Category Archives: Uncategorized

So time to have lunch. I am a complete beginner with Japanese cuisine  and because I cannot read I have no idea what the myriad of restaurants around Asakusa are offering. It is true that some display photos and even … Continue reading →

One of the shops is a brush shop. It sells exclusively brushes. Hair brushes,nail brushes, coat brushes, wire brushes, shoe brushes, shaving brushes, floor brushes, paint brushes, dog brushes, rush brushes, raccoon-hair brushes, horsehair brushes, boar bristle brushes, ritual brushes, … Continue reading →

I am a little jaded with tourism. In fact I think there are few countries I can go to. The main reason is that I am made very uncomfortable by people trying to sell me things or services. I say … Continue reading →

As I loiter on the subway platform in Tokyo I notice that my fellow travelers are forming well ordered lines, the position thereof being marked by yellow lines  on the platform. When the train arrives, exactly on time, the door … Continue reading →

So I go to an English Bookshop to try to buy a coy of the Economist. I somehow believed that the newspaper has a secret network of delivery gnomes who drop off copies in every bookstore in the world on … Continue reading →

I have always admired the Economist. The people who work there, when our paths have crossed,  have always  been very bright, funny and  fast at writing stories. I lost sympathy somewhat during their backing of the Iraq war version 2, … Continue reading →

Not so here where November is delightful. Yesterday was a holiday: Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi): A national holiday for honoring labour. Hooray. A beautiful warm day. Humidity has gone and the weather reminds me of Spring in … Continue reading →

Trucks in Okinawa are highly decorated. Loads of chrome and individual styling. I found this one parked just by house. The tanks in the background are full of Awamori https://quietripple.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/awamori/

Beaujolais Nouveau was a fad in the 80’s founded entirely on marketing, which preyed on the desire for sophistication. Thin sour wine. I think it has more or less disappeared in France but in Okinawa it is big time. This … Continue reading →

So we had a very big week er last week. Meetings of governing bodies and inauguration of the university involving hosts of  celebrities in a scientific sort of definition i.e. no rock stars or talent show contestants but lots of … Continue reading →