Japanese comedy

If you ever wonder what is Japanese comedy, it's like the following:



Almost all the TV I've seen so far in Japan (which is not much) resembles something not too far from what you have seen.

Oh, and if you ever get a chance, check out this place: www.tokyocomedy.com

I met some awesome up-and-coming comedians last Friday near Shibuya at a bar/pub where there were English comedy (mostly about Japan) and improv which I haven't seen since college. They were the funniest English teachers I've ever met on stage. I tried to make them laugh. Here's a tip: don't try to be funny to a comedian.

The comedians are really down to earth when you talk to them after and one even bought me a drink afterwards.

Upcoming this weekend: Hanami! Cherry Blossom viewing, otherwise known as get together with friends and get drunk under some beautiful sakura.

Exercpt from Wikipedia: "The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court but soon spread to samurai society and by the Edo period to the common people as well. Tokugawa Yoshimune planted areas of cherry blossom trees to encourage this. Under the sakura trees, they had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts."

Earthquake?

Just a quick note to let you all know that I'm ok despite all the media attention about the earthquake.

I appreciate everyone's concern about the earthquake in Japan, but to be frank with you, I didn't even know we had an earthquake until I started getting emails from friends wondering if I was ok! Yea, earthquakes happen here all the time and according to the Washington Post, 20% of the worlds earthquakes magnitude 6 or higher take place in Japan!

Thanks again for your concerns.

For those who don't know read the following article below....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032601004.html

Below is a land map of Japan and red circle is where the earthquake took place (Noto peninsula). My home, is in the blue circle far far away from the earthquake.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noto_Peninsula

Pictures from Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

Tsukiji fish market

This past Friday, I went to Ageha which I think is the biggest club in Tokyo. It's pretty far away, about a 20 min ride from my station and close to Tokyo Disneyland. In preparation to go, it is advisable for one to:

1) wear comfortable shoes (a must!)
2) wear warm clothes
3) bring plenty of money
4) be ready to party until 5am

I brought my co-worker and her friend from the States there. It's amazing how many Japanese people who love techno/trance music! And the fashion definitely matched the music.

Afterwards, the point of going out (besides find good music to dance to) was to check out the Tsukiji fish market afterwards which opens around 5:30am. It's usually recommended that if you come to Tokyo, before you get over your jetlag, stop over to Tsukiji in the morning to see the Maguro (Tuna) auction. I have gone before but we couldn't find where the auction was so we just settled for eating the most amazing sushi at a restaurant. This time, I was trying to prevent my friend's disappointment by saying, it's closed to foreigners and not open anymore to the public. I even got a validation by one friend who read in the travel books it won't be opened anymore. As we were debating if it's even open, a nice older Japanese guy told us to just follow him and he'll take us there. It was quite hike from the station and actually, there were probably at that time 3 other groups of foreigners who exited the station looking just as puzzled as we were. But we found out guide and I felt like it was the "Amazing race" to find this Tuna auction. When we arrived, it was crazy. If you can imagine, frozen dead bodies lying around, that was basically it except the Tuna were HUGE! The bodies were frozen, marked with red paint, and had their heads & tails removed. In addition, they were all dragged around by fisherman's pick's as the auctioneer was twiddling his board and shouting prices (i think) . There were fish the size of my head to my knee caps. My friend, Joy, took pictures and will re-update this blog when I get them, but it's quite a site. After we decided we had enough of frozen tuna, we went to a sushi shop near by to chow down on really good sushi. We went to a shop which didn't have a long line cause it was cold and windy outside, but I suspect that the shops with the long lines would have even better sushi (that melts in your mouth) than what I ordered.

When it gets warmer and if you come visit, I'll take you!

What I found amusing:

Side track: the night before I went out, I was staying late at work cause of a teleconference with the UK. My colleague was with me and when we came back, I casually asked him if he was planning to go home soon. He said he would have to because of all the overtime he's worked this week. When we got back to our desk, the section manager wasn't there. As I was leaving, I asked him if he was going to retire now and he gleefully responded back, "Now that the managers gone, I can stay even later!"

:-)

Proud moment

I subscribed for a monthly pass at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. I took home a form to fill out (with the assistance with my colleagues) but I returned by myself to apply for it formally.

Yesterday was the first time I tackled a non-food type engagement with strangers completely in Japanese and walked out still having my dignity in tact! Usually, I would try to speak in Japanese with other people, perhaps asking for directions, or clarification on a product and they will give a weird look like, "Am I stupid or something?" But this time, the guy understood everything I said, and I understood 90% he said! These Japanese lessons are finally paying off!

After going on a high with actually being able to communicate with people in this country, I decided to brave another language engagement by taking a Hip Hop class at the gym. It was actually the most fun I've had at the gym. In fact, while the speakers were blasting Shakira, Snoop Dogg, and other hip hop artists (totally Americanized), I couldn't help but laugh in the inside that I'm in Tokyo, taking a Hip Hop class from a Japanese guy. The other funny thing is that there were 3 other people in the class around mid-30's or 40's (you can never tell age with Tokyoites) who were shaking their hips as well. But learning Hip Hop in Japanese is gonna be a trip. I've already learned how to say body parts now and the words to shake them, rotate them, and bounce them around. ;-)

I had a ridiculously good time at the Hip Hop class, I'm going to try to go more during the week.

Anna, Will, if you ever read this: you better watch out...

Things I don't like:
The Japanese are very bureaucratic and enjoy paper work. I think it gives them a sense of security. For example, the form I had to fill out for my monthly application took about 2 hours to fill out and asked all sorts of questions including my company, my position, how much I make, and that was only half of the form. The person was nice to say I didn't have to fill out the other half. In addition, I had to fill everything out in Kanji (Chinese characters), English, and Furikana (which is the writing system to pronounce in Japanese).

Japanese female robot

I came across this article as I catch up on my daily news from BBC every day. Thought this would remind you about how technologically advanced Japan is.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Japanese develop 'female' android

Besides their development of Will Smith-like robots, I'd like to also highlight what makes Tokyo a great technological center. In no particular order....

1. As I was eating in a cafe yesterday, everyone had their kei tai (cell phones) flipped open and texting, sending pictures, surfing the internet, & doing laundry....

2. The TV that came in my apartment was a widescreen 29 inch flat screen with every input/output possible.

3. Most quick Japanese fast food restaurants have a self-service machine in the front to order ramen, soba, tonkatsu....

4. The smallest camera MegaPixel size on cell phones is a 3.2 MP.

5. The taxi doors open by themselves.

6. The toilet seats are all heated with integrated bide/water jet that you can control water temperature, degree of water pressure, and angle. In addition, you can push a button to emit a noise to cover up any other noises you might make.

7. My shower talks to me.

8. All the seats on the JR train are heated.

9. There is a place called Akihabara which is the mecca for geeks who love tech toys, Manga (comics), and girls who dress like maids.

10. At the sushi restaurants, the waitress uses a magic electronic wand to zap all the plates with you eat and calculate your total instantly.

Things I like about Japan:
I love all the technology here and the adoption rate is ridiculously high. Out of all the things I really enjoy here, it's the little thing that will make me miss Japan the most; especially the heated seats on the toilets and the trains.