ようこそ　オスロ

Just a week before the deadly attacks in Oslo, things were more than pleasant in Norway’s capital. I walked out of the train station to be greeted by these welcoming banners in Japanese.

Posted on July 25th, 2011 under Japan, Other. Tags: norway, oslo, signs. Comments Off on Welcome to Oslo

If you see a sign that looks something like the above as you are traveling through Denmark, think not that the store it is attached to is selling pretzels. No, this is the sign where you can get a real Danish pastry (wienerbrød). What you will find inside is a much wider selection and far more tasty treat than what we normally call a danish in the U.S.A.

These sweet snacks melt in your mouth. After having the real thing (too many times to count now), I’m always a bit disappointed in the danishes I eat when I’m back home in the states.

Posted on July 3rd, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: food, signs. Comments Off on The sign of a real Danish danish

I have mentioned this famous face before. I read I Am A Cat and visited Natsume Soseki’s grave. Of course, the reason why his face is famous isn’t for either of these reasons. No, the reason why he probably looks familiar to you, even if his name doesn’t ring a bell, is that he was on the 1,000 yen note until recently.

The statue of him, pictured above, can be found in Shinjuku Ku, near the Waseda Station on the Tozai Subway Line.

漱石山房の記憶

I was just taking a walk one day when I came across these sign boards showing a Natsume Soseki walk that can be taken near Waseda University so I did the walk. Along the way you can see many places relevant to Natsume Soseki and his works. Some of the streets, temples, and stores appear in his works since he lived in this area. Actually he was born and died here.

漱石の散歩道 – Soseki Walking Route

Posted on June 20th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: people, shinjuku, signs. Comments Off on Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石)

Something to be aware of if you visit or move to Japan is how to read the train station signs/maps. Based on the above photo (taken from the train platform at the Ebisu Station on the Yamanote Line), you can easily tell that if you are currently at the Ebisu Station and you get on a train going to the right your next station is Shibuya. Most people get that. What you don’t want to skip over is the other information available below.

Read the yellow sign before exiting or you can easily take the wrong exit which will put you going in the wrong direction, can cost you 15 minutes or more, and may get you lost altogether.

Finally, the sign to left of the yellow one will tell you what car of the train to ride in order to make your connection smoothly or end up at the correct place to easily exit at your destination station. If you have a minute or two to get to the best car before boarding, you may make a connection that you would otherwise miss, again potentially saving yourself much time.

You can’t really see the yellow “light” to the right of the main sign so here is a better view.

These Yebisu lights line the Ebisu Station. Yebisu is one of the seven lucky gods (七福神). Japan Beer Brewery created the Yebisu label and had a big beer factory near the current Ebisu Station long before the area was known as Ebisu. The area was actually named after the beer. I don’t think much brewing actually gets done is this area of Tokyo anymore, but you can tour Beer Museum Yebisu which is a short walk from the Ebisu Station.

Posted on June 18th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: beer, ebisu, lucky gods, signs. Comments Off on Ebisu

夜明け前桜の下はばかばかり

Here is another of the sakura haiku along the Kanda River in Tokyo. This one reads yoakemae, sakuranoshitawa, baka bakari and means, “Before the dawn, beneath the cherry blossoms, nothing but idiots.” There are a couple of funny things about this one.

Without experiencing a nighttime hanami (flower viewing party) it is difficult to grasp just how crazy these parties can become. Nearly everyone is beyond intoxicated. Hence the “idiots” reference. The other thing about this haiku is the play on words. “Baka” means “idiot” and “bakari” means “only” or “nothing but”. Saying them back to back has a ring of “super idiot” since it starts out “bakabaka”. “Bakabakashii” is actually the adjective form of “baka”.

Anyway, seeing this sign brought a smile to my face. I’m guessing the author (あゆぞう which may have a meaning of its own that I’m not aware of) lives nearby and has to put up with the nightly noise that goes on for more than a week during cherry blossom viewing season.

Posted on June 13th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: kandagawa, sakura, signs, 桜. Comments Off on More Sakura Haiku