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Some of Tokyo’s streets
Some of Tokyo’s streets and alleys have been around for a long time. Walk past the sento near our house, and when the street curves to the left keep walking straight ahead into an alley. The alley continues for half a kilometer, gradually narrowing into a passage barely wide enough for an open umbrella. At…
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You never know what
You never know what you’ll see as you walk along Japan’s shopping avenues. Here’s Colonel Sanders dressed up as a samurai hawking his latest chicken confection–Twisters. What’s a Twister? It’s a chicken burrito. Why is a samurai/colonel advertising chicken burritos? You got me there.
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43,000 yesterday. 46,000 today.
43,000 yesterday. 46,000 today. That’s how many people are leaving leaving Japan via Narita Airport. Why? It’s the beginning of Golden Week–4 national holidays in a seven day span. This week, a few precious vaation days can be stretched into a 9 day holiday. And about 10% of Tokyo’s population leaves not only the city,…
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Note to self: spend
Note to self: spend more time with the old relatives. Too many questions about the family become permanent mysteries when the generations change. My great-aunt, Sr. Louise Burroughs, died earlier this week. She and I had an e-mail correspondence going for over a year and she was always intersting to hear from. Aunt Lou was…
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Have you read “Memoirs
Have you read “Memoirs of a Geisha” yet? It’s the fictionalised biography of a geisha in Kyoto before WWII. The book offers a glimpse into a lifestyle that is slowly fading away. It’s well-written and extremely entertaining. But the author, Arthur Golden, is being sued by his primary source–a retired geisha now living in New…
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Looks like we know
Looks like we know who the new prime minister will be. Junichiro Koizumi won the primary elections in the race for leader of the LDP, Japan’s ruling political party. His “Change the LDP, Change Japan” campaign won over the party’s voters. The country is ready for a change. Koizumi certain represents a change in personalities…
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Travel planning makes me
Travel planning makes me growl. My trips overseas are never simple. I wish I could just fly from point A to point B and be done with it. But it never works that way. Too many things to do, people to see. June is coming fast and we’re off to a family reunion in Cape…
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7:12 pm. Two cups
7:12 pm. Two cups of coffee. 12:44 am. Hyperactive would-be sleeper realises her mistake. Wow, does coffee in the morning effect me the same way? I guess it must, but it’s not nearly as noticable. Although you may think of Japan as a place where everyone drinks green tea (and they do), coffee is extremely…
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If you’ve ever been
If you’ve ever been in a busy train station in Tokyo, you’ll understand my problem. I have to direct a half a dozen people to a meeting place in a two-level station that services three different train companies and innumerable lines. I can’t simply say “Let’s meet at the ticket window.” The directions to the…
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My friend, Lil, is
My friend, Lil, is in the hospital with appendicitis. I went to see her yesterday. What an eye-opener. Patients are required to supply their own towels, drinking water, and even tissues. There are no complimentary hospital gowns to wear while your friends bring you your proper pjs; Lil had to trundle herself and her IV…
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