Does this count as Engrish?

I walked by this shop with a funny name in Roppongi and took a photo back in January.  The name of this shop begs the question, "What is the Hotman Style of Living?"  Perhaps I would have gotten more insight if I had actually gone into the shop instead of having a giggle and snapping a shot.

Minatures at the National Museum of Nature and Science

Outside the gift shop at the National Museum of Nature and Science were several vending machines filled with miniatures inspired by the museum and its exhibits.  The miniatures are a bargain for ¥300.

More Engrish...

I took this photo last October on a bus in Setagaya.  I'm not sure if the person who bought this shirt understands the meaning. I've seen similar variations of obscene English on clothing before. 

I really don't understand the point of it, especially if you don't understand the meaning.  Perhaps it's an inside joke by the graphic designer?

Engrish...

If you have traveled outside English speaking countries, you will often find that English is often used as design element in T-shirts and other commercial goods without a full understanding of the meaning. There is a site called Engrish that is dedicated to these funny mistakes. The site Hanzi Smatter showcased the reverse. On this site, the Chinese & Japanese characters are shown being used in comical ways.

You don't have to go far to find T-shirts with Engrish. Just look around and you'll be amazed.

Sweets and Green Tea

The food served at my friends wedding in Kyushu was outstanding.  It seemed like it would never end, there must have been 5 or 6 courses.

Hand made soba noodles and Bungo beef were featured along with soba noodles, mochi, green tea (matcha), tofu, sunomono... All the food served was made from local produce from Oita-ken.

They made fresh soba in the restaurant!

The meal started with several types of namasu and / or sunomono, tofu, konnyaku, and citrus.

Next was beef tataki salad.

Then vegetable tempura.

Homemade soba.  I chose cold rather than hot soba.

Mochi and Matcha with red beans and crushed peanuts.

There was wedding cake too!!!

Kabosu omiyage

Kabosu is one of the local delicacies found in Ōita Prefecture.  There are all sorts of omiyage or souvenirs that feature this local fruit.  Here's a small sample of the ones available in the hotel gift shop. 

Architecture in Tokyo...

I have been inspired to post more lately, and I am going through the shots that I have overlooked in the past and posting them.  Hopefully, someone may find these of interest.

The first is of the Tokyo International Forum in Yūrakuchō. It was designed by by Rafael Vinoly. The building has favorable reviews and has a page on greatbuilding.com. I have always found this building stimulating. To me it feels more like cathedral than a concert hall. The space is grand and modern.

A short walk away is the Peninsular Hotel. I haven't had the chance to take a stroll inside, but the exterior is just as grand with a modern new world feel. 

Kyushu... One night in Beppu (Part 2)

Here are more photos of restaurants from my evening walk in Beppu.  The first is a garlic restaurant.  The smell attracted my attention before the lanterns and the norin with the garlic headed character.

One of the signs on the side of this ramen restaurant indicated that their specialty was Yokohama style noodles.

Kyushu... One night in Beppu (Part 1)

I was in Oita-ken on Kyushu over the weekend to attend friend's wedding.  I was asked to take photos and even though I was working the event I had a blast. 

I stayed Saturday night in Beppu and took some photos of their quiet central shopping and nightlife area.  It seemed very quaint, natsukashii or forgotten Japan feel.  The shops and restaurant facades look as if they were taken from 1950's or 60's movies in Japan.  It was like stepping onto a movie set or stepping back in time...

Thinking about a break from Tokyo...

I have been posting a lot lately, and although I have been posting some older photos with the new, one would think that I must have lots of free time.  However, that's not how it seems to work.

Seems that stress and work make me more productive and creative.  I take more pictures, try to do more on the computer, exercise more, work more, etc.  It seems counter intuitive.

Anyway, I've been thinking about the annual family trip to Australia for a cool winter break over the summer holidays in Japan.  I posted some photos of the trip previously, but there are many more...  I've picked out a couple more that I like from the Sydney portion.  The light that time of year in Sydney was absolutely fantastic.

NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building - Bad?

I for one am not a fan of the NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building. I am not an art or architecture critic, but I know what I like... And I don't like this building.

For me it is banal, boring and derivative.  It aspires to greatness by invoking some of the forms in classic skyscrapers in America from the 30's but falls flat.  It has buttresses and a large clock.  If you squint really hard, you might see the silhouette of the Empire State Building.  With all of the antennas, dishes and transmitters mounted near the top, the building looks more like a part of a spacecraft than a building.

Anyway, it dominates the sky on the western side of Tokyo.  You can see it when you are walking along the Yamante line from Harajuku to Shinjuku.  My photo was taken from inside Yoyogi Park.

Setagaya Koen Train

The family visited Setagaya Koen (Park) several times in January, but haven't been back since. Anyway, here are more photos of that great large scale model train in Setagaya.

It costs ¥30 for elementary school students to ride, and ¥70 for middle school and older. It's such a bargain!

The original JNR D51 steam locomotive that the model train is based on is on display near the traffic play area of the park.

There is a large signboard that gives some of the engine's vital details.

Cycling in Yoyogi Park

My 5-year old daughter went cycling with training wheels on the children's course at Yoyogi Park on Sunday.  She had a blast with her old brother (he will be 7 years old next moth).  He didn't want to ride a bike with training wheels but after spending about 15-minutes running after her, figured out he could ride on the back of the bike.  Probably not the safest activity, and my wife and I flinched a couple times when he fell off.  However, the bike couldn't go fast with two giggling screaming children.

Rental of children's bikes is a nominal ¥100 / hour.  Bikes for adult and older children (without training wheels) can be rented for ¥200 / hour.  There are other parks further in the suburbs where bikes are free (i.e., Suginami).

The girls bikes featured Hello Kitty and had cute bells.  I don't recall if the boys bikes had such a nice bell.  I'll have to check when we return.

Driving range in my neighborhood

There's a private driving range in my neighborhood.  Actually, its an empty lot that someone has put up portable driving range net. 

It must be a financial burden to keep this large lot vacant.  It's been this way since we moved to the area over a year ago.  The owner could probably recoup some of his losses by charging a fee to use.

Takoyaki... for astronauts?

I'm not a big fan, but I do enjoy takoyaki (fried battered octopus with bonito flakes and sweet sauce) on occasion.  At the gift shop in the National Museum of Nature and Science, I spotted a version meant to be enjoyed by Japanese astronauts.  There was also Space Curry, Daigaku Imo (candied sweet potatoes), and Strawberry Shortcake in Japanese packing.

More Spring Flowers in Yoyogi...

Here are some more flowers from an trip to Yoyogi about a week ago.  The first is of some lavender (Lavandula stoechas) and the other photo is of a common iris (iris wattii) in bloom throughout Tokyo.  I shot both with a Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AF on my trusty D700.

Somebody is watching me

Several months ago I passed this floor to ceiling sculpture / glass art installation in Shinjuku Station.  I really liked it, but had the erie feeling that someone was watching me.... and perhaps the 3.64 million people per day that pass through this station. 

According to Tokyo Metblogs this installation is by the artist Miyashita Yoshiko and has been at the west exit of Shinjuku station since 1969.

Yoyogi Rose Garden

The family had a wonderful day at Yoyogi Park on Sunday.  We rode bicycles on the cycling course and met up with some friends by accident.

I took some out to snap several quick photos in Yoyogi's beautiful rose garden.  These were taken by my 20+ year old Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF (non-D).

Humid weather and dry storage

With the humid summer knocking on spring's door, I've been thinking about how to store my equipment safely to prevent damage from moisture and fungus.  Especially since my apartment will not be air conditioned the entire summer I expect it to be a little more humid inside than past summers.

I've got some rechargeable Silica Gel Desiccants Packetsin my camera case that are several years old and am considering buying some more.  I've also been considering getting a larger sealed storage box.  In Japan, many of the larger camera shops sell these sealed dry storage cases to fight the humidity and prevent damage during the wet and humid months.

Orphaned Cherry Blossom Photos...

I took plenty of cherry blossom photos this year.  However, I never took enough good ones at one time to post.  So, I'll post a few more today before they are forgotten along with Hamami season.

These blossoms are from a large tree outside my office building in Zama.

These next two were taken at MacArthur Garden at Naval Air Facility Atsugi. The cherry trees surrounding the park here are very beautiful. The General MacArthur's Honor Guard web page has some interesting information on General MacArthur and the establishment of the garden on their Mission of the Honor Guard and the Association page.

Nippori and Tsukudani

I'm going through some photos that I took last month, and post some gems before they are forgotten.

During the Yamathon, I passed this interesting area in Nippori that had all sorts of old shops full of character. One of the shops sold tsukudani.  I stopped to take photos, as one of our group had to buy some.

I've had this before in many Japanese meals and wasn't exactly sure what it was.  It's got strong flavor and after reading the description in Wikipedia, it may have a cousin in Philippine cuisine, bagoong.

There was this interesting senbei shop across the street.