Thursday, 27 September 2007

Strange Busker in Harajuku

Of the things you'll see and the places you'll go when you come to Tokyo, Japan. Have a look at one of the locals I saw a few weeks ago! [Feeders & Email Readers]

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Labels: home movies, japan

Sunday, 23 September 2007

Fingerprinted at Japanese Immigration

Go watch this: http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/prg/prg1203.html

RANT TIME: Seriously, what the fuck was that?!? I've known about this for over a year now but not only does that video not explain with any logic why these new measures have been implemented but it insults our intelligence as well!!! How exactly does having our fingerprints reordered protect us more than Japanese people?

I know Japanese tv likes to treat it's viewers like children with ridiculously dated approaches to educating adults but this just takes the cake.

This just reeks of racism. Why? Because it's only non-Japanese who will be fingerprinted. If they were really concerned about national security everyone would be fingerprinted as the only major terrorist attack in Japanese history was conducted by Japanese citizens!

Statistically, Japanese people commit more crimes than non-Japanese yet the right wing propaganda continues to convince Japanese people otherwise.

Demanding non-Japanese to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry into Japan is a slap in the face and just reflects badly on the country as a whole.

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Labels: japan, Racism

Wednesday, 19 September 2007

Montreal Hotels

Out of all the places I've wanted to travel, Montreal has never really been in the top ten but having said that it's never been in the bottom either. It's just that I tend to be more attracted to Asian locations so it's never really in my mind when I'm planning a trip.

I have, in the last few years though made some great Canadian friends who have gone back home and I have been thinking about visiting them.

Having recently come across RatesToGo while looking at Australian and other hotel bookings I discovered this page about Montreal hotels and I got to thinking about whether it's a possibility.

As before they offer a whole range of booking options from planned trips through to last minute hotels

I was a bit disappointed to see that most of the hotels are 3 star but then I remembered that this isn't China and you can't pay US$50 per night for a 5 star hotel in most countries around the world. Haha. I wish!

Something that I think is great about the site is that it actually shows you how to use it, something a lot of web designers forget to consider when building sites. I can't tell you the amount of times that I've wanted to buy something online but just couldn't work out how to do it.

Kudos.

Monday, 17 September 2007

I'm Hooked

Anyone who's seen me this year has heard me rave about YogaToday.com. For those that don't know it's a site that offers free 1 hour yoga lessons on a daily basis. It's hosted by three very cool women from Wyoming and is aimed at yogees of all levels.

I started doing it back in December due to my gym membership being too expensive and haven't looked back! I feel healthier and look healthier! I used to have the boniest legs I'd ever seen, and now I've got some very nice toning going on in all the right places. ;)

I've been referring quite a few people from work to this great site though funnily enough enough during an all teacher's meeting I spotted another teacher doing a "Downwards Facing Dog" pose and I mentioned that that's what I though he was doing. He looked at me an asked "Yoga Today?". Funny. Everyone's getting in on it!

The site's been going through some changes lately and it looks like it's for the best. One of the great new features they have now is the ability to embed the videos on your website! Pretty cool!

Here's today's lesson with an intro from my favourite instructor, Neesha!

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Labels: Yoga Today

Girl's Toilet Expose!

What I do in intermission at a Tokyo opera house (email & feeders)

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Labels: home movies, japan

Thursday, 13 September 2007

Cheapoair Top 25 Deals

I've been reviewing a lot of online travel agencies lately. The latest I've come across is Cheapoair Top 25 Deals which seems to promise the same as almost any other travel agency site but with the interesting idea of having a "Top 25" list of their best deals.

It's a rather cool idea in that it kind of cuts out the hassle of surfing through several pages to find the cheapest tickets. The down side is that it lists deals for pretty much every available country but they are categorised so you can just skip to the country you're interested in.

The prices are also pretty cheap though it's worth mentioning that the prices are in US dollars and are what you'd pay if you were leaving from the US.

The rest of the site has a clean and easy to navigate look but if I had to make some constructive criticism it would concern the animated banner advertisements on the upper side and top of the page. It's a little confusing as to whether these are related to the site or will take me somewhere else. Either way it reflects badly on the company as it looks like they have to make their money not from their own business but from ads on their site.

The Cheapoair Top 25 Deals is updated weekly. Check it out if you're a travel nut like me.

Labels: Sponsored Posts

Sunday, 9 September 2007

A Good Teaching Experience

Teaching English in Japan it's very common to get completely anal negative "feedback" from your students ranging from "The lessons are too hard" to "The teacher is too friendly". Of course to avoid the utterly embarrassing situation of actually telling you in person, the students go straight to the management or Japanese staff and complain which gets the situation on your permanent record and really achieves nothing more than making you frustrated with the student.

Very rarely, if ever, do the students tell your school that they're happy with your work. This can really get you down.

Imagine my surprise then when during my last 30 minutes of a special holiday "Summer School" 14 day program one of the mothers began to cry out of pride as I was showing her and the other mother and father watching what I had been teaching their three sons during the school period.

At the end of the class both mothers and the one father genuinely thanked me and asked if I would be teaching at the school again. Japanese people are famous for lying when it comes to situations like this. For example, they'll thank you after the lesson but then go and file a complaint about the air conditioner not being at the government approved temp of 28 degrees celcius.

These parents were actually really thanking me though and telling me that all three boys had started using English at home now and have been having so much fun in my classes.

The next day at the office a staff member came up to me and told me that one of the mothers (the one that had been crying actually) had called the office to once more thank me for doing such a wonderful job. Just a few days ago I also got a letter which had been sent to the office from one of the other boys in the class thanking me for being such a good teacher and also a photo of the three boys and me which they had taken on the last day.

A lot of customers seem to forget how appreciated positive feedback is with workers in any industry. When I was at Starbucks in Sydney it really made my day when customers would take 10 seconds out of their schedule to come and tell me in person that the coffee I had just made was the best or that they love coming in to see my smiling face. On a hard day and especially on one where you have to deal with anal retentive customers it makes all the difference in the world and in turn gives customers a better experience as we pass the positive attitude back into our jobs.

So today, take the time to thank your language or music teacher, the guy or girl who made your coffee and sympathise with the peeps stuck behind the reg at the convenience store. It'll make their day and they'll go out of their way to make sure you get the best service possible on your next visit.

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Labels: japan, Teaching English in Japan