ShareI was shooting pictures on the bridge at Uguisudani in Tokyo and snagged some nice shots of a yellow E653 set used for the Fresh Hitachi service on the JR Joban Line. The cool thing about the Joban Line is that it is dual voltage with 1500V DC in the Tokyo area and 20,000V AC [...]
Archive for category Curious, Odd, Interesting
Deflation in Japan
Feb 12
215 viewsShareOne menacing characteristic (from a macroeconomic viewpoint) of the Japanese economy now is deflation. It’s evident at izakaya (watering holes) everywhere in Japan. Y300 plates (or less). Food has really come down in price since the heady Bubble years and it is really nice to enjoy a few beers and tapas for [...]
Delay on JR
Feb 10
222 viewsShareDay 10 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
I was headed to Yokohama on day 10 to visit a friend. The following message popped up on the display. Chuo Line “Delay” due to “clearing [...]
F1 Car at Toyota Factory Tour
Feb 10
304 viewsShareDay 9 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 9 I went on the Toyota Factory Tour. Prior to the tour I went through the museum and found that they are still displaying last [...]
Osaka Castle Visit
Feb 10
227 viewsShareDay 7 Post
Note: This is from a series of trip reports from my January 2010 Tokyo Trip. They are random musings about whatever seems interesting for that day.
On Day 7 I visited Osaka Castle. I didn’t pay to go up to the top because I was told it’s a concrete replica and not very [...]
Fresh Wasabi
Jul 13
437 viewsShareMost people have not seen fresh wasabi. It costs about US$21/lb wholesale so it’s not cheap. Here is a picture of some at the wholesale market in Tsukiji.
Japan Customs Warnings
Jun 17
435 viewsShareThe departure area at Narita airport has a nice display of contraband. Genuine and counterfeit articles are displayed, prohibited items are also displayed.
The Real Hachiko
Jun 17
8,396 viewsShareMany people have seen the statue of Hachiko in Shibuya. What many people don’t know is that the real Hachiko is in the National Science Museum in Ueno.
JR Sakura Lounge Shower at Narita
Jun 14
897 viewsShareThe Sakura Lounge at Narita is quite vast and well-stocked. They have first-class shower facilities which are available on a first-come-first-served basis. If I’m not flying business class I use the day room facilities to take a shower prior to boarding but the facilities in the Sakura Lounge are second-to-none.
Amazing Stair Climbing Dolly
Jun 10
1,052 viewsShareI was outside of Otsuki Station and saw one of the most interesting carrying devices I’ve ever seen anywhere. This dolly can climb up and down stairs with large amounts of payload. It certainly beats the heck out of hauling these boxes up and down stairs the old-fashioned way.
Mt. Fuji Pictures at 270 km/h
Jun 9
428 viewsShareI was heading to Osaka in January 2009 on a beautiful clear day and took these pictures of Mt. Fuji. It was truly fortunate to be traveling on such a clear day.
300 km/h Shinkansen Ride
Jun 9
314 viewsShareI shot a picture of my GPS while going from Hiroshima to Tokyo.
But, looking closer zoomed in, check out the maximum speed of 300 km/h.
Fukushima Ekiben
Jun 9
278 viewsShareI was returning from Aizu-Wakamatsu and picked up an ekiben meal on my way back to Tokyo. There were quite a few choices but this one caught my fancy because of the salmon flakes on the rice.
Takkyubin (Door-to-Door Courier Service)
Jun 8
1,115 viewsShareEveryone talks about using takkyubin and luggage forwarding. It’s pretty straightforward to do this at the airport counter or from a hotel when the bell desk takes care of it for you, but most non-Japanese speaking people are probably intimidated by walking into a Yamato (Kuro-Neko/Black-Cat) depot with suitcases to be forwarded to your next [...]
2009 Kitajima Shoten Visit
Jun 6
228 viewsShareI visited 4-time Olympic gold medal winner Kitajima Kousuke’s family shop in Nishi-Nippori one rainy day in January 2009 to try the now famous menchi-katsu. I met his father and mother at the shop. They were very gracious in allowing me to take pictures of them and their shop and were really impressed that I [...]
Zojirushi I-Pot
Jun 5
871 viewsShareOne very cool device “only in Japan” is the I-Pot made by Zojirushi. A few years back, my wife and I bought one for my mother-in-law after she became a widow and began living alone. Her I-Pot was such a hit with her that she took over the payments from us (avoiding currency exchange problems, [...]
PS3 Gran Turismo Route 246 Course
Jun 3
1,550 viewsShareI became a fan of the Gran Turismo series of games over ten years ago on the original Sony Playstation. It was and is pretty much the gold standard of how a console video game should play. I became intrigued with one of the courses which is called Route 246 in the game and traverses [...]
2009 Visit Shitamachi Museum
Jun 2
201 viewsShareIf you ever have a spare hour or so waiting for the Keisei Skyliner at Ueno you might check out the Shitamachi Museum. It’s about one minute away from Keisei Ueno Station and has some interesting exhibits. It’s probably not worth making a trip to Ueno to see but it is worth stopping by if [...]
2009 Ivan Ramen Visit
Jun 2
459 viewsShareI visited Ivan Ramen for the third time in early 2009 along with a friend of mine from California. Ivan was there and they had some slack time between rushes so we were able to chat, take pictures and he actually sold me an autographed copy of his book. Another interesting article by ramentokyo gives [...]