Mari - diary

Lazy day, play games on PC.

Happy Hallowe'en! We can see Hallowe'en ornaments at shops or sites, but I don't think many Japanese understand what Hallowe'en is, they like it because pumpkin designs are pretty. I suppose so.

By the way, Lazy Woman is here in Tokyo!! I would update my food magazine, but I could not complete it. Actually I had to go out to dry my clothes, my new floorlight came and I needed to set it in my room. I needed to cook myself some food for this week,.etc But I had to tell you I was Lazy today. Once I fail to start my day smoothly, I tend to spend my day slow and lazy.

I will introduce my lazy buddy, PC game sites! I do not have PS2 or Nintendo, because I know I would be addicted. So I pick and choose and play only simple, short, easy games on PC.
Do you know game watch(JP) of Nintendo? I had one when I was a little kid. This is almost the same as the game watch. NATUKASHI!!
This type game is call as "Sokoban" in Japan, this is beer version maybe from Germany? This type of shooting game, I know I should not close, because I will just be tired! Ah did you solve the room I introduced before? Hmm I here is another escape game. Yes endless! I will stop now.

Hope you have a nice Hallowe'en! :)

Net movies are not fun at all.

Tokyo Internet Movie Festival 2004 has started. Since they appear to have an English page, I was waiting for it, but it seems so slow. The festival is in three parts. The first is a general part. Amateurs, foreigners, professionals, everybody could enter. They will decide the winner by the vote of the audience. Well I am sorry to say this, but I can not find good one. If I have to pick one, maybe this one. At least he tries to make it fun and short. If you like Japanese horror, this seems to be horror. The One is a Special theme part. This time, people have to make short films about "police guy" (= we say "deka") I did not enjoy this part too AT ALL either

And The last one is a co-operation part. The big corporations make short films for advertising. In the link page, we can see some old and new films. Hmm at least, these film would take costs. Dennis Hopper appears in LINK of Fuji Subaru. This is not too bad. ("Knight Rider" + "DUEL" /2 = ?!). Anyway Dennis reminds me of Ahiru chan which I introduced in Who appears in Japanese Ad on TV?. Well I have to say I am very disappointed to click each link on the net film festival, too long, boring, nothing fun. I can find really good Flash a lot, but it is hard to find good movie on net. What do you think? Only Tokyo or Japan?

To take away the aftertaste, I will link two of my favorite Flash sites like before. This is Japanese, the one is hybridworks(don't miss the toolbar on the right-hand side), and another is Bionic systems. Don't you think this is very cool?.

A moomintroll and me

Harry Potter is not selling as well as like before? Even though I am not a big fan of Harry Potter, I really appreciate Harry and the author making a lot of children enjoy reading books. The first book we read would influence whether we like to read or not, and how much, in life. Which book did you read first by yourself, without mom or dad? Do you remember it?

Dr Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures, written by Hugh Lofting. This English book made me love books and love to read. I want to say thank you!! Without this book, my life would be less fun. If I pick a book that influenced me much in my childhood, it would be Moomin Troll, by Finnish author Tove Jansson. I heard Tove does not like the Japanese animation version, (Because it was changed some from the original), but I could know Moomin on TV first and then books all later.

Books and stories for kids tend to have a courageous hero, and the family lives happily always and for ever. But Moomin was a little bit sentimental, sometimes cowardice, a delicate fairy. (not a hippo! at any rate). Then the vagabond Snufkin looks so lonely, then he chooses it for himself. The warm sweet home with families is not always happiness? Freedom requires loneliness? Being alone makes one a deep and thoughtful person?
Actually I was always uneasy somehow when I watched TV / read books of Moomintroll. I did not know exactry what it was, what made me feel like that, but at least they seemed to be real for little me much more than the BIG smile endings of other animations. I really think Moomintroll taught me something important. Yes, yes, I, "a Tokyo woman," and had a big influence from Moomintroll, a Finnish Story.

On Cartoon network, a puppet version of Moomintroll will be starting. Since I have never seen this before, I will see it, of course. Hello Moomintroll, I will see you again soon. :-)

A Japanese band-LOVE PSHYCHEDELICO

My Host server was down last night and this morning again. I知 up only on my top (index) page. But |-( umm.

In autumn season the colleges have a sort of festivals; they will have miss and mister contests, (This is the guide page of Sophia Univ.), lecture presentations, concerts, etc. Actually college festivals are a good chance to see a nice concert for a reasonable price. Is this the same in your country?

I wrote about the CD Jacket of Asian Kunfu Generation before. I did not know this; their CD is No.1 in music charts now. So their live performance will be the hardest one to get a ticket for this autumn. :-)

Anyway some graduates of the college I went to are succeeding very much in Japanese music scene. One of them is Southern All Stras. I do not listen their music, but some of their songs remind me of my college days, on the campus so well. Their love ballad Ellie, My Love was covered by Ray Chalres.

And LOVE PSHYCHEDELICO, will have live performances in Seoul and Hong Kong this autumn. I think they are cool. The Vocalist is a woman and she sings in mixture of Japanese and English. Lady Madonna is their debut song, and I like this Last smile. This is their second released. 60s / 70s Rock taste!? What do you think?

Japanese horror movie, you will see more?

The Ring was the first horror movie based on a Japanese novel. The new Japanese horror movie The Grudge is having good results in the North American box office now; this movie is based on the Japanese original Juon. Here is a trailer page.

This type of J-horror can be made with a low budget and still has "something new" for other countries. So I heard Hollywood has already planned another J-horror (Japanese horror movie). One of them is this "Kansen" (infection). This Kansen (The Infection) and Yogen (The Prediction), a double feature program were released in Japan last month. Then we had news, both movies had a "REAL" ghost in the film. Here is an article of the scene in The Infection. You may see an eye behind the nurse. The production says "there was nobody behind her, so we are surprised to see it now". Hmm this looks like a sort of advertising to me that it will not be a real ghost. What do you think? In Prediction, they say there is a red light or something, which they do not know what it is exactly. I have not found a picture of the scene yet. This is the official site for them. You may see a short trailers here.
Well well well, I can read horror novels, but at any rate I cannot see movies. Actually I did not turn off the light at night a day after I had checked the trailer of the Grudge. I hate horror!
However this is a hot topic from Tokyo!

The U.S. will make this fun TV program soon

Ah! The news says "Trivia no Izumi"(A fountain of trivia) will come on Spike TV in the U.S. from November 13th. For a while you will see the Japanese version(JP), and in next April, they will start The U.S. version. "hee" will be changed into "wow" or "hey". Would you be able to see Spike TV at your home? Please check it and I hope you can enjoy it.

Quiz millionaire came from the U.K. and Iron chef has good viewer ratings in the U.S. I was very impressed to see ER first. Agood program has no boarder!.
Regarding to comedy. Saturday night live of the U.S. does not do make me laugh unfortunately :-(, On the other hand, I love to see Mr.Bean (only TV version of course) in the U.K. This Japanese Commedy "Baka-tono"(movie) (stupid Tonosama) is popular in Japan, But this looks completely rubbish to me. How do you think? Anyway his site introduce Japanese funny culture well. Enjoy it.

And tonight I went to Canadian and Japanese Band "monkey majik" live at Canad embassy. It was pretty nice!

Thomason, what is that?

USATODAY said ex major baseball player Cecil Fielder is in hiding because of a huge debt. He played for the Hanshin Tigers(JP) in Japan, and got Homerun King in 1990 and 1991. Did you know that? Well the first Japanese player to make a certain result would be Nomo, not so long ago. However many major league players have played in Japan for a long time, and there were many big name athletes. For example Dave Johnson (Mets manager), Roy White (Yankees players) Bill Gullickson, etc. There were many foreign players who played in Japan Baseball team. But do you know a player who left his name a different way in Japan. A player left his name in not baseball results, but in a sort of culture.

In Japan, we have many sites and books reporting about "useless object conserved on the building". For example...The usless door. The useless stairs. The useless wash stand. The useless wall. Parking impossible. We call this type of stuff Thomason.. You may check "Thomason" here(JP), here(JP). Ah! Recently William Gibson make a Thomason researcher Mr.Yamazaki appears in his book "Virtual Light", I heard.

Then this Thomason was named from Gary Thomason. He played in Dodgers in the U.S, and then joined the Tokyo Giants (JP) in 1982, he made a mountain of strikeouts, and people called him "a human windmill" in Japan. He had to leave Japan the next year without any result. Then someone named "useless stuff" -Thomason. ha ha But in a sense Thomason could leave his name on sub culture in Japan.

earthquakes!!

Japan just had a lot of typhoon damage, then this weekend we had earthquakes. I could feel it when I was drinking a cup of coffee at a cafe. I did not think it was such a big and serious one, then when I got home I was surprised to know how big it was. Disasters come in three? I really hope not.
TV show almost 24 hours news about it, I watched the news all day, and have to see people lost family, house, things they had. and people who had to spend the cold night without water or electricity.

Well since my sidebord has arrived, I planed to get this plants, Japanese name is Kuwazuimo (the meaning is "potato that we can not eat"). But I did not get it. I can not feel like to get new stuffs this weekend.

Tokyo souvenirs?

I have only 10 minutes before my flight, however I have not found any souvenirs for my friends. It is a painful time. However usually it is fun to choose souvenirs for friends and family. In Japan, not only on long journeys, but on short business trips, we get something for others, usually a box of sweets, and hand out single pieces to co-workers at our job. It is quite a usual practice. So, each train station or airport has souvenir shops and they sell their local specialty. For example, this is Shiroi Koibito chocolate of Hokkaido, here is Sasadango of Nagano pref. These are very popular sweets to give as souvenirs. I love Gomasuri Dango(JP) of Iwate. It's a Sesame cream with soft rice cake, very yummy. I never miss to buy when I visit Tohoku. This is the online souvenir shop(JP) of Tokyo Station. They sell Tokyo special sweets mainly. I would like this "Sazae-san cake"; it has a little retro package with a small mascot toy.

Sweets souvenir is nice for co-workers, but in private I want to make all kinds of efforts for choice. I will tell you my idea for Souvenirs of Tokyo. "If I bring something to foreign friends..."- this is that type of selection. I won't choose Ichiban T-shirt or Hissho Hachimaki, ha ha. But of course, Tokyo-style or Japanese taste are important. Choosing souvenirs is difficult and fun!

For A Family With Some Children
For family, I would choose natural, healthy Japanese sweets, but small kids may dislike sweet beans, a typical ingreident in Japanese sweets. So how about this?

[Imo Yokan] : Funawa.
Imo-Yokan(JP) is sweet jelly made from beans and sweet potato. Very natural and healthy sweets.

[Tokyo Banana] : Tokyo Banana(JP) is basically a fresher, fluffier Twinkie, with banana creme and a piece of banana inside.
I had never visited Tokyo Tower until I had to be guide for my American friend. And I still haven't eaten Tokyo Banana yet because we don't eat such a typical Tokyo souvenir. :-) Anyway, this popular sweets make mistakes on their packaging.

[Giant Pretz Edo Murasaki] : Glico
I have never eaten Giant Pretz Edo Murasaki. I can get regular "pretz" easily, but this Edo version is sold only in airport or big train station terminals. Hmm. This is a simple "pretz" product with Tsukudani taste.　Sounds weird?? No, I would guess that this is very tasty. This might be unique souvenir.

[JR Train Cookies] : Cookies in JR train can. This is pretty nice for a sweets-keeper. I have a "Double Decker" can which I got in London a long time ago.

This is the 10 best Tokyo sweets, according to a souvenir shop. The #1 choice is Tokyo Banana. Hmm I should try it at least once.

For A Ladies
[Ukiyoe Stamp] : This Ukiyoe stamp that is sold at the Tokyo National Museum. They have nice stationery and other goods. I use toto bag printed "Hyaku monogatari" by Kuniyoshi Utagawa

[Small Paper Bag] : We call this "pochi bukuro," and use it for Otoshidama (On New Year's Day we have the custom of giving a bit of money to kids ) or tips in Japanese-style hotels (Ryokan). You can make it with some nice print paper, here is "how to make".　

[Japanese Towel] : One my my favorite shop Kamanau has beautiful Japanese towel. They have nice season motif. I think you can display it as a tapestry. This is one with an autumn design refering TSUKIMI. This daisy (November) looks cool. I can't pick just one.

[Chopstick Rest] : There are countless designs, materials, and shapes for chopstick rests. To choose just one would be difficult. :-). I like simple ones like this.

[Incense Stand] : I don't use aroma candles because I don't like the smell of wax. I like to use incense stick instead. Shoyeido has a variety of incense stick stands. They are small, but the design is great.

[Kubrick] : The name "Kubrick" comes from "cube," and the name of the director Kubrick. It is one ofMediacom toy products. They make various character from a simple 6-square cube. It's a sort of parody on popular icons. The premier and rare kubric costs over 10000yen. I remember that an rock band attached their original kubrick to their CD. You can buy it online shops. But hwne you come to Japan, please check the real shop in Shibuya.

[Akira Yamaguchi Goods] :　Akira Yamaguchi is an traditional Japanese painting artist. So at a glance, his paintings look like authentic traditional works. But the detail is quite different - in the previous image, the horse is half-motorcycle, and the trees have robotic connections and cables. His exquisite miniatures have a lot of contemporary elements. I am very sorry I couldn't find a high-quality painting of his on the Internet. By the way, you can get mouse pads, T-shirts, or note paper with this design at Roppongi Hills original item shop.

For Young Girls
[Nail Tips and Hair Clips] : It would be nice to giveJapanese-motif nail tips; the golden fish or Kimono designs are very pretty.　The hair clips are similar, there are nice Asian motifs.

[Hysteric Glamour] : I heard thatHysteric Glamour is very popular fashion brand in France, how about in North America? If you check their site, you'll get to know their crazy-but-cool sense.

Get Something For Free!!
[Get Something At Events] : At Makuhari Messe or Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba, everyday some events or exhibitions are held. Usually the entrance fee is 1000yen or so, and sometimes free. For example, Makuhari Messe will hold the Tokyo Game Show, and Tokyo Big Sight says they've been having a beauty and diet fair since Sept 13. When you walk around the center, you can get many samples or PR items. When I went to a karaoke machine show on business, I got a good foot massager, a beach mat, etc. At an IT show, I of course received a mouse pad, cell phone strap, ballpoint pen, etc. I can't guarantee anything, as it will be different at each event, but you can enjoy the show and hopefully get something, too.

[Flyers/Ad Cards] : In HMV or Tower record shops, you can find free flyers (ad cards). Most of them are cool designs that I think they would be good enough for souvenirs. For example, this and this, a production design flyer. I have some their cards.

The price of cabbage and Bigmac

Ahh Typhoon No.23 Tokage=lizard gave us serious trouble, Now as I check this fire dept report; it says 68 found dead, 16 are still missing, and over 40000 homes were flooded. Fortunately I did not have any damage, but we will all have to bear the cost of the damage this winter.
Look! A cabbage cost 598 yen. Hmm 6 US$ or so? I remember it was 198 yen or so a few weeks ago. Usually Tonkatsu has a lot of cabbage like this. I can find good TVCM(ram) about it. This TVCM says, take fibers! But it will be hard from cabbage, so try a drink FIBE MINI!. Anyway in this dish cabbage would be the most expensive stuff, more than the fried pork .　

Hmm cabbage is a luxury food now. Actually is almost same as two Big Macs (262 yen), or six regular hamburgers (84 yen). Are you surprise at how expensive cabbage is? No? Because McDonalds is cheaper in Japan? Yes yes "the most expensive town in the world" Tokyo keeps Mac price lower than any other country. You can check here only set price here, Japan McDonalds. . And I enjoy this economic site; you can see the comparison of the BigMac prices across in the world.

Ah anyway Yoshinoya beef bowl " target="_blank">Supersize me has been released in Tokyo. Of course it’s scary, but Yoshinoya beef bowl will make same result if he eats it only for month.*