24 February 2010
AM
At about 9:58am, a man on my train carriage bound for Gakken-Nara-Tomigaoka fell asleep. His newspaper, although appearing to be a respectable broadsheet, was actually filled with full frontal nudity. The paper, slumped forward at about the same time as he did. No-one gawked, nor blinked. A normal situation (right: Tokyo subway poster)
PM
As I stepped on to the platform at Tsuruhashi station at about 5:25pm, I was confronted by the mingling of two opposing smells. The first, which had assaulted me in the morning was the acrid stench of extinct barbecues and burnt fat - exactly the smell which lingers around a boozy camp fire. This particular smell, wasn't initially included in my short list of 'bad smells in Japan', however since returning from Malaysia (my olfactory organs refreshed) I have noted the putrid stench every wednesday morning on my way to work. It will now forever be in league with my memories of that place. The second, smell, was the incredibly precursor to the first. The amazing smell of tens or hundreds of Yakiniku restaurants, blurs the airs of Tsuruhashi station every night with a blueish haze. It is an amazing and probably delicious place - until the morning. (right: a map of Tsuruhashi that could possibly show the smell radius)
A sporadic record of the most and least interesting things experienced in the am and pm during lulls from Australian life
Showing posts with label newspapers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newspapers. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Please Do It At Home
Labels:
2010,
Food,
japan,
newspapers,
osaka,
pornographic newspapers,
smells,
train travel,
Tsuruhashi
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
The Newspaper on the Tram

AM
Least: At 10:05am, I began the incredibly boring process of munching through 'Pasco 5' bread. It is far to thick to lend itself to an admirable meal - the toast affected layer is far too thin compared with the doughy, sugary and bland interior of massive GI. Despite rapidly depleting Vegemite supplies, I managed to mask some of the horrors of Japanese bread, but it wasn't quite enough. And to think Pasco is the best of a very bad bunch.
PM
Least: By 4:50am, I was once again trapped in an impossibly small office listening to yet another sleazy teacher who seemed to think every woman or girl was at his feet. He met the usual profile of a balding nerd who, probably a geek in his home country and found himself an adonis in Japan. The appalling thing was that he thought enough of himself to bore anyone close bye. He reported with a straight face that no woman in Thailand was as hot as his Japanese girlfriend. Even more boring than the tissues I was packing.
Most: Not long after 9:35pm. I walked through Tennoji, passed several homeless guys sleeping in cardboard boxes and alighted the tram to Himematsu. Sitting on either side of me was a young woman who looked like she'd forgotton to wear pants and a man reading a sports-based newspaper. Peeking at the newspaper, I noticed that the man on my left was perusing the pornographic pages of the paper - numerous sets of breasts covered the page. Perhaps self conscious (but probably not), he flipped to a section that gave him tips about improving his golf swing then quickly fell asleep. Many of the local tabloid papers double as porno mags and men often reading them on public transport without shame. The girl sitting on my right texted on a phone with a toy hanging from it twice its' size.
Labels:
2009 japan election,
architecture,
expats,
Food,
hankai line,
houses,
mandai ike,
newspapers,
osaka,
pasco bread,
tennoji,
tezukayama,
trams
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Sunny Tezukayama

AM
Least: I was up at five-ish this morning helping an ill Rosie when I succumbed to the temptation to begin reading the Readers' Comments in the various News Limited papers. As always global warming brought out all of the paranoid types and their boring explanations of why climate change is a sham. As Scott of New Zealand wrote at 4:08pm "This is embarrassing for Australia".
Most: At about 6:25am I left the Sanshou Mansion to visit a nearby drinks machine. The morning was warm and crystal clear with a view of the surrounding moutains. The sky was blue with a sprinkle of high cloud - beautiful.
PMLeast: At 2.16pm I discovered that my ICOCA card had suffered from some internal catastrophe rendering it useless. Instead of spending my commute smugly sailing through the stiles, I could be found standing at machines fumbling for change and buying paper tickets. There is also 750yen hidden somewhere on that card.
Most: At about 12:35pm while shopping at the overpriced but good Kohyo supermarket I couldn't help but notice the nice little range of whale products that have appeared this week. Various bacons, blubbers and a delicious looking fillet basked quietly in the sashimi section. It wasn't that expensive either.
Labels:
australia,
climate change,
global warming,
japan,
newspapers,
paranoia,
tezukayama,
vending machines,
weather
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