Do you wish there were more Japanese novelists in the science fiction and fantasy genre or just in general?
1 Like
Well, I think Japan fantasy or sci-fi works best as manga, not novels. I don’t particularly feel dissatisfied or anything with Japanese novels. They do their best. There’s a lot of good fiction.
1 Like
Did you hear about the origin of a certain meme?
https://alf-s-room.com/etc/nandarou/binbows/binbows_english.htm
1 Like
If I were a published author, visiting Japan for vacation/inspiration/ideas for a story, what would you recommend for me in terms of places to go to gain some serious inspiration?
Far as locations, libraries, and other things.
The genre would be a slice-of-life with fantasy elements.
1 Like
What the heck is that? XD That’s hilarious. The original building can still be found, apparently…and it’s in an area near where I grew up XD
That’s crazy.
1 Like
Hmmmmmmmm 
Ghibli Museum (you have to order tickets months in advance though)
You could go to a popular location and go down one of the side streets.
If you go to a place called Aoyama which is between Harajuku and Omotesando. It’s got this affluent yet quiet, cozy vibe.
Here’s a travel guide thing.
And you can go down one of the side streets to find more of a slice-of-life type of vibe.
I’d also recommend going away from the big city to West Tokyo City. I used to live there. It’s a sleepy town with lots of mansions (in Japanese, we say “mansions”, but in English, it’s more like giant apartment complexes). And you’ll find people going about their lives. You’ll take the local train out of the big city and find stations like this:
This random photo I found happens to be the exact station I used to use XD
I would suggest walking in a small or big circle around the station to explore a place like this. You’ll really get a sense of the region and how people live there.
2 Likes
An image of the building is a classic example of a funny image that has been reposted and reposted pretty much everywhere.
Seeing as it sold cheap PC parts, Churro would have loved to visit.
2 Likes
Have you ever tried the 10 yen bread?
or marugame shake udon?
1 Like
Do you keep up with what is happening in Japan, far as trends?
If so, what trends are gaining plenty of traction amongst the Japanese people?
If you are not into trends, what is it about your country that you would change in regards to the Japanese society?
1 Like
10 yen bread? I haven’t seen bread that cheap in decades probably. Right now the cheapest I’ve heard of is fifty-nine at my local grocery store.
I’ve never had Marugame actually. But I do like udon. Udon over soba any day 
a tiny bit?
heart fingers
what’s that called…
apparently in English it’s called Finger heart (and it has its own Wiki page)
That’s really, really popular. Even see it on big ads.
Loose socks have come back from the graves of the early 2000s. Like how early 2000s fashion has returned to the states, so has it in Japan, but not as much as the states. I see some young high school girls wearing loose socks, but not enough to say “oh yeah, there’s a big trend now”.
Oh yes, this hairstyle of men where it’s parted down the middle. I always wonder if those weird bang situations aren’t bothersome.
Don’t know who this is, random person on the internet.
Other than that? Not sure if there are any trends. Trends have been in a stalling state for YEARS now I feel. Even before the pandemic, trends have been on an all-time low. Nothing is trending. Even my girlfriends who watch more TV than I do were saying the same thing.
Their acceptance of people with disabilities. My partner didn’t know about Down’s Syndrome until I told him about it. It’s really bad here. Maybe blind YouTuber Molly had good experience here as a blind person and I can see that, but we don’t see or even remotely hear or learn about any other disabilities.
In which I start to launch into a rant about the Japanese government
And LGBT and how that’s viewed. It’s getting better because finally the government is kind of talking about it, but it could be better.
I would also want the government to have more women.
And I also want the government to actually think about the people of the country because there is no country without the people. Why raise taxes? Why make hospitals and medicine so expensive? Why make medical anything so expensive? Why does it have to be so expensive to take care of yourself? I get people have to get paid but surely there are other ways to do it.
In which I go into a rant about education in Japan
I hope schools are better today than when I was a kid, because I didn’t know a lot of the horrible things Japan did in history to various countries until I reached college. Let me tell you, I was SHOCKED that I wasn’t taught about what happened between Japan and Korea. What Japanese soldiers did to Korean women, I was not taught that, and I get it, they don’t want to teach little elementary school kids dark stuff like that, but I think they could have taught it in junior high.
I was also not taught that Japan had nuclear power plants. Idk. Maybe I missed that part? But I clearly remember teachers going on and on about the Chernobyl incident and how dangerous and horrible it was. I didn’t hear about nuclear power plants existing in Japan until the earthquake happened. I don’t think I was the only one. This probably isn’t just a Japan problem. I wish teachers didn’t conceal information.
Yeah, that’s probably about it 
3 Likes
@anon39043209 To add, I don’t watch TV, so maybe there’s a trend going on that hasn’t translated into the main world yet Like, something can trend only on TV among the celebrities and I would never know about it until everyday life people start talking about it or something.
I have been keeping up with the news but not with celebrities. Don’t even know who’s really big right now.
2 Likes
I like udon too~ especially when it’s cold out
What the heck is that? XD I’ve never seen that bread. If it’s Tokyo, Harajuku, I rarely go there anyway. But it looks like fun
2 Likes
I think it’s kind of like taiyaki but it’s filled with cheese. It’s on my list of foods to try when I can visit Japan.
2 Likes
Oh my gosh, I love cheese!
I should get my partner to take me there 
2 Likes
What’s your favorite holiday?
No, your birthday doesn’t count. Or your mom’s birthday.
1 Like
I would have spent all my pocket money there 
2 Likes
Birthdays aren’t holidays
Probably Golden Week. In May. Who doesn’t want an entire week of holidays?
But if it’s just one holiday, I would say Christmas.
1 Like
Is shibuya far from your place?
or maybe there’s a don quijote near you with the 10 yen bread
2 Likes