This past week was especially hectic for me. Special thanks to my Modern Jpn Lit. class who had assigned Mishima Yukio’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion as required reading…and myself, for not starting early enough in the weekend to avoid having to sacrifice all available free time to complete this verbose, heavy-layered, 262-page novel. I will say though that after being shown an aged documentary of this iconic creator of Japanese literature, I now have utmost admiration for who this man was and how he chose to live. I would be overstating if I dared to liken my manner of approaching the many interests of my life to him, but many psychological aspects of this man remind me of myself. I had only completed a little more than two-thirds of the novel when my professor showed that video on Wednesday. Mishima awakened a passion in me to truly live my dreams that was so uncontrollable that I ran back to my quarters with eyes wide open and a carefree grin. I felt as if I could write anything I wanted, as though I could complete his novel with avid anticipation, that I could shed and disregard the world around me and reform it with the fearful empowerment of pen and paper. I truly felt happy to be alive – Mishima’s story captivated me in every sense of the word, and never limited himself or his time in this life, ending it at his very prime with the samurai ritual of seppikku. An amazing individual indeed. Now I must somehow read Sun and Steel, one of his essays that I’ve already heard is just as complex, by Wednesday.

Well, enough of school talk. The following images are from Nanba, an shopping & electronics district in downtown Osaka that I visited the Friday night before last. The majority are images from inside this awesome game shop that I never learned the name of and of the Tower Records we visited. In my disappointment of not owning a Japanese PS2, I took a lot of pictures of games I want to play/buy. Aside from that, the group I went with (which included Dave) broke off into three groups – my group being Rob and Kanae (my speaking partner). With this being my first time so far away from the Seminar Houses, I made an effort to really make the best of this outing, even though Kanae insisted she was having a good time, but remained tight-lipped as usual. My previous hopes of her opening up were, more or less, in vain…

And to clear up confusion with my previous entry, the shot of my professor in the large room was not a classroom. It was his short Orientation shpeel for all the international students who might take his courses. Orientation was before classes started.

And now, on with the pictures.


A very popular shoujo manga series in Japan called “Rabu Kon” (Love Con). Kanae let me borrow her first five volumes. Hopefully I’ll get around to reading them. The other items are sweets given to me as a gift from “Q-chan,” who went to Kyushu the same day I arrived in Japan.


Straight-on angle.


The back of the game Melty Blood: Act Cadenza. A TYPE-MOON title that Rob & I would really like to own, as we are rabid fans of T-M’s work. And the game pwnzorz.


A life-sized statue of Snake. Not a fan of MGS, but hey. Thought it was cool.


Various games and visual novel (novella) games. Notably Ai Yori Aoshi


I was two seconds from buying this incredible game…and then I remembered Region blockage. I wanted to weep, but Kanae was by my side the entire time. This is the game (among many others, as I’ve come to find) that will make me buy a Japanese PS2. Period.


The back of NamcoXCapcom. Chances are, I will be buying a silver or white, slim-style, Jpn PS2 around the time I will leave Japan. No television in my room, and too lazy to spend additional yen on making Kana-Chan (my laptop) like a tv. I may bring back this game and probably a novella game if I actually go through with it. I’m sure they would be a hit for the Jpn Club’s SuDaKaRe in the Spring.


The entrance of the store from the inside. It was…anou…how you say in America…’offu the hookku?’ …deshou ka ne.


Only in Japan will you see a “shrine” for a video game company. This one being SquareEnix. The main showcase? The FFIII remake. FTW? Quite so.


A closer look at the showcase.


Another game I want much. Says the person who hasn’t beaten Infection yet… >_>


It’s fsckin’ Shana! ^^ Buy her game or face her fiery, chibified wrath! Not to mention her katana.


On the warpath to Tower Records. Rob had been to Nanba before, so he was leading the way. You’ll notice a pattern in my shots from here on.


Tower Records ho!


Another reason to be deathly afraid of Japan…


You know it.


Was trying not to look gaijin-ish again…You get the gist.


People who read may have been wondering what my speaking partner looks like. So here’s Kanae holding her favorite Aiko CD. Aiko and her music is currently very loved in Japan by males and females. I’ve heard one of her CDs and I agree to some extent. Has good replay value.


Rob likes Aiko too.


Rob & I agreed that this was too amusing to pass up. I mean, taking the picture -_-


The area in which we walked through & saw the sign shot in the previous image. It was a very interesting passage, for lack of a better term of what it was.


Was amused. The crab moved its legs. The Japanese love them some seafood!


On our way to a Tsutaya in the area. As we walked farther down, the area became really crowded and trashy. Osaka nightlife, ya know?


The game/manga lower level of Tsutaya. Complete with yet another FFIII “shrine.”


Like manga? Well, I do too. Japan publishes EVERYTHING. Learn to read japanese and buy straight from the source without having to do your homework to find out if a page has been edited. I still have much love for Del-Rey, but after being spoiled with 300-400 Yen manga, buying translated copies in the states will probably turn into less of a necessity, while my kanji self-teaching might, in turn, become more rigorous. No guarantees, as usual.


Any Air Gear fans? They’re already up to Vol. 15 here I believe. Curse my low kanji comprehension count…On top of that, the previews for Air Gear ep. 25 are saying that it’s the final episode! I will be severely pissed if they don’t do another season, though I’ll be purchasing the manga anyway.


Narultimate Hero 3


This game has become crazy cheap here…Want the game? Take this as a hint.


The underground mall strip leading to and from the train terminal. This took us about 10-15 minutes to walk all the way through. As always, convenience is Japan’s forte. So is the consumer market, if you haven’t noticed.


Shown: “Zev” (Canada) and Dave. The aftermath of our elongated trip at a restaurant, minus David & Rob who stayed behind to hit up the arcade.


The CD I bought from Tower Records, as well as the only item I walked away with from the Nanba outing. High & Mighty Color is an awesome band. They inspire me creatively.


The back


A page of the inner book

Now…time for homework/studying/reading for the rest of my craptastic rainy day. Feel free to thank me later. Whee.

Currently Listening To: FictionJunction YUUKA – Silly-Go-Round – .Hack//Roots OP Theme – “Silly-Go-Round”