Guess who turned 30.

Or what:

http://www.newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/101993.php

It was on this day when the park first opened back in 1983.

Is that smog or haze over Tokyo? #photo

Took this photo back in January 30 while in Atsugi, and looking to the northeast -- i.e. towards Tokyo. The photo is not so clear though; but there's clear blue skies here in Atsugi and seemingly hazy / gray skies towards the horizon. Or is it just some atmospheric visual trickery / illusion?

Declining Birth Rate in Japan? An economist suggests... Start A Handsome Tax!

Check out this article on SourceFed.

You know, heat on the jewels, they say, reduces semen count. Like, my wife is discouraging me from actually using my laptop on my lap. But you know, Japanese like taking a hot bath in the tub, like, every night. See any connection there?

Also, I see shy people. I see unfriendly people. I see distant people. I see "we can only be friends up to this level" people. I see reserved people. I see "this is the Japanese way" people. Open up. Go out. Date. Touch. Tradition is tradition, sure. But it doesn't have to stay that way. Not everything.

Well, that's just what I see.

Bento! #267: Tonkatsu meshi from the neighborhood bentou-ya

It's large and it's yum. Comes with a bunch of stuff as well -- potato/ham salad, some seaweeds, and a cabbage bedding.

And tonkatsu sauce and mustard, of course! Forgot how much this was, but it was totally worth it. I think it was around 600 yen.

Bento! #266: Cafeteria Tan-Tan Men + Gyoza

Thanks to Okada san for the photo.

I actually ordered this again on another day because I forgot to take a photo of it when I ate it with the tantanmen.

Perfect combination. Forgot the prices though, but I'm sure this is all around 500 yen only. 

Also, I forgot if they call the ramen as tantanmen or "Taiwan ramen."

Incidentally, today is also a "perfect combination" : 13.4.4 (April 4, 2013). 1+3 = four / 4 / 四 / よん / yon, which is sometimes pronounced as shi, as in "April" / 四月 / しがつ / shigatsu, which is the same pronunciation as for "death" in both Chinese and Japanese and so... it's an unlucky number in Chinese (like they don't have floors with the number 4 in their buildings). But it's not so much like that for Japanese (like they have 4th, 14th, 24th, 34th, and 40th to 49th floors, etc.).

Bento! #265: Fried Xiao Long Bao

510 yen for 6 pieces of this 上海名物 / shanhai meibutsu / Shanghai specialty that's sold at this small store in Machida, Tokyo. And about a 15 minute wait?

A story of love and hate in Japan

UPDATE: The original video has disappeared. Thanks to reader Grin Isobe who has pointed this out. I have since replaced the link. If this goes down again, I recommend to search YouTube for "japan a story of love and hate BBC". Alternatively, you can find the official video on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/ondemand/japanastoryofloveandhate.

Where can a white man go to not find himself privileged?

In case you didn't know yet, I ain't white. And being Asian, though not East Asian, I think if I studied the language (including their intonation/accent) and culture well enough, I could blend right in and no local would ever know except close friends. Alas, having an engineering and research "job," it is difficult to find enough time to become that person. It would be really great for life in Japan.

http://www.quora.com/Racism/Where-can-a-white-man-go-to-not-find-himself-privileged

What is Japan? THIS is Japan.

From the YouTube description: "Follow one international student's breathtaking journey through the heart of Tokyo and experience the sights and sounds of Keio University." He actually visited many more places outside Tokyo. These are the things you should look forward to when you visit Japan. If you aren't interested in anything Japanese, or if you're just generally not open to new things, other than a higher income or some university degree, you shouldn't probably come here. That said, while you should look forward to all these wonderful things in Japan, you need to save some hard-earned dough to enjoy these things, learn Nihongo one way or another, and know that in every place, life is not all you see on TV. Or YouTube.

Thanks to my friend RL for sharing the link to the video!

Bento! #264: Canned sardines in miso sauce

I think this was around 105 yen at the supermarket? You can also find these at your local 100-yen store (e.g. Daiso).

 いわし / iwashi = sardine. 味 = miso. And that other kanji... :D

Pretty good. I've always hesitated trying this because I thought it might be too sweet. It is sweet, but it's not too sweet.

Just to show you that this is not an easy-open can with the tab, like on their canned tuna here. Atypical in Japan.

Bento! #263: Party sushi + pizza!

We had a farewell lunch for one of our colleagues here and this is what we had. I love sushi and pizza!

Oh, the suspense!

More photos when you click the "Read more" link!

Bento! #262: Gyuu Suki？ Bentou

"New!!" From 3F.

牛 / gyuu = beef. And... you know sukiyaki, right? This is that except it's not yaki because it's not heated in a metal pan. I forgot how to read the 2nd kanji (4th character above)!

Yummy!

Bento! #261: Canned tuna + cole slaw = quick meal for a busy guy :D

This is larger than the usual canned tuna, good for 1 meal for me. It's actually シーチキン / shii chikin / sea chicken / chicken of the sea; i.e. skipjack tuna. This is probably around 300 yen from the supermarket. I love canned tuna. :D

Kooru suroo sarada / コールスローサラダ / cole slaw salad. 'nuff said.

Bento! #260: Buta Roosu Yaki Niku Bentou

"New!!" From 3F.

Buta / ぶた / 豚 = pig. ロース / roosu = "roast," but it actually means more like a certain slice of pork usually used for tonkatsu. 焼 / やき / yaki = grilled or (teppan-)fried. 肉 / にく / niku = meat. And of course, bentou / べんとう / 弁当 = "lunch box."

Bento! #259: Canned "Akebono" Pink Salmon

Pretty good. I forgot how much -- maybe under 300 yen from the supermarket. By the way, I don't know what akebono means. Maybe.. "dawn"?

Bento! #258: Hambaagu to Ebi Pureeto

A.k.a. hamburger plus shrimp plate. I think this was 440 yen from the school cafeteria. Comes with demi glace sauce, the shrimps are fried breaded ones, plus there's a ball of potato salad, and some salad greens. Not the best in the world, but good enough to satisfy my craving for variety. I also don't like potato salads, macaroni salads, and egg salads. To me, those aren't salads. Oh well.

Bento! #257: Fruits from...

...the Philippines! Love 'em. They're healthy, too.

Painappuru / パイナップル

Banana / バナナ

They're not exactly large. This one's 128 yen I think though I usually get the 98 yen ones.

Coming to Tokyo (Narita) from/via Manila on Philippine Airlines?

Image from Wikipedia.

Don't. Here's the problem: they only have one flight per day and it arrives in Narita at around 8pm. Because of that schedule, I always miss the last (8:30pm) bus going straight home. So I take another bus instead and just take an extra train ride. No biggie. But here's the real problem: if the flight gets delayed. I have an aunt whose PAL flight just got delayed 2 hours and so she missed all buses going anywhere. If she were able to fast-track her way through immigration, baggage pick-up, and customs, and got on the last bus (10:30pm), she still wouldn't have made it to my apartment because there would be no more trains. So, her only option was to stay at a hotel near Narita airport for a night and just take the first bus the morning after.

Here's the other problem: going back home. The PAL flight leaves Narita at around 9:30am. This means, if you have to be there 2 hours earlier, you have to leave Tokyo by 6am. From our city, you have to take the 5am bus. From my apartment, you have to take a taxi at 4:30am to make sure you get the 5am bus, and make sure you're at the airport at least 2 hours before your departure time. If I miss that 5am bus, there's a big chance I might miss my flight altogether. What I do then is I just commute to Narita and stay at a hotel around the area the night before. Because I don't want to risk missing my flight going home (without having to pay extra extra). Of course, you can always hope that it's this flight that gets delayed...

Goodbye, Softbank.

Coffee mug from SoftBank, given to my friend who availed of one of SB's "promos."

I hope you continue to do well. I'll be cancelling my account with you soon. I hope you can also unlock my almost-3-year-old iPhone 4.

Bento! #256: Sarada Maki

There was some event one Sunday (last February 3, 2013 to be exact), and I didn't know what it was nor heard of anything about it. But they had a ton of maki (or rolls; more commonly known as sushi rolls) of different kinds at the supermarket. So I got me the "salad roll" / サラダ巻 which was a pretty good meal.