Beaten By My Wife's Common Sense

This weekend was supposed to involve two really great runs. I have been lazy throughout the week and simply haven't been getting out there early in the morning and putting the kilometres I should be under my feet. I could make many excuses, but laziness is the only true reason.

The plan was to go for a run this afternoon while my son was taking a nap. There's a little problem though. I woke up several times throughout the night coughing and hacking. by 5:00 am this morning I was pretty much completely awake and laying in bed coughing up a lung. I can't remember if it was the right or left one, but it felt like one of those rascally lungs was trying to crawl out of my mouth and scamper away under the bed.

My wife and I took my son to Kobe Women's University later on in the morning. I want him to start chasing women early, so I thought that would be the perfect location! Ok….maybe I lie. We actually took him to the university because they have an early child care program there and once a month they have an open house. They have a great mock classroom facility with tons of cool toys. the student teachers have a chance to interact with children and I had a chance to take a load of cute pictures!

Soon after that we were back home and I continued to cough up a lung. There is a chance I may have been coughing up two lungs.....but definitely not three!

My planned run was snuffed when my wife, using her common sense told me I probably shouldn't. "Kevin, last time you went running with a chest cold, you made it worse." I lowered my head and admitted that her common sense beat my need to run.

So, here I sit, making worksheets for my students for next week's classes and writing a blog post. The coughing is getting worse and I'm wearing a little sad face.

:(

Here are some scenes from Sannomiya in downtown Kobe, Japan. I took these last night on my way home from work.

This is my favourite Starbucks location in downtown Kobe.

This is the Nescafe Cafe close to my favorite Starbucks.

A pile of sad looking teddies. Took this picture of a crane game close to Sannomiya Station.

Building an Online Following

This morning when I woke up and sat down in front of my computer with my breakfast and coffee. I logged into You Tube and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Tsunami podcast did a profile of me on their weekly podcast about Japan-based content creators. It was quite cool.

In watching the video where Hiroki talked about my online presence and showcased some of my videos, past and present, I got to thinking about how I got to where I am today online.

I am by no means “famous” or even remotely “quasi-famous”, but I do have a wonderful and loyal following on both of my You Tube channels and a small, yet growing readership on this blog. My “success” on You Tube was achieved in a variety of ways:


1. Consistently make content. If you want to get noticed online you have to be constantly putting out a product. The more of “you” out there, the better chance there is that people will notice you. Also, once you begin to build an audience, they want to see you on a regular basis! If you are on You Tube, make videos frequently. If you blog, write several times a week.

2. Make a quality product. I of course mentioned that you must produce content consistently, but remember; no one wants to watch crap! Also, people don’t want to read crap. Make it fun, interesting and well done.

3. Write about or vlog about something you really love. If you love or really like what you are vlogging/blogging about, the passion shows and people will notice.

4. Find a niche. I’m still trying to do this! I know that if I did, I would find more success online. An example of this would be my friend Sara. She has been in Japan for quite some time and LOVES Starbucks. She is a fan of their products and their culture. She recently did a very cool thing. She began a blog about Starbucks in Japan. That is a great topic. There are many Starbucks/coffee fans out there and of course there are many Japan fans out there. She is killing two birds with one stone.

5. Network like nuts. I still haven’t done much of this with my blog, but have done loads over the years on You Tube. Get out there and meet people. Find other vloggers within your community or who make similar videos. Comment on their videos and blogs. Send them emails and messages. Form a relationship. This can take time, but that’s how you build your network. Once you have online allies, they will look out for you and also promote you!

6. Pay it forward. Karma is a real thing online. Do good for other vloggers and bloggers and you will build a solid reputation. In time, others will do good for you. Shout people out! Make videos or write blogs about other content creators you admire or like. Add them to your blogroll or liked vloggers box on You Tube. Shout people out in videos. When you begin to do this frequently, people will notice that you are a kind web citizen and eventually people will do the same for you.



These are some basic things you can do to help you channel or blog grow. Now, this doesn’t normally happen over night. For most successful vloggers and bloggers out there, it took a lot of time and work to achieve success. It takes time to build a network and build a body of content. If you want it enough and do it wisely though, success can definitely happen!


Now of course, I’d love it if all of you would check out Tsunami Ep. 9 - Busan Kevin, the video made about me, as a content creator:

Feels Like Spring in Japan

Spring is just around the corner here in Japan. At least that’s what the stores and shops are telling me! Spring themed products are all over the place. Starbucks Japan has now filled its shelves with Sakura themed cups, tumblers, snacks and drinks and many shops are getting ready for Hina Matsuri 雛祭り (Girl’s Day) and Kodomo no Hi (Children’s/Boy’s Day).

Another telltale sign of the approach of a warmer time is the appearance of “ume” or plum blossoms on the trees. In just a few more weeks the “sakura” or cherry blossoms will start to appear and that is always a great time to start the spring party!
Of course, spring is a time of change everywhere. It is a time for new things and a time for the world to be refreshed. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and celebrating my first “Hanami” or cherry blossom party with my son.

I thought I’d show you wonderful folks some fun pictures from today, a beautiful day in and around Kobe. It was great day to be in Japan.


Hina Matsuri 雛祭り (Girl's Day) in Japan is just around the corner. Families buy beautiful and expensive displays of dolls to celebrate having a daughter.


Plum blossoms in a local park.


More great plum blossoms in a local park.


A very creative and silly student of mine wrote this on the white board at lunch today. I liked it! I'm a home room teacher from Monday to Friday, but I have a part time ESL job on Saturdays. It's a lot of fun teaching these kids!


I saw a unicycle locked up outside of my apartment today and just thought it an odd sight. I never saw children driving unicycles growing up in Canada. I see it all the time here in Japan. It's like an entire generation with dreams of someday going to clown school!


I was at Toys R' Us this afternoon buying some fun toys for my little son when I saw the display for Hinamatsuri dolls. Check out a little video I made with my iPhone about it:



I also wanted to share a new Japan oriented site with you folks. A friend and fellow Starbucks fan has created a blog dedicated to all things “Starbucks in Japan.” Check it out here. It is a new site and your comments and encouragement will keep a good thing going!

Canadian Thanksgiving

Much to the surprise of most Americans I meet or talk to, today was Thanksgiving somewhere else! That's right. Today was Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. As coincidence would have it, it is Sports Day in Japan, a national holiday, so I had a long weekend just like folks back home in Canada. Although mine was for different reasons, I'll take what i can get without complaining.

I celebrated the occasion by having a great day with my family and making a little Thanksgiving meal for my wife and I. I used chicken instead of turkey since it is so expensive here in Japan. I plan to buy a turkey for Christmas this year since we will be staying in Japan for the holiday.


Here is my Thanksgiving dinner pre-gravy. I made mashed potatoes with chicken and an assortment of stir-fried veggies.


Add some amazing 3 pepper gravy and you have a feast fit for a king.


The gravy was a Canadian delight I picked up last Christmas while visiting may family. I brought back a bag of various gravy-type mixes and have been using the sparingly throughout the year!


I made the weekend a little more special yesterday by running 30 km as part of my marathon training. it was a hard go on such a warm day. Lots of people were barbecuing along the way and at times I had trouble maintaining my focus and motivation. At the end of the run I was glad I did it of course knowing that I am one big step closer to being prepared for my full marathon in a few weeks in Osaka.


My run was all over the place, but one nice area past Nada-ku is along a storm drain/river. This was fairly close to Mikage Station. There were a lot of people having cook outs and generally loafing about on this river.

Check out this little video blog I made with my iPhone during my long run yesterday.




Here is another video I put up online last night about cool Starbucks coffee cups. This is only part of my collection.


I ran a total of 78 km last week and I will see if I can keep this weeks distance in the same range.


Random Japan news time:



Husband, grandfather, retiree – and a Japanese porn star
It’s said that everyone has a secret. What was unique about Shigeo Tokuda’s fib was that everything he wasn’t telling his wife and daughter was on recorded on hundreds of videos, and that thousands of admirers knew exactly who he was and what he was trying to hide.

For a long time, Mr. Tokuda was not just the world’s oldest porn star, he was perhaps its most anonymous. His family didn’t know where the 76-year-old really went and what he did when the retired travel agent pulled on his blazer and went off to “work” in the morning.

But among his fans – and there are enough of them to justify the making of at least one new film a month – Mr. Tokuda is the superstar of the rising genre of “elder porn,” movies that feature older actors (at least the male ones) and plotlines in which the growing number of Japanese senior citizens (again, at least the males) can picture themselves. His most famous role is as a senior citizen who acts anything but his age with an assortment of nurses, as well as with his twentysomething daughter-in-law.

Elder porn is a fast-growing industry in Japan, which has a population that is both the oldest in the world as well as the world’s second-largest consumers of pornography (after the United States). By his count, Mr. Tokuda has appeared in some 350 films, with another project – Prohibited Elderly Care Vol. 45 – already in production. Read more here at the Globe and Mail


Osaka brewer's stout named world's best in British contest
OSAKA - A.J.I. Beer Inc, a small brewer in Mino, Osaka Prefecture, has produced the “World’s Best Stout” for the second straight year in a British beer contest. Minoh Beer Imperial Stout, which contains 8% alcohol, is “silky textured with sweet rounded malt opening,” the organizers of the World Beer Awards said on their website.

“I have gained even more confidence,” said Masaji Oshita, president of A.J.I. Beer, adding that he will aim at winning the title again next year. Minoh Beer is produced once a year and the company will start accepting orders for the stout late this month, it said. Original at Japan Today

Starbucks Does Kobe

I suppose this isn't completely new news since these cups actually hit shelves a few months ago, but I have decided to spread the word. Starbucks スターバックス, the Seattle-based coffee shop chain is of course very common throughout most parts of Asia. You can find them in China, Korea (not the Northern part), Taiwan, Japan, etc. In Sannomiya, the downtown core of Kobe, there are several locations (always packed to the rafters on a weekend afternoon).

Most major cities in Japan have their own special Starbucks coffee mug. I have a few in my Starbucks mug collection (yes, I am an unabashed Starbucks fan). I have wanted to buy a Kobe mug because I really enjoy the city and know I won't be living here forever. I wanted one as a keepsake I suppose. The Kyoto one I have is wonderful as is the Tokyo mug. Unfortunately, the Kobe mug has always looked nasty! It simply looked cheap and poorly designed. Until this year.


The new and much cooler mug of course has Kobe Tower as the main focal point. When lit up at night, the scene around the Kobe waterfront, with Kobe Tower and the ferris wheel at Kobe Mosaic are icons of the Kobe skyline.



On the back side of the mug you of course see the ferris wheel as well as scenes from Mount Rokko and the really wonderful Starbucks located in a historic building in Kitano Cho.

This is a great mug to drink some coffee from. My next purchase will be the Osaka Starbucks mug which came out last year. that one is even cooler than this one!


Earlier in the year I made a video about the very cool Starbucks located in Kitano-cho in Kobe.

Heat Waves, Starbucks and the Blackberry

We've ben suffering through a very nasty spell here in Japan. The summer was drawing to a close and good ole Mother Nature decided to give us the proverbial bitch slap with a heat wave. The temperatures all last week were in the mid 40's with the humidex. it was utter hell! Thankfully things have cooled down to the high 30's. It still sucks, but I think it is slightly better.

Japan is great, but the summers suck. i think many a person would agree!


Looks Like Canada 7: Battle of the Blackberry is now online. This is episode 7 of my new podcast series about all things Canadian. This week I look at one of the most popular smartphones in the world. I also look at the recent controversy RIM (Research in Motion) are facing in the Middle east with many countries wanting to ban the Blackberry.


On a lighter note....i have a new haircut. I'm living in the middle of a heat-wave and decided to have it taken down nice and tight. Feels good!



I saw this sign outside of a Starbucks in Sannomiya. I had a brief chance to head downtown today. These days, with the new baby, leaving the house is something I don't have many chances to do!


I used to drink Starbucks 5 pr 6 times a week. I don't have so many chances these days. this was my first "Bucks" in more than 2 weeks. I really enjoyed my tall latte!

I went to Kyoto

I woke u this morning, the last morning of my "quasi-vacation" and I decided to go to Kyoto. It's really not that far away so I went there for a few hours. A Starbucks, a few shrines, temples, gift shops and a lot of sweat later....I was back on the train home.

A did see a few cool things while there. i loved these 2 "cool down" snacks for sale outside of one temple.

In this first picture, there are cherry tomatoes on a stick (iced cherry tomatoes). It was damn hot so I assume these would be a nice little treat. They were going for ¥100...about $1.25 Canadian.


Here are some iced cucumbers on a stick. Apparently (I didn't try one) my wife says these are normally salted as well. I suppose that's doubly good on a hot and sweaty day!


So, did I see a real geisha this afternoon in Kyoto?



Also, I'm going away tomorrow for summer camp with my school. I'll be back on Friday, but then early Saturday afternoon will be off on a weekend trip (no laptop with me on this one). I promise to take a lot of really cool footage and have some odd and interesting videos for you sometime next week!

Running, coffee and concerts

It's been a sunny Sunday. A great day to get back in the "running" spirit and go for a run. I plan to run in 2 marathons this Fall and have to get back into training asap. I have to admit, it's really tough training in Japan during the summer because of the incredibly high heat and humidity. I did it last year while training for the Osaka Yodogawa Citizens Marathon. Basically, you have to run after dark or really early in the morning to attempt to beat the heat. Also, you have to run with water. it took some getting used to, but after a few weeks I was quite comfortable running with a water bottle in hand. I have a pretty cool ASICS one that fits in your hand nicely.

I put about 90 minutes into Japanese studies today. I may do some more before bed tonight.



Ah....a few things that caught my eye today:

Starbucks Coffee's small cans of "doubleshot" coffee will be even more widely available in stores around Japan soon. I suppose that doesn't make too much of a difference to me since they are SO freakin expensive, that I never buy them anyway!




Also, today there was a concert here on Port Island in Kobe where I live. the trains were really busy when we went home this afternoon. Also, when I was running on Port Island this afternoon I saw throngs of young Japanese women with really big hair and really short shorts heading to the arena on the island.

They were all there to see the singer Ayumi Hamasaki. I honestly have no idea who this very "Photoshopped" woman is, but all of her fans look a lot like her! I suppose that's not a bad thing at all though.