I'm just back from Japan, ask me anything

[spinbaby]

But only for an hour or two--then I plan to try to convince my body that it's not morning and that two hours of sleep in the last 30 hours is a good reason to be tired.

Also, what's happened in the news this past week? All I caught was a typhoon and an explosion at a sardine museum.

[daligirrl]

1. Did you eat natto?

I'm anxious to meet someone who has.

[spinbaby]

3. No

But I think I saw some in one of those food stands in a department-store basement.

[daligirrl]

5. Were the vending machines

as weird as I've heard? Can you get stuff like fried calimari and sushi out of vending machines? I know I sound ignorant, but I really want to go. . . it sounds so different and interesting.

[spinbaby]

7. Vending machines all over the place

But not as interesting as you might imagine. I saw mostly machines that dispensed cigarettes and drinks. The drinks seemed to be everything but pop--water, sports drink (Pocari Sweat!), canned coffee (very good), green tea, barley tea, "health" concoctions.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. I love that stuff

mmmm nato handrolls

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

2. What do they call Bush over there? n/t

[spinbaby]

4. Bush

A nice Japanese lady on a train asked me what I thought of him. I told her he was a terrible president who needed to go. She nodded gravely.

[7th_Sephiroth]

6. wheres my pocky

damnit

[spinbaby]

9. I didn't buy any

But I did bring back some osembe and fermented beans.

[7th_Sephiroth]

10. got any

marukawa fUsen gum atleast?

[philosophie_en_rose]

13. Here you go.

http://www.alde.com/anime/pocky1.html

[7th_Sephiroth]

14. what

no melon pocky?

[TroubleMan]

8. now you will truly get the humor of this site...

http://engrish.com

I was in Okinawa for a year....I would love to go back.

[spinbaby]

11. I'm going to submit a photo to Engrish

Took a photo of a sign that said, "Please inform your stuff if you have allergies." Sure wish I had a photo of the T-shirt that said "I lost the farm in the gravy."

[TroubleMan]

12. I've said this before on DU..

but...

I was in a Karaoke bar in Naha, and instead of Blondie's "Heart of Glass," it had....

"Heart of Grass"

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. I was in a restaurant here in No Cali

and instead of saying shitake mushroom...it said shitcake mushroom...does that count?

[Veggie Meathead]

15. Did you go to Hamamatsu, the eel capital of the world? They

cook eels live in these big pots of boiling water and eat them while they are still wiggling.They say it is fresh that way.In Hokkaido, they also sell a fish called Fugu,did you try that?It is supposed to carry a deadly venom that can kill you in less than a minute unless the chef is well trained to remove all the venom.It is eaten raw and chilled.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. Did you have lots of fun sakes?

Go to any sake makers?

[Dying Eagle]

19. Do you feel short again?