And Sometimes Why

Tonight was a fun night. It started at Katrina’s apartment (where I was quite late due to the fact that I get off work at 9pm and everyone else had been partying for three hours already), then went to a little dive bar with karaoke, then ended at a gaikokujin bar near Okaido.

This may make very little sense to you, and that’s okay, because here are my takeaway lessons:

1. Japanese bars have the coolest karaoke machines. The tiny place we went had a WiFi remote for their karaoke machine. The remote had a touchscreen that let you search by song name or artist name, and the microphones were also wireless.
2. As much as I may like (or not like, depending on my mood) my apartment, Katrina’s is better. She has three (albeit smaller) rooms to my one larger one, with a full-size couch (it’s a pullout!) and a regular western-style bed.
3. Japanese people really know how to cut loose. At Sala Sol (the gaikokujin bar near Okaido), I saw a number of Japanese businessmen that were totally plastered. It was a little surprising, because although I’d heard of the stereotype, I’d only seen Japanese people during the daytime with their professional faces on. I was introduced to a whole new part of town, with a multitude of watering holes and stumbling suits.
4. I discovered that there really is a foreigner contingent in this town outside of the JET ALTs. In Sala Sol, I met a number of native English speakers who have nothing to do with JET (okay, two, but that’s independently surprising just the same).

Anyway, it was a fun night (morning!). It was my first real night out on the town since coming to Japan, and I was so very glad to have it (even if it did involve fixing Katrina’s computer).

I’m an uncle! My sister gave birth to a bouncing baby boy.

http://www.newbabynews.net/hospitals/stj5/public/stj5birthannouncement.pl?babyID=h5-11091

Okay, maybe this goes without saying, but seriously? Don’t buy stuffed squid heads thinking you’re going to find some neat new dish just because your Japanese manager recommended them.

I don’t know where you’re from, but the Karaoke Box establishments in Las Vegas serve squid-flavored snacks. Some people can’t stand squid-flavored anything, but I think they’re edible after a few drinks. Anyway, Ms. Semba recommended I try these stuffed squid heads that are sold in vacuum packs in the supermarket near my office. They’re hollowed out squid heads with the eyes removed, filled with seasoned, precooked rice. You’re supposed to boil them for five minutes and eat them, presumably with a knife and fork, as they’re not tender enough to pull apart with chopsticks.

I knew as soon as I broke the seal on the plastic package that I’d made a tactical error, as the familiar scent of squid invaded my nostrils. As I already had the water boiling, I figured I might as well go through with it and just try it- who knows, maybe they’ll turn out to be great, right?

No.

No. I psyched myself up and took one bite of said squid, and that was all I could take. The outer texture was slightly less chewy than octopus sushi, and the flavor of the rice inside reminded me a little of kasha, but not in a good way.

No, and though I turned on the fan over the stove, my apartment is now saturated with the smell of boiled squid.

No, and I had to put the squid head I didn’t touch and the one missing a bite in a ziploc bag so the smell doesn’t linger any more than it already will.

No, no, no. Oh my god, no.

Here’s an appetizing picture of said squid heads after I sealed them for disposal. Each one fits easily in the palm of your hand. Or in the garbage can, your choice.

Let this be a lesson to you. Don’t buy squid heads.

English added for your reading pleasure.

My meishi (name card/business card) has more Japanese than English. How cool is that?
Even better, I can read 90% of the kanji on it. =)

While I’m posting odd pictures, here’s one of a drink I tried a few days ago called Ripobitan D (リポビタン D). It’s produced by Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, and comes in a little glass bottle that looks and feels just like a medicine bottle. I bought it from a vending machine in front of my school when I was looking for a quick pick-me-up and wanted to try something new.

The first thing I noticed was the flavor’s similarity to Red Bull. At 100mL, the bottle is considerably smaller than a standard 250mL Red Bull, but it tastes like they used almost the same amount of flavor syrup. I wonder if that’s to mask the higher concentrations of uppers also present.

The ingredients I can read:
1000mg taurine
5mg each of vitamins B1, B2, and B6
50mg caffeine

Anyway, what made me post this is that for about two hours after drinking it, I felt lightheaded and my heart hurt. But I was certainly no longer drowsy, I’ll tell you that.

I bought this 500mL bottle of soy sauce the day I arrived in Matsuyama, and I just finished it.

Incidentally, if you look on the label, you can see where it says しょうゆ “shōyu” – Japanese for soy sauce.