The Gateway Game

Bare with me for this one article as I completely geek out, here.
 I play a lot of video games of all kinds. I consume games like people consume movies. I play some good ones, I play some bad ones, and I play some that are just okay. I play video games that range across a spectrum of genres including action, adventure, drama, crime, fantasy, puzzles and so forth. I seldom stop watching a movie until it's done regardless of whether I'm enjoying it thus far or not, and I do the same with video games, playing them until the end. By the time I left Canada, I was amongst the top 250 Playstation 3 players in the country when it came down to the sheer size of my virtual "trophy cabinet."
 I want to draw attention to a specific video game series, though, that might have eased my transition into Tokyo to a certain degree, and that series is called Ryu ga Gotoku. The local name for the North American release is simply "Yakuza." The series is currently at its 4th iteration, with various spin-offs and a 5th release due for late December in Japan.

Promotional art for Yakuza 4

 I'm not going to go over any kind of synopsis or plot for this game, as that's beside the point. At its core, the game isn't intentionally educative. It's a game where you walk around Tokyo and beat up rival Yakuza gangs, smashing their heads with chairs or whatnot. But it's what the game allows you to do on the side, as well as its accurate depiction of modern Tokyo, that grants it its appeal.

Kamurocho as seen in the video game.

Kabukicho as seen on...wikipedia.

 The Yakuza series takes place in Kamurocho, a fictional district of Tokyo based on the existing Kabukicho. Upon creating the fictional district, Sega, the game's publisher, acquired the rights from various restaurant chains and existing trademarks to feature their branding within the game. In light of this, the player can enter stores that actually exist and purchase equally real products.
 Say, for example, my in-game character gets hungry, I can go to Matsuya, the beef-bowl restaurant, and order pork on rice for 395¥. The exact price it would be in real life. The game features a shocking number of real-life Japanese stores, including Karaokekan, the karaoke chain, and DonQuihote, the variety store, amongst a tonne of others. You could basically discover the food items on every restaurant menu before even stepping into an airplane for Japan.
 Shit, if you order whiskey in the game in certain bars, the bartender even describes to you the taste of the malt. It's pretty deep already.

Yuuna features within the game as herself.

We're not finished yet. The Yakuza series not only features real places, but also real people. Granted, the main characters are all fictional, but some of the figuring characters are not. The series is notable for auditioning young women to star in the game as themselves, playing the role of hostesses in hostess clubs. I'll go into detail about hostesses some other day maybe, but they're essentially girls you pay to have a drink with you (yes, I also learned that in the game.) Although half of what they say in-game is idle talk about their dogs or whatever, these hostess characters do give a sense of what Japanese people are truly like, as they talk about things they do, what they like and what they don't, and where they're from and what those places are like.
 One of the hostesses (seen on the right), for instance, describes in some detail how it was for her to have been a Chinese person raised in Japan.

But last, and most interesting of all, to me, was that the game allows you to experience authentic Japanese pass-times, both traditional and modern. Through the Yakuza series, I've learned several things that even my Japanese friends don't know. Within the virtual underground gambling halls of Tokyo, I've learned to play the traditional Japanese card game Koi Koi, which I later on taught others to do as well. I know how Pachinko, the madly popular Japanese equivalent to a casino game, works. I've also learned to play Oicho-kabu, Cee-Lo and Cho-Han, and that was without even first going in with the intention to learn. I could easily turn the game on and teach myself how to play Shogi (Japanese chess) and Mahjong as well. Maybe I will. 

Oh wow, he actually got Ino-shika-cho.

Man, in retrospect, it's no wonder I felt so at home in Tokyo. I've technically been running around Tokyo for 60 hours before even having arrived in the actual physical city. And this article hardly even describes how much I learned about Japan through this one series. The Yakuza series is definitely one of my favorites, and I can't recommend it enough for someone who wants to get a taste of Japan before coming. Plus, you get to stomp people in the face. Shit, what a bargain.
 Embedded is a trailer for the 5th installment of the main series.

Zakuro

I've debated whether or not to lump in the restaurant I was at today with the other themed restaurants I've been to in Tokyo within the last year, and I'm still not sure whether I should. The Persian restaurant, Zakuro, goes a little further than just serving its signature middle-eastern food, and yet is so much more humble in its demeanor than previous themed eateries I've been to such as Mysterious, which more often than not are decorated super snazzily inside and out, and have menu items and waitresses dressed for the part. For the most part, that can't be said about Zakuro. Zakuro...is what it is.
 See that big face on the sign? That's the owner of the restaurant. An air of eccentricity floats around the place.

Ken and Aala discussing ingredients.

 Located near the North Exit of Nippori station in Tokyo, Zakuro stands out like a sore thumb in its quiet, residential neighborhood. The outside of the joint showcases some surprisingly authentic middle-eastern food ingredients that can be bought on spot.
Today was actually my second time going to Zakuro. It's an easy place to bring friends on a casual day, featuring a pretty cheap full-course meal and a spacy interior a little unlike something you'd expect to find in Tokyo.
Shall we head in?

Lo is here, too.

The inside of Zakuro is fully decked in Persian tapestry and drapery, with middle-eastern paintings and ornaments haphazardly thrown upon the walls. It's an impressive collection. The owner himself can usually be seen hanging around the place. I'm uncertain where he hails from, but he's definitely got some kind of middle-eastern blood in him. He regularly comes out and insults his customers in a joking manner before sitting down behind his laptop and presumably just relaxing in the company of his customers. He's kind of atypical, but fun.

The food itself at Zakuro, though definitely Middle-Eastern, doesn't stand out as particularly amazing in any way. It's humble home-cooking. I was actually delighted to recognize some familiar dishes I haven't at all been able to find elsewhere in Tokyo. Although we had ordered to value 1000¥ (13$) meal both times I had been to the place, I do know for fact that the restaurant does offer fancier food than what I've had a chance to eat. Apparently, even camel meat is available.

Zakuro also offers shisha in several different flavors (although Aala has often stated it left much to be desired) and, on certain evenings, belly-dance shows performed by a particular Japanese employee who happens to be very easy on the eyes. You don't get to see a picture of her, so here's one of me riding a camel instead.

All in all, Zakuro is good. Go there, sit your ass on the ground and enjoy cheap food and the cozy atmosphere.

Let Us Summon Diabetes

Japanese branches of American fast food chains often run interesting campaigns one can't catch sight of in America itself. For instance, almost exactly a year ago, I recall that time when they were offering those amazingly cheap McNuggets. As a matter of fact, there's seldom a time when fast food chains aren't running some sort of interesting campaign.


Well get a load of this; for one week only, Burger King Japan has been offering 30-minute All-You-Can-Eat on burgers and fries after the purchase of one Black Burger combo. What's the Black Burger? Well that's a promotional burger they've been having this month. The buns are actually pitch black. The food coloring used for the buns is actually from squid ink (which you obviously can't taste.) It's quite a powerful coloring agent.



 All-You-Can-Eat on Burger King? You can imagine my reaction. This immediately called for a coalition. I summoned to my finest warriors: Ken Tanaka, his half-sister Nozomi, and Aala's Right-Hand-Man, Jean-Paul Lo. United, we valiantly met in Shibuya to tackle the challenge of eating as many burgers as we could.
 Yeah I know. With the exception of Lo perhaps, one would guess we aren't big eaters and wouldn't be able to eat that many burgers anyway. One would be correct.

This is the one I couldn't finish.

The Black Burger itself was actually quite nice!
It didn't taste irregular in any way. The color had nothing to do with the actual taste of the burger itself. But all that was beside the point.
 I scarfed it down as fast as possible in order to get to the second and third burgers. The young girl at the counter giggled as I ran down the stairs each time to get a new burger. She knew what we were up to.
Much to my chagrin, though, I couldn't make it past three-and-a-half burgers. Whopper Burgers are big, man, and I learned that the hard way today. Fortunately though, I didn't puke, but had I gone any further into that fourth I very likely would have.

FINAL COUNT:

11 BURGERS 

 

That's between four of us. Going in, I thought I'd eat five, but you get what you get. Until next year, Burger King!

The Laotian

It's Jean-Paul Lo, the 25 year-old French Laotian! Often seen alongside Aala and always willing to jump into the Tunisian's crazy antics, Lo is in Japan for apparently no other reason than to have a good time in a place far from home. If we're going to pull off the second Ghost Town I have in my sights, he's going to be instrumental in driving us there.
 With all the free time he has in his hands, we may be seeing a lot more of Lo in days to come.

Interesting Tidbits: The Tokyo Transit

Far more commonly used than the cars or the buses in Tokyo are the trains. The Tokyo subway system is efficient and expedient, and is easily used by several millions of people everyday. 
Many people outside of Japan have heard of the train packers in Tokyo, who stuff people into trains so that the doors will close. You'd be surprised how tightly people can pack themselves into a train without any help. I'll always remember the time when I first witnessed rush hour in Shinjuku station. The train doors opened to reveal a wall of people, a solid mass of writhing humanity. "Fitting in there would be impossible," I told myself, but then I saw it: a man stepped out from behind me, reached into the human wall, grabbed hold of a handle within the train, and pulled his body into the gibbering mass, pulverizing and twisting his body as he merged with the hive. The doors closed and the train left, and I thought I had witnessed a bizarre and unique form of suicide.
 At any rate, the train system took me quite a while to get used to at first. Here's a breakdown of it all: three major companies run the trains in Tokyo: they are Tokyo Metro Co, Japan Railways (JR), and the Governmental Bureau of Transportation (Toei.) Between the three of them combined, in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area alone, the run 45 train/subway lines. FORTY. FIVE. LINES.

Go on, try to put that on your god damn shirt.

And that 45 doesn't count the private railways like the Nippori-Toneri liner and the Tsukuba Express. There are at least 20 of those, too.
 Adding to the confusion are two elements:
1: There are express trains that don't stop at every station. Oh, not just "express trains" mind you, there are those, and the "commuter express", "special express" and "limited express". That's four different types of express trains that stop at different stations. Better get on the right one.
2: Some trains shift lines after a certain point. Better know where you're going.
 That's about it in a nutshell. It took around two months for me to get used to it. See how well you can do.

Anecdote: Names Rich People Give Kids

Only in my work location in Hiroo, Minato-district, considered to be one of the richest districts in Tokyo, do I ever encounter children (or even people in general) with such colorful names as:

1: Plus
2: Atom
3: Knight
4: Cougar
5: Atticus

Mind you, these are Japanese kids. Those aren't translations of their names, those are their actual names.

 "Takayuki! Kana! Cougar! Get over here!"

Let's Make Octopus Balls

Octopus balls! That's takoyaki in Japanese. No, they're not octopus testicles, you fools. They're fried batter with little bits of octopus inside. In recent days Aala's been having quite some fun throwing takoyaki parties left and right. I actually narrowly missed the last party and had to cancel at the last moment, leaving Aala and his roomie Jean-Paul waiting for me at the station for no reason, which they got on my back for (shame on me!) So I owed them to come to this one.

 A couple of Aala's friends were present, and so was his girlfriend, Yuko. Between she and Ken, I guess 90% of the takoyaki was made. It was a pleasant little gathering and Aala got to show me pictures of himself dressed as a panda and walking into stores for Halloween. I didn't take part in the crafting of the octopus balls so much as I kind of just watched and ate. I'm no stranger to takoyaki, but I must say, I don't think it has its equivalent in the western world. I can't say "takoyaki tastes like" or "is like," because it's kind of a wholesome food with its own identity. And not that many westerners often eat octopus to begin with, so yeah.  Or am I wrong? You can write something in the comments below the post and say something like "I ate octopus!" or "I love the balls!" if you like.

Aala looking just about as graceful as usual.

 In Japan, takoyaki isn't even much of a main dish so much as one part of a larger meal. It's kind of associated with street stalls and is something that can sometimes be picked up like one would pick up a hotdog in New York. But there are specialty restaurants that will offer a myriad of varieties.

Off topic, take note: I'm likely to join Aala as he rides the train in a full panda costume some time soon. Yes, of course I'll be in costume too.

This is Montreal (part 2)

 I still have a couple of things to write about when it comes to the city where I was born and raised, and I don't like to leave things unfinished. Here are a few more things you can do in Montreal that I personally recommend. You can read part 1 here!

5: Montreal Biodome

This is my brother, by the way.

The Montreal Biodome was once the Olympic Stadium's Velodrome. Seeing as it was put out of use, the city did the most sensible thing in order not to let the building go to waste: they filled it with dirt, trees and animals, and gave it new life as an interior zoo. The Biodome is separated into 4 parts: tropical jungle, forests of Canada, the Laurentian Bay, and the Arctic waters. It's very much worth it to see these ecosystems reproduced indoors. I got a 40% discount by showing my Tokyo resident card and saying it was my student card. Suckers!


6: The Olympic Stadium

Additionally to the Biodome, the Olympic Stadium and its surrounding area have a number of interesting stops. The stadium's tower itself was once the tallest inclined tower in the world (eclipsed only recently by a new one in Dubai.) At walking distance, one can also visit the Insectarium, Botanical Gardens and the other impressive outdoor gardens such as the Chinese and Japanese gardens. They're genuinely nice, and you can visit all of them at a discounted price if you do them all in the same day.


 
 7: Chinatown

 I love Montreal's Chinatown. Though it's only a couple of blocks in terms of size, strolling across Chinatown gives you the impression of being somewhere other than a Canadian city. Tiny shops stand shoulder to shoulder, cram-packed with trinkets and useless, cheap merchandise such as unlicensed Hello-Kitty stuff or anime figurines or old Chinese music albums.
You can also get a fairly cheap American-Chinese restaurant meal, complete with waiters with broken English and cheesy-ass fortune cookies. You and I both know it's nothing like the actual China, but it is awesome.

Yeah I know, I'm no longer in Montreal. I've been back in Tokyo for a week now, the beginning of which I fought hard against the jet lag. But I've had an enjoyable time in the presence of old friends I haven't seen in the last year. I'll be relaying back to Montreal once a year, though, checking on my family and my goons. Cheers!