The Best Day Ever

So before I start on the "Best Day Ever" I just want to quickly talk about valentines day, in Japan usually the girl has to get something for the boy to let them know that they are interested. Then a month later on what is called "White day" the boy is suppose to return the gesture if he is also interested in the girl. It really puts all the pressure on the girl and is more of a predating thing. That said many people also treat it like we do, only with the woman doing the planing. My wife did nothing as she has been Americanized but I did get a box of chocolates from my mother-in-law.

My wife and I went back to the Italian place (the one with the chicken in "awesome sauce") to celebrate the day. As was expected it was great, we ordered pretty much the same things but this time we saved the bread for that sauce. After we left we were walking to the bus station and we noticed this pub, ma you didn't tell me you had opened a pub in Japan.

 Okay now for the "Best Day" story, it is mostly about games but there is things about the trip and other things that might make it worth reading even if your not into games.

So lets start, I was contacted by someone on eBay asking if I had bulk supplies or other rare items (they missed out on the orange controller). I told them I didn't have anything at the moment but after talking I found out one of the items he was looking for was bulk orders of N64 memory cards. I knew that I had seen Memory Cards and Rumble Paks at Hard Off, a lot of them. So I decided that I was going to make a trip to Hard Off to see if I could stock up on what he was looking for. The day started off by being strategically pushed out of bed by a heat stealer. He had about two thirds of the bed at this point.

In order for me to get to Hard Off I was going to have to figure out how to get there without being driven. I needed to be able to spend time there and if my wife drove me that was not going to happen, I would be rushed from the moment we walked though the doors.

This was not terribly hard but there were some unknowns. In order to get to the store I would first need to take a bus to Hakata station, then take a train (which I had not done), I knew the station was close to Ikea but I wasn't sure how close (though I knew it was within a few blocks). Then I would need to walk to the store which was no big deal as I had done the walk from Ikea before on trips with my wife.

When I got to the train station I asked the information booth about where I needed to go to get on the train and which one I would need to take to get to the city/town I was going to. This satiation is pretty big maybe not Grand Central but perhaps Penn Station, so its easy to get confused as to what track you need to go to (especially if you can only read half of the signs). After talking with the girl at information I was able to easily find the train and track I needed to take and I only had to wait about 10 minutes.


The train showed up and I was on my way into an uncharted realm, it was actually really relaxing and fast. It took about 30~40 minutes to get to my stop. When I got out I was surprised at how close it actually was to Ikea. I mean it was right there, right there.

Thats the station on the right

It took me about 10 minutes to walk from the station to Hard Off, it was a really nice day. The tempeture was around 50 or 60 degrees the kind of temature where a sweater is good but a jacket might be too much. There were a lot of kids playing in the park and birds were singing and over all it just felt good. I hate the cold weather we have been having lately so it was good to see and feel the change, hopefully it stays like this for awhile.

Anyway I got to Hard Off and walked in, the first thing I did was to head over to the hardware section to look for those memory cards. Looking though the bins I did find a few things for myself (of course), first was a Game Boy Advance rechargeable battery with the charger ($3). I also grabbed a Ice Clear Gameboy Color for $5 the unit itself was in great condition but the screen does have a few scratches, an easy enough repair if I choose to do so. I almost forgot to mention it but I also found a black GBA ($3), the screen protector was beat to hell but the shell is fine and I could just get a replacement screen protector if need be.

I then came across a white Sega Saturn controller ($1) the color was pretty good there was little to no yellowing. I also found a gray saturn controller but the buttons colors were different and the shoulder buttons were also different from each other, there was a sticker over the logo in the middle so I couldn't tell if this was a V.Saturn or H.Saturn controller. Long story short Sega allowed Hitachi and Victor to produce there own branded Saturns for deals on components and these are a little more rare. I took the risk and picked it up for $3, later I found that it it was not a V or H Saturn controller, I'm not totally sure but I think it was just someones own custom job (aka crap).

Unfortunetly when I got to the N64 stuff they had lots of Rumble Paks but only a handful of Memory Cards and they wanted about $3 each which was the price the guy was willing to pay. So that was a big strike out I had been hoping for a price of $1 each and was looking to pick up about 50. Had I been looking for the Rumble Paks that would have been doable as they had tons for that price.

I made my way over to the games and looking through the Super Famicom games I picked up Bastard ($1), Aladdin ($3) and WildTrax ($1). I was excited to find WildTrax (known as Stunt Race FX in the USA) as it is one of the FX chip games and I had been looking for this to do a project. I was thinking to overclock it to make it run a little faster on the SFC seemed like something I would have some fun with I just need to find a good electronics store around here.

The N64 section is pretty small but I did manage to find one game I wanted which was Wave Race 64  at just $1 how could I say no. I then moved over to the Sega section, taking a look at the Dreamcast games I picked up Soul Calibur ($3) and Incoming which I was actually going to put back because they wanted $10 but I forgot and ended up buying it.

Next up was the Saturn games, the ones that I ended up with were Virtua Cop ($1) and Virtua Cop 2 ($1 this time with the right game inside), Nights into Dreams ($1) and Shining the Holy Ark ($1).  P.S. I really hate the price tags at Hard Off they never come off easy and leave behind that sticky residue. Its weird because at Book Off the tags are easy to get off and leave nothing behind.

At this point I was ready to go as they didn't have anything else that really interested me, I mean they did have a Mega Drive (Genesis) model 2 in the box but they wanted $45 for it. Had it been a model 1 I may have thought about it, besides that it would be hard to carry back as all I had was my messenger bag. So I went to the register to check out, this was made harder by the fact that the cashier was speaking really softly so I couldn't hear him. Of course when I would ask him to say it again or that I didn't hear him he thought I was saying I didn't know Japanese so he would take a few seconds and try to think of the english. This happened a few times and was really annoying because if he would have just spoke louder I would have been fine. It was a minor thing but at this point I was tired and feeling a little defeated, I had hoped to be walking out with a giant bag of Memory Cards and that was not the case.

Once I was outside I took a look down the road trying to see if I could see any other game stores. I know that when driving there in the past we did pass a few. I thought they were close but walking and driving are totally different when saying "close". On top of that I would have to walk back to the road for the train station and then pass it and keep going. I decided I would go ahead and walk down a little bit to see if I could find anything. I ended up walking for about 20 minutes and was about to give up and turn around when I noticed a store up ahead, the name of it was Eco-Book basically a chain recycle center like Book Off. The store was pretty big and it said they had CD's Books and Games, sounds good lets give it a shot right.

When I walked in it was pretty busy it was Sunday after all. I was able to find the game section pretty quick but it was mostly new stuff Wii, Wii U, PS3 (side note PS4 is not out in Japan yet, the USA got it first wtf? We won't have it till the 22nd), PSP, Vita, DS and 3DS.

 

However going further in I came upon the retro section and .....

oh .... my...... GOD!! 

The first thing I saw was the case displays at the end of the aisles and they were filled with stuff I wanted to buy. Umm Super Famicom Jr. in the box uhhh yes please, but not this time at $90 I didn't have enough money.

There were bins of Game Boy games (which oddly enough were really expensive, around $3~$8 per game) some complete with the box others loose.

Going down the aisles they had Super Famicom, N64, GBA.

The next aisle was Xbox (original), PC and PS1. Followed by Game Cube, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and more PS1. At the end they had a bunch of fight sticks and the like.

They also had the best selection of Xbox 360 games I have seen at any store in Japan. I mean they had a bunch, usually if you can find 40 games in one place that would be really, really good. Most of the time if, thats if, a store has 360 games its around 10 to 20 games. They had way more than that and the prices were pretty good.

On the back wall they had a ton of PS2 games.

I was really like a kid in a candy store, I mean really think about that statement people say it a lot so I think we forget what it really means. The second I saw this stuff I wanted to see everything in that one second I was full of energy I didn't know where to look or what to pick up first. I would pick something up and instead of looking at it I would be reading something else on the shelf. The only thoughts I had were "oh.. Oh... ooOo... wow.... oh...look at that....whats that ....Oh...wow... OOoo... want it....oh....WOW...ooo..that ...Ahh.. what really ...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" I mean I didn't know what to do. The only thing I knew was that I was happy, really happy perhaps too happy. 

Once I got composed (which didn't really happen) I started looking at the Super Famicom games. They had a few good ones but on some games they seemed to know what they had so prices were according. That said somethings were just crazy cheap. Looking at the boxed games I picked up a few at super low prices, Super Tecmo Bowl II Special Edition ($.78), Street Fighter ($.28) and CosmoGang ($1.78). Next to that they had a few boxed N64 games and I picked up Pilotwings 64 for $1. Those were all with the box, are you kidding?

I then started to go though the loose carts and found some really good deals. The first game I found was Area 88 (UN Squadron in the USA) ($4),  F-Zero ($.48 I kept saying things like "Ha 48 cents.. mine!"), Donald Duck in Maui Mallard ($6.78), Tecmo Super Bowl ($.48), StarFox (which I had really been trying to find for a long time) ($.28), The Lion King ($4), Super V.G. ($.48), Super Fire Pro Wrestling Premium ($4), Rockman X ($7), Rockman and Forte ($8.78 I had bought this same game at Mandarake for $21 a few weeks ago), Rock and Roll Racing ($.48) and Sailor Moon R ($1.78).

Looking thought the Game Boy games I got The King of Fighters 96 ($2.78), Daiku no GenSan Robot Teikoku no Yabou ($4.78) and Kunio Kun Soccer in the box ($3.78). Again these were oddly all priced pretty high for some reason. On the PS1 I only got one game which was Street Fighter Zero ($1) to complete the Zero Series on PS1 for me. Now I have 1,2 & 3. On the 360 they had a few things I was interested in but in the end I only got one, Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta it came with the collectable dvd disc at a reasonable $26.78.

Going over to the Dreamcast section I grabbed a few games,  Capcom vs SNK Millennium 2000 ($1), Virtual On ($5.78), Marvel vs Capcom 2 ($9.78), Street Fighter Zero 3: Saiko ($9.78), Sonic Adventure International ($4.78) and Incoming ($1, remember how I just spent $10 at Hard Off for the same game...Gah)

Then on to the Sega Saturn I started with Super Puzzle Fighter II ($4.78 I almost missed this game as at first I skipped it but was glad I took a second look), Samurai Spirits 3 ($1.98), Choro Q Park ($4.78), The House of the Dead ($2.98), Street Fighter Zero 2 ($1.98), Fire Pro Wrestling 6 Man Scramble ($.98), Nights into Dreams ($.28, again I had just spent $1 at Hard Off not as bad this time but still thats an increase of 476% damn) and DecAthlete ($.98).

I picked up a Game Cube Keyboard controller ($9.78) and then I asked for some help to get something out of the case. What did I get you ask, well the Pikachu N64 of course (random) for $29.78. I should be able to get $100 to $150 no problem on eBay, the controller alone goes for $35. Personally I think it is the dumbest thing ever (I mean the reset button is his foot) but money is money.

When you get things from the cases they take it up to the front, the clerk asked me if I was finished and ready to check out. I said yes and he went to take my basket, I kind of held on so he wouldn't drop it. When I was sure he had a hold on it I let go and he noticed how heavy it was and he smiled and said wow. I normally am at a check out for anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes not the case this time I was there for about 40 minutes, no joke. They, yes they there was 2 of them, had to open everything and make sure it was in good condition etc. It was kind of funny and were we talking about how many items it was. I told them if I had a car it probably would have been more.

at the counter

After I paid and left I had to walk back to the train station I thought I was going to die. I had three bags from that place and still had the bag from hard off. Half way to the station I stopped to reorganize everything, I was able to put all the CD based games in my messenger bag and then to reduce the bags down to 2. this was better but it was still really heavy. At the station I again had to ask about what track and what train I would need to take. I was able to relax on the ride back to Hakata station which was nice.

After leaving Hard Off I was a little down but now I was feeling really good, though I just wanted to get everything home. Once at Hakata I went outside and waited about 10 minutes to catch a bus that would drop me off right in front of my house, rather than having to walk a few blocks. Seems obvious but the one that makes me walk a few blocks usually comes every 8 minutes but I got lucky and only had to wait the 10 minutes for the close one.

So that was a busy and pretty good day but it wasn't over. When I got home I talked with my in laws and my mother in law told me I had got a package. I am expecting a few things in the mail and she knew that so it really wasn't a surprise. I asked if it was my Xbox, She was the one helping me talk with the service center and get everything set up, but she said she didn't think so and that it was probably something else. When I opened the box it turned out that it was my Xbox!! Thank god, finally. I took it upstairs and hooked it up but I wasn't able to test it out as my wife hates games and was not as happy as I was to see it back. I was able to test it today and it seems to work just fine (at the moment).

One downside is that I lost my save file for GTA V which I thought I had saved on the USB but apparently it was saved on the hard drive. Oh well. They also gave me one month of Xbox Live for my trouble so that was a plus.

So that was awesome then today I got another package. This time it was a fight stick for the Saturn, I got it with the box and it has a really cool Street Fighter Zero 2 art style. I can't wait to try this out too (still waiting on those AV cables), it makes nice click sounds when you move the stick and I like the white with red buttons. It also has a nice build quality and is pretty heavy.

Some Good Pick Ups

Today all I had planned was to take a few items that I had sold on eBay to the post office to ship them out. After that I decided to go into Tenjin but before I went there I stopped at a place that is between my house and Tenjin. I have been seen this place for awhile but due to the location I had put it off. The place is more known for DVD rentals but they also advertise that they sell games. When I walked in they really didn't have much there was only one rack of games. Needless to say I didn't find anything worth buying there, it was basically a wasted trip but at least I now know that there is nothing there.

I had decided that I was going to buy the Sega Saturn that I had seen at Mandarake but before I went there I stopped by Book Off. However there was nothing to be found today, thats okay I only went there because I was in the area. I left and went headed to Mandarake, after I decided to buy the Saturn I was still torn. At first I told myself it would be better if it was sold but then I thought no it would be better if it was not white. If it had yellowed I wouldn't want it.

So I walked in and turned the corner to see the Saturn in that was in the case. Only I would have seen it if it had been there, it turns out it was sold. Ha Boo. I guess its for the best, I just hope it was yellowed and something I would passed on.

The day was not a total loss looking though the Saturn games I found a few gems. The first was Try Rush Deppy they were only asking $12 and it can go for anywhere from $150-$200. The second game I found was a game I had been looking for (at an affordable price) since I first visited Japan 7 years ago. In the USA the Saturns holy grail is Panzer Dragoon Saga in Japan it is (or was more on that in a bit) Radiant Silvergun. This game was released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2011 at that time this games value dropped by half. That said the game is still pretty valuable running around $150. I was able to find a copy for $60 and for me that was a fair price and one that I could make a profit on.

Not Much Other than More Game Pick Ups

I haven't done that much in the last few days, I had to (have to) finish working on my lesson plans for tomorrows classes. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy a laminator so that I can make the props/supplies I want and need.

It has been crazy cold here the last few days, I don't like the cold I was a June baby so I prefer the summer time. I thought I left the cold when I left Boston, I'm so ready for summer. There is nothing better than walking around at night in shorts and a t shirt.

Still no update on the Xbox situation, they said I would have it or have to call them on the 13th so we will see about that. I really just want the whole thing over with besides I bought a whole bunch of new games that I want to try out.

Yesterday I had some time so I went and decided I would go to a Book Off that was near where I had my training. The real reason I decided to go there was that when I got to the bus station (which I didn't plan because it was after I went to the post office) the bus for that location showed up and the one that goes to Tenjin was going to be another 45 minutes. Anyway that store had a good collection of stuff last time I was there so I wanted to check it out again.

When I got there I was able to find a few things that I wanted but there prices were not the best. I have seen some of the games at other Book Offs for half as much as they were asking. Non the less I did pick up a few, I made my way to the Saturn games and the first game that got my interest was Sonic Jam. At $9.50 it was a little steep but that was the first time I had come across it in the wild. Then I found a game that I would have though would have been easier to find but again this was the first time I had seen a copy in the wild. That game was Virtual On again at $5 not the best price for the condition (slight sun fade on the very bottom of the manual) but I needed this game to go with the epic twin stick purchase a few months back.

Moving over to look at the Super Famicom games they again had a few good ones, Mega Man 7 sticks out, but they were asking way too much at $16. Other decent games were similarly priced. I did manage to find Valken for $5 which is the price I had seen it at in the past so I grabbed that one. I also picked up a power cord for the Saturn I bought awhile back for $1, now all I need is to buy the AV cord looks like I'll need to get that on eBay.

After leaving the store I jumped on another bus to Tenjin which only costs $1 so its not too bad. I then hit the typical places starting with Super Book Off, I wasn't expecting to find much and I was right. They did have a few new titles a Neo Geo Pocket Color game that I almost bought and a PC Engine game that if it had not been faded I may have bought, the only game I bought was for the Dreamcast. The last time I was at Hard Off I bought a Dreamcast Keyboard so what better game to get then The Typing of the Dead ($5), honestly if you don't know this is a really good game.

I then headed back over to Mandarake again, they had apparently restocked or got some new Saturn titles in which was good for me. I found another copy of X-Men vs Street Fighter with the 4MB Ram Cart, I know this is the fourth copy of the game I have bought but they seem to sell really fast so I will keep picking it up when I find them. I found a copy of Groove on Fight that they were only asking $16 the other copy they had there was going for $50 or so. The value on that game has come way down in the last few years but its still a good buy at that price. This was another game where I really liked the disc art.

Then I stumbled upon a copy of Burning Rangers which they were only asking $6 for and a copy of Sonic Wings Special for $5 and Street Fighter Collection for $5. It turned out that the first disc of Street Fighter Collection was a little scratched and I haven't been able to test it, but the game most want to play, Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash, is on disc 2 so it could have been worse.

The best game I bought that day was Guardian Force again on the Saturn, it was $34 but goes for around $100. The case was a little damaged but the card said A so I tried to get a discount at the counter but no luck. It kind of sucked because it turned out the disc holder part was broke too so I had to replace the cover and inside from another game.

I did manage to resist the urge to pick up that boxed white Sega Saturn but we will see how long I can hold out. Finally I forgot to mention in my last post that I picked up Persona 2 Sin for the PS1 at Book Off for $5.

More Pick Ups and a Birthday

Well I was at it again, picking up some more games this week. So lets see on the Super Famicom I got Super Adventure Island ($2.50) to go with the copy of Super Adventure Island II that I already had. I also got a copy of Mario Paint ($1) to go with the SFC Mouse I had got at Hard Off. On the Gameboy I got Castlevania ($5) I have the second game back in the USA.

For the Sega Saturn it was a pretty good week, I actually found a few deals at Mandarake for a change. First up was Marvel Super Heroes which I got for only $1 I really like the disc art on this one and then the rare Cleopatra Fortune that was only $12.

 I also picked up Gradius Deluxe Pack ($6) then at Book Off I found Kyukyoku Tiger II Plus it was a little pricey at $25 but I picked it up as it goes for about double that. I also found Guilty Gear X for the Dreamcast for $1, Final Fantasy VII ($2.50) for the PS1 and looking in the bargain bin I picked up Shinobi for the PS2 also for a $1.

Back at Mandarake I picked up Bare Knuckle II and III (known as Streets of Rage in the USA) ,  I don't actually like the third game but its rare and I was just going to resell these anyway. I got the second game for $8 and the third for $31, 2 goes for about $25 and 3 is in the $90 to $100 range.

While I was there I found Shooting Love 200X for the Xbox 360 for $25, its a collection of I believe four shoot-em up games. I'm getting a lot of these types of games lately, for some reason they never get released in the west. On a side note I still don't have my Xbox back its still in the repair phase and is getting quite annoying, writing anymore about it at this moment will give me a headache (I can already feel it coming on...Grrr stupid Microsoft)

Finally the reason I had made this particular trip was to pick up a SFC game called BioMetal. They were selling a copy for $29 and it typically goes for around $80.

They also have a boxed white Sega Saturn that I have been debating whether or not to pick up they are only asking $35 for it.... hmmmm.

So moving on, my wifes birthday was this week, I also would like to take this time to wish my brother in law a happy belated birthday as well as a big happy birthday to my now 2 year old niece. Wish I were there to celebrate with you guys. So back to my wifes birthday on Saturday we went out with some of her friends. A few of them have birthdays around the same time so it was kind of a group thing. We went to this restaurant which was pretty nice you basically make your own soup, it was pretty good. We were there for quite sometime we ended up leaving around 1:30 AM, during that time I may have had a few drinks and may have become a little drunk, not really but I was feeling pretty good.

The next day, which was actually her birthday, I picked up my wife from work and we found a place to eat dinner. We took a risk on a Italian place, it was really small and there didn't seem to be too many people in it but we thought it would have food that we would both like. The atmosphere was really nice and homey, when you wanted to order or had a question or needed a refill on your drink you would shake a clapper that was at the table and the 3 people that were working there (I told you it was small) would all shout "Yes!" it was funny every time but in a good way.

The food was really, really good, I tried to take pictures as the things came out but we kept forgetting would eat half of it before remembering to take the picture. The salad was good, the appetizer was good the pizza was all hand made from the dough on up and that was really good. The best thing we had was between the fried pork and cheese and the crispy chicken in awesome sauce ( I don't know the name of it but it was awesome), I think the winner was the chicken I just wish I had saved some bread for that sauce that would have been money. We finished with some tiramisu, which I don't really care for but my wife likes.

 It was really a great place and we will defiantly go back again.

Working

Today was my first real day of work as an English teacher. The place is a little far away, it takes about 1hr and 15 minutes to get there. I have to take a bus first then switch to a subway but its not that bad. So today was the first class, I only had two today. In the first class it was three boys two were 10 years old and the other was 9 years old, for the two ten year olds it was there first time studying English. It was pretty good, we were moving pretty fast and when I finished what I had planned we were only half way though the time we had. This was in part to the fact that I had to cut out a game I had planned due to not having the correct material I needed (flash cards with countries or flags on them). So to fill the time I added another introduction phrase for them to work on. Like I said it went pretty good and by the end of the class they could ask "What is your name?", say "My name is xyz", ask "Where are you from?", say "I am from xyz" (they practiced other countries rather than have them say Japan every time), and the one I added was "How old are you?" and how to say "I am X".

The second class was more of a private lesson with a 11 year old girl, she actually knew a lot. Her pronunciation is very good. Most of this first class was spent just trying to gage where she was and what she needed to work on. It wasn't much fun I'm sure but I told her next time would be better. We are going to work on some new words, now that I know what she does and doesn't know, with some games like memory with cards and matching pictures to words that kind of stuff.

It was kinda of stressful being the first time and all but in the end it was fine. The boys seemed to have a good time and the girl was very impressive, words with "th" are very hard for Japanese people but she was just fine with them.

So for right now I'm just working one day a week with more days coming and thats just fine for me.

Fixing Stuff and a Cats Battlefield

Last night I took some time to swap the motherboard from the beat up GBA (which was working) with the Hello Kitty GBA (which was not working). I got the tools out and started to get to work, then a friend showed up. He sat right next to the tools like an assistant waiting for me to call out "scalpel".

Things were going pretty good, I also decided to use one of the shoulder buttons from the beat up GBA as the Hello Kitty one was scuffed slightly but enough to feel it when using the button.

Then I noticed my assistant had become distracted. Up to this point he had just been sitting and watching but now he was under attack.

Looking into the situation further I discovered it was a surprise attack from below by sergeant Bon (thats the other cats name...well Bon is, I added the sergeant part). They exchanged blows for a few minutes and then it seemed that my assistants tactic was to play dead that or he got bored.

Once the battle had subsided I was able to finish the transplant operation. I'm happy to report that the surgery was a success. I now have a working Hello Kitty GBA that will be heading to eBay shortly.