So... you went to Japan and didn't send me a postcard...

After an awe inspiring 9 weeks living in Tokyo, Japan I have finally returned to the USA. I plan to put together a more comprehensive summary of my trip with a couple of fun pictures soon enough, but for now here's a quick list of questions I thought of and have decided to call "potentially asked questions" (PAQ):

1. Why were you in Japan?
-I went to Waseda University in Tokyo as a Christian Missionary. I was there to provide fellowship (read: fancy word for companionship) with Japanese Christians as well as to meet students on the Waseda campus and read the Bible with those who were interested. Mainly, I made a lot of really great friends and was able to share small amounts of my faith when the opportunity arose.

2. Is manga really as popular as people say?
-Yes and no. On trains and such I did see a lot of guys reading manga magazines. There were pretty cheap in the convience stores, under 500 yen. (read: about $4.50) Quite a few of the students I met were into a manga series or two, and collected the books. It's not like "everybody reads manga and watches anime" but it is definitely more popular than comic books and cartoons here in the states. From my view it looked like manga had a stronger relationship to pornography than I expected, as it was sold right next to it in the convenience stores. Additionally, most of the manga and anime shops I saw doubled as porn outlets. Given how many message board posts I've read over the years from people talking about how main stream and normal anime/manga are in Japan, I suppose I wasn't expected the slightly "under the table" undertone I sensed when I was there.

3. What about anime, how popular was it?
-I didn't watch much television, (read: a total of 30 minutes scattered throughout the summer with 15 of it being a morning show while I was changing money at a bank. That morning show was awesome, though.) so I don't know how often it occupies the airwaves. If it's any help, none of my college age friends mentioned watching any. Maybe they're just too old, or don't have time; I'm not sure. Tokyo is very rushed, with little time spent at home. I can't see anyone having 30 minutes a day to go home and watch some television, especially since it's a 1 hour (or longer) commute for most people. The movies (in theaters) are really popular, especially anything by Miyazaki. He had some sort of series on video that seemed to be a big seller. Most of the students mentioned liking Spirited Away (actually they got really confused at that name, and after seeing my DVD called it sento chihiro and then got really excited) and said it encompassed a lot of Japanese thoughts on religion, culture, etc.

4. Did you go to [insert anime shop name here] while you were there?
-Nope. I did, however, go to Akihabara (an entire section of town filled with electronics, computer, and anime stores) the 3rd (or was it 4th?) week. However, due to the fact that every anime store I saw also had a sign saying "ADULT XXX" in the window, I opted to avoid them. I'm sure they've got some great anime, but the adult films and posters were enough to keep me away. (My mind is a product of what I put into it, and out of the heart the mouth speaks.)

5. So... an anime website admin went to Japan and didn't get into anime or manga at all?
-Pretty much, yeah. It was all in Japanese anyway, so without a few (read: 5+) years of Japanese language study I don't think I could have enjoyed it all that much. I did, however, gain much more insight into the shows and films I've already seen thanks to a little bit of cultural exposure. (One tidbit: Ever wonder what noface in Spirited Away was symbolic of? Turns out most people think it's the materialistic spirit of modern Japanese society. Before this summer I didn't even know he WAS symbolic of anything.)

6. Are you one of those religious wackos? Because I heard that's what missionaries are.
-This is actually the question quite a few people at home have wondered but been unwilling to ask me straight up. (Maybe they're afraid of offending me or something?) So, here's a complex response:

I wasn't that guy on your college campus that stands on a box and tells everyone they're going to hell. In fact, I never did any public speaking short of prayer requests with a group of about 12.

I didn't run around on campus trying to push my views on people who didn't want them. Besides, given that I don't know Japanese I wouldn't have been able to do this if I wanted to.

To my knowledge, no one was even offended when I would share my personal beliefs, a Biblical verse, or start conversations about God.

I did read the Bible with students who were interested, explained a bit about Jesus, and had quite a few conversations about God, God as creator, etc.

I did talk through some New Testaments parables with guys to help explain some of the things we were talking about.

So, to answer the question: No, I don't think I was one of the wackos. I do desire for people everywhere to know Christ, but I don't think that yelling, screaming, or being pushy is an effective way to share what I've been given.
This answer is probably getting a little preachy for most, so I should probably stop.

7. How much language did you pick up?
-Not much. I learned katakana (the easiest of the 3 alphabets) and some real basic spoken. ("My name is ...","How are you?", "I am ...", "excuse me", "sorry", and some random nouns like yagi (goat).) The katakana was useful for shopping, since most things written in katakana seem to be company names or English words. Being able to distinguish between soap, shampoo, and conditioner was also a plus at the public baths. (Oh... the comical stories sorrounding the public baths...)

As I said above, another update should follow sometime soon. Hopefully I can find time this week or next.
Oh yeah, I should be answering emails again. Hooraw!