Adventures in Japan

Weekend Update

This weekend turned out to be a bit busier than we thought it would be. We had planned on cleaning up the apartment and maybe taking in a showing of Death Proof. We did neither. Instead we saw Sukiyaki Western.

Wow.

Here's a trailer. It starts off slow, and there is a lot of Japanese text, but it is totally worth it.



They're totally speaking English! You may not believe me, but it is true. And it is hilarious! And serious and gross and touching and just crazy go nuts bizarre. I don't want to go into too much detail, I don't want to ruin anything but at the same time I want to talk about everything. But I won't. Not here.

But the dude in white with the sword and the pretty eyes and hair totally reminds me of Ry.

The next day we celebrated Mexican Independence Day. It's not an actual holiday in Japan, but it is an excuse to drink and eat Mexican. Like most excuses to eat and drink, the Sky Building in Umeda was the place to be. We were a bit let down by the lack of variety of food and drink. There were only two food stands. There were way more drink stalls but they all had the same drinks.

The food from the actual Mexican place, Taco del... something, was pretty good. First time I've ever eaten Cactus. But the food from the "Mexican Hotdog Stand" was...


They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm feeling wordy.


That's a Japanese hotdog (imagine an American hotdog but less tasty and more chewy) covered in Japanese chilli (beans in brown ketchup).


Doritos with mild salsa from a can and processed nacho cheese.

If I was Mexico, I would sue that vendor for... something legal sounding.

There was also some Tequila. And a drunken stumble to a Mexican restaurant.

Ole!

Fat Weekend

This weekend just past was gastronomical.

Jacki's father (Jeff?, Geoff?, Gioph?) was in from Australia. Paul's friend Eric was also in town, and this was the last weekend in Japan for the both of them.

So: Beer Garden!!

Jacki's dad has been to Japan several times, so he knew the drill. Eric, however, was thrown into the deep end. And when we, being kind and compassionate fellow Canadians, saw Eric start to sputter, flail and slip under we did what any of you would have done. We poured more free beer down his throat. He had a good last weekend in Japan. He has the scars to prove it.

Seriously. We saw them the next day. We saw the bandages at least. There were a lot of them. We met up with Paul and Eric on Sunday because there was a movie we all wanted to see showing on one movie screen in all of Osaka.

Neon Genesis Evangelion was an insanely popular anime series about ten years ago. It is still insanely popular, but it was on the air ten years ago. Evangelion was not a kiddie anime, like Pokemon, it was full of angst and grief and trauma. And somewhere towards the end of the season, the makers of Evangelion ran out of money and went insane.

It has been ten years and the makers have a lot more money and a little more sanity, so they thought they'd do it up right this time. That is the movie we saw. It was basically the first six episodes of the TV series but totally redone and shiny. With a couple little tweaks. It blew Eric's mind. Plus, the theatre was totally oversold so we watched the movie whilst sitting in the aisle surrounded by sweaty geeks also sitting in the aisle.

Before that, since it was still Eric's last weekend in Osaka, we went out for all you could deep fry. The most delicious way to take ten years off your life. We all ate more than we should have, and then I went for dessert. You know what is SO awesome? Deep fried dessert!!

You know what is not awesome? Not being able to fit into your work pants.