8-bit bars in Tokyo

Japan has a lot of theme bars: starting with maid cafes going to cat cafes (where you can play with real cats). But very interesting is the cafe theme based on 8-bit retro video games where you can actually play these games. They are all in Shinjuku and if you want to check them out, here they are:

1. 8-Bit Cafe: Q Building 5F, Shinjuku 3-8-9, Shinjuku-ku, tel. 03 2258 0407, closed Tuesdays, table charge ¥500
2. Bar Plastic Model: Kabukicho 1-1-10-1, Shinjuku-ku, tel. 03 5273 8441, 8pm-late, table charge ¥700 per person
3. Muteki Mario: Shinjuku 3-11-1, Shinjuku-ku, tel. 03 3354 2139, table charge ¥500 per person

While maybe not exactly an 8-bit bar, it's worth checking out the 16 shots. Their excellent library of videogame music alone is worth having a beer there.

16 Shots: Shinjuku 2-3-8, Shinjuku-ku, tel. 03-6379-4335, closed Sunday, table charge ¥500 per person

Back from Japan November 2009 trip

I'm back from my November trip to Tokyo. This time I only visited Tokyo and spent some more time to meet people and visit places like Shibuya, Akihabara etc... But also did two short trips outside Tokyo: Takao-san and Kamakura.

I'm a little too busy with some other exams and organizing some events to sort all my pictures. But I will try to do so by Xmas. I already booked my next trip to Japan. Of course to see the Hanami again. So 25 March till the 17th of April I will be touring Japan.

In the meanwhile, I'll try to make some interesting posts about the things I learned in the meanwhile.

Edit: Above a picture of the stuff I brought back from Japan.

Renaming the blog and the use of Japanese honorifics

I have decided to rename the blog from Benii-San to Benii's Journal. I didn't do it on purpose but you shouldn't refer to yourself with 'San'. Which is quite cocky and maybe a little impolite.

"~ san （～さん）" is a title of respect added to a name. And you shouldn't use it to refer to yourself. There is also "~ kun" and "~ chan", so when do you use these? It's quite important to know the difference because they indicate different levels of politeness.

Have a look on about.com to find out. There are even more suffixes like senpai (先輩). If you want a more detailed list, have a look at this page about Japanese honorifics.