It’s an exciting season to be a gamer in Tokyo. We’ve already seen the release of Super Mario Galaxy, which is being hailed as the true “spiritual successor” to Super Mario 64. But for those that wanted to move to “true” next-gen but were hindered by cost, the even better news is that the Xbox 360, with its library of great games, is now being sold for the lowest price, anywhere in the world.

Coming in December, you will be able to get an even better deal on the Xbox 360. For 39,880 yen, you’ll not only get the new version of the system, complete with hard drive, HDMI support and two games, you’ll also get a copy of the hot new Mistwalker RPG, Lost Odyssey (Link). Having an NTSC-J version of the Xbox means that you can play the asian version of games. This is a boon for many reasons, but one major one is that the asian versions are cheaper than the same game marketed for other regions. Most of these games include English dialogue and menus which means that Westerners have an easy way to access cheaper games that should be easier to follow and are often released before their Japanese iterations. Play Asia is a great source for asian games and they offer free shipping to Japan. If you aren’t into RPGs, the Xbox 360 bundle currenly runs for 34,800 yen. If you’re into gaming, now you know what to ask for for Christmas or Chanakah or Kwanza or whatever relevant gift-giving holiday comes at the end of the year for you.

0-0 so far after 45 minutes. Asian Cup’s most interesting game? Australia beat Japan last year in the World Cup, so there has been some talk about this being a “grudge” match, but the play has been all fair. And Australia lost 1-3 to Iraq a few days ago, so a lot is at stake in this quarter final.

PLUS it is 35 degrees at the My Dinh Stadium in Vietnam: very very hot.

0-1 (69 min) Australia’s Aloisi scores after a nice corner kick.
1-1 (72 min) Japan’s Takahara equalizes right away, great goals!

…and we have 1-1 in full time, and 30 minutes extention.
…and penalty shout-outs! Veteran keeper Kawaguchi saves the first one! And Neill misses Australia’s second one! 3-2 after Takahara misses his shot. Japan wins in the end, after Nagata scores 4-3.

One of my duties while working as a producer/program director in NYC was to periodically direct the morning news show that was broadcast at 7 am. This required me to wake up at 2 am and work non-stop until 8 am. The only thing I wanted after finishing such a fast-paced project was a good breakfast. Fortunately, the studio was near what is probably the best bagel shop in all of NYC, Ess-a-Bagel. They feature a variety of piping hot bagels with a delicious assortment of homemade spreads and toppings. The bagels are huge and their fillings are more than generously applied. Knowing that after all of my hard work, I would be able to bite into these perfectly crisp yet soft delights was motivation enough to get through the high stress days. Did I mention that the bagels taste incredibly good? Putting them in the same category as bread would be an insult to the bagel makers.

Ess-a-Bagel wasn’t only memorably for its food, but also for its colorful staff. Uncle Bill, as he referred to himself, was the outspoken representative for the store. Ask for something that goes against the unwritten rules of bageldom and you will be reprimanded. You want your bagel toasted? Or maybe you want an egg bagel? If that’s the case, then it is best not to go. The only thing you’ll get out of making such requests is the discovery of your bagel ignorance and a crash course in bagel fundamentals.

The other staff members had emigrated from around the world: Arabs, Mexicans, Jews, Irish, etc. The store was a cross section of life in the city, with a color and flavor that could only be found in NYC. But perhaps the greatest memory that I have of that place (other than the bagels, of course) is Miho.

Miho was a young Japanese girl that had left it all behind to come to NYC. After saving money from her stable desk job, Miho, going against the protests of her parents, took up and left for New York. Many go to New York to seek a new and better life. Some go to study English; others to work or study abroad. But Miho was unique. She went to study bagels.

Miho had a vision. Ever since she had her first bagel she knew she wanted to learn how to make them herself. She wanted to run her own store. And with that will and prepared determination, she begged the managers of Ess-a-Bagel to work there. She wanted to be an apprentice and she got her wish. Though there was no salary, Miho was happy to be paid in bagels. It was at this time, when Miho was working to form her dream into a reality that our paths crossed.

Every morning after finishing the morning show I would head over to have breakfast with Miho. Stressed and tired, Miho would always brighten my day. She sat and listened to me gripe, and always with a smile. The bagels always tasted so much better this way. Unfortunately, Miho eventually went back to Japan but I always hoped that she’d make her dream come true.

It had been 5 years since I last spoke with Miho. I quit my job in NYC and moved back to Osaka for grad school. I often wondered what Miho was doing. Then last summer, I went back to my favorite bagel place. Though many of the staff had long gone, Uncle Bill was there to great me with his scathing New York humor. He told me that Miho had done it. She had opened her shop somewhere in Tokyo! I looked to a store wall and saw Miho’s face smiling back. There hanging on the wall was an article in The Wall Street Journal featuring her as a young entrepenuer. I was excited. Not only could I find Miho, but I could finally find what was sure to be a real bagel in Japan.

Upon my return, I moved to Tokyo. Settling in to my new surroundings made a search for Miho fall to the bottom of my to-do list. It took 6 months but I finally found her.

Miho’s store is called Maruichi Bagel, a play on the word “circle” and “one” implying they are the best. There is no need to imply. These bagels are the best you will find in all of Japan. Miho has followed the Ess-a-Bagel formula perfectly. Though some ingredients might mildly change the flavor, these bagels will have you lining up for more. And yes, you will have to line up. The shop is tiny, with barely enough space for customers to fit inside and at Maruichi; it’s take-out only. But these bagels are New York sized. Ask for cream cheese and you’ll get an entire bowl of the homemade stuff. The mixed tuna is more than two cans large. You won’t go hungry here and the prices won’t have you breaking the bank. If you want a true bagel with a size and flavor that anyone in the Big Apple would be proud of, then you need to go to Maruichi Bagel.

Maruichi Bagel

Hikari Entertainment

I’m playing 5-a-side football (Futsal - フットサル). We’ll be playing until 23:30 and it feels pretty late, but it’s nothing compared to what they have planned here next Friday evening: the ALL-NIGHTER - a 5-hour session from midnight until 5am.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. In the city where people routinely work 13-hour days and sleep all weekend, when else are you going to play?

Posted from my mobile phone

Local favourite Takao Suzuki just brought the house down with a victory against Waske & will play World No.1 Roger Federer in the next round tomorrow.

Federer is through and will play Wesley Moodie tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:30.
Local hopes are carried by Takao Suzuki, who pulled off a shock against Paradorn Srichaphan. If he can get past the limited Alexander Waske, it would set up the dream quarter-final: against Roger Federer.
However my favourite, Andy Murray, went out to former champion, Jiri Novak. At least I have Tim Henman to cheer on; he is also in action tomorrow.

Today Roger Federer kicks off his campaign at the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships in Ariake, Tokyo. The Number 1 seed is on court at 13:30 and shouldn’t have too many problems against the Serbian qualifier Viktor Troicki.
I’m hoping to get to some of the games, especially as two Brits are in action: Tim Henman, who won his opening match yesterday, and rising star Andy Murray, the only player (other than World No.2 Rafael Nadal) to have beaten Federer this year. The venue, 有明テニスの森 (Ariake Tennis Forest Park) is just next to my apartment building, so I have no excuses for not going along to cheer them on.

Go here for the latest scores and order of play.

RIMG0007

Originally uploaded by lhuga.

I can not believe that I buy Sony’s product. But true, this is my new laptop.
I ordered this(Vaio TypeS) via SonyStyle web page, which is a sort of custom made system.
You can choose WinXP Pro/Home, HDD, Memory, Webcam, Fingerprint recognition unit, Felica unit, etc., etc.
And it took about 1 week to arrive.

Anyway, I am going to play with my new toy :D

ヨコハマ・ハワイイ・フェスティバル2006　公式サイト　

This weekend, “Yokohama HAWAI’I FESTIVAL” is held in Sakuragicho, Yokohama.
According to that website, there are many events and markets.
I am interested in “UKULELE 1000 people session”, it seems that they are going to play “Blue Hawaii” .
Wanna join ? You don’t need a reservation, your own ukulele.
All you have to do is going there(Osanbashi-pier) at exact time (17:00, 29th July. Sat.) with “ALOHA SPIRITS”
Nice.

Oh, are you interested in Hawaii ? Ok, enjoy our fellow Metroblogging Hawaii.

ヨコハマ・ハワイイ・フェスティバル — ちょっとカワイイ響き。
大さん橋から、JICA、ワールドポーターズ、ランドマーク、クィーンズ、GENTO までの広いエリアでのイベントは
なかなか楽しそう。雨が降らなければいいなぁ。

I love the new ads of the U.S Apple Computer. In networking ad, the Japanese girl talks to Mac "he seems to be Otaku, don’t you think so?"

As a "Toshiro Okada - Otaking" fan, I am still a little bit nervous to use the word "Otaku". Yes, I feel Otaku should have very deep knowledge and obsessiveness to the object, actually Wikipedia explains Otaku like this.

However it is very true that the word "Otaku" is used very easily for anime fans, manga fans, maid fans, costume play fans, especially people who hang around Akihabara. Of course since manga, anime, computer stuffs connects tightly to Otaku culture, Akihabara is a Mecca of Otaku, but in a narrow sense, all people in Akihabara (we call Akiba) are not Otaku. So we call them Akiba-kei (Akiba group). Do I make sense? :-)
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