Having a mandatory age for drinking and other things is sometimes a good idea.

Though, it really is almost a useless thing, because people are going to drink anyways, and even if you’re underage you’ll find someone to get you booze.

In Japan the drinking age is 21, though it’s one of those things that boggles me.

Whats the point of drinking age, and smoking age, if theres vending machines that sell these controlled substances?

Walking back to our hostel in Kyoto we stumbled upon a relic of a vending machine, but what did it have in it? Beer : 3

Saw a couple more later, and a hostel we stayed at later also had a beer bending machine in the lobby.

But seriously whats the point of having a mandatory age, if they can just go to a vending machine and get alcohol?

It’s not often that I go to an embassy ( I dont think its often that anyone goes to an embassy honestly) But I dropped by the Canadian embassy in Tokyo because I had to meet someone.

I was afraid of taking pictures because they’d think we were terrorists (paranoid), but when I went to the bathroom there I was surprised.

Such clean and shiny surfaces arn’t the sights you normally see in bathrooms (especially public ones)

Theres a really nice reflecting pool type thing outside of the bathroom

All of this so that when your taking a pee you can have a nice serene sight to look at : 3

It’s too bad not all washrooms are so nice and posh : <

But after a long day of listening and reading japanese, it was nice to see a familiar sight.

Makes you all patriotic inside~

It can get pretty hot in Tokyo (even in may), and when we were at the imperial palace in Tokyo, it was REALLY hot.

Lots of grassy open spaces, perfect for sunlight to just come beaming down on you.

But luckily for us, we found an Ice Cream Vending Machine.

You can see all the different types they had there, Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, and even Chocolate Fudge bars. All for 150yen : D

It’s basically ice cream, surrounded by a waffle type thing, made of ice cream cone. Was actually pretty convenient, and it tasted really good.

So if you’re lookin to cool down in Japan, look for one of these machines, can make for a nice break.

I think nowadays, everywhere across the world has dollar stores, and in Japan its no different.

Although I think what does change is that the quality and variety of goods differs from one place to another.

I was surprised to see the amount of stuff you can get there, from dress shirts, to food, to umbrellas.

And for the busy salaryman at work who drops their lunch on their tie, you can get a new one for 100yen.

And there’s a pretty good selection of ties too to choose from.

And something else I was surprised to see was Grace’s Hot Sauce. This stuff is originally from Jamaica, and I was really surprised to it.

For one: in Japan

And two: In Japanese ;p

I guess it just shows how big the global market place is, something that’s from Jamaica coming to Japan.

But I really like the Japanese 100yen stores, cause they have a lot of stuff to buy. And also because its cheaper then dollar stores here ;p

A lot of stuff in Japan in pretty efficient, and a lot of things are there to make everyday life easier.

When I first saw this I kinda went “wtf…?”, but it IS clean water, though it still is a bit strange to see.

Whenever you flush Clean water comes out of the spout, then down the drain into the back part of the toilet, and eventually into the bowl.

Didn’t actually try to wash my hands with it though ;p

When I saw this I just knew that I had to get one.

Its basically lamp that you can plug into your USB port or AA batteries.

You just push down n the top, and it comes on. Pretty fun to have around, and gives off a decent amount of light. (Although I have to admit the build quality isnt the greatest)

Comes in green, red and blue – 13$USD, and free shipping (atleast when I got it)

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00396

When we were going to Japan almost a year ago, I was hoping to charge my ds on the plane.

Well turns out the plane we were on didn’t have those ciggarette lighter type chargers, so that went to waste, although the USB portion of it is actually working pretty well.

So yea, making a usb DS charger was a good idea, and actually I think everyone who has a ds should make one (or be lazy and buy one)

Well you know, I guess its cliched now, but hello world.

As much as I like obscure things, I just think that it gets the point where people don’t know what it is. And I guess thats the point of obscure things.

But I mean for example:

“Oh me so horny. Me love you long time”

Gotta say that I think its pretty jokes, but I think a lot of people don’t actually know where its from, and just automatically relate it to porn. Well go and watch Full Metal Jacket, because it was from that first, and not in a rap video (although the song is catchy)

And the whole “Hello World” thing. I mean come on, I think programmers should think of something else to say when they’ve hacked something. ;p