Somewhere in this world...: June 2005 Archives

Some Info. Revealed.

By Shigeki on June 30, 2005 12:16 PM | 4 Comments

First of all, I added the link to Larry from Maine. I actually didn't ask for his permission to add his on this site but I hope he won't mind. Please let me know if you do, Larry from Maine. (I like saying that as I have never been to Maine. Cape Cod.). This is the second U.S. link to add. His blog is definitely a great read. Scroll downer (As you cannot say "page-turner"...).

I got tagged by Sven who is going to have six week vacation soon... while I only have three extra days to be on vacation in Summer... I kept saying "Life isn't fair" when I was in my early 20s... I guess it applies to this thing. I wish I had work that allows me to have vacation for that long.... Anyway.... Here it goes!

5 years ago

It's exactly 5 years ago when I moved to HK temporarily.

1 year ago

I was a workaholic and a student at the same time. It was brutal...

Continue reading Some Info. Revealed..

A fear of du jour

By Shigeki on June 29, 2005 10:11 PM | 9 Comments

Why do I see "Soup of Du Jour" instead of "Soup of the day"? I guess French words are fancy... I had to attend one of those geeky meetings at Tokyo International Forum today. It's not as humid as it was yesterday so wearing a suit isn't bad at all. I like this suit because it helps myself look 10 times smarter.. even if my brain's not.... Anyway... I come here once or twice a month for conference, meetings, or become an assistant for some visitors from the headquarters. Tokyo International Forum is like a convention center. However, David Copperfield cut himself in half with the big saw on stage here... My point is some big concerts or perforamances are held here, too. This building was designed by Rafael Vinoly, an Urguay born American architect. The glass ceilings. This building looks so beautiful because of them but whenever I come here, I get squeeky.. All the glass will be broken and fall if the major earthquake hits Tokyo. That's all I keep thinking while I am walking down the hall. I wonder this building is earthquake resistent but by Law, the building must be so this is in fact, I am pretty sure, earthquake resistant, too. But I always imagine the worst case sernario when I step in here. It's not that I would scream out loud like a crazy person. But I tend to walk faster when I am in this main hall. Just a little bit squeaky is all. I bit the bullet and did something brave (you might be laughing) tonight. Took photos!!! I spent more than I would like to here in this building tonight. I look up... beautifully scary. Mr. Vinoly, did you include the fact we get earthquakes often? Meanwhile, I am going to finish my thing here and run! run to get the fudge out of here!!!!! I will see weird myself here in 2 weeks....

Sweaty Not

By Shigeki on June 29, 2005 2:42 AM | 2 Comments

The skyline in Tokyo at night especially in summer is splendid. However, it's HOT!!. Today was the hottest day ever in June in Tokyo. The high was 36.2 degrees celsius = 97.16 degrees fahrenheit. I hear it was brutally hot in Milano, Italy today. But there's a difference there. The humidity in Tokyo was 92%. It was 38% in Milano. Anyway, you get sweaty when you walk outside during the daytime. It gets nasty because of this weird heat and humidity! This unpleasant weather is inevitable in summer in Tokyo. I don't appreciate it. It was 30 degrees celsius at 7p.m.! So I make sure I don't run out of these two products during summer. The left one is "Facial Refreshing Paper" and the other one on right is "Body Cool Paper". I heard one day that Asians have a stronger sense of smell. I am not sure if that's true. But we are definitely sensitive enough to notice the unpleasant odor from sweat. Although it can be insanely sexy in some conditions, it's not welcomed in public. It's hard to keep ourselves odorless during the humid hot summer. These two products will help you be less stinky. The left one will remove any excessive oil from your face and your face won't look shiny at all. The right one will help you feel cool literally as it has some methol substances and will minimize the sweat. These are essential for me in summer. These can be found anywhere at drug stores, convenience stores, and kiosks. We have a lot of metrosexual products like these. Mind I suggest you to pick these up when you are in a humid place? You've gotta try this if you ever have a chance. (You don't have to if where you are isn't humid at all). you can't believe how refreshing this is!! I will have to wear a suit to work tomorrow.. These babies are going with me. :-)

Late night cafe.

By Shigeki on June 28, 2005 4:07 AM | 4 Comments

This is my favorite cafe. It's just several min walk to my home. It's open until 3:30 a.m. It's very quiet at late night and spacious. It offers drinks and foods at reasonable prices even!! Some guy would say this would be such a rich gorgeous thing to do. It's actually really reasonable in spite of the fancy appearances. If you zoom in by clicking it, you might get some idea how great this cafe is. It's somehow difficult to find a favorite bar / cafe like this one which is open until the early morning. I am so lucky that I live close to this stylish cafe. Since my stress is getting so unmanageable at work, I decided to give a call to my old frineds and "summoned" them for a Monday late night cafe thing. We do this every once in a while here. It's so relaxing and the atmosphere here is marvelous. It's not really a good idea to get boozed until the early monring like 3:00a.m. on Monday since there are four more days to work but I needed this badly. Talked about things and get boozed to blow my stress away. I would be really devastated if this cafe will be closed (which I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon.) My favorite drink here in this month is Frozen Rum Chocolate. It's not as sweet as you might imagine. It's really refreshing. I like it at a hot humid night like tonight. Sure, it would be better to work out or do Yoga to blow off the steam. But sometimes, skipping workout and get boozed while talking to good friends is better. :-) I know I have to get up early tomorrow but I feel great and get ready for nasty hours at work. :-) My only hope is that I want to bring a boyfriend here to spend a quiet evening talk night. which hasn't happened in a reality. In the mean time, I really appreciate my friends to keep my company. :-) Cheers!

side effects

By Shigeki on June 27, 2005 4:20 AM | 2 Comments

As usual, I worked very late and it was after midnight. My little enjoyment after work is that I go to one of convenience stores near my work and grab one or two beers. Then, walk home while enjoying beer(s). It usually takes 20 mins to walk back home but then I take it slow because this is the only time when I can relax in a way. My stress at work seems to be unmanageable lately. But this walking moment helps. This is the photo of Shinjuku Times Square. It's very quiet and dark. Shinjuku Station is about 5 mins away from my work. It's the most used station in Japan. meaning, it may be one of the most used station on this planet because 1million people pass by this station every day. But it's so empty and quiet after midnight. I feel so peaceful. This is where I get to feel better after 2 beers and usually start singing. :-) You are allowed to drink outside in Tokyo. Isn't that nice? Anyway, I just hum. Since I was extremely stressed today, I sang "Touch My Heart" by Javine on the way back. I memorized the whole lyrics of this song. Nope, I am still not over Eurovision yet. I hope the project I'm working on will end any time soon. I hope it will be a better day tomorrow. Otherwise, I am so ready to fly to the headquarters and then kill those useless project members who fucked up for the Japan part... oops. "ahem"

I got an e-mail from Thomas in New York. I am pretty sure many of us in Tokyo are fascinated with New York on some level. His blog won an award at Best Gay Blogs. This is the first U.S. blog to link to on my site. How cool is that? Keep up good work, Thomas!

queer basin...

By Shigeki on June 26, 2005 2:00 AM | 8 Comments

The basin plug had to be replaced. I asked the concierge to take care of that while I was away for work today. He suggested me that the whole basin could be replaced with something really sophisticated and nice if I paid for some small money. This was a mistake. I should not have agreeed. When I came back, I found the queerest basin ever in my life. It's a kind of a basin you see in a hotel room or something. Well, it might be a part of my fault because I told him that I wanted something "cool" looking. But to be honest, I don't hate it. It's just all the glass so it's a little hard to keep it clean all the time. I only get once a week for housekeeping but I may have to ask more to keep the basin clean... darn... I think I am going to need some time to get used to this basin....

Luxurious Night

By Shigeki on June 25, 2005 6:33 AM | 3 Comments

It's a payday! I had to work late as usual. But I got a nice surprise call on my mobile. The Kyushu Danji guy (a.k.a. Yoga Guy) called me. He was in the neighborhood and asked me to have drinks. I really had to work on things but how could I say no? I got out. We had drinks near my work. The usual cheapy place. The most shocking thing was that Kyushu guy ate my dessert while I was away and went to a restroom. It was my favorite pudding there... Anyway, we went to Roppongi Hills which is like a very luxurious plastic district of Tokyo. A Japanese version of Beverly Hillis but more sophisticated. He lives in this area. What a rich guy!!!! It would cost him 300,000 Yen = $2764 = 2272 Euros a month at least for rent. Anyway, I took some photos with my mobile while I am in this luxurious area. The photos are kinda carppy.. :-) Anyway, It was absolutely a great weekend thing to do. But it's quarter to 6 in the morning and I have to go back to work.... My head really hurts..... too much booze.... but I really enjoyed my evening. :-)

Corporate Slave

By Shigeki on June 24, 2005 4:50 AM | 2 Comments

I feel so bad that even though you took some of your valuable time to visit my site, nothing is really exciting these days... I do apologize.... But since I made myself a promise that I would post at least one entry a day, here it goes...
I got up 6 in the morning today/yesterday and went to the gym.. I felt so great and went to work. My project is almost complete. But everything fall apart all of the sudden. Virus outbreak. Because the new system I was implementing was messed up by one engineer in the States, the system itself literally became the corporate threat!! It took me 3 hours to fix everything on the server side. Then, another disaster... Some users leaked confidential information to outsiders. I was requested to investigate the e-mail communications and web site access. It's a time consuming task.... You may be able to see the warning message saying the computer system is being monitored by administrators or something. We don't really monitor these constantly at my work. But then, if something is up, we get into that. Ergo, don't browse anything naughty sites at work!! Don't badmouth about someone inside at work via E-mail. We run into non-related information unimportant info some times. But some info is entertaining. I can get to know who the closeted gay is some times or who is a sex addict. I don't intentionally look for that kind of info but it just happens to be there while investigating real issues. I don't enjoy doing thist but I have to admit it's very intriguing to see the dark side of the company. However, I think I worked for 21 hours today. I came home at 3a.m. Oh well, it's already bright outside!!! I am going to take a short nap then go back to work. Oh yes, I am a corporate slave. In a nutshell, at work, don't do anything you wouldn't do in public. :-) Happy safe internet browsing at work!

Nostalgia

By Shigeki on June 23, 2005 10:37 AM | 3 Comments

Summer is definitely on its way. It's already late June. The humidity seems to get higher gradually. mosquitoes are flying all over even though you don't see them... I am so sensitive about those little creatures and I try not to be bitten by them at all. That's because I had a bad experience. I had to fly to Bangkok one day. It was the first time for me to go to Thailand. It was absolutely exciting and I stayed there for two nights. I think I got bitten by a mosquito there and had a serious dengue fever a week after. Ever since then, I seriously hate them. It's not that there are mosquitoes with dengue fever virus here in Tokyo but still, it's better not to be bitten at all if you don't want any scar or spot on your skin. This is the photo of Mosquito pyrethrum coil. I picked up those on the way back from the gym to work last night. (I had no lunch break yesterday by the way.. 9 hour long call with the headquarters for troubleshooting...) These coils are essential in summer for me as I don't wear a PJ when I sleep in summer. Who would? I only wear undies in summer. Not the fancy ones. Just a regular pair. :-) It's the 21st century. There is a better innovated type with electric heat. No smoke at all. But I am an old fashioned type some times. I picked up the primitive type today and started using one of these tonight. They kinda smell good. Since I don't smoke, I miss the smell of smoke. This is good. Relaxing even. Oh yes. Nostalgia indeed. I wonder if these coils are Japanese thingy...

Euro Night (1mo. Late)

By Shigeki on June 22, 2005 3:03 AM | 4 Comments

I thought I was going to stay late until midnight as usual but I got this e-mail message from a friend of mine who just got back from his vacation. He told me that he got me a DVD of Eurovision 2005!!!. Of course, I "decided" to feel ill and acted sick a little bit. I got to my friend's at 6 in the evening.Other friends came in later. I fixed us something to eat. It's 3 hour long, baby! I am so over that Cypriot. He sang like a bad version of Ricky Martin or something...

My favorite of all is Jakob Sveistrup from Denmark. His song was very charming and easy to follow. What's so great about him is that he is not a professional singer. He is a teacher for autistic children!! In spite of the fact that he does look older than his age 33, I liked the way he dressed. A red flowery shirt which by the way (flowery shirt) is so happening worldwide for men this year, and a nice jacket with red/pink pinstripes. His singing was awesome, too. His shoes were all red, which I think the stylist of his tried to match the color with the national flag of Denmark. I wonder why Denmark didn't score big....Other observations about Eurovision by this asian person from far east are....

Continue reading Euro Night (1mo. Late).

More moisture please

By Shigeki on June 21, 2005 9:10 AM | 2 Comments

Oh yeah, it's supposed to be humid, hot, sweaty and wet by now. .... Which something you might want to say in a different situation. The rainy season should be like that. And it's always like that around this time of the year in Tokyo. It's definitely cloudy this morning but it will be another fine day later according to the weather forecast. It's absolutely strange this year. The weird thing is I don't like hot humid weather which I can always experience from June to August in Tokyo. It's absolutely sticky and brutal. But I kinda miss that humidity now. It's really weird. It snows in winter (we had more than the average last season), it rains and reaches almost 40 degrees celusis in summer. It's a difficult city to adjust yourself as the weather wise but I love it. Each season is clearly visible.

Anyway, it's been cooler than usual. Not as sweaty as it should be. Not as hot as it should be. If this is the third date with a guy, oh no!!! This is hydrangea. The common flowers in the rainy season. They are supposed to look beautiful with rain drops. However, no rains... It's so out of place or something. The color is a little faded out because of how little it has rained. It's not that I am not complaining but it's very rare not to have rain this little in June. I hope the summer this year will be HOT, SWEATY, and Throbing! okay, I should stop saying like this. :-) I just work too much recently and don't have anything interesting to share.... Off to the gym. :-)

Salut! mon perte

By Shigeki on June 20, 2005 9:37 AM | 2 Comments

Warning! This may be a judgemental stereotypical post.
Speaking of French, this is so outrageous. I don't know why I stayed up late last night. I am cranky. French tires.... please... Anyway.... I had a slight doubt for about 0.01 second when I was about to buy this watch at Hermes in Hong Kong earlier this month. That doubt was remotely noticeable in my head, and I decided that it wasn't any of my concerns. It was too exciting anyways!! I only wear this when I wear a suit to work or on other occasions. So far, I only wore this 7 times. Well, I wore it another time when I wasn't in a suit but it doesn't really restrict how you should wear this. Anyway, I had wanted this watch for a long time and got it earlier this month. But I kinda have started getting bored with this. The reasons why I have gotten bored with it are

The unattractive guy sitting next to me had exactly the same watch as mine on the train last night. I instantly hid my watch with the sleeve.
Hermes isn't a brand primarily targetting watches. Bags, baby. bags.
I have been more fascinated with watches by Cartier.
I have a Cartier watch but haven't worn it for awhile.
I will probably buy this again when I become 35 when seems to be more appropriate.

Continue reading Salut! mon perte.

I am mad at catfish!

By Shigeki on June 20, 2005 2:21 AM | 3 Comments

At 1:19, when I was just organizing glasses in the kitchen, the earthquake hit the Tokyo area again. Unlike the recent weird ones, it was a little biggger. That's why one of the glasses fell and crashed. It was Baccarat!!! that was a gift from my grandmother. Oh well, things get broken so that's unavoidable. I can get over it. But I am very very mad at catfish under the earth if there is any right now. (Read the previous earthquake post if you don't know what that is) We have a different earthquake scale to show how big/small it is. It's called "Shindo" scale. The description of the scale can be found here. Take a look at #2 on this page. Tokyo was 3 this time. It wasn't bad but I need to clean this up.. Darn it. Tokyo may be the worst metropolitan city when it comes to natural disasters. But I like it here. :-)

Beyond Expectations

By Shigeki on June 19, 2005 10:43 AM | 5 Comments

Working on Sunday... great... I am pretty sure it's very stressful and challenging to go beyond people's expectations for any one of us. This is the photo of Takuma Sato. He was nominated as one of the 20 promising best Formula 1 drivers in the world. It had been very long to see a Japanese driver up on the victory stand until Takuma showed up. His record for this year hasn't been very great, but he is hanging in there indeed. What's so amazing about him is that he always goes with what his heart tells him to do, and he's achieved a lot of amazing things but he is not really proud of them. He never shows them off. Besides, he is amazingly fluent in English considering he moved out of Japan when he was 22. We usually have a strong thick accent so the English subtitle appears when one of those Japanese speaks English. That's a sad thing, really. But when he speaks in a press conference, the subtitle never comes up!! But he isn't really proud nor cares about how great his English speaking skills are "unlike" some bilingual Japanese who always show these off. Plus, He is kinda short (163cm) but absolutely charming. He may not be one of those super-model guys but I like him very very much. I guess I like him because he is humble and does great things without showing us how hard it would be to do them. I like his driving style, too. He is really cool. Go Takuma! I hope he will do great and goes to a better position later today for United States Grand Prix!! But safe driving!

Skipping

By Shigeki on June 18, 2005 9:29 PM | 3 Comments

I came back home late last night. I went to bed at 3. I got up at 6 in the morning alright. I ran, had breakfast, and took a shower. I was very ready to work on this bright beautilf Saturday. I decided to drive to work. I got a call from a friend of mine on my way and asked me if I was interested in having braekfast with him. I already had it but I had a couple of hours until I had to be in the office. So I agreed and drove to the fancy area in where he lives. It's so relaxing to drive in almost empty streets in Tokyo on Saturday. I went to the cafe at where I was supposed to meet with a friend. He was right there. We caught up with each other. Since I already had breakfast, I ordered a glass of beer. You know, this is an open cafe just like you see on any street in Europe, but I don't think an open cafe real. After an hour talk, I was so not ready to go to work. All I had to do for today is verify the system status and translate documents. I thought I could maybe catch up tomorrow if I work really really hard tomorrow. I decided not to go to work at all. It's like skipping a class when I was a college student which I didn't do frequently for your info. :-) I didn't think it would be this relaxing today. I needed that. But strangely, the sky is blue and the air isn't humid at all. Where did the rainy season disappear to when it's supposed to be really humid and wet in Tokyo? Well, this is nice, too. By the way, it's always nice to keep a couple of empty chilled glasses in your fridge. That way, you are ready to serve beers to guests in better conditions. :-) They can be for champagne if you are on a high end. :-)

Weekeeeeeeeeend

By Shigeki on June 17, 2005 10:19 AM | 4 Comments

Yes, it's Friday morning now. I haven't slept today as I had to stay here in the office until 5 in the morning. I had to come back here at 8. I guess the new system I am implementing is going well regardless of the tight schedule given by a nice project manager. Anyway, since things are very successful, I can get out of work at 6 sharp tonight!! Yeah, I still have to work tomorrow and the day after but I get a certain amount of personal time which I haven't had for a while. In spite of the accident I had on Wednesday, the bruise on my face is still visible but it's not bad at all, I think. I am going to the gym to join a Yoga session right after getting out of here. I am hoping to see that Kyushu Danji guy again. I will make sure to watch my way this time. My nose isn't bleeding. I have a mild bruise. I may not look great after too many work hours and too little time for sleep. I have bloodshot eyes and dark circles around them. That nasty thingy in my eyes can be cleared out with the eyedrops. Surprisingly, this Lancome Anti-Fatigue Eye Treatment works well to reduce dark circles. I don't do well on skincare...but a friend of mine suggested me this one day. It's not that this thing will magically make me look 100 times better but I want to look not tired. :-) Of course, the best thing would be to rest enough and excercise well. I am sticking with the next best thing now. I am supposed to meet friends for drinks after but I am hoping to have coffee with the Yoga guy before that. Oh yeah, this sounds like a very Friday plan. I am so happy. You, too, have a fabulous weekend!!

Geeky signals all over

By Shigeki on June 16, 2005 3:37 PM | No Comments

I haven't taken photos today so this is a substitute and it's crappy..... you can at least get an idea of what this is, right? I decided not to go to the gym this morning because of the thing on my face...I read newspaper at breakfast, and one article got my attention.

TOKYO--Livedoor Co said Wednesday it will launch an inexpensive public-use local area network communications service next month in Tokyo, joining NTT Communications Corp and Softbank Corp in offering the service. The service will be also utilized by Fuji Television Network Inc as the first deal of its business alliance with livedoor, it said. Video images taken by Fuji TV camera crew members and reporters outside the studios can be transmitted to the broadcaster's headquarters via livedoor's wireless LAN. (Kyodo News)Japan Today News: June, 16, 2005

This doesn't cover the whole story I read on the newspaper. It only costs 525 Yen = $4.81 = 4 Euros a month. You can get connected to Internet via this service from anywhere within Yamanote Line. Anywhere within Yamanote Line circle will be virtually internet accessible via Wireless LAN. The Yamanote Line is a circular commuting train line which connects Tokyo's major city centers. A trip around the whole circle takes approximately one hour. Considering you have to pay about $5 for one WiFi session at the airport, this is a damn good deal. If you live in Tokyo or plan to move to Tokyo, don't sign up an ISP service yet. You might be able to get WiFi signals for this service. It will be cheaper and more convenient. If you are a visitor and have a laptop, this would be good, too.

I sound like I have a cold.

By Shigeki on June 15, 2005 11:57 PM | 3 Comments

All I do lately is go home or go to work. That's it. Nothing else. Occasionally, working out. But that's about it. I actually ran out of things I blog about was what I thought earlier this evening. Anyway, I've been exhausted for some time. Only 3 hours to sleep and almost 18 hours to work. That leaves me 3 hours for my personal time. No wonder I have skipped going to the gym yesterday. However, I had some spare time before the evening conference call started. I was too tired to lift weights. If I swam, I would be drown. I went to the gym and joined a yoga session today. uh-oh. There was a problem... I mean I've been doing this basic Power Yoga for some time. It's so good that I can always focus on this. No interruption or whatsoever. Today was different. The person in front of me was mind-numbingly kewl. I mean he was a typical Kyushu danji, a gallant male with thick real black hair and heavy rich eyebrows. He was about my height and age. The instructor told us to focus on breathing deeply. Yeah, I was focusing on it alright as I didn't want to let anybody notice my short breath from the excitement. We lay down on our stomach to do the next pose. All I saw was his ass. Okay, I don't play innocent here. I am sure everybody cruises someone with his/her eyes some times.

Continue reading I sound like I have a cold..

Little Compensation

By Shigeki on June 14, 2005 8:47 PM | 6 Comments

People treat themselves with a little nice thing on occasions. Some happy married couples proabably go out to a fancy dinner place and enjoy meals every once in a while. Some 20 something gay boys go out for dancing and get themselves illegal substances to feel high perherps. (No judgement) I didn't know until today that I got a bonus last Friday. As I've been busy and have no personal life recently, I really didn't know I had that nor care about it. I decided to treat myself with a nice thing like some others do. I went to the department store and bought myself a new Yukata. I don't wear this on a daily basis like the people back in 1920s. But I wear it on some occasions in summer. Since I am getting older, I thought I was going for something really adult. I also bought sandles with snake skin straps called "Setta". They weren't cheap at all. I wear these for summer fireworks festivals and etc. I made a huge mistake when I wore Yukata last year. It's very similar to wearing a bathrobe if you need an idea what this is. No buttons. Just a cord tied around your waist. I got so drunk on that day. I took a subway with friends to go home. I fell asleep. The thing was I forgot about wearing Yukata. One of the frineds e-mailed me a picture the following morning, and I got so embarrassed. I spread my leg's apart on the train and I wore looose trunks on that day as they were comfy. Apparently, I showed "IT" off unconciously to everbody. They could've waken me up and warned me. I will not do that again. I promise.... On the bright side, if you go on the manhole, you can pretend to be Marilyn Monroe. (FYI, I haven't done that.)

Dress Code

By Shigeki on June 13, 2005 11:47 PM | 4 Comments

I don't wear a suit to work. Well, I actually do every once in a while. I wear usual things. A shirt, jeans, and very casual stuff. Although it's June and is not as hot as it should be, it gets really really hot at night in the office as the air gets shut. No air conditioning after 8p.m.. If I know I am going to have to work very late for the day, I usually wear a long sleeve shirt and a sleeveless shirt (without any attitude.) underneath and jeans. After 9p.m. or so, there are only a few people so I go to a restroom and take the shirt off and only wear a sleeveless shirt. I also take off jeans and put on short pants I brought from home. It's not that I am "showing off" or anything like that Cypriot. At 10, one of the users came to me and claimed a problem with her computer. Since desktop support people went home obviously, I took care of her problem on behalf. At 10:30p.m., I got an e-mail message from HR saying "Your outfit is unacceptable at work. Please dress appropriately." and this message was CCed to my manager, my director and my supervisor in the States even!!! The person whom I supported was from HR....What the Fudge!! Sure, I could just go to a gay bar and dance in this outfit. But I wear things appropriately during biz hours. She should've said it to me in person first.. Oh well, this is one of those bad days. Damn her. She should've seen my pink shirt instead.(-_-#) By looking at this, I could add some more muscles... It's weird to take a photo of myself in a rest room. :-) By the by, my shirt reminds me of this..., do you wanna know how to fold a t-shirt within seconds? Check this out. You don't have to understand Japanese. Look closely! This comes in very handy, I hope.

Re-adjusting

By Shigeki on June 12, 2005 10:37 PM | 2 Comments

I didn't have time to sleep after arriving in Sapporo. It was another all night job. I was so alright without sleeping three nights in a row when I was a college student. Not anymore... On the bright side, I feel high after having just one glass of beer, the beer will get me to the happy land. I didn't have much time in Sapporo to explore the city. I'd been there several times, I decided not to walk around the area due to my work.
However, I wanted to try something local especially this time of the year. Steamed/grilled sweet corn. There is this main very wide street in Sapporo, and I went there to get it. At 6 in the evening after enjoying the sweet corn, I didn't have anything to keep me warm (it was really chilly) I ran back to the station and hopped on the train to the airport. The plane departed on time. I could sleep during the entire flight. It was, however, only 1 hour to Tokyo so I decided not to as I would be more exhausted and unbelievably grumpy if I had some sleep for that short time. I tried to keep myself awake. Took photos of the sky, sipping coffee, stared at the sky. It was pretty outside. The sky had thick clouds, but that did the trick for the light reflection, I think. Very beautiful.... Since I got off the airplane just now, I can readjust my hair, my body clock by getting some sleep at home and other things I don't necessarily have to mention here. :-)

Go North!!

By Shigeki on June 11, 2005 6:32 PM | 5 Comments

If you click the picture, each item will be labled. :-) ThanksI went back to the hotel at 5 in the morning and slept for 2 hours. I think I am tired. I don't know... (@_@)I went back to the office and did everything I was supposed to do. The devastating thing is that I cannot catch up with the latest news when I am on the road. My sleeping cycle gets weird, it's too exhausting to read things to aborb... Well, that's not true. I just don't want to fall asleep is the truth. Ergo, I feel dumber as I don't know what is happening in this world... Anyway, I only had coffee and ran a little bit to burn extra calories I got from Sake. I had this incredible Sushi for lunch. Sea urchins included. (^_^) It was awesome! What kind of urchins had I been eating back in Tokyo...? Now, it's about time to move on. Heading further north. This week, the most part of Japan has shifted to the rainy season including Sendai. However, Sapporo, where I am heading to, doesn't have that rainy season as it's very north. One hour flight from Sendai. It's on the same beer soaked latitude as Munich, Germany and Milwaukee, WI. Some of you may have noticed by now that one of the most popular Japanese beers, "Sapporo" , was originally produced in Sapporo. For your information, Tokyo's latitude is equivalent to Southern Greece or Los Angeles, CA. You get an idea how north Sapporo is. Okay, I had only been talking about either foods or alcohol... I need to be clever.... It's a boarding time....Those of you who got me through the night by chatting, thanks for keeping company! I survived the night! Ciao

booze or no booze...

By Shigeki on June 11, 2005 1:47 AM | 4 Comments

I started working on the assignment I got right after arriving Sendai. It's something new and challenging. After battling with this unfriendly electronic device which doesn't do anything good for my ruined Friday, I got to the point where I had to back up every data on it and it seemed likely to take 6 hours at least for it to be complete. I had some time to spare. I realized there was this incredible expensive gym on the first floor of this building. Since my company pays my expenses, I went down there and worked out for 2 hours. Is it me but guys here are very light skinned and smooth. I guess the water here does that. I am envious. (Not that I was only looking at them in a sauna room. I seriously worked out for the record) After work-out, I was so hungry but got paged by the U.S. team!! darn it. I couldn't go to a fancy dinner place. I went to 7-eleven to pick up some stuff to eat. I found "Ichinokura". Very Sendai. I know there is an alcohol policy but I picked up a mini-bottle. How could I not pick it up? Came back here to the office and had "Ichi-no-kura". You see three Kanji on the bottle? The first letter is "Ichi" meaning First or Number one. The second letter is "no" meaning "Of". The third letter is "kura" meaning vault or storage. So I guess Ichinokura means "The first storage room" or something. Okay, I shouldn't have translated it. OH man, my Friday has gotten slightly better with this. I think I laughed in the server room alone while staring at the device. I freaked out some Sendai office people here. I need to sober up...Hot coffee please.. I hope my work will be complete by 5 in the morning...

Weekend Biz

By Shigeki on June 10, 2005 3:47 PM | 6 Comments

Okay, some people asked me if the pictures here on this site could be enlarged. Yes! Please click them. Most of them will pop up. :-) Thanks. I was on vacation last weekend and am on a biz trip this weekend. I have missed two Tokyo weekends. I am on my way to Sendai. I will have to take care of field work there. 300Km (180miles) north of Tokyo. It only takes 1 1/2 hours by this bullet train. (Oh, that reminds me that I read an article yesterday about the next generation's bullet train due in 2008? has been built and will go on a test run pretty soon. It travels at the speed of 360Km/h and the max speed is 405Km/h. Are we that in a hurry?) Although Sendai may not be the most popular tourist destination, this is one of the best local cities I love. Because Miyagi Prefecture (The area where Sendai belongs to) produces high quality rice, and the water here is very pure and clean. Sake (rice wine) produced in this area is considered extremely good. As a matter of fact, I am not a big fan of Sake but I really like "Ichinokura" made here. It's very dry and refreshing. I don't like any aromatic sake but I find this very tasteful. Anyone who is unfamiliar with Sake but does like something dry should definitely try Ichinokura. (well, you could actually get it anywhere in Japan) I always try local specialities even if I am on a biz trip. Other Sendai things are Beef Tongue, Oysters, Sea Urchins (ew? I love 'em) and Zunda Mochi By the way, I am on a bullet train right now but haven't gotten disconnected from internet yet. This wireless mobile card rocks!

Late Night Detour

By Shigeki on June 10, 2005 3:38 AM | 3 Comments

I was able to get out of work earlier than I expected. 12:30a.m. As I wasn't able to do my cardio today, I thought I would walk back home. It's only 25 minute walk anyway. The problem was there is a gay district called "2-Chome" on my way home. It's not that I was going to go there since I will have to get up early tomorrow. What a coincidence. I ran into two of my old friends from high school in that area. One is gay and the other is bi (Seriously, he is on his way to gay land, isn't he?) I couldn't resist but went to a bar with them. We talked about lame things like we used to talk about during high school years.. who is the cutest or what we saw at work, and what clothe is hot and what we'd want to buy. I don't feel low to talk about things like that even I am almost 30 years old. It's fun to talk about lame things every once in a while. I wanted to get boozed a little bit and I got some, We talked for an hour and realized it was kinda late as I have a long day waiting tomorrow. I am trying to sober up right now but it was a great moment to blow off some stress. However, I will look very very tired with a swelling face tomorrow morning due to too much alcohol. Do I regret it? Well, not really. But I wanted to sleep a little bit more. I will probably take a taxi next time. (-_-;)I guess I will skip the gym tomorrow morning. darn it. yeah, I kinda regret it.

Run!!!!!!!

By Shigeki on June 9, 2005 9:40 PM | 6 Comments

That's what I told myself when I got out of work. I should've worked on stuff but I wasn't very behind. The project manager in the States is so impossible to provide this schedule... It's already Thursday and I have more things to do tomorrow. I am supposed to go back to the office at midnight tonight for some work as the server cannot be offline during business hours. I told my manager that I would like to leave at 1p.m. sharp. I have some spare time :-) If I didn't do this today, I would've never been able to do this until the end of this month. Six Feet Under Season 5 Episode 1!!! Finally. It was aired in the States this Monday. The most visible thing I noticed during this episode was that Claire became extremely foxy. Well, I would've said that if I were straight. The first episode wasn't as good as I expected but it will get better, I hope. This show always starts with somebody's death because it's about Funeral Home. This time, what a way to go.... I wouldn't want that. Landing on a sharp object with one of the eyes being skewered... Oh no... By the by, I don't own a TV and I am still able to watch TV. However, this is an American TV show. I don't live in the States. Why on earth is this possible? Some of you may wonder... For any of you who is interested in knowing how to watch SFU, e-mail me. Okay, nap time until 9 in the evening.

My HK Star

By Shigeki on June 8, 2005 6:31 PM | 4 Comments

I went back home 2 in the morning yesterday and I came here at 8 in the morning. I didn't wanna miss working out so I hit the gym at 6:30. What a great life.... It is likely to get stuck here until late night today as well... Since I don't have anything interesting to share today, some topic from last weekend. It's interesting that HK stars have to be featured on everything. S/he has to sing, has to be a movie star, acts a comedy character, and has to be casted in TV commercials. Multi-players indeed. When I lived in Hong Kong, I really really liked him. I wasn't chasing him from a concert to another at all. I bought his albums to practice Cantonese. The most of what he sang was too difficult to follow though.. From my personal experience, the most effective way to improve the local language is to have a boyfriend. The next best thing is to have good friends to hang out with. The third would be to get motivated to improve it by doing what you like doing. I used to listen to his music all the time at work. I wanted to mimic his pronunciations. I had his albums on my desk at work so my HK coworkers knew I was crazy for him. Well, I wasn't ashamed of that. Anyway, his name is Aaron Kwok. He is the HK gay icon for sure. I admit I had a crush on him for awhile but I like him normal amount today. I can't believe he will be 40 years old this year. I would love to look this young when I turn 40. Though if I keep living like this with little sleep time, It's not likely... okay, I will try to sleep more.

non-bookworm myself.

By Shigeki on June 8, 2005 2:44 PM | 8 Comments

I didn't have time to take a photo so this is a substitute. a little scribble... I got tagged by Sven. It's little uncomfy that I don't sound smart like him or Dr. Paul if I list up books I read...Well, I am not smart so I am supposed to sound not smart... um... some books I mention here are Japanese obviously. Anyway, here it goes..

How many books do I own?
I used to have hundreds of books but I realized that I would keep them forever and not read them again. I am planning to move out some time this year so I decided to sell unimportant books. After lots of organizing, I think I only have less than 100 books right now.

The last book I bought
Grass for his pillow
It's actually funny. Sven mentioned this on his blog and I thought this was the one I've read but it wasn't. I decided to buy it on Monday. I am always interested in knowing how people outside Japan deal with Japan. On an additional note, I really liked the book A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Satow. Culture shocks and uncertainty with unfamiliar culture at first were very well described in detail. It's very honest and well observed. I can't imagine how difficult it was for a foreigner to live in Japan at that time. This was aboslutely intriguing.

The last book I read
Dear Theo by Vincent Van Gogh
He is one of my favorite artists. He was so obsessed with how real the light could be drawn on a canvas. I guess I understood why he was that obsessed with it.

Continue reading non-bookworm myself..

Phone Talk

By Shigeki on June 7, 2005 5:53 PM | 7 Comments

This is my cellular phone. Many of us, Japanese, do not own a computer so this can be a primary tool for internet, e-mail, and chat even!! For me, it's kinda frustrating to type things with just 12 buttons so my e-mail from cell is very minimal. A Cell Phone is primarily just to talk for me. Today was interesting because I got more calls than usual. A few of them were interesting...well...Embarrassing to be exact.

Incoming@9:13 from a U.S. team for a.m. briefing.
I accidentally said "Fabulous" during the call. The problem was the way I said it. They got quiet for awhile. Damn...I am sure my tone would have been pink if I could see it in color.
Outgoing@10:15 to a friend.
Talked while I was on my way to Starbucks. He asked me if I was interested in drinks tonight. sob... I told him I couldn't..
Incoming@11:45 from my sister.
She wanted to borrow my car. Hell no as she hit a wall while she was about to park last time.
Voice mail@12:28 from my ex.
He is back in town and wanted me to call back. Debating whether I should or not.

Continue reading Phone Talk.

Post Travel Tea

By Shigeki on June 6, 2005 1:33 AM | 4 Comments

Oh boy. It has already become the busiest week ever this month. I will have to work 7 days this week which means no day off until June 18th. It's not because I went to Hong Kong. I have some weekend work to do. That's all. I will have to find an alternative way to blow off stress since I quit smoking a month ago. I picked up tea at the airport yesterday. This is Jasmine ball tea. It's very pleasant and aromatic. What amazes me is it does make me happy by looking at it, too... I easily kill flowers or plants as I don't take good care of them but this is easier to enjoy.... Actually, I have seen this in China town before.... But I wanted to try this anyway. The taste is slightly weaker than the usual jasmine I could get but it's absolutely refreshing. I even bought this tea cup for this photo. It was just 100 yen. less than $1.00/1 Euro anyway. I am hoping I will get everything done by 10p.m.. (14 hours to work, that's crazy....) My life will be so much less interesting for the next 14 days... This weblog will be as well. No personal interactions, no adult beverage hours with friends... Ugh. Anyway, thanks for stopping by as always and I will try to post one entry a day at least. Okay, end of the 10min lunch break. Ciao and Happy Monday!

My Home City

By Shigeki on June 5, 2005 6:53 PM | 6 Comments

It was not that much humid when I got up in HK today. Or at least, I thought it wasn't. I arrived at Narita Airport in the afternoon and took a train to Tokyo Station. After eating a little late lunch with a friend of mine there, I took a taxi and headed home. That was the time when I realized how humid it was this morning in HK. It's so dry and sunny. Very beautiful. Since my favorite city is Tokyo obviously, I feel so relaxed in the middle of the crowds at Tokyo Station even. This is the photo of Tokyo Station. Does this picture look familiar to any of you? Well, this Tokyo Sta. buidling's was fashioned after Amsterdam Centraal Station's. However, Tokyo's version is much larger and cleaner. Am I telling it wrong? no, no, no. I can guarantee that it's fancier. ;-) Don't get me wrong. I still like the city of Amsterdam. Oh, that reminds of me. I should visit the patisserie across the street from Tokyo Station. Sadaharu Aoki, the very famous patissier in Paris who invented Green Tea coated Eclair, opened his first shop in Japan there. I am dying for the eclair. I hope it will taste the same as the one I had in Paris.

Above the clouds

By Shigeki on June 5, 2005 5:35 PM | 2 Comments

Obviously, my favorite color is blue. The blue sky you can capture above the clouds is absolutely clean pure blue. I can't look at it enough. That may be why I tend to get a window seat all the time. I usually either sleep or read books on a flight. I sometimes watch movies but it's very rare because of a stupid reason which is too embarrassing to share here. Anyway, there is this air travel related web site, and it has a thread for GLBT Travelers which I find funny. One very huge growing topic caught my attention. Cruising on a flight. I usually sit next to old ladies or gentlemen. I have never sat next to any eligible people ever in my life. I have never come across very obvious gay flight attendants. So this thread sounded like a totally differentt world to me. It's not that I am looking forward to it or anything. But I should change the airlines I fly? Well, I might want to see how it is like for an experience. Exchanging a phone number would be alright. Um...cruising is happening everywhere but I wonder how it could be on a flight. What intrigues me is a usual behavior in an unusual different situation. If it ever happens to me, I hope it's fun but I am not intentionally looking forward to it to be clear.

Last day in HK

By Shigeki on June 5, 2005 6:39 AM | No Comments

I snuck out of the hotel room and went to have very early breakfast (5:00 in the morning...well, it's 6 in Japan Time) by myself. I went to the usual. (well, kinda...as it used to be my usual place...) Since my friends would rather eat things at touristy places, I came here for the last breakfast alone. Congee (Rice soup) It's so good. Congee I could get in Japan would be... rice itself is more solid and soup is more watery. But this is rich and tasteful. It's about HK$10 = US$1.28 = 1.05 Euro. I am not sure when I will visit here next time. It was a very short visit (just 2 nights since I couldn't get any day off.) but I surely enjoyed a little peaceful moment here. My friends will be staying here until Wednesday. They will do the tour conducted by Japanese. I am sure there will live. By the way, if I had a chance, I am willing to relocate myself here for several months but since I have never had any relations with other Asian countries at my current work, it's very impossible to do so. I can only dream... I am off to the airport.

Went crazy...

By Shigeki on June 4, 2005 9:44 PM | 3 Comments

I tried to fullfill everything my friends wanted to do in HK. So I researched on where s/he could get what s/he wanted and took them there. Translated things for them. After taking late lunch with them, I got kinda tired of being their assistant. One of them wanted to go to a bookstore to pick up something so I took them to a bookstore but she couldn't find what she wanted. I researched on the second potential place before hand in that case that happened. (It obviously did.) I tried my best but she was not happy. Anyway, I wanted to take some time for myself. It's not that I was going to do anything. I told them how to get to the second place I picked up but they got so pissy that I resigned to be an assistant for them. I nicely told them everything would be fine. I got split and went to Central which is like a financial district area.... I did something crazy. I went to Hermes. I picked up a watch. I went to Dolce & Gabbana and bought two shirts and one jacket. These happened within an hour.... I am not a brand queen. But look what happened. I guess I will have to downgrade my life for the next 30 days; though, I don't feel guilty for how much I spent. Actually, I had wanted this watch for many years. Thanks, my craziness. :-) That helped. Now, I can get back to be their assitant and a translator for the dinner with happy thoughts.

Little Steamy

By Shigeki on June 4, 2005 3:32 PM | 2 Comments

While walking around Tsim Sha Tsui (The Kawloon side where I am familiar with), I had to take this photo. I've been doing Yoga and I have some muscle aches here and there. But I have never seen a guy doing Yoga only with his underwear on. It would be pleasant to watch some doing that. What if you do Yoga with undies on only and if you get excited? Well, I guess some would be proud of his "profile" instead of getting embarrassed. Since I have straight friends with me this time, I don't think I would go to a gay bar here tonight. I guess I am going to go for a non-exciting relaxing moment. By the way, some Hong Kong guys are totally hot. When I was buying stuff at Giordano which is like a HK version of Banana Republic, this guy started talking to me in Cantonese. I had to slow him down since I didn't understand what he was trying to say. He complimented on my shirt I am wearing. :-) This local guy was so cute and we had a little chat but since I had my friends waiting, I had to say bye.. Darn... I wish I had explored more gay life when I was here... Another by the way, is it just me but I noticed there are way more light skinned guys here compared with Tokyo. I like light skinned Asian guys with black hair very very much. :-) I am a little turned on right now. I should go and run to the fitness center in this hotel to blow it off. Okay, off to the gym before hitting the afternoon rainy Hong Kong.

BS Memories.

By Shigeki on June 4, 2005 10:03 AM | 2 Comments

"B"itter and "S"weet memories. My favorite place in HK is not Vicatoria Peak nor Central. None of touristy places. While I was living here in HK, I treated myself with this little drink every Friday. It's Red Beans with Ice. Since I was so lonely for the first three weeks, I was a frequent visitor to the very local diner near the apartment at where I stayed. Any local diner places in HK have this. It's red beans with condensed milk and ice. I don't know why but I really loved this and was so looking forward to lonely Fridays. The local diner was the place where I could try and practice the language since I didn't have friends. Waiters there are very friendly. If I didn't know the word, this waiter used to explain the meaning of the word patiently. I really appreciate him. Anyhow, the local diner reminds me of the time when I was struggling with everything I had to deal with. It was bitter but a good memory indeed. Whenever I come back here to HK, I try to go to local diners as many times as posssible. I like them so much better than fancy dining places you could see on Lonely Planet. Rice with Chicken Legs and this. HK$37 for total = U.S.$ 4.75 = 3.88 Euros. They used to be my usual as a special treat to myself on Friday. How much you pay doesn't necessarily reflect how happy you could be.

Quiet Night, please.

By Shigeki on June 4, 2005 3:25 AM | No Comments

Hong Kong. This wasn't where we originally planned because we wanted to go to Shanghai. When we made a plan, the demonstrations against Japanese and Japanese government were intense. We changed it to Hong Kong to stay away from violent demonstrations. I wouldn't feel too scared about them but I don't want to put myself at the risk of getting involved with something unpleasant while I want to enjoy my trip. I am Japanese and cannot imagine how the Chinese are told about the history during the World War II. I respect their opinions. People are entitled to express their feelings; though, I don't appreciate any violence. I am not going into details on this uncomfortable topic because I am sure I would piss someone off which I am not willing to. Let's just say we aren't all bad. It's about understanding each other instead of attacking somebody you hate. Anyway, it's not as humid as I thought.... But it was brutally raining earlier when we arrived at the airport. I stayed here for three months previously due to a temporary project assignment so I kind of know how to "get by" in this city. I guess I will get some rest instead while my friends go to a bar. By the by, my Cantonese was surprisingly comprehensive enough for airport people and a taxi driver. I am so surprised considering I haven't spoken it for years. I am glad. :-) Anyway, I hope I will find something interesting during this trip. Going to take a bath... Good Night.

Tropical Weekend

By Shigeki on June 3, 2005 5:19 PM | 2 Comments

I got out of work at noon as I took afternoon off. I am here. Okay, I am not a frequent traveller or anything but I thought I was going to use some miles I earned. The last foreign trip was a month ago... I seriously hate coming from Tokyo (I live in Shinjuku. It's a midtown of Tokyo) to the airport. It's so isolated, so far, so time consuming. One and a half hours to get to the airport. Domestic Airport isn't bad... but this International airport...seriously... Anyway, I am supposed to meet two friends of mine who travel together. One of them is not here yet. She should be here 30 mins ago... She's always late. (She called last night and told me she couldn't find her passport although I told her to check her expiration date on the passport two weeks ago... darn. ) oops, I sound really pissy now. Happy thoughts from now on. I hear it's very wet over there. I hope it won't ruin our weekend short trip. I tried to refresh my moeries for some local language phrases but doubt they are comprehensive since my pronounciation really sucks. I have absolutely no precise plans to do. We will just enjoy whatever the destination has to offer. 4 hour flight. I hope it will be a relaxing good weekend as I could really use some peaceful moment...

la la la la ...

By Shigeki on June 2, 2005 9:25 AM | No Comments

It was 2 years ago when I was at the club in Amsterdam. The music started, and it was extremely catchy so I couldn't help asking a DJ what song it was. That was when I got to know "Deepest Blue". Deepest Blue is (was?) a music unit from U.K. The more I listened, the more I was hooked. Their first single "Deepest Blue" came out in the summer of 2003. "Give it away" came out in Feb., 2004. It became so popular in U.K. and was ranked in Top 20 for Year 2004. My favorite piece is the latest (?) single, "Shooting Star". This piece didn't do well due to marketing failures... I was so looking forward to their next single but each went his own way. From what I understand, they haven't gotten back together yet. I wonder when they release music next time. Besides, I seriously had crush on Joel Edwards, the vocal guy, for about 2 weeks. He doesn't sound British when he sings. I sing "Shooting Star" while I drive. It's been my favorite song. Please come back, Joel.

I enjoy listening to UK music though Billboard TOP40 is more popular in Japan when it comes to foreign music. European / UK music exposure is very limited... so I usually listen to either Europe 2 or Virgin Radio via Internet. I can't thank enough for how great internet is. (^_^)V Okay, time to stop being a groupie.

So much energy....

By Shigeki on June 1, 2005 8:46 PM | 4 Comments

People in the way past believed a giant catfish in mud under the earth caused earthquakes. At 19:50 today, an earthquake hit the Tokyo area. I live on the land of earthquakes. I don't usually care about mild earthquakes. You could usually tell for a second or so that an earthquake starts hitting because it gradually comes and becomes bigger as if it is like a series of waves. You could brace yourself if you are used to earthquakes... This time, it was different. It was rather intense as the big first wave came out of nowhere. It was really surprising. Whew. It's said the major earthquake like the one hit the Kansai Area in 1999 would happen here in Tokyo some time soon. Well, it's actually been said for more than 20 years. I am not looking forward to it. By the way, my apartment building is tall and "Earthquake resistant". That's why the building itself swings back and forth a little during aftershocks to absorb the power. It's like experiencing seasickness without riding a boat... And I am on the 14th floor. ew... The captured image is an earthquake report. it's not as big as I thought it would be but hit the Tokyo central area right there. Whew. Now off to drinking. :-)
Update@0:18a.m. on 2nd of June: Okay, I guess I felt another one several minutes ago. So that will be five earthquakes tonight? It's so rare that we have this many in several hours. Off to bed.

Green Tea with sugar

By Shigeki on June 1, 2005 11:36 AM | No Comments

When I flew Northwest Airlines (Should I not mention the name of the airlines?) from Japan to the States for the first time, I asked for a cup of green tea, and this American flight attendant said "Sugar or cream?" I gasped there not because I wasn't competent in English. It's because you never put sugar or cream in green tea!! That was a culture shock indeed. I still think it's no good to put sugar in it. But Maccha is a different story. Maccha is powdered green tea. Maccha isn't really popular to consume. Maccha is commonly served at Japanese traditional tea ceremony but it's rare to have Maccha alone on a daily basis. Because the powdered green tea is very green, it's used for Japanese confectionary and coloring/ decorating purposes. Maccha itself doesn't really taste anything...a little green tea fresh aroma.. well, it does but it's just bitter. It's more for coloring. It's widely used even if we don't have it alone regularly. Starbucks invented a frappuccino with Maccha. It looks so green. It doesn't taste that much green tea but it's indeed Japanese. For example, two tea spoons of Maccha plus Sugar plus Hot Milk. Voila, Maccha Au Lait! I don't go "ew" when I put sugar in it. No sugar in regular green tea, please. that's all. Sadaharu Aoki, the Japanese patissiere in Paris, invented eclair with this. Green tea coated eclair. I am sure people in Paris raised their eye brows when they first saw it. But they are good!. Viva Maccha. Japanese thingy.

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