Ouch! There went $42 USD at Lupicia. Damn, that’s good tea though.
(0)Archive for the 'Culture' Category
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Packy!
Here’s a patch of Botasky from Cat Shit One 80. Mojo Dave says Perkins is arriving next week! The woven detail is nice. Like the unit patch, I’m not sure if this one passes copyright muster…
Get your 7.62 on!
Recommended
$8 USD at Mojo Tactical
I can’t recall the name of the udon restaurant that occupied the space across Ke’eaumoku Street from HMSA, but after it unfortunately closed and the space went through various unsuccessful iterations, it is now Menchanko-tei. I seem to recall the resident food reviewer at the local newspaper doing a review and going through the history and heritage of Menchanko-tei, so I won’t bother searching for it and just reiterating it here, but if you’re interested, I’m sure this information is a couple of clicks away. Suffice it to say that they specialize in menchanko – a thick noodle ramen, motsu – innards (in this case beef), and tonkatsu – Japanese-style breaded pork cutlets. The two staff members we encountered were both native Nihongo speakers, so this isn’t one of those “Japanese-themed” Korean or Chinese-run establishments where the food looks somewhat right, but doesn’t taste right – this is the real deal. Continue reading ‘Menchanko-tei’
フゥ～!!!
The shiny black packaging and product name totally channels Sumitani Masaki’s Haado Gei. Regular Salux Japanese nylon washcloths and this “hard” version were on sale at Don Quijote, so I spun by after work to pick one up as a replacement for my tattered, perforated one. The “hard” ones came in more muted colors instead of the pastels of the standard version, so I grabbed one and an extra for a spare, even if they were a dollar more each. Busting it out immediately for a shower when I got home, I noticed that it was a lot bigger than my old standard Salux “body towel” (that’s what they call it in katakana on the packaging). The package says 28cm by 100cm, but I don’t recall what the standard one is supposed to measure. It feels around 10-20cm longer and 5-10cm wider. Definitely easier on the shoulder joints when washing the back. Continue reading ‘Salux Super Hard’
Not a bad HI5-0 episode… except for the bizarre plot-convenience redundant “safety” devices on the Hadji vest.
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I picked up something different from Mamaya at Shirokiya’s food level – a onigiri made from rice mixed with tarako (cod roe) and thinly cut konbu (prepared kelp). Overall flavor was very good. Rice was a little on the softish side, and the same was true for the salmon onigiri I got, so the rice was either overcooked, or not allowed to cool properly after steaming. The nori (seaweed laver) was all limp since there was no JDM-style wrapper that kept the nori separate from the rice until you opened it. I didn’t see any of the ha-togarashi onigiri available, so maybe this one replaced it as a rotating flavor. Continue reading ‘Mamaya Yaki Tarako Konbu Onigiri’
While listening to the vacuous K-pop that occasionally ninjas its way onto 97.1 by the unfortunate grace of there being Japanese-language crossover K-songs that make it onto the Japanese chart rankings, I realized that although unintentional on their part, “KARA” means “empty” (空) in Nihongo – you know, like in “karate” or “karaoke” (go look it up). How oddly appropriate! Guess that’s another one to add to the list of otherwise innocuous names that go bad when transplanted into another language like “Nova” and “Pajero.”
(0)Popped into Mojo Tactical to visit Dave after I got back from Japan. He had these KFC parody patches in original color and subdued tan. Image is pretty good, but the subtext is somewhat forced …not particularly clever …okay, lame. Eh, it’s worth several laughs. Sort of makes me want to put a fully loaded plate carrier on one of the Colonel Sanders statues outside a restaurant and take a picture! Definitely can’t put a bump helmet on him unless you gut the foam, since his fiberglass hair is huge. Maybe a keffiyah would be better. Patch has a rude gesture, so it’s after the break… Continue reading ‘November Patches’
I hope the trains aren’t super crowded on the way to the airport. It should time out OK, since I’ll be headed out around 15:00, so that’s after lunch and before the pau-hana rush. Still, I’ve found myself standing all the way to Chitose before, so today might be more of the same.
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Now that’s something you don’t see every day… no less in Japan! Odd there were no security guards about, but that would just make breaching the gates easier for the sake of advancing the movie plotline.