February 2012
2 posts
November 2011
1 post
August 2011
2 posts
A Brief Return to the Exclusion Zone →
A great article about the government scheduled trips to the Fukushima exclusion zone.
July 2011
3 posts
The Best Gyudon Recipe I've Found (so far) →
One of the things I miss most about living in Tokyo is the affordable, fast, and delicious gyudon (牛丼) that is available around the clock. A staple for many gaijin, gyudon (beef bowl), is a delicious meal of stewed beef and onions in a sweet, soy based sauce, served over rice.
I’ve tried to emulate this meal many times to no avail until I came across this recipe. To my chagrin, its the...
June 2011
4 posts
Hip Hop in Translation
Almost a year ago, a friend of mine introduced me to Translation Party. This wonderful website takes english phrases and translates them to and from japanese until “an equilibrium” is found. Comments on the context and subtle nuances of both languages aside, some of the results are pretty funny. This smirk inducing humor is only exacerbated when the phrases being translated are from...
Hitachino Nest Beer →
I don’t usually fuck with beer, but their ginger brew (actually a beer) and espresso stout are the stuff that dreams are made of.
May 2011
3 posts
Departure Part 3: Outlook
I’ve postponed writing this post because it would force me to deal with the crushing reality of actually leaving the country. I’ve begrudgingly been back in America for almost 6 months now and I guess its finally time for reflection.
For most of my blog, I tried to remain as objective as possible (don’t think that really worked). I wanted to be merely a reporter of the...
January 2011
3 posts
Jero - Otoko Naiki
Aight… so a black guy...
December 2010
5 posts
Fuji-Q
When the prospect of visiting a Japanese Six Flags presented itself, I thought “meh.”
Then I remembered that everything in Japan shits on their American counterparts. For example: Japanese McDonalds tastes like real food (for the most part). Japanese Christmas doesn’t pretend like its about more than commercialism (happy holidays). Japanese record stores actually still exist...
WatchOne of the best things about Japan is that the arcade scene hasn’t died. In fact, the games here are much more evolved than I ever would have imagined. They actually have a gundam simulator which puts you in the cockpit of a mobile suit. Its probably my favorite way to lose money here. So today, I present to you: So a Black Guy Walks into a Gundam Pod.
WatchVideo footage taken inside the store “Grope in the Dark.” Make sure to look at the guy behind the counter.
Reasons to Get Lost in Harajuku: Special Grope in...
Sometimes you find a place that is just too amazing to comprehend on your first visit. In Harajuku there’s this place called “Grope in the Dark.” I first visited months ago and I kept telling myself I would have to go back and take pictures. I finally did.
When I first saw that sign, I had to double take. I turned around and walked back to examine it more closely. I thought...
November 2010
24 posts
Jay Electronica - The Announcement
One of the...
Reasons to Get Lost in Harajuku Pt. 3
I don’t know much about graffiti. I do know that I appreciate it as an art form. I’ve seen this Neckface tag before under an overpass in Philly so I was very surprised to find it in Harajuku. The friend I was with tells me that these tags are all over the place in NYC as well.
Kenna - Loose Wires
I heard this in an upscale...
Yokohama
I love Chinatown. Honestly, a large part of why I love living in Philadelphia is because of its Chinatown. Coming from a city who’s Chinatown sold its soul to Verizon a long time ago (yeah, lookin at you DC), I never knew how important a good Chinatown was. Needless to say, when I found out that there was a Chinatown an hour away from Tokyo in Yokohama, I had to go. But lets not get ahead of...
Reasons to Get Lost in Harajuku Pt. 2
DJ’s are important. It doesn’t really matter what type of music is your favorite, if you go to a club with a shit DJ, you wont have a good time. I got lost in Harajuku the other day. There, I found a store that caters to DJ’s. Instead of showing you a bunch of pictures of equipment that I can neither use, nor afford, I’ll show you the poster that was hanging up outside the...
Super Potato
I haven’t blogged about video games sense I shared my disappointment in the Tokyo Game Show. This is a real shame because Japan is pretty much the only place where gaming still has a powerful grip. I would rant about how Tokyo is littered with legit arcades with the latest games, but I’d rather start at the beginning.
If you aint up on the original article, peep this song: Atari...
Do you remember... Zima?
Back when I was a kid I would remember seeing these annoying ads for Zima everywhere. From what I can remember, Zima was like the cool, somewhat black, alternative to beer for the trendy 90’s guy on the move. What I really remember though is how many people made fun of it (Michael McDonald on MadTV for instance). I don’t know what happened to it but I would sadly never be able to spit...
Reasons to Get Lost in Harajuku Pt. 1
I would normally at least try to explain something like this. Not today though.
Cowboy Bebop OST - Piano Black
Side Story: Shizuoka Part 1
The first trip that I signed up for when I got to Japan was to the Shizuoka Hobby Fair. I jokingly say that the only reason I came to Japan was to see the Giant Gundam… yeah, jokingly.
After falling asleep on the bus, I woke up the distorted choral sample of Nas’ Nazareth Savage, looked out of my window and saw this.
I knew it was going to be a good day.
When I say that the...
Japanese Fruit: Akebi
As I have used fruit to travel the world, I have come to one simple conclusion: Dope looking fruit does not make dope tasting fruit.
The Durian makes your mouth taste like motor oil and your house smell like half an ass.
The rambutan (affectionately called the “butterfly berry” by my roommate) often tastes like a rotten litchi.
The common (white fleshed) dragon fruit tastes...
The Kid Daytona - On the Hill
This is just really...
Japanese Fruit: Yuzu
One of my goals here was to try as many Japanese fruits as I possibly can.
I had honestly been looking forward to buying yuzu and they just recently showed up on grocery store shelves.
A yuzu is basically a lemon on crack. That doesn’t mean that its insanely sour or tart (some of them are), but it moreso means that it tastes like a lemon with some ridiculous flavor notes. Its like a meyer...
Black People in Tokyo Part 2
In my previous installment, I bemoaned the lack of my people in Japan.
The next day, I saw a black guy on the train. Just like New York, Tokyo is a city of the world. While it is, understandably, much less diverse than large American cities, nearly every ethnicity and nationality does have a presence. Obviously, only an idiot would say “There are no black people in Tokyo.”
Once I...
NNenna Freelon - Get Out of Town feat. Phonte
I...
Hip Hop Is Dead: Exhibit A
CuDiFan: Cudi is great because he's so diverse! No other rapper works with ratatat or MGMT!!!
SBGWIT: So, are you listening to him because of those features or because you like him?
CuDiFan: Its the same thing!
SBGWIT: Y'know, Wale and Drake rapped over Peter, Bjorn, and John
CuDiFan: Yeah... but they're so....
SBGWIT: Talented?
CuDiFan: .... rappy
SBGWIT: Rappy?
CuDiFan: They rap too much.
October 2010
18 posts
NERD - Life Inside of Clouds
Like I’ve said...
Side Story: So A Black Guy Walks Into Kyoto Pt...
After a free day full of adventure, it was back with the tour group. yay. feel my excitement.
After a hasty breakfast of rice, eggs, fish, and Natto, we left in a very disorienting manner to head to Kinkaku-ji (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion). Not really knowing what to expect, I was quite surprised to see a literally golden pavilion as I made my way around the tour path.
Things I Know...
Side Story: So A Black Guy Walks Into Osaka
After I reluctantly left Nara, we took an hour train ride to Osaka.
Osaka reminded me of Philly.
…
Okay, maybe theres more to the story. When we got to Osaka, we had about 2 hours to explore AND eat dinner before the last train back to Kyoto. When we first got there, we decided to follow our trusty guide book. Apparently there was an extremely tall building with virtual reality games on...