In America we have the famous after Christmas sales. In Japan, as the biggest holiday of the year is New Year's Day they have after New Year's sales or Hatsu−uri, literally "first sale". But on top of that, one of the big traditions during this time is the tradition of Fukubukuro pronounced foo−koo−boo−koo−row. Fuku means surprise, bukuro means bag. In English we would call them "gab bags"
In the city of Meguro in Tokyo there is a place called the Kiseichuu
Hakubutsukan or in English.
You would probably never guess it but Tokyo is probably one of the dessert capitals of the world.
I was in Akihabara a couple of weeks ago and I saw these funky car stereos.
I'm not sure what the exact definition of oden is but what I do know is that I
like to eat it. 😃
Around April I got my new cell phone with camera. Like I mentioned, just like film cameras are quickly disappearing for all but the pros it's clear to me digital cameras may also disappear to the cameras built into cell phones. As an example here's most of the images I've taken with my phone for the last 4 months.
One day I was walking through Shibuya station and I noticed this new store. "ranKing ranQueen"
I've mentioned this before but in Japan, cell phones are a fashion accessory and not just a phone. It's interesting to see the ads for the various phones because of what they emphasize. Are there ads for cell phones in America or just ads for cell phone service? I don't remember but here there are definitely ads for the phones separate from the service here in Japan.
Here are some examples of what is pushed.