Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Doomed Megalopolis

Last week (Thursday at around 5 a.m.) there was a startling earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Shindo scale in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo. How do I know it was a 5.8? Well, just have a look at my gatcha-pon figurine corner, which very accurately measures earthquake magnitude by the Shindo standard. As you can see (maybe you can't see, but just shut up and take my word for it okay?), the tremor knocked over Alternate Costume Jam, Slayer, Ingrid, Juni and Akira. That makes five. Now add 0.3 for Venom, who usually falls even if there's no earthquake, and 0.5 for Ibuki, who began to fall but was saved by Lei Fang who didn't budge. Pretty neat, huh? SCIENCE!

5 comments:

Jen (in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) said...

Funny, I slept through that one... But I believe your method of measuring the Shindo system is pretty much how they do it down at Mission Control, only on a much smaller scale.

Have you found any good okonomiyaki restaurants in Shimokita? I keep hearing rumors of their existence, but their locations elude me...

Jesse Jace said...

There is one on the South Exit side, I think it's past the AM/PM on the main road (on the left as you walk away from the station). I don't know the name. You can smell it before you can see it. My girlfriend says it's supposed to be good, but I've never eaten there myself, as I don't care for okonomiyaki so much.

Jen (in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) said...

For some reason, the AM/PM that I'm picturing is kind of floating somewhere on the South side in between the station and Pierre's... However, I found another okonomiyaki place down there and must say, truth be told, it tasted like shit. If you ever find yourself in Hiroshima, do try it there. They actually know what they're doing...

Where's the strong lemon sour place? I'm always looking for a proper drink here. [and, frankly, getting a little sick of being looked at like I'm some kind of raging alcoholic when I ask for a double. Unfortunately I don't know how to say, "I'm not an alcoholic, I just like to be able to taste the liquor."]

Jesse Jace said...

That's the one (if by "Pierre's" you mean "Once Upon a Time and a Pierrot," which is the worst name ever for a business). To get to the yakitori place: keep going down the main road on the South Exit side, past Oh-Sho, and turn right immediately after a little wedge-shaped toy shop called Funny Fanny (that is, the shop is wedge-shaped; not the toys). Look near AXE PURE HAIR CHIPS, you can't miss it. As for ordering alcohol in Japan, the reason you get strange looks when you order a double is that Japanese bartenders don't have the freedom to make drinks to order. Because most izakaya are chains belonging to stingy companies, their policy usually allows the staff only to make what's on the menu, and even if the bartender is capable of making the drink you want, he/she won't do it if it's against protocol.

Jen (in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) said...

I actually haven't tried getting a double in an izakaya, except for Hiro's on the North side, and that was only because his CA surfer accent threw me off and he started going on about the punk band he was in... Not only can he make doubles without a problem, but he can make some pretty good vegetarian food, too. Other than that, I've really only tried [and succeeded] in the pool halls and tiny dive bars that I frequent. But now that I know the rules, I definitely won't ask in the chains. Thanks.