translate this

day 27



granted, on the face of it there are some pretty funny english signs in japan, but i feel like 'lost in translation' has been done to death. what i think has really been lost is the understanding that behind the poorly worded t-shirt slogans and soup labels is a cleverly composed lifestyle marketing coup. it reads global familiarity and competitiveness. and it's not just a commercial head game.






the tactile yellow strips on the floor are for the visually impaired. they go everywhere - all over the city. every sidewalk, through all the train stations, theme parks, shopping malls. it must cost an absolute fortune to install these strips in every municipal walkway in tokyo. of course, i'm sure the blind really appreciate this. but what i have to ask is: are they really for the blind?

take this situation for instance. we're in a train station. everyone can use the toilet here. and i mean everyone - the sign above the green symbols actually says that (watch out for those people with no arms and a cross where their spleen is). and just to go that extra mile, we've got an info stop on the right. if you're blind, you might miss this, except that it yells at you when you walk past.






here's what the sign says (in braille): there are two urinals and a squatter in the men's room. two sinks, a toilet and a squatter in the women's. etc. (i really thought it was going to light up when it was in use, so we sent stella in to check it out, but alas, no glow.)

japanese people really love this. while i was standing here taking this picture, several groups of girls came over and giggled greatly. one even recorded the message with her cel phone.

and i have to think this is why: it's a head game, and it's not for the blind (though i'm sure they appreciate it).






can you imagine being blind and navigating this crossing?

i tell you, it's hard not to forget that this is the world's second richest country.

a-typical dish

day 26
daily fare

for the first 26 days, we have eaten out daily. we don't have to - there's a perfectly good kitchen in our apartment, and three grocery stores within walking distance. the produce is so fresh it calls out to you as you walk past, especially the fruit. but there are more restaurants in tokyo than there are cel phones (i'm kidding) and they're calling too. we stop and look in each one.

let there be no mistake on this point. just to be clear, the food is fantastic.

and when i say this, i mean everything is good.



there are temples of ramen. museums of ramen. tv shows about ramen. it goes without saying then, that the ramen is good.

we sought out this bowl from a tokyo-wide guide to ramen, from a place in our own neighborhood. this is a small bowl.

this is not instant ramen, this is dense noodle made fresh each morning and boiled to order. and that may account for the really strange thing that happens to us every time we eat ramen. it starts just as the bowl ends. a heavy, heavy feeling like you've eaten more noodle than your body can support. a feeling that is an afternoon killer. when we eat ramen for lunch, we don't eat again until the next day.






being so popular, there are more ways to eat ramen than restaurants in tokyo. here, with velvet ribbons of omelette and roast pork salad.






japanese people consider gyoza and ramen to be chinese food, as this was the origin. indeed, ramen only really became popular in 1958, with the advent of instant.

here we have siu/shu mai, another chinese dish, but with a distinctly japanese flavor - ginger, cabbage, pork and something sweet - perhaps mirin. with silky tofu, rice, miso soup (always) and potato salad (of course).

i shudder when i hear those two words together - potato and salad. but that's what this was. pickled cucumber, carrot, and shallot blended with potato. and it was good.

it turns out that potato salad is a very popular side dish here - i think it's the mayo.






ahh... croquette. my favorite. sometimes.

most restaurants that serve croquette have only one thing on the menu: deep fry. so you have to be ready when you go in. and i always am. deep fried shrimp, pumpkin, potato. deep fried pork cutlet, chicken wing, eel. and it's all good.






there's nothing special about this dish. i mean, the photo isn't great, and it's just egg on rice, with some beef stew. but oh, how delicious. the miso soup - loaded with little mushrooms. the salad - crispy and bursting with juice - you'd think it was an heirloom cabbage. and the stew. what's the secret? the two little old ladies in the kitchen wouldn't tell me. or maybe they would, but i couldn't understand them anyway. sooo good.






so we're in this udon restaurant. more like a cafe really. and we think - let's have some salad. how about this caesar salad with what's that... smoked duck breast? ok, good.






seasonal cooking is much anticipated, and here we have an autumn specialty - sanma. they gave away 15,000 of these guys at shibuya station last week to celebrate the arrival of autumn, but we weren't there. fortunately, our oven has two burners and a little pull out tray. the pull out tray is for grilling fish. not for making toast, or chicken wings, just fish. so that's what stella did.

yokohama port town

day 25

yokohama is a port town, and japan's second largest city (pop. 3.6M), although census shows population began declining in 2001. this is typical of much of japan, which faces a rapidly aging population.






land development carries on - spot the ubiquitous theme park.











toward the end of the isolation of the edo period, yokohama was one of the first ports to open to western trade and consequently the area retains an international culture, including a large chinatown.

the population is dropping here, too, but it's a much more vibrant, if less authentic, centre than in vancouver. it's very, very clean.






there are also reminants of european merchant architecture and ... culture.






finally, a remarkable cruise terminal which - naturally - is the end.

gothic lolita

day 24

a september sunday at harajuku station.



the lady on the right is dressed in a kimono - common for formal events. the fabrics are astonishing.






and the lady on the left, a little less traditional. gothic lolita really got going in 1998, and is now a mass marketed fashion. magazines, department stores and boutique malls are devoted to style tips and accessories - in tokyo, gothloli ground zero is harajuku station.






there are many gothloli looks - inlcuding elegant aristocrat, classic, and sweet.

sumo basho

day 23

it goes without saying, but i have to anyway. these are some very large men.



the sport began more than 1500 years ago, as a religious ritual for bountiful harvests. several dances remain a part of the event - very curious, but charming to see performed by men about to crush each other.






there is a lot of theatre, which builds intensity in the crowd for each bout. it's hard not to get caught up in a particularly high leg lift. salt throwing, body slapping, and towel wiping are all part of the psyche prep.






there are 82 winning techniques (and for the bonus, 5 ways of winning without touching your opponent) and a ranking and division system that can only be deciphered by diehard fans. i'm all over it.






all in all, it's 7 hours of good clean fun. and that was just day 14. sign me up for the next round.