Oh Yeah...

Here's a guy passed out drunk in an alley...


A guy passed out drunk in the supermarket...


And pigeons feasting on their vomitus. (No wonder they're so fat here..)


Later.

Farms...

This is a farm near my apartment.
It's nestled between the road, houses, a car dealership and the Shinkansen (新幹線)tracks.This is the the Shinkansen that goes by my town on the Tokaido/Sanyo Line. The track is about a mile away (I can almost see it from my window) but I can hear it (and feel it) when it goes by. Some stop at the station ((新横浜駅 Shin-yokohama-eki), some don't. You can tell the ones that'll stop at the station - they roll on in at normal train speeds...the ones that don't stop at that station fly through there like a plane on train tracks.
A few months ago some guy threw himself in front of the Shinkansen somewhere around Tokyo - not an uncommon occurrence here - but he had to scamper accross 2 or 3 regular train lines to do so.

I guess people want to make sure.

"Trains are also used as a means to commit suicide. The Chūō Line, one of Tokyo's major train lines, is so infamous for people committing suicide that many English editorials in Japan have taken to using the word Chuicide to refer to the means. Its relative popularity is partly due to its practical ease, and to avoid causing a nuisance to one's family, though families are often charged or sued by the railway companies to compensate for the trouble caused by the accident. A typical suicide may cause delays between one and a few hours[citation needed] on one or more lines and is horrifying for onlookers who are present. Related suicide trends include taking off ones shoes, as well as wearing a signal orange cap. According to the Daily Yomiuri in recent years the total suicide rate in Japan has remained above 30,000 per year.

The costs to the surviving families by the railway companies' "delay fee" is often in the 100 million yen (approx. 850 thousand U.S. Dollars) range."

..but anyway..I digress. back to the 'bed-towns'.

As I mentioned before there isn't a lot of space here, especially 'bed-towns' like the one I live in. A 'bed town' is typically small town with few businesses and mostly private houses where Japan's working elite, and not so elite, retreat after their daily toil to spend time with their families. Basically the suburbs. Some of the houses and apartments are quite quaint (like mine) others...not so much.

Like This one:


This is the view from my bedroom window. It's like living opposite a park. The guy's tv is so big that sometimes I check the weather on it from my bed when he leaves it on in the morning. I'm not kidding.

And this one:

Again from my window (I'm lazy - what can I say..)

It costs a great deal of yen to own a house like this in a country where most people live in shoeboxes. The owners of these houses are typically company CEO's or retired company presidents and the like.

Here's the guy from the apartment next door going to work.
He always parks his scooter right in front of the staircase...ass..


Ok, I have to get ready to go to work; this country needs me. They want English and I give it to them.

Next I'll have to write about the ravens here..

Kintaro Walks Japan...

A few interesting, entertaining videos if you've got some time to kill...like he apparently does...

More Interesting Japanese Products...

The Nose Straightener..

Bali...

A "Chibiko" Tunnel..

This is (what I call) a Chubiko Tunnel:
("Chibiko's are what they call the toddlers that we each at work.)



You can probably figure out wherein the problem lies;

• ""..Late for work. Need a chubikotunnel - and quick!
  There's one in the distance..! Now if I hurry I can make this trai.. "BAM!..

More Japanese Products

There are some foods I didn't like when I first got here that I have now developed a taste for. This is not one of them. I like my tentacles just as much as the next guy, but nothing could have prepared me for the culinary experience that was to be me trying to eat this 'snack'.

Imagine, if you will, the tentacles that have been cut off of a squid then somewhat dried for your eating pleasure. Then pickle these tentacles with some spice similar to salt prunes - except without the salt...and the flavor. Finally put these tentacles into a bag and seal it - hereby allowing the aroma of dried, pickled tentacle from a time long gone to marinate in a small, airtight area. Open the bag...stick your nose in it and breathe in...deeply...mmmmm...now sink your teeth into the squishy, chewy goodness.

I was able to get past the smell after a few dry heaves, but once I put it in my mouth and started chewing and the juices came out, the only reaction I could have was to open my mouth and let it fall out of there right there in front of the store. I don't think I'll be trying these again for a couple of months...


Next on the agenda; "Depresso". One of my favorite pep (げんき）drinks. Depresso is actually just a coffee drink. I don't know who named this drink, but it was probably the same guy that came up with 'Pocari Sweat'. It's especially unfunny since Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Someone thought it was a good idea - go figure.





Next we have this gem. I don't really have to say anything about this one...

















But this? Well...I don't know where to begin with this. Maybe I can start with the name; seems like an issue one might want to steer clear of here. Yet here it is...in the store...at eye level. Maybe I could go off on the colours - do you see that hot pink one in the background? Yeah, that's the one I want. It really doesn't matter which design you choose because they are all equally distasteful. I don't know if they're padded, just a novelty, for 'bigger' men whom normal briefs do not fit or 'smaller' men who want to look like 'bigger' men. Maybe next time I take one out of the box to inspect it further.

I think that's all the pictures I have for now. I'll post any others that I find..

Seems Like Anyone Can Write A Book About Anything These Days...

There's a bookstore in Shibuya (渋谷) that specializes in English books. I sometimes go there to look for interesting books that I can actually read. It's easy to get into the habit of saying anything in front of anyone here because most of the time nobody understands what you're saying - I try not to do that in this store though since I'm in an 'English' bookstore..

An Ugly Japanese Reality...

Unfortunately Japan isn't all cute Engrish, samurai and odd-sounding J-Pop. There are two sides to Japan; the side you, as a foreigner (がいじん）will see and the side you will never fully be a part of. I spend time with people that have either been born here or spent a large portion of their life here, so I sometimes get a glimpse into that other side.
I was walking by a doorway in Yokohama and just happened to see this sign; I snapped a picture of it before the doorman could hussle me off..

Test.

Posted from my phone. There should be a picture attached to this.
わからない

にほんごあります。

"Now in Japanese..."

In an effort to speed the Japanese learning process I'll be trying to use more Japanese here.

Here are some instructions on how to view (and type) Japanese on your Windows machine

がんばて。