Monthly Archives: January 2006

This is the view from the Umeda Sky Building, which overlooks all of Kita, as well as Yodogawa-ku. At a higher resolution, you can see the tents of the homeless that run along the sides of the Yodogawa.

Apparently, there is going to be a big, important rose festival and an event showcasing urban greenery (English link) in Osaka later this year. The city officials want to get rid of the homeless in Osakajo park and Utsubo park, where these events are to be held. In order to dismantle the 28 homes in … Continue reading »

I?ve been lucky to have been stationed at schools that have their own cooking facilities on school grounds, so everything has been freshly made. As a bonus, kyushoku is cheap (220 yen for a lunch at my current school), and seconds are often available for those who want more. The task of serving school lunch … Continue reading »

Friday night started out with a trip to go buy enough gyoza for 6 people, meaning 36 garlic stuffed pot stickers, and five tall cans of premium Japanese beer. Once in a while, Osho has a half-price sale on gyoza and people line up outside in a long queue, braving the elements to secure these … Continue reading »

Mark has a nostalgic post about Kumamoto, along with a nice spread of pictures to illustrate what life on JET was like during our stay (and what it will probably be like for many years to come). It got me thinking about what a great time I had down there. It’s hard to organize the … Continue reading »

“Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.” Who’s more of a badass, Jack or Chuck?

I live in Juso, a place whose name can be written shorthand as 13. When I moved from Ubuyama, I wanted to live in a place that was the polar opposite of where I spent my first two years in Japan. I really couldn’t have found a place that was so foreign to the Japan … Continue reading »

This morning, I woke up refreshed, dusted the crusted snow off of my drying towel for my morning shower, and then skated in the slush to work feeling that today would be a good one for taking pictures. I didn’t capture any of the snow before it melted, but saw some cool stuff after I … Continue reading »

This is the Akashi Bridge that connects Awaji-shima with Kobe, as seen from the Akashi side. It doesn’t look like it in the picture, but the sky was pretty dark, and you could just barely make out the beach in the dim light. I didn’t have a tripod, so I rested it on a bench. … Continue reading »

(Porcupine fish are abundant off of the Ryukyu Islands- this is one that I saw on a dive close to Zamami island) *Fugu is delicious, but how many people had to die before a safe technique was developed to separate the poisonous bits from the delicious, slightly toxic but safe to eat parts? *How many … Continue reading »