Enticing Advertisement

This is just one of the ridiculous statements printed on the windows of the Pachinko parlor down the road from my apartment.

Three-way Crosswalk

I was confused and nervous when I spotted people walking diagonally across this busy intersection, until I noticed that it had crosswalks in three directions.

Please, Steal my Wallet

Notice that this guy's wallet is hanging half out of his pocket. During my stay this trend has become increasingly popular. I guess there's no sense in having a designer wallet if it isn't out there for everyone to see.

Pierce it Yourslef?

Self piercing kits seen at a mall store reminiscent of Clair's.

Stove Top & Fish Broiler Cooking 15

Apparently the fish broiler is also good for cooling fish. It has taken me 7 months to actually use the thing for its intended purpose.
After birds started attacking my broccoli plants and making a huge mess of my balcony I decided it was time to harvest the broccoli and enjoy it for dinner along with some salmon.

Inuyama Castle

Yesterday M and I went to Inuyama Castle, which is located about 40 minutes from my apartment by car. The approach to the castle was along a river lined with cherry trees which are expected to be in full bloom sometime mid next month.

Inuyama Castle was smaller than any of the castles that I have visited, but given its status as, arguably, the oldest castle in Japan and a National Treasure the small size was easy to overlook.
On our way back to the car we wandered through a shrine and spotted a few trees already in bloom.

Enlightening Commute

Before coming to Japan I didn’t put much thought into what was on my ipod, I took it to the gym for workout music and that was about it. When I came to Japan my commute to work increased from seven minutes each way to over half an hour and like M I burned out on Japanese radio. After the novelty of Radio I wore off I started listening to podcasts, my favorites include This American Life, Stuff You Sound Know, The Nutrition Diva, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!, and The Presidential Radio Address. Recently I finished the more than 400 archived episodes that I had initially downloaded and was left with open air time beyond my regular weekly podcasts. One of my goals for my time in Japan was to read War and Peace. I have yet to crack the book, but I am through book two of the audio book acquired free from Librivox.org. Teams of volunteers read chapters from out of copyright books, which are then complied and made available on the site for free. I was so happy to find Librivox and it seams like a great concept.

Traffic Jams

Traffic Jams in Japan are long and I've yet to experience one with a clear cause. I have only seen one accident since I arrived and it was a single car which was not causing a backup. According to my GPS this particular Traffic Jam was a bit under 13km long. People tell stories of 60km Traffic Jams.

iyo iyo

Japanese has a lot of onomatopoeic words with frequent usage. While I don’t understand typical Japanese conversations between native speakers I have found that it is easy for me to pick out onomatopoeia. Theses words are easily distinguished because most often they are a twice-repeated utterance for example; in Japanese a dog goes “wan wan.” A true onomatopoeia mimics a sound, but many of the instances in Japanese apply to silent things like kira kira for glittering stars. A few of these types of words that I get to use are, peko peko to describing being hungry, pera pera for being fluent in a language, and pika pika to describe something shiny. When researching this type of word I came across some that stood out as particularly funny, teka teka for grease hair, saga saga for being sarcastic, and gocha gocha for nagging or a messy apartment.

ban ban	plenty
bara bara	scattered, disperse, loose, disconnected, in pieces, in drops, rustling
bari bari	the sound of tearing, very busy.
basa basa	messy hair
bashi bashi	the sound of smacking someone on the head
bera bera	chatting, rattling
bichi bichi	flopping, smacking
bisho bisho	dripping wet
bo bo	the sound of a fire burning
boin boin	a well-endowed woman
boki boki	cracking a twig or one's knuckles
boko boko	the sound of hitting something (someone) hard
boro boro	the sound of a large object rolling, or worn out
bura bura	staggering around
busu busu	the sound of stabbing
butsu butsu	mumbling, whispering
chaku chaku	steadily
chika chika	flickering light, light from stars
chiku chiku	prickly pain
choki choki	snipping sound
choko choko	always moving around
deko bako	bumpy
doki doki	pounding heart, heart beating fast from excitement.
don don	building up of events, progression of events, little by little
dosun dosun	the sound of stomping
fusa fusa	a full and attractive head of hair
fuwa fuwa	fluffy, but also cozy, pleasant
gaku gaku	knees shaking in fear
gan gan	pounding headache
gara gara	almost empty
gari gari	the sound of grinding or scraping
gasa gasa	dry, rough skin the sound of leaves or papers rustling
gata gata	trembling with cold (humans), vibrations
gatsu gatsu	hungrily, voraciously
gaya gaya	crowded
gera gera	loud laughter
gero gero	the sound a frog makes
giri giri	just barely, just in time, just passed a test
gito gito	being oily
gocha gocha	the state of disorder common to apartments, nagging
goro goro	idleness, upset stomach, sound of lighting
goshi goshi	the sound of washing clothes vigorously by hand
gucha gucha	soft and wet, an awful mess
guru guru	going around and around in circles
guu guu	fast asleep and snoring
guu guu	stomach rumbles, snoring
guzu guzu	lazily, slowly
gyaa gyaa	the sound of a tantrum
hara hara	heart going pit a-pat, nervousness, about to faint
hiri hiri	burning pain
hou bou	here, there and everywhere
iki iki	vividly
ira ira	the state of being frustrated
iro iro	this and that, variety, variously.
iyo iyo	more and more
jiku jiku	oozing
jime jime	clamminess
jiro jiro	to stare
kacha kacha	the sound of small things clattering
kan kan	very angry
kara kara	very dry
kari kari	the sound of someone scratching their head in puzzlement
kata kata	the sound of small things clattering
kera kera	laughter
keta keta	laughter
kira kira	twinkle, glitter, sparkle
kiri kiri	sharp continuous pain
kokkuri kokkuri	nod off
Kotsu Kotsu	rhymic, having a beat
kowa kowa	scared
kusu kusu	giggling
kuyo kuyo	worry about, mope
kyoro kyoro	looking around restlessly
mago mago	confused
masu masu	more or less, increasing
mecha mecha	messed up, illogical, unreasonable
meki meki	the state of making rapid progress
mera mera	the sound of a fire blazing up
meso meso	sobbing, sniffling
miin miin	the sound of a cicada
mishi mishi	the sound of creaking
mogu mogu	the sound of eating
mori mori	doing something willingly
moto moto	originally, by nature, from the start
mou mou	the sound a cow makes
muka muka	feel nauseous
muka muka	a sound someone makes when they are disgusted
niko niko	smiling
nita nita	smirking
niya niya	grinning
pachi pachi	clapping hands
paku paku	eat in big mouthfuls, take quick bites
pan pan	pounding, a full stomach
pecha kucha	chattering
peko peko	very hungry
pera pera	fluent in a language
pero pero	licking
pichi pichi	the state of being young, fresh, vigorous
pii pii pii	whining, puling
pika pika	shine brightly, glitter a polished object
piku piku	twitching
piyo piyo	chirping of small birds
pocha pocha	splash in water
poka poka	the state of being nice and warm
pon pon	the sound of someone knocking on the door
pon pon	drumming
poro poro	the sound of small objects rolling down
potsu potsu	the state of small drops falling sporadically
pun pun	a strong smell
raku raku	easily
saga saga	the state of being sarcastic
sara sara	rustle, murmur
shiku shiku	dull pain, the sound one makes when crying
suya suya	sleep peacefully
tama tama	unexpectedly
teka teka	greasy hair
ten ten	like dots
ton ton	the sound of someone knocking on the door
toro toro	doze off
tsuru tsuru	slippery, smooth
tsuya tsuya	glossy
uro uro	stumble
uto uto	doze off
wai wai	noisy exuberance
wan wan	the sound a dog makes
yura yura	waver, shake quietly
zaa zaa	the sound of pouring rain.
zuki zuki	throbbing pain

Manhole Covers 6

Get Your Personal Hygiene Products...at Work?

There appears to be some sort of Drugstore delivery company that provides service to my office. Strange? A few weeks ago I noticed coworkers getting packages delivered to their desks by the which, in clear packaging appeared to be products normally purchased at a drugstore. My suspicions were confirmed today when a sample of blotting papers, q-tips, and Band-Aids, from said Drugstore, was delivered to my desk by an OL.

Stove Top & Fish Broiler Cooking 14

Valentine's Day edition - Sweet and sour shrimp and tofu.

Mike's Here

Check out his blog -> http://imherefortheeel.blogspot.com/

Giri Choco

Valentine's Day in Japan is celebrated differently than in the US. Through marketing it has become tradition for women to give chocolate to men on this day. There are two different types of chocolate that can be given, Giri Choco or Honmei Choco. Giri Choco is given as an obligation to coworkers and Honmei Choco is given to a significant other. The majority of my female coworkers chose not give out Giri Choco, but since I only have one year to fit in as many Japanese traditions as possible I decided to give something to my teammates (all of whom happen to be male).

Supposedly the gift will be repaid on White Day, March 14th, when men give chocolate to women.

After handing out to chocolate to my teammates I had a few pieces left over that I wanted to share with A and M. I asked A what I could call it since she and M wouldn't be given Giri or Honmei Choco and she siad "Oh, it's Tomo Choco." Tomo being short for Tomodachi or friend.

Hearse

Japanese Hearse

The Plastic Spoon is Back

This time I need the plastic spoon as reference to illustrate just how small the cutest beer I've ever seen really is. At 135ml is it the same volume as three shot glasses.

Vegetable Flavored Chocolate

Chocolate is without a doubt my favorite food so when L pointed out this vegetable flavored chocolate my first thought should have been 'gross,' but instead was 'hmm maybe it's a healthy excuse to eat chocolate.'I chose the ginger variety and it was decent, but I think I need to pick a more adventurous variety before I can give a fair review.

I Want This at Home

Full service gas stations come complete with window cleaning and a Thank You bow on the way out.

No smoking?

I hate smoking, but unfortunately I am living in a country where it's quite popular. This gentleman decided that the No Smoking sign didn't apply to him.

Stove Top & Fish Broiler Cooking 13

This meal shouldn't even quality for the 'Stove Top & Fish Broiler Cooking' category, but the result was so pretty I couldn't resist posting a photo.
I was going for the classic strawberry spinach salad with sweet vinaigrette dressing, but without a blender I didn't trust the dressing to work out and just used a dressing I had in my refrigerator. This is the recipe for the dressing I wanted to use:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Children's Drink

Thinking I was buying a beer I inadvertently purchased, what turned out to be, 'Children's Drink'. I cant read much Japanese but, had I taken a moment in the supermarket, I would have been able to translate, こどもののみもの.
From what I can gather from maker's website, this product is designed to allow children to participate in a toast without feeling left out of the fun. The taste, well, it isn't worth mentioning.

Random Recycling

I'm not sure how, but I got it into my head that I needed to recycle all the end bits of the candles that I have been burning, to get rid of the tatami mat smell in my apartment, into a new candle. I wish I had photos of the precess because it took some silly experimentation. Not knowing where to find candle wick I tried burning bits of a few potential substitutes and settled in twine. Next, melted the remnants I was trying to recycle in a old glass food jar set in a pot of simmering water and strained out all of the old wick holders. I tied the twine to a drinking straw and coated it in the melted wax to stiffen it enough to hold a straight position in my new candle. I weighted the wick using one of the old wick holders and held the top in position by placing the straw on the rim of the new candle container. I poured the melted wax into the container and around the wick and ended up with a usable, but slightly funny colored recycled candle.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!

Manhole Covers 5

Setsubun

In honor of Setusbun, a festival celebrating the day before the first day of the Spring Season - I thought the first day of Spring was March 30th, No? - L and I went to Nara. Our reasoning for making the nearly three hour drive on a Tuesday was to see the 3000 lanterns at Kasuga Grand Shrine illuminated.Despite the rain, which was not warded off by L's leaving her umbrella at home to combat Murphy's Law, it was a really beautiful event. Setsubun has some really interesting traditions including throwing roasted soy beans at a family member who wears a devil mask, and eating an uncut rolled sushi while facing a specific direction without talking until the roll is finished.

Noritake Garden

When Rebecca was still in Japan we went to Noritake Garden, one of the recommended (or just well advertised?) tourist attractions in Nagoya. Noritake is most well known for manufacturing fine china and was founded in Nagoya. The garden consists of several buildings surrounding a garden area. The highlights of the buildings include a Welcome Center / Expensive Gift Shop, Cafe / less expensive store, and A demonstration center / Museum. The first two aren't worth mentioning, but I did enjoy the Demonstration Center which Noritake calls Craft Center. In the Craft Center employees were demonstrating various stages and techniques of the china manufacturing process. It would have made for some great photos if Noritake had not decided to ban them. In the craft center there is a DIY section where visitors can purchase and decorate various pieces which will then be fired and delivered. I decided not to decorate anything, but Rebecca chose to make a lovely plate for her Mom.

Should These Things Seem Unusual?

I've been told that each February, rather than throughout the year, all personal changes within the company are made at the same time. For me this meant a few changes, a new boss - who was surprised to meet me and doesn't speak English, my project being moved out of the global department, and a location for my desk.

Last Friday was moving day for the changeover. Sixteen new people moved into the area that was previously occupied by the global department which required that the desks be rearranged to create more space. My office has an open layout without walls or cubicles, we use small metal desks arranged in rows by project. On Friday at a specified time everyone was given a new seating chart and instructed to move their desk - that's right we had slide our physical desks across the room. But that's not all, we also had to pry up the carpet squares and rewire phone cords, LAN cables and electric extension cords to create a new project row. Where did the desks for the sixteen additional team members come from? Those unlucky people had to move their desks down from three floors above. Surprisingly this circus was not complete chaos, it only took about three hours to rearrange around 100 people. There wasn't even any contention when it came to moving the desks of people who had taken the day off - not surprisingly it was the messiest people in the department who scheduled vacation last Friday.

During the move I was reminded of some things that seemed novel when I first arrived, but have since ceased to shock me. First, we share phones. With the new arrangement my row of 9 desks shares one phone. When it rings anyone picks it up. The person calling may be trying to reach someone in the row or anyone across the room. If the caller is looking for someone who isn't nearby the answerer yells out to the room whom has a phone call and that person yells back the number of the extension they would like the call transferred to. There is no voicemail and no cell phones for working level employees. The second thing which I have slowly confirmed during my assignment is that OLs have indoor sandals as part of their uniform. Not all OLs wear them and some choose a spiffier version than what appears to come standard with the uniform. The sandals a soft plastic with two Velcro straps, this description doesn't do the ugliness of the things justice, my eyes are peeled for the opportunity to get a photo.

PS On the subject of ugly shoes, my team leader came in today with a new pair of Crocs. I have yet to see him pair anything else with his dress pants, dress shirt, tie and company jacket.

Shoshinsha and Koreisha Marks

Mystery solved! These stickers show up on cars everywhere I drive in Japan. At one rest area I even saw parking spaces marked with the teardrop mark on the left. The Shoshinsha mark must displayed by elderly drivers and the Koreisha mark by first year drivers - law requires this.

Shoshinsha Koreisha

Rakugo 落語

Yesterday L invited me to join her and M for a Rakugo performance in Toyota city. Rakugo is the performance of comedic stories involving more than one character told by a single seated performer. Yesterday's performance was done in English and for the benefit of the non-English speaking members of the audience we were taught and practiced the following Rakugo story.

K: Hi! Dan-san.
D: Oh! Ki-san, Please come in.
K: Thank you, Dan san.
D: Oh, you look tired.
K: No, I'm just hungry.
D: OK, Would you like udon?
K: Thank you, Dan-san.
D: Okuya (wife), bring udon for Ki-san
K: Thank you. (eat the udon) I want ice cream.
D: What? You have just eaten udon.
K: But I want ice cream.
D: Ice cream?
K: I love ice cream. Ice cream loves me. We love each other.
D: We have no ice cream.
K: I want ice cream. Ice scream.
D: OK. OK. Just a moment. Come closer.
K: Thank you, Dan-san.
D: You really want ice scream?
K: Yest!
D: WAAAA...!
K: Why did you scare me?
D: Because you wanted ice scream, so I scream.