As a Western woman in Japan, one quickly realizes that the bossom is more appreciated here than at home. Open gawking is the preferred form of appreciation in place of furtive glances. But the best reaction to date was had yesterday. A beautiful warm day encouraged a bunch of mates to head to the shore for a bit of a picnic. The weather and pasty skin in need of bronzing, deemed a singlet the most suitable attire. Throughout our leisurely cycle many an admiring glance was cast the bossom's way, noticed but ignored as an everyday occurrence. Until... After a quick pitstop for refreshments, and but a few metres made, a vocal passer-by made his appreciation known. Upon glancing at the ample bossom, said gentleman let loose a most audible "hwooaaarrrr", almost immediately accompanied by hysterical giggling from all who were present. The gentleman should be most proud though as this incident provided anecdotal entertainment for the rest of the day and into the evening...
The Evening. It seems that bossom appreciation is not limited to open gawking and men. Participating in a local traditional summer evening event (drinking and eating as much as you can for as long as you are able- welcome to the Beer Garden), a charming lady's acquaintance was made. Fascinated by the many bossoms at the table, she made a grab for a few while offering her own for the grabbing aswell! An absolute character she was a great hit and a highlight for the evening.
Summer: Beer and Bossoms... What more could one ask for?
Friday, May 26, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
new to me...
...vimeo is pretty cool; a video thingy that I can share video footage with. Yay!!
So enjoy some baseball action...
It's a hit!
and a New Year's Eve clip from Seoul, Korea. They are hand held fireworks by the way...
Fireworks fun
So enjoy some baseball action...
It's a hit!
and a New Year's Eve clip from Seoul, Korea. They are hand held fireworks by the way...
Fireworks fun
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Friday, May 12, 2006
Play Ball!
Yes the All-American past time is also a fanatically followed sport in this little neck of the woods aswell. Hiroshima however, has been suffering from a case of "not-enough-money-to-keep-their-top-players-and-as-a-consequence-are-
permanently-at-the-bottom-end-of-the-table" syndrome, (and as there are only six teams in their competition, this is quite a feat). They can pull out the odd surprise of course as witnessed by yours truly and a few other thousand last Friday.
Picture, if you will....
An amazingly beautiful day, a clear azul sky, the sun beating down, people laughing, kids running, a general feeling of wellness... Then throw into the mix a handful of melting gaijin (non-Japanese)! Yes it was a beautiful day but... DAMN!! The humidity must have been about 200%!! (a slight embellishment but you get the idea) We decided late to go to the "ballgame" so by the time we arrived at round 1pm(ish) the line for tickets was about 30mins long (or more). And so began the tagteam line holding game. It was too hot to stay put for too long so the smart (or perhaps weak?) gaijin kept trading places in the shade. It was a good ploy as the locals in front of us dropped off one by one and the waiting time got shorter. We were joined by a Japanese doctor friend just before we reached the ticket window...
An aside here- it seems that in Japan the doctors are given a license to prescribe a certain amount of "MaryJane" for medicinal purposes, I'm not sure how often this is allowed but the silly boy (hearing a chuckle here) told us; a bunch of antipodeans!! As you can imagine he now gets the ol' nudge and wink and the hand out whenever he sees us, the poor boy- if only he'd known I don't think he'd ever have told us (picture rueful shaking of the head). Oh and he just informed us the same applies for morphine...! By gum! Will the wonders never cease!
But back to the baseball... All the cheap seats were gone so we ended up paying Y3200 (roughly USD32) which was met with a "what-the-hell" shrug of the shoulders attitude, and what do you know- our expensive seats were in the shade. Score!! As we had reached our decision to come late, we missed the first innings in which Hiroshima had scored a grand slam. Typical! We as fans were then subjected to a bunch of runs scored by the opposition. We were beginning to regret our cavalier attitude towards the ticket price and decided to partake in the liquid amber type of consolation. Then lo' and behold the 6th innings arrives and wonder of all wonders Hiroshima scores!! Hurrah! We were finally able to do some "in yer face" cheering!
A note on Japanese baseball fans cheering...
There is a chant that is "sung" whenever your team is up to bat; "Ka-to-ba-se (insert name here), (name), (name), (name), (naameeeee)", basically its saying your usual "C'mon!" "Hit the ball!", that type of thing. Example: Kimura- top player so... "Ka-to-ba-se Kimura, Kimura, Kimura, Kimuraaaaa!" This is done while beating drums are going, you are going up and down much like and out of time Mexican wave, and colourful implements of appropriate teams are being gesticulated wildly in front of you. Its fantastic!! And so polite! And so organised! In what would be considered the equivalent of the "terraces" in NZ, there is a band of 3 men coordinating the cheering efforts, timed to perfection, a spectacular sight to see! There's no heckling of the opposition players or fans, and you only cheer when your team is at bat. Believe me it has to be seen to be believed. Of course the lack of heckling stance doesn't apply to slightly inebriated gaijin who decide to liven things up by teaching their Japanese friends the afore mentioned art. Due to all the movie images you would imagine that "banzai" is a relatively common phrase. But the only time I've actually heard a Japanese individual say "Banzai!" was at the ballgame. And only after a home run had been scored. The run is celebrated by some Japanese phrases I don't know and then "Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!" while throwing your hands up in the air. Who knew cheering was so complicated?
So onto the beginning of the 7th innings and the Hiroshima fans break into song- the team song. Of which we could only sing the chorus "Kaapu, Kaapu, Kaapu Hiroshima! Hiroshi-ii-ma Ka-ah-pu!" At the end of the song balloons are released into the air accompanied by wild squeals both from the crowd and the balloons.
In case you're wondering the Hiroshima team name is "Carp". Not "Hiroshima Carp", not "The Carp", not "The Carps", not "Carps", just "Carp". And they have an interesting yet strange mascot, not a fish, not a man, not anything easily discernible really. Fantastic!
By games end, we had downed quite a few bevvies, were feeling awfully happy and in need of a feed. So an "okonomiyaki" hunt was set in motion. In Hiroshima this is the equivalent to the Kiwis "McD's-after-a-hard-night-out" and the Pommy "curry-to-a-pisshead" solution to hunger pangs. A wonderful conglomeration of veges and other healthy stuff that tastes decidedly unhealthy due to the mound of mayonnaise and sauce piled on it. "Mmmmm... Okonomiyaki" (a la Homer Simpson).
With bellies full, we embarked on drinking hole search. I had been thwarted in my attempts to patron one establishment, but it was not to happen again! So with purposeful strides I marched our merry group towards a new hole in the wall with quite a stylely interior, and as luck would have it the more reluctant ones were persuaded by the cheap beer prices. They served very good food, put up with gaijin drunkards and their embarrassed Japanese companions and provided us with a perfect end to a perfect day. Marvellous!
Take me out to the ball game....
permanently-at-the-bottom-end-of-the-table" syndrome, (and as there are only six teams in their competition, this is quite a feat). They can pull out the odd surprise of course as witnessed by yours truly and a few other thousand last Friday.
Picture, if you will....
An amazingly beautiful day, a clear azul sky, the sun beating down, people laughing, kids running, a general feeling of wellness... Then throw into the mix a handful of melting gaijin (non-Japanese)! Yes it was a beautiful day but... DAMN!! The humidity must have been about 200%!! (a slight embellishment but you get the idea) We decided late to go to the "ballgame" so by the time we arrived at round 1pm(ish) the line for tickets was about 30mins long (or more). And so began the tagteam line holding game. It was too hot to stay put for too long so the smart (or perhaps weak?) gaijin kept trading places in the shade. It was a good ploy as the locals in front of us dropped off one by one and the waiting time got shorter. We were joined by a Japanese doctor friend just before we reached the ticket window...
An aside here- it seems that in Japan the doctors are given a license to prescribe a certain amount of "MaryJane" for medicinal purposes, I'm not sure how often this is allowed but the silly boy (hearing a chuckle here) told us; a bunch of antipodeans!! As you can imagine he now gets the ol' nudge and wink and the hand out whenever he sees us, the poor boy- if only he'd known I don't think he'd ever have told us (picture rueful shaking of the head). Oh and he just informed us the same applies for morphine...! By gum! Will the wonders never cease!
But back to the baseball... All the cheap seats were gone so we ended up paying Y3200 (roughly USD32) which was met with a "what-the-hell" shrug of the shoulders attitude, and what do you know- our expensive seats were in the shade. Score!! As we had reached our decision to come late, we missed the first innings in which Hiroshima had scored a grand slam. Typical! We as fans were then subjected to a bunch of runs scored by the opposition. We were beginning to regret our cavalier attitude towards the ticket price and decided to partake in the liquid amber type of consolation. Then lo' and behold the 6th innings arrives and wonder of all wonders Hiroshima scores!! Hurrah! We were finally able to do some "in yer face" cheering!
A note on Japanese baseball fans cheering...
There is a chant that is "sung" whenever your team is up to bat; "Ka-to-ba-se (insert name here), (name), (name), (name), (naameeeee)", basically its saying your usual "C'mon!" "Hit the ball!", that type of thing. Example: Kimura- top player so... "Ka-to-ba-se Kimura, Kimura, Kimura, Kimuraaaaa!" This is done while beating drums are going, you are going up and down much like and out of time Mexican wave, and colourful implements of appropriate teams are being gesticulated wildly in front of you. Its fantastic!! And so polite! And so organised! In what would be considered the equivalent of the "terraces" in NZ, there is a band of 3 men coordinating the cheering efforts, timed to perfection, a spectacular sight to see! There's no heckling of the opposition players or fans, and you only cheer when your team is at bat. Believe me it has to be seen to be believed. Of course the lack of heckling stance doesn't apply to slightly inebriated gaijin who decide to liven things up by teaching their Japanese friends the afore mentioned art. Due to all the movie images you would imagine that "banzai" is a relatively common phrase. But the only time I've actually heard a Japanese individual say "Banzai!" was at the ballgame. And only after a home run had been scored. The run is celebrated by some Japanese phrases I don't know and then "Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!" while throwing your hands up in the air. Who knew cheering was so complicated?
So onto the beginning of the 7th innings and the Hiroshima fans break into song- the team song. Of which we could only sing the chorus "Kaapu, Kaapu, Kaapu Hiroshima! Hiroshi-ii-ma Ka-ah-pu!" At the end of the song balloons are released into the air accompanied by wild squeals both from the crowd and the balloons.In case you're wondering the Hiroshima team name is "Carp". Not "Hiroshima Carp", not "The Carp", not "The Carps", not "Carps", just "Carp". And they have an interesting yet strange mascot, not a fish, not a man, not anything easily discernible really. Fantastic!By games end, we had downed quite a few bevvies, were feeling awfully happy and in need of a feed. So an "okonomiyaki" hunt was set in motion. In Hiroshima this is the equivalent to the Kiwis "McD's-after-a-hard-night-out" and the Pommy "curry-to-a-pisshead" solution to hunger pangs. A wonderful conglomeration of veges and other healthy stuff that tastes decidedly unhealthy due to the mound of mayonnaise and sauce piled on it. "Mmmmm... Okonomiyaki" (a la Homer Simpson).With bellies full, we embarked on drinking hole search. I had been thwarted in my attempts to patron one establishment, but it was not to happen again! So with purposeful strides I marched our merry group towards a new hole in the wall with quite a stylely interior, and as luck would have it the more reluctant ones were persuaded by the cheap beer prices. They served very good food, put up with gaijin drunkards and their embarrassed Japanese companions and provided us with a perfect end to a perfect day. Marvellous!Take me out to the ball game....
Monday, May 08, 2006
spring is in the air....
... or perhaps its moved on to the far more humid sister- Summer. Nevertheless, Spring or at least flowers were in the air last week in Hiroshima at the 30th annual Flower Festival. I am lead to believe that this event happens every 1st week of May, and this year it was the 2nd one I attended. Funnily enough the "flowers" seem to be the participants of the parade... unless you count the one huge upended cone display at Peace Park and the numerous intersection-beautifying mini gardens. Its a great time for hanging out with friends or family, getting a bit of sun, and enjoying the weird and wonderful; be it the parade itself or the stalls full of goodies that are bountiful along its route. Providing more weird and wonderful are the stages dotted around the place with any amount of different performances on the go, both local acts and national stars. This year Hiroshima locals were treated to the comedic talents of "Hard Gay"... picture if you will an ex-wrestler dressed in a short PVC black jumpsuit with a zip front, glasses Elvis would have been proud to own, and a cap like that biker dude from the Village People. An absolute icon for the youth of Japan (ages 8 and up- as witnessed by me in the form of many an impersonation by kids in my classes), and the bane of every parents existence it seems. If you'd like to check out some of his antics look him up in Google Video, you may not understand him but you will laugh- he is a crazy bugger.
For more information on the festival check out www.gethiroshima.com. London has TNT for the antipodean masses, Hiroshima's equivalent is "gethiroshima" for the "gaijin" (non-japanese) population, both overflowing with useless and useful information, and surprisingly frank classifieds... Welcome to my world...
For more information on the festival check out www.gethiroshima.com. London has TNT for the antipodean masses, Hiroshima's equivalent is "gethiroshima" for the "gaijin" (non-japanese) population, both overflowing with useless and useful information, and surprisingly frank classifieds... Welcome to my world...
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