Climbing Mount Fuji

Several of us climbed Mt. Fuji at the end of August 2003. Read all about it!

Delicious Foods of Japan

Here we see my favorite Japanese snack: Hello Kitty Colon. They have misspelled it in English, but in Japanese it says Hoo-wa Hoo-wa cream colon.

Mmm, mmm! Doesn't that look tasty? Delicious little chunks of Hello Kitty colon, filled with, well, something creamy. Wonder why Hello Kitty is holding her tummy like that? Now you know! What use is a colon anyway, if you have no mouth? Also, note the Pikachu in the background, jumping for joy at the news that their long-time nemesis Hello Kitty has been disemboweled.

These wonderful taste treats are available for ¥1000 (about US$8.50) at the convenient Narita Airport sky-mall. I did not buy any.

Some important things to remember when speaking Japanese.

Okay, so there's only one.

Kawaii / Kowai

Be careful not to say “scary” when you mean “cute”, or you might get slapped. Furusho-san will now demonstrate the difference.

kawaii

kowai

Apparently some folks think that second face indicates happiness rather than fear. However, I leave it as is because

I think it looks like fear. Over the top, perhaps, but shooting for fear.
A worm that size is pretty scary, if you think about it. Especially when you're never quite sure what's for dinner at Kodama Ryokan.
It's the only photo I have that comes close. (thanks, Damian!)

Some things that make Japan worth visiting

Karaoke (I mean real karaoke, not the fakety-fake American kind)
Tokyu Hands
Sushi so fresh it's still moving
Green tea ice cream
Shouchu
Yaki-niku
Creap [Coffee whitener] (Sounds like a creep, but spelled so as to also evoke "crap"!)

Things I could do without

The mad dash across Shinjuku station, thinking “Next time ... Delta ... Kennedy ... drive”
The sushi-wannabe smoked salmon on the plane ride home
For that matter, the entire United Airlines cattle section
The Yodobashi Camera song
Bruises on my forehead
Another game of “what can we get the gaijin to eat?”
Wait, I used to know that kanji!
Sashimi again? (And I like sashimi.)
J-pop
Cigs. Japan is about 20 years behind the U.S. in smoking rules. For instance, they now have no-smoking sections in restaurants, but they haven't yet figured out how that's like having a “no-peeing” section in a pool.