One of the big construction trends in Tokyo has been putting train lines underground. Given the space crunch here, I can see how it makes sense. I think most of the land will be given over to construction and not green space. While I can understand the economic impetus, I really think it heightens a feeling of detachment from one's community and decreases the aesthetic value of a place. Granted, the trains can be crowded, uncomfortable and sometimes smelly. But some of the best lighting...

I can't stand the recent trend in TV shows which features eating contests or people eating enormous amounts of food. I don't know why it is such a big thing here. I never really enjoyed it, but lately I find these shows truly offensive. The latest offering in the gluttony celebration is a woman in her early twenties (I think). She is a "gal" and maybe 95 pounds soaking wet. Her little TV schtick is to have eating contests with huge grown men. While flicking through channels today I sa...

Let's take this hypothetical situation-- A man has an ex-wife with whom he had a child and the man is now remarried. The man and ex have some pretty fundamental disagreements about how to raise the child. Let's say that neither are bad parents but are unable to agree about childcare. The child is entering the tweens. Mom has the child extremely commited to extra-curricular sports which have become a major centre of her social life. She became a team sponsor and is a central figure...

I started this article a while ago but then I accidentally zipped it off the screen. Hopefully, this article will make it to the post. Actually, I'm writing this as I watch game 3 of the World Series. I've been following the Red Sox for most of the year. Big news number 1: my husband and I bought a house. It's not too far from the apartment we were living in. It's one of a bunch of houses built by the same architect/dsigner. It's not a big house compared to what one could own bac...

The top sumo wrestler in Japan is a Mongolian man whose sumo name is Asashoryu. Until recently, he was the Yokozuna. This is the top rank in Sumo. He has been suspended from participating in tournaments because he told the sumo organization that he had a serious injury that would likely require hospitilization. Not a few weeks later, he was on TV playing soccer doing dives and running hard. As I understand it, the Yokozuna is supposed to keep wresting unless he has a serious injury. ...

I'm doing a walking trip in Japan. I started at Nihonbashi in Tokyo and hope to end up in Odawara by Friday. Please check out my blog: http://traveltokaido.blogspot.com/ Thanks!

This doesn't happen every day, but once in a while an old (I'm guessing 70ish +) feels compelled to tell me that I'm being rude. My offenses so far have been crossing my legs while sitting on the train; having my cell phone on in the train; sitting in the section for pregnant ladies, old people or injured people. Today, my back was KILLING me. I didn't have a broken leg but I usually opt to not sit in that section just out of respect. But I actually kind of felt like I was going to ba...

Lately I've been losing a lot of things. Usually, I just misplace things in the house. I pick something up while thinking of something else, get distracted and bingo, gonzo! This time, I've lost things outside the house. Big deal things. Like my house keys. I was at a convenience store using a ATM and was searching through my bag for my wallet. It turns out that I left it at home, beside my bag but didn't put it in because I got distracted by a conversation with my husband. Anyhow, ...

I went to the hot stone spa at my gym today. It's not one of those Spa Treatment experiences (I capitalize this because I have a friend who manages one of those kind of spas) where someone puts warm stones and essential oil or something on you for the jolly price of fifty dollars or more. The hot stone spa here is more like a sauna but instead of cedar benches there are long , heated stone beds that you lie on. Somewhere there is some kind of wood called Keyaki which gives the room a nice,...

Tomorrow is payday! Whew. For a long time, I've been wanting to get a flash for my camera. I have a couple of shots I really like, but I needed just a smidge more light to make them better. I've been doing a lot of research about using a strobe and the best site I've found is www.strobist.com. Lots of really useful and fun information. I've decided to get a third party flash since the Canon is just too far out of my price range. I decided on the Sigma Super 500 (probably got the ...

MasonM wrote about his ghost experience and it reminded me of something that happened to me about 12 years ago. I used to help out a friend at the race track. I'm not a morning person and the very early starts (feeding began at 5 am) were rough on me. I met a guy who trained horses and we dated for a while. One day I was staying at his place. I was really tired and that may have been the cause of what happened. I was looking for my toothbrush and couldn't find it. I was kind of...

Two days ago I had one of those "I love living in Japan" moments. I was watching the news (hence the posting under current events) and they did a long segment about the first cherry blossom opening in Tokyo. They then showed a graph of the expected time from the first blossom to full bloom and the last petal and then showed a map of Japan with dates of when Haika was expected for different areas. Usually news is about disasters and tragedies or somtimes the strange story. What I really...