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.

A touch of home

On my way home from Takarazuka, I spotted this sign in the station and it reminded me of home.

We have a highway in Ontario called the QEW - Queen Elizabeth Way...

Is the mask of Zorro hidding a woman's face?

In the land of Takarazuka (because the town and train stop are under this name), all women actress play both male and female roles--opposite to Kabuki, where the players are all men.

I went to see the musical version of Zorro. My final comments of the show, excluding the fact that I could barely understand anything that was going on vocally, was NOTHING like the actually story! There were 3 characters playing Zorro at once, 1 of them was a women...they called her "lady Zorro"! Who ever heard of that? Regardless, the world of Takarazuka is quite complex and I was lucky enough to learn about it in Dr. Hester's gender and sexuality in Japan.

Becoming an actress in Takarazuka is highly competitive, and of course like any other mode of entertainment, once you get too old, you're out, and it's time for the next wave to come in. Only the women who play male roles are able to become top stars, yet most of all the players receive gifts from thousands (and I almost mean that literally) of fans. Women who play male roles are especially said to make good housewives, because they understand their male counterpart.

After the show was over, we stayed at the front gates to see if we could catch a glimpse of any of the top stars leaving the building. This part of the day really shocked me... as each actress made her appearence, all of the superfans knelt on the group and everyone came single... respectful clapping filled the air, but it all seemed very sublte actions compared to how these middle-aged women adored the female stars.

Kids in High Fashion!

When I was in my youth...ok, well I still am in my youth...but, you know what I mean. My mom took me shopping at places like Northern Getaway. Although I cannot find any pictures portraying their unique style (probably because they have since gone out of business)...they manufactured clothing with "Spice Mice" and "Catstreet Boys" after popular artists in those days.

I wore flared jeans and sneakers. I was pretty proud of my good fashion sense in that day and age.

The other day when I was walking through the underground passage between stations in Umeda, Osaka....I came across this family: a mother and her two girls. I was quite surprized to see that her kids had so much style at their age!

I can't even remember how old I was when I first wore a pair of boots/high heels...maybe 14? Definitely older than these two!