Mind your manner mode.

Travelling around Tokyo on the Yamamote lime, I noticed that everyone seemed ro have a mobile phone. Children,aunties and uncles and the OL and Salaryman all sported phones. This is quite a revelation as I am reminded at evry train station by an announcement to keep my phone in "Manner Mode" when riding the train. This rule seems to be addressing a major faux pas in Japan as it is announced in Japanese and English.

I am guilty of answering the phone on the train. Japanese people will usually not publicly reprimand you for this act. However, I could feel the chill from the many riders giving me the stink eye. In fact, other than my phone and my friend's phone I do not. Recall hearing a phone ring.

Despite the strict adherance to manner mode, the Japanese people still manage to communicatevia their phones. They text message. Yes, this is a cultural difference between the US and Japan. Evryone seems to be typing away on their phones. Phones are often attached to a strap worn around the neck. This is to allow for safe typing while safe typing while standing ie. A crowded train.
No worry of dropping the phone.

Another observation is that the Japanese prefer bigger phones. There are no RAZR's to be seen. Rather large phones with largescreens. In Japan, the phone is the gateway to the internet. Computer are a luxury. Phones also broadcast tv shows. Definitely need the extra juice from a large battery. Besides when was the last time you tried to text message on a RAZR? (It really sucks.)

The Japanese networks are super fast to accomodate web browsing and video. The US networks are turtles in comparison.

I am writing this post on my iPhone. The power went out in my apartment. I thought this to be a good opportunity to attempt to be technologically inclined. Truth is I was just bored. Hope the electricity goes on soon.

Food

We feasted on our first day in Japan on our favorite meals in Japan. Motsuni (stewed intestines). And Yaki Buta. In this picture, it is intestines. Both go great with beer

The buta is prepared much like yakitori, chicken. You can either get it with shio or tare.

Intestines, especially have a nice crunch to it.

The specialty of this shop is the tataki (or tsukune). This is like a hamburger. The meat is ground. What I especially like about the tataki served at this eatery is not only the flavor but the texture. There is definitely a lot of character when biting down into the tataki. At times, there is a nice crunch that enhances the flavor of the tare. Perfection.

I always look forward to our local watering hole. My relatives always told me that to eat at this establishment, you must drink beer or sake. Otherwise, they will not serve you. I do not know how true this is but everyone was having a beer or sake.

They also let us locals be at home by letting us drink under the stars. We stand around upside down beer crates that serve as tables.

Do you smell what the Panda's Cooking???

We bought the Grutto pass on this trip. The Grutto pass costs 2000 yen and includes free admission coupons to many of the publicly owned attractions like the Tokyo Sea Life Park, Edo Tokyo Museum and the Edo Tokyo Open Air Museum. It also includes discounts to many other museums and special exhibitions. This is a great deal for 2000 yen.

We even saw a few things that we would not have paid to see but since it was part of the grutto pass, we decided what the hey!

One of the things that we did was go to the Onishi Ueno Zoo. Well, five guys traveling together do not have the zoo at the top of their list. We went anyway to see the Giant Panda. This is not a huge zoo but of pretty good size over 400 species on display. The main attraction is the Giant Panda exhibit.

Many of us have not seen a Panda in life. This was an opportunity for us to see one in captivity.

OK, we saw the Panda. It was sleeping we think. Or just putting on a show? Anyway, there was not much action. What did we expect? We don't quite know ourselves. We know that it lounges, all day??? It must eat sometime. We probably walked in on its afternoon nap.

The Panda's name is Ling Ling. It is a he. Apparently,he is the only one with Japanese citizenship. He was born in 1986.



Pandas are on lease from China. Zoos around the world contract with the Chinese government to lease the Pandas. Big bucks. Glad I had the coupon book.

Daiya to Hana no Kanransha

No trip to a Japanese family attraction is ever complete without a ferris wheel. Or Dai Kanransha.

Kasai Rinkai Koen is no exception. This picture was taken on our trip to Sea Life Park. It is called the Ferris Wheel of Diamonds and Flowers (Daiya to Hana no Kanrasha). I wonder if anyone actually rides it? There was no line. The ferris wheel is located near from Tokyo Disney Land. On a clear evening, I suspect you have a great view of the Rainbow Bridge.

This is the same ferris wheel that greets us on our limousine bus ride from Narita.

There seems to be a race in Japan to see who has the largest Ferris Wheel. I am not sure where the largest one is. Sky Dream in Fukuoka is currently the largest in Japan at 120 meters. The Daiya to Hana is the second largest at 170 meters.

We did not ride the ferris wheel on this trip since it was cloudy. The ride apparently is about 15 minutes long.

Tokyo Sea Life Park 5

Beware of the penguins. They are hungry.




It was time for the morning penguin feeding. The penguins were pretty excited when they saw the keeper. Total Chaos.

Everyone in Japan stands in line to eat except the penguins. Go figure....

Tokyo Sea Life Park 4

OH! Toro.



Here is a video I took of the awesome Ahi exhibit at the Tokyo Sea Life Park.
Huge tuna swimming in a tank.
I would say 250 lbs plus.

This exhibit was definitely worth the price of admission. I would probably have paid more to see this. At first watching the video, you get the impression that the tuna is not real or seem pretty small. For perspective, I panned out to show the people viewing near the tank. Pretty impressive huh! I think they are a little too big for my Hawaiian Sling.

Tokyo Sea Life Park 3

After paying a nominal entrance fee of 700 yen, we proceeded to the dome. The dome is the entry way and leads to an escalator that started our decent into the sea.

We are greeted by a giant tank that housed a few hammerhead sharks.

The next exhibit was a huge two story tank with a school of aku (skipjack tuna or katsuo). The display surrounded us 120 degrees around the round chamber. It was as if we dived into the sea.

Tokyo Sea Life Park 2

As we proceed down the parkway, we are greeted by a glass dome on the horizon. This is the building housing the Tokyo Sea Life Park.

The dome is surrounded by a sea of water. There are structures shaped like sails that protrude from the water that depicts sailboats in the sea. Occasionally, mist is launched from the water to add the effect. When viewed facing Tokyo Bay, the structure looks to be a floating island in an extension of Tokyo Bay. The structure was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi a Tokyo architect.

Tokyo Sea Life Park

Our first stop on this trip was to Tokyo Sea Life Park
(Those of you who live in Hawaii are probably snickering at the fact that we went all the way to Japan to go to Sea Life Park.... )

Tokyo Sea Life Park was truly a magnificent experience. Especially for those of us who live near the ocean or those that truly appreciate seafood (sushi). In subsequent installments, you will learn why I am raving about this aquarium.

The aquarium does not boast to host a whale shark, dolphin show or have an underwater tube. But who needs these elements to be known as a truly great aquarium.

Kasai is located just outside of Tokyo near Tokyo Disneyland along the shores of Tokyo Bay. It approximately 20 minutes via train from downtown Tokyo via the JR Keiyo Line.

Exiting Kasai Rinkai Koen Station, we are greeted by a giant ferris wheel. Ferris wheels are a common monument in Japan, as there is a race to see who has the biggest. To date, the biggest ferris wheel is in Fukuoka.

Japan Trip 2007

We just returned from a 7 night and 9 day trip to Japan.

We saw and experienced a lot of things as evidenced by the blisters on my feet.

I even had the opportunity to see two great museum exhibits. The Dai Tokugawa exhibit at the Natioal Museum and the Eduard Munch Exhibit at the National Museum of Western Art. I would never see these exhibits in Hawaii.



This time, Tim, Malcolm, Kurt and Rich joined me on this trip. There were many highlights. Hope to share most of them on this site.

Just back from Japan!!!

I just returned from Japan today. I will start posting articles and pictures soon!!!

Food Theme Parks

Japan is known for its wide range of dining options. The Japanese are known for their obsession for good food.

Imagine food theme parks. Move over Mickey and Terminator, make way for ramen, gyoza and dim sum. Food theme parks are all the rage.

I experienced one such theme park on my trip to Osaka at the Naniwa Men darakei(Ramen) in the Namba Parks. This theme park rents space to famous ramen shops from around Japan. The dish you see is a combination set of shikoku style ramen with the takuan (pickled radish), tataki and shirasu don (rice bowl with baby fish) for under 1000 yen. There were about ten different options of famous ramen shops. It also includes a gift shop that sells ramen from around Japan.. Imagine over 100 choices and no Top Ramen in sight. There is also a special exhibition area. When I went there the feature was purin (custard flan). This year it is ice cream....

Here are some food theme museums that are of interest.
There is a gyoza stadium in Ikebukuro.
Tokyo Ice Cream City
Tokyo Shuu-kuriimu batake (garden) cream puffs.
Yokosuka Curry Museum.

All brought to you by our favorite provider of entertainment products... NAMCO........PAC MAN NEEDS TO EAT SOMETHING

http://www.teamnamja.com/ftp/


We definitely should go tothe complex that houses many of these places call NAMJA Town in Ikebukuo in the Sunshine City complex......


There are also other food theme parks.

Yokohama Ramen Museum
http://www.raumen.co.jp/ebook/e/e/webt/wysiweb_win_viewer.html
http://www.bento.com/phgal3.html

Yokohama Dai Sekai Chinese Food
http://www.daska.jp/top.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3035.html

Go Tribe!!!!

Congrats to the Indians for winning the AL Central. Now they face the empire.
Go Tribe!!! Hope to catch some games in Japan.

On The Road Again

I am on the road...er in the air to Japan soon. This time we will be traveling in the Tokyo area for nine days and seven nights. Will post more articles about the trip soon. Stay tuned.

Ginza here we come.........., to window shop.

Himeji Castle

One of the most enduring images of Japan by westerners and locals (inclusive of Mokes and Titas) are the Japanese castles that we see in the Samurai movies.

Many times these castles are depicted as ornate and luxurious quarters of shogun and feudal lords. To a certain extent this image is true, but only for a small portion of the building.

A tour of any castle reveals its true identity, a strategic military headquarters. We enter the caste grounds through a mon or a gate. This mon is usually protected by a natural barrier such as a river or a moat. Access to the mon is via bridge.

The first mon is not the only gate that you pass through. Actually one must cross a series of mon to actually get to the main castle. There is a winding path uphill and one must pass through a series of gates to the castle. When you walk the castle grounds, you notice that the landscaping and the architecture incorporate strategic features to ward off enemies. Sharp turn in the path, varying heights and widths of the gates and strategic placement of trees and stones are incorporated to make it very difficult for the enemies to get to the main buildings. You will notice that many times, the gates get smaller as you proceed to the castle.

Castles are located at the highest point in the region. This serves many purposes. The castle has a 360 degree view of the kingdom and is able to spot any potential attackers. Secondly, the defense of the castle is much easier working down hill since the attackers will be working up hill and be barraged with arrows and stones.

Once you get into the castle, another maze awaits. The castles are usually five to eight stories in height. One must traverse a series of stairs and paths to get to the shogun. There are many trap doors and secret rooms to hide in.

Once you get to the top of the castle you are greeted with a great view of the surrounding village or town. But it will take some time for you to catch your breath. The path to the top is longer than you think.

Here are some websites:
http://www.jcastle.info/castle/
http://www.castlejapan.com/
http://www.jgc.co.jp/waza/a5_himeji/castle01.htm



This picture is taken at Himeji castle. It is one of the few castles that survived the wars and fires. Built in 1601. BTW, this is the Abarenbo Shogun castle.