Hi from Tsutsujigaoka

[johnabe]

Hi all! I live in western Tokyo halfway between Shinjuku and Chofu; originally I came for 4 months on a college study abroad program...it changed into, well, longer^^ I'm 26 and work as a game programmer in a Japanese company, of 200 people I'm the only westerner, it's nice because it makes mundane things more interesting I think. I remember

Comments

[mermaid0314]

It really is a small world, I lived a couple blocks from Tsutsujigaoka eki for a couple of months. It's a nice little neighborhood, I miss that little unagi shop over by Life....mmm....unagi... Are you a supporter of FC Tokyo?

[johnabe]

No, but give it time! I love Tsutsujigaoka, it's probably the same as you remember it, the only difference in the last two years is that Nova left and one of the drug stores is now a curry restaurant.

[soulassassin547]

Wow. Right in the middle of the pounding pulse of the Japanese gaming industry. B)

[johnabe]

The reason our pulse is pounding is because we drank a lot of those Final Fantasy Potion energy drinks when they were being sold =)

[chipowers]

Nice. :D I think I'd probably do the same-- study abroad then decide to live at Japan.

[johnabe]

There was a small notice on the study abroad bulletin board - "Extend your stay for an extra semester - Rebates available!" It kind of snowballed from there...

[johnabe]

Hey you'll be like 1 train stop away from my office then! If you ever need anything I'm here to help^^

Job hunting was similar to America, just with more interviews (1 company x 3 times) and your photo goes on the resume. It's kinda fun, actually, because I don't think they really expect random foreigners to show up at information sessions - "stand out from your competition" is so not a problem =)

[heroofspielburg]

Heheh, you work in Chofu-shi on games, too. I work for a gaming company formerly located in Sengawa. Can you guess which one? (No cheating and looking at my LJ first.)

[johnabe]

Wow 押忍！闘え！応援団?? You have so much gaming street cred it's not even funny =) I work in Sasazuka, so if you were in Sengawa until recently I probably passed you every day...

[heroofspielburg]

I miss the small shoutengai feeling of working in Sengawa. Nakameguro is too close to Daikanyama and it's looking more and more like it every day; kind of depressing, really.

I live in Honmachi, just north of Opera City. When our office was located in Sengawa I would sometimes kill the ten minutes between waiting to change from the KEIO main to the shinsen line by running down the stairs and getting a six-pack of Draft One at LIFE before my connecting train showed up. Ah, the days of the reverse commute. :)

Speaking of street cred, your company has a solid history and a number of well-known titles. :D If we can find time, I'd kind of like to hear more about what it's like in a big Japanese studio.

[johnabe]

I want to know more about what it's like in a smaller Japanese studio =D I've never met any other western game programmers here, I'm fascinated. Are you gearing up for Tokyo Game Show?