About some, five months ago, I mentioned that my computer had died and that I would need to buy a new one while here. Since posting on the blog implied I was in fact successful, I commented on telling you that story eventually.
Guess what today is: Officially Eventually.
Now, this journey was not one to make lightly for me. I have done it before with computers, with both laptops and build your own desktops. However, this time had the fun added of being in Japan.
I had chosen Akihabara as it was something of a Mecca for this kind of electronic purchase and general geekdom. In truth, as I double checked, the prices varied from store to store but didn't overly change from anywhere else in Tokyo. Which says a lot about how their electronic chain stores run. Impressive really. I explored the district a few times beforehand, just to make sure I didn't have the wonderlust stuck in my brain when I needed to make a rational decision involving money and my major source of communication with the world offshore of this island.
And although I prefer the "unlimited powa" of a desktop, I wanted and needed a laptop. But... I've never been in a place where I could actually window shop for high end parts. That's right, no surfing new egg my friends. Walk up and compare with your hands.
But, I held off my need for a desktop. And inspecting drawing pads had me about to maneuver away from tablets. I was able to narrow my eyes on laptops to get me through this. Eventually it came to the nitty-gritty of an actual purchase.
I compared prices of models and brands and right away there was something I distinctly noticed. The Japanese brands and companies were more expensive. Significantly. For same specs and, in essence, machines, they could charge about 20,000 yen more. Which equates to about 200 dollars or more US. In fact, the most expensive of those models were the ones with stickers proudly displaying "Made in Japan." It's not unheard of that some "made at home" products tend to be more expensive, the US has the same deal. However, what was different was that these machines were the best sellers; specs obviously aside to the buyers.
That has some social commentary too it. Either tied to the community and nationalism spurred by the March 2011 earthquake or a side-effect of a personal pride of sorts in attempting to lessen the pain of the recession.
The good news for me is though, I'm not a big fan of Sony or Toshiba PCs; so all the nice Taiwan and Korean brands were good and cheap. (I didn't look at Dell or HP, and don't you dare think I considered a Mac.) So in the end, I won!
There were three models I narrowed my searching down to; two acers and an asus. I had my pokes, and prods, but eventually it came time to talk to the staff.
Now this was the fun part. Which language do I pick?
See, these stores had staff that knew English, in fact, to some extent it was necessary for them (and not just for dealing with tourists in need of a new camera). Granted, some of it is a little hodgepodge as they don't use it everyday; not to mention the best English speakers often tend to be shy about it. Case in point though, I was pretty safe to just use English and get things done... but... after all...
...they didn't need to know I spoke English.
(I can do a very authentic sounding "Sprechen sie deutsch?" It's actually how I avoid a lot of unwanted conversations here.(AND in the random chance they do speak German I can put "nein" at the front of it and disappear in the subsequent confusion it causes.) )
So, it became a fun adventure between the three stores in what language I use to communicate with the staff. Honestly, more fun and learning for me than them, but it was all around entertaining I think. In the end it went English, Japanese, and a mix of both with the last store I checked these models out at. And in case you are wondering, the one where I spoke Japanese ended up being the place I got my new comp at.
I ended up with an Acer model, a company and laptop series I have had experience with, that served me well laptop wise before. (And by far it was a better experience than dealing with my Alienware in her twilight years.) It was a hard choice, as there was a more rugged model that was cheep as dirt at one store due to being a floor display model. But... used is used and I wanted some semblance of a warranty if I play that game. If I was in a pinch... maybe. Someday perhaps.
I made my choice, pulled out my universal language (Yen, 円, £, $, ダラーズ，"Darazu", monay, cash, buckaroos, greenbacks... uh... I'm running out of similes, but you get the idea.) I chose to have them bump up the ram, and took the time while they worked to make use of the "Akiba Effect" and go to the top store of the building, where I browsed dvds, vidja games, and figurines. I... even chose to immerse myself in the idea of culture and bought myself a toy. It had blue hair, what can I say?
After the purchase, I was made well aware by them that this model's windows had no English support, and the moment I left Japan the warranty went void. "Close enough."
The real irony to the Japanese only Operating system, (Windows), is that coupled with my new MP3 Player I got to replace the ancient ipod I lost here, anyone that looks over my shoulder will think I am a hipster reading all the squiggles because I can. In truth, there is a lot of squiggles I don't understand... I just have good muscle memory for windows commands. But, after all this time I am really used to the keyboard and the squiggles. It's quite entertaining.
I may put a copy of the English version on it eventually, for simplicities sake... but not everyone can say they use a computer who's first language is moonspeak.
The experience of buying the computer was fun, and looking back after all this time, was the first moment that taught me to trust my understanding of Japanese in a random environment. A trait that helped me greatly in both of my recent spring trips.
Oh, speaking of that, I survived the Kendo trip; which... was by far the most Japanese experience I could have had. Well... short of fighting off ninjas and partaking in a romantic comedy with a Japanese priestess or something... But still, pretty close.
Look for keyword "Next Time" for that one.
What? Don't look at me like that. I delivered this one didn't I? I'm good for it!
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