Don vs Evil Don

Well, since I haven't shaved completely for 2 years, I decided to find out what my true face looked like. And since I don't start work for 2 more months, I have plenty of time to grow it back.

Which is better?






Personally, I prefer the beard (^-^)

Potion !

Check this out! I bought it today at a convenience store near Tokyo Tower ... tastes like Redbull ... I wonder if you can get Potion mix drinks !

Where'd Osaka go ??

10/7/2007 (Sat) - Kawasaki 川崎

Well, I had been planning to move to Osaka but I guess I got on the wrong Shinkansen (bullet train) because I ended up moving to the Tokyo area. Actually, to the city of Kawasaki, which is about half way between Tokyo and Yokohama. Here's the long escalator at the Motosumiyoshi train station （元住吉駅）




After you go down the escalator, you come across Bremen St. which is a long road filled with various stores and a million food marts. At the top of the sign you can see the animal stack which is used as the Bremen St logo. Yeah, its a chicken standing on a cat standing on a dog standing on a cow ... I'll have to get a better picture of that.




This weekend happened to be the 3rd annual FrieMarket festival (whatever that is) so there were extra booths and a small concert stage set up along Bremen St. However, by far the best attraction was the "Road Train" ... ALL ABOARD !!!




Well, now that I'm in Kawasaki, I guess I should abandon Gamba Osaka and move onto my local J-League soccer team, the Kawasaki Frontale. Here's the mascot ... I think it's a dolphin.




Here's where I live.




Inside, there's a common room with a big TV (for watching the Rugby World Cup, Japanese soccer games, and the occasional Discovery Channel documentary in English) Oh ... and there's lots of pink ... gotta love pink.




Also, there's a kitchen that no-one uses but me. It's not like the cockroaches are that big or anything ...




Walk down the scary hallway and you get to my room




All of the rooms have tatami flooring and are a fairly decent size (for Japan). As I've always said ... all I need is a bed, a shower, and internet.




And here I am in Kawasaki


文字色

It looks like REAL PIZZA !!!!

Check it out!!! It actually looks like PIZZA!!!




Well, although it may look like authentic NY style pizza, the sauce was a bit sweet, the crust was a bit crispy, and being that good cheese is rare in Japan, the overall flavor was lacking pizzazz. However, that's not to say that it wasn't good. Of all the pizza I've ever eaten in Japan, this definitely was the closest to NY style. However, the pies were rather small being only about the size of a 12" vinyl ... nothing like Koronet's mega slice!

Oh, and whoever invented the concept of all-you-can-eat-pizza is an absolute genius !!!!

9/9/2007 Sunday, we went to Pastel, which is a pasta and dessert chain in Japan. This is where we ordered the lovely gourmet dish shown in the above picture. Within 1 minute of receiving the aforementioned delicacy, like a pack of hyenas, we completely devoured it. Oddly, the waitress then quickly came back to our table and asked, "Would you like the next one?" ..........next one? .......um, yes. And so continued our adventure into the world of gluttonous stuffing-your-face as if we were a family of average, well-bred Americans. We ate until our stomachs were about to explode (well, at least I did. For some unknown reason, bottomless pit Hong Kong girls can eat endless amounts of food in a single sitting and then still want to go for ice-cream afterwards)


Spoon Idiots　
                    Hikaru-sama                                   Me


                      Yan                                             Betty

In remembrance of 9/11

Today, I went to Tokyo for a job interview. It was scheduled for the late afternoon so I went a bit early and had lunch near Shinjuku station. Since I didn't want to risk an upset stomach, I decided to play it safe by eating a sandwich in a small place called Stacker on the 11th floor of the Shinjuku Takamashiya. Today being Sept. 11, in remembrance of the World Trade Center attacks, I ordered the "New York Hot Sando," (Sando is Japanese for sand-o-wich) which is pictured below. As it turned out, it was just a ham and cheese sandwich, slightly toasted ... but I enjoyed it.




By the way, I feel the interview (which lasted 3 and 1/2 hours) went very well ... I'm glad I ate that sandwich. (^-^)