Last Friday, I was downtown in Shibuya until 12:25am, aka 15 minutes before my last train. Realizing this, I half-walked half-ran to the nearest station — Shinsen, the local stop just after Shibuya. I had 2 minutes to go until my train, so I ran into the bathroom and ran out again 90 seconds later, making the last train by seconds, and not realizing until … Continue reading 100-word story: Lost & Found
Sometimes I catch myself saying something totally contrary to my own feelings just to assert my Japanese. Today I went into a bakery near my train station to buy a baguette. As the cashier rang up my total, she swung her arm forward — in my mind — very elaborately and dramatically, to point to the price lit up on the register screen facing me. … Continue reading 100-word story: the BAGuette (get it?)
It takes about 2.5 hours to walk from my house to Shimokitazawa — Tokyo’s little bohemian hub — or longer if I linger in bakeries and cafes along the way, which I always do. The Google-suggested path I take winds through all these tiny pedestrian pathways where the trees and little homes craning out into the road are only a couple yards asunder. It trails … Continue reading 100-word story: Stroll to Shimo (photo essay)
Last weekend I went to one of my friend’s gigs at a British live house in Ebisu called “What the Dickens.” The band is a massive 7-piece ensemble that only barely fits on the pub’s narrow stage. It’s kind of like a folksy ska band — the 7 pieces include: an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, drums, a saxophone, a trumpet (though the sax and … Continue reading 100-word story: The Surprise Visitor
One of the best ways I’ve found to combat the disappointment and monotony of online dating in Japan is to screenshot all of the winners I find. After a year of so of doing this I’ve collected a pretty good stash. So without further ado, my top ten: 10. Contemplative 9. A good warning 8. Oh you know, not too. 7. Yeah that must be … Continue reading 100-word story: Dating trading cards
I just popped into Starbucks to buy coffee beans and every time I do this and ask for just 100g, which means they have to break the metallic bag open and measure me out a smaller amount, I expect they’re gonna say no. And this time I wanted their special Xmas blend so when the barista came back to me with a face full of … Continue reading 100-word story: Coffee beans
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