Where I'm staying in Osaka has an internal space of around 28 square meters, I estimate, which is 300 square feet. This isn't counting the not-very-usable stepped entranceway (where you'd leave your shoes) but is otherwise an overestimate (I treat my armspan as 2 meters, it's probably a bit less. I've been here almost five weeks so far, out of ( Read more... )

W is skeptical that the 100 yen supermarket was actually a 100 yen store; perhaps I saw the sign for A but entered B. I don't care enough to hunt it down, not at 23 C dew points ( Read more... )

The smallest bill of currency here is 1000 yen, analogous to a US $10 bill. Coins are 500, 100, 50, 10, 5, and 1 yen in size, and all are in common use. I think coin lockers and laundry machines only take 100 yen, but vending and meal order machines take 10 and up ( Read more... )

Going by temple offerings, the Buddha likes Pocky and Oreos.

That truck with the ice-cream jingle? It is not an ice cream truck. It is a garbage truck.

See the
( Read more... )

10th: Finally got to Keitakuen garden in Tennouji park. Nice, but for being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Got into Issenji Temple, which is mostly cemetery, but seems to have many Buddha statues, and two front statues apparently made of compacted ash or something. Went back to Chausuyama, which didn't look much like a kofun, and may not be one after ( Read more... )

Went back to Sushiro for an early dinner, because I'll eat infinite sushi at 100 yen per plate ( Read more... )

Wow, I really bailed on Japan blogging ( Read more... )

I finally made a 'big' trip, taking the train to Nara, 20 miles or so east of me. The best line is the Kintetsu, a different private train than the JR Line, and confusing in its overlapping lines; I found I was on the wrong train and transferred further down, though I didn't really lose time ( Read more... )

I craved more. Went to Ganko sushi in the Abeno Harukas basement. Was tricky to find, behind a giant supermarket with varieties of cherry tomatoes and varities of more-than-whole milk (like 5% fat) and more ( Read more... )

Despite buying all those groceries last night, I decided to look for floating (conveyor belt) sushi, or kaitenzushi places. A couple west of me in the mall, one 10 minutes east of me. I tried that, figuring the more boonie it was the cheaper it would be ( Read more... )