Mimes, Missed Festivals, and a Musical

Alliteration? Yeah, I know a little about it.

So, this post is somewhat delayed, and approaching a mashup, but heres what I’ve seen over the last week or few days. I’ve been all over the place, recently, mostly dealing with school and getting set up to work, also preparing for some relatives that are coming to visit Japan while I’m here. Very busy, blah blah blah, stuff to do, blah blah, no time, blah blah.

But anyway, I’ll just put up the pictures and a few thoughts.

I know there is a name for this, but unfortunately, I do not know and cannot remember, and so I will make up a new one. This guy is doing what I'll call Newage Mime.

This was a REALLY random thing to run into in Shinjuku/Japan. He was doing this outside Shinjuku station and there were a lot of people gathered around him, of course wondering if he was real. Pretty awesome. Not sure if he was part of some comedy troupe or something, or if there were more…

A festival that took place near where I live... Unfortunately, I completely missed this festival, but I at least caught practice!

Another shot from the festival... I think in the real thing, they were going to have the kids carry a shrine. I had so many questions. What kind of shrine? How big? How many children would carry it? What if one of them needed to pee? Would there be snack breaks? Is child labor like that legal?

MORE Festival Prep. Doubt these pictures are in chronological order though.

So, the story with this festival is that it occurred today, and I totally missed it. Me and a friend went out trying to find it, and didn’t really succeed, but did run into other things. The pictures from here on out were taken during that time.

This statue is actually one of a Japanese phenomenon called a Kappa. I think they're like water spirits or something... But this picture is not very well taken, so you should probably google kappa instead... Would be quicker.

Kind of an artsy photo? These lanterns were hanging on one of the streets we walked through, I thought I'd snap a picture.

I thought this store was interesting. A friend of mine said that they're starting to dissapear with more girls being interested in modern clothing, but I think this store is a really good example of some traditional Japanese culture.

A play that was going on after the festival.

And that’s what we ended up finding. It was sort of a Japanese play, unfortunately I didn’t pay enough attention in Japanese culture class to tell you what kind of play it is (I’m just sure it’s not a No play). We caught maybe the last 5 minutes of it, and it was pretty interesting. — Note, this is the “Musical” as referred to in the title.

More play snaps

Another play picture. Evidently, I'm still not good at night time shooting.

After a while, we walked a little closer to the stage and got some closer shots... This is one of those shots.

Right across from where the play took place, there is actually a shrine. We went there also... Though I am sure I will reshoot the shrine during the day sometime, and get some beter pictures.

A picture of the main building at the Shrine!

I am not sure if this is a good picture or not... I am leaning way towards not. That is pretty much all I have to say about this picture.

A statue we saw at the shrine... Once again, awkward shooting conditions for me, I guess.

After all that excitement, I just snapped pictures of random things….

I thought this bike was worth taking a picture of. That is pretty much all I have to say. No idea why I thought it was cool, just did.

I thought this postbox was kind of famous or distinctively japanese, so I shot a picture of it. I think the picture turned out quite well, actually.

Well, that’s about it for now… I’ll leave you with this thought, however: It looks like the more time I spend in Japan, the less I know about Japanese culture.

Deep? not really.

Car Snaps: A little Japanese Sport

I haven’t seen many cars too out of the ordinary here yet, but it’s getting there. Here are two that I saw, one quite a while ago and the other more recently. They’re more typical sports cars I’m into, and want to see more of, but I haven’t seen much yet, still not sure when I’ll get a chance to visit a track.

By the way, me and some friends have pretty much deduced that the spot where we kept seeing Ferraris (there was a black one, in the SAME spot, by the SAME shop as the white one I have pictured here) is a yakuza hang out. So I’m probably going to stop taking pictures of yakuza cars.

“What? How do you know they’re Yakuza? You’re just making things up! Aren’t you a BBMIJ, can’t you take care of yourself? Don’t be so chicken!” — If this is something you would say, my resposne is: Just the possibility of me being right is enough to deter me completely. Also, I get the disturbing feeling that Yakuza are even more brutal than some other crime syndicates, since the japanese love to take things to the next level.

Well anyway, here non-Yakuza cars I spotted…

Oh, please note, I’m in-between Photoshops right now, so the brushing was done with paint.

A yellow lexus I spotted in Shinjuku. This picture doesn't do the car justice... It had a lot of LED/NEON lights and other color touches everywhere... Very Unique. Very hard to screw up an IS.

A white RX7 I spotted on my way to try to find a festival (which I failed in doing, but more on that later)... It went by me pretty quick, but I managed to at least get this shot.

Pretty much the back of that same lexus. It was actually pretty difficult to get this shot, because that was a very active crosswalk.

Mashup Post: 10/03/2010

OK, so I haven’t made a lot of posts over the last week, since I’ve been so busy with school beginning, and friends throwing parties, and going around but not bringing my camera, so heres a Mashup post, including basically most of the things that have happened recently. Heeeeere we go.

OK, so I ALMOST had an awesome JWeird Post. The title was going to be “Cat Cafes”. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, Japan has numerous cafes, some of which are maid cafes, in which people dressed as maids serve you, and smile at you, and talk to you, etc, etc. A little less known (though a Japanese friend of mine has told me that this is NOT a normal Japanese place people go to), is the CAT CAFE. Yes, it’s exactly as it sounds. You go in, PET CATS, and eat/drink ridiculously overpriced food.

I think it’s Cat Prostitution. Really. Do a comparison between regular old prostitution and this “cat cafe” business, and I’m sure that you’ll see the similarities are glaring, too. But anyway, how did I ALMOST get a good post? I didn’t go in.

Yeah, I can hear your boos, but heres my defense: at the time, I have 1000 yen to my name, and the entrance fee was 900 yen. Could YOU justify spending 90% of your remaining assets to WALK IN o a place where you pet cats and eat? Nevermind the fact that I wouldn’t be able to eat anything once entering. I didn’t think so.

Anyway, here are the pictures I snapped of the place:

Heres the street sign for the cat cafe. You almost wouldn't know what it was. It's the store called *Calico*

This was the sign in front of the door. Yeah, I am aware it is becoming more and more dissapointing to look at the pictures of the place I did NOT go into.

Almost like those flyers cards you get with obscene pictures and services on them, heres a sign that was up, showcasing all the kinds fo cats you could get your hands on.

OK, well, the next few shots are kind of related, but kind of not, and I guess I could make a joke about it, but I won’t. They’re all cranes. One, I saw walking to school, the other I saw in an arcade.

Unfortunately, this was all I was able to get with the DSLR. I guess I need a better lens... Or maybe next time I'll just make up the distance by foot.

Another crane.... Man there are a LOT of toys in this crane game.

ANOTHER crane game (there were at least 10 of them) I thought 2 pictures was enough to get the feel.

Now, some random shots I took… They’re spread out over a couple days, and some are attempts at art… Bear with me as I finally get this stuff off my todo list.

Guiness hat... Bought it at Kohls, and I can only wear the hat a couple weeks after cutting my hair.

I cannot believe I was going to do a feature on this. It is only a gum packet.

This guy and this dog ran past me at a pretty brisk pace. Unbelieveably, he wasn't laughed at or mocked, people just wanted to pet his dog. Maybe I should get a dog that's the complete opposite of me (maybe a small poodle?), and run with it.

I saw this Mercedes on the same street as the guy and the dog.... A very nicely done Mercedes with a little camber. I like.

I now know why asians play violin and piano. This looks like an ONLY violin/viola shop. ONLY violins and violas. I had the urge to go in there and ask if they sell saxophones.

A city shot... of the City. It was overcast this day, as is obvious.

I saw this beetle after a night out with my friends. As a testament to my sobriety, I realized this beetle was rare, and got a pretty good picture of it, despite all the people that were around. Go me!

And now, for a truly weird and disturbing look into the NOT DANGEROUS side of Shinjuku. I feel like I need to repeat, I hadn’t even WANDERED into the bad part of town yet (assuming there is one), and I saw these signs.

Sketchy club I ran into in Japan.

Another picture of the sketchy club I ran into in Japan.

So, what’s the big deal? Why are these pictures so important? It looks like your usual parlor of promiscuity. OK, so this didn’t shock me (which I guess is a win for the Japaneses society, and a loss for me), but the name of the place is. I tried my hardest to translate it a different way, but it translates to “Hu ai to bi- chi”. In regular speak: White Bitch. Yes. The name of that store, is White Bitch. Unbelievable. That’s all I have to say about it, I just felt it was important to post. I wonder if the person who thought up the name of this business was even aware of what it meant.

And with that picture, that’s the end of my mashup post. Sorry for being lazy, but at least now I have a clean slate, and can take some more pictures, without making a million posts to categorize them all.

Shinjuku, A Japanese Cell Phone, and Don Quixote

Like you’ve probably guessed, I met someone named Don Quixote, found/stole a Japanese cell phone, and did all of this in Shinjuku.

That guess would be wrong. Here’s what really happened: I spent yesterday going to Shinjuku to finally have a Japanese phone, and start my actual assimilation in to Japanese culture (trust me, this is IMPOSSIBLE without a cellphone). Though it’s not my firs time in Shinjuku, some friends and I definitely did more exploring than I did last time. I also had no trouble finding things to shoot, since I lugged the DSLR with me, this time.

Though there’s a lot more to say about the Japanese cellphone, and all the things it can do, I’ll settle for posting pictures for now… I’m going to make another post for some of the other cool things I’ve found, maybe I’ll be able to get them all in one post…

For now, here are some pictures from my second adventure in this part of Tokyo that’s now a regular train stop for me on my way to school (which means I can get there for free, at least for the next month).

Though this was not taken outside the station, it is another random shot of the city.

I thought this building was weird, and I'm not quite sure if it's more a design or architectural marvel, but it was definitely an interesting building in Shinjuku.

A phone I could have gotten, if I was going for a contracted phone here in Japan. I only got a prepaid, so no dice, but I'm sure if I got that phone, I might be riding in a Gundam right now, on my way to a battle that decides the fate of the world.

Another better city shot, of Shinjuku. Maybe someone somewhere will use this as a wallpaper or something.

I call it the Love Monument, though I do not know what the real name of this thing is, I saw one in Shinjuku, thought it was cool.

Another angle of the Shinjuku Love Monument. Artsy? Maybe.

Another shot of the Shinjuku Love Monument. Tried to be even more artsy with this oe, since I saw what looked like a spade in the picture... Can you see it?

An Ad for a cell phone company here in Japan called Docomo. Yeah, that's darth vader... And possibly Ken Watanabe (unfortunately, I am not sure)

An Arcade entrance i passed by on the way to Don Quixote. I liked the sign. I call it an arcade, but I am sure, as with everything else in Japan, it is much more than just an arcade.

The Street crossing in front of Don Quixote.

From here on, this post comes DANGEROUSLY close to a JWeird post… Don Quixote was your average Japanese megastore, I guess, which meant for me, it was almost like nothing I’d ever seen before.

This pillow set the stage for the rest of the store. After going up just one floor, I saw this thing, and did not understand. What didn't I understand? What DID I understand, is the better question. That feeling only grew, as we went up more and more floors.

Who would not want an automated clock face waking them up in the morning? I know I would.

I don't know if this is a japanese phenomenon, but it looks like the premise of this design is putting those funny mouths on regular characters... Very strange, but interesting, and some of them are pretty funny. I hoped the resolution would allow you to see some of them.

I know some people that absolutely love Disney. I wonder if they love disney this much. I guess the good news is that the price is not $9,000USD. You can buy this oversized Stitch plush doll for just over $100USD (9999Yen). WHAT A STEAL!

I can not tell if there is even any sexual innuendo in this picture. Japan is such confusing place. Evidently it has taken a toll on me.

A shot of a metroid game that I do not think the US has... I'm sure the internet will correct me if I'm wrong.

There was not much space in the store. I pertty much took up the entire lane you see in this picture. Moving was difficult.

Definitely an adventure… This store was crazy, and navigating through it, with all the other Japanese-regular-sized people was more trouble than you will ever know.

Car Snaps: Wagons, VIP, and an exotic

Quite a varied Car Snaps feature we have today. Finally, not just VIP cars, but the cars that I got a picture of yesterday were pretty varied. One I definitely DIDN’T expect to see in Japan, that was a treat.

Yesterday me and some friends went to Shinjuku to get phones (and do some other stuff, post on it is forthcoming), and that’s where these beauties were sighted.

A VIP Van I spotted on the way to our destination that day, note the balleroffset wheels!

Just a Dodge Dakota, so what? Well, I guess this Dakota in particular was surprising to me because I just did not think that Japanese people had American cars... And yet, here one is. I guess I need to broaden my horizons.

Though I kind of expected to see this SRX in Japan, since Escalade is pretty much World-class luxury, This is probably the first one I saw.

And with that, this post is finally free of VIP cars. Time for some of the DIFFERENT stuff I saw.

Yeah, a Ferrari Enzo. A Ferrari Enzo. I took the picture in real life, but you are seeing it on the web. So you still can't say you've seen one in real life. Sorry.

Another shot of the Enzo, a little magnified. Yeah, it is an Enzo. Wonder who in the world was driving it? A rich businessman? A spoiled kid? An old man who sold his house and spent all his savings on an italian supercar?

Yet another shot of the Enzo. I took a lot more, but only decided to post three... Is that too many shots? I thought that to myself, then realized, it is a Ferrari Enzo.

Note – There are no more Ferrari’s/Extremely rare cars in the rest of this post. I apologize.

I doubt this Mercedes wagon is really common, so I took a quick shot of it. Some might disagree though...

A Prius Taxi... I'm not sure I've seen any Prius taxis in the US (maybe some at LAX)... If they're common enough to be taxis, why is it so hard to get one in the states?

I'm not sure if this even exists in the state, but this WRX Wagon is pretty sweet. I guess I've just never seen one with 4 doors, if the states do have it. Maybe I should spend more time looking through Subaru's catalogs.

K for Kappuchino (Though I can't remember if it started with a C instead), but that's the type of car this is... realy small and light. I think it's really cute, in a sporty kind of way.

A very clean BMW Wagon. Man the germans are just spot on sometimes when it comes to styling.

Oh, and yes, I took that shot at eyesight height, and those are Japanese heads at the bottom of the picture. That’s just a tiny sliver of what my experience entails.

I was walking in a smaller tunnel through the town, when I saw some Japanese pondering out loud if I would hit my head on the ceiling, and touching it with their hands to get a feel for how far away it was for them versus how close it was to me. I was wondering too, I couldn’t blame them.

Well, that’s it for yesterday’s snaps… I still need to go to some shops/tracks, blah blah blah, stay tuned until then!

EDIT – Somehow, I forgot to include this IS wagon that I saw:

A Lexus wagon in Japan? Not the rarest thing. However I still think it's sweet.

EDIT 2 – Somehow, I ALSO forgot to include this Porsche I saw… Looks like my memory is going a little early. Maybe it’s because of that double down I had this year. The surgeon general should make KFC put some sort of warning on that thing.

A random porsche, rolling through the city. I guess my stereotype of the cars you could find in Japan have been blown out of the water.

Shinjuku!

So, I headed out to Shinjuku today in search of about 5 things that I need to make my stay in Japan a little more comfortable.

A rough list:
1)Train Commuter Pass
2)Cell Phone
3)Watch
4)Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

These were listed in order of importance… somewhat.

Though number 4 isn’t very necessary, I’m using it to type right now, so it was a great buy… I’m not really a fan of laptop track pads and keyboards, so it’s a win for me.

First, I got my commuter pass, which is a monthly pass that basically makes it free for me to go to and from school for around a month. Though it’s convenient, it was expensive, and I found that out when I forked over the $70 it took to purchase. Not a fun purchase, but necessary to save money down the line. A plus of getting the commuter pass is that it gives me free access to the stops that I travel through on my way to school, which includes Shinjuku. So, for a month, I have free access to Shinjuku by train. That’s a pretty big deal.

As for the cell phone, I wasn’t quite as successful. Turns out there as been a large influx of exchange students, and the phones were replenished today (prepaid phones), and they’d already been all scooped up by the time my group got there. Though one person did get a phone, I learned of a cheaper phone that I could buy, and I’m just going to wait for that to come out. Since I have free access to Shinjuku now, I can check anytime.

I got a fancy new watch (well, not very fancy, I essentially went for the cheapest watch I could find), so that worked out well, and I finally know what time it is, constantly. Which is good, and bad. Good, because now I can coordinate meeting up with people. Bad, because now I am constantly aware of how much time I waste.

As far as the keyboard and mouse, I essentially got it for any coding/gaming I do while I’m here (oh, another tidbit about me, my major is computer science and I love technology, and making helpful programs, so I do it in my spare time), because of afore-mentioned dislikes.

All in all, a pretty productive day, compared to yesterday when it did nothing but rained, and I got a whole lot of nothing done (a whole, whole lot — though I did hang out and meet some other exchange students).

Picture time! (And look forward to a JStuff feature with all the cool stuff I’ve run/bought so far… they’re kind of piling up, but I’ll post a bunch at the same time).

This shot is of a building that I saw on the way... I've always thought it was pretty interesting, and this time I had a camera on me, so I took some shots (this was the best one). I don't know if I'm qualified to make comments on the Japanese as a whole yet, but it sure seems like they like to decorate things.

A simple shot of the hustle and bustle of the local train station.

All this machine does, 24/7 is advertize the new Pokemon game that's coming out. I feel like theres a small town somewhere with no power, and this machine is the reason.

A small shop, on the way to the train station

For some reason, there was some sort of food/item display in the middle of a station I was transferring at. I couldn't tell if it was a stand, or a store that was near it decided to extend itself into the public domain.

After arriving at Shinjuku, this is one of the first shots I took. A little under-impressive, but definitely interesting, as a shot of the city.

Another shot of Shinjuku I took after walking for a bit.

The Shinjuku Lion.... The first beer hall I've ever seen.

A store that a friend of mine wanted to go into to get some clothing items, this shop was an ultra chic shinjuku-like shop.... Pretty much as expected.

Another store for women in Shinjuku. There seemed to be a lot of them.

I guess this picture encapsulates how Japanese pop-culture portrays foreigners. Definitely not accurate, in my case.

Definietly not your mother's Jelly Beans. I want to know who in the world thought of this, and just how many hard substances they were abusing. And believe it or not, that box should contain a cell phone.

Note- Softbank is a phone carrier in Japan, one of the Big 3 (Softbank, Docomo, AU).

I don't know if I have already become used to seeing weird things in Japan, but this picture didn't warrant a JWeird feature, because I knew what it was. Though who, when, where, and why are still possibly unanswerable.

And of course, let us not forget about the Gundam in Odaiba (I still think it’s only a matter of time until the Japanese government decides to let the world know that it does indeed move and fire ballistic missiles).

Gundam feature on dannychoo.com

I’m not affiliated with dannychoo in any way and I don’t even surf his blog. Google is what lead me to the beautiful picture you see there… Maybe I’ll have one of my own one day.