Strange thing about sports clubs.

You know, I noticed something very very peculiar about sports clubs here. Everyone works out in silence. No one seems to talk to each other and if you happen to talk too loudly with a friend, then the club staff come and ask you to keep your voice down. Very strange.

Why is this? In the States, if there's a person standing near you, whether you know that person or not, conversations just pop right up. Why don't Japanese people have conversations with strangers? Is it considered rude?

Just for you!

I have a friend who's in love with the Doraemon character and used to collect anything that was Doraemon. Although I realize that by now, since she's finishing up grad school and about to start med school, her interest in it must've waned, but I still find myself quickly wondering if I should get the Doramon stuff for her or not whenever I spot them in the store.

After seeing this Doraemon thing at the drugstore, I commented that I ought to get it for my friend since she would probably like it. But then the friend I was with said "You're going to send her shampoo??" and it dawned on me that maybe sending a bottle of Doraemon shampoo all the way to the States didn't make much sense. But I still thought it was cute so took a picture of it instead for her to enjoy.

Japanese Strawberries!!! Mmmmm

Strawberries in Japan are to die for! They're not tart and "crunchy" like the ones in the States. Here, they basically just melt in your mouth the moment you take a bite. They're really soft and have a sweet smell that just immediately draws you to them. Since they're so delicate, you won't find them in those green baskets like you do in the States. They come neatly arranged in rows and in plastic containers. The downside is, they're quite expensive like everything else in Japan, but once in a while, it's nice to splurge :).

Museum somewhere in Kobe

I think this is the first time I went to a museum in Japan. Actually, that's not quite true, I'm sure I must have gone on field trips to museums while I attended school in Japan, but that period of my life I consider a black hole and I don't remember much from it.

Anyways, I love museums. Back in my P.U.C. art major days, we'd sometimes go over to San Fransisco and spend the whole day gallery hopping or visiting museums. It was great. I love reading autobioghraphies and biographies since you get to experience what unfolds in the book...I think looking at art is a similar experience. It's like you get to slip back or forward in time and have a conversation with the artists.

Whenever I see artwork, I love to get up really close and see the brushstrokes. When I do that, I feel like I can sense the artist's presence right there.

One of my favorite museums is the Paul Ghetty Center in Southern California. I really fell in love with the architecture. I think I could spend the whole entire day there just walking around and gazing at the architecture. Oh, I wish I could do that! I want to visit more museums here in Japan, but getting to the museum and paying for the entrance fee all adds up so it's a bit difficult. That's one thing I like about the States. You can enjoy culture without having to pay a fortune. Wish it were like that here too.

Tons of cookies

I haven't done much cooking lately, but last x-mas, I suddenly decided that it'd be fun to make cookies for all the students at the school I'm working at.

I'm not much for planning ahead for these things, so I quickly looked for a cookie recipe online, jotted down the ingredients, randomly decided that doubling the recipe would be enough and went out to buy the ingredients.

I went to the store and started putting whatever was needed into my shopping basket, and reached the last item on the list...butter. I didn't know that butter cost so much, and with my limited budget, I was tempted to substitute it with margarine, but after making a call to my mom to see if it would taste different, I decided I had to go with the real stuff.

Once I mixed all the ingredients and made the cookie dough, I was surprised at how much was sitting before me. I realized I'd need help cutting out all the cookies and baking them, so I asked a friend from work for help and we ended up making cookies for most of the following day! The cookies turned out great and the kids were quite happy with them, so it was well worth it. But I probably won't attempt the same thing again...

Two tomatoes for sale!

Whoa! They wrap tomatoes and put them on styrofoam trays over here! I know this shouldn't surprise me since I've already been shocked that they individually wrap and protect apples, pears, and other fruits here so that they can even withstand earthquakes or whatever natural disaster that might come their way. Food is really important in the Japanese culture...

So much attention to details...

I ate a small cup of instant udon noodles the other day and was surprised to find small fish cakes(?) in the shape of flowers in the soup! I think eating must be an art form here in Japan. This mini-cup-of-udon was something like a hundred yen, but yet they still paid attention the presentation of the udon. Amazing, don't you think? In the States, you buy 10 packs of ramen for a dollar and there's absolutely no concern over how the noodles will look to the eye(or taste, for that matter...).

Christmas cake...

Cakes in Japan are SO fancy and cute. They're so delicately made that I almost think they're meant to look at and not for eating. This was a christmas cake my friend ordered for her family.

In Japan, the purpose of christmas seems to be to eat these really really cute cakes made especially for christmas. People pre-order the cake of their choosing and get in long lines to pick them up on x-mas day. Interesting.

This cake on the right, it was a surprise birthday cake my friend's family ordered for me 2 years ago(maybe it was last year)...but I have this vague memory that I didn't get to eat a single bite of it because I was really sick on my birthday and I couldn't eat anything. So I took a picture of it instead.

Interesting drinks in Japan

I haven't updated my blog in such a long time! My digital camera is having a fit these days, so I need to take it apart and try to fix it again. To my big surprise, I took it apart this one time when it wasn't working, then managed to put it together again fairly sure that it wouldn't make a difference...but to my surprise my camera came to life afterwards!!

Well, that's not what I wanted to write about today. I wanted to say that I finally figured out how to transfer pictures I took on my cell phone to my computer, so now I can write stuff again :).

Anyhow, I have a backlog of pictures I've been taking on my cell phone to write about.

The first one is this "BEER" for kids I found in the grocery store!! They actually have bottles that look like beer, it even SAYS "BEER for good kids!" Can you imagine?! Of course, it's not alcohol. It's apple cider or some sort of juice, but still, why would you want to imitate beer and sell it to kids? Personally, I think it's a bad idea they're trying to sell something that looks like beer to kids. Sends the wrong message...

Another interesting drink I found while grocery shopping was a tiny can of Coke! It fits in the palm of your hand, so if you take like 3 gulps (maybe 5), then you've finished the drink. Cute, huh?