Semi [OT] - Abeno Walking - Part 2
Anthony D. Baranyi
that I wrote down at times during a week long business trip to Japan that I
just finished. This was my second trip to Japan – I went at the same time,
for the same conference in 1999.
Abeno Walking –
You definitely want to have a guide with you if you venture into the
Abenobashi district of Osaka. Even my friend had to plan the trip in
advance, bring notes, and finally stop and ask various locals en route. At
one point my friend stopped to ask a girl at an ice cream stand next to some
streetcar tracks about the shrine locations. The girl got a funny grin on
her face, as if we weren't the only folks to ask that recently.
I didn't get to go to the old covered shopping district of the anime, but my
friend did take me to several blocks of new covered shopping district
nearby. There, at a big department store, I was able to find some "gaijin"
yugatas for my wife and daughter. These are especially made for foreigners
who don't know how to wear a proper yugata, and who like brighter colors
than the Japanese care to wear. ( My wife and daughter like them and my
daughter has been wearing hers almost non-stop since I gave it to her. )
Although Japan is the "home" of anime, manga and video games, you don't
really see much evidence in the street. Advertisements, for the most part,
are aimed at the general public and female consumers in particular. But the
anime/manga/game market has a strong presence in business planning. For
example, during the keynote speeches at the technology conference I
attended, all of the speakers emphasized the emerging role of "home
servers", with video and game access being major drivers. And yes, you do
see younger salarymen on the trains and subways reading mangas – the older
guys are typically asleep.
It's not easy to watch anime while in Japan on business. First off, the
hotel TVs typically only carry a few channels and generally not the
satellite specialty channels that carry so much of the TV anime nowadays.
Then there is the time factor – I'm usually either eating or socializing
during the 6-8 PM time period. For example, on the Monday night I was having
dinner at my friend's house while "Inu Yasha" and "Meitantei Conan" were on.
It would have been way too gauche to ask to watch the shows.
My friend's mom did ask why I watch anime. I guess that it is a fair
question to ask any middle-aged gaijin. I just made reference to the fact
that I've always read sci-fi, and that the language in anime tends to be
simpler to understand, since much of it is aimed at kids. When you think
about it though, how come no one asks middle-aged guys why they sit around
and watch 20 year old millionaires throw or kick balls at each other?
Dave Baranyi