Oops, it's been over a month since I last updated. It's also been about that long since I went to the gym. I shall blame my quite insane schedule and my くそ 4 hour commute every day.
So what's happened in the last month... let's see:
1. I had the misfortune to go to The Worst Izakaya EVER That Actually Ruined A Perfectly Good Saturday Night By Its Crapness (not actual name. The actual name is actually 隠れ家個室ダイニング 藍楽 渋谷駅前店Kakurega koshitsu dainingu airaku, shibuya ekimaeten. All you need to remember is the name "Airaku" and the fact that it's on the 8th floor of that narrow building with a weird brightly-lit comics/anime shop on the ground floor and a tiny elevator which is past that expensive bar with the blue colour scheme, under the bridge and to your left if you come out of the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station and turn right. Not that I would be so impartial as to give detailed information about said izakaya, of course.)
2. I was so "INCENSED" by said izakaya that I wrote a Scathing Review for it on the 口コミ (kuchikomi, user reviews)-based restaurant/bar aggregate website Tabelog. I mean, I get angry a lot at some stuff here (some might say petty stuff that someone under 50 should not get angry about, but those people would be WRONG) but I have never gone as far as to spend valuable time I could be watching people on Japanese TV eat things deliciously to actually bother crafting a barbed yet restrained missive such as that which I did create. THAT'S HOW SHITTY THIS PLACE WAS. I am not even exaggerating (and some might say I do that a lot too).
3. Said Scathing Review lasted approximately 2 hours on said website before being deleted by moderators for being (get this) 'too negative'. "TOO REAL" more like, ykwim?
4. I lost complete and utter faith in the "BIASED LIE"that is Tabelog and vowed never to use it again.
(^ I have attempted in my use of block capitals and quotation marks to imitate that style of tabloid journalism where they pick out one key word which may or may not in fact have anything to do with the actual content of the paragraph and use it as a header. Just 'cos I felt nostalgic for English tabloids what with all this News of the World nonsense, which, by the way, Japan has completely ignored.)
And that's the end of that chapter. For your edification and for posterity I shall post said Scathing Review on this very blog along with an English translation in the next few days.
5. The weekend H and I went to Hakodate and Hokkaido, which was lovely. Hokkaido, which I had only previously seen in mid-winter (clue: snow. Lots. Of. Snow) is so beautiful in summer. Recommended (UNLIKE TABELOG and f'ing 隠れ家個室ダイニング 藍楽 渋谷駅前店. "BETRAYAL"). Pretty photos to come!
6. I started learning Chinese. At this point all I can say are the numbers, the basic greetings and 太贵了! (tai gui le, "too expensive!"), the latter of which I practise saying to myself quietly in an angry voice whenever I'm alone. Two words: MARKET SHOPPING!
Finally, I shall leave you with this image. Strong contender for 'most Japanese sign ever'? If there indeed exists such a contest, this is my entry.
So what's happened in the last month... let's see:
1. I had the misfortune to go to The Worst Izakaya EVER That Actually Ruined A Perfectly Good Saturday Night By Its Crapness (not actual name. The actual name is actually 隠れ家個室ダイニング 藍楽 渋谷駅前店Kakurega koshitsu dainingu airaku, shibuya ekimaeten. All you need to remember is the name "Airaku" and the fact that it's on the 8th floor of that narrow building with a weird brightly-lit comics/anime shop on the ground floor and a tiny elevator which is past that expensive bar with the blue colour scheme, under the bridge and to your left if you come out of the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station and turn right. Not that I would be so impartial as to give detailed information about said izakaya, of course.)
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| This is definitely not a picture of said scummy building |
2. I was so "INCENSED" by said izakaya that I wrote a Scathing Review for it on the 口コミ (kuchikomi, user reviews)-based restaurant/bar aggregate website Tabelog. I mean, I get angry a lot at some stuff here (some might say petty stuff that someone under 50 should not get angry about, but those people would be WRONG) but I have never gone as far as to spend valuable time I could be watching people on Japanese TV eat things deliciously to actually bother crafting a barbed yet restrained missive such as that which I did create. THAT'S HOW SHITTY THIS PLACE WAS. I am not even exaggerating (and some might say I do that a lot too).
3. Said Scathing Review lasted approximately 2 hours on said website before being deleted by moderators for being (get this) 'too negative'. "TOO REAL" more like, ykwim?
4. I lost complete and utter faith in the "BIASED LIE"that is Tabelog and vowed never to use it again.
(^ I have attempted in my use of block capitals and quotation marks to imitate that style of tabloid journalism where they pick out one key word which may or may not in fact have anything to do with the actual content of the paragraph and use it as a header. Just 'cos I felt nostalgic for English tabloids what with all this News of the World nonsense, which, by the way, Japan has completely ignored.)
And that's the end of that chapter. For your edification and for posterity I shall post said Scathing Review on this very blog along with an English translation in the next few days.
5. The weekend H and I went to Hakodate and Hokkaido, which was lovely. Hokkaido, which I had only previously seen in mid-winter (clue: snow. Lots. Of. Snow) is so beautiful in summer. Recommended (UNLIKE TABELOG and f'ing 隠れ家個室ダイニング 藍楽 渋谷駅前店. "BETRAYAL"). Pretty photos to come!
6. I started learning Chinese. At this point all I can say are the numbers, the basic greetings and 太贵了! (tai gui le, "too expensive!"), the latter of which I practise saying to myself quietly in an angry voice whenever I'm alone. Two words: MARKET SHOPPING!
Finally, I shall leave you with this image. Strong contender for 'most Japanese sign ever'? If there indeed exists such a contest, this is my entry.
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| I don't think this gentle exhortation would have much effect in China. Not that I know much about China. Except that THEY DO NOT QUEUE. Does. Not. Compute... |