"I Want to Ride My Bicycle!" Followed by "Stone Cold Meats"

Shew! Sorry it's been so long folks. I'll try to make this one a biggie. Perhaps a multi-parter


So: bicycling. To the left, you'll see a parking lot near my apartment. And yes, it's all bikes. Everybody in Japan rides a bike and I mean everybody. Most people bike to work (or the nearest train station), to the grocery store, out to eat, you name it. But it's not quite what you'd expect, it's a very different game out here.

To begin with there is the choice of material. You don't see many mountain bikes, or street bikes for that matter, or adult bikes with more than one gear. What do the Japanese ride? you may be asking as you read this sentence if you read aloud. Well, what we would call beach cruisers. Bikes out here are less like vechiles and more like more like pickup trucks; they're tools. For example, no one greases their bikes, so when someone hits they're brakes while you're walking past it's a sound worse than the fakest fingernails on the cheapest of chalkboards. Which leads me to my bike! Don't be disappointed folks, but yes, I have one such bike. It's in good shape though, it's still new. But it does have whitewall tires, a wire-basket, and a little bell so people know when I come rollin'.

Another oddity, is where people choose to ride. It's pretty much standard to ride on the sidewalk. In fact, the side walk in front of my house has a bike lane, that's usually ignored by both pedestrians and bicyclists; usually people just dodge each other. And when there is no sidewalk? People just bike on whatever side of the road they feel like, opposing traffic isn't that big of a deal for some crazy reason.

Ok Part II, Stone Cold Meats. Let me begin here by saying everything you've heard about Japanese food is a lie. I've had some of the least healthy food of my life here including but not limited to chicken skin on a stick; chicken sweetbreads on a stick; chicken cartlidge (you guessed it) on-a-stick; the fattiest pork you can imagine ala kabob. But first prize comes down to two finalist; which you are more than welcome to be the jury of.

Alright folks, it's time for.. Iron Che-fu Stomach Infect-i-on!

Contestant ichi-bon (#1) is a grilled chicken--I think breast--that was served on a bed of ice with some soy sauce on the side. Oh, and it was bloody rare, pink as a baby's brains. But actually it wasn't that bad. It tasted kinda like sushi... the chicken that is.

for Constestant ni-bon:


Yup, I ate that. Well, some of it. And yes, 100% raw.

Alright folks, you decide! Who is the Iron Bactaria Chef?
















And here's some more pics:



Here's some friends of mine. The owner of the bar (the dude on the left you can barely see) is from Nepal and speaks Nepoli, some of the best English I've heard over here, and Japanese.











Here's a beer and a snack I had in Umeda the same night I had Contestant #1. It was pretty strange stuff, but not rare.



















Another expat trying to fit in.