Things that seem to be “in” in Japan now

– shiny puffy quilted coats – “toggle” buttons on coats – uggs – ankle boots with heels – opaque black or grey tights – seriously mini skirts – inappropriate footwear in bad weather. Seriously – 4″ heels in cold and rain?

iPhones in Japan

I was pretty surprised to see so many iPhones in use by people on the train and walking around Japan. I was under the impression that while Apple had done a lot to make their products into a desirable fashion brand here, market penetration was still pretty low. But just informally surveying the people I…

Heard in a Cafe

Latin/lounge cover of Manic Monday, with a mariachi breakdown. WTF, Japan?

Photo tour

Toby and I went on a photography tour, where a pro photographer takes you around and gives you tips and points out interesting things to take photos of. I’ll be posting a lot more photos after we get back, since the ipad resizing app I’m using makes them kind of crummy, but here’s six of…

And this

This is my new favorite snack food. I don’t know what it is, but the little squiggles are light and crispy and just barely kissed with salt.

This is a fish

It is a fish. It is a fish filled with bean paste. It is a fish filled with bean paste that we bought from a corner stand near our hotel. And it is good.