I am video game and gacha gacha otaku with a big helping of robot otaku to top it off.
I have spent 4 totally cool months this year on the doorstep of Akiba where I spent over $1000 on video games alone. One of the only days I was not in Akiba was on the day of stabbings.
I bet I could do guided tours of Akiba better then most locals.

I am planning to go to japan for educational purposes. I'm not really interested in Japenese culture any more than other asian cultures. The reason I will probably go studying there is because there are few good places to study in Norway for my master, and I don't want to study in Norway anyway, and english-speaking countries are very expensive. I will pick Japan, because I'm learning Japanese and not Mandarin or Korean.

I also like asian people in general, includes both girls and boys, especially their attitudes.

Yes I can admit watching anime has me wanting to go to Japan more n more, but not just because for those reasons. After I finish my degree in Criminal Justice I will be transfering to another University that offers studies on Jap culture, language, and history. I will be going to Japan for my first time next year with my college class to study! Im looking forward to this every day

Defiantly no otaku here. Dont even remotely like anime,lol. I with missmisa on this one, defiantly going for other reasons than an otaku person would. Learning the language so i want to go for that, and defiantly the culture, and food. Going to be there Mid May for school.

I asked my girlfriend this. She said a couple of years ago in Japan that was the case. However, now-a-days, it's not so much a derogatory term like it used to be. People say it in Japan more as a laugh, and the term is used very loosely(sp?) when describing people.

Personally, I like Japan for what it is and I would like to go over and see it for myself. If I like it, I'll make a decision if either to work there or not. If not I'll just be happy I got to take a trip over.

One thing I personally dislike is the fact people don't like to stand out. Usually, this wouldn't bother me, but I've been hearing cases of business men sexually harassing high school girls on busy trains and people do nothing about it when they witness it because they'd rather blend in and not stand out. This would really annoy the hell out of me.

I have always been interested in Japan, but anime got me interested in it more a few years back. Two years on I have stopped watching them... simply because I have grown out of it. So I would not be going for anime (I've never been into the manga) but I really do want to go and meet like minded car enthusiasts in Japan.

I know there are loads of guys that go to Japan to meet girls, or hostess bars and blah blah. I won't be...

From my perception so far, I think the people are very interesting, the culture is definitely different to ours. I am more fascinated by the technological contribution from Japan over entertainment. I would like to go just to see how it is like whilst I am still a student. And like Kanji The Wanderer suggested.... take a camera and capture as many pictures as I can !!! :).

That does sound a bit weird. Is that really true?.

Yeah, unfortunately. However I believe there has been a recent crackdown on it also, which is good. There has been undercover police sitting on trains to monitor the situation and such. I know though, they haven't wiped it out completely though, so I really would not like to witness that in my lifetime, ever.

At least they are doing something about it. Which is always good.

If you ever do see it happen, you can always kick their ass ;).

It's less true than it was a generation ago. Women in Japan stand up for themselves more than they did in the past, so chikan are less prevalent, but are far from extinct.