A while back, during one of my wanderings, I noticed a Mexican restaurant. I noted it within my mind.
Tonight I returned, curious to see what the Japanese version of Mexican food was. Apparently, at some point during my stay in Texas I became a bit of a Mexican food snob. As such, I generally dislike the Mexican food available in Boston. Or, it could just be that Boston Mexican food sucks because they haven't figured out that that burritos and quesadillas shouldn't have the same shape.
Anyway, I went to the restaurant. They had no English menu, but since Mexian food is foreign, it's all in Katakana so I could read the menu and feel totally smart for distinguishing taco from enchilada.
The biggest issue I have with Japanese restaurants is that going in I have no idea how much it will cost. You can't really tell the price by looking at the place b/c shady basement restaurants can be as fancy as any other place. And even if they have a menu w/ prices outside, it doesn't really indicate how much food you will get. Earlier, Leo and I went to a contemporary Japanese place and after ordering entrees were disappointed to learn that to get your fill, you apparently had to order the one of the full course meals rather than the individual menu items. But this isn't always the case. Not speaking Japanese makes this hard to discover until it's too late.
This was the problem w/ the Mexican place. When I was shown my seat, the lady apologized about the lack of English menus and rambled something about nachos. I tried to agree, assuming this would result in tortilla chips. It did not. Apparently it was meaningless small talk. So, strike 1 for not provided free tortillas. Totally lame.
I order the beef enchiladas. Unfortunately, this apparently translates to 1/2 of an enchilada, as I was brought a plate w/ a single, tiny enchilada cut in half w/ 2 tortilla chips and a bit of refried beans in the middle. However, it was delicious. I don't know if it was b/c I've been so removed from Mexican food or what, but it was about the best 1/2 enchilada I've ever had.
Still hungry, I specifically order some tortilla chips, a chicken taco (the other option was pork) and a tecate. This all begins to get a bit pricey, but I figure, how often will I eat Mexican in Japan anyway?
Again, the chips come is annoyingly short supply (apparently the Japanese don't know that I should be allowed to completely gorge on tortilla chips), but they are quite tasty. The taco, however, turns out to be a small tortilla w/a bunch of chicken and some onions piled on it. You cannot pick it up as a taco. I'm not really sure how you're supposed to eat it. I forgo the chopsticks and just eat it like pieces of chicked w/ a fork.
Anyway, the meal, while a bit expensive, was delicious. Again, maybe I've just been deprived, but I'd say it was on par w/ the most Mexican food in Austin. I suppose Tokyo should have good food, so maybe that's not a big surprise, but it totatlly blows Boston out of the water.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Other Oddities
The interest sparked by my coffee vending machine only reinforces my suspicion that these would totally work in America. And yes, the coffee comes in small aluminum cans and it is pretty hot. Like if you pick up the can right out of the machine and just wrap your hand around it, it's not a pleasant sensation. However, if you were to immediately open it and say, pour it all over your arm, I doubt you'd wind up hideously deformed. Who ever would have guessed that there was an intermediary temperature between cold and scalding hot?
As for why Tommy Lee Jones? I have no clue. Generally I find advertisements here seem to be much more entertaining. Lots of anthropomorphic characters. I think I've become more or less accustomed to them, but here are a couple pictures I took the first week or so I was here.
In addition to the friendly water drop guy, there are usually at least two employees who's job it is to bow towards you and wave batons to direct you to walk around the hole in the ground that is completely surrounded by cones and flashing lights.
I have no clue about this but I see it on my walk to work every day.
As far as ad campaigns go, I think Subway seriously needs to consider going with the "The Natural Ideal style of eating vegetable." slogan in the states.
As for why Tommy Lee Jones? I have no clue. Generally I find advertisements here seem to be much more entertaining. Lots of anthropomorphic characters. I think I've become more or less accustomed to them, but here are a couple pictures I took the first week or so I was here.
In addition to the friendly water drop guy, there are usually at least two employees who's job it is to bow towards you and wave batons to direct you to walk around the hole in the ground that is completely surrounded by cones and flashing lights.
I have no clue about this but I see it on my walk to work every day.
As far as ad campaigns go, I think Subway seriously needs to consider going with the "The Natural Ideal style of eating vegetable." slogan in the states.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Russian Embassy
It's just a little after noon here and I've already had a pretty productive day. Considering I've gotten in the habit of rarely being conscious at this time of day, I'm pretty pleased with myself.
The reason for my early start was that I had to apply for a Russian visa and the embassy is only open from 9.30 to 12.30 M-F, but not on Russian national holidays. If you look into getting a Russian visa it seems like quite a daunting tasks. The requirements vary by consulate and a lot of it seems to hinge on paying some middleman to provide various paperwork. Also, the US citizen application requires a lot more information than the application for other nationalities. They want to know where you went to school and who you've worked for. Also, it's best not to be a drug addict.
I was up at about 8.30 making sure I had all the forms I could possibly need. Tourist invitation form: check. US citizen application: check. Regular form for the embassy in Japan (just in case): check. Extra passport photos (conveniently there are passport photo booths near many convenience stores in Tokyo): check. Blank backups of everything (in case I filled something out incorrectly): check.
I get off at the subway station closest to the embassy around 10am. It's raining and I immediately get lost and wander off in the wrong direction. Half an hour later, I finally get to the iron gate in the wall with a plaque that proclaims it to be the Russian embassy. The gate is closed. I curse myself for not looking up the Russian national holidays.
But then I notice that an inner door is open and discover that, while closed, the gate is not locked. I let myself and follow the arrow through a narrow, winding entryway towards the visa office.
On the door to the visa office is a sign proclaiming that "we will be using a new visa application starting this Wednesday". No date is given and it's impossible to tell how long the sign has been there. This seems like a bad sign.
There's no one waiting in the office and just a single man sitting behind a bank teller-esque window. I approach and state that I'd like to apply for a visa. He slides open the exchange tray thing. While I wouldn't call the man friendly, he speaks fluent English and is probably more helpful than most American government employees I've had to deal with.
During the 5 or 10 minutes he looks over my application a Russian woman joins him at another teller window and a few people come in to pick up forms and such. The man seems satisfied with my application, asks when I need the visa by and hands back the unnecessary Japanese form and a ticket. He tells me to take the ticket to window 3. I'm a bit confused and ask if I return later with this ticket. He says "No, take it to window 3 now" and points to the woman sitting 2 chairs away from him in his small room.
So I take the ticket move over two windows and give it to the woman. She requests 4100 yen and gives me a receipt instructing me to return in two weeks. When I emerge from the visa office, I'm pleased to find that it's stopped raining.
Since it's now pleasant outside and I'm nearby, I decide to head over to the Reiyukai Shakaden Temple. Leo and I discovered this strange/cool temple the day we went to the Tokyo tower. It's visible from the Tokyo Tower and stands out b/c unlike most temples, it has modern architecture and looks kind of like a space ship. This picture doesn't really do it justice since you can't see the top half.
Anyway, the day we went by it was closed for the evening, but I got to go inside today. The inside is at least as impressive as the outside with lots of marble and a giant main room with some people meditating on benches.
The reason for my early start was that I had to apply for a Russian visa and the embassy is only open from 9.30 to 12.30 M-F, but not on Russian national holidays. If you look into getting a Russian visa it seems like quite a daunting tasks. The requirements vary by consulate and a lot of it seems to hinge on paying some middleman to provide various paperwork. Also, the US citizen application requires a lot more information than the application for other nationalities. They want to know where you went to school and who you've worked for. Also, it's best not to be a drug addict.
I was up at about 8.30 making sure I had all the forms I could possibly need. Tourist invitation form: check. US citizen application: check. Regular form for the embassy in Japan (just in case): check. Extra passport photos (conveniently there are passport photo booths near many convenience stores in Tokyo): check. Blank backups of everything (in case I filled something out incorrectly): check.
I get off at the subway station closest to the embassy around 10am. It's raining and I immediately get lost and wander off in the wrong direction. Half an hour later, I finally get to the iron gate in the wall with a plaque that proclaims it to be the Russian embassy. The gate is closed. I curse myself for not looking up the Russian national holidays.
But then I notice that an inner door is open and discover that, while closed, the gate is not locked. I let myself and follow the arrow through a narrow, winding entryway towards the visa office.
On the door to the visa office is a sign proclaiming that "we will be using a new visa application starting this Wednesday". No date is given and it's impossible to tell how long the sign has been there. This seems like a bad sign.
There's no one waiting in the office and just a single man sitting behind a bank teller-esque window. I approach and state that I'd like to apply for a visa. He slides open the exchange tray thing. While I wouldn't call the man friendly, he speaks fluent English and is probably more helpful than most American government employees I've had to deal with.
During the 5 or 10 minutes he looks over my application a Russian woman joins him at another teller window and a few people come in to pick up forms and such. The man seems satisfied with my application, asks when I need the visa by and hands back the unnecessary Japanese form and a ticket. He tells me to take the ticket to window 3. I'm a bit confused and ask if I return later with this ticket. He says "No, take it to window 3 now" and points to the woman sitting 2 chairs away from him in his small room.
So I take the ticket move over two windows and give it to the woman. She requests 4100 yen and gives me a receipt instructing me to return in two weeks. When I emerge from the visa office, I'm pleased to find that it's stopped raining.
Since it's now pleasant outside and I'm nearby, I decide to head over to the Reiyukai Shakaden Temple. Leo and I discovered this strange/cool temple the day we went to the Tokyo tower. It's visible from the Tokyo Tower and stands out b/c unlike most temples, it has modern architecture and looks kind of like a space ship. This picture doesn't really do it justice since you can't see the top half.
Anyway, the day we went by it was closed for the evening, but I got to go inside today. The inside is at least as impressive as the outside with lots of marble and a giant main room with some people meditating on benches.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Coffee & Cream
Oddly enough, I've actually been working a lot lately. I guess as I approached the halfway point of my stay, I felt that I needed to at least have something to show for my time here. So for the last week or two I've been putting in long hours. Since my body refuses to wake up early, this has led to me leaving the office at ~3am or so.
One of the reasons I like Tokyo is that things are still open and people are around at 3am. Maybe New York is similar, but Boston's definitely not. There are multiple 24hr restaurants and a 24hr grocery store along my route home. So if you're wanting a Jersey Milk Cream Sand in the middle of the night, no problem (It's pretty much whip cream between a couple pancakes, I just liked the name).
Another thing that I'm going to miss is the coffee vending machine. I think I mentioned them before, but they're great. I'm completely addicted. It's about $1 for an 8ounce can. I don't understand why these don't exist in America (and the crappy ones at travel stops that drop a cup and fill it up don't count, the little cans are way better). Surely I'm not the only person that would rather purchase coffee from a machine than set foot in a coffee shop. And with the brilliant ad campaign of a bored-looking Tommy Lee Jones pasted next to a coffee can, who could resist?
One of the reasons I like Tokyo is that things are still open and people are around at 3am. Maybe New York is similar, but Boston's definitely not. There are multiple 24hr restaurants and a 24hr grocery store along my route home. So if you're wanting a Jersey Milk Cream Sand in the middle of the night, no problem (It's pretty much whip cream between a couple pancakes, I just liked the name).
Another thing that I'm going to miss is the coffee vending machine. I think I mentioned them before, but they're great. I'm completely addicted. It's about $1 for an 8ounce can. I don't understand why these don't exist in America (and the crappy ones at travel stops that drop a cup and fill it up don't count, the little cans are way better). Surely I'm not the only person that would rather purchase coffee from a machine than set foot in a coffee shop. And with the brilliant ad campaign of a bored-looking Tommy Lee Jones pasted next to a coffee can, who could resist?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Strangest Thing Yet
So I had a bit of time to kill and just wandered into a video rental place near where I work. Mostly it wasn't very interesting, but then I came across the top rentals section. What was the Monthly Ranking Best #6, you ask?
Why, none other than Johnny Mnemonic.
Probably there's a simple explanation (like the box was in the wrong place), but I much prefer to think that crappy Keanu Reeves movies from the mid-90's are just really popular here.
Why, none other than Johnny Mnemonic.
Probably there's a simple explanation (like the box was in the wrong place), but I much prefer to think that crappy Keanu Reeves movies from the mid-90's are just really popular here.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kamakura
On Sunday, I left Tokyo for the first time since arriving in Japan. I only went to Kamakura, which is about an hour away by train, but it's a step in the right direction. Tokyo is pretty sweet and I haven't quite seen all that it has to offer, but I need to pick up the pace on my greater-Japan explorations.
Kamakura, as seen above, was the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333. Shogunates and Minamoto Yoritomo and other historical things took place in the area. As a result there are a lot of shrines and temples and such.
Knowing that I would be wandering out of the safe and civilized Tokyo and into the heart of one of Japan's heathenistic religious centers, I decided I would need protection. Fortunately for me, Nozomi, who had spent a year at the Media Lab, invited me to tag along with her and a couple Toshiba colleagues who could safeguard against my being ritualistically slaughtered to appease the blood-thirsty Buddha.
My posse (Jimmy, Nobu-san and Nozomi) and I in front of the gate to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Gu.
I met the Toshiba crew at the train station in Fujisawa since they all live more on the outskirts of Tokyo. Nobu-san was already there when I arrived and, though we had never met, was quickly able to identify me. I knew immediately that his keen eye for out of place foreigners would come in handy on our mission. Jimmy showed up shortly thereafter. Jimmy is originally from China. He picked up a master's degree and has worked at Toshiba for a couple years since. I didn't think to ask about it, but in retrospect it seems kind of strange that Jimmy would chose to call himself 'Jimmy' rather than a common Japanese name upon coming to Japan. After another 10 minutes or so, Nozomi arrived and we were off...to another train.
The most famous of the Kamakura temples is the Daibutsu. It's a giant Buddha that you can walk inside. It also has a pair of giant shoes that are apparently made by local children.
After the Diabutsu, we wandered over to Hase-dera, another temple. Hase-dera has a lot of outdoor statues and is laid out going up a hill. The picture up top, overlooking Kamakura was taken there. There's also a cool cave/tunnel thing with a bunch of statues inside. You could buy candles to light in front of your favorite diety statue or place smaller diety figures in an army around them. Fun!
After lunch, we went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Gu, the main Shinto shrine in Kamakura. The shrine itself seemed a lot like most the shrines scattered throughout Tokyo, but its location on a hill led to by a path that runs through the middle of town gave it a better appearance. Since I'd likely already incurred God's wrath by purchasing a sovenir at the Daibutsu, I figured I might as well push my luck and purchased a fortune scroll at the shrine. I got one of the good-but-not-great luck scrolls. It was in typo-ridden English and predicted that my marital situation would be resolved this year. So I've got that going for me.
While we were at the shrine some people were getting married. Or at least having their wedding pictures taken. I would have felt bad about photographing them, but as you can see, a lot of people were staring and taking pictures. I guess that's what you have to deal w/ if you want your wedding at a famous shrine.
Lastly, I sampled a chunk of fish at a local vendor's shop.
It was gross.
Kamakura, as seen above, was the capital of Japan from 1185 to 1333. Shogunates and Minamoto Yoritomo and other historical things took place in the area. As a result there are a lot of shrines and temples and such.
Knowing that I would be wandering out of the safe and civilized Tokyo and into the heart of one of Japan's heathenistic religious centers, I decided I would need protection. Fortunately for me, Nozomi, who had spent a year at the Media Lab, invited me to tag along with her and a couple Toshiba colleagues who could safeguard against my being ritualistically slaughtered to appease the blood-thirsty Buddha.
My posse (Jimmy, Nobu-san and Nozomi) and I in front of the gate to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Gu.
I met the Toshiba crew at the train station in Fujisawa since they all live more on the outskirts of Tokyo. Nobu-san was already there when I arrived and, though we had never met, was quickly able to identify me. I knew immediately that his keen eye for out of place foreigners would come in handy on our mission. Jimmy showed up shortly thereafter. Jimmy is originally from China. He picked up a master's degree and has worked at Toshiba for a couple years since. I didn't think to ask about it, but in retrospect it seems kind of strange that Jimmy would chose to call himself 'Jimmy' rather than a common Japanese name upon coming to Japan. After another 10 minutes or so, Nozomi arrived and we were off...to another train.
The most famous of the Kamakura temples is the Daibutsu. It's a giant Buddha that you can walk inside. It also has a pair of giant shoes that are apparently made by local children.
After the Diabutsu, we wandered over to Hase-dera, another temple. Hase-dera has a lot of outdoor statues and is laid out going up a hill. The picture up top, overlooking Kamakura was taken there. There's also a cool cave/tunnel thing with a bunch of statues inside. You could buy candles to light in front of your favorite diety statue or place smaller diety figures in an army around them. Fun!
After lunch, we went to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-Gu, the main Shinto shrine in Kamakura. The shrine itself seemed a lot like most the shrines scattered throughout Tokyo, but its location on a hill led to by a path that runs through the middle of town gave it a better appearance. Since I'd likely already incurred God's wrath by purchasing a sovenir at the Daibutsu, I figured I might as well push my luck and purchased a fortune scroll at the shrine. I got one of the good-but-not-great luck scrolls. It was in typo-ridden English and predicted that my marital situation would be resolved this year. So I've got that going for me.
While we were at the shrine some people were getting married. Or at least having their wedding pictures taken. I would have felt bad about photographing them, but as you can see, a lot of people were staring and taking pictures. I guess that's what you have to deal w/ if you want your wedding at a famous shrine.
Lastly, I sampled a chunk of fish at a local vendor's shop.
It was gross.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Subway Posters
I am a big fan of the instructional posters in the Tokyo subways.
I'm not sure if it's b/c the women seem so upset or b/c the guy seems so pleased about their anguish, but this one makes me laugh every time I see it.
Another variation on the "talking on your cellphone makes people cry" theme. I'm guessing the subway must have been really unbearable with people on their phones to justify as many signs as they dedicate to this cause.
Apparently I should hide my trash under furniture at home.
I like this one b/c I can't figure out what the couple is supposed to be doing. I mean obviously they're not letting the crippled old man sit in the courtesy seat, but is the guy eating a Reese's peanut butter cup? And the girl's giving him a heart, which should be done at home? Also, the injured guy doesn't seem as upset as the people in the other posters. In fact, he's kinda creepy.
I'm not sure if it's b/c the women seem so upset or b/c the guy seems so pleased about their anguish, but this one makes me laugh every time I see it.
Another variation on the "talking on your cellphone makes people cry" theme. I'm guessing the subway must have been really unbearable with people on their phones to justify as many signs as they dedicate to this cause.
Apparently I should hide my trash under furniture at home.
I like this one b/c I can't figure out what the couple is supposed to be doing. I mean obviously they're not letting the crippled old man sit in the courtesy seat, but is the guy eating a Reese's peanut butter cup? And the girl's giving him a heart, which should be done at home? Also, the injured guy doesn't seem as upset as the people in the other posters. In fact, he's kinda creepy.
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