Shoji

Today we got tricked into re-doing the shoji screens in the room where we keep our PC. Shoji screens are made out of wood and paper, like the ones below.

These are the ones that we re-did. Putting new paper on them. It was really really a pain to do actually. I scanned in the little directions that came with the paper, so that you can understand my suffering.

First measure out the length of paper that you need.

Then cover the wood with glue.

Next, very carefully put the paper onto the frame. This is the most difficult step. Getting the paper flat and stretched out with no wrinkles is very hard.

Next trim the extra paper at the sides. Now you have so nice looking sliding doors. It’s funny thing is that I, the foreigner of the house was the best at doing this. The two shoji I did turned out really nice and beautiful. Maybe I’ve got some hidden skill and should open a shoji shop!

Good Manners Part 2

Here’s some more manner ads from the Tokyo Metro. The first one is a pet peeve of mine.

I don’t understand why women don’t do it before the leave home. I see this so often. Reapplying some lipstick is one thing, but curling your eyelashes and applying all of your make up is too much.

This one is not too common. Most people don’t use their cell phones on the train.  If you forget to put it in manner mode (vibrate) you get some awful looks. Actually the ones who do this the most is usually older people, who then talk really loud. Teenage girls usually talk really loud to other teenage girls on the train, not cell phones.

Good Manners

Recently the Tokyo Metro has been putting out a series of ads to teach Japanese people good manners when riding the train. Some people have the the worst manners. It’s almost unbelievable. You know it has gotten bad when they have to do an ad for this situation.

Yes, I have actually seen this many times. Usually when I take the train late at night. I often see drunken men taking off their shoes (because putting your shoes on the seat is rude, right?), and laying down on the seat. Of course they fall asleep and snore very loudly. It was surprising the first time.

Chrono Trigger

Lately I’ve been playing a ton of the newly released version of “Chrono Trigger” for DS. I haven’t played it since it first came out for SNES, so it’s been a realy long time. Almost like playing a new game, but still really nostalgic feeling. It’s still one of the best RPG games, if not one of the best games, ever made. I’ve been playing the Japanese version, since it has the English translation on the cartridge as well. That doesn’t happen very often on DS, that’s for sure. I can’t recommend this game high enough. It’s a must play for everyone who likes games.

Hanko

This is a hanko. It’s basically an ink stamp with your name carved into it. Each one is personalized. Mine has my name written out in Japanese.

It’s kind of cool, and not expensive at all. The case has a small little red ink pad. Red is the color always used.

The hanko is basically the same as your signature. In Japan they don’t use signatures, just these little red stamps. I won’t post a picture of the actual stamp, since that would be like putting my signature up on the internet.

The Origin of Mameshiba

I sent these two Mameshiba edamame trinkets out to my dear friend Becky a couple weeks ago. What they are is basically an edamame (soy bean) simulator. When you eat edamame they are still inside their pod. You have to pop them out with your fingers. Usually they are boiled and salted. Very simple and delicious. These little toys are actually where Mameshiba first appeared, and then won the hearts of teenage girls all over Japan. As the package says, they are infinite edamame, so you can do it over and over forever. Hopefully Becky is enjoying them right now (or very soon).

Rally Ready

I spotted this super awesome Mini Cooper in downtown Sendai. It’s all done up to look like the old rally cooper from the 1960’s. Even including the rally of Monte Carlo sign on the top.

He’s also got the roof rack for spare tires. The mini was too small to put tires in the trunk. Here you can see a real rally Mini. All he needs is the extra light kit and it would be even closer.

The Mini was a super champion of Rally racing, winning the Monte Carlo four times, along win hundreds of other wins. Old style Minis are quite common here. There’s a special dealership that sells only vintage Minis. It might have something to do with barely getting any snow, so no rusting to pieces. It has to be one of my favorite cars of all time.

Invading Bottles

Check it out. I got this really sweet SIGG style water bottle this weekend.

Yes it’s a Space Invader bottle, to celebrate the 30th anniversary. They had three different styles, but I think I chose the best and most classic one. You can see it better below.

Pretty awesome. The design wraps continuously around the whole bottle. Now I’ll be drinking water in style!

In The Distance

It’s not such a great photo. I took it while we were out driving today, so the conditions were not optimal. You can however see Zao mountain far in the distance. It’s top all covered in snow. Quite beautiful.

K-20

Check out this crazy Japanese movie, K-20: Legend of the Mask. It’s some kid of action adventure movie set in the past. I love the poster. It looks like it’s straight out of the sixties. Like an old James Bond poster or something.

I can’t tell you much about the story (because all of the info is in Japanese),  but I can show you a cool trailer.

Looks like fun to me. The guys in the mask looks like Batman wearing a hat though.