Triscribe

3/14… Pi Day. Discussion on 8Asians on this nonsensical (to me, anyway) debate on whether Japan “deserves” its situation (8Asians says this is a silly debate too). NYTimes.com opinion section recently did a link to this William Safire column that he did during the time of the Indonesian tsunami, which I think is profoundly applicable [...]

I’ve really had to take a break from the news this weekend. Just not good stuff. The news from Japan worsens arising from the earthquake and the resulting tsunami, aftershocks, and nuclear reactor crises. Then, locally, the tragic results of the horrifying casino bus crash at the Bronx/Westchester border. Granted, I have nothing personal at [...]

The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Scary news, regarding the effects of these natural events toward Japan’s nuclear power plants. NY Times’ Nicholas Kristof observes his sympathy and admiration of Japan, under these circumstances. He had been the Tokyo bureau chief for the Times and so he has some experience about his perceptions of [...]

I wish summer didn’t have to end. Catching up on reading: Time Magazine on one man’s attempt to stop the tide of suicides in Japan, not a great trend in the middle of a recession. Hat tip to Angry Asian Man for some great links, namely: John Cho, in style, Angry Asian Man notes. Not [...]

Everything around begins with “shin” (“new”) nowadays. The bullet train is called shin-kansen. The neighborhood we are at is called Shinjuku. And today we went to Shin-Yokahama, a western suburb of Tokyo, where we spent the day at Chinatown, the waterfront and the Shinyokahama Ramen Museum, a monument to a national staple. Unlike other museums, [...]

Sunday morning: subway to Roppongi to attend a mass at the Fransciscan Center in memory of the Pope. Meet P’s friend M in Ginza. Drove to Uneo to see the cherry blossom festival and view the Tokyo National Museum, where P bought an authentic wood cut print. Drive to another undisclosed location where we had [...]

Quick recap of today’s trip: went down Shinjuku Dori (Ave.), saw oodles of camera and computer shops, found Isitan department store, had lunch at an Okanowan restaurant, took the train to Shubya, bought sake, crossed the maddening intersection in Lost in Translation. Searched for my friend’s bakery, which turned out near the Norway Embassy and [...]

Right now it’s sometime past 2 am on Sunday in a lovely 4 star hotel P– got for a steal on Orbitz. Even in Tokyo, your hotel dollar just gets you so much more than in the US. They are also so much more efficient than any thing in the States. Trains in Tokyo, once [...]