And Sometimes Why

I spotted this mid ’60s Ford Mustang at a used car dealership near Miki Study Pals in Matsuyama.

You may not think a classic Mustang all that odd, but I’m pretty sure it was never sold here.

It looks to be in great condition though, for whatever lucky collector snapped it up (it was there for less than a week).

Also note the (early ’80s?) Porsche 911 in the background.

I snapped this with my cell phone in a 100 yen store.

If you aren’t familiar with them, Japan’s ¥100 stores are far superior to dollar stores in the United States; they have much more stuff, of higher quality, and actually venture into low end housewares. They sell knives, tupperware containers, dietary supplements, and all manner of stationery. I’ve even seen toy badminton sets there.

These little bottles were next to the register. It’s exactly what you think it is- it’s glue you roll on your legs so your socks will stay up.

Yuko says she used to use it when she was in high school, and that many girls still use it today to keep up the extra tall uniform socks that they’re required to wear. She says it was especially popular during the “loose socks” fad a few years ago.

I’m still not convinced I’d be interested in gluing socks to my legs.

I found this knockoff Famicom (NES) in a random clothing store in Matsuyama.

As you can see, it’s sitting on a shelf with some accessories, happily waiting for customers to pick up a controller and pause a few minutes from browsing among the t-shirts and overpriced jeans.

They had about five classic games and five Japanese games I’d never heard of. After knocking off a few levels of SMB and snapping a cell phone pic, I moved on.

Fish heads like this are available in most supermarkets with a fresh fish section. While the fact that that’s a large majority of supermarkets around here may not be surprising, perhaps it may surprise you that I know of only ONE supermarket with an actual deli counter. (And would you believe that they only have one variety of ground beef that isn’t mixed with pork?)

One of my … eccentricities … is that I dislike picking food off the bone and despise picking bones out of my mouth, especially finicky little fish bones. Despite that, I’ve eaten this particular type of fish head on two separate occasions. The cheeks are each about one small bite each, and the rest is just a PITA.

If you’re curious, this is 鯛 / たい / tai, which my dictionary tells me is “sea bream,” but seems to be sold as “red snapper.” The fish makes superb sushi, and has earned its place as my second favorite fish to eat raw (after salmon, not counting o-toro, which would be like saying you prefer 1947 Cheval Blanc over a $5 bottle of merlot). But I digress.

On the upside, the heads are pretty cheap, at only about $1 each.

And because I know you’re waiting for it:
Fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads.
Fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum.

I took this picture at my bank while waiting in the lobby.

This poster explains how the bank’s ATM lottery works. Instead of cash, you’re basically using the funds in your account to withdraw lottery tickets, which pop out of the same slot.

I’m not sure if this would be illegal in the US (Can banks get a gambling license? There’s a scary thought.), but even if they could I can’t imagine a bank ever doing it because at best the gambling association would seem in especially bad taste after the recent financial sector turmoil.

At worst, I could see people getting the idea that their money isn’t safe in a bank that likes to promote gambling.

I haven’t noticed the bank gambling away my money, though perhaps that’s why Japanese banks don’t pay interest on deposits.

It may seem obvious, but unsliced sashimi is available from every supermarket in Japan.

On the left is tuna (maguro) and on the right is salmon (sake).

This is Yuko’s administrative assistant certificate (and accompanying wallet card) that she earned when she worked in the office of the president of Matsuyama University. It’s officially the 秘書検定, and is the Japanese equivalent of the CPS exam (which I didn’t even know existed until today).

It tests a variety of theoretical and practical skills useful to administrative assistants, including the stylized manner of serving tea that should be used when receiving high-ranked guests.

Breakfast cereal isn’t consumed in Japan the same way it’s consumed in the States. Most Japanese people prefer a traditional Japanese breakfast including rice, fish, vegetable pickles, raw egg, and/or miso soup, with hurried professionals and college students recently starting to eat dry toast (by itself), but the drink is always green tea.

Because of this, the variety of breakfast cereal available here is very small, consisting mostly of corn flakes (in plain, frosted, and chocolate varieties) and a few varieties of granola, which is what I usually eat for breakfast.

You can get boxes of stuff like this in a few places around town, but it’s really expensive. This box was about $4.50, and is barely big enough for two days’ breakfast. You can see my cell phone there for size.

Chocolate dog heads make great gifts in Japan.

I received these little treats from a student who was leaving the school where I worked.

They tasted quite good, very rich if that’s your thing, but the real artistry was in how they looked; crafted as you can see into three very distinct dogs’ heads.

Canines never tasted so good.

My sister’s birthday is today, and my brother’s birthday is in a month. In honor of their birthdays, I’m going to post something each day between them, starting today.