Marcel Theroux, Paul's son, really gets Tokyo wrong here

[torasan]

guardian news story begins "Nobody rambles across Tokyo..." -- about 6 or 7 bloopers....spot them?

[torasan]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/j ... NTCMP=SRCH

[yanpa]

CLICHE ALERT

A strange combination of modernity and tradition is what's so intriguing about Japan: bullet trains and tatami mats; pachinko parlours and tea ceremony; concrete ugliness and a reverence for natural beauty; the kitsch of Hello Kitty and the simplicity of haiku.

What was he smoking? And is it legal in Japan?

a reverence for natural beauty

[yanpa]

Kichijoji ... has little bars and vintage clothing shops, and, best of all, beautiful Inokashira Park

Inokashira Park is OK as parks go, but I have never once been there and thought to myself "You know old chap, this is beautiful - the way the plastic swan pedal boats reflect in the muddy water, how the branches of the wabi-sabi-trees frame the concrete toilet blocks".

[torasan]

"Even at its most gray and mundane, there was something extraordinary about the city..."

[legion]

there is something extraordinary about the way putting the name "Theroux" on a mundane piece of writing makes it so amazingly original

[Taro Toporific]

there is something extraordinary about the way putting the name "Theroux" on a mundane piece of writing makes it so amazingly original

Hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

"Them Oriental gals can do things with ping pong balls and lit cigarettes that'd blow your mind!"
--creepy white oyaji in Bangkok--Paul Theroux's 1973 travel memoir, The Great Railway Bazaar (FG thread)

[torasan]

It seems that this kind of "I just met Tokyo and here's my view of things" by Western newbie reporters, even seasoned writers like [son of Paul Theroux] Marcel always follow the same arc. Whether his piece was written in 1959 or 1972 or 1992 or 2003 or 2013, these newbie fresh off the plane, parachuting into Tokyo reporters, almost ALWAYS get it wrong. There must a temple in Japan where the gods make sure this happens each and every time. When will it end? Will the Western newbie in 2113, one hundred years from now, commit the same mistakes? It's funny, if nothing else. I guess I might have done the same thing if i opened my mouth too soon upon arriving on these sainted shores. Thing is: reporters should NOT write about Tokyo until they have lived here for at least 10 years...

[Coligny]

Maybe the biggest problem is that every schmoe landing here thinks he HAVE to be a reporter...

You can't observe without sense of observation...

[matsuki]

I didn't bother clicking but did he leave out robot toilets, maid cafes, and the popularity of grilled asspipe?

[yanpa]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

[Yokohammer]

Once upon a time there was this institution called "publishing," where there were experienced gatekeepers and overseers who would keep a close watch on all who attempted to enter, ensuring that aspiring writers and reporters were worthy of the paper they got printed on and that, in general, the facts were pretty much straight. Getting published was a big deal.

Now there's this free-for-all called "the Internet" where all of the above process and supervision is completely bypassed, with the result that 90% or more of the "information" available on said Internet is utter hogwash. Anyone with half a thought emanating from half a brain can participate. And they do.

If you want good information, you have to go to sources that are known to provide it (there are even some on the 'net).
Railing against the lack of quality information on the Internet is an exercise in futility.

[Coligny]

And i'm pretty sure i didn't see the same version either of bladerunner or of akihabara if those two looks the same...

Now, akihabara vs Das Boot... yes maybe...

[matsuki]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

[yanpa]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

Gotcha. Due to a genetic lack of wabi-sabi I have always avoided that stuff like the proverbial plague.

[yanpa]

Once upon a time there was this institution called "publishing," where there were experienced gatekeepers and overseers who would keep a close watch on all who attempted to enter, ensuring that aspiring writers and reporters were worthy of the paper they got printed on and that, in general, the facts were pretty much straight. Getting published was a big deal.

A long time ago I had ambitions of becoming a journalist-writery person (this was back when you could still send in typewritten wordprocessed manuscripts if there was no email) and probably would have been good at it (at least it was good enough for people to pay me for a good proportion of the manuscripts I sent off).

Now there's this free-for-all called "the Internet" where all of the above process and supervision is completely bypassed, with the result that 90% or more of the "information" available on said Internet is utter hogwash. Anyone with half a thought emanating from half a brain can participate. And they do..

In retrospect I'm glad I didn't try and make a career out of it...

If you want good information, you have to go to sources that are known to provide it (there are even some on the 'net).
Railing against the lack of quality information on the Internet is an exercise in futility.

Demolishing "exoticwabisabigeishatechnologyhellokittymtfujisamuraispiritvendingmachine" Japan articles is fun though

[Yokohammer]

Demolishing "exoticwabisabigeishatechnologyhellokittymtfujisamuraispiritvendingmachine" Japan articles is fun though

Indeed it is. In fact, the demolishing crew running around debunking the BS might even be an essential part of keeping the Internet semi-useful. But merely bemoaning the lack of depth is a waste of time.

As a sport ... count me in.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

Gotcha. Due to a genetic lack of wabi-sabi I have always avoided that stuff like the proverbial plague.

That's why I hate going out to dinner with other gaijin.

[yanpa]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

Gotcha. Due to a genetic lack of wabi-sabi I have always avoided that stuff like the proverbial plague.

That's why I hate going out to dinner with other gaijin.

Because you have more wabi-sabi than other gaijin?

[matsuki]

It's not that bad....but I don't think it's worth what some places charge for it. This is the stuff they used to discard and now they PR it as having some special properties and being popular.....

[Samurai_Jerk]

they PR it

No Engrish please.

[matsuki]

they PR it

No Engrish please.

Solly, some of their retarded abbreviations are hammered into me daily.

[legion]

Because you have more wabi-sabi than other gaijin?

no, just more wasabi

[Samurai_Jerk]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

Gotcha. Due to a genetic lack of wabi-sabi I have always avoided that stuff like the proverbial plague.

That's why I hate going out to dinner with other gaijin.

Because you have more wabi-sabi than other gaijin?

No because I'm not a fucking pussy with an unsophisticated palate that wets his panties every time I come across unfamiliar or "exotic" food. Let me guess, fish and chips at the local shitty "Irish" pub or フライドポテト and 唐揚げ at a chain izakaya.

[yanpa]

I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside,

not sure what "grilled asspipe" is

Motsu, horumon, etc.

Gotcha. Due to a genetic lack of wabi-sabi I have always avoided that stuff like the proverbial plague.

That's why I hate going out to dinner with other gaijin.

Because you have more wabi-sabi than other gaijin?

No because I'm not a fucking pussy with an unsophisticated palate that wets his panties every time I come across unfamiliar or "exotic" food. Let me guess, fish and chips at the local shitty "Irish" pub or フライドポテト and 唐揚げ at a chain izakaya.

I guess you dine with the wrong gaijin then.

[Coligny]

I can cheezeburgerz youze anytime guys...

plus i always got shittons of discount coupons thanks to my charisma man smile... (well maybe not... but smiling do aktshually helps a lot here)

[Harhar]

Grilled asspipe (horumon) is pretty good I think.

[torasan]

Parts of the NEWBIE THEROUX GUARDIAN piece I underlined:

"But I wanted to experience the city at walking speed. Somewhere under the concrete, the tower blocks, the monorails and the overpasses, lie other versions of Japan: the culmination of thousands of years of island history, presided over by an imperial family that still traces its descent in an unbroken lineage from the sun god, Amaterasu." WTF? Presided over by an imperial family that still traces its descent in an unbroken lineage from the sun god, Amaterasu? He really wrote that?


AND MORE Parts of the NEWBIE THEROUX GUARDIAN piece I underlined:

''I gawped at the Blade-Runner world of Akihabara, and went into an eerie maid cafe. Inside, the colors were bright, like the set of a children’s television program, where desexualized waitresses in French maid outfits speak in put-on squeaky voices.'' MARCEL-SAN, them's theior read bods and real voices, mate!


And then, finally, from the 30th floor of my hotel, I rested my weary feet and looked back across the teeming city to the green slope of Mount Takao. Behind it hovered Mount Fuji, as luminous as a painting on a silk scroll. FADE TO BLACK. FUJI ENDING

[matsuki]

Parts of the NEWBIE THEROUX GUARDIAN piece I underlined:

"But I wanted to experience the city at walking speed. Somewhere under the concrete, the tower blocks, the monorails and the overpasses, lie other versions of Japan: the culmination of thousands of years of island history, presided over by an imperial family that still traces its descent in an unbroken lineage from the sun god, Amaterasu." WTF? Presided over by an imperial family that still traces its descent in an unbroken lineage from the sun god, Amaterasu? He really wrote that?

If the Koreans are Japanese gods, I have no problem with worshiping...

[Coligny]

i'd sloppy second that... in the other eye...