Godzilla in Flower Country

Over the weekend I went to a place called "Kurihama Hana no Kuni" or "Kurihama Flower Country." I did not, however, go to see any lame flowers...no way...I went to see the GIANT (probably close to life-size) Godzilla statue...whose tail, by the way is a slide. Yeah...don't really need to make any more coments on this one...just check out the pics for yourself.


We were actually standing on a very narrow, high wall here...yes, facing any danger for a cool picture...your welcome.

There were signs that said, "Don't climb on Godzilla, it's dangerous, signed Godzilla" but of course...us foreigners can't read Japanese, so we didn't know...

The train on the way back was so deserted we got a car to ourselves...which means Sarah can climb onto the luggage rack!

Edelstein Cafe

Last Sunday, two friends and I went to Edelstein Cafe--a German all-boys bording school themed cafe. Yes, you read that right, although you may want to read it again to let it sink in. You may have heard of Japan's "maid cafes," where girls dressed in maid outfits serve costumers tea and coffee and play games with them (for an extra fee of course), which are aimed primarily at male "otaku" or "nerds." This cafe is for the female otaku, who enjoys "boys love" comics, where the characters are good-looking young men who fall in love with each-other. You can see how a place such as an all boys bording school with all male teachers would be the perfect setting for such romance. The staff at Edelstein are all attractive men who play the part of either a student or teacher at the school. The customers play the part of the school's patrons (who are for the most part female...although men are deffinately welcome to visit as well).

I had to make a reservation a week in advance because the small 20 seat cafe fills up fast. There is also a time-limit of an hour and 15 minutes before you have to leave to make room for the next reserved customer. Though there is, surprisingly, no cover or extra charge outside of the price you pay for what you eat and drink, so it is not outrageously expensive.

Now, let me walk you through my Edelstein experience:

We arrived promptly at our reserved time (being a top-notch bording school, they have very strict rules about timeliness). Upon entering, we were greated by the principal, and then handed over to a man in a white lab coat (who we later discovered was the science teacher), who explained the rules of the school and had us fill out our "visitor passes"/stamp cards (like at subway). The passes must be worn around the neck while visiting the cafe, to ensure no one unrelated to the school disrupts the peaceful atmosphere.

We were then led to our table by a student, summoned by the ring of a bell, who presented us with the menu and another copy of the rules (no photography, 1 1/2 hr. time limit, etc.). He then left us to consider our options. When he came back to take our order, I made sure to ask him, "what type of weiners are included on the 'weiner plate,'" to which he answered, "sausage and chorizo," without missing a beat. (wow, either he gets that joke a lot, or it just doesn't translate into Japanese...) We eventually ordered our drinks and a cheeseplate to share.

Since one friend and I ordered beer, it had to be brought to the table by the science teacher and the principal, since the students are under-age. The science teacher also brought our cheese, but was stumped when I asked for an explanation of the types of cheese. He had to go back to the kitchen to ask, before telling us it was, blue cheese, cheese with pepper, and "smoked cheese"--wow...didn't know you could just have cheese "smoked" (I always thought it had to be a certain type, like gouda, or cheddar...) Well, he was the science teacher, not the lunch lady afterall, so can't hold it against him.

Meanwhile, when not waiting on customers, the students, who wore adorable blue plaid uniforms, would sit broodingly in the corner, reading a book. Gotta study for the big quiz on Monday I guess. Meanwhile...the whole time we were there, the three of us just barely managed to keep from bursting into an uncontrollable fit of laughter...it was really hard because everyone, both the customers--I mean visitors to the school, and staff--I mean the students and teachers at the school, were so serious. Does no one in Japan realize the ridiculousness? Well, I suppose if they did, places like Edelstein Cafe wouldn't exist, so I am truly greatful that "ridiculous" is not in the Japanese vocabulary.

Before we even got to harrass (good-naturedly of course) the students and teachers as much as we would have liked, our hour and 15 mins. were up, so we had to pay the bill before being escorted out by the principal. On the way out, though, he did point out that they had a wide selection of books and games that could be used freely. So, next time, we will deffinately have to try to get some of the boys to play chess with us or something. Oh, yeah, there will most deffinately be a next time. Especially since we received birthday tickets that can be redeemed during ones birthday month and entitle one to a special birthday dessert, a happy birthday serenade by the students and teachers (oh, Sweet Jesus I hope it is in Engrish!!!), AND a special memorial photo! Since photos are usually prohibited, I am especially excited about this. Looks like I will be going back next month for a birthday extravaganza, hahahahahahaha!

For more info on Edelstien cafe (in Japanese): http://www.cafe-edelstein.com/top.html

We couldn't take photos inside, but that didn't stop us from taking them outside!

Punk Spring

Sunday the 6th was Punk Spring--an annual punk music festival. I went, and it was AWESOME!! There were a ton of bands, most of them ones I didn't really know, so I will just give a break down of the bands that I really enjoyed, in order of appearance:

1. Bowling For Soup
I am not really a fan of this band, but in their live show, they were hilarious! They would play 2/3 of a song, then stop, and say stuff like, "wow, we are doing an AWESOME job...yeah, we are so great!" and/or taking a drinking break. Then, after about a minute of random chatting, they would finish the song. The best part was that most of the primarily Japanese audience had no idea what was going on, because they don't understand English. So, to them it was probably like, "oh, the song is over?...oh, next song?...huh?WTF?" But for me...I was basically rolling on the floor the whole time.

2. Flogging Molly
YES!! Finally, I got to see Flogging Molly live! And they did not let me down! They played a ton of my fav songs, including "What's Left of the Flag," and everyone was super into it, so it was really really fun!

3. The Buzzcocks
Wow! They are so old now! But still rocking super hard! Impressive!

4. Maximum the Hormone
The only Japanese band on the roster, and one that I am a big fan of. They are hardcore punk, but still manage fun and interesting melodies. Plus, they have a really cool female drummer. The mosh pit for this band was SUPER fun too!

5. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
First of all, I love punk covers, so I am a big fan and have all of their albums. I was a little disapointed by their set because the majority of songs they played were from their newest album, "Love Their Country," which actually makes some country songs listenable, but is not their best album, in my opinion. I would have liked a little more variety for their live show. That being say, they were also hilarious in their on-stage antics...starting almost every song by saying, "So, this next one is a cover." They prefaced "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with, "If you dance to this song, yes, you are gay." (which of course no one understood, so all the Japanese guys were deffinately dancing...haha) And, before they played "Stairway to Heaven," they told people to get their lighters out, saying, "Come on, all you guys that came here to see Rancid, I know you smoke." Which leads me to the headliners....

6. Rancid!!!!!!
One of my favorite bands, ever! I still cannot believe I actually got to see them live! The mosh pit was so full, you couldn't even mosh...it was more like everybody was pushed first one direction, then the opposite, like on a packed train. But, I got up to the 3rd row, and they played all of my favorite songs! Also, surprisingly, most of the Japanese people around me actually knew the lyrics so everyone was singing along. Even in middle-age, Rancid is cool as hell-- in both looks and musicianship.

All in all, I had a great time, and was (and still am) completely covered in bruises by the end. (but don't worry...I deffinately gave as good as I got, hahahahah)

Cherry Blossoms

So the cherry blossoms, or "sakura," were blooming over the last couple weeks. It is really pretty with all the pink and white flowers...but Japan goes absolutely nuts over them. Along with the normal weather report on TV they have a sakura report that tells the prospective dates of blooming around the country. People flock to parks where there are cherry trees blooming for "hanami" or "flower viewing parties." Of course, like most celebrations in Japan, it is just another excuse to get drunk!

I went for hanami with a friend for the first time ever last Friday in Yoyogi Park. Some highlights were:

-- Watching all the people that were already super drunk when we first got there...and saying "haro" to the drunk, off-duty hosts every time they went past us to and from the bathroom (which was about once every 5 mins...)

-- Convincing a guy who was selling wine by the bottle for 1,500yen, to give us one for free and drink it with us.

-- Meeting some hosts (not the drunk bathroom hosts) and getting some free host action, before they had to go to work.

-- Joining a party of "artists" wearing shirts that said "Go For Future" and singing karaoke on their portable machine, greatly impressing them with our ability to sing Japanese songs (they all took out their cellphones to take pictures).

All in all, I'd say my first hanami was a massive success. But, I'm also glad it only comes once a year...don't know if I could handle more than that.

The falling petals look like snow!

EVERTHING was covered in petals!


My friend and I got some Shibuya girls sitting nearby to take our picture.

Namja Town!

On Friday I went to one of my favorite places in Tokyo: Namja Town. It is a food amusement park created by Namco (yes, the makers of Pacman among other arcade classics). They have Gyoza Stadium, Ice Cream City (complete with an ice cream museum of all the ice cream flavors available in Japan, like octopus, beef tongue, and beer), The Tokyo Republic of Desserts, Curry World, Relax Forrest, and a Haunted path area. As far as I'm concerned: best concept for a theme park, EVER. The wonders of Namja Town are really too great to be expressed in just one blog, and one can never truly understand unless one experiences it for oneself...so I will just point out some highlights from my most recent trip.

First of all, there happened to be some sort of anime-related event going on when we went, so in addition to the "normal" crazy stuff going on, there were a ton of cosplayers there as well...one word: awesome. Also, right now, they are doing a "Mega Food Fest," so they varies food stalls have greated giant "Mega" offerings (like an icecream parfait big enough for 24 people, and costing $350). So of course we had to get in on some of that action...we stuck to the less expensive choices though. First some Mega Gyoza at gyoza stadium.


This gyoza was the size of a plate!

This gyoza was called the "Mega Long." The picture is even funnier when you know that the guy who was working at the stall was watching us take it, laughing, and saying "rongu, rongu" (long, long) over and over again.

We also had a giant ice cream float! This was 1.5 litres of cola with vanilla ice cream on top. In Japan, though, when they make floats they put ice in the soda, and the ice cream on top...which is not what we wanted. So, I asked for it without the ice...which really confused the waitress: "Without ice? But, it comes with ice cream, so do you want the ice cream on the side?" "Um, no, ice cream on top please" "But, if there isn't any ice, and we put the ice cream on top, it will sink." Um...no, it is called an ice cream "float" for a reason...but rather than try to explain how density works to her I just said, "That's OK" and left it at that. To be fair, when you make an ice cream float the ice cream does start to melt and mix in with the soda...which I suppose is kind off like sinking...but not really, and I always thought that was the point of an ice cream float anyway...but apparently in Japan people just like drinking cola while they eat ice cream. At any rate, we got our ice-less ice cream float. Plus, since I'm pretty sure no one had ever ordered it that way, they didn't realize that the ice takes up most of the space in the giant glass, so they still filled it all the way up with cola, so we deffinately had a whole 2 liters of cola for the price of 1.5...sweet!


Props to the waitress for doing the same pose as us for this picture!

Oh, and with three people, we deffinately finished that bad boy!

So, those were the "mega" hi-lights of Namja Town. On a completely different topic. Just an FYI: when you buy feminine hygiene products at a drugstore in Japan, they are so considerate of the possible embarrassment such a purchase could cause that they have special non-see-through bags that are used specifically for those more delicate buys. Yeah...so instead of someone walking behind you happening to see the box of tampons in your shopping bag, now even the dude across the street a block away can see that you bought some period products! Great thinking Japan!!! The only place has a better idea is the convenience store Ministop...there, they put it in an inconspicuous bag labled "hot food"...which incidentally is not the bag they give you when you order something from the hot food box.

For more info on Namja Town: http://www.namja.jp/

Sorry, Japanese only.

Niigata Trip

So I went to Niigata this weekend for a sake festival with some friends. I had one of the BEST weekends ever! It was super fun, and even a little ridiculous. Some hi-lights (aside from the 2 days of all you can drink sake for 1,000yen)were:
1. Seeing a friend I haven't seen in almost 2 years.
2. Going to the Niigata City "Round One"--an entertainment center where you can pay about 1,400yen to use all the facilities (roller rink, shooting gallery, badminton/volleyball/basketball/soccer/etc, mini-bike, karaoke rooms, huge arcade (all free play), massage chairs, comics, internet, and more) from 11:30pm to 6:00am.
3. Winning a bottle of sake in a blind taste test, and all my foreign friends winning as well when most of the Japanese people couldn't do it, awesome!
4. Seeing the original Iron Chef, Rokusaburo Michiba!















5. Meeting a guy over my cellphone email.

Yes, I am serious about the last one. That was the ridiculous part of the weekend, and the topic I would like to expand on for the remainder of this entry.

First off, an explanation: I wanted to send my contact info to my friend and add his to my address book, so I asked my other friend for his info. It is "really easy" because it is just part of the alphabet @cellphone.company.jp (address changed for privacy, but it really is a different part of the alphabet...yeah, he gets a ton of spam mail). So, I put in nopqrstuvw@cellphone.company.jp and mailed my email and number. Then, we realized that his actual email was nopqrstuv@cellphone.company.jp... BUT I didn't get an email from the server saying my mail couldn't be delivered because there was no one with that email. Instead, I got an email from that address saying, "Sorry, but, who is this? How do you know my email?"(in Japanese of course) Well, it was then that my friends and I decided rather than just write back and explain the mix-up, it would be better (ie. more entertaining) to pretend that I knew this person. The following is a translation of our email exchange that night. Please note that the guy was using Kansai-ben (a dialect that is often compared to a "southern" accent in English...but I think that doesn't fit b/c it can be both funny and bad-ass, so maybe, Brooklyn accent? Yeah, imagine this guy using a Brooklyn accent.)

Me: He~y! It's Sarah! my-email-address@japan.ne.jp , TEL: 555555555. Be sure to register me! Love, Winston Churchill (heart icon)
--the last part was really in English, and is an inside joke- I will not go into detail here.

Mystery Email: Sorry, but who is this?! Why to you know my address?!

Me: You gave it to me... You mean, you don't remember?!(shocked face)

M.E.: Who introduced us?!

Me: Se-cr-et (kissy lips)

M.E.: Whaaaaaat? (smiley face) Well, where are you right now? I'm free, so let's hang out!

Me: Right now, I'm having dinner at a Thai restaurant near the Round One.
--this was not a lie...I just didn't say which Round One...hehe...

M.E.: The R.O. in Hirakata?!
--name of an area of Osaka (where they speak Kansai-ben)

Me: No, actually, the one in Niigata... To tell the truth, I am on a trip right now.

M.E.: Where do you live?

Me: Where do you think I live?

M.E.: Well, Hirakata or Yabata, yeah?(cat face) Otherwise, we can't hang out (thumbs up)

Me: Ooooooh too bad...I live in Tokyo. By the way, do you like comedy? I actually do manzai. If you want to "hang out" you can come to my homepage anytime: http://gaijindantai.blogspot.com/

M.E.: I see (smiley face) Well, if you come to Osaka or Kyoto again, let's hang out! I like manzai (cat face) Good luck (thumbs up)

That was the last email...BUT then he CALLED me!!!!

I ended up telling him about the whole mix-up... And he asked if I ever go to Osaka... I told him, "Since I do manzai, I have to go on business trips to Osaka sometimes" (Osaka is the home of manzai)... So, he said we should deffinately hang out next time I am there, AND he will call his friends and we can have a go-con (a group date that young Japanese people organize)... OH YEAH! I am DEFFINATELY gonna send him an email next time I am going to Osaka.
btw, the caps aren't b/c of sarcasm it is b/c that is totally awesome!

Also, I haven't been able to get a date in forever...and all of a sudden, I pick up some guy with my cellphone...how much more ridiculous can you get?

The Grande Finale

This past Saturday saw the conclusion of One Pound Gospel.

Kamenashi Kazuya ended up telling Sister Angela that he would continue to do his best as a boxer and would wait "in the ring" for her forever. For a minute there, I thought I was going to be surprised and she would stay a nun...but of course, this is a Japanese drama...she quits the nunnery and they get married.

The End

Oh, and everyone else lives happily ever after too.

The weird thing is that anybody who has read Japanese literature, or seen Japanese films (that have gained critical acclaim abroad) knows that they usually revolve around pointing out the futility of life, "it is better to die than to live in this world of neverending sorrow." I guess people in Japan don't like to be depressed when they watch TV. They prefer going to the movie theatre and paying $20 for that pleasure.