Mari - diary

Halloween in Japan

In the evening of Oct.29th, 450 costumed people occupied three train cars of the Osaka Kanjo (loop) line. The Mainich English article did not mention the nationality of the riders but in Japanese one, it said most of them were foreigners. They said that foreign people coordinated with each other about the Halloween project on the Internet, then jacked the train cars and got boozed up for over 2 hours. Since they continued to ride each stop, the Osaka Kanjo line had to delay service resulting in several stations being stuffed with angry people confused about the party. Well, I don't think train cars are a party place but I like this kind of crazy news very much; they may find a better way to have it next year :-). I also met a Santa Claus in an elevator in my friend's apartment building and he said to me, "the population is getting bigger now". Maybe he meant that he had to start delivery earlier than usual this year. ha ha ha

I can see Halloween displays everywhere in markets making it seem that Halloween is becoming accepted in Japan. I suppose many Japanese don't know the origin of Halloween but, why do they use pumpkins? Why a horror theme? Actually, I heard Halloween could be popular like this because...

1. English conversation schools have Halloween parties. Do you know there are a huge number of English conversation schools in Japan? Well, many Japanese would have the obsessive idea that they have to master English conversation... That could be a reason.

2. It might be another move in commercialism... Completely same as Valentine's Day. Amusement parks can have events like in they have in Harajuku but those are usually bad... Regular Harajuku has more of a "Halloween mood" normally. Also, the food industry can make Halloween sweets; yes even Japanese-style sweets (various types of manju). And variety shops can sell Halloween items with of course Sanrio, they can always do the same thing with that damn CAT!

Drank art, ipod nano ad at Shibuya

Today I collect some links which I like.
First one is "binge drinking" art work by a Japanese artist. The Japanese artist Tomoko Takahashi's art was drinking 48 bottles of lager beer and trying to walk across a balancing beam. It was a performance art at the Government-funded Chapter Arts Centre. Well many audience were complaining because her performance was not suitable as art at the Government-funded Chapter arts centre. Well I agree.

Second one is this, ipod nano had unique advertising at Shibiuya Station. It would be hard job. English article is under Japanese. Me? I could not get it.

This is a quirky but a little nostalgic mood short movie. BGM was played by also quirky mood band "Tama". If you like it, you can listen their song here (Click right musical note mark.)

And last one is Heart Sutra Flash, well I think this is very rare.

Service at Maid cafe is

I wrote this ; Akihabara is well known as an electric town but now it is called the Otaku's holy ground. Of course there are a lot of electronics stores, but now you will see Anime, Manga, figure shops, and many maid cafes (this is Japanese maid cafe portal site). Yes please check this post about moe moe and maid cafe.. Here and here are another good English post about maid cafes.

Usually maids work as waitresses in a cafe. In Some cafes, customers call maids "my lady" or maids call customers "my lord". When they serve Omelet & Rice, (check this post too.) they draw a heart mark or some lovely words with ketchup on top. (orz...what a stupid service!)
But recently Fukuoka Center police issued instructions to two maid cafes because they might be against the Law Regulating Adult Entertainment Businesses. Two maid cafes made "a VIP course", VIP customer can sit at counter seat and watch maids at a little distance from maid. (orz...what a silly service)

If you have been to Japan on business, you might have a business entertainment, and you might go to hostess bar in Ginza or somewhere. To have such hostess service, the shop should have a license. So even though customers don't drink alcohol, maids don't talk to customers, those special service might be against the law as "entertainment in person". That is a thought of Fukuoka Center Police. Uh...stupid news.

By they way, I am not sure foreign people like such hostess bars, and I can't understand what is good actually. But I heard real professional hostess in Ginza (most expensive area) have ability / knowledge to entertain, make customer relax, be comfortable. Since the price is not cheap (actually it is very expensive), if they can't provide good service, they will lose customers so easily. A hostess in Ginza area wrote a book "How to judge a real guy" and it made big sales. She talks to the top people of companies every night, and automatically brushes up her eyes to see guys. :-) A real hostess might have an ability more than drawing a heart on an omelette with ketchup! I found the interview part1 with the hostess. (Here's part2) It might be interesting.

To be honest with you, my friends and maybe younger people don't drink at hostess bars. Even though they have enough money for bars in Ginza, they would choose Izakaya or nice restaurant. I suppose hostess bar business might be getting hard in Japan.

Do you like cream puffs?

I did not know that Japanese cream puffs were so popular in the U.S. When I searched for Japanese cream puffs, I found many articles like this and this. Cream puffs are originally French sweets and I think the U.S. has them already. I wonder if Japanese cream puffs are different from the ones in the U.S.? I know many Japanese who live in the U.S. have left comments in their blogs like, "it's nice to eat such 'light' sweets here." For me, they're sweet enough (not "too sweet"), but I can't say they're heavy. (Now I am afraid of Cold Stone Creamery -- even an American said it is too fatty and heavy!)

Anyway, we Japanese love cream puffs. We call it Choux-Cream (Choux means cabbage in French, maybe they call it because puff looks like cabbage). In Ikebukuro, there is a place called Choux-Cream Field. We can eat various kinds of cream puffs there. I love cream puff ice cream, and my favorite cream puff is Asakasa Shirotae, which has a slightly hard, crispy puff and a very light custard with a lot of vanilla beans. Here is the Choux-Cream fan site. She has a comment on each cream puff. Well, does sweet red beans (=anko!) and strawberry cream puff seem strange?

In Hawaii, there are not only Japanese cream puffs. Red bean bread (Anpan) is becoming popular, I've heard. Kimuraya is an old Japanese bakery which has their main shop in Ginza. They have a shop in Kahala Mall in Hawaii which sells over 1000 anpan a day. There are many Japanese and Japanese tourists in Hawaii, so I can't tell if Americans like to eat it, but for me it is a little amazing that is loved not only by people from Asian countries. Anyway, if you really like it, sooner or later you will see Anpan man on TV. This is great. Don't miss it.

Romantic and decadant days of Japan

Heisei is the name of the current era in Japan. I was born in Showa which was the longest reign of all Japanese emperors. Japan went through WW2 and later its high economic growth during Showa. Before Showa and after Meiji (during which Japan underwent a huge change due to its re-opening by Matthew Perry) we had the very short period Taisho which ran from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926.

Taisho lasted only 15 years but it was the time of the liberal movement known as the "Taisho democracy" It was an interesting time when Japanese traditional style mixed with western culture after the opening the country in Meiji. We have an image for Taisho which is small, brilliant and fragile days called "Taisho Chic (Taisho Romantic) before the militarism-driven Showa period.

Modern boys and modern girls. (Another photo).  The Kimono and western apron is our typical romantic image for the Taisho period.  It was the style of the waitresses who worked in cafes. Frank Lloyd Wright built the Imperial hotel in 1912 and other modern western style building were built then as well. Unfortunately most them were damaged in the Great Kanto earthquake. Talking about art, Kasho Takahata, Yumeji Takehisa, Junichi Nakahara (born in Taisho era) were popular because of their romantic taste.  This is the a postage stamp which commemorates the famous work of Yumeji Takeshita, I like this image of a western doll and woman wearing Kimono.

The romantic and and slightly decadent mood of Taisho Chic are loved by people even today so there are still some exhibitions of Taisho period art and ads. This is a photo studio where you can get photos taken with in the Taisho style. This cafe, this Japanese hotel also makes Taisho mood.

Tsigoineruwaizen (1980) directed by Seijun Suzuki was a film that portrays the decadent mood of Taisho.  A new movie Haru no Yuki (Snow of spring) will be released this month. It is a sad love story set in the Taisho period staring popular actor Satoshi Tsumabuki (kakkoii!) and Yuko Takeuchi. It is based on the novel (thank you good English review) written by my favourite author Yukio Mishima. Here is a trailer (if you can't see, please go to the official site and click movie) ; It is beautiful, but I won't go to see such a sad story.

Do you like a fish sausage?

Recently I have noticed that fish sausage is very Japanese stuff. Is this true? An American friend of mine didn't know what it was when he first saw it. It is very similar to kamaboko. Both are made from fish meat paste. I love to eat fish sausage, and today I found a fan site. You can see many kinds of fish sausage fish sausage (yes, they are usually packed in an orange tube and also recipes. We can use it the same as ham.

I love fish sausage. Actually, it is a very easy way to add fish to a balanced diet. In older days though, our image of fish sausage was not good. Maybe people thought it was a kind of fake meat. Some ate it instead of real meat because fish sausage was cheaper than beef or pork. Then in the 70s, because of the cyclamate issue, fish sausage had difficulty surviving. But now we don't have such a bad image of it. Actually, we think it would be healthier than meat sausage since it appeals to health concerns with its rich DHA and low fat.

There are not only sausage and Kamaboko, but Hanpen, Chikuwa, Satumaage, Tumire, Naturo etc., too. We have many fish meat balls and cakes. Yes, winter foods like Oden are full of fish meat cakes. (Great Oden info!)

By the way, I found this aritcle, "Strawberry milk fish sausage," in English Google. I thought is was a joke or something, but it was true. orz... I am sorry. And I don't know why, but this healthy fish sausage has weired TV ads which look kind of gay. orz...

Your trash is someone's treasure

From the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich to Jesus in an oyster, I always enjoy the crazy things on eBay.

In Japan, Yahoo Japan is the biggest auction site (not eBay), and it is much easier to use and cheaper than eBay in the U.S. (I tried both, so I know.) This weekend I put a candy can up on Yahoo Japan, with a starting bid of 100 yen. It’s just a dirty old can that I have used to hold paper clips since 1975. I thought I should throw it away, but then I wondered if some Snoopy collector somewhere might want it. One person has already bid on it.

People in Japan have changed their attitude towards old stuff, because we’ve come to realize that everything may have some value for someone. Something that is trash to me might be a treasure to others. We learned this from Yahoo auction and a TV program called Nandemo Kantedan.

The rules of Nandemo Kantedan, which came on the air 10 years ago, are simple — guests bring items from their homes, and the show introduces them with details about their backgrounds. The guests declare how much they think their particular item is worth, and then professional appraisers reveal the real value and history of each item. This show still enjoys high ratings and actually has fueled a major antique boom in Japan.

A variety of different things have been brought in to the show. Many people bring Japanese antiques like ceramics, jars, paintings, or calligraphic writing. They often believe they own something created by a famous artist, but in many cases they are sad to be told it is just a copy or fake. But of course it is fun to watch when the owner guesses a value of 3 million yen, only to find out the real value of their treasure is closer to 5,000 yen!
One person brought in an old toy that he played with when he was kid. He had left it in the closet for many years, and guessed it would be worthless. The appraisers valued it at 1 million yen!

Thanks to this show, we have learned that original packaging makes a big difference in the value, and that even an old, dirty stuffed animal is highly valued if it is a Steiff bear. Even an old train ticket, chopstick bag, or bento wrapping paper has value for collectors. Because of this show, people have started looking for old things and checking the manufacturer or signature of items more closely. To be honest with you, even my dad checked the signature of a painting that has hung in the entrance of our home for more than 30 years!

Here is the show’s archive page were you can check out some of the items they have featured. Items include a fish print by baseball great Ichiro, and Godzilla’s foot!

Sometimes guests come onto the show from other countries. A guy from the U.S. brought this dress, which Marylin Monroe wore in the movie The Seven Year Itch. The professional appraiser said the value price was 200 milion yen. Sometimes the show goes abroad in search of treasures. Here is an article about the show going to the U.S. to appraise Douglas MacArthur’s Eastern artifacts.

An addictional lazy bone left a name

Sudoku is popular all over the world. Have you ever heard of Samegame? You would play the game, but it might have a different name like 'Chain Shot!' Samegame is originally from Japan. Yes it is a super simple game and not exciting or thrilling, but I can not stop playing it. I said I need to take a step back from game because of my "addicted" & "persistent" nature.... Here is the evidence, I did it and I could not stop for almost two hours to play. I ranked No.6. you can see it. orz....

I will complain

I can't find any interesting topics or news this week. We say "NETA GIRE" in Japanese which means "run out"?. I'm sorry, but today I will complain a little bit.

Since yesterday some Japanese sites link to this file "Super strange Diesel jeans TV ad from Italy". Well, Japanese reactions are "bimyo" = confusing. Yes, I can't understand their aim too. Look at this. It looks like a soap ad. Could you tell it is an advertisement for Diesel Jeans? In it Japanese words are wrong (I can't read it). We don't use a short split curtain in bars. I know they mean it a is bar because there is a letter "alcohol" on the curtain. The background music is not Japanese either; maybe Chinese? We don't have vending machine inside a bar like that, etc,. My impression was they made it "too easy". If they want to portray a Japanese mood, they could easily check more real Japanese cultural details. James Bond "You only live twice" had so many mistakes and details incorrect about Japan, but it was released 1967. Now you can find Japanese in your country and we can access easily collected information via the Internet. When I have to make an English manual or something at my job I always get input from a native speaker so I can't understand why they don't as well.

I see such "easy" creative things often. This is a German McDonald Asian burger Special menu. Do they mean Japanese? Chinese? We don't have such characters in Japanese. R.Kelly's Thoia Thoing is a Japanese mood PV too. I suppose they spent a lot of money to make that but I don't think any Japanese checked it even once. Some of the ladies do not wear their Kimono correctly. When you wear Kimono the correct way is "wrap the right side of the kimono over the body, then overlap it with the left side." Right on top of the left is only used to dress a corpse for burial.

Ah! Sorry I am complaining a lot . :-) Perhaps you found strange Japanese ads where they get details about your culture wrong too. I know I know.

Next is Cold Stone creamery

Finally Cold Stone creamery will come to Roppongi Hills, now they're recruiting staff. I'm a happy person now because I saw their ice cream on CBS News' web site - I wanted to try it so badly. If I try the biggest one, it has over 900kcal without toppings, though. Wow! That's more than my total calories for lunch and dinner.  You know it's almost the same as 4 rice balls, more than one beef bowl (660kcal)? Yes, actually, it looks like the Olympic torch to me - very big. Speaking of American restaurant chains and fast food, Doughnuts plant opened their third shop in Nishi-Asabu. I heard there are no lines in the shop anymore. Of course it is too early to say if they will succeed or not in Japan, but like I wrote before it's not so easy for American food chains to succeed in Japan. I was wondering if it would be harder or easier in Europe or other Asian countries so I checked McDonalds' web site for other countries, and found another interesting titbit: each item's calories are a little bit different in each country. Look! the calories for a Large French Fry is different by over 100 calories between the UK and the US. That's more calories than an apple!

McDonalds Japan
Hamburger 251kcal (109g)
Big Mac 508kcal (325g)
Large French Fries 529kcal (170g)

McDonalds USA
Hamburger 260kcal (105 g)
Big Mac 560kcal (219 g)
Large French Fries 529kcal (170g)

McDonalds UK
Hamburger 271kcal (105g)
Big Mac 493kcal (215gg)
Large French Fries 412kcal (155g)