I'm back!

My first real post since my return to the land of the rising sun. The previous post wasn't really anything, I just needed to upload some pictures so that I could post them on other websites. Anyways I've been relatively busy this week and I formated my computer twice so I haven't had much opportunity to write. I finally got back into Japan Tuesday evening just before gold medal winner figure skater Arakawa Shizuka came back. I came out of customs only to see hundreds of Japanese people standing behind the gates with cell phones and cameras in hand. I had to laugh and thought 'it's so typically Japanese-everyone waiting to take a picture of their loved ones coming off the plane.' Then I saw the TV cameras and reporters and realized that there must be some famous people arriving in Japan.

On March 3rd I did something 'crazy' and lined up at 8 o'clock in the morning to buy a Nintendo DS Lite. I'm sure you can see the line up in the previous pictures. It was crazy! But anyways that wasn't even the begining of the day. I left early and took the expres train into Tokyo. That was the first time I ever took a train into Tokyo that early on a weekday morning. The express trains in the middle of the day are pretty busy but at 8 in the morning they are CRAZY!! The platform at my station was absolutely packed with people and when the train pulled up it looked practically full already-standing room full I mean. Anyways somehow everyone managed to get on. I was literally pressed up against the door on the other side of the train. I couldn't even move my arm. I remember thinking to myself 'jeez this is the most packed I've ever seen this train and I've come home on some busy ones at night!'

Then, to my shock and horror, the train stopped at another station half way into Ikebukero. The line ups for each door were about 3 columns across and they basically stretched out across the width of the platform. The doors opened up and I was amazed to see that a couple of people at the front of the line actually were going to try and squeeze on. And then, just like that, a surge came from the back of the line and the entire group somehow poured into the train like a title wave. I was swept from the doors right back until I was on the other side of the train! And believe me I really couldn't move then! I was amazed how the Japanese could find space for 20 people for each door of the train when I doubted that the entire train could accomodate even three more people. I'm sure if that happened in Toronto, people would just shrug and wait for the next subway train to come.

I got into Ikebukero a little after 8am and headed to my local Bic Camera. I don't know what I was thinking but I think I maybe had this little delusion that because practically everyone in Japan already owns a Nintendo DS, the line-up for the Nintendo DS Lite probably wouldn't be too bad. The length of the line-up two hours before the store even ended certainly crushed that little delusion. I'm guessing that the lineup was about 150 metres long and was three columns across. That particular Bic Camera (one of the four that are outside Ikebukero station) apparently had 600 DS's so there must have been at least 600 people in line.

After about 3 hours of waiting in line I was able to grab one and I was quite pleased at being able to participate in one of those things that you only ever saw the crazy Japanese do when the newspaper published a picture of the latest console release.