Nam Yoho Renge Kyo...

The first lotus flower of the year seen today in Shinjuku Gyoen.

Saturday status

Saturday morning. 11am. Un-rainy-season-like 31 degrees with blue skies. Picnic breakfast in Shinjuku Gyoen. Squawking crows: 3. Croaking frogs: 1. Screaming kids: 0!

On balance, life seems pretty good at the moment...except for the one mozzie bite and two ant bites I'm nursing! Darn nature. Blunderburg or Northern Territory exceptions aside, I'm still very much a city-boy.

Hosomacho pride!

Oh man, I could do a whole blog just about the commercials in Japan - I love them. This is a recent favourite. 'Hosomachos' (skinny yet manly types) of the world unite!

All aboard the Shopping Express

One of the best things about having to go away on business is getting a chance to flick through the on-board shopping magazine. While I have to admit that I find these magazines pretty interesting in other countries, I think 'we' Japanese take the whole wacky gadget thing to another level. Here are some of my all time favourite items (starting with my absolute fave!):

The Vibrating Alarm Clock Pillow - so you can avoid sleeping in without waking your partner.

Do the advertisers expect us to believe this guy looks happy to be using the product? Yeah, looking at his expression really makes me want to whip out that credit card.

The Scream Eater - allow yourself to vent your rage without getting on the wrong side of your neighbours. I am seriously considering buying this as, without my younger brother around, I am lacking an outlet for my bile.

On a similar theme, The Party-Piece Perfecter - practice that karaoke favourite while avoiding the dreaded eviction notice.

And lastly, The Forget-Me-Not (Big Sis, I so wanted to type 'Now') - a remote control system which, at the touch of a button, helps you locate all those easy-to-lose items.

But what happens when you can't find the Forget-Me-Not...???

Digital disaster

Two days ago when taking off my beloved digital socks, I was caused to utter a sentence I never thought I´d hear coming out of my mouth:

"Oh! My little toenail just fell off..."

I guess the ravages of the 100km hike still run deep in me. It was like a mini clove of garlic. So gross. Hahaha, I hope you weren´t eating and reading.

Another challenge completed

Well, rock climbing was a big success. I didn't die, for a start. And I came home with nothing worse than a little bit of muscle ache in the shoulders and a few scrapes on the forearms and hands.

The pictures above are hugely unfair. I took R.'s photo just as she was starting off - so it looks like she climbed about 3 centimetres. Whereas she waited until I was near the top to commemorate my climb. In fact, she was way better at the whole thing than I was.

The were four courses mapped out for beginners, and we managed to reach the top of three of them fairly easily. But the fourth started with a little overhang that we just could not master. My arms and legs were so long that I was able to bypass the overhang and get to the top, but that doesn't count as it means you haven't learned the necessary techniques. It's all a pretty good marketing strategy as we're now eager to go back and battle our nemesis.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day - dry, 28 degrees, perfect blue sky - so a little stroll and a sit down in a nice meadow was in order. To get to the pastoral calm of Sangubashi, it was necessary to pass through Harajuku. Now usually I really don't think that Tokyo feels that crowded, however Takeshita Street in Harajuku on Sunday afternoon is another story. Look at that crowd. And there wasn't even a special event on - this is what it's like most of the time!

Along the way we passed an exhibition of bonzai trees that was spectacular. Mam, I thought you'd appreciate this one in particular.


So, in summary, rock climbing has been ticked off the list and looks likely to be a continuing source of adventure, but discussions are also underway for the next challenge. And just to ensure that my poor Mother and Father never sleep a wink again, it's looking very likely that the next on the list is archery. Now anyone who has ever seen me try to throw a ball or do any activity involving hand-eye coordination will know what a bad idea this is. But it wouldn't be a challenge if it was something easy. Nearer the time, I will ask you to pray not just for me, but for the poor instructor and innocent bystanders who will be in the line of fire.

It´s godda be No Zangyo!

Tuesdays and Fridays have been declared "No Zangyo！" days in work. Zangyo (残業) = overtime. So here I am on Friday at 6:30 drinking coffee and chilling to some Clifford Brown.
I´m on a bit of an Indian kick at the moment. Saw Slumdog Millionnaire: hated it. Read Jhumpa Lahiri´s Interpreter of Maladies: loved some stories, hated others. Now I´m on to Salman Rushdie´s The Satanic Verses: totally loving it.
Overall though, for all my love of yoga, I don´t think the Indian subcontinent is really in my heart.
In other news, I´ll have my first indoor rock climbing lesson on Sunday. Now that that French real-life Spiderman has been arrested in Sydney, there´s a gap to be filled. I can´t wait.

I've got the moves - Woody Allen moves!

I took R. out for a bite to eat on Sunday. I thought I was being so smooth, but it's clear I have no idea what I'm doing. I'd chosen a restaurant where I knew we'd get a great view of the city (with rainy season coming the skyline was Woody Allen-esque), where the staff would pretty much leave us alone, and where they play some cool jazz.

Staring out over the view above, and thinking I had played it all pretty cool, I said something along the lines of, "Ah, this is the life - good food, good view, good music..."

R.'s response - " I dunno, it's all making me kind of sleepy."

It was so funny, as she clearly hadn't planned to say it out loud and was MORTIFIED. The backtracking was hilarious, and being evil I wouldn't let it go. I was laughing so hard I had tears dripping down my face. It was such an honest, heartfelt response. I think I'll just stick to what I know and leave the moves to the Barry Whites of this world.

In other news, my former thesis supervisor sent me a copy of the journal that my work was published in. I have to say I got a real kick out of it - way more than I thought I would. Looking through the article now I can't believe how much I seemed to know back then. I've forgotten it all now. Ah well, onwards and upwards!