Davo

My wheels have a basket in the front which is very handy for doing the shopping and storing rubbish-pretty flash eh!

He's preparing you for the return of the mullet,king of hairstyles. Just think from Botham to Beckham-the full circle of hair fashion. [This message has been edited by Davo (edited 08 June 2002).]

Surely you don't have a reason to disagree with that. They're so fresh I had to marry one.

I guess they had some reason to be worried about this particular match, but I would have thought that was a policing issue. I know that the police and the media went out of their way to put the fear into the people of Sapporo. The end result is all foreigners being branded as hooligans and a lot of missed opportunities for the city. Like you say scouser-sad.

The snow melting and the lifts closing

This article paints a grim picture for the spirit of the festival in Sapporo http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2002/story/0,11224,728061,00.html . Watch out for those Ecqadorian hooligans! A little paranoid I think.

Only 7 months to go before we get back into the powder. Summer is for saving and getting to the beach as much as you can.

Yeah I support Japan-NZ has been to the World Cup once and that's unlikely to happen again, but if Saudi Arabia can qualify....Also cheering for Korea-boys rocked last night didn't they? Hope both teams make it through to the 2nd round.

I let my students out for a break to check the score. In the Osaka business district tonight loads of people were out of work early to see the game.

I'm underemployed at present GG but don't expect to be doing more than 20-25 hrs to make a fat salary as things crank up. I gave up the eikiewa dross and decided to only work for premium hourly rates.

Winter obviously, the fresh babes, gyoza, general lack of life threatening aggro, countryside, public transport, cheap oysters, Japanese food, short working hours, convenience stores and other stuff I can't think of right now. Plenty of shit I don't like though.

Senegal goalie-give the man a big hand. Was Petit asleep or what?

Second only to the over the top exclamations of UUUMMMAAii, SSSSSUUUUGGGoooIII and ooooIIISSHHiiii !!! from every talentless tarento as they eat whatever dish thats put in front of them. Being lame is obviously the hallmark for excellence in this celebrity circus.

Belle- I can't believe the blokes aren't pestering the hell out of you. Nothing sexier than a girl who can carve it up but like you say lots of guys are hitched here-myself included. Hakuba could be the place for you-there always seems to be a shortage of girls and the single guys are more than eager. The happiest gaijin girls I know in Japan are the ones who dig Japanese boys. If the gaijins aren't coming up with the goods I'm sure there's no end of cool Japanese board boys to keep you happy.

Remains of the day-Kazuo Ishiguro Falling off the Map-Pico Iyer Rotton-John Lydon All good reads with differing merits. All provide interesting snapshots into past times either fictional or based on fact.

I used to work in a club in Osaka in 1997 at a time when it seemed few gaijins were into techno,house,trance, drum& bass etc. The place attracted mostly Japanese clubbers and quite a few gaijins depending on the event-most of whom were pretty cool and friendly, stoked to be dancing to something better than Robert Miles or Shaggy. However you did get the odd person who came in and like you say seemed to come out in a rash because they had to deal with another gaijin. At another bar I worked at once this gaijin girl was speaking to me in Japanese & I told her to speak f::ing English and

I'll go for Osaka as it's big enough and cheaper than Tokyo in some ways. Many people here have strong characters and are boisterous, rude and noisy which I prefer over meek any day. Foods good, good cafes are appearing just about everywhere and the bars and clubs are getting better. Close to Kyoto and Kobe plus a lot of countryside for daytrips when you get sick of the concrete and pushy old ladies on the train. This may be a big city but in a lot of ways it reminds me of a small town. Why any gaijin would want to be territorial about a Japanese city amuses me. I'm sure Tokyo or other cities

Anko is sweet bean paste and = big disapointment when you think you're eating a jam donut. I never did quite get over it and hate the stuff to this day. [This message has been edited by Davo (edited 19 May 2002).]

A Japanese friend told me the other night that the police in Osaka have a special undercover squad operating during the World Cup. It is made up of big rugby players etc who will be able to physically restrain ie take out troublemakers at games or anywhere they're likely to gather. It's known as the Soccer Hooligan Attack Team, or perhaps more interestingly by it's acronym-Shat. I guess they don't have much awareness of past tense English verbs-lucky they didn't call themselves the Soccer Hooligan Imobilisation Team eh.

Thanks-I went with the fetta after all.

Exactly as you say miyatek-merge the freakin resorts as much as possible. The best contenders I can think of are Takasu snow park and Dynaland in Gifu whose lift systems and slopes compliment each other perfectly. I think both of them are doing fairly well anyway but I can't see how they would lose customers by becoming a large resort instead of 2 half decent medium sized ones.

SJG have you considered making the forum availible to only registered users so that you are able avoid this situation-which I unfortunately missed. It's always good to read heated exchanges of opinion between users who have to be mindful of staying within certain boundries lest their posting privilages are canned. An interesting can of worms isn't it?

Here's one for you Cheeseman. I really need to know what a good substitute for fetta cheese is. The only fetta I can find costs too much.

Sunday DY with the Observer suppliment is as close to a real paper as you'll get here.

Akibun in answer to your question-people cut loose and have a good time so it's kind of similar to skiing/boarding in that respect. Nice to leave the everyday world behind now and then, dancing at sunrise outside beats doing the same thing in a club if you ask me.