watashi to tokyo

PEPSI bottle cap won't mess us up

PEPSI has started another Star Wars bottle cap campaign. But guess what! I don't need to drink a lot anymore and I don't need to buy a great deal of box es to collect all the caps. Here's why ! The small bag containing the bonus is a transparent one, we can see what is attached to the bottle. Actually PEPSI (more properly, SUNTRY, it s representative in Japan) started to use th e transparent bag last August since the Gundam campaign.

Th e y're using the new bags be cause the Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to Osaka-based "Pepsi Twist" manufacturer and retailer Suntry for possible violations of "truth-in-advertising" laws. Here is an article about it. We call truth-in-advertising "KEIHIN HYOUJI HO" in Japanese, it's a slightly confusing law.

I must say PEPSI bottle cap s heated us up last time, we tried to find out what was inside the bag by touching it. I t was called mo-pai technique. It comes from mah-jongg. Some mah-jongg players try to determine what tile it is by touch alone whenever they pick one. Some bought several boxes of PEPSI, but it took time and money and even so came to nothing. On the Internet, we trade cap s at inflated prices. Look at this, a stage and complete bottle cap set (60 bottle caps) were sold for around 130,000yen or so. It's crazy, a PEPSI costs less than 150yen usually.

JFC says that a hidden PEPSI bottle cap isn't a "free bonus gift", it is almost "prize promotion". The allowable maximum limitation between "free bonus gift" and "prize promotion" is different. The prize promotion should be valued at less than 2% of the value of the product they are included with.

We have had this kind of craz e about "BIKKURI MAN Chocolate" before. Kids were crazy to collect seals included inside this cheap chocolate (it was 30yen, now it is 60yen). Finally it became a social issue. Look, now old seals are sold as collector's items. A free gift seal inside 30yen chocolate is 3500yen now.

By the way, I wonder if Shokugan is okay acco r ding to the law? We don't know which toy is included in "choco egg" or such chocolate and other sweets. Actually people discussed it and some were worried Shokugan would fade away. But I read that Shokugan is a product consisting of sweets & a figure. Yes , yes , we don't get figures only when they have a campaign. So Shokugan is not a case of "truth-in-advertising. " But unfortunately, I read another sad rumor:KAIYODO won't make bottle cap figures anymore. Even on bottle caps, the quality of their products seem to be nicer than others. I hope they won't leave the Shokugan market in the future?!

A Majority of One

Listen to this funny conversation. She said you can speak the Japanese sentence "do itashimashite" (you're welcome) by saying don't touch my mustache. It is the same idea as "Hotta imo Ijiruna = What time is it now?"

Guess who the guy is in this conversation. He is Alec Guinness. The conversation is a part of the movie A Majority of One. In the movie Alec acted as a Japanese "Asano." Unfortunately--or fortunately--this movie was not released in Japan, but according to this Japanese review, the movie is very "orz..." He wrote about just a small sample, the lady visiting Asano by taxi. There is a sign "fee is 60yen" on the taxi, but the driver said "it's 2yen." Why the taxi fee would be 1/30 suddenly is very hard to understand. George Takei (starred in Star Trek) wrote about this movie in this book, here it is. Here is the page with Alec's Japanese conversation. (Hmm. I could understand some; he did pretty good sometimes.)

I won't be serious about entertainment. Actually, I am glad to know a U.S. director tried to make a movie about Japan in the 1960's. I don't like "Lost in Translation" but I would say the movie shows some real parts of Japan and it would be an interesting movie for many people. But still I will complain when I see a misunderstanding that is too bad and when it's shown as the real thing because that is one of my blog's purposes :-) I want to share the real Tokyo with people who visit my blog. I saw Memoirs of Geisha in media preview. It was a beautiful movie, I thought strongly that it is a Japanese image as seen by foreign people. I read that Kaori Momoi felt a sense of discomfort sometimes, but she accepted it because it's a U.S. movie. I will give updates on people's reaction in Japan. Especially real Geishas' reactions.

What was big in Japan in 2005

The time of "What Was Big in 2005" released by SMBChas come. As usual, they pattern the ranking on Sumo Banzuke(ranking). Here is the last year's result. Ah now I remember since Korean Soap Opera "Winter Sonata" was so big, west side champion was blank. I will show this year's result including what happened to me this year too.

No.1: (e)Aichi Expo, (w) Akiba (Akihabara)
Yes, I wrote about both of them often this year. Regarding Aichi Expo, Satuki and May's house from Totoro became a topic. For me akiba was bigger, especially I wrote about Train man many times, it took its toll on Napoleon Dynamite in the end, also maid cafes were really big, but I suppose next year many of them will be closed.

No.2: (e)Blog, (w) ipod family
I can tell you blog changed change my life, I could make good communication with people in the world and also I have to spend much time in front of my DELL. And i-pod ranked in last year's ranking. this year it's ipod family.

No.3: (e)Ai Miyasato, (w) NANA
I wrote the funny news that a train operator who was screaming "I love Aichan." I thought it would be Ai Miyasato, but I heard he meant Ai Takahashi of Morning Musume. orz... NANA became a pretty good hit in comics and movies.

No.4: (e)Kanten Diet, (w) Aquos vs Viera
I wrote about Kanten Diet on my blog and also on Japanzine too. I am still taking it before lunch and dinner. It seems to work. Aquos vs Viera means a market share competition between thin LCD monitor makers. Me? I am still using a old Sharp from 1982.

No.5: (e)Lohas, (w)Fresh foods in 100 yen shop
I love the idea of Lohas life. I want to make my life quiet, simple and as natural as I possibly can. Finally, as the Japanese economy has started to rise, people tend to be tired of cheap 100yen shop items, but recently 100yen shops are taking care of their image and also we won't tire of fresh foods as long as they are really fresh.

No.6: (e)Nodogoshi Nama, (w)Hyoketsu vs -196C
Nodogoshi Nama is a brand of Happoshu, since I don't drink beer type alcohol, I don't know its taste. In Japan beer means not only beer, also happoshu and another alcohol with some foam :-). Hyoketu vs -196C means a share competition between canned "Chuhai." Since I tried both, which do I like more? Hmm the taste is almost the same, so I pick the one which on is sale when I go to the market.

No.7: (e)Steam Oven, (w)Nintendo DS vs PSP
I wanted a steam oven, but I heard it takes really long time to cook and is not fit to be used for some types of cooking. Talking about Nintendo DS and PSP, PSP gave me many topics to write about, Katamari Damacy, Talkman etc. On that point, I like PSP!

No.8: (e)Gokusen, (w)Saodake ya wa Naze tsuburenaika
Gokusen is a popular TV drama staring Yukie Nakama. Saodake...is one of the best-sellers this year. One title is "Why bamboo pole shop can survive?" We hardly buy and change poles for laundry, so how can the pole shop (yes we have them) still survive without going out of business?

No.9: (e)Optical Image Stabilizer Digital Camera (w)Utsurun Desu Night & Day
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX9 is one of the Optical Image Stabilizer cameras. Utsurun Desu Night & Day is a disposable camera that allows you to take nice pictures at night.

No.10: (e)ETC (w)Optical fiber for home use
Since I don't have a car and hardly drive, I have no idea if ETC is working toward clearing up traffic congestion. But maybe not. There are many reason for traffic jams. Especially the biggest problem in Japan would be a lack of lanes, I suppose. Yes, yes, I am using optical fiber for the Internet. It costs 4000yen per month. Is this cheap? I am very satisfied with the speed and extra TV channels which members can watch.

Amashoku is a Japanese bread.

Korogare Tamako is a new movie that will be released soon in Japan. The title means "rolling Tamako!" (a girl's name), it's a a cute and weird girl's story. Tamako is 24 years old, her father ran away and disappeared when she and he played hide-and-seek. After that she had to be very cautious, and could not go out without a iron helmet, and only insidea inside limited area: her home, bakery, and her father's art studio (he appeared several years later). For Tamako, the time when she is "Amashoku" on her bed is the most precious happy time. As far as she eats it on her bed, her life has no problem at all.

But one day, the owner of her sweet shop is down, her mother falls in love with a young guy, and her father appears in the media. She really need to dose of Amashoku :-). Finally she tries to go out from her small territory...

Amashoku is made in Japan as "an easy bread" without fermentation. It was very popular Japanese bread before, but compared to Anpan and other Japanese breads, Amashoku is getting hard to find in bakeries. That is the another funny point of the movie actually.

[Amashoku recipe]
30g Butter
150g Sugar
1 1/2 Egg
100cc Milk

300g Soft flour
1 tbs Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar, Stir in egg and milk.
Mix Soft flour, Baking powder and Baking soda and sift them.
Add flours to butter mixture and set it aside for a while.
Put through them pastry tube about 2 inch round, push top and cut an X.
Bake at 220 degrees for 8 minutes.

Busy weekend.

I am pretty busy in this weekend, I had to do paperwork for my job, it is a kind of log analysis report. I really hate to work at home on the weekend, but tomorrow is the deadline. I just had to accept. We say "shoganai ne". And today, I cleaned and fixed some inside closets. We Japanese have a custom to have a big cleaning at year end. It is related to our Shinto religion maybe. We think we should get a new years day with a fresh mind, clean body and in a clean house. I will clean outside next week, so I wanted to fix the inside part. I did not finish it, but I did some and I decided to throw some stuff away. Like always, I try to have and keep as little as I can.

Anyway so I was busy, so let me show two funny movies. The first one is this, this is the game named "exit" which will be released soon in December. And this is their image movie. Funny, well "exit"  will be run and get exit game. The other one is this, how to fix a T-shirt like shop do. It is hard to learn? Here is pictures, I did and it worked very well.

A train operator was screaming, because...

I planned to write on another topic today, but as a Tokyo Blogger, I need to tell this news.

The train company gives me very good topics sometimes. I like story of who should be blamed? and super drunk girl in Osaka. A few days ago, this happened.

Around 9pm on November 30th, train operator (41) of Tozai line (Tokyo Metro) started to raise a queer cry in the operator's booth. Some passengers in the first car noticed it and felt anxious. Then when the train arrived at Nishikasai Station, one passenger pushed the emergency button on the platform.

A station staff member rushed to the train and judged there was nothing wrong with him; and also they did not have backup operators. The train operator kept his job and changed to the next operator 5 stops later. This accident caused a 3 minute delay in the train schedule.

A passenger said "The train operator kept shouting 'I looooooove Ai chan!' (Maybe he meant her, I suppose) and gibbered unintelligibly. People in the train were very scared."

Tokyo Metro was questioned about their reaction, but they explained that the train operator said he talked to himself but it became loud without him realising it. orz... Oh talking to himself, he was.

Here is another funny post about Tozai line, check it out!

Why a cat isn't in the Chinese Astrology

Whew! Today was a busy day for me. To express such a situation, we say "Neko no temo karitai!" It means "I want help even from cats." Cats are very popular pets in Japan. Actually, I have many friends who spoil their cats. As I wrote in the Bakeneko post, we have many negative words and phrases relating to cats.

"Neko ni koban" (a coin to a cat) = Don't offer thing to people who are incapable of appreciating them (similar to the English phrase "Pearls before swine").

"Neko no hitai hodo semai" (narrow like a cat's forehead) = too narrow and small a place.

"Neko no meno yoni" (like a cat's eye) = as changeable as a chameleon.

Some Asian countries have the Earthly Branches, or as we say, Chinese Astrological Animal Signs / Zodiac. Except for the dragon, it is made up of very common animals. So why is the cat not one of them? Basically it came from China, so what Japan has is a funny anecdote.

One day God said he would choose 12 animals as symbols of the years in the calendar cycle. He would choose them in the order they came to him on New Year's Day. The animals were excited and waited for the New Year. But the cat forgot when he was supposed to visit. He asked the rat, who purposely told him to arrive a day late. The cat missed his chance and this is the reason cats hate rats. But look at this, this cat is afraid of a rat. Oh, and I melted when I saw this movie too!

It's a lovely story, isn't it? And when I checked the story, I found the Mongols and even the Russians had this Earthly Branch system, and Thailand, Vietnam, the Mongols, and Belarus have a cat in their Earthly Branches. Wow, I didn't know that.

Anyway, I went to the Figure Complex. It is smaller than I supposed but there were waitresses wearing blond, bob-style wigs, tight jackets, shorts, and knee-high boots. They are very cute. I will have an update about this later on Japanzine.

The Unique restaurants in Tokyo 1

America is the birthplace of theme restaurants, right? Hard Rock Cafe would be the prototype for theme restaurants, right? (There are 7 shops in Japan). Planet Hollywood, which many actors invested in, failed, I heard. How is it going in its home country? In my personal opinion, theme restaurant = candyfloss! I am always disappointed by the food. So basically I have no interest at all. There are such types of places in Japan. This is Oiran restaurant . Oiran was a high-ranking courtesan (prostitute) in old Japan. Hospital in Alcatraz ER... Would you feel like eating in such a place? I don't think it would be fun. For me they look just so cheap and distasteful, so I will not recommend those places. I choose some theme restaurants which I may try by myself here. Here they are

Unique restaurant in Tokyo
NINJA AKASAKA
Please click the right red button, you can check the interior. Many people said they enjoyed the place; then Prime minister Koizumi visited there with his son. You can enjoy Japanese cuisine.

Namahage
Namahage is a traditional custom in Akita pref. On New Year's Eve, a scary hoodman with a knife and bow visits each house so loudly, that it removes bad and brings good fortune. You can enjoy the Namahage performance and specialties of Akita, too.

Ebisu Dagashi Bar
This is a mom-and-pop candy store / bar. I suppose it was still such when I was little kid. There are Japanese mom-and pop candy stores around every school. Kids buy candy, gum, smoked cuttlefish, etc. You may try alcohol with such Japanese snacks freely! Since this place is in Ebisu, the next stop from my job, I will try it sooner or later. There is the same bar in Roppongi too.

Cube HATAGO
This is a Japanese bar (Izakaya), built up with an "Old Japanese Inn"(Hatago) style. You can enjoy each different area of Japan in each room; there is a specialroom which has a bath, powder room, and Yukata (room clothes). They change the layout and decor each season.

Vampire Cafe
I like the decadent, "fin de siecle" world of Vampires. So if someone treats me, I may visit here, ha ha ha.

Food theme park
Now, here are some food theme parks which are well-established in Japan.

Yokohama Ramen Museum. This is not in Tokyo, but in Yokohama, very near Tokyo. I am surprised that 10 years have passed since their opening, yet I have never been there. :-o. Ramen is interesting food. For some people, it is an important soul food, and very worthy to stimulate your senses deep down. For others, it is a sort of junk food. Anyway, you may try various famous ramen from Japan all at once, and get ramen souvenirs. Please try it.

Isezaki Curry Museum
This is in Yokohama too. Here is an introduction to the site in English. You can eat a variety of the world's curry here. Did you know that in Japan, curry is a very, very popular food? In research of kids favorite foods, curry always ranks in the best five. (In this research, 1.Sushi, 2.BBQ 3. Hamburgar steak 4. Curry, 5. Tonkatsu) Considering that we don't have a close history like the UK has to India, this is very interesting. Japanese curry is heavier and soup-like because of additions like cut vegetables. This is far from original Indian curry. So although we call it curry, maybe it became our original, curry-like food. We arrange this Japanese curry into udon, cup noodles, snacks, etc.

Chinese Meat Dumpling Museum
In this place you can eat varieties of Chinese meat dumplings. In China, steamed or boiled dumplings are the regular style, I heard. But in Japan roasted Jiao-zi is the regular one. It is very easy to cook frozen Jiao-zi, but I cook it by myself by wrapping pasta and meat. Anyway, in Japan, Utsunomiya city of Tochigi is a famous place for Chinese meat dumplings.

Sweets Forest
This is the place where many cakes shops gather in Jiyugaoka. If you have a chance to go to Jiyugaoaka, I would recommand Mont St. Clair. This is world-famous patissier Hironobu Tsujiguhi's shop. Please try one, it is small jewelry.