Gaijin Tokyo Underground

These apples are amazing! So juicy and delicious, but expensive as hell! Regular price for one of these is 358yen! But are they worth it, I say yes. If you notice, they are all individually wrapped and surrounded with a protective foam. What makes them even better is when they are on sale! They were Half price this day i took the picture, and they had only 4 left! So i picked them all up.

For living in japan on a budget, food is the #1 thing that will drain you of your money from every day life.  If you are like me, and have a very limited Japanese vocabulary and even more limited view of Kanji recognition, then i suggest this one kanji you learn. Its the kanji for "Half" or "Han" "はん,　半. You will see these stickers on many food items, usually in the evening starting around 8pm. Discount stickers range from 3% and on up, using the roman numerals, but many use the "Han" half price kanji for the 50% marker.






So when visiting, or living in japan on a budget, look for these symbols, and be assured you will have more free money to play UFO catchers like I do!

Not only does it have an tight seal, its beautiful to look at! Yes this plastic box should be on display in your home for all to admire. Maybe some classy museum lighting to show off its beautiful edges, yes?

 I was surprised that there were these X Japan Hide figures now. I know X Japan is having a revival, a new album etc, but Hide has been dead since 1998! I actually didn't get one of these because i was on my way home and decided ill try for one next time.I'm sure fans will appreciate that they can get new Hide products, but is it fair to use him as the selling point of the new X Japan album?

At the end of last month I got to see the new Ghibli Studios film 借りぐらしのアリエッティ a.k.a The Borrower Arriety. Miyazaki always makes beautiful movies no matter what. This story though, the execution of it didn't fell well fleshed out, and didn't feel epic enough. It revolves around the world of tiny people who live in our world. There should be more magnificent trails they would have to go through making their way in our world, but they didn't explore that aspect too much. Overall i would still suggest to see the movie because it is beautiful, but dont expect to feel satisfied with the story.

The Borrowers

借りぐらしのアリエッティ (Japanese)

Based on: "The Borrowers" (novel) by Mary Norton

Plot Summary: Sho moves into his great aunt's house and soon discovers the presence of tiny people, the Borrowers, living there. A 14-year-old Borrower named Arrietty strives to prove herself by helping her father gather materials that her family needs from Sho's new home. However, Arrietty and Sho meet, breaking the rule that humans must not know about the Borrowers' existence. As Sho and Arrietty's relationship develops, human interference endangers the Borrowers' lives. Arrietty and Sho work together to try and protect the Borrowers' way of life.

The creator of the famous Anime and Manga known as Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo has created a highly deatiled illustration for the grand re-opening of the mall in Kichijoji station, Atré.

Theimage portrays a fashionable young gal wearing a hat covered in bits of Kichijoji culture. There are a few arches depicting Naka=mich, Sun Road and Penny Lane, all which are the main shopping streets in the area. Also the food and drinks because Kichijoji is known for a very large selesction of resturants and bars. Another cute reference point is the Swan Boat. This is from the Inokashira park where it has a famous urban legend about the pond in which couples can rent this boat. It is said that couples who ride these swan boats will shortly break up. And if you havent noticed, the random pieces of clutter on her hat make up the name "Kichijoji".


There are many of these posters, and even larger ones posted around the area. I would love to get my hands on one but they are well protected. Luckily there are hand outs at the Atré that have this image on the cover. Would you be interested in having one of these as a poster? I might be inclined to give some away if people are interested. Leave a comment below.

Its the point in the year where the shops start setting up all the Halloween items. Ove the last few years, Halloween has become more and more popular in Japan. So has all the promotional items. Here is the new Rilakkuma halloween candy buckets promotions.

My hobby [addiction] playing UFO catchers puts me up for the challenge to always find the KEY POINT to hit the prize i want into the hole. This one can be super simple if you know the right way to hit it. Last friday I saw the lady setting up this display for the Halloween campain to start. I had to come back later that evening to try and play it then.



When I got back, there was a deranged looking lady playing that Rilakkuma game. I walked around and she was still playing. I watched from afar and saw her put in at least 1500yen, and yet she didnt get a single one. She dropped her head in defeat, grabbed her giant oversized, overstuffed purse and clompped off. She had knocked all the cans around, so i had to ask a worker to reset them for me.






It took my two tries before i figured out how to win the prize. The Key point was to it the front corner of the can and it would knock it over. The handle is set up to make you think to grab the handle, but its only for show.

Browsing the fruit section at the local Seiyu store, i came across this "Cream Watermelon" クリームすいか. For me this was the first time i had seen a yellow watermelon, especially one name CREAM. I wasnt able to buy it at that time because i was heading out, not home after. When I returned a few days later there were no more Cream watermelons available. Maybe next year i can see how they taste.

According to wikipidia, they are sweeter, more like honey... im intrigued!

Yellow Crimson Watermelon: variety of watermelon that has a yellow colored flesh. This particular type of watermelon has been described as "sweeter" and more "honey" flavored than the more popular red flesh watermelon

Have you ever heard or eaten this variety of watermelon before?

From the Manga and Anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure which started in 1987 in the weekly Shonen Jump magazine has started a release of its figures in the UFO catchers. This one here is Jonothan Joestar which i was able to get in 4 tries from the game center Zest in Kichijoji.

When researching more info on the figure series, i found some images from a preview event of the figures, that depict a totally different clothing scupt than the one released in the UFO catcher now. I would have to wonder if this would be as an alternate realease later?

Seriously, do they choose these names just so that people can questions their meanings? Everyone has had a field day with teh Crunky brand before, now add on the word balls and nude to the mix, equals more raised eyebrows and questioning chuckles from Lotte, the produces of this lovely chocolate. Do you like crunky nude balls in your mouth, i sure do!

One of my favorite students invited my BF and I out to dinner for my BF's birthday. We headed out to Tachikawa and ate in the Granduo restaurant floor at a Chinese spot. They suggested the Black sesame ramen which the husband always would get. We also ordered fried rice with beef which was a massive amount including dry rub spicy chicken wings and a few mugs of beer. I defiantly was about to pop!

After we headed on over to the game centers to win prizes for her son. I was happy to win him a GIANT snoopy plushy, he seemed to love it. Tachikawa is all the way on the west side of Tokyo, but it seems have a lot going for it, including some night life. If you get a chance i highly suggest taking the Chuo line on out west for a see.