what do you see?

Just my usual "Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus!!" today.

Spring is here..!..? Or probably not quite yet, but it really feels like it today. This leads to three unfamiliar sensations: walking on real solid roads, actually feeling warm while doing the walking and getting splashed on the legs by over-zealous drivers during the journey.

Anyway, I'm knee-deep in taxes today, so can't stop long.

On the strength of another recommendation from a student, we went out to a Belgian bar/cafe called Paul's Cafe last night. It's in a very non-descript basement corridor underneath the Century Royal Hotel (the kind of hotel homage to the 70s that Japan does so well) near Sapporo station. Run by a friendly Belgian guy from Antwerp, it offers a pretty authentic Belgian experience, with loads of imported bottled beers and few on tap too, and some good food which is hard to find elsewhere - including rotisserie chicken and rabbit stew. Apparently the tables are imported from Belgium too. But it always amuses me that even a very authentic place like this has to make certain concessions to being in Japan: oshibori in plastic wrappers, iced water and small wicker baskets containing cutlery are never absent!

Well I did it and survived.
Last night I went out to a restaurant in Susukino with some work colleagues. It's one that I've noticed many times as it has a slightly murky tank of squid outside, but it turned out to be a lot bigger and better than I had expected. I actually didn't detest the squid this time, and ate most of my ika-somen (raw squid prepared in thin strips, in the style of noodles) before realising that maybe I was eating one of the poor beasts from the murky tank and stopped out of pity.
After a few dishes, our Japanese companions decided to order fugu-zangi: Hokkaido dialect for "fugu" (the infamous toxic blowfish) cooked fried chicken style. I always told myself I'd never dare to try this potentially lethal delicacy, but last night I didn't really have a choice...and anyway, we all know that people only die when they try and prepare the fish themselves, or eat the highly toxic liver, so it's bound to be OK, right?
I gingerly nibbled at my piece, which tasted like a fairly bland fishfinger. Of course, I couldn't concentrate on much else but my potential impending demise, but tried my best...
A few minutes later I was sure that I started feeling a little dizzy and weird, and I also became convinced that one of the waitresses kept shooting concerned looks in my direction...was this the end? I decided that maybe I could fight off the toxins through sheer will power, and cheerfully ordered another beer. A couple of minutes later I felt fine. It's amazing what will power can do!

I really don't like to blow my own trumpet, but I know some of you have been wondering, so I'll just tell you that I passed the JLPT level 2 test!

Also, I looked at the HBC Odori web cam yesterday to see the shocking site of the snow sculptures being unceremoniously ripped down by a JCB (= bulldozer(US)). I shouldn't have been shocked, as looking back at my archives I can see that last year was almost identical, including my blogging! So that means I'm duty bound to say (in pink of course) Happy Valentine's Day!

Sapporo Snow Festival 2006 looks a little like this:

We went up to Otaru last night to see the first night of "Snow Gleaming" (Yuki-akari-no-michi) - a smaller and quieter counterpart to Sapporo's festival. It was pleasant, with lots of candles decorating the streets; small ones in ice-domes and larger ones cradles in small sculpted branches.

Along the former railway line and banks of the canal there were various igloos and snow sculptures, and the canal had candles floating in it. Hoards of volunteers with small blowtorches had the job of keeping the candles lit.

I know I know, long time no post, but I've been quite shaken by a comment just received on a really old post of mine that seems to say I am not "real"...interesting existential connotations there. Still, if you want to check out the REAL Phil Taylor's wonderful site, feel free. Just makes me even more relieved that I decided not to consign myself to a life as a software developer. Anyway, I'd much rather be wandering around here discovering paradoxes like the wind which apparently can blow in two directions at once: whenever I walk down the stairs into the subway, an icy blast hits me in the face the whole time, and on my way back up the same stairs a similar blast is invariably blowing facewards again.

Ah yes, mustn't forget: the 57th Sapporo Snow Festival is upon us - this means lots of extra people everywhere, and lots of volunteers offering to "take your picture" in front of assorted tourist sites (even if you are quite obviously hurrying past in a blizzard with an umbralla and your head down, and don't even a have a camera...). But seriously, we'll have a look round this Saturday and post some pictures as is traditional - well, we did it last year anyway.