Jonny In Japan

The ramblings of a gaijin

[jonnyinjapan]

Paid mods and GTA V mods, its been a big couple of months for the Modding community

Mods are now arguably an integral part of PC gaming, it’s often hard to talk about pc gaming without mentioning them in some way or another. They allow the playerbase to make their own unique stamp on a game or improve certain aspects to make the game a more enjoyable experience. We wouldn’t even have certain games like Team Fortress 2, Counterstrike and arguably Left for Dead as well if not for mods. If it wasn’t mods that lead to the game, it’s the modding community’s constant barrage of updated content, new quests, higher resolution texture packs (all free of charge) that keep us interested 4 years later in games like Bethesda’s Skyrim.

So when Valve announced that in partnership with Bethesda they would be enabling a mod store via Steam, there was some enthusiasm that these people working to better the community would now be able to be rewarded for their work. Unfortunately, this quickly turned into mass vitriol against Valve as it was revealed that modders would receive only 25% of the money from the sale of their mod. Although this may sound like a decent deal, compare this to apple, who give 70% of the app sale to the creator, it doesn't sound all that appealing. People also felt it went against the modding communities spirit of producing these mods for fun/the love of the game and that a monetary reward was not necessary at all but another way to sell a kind of “DLC” that requires no effort by the company, but turns a profit.

There were also other legal points. For example if I made a storyline mod to Skyrim, and use someone else’s sword mod I downloaded for free as a reward for the story quest, do I need to share money with him? He’s put it out there for free. Even then, for a copyright infringement, you need to claim it against the infringer, so who’s going through all these mods looking to see if their copyright has been infringed? Who are you enforcing it against?

Not only that, we have to remember these mods are that, mods, they don’t always work or need tweaking to get working. Who does the player go to if it bugs out? Valve? The mod creator personally?

Things got so heated, Valves founder Gabe Newell took to reddit to do an AMA about the changes, which eventually led to the whole feature being pulled with this statement. It really shows the collective power the internet can throw at a company, as Gabe summed up:

"Let's assume for a second that we are stupidly greedy," Newell said. "So far the paid mods have generated $10K total. That's like 1 per cent of the cost of the incremental email the program has generated for Valve employees (yes, I mean pissing off the Internet costs you a million bucks in just a couple of days). That's not stupidly greedy, that's stupidly stupid.”

Which leads me to our most recent mod based story GTA V. If people weren’t already aware, Rockstar have been enforcing bans on players for mods (more specifically mods that use injectors such as  ScriptHook and FoV, use DLL).   These bans occur in single or multi-player, with Rockstar quoting the the legal click to agree preamble that the player may not - “reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, display, perform, prepare derivative works based on, or otherwise modify the Software, in whole or in part;”.

Unsurprisingly this has been met with once again, mass vitriol from the online community. Rockstar are sticking to their guns, even extending bans on players for being sassy. The main reason Rockstar give for their actions is that modding would give players an unfair advantage in online modes and could lead to actions the company did not intend to happen happening online, such as players being violently humped in the streets. Although I can understand that position, it’s turning players off getting real copies of the game unless they are ok playing in offline mode and leading players to just pirate the game so they can mod the single player in peace without the fear of bans. Unless they come up with a compromise for the modders, they risk alienating a portion of the PC gaming community that often tend to lengthen a games playability with mods.

UPDATE: Rockstar have come out saying “No one has been banned for using single player modifications, and you should not worry about being banned or being relegated to the cheater pool just for using single player PC mods."

[jonnyinjapan]

Ghost in the Shell filming date set! Plus DC roundup on Suicide Squad and Batfleck trailer

With the hype for Avengers: Age of Ultron hitting screens this week, there have been interviews and press conferences galore with lots of new information being offered up on upcoming films. In an interview with Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) earlier this week, she confirmed that the Ghost in the Shell movie is happening with a starting date for filming set in Jan/Feb 2016. It seems the studio has settled for her to play Motoko over original choice Margot Robbie, who we assume passed on the role in favour of Harley Quinn in the upcoming Suicide Squad film. This looks to have an interesting choice of characters, with Jared Leto playing the Joker and Will Smith as Deadshot.

  I’m wondering if this film will have a higher than 12A rating because after reading some of the comics and watching the latest animated movie involving the suicide squad “Batman: Assault on Arkham”. The nature of the storylines, the dark humor and the characters chemistry do not lend to a very family friendly film. It again seems to continue down the path DC are on after the success of the Dark Knight trilogy with a desire to do a darker and grittier adaptation than their previous films.

The release of the new Batman v Superman trailer emphasizes this even more with its dark visuals, ominous voice overs and Batflecks promise to make the man of steel bleed. 

Overall the trailer teases the first look at Ben Affleck as Bruce, shots of Batman with a sniper rifle? (odd choice considering Batmans stance on guns), the Robot Batsuit (which looks to have drawn its inspiration from Frank Millers “The Dark Knight Returns”) and perhaps an easter egg in what appears to be a riddler question mark on the pillar @1:20.

[jonnyinjapan]

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya: Review

When you go into any film with the Ghibli name attached to it, there is a certain expectation that comes with that. Over the years Studio Ghibli has earned many accolades and been revered as producing some of the best animated films of all time, so you really need to temper yourself not to build the film up too much before you’ve even seen it. However The tale of Princess Kaguya lives up to its long and brilliant heritage.

It is directed by Isao Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibl iwith Hayao Miyazaki (who retired last year after releasing his ninth film, The Wind Rises, based around his love of aviation). This is also Takahatas ninth film release with the studio and second last before its final film, Omoide no Marnie (When Marnie was there).

Our story begins with the discovery by a bamboo cutter of a small princess in a bamboo shoot, whom he takes home to his wife claiming it the will of heaven. The small princess suddenly turns into a baby while the woodcutter’s wife discovers she is miraculously able to nurse the child, which they decide to raise as their own. The strangeness of the child seems to bother no one as she goes through magical growth spurts, earning her the nickname Takenoko, (literally child of the bamboo but more accurately in English little bamboo).

The film is beautifully drawn throughout in a style that is enchanting to watch. Unlike conventional animation the style leads you to take every frame almost as a piece of art in itself, a tribute to the animators who spent over eight years working on the film to bring it to life. There is an especially beautiful scene where the princess overhears rude things being said about her and in a fit of rage flees. The style changes dramatically to a far more roughly drawn, sharper black to white contrast which perfectly illustrates the muddying of her world as her emotions drive her to run back home.

You really feel drawn to the princesses character throughout the film, the pacing is well done as we progress through her life and share with her all the the trials and tribulations of her trying to fit into a world she has problems accepting, as it similarly struggles to accept her. Some characters do occasionally act very out of character at certain moments which can be somewhat jarring and take you out of the story, but those instances are short lived and always serve to progress the plot.

The final scene of the film is very emotionally charged and does a wonderful job of juxtaposing that sadness with the beauty of the drawing and the musical score. However overall the music throughout the film was, aside from a recurring folk song Kaguya sings, is not that memorable. Unlike previous Ghibli films whose tunes you would still be humming days later, Princess Kaguya seemed to be missing that spark that makes a memorable tune. Perhaps due to the replacing of original film scorer Shin’ichirō Ikebe (of Arika fame) with Joe Hisaishi, who scored most of Miyazakis films, but this was his first time working with Takahata.

Overall the film is an excellent display of the talents of Studio Ghibli and well worth a watch. It serves as a reminder that soon the magical journey this studio has led us on will come to an end. But like all good things, we should just be thankful we were here to enjoy the ride.

[jonnyinjapan]

No this isn't early onset Cyberbrain Sclerosis, a Ghost in the Shell Movie is happening

Unlike other franchises close to my heart that have been thrown around Hollywood board rooms to no avail (looking at you 18 cert Bioshock) looks like one has been given the green light.

Ghost in the Shell was originally a seinen manga series written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow and released in 1989, which lead to an animated movie released in 1995. It follows the Major, Motoko Kusanagi in her investigation of a top level hacker known as the Puppet Master. After its success it spawned 2 anime series, known as GiTS: Stand Alone Complex, along with more movies including The Solid State Society and the critically acclaimed sequel to the 1995 movie, Innocence. Not to mention in 2013-2014, a 4 part animated OVA, GiTS: Arise was also released.

There has been lots of if’s buts and almost green lit moments on the project. Plans for a remake started when Steven Spielberg bought the rights for a reboot in 2009 (apparently a fan of the original 1995 movie). But as with many Hollywood movies, the plan crumbled and the project was canned.  It has now been green lighted under Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks with Director Rupert Sanders (best known for directing the recent "Snow white and the Huntsman") , Avi Arad and Steven Paul producing and William Wheeler to write the script.

There are several rumors concerning who will play Motoko, the original front runner was Margot Robbie who is probably best known as that hot blonde girl Leo banged in “Wolf of Wall Street”, although talks apparently broke down, along with the possible offer of a part in the Suicide Squad as Harley Quinn on the table. (On a side note, Jared Leto is apparently in talks to play the Joker in Suicide Squad, make of that what you will). On this breakdown, the part was rumored to be offered to Scarlet Johansson for $10m, best known for her depiction of Black Widow in the Avengers and recent Sci Fi hit, Lucy.

I remain skeptical about the movie overall though. After seeing how audiences reacted to Zac Snyders Sucker Punch and Western cultures views on any form of nudity from their lead females (cough Tomb Raider nipples), I fear something is going to get lost in the translation of this and we're going to get a watered down version of the truly breath taking sci fi elements that make GiTS.

[jonnyinjapan]

Japan return on path to create Godzilla

Last Friday, November 7th, the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly gave the go ahead to restart the Sendai no. 1 and 2 reactors. It signals the first step on Japans path back to nuclear power.

The turn on has been strictly regulated with guidelines that came into effect in 2013 following Fukushima and supported by the regional governor Yuichiro Ito and Abe’s pro nuclear government. Following Fukushima, Japan had to import more oil and gas to accommodate for the shutting down of its nuclear power plants, leading to rising costs for the Japanese government.

Though there have been protests by the Japanese to stop the restart from environmentalists and citizens alike. A survey done by the local newspaper Minami-Nippon Shimbun, discovered that overall, 60 percent of those in the region were in favor of Sendai staying shut. There were also concerns from local meteorologists sighting the proximity of the plant to the Kirishima mountain range, more specifically, the recent worrying tremors from Mount Ioyama, 65 km away from the Sendai Plant.

Most protesters worry that by reopening the Sendai Plant, it will have a domino effect, spurring other plants to reopen across Japan.

Although the Plant may have picked a bad time to reopen as the bill to decommission Fukushima was announced earlier in the week to be around £11Bn, with 500 tonnes of contaminated water onsite and the reactor being off limits till 2025, the decommissioning process is estimated currently at 40 years. Also this week, Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanopraphic Institution reported detecting small amounts of radiation from Fukushima 100 miles west of the Northern California town of Eureka. Although the levels aren't harmful (In technical terms, the amount of cesium-134 reported is less than 2 Becquerels per cubic meter. That is 1,000 times lower than the acceptable limits in drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). However it comes at a bad time highlighting the worldwide concern of the large scale affects if Japan suffers another nuclear accident.

[jonnyinjapan]

Japan takes title of best Whiskey, should we be surprised?

It seems odd to a Westerner to see why the Japanese would even care about whiskey. When we think of the drinking habits of Japan, we think of a picturesque cherry blossom grove with a single occupant, gently sipping sake under a tree.

Obviously this image is very much based on cultural stereotypes, but then again, so is the Scot’s love of whiskey. Do we really love it as a nation as other people would have us believe?

Not really.

When you go out to a bar or club, whiskey is usually nowhere to be seen on the optics towering over you behind the bar. In Scotland you are greeted with the standard Smirnoff, Morgans, Barcardi, Gordons and Jack Daniels. From there it varies depending on the bar, with the occasional Bell’s or Grouse on the optic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware the whiskey is somewhere among the bottles strewn across the back bar, maybe hiding behind the bottle of Jager or Sourz. 

My point is as a country, we seem to have fallen out of love with our national drink so it’s being pushed to the sidelines. In our minds it’s reserved for either the upper class who buy extravagant old bottles and drink with monocles, or the sad old men down your local drinking a half pint and a nip of paint stripper cunningly labelled as whiskey. It’s just not something that we as a public consume on such a regular basis.

This is in stark contrast to Japan. A common sight on the menus of an Izakaya is the whiskey highball, whiskey with ice and soda. To the connoisseur perhaps blasphemy, however it gets whiskey in at a more commercial level. This combined with Japans recently developed fascination with the western world that is growing especially amongst young people, it allows for the business to focus on making a better and better product more locally to meet the demand created by the market.

So to me it was no surprise that a Japanese Whiskey has been named number one, honestly it’s been a long time coming. Jim Murray, who authors the publication “the whiskey bible” and choose the Yamazaki single malt cherry cask as the winner described it as “a single malt which no Scotch can at the moment get anywhere near”.

This rise of whiskey in Japan began with The Yamazaki distillery, created in 1923 under the direction of Masataka Takatsuru, a Japanese chemist who had studied whiskey production during his time in Scotland. After this he returned to Japan and was hired by Shinjiro Torii (founder of Suntory, the Beverage Conglomerate) to start and manage the Yamazaki distillery.

The distillery focuses on putting out a high quality product, only 18,000 bottles a year retaining  around $150 a bottle. But while this particular award winner focuses on the high end market, Japan isn’t ignoring the lower end. Suntory recently acquired Jim Beam, an American Bourbon, showing that the Japanese do have a vested interest in this market which is only going to grow.

This investment and drive reflects my own experience visiting a farmers market/food stall vendor in Tokyo that focused on foreign produce. My friend worked in a Stall there selling German Beer and food, while wandering the stalls he introduced me to a friend of his who was similarly running a cocktail stand. After a few drinks we got to chatting and he found out I was Scottish. Before I knew it several bottles of Japans latest whiskeys were in front of me with a set of glasses flanking the army of bottles. 

I admit myself to not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of whiskey, but I’v consumed enough to know the difference between the whiskey you’re convinced was devised for torture and burns your insides with hellfire and the good stuff that slides down smooth and silky.

For the most part, there was a lack of peatyness in Japanese whiskey which is unfortunate as I quite like it, but more of a focus on the subtle notes and it was very enjoyable to drink. We chatted for a good while about the growing popularity and how it plays into his business plan. Last I heard, his stall was doing very well and business has never been better for the whiskey lovers of Japan.

[jonnyinjapan]

Japans cabinet plans to overturn controversial "anti-dancing law", but is it a bittersweet symphony?

For those Westerners who are experiencing their first taste of nightlife in Japan, it comes as a bit of a shock to learn about the Fueiho laws prohibiting dancing. Your initial reaction is that this is some kind of joke played on all foreigners, taking advantage of your gullible nature or naïvety, akin to telling tourists in Scotland about the haggis roaming the hillside (they are there you know). That is until you enter clubs to see the Fueiho signs everywhere with "NO DANCING" in English and Japanese and the reality sets in that this bizarre rule isn't something out of an Orwellian style joke, but creepily real.

The origins of the Law date back to 1948 when it was intended to curb prostitution and was not enforced in the modern era till an incident in Osaka in 2010 where a 22 year old student from Kyoto Sangyo University died from injuries sustained in a street brawl that had originated in one of the local clubs. This wasn't the only incident of violence in clubs, the most shocking of which was the brutal murder of a 31 year old restaurant owner beaten to death with steel pipes in the VIP room of Flower, a club in Roppongi. Following its reopening as Studio Gate, the police raided the club and enforced the Fueiho law against dancing.

I should point out dancing isn't illegal in itself, but strictly controlled. The law states that dancing is allowed, but is forbidden in nightclubs with dancefloors smaller than 66 square meters,or nightclubs that operate after 1am (midnight in some areas). This basically kills any club scene akin to Europe and the US .

However as stated, the Japanese Cabinet has set forth to rescind the old law. Its motivation however for doing so may not be solely pragmatism or the voices of those who protested the law being enforced, but also influenced by the opportunity to make profit.

Tokyo will be the next host of the Olympic Games in 2020, and there have been many changes in Tokyo to accommodate the expected influx of tourists, from new architecture to the changing of rail and road signs to include English. Among these ideas to make Tokyo more foreigner friendly and to prepare for the increased tourism, President Abe and his government have decided now is the time to scrap the law.  Members of Abe's party (Liberal Democratic Party) such as  committee secretary general Tsukasa Akimoto, have described the law as "unnecessary"  and that "It's realistic to expect the law to be changed by the end of this year, why should dancing be illegal?" also stating that "Obviously the Olympics are a factor".

Among the voices against the Law were the "Let's dance" Organisation ( http://www.letsdance.jp/ ) who submitted a petition to the National Diet signed by 155,879 people which demanded that the part of the law regulating dancing be updated. Lets Dance also have a sub group of lawyers ( http://dance-lawyers.com/ ). Takahiro Saito, one of the senior members of the Legal division of the Lets Dance movement also put the decision down to tourism "I think politicians and authorities are feeling pressure as they don't want Japan to be seen as a boring place by foreign tourists." However he still maintains there are issues due to the conservative nature of Abe's Government 

"If they cut the part referring to dance out of the law then at the very least they won't stop people dancing any more. But the police may strengthen their efforts to target problems such as noise and other nuisances to the neighbourhood, for conservative parliament members, there is still a strong image of clubs being a place where young people cause trouble".

So for now, it looks like a victory for the Tokyo party goers, although most people I have spoken to seem relieved to be rid of the "stupid" law, the reasoning behind it may leave the victory tasting bittersweet in those who protested it. 

[jonnyinjapan]

I am back!

So this has pretty much been me when I attempt to do my blog, but I will get back into it!

Been pretty busy lately with Japanese, now at Level 2, with my exam in 3 weeks so lot's of studying! I have been up to other things as well so I thought I'd share

I went to an art exhibit involving fish, was very cool!

Halloween was also pretty fun, went out with house mates and had a few drinks and met a lot of people, including this dude - 

 Yooooooooooooooo!

For anyone unfamiliar this is Kabuki style make-up (歌舞伎) a type of play performed in Japan.

The place had takoyaki, which is awesome, fried squid balls, you have to try them if you are ever in Japan! The thing on my face is a painted pumpkin wearing a hat, to get in the spirit of the evening.

So yea small update, will try and keep them more frequent from now on, probably after my exam even more frequent as I will be in Tokyo for Christmas, which should be an awesome experience :D

[jonnyinjapan]

Harajuku, Yoyogi and a night of music in Shimokitazawa

So yesterday was probably the most activity filled day in Tokyo I'v had so far, got so much done and saw so much I feel it needs a blog post for itself.

The day started off with an impromptu invitation from a friend of mine to go to Yoyogi Park and have a look around Harajuku. I try to follow a rule here that if someone invites me to do something I have never tried before, then I must go and do that thing. I am so glad I followed this yesterday as it led to probably the most enjoyable day in Tokyo so far (even better than my visit to the Square Enix store... maybe). 

So yes, JR line to Harajuku, best known for its fashion, trendy shops and bridge. Since it was very hot, there weren't any people in the crazy clothes or fashion, which is a staple on Sundays on Harajuku bridge, so that was a bit disappointing. Below are all the pictures I look entering Yoyogi, the temple and people having fun in the park.  - http://imgur.com/a/W6sPZ#0

Tumblr seems to be so bad at embedding formatting >.>; Anyway technical problems aside, the park was stunningly beautiful. We passed sealed bottles of sake in honour of emperors past and tranquil forest to reach the temple seen in my gallery. The temple is called the Meiji Jingu temple and it is literally 5 minutes from the train station. I would highly recommend anyone coming to Tokyo to visit as it is free, near to a station and stunningly beautiful. Upon reaching the temple you can wash your hands and mouth in preparation for praying. Although I didn't pray myself I did see people walk up to the main altar to pray, it involves throwing money into the collection box, praying, then clapping your hands twice, then clapping again. You can also get tablets to attach to the sacred trees,upon which you write your wish then attach it to the ring surrounding the tree. Some were written in English with wishes like "may my son arrive in good health", "world peace" and "good grades on my next Japanese Exam"... Wait I don't remember writing one...

Although drawing an anime character is not necessary, it is pretty cool.

Upon entering Yoyogi park we saw these guys, who are apparently there every weekend, dancing to popular music and generally being awesome, apologies for the quality of the video but I think you get the jist.

After we went to the "Ocean Festival" Which was basically a lot of stalls selling summer based food/drink and clothing. They had some pretty awesome stuff like shaved ice with sweet syrup toppings and coconuts you could drink the milk out of. There was live music as well but it was mainly covers of english songs from the 80's... I say english... Engrish covers, some of the lyrics were questionable at best. However off to the side there was a small 3 piece rock/punk band that had set up on the street. They were pretty awesome and I wish I could remember their name to give them some credit but alas... My terrible memory only remembers their awesomeness and not their name. So that was a pretty exciting discovery and sums up why you should look off the beaten track as often as possible while here. Walking back through Yoyogi park we snapped some pictures of the various activities such as Kendo, break dancing, mass dancing in general and the awesome bubble man that all the kids loved. 

I bid farewell to my friend after checking out the main street in Harujuku, which is mainly filled with your typical designer brands, Forever 21, Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry etc, I even saw a Topman and Topshop! I also managed to find a shop with a massive polar bear in the middle as seen in the album above (you're welcome Cursty). However when my friend departed for the metro, I once again decided to go off the beaten track and explore the sidestreets and found Takeshita Street. It was arrayed with small shops selling every style of fashion under the sun. Goth, Lolita, American, cute fluffy style?, punk, etc... Just everything! The street was packed and pretty intense, although because I was in my ripped jeans, punk t-shirt and vans, the dude outside the punk shop smiled at me and gave me the nod of approval. I should say, ALL these shops had people outside yelling discounts or general messages to try to get you into their respective stores, something that seems pretty common in Japan.

That evening I wasn't really planning much... Until another friend said she was going to a gig in Shimokitazawa and that I should meet her in the Basement Bar. I had no idea about this area until I googled it, apparently known for being a cool district which hosts lots of Tokyo's upcoming talent and is popular with the younger crowds. So I jumped on a train and headed there. Finding the place was pretty tough, I realize these "underground" clubs are meant to be off the beaten track, but the entrance was literally behind a supermarket in the corner of a car park. Upon finding it I actually had the same euphoric sensation when you find a fiver in an old pair of jeans you haven't worn in a while. Anyway, even entering this place wasn't without its troubles, I approached the door manned by two Japanese girls. With my limited Japanese I asked how much it was, 2500Y they replied (around 15 pounds) pricey I think, but I'v come this far, so I agree. So I'v handed over my money, she replies "bango" I am confused as this literally means "number". "Excuse me?" I reply... "Bango!" She repeats indignantly. It clicks in my head that she must be asking for my number, this is Japan after all, where a phone number is needed for almost everything. I was a bit confused why she didn't use the full phrase "o-denwa bango wa, namban deska?" but maybe it's just not cool to use polite Japanese in this instance so I take my phone out my pocket and begin saying my number, thinking it will be used to inform me of future gigs. She yells "Stop! URBAN! It's Urban music tonight! Here's your ticket, just go in!" Feeling quite embarrassed at this point because I look like the foreign dude that just assumes every Japanese girl MUST want my phone number; I decide it is probably best to follow her advice rather than try to explain why I was attempting to give her my number. So I take my ticket and sheepishly walk into the venue. The first thing that stuck me was was how un-urban the music was. Rock in general was what was played, but with grunge, indie and err... what I can best describe as "erotic" music (to come later, Mum you have been warned). 

Three bands really stuck out for me. First, I Love Teenage girls from Hong Kong. Awesome band name. Obligatory plug to their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/iloveteenagegirls

Indie rock and pretty cool band. Their bassist that night was a french girl who gave us all stickers with "I love teenage girls" on them... One promptly ended up on my flat mates door.

Secondly there was URBANフェチ words do not describe the passion and intensity of their performance that night. I really want to see them again once I have learned more Japanese so I can understand what is driving them to play and sing so passionately. Their lead singer is so full of energy and that bassist knows how to slap a bass!

Finally there was 妖精達, kanji is my weakness so I have no idea what their name means, but if I had to guess it would be something erotic. Their performance started with the instrument playing band members all in sparkling dresses playing softly while the lead singer spoke in a husky voice into the mic. With my limited Japanese I think she was apologizing for being the way she was, but she loves being erotic. The band then started playing a song. She began dancing seductively with her long burlesque feathered scarf, signalling to people in the audience and pursing her lips. That's not even the strangest thing... Oh no... The next song she promptly produced a set of bananas and again apologized, started unpeeling and ate it in a seductive manner. She then started harassing her main guitarist by slapping her in the face repeatedly until she took the banana in her mouth. Not satisfied yet, she gleefully leapt into the audience and started singling out women, making them eat her bananas. My female friend next to me backed away nervously and muttered something along the lines of "absolutely no way" while my other female friend totally got into the swing of things and chomped on that banana like a champ to the satisfaction of the band. My friend then offered me said fruit and in the spirit of the evening I did my best at being erotic, my first fruit since coming to Japan, administered like a fellating penis... (sorry Mum and Dad, but for journalistic integrity and immersion, it had to be done, though I guess you'll be happy I'm eating fruit for a change, less happy about the penis jokes...).

So you would think that all the strangeness is over right? NOPE The next song she said was in Japanese and it needed translated so us gajin would know what she was singing about. So the show stopped for a quick English lesson from a member of the audience. She returned to the stage, cleared her throat, inhaled, stared into the gajin group I'm in and says in that husky seductive voice emphasising each individual word - 

"I want... two... big... penis..."

I almost burst out laughing just at the absurdity of the situation, the stereotype of the typically shy Japanese girl seemed to be thrown out the window. She grinned cheekily and began her song, which from my limited knowledge of adjectives, involved big, long and thick.... (God I hope you've stopped reading Mum...) Her final song involved her once again coming into the audience, finding a chair, doing seductive poses on said chair, then returning to the stage. I can say it was the most eventful, hilarious and mind blowing performance I have ever experienced and I probably won't forget it. Though I feel I should mention, their keyboard player was really amazing! She was using the wildest movements of her arms in the performance but still managed to play things perfectly, so she deserves a mention! But here is a music video from said group so you can see what I'm talking about - 

So a special thanks to my friend for inviting me along for an unforgettable night, I will be going back again to sample more of Tokyo's upcoming talent as frankly, they were all pretty awesome.

[jonnyinjapan]

So you want to come to Japan?

So I have been here just under a month now and I wanted my next post to describe the process I went through to get here, getting here and then living in Tokyo. 

Firstly I would just say this is my experience, as a UK national things are perhaps different for me than they would be for you. Any UK national can go to Japan for a holiday and they do not require any visa, but you cannot work while you are here, your holiday can be up to 90 days I think before you have to apply for anything to stay in Japan. I came here on a Student visa. The requirements for this are a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE), certain forms and your passport at the nearest Japanese Embassy.

The actual process of processing the Visa through the Embassy is not really a problem, however obtaining the CoE can be. I got mine through my school (as you need a Japanese national to vouch for you) but I had to jump through a lot of hoops. For example I had to provide bank account statements saying I had a reserve of money that I would use to live in Japan. The amount I had would determine if I got the 6 month or 12 month student visa. While talking about how much you earn or savings is a socially frowned upon topic, it is not deemed rude to ask such things in Japan, so they don't see this as being an issue for anyone. I had to also fill out forms regarding my origins, family, education (any and all certificates including my Trinity College stuff) and a small essay about why I wanted to come to Japan to study. I was advised not to mention anime/manga/gaming and focus more on the culture, people or history rather than come across as an otaku (おたく). 

Once all this information is submitted, your CoE can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months to be processed. It seems to be that you get them when they are needed, putting priority on ones needed sooner and taking their time with ones submitted earlier. Having spoken to many people about this I have never heard of anyone not receiving their CoE in time for going to Japan. However the CoE was sent to my School, who would only forward the document to me upon payment of my first 2 terms school fees. This is a lot of money to drop into an account you have been given by a school over the internet with no face to face meetings. It was probably the scariest part of the whole application process for me. I did seek my bank for advice on the matter and their response was that doing the transaction with a credit card provides more avenues of recovery in the case of fraud, than a normal debit transfer. While this was of no use to me, I did a lot of research on the school, agency I used to come here and spoke to people who used said services and got no negative reviews. But here I am in Japan and at school, so everything did work out :)

On the Student visa you can work up to 28 hours a week. This can be useful as living in Tokyo can be very expensive. Being a native English speaker is a great asset as most the better paying english tutor jobs have this as a requirement. Depending on the job you can be paid anything from 1000-4000 yen an hour for tutoring (£6.62-£26.46) though I would say most seem to be in the 2000ish pay region.

Accommodation in Japan is expensive and small. That is the best summary of the situation over here I can give... I have been looking extensively at new places to live but anything a decent size near where I want is around 100,000 Yen a month (£660) not including gas/ele/internet. I booked my room in a share house through an agency online that specifically handles foreign people living in Japan, so they were extremely helpful and there are several ways to pay the rent (I use paypal). However I have found that some agencies in Japan will refuse to rent to foreigners, it is something you just have to accept about the country and keep on looking.

So you've done all that, booked your flights early to get an awesome cheap deal and you've bought the DS or PSP for the 12 hour flight over. You arrive in Japan and navigate the buses and trains to your share home, what is the first thing you do?

BUY A PHONE

Seriously... If you do not have a phone number, you can't do ANYTHING over here. The real kicker that was when I bought my pre paid phone here, they asked me for a number as it was a requirement to buy the phone... One of the things in Japan that makes me really frustrated. Head to Softbank in Roppongi (they have english speaking staff to help you) and ask for their pre paid plan, the phone is 6,000 yen and comes with 3,000 credit already on it.

Though on a serious note, once you arrive, you have 2 weeks to register your address with the local city hall and get health insurance (it is a required thing, even if you already have travel insurance, though it is only 15 pounds a month).

You will also need to open a bank account if you want to get paid from your job. Though foreigners can only get cash cards and you require a residents card and phone number, again something you just have to accept about Japan.

Lastly I would like to impart something that will save you a tonne of money in Japan if you use the trains. There are several train lines owned by different companies, but the 2 you will probably use most often are the JR line and Tokyo Metro. If it is at all possible, avoid Tokyo metro as it is far more expensive than using the JR lines. I walk 15 minutes to a JR station rather than using the metro one across the road from my house and it halves the cost of my commute. You can also ask at the station for student discount cards between certain stations, if you use the line often enough, it is worth it.

If you have any questions, there is an ask function at the top of this blog, don't be shy ;) If you would like me to write about anything, let me know.

I think I'm also starting to like One Piece more than I should...  

[jonnyinjapan]

Izakaya

For this post I can't help but feel I'm conforming to the typical Scottish stereotype that we all just love a good drink and can't keep ourselves out the bars. It's therefore unfortunate that I am Scottish, love a good drink and can't keep myself out of the local bars, so let's dive in to the Japanese drinking scene from my perspective.

In my time here I have been to a couple of international parties in clubs, several Izakayas and the odd bar. The first thing on the Japanese night out that you should know is that your night is heavily influenced by the public transportation. Taxis are very expensive so people tend to avoid them so your reliance to get back home is on the subway/train system. However this ends every night around 12pm-1am and starts up again at 7am, even on the weekends. This was a bit of a surprise as you would expect a massive city like Tokyo to have a 24 hour subway system, even if it was only on weekends like Vienna. Knowing this the party goer has two options, catch the last train home at 12, or continue the party till 7am. Tokyo does accommodate for the lack of trains in several ways, you can go to one of the many late night bars that serve food and drink till the crack of dawn, go to a club and dance the night away, or you can look for a place to sleep in the form of a cheap capsule pod or a Love Hotel if you've been lucky (more on those another time, but worth a google).

So the staple of a Japanese night out is the Izakaya. It is a traditional Japanese bar that is commonly frequented by the "salaryman" after a hard days work at his white collar job. The appearance outside differs with each different establishment, traditionally most have a wooden outward appearance with paper lanterns.

Upon venturing inside you are guided to your table. In one of the more traditional style Izakayas I visited it was shoes off, paper sliding doors, long wooden table and benches, very Japanese. However it is not limited to that, with many just having normal tables/chairs and the shoes staying on. In every one I have been in so far the table comes with a tablet (not the sweet, the computer), which you use to order choosing from several of the food or drink options the Izakaya provides. The beer here is normally cheap compared to the clubs at about 300Y, but you can spring for a better brand if you so desire for 500Y, however the difference in quality of beer to myself was hardly noticeable, it should also be noted beer is not served in pints, but somewhere around 400-500ml. Other drinks offered include cocktails, soft drinks, hot drinks, spirits and sake of varying types, served as such

I have been given many reasons for the tradition behind the over pouring, to do with luck with overflowing wealth, the sake being so abundant at the time of this tradition they could over pour it and maintaining a tradition for traditions sake. Whatever the reason it is pretty cool and you should remember its bad manners to pour yourself sake, so get a friend or the waiter to do it for you.

The diversity and quality of food at the Izakayas I have visited so far astonishes me, it's all really well prepared and beautifully presented if you order something traditionally Japanese, there's not really any way to present chips to make them look pretty compared to sushi or yakatori. So yes, the bar food far surpasses that of the typical British pub, in every possible way, give me raw fish on rice over fish and chips any day of the week.

So for food as I mentioned, sushi, in the form of sashimi (cuts of raw fish) or nigiri (what you probably know as "sushi" the cut of fish over a small ball of rice). Yakatori, which is grilled chicken skewers served normally in a sticky sauce, Kushiyaki, grilled meat and veg skewers, selections of Karaage, fried balls of chicken and the table normally comes with a supply of edamame beans, soy beans that have been salted. They are awesome for nibbling on while drinking, this coming from a person whos mother till this day still can't get him to eat his vegetables. I attribute this more to the awful quality of the veg in the UK rather than my 5 year old mentality of not liking vegetables because they're icky.

With some Izakaya they do discounted beer where you can only stay 2 hours then move on, but typically we would just go to another. Some even have karaoke... As I found out last night at my schools Izakaya party. After several beers I did get up and try a few songs, including Backstreet Boy's - "I want it that way" for being a terrible song, I still nailed it like my life depended on it, to the thunderous applause at our admirable attempt at the most cliche of all karaoke songs. I lie, Spice Girls was on the cards too, but you have to have some dignity.

Here's a post singing snap of Nicola-san, myself and Yuri-san.

A grin the Joker would be proud of.

[jonnyinjapan]

Beginning

So I thought I would start this off with a small roundup around my journey so far and what I have been doing with myself while I have been here. 

The flight was acceptable. I mean, as far as flights go it could have been a lot worse. The plane was only at about 50% capacity allowing people to move around, sitting with one seat gaps for comfort. I did have a surreal moment when the in flight meal options came and the only Westerner on the flight opts for the Japanese meal while everyone else seemed to order the Italian... However it was delicious ( おいしい ) so joke's on them. I may just do that, include random Japanese words I know in symbols that probably mean nothing to you, look it up you really want to learn more, or marvel in the ignorance and pretty symbols. 

Upon touching down in Tokyo and starting to ride public transport around the city the first thing that strikes you are the amount of people wearing masks -

While completely bewildering to myself at first, this is common practice if the person has a cold or cough. I would say I am used to them now just because they are so common, about 10% of people on the train in the morning wear these on their commute. They are not limited to just white, a girl in my class had a light pink one with Hello Kitty patterns... Japan, right?

On the topic of morning commutes, I have been subjected to the Tokyo subway rush hour and can tell you it is exactly as bad as the pictures and stories make out. It is a very odd experience as you have to cram yourself into increasingly smaller and smaller spaces involving increasingly extreme contact with absolute strangers as more and more people force themselves in. However the experience is oddly not uncomfortable on a personal level, as there is the distinct impression that no one really wants to be treated like a sardine or subjected to ass grinding a 80 year old Asian man, but it is a necessary part of living in Tokyo that you can either accept, or get an earlier train.

Upon arriving at my share house, the Tokyo premium on space became overwhelmingly apparent. My share house room is on the lower end of pricing, some would even call it cheap. For 74,000Y a month (just shy of £500) i get a room around 6 feet wide and 15 feet long with a small cupboard area. The appearance of the house itself is one of a student dorm with white walls, stainless steel sinks and a kitchen that resembles a mad scientists lab, cleanliness and organisation have no place and chaos rules supreme.

Although the shoes are taken off in a vestibule area, the laminate flooring throughout the house is stained a murky black from an unknown source. I honestly have no idea why if shoes are not allowed in the house and can only attribute this to rampaging soot sprites.

My bitching aside, I don't particularly mind my room as I spend as little time as I can in it, tending to either spend my time exploring Tokyo or at my Japanese school. I am yet to get some decent quality photos from my camera, but I will break it out and get snapping.

Expect a more focused topic for my next post, perhaps Izakaya (居酒屋) - a Japanese bar, or one of the areas in Tokyo that I explore.