Shopping
So, got up early today, and went out shopping at Akihabara (electric town) and back to Harajuku with Adalaide and Claire. Ohoh, but I must tell you about my most sucessful train dash ever! Oh, what is a train dash you ask? Why, it's when you realize that the train you want to take has just arrived, you are outside the ticket gates and down the staires. There is this certian sound a train makes as it comes to a stop, and every Japanese person around you is frantically running up the stairs. I shoved my ticket through, dashed up the elesclator (makes you go faster if you run up with it), and make a praticial dive into the train doors as they were shutting. Oh yeah! Scared the hell outa all the Japanese people of course - because, us foreigners are scary enough to them, its worse when we come flying through the train doors as it is shutting. But I so made that train, oh yeah!
Went and visited the 8 story anime store in Akihabara, and several other shops. Man, there are some real perverts in Japan. See, alot of anime (according to Adaliade who is ridiciously smart and knows what she is talking about), has a negative image. Most people over 15 stop really watching it, because most of it is so perverted. Half the figurines are females either naked, breasts flying everywhere, grouping eachother, or in a sexy pose. And every anime store is filled with middle aged men, those kinds who don7t have girlfriends, are probably the train perverts, and are just in general creepy. Yep, nothin like a whole 8 stories of 'em. But that's ok, anime is cool for gaijin (foreigners).
Went back to Harajuku too, saw more cosplay girls, visited the temple there again. Oh, at the temple there were many weddings going on, they are usually really cool cuz the bride is all dressed up in a kimono, and the groom is all fancied up too, and a procession is lead by a priest (Shinto) and shrine maidians. But today, the most amazing site, the bride in her beautiful kimono with her family following behind her, the groom - an American! Yep, an American, looking quite fit (go British slang) with all his rather confused looking family following behind him. Very cool, and unusual. We went and sat down at a coffee bakery place, and as we looked out the windows, I suddenly realized that I am in Japan, in Tokyo, in Harajuku, which is in many songs. Man, this place is awesome.
Japanese Culture:
When purchasing something, you don't hand your money to the cashier, but place it in a small flat plastic container near the register, and the cashier will pick it up from there. If you try to hand them the money, they will probably look at you funny.
Aparently, Fox (yes, sadly they do have Japan fox, where the shows are either subtittled or dubbed) with it's sexual shows like Temptation Island, don't actually bother to blur out nudity, especially breasts. So, all these reality shows where the people keep getting naked, well, let's just say I got more in dept than I ever wanted to.
Japan is actually quite odd in it's advertising in general, and I kid you not, commonly there will be children's toys next to porn. It happens all the times with the small vending machine toys, in one there will be small naked female figurines, in the next one there will be Disney toys. They even sell Playboy notebooks, stickers, and that whole line of stuff in toy shops, literally next to Disney stuff. Not the actual magazines, but the Bunny mercahndice. It amazes me.
Aparently, in shops, yu usually can't try on the Sale items. Maybe this is because after people try them on, they realize that it is cut funny or something, I don't know, but on more than one occasion, my friends have been told they couldn't try something on because it was a sale item.
Now, to break in for a moment, I would like to bring to light something odd about American culture. Have you ever noticed that in Walmart, Target, and the lot that in the "sports section" you have hunting guns, bullets, and several types of ski masks all located within an asle of eachother? My British friends just can't get over this. Now that I think about it, that is pretty fucked up!
Went and visited the 8 story anime store in Akihabara, and several other shops. Man, there are some real perverts in Japan. See, alot of anime (according to Adaliade who is ridiciously smart and knows what she is talking about), has a negative image. Most people over 15 stop really watching it, because most of it is so perverted. Half the figurines are females either naked, breasts flying everywhere, grouping eachother, or in a sexy pose. And every anime store is filled with middle aged men, those kinds who don7t have girlfriends, are probably the train perverts, and are just in general creepy. Yep, nothin like a whole 8 stories of 'em. But that's ok, anime is cool for gaijin (foreigners).
Went back to Harajuku too, saw more cosplay girls, visited the temple there again. Oh, at the temple there were many weddings going on, they are usually really cool cuz the bride is all dressed up in a kimono, and the groom is all fancied up too, and a procession is lead by a priest (Shinto) and shrine maidians. But today, the most amazing site, the bride in her beautiful kimono with her family following behind her, the groom - an American! Yep, an American, looking quite fit (go British slang) with all his rather confused looking family following behind him. Very cool, and unusual. We went and sat down at a coffee bakery place, and as we looked out the windows, I suddenly realized that I am in Japan, in Tokyo, in Harajuku, which is in many songs. Man, this place is awesome.
Japanese Culture:
When purchasing something, you don't hand your money to the cashier, but place it in a small flat plastic container near the register, and the cashier will pick it up from there. If you try to hand them the money, they will probably look at you funny.
Aparently, Fox (yes, sadly they do have Japan fox, where the shows are either subtittled or dubbed) with it's sexual shows like Temptation Island, don't actually bother to blur out nudity, especially breasts. So, all these reality shows where the people keep getting naked, well, let's just say I got more in dept than I ever wanted to.
Japan is actually quite odd in it's advertising in general, and I kid you not, commonly there will be children's toys next to porn. It happens all the times with the small vending machine toys, in one there will be small naked female figurines, in the next one there will be Disney toys. They even sell Playboy notebooks, stickers, and that whole line of stuff in toy shops, literally next to Disney stuff. Not the actual magazines, but the Bunny mercahndice. It amazes me.
Aparently, in shops, yu usually can't try on the Sale items. Maybe this is because after people try them on, they realize that it is cut funny or something, I don't know, but on more than one occasion, my friends have been told they couldn't try something on because it was a sale item.
Now, to break in for a moment, I would like to bring to light something odd about American culture. Have you ever noticed that in Walmart, Target, and the lot that in the "sports section" you have hunting guns, bullets, and several types of ski masks all located within an asle of eachother? My British friends just can't get over this. Now that I think about it, that is pretty fucked up!