Coming from the city of Saskatoon, I’m used to certain things that occur naturally (well, as naturally as can be with humans around).  One of those things I expect is the ability to see at night.   Now, I’m not talking about ‘night vision’ or Dwarf Sight (for those of you who know what Shadowrun / Shadow Run is, you’ll get that reference).  No, what I’m talking about is the ability to see at night due to a very bright moon or at the very least, low clouds year-round that bounce-back much of the light pollution that occurs from city street lights (most often an orange hue).

This is not the case in Tokyo, or in most parts of Japan for that matter and to be honest, I’m not sure why.  I’m sure I could do research into the subject of why it is seems to much darker here than compared back home in Canada but to be blunt, I’m too lazy and really don’t care enough to do anything other than write a post on my website and comment about this phenomenon.  So that then raises the question… why is it darker here?  I also noticed the same thing when visiting North Carolina.  My conclusion is only this….

As Saskatchewan is in the center of the the continent (well, more or less), it is higher in elevation, thus closer to the clouds and easier to have light reflected back from the clouds there-by making it brighter at night.  As for being brighter on a moon-filled night… maybe it’s just closer to the moon?   Maybe?   C’mon, what do YOU think?

Back home in Canada, the walls of my room within my families house along with my apartment in Calgary were constantly plastered with various posters, post-cards, drawings and other things I considered to be ‘artistic’ in one sense or another.  That artistic idea even expanded as far as to keep a poster of a video game that came as an insert within a magazine (Need for Speed pt .2 I think it was).  As I got older, the posters were replaced.  Nirvana found it’s way into the garbage can while RUSH took it’s place.  Sorry Mr. Kobain.

Here in Tokyo, the walls are pretty bare, other than a few sticky hooks that i use to hold up a few memory keys and other accessories.  That said, there is one thing that has been on the wall since I got here, a bit of an ‘ode to friends’ that I like to keep up proving to myself that I don’t forget friends simply because I moved to a new country.  This one particular poster (rather an 8X10 [inch] photograph print) is a shot taken by a buddy of mine of my good friend Ken back home in Saskatoon.  We share a particular hobby and kinship based on humor, cynicism and intelligence.  I can proudly say he is one of the best men I’ve met in my life and I’m honored to consider him a friend.

There are still very few things that surprise me here in Tokyo, however every now and then I run across something that’s just so strange, so different and sometimes so unappetizing that I can’t help but say “What in the hell is that!?”  This Noodle Sandwich is one of those cases.

On the outside, it looks like a fairly common sandwich (only it’s had the crusts removed and has been heat-sealed shut so whatever is between the layers of bread has no chance of escaping).  The bread too is considered to be ‘mochi-mochi’ (very chewy and soft) which confuses the mind upon taking a bite considering what you run into within the layers.  Inside of the sandwich is a strange mix of teriyaki sauce, thick soba sauce and fried noodles, much akin to something you would find at an outdoor festival.

I choked down the entire package worth and was surprised to discover that there are some things after-all here in Tokyo that can give me heart-burn.

Upon first arriving in Japan 7 years ago, one thing I was NOT expecting to surprise me were the video games and arcades.  Sure, you can find UFO (grabby-machines) games that let you win actual pets such as stray cats, dogs and even gold-fish from within the container itself  (see and up-coming post about them), but I simply was not interested in the gaming scene here at all.  No, it wasn’t until I returned to Canada that I started playing a fair share of games and eventually started playing some World of Warcraft, thanks to my buddy Paulie.

Not having played too many arcade games myself, I never thought to go into an arcade here, other than once or twice to look around for a toilet.  It wasn’t until I was marching my way from Shibuya to Akihabara on an airsoft finding mission that I cam across this one little game center somewhere close to Tokyo Station.  What makes it different from most isn’t that it has a fancy sign… because it didn’t.  It’s not unique because it has rich clientelle…. because all the people in there were youths under 25.  It certainly wasn’t that it had a good reputation either as I went to the toilet (hey, I told you I only go into arcades for one reason!) and found peoples phone numbers scratched into the walls and typical graffiti.   No, what made this place different from the rest is that it payed YOU to play the video games.

The initial investment into the game was 1000 yen for a game-card that tracked what you played and kept a database of your characters, sports teams and vehicles won (and purchased) through the machines themselves.  As players played more and more, they gained levels in certain games and every time a player gained a level, they would ‘win’ 100 yen (about a dollar back home… well, these days, perhaps as much as about $1.60).  What was eerie about this one particular arcade is that it was full with young people, most looked as if they were friends, however not a single person was talking, everyone was engrossed in their games.  Now, I would have snapped more photos, but there were a series of workers keeping an eye on this new white-face that entered into their business and I noticed the “no photography” signs scattered throughout.

This sort of idea is no where new, but it’s become more and more popular recently with games such as “Godfinger”, “We Rule” and other games from companies such as Zynga Entertainment who let you play for free, but if you want to upgrade your characters/teams quickly (ie: are too lazy) and don’t want to spend the time playing to gain new levels, you can purchase ‘points’ or in the case of “We Rule”,  ‘Mojo’ which lets you quickly upgrade.  Some of these points cost nothing more than a few cents, while others, such as a “Case of Mojo” (as opposed to the other quantities – a ‘flask’, a ‘carafe’ and a ‘vial’) which retails for $30 USD.  I’m not going to speculate on which came first… the Mojo or the Arcade, but it’s certainly a good marketing strategy, especially when games are considered fairly addictive these days.

While speaking with a friend recently, he told me how his trip to Australia over the past couple of weeks was very pleasant, especially as he was surrounded by “normal architecture” such as old colonial style houses and regular looking skyscrapers and apartments.  We compared the differences between architecture here in Tokyo and abroad and came to the conclusion that more often than not, the strange and interesting architecture in buildings here is nothing more than for the look.  Now, that is not to say it is a bad thing, however sometimes it gets ‘old’ to be ‘new and outlandish’.  I do agree that it would be nice to walk down a street somewhere in Tokyo and see a row of houses that look like they belong on Sturgeon Drive in Saskatoon.  Sadly, it hasn’t happened yet, nor do I think it will.

What do you think about the architecture and styles in Japan?