Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEMkrO5gJng&eurl=

Not only is there a kitten and a chicken, but this time there's a monkey too! While it may seem like a bit of an abusive relationship, at least it's not as bad as this.

Enjoying a 'Spicy Whopper' and fries in Shanghai.


I mentioned a few weeks ago in this post that the Forbidden City in Beijing is actually home to a small Starbucks coffee shop. While there was no McDonald's or KFC along side it yet, they weren't too hard to find outside its foreboding red walls. In fact, western fast food options in China are just as good if not better than they are in Japan. Here are some of the other chains Kate and I spotted in Beijing and Shanghai:

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Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4Nyf6ib1OQ

I always like it when animals set aside their differences and learn to be friends. It gives me hope that maybe someday humans will learn to do the same.

Last week, my wonderful parents stopped by Noheji after a grueling month long tour of Asia and I had the pleasure of showing them around the joint.

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This is my third spring in Japan, but only my first time ever to see the much hyped Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri. Actually, that's technically untrue as I did in fact go once last year, but it turned out to be more of a barren branch festival.


Well I'm pleased to report however that this year the festival actually lived up to the hype, and the park was really quite impressive looking. While I'm glad to have finally seen the trees in full bloom, I'm not sure if it was worth the cost to my health. Ever since last weekend my throat has been killing me, likely the result of some kind of cherry blossom allergy I never knew I had. Unfortunately, Noheji High School is surrounded in cherry trees as well so it looks like I'm going to have to endure this torture for some time to come.

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I know many of you have been following my quest to find the legendary Noheji->Shichinohe railbus for many months with bated breath. Well thanks to KS clueing me into 'I Will Play with a Railbus 2006' I am very happy to report that I have succeeded in finding and riding the railbus! One quest down. One to go.

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This has to be one of the most brilliant innovations in fast food to come along in the last 30 years! A cup lid with a deep dent for fry storage allowing you to carry both food and drink in one hand. So simple, yet so ingenious. I wish I could meet the person at MOS Burger responsible and shake his or her hand.



I can't help but wonder why a Japanese fast food company would come out with such a thing in a country where walking and eating at once is taboo. Could this be some kind of secret ploy to start of a new revolution in Japanese culture? I hope so, but sadly I fear that the MOS Walker will most likely be overlooked and lost to the ages.

Link: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/FOOD/news/12/11/china.starbucks.reut/

Tadaima! Just got back from a nice trip to Communist China with Kate. As you can see from the above photo, there really isn't much that is Communist about China anymore other than that whole no right to vote stuff. Actually the Starbucks in the Forbidden City was closed the day we were there, and I get the feeling from this article that it might not be openning again anytime soon*. Still, the very fact that it exists at all speaks volumes about what is going on in China these days. In fact I hear that they're openning a TGI Fridays in the Maosoleum next week.


Anyway, I'm back in Japan but still on vacation so don't expect any updates for a little while longer. Happy Golden Week y'all!



*Update: My parents visited Beijing a couple of weeks after I did and they told me that the Starbucks was open for business the day they were there.