Friday, June 5, 2009

The Japanese bucket list... minus Morgan Freeman, the demise, and all

As I'm listening to the Bombcast, I'm remembering that I still need to give this place a bit of textual love. Now that most everything is in order, there isn't much to really discuss in terms of preparation at all. So this time I thought I would discuss my internal to-do list of things I'd like to experience while in Tokyo. How much I get done is probably contingent on how much spare time I have after studying and forced group time, but nonetheless, come hell or high water, I want to get at least a few of them knocked off. Ranging from the nerdy to the (naturally) oddball, I hope that they'll help me not only have a good time, but also start to get a personal understanding of what the country of Japan really is. That said, let's dissect several of them.

1. Travel to Akihabara and witness the otaku shopping spectacle for myself.

Akihabara is an interesting shopping district within Tokyo. While this is probably the most touristy item on the list, it's an area that nonetheless fascinates me. The fact that the area liberally houses places like maid cafes makes me nothing short of intrigued as to how such a place should exist. While there are naturally other areas of Tokyo I want to take a peek at, Akihabara probably resonates with me the most because its sheer nerdy nature is blatantly out in the open. Sometimes it's borderline creepy, but there's something to be said for such a haven existing that makes it a spectacle I need to see. Plus, Akihabara is also home to Super Potato, a place which makes the gamer in me squeal in an excessive amount of joy. An oddly large percentage of souvenirs I'll probably get for myself will come solely from that place. Scary, yes.

2. Spend time in a Japanese arcade.

Remember when arcades were actually fun places to visit and not just bastions of depression that are to be visited only to satiate DDR cravings? Japanese arcades are pretty much like that: social establishments with souls that have lots and lots of coin-operated games. There's even a really great English language book covering damn near every aspect of today's iterations. Again, it's a nerdy item on the list, but as somebody who's been fascinated with the Japanese take on numerous forms of electronic entertainment, I really want to take it all in for myself. The States will sometimes get some of the arcade gems to trickle down, but there's just something to be said for experiencing an arcade game in its native environment. The social nature of the places just adds a whole dynamic that you still can't find at home.

3. Eat at an authentic, on-the-street ramen stand.

Sushi is the major culinary export of Japan today, but in its homeland, it's not the only iconic cuisine at the people's disposal. And let it be known that I'm not referring to the stuff you get in a styrofoam cup. I'm talking about fresh, restaurant-quality stuff where you can taste the liberties that the cook has taken in crafting their personal recipe. But why specifically a street stand? You can't get to know the people of another country by sticking to the tourist-friendly restaurants and their potentially tamed food wares. By eating something like ramen off the street, a more immersive and authentic experience is created. The intimate setting of just a few seats and the tightly-spaced kitchen forces personal interactions that are just a lot harder to find elsewhere. You can connect one-on-one with the other patrons and staff much easier that way and as someone who never goes abroad for just superficial reasons, I relish those sorts of opportunities.

4. Wander around the alleys of Tokyo.

Tokyo is a large city with an even larger population. Since space is therefore pretty limited, people end up getting creative when it comes to setting up their businesses. If you go to the street-level pictures of Tokyo streets on Google Maps or even just look at virtual locations inspired by the actual city (ie: Yakuza 2), you'll notice that alleyways aren't the empty backsides of businesses as they are in the United States; they're entrances to even more establishments. The fact that such shopes are deliberately off the beaten path and obscure really interests me and makes me want to go out of my way to not stick to just the streets exclusively. As with any good city (and I speak from my experience with places such as Sydney and Cairns), exploration is not only an extremely rewarding city, but it also often leads to the best revelations about the real character of such places. I want to just be aimless and stumble into oddball places that I can call home, knowing that not everyone in the world is aware of such gems. It makes an already personal experience even more so knowing that I'll have found the good spots the tourists and their guides simply would have never given a damn about.

5. Find a school girl outfit that can be smuggled back into the States.

You know my reasons for this. I want Halloween to be interesting this year. Enough said.

6. Chillax in a park with the local cherry blossoms.

Unfortunately, I recognize that I'll be a few months too late for when the actual festivities revolving around sakura blossoms are taking place. That said, when I was over in Sydney a few years ago, a couple of friends from the group and I wound up going to a botanical garden that was amazingly only a mile or so away from where we were staying. It was a really great experience. While I love Denver's park systems, the scenery is largely the same. Seeing Sydney's own take of nature within a city was really fun. That's probably supposed to be the purpose of a botanical garden in the first place, but I think I can at least partially replicate that experience by visiting some Tokyo parks. Thankfully, Tokyo is nowhere near Nara, so there's no chance of getting gang-raped by deer over some crackers, too.

7. Go take pictures of the damned life-size Gundam being erected.

I don't really like Gundams at all, but when considering how iconic they are in Japan and the fact that the thing will be finished just a few weeks before I fly over there, I feel more or less morally obligated to take lots of pictures. Enough said.