The TV Tower, Sapporo, Hokkaido, July 2006.
21 October 2006
Leave Me Alone
An agitated polar bear at the nationally-renown Asahiyama Zoo, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, July 2006.
All Aboard...
Believe it or not, this is a train station. There's not even a station master on the premises.
17 October 2006
Rouru Taido!
I just saw an old Japanese guy wearing a University of Alabama baseball cap near the train station. That's something I thought I'd never see in Japan.
15 October 2006
Purple, Purple Everywhere!
Lavender fields in Nakafurano, Hokkaido, July 2006. This may be the most famous tourist attraction in Hokkaido, and it only lasts for about a month. Needless to say, the pathways were packed (although you can't tell from this picture - a testament to my great photo skills).
11 October 2006
Hot Air
Me in front of a hot-air balloon in Furano, Hokkaido, July 2006. Now, I went here thinking we were going to fly over the town and do a bit of sightseeing from the sky. But we just went up about 200 feet, stayed up there for 3 minutes and came back down. The balloon was tied to the ground the whole time. And we waited in line for that?
05 October 2006
Welcome to Hokkaido
It's about time for me to post the pictures from my second trip to Hokkaido, back in July of this year. I'll start with a picture of our arrival at the (very small) airport in Obihiro.
03 October 2006
Japanese models in Japan? That's so 1950s...
Unlike many ex-pats here, I try to avoid Japan-bashing when I can. After all, Japan is Japan, and the U.S. is the U.S. But I’ve noticed something there that’s really starting to irk me.
If you look at the advertisements in this country – TV, magazines, subway, etc. – you have to be amazed at the sheer amount of foreigners that adorn them. Go into a clothing store, and see pictures of foreigners wearing Japanese-made clothing. Watch TV, and see foreigners drinking alcohol only made in Japan, or driving a made-for-Japan automobile in the streets of Japan. (It should be noted that 99% of the time, these foreigners are Caucasian.)
In addition to that, I guarantee you that if you look at any advertisement or catalog advertising pajamas, underwear or lingerie, 9 times out of 10, the models will be (white) foreigners. (And not the type of mature models we see in the States, either; usually they’re skinny and high-school-student-looking.)
This drives me crazy. After all, this is Japan, where about 95% of the population is ethnically Japanese. Why in the world do a disproportionate number of ads have foreigners? What makes Japanese advertising companies want to whip up ads with white people?
I truly don’t understand this, even though I’ve heard two reasons for this. a) Japanese have an inferiority complex, and b)Japanese think foreigners look more beautiful. I don’t by any of that. First, the Japanese I know always defend their customs and heritage. They tend to not bash themselves (unless they’re talking about yamanba). Second, there are plenty of beautiful Japanese out there. How many girls want to be like Ayumi Hamasaki, and how many girls drool over those stupid Johnnies boy bands?
My family and relatives used to subscribe to prominent African-American magazines like Jet and Ebony. You would see nothing but blacks in the ads, whether its McDonalds or Buick. Could you imagine the outcry if they instead had white models, or Hispanic ones? Back home every now and then, I would watch Univision or Telemundo, just for kicks. The commercials, 9 times out of 10, had Hispanics in them. What if they started to put Asian models in them? Do you think Hispanics would be satisfied?
Maybe it’s just me, but it just makes sense that if you are going to target a group of people, you want your ads to represent that people well. Apparently, many Japanese advertisers have a different philosophy, one I can’t figure out.
If you look at the advertisements in this country – TV, magazines, subway, etc. – you have to be amazed at the sheer amount of foreigners that adorn them. Go into a clothing store, and see pictures of foreigners wearing Japanese-made clothing. Watch TV, and see foreigners drinking alcohol only made in Japan, or driving a made-for-Japan automobile in the streets of Japan. (It should be noted that 99% of the time, these foreigners are Caucasian.)
In addition to that, I guarantee you that if you look at any advertisement or catalog advertising pajamas, underwear or lingerie, 9 times out of 10, the models will be (white) foreigners. (And not the type of mature models we see in the States, either; usually they’re skinny and high-school-student-looking.)
This drives me crazy. After all, this is Japan, where about 95% of the population is ethnically Japanese. Why in the world do a disproportionate number of ads have foreigners? What makes Japanese advertising companies want to whip up ads with white people?
I truly don’t understand this, even though I’ve heard two reasons for this. a) Japanese have an inferiority complex, and b)Japanese think foreigners look more beautiful. I don’t by any of that. First, the Japanese I know always defend their customs and heritage. They tend to not bash themselves (unless they’re talking about yamanba). Second, there are plenty of beautiful Japanese out there. How many girls want to be like Ayumi Hamasaki, and how many girls drool over those stupid Johnnies boy bands?
My family and relatives used to subscribe to prominent African-American magazines like Jet and Ebony. You would see nothing but blacks in the ads, whether its McDonalds or Buick. Could you imagine the outcry if they instead had white models, or Hispanic ones? Back home every now and then, I would watch Univision or Telemundo, just for kicks. The commercials, 9 times out of 10, had Hispanics in them. What if they started to put Asian models in them? Do you think Hispanics would be satisfied?
Maybe it’s just me, but it just makes sense that if you are going to target a group of people, you want your ads to represent that people well. Apparently, many Japanese advertisers have a different philosophy, one I can’t figure out.
28 September 2006
Down Time
Hey, sorry about not posting much in recent months. I've hit a wall with my blog; I've lost my motivation for it. I've just been posting about my life, but some of you have said that's boring.
I do have to admit, my life is kind of boring, though.
So, here's what I'm wondering. Since you guys read this blog, what would you like me to post about? More details about my life? Happenings in Japan/Osaka? Anything that I don't do often that you would like me to do more often?
This blog isn't dead (yet) - just suffering some down time while I figure out what to do. Don't give up!
I do have to admit, my life is kind of boring, though.
So, here's what I'm wondering. Since you guys read this blog, what would you like me to post about? More details about my life? Happenings in Japan/Osaka? Anything that I don't do often that you would like me to do more often?
This blog isn't dead (yet) - just suffering some down time while I figure out what to do. Don't give up!
17 August 2006
Pharrell "In My Mind" Review
I’ve listened to Pharrell’s new CD In My Mind for a few weeks now, so I thought I’d give my first-ever CD review.
The CD is pretty cool. I like the beats and the production a lot, but I have to say this: Pharrell makes better productions when he works with Chad as the Neptunes than he does by himself. Listening to this CD, you can easily tell how much of an effect Chad has on the great Neptunes productions.
That said, it still is a great CD, and I find my head bobbing to a lot of the tracks. However, this is not near the level of N.E.R.D.’s Fly or Die, my all-time favorite CD. Fly or Die was different than anything else out there, and it was well-produced. Plus, it sounds like the kind of music I would make if I had some musically-inclined friends and production skills. I could relate to that. But on In My Mind, we find Pharrell being mostly materialistic on many of the rap tracks, just like most rappers out there today. That threw me off a bit.
Anyway, there are many cool songs on this CD. I don’t like the first two singles, “Can I Have It Like That” and “Angel,” too much. I love the next one though: “Number One”. Great song. Other good songs: “How Does It Feel”, “Best Friend”, “You Can Do It Too”, “That Girl”, and “Young Girl/I Really Like You.” With so many songs I like, it’s the best CD I’ve bought this year.
The CD is pretty cool. I like the beats and the production a lot, but I have to say this: Pharrell makes better productions when he works with Chad as the Neptunes than he does by himself. Listening to this CD, you can easily tell how much of an effect Chad has on the great Neptunes productions.
That said, it still is a great CD, and I find my head bobbing to a lot of the tracks. However, this is not near the level of N.E.R.D.’s Fly or Die, my all-time favorite CD. Fly or Die was different than anything else out there, and it was well-produced. Plus, it sounds like the kind of music I would make if I had some musically-inclined friends and production skills. I could relate to that. But on In My Mind, we find Pharrell being mostly materialistic on many of the rap tracks, just like most rappers out there today. That threw me off a bit.
Anyway, there are many cool songs on this CD. I don’t like the first two singles, “Can I Have It Like That” and “Angel,” too much. I love the next one though: “Number One”. Great song. Other good songs: “How Does It Feel”, “Best Friend”, “You Can Do It Too”, “That Girl”, and “Young Girl/I Really Like You.” With so many songs I like, it’s the best CD I’ve bought this year.
13 August 2006
Breakin' A Sweat
For me, there's nothing I like better about Japanese culture than the bathing culture. Onsens, sentos... they're all good. That was confirmed once again yesterday, when I went with my GF to a nearby super sento, or lavish public bath facility.
This place was good. They had clean, spic-and-span bathing areas. They had an outside bath with a big screen TV, where all the men had crowded around to watch the national high school baseball championships. I don't like baseball all that much, but I joined in for a few minutes.
Besides just bathing, I also had a very good (but expensive) massage. It lasted only 20 minutes, but I still feel the benefits of it. My GF had some kind of face massage as well.
However, the highlight of our trip (actually, the lowlight for me) was a "sweat sauna". You just go into this hot room, wearing this special bathrobe, lay down and sweat heavily for about 35 minutes. I guess you're supposed to feel good after sweating all kinds of garbage out of your system, but I just felt... well... sweaty. Didn't feel good at all. That was money down the drain for me, but my GF just loved it. I guess that means we're going back, huh?
This place was good. They had clean, spic-and-span bathing areas. They had an outside bath with a big screen TV, where all the men had crowded around to watch the national high school baseball championships. I don't like baseball all that much, but I joined in for a few minutes.
Besides just bathing, I also had a very good (but expensive) massage. It lasted only 20 minutes, but I still feel the benefits of it. My GF had some kind of face massage as well.
However, the highlight of our trip (actually, the lowlight for me) was a "sweat sauna". You just go into this hot room, wearing this special bathrobe, lay down and sweat heavily for about 35 minutes. I guess you're supposed to feel good after sweating all kinds of garbage out of your system, but I just felt... well... sweaty. Didn't feel good at all. That was money down the drain for me, but my GF just loved it. I guess that means we're going back, huh?
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