pervygoat Wrote:It would suck if the more Japanese you know the less enjoyment of Japan you will have when you get there, I hope when I go to akihabara or mikupa , the experience will be the apex of all orgasms.

what are you expecting from akihabara?

that might change if you know japanese because then you might actually find stuff you want to buy, doujin and the like.
(there's also a vending machine with dr. pepper and dad's root beer somewhere there, lol)

my otaku phase ended when i saw japanese otaku, haha. but if you're already comfortable with that stuff then you can blend in the scene and make friends easily.

i did go to comiket. there was some weird stuff there, like anthropomorphizing tokyo tower and the eiffel tower into yaoi lovers.

kainzero Wrote:what are you expecting from akihabara?

that might change if you know japanese because then you might actually find stuff you want to buy, doujin and the like.
(there's also a vending machine with dr. pepper and dad's root beer somewhere there, lol)

my otaku phase ended when i saw japanese otaku, haha. but if you're already comfortable with that stuff then you can blend in the scene and make friends easily.

i did go to comiket. there was some weird stuff there, like anthropomorphizing tokyo tower and the eiffel tower into yaoi lovers.

Oh my god the way you say it makes it really exciteresting . There are some anime which have the computer games, I would like to buy and play them, because they are extensions to the anime. e.g. "what would happen if : so and so, blah and blahed".
I imagine it to be colorful with tons of lights because it is called the electricity (now technology) center of the earth by some guy on youtube who made it seem like heaven.

So all in all, I want to see their games, movies, music, all the good stuff.

And what do you mean by "seeing otakus over there" , are they more worse, less worse? If you have time can you explain more?

And we have comicons near were I live but its always fat White americans (sorry for generalizing). I want to see decent looking cosplay.

I'll admit I'm a weebo to a good extent, but not like the delusional ones.

I've been to Akihabara like ten times. It gets old pretty quick. It may for you too.

I mean, also, becoming fluent in Japanese takes somewhere between two and ten years, depending on your level of commitment. From start to finish your interests and everyday life won't even be remotely the same.

When I started learning Japanese I thought I would like to play RPGs in Japanese. Now I'm fluent in Japanese and I've played exactly one RPG in Japanese, and really don't seen myself playing another. I don't play any video games anymore, really, with the exception of when Valve adds Half Life or Portal installments. My life changed. When I have free time I study Japanese, go drinking, play guitar, study physics, and read. When I have a vacation I travel. Each of those is way more important to me than video games, so I just don't have time.

You don't even need Japanese to get Akihabara to lose its glamour.

Akihabara is a consumer capital. Its a part of Tokyo which has tooled it self to a variable number of interests in much the same way Shinjuku and Harajuku keyed themselves to fashion. You go to Akihabara to buy shit, there is no other reason to go. Yes, theres a lot of anime characters and games and cute/hot girls out in the streets handing out fliers, but its still consumer focused. I go to Akihabara about once a month to hit up stores and check out the used stores for artbooks because its something I like to collect. Interests aside, I think thats really what differentiates normal people from otaku: Otaku collect. Akihabara is about buying anime, manga, games (new and retro), electronics, computers, technology, military, weapons, trains, cosplay, and the list goes on.

Once you realize this, Akihabara isn't any different from any other place around the world. Its interesting and theres a lot of stuff to see, but after you see it its boring unless you have something you want to buy. Japanese would only bring your expectations about things in Akihabara back to reality if anything. ie: "Oh, the Ore no Imouto anime was kind of cool I wonder how the original light novel is, Book Off doesn't have the full back issues, I guess I'll go to Kbooks and check out if they have the first 6 books used....oh they do! 200yen a piece! Awesome."

kainzero Wrote:my otaku phase ended when i saw japanese otaku, haha. but if you're already comfortable with that stuff then you can blend in the scene and make friends easily.

If 2ch is an indicator of what otaku culture is like, then the average otaku is a foreigner-hating nationalist. Surely, there must be exceptions, but I think it's telling that I've yet to see a group of otaku here who've taken a foreigner into their ranks, among other behaviors. Despite sharing interests with Japanese otaku, I have doubts whether a foreigner can blend in and make friends with them effortlessly.

ignorance is bliss... or the foolishness of enjoying self deception.

vileru Wrote:If 2ch is an indicator of what otaku culture is like, then the average otaku is a foreigner-hating nationalist. Surely, there must be exceptions, but I think it's telling that I've yet to see a group of otaku here who've taken a foreigner into their ranks, among other behaviors. Despite sharing interests with Japanese otaku, I have doubts whether a foreigner can blend in and make friends with them effortlessly.

2ch is really not indicative of anything, just like 4chan isn't indicative of American otaku.

one of my friends who speaks very little japanese made a ton of friends in japan. i'm not too keen on otaku culture but he was showing me all his pictures, the events he went to, all the stuff he picked up, talked to me about the parties he attended, etc.

but again, i have no idea what avenues he took; i know a lot of it started over the internet, niconico, twitter, etc. i don't think you'll touch down and just start talking to random otaku in akihabara.

pervygoat Wrote:Oh my god the way you say it makes it really exciteresting . There are some anime which have the computer games, I would like to buy and play them, because they are extensions to the anime. e.g. "what would happen if : so and so, blah and blahed".
I imagine it to be colorful with tons of lights because it is called the electricity (now technology) center of the earth by some guy on youtube who made it seem like heaven.

So all in all, I want to see their games, movies, music, all the good stuff.

everything you described is stuff that you buy and bring home. in fact, a lot of this stuff is already available on the internet. especially the games. there are very few games you can't download and play right now. i don't think there's anything exciting about "being" there, you just buy stuff.

i found the atmosphere of akihabara to be the same as the big commercial areas of tokyo; huge flashing signs that tire on the eyes, people handing you stuff, etc. i've never been on a day when they closed down the streets though. they stopped doing that when some guy ran over everyone, but they reopened it fairly recently. my last vacation was during christmas/new year's and i don't think they did it then.

Quote:And what do you mean by "seeing otakus over there" , are they more worse, less worse? If you have time can you explain more?

And we have comicons near were I live but its always fat White americans (sorry for generalizing). I want to see decent looking cosplay.

one of the main differences is that they speak japanese. yes, that's obvious. but that also means they don't spend a lot of time thinking about another culture or speaking one or two phrases and pretending that they know the language.

another big difference is doujin and how deeply rooted their culture is. i know very little about that stuff so i can't really comment. at comiket you could see certain doujin circles with lines out the door; i'm not sure how they heard about it but yeah, doujin is really the difference. i went with my japanese friend and all he really looked at is heavy metal touhou music; we were there for 2/3 hours just doing that and i'm pretty sure we didn't get through half of it.

but comiket isn't akihabara...

cosplay is around the same level as most big cons here in the US. there's your crappy, what the hell is that guy doing cosplay and there's also really good ones.

i spent a lot of time in akihabara, not because i was into any of that stuff, but because i liked playing arcade games with my friend and my friend lives near there.

I read all the comments, thanks guys

Hows the maid cafes over there? where the girls call you master and draw hearts with ketchup on your eggs?

pervygoat Wrote:"And what do you mean by "seeing otakus over there" , are they more worse, less worse? If you have time can you explain more?"

This had cropped up in other threads but I don't know if its ever been a topic of its own. Japanese otaku are a breed of their own, especially when it comes to anime. To put it shortly, american anime otaku hunt and search for new anime to watch and are fans of older stuff; while Japanese otaku have the attention span of the current season usually when it comes to what they like. They also consume their anime either via DVR or NicoNico douga.

kainzero Wrote:found the atmosphere of akihabara to be the same as the big commercial areas of tokyo; huge flashing signs that tire on the eyes, people handing you stuff, etc. i've never been on a day when they closed down the streets though. they stopped doing that when some guy ran over everyone, but they reopened it fairly recently. my last vacation was during christmas/new year's and i don't think they did it then.

one of the main differences is that they speak japanese. yes, that's obvious. but that also means they don't spend a lot of time thinking about another culture or speaking one or two phrases and pretending that they know the language.

another big difference is doujin and how deeply rooted their culture is. i know very little about that stuff so i can't really comment. at comiket you could see certain doujin circles with lines out the door; i'm not sure how they heard about it but yeah, doujin is really the difference. i went with my japanese friend and all he really looked at is heavy metal touhou music; we were there for 2/3 hours just doing that and i'm pretty sure we didn't get through half of it.

The street closing started back up again last year in July I believe, its called 歩行者天国. They don't run it on every Sunday like they use to do but maybe once or twice a month I think they do. There must be a schedule up somewhere that shows when they are doing them.

The "doujin" culture is a unique part of the Japanese otaku culture. As to how they find all this stuff I don't know, a mixture of following links put in the catalog, the internet, and maybe stuff they see in stores. Comiket is massive though, its sad you really can't see it all when you go but then there is a lot that isn't worth seeing, and for me thats the 50% BL that consumes the event now.

Kuma01 Wrote:Well yeah being able to read all the mysterious signs does make it seem like just another place on this earth, which it of course is. An a side note, am I the only one who gets the feeling Honyakujoshua is a pathological liar.

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=9087

Read what he says here. Laugh -hysterically- because what you said is exactly what I felt.

Tzadeck Wrote:

Zon70 Wrote:I think japan is the only country in the world that has parts of train dedicated to only females. Japan is hardly a sexist country.... Japan is way better, as unfortunate as the USA is ruining as it may be

This is, literally, the stupidest thing I've ever read on the forum.

Congratulations on making the worst koohii forum post ever, you glorious idiot you.

I couldn't believe this either. Trolls will troll on ALL realms.

pervygoat Wrote:I read all the comments, thanks guys

Hows the maid cafes over there? where the girls call you master and draw hearts with ketchup on your eggs?

The girls will certainly call you master and draw with ketchup on your eggs, haha. So if that's what you want you'll find it... for 20 bucks an hour.

pervygoat Wrote:I read all the comments, thanks guys

Hows the maid cafes over there? where the girls call you master and draw hearts with ketchup on your eggs?

I thought the food was kind of gross. Or maybe it was just the color of the food. Overall I didn't think it was that great, but I like showing the repeat customer card to people.

kusterdu Wrote:

pervygoat Wrote:I read all the comments, thanks guys

Hows the maid cafes over there? where the girls call you master and draw hearts with ketchup on your eggs?

I thought the food was kind of gross. Or maybe it was just the color of the food. Overall I didn't think it was that great, but I like showing the repeat customer card to people.

LOL what? like a frequent patrionage thing? nice! , 20 bucks an hour , it adds up huh.

pervygoat Wrote:It would suck if the more Japanese you know the less enjoyment of Japan you will have when you get there, I hope when I go to akihabara or mikupa , the experience will be the apex of all orgasms.

There's half of me that wants to pretend I think paying for sex is awesome, but on the few occasions I have been tempted to do it the falseness has always put me off. I don't think it will be what you think it will be.

HonyakuJoshua Wrote:

pervygoat Wrote:It would suck if the more Japanese you know the less enjoyment of Japan you will have when you get there, I hope when I go to akihabara or mikupa , the experience will be the apex of all orgasms.

There's half of me that wants to pretend I think paying for sex is awesome, but on the few occasions I have been tempted to do it the falseness has always put me off. I don't think it will be what you think it will be.

I've read through all of your posts, half of me want to believe what you say because it would mean you are the perfect genius who peaks in brawn, brains, and beauty. The other half of me say your the best troll ever, either way I love you. I'm a big fan.

to me maid cafes are really creepy.

i think that's one of those things where the more japanese you know, the less you enjoy it.
if you don't know japanese it's quite hilarious. but when you understand what they're saying, it's so awkward.


speaking of comiket, there are some funny stories.
like the people who wear diapers so they don't have to slow down and shop.
or the people who literally camp overnight so they don't have to leave even though there's hotels within easy access by the train.
my friend spotted a huge line and was like "damn! what's that for?" turns out it was for the bathroom.

[Zgarbas]

There are also people who at music festivals camp out in the first row starting noon to be there when some band plays at 10pm, equipped with pee bottles and what not, but they're not the average festival goer.

I always assumed those guys were more of an extreme minority than the norm, though. Aren't they?

Bathrooms always have ridiculous lines.

slimmjim Wrote:I read a comment from someone while searching the forums about a week ago (can't find the darn thread anymore now) where someone was saying that it's been their experience that the more Japanese someone understood, the less they enjoyed Japan when they finally went, and vice versa. I've been thinking about that more and more since I read it. Do you guys agree?

The only possible reason I can see for that is that it would lessen the mystique? Maybe make it seem like less of an adventure in a strange unfamiliar country?

When I first came to Japan I met a guy who had been here about 20 years and he told me, "After first 2 or 3 years you think you 'get it'. But then after 5 years, you realize that you don't understand Japan at all. Then at about 7 years you feel that this time you really do get it...but again 3 years later you realize that...no, you don't quite understand." And on and on in this manner...

He might have been right.
Maybe the loss of mystique is temporary thing.
Maybe it comes and goes (?)

I've been here about 15 years and still find myself getting surprised at attitudes, culture, vocabulary, and a whole host of other stuff .
Plus you never can never completely learn any language (especially if you're a lazy, 'never-open-a-book, and rely-on-learning-by-osmosis' bum like me).

So the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know and the more mystique I seem to find....

Zgarbas Wrote:I always assumed those guys were more of an extreme minority than the norm, though. Aren't they?

i was just implying that the extreme minority for them towards anime is much more extreme than over here.

kainzero Wrote:or the people who literally camp overnight so they don't have to leave even though there's hotels within easy access by the train.
my friend spotted a huge line and was like "damn! what's that for?" turns out it was for the bathroom.

This I understand. There are not a lot of hotels on Odaiba, and the ones that are there are expensive to boot and due to the way room rates work in Japan compared to the US (ie: You pay per person not for the ***** room) they don't factor in for these people. So you can get a hotel on the line somewhere but it still means you are locked to the earliest point that the train starts. Somethings that you are at Comiket will literally be sold out by time you can get in if you are aren't in the first 2,000 people to get inside. Stuff like limited edition dakimakuras and the like. That said, one of the hotels has in the past opened up their large convention halls and let people sleep there for like 3000yen but its first come first serve. This is only during the winter where it gets VERY cold at Big Site.

Comiket is one giant line, so bathroom thing only surprises people that have never been.