robbsblog

Guide to public toilets in Tokyo, and how to use them

2006-12-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

Animated guide about how to use a toilet:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~AD8Y-HYS/movie.htm

Tokyo toilet map:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~AD8Y-HYS/index_e.htm
>Be sure to click on the top image of a toilet to read the administrator's story.
>Go back and enter the 'clean' and 'dirty' toilets zones.

Sourced from a story in the Japan Times by excellent columnist Alice Gordenker. You may need to register to view the article.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20061219wh.html

"Local Dentist Attacks Gorilla at Zoo"

2006-12-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

Watch as they operate on a gorilla.

back in California

2005-11-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

View from my apt. (no shit)
drinking with the locals

I've been back in San Diego now since September. School started and there's hardly any free time. Besides, life in the US seems so boring compared to Tokyo. Just lots of studying, some beach time, and a drink or two on weekends with friends. Thanks for checking out this blog, that's all for now.

Trip to Osaka

2005-09-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

I had to go to Osaka for my 'final interview' at the Sanyo HQ, and went by bullet train. Stopped in Nagoya to see an old friend who's back from 3 years traveling in Asia then hitchhiking from Laos to the western tip of Ireland; had a salmon 'variety' bento on the train- egg, salmon sushi, salmon roe, more salmon... In the station Takashimaya's restaurant section I found one of the restaurants of Iron Chef Chinese, Chen Kenichi, and decided to do the 2600 yen lunch set. It came with his signature dish, mabo tofu, which was really tasty.
Continuing south before sleeping in Osaka, I stopped off at Nara to see Nara park and the Great Buddha. Deer wander freely and people feed them in the park; the buddha may be the biggest in the world. It is perhaps my favorite historical site in Japan, quite breathtaking and hard to understand the size and magical powers that you only get in person.

another typhoon

2005-09-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of my worst fears has happened... I have left something of value on the train. In Japan, dry-cleaning shop hours are ridiculous. I was late to meet my friend Phil for dinner, but could pick up my week's shirts only between 6-7pm. I decided to take them with me and lock them up in a locker at the station when I got there. So Phil and I chatted over beers and yakitori in Takadanobaba. When we got out, the typhoon rains had rolled in, and by the time we got to the station 5 minutes later, we were totally soaked. I got my bag out of the locker, got on the train, and set the bag up on the rack. At the 1st express stop, I transferred to the local train, and trudged home in the rain. That's when I figured what I 'd left behind, and it's too miserable out to go back to the train station now.
I'm hoping to get the stuff back, my receipt with name and phone number was on it. This happened twice before, and I'm 2 for 2. Once left my scooter on top, and despite that train having gone at least a hundred km down the line, I got it back a few hours later. Another time, in Kyoto area, I left my (parents') Nikon in a phone booth outside of a train station, then got back home an hour away without it. I chatted with the police about it, they made a phone call, and it was still there. This is my last week at work and in Japan and I'm trying to see as many friends as possible, so getting these back would save lots of hassle regarding clean and appropriate clothes. Now I'm exhausted and once again too tired to answer the piles of emails I've gotten or call home. I have to go to bed and wake up extra early.

Dinner with the professor

2005-08-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Thursday was pay day. That's always called "zangyo zero" no overtime. Everyone goes home at 5:30. This time people actually obeyed, as the typhoon was supposed to roll in soon. Already was windy and rainy. Last month the department all went out for sushi, this time only Kita san and my boss remained. Kita is a bona fide alcoholic and never refuses invitations, he's already destined for the oden shop as stop #1. So the three of us had dinner there, or actually 2 people ate. I paid the bill, a big gesture since they usually do that but I was overdue. It was about $100, I was still hungry. We went to an old prewar building that is now a bourbon specialty bar. Had some Old Granddad and blue cheese, mixed nuts, then went home in the calm before the storm rolled in a few hours later.

Friday Professor Hoshi came to town, so some of the SD alumni organized a party at an okonomiyaki shop in Suidobashi, near Tokyo Dome. It was lots of fun meeting Japanese alumni, then a chat with the professor, who is one of the most famous Japanese economists. My old neighbor T from SD was there, and we had to ride the train home together. He works at the Ministry of Economy/Trade/Industry, overseeing 26 people. He said about 5+ of those people do nothing, but can't be fired and aren't good workers. Anyways if he gave them work, he'd be busier than already. Anyways at my station I got hungry and went to the ramen shop that's a dive and always plays Beatles. By now it was midnight and most people were drunk and half asleep. The place was full, and people were smoking while waiting for their food. I got a fried chicken fried rice with soup, and was shocked that I finished it all. Just before I left a guy came in and ordered a huge meal. Then he put his head on the counter and fell asleep. The waitress brought his food, woke him up, and he started eating. I left, stumbled home, and crashed.

2005-08-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Soba
From Karaki's house
Matsumoto Castle

more misato pics

2005-08-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Yoshiki and Akari
Keigo, 4

Nagano highlights

2005-08-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

Students at their Seijin Shiki
former students, one on left was an English prodigy with University ambitions. I always saw her at her parents' soba shop. She failed an exam to go to the local top high school and commuted 90 mins to another high school, this is how she's changed.
rice
Nitta twins, both at the same art University
pears
Going back to my old home in Nagano, I saw many old friends and did lots of fun stuff; highlights were with yoga friend June and her family, the Nakamuras (my 'host' family and apple farmers), and Karaki Sensei from taiko drum class. I went to a taiko performance and the ceremony was the annual 'adult become' ceremony for 20 year-olds. Didn't know in advance, but all the kids were my students from 6 years ago. Good to see many, and I remebered lots of names. Going for dinner with some next week in Tokyo. Spent 2 mornings picking Shinano Red apples and Nashi Asian pears. Stayed with the Nakamuras for Obon, the time of remembering the dead. I went with them to the family cemetary and laid incense on the graves, then lit fireworks. The grandkids are all in English classes and once in a while shout out words in context. One of them is 4, the others are 10 and 6. One of the adults there needed to talk to someone about tantra, a new discovery of his, and something that's an off-limits topic with any other Japanese he knows. Another showed me his lifework, many oil paintings, and said that he just does apple farming to pay the bills. Returning to Tokyo has totally thrown off my body rhythms. 3 hour daily commutes, vitamin drinks, 2 restaurants a day, beer to make you hit the sack, then wake up an hour before you're ready to catch the last possible train to get you to work before the 9am bell and meeting.

Back from Nagano

2005-08-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

Just back from a week holiday in Misato, Nagano, where I used to live. Work's kicking into gear now that time is short and results are expected. Picked some apples and pears and saw lots of old friends and students. Adjusting to this city life is next to impossible when quality of life is so good in the country.
Swam tonight, was asked to remove my yellow "Livestrong" bracelet by a lifeguard because it's dangerous. Others are swimming with similar rubber bracelet with the metal locker key flying around their wrist, go figure. Going to a factory tour all day tomorrow 2 hours outside the city. More to come when there's more time.

Friday Night Baseball

2005-08-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone at work was waiting for the bell to ring at 5:30, the start of the 1 week summer vacation. Hot and humid, everyone sweaty and a little smelly, last-minute questions of where are you going, then yeah, I remember I already asked you last week. Most people took off right away, and I took the subway to meet Bill at Tokyo Dome. The area around it is very futuristic and a great attraction. The complex has a big hotel, a spa, a ferris wheel and roller coasters, and is hard to describe, but pretty futuristic. http://www.tokyo-dome.co.jp/e/map/
Met Bill and we went to a 7-11 and stuffed our bags with beer cans. Cans aren't allowed in, so they have ladies in the entranceway who pour your beers into paper cups.

Bill's seats were season tickets that were courtesy of the US Embassy, so they were right behind home plate, which was great. We didn't watch much of the game, especially since Tokyo Giants' star players (Kiyohara, Tuffy Rhodes, etc.) weren't in the lineup and the din of mindless mass cheering, as if even the game is secondary to the shouting. Mostly we caught up on news and chatted, and watched the concession ladies (they're all young girls in neon uniforms) as they walked by. Most have mini kegs attached to their backs and pour 800yen beers in seconds. Picture highlights are the star of David at the entrance with Chagall images, and a KFC chicken ring snack...

Friday morning

2005-08-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Started off about 5 minutes early but turns out there was a train delay anyways. I didn't understand the announcement, but soon Shirin came in the same train car. We know which one to get in to position ourselves near the stairs at the transfer station. A few cars away, and we'd be in the mob and miss at least one train. The come every 2 minutes, but it's still important. So when the train doors open, it's like when you have to go to the bathroom and you've held it in for 30 minutes, all of a sudden there's a burst into the toilet, that's what happens when the train doors open. We just run for the stairs, relieved. But the announcement was 'person-body' accident, which usually means someone jumped in front of the train. I looked shocked and Shirin says it happens all the time. I guess they cleaned up the mess and in 10 minutes we were moving. At the transfer station, attendants were handing out slips of paper. I took one, and later found out they're slips that say why you were late, and you're supposed to give it to your boss. Just like back in school days for us.

My excitement came today with a phone call from the president of the SEIA, the premier Solar lobby organization in the USA. He is a Michigan alum, and we talked about Sanyo USA joining. He said he and SEIA were responsible for the large tax credit for solar energy in Bush's recent bill, a huge victory for the industry. He was kind and offered to get in touch with him when I graduate.

meeting a Jew while buying milk

2005-08-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I met Adi, a teacher friend I used to know in Nagano, near Ogikubo station at 8 and we went to his house. After we agreed on a percentage, I gave him the disc and he downloaded the file I'd been working on for him. To celebrate, he took me to the outdoor yakitori stand in front of the station, and we had beers and lots of chicken with onions, mushrooms, even duck. I took a cab towards home, but had to go to the store for milk. The cabbie didn't know the place and I walked a bit. When I was looking for milk (I always look for Nagano milk but this time, late Sunday at 11pm, most of the stuff was gone), some guy came up from behind me and asked me in English why I was scrutinizing the milk so much. I told him what I knew, and he was interested in me- why I was in Japan, and why I knew about Nagano. He'd come to the store for a lightbulb. We exchanged cards and I realized he was Jewish, South African, and he said he had a business in Detroit. He bought a warehouse years ago full of 60's Motown soul-funk fashion (brands like Prince Mauricio and Pierre Foshey), new, and has been wholesaling the stuff ever since, making crazy profits here in Japan for instance. I told him about myself and he was pretty amazed to have met a Jewish guy from Detroit here at the store. We walked out and he invited me to his place for a drink.
Diamond is his name. He seems about 40, like a hippie but not dirty, and talking so fast and fragmented that I think he was either on speed or bipolar or something. Turns out he comes from a Hasidic family and was in the diamond business until he got fed up, says he lives in Cape Town, London, Tokyo and Detroit. Tomorrow he's going to Bangkok to have a cavity filled, and to relax, not sure when he'll be back. His house was a turn-of-the-century old-style place, all wood and tatami, and decorated with Nepalese hangings, drums, random artifacts, and boxes of funk clothes. He gave me a banana shake and started to roll a cigarette. The process was finished in a flash, all done while giving me a monologue, calling one of his girlfriends, changing the channel, etc. We chatted for a bit about who knows what, but was totally entertaining and he promised to get me in touch with Benjy when he gets back, who knows everyone in town. LD took me home in his van as he went out to visit one of his girls, both of us not knowing how to get anywhere.

Jazz with Aliya and Les McCann

2005-08-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

I’ve always wanted to go to the Blue Note Tokyo, but the prohibitive price means that it’s never worth it unless a phenom comes to town. I saw the listing for Soul Survivors, including the great Les McCann on piano (from Les McCann and Eddie Harris, “Swiss Movement”) and Cornell Dupree on guitar with others. I knew Aliya from UCSD would go, so we made reservations and got in. The place was in the very classy Aoyama near Omotesando Doori, like the Champs Elysses of Tokyo. We had gin drinks and some olives, and then showtime! Les was so old and fat that he had to have 2 handlers help him onstage. This added to the suspense- Ruben Gonzales from Buena Vista Social Club was nearly wheeled onstage when I saw them in Tokyo, and he tore the roof off the place. Unfortunately Les McCann had nothing, and even his keyboard sound was the cheesiest 1980s noise. Dupree was great, but the best part of the short night was when Aliya went up to give Les a hug at his table. He cut off the conversation with another girl and Aliya put her arm around him. He was pretty drunk I think (even though Aliya is beautiful) and was carried away with her presence. He asked me where I was from but didn’t really care, saying “Toledo- dat’s too bad.” But he did make me drink his beer and guess what it was. When Asahi wouldn’t do, he said Asahi with 2 shots of vodka… the only way to drink a beer.

dinner with Masako

2005-08-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

My friend Mineko from Keio NY introduced me to Masako last summer in a Cuban bar in Roppongi. She’s also at least 30. I liked her, she’s cute, so I got in touch with her and we’ve gone out a few times. She asked me to join her because her French friends were in town, in transit during their honeymoon. We took a cab to the restaurant, a traditional sit-down-on-tatami place with seats for about 30 at long tables facing a small stage. The waiters and waitresses became performers for a show, with shamisen, taiko drums, shakuhachi flutes. When not performing they chatted up the guests, mostly older Japanese seeking nostalgia, probably tourists. People were pretty drunk and pretty happy. The French weren’t used to sitting on the floor, hadn’t eaten sushi or tofu, or drunk rice wine. They enjoyed everything overall, but you could see the guy wondering about how people survived on this crap. Anyhow it was good company, and Masako was proud to show her friends her culture. The musicians were great. Turns out the youngest shamisen player, a boy about 20, had just won the all-Japan shamisen competition. This restaurant, in fact, is famous, and it’s the place where the now infamous Yoshida Kyodai played until they broke out. Towards the end of the meal, Masako’s colleague from Sumitomo Ship Sales came. Yuki was a 24 year-old girl who grew up in Belgium and spoke fluent French and English. She was really cool. We took the train together at the end of the night and exchanged numbers. But she and Masako work together so if I wanted to take out Yuki, Masako could find out and I don’t want to burn bridges. Advice? Anyways finished another night drunk with friends, again taking the last train home. Even the damn late trains are packed like sardines. You take a deep breath and have to say excuse me to the person you’re bumping.

Lunch with the President of S&M

2005-08-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today all 4 of us interns were taken out to lunch by S~ Kaicho, kai means company and cho is head. He’s the head of Sanyo Sales and Marketing, one of the top guys in the whole company for sure. He seems very not busy and the entire staff of hundreds of SM is in Osaka, while he works in Tokyo with only a secretary. But he’s very bright and it’s quite an honor for us to be hosted by him. He is quiet and has a sense of humor, and always pays. Once at a nomikai (drinking party) I told him how much I like eating oyako donburi and he said he knew a specialty shop for it. Today he took us there. There were 2 items on the menu: regular for $10 and hi quality for $15, meaning free-range eggs and better chicken. It was really excellent, and there were large jars of takuwan, or daikon pickles, on each table. But the atmosphere was pretty stodgy compared to my other favorite oyakodon specialty shop, Kawanakajima. I’ll talk more about that later.
The new intern, an Indian girl of 20, seems not to know much about Japanese language or culture even though she’s lived here as a student for 3 years. She was talking to S~ like he was at her service, and also during the meal stuck her chopsticks in the rice. That’s a top level cultural blunder, done only at funerals. Then we walked the grounds of Tokyo U (Todai) and finally around Ueno park, all in 35 degree weather. We were so hot and sweaty that we couldn’t really work for the rest of the afternoon. But I had a big night coming up, so I drank my Pocari Sweat, finished work, and headed out to Asakusa to meet my Masako.

Fuji Rock Festival 2005

2005-07-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

The plan was to pay for nothing. Daily tix went for about $150 and campsite $25. Colored wristbands signified what kind of access you had. We snuck into the campsite easily and set up the tent, but Baz got rejected. He had to store his bags in a locker. There were thousands of tents set up mostly on slopes of a golf course. We staked ours really high up, on a flat under a pine tree. It started to pour, but it was showtime, about 4pm. Baz found a 'scalper' selling for $75 and we all ended up paying. There were thousands of Japanese 20/30 somethings in totally unique fashions. The place had about 7 stages spread out at the base of a few mountains with chairlifts swaying idly in the background. A village of food stands from countries around the world, and beer shacks, had been set up and there was a lot of action. We walked around all the areas in a mist and got all muddy. The mood came together watching Steel Pulse who had a great set. I caught the tail end of Coldplay, nothing great to say. I knew Foo Fighters packed a lot of power, and got in right in front of the soundboard and waited with the thousands... Then came Dave Grohl and the band. This guy is truly a rock star, a huge stage personality with crazy energy- a great motivator, guitar player, singer. I was reminded of Bono or Mick Jagger. He was wearing a Kiss t-shirt. At the end of the set he got on the drums which thrilled a lot of people.

Next morning was hot and I needed a shower. I got in a line for a cold shower and it turned out to be a 3 hour line. I took the damn shower and soon it was pissing down rain. We found a way to sneak in, and the highlights were gonna be Asian Dub Foundation, Beck, Fatboy Slim. I felt totally yucky and my body hurt from the last 24 hours, and just cut out. Took the shuttle to Echigo Yuzawa station, in the center of a bunch of hot springs. I took a taxi to one, booked a massage, then did the bath thing. It was super hot, and great. There was a tea leaf bath with bubbles rising from underneath, outdoors. An ojisan (old dude) showed me the salt sauna, where you rub salt on 'places that need it' then sweat your balls off while laying down on straw mats with a wooden pillow wedged into the mats. We chatted for a bit then I had to get out and excused myself. I ate some soba, had some famous Niigata sake, then went to the Masseur. Before I got on the table the guy grabbed my shoulders and was really tough. But I felt great later, totally refreshed. There's no way to describe what it's like to go from feeling utterly shitty, to taking a great bath, then getting a 1st class shiatsu massage. I actually slept on most of the 1 hour bullet train ride home, something I almost never do.

Getting to Fuji Rock

2005-07-29T03:26:00.000-07:00

Friday. I got to Baba station late, at 7:20, and headed for the Koban (police box). Met Phil and Baz there. Baz was an English teacher for Waseda Uni. students, and said he has 3 months vacation during the year, paid. He's going back to Australia for a few months 'to pour beers' for extra cash. We got on the train and took it for the end of the line. Phil got a big watermelon slice and was chomping into in while seated. Astonished Japanese commuters watched the spray fly out as he took each bite and spat the seeds into a small plastic bag. We all had a good laugh about the inevitably malevolent thoughts going through their heads about these awful gaijin.
We walked about a kilometer to the entrance of the Niigata-bound highway, then made some strategy: everyone for himself to Naeba Ski Jou. Phil got the first ride, then Baz in a red Beemer with a young lady. He said they listened to Jamariqoui. I was pretty nervous, having only hitched in a mountain town in Costa Rica. A few truck drivers stopped but were going towards Tokyo, and a bunch of people smiled. Some waved, some bowed slightly with their heads. Finally a guy in his 50s picked me up after about 10 minutes. He was very kind, we didn't talk much and there was no music. I told him that my friend just got a ride in a Beemer from a bird, then regretted it and I felt bad. He dropped me off soon after, at a rest stop.
Miraculously, Phil and Baz got dropped off there too. Baz got another, then Phil and I saw a car slow, a 20s girl stopped and said she's going to Fuji too! Get in! I'm Ayaka! She was happy to have us, and we a direct ride. Her car had marijuana leaves painted in green nail polish on the rear view mirror, and incense burner on the dash. She was very cool, agreed to pick up Baz down the road, and when she met up with her boyfriend he drove us in his Dead/Phish-stickered van to the entrance of the place.

The first one

2005-07-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Too many interesting things are happening here to not write them in a public forum. Here goes: Last Thursday night I decided to invite one of the other Sanyo interns to grab a drink at a nearby izakaya (near my apt) called Daisuke-ya, meaning Daisuke's place (boy's name). I went there the previous week with Marshall from San Diego, a hip place with young girls as waitresses in an ultra-hip nouveau take on traditional drinking place. They tried to speak cute English to us. So I met Shirin, a cool Iranian girl studying engineering in Kobe, nearby and we walked past the sign:
"we cook delicately of selected seasonal materials to sublimate the instinctive behavior of eat even to tasty, artistic livel."
That was good enough for us. We had a bunch of drinks and lively chat, and during it all I got a texto message from my friend Phil who I met in Nagano years back. The message was 'forget what I said last time. Got the weekend off, we're going to Fuji Rock Fest after all! Get a sleeping bag, meet at 7am in the morning at the station.' That put me in great spirits, after he'd backed out the week before. Shirin and I paid, and as we did, had a nice chat with our waitress. She''s an English major at Tokyo Christian U., and loves speaking English. She said, "I'm Hiroko. I'm 21." And we exchanged cards and phone #s. She wrote on the restaurant's card: Hiroko Iwashita (21) . An hour later, she sent me a happy texto message. By the way, Iwashita means 'under a rock.'