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Now Entering Japan. Please Have Exact Change Ready

Japan is almost notorious for being efficient. On the plane, before you even get there, you're given a very official-looking form that has a lot of Japanese on it and says in big bold English letters "FOREIGNER EMBARKATION CARD." You have to fill out basic things like your name, where you're coming from, why you're in Japan, and where you'll be staying. Since I was staying with a friend who had just moved, I didn't know the street address, so I just put the city. They seemed surprised and asked me about it; when I answered them in Japanese, they seemed satisfied and let me go on my way.
After that, it was a seeming blur of events. Getting on the train. Getting off the train. Moving to another train. And so it went until I finally reached my destination, which, by my calculations, was somewhere in the middle of Hokkaido. Or Massachusetts.

Enough with the Cherry Blossoms, OK?

I was very fortunate to be in Japan just as the cherry blossoms are blooming. It signals the end of winter and, since the blossoms last for only a few days, it is something very special. People often go out and have picnics and barbecues under the blooming cherry trees.
Also, apparently by law ¾ of all arable land must be covered in cherry trees. One of my friends felt it was her duty to point out each individual tree to me. Because I wouldn't notice a tree that was entirely pink, I suppose. So while walking through a park after about the fourth day of appreciating all this loveliness and I turned to her and said, "Now I know what it feels like to live inside a bottle of Pepto Bismol." She smiled and promised to stop pointing out each cherry tree that we saw. [She did later point out a Hello Kitty with a Cherry Blossom motif, but I guess that technically doesn't count.]

Full Bags, Empty Wallet

But Japan wasn't all nature and serenity. No sir, there was a lot of shopping too. You see, when you tell people who are anime fans that you're going to Japan, they tend to load you up with lists of stuff that they want. The more friends you have, the more suitcases you'd better bring. And while some things are small and easy to find, there's always that one person who sends you on the equivalent of the anime Holy Grail. And they really pour the guilt on when they ask you to get them stuff, too...
Luckily, Akihabara, with the sign of the big, smiling angler fish, welcomes tourists and their money to the electronics shopping district. There's a great chain of stores called "Liberty" that sell lots of used videos, CDs, and games (and new ones as well...) And there are about fifty of them in Akihabara. There are lots of other stores there as well. You can find a lot of stuff used, and it's a nice way to build a collection.
However, it's interesting to note that with the advent of DVD, the LD, once the king of anime media, now seems to be on its way out, even in Japan. Used DVDs are not cheap, though—only about ¾ off their regular retail price in many cases—but it doesn't seem to matter. LDs are quickly becoming the forgotten stepchild of anime. Those Limited Edition EVA LD boxes that fans were scrambling to get when the series first came out because they would be "impossible to find" later on? I saw about 20 of them (each box) stacked in a corner of one of these stores. I don't think they could have GIVEN them away. So if you're into cheap anime, LD is still the way to go. But be warned, they are heavy...
So, after exploring Akihabara and Nakano and finding a suitable Tarepanda to take home, the shopping was done for a little while. My arms (and my wallet) needed a break. So I managed to put together some interviews with some anime studios while I was there.

They Have Food Courts?

Of course, as with all good vacations, a lot of the time was spent eating. In fact, we seemed to close down just about every restaurant we went to for dinner. One place even played "Auld Lang Syne" when it was time to close, a sort of musical hint. I impressed my friends by what I ate—which was pretty much everything they did—but I still managed to avoid eating natto (whew!).
There's a lot of familiar food in Japan. McDonalds, KFC, and even Sizzler. There's also an Anna Millers pie shop where apparently they don't allow you to keep your knives if you just order pie. They just come by and take the offensive pieces of silverware and whisk them away. Either that, or they were just disarming us. The best part for me, though, was all the unusual places where we ate. We ate a takoyaki place where we actually had to make our own. That was entertaining and a little bit disconcerting, but they turned out pretty well. And the night before I returned home, I was treated by a friend to a very special dinner of eel at a very traditional Japanese restaurant.
So, if you're in the mood for an adventure, Japan can be a fun place, but if all you really want to do is shop for anime, then you're probably better off staying home and just doing your shopping over the web. Going to Japan is an unique experience, after all.

Ex animo,

Charles McCarter
Publisher/Editor in Chief