Here’s the content of the email:

メール（写真）ありがとうございました。

先日は　たのしい　ひとときを　ありがとうございました。

また　あえるひを　たのしみにしています。

ワシントン州へ　いくことがあれば　れんらくいたします。

おからだを　たいせつに　してください。

ごけんこうと　ごかつやくを　おいのりもうしあげます。

And here’s Google’s translation of that in English:

Mail (photo) Thank you.

Thank you for your cheerful moment the other day.

Hi We look forward to the dress again.

If getting in touch we will be to Washington.

It’s so want to please your body.

Moushiagemasu glue and leave the reservation for us and do simultaneously.

“we look forward to the dress again“, “so want to please your body“, “leave the reservation for us and do simultaneously“: If i had trusted Google’s translation of Nakagawa-san’s email, i would have thought he wanted something sexual! Fortunately, i was able to employ the help of my friend Chikako. This is what the email is supposed to mean:

Thank you for your mail and pictures.

I had a great time with you.

I’m looking forward to seeing you.

If I have a chance to go to the Washington (State), I’ll let you know it.

Take care yourself!

I’ll pray for your health and success.

Update:
I was asked to try out the translation service at Bing.com by a good friend of mine (naturally, he works at Microsoft) to see if i would get a better translation result than Google’s. Here it is:

Thank you very much for your mail (see picture).

Thank you for the other day happy time.

Also dress lamplight, intended for happiness.

れんらく will be if you go to Washington.

And important to your body.

And your けんこう to your かつやく, いのり もうしあげます.

The translated text by bing.com is definitely less sexual than Google’s but i can’t say that it is too much better. Quite of a bit of the Japanese text remained not translated.

• Japanese are very very polite. The waitresses at the Shabu-shabu restaurant that Okazaki-san took me to were suffocatingly (in a good way) polite.
• It is really difficult to find trash cans in Tokyo but streets are amazingly clean. There were a few occasions when i could not find any trash cans and had to carry the trash back to my hotel room.
• On escalators, everyone stand on the left side and walk on the right side. No exceptions, other than some dumb tourists.
• The Common One-day ticket costs 1000 Yen and it allows unlimited rides for the day the ticket is purchased on subways operated by Tokyo Metro and Toei (Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation). Except for day i arrived in Tokyo, i bought the Common One-day ticket every day while i was there and it was worth every penny (or Yen).
• Trains arrive on time all the time.
• Trains and stations on the Fukutoshin Line are newer. Most of the stations on this line have unique pleasant musical door closing tone.
• Trains on the Toei Oedo Line appear older and not as well air-conditioned. I noticed that on some trains, they are labeled on the outside “weak air-conditioner” in Japanese.
• There’s a station on the Oedo Line called Yoyogi.
• There are sections on the subway train designated as no cell phone zone called “Priority Seat”. I am guessing you are not supposed to do any voice calls while seated in these zones.
• One popular tourist brochure instructed visitors going to Tsukiji seafood market to use the Tsukiji station (Hibaya Line). The station closer to the market is actually the Tsukijishijo station (Oedo Line).
• Softbank (a Japanese mobile carrier) has been featuring a snow white Hokkaido Inu called Otosan (father) in their ads. I wanted to get the keychain with a tiny stuffed Otosan but they refused to give it to me without signing a contract.
• It is not possible to buy prepaid SIM card in Japan. If you are only spending a few days there and you need your mobile phone working, it may be cheaper to enable roaming with your current mobile carrier than to rent a phone in Japan.
• For some reason, flip phones are HUGE in Tokyo, and most probably, in Japan. More than 90 percent of the phones i noticed are flip phones. I had only seen one candybar phone other than iPhones.
• It is next to impossible to find free WiFi hotspots in Tokyo. If WiFi hotspots are available, they are all password-protected, including those provided by mobile carriers.
• 7-Eleven has ATM that accepts ATM cards issued by US banks. A lot of Japanese banks do not seem to take foreign ATM cards, from what i experienced.
• Okazaki-san taught me this Japanese phrase Ichi-go, ichi-e to describe our meeting. I think it means once in a lifetime.
• Don’t be fooled into thinking that sushi at restaurants around Tsukiji fish and seafood market is going to be better than elsewhere. I had better sushi at the sushi restaurant on top of Shibuya 109 than the Tuna-specialty joint in Tsukiji.
• If you are is still holding on to the antiquated notion that Japanese women are small and short, you really should pay a visit to Tokyo. I have never seen so many tall (and slim) Asian women in one place. Not even in Beijing.

Anyway, here are the musical tones i recorded on my iPhone:

• F06 Kotake-mukaihara: southbound. This is a partial recording because i did not realize this station has musical tone as well as i was traveling southbound.
• F07 Senkawa: Northbound | Southbound.
F08 Kanamecho: Northbound | Southbound.
• F09 Ikebukuro: Northbound | Southbound.
• F10 Zoshigaya: Northbound | Southbound.
• F11 Nishi-waseda: Northbound | Southbound.
• F12 Higashi-shinjuku: Northbound | Southbound (my favorite!).
• F13 Shinjuku-sanchome: Northbound | Southbound.
• F14 Kita-sando: Northbound | Southbound.
• F15 Meiji-jingumae: Northbound | Southbound.
• F16 Shibuya: Northbound | Southbound.
]]> http://ktula.com/2009/08/17/tokyo-musical-door-closing-tone-on-the-fukutoshin-line/feed/ 1 http://ktula.com/2009/08/17/tokyo-day-2/ http://ktula.com/2009/08/17/tokyo-day-2/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:10:21 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=2635 The only place i knew i wanted to visit prior to arriving in Tokyo was Tsukiji fish and seafood wholesale market, the largest of its kind in the world. I didn’t go to bed till late the previous night and my back was giving me crap so i could not get out of bed in time.


Statue of Hachiko, the loyal Akita, just outside of the Shibuya station.


Even the buses in Shibuya are Hachiko-related.

Instead, the first place i visited was Shibuya. Just outside of the Shibuya subway station is the statue of Hachiko. I have been wanting to see this statue for a very long time, ever since i watched the movie Hachiko monogatari back in 1993. This is the first movie that actually made me cry and it opened up a emotional floodgate inside of me. Prior to this, i had never shed any tears in any movie, not even in tear jerkers.


Busiest intersection in the world, during apparently its less busy moment. View from the second floor of the Starbucks located near the intersection.

A short walk from the Hachiko statue is what is known to be the busiest intersection in the world. When the lights turn red for vehicular traffic, pedestrians cross the scramble crossing in all directions at the same time. There was a light rain that morning so pedestrian traffic at that intersection was probably lighter than usual. The second floor of the multi-storey Starbucks offered a very good view of the intersection. I bought an iced mocha to get away from the humidity while people-watching from the second floor of Starbucks.


Taking shelter from the pouring rain at a McDonald’s in Shibuya.

As i walked around Shibuya, it started pouring. I was stranded at a McDonald’s
until a kind-hearted Nepalese employee there offered me her umbrella.


Plastic cover for umbrellas, available at most average size stores.

Walking around with an umbrella made me realized most average size stores in the Shibuya area offered a plastic cover when you are shopping there to prevent your wet umbrella from dripping all over the place.

As it got close to lunch time, with the rain still pouring, i found shelter in the Shibuya 109 department store. The Shibuya 109 department store appears to cater to more female shoppers. But that not why i was there. I noticed an ad for a sushi restaurant in the same building. I don’t remember the name of the sushi restaurant as its name was in Japanese characters but i could not remember the last time i had such a good sushi. Most of the sushi were categorized as either fresh (never frozen) or live (as in still kicking). I ordered a plate with three different types of tuna, octopus (octopus sushi i had elsewhere tend to be chewy but not these) sushi, abalone sushi (live), king crab sushi (live) and a plate of fried peppered sea bream. This delicious meal cost me less than $30.


Three different types of tuna.


Tako (Octopus) sushi.


Abalone sushi.


King crab sushi.


Deep fried peppered sea bream.

After lunch, i thought about going to Ginza. But while i was on the subway, i changed my mind and decided to go to Asakusa for some sight-seeing instead. The oldest temple in Tokyo is located in Asakusa. However, i would find out later that i had no luck in seeing the temple as it was under renovation: the exterior of the temple was covered in a sheet of protective material.


The Qigong place where i wasted 1000 Yen to get myself electrocuted.

On my way to the temple after getting out of the train, i walked through some stores located underground. One of the stores was a Qigong (氣功) clinic. Since my back was still bothering me, i decided to step into the clinic for a 10-min session. The Qigong practitioner handed me a metal wand and told me to grab on to it, at least, from what i understood him since he could not speak any English and i spoke no Japanese. I pointed to my lower back and he appeared to understand that i needed treatment on it. When he turned on the machine, i could feel my right hand, which was holding on to the metal wand, buzzing as electricity was flowing through it. The practitioner was holding on to the other wand while using his other hand to make contact with my lower back. This continued for probably 5 to 6 minutes. After that, he told me to lie face down and it was then he started applying his Qi on me. In the area of my back where he touched me, i could feel warmth but i think i would have felt the warmth with or without Qi. When the 10-min session was completed, my back did not feel any better but my wallet was definitely 1000 Yen lighter.

I was slightly disappointed with my Asakusa trip because i did not see the temple that i set out to see even though i did see several smaller temples surrounding it. I did not stay in Asakusa for long as it was quite warm and humid. On my way back, i stopped by in Ginza to see what this area was all about. After walking several blocks around the Ginza station, my conclusion is that Ginza is full of luxury branded stores, stores that i can easily find in any large metropolitan cities in the US. I had no interest in them so i hopped on a train to get back to my hotel to get some rest.


Hanging out with salarymen: Higashihara-san and Nakagawa-san.

The previous night when the earthquake hit, i was chatting with Larry (the guy from Dallas). I asked Larry the best place to eat with salarymen. I remember watching one episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain where he was eating with some salarymen. I wanted to have the same experience as well. I was told Shimbashi was the place to go if i wanted to hang out with salarymen. As soon as i walked out of the Shimbashi station, i immediately noticed several Yakitori joints filled with salarymen (and women). I wanted to eat in the first place i saw but i was too intimidated as it was completely full and it did not appear to be a place where anything other than Japanese was going to be understood. I looked around for an ATM that would accept my American ATM card but failed miserably. Eventually, my hunger overcame my fear and i went into an air-conditioned joint that accepted credit cards. The waitress sat me down in front of the Yakitori bar, among two groups of salarymen. After ordering a few items from the menu, the guy to my right started chatting with me. Nakagawa-san spoke very very little English so it was quite difficult to conduct our conversation. But we managed to chat for the rest of the evening. At some point, he pointed at the menu and told me i should order an item called Bonjiri. I had no clue what Bonjiri was but i ordered it regardless. When it finally arrived, it was a Yakitori stick full of chicken ass. I don’t think i ever had chicken ass but i ate them anyway. It was not too bad but my preference was the chicken heart Yakitori. As i took out my iPhone to take note of his name, Nakagawa-san noticed the wall paper on my iPhone (it was a picture of Smelly and Mango taken several weeks ago). He pointed at Mango and and then proceeded to take his phone out and showed me a picture of his Shiba Inu called Goro.


Hoppy made me and the salarymen around me very happy.

Nakagawa-san and his co-worker Higashihara-san introduced me to a malt beverage called Hoppy. It looked like beer but it did not taste like beer. They let me finished a dish that they ordered so i bought them a round of Hoppy.

I concluded the night by riding the Fukutoshin Line from end to end. More on that in the next post.

]]> http://ktula.com/2009/08/17/tokyo-day-2/feed/ 1 http://ktula.com/2009/08/09/tokyo-day-1/ http://ktula.com/2009/08/09/tokyo-day-1/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 15:57:24 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=2621 What an eventful first day in Tokyo for me, on top of my earlier brush with a Chinese jerk at Narita airport.

Prior to arriving in Tokyo, i thought i would find relief from the Singapore heat and humidity. I was dead wrong. Tokyo was just as humid and probably no cooler than Singapore. I felt i could almost cut through the humidity – made worse by the occasional rain – with a knife. I was sweating like a pig walking through the busy streets in Shinjuku. In no time, my body was feeling uncomfortably sticky. Every so often, i would intentionally wander into air-conditioned shops like the enormous Muji store and Kinokuniya bookstore to cool myself down. I forgot to purchase a guide book for Tokyo while i was in Singapore so i thought it may be possible to get something similar at the Kinokuniya bookstore. No such luck: everything in the bookstore, including the foreign section, was in Japanese.

In no time, i was completely lost in the bustling streets and bright lights of Shinjuku. The crude map provided by the hotel offered not much help in determining my location. For the majority of the time, i was just wondering around aimlessly. Somehow, i made it to the Kabuki area. Several guys were trying to persuade me to visit their “fine” establishments but as soon as i opened my mouth revealing that i spoke no Japanese, some of them lost interest. I walked into an English pub after noticing what appeared to be an American guy drinking alone in there. I wanted to figure out where i was and i figured that he may be able to offer me some help. Turned out, i was right and he was from Dallas and has been living in Tokyo for the past six years. While we were chatting, things started shaking. I was puzzled initially, not knowing what was going on. Larry later confirmed my suspicion that it was an earthquake. I did not find out later that this earthquake registered at 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale. From what i could tell, there did not appear to be any damage or injury. By the time i walked out of the pub, everything was back to normal like nothing had happened.

In addition to experiencing difficulty in getting directions, i found myself having an equally hard time in ordering food. Following the recommendation of a hotel staff, i walked across Meiji street to a below-ground restaurant called Shita Tsuzumi. The menu was in Japanese. Other than a few Kanji (Chinese) characters sprinkled here and there, i really was not clear how each item was going to be prepared. The problem was compounded by the fact that the waiter spoke no English. Eventually, i managed to order two types of chicken Yakitori and a grilled pork dish. They all turned out to be very tasty.


Shita Tsuzumi menu.


Two types of chicken Yakitori.


Grilled pork with salad.

]]> http://ktula.com/2009/08/09/tokyo-day-1/feed/ 0 http://ktula.com/2009/08/09/chinese-asshole/ http://ktula.com/2009/08/09/chinese-asshole/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:21:33 +0000 ktula http://ktula.com/?p=2613 This post is laden with F-bombs. If you are easily offended by it, read no further.

The use of the term “Chinese” in this post refers to Chinese from China.


Chinese asshole after clearing custom.

After getting off the flight from Singapore, i waited at the line for foreign passport holders at Narita airport. Each time the line moved forward, i felt someone behind nudging me forward by pushing the Timbuk2 Patrol backpack that i had on my back. So i turned around and noticed this six-foot-four Chinese guy in his 40s standing a little close for my comfort. I don’t know about you but i really do not appreciate a complete stranger sticking to me like glue. I let out a sigh of relief when he realized he did not have the necessary embarkation and custom declaration forms and had to break from the line to retrieve the form. I thought that was the end of it.

Oh no. Minutes later, i felt another bump. The same asshole not only physically pushed several other people waiting in line behind me, he ran right into me. Again, he made no apology. I kept my cool and did not say a word. As the line moved forward, he continued to bump into my backpack. Not too long later, he found out that he had not properly completed the forms so he went back to where he originally picked up the forms to use the pen. Yet again, instead of waiting at the end of the line like he should, he cut right back into the line and bumped into me again. This time, i had enough of it. I turned around, stared at him and told him “Hey, do you fucking mind?” He probably had no clue what i was telling him but my tone made it abundantly clear to him that his extraordinarily rude behavior was no longer tolerated by me. He gave me my space.

This incident reminded me of my first trip in China when i was waiting in line for an express train ticket to Beijing at a Shanghai train station and some jerk behind me simply would not give me my space. So i have a message for this Chinese asshole i met today:

I understand that you are used to lining up in the uncivilized manner that you did today. But you are no longer in China. Your inconsiderate behavior is only adding to the already soiled reputations of Chinese tourists all around the world. Do you have any fucking clue what it meant to be polite and considerate? Can you comprehend with the pea-sized brain in that giant noggin of yours that you do not gain any time or advantage by constantly pushing me forward? You DO NOT rush into a just-arrived train before letting the departing passengers off. You DO NOT spit and dig your fucking nose with reckless abandon in public. If you had given up your spot in a line, you DO NOT force your way back in the exact same spot without asking the permission of all those who are behind you. When you are waiting in line, you DO NOT nudge or push the person in front of you, and when you do, you fucking apologize. Are all these common sense behaviors too difficult for you to grasp?

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