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daeva_neesanRecently there were some fiery discussions on my FB f-list about people visiting Japan and getting disappointed because it wasn't as they anticipated.
The most of comments were like "Ah! Italians shouldn't go outside of their country because they don't understand anything and can't judge anything!" or "AH! You don't understand Japan at all!" or "Your delusions shouldn't affect your idea of a country!!"
From my point of view, people should complain about other countries if they are not so cool as they expected, expecially if this could help future visitors, or if just to put these "wapaneses" in their place. Sure, one should get the difference between mere ignorance, a pet peeve or a honest critic.
In this post of mine, I'd like to point out things that bothered me about Japan (expecially Tokyo), expecially when compared to what I have to hear about it from friends or fellow visitors.
THE COUNTRY OF THE RISING SUN.
I took this picture on May 2011, at Yokohama.
I stayed in Tokyo for something like 10 day, and it kept raining all the time.
I visited again Tokyo on March 2012 and October 2012. It rained. --In Nagoya the weather was pretty nice, though! There was an average temperature of 26C° :D
I know that coming from "The Country of the Sun" may be a curse when travelling, and sure the fact that I can get on vacation during the shittiest periods of the year because of work didn't help, but FFS, everytime I went to Tokyo IT WAS RAINING. When it wasn't raining it was windy and freaking COLD.
Maybe it was cloudy for a bit, but I've never seen a nice, proper sunny day in this sad city, that if not for its marvellous otaku places and my compulsory need to buy bullshit, would never see my face.
Oh, joys of Akihabara!
You'd say "Eeew, now you're being picky. What do you care about rain when you can get all those wonderful otakueries?"
And you'd be right, if not for the bother of getting into shops COMPLETELY SOAKED. Imagine what is it, walking around a comic shop or such with your clothes spraying water everywhere, or the extreme uncomfort of walking around with your otaku purchases as you fight for the right to not get any of your eye spiked by a wild umbrella in a crowdy road?
Also, you can't wait for the rain to be over by walking into shops. You can't wait in front of a shop to protect yourself from the storm. Some noisy, tiny clerk will beg you to go back into the rain because you're covering their windows, or you're making difficult for people to access the place (I was told this in front of freakin' SEGA Palace, which entrance is twice my room) and so on.
Fortunately I look like some kind of criminal (being a foreigner makes you a madman by default, remember it), so everyone left me alone after just one glance in their direction-- STILL.
--Also, anyone wants to talk about Mandarake's shopping bags? They are made of paper. Sure, they look pretty cool, but I'd like to see YOU going around with them on a rainy day, praying that your collection of Sasuke manga dated 1968 won't burst through the bottom...
TECHNOLOGIC! TECHNOLOGIC!
This is a machine for the fare adjustment. Its design and functions probably date to the 70s.
As intelligently pointed out in this article already, you'd be shocked to see how low-tech Japan actually is.
Sure, it's not really a flaw, I was the most grateful person in the whole country for coin lockers and phones working with ACTUAL COINS, but sure, one hears about supersonic trains and experiments with robots, and expects, if not a spaceship bringing you from the airport terminal to the Tokyo station, at least some ATM working in the evening-- But no.
The fact is, Japan follows the (very healthy) idea that if something works just fine, there's no need to change it. When the needs of the community improve, so does the technology that supports them.
Smartphones, cameras or calculators are the same exact smartphones, cameras and calculators that you'd find everywhere-- The difference is the variety, the "limited editions" or how much of a line someone is willing to stand to get them.
The electronic stores (this one was in Akihabara) don't sell such different things from what we may find in any other civilized country of sort-- the difference is that they are fit by compulsive hoarders, in fact you can find absurd things dated 40, 30 years ago-- and still working!
Taking a look at those fun little electronics stores that you can spot in Akiba, you also get this idea that Japan is not so very futuristic because Japanese people are somehow "nostalgic" at heart.
They like to collect, use and improve extremely old things-- There's a stunning market about 16 and 32bit videogames, old consoles and vintage PCs and portables.
In a sense, this may look reassuring compared to a country that changes its cities' landscapes overnight, but from another point of view it also resizes your expectations to find yourself in a Blade Runner set.
Also, yes some products are way cheaper there. But that's obvious: you're buying a Canon in Japan, you're cutting on transportations, customs and taxes. --But are you sure that you can deal with the Japanese menu and commands XD ..?
JAPAN? IT RHYMES WITH ANIME!
Look! Mega posters about--- Uh, what's that shit?
Whenever I go to Japan I have friends asking me to bring them thingies that reminds them of their childhood. Series like Versailles no Bara, Tiger Mask, Sailor Moon or even Inuyasha-- They talk as if they could be found easily everywhere -since it's Japan-, but the harsh truth is that the anime market in Japan is as transient as Tokyo's skyline, and it's really difficult to find nice things about series that you used to love as a kid.
Unless you talk about series that are popular "by default", like One Piece or Evangelion, it's difficult to find satisfaction for your anime needs if you don't know where to look or if you have no patience.
The sad thing is that recently it's difficult to find stuff even about recent anime 'cause the marketing dictates that merchandising must be released slowly to keep the audience interested. So, you're looking for a figure of an anime released on October 2013..? Gave up and wait 'til February 2014. 'Til then you can but those shitty clear file that they sell at Animate.
So now the smartasses would say "Uh? So you know nothing about anime in Japan? You know, it's the fault of people like you, who keep living in the past, if we can't get to watch recent animes yet!"
My answer is-- THINK AGAIN.
On the other hand--
'Cause there's a HUGE MARKET dedicated the "old people" like me, and I can grant you that it's quite vivid and active.
I'm not just talking about THE THOUSAND vintage shops that you can find EVERYWHERE in Japan, but also and mostly about INSTITUTIONS like Mandarake, that are traditionally focused on vintage and used merchandising.
Just like as for the electronic compartment, yes, you have the "last model" when it comes to anime, but you also have the "preistoric", and whatever you may want --dated 60s and the 70s.
SUCH A LIVEABLE PLACE--!
Stairs in Harajuku. Now tell me how are you expecting to walk on a stair that is around 30 cms wide.
A friend of mine was used to make fun of my height and the way I bumped into EVERYTHING because of it by saying that I was "gaijin size" ("foreign size").
I see that many big cities in Japan, expecially Tokyo, have space troubles, but there should be some law defining what you'd call a space apt for human living.
Look, I'm not Canadian or American, I'm not used to huge yards and to drive Hummers, and I can also understand the need to optimize space but no, NO, THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT.
Ok, everything is antiseismic, but IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S SAFE.
I've seen restaurants at the top of a skyscraper which only access was an elevator, that opened directly on ITS LINE.
Tiny, ripid stairs that I couldn't climb properly even when I was 10, with half my foot sticking out of the step.
This was the charming view from the window of my room in Tokyo... Another building and some bits of a railway.
Now you'd say "Well, that's you being big, you know that Japanese people are tiny and fit everywhere perfectly"-- That's not true.
OK, I'm taller than the average Japanese girl, of course, but there were many people as tall or even taller than me, and many of there were definitely FATTER. I didn't really stick out in the crowd, if not for my rough, loud talking.
Obviously, they grew up there and are used to live in what looks like a cage for hamsters... But sure an uncomfortable place makes it uncomfortable to stay there.
Then yeah, if you plan on living in Japan, I'm sure that you can get over the space issue and get used to it. As a dog could learn to wig its tail vertically to save space, I guess.
THE FRANTIC LIFE OF JAPAN
This was how Tokyo (Teito-ku) looked at 10 AM.
Another thing that you'll hear is how Japaneses cities are crowded, how trains are full of people, you'll also see on youtube about the infamous "pushers", those who push people into trains in the morning-- Well, I never experienced that.
We used to go around starting 10 AM (since most temples, museums or shop open at this hour) and what you'd find will be empty trains and empty streets.
You got to know that the "rush hour" in Japan is around 8/9 AM, and after everyone got to work or school (or walking across Shibuya-- Seriously, that's always crowded in all directions, I think that there are people walking there as a job!), you're basically THE KING OF JAPAN, expecially in weekdays.
This was Akihabara at 11 AM.
Things start to get rough in the afternoon, generally after 4,30 pm... But both the crowd on the streets and trains are perfectly manageable.
Then, yeah, consider that in Japan people like to take it easy. As it's true that combini and supermarkets are opened 24/7, other shops, museums and temples open around 10 am, and close around 4/5 pm.
Mandarake opens at 12 pm.
JAPAN IS SO FREE AND TOLERANT! JUST LOOK AT THE PORN!
What about a nice, pink, fake anime pussy? Just squeeze your cock in it and fap :D THIS IS FREEDOM :D !!
Another thing that bothers me TO NO END is when I have to deal with those "Well, you know, in the West we have Cristianity that portrays sex as sinful and lurid, look how Japaneses are free and open-minded about it because of their nicer religion :D" discussions.
How lurid porn is a signal of a progressist mind for such persons is something that makes me wonder.
I won't criticize the contents of certain publications, since I like porn too, but sometimes, just checking certain stuff I wonder what's wrong with people.
When I see a futanari loli huggling her own giant cock as if it'd be a teddy bear, or images of a newborn baby licking at his mother's pussy as she's giving birth to him, it's not "freedom" what comes to my mind, but exactly the impression of the product of a repressed mind.
Truth is that Japanese porn insists on what you "can't do" because of social and educational restrictions even since the times of shunga prints.
Many sexual fetishes came straight from corporal punishments. Think of bukkake or shibari. Shibari, for example, derives from hojojutsu, or the martial art of restraining prisoners with a rope.
So when Japaneses came with this horrible porn, it's not because they are freer than you, it's just because they are more repressed than you, and need to find ways out to this frustration, creating stuff that they won't really do in real life... Or CAN'T do.
Oh, look it's a shop about cute anime gir--WHAAAT?!!!
Then, if we're talking about how "visible" porn is in Japan instead of wherever--Well, think again.
Doujinshi or places that sell such things are not all over the place. You generally find them in all their might only in otaku zones, and when they are not, the shops are pretty anonymous or hidden somewhere in some mysterious building.
By the way, when I go to the news kiosk here in my place, I get to find hentai porn next to the regular manga. So I assume that here is not that different from Japan, and Japan is not really that outrageous--
THE MAGIC TOILET OF AWESOME
Here's a specimen, straight from my hotel in Osaka.
When going to Japan, everyone would entertain you about the delights of the Japanese bidet.
I did that too, but only for the first 3 days. After a while, this thing really started to bother me, so much that in the morning I preferred to pee in the shower and wash my ass in there.
Now, let's be honest, I can understand why those barbarians that never experienced the joys of an ACTUAL bidet would be so enthusiastic of such a pitiful spray of water, but look at me in the eyes: the point of a bidet is not to "refresh" your ass with a tiny splurt of warm water, the point is WASHING YOURSELF.
And such a thing CAN'T WASH YOU AT ALL. It just spreads all your pee and poo all over your genitals, and it's disgusting.
When I used it, I did it like this: clean myself with toilet paper, spray that pitiful bit of water and clean myself again with toilet paper. Now, for this action I'd use the verb "dry", but the problem is that Japanese toilet paper has the consistency of AIR, so it's pretty probable that instead of getting dry you'd just reduce the paper to some kind of PAPER MUD sticking to your anus.
Also, others like to praise the fact that the tablet is warm, so you avoid the shock of sitting on ICE first thing in the morning.
You want my honest opinion? The fact that it is warm bothers me to no end.
It's not just because a icy butt in the morning acts like a sort of "biological alarm" that sets you AWAKE the instant it happens, but also because I had the impression of sitting down on it the exact second after SOMEONE ELSE was sitting there BEFORE ME T_T; --I--It was a disgusting feeling T_T; ..!
TRAINS ARE ALWAYS ON TIME IN JAPAN
Unfortunately it never came to my mind to take pictures of trains being late in Japan-- So I got this shot from here :3
--You probably heard about the Japanese minister of Public Transportation making harakiri because the Shinkansen was 30 seconds late in one year, but when it comes to regular trains riding regular lines, it may happen for them to be late.
Of course it's nothing like Italy, but don't think that you can set your watch on Japanese trains as you may read around the internet.
I have a real life adventure to tell you about it that happened during my last trip to Nagoya.
So, me and Teap had to reach Azuchi, but to go there we had to catch a lucky train on the Biwako line that passed there once every three hours or such.
I set to take the train that passed exactly at the needed hour, but Teap forced me to take the train before "to be safe in case it's late".
And I was all "What the hell, Teap! This is Japan, trains are always punctual!" and she was "No, that's not true", and in the end I followed her advice.
--In the end the early train that we took was 10 minutes late ò_o
...And no, we didn't get one of those delay certificates.
So, this is just a bit of my observations on Japan!
If you won't really agree, I hope that you'd find this informative and interesting enough, at least XD I look forward to your opinions and similar experiences!
The most of comments were like "Ah! Italians shouldn't go outside of their country because they don't understand anything and can't judge anything!" or "AH! You don't understand Japan at all!" or "Your delusions shouldn't affect your idea of a country!!"
From my point of view, people should complain about other countries if they are not so cool as they expected, expecially if this could help future visitors, or if just to put these "wapaneses" in their place. Sure, one should get the difference between mere ignorance, a pet peeve or a honest critic.
In this post of mine, I'd like to point out things that bothered me about Japan (expecially Tokyo), expecially when compared to what I have to hear about it from friends or fellow visitors.
THE COUNTRY OF THE RISING SUN.
I took this picture on May 2011, at Yokohama.
I stayed in Tokyo for something like 10 day, and it kept raining all the time.
I visited again Tokyo on March 2012 and October 2012. It rained. --In Nagoya the weather was pretty nice, though! There was an average temperature of 26C° :D
I know that coming from "The Country of the Sun" may be a curse when travelling, and sure the fact that I can get on vacation during the shittiest periods of the year because of work didn't help, but FFS, everytime I went to Tokyo IT WAS RAINING. When it wasn't raining it was windy and freaking COLD.
Maybe it was cloudy for a bit, but I've never seen a nice, proper sunny day in this sad city, that if not for its marvellous otaku places and my compulsory need to buy bullshit, would never see my face.
Oh, joys of Akihabara!
You'd say "Eeew, now you're being picky. What do you care about rain when you can get all those wonderful otakueries?"
And you'd be right, if not for the bother of getting into shops COMPLETELY SOAKED. Imagine what is it, walking around a comic shop or such with your clothes spraying water everywhere, or the extreme uncomfort of walking around with your otaku purchases as you fight for the right to not get any of your eye spiked by a wild umbrella in a crowdy road?
Also, you can't wait for the rain to be over by walking into shops. You can't wait in front of a shop to protect yourself from the storm. Some noisy, tiny clerk will beg you to go back into the rain because you're covering their windows, or you're making difficult for people to access the place (I was told this in front of freakin' SEGA Palace, which entrance is twice my room) and so on.
Fortunately I look like some kind of criminal (being a foreigner makes you a madman by default, remember it), so everyone left me alone after just one glance in their direction-- STILL.
--Also, anyone wants to talk about Mandarake's shopping bags? They are made of paper. Sure, they look pretty cool, but I'd like to see YOU going around with them on a rainy day, praying that your collection of Sasuke manga dated 1968 won't burst through the bottom...
TECHNOLOGIC! TECHNOLOGIC!
This is a machine for the fare adjustment. Its design and functions probably date to the 70s.
As intelligently pointed out in this article already, you'd be shocked to see how low-tech Japan actually is.
Sure, it's not really a flaw, I was the most grateful person in the whole country for coin lockers and phones working with ACTUAL COINS, but sure, one hears about supersonic trains and experiments with robots, and expects, if not a spaceship bringing you from the airport terminal to the Tokyo station, at least some ATM working in the evening-- But no.
The fact is, Japan follows the (very healthy) idea that if something works just fine, there's no need to change it. When the needs of the community improve, so does the technology that supports them.
Smartphones, cameras or calculators are the same exact smartphones, cameras and calculators that you'd find everywhere-- The difference is the variety, the "limited editions" or how much of a line someone is willing to stand to get them.
The electronic stores (this one was in Akihabara) don't sell such different things from what we may find in any other civilized country of sort-- the difference is that they are fit by compulsive hoarders, in fact you can find absurd things dated 40, 30 years ago-- and still working!
Taking a look at those fun little electronics stores that you can spot in Akiba, you also get this idea that Japan is not so very futuristic because Japanese people are somehow "nostalgic" at heart.
They like to collect, use and improve extremely old things-- There's a stunning market about 16 and 32bit videogames, old consoles and vintage PCs and portables.
In a sense, this may look reassuring compared to a country that changes its cities' landscapes overnight, but from another point of view it also resizes your expectations to find yourself in a Blade Runner set.
Also, yes some products are way cheaper there. But that's obvious: you're buying a Canon in Japan, you're cutting on transportations, customs and taxes. --But are you sure that you can deal with the Japanese menu and commands XD ..?
JAPAN? IT RHYMES WITH ANIME!
Look! Mega posters about--- Uh, what's that shit?
Whenever I go to Japan I have friends asking me to bring them thingies that reminds them of their childhood. Series like Versailles no Bara, Tiger Mask, Sailor Moon or even Inuyasha-- They talk as if they could be found easily everywhere -since it's Japan-, but the harsh truth is that the anime market in Japan is as transient as Tokyo's skyline, and it's really difficult to find nice things about series that you used to love as a kid.
Unless you talk about series that are popular "by default", like One Piece or Evangelion, it's difficult to find satisfaction for your anime needs if you don't know where to look or if you have no patience.
The sad thing is that recently it's difficult to find stuff even about recent anime 'cause the marketing dictates that merchandising must be released slowly to keep the audience interested. So, you're looking for a figure of an anime released on October 2013..? Gave up and wait 'til February 2014. 'Til then you can but those shitty clear file that they sell at Animate.
So now the smartasses would say "Uh? So you know nothing about anime in Japan? You know, it's the fault of people like you, who keep living in the past, if we can't get to watch recent animes yet!"
My answer is-- THINK AGAIN.
On the other hand--
'Cause there's a HUGE MARKET dedicated the "old people" like me, and I can grant you that it's quite vivid and active.
I'm not just talking about THE THOUSAND vintage shops that you can find EVERYWHERE in Japan, but also and mostly about INSTITUTIONS like Mandarake, that are traditionally focused on vintage and used merchandising.
Just like as for the electronic compartment, yes, you have the "last model" when it comes to anime, but you also have the "preistoric", and whatever you may want --dated 60s and the 70s.
SUCH A LIVEABLE PLACE--!
Stairs in Harajuku. Now tell me how are you expecting to walk on a stair that is around 30 cms wide.
A friend of mine was used to make fun of my height and the way I bumped into EVERYTHING because of it by saying that I was "gaijin size" ("foreign size").
I see that many big cities in Japan, expecially Tokyo, have space troubles, but there should be some law defining what you'd call a space apt for human living.
Look, I'm not Canadian or American, I'm not used to huge yards and to drive Hummers, and I can also understand the need to optimize space but no, NO, THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT.
Ok, everything is antiseismic, but IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S SAFE.
I've seen restaurants at the top of a skyscraper which only access was an elevator, that opened directly on ITS LINE.
Tiny, ripid stairs that I couldn't climb properly even when I was 10, with half my foot sticking out of the step.
This was the charming view from the window of my room in Tokyo... Another building and some bits of a railway.
Now you'd say "Well, that's you being big, you know that Japanese people are tiny and fit everywhere perfectly"-- That's not true.
OK, I'm taller than the average Japanese girl, of course, but there were many people as tall or even taller than me, and many of there were definitely FATTER. I didn't really stick out in the crowd, if not for my rough, loud talking.
Obviously, they grew up there and are used to live in what looks like a cage for hamsters... But sure an uncomfortable place makes it uncomfortable to stay there.
Then yeah, if you plan on living in Japan, I'm sure that you can get over the space issue and get used to it. As a dog could learn to wig its tail vertically to save space, I guess.
THE FRANTIC LIFE OF JAPAN
This was how Tokyo (Teito-ku) looked at 10 AM.
Another thing that you'll hear is how Japaneses cities are crowded, how trains are full of people, you'll also see on youtube about the infamous "pushers", those who push people into trains in the morning-- Well, I never experienced that.
We used to go around starting 10 AM (since most temples, museums or shop open at this hour) and what you'd find will be empty trains and empty streets.
You got to know that the "rush hour" in Japan is around 8/9 AM, and after everyone got to work or school (or walking across Shibuya-- Seriously, that's always crowded in all directions, I think that there are people walking there as a job!), you're basically THE KING OF JAPAN, expecially in weekdays.
This was Akihabara at 11 AM.
Things start to get rough in the afternoon, generally after 4,30 pm... But both the crowd on the streets and trains are perfectly manageable.
Then, yeah, consider that in Japan people like to take it easy. As it's true that combini and supermarkets are opened 24/7, other shops, museums and temples open around 10 am, and close around 4/5 pm.
Mandarake opens at 12 pm.
JAPAN IS SO FREE AND TOLERANT! JUST LOOK AT THE PORN!
What about a nice, pink, fake anime pussy? Just squeeze your cock in it and fap :D THIS IS FREEDOM :D !!
Another thing that bothers me TO NO END is when I have to deal with those "Well, you know, in the West we have Cristianity that portrays sex as sinful and lurid, look how Japaneses are free and open-minded about it because of their nicer religion :D" discussions.
How lurid porn is a signal of a progressist mind for such persons is something that makes me wonder.
I won't criticize the contents of certain publications, since I like porn too, but sometimes, just checking certain stuff I wonder what's wrong with people.
When I see a futanari loli huggling her own giant cock as if it'd be a teddy bear, or images of a newborn baby licking at his mother's pussy as she's giving birth to him, it's not "freedom" what comes to my mind, but exactly the impression of the product of a repressed mind.
Truth is that Japanese porn insists on what you "can't do" because of social and educational restrictions even since the times of shunga prints.
Many sexual fetishes came straight from corporal punishments. Think of bukkake or shibari. Shibari, for example, derives from hojojutsu, or the martial art of restraining prisoners with a rope.
So when Japaneses came with this horrible porn, it's not because they are freer than you, it's just because they are more repressed than you, and need to find ways out to this frustration, creating stuff that they won't really do in real life... Or CAN'T do.
Oh, look it's a shop about cute anime gir--WHAAAT?!!!
Then, if we're talking about how "visible" porn is in Japan instead of wherever--Well, think again.
Doujinshi or places that sell such things are not all over the place. You generally find them in all their might only in otaku zones, and when they are not, the shops are pretty anonymous or hidden somewhere in some mysterious building.
By the way, when I go to the news kiosk here in my place, I get to find hentai porn next to the regular manga. So I assume that here is not that different from Japan, and Japan is not really that outrageous--
THE MAGIC TOILET OF AWESOME
Here's a specimen, straight from my hotel in Osaka.
When going to Japan, everyone would entertain you about the delights of the Japanese bidet.
I did that too, but only for the first 3 days. After a while, this thing really started to bother me, so much that in the morning I preferred to pee in the shower and wash my ass in there.
Now, let's be honest, I can understand why those barbarians that never experienced the joys of an ACTUAL bidet would be so enthusiastic of such a pitiful spray of water, but look at me in the eyes: the point of a bidet is not to "refresh" your ass with a tiny splurt of warm water, the point is WASHING YOURSELF.
And such a thing CAN'T WASH YOU AT ALL. It just spreads all your pee and poo all over your genitals, and it's disgusting.
When I used it, I did it like this: clean myself with toilet paper, spray that pitiful bit of water and clean myself again with toilet paper. Now, for this action I'd use the verb "dry", but the problem is that Japanese toilet paper has the consistency of AIR, so it's pretty probable that instead of getting dry you'd just reduce the paper to some kind of PAPER MUD sticking to your anus.
Also, others like to praise the fact that the tablet is warm, so you avoid the shock of sitting on ICE first thing in the morning.
You want my honest opinion? The fact that it is warm bothers me to no end.
It's not just because a icy butt in the morning acts like a sort of "biological alarm" that sets you AWAKE the instant it happens, but also because I had the impression of sitting down on it the exact second after SOMEONE ELSE was sitting there BEFORE ME T_T; --I--It was a disgusting feeling T_T; ..!
TRAINS ARE ALWAYS ON TIME IN JAPAN
Unfortunately it never came to my mind to take pictures of trains being late in Japan-- So I got this shot from here :3
--You probably heard about the Japanese minister of Public Transportation making harakiri because the Shinkansen was 30 seconds late in one year, but when it comes to regular trains riding regular lines, it may happen for them to be late.
Of course it's nothing like Italy, but don't think that you can set your watch on Japanese trains as you may read around the internet.
I have a real life adventure to tell you about it that happened during my last trip to Nagoya.
So, me and Teap had to reach Azuchi, but to go there we had to catch a lucky train on the Biwako line that passed there once every three hours or such.
I set to take the train that passed exactly at the needed hour, but Teap forced me to take the train before "to be safe in case it's late".
And I was all "What the hell, Teap! This is Japan, trains are always punctual!" and she was "No, that's not true", and in the end I followed her advice.
--In the end the early train that we took was 10 minutes late ò_o
...And no, we didn't get one of those delay certificates.
So, this is just a bit of my observations on Japan!
If you won't really agree, I hope that you'd find this informative and interesting enough, at least XD I look forward to your opinions and similar experiences!
YAY!
Date: 9/12/13 23:52 (UTC)I had to laugh out loud twice <3
no subject
Date: 11/12/13 09:45 (UTC)Nice Review :)
Date: 10/12/13 01:55 (UTC)What you have written about it is mostly about Tokyo and Tokyo isn't Japan. On the contrary the capital is deeply different and so are its people from the rest of the country.
I would have loved to read more about your experiences in different parts of Japan about the same things in this post. But I am grateful that you shared your experiences as an “Italian Otaku” (may I use this term?) because when I visit Japan I go for different things such as its traditional and contemporary culture, landscapes, museums, design etc. and I often wonder what Japanese animation foreign enthusiasts do honestly expect from this country that they idolized from comics.
About Tokyo, I think you've been just unlucky with a bunch of things, including the weather. I actually spotted a good number of days in Tokyo with a beautiful clear sky and a marvellous view of Mount Fuji from Odaiba. I hope you will run into this opportunity one day.
I shall visit Owari properly next time. You write many wonderful things about Nagoya and such and I am now sad that I didn't have time to pay more attention to this area of Japan before. I can't wait to go there again! :)
Barbara
Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 10/12/13 15:35 (UTC)It's still a dream of mine to visit, and if I perform well at advanced training school in eight to nine months, I could choose Japan as my next duty station!
Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 11/12/13 08:45 (UTC)..I think that if you'll get transferred there, you'll just keep spending time with most of your American friends, and will go around with them XD
...The duty station there is in Okinawa?
Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 11/12/13 15:52 (UTC)Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 11/12/13 21:28 (UTC)Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 11/12/13 09:57 (UTC)It's not really an article from the perspective of an otaku, in fact it's mostly directed to a casual reader who imagines things about Japan... It bothered me a bit how everyone talks about certain subjects by giving them for granted... With this post I just wanted to focus on certain stereotypes, and when you talk about Japanese stereotypes, the first things that come to a commoner's mind, are technology and weird porn.
--I wanted to talk also about those "Japanese beauties", but I think that it'd be a bit too rude for Japanese girls, but I'll take this subject in another post, talking about the charm that Asiatic women have over the stupid Western guy XD
Just to say, you're not the only one who went to Japan for its traditional and contemporary culture, landscapes, museums, design etc.. In fact, I had some troubles adjusting to my friends schedule, since they just wanted to buy shit XD I had to go by myself to take a proper tour of Ueno and visit its National Museum :/ !
I'm not saying that the weather is always shitty in Tokyo, of course I'd like to think that some hours of light are granted to that unlucky city (XD) too, but when you happen to visit for a short time, it's difficult to get those.
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Date: 10/12/13 10:15 (UTC)That was a really interesting read, you don't usually hear that sort of stuff. Everyone is always talking about how awesomely amazing Japan is, so it's nice to have a down-to-earth perspective of the place for a change. I would be interested to read more articles like this, if you care to write them!
Here in Poland trains are always late too. I travelled by train the total of five times this autumn and not once was any of the trains on time - I'm talking at least 30 minutes late. Once, even the departure was delayed by a few minutes. I shudder to think what's going to happen when the Pendolino trains are finally introduced to general public - it will probably be DOUBLE THE LATE! XD
Also, you owe me some genuine Japanese porn, remember? XD
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Date: 11/12/13 09:32 (UTC)Yes, Japan is amazing, but not such the perfect country one would like to think it is.
It's still a wonderful place and I still encourage anyone to visit it, though ^_^ !
Well, you must consider that railways in Europe are WAY OLDER than Japaneses ones, so of course there are more troubles to deal with them.
Consider that the Shinkansen rides its own railway. That's why it's always on time XD
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Date: 11/12/13 10:07 (UTC)You know, I think that if we had a Shinkansen with its own railway here, it would still be late. XD Some say that the railways, post offices and hospitals are the last bastions of communism in Poland and at least at times it certainly feels like it. :D
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Date: 11/12/13 11:08 (UTC)Eeeh, I used to know that during Communism such things worked properly (it was the case in Italy XDDD "The Trains are always on time" was a typical catchprase of Fascism XDD)!
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Date: 11/12/13 11:21 (UTC)I guess you fascists were more punctual than us communists, who took a more leisure approach. XD
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Date: 11/12/13 13:21 (UTC)--And I assure you that toilet paper in Italy is pretty high tech x'DDD !
x'D It's an important issue! Do you know that whatever Italian I talk to that just visited some place (= London, Berlin, Amsterdam and New York) started their discussion ALWAYS about how trains and buses are waaay more punctual than Italian's XD ?
It's rather unnerving XDDD
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Date: 11/12/13 13:38 (UTC)Come to Poland, after only a couple train rides you'll have every right to feel smug and superior. XD I think our trains follow a complex mathematical formula, where with the passage of time the speed approaches zero. XD
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Date: 11/12/13 14:01 (UTC)Do you know that the bidet was introduced in Southern Italy by the the Turks, and when the guys from Nothern Italy came to the South to unify Italy ("Mafia" was born in that period, those were southern people refusing the political power of Northern Italy), they had no idea of what such a thing was for XD ?
--NOTHING BUT UNCIVILIZED BARBARIANS, ahah XD !
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Date: 11/12/13 14:39 (UTC)no subject
Date: 11/12/13 15:51 (UTC)no subject
Date: 11/12/13 15:56 (UTC)Re: Nice Review :)
Date: 14/12/13 15:45 (UTC)I am glad that you already pointed out Owari people to be commoners (XD) but jokes aside you know that I did understand perfectly the meaning of your post. As I already explained elsewhere (but I am going to repeat it here because the post is here) what I've been curious about it's the fact you pointed out things that I never considered important in Japan because I admit I am often not your standard traveller and I found very interesting to see what most tourists, especially those who enjoy Japanese animation, expect from their experiences. My comment wasn't mean to be a critic, on the contrary, it was a praise.
I am just sorry to hear that you weren't able to enjoy different experiences besides those related to "otaku" because of the organization of the people you were traveling with because I know of your great passion for Japan (heck, you are almost a Japanese history expert! And I am not being sarcastic!) and I am sure that thought Tokyo is not the best place in Japan to enjoy real culture and tradition, it still offers many places that you would have enjoyed. I do agree that a short visit is definitely not enough, Tokyo is so huge, I've been going there five times already and still miss to visit a lot of things and places. Japan is never ending. I am sure next time you will be able to enjoy other types of experiences beside those of an otaku ;)
About Japanese girls: I would suggest avoiding to criticize Japanese people openly because they are extremely honorable and they would judge it as a great offense even if you have the best intentions. That guy was kinda rude and I found his comment quite inappropriate. I guess he will have to commit seppuku ( :| )
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Date: 14/12/13 17:18 (UTC)Well, I told you, I did enjoy my trips to Japan, despite the weather, the uncomfortable spaces and other pet peeves XD
My intention was not to criticize the Japanese country and people as a whole, of course, I just intended to point out things that bothered me, and would pretty much bother (or surprise!) any other tourist in my situation ^_^
Anyway, consider that I had other things to say, but I was missing photographical references and I didn't want to bother looking for them on Google XD --Hopefully on our next trip I'll fix this issue, mwahahah >D !
About the "otaku" issue, it didn't bother me because it was reducing of my being ('cause I am one XD), but of my experiences and trips to the eyes of a random reader!
Reading this article and thinking that it's from "an otaku perspective" may make people think that I was just closed into comic shops looking at porn and using toilets (for various reasons, ahah!), but I also made sure to visit museums, parks and such, just as you did (but not as much as you did, ahah, 'cause I still had to buy my otaku stuff and that can steal a good amount of time!!) :3 I know that you weren't being offensive or reducing with the term, but other readers are not so smart as we are, so I just pointed that out!
Ahah, don't worry, I'm thinking about my post and the more I think about it, the more it's just going to criticize Western men instead of Japanese girls ^_^; I'll bring some manga as an example, a manga that I liked at first but that I stopped reading after one chapter, that terribly offended me as a Westerner woman (and as a Roman woman on top of it!) XD The manga is Thermae Romae, in case you wanna investigate and try a guess to the contents of the article >D !