Shibuya

I went to Shibuya yesterday evening to meet Lindsay, an old colleague from Deutsche Bank, and her husband who are honeymooning in Japan. Unfortunately, I arranged to meet them on Saturday 18th June. Do you see the problem? Yes, Saturday was in fact the 13th of June. I was hoping that they would turn up at 5pm yesterday at the famous Hachiko statue but they never arrived. I guess they will turn up on the 18th June which in fact is Thursday. Unfortunately, I will be working then so it doesn't look like we will be meeting up at all.

After waiting around for 30 minutes on the off chance that Lindsay and her husband would turn up, I decided to head over to the book department in Tower Records. There is a comic strip series that I wanted to buy called 'Charisma Man'. This comic series gained cult status among the male expat community in Japan around the end of the last decade. Some of the situations, although exaggerated, accurately reflect the preferential and positive discrimination that Western males often experience in this country. A few samples below: Whilst receiving such attention and preferential treatment is nice, it does lead many Western males into behavior that would not be tolerated in their home countries. There are a lot of arrogant and charmless scumbags around who have come to the conclusion that they are special and deserving of the attention they get. For most of these individuals, they are just like Charisma Man, regarded as losers and dweebs in their home countries. A lot of them are in need of a good thump.

Unfortunately, the staff at Tower Records said that 'Charisma Man' is no longer in print, so I guess I will have to do a search on Amazon or eBay if I am serious about getting a copy.

As I was in Shibuya, I decided that I might as well get a beer before heading home to Kumegawa. Unfortunately, the whole of Shibuya was flooded with people....no room to breath, no space on the pavements, impossible to walk in a straight line, lines of people queueing outside every restaurant and bar. I decided to compromise and went to The Dubliners Bar in Shinjuku for a couple of pints of Kilkenny.

I am not really a fan of The Dubliners as it is often full of Charisma Man types whose favorite topic of conversation is usually themselves. However, I got lucky and talked to an old (75) British gentleman called Patrick who I have met a few times before and who has had a long and successful relationship with Japan. He has made his career out of importing British goods to Japan and seems to have done well for himself. He has also published a couple of childrens books and started marathon running. He told me he completed the Honolulu Marathon last December. It turns out he is also the Royal Air Force representative for the British Legion in Tokyo and will meet the British Defense Secretary on his forthcoming visit to Japan. However, Patrick is planning to put the pressure on the Defense Secretary as he is unhappy that some British politicians have claimed expenses in lieu of donations made to the UK armed forces benevolent funds.

Anyway, an ultimately unsuccessful trip to Shibuya as I was unable to meet up with my former colleague and Charisma Man.

In the meantime, another busy week at work beckons and the excitement is continuing to build for the trip to Scotland. Clara has a nice new suitcase and can't wait for her holiday to start.

2007 - Year of the Boar

Happy New Year to all. In Japan, people send New Year cards which are usually adorned with the creature from the Chinese zodiac that represents the forthcoming year.

After spending Christmas week (including Xmas Day) sitting at my desk at school, I was really looking forward to a good 5 day break in Tokyo over New Year. The break was pretty good. I met up with a friend from the Isle of Skye for a curry in Shibuya - we met at the Hachiko statue which is a famous meeting place in Tokyo. The curry restaurant was called Raj Palace and was cheap but the food was nice. As usual, I ordered one of the hottest dishes on the menu and therefore I ended up leaving half of it. Will I ever learn my lesson?

What else did I do in Tokyo? Well, I bought a good suit which will hopefully assist me in finding a plumb job in Tokyo. I spent a lot of time watching the new Sharp Aquos 65 inch TV which Yuki's Dad bought. I went to my favourite local bar a couple of times which was nice and I found out that one of the customers is host to a weekly TV programme - I thought he looked vaguely familiar. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name or that of the programme he presents so you'll just have to take my word for it.

On the 3rd, we drove back up to Shimogo as I needed to do two half days of desk sitting at Arakai JHS. Today (Friday), I drove to Daikurayama ski area with the intention of picking up the new area ski pass which gives access to 4 ski areas. I was disappointed to be told I was not eligible to buy this type of ski pass and now I have to settle for a ski pass at the same cost but that gives me unlimited access to Daikura only. Pretty disappointing really, especially after being told yesterday by staff at Daikura that I would be eligible for the new style ski pass. Oh well......I either have to accept the situation or change into the Hulk and sort them out. I'll probably accept the situation and buy the same pass that I've bought for the past 3 years.

I went skiing today to Daikura and it was not great to be honest. Although the weather was wonderful, the snow was pretty light and icy in most places. I'm worried it won't change for the rest of the season. In previous years the snowfall has been REALLY heavy but not this year. Snowfall in the European Alps has also been pretty bad and many people blame global warming. I'm praying for heavy snow but I have to face the possibility that this skiing season will be short and conditions poor. If I had the ski pass that I wanted, I would have been able to go the ski ski area with the best snow. Grrrrrr........Classes start again next week although we are lucky that Monday is a national holiday. I'll probably go skiing to Daikura.