Final-Fan Returns -- Finally! -- to VGChartz

Hi, everybody! (WARNING! Epic post inbound!)

OK, now I'm sure that few people are actually going to care about my trip to Nagasaki and Kyoto in Japan, and I'm certainly not going to subject you to a play-by-play of the whole trip, but there were a few things that stood out in my mind and I figure this is as good a place as any to put my thoughts down before I totally forget what my scribbled little notes mean. And I hope some of you find it entertaining, or educational, or perhaps even both.

To start with: I don't really speak or understand Japanese. I understand a few words, and can speak them understandably, but for the most part I was completely dependent on my companion, Kevin, for the duration of the trip when speech was called for. And he doesn't know much in the way of kanji (he knows hiragana, katakana, and a little kanji) so there was a lot of grabbing random passers-by and making them translate when we really needed to understand a sign.

This is the very first picture I took in Japan:  [edit:  VGChartz album photos seem to be broken/gone, and I don't know at this time what the original photo was; sorry.]



So, yeah. Is there anything the Japanese don't have a video game of? Anything?

Also: [edit:  TinyPic is dead, long live Flickr.  Original links for insanity posterity: http://i37.tinypic.com/1zegtvb.jpg ]



Please observe how much shelf space Final Fantasy VII is getting. That's right. Final Fantasy Fucking SEVEN! That game is more than a decade old at this point, even for the International Version, and it's getting as much shelf space as X, X-2, and the X and X-2 International Versions combined. Or, quadruple the shelf space of Crisis Core. I know it's a popular game, but come on. That's just crazy.

Moving on, there seems to be quite a bit of English text in Japan. I mean, I guess there are a lot of international logos, but that doesn't explain everything. Take this, for example: [edit:  another VGChartz album photo]



The labels on the pictures are in English. ONLY in English. I think I'll just let that one sink in because, frankly, I have no idea what to say about that, other than, "those crazy Japanese!" (If you want to see some more signs like that, go here.)

[ http://i34.tinypic.com/1rvkbd.jpg ]


At first I thought that the above was some kind of strange coincidence, or perhaps some Japanese marketing agent went to some crank's website or Roswell or something and just liked the letter combination; but no! I looked closer, and saw, clear as day, "Unidentified Flying Object". No, they know what it means -- they just don't care. Those crazy Japanese.

One really interesting place we went was a theme park called Huis Ten Bosch. The theme in question is Holland. For those of you who aren't familiar with Japanese history (if you are or don't care you can skip the rest of this paragraph), the Japanese enforced a strict policy of isolationism starting at around 1640, in large part to keep out the Christian religion which had started to become quite popular. (Those who had already been converted were forcibly unconverted on pain of death, though some managed to keep the faith in secret.) This lasted until the 1850's when the USA and other nations - ahem - strongly suggested that Japan open up. Anyway, for the intervening centuries trade with the rest of the world was extremely restricted, and in fact only three parties were allowed to trade directly at all -- the Koreans, the Chinese, and the Dutch, with the latter two required to conduct all trade through a purpose-built artificial island of Nagasaki called Dejima, which had an area of less than 16,000 square meters!

In any case, this means that for two centuries all Western influence was in fact Dutch influence as far as the Japanese were concerned, so there is a theme park based on that history. Huis Ten Bosch is practically the size of a whole town. I haven't been to Disneyland or Disneyworld since I was 10 or 12, so I can't compare them, but I was really impressed. But there was one thing that stood out above all else to me. [VGChartz album again!  If I see the originals again I'm sure I'll be able to identify it.]



This is, as nearly as I remember, the only structure in Huis Ten Bosch that is not made of brick. See the reddish courtyard it sits in? Brick. The roads are all brick, too. Almost everything in Huis Ten Bosch is brick. Wikitravel claims the brick is actually imported from the Netherlands, and if that's true of all the brick I saw ... wow.

We went out to an island called Ioujima, because Kevin wanted me to experience "Japanese culture" -- in this case, the onsen on the island. We also rented bikes and explored the island. There was a pretty nice beach, but it wasn't in season and I think several of the nearby buildings were permanently out of season. The locals said it was too cold, but I'm from Minnesota. The water was cold at first, but after a few seconds (or however long it takes to get all the way in if you're a pussy) you get used to it and it's fine. We spent a good long while on that, and a while longer on a little peninsula flanking the beach with some cool rock formations -- at least I think they're cool, since I like geology.

[ http://i35.tinypic.com/2yl01vc.jpg ]


This one looks like a pillow, or a rolled-up sleeping bag.

[ http://i34.tinypic.com/ehdh84.jpg ]


As for the onsen: It wasn't too busy, which was very good from my point of view, since I'm bashful and not used to being naked in anything other than complete privacy. There were several different tubs and whatnot, and we weren't sure if there was a prescribed order to any of it, other than to wash before getting in. We started at something not unlike a submerged bench. This is when I found out that they weren't kidding around: this hot spring was the real deal -- I could smell a little bit of sulfur or something in the water -- and it was HOT! Then I tried a smaller trench for just one's feet -- even hotter, unless it was just the contrast between my feet and the rest of me -- and then it was on to the tubs. I'm a fan of hot baths, so this was pretty much a slice of heaven for me. I told Kevin, who prefers showers, that I could have stayed in there "until it was probably unhealthy".

I'm really glad we did the onsen trip. I don't like the semipublic nudity part, but it's a small price to pay considering the reward.

One thing that seems to be very popular in Japan is the koi pond; we saw lots of them. Many -- if not most -- also had turtles; several also had pigeons, but I think that was unintentional.

[VGCharz album again]


And all the koi do that. I'm proud of that picture; it was surprisingly hard to get a clean shot of one with its mouth open but I couldn't have asked for a better picture than the one I finally did get. It looks a bit silly if you ask me. As you might be able to guess, there was fish food available (100 yen for a reasonably sized bag) which we availed ourselves of.

There was also food available in certain places for feeding pigeons, which explained the massive numbers we encountered at a temple (possibly Honganji -- not sure) right in its entrance. We found this out shortly before we were going to leave; we saw a girl feeding the pigeons, who flocked to her is such alarming numbers that she ran away from them -- but kept feeding them! I took a picture which I refer to as "Don't Feed the Birds -- they Swarm". I also have a video, shot shortly afterward, which I refer to as "Kevin Feeds the Birds".





Another temple we visited was Ginkakuji. In fact, we walked along "Philosopher's Road" to get to it, and consequently passed several temples to get to it, most of which we also visited. But Ginkakuji was definitely the main attraction -- especially if you like moss! In fact, it's on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. But to explain the moss comment, I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

[ http://i35.tinypic.com/2qmgltg.jpg ]


[ http://i36.tinypic.com/3blgh.jpg ]

[ http://i33.tinypic.com/2m698k8.jpg (Note:  This image was already broken in TinyPic before it went down; not sure what happened as I should have had a permanent link unlike the anonymous 90 day stuff.)]



"Very Important Moss (like VIP)"
"Moss the Interrupter"
"The Inhabitants of Ginkakuji"

Moss is Serious Business at Ginkakuji. It is the ground cover of choice; there is no grass, just moss. I wish my lawn was made of moss; then I wouldn't have to mow it.

Speaking of serious business: [VGChartz again]



I would have had a picture of the inside of this place -- which sold everything from genuine Americana to random trinkets to things the Japanese IMAGINE are American-style novelties. There was also Star Wars playing on a TV set, in English, with NO SUBTITLES. I was frankly amazed. But back on topic! I would have had a picture, but when I was lining up to take my shot, an employee ran up and stopped me. No pictures! I can only imagine that they were afraid I would show someone how cool the inside of their store was.

And this was not an isolated incident! There was another store, with a massive amount of model kits -- I wanted to take a picture to impress someone I know who does that, but I asked the shopkeeper and he shot me down. Whatever! See if I ever come here again!

And now, I'm just going to start randomly listing interesting or surprising things I noticed about Japan.

Something my friend absolutely adores in Japan (and I have to say it's very good although I don't think I'm as enthusiastic as he is about it) is a food item called "kareman". I think that kare means curry, and my friend/translator informs me that -man (there are many foods that have this suffix) basically means "in a bun". I say I think that kare is curry because my notepad merely notes that kareman means awesome.

Something he dislikes, though, is tea, which sucks for him because tea (particularly green tea or "ocha") is ubiquitous there; it's as likely to be the default drink as water is at restaurants, and substantially MORE likely at traditional ones. He's doubly screwed since he's addicted to Diet Coke, which is pretty rare in Japan; he aims for Coke Zero as a second choice.

Here's something I learned about Japan: EVERYTHING with a marketing budget has a cute cartoonish mascot. I saw an auto repair shop that had one. This guy appears to be that of Nagasaki. He's called Saruku.

[VGChartz again, but this one is easy to look up on your favorite search engine]


Remember when I said that there was a lot of English? Well, not much of it is actually useful. Except at the tram/subway stations -- they were very helpful, which is kind of strange considering that city buses were the exact opposite, at least in Nagasaki. And tourist spots, obviously, also have substantial English -- temples, museums, and the like. Many of the museums in Nagasaki also has signage in Dutch, for reasons discussed above.

Most of the city's streets and walkways have sidewalk guides -- raised, yellow paths that show which way(s) to go. They have large termination areas at useful places -- crosswalks, toilets, subway car door stops, etc. Crosswalks also make noise, apparently for the blind, who would also benefit from the guides.

TOILETS! They're everywhere, and, in Nagasaki at least, lots of them are themed! For instance, near a memorial to 26 Christian martyrs there was a public toilet with stained glass like you'd expect in a church. There was one somewhere else with a castle theme for no reason at all that I could see.

One thing that really surprised me was that, apparently, 24-hour stores are a completely western concept. Despite the very dense population, most stores don't seem to open until 9 or 10 or 11 AM. And many of them close at 5 or 5:30! Hardly anything other than pachinko parlors and certain convenience stores seem to stay open past 10.

Another thing that's different about the stores is that I have never seen so many doormen in my life. I guess they're not exactly rare in the US, but they seemed a lot more common in Japan.

CATS ARE EVERYWHERE, at least in Nagasaki. I can understand why there are so many cattish people and things in Japanese popular culture, if people see them everywhere they go.

TEMPLES AND SHRINES ARE EVERYWHERE, especially in Kyoto. From tiny random shrines the size of doghouses to ones crammed in street shop spaces to great big ones the city built around as it grew, it seems like you can't throw a rock in that town without hitting something sacred. I tried.

Vending machines and food vendors are everywhere. Now, I don't know how it is in most city centers since I live in a suburb, but I'm pretty sure it's absolutely ridiculous. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that any place of any interest to anyone that has electricity running to it will have a vending machine.

Drink portions are small, and unless you go to a Western place like McDonalds, nobody seems to have fountain drinks. So if you order a soda pop in a restaurant, don't be surprised if they come out with an 8 oz. bottle (220 mL).

Shrimp, on the other hand, are not small. I think they must be keeping all the good ones before they export, because compared to the stuff I see in Minnesota the shrimp in Japan were GIGANTIC.

Paper napkins suck in Japan (unless, again, you go to a Western place). Most places have thin little pieces of crap that look a little like wax paper and, like wax paper, turn clear as soon as they get greasy, although they're a little more absorbent ... but only a little. On the other hand, nicer places tend to give you little wet towelettes (either disposable or cloth) which are kind of neat.

Japan overall seemed to be a very lush environment; greenery seemed to be everywhere. Apparently we were there in the rainy season, because I think it rained every single day we were in Nagasaki except for one. I'm not complaining, though, because on that one day I sunburned.

I had heard somewhere that Japanese people have a habit of coming up to Americans and practicing their English on us; that didn't happen to me, but Kevin told me there was a school in that city that encouraged people to do just that, so maybe they simply already had an outlet for it. But if you look like you really need help, English speakers start popping out of the woodwork. That happened to us once or twice.

One odd thing -- and not odd just because it's on topic: I expected to see lots of DSes, but I actually saw far more PSPs! PSPs were everywhere.

I'll conclude with two stories. But before I do that, I'm curious how many of you are actually reading this whole thing. Say something about the Big Boy statue/photo if you did.

The first took place at the Tokugawa castle in Kyoto. The place was pretty impressive, and there is a tour that winds through the whole place. (Japanese museums and historic places have a VERY specific designated route, by the way.) I noticed that there were a few support beams with plastic guards around them (encasing them). I touched one.
-Some guy with a European accent (possibly French) said, "Hey. Don't touch."
-I replied, "It's PLASTIC."
-Kevin said, "What?" (He hadn't paid attention to us thus far.)
-I said (to Kevin), "These support beams have plastic around them, and I touched it", touching it again to demonstrate.
-Mr. Bad Touch scoffed, "Typical American -- always has to touch everything", and walks off.
-I said to Kevin, "I choose to believe that that was a joke."
A couple minutes too late, I thought of a snappy comeback: "Typical European -- touching nothing but himself." (Disclaimer: not serious! Aside from you lovely folks, I actually ran into several other Europeans in Japan, and they were all nice.)

The second took place on the way home, at the transfer point in San Francisco. I call this story "United Airlines Sucks"
- Our connecting flight to Denver gets canceled. OK, it happens.
- We are told to wait in a line. Fair enough.
- After about 30 minutes, we get redirected to another line. Okay.
- After about 20 minutes, we get redirected to another line. One more line and I'm going to redirect to your supervisor.
- After 30-40 minutes, we get to the front of the line. 'Oh, we had already gotten you a different connecting flight, but it's too late to board now. Why didn't you go [somewhere else]?' BECAUSE WE DID WHAT WE WERE TOLD, YOU MORONS!
- Eventually they get us US Airways transfer tickets.
-- EXCEPT UNITED AIRLINES DIDN'T ACTUALLY BOOK THE FUCKING TICKETS!!!
- US Airways was nice, but it was very obvious that they were seriously delayed trying to make United Airlines get its shit together. A woman in the exact same situation (Osaka-SFO-Denver-MSP; same flight canceled; followed us through all the line transfers) was able to breeze through immediately (no lines at US Airways) while we had to wait another 20 minutes or so, since United Airlines apparently didn't fuck up getting her ticket.

Aside from that, it was a pretty smooth trip. I'd do it again, if only because I didn't bring a suitcase big enough to cram in as many Japanese video games as I wanted to.

Comments? Questions?

Cool thread. Welcome Back.

Big Boy statue/photo me too.

But unlike Rol, who is too kimpossible to actually read through your lovely memoirs, I savored every word. Bring an extra large suitcase next time because I'm coming along.

Fucking, Austria.

Big Boy statue is not big. You didn't go to Kiyomizu Temple? No pilgrimage to the house that Yamauchi built? Kyoto is my favorite place in the world to visit. No phat game loot? Yes, UAL sucks big time. I got the same run-around from them two years ago in SFO on my connecting flight to DEN.

You my friend are one lucky guy, I cant wait till I visit Japan in 2010.

Heh.

BigBoy/StatuePhoto!

Welcome back, but I never noticed you were gone since, you know, you aren't the most popular member around here.

Welcome back. I suppose now we know why Square hasn't remade Final Fantasy 7 yet: why bother when you can still sell the original?

And I'm still trying to figure out the point of that cigarette sign.

I don't remember that name, but I saw quite a few temples. 

Didn't see Yamauchi's hizzouse. 

I didn't say I didn't get game loot; I just regret not getting more.  The box for Final Fantasy II (Famicom) is just beautiful; I don't know why I didn't buy it when I had the chance. 

@ RolStoppable:  see my reply there.