In Japan - UFO Catcher & Game Centers

Yup, I got everything from various game center's UFO catchers. It's kind of hard to approximate my success rate because I've developed skills to catch small plushies and large, relatively light boxes. Medium sized plushies are a little harder to get but if my mood is good and my luck is decent, I could get one out of 10 tries (100 yen per try). As for big dolls... I've never had one. The stuffs I caught above probably worth about 3500 yen, and I think it's pretty darn cheap because that Hatsune Miku figure costs 2800 yen if you buy it at stores in Akihabara.

It started 2 years ago when I visited Japan over Thanksgiving break. As you would expect, Japan's game centers are filled with game machines of the latest technologies. I'd love to post a lot of pictures of the machines but photos are not allowed inside game centers. I'm not sure what the exact reason is but I think it has something to do with the gamers' privacy.

Unlike in other countries I've been to, UFO Catchers if Japan offer wide varieties of goods, and almost all of them are possible to get. In the US, the UFO catcher's hands are too weak and I've never seen anyone successful. Here in Japan, the success rate of getting something out of these machines is much higher. It makes you happy and confident that you could get something else the next time you play, and in the end whenever you see an UFO catcher machine you'd be very tempted to try it out.

Most machines cost between either 100 yen or 200 yen per play. I think I've seen 300 yen per play before but they are pretty rare. If you think about it, it's not very expensive, but if you keep going to game centers, sooner or later your wallet will suffer.

Plushies, figures, figurines, keychains, wallets, takoyaki maker (I've gotten it once for 300 yen from an UFO catcher), snacks, cute utensils, blankets, and even ice cream.

UFO Catcher machines normally takes about 1/6 to 1/3 of the total space in a game center, and if the game center has multiple floors (which is normally the case), the first two floors are probably designated for UFO catchers. 

On higher floors, you might see the Medal Games section, which is pretty much slot games and pachinko games. I've never tried any of the machines because I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke. Usually you'd have to buy medals or coins before you can play those games.

Sometimes you'd also see Rhythm Games section. Rhythm games refer to something like Guitar Hero, but Guitar Hero seems to be unpopular in Japan. Rhythm game machines here are very advanced, starting from something simple like the Project Diva Arcade (4 buttons) to something more advanced like  ReflectBeat (touch screen), BeatMania DX II (DJ-like equipment), JukeBeat (4x4 panels), Taiko no Tatsujin (Japanese drum), Dance Dance Revolution (4-panel steps), and Dance Evolution Arcade. 

Basically, if you've played Dance Masters in Kinect, this is the arcade version of it, with very up-to-date songs like AKB 48's Heavy Rotation. No panels required. The bad point about this machine is that it's definitely not designed for noobs because you will look very very bad if you don't know how to move properly. You can score an A by doing the poses shown on the screen at exact timing and it's not that hard, but... you look like a loser. Really. Well I DID LOOK LIKE A LOSER. LOL.

Some other cool games are the GUNDAM Pods. They don't have this in a lot of game centers. I'm sure one of the game centers in Akihabara will have this, but I didn't see this in TAITO Games in Shinjuku and SEGA in Ikebukuro. I found this GUNDAM Pods at Diver-City, Daiba, where Gundam Front Tokyo is. Obviously, the game center there would have this game.

The interiors are pretty cool, just like the ones you see in Gundam anime / manga minus the panels and switches and fancy keyboards. I think I've covered this GUNDAM Pods when in my previous post about Diver-City's Gundam Front Tokyo.

Another cool machine is actually the card-based machine. So far I've seen three types of this card-based machines: football, RPG and war-based games where you have to control groups of army units using cards. Every single movement of the card has a meaning.

If you're interested, perhaps you could google Lord of Vermillion (made by Square-Enix) and I'm sure someone has uploaded a gameplay of it on YouTube.

Game centers are probably a little boring for non-gamers, but at the very least if they like cute stuffs, they could try playing UFO catchers and hope for the miraculous beginner's luck :)

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In Japan - Free Tissue Paper

Who doesn't love free stuffs?

I had known about this free tissue paper 'culture' around Ikebukuro, and yet I was still surprised at how much free packs of tissue paper I received yesterday. A guy handed me 3 packs at one go.

Free packs of tissue paper? Friggin' awesome. It saved me a lot of money buying handkerchief-sized tissue paper. So far, I know no other country that does this aside from Japan. I had received free samples of goods like lotions but definitely not tissue paper.

These tissue packs act as mini pamphlets for advertisement. It makes a lot of sense people are more willing to accept these tissue packs than plain pamphlets/flyers because they can make use of these. I've seen so many people rejecting these free tissue papers and I began to wonder why, but if you think about it, they've lived in Japan probably for decades and if I could get 15 packs of these in less than 5 minutes, how many packs can you get in a year? Tons.

And some people probably prefer higher quality tissue papers.

But anyways, it's been very helpful. I don't read the ads at all just because I can't, but I have to thank these companies for adopting such advertising strategies xD

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In Japan - Diver-City Gundam Front Tokyo

I'm alone, I'm done with class, I'm done with my homework and I couldn't find anyone back at the dorm because their classes start in the afternoon. Then what? Time for some adventure and travelling, of course!

Diver-City is actually a nice pun on Daiba city ("diver" sounds like "daiba--" when pronounced in katakana language; or some people call it Engrish, I guess). As you can guess, Diver-City is located in Daiba city. It was opened on April 19th 2012, but I didn't have the chance to go there until yesterday.

What makes me want to go there? Well, a life-size Gundam is a priority, but I actually watched a program called "every" on TV on Thursday during the Golden Week holiday and heard reviews of this yummy and affordable tonkatsu (deep fried pork) that is made by layering 25 sheets of very thinly sliced pork meat, and it's very juicy. So the adventure began.

I started from Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station, taking the Marunouchi Line up till Ootemachi and switched to the Hanzomon line up until Shinbashi Station. After that, I took the Yurikamome Line, which is actually a monorail, towards Daiba.

The view from the monorail was brilliant, so even though it's quite a long ride, don't miss it :)

And then get off at Daiba station, U-07.

Upon arrival at Daiba Station, it doesn't matter if you turn right or left. The sign board says turn right for Diver-City, but even if you turn left, you will still reach this huge space with Aqua City building connected to it:

Before you proceed to Diver-City, if you turn left and keep walking for about 2-3 minutes, you will see a weird sight: the Statue of Liberty in Japan. Yes. The photo below was taken in Japan LOL. I was using my phone camera so I couldn't zoom in closer.

Once you're done, head back until you see this yellow figure below, and you should reach Diver-City.

And you should be passing this building :)

On the entrance of Diver-City I saw this notice. Well, the huge Gundam is actually not on the 7th floor but on the 3rd floor. The 7th floor is a Gundam museum, in which you have to pay for 1200 yen per person just to see Gundam-related merchandise. I'm tight on money and I'm not really a big fan of Gundam so I skipped it.

Before I went to see the Gundam I was looking for the tonkatsu shop mentioned in the TV program, and I found it: Kimukatsu.

I ordered the cheapest menu, Kimukatsu-don:

6 slices of tonkatsu, a half-boiled egg on top of white parts of shredded leek, and rice. As mentioned in the TV program, it was really juicy and flavorful, with no traces of undesired pork smell. And there was a good balance in flavor as well. This menu comes with miso soup and since it is located at the food court, water is free :)

Definitely worth the money!

Ok, next, the Gundam on the 3rd floor of Diver-City. I just need one word to describe it: MAJESTIC.

It's 19 meters tall, and it's supposed to be the life-size Gundam. Yup.

If you'd like to buy some Gundam merchanidse, there's a small shop next to the Gundam model. They sell plastic models and gachapon (instert 100 yen to get an egg-shaped container that has a random keychain / model / figurines / other stuffs). And it acts as a money changer as well, if you don't have 100 yen coins with you.

This is what it looks like from the front.

To the right of the Gundam model (next to its left shoulder) is a Gundam Cafe branch (I saw another branch in Akihabara previously).

It sells pre-packaged as well as ready-to-serve foods. And other miscellaneous stuffs, like this book:

I also saw a poster about beam kuchen, which is actually a word play on baumkuchen, a layered ring-shaped cake (look it up on Google if you don't know what it is; it's actually a German word). 70cm... you can definitely use it as a toy sword LOL.

Gundam-yaki:

On overall, the shop was decorated with silverish / steel-like interiors.

I think one of the popular menu on this cafe is the latte, with a picture of Haro and some other stuffs I don't recognize (probably some famous characters' faces).

Everything in Japan becomes a sellable item once it's linked to a character or an anime. Or a manga. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's certainly innovative and interesting.

After that I decided to stroll around. I found this special Rilakkuma nuigurumi (dolls) to promote Tower Records.

Cute dessert-shaped plushies:

Maid Cafe. Hmm.

And of course, a game center called Round 1.

As I expected, it has the Gundam pod simulation. It costs 300 yen and I decided to be brave and give it a try. I still wasn't able to fully figure out the controls, but I somehow made it and got a rank B in the end. After I played this, I suddenly remembered about a scene in Gundam SEED where Kira Yamato, a normal civilian, stepped into a Gundam and was confused with the controls. I can understand a little bit of his feelings now. I just experimented with the handles and the pedals, and somehow it worked.

Another awesome game machine I found was this card-based game. You still have to press some commands on the machines, but at the same time you have to keep moving the cards. In this case, I believe that each card represents a football player on the field, and you have to control each card simultaneously while pressing the button on the left and right and side (most likely to pass the ball or something like that). It's a game that requires high level of concentration and excellence in multitasking. I really want to try it but I'll have to buy the cards and they're probably very expensive :(

Anyways, back to the Gundam pod game. I tried to take a picture of the interior but it was a small space (if you watch Gundam then you probably can imagine how crammed the cockpit is; it can't fit more than 2 people). The screen was made such that it's dome-shaped, making the scenery look somehow three dimensional.

There are two handles and two pedals, and there are 2 yellow buttons on each handle, one that can be pressed with your thumbs, and one that can be pressed with you index finger. Additionally, there are up and down buttons on the handle so you can choose commands during battle. And to the right of the right handle are start button and up and down buttons that have the same functions as the up and down buttons on the handle.

Additionally, you can also give commands through a voice speaker attached on the right side of your seat. It's positioned such that if you turn your head to the right you can speak directly into the speaker. If you turn on the assist mode, you can also hear voice assistance on enemy locations near you from the speaker.

I'm not entire sure what the right pedal is for but I think it was a gas pedal. The left pedal allows you to jump over a certain height (yep, it's not a brake pedal).

Last but not least, the Gundam Museum. I'm not too impressed with it but if you're a Gundam fan you'd probably appreciate it more than I do.

1200 entrance fee. Yup.

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In Japan - Tokyo SkyTree Town Soramachi / Solamachi GRAND OPENING

Our teacher reminded us yesterday about the Tokyo SkyTree's opening day on May 22 (today). It was raining today but once I set my mind I don't easily let go of it. I took a train up to Oshiage Station.

Tokyo Soramachi (or Solamachi, as officially translated), is located next to the Tokyo SkyTree. You can access the SkyTree from Solamachi. It's pretty much a shopping mall, but what makes it unique is the fact that it incorporates Edo period theme. The shopping district on the first level is called Solamachi Shotengai, and it will be open only until 2 September 2012. For more information, visit the official website (in English or in http://www.tokyo-solamachi.jp/). It's an awesome place :)

One of the shop attendants actually dressed up as a geisha.

Aside from shops, they also sell gourmet foods, and one of the most bizzarre ones I found was this purin (caramel pudding) in mayonaise bottle. LOL.

Well, Soramachi is really huge. It was separated into the East Yard, West Yard, and Tower Yard.

Up on the third floor of the West Yard lies the food court called Tabe-Terrace (tabe means 'eat'). The type of food sold at Soramachi ranges from fastfood chains like McDonald's, foods most Japanese normally eat, and fancy foods. I would say a lunch meal will cost you approximately 800-1500 yen if you are not eating anything extravagant, and that's a reasonable price considering that SkyTree is a very popular tourist spot. You would pay about the same amount if you dine at restaurants located in department stores in Japan.

Next to the food court are toy shops, and one of the main shops that attracted me was the JUMP Shop (yes, that Shounen JUMP's JUMP):

And the Rilakkuma Store:

Special Rilakkuma hugging the SkyTree :)

And TV character shop:

On the 4th floor's Tower Yard you will find people lining up to ride the elevator to the Observation Deck. It was raining and it was dark and yet so many people were on the line @__@

Well, there was no point of me lining up there and even if I could get a ticket I wouldn't go on a cloudy/rainy day. So I moved on to the East Yard towards the Japan Experience Zone.

Well, no English translation here, but I'm sure you'd understand what things were. Somehow :3

Nihonbashi 300 years ago (if I read it correctly)

Different types of shouyu (soy sauce)

And then there's this big nabe (hot pot) on the 5th floor where the Sumida City Point exhibition was.

It looks very realistic! Well, the ingredients are actually helmets that you can wear. I wore the shiitake and napa cabbage helmets and took photos but I'm not gonna post it here because...

They're probably meant for kids. Yup. But I've seen adults putting them on too. Not too many, though xD

And then, if you walked a little further, you'll see this room on the corner called Space 634 in katakana (スペース６３４). It's a hall for special events, and this time they're letting us in for free. There's a special art exhibition, and it was GORGEOUS.

I took the photo with my cellphone so it's not really capturing the beauty but by all means if you go to Soramachi, please see the art exhibition. The ambience was amazingly calming, with smooth and relaxing background music and soothing fragrance. Something floral, but I'm not sure what it was.

Well, moving on to the 6h floor. Restaurants, restaurants, restaurants. Yup. All of them look delicious, but interestingly the restaurants' decorations are very classic. There are a lot of varieties: Japanese (udon shop, unagi shop, tonkatsu shop, conveyor belt sushi, standing sushi..), Western, Indian, Chinese, Korean... and the prices are

There's an open area on the 5th and 6th floor for you to sit down, relax and enjoy the view, and since it's a public space you can just sit there anytime (if there is a space for you there haha).

7th floor... Chiba Institute of Technology Skytree Town Campus Exhibition, which explains how the Skytree was made. Unfortunately, my skill isn't high enough to understand technical jargons used, so I completely skipped it. It looked fun, though ;__;

Oh and I almost missed it... on the 5th floor of the East Yard there's this open tea shop that sells matcha in all forms: hot matcha, iced matcha, matcha latte, ice cream, parfait, cookies... well, lots of stuffs.

And if you buy anything from this shop, you can sit down at a classically decorated space as you enjoy the scenery around SkyTree.

And close by, a shop sells old-fashioned Meiji brand milk :)

On the way back, on the 2nd floor, there is this salt specialty shop.

You can taste many salts from all over the world and feel the differences!

There are tons of things to write but there was not enough time. Well, it's best to explore it on your own because Soramachi has a lot of things to see and explore, and things that I explored and write about in this blog are based on my interest. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the Soramachi and things I would recommend checking out as far as my knowledge goes :)

Overall, Soramachi is a truly exciting place to go. It encompasses modern culture and technology, history, traditional culture, specialty food, fashion, and the arts. People from all ages could definitely enjoy something out of the Soramachi experience. I'd love to go back to Soramachi again to explore more areas. half a day is definitely not enough!

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