Marry a Japanese

Bummer, I am not as strong as I used to be ! Three pints of beer and what a headache! Nothing helped, even drinking water and going back to bed did not work. Finally after a cup of coffee I half healed headed to the uni and spent all the day without adventures working on a patent application, it's quite tricky if one writes it for the first time.

During lunch I was sitting with a Scottish guy who is married to a Japanese girl …. another one ... The issue is becoming of a wonder for me, it seems that everybody who can, marry a Japanese girl. Can anybody explain to me the reasons for it please ? I did ask the victims I met, but all of them smile back and look down - in the direction of the floor, this puzzles me even more; it can not be the sex issue, can it?!!!!

From my prospective, the criteria for a perfect partner would be: a happy and not a moody person, with a bit of intuition, which means that the arguments are sorted even before they become into an argument … and of course attractive … this means that a girl should have a sense of taste !

Do I ask too much? It seems that Japanese girls answer all the criteria’s; Smile, positive, attractive … is it the best a man can find ? With this question I have approached my Japanese friend, to which he replied that its not all honey … Japanese women do argue with husbands and do shout on them, they do get moody and with more than that, they run the house as they please … and a husband must obey, giving away all his salary …

Therefore it sounds more like of a hell than a heaven … but many of the men are very happy … will keep asking and would write another post on the topic …

By the way, was John Lennon happy in his marriage with Yoko Ono ? My dad once mentioned … that he was not …. according to some books … does it support my theory I wonder ….

Japanese Bureaucracy

Today I could not wake up, how novel is that ?!

When eventually I arrived to the university I realized that a number of students were standing on the pathways and watching in the direction of the sky; apparently I am missing the eclipse of the universe. It was beautiful, but due to the fact that it was cloudy, I could not see much.

Then I was exposed to the Japanese bureaucracy in its full swing, it was just unbelievable; a reader may be aware that I live an hour away from the college, and apparently there is a dormitory inside the college in which I can move, and this may save me two train hours a day ! I went to try and rearrange my location, and interestingly it turned into a nightmare experience. First of all, I was told that my supervisor should call them, then I was told that there is not much which can be done. Later, after walking into many offices and applying my special charm, (oh it was hard as their body language is different!), I was told that potentially moving is possible but the paperwork arrangements may take as much as one month time! “Month time for what !?” did I ask myself. Ofcourse I collected some information and I knew that there is an empty room, and it would be pity to miss it! Unfortunately, the clerks were saying that they must make some checks and it would take a month, full dot. After sweating quite slot and making myself funny, I managed to reduce the Checking-Time to three weeks, but the feeling was that I really stretched the system. Is this is the way the country would try to fight the recession I wonder ? When I asked one of my Japanese colleagues, why does it take so long, I was told "welcome to Japan, here everything takes time"

Later in the evening, I met my Japanese friend, an artist whom I met in London.
We were sitting in a tiny restaurant on typical Japanese "underground" in Shinjuku area. Friends brought friends and eventually there were 4 Japanese and 3 Italians around me. It was very strange to listen about the life in Japan, about the cultures and even about the local mafia! I will expand on the topics in specially dedicated issues, work on which is ongoing.


Also, I loved the beer-filling machine, it tilts the glass at the beginning and straightens it, as the glass gets full! Why nobody thought of this in Europe !!!??

At the moment I am heading home on the latest train so far, 00:30 and still half an hour to go.

Toy Exhibition

Today I went to the international toy exhibition, which is held in Tokyo annually. I found out about the event in an English oriented magazine, it's a free weekly publication and I have no idea where did I pick it up!

The show was in a huge exhibition centre and spread on unbelievable space. There were dozen of companies and uncountable number of toys and people.

It surprised me on how many logical and competitiveness based games were out there. Children were engaged in games from simple puzzles to the world famous cubic-Rubik. A number of games were oriented into hands manipulability, and required (surprisingly) chop sticks.


Overall, I personally saw nothing hugely innovative, but it seemed that the trend is to make computerise old ideas, for example the new globe would have a computer interface and if a user touches a country, the computer would show information about the place.


Also much attention was given to cooking. A number of companies featured toy cooking facilities which would help to create biscuits and eventually allow decorating them. Girls loved it and stood with mouth open.


Oh, and ofcourse the barbie-type dolls must be mentioned !


Eventually i decided to rank my favourite toys. The ranking i gave was based on how innovative change was to an old idea, how much attention did the product receive from children, how much it contributed to the child development and eventually how affordable it was.
The results are:
The third place goes to a wall drivable radio controlled car ! From my experience, driving a radio-controlled car at home is always an issue, there are too many obstacles, while the walls are mostly empty. Probably the parents would not be too happy if the tires get dirty and leave signs all around. It's not contributing much to the child development but it's innovative !


The second goes to a story reading device ! It's a somehow bigger then a pen, but light. As the promoters explained, it has an embedded camera and it can recognize items touched by a child in a picture type book. The trick is that the objects (e.g. characters) in the book are printed with special technique, and recognisable by image processing. The item is pricy but would pronounce the names an infinite number of times, and thus it should a child busy while learning.


What gets my first rating is a construction toy, made literally from laundry clips. Ofcourse the clips were slightly modified, but who has not played with laundry clips in the childhood and never thought of making a product out of it ? The reason for my selection, is that the designers took an inspiration from a simple thing and converted it into a new product.


On the way back I saw a beautiful rainbow!

Fire Brigade

Today I went with a Chinese and a Singaporean friend for a walk.
Apparently they both speak Chinese, and sometimes they can understand the writings when they are written with Chinese characters, but only sometimes, most of the times they understand nothing. Here is my friend showing that these two symbols mean Central Canteen.

We went to the UENO station area, been to the beautiful Nezu Shrine dated as much as 1600 old.

Walked through the University of Tokyo and tried to breath in some wisdom and science. Our destination was the National Science Museum. Interestingly, there is not much science out there, it was more of a natural history museum, but it is very well organized with very many pieces and hand full of interactive expositions. Many kids were there and it seemed that all enjoyed it. What surprised me most is the number of couples, guys and girls in the age of early twenties; they walked around hand in hand. It was a surprise to me because a science museum, for my opinion, would be the last place a guy can take a girl out. Hypothetically it can happen, but it seemed more like a traditional thing with as many as dozen couples around.

Lunch we had in a traditional restaurant named Yoshinoya (read Japanese type MacDonald). The food is really great and being served in seconds. I ordered beef and rise, to my surprise I was also served a raw egg in a cup. To my question on what am I supposed to do with it, a waiter had signed that I should add it to the meat.

Finally I went to the Wired Coffee in Shibuya station, there sitting in a cloud of smoke next to young girls dressed in a traditional kimono (they must have dressed up to a party) I wrote some emails. What surprised me there is that when I was leaving, at half eleven ish, the book shop next to the coffee place was full of young people reading. ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT ALMOST MIDNIGHT! Have you ever seen this anywhere I the world?

The Japanese attitude for efficiency is unbelievable, but there are a number of issues which I still do not understand, for example; how come that on the hats of Fire Brigade, which is an emergency service, it is written "Fire Department", IN ENGLISH ! Most of the locals can not even read Romanian Letters! This is simply ridiculous and hilarious! :)

I do not live in Tokyo !

Now the situation is becoming clear; apparently I do not live in Tokyo! I live in Yokohoma, which is a city located 30 min away from Tokyo by train. I was confused because on the map there is no visible gap and it seems that Yokohoma is an area in Tokyo, but actually its a city of its own! Now I understand why it is so quiet here during evenings. What striked me most is the limited transportation; there are no night busses while the day busses stop going around 9pm and the trains in midnight, which means that its simply impossible to get home I stay for a late drink. Hmm, how do I move to Tokyo I wonder ...


Now its also clear to me why the trains here have a square shape with vertical walls, rather than rounded as is in London! Its simply more practical ! Apparently, it fits more passengers. Confused ? So actually when the train is packed, they get in with their back forward and thus pushing and squeezing the crowd even more without seeing the faces, and thus not feeling guilty. This is ofcourse impossible in a rounded shape wagon as a person can not bend backwards. I wonder if this was one of the reasons for the design :)

Also, after three days in Japan I decided to make a royal visit to the Imperator .. but unfortunately his palace was closed and he did not expect me, thus I could only go around the park ...
in the same area, there is a Museum of Modern Art, and there was an exhibition by Paul Gauguin. Its strange to see his paintings with Japanese explanations. I also visited Modern Japanese Art, and a number of works were very beautiful. Like this one for example ... its a moving picture ! on plazma screens ... looks good !

And there are calluses on my feet ... no more walking tomorrow ...

English in Tokyo

Their english knowledge surprises me each time, for example; in trains they announce: "the reserved seats are for elderly and expecting mothers", this makes me smile and wonder; is the word Pregnant not polite or what ? One can be an expecting-father but not pregnant!

Today i was working on my computer and could not find a place with wifi and a coffee, had to go to starbucks, how dull is that ?

Tokyo Arrival

I am in Tokyo … living in a dormitory … if I compare the distances, then imagine that I live in Acton East (London), at the Clapton dormitories, it takes me an hour do get to the university …. And probably hour and a half to the centre .. but have not been there yet …  

All is regulated here, everywhere is a note with what todo and what not todo … for example, there is a roll of paper towels in my room, an a note says that only one roll is given per room per month and it should be used to clean dishes.

Also, I wanted to buy a tomato for supper, apparently they are packed separately and they cost 100Yen each, which is 70p ….

Unfortunately guests are not allowed in rooms, and its only mens floor ! it sounds like a prison ! bollocks …. And I am the only western person in these dormitories … all the rest are from China and Taiwan …

Ohh, and foreigners can not buy a mobile here … bum …

 

Surprise visit to Israel

Three days in Israel. It was really great to see the family, argue with my mom, talk to my sister and fix all I could in house for the short weekend-long visit to Israel. I have also managed to have a pint with few friends, talk on the phone with others, have a few swims in the Mediterranean sea, visit the Western Wall (read Wailing) and put a wishes-note inside.  The time flue by very fast, but I am happy I visited, somehow I feel more relaxed, but on the other hand more puzzled while thinking about the future; It seems that the life is too short to waste it on stupid things and projects, but how to select the ones which can potentially impact the society and myself, this what makes me wonder these days … I am in passion for robotics, and now I was offered to get into a project designing a special robotized equipment for a movie filming. Is this something worth spending time on I wonder … The issue of getting into politics also makes me wonder, I know that I am capable, but does it really worth my time spending … the last issue is where to live ... shall I come back to Israel directly after my studies or should I spend more working-time abroad ...

by the way, arguing with my mom was simply on the shaving issue, she insists that I must shave .. and nothing helps to convince her that I prefer the unshaved style … … :)

 

Hot in London

Today was a hectic day ! I was working through the morning and then it became hot ! So hot and humid that it became impossible to sit in the lab; 30deg celsius. Lucky me, I know some back doors and relocated myself to the lab up on the 7th floor, it has an air conditioner, but shhhh, tell nobody :)).
Evening time we had a "hot pot" meal planned at a friend's place; nice house in Hammersmith where he lives with two other friends. On the way to the friend's house I was walking with new member in our lab, it is her and, she is from Iceland. She has joined our lab as a student for the summer time. She is tall, blond, pretty and very well educated. Apparently the Icelandic language is quite different from any other language and has no similarities (at least that's what she told me !). When she spoke on the phone, it was pleasant to listen, no hard sounds at all, compared for example to Arabic. She was joking that Iceland is not that icy and Iceland should be names swapped with Greenland, which is all ice. She also mentioned Iceland population is around 300k and therefore if a guy and a girl go for a date, they usually check a national-family-database to see how relative-related they are, probably with this population all are somehow related. Seriously, 300k is nothing, they probably know everybody by names! And think about corruption ... hard times :) I know so little about the county, i better check some maps tomorrow . . .
Ohh, the hot-pot meal was very good :)))))