More and More Kewpies

28 02 2009

I got a couple more Kewpies the other day at the Lawson 100 store near my work. They were selling them for a super cheap 100 yen each! The two I got were…

bakabon-kewpie

Kewpie mixed with Papa from the manga Bakabon, and Lum from Urusei Yatsura.

lum-kewpie

These arent like the normal ones that I get. They’re soft and spongy and also twice the size.





Toys

27 02 2009

In Kakuda we have two toy stores. It’s actually possible for these small mom and pop store to stay in business here since the nearest Toys’R'Us is at least an hour away. Moribaiten seems to be the more popular one, often having a large gathering of bicycles outside. It’s always open even on holidays….except for the day when I happened to take this picture.

moribaiten

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it closed. The other store, Tomy Land is a little bit strange.

tomyland-1

There never seems to be kids here, and the store itself seems to be a time warp. They have toys going back to the early eighties still on their shelves. Also the front display is so old all of the packages have turned blue from the sun.

tomyland-2

It’s almost like the place never changes. I almost hope it never does.





Jump Keychain

26 02 2009

I got this Shonen Jump key chain at the local convenience store. It to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jump magazine.

jump-keychain1

It’s another one of those mystery boxes. You never know what’s inside. At least all one the ones on the back were ones that I would have liked getting.

jump-keychain2

That’s a bonus, since usually there’s at least one or two that are boring (and I always seem to get). The key chain I got however was Son Goku from Dragonball.

jump-keychain3

I like the mini Shonen Jump attached to the key chain. I swiftly attached to to my bag, much like my nieces do with every trinket they get.





Movies I’ve Seen Lately

25 02 2009

I thought I would do a post about some of the movies I’ve seen recently. I watch a lot of movies. Usually around three to four week. So over my life time I’ve seen an unbelievable amount. Here’s some the ones I’ve watch lately.

valkyrie-movie-poster

I saw this most recently. The story is about a failed real life plot to assassinate Hitler during WWII. The movie was excellent. Very suspenseful, even though the outcome is already know.

slumdog-millionaire-poster

I saw Slumdog Millionaire a few weeks ago. It actually just won best picture at the Oscars this weekend. It’s a very uplifting  movie, but it also shows how hard life is for poor people in India. I’m really glad Danny Boyle won the best director Oscar. He deserves it. His films are always different and interesting.

benjamin-button-poster

Benjamin Buttons was also nominated for an Oscar.I enjoyed it. The story was interesting, but the ending was a little weak in the case of the reverse ageing process.

redcliff-poster

Red Cliff is a retelling of a famous battle from classic Chinese novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. It’s directed by the famous Hong Kong director John Woo. This movie was fantastic! The action and drama were amazing. The cinematography was breathtaking. This is just part one, the second comes out sometime this year I think.

yes_man-poster

Finally a movie that’s just fun. It’s been a awhile since Jim Carrey did a funny movie that was actually funny. I laughed many times watching this. Stupid, but fun.





Some More Manners

24 02 2009

Here’s another train manners poster. I’m not sure if it’s necessarily bad manners of just plain dangerous to do. What puzzles me is the “Please do it at the beach”. I guess he’s trying to swim. This one’s not as successful as the other posters for sure.

manner200808_pic





Kirin Classic

23 02 2009

I got this new Kirin beer the other day called Kirin Classic. I don’t know what really makes it different from the normal Kirin beer. I couldn’t tell the difference at all. Maybe they changed the recipe of the normal Kirin, and decided to do something similar to New Coke and Classic Coke.

kirin-classic





Taco Spring Rolls

22 02 2009

Yesterday, the wife and I invented a dish. At least we think it’s new. I had the idea that if taco stuff was put in a spring roll it would be very good. So we made some taco meat. We mixed in some cheese and some green onions.

taco-spring-roll11

Then we wrapped it inside of some spring roll sheets.

taco-spring-roll2

Then they were deep fried.

taco-spring-roll3

They were very delicious. We served them with guacamole, sour cream and salsa as dipping sauces. Here you can see the inside of one of them.

taco-spring-roll4

Try it at home!





MOS Mascots

21 02 2009

Recently MOS burger had a little promotion where you could get cell phone straps of little mascots. These cute little characters represent different things on the MOS Burger menu, like the rice burger, MOS burger, and the hot dog. Very cute!

mos-mascot

On a side note, WordPress just added threaded comments, so if you want to reply to a specific comment just click on reply under the comment. Then your comment will be shown offset underneath the first one. It’s a good new feature.





Lastest Gaming Fun

20 02 2009

Aside from playing an incredible amount of Street Fighter IV (and completely sucking at online matches), I’ve also been playing a couple of new games for the DS. The first being Dragon Quest V.

dragon-quest-v

It’s the first time it’s ever been released in English. Also it’s supposed to be the best in the series. I love Dragon Quest, so it was must for me to play this. The story follows the main hero from birth until adulthood. I think it’s a really cool idea.

The second game is Retro Game Challenge. It’s based on the Japanese TV show Game Center CX, which I wrote about before.

retro-game-challenge

In the game you are warped back to the past to complete gaming challenges in faux retro games. The fake games are quite good, and could have been made into products of their own. There’s one Dragon Quest type game, a platformer, a Galaga clone, a vertical scrolling shooter, and even a Ninja Gaiden clone. I’ve actually almost finished the game. I’m half way through the challenges on the second last game. Maybe I’m a retro game master!





Girls Bar Pirates

19 02 2009

I snapped a picture of this sign in Kokubuncho when I went drinking last weekend. I was puzzled by the English used on the sign. Are they pirates that hunt girls bars? What exactly is a pirates bar like? I have many questions….

pirates-bar