Japan

Wed - August 8, 2007

The Strongest in the Human History

The first four characters are interpreted to "the strongest in the human history." Well, this is food. It should be "the most tasteful in the human history." I don't see the way the almond tofu or any other food is named like this in western restaurants here. This may be very Asian.

Posted at 08:42 AM Read More

Mon - July 23, 2007

Coffee Milk in a glass bottle

This was very nostalgic. I wouldn't have thought the coffee milk was still in the market in Japan.
When I was a little, I had the regular milk version delivered to the house every morning.

Posted at 09:27 AM Read More

Mon - July 16, 2007

Gourmet Cat Food

I saw some gourmet cat food in Japan. These in the picture are "Prime Bonito" and "Prime Ahi Tuna". They are finished up as delicious fish jelly.

We might have similar cat food in the US, but I haven't seen any yet. Cat food here is advertised in a way that they concern about the health.

Posted at 09:53 AM Read More

Thu - July 5, 2007

Spaghetti Restaurant

I went to a restaurant specializing in spaghetti in Tennoji, Osaka, Japan. You can all the varieties that they have before you order, which is common in Japan. The way each dish is displayed was kind of amusing to me.

I don't remember what I had, but it was good except the red wine and soup that came with as a set. The red wine was so light, and juicy. It didn't go well with the spaghetti. The soup was consomme based, and reminded me of the school lunch from the elementary school.

See the nice display!

Posted at 08:59 AM Read More

Fri - June 22, 2007

Dotonbori

This river, which goes through Shinsaibasi, Osaka, is called Dotonbori. When the Hanshin Tigers won the Japanese national championship some years ago, some fans jumped into the river.
The bridge is called Hikkakebashi. I don't know the formal name of it.
We can see the Kirin building, and Donkiho-te.

Posted at 03:09 PM Read More

Wed - June 13, 2007

Tako! Yaki in Japan

It is so obvious that this place serves food with octopus.
I didn't pay attention to this kind of decoration when I used to live in Japan a long time ago. It caught my eyes.
Please click here to see another one, which I posted already.

(Osaka, Japan)

Posted at 06:00 PM Read More

Wed - June 6, 2007

Busy Business Signs

There are so many signs in hankagai, or entertainment districts in Japan. Is this a characteristic of Asian countries?
Does Europe have it?
In San Francisco, the North Beach district and Chinatown are busy, but not like this.

Posted at 11:11 AM Read More

Mon - May 28, 2007

Richard Gear lives in a Dandy House

I saw Richard Gear in this ad for a company called Dandy House. I guess they design and model houses.
In Japan, Richard Gear appears in many commercials where he is referred as "dandy".

There is no connection to the anime DVD ad right below the dandy. Nana, do you know Mr. Dandy?

Posted at 03:56 PM Read More

Tue - May 15, 2007

German Pearl Dry Draft Beer

I don't know much about beer, but I have been to several pubs and bars. I have never seen or heard "pearl dry". Do they use pearls when they make the beer?

Posted at 02:49 PM Read More

Wed - May 9, 2007

Running Glico Man

If you have been to Osaka and asked some local people where you should visit, some may recommend you go to Shinsaibashi and check out this Glico man. He has been there by the famous river, Doutonbori, for a long time, at least 30 years.
I haven't had Glico's caramels for a while.

Posted at 03:35 PM Read More

Wed - May 2, 2007

Human looking street lamp

This is another photo from America Mura in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. I didn't notice this when I hanged out around this area a long time go. I guess the place had so many buildings with flashy signs, and did never probably pay attention to this kind of this.

Posted at 08:18 AM Read More

Fri - April 27, 2007

Scary Sign

The black one says "I HAVE P.M.S and a GUN. EXCUSE ME, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?"
It would be scary if I saw this in the U.S., but this was in America Mura(village) in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. It's an American town?!

Posted at 08:07 AM Read More

Sun - April 22, 2007

The Statue of Liberty

There is a copy of the Statue of Liberty in Shinsaibashi, America Mura.
In Osaka and nearby prefectures, it is often seen on the top of the Pachinko buildings. I don't know why.
Is it the same throughout Japan?

Posted at 02:24 PM Read More

Tue - April 17, 2007

Gothic & Lolita Shop

This store was in America Mura in Osaka. The sign says Gothic & Lolita. I wonder what it looked like in the store. Nah, I didn't go in. I saw some gothic looking girls and lolita looking girls on the street.
I guess America Mura is an Osaka version of Harajuku. Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Girls is all about this kind of fashion.

Posted at 05:22 PM Read More

Fri - April 13, 2007

Not Graffiti?

Each painting had something written on it. It seemed like graffiti, but it might have not. It looked very united with each painting.

I was walking around in America Village, Shinsaibashi, and Namba this day. I'll be posting more pictures from this day.

Posted at 06:42 AM Read More

Mon - April 9, 2007

Graffiti

The graffiti is very popular in the America Village in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. I used to hang out in this area when I was in high school.

Posted at 05:05 PM Read More

Wed - April 4, 2007

Why elephant?

There are many Japanese products in Japan that use animals in the product name. This product removes humidity and are placed in closets. I don't know why elephant is used...

Posted at 07:51 AM Read More

Sat - March 31, 2007

Let yourself go

This is another beer post, but this time I have a question. The Prime Time beer says "Original all malt beer. For the best moments in life. Let yourself go." I wonder what "Let yourself go" means. Does that mean you'll completely get drunk and go out of control? Probably not, but we could interpret that way, no?

Posted at 04:14 PM Read More

Tue - March 27, 2007

Koku Kire, Draft

I am not sure how koku and kire are said in English. I should pay attention to some beer vocabularies. I posted a gold version of this sometime ago. It's amazing that they have many kinds of Happoushu in Japan. Compared to different tastes from different kinds of beer we have in the US, these happoushu didn't taste so much different.

Posted at 04:55 PM Read More

Thu - March 22, 2007

Ayashii advertisements

Ads are everywhere in Japan. Wherever people may look at have ads.

Posted at 12:25 AM Read More

Sun - March 18, 2007

Really good name for beer

Enjuku sounds really good. It is too good for beer name. BTW, why Japanese products such as beer, cookies, and some others have only English descriptions on the package? It is just because it looks cool? (Yes it is.)

This is not beer, but another happoushu.

Posted at 05:15 PM Read More

Tue - March 13, 2007

Biiig Burger!

This is a McDonnald in Amelika Mura (America Village) in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. They have a huge big burger, french fries, and soda set. McDonnalds in Japan are much better than ones in the U.S. They have different kinds of customer. I should have taken some pictures inside, so that I can show what I mean.

I wonder if the straw is hollow or not. I'd probably hang something on the straw for sun dry.

Posted at 08:38 AM Read More

Sat - March 10, 2007

Kirin Lagar

I used to drink the Kirin Lagar in Japan before coming to the U.S. I hadn't seen it for years. I have never seen Japanese restaurants carry this beer. The Kirin Ichiban is popular here. I had this Kirin Classic Lagar in Japan last summer.

Posted at 07:41 AM Read More

Mon - March 5, 2007

Okonomiyaki Boteju

Boteju is the first Okonomiyaki place in Osaka. I guess they came up with the Osaka style. I went to the Boteju restaurant in Hep Navio in Osaka last summer.

Maybe because I expected so much, I felt that it wasn't as good as it used to be.

Posted at 10:35 AM Read More

Fri - March 2, 2007

Hokkaido Fresh Squeezed

I don't really have a lot to comment. You might be saying "Oh, beer again?" To make it correct, it's happoushu again.

Posted at 04:56 PM Read More

Tue - February 27, 2007

0.1% Alcohol Wanna-be Beer drink

Two things.
1. It's not beer. It says on the can "Beer Taste Cold Drink".
2. The alcohol is just 0.1%. The taste was...

Is the Beer industry in Japan having some kind of crisis?

Posted at 08:58 AM Read More

Fri - February 23, 2007

Magnum Dry! Energy Drink?!

This can be seen as an energy drink because of the look and the product name. It's a wanna-be-beer Happoushu.

Posted at 05:24 PM Read More

Tue - February 20, 2007

Battera in Osaka

The original sushi in Osaka wasn't like what we imagine when we say sushi now. The style of sushi that we eat is Edo-mae Sushi. There is a piece of raw fish on top of rice prepared specifically for sushi. The sushi in Osaka is called Battera, which is cooked fish on top of rice.

Posted at 09:03 AM Read More

Fri - February 16, 2007

Happiness comes to those who smile

I found this on the wall at a soba noodle stand in Osaka.

Posted at 09:52 AM Read More

Mon - February 12, 2007

Cheers your mind!

"Green Label brings you a comfortable time. The refreshing taste cheers your mind."
Cheer up my mind!

Posted at 07:16 PM Read More

Wed - January 31, 2007

What a nice presentation of otsukuri!

It's not that I don't have anything else to put on my blog. I found this picture from the last summer and realize how nice the presentation is. Although the place wasn't a Sushi place, the modern izakaya made the good presentation using a few different kinds of leaves. Now I feel like otsukuri!

Posted at 10:31 PM Read More

Sun - January 28, 2007

Taste like never before? Right!

Before I went back to Japan last summer, I didn't know the existence of "sonotano zassyu" or other kind alcohol. This wanna-be-beer is even other kind alcohol 2.

Posted at 02:29 PM Read More

Wed - January 24, 2007

Did they change the spelling?

Wasn't it "Creep" before, or has it been "Creap" from the beginning?

Posted at 11:26 AM Read More

Sun - January 21, 2007

A Glass of Draft...?!

Here we have another "sonotano zassyu", literally meaning another kind alcohol. It looks like beer, but NOT! It looks like draft, but it's in a can! It looks like a glass of beer, noooot! Am I lost in translation? (Remember the movie? Suntory..)

Posted at 07:59 AM Read More

Wed - January 17, 2007

bending straw?! Japanese invention?

I have never seen straws that bend like this in the U.S. This could have been invented by the Japanese.

The part that bends

Posted at 03:29 PM Read More

Fri - January 12, 2007

Posticker Stadium!

I went to the Namco Posticker Stadium in Umeda in Japan. Yeah, it is the video game company, Namco. The stadium was supposed to have different kinds of postickers from all over Japan. The Namco cat is welcoming you to the posticker world!

The place had some little posticker stands that imitate what they should be in each hometown. I felt strange walking around in the building and looking at the artificial stands. I tried different kinds. It wasn't good. Well, the cooks were young like college students, and didn't seem to be from the places where these postickers are from.

Posted at 08:39 AM Read More

Sat - January 6, 2007

High Class Spoon?!

I had a cup of ice flakes in the last summer in Japan. It had been a while and it was nostalgic! It was what I used to have when I was a kid. When I bought it at a little store, I got a wooden spoon, which is a spoon version of disposal chopsticks that we see at Japanese restaurants, but it says "Koukyu Spoon" where koukyu means high class, premium.

Posted at 06:51 AM Read More

Tue - January 2, 2007

Caucasian mannequins

I saw a lot of Caucasian mannequins in Japan. They are mostly Caucasian where customers are mostly Japanese. In the Bay Area, I see African American ones, Asian ones, and Caucasian ones here. It looked so strange to see Caucasian mannequins one after another in Japan.

Posted at 12:12 AM Read More

Wed - December 27, 2006

Happoushu to cheer the Japanese team for the World Soccer?

It says "Kakenukeru nodogoshi", which sounds very good. If you can translate it into English, please write it in the comment.
There are a lot of happoushu that are specifically sold for occasions like this or seasons in Japan. That's kind of nice.

Posted at 08:49 AM Read More

Sat - December 23, 2006

Fancy Lobby in Japan

I saw this underground mall in the Umeda underground town. I thought there were some nice elegant stores in the mall because of the name, but what I saw was not fancy, but a lot of discounts. I asked my Japanese friends who live in Japan what they would imagine from the name. They said the stores in the Fancy Lobby mall should be kawaii or cute. Well, the stores didn't look cute either...

Posted at 09:59 AM Read More

Fri - December 22, 2006

Real Draft.. Honnama!

I seem to have tried a lot of nama or draft can wanna-be-beer happoshu in Japan. And here I have a picture of a REAL DRAFT can happoushu from Asahi. Okay, it is real this time? It says "Asahi Honnama(real draft) Gold". What does that "gold" mean?
I liked the design of the can.

Posted at 08:59 AM Read More

Wed - December 20, 2006

Vending machine for coffee, tea, shaved ice...

i found vending machines are also very advanced in Japan compared to vending machines that I see in San Francisco. Instead of going to a nice cafe, people in Japan buy a cup of coffee from a vending machine, and have it while waiting for a train?
This vending machine serves all kinds of stuff such as coffee made from beans, instant coffee, tea, cocoa, shaved ice, soda, and varieties of those. It has strawberry cocoa... what is that?! I wonder why it still serves instant coffee when it serves coffee from beans. Oh, maybe getting a cup of instant coffee is quick! You see your train coming in, and don't have the time to wait for coffee made from beans.
The screen is a touch screen, of course.

Posted at 08:09 AM Read More

Tue - December 19, 2006

Beer-like Happoushu "DIET"

Many people are conscious about "diet" in Japan. Even the word, diet, strictly means losing weight over there. It doesn't mean eat healthy. I found happushu, which is wanna-be-beer alcohol, called DIET.

If people really want to lose weight by cutting calories 50%, they should drink less or eat less of high calorie food, and... drink real beer!

Posted at 04:24 PM Read More

Thu - December 14, 2006

Namaguro

Nahhh, I don't think it is draft. I am very skeptical about it.

I should have taken notes about what it says in English. It must be a fabulous speech!
I like the design of the can though.

Posted at 07:50 AM Read More

Fri - December 8, 2006

Draft Beer?

I thought draft beer couldn't be in a can. I thought they'd have to be on tap, but on-tap-beer is in a big can. So it doesn't matter if they are in a little can like this in the picture, or in a big can, does it? For some reason, draft beer in a can like this doesn't sound like draft beer.

Posted at 04:19 AM Read More

Wed - December 6, 2006

Cook meat with stones

I don't know if these stones on top of the meat are something special. The meat was cooked by the heated stone bowl as well as by the heated little stones. People in Japan come up with all kinds of things.

Posted at 12:34 AM Read More

Sat - December 2, 2006

Cigarette Vending Machine

I knew there were cigarette vending machines everywhere in Japan, but this one has a large selection. It's not that I was happy to see it, but this was a reverse culture shock.

Posted at 05:55 PM Read More

Fri - December 1, 2006

Ultra mini Japanese sandwiches

I was surprised to see these sandwiches when they were served on my table. It was very easy to eat them because of the size. It was so delicate and elegant!

Posted at 07:05 AM Read More

Tue - November 28, 2006

Brings you two unique values...

This can beer..., not! This is not beer. It is happoushu. It's alcohol, tastes like beer. It must be made to care for your body. I don't know what these two measures are, but it has two things reduced so much, 99% and 60%, for your healthy body. It says "Tanrei Alpha brings two unique values, conceived to enhance your pleasant times. Please enjoy!" If I drunk regular beer, it sounds like I will get sick. This beer-like happoushu is a serious healthy product... "Brewed for good times"

Posted at 06:52 AM Read More

Sun - November 26, 2006

Nothing wasted in efforts

This ad in Shinsaibashi caught my attention.

"There is no wasted shoots. Just hit it."

Posted at 12:51 AM Read More

Fri - November 24, 2006

Hand Water Remover

This machine is used in bathrooms after you wash your hands. It is not the one that blows warm air. That takes time to dry hands. You don't probably want people to stand behind you waiting for you to finish. This one is pretty good. You open your hands, and stick them in there from the top. Strong air comes out of thin slits on both sides. You slowly elevate your hands up as the air pushes the water on your hands downwards. It finally drips. Doing this twice seemed enough.

Posted at 11:56 AM Read More

Thu - November 16, 2006

Draft Beer... no?! what is this?

When I saw so many kinds of different Japanese beer in Japan, I decided to taste one by one. One day, I found most of them were not beer! They are something else, but what are they? On the can, it says "Sonota no zasshu", literally meaning "hybrid alcohol of other kind"?

I guess it's called Happoushu. Why don't people just get beer instead of this? I didn't hear people like the taste of happoushu...

Posted at 11:02 AM Read More

Wed - November 15, 2006

Smoking room in a building

I was a little surprised to see a tiny smoking room in a building. Whoever built this makes sure smokers will never run out of cigarettes by installing the cigarette vending machine inside. I wonder how it will be if 3 or more people smoke in there...
I don't see any air vent in there, but see one, the square one, right outside of it. Is that little round one a vent?

Posted at 07:41 AM Read More

Sun - November 12, 2006

Japanese parfait

Is this kind of dessert called Ice Cream Sunday in the US. Whatever. Japanese parfait is not too sweet. It's not huge either. I would prefer a small amount of tasty(not sugar!) delicious dessert rather than a huge amount of just sweet dessert.

Posted at 01:24 PM Read More

Fri - November 10, 2006

Udon suki and Hamo nabe at Mimiu

One of the most popular nabe in Osaka is Udon suki at Mimiu. Because I went there in summer, I also had a chance to have hamo.

Please click on READ MORE.

Posted at 03:55 PM Read More

Wed - November 8, 2006

Skyscraper and Crane

Nothing to say here...

Posted at 08:06 AM Read More

Tue - November 7, 2006

PiTaPa boy with leaves sticking out of his...

PiTaPa is a prepaid card that you can use when you take trains (you don't have to buy tickets), buy some stuff at convenience stores and some other stores. I think I heard it is also integrated with cellular phones. I saw this ad outside of public trains. The design of the character is kind of cute and for the Japanese taste. But wait! Something is sticking out of his butt! He is giving it to you...

Posted at 08:00 AM Read More

Thu - November 2, 2006

Mos Burger, "Fresh" Burger?

Mos Burger was good! I first had Mos Burger more than 15 years ago. Since then, it ranks the top of my burger list. The sauce is really good. I went to a Mos Burger place in Umechika and looked at their menu. I found a burger called "Fresh Burger". Okay, aren't the others fresh? Or is this particular kind super fresh?
(In the burger section, the second one from the right is the Fresh Burger.)

In Japanese English, "fresh" means uncooked vegetables.

Posted at 08:11 AM Read More

Tue - October 31, 2006

Udon noodle place under the train station

This is a friendly quick lunch udon noodle place under the train station. We need to buy a ticket at the entrance, and give it to the chef over the counter. Then, we pick it up when it's ready. We put the bowl back when we are done. It gives shitamachi atmosphere.

It is very inexpensive. Kitsune Udon is only 340 yen.

I wish we had this kind of place in the San Francisco Bay Area. McDonnald's? Hmm...

Posted at 08:21 AM Read More

Mon - October 30, 2006

What is the affect of using Caucasians in advertisement in Japan?

I still saw a lot of advertisements that use Caucasians instead of Asians in Japan. Does that bring in more money? Sure. That's advertisement. What kind of affect/ influence does it make over using Asians?

There were several pillars in total after this and before this. They all had this ad.

Posted at 11:19 AM Read More

Thu - October 26, 2006

Great feature packed washer + dryer all in one in Japan

This washer+dryer has many features, which make wife's life easier. With a push of a button, it weights clothes, tells you how much soap is needed, washes it, rinses it, and dries it. Until you open it and take out clothes, it intermittently keeps giving some warm air with soft rotation. It keeps clothes fluffy and nice. This is just a basic feature. You might think this is the latest in Japan. It's not. This is one or two generation behind already. Yeah, washer+dryers sold in stores do this for a piece of cake.