smorking or non?

Today we were in Shibuya, looking for a good coffee shop to hang out in when we came across this gem:

At this coffee shop you can choose to sit in the "smorking" or "non-smorking" section.

I didn't have my camera on me so I took this with my cell phone - I could not pass this one up!

chasing fuji

Aaron left the other day.  We were sad to see him leave, but were so glad he was able to come see us and experience our Tokyo life. 

While he was here, one of the only things he really wanted to do was to see Mt. Fuji, which is an hour and a half drive away, but can be seen from Tokyo and other sites on a clear day.  We enjoyed one gorgeous day, spent mostly outside exploring the city (check out our long walk).  Unfortunately, we also endured a few not so nice days, including some rain and even an evening of snow. (I place the blame for that squarely on Aaron's shoulders.  I think he brought it with him in his carry-on.  It snuck in there when the TSA was taking out my peanut butter.)

With rain in the forecast and not wanting wet feet, we decided to rent a car and head to Fuji's famed Five Lakes region, using Jeff's newly acquired international driver's license. 

Jeff was very excited to drive after being relegated to the passenger seat in our last driving adventure.

We got up bright and early, grabbed the rental car, and got right on the road. We were all moving a little slowly and were very pleased to find a nice kombini with heated toilet seats (if you're unfamiliar with this phenomenon, I'll explain later) and a little coffee pick-me-up. 

We had fun on our day trip, but alas, even at the bottom of the road up the mountain, Fuji-san was feeling a little shy that day, hiding behind the deep fog. 

We did get to see a very cool old house though.  Possibly even older than our old old house, and certainly in much better condition (although conspicuously lacking both bathroom and kitchen).  Hint: you can click on the picture to see it bigger.

There's Jeff standing in the sliding doorway.  I took the picture from the front door and you can see how the doors to the rooms slide open so you can see through the whole house.  To the right where the light is coming in, there is a roka (like a covered porch/hallway thing) that the walls of the room open onto.  The walls and doors are made of very flimsy paper-like material, similar to the windows and doors of our old house. It was freezing that day, and I don't think it would be much warmer with the doors closed. 

Also notice that Jeff's head is hitting the top of the doorway.  He's the first to admit he's not the tallest beanstalk, so that's saying something. 

The second picture shows the source of heat for warmth and cooking in a house, a small, recessed pit in the floor of a tatami room. 

Two things: 
1. Brrr.
2. Fire hazard. 

A straw roof of another old building nearby.  And Jeff's freakishly long fingers. 

Boys will be boys. 


We had a great time with Aaron and can't wait for him to come visit us again the next time we live in Tokyo. 


Mata na,
Melissa

adventures in tv watching

I think I have mentioned this before but the English language programming on Japanese TV is (not surprisingly) somewhat lacking.  Every night there is a thirty minute broadcast of the NHK news dubbed (poorly) into English.*  Also, there are on occasion English language learning shows which are so grating I can not stand to have them on.  Sometimes, there are also really, really bad movies broadcast at odd hours, but I think sitting through The Fly II once was torture enough.  


I really wish I was kidding about that.  An hour of my life I will never get back.  At least I didn't waste two hours like Jeff did.  I found more enjoyable things to do with my time.  Like cleaning the bathroom.

There may in fact be more English programming, but as I am unable to read the TV guide, I rely on stumbling upon it while flipping the channels.  

Thankfully, one does not actually need to know what the announcers are saying to enjoy the Olympics.  Unlike the ubiquitous Olympic coverage in America, Japan has taken a more restrained approach and not allowed sport competitions to take precedence over the goings-on of an entire country.  That, or they only show the sports that they care about when Japanese competitors are doing well.  (My money is on choice #2.)




Well today, when it was approximately 3 a.m. in Vancouver, we turned on the Olympic broadcast channel.  Rather than playing some of the competition that we might have missed overnight, ABC's Nightline was broadcast.

Initially, I was excited, as I was under the mistaken assumption that I might get to see some American news.  No such luck.  Turns out, Nightline is not a news program at all.  I know, weird.  Look at those smug "I'm a real journalist" faces up there.  Nightline is rather filled with 15 year-old-boys' lunchtable chatter.  Exhibit #1: Today's Nightline lineup. (Given the introduction it deserved.)

First Story
Boy 1: Hey, you know that fat guy who made those movies about the people who work in a convenience store?
Boy 2: Clerks? [translation Kevin Smith]
Boy 1: Yeah, him.  Did you hear he got kicked off a plane for being too fat?

Then
Boy 3: Well did you know there are these people who are like, obsessed? [translation OCD]  And they wash their hands all the time, and like, think they are going to kill people.  [Yes, they did show people who were obsessed with the idea that they would kill someone.  In my book, that's a whole different kind of crazy.]

Last
Boy 4: No man, this is the best!  So there are these pandas.  And they're in the zoo and stuff, not in the wild.  And they like to eat more than they like to do it!
Boy 2: No way, man!
Boy 4: Yeah!  And so the zoo keepers show them panda porn!  [I could not possibly make up something so ludicrous.  Sorry, Grandma.]

Yes, people.  Apparently this is what ABC News thinks people want to watch at 11:35 p.m.

RIP The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Mata ne,
Melissa

*Editor's note: Jeff maintains that the translation is not bad.  However, for every five minutes of Japanese mouths moving in the background, there is about two minutes of English translated (see: Wayne's World).  I remain skeptical.

Astor Place, Tokyo

I knew it!

With the coffee house culture in Japan and the countless cafes on every corner in Tokyo, I just knew that there had to be a place in Tokyo where you can sit in one Starbucks and look out the window at another (see: Best in Show).  The other day, we found it!

Near the Tokyo Tower, this is the view from a front table at a branch of the infamous (notorious?) cafe chain.

As I've said before, one of the best things about Tokyo is that while Starbucks is ubiquitous, there are numerous competitors that give the coffee giant a run for their lattes. 

The one good thing Aaron discovered about Starbucks: you can order in English.

Mata ne,
Melissa

Guest Post: Tokyo, according to Aaron

m: What are you gonna call it?
a:  Tokyo.
m: You can't just call it Tokyo.
a:  I just did.  That's what I wrote in the subject line.
(several minutes of this)
m: Fine, we'll call it Tokyo.
___________________
___________________

Now I'm not going to try to reconcile an entire week of my life, regardless of its location in Tokyo (or New York or Syracuse or Richmond or EARTH for that matter!), but I will try to relate to Melissa's close friends and family several topics interesting to me, and likely only me, through the lens of my visit to Tokyo. Whether these tidbits say more about me or the city I'm visiting will be up to the reader to decide.

1) The technology of Japan is ok to lacking, at best. For years and years I/we've all heard about how exceptionally advanced the technology and gadgetry of Tokyo was as compared to the laggards in the USA. Well, other than a miraculously effective train and toilet system (and those are both world class) let me inform you all that everything else should be classified in the "less than or equal to" 8th grade grading system.  The cell phone industry, once dominated by NTT Docomo, is several years behind the ubiquitous iPhone and Blackberry world that the "handset-set" enjoys in the USA. I've seen plenty of iPhones, but BB hasn't penetrated this market yet, and I have to think that they won't. I know a lot of people in the USA that have more than 1 BB, and I personally have had to beg and plead to not be handed a FREE one.

2) There are Japanese people, everywhere. This may sound like the most banal or obvious statement that anyone has made since the latest steroids outing or politician-infidelity-admission, but I cannot fully explain the sight of waves of Japanese people walking around minding their own business, listening to Godknowswhat on their iPods. Unless Melissa has led a more international and diverse life than she's led me to believe, this blog is read by white people (make that white people used to seeing other white people constantly). I joked to my friends that the subway conveniently displays information in Japanese and English, but that the effort is wasted because the only English speakers on the trains are me, Melissa, and our bilingual Jeff. Anyway, if day 6 of this excursion has taught me anything, it is the limit of the narrow scope that my FM to Richmond to East Village life has shown me.

3) The world is smaller than you think. As I sat here this morning having a Skype conversation with my mom, I reflected and realized that had I been sitting in my apartment in New York, I'd be having the same verbal interaction. I suppose that I could hop on a bus/train/plane and go to Syracuse from NYC, but couldn't I do the same thing from Tokyo (albeit a longer journey)? And if the transit is the only thing that's different, there's really no difference anyway if you're talking to someone in a place that you're not going to visit anyway.

So, feel free to look back and realize that my observations are whittled down to (in 8 words or less) "Tokyo is the same but with Japanese people." Or not.