w00kie's ramblings

Tag: japan

  • Matsuri Food

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    w00kie
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    This weekend I went to the Kawagoe Matsuri, one of the biggest in this part of Saitama, and I ate 鮎塩焼き. They are little fresh-water fish, stuck on a skewer, dipped in salt and fried around a fire. You eat the whole thing, except the head, bones and scales included.

  • Cameo French license plates

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    w00kie
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    Could someone explain me why I see so many cars in Japan with French or German license plates under the official Japanese plates? I might understand that car maniacs who import the cars from Europe might keep the plates for style, but this is a Mazda Premacy with the wheel on the right!

  • I found an apartment

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    w00kie
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    After waiting a week for an answer from the owner to the real-estate agent, we finally called him up yesterday and were told the apartment was ours. Now all I’ve got to do is have my company sign all the papers and we can set a date to move-in, hopefully by the beginning of November.…

  • How to print without a printer in Japan?

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    w00kie
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    Living in Japan, we are often faced with tough quandaries, for example: in a typical closet sized Tokyo apartment, having a printer at home can take up a valuable portion of your living space. But then without a printer, you’re often stuck in problematic situations, like last weekend when my girlfriend had some last minute…

  • S-Air summer ski jump

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    w00kie
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    What to do when you really want to snowboard in summer and you like stupid crazy activities? You find a place where they built a big-air jump on a hill with a pool under it. The place is called S-Air and is located in 所沢 in southern Saitama. You can get there from Tokyo in…

  • Shiodome Park Hotel – 33rd floor

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    w00kie
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    Since my girlfriend is in town and I have tons of vacations to take before the end of my contract, I organized a special night out in Tokyo with her last week. I’m such a romantic guy… First we went for drinks and dinner at her favorite restaurant: T.Y. Harbor Brewery in 天王洲アイル. It’s a…

  • Bed town

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    w00kie
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    This Saturday, my girlfriend arrived in Tokyo to look for a job, pass some interviews, etc. She’ll be staying at my place for 2 weeks or so, hopefully enough to get a good feel of the current job market. So this Sunday, we went to Kawagoe to scout out the place and see what kind…

  • I signed!

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    w00kie
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    This morning, after almost 2 weeks of negociations between HR, my boss and I, I signed my employment contract at Valeo Thermal Systems Japan. I’m hired for 3 years in a position slightly higher than I had before. I’m staying on the same project and on the same team but I’ll drop all the basely…

  • Japanese standups

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    w00kie
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    Here’s this month’s Japanese TV comedy craze. I see him on TV almost every night. I have to admit it, I laughed my ass off the first time.

  • Best 24 commercial ever!

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    w00kie
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    Shamelessly stolen from Japanprobe, I present you the latest hit on Japanese television, the commercials for the DVD release of 24 Season 6. It’s stuck in my head since last weekend, I love it! Check out the Japanprobe link for a translation of the lyrics.

  • Watching the fireworks from the roof

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    w00kie
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    Last weekend I went to 熊谷, the bigger town close to where I live, to watch the city’s 花火大会 from my friend’s roof. Firework shows in Japan last very very long compared to anything I knew in France, over 2 hours. That’s because in between every 2 minutes sets they make a 3 minutes break.…

  • I rode a Pokemon plane

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    On my way to Hiroshima, I flew on one of ANA’s Pokemon colored 747. I didn’t get any toys though, I guess they don’t give them out to bearded gaijins…

  • Shimane beach report

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    w00kie
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    Simply beautiful… The weather was incredible, even with +50 SPF sun cream carefully spead by my girlfriend all over my body, I managed to catch a few sunburns. The beach was very quiet, just a couple dozen people enjoying the sea. For a comparison, I would say the place looks like a beach on the…

  • Little beach trip before Obon

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    w00kie
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    Next trip of the summer will be 2 days in the Shimane prefecture, enjoying the beach on the Sea of Japan and a nice ryokan in an onsen town. Once again, the schedule will be very tight: I’ll leave Tokyo Monday evening, meet my girlfriend as she leaves from work and spend the night in…

  • What’s in my brain?

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    Today, a colleague of mine introduced me to the latest viral website to hit japan: 脳内. It’s a simple form in which you type your name and through a certain algorithm, it gives you a sliced-up image of your head with words inside. Here is mine: And for those no familiar with the Japanese language,…