Don’t give me that shyte. If you’ve been in Japan for the last few years, or you’ve followed big news stories out of this country, you know about the Lindsay Hawker murder.

Ok, for those of you not in the know, I’ll catch you up.

Just over two and a half years ago, female Nova English Teacher, Lindsay Hawker from the UK, went missing. Police found a note with Ichihashi’s phone number and name on it in Hawker’s apartment. When police showed up to question Ichihashi at his apartment, he fled barefoot from the scene and the police on scene didn’t make much effort to go after him. After that, police discovered Hawker’s body in a bathtub on Ichihashi’s balcony, buried in sand. I know, I know… a bathtub on the balcony?! Filled with sand?! WTF?!

Anyway, local police were left hanging their heads in shame while a national manhunt ensued. Hawker’s family came to Japan to put pressure on police to capture the alleged (let’s face it, there’s nothing alleged about it - A bathtub on his balcony, for Chrissakes!) murderer. Particularly, Hawker’s father was very vocal, almost to the point of being annoying. But, when a loved one is taken from you, you’ve got the right. I guess.

I shouldn’t have to say it, but, personally, the murder of a foreign national living in Japan doesn’t need to be more in the spotlight than the murder of a Japanese citizen. I mean, Japanese or foreigner, a murder’s a murder. But, fair or not, once the story of the murder and the escaped suspect got rolling, all other murder news seemed to take a back seat. I mean, how many foreigners living in Japan are going to remember this murder case above all others reported in the last few years? About 98%, probably. Personally, the murder and dismemberment of a young Japanese lady whose remains were flushed down a toilet by her businessman neighbor sticks in my mind the most. But, I suppose that’s because the most important person in my life is a Japanese woman. I can’t say for sure, though.

Anyway, Ichihashi apparently had cosmetic surgery. However, he was reported via a phone tip to police because he was wearing a cap, sunglasses and a mask. Hey, genius. Way to go with the incognito getup. I mean, what the hell did you have the surgery for anyway? Hey, Ichihashi! I’m talking to you! Oh, you can’t talk now? Right, right, I see, you’re kind of busy now. Ok, an interview later, then? Alright, thanks dude!

And, Ichihashi’s old man keeps talking about how his son needs to be brought to answer for his deeds and stop disgracing the family. Give me a break! Ichihashi paid for his own cosmetic surgery and life on the run by making 10,000 yen per day at a construction job?!

Expect to see the father implicated for aiding a fugitive.

I’ve always liked this one. Here we have a salaryman shuffling along above several sets of JR Line tracks near Shinjuku Station. Maybe he’s heading home or just maybe to his next appointment. There’s little doubt he’s aware of the time, but should he forget, the clock tower of the gods is always there to remind him.

Update: Fuck! I just became a salaryman again myself.

Most of the time when I view a photo I’ve just snapped on my camera’s flat screen, I mumble “Now that’s crap” as my thumb darts for the delete button. But on occasion, when I take a look at what I’ve just shot, I think Damn, I’m good! Here’s a fave of mine, a Shimokitazawa side street on a chilly winter evening.

Ok, the title makes it sound like I’m living it up in Sin City, but really it’s been pretty chill so far. I spent most of midweek last week playing poker. Most of the time, however, I’ve just been hanging out with my parents at their house and getting over the reverse culture shock felt by not having been back in my home country for three and a half years.

And yes, I am having trouble getting over some of the glaring differences between life in Japan and life in the U.S. Yeah, I know, Las Vegas isn’t the real world by any stretch of the imagination, but people from all over the States come here, so I’m confident that I’m getting a pretty decent sample.

• Ok, most people are way too big here. I have to say it… sorry. You know what I mean. I’m not talking heightwise here, either. I’m talking fat city. Yeah, you have to expect that in a country where mealwise, double portions are cheaper than single portions in most other developed nations. And yeah, comparing people here to Japanese people is not fair, I know. I mean, in a country where the staples of most people’s diets are rice, soy, and fish, you can’t expect to see much obesity. But, here in the good old US of A, it’s fucking ridiculous. Not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings with this, and I’m sure there are some people with legitimate medical conditions, but come on… Anyway, let it be known that I have never, nor do I now think that appearance is a good basis for judging anyone.
• The friendliness here in the States, in general, is one of the best things I remembered about my home country while living abroad. Yeah, at first, it was a little overwhelming, but I quickly reacclimated and am pleased with it. Of course, I’ve run into a few loudmouthed douchebags in the last week or so, but I’ll take the bad with the good. I still stand by my belief that Tokyo needs to lighten the hell up.
• I can’t watch the news here anymore. The first couple of nights I did so last week, there were two different cases of people answering knocks at their doors and ending up shot to death. After spending several years living in a major city where I knew that the chances of being in the proximity of anyone carrying a gun were infinitesimal, it’s a little unnerving to think about how many people do so here.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll think of some more differences for next time.

If you’ve been living in Japan for awhile, you’ve likely thought about the day you’ll have to leave the country with a relatively large sum of money. Some spend a year or two here working and saving diligently while looking forward to to returning home and putting that hard-earned money to good use. Others, like me, wish to take a fair bit of cash along with us on an extended vacation.

I’ll be leaving next week and will spend as much as two months abroad before returning to live and work here in Japan. During that time, I’ll need to have plenty of money on hand to cover my daily living expenses as well as for entertainment and sightseeing purposes. Needless to say, having so much money all in the form of cash could prove quite worrisome, to say the least. I never considered taking it all in cash, and had to spend a fair bit of time researching the best way to take my money abroad.

Some have international bank accounts while others rely on credit cards to maintain continuous access to their funds. Also, wire transfers are a viable option. However, I decided to convert the bulk of my cash into traveler’s checks. Since most of my destinations abroad will be developed nations, I’m not too worried about using the checks or being able to convert them to cash wherever I am. Of course, the best thing about having traveler’s checks is that they’re insured against loss or theft.

I suppose having an international bank account would be the smoothest way to go in the future, but for now I’m doing it the old-fashioned way. And, I’m not alone; lots of people still prefer traveler’s checks, whether going abroad or traveling domestically. However, traveler’s checks are not as easy to purchase in Japan as they once were. With my bank, I had to search online for awhile to find a branch that actually still sold them. Fortunately, there was (and still is) a Shibuya branch close to my neighborhood.

One thing to remember about traveler’s checks in Japan is that rates have gone up, meaning you’ll be paying more in fees these days. Somewhere between 1% and 2%. Luckily for me, I converted most of my money to U.S. dollars since I’ll be spending a stretch in Las Vegas. The exchange rate from yen to U.S. dollars is still favorable, so I made out quite well.

Another thing to keep in mind about traveler’s checks is that you have to sign each and every one twice, once on the date of purchase and once on the date of use. If we’re talking a fair bit of money, be prepared for hand cramps o’ plenty.

Anyway, travel abroad can be stressful. If you’re traveling with a decent sum of money, make sure you find a way to take it with you that gives you the most peace of mind.

Until last month, the undisputed king of noodles in Japan (don’t say it’s just my opinion… it’s a damned fact!) was the tantanmen 坦々麺 at Kohmen 光麺. When people said, “But, you have to try this or that place. It’s…” I always cut them off with, “Meh, you don’t have a clue so save it.” That’s how much I loved Kohmen’s tantanmen.

Anyway, about two years ago, one of my best friends told me how this place in Tokorozawa had the best noodles ever. I was like, “Tokorozawa? Why the hell would the best anything be out there?” This was about the time that I first tried Kohmen.

However, fate, working in the funny way it does, had me end up working my last assignment with my former company at it’s branch in Tokorozawa. Now, let me say that Tokorozawa is not a bad little town, even if it is in Saitama. And, you know what? There are some nice restaurants out there.

Each day, as I made my way from Tokorozawa Station to the office, I would pass a little hole-in-the-wall Sichuan style Chinese restaurant that advertised tantanmen as it’s specialty. When I mentioned the place to a co-worker, he said “Oh yeah, that place is kind of famous for its tantanmen.” Oh, really?, I thought, and made a promise to myself to try it before my time working in Tokorozawa was up.

As things played out, I ended up going to that restaurant with some co-workers twice before I finished up with the company and guess what? Kohmen’s tantanmen has officially become the second-best bowl of noodles in Japan. Ryunoko’s (the restaurant’s name - 龍の子) white sesame tantanmen 白ごま坦々麺 is the mofo’n bomb, yo! I had to eat crow and tell my friend he was right about the place.

So, if you love Sichuan-style Chinese food, definitely hit up Ryunoko. And, if you consider yourself a connoisseur of noodles, particularly the spicy stuff, do the tantanmen there. Try it before you leave Japan or risk having your time here become nothing but a pathetic waste.

When I was living up north, near Sendai, I used to dream of the day I could move to Tokyo and start a life here. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Tohoku Region. In fact, I loved living there and there’s a lot I miss about it. However, there was no way I was going to live in Japan for several years without living in the Big Mikan.

Recently, someone asked me to make a list of things I still haven’t gotten used to about living here in the big city. Well, to be honest, there are too many things to list in one post, but I thought I’d put some of the major ones up here. Before you read on though, please understand that I do love living in Tokyo for the most part and do feel that the positive aspects of life here outweigh the bad ones. Anyway, here goes:

• The lack of respect for the personal space of others. I mean, in a city full of people moving around in tight spaces, you’d think there’d be a healthy appreciation for the idea of avoiding bumping into people whenever possible. Yeah, it’s not possible during rush periods in the train stations, but it still fucking blows my mind how some people in relatively uncrowded places will still give up the free space on the side of the walkway they’re walking on just to cross over and bump into me. And, I’m not talking about dipshits walking around with their heads down, texting away on their cell phones (preview of number 2 here); I’m talking about people with their heads up, looking forward. I mean, I’d like to think it’s because I’m one sexy bastard, but I know better. I guess when you spend years trudging around and bumping into others like animals in a herd, the idea of free space probably becomes a little scary.

• The multitudes that just cannot focus on their surroundings and always have to be fucking around with their mobile phones, playing DS or PSP, or just reading manga. You’re 40 years old, motherfucker! Stop reading goddamn comic books! I mean, if machines ever do take over, they won’t have to worry about programming the Tokyo part of the matrix… Nobody here would know if anything around them changed anyway. Ok, I’m exaggerating a little here. But, only a little. I’m not bullshitting when I say that a girl I was hanging out with a few months back was surprised by the presence of the Cocoon Tower in Nishi-Shinjuku (Tokyo Mode Gakuen). “When was that built?” she suddenly asked me. I replied, “You’re serious?” She nodded and said, “un.” I just shrugged my shoulders and told her I didn’t remember. And she works in Shinjuku, for fuck’s sake!

• Young guys and old men who order the staff in fast food restaurants around like they were in a 5-star restaurant. At the Sukiya in my neighborhood, they keep several pitchers of tea on the counter where people sit, spaced about a meter apart. Yet, most times I’m there, some 20-something punk-ass will call out impatiently, “See-mah-sen! Ocha!” Reach over, grab the pitcher, and pour it yourself, you lazy cunt!

• The cutesiness of everything. I mean, even car insurance commercials have kids singing childish jingles. And the pop music. Morning Musume? Give me a dull butter knife so I can commit seppuku with it. I dealt with it better when I was a newbie and there was still a bit of novelty to it.

• Being able to find a program about food on TV anytime of day or night. With the frequency of such programs, hasn’t every eating spot in the entire country been covered at least twice?

Anyway, enough from me. What do you still have trouble with getting used to here in Tokyo, or in Japan in general?

At long last, I’m finished with working for a big Japanese company. Well, for now anyway. After work on my final day last Wednesday, my co-workers and bosses took me out for tantanmen at a renowned Chinese restaurant in Tokorozawa. I’ll be writing that place up in the near future since it has surpassed Kohmen as my all-time favorite tantanmen place in Japan.

Anyway, after saying my goodbyes on the Seibu Shinjuku platform at Tokorozawa station, I boarded the last train back to Shinjuku and took a seat across from a salaryman who apparently was more deserving of a good rest than I was.

Well, kudos to you, Mr. Cool-Biz Salaryman; you are one of the bricks in the working foundation of the mighty country that is Nippon. Banzai! Banzai!

If you’ve lived in Tokyo for a significant amount of time, you’ve probably at least heard of Zat’s Sasebo Burger. I’d heard about the place a few times when I first moved to Tokyo, but I didn’t get interested in going there until I saw a couple of features about it on TV. What you might not know, however, is that there are several amazing burger shops in Shibuya-ku. I didn’t learn that until I moved there.

Anyway, Zat’s famous Sasebo Burger comes in regular and jumbo sizes. I was able to have one with fries and a Pepsi for under ￥1000. Not bad, pricewise. But, what about the taste?

Well, I can’t say it’s the best burger I’ve had in Japan, but it is the best I’ve had in Tokyo. Actually, the best place in Japan I can recommend is a Hawaiian-style burger joint inside Aka-Renga Soko in Yokohama. I forget the name… What was it again? Anyway, back to Zat’s… What makes the Sasebo Burger is its sauce. A little on the sweet side, but tasty enough. I downed mine in less than three minutes because I was starving from having not eaten breakfast (I wanted to make sure I had enough room). Surprisingly enough, I found myself wanting another one, probably because I wolfed it down the way I did. By the way, the fries were pretty good, too.

Anyway, if you’re in Yoyogi, or near another Zat’s shop, and you’re hungry for some good old junk food, the Sasebo Burger is definitely worth a try. Below is the link to their shop location web page:

http://www.sasebo-burger.jp/sasebo-burger/stores.html