Cheezy, but Good

Another sunny day spent at my favourite destination (within galloping distance), the park with the towering Heiwadai. I was fortunate enough to get a picture of Peace Tower just as an extremely loud airplane flew past and shattered it (the peace, that is, not the tower).

    

I’m planning on kicking back on the netted edge of that big wooden towery thing with a few beers and watching the sunset in the very near future. Of course, knowing my luck, I’ll probably fall off and break my collarbone. I would try for a sunrise, but that’s far too early for beers…or for being awake. They were playing some odd form of mini-golf in a big field in the park, and there were kids sliding down a big astro-turfed hill on plastic sleds and chunks of cardboard. Weird.

   

It’s refreshing to be in a country where they’re not so hyper-sensitive about safety and political correctness. I’m guessing the threat of lawsuits is not much of an issue over here. On my way home, I happened past the local Dodge dealership, so I snapped a few pics for you pops; notice the steering wheels. I admit, the last pic is a competing dealership, but look at that monkey…that is some *fierce* competition!

  

This was all followed (a few days later) with a trip to the Art Museum. I’m really not much of a museum-type guy, but I enjoyed it, perhaps because it was fairly small. I took a few pictures of my favourite pieces. I even asked one of the attendants if I was allowed to take pictures…in Japanese! Broken Japanese, but good enough to get the point across. She smiled and replied “Picture…yes…frash…no”. I think they turned out pretty good, considering they were frash-ress.

  

After I had my fill at the Art Museum, I went back to another local favourite…the Hasugaike park. I recently discovered that the caves were not, as I had mistakenly assumed, living/hiding places of ancient peoples. They are, in fact, burial tombs from around 500 AD, recently excavated, with the uncovered treasures displayed at the local Miyazaki Prefectural Museum. With all this new knowledge, I needed just a few more pics of the burial caves, inside and out.

 

But wait…what was that…in the shadows…did you see it? It looked like…like…like…

…  …FOOT! Is it possible? Could it be true? Does Foot actually have descendants inhabiting dark caves on foreign asian islands? Is the heritage of Foot about to be unravelled in exotic tales from across the sea? Could the mysterious past of Foot be on the edge of elucidation?…

…Nope, I brought him along…and he seemed very happy to finally be back on his feet foot.

 

And after a long day of biking (with a little foot-help on the pedals, of course), nothing goes down better than a nice hot cheese fondue..here I am enjoying my first ever (the shiitake mushrooms were my favourite).

 

In parting, I’d like to leave you with something to mull over. I know this picture deserves a funny caption, but I can’t think of one right now, and I’ve done enough thinking already today, so I’ll leave it up to you hooligans; we’ll call it the Comic Caption Contest (alliteration at it’s finest…Mr. Yakimo would be so proud). I know there’s plenty of wit amongst my friends and family, so respond to this post with your captions, and I’ll bring home a little something special for the winner. And it won’t be raw…

BTW, you don’t need to create an account with WordPress to make comments, just type and submit.

The Great Japanese Obsession

What the hell is going on in Japan? Is it just the television? I doubt it…the tv plays what the people want. What do the Japanese people want, you ask? Food. Lots and lots of food. Talkshows about food. Close-ups on food. Gameshows about food. Gameshows based on food loaded with close-ups of food, and cooking food, and eating food, and making wild ecstatic faces after tasting the food that is put before them, and commercials about food when there is a break in the gameshow about food…with lots of close-ups. What’s going on here? Now don’t get me wrong, I like food. I would even go so far as to say that I love food. Just to prove it, I took care of the meals last Monday, and although the eggs benedict for brunch left something to be desired, the supper spread was wicked (complete with chicken and broccolli penne alfredo, salad, and a cheese tray with olives).

 

Notice Gramma’s contented cat named “Tora”, Japanese for “Tiger”, and also the code for the Japanese fighters to attack in World War II. OK, where was I…ah yes, my *completely reasonable* attraction to food. I do love food. But I eat, I enjoy, and then when it’s done, I think about something else until the next time I’m hungry. This is not the case in Japan.

Come to think of it, this whole “life revolving around food” thing is not a concept unique to Japan. This is one of the major differences between the North American mentality and that of most other countries I’ve visited. In North America, we eat to fulfill our bodily requirements. We enjoy the little amount of time we spend eating, primarily because of the pleasure it gives our tastebuds, but our social life does not revolve around dinner. For the most part, we shut up, eat what’s on our plate, and then leave the table to “relax and socialize” afterwards. But in Japan…and France…and Italy…and almost every other country where I’ve stayed with friends and really experienced the culture, supper *is* the afterwards; the meal stretches out for hours. Just eating (slowly) and drinking and chatting and relaxing takes up the whole damn night!

The funny thing is, after all this ranting, I’m not really sure which way is better. Eating slowly is healthier, and it sure is fun to eat for hours…and with diversity; it keeps things interesting when supper isn’t just one plate of food, but 12 different small dishes with a variety of sauces for dipping and drizzling. And chopsticks are much more fun than the knife and shovel. And lets face it, food (eaten slowly) is conducive to good conversation and social atmosphere, hence the trays of hors d’oeuvres at social gatherings. But I do miss stretching out on the couch after dinner and relaxing in comfort while you chat…it just isn’t as comfy sitting (or kneeling) at the dinner table.

But to come back from the tangent of my tangent, one thing I’m sure of: these people are food-crazy, they’ve taken it too far. Even if eating is a pleasant passtime for the entire night, tv programming does NOT need to revolve around it for the entire day. It’s time for Mike to take a stand against foreign policies in broadcasting: NO MORE CLOSE-UPS…

Stuck in the Middle (With You)

I’d like to begin this post by making an announcement: I’m sure you will all be relieved to hear that in spite of my recent sickness, I’m finally back on raw fish.

  

As you can see, I’ve also taken it upon myself to introduce the game of cribbage to the asian culture…and it seems to be taking quite nicely. Now if I can find a way to include betting, I should be able to make a living at it.

As far as the travels and tales go, life has been pretty casual lately. A few more trips to the already-discovered areas of the McKenna Realm, but no new steed-ridden landmarks to report this week. Hana and I did drive to a  little town on the outskirts of the city called Sadowara, which was new for me. We walked around Sadowara Park and I got caught in the middle of a playground trap…waiting for the pit spider to come and tear me apart…

   

I was pretty damn stuck; luckily the contortion training with Dave and Simon from our highschool days came back to me, and I managed to work my way out before nightfall. While wriggling and contemplating within the depths of the yellow-webbed pit, I realized I hadn’t taken any shots of Hana for a while (what a bastardly boyfriend I am), so we took a few *really pretty* shots together shortly after my release:

  

A few days later, we all went to Shimin-no-mori Park for a good old-fashioned picnic. The plum blossoms were in full swing, and I PROMISED Calfy that I’d take some more flower pics for her, so here’s what I came up with:

  

Everyone else was all bundled up for the picnic, but my Canadian flesh didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the mild breeze…even the long sleeves seemed a bit warm for me. I’m sure in the middle of summer (when it reaches 40 Celsius), I’d be the one doing the complaining, but for now I enjoyed the mild weather. I also enjoyed finding the bumpiest trails possible whilst Hana rode lazily on the back of my black steed. Ah haaaaw, The Bastardly Boyfriend Strikes Back.

 

Oh, I also changed my return flight yesterday, since the Japanese government only gave me a 3-month travellers visa. I now return to Canada on the 5th of April (1 day over 3 months…shhhhhh), just in time to watch the final few regular season Canuck games before we rip it up in the playoffs. I do enjoy listening to all the Canuck games (live at 10:00 in the morning) while I’m data-entering my ass off, but a coffee and a computer speaker is no replacement for a beer and a big screen.

And last but not least, one more blossom, with a big “Moooooooooo” stamped all over it. Sorry dad, I must be gay.

                                   

Cleansing the Inner Ear

Chapter 1:

Whilst exploring to the Northwest a few days ago, I stumbled upon a rather large park with lots of rather small caves. Lots, as in about a hundred or so dotting the forested hillsides, usually in groups of 4 or 5. The caves were maybe 3-5 metres deep and 2 or 3 metres wide, and upon closer inspection, I noticed one still had a skeleton in it. I can’t help but think that if they hadn’t blocked him in with that cave guard, he might not have starved to death. How inconsiderate.

  

Now since I can’t read Japanese, I can only assume that these caves were the living places of some ancient Japanese peoples, perhaps offering the required protection during tornado season (this area of Japan gets hit by about 5 or 6 tornadoes every summer, causing the masses to stay home for the day with storm shutters covering every door and window).

I did eventually find a sign that had the park name in English: “Hasugaike”. Hasu is a flower and Gaike is park, so the translation would be “Hasu Flower Park”. The Hasu flower is a floating water flower, one that Buddha was thought to have sat on in some legend I really don’t understand (isn’t Buddha usually depicted as a big fat guy?). It’s also the plant from which Renkon Kimpira is made (one of my favourite Japanese appetizers), which will have special meaning for Eric and Asa. Anywho, I did take time to kiss a few statues in Hasugaike

 , and just before I headed back home, I rode past another group of crazy ancient Japanese dwellings; these ones were not quite as dark and dreary as the caves. Feeling a tad tired and hungry, I tried to see if anyone was home.

    

At last, after much knocking and shouting, I gave up and made my way back home, content with the days Northwesterly expansion of my realm. On the way, I stopped at my supermarket to buy snacks and beers for the Superbowl game the next morning…which leads us to Chapter 2.

Chapter 2:

8:05 Monday (yesterday) morning, Mike rears his big (tired) head and makes his way to the living room. Mayumi already has the game on and the room warm; all that’s left to do is get a coffee in my hand and an egg in my belly. 3 years ago, I couldn’t care less about American football…not because I don’t like football, but I only enjoy watching sports if I have a team to cheer for, and the nfl had no local teams to interest me. But that all changed. Many of you have met Joshua, an American from Indiana who was a room-mate of mine for 5 months in 2004-05. Understandably, Joshua is a big-time Indianapolis Colts fan, and his nfl enthusiasm was a bit contagious. So now, here I am, in Japan, glued to a tv at 8 in the morning, watching the Colts destroy the Bears (despite the opening kickoff return that put the Bears up 7-0 about 10 seconds into the game). So much for “Da Bearsss”. Your Colts made my morning Joshua…here’s to Peyton Manning and the 2007 Superbowl Champions:

    

My only complaint was the lame-ass halftime show, featuring the artist formerly known as “$%*#” prancing around on his big phallic stage.

 The guy is like kindergartens class clown, just screaming for attention: “Look at me! Look at me! Here I am! Please, I’m still really cool…see…”. What an idiot. Moving on…

Chapter 3

After the game, and a few more hours of boring data-entry work, I decide that in order to maintain its symmetry, my realm requires expansion in the Southwestern direction. Armed with a camera and a bottle of fruit-veggie juice, I head off on my black steed (aka the black beater bicycle) and ride for the hills. About 6 kilometres and 20 smiling asian pedestrians later, we (my steed and I) stumble upon another (very hilly) point-of-interest called Heiwadai Park. Heiwadai is not made with cyclists in mind, and it’s many hills are not climbed with nice smooth trails, but with big steep long staircases. The result was Mikel carrying his steed through most of the park, up and down staircases, to the bewilderment of many non-english-speaking onlookers. This was tiring work to say the least, but the effort was not without reward. Upon one hilltop was a multitude of clay statues known as “haniwa”; these ornaments usually decorate an ancient grave or burial mound. Once again, the lack of Japanese symbol recognition has left me in the dark, so I can only speculate that due to the seemingly random spread of statues, these particular haniwa likely do not have dead bodies underneath. If I’m wrong, I hope they’ll forgive me for trampling their graves. 

   

Notice the emu-esque haniwa…Nice. Atop the highest hill sits the Heiwadai itself, which I have been told means ”Tower of Peace”. It was big.

  

And finally, here I am making friends with the locals. It seems they find spiritual enlightenment in the act of ear-cleansing…who am I to judge…

Castle + Kirin = Contented Canadian

Our story starts a long time ago; last Thursday evening to be precise (which was late Wednesday night for all you bums on Pacific Standard Time). The main characters are: an unselfish Japanese lady named Mayumi, a selfish Japanese girl named Hana, and an unsuspecting Canadian man named Michael, freshly returned from a very inspiring (Canadian) English class which included words like “yeah”, “emu” and “bender”. It’s 9:00 at night, and our characters are very hungry. Following their nose(s), they are led to a quaint little restaurant named “Bibinya” (which looks rather different in Japanese characters, but we’ll let it go). Bibinya serves raw meat. In the middle of the table is a burner, so you can cook your raw meat to whatever texture/temperature you desire. Included in the menu are many strange and wondrous raw animal concoctions, including cow intestine, tongue, and stomach lining. Also included is a delicious sake, served overflowing in a wooden box. Now, in all honesty, I, Michael, the lead character, am not one much for sake. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t drink it whenever it’s put in front of me, but I certainly don’t rush out to buy refills; my money is fervently saved for Kirin Whiskey. But this sake…mmmmmmmmmm.

  

Next, we skip chapters to Saturday morning. Character switch: Fish-head-eating Japanese guy (aka Toshi) replaces selfish Japanese girl (aka Hana). Our Saturday Chapter begins with our 3 characters bussling into the car at 11:00 Saturday morning (Friday afternoon for those of us on PST). In case you were unaware, “bussle” is an english word, still used by geeks and really old people, which means “to move hurriedly”. After a quick stop by the beach and a few random,  “Oh what a beautiful day it is today” pics, our hero poses with a rather large palm tree.

 

Shortly thereafter, all 3 of our characters stop for lunch. Mayumi goes for the Tempura, Michael opts for the Chicken Nanban (Japanese equivalent to fish’n'chips, but with really good fish), and Toshi, crazy %#$*&%, orders the Fish head. 10 minutes later, the meals arrive. Upon Toshi’s meal placement, I am immediately reminded of Jason’s final project in Fish Anatomy 401 last semester: the reconstruction of a fish skull. Well Jason, I made sure to pack up the bones after lunch so you can expect a package in the mail in 4-6 weeks. Once you get past the odour, I’m sure you’ll have no problems identifying the fish species and genus. I hope the new fish head project takes your mind off the rigorous tasks of marriage preparation, and give’s Colonel Mustard a worthy adversary…this pic’s for you pal (and yes, that’s the eyeball at the top)…

 

Next up is a stop at Obi Castle, a large 500-year-old walled castle area in a little town to the South. As you can see, the entrance and doorways aren’t exactly made with Westerners in mind, perhaps part of the internal defence.

  

In the midst of the walled fortress was a museum with samurai armour and such, complete with a “weapon wall” that makes mine look like a utensil rack.

  

And after all that build-up to war, we had a chance for some archery practice, just to ensure I keep the touch. I don’t have any pics of me shooting, unfortunately, cuz I was too damn busy getting bullseyes, but I did get a quick pic of the instructor holding my deadly bow:

Feb 20 update: 2 more pics added: 

 

Upon completion of numerous bullseyes, it was time to head for home. Thanks to the recent English class, I finally had the money to buy my second bottle of Kirin 50% whiskey, which I am presently enjoying immensely…  

 

So if I seem a tad dreamy, you’ll have to forgive me. I have no deep thoughts for today, as I’m finding it hard enough to think shallow, but I will leave you with this. It’s a picture of Canada, as seen from the East coast of Japan…

Calling all Blogheads

Just a quick note today, no new pics I’m afraid. Any of you who have a blog, send me your links…I’d like to add you to the blogroll (which at this point is empty). Any of you who don’t have one but would like to try it out, go to wordpress.com and start one up (it’s free), then send me your links. For those who don’t know what the blogroll is, it’s a list of links to friends’ blogs and other websites that I recommend, so if you have any websites you think are worthy, send me those links too. I’m going to find that chuck norris website and christen the blogroll with some Chucky. Also, if any of you know how I can watch nhl games online, please PLEASE let me know. Canuck updates on-the-minute just aren’t cutting it…I need to SEE some hockey! Speaking of the Nucks, what the hell is with all the OT losses?! I suppose they’re just trying to keep it tight until April.

Cycling has been the passtime of choice recently…I’m cycling farther and farther out as my zone of familiarity around Hana’s house slowly expands. I think I’m at about a 3 km radius right now, which for those mathematicians out there means I’m familiar with about a 27 square km area. From this point on, the circle expands as a half circle, since the beach (about 2 km away) has halted my advancement in the Southern direction. What does all this mean, you ask? Nothing, my brain just unloads data in mathematical terms sometimes, and I felt the need to share. Included in this zone are a lot of convenience stores and vending machines, 1 really big park with a few ponds (great for jogging), Aeon mall (with the sushi shop that Hana works at, serving Maguro cheezu maki), a lot of small shurins (shrines) and 2 big ones, the edge of Miyazaki city, the grocery store where I buy my eggs and instant coffee and buns for breakfast, the beach lined with a few hotels, a zoo, an enormous golf course with a trail running around it (also good for jogging), and a lot of people who don’t speak my language but smile politely when I nod my head on the way past. I like to think of it as a video game, where the world map slowly lights the areas you’ve explored, creating a realm of familiarity in the midst of the big black unknown. Today I am taking the day off work and expanding my realm to the Northeast; hopefully I will not need to fend off any other exploring non-natives from my territory, but if so, at least I’ll gain some experience.

For those of you who aren’t gamers and are wondering what the hell tangent I’m off on now, I’ll close with this, since a picture means a thousand words. Here’s lookin at you, Marko:

Just a Walk in the Park, Kazanski

Alright, $5 to the first one to correctly identify this title, and you owe me $5 if you’re wrong. Well, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had a case of the homesick blues, but we’ll save that sentimental crap for later. For now…the fun stuff:

OK, maybe “fun” isn’t the right word.  Another weekend trip brought us to a town called Saito, where we partook in a ceremony for a dead friend. Apparently, there is a ceremony on the 1-yr, 3-yr, 7-yr, and 13-yr anniversary of a loved-ones death. This seems like a pretty good idea to me…not too much, but not too few. Anywho, the first part of the ceremony took part in the temple with lots of chanting and stuff, and everyone (including myself, the big standy-outy Canadian guy) took their turn at the altar adding wood chips to the smoking fire and bowing down respectively. I don’t have any pics of that, obviously, but then we all scampered outside and gave the same respects at the gravestone:

 while the cat stayed respectfully in the tree .

Afterwards, we checked out the Saitobaru, which are these ancient burial mounds all over the town of Saito, dating back to 400 AD. Some were big, some were little. Because of my small intestinal capacity (still not pooing logs, I’m afraid), we could not walk around for long, but I did get a few shots, and we’ll head back in cherry blossom season, I’ve been assured.

 

A few days later, I decided to take a little bike trip around a park fairly close by, since my capacity had improved immensely. I have no idea what the crazy straw-tied-up creatures were after

  ,

but I did find an intense cat, waiting to be served: 

 

as well as a crazy twisty bridge over some weeds (wtf???) and another crazy shurin in the middle of nowhere:

  

Alright, now back to that homesickness. I think I have the right, given the recent influenza attack, to be a touch sentimental. At the risk of sounding gay, I would like to point out some recent shortcomings:

I miss wing night. This was inevitable, but I miss having Marcus come out and slopping up his face on my account. I’ve eaten my share of wings out here, but wing night is really all about the company, and the various wingmembers are not present at the present.

I miss ice hockey with Ian. It’s the middle of winter dammit!… I should be on the ice. Congrats on the goal Ian, wish I could have seen it. And I miss dinner with Ian and Lisa beforehand, with Lisa’s ever-expanding belly. My biggest regret in Japan is not seeing the birth of their kid…

I miss having family conversation at my fingertips. I may be a ferry-ride away from Chilliwack, but it’s always easy to call from Victoria when I need to hear the McKenna voices…not quite so easy from overseas. I miss you guys. Moo. Moooo Moo Moo.

I miss talking to Stevey about the business…over morning coffees and late-night beers. Over the last year, we have both poured our hearts (and time) into Digital Discovery Tours, and even though it may not be making much yet, we both have big visions for the future. It’s fun to dream, and it’s fun to have someone to dream it with.

I miss video games with Isaac. We didn’t get much of a chance to get back into it since he FINALLY decided that Victoria was indeed his home, but I look forward to VGing it up a notch when I return…”herooooooooooooooooes”…

I miss movie-night with Scotty. War movie night used to be a weekly event, and I sincerely hope we can get it back in the future. Hope all is well with Malcolm, and I promise to come by to see the young lad within a week of my Victoria return.

I miss rock-climbing with Marko. My fingers haven’t been bloody in months and that just plain sucks.

I miss the rest of you scoundrels. I may not have mentioned you, but I’ve run out of room, so don’t feel bad. Timmy, I’ll be back soon with Kirin 50% whiskey…count on it. And now, just in case my sexual preference is still indeterminate after this immaculate display of sentiment, here is a really pretty picture of some Japanese plum blossoms:

The Friendly Ghost

Turns out “Not feeling too good” was a bit of an understatement…I’ve spent the last 2 days in bed with a high fever. It sucked. And no, Dad, I didn’t eat any raw chicken the day before. As a matter of fact, the night I got sick was probably the first time since arriving in Japan that I hadn’t eaten anything raw all day. I did cycle home from the mall in the rain, which probably didn’t help. So I spent the last few days looking and feeling dead, like this:

If you could lift that sheet, you’d find a very hot and sweaty body. I can’t ever remember being this sick…and not the sick that makes you puke, just feeling horrible, shaky, cold, aching, weak, and my sweat smelled like dead cells, like that smell when you burn a few strands of hair. It was really disgusting. Hana and Mayumi did all they could: kept me warm with a cool forehead, lots of fresh sheets, lots of water and pills, lots of temperature readings (most hovering around 39, another half degree and it would have been the hospital for me), and lots of worried faces. Anyways, it’s winding down now, and I’m looking forward to pooing logs again someday very soon…

Pottery Lottery

 Feel the beauty of the pottery, the mike-made rice bowl. I know it doesn’t look like much here, but it has yet to be bottom-molded, coloured, glazed, and fired. This piece of fine art was turned in a little town called Aya, about an hour outside Miyazaki city, by yours truly. We went up for the day last Sunday for a little pottery spinning (the pottery sensei reminded me of Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid),

   

as well as some sake and wine tasting (the sake brewery is the entrance with the flags)

    

The sake tasting was great; there were half-full bottles all over the place (probable about 30-40 bottles) and you just grab a little plastic cup and start drinking…it was almost as good as the Carlsberg brewery tour in Copenhagen (I know that’ll mean something to Eric). Anyways, I think I tried about 10 different kinds before moving on to the winery. Poor Toshi had to drive back, so he couldn’t join in the festivities with Hana, Mayumi, and myself (it’s ok though, I took care of Toshi’s share). Japan has a “no-tolerance” policy when it comes to drinking and driving…you can’t even have a trace of alcohol in your blood, or you get thrown in the slammer. We also went up to this big bridge in a prefecture park just in time for the sunset (see bottom)

   

and then met Hana’s friend Sachiko and her little boy Asato for dinner at a Japanese pub (yes, a baby in a pub), complete with chicken wings.

 

OK, time for another negative: Japanese drivers suck. They cut you off, stop in the middle of the road for no apparent reason, turn without signalling, simply don’t see cyclists, stop wherever they want to let out passengers…including single lane streets with traffic backing up, and everyone is afraid to honk (except a quick little honk to thank people for letting them in). I haven’t actually witnessed and accident yet, and I’m amazed.

On another note, Sunday marked 1 year for Hana and I, so we bought eachother rings

 Awwww, isn’t that sweet.

BTW, I was originally going to hold a little lottery for the mike-made rice bowl (hence the article name), but I’ve decided to keep it all to myself. What a selfish bastard I am. Not feeling too good tonight; time for a nice long hot bath in a tub 2/3 the length but twice the depth…

The New Career

First off, I’d like to invite you all to post comments on the articles you read, even a simple sentence or two…it really helps validate the time and effort I spend updating the site; there’s nothing I like more than to read the new comments in the morning (kind of like my daily paper in Japan). Comments on each article can be seen by clicking on the “Responses” link at the bottom of the article. Secondly, I’ve added an “Engrish” page, which I will be adding pics to whenever I come across the humurous Englishapanese signs abundant in the area. And thirdly, I’d like to report that I got a job! It’s not a great job, but it is a job, and it is in Japan (I even beat Hana to it; she doesn’t start for another week or so). I have been doing a night class teaching English once a week, but that’s with Hana’s mother and a few of her friends, so it doesn’t count as a real job. The new (real) job is data entry…basically copy-pasting from one website to another to set up a site that sells English-teaching books for a local and expanding ESL school. The pay isn’t great (hell, it’s not even good), but I work from home (not my home, of course, but my temporary residence), I make my own schedule, and put in as many or as few hours as I want…perfect for a foreigner who likes to travel and needs some disposable income for magura cheezu maki and monkeys.

Well, I’d like to get rid of some pictures that have been floating around for awhile, so here is a Japanese graveyard, a Japanes coastline (complete with smiling asian girl), and a lit-up Japanese gazebo at the Miyazaki Illumination Festival, respectively:

  

Now, back to the good stuff. As some of you have come to realize (after repeated exposure), my favourite drink (that’s favourite with an “ou”, you American bastards) is a rye’n'coke, specifically 3 ounces of Gibson’s Finest Sterling Silver Rye Whiskey mixed with 2-3 ounces of Coca-cola, and a few ice cubes thrown in for good measure. Well, I’m happy to say that I have found the Japanese equivalent to Gibson’s finest. It’s called Kirin Whiskey, it’s labelled as “silky smoothness, the gift of Mt. Fuji”, and it’s 50%. Mmmmmmmm.

 

Did I mention about how the gas dispensers are shaped like guns here?

 How $%&#* cool is that…it’s straight out of Zoolander! And you push the “trigger” of the gas gun to start pumpin’ baby! I thought of you as soon as I saw them Steve, picturing a massive gasoline-fight with you and me and Eric and Isaac in his blickety YJ.

Next off, I want to show you all something very scary. One of the delicacies here is raw chicken, only possible if the cluck-cluck is very (very) fresh. It scared me to try it, but I shut off the “NOOOOOO, DON’T DO IT!” in my mind, closed my eyes, and gave it a whirl.

 

The thought of my favorite bug, the infamous E. coli aka *the workhorse of modern research* was unavoidably vivid in my mind, complete with strain types and genetic sequence. This raw delicacy was the appy to a meal that I cooked for everyone…my seafood pasta with *well-cooked* prawns and cream sauce. Here we are, cooking up a storm:

 

It went over rather well, and the raw chicken was actually pretty good too, once you get past the mental block.

There is something very different over here. It seems money is disposable…*easy come, easy go* mentallity. It’s actually quite refreshing, except that I don’t have a lot of it to “easy go” right now; fortunately, that’s been balanced by the people surrounding me. I’ve also noted special treatment wherever I go…it seems the Japanese people are delighted to have a humble Canadian in their midst and the result is bigger portions, smaller prices, and lots of smiling faces. I am slowly learning the catch-phrases (thanks Marcus), which helps immensely, and I’m finding the Japanese hospitality far exceeds my expectations. I’ve also found the highway service despicable. All the major roads are only 50 km/hour, so it takes forever to get anywhere; fortunately, the destinations are almost always worth the time. Having an income has reduced my moderate (low) level of stress, so I’m quite happy to take my time getting there.

This one’s for you Eric…