Posts Filed Under: japanland

Previous rumors aside, Mike figured out a way to swindle Kotaku into flying him out to TGS again this year.  I was informed too late to book my own travel arrangements, so I’m completely depressed holding down the fort here in LA.  To make the best of it, I’ve found some local things that may pacify my yearning to be checked into the Cerulean Tower with the rest of the Kotaku crew.

I visited Waraku on Abbot Kinney Blvd. this afternoon.   Not quite the same as shopping in Ginza or Takeshita-dori in Harajuku, but it is definitely a taste.

Speaking about taste, we have an oddly flavored candy, newly introduced in the States, that would give any bizzaro-candy in Japan a run for its money (who am I kidding?  Japan makes burger shaped chocolate-filled cookies called EveryBurger.)  The item I’m referring to is Ice Breakers Iced Tea Lemon flavored mints.  It’s like mainlining a spoonful of Lipton Iced Tea mix.

And with a couple clicks, I was perusing some homegrown videogame cosplay that will tide me over til I get back out to TGS (or Mike posts some of his pic’s).  This anonymous 4chan’er is creating quite simply a masterpiece with his version of Tyrael.

I’ll be hanging out on Sawtelle Blvd. a lot this week, drowning my sorrows in sake if anyone wants to join me.

Looking back, I question some of my decisions, more specifically my choices whether or not to attend certain events.  Like the time I opted not to fly to Boston for Mike’s 30th birthday, or the time I didn’t join Dave and his closest on his three day bachelor party in Vegas.  I come up with logical excuses, like round trip tickets are over $500 now, or I got mid-terms on Monday, or I need to maintain employment.  Fuck that.  These things were once in a lifetime events.

Well, I just had another one of those moments.  My friends Brian Ashcraft and Jean Snow are throwing a release party for their book, Arcade Mania!, right now as I type this.  ¥500 drinks are being served at Cafe Pause in Ikebukuro, and music is being spun by Jason DeGroot (6955), whoever the hell that is*, but that’s not the point.  The people attending will be an eclectic mix of American expatriates, witty designers, and local hipsters who all share an interest in something I myself am passionate about: arcade games.  Luckily after they eat at MOS BURGER or Bape Cafe tomorrow, all nursing mild hangovers, they can hop a train headed to Electric Town and play the new Elevator Action game, Street Fighter IV, or the Castlevania arcade game that uses some sort of motion whip controller.

I’ll probably drive around dirty LA this weekend, apartment hunting.  But all the while I’ll be wishing it was Ebisu, Roppongi, or Shibuya.  Congratulations, Brian and Jean!

*I found out a little more about Jason DeGroot.  He makes chiptune music under the name 6955, and coaxes sound out of Famicom consoles.  He’s also part of the team working on the game, Fez.  Currently residing in Montreal with the rest of the development team, he wasn’t at the Arcade Mania launch party, just prepared a mix.

Something you might not know about Meat Bun co-founder Scott is that he has a gift for pachinko. When we visited Akihabara a few years ago, with the above Evangelion promo was running at a pachinko hotspot — no photos allowed inside — his natural ball bearing aiming skills surfaced. We later had his wrists professionally gauged. Both joints have an average suppleness rating of 9.41, practically unheard of in a caucasian.

Sadly, as it appears that Tokyo Game Show is not in my future plans, I’m even more devastated to learn of the release of 24: The Pachislot, recently promoted by Carlos “Tony Almeda” Barnard and bikini model Aki Hoshino in Tokyo to great effect. There’s a PlayStation 2 version coming, but it just won’t be the same without the blaring sounds, the stench of Marlboros and the intense confusion of a pachinko parlor.

At least there’s shitty art.

Having just seen Keifer and Carlos at Comic-Con — this is about as hard as I nerd out, by the way — makes the inaccessibility of 24: The Pachislot that much harder on my being.

Perhaps the most distressing thing about skipping the annual Tokyo trip this year is that no Japanese commuters will find restful slumber upon our shoulders.

Uwe Boll, this is for you: Tenacious D – Cosmic Shame

JB & KG are swooping down and telling you to STOP in the form of this petition. You will never make a video game related movie that looks as good as the upcoming Onechanbara.

Just like the Simple 2000 budget series video game, it is going to be so bad it’s good. Please face it, Uwe, this concept has been elusive at best your entire “career”, and will never be within your grasp.

That is how you throw a grand opening celebration.  With a DJ mix that sounded like it was straight out of WOMB, we knew ROYAL/T pulled all the stops to kick things off right.  Even details like maids servicing the people lining up outside were not over looked.  Once inside, I do not think I was once without a cocktail, ranging from espresso martinis to some innocent looking fresh-squeezed watermelon concoctions that proved to be anything but innocent.

The art collection was straight out of the pages of Superflat, and will probably be easier to appreciate when ROYAL/T isn’t at max capacity like it was last night.  I can imagine this space (for lack of a better term) will be quite delightful when afternoon tea is being formally served by its attentive and doting staff.  But when they aren’t concerned about waking the neighbors, they can make you think you just stumbled out of a club in Roppongi Hills.

A small graft of Akihabara has been planted within walking distance of my apartment on Washington Blvd. in beautiful Culver City. Whether or not this graft takes and sprouts new growth remains to be seen, but I for one am excited to see the addition of ROYAL/T, LA’s first Japanese-style Maid cosplay cafe, to my neighborhood.

It seems they are expanding the scope of what a “traditional” maid-cafe offers, with an extensive art gallery and book/gift shop. I would also imagine they are going to downplay the fetish aspect of these cafes. But who knows. That remains to be seen. I’ll know it has gone too far when Yakuza deny me access to a groping-friendly train-themed cafe opening across the street.

The Grand Opening is tomorrow, and I will let you know how it goes with a hands-on impression.