Phase 4: Discovery

This wake-up-at-4AM thing is getting old. I'm pretty sure at this point that it has to be a side-effect of the jet lag and/or the fact that I'm probably still running high on adrenaline. I woke up early again today, missing the phone call last night because I had already passed out an hour before. Fortunately, there were no changes to the plan, and I managed to go back to sleep and wake up again around 8 AM - much more reasonable.

I met Kamijoh-san in the lobby at 10 AM, and we took the train to Akihabara. The first stop was Traders, the used game and DVD shop where I found the cheap copy of Disgaea 3 the day before. This time, I was looking for a pick-up for a friend...Osu! Tatakae!! Ouendan!!! 2. Since the title had changed and was actually a lot longer and more complicated, Kamijoh-san and I asked the clerk for help. We located the game, I bought it, and then we continued to walk through Akihabara. I found another game center - this one owned by Taito, apparently...and it was A LOT better than Club Sega. There were quite a few games I wanted to play here, including many that I didn't know existed yet, such as Arcana Heart 2. There were separate floors for shooting games, fighting games, mech games, ticket games, and card games. Ticket games are popular in Japan, but not nearly as popular as they are in the States -- where they've managed to suffocate the entire arcade industry. Not so here in Japan. Video games still rule the roost, and there's still a fierce competitive spirit among fighting game players (not unlike the US during the Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat heyday). Only bad thing was, I knew for a fact that if I were to challenge anyone in there, I'd get my ass kicked from here to Tienemen Square.

I played a round of DDR Supernova 2 (no pictures allowed in the game center, of course --- this is really starting to get old), but didn't want to make Kamijoh-san wait around for me too long, so I left after two songs. I played a round of Guilty Gear as well, but again, left before I died. The cheapest games in these arcades are 100 yen (about a buck) and the big monstrosities like House of the Dead 4 and Silent Hill Arcade are even more (2-300 yen). The most expensive game I saw was a Gundam simulator, which was 1200 yen ($12) per play. Ouch. Interestingly, the fighting games are set up such that each player gets their own screen, and faces the other player, like this:

p1-> (-_-) [machine1][machine2] (^_^) <-p2


And those machines are linked, so they play against each other. People can observe someone playing by watching the empty machine on the other side. If you're REALLY good, apparently you get your matches broadcast on the TVs located around the fighting game floors. I want to come back here tomorrow and waste some money... :) I also found a used game shop that carried a ton of boxed Famicom and Super Famicom games, and hybrid players that were also compatible with NES and SNES. I may go back to get one of these... On our way back to the train station, we came across a stand selling octopus dumplings. Now, I wasn't hungry at the time, but believe it or not I actually do want to try these things (most likely tomorrow). They looked good enough on TV, though my uncle says to be wary of smaller restaurants, lest you get food poisoning and become sick. Well, it's not unagi, so at the very least I won't have to find pants to fit over the POWAA if I do end up getting sick.

Next stop after Akihabara was Shinjuku, and Square-Enix. Now, I'd normally come here to see this on my own, but the truth is, this time I was on a mission. I wanted to pick up something special for the girl. After getting on the wrong train no less than 3 times (and this is WITH someone who knows Tokyo guiding me - yes it's that confusing), we got off at the right station. After maybe 20 more minutes of attempting to find the place, we get there. (Cue Final Fantasy victory theme)



Unfortunately for us, apparently the Northern Crater is located right below central Tokyo...



I was trying to find a stuffed Cactuar for the girlfriend, but sadly all they had were about 50,000 different varieties of slimes, chocobos, and tonberries. There was one huge cactuar, as big as my suitcase, selling for thousands and thousands of yen. As cool as it would be to bring that back for her...I'm thinking...no. There were some really cool exclusive T-shirts --- for $65 a piece. CRAP! So yeah, the S-E character showcase was actually a disappointment (the small museum being the only highlight), but I actually did end up finding something really cool for the girlfriend there, but obviously I can't spoil by posting it here.

We finished up our Tokyo tour at a place specializing in Yakitori and Oyakodonburi, located at the top floor of a 14-story mall in Shinjuku. Chicken dishes, for those unfamiliar with the names. Kamijoh-san lived in Shinjuku for years, and he sure knew how to pick the restaurant. The meal was 3 courses and was a little under $18. The only thing that sucks is ordering a coke costs around $3, is very small, with no free refills. The first time I go out to eat back in the states, I'm going to gulp down about 20 cups of coke...Which reminds me, I'm really fricking thirsty right now.

And with that, between the amount of walking I did yesterday and today, my legs feel like they're about to fall off, so I'm going to rest and watch some weird Japanese comedy shows... Maybe I'll head back to Akihabara later, but it depends on how I'm feeling at the time. I'm really fricking sore, so I'll probably take it easy tonight. Tomorrow I'm meeting the IBM Tokyo guys for dinner and drinks at a restaurant near the hotel. Hopefully I don't get drunken under the table -- apparently they do this often...