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Product Diversification
Scoop of the Year: The mattresses at the Mitsui Garden Hotel in Nara are made by Toyota. True futon otakus know the Toyota I speak of is not the same company that makes the 376mpg Prius.
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Free Blog Comparison Link (Japanese)
Found this link for a site that compares free Japanese-language blogging services: Muryo Blog Hikaku (Free Blog Comparison) My moblog on yapeus is still getting a lot of traffic and links from other Japanese sites, as is the old version of this blog. I never archived the contents of the old blog here like I wanted to and I’ve been thinking of moving some of the posts I liked here one by one… we’ll see. I often find myself wanting to do stuff I never actually get around to doing.
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Adam Yoshida Arrested!
I am so shocked: Adam Yoshida Arrested On Multiple Charges Hey, I was just joking when I told him to stop smoking crack…
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Japanese Troops in Iraq
“We, the Japanese people, acting through our duly elected representatives in the National Diet, determined that we shall secure for ourselves and our posterity the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty throughout this land, and resolved that never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government, do proclaim that sovereign power resides with the people and do firmly establish this Constitution. Government is a sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and the benefits of which are enjoyed…
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Shoutout to Korea Blogs
A friend has asked me to point out some good Korea-related blogs in English. Cosmic Buddha is a fairly avid reader of Korea blogs. My interest stems from KAL stopovers and short visits, including one 2-day stop on the way back from the states this year. I started my exploration into the Korean Blogosphere sometime last year with the Marmot’s Hole and Incestuous Amplifications, following their exodus from Blogger to Blog City (and in the Marmot’s case the final move to TypePad), and eventually started branching out to others: Seeing Eye Blog (Writer for the JoongAng Daily who “lives in and savors Seoul’s sleazy foreigner ghetto of Itaewon.”) Goldbrick in…
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Shopping Advice
I wrote about the art of bargaining (never say “haggle”, it sounds like a scavenging sea bird with Barbara Streisand’s face) in Japan in this post last year, and I’ll be drawing from the same vein here, the shop smart vein. I really enjoy chasing down good deals on the net when there’s something I need. The majority of my online purchases are computer parts, books, music CDs, and movie DVDs. The latter 3 are often bought on Amazon, the inception of which has saved many a gaijin from the ridiculous cost of English language books in the few Japanese bookstores that actually have an English language section. For those…
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Turmeric Coward
A weird sidebar on the menu of a pretty lousy Italian chain restaurant in Japan, Saizeria. Turmeric, huh? Just how popular is the “equivalent of cubic zirconium for saffron” in Italian cooking anyway? I reckon they must have had paella on the menu or something. The best paella I ever had was in San Sebastian, at a seedy tapas bar where the barmaid ignored us and had an uncommonly hairy back. The worst fried sausage and peppers I ever had was at Saizeria. I want to know how they can so expertly fuck up a dish that even Tony Soprano can make.
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Fresh Off da Boat
NOW OPEN AT EXCLUSIVE NAMBA PARKS LOCATION – FOB COOP! Come partake in noisy group consumption of cheap, smelly food “from the homeland” in a less-than-completely hygienic setting…
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The Return of Errandbot
There’s just nothing like taking a long vacation overseas and then facing up to that first day back at work, is there? The night before is spent wondering just how in the hell you will face up to the horrors you have been so diligently erasing from memory in faraway lands, on magic beaches… Today is my second day back, and I feel lucky to have made it this far; on my way to work yesterday I was possessed by the sudden urge to pass the turnoff for the company parking lot and get on the highway instead, destination Anywhere but Here. I think the sight of the big company…
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Son of God
Bill was less than thrilled at the present I brought back to his bar from the states. Maybe he just needs someone to show him the light. Hmm… I will pay someone to preach fire and brimstone at the front door on the weekends and entice people to go home and stop being sinners. Are you up to the job?
