Humping dogs!

...they do sit-ups too!

In the late spring, the Tokyo Toy Show was held in Odaiba. I am only now writing a post about it because the toys that were shown there are now hitting the store shelves. Toys like the Humping Dog ! The show is held every year and CScout Japan has great coverage of all the cool things at the show. Well, not all of the cool things. The CScouts must have been too busy covering all of the plastic food toys and plastic flower pots and plastic robots because they missed the Humping Dogs!

Flashback to the spring: I arrived at the Toy Show on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It seems most of the people in Japan under the age 10 were there too. But they seemed rather sedate:
Turns out that they were watching some live action show. There were several going on in different section of the convention hall. A little later on, I saw a smaller venue live action show with this yellow fellow:

Actually Machu Pichu, or whatever his name is, surprised me. I would have expected that this critter would have drawn the larger crowds at the show. I guess my frame of reference is about ten years too late! After peek-a-boo saved the day, I wandered the floor aimlessly until I came across this set of caninetastic technology. Yup. The Humping Dogs:
Actually if you click on the picture to see the larger size, rotate the picture because they were all plugged in via USB ports and acting like they were all in heat. I think it was the best toy at the show, even better than the kissing robot.

So, when I went back to Tokyu Hands (see the previous post) and heard the now familiar sound of these plastic USB dogs, I ran over and got my hands on one that hadn't yet been watching "Lady and the Tramp" nonstop for days. I also grabbed a package of Crunching Dog too, because what dog doesn't like to have six-pack abs!

BathTime Stories I

well, more like a product review!

Recently, I went browsing around in a store called Tokyu Hands and came across the bathroom section. I know, this is not the first time I've blogged about bathrooms here in Tokyo. I came across a product that basically called out to me, "For a hot time, buy me!" The name? Diablo Hot Pepper Bath. Uh huh.

Well, it doesn't actually say "uh huh" on the package but this product seemed so unique that I just had to buy it and try it! So, I bought it. On the back of the package was some Japanese text that refers to the restorative properties from using the product. There is a website for this product too! I had the text translated and I reproduce it for your amusement:

• 疲労回復(recovery from fatigue)

• 　肩のこり(stiffness of the shoulders)

• 　冷え症(sensitivity to cold)

• 　腰痛(backache)

• 　神経痛(neuralgia)

• 　うちみ(bruise)

• 　しっしん(moist tetter)

• 　リウマチ(rheumatism)

• 　しもやけ(chilblains)

• 　あせも(prickly heat)

• 　荒れ性(?)

• 　くじき(sprain)

• 　ひび(chaps)

• 　あかぎれ(chap)

• 　痔(hemorrhoids)

If the question mark wasn't amusing enough then the word chilblains definitely brings teh funny. Oh, and hemorrhoids, I won't even go there. Actually, I checked and it is supposed to be another word for frostbite. I don't know about you, but if I have frostbite, looking for a hot pepper bath is not on the top of my list! (hmmm. Maybe the one dictionary I consulted had it confused with frostbite You can't say you don't learn things when reading this blog!)

So, what was the "try it" part like? After opening the product, it looked like there was a big orange tea bag in the package. It definitely made the water warmer. There were some subtle hints of orange, which was pleasant enough. Once I got into the bath, it definitely made me feel like I had drunk hot sauce several hours before, and like I had eaten a really spicy Mexican mean about twenty four hours before that. It wasn't a burning sensation, it was more like, well ok, it was a burning sensation, but only for those areas that I alluded too. I splashed my face and my lips felt a slight tingle too. Feeling this tingle, I made sure not to get any water in my eyes. When I came out of the bath, my skin was not red or anything like that, but I did have an overall warm sensation that was more than skin deep.

Yesterday, I went back to Tokyu Hands and bought out the rest of the Diablo Hot Pepper Bath...

Fudgie the Whale

...sorry Greenpeace!

The late Tom Carvel had a great ice cream cake called, "Fudgie the Whale". It was great. Not only was it great tasting ice cream, the commercials for this product still resonate in the recesses of my mind. So with setup in your mind, let me tell you that I went to Asakusa the other day. It is pronounced like "Ah-sox-ah" but you can say it any way you like. Wandering around in this part of Tokyo, I happened across a small shop that had a giant poster of a giant whale. It wasn't Fudgie, but a real whale. Upon closer inspection, the store wasn't selling posters but whale meat! I looked at the frozen section of the store and the food - can I say it is food ?? - and it looked a little bit like beef. I was not heading straight for home, so I passed on the frozen whale. But there where cans of whale meat!

I bought a can and had it for dinner tonight. The whale meat was cooked in some kind of a stew; there was plenty of sauce in the can. It tasted pretty good! There was a kind of sweetness that was reminiscent of certain kinds of sea food that was very pleasant. I don't know how much the sauce contributed to the flavor, but I will have to return to pick up something up from the frozen food section of the store! Now, I wonder if the Japanese have something similar to "Cookie Puss"...

P.S. If you read the wikipedia entry for Tom Carvel, you will know that some people believe that Tom met an untimely death. I don't know if anyone looked at the Greenpeace angle, but that is where I would start.

UPDATE: I can't believe it! Fudgie the Whale is on myspace ! He is a self proclaimed spokeswhale. This beats anything I could write. It's actually depressing to know that a fake whale can write a better blog entry than me. (Checkout Fudgie vs. Elevator for example.)

Ramen Are The World

...where everybody sings and eats noodles!

There is a small ramen restaurant that I walk past at least twice a day. It has a vending machine out front with menu items to order. After money has been accepted and a selection is made, a small ticket is printed. Unfortunately, the menu has no pictures, and neither does the ticket. Well, there is one picture on the vending machine, but it doesn't appear to be connected with any single item on the menu. The first time I went there, it was a cold, damp day, I was really hungry, and it seemed to be the only restaurant open. I had to pick something on the menu, but what should I order? I decided that choosing the most expensive item on the menu would be a good idea, especially because I was so hungry. I put in 1050 yen, collected my ticket, and handed it to the cook inside. I soon received a large bowl of ramen wih slices of roast pork, a "post-it" size peice of dried seaweed, and a bowl of rice. I enjoyed this meal very much, even though the seaweed tastes better when it is dry. Over the past several months, I would say that I've eaten there about once or twice a week. I think my menu choice strategy turned out to be a one. So, if you have trouble ordering something in a restaurant some day, think about ordering the most expensive item, especially if you cannot read anything on the menu!

Recently, I've noticed that at the same restaurant and with the same ticket, I sometimes only get a bowl of ramen without the rice. It kind of bothered me; if I was ordering the most expensive meal on the menu then I should get all of the meal. However, I never said anything. I wouldn't even know where to begin! It seemed that late at night is when the ramen bowl would be served to me wihout rice and, in the afternoon, I would get the added bowl of rice. In Tokyo, the restaurants generally serve less expensive fare in the afternoon. I thought that, maybe, the late night menu somehow offered less food for the money. Last night, I discovered how very wrong that thought was.

After returning from the movies, I decided that popcorn was not enough of an evening meal, and went to the ramen shop. (I went to see "Wanted." Here's my short review of the film: Who knew being an accountant was such a dangerous profession!) I pushed the button for the same roast pork ramen with rice, gave the ticket to the cook and looked for a chair. Of the seven (!) chairs in the restaurant, six were occupied. I slid into the last chair in the corner. Of course, the ramen came without rice. After finishing my meal, I noticed that the cook was talking with a young couple (OK, maybe they were just friends) and they seemed to know each other. I handed the empty bowl to the cook and said, "Excuse me," in Japanese to the couple. They turned around and asked me where I was from. They were both smiling and the young woman, I'll call her "L", spoke much better English than the young man whom I will refer to as "K". After saying that I was from New York, the couple introduced themselves and said that they were from Korea. They both pointed to the cook, "W", and said he recently came to Japan from China. They were all in Japan, and knew each other because they were all in the same class studying the Japanese language! At this point, "K" starts to sing "We Are The World" and starts to really get into the song. Before it starts to turn into Karaoke Night, "L" asks him to stop singing, or that he sings like a coyote, or maybe his shoelace was untied; I'm not quite sure. K did, however, stop singing and explained that he wanted to learn how to speak better English. I am sure that whatever amount of English K knew, it was because he listened to plenty of American pop songs, especially Michael Jackson. Since L was the most fluent of the three in English, most of the conversion occurred with L and she translated for K. As an interesting side note, I learned that the Koren language doen't really have any Kanji characters, but that the rules of grammar were the same as those of the Japanese language. All of the Kanji that is used in Japan was borrowed from China long ago. I asked them if they came to the ramen shop often; it turns out that they came every Saturday night. I offered to meet everyone again next Saturday, said my goodbyes, and left. As I made my way back home, I suddenly realized that because W was just a student of the Japanese language, he probably never did read the entire menu ticket. And me, not being a student of the Japense language, never did ask about getting a bowl of rice with my ramen. I'll have to change that next week.

Sleeping away the moments that make up a train ride

...the high cost of getting a seat on a train


Late in the night, it is possible to get a seat on a train. Sometimes, though, the price can be too high. Last night, coming home from Kawasaki, I chose to stand even though there was one seat in the car available. Someone else promptly sat down. After a stop or two, the fellow next to him started falling asleep and his head was sliding uncomfortably close to the lucky seat grabber. He turned, stared, but did... nothing. Only when "the sleeper" lurched further, actually leaning on Mr. Lucky, did he use his elbow to push him off. Like a clock pendulum, "the sleeper" leaned against the person on the other side, like you would move closer to a great big pillow. The exasperated look on his face made me lol out loud; I tried to hide my laughs in my left armpit. Silently, this fellow pushed him back to the other side and a look of panic came over Mr. Lucky's face. The next stop was his so he got up as soon as "the sleeper" gently fell on him. The sleeper woke up! He opened up his cell phone to check for messages as another lucky person sat down next to him. Slowly, "the sleeper's" head sank lower and lower until it was clear to me that he had fallen asleep again. And, again, I started to lol out loud.



Update: back in July, I had a similar encounter and wanted to write about it. I did take a picture of "the sleeper" and afterwards, noticed that there was another sleeper in the picture. With apologies to this version of "the sleeper", here it is:

Minato Citizens' Festival

...yes, thats' how they spelled it!

This weekend, I took a walk to Tokyo Tower. Along the way, I came across a procession of dancers, dancing towards Zojoji temple - it sits next to Tokyo Tower. Actually, there were two sets of dancers and the dancers below were dressed much more colorfully. I think that the person in the front actually winked at me, but she could have been winking at the older gentleman standing next to me who was waving politely.

After watching long enough for a few more pictures and a movie, I made a beeline for the temple. There was, indeed a Minato Citizens' Festival being held! I passed a huge Himalayan Pine Tree that Ulysses S. Grant planted there in 1879 and headed to towards the stage. A group of Japanese singers (a girl band) sang and danced onstage. They were followed, in turn, by a group performing Hawaiian songs, Indian dancers in traditional dress, and a Dixie Land Jazz band. If you look to the right of the following picture, you can see the Indian dancers.

There were many local companies, and government agencies represented there, each giving away some sort of knick-knack, along with ice sculptors, plenty of food vendors, balloon giveaways and paper hat creation stations. Unfortunately, I did not stand in line with six year olds to make a paper hat creation. However, I have already learned how to create an origami Samurai hat and will create a post on this topic soon. (It is cooler than you might think!)


After making my way out of the crowds, I came across another section where there were many more tents. A big green tent extorted everyone to take a pair of tongs along with a green garbage bag and go pick up garbage. If you did so, you were given a new and clean environmentally correct shopping bag. Of course, I wanted one! However, it was a difficult task to find garbage anywhere. Well, there was a garbage receptacle with four sections in it that everyone was using. Aside from that, I couldn't even find a scrap of paper while walking around with tongs in-hand! After wondering if an environmentally correct shopping bag was worth the effort of scouring the barren desert-plains of Tokyo for garbage, I came across an oasis of mess: a dining table with several families finishing up some snacks! Politely saying, "summimesan", or "excuse me", I held open my garbage bag and invited everyone to drop their garbage in it. Success! I also bought a bottle of iced tea, chugged it, and put it in my garbage bag, just for good measure. I would not be accused of sloughing off my civic duty and, besides, did I mention that I really wanted that environmentally correct shopping bag?


As I was leaving the tent, I watched the summer's thrill ride of the year, at least for kids and firemen:

A fireman would take kids for a ride in the cherry picker of the fire truck! I didn't notice anyone crying at the very top, but there were some anxious parents in the crowd! After snapping a few pictures of the ride, I put my camera in my new shopping bag and made my way back home.

Kyoto Calling - U KAI

...I've been away so long...

First, a personal note: I've been back and forth between Tokyo and NY and I've ignored this blog for a while. Leaving the "Kyoto Calling" series as a cliff hanger for so long has left everyone - or at least me - flat. Sorries! If I can remember all of the posts I want to write, I'll have quite a few ready for publication over the next several days. Yes, I know this blog "journal" is filled with personal notes. I just wanted to let the both of you who follow this blog that I apologize for letting it lapse.

Ok. so...

Woke up, got out of bed, wondered if I'd get fed. Made the (tour) bus in minutes flat, found my way to the back and sat right down. Somebody spoke, but I didn't understand... there was no English tour guide on the bus! I didn't figure it was a big problem, since there wasn't much English spoken in Tokyo either. We arrived in the part of Kyoto called Arashamiya. The big touristy thing to do there is watch U Kai, which is what we did after a traditional Japanese dinner. U Kai is the Japanese term for it. Here's the wikipedia page that discuss it. Basically, it is a traditional way of fishing that uses trained cormorant birds. These birds are used by the fishermen instead of bait and tackle! They also have a ring around their necks, so if the cormorant does catch a fish of any appreciable size, it cannot swallow the fish. The fisherman hauls the bird into the boat and makes it spit out the fish! We got on these flat bottom boats and made our way to the middle of the river and... waited until dark. Then the fisherman came by in their boats. I took a picture of the fishermen below:

Actually, I stole that picture from a wikipedia link. Here's a small video of the fishing...

It was really a lot of fun, even if this wasn't a classic fishing tale as told by Hemmingway, or Wolff! After the fishing demonstration was over, we went back to the bus and headed back to my hotel. I didn't get to see any of the fish that did end up getting caught, but it was a lot of fun.

Kyoto Calling - Arrival

riding the "bullet train"

I have a seat on the Shinkansen (aka the bullet train) and I arrive at the terminal. But my ticket will not get me through the gate. A security person escorts me to the JR ticket counter where I am told that, although I bought a seat on the train, I needed a local ticket too. It was a mere 7000 yen to purchase the second ticket and I had to use the local ticket as well as the Shinkansen ticket to get through the gate. After getting on the train and finding my seat, I am able to relax. Of course, I had a window seat and there was no one else in my row. The weather was cloudy and rainy so the views weren't that great (I'll post pictures another time, I'm posting this at the Narita airport!). There is a tremendous amount of space around me and I arrive at Kyoto well relaxed.

The map at Kyoto station showed the hotel (Tokyu Hotel) to be rather close, so I decided to walk. Two hours later, I arrived at the hotel. In between, I stopped at two temples, a Seven Eleven, a pachinko parlor, a store selling washi (handmade paper) and a Lawson to ask for directions. Somewhere in between these stops I got lost several times. I arrived at the hotel with my clothes soaking wet and me slightly dehydrated. Now, I had reservations for a tour bus at 4:30. At 2:45 I sat down on the bed and fell asleep.

I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

...luckily, no "skies tumbling down."

Last Night, there was an earthquake in northern Japan. It was 280 miles northeast of Tokyo, but I felt it alright. At first it felt like one of those 'vibra-beds' that you used to see in motels and would give you fifteen minutes of massaging action for a quarter. But the quake got progressively stronger and the (two) dishes in my cabinet started rattling around also. It subsided soon enough and thank goodness there was no loss of life. Thank goodness that nothing crawled up from that earthquake either, iykwimaityd. OK... on to completing my Kyoto series...

Kyoto Calling - Plans are made

Part 2 of a series...

"I think that you don't want to go sight seeing in Kyoto when half of Japan is also sight seeing in Kyoto. But I think that if you leave on Friday morning, we might be able to find a good hotel with a reservation for Friday night. You could stay in Kyoto all day Friday and all day Saturday too. Then, on Saturday evening, grab a box dinner, take the Shinkansen back home and enjoy your dinner on the train."

My thoughts drifted to the Shinkansen, the super fast "bullet train." There are signs for this train all over the Shinegawa station. It looks sleek and fast, even when it is going slow. I was getting pretty excited about having an opportunity to ride on the bullet train.

My thoughts must have been drifting for quite a while, because the last time I had looked at my watch, it was only 1:30 AM. The work week had started with a schedule change. I had to work during third shift - which corresponds to first shift back in New York. My body had adjusted to third shift very easily. Too easily, in fact, because I was getting much sleep during the day time, or at night. By Wednesday early morning, there wasn't much candle left to burn -at either end, much less either end.

"Peter san. I think this hotel is a good one. The Tokyu Hotel in Kyoto, is near the train station, has rooms available for Friday night, and I can get a corporate discount for you! It is 3 AM right now, so probably we should wait before calling to make a reservation."

Kyoto was calling a little bit louder now, and the sound was ringing in my ears. It was not difficult to stay awake until 8 AM when we were able to make a reservation at the Tokyu Hotel in Kyoto. Now, I just had to make it to Shinegawa in order to purchase tickets on the Shinkansen.

To be continued...

Kyoto Calling

Part 1 of a series.

"If you've seen a little bit of Tokyo, then you must make some time to go and see Kyoto. You see, Kyoto is nestled in a valley that is practically surrounded by mountains. It has a rich history - being the center of Japan for over one thousand years. In fact, the people of Kyoto refer to the people of Tokyo as young children because Tokyo has only been the center of Japan for about one hundred and fifty years. If you go, you will get a much better understanding of Japan and her people."

These words were not directed towards me, but I was in the same room when they were spoken. Instead of going in one ear and out the other, the word stuck around in my head for a while and they formed an echo. Kyoto was calling me. The calendar's pages kept turning and I didn't have a lot of time before returning to New York. I decided to answer the call and visit Kyoto as soon as possible.

I knew someone who grew up in Kyoto. "I recommend that you visit Kyoto. Definitely," he said with a smile. We went online and looked for hotel rooms. It turns out that July 21 is a holiday in Japan. With the three day weekend, many people in Japan must have heard Kyoto calling too; only $350-per-night hotel rooms were the ones answering our call for reservations. In the meantime, I was told about wonderful things to see and do in Kyoto - the shrines and temples, the castles, the "Philosopher's Walk", the food, the global warming, the museums, the shopping... "Wait, what? What do you mean, global warming?"
"Oh, since Kyoto is surrounded on by mountains, the heat doesn't really leave Kyoto once it arrives for the summer. And in the winter, the weather is much colder in Kyoto for similar reasons. The cold is trapped in Kyoto for the winter."

Global warming or not, I was not interested in spending an exorbitant amount of money for a hotel or looking for an affordable Ryokan where I could share floor space with others. I mean, what if I missed when stepping over someone in the middle of the night? What could I possibly say, no matter what the language? No, I could not share floor space and I could not afford a pricey hotel. Perhaps my visit to Kyoto would have to wait.

Japanese...

...for Dummies!

After two months (!) I've cracked open this latest "for Dummies" book. It comes with a CD with some basic conversations. However I wanted to pass along this grammar tip from chapter 1:

" The vowels e and u come out as a downright whisper whenever they fall between the consonant sounds ch, h, k, p, s, sh, t or ts. Or, whenever a word ends in this consonant vowel combination."

I count nine different ways to apply this snappy, easy-to-remember, whisper rule to two different vowels for a grand total of eighteen rules. Let me repeat myself. This is from chapter 1!

Tea Time at 8:00

A Japanese Tea Ceremony, to be more precise.

A note came across the internets, asking me to attend a Japanese Tea Ceremony. My colleague had been studying the Tea Cermony longer than he was studying the English Language. This fact impressed me greatly and I felt honored to be invited. The only request was, "Preferrably, you would bring the white socks." No Problem. Before leaving for Japan, I pretended to be the Nicholas Cage character from, "Leaving Las Vegas", and bought new packages of T-shirts, underwear, and socks - both dress & "white" socks. My plan was to minimize the amount of laundry I had to do, not drink myself into a coma like Nick did in the movie. Anyway, I had plenty of brand new white socks. I grabbed a pair of socks and kept them in my briefcase for a week before the Tea Ceremony, so I would not forget them. When the day arrived, one of the people who was also invited forgot the white socks and had to buy a new pair during lunch time. I should have put two pair of socks in my briefcase!

Before I continue, I should tell you that I do not know the Japanese names for all (OK, any) of the things that were a part of the ceremony so the descriptions may not be spot on. One thing that will be spot on is the description of how my knees felt.

More than 20 of us entered the Japanese room - with white socks - through a ring made of green shrubery. This, perhaps, evoked a spring time theme, where we could pretend we were entering a Japanese garden:

...not everyone wore traditional dress

Unfortunately we had to sit on our knees. Mine happened to snap just like when you spread those balsa wood chopsticks that are joined together at one end. This happened more than once, by the way; pretty much any time I tried to move my legs.

We were served sweets while the tea was being prepared:

...those chopsticks were cool!

We had to bow to our server when we were presented the sweets, which was no problem because I lost the feeling in both of my feet at about this time. These things tasted pretty good; the center was filled with a sweet red bean paste. By the way, the people who presented the sweets did not prepare the green tea. After eating the sweets, the tea was being served:

Not.My.Knees.

At this point, I was worried that I would not be able to stand up ever again, and I drank the team presented to me. I did my best to mimic everyone else by holding the bowl with two hands, and drank it quietly. There were several people ahead of my who made a wisping sound as they finished their tea. I found out later that this sound is expected and is a duty of the guest to demonstrate their fondness for the tea. Later, it was also explained that the bowl should be turned twice to the right before drinking the tea so that our lips would not come in contact with the center marking of the bowl. After drinking, we also should have turned the bowl twice to the left before placing the bowl back on the floor.

At this point we were allowed to sit cross legged on the floor, but this didn't help very much; my knees still made that cracking sound. The Tea Ceremony was officially over, and we were able to take a close-up look at some of the equipment that was used:

All of the equipment was made of traditional Japanese materials. I chose to ignore the electrical cord running from the heating element. We were also able to ask some questions. It turns out that the procedures used to make the tea were very carefully done and took many years of study to master. Much of he equipment is also made by the students.

It was great to take part in Japanese culture. There's much more detail to the ceremony than what I provided. If you are interested, wikipedia has a detailed article on the origins and details of the tea ceremony. The only negative part: I had to use my arms in order to exit the room; my feet were not talking to me. I did manage to put my shoes back on and hobbled home while feeling blessed that I could take part in this ceremony.

"Update Your Blog"

...ok already!

I have an update or two ready to go so I have some real blog entries to make. I'm also pushing to get some guest bloggers to participate in this thing. Perhaps if they knew (from the comments) that you readers (all three of you) were interested (ok, mildly curious) in what they had to say ( one word: garbage. Really, about garbage!) then they would be more inclined to post here.

Aliens On A Train

What was that about Soylent Green again?!?"






















On the way to the Tokyo Toy Show last week, I snapped this picture on the train. Take a close look at this picture on the left. I'll wait... Now, I originally took this picture because in Tokyo, you should apparnetly give your seat to a grey alien with big eyes, no nose and no mouth. But after looking at the picture on top, I'm thinking that the alien wants people in their seats in order to use them for some form of bizarre sushi! The picture on top shows the people that were turned into sushi. They are still wearing clothes, but don't look anything like their former selves. How the aliens eat this sushi, I have no idea. But if you see a grey alien on a train in Tokyo, please, DO NOT sit down in a priority seat!



UPDATE: I've been informed that the angle of the picture is wrong and that if I tilt the picture 45 degrees to the left it is easy to see that... OH YES, Soylent Green is People! Even if its not green!

Skewered!

...maybe it was something I ate.

There are a few places that sell skewers of food. I'd like to tell you about two of them. One was a restaurant in Kawasaki. We were going to La Cittadella, a pretty, neat place where you can forget that you are in Japan and pretend you are in Italy for a little while. Before we got there, we settled in for a bite to eat at a Japanese restaurant that sold skewers of food. Most of it was pretty good, actually. Then I grabbed the skewer with the meatballs. Yes, they looked like meatballs, and the first bite tasted like meatballs. A second bite revealed a surprise inside the meatball: a hardboiled egg. Luckily, the egg had been shelled! The size of the egg was rather small and I would guess it to be about the size of my thumb's first digit. Once I got over the surprise, it wasn't that bad.

The other evening in the supermarket, there was a prepared food section with a tray full of just-off-the-grill skewers. It looked like chicken parts and I grabbed a bunch. I did stay away from the skewers of chicken gizzards and chicken livers. ("Save the liver!"). I got home, grabbed a beer and dove into the skewers. The first one was pretty good. But the first bite from the second skewer seemed to have a bit too much fat. So did the second one. And, the third. In fact, the skewer had been made of small pieces of folded chicken skin and no meat! I'm sorry. I know you can't unread something that you've just read, but that is what the skewer was made from. Chicken skin! "OK, no problem," I think to myself, while I grab another skewer. Oops. It was also a chicken skin skewer. Half of my skewers were made up of chicken skin and only chicken skin. My discover that evening called for an unscheduled trip to a Scottish Restaurant. That's right, I ended up in McDonald's.

A side note, it was a busy week for me and the next few weeks will be no less busy! I've got at least a couple more posts waiting to see the light of day for this week, so please check back.

Music Bleg

If you know what I mean, and I think you do (IYKWIMAITYD)!

Must.Have.More.Leningrad.Cowboys.

Helpful Tips While In Japan

...first in a series.

While I still consider mself a newbie here in Japan, there are some simple do's and don'ts that I've come across. From time to time, and especially when my desire to blog is really low, I'll publish these tips. With that in mind, here's tip number 1.

During the rainy season, and especially when the humidity is quite high, don't put Johnson's Baby Powder (or any brand of powder) on yourself and then immediately put on a black suit. And, if you're not going to wear a black suit, then don't put Johnson's Baby Powder on in the same room as that afore mentioned suit; or any suit for that matter. It is just something that I've heard about and want to pass along.

Never understimate the 'power of breeze'

Presented for your consideration, one Mr. Petesan. He doesn't know it yet, but that remote control has a mind of its own...

If you've read my previous entry on the air conditioner & remote control in my apartment, you'll know that 'power of breeze' is not a button you should push indiscriminately. Like I just did the other night...

Right now, this is the rainy season in Tokyo, and the air outside is frequently visible. On such days the air conditioner is indispensible. Last night, the 'power of breeze' cooled off my apartment alot. When I wanted to lower the breeze, however, the remote control pretended like it had no battery power left! No LCD screen, no buttons working (not even the heat button!), nothing. If I had a woolen hat to wear, I would have worn it. That's how cold it was in my apartment last night. The 'power of breeze' would not be denied, or least not be shut off. This evening, when I came home, the apartment was still very cold, but the remote control allowed me to change, not only the temperature, but the 'power of breeze' as well. So, all seems well, but I am worried.

I may sleep with the lights on and the window open tonight. As long as I'm sleeping in Tokyo and not... The Twilight Zone.

Trains

...because not every post can be about food!

Trains and train stations are a big part of daily life in Tokyo. I had a conversation recently about the Toyota company selling fewer and fewer cars in Japan. "Well of course!" came the reply. "Everyone just takes a train when they want to go somewhere." I guess this is true even if you have wheels! For example, check out this family that, umm, rides together.

The trains are definitely crowded, except on Sundays. Here's the Mita subway station, one of the stops on the Mita subway line. Very creative naming conventions were used here. I never saw even one power tool, though. However, I did see someone polishing the tops of these barriers on Sunday. They do look rather shiney!

As with most trains, advertisements cover as many square inches as possible. And, if you've ever seen a car drive by with plasma screens in the back for kids, well Tokyo trains have them too - for the kid in everyone. Besides commercials, ("Have a rice day!") you can see golf tips to improve your game. Assuming you don't have to back out of a golf league just before it starts...

More than a few subway stations have drinking fountains to drink and to wash you feet, in case you get sand in your sandals, or something:

One other interesting feature is that, on some lines, conductors play a variation of the game, "Musical Chairs." Music plays while the doors are open and the music stops (!) when the doors are about to close. This is, no doubt, to encourage people to rush into the trains and find a seat as fast as possible, and trampling others, if necessary. I'll try to capture some of the "sounds of subway" next week. Until next time, I encourage everyone to follow the suggestion given by this advertisement, seen from a train, of course!

Tsukiji Fish Market

...just like the Fulton Fish Market except, umm, its in Japan.

The Kanji characters for the Tsukiji Fish Market are 築地 and there is a rich history and tradition here. Click the Kanji if you want to learn more about it. (Hopefully the link will bring you to the English language page.)

After getting off the train, I passed a McDonalds (!) and headed towards the fish market. After a block, I made my way, slowly, through a vendor area thick with people and thin with asphalt. Vendors were selling all sorts of fish, to be sure, but there were vendors selling Japanese knives, breakfast items, beans (no Beano though!) earthen ware, such as teapots and plenty of vegetables. Making it past the vendors, I found what appeared to be an official Tsukiji building. I think it was official because there was a sign that said 'Official Tsukiji Fish Market'. People were giving out sample size containers of sake. They were selling T-shirts too. (I bought me a blue one!) A short walk beyond that led to another section of vendors selling all sorts of things as well as many sushi restaurants, each one with long lines of people waiting to get in. This at around 11AM.

When I turned to make my way past one of the lines, a vendor selling some sort of green tea gave me a brochure and pointed past an area where many trucks were parked. "Sir," he began in English, "If you go to this area you will find a secret area with many fine fish shops." If he hadn't used the word, secret, I might have gone there straight away. After another half hour of wandering past vendors, I made my way to the secret area. I had gotten there too late! There were, indeed, many fish vendors, packed into a large alcove, but just about everyone was cleaning up, putting equipment away and washing the counters.The cobblestone floor was wet with water and some occaisonal fish blood. I did find one vendor still busy with a couple of tuna. I bought some nice pieces of the tuna at a very reasonable price. While the vendor was packing it in ice, I took out my camera to take a picture of the tuna. He stopped and called his father over, who happened to speak English. He spoke, proudly, about the fish being bigger than most. It must have been a real battle to buy these fish at auction. I think he said the fish were each 70 kg, but I'm too lazy to verify if my recollection is correct. Anyway, he offered to take a picture of me. Here it is:

When I return, I'll be sure to get there early. Oh, and I'll be sure to buy some tuna from number 5131!

Just Like DoubleMint Gum

Double the disappointment.

For reasons that had nothing to do with getting a good meal, I decided to go to McDonald's for dinner. I noticed that they had something called the Mega Mac. Its a Big Mac, only instead of two hamburger patties, there are four! After learning how to count to 20, I thought it would be a good idea if I ordered in Japanese. After all, I only needed to say 'ni' because number 2 was the Mega Mac Meal Deal number. I walked up to the counter, stuck up two fingers, like Richard Nixon would do, and said, 'ni.' The woman behind the counter said, 'ni?' and pointed to one of the six boxes. This box had a big number 2 and a picture of the Mega Mac as well as a smal picture of fries sitting next to a Coke. My response: "Hi. Ni." In my mind, which must have had the power and ability to bend spoons that night, that meant, "Yes, two." Not knowing how to say 'to go' in Japanese, I just mumbled, 'to go' also. After a few minutes, the big white McDonald's bag came to the counter, but the price was a little bit more than I expected. The Mega Mac Meal Deal was costing 780 yen, but the price in that little box on the menu was 690 yen. Thinking that I must have agreed to extra large fries, I paid for my meal and left.

Once outside, I noticed that there wasn't anything cold in the bag. 'They forgot my Coke!' was my first thought. Then I remembered: I never was asked what kind of beverage I wanted. Sure enough, when I looked in the bag, there were only two Meg Macs. No fries and no soda. When I got home, I ate the two (4? 8?? how do you count them anyway?) burgers. It was then that I noticed something else. I was still hungry.

UPDATE: I should have included a picture in the original post. This update should correct that omission. Whether or not anyone cares is another matter !

Fun things to do while illiterate

...in the comfort of your own apartment.

You might think that if you are illiterate in Japanese, that you couldn't take full advantage of this fact in the comfort of your own apartment. You might think you'd have to actually go outside on the streets of Tokyo to get the feeling one gets when trying trying to read Kanji. Well, you would be wrong. About the comfort part, I mean. Especially when there is an air conditioner in your apartment generating a blast of air as cold as when you open the door to a sauna with the heat turned up to 'inferno.'

Those of you that know me know that I am not a big fan (!) of air conditioning during the summer. This is due, in part, to the fact that the A/C is set to 'Arctic Winter' in my office. After a full day of Arctic Winter, I'm ready to enjoy some solar heating.

Here in Tokyo, just about all of the office buildings that I have entered have their air conditioners set to 'Lets not tick off the global warming alarmists'. If you enter these office building while calm, cool and collected, then you will remain that way. However, if you have walked on the streets of Tokyo for more than five minutes, especially during the rainy season, it will take until lunch time to feel calm, cool and collected - and that is if you've brought a change of clothes.

This past weekend, I was ready for some really cool air. and thought that turning on the air conditioner in my apartment would be a good idea. There is a display on the remote and I counted 13 buttons on the remote control, but none on the air conditioner itself. I did figure out a way to turn on the air conditioner and one button for changing the temperature. With the setting at -5 degrees Celsius, the air conditioner was pumping out air that felt like the afore mentioned 'inferno' setting. But, that was the best I could do, aside from getting the air conditioner to beep and flash alternating green, yellow and red LED lights. The Kanji characters did not help me in the least. And, unlike in Japanese restaurants, where there are pictures of the food on most menus to help you decide what to order, there was no picture of a snowflake or a cold breeze, or even a flame. Nothing. I suffered in silence, and in the comfort (!) of my own apartment.

Armed with a camera, I took a picture of the remote control and asked two people who were fluent in Japanese and English to help me understand how to use the remote to cool off. I had to be sure that I was getting the proper information, so one interpreter was not sufficient - not during the rainy season, at least. It turns out the blue button I used to turn on the air conditioner was the 'heat' button. The really critical button is the 'shift of operation' button and the 'power of breeze' button were also very helpful. The temperature was not -5 degrees Celsius, but I was able to remain calm, cool and collected while actually getting some sleep last night.

Tonight I'm going to experiment with the 'health cool' setting. I hope it doesn't make me (Pocari) sweat like I've been working out at the gym.

Pictures at an exhibition

"exhibitionism" might be a better word to use.

There was a comment a few days ago about there being plenty of wierdness in Japan. There was something about there being plenty of noble things in the U.S. too. I agree on both counts. Since I'm in Japan, however, I thought I would pass on this link as exhibit A of said wierdness. Nothing too outrageous. The pics are supposed to display "in Harajuku fashion." Some of the comments are humorous because they are not the comments I would use as captions.

Is it art ?

...or just a menu?

There's a neat little restaurant nearby - Akira - that serves some pretty good food for lunch. Well, "neat" probably is not the best word for the restaurant. The carpet is torn and tattered and battered and bruised. An old picture of James Dean is on the floor where he (James) can only see everyones shoes; a flat screen television is sticking out the side of a shelf and is planted at such an angle that only a few patrons near the door and the guy taking orders (who also doles out the rice) can watch it; padded milk crates are the chairs; a white board describes the day's menu - usually A, B or C is what I can recognize and order; two garage doors at the opposite end of the restaurant that (I hope) are permanently closed; lots of wooden pegs from a ship of some sort lining the walls; a big hot soup pot with a ladle and soup - usually miso - where you can serve yourself, and so on. Then there's this:


This photograph was taken before I figured out how to take advantage of the existing lighting and not force the flash to go off. As a consequence, it has that bright streak near the center that distracts my eyes, anyway. The Kanji characters in the circle identify this menu as a 'special'. There are shrimp and fish and clams on the menu too. The texture of the paint caught my eye, especially the drips all over the place. It gives just a hint of Jackson Pollock and makes for the title of this post. Who knew that dripping paint could do so much? I especially like the fact that one wooden peg was removed in order to show the entire menu.

On second thought, maybe the word, 'neat' does describe this place.

Taste Test

A Public Service Announcement.





I'm always willing to try new things here in Japan. Yes, I'm serious. And don't call me Voltaire. Sometimes, things like uni sushi are a pleasant surprise. Beverages, however, are another matter. I snapped a pic of some recently consumed beverages. So this post is a review of said beverages from left to right (click to get a better view):

First up: Yakult. Its a yogurt drink, and a little bit sweet, but it is not thick. The relative size of the bottle is an indication that you shouldn't want to drink a lot of it. There's barely a swallow in the little plastic bottle. Verdict: one thumb up.

Ready to drink coffee in a can: Roots. Its actually called 'Product' and it is probably made by L'Oreal. Although the picture doesn't show it, the bottom reads, "A Product for an energetic break and enjoyable life." I prefer my fortunes in a cookie, thank you very much. It looks like chocolate milk. Verdict: two thumbs down.

Cocoa Cola: it tastes like regular soda. Hard to find. Verdict: two thumbs up.

Pocari Sweat: Don't let the name fool you. This actually tastes like someone bottled the perspiration that occurs when placed in an uncomfortable social situation. Well, err, like I imagine the perspiration that occurs when placed in an uncomfortable social situation would taste like if someone were to bottle it. The color is milky white. Verdict: amputate my thumbs, please.

Calpis Soda: another milky white beverage with another unlikely name, this one is sweet and carbonated. I prefer soda that doesn't look like 1% milk. Verdict: one thumb up - for the name.

Asahi aqua blue beer: I was thinking about LaBatt's Blue when I saw this in the store. Disappointing because it tastes like Schlitz Light. And I don't think they make Schlitz Light any more. Verdict: no thumbs up.

Green Tea: At least I think it is green tea. My feeling is that green tea should, you know, look green. The plastic wrapping, which is green, tastes better than the beverage, which is unsweetened. At least it doesn't have that milky look that many of these beverages have. Verdict: two thumbs down.

Acerola: It tries hard to provide you with a cherry taste, but it has that milky look of Calpis. Should have a picture of Acerofspades, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Verdict: two thumbs down.

C.C. Lemon: this bottle has the most English words on the bottle of any beverage I have seen here in Japan. It proudly states that it has "The vitamin C level of 210 lemons in the bottle." This all leads me to believe that it is being marketed to Americans and not Japanese. I do not like being manipulated by such advertising. Verdict: 210 thumbs up.

Natural Mineral Water: This was the cheapest bottled water I could find in the store and it was sitting right next to Perrier. I think I was the only one to buy it. It tastes like water. On a lark, I tried comparing it to tap water. Of course, I cheated a little bit; the bottled water was colder so I could tell the difference. Verdict: two thumbs up.

I'm collecting a whole new set of bottles & cans and will provide another public service announcement soon.

There's something you don't see everday.

"...I just wanna bang on the drum all day..."

When I came home this evening, some Buddhist monks (?) were putting together a shrine right outside my apartment. Everything should be completed by tomorrow morning and I didn't want to disturb all of the goings-on. Instead I took a rather crappy photo of this drum in an intricately carved cart:

I especially liked the rooster on top. I'll try and capture some video if they play the drum!

Idylls of Prince Caspian

... for Mrs. Richmond.

In high school, one of the many teachers that stood out for me was my English teacher, Mrs. Richmond. She has a special place in my heart and mind for one particular reason: an essay exam on Tennyson's, "Idylls Of The King". If you didn't know, these are a series of poems based on the King Arthur Legend. After we had read them, we had an essay exam and one of the questions was, "Is chivalry dead in today's society?" Mrs. Richmond had a habit of stopping by random students and reading the answers they wrote, similar to the way one would browse magazines in the back of Barnes and Nobles on a rainy Saturday.
About half way through the exam, Mrs. Richmond made an announcement to the class. "When you answer the question about chivalry, don't equate being chivalrous with giving up your seat on a subway train." Obviously, one of the students had, in fact, written that very equation in essay form. Many students giggled nervously. I, however, was mortified. That was the same exact line of reasoning I was going to take! Since this particular answer was not going to pass muster, I had to come up with some other BS for the essay. I've long since forgotten what I wrote, but I've never forgotten what I didn't write.

Considering that question today, the answer, I believe, depends on how you personally define the word chivalry, never mind what that Webster guy has to say about it. And, I define it this way: an honor system where one's actions demonstrate consideration and respect for others. When I think of this definition, I think of people in Japanese society - or at least Tokyo - today. For example, when meeting someone for the first time, or even just to say good night, people will bow deeply towards each other. The security guard in the building I enter every day bows to everyone who comes in.
I've seen many people make eye contact with drivers who, in turn, seem obligated to let that person pass, whether he is on foot, riding a bicycle, or driving another car.
When a traffic light at a crosswalk says, Don't Walk, then no one really crosses the street. No matter if it is midnight and there are no cars on the road, the people in Tokyo, it seems to me, are showing respect for the rules and those cars and drivers that might be ambling by. By contrast, in the United States, the thought process is, "Double dumb ass on you!"

I thought about this, again, when watching the latest Chronic(what?)les of Narnia flick, Prince Caspian. At this movie, there was a large crowd. At the end of the movie, hardly anyone left! Just about everyone stayed through the final credits. My first thought was that this was a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel I was watching. Wrong! After pondering this for a while, I believe that everyone in that theater was acting chivalrous. In other words, they were showing respect to the artists involved in making the movie by watching their names roll across the screen.

There's just one example of chivalry here in Tokyo that I cannot provide. When riding on the subway, there are signs and announcements, in both English and Japanese, that the elderly, pregnant women, those with small children, etc. should be given a seat on the subway. If you have to be told constantly to do something - and not of your own accord, then it is not really chivalrous behavior. In this instance, I have to agree with Mrs. Richmond.

I Must Say

...channeling the voice of Ed Grimley.

I've been reading the comments and I must say that I appreciate them all. Quite a few of have also brought teh funny. Even though I probably will not add comments to the comments myself - otherwise why have a blog in the first place? - I do want to acknowledge and thank you for them.

Double Decker Bus

idea stolen from NYC where it was stolen from London...

On a bright, sunny Saturday afternoon, I decided to do the touristy thing and take a double decker bus ride in the center of Tokyo.
It costs about $12 to take the tour and they gave out free mp3 players so you could hear the descriptions of the sights in English for free. Even though I had to give it back at the end of the trip, it seemed like a good deal. While waiting to board the bus, I scoped out the seat that I wanted and was second in line. Well, I was second in line, until one of the stewardesses told me I was standing in the wrong line. I was now pretty close to the back of the line. When I got on the bus, I noticed the bus driver was wearing penny loafers with parts of each shoe strategically cut out. The driver either had a combination of high arches, swollen toes and bunyons, or he wanted extra "air conditioning" for his feet. Luckily, he was wearing socks, so there wasn't any noticeable "air conditioning" coming from his shoes. Because I was one of the last ones on the bus, most of the pictures I took came out like this:However, I was able to take one nice picture that I thought I would share with you:
It is rather interesting because the woman's voice coming from the mp3 player said that the buildings in the background were rebuilt after they were destroyed by Godzilla when he was fighting Mothra. (Actually, I may have made that last part up; he might have been fighting Mecha-Godzilla.)

TOTO

"...I've got a feeling we aren't in Kansas any more."

It is unusual enough that I have to post a picture of it:
The manufacturer is Toto. Yes, that is a sink on top. The water starts whenever the, well, whenever the handle is pushed. The seat is always warm and I'm not sure if there is a way to control its temperature. There are many controls on the right hand panel, and I can only make out the letter "W" amongst all of the Kanji characters. I think that the less I say, the better.

Update: That is not the letter "W" on the right hand panel.

Nicholas and Nicholas

"a most wonderful day!"

There is an Orthodox Church in Tokyo. Here's a link to some of the history behind the church.
The church's website, refers to the church as the Holy Resurrection Cathedral, or Nicholai-do. Amusingly enough, it actually refers to the church as "Nichorai-do" elsewhere on the page. I decided to visit the church. There is a stop on the JR train called Ochanomizu and this train station felt rather old. Well, not old, as much as small. The steps had a much smaller height than usual, the hand rails were lower to the ground, even some of the arches on the platform were too short for anyone I know to be able to easily pass under. When I stepped outside, a sign in English pointed the way directly to the church. It was not the way I went. After wandering around a bookstore, a guitar store and a McDonald's, I was able to make my way to the church. When I entered the gates, I must say that the din of Tokyo disappeared; all was quiet and peaceful. It always amazes me, when I take the time to absorb it, that churches have the ability to make the outside world seem distant and far away. I went inside the church and passed the sign that said, "No Pictures.' The church was dimly lit, even though it was bright and sunny outside. Four other people were already inside and in the back of the church, but most of the inside was cordoned off with velvet rope. I lit a candle and said a prayer, then sat down. The church looked familiar, from the icons, to the alter, to the far too few chairs, and even to the rugs that were lying on the floor.
While I was sitting in the back of the church, a feeling of loneliness crept over me. I thought of friends and family and being so very far away from them. At that moment, a group of Japanese tourists came into the church! It seemed as though God was filling the church for my benefit; comforting me and saying,"You are not alone. No need to feel alone here." I did not feel lonely and smiled a deep smile. It may seem strange to read these words, but it did happen this way. I watched the crowd and many people bowed towards the alter. One person did make the sign of the cross. Another woman, with white gloves and a matching umbrella, sat down next to me and closed her eyes for a moment.
A tour guide, or, perhaps, a volunteer from the church, pointed out various aspects of the inside architecture as well as the alter. And, while many had cameras, including myself, no one took a picture inside the church. I stepped outside just ahead of everyone else, mostly to watch what everyone would do. Just about everyone took out a camera and took pictures of the church, and of each other.
The visit to the church was peaceful, uplifting and spiritual. I will return to attend a church service.

Later that day, it stated to rain and I decided to go to the movies. I remembered that there was a theatre in Shinagawa, at the hotel where I first stayed. On top of that, Rambo was premiering! How could I resist another Stallone movie? (Gee Pete-san. After writing about church, you are writing about Rambo? Really? Umm, no.) Well, when I arrived, I noticed that Rambo cost 2500 yen! On top of that, the last showing started an hour before I had arrived. There were nine theaters showing movies and it looked like eight of them had already started the last show of he night. Only one showing of "10,000 BC" had yet to start. I went to buy a ticket, and the clerk behind the counter asked me what seat I wanted. She pointed to a seating guide and it was like buying a ticket for a sporting event. Well, it was stadium seating, so I went with H14. I walked down the hallway to the only theater with the doors open. Two couples were already sitting there when the previews started to play. The dialogue for each preview was in Japanese! In fact, the only words I could understand were, "Movie star, Nichoras Cagey!" and it sounded exactly as I spelled it. It turns out that Nichoras, err, Nicholas was starring in "Next" - an appropriately titled movie, because that is what was showing next! Not 10,00 BC, but Next. It turned out to be a clever movie. I enjoyed it immensely and it was shown in English (with Japanese subtitles).

After the movie, I hopped on the train and headed for home, thinking of my day with Nicholas an Nicholas.

Big Echo

it wouldn't be prudent at this juncture...

It seems that at every above ground train stop, there is a tall building with the word, 'Big Echo' on them. Upon closer inspection, it turns out these building house several floors worth of... karaoke!
Must. Resist. Urge. to. Karaoke.

Pizza Day

nice n fresh!

It is Thursday evening, I'm with Bradd, and we're walking home. I make a comment about how Tokyoians seem to be obsessed with anything related to New York. As an example, I point to this restaurant:

Luckily, one of us can actually read the word, pizza, on the sign. Well, actually we both can read it, but only one of us can read a couple of things on the menu. As a side note, most restaurants have images or plastic recreations of the menu items for the day. So, even if you are illiterate in the Japanese language, at least you can have a reasonable idea of what you are ordering. It seems that a 'margharita pizza' is on the menu. Being that it is Thursday and all, we decide to take the elevator up to the third floor and enter a "little slice of NY."

We were the first to arrive this evening and the staff spring into action. I'm guessing here, but the staff consisted of Dad in the kitchen, Mom the bartender and salad maker, and Sonny the waiter. The restaurant itself has room for 32 people + 5 more at the bar - I counted the available chairs so you can get an idea of the size.(I go to great lengths for the readers of this blog. All three of you.) Sonny puts a new cd into the stereo, and the song, 'Always and Forever' is playing as we order a Caesar salad, the margharita pizza and some drinks. While we're waiting for the food to arrive, two more groups of people arrive. Even though the restaurant isn't quite crowded, at least we're not the only patrons and I'm feeling more comfortable. The salad was fine and the pizza comes out. Of course, it is nice and fresh. Here it is:

In spite of the size and the matzoh-thin crust, the pizza was quite good. We paid the bill and, it seems, we got the no VAT discount prices of 5200 yen. When I got home, I ate the leftover rice that I had been planning to use for breakfast the next morning.

Cute Bunny and just desserts

yum yum, eat 'em up!

Today I received a small 'package' from a colleague. It looks really nice and cute. It was so cute, that I wanted to wait and share it with all of my readers. Both of you. I don't know if it is referring to Ringo Starr or not, but I like the bandanna. After carefully opening the package, I see what looks like a, well, a bunny! a picture of the package and the bunny is on the left, if you didn't yet notice. Click the picture to better understand the Beatles reference.

There's an added bonus: it looks like the bunny is cowering and waiting for some lurking danger to go away. Well, I just finished dinner and I'm looking for dessert! Checking the wrapper again, I was expecting some sort of apple flavor. Well, it was a sweet desert and it had a wisp of apple flavor, about as much as you would get from eating the wrapper.

Actually I had another dessert too. It came from this bag down below somewhere. I went for dinner last night in Shinagawa and never made it out of the train station. They had a section there called "ecute". Maybe the guy who coined the term 'ebusiness' named this place. Anyway, it was a nice section and you would never believe that you were in a train station. There were several restaurants, a store that reminds me of Lechters and a stationary store that was selling expensive pens for like, 150 US dollars. Add a lot more zeroes if you're paying in Yen. Anyway, it seems the Japanese are really into New York style and flair. Why else would I be able to find a doughnut store (they should have spelled it donut!) that originated from some little corner of Manhattan, near (Delancy Street, not too far from the Williamsburg Bridge) but cannot seem to find Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kremes anywhere in Japan? They (The Doughnut Plant) have these great big square doughnuts. Here in ecute land, these folks were also selling 4 small doughnuts for 1150 yen. That's right on par with the pens they were selling at the other store. Obviously, I did buy the doughnuts, but I did not buy any pens. All in all, I enjoyed the bunny more than the doughnuts.

Upside down blog

Remember, newest posts appear on top.

After looking at my blog, I realized that the first post is down on the bottom. The newest posts are up on top. I guess that's the way virtually every blog in the blogiverse works, but I kinda sorta like having my older posts up on top. So, read this blog from botttom to top if you're willing to give it more than 30 seconds... Thanks.

Japanese Blowfish

Fugu to you too!

So, Andrew is expecting me to have Fugu (aka Japanese blowfish) while I am out here in Japan. Now I know here's a special technique that must be used to clean these fish, otherwise, the tetrodotoxin in these fish can be, let us say, less than appetizing. So I asked two colleagues about eating it (at separate times) and each one said, "It is perfectly safe. But it is expensive." I'm not sure why, but they each used THE SAME EXACT WORDS. This leads me to believe that eating fugu is not "perfectly safe." One interesting fact (at least I think its a fact. Not that I would do some actual research or something to find out) is that the chefs have to undergo special training to receive certification in Fugu cleaning and cooking. The last step of this certification is that they have to eat fish that they prepare. I can imagine the proud parents showing a picture of their son to neighbors...

Yes, that's my son the Fugu Chef. Shut Up. It is a very demanding profession, if you must know. Not everyone lives through the training process, but the school he went to, well they have a nearly 90% graduation rate! YES, he is still alive. What do you mean, you haven't seen him since he went off to school? Look, let's all go out to eat at his restaurant. I can guarantee that I, umm, I mean we, yes "we" will all enjoy the dinner very much!

As I continued my walk past Tokyo Tower, I spied a Fugu restaurant with a fish tank visible from the sidewalk. I was tempted to walk in, but thoughts of "My son, the Fugu Chef" raced through my head. I shot this picture and moved along ( click the pic for a larger view...).

To Tokyo Tower 2

The sequel!

OK, Here's the last picture of Tokyo Tower, I thought it looked nice. I think you can click on the pic to get a bigger view. Almost like being there. Almost.

To Tokyo Tower

"I'm just following my nose."




So last week I walked out of my apartment not sure of where I was going. I had just recently bought an Olympus camera ("mu" 850 SW) had charged the battery and was anxious to use it. As I was walking, my attention was drawn toward this tall, orange tower. That Eiffel guy would be proud of how the Japanese copied the Eiffel tower and built one in the heart of Tokyo. I figured that it wasn't too far away and I could, at least, figure out where I was headed, so off I went. When I got there, there were some people but not a large crowd. I did count the baseball caps I saw there (1 Yankee, 1 Red Sock, 1 Chicago Cub) but the plethora of people I was expecting to contend with had chosen a different venue on this day. The tower itself looks rather nice; the orange paint was fresh and clean and I found myself enjoying the structure and curves. The weather, which had more than a little to do with the lack of people at the tower was very cloudy. I thought about taking a ride to the top of the tower, but thought better of getting a bird's eye view of clouds. Besides, the view from the ground was just fine.




A fine bit of construction and a tower that, in spite of its color is a splendid attraction to visit!
I'll have more 'adventures' to relate shortly. First I have one more pic of the top of the tower. I can't seem to upload it to this post so I'll have to create a separate post.

Riveting Television

How can this not be on American TV?

While I was sitting down eating tempura, I turned on Japanese television. A half hour episode about some guy teaching a bunch of 8 year olds how to juggle caught my attention. How could such high drama have been kept from viewers for so long? Just about all of the kids were as spastic as you would guess. The 'teacher', who could juggle balls, bowling pins and, probably, machetes too broke down the process and helped the kids get the hang of things. A cartoon seal with a graduation hat and tassells sometimes popped up to offer encouragement. Or maybe to ridicule the kids. I really couldn't be sure. Maybe the cartoon seal just graduated from a cartoon Sea World or something. He really seamed out of place. The highlight of the show was one of the kids finally being able to juggle and they counted... slowly... 68 juggles. A mighty accomplishment for a little kid, especially since I can't do any. But I digress... the show did keep my attention, so I'm not sure if it says more about the wisdom of Japanese programming managers or how much I miss American television. To paraphrase a well known commercial, "I can't believe I watched the whole thing." I've got some highlights of my own from last week's walk around town. Coming up, next.

Hey Mr. Pete!

"Tokyo. Just like I pictured it..."

I've moved out here for a few months and figured that there would be all sorts of observations and witty commentary that a guy from New York can make about daily life in Tokyo. Follow along with me. It's just like being here!