Over the past week i’ve had a great mate of mine from Australia in town. Motts has made the most of his time here in Tokyo and has also managed to get a few days down to Kyoto mid week and a day in Nagoya Sunday for the Sumo.
Motts has been a massive supporter and regular reader of this site since it’s launch and it was great to show him somethings i love about Japan first hand. On the weekend It was too hot to do the next installment on the JR Yamanote Line although he was angling for it … instead we spent a lazy Saturday down at Shonan Beach, Enoshima.
Shonan Beach is about an hour away on the Odakyu line if you take the Limited Express Romance Car, the hour is made easy with a few cans of the local brew.
It was hands down, one of the best days i’ve had in Japan, sitting in a bar on the beach is something i’ve done in many many countries and Saturday was the first time i’d done it in Japan.
It’s a different side of Japan down that way, and the memories of past holidays in Ilha da Itaparica in Brazil and Jomtien Beach in Thailand came flooding back.
The beach isn’t exactly the golden sand of the Gold Coast and the water isn’t the bluest in the world, there’s also plenty of shite that’s been washed up on the shores.
The first iPhone in Japan will be sold too Hiroyuki Sano who has been in line since Monday night at 11pm. At the moment, Wednesday afternoon there are 26 people in line.
Sano-san made his way up from Nagoya to Tokyo at a cost greater than the iPhone itself and has taken 4 days off University this week . While i was there he was interviewed no less than 10 times by local and international press.
After being asked by one guy whether i was international media and then doing an quick interview with the Nippon Television Network i made a hasty exit with my footage. I hope the interview doesn`t make it to air because my Japanese was disgraceful … it`s much better after a few beers.
Here`s some footage i took with my new camera, i had to scale it back from full HD as i`m still not able to get the clips up onto Vimeo at that resolution. Sano-san is the guy with the white jacket on by the way …. not roadside, that`s his mate i think. Unfortunately the embedded version here isn`t HD but you can check it out t Vimeo. VERY happy with Vimeo so far though …. very easy to use, thanks for the tip Ale.
Every now and then i come across something in Japan that makes me appreciate this country for it’s uniqueness and the new emerging trend of ear cleaning parlours is just that.
While mooching about the internet last week i came across an article Hector had written and i decided to look into it a little further, i may even try and locate one of these parlours in the near future and see what it’s all about first hand.
At the Yamamoto Mimikakiten you can get the girl of your choice to clean out your ears and give you a massage for about $45, pretty cheap for an hours pampering. No hanky panky is tolerated on the premises so it’s all above board.
The girls working there are all dressed in traditional Japanese clothing which i think adds a nice touch to the service.
After selecting the girl of your choice you can go and read a little bit more about her from her personal blog.
The process seems pretty straight forward. After brief introductions and a green tea it’s straight down to business.
Put your head on the girls lap and let her go to work starting with a lobe massage, this may or may not be designed to loosen the ear wax.I’m sure it feels nice either way.
Lately i’ve been spending more time out at Shibuya, especially at night … i’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or not, but my interest in Shibuya increased right about the time i saw this photo from Glenn.
There’s a large mix of people that frequent the streets of Shibuya at night, and the back streets can often provide some unexpected encounters just like this one.
For plenty more great photos from Shibuya at night, covering all different angles, not just the kinky side of Shibuya at night, check out Glenns site.
Last night i went to Shibuya and did some social networking … the old fashioned way, in a crowded bar with a few beers under the belt.
It’s a great night out at Shibuya and certainly a hive of activity for the early 20’s to late 30’s crowd … carefully worded so i can still justify getting out that way.
I went to a bar suggested to me by Glenn, it’s a standing bar that gets going early and gets going well.
There’s no shortage of Gaijin in there on a Saturday night but not like Roppongi, it’s a much better crowd. Unlike many bars in Roppongi, there’s quite a few native Japanese speakers in there too so all round it’s a winner of a place for me.
Beers are 300 yen, food is cheap and plentiful and the conversation in free …. plus they open at 5pm which is right up my alley, early in and early out … none of this 10pm start malarki.
Other more modern methods of Social Networking are the ever increasing internet based sites that, depending on how you use them, can add value or at least a form of entertainment to your life … you might even make a few Friends.
Here’s a list of the sites i use and my profile on them should you want to connect with me.
