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Stupid tourists
OK, these folks are just reinforcing the stereotype of clueless Japanese tourists. In a report from the BBC, we discover: “Two tourists engrossed in their guidebooks and heading for the birthplace of Jesus Christ unwittingly wandered into the centre of a war zone on Tuesday. “The Japanese couple were amazed to find that Bethlehem’s Church…
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Octogenarian croquet
Octogenarians if they’re a day, these croquet fiends have a little course of three wickets, all numbered with faded flags, and they laugh and cheer one another as they make their shots. Tod passes them in the park every morning on his way to work. Today I snuck a photo to share.
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Standing reading
Thank goodness for tachiyomi. Literally “standing reading” it what everyone does in bookstores here. It’s perfectly acceptable to stand at the shelves and read books and magazines. It’s a great way to kill time. I had some time to kill when Ben called to say he’d be an hour late meeting for lunch. He was…
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Connectivity
Our February phone bill arrived (26,121 yen). I must stay offline more. Right after I do some research on ADSL providers. When we moved we had to switch our Internet connection over to the new apartment. Only it wasn’t as simple as that. We had to reapply for ADSL service which meant a 4-8 week…
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Comparisons
Getting away from Tokyo gives me a chance to make comparisons when I return. For example,Tokyo has much better subways and trains. London’s Tube is small, dirty, and subject to lots of delays as old switching equipment fails regularly. The Tokyo subway system is efficient, clean and relatively inexpensive. But London’s trains aren’t as crowded…
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Home again, home again.
Home again, home again. London has really great sandwiches; British women all wear cosmetics; the Tube is ridiculously expensive; salaries are not commensurate with the cost of living in London; the ham in Buckingham (and Hampstead, Nottingham, West Ham) is from the Old English word for home; the growl of a Lancaster bomber flying over…
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I’m off to London
I’m off to London this morning. The car to the airport is due to arrive in just over an hour. I’m ready, but now begins the race to get Tod up, dressed and out the door on time. He has coffee at his bedside, but I’m afraid it isn’t working yet. In a few minutes…
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Shortly before I was
Shortly before I was assigned to review it as part of the Peer to Peer Review Project, Kaye Ellis ended For Always. What a pity; Kaye is a promising writer. Her prose is clear and expressive with a strong voice that carries emotion. She has a natural gift that many ‘blog writers lack. In the…
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Cogaru Club
Cogaru Club! Only 18,000 yen! What’s Cogaru? According to Jeffrey’s Japanese-English Dictionary she is an “obsessively trend-conscious teen-age girls who may offer themselves for enjou kousai [ aka “compensated dating”] with older men in order to finance their lifestyle.” This leaflet appeared in my mailbox last night. In addition to listing off the sexual treats…
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Civic view
The view from the top of the Bunkyo Civic Center is really beautiful. It’s the highest building around and has a semicircular viewing lounge and restaurant on the 25th floor. We dined there last night and got a bird’s eye view of our neighborhood and the metropolis. To the west, the Shinjuku skyscrapers huddled together…
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