Howdy howdy

Some RPGamer staff emails seem prone to eating my messages, so I'm going to keep this brief until correspondence has been actuated. On that note: am I the only one with an interest in Japanese culture who fails to understand the appeal of giant robots? Transformers never appealed to me and the presence of giant robots just doesn't have an impact upon my desire to watch anything.

Mike 'JuMeSyn' Moehnke

The seeming of prior correspondence causes the inference that vocabulary usage must be heightened henceforth. Such an eventuality does demand dense discourse, so perusers may experience intimidation. As a devotee of Sakura Wars, I must devote an inquiry specifically to knowledge regarding it as possessed by you. A proper gauge of its popularity at its origination nation is difficult to discern, causing my curiosity to turn towards reminiscing from an individual with the potential of having unearthed said information. An entirely differing direction of information your experience can potentially illuminate lies within the area of translation, and the economic sustenance of such. Recognizing that (unless unrevealed) your experience lies not in the realm of software but that of printed material (upon which I cast no aspersion whatsoever as its utility remains high for all foreseeable temporal periods) I direct this query solely towards whatsoever knowledge may be possessed as to the expenses incurred by text-only translations. This limitation I incur with the knowledge of vocal additions requiring requisite increased dimunition of assets. And as regards the political spectrum of the Pacific Rim, a query shall be directed. Shinzo Abe's probability of decreasing or reigniting intense unhappiness directed towards Japan by the victims of its aggression post-Pacific War, by means of locating himself in close proximity to the graves of acknowledged war criminals mainly interred within the Yasukuni Shrine, would be considered what level by yourself? Composition having arrived at a tolerable concluding position, this missive I deem acceptable.

Cordially,
JuMeSyn

Osu!

I recently came back from a 6 month stint in Japan, so here are some suggestions from me (mostly food related):

Try unagi. That's eel for those who don't know their Japanese fish. I thought I would be the one food I would never eat over there, but it is now my favorite Japanese food. It can be prepared in a myriad of ways, and they are all good.

Also try takoyaki, karaage, onigiri, and (if you are old enough) beer. Takoyaki is fried balls of dough and octopus--sounds gross but is really good. Karaage is fried chicken, but tastes much, much better than what we eat in America. Onigiri are rice balls. They come in a variety of flavors packed with fish, meat, vegetable, or sugary goodness. Lastly, Japanese beer (again, if you're old enough) also has a different taste than it does here in America. I recommend Asahi.

Here's a don't for you: DON'T eat at McDonald's. It tastes almost identical to how it does in America and your approximately 84 meals (4 weeks x 7 days x 3 meals per day) could (and should) be spent eating various uniquely Japanese foods.

Since you asked for games here are two recommendations:

Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten - This is a wonderful kanji dictionary for the DS. Since it is DS you can sketch the kanji on the lower screen to look it up. It can also function as a basic dictionary. Just keep in mind that it was made for Japanese people to look up English and kanji, not the other way around. You can find the product here: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-9g-77-b-49-en-15-kanji%2Bjisho-70-198v.html I would recommend just picking it up in Japan, as it can be found in most game stores. Just memorize the package, as it has FAR too many kanji to try and remember.

Mother 3 - A GBA game, so if you have a DS you'll be able to play this as well. Very, very simple Japanese and a fun RPG.

Since both of those games can be played on handhelds, there is no region lockout. Hurray for not having to buy a Japanese system to play them on! If you happen to have a Japanese PS2 I would recommend almost any RPG. Since most have spoken dialog these days it is a good way to learn speech patterns and how to read some new kanji. I decided upon the Super Robot Wars series myself, but I'm a fan of giant robots.

My last piece of advice is to try to do as much as you can, no matter if you make a fool of yourself. With that in mind I leave you with an anecdote.

My first night in Japan we ate at a ramen shop. The 13 hour plane ride was a great strain on those of us who couldn't sleep through it, but we HAD to get some culture. On the way back to the dormitory we saw an electronics store that was still open, a Tsutaya I believe. We went inside. I decided to get a game that was on sale (a Fullmetal Alchemist RPG). When the cashier rang it up it came up the wrong price. I, in my sleep deprived state, thought I asked the cashier "Sumimasen, kore wa ikura desuka?" or "Excuse me, how much is this?"

I instead asked, "Sumimasen, kore wa iruka desuka" or "Excuse me, is this a dolphin?" The cashier and I shared a good laugh over it, and since the place was near my dorm, and therefore a place I frequented, he recognized my face and was always very nice to me.

That is all. Hope you have fun in Japan! It was a wonderful experience for me as well. Oh, I also agree with everything Bret said. Just didn't want to cover things that have already been done.

-Alex Kaiser