My son’s comic this month explains that Santa Claus works for Uber Eats to earn the money to buy the toys for children.

Just saw footage of Mani’s funeral and Ian Brown looks like a Las Vegas magician.

Last Japanese lesson of the year. Things are winding down now…

Not sure what Hungarians would think of this, but we quite liked it.

I’m making Hungarian goulash for dinner tonight. It’s based on a recipe I found, but I do not think I have ever eaten Hungarian goulash. So the test is just does it taste nice or not. I guess that is how it should be for everything.

@japanicky.bsky.social Hello!

We bought a new rice cooker yesterday. It cost ¥37,000. We haven’t used it yet but the rice had better taste magical.

we are going to win. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Hillary Clinton, Eric Adams, and Adam Neumann on the same stage at last.

The alternative 2016 could have been just as bad as the Trump fork.

Here’s the details. Struggling to understand how it is legal for a government to simply scrap a pension plan midway through (stage 2 VNIC) corporate-adviser.com/budget-round...

Have to admit, when I signed up to get a pension in the UK, I didn’t think I was gambling on whether it would continue to be viable from overseas. Thanks Labourvatives.

The food hall and souvenir place near the Ishikawa cho entrance to Chinatown has been replaced by a three-stores of nothing but gacha machines.

New Japanese book dropped on the AI bubble.

The Colonel and crisps. United at last.

disconnect.blog/getting-off-... Here’s a list for people wanting to start avoiding U.S. tech.

Got to see the Oasis gig in Tokyo last night. I’m not a big fan, but it was impossible to avoid getting caught up in the love the crowd had for the band.

The snow arrived on Fuji a bit earlier this year. You love to see it. weathernews.jp/news/202510/...

There is a line of hundreds waiting for the Tokyo Station popup shop for the Osaka Expo this morning.

The Bobby Vylan interview by Louis Theroux is well worth a listen. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...

“Most of the spending was on guns and armor, but there have also been significant purchases of chemical weapons and ‘guided missile warheads and explosive components.’” popular.info/p/ice-boosts...

We bought a reasonably priced Minecraft birthday balloon set. I think I spotted the reason it was going cheap.

I though this Doraemon collaboration with Converse Chuck Taylor’s was great

Here is my dog shouting at an Alpacca.

Camping

Haruki Murakami is probably pleased to see people dunking on a different person unlikely to win a Nobel.

I started going to the gym at 6, then walking my dog after. My dog does not like this new routine.

This Japanese football official seems to have been heading to the under-20 World Cup when he was caught looking at child pornography on a plane. www.bbc.com/news/article...

My son hit his head on concrete this morning and was sent home, where he was sick. We took him to the kids doc, which referred us to an MRI. After 45 minutes the MRI showed he was fine. The doctor took the time to explain to my son the contours of his brain etc. The cost of all this: ¥0.

ASAHI BEER SHORTAGE

Jeans day arrived. Goodbye shorts.

It’s late September and the shorts are under threat.

I just found out from my son’s comic that the thing on the Karaage-kun pack is a fairy, not a chicken.

Revelations this year: - As a Brit XL, I should generally be buying XXL clothes in Japan. - Eye tests here are for far away only, I probably needed reading glasses for a long time. - My scales were broken and my body fat is way below where the old ones were showing.

Not sure it counts as inflation, but Hakkejima Sea Paradise has raised its parking fee from ¥1,000 to ¥2,000.

My son loved it. Our wallet, not so much. ¥2,500 for a burger etc. ended up at ¥10,000 on top of a prepaid ¥2,400 admission fee (¥800 each) for us. Time limited to 90 minutes or so too.

On the way here, a bar devoted to me son’s favorite anime and line of toys. beyblade.and-gallery.com Hope it’s done well…

Have heard a few chats in Velvet Sundown so listened. I get thinking it sounds 70s but it has much more in common with the more vacuous “retro” Britpop stuff like Reef, OCS, Kula Shaker etc.

I’m surprised at the way I’ve seen the term political violence used today. ICE actions seem not to constitute political violence. Arresting grannies for holding up signs supporting Palestine Action seems not to constitute political violence. State violence is not political.

Here’s the Sanseito page for Charlie Kirk’s recent speech for the party. sanseito.jp/charlie-kirk...

I keep getting letters requesting I make tax payments that I have already made. I’m not sure whether this is a normal thing in Japan but we are getting confused about what to ignore and what to pay attention to.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to resign by the sounds of this NHK report. 石破首相 総理大臣を辞任する意向を固める www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...

On the rare occasion I log into X, it’s to check on Japanese language posts on stuff like natural disasters. Now Grok is translating (sort of) all the Japanese posts even if I search for a Japanese term.

I recently started writing down recipes and it seems to have improved my cooking a lot. They all have their basis in stuff seen online etc., but tweaked because of stuff like availability of ingredients, need to accommodate a young kid etc.

Logic obviously doesn’t matter these days but it’s worth shouting from the rooftops that rejecting gender equality and rights for the LGBTQ community is indecent.

Andrew Weatherall. DJ Harvey. Back to back. Special. Brilliant. on.soundcloud.com/u94XYiknO1m0...

Seven Eleven has addressed the concerns of those who felt traditional Japanese sweets didn’t taste enough like Colgate. Worry no more.