Japanese Society/Culture
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In a world of white Toyotas…
I have to admit, Mitsuoka makes some real works of art; they stand out from everything else on the street. Take a look at their lineup. My favorite, of course is the Le-Seyde, which is built on the body of a 180SX (the sister model of my beloved Silvia S-13). I used to see these driving around once a year or so (they were always white), but I haven’t seen one for quite a while. In some cities in Japan, they use the TX-II or the viewt as actual taxi cabs – and riding around in one is a welcome break from the ubiquitous old Crown cabs.
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Parking in Japan
… is about to get worse, if that’s even possible: No quarter for illegal parking from June This may have changed since it’s been a couple years since I got a parking ticket, but the cheapest one is generally well over a hundred dollars, plus you lose a couple points off your license (well, technically, you gain two points, but still…). I predict that turning it over to third party metermaids is going to result in some beat up metermaids, at least in the short run.
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Just a thought I had last night while shopping at Jusco
If I ever wanted to market a new pickled fish rice topping for mass consumption in Japan, I would do two things: 1. Make sure it resembled miniature baby seals, or alternatively, Hamutaro 2. Name it something along the lines of mukashinagara shin-atarashiko (kuromame tappuri no) That is all.
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Mayoral Election Signboard
Every year around this time in Japan the streets are filled with the sounds of Old Men Who Want Your Vote (And Mount Large Loudspeakers on Election Vehicles). Unfortunately they cannot have mine, because I cannot vote. Satan won’t let me (er… also because I’m not Japanese, but Satan is pretty goddamn compelling as well). I feel a bit left out, you see. So I took some pictures instead. The election signboard with names and faces of each candidate. With a slogan like GENKI UP SUMOTO, how can you lose? (for some reason, this slogan makes me envision Fitty rousing up his sleeping crew with a hearty, “GENKI UP, MOTHERFUCKAS!”)…
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Do suru, Aiful?
Who would have thought that in the land of Nintendogs, airport pet hotels, and 20,000 dollar chihuahuas that: A. There’s apparently a sizeable market for dog meat (but not heads – an indication it isn’t going into pho dac biet), and B. Importing dogs for eating into Japan apparently isn’t illegal This is definitely something to think about during your next visit to all-you-can-eat yakiniku. Update: The poster above really has nothing to do with the dog remains found dumped in the Tokyo moat. It’s a poster protesting the largest Japanese consumer finance (read: high-rate, collateral-secured loans) company, Aiful… I used the tagline for their commercials as the title for…
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Part-time jobs I have done in Japan
Here is a partial list of arbeit I have done in Japan: Teaching English Ah, the staple of most westerners…I started various English teaching jobs my first year of university, in Tenri. Teaching friends of friends on a private basis was the very first paid work I did in Japan. Luckily, some were nurses from a local hospital and could afford about $40 an hour. Never got enough hours, though. Later, I had a heart surgeon from the same hospital as a student, and he shelled out $90 an hour. Better yet, he paid whether he showed up or not, and he only showed up about 7 times out of…
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Gyoza and Beer
It occurs to me that I haven’t gone on a manly-man food binge for a while. Manly-man food. You know, the kind you eat straight from the pan. The kind that smears on your shirt cuz you can’t be bothered to use a napkin. The kind that makes for good belching sessions, preferably in direct competition with other manly-men. The epitome of a manly-man meal in Japan is two orders of gyoza and a draft beer at Osho. Osho is a nationwide chain of Chinese-ish greasy spoons, famous for their gyoza. In all truth, their food is strictly average at best, but their gyoza might rate a 7.5/10 stars at…
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The Downside of Warm Biz
It’s fucking cold in here. (read about Warm Biz here) And to the asshole who claims that “there’s no minus-element” – my pregnant coworker, who is shivering even in 6 layers of clothes, wishes you a warm gangraping with slimy alien tentacles! Please take the predicted 0.03% increase of the annual gross domestic product and stick it up your ass, to keep your head company! Brrrrrr..
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Reposado de Kanpai
Look what’s on my desk today: It’s inspiring me! I can just feel the heavenly little molecules of fermented 100% blue agave goodness inside the bottle, inside this can. Yes, that’s right, it’s a whole liter of Cazadores, straight from Jalisco. Normally, we can’t even get this stuff in Japan. Yet there it was, laying on the table today at my company’s charity bazaar (somebody on a trip to our Tijuana plant must have brought it back and donated it to the bazaar)… I love charity! So I bought it! And now, it sits proudly on my desk, for all to see… Er, to see my support for charity, that…
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Simple Motherfuckers (Japanese Cops)
While I was at work today, some cops came around the house claiming they were making rounds and asking about “a Nikkei (= of JP ancestry) man, Justin Yoshida.” Coincidence? I think fucking not. They made my wife show her alien ID card and student ID. I hope she told them that she isn’t Peruvian, so to FUCK OFF, but I know better. Those twats are LUCKY that I wasn’t home… You don’t come after all Nikkeis to check if they are really are or not, just because a case involving one is all over the news. Fucking idiots.
