Yuri to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito

A Shoujo ai centred Weblog

Day 1 – Free day. Topic: General Japan ramblings and Akiba madness…

Posted on | March 2, 2008 | 11 Comments |

So, I’m in Japan.

You probably knew that by now. I’m writing this from a rather nice PC in the hotel lobby (the hotel isn’t in such good shape, but I’m not complaining) after a rather satisfying (if not fruitful) day out in Akihabara. As soon as I arrived here in Japan, a few things came back to me – memories of things I was ruminating last time I arrived here and the time before, so I thought that this time I should commit them to paper. And pictures. There will be pictures. For the moment not on the blog, however, since I can’t find a way to resize them nicely. They will be on Flickr instead until love gets back to Coventry and can resize them for me ^_^

Anyway, back to Japan. Well, let’s go through things in chronological order. When you arrive here at Narita Airport, your first thought will probably be: “Fuck me that queue is long. Do I really have to get in that to get into this country??” And unfortunately, the answer is: “Yes you do” because since November last year, the Japanese have brought in mandatory fingerprint scanning, face photos and mini interview for each and every one of you. Now don’t you feel special…

And once you’ve braved that, you can take the train all the way out West to Tokyo proper. (It comes in three flavours – 1000, 1920 and 2940 JPY depending on how in a rush you are) As you arrive into Tokyo, there will probably be two main thoughts -1) God Tokyo is ugly and 2) What’s that smell?

Yes, the Tokyo suburbs are probably just a infinitesimally bit uglier than Coventry. For those Americans who don’t get the reference, think concrete, square and smelly. Sometime in the beginning of Japan’s development, a clever official decided to save money by putting all the power and telephone cables above ground on pylons rather than below ground nicely out of sight. Luckily he’s dead now. Pylons snake through the city like hulking great metal monstrosities, cables crisscrossing over every intersection and hanging off every corner. As you near Ueno station, you pass under the great impossible mound of concrete that forms the eqivalent of Tokyo’s M25 – the Yamanote line – hovering precariously fifty metres overhead. The smell is something between car fumes, general city whiff and more than its fair helping of sewage pong.

And if you’re not getting off in the centre, things don’t really get much better. For a gaijin like me, Tokyo’s non-central areas are a confusing and precarious place. Not only is the street address numbering system more difficult to work out than a computer’s powercable tangle, but most buildings are labeled only in kanji and kana, leaving me guessing as to their purpose most of the time. Izakaya (tiny drinking houses, which I’ll get onto in a later post along with the stupid address system) open in the most unlikely of places and little old ladies bent over double under the weight of trays and osteoporotic spine fractures scurry in and out of kitchens delivering tempura and ramen. Love hotels back onto fancy restaurants, apartments and little shops emerge from basement stairwells and to cut a long story short, it felt like whoever put Tokyo together was on something at least a little hallucinatory.

But why are you bitching so much, Yuribou? I hear you ask. Don’t you love Japan? Well, the answer to that is undoubtedly yes and Tokyo has a kind of hidden charm, especially in it;s better refurbished shining innards that keeps you interested. Oh, and 15GBP a night 3 tatami mat rooms are very comfortable for the price ^_^

One of the shiningest examples of parts of Tokyo that really glow in their absolute individuality is the place I spent most of my time in today – Akihabara. I’ll probably write more about Japanese otakudom in another post, but today, I just want to share with you the enormity of the place.

The first time I came to Akiba I was not into anime at all and had really just heard of it as the electric town where you could pick up discount electronics. And pick up I did – adaptor for my picture memory card. The second time I went, I wanted to find the anime and doujinshi stores, but I kind of just expected them to be “there” to be found. Needless to say, I found about 2. This time, however, I came fully equipped with a map to all the useful stores (in English, thank god). And found them all. And along the way realised what made them so hard ti find in the first place >_<

Akihabara is the steaming hub of otaku activity. Virtually everything is advertised with anime charcters of some variety, even in the non-anime stores. The population seems mainly to be made up of young males and cosplaying girls crowing in and out of packed stores and markets. The difference is - they can read the kanji. I can't (for the most part). If you really know where to look, though, Akiba is bursting with it at every seam. Tiny narrow staircases lead down to basements packed with tiny plastic bags of dismembered figurines; innocent looking computer stores have stairs leading up to literal storehouses of anime merchandising and even the legit looking stores have that basement section where they store the good stuff. You know what I mean... I even found a shop with an entire floor given over to anime character phonecards. Two shops, actually.

Oh, did I mention that there's a maid cafe in every single building?

Akiba is truly a place where the otaku can be otaku - i.e. avoid other otaku, chat with his friend otakus, cosplay (if he/she is that way inclined) and browse the adult material with absolutely zero guilt. Of course there's no guilt if the entire shop is porn. It's really liberating that shops selling usual hobby and modelling stuff and ramen bars are right next to shops which just sell porn. Well, at least I find it liberating ^_^.

I love Tokyo. There's just something so different about it that really puts it apart from other places I've been. The people are ridiculously friendly and enthusiastic and speak so little English that you just want to kiss them for almost being worse at languages than the British. (That's fairly impossible, though). There's just something about them saying "irrashaimase" every time you walk in a shop that I really like.

Oh, my Japanese has been failing me under the pressure. I just have not enough vocabulary. And my grammar sucks. Which you will have been able to tell since I started that last sentence with "and". It doesn't help that I look Japanese either ^_^;; There's really only one real problem I have and will continue to come across.

What the hell do you say to shopkeepers?   

I've taken to the policy of shaking my head and saying "iie" if they ask something remotely like a question (it's usually something about loyalty cards) and aigatozaimashita afterwards. Yes, that's how I say it. One time a shop assistant actually asked me something useful and I had absolutely no idea what he said, so I think the phrase for that situation is "gomen nasai, watashi no nihongo wa warui desu kara zenzen wakarimasen deshita” Be sure to stress the “zenzen”. It means you’re stupid.

So, I think I’ve written enough for a lifetime, so it’d better be bedtime for me. Or perhaps a quick trip to the Convenience store for a late night sapporo biiru. Yuribou over and out.

Category: Comment

Comments

11 Responses to “Day 1 – Free day. Topic: General Japan ramblings and Akiba madness…”

  1. Asuka
    March 2nd, 2008 @ 9:46 pm

    Interesting post. Now I won’t go into complete culture shock when I smell the sewage and see the overhanging cables. :P

    On a related note, a couple of friends and I are going to Tokyo this summer, and I was just wondering where you got your (English) map with all the anime stores listed. Also, any hotels to recommendations?

  2. mman426
    March 3rd, 2008 @ 12:17 am

    From the way you describe the downfall of Tokyo it sounds just like every major city over here in the U.S., square and concrete and smelly with power lines everywhere, since I have been to New York and New Jersey and live Near DC I doubt the ugliness would bother me at all. Akiba sounds awesome though, sounds like it will live up to be everything I have dreamed. I won’t get to go until Summer 2011 but hopefully I will know the language by then. The room is only 15GBP per night though, hotels over here charge like at least 100USD in even the most remote places and for the tiniest rooms.

  3. YuribouFan
    March 3rd, 2008 @ 5:07 am

    “Fuck me that queue is long. Do I really have to get in that to get into this country??” And unfortunately, the answer is: “Yes you do””

    Airport Security got to love it, I hate airports but it would not be a good idea to drive to Japan in a car lol, so it would be the only way to travel. I mean I love flying on an airplane but the airport security is what makes me hate flying. Mr.Yuribou sir um…we need to perform a cavity search.*_*

    “1) God Tokyo is ugly and 2) What’s that smell?”

    Excellent. But I think I would think this:
    1)God Tokyo is big and ugly
    2)What’s that smell?
    3)It that Japanese heavy metal band member a guy or girl?
    And Lastly
    4)Where is the Red Light District?

    “Oh, did I mention that there’s a maid cafe in every single building?”

    Yes!!! Epic Win!!! Enough said $_$.

    “Akiba is truly a place where the otaku can be otaku – i.e. avoid other otaku, chat with his friend otakus, cosplay (if he/she is that way inclined) and browse the adult material with absolutely zero guilt. Of course there’s no guilt if the entire shop is porn. It’s really liberating that shops selling usual hobby and modelling stuff and ramen bars are right next to shops which just sell porn. Well, at least I find it liberating”

    Ah..,Yes I find it quite liberating too Yuribou and you should also and where would the Japanese adult doujinshi(Yay!) and real girl porn(ewww.) be if it was not located in an zero guilt environment. If you live in America where I live our in Europe or anywhere pretty much not Japan acting like an otaku will get most people to look at you strangely. So I want to go to Japan to be who I really am An Otaku.

    “What the hell do you say to shopkeepers?”

    Hai(Yes) to everything. Especially when the shopkeepers talk a mile a minute and think you fully understand them they are just trying to mess with your head Yuribou so just be cool lol.

    Later Yuribou Keep Up the Coverage

    I need sleep too now see you

    YuribouFan

  4. Anonymous Coward
    March 3rd, 2008 @ 10:01 am

    Cashiers at anime stores will almost always ask you if you have a point card – saying “mottenai’n desu” can be less direct than “iie” and preferable, if you can manage it. They will then proceed to ask if you’d like to make a point card – you can reply with “daijyoubu desu” meaning “it’s okay [that you don't]” (i.e. “no thanks”).

    On another note, “hai” can a fairly strong and somewhat off-putting answer to questions such as “Would you like me to warm this up for you.” (“atatamemasu ka?”). Saying “onegaishimasu” instead of “hai” softens the response into something like “yes, please” instead of a direct “yes.”

  5. Akakori
    March 3rd, 2008 @ 11:52 am

    My holiday to Tokyo was with a few friends including one who knew Japanese quite well, so we just ran to him whenever things got scary (plus he showed us the best shops in Akiba). I want to hear more of your episodes with the service industry, though, because when I go back to work there, dealing with unexpected questions is what I fear most.

    “Be sure to stress the “zenzen”. It means you’re stupid.”

    lol! I think I said gomennasai and sumimasen once per minute while I was there – especially on public transport where I felt incredibly in the way.

    What’s the mini-interview like?

  6. Yuribou
    March 4th, 2008 @ 2:36 am

    Asuka: glad to help…as to where I got the Akiba map from I think I googled Akihabara otaku map – it was on a forum somewhere I think. I’ll upload it when I get the chance possibly this weekend. As for hotels, Last time we stayed in the Sumidagawa youth hostel which was cheap and adequate and this time I stayed in the Juyoh hotel in Minamisenju which was a little run down, but cheap and it has a sento…and a beer vending machine.

    AC: thanks for the tips – I shall use them this weekend

    Akakori: mini interview is somewhere along the lines of “what will you be doing in Japan? Where will you be staying? How long are you going to be here? OKfingersinscannerlookherebye.

  7. Asuka
    March 7th, 2008 @ 2:13 am

    Hey Yuribou,

    Thanks for the reply. I actually followed your instructions and found this (http://akiba-ch.com/map/), which would be sufficient for my shopping needs. :D Thanks for your help!

  8. yuribou
    March 9th, 2008 @ 3:20 am

    Asuka – few tips from experience – If you want non-ero manga, then K-nooks is the place to go – it’s absolutely massive – they also have a small merch section. For doujinshi, anthologies are sold in most ero-hon shops (Melon Books, K-Books, Comic Toronoana B1 floor). All the other doujin shops listed are mainly male oriented and are arranged in a difficult to find manner.

    I’m going to assume you’re a girl, but you can never tell – Comic Toronoana has two stores now – the left hand one deals in doujins and games for men (4F and 5F new doujin, 6F second hand and bargain bin) the right hand one has girl aimed doujin (otome games, yaoi and boylove etc.) it’s the only yaoi section I’ve come across so far.

    As for yuri, only the section I photographed (Melon books I think) is the only separate yuri section I’ve found – individual books are listed by which magazine they originally serialised in, so if you’re looking for anything specific, make sure you know.

    For merch, the single best place is Animate which is next to Comic Toronoana. Also, Gamers just outside the station does quite a few things.

    Hope that’s helpful

    Yuribou

  9. Ichigo Mashimarow
    March 12th, 2008 @ 10:29 am

    Dear Yuribou,

    are you there for the Anime Fair? I’ll be going there for that..am wondering where to find English doujinshi or English lang manga& anime for that matter…any pointers would be most welcome! Arigato gozaimasu!!! Zenzen!

    Cheers!

  10. yuribou
    March 13th, 2008 @ 9:57 am

    Anime fair? you mean Comiket?

    As far as I know, it’s impossible to get English language manga, anime or doujinshi in Japan…You might be lucky in the big Kinokuniya in Shinjuku but it’s nothing you can’t buy for cheaper on Amazon at home…

    I’m afraid you’ll just have to learn to read Japanese like the rest of us. All English language doujinshi is translated by groups online AFAIK.

  11. Ichigo Mashimarow
    March 14th, 2008 @ 9:52 am

    Sigh..thanks!
    Was referring to the Tokyo Int’l Anime Fair…cheers!

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