My favorite beer! Delivered in my favorite way!
The A’s and the Red Sox brought their mascots along with the rest of the team. This is Stomper, the A’s mascot. He’s an elephant. Here’s Stomper, passing along some A’s baseball cards to a very confused Yebisu beer girl (the same one).
Stomper also attracts fans that jump up on the dugout and yell and dance along with him.
The neat thing was that when the cops showed up, they waited for him to finish his singing. And after a round of applause, he jumped down and walked off with the cops. No handcuffs or fighting. How civilized!
And now for something kinda different
Well, I figure this would happen eventually. Parts of my life colliding in print. I luurve ramen, I have a Boblbee backpack (but not these fancy ones) and Star Wars. Behold!
Stormtrooper eating ramen
Cuz even Stormtroopers, the defenders of the Galactic Empire, need ramen! Of course, this has been done before by Tokyo’s Stormtrooper in Residence. One megacity, one stormtrooper.
The ad is for a limited series of Star Wars 30th Anniversary commemorative Boblbee backpacks. Only available in Japan, natch! I picked this ad up when I was in Tokyo last November and stumbled upon Waseda University’s 125th Anniversary party.
Baseball beer here and there
Part of the fun of going to a baseball game in Japan is appreciating the differences in how the game is enjoyed compared to back home.
For example, let’s look at the consumption of beer or “ビール” as it is known over there. For example, at PacBellPark, where the SF Giants lose play, the beers are close to US$9.00 for a small cup, the kind of beer dependent on where in the park you buy it. Some of the kiosks sell PBR and Bud for that price and others sell Sierra and other microbrews. Best to hunt around because I’m not going to pay THAT price for PBR!!
An example of the lack of service culture that pervades the west is that you have to get up from your seat and actually hunt down a kiosk that sells your particular brand of tipple, thus missing the game from the comfort of your seat. Did I mention the 7th inning cutoff? No more beer after the 7th inning. BS!
“hey there, you KNOW you’re thirsty! You want a Suntory MaltS!”
Compare this attitude with how beer is served at Tokyo Dome, home of the Yomuri Giants. Unlike in the US where you have to get up and miss the game, annoy other patrons and risk spillage to get a beer, in Tokyo, the beer comes to you. The Tokyo Dome beer girls, each one representing a different brand (Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, Suntory, Yebisu plus Coca-Cola beverages and others) work the aisles, hawking beers, beverages and snacks that can be thrown. All the major brands are represented by these girls who use minikegs worn like backpacks to dispense beer. How refreshingly progressive!
Besides beer, the girls have snacks too.
Make it Suntory time! Try getting THAT at a MLB game in the US…
This was the first beer of the night for me…a Kirin!
…must concentrate…
There’s other silliness that happened at the game that will be written about later!
Tokyo 警視庁 Bikes
During my last visit to Tokyo, some motorist got pulled over by two of Tokyo’s finest for some reason. The real reason, I think was so I could continue the semi-regular installment of “world’s police bikes”.
When I came running out of the restaurant (where I was having a snack) with my camera, the cop waved me off until I asked him if I could take pictures of the bikes. He then gave me a thumbs up and stepped out of the way. Guess it happens a lot.
I like the Suzuki! I have one, ya know…
Sakura in SF
Saw this the other day while riding by (and made an illegal u-turn to photograph!)..
This sakura, one of many on the block, bloomed first because it gets the most sunshine. Too bad you can’t have hanami out here. You’d get a ticket first then you’d have to pour out all the booze…! Bleah.