Japanese post: new vocab

段ボール箱（だんぼーるはこ）: cardboard box

For people living in Japan who have always wondered where to buy cardboard boxes other than the handy post office, Askul sells boxes in sets of 10. They have a wide variety of sizes to choose from. I am unlikely to need 10 boxes at a time unless moving though.

christmas frenzy

In Japan, Christmas is a couple's holiday. Christmas cakes and romantic dinners. Apparently Christmas Eve is including in the festivities, so all restaurants are expected to be packed on those two days. I'm guessing that it'll be the restaurants with nice ambience that will be packed, but there will probably be some overflow into the regular places. It's probably a good day to stay home.

parched!

I've been requiring a lot of liquid lately, probably because of all the heaters running in Tokyo, including in my apt. It's cold here!

Shinjuku is pretty these days. Specifically, the area around Takashimaya Times Square (not a square as far as I can tell) has pretty holiday lights out. Apparently it is titled "Snow Cosmic Fantasy" this year.

By the way, the other day I passed a club titled "Evil Yokohama" in Yokohama. I'm not sure what clientele they're going for...

corn and chocolate

Corn and chocolate is a surprisingly tasty combination. This Hokkaido company makes a type that I like (never tried any others though). It's crispy corn covered with chocolate. I've been eying a package sitting in my office. But I'm just a visitor here so it wouldn't be very polite of me to eat it.

electronic dictionaries

My electronic dictionary has been really useful in Japan, in particular for studying. I'm too slow with regular dictionary texts, because I don't recall the ordering of the hiragana characters too well. So the electronic dictionary is perfect. I carry it arround with me all the time.

current ramen favorites

I noticed that I have a dearth of ramen information here, so I thought I'd update everyone with my current favorite places. Keep in mind that I adore とんこつ (tonkotsu: pork bone) soup, so I have a distinct bias for certain types of ramen. Still, I am slowly learning to branch out, so it won't all be about tonkotsu. Just most of it.

Also, I like tender, tasty pork (who doesn't?), and soft but chewy noodles. Al dente pasta I can understand, but not ramen noodles.

肥後のれん（ひごのれん）のひごラーメン：Higo Noren apparently has several shops but I've only visited the main branch in Shinjuku. The　パーコーめん is the specialty, but I tried the Higo ramen on my only visit. All-around perfect とんこつ ramen! The pork was flavorful and tender, the noodles were the perfect texture, and the soup was delicious. The only down side is that the shop is small and a bit dingy. Not a place to go for atmosphere, but great for a bowl of ramen. I can't wait to go back.

天下一品（てんかいっぴん）のこってりラーメン：Tenka Ippin is a Kyoto chain which has a couple locations in Shinjuku alone. It's been reliably good, and wow, the thick soup is very densely flavored (this is not a healthy soup!). I like that, but people new to ramen might want to try the あっさり(assari) version, which is supposed to be light. I've only been there twice and I've gotten こってり(kotteri) both times. The noodles are the perfect consistency; soft but chewy. The pork is average from what I remember, and there is only one slice if you order the regular.

I shouldn't write these reviews when I'm hungry.

nothing much

My current project is wrapping up so we're just waiting for feedback from the customer. During the lull, I'm writing up my monthly report and studying some Japanese.

Yesterday was nice. I got a little Uniqlo shopping in (like Old Navy, but better quality), studied for a couple hours, and went to sleep early. The Indian curry last night put me out like a sleeping pill. Maybe it was the lassi.

Hoping to get my haircut this week, but so far the hair salon has been closed by 8pm.