Items you miss from Japan when outside of Japan

[Golgo_13]

Originally posted by Buntaro
The nightly Sumo DIgest TV show, whenever there is a sumo basho.

(I really miss this!) (zannen!)

Mattaku soudesuyo!

Where are you located bro? I'm in LA and I used to watch Sumo Digest all the time when it was shown on Channel 18 until about 3 years ago. I even called the production company to ask what happened and they said they didn't have enough sponsors to keep the show going. But all they had to do was get a tape of each nights show from NHK and air it, but I guess even that cost a lot of money. If you get the satellite Japanese channel you can actually watch each basho in it's entirety but I can't afford it

Now, any news I get about Sumo comes from The Japan Times.

I hope Akebono knocks out Bob Sapp with a "Harite"

 

[Buntaro]

Golgo Chan!

I live in Visalia, in Central California. Out here in the boonies, you can forget about any Sumo Digest!

My favorite throw was kimidashi, although I am always inpressed when someone would pull off off an utchari.

"Jinsei wa bo-ken desu!"
-Buntaro

 

[Buntaro]

I miss going to an akacho-chin and having edamame with beer. Hoo-hoo! Kawaebi was good too. And niku jaga. Good stuff. Anyone out there ever drink sho-chu?

 

[Buntaro]

What was the name of that large toy store in Harajuku? Going to Tokyu Hands in Shibuya. That big temple in Asakusa. Waiting for doors to coffee shops to open automatically - and standing there like a fool when it would be a wierd coffee shop that did not have an automatic door. Freezing my tail off on train platforms at night in the middle of winter. Watching pros play "Go" on TV on Sunday mornings. Going to a "sento" because my "yo jo han " did not have a bath. Doing "kiseru" on the trains. The big Buddha in Kamakura. The Sony building in Ginza. In Tokyo Station, going WAY DOWN to the fifth basement to catch the Sobu sen. What great memories! Watching the Take No Ko in Yoyogi, in the middle of the street on a Sunday - do they still do that stuff?

 

[neko_girl22]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Anyone out there ever drink sho-chu?

I live in Kagoshima-ken, which is shochu country... so that's what everyone drinks. My husband has adjusted very well and now drinks nothing else! In the beginning I hated the stuff, but now I really like it

 

[Buntaro]

Nzueda san!

Howdy from California!

Is it true that you get less of a hang-over when you drink shochu than other alcoholic drinks? That is what everyone believes. I have always wondered if it is true....

 

[Golgo_13]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Golgo Chan!

I live in Visalia, in Central California. Out here in the boonies, you can forget about any Sumo Digest!

My favorite throw was kimidashi, although I am always inpressed when someone would pull off off an utchari.

"Jinsei wa bo-ken desu!"
-Buntaro

Akebono got knocked out by Bob Sapp in round 1. I'm disappointed.

 

[eimik]

not having to speak english

my grandmother

the fashion

the ecentric culture

the technology

going to the supermarket

the services recieved as a customer

and blah blah blah

 

[neko_girl22]

Originally posted by Golgo_13
Akebono got knocked out by Bob Sapp in round 1. I'm disappointed.

common it was so obvious bob was going to win! He could've won in 30 seconds if he had wanted to ... very disappointing... such a lot of hype about 3 minutes of a one sided fight. Your flag is American, but you must be in Japan to see that fight, or is on cable?

I don't normally watch K1,wrestling etc but Bob Sapp against an ex-Sumo sounded interesting hehe

 

[neko_girl22]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Is it true that you get less of a hang-over when you drink shochu than other alcoholic drinks? That is what everyone believes. I have always wondered if it is true....

窶堋ｱ窶堙ｱ窶堙俄?堋ｿ窶堙坑untaro-san!
I don't really drink enough to say anything based on my own experience, but my husband says exactly what you said about shochu. That you don't get as much of a hangover - if any- compared to other alcoholic drinks.
It also has less calories - which I like hehe.

 

[Buntaro]

nzueda san! (Does that mean N.Z. Ueda San...?) Golgo San!

I am in San Francisco for New Years, and guess what! I dropped in a Japanese restaurant, and they had a tape of Sumo Digest playing on the TV! It was so cool! I hadn't seen it in years!

 

[neko_girl22]

Hi Buntaro!
hehe yeah I'm not very imaginative..... I'm originally from New Zealand and my surname is Ueda
Have a great time in San Francisco!

 

[Golgo_13]

Originally posted by nzueda
Your flag is American, but you must be in Japan to see that fight, or is on cable?

I'm in Los Angeles but the Nikkan Sports newspaper is available at Japanese grocers and restaurants everywhere, plus I'm a big martial arts fans so I get the news on the 'net. I do expect to see the fight when the video stores make them available in a week or two.

 

[Old School]

Originally posted by Buntaro
What was the name of that large toy store in Harajuku?

It was called "Toyland". 6 floors of fun! That's where I bought my rare Sukeban Deka II doll. They were sold out the next day.

Watching the Take No Ko in Yoyogi, in the middle of the street on a Sunday - do they still do that stuff? [/QUOTE]

Nope. They stopped it. It's sad really. I used to go hang out there every week. Then a short walk over to "idol street" (Takeshita Dori). Yoyogi is where I saw Nori-P in a free concert. ROCK!! Yeah, I'm in the video.

 

[Old School]

Oooh, forgot to post to the original topic.

Takoyaki
Watching Tensai Bakabon on TV

 

[Buntaro]

Hi Old School!

You make it sound like they closed Toyland. Did they?

It is too bad that they stopped Take No Ko. I remember in the very beginning, when it was just people hanging out. Years later, I heard that they had whole bands set up stage right in the middle of the street. Amazing!

You reminded me of Japanese festivals - that is what I miss! The booths selling food. The bottles of soda with the little ball to seal them. The fish that kids would catch and take home (and I always wondered how long it would take for all of those fish to die!) All the young people in yukata. The Power Rangers masks that were for sale, back before anyone in America had ever heard of Power Rangers. Stopping by a temple and tying those white pieces of paper on a tree or whatever.

Natsukashii!

 

[Buntaro]

Hi Old School!

Did you ever spend time at Tokyu Hands in Shibuya? What was your favorite floor?

 

[Buntaro]

Is anyone here old enough to remember...

PINK LADY!

 

[neko_girl22]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Is anyone here old enough to remember...

PINK LADY!

I don't remember them, but I know of them. My husband had a crush on one of them when he was a kid!!! I guess it must've been all that tight lycra hehe

 

[Buntaro]

I first visited Japan in 1978. When I got to Japan at that time, Pink Lady was everywhere - Pink Lady T-shirts, Pink Lady pencils, Pink Lady bicycles, even Pink Lady garbage cans for sale! It was just like the Beatles experience had been in America back in the 60's. It was amazing!

 

[Old School]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Hi Old School!

Did you ever spend time at Tokyu Hands in Shibuya? What was your favorite floor?

Too much time according to my girlfriend at the time. I hung out at the toy and hobby floor.

 

[Old School]

Originally posted by Buntaro
You make it sound like they closed Toyland. Did they?

Not that I know of.

Originally posted by Buntaro
It is too bad that they stopped Take No Ko. I remember in the very beginning, when it was just people hanging out. Years later, I heard that they had whole bands set up stage right in the middle of the street. Amazing!

I'm not sure why they put a stop to it. One theory I heard was that more and more foreigners were starting to discover it and it lost it's appeal. Yeah, the whole strip would be lined with amateur bands (powered by portable generators). The line-up was kinda chronological and would start with the "Yankees" (50s greasers straight out of American Graffitti - greased hair, leather jackets, poodle skirts, etc), then the Beatle-type British invasion bands, then the 60s acid rock groups, then the 80s metal bands, then the wanna-be idols. I posted in a different thread that one day at the end of this entire line, Nori-P (Sakai Noriko) had set-up a stage to promote her new single "Diamond Blue." It's on video (look for a long-haired dude all in black in the audience - that's me).

 

[Old School]

Originally posted by Buntaro
Is anyone here old enough to remember...

PINK LADY!

Of course! Kei and Mie! You should talk to flashjeff. He's the biggest Pink Lady fan in the US. He mostly hangs out in the Pop Culture section of this forum. Can you do the moves to "UFO"?

 

[Buntaro]

UFO? Man oh man, to this very day, whenever I hear the word UFO, I still put my hand behind the back of my head, do that stupid UFO gesture, and yell "Yoo Foh!"

Hey Old School, do you remember the Pink Lady TV series that aired in the U.S. way back then?

 

[Old School]

Owww...

Originally posted by Buntaro
UFO? Man oh man, to this very day, whenever I hear the word UFO, I still put my hand behind the back of my head, do that stupid UFO gesture, and yell "Yoo Foh!"

Hey Old School, do you remember the Pink Lady TV series that aired in the U.S. way back then?

Yeah, it was so long ago that it's embarrassing! I remember when they had Alice Cooper on as a guest. What a match-up! I can't remember what he sang or even if they joined him. I think it was during his "Welcome to My Nightmare" tour. Anyway, they had painfully stupid banter written for them:

Aren't you girls the biggest thing in Japan?
"No, the biggest thing in Japan is Gojira! Hee hee heee...!" Owww...