Journal lingqi's Journal: June 18th, 2004 11
June 18th, 2004 (4:59pm)
In Tatebayashi's Bunka Kaikan (culture centre), I have always noticed that on the wall of the bathroom there is a sticker that says something along the lines of "features toilets usable by both men and women."
I had no idea what it meant - what kind of toilet is not usable by both men and women? are they advertising to men who wants to do it the "feminine way" but was disappointed by the row of urinals that faces the entrance? Besides, it was a men's restroom, what point would such a sticker be.
It dawned, however, after I got into one of the stalls to change (for dance practice). Natually, to prevent anything from accidentally falling into the somewhere I'd rather not stick my hands down to, I closed the lid. I then saw another sticker on the wall behind the toilet that was like an simplified manual. two picture depict two separate scenarios of people-toilet interation - people being drawn as stick figures (no fancy manga-esq characters here) - the first have a stick figure standing in front of the toilet in a pondering fashion as if thinking to himself "wow how did THIS get in here," and the other the figure sitting on the toilet in the "thinker" sculpture fashion, pondering the mysteries of the universe and inventing flux capacitors.
While the individual is drawn as stick figures, the toilet was drawn with precision and accuracy usually reserved for a blueprint. In both, the toilet seats were in red, providing an illustrative message of when you should use the toilet seat and when to not (come to think of it, many US men (and the "hovering" type women) really need such instructions). The caption of the first one was something like "this is how you use the toilet when it's a guy doing #1," and the second "this is how you use the toilet when it's a girl doing #1, or anybody #2."
I never figured that the introduction of toilets are so late that the stickers are still intact. The building also does not look particularly old either... I lived a good portion of my life in china and am used to the squatting type restrooms, but I could only then imagine the uncountable number of foreigners who would have been horrified to be confronted with one.
Maybe two completely disjointing conversation (and best left apart with a large margin for recovery in the middle), but I have no fodder for this buffer.
I have not (until a week ago), ever had a taste of watermelons in Japan. Japanese watermelons are mostly very round (yes I do realize there are square ones, but you will not catch me forking over 100 dollars for one), and they are almost never the bright colour of red that I become accustomed to in a fully ripen melon. Seedless ones are also exceptionally rare, though I think for a fat premium you can obtain some.
The other thing about the watermelons is that they are always very green, all around. Most watermelons you pick up will have on its side a patch of yellow, where the melon meets the ground during its growth process which takes place where the melon lays on the ground. In every japanese matermelon I have seen, this patch is miraculously gone - I wonder if the farmers turn over the watermelon during its growth just to assure it's near perfect blemeshless roundness?
The price is, of course, exorbiant: fruits in japan are typically expensive but a watermelon is just unbearable: especially to think that watermelon is exactly as the name suggests: water. One the size of a volleyball would run around 15 dollars.
I was turned off from buying watermelons because a combination of the pinkish colour and price, as I have always associated that colour with watermelons of mediocre sweetness. Combining with the price I was able to supress my urge for quite a while. Last weekend I broke down and got one to try. It was one of the best watermelons I have ever eaten (bar the seeds).
As watermelons are, I believe, african in origin (and in fact was not popularly bred - at least in the US as far as i know - until 1940s or so), I wonder why is that there seem to be such a large difference between Japanese watermelons and those elsewhere? (I can speak for China and US personally)
Suspended suika (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Suspended suika (Score:1)
Re:Suspended suika (Score:2)
Re:Suspended suika (Score:1)
Re:Suspended suika (Score:1)
About the wounded, that mainly resulted from lack of transportation. Even at opening of war, invading army to the Malay Peninsula had no truck for their infantry.
Re:Suspended suika (Score:1)
Though I won't deny such tendency, but primary factor was the poor industrial power of Japan.
Japanese industrial power (Score:1)
Believe me, I'm a Japanese and I've read a lot of books about that war and how they lose it.