Thanks to my brother (who just landed in Tokyo) for this!

"Conan started to pose in prayer like us whenever he wanted treats," said Joei Yoshikuni, a priest at Jigenin temple on the southern island of Okinawa.

"I'm glad that people feel more comfortable visiting the temple because of Conan," he said as he jokingly joined his hands and bowed to the dog.

Never mess with the Japanese and food!!

“Japanese food was created here, and only Japanese know it,” Mr. Kadowaki said in an interview. “How can a bunch of foreigners show up and tell us what is good or bad?”

This is for my Japanese and Japanese wanna-be readers who will get how incredible/funny/revolutionary this is! Love when the hosts ask him how he got into it and he credits his Japanese grandmother from Yokohama (1/4 Asian! What my kids will be too!) and he's asked if he thought of pursuing hip-hop and he answers in a super Japanese way, "never."

* Thanks to my bro for the link!

I love it when my friends know me well!

Ganbare, Obama!

LOLOLOLOL.

Have you ever considered that gyaru girls are normal and we are weird????!!!

For more on Gyaru Girls including videos click here

From the ages of 5 - 9 I lived in Nagoya, Japan, attended Nagoya International School and had a BFF named Mod Noranitipadungkarn (believe it or not I am still able to spell this correctly). From ages 10 - 12 I lived in Tokyo for the first of several stints in this great city, went to Seisen International School (an all-girls Catholic School!) and my BFF was Kei Petersen - our nicknames for each other were Flo and Fro...obviously. Well, within this past week I have reconnected with both of them! Mod is living in Bangkok and Kei lives here in NYC! It is so exciting. I especially liked being reminded by Mod that I used to "like Madonna and love to sing". Ummm, good to know my inner child is still alive!

While studying for my Criminal Behavior final I have later today I looked up a word I've never heard before - frottage in the context of sexual offenders and I found a sad state/sign of affairs in Japan:

Only in the land I love!

* Thanks to Della for the tip!

Tokyo is truly home to the yummiest food on the entire planet - and not just Japanese food but every other type of food as well - AND from cheap to fancy and everything in between, you can't go wrong!! There are several reasons why this is the case - read ahead!

A national passion speaks volumes about a country’s collective psyche. Consider the English love of soccer, India’s of cricket, Australia’s mania for just about any sport, and Italy’s and France’s worship of food, wine and fashion.

More than one third of Japanese commercial television is devoted to food-related themes, from wacky eating competitions to earnest cooking programmes. On a per-capita basis, inner Tokyo (population 8.5m) boasts the highest concentration of eateries among the world’s major cities – just under 200,000, according to the Tokyo government, compared with about 20,000 restaurants for Paris and 23,000 for New York City. Japan now draws more Michelin-starred chefs than any country apart from France. Continue reading...

Thanks to Amy Wood for capturing this crazy-looking cat in Nakameguro, Tokyo!

This is so fantastic - thanks Zee!

I am so excited to see this film (psychology and Japan - what more could I ask for?!) which will air on IFC on Monday October 22 (thanks for the tip KO!) It is a documentary on Japan and the recent upsurge of anti-depressant use and tells its story through the eyes of five Japanese people taking anti-depressants (not surprisingly but certainly sadly only two out of five are concurrently doing therapy). Check out the following trailer and if it seems interesting, come by on Monday and we'll snuggle on our new humongous couch (thanks Duncan!)

* On the Yurikamome.

* Kyoto.

* Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto.

* Kyoto.

* Kyoto.

P.S. I have yet to encounter a shaved ice vendor who isn't visibly a little peeved at my request for extra strawberry syrup.

* Kyoto.

* On the Yurikamome.

There was nothing these girls couldn't intellectualize! We had a blast!!

* Shibuya, Japan.

I have a big day of beautification ahead of me!! Tomorrow I will have an unbelievably firm face, neck and chin, tight calves and perky boobs...YES!

* One of my favorite stores in the world, LOFT in Shibuya.

In reaction to the almost epidemic problem of males groping women during subway rides, women only train cars have emerged. The cars are women only during rush hour times because most of these crimes occurred during the densely packed rush hour commute. In such a conformist society it would be unheard of for a man to enter those cars so I believe they have been effective at keeping the perverts at bay. The most disturbing part of this problem was that apparently most women kept quiet while they were being sexually harassed/molested/abused because they didn't want to cause a scene and I'm guessing they didn't want to be subjected to the probably pan-cultural phenomenon of women having to prove their innocence in situations in which they themselves are the victims! With the advent of this new system can you imagine a woman's relief??!

Dad checks it out...

Brother is titillated. LOLOL.

* On train ride home from Hakone hot springs vacay!

The bars mentioned in the beginning of this article I serendipitously stumbled upon from the NY Times archives, are exactly the types of bars I love and seek out - nowhere near fancy nor pretentious, laid-back and intimate, and sprinkled with ghosts (real or imagined) of Japanese past.

Excerpt: Discreet, out-of-the-way bars have been a staple of Japanese culture for decades. Before World War II, Tokyo was filled with these pocket-sized dives — called nomiya (counter bars) — with space for just six or seven stools. Behind the counter was a proprietor, whose role was both confidant and caregiver to the regulars. When the city was rebuilt, however, most were bulldozed in favor of larger, glossier, more Westernized offerings.

Now a younger, postwar creative class is reviving nomiya culture — with a decidedly modern spin.

“I don't go out that often, but when I do, I like to go to these little secret places,” said the contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, tinkering with a trademark anime sculpture. “There is something very familiar and personal about them that I find comforting. They may have a modern design, but the feeling is more like traditional Japan.”

* Kyoto

* En route to ride the yurikamome, buying our 2000th bottle of water or iced tea from a convenience store.

* Man about to exit the Ginkaku-ji in Kyoto & Man en route to ride the yurikamome.

* In Kyoto.

* Soba in Kyoto, udon in Tokyo

The family that plays together, stays together couldn't be more true and karaoke is the best kind of play!

Is this a hoax? I mean, if there were one place in the world this would happen, it would be Japan of course (Go, weird Japan!) but still...the first article claims that the same pig that was squealing a second ago (ew and poor pig) was roasted and served on a plate a few minutes later...the question is...how long does it take to roast a pig??? I think longer than a few minutes!! What do you think?

Bestiality Restaurants

* At an izakaya called Hokkaido in Shibuya.

* In super great Hakone!

* Hakone rulz.

Coffee!!! Funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coffee!!! Funny??????????????

* More remote blogging from Brother & Mother in Japan please!!

While in Japan last month my mom made the most delicious salad and then taught me how to make it. This was very exciting for me because I don't usually like salads but I realized that I actually do like salads as long as they are Japanese flavored salads! I made it for dinner the other night (I have a little ways to go to get it totally right) with a side of zaru soba and it was delicious and nutritious!!

My phone's never looked cuter and more relaxed...

* Part of a gift from Lily for my birthday 3 years ago!

* Mini-mirror present from my Mom - can be found at Yojiya!

* At the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Yebisu Garden Place.

* Harajuku/Meiji-Jingumae area

* Harajuku

* Harajuku

* On walk from Shibuya to Aoyama

* Jyangara Ramen in Harajuku/Meiji-Jingumae

* Across from Jyangara Ramen, Harajuku/Meiji Jingumae

* Shibuya's Dogenzaka area

* Shibuya Sakuraya

* MARK WILKIE, YOU ARE MY BFF FOR SENDING ME THIS.

* Kyoto train station

...uuummm, I'd like to leave my mind games at home, thank you!

* Kyoto

* Kyoto

* Kyoto

* Syuri Yoshida, last night in Nagoya

* On Shinkansen from Nagoya to Kyoto

* Seian University of Art and Design ad

This picture should be proof enough that people of different cultures are so so so different. Can you even imagine an American being this early for his train, so properly and rigidly poised and patient?!!

* Her wrists are bandaged due to arthritis :-(

* My brother Hiromi in Mitsukoshi department store in Sakae, Nagoya.

* Sakae region of Nagoya.

Oh Hinoki...you make me weak in the knees...

During our trip to Hakone last week we stayed in a ryokan with several onsen and rotenburo (outdoor hotsprings which are my preference). While my mom and I bathed ourselves before stepping into the rotenburo we used the hinoki oil infused shampoo and conditioner the inn provided and the smell was divine. I fell in love instantly. Then my mom told me all about hinoki, its antibacterial qualities and its use in construction including for bathtubs (the one we were about to step into was made of hinoki). Of course I had to ask, "but how can wood withstand so much water?" and the amazing answer is that it's resistant to rot - some claim for over 1000 years! Incredibly durable, healing and fragrant.

A promise to no one in particular: If and when Jonah and I move into a place we own I will have a hinoki tub made and installed - preferably outside!!

* So psyched that BuzzFeed covered this - to learn more check out these links!

1) Wear a summer hat
2) Hold your sister's hand
3) Have a lightness in your step
4) Nonchalantly carry a 7-11 bag
5) Be an adorable, little Japanese girl

Jonah and I went to the screening of this film last night thanks to New York - Tokyo. It is a very good film and a tremendously tragic story. If you don't know about the Japanese families who lives were shattered by North Korea's abduction of their children, you must see this film. This film pays just enough attention to the big picture and all the families affected without straying from the main story which is the kidnapping of Megumi Yokota, a 13 year old girl from Niigata, Japan and her parents' continued search for her. The DVD is due out in September and hopefully the film will make it to the big screen here and receive the rave reviews its enjoyed internationally. In the meantime here's a trailer.

A few highlights [warning - spoilers below]:

- Former Prime Minister Koizumi does the right thing by withholding food and medical aid to North Korea for the acknowledgment and subsequent return of (some of) the victims they kidnapped. However he then appears less honorable when he faces the weeping father of Megumi and explains that while the abduction issue is an important one so is that of nuclear weapons. 'Abduction issue' is such dispassionate wording! I can't even begin to imagine how incredibly difficult being a politician must be.

- The sponsor of the film screening, ANA (All Nippon Airways), was also the airline that flew home five of the 13 abductees. After the film and before the Q&A session with the film directors, an ANA representative told us that his boss was on the flight with the returning abductees. His boss offered one of the abductees a cigarettes which happened to be the very popular Japanese brand Mild Seven. The abductee politely declined saying that he could only smoke cigarettes of his country - meaning North Korea. Keep in mind that this is a Japanese guy who was abducted from Japan in his twenties. More and more I believe the disturbing notion that most people can be brainwashed without too much trouble.

- According to witnesses, Megumi arrived in North Korea after a 40 hour boat ride, without fingernails. She never ceased crying for her mother nor scratching at the iron door of the tiny compartment she was locked in.

For up to date information click here.

* Syuri Yoshida at Teppanyaki dinner in Nagoya.

* Thanks again to Nikon for their fantastically generous gift-loan of the D 80 - comes in especially hands at times like during teppanyaki dinner!

* Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Nagoya to visit our Japanese family, The Yoshidas.

* On the Inokashira Line to Inokashira Park at Kichijoji station.

* On the Inokashira Line to Inokashira Park at Kichijoji station.