I eat at McDonald’s every now and then here in Japan. I was really impressed with the quality of service and how the food looks when you eat you it. I was also shocked by the smallest soft drinks in the world. It’s probably an 8oz cup filled to the top with ice. What does that mean? Probably 4-5oz of Coke. Here are some other things I feel about the McDs in Japan vs. America and a commercial I found on Youtube… Yes, the restaurant looks like this. Yes, McDonald’s cheeseburgers look like this (to me). Yes, you are happier when you eat McDonald’s in Japan vs the U.S. and yes, you are hungry 2 hours later just like in the U.S.
Speaking of McDonald’s, their profit grew five-fold according to The Japan Times
McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd. said Thursday its consolidated net profit in 2007 was five times higher than in the previous year, totaling Â¥7.82 billion on record high sales of Â¥395.06 billion, up 11.1 percent.
Here’s another video game commercial I found on You Tube. This game looks pretty sweet and now I’m definitely going to have to get a PS3. A friend of mine recently got one and he loves it. At first it’s all cute until the end where you see Leah Dizon (supposedly) kicking some ass playing Ninja Gaiden on a Play Station 3 in-store demo machine. Cool commercial.
Google/AFP reports Japan police receive 400th secret pledge to poor after 33 years – “The police station in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo, received the first envelope in August 1974, which contained 1,000 yen, or nine dollars at the current rate. It did not bear a sender’s name but enclosed a piece of paper only saying: “Please use this for the unprivileged people.” This money came in every month and gradually increased. This week they received the 400th envelope which brings the total amount donated to 1,744,000 yen over time. Awesome! It’s nice to know that somebody cares that much.
CNN Money is reporting that Japan’s Softbank wins more new subscribers in December than KDDI, DoCoMo – I like the name DoCoMo, it’s fun to say. Docomo docomo docomo… but I like Softbank’s service (friends with Softbank + woman who talks a lot = cheaper than DoCoMo). What’s the key to Softbank’s increase in success? I blame Cameron Diaz. She’s all over the place with her softbank phone she’s not even talking in the commercials
photo courtesy of sleepycat
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVPlipdl8eg[/youtube]
Here’s a recent update about me since my last post:
One day I was sick. I blame the dust mite demons, but I had flu like symptoms. One morning I work up feeling like I was going to die. I slept for about 48 hours. I woke up at 100% health. Nice!
I’ve been playing the hell out of my Xbox. New games I want seem only to be available on the Xbox360 or PS3. And this picture is funny.
Speaking of video games, I found this commercial for the PS3 entertaining. Btw, I hope to get an xbox360 (or PS3) for 1 and 1 reason only. NHL 08… oh what? 08! oh what? oh hellz yeah!
Akihabara = Otaku paradise… and now you can take a 4 minute walk from Akihabara for a good night sleep before hitting up the Maid Cafe in the morning. Nice!
For just 4,000 Yen per night you can sleep in a capsule which looks like the size of a coffin. A coffin with a shit load of stuff packed inside so you can feel trapped in a hole. Even though each capsule is small as hell it comes with TV, radio, alarm clock, adjustable lighting. I wonder if I’d fit in there being 190 cm tall. They have a lounge area with internet and have 100 Yen coffee. I’ve been searching for a cheap ass cafe here in Fukuoka with 100 Yen coffee so I’m a little bit jealous of that. So far I’ve found 300+ yen coffee which is ridiculous because I could get 350ml of coffee for 320 Yen or for just 80 Yen more I could enjoy some bomb ass ramen. Seriously, what’s up with that?
The site says “Everybody that travels to Japan should experience this unique accommodation, at least once” but I don’t get it… they have a men’s section and a women’s section. How are you supposed to get it on with your woman with this setup?
Check out their site and make your reservation today! Then email me and tell me what it’s like because I’ll probably never hit one up. CapsuleInn.com
Here are a few videos so you can tour a capsule hotel (but it’s not the one from capsuleinn)
You’ve probably heard that things in Japan are small. Cars, clothes, roads, houses, and apartments. I wouldn’t call Japanese apartments small, but I would say they’re cozy. Do you really need a huge place to live anyway? As long as it has what you need and you spend your free time out on the town or cuddling with a hot chick (or whoever) to watch a movie. Now there’s a lot to renting an apartment but I’ll talk more about that sometime For now I’ll give you a few pros and cons of Japanese apartments as well as some youtube vids so you can tour a few places. Here are some things I’ve discovered in the last two weeks.
The Good:
Sliding doors are cool
You usually get a balcony
Washing machines fit nicely in the bathroom area
Shower room is huge
You don’t need a car where I live, so you save money on the car, gas, parking, and you get free exercise.
If your apartment is capable, you can get hooked up with fiber optic internet.
Mirrors in the bathroom area have an anti fog button. That is totally kick ass.
The “tankless water heater” is great for showers. You turn it on when you need it and you never run out of hot water.
The bad:
If you’re getting no help from your job or friends in Japan you’ll need about $5,000 USD to rent an apartment. You’ll be paying the landlord some stupid fees you won’t get back + first months rent + some other things to furnish your apartment. If you factor the landlord fees into your average monthly rent then it becomes affordable I guess. If your monthly rent is $800 USD you can expect to have a down payment around $4,000 for rent + fees. Then you’ll need to furnish your place and it can cost $1,000+. That part is lame when you compare it to the US.
You can easily hear your neighbors
Small closets + small rooms = not enough place for your clothes
Small bathroom area + washing machine = not enough space for bathroom stuff.
No hot water unless you turn on the hot water heater and then waste water waiting for it to become warm. This means washing your face in cold water because you’ll get lazy.
If you have a car, parking space can be expensive depending on where you live. I’ve seen it range from 0 to 20,000 yen per month.
If you mark the wall or dent a door you’re going to lose your ass when you move out. You’ll be charged 500-1,000 Yen per pin tack hole you put in the wall.
They don’t come with a refrigerator, washing machine, oven range, or light fixtures (that’s something new to me)
A new Web site built by an American technology student has uncovered the lengths that companies apparently go to improve their public image by tweaking their entries on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that – famously – “anyone can edit.”
The WikiScanner site, developed by Virgil Griffith, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology, reveals changes to the online encyclopedia by linking edits back to the computers from which they emanate using each computer’s unique IP address.
Griffith, 24, says he created the site “to create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike” – a mission he may well have succeeded in.
One of the things I love about Japan >>> “Sonna no kankei nee! Sonna no kankei nee!” Oh hellz yeah! Yoshio Kojima (å°å³¶ よã—㊠from Wikipedia) is the guy that’s on TV a lot saying that and freaking out in a small bathing suit. Do I know what he’s talking about? Nope. Good times. Here’s a video I found and I don’t know how long it’ll work. Maybe forever, maybe for 1 hour.
I was check out YouTube today and found an awesome commercial for the Legend of Zelda on the Super Famicom. First I watched the video and felt joy. Second I sat in front of my computer for about 30 seconds. Third I went “WTF is a Super Famicom?” Fourth I Googled it and found out that it’s basically the same thing as the Super NES aka Super Nintendo. Nice!
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNESa and Super Nintendo) was a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia, and Brazil between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the Super Family Computer, Super Famicom (スーパーファミコン, SÅ«pÄ Famikon), or SFC for short. In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent direct compatibility.
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