Flab Buster Japan Style

There's really no need to exercise when one can use a vibrating belt to achieve the coveted flat stomach. Not a fan of vibration? Still no need to exercise, try an electronic saddle. With the help of an instructional video , you too can work your way towards a 6 pack without breaking a sweat.

Hey, everyone.

Well, it's official; Nova claimed bankruptcy today leaving 6,000 employees stranded without pay for the last two months. I've placed a picture of some pigeons fighting over small bread crumbs to illustrate this point. Gotta love the recession job market!

Anyway, on to lighter business. We visited Osaka last weekend for a job interview. We took the opportunity to travel around the city. We've included pictures of Osaka-Jo castle. If you look closely, you'll see Jill standing at the base to give a perspective. It's quite a large edifice. I was quite smitten with the castle. I had an insatiable edifice complex.

We moved on to the port district in which we rode the "tallest ferris wheel in the world." (according to those proud about it). The ride took 15 minutes and lifted us over 300 feet in the air. After that, I neglected Jill as I tried to snap the perfect "fisherman on the wharf" sunset picture. Who knows, maybe I'll win a blue ribbon at the fair so I can brag about my amateur status to people at cocktail parties.

Alright. Take care everybody, next time we post, we'll be in Nagoya.

Jake and Jill

ITunes Playlist for Jake and Jill

Here's the playlist which fits our crisis best:

Into the Ocean, Blue October
Sugar, We're Going Down Swinging, Fall Out Boy
Long December, Counting Crows
Under My Umbrella, Rihanna
Sayonara, Mr. Roboto, Some 80s Band
Sinkin' Soon, Norah Jones

Alright, everyone. This blogpost will have limited references to bankruptcy. However, I do have one Nova joke:

The Nova President's name, in English, means "Monkey Bridge." A monkey bridge is a structure in a zoo in which monkeys wander above the public and crap on them. If that's not an appropriate metaphor, I'm not sure what is...

Anyway, we recently went to the Ise Grand Shrine, during which we observed a traditional Shinto worship session. It seemed strange to my closed-minded Western ideals, but the shrine was quite immaculately landscaped, and designed. It's basically a large park with traditional Japanese structures (and too many tourists to count). Of course, no one but the Imperial family gets to go into the INNER shrine.

We also ate Udon, which is a worm-like noodle dish bathed in soy sacue, vinegar, and chives. It was delicious.

Alright, that's all for now. We'll keep you updated on the "situation," and how many guns we've sold in Japan.

Beer Of All Sizes

The beer in Japan continues to amaze us. Beer vending machines, beer made from potatoes, and now our newest discovery...mega-sized beer and teeny-tiny beer.

Jake's beer: 135 ml
Jill's beer: 1,000 ml

Moving Electric Red Hot Experimental Nuggets (or the print on Jill's 300 yen Japanese tee shirt)

Mt Gozai-sho, and Vending Machine Beer

Hello everyone,

It's been awhile since we've posted words, but then again, we've been quite busy earning our late paychecks. For those who don't know what's going on, there are Nova employees still waiting for their August paychecks. For now, Jill and I are living on ramen noodles and gravy packets. As the Simpson's say, we have enough MSG in us to protect us from a nuclear bomb.

Today, we ventured out to Mt. Gozai-sho, home to a gondola which rises 1500 meters. For those on the standard system, that's "like a mile or something."

This was our first official trip that didn't involve a shopping mall, super-market, or Nova office, so we were suitably excited. We even were struck with luck. As we waited for our bus to arrive, a Japanese man shuffled over (they don't walk, they shuffle) and said, "you get in taxi with me. I buy." So, we "got in taxi" with him, and "he buy" our ride. No particular reason, just a kind man. We thanked him in Japanese, so as not to seem ethnocentrically rude.

And now, Jill will write the rest of the story.

While we may have been helped by a kind Japanese man at the beginning of our trip, it was not long before stares and open mouths soon followed our every move. I guess we can't blame anyone for staring, we ourselves have begun to stare at other white people- we are so rare over here! However, we do not go as far as to shout out "Guy-gin" (Jake's spelling, not mine) as one child proclaimed at the first glimpse of the two of us. Guy-Jin is Japanese for foreigner, and is mostly used in a deragatory way. We gave the kid the benefit of the doubt, and did not punch him, but smiled sweetly instead.

The highlight of our trip...gondola rides, beautiful views, exploring new territory, a dose of fresh air? Of course not. All are trivial when compared to the first sighting, and use of, a beer vending machine. Who can resists a cold Asahi Super Dry Beer right from a machine? Certainly not Jake or myself. Sipping on a refreshing beer really is the only way to go down a mountain in a gondola. I can't imagine it any other way.

Pictures are forthcoming. The Internet cannot handle them at this point...

Life In A Small World