Things I learned today

-Apparently its cheaper for a person in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Africa and Malaysia to buy used luxury cars from Japan because of taxes or something. Further, said cars actually have an increase in resale value after being owned for a year... strange.

-The Japanese school system is shit. Everyone knows this and believes so for various reasons, but this particular reason I learned was rather new to me. Instead of allowing children to skip ahead or fall behind grades they are forced to stay at the same age level as their cohorts. As such, gifted children are forced to move to "better" schools that they can learn at their appropriate level.

-Another Japanese education system tidbit: you don't need to go to high school; so if you're really fucking retarded and want to go to school you have to go to a private highschool (yes it costs more) because you probably won't pass the entrance exam for public highschools..

Attractions

Sometimes I'm really attracted to ugly Japanese women. Dunno.

How I Made My First Million

I moved to Japan.

Prices You Pay for Mens Fashion

This is why I hate shopping in Japan:

So lets do some math...

Japan Price
4,300 / 80 = $53.75

$53.75
-28.00
$25.75

So you're telling me that a shirt that is ALREADY marked down 50% is still twice as expensive as bought directly from the brand itself?

Japanese people piss me off because they are probably the sheepiest of sheep people I have ever met (in terms of fashion but other things as well)... These people will buy anything because its "cool." I read a brief study on how most men my age are nearly poor because they spend all their money on trying to look cool. Apparently, appearing wealthy is suuuuper important to them. Important in most countries, but I guess its pretty bad here.

This is a fucking T-SHIRT. Its probably a fucking Hanes t-shirt. Go spend your money elsewhere fucking idiots.

*********************************


UPDATE:
I checked shipping and it only costs $25.11 to ship to Japan... so do the math.

$25.75
-25.11
$   .64

Its $.64 cheaper plus Japanese shipping (I didn't factor it in).

Porn #2

Apparently this is a fetish in Japan.

Porn

The sale of uncensored porn is illegal in Japan.

http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/99933.php

Otsukaresama and Deal with it

Short answer first; there's no way to say "deal with it" in Japanese.

Long answer to follow at a later date.

Autumn Foliage

Autumn Foliage? Is that what we call it? I don't remember after living here in Japan for so long... My English has gotten worse, but whatever. The Japanese love their changing of the seasons. In spring they have parties to enjoy cherry blossoms and in winter they parties to enjoy autumn foliage. We don't see that much back home so its kind of interesting, but the cold fucking weather that goes with it sucks.

  

These are from Kourankei... It's one of the most famous in Japan. Being a horrible tourist that I am I don't have a good camera so these camera phone photos will have to suffice.

 

Trash Day

Trash Day in a suburban neighborhood.

Eating at Outdoor Establishments in Winter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu

I saw this the other day walking by a restaurant, but forgot to make fun of how shoddy it looked... turns out its an actual "thing." Interesting idea... I guess.

My Thoughts on Taipei

I went to Taipei recently for a quick four day trip. After doing some research I found out I got ripped off on the flight its only $230 from Osaka (Peach airlines) compared to $450 from Nagoya. Oh well, its a lot easier from Nagoya than having to get to Osaka.

Anyways, I wanted to write this so I don't forget what I saw in Taipei. You can see most of the photos on my facebook.

-Toilet paper: In half the toilets in Taipei (even nice public ones) there is a trashbin for used TP... This is strange but there is a huge "green" movement in Taipei.

-Eco-friendly: Mentioned above, there is a huge movement in Taipei. There are a lot of solar panels, recycling system similar to Japan, TP usage above, and just tons of technology being used (and advertising their use) on/in buildings

-Food: Cheap as fuck and still really delicious.. although some of the places look pretty damn shoddy.

-Women: not as pretty as japanese women and dress rather poorly. I even went to the most expensive malls on a friday and still no one... didnt make it to a club though =(

-Asian culture: similar to japanese where the people just like to hang out at shopping arcades, McDonalds, or a coffee shop.

-Breastfeeding- this is HUGE in Taipei. There are literally more breastfeeding signs on walls and subways then bathroom signs. Why? I have no idea...

-Bball- Taiwanese love themselves some bball. Nike is a huge brand and there are NBA signs everywhere... not to mention Jeremy lin.

-Playboy- Not only is the playboy bunny seen everywhere, and accepted, (clothing/accessories); but it's also the word asians (Japanese and Taiwanese) use for male slut/ player. "player" isnt much different from "playboy" but it just sounds funny coming from asian women.

-Sightseeing- I dont think there was much to really see... there were supposed to be some nice places that you could take a bus to see, but i never really made it there.

Poetry - There was a lot of random poetic plaques found throughout Taipei... Taiwanese seem to enjoy their poetry tons more than Japanese people.

All in all, this place is a great place to just relax, eat, and drink with the locals. They are really nice people and everything is cheap. Mix in some sightseeing, shopping, and local food for an all around good experience.

Thanks Taiwan.

Simple Improvements

...that everybody can enjoy =)

Its a hell of a lot easier than having to rip open the package.

Water Lotion

Apparently "water lotion" is normal in Japan... I wasn't sure if this exists in America because I don't buy cosmetic products often so I asked a girl. She confirmed that she's never seen something so interesting. This bottle is actually a more expensive bottle, but you can buy cheap $1 ones at the convenience store and what not. Let me tell you though, this lotion is no joke. The weather here in Japan ruins my skin (like embarrassing dry red marks on my face) and this lotion is a savior. So don't be put off by its "watery-ness."

My Dinner in with a Lady Friend.

After a long day of work there's not much I'd like to do, but have some insta-ramen have enjoy the company of a female companion; however, I've grown tired of going out to find such women so I've turned towards convenience and settled for these women.

Yes, Japan is crazy and you can now (apparently the site i learned this from recycled the post 1.5 years after they originally posted it) have a dinner date with a Japanese woman from the convenience of a simple DVD. Yay.

On another note its amazing how many ways Japanese students come up with a way to say they stayed home and watched movies.  By far the winner is, "I like watch DBDs."

Men's Fashion Magazines

To add to the insanity known as Japanese fashion magazines.

Make-up for men!

Japanese Children Sleeping Quarters

Apparently its normal for children to sleep in their parents' bed until the age of ten or eleven. A student of mine told me that pretty 50% of the families in Japan do it...

I'm famous in Japan... or at least on one girls blog

During my summer trip through Japan, my sister and I met this Japanese lady who kindly asked to interview us. 

This is my story.

Photo Dump 5

 Taken from the entrance of a Japanese apartment. That rug is like 6 feet by 4 feet. You can probably fit two of those side by side and that would be the entire floor space of that room. Kitchen is shown and the bathroom/shower are in the hallway to the right and left.

Examine this shampoo with your whole heart. 

Translation fail.

Male or Female?

Japanese kids like pet beetles...

Pet ferret!

Pet... squirrel?!!

The important thing isn't the cat, but the price tag. 348,000 Yen = 4,400 USD.
Fuck that, cats just scratch and tear all your shit up anyways.

Birthday Dinner =)

Year-round fireworks shop =)

Kids classes!

Kids classes!

LOOKS LIKE SOME PAIN IS ON THE MENU

We had to.. it was for Gion Matsuri.

Drunk foreigners wandering in a sea of Japanese people.

Didn't stay for the parade, but this is one of the floats.

America 1/3

America 2/3

America 3/3

View from Kiyomizu-dera.

Japanese makeshift fence... I want to meet the guy who designed these cuz there were millions of these guys all over the city.

Translation fail.

Translation fail.

Translation fail.

How hot is it in Japan?

Moisture wicking shirts don't wick sweat anymore. They just soak it up.

TJI: Japanese Hippies

This is what Japanese Hippies look like... in my opinion they're doing it all wrong. You're supposed to pass out the acid before you start playing with this toys.

Sorry for the sideways video.