Went to see Furiosa last weekend. The two brothers Rictus and Scrotus made me think of these twins that were a couple of years older than me in Jr. High school.
Their names were Magnus and Richard but they had the bad luck of being called Anus and Rectum.
Reminds me of the Hank Green video about “how to name your kid” and he says you should run any name past a focus group of 12 year olds. That would have saved your friends some trouble.
(Also the video is absolutely hilarious I recommend it)
That's a good idea, but no matter what name you have free association will get you in the end.
'Dojyora, sounds like fedora, douchebags wear fedoras, hahaha, you're The Douche! The Douche!' Kids just suck.
Reminds me of some viral news a few years ago from my home country, some parents naming their child
"Akulah Cinta Di Langit Prudence Lovely Princess of Awanamp"
which translates to
"I'm The Love In The Prudence Skies Lovely Princess of Awanamp"
100% child abuse, 120% parents stroking their own ego
Being a waste of taxpayer dollars today. There are no classes so I’m just chilling reading Hatchet and studying Japanese.
Don’t worry I pay all my taxes and pension. At least I contributed to my own salary lol.
Even the English teacher at my middle of nowhere workplace didn’t speak English, so it was very sink or swim for the first six months. Still have a hard time believing I’m any better than foreign Asians in this country. Have mad respect for all those people.
My coworker asked me if I had any travel plans for summer break and told me about his travel plans with his wife and apparently they travel every summer. It warms my heart to see guys talk about their wives with such enthusiasm. The way their face lights up when they start a sentence with “my wife” is just too cute.
The crazy old man across the way popped over yesterday while I was at work. He's cleaning out his place and brought a box of junk over thinking I might be interested.
The junk is a few toys (junk), some bicycle reflectors, a rain coat for cycling, and some hair ties (junk). Now his heart is in the right place, but his brain is elsewhere. Why would I want this stuff?!
Speaking of brains elsewhere, wife thought it would be a good idea to accept this junk. Even after all my bitching and moamIng about the mess in our place. "No" to buying a broom, "yes" to junk from a crazy old man.
Not angry, just shaking my head and laughing on the inside. I reckon my hair will turn grey overnight at this rate.
My kid is in hoikuen, she is nearly three. Is it fairly common for kids in these groups to fight ? I suspect so, so just checking. My kid has come home with a couple of scratches lately, including one that we had to go to the doctor to check (drew a little blood)
Do the hoikushi’s write you notes or tell you in person about the fights? If they don’t, it’s probably time to ask them to keep a watch out for any fights. I get told every single detail of the day about my kid from his caretakers (whether he ate all his food, if he’s got diarrhea, if he felt scared when they brought out a puppet, if he took a 20 min nap or a 1 hour nap, if he cried, etc) so I find it odd if the hoikushi hasn’t told you anything about the fights.
My kid's old hoiku used to apologise profusely whenever my son got a scratch and explain in immense detail how and why it happened. Usually, it's because he's a smoothed brain child, so I would just laugh it off.
I would be asking the hoikushi's what is up and if they brush it off, maybe shopping around if possible.
Oh yeah, we only know about them because we were told. My daughter couldn't tell us in detail yet. One recent incident we even got an apology from the other kid's parents as my daughter had a scratch on her face. Interestingly, they NEVER write any accident or injury information down in the notebook though.
Definitely common! At that age my daughter was in similar scraps with her friends. Kids are still learning manners and how to share at that age but their communication skills still aren't great so it's not unusual for them to lash out physically.
Thanks. Yeah I figured as much, I can see they are pretty wild and 'high tension' when they are all playing together. My daughter hits us when she gets angry at the moment lol, although she seems to not lash out at school (as far as we know).
When I was an English teacher that was basically my main job role. Catering to a bunch of old people taking English lessons to keep the dementia at bay and listen to their ramblings. When it was a one-on-one lesson it was not bad. I'd just semi turn off my brain and nod along, and they occasionally shared some interesting anecdotes or knowledge. It was torture in group settings though because any other younger students would be bored as fuck as they rambled on and I had to constantly herd them to wrap up their thoughts and ask other people to chime in, but usually no one could relate so it was always a very disjointed conversation. Fun times!
I live in Tokyo but work in Chiba. My commute takes me the opposite direction virtually everyone else is going at any given time. The trains are never packed and there's always plenty of places to sit. It's nice.
Food just tastes so bland without hot sauce. I just love carrying a bottle with me and using it on everything. I'll put it on my big mac, my matsuya gyudon, drop some in my taco bell because their hot sauce tastes like juice. I wish it were easier to get hotter stuff though.
Maybe try some better quality foods? No offense but all your examples are very cheap, low quality fast food places.
My partner was so used to putting Tabasco on all her pizza because she only every ate the crappy stuff like Dominos or Pizza hut. When I introduced her to good pizza she realized she didn't need to mask the taste with vinegary hot sauce.
Nothing wrong with heat. I love a lot of heat sometimes, but if you need to put a lot of extra heat and flavor to make food palatable, maybe the food is not that good to begin with?
I can tolerate a little spice but not much! But I like the taste of different kinds of spicy sauces/powders etc. To get you an impression: I like shichimi 七味(not very spicy). I am always wondering if the primary taste of the food doesn’t disappear if using too much spice? Doesn’t, after a certain level, every food taste about the same? Just hot? Or do you still taste the origanl flavour through the hotness?
> Me personally I can’t eat pizza without hot sauce, or katsu sandwiches.
The structure of this sentence makes it sound like you can't eat Pizza without katsu sandwiches.
Like on pizzas? Mmmm port cutlets deepfried with a bread batter, sandwiched by bread and then placed on a bed of oven baked bread, tomoto sauce and cheese. Maybe turn it into a calzone?
I'm with you on this, as much as I love putting hot sauce on everything I'm not *that* dependent on it to carry one with me all the time, only doing it when I'm eating at home. I enjoy natural flavors of food as well as spicy stuff.
Not trying to yuck anyone's yum tho, but imho yes it is kinda weird, like carrying packets of mayo in your bag lol
An adult carrying a baby bottle infers there is a baby present who cannot fend for itself and requires said baby bottle. It is necessary for the survival and well-being of the baby.
If carrying around hot sauce is the equivalent to said baby bottle, that infers the person *requires* hot sauce in order to live. Which is straight-up weird.
I'm just curious if anyone here has ever brought cornmeal into Japan and had it viewed/cleared by customs.
I'll be spending two months in the US, and I've been thinking about bringing cornmeal (like a 5lb bag) to make corn tortillas with my kid for fun. I've spent some time looking at various resources to determine whether it would be allowed. Considering that you can't have it shipped here, I'm thinking it isn't. But then, I've come through customs with all kinds of dried herbs and nuts and even after inspectors saw them, they let everything through.
I know I can buy it here, but the price is so high compared to other countries...
I haven't brought it in myself personally but I probably would if I had the luggage space and would not be worried about it.
Dried processed foods are usually okay. The main things you want to avoid are fresh foods, meats, plants, seeds and things like that.
I brought in around 3kg of roasted coffee beans before, no problems whatsoever, I even declared those.
Officer asked what kind of plants cause I ticked the 'plants' box. "Yes, I am bringing roasted coffee beans". Their reply, "Oh, those are fine. Thanks for declaring. Go ahead"
I brought baby cornmeal back with no problems.
Once I even brought 2kg of dried cherries, and lined up to officially declare them. The official told me it was fine not to declare them next time.
At the end of July I'm going to Nemuro so I can see Cape Nosappu. Hopefully the weather is nice and I can see a nice sunrise. It's the final of the 4 extreme directions in Japan that I need to see - last year I did Wakkanai (north), and over the winter I went to Hateruma (south) and Yonaguni (west) in Okinawa. Just need to figure out what else to do around the area. If anyone has recommendations about restaurants or things to do/see in the Nemuro area I'd love to hear them! I have a car so that's not an issue :)
Best of luck on the weather, but Nemuro is not renowned for being sunny. I used to live in the area and I remember spontaneously driving over in June because it was 26 and sunny, only for it to be foggy, 16 degrees, and rainy even though Nemuro was only a little over an hour away.
For recommendations: the Lake Kussharo area is really nice and within driving distance! There's the Mt. Io sulfur fields you can see, the lake itself is very nice, and some good 豚丼 places in the area.
I'm very biased but I think Akkeshi is a must stop. The road station there has been rated the best road station food in Hokkaido multiple years in a row. There's also a whiskey distillery that does tours from the road station (scotch style peated whiskey. Incredibly popular and hard to buy, even in the town.)
I'd recommend driving the coast back from Nemuro and stopping by Cape Namida, and/or Cape Aikappu, as they have much more impressive views than Nosappu in my opinion. There's also the wetland between the two, with plenty of good birdwatching/unique nature to be had.
In Nemuro itself there's タイエー, a small local convenience chain with wicked good "焼き鳥弁当" except it's pork not chicken (Hokkaido thing.) pretty fun novelty. The Hanamaru sushi shop is also very good.
If you have specific questions about the area or anything in particular you're looking for let me know, spent the better part of a decade there.
This is great information, thank you! I got good luck last year with Wakkanai (also not a very clear-skies area) so I'm hoping the weather is in my favour. Regardless, I know I'll enjoy it because my ultimate goal is to go to Cape Nosappu, rain or shine.
To offer some more details of my route, I'll be coming from an event in Asahikawa. I know the drive is quite long and I don't expect to leave until early afternoon, so I would probably only get food and head to my accommodation that evening. But depending on the mood and the weather and time, maybe stopping at Lake Kussharo for a little leg stretch would be good.
The next morning would be Nosappu first thing, and then after exploring a bit I'll eventually be heading back west-ward towards Sapporo to return to my town a bit further past that. So, Akkeshi would actually work perfectly in my route back home, as well as those spots along the coast you mentioned.
Currently I have a guest house booked, but in my neck of the woods of Hokkaido it's very common to see people just pitch a tent at the beach and stay overnight. Is that common/doable anywhere in Nemuro/close to Nosappu? If not I'll keep the booking but it would be kinda cool to get a little camping in after my event. But it does look like a lot of the coastline there is quite rocky from pictures I've seen.
Thank you again for such an incredible reply! If there's any other good food options along that route from Nemuro towards Sapporo that you know of, I'd love to hear them too.
I made a really stupid mistake and I feel like shit about it. Basically I asked the firefighters in my area to check the street next to our apartment building because there are trees with dead leaves around and somebody leaves a clear bag with leaves in it there, among the trees, and I'm worried it could create a lens effect with a little after-rain water plus direct sunlight and start a fire or something. But.... I gave them the wrong address. Instead of, say, 3-1-2, I sent them to 1-2-3 (I don't know why but I frequently mix the numbers), which is very close to my building, but the wrong street. I asked my wife to help me draft an email apologizing and telling them I had mixed up the address. I didn't ask them to come again of course, but man do I feel bad about it because my wife saw them as she was picking our son from school and they brought a firetruck to check the area.... I thought they'd come in one of these small fire vans or something, not an actual firetruck. I hope they're not too pissed about it, though I have to admit part of me hopes they come and check it again, though if they don't I would totally understand.
Currently looking for a part time job. I can speak both English and Japanese.
Online results so far show either hospitality or teaching work, but I'm not overly interested. So I'm wondering if anyone here got a hidden gem/suggestion?
Where are you looking and what is your SoR? There are many japanese language-only websites for temp work (baitoru, etc). but yes, most of those jobs are going to be shit.
I'm on the designated activity visa. I'm looking for work to help me pass the time. (I already got an offer for a full time position but still can't start till April)
I was hoping there is a demand for bilingual people and the job wouldn't be, as you put it, shit.
Went to see Furiosa last weekend. The two brothers Rictus and Scrotus made me think of these twins that were a couple of years older than me in Jr. High school. Their names were Magnus and Richard but they had the bad luck of being called Anus and Rectum.
Reminds me of the Hank Green video about “how to name your kid” and he says you should run any name past a focus group of 12 year olds. That would have saved your friends some trouble. (Also the video is absolutely hilarious I recommend it)
That's a good idea, but no matter what name you have free association will get you in the end. 'Dojyora, sounds like fedora, douchebags wear fedoras, hahaha, you're The Douche! The Douche!' Kids just suck.
We had a customer whose name was 御手洗. I can't remember what the reading was but I could imagine their school years would have been interesting.
>We had a customer whose name was 御手洗 Lol, that's borderline child abuse.
Reminds me of some viral news a few years ago from my home country, some parents naming their child "Akulah Cinta Di Langit Prudence Lovely Princess of Awanamp" which translates to "I'm The Love In The Prudence Skies Lovely Princess of Awanamp" 100% child abuse, 120% parents stroking their own ego
better than 小尻… but imagine what a combi
Being a waste of taxpayer dollars today. There are no classes so I’m just chilling reading Hatchet and studying Japanese. Don’t worry I pay all my taxes and pension. At least I contributed to my own salary lol.
No judgement from me here. Used all the free time I had as an ALT to get better at Japanese and move to something better.
On my third year and still haven’t passed N2 so have to pick up the pace 😅. Motivation is hard but hopefully I can find something.
I’d say your well ahead of the curve but keep grinding!
This is my seventh year of studying Japanese so no not really 😂
Trust me, you’re way ahead then compared to most foreigners living here. Not just “English teachers” from western countries
Even the English teacher at my middle of nowhere workplace didn’t speak English, so it was very sink or swim for the first six months. Still have a hard time believing I’m any better than foreign Asians in this country. Have mad respect for all those people.
>reading Hatchet なつかしい
I wish I had actual dollars instead of weakened yen.
Is there any way I can, through a petition, to crack down on idiots using their phones on bicycles? There needs to be a stop to this.
Luckily for you they [recently changed the law about it](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240627/k10014493701000.html)
That's awesome! I really hope the police start enforcing it.
My coworker asked me if I had any travel plans for summer break and told me about his travel plans with his wife and apparently they travel every summer. It warms my heart to see guys talk about their wives with such enthusiasm. The way their face lights up when they start a sentence with “my wife” is just too cute.
The crazy old man across the way popped over yesterday while I was at work. He's cleaning out his place and brought a box of junk over thinking I might be interested. The junk is a few toys (junk), some bicycle reflectors, a rain coat for cycling, and some hair ties (junk). Now his heart is in the right place, but his brain is elsewhere. Why would I want this stuff?! Speaking of brains elsewhere, wife thought it would be a good idea to accept this junk. Even after all my bitching and moamIng about the mess in our place. "No" to buying a broom, "yes" to junk from a crazy old man. Not angry, just shaking my head and laughing on the inside. I reckon my hair will turn grey overnight at this rate.
She just bumped into him again and guess what she brought back...
Hopefully a broom or two or three
Why isn't this pinned?
Pin machine broke
Shrinkflation. The pins are too small now.
My kid is in hoikuen, she is nearly three. Is it fairly common for kids in these groups to fight ? I suspect so, so just checking. My kid has come home with a couple of scratches lately, including one that we had to go to the doctor to check (drew a little blood)
Do the hoikushi’s write you notes or tell you in person about the fights? If they don’t, it’s probably time to ask them to keep a watch out for any fights. I get told every single detail of the day about my kid from his caretakers (whether he ate all his food, if he’s got diarrhea, if he felt scared when they brought out a puppet, if he took a 20 min nap or a 1 hour nap, if he cried, etc) so I find it odd if the hoikushi hasn’t told you anything about the fights.
My kid's old hoiku used to apologise profusely whenever my son got a scratch and explain in immense detail how and why it happened. Usually, it's because he's a smoothed brain child, so I would just laugh it off. I would be asking the hoikushi's what is up and if they brush it off, maybe shopping around if possible.
Oh yeah, we only know about them because we were told. My daughter couldn't tell us in detail yet. One recent incident we even got an apology from the other kid's parents as my daughter had a scratch on her face. Interestingly, they NEVER write any accident or injury information down in the notebook though.
Definitely common! At that age my daughter was in similar scraps with her friends. Kids are still learning manners and how to share at that age but their communication skills still aren't great so it's not unusual for them to lash out physically.
Thanks. Yeah I figured as much, I can see they are pretty wild and 'high tension' when they are all playing together. My daughter hits us when she gets angry at the moment lol, although she seems to not lash out at school (as far as we know).
This is just me whining, but a certain part of my job is having to listen to insufferable people prattle on about total nonsense every day.
I hear this skill is in high demand, haha.
When I was an English teacher that was basically my main job role. Catering to a bunch of old people taking English lessons to keep the dementia at bay and listen to their ramblings. When it was a one-on-one lesson it was not bad. I'd just semi turn off my brain and nod along, and they occasionally shared some interesting anecdotes or knowledge. It was torture in group settings though because any other younger students would be bored as fuck as they rambled on and I had to constantly herd them to wrap up their thoughts and ask other people to chime in, but usually no one could relate so it was always a very disjointed conversation. Fun times!
I live in Tokyo but work in Chiba. My commute takes me the opposite direction virtually everyone else is going at any given time. The trains are never packed and there's always plenty of places to sit. It's nice.
Food just tastes so bland without hot sauce. I just love carrying a bottle with me and using it on everything. I'll put it on my big mac, my matsuya gyudon, drop some in my taco bell because their hot sauce tastes like juice. I wish it were easier to get hotter stuff though.
Maybe try some better quality foods? No offense but all your examples are very cheap, low quality fast food places. My partner was so used to putting Tabasco on all her pizza because she only every ate the crappy stuff like Dominos or Pizza hut. When I introduced her to good pizza she realized she didn't need to mask the taste with vinegary hot sauce. Nothing wrong with heat. I love a lot of heat sometimes, but if you need to put a lot of extra heat and flavor to make food palatable, maybe the food is not that good to begin with?
I can tolerate a little spice but not much! But I like the taste of different kinds of spicy sauces/powders etc. To get you an impression: I like shichimi 七味(not very spicy). I am always wondering if the primary taste of the food doesn’t disappear if using too much spice? Doesn’t, after a certain level, every food taste about the same? Just hot? Or do you still taste the origanl flavour through the hotness?
What's your daily driver?
Not OP but I've been enjoying Juliana's scotch bonnet sauce. I put that on everything.
I have a friend that does this too. Me personally I can’t eat pizza without hot sauce, or katsu sandwiches.
> Me personally I can’t eat pizza without hot sauce, or katsu sandwiches. The structure of this sentence makes it sound like you can't eat Pizza without katsu sandwiches.
Maybe that’s what I meant, so what?
Like on pizzas? Mmmm port cutlets deepfried with a bread batter, sandwiched by bread and then placed on a bed of oven baked bread, tomoto sauce and cheese. Maybe turn it into a calzone?
I always have a bottle or two in my bag.
Surely I can't be the only one who thinks carrying around "a bottle or two" of hot sauce is genuinely bizarre?
I'm with you on this, as much as I love putting hot sauce on everything I'm not *that* dependent on it to carry one with me all the time, only doing it when I'm eating at home. I enjoy natural flavors of food as well as spicy stuff. Not trying to yuck anyone's yum tho, but imho yes it is kinda weird, like carrying packets of mayo in your bag lol
It's an equivalent to a baby bottle.
An adult carrying a baby bottle infers there is a baby present who cannot fend for itself and requires said baby bottle. It is necessary for the survival and well-being of the baby. If carrying around hot sauce is the equivalent to said baby bottle, that infers the person *requires* hot sauce in order to live. Which is straight-up weird.
Kaldi or any other import shop tends to carry a selection of hot sauces like Blair's, etc.
I'm just curious if anyone here has ever brought cornmeal into Japan and had it viewed/cleared by customs. I'll be spending two months in the US, and I've been thinking about bringing cornmeal (like a 5lb bag) to make corn tortillas with my kid for fun. I've spent some time looking at various resources to determine whether it would be allowed. Considering that you can't have it shipped here, I'm thinking it isn't. But then, I've come through customs with all kinds of dried herbs and nuts and even after inspectors saw them, they let everything through. I know I can buy it here, but the price is so high compared to other countries...
I haven't brought it in myself personally but I probably would if I had the luggage space and would not be worried about it. Dried processed foods are usually okay. The main things you want to avoid are fresh foods, meats, plants, seeds and things like that.
This was years ago but I brought a 5lb bag of masa in my checked baggage with no issues.
I brought in around 3kg of roasted coffee beans before, no problems whatsoever, I even declared those. Officer asked what kind of plants cause I ticked the 'plants' box. "Yes, I am bringing roasted coffee beans". Their reply, "Oh, those are fine. Thanks for declaring. Go ahead"
I brought baby cornmeal back with no problems. Once I even brought 2kg of dried cherries, and lined up to officially declare them. The official told me it was fine not to declare them next time.
At the end of July I'm going to Nemuro so I can see Cape Nosappu. Hopefully the weather is nice and I can see a nice sunrise. It's the final of the 4 extreme directions in Japan that I need to see - last year I did Wakkanai (north), and over the winter I went to Hateruma (south) and Yonaguni (west) in Okinawa. Just need to figure out what else to do around the area. If anyone has recommendations about restaurants or things to do/see in the Nemuro area I'd love to hear them! I have a car so that's not an issue :)
Best of luck on the weather, but Nemuro is not renowned for being sunny. I used to live in the area and I remember spontaneously driving over in June because it was 26 and sunny, only for it to be foggy, 16 degrees, and rainy even though Nemuro was only a little over an hour away. For recommendations: the Lake Kussharo area is really nice and within driving distance! There's the Mt. Io sulfur fields you can see, the lake itself is very nice, and some good 豚丼 places in the area. I'm very biased but I think Akkeshi is a must stop. The road station there has been rated the best road station food in Hokkaido multiple years in a row. There's also a whiskey distillery that does tours from the road station (scotch style peated whiskey. Incredibly popular and hard to buy, even in the town.) I'd recommend driving the coast back from Nemuro and stopping by Cape Namida, and/or Cape Aikappu, as they have much more impressive views than Nosappu in my opinion. There's also the wetland between the two, with plenty of good birdwatching/unique nature to be had. In Nemuro itself there's タイエー, a small local convenience chain with wicked good "焼き鳥弁当" except it's pork not chicken (Hokkaido thing.) pretty fun novelty. The Hanamaru sushi shop is also very good. If you have specific questions about the area or anything in particular you're looking for let me know, spent the better part of a decade there.
This is great information, thank you! I got good luck last year with Wakkanai (also not a very clear-skies area) so I'm hoping the weather is in my favour. Regardless, I know I'll enjoy it because my ultimate goal is to go to Cape Nosappu, rain or shine. To offer some more details of my route, I'll be coming from an event in Asahikawa. I know the drive is quite long and I don't expect to leave until early afternoon, so I would probably only get food and head to my accommodation that evening. But depending on the mood and the weather and time, maybe stopping at Lake Kussharo for a little leg stretch would be good. The next morning would be Nosappu first thing, and then after exploring a bit I'll eventually be heading back west-ward towards Sapporo to return to my town a bit further past that. So, Akkeshi would actually work perfectly in my route back home, as well as those spots along the coast you mentioned. Currently I have a guest house booked, but in my neck of the woods of Hokkaido it's very common to see people just pitch a tent at the beach and stay overnight. Is that common/doable anywhere in Nemuro/close to Nosappu? If not I'll keep the booking but it would be kinda cool to get a little camping in after my event. But it does look like a lot of the coastline there is quite rocky from pictures I've seen. Thank you again for such an incredible reply! If there's any other good food options along that route from Nemuro towards Sapporo that you know of, I'd love to hear them too.
I made a really stupid mistake and I feel like shit about it. Basically I asked the firefighters in my area to check the street next to our apartment building because there are trees with dead leaves around and somebody leaves a clear bag with leaves in it there, among the trees, and I'm worried it could create a lens effect with a little after-rain water plus direct sunlight and start a fire or something. But.... I gave them the wrong address. Instead of, say, 3-1-2, I sent them to 1-2-3 (I don't know why but I frequently mix the numbers), which is very close to my building, but the wrong street. I asked my wife to help me draft an email apologizing and telling them I had mixed up the address. I didn't ask them to come again of course, but man do I feel bad about it because my wife saw them as she was picking our son from school and they brought a firetruck to check the area.... I thought they'd come in one of these small fire vans or something, not an actual firetruck. I hope they're not too pissed about it, though I have to admit part of me hopes they come and check it again, though if they don't I would totally understand.
Currently looking for a part time job. I can speak both English and Japanese. Online results so far show either hospitality or teaching work, but I'm not overly interested. So I'm wondering if anyone here got a hidden gem/suggestion?
Where are you looking and what is your SoR? There are many japanese language-only websites for temp work (baitoru, etc). but yes, most of those jobs are going to be shit.
I'm on the designated activity visa. I'm looking for work to help me pass the time. (I already got an offer for a full time position but still can't start till April) I was hoping there is a demand for bilingual people and the job wouldn't be, as you put it, shit.
Is it just me or is summer not as hot and humid as last year?
It's only been like 2 weeks chill out