So, we finally come to the moment we've all been waiting for... it's time to cross something off of my goals list!

In years past, I'd always read about such events as 'E3' or 'TGS'. To me, they sounded like an exotic gamer's paradise where one could experience the cutting edge of gaming. I never would have thought that I would someday attend one of these hallowed events.

Going to the Tokyo game show was not something that I had really planned all that far in advance, unlike my trip to the Ghibli Museum. I was just sitting at home one day, browsing the net (something I'm trying to do less of) when it occurred to me that I would be in Japan at the time of the show. So, shortly after arriving in Japan, I set about asking people whether they wanted to come as well!

Fortunately, there were several others in the dorm who liked games or just wanted to go to see what was what, so a group of us went on the Sunday just past (the 27th).
Getting there was quite a journey - half an hour on the Yamanote line to Tokyo station, then another half-hour or so out to Chiba (near Narita Airport). We were initially unsure as to whether we were on the right train, but became reassured by the amount of fellow passengers we saw brandishing DSs or PSPs (mostly DSs - they seem to be more popular here. As such, I think I shall be getting one too...to learn Japanese more (yep, you keep telling yourself that Dan!)).

Once we got to our destination, it wasn't all that hard to figure out where to go. We just had to follow the long crowd of attendees/signs/advertising people/directing people.

There was quite a long queue to get in, but we actually didn't have to wait all that long.


Once inside we were free to do as we wished - almost. Due to the sheer amount of people crammed inside this (admittedly large) hall, taking photos was supposedly not allowed in most areas. However, most people managed a quick snap or two (or more - depending on the amount of dressed up women around - but more on that later).
Basically, the setup was such that each game production company (or publisher, eg Sony Computer Entertainment or Microsoft) had their own booth. If you wanted to play a game, you had to line up. Many of the more popular games, namely Final Fantasy XIII, also only had a limited amount of tickets available, so if you weren't there within minutes of opening time, you had no hope of playing the game.



I waited in line to play Gran Turismo 5. When I entered, the ETA to play time was supposedly 2 hours, but in the end it wasn't that long at all. Besides, there were many things to occupy my time with, such as watching the HUGE Sony screen showing trailers of various games (I want to play the sequel to ICO and Shadow of the Colossus... looks so cool!) and watching the people play Uncharted 2. Now THAT is an amazing looking game - the graphics are breathtaking!
Oh, that and the SLS AMG Gullwing which just happened to be situated near the end of the line:



Here's what I thought about the various games I saw at the show...:

• Gran Turismo 5 - awesome. I've played GT5 Prologue many times before so it wasn't *all* that new, but the finished package is going to be amazing. So much detail and love has gone into that game.
• GT PSP - Very cool. It's pretty much GT4 portable, sans a career mode and with added Italian exotica! However, I don't think I'll be getting a PSP anymore, and that's partly to do with the lack of career mode. If it was GT4, but mobile.....
• Final Fantasy XIII - what can I say? From the little I saw... *want*.
• Assasin's Creed 2: Watched the trailer but did not get to play it unfortunately. However, if the first game is any indication, it's going to be amazing. The fact that it's set in Venice helps too.
• Ni no Kuni -  a DS RPG with the art done by Studio Ghibli. This, then, is perhaps the main reason why I will be getting a DS instead of a PSP.
• Left 4 Dead 2 - sadly I did not realise this was showing until the very end of the show (possibly because it was located in the Microsoft area), and by then the line had closed :(

Before I finish this (admittedly long) post, I think I should mention the one thing that (I think) sets TGS apart from other, western game events: the cosplayers.
As we were walking to the show, my friends and I kept noticing people carrying what appeared to be small suitcases. Whatever could they be for? And why were most of these people female?
It didn't take us long to figure out why... and I'll let the photos do the talking!




PS: Sorry for the long post - I think I'll try to have shorter/more regular posts in the future~

My family are huge fans of Studio Ghibli's films. It started off when Matteo and I were very young - our dad, staying up late watching SBS one night in the early 90s, happened to stumble upon Porco Rosso. It must have just been released at the time, and the mix of Japanese animation (which has attained mainstream recognition these days but back then must have seemed very exotic) with an Italian setting and theme left him in awe. Apparently, he went out to find the movie on video the very next day, just so he could show it to his two young boys.
I have only the foggiest memory of a memory of this occuring, but in light of my recent fascination with Ghibli movies and (high quality) Japanese animation I am certain that the story has an element of truth to it. Something must have appealed to me while my mind was still young and malleable!

Because of this, there was no way that my family could visit Tokyo without a trip to the Jiburi Bijutsukan (Ghibli Museum). This amazing building is located in the middle of a park in quiet (compared to Shinjuku anyway) Mitaka, about a twenty minute train ride from Shinjuku. It was only a short walk from the station, but for the sake of the whole experience we took the nekobasu bus. I didn't get a photo, but imagine a small bus painted yellow and with stripes!

Along the way there were numerous signs pointing visitors in the right direction:

Like many museums, we were not allowed to take any photos while inside. However, the Ghibli museum actually gave a reason for this restriction beyond simply wanting to protect their property - they believe that the museum should be experienced with ones own eyes, not through a viewfinder.
Inside there were many interesting things to be seen. One of the highlights for me was a permanent exhibit that showcased the history of animation. Through various moving models, they showed how the illusion of animation could be achieved. Although this exhibition really has to be seen to be understood, one example was a series of plastic figures rotating around a central pole which, when subjected to a strobe light, appeared to be moving (like a claymation film almost).
We were also treated to seeing a short film that was exclusive to visitors of the museum. While I could not understand much of it, I got the general gist of it and, like all Ghibli films, thoroughly enjoyed it.
One exhibit that I could not partake in was the fluffy nekobasu (catbus) filled with plush soot-balls. It was restricted to children 12 years and under.... I sure do miss being a kid :'(

Here's a picture of me with the giant statue on the roof, and a souvenir I picked up:

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Studio Ghibli museum - and especially because I was fortunate enough to go there with my family. I guess it's a case of 'you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone' - I never thought that I would miss my family this much~~ :)

PS: Went to the Tokyo Game Show today. Should do a blog post about that sometime soon!

Fortunately or not, my family were in Tokyo over the weekend. Before I left for Japan, I was dreading it - was it too soon after I had arrived? Would they disrupt my other activities?
As it turns out, I really enjoyed spending time with them. Having my family around just when everything seemed overwhelming was very welcome as they provided familiar faces and comfort. Thanks for coming guys!

One of the highlights of their stay was our visit to the sushi restaurant, Sushi-zen. This restaurant was one outlet of a branch of famous restaurants originating in the northern island of Hokkaido. As this particular restaurant was located on the 46th floor of the massive Caretta building in Shiodome, there was no way we could have discovered it on our own. In fact, it was recommended to us by an avid Primo Estate fan who grew up in Tokyo - thanks!

The building's logo:

The turtle motif continued to the awesome water feature in the courtyard by the bottom of the tower:


Riding the glass elevator some 46 stories up to the restaurant was a somewhat unnerving experience - but the view it gave us was majestic. I didn't take a photo at the time, but here's a photo of the Tokyo sunset from my family's hotel room to give you an idea (sorry about the glare - it was taken through glass):


Once in the restaurant, we were ushered into a small room which consisted of a small kitchen and adjoining bar. This is what we had come all this way for - to see a sushi master at work!
We were to have one chef looking after us exclusively for the entire night, and luckily for us our chef, whose name escapes me at the moment, spoke some English.
What followed was an evening that will surely go on to be one of the highlights of my life (I won't say it will never happen again, because I'm an optimist ^__^). The chef carefully prepared everything fresh by hand, serving up his favourite courses of sashimi and sushi, carefully one after the other. Everything was done at a relaxed pace, but each mouthful was simply sublime, so it was worth the wait.

A somewhat dodgy photo of the kitchen and settings:


Crab meat. This started off as an entire crab - the chef carefully and time consumingly extracted all of the flesh from the crab and split it into five serves. I wish I had taken a photo of the crab while it was still whole - it was quite imposing!

On Wednesday we all had to take a Japanese language test in order to place us into the correct class level.

The test consisted basically of 'fill-in-the-blank' type questions, as well as a short essay in Japanese. I had never done an essay in Japanese before and my skills were a little rusty from being on holidays for so long, so I was apprehensive about doing the test.
It turns out that my worries weren't unfounded - but for all the wrong reasons.
There are eight levels of Japanese that you can be assigned to, and from looking at the course booklet I expected to be enrolled in level 2. This is because level one used the textbook that I had used back in Adelaide. We have 9 hours of Japanese class a week here, which is three times as much as I did in Adelaide, so one semester of study here is equal to 3 semesters back in Aus (basically my entire Japanese language experience). So I thought level 2 was a safe bet.
But I was wrong. For some unknown reason, I was placed into level 3. Waaa! While that is somewhat flattering, my Japanese really isn't that great and I want to pick up from where I left off. Luckily, we can change classes, so I will be doing that as soon as possible. I really want to learn Japanese!!

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd make a little blog post to let you guys know how I'm doing. I arrived in Tokyo yesterday (Monday) morning with little fuss (aside from the many hours of delays in Sydney) and I'm already enjoying my trip immensely!
Whilst I was on the flights I made a point of getting to know the people I was sitting next to. I met a lot of interesting people, but perhaps the most interesting was Suzuki-san, a Japanese man I met on the Sydney-Tokyo leg. I talked (I should say listened) at length with this man and learned of many interesting things, not the least of which was his personal history. He was an ex-motorbike-racer turned businessman and (get this) Greenpeace anti-whaling activist. It was amazing talking to him!

There's a lot that I want to say about Japan already, but I have my Japanese placement test on tomorrow so I think I'll head off to sleep. I hope my future blog posts can be more entertaining than this one ;)

I do have a treat for you all though - a video of my shoebox! Wait, no, it's a room... (click the title link to go to the actual blog page if you can't see it below).

It's funny how life just keeps giving you surprises. How it seems to know what you want, and conspire to give you all that you desired, and more.
The other night, the day after I'd published my 'goals' post, my dad brought it up in conversation (yes, I did give my parents the address of this blog - whether that is a good thing or a bad thing I'm not sure at this point >.>).
"Daniel", he says, "I noticed that you said that one of your goals was to drive a GT-R."
"Yes", I replied tentatively, unsure of what he was getting at. I know he disregards all Japanese cars as 'soulless', even though his first car was a Mitsubishi Lancer with custom rims and an aftermarket soundsystem.
I let him go on.
"Well, I thought that before you left, you should have something to compare it to, just in case you do get to drive one. You know I do have a sportscar here myself..."*
...
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. After four and a half years, he was finally going to let me drive his car! It was a big risk on his part (insurance-wise), but I guess he trusted me. And my spotless record couldn't have hurt (let us forget that one time on the dirt road...).

Anyway, on Sunday morning (yes, Father's Day) he drove me down to the wide-open roads of Regency Park. The last time I was here was way back when I was a learner!
I drove the car, first with him in the passenger seat, and then all by myself. How was it?
Amazing. It has an engine twice as big and three times as powerful as my little ol' Pug, and it showed. Acceleration was effortless. Changing gears was a breeze with the paddle-shift, and surprisingly responsive too! But the best part of it was the sound. Putting your foot down with the window open - that's all the sound system you'll ever need.

At least now I'll have something to compare the GT-R to.  ^___~

*Some artistic liberty may have been taken while recording this conversation.

I'm a great believer in goals. I think that they are an essential part of life and that if you haven't set yourself a goal, any goal, then you aren't living your life to its fullest (feel free to dispute that claim in the comments!).
My goal up until now has been to travel to Japan. I'm about to fulfil that, so it's time to think of some new things to aim towards!
Specifically, these goals will be things that I hope to achieve during my stay in Japan. Some are almost a given, some may be a little odd and some may seem impossible, but I'll write them all down just the same.

My goals for 2009-2010:

• Become ペラペラ in Japanese. (if you don't know what that means, look it up!)
• Attend a Tohoshinki concert, preferably at Tokyo Dome, with Jaejoong Sweat Seats!
• Visit my friends in Japan, particularly those outside of Tokyo (Yuri in Nagoya and Izumi and Pei in Osaka)
• Visit the super-awesome life-sized Gundam.
• Stumble upon an unassumingly awesome bar behind a non-descript, heavy door.
• Attend the Tokyo Game Show.
• Attend the Tokyo Motor Show.
• Go skiing (perhaps!).
• Play some Yukigassen?
  
• Have a photo taken with those crazy Harajuku-types.
• Stumble upon a street-racing scene or Touge event.
• Learn to cook and clean for myself.
  
• Update this blog once a week (yikes!)
  

And the super-challenge goals:

• Get some Tohoshinki signatures at a fan-signing event.
• Somehow appear on Japanese television.
• Convince someone to let me drive a GT-R (this is definitely in the 'impossible' category!)

That's all I can think of for now. I may think of some more over time - and I'll let you know when I do!

12 days to go...