"Ask a Ninja" Chosen by Forbes as One of the Top UTube sites

I'M SURE THIS SITE HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NINJA'S


#1 THIS ONE ANSWERS THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A NINJA CAN BE KILLED


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR68W56DCBU&feature=related


#2 THIS ONE ANSWERS THE QUESTION AS TO WHETHER A NINJA CAN CATCH A COLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO_u-knoehM&feature=related



BOTH ARE VERY SILLY....

...

1 COMMENT:
Anonymous said...
Now it's all making sense! You are a Ninja! How long have you been a Ninja and does your family know?
-Curious in Colleyville

.

The Ninja Restaurant:

If your only reference to Ninjas was when you saw "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," then you will need to be brought up to speed to fully appreciate our evening.

The black-robed, black-hooded Ninja is the martial arts version of the CIA and Spiderman. The origin of the Ninjas is hotly debated but some say they were "so-called rebels favoring Buddhism who fled into the mountains near Kyoto as early as the 7th. century A.D." They were organized into highly secretive groups that were structured around particular families, with their techniques passed down within that family. Ninjas relied on stealth tactics and some fairly gymnastic martial arts moves to fight larger groups of well-armed enemies. They also used some "magical" tricks to play with the enemy's mind as well as make a quick escape.

When we stepped through the door of the Ninja restaurant, we found ourselves in a small black room. A Ninja met us and made the appropriate Ninja mudra to welcome us. The mudras are called Kuji-in or 9 finger "cuts." These are special hand positions that the Ninjas use to focus their mind and activate their Ninja power. Our guide was really "activated." We then proceeded through a hidden door to reach what I call "Ninjaville." To get there, we followed our Ninja through a black passageway, down a series of steps, and at one point a draw-bridge dropped down to allow us to cross a "river." This was sort of like going through the fun house at the circus - not very convincing but fun nonetheless. Once we had crossed the bridge, we found ourselves in a small Ninja village. The individual "houses" were where the diners were seated - and of course, everything was dim, black and made of wood, bamboo, and stone. Our "house" had 2 small tables and a lily pond with water flowing through bamboo spigots.

The menu was elaborate - according to one source, there are over 100 dish choices. I didn't count.

I started off with a special apertif called "The Cleopatra." It was a tiny drink that had what looked to be real "gold" flakes on the top. It was supposed to contain a beautifing collagen ingredient from bird's nests. I feel SO Pretty!!!!

For the meal, I chose a "set," which has the many courses listed below. Greg chose safety in a steak ... and the show began...

All of the courses were teeny-tiny and served to be shared - with only about 2 bites in every course...

Course 1: Shuriken shaped crackers. The Shuriken was a flat
metal, star-shaped ninja weapon.
Shuriken were designed to hit the enemy then bounce off.
The enemy then assumed he was stabbed by an unseen opponent,
thus the Ninja reputation for invisibility. They make tasty crackers,
especially when combined with Course #2.





Course 2: A tiny little square white thing that had the consistency of Tofu but was
not....

Course 3: A little drum shaped pastry, called a "Ninja Jack-in-the-Box" that had
to be broken open with chosticks. It seemed to have some sort of salad
with fish eggs inside.

Course 4: A prickly, Conch-type shell. The Ninjas were known for their use of gun
powder and the Conch shell had a fuse coming out of it. Unfortunately
for the little critter inside, our Ninja lit the fuse. The
ensuing table fireworks cooked the shellfish and we promptly ate him.






Course 5: A tiny shot glass on a scale-type contraption. The shot glass was on one
end of the scale and a ball of ice was on the other end. The ball of ice
changed colors - from red to green and back again. I still don't know
exactly what was in the shot glass - I was told it was some
sort of liquid cabbage concoction.















Course 6: Soup. The Ninja brought a large, lidded bamboo steamer to the
table. She stuffed it with various greens and a slice of meat. Then she
dropped a VERY hot rock into the steamer.
The soup cooked in only a few minutes. Yum.

Course 7: A piece of ice candy to clear our palates - tasted like frozen grapefruit
popcicle.

Course 8: Tempura, the little fried vegetables that Japan is so well known for.

Course 9: Greg's steak came out at this point....Oh my goodness...I have NEVER
tasted such a tender piece of meat - all 4 bites of it.

Course 10: A little dish with some sort of veal casserole - another delicious
4 bites.

Course 11: Sushi rolls made with raw fish and shrimp

Course 12: Dessert - sort of a jello consistency with cream poured over it
and two TEENY TINY red berries on the top

Course 13: Tea

Course 14: Entertainment!!!! But first a little background on Ninja techniques:


The Ninja utilized a variety of weapons and tricks - especially those using gunpowder. Smoke bombs and firecrackers were widely used to aid in escape or create a diversion for an attack. They also used small "bombs" known as "eye closers." These were filled with sand and sometimes metal dust. This sand would be encased in hollowed eggs and thrown at someone, the shell would crack, and the assailant would be blinded.

A very creative form of trickery involved the use of Ashiaro which were wooden pads attached to the ninja's tabi (thick socks with a separate "toe" for the big toe). The ashiaro would be carved to look like an animal's paw, or a child's foot, allowing the Ninja to leave misleading trails for trackers.

Then there was the small ring worn on a Ninja's finger called a shobo. In hand-to- hand combat, the shobo, which had a small notch of wood on it, would be used to hit assailant's pressure points. It could even cause temporary paralysis - sort of a Ninja version of Dr. Spock's "Startreck Vulcan neck grab."

...Back to the entertainment course...We had our very own Ninja magician who did some really "cheesey" magic tricks and ended with a failed card trick. When he was not able to "guess" our chosen card, he suddenly pulled out his Ninja knife to commit "hari-kari," the ritual Japanese suicide. Luckily for all of us, it was a collapsing knife. That could have ruined a very wonderful dinner.

My interest in the Ninjas has definitely been piqued....I could use some of their disappearing techniques ...and all those firework distractors and the leaving of fake footprints could have helped while raising children. When I return to Austin, I envision teaching a Community College class entitled "Ninja Parenting & Stealth Tactics."

Star Wars Storm Trooper Dancing in Tokyo

http://starwars.yahoo.com/videos/dancing-stormtrooper-version-1

Don't you just love it how everyone runs when the stop light changes....enjoy

Japanese Marriage Proposal: Click on the Cartoon to Enlarge It for Reading

I have been trying to figure out what is going on between Japanese men and Japanese women...I'm wondering how close to the truth this cartoon is....

Don't forget to click on the cartoon to enlarge it for reading....

I'm Getting a Little Concerned About Our Heating Bill

Went to Jusco this week and they had set up a new display...There were tables with blankets on them - and I'm talking about tables with down comforters - not just a long tablecloth...Looks like you sit down and sort of "tuck yourself in." Does that just mean that it gets cold here - or does that mean it gets cold here AND it costs too much to keep your mansion heated???

Kabuki Theater: We Need This For Our Political Campaigns: Or, The Japanese Opera and Heavy Metal Have a Lot in Common

It was a bit rainy on Saturday and the "Dancing Elvises" were not in front of the park, so what's a girl to do???? Go KABUKI!!!!




I went over to Kabuki-za, Tokyo's premiere Kabuki Theater, for performance of this traditional artform. Apparently, these things go on for hours. Thankfully, they are broken up into small plays for folks that don't have a day and evening to spend at Kabuki. I bought a ticket for a 1 1/2 hour set and went and "set" myself down.

My first impression of Kabuki was that "Someone has slammed the cat's tail in the door. Please put that cat out of its misery..." And, to make matters worse,the howling cat is accompanied by a guy on an out of tune metal-stringed guitar that can only play 3 notes.....Help!!!! I've still got an hour and 29 minutes to go!!!!

OK, that is probably what some folks say about Opera and probably what our parents said about Heavy Metal rock concerts. So I slapped myself on the face a few times and decided to see what was really happening on stage....

Kabuki was, of course, developed before the days of microphones. The characters depend upon other measures to get their point across to the audience. First of all, they have perfected the art of make-up. The faces have a white base of rice powder with greatly exaggerated, colorful facial expressions (Think of "Kiss," live in concert.) The colors used give a clue as to the role of the actor. Red is for passion, heroism, and other positve traits. Blue or black represent villainy, jealousy, and bad guys. Green is supernatural and purple is for nobility. The other clue to the personaliy is his "mie," a pose that a particular actor assumes to establish his character. (If you are on Interstate 35 and see someone flipping other drivers off, that is probably his "mie.") In addition, the acting is melodramatic to the extreme. There is no problem figuring out who's who.

The Kabuki that I attended was the story of a shy artist who was going to have to commit Hari-Kari (suicide) because he was such a failure. He is fortunately, or unfortunately, married to a VERY talkative wife who goes to plead his case before the local nobility (think Purple Face). Alas, there is no hope. He's just a lousy artist. At that point there is a great dance number performed by a character with a sword, representing the artist's upcoming demise. He was dancing in cotton shoes so there was a musician on the side who hit a board on the stage - to mimic the sound of the dancer's steps on the road. This was very cool.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... there has been a lot happening on the stage itself. The Japanese high-tech stages date back to the 18th. century and are quite elaborate. From the set, there are walkways that extend out into the audience - for dramatic entrances and exits. There are also trap doors, revolving sets, and wires - in the event that someone needs to fly (Mary Martin in Peter Pan probably got her idea from Kabuki). There are also these little mime-guys in black who are supposed to be invisible. They come out and move things; but, their most important job takes place when an actor suddenly unmasks his true personality. They rush out on stage and change the actors costume to match the new personality revelation.

But I digress ... back to the story.... When faced with his death, the artist becomes inspired (some of us only perform under stress). He creates a work of art that brings everyone on stage to tears. There is LOTS of crying and sobbing going on. In fact, this crying and sobbing goes on and on and on. Maybe they forgot their lines or something. For the grand finale, the little mime-guys dressed in black come out and change the artist's costume - for the artist is now transformed by his brush with death and his talent is finally recognized. This was true drama, the story of us all - we're not quite good enough - but death is facing us so we scurry to produce our artwork - and rejoice at our ultimate triumph when little mime-guys come to change our clothes in public. I'm not sure how that last part fits in....

All in all, it was a most interesting afternoon and, despite my tongue in cheek comments, I was extremely impressed with the talent of the actors, dancers, and musicians. Even in a foreign language the passion of the story rang true.

Most importantly, after meditating upon the nature of Kabuki, I was suddenly struck with a GREAT idea for applying Kabuki theater in the USA. This would be a terrific format for Presidential Election Debates! Candidates would be required to have their faces painted so that we could have color-coded clues about their personalities and true agendas. The trap doors would help us drop pesky people from the debate floor. And, best of all, we would have the little mime-guys in black rush out and change the candidates clothes when their true natures begin to show. Because some of the candidates might be changing clothes as often as a 98 pound model in a Paris fashion show, it could be very entertaining. I'll guarantee that the American public would tune-in enmasse for the Kabuki Kampaigns. Let's go KABUKI!!!

Ki-iki-jutsu: "The Breath of Life" or Stopping a Heart Attack With Your Hands

According to the little known Asian health practice called Ki-iki-jutsu, which means "breath of life," you can stop a heart attack by placing your right fingertips on the person's fifth thoracic vertebra (midway between the most prominent parts of the shoulder blades on the back) and, with your left hand, hold the little finger of the person's left hand. They say it takes 2 - 4 minutes for results. I hope you never need to do this but, if it works, it will be time well spent while you wait for the ambulance to arrive.

This Japanese food looks AWFUL but ...

So why aren't we all eatting this????? Well, duh, it looks AWFUL.... What are those stringy, gooey things anyway??? This supposedly tastes like cheese but I have avoided it like the plague. I guess I'll have to try it now....


A researcher at University of Chicago's Medical School has discovered that a traditional Japanese dish made from fermented soybeans, called NATTO, dissolves blood clots with no side effects. It stimulates your body to produce more of its own clot-dissolving plasmin. It lowers blood pressure and unlike Coumadin, won't make your blood too thin, no matter how much of it you eat.....

World's Top 10 Most Livable Cities by the International Herald Tribune

Tokyo wins the TOP place for a BIG city and the # 4 place overall. Here's what they said:

"Integrated transport, breathtaking technology, great service, & the best bars make this our top big city. The real Tokyo for the most part confounds expectations. Visitors are rarely prepared for the other side of the city, so unlike its raucous alter ego: The quietness of the subway, the peaceful residential streets, the old-fashionedness of the place."

I would have to agree with the above. I was totally unprepared for the quiet, peaceful atmosphere and lovely people that are so patient with foreigners.

A Little Swaying Going On

Another Earthquake....not in Tokyo but we felt it a little

Don't Drink the Water and Read the Prayer Boards: What to do at a Shinto Shrine

I have been to several Shinto Shrines. The first time I was by myself. When I entered through the gate, there was a beautiful stone well of water, carved with fabulous twisting dragons, and with what looked like a little drinking cup resting on the side. It was SO hot and miserable and the water looked SO cool and inviting and there was no one around...sooooo, I almost took a quick sip. I am sooooo happy I did not take that sip. Apparently, there is a purification protocol to follow upon entering a Shinto shrine....

I learned the proper protocol later with a tour group, while visiting one of the major Shinto shrines in Japan.

There were three gates at this shrine. Passing through the first gate rids one of evil spirits (which is the evil within oneself).

Passing through the second gate is for purification - And this is where the beautiful stone well of water is positioned. To properly purify oneself, you pick up the little cup and pour water over your left hand, then pour water over your right hand, then pour water INTO your left hand, then drink the water from your left hand - BUT don't swallow it - just swish it around and then spit it into the designated spitting place...and don't miss.

Now that you are purified you can enter the actual shrine by passing under the third gate.

Once inside, there are several rituals to choose from. You can pay a few yen and write your prayers on a little board. It is then hung up on a wall for all to see. There were some great prayers - the usual requests for millions of dollars, for Ferraris, and for true or not-so-true love - but my favorite was "To heal Pam's heart."

Just beyond the prayer wall was the actual shrine. After approaching the shrine, you clap 3 times, throw your offering of coins into a grilled area, then clap 3 more times..... and that's all there is to it ....

The main lesson I learned from visiting Shinto shrines is "when you're in a foreign country, don't drink the water till you see what the natives do with it..."

... Of course, this protocol does not explain what Shintoism is...and it is a very important concept for understanding all that is Japanese....

Shinto is the native religion of Japan. It's ways of thinking are deep in the subconscious fabric of Japanese society. The emphasis is placed on fitting into this world - Fitting into your group is VERY important in Japan. You do not want to be the "nail that sticks up" because you will be hammered down. Shinto has no absolute commandments for its adherents outside of living "a simple and harmonious life with nature and people."

1. Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage. By the way, they are REALLY into the big, white Western style wedding dresses here.

2. Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the kami - thus the beautiful Japanese gardens.

3. Physical cleanliness: Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouths often - The bath is one of the most essential rituals of the Japanese - that's why I have that button in my kitchen to fill up my bath tub while I cook dinner.

JAPANESE RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY...TO BE CONTINUED

Making Rice Balls With the Franciscans

In the heart of Tokyo Mid-Town, just blocks away from the Ritz Carlton Hotel is a Franciscan Monastery. This week I showed up for one of their Rice Ball making sessions. Hundreds of these Rice Balls are made to be given to the homeless that sleep in the nearby subways. It's quite an operation. Every day a group of people show up at the Franciscan kitchen to help. The sticky rice has been made the night before. We are each given a rice mold which has 4 triangular cut-outs in it. Water is smeared all over the inside of the mold so that the sticky rice won't "sticky" to the sides of the mold. The rice is squashed into the mold and of course you try to squash as much as possible into the mold so that it will hold it's shape. The person that eats it will get more rice that way also. After sufficient squashing, we poke our finger into the middle of the Rice Ball and put a beautiful red plum into the hole - they look like cherries to me.

The group that I worked with were very interesting and quite nice. There were the wives of some Disney Tokyo consultants, the wife of an Otis Elevator executive, a chef from the Ritz Carlton, and I can't remember the info on the other women - at that point, I had to pay attention to my Rice Ball making ... Afterwards, all decided Starbucks was in order - with further discussion on thoughts about living in Tokyo. One woman was pregnant with her first child - due in a month. The big discussion was how she would get to the hospital when her labor begins. It was decided that the subway would be faster than a taxi. I'll let you know what happens....

Salt - The Newest Trend in Seasoning

Decided to head over to Roppongi on Sunday and do some exploring. Roppongi is where all the Ex-Patriots and Westerners hang out. It is a very nice part of town and many of the Embassies are located in the surrounding area. They also have some great international grocery stores - the international versions of Whole Foods.

I had a very short shopping list. In fact, only one item. I needed Salt. How hard could this be???? Very hard. There were 60 different types of salt - believe me, I counted them all. There was Jurassic Salt, Sicilain Salt, Italian Salt, French Salt, Alpen Salz, Moon Salt, Bonin Salt, Sel Marin de Guerand, Liquid Salt Water, Black Salt, Green Tea Salt, Homemade Pinkish Salt, Pahar Rock Salt, Himalayan Salt, and on and on. I chose Pahar Rock Salt because it was such a pretty pink color with cute black speckles. It's probably best that I don't know what the cute black speckles are....

After the "Salt Escapade," I had to re-energize with some food tasting. The problem with food tasting in a store like this is that there is no way to politely choke and spit the food out. The Japanese have NO trash cans anywhere. It's either down the throat or into your purse. You cannot believe the things that I swallowed with a smile.

Food Winners and Loosers of the Week - Who Says Fish Bait Doesn't Go on Salad?

Looser:

We ended up in a restaurant with no English spoken and no pictures on menus. When in doubt, the "Special" is usually a good choice. This time it was not a good choice. A beautiful plate was placed before us. It had a baked potato-sized lump covered with with a light pink icing sort of "stuff" and lightly sprinkled with bright red fish eggs - this was not in the caviar category - this was in the fish bait category. The fish bait tasted just like fish bait. The icing "stuff" had a soy flavor - not too bad....and underneath were avocados - not too bad....but underneath that was raw, ground meat... who knows what kind of meat it was. I tasted it and Greg actually ate it. This leads me to believe that there is good reason that women live longer than men.

Sort of Looser:

After the raw meat, this looked good. The salad was beautiful. It had teeny, tiny little red fish eggs all over the top. They still tasted like fish bait.

Looser:

Freshness Burger. A really bad hamburger at the Japanese version of a fast food restaurant. The restaurant is called "Freshness Burger" also. There is a reason McDonalds is doing so well here and it is because of Freshness Burger.


Sort of Winner:

Amino Supli. As you can tell by the name of this drink, Amino Supli, the Japanese love to add "English" names to things. Who knows what Amino Supli means but it sounds good. It even tasted pretty good. It was a watered down grapefruit, orange, lemon type canned drink. I would buy it again.

Winner:

Anna Miller's American Style Pies. This was a Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant with the Amish style logo of "Cookin' Lasts, Kissin' Don't" on their cute take-away boxes. This place gets a 3 YUM rating (YUM, YUM, YUM).

Hazukashi: I'm so embarassed...

"Hazukashi" is a great word to know. It means "I'm so embarassed." Little children often say it when their parents try to make them speak in English to foreigners. Parents are the same everywhere aren't they????

It is also a great word to know when one is trying to get away from a street hawker and one finds herself (in this case "me")in the middle of a busy intersection - crowds of people on one side of the street, crowds of people on the other side of the street - all patiently waiting for the light to change - and trying to ignore the crazy woman who is out in the middle of the street holding up traffic. At the same time all the taxis and cars are patiently - and QUIETLY - waiting for the crazy woman to get out of the middle of the street - no one honks or screams. If I would have known how to say "Hazukashi" it could have helped to fill the silence.

Another time that "Hazukashi" would have come in handy was when I nearly tripped the blind man who was trying to get onto the train. He put his cane right between my feet. It was all I could do to keep from falling out onto him. I was not sure what the penalty would be for "blind man tripping" and did not want to find out.

Though I have heard negative comments regarding Japanese services for the handicapped, they seem to go to great lengths to assist the disabled in getting through the mass transit maze. All of the walkways have patterned strips of bumps on the flooring that lead to entrys and exits - as well as to boarding areas for the trains. Somehow I'm always on the wrong side of the bumps... Even more imaginative are the sound systems at the boarding areas. Each station has it's very own tune that plays when the trains are coming and going. The tunes sound like a cross between a Christmas music box and the a Merry-go-round at the circus - very happy, sweet notes. Believe it or not you can hear these little songs because Japan is a very quiet place. This is a land of introverts who place the highest priority on "not disturbing your neighbors." Everyone sits on the train very quietly. Cell phone use in public places is frowned upon and there are recordings to remind you of this. Instant messaging is the norm here - too bad I can't figure my phone out. When I hear my phone ringing in my purse, I look around and act like it must belong to someone else....Hazukashi....

Eyeball, Bowel, & Taiwan Foot Reflexology Massage

While out wandering, I found a shop that offered Eyeball, Bowel, & Taiwan Foot Reflexology Massage....How could I pass that up....

The foot massage was pleasant but rather intense. First they soaked my feet in a hot water machine for 5 minutes. That felt luxurious. Then the massage itself began. It consisted of finding the acupuncture points on the feet and pressing them REALLY hard. You can tell which ones need working on because they are the ones that REALLY hurt. She would press points and then, when I jumped, she would concentrate on the point that caused me to jump. She worked on my heart, kidneys, digestion, legs and feet (since I had a broken ankle last spring), as well as my brain (do I seem less demented now????). When it was over, I felt great - but maybe that was because she was not squeezing the spots on my feet anymore.

Then came the Eyeball Massage. That was supposed to be for vision as well as the face and head. It felt very weird. I was hoping that she would not pop my eyeballs out of their sockets. She said when she worked on my eyes that she could feel that I had a lot of Ki (the Japanese word for Qi - or Chi - which in Chinese Medicine means energy) and she wondered if I had been doing something to build Ki. Any of you that have HAD to hear me talk about my Qigong studies will know that, yes, I have been working to build my Qi for years. I was so glad to know she could "feel the Qi." The other alternative is that maybe the Qi from the eyes develops when you become a "mother." You mothers out there know just what I am talking about - when your husband or children are not behaving, there is "The Look." "The Look" can instantly locate it's prey in a room full of people and is capable of traveling thousands of miles through cell phones - not to mention what it can accomplish via email. "The Look" is a mommy version of Kung Fu.

Last but not least came the Bowel Massage which involved kneading all of the organs of the stomach - a bit like what the Chinese call Twai Na. She said that my stomach seemed to have trouble "heating up" (well "duh" - ice cream and beer are served cold) and therefore I seem to have sluggish digestion. That must be why I have that extra waistline padding.

She said maybe I need a few more sessions and gave me a "frequent buyer card." When I have ten sessions, I get 2500 Yen of free sessions. What a good deal - the "good deal" must be ingrained in the human DNA - even on the other side of the world, people love a bargain.

Saturday Night Fever Japanese Style or Billy Bob's Tokyo Rodeo

This is a very popular exercise machine. It can be found in any department store and there are always people in line to test it out. People take this machine quite seriously. They put their feet in the stirups and go through all the usual horseback riding paces - trot, canter, gallop. It's quite hysterical but the brochure says that it will help your golf and tennis game - so they sell a lot of them. As a pilates afficianado, I would say it probably helps to strengthen your core...For those of you that had deprived childhoods and never got to ride the bucking bronco outside the grocery store - here's your chance. Someday I'm going to have to saddle up and show them how it's done....Yeeehaw!

News from Japan

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned.

The world's oldest man who is Japanese celebrated his 112th birthday.

Commuters were delayed on their way to work when a man accused of being a
"groper" jumped down onto the tracks during rush hour.

"Little Bit Bad Boy"

Learning a foreign language can be a tedious and lengthy task - and unfortunately, the language books never have the really helpful phrases. While I am laboring over "Nice to meet you," Greg, ever the pragmatist, has leapt ahead to the important stuff - like "choi wa ru." This is apparently a phrase taken from a crazy and popular TV show. It means "little bit bad boy." "Now really," I said to myself, "when can that phrase be of much help?" Well.....

Greg has become very popular at the hotel snack shop....when he goes in to buy beer and candy, he smiles at the check-out girls and says "Choi wa ru." They love him!!!

Alright, but when will I ever use that phrase? Well ......

A few days later, I am having a wild cab ride to Jusco. Suddenly the driver slams on the brakes and begins to apologize..."Sorry, policeman there." With my new found language skills I smartly retort...."Choi wa ru - Little Bit Bad Boy!" The cab driver is still laughing hysterically when he drops me off 10 minutes later....hmmmm, I wonder what I really said!?

Put Your Prom Gloves On and Watch Out For the Guys With Missing Fingers

It is hotter than hell in Tokyo during the summer. I am so happy I got a perm before arriving - that way I look like a drowned poodle instead of a drowned rat. This summer broke the all time records with a heat index of 114 degrees and a real temperature of 104 degrees. There is a reason all those ancient Japanese paintings show the lovely ladies with their rice paper parasols and fans. They probably had handkerchiefs stuffed up their big sleeves too.

When you are a visitor to Tokyo in the summer, it takes only a few days to realize that umbrellas and fans are not just for impressing the tourists. I now have my sun umbrella, my rain umbrella, 2 fans, and 4 beautifully colored Japanese handkerchiefs (which are really sweat rags). Even the men carry fans - one of the most popular is a freebie from SoftBank phones. The serious sun-avoiders wear the old 1960's style prom gloves - to keep from getting a tan on their arms. They cut the fingers off the gloves so that they can ride their bikes without slipping.

Speaking of "missing fingers" ... If you work for the Japanese Mafia and make a mistake, your punishment is to have part of a finger cut off. If you make another mistake, they cut more of your finger off, and so forth. Eventually, if you are really dumb and make a lot of mistakes, you just end up in the bay with cement shoes. So, if you see guys walking around with missing fingers, just remember that they probably received "B's" and "C's in Mafia 101.


PS: So far I have lost 2 umbrellas.