Toyama Koichi 08! (OsakaNYC (kitzke)) by matt
Give up, monarchs?
I’m so voting for him, or is that not voting. I’m confused.
Posted in: fun , japan , politics , postsRead posts about japan
September 5
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August 28
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One of the small details about traveling in Japan that I've enjoyed very much are the melodies that play at each train station. Whether it's subway, local train or the shinkansen bullet train: different melodies play over the PA upon arrival and departure. Apparently these songs are used to discern between the various stations and to warn of incoming traffic.
Ever since my trip to Osaka and Tokyo I've fancied the idea of having these jingles as a ringtone. They're not very intrusive and they're cute to boot! A short search on the web brought me to this Google Answers page that links to various sites with MP3s and WAVs. Among them was this beauty, which features a neat drilldown menu of the various Tokyo train lines and stations.
Great stuff! ^_^
Posted in: japan , melody , shinkansen , train , wav
Japanese train station melodies in MP3 (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
One of the small details about traveling in Japan that I've enjoyed very much are the melodies that play at each train station. Whether it's subway, local train or the shinkansen bullet train: different melodies play over the PA upon arrival and departure. Apparently these songs are used to discern between the various stations and to warn of incoming traffic.
Ever since my trip to Osaka and Tokyo I've fancied the idea of having these jingles as a ringtone. They're not very intrusive and they're cute to boot! A short search on the web brought me to this Google Answers page that links to various sites with MP3s and WAVs. Among them was this beauty, which features a neat drilldown menu of the various Tokyo train lines and stations.
Great stuff! ^_^
Posted in: japan , melody , shinkansen , train , wav
August 21
*
While reading through the WikiTravel entry for Akihabara I stumbled upon a phenomenon I'd never heard of before: cat cafes, specifically Neko Jalala.
This is not a cafe where cats can go for milk and catnip, but where people can go to play with cats. Now I know that maid cafes were all the rage in 2005-2007, so I guess someone is trying to come up with something new. I have to admit though, as a cat lover, that they're on to something :)
The cover charge for the cafe is pretty high, just like at the cosplay cafes. Looking at the pictures from the photo reports (below) I'd have to say that I'd be willing to pay it anyway. The place just looks too nice :) If I ever go back to Akiba, I'll damn well go to Neko Jalala for some coffee.
Report 1 and Report 2.
EDIT:
It seems that there's more cat cafes in Akiba :) Greedy Catz
Posted in: akihabara , cat cafe , japan , neko , neko jalala
A new trend in Japan? Cat cafes. (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
While reading through the WikiTravel entry for Akihabara I stumbled upon a phenomenon I'd never heard of before: cat cafes, specifically Neko Jalala.
This is not a cafe where cats can go for milk and catnip, but where people can go to play with cats. Now I know that maid cafes were all the rage in 2005-2007, so I guess someone is trying to come up with something new. I have to admit though, as a cat lover, that they're on to something :)
The cover charge for the cafe is pretty high, just like at the cosplay cafes. Looking at the pictures from the photo reports (below) I'd have to say that I'd be willing to pay it anyway. The place just looks too nice :) If I ever go back to Akiba, I'll damn well go to Neko Jalala for some coffee.
Report 1 and Report 2.
EDIT:
It seems that there's more cat cafes in Akiba :) Greedy Catz
Posted in: akihabara , cat cafe , japan , neko , neko jalala
August 18
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Ever since my trip to Japan last December I've been recognizing more and more things in the anime, manga and movies I consume. A building here, a subway line there, a part of the Tokyo skyline and so on. The same thing also happened when I was reading the Marmelade Boy manga (as mentioned below).
In volume 7, Meiko goes to Hiroshima to confront Namura about their relationship. I guess the Peace Park and a few of Hiroshima's other sights weren't romantic enough, so the meeting took place on Miyajima island right off the coast. Of course the island provides both comedy (the deer that harass you for food) and romance (temples, the sea and the Tori in the sea).
Lo and behold, in the background of their meeting I spot something that had bewildered me when Nick and I were on the ferry to Miyajima. On the hillside overlooking the sea, there's this huge, weird, white building with golden statues. It looked like a gaudy hotel, or some weird church/temple dealy. I even managed to find the building on Google maps.
Well, thanks to fellow Arsian and all-round cool guy Durf I now know what the building is ^_^ To quote Durf:
The place looks like it's called the "Umi no Mieru Mori Bijutsukan", "the Mori Museum with a View of the Sea". The website is here: http://www.umam.jp/.
The whole thing (including all the buildings to the south in the complex you can see on the map) belongs to the "Byodo Daiekai", a Buddhist splinter group that broke off from the Nichiren group some decades ago. There are lots of these "new Buddhist" organizations, with the most famous (and powerful) being the Soka Gakkai.
Anyway, I can't find a lot of information about the group online, but there are lots of bloggers who write about how upset they are with this white monstrosity wrecking the hillside view from Miyajima.
So... It -is- some kind of religious building and not a hotel for the rich and stupid :) The funny thing is that my father and his girlfriend had spotted another huge-weird-white-with-gold building on their last trip to the USA and that one turned out to be a religious building as well. Mormons, in this case. What is it with modern, splinter-group religions?
Posted in: hiroshima , hotel , japan , odd building , temple
One less mystery in life (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Ever since my trip to Japan last December I've been recognizing more and more things in the anime, manga and movies I consume. A building here, a subway line there, a part of the Tokyo skyline and so on. The same thing also happened when I was reading the Marmelade Boy manga (as mentioned below).
In volume 7, Meiko goes to Hiroshima to confront Namura about their relationship. I guess the Peace Park and a few of Hiroshima's other sights weren't romantic enough, so the meeting took place on Miyajima island right off the coast. Of course the island provides both comedy (the deer that harass you for food) and romance (temples, the sea and the Tori in the sea).
Lo and behold, in the background of their meeting I spot something that had bewildered me when Nick and I were on the ferry to Miyajima. On the hillside overlooking the sea, there's this huge, weird, white building with golden statues. It looked like a gaudy hotel, or some weird church/temple dealy. I even managed to find the building on Google maps.
Well, thanks to fellow Arsian and all-round cool guy Durf I now know what the building is ^_^ To quote Durf:
The place looks like it's called the "Umi no Mieru Mori Bijutsukan", "the Mori Museum with a View of the Sea". The website is here: http://www.umam.jp/.
The whole thing (including all the buildings to the south in the complex you can see on the map) belongs to the "Byodo Daiekai", a Buddhist splinter group that broke off from the Nichiren group some decades ago. There are lots of these "new Buddhist" organizations, with the most famous (and powerful) being the Soka Gakkai.
Anyway, I can't find a lot of information about the group online, but there are lots of bloggers who write about how upset they are with this white monstrosity wrecking the hillside view from Miyajima.
So... It -is- some kind of religious building and not a hotel for the rich and stupid :) The funny thing is that my father and his girlfriend had spotted another huge-weird-white-with-gold building on their last trip to the USA and that one turned out to be a religious building as well. Mormons, in this case. What is it with modern, splinter-group religions?
Posted in: hiroshima , hotel , japan , odd building , temple
July 28
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News roundup (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
In “Sport ‘bought access to Olympics’” the BBC looks into the possibility that keirin cycle racing organizers in Japan splashed a bit of money around to get the sport admitted to the Olympic lineup. Shocking, shocking to see a gambling industry involved in shady financial deals. I will have to confront my friend at the Bicycle Promotion Association of Japan with this development and see what he has to say.
In other news . . . Well, not all that much in the way of news to post here. There have been big earthquakes up north recently but I’ve managed to sleep through them all. Went to Hokkaido for the G8 summit and came back alive. Tokyo is hot hot hot now, making me want to go back to the Rusutsu hills. Sakura is tall and slender and energetic. She likes bananas, which makes this news story a troubling one to read. In September we’re going to take her back to California for her first overseas trip, first flight at all, and first time to use her two passports. Anyone in the Bay Area want to meet up around then?
This post brought to you by the letter D, the number 8, and the desire not to see this blog wither and die on the vine in the summer heat.
Posted in: general , japan , life
July 17
*
Back in february I was a bit homesick for Japan, if one can be "homesick" for a country that one hasn't spent more than three weeks in. Since then I'd gotten over it, mostly just being excited about ideas for a next trip should the day ever come.
However, this week I'm filled with the desire "to be there" again. The guys from Shiranai are getting ready for their August trip and their enthousiasm is infectuous :) I helped my good friend Kaijuu with the editing process of the travel guide, making sure that there weren't any bugs left in there.
When i came to the page that describes our apartment building in Osaka the homesickness struck ^_^; Upon reading the subway station names that line the way home, I could hear those names resounding in my head again. Shin-Osaka, Hommachi, the Chuo-line and of course Tanimachi 4-Chome. *sigh*
I hope all of you will have a great time in Japan. Come back safely! I'll make a small shopping list of crap that you'll need to pick up for me :)
Posted in: japan , nostalgia , trip , yearning
Nostalgic for Japan (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Back in february I was a bit homesick for Japan, if one can be "homesick" for a country that one hasn't spent more than three weeks in. Since then I'd gotten over it, mostly just being excited about ideas for a next trip should the day ever come.
However, this week I'm filled with the desire "to be there" again. The guys from Shiranai are getting ready for their August trip and their enthousiasm is infectuous :) I helped my good friend Kaijuu with the editing process of the travel guide, making sure that there weren't any bugs left in there.
When i came to the page that describes our apartment building in Osaka the homesickness struck ^_^; Upon reading the subway station names that line the way home, I could hear those names resounding in my head again. Shin-Osaka, Hommachi, the Chuo-line and of course Tanimachi 4-Chome. *sigh*
I hope all of you will have a great time in Japan. Come back safely! I'll make a small shopping list of crap that you'll need to pick up for me :)
Posted in: japan , nostalgia , trip , yearning
July 7
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Keeping things cool (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
A quick post to note that I’ve uploaded more photos to the Flickr set of shots from Hokkaido. I wrote about what’s happening over on the SWET blog, so I’ll just point you that direction instead of reprinting everything here.
One update to that previous post: I haven’t been arrested or interrogated about the bits of electronic detritus in the hotel wastebasket. Apparently someone here could tell the difference between a broken SD card reader and a left-over missile timing device. Lucky me.
July 5
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Toyako time (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
I’m posting this from the International Media Center in Toyako. All the G8 leaders will be showing up in the next few days to chat about world hunger and the price of oil and where Fukuda Yasuo gets his suits made, and then they’ll fly off to new destinations, or back home.
In the meantime I will be sitting in a small, heavily chilled room full of computers and video editing decks and such, typing translations into the press information system. This is what lets cameramen and writers know when to get onto the bus to go to the interview and photo op. Lots of very hard-working folks from the Foreign Ministry and lots of frogs shrieking in the nearby ponds when we close up shop late in the night after keying in 50 or 60 “UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to arrive on government plane at 10:00 on Wednesday” type messages. (I made that example up, terrorists, so you can’t plan your assassination based on my help! Besides, there are about 35,000,000 police officers in southern Hokkaido right now. Give it up.)
The photo is of the media working space last night, before the center opened up officially. Shiny clean desks ready to get abused by the crushing weight of a thousand Dell laptops. Read all about it in your paper next week.
Posted in: japan , work
June 23
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iPhone pricing announced (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
So the iPhone 3G pricing has been announced by the SoftBank folks. The basic breakdown for the representative plan described on that page:
Handset price: ¥23,040 for 8GB, ¥34,560 for 16GB (paid in ¥960 or ¥1,440 monthly payments over the course of the two-year plan).
Service price: ¥7,280 a month (including the ¥980 White Plan, which includes free calls from 1 a.m. to 9 p.m. to other SoftBank numbers; the fixed-price [unmetered?] data plan for ¥5,985; and the S! Basic Pack, which costs ¥315 and isn’t really described on that page).
Not a horrible deal, all in all, considering what was being predicted for this thing. Still, if you do a lot of telephoning the charges will stack up quickly: SoftBank gives you a great deal on calls to other SoftBank users, but makes you fork over north of ¥20 per minute to all other mobile and fixed-line numbers. Email is free to and from all addresses (you get an @i.softbank.jp address with the thing, but of course you can use all your webmail as usual) and SMS doesn’t exist in this country.
Now to decide whether I really want to ditch the DoCoMo set and jump into the Apple end of the mobile phone pool . . .
Posted in: japan , tech
June 5
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DoCoMo talks about iPhone failure (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
TechRadar UK has a piece up with quotes from an NTT DoCoMo spokesman on yesterday’s news: DoCoMo failed to nab iPhone.
DoCoMo has admitted to TechRadar it tried and failed to strike a deal with Apple to sell the 3G iPhone in Japan. . . .
[Ichikoshi Shûichirô says] “Anyway, DoCoMo already sells touchscreen phones, such as the Prada phone and the SH906i, which came out yesterday.”
I saw one of those Prada phones in Yodobashi the other day. Not a bad looking thing, in its iPhonish way, but it markets for more than ninety freaking thousand yen. Yeah. Good luck with that.
Posted in: japan , tech
June 4
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SoftBank iPhone: confirmed (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
I was just pointed to this SoftBank press release from today. I quote:
SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple® to bring the iPhone™ to Japan later this year.
(Seriously, that’s the entire press release; you don’t really have to go read it now.)
I’m happy to see the thing on its way to Japan at last. I’m thinking about making it my next cellphone—not for its great wifi action, since free wifi isn’t a common thing to find in this city in my experience, but because it’s the first phone ever that I can be sure will sync up nicely with my Mac computers.
What Japan Thinks has a good post up here on the iPhone and its prospects in this market. The piece is almost a year old but is worth looking at just the same.
Posted in: japan , tech
June 2
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Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show (OsakaNYC (kitzke)) by matt
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen way too much TV Japan, but Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show is the funniest shit I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t know what to say, it hit’s the absurd delightfulness of the most insane kawaii otakus wet dream and goes past that. Thanks to Wil for spreading the word.
Peace, Janae!
May 5
*
Well, we're back! We slept for ten hours straight after coming home from our exhausting weekend. Anime 2008 ended about eighteen hours ago and as far as I know everyone's safely at home again.
I went home with mixed feelings. I'm happy that I went, but I wasn't too enthused about certain aspects of the con. Mmm, maybe I'm getting a bit too old. I dunno. I still love the festival though, and maybe I'll even return as a staff member after I've finished college. Who knows...
For me what made the festival, was seeing Dennou Coil. What a great anime! My convention report (linked below) has the trailer if you're curious.
Convention report for Anime 2008.
My photo gallery for Anime 2008.
Posted in: almelo , anime 2008 , convention , festival , japan
Back from Anime 2008 (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Well, we're back! We slept for ten hours straight after coming home from our exhausting weekend. Anime 2008 ended about eighteen hours ago and as far as I know everyone's safely at home again.
I went home with mixed feelings. I'm happy that I went, but I wasn't too enthused about certain aspects of the con. Mmm, maybe I'm getting a bit too old. I dunno. I still love the festival though, and maybe I'll even return as a staff member after I've finished college. Who knows...
For me what made the festival, was seeing Dennou Coil. What a great anime! My convention report (linked below) has the trailer if you're curious.
Convention report for Anime 2008.
My photo gallery for Anime 2008.
Posted in: almelo , anime 2008 , convention , festival , japan
April 21
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New old movies (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
If you live in Japan, you get to watch American movies three months later than everyone else, and for more money to boot. Well, in the theater, anyway; if you’re renting disks it’s quite affordable but you get to wait six months instead. I’ve never gotten into the whole “download movies from the internets” thing, but I suppose that route is there for people who can’t wait to watch in a bit more comfort than a computer chair offers.
A few coming up that I’m interested in seeing are There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men. I’m a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy (thanks to James for cluing me in to him many years ago). I must admit this is my least favorite of his books—with the possible exception of The Sunset Limited (Amazon page), but I haven’t gotten to that one yet, so no ranking there. But I’m interested to see what happens when this makes it to the screen in the hands of the actors and directors involved with this project.
(I never saw the 2000 adaptation of All the Pretty Horses, but I’ve never seen reviews of it that made me feel like I was missing out. Would be nice to see someone in Hollywood approach the entire Border Trilogy in a serious fashion.)
McCarthy’s page at IMDB says that not only The Road but Blood Meridian and Outer Dark are also in production now. I wonder about the possibility of doing a good transition to the screen with those two—particularly Blood Meridian, which features massive violence and supernaturally intelligent bald giants and such. However, Ridley Scott is listed as the director for it, so maybe there’s a chance we’ll see a compelling Judge Holden on our movie screens. For me, on my TV six months later.
Good information on Cormac McCarthy is available at this site.
Posted in: books , film , japan
April 7
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An old temple photo (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
Taken at Jindaiji in the late nineteenth century. Not. Actually it was taken at Jindaiji a few years ago (the original is here) and run through this cool online “old photo generator” called the ???????????? (Bakumatsu old photo generator). Perfect for making your shots of Kabukicho neon last weekend look like they belong in an Isabella Bird book.
(Hat tip to Asiajin for this one.)
April 5
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Koganei babies (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
A very quick post to link to the website of Hamada Nursing Baby (??????????). This Koganei clinic is run by an 80-year-old woman with strong massaging hands and plenty of advice for new mothers wondering what to do with their infants. Megumi has been going there for some months, and has made a number of friends in the neighborhood with babies about the same age as Sakura. (Here’s hoping this entry helps bump the place up a bit in search engine results.)
Posted in: family , japan , life , web
April 3
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An online glossary I can really use! (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
The next time you need to communicate with a tiny person raised in a Japanese-speaking environment, head over to the Goo Labs and take a look at the ?????? (”baby-talk dictionary”). Toss your terms into the search field (you can use a baby term, like wanwan for a dog, or the normal word inu), or use one of the categorized lists listed lower on the page:
- Kana order (lists of terms for each character in the Japanese syllabary, either by baby sound or adult word represented)
- By genre (including such toddler favorites as “animals,” “foods and drinks,” and “song lyrics”)
- By sex of babies that tend to learn the term first (including months of vocabulary usage; boys lag by a half-month or so, with the exception of important words like “ramen”)
- By month of vocab usage
My favorite category is probably ????????, “maniac words.” The imported term in Japanese refers not to the axe-wielding variety but to a hobby or other interest taken to extremes, often in a “really out there” area that not many people pay attention to. Some of the examples in the Goo Labs glossary are ??? (insecticide), ????? (Aflac, the insurance firm with the popular duck), and ????? (Ultraman’s phrase “shuwatch,” to borrow the Wikipedia entry’s spelling). Crazy kids.
(Via ??????????.)
Posted in: family , japan , translation
February 12
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I'm looking forward so much to our next trip! And with "our" in this case I mean that I'm dragging Marlijne and Menno along for the ride. Seriously. No debate. ^_^
Waah! I wanna go back! I'm jealous of the folks who're going on the August trip with Shiranai Travel. I wish'm an awesome trip though!
Posted in: feh , gah , japan , meh , yearning
Gah! I'm yearning for Japan again. (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Oh feck... For the past few days I've been yearning to go back to Japan again. Reminiscing about my trip and looking at all kinds of photos isn't making things easier either. It's just such a bloody brilliant country!I'm looking forward so much to our next trip! And with "our" in this case I mean that I'm dragging Marlijne and Menno along for the ride. Seriously. No debate. ^_^
Waah! I wanna go back! I'm jealous of the folks who're going on the August trip with Shiranai Travel. I wish'm an awesome trip though!
Posted in: feh , gah , japan , meh , yearning
January 28
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Monday dinner (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
Eel on rice is one of my favorite things to eat. Right up there with chile relleno and som tam. And my mom’s tuna noodle casserole, but hey, that goes without saying.
Just got home on Monday night. Megu is in bed with Sakura—took a while to get her in the eyes-closed mode, and in the process Mom dug herself under the covers too. They’re taking care of the sleep. I’ll handle the eel.
This beer is pretty good, by the way. I bought a case the other day and stuck it in one of the unheated rooms at the far end of our apartment. In the winter we have one of the largest refrigerators I’ve ever seen. In the summer . . . ugh. Damn concrete box architecture.
January 22
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No smoking (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
Kin’en Style is a site that lets you search for smoke-free restaurants. There’s an English section up as well, although its list contains zero establishments, making it somewhat less useful than the Japanese version.
(Time for the obligatory plug for Enchanté, my in-laws’ restaurant in Yotsuya San-chome. Lunch hours are smoke-free there as well.)
(Via Asiajin.)
Posted in: general , japan , web
January 21
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Old Tokyo; or, back online in the new Tokyo (Durf.org (Durf)) by Durf
Some very interesting historical material up at Old Tokyo - Vintage Tinted Images of the Japanese Capital City. The Department of Foreign Affairs (on the Kasumigaseki page) was a very stately building.
So I haven’t done a thing with this place in months. In recent weeks I’ve had an excuse, which was that my hosting company blew up. Something. They’re back in existence as of today, although I can’t FTP into this server now to update the CRITICAL SECURITY HOLES that WordPress tells me it has. Oops.
My other excuses were a lengthy autumn visit from mom and dad (well, grandma and grandpa; they sure weren’t here to see me), a big freelance project I wrapped up at the end of the year, and sloth in general.
I do have a bunch of stuff lined up in MarsEdit waiting to be edited and posted, so here’s hoping I get around to some of that content before April. Hello Internet!
Posted in: japan , life
January 9
*
*yawn* *stretch*
Well, I'm back home. The jet lag's doing me in though, so I've taken two additional days off from work.
Posted in: home again , japan , trip
I'm home ^_^ (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Pictures for day 14*yawn* *stretch*
Well, I'm back home. The jet lag's doing me in though, so I've taken two additional days off from work.
Posted in: home again , japan , trip
January 7
*
The odd thing is that the past twelve days seem so much longer! It really seems like I've been here for a month already. It seems so long ago that I got lost on Umeda station :) Ah well...
I thought I'd make a few short lists, that sum up how I feel about my trip.
I will miss about Japan:
* TV. I love their wacky game shows and their drama series.
* Tatami rooms.
* Sleeping on futons.
* The ever-present vending machines. The wide range of drinks' flavours.
* The ever-present lavatories.
* The polite people.
* Public transport. Punctual and 99.9% reliable.
* Decent, quick meals for low prices on every street corner.
* 100 yen shops. Everything from food to household items, for 60 eurocents a piece.
I would miss about Europe, if moving to Japan:
* Bread. I want dark bread, with seeds and fullgrain stuff in it.
* Veg and fruits. I don't want a puny salad, I want a plate of veg!
* Decent toilet paper.
* Curvaceous women.
EDIT:
Of course, it's obvious that I'd miss my family and friends horribly. I thought that'd go without saying...
Posted in: japan , retrospective , trip
My trip to Japan: a short retrospective (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Well... My trip's coming to an end... Only one more day and then we'll depart for the Netherlands again. It's been an awesome (once in a lifetime) experience! I'm very grateful to everyone who's made this possible, but most of all to Marli-chan who both encouraged and forced me to go :)The odd thing is that the past twelve days seem so much longer! It really seems like I've been here for a month already. It seems so long ago that I got lost on Umeda station :) Ah well...
I thought I'd make a few short lists, that sum up how I feel about my trip.
I will miss about Japan:
* TV. I love their wacky game shows and their drama series.
* Tatami rooms.
* Sleeping on futons.
* The ever-present vending machines. The wide range of drinks' flavours.
* The ever-present lavatories.
* The polite people.
* Public transport. Punctual and 99.9% reliable.
* Decent, quick meals for low prices on every street corner.
* 100 yen shops. Everything from food to household items, for 60 eurocents a piece.
I would miss about Europe, if moving to Japan:
* Bread. I want dark bread, with seeds and fullgrain stuff in it.
* Veg and fruits. I don't want a puny salad, I want a plate of veg!
* Decent toilet paper.
* Curvaceous women.
EDIT:
Of course, it's obvious that I'd miss my family and friends horribly. I thought that'd go without saying...
Posted in: japan , retrospective , trip
January 5
*
I've been a fan of Studio Ghibli's films for years now. I well and truly love their work, ranking them very highly among our expansive DVD collection. Yesterday I finally got the chance to visit my Mekka: the Ghibli Museum, in Mitaka ^_^
The level of detail that has gone into the museum is awesome. Everything from the doorknobs and small decorations in the woodwork, to the doors, stained glass and the ceiling fan have all been custom made. When you step into the museum, you really do step into a slightly different (if happier) world.
The museum was a bit smaller than I expected it to be. I'd originally expected to hang around there for over two hours, but actually I was already done in an hour. Of course, that's also because I forgot to go and watch the movie that they were showing ;_; Then again, I could have easily tacked on half an hour extra, because I just couldn't stop gawking at the Bouncing Totoro display in the animation room.
This room starts you off with the old fashioned animation tools: the wheel with pictures and slots, that needs to be turned to see the animation. Where things get cool is when the guys at the museum make a giant wheel, with chara models from their movies! By putting a strobe light above it, you'll get to see a bouncing Totoro, a girl riding a monocycle, a cat-bat flying and so on. It's too cute! <3
One of the higher floors is home to the giant Catbus, in its own playroom. Imagine a Catbus, about 1.5m high and 2m x 6m, with kids crawling all over it :) I love it! I want one at home! It's a couch + bed in one ^_^
I'm not quite sure why, but two of the rooms focussed on the Three bears fairytale, showing books, pictures and a lifesize replica of their house. And with a lifesize house of course, there's also lifesize bears! :D I just -had- to stick around for a few minutes, just to wait for a kid to get scared by the 2.5m high Papa Bear.
Anywho... I can't even recollect everything that I've seen, so I'll just stop talking :) I am -very- happy that I "wasted" a whole day, just for an hour at the Ghibli museum. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the museum, so the gallery page only has pics of the outside. Luckily the have a beautiful book on sale (at around 20 euros) that has bunches of pictures and stories about the museum :)
Posted in: ghibli , ghibli museum , japan , museo d'arte ghibli , tokyo
Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Pics for day ten.I've been a fan of Studio Ghibli's films for years now. I well and truly love their work, ranking them very highly among our expansive DVD collection. Yesterday I finally got the chance to visit my Mekka: the Ghibli Museum, in Mitaka ^_^
The level of detail that has gone into the museum is awesome. Everything from the doorknobs and small decorations in the woodwork, to the doors, stained glass and the ceiling fan have all been custom made. When you step into the museum, you really do step into a slightly different (if happier) world.
The museum was a bit smaller than I expected it to be. I'd originally expected to hang around there for over two hours, but actually I was already done in an hour. Of course, that's also because I forgot to go and watch the movie that they were showing ;_; Then again, I could have easily tacked on half an hour extra, because I just couldn't stop gawking at the Bouncing Totoro display in the animation room.
This room starts you off with the old fashioned animation tools: the wheel with pictures and slots, that needs to be turned to see the animation. Where things get cool is when the guys at the museum make a giant wheel, with chara models from their movies! By putting a strobe light above it, you'll get to see a bouncing Totoro, a girl riding a monocycle, a cat-bat flying and so on. It's too cute! <3
One of the higher floors is home to the giant Catbus, in its own playroom. Imagine a Catbus, about 1.5m high and 2m x 6m, with kids crawling all over it :) I love it! I want one at home! It's a couch + bed in one ^_^
I'm not quite sure why, but two of the rooms focussed on the Three bears fairytale, showing books, pictures and a lifesize replica of their house. And with a lifesize house of course, there's also lifesize bears! :D I just -had- to stick around for a few minutes, just to wait for a kid to get scared by the 2.5m high Papa Bear.
Anywho... I can't even recollect everything that I've seen, so I'll just stop talking :) I am -very- happy that I "wasted" a whole day, just for an hour at the Ghibli museum. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the museum, so the gallery page only has pics of the outside. Luckily the have a beautiful book on sale (at around 20 euros) that has bunches of pictures and stories about the museum :)
Posted in: ghibli , ghibli museum , japan , museo d'arte ghibli , tokyo
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Last Wednesday I did something that was high on my "to do" list: visit a ryokan, a traditional inn. After bugging the whole group, I managed to find someone who was willing to take the trip with me: Nick :) So on the morning of the 2nd, Nick and I took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
In Hiroshima we made the "compulsory" visit to the A-Bomb dome and the Peace Park. I hadn't been looking forward to it, but in the end was very happy that we took this little sidetrack. Hiroshima seems like a nice city and the architecture around the park reminds me of Helsinki :)
An hour long tram ride later we arrived at the ferry that would take us to Miyajima. The island itself was bustling with people who were there to open the new year. Miyajima you see, is an island with a multitude of temples. The island isn't one of the most important temples, but it sure is popular :) The fact that it's has lovely surroundings and those damn cute deers also helps...
By the by: let me just say that I have now also discovered the attraction that lies in women dressed in a kimono. There's just something about the full-blown kimono getup that gets to you. The beautiful cloth, the pleats in the garment that are just right, delicate makeup and a hairdo that's been detailed with a flower or a few jewels.Kirai! Kirei!
Ryokan Iwaso was awesome. -Very- beautiful and luxurious and well worth the Y24k we paid apiece. The rooms were uber-comfortable and decked out in tatami. We had a view of the forest, complete with a loud-ass cat yowling away through the night ^_^; Dinner was very special, no less than we could have expected. Unfortunately, Nick and I discovered that we only liked about 50% of the food (which was also true for breakfast). Well... We may love Japan, but we'll never be ones for traditional Japanese food :) I'll stick to the more modern stuff for now...
Finally, the hot spring? I wish we had something like that in the Netherlands. That's all I can say :)
Posted in: japan , miyajima , ryokan , trip
Visiting a traditional inn (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Pictures for the eight day of my trip.Last Wednesday I did something that was high on my "to do" list: visit a ryokan, a traditional inn. After bugging the whole group, I managed to find someone who was willing to take the trip with me: Nick :) So on the morning of the 2nd, Nick and I took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima.
In Hiroshima we made the "compulsory" visit to the A-Bomb dome and the Peace Park. I hadn't been looking forward to it, but in the end was very happy that we took this little sidetrack. Hiroshima seems like a nice city and the architecture around the park reminds me of Helsinki :)
An hour long tram ride later we arrived at the ferry that would take us to Miyajima. The island itself was bustling with people who were there to open the new year. Miyajima you see, is an island with a multitude of temples. The island isn't one of the most important temples, but it sure is popular :) The fact that it's has lovely surroundings and those damn cute deers also helps...
By the by: let me just say that I have now also discovered the attraction that lies in women dressed in a kimono. There's just something about the full-blown kimono getup that gets to you. The beautiful cloth, the pleats in the garment that are just right, delicate makeup and a hairdo that's been detailed with a flower or a few jewels.
Ryokan Iwaso was awesome. -Very- beautiful and luxurious and well worth the Y24k we paid apiece. The rooms were uber-comfortable and decked out in tatami. We had a view of the forest, complete with a loud-ass cat yowling away through the night ^_^; Dinner was very special, no less than we could have expected. Unfortunately, Nick and I discovered that we only liked about 50% of the food (which was also true for breakfast). Well... We may love Japan, but we'll never be ones for traditional Japanese food :) I'll stick to the more modern stuff for now...
Finally, the hot spring? I wish we had something like that in the Netherlands. That's all I can say :)
Posted in: japan , miyajima , ryokan , trip
January 4
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Posted in: delays , japan , trip , updates
Updates delayed (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Sorry guys... I'm feeling awful (nauseous) and as of *beep* now, I'll only get a chance for about five hours sleep before I need to get up again. I'll be able to tell you more about the trip by tomorrow evening. Just not now :[Posted in: delays , japan , trip , updates
January 1
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We'll watch the show for a few hours, with our roomies and then we'll head out to Shitennoji temple for the New Year's bells (and alcohol and food and friends, etc).
Yoshu! Welcomu too-sowsand-aato!
Happy new year everyone!
Posted in: japan , new year , red and white , show , tv
Red and white: traditional New Year's TV (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Oh my :) I wish I'd an empty VHS tape with me, because I sure as heck would love to tape tonight's traditional Red & White New Year's TV show. It's so totally awesome ^_^We'll watch the show for a few hours, with our roomies and then we'll head out to Shitennoji temple for the New Year's bells (and alcohol and food and friends, etc).
Yoshu! Welcomu too-sowsand-aato!
Happy new year everyone!
Posted in: japan , new year , red and white , show , tv
December 30
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How's this guy for a TV show baddy? ^_^
I just discovered a relatively new kids' show, called Yuhigaoka boy detectives. It runs on NHK, Japan's national TV channel, and seems to be aimed at kids between 8 and 14. Personally, I think I would have loved the show when I was that age :D
The bad guy's uber-awesome though, seeing as how he's a cyborg-nazi-ghost-like evil man, bent on stealing childrens' happiness. And the five kids of the Yuhigaoka boy detectives are the only ones who can stop him. Did I mention that the guy lives in some antique submarine and that he has a mechanical bird? It's just too over the top! I love it :)
Oddly enough, my Google skills fail me. I can't seem to find even one website that mentions this series. I really ought to Google it by its name in kanji/kana, but I don't have that. *shrug* The show does seem to be a sequel to Shinjuku boy detectives. Hmm...
EDIT:
Hah! Durf has been totally awesome in helping me with stuff here in Japan. And one of things he's done, is find me the official website of YBD!
Unfortunately I probably won't be able to see the end of the show, because it only airs in the Tokyo region. Shame ;_; It appears to be a mini-series by the way: three episodes, on the days running up to New Year's.
Posted in: boy detectives , japan , tv , yuhigaoka boy detectives
New show: Yuhigaoka boy detectives (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
How's this guy for a TV show baddy? ^_^
I just discovered a relatively new kids' show, called Yuhigaoka boy detectives. It runs on NHK, Japan's national TV channel, and seems to be aimed at kids between 8 and 14. Personally, I think I would have loved the show when I was that age :D
The bad guy's uber-awesome though, seeing as how he's a cyborg-nazi-ghost-like evil man, bent on stealing childrens' happiness. And the five kids of the Yuhigaoka boy detectives are the only ones who can stop him. Did I mention that the guy lives in some antique submarine and that he has a mechanical bird? It's just too over the top! I love it :)
Oddly enough, my Google skills fail me. I can't seem to find even one website that mentions this series. I really ought to Google it by its name in kanji/kana, but I don't have that. *shrug* The show does seem to be a sequel to Shinjuku boy detectives. Hmm...
EDIT:
Hah! Durf has been totally awesome in helping me with stuff here in Japan. And one of things he's done, is find me the official website of YBD!
Unfortunately I probably won't be able to see the end of the show, because it only airs in the Tokyo region. Shame ;_; It appears to be a mini-series by the way: three episodes, on the days running up to New Year's.
Posted in: boy detectives , japan , tv , yuhigaoka boy detectives
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2. The occasional scents on the streets. Usually things smell just like home, but sometimes you'll get a face full of the overpowering scent of either nori, or the sewers ^_^;
Speaking of scents... I may be imagining things, but I think the changed diet is also affecting my body's scent. Rice every day, almost no meat and loads of tea (both black, green and jasmin) is most definitely a change from my dutch diet.
Eh... I just need to get used to life over here :)
Posted in: irk , japan , peeves , smell , toilet paper
Two things in Japan that irk me (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
1. Their thin, unperforated toilet paper. It's not easy to neatly tear of a sheet or two and once you have it, it's easy to tear through. :[2. The occasional scents on the streets. Usually things smell just like home, but sometimes you'll get a face full of the overpowering scent of either nori, or the sewers ^_^;
Speaking of scents... I may be imagining things, but I think the changed diet is also affecting my body's scent. Rice every day, almost no meat and loads of tea (both black, green and jasmin) is most definitely a change from my dutch diet.
Eh... I just need to get used to life over here :)
Posted in: irk , japan , peeves , smell , toilet paper
December 29
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Photos for day 3.
According to my planning, today would be my first day in Tokyo, starting off with a quick hunt for a watch made by Haruo Suekichi and finishing in Akihabara. I'd also meet up with Durf during the evening.
However, I decided to change all of my plans. I hitched a shinkansen ride to Tokyo at 11:20, arriving around noon. I hung around Tokyo's central station a little, to get my bearings, a Suica card and some more cash money. A leisurely metro ride to Yoyogi Uehara finally put me near the Yoyogi Tom's Studio store. "Near" being the proper word, since I managed to misread the map I had drawn myself. Joy! This led to me stomping around the wrong block of houses for about half an hour.
I stayed at the store for about an hour and then left for the hotel. I arrived around five and was welcomed by a rather charming young lady ^_^ The hotel room is not very big, but it's comfortable and comes with a nice bath. Not bad, for 7400 Yen per night! For my dutch friends: thats about 90 euros for -two- nights.
Since I'm rather tired and still feeling a bit ill, I've asked Durf to cancel our date. I hope I haven't caused him too much trouble. :/
Posted in: japan , shinkansen , tokyo , trip
Going to Tokyo (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach
Photos for day 3.
According to my planning, today would be my first day in Tokyo, starting off with a quick hunt for a watch made by Haruo Suekichi and finishing in Akihabara. I'd also meet up with Durf during the evening.
However, I decided to change all of my plans. I hitched a shinkansen ride to Tokyo at 11:20, arriving around noon. I hung around Tokyo's central station a little, to get my bearings, a Suica card and some more cash money. A leisurely metro ride to Yoyogi Uehara finally put me near the Yoyogi Tom's Studio store. "Near" being the proper word, since I managed to misread the map I had drawn myself. Joy! This led to me stomping around the wrong block of houses for about half an hour.
I stayed at the store for about an hour and then left for the hotel. I arrived around five and was welcomed by a rather charming young lady ^_^ The hotel room is not very big, but it's comfortable and comes with a nice bath. Not bad, for 7400 Yen per night! For my dutch friends: thats about 90 euros for -two- nights.
Since I'm rather tired and still feeling a bit ill, I've asked Durf to cancel our date. I hope I haven't caused him too much trouble. :/
Posted in: japan , shinkansen , tokyo , trip