I am a big fan of What Japan Thinks, a site that translates polls done on members of the Japanese public on various issues and reports back the results with pretty graphs. Whilst the title “What Japan Thinks” may be suggesting all Japanese think the same way, I’m sure it’s not intended to be like that. I’m not really sure why I brought that up except to avoid angry people emailing me.
That has got me thinking though. “What questions would I like to see on that site?” I’ve thought for about 60 seconds long and hard about it, and here are my top 5 questions I’d most like to see on the site;
1. Do those text based emoticons everyone uses in mobile phone messages annoy you?
a. Yes
b. Sometimes
c. No
d. <(O_o^)>–<-<@ Not at all I love them! ^___^
This may seem like somewhat of a non-issue, but when over 50% of each message is made up of brackets or other various symbols, they become blindingly hard to read. Most Japanese mobiles these days have these really cool little animated icons and they are much friendlier. So stop with all the (*+o*) nonsense.
2. Do you fully understand how to use the Tokyo train system?
a Yes, because I designed it and have spent many years studying it.
b. I know how to get around but sometimes the train goes in entirely the opposite direction to where it said it was going.
c. No because my IQ is not 5991592.
d. I don’t use trains, probably because I know in order to read the train map I’d need a team of scientists.
Ok, it’s not that bad, but sometimes you will end up in an entirely random station. The subway is especially bad, and be wary when two lines join or one line splits into two because you will be on the wrong train. Add express trains into the mix and you have insanity.
3. Speaking of trains, have you ever missed the last train?
a. Never because I am absoloutly no fun.
b. Once or twice when I had a few too many drinks.
c. All the time, because I’m an adult and thus I like going out past midnight.
d. There’s a last train? If it’s before 5am I’m not going home!
It’s like one big bedtime. Too many times fantastic drinking parties in Tokyo were stopped early by people rushing off to catch the last train home. Boo.
4. What are your thoughts on Roppongi’s night scene?
a. It’s a dark, scary place.
b. It’s a dark, scary, dangerous place.
c. It’s a dark, scary, dangerous and tacky place.
d. I like it, but then my hobby is being followed around and invited to strip clubs.
This place has absoloutly nothing going for it at all. Roppongi Hills is only a few minutes away, and although it’s very expensive, it’s much much nicer. If you really want to meet up with other foreigners in Japan then yes, the pubs and bars of Roppongi are the place to go, but do yourself a favour and stay way, way away from the clubs.
5. What is your favourite area of Tokyo?
a. Harajuku - I love alternate fashion. I’m either incredibly rich or I do all my shopping on Takeshita Dori.
b. Shibuya - I spend in excess of 10,000 Yen a week on hairspray.
c. Shinjuku - I am a businessman, an avid shopper or a degenerate gambler. Or I just love Starbucks.
d. Akihabara - My hobby is either being an anime dork or watching anime dorks be dorky.
I left “e. Oji because Mike used to live there” out but obviously that answer would win if entered.
Five totally and utterly, 100% fair and unbiased questions, all ready for the public!
My answers are a b c c ea. Post yours!
[flickr]photo:2240135610[/flickr][flickr]photo:2239344901[/flickr][flickr]photo:2240134442[/flickr][flickr]photo:2240134220[/flickr]
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
1. I can’t remember the last time somebody emailed my phone. Isn’t that only for bored people on trains?
2. It’s been years since I went to Tokyo, but don’t you just get on the train, send emails full of spammy emoticons, then get off? Simple.
3. I actually just miss the train, period. I moved to the countryside and train technology hasn’t reached us yet.
4. At first I was thrilled that foreigners were allowed in the clubs, unlike in Nagoya. But I later realized they only do it so they can steal our drinks when we put them down, forcing us to buy more, making us drunk enough to forget that we had our drinks stolen in the first place - very clever.
5. I once stayed in a little capsule hotel in Shimbashi. It was small, dirty and had bogeys stuck on the walls inside the capsule. If I had to pick a favorite place in the whole of Tokyo, that would be it. (*´ο`*)=3
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
1. b. If it’s a cute girl, she can put whatever emoticon she wants in there. Otherwise, stick to words. My phone does not have the animated ones, so they just show up as boxes anyway.
2. a. I didn’t design it, but I’ve never had a problem with the trains here. That said, these days I prefer to take a motorcycle.
3. b. Yep, I’ve missed it a few times. All-night karaoke or manga cafes to the rescue.
4. I do have one favourite bar that I like to go to in Roppongi to chat with the other regulars and the staff. That said, I’m not really into going anyplace else. Most of my Roppongi experience is going to my dojo there at 7am.
5. Ikebukuro. Because it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. You see all types there (ie people from the other 4 areas mentioned) on a Sunday night, all converging there on their way back home to the North or the West.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm
1. B; Drew kind of nailed that.
2. A; I didn’t design it either, but I lived there for around 10 months and never had an issue.
3. B; Walking home from Ikebukuro station wasn’t worth the extra effort. It reinforced my self-imposed curfew. I think that it was a good thing in the end, because it also regulated my sleep.
4. C; Lame.
5. C…went to school there.
So…why would you like to see these questions on the site? They’re all rather Tokyo-centric… And I’m sure you’d get answers as varied as the personal experiences which led to them, just like you did here. (Although, I bet there would be fewer write-in answers. Maybe that’s a Western opinionated thing. Ha ha.)
February 4th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Nick: Emailing phones is indeed for bored train travellers, but I used to email any photo I took on my phone that was in the slightest bit good to everyone in my address book. All the time. I was going to put Shimbashi on the list but I think Akiba is more famous.
Drew: Ikebukuro is really nice actually, another place I wanted to put on, but it has somewhat of a lack of Izakayas! Why, Ikuebukuro designers? WHY?!
Deas: I lived in Tokyo for the year so it’s the part of Japan I know about. Maybe I’ll do another one in the near future with a more country theme.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:15 am
What Japan thinks is a weird site, that guy only translates oricon surverys into English, nothing original at all
February 9th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Paulie: It is a shame that there’s no original questions on there. One day maybe I’ll do some xD