Category: Japan
-
Happy Bags
Muji Happy Bag Muji Wool Jacket Two pairs of boxers One Indian Linen Bag Scarf and socks Every new year in Japan, retailers put together bags, call them Lucky Bags, Happy Bags, Grab Bags, what-have-you, but essentially they are a collection of goodies for a good price. I bought the 2008 Muji Happy Bag, and […]
-
The Seven Gods of Happiness New Year Temple Tour
Seven Lucky Gods Stamps Fukurokujyu Ebisu, God of Wealth Bishtyamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Benzaiten Shinagawa Temple The Tokai Seven: like Ocean’s Eleven, but much older. And less criminal. They are both pretty lucky though. The Seven Gods of Happiness represent different types of good fortune, and for some reason in Shinagawa there are seven temples, each […]
-
Osechi Ryori
Toshikoshi Soba Sukiyaki Sukiyaki with meat Ocean Food Mountain Food Mochi Soup Roast Beef for Dinner I feel obliged to say that the next few posts on my blog will be about the New Year in Japan. None of them will really have interesting observations that haven’t been made before, many times, by foreigners in […]
-
The 2007 Japanese New Word / Buzzword / Hot Phrase Prize
I woke up this morning and was surprised to see on the news that there is a yearly Japanese new word / hot phrase prize awarded. It looks like this prize is sponsored by a publishing company, and has been awarded annually since 1984. You can check their yearly archive to see who won the […]
-
Bad Omens
Today started off with a bad omen: I slept in for an entire hour. Usually I’m very good about getting up on time, but I was up a bit late last night. Even though I went home early (home by about 7:45pm) I logged on to some machines at work, and (slowly, while watching House) […]
-
One week with Papa and Daughter (パパとムスメの七日間)
On Saturday I was working at the computer with the TV on, and came across a re-broadcast of the first two episodes of パパとムスメの七日間, a Japanese weekend drama that was on a while back. I usually don’t watch Japanese TV since it consists of essentially talentless タレント芸の人 (celebrities) on quiz shows, or possibly cooking shows, […]
-
On the outside looking in
A quick post. Today has been a peaceful Saturday, where I woke up early, did some housework, cleaned up around the place, and caught up on casual website reading. I also enjoyed my traditional hour or two at the local coffee shop reading my Japanese book – I will eventually finish this thing, but it […]
-
(Unexpected) Jiyugaoka Portable Shrine Festival
Portable Shrine for the ladies Jiyugaoka Crowd Priests at the station Entire Jiyugaoka Festival set One of the things that I have really come to look forward to is a weekend routine that I’ve fallen into over the past few months. I’ve posted previously about reading Japanese novels, and have continued to try to struggle […]
-
A Visit to the Japanese National Archives
Last week, I took a trip to the National Archives of Japan, arranged by Visiting U.C. Berkely Professor Fred Gey. I didn’t realize this, but the National Archives are a short five minute walk from where I work in Jinbouchou, right next to the Japanese National Museum of Modern Art. The mission statement of the […]
-
The Unexpected Dance of the Dead
Roppongi Hills Obon Dance Stage Taiko Drummers Yukata Dancers Kids dance also On Saturday I went to Roppongi Hills to see the movie “Ratatouie”. In Japanese, this movie is called “Remi’s delicious restraurant” which I actually think is a much better title. I had no idea what the movie was about when I saw the […]