Something a little different: VIDEO GAMES!!! Grades...... and Easter??? / by James Sato

Happy Easter to the West. I only remembered this because my mother reminded me to be truthful. An old tradition of the family is to try to watch as much of the 1956 version of the Ten Commandments movie that always show on television back home. It is an interesting story, though I am not really a religious person and align more strongly with Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confuscianism (more an ideology than religion, but considered a religion, so oh well).

Either ways, as my family prepares to enjoy Spring Break off this week. My two month long  Spring Break in Japan is coming to a close. To my anxiety driven wait, I have finally received my grades back from my first term in Japan, and I can't really be happier!

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Apart from that, a new video game popped back up on my radar. If my post about the Artnia Cafe in Tokyo tells much about me, I absolutely love games by Square Enix, especially well designed strategic role playing games. They have gotten me excited with their sequel to Bravely Default, which I have easily enjoyed for over 100 hours, Bravely Second! I am so excited to see the opening theme done by Supercell, one of my favorite music groups here in Japan!

I am so happy to be in Japan for this release! Releases of games in Japan are quite different to game releases in the West. They hardly, if ever, do the midnight release in Japan. This is due to the lifestyle of the people in Japan. Because Japanese people spend around 60 hours a week at work, they hardly have time to go to "time wasting" events such as midnight game releases and the like. They like to pick things up whenever they have the time to do so. From my experience with a family friend in Japan, he hardly ever plays games, and only picks them up whenever he has time to even play, quite a different culture from the "Day One" play that we are used to back home.

Either ways, I digress. I had an exciting week this week. The Cherry Blossoms are starting to blossom in Sendai, so I am excited to experience Sakura Hanami (sakura viewing parties) with friends these upcoming weekends. Tons of picture opportunities there! Talk to you soon!