Off Topic Discussions

[Sam_AMD]

I spent a couple of weeks last month in Japan with the fam. It was our first time. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. It was by far the best family trip we have had. The culture, the food, the cities, the history, temples, tradition...and most of all, the TOYS are few of the ingredients that made the trip amazing. 

About the toys. I'm a sucker for Japanese Toys. Growing up in EU, I watched a ton of imported Japanese Anime cartoons including Lupin III, Jeeg Robot, Mazinger Z, and Daitarn 3. So I was on a mission to buy action figures/toys from these franchises to relive my childhood memories. 

Check them out!

The Robots

(All made of Aluminum/metal! Not cheap plastic)

From left to right: Mazinger Z, Jeeg Robot, and Daitarn 3.

Daitarn 3 transforms into a Tank and a Jet! And the kit came with its Mach 3 Patrol vehicle

The Mach 3 Patrol 

(the car sitting by Daitarn's feet above picture- it transforms into a jet, and it's about 2" long, metal!)

Lupin III Collectible Fiat 500

(from the animated movie "Castle of Cagliostro")

Super detailed 1:144 scale collectible motorcycle and GT Car

(I had to have these! They are just beautiful, made of metal, and highly detailed)

It's about 1.5" long. Note the stickers, the chain, and the wheels are rubber!

Don't ask me about how much they costed me; my wife will divorce me! 

What about you? Do you have any toys from your childhood you have, or have to have????

[BigAl01]

I used to assemble and paint models when I was young.   I loved tanks, and so I build many of those.  Recently, to provide items of interest around my World of Tanks build from 2024, I fixed up a few of the broken models that had suffered transport shock coming from California to Virginia back in 1991.  

A German assault gun sits inside the Thermaltake 'The Core' P6 case. case.

[cpurpe91]

The Fiat is my favorite. This is awesome. I hope everyone had a great time. 

[elstaci]

Sam you are not alone. I am also a Anime/Manga affection-ado.

I even opened up a thread here at AMD about Anime. 

I fell in love with Japanese culture when I was in the Marines going to both Okinawa and Japan on a 6 month military tour.

Visited Kyoto using the famous Japanese Bullet train and found out that Japanese children learn to read and write in English while in school. Found this out when I helped a young Japanese boy do his English crossword puzzle while traveling on the Bullet train.  Later on it was probably not a good idea for an Foreign stranger to get too friendly with a solo  young  Japanese boy. People could have misunderstood the situation. 

I also fell in love with KFC Japanese style french fries. It has a coating on the fries that was simply delicious. Crunchy and flavorful. Later on I would try the various small noodle shops in the city around my base.

Found the Japanese people to be very respectful and polite. Even though the Marines had a bad reputation in Japan and in Okinawa.

Wish I could travel back to Japan but it is way over my budget to go with my wife there plus the Yen is probably more expensive than it was in the 1970's when I was station over there.

[Sam_AMD]

Thank you for sharing your "affection" and time in Japan with us, @elstaci! It must have been wonderful experience. 

I did take my boy to McDonalds just to see if it was different there as I thought the hamburger patty (or the fillet-o-fish or chicken nuggets) would taste a little different. To our surprise the food tasted exactly the same are here in the US, except the ketchup! It was a bit more "liquidy" (that's what my boy said). 

Another thing that impressed me was how clean were the streets in Tokyo (at least the districts we visited) are kept. I could not find a cigarette butt on the ground, or chewed gum, dirt, small pieces of trash like you normally see in big metropolitan cities in the US or EU.

The fam wants to go back again. And we probably will...but way down the line, probably in 4 to 5 years from now as it was an expensive trip.

[eebiii]

I think that has been perfected over the years. In the early 2000's it did not taste that way, at least in S. Korea. 

[johnnyenglish]

Oh Japan.... went there for 3 weeks on vacation and i really need to go back.

The culture, the cleanliness, the respect, the food and... pretty much everything.

Didn't get anything other than some souvenirs, and I do regret that. But I did brought a tiny lovely samurai sword that i dont even know how it went through security, the shop said "no worries, its souvenir". 😁 Even though it wasn't a real sword, its kind of dangerours and can do some damage like a pocket knife.

One of the most impressive thing was being in the middle of Tokyo and its so calm, very little noise when compared to where I live.

[BigAl01]

Were you thinking about getting a role opposite John Belushi in the Samari Chef SNL skit perhaps?

[eebiii]

What a great trip to take with the family. One they will never forget.

I know a few people that have gone to Japan this year for vacation. Must be the place to go right now. 

I would recommend to anyone going over to Asia, esp. Japan or S. Korea to go see a professional baseball game. They are in love with baseball over there and it would be a cool experience, IMO.

[johnnyenglish]

Just remembered that I posted a picture around that has one of the "Toys from Japan"

Let me zoom in, the Hiroshima Tram

[Sam_AMD]

Oh man! That is super-kool! (I like the Harrier too!). Thanks @johnnyenglish