujinshi, I found nearly every place had clearly-separated sections for the general and adult content.

I have a mutant sense for detecting the nearest restroom, so that generally wasn't a problem. Subway/bus/train stations and large shopping areas tend to be full of them. You can try those next time if you're in need of one. KF