Japan is a crazy place

Hello again, loyal readers.

Sorry for the long holiday, (er vacation, damn I've been spending too much time around Brit's!) but it was not my plan. Unfortunatly for me my internet has been very intermittent lately. I had a lucky streak tonight though, enough time to upload a whole gaggle of crazy photographs.

Last weekend we had an area party with all the Hokoriku GEOS schools invited. We had a good turnout, and a lot of fun. It was an opportunity for me to get to know a few more faces nearby, as well as just party. The restaurant was kind of strange though, serving a set course with mini-bratwurst, frenchfries, edamame, raw octopus, korean food, pan fried beef in a Japanese sauce, and pizza. The food was good, but is that not one strange menu? Talk about globe hopping in the space of a meal.

That is not the only crazy food combo I have encountered recently. Last weekend I joined Paul and his delightful girlfriend at a rotation sushi restaurant out past Kanazawa station. It was a bit of a trip, but well worth it. However they had some seriously strange roles. Like say, the steak Tartar roll. Yes, raw beef and a tiny egg with sushi rice wrapped in seaweed. Actually I tried it and it was Ok, but a bit of a trip. There was also roast pork sushi, salmon and cheese sushi, and fois gras sushi, in addition to the more standard offerings. While strange, everything on offer was delicious, even the honeydew! (Luckily that *wasn't* a roll, merely melon wedges)

On Sunday Nate and I hung out and went shopping. Unfortunatly some of that shopping was for Valentines Chocolate for his wife. Now in Japan Valentines Day is a bit strange, in that it is a 180 degree reversal from us! Yup guys, you guessed it, the women buy the men chocolate. Now thats not to say the Men get off the hook, they have added a second holiday, White Day, where the Men have to reciprocate and buy chocolate for all the women who got them something on Valentines Day. Still and all, its a very fair way of doing things. Plus I never turn down free chocolate! Ok, but back to poor Nate. See Japanese women, like most women I suppose, love to shop. Especially on Sunday afternoon. Even moreso with a reason to go shopping, like say a holiday coming up. The Chocolate sellers in the Daiwa Dept Store were swamped. Seriously it was like some sort of Chocolate fueled Utah Beach. I had to provide some covering fire just to get us down the escalator!

After that harrowing experience we decided to follow up on the theory that the higher you go in Japanese dept stores the more low rent and dodgy they get. We confirmed this big time! The first floor or two is always nice, clean and busy. But make it to the 5th or so floor and things get.... creepy! Dirty floors, suspicious glances, its a very strange phenomenon!

Ok, enough with the ramblings, here are some pics of Crazy Japan (TM)



The Sushi Joint.



This is the band with the number one single right now. Yes, that is 20 pre-teen to teen girls. Yes it is as sugary and disposable as you might guess. If you like, you can find out just how weird it is...

click on this!



Not really engrish, but pretty weird!









engrish mugs... for 100 yen each! How cool is that?

Ok, well thats it for today. Happy Valentines Day all especially you Buck-Tick lovers out there, and yes I got a wee bit 'o free Chocolate today.

Next Time: Karoke Expose, including a shot of Grant... "singing." Stay Tuned!