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Posts tagged Japan is better than Canada
Vending Machine (Jidou Hanbaiki, 自動販売機)
May 12th, 2010
Most serve soft drinks or cigarettes, but in the sticks you can still find the old school booze vending machines. This is a deluxe model, selling both beer and smokes altogether.
The Morning Market
Nov 19th, 2009
Took an epic, 12-hour jaunt around Sendai this past Monday. Our original plan was simply to visit Asaichi, the Morning Market, to pick up some fresh-off-the-boat seafood for dinner. It quickly mutated into an all out tour of the downtown area though. Here’s the first leg of our trip.
Smalltown Life
Nov 4th, 2009
Every Wednesday evening I have to work outside the city in a small town called Tagajo. Basically it’s a suburb of Sendai, but it’s also home to many factories for big companies like Mitsubishi and Sony. I walk through the main entertainment area on my way to work, so I thought I’d keep trying out the prime lens and take some low-light photos.
Like most countryside towns in Japan, there’s only one main strip where most of the bars and tiny restaurants reside. Easy to go bar hopping and grab some eats afterwards. Of course, afterwards can be 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7am…
Dinner in Furukawa
Nov 3rd, 2009
Took a Shinkansen north up to Furukawa to visit some friends and co-workers from my days there, and made a couple new friends as well. 120 minute “nomihodai” (all you can drink!) ensures getting the night off to a fun start. The food at this particular “izakaya” (Japanese restaurant) however was pretty crappy, in particular the grilled squid was dry and bland. Afterwards a few of us made our way up the street to a darts bar, but packed it in pretty early. I crashed on my friend’s couch at around 3:30. I’ve never actually closed that darts bar down actually… and probably never will!
Photo of the Indeterminate Time Period #2
Jun 16th, 2009
Near the outskirts of Sendai, where the city slowly reverts back to farmland, you’ll find lots of interesting old vending machines. Here’s one of them.
Local farmers sell eggs and vegetables out of these bad boys. Interesting side note, these eggs, along with the ones you’ll buy at a supermarket, are unrefrigerated.
Side Project
Jun 12th, 2009
Last month I started a “social networking experiment”. I’d been using Twitter for over a year now, but never really got into it until a few months ago. Personally, I think the key to enjoying Twitter is to find your niche, and follow people who share that common bond. I finally figured out mine: foreigners who live in Japan. I started following them, reading their great websites, and quickly realized that there is a great online community for English speakers living in Japan. Perhaps inspired by what they were doing, I came up with a way that I could get in the game and take an active part in the community as well.
The concept was based on the cassette/CD swaps of the 80’s and 90’s. I actually participated in a CD swap back in university, but by then I think it’s time had passed (thanks Napster!). Instead of mailing a CD to someone though, we would be mailing a bottle of sake to each other! Sake production can be very regional; most breweries do not widely distribute their wares throughout the country. Sake is also experiencing a decline in popularity, battling beer, whiskey, and shochu (a Korean liquor) at the bars and izakayas (Japanese-style restaurants). There is however, a growing movement to restore sake to its previous glory as it gains popularity overseas. We’re talking real, high-quality sake that’s meant to be drank chilled, not piping-hot like you’ll get at your Chinese-run sushi restaurant on Robson Street.
So I made a simple website and posted a couple messages on Twitter to see if anyone was interested in joining this experiment. Our first event is wrapping up as we speak; we had 6 people join from varying parts of Japan. I sent off 2 bottles of sake, one to Tokyo and one to Shizuoka. I received 2 bottles as well, one from Tokyo and one from Toyama. Pretty cool to say the least.
I just opened up registration for our second event, and upgraded the website to accommodate reviews, links, and so on. The word is slowly getting out despite minimal advertising. It’s a great way to try sake from different parts of the country that you would otherwise have no opportunity to sample. You don’t have to be a sake expert to join, in fact it’s a great way to learn about nihonshu (sake)!
Check out the site and see what has transpired so far. There are a couple reviews up already, and links to some great food and sake websites.
Kanpai!
Riding the Mangatrain
Jun 2nd, 2009
On mornings I go running, I take the train to work. The station is right next to my place, and the station I get off at is like 50 feet from my office entrance. The train I take is on the Senseki Line, which goes from Sendai all the way out to Ishinomaki out on the Pacific Coast. Sometimes I get to ride what I call the Mangatrain. I don’t read comics anymore so I wasn’t sure what characters these were, but it always made me a little happier when I saw it rolling down the tracks.
Upon doing some research, I found that the actual name of this train is the “Mangattan Liner”. Since Ishinomaki is home to the Ishinomori Manga Museum this train is undoubtedly an homage/advertisement to Shotaro Ishinomori and his famous work.
The train has four cars, which you can see in the illustration below. First is the “Cyborg 009″ car, featuring characters from this famous manga/anime. Next is the “____-jidai (____-period)” car (I can’t quite make that last kanji out), featuring characters from various manga, including Sandarabocchi さんだらぼっち. After that is the “Comedy” car with various silly characters. Finally there’s the “Hero” car, featuring the famous Kamen Rider!
Many thanks to Chimihen for the illustration and the additional info (Japanese website). When I first rode the train, the interior was plastered with comic book pages, not regular train advertisements. I guess however that the economics of it all won out; the next time I got to ride the Mangattan Liner all the comics were replaced with the usual ads.
Check out the brief slideshow below to see the Mangattan Liner up close and personal, and also check out this post over at Pink Tentacle to see some other beautifully painted manga-themed trains throughout Japan.
Yakyu 野球 (Baseball)
May 11th, 2009
One of the things I was looking forward to the most when I got transferred to Sendai was the chance to check out some professional Japanese baseball. Sendai is the home of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Let’s break down the name first. Tohoku is the northern region of Honshu (the main) island. Rakuten is the name of a giant online store in Japan. The Golden Eagles (more commonly known as the Eagles) is the name of the team. Here in Japan teams are named after their main sponsor. It’s a little tacky coming from North America, but at least my local team isn’t named Nippon Ham like Sapporo’s team.
There are 12 teams in Nippon Pro Baseball (NPB), divided into two leagues, Central and Pacific. The Eagles are in the Pacific League, which has a designated hitter like MLB’s American League. In the Central League the pitchers hit, like MLB’s National League. If you remember Mr. Baseball, you know that NPB is pretty different than MLB. In NPB, there can be tie games. NPB is generally less aggressive than MLB, and there is more bunting. The season is almost as long as MLB’s, playing 144 games.
Kyoko and I’ve been to 4 games this season, and we’re also going to 2 games this week. I guess I’m back into baseball, at least the Japanese version. Here are a few reasons why…
The Eagles’ home field, Kleenex Stadium, is not only the softest stadium in NPB but also the smallest, with a capacity of just over 20,000. Because of this there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. Kleenex Stadium is also an open stadium. Watching MLB games in the old Kingdome and BC Place, it never really felt like a real ballpark. Having the sun beat down on you on a Sunday afternoon or sitting under the bright lights on a Thursday evening, being out in the open definitely adds to the overall experience.
Ticket prices. The outfield bleachers, which are general admission, cost around $10-15. The most expensive tickets, behind home plate, will run you around $70. Similarly located seats to a Blue Jays game will cost you $31 and $210 respectively. And that’s for the crappy Blue Jays in the craptastic Skydome.
There’s also a section in the outfield that’s simply a grass field. Bring a blanket and have a picnic while you watch the game and enjoy the day.
Drinking. Japan of course has a legendary drinking culture, and at the ballpark it’s no different. Countless girls dressed in beer logo baseball uniforms endlessly parade around the stadium, lugging mini-kegs of cold beer, chu-hi, or soft drinks. If you prefer to stand in a line, a selection of hot or cold sake can also be enjoyed. Hot for those chilly spring and autumn night games, cold for the summer. Prices range from $4-6.
However, if you don’t feel like paying for your booze, not to worry. Not only are you allowed to bring outside alcohol into the stadium, the staff will happily pour your can of beer into a cup for you! I tell you, it doesn’t get much better than that.
There’s a lot more I can say about the Japanese baseball experience, but for today let’s leave it at that. Below are photos taken from a few of the games we saw last month. There’s also a video of the “7th Inning Stretch“, Japanese-style. Enjoy!
Round 1 is coming to Sendai!
Mar 5th, 2009
Driving back from Sendai last weekend we passed by one of the many construction sites in the city. Usually they’re for apartment buildings or pachinko parlours, but the big sign I saw immediately caught my eye. This was going to be a Round 1. It’s gonna be right next to Nigatake Station, which is only 8 minutes from Sendai Station.
So, what is Round 1? Basically it’s a giant multi-floor game center. One of these behemoths was built shortly after I moved to Akita City. I hope the one in Sendai is at least as good as Akita’s.
What can you do at Round 1? Let’s see… one floor is devoted to slot machines and gambling, another floor has like 30 or 40 bowling lanes, a different floor has a race track to ride mini motorbikes on. There’s a floor full of video games, pool tables, karaoke rooms, massage chairs, a mechanical bull, catch and release fishing (wtf?!). There’s another floor with basketball, soccer, and badminton courts, batting cages, archery, mini golf, and a curling rink (double wtf?!?!).
(L-R) Basketball, Soccer, Archery, Frisbee, Mini Golf
(L-R) Curling, Batting Cages (background), Badminton
There’s food, you can drink alcohol, and from what I remember it’s open 24/7. I’ve been there for various parties in the evening, and at 4am after the bars. It’s pretty cheap as well; I don’t ever remember paying more than 3000 yen for a long night of fun.
Here’s a link to a PDF file from the Round 1 website; it’s in English and shows all of what they have to offer. Here’s also a couple low quality YouTube videos I uploaded a couple years ago. One of the mechanical bull, and one of the mini motorbikes.
A Hidden Gem
Mar 4th, 2009
Two days ago Kyoko and I took the drive west out to Onikobe, an area near the Akita/Yamagata/Miyagi border. Probably known best for its terrible ski hill, Onikobe is also home to many hot springs (onsen). While nearby Naruko Onsen gets most of the hype, being accessible by train and a popular place to view the autumn leaves, there are some great hidden spots along northwestern Miyagi’s winding backwoods roads. On Monday we visited Hounkaku Onsen.
Although we’d been to this region before this was my first time driving there, so I punched in our destination into my iPhone, letting Google Maps plot our course for us. My company car has no navigation system, so the iPhone has been an absolute godsend in helping me not get lost driving around rural Japan. However, it definitely does NOT account for road conditions, weather, time of year, etc. I had already narrowly averted a near disaster back in January, when my phone told me to drive through the still earthquake-damaged Kurikoma region through a blizzard on a one-lane road into uninhabited rural Yamagata in the dead of night on my way up to Akita City.
This time wasn’t nearly as perilous, just a small snow-covered country road heading up into the hills. It was right near the end of the trip so I thought we’d give Google the benefit of the doubt and see if we could make it, in our little Nissan March. The snow became deeper and deeper, and about half a click up the road we came to a stop, unable to make any more forward progress up the hill. “This is why we have to drive backwards in a straight line on our driving test.” I told Kyoko, as we slowly made our way down the winding road in reverse. Strike two Google, strike two… We found a better route to take to the onsen, the turnoff being about 100 meters after our deadend.
Eventually we reached Hounkaku Onsen. I smiled to myself as we parked in the empty lot. One of the best things about having Mondays off is that you can go to most recreation places (onsens, driving ranges, game centers) and they’ll be nearly or completely empty. Kyoko and I try to go to mixed onsens (where the outdoor bath is for men and women, together) if we can. Going to non-mixed onsens, while relaxing, can be pretty boring. Sure, I could strike up a conversation with some random naked dude, but I’d much rather hang out with Kyoko or my friends.
Paying our 500 yen fee we walked through the quiet inn to get to the change rooms. Empty. I quickly showered and then headed outside (The change rooms and indoor baths are segregated). Empty. We had the whole place to ourselves.
As you can see from the photos there is a large rotenburo (open-air bath), and a natural bath complete with a waterfall. The Okami-san (hostess of the inn) warned us that the natural bath would probably be a little chilly, as it had snowed the night before. It doesn’t really start to get nice and hot until June or July. The rotenburo is temperature-controlled, and also features a small cave. It isn’t really a steam room or sauna, but an “Ashi-yu” instead (Ashi = foot or leg, Yu = bath or hot spring). One end of the rotenburo is hotter than the other so you can get warmer or cooler as you please.
Perhaps the only negative was the quality of the water itself. The scent wasn’t filled with sulphur and didn’t make your skin feel soft and slimy, meaning the water was probably low in minerals and chemicals.
The natural bath was a little cool, but nothing like surfing off the coast of Vancouver Island in summer. Kyoko snapped a few photos of me unsuccessfully trying to climb up the waterfall, then we headed back into the heated pool.
The atmosphere was amazing. The splashing of the waterfall, the occasional chirping of the birds (cicadas perhaps?), the sound of snow melting and sliding off the roof… bliss.
Life in Japan #1: The Washlet
May 26th, 2008
Here’s the first entry in a (hopefully) new blog series I’m going to write; it’s all about daily life in Japan, and the hundreds thousands millions of differences compared to Canada.
The Plastic & Porcelain God.
Back to the centerpiece of my apartment though, the Washlet. I love our Washlet. I’m sitting on it right now. Let’s go over the functions:
I guess I’m doing my part for the environment too, since I’m using less toilet paper. It’s gotten to the point where using regular toilets is a strange and uncomfortable experience. I try to time my schedule around my Washlet. I apologize to my Washlet if I’ve used other toilets. However, there is some competition. On the first floor of the company I teach at, there’s something I can only describe as a showcase washroom, probably for when their overseas partners visit. In this washroom, my friends, is the Cadillac of Washlets. It has all the features that I listed above, a fan to dry your behind, plus a 4-way directional joystick to adjust the direction of the spray! Valhalla in a toilet, I say… …if we need that extra push over the cliff…Eleven.
