Yours truly leaves another putt short of the hole. This was such a
beautiful day, clear sky and vivid colors everywhere. One of those days
you’re just like Wow, I am so glad to be alive! Even if I three
putt every hole!
Author Archives: John Keegan
Reserve your tickets by phone
Yes, in Japan you can already reserve and pay for tickets on the Shinkansen
“bullet train” via your keitai denwa (mobile phone). In
America, we will have that sometime in the future. You know,
when we drive to work in our flying
cars.
Mt. McKinley from a 777
On the way home we were able to see a clear view of Denali out the window of the 777.
Japanese traditional Sushi USB Memory
Saw this at an electronics shop at Narita airport on the way home. Note this is the traditional Japanese USB Memory, not some of that new modern USB memory. This is memory like it used to be.
The countdown for the extinction of CDs is about to begin
Mark Cuban says: The countdown for the extinction of CDs is about to begin: When it happens, the music industry will EXPLODE and sales and profits will go through the roof.
He makes some great points:
MP3 players are changing peoples listening habits. We dont carry folders filled with CDs anymore. We carry our library in our MP3 players. We dont listen to CDs. We listen to playlists that we adjust all the time. We dont burn CDs anymore, its too time consuming. We copy all our music to our MP3 players so its all available at our fingertips.
All of our music in a single device. Available to us where ever we are, for whenever we want it. Music how we want it, when we want it. Easy and breezy. Thats how we want to consume music.
Even Hello Kitty has a blog
Daily Yomiuri: Companies count on blogs to cut cost of Web.
Some companies are taking a more creative approach to promoting their products, as shown by world-famous celebrity cat Hello Kitty.
Of course, the fictional kitty doesn’t write her own blog, which is run by character-goods maker Sanrio Co., inventor of the character. But the company uses the blog to bring the cat to life, making her a familiar character and bringing her closer to her fans.
Click here to access the list of Hello Kitty blogs (Japanese).
Circle K has it all
This shot really highlights how advanced this country is. We’re not in
the metropolis of Tokyo, but in the suburbs of Shizuoka Prefecture. In
fact, some Japanese would refer to this as a “country” area. But around
the corner from here, the Circle K convenience store can sell you blank
DVDs, ADSL splitters, line noise filters, USB mobile phone connector kits…
What kind of sausage is that?
A trip to the convenience store in Japan yields exciting finds. Like Homo
Sausage. I was thinking about what kind of funny comment I would
write about this, but I don’t think it is necessary to say anything
else.
Fuji from Izu
A shot of Fuji from the Izu peninsula.
1 We need to reach you
This restaurant needs to reach you in fresh food to your comforable
life and smling. And they will stop at nothing until they do.
1 Japan’s shrinking population
It’s not news that Japan’s shrinking population is a big problem, but it was a surprise to me how quickly it’s being felt. A Washington Post article A baby bust empties out Japan’s schools gives some startling facts:
Japan’s disappearing schools are emblematic of the problem. More than 2,000 elementary, junior high and high schools nationwide have been forced to close over the past decade. The number of elementary and junior high students fell from 13.42 million in 1994 to 10.86 million last year. An estimated 63,000 teachers have lost their jobs. Even as the percentage of people over 65 steadily climbs, an estimated 300 more schools a year are scheduled to shut their doors over the next several years…
Which would explain exactly why there were so few kids at Fuji Safari Park today…
1 Where the animals run free…
… and the people are in cages. That was the slogan of Jungle Habitat, a shortlived safari theme park created by Warner Brothers in the early 70s. Today we visited Fuji Safari Park and did see lions, tigers, and bears. And cheetahs, giraffes, and elephants.
We rode the Lion Bus.
Get your motor running
The indash LCD of the Honda Odyssey lets us know many things as we are travelling the Tomei expressway. Here it is telling us what town and prefecture we are in, how many kilometers to the next rest area, when we can expect to arrive there, and that we can expect ¥850 in tolls when we get off the highway.
2 Touch pad sushi
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the conveyor belt sushi shops which are known as kaiten zushi. I had never actually been in one before, but there’s now a new twist, one which shouldn’t be entirely unexpected if you know anything about Japan…
For those folks sitting at tables out of reach of the conveyor belt area, touch screens allow you to view the menu and place your order without the hassle of actually having to speak to your waiter or waitress.
Yakiniku
Yakiniku is one of my favorite meals in Japan. Thin slices of beef grilled over a flame, dipped in sauce, washed down with a cold one… Heavenly.