Thread: Blogging the Net Cafe

I have never heard of this. It sounds interesting. Have they been around for a while? Are there a lot of internet and comic cafés in central Takamatsu? all over Japan? Are they popular? Does the price vary on the time of the year/holiday or is it a set price throughout the year? I checked out the link, I cannot read Japanese, are movies like the Fifth Element and Harry Potter in English with Japanese subtitles or do they come with Japanese dubbed? Or can you chose the language to listen to like anime movies available here in the US? Do families go there and adolescents without parents? Do you have to take the comic back to your booth or is there an open area to read? Do these “night packs” only allow for one person per booth or can there be more people? Thanks in advance

As to ILikeApples5520 statement "A regular internet cafe pack in the US would cost $30." Where are these at and do they have what tsurara describes as a "night pack" for ten hours starting after 9pm?

As to Hussun statement "If you think that's ripping off you should check out Europe." Are they popular there also? Internet and comic cafes?

As to exderz statement "...we have thoes too in china though -.-, only ours is cheaper is like 10/per hour yuan..."
Is the cost of living in Japan more than in China? Is the price you state an overall average for the country or is that for a certain city; at a certain part of town and a certain time of the year?

Thanks to all in advance

Originally Posted by TealGreenFrog

I have never heard of this. It sounds interesting. Have they been around for a while? Are there a lot of internet and comic cafés in central Takamatsu? all over Japan? Are they popular?

There are popular net cafe chains throughout Japan (Bagus and WIP being the two largest). There are a handful of locally-run and smaller-scale cafes available in each city too. Comic cafes are even more plentiful (since they're cheaper to open and run). Takamatsu has at least 40 comic cafes and at least 20 internet cafes. Free internet access points and laptop-friendly areas are also common. Though cafes with overnight and late-night options, free movies and game are a bit rarer (usually limited to the big chains). They're popular... but not quite as popular as they are in Korea (where net cafes and movie-booths are such an institution that they've driven legitimate game/movie stores out of business).

Does the price vary on the time of the year/holiday or is it a set price throughout the year?

The price is steady... though it ocaisionally raises or lowers a bit.

I checked out the link, I cannot read Japanese, are movies like the Fifth Element and Harry Potter in English with Japanese subtitles or do they come with Japanese dubbed?

Movies are shown with their default language (ie. the language in which they were originally produced). Any non-Japanese films are dubbed in Japanese. You can't switch between audio tracks. Japanese films/anime don't have subtitles in other languages.

Do families go there and adolescents without parents?

On Thursday there were two middle-school aged boys staying the night alone. It didn't seem to be a problem... though young children are rare (and since they require membership cards to enter: would likely lack the identification required to get one at all: family or no). Generally speaking: you must have an official government-issued ID of some sort (a liscence, passport w/visa, student card, foreign residents' card, etc).

Do you have to take the comic back to your booth or is there an open area to read?

Most people opt to take the comics back to their own booths. Though there is a section of open tables with laptop hook-ups that can be rented for less money... but lack a lot of the amenities. Net cafes are popular, in part, for their privacy. Those wanting to read in a more open atmosphere can opt for a regular manga cafe.

Do these “night packs” only allow for one person per booth or can there be more people?

Single or double booths can be rented. Doubles are designed for two people (though both need to pay the fee, in spite of sharing a booth). There are two computers, two PS2 controllers, two lamps, etc.

As to exderz statement "...we have thoes too in china though -.-, only ours is cheaper is like 10/per hour yuan..."
Is the cost of living in Japan more than in China?

The cost of living in Japan is quite a bit higher than the cost of living in the rest of Asia... so are the copyright standards (with the exception of Korea... which has major console game piracy issues but is still fairly well-regulated in terms of film). Japanese cafes pay liscencing/display to the game companies, film distributors etc. With the exception of comics (which are unregulated and currently carry no liscencing fees for use at rental shops): it costs the cafe to offer the perks they do. Cafes in the rest of the world tend to either not offer the media at all or offer more limited and/or pirated media.

Internet cafes are also now consolidated under government management in China... meaning their content is highly censored, and the sites you can access are limited. Not a huge plus in their favor, generally speaking.

I'm not sure how much the net cafes offer. I have no experience with net cafes in China, but the ones I've used in the US were quiet, day-only operations in which you had access to a computer with internet access and very little else. The cafes I've used in Korea were quite a bit more public and game-centered... they have a TON of games loaded on their pcs with free-play options but lacked the more traditional media options. Though I imagine it really depends on the cafe and the clientele! Sometimes public and noisy is a good thing. Especially if you want to have an impromptu LAN party or thrash that guy across the way at counterstrike 'cause you don't like his face There must surely be quiet ones in Korea too... But with different cultures come different notions of entertainment, hospitality, privacy and different needs to address.