ERMAHGERD Japan!

Random daily life craziness in Japan

[ermahgerdjapan]

We've hit 38 degrees C/100F. And my A/C is off/the window's open so my laundry will actually dry.

...I am expiring.

[ermahgerdjapan]

Lunch on a mall rooftop in Shinjuku. And since it's overcast, I won't fry. Perfection! Think I'm gonna go inside to the pet store and coo at the baby animals now. <3

[ermahgerdjapan]

That awkward moment when you try to look in your side view mirror, and realize that you're on a bicycle, not in a car...

[ermahgerdjapan]

The downside of being from the place known as The City of Rain is that we see the sun so rarely, so we have a tendency to forget that sitting outside for two hours enjoying a balmy 20C/68F with no wind and not a single cloud isn't... really a good idea.

It flips this switch in our heads that makes us go "suuuuuuunliiiight", and we brainlessly zombie shuffle outside to soak up the sun like a cat, forgetting things like, y'know, sunscreen.

In other words: Man, I'm so sunburned...

[ermahgerdjapan]

I don’t think they quite thought this publisher name through…

Fitting, though, since this seems to be a, uh, “romance” publishing brand.

(For mine norske venner: “clap” er engelsk slang for gonoré)

[ermahgerdjapan]

Since when are nail clippers a first aid tool? I mean, has there ever been a legit situation where someone has gone "oh my god, we need to cut those nails, or, this person won't survive! Someone! Get me the nail clippers!!"? Also, random trivia of the day, 119 is the number to dial in Japan if you're having a medical emergency or need the fire brigade. Police is 110.

[ermahgerdjapan]

...how does a forest of tennis work? You'd think the trees would be in the way...

[ermahgerdjapan]

In less than three hours, this entire parking lot - yes, all the way to the white building- will be full of people waiting to get in. To the EAST halls of the con. There's a similar line on the other side of the building. ...I love Comic City <3

[ermahgerdjapan]

So, randomly heard this song by Sissel, one of my favourite Norwegian singers coming from one of my neighbours' apartments, and I swear, I freaked out, because I know they're all Asian, and I really could think of no reason why they would know of Sissel. I realized pretty quickly that it was coming from the TV, and rapidly cycled through all my channels.

Turns out it was just being used as background music for some documentary about a sick kid or something (I turned it off pretty quickly when the pretty music was gone), and didn't actually have anything to do with Sissel. A shame, cause it would've been cool if it was a program about her, or Norwegian artists or whatever.

It does make me wonder, though. Where did the documentary people come across this song, and why did they pick it? Seriously, what? I will never understand the (supposed) logic behind Japanese TV...

[ermahgerdjapan]

I wasn't aware that Hawaiian hamburgers were a thing. Clearly a terrible gap in my knowledge...

[ermahgerdjapan]

Okay, dryer, no. I specifically shook out every single piece of laundry and put them in you one by one, dryer, so this wouldn't happen. How the hell did all my laundry end up curled in a ball inside my duvet cover, with said cover twisted shut in a knot so complicated it took me close to five minutes to undo it? Seriously, is my dryer possessed? I would suspect a prank, but I live alone, damn it!

[ermahgerdjapan]

How to get me to clean

Me at 1am: ...damn, I really need to clean my apartment. It's kinda late now, though, so first thing tomorrow!

Me at 1am the next night: ...okay, so that didn't happen. Tomorrow, for sure!

1am the next night: ...this is getting ridiculous...

...1am: SERIOUSLY?! I fail so hard.

Me coming home at 5pm the next day: ooh, an undelivered package notice, yay! Hmmm, I'll just call and have them deliver at the latest timeslot today, I'm just in time.

Me: Yay, package coming sometime between 2-4 hours from now! :D

Me: ...oh fuck, my room is a mess, and you can see the entire thing from the door, aaaaaaaah!!!! I'll traumatize the mailman!!!

Me: *cleans like mad*

[ermahgerdjapan]

Yes, that cute little store is called Little Delirium Café.

I... don't think I'm brave enough to go in there and try their coffee/food. I try to stay away from hallucinogens.

[ermahgerdjapan]

For my Norwegian peeps:

Lazily browsing the shelves at my local convenience store, look what I found! I am entirely too amused.

I mean, if it had been a supermarked or grocery store or whatever, I would understand it more, but in a tiny convenience store in the boonies? Colour me amused.

[ermahgerdjapan]

The adorable lady in costume at the "portable" version of the Gundam Café at Tokyo International Anime Fair...

...aaand the real deal in Akihabara.

Gundam is another one of those anime everybody knows, a franchise that's been popular since the late 60'ies, and is still going strong, with new series coming out every couple of years. Every once in a while, they re-imagine the universe, so not all of these series happen in the same world, but there are always similarities; the designs of the giant robots (and smaller ones, Haro, what the lady is holding a picture of, is adorable), the futuristic space setting, the tension between the people living on Earth and the people living in space colonies... And yes, space colonies is a thing, idek.

[ermahgerdjapan]

DragonBall Soda. Because why the fuck not.

(For the few not in the know: DragonBall is one of the big all-time classics in manga and anime. It's one of those series every Japanese person knows at least vaguely)

[ermahgerdjapan]

The Japanese love their cute mascot characters. Every prefecture - and often also specific tourist attractions and companies - has their own, and you can buy plush toys, cell phone accessories and all kinds of merchandise in the mascot characters' image.

...I just feel sorry for the people wearing the costumes... I was roasting in that hall in a long-sleeved tee and jeans, I can't imagine how over-heated they were.