One of the things I often see in Tokyo are relatively slender, average-looking men carting around or hauling enormous loads up (or down) stairs. The amazing thing about it isn't necessarily that they perform back breaking labor without overt concern for damaging themselves and then suing their company for the injury, but that they will haul what must be hundreds of pounds up a huge flight of
mardi 31 mai 2011
Will Miss #325 - great feats of strength and endurance
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of the things I often see in Tokyo are relatively slender, average-looking men carting around or hauling enormous loads up (or down) stairs. The amazing thing about it isn't necessarily that they perform back breaking labor without overt concern for damaging themselves and then suing their company for the injury, but that they will haul what must be hundreds of pounds up a huge flight of
lundi 30 mai 2011
Won't Miss #325 - ignorance about Japan back home
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Public transportation in Japan, through the eyes of my old mum.
When I was growing up, I loved to look through the old pictures my mother had from her youth. One of those pictures was of a Japanese man with two children who was once her penpal when she was in high school in the 50's. My mother's knowledge of Japan was frozen in the time he wrote to her and whatever pop culture misconceptions she
When I was growing up, I loved to look through the old pictures my mother had from her youth. One of those pictures was of a Japanese man with two children who was once her penpal when she was in high school in the 50's. My mother's knowledge of Japan was frozen in the time he wrote to her and whatever pop culture misconceptions she
vendredi 27 mai 2011
Will Miss #324 - used record shops
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Bins full of 45 rpm records with their unique Japanese picture inserts.
My husband and I spent our first decade in Japan collecting and selling second-hand collectible records. The records in Japan are unique in a variety of ways including 45 rpm records (singles) having a picture sleeve and albums having a paper band (obi) around the side or across the top. In addition, some Japanese records
My husband and I spent our first decade in Japan collecting and selling second-hand collectible records. The records in Japan are unique in a variety of ways including 45 rpm records (singles) having a picture sleeve and albums having a paper band (obi) around the side or across the top. In addition, some Japanese records
jeudi 26 mai 2011
Won't Miss #324 - "gaijin da!"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Spot the foreigner in the mix!
You're walking to the local train station as part of your daily commute and living in the dream world that is your own thoughts when suddenly, you hear someone (usually a child) shout, "gaijin da!" (a foreigner!) Instead of being wrapped up in the relative peace of your own thoughts, you're pulled into the reality that you are a stranger in a strange land and that
You're walking to the local train station as part of your daily commute and living in the dream world that is your own thoughts when suddenly, you hear someone (usually a child) shout, "gaijin da!" (a foreigner!) Instead of being wrapped up in the relative peace of your own thoughts, you're pulled into the reality that you are a stranger in a strange land and that
mercredi 25 mai 2011
Will Miss #323 - plum blossoms
Posted on 00:14 by Unknown
When people think of Japan, they think of the cherry blossoms, and certainly they deserve all of the admiration that they are due. For me though, the real harbingers of spring are not cherry blossoms but their precursors, plum blossoms. They look relatively similar and people often mistake the plum flowers for their more famous cousin. They're both beautiful, but the plums show up to the party
mardi 24 mai 2011
Won't Miss #323 - talk of "the big one"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
A cafe window in Tokyo which was cracked in the Great Tohoku Earthquake. The word spelled in tape is "danger".
People seem obsessed with talking about a huge earthquake leveling Tokyo like the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. You'd think that such talk might settle down in the face of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, but that doesn't satisfy the need for people to see Tokyo shaken apart.
People seem obsessed with talking about a huge earthquake leveling Tokyo like the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. You'd think that such talk might settle down in the face of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, but that doesn't satisfy the need for people to see Tokyo shaken apart.
lundi 23 mai 2011
Will Miss #322 - traditional music
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
I'm not sure I'd ever buy a CD of Japanese traditional music or sit around listening to it for hours. It's not much of a toe tapper, but there is something about it which puts you very much in the spirit of living here and reminds one of nature through its simplicity. Most places are overwhelming you with annoying pop music or, worse, muzak, so it's a refreshing change of pace and a
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