Toilet signs
July 31, 2006
You know those “We aim to please so you aim too, please” signs that amusingly decorate restaurants sometimes? I saw my favorite ever toilet sign at Bee Darts in Namba (yet another of my darts hangouts).
It reads,
Please stand closer. Your Tomahawk is not as long as you wish. Manager
I want one in my toilet!
Writer’s Flow
July 27, 2006
I’ve just come home and had the urge to start writing. I have no particular message to convey nor even any particular thought. Wordpress beckoned and here I am tapping away at my dusty, cookie crumb filled laptop.
Today I once again discovered how cynical I have become after spending an approaching four years at Nova. I will not degrade myself and become one of the pussies at work who incessantly complain. I have chosen to stay and regret nothing. As much bullshit I have to put up with I draw from it many benefits as well. And hey, when it comes down to it, it’s worth it for The Woman.
To reward myself for a busy week The Woman (I should begin capitalizing Her from now on) and I are about to indulge ourselves with what has become our weekly yakiniku affair. Most yakiniku restaurants in Osaka provide an inverse relationship between price and quality. Save one. This one restaurant, aptly named Yaki, has cheap prices and outstanding quality. Even their ジョッキ oolong tea is a steal at 200 yen! This place is so good that we can go there weekly as our tab really is comparable to that of any other restaurant - 3000ish yen for a very full and content stomach. Sorry cattle but we’re going to chop you up into little pieces, divide them up by cut, and roast them on a propane fire.
Sometime ago I realized I wanted to get back into studying Japanese. I’ve since started lessons again and I realized yesterday that it’s been four months already. I’m taking lessons twice a week and will be taking the JPLT level 3 this year. It’s bank already. I wanted to pass level 2 but skimming through it I realized I’d have to be uhhhh like uhhh smart to do that. This year anyway. I intend to pass it next year. Why the hell does this test only happen once a year? You may have noticed my practicing Japanese on my blog or my practicing question marks depending on how linguistically-abled your computer is.
I just got the call from The Woman. That means in 5 minutes I should leave my apartment to meet her at Mister Donuts. Timing is everything.
眠�?�
July 26, 2006
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�??一時。。。 �??二時。。。 一時。。。 二時。。。 三時。。。
�?��?�感�?�を知�?��?��?�る�?�。三時間�?��?���?�?��?��?��?��?���?�?��?��?�る。今��?時�?���?。。。今も眠�?�。。。 �?��?��?�よ�?�。
��?�?�花�?� - Summer fireworks
July 25, 2006
今日�?�天神祭�?�最後�?�日�?��?��?�。三年間��?�?�一回行�?��?�。�?��?��??人�?��?��?��?��?��?�ら�?��?�り�?��?��?��??�?��?��?��?�。今日ベランダ�?�ら花�?��?��?�ょ�?��?��?��?�る。梅田�?�高�?�ビール�?�間�?��?��?��?�光�?��?��?��?�。 �?�も一人�?��?��?��?��?�ら�?��??�?��?��?�全然楽�?��??�?��?�。 花�?��?�親�?��?�相手�?�見�?��?��?��?��?��?�ん�?���?�?�。
Today was the last day of the Tenjin Matsuri (festival). I went there once three years ago. Because there were so many people there I didn’t really have much fun. Today I was able to see the fireworks from my balcony. I saw some red lights between some tall buildings in Umeda. I was alone so it got really boring and not fun at all. I think it’s better to watch fireworks with friends and loved ones.
Welcome back cicadas
July 23, 2006
Today I was woken by the sound of cicadas. It has been a year and they’ve returned. Luckily my new apartment is situated farther from the park and any considerable number of trees. For me they are but an annual event that brings about loud screeching and panic attacks walking under and beside trees. It’s been raining much more than last year but I welcome every drop. Better the cooling drench of rain than the shower-inducing humidity. Short update today.
Maam, it’s about your baby…
July 21, 2006
An advertisement for diapers found in front of a nursing room in Haneda airport.
Takoyaki
July 17, 2006
I celebrated my 26th making a kansai classic: takoyaki.
These grilled octopus ball-shaped edible is renown in Osaka. You can’t go 10 minutes in Osaka without running into a takoyaki shop. It’s also a fun party idea as they’re fairly easy to make and are bite-sized morsels perfect for beer guzzling. We bought our own takoyaki gas oven and a few useful utensils (the toothpick like metal bit is needed to flip the damn things). We bought a few ingredients and some octopus. We were on our way to takoyaki mastery.
We made 3 batches of 15. The first batch sad to say was a complete learning experience. The octopus wasn’t fully enclosed and they weren’t even ball shaped. Still with a bit of okonomiyaki sauce and some cold oolong tea to wash it down, the taste was great. The second batch was much better - we tried adding extra batter to make it rounder. The third batch was slightly worse than the second as we tried another technique.
The second batch
I will walk through the covered shopping areas and watch the takoyaki shop owners with much more intensely now. I will steal their secret techniques and make perfectly spherical takoyaki.
Extras:
Wiki entry for takoyaki
Cooking Instructions (Japanese)
Videos on making takoyaki
Internet Cafes
July 16, 2006
It wasn’t until coming to Japan that I made use of Internet cafes. In fact I’m writing this at Apprecio internet cafe right now. We’re going to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 tonight and had a few hours to kill. Hence, here we are.
I’m not really sure how internet cafes are anymore around the world but I’ll assume for now they’re really different in Japan. Firstly, you don’t go for just the internet anymore. Most places offer manga and magazines, DVDs, Playstation 2 games, free drinks, a snack menu, and even showers. For many people, staying overnight at an internet cafe is more entertaining AND cost effective than staying at a hotel.
Right now we’re in a couple’s booth labelled, “Celeb Booth”. I’m enjoying some cappucino after watching Seed Of Chucky. A little later I might have some more softserve icecream. All this luxury for something like 600 yen an hour. It’s worth is just to escape the really hot weather right now.
As for accessing the internet, the equipment ain’t too shabby. The computer I’m using is an Asus Celeron 2.4Ghz and a 17 inch flatscreen. This kicks my laptop’s ass. Unfortunately it’s a Japanese OS which means the keyboard is messed up. (The apostrophe is SHIFT-7!?!).
The hardest part about coming to an internet cafe is usually the sign-up process. Much like most businesses in Japan, you need to go through rigorous registration with ID being tossed back and forth, address forms that read like tax forms, and staff who incessantly ask questions about what choices you want to make today. While we were signing up I saw too fellow gaijin who were having trouble understanding what the dude was trying to say.
For the traveller who is in need of a place to stay and is low on funds, I would seriously consider spending the night in one of these places. Sleeping on a leather couch with free drinks seems like a much better alternative than spending two to three hundred bucks in a shitty hotel.
Today’s Brain Defect
July 13, 2006
“Ouch. Hot oil is hot.”
�?��?�日本語�?�書�?��?��?�る
July 12, 2006
�?��?�七月�?��?��?�。今日�?�気温�?�２９℃�??ら�?��?��?��?�歩�?��?��?�る時�?���?�?�ゃ暑�?�。�??�?�時�?�涼む�?��?�アイスやコーラ�?�最高�?�。家�?�エアコン�?�一日中�?��?��?��?�る。 日本�?���?�?�嫌�?��?�。 冬��?早�??帰�?�。
Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea
July 02, 2006
The lady and I, along with another couple, embarked on a three day Disney weekend. The magic I felt as a kid when I went to Anaheim is definitely gone but I still enjoyed the busy sites and amazing planning at Disneyland and the beautifully constructed sets at Disneysea. I favor Disneysea over Land because a lot of care was made in the design of the sets. It really felt like I was walking through a European city or into an Arabian complex at times. Disneyland had parades every 5 minutes and characters and bubble text all over the place. All told, a very tiring but satisfying weekend away from work and the bustle of real life.
Possibly the most exciting ride at Land
Somehow I seemed to remember the rides in Anaheim were exciting and scary. Not anymore. Every ride we went on ended too quickly and offered more yawning opportunities than thrills. Even the coasters were a bit weak. At the coolest-looking ride, Journey To The Center Of The Earth in Disneysea, you can see the car drop from outside. During the ride we went down a quick fall and the lady turned and asked, “Was that the big drop (that was seen from outside)?” I replied, “No, that was just a warm-up drop. The big one is coming soon.” Right after that, the car pulls in and we have to get off. From outside the ride seemed a lot more exciting.
They built a volcano!
The weather was as agreeable as it could be given it was late June. We had a nice cloudy day, a sunny day, and then a cloudy/sunny/rainy day to finish. On Friday, I think the average wait for every ride was about 30mins, on Sunday, that shot up to about 100mins. I can’t believe Japan’s population is going to shrink. The number of kids at Disneyland on Sunday was just mind boggling.
Surprisingly concession prices were not bad. I didn’t feel any more ripped off than I normally do. Be prepared to buy extra drinks - standing in a line for an hour in the humidity really takes it out of you. I would also suggest a smoked turkey leg (400yen) at Disneyland. They were good eating.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth - [download]
