tokyophotography

2012-02-28T13:12:00.000+09:00

The first signs of life after the wave. Dydo.

And Coca-Cola.

magazine rack

2012-02-22T18:03:00.001+09:00

Library periodicals stack.

peekaboo

2012-02-22T17:58:00.000+09:00

Playing after church.

marunouchi line

2012-02-20T07:31:00.001+09:00

Waiting for the Marunouchi subway train on the Korakuen platform.

My ride pulls in.

The platform doors (suicide reduction), then the train doors, open.

Ikebukuro station. The doors on this side will open.

audit gear

2012-02-20T07:25:00.001+09:00

I spent 6 hours on Saturday conducting an audit of an organization in downtown Tokyo. I brought these things along for the ride. My headphones help me shut out the world by keeping out outside noise, while letting me enjoy music that inspires and motivates. Starbucks coffee brought back from a quick 20 minute lunch, my $6 calculator that hasn't failed me in the 6 or 7 years I've owned it, my favorite pens and pencil case, my laptop and iPhone. It was a great day. Ochanomizu, Tokyo.

gokai

2012-02-18T18:45:00.001+09:00

I thought this was my floor but I was mistaken. This post was for you oyajigyagu bilingual types. 失礼しました。Ikebukuro Bic Camera. On the way to get my watch battery changed. Oh and btw - I used the stairs all the way to the 8th floor for the exercise. Hiihii.

especially me

2012-02-18T18:39:00.002+09:00

This post and its advertisement are just a few feet from the place my wife and I met for our very first date some 32 years ago. It states - "everyone let's be happy in life, especially me." Ikebukuro Seibu entrance area. 8am on Saturday, February 18.

artist's cafe

2012-02-16T20:39:00.001+09:00

On the 43rd floor of the Tokyo Dome Hotel is a restaurant that is frequented by celebrities from all over the world. In 1998 Elton John and Billy Joel played a concert tour and apparently ate here one night. My wife and I went to their concert in Nagoya a couple of days after their Tokyo gig. Princess Di had recently died in that car accident, so Billy sang the Candle in the Wind song so that Elton would not have to. Can it already be 14 years since then?

temple logo

2012-02-13T17:05:00.000+09:00

Yushima Tenjin was having a festival on the weekend as I wandered through. I liked the bright orange mark of the kimono worn by this temple worker. Fortunately he did not notice the strange foreigner shooting him from behind. Yushima, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.

side street

2012-02-13T16:57:00.002+09:00

It's not much of a street, just heading into a local neighborhood. There is something very Japanese about it. The bicycle, the lantern, banners advertising Kamameshi (rice bowl with a variety of yummy stuff on top served in earthenware pottery), the narrowness of the precisely paved path ahead. Minowabashi, Tokyo.

tepco final episode

2012-02-12T20:39:00.000+09:00

How many Tepco posts is this guy gonna do? (stolen line from Jimm Gaffigan) Okay maybe this is the last one. Walking down Route 4, not far from Ueno station, is a Tokyo Electric Power Company office, complete with communications tower. Or would that be a radiation detector?

toto

2012-02-12T20:32:00.001+09:00

This common "fixture" in our lives was built by Toto. Named before the band of 70s fame, the band which got its name from this logo ( a rumor that is NOT substantiated by a quick search of Wikipedia). Short for Toyo (Oriental) Toki (pottery). とうとう my blog has been reduced to this?

lawson 100

2012-02-12T20:19:00.002+09:00

I am pretty sure that Daiso was the first of this kind of store in Japan. Certainly they became synonymous with ¥100 stores these last 10 years or so. In our neighborhood there is a Lawson 100 that is very popular if you want to buy only things that are ¥100. Plus tax, so that would be ¥105 (about $1.30).

B

2012-02-10T17:59:00.002+09:00

It's the letter B. Okutama tree stump. Or maybe the letter K.

tepco bill

2012-02-10T17:53:00.002+09:00

At the risk of being really boring - see the Tepco logo on my electric bill? One tidbit for you North American types - the 800 numbers in Japan begin with 0120. See those numbers you can call for service at the bottom right of the bill?

tepco

2012-02-05T15:03:00.001+09:00

My posting pace has slowed as of late. Today begins a Logo series that will be interspersed with other posts so that it doesn't become too boring. This manhole hides the inner workings of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) cables under the street by my church. Tepco just announced an increase of about 20% on our electric bill as a way to recover the huge losses they continue to suffer as a result of the tsunami. I don't feel awful about this, although it will certainly be an adjustment - it increases our school bill by about ¥2 million ($25,000) per year. Even Tepco needs help and we must all cooperate.

stir fry

2012-02-01T17:05:00.001+09:00

When I make stir fry I like to have everything ready to go into the pan before I turn on the gas fire. This is Monday Night Stir Fry from The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/?s=monday+night+stir+fry). It's yummy.

boy george

2012-01-27T18:11:00.002+09:00

Culture Club and their lead singer Boy George were big time in the early 1980s. A very troubled, if talented man. This album was in a stack of LPs in Nagano where I snapped its image last summer.

mos burger

2012-01-27T18:01:00.001+09:00

I like MOS Burger. Their food is a little messy (lots of "special sauce' on their juicy burgers) but the fries are always hot and the variety of drink options good. They wait until you order to start cooking your food, so you wait a bit, but I almost always go there when I have some time on my hands. It is worth the wait. Today I went to the one in our station to update my to-do lists and plan the next few days of my life. MOS Burger. A Japanese fixture.

floating

2012-01-27T17:29:00.000+09:00

On the way up or the way down? Floating eternally just off the ground.

boss coffee

2012-01-27T17:26:00.002+09:00

I rarely buy these any more because they are laden with sugar, but in a moment of weakness I decided to escape to Brazil while never leaving my desk. And then it was back to the spreadsheets and budgeting.

story problem

2012-01-20T15:50:00.001+09:00

In Japan many people, mostly moms, use child seats on their bicycles to haul their kids to the supermarket, day care or kindergarten. After dropping their children off, working moms and dads park their "child on board" bikes in the pay parking lots (¥100 per day = $1.30) near the train station.

Bike seats can be on the front or the back, can be plastic or metal, have cushions of not, and many even have headrests these days. For that floppy-headed sleeping child, you know.

This graph tells me that about 4% of the population of Japan of 127 million people, or 5 million children, are 0-5 years old. Before the age of 1 they probably can't use a bike seat very well, so that leaves 4 million who need one, or a little more than 3% of the population. About 15% are women between the ages of 20 and 44, or 19 million. These are potential moms. I estimate that perhaps 20% of those women actually have kids from 0-5, or 3.8 million moms. That jives with what we know about birth rates (replacement is 2.1 kids per mom, but Japan's birthrate is something like 1.4). About 50% of the population goes to work or school each day, or about 65 million people. About 6% of the bicycles should have a child bike seat (3.8/65= 5.8%).

In this bike lot there are spaces for 250 bicycles and about 30 small motorbikes. If 5.8% of the bikes had child seats that's about 15 bikes. I counted 21. So not too bad, right?

homemade pizza

2012-01-19T16:54:00.002+09:00

The look of the table is practically as important as the whole-wheat crust or the real cheese on top of the pizza. Check it out. Fork it over.

mum's the word

2012-01-18T19:46:00.003+09:00

Quiet please! Mum's the word. I should have taken a photo of the actual mums that were for sale. Perhaps I'll make a special trip to that flower store tomorrow so I can give you a look-see.

storefronts

2012-01-16T17:35:00.002+09:00

The way a storefront looks is important.

Some places are old and tired, perhaps like their owners.

Others are eager to please and inviting.

And some are just down the street. My youngest son often spent his snack money here. Kareage (bite-sized fried chicken), nikuman (meat dumplings), American dog (weiner - breaded, deep fried on a stick with mustard and ketchup)? If only he was home to buy something I'd give him as much snack money as he wanted....

going eco

2012-01-15T19:06:00.001+09:00

On the train tonight I was glad to see this public service announcement. Metro (one of the two big subway systems in Tokyo) has decided to replace all of its platform fluorescent bulbs with similar-looking LED "tubes." We've got one of them on trial in a school hallway and hope to switch over to LEDs soon. In the long term the switch will pay for itself through the reduced running cost of our lighting, but there is another reason.

Japan seems to be moving quickly away from nuclear power, meaning that we will have to make major sacrifices in other areas so that as nuclear power comes "off-line" we don't have to replace so much of the generating capacity with fossil fuel plants. I'm excited to see someone jumping on this now. We in Japan are a cooperative society. If anyone can accomplish usage reduction we can.

rice seller

2012-01-10T16:37:00.000+09:00

It's plain and simple, but a fixture in most neighborhoods in Tokyo. I am not sure what the regulations are any more (a quick google search did not come up with much) but it used to be that all Japanese rice was sold only through authorized rice stores. I can buy my rice at the local supermarket, so it can't still be so strict, but there are still rice sellers specializing in rice and often deliveries of kerosene. At our house we almost exclusively eat whole grain "brown" rice (genmai) because it's better for you and still tastes delicious. In Okachimachi I found a rice that looks black - that I add just a pinch to genmai and it turns it purple. Yummy and purple. Yup.

nerima benches

2012-01-09T20:23:00.001+09:00

oizumi cat bench

oizumi empty bench

kind thoughts

2012-01-07T17:09:00.001+09:00

A new year resolution.

kit kat

2012-01-07T10:41:00.000+09:00

At the Tokyo airport you can buy some really odd flavors of KitKat. I think some chemists are sitting around in the KitKat labs trying to have a good time. Hey, you know that time we made KitKats using wasabi? And lots of people bought them? Hey, we could make KitKats with Natto and say it was a hometown favorite from Mito. Or how about using using persimmons and calling ii Kaki KitKat. And when we served it to our customers it could be okyaku no Kaki KitKat. And if we found some local geeks we could call it otaku okyaku no Kaki KitKat. And if those geeks were from Ota ward in Tokyo we could serve them as Ota-ku otaku okyaku no Kaki KitKats. That would be 大田区おたくお客の柿キットカット。

Yokohama Edition - Annin Dofu Flavor. Why didn't I think of that!? Some sites that might help you are: http://www.doohan.com/kit-kat/2010/11/13/annin-dofu-fumi-kit-kat-yokohama-edition.html and a better source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond_jellyHint - click on the photos to bring them in a bit closer.

bic camera

2012-01-05T18:33:00.000+09:00

If you are interested in watches, cameras, flat screen TVs, iPhones, speakers, washing machines, bread makers, alarm clocks, game players, games, refrigerators, ion generators - then Bic Camera is for you. The original Bic Camera store was in Ikebukuro, just at the entrance to Sunshine Street. This particular store is at Yurakucho station. I know some friends who could spend days in here without getting bored. The selection is wonderful, the sales people most helpful. Need something repaired? We can fix all but broken hearts. Those don't come with a warranty.

flushman

2012-01-05T18:03:00.002+09:00

I apologize for the hiatus. I've been sleeping and spending time with family. Back to work means back to posting in a routine of sorts.

Automatic flush devices are really common in Japan, but I'd never seen one called Flushman. I felt a bit self-conscious taking this photo even though I was the only one in the restroom at the time.

studio apartment

2011-12-28T17:05:00.001+09:00

Real estate rental properties are often advertised using one-page ads like this, taped t the front windows of the realtor's office. In Tokorozawa, a bedroom community an hour from central Tokyo, you can rent a small studio apartment (just under 200 sq ft.) for ¥55,000 ($700) per month.

This apartment has a "loft" which is more like a large shelf at the top of a ladder with a 5 foot ceiling. So, loft is probably overstating the case.

yamate dori

2011-12-27T13:06:00.003+09:00

I liked the yellow building. I had my camera ready, even while driving, which is why I ended up getting this shot. I like the yellow signal in the foreground and the yellow building in the background. Near Ikebukuro.

since 1973

2011-12-21T14:09:00.000+09:00

Denny's in the neighborhood.

Since 1973.

train link

2011-12-20T19:56:00.001+09:00

Series 100 train, built in 1981. Connected between cars 8 and 9, making it into a "full length" 10-car train.

Series 2000 train, built in the mid-1980s (although I didn't get on this express train to check out the plaque indicating its age because this one doesn't stop at my station).

winter clothes

2011-12-20T11:42:00.000+09:00

All dressed up and ready to go. Cute shorts.

mito

2011-12-19T19:11:00.000+09:00

We took a walk in Mito on the weekend, led by our local guide. We needed to be careful where we were walking because last March's earthquake has made in uneven mess of roads and sidewalks, many of which were under repair.

The Liberal Democratic Party building looks fine from this view, as does the tile roof beside it, but they are not well. The tall building was about to be torn down after it was deemed to be beyond repair. Mito, Ibaraki. About 80 miles (130km) closer to the big one than we live.

This church welcomed us warmly on a beautiful December Sunday. The way it's supposed to be done.

shrine

2011-12-19T19:02:00.000+09:00

I bow at the altar of great hair.

insert hand here

2011-12-18T19:39:00.000+09:00

There is a sign on the elevator door that says "Inset Hand Here" or "Be Careful!" You guess which one.

The window on the 2nd floor looked like the moon. And on the elevator door reflected that same "moon."

takarakuji - lottery

2011-12-16T13:52:00.002+09:00

Nenmatsu Jumbo. (Year -end jumbo lottery.) I think there are 6 lotteries each year, so I am guessing they start over once every two months, just like sumo (sumo tournaments come every two months on the odd months (January, March,...). Each one has its own name - like Autumn Extravaganza. I made that name up cuz I don't pay close attention, but it's something like that. Come to think of it so do sumo tournaments! The Nagoya Basho (tournament in Nagoya) or the Kyushu (southern island) Basho. Anyway - these booths are all over the place. People are quite superstitious about where they buy them. This one is next to the Ito Yokado in our town.

tonkatsu

2011-12-15T12:10:00.000+09:00

It isn't a big place, and doesn't even look all that nice inside, but there is something about the noren (hanging cloth) that is inviting all the same. Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) is a hard-to-beat Japanese treat for non-vegetarians.

pieces of pie

2011-12-14T17:17:00.002+09:00

I like the feeling that the world in front of me is divided into pieces of pie as it fades into eternity in the distance. Sunset on the walking path along Nobidome Yosui. I think it is translated directly as "field fire waterway/block". It's a canal that has been here for many generations and is even preserved by the country precisely because of its longevity. These days there aren't many field fires possible unless they work their way around and through all of the houses that have sprung up in the last 50 years. Kiyose Shi.

Or these slices of pie on the platform of the subway train heading towards Shibuya. Hoya in Nishi-Tokyo Shi.

in the temple

2011-12-13T18:34:00.000+09:00

Peace that passersby understand. Fragrant incense wafting train-wards. Prayers offered in many languages and even religions in this central spot. Okachimachi amidst the hustle and bustle of life in Tokyo.

galaxy quest

2011-12-13T12:12:00.000+09:00

This keitai (cell phone) requires protective gear. Galaxy.

winter flowers

2011-12-12T17:08:00.001+09:00

It must be winter in Tokyo. Love the flower stores here. There are so many - like hair salons - how can they all make enough to make a living? Hey, it's a flower lovers' paradise.

hallelujah

2011-12-11T17:28:00.001+09:00

The Jeans Mate store is going out of business this month and is having a sale. Which brought me over to the pile of T-shirts all for under ¥500 ($6.50). I liked this one, but could not imagine wearing it myself, except maybe as pajamas, of which I already have too many tops I can't wear any other time.Looking for the peace that nobody has found. Hallelujah. Let me hear you sing.

automatic weapon girl

2011-12-11T15:00:00.001+09:00

This is a train bridge over a river near my workplace here in Tokyo. Graffiti is not what I expected to see on this very well-liked community walking path. If you look real close (click on the photo to make it larger) you can see a nicely stenciled girl with a gun over her shoulder.

Reminds me of the movie back in the 1980s called セーラー服と機関銃 Sērā-fuku to kikanjū. That is Sailor Suit and Machine Gun in a somewhat unsatisfying translation of the phrase chosen by the Wikipedia writer for this entry. Nevertheless, I am grateful for Wikipedia and how helpful it is!

christmas in japan

2011-12-10T20:45:00.001+09:00

Merry Christmas from one of Tokyo's major commercial centers. Japan has a sophisticated entertainment and advertising industry and I enjoy what their version of Madison Avenue comes up with. This is Shinjuku station, where 3 million people pass through each day. Perhaps only a few hundred thousand walk through this entrance itself, but that's a lot of pressure on a team to create an ad that works. And this is what they came up with. I like it.

let's merry

2011-12-10T15:29:00.001+09:00

Yes let's.

the backside

2011-12-09T12:29:00.001+09:00

Everybody keeps a certain part of themselves hidden from view. Cities are no different.

shinjuku alley

2011-12-08T19:44:00.001+09:00

Not far from the Odakyu department store there are two parallel walkways with little dives serving probably-tasty food. It wasn't time for lunch for me, but definitely there was a bit of Diagon Alley feel to the place. Made me want to pull out my wand. Or at least my Ricoh.

pumpkin sleigh

2011-12-08T11:46:00.001+09:00

The other day we watched a DVD of the Cinderella story "Ever After" with Drew Barrimore. For the umpteenth time. Not exactly a classic, but has a lot of fun-for-girls-who-wish-to-be-whisked-away-by-a-prince stuff in it. Omotesando at Christmas.

fuji view

2011-12-06T20:03:00.001+09:00

A gorgeous, albeit distant, view of Fuji in the fall from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building south tower 45th floor. Almost no Japanese were up there on this lovely morning, I heard lots of Chinese spoken.

But I think this guy was a Japanese taking a picture of Fuji. While I took a picture of him taking a picture. Cuz that's the kinda guy I am.

shinjuku triangles

2011-12-06T19:56:00.001+09:00

One down.

Two down.

Three down.

Okay now everybody look up! The hollow triangular kaleidoscopic Sumitomo building.

onigiri rice triangles

2011-12-04T19:21:00.001+09:00

One thing Japan has that no one else seems to are onigiri. A seaweed coat, white rice stuffing with a surprise morsel in the middle (usually in the middle, but these are perched on top). Salmon, tuna/mayo, spicy fish eggs (tarako), kelp (konbu), sour plum (ume) or one of a dowzen other common flavors. Yum.

shoe kiss

2011-12-04T18:47:00.001+09:00

I love my shoes.

school route

2011-12-03T17:39:00.001+09:00

Some of my facebook friends have already noted this photo. There are many Japanese things in this photo - the tin roof, the camelia tree that blooms in the winter, the hedge and even the green stripe down the side of the road signifying a route for children to walk to school. The Japanese kanji characters basically say School Zone. Not much of a sidewalk, but we all somehow just seem to squeeeze safely through.

peeling paint

2011-12-03T17:33:00.001+09:00

An ad selling the services of a company that will refurbish your home. We specialize in peeling paint. Which reminds me of a Bible college friend who owned Jacob's Ladder Paint Company - they had an excellent slogan "We make your houses look like heaven."

killing fields

2011-12-01T16:50:00.001+09:00

The tsunami came from beyond that bank of pines, between Toyama on the left and Takayama on the right. Thirty feet high and moving fast. There was little to do if one had not already run for the nearby hills. Most of the water receded quickly, but not so well in these low fields. They had to be searched with poles by Japanese self-defense force soldiers for bodies that did not get high enough soon enough.

okutamartie

2011-11-26T19:44:00.001+09:00

She was having her coffee outside this morning in the fresh, cold air of Okutama. It was a day to honor and give thanks to our God for all of the many blessings of our lives in Japan.

toughman energy drink

2011-11-25T19:31:00.001+09:00

Unless you are tough, you won't win the battles. And may I suggest that you'd have to be a tough guy to get away with wearing that hat. What the heck is it anyway? That's a rhetorical question.

suicide

2011-11-25T19:20:00.001+09:00

The Musashino train line was delayed today by another suicide. Life in Tokyo has its fair share of sadness and pain.

popeye's

2011-11-23T15:32:00.001+09:00

I ate on the military base on Sunday evening. I felt a lot like I was in America. Even paid in US dollars. Three-piece spicy chicken tenders. Crunchy/tasty, but with a bit too much batter for my liking.

shinagawa

2011-11-22T20:25:00.001+09:00

I used to work at this station. For 6 years I called this place home. I knew all of the restaurants, even the nice ones in the Takanawa Prince Hotel. My brother and I would often meet for lunch between Shingawa and Tamachi (where he worked) in Sengakuji. It's been 15 years since then already. Shinagawa station - since 1885.

fukutoshin train

2011-11-21T17:28:00.001+09:00

The doors between cars are glass so it's easy to see a long ways down this train. 10pm approaching Higashi-Kurume.

pirates of the yamanote

2011-11-20T23:18:00.001+09:00

Pirate Recruitment Sign.

drive-through

2011-11-19T19:13:00.001+09:00

I rarely use McDonald's drive-thru (I don't think I should have spelled the title "drive-through"). But on this day I was on my way to the airport and picked up a coffee and one filet-o-fish (no fries) on 254 (Kawagoe Kaido - just across from the self defense force base) near Wako. Two hours later, after driving along the Tone river, through the rice paddies of Ibaraki and Chiba, I picked up my wife at 4:49pm and all was well with the world. McDonald's.

orchestral types

2011-11-17T16:52:00.001+09:00

Playing randomly in the courtyard. It was very nice because they are very skilled. And they have a lovely director.

2011-11-15T20:19:00.001+09:00

I am going on a Tokyo tour again. This agenda was from a tour I gave two summers ago and we had fun!

The Subaru eye in Shinjuku.

Tokyo Tower is no longer the tallest tower around - now there is the Sky Tree that is almost two times the height of this long-time Tokyo icon. Tokyo just keeps evolving and I just keep getting older. But I've got a few more years of giving tours left in me. Yay.

nobody in town

2011-11-14T17:10:00.001+09:00

A rare shot of a street in our town with no one there. 8:45 on a Sunday morning explains most of it. The best time to drive in Tokyo is Sunday morning.

persimmons and church

2011-11-13T15:08:00.001+09:00

If you click on the key word "persimmons" (to the right and below) you can see that I posted a similar shot last year, but this morning this tree, in the farmer's garden next to our church, was again ripe for the photo-taking. Persimmons are a tasty treat in November.

leadership plank

2011-11-12T17:32:00.001+09:00

I had to ask what it was. "Planking" (or the "Lying Down Game") is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Rigidity of the body must be maintained to constitute good planking.

in the 'hood

2011-11-10T19:52:00.001+09:00

It was on that same Saturday as the coffee shop. I was walking into the machi (shopping area) when I saw the guy with the nice backpack on the prototypical mamachari (shopping bike) in front of me. After I took the photo I noticed all of the other things in the photo that are just so common here. The bikes lined up, the lack of a sidewalk, the pre-school lady with the big stroller (it had four kids inside), the left-turn-or-straight sign, and the telephone pole advertising the local chiropractor's clinic. Higashi Kurume street.

saturday morning

2011-11-08T20:40:00.003+09:00

it was saturday monrning. the line had formed but no one had their coffee yet.

i brought my to-do lists to update. no one there to ask me for a favor or "can i ask you a question?"

source of power

2011-11-08T18:03:00.000+09:00

This sweatshirt is hanging on the fence of a bicycle parking lot near the station. In Japan we tend to find things and hang them on the nearest fence or wall, so that the person who lost it has a chance to notice and take it home. This sweatshirt says "His source of power is bonds." Sorry I can't explain it.

hoya station

2011-11-05T09:33:00.003+09:00

Hoya is 11 stops out from Ikebukuro on my train line. A station employee checks for stray sleeping passengers before sending this train offline. There are car barns here where trains are held at the ready to be pushed back into the flow once rush hour begins again at about 5:30pm.

As recently as a couple of years ago Hoya was a one platform affair, but now there are two platforms and three rail sets to make things easier to feed in those extra trains without interrupting the flow too much. Now we can travel directly to Shibuya, in addition to Shin-Kiba and Ikebukuro without transferring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metro_Fukutoshin_Line

Walking down the stairs to the main platform heading out of the city. On the right side of this platform the trains that terminate at Hoya are emptied (see first photo) as they are pulled off line, and are fed back in towards Ikebukuro when they are needed again.

japanease

2011-11-05T07:46:00.001+09:00

Too bad when we all started learning the language that we didn't realize there was an easy version out there.

Tonkatsu set ¥1,249 ($16) including tax. We don't get to tip here, but the price includes the good service, too!

defunct yamazaki bread store

2011-11-03T19:22:00.000+09:00

The car in this "driveway" (one parks where one can in Tokyo) is identical to mine, even down to the wheel choice (aluminum wheels was the only extra I felt that I could not live without). The Dydo vending machine is a type that is ubiquitous in this country, meaning that a few must have been swept out into the Pacific ocean last March. Yamazaki Pan (bread) must be the largest baker in Japan by more than just a little bit. Okay - so a little side trip in the vein of the Pizza La post. I taught Sunday school for a number of years. When teaching on Exodus I realized that there were about 1.5 million Israelites out in desert needing manna and water. Moses struck a rock to get water for the people of God, although I am not sure what they carried it in to their tents. And was it just one rock? A system of pipes would certainly help with the distribution to that many folks. But I digress. The really cool thing - if you figure that each person needed about 1,000 grams of food (2.2 pounds) and there were that many people out there being hungry, it means they'd need to distribute 1,500 metric tons (1,650 North American tons) of food every day. God solved the distribution problem by letting manna fall all around so it would be easy to collect. Pretty amazing, yeah? IF that much manna had to be manufactured (never mind finding the raw materials on the slopes of Mt. Sinai) in one place it would take 750 Yamazaki Pan 2-ton truckloads to deliver the stuff to the chosen people!

chinese condiments

2011-11-02T13:19:00.003+09:00

At least in Japan these are the usual condiment suspects all lined up and ready to go in Chinese restaurants. Yurakucho, Tokyo, Japan.

pizza-la

2011-11-01T18:15:00.000+09:00

Three three-wheeled bikes numbered 1, 2 and 8. How many bikes do they need to deliver their pizzas anyway? Assume a total of 8 bikes. One delivery takes about 15 minutes (4 minutes getting there, 3 minutes getting paid, 4 minutes getting back and 4 minutes getting reloaded). Eight bikes - 32 deliveries per hour. Two pizzas or ¥5,000 ($65) per order. In a busy hour, with all cylinders running, that could be as much as ¥160,000 ($2,100) per hour. ¥300,000 ($4,000) per day in total sales?The riders earn ¥1,000 per hour. On average 4 drivers per hour for 5 hours of delivery? ¥20,000 ($250) per night. Three cooks at ¥800 ($10) per hour for five hours? ¥12,000 ($150). So labor costs are ¥32,000 ($400) per day or about 10% of sales. Typical food costs must be less than 30% or a restaurant won't make it. ¥90,000 ($1,200).What is left over on a ¥300,000 night is ¥178,000 ($2,400). One motorbike costs perhaps ¥200,000 ($2,500), so one night of delivery is enough to buy one bike. Had enough? Okay, sorry. I got carried away.

green espresso

2011-11-01T17:48:00.000+09:00

I went into the store thinking of buying an ice coffee, but ended up with this Matcha green tea drink instead. Even the can/bottle looks yummy, don't you think? The taste is similar to other Japanese green tea drinks you might buy in a plastic "PET" bottle, but a little richer in flavor.

Suntory!

hakushon daimao ハクション大魔王

2011-10-30T19:57:00.002+09:00

This cartoon character was on TV when I was a freshman in high school in 1970 (before my family had a color television - we got one in 1972 for the Sapporo winter Olympics). It was about the same time as "I Dream of Jeannie (Genie)" back in the States so maybe being a genie was the thing? I saw this statue of ハクション大魔王 while walking in my neighborhood today.

pensive pose

2011-10-25T13:40:00.001+09:00

When I take photos of crowds it works well for me to have them be pensive (look thoughtful) as a warm up to the final smiling shot.

Posterboys penultimate photograph at Potter party.

Practically perfect pretty posers.

intelligent design

2011-10-23T12:02:00.000+09:00

We each have our own ideas about what is good design, what we like, what makes us feel good. We are a diverse bunch, us humans. It's a miracle in some ways that we have figured out how to live in relative peace.

We compete for the attention of others, living in our separate worlds, in community.

Skulls.

Christmas ornaments.

Lack of a plan.Life is a strange and varied thing. How do I fit in? What am I doing here? What does it all mean!?

bench buddies

2011-10-21T16:48:00.003+09:00

This family has taken on the role of my partner-in-bench-crime. Wherever they go they post bench photos of their kids in various places and poses. Today I caught them in a rare photo of the fab five!

friends

2011-10-20T15:26:00.001+09:00

The New Year approaches, and that means the Hakone Ekiden (2-day, 125 mile relay race) is about to begin. My buddy and I go every year to watch from some place along the race route. Friendships can be odd. Certainly ours is. But we have endured each other for nearly 20 years now. With familiarity comes love, and love forgives a multitude of flaws and personality quirks.

no photos please

2011-10-19T21:49:00.001+09:00

I couldn't help myself.

eneos

2011-10-18T11:18:00.002+09:00

On Saturday morning we stopped for gas at Eneos near Tama Hills. Although many gas stations are now self-service, this one was full service. Step on your brake pedal so we can check your brake lights, may we wash your windows, check your oil, empty your ashtray? All done? Well, then, let me jump out into oncoming traffic so you can get out safely! And all for only $6.47/gallon. (¥132/liter)

the lake

2011-10-14T17:55:00.002+09:00

The snow starts around American Thanksgiving, so we are going up just after Canadian Thanksgiving to give thanks for the gift of a lovely summer place to enjoy the blessings of friendship, abundant nature and good sleep.

scenic view

2011-10-14T05:04:00.001+09:00

Who needs binoculars?

angel lightfeathers

2011-10-13T19:04:00.002+09:00

She knew that I was coming. No need to call ahead for an appointment! (She's psychic - in case you can't quite see the fine print.)

caught in the act

2011-10-13T12:56:00.004+09:00

And this is me taking the photo from yesterday's post. Taken by my partner in crime on his iPhone.

morning shot

2011-10-12T17:03:00.001+09:00

I don't know what it is about Japan that likes singing/dancing groups in large numbers. First there was Morning Musume, now AKB48 and a number of other spinoffs and copycats. There are magazines and websites dedicated to the popularity rankings of each of the members in an ever shifting group of young singers.Here are 12 of them singing the praises of Morning Shot coffee, exclusively to wake you up and get you going. NOT to be used in the afternoon!

vegetable stand

2011-10-08T07:48:00.000+09:00

Pike Place Market in Seattle has a number of world-class shops - not the least of which is this vegetable and fruit stand. Free samples of Honeycrisp apples and perfect peaches. Yum.

ikebukuro from platform 3 car 2

2011-10-07T21:01:00.000+09:00

About 15 years ago I estimated that I had ridden on this train line, often from this station platform, about 8,000 times in my life. Although I don't ride the train daily (we live a mile from work) any more, my guess is that I still ride this line perhaps 100 round trips each year, so I am perhaps past 10,000 trips on this train line? Seibu Ikebukuro station.Bonus comment - I saw this train again this morning and need to report that the front car number is 3011. Just thought you'd like to know that.

not sisters

2011-10-05T20:33:00.003+09:00

I always find it interesting that people who look alike often find each other and become friends. These two met only recently, but they look like they could be sisters, don't you think?

dragon quest

2011-10-05T20:26:00.003+09:00

Dragon Quest on Famicon/Superfamicon x Wii.

yen rate

2011-10-05T20:20:00.001+09:00

Exchange rate in The Plaza Hotel in Kachigawa, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.

waiting line

2011-09-29T21:20:00.001+09:00

This place must be popular. I kinda wanting to get in line just to find out what the fuss is all about!