"Horton is a giant elephant who lives in the sky...don't bother looking he's invisible."

Pet Sweat

2012-02-10T15:50:00.001-08:00

Imperceptible Grade

2012-01-22T16:11:00.001-08:00

Japan is obsessed with tiles.

Slippery bathroom tiles are constantly used to cover slighly sloping outdoor surfaces.

Shimbashi Station, Morning Rush Hour

2012-01-10T15:54:00.001-08:00

The man in the blue is directing traffic to make sure no one goes down the up staircase - that would be Chaos.
This is the queue for Ginza Line.

Saint Marc Cafe - No Ketchup

2012-01-03T18:22:00.001-08:00

I Don't Care Where Your Wine Is Made ..

2012-01-03T00:33:00.001-08:00

Any class is lost when it's put into a can.

Malaysia,Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa 3

2011-12-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

Malaysia,Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa - 2

2011-12-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Malaysia,Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa 1

2011-12-26T09:42:00.000-08:00

Nice pool..but what I like more is simply-designed packaging that separates and labels the contents of each box:

Is that a metal hook drilled into tile specifically for the display of that one box in that particular spot on the wall?
Yes?
Ok.. I was just checking..

The Narita Express成田エクスプレス Toilet..

2011-12-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

..is bigger and nicer than the toilet in my apartment.

Actually, it's the EXPRESS Express - it only stops at Musashi-Kosugi武蔵小杉, Shinagawa品川 and Tokyo東京 once it leaves Yokohama横浜, but costs a bit more than the regular express (\4180) at \4380.
The next stop after Tokyo is Terminal 2.

The Optimal Temperature of Asahi Super Dry

2011-12-22T05:15:00.001-08:00

Kim Jong-Un

2011-12-21T20:26:00.001-08:00

The most dangerous man / nerd / general alive?

DC New 52 Justice League

2011-12-17T07:04:00.000-08:00

Having time to read comics again at the same time that the DC new 52 Justice League is kicking off.

Excuse me, I've got to run into Tokyo real quick to find some cosplay,.

Shin-Matsuda 新松田

2011-12-04T20:09:00.001-08:00

富士山は片倉町から

2011-11-27T21:28:00.001-08:00

Mt. Fuji from Katakuracho.

Yes, Let's.

2011-11-22T03:41:00.003-08:00

Downhill Skateboard on Bobtrak

2011-11-22T03:41:00.001-08:00

Watch "Full Speed Downhill Skateboarding, Bobtrack Altenberg" on YouTube

Sleepin It Off

2011-10-02T05:58:00.001-07:00

Haneda International Airport

2011-08-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

If 1 or both members of a couple are Chinese nationals, they must have a marriage certificate to be allowed to stay in the same room in Taipei hotels.

The Art Of Extreme Sports Compilation

2011-07-26T00:22:00.000-07:00

The Art Of Extreme Sports Compilation brought to you by Videobash

Yoshinocho Alley 吉野町裏路地

2011-06-15T06:31:00.001-07:00

(map)

Diamond Eyes, Deftones

2011-05-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Fast vs. Fast

2011-05-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Adidas - Fast Vs. Fast from Gary Shore on Vimeo.

Murder..

2011-05-24T02:31:00.001-07:00

While working at 8pm last night police sirens from the street below interrupted the lesson. I simply closed the window...

..turns out some woman was murdered in front of Hotel Le Style on the street below..

Buying Stacks of Fake Money..

2011-05-14T03:40:00.001-07:00

Eighty Bucks to See Night Ranger..?

2011-05-09T01:57:00.001-07:00

I think not.

Okutama II - Hachioji Station 八王子駅

2011-04-28T22:26:00.001-07:00

Portable Emergency Toilet

2011-03-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is a portable emergency toilet.

These are the dimensions and how much urine it can hold.

This is where it should be stored.

...and is where it's is where it is actually stored.

Nuclear Uncertainty

2011-03-17T10:07:00.001-07:00

Michael Marshall at New Scientist seems believes that the situation in Fukishima will unfold a great deal less dramatically than many people think：

http://www.newscientist.com/mobile/article/dn20257-why-fukushima-daiichi-wont-be-another-chernobyl.html

The most difficult aspect of the whole situation, for me and may of those who share this predicament is the uncertainty, especially not knowing what the governments next move in.
It’s 2am and I’m giving myself a crash course in nuclear physics..

6.0 A Few Minutes Ago

2011-03-15T07:25:00.001-07:00

http://earthquakes.tafoni.net/

Japan Tsunami

2011-03-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

English School Fail

2011-01-03T05:46:00.001-08:00

Thursday Night Lawsons

2010-12-23T13:20:00.001-08:00

For the first times
and the last,

for the classy
and the crass,

for the new friends
and the old,

for the thinkers
and those in the fold.

for world citizens
and fresh expats,
for new recruits
training on AT-ATs,

for Yokohama ninjas
still infiltratin',
for J-boys cockblockin' and still player hatin'.

merry christmas tho it's the wrong day.
we atheist have fun in a different way.

I Was Told There Would Be No Math..

2010-12-23T03:01:00.001-08:00

"Original"..

2010-11-09T06:56:00.001-08:00

..is not a verb.

Mt. Fuji at Sunset

2010-08-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

Mt. Fuji as seen from Chigasaki beach at sunset. On a specific day of the year the sun sets directly behind it and photographers flock to the beach to take advantage of the photo op.

Ashigakubo, Saitama

2010-08-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

The view from Ashigakubo Eki (or more specifically the parking at the rest stop immediately beneath it).

Three dimensional model of the campground and surrounding facilities.

One of many stone statues to be found throughout the forest immediately surrounding the campsites. There's also a frisbee golf course that winds its way through the forest, gullies, streams small hills in the surrounding forest.

The cave cricket (Rhaphidophoridae) is commonly referred to in Japan as a "benjo-mushi" loosely translated as "toilet cricket", as they can be usually found in damp, dark places...like campsite bathrooms. Occasionally they make their way into your bed..
A night walk to the drink machines, about 2 minutes away from the lodge revealed a startling amount of fauna.

A couple toads outside the door of the lodge.

What at first appeared to be a decaying ball of fur, unfolded wings and flew away upon prodding; a tired bat curled up outside the door of the lodge. The cricket, toads and bat were all found within 5 meters of each other and within 2 meters of the lodge door.

A very large stick insect on the door to one of the outdoor bathrooms.

A large kuwagata (クワガタstag beetle). (Lucanidae)

Large green cricket.

The drink machine in the middle of the forest - covered with life.

Noodle Canibalism

2010-07-12T19:14:00.001-07:00

Another in the series of things eating themselves and trying to convince others of how tasty they are..

Ocean Tori

2010-07-12T00:52:00.000-07:00

A tori on a rock in Katsuura Bay.

Katsuura Shrine

2010-07-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

Of course with so many rice paddies (and frogs and toads) in the area, snakes are abundant..
This Gloydius_blomhoffiil was one of two pit vipers of the same species found at the side of the road, probably killed by residents for their own safety.

Nokogiriyama, Chiba

2010-05-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Nihon-ji Temple, the largest Buddha in Japan and a most excellent photo taken by a kind stranger and professional cameraman.

View from Hamakanaya Station 浜金谷駅

Thank you, kind sir for such an amazing photo of my friend and me. The good thing about digital cameras is being able to see the photo right away..I took the camera from him, looked at the photo, looked up at him and said "本当にありがとうございます！”

Camelspiders

2010-02-23T04:10:00.000-08:00

So, I was looking up spiders online and came across this thing, the camelspider (actually not a spider at all). Feel free to familiarize yourself with this beastie. They can actually get to be quite large for an insect, and that combined with their hairy bodies, multiple legs, intimidating mandibles and nasty bite have earned them a place among urban legends (especially with soldiers encountering them for the first time in Iraq, it seems).

Which brings my next point - far more amazing than the camelspider itself is camelspiders.net, a website completely devoted to the animal. Ahh..the 'internets'; one could sit and think of the most obscure thing and bet your ass you can find a website totally devoted to it. (Go for the camelspiders, stay for the 'hair-raising tales' of the world's trained killers running like schoolgirls from Solifugae smaller about the size of their boot.

Hubble 3D Movie Trailer

2010-01-14T17:14:00.002-08:00

Habushu ハブ酒 at Spider Bar

2009-12-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

Katakuracho is a small place. Really small. And incredibly boring. In the off chance that you're stuck there past the last train your options are limited:

711 convenience store
(or as the Japanese like to say - "combini")

Lawsons convenience store　　

オリジン弁当
hot lunch boxes made while you wait 24 hours a day

ampm convenience store...you get the picture...

But never fear wanderer, for there is also Spider darts bar.
Spider is the best bar in Katakuracho because it's the only bar in Katakuracho.
It's houses about 4 dart boards and a pool table, which they've somehow managed to place with one end about a foot from a chain link fence despite the bar's spacious interior. This ensures that just about every shot from that end results in one having to thread the back end of the pool cue through a chain link to make your shot. Nice.

It's unusual for Spider to have more than 4 people, inculding the bartender, in it at one time. (I have a buddy who walked there in his bathrobe from his house around the corner one time just to prove a point). So, this being a 'crowded' night (read: about 15 people), I decided I to go wit the flow and explore the bar a little. Enter Habushu ハブ酒.

Habushu is the drink the anti-hero bounty hunter in some straight-to-DVD SF sequel would order while he's in the toughest bar on some back-water planet trying to get information. You know... just before the big bar-brawl scene about 10 minutes into the movie breaks out, so we can all see how tough he is...I mean there's a poisonous snake curled up in the bottom of the bottle for Chrissakes.

Catch the action (or inaction) at Spider Bar in Katakuracho, three stops from Yokohama station towards Azamino.

Kishine Koen 岸根公園

2009-11-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

A Night In Kannai (関内)

2009-10-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

The Yokohama Walkers on a field trip to Kannai, the city that never sleeps.

Ex Bodega (Kannai, Yokohama)

Like a trip to Jamaica; dark reggae dive bar with enormous speakers and one turntable, complete with attached Japanese reggae dancers.

Russain Restaurant Amur (Kannai, Yokohama)

Looking for an surly bartender and Russian hostesses that just got off of work?
Then this is the place for you at about 3:15 in the morning. Never eaten there.

Deja vu, Kannai Yokohama

Ever get the feeling that you've been somewhere before...and it's kinna cool...but you're still not sure if you want to stay there or not? That's Deja vu.

Do-Re-Me ドレミ

(Somewhat) underground psychedelic trance while rubbing shoulders with the yankee and chimpura elite,

Obama Shot Bar (Kannai, Yokohama)

The name says it all.

Yello

2009-08-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

32 Mulberry St # A
New York, NY 10013-4339
212 964 3410

Typhoon Sushi, East Village, NY

2009-08-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

79 Saint Marks Pl,
East Village
New York, NY 10003
212 979 2680

The Old Neighborhood..

2009-07-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

A few houses away, the son of the woman who holds prayer service every week in her house has disappeared and been missing for a week..
..he turns up a week later, hacked to pieces, in a quarry pond so badly decomposed that he can only be identified by the name on his earing..

(In other news the little kid living across the street, who used to walk past my house throwing rocks at my dog, has just been released from prison after serving a three year sentence for robbery)

Back To The Island

2009-07-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

10 days into my trip to the Caribbean and my biological clock is finally switching over to local time. Jet-lag isn't always a bad thing, however; it makes it a lot easier to be up all through the night (provided I've slept a bit the day before). I've been using this 'new' ability to peruse the local nightspots:

First Stop: George Acosta, Zen Nightclub(map) in Port of Spain.

Zen's rooftop has a cool, breezy, open atmosphere and surprisingly, I was able to relax there. The music helped, I suppose.

Next was Pier 1 Nightclub(map) in Chaguaramas for Tribes' "The Secret of Silk" Band Launching.
I was more than a little impressed with the actual production, (being able to gain access to the madness that going on behind the scenes) Respect to the video production team that managed the video screens and Triniscene for their live webcast.
I don't know if the audience noticed though - they were too busy strutting, preening and posing for the most part from what I saw.
That in itself was interesting though; it was good to see so many damn beautiful, sexy, socially adept people of any colour and race you could think of pressed together like sardines and all getting along quite fine.

19,800 yen

2009-07-13T03:19:00.001-07:00

What's that..'bout US$200？

It costs some serious ching to buy foreign in Japan:

NY Yankees cap:
Stateside - US$25
Tokyo - \7000 (about US$80(？)

Pair of Levis:
Stateside - US$40
Tokyo - \14,000 (about US$150(？)

This trendy urban store in Nakameguro中目黒 sells 'vintage' clothes. By 'vintage' I mean someone's buying used clothes and shoes really cheap and selling them really expensive..like 100% markup expensive.
That's ok, though - in Japan, if something's expensive it means it HAS TO be good； you just need one person to buy it and everyone else'll run out and get it just to be part of the fad.

I Don't Use Credit Cards Anymore But..

2009-07-06T23:04:00.001-07:00

Train fare: \790

Corona: \700

Swim trunks: \1990

Corona on the beach and looking at an MTV swimsuit model shoot for 3 hours: Priceless

Salt and Pepper

2009-07-03T02:38:00.001-07:00

At first I thought it was just my table..

..but they're all like this.

This Is Where The Fancy Restaurants in Yokohama Are Located..

2009-06-27T23:57:00.001-07:00

..naturally..

Onjuku, Chiba

2009-06-27T03:50:00.001-07:00

【GPS情報】
http://walk.eznavi.jp/map/?datum=0&unit=0&lat=%2b35.10.56.13&lon=%2b140.21.11.70&fm=0

Caspa & Dieselboy

2009-06-20T14:26:00.001-07:00

Caspa

Dieselboy

The Japanese Are So Efficient..

2009-06-19T08:06:00.001-07:00

1. Select the girl you want by first browsing the poster and viewing their panties through the one-way mirror

2. (Secretly looking down her cleavage is optional)

3. Utilize the easyily navigable menu to select.

4. Meet and chat.

5. Proceed to one of the many conveniently located "Love Hotels".

がんばて！
＼(^ー^)／

Old School Movie Poster

2009-06-15T20:35:00.001-07:00

Nose-to-Nose Shinkansen

2009-06-15T20:33:00.001-07:00

The Multi Amenity Express and Tsuraba(？) shinkansen linked up at Tokyo station.

Things Could Be Worse..

2009-06-15T20:31:00.001-07:00

I could be this guy.

And there are sparrows flying everywhere..

Body of Christ..？

2009-05-30T23:56:00.001-07:00

Because everyone knows that Jesus had the perfect figure.

Katsuura, Chiba

2009-05-30T23:51:00.001-07:00

Congo Natty at Unit

2009-05-24T21:15:00.001-07:00

Desk Fish Tank

2009-05-20T16:50:00.001-07:00

An island of calm in a sea of Japanese bustom.

Dead Rats, Sticky Traps

2009-05-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

Wandering through the back alleys of Shibuya after the last train one night I came upon this grizzly scene: 6 dead rats stuck to sticky traps. A television crew was taping the entire thing, probably for some special news report.

Kasuura Shrine

2009-05-18T00:15:00.001-07:00

Welcome To Chiba Prefecture..

2009-05-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first trip to Chiba-ken. There may be more to do here than wait for the train and use squat toilets but I haven't found it yet. I guess one could also work in the rice paddies.
No western-style toilets at these stations..*sigh*..when in Rome, I guess.
Unlike in the city, here, at the end of the platform the road begins. The trains are also noticeably older.
Chiba's beaches are supposedly much better than the Kanagawa region's owing to it being further from the city.

Tsurumi Ono Shrine

2009-05-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

I Bought A Blender

2009-05-15T19:46:00.001-07:00

But I won't use it for fish..

Very Nice Apartments

2009-05-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Tokyo Reggae Fest 2009, Yoyogi Park

2009-05-11T00:48:00.001-07:00

The one day a year when people actually want to stand next to me in this country. Never fear however, things returned to the normal clutch-your-baby-close-and-cross-the-street-as-I-approach (women) and try-to-give-the-stiff-shoulder-in-the station (men) by early the next day.

Ikebukuro Trance Bar

2009-05-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

"One Blood", Ikebukuro (Tokyo)

2009-05-09T10:19:00.001-07:00

GPS情報
http://walk.eznavi.jp/map/?datum=0&unit=0&lat=%2b35.43.59.52&lon=%2b139.42.21.24&fm=2

A nice, hole-in-the-wall type, basement dub/reggae bar that's off the beaten track in a quiet residential neighbourhood.
\1500 with one drink (Saturdays apparently). Red, green and gold speakers pump hard bass into a space about the size of my apartment and full size Jamaica and Japanese flags hang next to each other beside the DJ booth.

New Ball

2009-05-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

Lost Alien

2009-05-09T04:46:00.001-07:00

A drawing I did for the kids at my juku.

Dust & Smork

2009-05-02T04:50:00.001-07:00

Tamagawa 多摩川

2009-05-01T22:02:00.001-07:00

Saxaphone-Moped Guy

2009-05-01T21:33:00.001-07:00

Guy On Stilts and Gal Girls

2009-04-29T08:01:00.001-07:00

Turtle and Koi

2009-04-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

Served Sweets

2009-04-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

My juku kids are so spoiled.

Canned Ramen

2009-04-28T21:09:00.003-07:00

Snorkeling

2009-04-28T21:09:00.001-07:00

An easy to follow step-by-step guide, I'm sure.

Must Be My Lucky Day..

2009-04-28T21:07:00.001-07:00

Mac Store - Shibuya

2009-04-28T21:06:00.001-07:00

Coming back from vacation?

2009-04-28T21:05:00.001-07:00

Nope.
Japanese teenagers shopping in Shibuya.

Self Study - Elevator

2009-04-25T05:15:00.000-07:00

This is A Sea-Snail..

2009-04-16T05:05:00.001-07:00

It can be eaten raw or warmed up with a blowtorch.

Harajuku

2009-04-11T01:06:00.001-07:00

Shinjuku by Day

2009-04-10T20:49:00.001-07:00

Inappropriate Exclamation Mark Placement

2009-04-10T05:16:00.001-07:00

Tsurumi Sakura

2009-04-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

The Mother of All Door Handles

2009-04-09T22:43:00.001-07:00

It's Officially Spring in Japan..

2009-04-08T19:53:00.001-07:00

Ikebukuro

2009-04-04T07:12:00.001-07:00

Security

2009-03-31T01:16:00.001-07:00

In Japan..

2009-03-31T01:15:00.001-07:00

..the cats have their own scooters.

The Largest One-Car Garage In Japan

2009-03-31T01:12:00.001-07:00

Squid Snack

2009-03-31T01:08:00.001-07:00

Underworld 3 - Revenge of the Lycans

2009-03-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

Lycans are very flammable.

Machiya

2009-03-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Senjumidoricho as viewed from Machiya.