Sleeping...

This might sound a little strange, but japanese sleep ...everywhere. Is nothing bad, just a little odd. They sleep on the train, sitting...standing... and in coffee shops. I took this picture at Star Bucks. I wouldn't do it, but the fact was that the Coffee Shop was really crowded, no sitting place, and people in line.

Normally in Europe, we would enquiry if the person doesn't feel well or is anything wrong. And, if the restaurant is really crowded with people waiting, probably, the owner wouldn't be letting her carry on her nap.

In Japan, it seems they don't mind. She slept for a while, and eventually woke up a couple of times ;)...

One thing must be said: In japan can be really, but really humid and the weather is really making you tired. Moreover, some people live quite far from work or school. One of the guys playing at the "Brass Band" in kobe i wrote a while ago, he lives in Kobe but goes to the university in Osaka. He is travelling 1 hour and half to go and 1 hour and half to come back.

Some people do this in europe, too, but the point is that here, in big cities like Tokyo, travelling 1.5 hours to get to work is the average time... and therefore is not unusual for office workes to take a nap somewhere after lunch....

Japanese Economy and 2016 Olympics

Few days ago i shot this pic on the street, in front of a bank. Some old Japanese discussing looking at the Financial Market chart (notice the big drop). I think something happened last week as the YEN suddently went up a lot. Here the economy is not good. A lot of people lost their job, is hard to live, but they try to do as they can.

At the same time, today i came across the commercial below, Japan wishes to be selected for the 2016 Olympic Games. I think hosting the Olympics, is a lot of work, but at the same time, would bring a lot of business and sponsorship from abroad... who knows...

High Tech Japan

Japanese are quite high tech. 10 years ago, during my first trip to japan, the difference between europe and Japan was quite big on the technology side.

Now, things are a little different, but something never change...whenever there is a place for an LCD display...here we go! The above is a rice cooker...

The one below, is a Microwave Oven...the one I took the picture of, was Black and white, but in the shop there were some with Color Screen where you could even see pictures of some food!

Besides the screen, you might not see it very clearly, but below the window a Menu is highlited, showing various options that you can select with the rotating wheel...

One Day in Nara

Last thursday we went with the school to Nara, which is about 1.5 hours train from Kobe. Nara is a well known place for its Shrines and Temples. It was not the first time for me to visit Nara. I went there already last November.

There is an article with all the details on wikipedia, but to give you an idea, some of the most interesting thins are that Nara was the Capital City of Japan for about 70 years, from the 710 to the 780 a.c

The Picture above was taken friday. Is a view of the Todaji Temple. The interesting thing is that this building is the biggest Wooden building in the world.

The picture below was taken in november (HDR) and it shows a dramatic view from one of the many temples.

This week is called "The Golden Week", because many japanese will dave days off. Many companies close and employees get one of the longest holidays for the whole year...about 6 days. During this time, all japanese travel everywhere and prices are at the top.

At the same time, some schools, before the Golden week as last Thursday, use to go sightseing and therefore, we met a lot of young school children...

At the sight of a foreigner (not many around) sometimes they just come....and greet you :). They ask you a couple of things in the little english they know, shake your hand (they see it from the movies, but they maybe never tried it) and try to exchange few words.

They are really nice and during the hour of train to get to nara, they asked many things, like what is my shoes size, my weight...and wondered how big was my nose. You might laught at it, but in japan, many times happened that people, even adults, make a comment on my nose. They kind of like bigger noses and i was told that should be taken as a compliment.

So, after getting to nara, we all said goodbye, but before that, a nice group photo :) Sayonara my little friends!

Soda Float... woah...

At first sight it might look like Mint Syrup, ice, and... ice cream. Right about two third of it. It's not mint, it's Sparkling Melon Soda.

Well, the melon soda itself has a pretty nice taste. The problem is the Vanilla Ice Cream on top of it. For Asians or Americans, this is nothing new as the "Float" is well known. For Europeans, i'm not sure I've ever seen it over there.

I still remember i've tried once. And i made the mistake, not knowing how to drink it, to mix everything togheter. At that time was Coca Cola Float (!!) and I made the mistake of mixing it up and believe me, it was undrinkable. So, i just found out that the right way to enjoy a float, would be to first eat the Ice Cream and then drink the soda.

So, if your kids want an Ice Cream AND a Soda, the float is a good deal to save few pennies and make your kids happy ;)

1st Month Thoughts

One month has passed. Today, May 2nd, is exactly one month since my arrival in Japan. It looks like long ago, 30 days, 74 articles posted and besides few hiccups i would says that in the whole was - even if busy - a nice month.

The above is the class board of last friday. The level is still quite low, but i think i really needed to freshen up my grammar basics a little. I had completely forgotten some of them.

Besides school stuff, i've learned some on my own and sometimes got suprised about japanese words, like "Kappa" that beside being the name of the famous shoes Brand in Italy, it means "Monster" as well.

At this moment, quite over budget, but i guess this is to be expected at beginning. On the other hand, i found now cheap supermarkets, bought a cooking pan and a couple of tools.

I didn't eat a dish of Pasta or a Slice of Cheese in 1 month. It's okay, i don't miss it too much ;). I've tried other food and now i cook my own lunch box every day.

Even the first start at the dormitory was a little difficult, the people here are quite nice.

On the personal side, sharing main area with 5 other peoples is sometimes challenging. No paper at the restroom, water everywhere when they wash their face (for everywhere, it means there is a lake on the floor), don't mind if they use your stuff for cooking. But, now, at 34 years of age becoming 35 in a couple of months, i think this is what everyone should try.

After 30, i've noticed on myself, alone leaving peoples like me, we get used to our habits, get upset if things don't go the way we want or people move our stuff. We are not so keen to share or do stuff for others.

One of the things i miss the most, is playing with my 2 years old nephew Joël - I miss him calling me "Zio Dade" - and my little niece Tea that still doesn't talk but she has a really nice smile :)

My Favorite Shop :p Yummy!

In Japan, there are many shops that ...are just a window. Yes, you don't actually enter the shop, but you buy over the counter directly placed on the street. In switzerland we see this seldom, In italy, besides ice creams shops, I don't recall seeing them (italians out there, help me on this ;).

So, there is this shop in Sannomiya station that sells what they call it in japanese "Shyukurimu", in English "Cream Puffs" in Italian "Bigné".

They are Big and Really Good. Nothing to do with the ones we usually find in europe that just contains some cream inside but are as dry as the Sahara on the outside. The ones here, are soft and tasty...and....BIG!

Check the following pic ;)

About 1 month ago, they would exaggeratly fill them up with a big amount of cream. About two weeks ago when i went there to get one (actually two :p) i've noticed that they had a small scale near them. You know what? They weighted them one by one to make sure the amount of cream was not too much or to less!! Exactly 98 grams each...

I have this passion for Cream Puff since early days when my Dad used to bake them for me and i used to sit down and watch... the good old days ! ...