Grape Everything

One of the best things about Japan is there is tons of grape flavoured stuff. Candy, Drinks, Gum, etc. It seems almost every time I go to the super market there is some kind of new grape drink to try. Being a big fan of grape this is very lucky for me. An example is this “White Sparkling” grape soda.

I feel almost upper class when I’m drinking a soda called “sparkling”, like sparkling wine or something.

Chips for Men

Doritos has this special line of chips for men. The biggest difference is they are thicker and harder. I guess they think men have stronger jaws. Anyways this flavor was spicy chili. It was very good I’d have to say. The other flavor I’ve seen in this line is black pepper. Pardon the slightly blurry photo, it was taken in haste.

Shiroishi Castle

Last Saturday we went to visit Shirishi castle. It’s around thirty minutes from Kakuda. Supposedly it’s not the original castle. The first one got destroyed a long time ago, so a new one was rebuilt as a tourist attraction.

It’s not the biggest Japanese castle I’ve been too, but it still was really cool to visit. I often wonder why most Japanese castle are white. Maybe it’s for a specific reason.

In this picture here you can see some of the other parts of the castle, as well as some of the grounds. The view was really nice from the top of the castle. You could see all of the surrounding mountains and could even see Zao mountain.

We also saw a 3D movie as well. It told some of the history of the area ( I assume, because it was totally in Japanese). I just like watching 3D stuff it’s really fun to see spears and samurai swords coming right at you!

Cutting Edge

Here’s a video of some samurai guy cutting various hard to cut objects. I have to say it’s pretty amazing to say the least. Enjoy!

Saint Seiya

I got this really old early eighties manga at the book store in E Beans in Sendai. I’ve found that when it comes the Japanese comics I tend to like the older stuff better.

It of course features lots of manly posturing and tons of ridiculous fight scenes much like the one below.

Thousands of punches flying in one second. The only problem is that I can’t find any more books in English. Damn you lousy English book selection!

Super Garlic Curry

I got this at the grocery store the other day it’s spicy garlic curry. Even though it has flames on it, it wasn’t that spicy. It did however have five full cloves of garlic in it. A warning for the reader, don’t eat this and try to kiss the one you love!

Sea of Flowers

Yesterday we took a very small drive to the river in Kakuda. What was waiting for us there was a literal sea of yellow flowers.

Supposedly next week there will be a festival held in this spot to celebrate the blooming flowers. I’m kind of glad we went this week, because there was barely any people there. I can just imagine all of the people trying to get their pictures taken, and ruining the beauty in the process.

Our Sakura

Here’s a picture of the cherry tree at our house. It’s not very big, since it’s still young (in a tree sense that is), but it’s still really beautiful. The flowers are really nice and pink. I didn’t even realize it was a cherry tree until this year. Last year when I arrived it was already green.

Car Navi

Last weekend we went to Yellow Hat and bought a Clarion car navigation. Japan has no street names for the most part, and a nonsensical way of determining addresses. Add to this tiny side street, and you have a ton of ways to get lost, so it’s a good item to have with you. It’s a hand held model so you can also take it walking with you.

Even though the menus are all in Japanese, I was able to figure them out really quickly. It gives directions really clearly, letting you know where to go way in advance. Even showing which lane you should be in. It can also play MP3s, some video files, and you can watch 1 seg TV on it too.

That’s the same signal used by most of the cell phones that can watch TV. All in all a great purchase

One Year

Well it’s official, I’ve now been living in Japan for one year now. My visa was renewed for three years, so I’ll probably be here for a while longer. Anyways I thought I would list some pros and cons I’ve discovered during my stay so far.

PROS

• Work is good and much easier than my old job in Canada
• Sendai is a nice city
• Hardly any snow in the winter
• Lot’s of cool trinkets and stuff to buy
• Living in the countryside in Kakuda is kind of nice
• Fast Internet
• Barely any traffic on the roads
• Fast food is great (except no Mexican, or submarine sandwiches)
• Small “Kei” cars are awesome
• No tipping at restaurants or anywhere for that matter

CONS

• Japan is missing a lot of different international foods (ie. Greek, Lebanese, Sri Lankan, any Middle Eastern food)
• Language barrier can be difficult sometimes when I’m on my own
• Getting stared at all of the time by old people and children because I look different
• People are polite, but not nice a lot of the time
• No debit machines at stores, having to have cash all of time is a bit troublesome
• Lots of old fashion silly nonsensical social rules
• Many ethnic foods are made to the Japanese taste thus making them not nearly as good
• Houses are cold and drafty in the winter (no central heating)
• Bacon is not as good!!!

So there you go. Those are my thoughts after one year. I’m still adapting, but I’ve gotten comfortable over the last year. It’s starting to feel a bit like home.