Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Japanese chess
Shogi - Japanese chess. Haven't played, just observed. There is a 9 times 9 grid, while chess has 8 times 8. Probably because Japanese don't like odd numbers. (When you give a money as a gift for the wedding, you should never give an odd multiple of 1000 Yen!)
Gokon
Gokon is a bit different way of meeting potential partners than we are used to, but very common and popular in Japan. A boy and a girl that know each other organize a meeting and each of them brings 2 or 3 or more friends (girl girls, boy boys) - but always the same number. They go eating and drinking, and socialize. If any two like each other, they exchange telephone numbers and meet again.
Not a bad idea at all.
Not a bad idea at all.
Onsen
Onsen is a Japanese word for a "hot spring". Because Japan is covered with volcanoes, there are more hot springs in Japan than anywhere else in the world, more than 3000. My guidebook says Japan is like Iceland on steroids.
The only thing you have to do is take off all your clothes, soak into one of the bubbling hot water baths, enjoy the atmosphere and traditional Japanese environment and relax.
I've only been to one so far. Heavenly experience. Must go to more!
The only thing you have to do is take off all your clothes, soak into one of the bubbling hot water baths, enjoy the atmosphere and traditional Japanese environment and relax.
I've only been to one so far. Heavenly experience. Must go to more!
Korean alphabet
Maybe you noticed in the title of the previous post that the characters look a bit different than Japanese characters. (Can you see?)
Koreans have their own alphabet hangul, and (how cool!) it was developed by one person, King Sejong the Great, in the 15th century. If I understood correctly, their "letters" are actually parts of "characters", so they join letters together to form one character, one sound. And then they put characters next to each other to form a word.
According to a Korean friend, the system is almost ingenious, much better than Japanese kanji, katakana or hiragana. Not sure if he thinks like this only because he is Korean! :)
What I can't get out of my head is that a Koran person living and studying in Japan (which is not that rare) knows hangul, katakana and hiragana alphabets, plus let's say 3000 kanji characters.
And what I know is only the latin alphabet plus 3 additional slovenian letters!
Koreans have their own alphabet hangul, and (how cool!) it was developed by one person, King Sejong the Great, in the 15th century. If I understood correctly, their "letters" are actually parts of "characters", so they join letters together to form one character, one sound. And then they put characters next to each other to form a word.
According to a Korean friend, the system is almost ingenious, much better than Japanese kanji, katakana or hiragana. Not sure if he thinks like this only because he is Korean! :)
What I can't get out of my head is that a Koran person living and studying in Japan (which is not that rare) knows hangul, katakana and hiragana alphabets, plus let's say 3000 kanji characters.
And what I know is only the latin alphabet plus 3 additional slovenian letters!
윤도현 "잊을께"
I love this Korean song. The singer doesn't look too bad either.And just today I learned the title of the song is "I will get over you". How appropriate.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Photo shooting in Odaiba
You say you want more photos on which I look happy...
Short term happiness, but I won't complain.
Short term happiness, but I won't complain.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Shita Machi tour
Today our secretary dressed up in a kimono and took me for a tour around Shita Machi (old town). Here are some photos (since you insist on seeing me).
Shimao san and me in front of a handkerchief shop. We also went to a traditional Japanese paper shop.
Lunch in a soba restaurant. On the photo you can see the cold one, which looks like noodles, and hot one, which is in a soup. Later on we also went to a cafe for a sweet potato cake.
Toori (door), Nezu-jinja shrine. Of course we also prayed and bought fortune tellers - I got second best out of 5 possible fortunes. I finally also bought "lucky charms" which I was resisting until now.
We went to a cat cafe. Basically a shop where they sell souvenirs with cats in 1001 different forms. You can also have a drink with cats sitting in your lap.
Shimao san and me in front of a handkerchief shop. We also went to a traditional Japanese paper shop.
Lunch in a soba restaurant. On the photo you can see the cold one, which looks like noodles, and hot one, which is in a soup. Later on we also went to a cafe for a sweet potato cake.
Toori (door), Nezu-jinja shrine. Of course we also prayed and bought fortune tellers - I got second best out of 5 possible fortunes. I finally also bought "lucky charms" which I was resisting until now.
We went to a cat cafe. Basically a shop where they sell souvenirs with cats in 1001 different forms. You can also have a drink with cats sitting in your lap.
Sonodaband
Some time ago I wrote about hearing a really good student band performing at Komaba student festival at University of Tokyo. After that I emailed them, saying how much I liked their music.
I got a reply from the guy on keyboards, and they invited me to their next live concert for free! It happened today in Morph-Tokyo club in Roppongi and it was great.
This is how good they are. Especially piano and violin. Having in mind that all the guys are very young (probably 20), that they write their own music (Ryo Sonoda, the keyboard guy!) and they all are students of University of Tokyo - which here means something - you have to be impressed.
I got a reply from the guy on keyboards, and they invited me to their next live concert for free! It happened today in Morph-Tokyo club in Roppongi and it was great.
This is how good they are. Especially piano and violin. Having in mind that all the guys are very young (probably 20), that they write their own music (Ryo Sonoda, the keyboard guy!) and they all are students of University of Tokyo - which here means something - you have to be impressed.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Who is at work?
In front of the lab there is a sign-in board with little magnets, so that it's clear all the time where everyone is.
The first column is for "in". The second column is for "in, but away" - for example when you go for lunch of to a shop for a longer period. The third column is "out".
The different colours indicate how important the hierarchy is in Japan.
p.s. Everyone else's name is written by their surname, except mine , it's quite funny. They never call each other by first names.
The first column is for "in". The second column is for "in, but away" - for example when you go for lunch of to a shop for a longer period. The third column is "out".
The different colours indicate how important the hierarchy is in Japan.
p.s. Everyone else's name is written by their surname, except mine , it's quite funny. They never call each other by first names.
Taking shoes off
Before I left for Japan, I read in my guidebook:
Don't leave home without ...
1) Slip-on shoes - you want shoes that are easy to slip on and off for the frequent occasions where they must be removed.
2) Unholey socks - your socks will be on display a lot of the time.
And I haven't even imagined how true this was!
In Japan you take shoes off at work. When you arrive, you change into slippers. Any visitors to the office should also take their shoes off when entering, even if just for 1 minute. This is in front of the lab, where we put our shoes.
In Japan you take shoes off in restaurants with tatami.
In Japan you take shoes off when visiting temples and shrines.
In Japan you take shoes off even in fitting rooms in shops.
Every time we go for lunch, they have to wait for me because I'm very slow with putting my shoes on!
And no one in Japan wants to stand out of the crowd, so none of my colour socks are in use. I'm strange enough without them. If only I've known this, I would bring more pairs of black socks with me!
Don't leave home without ...
1) Slip-on shoes - you want shoes that are easy to slip on and off for the frequent occasions where they must be removed.
2) Unholey socks - your socks will be on display a lot of the time.
And I haven't even imagined how true this was!
In Japan you take shoes off at work. When you arrive, you change into slippers. Any visitors to the office should also take their shoes off when entering, even if just for 1 minute. This is in front of the lab, where we put our shoes.
In Japan you take shoes off in restaurants with tatami.
In Japan you take shoes off when visiting temples and shrines.
In Japan you take shoes off even in fitting rooms in shops.
Every time we go for lunch, they have to wait for me because I'm very slow with putting my shoes on!
And no one in Japan wants to stand out of the crowd, so none of my colour socks are in use. I'm strange enough without them. If only I've known this, I would bring more pairs of black socks with me!
Japanese food - outcome
I will not tell you in kilograms, but I have gone up 6.5% of my weight in 1 month! Calculate it for yourself. All my unwashed jeans hardly fit.
Ah, Japanese food. I eat it, I dream it, I feel it, I'm obsessed with it. Definitely the best food in the world. Healthy? I'm not so sure anymore. At least too good to be healthy.
Ah, Japanese food. I eat it, I dream it, I feel it, I'm obsessed with it. Definitely the best food in the world. Healthy? I'm not so sure anymore. At least too good to be healthy.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Japanese door
I love Japanese interior door. Simple, white and beautiful. They also have similar windows. Funny, why do they need interior windows.
But I see them very rarely. Nothing like these at the university or the place where I'm staying. I even wonder how typical it is to have such rooms at home.
One of the things children here apparently learn the hard way very early on is not to touch the door paper. And of course this is one of their biggest temptations. At the Komaba festival everyone had a chance to have a go at it.
But I see them very rarely. Nothing like these at the university or the place where I'm staying. I even wonder how typical it is to have such rooms at home.
One of the things children here apparently learn the hard way very early on is not to touch the door paper. And of course this is one of their biggest temptations. At the Komaba festival everyone had a chance to have a go at it.
Odaiba and Tokyo bay
The nicest and sunniest possible day. Amazing train ride with the views of the most futuristic city and bay ever. Quite impressive. Sometimes you can hear the expression "architectural zoo". And my camera is out of batteries.
Looking for the photos on the internet it feels like no one went there on a sunny day and has taken photos that I wanted. Such a shame.
Looking for the photos on the internet it feels like no one went there on a sunny day and has taken photos that I wanted. Such a shame.
Imperial palace gardens
Imperial palace in Tokyo is nothing like Buckingham palace. Actually you can't even see it. You can only have a stroll though Imperial Palace east gardens. I did it in my first weekend in Tokyo, and it was raining, but I though I'd post some photos anyway.
Tokyo vs London metro
I don't know what I was expecting, but Tokyo underground is not bad at all!
Compared to London, I can almost always have a sit here. The trains much broader and cleaner. They are also longer, this is the platform:
And they have special cars only for women. I've heard men like to grab women in a crowd. But it has never happened to me.
One strange thing here is that lines belong to different companies. So when you change them, you sometimes have to swipe out of the gate and then back in. And transfers are long. When you get out of the train, it tells you how many meters you need to walk to change the line. An sometimes it's 500m, 600m!
Another interesting sign:
Compared to London, I can almost always have a sit here. The trains much broader and cleaner. They are also longer, this is the platform:
And they have special cars only for women. I've heard men like to grab women in a crowd. But it has never happened to me.
One strange thing here is that lines belong to different companies. So when you change them, you sometimes have to swipe out of the gate and then back in. And transfers are long. When you get out of the train, it tells you how many meters you need to walk to change the line. An sometimes it's 500m, 600m!Another interesting sign:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)