Well, let's be honest. Tokyo is pretty big. So I shouldn't have been surprised that I couldn't explore nearly as much as I wanted to. It didn't help my mission any that I was on foot and a tight schedule. Still, I managed to scope out the central areas of Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Akihabara today.
I know those are gibberish to most of you. I'll get there.
First I went to Ikebukuro. Forget what I said about the enormous department stores in Osaka. Ikebukuro is home to two of the largest in the world: the Tobu and Seibu dept. stores. I only went to one, Seibu, figuring that they were really about the same. Honestly, it was very much similar to the one in Osaka, except for the size. The Seibu in Tokyo is at least ten stories. And one of them is a full blown supermarket. It was so huge that I only explored a couple of floors, checked the map, and ignored the parts I didn't care about (mostly women's fashion...and men's fashion. I didn't come to Japan to improve my image).
On their food floor there was a vast array of cakes (yes, I know. Now I find cake...), Japanese treats, vegetables, as well as meats and fried foods of all kinds. And fish. The place smelled strongly. It should be noted that the worlds largest Department store is in Yokohama, Japan, and is also a Seibu.
When I finished there, I went over to Shinjuku, one of the biggest shopping districts in Japan. I hear it also has a sword museum, but I couldn't find it. Everything is huge in Shinjuku. There is a massive mall complex in a skyscraper, and four whole floors of it are devoted to Tower Records. That's right. There are four story music stores in Japan.
More interestingly, I've been nearing the end of my book after riding six to eight hours in a train every day for the last week. So I was looking to buy the sequel. I found this.
You probably can't read the words, but do you see that lavender color on the floor map? That's a book store. A seven-story book store. Literally the coolest thing I have ever seen. It reminded me of the two-story bookstores I've been to in America, except for the fact that it is mostly Japanese books. But if any bookstore in Japan would have the sequel to my American novel, it would be this one.
I was actually very impressed by their selection of foreign books. Fully half a floor is devoted to books in other languages, mostly English. I found my book, and almost bought a couple more, before I remembered that I was running out of space to pack things in.
After Shinjuku, I went to Akihabara. Akihabara is the center of Japanese "Otaku" culture, which basically means a hardcore fan of a particular thing. This is a big cultural difference from America. If an American in his twenties, working for a business company, collected statues of giant fighting robots from an animated television show, it would be ridiculous. But in Japan, while it is still not a mainstream habit, it does happen. Most of the people in the hobby and model shops were people in suits.
I have puzzled long and hard over why this and many other forms of Otaku culture spring up in Japan while they are thought of as uniformly immature in America. I think it has something to do with the group nature of Japanese society. In high school you most likely wear a uniform and you are expected to be in clubs and devote yourself to that group. The same happens in college, and when you enter the workforce you are likely one of many people working for a massive corporation, and you sort of get lost. My theory is that it's a way for Japanese to be individuated while still being a group member during the day.
I also would like to clarify the difference in Japanese animation "anime" and American "cartoons". I find this also is a reason for the difference in fandom here versus America. In America, "cartoons" are traditionally for children. There are exceptions (South Park, Family Guy), but for the most part cartoons are considered for children. In Japan there is no such distinction. Sure, there are anime for children, but there are also anime for adults, and for specific groups. Certain anime appeal to young men and boys while other appeal to middle aged housewives. It is as diverse as dramas are in America. Also, anime have, without question, an overarching plot that encompasses multiple episodes in a linear way. American television (not just cartoons) is often serialized in such a way that you don't need to watch in any particular order. But with anime, it's all about the story. It breeds a much more plot-oriented audience, which invests them in the characters, and so they remain fans for much longer.
That's my theory, anyway.
I didn't get many pictures today, as I mostly walked in and around stores and they don't like you taking pictures. But here they are.
Cory
No comments:
Post a Comment