Thursday, April 26, 2012

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Gym Time: Japanese Style

Hello hello hello,

As some of the people who may know me, I'm a bit of a gym enthusiast. I like to try to stay in a certain range of fitness and moving to a new area doesn't always make it easier. That being said, I've managed to find my first fitness center and let me tell you it's nothing like home.

Further, don't be afraid that people saw me taking pictures... I've managed to find an app that works around the mandatory camera noise.


My favorite part about my new gym is that there's this corner of the gym where it literally looks as though all the machines were purchased off of the "as seen on tv" program.  Pictured above, these Japanese are using this 1950's relic of an exercise equipment. This piece is a bit of an upgrade from its predecessor as seen here(1800s).




Next up we have the death bed of balls... really I have no idea what the fuck it is so I had to google it.  (Side note this machine actually came up in the same article as the 1800's piece above hahah) You cant see it that well, but its in the back behind this guy on these stupid circular discs. 


In Japan's defense, I've seen these discs before, but then again they were in the park nearest my house back home.  That park is notorious for massive 20+ people tai chi sessions so I'm going go ahead and call that even.  Regardless, take note of the stupid machine in the background.







Bonus: check out this cool Instagram shot of JC Penney catalog showing the above machines.


Next we have a cool looking wall with buttons... of which I think you play wack-a-mole with them and they tell you your reaction speed or something. Beats me... Japanese are crazy.





This next piece of equipment is an endless supply of LOLs. Apparently the Japanese are huge fans of John Wayne flicks.  This machine was inspired by said movies so as to recreate the feeling from riding a horse all day (please note the stirups). You should see it in action!! Not only does it look retarded, it also happens to be one of the most used pieces of equipment (Young and old alike!). -_- Japanese people please never change.










I can go on forever about this fitness center like how they have a massive gymnasium floor that mixes kendo, judo, hip hop dancing, and MMA-shit; or how they have an archery range, a reserved area for VHS tape stretching routines, and rooms solely for the purpose of table tennis (True story; these old ladies play doubles, do warm-ups, and exercises); but I've grown weary of this post.

Please note that yoked Japanese man in spandex and pink tank tops are not included in each work out.


Monday, April 23, 2012

Random Tidbit #1

I'm starting a little series here as I find myself not having much time to dedicate towards more eloquent posts...

Random tidbit #1

The camera sound on Japanese phones cannot be turned off. Why?
Supposedly because Japanese men love to take upskirt shots on crowded trains.

Huzzah Japan. Huzzah for being amazing.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Wraps on wraps on wraps

Two points for anyone who recognizes this chune.

Japanese culture is a little interesting and by interesting I mean fucking crazy. No, not in a derogatory sense, but in a what the fuck are you thinking kind of sense.

Forewarning: this post will have no photos so you can stop reading now if you like.

Anyways, these Japanese people are obsessed with packaging... It makes no sense why they're so obsessed with packing when they're even more obsessed with recycling.  Anytime you buy something they will bag and tape it. You can buy a fucking pencil at a convenient store and they would bag it  and tape the sides together! They even have tape dispensers in the bagging area of a grocery store for you to use as well and I've seen pretty much every one of the customers use it too.

Example 1: I bought three pastries at a pastry shop. Each pastry was bagged individually, bagged altogether, and then taped. You could have thrown them all in one bag and I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Example 2: Three ready-made pizzas in a grocery store packaged for sale.  Each pizza is packaged individually (understandable) and then packaged altogether (understandable).  This is good enough, but they decided to add a paper tray to hold all the pizzas....?!? Such a waste.

Example 3:  Condoms come individually wrapped and in a box. Who uses condoms?

Sorry I've been gone lately. Work has been a pain in my ass and as a result my creativity is lacking.

G'day.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Photo Dump 2

 I wonder if the Japanese think of what their "cool" translations sound like in English before they do it...

 You can't see this that well, but a really cool photo of an elder couple selling beans and doing math on an abacus.  What's really interesting is that the shop is one street off a main street. 

 Gasoline from above?

 WTF?

 Once again... WTF?  How am I supposed to clean that when I pee all over it?
 Found in this mega store... They were selling these aquarium species, but from the looks of it those jars are sealed. I wonder if they even feed them.

 Yes, 4 liters of whiskey. Its only ~$40.
I'm not a baseball fan, but I'm definitely from southern California. Found in a gaijin bar (go figure).

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Missed photo opp

Dude next to me had a ferret in his bike basket.
Update: nevermind I caught up to him. Rock on pink shirted croc man.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Relaxation club

**Passes by slit in wall**

"Men's Relaxation Club"
"DVDs, Spa, Massage"

Wtf is this?

**Creepy old Japanese dude walks in**

Oh, okay. Gotcha.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Nihon Dreams

I was studying Japanese before I went to bed and my dreams were in Japanese.  Wtf!?