Japan

[vaeluur]

Any goings-on in the land of the rising sun?  Any must see places?  What have I been missing here?

[Aetherscapist]

Well, there's the Ninja Restaurant...not exactly Steampunk as it's hardly Victorian/Edwardian, but certainly fairly period, so...

Plus, it's awesome...

Besides that...I dunno, probably, I'm not in Japan!  I may end up moving there for awhile in a year and a half or so though, so it would be good to know!

[S.Sprocket]

Sushi is defenetly a foundation for some sort of steampunk food.  It was invented in the 1800's so it's certainly within the time peroid.


As for steampunk things INSIDE japan to do...

There are some highly steampunky things in Tokyo Disneyland.

and...

I'm sure if you go to Osaka and talk to the Gothic Lolita girls they probably know of some neo-victorian spots, and in THOSE places, you may find a whole arm of steampunk that we here in the forum know nothing about.  Care to be our ambassador?

[Mr. Shank]

I planned on going to Japan to visit for a few months in a couple of years...
Maybe by then they will have a Steampunky Region that we will know of..
or maybe not... Who knows

[seijikat]

the rose and crown is a nice victorian-era replica london pub. tends to be filled with salarymen and OL but still a nice spot. shinbashi station, karasumori exit.[head towards the new shinbasi building and keep going up the street a bit, it is on the right hand side of the street.]

the 82 pub [or 82 alehouse?] is nice as well, same sort of victorian london pub sort of theme. shinagawa station, konan exit. [go down the escalator and walk down the street directly in front. it is near the end of the street on the right hand side.]

there was a really, really awesome "last exile" style cafe in akihabara, where, instead of the heavily overdone maid/butler theme, all of the serving girls/boys wore flight jackets and silk flying scarves and aviator goggles and the like [there was also one supercute boy dressed as a buckingham palace guard, haha] but sadly, it was no longer there last i visited. 

if you go to tokyo disneyland, the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride is a delicious ride where you travel inside a victorian/steampunk submersible deep under the ocean. [and get attacked by a giant squid!] you sit on lovely victorian couches and peer out through bubble windows. also, the american waterfront area has DisneySea Electric Railway and DisneySea Transit Steamer Line, both v.v. cool. the new york area also has a very large steamship named columbia [if i recall correctly?] that was really cool too. the journey to the center of the earth thing was pretty cool too, but the wait was like FOUR HOURS or something stupid.

i'll try to remember the names of some other places. i know there were more cafe/pubs but i can't recall the names just now...

[vaeluur]

Many thanks, Seijikat!  I have been a little bit more south than that, working in Yokosuka for the past 2 years.  I have a glorious 30 days of holiday to take advantage of all the things which I have not seen yet, and that starts this week.  If I find anything else I will be sure to share with the rest of the people that may or may not end up here in the future.

And as a heads up to those that are thinking about getting out to Japan I would advise you stay away from the US Military towns (Yokota, Yokosuka, etc.) as the locals are far less friendly to those that look like they might be connected to the military in any form (you can read that as non-asian).  But in the defense of the locals, I too would be less receptive if I had to deal with some of the straight moronic actions that some of these guys think they can get away with.

I think a Disney trip might be in order...

I am also planning on going to the Atomic Bomb museum/peace park in Nagasaki.  I will report anything that I find that fits into shared interests, but I don't know if there will be much there...

[Paulman]

Heh. I lived in a town near Osaka, where it was still possible to astound the locals by putting on the The Gaijin Can Use Chopsticks and Order Meals in Japanese show, three times daily.
"Suuugoiii!"
"Jouzu da na..."

Sometimes I felt like a dancing bear...

[vaeluur]

I am not bumping an old thread of mine for any vanity reasons, I promise!  I just wanted to update everyone on something that I think will interest everyone (if they make it to Tokyo).

Today I went to Ueno with my roommates, first to the zoo (about $5US to get in, thats awesome) and then to the amazing National Science Museum.  With an even cheaper ticket price than the zoo (500 yen), we wandered the 6 floors for a few hours.  The floor that really stood out was the 2nd floor, which is all about industrialization. The biggest prize, if you ask me?
The Myriad Year Clock


I forgot my camera at a friend's house, but I will be going back for that, and many other items of interest there.  I don't know where to start with that 2nd floor (from spring and clockwork tea serving robots to the first computer in Japan...)

till I have more...
John

[Weetobix]

I had the pleasure of visiting Japan in 2005 and found it a truely wonderful place.

Ok, not a lot of steampunk, but here's a pic of a Harajuku girl in Victorian style gothic lolita dress

http://www.pictureitsolutions.co.uk/pix/displayimage.php?album=8&pos=12

and here's a selection of my pictures from the trip - hope you enjoy

http://www.pictureitsolutions.co.uk/pix/thumbnails.php?album=8

[Kitten Brigadier]

*casts thread necromancy*

[deadtree]

Oh! I know a place of interest: Meijimura (http://www.meijimura.com/english/index.html),an "open air museum" that's actually a little town comprised of houses, offices, and other buildings built in Japan or by Japanese workers in other countries (Brazil and America, mostly) in the Meiji era (1868-1912).  There is some fabulous architecture to be found, and because it's located in Inuyama (the closest major city is Nagoya), the area is mostly unspoiled; it's surrounded by green hills and a pretty river cuts along side it.  Almost all of the buildings are open to visitors, and each is appointed just as one would expected to have found them. A few restaurants are dotted around the museum (their outdoor furniture sort of kills the feeling sometimes), but I didn't eat at any of them; there's also a gift shop that features all the usual things one expects to find in a gift shop.
I only went once, but it was a lot of fun. And even though it's a bit of a pain to get to (the trains are slow and the buses don't come very often, and take quite a while) it's worth the trip if you ever find yourself bored in Japan.
On a related note, a friend of mine and I did a photoshoot there-- we're wearing lolita, not steampunk, but you can get an idea about the setting if you're interested: http://community.livejournal.com/egl/11386891.html

[Flynn MacCallister]

Kyoto Orgel Museum and Kanazawa Port Ono Karakuri Museum. XD