I ♥ Japanese food
December 30th, 2011, 17:10 | No comments
Food is one of the things I love with Japan – and hate with Germany. 
Here are some of the dishes I had during my December trip to Tokyo.
The first photos are from an “izakaya” that specialised in sake. I was taken there by a Japanese-American friend of mine, but only remembered to document our first course.
The next pictures are from a cheap lunch joint in Akihabara – I went there with my Swedish friend Petter and his Okinawan friend Mikayo.
Rice balls from Seven Eleven – my favourite!
Then lots of small dishes that me and my friend Hideki were served at an exclusive restaurant with traditional Japanese food. Aren’t they beautiful!
A bean burger from Freshness Burger in Shinjuku – I had two of those in one night.
And the last shot from our trip back to Europe – Petter of course managed to upgrade us to Economy Extra, where they kept the Champagne coming…
Partying in Shinjuku 2-chome
December 24th, 2011, 20:08 | No comments
Or actually, we were working – shooting my friend Petter’s new music video on the streets and in the bars of Shinjuku ni-chome. I was head of cinematography, which basically means being the cameraman. Met lots of fun people, some of whom I hope to see soon again. The music video (or PV as they call in in Japan, for Promotional Video) will be released in February or March probably. It will be quite fantastic.
Att (inte) åka buss i Stockholm
December 23rd, 2011, 11:57 | 1 comment
Man läser en skylt vid busshållplatsen om att det inte går att köpa biljett på bussen.
Så man försöker köpa en sms-biljett, men det fungerar inte eftersom ens mobilnummer är tyskt.
Så man provar med sitt nyinköpta svenska kontantkort, men det fungerar inte heller eftersom kortet är spärrat för betaltjänster, och just där vid busshållplatsen har man inget nummer till mobilföretagets kundtjänst för att be dem ta bort den spärren.
Man läser att man kan köpa biljett i automat, men någon sådan syns inte till.
Man läser att man också kan köpa biljett hos en “ticket vendor”, men vilka dessa är har man ingen aning om.
Så man gör en överslagsräkning: Gå åt ena hållet och hoppas på att hitta ett 7-Eleven eller var man nu kan köpa biljetter. Eller gå åt andra hållet. Man har två tunga resväskor. Andra hållet är från Tjärhovsplan till Slussen. En station. Nedförsbacke.
Så man går.
Och köper en biljett för 36 kronor i en automat vid Slussen där man ska på tunnelbanan.
Allt är frid och fröjd igen!
Varför skriver jag detta rätt irriterade inlägg? Jo, dels för att visa att biljettsystemet inte fungerar tillfredsställande för dem som kommer till Stockholm från andra länder och med tungt bagage. Dvs turister. Systemet kräver antingen planering eller ett svenskt mobilnummer.
Och dels för att visa på något större som går att iaktta i det mindre: Min vän berättade för mig att man sedan någon månad tillbaka måste registrera sitt kontantkort om man ska betala med det. (Mycket riktigt: Exakt 15 timmar efter att jag försökte köpa resan fick jag ett sms från Comviq där de bad om mitt personnummer i utbyte mot att bryta betalspärren.) Detta för att förhindra penningtvätt.
Min fråga är då: Vem tror att någon bedriver penningtvätt genom att göra sms-betalningar på 36 kronor eller liknande småbelopp?
I själva verket handlar denna reglering förstås om att man vill ha kontroll på vem som använder kontantkorten. Egentligen är det förvånande att man fortfarande får använda dem anonymt. I Tyskland måste man sedan länge registrera sitt kontantkort, och det är knappast förvånande att detta nu sprider sig till Sverige också.
Men varför kan man då inte köpa en biljett på bussen i Stockholm?
Jag ringde SL:s kundservice för att fråga. Telefonisten bad mig vänta medan hon tog reda på svaret, som var: För att få bort kontanthanteringen och därmed rånrisken. Ett argument jag köper. Om det inte vore för att man inte heller kan betala med kort (vilket man t ex kan på Flygbussarna, som inte har någon kontanthantering). Jag frågade därför varför man inte kan betala med kort. På detta hade telefonisten inget svar, men hon gissade att det var för att det skulle ta för lång tid.
Mitt förslag till SL: Lista åtminstone de närmaste biljettförsäljarna vid de busshållplatser som saknar biljettautomat.
Nu har jag köpt remsa.
Discovering Ueno
December 22nd, 2011, 14:09 | 1 comment
Yusuke and I walked to Ueno. The area around the station turned out to be bustling with people and shops. For once we were approached by hosts who wanted us to visit their venues, something that never happens when I’m alone. We turned down their offers though, and instead went to a game parlour and a sushi restaurant where you take the sushi of your choice from a moving band – first time I eat at such a restaurant! Then we played darts at a darts bar. We ended the night by going to a capsule hotel for some hot bubble bath and sauna. A great way to spend a day in Tokyo!
Visiting Asakusa
December 22nd, 2011, 13:46 | No comments
I spent a whole day with my friend Yusuke, whom I met in Prague in August last year. First we saw the Kaminarimon temple in Asakusa, one of Tokyo’s biggest tourist attractions. Then we had okashi – Japanese sweets made from rice – and took a walk to the new TV tower, which will open to the public next year. And then we continued to walk to Ueno – those photos will be published in the next post!
Ashita no Joe’s Namidabashi
December 21st, 2011, 10:58 | 4 comments
My all time favourite anime – except Loveless – is Ashita no Joe. It’s the story of teenage orphan Yabuki Joe, his boxing coach Danpei and his nemesis Rikiishi. I’ve so far watched 54 of the 79 episodes of the first season.
One night when I got home to my hotel, the young night receptionist was watching tv. And Ashita no Joe was on! When I told him how much I loved the series, he told me that the area where Joe lived – Namidabashi (Bridge of Tears) was exactly the area of the hotel!
It made sense. I had seen some poor people on the street outside a bar and actually thought of Ashita no Joe. Next night I shot the above photo. It’s easy to picture Joe walking down this street, whistling, in the first episode of the legendary series.
Update: Here’s what Joe looks like – I found this ad on the door of a subway train:
Back from Japan
December 21st, 2011, 10:30 | No comments
I’m back from my second Japan trip – 10 days in Tokyo. I’ve had so much fun and been so busy that I haven’t had the time to blog or upload photos during the trip. But I’ll make some posts in the next few days.
I’m now in Stockholm, spending each night on a different friend’s couch – a great way to meet and catch up.
More later!
Sexy Zone Shibuya!
December 13th, 2011, 13:15 | No comments
I went out to Shiki this morning for a meeting at 11. I was there even before 10 (just to be sure!), so I had breakfast at a Segafredo café while preparing my act. Shiki was a bit far away, it even belongs to another prefecture: Saitama. So it’s not in Tokyo despite reachable with Tokyo local transport. I let Google Maps calculate the way and suggest train routes. Is there anything Google doesn’t do?
On my way back I strolled around Shibuya and noticed that there’s a new group on the Johnny’s billboard: Sexy Zone. I wonder which other country would dare to name a group whose members are boys aged 11 to 17 to Sexy Zone. There are so many reasons to love this country…
Then some more shopping in Akihabara. Bought action figures for 10,000 yen! I’m seriously turning into an otake. But I’m so happy! Must stop shopping now though, there’s no more space in my bags.
The winds are getting colder, but overall the climate is what we have in late October in northern Europe. A sunny day.
Oh, I took the first picture of the yellow sign because it was the longest sequence of kanji (4 of them!) that I’ve seen and understood so far: 東京新聞 reads Tokyo Shinbun = Tokyo Newspaper!
Shopping at Yodobashi Akiba
December 12th, 2011, 18:07 | No comments
I suddenly understand those old ladies who can spend hours at KaDeWe, because I spent an entire day at Yodobashi! There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I knew none of the toasters, paper shredders or juice blenders would fit in my cabin luggage. So I had to stick with slim things.
I also spent half an hour at a mangakissa where I read a randomly picked manga. Sandwich lunch at a Softbank café. And then I had my favourite Japanese food after sushi: Tempura with rice.
It’s really warm here. Mild and sunny.
Arriving in Tokyo – again!
December 11th, 2011, 17:15 | No comments
Tokyo is fiercer than can be shown in pictures, and I’m thrilled beyond words to be back! So far I’m mainly jetlagged though, so since I arrived this morning I’ve just slept a bit in my 2,900 yen a night (28 euro!) hotel room (just above capsule standard!) and taken a short stroll through Akihabara as the shops were beginning to close.
I’m here for business this time. Of course, pleasure is my business, so it’s going to be a lot of fun. I decided after my first trip to Japan in October that I didn’t want another tourist trip in such a short time. I wanted to set up meetings with Japanese people who work in the same areas as I do. And so I’ve done – with much language help from my Japanese friend in Berlin.
I’m also going to film a music video with a friend of mine, plus meet all my Japanese friends that I got last time. Let the fun begin!
Recent blog posts
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