Mash Premiere - Osaka
 

Just got home from the Mash premiere in Osaka, including a event in Osaka Jo Koen, which I had to leave early (at least it was for a date:) )
Ridiculously big respect for those guys. Paid their own way to Japan, met everyone who wanted to meet them (in japan they are like rock stars to fixed riders), and came out afterwards for a ride in the park.
The scene where Josh is hammering along the expressway for a minute was my highlight. Great shot, sugoi cadence.
Anyway I hope everyone who watches takes note of the 'no haters' sign on the window of that shop in SF. Anyone who assumes skinny pants/risers automically means hipster needs to watch this vid. Great work!
Was anyone else there? I only saw 3 crackers and they were all friends.

sounds dope!

the dvd should be arriving at my home soon :D

nice. :)

was it $35/4,000 yen in Osaka too?? that contributed a lot to me not going.
came with a free shirt, but who needs an overpriced shirt??

argh I can't wait for my dvd to arive.

Yes 4000 yen in Osaka too nate, but the guys arent rich, and there were a lot of them there. I think 12 riders came, plus the crew, and some girlfriends etc...that cant be cheap.
I think the dvd is overpriced in japan for sure. $40 in usa, 8200 yen in japan?!!

probably trying to help pay for their airfare

yep, which is fair enough I guess. 8200 is a lot of dough in Japan, where young people earn some pretty crap wages. DVD is excellent though, and I am yet to see the book, so shouldnt judge the price just yet!

Aren't all DVD's ridiculously overpriced in Japan though? Least that is what I've always heard.

Japan is a pretty cheap country. DVDs and stuff are pretty reasonable, although you guys are spoilt in America, with pretty much cheap everything right? Australia and UK are a bit more expensive than Japan in general.

Not that this takes anything away from them, but I thought Lowtex paid for flight and accommodation for all the riders and filmers.

Don't most jkids live at home and get an allowance 'til they're married and move out? I think that offsets the crappy wage a little bit. Sucks that wage is basically based on age rather than skills tho.

A $400 snowboard is 84000yen in Japan. LV bags are 20% more there than anywhere else in the world. So somethings are more expensive for sure. But as long as the parents are handing out the money, those prices are seen to be "normal".

Japanese consumers purchase 40% of the world's luxury goods. A 2002 survey of women in their 20s said that 94% owned an LV product, 92% owned Gucci, 58% owned Prada. And these aren't the chinese knockoffs either.

So 8400yen ain't no thing.

Was that off the top of your head?

japanese people have money to burn as investing in a house is almost impossible. look at the car scene.

I dont know anyone who gets an allowance from their parents and i know a lot of people still living at home. Except maybe my wife's cousins..which are around 10 years old :)
A lot of things are cheaper in Japan than the US though. All Japanese bike parts, for example, are way cheaper. Most Japanese electronics are slightly cheaper and the sales tax in Japan is only 5%..a few years back it was only 3%. So that makes a difference too.

As long as people are paying for it, I'm sure the MASH boys will take the money though.
I would. :p

sugeh-nah...

hahah... nope. Report by the Japan External Trade Organization.
http://www.jetro.org/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=334

Well maybe not standard allowance, but most of my friends get what they want when they ask for it. Or they borrow money to buy a new car and their parents forget to ask them to pay it back. Maybe I just know the really lucky kids?? And how do you explain all these girls with expensive kit? They can't all be turning tricks can they?

Nah, only the highschool girls, apparently.:)

what universe are you in?


cost of living in Japan is huge.





...

I am in Tokyo....
I find things are actually pretty cheap here compared to other big cities in the world.

Some things get ridiculously overpriced--mostly neat American toys that some enterprising youngster has imported to sell to the slavish trend following horde. Oh, and LV and such.
Transportation (trains and planes) is pricey. Used cars are super cheap, used motorcycles not as cheap. Bike parts and anything domestic is generally cheap....unless you mean homegrown produce. That said, even here, 20 minutes from Shinjuku I can buy veggies direct from farmers, never really go over $50 at the grocery store for a bunch of good stuff. I always spent more at Trader Joe's back home. Going out can be more or it can be quite a bit less. Depends on how you entertain yourself. You can buy a few nice Belgian beers and hang out in the park or at the river with friends drinking and making a little BBQ till late. I wouldn't be able to do that in lots of places.....

But outside of Tokyo??? Rent-wise things are massively cheaper. Rent in the sticks for a brand new large three bedroom place is basically the same as what i pay in Tokyo for a old n' smallish two room apartment. And you can rent an apartment *by yourself* in central Tokyo for far cheaper than you can in New York. Everyone I know in the NY area is forced into shared places (which can be fun or nightmarish).

I think the only thing that I'm bummed about money wise in Japan is key money and deposit. They really get you with that one.

I've always been led to believe that Japan had a much higher cost of living. I guess I should know that most stuff like that is exaggerated anyway. I moved from from Arkansas to Oregon and everyone kept tell ing me how much more expensive it was going to be and I find I fine here. Where in the States (for the english teachers ;) ) did most of you guys live before moving to Japan?

i have to second the "what universe" comment? i can really only speak (with authority) for the states, but i've lived in and/or spent a good amount of time in most of, if not all of, the expensive american cities.

sure tokyo's lost its top place in most survey's "most expensive cities on the entire planet" results the past couple of years, but always hovers around 2-4th place. meanwhile NYC has been dropping way faster (most lists in the past couple of years have it around 15th place), and SF barely makes some lists. we're seeing euro cities climb up like crazy, mainly because the dollar's sucking so badly and the euro's growing faster than people can deal with it. but that should be relatively temporary. the bubble will bust, or goods will have to become cheaper. europe is having trouble exporting anything right now, as it is. same goes for the UK (london will totally be overpriced forever though, i'd guess).

nearly every single thing in japan, again is more expensive than its US counterpart. of course there are workarounds, but they're just that.

clothing? check! even thrift store tshirts are like 18-30 bucks and jeans are 60. retail stores are definitely more expensive, and boutiques as well. shoes: onitsuka tigers, for instance... love riding in them, but brand new styles @ sneaker boutiques in san diego rarely break 80-90 bucks, and even old **** here is like, at the cheapest, ¥11000... unless you're buying UNIQLO or some old **** that's no longer popular, clothes shopping is way more expensive.

music? - cds are what 24-27 US dollars? enough said.

electronics: my boy saw the same exact canon camera he paid ~200 @ home for in stores here @ ¥32000 on average. japanese brand TVs, stereos etc are all the same story. american products (apple etc.) obviousy have much more of a markup (seem to be dropping though).

food? depends where you're eating, but i eat out nearly every meal and did the same at home -- quality of food is much better, but definitely slightly-to-way more expensive unless you're eating @ conbinis or cheapo chain ramen/sushi shops or yoshinoya. christ, we routinely drop 30-50 bucks a person on yakitori & small plates @ local izakayas - and i usually eat with a bunch of tiny girls...

shows? local bands are usually ¥2500. ¥5500 for american indie bands that you could see in most US cities for 10-12 bucks?

beer @ store? checku! (you're telling me that you'd pay 50+ bucks of a case of bud/other domestic cans at home?)

going out? i don't know a single dive bar in the states that would be selling a measured well cocktail for ¥900, with a ¥500 table charge in a crappy joint with bad music. what's the average draft run? at a dive? ¥6-700 for 10 oz. of beer and 4 of foam? you'd be out of business, even in NYC, unless you had the raddest bar around.

movies? 15-20 dollars?

not seeing this discount on bike parts either. seems pretty even (or more expensive), unless you're buying NJS, which is merely overpriced as well.

what dive bars are you going to?!? my local runs Y500 for a big mug of beer, like most places seem to. real dives sell can happoshu too ...

the rest is kind of on target though: entertainment is expensive. books are cheap though.

and while i've heard the same argument from many aussies here ('japan's cheap compared to australia'), no city in AU besides sydney ever eve places in the top 50 expensive cities in the world (melbourne is usually around 80 or so, but has bumped up into the 60's in this years lists). tokyo (only late this year is it out of the top 3) and osaka both place top 10 every year.

whoa... good evening.

dunno, i pretty much only ever go to 3 bars unless someone takes me, they're all 600 or 650 for nama. though i do pop into a stand up place around the block for food and to meet up with a few neighborhood dudes and their beers are 400.

touche.

I guess it is a lifestyle thing. BUT... here I come with some of my 'workarounds'. hope some of them are useful to someone!!

since the "most expensive cities on the entire planet" list is about replicating a US lifestyle as an expat. some things just aren't the same. like bread ;_; but I was surpised (when traveling from Japan) at how expensive many daily-life things were in Italy, Austria, UK, Germany, etc.

clothing? -
I agree that this is a hit. but thrift stores in Japan are much better stocked that US ones (and of course that's why). prices have been coming down a lot in the past few years. if you want something specific you can find it quicker in Japan, but will pay a bit more. places further out from the Ebisu-Harajuku circuit (but not too far) are much cheaper.

music? -
I don't really buy mainstream Japanese CDs. domestic indies are cheaper here, but still more than US stuff. imported seven inches and such are 600-1000 yen, so yeah, pricier. that said, you've got JANIS! the wonderful CD rental shop in Ochanomizu that has all manner of obscure music.

electronics? -
camera stuff really depends. if you use the 'point cards' and your camera is getting 10%--20% back, you can get set up with extra batteries and stuff. it depends if you need that or not but....
I have bought several cameras over the years while going back and forth from Tokyo to the NY area. sometimes the Japan deal is better, sometimes B&H or even Amazon is better. some things, like particular lenses and such will be available here when they are not in the States (a recent example would be Nikon's 18-200 VR, etc)

food?
yeah....this can get expensive. the quality is generally really good though. I don't really spend 600 plus for nama. the izakaya I go to are usually in the 400~ range. for most uchiage/parties I tend to go to round out about 2-3,000 yen per person.

shows?
the punk rock/ hardcore/ indie scene has got a bit cheaper. depends on the club. usually 1500-2000 yen plus a forced drink for 500 yen. ¥5500 for american indie bands is prevalent and totally lame. the Mash phenomenon is basically the same thing. those shows are done by Japanese promoters who set up/pay for everything. the 'good' DIY bands usually figure it out and come with Jaapnese bands on tour and the prices of their shows are usually the same as local shows. the simply 'indie' bands come time and time again for super expensive shows and paid for vacations. it depends on what you want to see, but yeah, 5,000 blows.

beer @ store?
Yeah....
That said, I usually tend to something like whiskey or shochu. If I am drinking beer, Chimay or something bougie. A 750ml bottle of Chimay (with like 7-9 percent alcohol) is 700 yen. That'll do me for an evening.

going out?
man, you gotta find some better bars! at least ones with good music! ;)
the foam thing is.....well, a preference. Japanese like foam. wabi sabi, bear and foam.

movies? 15-20 dollars?
rip-off for sure. 'eiga no hi' is a 1,000, and more and more places have matinee pricing. but yeah, otherwise I sort of avoid it. I'm a cheap *******.

bike parts in general are the same-ish. NJSsy stuff is quite a bit cheaper than the US



buuuuuut......all that might not matter anymore since the yen just jumped to 108-110 from the lovely 118 it was a lil while back (my money comes to me in US dollars...). Ahhh, I remember the days of 148 yen to the dollar....hopefully it'll edge back up (though I am sure EMT will disagree).

word up on janis, checking that **** out.

also, pm some bar suggestions, i usually just kick it @ beat cafe & garageland or a local joint in dogenzaka/shinsen or occasionally walk/ride to nakameguro or daikanyama. i suppose my experience may be a bit more expensive due to being on the border of those 3 hoods.

Janis is awesome. when I do it I usually go in with a few friends who have somewhat differnt taste. we rent like 20,000 yen worth of stuff the split the cost and have a massive harddrive swap after ripping it all ;)

membership is 2,000 yen i think, and you need some sort of resident status. they used to not require it but had some issues a few years back from what i heard.

bars---I frequent Kichijoji and Kouenji and Shimokita and the various satellite neighborhoods around there. Nakameguro and Daikanyama are def on the pricier side of the tracks, but I am surprised you weren't finding good music!! I don't have good recommendations for that area save for the dude in the old French station wagon 'Madeline" who parks in front of the cafe with the giant bull near Protech Meguro and makes wonderful espresso!

oh **** he`s rad. bad music was only referring to a couple joints that were lame, there 's good music at a lot of the spots ive been to. the rich cats in my hood seem pretty partial to cheesy showa pop, though. need to move!

we should grab one at trouble peach sometime, i havent been out in shimokita since getting back