Peter Buckmaster's Blog, page 5

Harajuku Hammer

Does anyone get that feeling when they go out, that they are always walking in the opposite direction to everyone else? I seem to be constantly weaving in and out of hordes coming my way. Wouldn’t mind carrying a cattle-prod to teach mobile phone fools a lesson. If you are in a crowded station, use a bit of common sense and don’t text-walk!

So yes, Shibuya and Harajuku were crazy-crowded.

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But I did spot those funky Mario Karts!

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Why was I in Harajuku I don’t hear you ask! Well, I recently discovered that they have Games Workshops here so wanted to soak up a bit of my childhood. I never played any of the games like Warhammer or Blood Bowl, but used to read White Dwarf. I finally found the Warhammer shop in Harajuku, after getting lost in the maze of streets trying to make sense of the Google Map app on my mobile. And no, I was not a prime candidate for the cattle-prod; I kept my manners about me…and got lost.

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I went in and tried to show I wasn’t a complete stranger to this world by dropping a few character names: “Leman Russ, wasn’t he in the Ultramarines? No, the Space Wolves, right?”. The member of staff was totally unimpressed I believe. Maybe Monsieur Russ has not been Primarch for twenty years. I fear I am sorely behind the latest.

I was going to see Mr Jimmy’s live (Led Zepp tribute band) but the 9,800 yen price tag was a hurdle too high.

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Had a wonderful lunch. Hire-katsu. Damn, the meat was juicy and soft. Beat the BLT I had the day before at a cafe, which had only one slice of suspiciously brown bacon in it.

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That’s it from me. Apologies I have no deep insights to offer today. Or any day for that matter. Cheers to the Avengers for an awesome movie!

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Don-doko-don…

I’m taking an extended break from taiko drumming at present but my wife and two sons are keeping it up. Although I want to play so badly every time I see them, it is great to just watch and enjoy the drumming.

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The event was the local festival which is held every April. Every year they have had brilliant blue skies, which is not the case for the summer festivals when the weather is either steaming hot or chucking it down with rain.

Tomoki made his debut on the shime-daiko (small drum) for the piece Yatai-Bayashi. His face was a mask of concentration! Most traditional taiko pieces have a story behind why the drums are played in that style. Yatai-Bayashi is played sitting down with the drum between the legs as originally the drum was inside a festival float (yatai) so the player couldn’t stand. I just looked it up and the festival is in Chichibu. Would be great to see the original inspiration for this.

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Haruki was playing the kane.

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And Eriko (left) was enjoying herself as usual!

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If I had all the time in the world, I’d be with them. But I haven’t acquired the Eye of Agamotto yet.

 

“Up from the depths…”

What was the next line? A sorry sight to see? A soaring sight at sea? And then there was Godzuki… Let us all take a moment to pray that little fella doesn’t show up in the next Godzilla movie.

So I took a trip into Tokyo today to take a look at the new Godzilla statue. It’s impressive but I can’t help thinking a full-size statue would be a tad more awesome.

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Looks like he has the same problem as a T-Rex. “Scratch my back, will ya? Can’t reach.”

Then I went for some sushi. Yeah, okay, Gozilla was just an excuse to treat myself.

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I just love everything about sushi. It tastes great, quite healthy (I think!), looks fantastic (minimalist magnificence) and the miso soup is always top-notch in these places. Can never get mine tasting so good.

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When I first came here, I could not eat sushi. I went out with a few others for sushi and was ordering the egg one again and again. One of my companions asked “Did you know you were coming to Japan?!” Once I was over the texture though, I went full-throttle. It’s so damn good!

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Oh, and I saw Kitty-Chan. Think she was off for a smack-down with Godzilla.

 

 

“Here comes the bass!”

Today I had the good fortune to experience some fantastic music on an even more fantastic sound system, courtesy of Glenn Williams & the Mendips Guest House (Tachikawa). Glenn is this chap here: https://www.writerinjapan.com/

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The difference between listening to music on YouTube and listening to it on Glenn’s sound system is something even a non-musician like myself can’t fail to be floored by. “layered” was the best I could do in putting it into words. You could almost pick apart the song by focusing on one instrument or vocal, or feel like you were Ant-Man bouncing off a note here or a cymbal there.

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And I could have spent the next decade just going this awesome collection of vinyl. Ah, I forgot to check if the speakers go up to 11.

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Slowhand will guide you up the stairs.

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And I finished off the night at Craftsman Yokohama. The quesadilla was just superb! And the weizen pretty darn good to boot.

Okay, you can drop that bass now.

“How do you feel when you see cherry blossom?”

This was a question I got asked in my first spring up in Iwate, Japan. At the time it really stumped me. I knew there was something deep and profound I was supposed to be feeling but just thought “Blossom is out. Woo-hoo…” I wanted to say that my home country had spring too (especially after I had the question “How many seasons do you have in your country?” “Erm, four. Just like here I’m guessing.”) so I had seen some lovely spring-time bloom before.

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I do understand more now why Japan goes nuts in the cherry blossom season. The main thing for me is it is fleeting. The bloom lasts around two weeks (I think) and so you have this explosion of beautiful pink & white blossom, followed by this surreal snow-fall of petals, and then it is gone. Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai says “Perfect” when he dies. Many would agree.

It’s also a great excuse to go to the park for a picnic or BBQ, and drink some beer in a wonderous setting. By the way, Japan is king when it comes to finding excuses to party! Western festival that involves having a good time? We’ll take that, mix it up a bit, add our own spice and hey presto!, we got ourselves a shin-dig! Easter has even made it out here.

So yes, I understand what the people were getting at when they asked me how I felt. They were wondering if I appreciated it like they did. I was probably riled by a comment that followed my answer back then (more than once): “Ah, maybe you cannot understand because you are not Japanese.” No, I am pretty sure you don’t need to be native to this land to see and feel the beauty of sakura.

PS A big thank you to Naoko-san for bringing some bubbly to the BBQ on Monday to celebrate my book’s publication. Very thoughtful!

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Zounds!

This word sticks in my mind from A-level English Lit. with Dr D. I’m pretty sure it’s from a Shakespeare work, maybe Anthony & Cleopatra. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all made a bit of extra effort with our exclamations? Instead of “F*ck, that was close!”, “Zounds! A near thing!”. “Shut the f*ck up!” > “Pipe down over there!”. The F-word is a useful word but it does lose that usefulness when over-used. And that sentence used use too much.

Anyway, “Let Rome in Tiber melt!”.

Thank you to Ayaka & Maki, who kindly bought a copy each of Ragnekai Winds, the mildly successful debut novel from dashing British chap, moi. The English used in fantasy novels is not the easiest so I appreciate their support (no neck-tie or shirt, just hood and cloak; no telephone or TV, just spear and shield).

The chicken, bacon and mushroom pie turned out well. I’ll put that one down as the pie they ate in Cuthbert’s Cave (link to recipe on web-site).

Also, a photo received from the winner of last month’s competition, HobGoblin. HobGoblin is presumably not the real name and HobGoblin is presumably not a guinea pig…though stranger things have happened. I hope to run another competition soon.

Have a good week all you wonderful people! And just remember, if it’s raining when you go out, that’s the weather.

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Russian Doll Beer

“Sweet Lord, that can of beer had a baby!”

So in Japan we have the 500ml can of grog, then the 330ml chug, and after that there are two more. Smaller than 330ml?! Yep. And the smallest is either the cutest thing you’ve ever seen or the most ridiculous.

The 150ml is for functions where you have guests who can’t drink much. It allows them to have a small quaff for the toast (kanpai!) but lets them off getting bladdered because they are being polite and necking a pint.

Not exactly environmentally friendly. All that steel and not so much beer. Japan is very good with recycling but also very good at over-packaging.

btw, for the purposes of this highly informative blog post, I had to buy all four of those cans. The 500ml and the 330ml I can drink with gusto. But the baby one?! Oh, the humanity!

Graduation?!

I was chatting with a friend the other day and they were surprised to learn that we Brits graduate only from university, as in this is the only time we do the whole ceremony-shenanigans. Shenanigans! Get your brooms! I digress…

In the US the students graduate from high school but in the UK you just finish one day. It may have changed though, seeing I went to school in the Cretaceous period.

In Japan though… oh my sainted sausages, they like their ceremonies here. Ceremonies for everything! Graduation from pre-school, primary school and every kind of school. Even a school of fish graduate! (can I get a golf-clap for that dad joke?)

It’s great to get all dressed up and have some nice photos to look at over the years but the actual ceremonies can be trials of mental strength…and butt-ache. One too many speeches I fear.

But I think it is nice for the kids. They feel special and it gives them a sense of achievement. They even get a “diploma”. Think the pre-school one says something like “Congratulations on not eating too many crayons!”

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Winds in Japan

See what I did there? Oh, the literary genius! It is extremely windy here today in Yokohama. We’re in the usual WTF?! period as winter gives way to spring. Yesterday was a warm 20C, today is stormy and Wednesday there is snow forecast. So…the weather keeps you on your toes.

I am very grateful to friends here in Japan for buying a copy of Ragnekai Winds. The English in fantasy novels is arguably more difficult for a non-native speaker (almost the equivalent of jidai-geki Japanese) so I appreciate them supporting me.

Cheers to Yuko and Chiaki! And thanks to Yuko for driving to Bronco Billy (traditional Japanese restaurant…just kidding) today so I could celebrate with a beer.

Here’s a quick nugget for you all out there (distant sound of church bells can be heard): a recent addition to the weird and wonderful world of Japanese English is “One Ope” (pronounced won opey), which is short for One Operation. Any guesses for what this means? Nothing to do with hospitals as I assumed. It refers to the situation where one parent does everything at home because the other parent works crazy hours. Sad to say that this describes far too many families here.

There may come a day…

There may come a day when I go on a diet…but it is not this day!  There may come a day when I eat a nice leafy, green salad…but it is not this day! There may come a day when I find beer too filling with a meal…but it is not this day! Today…I EAT!

Holy Sushi, Batman! Now this is where you should go to eat a shed-load of sushi and not be ripped off. Sushi-Ro is a kai-ten (conveyor belt) sushi chain and there are many more. 100 yen a plate and you get two pieces on that plate…unlike that place I went to last week.

Even an English button on the digital menu at each table.

And back home for a couple of beers. Rock’n’Roll was excellent!