Movies

I went to the movies here in Japan with a few of the other women working here. We went out for okonomiyaki, the actual word for the Japanese fritters we'd posted about here, and then went to see Benjamin Button.


This is my ticket stub. The line above the date and time is the movie title. It says Benjamin, the Button part was ripped off when we went in. As you can see, my seat was 7K8. Your seats are assigned in a Japanese theater. You choose what section you'd like to sit in, and they print out tickets for you in that section. It cost 1,200 yen, which is roughly $12. This is the cheap price - the last show of the night is 1,200 instead of 1,700. Matinee shows aren't cheaper here, just the last show of the evening. The movies coming from America are all subtitled. Australia is coming here soon, and I may go to see that on a Wednesday, because Wednesday nights are Ladies Nights at the theaters and it's only 1,000 for a ticket.

Popcorn and drinks cost roughly the same, 1,200 for a large popcorn and soda, though the soda is smaller. They sell nachos and hot dogs, but no candy. They also sell ice cream, tiny little 1-scoop sized Hagen-Daaz containers. Most of the movies I've seen in the theaters have ended with the audience clapping. I hate that, because, well, there's no one around to hear your appreciation except the theater employees, and they're probably laughing about the fact that you're clapping. Here, no one clapped, and it made me happy. Two cell phones did go off, and the people got up and ran out of the theater. They didn't silence their phones and walk out to take the call, no, they just got up and ran out while ringing. Strange.

Benjamin Button is a pretty good movie, though very long. I enjoyed it. It's very interesting to have the subtitles, even though I can't read them very well. I picked up a couple of things and found some times when what they said wasn't what was translated. Very interesting.