01 | September | 2015

It’s appropriate that I’m writing this from Kyoto, which is the home of Nintendo. The card gaming company which became a video game powerhouse in the mid-80s.

There was no way I was going to Japan and leaving my Nintendo 3Ds or my Playstation Vita at home

Nintendo

My 3DS because of all the Street Passes, and believe me you get a lot here. I’m averaging about 30 Street Passes. a day and could go for more if I were constantly clearing them out!

Sadly, Nintendo region locks the 3DS (and the WiiU), where they had not done so previously. There are ways around this, but still, it’s a pain, and there are some great games to be played in the 3DS which are simply not available in North America or Europe. I’m definitely not a fan of region locking.

If you’re die hard, then you can definitely pick up a Japanese 3DS, and they have different colours available and face plates which are not available in the rest of the world although the “New 3DS” (smaller version) is coming out in North America soon.

Amiibos from Japan will work with North American hardware, and are not region locked. I picked up the Green Yarn Yoshi (available individually in Japan along with Pink and Blue), and Pac Man and they work well with the 3DS.

Remember Nintendo Zone where you can go places like Best Buy, connect to their network then you can download stuff for your console or StreetPass? Well it’s alive and well here in Japan, and Japanese Nintendo gamers can connect and download stuff for the 3DS at 7-Elevens, Tsutaya or Pokemon Stores! Even McDonald’s is in on the action.

Sony

On the other hand, despite the fact that Sony states a region and “For Japan Only” on Vita and PS4 games, they will all play anyway on hardware outside of Japan. I’ve picked up four games, at the recommendation of friends

Puyo Puyo Tetris for both Vita and PS4. I’m a sucker for Tetris and games like Dr. Mario, the latter which borrows heavily from Puyo Puyo.
Hideboh Hero – A dance/music timing game
IA/VT Colourful – Another music timing game
Taiko no Tatsujin – A music/beat timing game

You can take advantage of Tax Free Shopping at stores within Japan, as well they had a deal where if you paid with a Visa card, you can get 6% off, on top of the 8% saved from the taxes. A great deal, stock up!

If you’re looking for hardware, Japan is the place to be. You can get different coloured Vitas (admittedly the colours of the first generation Vitas are better than the second) and special edition PS4s as well.

There are a lot of games here, mostly RPGs which require you to understand a fair bit of Japanese. It could be worth your while learning the language.

If you’re looking for used hardware, then I do recommend Akihabara. Places like Super Potato have retro gaming consoles, and places like Sofmap also sell newer used hardware like the original Vita.

All in all, Japan is a geek’s wet dream when it comes to arcade and system gaming.

Today our fearless travellers must sample Natto, make their own Kansai-style Okonomiyaki for lunch, and visit three temples, battling the possibility of rain.

Kyoto – A temple for every week, and an Izakaya for every day of the year. It’s the Japanese version of Norwich, or so it feels.

A city of 1.4 million people, it has forests and mountains, and seems to have an interesting inner peace that you just don’t find in Tokyo with the bustling crowds. Unless, of course, you happen to be at a shrine.

We started the day off with a wonderful breakfast where I finally had the chance to sample Natto. Seriously people, it’s not that bad, mix it with rice and you’re god to go. That said, I admit it’s not something I need to have again. I will say, that I love it when people dismiss trying new things. For years, people have told me how gross Natto is, and people who don’t even know what it is saying, “Eww that looks nasty”. *shrugs* I’m quite happy exploring new foods and such.

We then headed out and visited three shrines and a shrine of convenience in the day:

7-Eleven – A shrine of convenience where we had to get money from the ATM
Heian Shrine – A beautiful shrine just around the corner from the hotel where we are staying
Kiyomizu-Dera Shine – In the mountains and provides some amazing views of Kyoto, better than the Kyoto Tower
Fushimi Inari Shrine – Which has a two-hour hike to see all the Torii

The first Torii we saw was at the entrance of the Heian – HUGE, you can see that I’m a speck relative to the size of it.

There’s an indescribable sense of peace that you feel when you visit a shrine, and they’re gorgeous.

To get to the Kiyomizu Shrine, you go through a residential area, and then you go through an area of shops selling all things Matcha and Hello Kitty, among other items. You then see this gorgeous shrine, which you know is going to have an amazing view.

On the way down we stopped for strawberry ice and also Match soft serve ice cream. All so good!

We headed to Kyoto Station to head over tot he Fushimi Inari Shrine, stopping for lunch at Avanti, for Okonomiyaki. No we didn’t make it, but we did think it would be a fun for someone during the Amazing Race Canada for the next season to have to serve Okonomiyaki. *GRIN*

We encountered, what is probably my favourite piece of Jengrish, I had to have a picture taken with it. You’ll see it below. There are a few interesting pieces of Jengrish in the picture set below as well.

I’ve mostly picked pictures that Scott took today, as he’s learning to use our Rebel T4i and the various lenses. He’s done a great job!

I’ve noticed that two of the shrines were actually sponsored by companies. In one case, FujiFilm, and the other Hitachi. Also, at the Fushimi Inari Shrine, companies and families will donate a Torii for good luck, etc… It’s an accepted part of society here.

We ended the day off with an amazing meal at the hotel. Prior to dinner, we stopped in the lounge for a drink and some cheese. Out of nowhere, the staff brought a small snack of tomato soup, chicken, curry, and shabu shabu. That really impressed us and it was tasty!

Our feet, legs and backs are both hurting. It’s been worth it, though.

Off to Hiroshima in the morning via Osaka, staying overnight and then back to Tokyo.