My video travelogue of my trip to Tokyo

[greg]

Yesterday morning I took the bus up to my family's place in the mountains of Nagano-ken, but before then I was in Tokyo for four nights. I'm updating the videos of some of my exploits to my Youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/stevethefishdotnet

You guys may be interested in the walkthrough of the Hey gamecenter in Akihabara.

Here's some shmup soundtracks I found in the Mandarake in Shibuya.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Hey Greg,

Those cool YT vids of the world famous Hey! game center are awesome. What video camera did you use to record your video footage with? I got a kick seeing lot of the older arcade shmup titles like Area 88, RayForce, RayStorm, V-V, etc. Definitely cool to see DDP-DFK Black Label PCB up & running on the ol' Egret II candy cabs.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[greg]

What video camera did you use to record your video footage with?

Thanks for watching! Funny you should mention this... Ever since our daughter was born 2 years ago, my dad has let me borrow his Kodak digicam to take lots of pictures of her and video as well. I was using that and lugged the dumb thing to Japan only for me to discover Friday night when I arrived at my hotel that it no longer reads SD cards. The darn thing crapped out on me! It's been a lousy camera because 1. it's bulky, 2. the flash only seems to work when its in the camera's best interest, even when we force override it, and 3. it records in stupid-ass Quicktime .mov format, which has lousy compression and wastes space. So on Saturday morning I took the subway to Akihabara to Yodobashi Camera, which fortunately opens at 9:30am. Most other stores don't open until 11, so that's convenient.

My 3 criteria is that the camera I wanted would be 1. inexpensive, 2. compact, and 3. records video in .avi format. The store clerk recommended the Nikon Coolpix S1000pj for just under 20,000 yen. He even had an English language manual for it too. It's very Japanesey (it chimes when I turn it on), and it even has the capability of projecting images and videos on a wall. How sexy is that? I bought an extra battery and a film to project the video screen. I signed up to use a point card, and after the purchase I had 2,000 points, so the next day I came back and bought my sexy "Vibrant Blue" 3000 series PSP for 2,000 yen off. Cha-ching!

I didn't record a video of the fourth floor of Hey, but mainly up there was the Magical Quiz game or whatever it's called, some Square/Enix multiplayer game, and the kickass Gundam Bonds of the Battlefield game. You can see a little bit of the fouth floor on my Gundam play video Part 2A.

I'm kinda buzzed right now, but you know what kicks ass? Watermelon ice cream. With chocolate chips for seeds. Only in Japan. Neat stuff. TEH NOMZ.

[Ed Oscuro]

"Hi, I'm a total idiot and I can't get over the fact that Japan lost WWII!"

Lol also at the scene (I only saw a frame, 23 firefox windows and my PC is laggin') with green ticket in hand. Shades of DOOM / J**J**.

It looks like you were given a good recommendation for camera. Light size means easier to hold steady, and the small sensor means that critical focus isn't as big a problem as it might be. I can tell when it's not in focus but it doesn't become a totally blurry mess. (With a larger camera, you can fight all day to stay in focus and still not be.)

A question - I didn't see anything under artificial lighting, have you tried that out? There should be an auto white balance mode (so that things in artificial light don't look too yellow or otherwise strange). Perhaps the scene you didn't get indoors was due to the low sensitivity (ISO performance) of the small sensor...poor low light performance is the tradeoff for the bonuses mentioned above.

Cool videos, thanks for sharing.

[xris]

Watermelon ice cream with chocolate chips!
Cool vids. I would probably hyperventalate if I was in Super Potato, then need finacial CPR. Hey! was dope.
You have a Otaku No Video toy!?
Neat stuff!

[greg]

A question - I didn't see anything under artificial lighting, have you tried that out?

I took videos of the inside of Super Potato, and it didn't look too green. The camera does have a white balance feature, but I haven't played with it much yet.

Watermelon ice cream with chocolate chips!
Cool vids. I would probably hyperventalate if I was in Super Potato, then need finacial CPR. Hey! was dope.
You have a Otaku No Video toy!?
Neat stuff!

Thanks! Yes, that's an Otaku no Video figure of Misty May or whatever her name is. It's a Bome figure, and I bought it at a comic book store since it was released internationally. I LOVE Sonoda's artwork, and I love Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force, and the Cannon God Exaxxion manga that Dark Horse stopped making, unfortunately.

Super Potato is so extremely awesome. There's also a store called Friends that's down the street next to G Front where they sell arcade boards. I usually bounce between those two, take notes, and compare prices. Friends is much smaller, but it's charming and they're always playing 8-bit game soundtracks and such. Super Potato has the best all-around experience though. Speaking of flipping out, they had a Crusher Joe game for the MSX on display. Holy crap, I wish that had been released on the PC Engine or something. I love Crusher Joe! Cowboy Bebop is a near rip-off from it.

[speedlolita]

Guh, that Sega arcade video..

I wouldn't want to come home if I went to the great land of nippon, regardless of owning a cab. Such a different culture.

[GaijinPunch]

I love Crusher Joe!

Yeah, it's wicked. I was going to load this up and watch it for some nostalgic action.

[Skykid]

Jesus greg, you should have put a Japanophile alert ahead of that vid of your room!

I'm a videogame geek for sure, but my girlfriend gives me a hard time even though my stuff is nearly all hidden away. I've just started getting rid of a lot of excess junk (like figures and whatnot) to live a less cluttered lifestyle.

Ah, the virtues of being single, I guess you should enjoy it while you can.

God knows what chicks say when you bring them in there though.

[greg]

Ah, the virtues of being single, I guess you should enjoy it while you can.

God knows what chicks say when you bring them in there though.

Uh, I'm like married 'n stuff. You should see my wife's room. I'm married to a J-girl, and she has her own flavor of mania. Her passion is Chucky, Mr. Bean's teddy, frogs and turtles, and antique robot toys. Oh yeah, and Imperial AT-AT Walkers. Most of the AZ shmuppers know her fairly well. She doesn't think my room is weird. She likes it, actually. I'm really not a Japanophile. AFAIK, by definition Japanophiles have unrealistic ideals about Japan being some sort of utopia of sorts, and that certainly does not apply to me. Since I married a J-girl, embracing Japanese culture is not an option, lest my marriage suffer as a result. There are those J-girls who just want to become an American, move there, and never move back because of their insecurities or whatever. That definitely does not describe my wife. Anyway, I mentioned a few times in the loli discussion that I was married, but I guess you didn't pick up on that.

[Skykid]

Ah, the virtues of being single, I guess you should enjoy it while you can.

God knows what chicks say when you bring them in there though.

Uh, I'm like married 'n stuff. You should see my wife's room. I'm married to a J-girl, and she has her own flavor of mania. Her passion is Chucky, Mr. Bean's teddy, frogs and turtles, and antique robot toys. Oh yeah, and Imperial AT-AT Walkers. Most of the AZ shmuppers know her fairly well. She doesn't think my room is weird. She likes it, actually. I'm really not a Japanophile. AFAIK, by definition Japanophiles have unrealistic ideals about Japan being some sort of utopia of sorts, and that certainly does not apply to me. Since I married a J-girl, embracing Japanese culture is not an option, lest my marriage suffer as a result. There are those J-girls who just want to become an American, move there, and never move back because of their insecurities or whatever. That definitely does not describe my wife. Anyway, I mentioned a few times in the loli discussion that I was married, but I guess you didn't pick up on that.

Based on your room, I do hope you'll forgive my assumption (I think most people would have concluded the same.)

I must say congratulations then on finding a lady who is so accommodating. I wouldn't even think most Japanese girls would get so involved in the passion.

As for the Japanophile thing, perhaps I'm just misunderstanding the term. Even though you have a J-wife, a J-flat, live in a J-country with a J-shrine for a room, I guess you can still fly under the radar on that one.

[saucykobold]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Argus and Valtric in there. Also, gotta wonder how much play Street Fighter: The Movie gets.

[greg]

Based on your room, I do hope you'll forgive my assumption (I think most people would have concluded the same.)

I must say congratulations then on finding a lady who is so accommodating. I wouldn't even think most Japanese girls would get so involved in the passion.

Check around on Youtube. You'd be surprised how many girls out there who have even more ridiculous rooms than I do.

As for the Japanophile thing, perhaps I'm just misunderstanding the term. Even though you have a J-wife, a J-flat, live in a J-country with a J-shrine for a room, I guess you can still fly under the radar on that one.

A textbook case Japanophile basically thinks that Japan is the best place on earth, and is typically voluntarily ignorant as to the reasons that prove otherwise. I have a healthy love/hate relationship with Japan, just as I do with the USA. I don't have lofty goals of becoming assimilated into Japanese society. I was welcomed into my wife's family, and that's more than some other guys in my position can say. Japan isn't as anti foreigner marrying their daughters as Korea is, but it still happens. Plus, I married her because I love her, not because I had the unrealistic expectation that only a Japanese girl could make me happy.

The truly annoying Japanophiles are either the anime weaboos or the martial arts weaboos. Both think of themselves as Japanese cultural connoisseurs because of their respective hobbies, but they're both ridiculously annoying. I'm just a sci fi/fantasy nerd. There's a heck of a lot of anime I really do not like to watch and I think it's stupid. But for the titles I do like, yeah, I go overboard. Otaku, yes. Japophile, no.

[speedlolita]

Aren't gaijin generally frowned upon?

I love stuff that comes from Japan, would love to visit arcades and shop there - but other than that I don't see why anyone would be too mad about it.

A "Japanophile" if you will. heh

[Alien Soldier]

Great videos man !

http://www.youtube.com/user/stevethefis ... QBXOnZ2-78

What is the game with the Super Star Soldier lazers at 7:39 ?

[greg]

Aren't gaijin generally frowned upon?

Only in Okinawa or other military towns, such as Sasebo. Plenty of morons get jobs in the military because they can't hack it anywhere else.

What is the game with the Super Star Soldier lazers at 7:39 ?

I'm not sure which game that was. I thought it looked unique, but I never made it back to look at it. As with pretty much everywhere in Akihabara, it is visual overload and too much to process for me. I forgot about the game and didn't go back. The one next to it is the Shooting Love by Triangle Service, and I've never really cared for any of their lackluster shmups.

[greg]

Well, tomorrow we're leaving for Narita Airport, heading back to Phoenix, where it's a blast furnace. Sucks. My daughter had a fever this past week, so we weren't able to do a lot of the things we wanted to do. I wanted to visit the game center near my grandma's house just to play the Gundam battlefield game one last time (or two), but alas.... I was also hoping to play that King of Fighters Sky Stage shmup one more time too. Oh well. I have both my DS and new shiny blue PSP I bought in Akihabara to keep me occupied for the long plane ride home.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It's an easy & breezy 8 and 1/2 hour flight back to San Francisco International airport from Japan's Narita International Airport -- considering that the 747 is getting a helpful boost from the Gulf Wind jetstreams. Upon leaving S.F. International Airport, it's a longer 11 and 1/2 hour flight duration to Narita International Airport since the 747 is fighting against the Gulf Wind jetstream currents -- encountering turbulence and all as usual. That's a given, folks.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[NTSC-J]

Yesterday morning I took the bus up to my family's place in the mountains of Nagano-ken

Where at? I happen to live in the mountains of Nagano-ken in a town called Karuizawa.

[greg]

Oh? I thought you lived in Tokyo, at least that's what I judged from your posts when you first arrived in Japan a year or two ago. You're on the JET Program, right? I did something similar on a local level, with the Phoenix/Himeji Sister Cities program. There were JETs working there too. One guy did 3 years on the JET and then 2 more with the PHSC program. I'm considering going back to live in Japan, and maybe teach English in Okaya. There are some decent schools there, and I want to teach elementary school this time now that this is in big demand. We want to raise our daughter in Japan.

My father-in-law lives in Iijima, and my mom-in-law lives in Ina. The Chuuou expressway runs up from Tokyo to Okaya, then heads east towards Nagoya. Along the way, you'll hit Tatsuno (which no longer smells bad since the paper mill closed down), Ina, Komagane, then Iijima, which is between the Komagane and Matsukawa exits. It's a pretty small town, and the youth numbers there are dwindling.

We often visit Shirakabako, then drive up to Kirigamine way up on top of the world. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Mt. Fuji from there.

I've been to Karuizawa a few times. There's a big factory outlet mall there. I think there's a Lego store in that factory outlet mall as well as the one in Kobuchizawa. I think the factory outlet mall is all we went to when we visited Karuizawa. It was Golden Week and it was nothing but a long traffic jam going into town. I even hopped out of the car, went into a convenience store to get a drink, then ran to catch back up with my mom's car. It was crazy.

I was in Tokyo from June 18th to the 21st and on the 22nd I left for Nagano. I did some videos of some cool stores I visited in the Nagano area. We just got back to Phoenix on Monday, and now we're staying at my parents' timeshare at the Hyatt resort in Sedona. It's too frickin' hot. Even with the humidity, Nagano is way cooler than crappy Phoenix.

It's an easy & breezy 8 and 1/2 hour flight back to San Francisco International airport from Japan's Narita International Airport

We flew out of Los Angeles this time. Last time we flew through SF, and I like that airport better. But last year, the baggage people failed to load my wife's suitcase on the plane, so she had to wear the same clothes for three days. At least they takkyuubin'ed her suitcase to her family's house for free, but there should've been some better compensation than that. Then again, it was Japan, afterall.

[NTSC-J]

I go to Tokyo on the weekends to see my girlfriend (and escape to the arcades with Adverse if my girlfriend doesn't guilt-trip me too much) and will probably move back there next year. I'm a city boy so being in the mountains doesn't really agree with me (although I don't mind escaping that heat and those ridiculous trains).

I'm not in the JET program but I do work for a similar organization. I never thought I'd be teaching little kids but here I am, and it's really not so bad. 2 or 3 hours a day of work for full-time pay is something I shouldn't take for granted (especially not in this country).