Drunk Guy On The Train

Here's an example of why Open Bar is a bad idea.

I found this champion on my way to work one Saturday morning. It was an 08:00 train and I could be sure he was in this state from the night before. When I was sure he was out like a light, I snapped these.



He is holding a packet of cigarettes like it's an ice pack keeping his face cool, or something.



I tried to wake him up when we reached the end of the line, I figured I owed him that much for entertaining me by his paralysed presence. However he merely opened his eyes and then closed them again. He was alive and I decided that was all I would do, and went to Starbucks.

At this point I must state that I am no angel. In the past I too have consumed too many drinks and passed out in some inopportune location, I just didn't do it in public. Also I have learnt my lesson about alcohol, where my limits are and I keep under them.

But it's a youth that's poorly spent if you haven't woken up somewhere different to where you just took a quick nap!

Working Too Much

Am I becoming a Japanese Salary Man?

Am I working too much?

As I work Sat-Wed, my work week is a little odd. Couple that with the fact that I work from 10:00-21:00 on Mondays, it's a pretty strange middle of the "week" for me.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. Teaching English has become the most rewarding job in my entire life.

I just sometimes wish that the hours were a little more "normal".

Hello Kitty Postage Stamps

Here's another one to impress a fellow blogger, Azumarisan.



We have a collectors set of ￥50 & ￥80 stamps featuring the sickeningly cute Hello Kitty / Kitty Chan.

I would have to question a guys sexuality if he used these.

Ultraman Goggles

When looking at swimming goggles recently I found these and immediately thought of Lina.



For only ￥1300 you can be the coolest kid in school with your very own pair of Ultraman Swimming Goggles!

White Cola

Finally, a new Cola product that doesn't suck as hard as Pepsi Blue Hawaii did.



It's difficult to say how it tasted. It was good, kind of creamy. Give it a try if you come across it.

Muji, the No Brand - Brand

Have you ever walked around a Muji store? It's so peaceful and the time spent inspecting their merchandise, you could feel as though you are simply checking out your own belongings.

At Muji the products are simple but not boring. Distinctive yet not garish. Each product has a quality of it's own and yet doesn't draw attention to itself. Around our home or on my desk, the stuff I have from Muji blends itself in the easiest, regardless of what surrounds it.

It's this timeless & universal quality to their products that I love. Each item is unbranded the same way you would expect a No Frills item to be, but in a simple and elegant manner. The products stand and fall on their individual quality, not the brand. This is so refreshing for me.

If you only have a limited time for your visit to Japan, you cannot go past spending an hour or two in a Muji store just to look around, drink in the ambiance and maybe find an item or two to make your home more complete. For me as the serious shopper I cannot fault their attention to detail and quality.

Double Zeppin Burger

Do you remember the Zeppin Burger at Lotteria?

It's still around, but now it has brought it's big brother to the battle of the burgers in Japan.

Now we have the Double Zeppin Burger and it's so bad that it's good.



Here we have the burger under it's unassuming cover with Medium Fries and Drink for ￥780.



Bam! A double helping of that meaty goodness that makes me scream for more. Real meat & real cheese, not that Frankenstein creation they serve at McDonalds.



Nom Nom Nom. Oh it's good.

I'm not sure if these babies are out for a limited time or not, but if you have the chance DO NOT go past the opportunity.

Eight Gigs?

Recently I withdrew some of the money I made from selling EntreCard credits into my bank account. I had outgrown my 256M flash drive and decided to splurge on something new.

At ￥2990 for Eight Gigs from Dos Para, I was astounded at how cheap they had become. I was tempted to buy the Sixteen but decided against it as by the time I fill up the Eight something much bigger will be the same price.

Bike Parking

I'm often annoyed by the number of bicycles that are parked everywhere. They always get in my way and I have no problem with kicking them over if some careless & inconsiderate idiot has parked it in a bad spot.

However the city where I work has started to do something constructive about them, auto bike parking & lock systems.





I haven't checked if there are instructions in English or not, but I must say that my trip from the school to the bank is a LOT easier now that the clutter of bicycles has disappeared.

A Taste Of Home

Look what arrived through the post!



For this Australian guy, sometimes feeling a little home sick, my loving wife knows how to cheer me up! An assortment of 10 pies came via frozen delivery for ￥3800 + ￥900 for delivery and have proven to be a real "taste from home".

No Tattoos Allowed

Anyone who knows even the smallest amount about Japanese culture knows of the connection between the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) and tattoos. It has always been an easy way to determine who is a regular person of good character and who is a Mafia member.

Thus rather than directly refusing entry to the Mafia, it's easier to simply ban tattoos in general.

I was a little surprised when I came across this sign at the station recently.




It reads (taken from the Summerland Website)

As a general rule, people affiliated with mobsters or criminal organizations are not allowed to enter the premises. The same applies to people wearing tattoos. This rule will become effective on 1 July 2008 and applies to the entire premises of Tokyo Summerland. Any people found to be ignoring the above rule will be asked to leave.
※Tattoos: including body sticker and body paint.

While to some this may be a surprising form of discrimination, to me it's a part of Japanese culture. In the west the idea of getting a tattoo is an expression of rebellion, the freedom to mutilate your body in any way you see fit. You are free to call it "art" and I am free to call it a "tramp stamp".

Here in Japan tattoos are a mark of criminal association or bad character. Just because it's tolerated back home, don't expect it to be tolerated here.

What A Lovely Day

What a lovely Japanese Summers day!

First start off with a quick dip at the local pool. ￥150 for an adult, children under 3 are free. My son really enjoyed himself.

Next, a simple lunch at Saizeriya. I made sure to fill up on caffeine at the drink bar.

And then off to CostCo to pick up some essentials like the National Geographic & a big, bright beach towel.

Wrap it off with a new Lilo & Stitch bag from a local store and being able to watch the evening thunderstorm roll through from my balcony with my Son in one arm and a beer in the other.

Today was a great day.

Just a perfect day,
Drink Sangria in the park,
And then later, when it gets dark,
We go home.
Just a perfect day,
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later, a movie, too,
And then home.

Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It's such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.

Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

I love Summer Fireworks

Ah, Summer in Japan. The sound of the cicadas, the smell of the mosquito coils burning and the sight of fireworks in the humid night sky.

I am looking forward to going to as many Summer fireworks festivals as I can!

It's always free entertainment with the opportunity to buy overpriced beer (￥500 a can!), electronic light toys for the kids or stall food of questionable quality. Summer is an expensive time to come to Japan for a holiday, but it's worth it as there are so many free festivals to check out.

The only problem is that they are often on a Friday or Saturday night and I always have to work the next day. Sigh...

I love Japanese Pocket Tissues

These things are so handy! I noticed them on my first trip to Japan in 2002 and brought back a big bunch as souvenirs.





Usually Mobile Phone companies like Docomo & Au as well as lending companies & pachinko / slot parlours are giving these tissue packs away. There has been a rumour that companies will stop giving them away soon due to the cost of tissues rising recently, but I believe that this is typical TV scaremongering to drive people into a panic and watch their program more.

I believe that they will continue to be a dominant form of advertising for a long time to come and a key point of any trip to Japan.

Japanese Electronic Toilets

Now for the nice Electronic Toilets that Japan is famous for.

These creations are truly a blessing of modern life in this country. I might complain about the humidity in Summer, the dry air in winter, the crowded places on weekends and inconsiderate smokers, but the toilets make everything good.

The spray will make you feel nice and clean, there are usually options for heated water and seats. This is very important when it's -2 degrees in winter! Also there are models with water sounds and drying fans. Who'd have thought going to the bathroom could be such a high tech experience!

Of course I have a gripe, people who leave the heating function left on during summer and those who put the water pressure up to maximum deserve a thorough beating!

Yesterday I wrote about how to use a traditional toilet, now you can watch instructions on how to use a regular one. With English subtitles.

How to use a Traditional Japanese Toilet

Traditional Japanese Toilets are scary.
I have asked many Japanese people why these are still in existence, hygiene is the answer. People don't want to place their fleshy parts where other people have placed theirs.

Seriously?
The chances of passing on disease by contact with a toilet seat is next to zero. Can you catch a disease from a toilet seat? But also consider the questions of Aim & Spray. The directed material doesn't always make it into the desired spot, which can create an unpleasant affected area. Anyone who has eaten one curry too many the night before knows about "spray". Enough Said.

But there is always the possibility that you are desperate and need to use one of these primitive facilities. Here's how to do it.

1 Drop your pants / underpants to the floor / pull your skirt.
2 Grab onto the provided pole in front of you. Imagine you are holding onto a rollercoaster bar / the arm rest at the dentists, this is the level of strength you want.
3 Lean yourself backwards, slowly, and do your best to aim towards the toilet.
4 Relax and let gravity do it's work. Hopefully you won't need to clean your shoes.
5 With one hand continue to maintain your death grip on the bar and with the other proceed to clean up using supplied paper.
6 Drop used paper directly below you into the toilet.
7 Pull yourself forwards / up, slowly. You don't want to loose your grip!
8 Fix your clothing, flush, exit, wash hands and pray to your respective deity that you made it through the experience.
9 Resolve to never avoid the warning signals in future so you have more time to find a Western Style toilet.

Take Off

Right now we are on our way to the Airport. Only hours away from touching down in Okinawa for a much needed vacation.

Now I know what you are thinking, Uncle Contamination is on holiday so I don't need to read every day? Wrong!

Even if I'm not here, my blog will still update in my absence. You needn't worry about withdrawal pains for your daily life in Japan fix.

If I can, I'll post from the field but that will be separate from the daily 9am update.

Suitcase, Camera, Sunscreen? Check!

The countdown has begun.
Tomorrow I'm going to Okinawa and quite frankly, I can't wait. University classes are over for a while and I can take a short break from work.

With the way that fuel prices have been going recently we decided that a domestic trip would be cheaper than taking a longer flight to a cheaper destination. Also it meant that I don't need an exit visa and my son doesn't need a passport.

So now it's time to start packing bags, checking things off lists and getting everything ready for the big trip. We all need a vacation, so we are going to have a great time in Okinawa.

Looking For Totoro

Yesterday I wrote about how we went to a local family restaurant. Here are some more pictures I took while we were there.

I love this place because of the very kitsch decor. Tonight it wasn't busy, so I was able to photograph some of the corner ornaments. As you know, I love Totoro so I was happy to be able to photograph these for you to see.



Here we have the white and blue Totoro playing on their ocarinas.



Here we have Totoro playing his, along with Chip & Dale. These were found next to a window.



And here we have a little diorama fishing science where Totoro is trying to catch some fish. This was found next to the cash register.

While I'd love to own all of these things and I've been sorely tempted when I went to Donguri Kyowakoku. But we don't really have the space for cute little things, especially with a cute little monster running loose in my apartment, so I enjoy looking at them every time we go to the restaurant.

A Family Dinner Out

Recently we visited our favourite local restaurant. Previously I have written about Dinner there and Lunch there too. It had been a while since I popped my head in there, so I felt I needed to show that I hadn't forgotten about them. My wife often meets there with other members of the family, but I can only go on my "weekend".



In Australia Ice Coffee means milk, chocolate syrup, ice cream, whipped cream and coffee. Here in Japan it means Coffee on Ice! Of course they give you a tub of UHT milk & Gum Sugar to adjust the taste. My son LOVES to pour in the milk and stir to watch the colour change.



The soup and salad that came with my dinner. While I am usually a fan of the Goma (Sesame) dressing (left) I went with the Italian dressing (right) this time.



I had the Cheese Chicken Cutlet with steak and bacon & demiglasse sauce. The chef knows that I love his spicy potato and often changes my order to include it. But tonight I think I'd have preferred the vegetables that come with this meal.

On the left we have some fried calamari pieces. Probably the best that I've had since I've come to Japan.



My wife had the hamburg grill.



This was a difficult photo to take, anyone who knows me in real life will know how I hate Banana. Even the smell is enough to make me want to throw up. But with the way this dessert for my son was prepared and presented, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show you.