Comments on: A Tale of Two Japanese Cities

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:26:59 +0000

Thanks, Greg.

I forgot to mention this in the orginal post, but I actually had another close call prior to this. I went to Taiwan in September (oh, how I travel…) and I had to fly out of Seoul.

I managed to wake myself up at 5am, which was my main concern. But then proceded to get on the wrong bus and ended up in the wrong fucking city, and only just made my plane.

Less than a month later I was in Osaka doing the same damn thing.

This is all taking into consideration the fact that my dad flies to AFRICA for work every few weeks and has drilled flight preparation into my head since I was a baby. I used always arrived four hours early, just to be sure.

By: Greg Olear

Greg Olear — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:23:03 +0000

Really enjoyed this, David…and I’m so glad you made that flight! The logistics of getting to the airport always stress me out more than anything.

The woman with the tickets was weird, but if there was a naked guy who wanted to drink with you and give you a haircut…THAT would be the Smithson Effect.

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:53:31 +0000

That sounds way cooler.

By: Zara Potts

Zara Potts — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:13:31 +0000

I though FTW stood for ‘Fuck the World’ or is that Old School???

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:23:04 +0000

Ok, thanks. I was under the impression that ‘pwned’ referred only to getting kicked in the nuts.

By: Will Entrekin

Will Entrekin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:01:31 +0000

FTW= for the win. Woot = we owned (the) other team.

Both originated in gaming but gained pop culture cache. See also: pwned, which is a typo for owned, which means you just got your ass handed to you, or handed somebody else his (or hers).

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:36:58 +0000

I don’t know what ‘FTW’ means… Not entirely sure about ‘woot’ either.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:21:56 +0000

Woot! California FTW!

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:53:15 +0000

US immigration still ranks up there as one of the worst in my opinion, but I have the advantage of being white over there. Being white here is a bit of a kick in the teeth. The insides of our possessions and bodies are a thing of great fascination.

I have a much sadder story regarding the plight of dark skinned people in Korea immigration, which I guess is probably the same in many countries around the world. In Korea they like to structure the waiting lines by race and skin tone…

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:51:01 +0000

You’re welcome. I love Japan and I can honestly say that I wasn’t paid by the tourist board to write this… I’d recommend a visit for anyone.

The only slight problem - and I mentioned this briefly in the story - is the cost. It’s an expensive place. To get there from Korea is cheap so it’s not so bad, but coming from the US would make it a hell of a cost. Nothing costs less than ten dollars.

By: Ducky

Ducky — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:05:58 +0000

Ah, I have stories like this, too. Bulgaria was my worst. Thanks for sharing. It helps knowing others get fucked with by immigration, too.

By: J.M. Blaine

J.M. Blaine — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:14:41 +0000

I love the Japanese culture and people and have been pondering a visit for sometime now.
This sold me, a respectful and polite people, much like the ones I have met here in the States.

Thank you sir.

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:31:17 +0000

That’s true. Even on Korean TV I find myself confronted by Two and a Half Men and a dozen other LA-made or LA-based shows. They’re the reason why people here all walk about in t-shirts and caps with things on them that the wearer will never understand.

Try asking a Korean kid with a Lakers shirt who the Lakers are… He has no idea. (Obviously this applies to Korean kids in Korea and not Korean kids in America, who will of course be aware of what they are wearing.)

By: D.R. Haney

D.R. Haney — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:26:24 +0000

Actually, by now, you don’t really have to be in L.A. to be in L.A., we’ve been so successful in exporting our values. And so I expect it to continue.

By: David S. Wills

David S. Wills — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:22:04 +0000

Indeed, like I said, the French guy was really harsh in describing Paris. And now that I think about it, whenever I’ve met a French person they’ve tended to reminisce about the South or the West of France, or about the beautiful little villages you find everywhere - never about Paris.

And I’ll keep that in mind when I go back to LA.

Although, last time I was there I was in Union Station and met a nice guy. We talked about life and philosophy for an incredible five hours. (However, we did start with stupid pleasantries and TV show banter.)