Patrick in Japan

Hi all,

I've been trying to add video for the past couple of days and the only one I've managed to upload is this one. . . the kicker is that I'm not sure what it is since I can't view it on this computer . . .

It's probably from ichigo picking:

IMGP0641.MOV
Got to love roughing it here in Japan . .

Quick update though, I've booked a ticket to travel the rest of Japan and I'm just trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible before I leave. Strangely enough, I'm starting to meet some fun people to hang out with. Now of all times . . .

Cheers,

Patrick

Hi everyone,

Just to give everyone a quick update, I'm working lots now and trying to squeeze in time to have fun. It feels like time is slipping through my hands since it's already March. My father and grandfather will be coming to visit in early April and then it's off to China to see "the village" - for all you CBCs out there you know what this means; otherwise it basically means I'm going to see where my grandfather grew up.

Thought I'd show off a few more pics. Below is my apartment, where I sleep, it looks nice because it's sunny outside . . . so guess how it looks when it's raining outside? This is a pick taken from one side of the room (from the door)



Here's a pic taken from the other side.


I have a bed now so things are little bit better than sleeping in a sleeping bag, although the bed is as hard as the floor . . . I guess that just means I have to find a cute Japanese girl to give me a message - hahaha

Here's a pic of a typical haul after grocery shopping


Very healthy: cup ramen (for breakfast every morning), beer for supper, chips and to get my vitamens - bananas! The beer is actually chu hi's, they put me to sleep pretty good (7%) although lately it's been having less and less of an effect . . .

I went strawberry picking a couple of weeks ago neer Mount Fuji. It was great! It's a different concept here though, at least at this place. 1700 yen or so ($17) and you get a tray like this:




On one side you put your picked strawberries and in the circle part you put condenced milk because you're supposed to eat as you pick. But that's still ok with me. I think the strawberries here are much sweeter than the ones in Canada, they don't even need the condenced milk or sugar!

The stawberries are clean too since everything is in a greenhouse. There are mounds of dirt arranged in rows and covered in plastic. The bushes grow from these covered mounds so that when the fruit come out, they don't make any contact with the soil!


By the way, the girl in the red cashmire coat ate 66 strawberries, I think I only had 30 or so.

After the picking we went to a winery where they had free samples of wine, cheesecake, and cheese - oh man that was great!

Just thinking about that makes me salivate . . . mmm cheese . . .wine . . . But everything is small. $1.50 for this piece of cheesecake, the size of a toothpick



After that we went to a restaurant to eat "houttou," which is only available in Yadabashi (where we were) and not in Tokyo or elsewhere. Basically it's an iron pot stu with a bunch of good vegies (excellent since my current diet doesn't include many) and meat. In my case I tried something different . . . bear!! It tastes like beef but it's tougher and more expensive (it could have been beef for all I know - those stupid foreigners wouldn't know the difference)
3000 yen though ($30):


Finally this is a pic of Sunaga. Met him when I was still living in Saitama and it's because of him that I've been able to do all these things, badmington, skiing, stawberry picking:



Cheers everyone,

Patrick

Hey this last weekend (Sat) I went skiing in the Nagano prefecture!

It was awesome! A little different though since I had to rent my equipment. I wasn't expecting to ski in Japan since I thought it would be too expensive. I ended up buying a pair of ski pants - maybe they looked a little funny on me . . . whatever, not like any piece of clothing could upgrade my looks.

We left at 3am and finally arrived around 10am after waiting for another party to meet up with us. It was really worth it. I forgot how much fun skiing was!

I got some crazy footage but again . . . wish I could upload them. The conditions were great, 2C, snow was just right, light breeze!

Here's a pic of all of us on top of the mountain. Great view!


A couple of the guys just chillin' - Tsubo-san (top) and the guy below who's name I forgot . . .


Here's all of us at the end of the day


Next weekend, strawberry picking on Mt. Fuji!

Since early Feb I've moved into Yoshi-san's son's workshop (Shusaku-san) - actually I live just above the shop. I pay 10,000yen/mo - a steal of a deal BUT there's a reason for that. In my apartment there's no heat, no kitchen, no shower or bath.

The first morning I had there I woke up and I could see my breath. Needless to say within the next couple of days I went out and bought a small heater - it's now my best friend.

Here are some of the highlights of where I live. Below is the "hallway" to the toilette, which also dubs as the sink and kitchen (see the gass stove?).


Here's a pic looking from the other end of that "hallway".


Finally, everything including the kitchen sink - or washroom sink, depending on how you want to think of it.


I try to think of living there as camping and roughing it. The grime you see is all plaster and stuff - smells weird sometimes - like being at the dentist (Shusaku-san makes dentures).

More on Japanese food.

I met a family at Yoshi-san's coffee shop and they took me out for ramen (noodles in soup)! This place here is in the top 10 ramen shops in all of Japan!



BUT the place only seats 8 people. It's run by two people (looks like husband and wife) and they make everything, from the broth to the noodles!! We got there at 9am when the place opened at 11am. We were the first in line but by the time we ate and left around noon there were about 20 people in line. The last guy in line probably would not get in until 3pm!!

I've learnt that the Japanese really love food and are willing to way LONG periods of time to get GOOD food.

Me on the other hand, like a typical North American, I just need something to fill me up and go!

The Honda building is much smaller than the Toyota one (just one floor).

Here's one of my many cars that I will be purchasing when I become rich. Honda S2000 with the a "no key" start but instead a push button just like in the race cars! It also helps to have one of the many customer friendly staff take a picture of you =)

The highlight at the Honda buidling is Asuno (sp?) a robot that walks, runs and talks. It's about the size of a 10yr old (so shorter than me of course!) and it speaks with a kiddy voice. The Japanese population is rellying on this technology to solve its labour shortage.

Now get prepared to eat your heart out. The same day I was at the Honda building I was close by to a Masarratti/Bentley/Farrarri dealership and I got to check it out. Actually better yet I got to sit in a couple of Masarratti's!!!




If you look closely you can see someone in the car . . . ME!! The blue one was definitely nicer than the red. In fact I was told that the red one is the last model (the floor model) and last year's. The blue one is this year's and has a much nicer interior with chrome and such. It's cool when you close the door because you hear the doors lock automatically, it's like sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet! Again, I've got video of this but . . .

After shopping I went to the Harajuku shopping district. Apperently here on the weekends you will spot girls dressed in anime characters! Crazy. But basically there's a lot of weird shops but here's one that really stood out . . . and no this is NOT where I shop for my weekend attire!

Here's the Toyota building or aka the Amulux. It is the largest car showroom in the world with interactive displays as well as their cars from the low end to the very high end. Oddly enough, there were no Lexus vehicles when I was there.



There are many floors to explore and even a little cafe at the bottom floor! Not cheap though, I don't think.



Here's a look into the future. Toyota unveiled this personal transportation device at the most recent Expo. I Have some video to go along with it but so far I can't seem to upload video.



This car is so cool!! The windows are covered because on the inside there's all these LED lights that light up the speakers (I think 8 of them) and they had the tunes cranked up. It was like a nightclub in the car!! The chairs also recline 180 degrees . . . hmmm I wonder what Toyota was thinking when they built this puppy?



Me and the Prius. These hybrid vehicles are getting pretty mainstream in Japan. The Japanese in general are ultra keen on recycling and reducing their energy consumption - hence it's popularity. I wouldn't mind picking one up, especially if it looked like this!

Here are some examples of the good, bad and the ugly.


These girls at the Honda building (show room) are well dressed and very client oriented, I know because they let me take a picture of them! =)


At the Toyota building they have some of the staff wearing business suits, which look pretty good but then there's also these blue ones for the cleaning staff. These girls also have cleaning routines too where they partner up to clean the car . . . imagine Batman and Robin 1950's costumes cleaning the Batmobile . . . hmmm.


Department stores usually have more "interesting" uniforms. This lady/girl (I can't tell since the uniform seems to make the individual seem more juvenile) is part of the elevator staff who push the floor buttons and help the elderly get on and off.

It was really cold that day probably about 12C!!

Even my canuck upbringing couldn't prevent the goosebumps.

Hi all,

Here's a pic of when I first got to Yoshi-san's place. First night in fact!

Hey Everyone!

Thanks to Klyment for getting this all set up. I'm really happy that this is all up and running. I think the blog will mainliy be used for videos and pics to accompany the e-mails I send out. You're welcome to have a look see into the land of the rising sun through the eyes of Canadian-mistaken-for-a-Japanese!

Cheers,

Patrick