Last week, I wound up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) Airport for a short hop to Sapporo via New Chitose Airport (CTS) for a few days. Besides reveling at the fact that HND is a MUCH nicer airport than NRT and that their observation deck has a snack bar, I found this travesty at the gates.
Yes, it’s THAT jet…the ANA Pokemon Jet.
I shouldn’t have said anything because that jet became MY jet for the 1.5 hour flight to CTS. Here’s the obligatory close up of one of the most silliest liveries to grace a Boeing 747-400.
It shows that ANA has a sense of fun, since there is one other Pokemon jet in the fleet as well as a flying panda and a couple of Snoopy based jets as well. You want Kitty-Chan? You’ll have to fly EVA for that one!
Inside, the head rests were covered by Pokemon covers but otherwise, it was standard ANA in the rest of the cabin. No cabin attendants dressed up as Pikachu. Service was pretty good for a short hop. Apparently, the HND/NRT-CTS route is one of the busiest in the world and the loads are so high that they regularly fly jumbos on this route. They also fly itty bitty CRJs on this route as well, which was my return flight into NRT. There’s something not very nice about a plane where you can’t even stand up straight in the aisle!
This route is also hella expensive unless you get the mega discount 8 weeks ahead fare and then it’s close to 30000 yen. I got a round trip with two weeks advance for 22000 yen and got UA MP EQM for the flights on top of it. How? I purchased the ANA Skypass before I left the US. Info here (why should I type it when I can link it)?
What I missed in Koenji…
Two weeks ago!! Play this real loud through your speakers…
Sigh. Of course, you miss things when “work” gets in the way!
Yebisu Beer Girl
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…
I luuurve Advertising (again)!!
Continuing my series on excellent advertising…here’s a couple that were plastered all over JR Akibahara eki.
This one I took as I was going down an escalator
This was the other one. I couldn’t get a picture of it (too many people to explain why I’m taking pictures of adverts) so I pinched it from here.
This ad is part of a spring campaign. It’s sakura season in Japan, ya know! Deets on the ad campaign here. Minami Akina’s (the model) website here.
A’s lost at home in Tokyo
Well, sorta. I’m out here in Tokyo to watch the MLB opener against the Boston Red Sox. Natch, the A’s blew the lead in the bottom half of the game.
Here’s how the tickets looked like.
And here’s a very confused clerk at the New Otani Hotel who I asked to hold the tickets.
They’re not THAT precious…!
Here’s the World Series trophy. It seems the the Red Sox take it everywhere they go. For many Japanese fans, this is the first time that they will see the actual trophy in person.
The point of coming out here was to experience the Japanese twist on baseball. This began the opening ceremony with Awaodori dancers. They danced to an beat that was piped throughout Tokyo Dome and I swear that there were members of Edokko-Ren present!
Down where our seats were, there were dancers in the aisles!
Both national anthems were sung, first the Star Spangled Banner by some jazz vocalists than 君が代 was sung by a Japanese opera singer. Since she was singing toward center field, all I could get was her back. But her voice gave me goose bumps!!
Speaking of seats, ahem, our seats were just to the right of home plate, 7 rows back from the dugout! Talk about the benefits of commitment!!
The view was sooo incredible here. In sooo many ways!
Despite this technically being a home game for the A’s, the crowd was pro-Red Sox and the only people cheering for the A’s seemed to be the 50 or so people in our section. Go figure. Of course, you can figure out why since Matsuzaka Daisuke (松坂 大輔) was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox.
An obviously pro Red Sox crowd
There’s more to come, this entry may be updated later.
Bye!
ANA Yamato commercial
A belated Kyoto Station story
Note: Yeah, this happened when I was in Kyoto last November. It’s been a busy month!
After my long hike up and down 伏見稲荷大社 (Fushimi Inari Taisha), I stopped off at Kyoto Station (eki) to confirm my ticket to Tokyo the next day. On my way out, I wound up doing a double take when this girl who was having a smoke recognised me. Me? Who do I know in Kyoto?
Then it hit me. Moonwalker Bar! Last night! Red cardigan sweater! Why do I remember this trivial detail instead of “wow, whatta babe” or her name? Then it hit me again. I think I got into a slightly drunken debate with Yuki-chan about types of sweaters and she was wearing a red cardigan. Yuki-chan was wearing a black pullover. Yeah, that’s it. And that’s how she remembered me!
We wound up borrowing each other for a couple of hours, getting to know the other (and for me to practice non-existent language skills).
And that was pretty much how our conversation went (in broken Japanese & English and a lot of laughing), until her long distance bus arrived to take her back to her college. And the reason why we guys don’t shoot from the hip when it comes to the opposite sex.
Now what was this (besides two months late)? Was it fate, coincidence, beauty or weirdness that makes a good travel story? Who knows. I know that she’s studying painting and wants to one day open up an art gallery/cafe somewhere in Tokyo. Somehow I can imagine being in Daikanyama and talking about sweaters while having a doppio expresso crema when I see her again (purely by chance). Think I’ll get comped? Only if I’m wearing a cardigan that day.
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