This is a video I shot with my digital camera at a festival that I went to last weekend in Koenji, Tokyo. This is the rhythm section of one of the dozens of troupes that dances down the street during the parade. Definitely one of my favorite summertime festivals in Tokyo.
Labels:
culture,
life in Japan,
out and about
We had the good fortune to see Cirque du Soleil in Tokyo recently.
I'd like to take a moment to agree with what everyone else has been saying about the show: "It was absolutely incredible!"
I have never before seen such an overwhelming display of athleticism and theatrical talent.
The show that is currently touring in Tokyo is "Dralion", and it is definitely worth a trip to Yoyogi stadium (near Harajuku station).
Click here for a link to Cirque du Soleil's English website.
Labels:
culture,
out and about,
theater
A public lecture on domestic violence that was scheduled to be held in Ibaraki prefecture has been canceled due to protests that it could lead to the break-up of families.
Ummm...wow.
I'm complaining about parents right now, but it's a grandmother that shocked me today. McDonald's, as so often is the case in Japan, has a smoking section that isn't actually partitioned off from the non-smoking area (ie. the entire restaurant sometimes smells like it's a part of the smoking area). The picture to the right was taken with my camera-phone, hence the lack of clarity and bad lighting, but it shows a grandmother (facing the camera, cigarette in left hand) smoking in her granddaughter's face.
Of course, the mother is equally to blame here because she's allowing her little girl to be subjected to this. I was just passing through and didn't want to stick around and check, but I noticed two ashtrays on that tiny table, so I wouldn't be surprised if the mother (back to the camera) was smoking at the same time.
I know I'm shoveling forth a steaming pile of righteous indignation right now (and I've done it before), but let's think in practical terms for a moment. How many seconds off the little girls 200m will this equal when she goes to school in three years time? The school sports festival, while normally the highlight of the academic year, becomes the most embarrassing weekend of the child's life. Not that the 200m is the most important event at the sports festival. Tug-of-war is where the youngster's nicotine addiction could really do her in.
But then again, with this much infantile (pun intended) secondhand smoking going on, she'll probably finish in the middle of the pack.
Labels:
culture,
life in Japan,
sports
Labels:
consumerism,
culture,
education,
food,
society,
South Korea
What the...?
Two hour wait for doughnuts anyone?
Labels:
consumerism,
culture,
food
Karaoke exhibition in the subway station in Seomyeon. Lots of old school Korean tunes being belted out. The crowd is filled almost entirely with people who are old enough to receive free train tickets.
Labels:
culture,
South Korea
Here we are a-grillin'! 'Hanami' can basically be translated as the act of viewing the blossoms on the Cherry trees. In Japan they tend to be a little bit flexible with the exact definition of the term. Our definition is to sit under the clouds of flowers, cook some meat, drink some beer, and make fun of all the people who are more inebriated than ourselves.
I have a lot of chocolate to buy before I head to school tomorrow. The 14th of March is White Day, and I will catch grief if I don't have some on hand for those who believe they deserve it.
On White Day, traditionally (?), men give women candy or flowers. It's very similar to Valentine's day back home. The difference over here is that only women give presents on February 14th over here. I have to make sure that I remember to give chocolate back to those who made a down-payment in February. My tactic is to hold on to all of those small gifts from a month ago, and then pass them on to other people.
I also need to get a bottle of perfume for my special someone. I have no idea when I'm going to have enough time to do that.
My wife and I having dinner in our old place. The camera is sitting on the fridge in the "kitchen" (pictured below). You can just barely see our bed in the lower left corner, and a ladder leading up to our modest loft on the right. This is a 1R (w/ loft) in Japanese lingo. We'd probably call it a studio apartment, but here it's a one room. Slightly larger would be a 1K, or one room plus a kitchen. We now live in a 2DK (two rooms plus a third room that is big enough to be considered a dining room and kitchen rolled into one).
