Sunday, October 23, 2005

Sorry Mr. Ed!

I had my first taste of horse last night. Horse sashimi. Sashimi is typically raw fish, which is delicious. But last night, chatting over drinks and other delicious food, I, my girlfriend, her brother and his fiancee, all partook of small slices of raw horse.

I had sworn that I would never eat horse. People ride horses, and whisper to them. How could I eat one!? But having already had a few drinks, my ethical inner voice was rambling incoherently, so I ate.

This morning, thinking clearly, I can try to rationalize my actions. In India, cows are revered, but in much of the rest of the world, cows are slaughtered and eaten constantly. In the West, dogs are man's best friend, but in China, some are raised for consumption. So, who cares? It's all relative. Different cultures have different histories and tastes. I don't think anyone can correctly argue that we shouldn't eat this or that meat.

Unless of course, you're talking about a McDonald's hamburger. I said "meat", not "meat filler substitute".

Friday, October 14, 2005

Japan Bugs

Perhaps the Western immune system is not ready for Japanese cold bugs. I've had 3 bad colds in the last year. Prior to coming to Japan, I hadn't had a cold in at least a year.

Last night I had a thought. Do people who check weather forecasts get fewer colds? Do their immune systems prepare themselves for an oncoming shift in the weather due to some psychological trigger? I wonder if any research has been done on this.

In any case, Japanese people generally seem to be less concerned about germs than I am. I've seen a number of people coughing or sneezing around food or towards people, without much of a negative reaction.

I suppose it's more likely that this is why I have a cold.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Lawson

My city is covered with convenience stores. No - "covered" is too mild a word; it's littered with convenience stores. And almost all of them are called Lawson. This is incredibly convenient, to have a Lawson at almost every corner. There's one place where I pass three Lawsons, each within a 10 to 15 second drive from each other. There are other convenience stores in Japan (7-11, Poplar (not Popular), and various independents) but in my area Lawson is by far the most evident.

I have become inured to some formerly surprising sounds that occur upon entering a Lawson. "Bing-Bong!" every time someone goes in or out. Many people go in and out, and the bing-bong is quite loud. I would surely go mad if I had to work there. Not a moment after the bing-bong erupts, all of the 3 or 4 workers in the place look up from what they're doing, and say (not necessarily in unison) いらっしゃいませ! which means "Welcome!" But, usually they say a bit more than that. Usually, they say: "Welcome! Good morning/afternoon/evening! Welcome" or
いらっしゃいませ、こんばんは、いらっしゃいませ!
which is an earful, when a number of people say it in staggered fashion.

Lawsons are quite amazing in the diversity of their products: a million different types of pop, tea, milk drinks, etc.; a billion different types of snacks: chips (I tried what I think was a marmalade flavour last week!), chocolate, candy; and truly edible meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I would never buy something hot or cooked from a Western convenience store, but here, I have bought many a delicious bento lunch at Lawson (pronounced Ro-sun of course, ローサン). New products seem to get released every week: there's always a new fizzy drink, potato chip flavour, or chocolate dessert.

As you leave, all the staff thanks you for your purchase and invites you to come back and shop at their store again.

Oh, and of course "Bing-Bong!"

Saturday, October 01, 2005

A Yellow-Brick Road

A blind person can get around well in Japan. In the city where I live, almost every single street that has a city sidewalk has got, running down the centre of that sidewalk, a slightly bumpy yellow path. A mild annoyance for pedestrians and bicyclers, this road feature must be wonderful for those whose vision is diminished. I have yet to see a blind person in this city, but I am amazed that the city (actually, I'm not sure which level of government sets this up) pays for something like this. I don't think this would go over well in the West, where the slightest word of a tax increase provokes an angry mob. At first, I didn't know what this yellow path was, never having seen one before. Does this exist in the West, and how common is it?