Tokyo Real Time: Akihabara


For Japan-focused journo-types, writing about Akihabara is like making
smart-ass jokes on Facebook: we all do it, and we often fall flat.
Nevertheless, writing about the experience of visiting this digital
smörgåsbord is a MUST for anybody hoping to relate information about
modern geek culture to the world at large, and a daunting must at
that. The word “mecca” is thrown around in a fairly liberal fashion
with regard to it’s “techno wonderland” status. While some would argue
that this is a cliché, it’s true: you need to experience it at least
once just to feel Electric Town’s pulsing energy and effervescent yet
oddly calming environs. However, even with first-hand experience the
act of capturing the unique essence of this area in print is
exceedingly difficult.


The Akihabara we know today is not the Akihabara of 50 or even 5 years
ago. Massive infrastructural, architectural, governmental, and social
renovations have taken place recently. I remember when Akihabara was a
dirty section of the Northeast part of the Tokyo with a railway
station that was surrounded by disused playgrounds and empty
basketball courts, a landscape which wouldn’t be out-of-place in a
city like New York during the ’70s. Now in the same place stands a
commuter courtyard surrounded by the upscale Tsukaba express rail line
and two massive high-rises.


That’s the power of Moe, y’all. And when you need info on moe, you
holler at the pros:



















Patrick W. Galbraith is a Tokyo University doctoral candidate and a
self-described “otaku of otaku.” Patrick’s dedication and interest in
the area is keen… I first met him when I stumbled upon him and 60 of
his friends doing the dance from Suzumiya Haruhi in Yoyogi Park and it
scared the hell out of me/fascinated me to no end. Galbraith has also
authored The Otaku Encyclopedia and will be teaching a class during
the summer at Temple University’s Tokyo Campus centered around
Japanese pop culture and comics. He also leads Akiba tours for us at
Intermixi.


(HINT: BUY ONE.)


His newest endeavor? Teaming with White Rabbit Press to present an
mp3-based real-time tour of Akihabara, combining history, humor,
interviews, and enough background information to turn an hour-long
sojourn through the area into a bouncy, well-researched lecture.


As you can probably tell, I spent a lot of time in Akihabara shopping
for people via Tokyogetter, and I have very deep fondness for the
neighborhood. When the awful murder rampage occurred a few years ago I
received numerous phone calls and text messages asking if I was OK,
since people knew I was a regular visitor. Enter: the boss’ idea.


We at Intermixi are big fans and supporters of Patrick’s work, but my
challenge from Aka-san is clear: compare his nifty audio tour with my
impressions of my geeky spiritual home. Seeing as how I don’t pay the
server bills at the office I have no choice: so let’s get our peer
review on.


Jumping right in, my biggest concern was the practicality of this
product. Akihabara on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon can easily get
ridiculous in terms of people, Ipod or no. The disclaimer to the 57
minute track states flatly that “If you’re listening to this tour and
you’re feet are not actually on the ground in Akihabara, please turn
it off now”, which makes sense in that you would deprive yourself of
the total gestalt of the tour. Still, I personally wouldn’t start out
until I had the accompanying map in my hand and a semi-clear idea of
where I was going in my noggin. You can’t really slack on your mack in
a place this bustling with pedestrian foot traffic.


The production values are fairly handsome, although the background
music and interstitial bits seem to display a strong willingness to
entertain the listener at ALL times. Music and background noise shifts
and sways, although not in a jarring fashion, much like Akihabara
itself. A part of me wonders if this is needed due to the fear that it
would take away from the already fascinating ambient soundtrack that
floats through the streets. On the bright side, I can finally marry
the concepts of walking around inside a video game and going shopping
at an ambient music fair together into one tour!


As far as Galbraith’s narration, it’s a mixed bag. The general
logistical and historical background information is informative,
interesting, and in-depth without being overwhelming. Galbraith’s tone
is measured, pleasant, and very easy to listen to, and the occasional
“goof” repeats in the script do make it seem more conversational than
pedantic. He presents a load of research on both the usual go-to
anime/manga/video game subjects as well as more unique and recent
developments such as governmental involvement in the area, maid cafes,
and dolls, all of which are often given the short-shrift on a lot of
websites and travel guides. There’s even a shout-out to the beloved
(and defunct) Tsukamo robot shop, which was a great store.


The problem? The more humorous “bits” that weave the piece together
are a bit more reminiscent of dubbed anime voice acting than a guided
travel tour, and the shift between the two styles seems oddly
mis-placed at times, if not downright confusing. There were two or so
segues that lost me, sparking a quick flick of the rewind button.


I’m of two minds on the subject: while it’s cool that Otaku USA editor
Patrick Macias shows up and drops some science about video game
collecting in the city, did his appearance suddenly need to turn into
a skit? Again, I’m trying to imagine listening to this while I walk
around Akiba, and a part of me thinks I would tune it out the instant
I got confused. Even though the straight historical info is very
striking, countenancing this while walking through the various
locations could become a small challenge.


Galbraith and co. did not hesitate to go the extra mile and pull out
the stops on some of the more intriguing recent developments in the
area. Attacks on otaku are covered, as well as both sides of the
“walker’s paradise” debate, complete with the opinions of a ward
councilman and a fan. Copyright issues surrounding doujinshi (fan
comics) are mentioned as well, although it should be noted that one
example cited by Macias (a Pokemon fan comic creator never being
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law) is possibly contradicted
by Galbraith’s own research in his recently published Otaku
Encyclopedia, which did discuss the issue in brief. These are welcome
additions, and add in some of Akiba’s cultural ambivalence and
complexity that is often glossed over in favor of reportage that
screams ‘hey, look at these gaudy lights!’


In short, I think this is a noble effort that, while not 100 percent
MIND-BLOWING, is a very good alternative to an in-person guided tour.
Galbraith bravely and rightfully doesn’t polish the rough edges off,
which is a big part of the Akiba vibe. The research team also does not
pass up the oft-maligned back street stores for generic super-boxes or
transitory hype pieces which will probably be gone by the time you
land at Narita airport in 5 months. On the downside, the Super Potato
and Toranoana sections do drag a bit, and the overall construction of
the piece leaves a bit to be desired in terms of fully linear
cohesion. Still, I’ve got to say that this would be a good purchase if
you find yourself in Akiba on a slow Tuesday and you don’t have an
Intermixi tour guide like myself handy.


If you want to know more about Tokyo Realtime check out their virtual tours here!

REAL TIME AKIHABARA TOUR


I have never been to Japan, but I always dreamt of going ever since I was a little boy. I had a convenient connection to its many imports, living near Japantown -San Francisco. It was there and then on, my love for its history, films and culture grew on me. But the Akihabara district captured my fascination most as my passions in science fiction, eclectic art, and action toys will never die. With Japan, this is excitement destination.


The Akihabara walking tour definitely gave me a feel of being there. The guide helped give me a virtual sense of landing in this strange world. To truly know a place, you have to know its history and people, and the tour delivers well with the interviews and amusing footnotes. Also important with any visit, are its destination spots. For me it was all about Super Potato, Don Quixote, weapon stores, and most of all - the gashapon vending machines. I personally don’t care as much for the maid café’s, doujinshi outlets, sources for the perverse, but that is also an exciting part of Akihabara for visitors to appreciate.. It is important to understand that the area is a haven to hobbies and interests not meant to be understand by many.


Overall, the tour was very colorful, honest, and informative. I felt quite invited not only in its nostalgic tones and light humor, but by its linear approach as well. I suppose the next step is to one day fully experience Akihabara in person, hopefully someday soon.


-Orion


Tomorrow we get the one and only Tokyogetter's opinions...


If you want to know more about Tokyo Realtime check out their virtual tours here!



Ladies and gentlemen: I have found my show for 2010.


















From the wikipedia:Durarara!! (デュラララ!!, Dyurarara!!?) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda. As of July 2009, six volumes have been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation by Akiyo Satorigi started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on April 18, 2009. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan in January 2010.[1] The series is about a Dullahan working as an underworld courier in Ikebukuro, an internet-based anonymous gang called Dollars, and the chaos that unfolds around the most dangerous people in Ikebukuro.



Now this may not read like much, but the show so far is, in technical terms, a damned hoot and I for one find the shout-out to Ikebukuro to be quite refreshing. While Shinjuku and Shibuya get more love thrown at them than a discount bukkake actress, Ikebukuro is often looked down upon as the downtrodden and grimy urban center of northern Tokyo from which nothing good may come.



While IM’s staff won’t say that this isn’t the case, we LOVE Ikebukuro (“ee-kay-boo-ku-row”). Ike is always a lot of fun and functions as a vital crossroads for Tokyo’s working class where foreigners, drunks, salarymen, hype pushers, weirdos, prosties, fujoushi and j-rockers hang out until they get their ghetto pass into Kabukichou or head back into Saitama. All of these archetypes and characters are currently being explored in Durarara!!, and I for one am smitten by that.



Plot-wise the series seems to follow the interconnected adventures of a group of people who hang in and about Ike. These charm school grads range from high school students with dark sides, surprisingly well-written and interesting foreigners (BONUS POINTS!), super-natural mischeif makers, and a bartender by the name of Shizuo who loves throwing vending machines at people.



Seriously.



Vending machines.



I would consider it to be a failure of my rational and logical facilities if I could not convince you of how hard this show works to entertain you. This in itself is a nice change compared to scores of empty moe shows who desperately attempt to make me “care” about a bunch of disposable emotional cripples. Episode 1 already has Baccano in-jokes and a group of otaku pondering the name of the ostensible main character as being commiserate with something you’d find in a shonen manga. The young transfer student (no shit… REALLY?) is baffled by this, because it’s Japanese animation and that is what young transfer students do in such shows so he can have things explained to him (read: to us) by his wise-acre over-acting goofy friend.



Then some weird teenage with a deathwish gets abducted via a pedo-tastic van.



Then something rad happens.



Roll credits.



Funny-to-creepy-to-awesome in 20 minutes, I kid you not.



Another great thing about the show is its attention to detail and the stab it makes at architectural veracity. The show designers have seemed to put a premium on making sure that you know that you’re in Ikebukuro, all the way down to the signs and exits in that mind-bender of a train station they have there. Tokyu Hands is prominently featured, although the name is changed for the sake of not offending some corporation, and even the reflecting pool at the local park shows up, replete with its trademark brown tile. It’s not exactly something you’d notice if you weren’t familiar with the area, but in an age where Tokyo equates to “high buildings, small apartments”, it’s a nice little touch.



Then again, you might appreciate it more if you signed up for a tour… hint… hint… hint…



Below is the opening for the show.



Ladies and gents, let the squeals of nerdy over-reactive media arts students rise from every coffee house and Borders bookstore in the land: Temple University has established a summer program at its Tokyo campus with Japanese pop culture gurus Patrick Galbraith (HE'S ONE OF US INTERMIXI-TYPES!) and Roland Keats as instructors.


Aimed at undergrads and running from May 24 through July 28, the program features several courses, all of which provide credits towards a degree. The course descriptions are as follows:


Undergraduate students enroll in three of the following courses, for a total of nine or ten credits.


Anime in Japanese Popular Culture (Asian Studies: 3 credits)
This course critically examines the themes and representations in anime works in relation to the historical and socio-cultural contexts of postwar Japan, in order to gain insights into how and why it has gained global significance as a subculture. Topics to be covered include the historical development of the production and reception of anime, in relation to media, visual arts and technology; the themes, characters and representation in major works; and their symbolic meanings in the Japanese as well as global context.