Noob-tour: Pre-TGS recap
24 September 07 - 02:49am | Category: events | By: Alice | •
I actually started this blog post while still in Makuhari but didn't get a chance to finish and post it before I had to go to the airport. Funny how things work out.Konnichiwa!
I keep telling myself that I'll blog, but the pressure of the inaugural FIRST POST to be full of win is high so can you really blame me for letting other things distract me at every turn? (Don't answer that.) Jeremy has told me to just blog, no matter how mundane I feel the events of my life are. Well, luckily something interesting is actually going on -- I'm in Japan for Tokyo Game Show! Seeing how the trip has been full of awesome so far, I can't really find an excuse not to post. My condolences. I've also decided to leave the first post as the "place holder" Summer Snow entry. I'll go back and actually fill it in some other time...I'll go ahead and post the rest of this entry into my 1UP blog as well since they were kind enough to send lil 'ol me all the way out here in the first place.
I've been meaning to blog since our plane hit the tarmac in Narita, but it's been a hectic past couple of days and I just haven't gotten around to it until now. What with the partying, picking up Japanese school girls, buying crazy shit, and generally acting like an embarrassing foreigner, it's amazing I even had time to play videogames and do my job. Oh, alright; I'm kidding about the Japanese school girls -- there's no way I'd have enough upper body strength to lift one. A weakling is me. And OK, I'm also not much of a partier. I did spend a lot of time eating though, so it was kinda like having a party in my mouth (stew-foo, pervs). Food here is super yum yum delish (it's probably all the
Day 1
After the 10 hour flight, we took this long bus ride from Narita airport over to our first hotel in Shibuya. By the time we reached the hotel, I was ready to konk out and sleep -- napping in the air is impossible for me unfortunately -- but all the seasoned TGS vets informed me that the best way to adjust to the new time zone is by staying up as late as possible before sleeping as to not wake up in the middle of the night. Easier said than done. When I'm sleepy, my brain just shuts right off.
We all headed out into the streets of Shibuya, hoping to find good eats and some distraction to keep us awake. I was especially excited for the food...not so much the staying awake part.
It's my first time in Japan, so I'm eager to witness all the little quips people have about the place first hand. Ever hear someone say people pass out tissues on the street at every corner? As soon as I stepped out of the hotel and onto the main sidewalk, a cute Japanese girl in a yellow outfit and cap handed me this pack of tissues with a fish on it. I was ecstatic. Sadly, this was to be the first and only pack of tissues I'd get the entire trip. Didn't anyone tell you? Tissues are so last season. It's all about fans now. (Seriously, it seemed like everyone was passing out fans at TGS, but more on the game show in a bit.)
Walking around in Shibuya at night is a pretty unique experience -- where else can you find Outback Steakhouse? Oh right... But aside from its odd collection of western restaurants like Wendy's, and McDonalds (sporting the largest statue of fries I've ever seen), Shibuya also has some of the most awesome neon lighting I've seen, along with wondrous mimic shops like Excelsior Cafe and Cafe di Espresso, the logos of which look suspiciously like a certain "rhyme-with-bar-ducks." The stuff sure is popular -- apparently, the large Starbucks at the corner of Hachiko Crossing (that famously photographed/videoed crosswalk you see in Lost in Translation) gets so much traffic, the drinks only come in one size -- medium.
We ended up catching some food in an underground restaurant and then heading to this sit down place that served drinks and snacks. I was really far gone by then -- eyes glazed over and probably drooling. So when everyone left the place for yet another bar, I called it a night and went to bed.
While we were staying in Shibuya, Karen fell in love with Hachiko, the namesake of our hotel's closest station exit. The story behind the dog and why there's a statue of him at the station is so heartwarming and sad: everyday the dog would accompany his master to the station before work and then return at 3:00 to pick him up after. One day, his master didn't show up -- turns out he died at work that day. But for 10 years afterward, the dog would show up at 3 and wait for his master. On a completely unrelated note, when we went to Harajuku the next day (our one free day for relaxing and time adjustment before TGS madness starts), I found a huge pile of Felix the Cats in a store window.
Day 2
We had a quick meeting in the lobby before splitting up into teams to conquer Tokyo. My group's first stop: Little Spoon curry house. When you order curry here, each level of spiciness is represented by a cute animal of some sort. I got the "spoon-chan" aka "regular" level of hotness. I can't really handle spicy food, unlike Ryan who got the Dragon. I can't even imagine how painful that was to eat...Even Saber, two tiers above normal, had people tearing up. And as you can see, it was delicious.
After curry, we started on our list of places to hit up before dinner time: Nakano to shop in the big Mandrake floor, Harajuku and lastly Akihabara. The train system is a little daunting when you first step in a station -- lots of people, tons of different entrances/exits with an obscene amount of signage that half the time seems to contain useless information -- but it's fairly convenient once you get the hang of it. The only trouble is that it gets a bit pricey if you end up transferring and hopping on and off to visit all these different places in one day like we were. And it's a little disarming when you have bunch of coins in your pocket -- sometimes I forget that some of those coins are worth 5 dollars -- so it was hard to keep track of just how much I was spending on fare.
The same goes for vending machines. Paying 120, 150, 180 yen on a softdrink seems so convenient and cheap, but when you really stop to think about it, that teensy tiny can of Boss coffee probably wasn't worth a buck fifty. And I thought vending machines back in SF were a rip. Then again, there's a Tommy Lee Jones ad accompanying it, persuading me to try its "rainbow mountain blend." Might be worth it...
The best part of shopping is that the stores are usually air conditioned. I used to think the best enticement a shop could have was the wafflecone smell Coldstones likes to waft out of their doors, but cold blasting air conditioning takes the lead. Walking around sticky with sweat, it's hard to resist the cold chill brush your face as you walk by a store.
There's a nice heat-cutting treat on the streets of Akihabara though called Akiba-ice or Dragon Ice. It's basically a snow cone but with delicious flavors and a creamier texture. I got the Strawberry Dragon Ice. They come in seemingly large portions but mine was gone in record time. It's a bit unsubstantial (unless you get one with fruit all around it) but refreshing and tasty nonetheless. Yum yum delish!!
By the time we got back into Shibuya my feet felt like they were going to fall off and I was ready to call it a night. But, there was this party thrown by John Ricciardi and co., as a social mixer of sorts before the show kicked off, going on. Sam and Matt managed to convince me to get back into my shoes and I slumped my way there. Even though the drink line was huge, and the food was all gone by the time I got there, it was worth it in the end because the company was good, and I had the best ramen I've ever had in my life afterward.
People fondly refer to it as the "ramen hole" because you descend down this narrow, dimly lit staircase to a vending machine where you purchase your ramen meal. You click on the ramen button, and then you can choose if you want extra helpings of noodles, extra onions, extra meat, or seaweed. You can also chose sides like eggs, rice or beer. To the left is a small waiting area with a board that has flashing lights to tell you which seats are empty. The seats remind me of voting booths with stools: there's no talking, no cell phones, and there are blinders on either side of you to section you off from the person next to you. Even the service window in front of you obscures your view of the guy/girl who politely collects your vouchers and brings your food. Once you have your hot bowl of noodles, they lower a bamboo curtain so you can eat in solitude. Sounds cold? No, it's just really relaxing, especially because you're usually coming in off the loud Shibuya streets.
Day 3
With our free day out of the way, it's time to get to work. We split up into groups to get to some pre-TGS appointments. Namco Bandai's building is this really spacious zen-like place, and then you look over and see all these old arcade games sitting next to the waterfall! Some of the goodies in the crane machines were so adorable -- too bad we couldn't play those.
Day 4
And here we are, standing in line waiting for the doors to open on the first press-only day of TGS. I'll stop the chronological blogging here now and pick up with individual posts later. =) There are magical happy stories to come!
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