I lived in Saitama prefecture for a year. When people from other prefectures are asked about Saitama, they will either laugh or cringe. One of the two. Which one are you? Do you laugh at those who put themselves in a bad situation? Or do you sympathize with them?
一ヵ年 埼玉県 に すんで いました。 違う県 の 人 は 埼玉県 を 馬鹿 に します。 I don't know how to translate any more of this.
From the anime series "Code Geass". Takes place in a futuristic Tokyo that has been taken over by a British superpower. Saitama has apparently been turned into a ghetto. Not much effort required, as that scene looks like the street outside my old apartment. Giant robots and all.
From the movie "A Yakuza in Love". He's actually saying だ埼玉、だ埼玉。Da-Saitama! Dasai means not cool.
But fictional movies about romantic gangsters and battle mechs aren't the only way to imagine Saitama! Just check out the local news:
Drug Bust in Kawagoe.
This is old news, over a year ago. Some Nova teachers were slangin and got busted in Kawagoe. It was swell to be pigeon holed in my town after this. Suddenly everyone in town wanted to know my relationship with the Nova jackasses who got busted with coke and pot. Good times! To be honest though, I was too high on coke and pot to really care what people thought.
Car Crashes into 7-11.
Driving the motorcycle was a chore around Saitama. Not only were the streets clogged with delivery trucks, but said delivery trucks were mostly being driven in reverse by an unsuspecting old granny driver. And there were giant robots in the streets to be concerned about as well.
Girl Attacked with a Stun Gun.
If you've read the blog for a while, you've seen my lovely photo collection of warning signs. My favorite is still:
Lesson learned, believe all hand painted signs depicting school girl violence.
Old Man Schoolgirl.
Ahhh.... now isn't that sweet. There was an old dude I would see at the Kawagoe station bus stop about once a week decked out to the nines in a sailor moon style school girl dress. He seemed harmless. School girls are harmless... right?
School Girls Attack Police.
Wrong!
McDonalds Porn Shoot Busted.
Saved the best for last. Tourism into Saitama jumped the week after this story broke.
I also read a biography, "Confessions of a Yakuza", where the guy went to Kawagoe to a VD clinic in the 1920s.
2 comments:
Porn shoots at McDonalds? Nothing that cool happens here!
People in the concrete jungle are just jealous because we have big mountains, green hills, kind farmers, fresh air and all the water they need back down there in Tokyo. If I hear someone say "dasai" about my prefecture one more time I'll go and pee in a river ;) That will teach them a lesson! Pah!
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