Last Day in Japan (DNP and Square-Enix)

DNPenguins, the official mascots of DNP.

Today was my last day in Japan, and though it felt bittersweet at times, overall it was a memorableday filled with some very insightful presentations.  Our group first visited Dai Nippon Printing (DNP), which presented us with a variety of futuristic technology.  First they showed us an interactive museum kiosk where we could zoom in and out to detail on artifacts from ancient Greece.  The kiosk also had a Q&A feature where you could access frequently asked questions and find answers.  Instead of listening to a tour guide or audio guide, people nowadays prefer information that is easily accessible in front of them.  Both of these features are extremely useful because they will attract much more attention to museums if they are adapted.  Additionally, DNP presented a new texture editing software and a route planner that could plan your subway route to the exact minute.  These inventions are extremely useful and should help attract more business to the places they are instituted.

The next place we visited was the world renowned Square-Enix HQ of Shinjuku!  This was the moment that everyone had been waiting for!  The atmosphere at SE was very relaxed and lively.  The employees were very welcoming and offered us some delicious chocolate snacks.  They also showed us video previews of current games that they’ve developed such as Dragon Quest X.  In the main presentation, Jacob Navok, Director of Business Development, outlined the ecosystem of videogames in the market and talked about the way that companies try to market games by adding DLC, virtual releases, and subscriptions.  By offering these different payment methods, gamers can get the full gratification out of what they’re paying for games abd even pay to skip levels, such as in games like Angry Birds.

Another amazing point that they talked about was the procedure they used to develop the tech demo for Agni’s Philosophy with Luminous Engine.  Though originally criticized for being off-kilter, what may people don’t realize is all the work that went behind it being developed in real time.  The 3D artists modeled the main female character’s hair off a real hair model that was professionally styled and unlike anything else, and the shading and pre-rendered like graphics took over a year to perfect.  The landscapes looked beautiful with the new particle systems they used, and when compared to pre-rendered images, they looked almost identical.  I look forward to seeing more real time capabilities being developed for the next gen consoles.

Navok giving an awesome presentation on games in the market!

Though my trip to Japan is coming to a closure, I can’t wait to catch up with friends, share some hilarious stories, and reflect on all of the unforgettable memories that I’ve made here.  I love the technology, the food, and the overall friendly atmosphere that Japan has.   Thank you to all of my colleagues and professors that made this trip possible!  I enjoyed traveling with all of you, and plan on coming back to Japan in the future.

Waseda University and Square-Enix Cafe

Today was another busy day filled with our final university tour to Waseda University and some Shinjuku shenanigans.  The campus of Waseda seemed relatively small compared to MSU, but the interior of the university was amazingly futuristic and had many bright-minded students.  I enjoyed talking to them and comparing different aspects of culture and technology.  For instance, I learned that Japanese people watch a lot more mobile TV than Americans do that has somewhat to do with the amount of subway travel.  I also learned that the majority of students don’t have cable and instead choose to stream media using Over the Top Technology.  It was truly interesting to compare the pros and cons of both applications and learn more about how technology is integrated into different cultures.  Personally, I prefer streaming over the internet on a laptop over watching programs on TV.  Overall I like where Japan is going with their easily accessible technology.

A beautiful painting of Waseda’s campus.

Our nightly outing consisted of some Shinjuku shenanigans involving an iconic videogame company that we have the privilege of visiting this Wednesday–Square-Enix.  We decided to visit the Square-Enix cafe “Artnia” and sample some of their drinks.  I tried a Shiva cocktail and a cappuccino that both tasted amazing!  The atmosphere was very laid back and the bartenders were extremely professional.  From the napkins to the coasters, everything was personalized to a specific Square-Enix series such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.  There were slimes and chocobos all throughout the cafe and a gallery of various concept art and expensive jewelry.  We had a lot of fun hanging out there and living up our final week in  Japan!

FFVII themed coffee, yes please!

Miyajima Island

Today’s adventure took us sailing across the waters to an island inhibited with giant spoons, green tea ice cream, and man-eating deer.  Okay, I was kidding about the deer, because I actually befriended the one to the right after he tried to eat my map.  But be wary, these creatures are literally everywhere!  The island you see pictured above is Miyajima island, which is a peaceful and scenic place filled with temples, gift shops, delicious food, and natural beauty.  There were many ways to tour Miyajima, including a sea path, boating tours, rural roads, and a forest trail.  My group decided to wander across the sea path and take pictures of the torii (famous red arch), and visit the Itsukushima temple.  As an outdoors person, I enjoyed seeing the ancient parts of Japan’s culture and walking around in the warm and beautiful weather.  Riding the ferry to the island reminded me of riding to Mackinac Island here in Michigan, and it was a very relaxing and nostalgic experience.

Another fun part of our island trip was seeing all of the local food!  A couple of colleagues of mine decided to be adventurous and try some oysters and squid balls.  I decided to play it safe and try some strawberry ice shavings and green tea ice cream, but it was still very delicious.  Another characteristic part of the island were the giant wooden spoons scattered throughout it.  We were challenged by our professor to find the largest one and here it is, right in the center of the shopping district (pictured with Daniel Craun):

いっただきます！

Inevitably, our trip to Miyajima Island was rejuvenating and fill with a lot of fun exploration.  Looking forward to experiencing more of Japan’s culture through it’s beautiful scenery!

First Day in Osaka

After a restless day full of travel on trains, subways, buses, and the shinkansen, my group finally reached another key destination of our trip; Osaka!  Compared to Tokyo, Osaka is much more rural and has a more relaxed atmosphere, though it is still very busy and always alive.  People in Osaka are also more direct than the people in Tokyo.  While traveling through a downtown shopping area, a man approached our group and asked where we were from and how we were enjoying Japan.  Just like in the United States and in other parts of the world, Japan’s different regions have different dialects and ways of conduct that are not unlike the ones we are familiar with.

 

After arriving at our new hotel and unpacking, my group decided to go and hit up the local arcades since we had all been craving them.  On the way there, a bunch of us decided to eat at a rotating sushi restaurant.  I had seen these types of restaurants featured in anime before, but never had I dreamed that I would one day experience one for myself!  I really liked how you had the option to see the food for yourself before you could order it, and could put in any request with just the simple press of a button.  I tried egg and cucumber sushi which were both refreshing and delicious.  I also sampled a parfait at a local cafe, which was out of this world.  So happy that the food is just as good as all of the fun I’m having here!

Surrounded by deliciousness!

After a wonderful meal, we all proceeded to a 3 floor arcade.  The first floor was mostly crane machines with figures, plushes, and other irresistible merchandise meant to lure people in.  After several frustrating attempts, we proceeded to the second floor which was full of  shooting games and simple arcade games.  But the third floor was truly the best.  It contained DDR, Gundam, and popular fighting games such as Persona 4 Arena and BlazBlue.  I watched my two buddies Dan Losh and Dan Craun duke it out in BlazBlue while I started up a classic arcade match in P4A.  It was great to experience our favorite games in a whole entire new atmosphere and try out some of the latest arcade titles.  So far our experience in Osaka has been a relaxing change to Tokyo, and this is definitely a place we’ll frequent if we have time!

 

To be a Master!

Today, yet another dream that I’ve had since the earliest days of my childhood years has been achieved.  Today was the day that we trekked to one of the most legendary, sought-out places of the world…  The Tokyo Pokemon Center!!  As soon as we all set foot in the store, we were immediately immersed in looking at the intricate merchandise.  There were plushies, action figures, mugs watches, bags, cards, stylists, Miltank Cookies (presumably made from MooMoo Milk)…  literally almost anything you could have thought of Pokemon-themed.  After some tough decisions and deep pondering, I decided to purchase the following:

As well as an N keychain and watch, although I wanted to buy out the whole entire store.  I plan on using the first bag to transport my 3DS and cords while using the sparkly pink bag for my Vita.  None of my colleagues could resist the temptation to spent at least 2,000 yen there, and had to hit the ATMs pretty quickly after that.  However, this is a nostalgic day that will never be forgotten.  All of my childhood memories poured back to me after witnessing the brilliance of this store.  Here is a group photo of my group and I to commemorate this memory forever:

 

Keio University

Being the huge anime fan that I am, I’ve always dreamed about experiencing school life in Japan.  Today my dream finally came true when I got to meet a bunch of students at the media branch of Keio University!  Keio University is a prestigious school where students interested in studying or majoring in media and telecommunications are enrolled.  As a Media and Information major at Michigan State, I was thrilled to hear all about their presentation on OTT (Over the Top Tecnhnology).  One of their presenters talked about how popular video streaming is in Japan and how Hulu is accessible to a variety of mobile devices.  A lot of the students also use a popular application called Line App that is similar to Skype and allows free texts and calls.  Here is a picture of two of the girls I met who are political science majors:

チェス!!

Since I am minoring in Japanese, I was able to make casual conversation with the students.  They were impressed and happy to hear that we could both communicate in 2 different languages and apply our knowledge to our studies.  The students there talked about how they had to take two languages at the university, and I was amazed to see how fluent they were!  We also discussed various aspects of culture and were surprised to find that we like a lot of the same TV shows, such as Pretty Little Liars and the Kardashians.  Afterwards, we went to a Chinese restaurant and a bar and all bonded together.  It was great mix of cultures and overall one of the most fun tours I have ever been on in my life.  I look forward to meeting new Japanese friends!

Keio University entrance 

First Day in Japan!!

Today marks a day where I achieved one of my biggest lifelong goals—flying and arriving in Japan at Narita airport!  My day started out casually by waking up at 3 AM to get one last run on the treadmill in, driving to the airport and rendezvousing with my lovely flying partner Dan Losh, and getting lost at a terminal in Narita and missing a very vital train stop with the group to our hotel.  However, it was moments like these that made my first day fun, memorable, and worthwhile.  Now allow me to explain my day in detail:

Dan and I boarded our first flight to Chicago at 7 AM.  It was so short that both of us dozed off and barely remembered it.  On our next flight to Boston, we read books and had deep discussions about anime and videogames.  I also drank some Dr. Pepper, which was delicious.  Our international flight from Boston to Japan was the craziest flight I’ve ever been on in my life.  I had never flown internationally before, so I was not accustomed to the LCD screens attached to the headrests that played games and movie.  After several failed attempts at sleeping, we decided to watch Django Unchained and I played BlazBlue for the first time.  All in all, it was an interesting and very entertaining flight.  Dan is very skilled at navigation and I would definitely fly with him again.

Meeting up with the group in Narita was a comedy of errors, but we eventually came to the conclusion that we had arrived in separate terminals and rode the bus to the correct meeting point. The irony continued when we missed the stop to our hotel because the train door closed too fast.  However, riding the train was relaxing and a needed break from all the luggage pulling, stair climbing, and passport showing that we did.  Perhaps the most memorable time on the train ride was when Alex saw a cart being wheeled down the aisle affixed with various souvenirs and snacks and announced “IT’S LIKE HOGWARTS!”  I also had the opportunity to meet my roommate, Maggie Chen:

After arriving at the hotel, a group of us decided to go out and get udon and Sapporo.  On the way there we stopped at Family Mart, which is basically the Japanese version of Rite Aid, and bought snacks as well as took pictures of the unique food.  My favorite confection was these chocolate brownies shaped like bears.  Afterwards, we decided to stop at an udon restaurant called Yoshiinoya.  It was a dynamic experience because it was most of our first times ordering food in Japanese.  The waiter was a bit confused at first, but fortunately we all collaborated and I used my Japanese 202 skills with everyone to successfully order our dinner.  We decided to take this photo with our kind waiter in memory:

もう一度さっぽろください！

In case you were wondering, here is part of our bill:

What new adventures await us next?  Anything could happen!!