Frustrated with the lack of caches within walking distance of our place - I decided to fill the void and introduce cachers to our neck of the concrete woods.  There’s plenty of interesting sites to be seen around Akabanekita 3 chome… at least I think so!

Just a couple blocks east of our place takes you to a massive set of downwards steps, only half of which are seen here…

The base offers a unique locale for our first cache…

… an abandoned wading pool! Some would call it a “haikyo“… a mini one at that.  Perhaps one of my daring friends would be brave enough to hop the fence.  The chicken that I am - I stay well within the “public zone” of the site to snap a couple photos and hide the cache…

Clearly this place has been left for ruin for several years now, with no “renewal” plans in sight.

So, now the waiting game begins.  Who will claim FTF on our newly published cache?  Or will it end up being muggled without a single logged find?

Keep a watch on GC1KEB6 as the drama unfolds…

(If that didn’t make any sense to you - you may not be aware that 2009 is the year of the cow… and yes - in Japan it starts on January 1st - unlike our lunar obsessed friends over in China!)

And of course with every new year comes new challenges… like constant diaper changes, 1000+ more kanji characters, and understanding what the heck some people are trying to say with Engrish:

Yet Even More Engrish

So, without further adieu - first place from the photo competition, by MJG:

Read on for the rest of the results and entries!

Second place, by Su Young Lee:

And the whole set of entries by the participants…

Christmas Naoki Photo Comp

Thanks to Mike and Su Young for taking part! Enjoy the maple syrup.

Want in on the action? Just press play…

The verdict? Read on for spoilers…

The chicken was cold. Like - cooked 2 days ago cold. 5300 yen for cold chicken!?! WTF!! (Note: the biscuits were an extra 400 yen or so) I felt seriously ripped off. We had no idea it was gonna be cold. We figured at that price - and the fact that we pre-ordered for a specific date and time - it’s definitely going to be hot and fresh. Perhaps we overlooked some fine print, but at no point in the ordering process were we warned beforehand.

The chicken came with instructions to nuke it for 6 mins - and if you watched the video you’d know we did follow through with that. The truth is once we heated it up and put the gravy sauce to good use - it was actually really good. Moist, fresh - and the stuffing under the skin was really tasty. The salad: easily something we could have picked up at the grocery store. The cake: dunno yet, we are saving that for guests. The biscuits: yummy - especially with the accompanying honey maple sauce. The collector’s plate: nice touch I suppose - but we could have done without.

So listen up Colonel Oji-san: 2008 is our last KFC Christmas. It was fun - and a decent meal - but I hate feeling ripped off!

• outtings to Akabane & Shimurasakaue
• meeting some friends (thanks Mike & Su Young!)
• playtime in the rain forest
• … and a bath!

All in all - exhausting…

I decided to put this to the test by buying a dozen donuts and mysteriously leaving them in my office’s pantry early one Friday morning - before others arrived.  As my fellow Japanese colleagues showed up - I would observe their behavior to determine just how much they like man’s ultimate junk food compared to say - the average Canadian like myself.

First off - choosing the right donuts is essential.  Critical really.  I couldn’t cheap out by getting your average run of the mill, dried up donuts.  I had to drop some serious cash on the premium variety.  For that - the shop “and on and” (bizarre name I know) is a short walk from my office.  “and on and” is a new contender in Japan’s donut market - but to me it looked quite upscale without having tried them beforehand.  A hefty 2520 yen later ($35 Canadian at current exchange rate!) and I got myself a dozen mixed delights.  Even the bag looks posh compared to old Timmy’s brown paper variety:

I proceeded to leave said boxes of donuts open in the pantry…

Lineup #1:

Lineup #2:

… and the experiment begins!

8:30AM - Donuts placed in pantry.  E-mail sent.  I take the pick of the litter: a simple plain glazed donut. Delish!

8:40AM - First employee (other than me) arrives.  Let’s call him #1.

8:50AM - Second employee (#2) arrives.

8:52AM - Donuts spotted by #2.  In Japanese: “Scott-san, did you bring donuts??” “Yep”.  “AAAA!!  Looks yummy…”

8:53AM - #1 shoots up from his chair after reading the e-mail: “Donuts?!” “Do you like donuts?”, “I LOVE donuts!”

8:53:03AM - #1 races over to the pantry.  Walks back to desk with a face full of powdered sugar.  “Mmmmm….”.  10 donuts remain.

9:05AM - #3 shuffles into the office.

9:08AM - #3 shuffles over for coffee in the pantry.  “Ooohh!!”  #3 shuffles over to my desk.  In Japanese: “Scott-san, did bring those?” “Yep!  Help yourself.” “Where are they from?” “‘And on and’ in Jimbocho” “Aaa!  Arigatou!” “You’re welcome!”.  #3 happily shuffles back to the pantry.

9:09AM - #3 shuffles back to his desk with a chocolatey delight.  #3: “#2-san - You should hurry up and get one!!” “I’m still thinking about which one I want…”

9:17AM - #4 arrives.

9:22AM - #4 opts to go for a smoke.  Healthier I suppose.

9:23AM - #5 arrives.  Drops off stuff at desk and heads to the pantry.  Doesn’t even flinch at sign of donuts.  Heads back to desk.  10 donuts remain.

9:27AM - #4 back from smoke.  Straight back to desk.

9:30AM - #6 arrives.

9:30AM - #2 goes to pantry and chats with #6.  All I can hear are happy little whispers coming from the pantry - but I know it’s about the donuts.

9:32AM - A giddy #6 goes to her desk empty handed.

9:34AM - #6 hussles back to the pantry where #2 remains.  “Heehee - cinnamon!” “Ooo - look at this one! Heehee!” “Eeeeeee!”

9:37AM - Giggling from the pantry turns into muffled - mouths full of donuts - giggling.

9:38AM - #2 emerges and comes over to my desk.  In Japanese: “Scott-san, thank you!  Not too sweet and nice and light.  Yummy!!” “Glad to hear!” “#5-san, Scott-san brought donuts!” #5: “Oh!  Thank you!” #5 sits down - donutless.

9:39AM - #6 walks back to desk with a bright pink donut. In Japanese: “Scott-san, thank you!” “Enjoy!”.  8 donuts remain.

9:40AM - #4 goes to the pantry.

9:41AM - #4 emerges from pantry with a fresh cup full of water…. donutless!  Maybe I should have got nicotine laced donuts.

9:42AM - 10:00AM - A couple others arrive.  Little to no donut activity.

10:30AM - Checked on the donuts.  Mysteriously, 7 donuts remain without me seeing who took one.  I decide to have another: double chocolate with peanuts.  Waste not want not!  Yum.

11:05AM - #12 (or so) finally notices the donuts in the pantry.  I guess she didn’t see the email.  #12 dashes out of the pantry to her friend #6 “Aaahh!! Look! look!!!” “I know - I had one this morning! Scott-san brought them” “Arigatou Scott-san!!” #12 races back to the pantry and comes back with a donut.

11:15AM - 5 donuts remain.  Office is in full swing.  Nearly everyone is in (13 out of 14).  The ratio of uneaten donuts to people is disgraceful.

12:07PM - Breaking for lunch… 5 donuts remain!

12:10PM - Correction - one just got taken as a side dish to #5’s cup ramen.  4 donuts remain.  Lunch time for real now.

1:05PM - Back from lunch.  3 donuts remain.

1:17PM - “Thanks for the donut!” from a sugar rushed #14.

1:40PM - #8 succumbs to temptation.  Another donut gone!

3:55PM - 2 donuts remain untouched.

6:38PM - Done for the day… still 2 donuts remain!  Mottainai… perhaps. Most people are still hard at work.

So - there you have it:  12 donuts, 14 Japanese people (ok, 1 Canadian and 1 Australian), a 10 hour work day… and still 2 donuts remain.  I suppose the remaining ones may have been consumed after I left - or hopefully at least taken home by the last person to leave. None the less, it was a noble showing, but certainly not as gluttonous as my Canadian office.  A dozen donuts would never survive more than an hour with 10 Canadians - let alone 14. I did learn though that Japanese women prefer donuts far more than Japanese men.  That seems totally contrary to your average self-conscious Canadian woman and couch potatoed Canadian man.

Perhaps it was the donuts?  In my opinion “and on and” was good - and definitely a step up from Timmy’s.  Should I have gone for the Kreme of the Krop?  I must admin - I still prefer them…

Coming up next: Do Japanese people enjoy sitting in human urine all day?

Of course I’m joking…

Here’s a mostly positive look at signs of Christmas in our neighbourhood, as well as Shinjuku - arguably Tokyo’s “downtown”…

Check out a small sampling of his favorite poses…

Naoki Chillin' in December

If you don’t know Ooner - well - you should do some reading.

If you do know Ooner - well - you’re in for a treat! The original Ooner vs. The Fly is back - in all its glory - remixed! I had to overcome some technical hurdles - but I got there. I also took it as an exercise in getting to know my video editing software a bit better.

Enjoy!

Naoki fans - keep your shirts on. There’s more on the way.