Work

Work in Shinagawa today. It was pretty busy and in the evening I gave in to McDonald's and got a quarter pounder.

Work and Party

Headed to work like usual and then after we had a New Year's/ Birthday party at Kamata Club. It's a pretty cool place near work. The food was good, but not quite enough. From there about half the people went home and the cool people like me headed to Roppongi where we hung out at A971 till around 2. More people went home from there and then I met up with some other friends at Lex. In the morning, Josh, Beck, and a couple other friends went to Pepper Lunch for breakfast. It was good.

Hanging out

Headed up to school to get some stuff for my visa then some ToToDoN and home. A bit later I headed back out to Mita where I met up with Helene, Witter, and the Law Professor at 82Ale. We had a couple beers and then headed home.

Workin'

Work like usual and ToToDoN for lunch. I love that place! Also, here is a pic of the already sold out LF-A in the showroom. All 165 earmarked for Japan have been sold. Guess I'm gonna have to get mine used.

Workin' and Wednesday Word

Headed to work like usual. Since today is Wednesday I'm gonna introduce the "Wednesday Word". The word today is (しょうがない or しかたがない) said "Sho ga nai" or "Shi kata ga nai". These two phrases are heard quite often in Japan and roughly translate to "It can't be helped" or "There is nothing you can do". As an American, this phrase seems strange, cause there was always something I could do. I never felt totally helpless.

Work and out with a friend

Headed to work like usual and then after I met up with a friend. We stopped over at Ale 82 and then walked to Azabu and went to a standing bar near the station there.

School and work

Headed to school to talk about some visa stuff and then headed to work. Went to a Ramen shop for lunch and grabbed some stuff from the combini on the way home for dinner. Healthy day.

Work and party

Work in Shinagawa today and stopped home to change before heading out to Shinjuku and then to a friend's house for a party. The girl hosting the party made a ton of food and we had a ton to eat. Good times.

Work and Pancakes

Today I had work like usual and then met up with my friend Tamara in Harajuku for dinner. We were gonna go to ZipZap but like last time we went there it was rented out for a party so we walked around and found a place called Pancake Days. It was pretty good and they had smiley faces on the pancakes which mad them taste better. From there we walked to Roppongi and met up with two friends at A971 and then headed to Havana Cafe near by for some nachos and drinks.

Visa stuff

Today I got a mail from the school with some info regarding my visa so I went up there in the afternoon to talk to some people and figure out what was going on.

Work and Japanese stuff

Sukiya for lunch and then work and home. During the week, I don't really do much more than work so I'm trying to keep things interesting here for people who are still reading.
One thing that many people learn about when coming to Japan is “Honne and Tatemae”
Honne and Tatemae are Japanese words that describe this "Japanese" social phenomena.
Honne (本音) refers to a person’s true feelings and desires. These may be different from what is expected by society or what is required according to one’s position and circumstances, and they are often kept hidden, except with one’s closest friends.
Tatemae (建前), meaning “façade,” is the behaviour and opinions one displays in public. Tatemae is what is expected by society and required according to one’s position and circumstances, and these may or may not match one’s honne.
While this is talked about as something exclusive to Japan, it really isn't. I think it's the same anywhere, but here in Japan it may be taken a little further. For example if a girl mails you saying that she would like to meet you, it's best to respond by saying something like "sure let's meet sometime" even though you really don't want to meet. I think in the States people are usually more direct with their speaking and communication. This can sometimes be frustrating as a foreigner in Japan, but it's just another part of Japanese culture that you have to learn to adapt to.

Work

Work like usual and then home. One of the more famous celebrities in Japan is Kojima Yoshio (こじま　よしお). He basically got popular about 3 years ago for his two catch phrases. His main catch phrase is そんなの関係ねえ!”, meaning “It’s not related” but it could better be translated as “So what? I don’t care!“ He does this while pumping his leg and arm and wearing nothing but a speedo and usually a mic. The other one is just a word he made up "オパッピ" which has no meaning and is said "O-pa-pi". He graduated from Waseda University which is one of the top three Universities in Japan. Since his debut he's become slightly more popular and not appears on a couple variety shows usually wearing nothing but his speedo.
Skip to about 1 minute in the video to see this guy and 1:30 to see the arm pump and catch phrases.

Work

Headed to work like usual and then home. Good times.

Work and out with friends

Headed to work like usual. After work I headed out to Shibuya where I met up with Dave and some other friends and then caught the last train home.
Right now McDonald's is doing a promotion and introducing 4 new limited time burgers, starting with the Texas burger. It's ok, but nothing great.

Tokyo Auto Salon

Headed to Shinjuku where I met up with Jon and we headed to Makuhari for the Tokyo Auto Salon. It's the biggest aftermarket car show in the world with over 600 cars spanning three huge buildings. We got a little late start to the day so only had an hour or so after we got there so I didn't get enough time to take some good video, but got as many pics as I could. I was a little disappointed, and felt that the show last year was better, but it was still cool. We stayed till closing and wound up running into another guy I know there so we all headed to Shibuya, got food and talked about life till last train. Good times.