Internet Cafes

what kind of person would I be if I didn't fill you in on the wonderful world of internet cafes?

Our first experience with an internet cafe was in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. I had an interview with a guy for this weekend camp councelor position which I randomly applied to because I didn't think I'd be able to find a job for a while (Bret and I start on October 24th! FULL TIME, BABY! yeaauuhhh) so I wanted something that would give me money asap. So I schedule the interview and Bret comes with me to the Starbucks that we're supposed to meet at, which, by the way, we got wrong by about 16 train stations, but I didn't want that job anyways so whatevs. In any case, I didn't write down the guy's number so Bret and I wanted to find internet somewhere so that we could email him and apologize for being late and see if we could find out where it actually was so we could do the interview/reschedule/something. We're wandering around Ikebukuro--which by the way isn't even an outlandish district, it's pretty straightforward Tokyo, lots of department stores, ramen shops, etc--and we see a sign that says INTERNET, TV, RELAXATION. We think, great, internet, let's go. However, the RELAXATION part of that sign was porn. LOTS OF IT. porn, porn, everywhere. Magazines, playing on the overhead tv screens--just everywhere (sorry family blog viewers, but honestly it was funny, and we got out of there asap). We came up to the counter trying to ask if we could use a computer, but somehow they couldn't quite understand what Bret's broken Japanese was asking for. There was a partition above the counter so that you couldn't see the employee's faces (wonder why?) but eventually their confusion grew to the point where they came out to see what the heck we actually wanted. We never did get to use a computer there, and never again will I visit an internet cafe with a shady black sign advertising 'relaxation, etc'

But things improved! Bret and I had to print out and mail our job contracts, resumes, and some other documents to our new employer, GEM School, so we went to our local library to see if they could print things out there. The poor librarians didn't understand what on earth we were asking for (even though Bret was using the phrasing and words I had in my pocket japanese conversation guide/dictionary...). Eventually, after all the employees had congregated, scratched their heads at us and decided that, "no" they did not provide the services we were asking for, one of them kindly guided us out of the library and up the street to an internet cafe. 

This one was nice! It is also the one we use for all our printing needs. The staff is friendly and do not hide their faces behind partitions out of shame.... They give us free drinks and candy.... Oh, and the little rooms are AWESOME. They're basically cubbies with comfy leather couches, a little flatscreen tv on the left and a computer on the right. It would be nice if we could game there (My bed makes my butt sore if I sit on it for more than 10 minutes. It's basically a slab of concrete with a pre-furnished bag of gravel for a pillow) but the computers don't have the capabilities.

All in all, internet cafes are neat! Just be wary of the shady ones. You have been warned.