http://tokyojim.com/journal 意見 Too! Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:23:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I headed over to Tokyo Midtown the other day to check out their Christmas light display, consisting of over 40,000 LEDs. [caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tokyo Midtown Christmas Lights and Tokyo Tower"][/caption] After looking at the lights from every conceivable angle, I went to take in their free Christmas concert by Meg, ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/12/26/xmas-lights-ochazuke-dinner/ When I first started coming to Japan, I was underwhelmed by the offerings on hand in the country's bread and pastry shops. Since that time, things have greatly improved (or was it just my mind that expanded?). The other day, I knew I'd be having a big dinner so I ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/12/25/japanese-bakeries/ It's for meals like this that I come to Japan. A piece of "red fish" cooked in mirin, with all the fixin's. This can be yours too, if you're in Ikebukuro, for only 680 yen (lunch time only), tax included. http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/12/25/the-perfect-lunch/ I was walking along a small suburban London street yesterday when I heard a woman tell her male friend "I just wasted most of the day watching election coverage". I thought hard but couldn't recall any British election going on right now. Could she possibly mean our election? Sure enough, she ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/09/05/british-interest-in-american-election/ I couldn't help but wonder if these two locations were in fact one and the same... [caption id="attachment_102" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The same place?"][/caption] OK, to be fair, there was a lot less smoking in Korea than in Japan. For example, smoking is prohibited in most restaurants in Korea, a situation unimaginable ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/08/28/traditional-culture-experiencing-zone/ Regular readers of this space know that I have trouble resisting a film festival. So I was excited when I was in Busan, Korea looking for my next destination and discovered that the Jeonju International Film Festival was under way and ending in a few days. Soon I was on ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/08/28/accidental-film-festival/ My three weeks in Korea were great. Perfect weather the whole time didn't hurt, and neither did the meals. I thought I might get tired of eating Korean food two or three times a day but I never did. There was always plenty of food (although the ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/08/28/korean-food-cheap-and-tasty/ Yes, it's been about two and a half years since I returned from this trip, but you know what they say about better late than even later. Some highlights: Visiting with my old friend Ellie after so many years Dinner with Evi in Munich Witnessing the rebirth of the Dresden Frauenkirche My 9-hour guided walking ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/07/20/central-europe-wrap-up/ Again this year, I attended the 11-day San Diego Latino Film Festival, watched about 35 films, and these are my top-tier picks, meaning I would spend money to buy the DVD so that I can show it to friends and family: El Brindis (To Life) (Chile, 2007): A wonderful family story about ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/03/31/2008-latino-film-festival-faves/ According to the AP, young people in Japan have found better things than cars to spend their money on.. younger Japanese ... prefer to spend their money on mobile phone bills and other gadgets than on cars. [...] some people in their 20s said they didn't want a car, even if they got ... http://tokyojim.com/journal/index.php/2008/03/31/cars-no-longer-cool-in-japan/