Kabuto mushi

Mr. Hatoris new pet. I'm sure his son Tiger will love them.

Takatsu Festival

Matsuri!

New Shorts

They looked like fun, I couldn't resist.

Hot in Kamakura

Yesterday went with Alina and her friends Dave & Trina to Kamakura, I thought we would all melt it was so hot! The highlight of the day was revisiting Yoshimoto, a great little place I discovered when Drew was here to visit. They dont have a menu, You just sit down and they start serving you. We had fried egg plant and daikon oroshi, curry, spinach w/ freshly ground sesami, and miso soup. Of course it was all fantastic, fresh, healthy, and my favorite pipeing hot!

Tonight is the yukata cruise on the Tokyn bay. This will be my second time, The first w/ Jenny & Rachelle. Going on the train and meeting everyone there, being alone I'm getting alot of stares, must be 'cause Im so good looking. Judge for yourselves.

Massage

Just got a great massage, and I thought, "great I've found a new guy". So I asked if I could request him in the future and he that would be great but he is quitting @ the end of the month. So the search continues.

Drums

Yesterday a few of went to Saitama to check out a drum store. We ended up at the main store and warehouse were my friends ended up spending all together about $8,ooo on drums. And the funny thing is they got off so cheap. The drums are all made in China so they are really cheap. I wasn't sold on the sound quality, but after they are used they are supposed to loosen up and have a better sound. This drum below I believe was selling for $10,000. Needless to say we didn't purchase it.

Summer Festival Time

This photo from Connie. For many men in Japan summer is a chance to break out the fundoshi and run the streets half naked. Given the heat wave that is on us they may be the most appropriately dressed.
When I see an event like this I often wonder what does the church have to offer these people? These people are probably not overtly religious or anything, but they will participate with such fervor that should probably put our participation in the community of the Church to shame. Do we offer people a replacement, or a substitute for these? Some say these are events of "community". If this true then why aren't we offering these people a chance to participate in a similar "community" experience?

It's Here!

What we have been waiting for. Finally the iPhone debuts in Japan actually this new 3G model went on sale world wide as you all know, but Japan was the first country to get things started off. About 1,500 people lined up at the softbank store in Harajuku for a chance to get this neet little device. And granted it looks cool and has a lot of cool features, it still is behind almost any cell phone in Japan.
In preparation for the iPhone debut I switched mobile carriers. That and the fact that most of my friends had softbank and calls to them are then free, as well as SMS to the same. Well let's see what can my phone do?

1. I have internet access.
2. I have e-mail, and can send to and receive from a pc.
3. 2 mega pixel camera. (very low there are much better)
4. International roaming.
5. Infared and bluetooth data transfer.
6. Deco mail. Interesting and fun.
7. IC card for paying train fare, vending machines, convient stores, and restaurants. Touch and go.
8. Media player.

In other words, iPhone just doesn't have all the cool things that Japanese phones already have. It is basically a small computer, and has cool features but is it worth the cost. Here is the price breakdown for use of the iPhone.

The monthly dialing basic rate and internet service plus special iPhone e-mail works out to 7,280. But then you have to pay for the phone in monthly installments. Thus the 10,160. Ok so I don't think I'm ready to pay roughly $100 a month to use this, and it doesn't even enter in the additional dialing charges. Now granted they do have a wpecial discount that you can sign up for which is the 8,240. So basically untill Mac wakes up and smells the coffee and is willing to offer things that would really put this product in competition with other mainline phones and can come up with better service packages, I will keep waiting. Even after saying all this though, I still have to admit it is really cool, and it would be fun to have.

Another good party

Another successful party.
It was too bad that Anja was already gone,
but just for her, here is the link to all my pictures from the evening.
Party Pics

Of course I ate too much, 2 hours of eating here and then we were off to the Tchuchizaka's where there was more food, and curry with a secret ingredient of watermelon. I was fantastic.

さよなら！

Tonight is the farewell party for Dagmar & Bea, Anja is already gone and will eventually be in Praque

Hiratsuka

Summer brings festivals, and all kinds of goodies. They have got the making of these, what my friend Bob first introduced me to as "cabbage pancakes", down to a science.

Need a pet goldfish, I know where you can get one.

Tanabata festival is all about these two lovers that cross the milky-way once a year to be together. These elaborate decorations are hung from bamboo poles.

Cute little boy.

More food. Tacoyaki a variation on the okonomiyaki but with just the batter and bits of octopus. It is actually pretty good.

Tanabata

Went to Hiratsuka to get pictures @ one of the top 3 七夕(Tanabata) festivals in Japan. Not sure what all the fuss was about, people everywhere! Post more when I get home, I should have sat in one place & tried to get pictures of all the cute kids in their festival clothes, but it was just too hot!