Several board members have gone, but they may no longer be active. I think maybe Onewing and Bruce Perry, but I'm not certain anymore. I have not, and though I think it's really cool I cannot afford it nor do I have the interest nor time to attempt to learn about the language or culture. I'd love to go some day and just be an ignorant tourist that doesn't understand the culture or language though. It seems like a really interesting place. But good luck convincing a wife to go to Japan instead of somewhere more romantic or luxurious. Let's be real, I'll be drunk most of the time wherever we go so it doesn't matter to me where we go (as long as being drunk is acceptable).

Avoid the vending machines. Or don't. I guess it depends what you're in to. And have fun.

tokyo ni ikimasho da sake o nomemasho

Tokyo Ichiban!

Thanks for the advice all. I'll certainly be taking myself to that Ramen museum because I'm a big damn hungry white man.

Highlights so far have included:

• The aforementioned Starbucks

• Beginning to actually understand Japanese grammar

• My host family's son outing himself as a Jump-reading otaku and making Pop Team Epic noises at me (which I reciprocated)

I'm now in yet another coffee shop and am hoping to be meeting up with a friend soon so I'm not just stuck on my own crapping myself with culture shock.

Have fun and be outgoing. People in Japan are generally receptive and polite toward their country's guests.

You might want to check out Super Potato while you're in Tokyo.

I think they do. The people here have been excellent to me thus far.

Japanese companies work very differently. From what I understand: if you join, you're then placed under the same rules as those at your grade (which will almost certainly be pretty low if you've just joined, regardless of your past experience) and thus have to treat your managers as heavenly superpeople. Ergo you will be worked into the ground; it's a given.

EDIT: that said - teaching English might be a different experience for some, but my friends who've done it haven't complained. Guess you'll occasionally get a bad experience wherever you go in the world...

Wow, I'm jealous.

I was planning to go this year, but after several financial setbacks, I had to decide to postpone it. Now I'm not sure when it will happen. I'm still studying the language though.

Share everything you can about your experience!

Right, so I went to an izakaya last night with a couple of the locals. I'd say it's like nothing else I've ever experienced, but honestly it bared some striking similarities (in atmosphere but not looks) to an English country pub. Lovely people, very casual, great booze. Though the food was a hell of a lot better.

I'll have to add some photos once I'm back (though I'm not taking many!)

@amarillion: Ah that's too bad! May have been one of the few opportunities I'll ever have to meet anyone from a.cc I'd like to try working here for a bit too someday. Not entirely sure how this could come about though.

Guys, he's not lying.

why would I the Great King Piccolo_Sun lie? that is reserved for the lower life forms

no my ship not ready yet. been having a lot of setbacks. my boat sank and now someone broke into it and stole $5k + worth of tools that i needed to fix it. im focusing on deving my new game in hopes that it can lift me up out of this situation and get things back on track.

not really that much progress on the boat after my last job contract i spent my time helping someone else with their 5d cenama that is when i got my stuff stolen so i stopped helping them to focus more on fixing my boat.

where a vid of before the tools got stolen.

Progress

King Piccolo will make it so