There are two kinds of toilets in Japan*. There is the ultra-modern, super-powered, western-style version with buttons for two types of sprays of controllable intensities and another one that makes a flushing sound for the modest. (I tried this one. It plays the recorded sound of a toilet flushing until you push the “stop” button**.) … Read more
You see, they have this stuff called fur.
Courtesy of Cameron, who has a much better camera and the ability to use it: I swear, the trip gets more exciting when we get out of the green spaces.
On our first full day in Tokyo, we wandered over to a public park in Shinjuku, near where we were staying. It cost about two dollars to get in, which I guess I understand, since someone has to pay for wrapping the trees: The hydrangeas were in bloom, and there were lots of noisy crows … Read more
One of the things I was particularly curious about seeing in Japan was the vending machines (I know, my life is so thrilling you just can’t stand it). I’d heard the rumors about them– that they were everywhere, and sold everything, you could get breakfast, lunch dinner and beer and a three-piece suit, just by … Read more
Kitten! That’s right, in accordance with blogging rule 7, section 33a, subsection q, I am posting pictures of my cat. Specifically, of the new kitten captured by a friend of my mom’s from a colony of barn cats. Sex unknown, name as yet undetermined*, he or she is currently passing the time by hiding (somewhat … Read more
This just in: Jewelry designer Maya Brenner is now offering necklaces featuring all fifty states. I’m thinking of getting Colorado: Or maybe Wyoming:
Of all the great cities in the world, Tokyo, it must be said, is probably among the ugliest. It is fascinating, energetic, odd, charming and exciting even when there is nothing specific going on, but it is not at all beautiful. There is no iconic skyline to wow you on the train ride from the … Read more
Or: What I Blogged on My Summer Vacation Greetings from San Mateo, which is notably Not Tokyo. You may have noticed a lack of blogging over the last week, if you notice that sort of thing. My apologies, but it turned out that free wifi wasn’t easy to come by in Tokyo, and I’m too … Read more
I seem to be going to Japan tomorrow. I probably could have mentioned this at some point. I’ll try to blog while I’m there, depending on internet availability and iPod function, but Twitter may be slightly more reliable. Either way, I should have lots of stories to take far too long to tell when I … Read more