Ah-HA!
I'm moved in, things are starting to settle. I'm beginning to think about things like which gym to join, buying a bed, stuff like that. Hey, it only took three and a half months.
I can also go grocery shopping, now that I have a fridge.
I know everything in Japan is smaller due to space constraints, but...
Am I the only one who remembers these things?
You'd think that after a quarter of a year, I'd have seen all of this kind of thing there is to see:
You'd be wrong.
Have you shaved your venture today?
That's the back of a tie, by the way.
What bugs me about that one, is that it's in front of an American owned restaurant. An American owned restaurant that sells sarads and bergers, but an American owned restaurant nonetheless.
You'd think the home office would proofread this stuff.
Although I'll take a sarad and berger over what they serve here:
Not all restaurants have that degree of questionable cuisine, however:
Yes, an actual Mexican restaurant in Tokyo. They got the visual theme down, although they play a bunch of goofy 60s music in the background. Hey, they have salsa. I'll take it.
There are also a few other Western options:
Like Denny's at 4 AM. I'm happy to report that the 4 AM Denny's experience is only slightly different here. Except it's not loud, no one is visibly drunk, the place is clean, and you can get sushi.
OK, it's completely different.
(Left to right: Dan, Twinkie Man, Mick. Mick's from Australia, Dan's from San Diego. Mick likes Thai food. Dan likes Motörhead.)
There are jobs for everyone here. Even dips.
Here's the sign for one of those famous "let's get drunk and brush our teeth" places.
What's the first?
One thing that can throw foreigners in Japan is the thematic content of the fashion. Case in point:
Now, that picture's not big enough for you to read the stuff below, but it has nothing to do with actual Satanism (it's some kind of poem about togetherness.)
Although I can only assume this guy has at least SOME idea of what his backpack is saying:
For a country that has almost no drug problem (at least relatively,) there are pot leaves on EVERYTHING.
It's just a cultural thing. Although it looks like political correctness has yet to hit here:
Yes, a swing set in the shape of an Injun. Looks fairly recent, as well.
If anyone can offer an explanation for this sculpture I found in Kawaguchi Park, please let me know:
They can't all be as functional as the mechanical fish.
Now that I've settled somewhat, I don't have the "I have to go home and unpack" excuse when people ask me to go to karaoke.
Problem is, beer and picture taking don't mix. Nobody stands still long enough:
That last picture is Surugi, by the way. She's been helping me find places to take pictures of. You'll meet her in the DVD (which I hope to get done in the next week or so.)
Not everything in a Karaoke box is in a constant state of motion:
And yes, I sang. No, I didn't tape it.
Speaking of the DVD, I only have two pictures of Yoyogi Park, because I was too busy shooting video:
Yoyogi park was originally a garden made by some Emperor or other so his wife could have "recreation." It's a bunch of winding paths in the woods that occasionally open up to reveal places like this:
All in the middle of a full blown Metropolis. They've done a great job of maintaining the feeling of isolation in nature, despite the fact that you're a five minute walk from what looks like Downtown Manhattan.
This past Saturday, I finally re-established my rock geekdom by seeing my first show in Japan. It was a big one, too: the featured act was Boris. Most of you probably have no idea who Boris is, but seeing them was on my list of things that I absolutely had to do here (like climbing Mt. Fuji.)
There was quite a lineup:
Yes, the show went until 4:20 AM. No, I didn't stay for the whole thing.
Mad 3 are three guys (go figure) who can't decide if they want to be rockabilly or Judas Priest.
Pelican were the only non Japanese band to play that night, and they went down quite well.
But most people were there to see Boris.
The drummer has a gong. Thing is, there was so much dry ice that you couldn't see him.
OK, one more thing. We got the last Star Wars a lot later than everybody else (for some reason,) and some of the advertising is a little...odd.
Who knew Darth Vader had a friendly side?
Yep, he's selling cell phones to schoolgirls. Guess he really is the epitome of Evil.
OK, I have to shower and meet Surugi at the enormo-mall at Saitama-Shintoshin. Until next time, you can email me here.
I'm moved in, things are starting to settle. I'm beginning to think about things like which gym to join, buying a bed, stuff like that. Hey, it only took three and a half months.
I can also go grocery shopping, now that I have a fridge.
I know everything in Japan is smaller due to space constraints, but...
Am I the only one who remembers these things?
You'd think that after a quarter of a year, I'd have seen all of this kind of thing there is to see:
You'd be wrong.
Have you shaved your venture today?
That's the back of a tie, by the way.
What bugs me about that one, is that it's in front of an American owned restaurant. An American owned restaurant that sells sarads and bergers, but an American owned restaurant nonetheless.
You'd think the home office would proofread this stuff.
Although I'll take a sarad and berger over what they serve here:
Not all restaurants have that degree of questionable cuisine, however:
Yes, an actual Mexican restaurant in Tokyo. They got the visual theme down, although they play a bunch of goofy 60s music in the background. Hey, they have salsa. I'll take it.
There are also a few other Western options:
Like Denny's at 4 AM. I'm happy to report that the 4 AM Denny's experience is only slightly different here. Except it's not loud, no one is visibly drunk, the place is clean, and you can get sushi.
OK, it's completely different.
(Left to right: Dan, Twinkie Man, Mick. Mick's from Australia, Dan's from San Diego. Mick likes Thai food. Dan likes Motörhead.)
There are jobs for everyone here. Even dips.
Here's the sign for one of those famous "let's get drunk and brush our teeth" places.
What's the first?
One thing that can throw foreigners in Japan is the thematic content of the fashion. Case in point:
Now, that picture's not big enough for you to read the stuff below, but it has nothing to do with actual Satanism (it's some kind of poem about togetherness.)
Although I can only assume this guy has at least SOME idea of what his backpack is saying:
For a country that has almost no drug problem (at least relatively,) there are pot leaves on EVERYTHING.
It's just a cultural thing. Although it looks like political correctness has yet to hit here:
Yes, a swing set in the shape of an Injun. Looks fairly recent, as well.
If anyone can offer an explanation for this sculpture I found in Kawaguchi Park, please let me know:
They can't all be as functional as the mechanical fish.
Now that I've settled somewhat, I don't have the "I have to go home and unpack" excuse when people ask me to go to karaoke.
Problem is, beer and picture taking don't mix. Nobody stands still long enough:
That last picture is Surugi, by the way. She's been helping me find places to take pictures of. You'll meet her in the DVD (which I hope to get done in the next week or so.)
Not everything in a Karaoke box is in a constant state of motion:
And yes, I sang. No, I didn't tape it.
Speaking of the DVD, I only have two pictures of Yoyogi Park, because I was too busy shooting video:
Yoyogi park was originally a garden made by some Emperor or other so his wife could have "recreation." It's a bunch of winding paths in the woods that occasionally open up to reveal places like this:
All in the middle of a full blown Metropolis. They've done a great job of maintaining the feeling of isolation in nature, despite the fact that you're a five minute walk from what looks like Downtown Manhattan.
This past Saturday, I finally re-established my rock geekdom by seeing my first show in Japan. It was a big one, too: the featured act was Boris. Most of you probably have no idea who Boris is, but seeing them was on my list of things that I absolutely had to do here (like climbing Mt. Fuji.)
There was quite a lineup:
Yes, the show went until 4:20 AM. No, I didn't stay for the whole thing.
Mad 3 are three guys (go figure) who can't decide if they want to be rockabilly or Judas Priest.
Pelican were the only non Japanese band to play that night, and they went down quite well.
But most people were there to see Boris.
The drummer has a gong. Thing is, there was so much dry ice that you couldn't see him.
OK, one more thing. We got the last Star Wars a lot later than everybody else (for some reason,) and some of the advertising is a little...odd.
Who knew Darth Vader had a friendly side?
Yep, he's selling cell phones to schoolgirls. Guess he really is the epitome of Evil.
OK, I have to shower and meet Surugi at the enormo-mall at Saitama-Shintoshin. Until next time, you can email me here.