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Random Scramble Crossing at Shinjuku.
For those who don’t know, last time I wrote about my decision about applying for the Postgraduate Degree MEXT Scholarship (Mongukagakushou) to study in Japan, particularly to Tokyo University (東大), the most prestigious University in Japan.
The idea of going to the Embassy was to select a specific field of study and the three Universities of choice, however, for some reason or another, the person in charge told me that private universities were very expensive and so I should refrain from writing them down. However, I’ve seen people apply and get accepted at Keio, Waseda, etc., without problems. Greatswifty is at Waseda and applied for the exact same scholarship.
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Jill Valentine cosplay from Resident Evil 1. For one reason or another, I normally prefer Asian cosplayers like Alodia or the ones at Tokyo’s Comiket 75, but that’s just me and other great cosplayers clearly exist — this one for example.
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More of Rinku Town in Osaka, a silent town where you can find peace away from the big cities. In my last photo article about Rinku Town and the Kansai Institute I didn’t show this side of Rinku Town.
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Been thinking about this for a while and now I need your help: This year, I will be applying for a Scholarship in Japan for a Postgraduate degree, still haven’t decided if Masters or Doctorate’s Degree and will explain why below.
Pictured above is Tokyo University (東京大学), usually abbreviated as 東大 (Todai), which will be one of my three choices, along with Keio University and Yokohama or Waseda University. But first…
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MaxValu spotted in Rinku Town, Osaka. MaxValu is actually a large chain of super markets in Japan. Previously I had mentioned this Engrish on my Rinku Town photo article but this picture is far more convincing.
Not sure if this one or the National Meseum one in Narita is more amazing, but I’m sure this one reaches a wider audience — Japanese Wikipedia states that there is a total of 576 MaxValu stores.
Which reminds me, super markets and many convinience stores in Japan are open 24/7, which is indeed convenient ^^; — is this your case in your own country? In my case it isn’t.
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Can you see anything weird on the picture above? Well, most of us would be caught in the trap I guess — there are ice cubes inside that ramen! Actually, it’s 冷やしラーメン (hiyashi ramen), served chilling cold and literally on the rocks.
Cold ramen originates from the Yamagata prefecture. On summer, ramen stores have a hard time selling hot ramen to customers, and you’re better off eating ice cream like our modern samurai. Well then, someone thought it would be a great idea to serve cold ramen, and the rest is history ^^
It may feel a little beyond your imagination to eat cold noodles, but they taste quite good. In my case, it was a (very) hot summer day and my host family had sōmen (素麺) — another type of noodles served cold — for lunch. I was initially a little hesitant to eat noodles with ice on them, but my family insisted that I would feel refreshed. Not only was it true, but the noodles tasted great, and I became an instant cold noodle lover.
Would you give cold ramen a try?
Photo by: Higetiger.
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That’s right, in case you didn’t know, Ash from Pokémon has officially dumped Pikachu and from now on will use Mr. Panda from Poken!
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Take a look at how quickly Fuji Television’s news reporter aged. Between 2004 and 2007 he added twenty years to his life.
Update: The poor fellow is actually Tosaka Junichi from NHK — still I dunno what happened to him (thanks Michael!)
In case you didn’t know, employees in Japan are classified in numerous rankings, for example, 部長 (buchou) 課長 (kachou), and the top rank 社長 (shachou) meaning Company President. Usually, normal salaryman’s or OL’s stay on the same company for most of their lifetime, starting from the lowest rank and going up until they hit the wall. Say, if you won’t go beyond 部長 (buchou) for example, you may hear others saying that you’re a 部長止まり (buchou-domari), domari meaning stop/halt.
But in order to ascend, you need to work extra hours, not take your well-deserved vacation (since you might actually lose your job too — or at least people fear that), and keep going on until you turn like the old man above. After that, when you’re 60 years old, you’ll get fired from your current position. This does not mean that you’ll be retired: you still got 5 more years until retirement, and in the meantime, you can either live off your savings (not common) or go back to working like the lowest rank peasant — usually, the same company hires you again for a puny salary. After that, it’s 5 more years and you’re 65, retired, and with no energy in your batteries left.
That’s one scary side of Japan that we all would prefer not to know, and that’s why I prefer being my own boss ^^; of course, not all work force in Japan is like that, but most are. Anyone around here with a background as a salaryman in Japan?
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Cosplayer above is Alodia Gosiengfiao — a gorgeous gal from Philippines. She’s the new Guest Blogger at Danny Choo, which should give the website a bit of a stir for those who prefer cute girls instead of Stormtrooper armors! ^^;
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Buddha Statues at night taken by fellow blogger Muza-chan. Some days ago I wrote a photo trip article to Asakusa, Tokyo, home of the most beautiful temples and shrines in Tokyo. My pictures are mostly of daytime crowded Asakusa, but Muza-chan shows another beautiful side of Asakusa at night time. Be sure to check it out!
On other news, I’ve finally filled the footer of Instant Ramen with links to news and the Google Friend Connect widget which was missing since a long time ago ^^; along with threaded comments and the “related posts”, I’m planning on redesigning the front page so that people can catch what’s hot around here and I’m also planning on featuring posts from other bloggers who have great content. In the meantime, sorry if you see something strange walking around here!
Tasty~
