TOKYO - The Tokyo Game Show begins Friday in Japan, but we've already touched down in the Land of the Rising Sun to get in some preshow jetlag recovery and prepare for this weekend. Then we'll be face to face with new games from just about every imaginable Japanese developer (with the exception of Nintendo) at the show.

　　After a twelve-and-a-half hour flight from Chicago, heightened by watching Rush Hour dubbed in Japanese - even the outtakes at the end - we boarded the Narita Express bound for Shinjuku, in the heart of Tokyo. Arriving at our hotel, we had time to relax and get ready for the night ahead. At that point, it was raining like a tall cow, and everyone on the streets had umbrellas, except us - the three gaijin (foreigners) who hadn't prepared for the pouring rain.

　　Anxious to get some game-playing time in, we went to several arcades in the Shinjuku area that had some of the games that haven't yet made it to the US. There, we found Crazy Taxi, Sega's latest arcade driving game, Zombie's Revenge (Sega's House of the Dead side story), Bust A Move (the arcade version of Enix's Dance and Rhythm action game), VJ (Jaleco's Beatmania knockoff), Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix, Dynamite Baseball, JoJo's Venture, and many others.

　　Word to the wise - do not try to play Dance Dance Revolution (Konami's dancing game) with wet shoes. You will slip and probably fall (as I did). Wait for a dry day. The weather didn't stop one adventurous salaryman who chose to dance his cares away by bouncing between the first- and second-player pads like a pro. Amazing stuff!

　　Bust A Move is a much different experience in the arcade, but it lends itself well to playing in front of a crowd. Luckily, the arcades here don't skimp on sound - they turn the volume up to an ear-bleeding level, so you can hear all the music in the game perfectly, which helps you keep the beat. It's a lot harder to get used to using your foot to press the pedal (one of the buttons in the game - down), but once past that, it's really enjoyable.

　　At one of the game stores here, we saw a mountain of Dreamcast systems: maybe 50 or more all piled on top of one another. Let's hope those systems will be sold by the end of the month so that Sega can reach its goal of 1 million units sold by March 31, but by the looks of that pile, and probably piles just like it at other game stores in Japan, it's going to be pretty difficult.

　　Fast forward to the second day here in Tokyo. Today was much better weather in Tokyo - perfect for trying out that Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix. What a game! That, and some shopping in Shibuya, Shinjuku and Akihabara. We didn't make it down the whole main strip in Akihabara, but far enough to have visited Sega's arcade, and for me to pick up Beatmania on the Game Boy and a Zelda 64 soundtrack. (The Japanese version of the soundtrack is much, much better.) Beatmania on the Game Boy rules - if you like it on the home systems, the Game Boy version is really cool. Take that as a recommendation.

　　Even if you've never been to Japan, there's one thing you've probably heard about - the weird TV shows and commercials. Let me tell you that the Simpsons episode with Mr. Sparkle isn't too far off from what is actually aired here. In just a few choice hours, we saw commercials starring American superstars Catherine Zeta-Jones (Mask of Zorro), Brad Pitt (hawking Jeans, no less), and Arnold Schwarzeneggar (in an ad for beer). Since a lot of big-name video games are being released in the next week, there was no shortage of commercials for UmJammer Lammy, Pokemon Snap, Neo Geo Pocket, WonderSwan, and the Dreamcast all over Japanese TV, especially during anime TV shows.

　　That's it for today. Tomorrow we'll have more from Tokyo, and don't forget that Tokyo Game Show coverage is just a few days away!