Hachi

This movie is opening here in Japan today. We wrote about this story back in May when we saw the statue of the famous dog at Shibuya Station.


When I first heard about the movie I thought it was really strange that the story had been relocated to Rhode Island (RI has a commuter rail now? Wow, I have been gone a long time!) and starred Richard Gere-what? But the Japanese people we've talked to don't seem to mind. They love Richard Gere because he once came on a talk show here and brought the show's host a gift which nobody had ever done. So anyway, it's a big deal in Japan.
Wonder if The Cove will be as big of a hit here?

Razzleberry-Tastes So Nice!

Razzleberry is a new frozen yogurt chain in Tokyo. They've been marketing pretty heavily, especially to women. All of the toppings are named after gems, and as this youtube post says, the sizes are "cute, sexy,or glamorous" It's just like Pinkberry in the states, but more Japanese, more kawaii. Dave and I went to the one in Shibuya last week and we still can't get this damn song out of our heads. They just keep playing it over and over, I think we heard it 5 times while we were eating our fro-yo. We've both been walking around for days singing it.
This video is kind of crappy, but we didn't have our camera with us to take our own pics.

Dobuita Street Festival Pics

Here are a few pictures of David's Kengekitai performance at the Dobuita Street Festival on July 19th.
Tough Guy:

Unfair Fight (come on Dave, give her a break, this girl is half your size!):

Action Shot:

The Samurai Jig:

Off With His Head:
The giant hamburger backdrop kind of takes away from the drama a bit. Yokosuka is known for its "Navy Burger", I guess just because of the US Navy being here. I am not really sure what makes a hamburger a "Navy Burger", but every restaurant on Dobuita St. was selling their own version that day. (It seemed to be the main point of the festival.) They just looked like really enormous hamburgers. I guess the size is what's supposed to make them American. Ugh, I hate that stereotype!
Also from that day:

Yeah, they freaking love him here. Even people who do not speak English know the phrase "Yes We Can."

Old and New

July 19th was the Dobuita Street Festival here in Yokosuka. Dobuita is one block away from the navy base in an area called "the Honch". This is a strange area, and what typifies all the old stereotypes of sailors and the navy. There are Irish bars, taco stands, army navy shops and places that sell "hip hop wear". There are dubious massage parlors and countless chu-hai bars. The area is thick with young sailors on Friday and Saturday nights, and in fact the base sends personnel to patrol the area and haul troublemakers back to base. You can always tell when a ship has just pulled in or is getting underway the next morning by the rowdiness of the crowd in the Honch.

However, this is all completely tame compared to the Honch of the 1950's and 60's. The following four pictures, show on the left an old and right current appreance, are courtesy of graz-web.com







We actually ate at a restaurant next to the AMPM after the festival. David probably would have hung out here in "Sub Alley" back in the 50's!

Odaiba

A few weeks ago we went to Odaiba-a manmade island in the middle of Tokyo Bay. It was originally constructed in the 1800's as a part of a battery of islands meant to keep out American and European fleets. Now it's basically a playground for Tokyo.

There are several museums including the science museum which had a Terminator exhibit. The Japanese love Arnold Schwarzenegger. They call him Schwar-chan. (the suffix chan is usually added to children's names, or by close girlfriends, but it can also be a sign of affection.)

There was a huge shopping center that was designed to look like Caeser's Palace. A shopping mall in Japan designed to look like a casino in the US which is designed to look like an ancient Roman building? Awesome!

But the BEST part was going to Cat Livin. We paid a few hundred yen and got to tour several rooms that were set up as cat playgrounds. Cats were walking around everywhere and you could sit and watch and pet them for as long as you wanted. It was great. The Japanese are obviously so limited on space, so pets are coveted. Cats are really expensive here to buy, and unlike in the US, they are accepted into far fewer rental homes than dogs.

I am told that there are dog rental stores too, where you can pop in and pick out a puppy to take for a walk. We're headed there next....