Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Akihabara, arcade, Culture, Gaming, social
While gaming stores and street kiosks are popular places for people to show off their talent at playing video games, the best place is still the arcade. While the arcades are quickly dieing the in United States, they are still thriving in Japan. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune spoke about the dire situation the American arcade is facing. Young people in America just don’t seem to have an interest in social gaming anymore; this has been a long-standing problem since the introduction of home consoles. In the beginning the arcade games offered a higher quality experience; this drew people from their homes to go to the local arcade. As console began to compete and then super cede the experience offered at the arcade visitors began to dwindle. Many attribute the continued success of the Japanese arcade to the constant advancement of the machines, but the social nature of gaming in Japan is another reason. Japanese gamers don’t enjoy Online gaming as much as their American counterparts, in favor of a social experience.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/explore/chi-arcades-end-0605jun05,0,3830088.story
One of the coolest stores in Akihabara is Super Potato, it is a famous Mecca for classic Nintendo fans. If you are looking to buy a Super Famicon new in box, this is the place to go. Stores like this and arcades show how important gaming is to the culture of Japan. This was not a store full of tourists wanting to buy exclusive or classic Nintendo gear, but a place to fulfill everyone’s nostalgic love of Nintendo. Super Potato is filled with classic games, systems and merchandise it really is the perfect visit for anyone that has any interest in classic gaming. It was very interesting to see the Japanese equivalent of some of my favorite systems, such as the Famicon and Super Famicon. It was even more interesting to watch locals play some of my favorite games in the store, it appeared the store had also become a place to show off one’s gaming prowess with the classics. This is one of multiple places were people congregate to show their skill and accept challenges.
Akihabara has to be one of the coolest districts in Japan, especially if you love electronics, games, gadgets, movies and anime. Akihabara has hundreds of stores with several stories with various gaming consoles, games, movies, gadgets, electronics, and anime. As a person who never watched much anime I was more interested in the games and electronics. Many of the gaming stores were split up by floor based on system, this made it obvious which companies were popular in Japan, since Nintendo and Sony each got their own floor, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 got a small section on a floor with other games. The Xbox 360 did better than the original Xbox in Japan, but Nintendo and Sony remain the powerhouses in Japan. Nintendo has used this power to force Akihabara stores to stop selling modding devices, but as Anthony and I saw these devices are still being sold at many stores. Modding devices such as these would only be available via specialty websites, but are sold along side DVD players and computers in these electronics shops. Akihabara is the electronics hub of Tokyo and is the place to look for all sorts of electronics.
Filed under: Blog Post | Tags: America, corporation, Culture, society, workforce
Japan has a collectivist society that impacts every aspect for their daily lives. In this society framework is very important, meaning that membership in an organization is very important. It is more important to say that you work for a company then what you actually do for the company. This is very different from our individualistic society, where your individual attributes such as occupation, education or degree, are more important. There are aspects of collectivism in our society, such as “Its not what you know, its who you know,” meaning what connections in corporations or family can open doors for you that will not be for others. Corporations in America do not adhere to collectivist ideals of lifetime employment or taking care of many aspects of life, but they do strive to have their employees feel emotionally involved with the company. Many American employees feel connected to their company and that working for a good company makes them a better individual, but do not feel so connected to their corporation that they would not leave for a better opportunity. This is something that would not happen in Japanese society, there is a much stronger bond to the company that takes care of you and your family. This strong emotional connection between the organization and its members does cause problems; once a person is a member you are unable to fire them in a traditional Japanese company. Due to this modern Japanese companies, especially in the technology industry, have began breaking away from collectivist corporate structure.
Filed under: Blog Post | Tags: America, atomic bomb, children, Culture, Japan, peace
Growing up in the United States we are taught that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved thousands of lives by necessitating Japan’s surrender to the Allied Powers, eliminating the need for a full-scale invasion. While textbooks show images of the aftermath and desolation, being in the city made it become all too real. Hiroshima has risen from the ashes of that horrible day to be one of the largest cities in Japan, and a peace memorial for the rest of the world. The Atomic Bomb Dome stands, as a reminder of the destruction the atomic bomb was capable of producing, with the melted dome and damaged walls. The dome served as our first stop when entering Peace Memorial Park and set the tone for the visit. Being taught in high school that the atomic bomb saved lives, did make me feel any better as we began to see the faces and hear the stories of the victims, many of whom were children. All this time while we were feeling especially down and ashamed for our county’s actions, Japanese school children were so happy to see us. Creating a mix of sadness for those lost and our actions, with happiness for the children who didn’t hate us for out actions, but embraced us as friends.
