SNOW!

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Sanda's first snow floats softly to the ground to the backdrop of the computer store and sign for the used porn DVD shop.

Snowstorm

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Originally uploaded by ashleyniblock.

Check out this photo of the Denver photo taken from above by a flickr member. WOW!

Strange thing about being in Japan some things... such as this blizzard... are completely off my radar. I didn't know about this until checking the BBC this morning.

Anyhow, crazy photo.

Coffee, Tea, or Massage Oil?

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Found near my friend's bar in Nishinomiya this 100円 ($1) discount vending machine has energy drinks and a 1000円 ($10) bottle of massage oil. Now this is machine isn't anywhere near anything or anyone who could possibly be serviced by easily accessible massage oil. Go figure.

If you want to find it it's right here on the south east corner.

Christmas Chicken

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

In Japan Christmas means fried chicken, and fried chicken means KFC. Go figure. Here's a photo of the line outside of the Okamoto KFC on Christmas Eve.

I got a Christmas gift from Nintendo

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Whoo new beefy straps for my Wii-motes!

Shishiniku part 2

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Ah, so last night I had the shishiniku. It was great! Super yummy. It wasn’t gamy or stinky. It was a little tough but not in any way that made it less tasty. Absolutely great. I want to try it as yakiniku next time I have the chance to have it. Here’s some photos from the dinner.

Garbage Day

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

This isn’t my garbage dumping spot but it’s near my house and it’s always over flowing like that. Notice that all the bags are the same. That’s because in Sanda the city won’t pick up your garbage unless you bag it in the bags they sell, which aren't that much more expensive than normal trash bags. I think this somehow subsidizes the garbage collection. These bags are for burnable stuff, the majority of things we throw away. There are also bags for non-burnable items, mostly cans in my case, and pet bottles.

猪肉すき焼き / Inoshishi meat sukiyaki

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Next Year’s animal is the wild boar or inoshishi (イノシシ) in Japanese so in honor of that I went to the JA Pascal store and bought some inoshishi meat (猪肉). Pascal is a wonderful store that sells products directly from the farmers. This store is run by the Sanda branch of the JA or Japan Agriculture which is a quasi-governmental group that basically runs agriculture in Japan, besides offering insurance, banks, and running gas stations. They sell giant daikon for 100円 and the prices for the veggies are also insanely low. Plus it’s the only place to buy shishimeat. (They also had some really yummy looking duck that I was tempted to buy.)

Anyhow tomorrow night for a Christmas celebration we are going to make inoshishi sukiyaki. I’ve been enthralled by these animals since I’ve come to Kansai, they lived all around my old host mother’s house and around Konan University. So I’m really looking forward to munching on some for the first time. I'll report back on Monday.

Crab and stuff pizza

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Crab, shrimp, oyster, other stuff pizza. I ate it, it was OK. Looking at this photo makes my throat kinda hurt like I mildy want to throw up.

Cheap seafood + my stomach = bad idea.

Yea I like all these other things, but together on a pizza is a little hard to get down. I did finish it however.

At least I got a free Pizza Little Party original calendar.

Old photos from Nara.

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Well, not that old. I posted photos I took last year on an art history feild trip to Nara to my Flickr account. Click here for crazy-deer-filled the photo set.

More Photos of Sanda

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

I posted 8 new photos I took of Sanda on this cold, cold day into my Sanda city photo set. Here's the link.

USGS censored

New rules for the USGS will now allow higher ups in the USGS to screen papers before being published, including reading notes from peer reviewers, to check if they are in line with policy. This coming only a few days after the Union of Concerned Scientists published a letter criticizing the Bush administration of injecting politics into science.

Read more here:
http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/061214_ap_usgs_screening.html

(link via Slashdot)

Koya-san photos

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

I've just added my Koya-san photos from last year to my flickr site. You can check out the photo set here.

Me and my Miis

Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Here are the Miis that weve made on my Wii. I brought it down to Yuko's house and we had a ton of fun playing last Wednesday.

From left to right its Kazushi (Yuko's brother), Me (With beard), Nao (Friends 3 year old son who's in my profile photo), Kim (a friend) and Yuko.

And here's a bonus photo of my Wii in action. Wii = love.

Photos of Iceland

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Originally uploaded by brown bird.

My pal Jared just posted photos from his trip to Iceland. Insanely beautiful. Check them out here.

Chili Pepper Socks

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Originally uploaded by sleepytako.

Wow, I knew it made my food hot and my mouth burn, but it also keeps my feet nice and toasty. Capsicin, er.. capsaicin, great stuff.

I'm Wiiing all over my self...

So this morning (Saturday Dec 2) is the Japanese release date for the Wii in Japan. I don't start work until 12 so I decided to try my luck at getting a Wii. The first store I went to had a sign saying they didn't have any for sale, but the Toys R Us did, and they had the line. I made it in as number 62 of 76. I got there at 8:50, the store opened at 10. They sold out. Here's my photos. I gotta go to work!








These signs said how many they had to sell, price, and what other things you could buy.