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Posts tagged Life in Japan
Christmas Dinner
Dec 26th, 2009
Instead of doing the KFC thing (a strange Japanese Christmas traditional meal), or buying a pre-cooked glazed leg from the supermarket, I went on the hunt for a whole bird yesterday. I searched a couple places and finally found some 3-4 pound birds for sale under Sendai Station.
Barock
Dec 4th, 2009
Our epic Monday adventure around Sendai finally landed us at a new bar near Sendai Station. Primarily a whiskey bar, they’ve also got a little wine and one Japanese beer, Heartland, which isn’t as bad as the regular domestic swill. As you can see the atmosphere is very dark and cozy, with classic vinyl albums spinning on the turntable. Complimentary macadamia nuts and an industrial-looking nutcracker complete the experience.
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.
The Walk Home
Nov 6th, 2009
Some sights to be seen on my daily walk home from work. I don’t work or live near the main drinking district, Kokubuncho, but rest assured there are still plenty of places to get a glass of the good stuff or something to eat as I make my way to the east side of Sendai Station.
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.
Beerfest!
Jun 15th, 2009
Yesterday wrapped up a popular bi-annual event in Sendai, the Sendai Germanfest. This Oktoberfest-style event takes place in June and September for some reason. Kyoko and I checked it out on Saturday night. This outdoor event was at Nishiki-cho Park downtown and was already well underway by the time we arrived at 6pm.
The beer was pretty good, much better than the Japanese swill that’s served in restaurants and bars, and the food wasn’t overly terrible. Each beer though cost 1300 yen, or about 15 dollars! Nevertheless, I had 3 because it was just so much better than Japanese beer. One of the things I miss the most about Canada is microbrewed beer.
Got a chance to chat with the three German guys who provided the evening’s entertainment. They usually play in the German military orchestra, entertaining their countrymen wherever they are stationed around the world.
Check out the slideshow below, and the video clip of German people playing American music to Japanese people.
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!
A Great Game
Mar 24th, 2009
By now everyone should know that Japan has won the 2nd World Baseball Classic, in a thrilling extra-inning game against South Korea. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I was able to watch live on my laptop. I was lucky enough to have my first students of the day be baseball fans who had been following the tournament religiously, so we watched the game together, mixing in some important baseball terms with our regular lesson.
I had a couple of 3-year olds for my next lesson, who probably wouldn’t be able to understand the finer points and nuances of the double switch or the suicide squeeze, so into the classroom we went. Japan, who was leading in the 8th inning when I left, must’ve sensed that I wasn’t watching anymore so they let Korea tie up the game to take it into extra innings.
After the lesson the parents, kids, my co-workers and I all watched Ichiro win the game for the Samurai. He’d been playing like steaming dog poo the whole tournament but he redeemed himself today, going 4 for 6 with the game winning RBIs. Needless to say every conversation for the rest of the day centered around the ball game.
One person in particular who impressed me during the tournament was phenom pitcher Yu Darvish, not so much for his actions but his words. In an era where Japanese players are being lured to MLB by big dollars and fame and glory, this half-Iranian 22 year old has stated that he will never play in America. The reason? He wants the children who idolize him to know that Japan pro baseball is important, and worth playing (and staying) for. It’s also reported that he’s heavily into charity work, particularly helping children.
Before I knew any of this I thought of him as just another empty, vapid, Japanese celebrity. Not to generalize too much, but there’s a lot of substance lacking in modern Japanese culture today. The same can be said of any country, but I live in Japan so my experience here is only what I have to draw upon. An idol to boys and a sex symbol to women, you can add me as a new fan.
Korea played great throughout the tournament too, and they should be congratulated for their effort. They have the best names for players too, like Dong and Bong. It’s like Cheech & Chong. I’ll go watch “Dong and Bong go to Yakiniku” when it comes out next year.
I can’t wait to experience Japanese baseball this summer in Sendai. Today’s starting pitcher, Hisashi Iwakuma, is the star pitcher for the Rakuten Eagles. He had a scintillating record of 21-4 with a 1.74 ERA last season, winning the Pacific League MVP. We’re going to live within 2 minutes of the stadium, and I hope to catch at least 10 games this year.
Here’s a recap of the game, courtesy of The World Wide Leader, ESPN.
[Banner photo edited from NYTimes.com]