Merry Christmas Yall!

Today is Christmas here in Japan. So Merry Fucking Christmas you bastards! I know a lot of us gaijin living in Japan may be having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit due to the fact that Christmas is not a `real` holiday in Japan. Most of us will be working today(me included). Yet despite the awkwardness many of us may feel during this holiday season, we must make the best of the situation.


I got a few e-mails yesterday from a few of my fellow gaijin expressing a very down and out feeling about Christmas in Japan. As usual, I refuse to let Japan kill the Christmas spirit in my country ass. Instead I have decided to roll with the punches and work with what I got at hand. Yesterday, I planned out a pretty good Christmas evening with my gal. We reserved one of those take-out KFC Christmas dinner packs. Yes, I gave in and did the whole KFC Christmas thing; like I said I am working with what I got at hand. It is actually not a bad deal. We got a good variety of chicken with good old American style biscuits included. For 2,800 yen it makes for a right decent Christmas dinner.


I met the gal in Kita-Senju to pick up the dinner and do a little extra Christmas shopping together. We had already exchanged gifts a few days ago but decided to shop together and buy a little extra something for each other. I can`t get her anything from Tiffany`s like I did last year but I was able to get her something she wanted. It is the thought that counts anyway. It is a nice change of pace to enjoy a Christmas not focused on buying some crazy expensive item. It was really nice to just spend time with the gal. We ended up buying each other a little something. Before we left we picked a couple slices of Christmas cake.

When we got home it was time to enjoy the little fest we had set up for ourselves. We set our little meal up on a table and enjoyed some good chicken and pleasant conversation. I was even able to find a Christmas music complication on Youtube to set the mood.

For some people it all might seem a bit lame but the gal and I really enjoyed ourselves. A quiet evening at home just enjoying each other`s company meant more than any big fancy celebration. I don`t know about the rest of yall in Japan but I am living the real meaning of Christmas this year.

Winter in Japan is Now Full On

It has been cold as a witches titty here in Tokyo recently. We have not gotten any snow but it was a sign that winter is now full on here in the land of the raising sun. As usual it will more than likely not snow in Tokyo this winter. Yet, it will get colder than a nun on Sunday. I do not see anymore warm days coming for several months. Those icy days of January will be here before we realize it.

I usually adjust the cold weather in Japan pretty well. Despite my hate of cold weather I can deal with it pretty good in most cases. Winter in West Virginia can get really bad. A person living in the mountains of West Virginia can expect three or four brutal blizzards of year. It is not uncommon for an entire village or town to be completely shut down due to a snow fall. The only places I expect this kind of thing happening in Japan is in the northern region.

Winter is Tokyo does have its pitfalls. The wind can be really hard to deal with at times. The wind whips around the buildings and smacks you in face with an unforgiving sick joy what only old man winter can appreciate. While I am drugging off to work the sting of the wind hitting my face puts me in a right proper shitty mood. Hell, during the winter I actually look forward to getting on the train and warming my cold ass on the heated seat.

There is also the pure magic joy of no central heat in Japan. Now, I have lived here for a while so I am used this fact of life in Japan. The Japanese have come up with some interesting ways to off set the lack of central heat. The method to keep warm I like the most is the kotatsu. It works really well to keep me from freezing to death in my own apartment. During the winter in Japan, few things beat a cold night than a bottle of sake, warm soup and a gal warped around ya while bundled up under a kotatsu.

Anyway, I wanna hear what all of you think of winter in Japan and how yall keep warm.

It`s Christmas in Japan Again

Oh yes boys and girls it is that special time of year again here in the land of the raising sun. Lets all get ready for another twisted version of Christmas here in Japan. As many of you may know Japan is pretty much a non-Christian nation. The very idea of Christmas is so far removed from Japanese culture that the holiday has been oddly integrated in the Japanese mindset. In Japan, Christmas is a completely secular commercial holiday. The natives of Japan make no connection to religion and Christmas. For the Japanese, it seems as if Christmas is all about presents, Santa, KFC dinner sets and illumination(Christmas lights), and spending some extra cash in high-end shopping districts like Ginza.

The Japanese secular take on Christmas has produced some interesting customs. Leave it to the Japanese to completely redefine the biggest holiday in the world.


KFC Christmas dinner:
When I first came to Japan several years ago I was surprised by how much Japanese people love KFC. I mean, KFC is deep fried southern style chicken. This is not something I expected Japanese to really go for. Yet, they love redneck chicken. They love it so much that every year during the holiday season Japanese people line up to buy a big KFC holiday dinner set. Deep fried chicken for the whole family!

It`s Happy Christmas in Japan not Merry Christmas:
I guess this one is a simple cultural misunderstanding. They always say Happy Christmas instead of Merry Christmas. I have actually talked to several Japanese about the difference between `Happy` and `Merry.` They don`t see the difference between the two words. They see every western holiday celebrated using `Happy -------` so it makes sense to the Japanese to say Happy Christmas as well. I try to explain to them that merry implies a special spirit connected to Christmas. Having no religious connection to Christmas they miss the point.

Christmas Cake:
This is something I found completely different. I for one had never heard of a Christmas cake until I started living in Japan. Every year all the supermarkets and specialty shops offer up fine quality beautiful cakes to enjoy. Apparently, the Japanese are taking the Christmas Cake tradition from the Brits(at least it appears that way from the Wiki article). It is usually just a fancy sponge cake. I had one last year and it was pretty good. I plan on picking one up this year as well.

Wham! Last Christmas:
In Japan is seems their favorite Christmas song in English is `Last Christmas` by Wham. I often wonder why the Japanese fell in love with a shitty song by a shitty pop band from the 80`s? Almost every place I go in Tokyo I get treated to this damn song. The Japanese seem to care less that the song is not all that good. I think they like it because it has a easy melody and refers to a happier past(the Japanese are obsessed with the past).

A Japanese Christmas is a bit different from what I used to experience in the states but I enjoy the holiday season all the same.

What do you find different about Christmas in Japan?

The 1,000 Yen Tokyo Haircut

Getting a haircut in Tokyo can be expensive. Usually I go a guy who has been cutting my hair for a long time. I have even followed the guy when he switched shops from Harajuku and Shibuya. Well, times are tough for everyone and a 12,000 yen haircut is just not in my budget right now. I can style my own hair pretty good but I am not yet brave enough to do a DIY haircut. I decided the solution would be to break down and get a 1,000 yen ten minute haircut.

I had heard about the amazing 1,000 yen ten minute haircut for a while but never got one. I don`t let just anyone touch my hair but when money gets low and hair gets too long a ten minute haircut starts to sound like a good idea. So, while enjoying a night out I stopped at Kita-Senju and rolled into one these infamous 1,000 yen hair cut joints.

The deal is pretty straight forward. You walk in and feed a little machine 1,000 yen. After you pony up the 1,000 yen the little machine spits out a ticket. There are a row of about two or three people standing next to chairs. You choose the express barber of your choice and the process get underway. Now, there is no way in hell you can get a full cut in ten minutes. Rather, the deal seems to be a quick trim with no fuss. If your Japanese is not so good make sure to bring a native speaker along with you. There is no time to try and explain what you want in broken Japanese. Currently I have been growing my pomp out bigger so all I wanted was to trim up the back part of my hair. My gal told them what I wanted and before my ass evened settled into the seat it was all over.

I cannot say it was the best haircut I had ever received but the job got done none the less. So if you need a quick trim and don`t have the cash for a professional to attack your hair the 1,000 yen haircut is the way to go.

What Ever I Do in Life At Least I Did Not Marry A Video Game

Like most people, I have done several things which are not up to moral snuff. Sometimes people tell me, `You have lived a pretty unique life so far Ghost.` My response to this is, `If I wrote a book about my life, and was completely honest, no one would believe it.` If I ever write that infamous book one chapter will surely be missing: The Time I Married A Video Game. The reason said chapter will be missing is because I never have or will marry a damn video game. The same cannot be said for a Japanese man by the name of Sal9000. According to boingboing.com Sal9000 recently went completely off his rocker and married a video game girl from a popular game called Love Plus.

Some people may say I should be more understanding of post-modern Japanese culture. I do in many ways try my best to humor some of the more unique aspects of post-modern culture here in J-land, but marrying a fucking video game is pushing `We are Japanese and have a unique culture` attitude a bit too far. If anyone in Japan is still clueless as to why the population is decreasing they have to look no further than the case of Sal9000 and his video game wife. What the hell is going on inside the mind of some young Japanese guys these days? There is no way the women in Japan have become so strong willed that the men have been scared to the point of marrying video games. I live in Japan and I know these gal are not that all that hard to deal with usually. They might bitch and moan a bit more than gals back home but for the most part they are pretty easy going in most cases.

What are Japanese guys expecting? Do they really need a completely passive brain dead chick hanging off them 24/7 to feel secure? I am completely baffled as to the reasoning of marrying a video game women. The only positive I can make out is almost no fighting. I don`t think it is possible to get into a screaming match with a video game wife. Sex is also completely out of the question. I wonder if he considered the lack of crazy hot sex when he decided to marry a video game? More than likely this dude either has never had sex or when he did it was so bad he does not want sex anymore.

In a update Sal9000 wrote a email to reporter Lisa Katayama announcing his plans to introduce his wife his to mom and pop soon. I am sure his parents are gonna flip when his shows them his so-called wife. I would not be surprised if his pop beats the crap out of him and smashes his DS into pieces. His mother will more than likely cry and blame herself for her son`s social failure.

Someone is going to have to sit this guy down and explain to him that marrying a video game is not acceptable. I only hope he comes to his senses and gets a real women.

November was a Tough One

I have not been blogging much in the month of November. I must be honest and tell yall, November has been a tough month. A lot of shit has went down in the past 30 days. The level of stress has damn near broke me but here I stand all the same. I have seen a lot of crazy shit in my day but what has been going down recently goes beyond anything I have experienced. This dirty city I call home had finally decided it was `my turn` so to speak over the past 30 days.

I have learned something very important about Tokyo; when people become scared they get mean and brutal. Friendships and bonds melt away real quick. Humanity shows its true ugly side in Tokyo when times get tough. It seems rather than pull together in hard situations my fellow Tokyojin turn on each other. Loyalties are put into question and good people get hurt. It can be shocking at times the level of madness people will go to in order to save their own ass.

I try to understand all the things going on around me recently. Human emotion can be a funny thing sometimes. People do things out of fear or stress, which under normal conditions, would never dream of doing. Once people go into defensive mode all you can do is try to survive. It does not matter how hard you try to show you have not tried to fuck them over; they will think anyway they want. Emotion will take control over even the most mature person. Get caught in the cross fire and you are sure to suffer some injury. I am just glad this month is over. All I can do is focus on my job and manage my personal life.

Workaholic: Tokyo Style

It is well known that in Japan people tend to work long hours, and at times take very few days off. Many people live the workaholic lifestyle. In Tokyo the workaholic lifestyle is taken to new heights in a hyper reality sense of the term. I have seen people work late into the night and get paid very little overtime. Some folks will work a week or more before getting an off day. Now, it is my turn.

From November I will be working six days a week. My only off day will be Monday. When I first got the orders from my company I have excited and shocked. I was excited because, in truth, I really like working. The men in my family long ago ingrained the idea in me that A man`s life is judged by his hard work and achievements. My shock came from the long distance from my house to the three different branches I will be working. I will be going to Yokohama, Kokubunji, and Kamata every week. There will be a lot of traveling and working for me.

My record for working without a day off in Japan is 12. That was tough but I enjoyed it because I was out in the thick of things everyday. To be honest, sitting at home really drives me nuts sometimes. Maybe I feel a little `boxed-in` staying inside too much. I get this bend up energy when I am static too long. I must be `out in the shit` as much as possible.

The down side of a fast hard working lifestyle is the damage to my body. Little things add up over time. After too many drinking benders, lack of sleep, long work days and other such madness I start to get a little run down. Its all about balance I suppose.

Anyway, a six day work week will be fun for sure. It will keep things interesting. What is your record for working without a day off in Japan?