Nerd

I spent today in Den Den Town - Osaka city's nerd district. It was awesome.

How awesome? Well you'll have to wait a bit to find out. I just spent the last few hours putting together a model kit, and I need some sleep. Read more!

Art Festival, Karaoke, Insanity

My day started at 9:45 AM with a friendly albeit wildly overenthusiastic scooter girl, and ended around midnight with screaming nerd karaoke. Also I think I'm in a Japanese longbow club.

Is it seriously 1 AM? Full story tomorrow. Read more!

Clubs

Today I visited CAS - the OUA Comic and Animation Society. Basically it's nerd club. Also it is awesome.

Clubs at OUA are something far removed from what I'm used to back in the states, where I run an Asian Film Club. At MICA, for example, I had to fill out a small packet full of paperwork just to get a classroom one night per week. In Japan every club gets its own room, no questions asked.

They can use this room for whatever they want, and it's theirs 24/7. Walk by the club rooms any day of the week and you'll see students hanging around - working, playing majong, or just chilling out.

The CAS room had bookshelves stuffed with nerd-reading material as well as a large TV hooked up to a mini PC. It was on this PC that they showed us some of their yearly animation reels, as well as several shorts they filmed just for kicks.

Also they publish a comics compilation book every year, which they sell. And they really get it printed from a printer - no xerox here.

I've never seen students (especially art students) come together like this. What would it take to raise this kind of team spirit at MICA? Is it possible?

This Sunday the club is hosting a party. We're supposed to be able to find it by the girl with green hair standing at the entrance. What have I gotten myself into... Read more!