Vending Machine Ramen?!?
-------------------------------------

I'm only half-joking here. Technically it's not a vending machine, but you do drop in your cash and choose what type of ramen you want. Out pops a ticket that you take to a cook inside who will whip up your meal. Next photo is the board above the vending machine. I've seen these at truck stops but this one was an actual restaurant in Yokohama.

She Sells Out for Cells

Cameron Diaz with her toothy mug is the new spokesperson for a mobile and internet service provider, Softbank. I hear the tv commercials are pretty clever though I haven't seen them. (Note to self: In the future, don't pose next to tall, skinny, blonde knockouts...)
(Tokyo)

The F*ck Yeah Mobile

I don’t know what they’re selling. . . …but I’m buying. (Taken in Ofuna)

Two For One Sale on...

Don't ask me. I don't get the connection between clothes and furry critters or between fashion and nether regions either...

(Thank you Daily Planner Dave for also snappin' this photo of colleague Karen and I in Tokyo!)

I Never Thought of this Expression as Being Cute , But She Pulls it Off

This was taken by my colleague, Daily Planner Dave, while we were in the Shibuya subway station in Tokyo.
What do you think? Does she know how it translates in English slang?

Sell Out!

Tommy Lee Jones' ugly mug is literally plastered on half the drink machines in Japan. He's pushing Boss coffee...or maybe heroin. He looks like a total junkie. Course, I'm the one who's addicted to Japanese canned coffee. But in my defense, in this country a person can't take ten steps without crossing paths with a vending machine. I even saw somebody giving their toddler a swig of the stuff...

Funky Elevator in Yokohama Yields Rad Photo

We were in an elevator in Yokohama in some four-story arcade when I looked up and saw this awesome design on the ceiling. If you look closely--yup, that's yours truly.

Porn is Lovely

After my Japanese class, (thanks to Lisa for hooking me up with that!) I wandered around Yokosuka in search of food. I remembered an adult theatre that I used to peek at curiously as a teenager and was told was still operational. Not only is it still there, but it looks like the owner hasn't invested a cent in the exterior's upkeep since I lived here eleven years ago! The sign is wonderful with peeling paint and weathered metal. Here's the up-close shot, but there are more under the Yokosuka photo album at the top left.

Ramen On Wheels?

Last weekend, we went in search of a British pub near the Yokohama train station. Nine dollar drinks and wall-to-wall gaijins, (foreigners,) sent us in search of something better. We ended up at a great female-owned bar/yakitori joint, (skewered and grilled meat, veggies, more!) With three dollar Yebisu (a malty beer,) mugs, very friendly staff, and killer yakitori, we plan to make this a regular destination. Afterwards, we found ourselves here, at a mobile ramen restaurant. The food was cheap, yummy and the guy had cans of beer in a cooler behind him. The experience was livened up by all the inebriated people who wanted to drink with us including a family with two children and a business man who called himself persona non grata. Maybe he was alluding to being a spy? In any case, they were all very friendly!