• Dare to Dream

    Dare to Dream

    Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]

  • Huashan: The Danger Trail

    Huashan: The Danger Trail

    On December 20th of 2006, I received an e-mail from my dad. It contained this Powerpoint file. The forwarding messages all included such phrases as: “I CANT EVEN LOOK AT THE PICTURES WITHOUT GETTING DIZZY!!” […]

  • Into the Lion's Den

    Into the Lion’s Den

    How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia 😀

  • Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Warning This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it. I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so […]

  • Long Walk Down a Longer Road

    Long Walk Down a Longer Road

    Peder and I left our pousada in Trancoso and started out for our day’s 30 km walk at around 11am. The plan was to follow the coast all the way to Arraial d’Ajuda, a neighboring […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

Shopping in Tokyo

 Japan, Public  4 Responses »
Jul 102007
 

Shutting down my workstation at 7:00pm sharp, I bolted out of the office and pedaled as hard as I could past Nijo Castle and towards the JR station. It was Friday April 27th, and I had plans to catch the earliest possible bullet train to Tokyo. Yet again.

Less than 24 hours earlier, I’d received a call on my cellphone. It was from Felicia, a very close family friend who I knew would be stopping in Tokyo on her way to a business trip in India. “Justy! Can you come to Tokyo after work tomorrow?? I’ll cover the train ticket, just get here as early as you can!”

The timing seemed perfect – it was the first day of Golden Week, a series of consecutive holidays which would let me stay away for twice as long as any other weekend. And as this would be Felicia’s first trip to Japan, I was excited to show her around and help translate – as well as have a little reunion with Eli and JingJing, two of my buddies who I met over the New Year Vacation. Continue reading »

Let’s Learning English!

 Japan, Public  6 Responses »
Jul 062007
 

In a company where both Japanese and English-speaking staff work closely together on large and complex software projects, miscommunications are sure to arise. To help battle this problem, my employer provides bi-weekly English lessons right here in the office (erm, but no language lessons for the Westerners 😥 ). This often inspires the more adventurous employees to attempt communications in both their native and non-native tongues, while the slightly less confident will instead use auto-translation software to add a bit of clarity to their feature requests and bug reports. Perhaps they don’t realize that the translations are anything but useful. But that’s okay. Because time after time, for the foreigners it means hilarity! Continue reading »

Kyoto Drift

 Japan, Public  10 Responses »
Jul 012007
 
Miki in his favorite toy. Miki in his favorite toy.

You know how I’m always seeking out new and interesting experiences? Well last weekend I went drift racing.

One of my coworkers, Miki, is extremely into cars. He has a Limited Edition Impreza (one of exactly 1,000 made) and spends nearly all of his income tuning, modifying, and driving it. Seeing as I spend 40 or more hours a week with the guy, I figured learning a bit about his hobby would be a great way to bond and become friends – so I’d periodically chat with him about his various racing antics via Mixi, a popular social website in Japan.

One night during our chats, I decided to ask if there really is anywhere to see underground street racing like in the recent Hollywood blockbuster
Tokyo Drift. I thought for sure he’d say “Hell no, that’s just a stupid movie.” Instead, he told me to go to the end of the xxxxx train line at midnight on Saturday. Continue reading »

Hosts and Hostesses

 Japan, Public  9 Responses »
Jun 262007
 

In my recent post on Interesting Facts about Japan, I mentioned how the Japanese “cool guy” image varies drastically from that in the US. I also mentioned how these Japanese “cool guys” can often be seen shamelessly prowling the city streets at night, hitting on every female (or pair of females) who happens to cross their paths.

Well, by total coincidence I stumbled on a fascinating documentary today that sheds quite a bit of light on the subject. I’ve heard a number of different stories about who these guys are – everything from students just looking for some female companionship to Yakuza recruiting for their newest sex clubs. But by far the most common theory I’ve heard is that these persistent young trend-setters are what’s often referred to as “Male Hosts.” Continue reading »

Salmonella

 Japan, Public  6 Responses »
Jun 252007
 

Does Salmonella really exist? Or is it just a big conspiracy invented by the FDA to keep people buying and renewing their foods regularly? I’ve lived in Japan for nearly two years now, and over that time have eaten countless portions of raw beef, raw chicken, raw fish, raw eggs, and even raw horse. Eggs are never refrigerated, and food is often prepared long before it’s actually eaten. Yet I’ve not had a single case of the runs since coming here. So what gives? Why are we so freaked out by uncooked foods in the US, such that we’ll throw out a pack of eggs after accidentally leaving it on the counter overnight? Continue reading »

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