Japan on a Friday: Minutiae on overdrive
Last post I wrote something "a society with a fascination with the minutiae of life is one you will never cease discovering."
This is one example of minutiae. I found this miniaturized "curry rice meal" at Kid Robot in Soho, NY, day after getting back from my 3 week Japan trip. Oh how I wish I'd made it to geek central, Akihibara, where you can find wierd stuff like this and more. That's a definite for next time.
It struck a chord because I learned curry rice is a staple of Japanese urban families - basically a just-add-water flavor cube of riotously tasty curry paste, that you team with veges, meat and rice in no time flat. I ate this at Richard and Haruyo's house in Nagoya. And on the United flight coming over.
The little red pot has a real wooden knob. The lid fits perfectly and has a certain weight to it despite this whole thing being about an inch diameter.
The ladle 'scoops' the curry nicely. You can remove the ladle from the scoop of curry, and inspect the characters painted on the handle. The curry lifts out of the pot too.
The take out containers are those 'Ziploc' ones with translucent blue and pink lids. There is a scoop of curry in one that you can tip into the other if you want - probably a school lunch. I think the little white dish has a dollop for the family dog.
The box of curry cubes is faithfully reproduced down to two of the cubes being broken and ready to mix, two are joined and the remaining four are still intact, in s tiny plastic tray.
Here's the miniature pictured with the a box of the real deal:
Japan - urban life - in miniature - on overdrive.
More reading: Curry Rice - it's cheap'n'choosy and here's what it tastes like
Today I'm hobbling around after putting my back out while packing in Tokyo. Actually I hadn't even started packing - I simply knelt down to do something, probably in a little too much of a hurry. My host Jeff in Tokyo suggested that transitioning from Western bed to futon "takes some time." BF Club of Japan leader Ats told me this can happen to locals going 'rinko' - toting their folding bikes in bags on trains. Thank god I was able to roll my Bike Friday tikit along folded for the most part.
But someone like 5'0" me can well justify having the lightest bike possible - my next one, hopefully.
It might be time to try a spot of Feldenkreis.
More at http://www.galfromdownunder.com/japan
This is one example of minutiae. I found this miniaturized "curry rice meal" at Kid Robot in Soho, NY, day after getting back from my 3 week Japan trip. Oh how I wish I'd made it to geek central, Akihibara, where you can find wierd stuff like this and more. That's a definite for next time.
It struck a chord because I learned curry rice is a staple of Japanese urban families - basically a just-add-water flavor cube of riotously tasty curry paste, that you team with veges, meat and rice in no time flat. I ate this at Richard and Haruyo's house in Nagoya. And on the United flight coming over.
The little red pot has a real wooden knob. The lid fits perfectly and has a certain weight to it despite this whole thing being about an inch diameter.
The ladle 'scoops' the curry nicely. You can remove the ladle from the scoop of curry, and inspect the characters painted on the handle. The curry lifts out of the pot too.
The take out containers are those 'Ziploc' ones with translucent blue and pink lids. There is a scoop of curry in one that you can tip into the other if you want - probably a school lunch. I think the little white dish has a dollop for the family dog.
The box of curry cubes is faithfully reproduced down to two of the cubes being broken and ready to mix, two are joined and the remaining four are still intact, in s tiny plastic tray.
Here's the miniature pictured with the a box of the real deal:
Japan - urban life - in miniature - on overdrive.
More reading: Curry Rice - it's cheap'n'choosy and here's what it tastes like
Today I'm hobbling around after putting my back out while packing in Tokyo. Actually I hadn't even started packing - I simply knelt down to do something, probably in a little too much of a hurry. My host Jeff in Tokyo suggested that transitioning from Western bed to futon "takes some time." BF Club of Japan leader Ats told me this can happen to locals going 'rinko' - toting their folding bikes in bags on trains. Thank god I was able to roll my Bike Friday tikit along folded for the most part.
But someone like 5'0" me can well justify having the lightest bike possible - my next one, hopefully.
It might be time to try a spot of Feldenkreis.
More at http://www.galfromdownunder.com/japan
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