There are some unique light snacks which are good with beer and other alcohol. We say "Kawaki mono" (dried stuff); Kakipi is one of them and my American friend’s mom likes "Saki ika" (dried spirited Squid), which has a sour, a little spicy and Umami taste. Bean snacks are also popular. I like this kind of salty peanuts coated in rice powders. At an Izakaya you can eat "Ei hire" (fin of ray fish), which is served with mayo and red pepper usually. Very yummy. Kameda Seika is a big snack maker and they have some assorted Kawaki mono snacks. Sometimes I buy that type of stuff for parties. Yo-chan food has various squid snacks, and you can find them at Kiosk at train station. YES! Try it with beer when you travel in Japan. You will sense Japan more. :-) By the way, this wall paper has great sense…."squid boy"…orz

I like this, it makes me smile. Everybody looks happy. Sushi Conveyor in Tokyo. By the way, when I locate Sushi, I eat GARI a lot! Because that is my favorite stuff. GARI is named from the sound of cutting ginger or the texture of ginger (we say gari gari suru). Originally it was a private mark/secret language of sushi cooks like Murasaki (purple) = soy sauce, or AGARI (up) = green tea. Sushi private marks got to be common and customers use them now.

I have never looked at "Fist of the North Star" (北斗の拳) in manga, TV shows, or movies. It’s too violent for me, but I know the story and it’s very popular actually. At the end of this month, their new movie "The Legend of Raoh II: Fierce Fighting Arc" (here is the trailer) will be released in Japan. In the movie, Raoh died. So a few days ago, his funeral ceremony was held in Zen Temple Koyasan Tokyo Betsuin. This is the official site and this is a news site. People had a funeral for Rikiishi of "Ashita no Joe" (Tomorrow, Joe) before. I think this is the second time to have a funeral for a manga character. Ha. You have my sympathy.

To prevent the propagation of bacteria, fish were dried in the sun for long time. This was usual before. But the flavor went away and the taste was not good. Actually, I didn’t like Himono when I was a kid. So recently, drying overnight or such quick-dry methods are the trend, called  "Ichiyaboshi" (overnight dry). Ichiyaboshi is soft, and rich taste of "UMAMI", very yummy. Not only yummy, it’s good for health too. Like Natto can be nutrient-rich more than the original soybean, himono is also nutrient-rich more than raw fish. We say "Umami ga gyoushuku" which means "condensation of UMAMI" after evaporation of water. Aside from Ichiyaboshi, there are Choumiboshi (soak fish in dressing before drying), the super smelly fish Kusaya is one of this kind; Yakiboshi (roast before drying);  Koriboshi(freezing and drying); Maruboshi (soak in salt water before drying) etc.

I did not like Himono before and I had a poor image of it as just stockfood. But Himono is a labor-intensive product and actually good Himono is very expensive. This is an online Himono shop. Hmmm, good price.

Because of the health boom and slow food boom, Himono Izakaya was a topic last year. Such Izakaya tend to serve rice cooked "Ginshari" by hearth or earthen pot like this. (The taste is so different from rice cooked in an electric rice cooker.)  Fish, a bowl of rice and miso soup — these are "Japanese soul food." That’s what I thought. The peak is over and I found some shops were closed already. But I hope Himono Izakaya is over as a trend or the usual food fads like this and this.

Anyway, when I was kid, I really wanted to taste the food of a traveler — "a piece of bread, wine in deer skin bag and cheese" — in a foreign fairy story. It sounded very delicious to me and I did not have any interest in rice balls in Japanese stories.

I will tell the advantages and disadvantages of this PASMO.
advantages : I think these are main advantages.
We can do “touch and go” like SUICA in private, subway, bus too.
(This is nice! I must alway be nervous to suceed in putting such a thin card into a thin slot.)

We can use only one card, no need to have one for each line.
(This is nice too! because I have SUICA, train pass, PASSNET and bus card. If I don’t have them all, I need to buy ticket everytime, I can’t be bothered.)

When I go throgh the exit, if my remaining PASMO credits are not enough, my PASMO will be recharged automatically from my credit card (pre-registration is necessary)

Some private company will give you points for your use of PASMO. If you accumulate a certain number of points, you will be given various advantages. (I like this too. I use Odakyo, I can collect points and use them in stores, department stores and PASMO too )

And there were many inconveniences relating to these older systems as well. The transfer from a PASSNET line to a SUICA (such as in Shinjuku) can be very confusing for some people and it holds up the line. Basically you have to first put your PASSNET through the reader slot, and then swipe your SUICA across the magnetic pad. Many people, especially old people, people not from Tokyo, and some foreigners had troubles with this. Also, if your SUICA ran out before you could exit, you could recharge it inside the station before exiting, but for PASSNET, if your card runs out, there is usually no way to get another card inside the station, and exit (some stations sell PASSNET cards at their kiosks). So you had to line up in a long line at the adjustment machine and pay your total fare, then buy a new PASSNET once you’ve exited.
So although these systems (SUICA, PASSNET, and all Kanto area bus card) were a great improvement over the old system of every train line using different ticket systems, they still had inconveniences. The great thing about PASMO is that it combines all these together. We can use PASSMO on every major train (including JR, private, and subway) and bus. And after the introduction of PASMO, we can also use SUICA anywhere the PASMO card is accepted.

disadvantages : I have to be careful too.
You must be charged more than you used.
If you started at A station of X line, then transfered through Z line in the middle without going through exit, then go back to the final destination is B station in X line, then you will be charged a full A to B of X line. JR tends to be more expensive than private and lines, so this is a problem for many people. (めんどくさい）

Auto charge service won’t be available for bus, so bus user need to be careful.

You can not carry both a SUICA and a PASMO in the same pass case together (actually you don’t need it), if you do it, you got error. You need to choose Penguin or Robot. :-p

If you have kids, PASMO would be inconvenient because PASMO is available for only one person.

The name “PASMO” is a kind of funny commbination of the English word “pass” and the Japanese word “mo” (meaning “also”). The logo on the card has a picture of a train and then the word “mo”, the a picture of a bus and the word “mo”, then finally the word pasmo. So we can kind of get a feeling of its “all inclusiveness” from the name. Bus mo, train mo, pasmo. :-)

No.1 is London, England. It’s Europe’s largest metro subway system and is the world’s oldest underground system. No.2 is Paris, France which is a the second oldest in the world. No.3 is Moscow, Russia! (really!) It has the biggest ridership of all metro systems throughout the world. Hmm I wanna try it. No.4 is Madrid, Spain! (really!). It’s the second largest underground system in Europe. Then No.5 is Tokyo, Japan. It carries approximately 2.8 billion people per year to 282 subway stations. Hm, okay. BUT I can’t agree with the later part! In addition to underground subways, the Tokyo transit system consists of the Toden Arakawa light rail line (one train car!) and the Ueno Zoo Monorail (run between only two stations!). What? Where is JR, auto driving train Yurikamome, and other major railways? Actually I have never ridden the Ueno Zoo Monorail (monkey train!) . Strange article…orz.

Anyway when you use the subway in Tokyo, to choose a transfer point is very hard. On the train map, you can see two lines are connected to each other, but sometimes you have to walk very long to transfer. And you need to be careful when you use Oedo line and make an appointment. Their stations are built in very deep and you may take 10 minuste returning to the ground after you get off trains. Here is an English train route finder. It will help you when you come to Tokyo. By the way, talking about the Tokyo subway, some will remember this Sarin attack. I remember the day because my mom called me at my job to ask, "Are you okay?"

I will pick the urban legends of Tokyo
The legend of Wraith in Tokyo : This is the most famous Tokyo legend;people still don’t touch Tairano Masakado’s grave.

This is a funny one,Touch the delivery company trade mark. If you touch the trade mark of Sagawa delivery company, you will have some fortune. The funny part is trade mark is a traditional Japanese postman and what you need to touch is his traditional underwear!

And this “kuchisake Onna” is the urban legend of Japan, not only in Tokyo. The interesting part is that it went to Korea.

And a very interesting part is not only the difference of words but also real disease presentation and symptoms. The famous one is "Katakori." In English, it should be translated as "shoulder tension" or "neck stiffness," but our Katakori may be different from what you imagine from those English words. Here is an interesting document on Harvard Univ about "Our pains are a reflection of our cultural and historical circumstances."

Since last week I have a bad Katakori and use a cold patch all day. It might come from such physical reasons as my gym training or bad sitting position at work, but Katakori may also happen from such psychological reasons as stress or depression. Here is a post "Comparison of symptoms in Japanese and American depressed primary care patients" on Oxford Journals. If we Japanese are suffering from "Katakori," does it relate to our society being so stressful? Well, I can agree with that.

I wrote that the director of "Shall we dance?" Masayuki Suo, made a new film "I just didn’t do that". He had a press conference in the foreign correspondents club of Japan a few days ago. I read the article and I was impressed by what he said. In Japan, there are women’s only train cars in the morning as an action against molesters, but Suo said basically, "Crowded trains are unreasonable. If this happened in a foreign country, foreign women might sue train companies to get rid of such crowded trains." Hm, Indeed. I must say I accept crowded trains because I just have to accept them, but actually it is very stressful. My American friend can’t ride it without a book or PSP or such things to which he can pay attention. I accept many stresses and since they are regular things for me, I don’t care much. Many Japanese will do the same. But our bodies sense it and Katakori will be a typical sign.