Yokohama Brad

Attention! Page Moving

2008-09-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

I decided to move the blog to a new location at http://yokohamabrad.wordpress.com/

It has better stats and a cleaner interface that Blogspot.

So once again, all new posts will be at http://yokohamabrad.wordpress.com/

New Blog - Fine Filter

2008-09-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

I just started a new blog today called Fine Filter. The slogan is "Awesome shit from the world of entertainment" so if that kinda thing interests you then check it out.

I have a ton of posts ready to go for this blog so I plan on doing another post-marathon tomorrow morning/afternoon.

I've been working on the new blog for hours now and it's time to go to sleep.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Second Fireworks - Enoshima

2008-09-04T02:36:00.000-07:00

Over the Summer months, hanabi (fireworks), is a very popular pastime in Japan. During Erin's visit we went to two hanabi, one of which was at Enoshima. Fireworks here differ greatly from those that I've seen in America. While most fireworks in the U.S. last for only 15 minutes or so, here they can last for upwards of two hours.

When we first arrived there were so many people that it overloaded the cell phone towers so I wasn't able to get in touch with Rory to find out where to meet. Just as we were about to leave the beach to check the local surf shop, I saw a pirate flag and remembered everyone's obsession with pirates and knew that it had to be the place. As luck would have it, I was right and we were instantly greeted with cool drinks and food.

After several hours of watching fireworks, Tetsu, an old friend from months ago, broke out the guitar and I played a few songs for everybody. At the end of the night, Tetsu gave a speech and then proceeded to lift everyone up in the air. The night concluded with some guy who was too drunk to stand trying to pee completely naked. Good times!

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Lingo - それがし

2008-09-04T02:24:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of resources online where you can learn "regular" Japanese, so here I decided to let you know about words and phrases that I learned not from any textbook, but during conversations with native Japanese speakers.

それがし, pronounced "So-Ray-Ga-Shi," is how samurai's used to refer to themselves. As cool as it may seem to use the same word for "I" that the samurai's did, often times people won't understand this word because it's so old. Once they do understand it, it probably won't even get a laugh unless you're talking about samurai's at the time.

I learned it from a guy at T.G.I. Friday's during happy hour if that helps paint the picture any better. Whatever...I still think it's pretty cool.

Here's a quick example sentence:

Kanji: それがしは食べたいです。
Hiragana:　それがしはたべたいです。
Romaji:　Soregashi wa tabetai desu.
English: I wanna eat.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Music - The Band Apart

2008-09-04T02:14:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll bring you a Japanese musical artist that catches my attention and would probably be worth your time to listen to. For the most part, don't expect many Japanese people to know about these artists since I tend to like some pretty weird and rare music.

I first saw The Band Apart play in Nashville for only $5 at The 5 Spot and it was a great time. Their music is poppy yet intricate and smart. I had the chance to talk to them and try out some of my Japanese skills for the first time after their show and they were really nice people. I found a flyer for one of their shows in Japan recently and the price was a staggering $50-$70.

Here's the video for my favorite song by them called "Still Awake." It's kind of a boring video, but a great song:

Here's the link to their Myspace page.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Another Enoshima Day

2008-09-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

After a usual day of drinking and swimming at Enoshima beach with Rory, we later met up with Shaun, another teacher from our company. We walked around the beach for awhile and ended up at one of the many bars on the beach for a few minutes. With surprising ease, we were able to talk the bar hustlers down from $7 tequila shots to a mere $3...at which point we drank many.

Rory and I were quickly in the mood to find a party after that, but Shaun went home so we went to the other side of the beach where we rarely go and had a blast. I talked to a group of about 10 girls from Tokyo for awhile and we lit off some fireworks. When Rory came back from wherever he was, we went to hang out with a group of about 15 dudes who were way too excited to have the day off. We later met yet another group of people and drank Sho-Chu for awhile. I left to catch my last train not too long after that, but Rory stayed since he lived in the area.

Here Rory and I are making the "I have no idea what's going on" face:

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Volleyball At The Beach

2008-09-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Erick, Rory, Nana, Craig, and I decided to play some volleyball at the beach. We rented a ball from somewhere and played for about two hours. It was a great time but for the next two days I was in intense pain since I normally don't do any physical activity of any kind.

As we were playing, one of the major TV networks was shooting a bunch of famous people who I didn't recognize playing volleyball. We had to take pictures of them in secret and were turned away when we tried to get autographs. Apparently, you can see us playing volleyball in the background of several shots and we were in the commercial for the episode for a second! If I remember correctly it aired this past Sunday but I didn't get a chance to see it.

Here's one of the pictures that we managed to get:

We later met up with Kazumi at Free Culture for a couple drinks and went home.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Engrish - Plussy

2008-09-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a little Plussy now and then?

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Food Review - Squid

2008-09-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

If I remember correctly, the first time I had squid, or Ika, was at my favorite sushi shop called Yoroi. It was one the times I spent all night talking to people and ended up drinking Sho-Chu all night with some old lady. After awhile, she started ordering item after item for us to eat and one of those items was squid. I was instantly hoooked and now it's one of the first things I order when going out.

You can resonably expect it to be prepared the same way every time, but once when Rory and I ordered it in Fujisawa it came out uncooked with a tiny grill so we could finish the job that the cooks didn't do. No matter how long we left it on the burner, it was still too rubbery and inedibile.

Ika comes in two sections, the first is the body sliced to make O rings. This part is usually a little rubbery, but not too much. The second part is the feet or tentacles which are usually quite crispy. It's typically served with a side of mayo, a lot of salt, and sometimes with sauce on it like the picture above.

It will usually run you about $3-$5 depending on how high class of a restaurant you go to. I think at Yoroi it's about $6, but well worth it. I've made store bought squid twice in my apartment but it's never been too good. I always end up making too much and get sick of it. If you've never had it, I suggest you try it next time you get the chance.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Lingo - じゃん

2008-09-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of resources online where you can learn "regular" Japanese, so here I decided to let you know about words and phrases that I learned not from any textbook, but during conversations with native Japanese speakers.

じゃん, pronounced "Jah-n" or like "John," is one word that I'm pretty sure I never heard until I came to Japan. It's kind of a slang word native to Yokohama and to some extent Tokyo as well. It's pretty much just a tag word used at the end of sentences to mean "isn't it?"

Usually the "n" part of the word is only loosely pronounced, with most of the emphasis being on the "Ja" part of the word. Although it's certainly acceptable practice to say it around Yokohama and Tokyo, you may get some looks of surprise for saying if you are a foreigner. Nonetheless, you should at least know what it means in case it comes up in coversation.

Here is a real quick example sentence:

Kanji: ああ、　凄いじゃん！
Hiragana: ああ、　すごいじゃん！
Romaji: Ah, sugoi jan!
English: Whoa, pretty cool huh?!

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

The Truth - Robots

2008-09-04T00:52:00.000-07:00

As an foreigner, I was very surprised by a lot of things when I came to Japan. Additionally, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Japan, and for whatever it's worth, I'm going to throw my two cents in.

I've been here for 6 months and counting and I still haven't seen a damn robot.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flick er/TheNationalPool

Surfing = Fail

2008-09-03T04:01:00.000-07:00

I tried surfing for the first time ever recently on Rory's board which was pretty exciting, but just as I expected I couldn't do it at all. Every time I finished trying to ride a wave the board would fly up in the air in front of me. As such, for the safety of those around me I decided to stop. All in all, I tried on two different occasions and although fun, it was vastly frustrating. As far as I know, Rory has also decided to quit surfing as well.

Below is a pic of Rory's 1980-riffic board that we used:

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Music - Cornelius

2008-09-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll bring you a Japanese musical artist that catches my attention and would probably be worth your time to listen to. For the most part, don't expect many Japanese people to know about these artists since I tend to like some pretty weird and rare music.

Cornelius is one artist that has already had some degree of popularity in America, but if you haven't heard about him yet I highly recommend checking him out. I first found out about him from Uhh Yeah Dude and then I downloaded The Gum EP. It's pretty experimental Electronica/Rock that often has catchy hooks.

I'll let the video speak for itself.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Saturday Nights

2008-09-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

One thing that really surprised me about Japan is that most people only go out on Saturday nights. There was one instance I remember that perfectly exemplifies this. In late Spring I was out on a beautiful Friday night with some ladies walking around the Sakuragichou area. It's a great place to spend an evening with plenty of Izakaiyas, coffee shops, a nicely lit harbor area, and even a ferris wheel. Despite all of this, there was hardly anyone in sight.

When I asked why no one was out enjoying their weekend after a boring week of work, they didn't really have a good answer other than that's just the way it is. I suppose if you're going to be spending an extended period of time in Japan and want to meet people it's something to take into consideration.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Visiting Japan? Get A Suica!

2008-09-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

This is somewhat of a dry topic but it will probably save you a lot of time and energy whether you're living in Japan or just visiting. If you live here, chances are you already know about it and have a Suica card, but if you only staying for a week or so it could slip right by you.

Suica is a rechargeable magnetic debit card that is able to be used on all of Japan's train systems. At first, it will cost you 2,000 yen ($20 US), 500 yen of which goes to the purchase of the card itself and is completely refundable when you leave. While a rechargeable train card may not seem like groundbreaking stuff, it really helps in that you don't have to stare up a big map in the train station written entirely in Japanese in order to figure out how much your train ticket will cost.

Furthermore, it can also be used at stores both in and near the train stations. Since all money in Japan lower than $10 is in coinage, it can really help to cut down on how much change you have to carry around. Plus the penguin is pretty cool too!

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Random Picture - Sleeping Cat

2008-09-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

Erin and I came across this cat one day while walking around Kamakura. I couldn't get over how cool it was so I figured I'd post up the pic in case you haven't seen it on my Flickr account yet.

Photo credit: Erin Raduazo

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

First Fireworks - Yokohama

2008-09-02T02:39:00.000-07:00

The first night that my cousin Erin spent in Japan we went straight to Kazumi's apartment to watch the fireworks, or "Hanabi," over the downtown Yokohama area.

We simply couldn't have asked for a better night, or a better first night in Japan for Erin. From the top floor of the building it was a perfect view for watching fireworks. I also got to catch up with people I hadn't seen in awhile and also make some new friends.

The food was great with a full spread of sushi, pizza, and countless other dishes. The highlight of the night by far aside from the fireworks was shotgunning beers. Craig, who had never done it before, sprayed beer all over the nice furniture when he stabbed the beer can. I was far too full from dinner to do it properly and most of mine went right into the sink. Rory however took it down like a champ.

After the night ended, Erin and I headed off in search of the train station, but since I didn't know that area of Yokohama too well I wasn't sure about where to go. Luckily we met an old married couple in front of the apartment building who were waiting for their son to pick them up and they gave us a ride to the station. I thanked them profusely and we were able to make it back in time before the last trains hit.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Music - Perfume

2008-09-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

From time to time I'll bring you a Japanese musical artist that catches my attention and would probably be worth your time to listen to. For the most part, don't expect many Japanese people to know about these artists since I tend to like some pretty weird and rare music.

Perfume is the first major label group that I've heard and liked since I've been in Japan. I found out about them from an ex-girlfriend and they're by the far the most poppy and girly group I've ever heard. However, Perfume's teeny-bop is steeped in Electronica and House which is why I took a liking to it. I can really only take listening to one or two of their songs before I get fed up. I wouldn't say that they're great...only interesting mainly because of the production behind them.

Here's a link to a fansite I found.

Here's is a video of the only song I really like called "Electro World."

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Japanese Lingo - "無謀な挑戦"

2008-09-02T01:57:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of resources online where you can learn "regular" Japanese, so here I decided to let you know about words and phrases that I learned not from any textbook, but during conversations with native Japanese speakers.

Recently when I was at my local sushi restaurant, Yoroi, I told the chef about my friend Rory who was driving his Gentsuki, or moped/scooter, all the way from Yokohama which is in the middle of Honshu up to Hokkaido, which a completely different island in Japan.

At the thought how crazy this was, he used a word that I had never heard before which was "無謀な挑戦" and in Hiragana it's "むぼなちょうせん." In normal English pronounciation, or Romaji, it's pronounced "Mu-bo-Na-Chou-Sen." It's a combination of two different words, the first meaning "reckless, mad, or foolhardy" and the second word meaning "to challenge, or to attempt." The "na" in between the two words, as far as I know, marks the adjective of the first word.

Although everyone at the time he used it understood the word perfectly, I have gotten some strange looks when I've used it in other situations. However, after showing the person I was talking to the kanji, or Chinese characters, involved in the construction of the word, they instantly understand and got a good laugh about it.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Engrish - Smoked Person

2008-09-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome Engrish at Hakone. It's by far one of my favorites. You may need to click it for a larger version since the formatting is acting up. Enjoy.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool

Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Still lazy and busy...

2008-07-31T00:54:00.001-07:00

Ugh, no time to post. When there is time, I'm far to lazy to construct sentences on the Internet. So...look at the Flickr page and make up your own story! It'll be fun.

My cousin Erin is coming to Japan tomorrow for 13 days so don't expect too many, if any posts. However, again check out the Flickr page for pics.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Sup

2008-07-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last night was crazy. Soccer game, made new friends, went to Izakaiya, and then and all night festival at Chigasaki beach with Rory. It's 11am now and I still haven't really slept.

There's a proper post coming soon once I get motivated enough. I plan on doing another 4-5 post marathon very soon.

-Brad

Place Review - Kamakura

2008-07-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Kamakura is a mainly historic district in southern Yokohama with plenty to see and do from shrines to great food and a beach. It's also only a short train ride from other great spots like Fujisawa and Enoshima Island making it a great place to start a day of sightseeing. The main attraction of Kamakura is Daibutsu, a large bronze Buddha statue.

Before getting to the main part of Kamakura, you first arrive at a different station about 25 minutes walking distance away from all of the best stuff. From here you can either connect to a smaller train line or walk, I suggest the latter since there is some great stuff to see on the way. In front of this station (too lazy to look up name) there is a large outdoor market and mostly modern buildings. If I remember correctly, the market was mostly food as opposed to souvenirs with a number of small coffee shop style restaurants dotting the area. The street is very narrow and packed with people so I made a quick run of it, but it was still interesting nonetheless.

In Kamakura there are countless shrines and historic landmarks, close to 25 to be exact, but there is one fairly large one that is a must see...I'm a terrible tour guide...I have no idea what it's called, but it's close to the main downtown area. I happened to just stumble into it and maybe if you go you'll do the same. It's located at the top a large hill and along the left hand side of the street there are pretty decent souvenir shops the whole way to the shrine. It costs roughly 400 yen to enter and it's packed with plenty of photo opportunities and incredible views of the shoreline.

The beach area in Kamakura is bit lacking, but it's worth a quick stop to break up all of the sightseeing. It's quite small and the dark black sand makes the whole thing quite unappealing.

Daibutsu is the main attraction of Kamakura and it stands about 43 feet high (13 meters...I still can't get used to this whole meters thing). For 30 yen, or $0.30 USD, you can actually walk inside, but it's incredibly disappointing. You pretty much fight your way against people leaving the statue in what is barely enough space for one person to fit into. The whole experience is like being thrust into a mosh pit inside of a tiny metal box. Once inside, you immediately realize that there is nothing to see and turn around 30 yen poorer than when you came in. There is a small souvenir desk with a bunch of overpriced books about Buddhism for the foreigners that get a little too inspired, but I did manage to an awesome key chain for about 400 yen or so.

The statue itself seems somewhat normal after awhile until you look at the sepia photos nearby with European royalty from hundreds of years ago posing in front and it hits you just old this thing really is. I've heard of people having similar experiences while visiting the Great Pyramids in Egypt as well. When something is built by people, but has outlasted countless generations, it kind of gives you an odd perspective on things.

After you've seen about as much historic stuff as you can take, there is a great hiking trail about a ten minute walk from Daibutsu. You should be warned however that it is a lot longer than it appears. I decided to be adventurous and after about an hour of walking I regretted my decision. About halfway through the trail, there is a very cool looking restaurant and cafe nestled in the woods. I really wanted to stop, but my first priority was finding a way out of the woods because I had to work the next day...and I was broke. I finally came to a clearing which was surprisingly residential. Luckily, another foreigner who lived nearby gave some directions and before I knew it I was right back in the woods. After about another 20 minutes, there was another shine and a fork in the road. There I met three people who helped me find the train station and we stopped at yet another shrine on the way to wash money which is good luck or something. Thanks again to the people who helped me get out of the forest!

So there's that...I'm back. I actually have other posts written on paper but I'm too lazy to work them out on the blog. Tonight I'm going to an Enkai, another work party, and then one more day of work and a company meeting before starting a break until September. The next few posts will probably come around Sunday or so since I may go to the beach on Saturday.

Later - Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Where Am I?

2008-07-08T01:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everybody that's been checking out the blog while I've been too lazy and too busy to post. It's always cool to see the hit count go up a little bit. I assure you I'll be making regular posts soon. Next Friday I start my summer vacation so I'll have plenty of time then. However, I should let you know that I started playing World Of Warcraft again. Check out my stats son! I hit 70 and it's awesome.

I've been coming up with some ideas for blog topics while I'm at work so sometime maybe this weekend I'll just do another blog marathon.

All is well in Japan. I've just been far too busy with work and play to write about how awesome of a time it is.

Later - Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Update

2008-06-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hey I just got back from Tokyo from a crazy weekend. I played a show at Daikanyama in Shibuya and it was dope. New posts coming maybe tomorrow after work.

Now surfing enjoyday

2008-06-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a T-shirt that I bought near the Sagamihara River awhile ago. Enjoy.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

The Truth - Deodorant In Japan

2008-06-24T23:14:00.001-07:00

With that said, lets talk about deodorant. Like most people, it's not something that I ever took into consideration before. You just buy it, put it on, whatever. It's deodorant. Who cares. But, from everything I've seen, they don't really have any deodorant in Japan.

After scrounging through two grocery stores and asking every employee, I was able to find one weird ass roll-on thing for about 650 yen...that's almost $7! Furthermore, even when doing the "Hey look! I'm putting deodorant on!" motion to show what I wanted since I didn't know how to say it in Japanese, they had no idea what I wanted.

For the time being, I'm doing okay since my Dad sent a care package to me loaded with the Old Spice red deodorants that I'd gotten so used to. Pure Sport...Aqua Reef...you know what I'm talkin' about. Also, I think I've got a good line on deodorant with someone who lives on the American base in Yokosuka so all should be well.

What tripped me out even more than the fact that deodorant is rare in Japan, is that I actually have an old roommate in America and after telling him this story I learned that he has never used deodorant and never stinks. After all my research before coming here, I had no idea. Comments...?

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Chu-Hi by Kirin - Drink Review

2008-06-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

Chu-Hi, pronounced "Chew-Hai," is another drink I had never heard of before coming to Japan. The first time I had it was on Enoshima beach as the sun was setting and it was awesome. Here is a picture: L-R (Rory, Brad, and Andrew)

I have no idea what Chu-Hi is made from, but it's clear and almost always has a fruit flavor of some sort such as Lemon or Grapefruit. It goes down smooth and crisp, almost like a super-fizzy Sprite that also gets you drunk. I may have heard somewhere that it's a girl's drink in Japan, but if I'm at the beach this summer and the sun is beating down I'll definitely take Chu-Hi over a beer.

It costs around 200 yen to 250 yen at convenience stores which isn't too bad considering that most beers of the same "Duece-Duece" size are about 300 yen. The usual alchohol percentage is 6%, but Kirin also makes an 8% version as well, most likely for the same price.

I think you can also get this drink at bars and Izakaiyas, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're a guy. In that case, you probably would look like a girl drinking it. But, if you're lounging at the beach or just want to switch it up for a second between beers I think it would be okay.

After doing a little research online, I found out that this stuff is loaded with sugar. If you care about that sort of thing than take it into consideration. Whatever. I love it.

Final Decision: 4 out of 5

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Pizza-La - Food Review

2008-06-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

When I saw Pizza-La from Doritos at Lawson I was so taken in by the bag that I just had to try it. Unfortunately, it was quite underwhelming.

One would think judging by the picture on the bag that perhaps there was some kind of awesome chip/fake pizza hybrid waiting for you to enjoy. I sure did so I handed over my 147 yen without hesitation. Even the English slogan says "All the taste and toppings you want on a pizza straight from our oven to your door." I was later surprised to find there were no toppings at all, let alone "all the toppings [I] want on a pizza."

What I did find however was just an overpriced small bag of regular-ass Doritos that just tasted a little funny. They looked exactly like every other kind of Doritos I've ever had, and nothing like the picture at all. They were Doritos after all so it wasn't a total failure. I soon got used to the "Seafood Italiana" flavor, if that even is a specific kind of flavor. I think I was just left feeling tricked, but it was worth it to try out some new food from Japan.

Final Decision: 1.5 out of 5

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Top Ten Websites To Prepare You For Japan

2008-06-24T02:28:00.001-07:00

Before I came to Japan, I learned a decent amount about the Japanese language and the Japanese culture, all for free and from the Internet. Here are the top ten websites that helped me and maybe they'll help you too.

1. JapanesePod101.com: This is free daily podcast based out of Tokyo. Every day there is a new conversation about 10 minutes long with followup grammar and cultural explanations. You can find the podcast in the iTunes music store.

2. D-Addicts.com: This is a torrent site for sub-titled Japanese dramas. For me, it was essential for learning how Japanese was spoken. I highly recommend downloading My Boss, My Hero, Liar Game, and my all time favorite Stand Up! You'll first need a torrent client such as uTorrent or Azureus.

3. 1, 000 Kanji Page: If you want to learn kanji, this is a great place to start. You'll first need to learn the Hiragana alphabet and then mentally convert the website's romajii into Hiragana. There is no other way to learn kanji than to just grab a notebook and put some serious time in. Good luck.

4. JR Train Site: Once you get to you Japan, you'll need to figure out how to get around and this site is great for it. You type in where you're coming from and you're destination and it tells you where to change lines. I usually start out most long trips by visiting this site.

5. Japan Talk: This is a great podcast for keeping up with the news from Japan in an entertaining format. New episodes are posted every week and aside from the website, you can find Japan Talk in the iTunes music store.

6. Skype and Xlingo: One of the problems I encountered in learning Japanese in America is that there was no one to speak Japanese to. With Skype and the language exchange site Xlingo, you can find people in Japan to talk to. Although it's difficult to meet people at first, I had a great experience with this and one person in Kobe even sent me a care package when I got to Japan.

7. Rikai-Chan: This is a Firefox add-on that translates individual words in Japanese as you surf the web. You may also need the accompanying dictionary as well.

8. Forums: To get a first hand account as to what other foreigners think about Japan, you might want to drop by some forums such as GaijinPot.com and FuckedGaijin.com. Also sometimes crude and off-topic, they could be a good source for gaining some inside knowledge.

9. Stars21 Translator: In case the Rikai-Chan kanji translator doesn't cut it for you, I found this site to be the most accurate Japanese to English translator. I actually prefer it to BabelFish. For some reason, the site shrinks my browser but whatever.

10. The Japanese Page: Honestly, I haven't spent too much time on this page, but Rivers Cuomo is a sponsor so it must be half-way decent. There seems to be a lot of grammar stuff on there. It might be worth a look.

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Onigiri - Food Review

2008-06-24T01:11:00.000-07:00

Onigiri is one food that I had never had before coming to Japan. I can't recall the first time I tried it but I'm glad as hell that I did.

Pretty much all Onigiri is is a triangle of rice with something packed inside, all wrapped inside of seaweed, or nori. There are many different kinds of fillings you can get, but my favorite by far is the tuna. Without really being able to read very much Japanese, I learned what tastes good by trial and error pretty much.

You can get Onigiri from pretty much any convenience store for about 105 yen for the tuna and up to about 130 yen for the "good stuff" that tastes horrible. It makes a great snack in between meals and an even better meal when your wandering from bar to bar. I used to get three for a meal, but have lately cut down to only one since I've been making my own recently.

To make Onigiri, do the following:

First clean and cook your rice. To clean the rice, add water to your rice cooker, wait a few minutes and then strain it. I was told by Japanese people to do this about five times and it seems to work. If you don't do this, your rice will be hard.
Let the rice cool down for about 10 minutes. Rice is hotter than you might think and you will burn the shit out of your hands if you don't wait. Trust me.
Add rice seasoning to it or more salt if you like.
Either buy small cut nori or tear up the larger cuts of nori.
Wet your hands and then put salt on them.
Make small balls of rice. If you want to add a filling, press your thumb in the ball and then put your filling in.
Place the ball of rice onto the nori and then fold it.
Bam! Just that easy.

Final Decision: 5 out of 5

I'm actually making some Onigiri as I'm making this post...and it's time to eat! Laterz.

Brad

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Saturday Night Sushi

2008-06-23T00:30:00.000-07:00

It was a boring weekend for the most part, with the exception of Saturday night. I had to work all day Saturday for parent's day but after work I decided to go to a sushi restaurant near my train station.

I read somewhere online that being a foreigner in Japan is like being a C-List celebrity and that's probably true. Before I even took a seat at the bar to order, people are already trying to talk to me. When I first arrived, there was a middle-aged couple to my left and an older woman at the far end of the bar who I had talked to last time I ate there about 2 months ago.

For some decent sushi I paid about $6, one beer was $6, and a decent size bottle of sake (Nihon-Shu) was $7. After about an hour and half or so I was ready to leave until the older woman wanted to buy me drinks so, since I don't have much money these days, of course I obliged.

People came and went as the old woman and I put down a bottle of Shou-Chu. It was the first time I had ever had it. It was hard liquor, but instead of shooting it you mix it with water and ice and perhaps a lemon. It was pretty good but I don't really plan on drinking it again anytime soon.

There were tons of characters that came in throughout the night like a guitar player, a really old lady who tried to correct my kanji, a young couple who wanted to take me to Costco, and another guy who was worried that his daughter was going to marry a foreigner or something. Many cell phones numbers were exchanged and many a story told. The sushi chefs were all about 20-30 something years old and would join in the conversation for awhile too if it was interesting.

I spent yesterday and today just watching movies and David Letterman that I downloaded. Friday I'm going to Shinjuku after another teacher's meeting and then I'm playing a show in Shibuya on Sunday night.

I got some weird notice in the mail from the electric company, all in Japanese of course, and I have to figure out what the hell it says. I hope my electricity isn't going to get cut off.

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Zaru Soba - Food Review

2008-06-18T02:56:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite foods from Japan even before I got here was Zaru Soba. Here's a quick breakdown of what it is.

As far as the name goes, Zaru is the name for the wooden mat that it's is served on and Soba is the name of the noodle which is made out of buckwheat. When I make it at home, I usually just put the noodles in a bowl since theres no reason to really get all fancy with it. The noodles are about the size of spagetti and are pretty much inedible by themselves. As such, you dip them into Tsu Yu which looks like soy sauce but it tastes much sweeter. The first time I made this in Nashville I was instantly hooked.

In stores the prices are usually about $1-$3 for a pack of three to four sets of Soba and around $4 for a bottle of Tsu Yu. The bottles of Tsu Yu typically last for a long time. For a full meal I usually make 2 sets of Soba. However, the first time I bought it a couple Japanese people told me that it's usual to only eat one set as a meal though.

Another thing that makes this such a great dish is that it's so easy to make. All you do is boil the noodles for about five minutes and then strain them over cold water until their nice and cold. That's pretty much it. I've had Zaru Soba a couple times in restraunts but still perfer the taste of the store bought Tsu Yu.

Final Decision: 5 out of 5

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Pepsi Blue Hawaii - Drink Review

2008-06-18T02:33:00.000-07:00

On my way home from work today I found a new drink released by Pepsi only in Japan called Pepsi Blue Hawaii. Apparently it's a special drink only for Summer 2008 and after seeing Uhh Yeah Dude drink last year's watermelon Pepsi I of course had to buy it.

With it's blinding bright blue color, it looks as though it was forged in a nuclear reaction or something. Apparently it's supposed to taste like pineapple and lemon but I don't really taste it. It has a very light taste to it and is only slightly thicker than water it seems. In fact, it's difficult to even think of what it tastes like. I can tell you though that it is very fizzy.

I haven't seen it in stores before so I can only assume that it just came out within the past few days. I picked it up from 7-11 for about $1.50. Although it's not bad, I can't really say that I'll be buying it again anytime soon. The more I drink as I'm writing this, the more I think that it's really not too bad. However, there isn't really anything special about the taste.

Final Decision: 3.5 out of 5

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Cafe Au Lait by UCC - Drink Review

2008-06-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

There isn't anything particularly special about Cafe Au Lait made by a company called UCC, however I think that the whole small coffee thing in Japan is pretty cool.

This specific coffee is the brand I drink every morning before leaving for work. Essentially what it is is coffee with creamer already added to it. I get about 10 of these at a time from the 100 yen store for 50 yen (about $0.50) a piece and keep them cold in the fridge. They go down pretty quick and smooth when kept cold and usually I don't even taste it but just chug it.

These small pre-mixed coffees are also abundant on the street through vending machines at the much higher cost of about 100 yen to 150 yen for 1 can. They are usually pretty hot when you buy them from the vending machines. There are countless brands, but according to the slogan, "Boss Coffee is the boss of them all since 1992."

Before I found them in stores, I spent way too much money on these things from vending machines. I suppose the only bad part about buying them in stores is that you really can't heat them up at all, but they still taste great when served cold.

Final Decision: 3.7 out of 5

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Last Weekend

2008-06-17T23:18:00.000-07:00

Friday night after work I went out to an Izakaiya near Yokohama station with a couple teachers from one of my schools. I was looking for the dimly lit Izakaiya that I went to before near Yokohama station but I couldn't find it so we went to one that was a little too bright for my taste but it was a good time nonetheless. Only one of the two teachers spoke English so we decided to speak Japanese the whole time which was fun. After a couple drinks, I tend to drop the formality of my Japanese significantly which might be rude but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Later that evening, I met up with Rory and we walked around the busy side of Yokohama station and drank convenience store beers. We met a couple random dudes who wanted to arm wrestle and I lost terribly. We caught a late train back home and all was well.

Saturday I met Rory at Enoshima beach and we went swimming for awhile. Surprisingly, we were about the only people in the ocean in the middle of June who weren't wearing wetsuits. Perhaps because of the communal mindset of Japan, nobody really steps out of line and does their own thing. I later met another white dude from New York though Rory and hung out at a surf shop for awhile which later turned into a cookout.

The cookouts here in Japan aren't exactly what you might think if you're reading this in America. The Japanese idea of a cookout is various types of delicious yet tiny food. Hamburgers and hot dogs are nowhere to be found. Later, somebody brought a small guitar and we passed it around and played songs.

I tried to take a late train home but fell asleep and ended up in Ueno, Tokyo which is about an hour away. I was pretty pissed but decided to make the best of it. I met a tourist from another Asian country, I forget where exactly, who had missed her flight home. She spoke pretty good English and helped me find a capsule hotel a couple streets up from the train station.

For about $36 US, I got a tube with a TV to sleep in until 10am the next day. Surprisingly it was pretty comfortable and kinda fun. It's not really the kinda thing that you end up doing intentionally, you have to screw up the night a little bit to end up sleeping in a capsule hotel. Here is a picture of the capsule hotel next to where I stayed called Phuket, which is exactly what I was thinking when I decided to stay for the night.

The next day I met up with Eriko after not seeing her for quite sometime. I don't feel like giving the whole story on the blog, but she's a handful to say the least. Overall though, we had a good time in Shinjuku walking around on a great Sunday afternoon. We went to the top of some really tall building with a great view and had lunch at a nice outdoor eatery thing. I made it back to Yokohama far too late Sunday night completely exhausted and thus began another work week.

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Trash

2008-06-17T22:44:00.001-07:00

So it seems I have some free time today so I'm going make as many posts as I can stand. There are a few things that I've been meaning to write about but haven't found the time yet. Surprisingly, trash is a very big deal in Japan so here's the run down.

The above picture is the end result when you take out the trash from your house. It makes zero sense to me. Every day, the biggest black crowes I've ever seen in my life tear through the covering without fail and have a smogesborg. The crowes here have enormous beaks and I can only assume that they evolved that way from having to get into the trash over the years. Sometimes the bottom of the covering will be lined with chain links but it never really seems to do any good. I would've thought that perhaps somebody had seen a trash can at some point in their life but that's just how they do it here.

There are also different days that each different kind of trash gets picked up. The categories are pretty difficult considering that plastics are lumped into the "Combustible" category, while plastic bottles are not. As a result, the hallway in my apartment was lined with trash for the first month I was in Japan.

Another issue is the trash cans in the street. Often they are nowhere to be found, or you can only find the trash can for aluminum cans or plastic bottles when you all you need is a regular trash can to throw something away. It's pretty frustrating.

One thing that is actually kinda cool once you get used to it is that nobody throws their cigarette butts in the streets like in America. Although it was pretty difficult to get used to at first, it's pretty nice to not see a bunch of cigs on the street everywhere you go. For 100yen you can buy pocket sized plastic pouches lined with aluminum to put your butts into. Some people take it another step further and buy a separate device where you actually ash into as you smoke which seems pretty pointless to me since it just blows away instantly anyway.

As far as trash goes, I think I covered just about everything. Word.

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Shiroi Natchan - Drink Review

2008-06-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

Before I had Shiroi Natchan, I had another similar drink that I loved called Calpis which I bought simply based off the name. Even in the Calpis TV commericals, it sounds exactly like their saying "Cow Piss." How could you not buy something with a name like that right? Well Shiroi Natchan pretty much tastes and looks exactly like Calpis.

First off, the bottle looks awesome. To break down the name, "Shiroi" means white in Japanese and chan is a suffix often given to people's names. For example, I'm Brad, so my name might be "Bu-Ra-Chan" if you wanted to give me a cute name in Japanese. So, the whole thing is "Shiroi Na-chan" and it tastes great.

I got it from the dollar store, or 100yen shop. You should also be able to find it on the many vending machines along the streets in Japan. The taste is similar to maybe a Sprite mixed with a little bit of Cream Soda. It's made by Suntory, which you may know as the whiskey company I think from Lost In Translation. It's a little strange, but most beer companies also make a number of other soft drinks in Japan. Imagine if you will if Coors made an iced tea or something. Pretty odd.

It's not really something you can drink fast. Even if I try, I have to stop myself because the taste is quite strong. Usually a large sip is the best I can do. I highly recommend Shiroi Na-Chan. Even though it's made by Suntory which is a major drink company, perhaps Calpis might be the better of the two.

Final decision: 4 out of 5.

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Asahi Fire - Drink Review

2008-06-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here is the first post in a series of drink reviews. I got out of work a little early today and on the walk home I got the idea to write about the crazy drinks that Japan has to offer. So lets kick it off with one of my old and rare favorites, Asahi Fire.

The first time I bought this drink was at a Lawson which is a convience store somewhat like a 7-11. I had no idea what this drink was at all. I pretty much just bought it based upon looks alone. After I was halfway through with it, I realized that it was a very potent energy drink.

With most other energy drinks I've had, like Red Bull for example, the burst of energy pretty much slaps you across the face as soon as you drink it. I don't know how they managed to do it, but after drinking this, you slowly feel a renewed sense of vigor creep up on you ever so slowly. The result is a perfect jump start to keep you going for the rest of the night, without making you feel too jittery.

After the first couple that I had, it quickly became my go-to drink for late nights. However, I was very surprised to find that the Lawson near my train station no longer carried them, nor did the clerk know what I was talking about when I asked them about it. I chalked it up to the drink just being in a limited run and figured that I'd never have this awesome drink again until about a week ago I found it in a grocery store near my house.

The taste is something like cherry soda with a little bit of Red Bull perhaps. I love it but if I remember correctly, Rory said that it tasted like medicine. I still haven't drank the one I bought last week since I usually have coffee in the morning and I could only assume that mixing this drink with beer on the weekends would be very bad news.

I don't know the actual name of this drink, so I just assume that it's called Fire. In case the picture is unclear, the English at the bottom reads "The blazing flame is a symbol of your energy and enthusiasm." Strong words and a strong drink. Try it if you ever get the chance.

Final Verdict: 5 out 5

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Still busy...

2008-06-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty busy and crazy. I have some stories to tell but not today. I'm way too tired so here's a picture of a kick-ass cat I saw in Shinjuku, Tokyo on Sunday at the worst flea market ever.

I got so happy when I saw this cat. I mean how could feel bad about anything after seeing that thing!? He had his paw out like the whole time on the front of the bike as he was driven around.

Lately I've been thinking about making some posts about the bad parts of Japan. There are quite a few things that make zero sense to me that I want to write about. I may have time tomorrow to make a proper post so we'll see what happens.

またね！

ブラッド

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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New Posts

2008-06-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

I should be writing some more within the next few days. Either tomorrow or Monday at the latest. It was a busy and boring week and now I'm enjoying the weekend.

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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New Music

2008-06-09T04:30:00.001-07:00

This is in no way really related to Japan, but I posted it to The National Pool's Myspace page and I figured I'd post it here too.

I started writing some new songs and hope to put out a new record later this year. At the latest, it'll happen in November since thats been how it's went down for the past two years. I get about a month and a half off of work in July and August so I hope to do the bulk of recording during that time when my mind is clear and I can take the time needed to record.

At the moment, it's looking like it's going to be quite different from the past two. I don't really feel like making a big fuss out of it nor do I really have the equipment now to do another Electronica-style record. I'd say that it might end up like a cross between David Grey's "White Ladder," Neil Young's "Silver and Gold," and some of the messyness of the Bradley Nowell acoustic record. Change is good so we'll see what happens.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'll be spending it teaching little kids how to speak English. Haha. Later. Brad

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Volleyball and Fujisawa

2008-06-07T20:06:00.001-07:00

This past week I spent quite a bit of time in Fujisawa at Enoshima beach and the usual bars around Fujisawa. Wednesday I had the day off so when Rory got off work early we went to the beach to wander around. We found a small skate park where I tried to remember how to skate. It's been far too long though and I don't really have any skill anymore.

Later as the sun set, we joined up with some people who were playing volleyball and played for about an hour or so. My team dropped the ball quite a bit because, perhaps out of politeness, we could never figure out who was going to go for the ball. It was a good time though, here's a picture:

Last Friday Eric and I hit up the beach early and decided to try walk the same roads I did last time, but this time without Rory's navigational skills. I got us a little lost but it was a nice walk. By the time we made it to the beach, there wasn't really anybody playing volleyball. After hanging at the beach for awhile, we headed back into Fujisawa proper to meet up with Rory for drinks. We ended up staying out for awhile but apparently Friday nights aren't very lively in Japan for some reason. Nonetheless it was a good time.

Saturday morning Eric and I went back to the beach for awhile to walk around. I'm really looking forward to spending a lot of this summer there. There are already a ton of bars being built right on the beach and there are several love hotels within sight. Should be fun.

I've got another busy week of work coming up that I'm not really looking forward to, but by mid-July I'll be on break for about a month and a half. I'm out!

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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----------------
Now playing: imaginary baseball league - i am right
via FoxyTunes

Sports Day and The Enkai

2008-06-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, I worked for my seventh day in a row for the school's Sports Day. The work wasn't too bad at all really. I pretty much just had to be there and walk around while the students ran laps ad nauseum. During one of many smoke breaks, I met one of the parents and chatted it up for while. Most of the time though, I was just looking forward to the work party that night, which in Japanese is "Enkai."

I knew we were going to an Izakaiya which I was looking forward to since I really dig the dimly lit atmosphere and awesome food. However, we went to a Chinese Izakaiya apparently that was lit quite brightly and the food was not so awesome. The nomihodai, or all-you-can-drink was quite fun though. The cost, 5,000 Yen, or about $50 was quite off putting at first since I wasn't paid for about 2 months after arriving. Because of that, I missed a lot of the other Enkais and this was my first one. Here's me eating jellyfish for the first time at the Enkai.

I also drank Sake for the first time that night too which was pretty good. It's quite different from the hard liquor I've had before in that you sip it instead of shooting it all at once. Apparently in Japan, it's also customary to pour beer for your co-workers. The glasses are also very small so that you have an opportunity to talk to people you normally don't talk to at work when you refill their glass. This custom was very cool at first, but later when you want another beer and nobody is really refilling anymore it's a little difficult.

Later I had to give a speech in Japanese which was a little difficult all things considered. I manged to get by with only couple sentences, pretty much saying "I really like this school. The teachers and students are very good people. Everyday is fun. I'm done." I think it went pretty well.

From there, myself along with about 6 other teachers who were still down to party went to do Karaoke for awhile in what must have been the coolest looking place ever. The atmosphere was pretty extravagant and tropical with dark wood and palm trees everywhere. I sang "I Did It My Way" with the Japanese language teacher and then "Say It Ain't So" by Weezer with another English teacher who had lived in America for awhile.

We sang for quite some time and then everybody ran to catch the last train. Although a little expensive, the whole night was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went. Thats all for now.

Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Kannai On A Friday Night

2008-06-07T01:27:00.001-07:00

After the monthly meeting for the English teachers two Fridays ago, Eric and I went to the park for drinks with Andrew and another teacher. Since there are no open container laws regarding beer, it's very easy to have an impromptu party anywhere, anytime. I definitely have to give props to the Japanese for this. After hanging out for awhile, our group dwindled down to just me and Eric.

We were later approached by a homeless guy who wanted to sell us a digital camera and a Chanel coin case. At first I didn't quite understand what he wanted so I got out a dollar or so to give to him but he wouldn't take it. Apparently he was looking for the big payoff by selling a camera. I'm not too sure how the warranty would've worked out should the camera have broke. We didn't buy anything, but we ended up talking to this guy for quite awhile about the differences between Japan and America. The more that I think about it, most conversations tend to go in this direction and somehow it still remains interesting.

After bro-ing down for awhile, we were ready to talk to some women. However, for some reason Japan doesn't really have bars as we know them in America, and especially not in Kannai. Most places have odd arrangements of cover charges for no reason, confusing charges by the hour, hostess bars, maid bars, snack bars, and sometimes no-white-people-allowed bars. The result is a far cry from the large open spaces I'm used to in America where you can easily approach people and start a conversation.

Finally we found what must have been the only proper bar in Kannai and went in. There weren't really any women at all so we ended up trading stories with a Salary Man who rolled his own cigarettes and was sipping Jack Daniels. We talked about the dreary life of the Salary Man, China, and other usual topics. All in all it was a good time but I called it an early night since I had to wake up the next day to teach on a Saturday.

Later - Brad

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Too Busy To Post

2008-06-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

I meant to make a post this week but have been way too busy lately. The good news is your in for some pretty good stories when I finally do get around to posting. I'm off to go play some volleyball at the beach with Eric in Fujisawa.

There are a new pictures from the Enkai (Work Party) and also from the volleyball with Rory this past week up on the Flickr page. Check em out.

Mata ne fool - Brad

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Nerd Alert!

2008-05-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

I'll do another a proper post about Japan probably next Monday. I had to work today, Saturday, and I also have to work Sunday so I'm far too lazy now to write about anything in depth. So here is a mindless post about World Of Warcraft. Enjoy:

After getting home from work today I really got the urge to play some World Of Warcraft, however I canceled my account months ago because I don't really have time for it while I'm over here. Before I came to Japan, I took a couple months off of work just to relax and spent most of this time playing WOW. It's mostly just a waste of time, but probably best way to waste time ever. And I mean a lot of time. I would wake up in the morning and make tea and play till the sun went down...and there would still be more stuff to do in the game.

Here is a picture of my main character, a fire mage named Chipdipson.

I was only a couple days shy of making it to level 70, which is currently the highest you can go. After awhile though, the game started to become too much of a grind. I'm not sure if I'll ever reactivate my account though.

Whatever. Theres that. Props to everybody in my old guild Phoenix Wrath.

In other news I've been slowly but surely writing some new songs. Now that I finally got paid, I'm going to look into getting some mic stands so I can properly start recording some stuff. I've also been catching up on old Lost episodes and getting over a pretty nasty cold.

As promised, I should have a proper post about Japan on Monday or so. Later.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

China Protest Video

2008-05-27T23:40:00.000-07:00

Here is some video that I took on May 6, 2008 in Ginza, Tokyo. Sorry in advance for the noise, but it was very loud and theres isn't much I can do about that. I was told it was a protest about China and the upcoming Olympics. About the only words I could even make out when I was there were "Chu-Goku" which is China and "Hantai" which means opposite. Enjoy the video.

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Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
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Weekend In Tokyo

2008-05-26T00:45:00.000-07:00

Friday after work I took a quick nap and then headed up to Shinjuku to meet Eriko again. I ended up being quite late after taking the wrong train for part of the way. We went to get some Katsudon and then took a walk around Shinjuku at around midnight or so. We went to check out Korean town and then a store called Don Quixote, or Donkey as it's pronounced in Japan.

It was a pretty interesting store with a wide variety of items from ultra-kawaii (cute) home furniture to groceries and sex items. Kinda of like a Spencer's meets Wal-Mart kinda thing. It's certainly a good time but most of the conversation went down like this:

Eriko: "Ahhh, kawaii!"
Me: "Yup."
Pause for 30 sec...
Eriko: "Oooo, kawaii!"
Me: "Uh-huh."
Etc.

The next evening I met up with Eric and we pre-gamed for awhile at the train station while waiting for some other friends to show up. Surprisingly several hours flew by as I'm sure both of us were just happy to be able to speak English for a change. By the time everybody else arrived, the trains had stopped running so we took a cab over to Roppongi to go clubbing. We went to a bar first where we only stayed for a few minutes, but long enough to see some craziness go down.

If you're at all unfamiliar, apparently Roppongi, which means "Six Trees," is famous for foreign guys picking up Japanese women. Well after only five minutes in this bar, Eric went to use the bathroom and heard a German guy getting his groove on with some woman. Within minutes a crowd formed outside the bathroom and security busted up the love fest. The Japanese woman looked completely ashamed and left while the German dude just laughed it off and went to the bar to get another drink if I remember correctly.

From there we went to a dance club with about 3 or 4 floors that looked exactly the same. I got separated from the group for quite some time which wasn't very fun. Finally we met back up and danced to some decent music for awhile. Being a music fanatic, I get kinda picky when it comes to music selection. All in all, we busted some moves and had a good time.

We left the club at about 5am or so and I took the train back to Shinjuku to go to Eriko's place. Friday night however I forgot to charge my cell phone so my battery was dead and I wasn't too sure about where she lived and knew I couldn't even enter the building once I got there because of the security code. After wandering aimlessly and occasionally get hassled by creeps if I wandered down a bad street, I finally met a dude and his girlfriend who helped me find the apartment. After we finally got there, I had to yell "Eriko!" at the building until she woke up and was none too happy about me making the noise. Whatever. We all hung out for awhile at Eriko's place and I played some guitar for everybody as best I could at that hour without any sleep.

On Sunday I met up with Dewi and a cello player and we practiced for the show in June. It should be pretty interesting as it's classical music and I haven't really played much serious music live before. Later on I finally arrived back home exhausted and slept the rest of the day.

This coming Saturday is Sport's Day at one of my schools and then another cookout at Enoshima which should be pretty fun.

Laterz - Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

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Now playing: Kid 606 - GQ On The EQ
via FoxyTunes

The Tuesday Typhoon

2008-05-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday afternoon another English teacher casually mentioned that a Typhoon was on it's way in and that it would rain the next day. Little did I know that I was in for one of the most difficult walks to work ever.

From my apartment, I have about a 20 minute walk to the train station. When I arrive at my stop, I have another 20 minute walk uphill, with no sidewalks, fighting my way through foot traffic while trying not to get hit as the cars pass. Also, on Mondays and Fridays I have to carry an extra pair of shoes with me to wear in school. Most days it's no big deal as you can get used to just about anything, but that day looked like something from the News when they send the rookie weather reporter out to interview the storm during hurricane season.

The wind was far too strong to use an umbrella most of the way, so I arrived completely soaked to the bone in a three-piece suit. Later that day, the weather cleared up completely with no trace of what went down that morning.

Whatever.

Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Shinjuku Weekend

2008-05-19T01:04:00.000-07:00

It's Monday again and I'm coming back to reality after a busy weekend in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It's pretty far away from where I live in Yokohama so it's always kind of a shock for me to come back to the semi-countryside that I call home. Another big part of it is the usual lack of sleep that I get on the weekends. I usually remain pretty lazy during the week as a result.

Friday, after decompressing from the work week for awhile around the apartment, I hit the train up to Shinjuku to meet Eriko. She doesn't really speak English often which gives me plenty of opportunity to pick up some more Japanese. I'm starting to get to the point where as long as I know the words I want to say, I don't have to think too much about sentence structure. Of course, there is still a seemingly endless amount left to learn.

I went up pretty early so I could check out the town since the lights looked so inviting last time I was there on a weekday. I ended up not even really seeing the town, and just hanging out around the front of the train station watching band after band of street musicians do their thing. I watched one jazz group with some very talented musicians, but they lacked soul. The drummer however was incredible.

After that, I watched a pop-ish kind of group for a long time. When they finished up their set, we talked for awhile about what it's like to perform in the street. I bought one of their CDs and talked about maybe playing sometime together. I think Sunday I'm practicing for the show in June and we're supposed to hit the street afterwards to play. Should be pretty fun.

Saturday evening Eriko and I met up with Eric and his girlfriend. We got some drinks around Shinjuku and then headed over to Nana's place in Gotanda. It was a pretty regular evening; just hanging out around the apartment. Eriko and I barely caught the last train back to Shinjuku and then we went out for my favorite food here: Katsudon.

I've been a little homesick as of late. I was riding high for the first couple months here but some of the newness is starting to wear off. Since I'm not really a teacher by trade, I feel some pressure to get back to the US and get a proper job in the music industry again. Some days all I'd like to do is hit up the old bars in Nashville or Annapolis where things always seemed to make sense. On the same token though, I certainly needed a break from the monotony of a regular 9-5 job.

I think there is certainly a lot of both good and bad things about living in such a different environment. I probably won't get into the bad things now since I'm sure nobody wants to read about that sort of thing. I will say that I've been in Japan for several months now and I haven't seen one damn robot. As far as technology goes, I really haven't been amazed by too much here. It's just frustrating rules about your shoes, no paper towels, and the occasional hole in the ground for a toilet. You can however drink anywhere, anytime. Perhaps it all evens out.

As for other stuff, I just got the new Portishead record and it's pretty cool. What I've been listening to the most is The Best Show Of WFMU and Uhh Yeah Dude podcasts. I highly recommend them. I have some quick video that I shot with the digital camera thats laying around now so hopefully I'll get around to editing that for YouTube this week.

Laterz - Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Language Limbo

2008-05-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Even though I had another insane weekend with Rory turning the town of Fujisawa on it's head, I figured I'd write about something simpler for now. The English and Japanese languages.

One odd thing about being in Japan is finding the balance between still being able to spell basic English words and learning Japanese. While this may sound a bit odd at first to anyone not here, imagine not watching TV, listening to the radio, reading newspapers, seeing advertisements, or taking in a number of any kind of media in your native language. Add to that, only being to speak with friends in English once a week if your lucky. The end result is that I can feel my written English ability slipping away faster than (insert awesome metaphor here cuz I can't do it).

When students ask questions about how to spell certain words in English, I find myself constantly second guessing how to spell simple words like "Couch" or "Twelfth." Without the help of spellchecker I have no idea. I can only hope for their sake that they look up the proper spelling later. I have heard some accounts of Americans speaking much slower English than ever before as a result of coming to Japan, but luckily I think my East Coast upbringing won't let that happen.

I'm frantically studying Japanese, mainly kanji at the moment, every chance I get in between going out and work. So far it seems to be going quite well, although I'm not really expecting to attain fluency. If you ever have any time to kill, studying kanji is one of the best ways to do it. As a result, I usually keep a notebook with me at all times in case I end up waiting for something / stranded. If you're interested, all you really need is a pen, notebook, and this website. Just be sure to change the Romaji to Hiragana as you go.

In other news, I just got done watching the Rambo movie from last year and it was pretty cool. Also, I've been listening to a ton of Imaginary Baseball League lately. If you've never heard of them, they have lots of free mp3s on their site since they broke up. I've been a fan for quite sometime, and it makes for great quiet music while waiting for the first train of the day at 5am.

In my music news, I'm still working on new songs. Sometimes it feels like work which isn't any good. Hopefully it'll just come naturally if given enough time. I'd really like to put a new record out by this November.

Before I go, I'll leave you with another picture from the Enoshima cookout.

I'm going to Shinjuku this weekend. If I don't write before then...Mata ne!

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

The Chigasaki Adventure

2008-05-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

As usual, Rory and I started our night in Fujisawa. We saw a Japanese Beatles cover band and afterwards headed over to Mattari's. It seemed like a normal evening out, so much so that I almost took the last train home. Little did we know we were in for 24 hours of pure madness.

While at Mattari's, a 61 year old woman walked by our table and instantly took a liking to Rory. They exchanged cell phone numbers to go "fishing" sometime and I used weirdness as an opportunity to meet some new friends, Mitch and Ria. We all laughed as Rory worked his magic on the blue-plate-special-adult-diaper demographic. Later they invited us to the Enoshima Cookout and we talked about women for quite some time.

Mattari's finally closed at around 2am or so and we began to wander aimlessly around the streets, talking to any girl we saw. We later saw two hostesses getting off work so I asked them what was fun to do in Fujisawa. Somehow I don't think that kind of line would work in America, but perhaps because of the niceness of the Japanese combined with the novelty of a white dude speaking Japanese, it makes for a pretty good ice breaker. The two girls told us to wait for another hostess who spoke English so of course we did.

The next girl asked us if we want to meet girls, which seemed very shady to me. I thought we were going to get into some kind weird prostitution thing, but before I knew what was going on I was in a van with Rory, the hostess named Mai, and a silent male driver. As we barreled down the streets, the hostess kept talking and driver never even looked at us. After a few minutes we were in Chigasaki and went to a tiny bar where we stayed until 5am.

Everything was cool there. They had a guitar which I played for hours. There were a couple guys who were totally sauced, and one girl who I later learned quit school in Middle School because she didn't like crowds. An interesting crowd to say the least. The dude in white shirt from the above picture sang the hell out of some weird traditional Japanese song and then passed out. I shot a video.

At about 5am we were about to leave when a huge fight broke out between three new people who came in. There were chairs and glasses thrown, some very informal Japanese that sounded Spanish, and lots of hair pulled. Rory and the bartender tried to break up the fight and I watched from outside. Every couple minutes things would cool down, only to start right back up seconds later. This went on for awhile and then we went to Mai's house to sleep along with the other girl from the bar.

I was able to get a couple hours of sleep as the girl from the bar watched me all night chain-smoking with a blanket wrapped around her. The next day we hit the beach which was having a big festival. Somehow, we met a ton of new people and went to several bars where we danced in the street to Bob Marley for hours on end.

We then went to another bar where things we a little more chilled out. We listened to some Dub for a couple hours and then I had to leave to go to a date that I was way too tired for. There were some details I may be forgetting but that's mostly it. I'm definitely looking forward to spending some time in Chigasaki this summer.

Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Enoshima Island Cookout

2008-05-04T16:57:00.001-07:00

Recently I've been spending a lot of time in a place called Fujisawa. It's the closest large city with a decent amount of nightlife, has a great Katsudon shop, and it's only a couple stops on the train from my station. About a month ago, we found a bar called Mattari's and made it our default spot to go to since it's bigger than other bars, they always play old-school hip-hop, and the drink prices are reasonable. While at Mattari's in Fujisawa the previous weekend, Rory and I met a dude from New York named Mitch who told us about a big cookout the following weekend at Enoshima Island.

Recently the weather has been terrible so we weren't even sure if it was going on. After countless text messages between the crew, Andrew, Eric, and I met at Fujisawa and went to meet Rory who went ahead on bike to make sure everything was still happening. All day, the sky looked like all hell would break loose, but we managed to get through the cookout with no rain.

The food there was great. Even though I love all kinds of Japanese food, it was such a relief to eat proper American style hot dogs and burgers. There seemed to be an even mix of Japanese, Australians, and Americans. It was pretty odd for me to see Americans completely fluent in Japanese. For some reason it just doesn't seem right to me, and in some respect I hope I don't turn into a lifer over here even though it's a great place to live.

If I remember correctly, I don't think that Ria (Mitch's girlfriend) and her friend had ever heard of shotgunning a beer before but they did like champs.

As the beer ran out and the sun set, a group of about 10 of us went to go to Karaoke. The place looked very cool inside, with each floor a different fruit theme with more neon paint than I've ever seen. Most of us thought that the price was 300 Yen ($3) for a half hour and all you can drink, however we soon realized that it was 3,000 Yen ($30) for 2 hours.

After Karaoke, we lost Andrew, Eric, and most of the women. So we headed back to where it all began, Mattari's. As soon as we walked in I started talking to this white chick from South Africa who was kind of cool. Her slightly overweight British friend who claimed to be her girlfriend was not so inviting however. It was quite a shock to me since everybody over here is so nice. It was pretty funny to see actually; they had only been in Japan for two weeks, spoke no Japanese at all, and acted as if we owed them something.

Needless to say, I wasted no time in bouncing to the next table where I met the head boss, or Shachou, of a landlord company who bought me a beer and wanted to me to work for his company. He spoke a little English and wanted me to teach him. The best I put together at that hour was to teach him "Yo, sup man!?" Between the beer he bought me and the English lesson he received, I'd say I got the better deal.

At some point we left Mattari's and Rory and I made the long trip back to his apartment at about 5am. Halfway to his house we met some teenagers at the convenience store who all had scooters. They humored us as we struggled to make conversation and eat our Onigiri and then we headed back on our way.

I'm still recovering from the day and luckily I have today and tomorrow off. I'm supposed to go to Tokyo tomorrow to see Kabuki for the first time.

Laterz - Brad

I may edit this post later to throw up a video link if I can get the files from Rory.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Shibuya Dance Party

2008-05-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I was pretty surprised to find out that the trains in Japan stop running at around midnight. As a result, if you go out, you pretty much have to make the decision to go home early or party all night. I usually choose the latter. My first time doing this was at Club Air in Shibuya.

I met up with some people from Meetup.com's Tokyo Electronic Music Lover's group one Saturday night and had a great time. From my station, it takes about and hour by train and about $14 US roundtrip. I arrived in Shibuya several hours early just to check things out. Near Hachiko, the famous dog statue where everybody meets up before beginning their evening out, I met a bunch of Germans and we hung out for awhile. It seems to be much easier to meet new friends in Japan than back in America. After asking them a quick question to confirm exactly where I was, we were telling jokes and chain smoking and talking about life in Japan.

I later met up with the people from the group and we headed down several dark streets to get to Club Air. The club cost 3,000 Yen to get into, which is roughly $30 US. We got there at around 11:30pm and the place was packed. The venue was a little too small for dancing and I don't think there was any air conditioning. After a couple hours of trying to dance to some pretty bad trance, we hit the chillout room upstairs for awhile. At around 2 or 3am the place started to clear out so there was plenty of more room to dance and luckily the next DJ played much better music.

We left Club Air at about 5 or 6am when the trains started running again and everyone was completely exhausted. I think the club was in a semi-residential part of Shibuya because there were people on every block for quite awhile whose job it was to make sure nobody talked. Anything above the softest whisper would get you an angry look and a "Shh!" yelled at you by some guy.

We all went to a family restaurant and had some of the worst food I've ever tasted in my entire life. I ordered eggs which came out looking like chunky yellow water. After telling the waiter that my food was cold, he took it away, and brought it back 2 minutes later the exact same temperature. We all made fun of the people sleeping all around us, but shortly after I passed out as well.

We stayed at the restaurant for quite sometime, and then everybody caught their train home. I finally made it home hours later and was completely disoriented from the lack of sleep. My apartment is a solid 20 minute walk from the closest train station which doesn't work out too well during these kind of nights.

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

First Night in Yokohama

2008-05-02T19:53:00.002-07:00

I flew out of BWI and headed for Narita in Japan on March 15, 2008 I think. I couldn't sleep the whole flight so I watched No Country For Old Men and Training Day on the flight over. I took Singapore Airlines which sounded scary at first but it was great.

I arrived with a pocket full of United States traveler's checks only to find that nobody wants them or US money over here. I managed to buy a pack of Marlboro lights at the airport with $5 US and the change I got back was the only Yen I had to my name. I took the YCAT bus to Yokoahama Station and I was off.

On a side note, they don't really have Camel Lights over here which sucks. They have a Japanese version of Camel Lights but it's way too far from the real thing for me and they're quite difficult to find in the first place. I've taken to Camel Milds which aren't too bad.

I arrived at Yokohama Station with no Yen and my hands full of luggage. I was stranded in Yokohama station and still need to go a couple stations up. Luckily, after some searching, a girl who worked at a soup shop gave me 200 yen since I couldn't change my money anywhere. From there I went to Sakuragicho where I stayed in a hotel for the first week. On my way from Sakuragicho to my hotel I got quite lost, but met some cool people who helped me out, Mamiya and Moki.

They took me out to Mosburger which I had heard of before I came and wanted to try. It's a fast food restaurant but apparently it has better ingredients and is a little more expensive than your average fast food. After the food and many cigs later, I discovered that Moki was into skateboarding so we went skateboarding at midnight around Yokohama.

I haven't skated in years so it was pretty difficult, but it makes for a pretty cool story of my first night in Japan.

Today I'm going to a cookout if the weather clears up. Either that, or I'm going to watch a parade of wet Samurais or some shit.

Laterz - Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool

Mission Statement

2008-05-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I made this blog to tell my stories about living in Japan, however I've already been here for two months. I'm living near Hongodai station which is Yokohama, Japan. As such, I'm going to first try to remember all of the crazy shit that has happened since I got here.

If I don't post here for awhile, just know I'm having too much fun, or too little fun to get around to posting. Even as I'm typing this there are Skype messages coming in that I have to check, emails that need to be returned, and friends that I have to meet soon.

With that said, I'm going to try to keep posting new stuff that happens and remember what happened before. I also have pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalpool/

Lets roll...

Brad

Music: Myspace.com/TheNationalPool
Email: thenationalpool@gmail.com
Pictures: Flicker/TheNationalPool