Black Impact

It would be fun to market products like this...Imagine the advertising possibilities!

Black seems to be a favorite for labels. I can understand it for the coffee and gum shown above, and mixed with words like silky, well that's just gold!

I'm a bit puzzled with the 'Black Impact' ad campaign for Seven Star cigarettes here, though. I don't know if it works as well for a product that literally leaves a black impact.

Every time I see this ad, which is on just about every other vending machine here, I'm reminded of a quote from 'Swingers':

"When I lived in New York they made it sound like they were giving sitcoms out to stand-ups at the airport here, you know? I've been here six months, all I've got to show for it is black lung." (Mike - Jon Favreau)

Nagoya Castle Summer Festival

The summer is nearing it's end here in Nagoya, but it wasn't without plenty of firework shows and festivals. Last month, we had the opportunity to experience the Nagoya castle at night and partake in the summer festival atmosphere there.

The castle was absolutely beautiful lit up at night, and all of the people were fun to be around. My wife and her brother had their feet cleansed by an army of nibbling fish, and we had a blast trying some of the Japanese festival foods, but the highlight of the night was a tie. Decide for yourself...

It was really cool to watch this traditional Japanese song and dance, although it could be construed as Japan's version of 'The Hustle.'



And any magician - no matter how good or bad - should get bonus points for working in the theme from 'Beverly Hills Cop' to his or her act.

Toilet Buttons

Like most humans, buttons intrigue me. So, I usually push them to find out what happens.


In this environment, you wouldn't expect so many buttons. Nor, would you expect so much from a toilet for that matter. But, as I said, I'm only human. So, I experimented and pressed a few buttons.


The blue one nearly knocked me through the ceiling. Luckily, after composing myself, I was able to cover up what was going on with a little excess toilet flushing sounds!!

The Japanese are modest (hence the flushing sound and volume control buttons), but they are also known for their technology and efficiency. So, it should only make sense that they brought it into the place we spend a good amount of our lives in - the bathroom. And with heated seats, who would want to leave? More and more, these types of toilets can be found in most modern Japanese buildings, restaurants, or homes. And heck, they definitely beat the alternative of the traditional Japanese toilet, which amounts to not much more than a hole in the ground.

Richie the Flower Guy

Another shout-out for one of our Issha neighborhood stores. This time it's our local flower shop, Le Soleil. It's a modest shop with a bubbly store owner named Richie (of course that's just the name he gives to foreigners). Richie goes out of his way to accompany English-speaking foreigners with an English-based website, and pleasant conversation. The amazing thing is that he picked up the language on his own over the years through Western music (especially the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac) and movies. He spent 3 months in New York city over 20 years ago and fell in love with the culture. Now, it seems his eyes light up whenever he gets the chance to speak a little English and tell stories about New York.

I try to go in as much as the budget or special occasions allow for (Although I'm sure not nearly as much as my wife deserves), and every time I'm amazed at the customer service. In a way, you could say that Richie's service is a microcosm of the Japanese culture's consideration of others. The Japanese don't work for tips, it's considered an insult in the service industry to leave a tip. Instead, they work for the customer. It seems everyone in every service job no matter how small, performs it with the same meticulous detail and routine to respect not only the customer, but the job itself.

Richie does a lot to make the flower buying experience fun. With, 'You Can Go Your Own Way,' blaring in the background, Richie let's you pick and choose what flowers look good depending on what he has in the store for the season. Based on your budget, he fills in the rest, paying close attention to each flower, how it's cut, and how they are wrapped. Finally, he goes through each flower and writes what each one is on the back of his card, so you can sound like a connoisseur when presenting the finished product to your loved one. Thanks Richie!

A Turbulent Year for the Hand Drier

It’s funny how a silly insignificant thing like a bathroom hand drier can symbolize the year’s events, but after the year we’ve all experienced it shouldn’t be too out of the ordinary. Over the last year Capitalism took us on a roller coaster, Wall Street put our retirement funds through the spin cycle, we’ve been facing a global pandemic scare, and the U of M football team had a losing season. (Sadly, UM’s season might be the most disheartening of the bunch…)

In all of that, the hand drier in my office bathroom has served a vital role in reminding me of the topsy-turvy nature of today’s problems.

Last Fall as the recession loomed near, our company here in Japan took aggressive cost-cutting actions leaving no stone unturned. Even the hand drier’s fell victim to the cost cutting as their power was soon cut. A few cents here, a few cents there…it had been the nature of the reaction to the recession. No matter how insignificant, save a penny…errrr…Yen anywhere possible.

After nearly ten months of using my pants as a towel, things have recently changed. Thanks to the H5N1 influenza the power to the driers is back on. The old dusty plastic bags have been removed and the driers are plugged back in. There are now signs reminding and encouraging everyone to wash their hands thoroughly for 30 seconds before drying them with the word インフルエンザ , or INFLUENZA, written in bold-faced print in the middle of the sign.

I think I’ll continue using my pants as I’ve now learned those driers aren’t all that helpful or necessary, but it also begs the question, ‘I wonder if turning the power back on will somehow re-boot the UM football team this year?’

New Japan Prime Minister's Lofty Goals

Japan's LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) has enjoyed political supremacy for the better part of the last 40 years. However, on the heels of one of the country's worst recessions, and calls for more agressive actions from critics, current Prime Minister Taro Aso and the LDP were soundly defeated in last week's elections here in Japan. The winner, Yukio Hatoyama of the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan), has come to office with a lot of support and some aggressive ideas.

Among them, new goals set forth to reduce the country’s greenhouse gases. The previous administration had put forth a goal of 8% reduction in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by 2020 ahead of the Copenhagen meeting of over 200 countries later this year to renew the Kyoto Protocol. Hatoyama and the DPJ on the other hand, ran on a more aggressive campaign and this week promised to follow through. His goal is a 25% reduction from 1990 levels by 2020. Very lofty, and one in which Hatoyama hopes to follow through on because of the traction and popularity the topic received during the campaign.

I’m guessing these hot Japan summers make it a little easier to convince voters or gain traction on such an issue. August was brutally hot and humid here in Nagoya, and there hasn’t been a sign of letting up heading into September. With temperatures still hovering around 95°F and overwhelming humidity around 65%; many people are starting to refer to this season as 残暑 (ざんしょ), or extended heat. The ‘extended heat’ seems to make people anxious for action.

Hatoyama faces critics from industry regarding the new plan, but he hopes to use the initiative to encourage other countries to increase their own goals as well as financially and technically support developing nations with climate change. Hatoyama plans to meet these goals through a series of legislation such as creating a domestic emissions trading market, introducing a ‘feed-in’ tariff that financially rewards industries that expand their use of renewable energies, subsidized energy technologies, and backing jobs in the renewable energy manufacturing sectors.

Source: Japan Times (09-08-2009) Hatayama Firm on 25% Emissions Goal

This One's Juicy

Over the past few weeks at work, there has been one particular part that has come under intense scrutiny during development. A plastic piece, or plate, that's part of the larger assembly.

Now, my Japanese is a work in process...I have trouble getting by using it in daily life, let alone during meetings or in the lab at work. Depending on who's accompanying me, who's talking, or how much I'm willing to try to focus the level of my understanding varies. If I'm grumpy and mad at the world at that moment because for example, no one's speaking English, that level gets worse. If it happens to be the day after Thursty Thursday, that level gets even worse. If it happens to be the day after Thursty Thursday and I'm in a foul mood...well you get the picture.

Anyway, a few days ago, I was in a good mood. So, when I kept hearing what sounded like, "Juicy plate...blah blah blah...Juicy plate...blah...blah...blah...Juicy plate...blah...blah...blah...Ne!?!?!" in reference to the afore-mentioned plastic plate, I decided to whip out my handy electronic dictionary and piece together what they were actually saying about a juicy plate. (The Japanese language typically borrows words from 'outside' languages, but they are pronounced slightly different based on the phonetics. For example, iPod sounds like 'iPoad-o', or jeans sounds more like, 'Jean-zu.' They aren't native words, but are adopted into the language as Katakana. So, it would be entirely possible that they were indeed referring to a juicy plate in this instance.)

Well, it turns out juicy, or Jyushi (樹脂), means resin or mold. It's still fun to hear about the juicy plate, but not nearly as fun when it's just referring to that little ol' resin plate!