Pick-A-Day

March 2024
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Archives

Whatchamacallit 162: Boys, Be Ambitious

My last big, fun, international trip was to Japan, which I mentioned in Whatchamacallit 85: Japanese Vase – there I talked about Okinawa, which was pleasantly warm and sunny.

At the other end of Japan I visited the Sapporo Snow Festival – where temperatures were decided cold, with weather ranging from sunny and extra […]

Whatchamacallit 153: Fuji-Sanroku Whisky

This is the bottle of whisky I acquired in Japan this past February. I bought it in Sapporo, right at the end of my trip so that I would not have to lug it everywhere.

Based on my banking records, I paid 5,280¥ on February 7, at Bic Camera. At today’s exchange rates is […]

Whatchamacallit 130: ANA Folding Fan

When I went to Japan, to Hiroshima, for the first time, back in 2013, I made a point of flying ANA, All Nippon Airways, there. At the time, they flew the 787 from Frankfurt to Tokyo Handea. I came back on Swiss via Toyko Narita.

I think the number of times that I have […]

Whatchamacallit 85: Japanese Vase

I bought the above vase while visiting Okinawa in January.

My trip to Japan was an excellent vacation and, in light of ensuing madness, something that has kept me going over the last few months.

I found the vase in a shop along the north side of Kokusai-dori, a street near my hotel. It […]

Whatchamacallit 68: My Japanese Sucker

Back in April 2015 I visited the Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. I was there, specifically, to visit the Festival of the Steel Phallus: かなまら祭り / Kanamara Matsuri.

I wrote about the Festival of the Steel Phallus and about the Kanayama Shrine in general.

This is one of a few objects that I brought […]

Whatchamacallit 27: Carp Towel

Looking at my Covid-19 postings, I realized that I have not yet shown any of my Japanese (or other East Asian) belongings.

Much of this boils down to aesthetics: I love visiting Japan, South Korea, and Thailand – but the typical art that they hang on their walls is not art that I want […]

When you have a few hours to kill in Yokohama – Cupnoodles Museum

Entering CupNoodles Museum

I spent Thursday taking a walk around Yokohama. Before today, as far as I was concerned, Yokohama might as well be Tokyo – but it’s not, in the way that Hartford is not New York City.

It does have a very nice old port and, armed with a map, I headed […]

Baseball in Japan: Three More Games

Yokohama Stadium Lights

I’m winging my way south tonight – leaving the northern hemisphere, heading toward parts I’ve never visited before. I have been south before: South Africa and Swaziland – but I am very much biased toward the northern hemisphere in my travels.

While in Japan I attended three baseball games – on […]

The Festival of the Steel Phallus: かなまら祭り / Kanamara Matsuri

Getting the pink one in place, ready for the day’s celebrations.

Last Sunday, as promised, I made it to the Festival of the Steel Phallus in suburban(ish) Tokyo, specifically Kawasaki.

Ever had a friend who was a total dickhead? This guy’s friends can honestly say so.

Deciding what time to arrive was tricky. […]

Tinian: A difficult journey, and not just literally.

The Hinode American Memorial is in the middle of a traffic circle along Broadway.

I spent today – Easter Monday – popping over to Tinian Island – the immediate neighbor to Saipan, which is, for the record, where I am right now. Visiting Saipan, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, gets me one […]