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Pink Godzilla Invades Japan - Again
Pink Godzilla is headed back to Japan next week to check out the latest and greatest at the Tokyo Game Show. And since we're going to be in Japan anyway, we thought we'd do a little buying. So while the game shops of Akihabara and Den Den Town might be trembling at the prospect of Pink Godzilla coming to town to snipe all their good games, this is an excellent opportunity for you to put in a special request for that rare or collectible game that you've been looking for. Although your fear of Segata Sanshiro is palpable, please remember that the great Sega warrior is dead, so you do not need to order more than one copy of his game, Segata Sanshirou Shinken Yuugi.
Continue reading to re-experience all the triumphs and tribulations from Pinky G's last visit to Japan.
Days One and Two
Saturday - May 26, 2007
11:47 a.m. - Pink Godzilla leaves the friendly confines of PG HQ in Seattle for SeaTac airport. Despite the fact that it is Memorial Day weekend, the airport is surprisingly empty.
2:04 p.m. - After about two hours of waiting (i.e. playing DS) Northwest begins boarding the flight from Seattle to Tokyo. Pink Godzilla is starting to worry as the airline still hasn't given PG its seating assignment. Not the cargo hold again! But all is fine as the PG crew receives their seats right as general boarding is called.
Next 10 Hours - The time is passed playing Pokemon on the NDS, watching movies and eating horrible airline food. Pinky G is particularly irritable as Northwest no longer provides free alcohol on international flights. At $5 a beer, PG settles for a single Sapporo at dinner, a scrumptious (....not) beef stew with biscuit.
Sunday - May 27, 2007
4:47 p.m.First stage of the journey is completed as Pinky G safely touches down in Narita. Second stage of the journey is the one-hour bullet train ride from Narita to Tokyo, followed immediately by the third stage - a mad dash sprint through the packed Tokyo station, then a three-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo to Kyoto.
It doesn't look it, but the train was packed.
Elder Matsu snaps a picture of the unsuspecting drink cart lady. Sipping Kirin on the train - a travel weary Pinky G is thinkin', "Life in Japan is good."
9:56 p.m. - Team Pinky G arrives in Kyoto. Now if we had only made hotel reservations...Thankfully, the cavernous Kyoto station is surrounded by hotels. Pink Godzilla settles on the aging Kyoto Tower Hotel as it reminds us of Seattle.
Yes, that is the Space Needle on top of a hotel.
10:47 p.m. - After freshening up a bit, the PG crew heads for Kiya-machi, home of the infamous stinky ramen. The stinky ramen is probably the best ramen in the world, but if this place was located in America, it would be shut down by the health department in a heart beat.
Yes, it's dirty and pinkin' stinky, but it's oh so good.
Stinky ramen, or kusai ra-men as it's called in Japanese, is all about the toppings.
After a couple scoops of the rayuu (a.k.a. spicy stuff), it's itadakimasu-time!
12:37 p.m. - After touring the old stomping grounds, Pinky G heads back to the Kyoto Tower Hotel and crashes. Tomorrow we travel to Den Den town for the first day of shoppin', Pinky G style.
Day Three
Monday - May 27, 2007
7:24 a.m. - The PG crew heads out for Day Three of the Pinky G invasion, but first the fuel that keeps Elders Matsu and Goban humming likely a finely tuned sports car - coffee. The Elders hit up.....Starbucks?!?!?!? Yeah, not too original for Seattlites, but have you ever had Japanese coffee? Not so good. At Starbucks, Elder Matsu is relieved to discover that the sugar is clearly marked sugar and cannot be easily confused with the salt.
8:47 a.m. - Pinky G is caught ridin' dirty just before catchin' a ride on the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka. Hey, whatever it takes to get by, right?
9:34 a.m. - After multiple transfers, team Pinky G arrives in Namba, which we are told is near Den Den Town. We start walking. With no electronics stores in sight, Elder Matsu asks for directions. This process repeats itself approximately seven times. The locals appear to amuse themselves by sending foreign travelers on a wild goose chase for the elusive Den Den Town. If we hadn't been there before, we might have started doubting its existence and attributed its legend to myth.
10:07 a.m. - After wandering through the concrete desert for minutes, we begin to hallucinate as we spy a Den Den Town mirage in the distance....or is it real?
Holy pink! It's really Den Den Town, but before we shop, we must eat. The choice is obvious - the Tamago Double Mac or takoyaki.
10:22 a.m. - Let the shopping begin! Mother pinker......all the stores are still closed. So we wait.
11:03 a.m. - Now let the shopping begin! And we're off.
3:47 p.m. - After five hours of game shopping, Pinky G starts to complain that he is hungry. Cuisine of choice? More ramen of course. This time we hit up the Kyushu-style ramen, definitely not as stinky as the Nagahama ramen. The restaurant's name is Turtle King, but is pronounced Ki-oh, not Kame-Oh, in Japanese. In Pinku-go, however, it's pronounced Pink-pink.
5:22 p.m. - With stomachs full and feet-a-achin', team Pinky G returns to Kyoto. Pink Godzilla attempts to plunge into the Kamo-gawa river, but is stopped by Elder Taragan. What do we do in Kyot? More shopping.
6:17 p.m. - Yes that is an S&M game for the SFC. We can only imagine what the game is about. It must have a really good story line. With temperatures on the second floor of the Famicom Shop reaching a balmy 117 degrees with 95% humidity, we decide to get the pink out of dodge. Besides, it's dinner time. Let's eat.
On the way to dinner, we pass a peculiar creature. Elder Matsu warns Pinky G not to make eye contact.
6:51 p.m. - Having had the ramen experience, Pink Godzilla decides upon another Kansai staple, Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki . Itadakimasu!
7:29 p.m. - That was good and all, but Elder Matsu suddenly senses a craving for something green. Elder Matsu inquires, "Is there anything that you can make that's green?" After passing on the chef's initial suggestion of brocco-mole (kind of a guacamole but with broccoli), Elder Matsu settles on avocado yakisoba. And it ain't yo' mama's yakisoba.
Days Four and Five
Tuesday - May 28, 2007
6:49 a.m. - Elders Matu and Taragan attempt to start the day with a trip to good ol' Starbucks for some java, but are shocked to discover that Starbucks doesn't open until 7:00 a.m. So they wait and and are left to wonder where all those bustling salarymen are getting their morning joe.
10:22 a.m. - Pink Godzilla and friends head back to Den Den Town for some serious buying. The bounty includes a brand new copy of Recca Summer Carnival '92 (FC), Boku tte Upa (FC), N64 DD system in the box with all the games, Game & Watch Collection (NDS), Tingle Balloon Fight (NDS), Super Mario 2 (GBA), complete Rakugaki Kids (N64), Cosmic Smash (DC), tons o' Wonderswan and Neo Geo pocket games and systems, and all sorts of other wonderous goodies.
Beer Time - After all that shoppin', Pinky G takes a break to knock down a couple of frosty brews. In Japan, Asahi is the Pinky G crew's beer of choice.
6:41 p.m. - On the train, Elder Matsu spots an adverstisement for a real-life Naruto Ninja Tour. Wow! Team Pinky G returns to Kyoto to secure the bounty with Gatekeeper Iida, when it is discovered that Elder Taragan accidentally left Pink Godzilla on the train. After much panic, Elder Taragan learns that Pink Godzilla exited the train in a far away land called Yasu. Elder Taragan makes plans for a solo mission to Yasu to rescue Pink Godzilla, or better said, rescue Yasu from Pink Godzilla.
But first Elder Taragan must eat to increase his strength and.......drink....to increase...his...uh.................courage! Sans Pink Godzilla, the Elders head to Tosai, the mystical world of tofu and vegetables. There, Elder Matsu discovers a cell phone that includes a TV tuner. With a couple minor modifications, Elder Matsu connects a Sega Saturn and begins playing Segata Sanshiro, the game.
After a few minutes of playing, from behind the green curtain enters a woman dressed in black. She appears to be emotionally imprisoned by her eternal mourning. Pink Godzilla discovers that she is Segata Sanshiro's estranged lover.
Together we reminisce about the good old days of the Sega Saturn. Tears are shed. Radiant Silvergun is played. Drinks are drunk. Elders Matsu and Taragan are drunk.
Tuesday - May 28, 2007
5:53 a.m. - Elder Taragan gets an early start on his quest to recover Pink Godzilla. But without his morning coffee, Elder Taragan is dreary. He doubts whether he can muster the strength to capture and contain Pink Godzilla. Having to stand in a packed train for the entire 45 minute treck to Yasu only further weakens Elder Taragan's constitution.
6:38 a.m. - Elder Taragan arrives in Yasu to find Pink Godzilla sound asleep in the middle of the station. The capture is easy. Now back to Kyoto.
7:44 a.m. - Team Pink Godzilla prepares for the journey to Tokyo and the legendary Akihabara. But first, coffee. At Starbucks, Elder Taragan learns a new phrase, "No consento!," which apparently means "Don't plug your laptap into our outlets, you stupid gai-jin."
2:26 p.m. - The Pinky G crew invades Akihabara. All sorts of mystical treasures are discovered in only a couple of hours. There shall be much shopping to be done in the coming days. But first the Pinky G crew must locate Uncle Bob.
Today we leave you with a few more pics from Days 4 & 5 of Pink Godzilla invades Japan.
Movable Type 3.2
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