Only in Japan

Well, you've probably heard it quite a few times in your life that Japan beholds many unusual things that will raise eyebrows, drop jaws, nod heads, and slap foreheads. From my three weeks in Japan I've finally experience first hand what those people mean when they say that. As an Asian, im somewhat already accustomed to the Japanese culture. I can't imagine what westerners went through. Our bodies must be shaken like cigarette withdraws. Oh well, here's a list that I compiled of things that i find are exclusive in Japan (or hard to find in other countries, especially in the US).

5. Only in Japan...will boybands like this hit the number one spot in the rankings:

These five "men" are in a group called newS, a Japanese boyband who drives the premature women population of Japan into a frenzy. Plug your ears, cause when those girls scream, the decibels can get up there. Sigh, they make the Backstreet Boys look like they have testicles. Sorry if I offended someone! :)

4. Only in Japan...can you find "live" billboards on a truck:

As I was walking down Harajuku, I saw a crowed over by the street flashing their cameras that what I though was just a billboard vechicle, just like the ones that circulate the MSU campus. But upon further investigation, found out that the people on the billboard moved! Stupid me I thought they were just mannequins, damn good looking mannequins too. It took me 5 seconds to find out that they were actual people. A great way to advertise I guess. (they were advertising for a CD release of some band).

3. Only in Japan...can you enjoy soy sauce flavored icecreams:

Dr. Ross was cool enough to have hooked us up with a plant tour of the world renowned soy producer, Kikkoman (I was actually interested in this plant tour...I consumer Kikkoman's soysauce like others do with milk). Anyways, after the tour ended, the company treated us with icecream. Soysauce flavored icecream. Thats a first for me. Reluctant at first, I gave it a little lick like a cautious dog. It didnt taste bad at all! Hell, it tasted better than those air-pumped icecream back in Thailand. Not salty like you may all think at all!

2. Only in Japan...can you buy your child a condom suit for Halloween:

There are lots of strange foods in Japan, but there are also plenty of weird 'things' too. Like this purple condom custome I can across to in Shibuya. Woudn't it be the perfect Halloween costume for your 10 year olds? Just imagine them trick-or-treating in their FULL BODY purple condom outfit. Only 28 bucks folks, for a definate banned item in the US.

1. Only in Japan...will you be able to cross an intersection diagonally with hundreds of other pedestrians:

This is truly unique to the famous Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, Japan. Shibuya is Tokyo's version of Broadway + Fifth Avenue, but bigger. Thousands of people walk in this district that is filled with department stores, resturants, and brand name stores. At the center of it all, just right in from of the Shibuya train station, is the crossing. Hundreds of people gather at the edge of the streets waiting for that 'walk' signal to light up. When the cars stop and the light signals go, mobs of people flock from all directions filling tp the entire road. When viewed from a high buidling, it seems like there is no road.

But thats not it....

BEYOND NUMBER 1... THE ULTIMATE...

Only in Japan...will you feel violated after taking a dump:

Everyone would agree that Japan is one of the most, if not the most technologically advanced nation in the world. They're so advanced that technology extends onto your toilet seat. Lets start off with something that's easy to comprehend - the seat is heated. Alright! that'll be nice for the winter. Next, there's an automatic flush function. Great! I dont have to push a button for pull the lever. Thats just the basic; they had that for decades. Here comes the fun part. The toilet offers to clean your butt for you. At a push of a button, a plastic arm will extend from one side of the bowl and shoot water straight to where the mess was made. But thats not it. You can adjust the water pressure AND the water shooting? (i guess...) between bidet or spray. I had to try it once. Very unique experience if you ask me. Never felt this violated before in my life. Thanks toilet, I can wipe my own butt ^^'

東京タワー | Tokyo Tower

Located in Shibuya Park, Japan's tallest artificial structure, the Tokyo Tower, stands at a towering 300 plus meters tall. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower if Paris, Tokyo Tower was built in in 1958 as a broadcasting tower for major television and radio outlets. Since then, the tower has always been a part of Tokyo, if not whole of Japan. Because of its height and location, the Tokyo Tower can be seen from various parts of Tokyo, indluding Rappongi, the Imperial gardens, and even Shinjuku train station.



It was too bad that we did not get a chance to take a ride up to the top. But at least we got to see a monkey perform tricks. And I got to take a photo with the mascot. I was thinking at it looked like a pink condom, but I was too scared to write it down on this blog untill upon further research just now confirmed my thoughts. Yes, the mascot is a pink penis (please correct me if im wrong!). Its name is Noppon.

築地市場 | Tsukiji Market

Located in central Tokyo, the Tsukiji fish market is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood in the world. Everthing ranging from seaweed to tuna are found at this place. Its open for operation mostly everyday, being the busiest around 5-8am. Annually, more than 700,000 tons of seafood are handled at Tsukiji (2000 tons a day).

The main even of the show was the tuna auction. Hundreds of frozen tuna gets auctioned off, bluefin tunas are priced at around $200 per kilgram. And they weigh 200+ kilgrams. Do the math. The fishes are either moved on to their next destination or are chopped up and sold within the market.

増上寺 | Zojyoji Temple

Located in the middle of Tokyo, the Zojyoji Temple the main temple of the Jodo-Buddist sect. During the Edo period Zojyoji served as the temple of the Tokugawa family. 6 out of 15 Tokugawa shoguns are burried here at Zojyoji.

Along the sides of the main temple are rows of small statues with bonnets and windmills. These statues are the protector of the souls of stillborn children, or jizobosatusu in Japanese. Mothers who have lost an unborn child often dedicate such statues and decorate it with toys and clothing

A large bell is located in front of the entrance into the temple. The bell is banged with the long rope before one prays and make wishes.

PakkuRo's Food File「# 7」:

東京の韓国の料理 Tokyo's Korean Food

วันก่อนออกไปหาข้าวเย็นกินกัน สะดุดเจอร้านอาหารเกาหลีเลยตัดสินใจเข้าไปลองดู พอดีมีคนเกาหลีไปด้วยเลยให้เขาสั่ง

Jjigae

Dolsot Bimbimbap

Galbi　(ไม่มีโอกาสถ่าย หันไปก็หมดแล้ว)

Hmmmm…น่ากินนน

อาหารอร่อยอย่างที่คาดไว้ (เผ็ดดี ผิกับดอาหารญี่ปุ่น) ทุกอย่างหายวับไปกับตา (มีคนตะกละเยอะ)

รสชาติ 9.0
ความสวยงาม 8.0
ความอิ่ม 8.0
ราคา 8.0

日本の食文化 | Japanese Food Culture

We traveled to Noda city which was the home of Kikkoman Soy Sauce Co. Ltd. We were also fortunate enough to sit in a presentation about Japanese food culture. The presenter talked about the history of 和食or traditional Japanese (foods that were created before Meiji resotration) foods like soba, sushi, tempura and unagi. Soba, made from buckwheat, originated from Edo. These home-made noodles were often served cold with tsuyu (sweetned soy sauce) in the Edo period but quicky had variations as time passed. Sushi, which is vinegared rice topped with fish, also originated in Edo (current Tokyo). They say that in the old days, 20 set of knives were used to process the fish untill it got to your plate. The tempura, deep fried vegetable or shrimp in batter is also another famous traditional Japanese dish that is now famous around the world. A dish that not many people know is grilled unagi (eel) in soy sauce. This dish is often eaten on hot summer days. In addition to the history of foods, we also learned that the Japanese dishes are healthy (mostly vegetable) and are aesthetically pleasing.

東京海洋大学: 味の素 | Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology: Ajinomoto

During our visit of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, we got the opportunity to listen to a lecture by the advisor of Ajinomoto General Foods. The company is the number one food maker in Japan, creating revenue of $11 billion. Ajinomoto also has a joint venture with Kraft Foods. The speaker touched on some critical success factors, which include maket trends, consumer patterns, and other competitors in the industry. The market has changed from local mama/papa shops to big multi-national retailers. Since Japan is an aging society, most consumers value freshness and the ease to cook when they go shopping. To adjust to such challenges, Ajinomoto sets supply chain and logistics goals. Their key word is integration. They want to maintain their competiveness and lower inventory. To achieve this, they integrated IT into their odering process and inventory management system. Then they developed new plans of purchasing and production. Lastly they improved their delivery functions such as packaging and delivery plans.

お茶と琴 | Tea and Koto

Tea, as we all know, is very important to Japanese culture. Today we saw a traditional tea ceremony where a host makes and drinks tea with her guest(s). The process was slow, but showed tremendous respect for both the host and the guest (like wearing kimonos, bowing, cleaning the utensils even tough they are shining clean, or asking permission before drinking the tea). Sweets were served before the tea so that the sweet flavor of the dessert can be in "harmony" with the biter taste of the tea. This tradtional tea is considered light and is freshly grinded from green tea powder. I would have to say I liked the traditional unsweetened tea. Plus, its also healthy.

Next, we got to see a koto ceremony. A koto is a traditional Japanese instrument about 180 centimeters long with 13 strings made from thread stretched across the lenght. It's played by plucking. The musician wears an ivory or plastic picks on the end of their fingers. Thailand has a very similar instrument too. The sound of this instrument is the sound that you may have heard on traditional Japanese music. We got a chance to play twinkle twinkle little star. But yup...we butchered it.

PakkuRo's Food File「# 6」:

「パックロの牛うどん (Pakkuro's Beef Udon!)」

ไปซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ตมา เห็นเนื้อสไลย์บางๆวางขายอยู่เลยอดใจคิดถึงชาบูชาบูฝีมือดุณแพนไม่ได้ ซื้อเนื้อ 1
แพค, ซูยุ 1 ขวด, และ เส้นอูด้ง 2 แพ็ก (แพคละ￥20 หรือ 6 บาท!!) เราไม่มีเตาชาบูชาบูเลยตัดสินใจทำอูด้งแทน (คือต้มไปกินไปไม่ได้ ต้มทีเดียวเลย) กลับบ้านมา ลงมือทำเลย ตั้งน้ำและใส่ซูยุลงไป ชิมไปใส่ไปจนกว่ารสชาติถูกปาก ต้มน้ำพร้อมกัืบหอม (ใช้ทำน้ำ stock อะ ใช้แคร็อดด้วยก้อดีนะ) ให้เดือดและหรี่ใไฟทิ้งไว้ ~20 นาที หรือจนกว่าหอมจะนิ่มและแป็นสีน้ำตาล พร้อมจะกินก็เร่งไฟให้ดเดือดแล้วใส่เส้นอูด้งลงไป 2 นาที จากนั่นไส่เนื้อลงไป พอหายแดงทก็พร้อมเสิร์ฟ!



อร่อยก่วาที่คิดไว้เยอะ เลยชวนเพื่อนมากินด้วย!


รสชาติ 9.5
ความสวยงาม 6.0
ความอิ่ม 8.0
ราคา 8.0

彦根城 | Hikone Castle

This is what Hikone is all about. Hikone castle dates back to the Edo period when Li Naokatsu ordered its construction. Though it has been rebuilt on numerous occasions, it still stands tall on a hill right in the heart of the city. The castle is built on a moat and is surrounded by tall walls with slots for weapons. Inside this fort is the main tower (天守) and a Japanese style garden [built by Li Naoki, fourth lord of Hikone] (玄宮園). This site is named a national treasure of Japan. Obviously so - beautiful structure, you can see the whole city from the castle.

PakkuRo's Food File「#５」:

「天ぷらうどん (Tempura Udon)」

ไปกินข้าวเที่ยงที่ป้ากับลุง อยากกิน tempura udon มานานแล้ว ก็ไม่มีไรมาก เหมือน tempura udon ทั่วๆไป (รสชาติเหมือนของไทยอ่ะ) tempura เป็นผักกับกุ้ง อยากทำ tempura เป็นหว่ะ ชอบมาก กินได้ทั้งวันเลยนะ ราคาอยู่ที่ ￥380 (125 บาท) ถ้าจำไม่ผิด　

รสชาติ 9.0
ความสวยงาม 7.0
ความอิ่ม 6.0
ราคา 8.5

琵琶湖博物館 | Lake Biwa Museum

Lake Biwa has a very rich history. First off, it is a very old lakes. In fact, its older than The Great Lakes. Lake Biwa was formed by series of volcanic earthquakes, as a result, volcanic rocks are found in the region. When Kyoto was the capital, Lake Biwa was key to the transportation of goods since its connected by numerous streams and rivers. The ecosystem here is also very unique. Lake Biwa is the home of numerous fishes that are native only to this lake.

Sadly, the ecosystem has been suffering due to the increase of human population. Sewage and over fishing is a problem. The goverment has been trying to fix this problem but they are only preventing, not solving.

近江商人の生活 | Life on an Ohmi Merchant

Merchants were ranked the lowest in feudal Japan.

1. warrior
2. farmers
3. craftsman
4. MERCHANT

However, the merchants played a great role in society since they hold great economic power. It was not untill the Meiji Era when Commander Perry sailed his black steam ships in that the merchants really became wealthy and started international business. This was not only because Japan opened up its country to foreign business but also because Japan reformed itself and gave business more importance hoping to catch up with the west.

The merchants were self entities and did not cooperate or rely on others. This is a tradition that is keeping modern day Japan from experiencing growth in world shares, which have been stagnant at about 4-6%.




五個荘の近江の町
Gokasho Ohmi Village

京都の冒険 | Kyoto Adventure

8am (not a second late or else Doc will hold you by your throat) we departed from JCMU to Hikone Station 「彦根駅」to make our trip to Kyoto. We arrived at Kyoto Station 「京都駅」then took the subway to Shijo Station [ 四条駅] and walked further untill we reached a local shinto shrine.

Unlike Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines like the picture above, have big gates (usually red or orange) to mark its entrance. Also, on the sides of these huge gates are dogs or lions ( 狛犬Komainu) which serves as guradians of the shrine. Just inside there would be purification fountains which would purify the body. In shinto its not about good vs. evil, but it rather concerns pure vs. impure.

After visiting the shrine, we stopped for lunch and took off for Kyoto University 「京都大学」to see Professor Eiichi Taniguichi's lecture on urban logistics. He starts off by explaining the three basic pillars of city logistics, which are mobility, sustainability, and liveability. Then he touches on the measures of city logistics - supplying infrastructure, regulatoin and economic measures. What I found most interesting about his lecture was the case studies of different cities in the world. Being a person who loves to know the "behind-the-scenes", it was really interesting to see the routes that deliveries are made.

After the lecture, we took the city bus, or might as well call it a sardine can since it was packed, back to kyoto station to catch a train back to hikone. A tiring day it was.

PakkuRo's Food File「#4」:

「お好み焼 (Okonomiyaki)」

อาหารที่ขึ้นชื่อของย่านคันไซก็คือ okonomiyaki หรือที่คนไทยเรียกกันว่าพิซซ่าญี่ปุ่นนั่นเอง (แปลตรงตัวว่าผัดตามใจชอบ) เมื่อวานนี้ไปเกียวโตมาเลยได้มีโอกาสลิ้มรสเมนูเด็ดนี้ okonomiyaki ก็ไม่มีอะไรมาก แป้ง ไข่ กะหล่ำ เนื้อ ผสมกันและ ทอดเหมือนไฃแพนเค้กสุกแล้วก็ราดซอสหวานๆ (เหมือนซอส tongkatsu กับ yakisoba) และโรยด้วยสาหร่ายกับปลาแผ่น มันก็อร่อยนะแต่ก็ไม่ได้ขนาดนั่น อาจเพราะเราทำไม่เก่ง

รสชาติ 8.0

ความสวยงาม 6.0

ความอิ่ม 8.0

ราคา 10 [ไม่รู้ดิ อาจารย์จ่าย]

書道 | Japanese Calligraphy

夢　

ゆめ

Dream

I was very excited knowing that we will get to learn calligraphy. I've always had a lousy handwriting when it comes to kanji (chinese characters) but I also have found them quite fun. Kanji characters may contain from one to 15 strokes, and each of those strokes must be written with good technique and care. Thick - thin, light - dark, long - short. Even the brushes are unique, some are made from sheep hair, some from bird feathers, and even from hair from a cow's ear.

そろそろ、日本に着いた | slowy, we arrived to Japan

NW 69...What can I say? I guess it was good that door broke down during taxiing not when we reached crusing altitude of 35,000 feet. Glad they fixed it...if it was Thai Airways, they would have probably said "Nahh, why bother, it'll hold. We'll fix it when you get to your destination."

Thus, a 1.5 hour delay

Arrived at KIX at about 19.00 (I'm guessing, didnt look at my watch). Immigration took a while like it always does. Suprised me when the officer scanned my Thai passort and the instructions regarding how to get your fingerprints recored and photo taken changed to Thai.

Took quite a while to get our Japan Rail Passes...we missed our intended train.

+ about 2 hours of riding on the train and waiting for the taxis = a good night sleep.

But wait...I haven't slept yet. Im still up writing blogs....crap

PakkuRo's Food File「#3」:

「オムそば (Omu Soba)」

ไม่ได้ทำเองนะ! ซื้อมา ￥450 จากร้านสะดวกซื้อข้างที่พัก Omusoba ก็คือไข่เจียวโปะผัด yakisoba ราดซอสมะเขือกับเมโยนั่นเอง มื้อนี้เป็นมื้อเงียบๆนั่งกินคนเดียวในห้องเพราะเด็ก msu คืนแรกแม่งก็ปาร์ตี้กันแล้ว (หิหิ เราก็แอบไปประเดิมช็อดสาเกกะเขาก่อนกลับห้องตนเองเหมือนกัน) Omusoba อร่อยมาก คงเป็นเพราะบนเครื่องบินอดอยากมา อยากทำเป็นจัง ต้องหัดละ ส่วนเบียร์ก็ dry สมชื่อ (มันเขียนไว้ว่า “super dry” บนกระป๋อง) ขมดีเหมือนเบียร์ไทยเลย หมายเหตุ: ที่ญี่ปุ่น20 ก็ซื้อและดื่มสุราได้

รสชาติ 8.5

ความสวยงาม 8.0

ความอิ่ม 7.5

ราคา 7.0 [แพงไปนิดsนึง]

PakkuRo's Food File「#2」:

NWA 069 の朝食:「Fried Rice with Pork Terriyaki」

10 ชั่วโมงหลังอาหารเย็นก็ได้เวลาอาหารเช้า เราเลือกจานนี้เพราะไม่อยากกินอีกตัวเลือกนึงซึ่งเป็นไข่เจียวธรรมดา อาหารก็พอใช้แต่ป้าแอร์แกเล่นไม่เสิร์ฟน้ำอีกแล้วได้แต่ถาม “Coffee or Tea?” แกคงกะให้ผู้โดยสารท้องผูกขาดน้ำตายอ่ะ แต่ไชโย! ยังมีน้ำส้มมาให้ดื่ม2 อึก

รสชาติ 7.0
ความสวยงาม 6.0
ความอิ่ม 5
ราคา N/A

PakkuRo's Food File「#1」:

NWA 069 の夕食:「Beef in Black Pepper Sauce」

หลังจากเครื่องบินขึ้นประมาณ 2 ชั่วโมง (แต่จริงๆนั่งมา 3 ชั่วโมงครึ่ง แล้วเพราะประตูเครื่องบินดันมีปัญหา) อาหารเย็นก็ถูกเสิร์ฟ อาหารถือว่าใช้ได้สำหรับอาหารเครื่องบิน แต่ดันไม่มีน้ำดื่มเพราะป้าแอร์แกทะลึ่งเสิร์ฟน้ำแบบแถวเว้นแถว...เซ็งเลย กุ้งที่ให้ก็กินได้เลยแลกเอาคุกกี้จากคนข้างๆ

รสชาติ 7.5
ความสวยงาม 6.0
ความอิ่ม 5
ราคา N/A