Sunday, June 29, 2008
Update
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.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Truth - Deodorant In Japan
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
Onigiri - Food Review
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:
I'm actually making some Onigiri as I'm making this post...and it's time to eat! Laterz.
Brad
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.
I'm actually making some Onigiri as I'm making this post...and it's time to eat! Laterz.
Brad
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