Random Japanese Page

Here is a random collection of scenes and stories I've encountered over the last few years in Japan. I've made about a dozen trips to the Tokyo area during this time, and will gradually add tidbits as I remember things. Or find photos. Or make stuff up.

DOOOOOON!!!

Paul Gustafson and I were walking back from visiting Tokyu Hands and a video game parlor leaped out and grabbed us. We have become intimate with the latest multi-driver racing games, which are gradually becoming car simulations. This trip, the seats themselves actually moved. But I digress. As we pried ourselves out of the car races, we noticed adolescent schoolgirls swarming around a video game at the front of the arcade. Two girls were peering intently at the screen, which displayed their picture back to them. Aha! It was the modern equivalent of a photo-booth. Except that you could digitally superimpose a frame around it, out of a lovely selection of "Hello Kitty" quality frames.

As we waited for the girl's pictures to develop, we noticed that little versions of the pictures were all over the place, and thought that the machine must have kept thumbnails of the pictures, which someone back in Nintendoland then printed out, and gave to the arcade. But no, when we printed our photo, we found that it was actually a set of stickers! Amazing, a real leapfrogging of photo booth technology.

Notice our frame selection: Doooon! I have no idea what it means, but I ended up with a giant blue spike in my nose, which was great....
I think this picture came from my second or third trip. Leigh Klotz and I were walking around through Harajuku, I think, trying to find Kiddyland ( a five-story toy store), and we wandered upon these guys. They are, uh, traditional guys. Getting into their traditional van.

OK, Leigh has just informed me we were in Akihabara, not Harajuku, and that he has another picture of them in which the guy on the left has his mask on. So Kiddyland was another time, another place, but still exciting. I bought a godzilla toliet paper dispenser there. When you pulled at the TP, godzilla's eyes flashed and he roared. Which is fine until someone goes to the bathroom at night, after which it gets old. I gave it to my ex-wife.
My multilingual dinner with Paul Gustafson and this man. Long story under construction.

Ah yes. Where did my Living Intelligence BS icon come from? From another Klotztech(tm) picture, although I did ask for it to be taken. Just thought it made a lovely statement. I have no idea what living intelligence BS is, but then, maybe they don't either...



Here is the wall of a family video parlor in Akasaka, Tokyo. Yes, it says let's playing rolling sucking killing die. And yes, that looks like Jerry. And no, I don't know why.


Go up one level

Last modified: October 28, 1996

Walt Johnson, wjohnson@walj.org>