Article
Hello Everyone,
Long time no see to some of you. For the rest, its been maybe a couple weeks or minutes lol
This article, and the series that it was supposed to be part of, is actually one I wrote for another game, but I have been asked to start up over here. Pardon if you see any out of place text or references in the following paragraphs, I might not have been paying the greatest attention when I edited things
Today I bring to you the birth of a short (or perhaps long) series about living in the real life Japan!
Normally, real life should be kept completely separate from games, but as in many other cases, eJapan is an exception to the rule. Many of the players here want to visit Japan in real life, so this should be interesting to a decent number of people.
Disclaimer: I am a male 23 year old ethnic Hispanic from the United States of America. My view of Japan is based on that platform because a human being can only ever be themselves. I will try to be objective as much as possible, but there will be bias. As the reader, please remember to exercise your own intellect in relation to what I write.
While the primary purpose of this series will be to write about my experiences in Japan, I will also be adding in notes and random advice for others that might want to come to this beautiful country.
Things to consider before coming
Before you actually come to Japan, you want to plan things to make your time here as enjoyable as possible. In my opinion, here are some things you should consider doing.
-Getting work first:
If you would like to stay in Japan for a long time, then I highly suggesting getting work that will make that possible. I got work with one of the many English education companies and it turned out great for me. The reason for getting work, besides the paycheck and such, is because it gives a very good excuse to interact with Japanese people and worm your way into the fabric of society. The people you work with are going to be forced to talk with you after all
-Getting translation help:
If you are going to be here for any length of time, you will need a translator to help you arrange where you will live and the various bits of legal things you must complete. If you are looking for work in Japan, I suggest checking to see if they will help you get your life set up here. My company helped a great deal and made my life a ton easier. (Btw I am not saying the name of my company so you people can't find me
)
-Paperwork is a bitch:
You will have an ass ton of paperwork to do beginning with your visa application and all that. Japan is still very much all about physical paperwork so be ready for that.
-Regional Restrictions:
You will probably need adapters if you bring your own electronics. Japan uses a two pronged outlet that doesnt really work with the 3 prongs of some of the heavier usage electronics of the US. Also, you can't access mangareader and anime sites from back home here without changing your IP address. That means no Crunchyroll with vanilla internet access. Also no Fakku ;_;
Ok Now on to the less boring stuff
My arrival in Japan
The plane ride was a b!tch, let me just say that. It was hours of sitting in a middle seat and I couldn't fall asleep. While in there though, I got my first little "Aha" moment. Everybody on that flight was watching anime. Everybody. I had a dude next to me that looked like he was in his 80s and he was watching Doraemon. I loved it.
When I finally got to Japan, I touched down in Narita airport. It is supposedly the main airport for Tokyo, but its nowhere near the place. In fact, I didnt see Tokyo until like a month into my stay here. In the hotel I had my first experience with everyday Japan. The dress code around here is all over the place. I regularly see people in traditional clothing all over the place but especially at festivals. At ceremonies there are a lot of women wearing Kimonos but the guys pretty much always wear modern suits rather than traditional clothing. My favorite part of how everyone dresses though is that there are a lot more women with skirts and stockings/pantyhose. If you are a legs man, you will be in heaven
Anyways, about Japanese hotels and bathrooms. The rooms at that hotel were fine but I later found out that most hotel rooms are ridiculously small. I mean it to the point that I was in one room where the bed was in contact with three of the four main walls. I could not even fully stretch out when I slept there and I am about average height for the US. As for the bathrooms, Japanese people love their baths. Every place I have been in has a tub that is big enough to sit in so you can take a relaxing bath. In some places I wish they had just put in a shower and given me some more room in the main area though :/
As for the toilets... You get three kinds around here. The first is the squat toilet. Thankfully those are the least common, but they are the most awkward if you want to take a dump. Second is the traditional sitting toilet we are all used to using. Third comes that space age motherf**ker you've all heard about. Let me just say this: Check the settings before you do anything. I got hit with a stream of water in a spot I should not have, because apparently a lady had been the last one to stay in my hotel room.
My new home
So after a while of training for my new job and such which was too boring for me to write about, I was finally taken to my new home. I now live in a rather small town by any standards. I originally thought that because Japan is so small and the population so big, there could not possibly be any truly small towns. I was wrong. Very wrong. I now have to drive 30 minutes north just to find an electronics store. Not even a good one. Just a place where they sell TVs and household stuff. But I actually ended up loving it. The smaller the town, the more that people will end up knowing you. This is of course, both a good and bad thing. The good news is that people are more comfortable trying to talk to me. the bad news is that everyone immediately recognizes me and will gossip about anything I do. I took a wrong turn one day at a weird intersection and the next day one of my Japanese colleagues was telling me how to cross it correctly because someone snitched on me....
Oh and there are rice paddies everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. They flood them around this time of year and the noise that the frogs start making is ridiculously loud. The paddies look pretty, like there are bits of grassy lines growing through a mirror, but the noise is extremely annoying. Also, you have to be careful not to fall into them. They are obviously lower than the road and the roads around here are already narrow as it is without farming going on right next to them.
Today's Story
Each article will contain at least one or two "funny" stories of my daily life here. You will now find out why that above image is here.
You all know how it is rude to ask a girl's age right? Yeah, well f**k that bit of advice. Around here you have to ask.
When I first got to this town, I started eating out at nearby restaurants and convenience stores. There this one store I normally go to and there were these two cute girls that worked there and were very enthusiastic about wanting to talk to me. So blah blah blah we talk for a day or two and I start turning on the old charm. Well partway through about the third time talking to them, I suddenly think to ask about their ages. My guess was that they were both about 21. Well.... I was partially correct. Turns out that one of them was 22.... but the one I had been mainly trying to flirt with was 16.... So yeah... I took a couple showers and read a few bible verses that night.
After that little shocker I made it a point of trying to find out women's ages through various ways. Well lets just say that I can no longer tell age for sh!t apparently. All the women look roughly 18-20 if they are actually in the age range of 15-39. So yeah.... Do not assume anything about the age of ladies in Japan. I am not going to go into further detail, but there are a few stories as to why I place that image above this section :/
Well ignoring my own personal tragedy there at the end lol, This has been the opening article to my living in Japan series. Honestly this one came out a little more boring than I wanted it too. There was too much necessary set up to the more current stories. Now I leave you with a preview of the next few stories though
-Story 2: Love blooms for a 5th grade class: or, How to embarrass the hell out of your students
-Story 3: Drunk in Tokyo: or, Why you should get a hotel before getting P!ss drunk
-Story 4: The art of getting some: Or, Hey I am just as surprised as you are
-Story 5: The Gaijin pass: or, Wtf are you doing? Stahp!
-Story 6: Drinking culture in Japan: or Please god, no more alcohol, I'm begging you
~Hideyoshi William
Eternally chased by Lolis
Previous article:
Ignore for now (11 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
