Cute Construction

In Japan, everything has to be cute or “kawaii”, even the construction sites.

Though I just have two types of frogs to show you, I have seen construction sites with monkey, penguins, bears and even rabbits.

Several years ago I was travelling through Miyagi prefecture and passed the cutest construction site -ever!
All the machines were painted to look like certain animals or fruits like a giraffe excavator, hippo dump trucks and the cement truck was a giant watermelon!

Price of Food in Tokyo

Just wanted to know what the price of fruits are in your city?

Here in Tokyo, the prices are unbelievable (in a bad way). To me, the amount you get for the price you pay doesn’t seem logical, but perhaps I’m missing something. I used to live in Toronto, so the prices there compared to here are……well…..you just can’t compare them.

Here is an example from my local grocery store:

So this is a small box of cherries (approximately 20 cherries) that costs ¥980, which equals $10.00 USD/CAD.

In the background, there is a small melon, about the size of my palm, which is on sale for Â¥580. That would equal about $6.00 USD/CAD. That’s just a sample of the average prices.

In the summer, I love to eat watermelon, but I have only eaten it three times in the last three years, because they cost far too much for me to justify it. Last year, I found one no bigger than a softball, which cost ¥1600 ($17.20 USD/CAD).

Here are a couple more examples from a slightly more upscale grocery store:

These are packs of four Japanese mikan (oranges) for ¥1580 ($17.00USD/CAD).

This is durian for ¥6800 ($73.00 USD/CAD). This durian is most likely for show, so in the end, I highly doubt anyone bought it.

Well, there you have it. Please tell me your opinions about this -I’d love to hear from you!

Japanglish

Japanglish is a topic I enjoy talking about with many people. It’s great entertainment, sometimes confusing, but overall, it’s fantastic to sharpen your own english skills. I even use japanglish examples for my students to identify the mistakes and correct it in proper english.

Here is a sign from a cute little shop in Yokohama:

A t-shirt found in Harajuku:

A sign in an office building near Tokyo station:

and a children’s play mat:

It’s everywhere, but not only mixed english, there are very interesting french signs as well -I’ll have to get some snaps for next time!

Manners in Tokyo

Many people say that Japanese people are among the most polite in the world. This unfortunately, isn’t the case in Tokyo, especially when travelling, so Tokyo Metro created a series of fantastic ads to promote good manners on the trains.

I know some readers might feel shocked about it, but I just want to clarify that I have never met a rude Japanese person, until I moved to downtown Tokyo.

The ads are pretty much based on facts and I will try to match some photos of real people doing exactly what the posters show.

This is my best example:

Here are three of the Tokyo Metro Ads followed by a picture of two people pretty much doing all three things. Not only is the man sleeping and taking up space, and the girl putting on makeup, but they are both sitting in the “priority seats” (sign behind them on the window) which is reserved for older people, pregnant and those with special needs.

Stay tuned for more ads coming soon!

Dinosaur Game for Children

I teach and play with preschool children part-time and try to make fun and interactive games for every class. Keeping two year olds focused can be tough at times, especially when they don’t understand english at all!

Here’s a game I made up to help the children develop their gross motor skills using a ball and large dinosaur head. Basically, I would hold the head in front me while standing with my legs apart. The children will then “feed” the dinosaur by rolling the ball into the mouth.

Here’s the dinosaur:

Another game that I tried last year for Halloween (and was a great success) was “feed the monster”, where the children would throw balls or small balloons into the mouth.

Monster Box:

As you might be able to see, the picture was taken after the children played with it……hence the torn and bent edges…missing ears and so on. It was a lot of fun for the kids, so I hope the dinosaur will be a big hit as well. Will let you know the outcome later!