One of the interesting things I’ve seen in Japan has to be how manual labor works. There are always two or more people to complete a task and most of the time it looks very efficient compared to the U.S. Let’s take construction for example… construction workers tend to get busy using everything from cranes to their bare hands and they’re rarely talking from what I can tell.
Something that I find interesting is even though construction can be happening downtown in multiple locations, I don’t seem to notice it. That’s because they usually block off the construction site wtih some type of wall or gate that surrounds the entire area. I’ve seen some cheap plastic walls, some expensive plastic walls with windows, and some wooden walls. I snapped some pics on a Sunday, so no workers were harmed in the photographing.
Here’s a picture of some type of portable wall
Ooo! This is the heavy duty wall with VIP windows!
I’m VIP, here’s proof, I’m looking through the window.
And here’s another construction location. It looks like they’re escavating dinosaurs.
Yeah… I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it or not but I’m 15 minutes away from 6 Starbucks Coffee shops here in Fukuoka. Now that’s going north, south, and east. I haven’t checked west yet…. there’s probably 3 more that way somewhere. One of the Starbucks is across the street from another Starbucks and about 3 blocks or so from another one down the side street.
So here we are… going into the Starbucks that’s inside Tsutaya.
For the record… Tsutaya is pretty sweet. It’s 6 stories and you can rent DVDs, CDs, buy them, get books and magazines, and enjoy some Starbucks. The DVD releases that have been out for a while usually run on a special that’s 4 DVDs for 1000 Yen. I’d say about $9-10 US.
Here’s kind of a cool photo
And here’s a picture I took from Starbucks of Starbucks across the street while enjoying some coffee with some friends.
By having so many Starbucks so close to me I’d have to say
- It’s kind of crazy in my opinion
- They are is busy and the city is big
- I love it!
Continue reading ‘Starbucks in Japan’
I forgot to include this picture so here you go! What’s interesting is right when we entered the Yahoo! Dome there was a cell phone company giving us king size snacks that taste like Cheetos. And there’s a snack bar, just like any other baseball stadium, but instead of beer, brats, and burgers they sell beer, yaki soba, takoyaki, and ramen. The prices were about the same. I just can’t imagine watching a game in the stands while slurping on some ramen using chopsticks while drinking beer. In that scenario there’s just too much going on. Of course I say this now, but just wait… in a year I’ll be doing it.
In America we usually do a mutual exchange of gifts, etc. I give her something, she gives me something, I take her on a date, ah… love is in the air. But Valentine’s Day In Japan is something that’s quite different for me. This is my first time celebrating Valentine’s here and there are two parts to this holiday. On Valentines Day a girl will give the guy some chocolate. It’s either purchased or hand made. The 2nd part is White Day where a guy gives the girl a gift, that’s approximately 3 times the value as he received (so I’ve heard from wikipedia). I wasn’t able to get pictures of the store displays, but they look exactly the same as the displays in America except there are tons of chicks and almost no guys wandering in that area.
Because it was too much chocolate to handle, my fiancee gave me a gift on the 13th, and then one on the 14th. On the 13th she hand made a chocolate parfait! It was amazing! It looked and tasted like it was expensive and hand crafted by a chef. It contained chocolate, ice cream, more chocolate, cake, chocolate covered crispy things, and strawberry Pocky. Oh, and hand whipped whip cream! Here are a few pictures (sorry for the blurriness, I’m not used to my friends camera yet). It was delicious.
On Valentine’s Day she gave me a wonderfully wrapped gift. It looked expensive and the presentation was great, so at first I thought she bought it at some expensive shop. She told me that she hand made the chocolate using ‘an idea’ but no recipe and a few ingredients she thought would work. And she wrapped it herself.
Here’s my blurry picture of the chocolates when I opened the cute basket they were in.
And finally here are the chocolates she made. They were powered with cocoa and had a very rich taste. It wasn’t a dark chocolate taste, and wasn’t a milk chocolate taste, it felt like a truffle when I ate it, but it was nothing I’ve tasted before.
When I opened the gift I felt overwhelmed and a little teary eyed when I ate the first piece because I know she spent all of that time and effort to prepare everything and that’s very special to me. Even when it’s not a holiday she often does special things like this to show me how she feels about me, and she is the first person in my life to ever do this. She’s so great. This was the best Valentine’s Day ever.
Every now and then I hear this guy singing a cool little tune at night. No music, just him singing a melody. I asked my fiancee what it is and she told me it’s a truck that sells ishiyaki imo (sweet potatoes). How awesome is that? I would never think “Hey, I could really go for a sweet potato” … until NOW! For a while I’ve been on a mission: run like an Olympic sprinter, catch this guy, enjoy the full ‘Japanese sweet potato out of a truck’ experience. The result? I’ve eaten one of these once, and I’ve seen the truck twice, and I have a picture!
What does Ishiyaki Imo mean? I asked this very same question and here’s the answer broken down. Ishi = stone, Yaki = grilled, Imo = sweet potato.
My Imagination: Now here’s what I was thinking about this truck before I saw it. I figured it was a pickup truck, some guy that cooks them on the back of his truck, and he sings his song out of a megaphone, he’s a happy guy that just loves giving out sweet potatoes late at night and apparently the job is fun and exciting. He drives fast because he wants to cover the entire city.
The Reality: Not quite what I was thinking. From my experience, an older guy drives either a truck or a van. He’s not singing, he’s playing a recording over a megaphone and this explaines why the song is perfect every time he drives by my place. He does drive slow, which means I’m just not running fast enough (time to hit the gym?). He has cooking gear on his truck but when I went all of the potatoes were ready to go. I spent 400 Yen ($3.75 at the time) for a big hot potato. And big as in huge, it looked like they gave me the biggest one in the sweet potato field. Good thing I was hungry!
The potato was hot and it I enjoyed it. Just eating a hot sweet potato is quite different from The Outback Steakhouse version back in the U.S. which is smothered in butter and cinnamon and maybe some sugar.
Here are a picture from the truck.
Here’s an Ishiyaki-Imo old school setup which I’ve never seen in person (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Here’s a YouTube video I found. The song doesn’t have as nice of a melody as the truck Fukuoka, the truck is slow and not busy, but it’s cool to check out.
Good stuff.
Today I’m going to share some pictures I’ve taken of things in Japan that I’ve never seen before in the U.S.
The picture above is a QR Code. I see them everywhere here, even at McDonalds. They’re on buildings, billboards, magazine ads, product packages, etc. You take a picture with your cell phone and it brings up information or a website.
From Wikipedia: A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional code.
The picture of the shochu bottles above were explained to me as a “bottle keep” and from my understanding these are unfinished bottles of alcohol. If a person comes in (probably with a group) and orders a bottle but they don’t finish it the restaurant will put the person’s name on it so that person can enjoy the tasty beverage which they’ve already paid for during their next visit. That’s awesome!
Continue reading ‘Things I’ve never seen before’
Getting from point A to point Z using the subway is not that difficult. If you’re new to using a subway, or public transportation at all (like I was), my advice is to plan your route and stay calm no matter how busy the station gets. Carrying a small note pad and a pen is a good idea.
Along with some tips I’m going to share some pictures I took of the subway on a rainy, cold, Friday afternoon around 2pm. It wasn’t a busy time and the station I was at doesn’t seem to be as busy as bigger stations.
Tip #1 - If somebody falls onto the track, hit this button! (Press the red button below in case a person fall sinto the track area. Trains will stop automatically. FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY!)
Continue reading ‘Taking the Subway in Japan’
A lot of people wonder about the cost of living in Japan. Sure there’s living expenses, transportation, food, etc., but last weekend I decided to do some research on the cost of alcohol so you can compare it to your local store. There’s a law in Japan that makes people list their prices with tax included. Alcohol laws can be different in the U.S., so I’m not sure if the tax law applies to alcohol but I’m assuming so (I don’t have my receipt handy).
Almost all bottles listed are 750ml. Ones that are 700ml will be compared to the USD 750ml price. I’ll show you the actual price of alcohol in Yen from a liquor store in Japan and I’ll also list the estimated price in U.S. Dollars from what you’d find in a U.S. liquor store. From my extensive research I feel the Yen price is accurate and it’s what you’ll find at most stores. Ok, no more blah blah blah. Let’s get our drink on!
 |
Grey Goose Vodka (750ml)
http://www.greygoosevodka.com/
Cost in Japanese Yen: 3200 (comparable)
Estimated U.S. Dollars: $35 |
 |
Absolut Vodka (750ml)
http://www.absolut.com/
Cost in Yen: 1190 (cheaper!)
Estimated USD: $23
** Absolut Vodka Flavored
** (Citron, Melon, etc)
** Cost in Yen: 2289 (comparable)
** Estimated USD: $23 |
Continue reading ‘Cost of Alcohol in Japan’
I read an interesting article today. It touches base on how to properly eat sushi in Japan, how not to handle your chopsticks, tips on business meetings, the art of bowing, how to give a gift, and a few other topics.
Click here to check out the article.
Here are a few that really stood out to me.
- Exchanging Business Cards
It’s very important that yours be crisp, clean, and presentable; you will be handing them out often. A card should be offered with both hands, and received with either your right hand or with both. Look at it long enough to convey that you’re processing the presenter’s name and rank and the importance of his or her title-even if you don’t know what it means. You can show it to your concierge later for a full translation.
- The Art of the Bow
There are three types of bows in Japan; you’ll be using the first almost exclusively. Here’s who they’re for”¦
- 115 degrees (a quick dip of the head and shoulders)|
For neighbors and friends.
- 230 degrees
For saying good morning to a colleague, thanking a boss for assigning you a task, or entering an important meeting.
- 345 degrees (really bending at the waist)
For the president of a company, when showing deep appreciation or sympathy, or upon greeting the emperor. This one is reserved for rare occasions and is considered disturbing or disingenuous when overused
- Dress up for a bit
Fashion is fairly Western in Japan, but “you don’t see many-how should I say it-mature men in T-shirts and shorts,” Fautt says. A polo shirt is about as casual as it gets. Women should go easy on the tank tops
- Never eat or drink while walking
Although vending machines are ubiquitous, locals buy their soda, drink it by the machine, throw the empty away, and continue on their way. No one eats while walking, and public consumption of alcohol is even worse. “Walking around with a beer makes you look like an idiot,” Fautt says.
Why is Japan awesome? There are many reasons and here’s another one to add to the list. Already sliced butter! Who thinks of this stuff, seriously? They should give it it’s own name. I’d name it Awesome Butter. Pre-sliced butter has changed my life.
