Tokyo

Well its been forever since I updated this beast, but there is good reason for that. I hate posting things like: studying, went to class today, rinse/repeat. Since I was mostly busy with school work or generally in a slump of nothing going on, I wasn't updating this.

That has however changed now that it is summer vacation. I was unable to do anything during Golden Week since it caught me off guard, and all I caught was a minor cold. So for summer vacation I've had plans ready.

First was to attend Comic Market in Tokyo. This will take a while to explain so buckle up and take notes if needed. Comic Market or just Comiket is special convention that takes place twice a year over the course of 3 days, one in summer (natsu-comi) another in winter (fuyu-comi). Its a unique event, thousands of vendors show up at Tokyo Big Sight to sell doujinshi. Doujinshi is essentially a "fan-fiction" of sorts, printed works sold directly from the artist to the reader. This offers a unique interaction between fans of popular and not so popular works.

Being a huge fan of manga this has been on my goal list since I first heard of it. Still there is more to it than just comics, some fans take to creating home-brew games based off of their chosen series. Others still choose to dress up as their favorite characters. Further official corporate groups join this gathering and offer unique and rare items of their series (these are the guys who hold the copyrights to most of the material that is, under US Law, being infringed upon).

So how does that work?
The doujinshi "circles" (artist or group of artists) do not actually create their doujinshi to make money. It is a means to express their fandom and reach a large number of fellow fans. Most often the cost of producing their doujinshi as well as travel and board will leave them with a net loss or breaking even (also note that many circles will purchase doujinshi in their free time or if they sell out of their doujinshi). Thus there is a mutual agreement, the corporate boys don't truly lose out in any regard as they essentially receive free advertising and in some cases act as sponsors.

All that said, I attended all three days. I have seen things. Things that nobody should ever have to see, things that I wish the whole world could see, and things that lack words to describe. At this point let me mention that I am probably the most open minded person any one reading this will ever meet. (That may sound egotistical but hey, life is more fun that way).

A small comparison:
Lincoln, Ne (hometown) Population: 256k (2010 census) City Area: 195 km²

Tokyo Big Sight Comiket Population: ~500k (Comiket 76) Big Sight Area: ~100 km²

 That should be a good example of how packed it was.

What I saw while I was there (mind you I went all 3 days). I saw truly dedicated fans, not the twilight freak-out fans, but people that have a passion for something and pursue a unique hobby. I was people of all ages: old, young, hipsters, preps, and the like. There was no true dominant group or sub-culture, there was however a dominance of female attendees (to which I had absolutely no objections).

I also saw some different stuff.... very different stuff. Stuff like 20 cross dressed guys posing for pictures in what made me think of a twisted Victoria's Secret cat walk. I saw some things I would rather not mention as they we just too.... out there. Still a what was cool about it was how happy everybody was, the cross dressed guys were giving it 100% the vendors selling 18+ products we happy to talk to you even if you didn't buy their doujinshi. I actually met a lot of cool people, a little strange by some standards by still very interesting to talk with. I was even given a free doujinshi for helping an artist out who had forgotten his wallet back at his circle.

I am most certainly going to attend the next comiket, and maybe if things go right and I produce by own manga as I have long sought to, I will see my own story being turned into a doujinshi (though hopefully not 18+ -_-). I did actually make a contact with an art supply company who hooked my up with some good supplies while I was at comiket (something I had yet to find in Sapporo).

If you're wondering about the limited number of pictures of big sight, it took some videos, but even that was difficult dude to the congestion.

Moving on from the Comiket nonsense
(though its important to note that it was to main point of the trip)

Since comiket was from 10am-4pm (I didn't stay the full time each day) I used the remainder of each day to explore and see some sights.

I rode on the Yurikamome about 8 times and crossed the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge (above) just as many. This is siginificant since it has a great view of the eastern portion of Tokyo. Also the name in English is "Lesbian Seagull" (in all honestly it is actually the lily seagull, but lesbian seagull reminds me of beavis and butt-head). Why ride it so much? It was the best route to Tokyo Big Sight.

I also got to check out a few other places of particular interest:

Tokyo Tower (Picture at the top of post). The tower was pretty cool, giving a great view of most of the city. I happened to go when there was a Pokemon event going on so it was a little crowded and I hope to go back another time when its a little less congested.  Above is a shot from the observation deck.

Walked around Ginza shopping street for a little while. The shops here were all super expensive, but still pretty cool to browse. Also checked out the Sony building while I was here, pretty cool stuff though also really expensive.

The metro was in all regards, amazing. Always, always, ALWAYS on time. This fishnetwork of rail systems was incredible, Sapporo has 3 lines while Tokyo has something like 12 or 13. I actually found it impossible to get lost, I even fell asleep on a train and ended up at a random station. So long as you can use you head a little its easy to find your way to a familiar station.

Yushima Tenmangu Shrine in Yushima, Ueno. This was aside from comiket my favorite place of the entire trip. Established in 458 (yes it is over 1500 years old), enshrines Sugawara Michizane (the God of Learning). I picked up an Omamori and took a relaxing walk around what was probably the single most peaceful place on earth that I have ever been. I plan to visit again when I go back to Tokyo in winter.

When I walked down the stairs of the shrine I must admit, I was VERY tempted to investigate this.

There were more sights that I would have liked to photograph but in some cases it was just too crowded to I didn't have my camera at the ready (often the trains pass great photo spots). Still I could post tons of photos and not cover everything. Thought there is one I took that gave me a good laugh and made me do a double take when I first saw it.

Yes there is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty in Tokyo (also the two towers in the background gave me a bit of nostalgia). This is at Daiba, the same place that I took photos of the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge, there was a event going on here so as with most places it was packed.

That's it for now. Especially since this post has gone on way longer than I expected. Next time: Kansai Region.

Class Assignments, Palm Readings, and Juice

I'm eating a fine assortment of Sushi as I am writing this, and washing it down with some tasty veggie juice.

Today started off pretty rough, what with getting a reoccurring bloody nose (in the shower of all places) and the minor fatigue that came with it.

Ended up doing pretty well on recalling a lot of Kanji, which made my sensei happy. I finally got my class assignment for the semester. Had a meeting with the top dog of the exchange student program, awesome view from his office btw. Hamada-Sensei gave me a few options for classes this semester, he figured that I wanted something at least related to my major in someway (he was right). So in a week or so I'll be taking a 9-10:30 Cultural Studies Class on Wednesdays. This will be along with the regular 3 hour Japanese Language Class I am already taking and will last till about August when Summer break starts.


Moving on to some non-scholarly related matters. To kill some time, and it did kind of relate to the grammar we we studying, my Sensei decided she wanted to read my palm. Now I don't believe in fate or any of that crap, but for fun I went along with it. According to my right hand, I won't get married, won't have money but will have lots of love and a long life. According to the left, I'll be loaded, I will get married, and still have lots of love. Basically my hands conflict seemingly in the same way that they are opposites of each other. Now just a note, I feel that as you live you are constantly shaping your own future. There is no predetermined path that you are set to walk upon. While I do fancy to explore potential line of logic draw from personal experiences about what life is, I do not believe in palm reading.~

And welcome back to the normal world. After the frustrating, odd, and enlightening parts of the day I rolled onto my favorite place to visit so far, the Supermarket. I say it is my favorite because I am constantly finding new things to try each time I visit. Some are good some are not so good (salad sticks = fail). This particular visit was intended from two days prior. A mission if you will, and that mission was to get some veggie juice.

Turns out that most brands of veggie juice here in Japan rock the socks off of V8. I ended up picking up one kind I know I liked and another 2 that looked well worth trying. Its practically a given that if you shake the juice and it stubbornly refuses to truly mix its some good stuff.

In closing this post, I feel its necessary to note that it is a little annoying when you find a tiny wasabi bomb hidden in the sushi you are eating while making a blog post. Thank god that celery seems to cancel it out.

Steve~

The Organization

Well I feel this is a note worthy topic to discuss. Since I came here I have improved in some aspects of my daily life.

Sleep schedule: Normally I would rise anywhere from 9am-11am back in the states. Since coming here I usually wake up at 8am regardless and still feel well rested, its kind of weird, but I won't question it since it is kind of nice.

Homework: So far, following my review lessons I tend to come home and eat dinner (that or buy groceries, then eat dinner) and immediately do my homework. While I learned long ago to do my homework right away, I usually would be sketchy about following through on that mindset. What I mean is that I would sometimes do it right away other times I would slack off a little.

Free Time: It may be the lack of fluency in the native language at this time or simply a current mindset, but I find I utilize my free time in a much more efficient manner. I will read manga (which is basically like extra studying as I have mentioned before), exercise, or draw. Not that these are much different from what I would do back home in the states, but for some reason I feel I am getting more done in shorter periods of time or just accomplishing more than normal.

While I have yet to join any school clubs (still researching them, and at this time my review lessons are pretty intense), I am doing basic exercises. Since I have yet to find a local gym or dojo, further still my local bank account is not yet full set up, I have been doing the basics, variations of push ups and sit ups, with minor cardio (high metabolism + too much cardio makes me lose too much body weight).

One other thing I feel is noteworthy is something I am still learning. Shopping here in Japan requires some skill and luck. The supermarkets tend to mark a lot of stuff done every day. Usually these mark downs are one heck of a deal, its a simple task of finding the item you want. I have thus far been shocked at the quality of the products that are marked down, Ive bought salads at 30 yen (roughly $0.50) that looked and tasted better than the stuff at work which was $4. And yes I do eat my salads with chop sticks~

I suppose that is all for today, may post again in a few days after more has happened, Golden Week is right around the corner so stuff should go down then.

Steve~

Class, Manga, and Times

Okay Monday is rapidly drawing to a close here so I figure I'll cap it off with a blog post.

To start what follows are times (in the States) that it will be good to try and contact me on Skype.

7-10am (this is 9pm-12am for me so I may sound sleepy)
6pm-12am (this is 8am-12pm for me)
Also on Fridays and Saturdays (US time) I am usually around more bearing that those are Saturday and Sunday for me, which extends the available times a little more.

I usually try to get up at around 8am here and when I do I flip open my mac which always has Skype running. In a few days I'll have the ability to do international calls to mobiles and land lines (total of 75min a month), that is if anyone is okay with me calling them. To find me on Skype search: TsukadeHaruo (I think searching Steve Young works too) then add me to you contacts.

Now that the Skype business  is taken care of, I'll relay a bit of what I have been up to since arriving. Class so far has been a one on one with one of my teachers, Watanabe-sensei, and has consisted solely of review, this is because the next set of classes don't start for about a week if I recall correctly. We are simply going through a few important chapters of my old textbook to help me remember some of what I have forgotten. Not too bad, except that normally one would take about 2 weeks covering the material in one chapter, however we are doing  one chapter for 3 hours each day.

This makes things a little frustrating, but at the same time I have learned all this before and it is simply trying to remember everything. As a side note..... verbs give me headaches.

Something occurred to me the other day that is actually helping to some extent. Manga (Japanese comics) is a great way to study Kanji and slang. What I mean is that as in English we do not speak in proper sentences (I will call and order a pizza vs I'm gunna order a pizza). Textbooks do not teach that, and just as English speakers use slang so do the Japanese. As for Kanji, its just plain hard to remember all the characters. Luckily lots of manga has furigana (not sure of spelling on that) which is the pronunciation of the Kanji in Hiragana.

To sum all that up I bought some comics to help me study, cool huh?

Anyway that is all that I have for now, remember get on Skype and give me a call or leave a message~

Steve Young~

Arrival

Well I finally have arrived in Sapporo Japan. After what was a hectic and crazy month of march I am here. The earth quake, the tsunami, and the nuclear power situation had all put things on hold.  Still it feels a little unreal to be actually be here.

After getting settled in a little a few of my new friends took me around to the local places that I would need to visit in order to function normally. Things like a bank, cell phone shop, grocery store, and the like. Convenience stores are abundant here, there are probably about 6 within a block or two of my apartment. In Japan convenience stores are more like miniature grocery stores, however they are a little bit more expensive and are limited on what they carry.

I have since taken my placement exam, which reminded me of how much I have forgotten since I took my last Japanese Language class. Even though I have taken it I still won't know what classes I am taking until the coming Monday.

As for the city of Sapporo it is very nice, people are polite, the air is clean, and it is not to cold compared to Nebraska in the winter. There is more rain compared to back home, however at the same time it is also considerably dry.

To close I'll post my apartment adress:

Steve Young
Sunshine-Nishioka 110
3-jo 8-chome Nishioika, Toyohira-ku
Sapporo 062-0033 JAPAN

I always have skype on and am usually up around 8am (that's 6pm Central Time), unless I was up late studying.

Until next time,
Steve~

Final preparations

Just over a month and a half left till I leave for Japan. March 28th will be my departure date and I'll be gone pretty much till January 2012. I'll be staying in an international dorm at Sapporo University which is located on the northern island of Japan. I've set up lots of ways for people to keep in touch with me.

This blog is going to be a log of what I'm doing while I am in Japan. Watch for videos and photos of what is going on.