Today was spent walking around, again. Before five had to leave for work, we went to the local department store. There were some pretty slick tshirts on the men's floor, and the movie theater was playing Xmen 3 and Superman. We also took a look at cellphones. I'll probably pick up one tomorrow when five has all day to shop and walk around with me. Outside of the phone store was a gigantic ad featuring Hermes from Densha Otoko
We picked up some lunch down in the fast food court on the bottom level. I order some Takoyaki from this place downstairs:
It wasn't the best thing i've had. I figured that the consistency of the takoyaki ball would have been more firm and solid, rather than a gooey mess of batter, mayonaise and octopus. It was incredibly hot as well, which didn't help. Oh well...
As five left for work, he got me a touristy map of Nagasaki so that i could find my way around town. He pointed out that i should check out the shopping district of Nagasaki, so away i went. He suggested that i take the electric car over there, but i'm not exactly comfortable with that at the moment. Even though, plopping a 100å?? coin into the basket seems easy enough. Besides, there's no telling what i'd miss out on if i didn't walk.
After walking quite a ways, i finally got to my destination:
The Nagasaki Shopping District was huge. It's basically an indoor sideways that spans about 4 blocks.
Oddly enough, there really wasn't a whole lot inside. Just a whole lot of random crappy mall stores, along with restaurants and fast food places.. I continued walking around the area, just to see what i could find.
Nagasaki is so pretty ^_^. I circled around the shopping district. I sorta zig-zagged through streets and alternate roads to see what was down them. I didn't stray too far away from the main street, so that i could still find my way back. I came back into the side of the indoor/outdoor mall and spotted a cellphone store off to the side and decided to take a look, since i was in the market for one. This store had the same type of feel as yodobashi back in fukuoka; like, the entire store was electronics.
While peering at the camera flip phones, i noticed this teenage kid come in the store and jet up the one-way escalator to the side. I'm not exactly sure why i decided to follow him, but when i got the second floor, it was filled with all sorts of appliances such as Microwaves, Laundry machines, etc. I knew this kid's destination was something video game related. Why else would he come to this floor, if not to go to somewhere else more to his liking.
I took the escalator to the next floor and was bathed in gaming advertisements. ha ha, i had found what i was looking for: a game shop. They had some pretty slick stuff like Rogue Galaxy, Every Extend Extra, advertisements for Pokemon 4, the new DS headset, that sweet DS mecha game, the Tingle DS game, a copy of Daigasso (which i should probably pick up), the Gunbuster game, this big Castlevania box, and the Limited Edition version of Berserk for ps2. They also had a Loco Roco PSP, which i found quite appealing. I suppose if i bought a PSP, this would be the one to get. ^_^
Overall, the shop was pretty small, but i still managed to spend about an hour walking back and forth between the few aisles. I picked up another DS game holder. This time i actually bought that slick, compact case that holds 6 games. It's really the best game holder for DS games.
Anyways, i continued to wander around the area to find interesting things.. This high-class clothing shop featured a slogan character: Suit Man!
Which actually didn't show up so well in the photo -_-;;
I also found a place that sells crab:
I continued around the tightly compact alley ways, found some interesting buildings, and then came across the international symbol for "place to spend all of your money here".
The whole 3rd floor of this building was dedicated to games, so i was set to spend another hour or two. Their selection of DS games was huge. They had a Used copy for just about every new release title. Though, you don't really save a whole from buying Used in Japan. Most of the time they just shave off $2 or $3.
I found some choice title though, like the japanese Smash Brothers Melee, Giftpia for $15, Berserk for $30, and several other titles i didn't take pictures of. Even though the place was pretty big, they did not have a single copy of any Dance Dance Revolution title. What a fricken let down. On the way out i noticed ads for Nightrider, Some new Lodoss War box set, and The A Team.
I walked up this beautiful road back to the direction of five's apartment:
Also on the way home, i passed the Konami Sports Club, which seemed to be exactly like a YMCA type establishment meant for the younger crowd. I wonder if they had DDR inside of there. I also came across this beautiful museum:
and another park:
Check out (http://www.theschlock.com/photo/060915_downtown/) for more pictures not shown in the post.
___
Anyways, walking around is really pretty easy. Most people don't really care. I mean, if you were in downtown Madison and you saw a japanese person walk by you, you wouldn't give a damn that they were foreign. That's pretty much the same sentiment here as well, "Ok, so he's a big tall white guy.. big deal. not like i haven't seen that before."
The creepiest people i've come across so far have been foreignors. They always seem to stare at me, and i really have no idea why. The first night here, i walked past this other American and his eyes were set directly with mine. I just looked away and ignored him while walking past. It's like he wanted to say something to me, or expected me to do something.
Earlier today, i was browsing around in a store and this white women was staring at me as well, when i was just looking around at things. Everytime i peered over, she had the most intense stare at me. It was quite unnerving.
I think for those living over here for an extended period of time begin to borrow into their own personality. I mean, you don't see many foreignors around here at all. During this whole trip, i've seen about 7 clear foreignors and each of them has acted a bit odd when i look at them. I think they just get used to being an outsider and lose a bit of their homeland personality along with it. Even five is a bit kooky... more so than before.
Seeing one of their own kind kinda throws them for a loop. I've been kind experiencing that as well. Even after two days, i know how a japanese person is going to react when i pass them on the street. I'll nod or smile at them, and they'll be nice and do the same. It's completely different how you'd great someone in America. So, you aren't going to do the same for a foreignor. Beyond that, you can't say "hi there" or "howdy", because not all foreignors are American.
So.. I just walk by them, and they stare at me oddly. whatever.. though, posed with the situation again, i think i'm going to say something... or probably wave. :shrugs: