Odds & Ends (part 60).

I have a lot of little things to talk about.

Scan it yourself (or don’t). [UPDATED]

There’s a largish Itō Yōkadō down from Ōmorikaigan Station. It has several departments and individual stores, including a grocery store. Much like others of its ilk, the grocery has both regular and self-checkout. A few months ago, though, they added another: a self-scan self-checkout called IY.

Photographs of Uncommon Vending Machines. [UPDATED 9/27]

There’s a joke that says you know you’ve lived in Japan too long when you see a vending machine in the middle of a rice field and it doesn’t faze you. This illustrates the ubiquity of vending machines in Japan; they’re arguably more of a part of life here than back in America. Because of that, you can find all sorts of things for sale in them. (No, I haven’t found one that sells women’s panties yet, but I haven’t looked, either.) In this case, it’s better to show than tell, so here are some pictures. I’ll add new ones as I find them.

Other people talk funny.

I’ve been living in Japan for nearly twelve years (as of this writing), but that’s nothing compared to others who’ve been here much longer. Most I’ve met in person, while others have appeared on TV shows about Japan, but many of them have one thing in common: Their English has changed in the time they’ve been here.

Trip Home 2026 (coming).

After six weeks, it was finally time to go back to Tokyo and resume my regular life.

Trip Home 2026 (going).

The time had come to visit America, and I took two extra weeks this time so I could spend my mother’s birthday with her.

Acculturation, or “When in the Village…”

As of this writing, I’ve lived in Tokyo for nearly twelve years. I’ve picked up a number of local cultural norms over the years, but if I were new to the city and only based my behavior on observing others, then this would be how I’d have learned to exit the train.

Yes, I 図書館！

One problem I find when wanting to write — be it updating my blog(s), adding to my fantasy world database, or adding a new story to my lore — is that if I’m at home, there are far too many distractions. (I imagine this is true for those that work from home as well.)

So not long ago, I looked to see if there was a public library near me. As it turns out, there’s one only about ten minutes away. I scoped it out last week so I knew where it was, and this week, I grabbed my older laptop and trudged over.

Odds & Ends (part 59).

Has it really been eight months since I did one of these?

Locational Resonance.

Here’s something I found on my Facebook…

On this day
10 years ago
The thing about living in Tokyo is that when they talk about places, I know them. Ghouls in the 11th Ward? 大田区, where I live. The half-flooded ruin of 新橋 and the inactive 銀座線 in Psycho-Pass? I guessed both from context. It adds a little; makes it more personal. This must be how New Yorkers feel all the time.