Hen na Gomi: Episode #1

Because of Japan's lack of space and the Japanese obsession with all things new, when garbage day comes around you can always find some interesting objects just laying there for the taking. Yesterday was the first in what will no doubt be a long line of hen na (strange) gomi (garbage) episodes.

I was walking out of the internet cafe when I saw what looked like some very high-quality ramen bowls. There were about eight so I thought, 'hey, this is perfect for my new house!!' I made sure no one was looking, scrambled over to the gomi pile and tore open the side of the bag. I was shocked to find that each ramen bowl was full.....


.....of fake ramen!!!! Yes, as with most restaurants in Japan, the one that produced this gomi was upgrading its food displays and was purging the old models. Japanese restaurants pride themselves on how fresh and life-like they can make the food models in front of their shops. This one truly goes down in the annals of surprise gomi experiences. Stay tuned for many more "Hen na Gomi" Episodes.

Last night I bought a male yukata (Japanese summer kimono) at a shop my mom used to go to called the oriental bazaar. Only 60 bucks for the thing. I plan on wearing it to the summer festival in my new neighborhood tonight. I will take lots of pictures.