Hanshin Tigers!

Inspired by Prof. Fedorowicz at Kansai Gaidai, I felt obligated to see a Hanshin Tigers game in at the Korien Stadium in Osaka. The day we went we saw the Tigers get crushed by the Carps. Even though I don't really like baseball, in fact, you might say I hate baseball, I decided it was an experience that living in Osaka compels you to do.

Regardless, I had a good time--on our way to the game we decided to get all decked-out and buy as much as we could to support Tigers! Made friends with some random group of middle-aged Japanese folks who were very generous to share their alcohol. This was one of things that shocked me--not that I was getting free alcohol from people I didn't know, but that you could so easily sneak your own booze into the stadium. In fact, if you showed up to two cans of beer at the stadium gates they poured it into a disposable glass for you! I couldn't believe this!



I wasn't surprised by the Japanese style food that was offered at the game, curry rice, noodles and the like. They also offered KFC and nachos and cheese!

Even though we lost, towards the end of the game almost everyone to the stadium bought long balloons that were released near the end of the last inning.

Baseball, and any professional sport back home for that matter was nothing like this. The crowd even had songs prepared to cheer on each player up to bat! It was truly an experience I will never forget.

North East West South

On my way home from a night out, I caught a glimpse of some workers unloading the daily newspaper. This was at about oh, I don't know...1:00AM!

1 bike, 2 bike, 3 bike 4...You're bike isn't here anymore

I have been living in Japan since September..and maybe I shouldn't mention this, but for the purpose of this post I feel I have no choice! I have been parking my bike illegally all over Japan. And much to my dismay, it has been towed.

I, of course, first noticed it was missing when I went to pick it up outside of the train station where I had left -- probably for longer than 24 hours. Fortunately, there was a note taped onto the ground saying where the bikes were taken and had an address and other contact information regarding the pick-up location. It also mentioned how much it would cost to get my bike back, and if I didn't pick it up by the said date--GARBAGE; they would recycle it!

So, actually this whole situation (other than the fee of about 1,000 yen -- roughly 10 bucks) worked out pretty good for me. Not only was the bike was transported closer to where I reside (Seminar House), but it there was also air pumped into my tires and the breaks and gears were well oiled! The condition of the bike was actually better than it was when I bought it from the local bike shop!

So, the moral of the story here is, if you are looking to get some work on your bike for 10 bucks...have it towed!

Panyasan (Bread Shop)

Bread. I love it. And when I return to the Great White North, I will miss it oh so much!

In Japan, bread shops specialize in all sorts of delicious pastry. There are sweet breads filled with whipped cream, chocolate, Japanese green tea, and the like. There are cheese breads, garlic breads and breads that are paired with curry or meat -- like little pizza breads or stuffed with potato and bacon.

I literally could continue... I really love it. So, when I passed this particular bread shop in Osaka I thought it was worthy of a blog post. Aren't they cute???

Turtle, turtle!

Courtesy Flush

It came to my attention that others would be interested in knowing that Japan is doing it's part to reduce water consumption in washrooms.

At Kansai Gaidai University in every washroom stall you can find these devises which when activated send out a toilet flushing sound!

So what ever your business, remember that there is no longer a need for the courtesy flush.

How to kill a shrimp

I was invited out with my friends family on the weekend. We went to this really nice restaurant and ate a whOoping 10 course meal! (or so it seemed...)

When it came time to enjoy some nabe, a one pot dish (one of Japan's popular dishes), well I just sort of sat back and waited for everyone to do their thing before I stuck my chopsticks into anything (figuratively of course).




After the items had been placed in the pot and the broth had come to a boil, my friends mom asked the table who wanted the eat the shrimp... As a guest, naturally, I was offered... The only catch was that, I needed to kill it first!

The 4 Seasons

Before I came to Japan, well actually even when I was here, I heard and read a lot (mostly in tourism books) about Japan famously known for having 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

At first, I thought...what's the big deal? I mean, Canada ALSO has 4 seasons -- which I think are quite pretty...

Then, it dawned on me on this particular day when I saw this Kewpei display, that Japan takes great pride in their seasons because each one is truly unique to some cultural aspect or another. There are rare snow-falls in the winter time, unless you live in Hokkaido (where oddly enough where climate conditions are very similar to that of Southern-Ontario)... In the fall, they have "red-leaf" viewing, and there are a ton of beautiful scenic areas in Kyoto. I was really surprised to see how long the leaves stay on the trees before falling. Spring is famous for hanami when pink and white cheery blossoms welcome in the new year, a.k.a. work-terms begin and school commences. Finally, summer, when the biggest and best of the yearly festivals occur.

Some old into something new

Have you ever been to a used clothing store...in Japan? Let me tell you, it looks nothing like a Salvation Army store back home...

First of all, the prices are almost the same as a regular store. Which you may think, defeats the purpose of buying clothes that have previously been worn.

Japanese used clothing stores, like WEGO are best known for taking something old and making it into something new! Used clothing imported from countries like the U.S.A. and Canada are literally torn apart and re-sewn together to make a new article. There will always only be one item in one size, so once it's gone--it's gone!

If you have a chance to sneak around Amemura (lit. America ville) in Namba, Osaka...you can stumble upon many of these kinds of stores.