Friday July 22, 7:27 p.m.

Finished with The German about half an hour ago. It was the usual potpourri of talking about anything under the sun, including drinking, Japanese actors in Hollywood and all of the acts in Johnny's Jimusho. And strangely enough, we were actually able to get through one exercise in the text.
I'm done here for today so just heading home. I think the eel celebration will have to wait until tomorrow night since I'm getting out here rather late. By the time, I hit home all of the eel will be sold out.

I also have to mention the death of one famous, beloved local Canadian. Elwy Yost is probably not known to any of the Malaysians or Americans reading this blog, but he was the friendly, intelligent, and avuncular host of a Toronto show called "Saturday Night at the Movies" for about a quarter of a century. All of the big movies were screened and then analyzed afterwards by Yost and his interview subjects; it was basically the televised version of a very good university-level movie course. I learned more about Peter Sellers through him, and certainly I learned to appreciate the old movies such as "The Philadelphia Story" and "Casablanca". He will be missed. One of his kids ended up writing the screenplay for "Speed" with Keanu Reaves.

Anyways, I have to head off to the Golden Arches for dinner. Good weekend!

Friday July 22, 5:12 p.m.

The second food-based entry for today concerns the right picture. Yep, the end of July means Doyo-no-Ushi-no-Hi. Basically, it's time for eel! Known as unagi here, the day actually welcomes the ingesting of any food which begins with the Japanese hiragana letter of "u"(e.g. udon, uni, etc.), but eel has always been the go-to item. In these sultry days of summer (well, except for yesterday and today), eating eel-based dishes has been traditionally one way of getting that stamina to beat the heat, so to speak. And the wonderful dish of unaju (grilled and sauced eel on rice in a lacquered box) is one of the favorites.

Apparently, we have two of those days this year. One was yesterday and the other is August 2nd. I have no idea what determines the dating; all I know is that eel restaurants all over Japan must've been packed to the gills (no pun intended) with customers wanting to get their piece of eel in. I haven't had my unagi quite yet; I'm hoping to rectify that situation either tonight or tomorrow for dinner.

Friday July 22, 5:05 p.m.

Had one of these a few nights ago. It's called Dodekamin Cola (not too sure if this has any relationship with the polygonal dodecahedron but it must've sounded cool during marketing). Basically, it's the Japanese attempt of Red Bull or Jolt Cola. There is a Dodekamin Vitamin Drink that I've never tried but coming across the cola version in the neighbourhood vending machine, I decided to give it a shot.

Well, it was kinda like a combination of Virgin Cola with a shot of Geritol thrown in for good measure. I guess the old folks might like it if they wanted to stay up to the wee hour of....8 p.m., let's say. Still, it got me through the 2 hours of the Rupert Murdoch hearings which is saying something, especially with the attack of Wendi "The Tiger Wife" Deng.

Friday July 22, 2:43 p.m.

Well, The Shareholder is history. I'd gotten hints from the last lesson that he was not going to renew, and sure enough he informed me at the end of this lesson. To be honest, I'm not that unhappy about his departure since like Mrs Prissy he had a hard time getting his words out but unlike her he didn't show any particularly overt effort in getting them out. Nice guy to be sure but.... Still, we had an amiable final lesson before he gave the usual bow-out reason of getting busy and all. However, all is not lost in my income. Almost immediately after The Shareholder's lesson, the bossman asked me if I could teach some extra students over the next month at least. I didn't jump out of my seat with glee but I was quietly grateful that I can make up some of the shortfall.
Speaking of glee, I read the other day that 3 of the main cast from "Glee" were "graduating" from the show. However, I haven't read anything about it in the Mixi community, otherwise I would be seeing a sea of sad emoticons right now.

Friday July 22, 12:19 p.m.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That was the sound of the day all yesterday....emanating from my mouth, of course. Typhoon Ma-On gave us in the Kanto a unique gift in the form of....temperature. The bottom dropped out of our usual boiler room temps, giving us a royal high of 22 degrees C. That sort of temp is about as rare at this time of year as someone eating a slice of Christmas cake. Usually, when referring to typhoons, we often say in Japanese "taifuu no sei de" (because of that [insert your swear word] typhoon)...however, I would like to say "taifuu no kage de" (thanks to that [insert your most praiseworthy adjective] typhoon).
However, all good things have to come to an end. And the heat wave will come back from vacation as of tomorrow. However, I was fortunate to have that good night's sleep and a respite for my electric fan. Strangely enough, my hometown of Toronto is going through literal Hell as it records 39 degrees C.

The OL contacted me today saying that she has to beg off today's lesson since she's got a cold. I think that sudden shift in temps may have been a factor. That suddenness started manifesting itself from late Wednesday night, probably, since I was getting a bit sniffly within Speedy's. At least, I won't have to make that mini-boomerang to Nihombashi since I've got The Shareholder's (possibly final) lesson in about an hour and then The German's lesson later tonight; I can just while away the time here at the school. And I'm pretty sure The OL may be paying me because of the perceived dotakyan. She's one of the few students who actually has paid me for sudden cancellations.

Yesterday was a day off for me since none of the Thursday regulars came privately or through Speedy's. I was lucky to have seen live the final touchdown for the Space Shuttle Atlantis and for the shuttle program in general. I remember seeing the very first successful shuttle launch of The Columbia over 30 years ago. It's hard to believe NASA not launching anything for the next several years (a number of the media commentators were being very polite by saying "it'll be a short while") but inevitably there will be some sort of probe going back to The Moon or to Mars. I only wonder if this will happen when I'm into early retirement. The only regret I have about the program is that The Enterprise never made it up into space....it was just used as the test case; I'm sure the Trekkies would've loved to have seen it hit the final frontier even once.

Wednesday July 20, 7:08 p.m.

It's been squally here over the past couple of days. Typhoon Ma-On, or as it's more dramatically known here in Japan, Typhoon No. 6 (a bit of "The Prisoner" vibe), has been making its way through the southern and Pacific coasts of the country. Yesterday, as I was making my way home after lunch with Mrs. Travel and Mrs. Jade of The Beehive, the clouds literally just opened up and the rains came down with the force of a monsoon. It looks like my area of Chiba, though, will miss the worst of it...although the squalls have been coming, we haven't had any gales or floods. I just kinda wonder if meterologists around the world have their facts straight. The weather folks over here had been warning that this would be a super-typhoon that would just meander its way across Japan thereby dumping tons of rain and woe; but the CNN's Italian weather guy verbally shrugged off Ma-On as something that would whip by the Pacific quickly. In any case, it will be finally out of our hair probably later tomorrow.

The other headline has been the continuing saga of the Japanese Women's Soccer Team as they go through the second phase of Being a Hero In Japan...interviews, news shows and variety programs, oh my. The team has now divided into smaller units to head over to various TV studios to give the same answers and watch the same highlights. Captain Sawa and a couple of her teammates even appeared on Tamori's noontime programme today, "Waratte Ii Tomo", to show off their medals. This will last for the next several days; I wouldn't be surprised if the ladies ended up doing a medley with SMAP or Arashi...will avoid.

And then the other big headline is beef, fortified with cesium. I'm just wondering when the government allows the news that other livestock have come up beeping on the Geiger Counters. And I'm sure it will happen. I kinda wonder if the soccer ladies had wondered themselves of declaring asylum in Germany.

For those regular readers of this blog, you must be wondering why I'm typing this when I should be chatting with 001 for her regular midweek lesson. Well, the lass is off today for some reason....probably the reason comes in a highball glass. I've only got Kirk today. And it looks like I've got a Thursday off as well since Mrs. Thursday has cancelled tomorrow's lesson.

Wednesday July 20, 6:33 p.m.

The much-advertised hearings with Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks by the UK government finally got on the air in the wee hours of this morning here in Tokyo. Not having any lessons until later tonight, I was able to stay up and watch the proceedings of how the pols took care of this modern-day Citizen Kane. It was all very very British...a lot of plummy accents and very tea-timey back-and-forth. And there was a bit of Japanese in it as well....and no, I'm not referring to Rupert's wife behind him since she is Chinese...I'm referring to Murdoch's repeated blunt responses of not knowing or not remembering. Whenever there is a Diet-level scandal involving one of the parliamentarians in Nagatacho, evasion is taken to a high art. And then there was son James' combination goofy Clark Kent and Hugh Grant act...a lot of hemming-and-hawing politeness from Murdoch Jr.

But there were a couple of things that got my eyes opened between 1 and 1:30 a.m. The more publicized event was, of course, Rupert Murdoch getting a face full of foam pie just when MP Mensch was starting to grill him. I think wife Wendy Murdoch showed that she was probably the most honourable of the family in that room when she went Jedi on the pieman, Johnny Marbles (sounds like a gangster on a Saturday morning kids' show).

I'm gonna sound a bit conspiratorial here but it just seemed a bit strange that even a comedian like Marbles was able to get into the room to launch his pie at point-blank range and then only have one London bobby saunter across the room to get him out. CNN's Richard Quest, no stranger to controversy himself (leave your S&M gear in Central Park, Richie?), seemed so nonchalant about the whole affair a few seconds after the camera had automatically whip-panned to the painted wall. And I'm kinda wondering if a couple of the MP's later got together at a pub near Westminster and laughed about it over a pint (MP 1: OK, you win, here's your 20 quid. BTW, how did you sneak him in?)

The second thing, though, was MP Louise Mensch herself. During her turn at questioning Rupert Murdoch, she namedropped CNN's own Piers Morgan and his alleged willingness to phone hack when he was an editor at The Daily Mirror according to a book he had written. Morgan, who's always had that rather cool-as-a-cucumber exterior on "Piers Morgan Tonight", went into a major froth on his sister show "The Situation Room", and proceeded to dress down the pol while struggling to not use any expletives (well, maybe with the exception of "balls" but that's been used so much anyways); meanwhile, Mensch took on Morgan's la-di-dah expression and perhaps a subliminal Cheshire Cat's smile and cited parliamentary privilege when refusing to repeat her allegations against Morgan. I have a feeling that there is more to this battle between Mensch and Morgan; most likely Mensch had it in for Morgan over some perceived insult that she had registered from him during his time as editor, and decided to throw a few shots across his bow.

In any case, although it looks like Rupert will still get to keep his job, the elder Murdoch probably wasn't kidding when he said that it was one of the most humbling days of his life. To have to put on a doddering old fogie show in front of the very people who used to court him and then to have a pie thrown into his mug....he was probably using more expletives than Morgan wished he could have used when he got home last night. And frankly after using all those "I don't remember" and "I don't know" responses and then brazenly shirking off any personal responsibility....I think a harmless foam pie is the least he deserved.

Monday July 18, 10:47 a.m.

This past weekend has seen me concoct another Smoothie. When you live in an air-conditionerless apartment, Smoothies are liquid lifelines. This one had me blending an apple, two bananas, maple syrup, some kale powder and a cup of yogurt. Had the big glass along with dinner last night, and one more cup for breakfast. It's very tasty when chilled overnight.

Also made some Taco Rice with some veggies and a box of Taco Rice Mix that The New Yorker had given me from her visit to Okinawa. This is where Japan excels...taking a famed foreign dish and giving its own Japanese twist. J-Tex-Mex. Kinda overdid it on the lettuce part so I had to dig deeper with the spoon to get at the rice and spicy meat sauce but I've learned. I've got one more set of the stuff to cook up tonight.

Now, to inform you, I'm back at the I-Cafe. If this had been to schedule, I would've been ready to head on out to Futako-Tamagawa to see The Jyuppies for their lessons. Instead, I got a call from Mr. Jyuppie stating that he had to cancel today. Apparently, one of his kids is sick, necessitating a visit to the hospital. Strangely enough, I'd had a premonition that he was gonna send the cancellation call...a bit of an Anakin Skywalker thing I have. And as soon as I heard the phone ring, I knew.

Referring back to the fact that I hadn't turned on my air conditioner at all during the weekend, I stayed home all day yesterday and still managed to survive. I had both my windows open (didn't help too much) and had the small electric fan going for much of the day. Plus, I used a couple of ice packs on my back and chest to get through the day. And I actually made it. Also, the fact that the plug to the air conditioner tends to heat up to the temperature of plasma when it's in the wall made my decision even easier. Still, I'm out here at the I-Cafe today to alleviate any more pressure to the electrical grid.

Just watched a lot of American TV and "Inception" on DVD. The latter movie is a classic in my books. A classic is something that one can watch over and over again without it getting old. My oldest classic is "Casablanca" of course, but my most recent one is this one. Everything and everyone just seemed to click in this DiCaprio flick. And the fight scene in the rotating hotel corridor will always go down as one of my most thrilling sights in cinema. As for the American stuff, "Hawaii Five-O" is, unsurprisingly, becoming quite the hit in Japan since it debuted on these shores several weeks ago. There are so many Japanese going to Hawaii on a regular basis that I've always made the joke that the islands should be called Hawaii Prefecture of Japan, and not the Aloha State of America. The new Japanese fans should go even more wild when they find out that Masi Oka is gonna become the 5th member of the team.

Monday July 18, 10:29 a.m.

In the wee hours of this sultry morning, I was awakened by some screaming outside my window. In my grogginess, I'd initially thought it was just another couple of cats fornicating down on the ground (I tend to hear that quite a bit...considering that I haven't had any in almost a decade, I've actually felt envious for a lower species). However, it turned out to be celebrating neighbours.

The reason was blue, white and female. Nadeshiko Japan pulled off a David-and-Goliath against the United States, and won the Women's World Cup Championship in a penalty shootout. Not surprisingly, the media was all over this one like gravy on roast beef. Every channel was covering the homely if cute mugs of Captain Homare Sawa and her team of giantbeaters, playing and replaying the winning goals on their morning wide shows. Sawa and company can now look forward to at least a few weeks of heroine worship and endless interviews on NHK, Fuji-TV, TBS, etc. Plus, all of us here in Japan can now look forward to future commercials of them hawking everything from vitamin drinks to security systems.

The unexpected victory couldn't have come at a better time for this battered country. March 11 2011 will probably overshadow July 18 2011 in Japanese history, and the victory by this team will not directly resolve the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis or the earthquake recovery difficulties. However, this championship has brought a good deal of happiness and inspiration and hope to the people here, and perhaps sending a message that the very difficult can be achieved. And certainly, it doesn't hurt Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Olympics; now Governor Ishihara has a weapon in Captain Sawa to wield.

I don't know what's gonna happen in the remaining months of this year. But for today, this Marine Day, we can walk around a bit more cheerfully than usual.

Saturday July 16, 10:33 a.m.

Now, as for today, in my desire to avoid oven-like temps in my own apartment and yet conserve energy, I have sought refuge in my local I-Cafe. So, I am currently in Hour 2 of 8 in relatively air-conditioned comfort, having my I-Cafe lunch of all-you-can-drink Pepsi and Chip Star. I think my aspirations to look like Comic Book Man from "The Simpsons" may be coming to fruition.

The big news here has been that cesium-tainted beef which actually made the rounds through the rest of the country. So, folks in Japan, if any of you really has that glow about you...well, my condolences.

Had a good jolt from a Shindo 4 tremor in Chiba last night. The epicentre was in Tochigi Prefecture where it registered a 5 Minus. Made the news for several minutes on NHK.

The final entry in the decade-long "Harry Potter" series hit our shores this morning. So I'm sure a lot of cape-and-glasses wearing faux-Hogwartians are currently descending on theatres in Roppongi and Shinjuku to wave a tearful goodbye to their hero. Skippy and The Wedding Planner had asked me if I wanted to see it with them either tomorrow or on the holiday Monday (Marine Day) but I declined since I will be catching it with Movie Buddy. The ladies want to catch it in 3D but MB has been far from impressed with the new technology stating that only "Avatar" had lived up to the hype. I'm wondering if Daniel Radcliffe or other cast members have made the trip out here or will be in the near future....I would advise them to try to get out of their contracts about that. Britishers would just melt into puddles in this weather. I'm also wondering how Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will fare now that their bread-and-butter is officially part of cinematic history. I have no doubts about the supporting players of thespians such as Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith but the three leads? I can compare them with the trio of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher from that other legendary but far smaller trilogy of the original "Star Wars". Only Ford made it onto the A-List for decades; Hamill later got a measure of fame as a voice actor, notably for The Joker on one of the many "Batman" animated series, and after a few roles in some middling flicks in the early 80s, Fisher is now probably more famous as a recurring voice actor in "Family Guy" and as an author. Going back to that other famed escapist flick trio, Daniel Radcliffe has already made some inroads with stage roles in "Equus" and a musical but I'm not sure about what will happen with the other two. I'm just kinda wondering if Grint will end up years later hawking some cutting device on an infomercial. As for Radcliffe, I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up as a future Doctor Who.

Saturday July 16, 10:13 a.m.

Well, I had my Cafe Day yesterday. It used to be that I had Hump Days during the week...those days in which my schedule was packed with lessons. Well, those days are gone now. Instead, I've got Fridays as Cafe Days. I had 4 students, all of whom I met at various cafes in Chiba and Tokyo.
First off was The Bass in our charmingly decrepit cafe in old suburban Funabashi. He gave his speech on his regular business trips to the Kansai...like the rest of us entrepreneurs, it hasn't been too easy over the past few months.
And then I hightailed it to tony Hiroo to the Starbucks to see Swank. The Arisugawa Chuo Library was closed again for its monthly dedication to energy conservation policy, thereby the need for an alternate site. It would end up being our last lesson for the next 6 weeks since she and her family will soon be heading over to Hawaii for their summer holidays. Geez, I sometimes feel like the Downstairs in "Upstairs, Downstairs" (yeah, you go look that one up...hint, it's from the UK).
Next, I went over to business centre Nihombashi to see The OL in the Ueshima Cafe in the Coredo complex. Not exactly cheap there but it does have some really good coffee and iced drinks. Had the Ginger Milk Latte....iced, of course. Still, the place isn't the best for teaching students. That was made abundantly clear while I was teaching The OL, admittedly the lowest of my four students that day. We were sitting in the back of the cafe where the coziest of the tables were. I'm always a bit nervous about teaching in close surroundings....there was one young lady beside who soon got out of Dodge after hearing our exchange, and then an incongruous teen couple schlumped in beside us and soon went into dormant mode. My cafe lessons seem to have that impact on neighbouring folks unless they're deep into their own chatter or they're holding English lessons themselves.
My final lesson was with The Godfather at a Tully's in Tameike-Sanno. By that point, I couldn't really take any more caffeine into my system so I bought a Mango Swirkle to flush out the jitters. The Godfather had officially launched his company earlier in the day, so he was on a bit of a Runner's High; the financing for his first big project came in which relieved him to no end. At the end of a Cafe Day, it was good to have someone who could talk fluently and at length about his aspirations. We had an absorbing conversation on comparative religions and the concept of epiphany.

Saturday July 16, 10:03 a.m.

After my lesson with The Carolinan on Thursday night, I walked her over to her subway station and ended up in East Shinjuku. So, being the amateur shutterbug, I decided to take some night shots of the area. This is Yasukuni Dori looking east...if the area looks familiar to some of you film nuts, it just happens to be what Bill Murray's character saw from his taxi in "Lost In Translation".


I think I may have been using the Sundown setting when I took this shot. It was taken from a pedestrian overpass weaving between the Cocoon Building on the left and another office building. In any case, this is the skyscraper-filled area of West Shinjuku.

This is the massive LABI Shinjuku store of electronics in the eastern part. With all of the energy conservation policies in effect, LABI has also shut down a lot of its neon.

Yup, this is my unintentionally artsy picture. Tried to take it with the Cross function of my digital camera. It was supposed to be a heads-up shot of two of the taller skyscrapers in West Shinjuku but somehow the computer in my camera must've gotten drunk on power. With my luck, I could just enter it in some European photo contest and make myself a million....dollars, not euros.

Saturday July 16, 9:54 a.m.

When Japanese tourists come back from Hawaii, inevitably the omiyage of choice is Chocolate Macadamia Nuts. Now, when those folks come back from a domestic trip to Okinawa, a lot of them bring back chinsuko.

Chinsuko is a dense cookie for which the main ingredient is...pig lard. Yep, you must be thinking that some guy from "Saturday Night Live" must've thought up this thing. But no, it is truly a confection from Japan's southernmost prefecture. And it tastes just like a Peek Frean's (is that how you spell it....I've been away from Canada too long) shortbread cookie. In any case, The Carolinan got it to me for her omiyage, and there is enough of it to last me for a few breakfasts. Believe me, with the amount of fat in it, it should be designated as an emergency supply in any earthquake kit.

Saturday July 16, 9:39 a.m.

News of the World? I can honestly say that this is literally nothing and virtually everything right now. About 2 weeks ago, any mention of this phrase on a Google search would've brought about the biggest and most controversial tabloid paper in the UK. As of this moment, this phrase has become its own meaning. The paper may be gone but its legacy and notoriety are now fully into legendary status.
Rupert Murdoch....this is a name and face that I've seen over the years as someone who I liken to William Randolph Hearst or his filmic namesake, Citizen Kane. And it seems as if Murdoch the Mogul may be entering that point in the movie where he finally says "Rosebud". Or perhaps in this case, "Rebekkah". I think choosing this slightly constipated photo of him may be reflective of his current mood. In any case, this man, to whom even the highest of the highest politicians had often kowtowed, has been laid low...at least for now...getting the jeers and screams of an outraged British public as he went into some building to meet with the family of a murdered girl whose cellphone messages had been hacked by some of his staffers.
Although probably meek by Fleet Street standards, Japan also has a tabloid culture through magazines such as "Friday". Within the insular nature of Japanese celeb culture, there is plenty of fatty meat for the journos to uncover. The local paparazzi just love to take pictures of actors and starlets hitting the supermarkets or supposedly kissing secretly, and the rumour mill is rife with various supposedly sordid tales of infidelity or running around with the yakuza.
There hasn't been all that much coverage of the "News of the World" collapse in the local papers and other media outlets since the consequences of the March 11 earthquake have been hanging over the country like the ghost of Hamlet's father. But I'm sure that certain folks in the press are keeping close tabs on the story, if only to see a cautionary tale in the making.

Thursday July 14, 4:06 p.m.

Not sure if I'm entering some sort of funk but it was a bit difficult getting up this morning. Not because of the heat but because of the other stresses I've been feeling over the past few months. It hasn't been good wondering how long my bank account can hold out. I mean my account hasn't quite been emptied out but I just wonder if it's gonna start depleting any further. The bills I'm gonna have to start paying....I got my National Health Insurance premiums...I haven't opened the envelope up yet since I don't have to start paying my first one until the end of this month. Plus, I still have that guarantor thing to get resolved. I sent word over to Mrs. Travel of The Beehive since Speedy looked pretty iffy about signing my form.
I've been trying to keep my food purchases down to a bare minimum. Basically, my chicken bento that I had a few hours ago will be my only major meal today. I no longer have any yen bills in my wallet...just a little over 500 yen to pay for the coffee at the Starbucks when I teach The Carolinan. A year ago, I wouldn't have even imagined this situation.
I hope that I don't end up like Mr. White....get all jittery and majorly depressed. Basically, the English lessons are done at the juku.

Thursday July 14, 2:42 p.m.

I could not finish off my marathon posting session without paying homage to the lovely lady on my right, one Akina Nakamori. For those who are in the know in the world of J-Pop, Ms. Nakamori was one of the biggies when it came to aidoru-dom in the 1980s. At one point, she even eclipsed the Queen of the Aidorus, Seiko Matsuda. Well, it was her 46th birthday yesterday (yes, that is indeed a picture of her in her far younger days). I did make that point known to folks like 001, Mrs. Thursday and Kirk for which I got hearty laughs and a headshaking acknowledgement of my knowing far too much about the local pop culture.

Still, it's a bittersweet thing with her. After her attempted suicide back in 1989, she disappeared for a couple of years and then made some sort of a comeback but she never regained the superstardom of her early years. Too bad, too, since she's got that husky voice which could have gotten her into better music. And except for an appearance in a pachinko machine commercial (pretty much a death knell for a career, aside from performing in hotel Xmas concerts) last year, that's been it for her. I heard that she'd fallen ill with something recently. At this point, I would just like her to get better. Any comeback to the top of the charts would be one for the ages.

Thursday July 14, 2:35 p.m.

It's been an interesting 24 hours. When we get our good news/bad news, the Japanese media like to go all out. On the bad side is that some cesium-spiked beef got out of Fukushima and into the stomachs of some unwitting folks via restaurants in the Kanto. Talking about tenderizing. And on the other side, the Japanese representative in the Women's World Cup in Germany, Nadeshiko Japan, got into the finals last night by surprising Sweden 3-1. So, it's the Japanese vs. the Americans. Somehow, though, I don't think the Japanese women will be shedding their clothes...and frankly, I'm grateful.
I had my lesson this morning with Mr. Swank in West Shinjuku. My package on how to talk about the Japanese economy in English got some dividends so it made for a nice satisfying walk back to Speedy's, despite the blistering heat. In about a couple of hours, I've got The Magician and then I've got to run out to teach The Carolinan at the Starbucks in Shinjuku.

Thursday July 14, 2:25 p.m.

Continuing on with my calvacade of photos, this is a shot of the main intersection in Nakano-Sakaue, just west of Shinjuku. It's usually known as one of the bigger wind tunnels, but a couple of days ago, it got converted into a gigantic oven. Not one of the most comfortable places to be in Tokyo.
Of course, during a typically skin-broiling summer in The Big Sushi, I'm often much more appreciative of refreshments. I had a nice drink of Peach Tea with some Sakuranbo Cherries. At this point, I'm just guzzling down the liquids with absolute abandon. Heck, I'm even back into knocking back the tap water despite the admittedly tiny risk of cesium radiation.

Just another one of the summer customs in Tokyo. Along with the annual New Year's Day Jumbo Lottery, there is also the Summer Jumbo with the big lines forming in Yurakucho. The grand prize is the usual 300 million yen or around 3 million bucks. Nope, a bit downsized when compared to some of the nutso amounts given out Stateside but in this economy, we'll take anything. But I betcha the winning person here will most likely put most of the winnings into his bank account accruing 0.05% interest.

Thursday July 14, 2:16p.m.

I've been taking my fair share of shots over the past couple of days. I was taking my walk through Ginza and I took a picture of the newest additions to the ritziness of one of the most expensive shopping areas on the planet. The GAP store opened up sometime in May, I believe.

Took this one walking down westward from the main intersection of 4-chome in Ginza. Yep, it felt even hotter than it looked when I took this pic. The ladies had their parasols up like starships with shields. Not that it mattered too much....the concrete was just reflecting the heat and sun back at us.

This is a shot of West Shinjuku from the 17th floor of the Nittochi Building where I teach Mr. Swank. Just has that metropolitan look all over it. Walking from there back to Speedy takes about 20 minutes. In a Tokyo summer, that would be enough to shed a kilo or so. Luckily, there are plenty of vending machines and convenience stores to prevent pedestrians from collapsing on the sidewalk. Good thing, too, since if they did land, they would end up sizzling like fried eggs.

Wednesday July 13, 4:52 p.m.

Just one of my latest additions to my CD collections over the past few weeks. And since I'm not only on energy conservation, but also on financial conservation, I got this one for just a hundred yen at the nearby Recomints in Nakano Broadway.

Yep, Mariya Takeuchi looks rather plain Jane-ish for some reason considering that she was one of the few singers in Japanese pop in the 80s who also could have struck up a pretty decent career in modeling.

But I guess the photographer wanted her to be relatively cosmetic-less for her shot in her 1987 release of "Request" since she was doing covers of her own songs written for other singers...going the chameleon route, so to speak. I believe this was her second album since coming back from her 3-year hiatus. Even though she didn't come off as a typical aidoru singer in her early period, she made a comeback with an even more maturer sound although her songs still retained a bit of that 50s Connie Francis touch, especially with the track "Kenka o yamete" (Stop Fighting) that would've been perfect backing a scene with Tab Hunter and Sandra Dee having a spat.

Anyways, I had my lone lesson yesterday with The New Yorker. She and her sister, The Carolinan, had had their trip to Okinawa last week. Although The New Yorker has been to Japan's southernmost prefecture a few times, this was The Carolinan's first foray. The New Yorker assumed that her big sis had had a good time; it's always a mystery with The Carolinan since she has a rather good poker face on a lot of things. In any case, I did get a box of Taco Rice Mix (a delicacy in the Ryukyus, thanks to some good ol' Tex-Mex influence) and an Okinawan cookie which I scarfed down for breakfast this morning.

I finally relented this morning and turned on the air conditioner for the first time this morning. It was nice not to have been sweating most of my bodily fluids in my own living room although I almost burned off my fingers when I pulled out the plug of the AC before heading out. I guess it's pretty darn old.

Had lunch at my favorite Chinese place, Jukeifu, in the Maynds Tower in Shinjuku...I was stuffing myself with free dumplings so that I wouldn't go hungry tonight since I won't be having dinner per se. I've got a rare busy night tonight with 001, Mrs. Thursday (it seems she likes switching her nights from time to time) and then Kirk.

After lunch, I went over to Kinokuniya and Tower Records...just to browse of course. I saw the magazines hailing the final Harry Potter movie coming out this Saturday here. Looks like the movie is getting some grand treatment from the reviewers. Would be a good way for it to go out....I just haven't been all that impressed with the series as a whole. If I could just see a halfway decent movie as the finale, I would leave Hogwarts with some level of satisfaction.

Tuesday July 12, 10:17 a.m.

These have been uncertain times for me (read: crappy). My juku days are pretty much done since The Milds have left the building, Mr. White is battling his depression and The Journo is now busy catching up on his career. There has been a dropoff in my work at Speedy's, and I've got those hefty bills of city taxes and National Health Insurance premiums to pay. Plus there's the fact that I will probably have to pay a chunk to have my real estate agency guarantee my apartment in the remaining time I have here. Of course, there is also the problem of moving and air tickets.
I've been trying to save up on spending but it's gonna be rough. I don't want to, but I may have to ask the parents to help me out. Of course, Dad will harangue me about why I even bothered moving to Japan in the first place.
But I finally found out the real reason that the juku boss has been exhorting me to get her off as my apartment guarantor. She's finally decided to divorce her husband. Her husband has always struck me as being taciturn but not a bad sort. However, he is a 180-degree switch from his overexuberant wife, and finally that difference snapped the bonds over the past couple of months. She's been looking for a new place, and as such, she probably would not want to have the burden of apartment guarantorship.

Tuesday July 12, 9:56 a.m.

Back on Sunday, I met up with Cozy and the (former) juku boss for our 4th annual dinner. This year, we decided to try out the inner city area of Tsukishima near Cozy's neck of the woods.

Whenever anyone mentions Tsukishima to a local here, his/her mind will invariably conjure up the image of monjayaki. Monjayaki is not very well known (if even that) in the West...even considering that gyudon has become a staple in American airports. And the reason for that is the second picture from the top. As you can see, it kinda looks like

something that someone egested instead of ingested. And I have to admit that I've often referred to some of the messes that the Friday drunken sots leave on the subway platforms as street monja.

Monjayaki is the ugly Tokyo stepsister of the pancake-like Kansai okonomiyaki which apparently has made sort of inroads (we've had an okonomiyaki restaurant in Toronto for decades). The solids consist of cabbage, chosen meats and other ingredients...rather like the stuff that goes into the drier okonomiyaki. However, what makes the difference is the soup that makes monja initially unpalatable.

The soup is made from fish stock, water and cornstarch. Also, there is a somewhat more complicated process in making monja in that the dry stuff has to be put on the oiled griddle first without dropping the soup in. When the cabbage is cooked and chopped up, then the ingredients are shaped into an atoll, and the soup becomes the lagoon. With the cornstarch in the soup, it quickly becomes this plasticky goop that is combined with the dry stuff to make the final product.

As I've said, Tsukishima is the home of monjayaki. The main street, Nishinaka-dori, was bracketed by several monjayaki restaurants. The three of us ended up going to this place called Okame for our monja. It took me a long while to get to like the stuff but I can say that I can eat it quite happily now. And with so much of Japanese cuisine, a lot of Western variations have come into the mix (no pun intended). We had three monja with the first being Corned Beef Monja. Neither Cozy nor the boss had ever tried this one but it turned out to be the best of the bunch.

The taste of monja is obviously very savory, or umami. But usually a lot of monja neophytes wonder about the texture due to its resemblance to something very unpleasant. However, despite the plasticky nature of the soup, the cabbage and the other solids help to give it a grateful bite and crunchiness. Now along with the 3 monja, we also ended up having a couple of rounds of yakisoba to finish things off. Our waitresses were definitely very salt-of-the-earth types. When it was obvious that I was not doing things correctly cooking up the stuff, the veteran waitress immediately jumped in to help things along the right path. And I was grateful that she was nice about it. Some of these rustic places are famous (or infamous) for employing grumbly impatient asses just to add some of that Showa-era atmosphere. Definitely one aspect of Japanese culture I will never care for.

Despite being here for 16 years, I had never been to Tsukishima before. A bit of a pity that I've only come to explore it now.

Monday July 11, 8:37 p.m.

Finished for the day. I had my usual early morning with Cozy and then it would be several hours of traipsing through Ginza before I made my way to Shinjuku to teach Mr. Swank and then back here to finish off with Miss Genki. It'd been several weeks since my last visit to Ginza; made my way to Yamano Music...didn't buy any CDs since I'm trying to be very careful with my money but I realized that the place also sells some of those rather obscure discs that I'd assumed would only be available at discount stores like Tacto in Jimbocho and Recomints in Nakano Broadway. And the cost isn't too bad since we're talking about oldies.
I had a talk with Cozy about his annual translation requests since I won't be around Japan as of the end of the year. I suggested my former colleague, AK, as my replacement since she's a professional translator. And I figure that I owe her one for giving me some work with her TV stuff. I've sent word to her; hopefully it will be a positive reply.
Tried to work some magic with Mr. Swank with some work on Japanese politics; a bit iffy. The vocabulary is still an issue with him so I'll have to bring some further structure when I see him next on Thursday morning.
Miss Genki was not quite as genki as she usually is since we were pretty much focusing on the text today. But we did have our "Glee" moments. I actually a couple of episodes from the 2nd season last night on cable. I'd gone through the "Glee" DVD of Season 1 earlier in the year but the show hasn't manage to last with me. There have been some obvious changes in the dynamics since the last year, but I'm still not really all that willing to catch up with Season 2.

Monday July 11, 6:34 p.m.

Definitely into the summer. Today's high was about 33 C, which probably means Shinjuku was 38 degrees. But we're slowly getting used to the new temps and so far we haven't blown a major area-wide fuse.

Saturday was another Movie Day and DVD Night with MB. Started off with another stint at Foo Foo, our favorite ramen restaurant in Shinjuku Station.

Yes, you must be wondering what insanity went through our brains to actually choose hot spicy ramen as our lunch in brain-melting weather. Well, it was foodie insanity. And we were indeed sweating like Richard Simmons at a Hell's Angels meeting. And for the converted, ramen is good at any time of the year, even during blistering July and August.

Our first movie of the weekend was "Thor", the B-tier Marvel superhero. Forgot that it was master thespian Kenneth Branagh who had directed this mid-level superhero flick. Nowhere near "The Dark Knight" but nowhere near "Elektra" either. It was just a nice little intro to the Odinson. It rather felt more like a prelude to a bigger movie (which will be "The Avengers" in 2012) than it did an individual movie in its own right...along the same lines as the very first "X-Men" movie when compared to "X2". MB wondered aloud the necessity for the romance angle with a largely wasted Natalie Portman (I guess she felt like slumming after her tour de force in "Black Swan"), but again it seems foredestined that a love interest has to accompany any of the superheroes. Of course, all eyes over here were focused on the guy playing the dour Hogun of The Warriors Three, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. He had more than a cameo appearance but it was obvious that he stuck very much to the phonetically written script lines given to him.

Afterwards, we got out of the sauna that was Shinjuku and headed overe to MB's neck of the woods in Jiyugaoka. Ended up having dinner at at Italian place called La Baracca which had a very nice atmosphere complete with wood-fired pizza oven. That picture above was of my dinner, the Asparagus and Garlic Penne stuffed with ground meat. Good dinner but it did wipe out most of my wallet.

The DVD of the night was "Speed Racer"...yep that one by the Wachowski Bros (or should I now say the brother-sister act of the Wachowskis?). It had come out more than 3 years ago with a lot of stinky reviews. But after watching it, I thought it was a pretty OK homage to the Japanese original which got a bit of a bum rap for being too original....kinda like how "Dick Tracy" was treated 20 years ago. Not nearly as bad as the critics said it was. And Christina Ricci is never bad for the eyes although being a kids' flick, her clothes were very much stuck to her.

Thursday July 7, 7:35 p.m.

Ahhh...did forget to give my congratulations to PyeongChang for getting the 2018 Winter Olympics after losing out twice to Vancouver and Sochi. Just like the saying, "Three times' the charm". Just hope North Korea doesn't decide to spoil the party.

Mrs. Speedy just got home and gave me something called a curry dorayaki. A dorayaki is ordinarily two small pancakes encasing anko (sweet bean paste), but this one contains curry paste. Well, not bad....probably an acquired taste but I'm OK with it.

Thursday July 7, 6:05 p.m.

One of my must-have drinks during this summer. I was wondering about that phrase underneath the title, "Refreshing & Uplifting". It is indeed English but the combination struck me as slightly odd Japlish. And sure enough, Bay, who has seen this photo, pointed out that the American bottles don't have the caption. All I could think about was mentholated Wonderbras.

The German came in and we had an actual text lesson today but it was almost like fighting against a tidal wave trying to keep on text. Kinda like teaching 001. Speaking of whom, Arashi's No. 1 fan informed me that her particular favorite, Masaki Aiba, has ended up in hospital due to a nasty bout of pneumothorax. And the boys have got a concert schedule in about 3 weeks. Of course, the big question is whether Aiba-kun will be able to make it on stage in time. Most likely, Johnny Kitagawa himself will probably kick his protege/boy toy out of bed and force him to make a press conference where Aiba will tearfully apologize to the public for causing so much trouble by contracting a serious disease. Yes, I am pretty snarky about Japanese culture when I want to be.

Thursday July 7, 3:12 p.m.
As I was walking to the station a couple of days ago, I came across this scene at a neighbourhood apartment's garbage dumping area. Sign of the times, I say.
In 17 days, these television sets will be officially labeled extinct although as you can see here, the fossils are already starting to pile up. Since Japan is going completely digital as of the 24th, the old tube TVs (or buraun-kan terebi) have been piling up along with the banana peels and eggshells in garbage dumps all over the country. Of course, these TVs have been dumped illegally. That pink sign states that these sets cannot be picked up and recycled since the recycling fee hasn't been paid through the convenience stores with the appropriate receipt sticker stuck onto the set. But hey, I can understand a bit of the dumper's plight since I wouldn't be too enthusiastic about having to pay $40 to have a truck come and pick my own 40-year-old set up. Yup, my old Sharp still has a little over 2 weeks of life left before the days of analog come to an end. Not sure what I will do with mine when the Day of Reckoning comes. I may just have it as a really big ornament.

Thursday July 7, 3:05 p.m.

Today is Tanabata! It's the holiday for star-crossed lovers...yadayadayada. But for most people, it's their opportunity to write their wishes onto colored bands of paper and attach them to tree branches. I'm sure this would be something that Temperance "Bones" Brennan would sniff her nose at.

The pictures of the colorful Tanabata decorations were taken at the Nihombashi branch of Takashimaya last Friday. And the band up above was written by some kid exhorting some people in Sendai to hang in there during these rough times. I haven't tied a band onto a branch but if I could I would write to wish everyone in Japan to improve their lot in life.

Just have a couple of students today: The German and Mrs. Thursday. Both have always been chatty types so the lessons should flow pretty easily. Actually, the weather isn't so blisteringly hot today...will be looking forward to a cooler night tonight.

Wednesday July 6, 5:41 p.m.

Yep, that sizzling dish to the left is of my trek to the Gold Rush, that hamburg steak restaurant that the Movie Gang had gone to back on Sunday before "Super 8". That is a picture of The Triple Rush, a combo plate of Cheddar Burger, Grated Radish Burger and Bacon Burger with the throw-in of veggies and baked potato. I asked for a sausage for an extra buck....hey, they offered, I took it. Considering all of the calories at stake (no pun intended), the name Triple Bypass would also be a fine way to address this dish. Still, it was a good dinner since I hadn't had any lunch.

Heatwise, it wasn't the sauna-like conditions of a week ago, but it is definitely summer out there. I actually stopped by Jimbocho where my favorite old CD shops are located. I checked out Tacto and Disk Union...if I'm still solvent by the end of the month, I may pick up a couple of discounted discs there.

I'm just having 001 today since Kirk did a dotakyan this morning which means I still get paid for the class. Luckily, I'm feeling far more regular than I did for 001's lesson last week. I've been eating plenty of veggies for the past 7 days.

Monday July 4, 4:02 p.m.

Whilst most of America is (gonna be) enjoying The Fourth of July, it's just a regular day here. However, it is a slightly cooler and drier Monday compared to the heat and humidity of last week which gladdens me no end.

Yesterday, after my session with The Jyuppies, I met up with The Movie Gang of Skippy, Movie Buddy, The Satyr and The Wedding Planner at JR Shinjuku for what could be an epic month of movie-watching due to all the flicks that are coming out. We first had dinner at another Skippy recommendation called The Gold Rush which is just a few doors down from Studio Alta, one of the area's landmarks. The Gold Rush is a chain that serves variations on the hamburg steak that is de rigueur within the interesting culinary category of yo-shoku or Japanese-style Western food. The Shinjuku branch is basically just a basement corridor with a few booths lining the place....quite cramped in there. I had the Triple Rush of burger with cheese, burger with grated radish and burger with a bacon slice on top...all frying away on the hot plate. Luckily, I made do without lunch yesterday.

The main event was "Super 8". It was a pleasant enough summer timewaster; definitely not on the level of "E.T." although I'm one of the few people on the planet who couldn't even get through halfway through that movie (just too schmaltzy for me). There was definitely a feeling of camraderie between the two flicks although "Super 8" was far less sentimental about the creature and its relationships with humans. Basically, the only recognizable face in the large cast was Elle Fanning due to her more famous sister and the fact that Elle had been in the much-acclaimed "Somewhere" directed by Sofia Coppola. Overall, it came off as an intense kids' version of "The Outer Limits"...no big twists, just a straight-on sci-fi adventure with the usual Spielbergian touches of parent-child angst. I think I liked it a bit better than MB and The Satyr; they complained about the unevenness of the story.

Afterwards, the gang and I ended up downstairs at The Brooklyn Parlor, my third visit to the place and my first at night. Yep, the atmosphere is nice and the prices are New York level. Had dessert there this time in the form of Cherry Pie with a nice buttery crust and a Coconut Latte.

Next Saturday, the option is already in to catch "Thor" with another stayover at MB's.

Saturday July 2, 3:21 p.m.

Finished up with my two classes. It was another serious but good lesson with The Intellectual. We got into the discussion about the government's handling of the Fukushima Crisis.

I've just been diddling about the Net since I don't particularly want to head home while it's still feeling like a blast furnace. Not that it's that much different when I get home at night. I really have to open the windows. I did manage to put my Japanese writing skills to good practice by blogging down about the fact that it'll soon be 30 years to the day that I made my 2nd trip to this country and stayed at the Tokyo Prince Hotel for my first 5 nights. The place hasn't changed one whit since 1981. A lot of water under the hashi since those teenage days.

Saturday July 2, 12:12 p.m.

Sad to say but I almost forgot to mention that it was my country's birthday yesterday. 144 years young! Mind you, the only thing I did to commemorate the anniversary was to listen to a little-known Junko Ohashi tune called "Canadian Lullaby" which has absolutely no reference to Canada in the lyrics. Maybe I should drink down a bottle of maple syrup in penance but since one of those bottles of Medium No. 1 now cost close to a thousand yen a pop, I think I'll have to settle for the usual pancake breakfast tomorrow.

Finished what was probably my final lesson with Mrs. Prissy; certainly she thinks it is since she got me a couple of Peanuts postcards as a gift. Plus, she only has a few lessons left on her current contract so there is a possibility that she may not renew in any case.

Saturday July 2, 10:28 a.m.

Just a picture of a small brook in the middle of Shinjuku that I'd taken back on the hottest day of the year a few days back. But actually, the past couple of days have been slightly less volcanic in temps much to my delight. We did get some rather intense squalls shortly after my walk through Hell on Wednesday which cooled things down nicely. Just going up to 30 C today....believe me, taking into accounts recent heat and humidity levels, that temp is a blessing!

Yesterday turned out to be a triple cafe day. I had The Bass in our usual coffeehouse in Funabashi. There was a barfly of sorts knocking back beer (yes, I know, this is a cafe but beer still flows just as easily there) while belching and having his dirty feet on the seat, but thankfully outside of bad manners, he didn't bother us. Then, it was some hours later when I came across The OL for her first official lesson with me in 3 years. We met at our old haunt in Nihonbashi's COREDO complex...the Ueshima Coffeehouse...a lot fancier than the Funabashi place but definitely more crowded. The two of us had to occupy a couple of tall stools by the entrance. The OL was somewhat lamenting the fact that although she and her two sisters (my former student The UL and the otaku sis) are now well into their 30s they're still nowhere near marriage. Hey, join my club. I've got jackets!

And finally, I had The Godfather in the Tully's in Tameike-Sanno. Although we're basically having the lesson without a net (i.e. no text), we've been having good sessions talking about the birth of his new company and the fact that he's already got 3 projects on tap...all having to do with the recovery of the Tohoku area after the tsunami and earthquake.

I have Mrs. Prissy and The Intellectual today. It may be my final time with the former since she's reported that she can only come on Saturdays now and I'm just coming here as a favor to the bossman.

Tuesday June 28, 2:26 p.m.

Going gaga for Gaga....sounds like going cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But that's what the crowd at NTV studios were doing since their heroine showed up there for what seems to be a nearly annual custom. She's done her concert in Makuhari Messe and now she's doing the media rounds.

Had my usual Beehive at Cafe Nard in Funabashi. The demand for rooms at the community centre in Tsudanuma is high so we couldn't score a room until late July. So, this little cafe will do for the next few weeks. Travel, Alp, Jade and myself expressed some worry over our friend, Mrs. Tee, since apparently she's been going through some major stress in her family life. She's been absent from our little group for the past month or so. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch at a classy Chinese restaurant on the Chiba Kaido.

I finally set foot into my real estate agency to explain my guarantor predicament in person on the way back home. It didn't hurt too bad; the nice clerk there confirmed what I was asking for and he gave me a form to fill out which required to put down an emergency address. I can drag it out some more. However, another clerk had to deal with an irate foreign customer over some sort of problem; I would've disdained the lady but then again I remember that I was in the same sort of mood a few years back when I'd first entered the agency.

After a few days of relatively cool weather, we're back into the blazing heat again....explains why I'm in the I-cafe for the next few hours instead of at home. I can take advantage of the fans and all-you-can-drink option.

Monday June 27, 7:35 p.m.

Well, got the news from the juku boss that she's decided to shut down the offer of English lessons. I can't say that I'm surprised about it since neither Mr. White nor The Journo will be coming back anytime soon if ever. So, the only thing left for me is to nullify her guarantorship of my apartment tomorrow and basically my links with the place that I'd been teaching at for over 5 years will be gone. I'm still not too happy that she's decided to do this.
In Lady Gaga news, apparently, the Lady has found a new appreciation for the popular izakaya cocktail known as a Lemon Sour (shochu and lemon juice). Rumor has it that she was in one of the branches of the popular izakaya chain, Tengu...maybe in Shinagawa, a rather odd place for a celebrity of her stature. Shinagawa Station splits the neighbourhood into a strictly residential area filled with drab apartments and new condos and a neighbourhood filled with hotels and upper middle-class houses...not exactly celeb territory. And it also has the gigantic Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau....unless Gaga's gotten herself into some trouble, I don't think she'll be anywhere near there.

Monday June 27, 5:22 p.m.

I kinda figured that it was due, but I still had to sigh sadly when I heard about Peter Falk's passing on Saturday night via NHK. Lieutenant Columbo was a favorite of Dad's, and I occasionally watched one of the movies on cable. There was a certain appeal about this rumpled detective ultimately getting the best of his targets after having to suffer from their arrogant slings and arrows.

Columbo was part of the rotating lineup on "NBC's Sunday Night Mystery Movie" along with "McCloud", "MacMillan & Wife" and "Hec Ramsay" back in the early 1970s. The theme of the series by Henry "Pink Panther" Mancini ended up becoming Columbo's theme .

But for all of the TV detectives that proliferated in the United States over the past few decades, it was only Columbo who not only made it through the Japanese cultural filter but thrived here in Japan. He had a large fan following and his movies have seen repeated viewings. I can theorize that it was because of Columbo's kindness, humility and quiet deductive brilliance that garnered him his enormous popularity on this side of the Pacific. A lot of the TV detectives here in the weekly suspense dramas also contained these traits but Peter Falk added that something extra with his beat-up raincoat and car, his cockeyed and seemingly confused expression and his "Just one more question, sir..."

Falk even got his chance to do a commercial in Japan for some sort of whiskey, and one of the most famous scriptwriters here even created his own popular detective hero, loosely framed on Columbo. Furuhata Ninzaburo (definitely more difficult to pronounce than Columbo) took on his own eccentricities and keen genius reasoning, and even the show followed the same format of having the plot show how the detective solves the crime rather than who committed it, but Furuhata didn't share the same cuddliness that Columbo had.

I figure that there will be a lot of fans here who will be searching throughout the cable universe over the next few days and nights searching for that episode of "Columbo".

Monday June 27, 5:16 p.m.

Part of that Friday recce included taking a look into the old Tokyo Prince Hotel in the Shiba Park area. Just located a few hundred metres away from Tokyo Tower, this was the Ground Zero for what my life was to become. Almost 30 years ago, I stayed in this place and discovered that Japan was the place I had to study. And strangely enough, the very first of the Prince Hotels hasn't changed one whit in those 3 decades. It was almost as if Doctor Who had plopped a Time Bubble around the structure. I would love to spend a last night here before heading back to the Great White North for good, but with my financial picture looking rather bleak at the moment, just not sure....

Monday June 27, 5:11 p.m.

After finishing with The Godfather in Tameike-Sanno, I ended up spending the next 2 hours doing a walkabout through that area and even down into Tokyo Tower territory. Since I know that I'll be leaving for home by the end of the year, I've started taking photos of the myriad areas that make up the largest metropolis on the planet. It was a bit of an undertaking since it was warm and humid out there but managed to do the recce without fainting. As you can see, I do love the Sunset function on my digital. And I was able to even get a few night shots.