Hashioki

I have a few strange quirks. Most are harmless like this one of collecting hashioki (chopstick rests) but only those that are in the shape of a fish and where there is both a "boy" and "girl" fish. I display them on a piece of cloth showing a scene from an Edo era screen with koi on it. Most are ceramic.

Anyway, I am up to 12 pairs of hashioki now. Starting in the upper left hand top row they are: tai (sea bream), kingyo (goldfish), some little critters I forgot that look like gobies, koi no bori (carp streamer shape); left middle row: another pair of koi no bori made from glass, kingyo, some Vietnamese haishioki made from horn, tai, fugu (poisonous blow fish); bottom row: kingyo, tai, hirame (flounder).

In Japan, pink is for girls and blue is for boys. You might also see other pairs like the orange and black or gold and orange in the picture. Tai are popular because they are thought to bring good fortune. They are often eaten at ceremonious meals and Yebisu is usually seen holding one. Of course this is the time of year to fly koi no bori with May 5th coming up.

The fish shaped ones are a bit hard to find in pairs. I asked about them once and was told that they are a little old fashioned and really only used on special occasions at home. Some nice restaurants have them. They are kind of fun though. If you have special china and silver I suggest you get them out and use them. They aren't doing much good in the cupboard. Have a tea party :-).

The weather is great right now! This morning was very clear and Fuji was clearly visible.

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Guess What is for Dinner

Since I don't have much time left in Japan, I am trying new restaurants whenever I can again. I have made it into a game that goes like this: pick one at random that looks like it does not have an English menu (pictures and plastic food displays also make it too easy), then go in and try to get something to eat! I will eat about anything so that isn't a problem. The game is to try and read the menu at least a little, ask questions, and then see if you get what you thought you were ordering without letting the waiter or waitress know you are clueless. I do better than 70% at this game but there are enough errors to keep it interesting. So far, I have always been able to get enough food and not go hungry.

I am OK at asking questions. My trouble is understanding the answers. I can ask for recommendations and figure out generally whether the dish consists of rice, vegetables, fish, or meat based on what I am told most of the time. Tonight I was really doing good and then got caught right at the end when I couldn't tell her what kind of ochazuke with ume I wanted and ordered wrong. Last night I got through the whole meal without missing a beat.

Have a happy Easter!

Clown Shoes

There isn't much to write about this week. I have been working instead of engaging in people observation or learning about cultures. However, that didn't stop me from seeing this young man on the train. Look at those shoes. They were even more impressive in real life. At first I thought it was some afflicted person with feet the size of David's on a regular sized body. Then I began to think the guy was wearing clown shoes on purpose - probably for fashion.

It is hard to tell what is going on in this picture. So I have denoted the clown ratio on the photograph. For the purposes of this discussion, the clown ratio is the length of extra shoe over what is normally required to house the foot. (By the way, "kutsu" is the word for shoe in Japanese - just thought I'd throw that in to make this a little more educational). Expressed as a percentage, I estimate the clown ratio on this fellow to be around 50%. The shoe itself, up close, actually looked like the extra had been grafted onto it or somthing. Note the box toe on the left foot and also look at his feet relative to everyone elses. Almost bozoesque. OK, enough about big shoes.

All too soon I have to leave Japan and it is going to be a sad day. I have never taken so much enjoyment from observing people elsewhere although I know there is just as much opportunity. I just really like Japanese people and it is not going to be the same...

More Pachinko

A girl with a sign showing the way to a pachinko parlor. The kanji at the top of the sign with the yellow background says "nihon" which is the Japanese word for Japan. The katakana, which indicates foreign words, below it says "gurandoinpakuto" when romanized. Can you guess what it means? See the comments for a translation.

What is this Dude About?

BROOKLYN

CITY

MANHATTAN

I AN AFFORD

A MORE STYLISH

Bureikou

Here we are at the party after viewing the cherry blossoms. The title "Bureikou" means putting aside rank. This is important in Japan because during the work day there is a high level of formality and politeness that results in less than direct communication. So, in the evening, it is common to let your hair down and speak a little more directly about work related items.

The result is karaoke, drinking too much, and at a party there will be assorted silliness and games that everyone participates in.

In this picture Ikeda-san and I are recreating a famous Japanese skit. One person sits, covered in a costume where he can't see, behind the other and feeds him noodles. Ikeda-san and I won the prize for "Best Couple". There was much ooh-ing and aah-ing about my ability to use chopsticks without seeing. "It looked like one person was eating" I was told. We also gave stirring speeches, ate, and drank. The food was French (excellent) and the cocktails had a cherry blossom in them.

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Kaisha no hanami

This is the office hanami party. This year we walked part way around the palace moat and had the party at the Imperial Hotel. Being stylish, I wore a pink cherry blossom tie.

An Ode to the Cherry Blossom

I wrote the following haiku upon seeing cherry blossoms on the way to the airport this morning (this is common behavior for sensitive, artistic people):

momoiro de
sakura no hana wo
kakushimasu

Poetic translation:

The cherry blossoms
are hidden
by the color of pink

Seriously Nerdy

According to the Geek Test I took on the Newsweek website I sometimes look at for news, I am "Seriously Nerdy". Of the categories ranging from "Last Century" up, this is the highest form of geekdom in the test. According to the statistics, only 5% of the persons taking the test scored this high. This surprised me - wouldn't only nerds take a test that scores how nerdy you are? Here are some of the questions:

• Have you ever emailed a picture taken on your cell phone to a friend? (Everyone in Japan does this)
• Do you text message with your phone (everyday)
• How many computers do you currently have at home? (3 counting my work laptop - that isn't so many)
• Do you have a home network set up? (Who doesn't?)
• A joke about binary code (Of course I got it - I could have understood it in hexadecimal)

I didn't do very well on the one about having a TIVO on your television. Do geeks watch television?

Tokyo Tower at Night

When visitors come, they generally like to sit in the massage chair which has a view out this window. Looking out, you can see Tokyo Tower (that one is pretty obvious) and to the right of it is Mt. Fuji. If you look down, you can see the temple. If I am in the way you can't see anything.

In the winter this window is warm and sunny and there is a nice ledge to sit on. It would be good for a cat, or anyone else inclined to sit on a window sill.

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Hanami at Night

People like to go and view the cherry flowers at night too. I tried to get a good picture but this was the best I could do. The trees are getting near peak now. The best guess is that they will peak in the Tokyo area on Tuesday or so. With my standard good timing, I will be in Doha then.

Meanwhile, I suggest going outside with a flashlight or better yet set up a generator and floodlights under a flowering tree. Pop open a beverage of your choice and enjoy some snacks...

CATASTROPHE AVERTED

I bought a new one - Canon IXY 700. They call it the PowerShot SD600 Digital ELPH in the United States. There were some a little fancier but I decided to stick with a small size and the Canon brand that I was already familiar with. The camera is smaller, lighter, the pixels greater (6 Mega) and the LCD viewer bigger than my old one. It also opens up and gets ready to shoot faster. It won't use my old batteries or memory unfortunately. I think it will be OK...