Crazy Japanese New Year's TV Shows!!

I almost put the title of this post as "Rambo and Rocky= New Year's In Japan" or "I couldn't make this stuff up" because frankly...it is beyond weird.

In Japan December 31st until January 3rd are ...basically holidays. That means all kinds of weird TV shows. First, the movies Rocky and Rambo are shown on  many channels and for many days.  All of them. In a row. So, if you don't like either movie series you better change the channels. Then there is the bizarre "24" TV challenge (yep...Jack Bower). Fox TV here in Japan, will be showing all 7 seasons of "24" in a row so for 1 week...that channel is all about Jack!

Now...for Japanese TV shows. Here is an example of how crazy Japanese TV shows are. I'm not making this up. I just watched this.

Imagine a cold winter day (ok..no snow but still cold) in a big high school field. Imagine there are many men all in black suits and black trench coats standing in front of a big stage. On the stage imagine a chubby man dressed in a woman's military uniform (with wig, red lipstick, blush. pantyhose, heels etc). Then next to him on the stage is some white foreigner (we think he is from Holland) dressed in a military uniform with a huge crazy mustache. Now...the foreign guy is yelling in the microphone (in some language)  at the men in black. He is freaking out and the guys in black are trying not to laugh. But of course they do because it is stupid. Suddenly the foreign guy says in English "out" and points at the man who is laughing. Then out of nowhere, a guy comes running out on to the field with a big black tube in his hand and hits the guy who was laughing on the butt.  This keeps up for like 5 minutes- the crazy foreign guy yelling and pointing at the laughing men and then the laughing men getting their butts hit with some kind of rubber tube. The point? Try not to laugh while the crazy guy yells.   Sadly, my husband is laughing his head off. I truly do not get Japanese TV...especially the New Year's TV shows. Wish me luck as I have another 3.5 days of this!! At least for some of the time we will be watching K-1 which is a combined fight of karate, kick boxing among other things. I actually like this. You can find out more about K-1, if you want ... here.

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas!!

I almost made the title for this post "I survived" as this December  has been unbelievably busy for me and my rings!! It has been a  record month and I'm very thankful!! That, plain and simple, is the reason I haven't blogged!!  I hopefully will be blogging more regularly.

So...Merry Christmas everyone! It is 1:40 am here on Christmas morning!   Last Saturday I worked as we had the Christmas party for the children. Here are some pics!  This year their craft project was decorating blank pencil cases. They used fabric markers and glittery fabric paint. You will see some very cute ones!

Then we played bingo. They LOVE bingo and they were looking at the board as I was writing down the numbers that my boss has shouted out.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!!!



We can ship to the United States again! Plus Christmas lights!

We just found out yesterday that from today, December 1st, we are again able to send packages weighing over 1 lb (453 grams) to the United States via airmail!!!  There might be a slight delay but basically all is back to normal! 

Canal City, a shopping mall in Fukuoka (near us), is all lit up for Christmas. Click on the link and it will take you to a panoramic view...it is stunning! You can use click on the buttons to see the top or bottom or either side of the view. Enjoy!

http://www.canalcity.co.jp/canalxmas2010/panorama/sunplaza/

10 Japanese Fashion Flops

I saw this article and just had to post the link!  These fashion flops are mostly seen in Tokyo but I have seen  #7 Engrish shirts, # 6 Flat tires and # 2 Shoes beyond repair  even here in my small city.  I have to say that # 6 really really bothers me!! I am constantly wanting to tell people to put their shoes on properly and pick up their feet when they walk...the noise people make when they walk is amazing!

Enjoy!

http://www.cnngo.com/tokyo/life/10-japanese-fashion-faux-pas-563524?hpt=Sbin

A lovely lunch and the New York Times

Yesterday, my Friday class took me out for a lovely lunch! This restaurant is small...only 2 tables and is booked all the time. It is seasonal so the food varies. I also believe that there isn't a menu per se but that all customers are served a 6 course meal (at least that is what we had).  It is a beautiful place filled with gorgeous hand made pottery, tatami mats etc. Of course, you have to take off your shoes.

Here are some pictures of the food....they are bit dark due to the restaurant's lighting and I used my cell phone.

The first picture shows there is a bit of cooked octopus on top a bed of steamed mizuna with a lovely sauce, a little  dish of black beans with real gold flakes, inside the green "packet" is a little mochi filled with sweet adzuki beans and the little pot had a mix of "kazunoko" (fish eggs) mixed with wasabi mayonnaise and something else which we weren't sure of. There was also a real ginkgo leaf for decoration

Then we were served some sashimi.

Then we had some sushi with a slice of "kabosu" which is a green citrus fruit.

Then we had a piece of salmon that  had a sesame crust on it...very delicious.

I forgot to take pictures of the other dishes but our next course was rice, Japanese pickles and soup followed by coffee and a bit of matcha ice cream with black sugar syrup.  It was really lovely! Thanks ladies!!!

In other news:

I just found out that we had been mentioned in the New York Times again! http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/12/the-lunch-box-clearing-out-leftovers/  It was a nice surprise!

A sponge won't cut it this time!

Well...my last post was a cute one about how I got a sponge when Japan Post messed up. A sponge won't cut it this time!

So today I woke up and while drinking coffee I browsed the Etsy forums. Thank God I did. Another seller in Japan had posted something about Japan post not shipping any package over 453 grams (1 lb) via airmail to the States starting tomorrow. WHAT?!

We called Japan post and the lady I spoke with said that the American government asked the airline companies not to carry any package that weighed more than 1 lb. That means all packages that weigh more than 1 lb must be sent via seamail. Now I asked the lady if she wasn't mistaken because all I could see on the Internet was that only ink cartridges weighing more than 453 grams were banned due to the terror plot. She said no...ALL packages.

So..I quickly rushed down to the office to pack up a few packages that I knew were over that weight. Then we rushed to the post office to mail them off. The guy at the post office said the same thing to me.

So...I then went on the etsy forums again...funny...only Japanese sellers were complaining of this. Some sellers from Canada and the UK said that only the ink cartridges weighing more than 453 grams were banned. Hmmm....

Now...Japan post is a big company and I usually assume that big companies have people who speak different languages but I'm guessing that somewhere along the line something was drastically misunderstood because there is a huge difference between 1 kind of package being banned and ALL packages being banned!!!

So....at this point it looks like Japan Post just decided that  ALL packages going to the United States that weigh more than 453 grams are banned. WTH???

To all our American customers:

From November 16th, any orders weighing over 453 grams (1 lb) will not be able to be shipped airmail, EMS or SAL. If possible, we will try to divide the order into 2 (perhaps more) to send them airmail but if isn't possible we will be in touch and discuss sending it seamail or refunding your money. We are so sorry about this but there is nothing we can do. We will update this as we find out more. Hopefully it won't last long. And ...  you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be phoning and complaining!

So...in this case a sponge will not be enough to say sorry for all the inconvenience this is causing us and our customers!

Nothing says "I'm sorry" like a sponge!!

I'm guessing that what I'm about to blog about qualifies as "only in Japan" but I could be wrong.

Our post office is a wonderful friendly little (really little) place. The people are very nice and I realize that I'm quite lucky with how few problems we  have ( I'm especially  grateful after reading people's posts on the Etsy forums about post office problems).  Of course no place/no person is perfect so the occasional problem  happens but how it is dealt with, I believe, is very different. For example, there are times when they might forget to give us our copies of the EMS forms.  They have someone drive them over to us and they give us a towel (very handy for cleaning)  to say sorry. The other day, my hubby went without me and it took an unusual amount of time. They apologized and gave him another towel but then the next time we went in, the boss  apologized again and gave us these- a sponge, a cell phone strap (charm) and a pack of band aids.

You might notice that they say "JP BANK" because in Japan, post offices are also banks.  How cool is this? Most of the items are useful so that is even better! I almost forgot...one time we got a box of plastic wrap...again with the logo.


We also regularly get "thank you" gifts. I have received  pens (so many that I probably never have to buy one again), small tissue packs, hair scrunchies, chopsticks, special envelopes, candy and other things.

So...am I right in thinking that is a "only in Japan" thing? And am I the only one that finds it a bit ...hmmm...odd (but still cool)...that Japan post has all these items made up with it's logo? 

Remember this little guy?

Back in 2008 I put up this picture of my student's little brother (with my student).

He was sooo cute and he let me play with him and pick him up. I loved Thursdays because I could play with him.

Well...now he is my student! He is 3 and is in a "mommy and me" class. We sing ABC and other songs. He is learning  colors, numbers etc. His pronunciation is soooo cute-"fish" is "pish" and my name is "sopia". He belts out the ABC song and apparently sings it all the time which his sister (the girl in the above photo) complains to me about!  Anyway...here is his latest picture. He is still a cutie!

It used to be a hobby!

I've been neglecting my blog!!  And the reason is simply that I have been crazy busy with what used to be my hobby....making rings!  I have been busier and busier and last month I sold over 225 rings!!

It's funny -I never started this part of my business thinking about being successful...rather I've always been creative and I thought I might as well try to sell them since I'm already on Etsy for supplies and vintage...it just made sense.  It used to be that Sundays I would go downstairs to the office where I have my "studio" and I would make some rings (pendants etc) while watching Suze Orman on itunes or listening to Harry Potter (book on CD-Jim Dale's version) on my ipod etc-it was fun and relaxing. But now I'm making them 4 days a week....3 nights after work and on Sundays. That of course doesn't include taking pictures, listing them or preparing orders for our assistant (she does all the packing for our 5 on line shops-thank God for her). 

I'm so happy to make and sell rings!!  I'm not complaining at all! I just have to try to balance it all- 5 online shops, a full time job, all the crazy daily accounting that has to be done here in Japan and I'm trying to have some kind of personal life-this is proving to be stressful at times. I can't even imagine what it would be like if we had kids!

Anyway, now you know why I haven't been blogging as much as before.

In other news....

Here is something I thought would interest you. From now until February 19th in Nagoya you can take this "oden" train. It's once a day and lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes. It costs 3,500 yen ($43 USD at today's exchange rate) and that includes beer "nomihodai" (all you can drink beer), a bowl of oden (boiled food you eat with spicy mustard-very popular in winter and quite yummy), some snacks and 1 glass of sake. There is also karaoke. This local train company started this in 2007 as way to attract more customers in the winter season (apparently they have a summer version as well).

UGH!! What a vacation!!

I'm on vacation-my school always has a vacation this time of year so that my boss and some older students can travel. They are now in Italy. I chose not to go as I'm not a "6 cities in 7 days" kind of gal! I was really looking forward to relaxing, hanging out with my friend in the big city and working on my business (which I love so I don't really think of it as work most of the time).

So...Friday night came. I left work and went home to eat a delicious meal with my hubby but half way through, my throat started to hurt. It was literally like someone flipped a switch because I didn't have that "hmmm...think I'm getting a cold" feeling...just suddenly I had a sore throat. So...Saturday and Sunday I was feeling pretty crappy...runny nose, sore throat and I had a hard time sleeping. Monday I started to feel a bit better and I figured I could meet my friend as planned on Wednesday.

I was right. I went to Hakata (the big city about 40 minutes from where I live) and met my friend. We went to Starbucks (twice-it's a treat since there isn't one in my area) and lunch and did a bit of shopping. I had a great time (thanks Phee). So we parted around 5:30 and I went to the station, bought my ticket and then realized there was a huge group of people standing around. I also realized that my route wasn't on the announcement board giving the time and platform to catch my train. It was blank. This was not good. I asked the train station guy but he couldn't tell me much at that time just that I couldn't take the train and he didn't know when I could. Ok...problem. I called my husband who was at home and asked him to find out what was going. Turns out that a bridge near my area had a crack and they didn't expect to even begin train service again for 3 hours. Now at this time my hubby and I discussed me trying to take the bus but this would have been very difficult as I have never taken a bus from the city to my area. I can't read Japanese and was a bit worried about getting lost. So...my hubby called his family and it turned out that his brother was in the city as he works there and there was a chance that we could meet and figure out what to do together. So...I found him in the crowd and he suggested we try to take the bus. Fine but it was a good thing that I hadn't attempted this on my own as it turns out that the big bus center that is next to the station was not the one we needed. We took the subway into Tenjin (another part of the city) to leave from the Tenjin Bus center but once we got there we realized that we weren't the only ones with that idea in mind. The line was very very long. It moved very slowly and we realized that it would have been hours before we reached home. So....we decided to take a taxi. It cost us about $80 so about $40 each. We had the taxi driver drop us off at my in-laws house (where my brother-in-law still lives) and he then drove me home. Needless to say I was tired but very grateful that my brother-in-law had been there. When I got home the TV announced that the trains probably wouldn't start again until about 11pm so I would have been stuck in the city for about 5 or more hours.

And to top off all that has already happened we found out on the news that a typhoon is headed this way....should arrive by Friday. Perfect.

What a vacation!! Sure hope my boss is having a better time in Italy!!

A great video about Fukuoka

I was on YouTube looking for something and I found this video. It is a promotional video that highlights some of the famous places, festivals and crafts from this part of Japan. Fukuoka is really a great place! Enjoy!

Japan has some tiny restaurants!!

I watched a great show tonight on TV-the top 20 tiny restaurants in Japan. Oh. My. God. Tiny is right. Most of the restaurants we saw on the show are so small that we couldn't even imagine trying to go there as being crammed into a restaurant isn't our idea of a good time and we are pretty sure that because my hubby is a giant here (6ft 5) he probably wouldn't even be able to sit down. In many of the restaurants the customers backs were against the wall so if one person wanted to leave, everyone had to stand up and move to let them get by. But it was amazing to see how the owners/chefs worked in such a small space!!!

I had recorded the show on my cell phone (as we were watching it on our TV) as I was hoping to be able to upload some of it here but sadly, we can't do that so instead we found a great example on youtube.



Are there such small restaurants where you live?

Long time no blog!

Can't believe it has been so long since I last blogged! In the last month or so we have had a lot going on...toilets that wouldn't stop running, taps that wouldn't stop dripping, a sink that leaked into the bathroom in the apartment below ours through the light in the ceiling(!!!) though thankfully that is our apartment as well (our office). Then at pretty much the same time our printer died and our main computer died! We got those ordered and then some very stressful personal stuff happened so needless to say...blogging wasn't the first thing on my mind. Now almost all is back to normal!

And fall is actually here!! The weather is much better....nights are cool and I feel alive again! Friday is my 40th birthday and I asked for the day off as I just don't want to work that day. Thankfully my boss is fabulous and he said yes so my honey and I will go into town and eat at my favorite yakiniku restaurant (you grill the meat at your table).

I don't have much else to blog about at this moment so I will leave you with a crazy Japanese commercial. Apparently the idea behind this commercial is finding the bra that fits you right....when it first shows the bra you can see how it doesn't fit well and then they show a well fitting bra. Seriously... a strange bra commercial!!

How cool is this ring?!!

I don't normally do this but when I come across something so unique and fabulous I love to blog about it.

I LOVE rings! But not just any old ring...I love unique bold rings and I just bought one! It is a sterling silver blackboard ring. Talk about unique! You can write words or draw pictures etc. It comes with a white pencil (but white or colored chalk works as well) and a little sponge. It is by Evrydiki on Etsy.

It takes about 2 weeks as they are made for you in your requested size. I can't wait to wear this! I have so many favorite quotes and words I love that it will be hard to choose which I will write down first! This will be a conversation starter!!

I think someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that it is September!!

I don't know about you but when I think of September....I'm thinking of autumn and colored leaves and brisk air. Sadly, it feels more like July-actually I think it is hotter than July. Today in Nagoya Japan (not near me) it was 39 degrees Celsius (102 Degrees F-not taking into account the very high humidity). Where I am it was pretty close to that. This is a special kind of hell.

Not only is it beyond hot and humid, we are having major storms where the heavens open up and pour rain down, lightening lights up the sky and of course, the thunder has my little kids scared. The weird thing is that normally in Japan, a rainy day is a rainy/cloudy day ALL day but lately, a major thunderstorm happens and you think it will never end and then it does and not only does it stop but the sun comes out and it looks nice and then maybe an hour or so later it repeats. Very strange for here! Also, a bit dangerous. My student's neighbour's house got hit by lightning. No one was hurt but it was scary and the power was off in the area for a while (so no air conditioner in this very hot weather).

The other day, while at work, the above weather situation happened. I took some pics from the window to show you the very black skies.

Hubby and I had started walking again at night but the last few days we haven't as the humidity is so high that I start feeling sick so will hold off until it cools down. I sure hope where ever you are that nature is treating you better!

Inspired by Sake!

This is the 2nd in my series of posts called "Inspired by....". This time I chose "Inspired by sake!". In Japanese, "sake" means alcoholic drinks in general. So, this post includes items inspired by Japanese beer as well as "nihonshu" (what we foreigners usually mean when we say "sake").

The first is a very very cool sake cup! It can be found at mikioceramics. The interior glaze is food safe so it can be used!

Next we have this very cute print by threecatsgraphics.

It is super hot here in Japan right now....beer sales are soaring! Sapporo is a very famous brand of beer. This is a very cool recycled notebook by ivylanedesigns.

Here is another item inspired by Sapporo beer-soap by thebeersoapcompany.

Pocket mirrors are very handy to have and this one is also cute! Robots drinking sake under a cherry blossom tree eating sushi-what's not to love! Check it out at botodesigns

One can't talk about sake without including sake sets! This is a very cool set by Hodakapottery. I love the colors!

Here is a gorgeous fine art print by kylespears. Stunning!

How cute is this print by TomokoMaruyama ? Cute animals in a hot spring enjoying sake and Mt. Fuji!

And what a perfect combination - a sake set with cherry blossoms! Check it out at alinahayes

When I first came to Japan...

The other day my friend and I were talking about how we couldn't believe I had been living here for 12 years. She said she had noticed some changes in me and after our little talk I got to thinking about my first few years here. So...here are some things I realize/remember etc.

When I first came to Japan 12 years ago:

* I didn't have culture shock but I did have price shock! I remember going to a kind of cafe and a small (think ornate British style tea cup) cup of mint tea was $4.5. I almost walked out.

* My body was confused. I came in July from Vancouver (almost no humidity) and the humidity was so heavy here that everyday my body was expecting rain followed by a break in the humidity. It never came. It also gets dark here in the summer by 7:30 so I kept looking at the clock expecting it to be much later than it really was.

* I couldn't wear makeup. It was so hot and humid until November that the thought of putting anything on my face made me cringe and besides, I would have just wiped it off as I was using a cloth every few minutes to wipe the sweat off my face (if you come to Japan in the summer you will see that everyone carries around at least a small handkerchief though some carry towels). And by "wipe" I don't mean the dainty style of dabbing my face like Japanese women do. I mean I was taking off my glasses (thank God I wear contacts now) and wiping my face as if I just got out of a shower or like the "ojisan" (old men) do.

* I had never seen a cockroach in any place I had ever lived in and therefore the thought of having to deal with/kill them was so foreign to me. Now, I'm a pro at killing them and have come to realize that it has nothing to do with a dirty house but rather it has to do with living in Japan (though thankfully I only have to deal with them 2-3 times a year).

* My first winter here was a bit shocking. Where I live, it doesn't snow-kind of like Vancouver. It does get cold (sometimes it gets below 0) but there are vegetables growing, flowers blooming etc. What was shocking was that I was fine outside with nothing more than a sweater (I am Canadian!) but inside my house I was freezing!! I could never get warm enough. Cold wind blows in easily through closed windows! And there is no central heat so you have a choice of contraptions to keep warm but for the first few years it wasn't enough. Now, I'm not only used to it I love it and find it too warm in Canadian houses especially while sleeping.

* I couldn't drink cold green tea (the real stuff...not flavored or sweetened "green tea" products). It was way too bitter for me. Now, it is my favorite drink.

* I had hard time dealing with getting paid only once a month. In Vancouver I had 2 jobs so I was paid every week since they had different pay schedules. I was in shock and had a really hard time learning to budget my money.

* I was really homesick at Christmas time since not only was I far away from my family and traditions but really...Christmas in Japan is....well...not the same (I know I know....not a real shocker). Now, I love NOT having Christmas. Honestly, I never thought I would be someone to say that but it is true. I'm glad I don't have all the stuff taking up space in my home, no pressure to shop ( I do send a few things home but it isn't the same), no overspending etc.

* I was shocked at how small the portions are in Japan. I will never forget my first meal here with my boss. We ordered and after it came I looked around and thought the waitress would be bringing more...nope! Now, the opposite is true. I am SHOCKED at the how big the food is in Canada!

* I couldn't eat plain white rice-no flavor. Now, I love it. I couldn't taste the difference between 100 yen salmon sushi and 500 yen salmon sushi ($1 and $5). Now I really can and I'm not so fond of the 100 yen salmon sushi anymore.

* I was shocked at how quickly Japanese homes get dusty. You could dust here every day and still not keep up with it. I am thinking it must be the way houses are built or what they are built with. I remember 3 older friends (ladies in their 50's) went to my mother's house and one morning they got up early to clean her house for her but they couldn't find any dust....they thought she had just cleaned but mom said she cleaned before they got there- so about 5 days before. They were shocked.

* I would stare out my school's windows at the rice fields in dismay and wonder what the hell I was doing here. Now, I LOVE rice fields. Walking by one as the wind blows through it is so amazing!

* I missed so many foods from home but when I go back and try them I can't believe they were my favorites as my tastes have changed so much.

* I couldn't imagine that I would start to forget English. I remember listening to the teacher I was replacing explain how to use the washing machine. She was talking and then she was struggling to find the right words so she used her hands in a sweeping motion while saying "now we will make the water go away". In other words, turn this dial to drain the water. She was Canadian. I was shocked. Now....I'm not shocked. Now I struggle sometimes and the dictionary is my best friend. But living in a foreign country for 12 years and teaching "This is a pen." over and over....chances are ...you will lose some English!

I still can't believe I have been here this long. I came when I was 27 and I will be 40 in October. I never could have imagined this life but I love it!

Summer Vacation!

I'm on 2 weeks of summer vacation though I'm not planning on going anywhere far. I'm planning to stay home and putter around and organize etc. It is super hot and humid here so basically I have no desire to do anything that involves not being in air conditioning. I've been having trouble with "natsubate" or ....I guess something similar to heat exhaustion. I have no appetite-the thought of meat (my favorite food) makes me want to gag so I've been eating a lot of salads when I do finally eat or some of my homemade sesame and almond flour crackers with some cream cheese. I can't wait until this horrible weather is over. It was 37 degrees Celsius (not including the humidity) the other day so ....you can imagine.

So I'm taking this vacation to purge. I'm purging the things I don't need, want or use. The first day, my honey and I carried down to the office a huge dish cupboard (thankfully it was in 2 pieces) to just give me more space in my office/relaxing/reading room upstairs in our apartment. The place was a huge mess as I piled items into the "garbage" or "give away" piles. I carted down all kinds of things to the office where I will box them up and give them to family members who love all things Japanese. We are using the huge dish cupboard to store some of the vintage items we have for sale in our vintage store and now upstairs feels so light and inviting! I can't wait till fall comes and I can roll up the "hurricane" shutters (we need to keep them closed now to block the hot afternoon sun or we would be able to bake bread in this room) and enjoy the fresh air and enjoy this new open space! Today I went through about a year's worth of paper stuff-feels good to have that done! I'm going through books, dishes, bags...everything! It just feels so good to get rid of these things.

Last year we went back to Canada and I have to say....I'm a little homesick. I really would love to be at my mom's (Southampton, Ontario .....she lives about a 5 minute walk from Lake Huron) hanging out at the beach or in her hot tub. I remember at night it was sometimes only 15 degrees (Celsius) so it was heaven sitting in the hot tub and looking at the stars! Eating "Canadian" food (you know....just things different from Japanese food) was fabulous (and we still talk about some of them yummy things we ate)! We are hoping to go back next year so that is what I will think about as I step out into the "hot wet blanket" feeling that is this hell aka summer.

I thought I would end this post with some pictures . These pictures are from different festivals that have taken place around Japan. They LOVE summer festivals!!

Soy Sauce On Ice Cream?

Yeah...you read that right! A very old and famous soy sauce and miso company invented a soy sauce based ice cream sauce! It is meant to be used only on vanilla flavored ice cream and a few other desserts. Apparently, it tastes like caramel!



Here is the man who invented it. He looks pretty happy eating it!


Here he is pouring it on Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream.


Here he is eating it on "kinako mochi" (rice cakes with powered soy beans).



I think I will pass on this. Would you try it?

How cute is this?

This summer has, so far, been very very hot and humid. All my students know how much I hate this weather (and hate really isn't quite strong enough...loathe, detest...). They often ask me how I'm doing and if I'm surviving etc. Well...today was very very humid and hot and it rained cats and dogs....I got wet and I walked around my class without sandals as they were soaked right through and I must have looked hot and miserable (yes, I have air conditioning in my classroom but there isn't any in the kitchen or bathroom etc). Anyway, my little student pulled something out of her bag and gave it to me. She had made me this postcard-it was so cute it cheered me up right away! She drew the sunflower and the "kakigori" (snow cone) and the rest are stickers. She is 8 and very sweet and ...what can I say? I had a smile on my face all day!

Only in Japan? McDonald's straps.

I was at the mall the other day and we went to "mac" (as they say here) as my honey wanted a burger. We saw these and I thought I would take some pictures for my blog (I sure got some funny looks while I was taking the pictures!). I assume they are only available here in Japan but I could be wrong. As you can see from the guy holding it-they aren't small (I think they are too big to be strap-at least for me)!

ADDED ON AUGUST 2nd. Sorry if I confused some of you! The straps are cell phone straps and they are all made of plastic! Japanese LOVE cell phone straps (or maybe some countries call them charms?)!

And I just saw this picture today online. It is so amazing I thought I would share. There was a "matsuri" or festival in Tokyo and of course, there were "hannabi" (fireworks) which literally translated means "fire flower"! You can also see the new (and not yet finished) Tokyo tower which is actually called "sky tree".

Planning on taking the train or subway in Japan? Here are the rules!

I saw these and just knew there was a blog post here! Ok...so, you want to take the train or subway and aren't quite sure what you can't do ....no worries! You might be able to find pictures like the ones I found in the train station and subway station. Now...some of these....you have to kind of wonder why you have to tell people not to do them as it seems obvious but really....I have seen all these and more on the train!

Let's start with the first picture

In many of the drawings in the picture above the idea is basically to be quiet, don't take up too much space and give up your seat for the elderly but...see the superman like drawing in the bottom right corner? Can you guess what that means? No? It basically means "don't fly on to the train". So...the train is at the station but ready to leave and you are running down the stairs and are desperate to make it on to the train so you "fly" on to the train and probably knock over a bunch of people. Don't do that! But note that it happens ALL the time (so try not to stand right in front of the doors on the train) which is probably why they had to add that drawing!

Next picture:

In this picture again it is about giving your seat to the elderly and don't take up too much space, don't litter etc. But...from the top left hand side...2nd picture in....there is a girl in a blue and white dress. Can you guess what that one means? It means you should let the people off the train first and then you can get on.

The last picture:

This picture is pretty easy to understand....don't use cell phones, don't be noisy, don't listen to loud music, don't "fly" on to the train etc. But the don't eat...as this is a sign for the subway I am assuming it is only for the subway as people eat on the train all the time but I'm also going to guess that people probably eat on the subway as well. Now...you might be wondering why there is a a big "X" across a lipstick and compact. Perhaps you are thinking...really, no powdering your nose or touching up your lipstick? That isn't what it is about....I have done both. The reality in Japan is that many teens and young women put on ALL their makeup on the train. I mean, they pull out monster sized makeup bags, HUGE mirrors and start with foundation and go from there-they will even spray on their perfume! It really is unbelievable and I really don't get it. Still...it happens all the time.

So....now you know what not to do.....though you will see it happen all the time.