First, let’s get the satisfaction out of the way. By far, the electronics purchase that has pleased me the most this year is the one of my iPhone 3GS. And, I just bought the damn thing a week ago! That’s how cool it is. A few of my good friends picked up their iPhones the first week they went on sale in the Big Mikan, but I balked. I don’t know, something about the hype put me off. Maybe if I’d bought one then too, I might not have been as into it as I am now. Either way, I’m here to say, iPhone, you complete me. OK, maybe not, but you help shave some dead minutes off my days with your cool applications.

iPhone in Japan is offered only by Softbank, the mobile phone carrier with the best rates in Japan. With the exception of an eight-month period, I’ve been with Softbank/Vodafone all my years in Japan. The nice thing about having waited to purchase the iPhone with Softbank is that I didn’t pay the ridiculous amount some people did to get it when it first came out. Nowadays, you can get a 3GS 16GB model for like 780 yen per month with a two-year contract. Of course, if you blow the contract, then it’s like 2700 yen per month for the remaining period of the contract. I was just finishing up my most recent contract with Softbank and felt like upgrading my phone, so I figured, Why not?

OK, now on to the regret.

My work promotion at the beginning of the year had me traveling to various parts of Japan and sometimes remaining for up to a month. I was always given an apartment to use, but internet service wasn’t provided. And I need internet service, geek that I am. Well, I decided to go with Emobile’s mobile internet service plan. I also picked up a cool-looking little Dell notebook PC with the deal. I even wrote a post here at 7:10 at the time because I was all geeked-up at the prospect of being constantly mobile and constantly wired-in.

You can sign up for Emobile at any of the major electronics stores in Japan, like Bic Camera, Yodobashi Camera, Yamada Denki, as well as at a host of other stores. When I signed up at Bic Camera in Shinjuku, I was told that with minimal use, my monthly fee would be just under ￥4000, while it would max out at ￥7000 yen. Seemed fair to me. I didn’t plan on using it when I was at my own apartment since I already had hikari fiber high speed internet service, so I didn’t think I’d be paying the maximum amount most months.

Well, I was wrong. It turns out with Emobile that minimal use is like 5 minutes or less. Any use over 5 minutes puts you at the max. No Shit. The first six months of billing had me paying the max each time, even though I’m positive that for three of those months, I used the service for less than 30 minutes because I ended up not traveling a lot with that job. While I was out of Japan for a couple of months, my bill naturally went down to around ￥4000 because I didn’t use the service at all. However, when I came back, I used it for about an hour or so during the month and guess what? Max payment time, biyatch!

All I can say (other than Fuck Emobile!) is that the service sucked for me, always slow and with occasional dropouts. The Dell PC that came with the deal was such a dog-ass-slow piece of crap, that it sits in its original box in my closet to this very day. To be fair, others I know who use Emobile don’t feel the same way I do, so take what I say with a grain of salt. In fact, take most of what I say with…

Uh, nevermind.

Don’t give me that shyte. If you’ve been in Japan for the last few years, or you’ve followed big news stories out of this country, you know about the Lindsay Hawker murder.

Ok, for those of you not in the know, I’ll catch you up.

Just over two and a half years ago, female Nova English Teacher, Lindsay Hawker from the UK, went missing. Police found a note with Ichihashi’s phone number and name on it in Hawker’s apartment. When police showed up to question Ichihashi at his apartment, he fled barefoot from the scene and the police on scene didn’t make much effort to go after him. After that, police discovered Hawker’s body in a bathtub on Ichihashi’s balcony, buried in sand. I know, I know… a bathtub on the balcony?! Filled with sand?! WTF?!

Anyway, local police were left hanging their heads in shame while a national manhunt ensued. Hawker’s family came to Japan to put pressure on police to capture the alleged (let’s face it, there’s nothing alleged about it - A bathtub on his balcony, for Chrissakes!) murderer. Particularly, Hawker’s father was very vocal, almost to the point of being annoying. But, when a loved one is taken from you, you’ve got the right. I guess.

I shouldn’t have to say it, but, personally, the murder of a foreign national living in Japan doesn’t need to be more in the spotlight than the murder of a Japanese citizen. I mean, Japanese or foreigner, a murder’s a murder. But, fair or not, once the story of the murder and the escaped suspect got rolling, all other murder news seemed to take a back seat. I mean, how many foreigners living in Japan are going to remember this murder case above all others reported in the last few years? About 98%, probably. Personally, the murder and dismemberment of a young Japanese lady whose remains were flushed down a toilet by her businessman neighbor sticks in my mind the most. But, I suppose that’s because the most important person in my life is a Japanese woman. I can’t say for sure, though.

Anyway, Ichihashi apparently had cosmetic surgery. However, he was reported via a phone tip to police because he was wearing a cap, sunglasses and a mask. Hey, genius. Way to go with the incognito getup. I mean, what the hell did you have the surgery for anyway? Hey, Ichihashi! I’m talking to you! Oh, you can’t talk now? Right, right, I see, you’re kind of busy now. Ok, an interview later, then? Alright, thanks dude!

And, Ichihashi’s old man keeps talking about how his son needs to be brought to answer for his deeds and stop disgracing the family. Give me a break! Ichihashi paid for his own cosmetic surgery and life on the run by making 10,000 yen per day at a construction job?!

Expect to see the father implicated for aiding a fugitive.

I’ve always liked this one. Here we have a salaryman shuffling along above several sets of JR Line tracks near Shinjuku Station. Maybe he’s heading home or just maybe to his next appointment. There’s little doubt he’s aware of the time, but should he forget, the clock tower of the gods is always there to remind him.

Update: Fuck! I just became a salaryman again myself.

Most of the time when I view a photo I’ve just snapped on my camera’s flat screen, I mumble “Now that’s crap” as my thumb darts for the delete button. But on occasion, when I take a look at what I’ve just shot, I think Damn, I’m good! Here’s a fave of mine, a Shimokitazawa side street on a chilly winter evening.

Ok, the title makes it sound like I’m living it up in Sin City, but really it’s been pretty chill so far. I spent most of midweek last week playing poker. Most of the time, however, I’ve just been hanging out with my parents at their house and getting over the reverse culture shock felt by not having been back in my home country for three and a half years.

And yes, I am having trouble getting over some of the glaring differences between life in Japan and life in the U.S. Yeah, I know, Las Vegas isn’t the real world by any stretch of the imagination, but people from all over the States come here, so I’m confident that I’m getting a pretty decent sample.

• Ok, most people are way too big here. I have to say it… sorry. You know what I mean. I’m not talking heightwise here, either. I’m talking fat city. Yeah, you have to expect that in a country where mealwise, double portions are cheaper than single portions in most other developed nations. And yeah, comparing people here to Japanese people is not fair, I know. I mean, in a country where the staples of most people’s diets are rice, soy, and fish, you can’t expect to see much obesity. But, here in the good old US of A, it’s fucking ridiculous. Not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings with this, and I’m sure there are some people with legitimate medical conditions, but come on… Anyway, let it be known that I have never, nor do I now think that appearance is a good basis for judging anyone.
• The friendliness here in the States, in general, is one of the best things I remembered about my home country while living abroad. Yeah, at first, it was a little overwhelming, but I quickly reacclimated and am pleased with it. Of course, I’ve run into a few loudmouthed douchebags in the last week or so, but I’ll take the bad with the good. I still stand by my belief that Tokyo needs to lighten the hell up.
• I can’t watch the news here anymore. The first couple of nights I did so last week, there were two different cases of people answering knocks at their doors and ending up shot to death. After spending several years living in a major city where I knew that the chances of being in the proximity of anyone carrying a gun were infinitesimal, it’s a little unnerving to think about how many people do so here.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll think of some more differences for next time.