I'm heading back to Tokyo tomorrow to work on a radio show with the crew from PRI's Studio360, so I probably won't be blogging until I get there.
When are we going to have wi-fi on trans-Pacific flights? But then again, would I want that? I kinda cherish the offline time—nap, read a book, listen to podcasts, nap, watch a movie, eat, brush teeth, pee. Airplanes make me want to do not much more than all that.
I'm flying back to Tokyo this afternoon after 10 days in the south of France and Amsterdam. Highlights from my agenda when I get back:
- Korean BBQ with the parents.
- Tokyo Game Show.
- Muscle Park (again)!
- An otaku in Akiba symposium.
Stay tuned!
I'm in Monte Carlo right now, at the beginning of a one week trip in Provence/Cote d'Azur. Monaco is a gorgeous little principality surrounded by France and the Mediterranean Sea. Grace Kelly is the big royal local hero here—the Academy Award-winning actress became Princess Grace of Monaco in the 50s. I snapped this photo of Monaco's Japanese tea garden today on my way back from the aquarium. Did you know Monaco is less than one square mile total? It's tiny! Also, all the cars here are ridiculously expensive. I have never seen so many Ferrarris, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, and Ferraris all on one block as I did today in front of the Hotel de Paris.
I usually arrive at my parents' house in Tokyo right before dinner. Flights arrive around 4, and it takes 2-3 hours to clear Narita and settle down at destination. I'm always starving. I eat, and immediately get sleepy. Last night we had a big feast—shabu shabu, sashimi, potato salad, white asparagus (in season!), sweet edamame, kimchee-and-squid, rice. Persimmons, figs, and nashi (Japanese pear) for dessert. I unpack/shower. Pass out at 10PM. And then, almost without fail, I wake up in the middle of the night and stay up and listen to the city sleep. In the dead of summer, you hear cicadas all night. Tonight, I heard some other critter chirping outside my window until about 5am.
I know it's 5am because the first trains hit the tracks, and I hear them speeding across town and the house shakes just a little bit. It's also right around the crack of dawn, so the room starts to light up. Then the mean crows start cawing and the newspaper guy comes around in his little moped and I hear him doing the stop-and-go around the neighborhood. Then my dad wakes up. And I start to get sleepy again, but I usually eat breakfast and stay up til about 4PM, when I take a super power nap, and stay sleepy throughout the night until about 2-3AM the next morning when I wake up and do the same thing.
After all these years of going back and forth, I still don't have a good strategy to fight the brutal California-to-Tokyo jet lag. I'm open to tips!
If you're wondering why I haven't been updating TokyoMango, it's because I'm on vacation in Hawaii with the family. Yesterday, I learned how to surf. (I'm JUMPING off, not falling off, in this photo.) Today, we went on a little 2-hour snorkeling trip to Molokini, and were lucky enough to encounter a 30-foot whale shark! Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. They don't eat people, just algae and stuff. The captain of the ship—he grew up on Maui had never seen one before—told us to jump in and grab his fin, so I did. There's something inexplicably amazing about chasing a giant creature through the middle of the ocean. I crave to do it again but I know it was a chance of a lifetime. Check out the video after the jump!
Continue reading "Where's Lisa? Surfing and Chasing Whale Sharks on Maui" »
I'm back home after a week in South America. What did I think? I think all Japanese should become Japanese-Brazilians. Here are 10 reasons why (in no particular order):
1. The sunset in Rio kicks the sunset in Tokyo's ass.
2. Brazil has some of the coolest night clubs in the world. This
one, called Rio Scenarium, is a giant three-story building on the
oldest residential street in Rio. It's filled with antiques, giant
comfy couches, live music, and porcelain dolls.
Continue reading "10 Reasons Why Japanese People Should Emigrate to Brazil" »
Hello from Sao Paulo! This is a great city. Eclectic food, awesome graffiti everywhere, soccer fans, lots of PDA, and a big-city vibe comparable to the kind you feel in Tokyo, Paris, and New York. Yesterday, our gracious hosts from Mouses took us to Liberdade, the biggest Japanese district outside of Japan. Very cool. I took lots of pics. Keep reading for a short photo tour.
Continue reading "A Quick Photo Tour of Sao Paulo's Japanese District" »
Yep, I'm off to São Paulo for a week—and hopefully taking a side trip to Rio and some jungly rain forests. Look! São Paulo kinda looks like Tokyo. Did you know it also has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan? There are about 1.5 million Japanese immigrants and descendants living in Brazil—more than in the US. And some of them are hot and talented! My two favorite Japanese-Brazilians are supermodel Juliana Imai and Lovefoxxx of CSS. CSS is a kickass indie-electro girl band from Sao Paolo that I've seen in concert a couple times in San Francisco. Pics after the jump.
Continue reading "Where's Lisa? I'm in São Paulo Looking for Lovefoxxx" »
I went back to Boston this weekend for the first time in years, and ate at my favorite Japanese restaurant in the country, Cafe Mami. I was surprised to read a bunch of mediocre reviews on Yelp, because I really think this is the best Japanese food outside of Japan. Maybe I'm biased because back in my college days, this was where I went when I was homesick. (It's also where I got my inspiration on how to make karaage—fried chicken.)
But, whatever, Yelpers! I have my own blog where I get to profess whatever opinions I want and give it as many stars as I want, and I'm giving Cafe Mami 10 stars! I love it! The hamburger steak, the ginger lemon chicken, the green tea milkshake...it's all perfecto.
Plus, I heard a rumor that it might be closing soon due to the owner's personal reasons. So I'm really really glad I went to Boston this weekend, if only to get my last fix.
If you're wondering why the hell I'm not updating my blog as often as I should, it's because I'm in NYC for the week. I am traveling with the family and working remotely, and running around town trying all the different new ramen joints that have opened up here since I left 3 years ago. I promise a roundup when I return from my urban scramble this weekend, plus a review of the 70s gay sex scene photography exhibit in Chelsea, more crazy new products that will make your life much easier, and my two cents on the prime minister's resignation.
So stay tuned!
Look! They painted the plane! Embarrassed and shamed by the negative media coverage that has been bombarding the brand since the post-landing explosion yesterday, China Airlines hired some painters to paint over the plane's logo to make it a generic white aircraft. I don't know why it makes a difference, since pics of the original wreckage are all over the news already anyway. But whatever. The airline's official stance is this: "We followed international procedures. We do not have detailed information."
Smart.
Link
Related article: China Airlines Plane Explodes in Okinawa
Dying from the scorching sweaty heat yet? Last summer, I wrote a feature for Metropolis showcasing some of the best beaches accessible from Tokyo. The Kanto area actually has some cool beaches despite the pollution and gray sand.
P.S. News today reports that over the last two days, 18 people drowned to death across the nation at beaches and rivers. Be careful!
Japan's newest export? A capsule hotel, in which patrons stay in little compartments just large enough to fit a human body. Yotel just opened in London's Gatwick Airport, providing travelers a cheap, clean place to sleep. The Mainichi reports:
with features including mood lighting and luxury bedding to "induce relaxation," high-end bathroom fittings, not to mention access to free digital television, radio and Wi-Fi Internet, the cabins exude a level of comfort not previously associated with the average airport hotel.
Luxury? I guess. In my mind, luxury = a lot of private space, not a tiny slit in the wall reminiscent of the morgue. Yotel's founder, Simon Woodroffe, expects to open another Yotel at Heathrow by the fall, and plans on creating many more branches in the coming months.
Panasonic's Cycle Web Studio is releasing a new electric bicycle that combines hipster street fashion with motocross style. For this project, Panasonic teamed up with Harajuku fashion brand Beams to release just 200 limited edition units, in orange and green, purchasable only from their "bikes are cool and so are we" Cycle Studio Web site. The bikes are 22x63 inches and weigh 44lbs. They run on nickel metal hydride batteries which last almost 2 hours--that'll take you approximately 20 miles.
You know you've always wanted to stay in Capsule Hotel. (Capsule hotel=cheap ($30), no-frills lodging that consists of a single "bed" contained in one capsule among many, stacked in rows in one big room. Shared bathrooms, snack vending machines, and lockers for your belongings are also available.) But it's hard to figure out the logistics, like where to find one, how to book one, etc. Well I'm gonna make it real easy for you. You know that trip to Akihabara that you've been yearning to take? Your fantasy of totally geeking out for a day by being inundated with comic books and cosplay shops and electronics, and electronics, and even more electronics? It's just a couple clicks away. Don't forget to book your plane tickets first.
Get a "room" at the Capsule Inn Akihabara here.
If you've been following this blog from the get-go, or even if you jumped in midway, you've probably figured out that I have a secret mission to find Mario World. Such a fantastical, wonderful place must exist somewhere in our universe! A place where turtles smile, mushrooms kill humans or give them extra lives, princesses are captured by giant thorny Koopas, and plumbers save the world. Well, guess what. I think I found Mario World. It's in Whistler, Canada, at about 6000 ft above sea level. But it's not called Mario World, it's called Nintendo Park. And it's not made of green steel pipes, but of icy half-pipes.
Yep, Nintendo Park is a freestyle terrain park at one of the world's best ski resorts, and that's where I am right now. Looking for Princess Peach!
In the meantime, since I won't be putting up new posts as often, I invite you to check out the Tokyomango archives. There's tons of timeless, fun craziness that you just might have missed along the way!
And if you have any messages for Luigi, leave me a comment and I promise to pass the word on. I ran into him on the Excelerator ski lift, and he promised to back me up on my mission.
