Life in Japan - Pictures galore !! Arcades, Temples, Rainy days, etc

as i have mesed my body up and can no longer drink ive decided to do normal activities...

I was thinking of getting myself this cam

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/680673-REG/Canon_4462B005_Canon_EOS_Rebel_T2i.html

comes with 18-135mm - i shouldnt need a lens with a wider angle should i?

And i was checking up on f1.2 and its sooooo expensive
the 1.8 is affordable though - contemplating a 1.4....but still a big difference in price ...

i wont need much more than that camera will I?

 

It's that time of year when everyone goes on their bonenkai (end of year party). Went on my 2nd last night. As always, in a hotel or restaurant you eat and drink a lot then off to Karaoke then a bar and finally eat Oden or Ramen out in the street. Yes, even Japanese parties are predictable. Anyway, the outside stores look like some homeless make shift shelter. Not very comfortable or warm but that's the complete opposite.



Inside these "tents" is very warm in atmosphere as well as temperature. This one pictured below serves oden. I'm not a fan of oden to be honest but at 2 am in the morning you can't beet some piping hot boiled eggs, wieners, chikuwa (Fish sausage), Onigiri (rice balls) and konyaku with mustard.



Yakumo

 

Here's some of my FB mobile uploads I should have shared long ago.













Note: This was months after World Cup, and this guy is spotted around town wearing the uniform all year round.

 

@ Mark, those pictures of Aishima look awesome. It looks just like the island from the boku no natsuyasumi 4 game, with other bits from boku no natsuyasumi portable 2.

Im sure most tiny japanese islands look like that but the games seem to capture all of what you got to see for real.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFGpEYm1M98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTzzbvt8XQg&feature=related

I love looking at all the pics on this thread, what is everyday normal for some of you, is in fact wonderful to me. Especially when you happen to live in a shithole city like Leeds.

 

GP, that soccer guy - i used to see him all the time on the Toyoko line - i move onto the Inokashira line and i STILL see him.

Either there's an army of clones or...

(or he's going to Tokyo FC/Verdy games -and- Marinos games)

i managed to justify getting a new camera - so i'm now Kiss x 4'ed up. Time to get back snapping

 

I've not taken any "real" photos other than of my son in ages. Need to get out.

 

Today I thought I'd go and have some fun racing or that was the plan. You see, about 1 hours drive from my home there is / was Mine Racing circut. I'd been there about 10 years back and had a great time. On weekends they had race days however you need a racing license to take part in them so I only ever watched. On a weekday though you could pay a little money then drive your "normal" car around the circut as far as you liked. This is what I was going to do. This is what Mine race circuit look like from above (Thanks to Yahoo maps. Google's image is awful.)



However, I heard rumors that Mazda bought the circut and closed it down to the public. It turns out this is true :crying:



This was the main entrance to the circut.



So I take a look around the back entrance to see if I could get up to the spectators area but that was closed off too.





I'm not too sure what this sign is meant to mean? Maybe, don't make kids do your evil spying? :lol:



In fact the only part of the track I could get access to without the security guards getting all prissy was one of the abandoned tuning garages.



Not really related to the race circuit but here's a picture of one of the back roads I like to drive down like a nut case.



On the way to Mine Race circuit I went past the Nissin Cup Noodle factory. I'm sure you've seen these in the supermarket. They sell them all over the world.





Yakumo

 

Next time, bring bolt cutters and a gas powered rotary cutting device, do a few laps, then run.

 

nice pics as always was for new years eve around a week in tokyo but so bussy running around in akihabara maybe i upload some of my pics later

 

I love those noodles!

 

There are quite a few game companys with arcades. Off the top of my head there are the following.

Sega World
Sega Hi-Tec Land
Club Sega
Sega Geos
Namco Amusment Park
Namco Amusment Land
Taito Station
Noe Geo World (I knew of 2 but both are long gone now)

In Tokyo I remember a Capcom arcade and a Konami arcade as well.

 

Konami are into the gym business now. The only Namco one I remember was Inti, and it as well as gone. There's quite a few Taito Stations around. They also run Hey! in Akihabara.

 

I once went to a Konami sports center, where you could pay a small fee to freely partake in a number of different stuff ranging from bowling to baseball, tennis etcetera. Quite fun actually.

 

Yeah, but remember that sad state of arcades in the USA.
The few that remain are far between, americans are different than the Japanese that way.

AFAIK there are maybe four or five gameworks out there. All in big resort cities such as las vegas (where I live)

 

The highest density of arcade machines I've seen in America is in Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL.

Every resort has a decent sized arcade all of its own (23 in total resort hotels), plus those in the theme parks, and then of course DisneyQuest, which is a gigantic arcade with loads of VR stuff, all the machines in here are on free play you just pay a cover charge to go in.

Outside of that, it's usually just a few cabs at a mini golf course or go kart track. And boardwalks on the coastal cities usually have arcades too, but mostly filled with redemption machines and those stupid arm wrestling or punching bag things for meatheads to show off on.

 

If I were a child molester looking for arcades then japan ftw!

But really, what is that market in japan catering to to keep it alive... Pachinko and what? (zero sarcasm intended)

 

An arcade in Japan is either one of two places. A family chillout zone which is bright and colourful. The sort of place you'd take your girl for a date. Or you have the other side which are no so dark yet packed with machines and normally very smoky. These are the gamers arcades where the real gamers go to compete or just relax.

 

what i saw in tokyo shinjuku and akihabara was most time split houses like first 1-3 floors with all the prize win stuff get your next pokemon and so which where bright lit and all and then level 4 and up with the cramped dark smoky areas full of the normal arcade machines

walked into only a few taito station and sega club things but most of them where in this way set up

 

Ah yes, In Tokyo there are quite a few places like that. Probably cheaper to build arcades upwards than in a different building. Down here land is cheaper so the family and gamer aracdes tend to be different buildings.