watashi to tokyo

Britney 's new music video

You knew already, 'Britney Spears gets into toon' in her next song video. I checked this morning and I was a little bit surprised to see that あれ！攻殻じゃん！Did you see that? If not, check this site. Pass is 'victory' and 'danger'. You wil know that the music video seems to be a mixture of Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 'inner universe' and the Ghost in the Shell classic movie

I am very relaxed and lazy at home this weekend. I will pick funny topics that I found on the net.

Tell me, those two topics are jokes, right? Not true stories, right? 'This is a joke right? Kansas woman sat on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years' No way, it is impossible to stay in the toilet for two years.

'A town in South America is living in fear after several sightings of a 'creepy gnome' that locals claim stalks the streets at night. ' What is that?? Of course it is Kemuru. He can skip faster than a police car basically. So I am glad to know they could survive.

I enojoyed this game 'shift'. Pretty good game.

busy day

Ha ha ha ha ha sooooo dark ; "human crayon". This might be a good gift for my friend's baby.

Great blog! I will check this blog more today ; "Photoshop Disasters" . They don't check before publishing? Look! okay?, scary

Very interesting article from wired. "Japanese more sensitive than westerners to the big picture". This is very good timing for me, because I had a small episode last week. This may sound strange, but when I write email to foreign people, I have to think about the "subject." What I feel, what I think, what I mean. Without really thinking about it, I tend to just talk generally. This article might be related too: "In Asia, the Eyes Have It". By the way, I am Asian, but I could not make this!! Try this aweareness test DOTHETEST"".

nothing special day

I laughed when I read about this news: 'Client 9'. Why?? So I made a haiku. 'Eliot! Why?! Eliot, Eliot.' I think you can understand Haiku easily; it has such a free style and a few words can express a lot of feeling.

Ah! He made a great discovery!! Clouds and Grass have the same shape in Super Mario Bros! They would do this to scale down the file size.

I read an interesting post. Since guys' hobbies segment after their teens, guys' magazines are specialized into bike, car, fishing, modeling, etc. magazines. But women's interests are always in fashion and beauty. So there are hundreds of general women's magazines all with the same concept. An An or Zipper for teens, JJ or Vivi for women in their 20s, Very and BAILA for 30s, Precious and Grace for 40s. I heard that a new magazine 'Hers' will be released soon and it's targeted for women in their 50s. Hmm I don't read magazines, but I check UTAKAMA magazine's official blog sometimes. This month, their topic is 'go to see grandma!' They introduce grandma's wisdom and ingenuity and recipes.

Wow interesting. 'Hidden Brain Imaging in Renaissance Masterpieces?' I thought that the shape in Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' was made like that on purpose, but I thought it was a heart.

Amazing, Southern White-faced Owl has strange reactions. When he sees something smaller than himself, he tries to make himself bigger and bigger, but when he sees something bigger than himself or feels scared, he makes himself thinner and thinner with a strange face. I guess he wanted to look like a tree.

This video is hot on the Internet in Japan. It is a demonstration performed by instructors of a driving school. Everybody says it is '地味だけどすごい"' (JIMI DAKEDO SUGOI). To express this phrase the same way in English, I checked the online dictionary, here is the result. I don't know which one is closer to what I want to mean. I don't think 'it's nothing special but great' (actually it's special) or 'it's somber but great' (hmm I am not exactly sure about 'somber'). When we say JIMI in a positive sentence, it means it has a lack of showiness but it is done well or is of good quality.

The unique restaurants in Tokyo3

This is an interesting site: 'Do you believe in God?' People in the world answered the simple question 'Do you believe in God?' The result of Japan is Yes 31% & No 69%. I didn't reply, because I am not sure I am believe in God actually. I can sense some holiness or power in many things like a blue sky, a huge ocean,

morning light, the perfect beauty of flowers etc...but I won't give them any name.
I read WAKAME is getting popular in Spain and Spanish cooking shows have wakame recipes sometimes. Do you eat wakame? I love it, it has rich minerals and no calories, very healthy food. The most popular way to eat wakame is miso soup in Japan, but the easiest way to eat wakame is wakame salad. I recommend this wakame and cucumber sunomono too. You can use mayo instead of those vinegar souces -- it's mayo wakame salad. Simple, but yummy and healthy food.

I wrote these posts the unique restaurants in Tokyo1 and the unique restraunts in Tokyo2. Basically I don't go to those theme restaurants, but of course it will be nice for tourists. When I was asked some recommendations, I replied to them 'Akasaka Ninjya' or 'Gonpachi'. Since I didn't write about unique restaurants, I will pick some from the restaurant group 'Diamond Dining' today. They make various types of restaurants with Japanese themes, fairy tales, etc. I don't think you can experience really nice food or authentic style, but as entertainment, you may enjoy them.

Tsubomi : Their theme is flowers. They have unique flower bud tables. You can enjoy Japanese food and soba. The shop is in Shinjuku near Isetan department store.

Temari : Their theme is Japanese ball 'temari'. They have temari shaped tables. Their main dish is small round sushi 'temari zushi' (small round sushi). The shop is in Shinjuku near Mitsukoshi department store.

Taiga no Mai : Their theme is Samurai. Taiga is named from NHK history Taiga drama. They say they serve meals related to some well known samurai. The shops is also in Shinjuku, next to Isetan department store.

Yozakura Bijin : Their theme is Yukaku (red-light district) in Edo. You can enjoy Japanese food and alcohol in such colorful rooms. You may think this is the world of SAKURAN. Those yukaku were protected by guards. SO this Yozakura Bijin also has a guard restaurant Dateotoko next to it. Dateotoko serves chiken mainly. Those two places and a burglary theme place Shichiemon, are all in Ikebukuro.

the end of winter

'Hands up! How your fingers reveal so much about you...' My ring finger is longer than my index finger. ~This type is also associated with high deprivation and greater poverty~...ha ha ha you suck.

I was drunk and in a very happy mood on Saturday night. I remember I laughed so hard that tears came out when I saw this post 'miserable statues in the snow' on nifty portal Z. That is funny, but not really funny to the point of tears. Now I realize what it was. This looks like 'Spot' to me.

I picked this 'can't launch English lesson' video on YouTube. That video series has very high viewership worldwide. I checked out other Japanese videos with high viewership. Here is one. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Japanese pranks

I went to Odawara Soga Bairin 'Plum orchard' last week. We say that plum flowers signal the end of winter and Cherry blossoms signal the peak of spring. After the trees flower, they produce a lot of UME plums, which are used to make plum products like Umeshu or Umeboshi. I really love this Hiroshige's ukiyoe Kameido Ume yashiki of Meisho Edo Hyakkei (it's a very artistic ukiyoe. Gogh loved it very much too and made a copy of it. The left one is Gogh's copy, the right one is Hiroshige's original. I picked this site a long time ago. He visited the exact same place that the Ukiyose depicted. You can see how Tokyo has changed. Talking about wood prints, I found this site. His motifs are roofs, very nice.

Strange fujoshi game

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The names of actors and actresses of the movie 20th Century Boys were released. Wow, nice! They are similar in appearance to each character.

I read some guys would love to try a men's bra, Like this one? I understand some pepople like to feel tight on the chest. They might feel easy, the heart part is protected or warm. Don't you think so?

I picked some great artistic mom's handmade bento(lunch box) like this and this. They are called 'chara ben', it stands for character bento and usually their bento motif is cute characters or anime characters (ah, moyashi mon!) which children would love to see and eat. I found another type of artistic bento. She made bento from a CD jacket! Wow, great job.

Do you know Fujoshi (腐女子)? The word is written 'rotten girl'. It is the internet slang that means otaku girls who like anime, manga, games, mainly those of Akiba culture. Fujoshi in different kanji (婦女子) means 'female', so it is a sort of a play on words. By the way, a new game 'DUEL LOVE' that Fujoshi would love was released and it became a topic on the net. There are nice looking boys and you take care of them. Here are some captures of the game. 'Wipe his sweat', if you can do it nicely, you can send him into ecstasy. If you do it rough, he will get angry. 'Blow the steam from the shower room'. Blow the steam inside the shower room with a touch pen so that you can see him nude..............orz....weird.　きもっ

It was busy day

I took off the day today because I needed to go to the Tax office for an income tax report and after that the dentist. What a busy day. At the dentist, I had to have neurotherapeutics but I didn't feel any pain. The method of treatment is really getting better. I am glad to know it.

Alice sent this post: 'How to find out what side of the brain you are using?' Thank you Alice! I see her spinning clockwise. At any rate I can't see she is spinning counter-clockwise.

The toy maker BANDAI released a cockroach robot 'HEX BUG'. The Bug reacts to sounds, so you can enjoy controlling bugs. I guess people who hate those bugs won't like this toy. Here is the movie. Ahh orz.....

Randoseru is a leather backpack for elementary school children. When I was a kid, boys used black colored ones and girls used red colored ones, but recently children choose various colors like sky blue or pink.　In Japan, the end of March is the graduation season, this article said a service that makes a small randoseru from an old one after graduation is getting popular. That is a good idea, many many good memories will be packed in a randoseru.

I was born in Tokyo. But there are many places I have never been before in my life. Actually I went to Tokyo Tower just several years ago because my foreign friend asked me to go there with him. Today's nifty portal Z picked the tourist center in Shinjuku. Then I realized I have never been to tourist centers actually. They said the leaflets for foreign tourists are so interesting. They said the Japanese foods don't look great at all (actually they look so bad for us) and there are many shops and restaurants that are not popular for us at all. Yes, but it will be the same in other countries. Last year I went to Taiwan, but the shops that guide books or tourist sites recommended were not good at all.

bored

I think I wrote about this before, but it's okay. Rice cookers are very convenient, I cooked KAKUNI (cubed pork braised in soy sauce) last night. You can cook it easily with just a can of coke, soy sauce, and some sliced ginger. Put everything in the rice cooker and push the button. After 50 minutes or so, it will be done.

Anyway, today is such a slow day, I can't find any good topics to write about.   
Panasonic has an ATOM powered UMPC. Hmm it's too big for me to carry around. I need a thin one.

He is cooking a fish by using his CHI. What a handy man! I am not good at cooking fish.

I found this 'Battlestar Galactica Last Supper' picture on Boing Boing. Cool! For more 'Last Supper' pictures, WTBW has great collection.

今日はなーーーーーーーーーーーーーーんにも　あげるネタがないので　以上！(nothing to pick anymore. thanks)

small topics

Ha ha ha look at this: 'Airport Security Checkpoint, From Playmobil' . Reviews on Amazon are funny, check them out.

I am so impressed by this news: 'Black Fungus Found in Chernobyl Eats Harmful Radiation. Sounds like the world of Nausica_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind

I mentioned that Obama city in Fukui pref. supports Barak Obama. Then Obama sent a thank you letter to Obama city. I don't like this story because I think Obama city is trying to take advantage of the U.S election for its own publicity. I don't think it is good idea for a member of an official body to support a foreign political candidate or party.

Ex-Sumo wrestler KONISHIKI had a gastric bypass operation. He weighed about 600 pounds, which caused a lot of health problems.

I like this idea. YURIKAMOME is a monorail line run between Shiodome (where I work) and Odaiba. Last March, they had a special 'night scene' train. They turned off all lights in the train car so riders could enjoy the nice night view of Odaiba. They will have it again this year on March 22^nd, it will be so romantic.

Japanese original western food

I wrote about Japanese original foods with foreign country names.

Turkey rice : It is fried rice with pork cutlet and spaghetti. There are several stories about the origin of this name. Some said it came from Turkey, but I don't think a pork cutlet food came from an Islamic country. Some said fried rice meant China and Spaghetti meant Europe. Pork cutlet is the bridge between Western and Eastern, so that the meal was called Turkey. Hmm, it sounds reasonable but it's too much. Some said Spaghetti was red, rice was white, there are three colors on the dish. So the meal was called "tricolor" first. This sound very true for me. There are many such stories for that name, and we don't know the truth actually.

American dog : I tried to find why we call it American dog sometimes but I couldn't find any information. Maybe it came from the U.S simply.

Napolitan : Long pasta with Tomato Ketchup or tomato-based sauce, onion, button mushroom, green peppers, sausage, bacon and Tabasco sauce is called Napolitan. It was made at Hotel New Ground in Yokohama. After ww2, the hotel was used by GHQ and there is still a room where Douglas MacArthur stayed. The hotel must have cooked some western-like food for GHQ. That would be the reason why Napolitan was made there. This blog is a Napolitan blog, he eats napolitans almost everyday.

Siberia cake : This is sponge cake with sweet beans cake "Yokan". I read the name comes from the fact that it looks likes a railway or the frozen ground of Siberia.

All foods are Japanese original but look like some western foods. We call such food "Yoshoku". Here is the typical Yoshoku menu.
Curry rice : Of course, the original is Indian curry. Japanese curry is more sticky and heavy. Like wiki said, it is arranged into curry udon"" or "curry pan". My Indian friend said, Japanese curry is completely different from India but he likes Japanese curry too.

Korroke : It's a deep fried dish originally related to a French dish "croquette". Popular korrokke is mashed potato and mince meat. I loved the one with crab meat and white cream. In Japan, Korrokes are sold in the meat shop, freshly-fried ones are so delicious.

Hayashi rice : It's a kind of stew that contains beef, onions, and button mushrooms, in a thick demi-glace sauce which often contains red wine and tomato sauce. We eat it with rice. The name would come from hashed beef.

Cutlet and fried : Pork, chicken cutlet is typical menu item of Yoshoku. Actually an assortment of fried dishes (this would be shrimp, oyster, crab and cream) was my favorite menu when I went to yoshoku shops.

Omuraice : It's fried rice covered by omelet. If you watched the Japanese movies Tampopo, you would remrmeber the Omulet.

Yoshoku restaurants were popular after ww2 because people sensed some western mood there, but the number of Yoshoku restaurants are declining. Maybe it is easy to try original western and ethnic foods, and most yoshoku menu items are possible to cook at home because we don't need to use any special seasoning for them. But still people love those "original Japanese western foods" :-). In Tokyo, Yoshikami in Asakusa, Taimeiken in Ginza are well known. (Taimeiken serves that Tampopo omurice). Here is an English menu of Yoshoku restaurant in Yokohama.