Japanese Tourist Blog – Pre(r)amble

From September 25-October 13, or thereabouts, www.isuckatvideogames.com will become my Japanese tourist blog. Why put that stuff here? Because I can. And because video games and Japan go hand and hand. And because I am going to the Tokyo Game Show as part of my trip. And because I’m sure to go to Akihabara and buy too much video game crap. Well, see? There are lots of legitimate reasons!
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My trip outline has been completed, and it looks something like this:

Tokyo: Sept 26-Oct 2
Kytoto: Oct 3-7
Osaka: Oct 8
Tokyo: Oct 9-13

There are some big events in there. Let me tell you about the highlights are likely to be!

Sept 28: Sumo! I have two tickets to the final day of September’s Grand Sumo Tournament. I will get to see the crowning of the Yokozuna! I hope a Japanese guy can become one. The two current dudes are Mongolians!

Sept 29: Studio Ghibli Museum! This is so awesome. They say “you can do the whole thing in two hours.” I plan to be there for at least six. I’ll likely murder the gift shop. This is the most dangerous place in Japan for my wallet. I may stay till closing, depending upon how long it would take me to get to …

Sept 29: Judas Priest, Live at Budokan! Seeing a classic metal show at Budokan is kinda cliche and kinda awesome, and also really cliche and really awesome.

You’ll notice that there is a LOT of time in between now and the next big event. This will be taken up by trips to Nikko (to see monkeys and lakes), Kamakura (to see the giant Buddha), Nara (temples) and who knows what else? Japan is a big place, and I am a big guy, and we’ve got to get some big fun together. Kyoto will probably be somewhat more relaxing. I am staying in a smallish guesthouse there, and the host apparently makes meals for the people staying there. I hope that’s true; I could save some money to spend on crap (or presents for the likes of you.)

Oct 8: The Umeda Sky Building! There is a building in Osaka that looks to be one of the coolest anywhere in the world. There is a giant garden observatory on the roof overlooking the entire region. In order to get up to it, you need to go up this escalator that just floats above multiple stories. I can’t wait. Pictures to come!

Oct 11-12: Tokyo Game Show! The biggest video game show anywhere, this will be attended by tens of thousands of crazed Japanese video game fans. Many of them will be cosplaying, many of them will probably scare me, and all of them will entertain me to no end. I hear it’s nearly impossible to actually play any of the desired games during a visit to the show, but the point is the spectacle and the energy, and I have no doubt I will love it.

Other highlights will be riding the shinkansen–the bullet train, seeing the crazy kids in their crazy outfits in Shibuya, seeing the shops of the Ginza strip, shopping for electronics in Akihabara, getting confused by the trains and subways, and meeting interesting international travelers in the assortment of hostels I’ll be staying in.

That’s the basics. I’ll be blogging here when I can, as well as posting pictures on my Flickr account. I’d love suggestions or must-sees, so please send them along!