Got on the subway this afternoon and stood near the door. As the train passed from the station platform into the tunnel, I noticed a tired-looking guy in a suit just staring out into the darkness. He had dark circles under his eyes and seemed oblivious to his surroundings. Our eyes met briefly. Then he [...]

Some night views are pleasing in more subtle ways. Here’s an image of Yokohama’s Minatomirai that doesn’t normally spring to mind.

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Last night, I met up with Prometheus, a fellow Japan blogger who also holds photography as one of his hobbies. You can check out some of his work at his new site Floating Camera Tokyo. We had planned to do some shooting together, but found a cool, little bar near Shinjuku 3-Chome to chill at [...]

Is this cigarette vending machine advertisement limited to just machines in Japan? Do those who smoke it in Japan really like to smoke it? Is Village People smoker fashion the new gay in the land of the rising sun?
Whatever the motivation behind this ad campaign is, it’s a bit disturbing.

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Showa Kinen Koen 昭和記念公園 is a huge park in Tachikawa 立川, about a 40-minute train ride from Shinjuku on the JR Chuo Line.
There are tons of things to do there, like have a huge-ass barbecue with lots of friends, take a paddle boat out for a spin on the lake, play all kinds of sports, [...]

(To the melody of “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”)
Do you know the Nick’n Roll?
The Nick’n Roll, the Nick’n Roll
Do you know the Nick’n Roll?
In Shimokita town
Ok, so they won’t be hiring me to write their TV jingle, if they ever make a commercial. That’s OK, I’ve got a decent day job.
NICK’N ROLL is a [...]

Had my camera on hand at the beginning of the Golden Week vacation while meandering in Shibuya. Of course, I snapped anything that captured my attention, which is not hard to do. Keeping it is a whole different story, but anyway, here are a few Shibuya sights.

Not many chances to stand directly over a major [...]

I think it prudent that when marketing a beer to those whose existences are much less than adequately fulfilling, a beer company should spice up the drink’s name a little.
Oh, well… Maybe this is the new-type straightforward thinking of Japan in the new millenium.

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I’m going to admit, somewhat embarrassedly, that for the better part of a decade of living in Japan, I’ve been clueless about what makes sushi-bar sushi better than kaiten sushi.
That changed for me on Friday night, though.
As I’ve mentioned before, the little town of Umegaoka in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo is well-known for a sushi restaurant called [...]

If you’re like me, you’re a spirit free enough to take it slow, even in a public restroom stall.
Often, I see the Babytrapper in Tokyo public toilets, but until recently, I never paid attention to the instructions for use.

1. 目を離さない - Don’t take your eyes off the baby.
Wat?! What else is the Babytrapper for than [...]

A lot of ex-pats keep blogs chronicling the daily or weekly events of their lives abroad. And most have the Hey everyone, this is my neighborhood! post.
Last year, I wrote a post about how my neighborhood (was living in Shibuya then) was a pretty good representation of how ugly some Tokyo neighborhoods really are, despite [...]