Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Japan Top Lists
We are at the airport waiting for boarding. I will have more comments about Japan once I get back home, but here is a list of "tops" that we put together
Top Ten BEST in Japan - I know that there is a lot of emphasis on food, but we're Jews :)
10. Fashion/cute shoes
9. Cell phones work on trains
8. English translations for most things
7. Karaoke
6. Giant baths/onsen
5. Beef and sushi
4. Hot and cold drink vending machines everywhere
3. Smart toilets - warm seats and bidet
2. Snacks
1. Train system
Top Ten WORST in Japan
10. Awful TV shows - they're really bad
9. All sorts of chemicals in food and clothing
8. Eggs everywhere (you can guess who chose this)
7. Trains stop running early
6. No trash cans anywhere - we cannot figure out how the city stays so clean
5. Karaoke (I know there are two)
4. All the clothing is small
3. Smoking in many places
2. Super expensive - a venti starbucks iced tea is five dollars
1. No street signs anywhere
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Top Ten BEST in Japan - I know that there is a lot of emphasis on food, but we're Jews :)
10. Fashion/cute shoes
9. Cell phones work on trains
8. English translations for most things
7. Karaoke
6. Giant baths/onsen
5. Beef and sushi
4. Hot and cold drink vending machines everywhere
3. Smart toilets - warm seats and bidet
2. Snacks
1. Train system
Top Ten WORST in Japan
10. Awful TV shows - they're really bad
9. All sorts of chemicals in food and clothing
8. Eggs everywhere (you can guess who chose this)
7. Trains stop running early
6. No trash cans anywhere - we cannot figure out how the city stays so clean
5. Karaoke (I know there are two)
4. All the clothing is small
3. Smoking in many places
2. Super expensive - a venti starbucks iced tea is five dollars
1. No street signs anywhere
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Toothpick with mint
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Onsen (bathhouse)
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
West side highway?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Steak galore
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Ring Ring...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Engrish
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Menu at a tapas like restaurant in Japan
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Giant Pookies, little island
That's it....this is too much. All I wanna do is spend money on clothing and they won't let me!!! Let me tell you about clothing shopping in Japan-everything is one size. I swear. The shirts are all one size. The clothes are so cute and I can't buy anything....its all size medium. And its not like the medium at Ann Taylor...they're basically smalls...or extra smalls. Pants are usually three sizes...small, med, and large; the large is like a size six. Also, shoes only go up to like an 8. And don't even get me started on the lingerie...the bras looked like toys and the underwear were the size of my cell phone. I mean, I guess it just doesn't make sense to carry more inventory when you have such a homogeneous society, but still...WHERE DO THE FAT PEOPLE GO? I know they exist...someones gotta have some thyroid issues or SOMETHING.
Anyway, so given all this, you can understand how excited I was when I learned that there was a big person section at a mall called Isetan not far from our hotel. We looked and looked and finally found it...you could tell cuz all the mannequins suddenly got really fat. Anyway, it was like they specifically chose to make the clothes ugly as if to discourage larger than average people from buying clothing. Needless to say the only item of clothing I purchased were socks.
We had similar issues for David's stuff. The shoes went up to like a men's 8 and the shirts were similarly small. I would venture to guess that men's underwear have equivalent problems.
This whole shopping experience has made me realize that I really take for granted the selection I have in NYC. That city is so full of people from around the world that they just have all sizes. I would think that there are enough foreign people visiting and living in Japan that someone would think that this was a viable industry to have. Anyway...I guess Ill have to get creative If I ever move here...HA
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Anyway, so given all this, you can understand how excited I was when I learned that there was a big person section at a mall called Isetan not far from our hotel. We looked and looked and finally found it...you could tell cuz all the mannequins suddenly got really fat. Anyway, it was like they specifically chose to make the clothes ugly as if to discourage larger than average people from buying clothing. Needless to say the only item of clothing I purchased were socks.
We had similar issues for David's stuff. The shoes went up to like a men's 8 and the shirts were similarly small. I would venture to guess that men's underwear have equivalent problems.
This whole shopping experience has made me realize that I really take for granted the selection I have in NYC. That city is so full of people from around the world that they just have all sizes. I would think that there are enough foreign people visiting and living in Japan that someone would think that this was a viable industry to have. Anyway...I guess Ill have to get creative If I ever move here...HA
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Curry at an all garlic restaurant
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Grilled cheese
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
More food
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, February 15, 2010
Dinner on glowing charcoals
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Covered Shopping Center
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Strawberry Twins
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sandwiches in Japan
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
More train stuff
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Why don't we have this in NY?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Most AMAZING Sushi
Yesterday, David took me out for my birthday for sushi. We ordered the omakase (chef's selection)...but no squid or sea urchin. It looked the same as any old sushi in the US but it was the most amazing fish ever!!! Every morning, the sushi chefs go out to a sushi market called Tsukiji where they auction off giant fish so its completely fresh. I hope you guys can all try it one day! Dad - even the mackerel wasn't fishy!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Youth in revolt
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Manga store...
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Socks and tights
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Women in Japan
This is a very interesting subject that I've been thinking about for some time...
The general style of younger girls is basically being done up from head to toe...teeny tiny skirts, high heels, revealing tops and colorful tights, pantyhose or thigh highs. Their makeup is EXTREMELY done up...fake eyelashes, thick black eyeliner, dark eyeshadow, bright pink blush...I mean, if a girl in the US dressed up like that, she would be called all sorts of names. That's definitely not the case here. Also interesting to me was that many of the clothing models on the posters were european looking girls and that this young generation of Japanese girls is trying to make themselves look more western by lightening their hair and even putting on blond wigs.
Walking around the mall in Shibuya, I was amazed. I literally couldn't stop staring. The girls were like paintings that you can't take your eyes off of. When I thought about it a little more, I realized that that was exactly what they are. By trying to be so unique, they are basically making themselves all seem the same...an interesting thing to admire. I'm not sure what it is in their psyche that makes them spend what must be two hours every morning and countless amounts of money on clothing. Some ideas of mine are that it's a way for them to pretend to be someone else, or perhaps that they are tired of the homogeneity of Japan, or maybe even that their sisters are doing it.
Whatever the reasons may be, Japanese women still face many gender related issues. It is still very much a male dominated society and women's roles seem to mostly be in the service industry. For a culture so advanced, women's rights still have a very long way to go. The first question that comes to my mind is why the same type of women's liberation movement that we have seen in the US hasn't happened here, but that might not be the correct question. Maybe we should ask - are Japanese women happier this way? It's obviously only a subset of women that are choosing to dress/act like this, but I wonder if they have just found an un-pc solution to a difficult question of women's roles in society.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
The general style of younger girls is basically being done up from head to toe...teeny tiny skirts, high heels, revealing tops and colorful tights, pantyhose or thigh highs. Their makeup is EXTREMELY done up...fake eyelashes, thick black eyeliner, dark eyeshadow, bright pink blush...I mean, if a girl in the US dressed up like that, she would be called all sorts of names. That's definitely not the case here. Also interesting to me was that many of the clothing models on the posters were european looking girls and that this young generation of Japanese girls is trying to make themselves look more western by lightening their hair and even putting on blond wigs.
Walking around the mall in Shibuya, I was amazed. I literally couldn't stop staring. The girls were like paintings that you can't take your eyes off of. When I thought about it a little more, I realized that that was exactly what they are. By trying to be so unique, they are basically making themselves all seem the same...an interesting thing to admire. I'm not sure what it is in their psyche that makes them spend what must be two hours every morning and countless amounts of money on clothing. Some ideas of mine are that it's a way for them to pretend to be someone else, or perhaps that they are tired of the homogeneity of Japan, or maybe even that their sisters are doing it.
Whatever the reasons may be, Japanese women still face many gender related issues. It is still very much a male dominated society and women's roles seem to mostly be in the service industry. For a culture so advanced, women's rights still have a very long way to go. The first question that comes to my mind is why the same type of women's liberation movement that we have seen in the US hasn't happened here, but that might not be the correct question. Maybe we should ask - are Japanese women happier this way? It's obviously only a subset of women that are choosing to dress/act like this, but I wonder if they have just found an un-pc solution to a difficult question of women's roles in society.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ramen place in Shibuya
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Shibayu in Tokyo
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Strawberry in Japan
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Holly at Himeji castle
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Hiroshima A bomb Dome Info
The structure had some pieces left (as you can see in the pics below) because the bomb exploded almost directly above it (about 600 meters). As David explained, the force from the explosion was coming more down than out. The building also had a stairwell in the center of the building which absorbed a lot of the shock.
Behind the remains of the charred dome (it apparently burned at over 2000 degrees celcius) is the museum dedicated to getting rid of atomic weapons in the world. Before I came to Hiroshima, I was fully expecting to see/hear a combination of anti-American sentiment and romanticized accounts of the bombing. Surprisingly, there was a relatively small amount of that going on....it was more of an attempt to educate and prevent ... It did not seem like a grudge that the Japanese people hold against the current generation of Americans.
As I walked around and saw pictures of atomic bombs, burnt bodies, ripped clothing, and letters from Einstein to the President...I still couldn't help but think...what would happen if America had not made an unthinkable decision?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Behind the remains of the charred dome (it apparently burned at over 2000 degrees celcius) is the museum dedicated to getting rid of atomic weapons in the world. Before I came to Hiroshima, I was fully expecting to see/hear a combination of anti-American sentiment and romanticized accounts of the bombing. Surprisingly, there was a relatively small amount of that going on....it was more of an attempt to educate and prevent ... It did not seem like a grudge that the Japanese people hold against the current generation of Americans.
As I walked around and saw pictures of atomic bombs, burnt bodies, ripped clothing, and letters from Einstein to the President...I still couldn't help but think...what would happen if America had not made an unthinkable decision?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)