Vulcanos rule

Sakurajima seen from the southern city of Kagoshima. Norway may be full of stunning mountains but suffer from an acute lack of vulcanos, whereas Japan due to tectonic placement is "lucky" enough to possess a number of the lovely lava buddies.


Sakurajima is one of the active ones, as seen up close with smoke billowing forth. Used to be an island but a violent eruption connected it to the mainland. Covered in volcanic rock and strangely enough, the place where you can find the world's smallest mandarins and the biggest radishes, reaching a diameter of 60+ cm!

Tiniest beer in the world

Must be. It is common knowledge that many things are miniatuarised in Japan, but 135 ml beer cans? One sip and finished. Then again, the market has spoken so there must be some demand.

Return of the kamikazes

Maybe the one Japanese word most foreigners would know, divine wind and all. Down in Chiran in Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese main isles, they even have a "Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots". A somber memorial affair, with portraits and stories of the 1036 pilots who took off on one-way missions bound for the Allied fleets at Okinawa. Especially poignant were the many farewell letters, ranging from "I'm going to die in the Okinawan Sea. Even after my death I protect my country, Japan" to "How many people will cry for me when I die?"

The kamikazes return from time to time in Japanese debate on how to represent the war and those who fought it. This May saw the release of another kamikaze film, "I go to die for you", which received some criticism for glorifying war and the pilots. Maybe due to the fact that known nationalist and Tokyo governor, Ishihara Shintaro, was instrumental in producing the film. Trailer here, but like most movies in Japanese cinemas no English subtitles are available, so obviously it will be somewhat difficult to grasp any political subtext!

Sacred gateways

I never was unduly fascinated by zen gardens, kimonos, tea ceremonies and the other vestiges of "mystical Japan", but I must admit one weakness, the torii.

Something about the form of these Shinto gateways, who mark the passage from the profane to the sacred in the same way as portals in other religions, is just damn aesthetically pleasing. Pure beauty. You can walk the streets of Tokyo past shops and offices and bam, suddenly a small Shinto shrine appears. Gets me every time.


This torii is supposedly the most photographed in Japan, standing in the shallows of a small island off the coast of Hiroshima. When the tide is low it is actually possible to walk up to it.

The island is also populated by wild deer, enabling this bonus shot for Bambi lovers:

Don't cry for me Fukuoka

Hilarious this wannabe-Argentinianism of the supporters of Avispa Fukuoka, a football team languishing in the division of J2. Not only the homage to Maradona and Evita, but also the extensive use of Spanish slogans! The season ticket holders pass even boldly stated yo soy el verdadero 12, ie "I am the real number 12", the most dedicated supporter faction, the twelfth member of the team.

Quite interesting that in a country very much influenced by English, they in this case chose to turn to Spanish. Must be some interesting cultural influences at work here, maybe the effect of latin immigrants, though I did not spot a single one. Or maybe somebody realised that the most fanatic supporters in the world are Argentinian, let's just copy their set-up.

Researching using the almighty internet provides some answers, turns out that Avispa Fukuoka has had a string of Argentinian managers, and also some players, including one Hugo Maradona, indeed brother of el Diego!

Also, only in Japanese football can you see players politely bowing to the referee and asking for forgiveness when yellow-carded, even the many Brazilian players!

Women only

Yesterday I came across one of the the famed "women only" metro cars. Love the sugary design choice. Says a lot about Japanese culture that there even is a need for metro cars reserved for women, but I guess it is one way of trying to deal with the problem of gropers at rush hour.

Ice ice baby

It is not all about the juicy meat. Thanks to the influx of Italian immigrants early last century Buenos Aires boasts the world's second best ice cream. The motherland naturally keeps the top spot in internacional competitions.

On a typical hot, humid day nothing beats strolling into one of the many upscale artisanal vendors and choosing from 70+ different flavours. After years of testing I pronounce Persicco and Volta as the premium places to visit, though quality can vary a bit between different outlets.

So what is so fantastic about Argentinian ice cream compared to the industrialised versions? Taste and texture. All natural ingredients are used and the result is divine. Go for a cuarto, 1/4 kilos of lovlieness, most commonly divided between three flavours. Try the different chocholate flavours that tastes better than real chocholate, but my advice is to steer well clear of the sambayón, which is ice cream with wine flavour! My Malbec works just fine in a glass, thank you.

Football is violence

"A rock just passed centimetres from my head" my Argentinian mate told me in a strangely calm voice. I was getting a bit too close to the infamous football violence of the Argentinian league.

The match was Racing-Newell's Old Boys, normally not one of the most heated battles to be seen in Buenos Aires, the away team hailing from the in-land city of Rosario. Newell's with zero points should be a passable opponent for big club Racing, who this season had invested the most in new players of all the clubs. Results had eluded them once again though, only two paltry points gained from the first four rounds. A familiar story of failing to live up to big expectations for the Racing hinchas, much like last year.

Pleasantly located on VIP-seats on the pitch itself, my friend who is a die-hard supporter of Newell's unwisely failed to contain himself when outsiders Newell's quickly scored the first goal. Racing were playing crap, again. Then the ref wrongly disallowed the 0-2 when the ball had crossed the line, and my friend crying out that it was a goal quickly became enganged in a heated discussion with the neighbours. Then more than extremely harsh language started flying from the Racing plebs in the stands behind, who had enjoyed a prime view of the Newell's clown cheering in the VIP section. An immense sensation of HATE.

Security soon appeared to intervene and move us to a different part of the section, and at this point a rock almost hit my friend. Guards wearing t-shirts stating No más violencia - un mensaje de dios failed to grant much comfort. Luckily no more incidents at halftime as we sought refuge at the fastfood stands. Racing played the 2nd half against 10 opponents after an early red card, but created extremely little. Wonderful to see the 50-year old woman in the neighbourging seat screaming concha tu madre, at their own players! True passion, which evidently the players lacked as Newell's gained a deserved win.

After the match it was time to get the hell out of Dodge and make a run for the safe haven of the taxis. First time I have actually felt unsecure in an Argentinian stadium, but then again it was as a result of being associated with unwise, if passionate, cheering for an away team!

Rockabilly revisited

Currently enjoying summertime in Buenos Aires and finally got time to sort through my pile of Tokyo photos. Need less to say January saw me going back to check out the rockabillys in winter action, and sure enough, one windy Sunday they were at it again. Classic pose.

This time they brought girls, enabling them to try out some 50s chat-up lines.

I always imagined the guy with the long hair sitting on the right as being the head honcho of the group. Probably with some nefarious connections in the Tokyo underworld. At least he always seems to be organising stuff and never, EVER, dances.



Video grab with my fresh camera off Akihabara. This guy dances!

Tokyo fashion

There are plenty of highly eccentric clothing to be found in Japan. To perhaps the largest degree in the world, form is separated from content. Thus, you can get away with wearing articles which could potentially get you into serious trouble in an European setting.


Witness this gentleman in a Harajuku shopping street:


On a wholly different level, wearing something like this could get you into a wholly different kind of trouble!

Gizmos and gadgets

Lots of small useful stuff around that at least I haven't seen elsewhere, if anyone knows of existing instances in Europe, let me know! Like this little charger for mobile phones. Very cheap and available at all 24-hour convenience stores, prevents awkward "didnt-have-power-in-mobile"-situations, like in Osaka when I forgot the regular mains-charger in Tokyo.


This is a DIY-machine for printing digital photos. Accepts input through compact flash, SD-ram, memory sticks and several other formats. Touch screen for easy selection of photos, numbers and size. Prints within a minute. Handy when you can't/won't be bothered going to a regular shop.

Kawaii Police

A glaring example of the culture of cute (kawaii) that predominates in Japan. Affecting even the symbol of the police force organising the crowds for the 2nd of January appearance of the Emperor at the Imperial Palace.

Cute is good, anything cute is positive. From the enormous Hello Kitty-phenomenon (even with gothic lolita edition as seen below), drawings in instruction manuals, women affecting child-like tonality of speech to road signs - cute rules. And of course the culture of cute has huge commercial power in the crowd mentality of Japan Inc. Cute sells. A lot.

I am stil not sure whether to regard this as good or bad, but very Japan it is!

Japanese Christmas

In contrast to the Western family-oriented event, in Japan Christmas is very much a couples' affair. As often happens, Japan has adapted a pick-and-choose approach to Western traditions, taking some aspects from the West and giving it an uniquely Japanese twist. The romantic event for couples usually is a fancy dinner and a solid night in a love hotel. In which context season-themed garments as pictured are not uncommon!

Options for single, increasingly desperate Japanese are basically to get tremendously drunk and/or go on a shopping spree. A common alternative possibility for both males and females is escaping societal expectations by holidaying in Thailand.

On a related note, today's papers feature the news that the birth rate prospects has hit an all-time low, causing grave problems for future pension schemes. The Japanese fail to marry and produce offspring, whither Japan Inc without citizens?

Iwo Jima

The esteemed Clint Eastwood has delivered again with an interesting cinematic experiment. Had the opportunity to watch both of his Iwo Jima films recently. Flags of our Fathers follows the US perspective on the WWII battle for the tiny island, while Letters from Iwo Jima gives us the Japanese one. No big secret that the latter contains the most tragedy of the two, featuring a devastating death toll. Interestingly enough it also has a more melancholic, arthouse feel to it. Both contain realistic battle scenes and are recommended!

Was somewhat strange watching Fathers as the only foreigner in a cinema filled with Japanese, felt like crying out "hey, I am not American!"

The two faces of Japan

A priceless moment of contrasts in Harajuku. Two of the typical gothic lolitas sitting on the bridge on a sunny Sunday, when behind them up pulls one the the infamous black vans. Note flags and extensive loudspeaker mountings.

The black vans are used by the fringe nationalists of Japan to drive around and spread propaganda. In addition to annoyingly loud militaristic music, rants are mainly directed against the corrupting foreign elements in Japan, and pleas to restore the power of the Emperor and regain lost territorial possessions from Russia and Korea.

Now these guys are largely ignored by the public, which is exactly what happened this Sunday as well. People around took no notice at all and went about their business as the nationalists set up their system, had a long speech and went on their ways. In fact, the delicious irony of the only attention being a foreigner taking a picture seemed lost on the poor bastards!

Authenticism

Tried the authentic Japanese experience. No, not the tea-ceremonies, kimonos or shinto shrines. Rather, sleeping on a Japanese-style futon, which is basicallly a thin mattress on the floor. It may work if you weigh 40 kilos, but it certainly is not my cuppa, reminding me far too much of uncomfortable camping trips.

Then, commuting on the early morning 1-hour train from suburbia to Tokyo. For each stop getting increasingly filled up with suited salarymen reading porn manga, office ladies plonking away at their mobiles, young punks listening to music and shortskirted girls applying make-up.

Being lucky enough to salvage a seat after 20 minutes I could even enter the classic Japanese state of semi-conscious subway sleep, slowly rocked by the beat of the tracks.

My bout of authenticism happily ends when reaching the city, instead of heading to the office for 10+ hours of wageslavery, off to my hotel-apto to check mail and catch some sleep in a real bed!

Tokyo trainspotters

In ongoing observations of weird things in Japan, the other day I came across this guy and two of his nearby compatriots just off Shibuya station, sitting on a pedestrian gangway overlooking an extremely busy highway crossing. Hand rests on an intricate counting mechanism, which he pressed more or less each 20th second.

Now had my Japanese been up to scratch I would have asked what the hell he was doing, but since it is limited to hai, domo and gomen nasai, I can only guess. Obviously they are counting something, maybe each passing car of a certain mark/colour? My Japanese sources are similarly clueless, but no surprise that nerd-heaven Japan can rival even UK when it comes to trainspotters, nice anorak included.

The Gaijin Nod

The slight nod of acknowledgement that "yes, I see you are also a foreigner" when meeting other foreigners in Japan. In fact, it happened more in China this summer. I find it quite funny as it happens to people you in other situations would have nothing in common with. Like in a bar in Nanjing, two suits in their 40s, leaving the venue and giving us the nod. Or in a club in Xi'an, a group of Turks having a nod and a chat. They included a guy of 2,10 meters and almost equally broad, so it felt prudent to be on the good side of them.

I guess when being in a country this homogenous, with Japan sporting 99% Japanese (and of the remaining 1 % the majority are Koreans and Chinese) making even Norway seem multicultural in comparion, it feels necessary for outsiders to have their own little club of togetherness, no matter how strange it is. So the nod, it's on.

From Oslo with music, to Tokyo with love

css
Originally uploaded by TrUlster.

CSS in concert, herlig lite jålete. Sjarmerende energisk vokalist som crowd-surfet på sang to av settet. Indie-pluss for mingling med publiken før og etter konsert. We like!

Må forøvrig noe motvillig innrømme at Oslo har sine positive sider, Blå tangerer lett Gara og Hulen som konsertsted. Byen ellers pakket med julebordfeirende, traff heldigvis kun de gladfulle utgavene.

CSS spiller også i Tokyo i januar, så kanskje de skal sees en gang til? Iallefall blir det langtur med KLM i morgen til feita leilighet midt i Shibuya!

London has-been spotting

Emerging well-stacked up with Argentinian lomo from a Piccadilly resturant, who do we spot jauntily strutting out from a neighbouring venue, but Oasis-celeb Liam Gallagher, who proceeds to catwalk past us, obligatory skanky blonde in hand and blitzed by some paparazzis. With seven Norwegians laughing at the whole spectacle, the blonde even throws us an apologetic look, as if she is realising the absurdity of the whole event.

More antics when the couple has disappeared, as the paparazzis jokingly show off their less flattering shots to the hardmen doormen, with some roadworkers shaking their heads. Class, celeb and society - London in one minute.