ロンドン日記

イギリスの原野の音

2009-05-26T07:58:00.003+09:00

子供時に、ソーズベリの周りに住んでいた。その時に、よく里の近くにある downs と言うところに行った。downs て言うのは日本語で原野だと思う。

ストーンヘンジは、あの原野にある。最近ストーンヘンジに行った時に、原野の音が私に子供時の散歩を覚えさせた。ここで発表したいと思います。以下の映画には、原野の風やskylarkという鳥の歌が聞こえる。風が強いから、鳥の声は聞きにくいが、ちゃんと聞いたら聞こえる。

A strange way to be behind

2009-02-11T03:40:00.001+09:00

England is strangely behind Australia at times, but this is a very strange way to be! Britain has discovered the joys of giant tourist attractions - giant angels, giant horses, etc. Over in Australia we have been doing this for year - and it has always made us a laughing stock! So why is England jumping on the Giant Tourist Attraction Bandwagon? Wierd!

The Guardian is racist

2009-02-10T08:59:00.001+09:00

This is another off-topic rant which I'm going to cross-post with my other blog, because I'm a grump after watching a fortnight of insane british racism. The Guardian is the UK's supposedly intellectual, left-wing newspaper, ostensibly well-respected internationally for its quality. Unfortunately it is in reality a propaganda organ for the labour party (who are currently in power), which is probably the world's most illiberal left-wing party, and is best characterised by its being the only left-wing party in government to join the Iraq war. Need we say more? I suppose we could excuse them for being spineless lickspittles and quislings, but if that's their defense against allegations of racist mendacity, well, they can use it as much as they like.

I've been watching the Guardian defending racist language, standing by anti-foreign strikers, and supporting the government's open racism (in the form of the slogan "British Jobs for British Workers") and feeling my ire slowly rise for a week, but the straw that broke the camel's back is this piece of unmitigated shite - disguised as opinion, by a supposed academic - which tries to lay the blame for all anti-semitism in Asia at the feet of the Japanese. The Japanese! Who, let's not forget, rescued Jews through their German embassy in world war 2, even though Germany was their ally.

Now, I have tried to give this "academic" the benefit of the doubt but I find only one fact in his whole article which isn't straight from Wikipedia, but the breadth and scope of his assertions leaves me stunned. For someone who has studied the orient, he shows two types of nasty racism which really, really annoy me: first, he wants desperately to smear Japan specifically; and second, he sees the entire rest of Asia as in their thrall.

First, to Japan, which he claims has long been anti-semitic based on citations of books which coincidentally all appear in this wikipedia article labelled as "tondemo bon" (outrageous or dodgy books)[1]. He expects us to believe further that this anti-semitism - which is apparently confined to a bunch of phantasmagorical fringe texts - was exported all through Asia. He sites one book from China, and then proceeds to mention that Malaysia - a majority muslim country - also has anti-semitism. His support for this claim? Statements by the ex-Prime Minister. So Japan is the well-spring of anti-semitism in Asia, as proven by a few dodgy fringe books, while Malaysia "are not immune" even though their PM was publicly anti-semitic. This weak phrase suggests contagion from abroad, which seems a little topsy-turvy when one considers the relative importance of the media through which this anti-semitism is expressed in the two countries. But did our hero stop to consider this? No, he didn't, he certainly didn't. Japan, you see, is our misfortune. Sound like a familiar trope?

Our worthy scholar then proceeds to the usual claims about Japan - that it is a closed society with a short history of democracy, and so vulnerable to conspiracy theories. Of course, Japan introduced male suffrage in the Meiji restoration, 150 years ago, so its history of democracy is no worse than many other countries, and the "closed society" claim is just the usual ignorant rubbish. Perhaps not unusually, our noble inquirer then proceeds to link anti-semitism to anti-colonialism [2], which rather contradicts the implication that Japan is the well-spring of Asian anti-semitism, since it was never colonised (though Malaysia was...)

I'm sure I could write a piece of software which can assemble 3 or 4 stereotypes about Japan into a single paragraph, and then use them to justify any racist claim you want to make. Why employ shonky academics to do it when you can just do it with dice and a couple of slips of paper?

Buruma's other piece of racism, though, seems to me much nastier. His claim that Japan is the well-spring of anti-semitism in the region depends on the assumption that all the other Asian nations are weak, easily influenced and vulnerable to superior western ideals. Which claim, incidentally, relies on some sort of view of the Japanese as super-human politically and culturally[3]. But more importantly it relies on the idea that these societies are not capable of self-determination. Witness, for example, the breathtaking claim that The Chinese picked up many modern western ideas from the Japanese. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall the Chinese taking a somewhat different path to the Japanese in the '30s, through this chap Mao and this idea "communism" which he definitely didn't get from an itinerant Shinto monk. And you know, I think China might have a 1000 year long association with the West through this thing called "the Silk Road". They might have some independent ability to get ideas there, including anti-semitism, if they want it. Which they probably don't, Buruma's entire evidence being the claim that an anti-semitic book is selling well and even read by members of the government. The Chinese Governments' reading patterns are well known on account of its high level of public accountability, you see.

But this claim is obviously made about those nations - Malaysia, the Phillipines - which are generally viewed as less sophisticated. They're not, of course, but ranking them according to their similarity to western ideals is the classic stance of the cheap orientalist. This is slipshod academic work, and sloppy journalism to publish it. But it suits two combined tasks that the Guardian has to cope with. On the one hand, they have to fight off the hordes of right-wing Israel supporters who claim their coverage of the war in Gaza is anti-semitic, which defense they mount by regularly running critiques of anti-semitism; and on the other hand they have to remind themselves that yes, the British did win the war, and the Japanese are sub-human. Which they do by regularly running articles which assemble as many nasty stereotypes as possible, with the express purpose of reminding the reader of how awful those Japanese are. The final conclusion is irrelevant - it's the body, where the gentle reader is reminded that Japanese are inscrutable aliens with great powers, that is the important bit. And if that tactic sounds familiar to you, there's a reason...

So, this week, I have concluded that the Guardian is racist. Don't even get me started on the Daily Mail!

---

[1] The only fact he changes from the wikipedia article is the date of translation of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion into Japanese, which he claimed occurred in 1905 (two years after they were "discovered" during the war with Russia), while the wiki claims the translation at 1936. Tel Aviv University puts it at 1924. Obviously a true scholar! Japan was so anti-semitic that it only translated the text of the chief anti-semitic coda 21 years after its original publication, and only because some soldiers stumbled on it and brought it home. Imagine if the Nazis had been as anti-semitic as the Japanese!

[2] a fine trope, incidentally, for right-wingers who want to tar all national liberation movements with the same brush. I'm surprised he didn't fit a critique of Mao and Ho Chi Minh in there somewhere.

[3] projection much?

花の名 (Flower's name)

2008-12-23T07:58:00.002+09:00

This is my really poor attempt at a translation of my favourite Bump of Chicken song, Hana no na (Flower's name, or name of a flower, or something similar). I had to do this from a couple of lyrics sites (there is some dispute over "grew old together" or "put", amongst other things), and I'm really not good enough at Japanese for this task, so take it all with a pinch of salt. But as far as I know there is no other translation! Here goes...

Even though it's a simple thing
I want to be able to say it somehow
Even though it's a thing I can't say
I think I want you to be informed somehow

Even though I forget the sky we looked at together
I will not forget the time we were together

Even if you were a flower
and there were many just like you
still you would be chosen by a single person
There's a song that only I can sing
There's a song that only you can hear

That I am here is your proof that we were here
That I put this song here is your proof that I was put here with you
Because I gained the strength to live from you, I have to return this to when I lived

Just when you have forgotten my laughter and my tears, please remember
when you are confused by the same burdens as me
There is a song that only you can sing
There is a song that only I can hear

Everyone has a person who wants to meet them
Everyone has a person who is waiting for them
If there is a person who wants to meet only you, that person is waiting for you
always

Even if you were a flower
and there were many just like you
still you would be chosen by a single person
There's a song that only I can sing
only for me, only for you

Just when you have forgotten my laughter and my tears, please remember
You will be chosen without confusion by someone
There is a song that only you can sing
There is a song that only I can hear
There is a person waiting just for me
There is a person who wants to meet only you

It is, as one of the commenters on the youtube video says, pure love.

新しい家

2008-08-17T07:15:00.004+09:00

この写真は私の新しい家だ。仲間さんの家だ；仲間さんは１年間にアメリカにいるので、私が仲間さんの家に入れる。安い家賃が払えるのに、フラットメートを見つけないといけない。。。

アムステルダム

2008-08-17T07:00:00.003+09:00

７月の終わりくらいに、アムステルダムに行った。アムステルダムはちょっと、広島みたい：

路面電車がある
自転車が多い（日本より多い！！）
車が少ない
たくさん小さくておしゃれなバーやカフェがある
雰囲気がしずかだ

いい街です。ロンドンから休む事もいいです。。。

オクスフォード

2008-07-04T05:43:00.004+09:00

今週、オクスフォードで研究方法祭りを出に行った。研究方法祭り。。。何って？いろな研究方法の発表です。実は、「祭り」と言われたなのに、学会だけです。。。

今日、祭りの後で、オクスフォードの環境ができた。この写真をとった。オクスフォードはとてもきれいな街。ここの学生生活の想像ができる？私は想像ができない。

そして、城山稲荷神社の歴史的な工芸品を見つけるように、ピットリヴァーズ博物館に行った。博物館はその工芸品を小泉八雲にもらった。残念ですが、工芸品はカタログにいれずたくわえた。だから見つけなかって、博物館の学長を連絡して、また行って、特別条件に見ないといけない。できたら、たぶん小泉八雲のもらいものをカタログに入れてくれたいです。出来ないと思う。。。

その工芸品が見れなかったけど。。。おかしい工芸品が見えた！！ピットリヴァーズ博物館はじんるいがくの博物館ですので、世界の文化の工芸品がある。国ごとからきた事があった。ある国の小さくなった頭があった！！！！！下の写真を見てください。。。
これは小さくなった頭だ！！作り方は：

人を殺す（これは大切だ）
この人のずがいを出して捨てる（いらない）
特別な油に炊く
時間あとで、油から出して、中にあつい小石を入れる
待つ
糸でほうごう
カミのカットして、ピアスを入れる
友達に見せてあげる

写真の頭は、ちょっと特別なアクセソリがある。あの長くて、赤いと緑の色のかみは。。。光の虫のかぶとです。私のカメラのフラシュの下で光した。よくない！！！！

地下鉄で聞いた注意

2008-06-06T22:10:00.003+09:00

家に帰ったときに、これを聞いた：

“起爆してない太平洋せんそう時代ばくだんが「Bromley Bow」駅で発見されたので、北線と丸い線の地下鉄線はとてもおそくなりました。”

！！！？

ロンドンの大好きなこと

2008-06-06T21:50:00.002+09:00

ロンドンの大好きな経験：

マリリオンと言うバンドを聞きながら、リージェンツ公園に歩いている
ロンドンのやわらかい雨
ジャメイカから来た黒人の声
世界の全ての国の人を見ている
British rock を聞きながら、地下鉄を乗っている
私の仕事
ロンドン人の声（コクニーべん）
“あつい天気”のやわらかい太陽

このことで、ロンドン生活が楽しい。

レストランのリビュー１：鮨清（sushi say)

2008-06-06T21:30:00.002+09:00

昨日、日本に住んだことがある仲間パムさんと一緒に鮨清という日本レストランに行った。このレストランは、居酒屋みたいに日本料理をする。私達の家の近くにある。

レストランの店員は日本人であった。私達は日本語が話せることについて分かってから、私達ともに優しく日本語を話した。サービスやマナーが優しかった。日本に戻ったのみたいであった！

料理はおいしいがとても高かった。ねだんと説明は以下に：

刺身盛り合わせ：１７ポンド（４千円！）。内容はサバ、サケ、マグロ、ヒラメの３枚ずつであった。お魚は新たでおいしかった。
ゲソ天ぷら：５ポンド（１千円！）。ゲソがやわらかくて天ぷらがかんぺきであった！
なすデンガク：６ポンド（１５００円！）。ソースは柚子が入ったのでうまかった！！
てりやきタラ：６ポンドで小さい１個をもらった。おいしかったが高すぎた
お茶漬け(梅だよ！）：６ポンドであったがすごくよかった！！おすすめです！

このレストランはいろな自家製料理がある。梅酒もたくさんいろな日本酒がある。雰囲気は日本の忙しくて楽しい居酒屋みたいであったがロンドンにある。すごい便利な所！！！！ロンドンにいたら行ってください。。。

しゅうかんてきな生活１：鳥、春ネズミ

2008-05-31T00:49:00.004+09:00

しゅうかんてきに、イギリス人は冬ときにイギリスの小さい動物の死亡に対して守りたい。そうするために、鳥と小さい動物に食べ物をやる。例えば、この事で、鳥に食べ物をやる：

普通に、豚しぼうやナツなどやる。冬中なら、お湯もやる。

（この鳥テーベルはお父さんの友達のにわにある）。

そして、いろな野生動物に食べ物をやる。たとえば、田舎にすんだら、狐やアナグマなど食べ物をやる。私のお父さんの友達はちょっと街の近くに住むので、この動物が見えないが、春ネズミが見える！だから、にわの中には小さい春ネズミのお皿。

これだ！
小さい春ネズミをこれから食べていることの想像ができますか？かわいい！

イギリスの田舎３：猫、トゲイラクサ

2008-05-31T00:30:00.006+09:00

お父さんの家の近くで、この猫を見つけた：

そして、このてんけいてきなイメージを見つけた：

上のほうにはトゲイラクサ、英語で「stinging nettle」と言われた。この直物をふれるとひりひりさせる。痛い！下のほうは「dock leaf」という直物。この直物を刺されたところをこすったらすぐ直る。不思議だけどいつも効きます。不思議な事実は。。。この２つの直物はいつも一緒に植わってる。もしグゼンにトゲイラクサに刺されたら、１００％確率に「dock leaf」がすぐ見つかる。大丈夫ですよ！！！でも、この事実は不思議である。。。

イギリスの田舎２：街

2008-05-31T00:17:00.004+09:00

デヴォン州の街の写真である。

ロンドンと日本の関係１：服店

2008-05-27T06:49:00.004+09:00

オクスフォード道でこの写真をとった。ちゃんと見たら、なにが見える？ユニクロ！！！

ユニクロの店が多い！オクスフォード道で２つの大きい店がある。近くのリージェント道で、もう２つがある。ユニクロはロンドンでおしゃれである！！！！びっくりした！このユニクロのはんたいに（この写真なら、私の後ろに）は。。。は。。。無印！！！この会社もたくさん支店がロンドンで成り立った。

日本のきほん服は、ロンドンでおしゃれ！！！

そして、これはロンドンで買ったフレンチコネクションのシャーツである。せんたく情報は日本語である！なぜロンドンでフレンチコネクションという服は日本語情報がある？

分からない！

イギリスの食べ物３：貝の漬け物！！

2008-05-19T06:16:00.002+09:00

貝の漬け物だ！ビーチで発見した。これは人気の夏の食べ物である。

普通に、貝は：ザルガイ、イガイ、アサリ；エビとイカも食べる。

味はすっぱいと塩と思うけど、私はこれがあまり好きじゃないので、ちょっと味忘れてしまった。イギリスに来たら、食べてみてね。。。

イギリスの花見

2008-05-19T05:59:00.002+09:00

イギリスの春は日本の春よりさむいだから、桜は日本より長く残る。１ヶ月くらいに残るので、落とす前に木の葉っぱが起こる。この写真は５月５日にとったのに、花と葉っぱが一緒に見える。

この日に、道に運転する間に、桜が落としていた。（この事象は日本語で特別な表現だが。。。日本語で何ですか？だれかコメントで教えてもらいますか？）

（写真における人は私のお父さんです）

イギリスの食べ物２：パイ、マシュ、うなぎ

2008-05-19T05:52:00.003+09:00

デヴォン州でこの店をみた。小さい言葉は "Pies, Mash and Eels" という。これはしゅうかんてきなイギリスのレストランである：パイ、マシュポテトとうなぎレストラン。ロンドンでもこのレストランみたいな店で食べられる。

おいしいかおいしくないかどうかまだ分からない。エマさんがマシュポテトが大好きだから、エマさんが来たあとで、一緒に食べに行くかもしれない。。。

イギリス食べ物１：パースティ

2008-05-19T05:41:00.003+09:00

これは「コーニシュパースティ」というパイである。「コーニシュ」の意味は Cornwall （コーヌワル）州で発生された意味である。有名な西南イギリスの食べ物である。

パースティの中には、いろな味がする：

豚
チーズとネギ
野菜
じゃがいも

が普通である。上の写真のパースティはチーズとネギである。下の写真のパースティはりんごとクロイチゴである。

森の音

2008-05-18T06:29:00.005+09:00

デヴォン州の森の音である。

ビール１

2008-05-18T06:18:00.002+09:00

イギリスビールはあたたかくてアワがなくて飲まれている。イギリスの飲み場所は「Pub」（パッブ）といわれる。特製ビールを売るパッブが多い。デヴォンでこの２つのビールの種類を買った。上のほうのビールはとなりの「コーンワル州」で作られている。下のほうのビールの名前は日本語で「カワウソビール」である。デヴォン産ビールである。

私は、イギリスビールがおいしくて、パッブによってちがう特製ビールが買える文化が楽しい。イギリスにいる間、たくさんいろなビールをのんでみる！！！

ティンモス

2008-05-18T05:59:00.005+09:00

デヴォン州

2008-05-18T05:35:00.004+09:00

デヴォン州はイギリスの西南のほうにある、いなかが多いところである。私のお父さんの家は「ニュートンアッボッと」と言う街にある。しょうがないけど、お父さんの家はトレーラーハウスである。

デヴォン州はみどりが多い州である。歴史的に、有名な国王「アーサー王」がここで生まれて、近くの州に住んだ。私は、子供ときに、ここととなりの州、「サマセット、ウィルトシャー」に住んでいた。

この時、私は２日間だけにここに泊まった。そして、こわい街ロンドンに行くべきだった。。。

イギリス到着

2008-05-18T05:18:00.003+09:00

５月４日にイギリスに着いた。ちょくせつに、Devon　「デヴォン州」にバスで行った。お父さんはデボンに住むので、２日間にこの州で留った。

飛行機は大丈夫だった。となりの女性は、ニュージーランドに引っ越す予定だが、最後の引っ越し準備をするためにイギリスに行った。あの女性はイギリスについて私にたくさん悪い事を言った。はんざいが多いし、生活が高いし、人がぶれいだし、せいふが悪いし。。。waaaaaa!! イギリスようこそではなかった！！

ヒースローのターミナル３に着いた。建物はとてもきたなかった！安っぽいだった！カーペットが解れさせた！！会社員がこわそうだった！ようこそではなかった！

そして、バスでデボンに行った。７時なのに、日がまだ入れなかった。バスからのけしきがとてもきれいだったので、この旅はとてもおもしろかった。１１時にデヴォンのニュートンアッボットに着いて、４年ぶりでお父さんと会った。

イギリスのようこそは。。。？

The Daily Wanker 2008 review of bars: Matsue and Tottori

2008-05-02T14:49:00.002+09:00

Should one ever by accident find oneself in Matsue, rest assured that one of the first things you will need is a drink and some good food. So here is a review of some of the better bars in that benighted town, and in nearby Tottori (where the food is better).

kumakichi: located in kyomise, this Japanese Inn (izakaya) provides food and drink in a convivial, highly Japanese environment. Like most of the bars in Matsue it has no English language on the menu, and the menu has no pictures, so you really need to go with someone who can read. But there are too things you can eat without the menu - walk up to the bar and you will see a plate of what look like deep-fried fish skeletons. These are "karei karaage", deep-fried flounder, and absolutely no better is available anywhere in Japan. They look like the most horrific thing you have ever eaten but they are unsurpassedly delicious, and quite an experience. You eat the whole thing, by the way - head, fins, tail, everything. Do it with your hands, breaking the bones into pieces and crunching them down. The bar also has an excellent set of sashimi, and I thoroughly recommend the kawahagi if you go in winter. The kawahagi sashimi comes with a little piece of liver, which tastes for all the world like some kind of savoury cream. Crazy! The staff here are really friendly and it has its own brands of shochu (Japanese liqueur, a bit like whisky and made from wheat, rice or sweet potatoes) and sake. The food is universally excellent, and the atmosphere the cheeful, rowdy atmosphere of a typical Japanese Inn.

kagetsu: an izakaya near kumakichi in higashi hon machi, kagetsu looks from the outside like a wood-walled fortress. Inside it is superbly appointed in traditional Japanese style, with a fine curving bar downstairs and private rooms upstairs. There is a kind of curved aesthetic to the whole thing, as it is on a street-corner, so between the private booths and the open tables upstairs they have a little zen-garden curving around the tables, and curving windows overlooking the street. The food here is excellent, particularly the sashimi and salads. Once for a starter they served us a plate with a tiny, whole crab on it, roasted whole in honey. One had to eat the whole thing - legs, head, shell, the lot. Their selection of Japanese alcohols is excellent, with Plum wines and sakes and Sho chus from regions all over Japan, laid out by taste and style. The staff are friendly and accomodating, and the service inobtrusive. The service here puts a premium on Japanese style decoration, and regional foods and drinks.

foods inn, rise inn: two branches of the same restaurant, one near the university and aimed more at the university scene, one in the city and aimed at business people. These too are izakaya with a wide selection of foreign ("ethnic") foods to choose from, including Thai and European. Foods Inn definitely has a Handsome Boy hiring policy, while Rise Inn maintains an excellent cocktail menu. Once we had the all you can drink option at Rise Inn, and discovered that their all you can drink menu includes White Ladies and Martinis. I drank White Ladies for 2 hours, and got rather hammered. The decor at both restaurants is good and the staff friendly, but it is more businesslike than the other izakaya mentioned here. Fortunately the menu includes some pictures, but again no english.

Sign: Sign provides a bit of a cross between a restaurant and bar environment, with upstairs more like a bar. They provide Italian and Asian-style food, including excellent pasta, and bar-style drinks and coffee. The upstairs bar is decorated like a kind of lounge/bar, so there are many couches including couple couches facing the window, for privacy while flirting. Screens protect the customers from seeing the bar, so one feels one is in a loungeroom. The staff are a little busy and standoffish, but for large groups it is the best way to have a low-key evening of eating and drinking, and it is extremely convenient to the station.

Bihaiv: perhaps meant to say Beehive, is a macrobiotic restaurant near Sign which provides vegetarian and meat dishes, alcohol and hippy foods. It is decorated like a Spanish bar, very small and cosy. I cannot remember if the menu has English, but one staff member lived in NZ and has excellent English. They make some fine sake cocktails here, and the fake-meat food is great. Good for a hearty meal.

Bar EAD: the nicest way to have a relaxed drinking experience in Matsue, Bar EAD overlooks the lake near the older bridge, Ohashi. It is close to kumakichi and kagetsu for cheaper, after dinner drinks. The drinks are not sophisticated and it only serves finger food, but the staff are cheerful and inobtrusive, and the feeling is again that of a lounge bar. The view is excellent, providing a vista of the shoreline and the lake, with a stretch of river between. Always a good way to finish the night.

Cafe EAD: opposite bar EAD, cafe EAD is open only for half the week, from perhaps midday to 10pm. It serves food, wine and beer, and cakes and coffee. It is a tiny cafe, set in an old sake brewing shop, with 2 tables downstairs and 2 tables upstairs plus a couch. The decor is kitsch second-hand 50s and 60s stuff, battered wood and strange posters, just like an inner-urban cafe anywhere else in the world. The staff are very sweet and kind, and you can make friends with them pretty easily. Both levels have a view of the river and lake, but not as spectacular as from Bar EAD. The curry lunch is cheap and good.

Alibi: a cafe/bar near the University which provides excellent cheap lunch and dinner sets, and a range of simple cocktails, beer and wines. It plays jazz, has a couch and a couple of tables, and is waited upon by the most handsome men in existence (according to the Delightful Miss E, whose tastes we may recall are quite suspect). The staff are kind and friendly, the food is good and the atmosphere that of an unhurried lounge. An excellent way to end a hard day of "study".

Blue Crow: A food and cocktail bar across the road from Alibi, Blue Crow has minimal decorations but an excellent cocktail menu. Not only does it include its own creations on the menu, but the back page of the menu gives a list of suggested words you can throw at the waiters to get a unique taste. These include "first love", "snow", "spring", "rain", "sweat"(?), etc. It's a fine experience to come here with friends and try to guess the ingredients of the barman's first love. Mostly, it would seem, they are sweet and slightly purple.

In Tottori, my most frequently visited places are:

fuchan ramen: next to Tottori station, an excellent spot for a huge helping of karaage at lunch time. The ebi karaage (deep-fried prawn) for a mere 650 yen will keep you going for 2 days. A classic ramen restaurant, with a cheerful and welcoming obachan to draw you in.

luz restaurant: an izakaya on the main entertainment street, little more than a nook in the wall with an excellent range of foreign foods, including south east asian, and regional Japanese alcohol. The staff are friendly, it has a singing bird and a very cute toilet.

cafe chocolate: the food and drinks are ordinary, but Mr. Hiroki maintains that the bargirl is the most beautiful and sexy woman on the Earth. "She is perfect!" On hondori from Tottori station.

bar DNA: a bar with 80s disco style decor, popular with foreigners in Tottori but (due to the unique nature of Tottori foreigners) not a toilet. It runs regular night clubs, although at times it is simply open for a night of drinking and 80s music. If you want to meet a foreigner who has done more than anyone else to forge the unique foreign community of Tottori, visit DNA and ask for Stephen. He used to run the incomparable Viva Shiva restaurant, source of the best homus in Western Japan. Sadly that has now closed so he can focus on DNA - so make it worth his while and pay him a visit.

murthi: a South-East Asian style South East Asian restaurant between the International House and the big shopping centre (Jusco? Saty?) in North Tottori. It has a big projector for playing music videos, cane armchairs, friendly and welcoming staff, and good south east asian food. The Pad Thai is excellent. Also, a hippy shop is attached. Well worth a visit if you are staying at the Kaikan, or if you have a car.

These are the places I have mostly frequented over the last 2 years, though in Tottori particulary you can drop in pretty much anywhere and be guaranteed cheap, excellent food. For a culinary tour of Japan par excellence, I recommend the San In coast at any time of the year.