Green Tea Time

Green tea. Sitting there, all smug.

I don't really like green tea. There, I said it. But it's one of the most popular beverages and flavors in Japan, so if offered some tea or a matcha (抹茶) flavored pastry, I suck it up and act like I'm delighted. There are exceptions - soft cream, Kit-Kats, I'm looking at you - you rock!

Recently, though, I've been trying to drink it at work. A lot of it. Why? Because it's healthy, and it's free. Let's start with the healthy part. It's no secret that drinking green tea has been linked with a variety of health benefits. It can reduce stress, lower the risk of certain cancers, increase mental awareness, and speed up your metabolism, among other things. Part of this is due to the fact that tea in general is pretty damn healthy. Another part is that the antioxidants found in green tea are particularly potent. The last part is, well, uncertain. In reference to taking green tea containing supplements, WebMD says:

"I don't think it can hurt to drink it. I'd focus on dietary sources rather than supplements because there are several compounds in green tea that might need to be consumed together. We just don't know yet,"[...]

So really there's a mystery element to green tea. It's good because...it's good. Now as the WebMD article notes, green tea isn't going to cure anything, but certainly doesn't hurt to drink. At the moment I'm trying to drink a lot of the stuff so that I can acquire a taste for it, as I have with so many other consumables.

Luckily for me, right now I'm in a situation where I can drink all the green tea I want at no cost! At work, anyhow. Why is that? Well, at each of my schools, we have the Japanese equivalent of a water cooler. It looks like this:

Serves tea and also hosts the school's computer network.

I know what you're thinking "Oh, so instead of water coolers in Japan, they just havee green tea coolers. Figures." Phff, no. Racist. They have water, too. Err...well, the one at my part time school has cold water. This one only has hot water and hot green tea. Decisions, decisions.

Caveats


While green tea is largely considered to be a very healthy drink, there are a few things you should keep in mind. I wasn't aware of these things, but I want you to be. It's my thanks to you for reading. Really, thank you!

• Green tea and caffeine - I've heard that green tea doesn't have caffeine. This isn't quite a statistic, but it might qualify as a damn lie. The truth is, it's variable. There are many factors that play into it. Younger tea leaves contain more caffeine. First infusions contain more caffeine. Cold tea generally has more caffeine than hot tea. Tea from teabags often has more. Man, I'm glad I learned that. That could be why I've been feeling particularly antsy the past few days. For more information, see this Wikihow page on how to minimize green tea caffeine. Update: As Ashely points out in the comment section, tea still contains a lot less caffeine than coffee, so it's a great alternative if you're trying to cut back.

• Tea stones! - You should be fine so long as you drink in moderation, but certain components of green tea can lead to kidney stones.

• Hot tea and cancer - At least one study has linked the consumption of hot tea with esophageal cancer. So you might be better off drinking it warm, lukewarm, or cold.

• Green tea with milk and lemon - You can, of course, drink green tea plain, but studies have shown that adding milk actually decreases its beneficial effects. Conversely, adding citrus such as lemon helps the body absorb more antioxidants. Maybe I should start bringing lemons with me to work.

There you have it. While this is by no means a comprehensive guide to green tea, I hope you learned something you didn't know before. I know I did!

My friend Steve

This post is a submission to the March 2011 Japan Blog Matsuri, hosted this month over at Haikugirl's Japan. Thanks, Ali!


The theme of this month's Matsuri is "Faces of Japan." I thought a lot about who I wanted to write about, and ultimately decided to break the rules of the theme. Sorry, Ali! I was supposed to write about a Japanese person in my life, and while there are plenty of people more than deserving of a blog post, I decided to write about a non-Japanese friend of mine. A friend named Stephen.

I have a knack for photoing people as they blink.

Living in Japan, I've met a lot of amazing people, both Japanese and non. Going through some old photos on my computer the other day, I came across a few of Steve and it jogged some memories. I'm really glad to have met this guy. Let me tell you a little about him.

Steve and I both entered the JET Program in 2008 and were placed in Hyogo-ken, right between Osaka and Kobe. I think we first met at the orientation for new JET ALTs at Yashiro (lovingly called "Yashiro Prison" by all who attend), where we were roommates along with two other guys. Incidentally, one of them was our very own Joe. I remember my impression of Steve was positive right off the bat. He was often grinning, friendly, and positive, though not in the same way that wide-eyed Japanophiles tend to be.

Over the months we met up a few times to either grab a bite or go hiking, and though we didn't hang out often, I felt like the time we did spend together was quality. I know this is sounding more and more like a man-crush, but I just mean he was both a fun guy to hang out with and the kind of person who one can learn from. And no, he's not dead or anything, but I'm gonna keep talking about him in the past tense anyway.

If he were a professional photographer, this would be his bio picture.

Our hikes to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Mt. Rokko near Kobe are great memories. He was a big fan of hiking and also into photography, so he set up a number of these scenic hikes and always issued an open invitation to anyone interested. Now that I'm thinking of going hiking once or twice in the spring, I regret that I didn't go with him more often.

931 meters up, baby.

On our hikes we had some good talks. He really was an interesting guy - originally a businessman working for Nike (apologies if I'm mistaken, Steve! I remember it was a footwear company), he decided that he wanted to try something different, something more fulfilling. While a lot of people would (and do) just stay where they are and be miserable (hey, at least they have a paycheck), he decided to go out there and try something different. So he went to go teach English in Japan. I remember him telling me that he used to be a stressed out person, often getting angry and worrying all the time. One day he decided that he didn't want to be that kind of person, and committed to becoming happier and more positive. He accomplished that, but still managed to maintain a somewhat cynical edge, which became evident especially when talking about business or politics. That's what I saw, anyway, and I greatly admired that about him.

Steve only stayed on for one year - his then girlfriend, now wife, was waiting for him back home. Though I wish I had gotten to know him a little better, we do still keep in touch, though infrequently. Regardless, I'm glad to have met him. He's one of the friends I've made here in Japan, and was a kind of mentor to me, as well. If you read this, Steve, thanks for all the advice and friendship. It's a small world - if our paths ever cross again, let's have a beer. It won't be at an udon shop at the top of a mountain, and it may not even be Japanese beer, but it'll be in good company!

This post is also a submission to Budget Trouble's Show Me Japan. Check it out for more posts about Japan! 

The vitamin C is a lie

Emptor caveat. Or "buyer beware."

Many Japanese (and foreign) people I've met consider Japan to be a pretty healthy society. Physically, anyway. People here exercise and eat well. But for such a supposedly health-conscious people, it's a little startling to realize that nutritional information doesn't seem to be very important to most people here. Whether this is the cause or result of the fact that it's often a bit confusing or unavailable, I'm unsure. But then, nutritional information doesn't seem to be as heavily regulated as it is in some countries, particularly the U.S. This was surprising for me, given the bureaucratic nature of so many elements of Japanese society.

But what exactly am I going on about? Japanese food has nutritional information labels! Well yes, it generally does. But most people don't know how to interpret it, and the labels don't do you any favors. I've already written about how to understand Japanese nutrition labels, along with a warning about serving sizes and hidden sugar. You should also be careful about overly vague labeling.

Let me compare two products so you can get an idea what I mean. On one hand, we have Japanese Vitamin Water, which clearly advertises on the label: "1000 mg of Vitamin C." I'm not too crazy about the amount of sugar in the drink, which is disguised by reduced serving size information (I don't have one available, but off the top of my head I believe it's about 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 ml, with a total of about 500 ml pr bottle).

Then we have Fiber 7500 Plus Vitamin C, which says that it has 7500 mg of fiber per bottle. When I saw this drink, I was a little hopeful. Fiber and vitamin C, huh? Well, it's  カロリーゼロ (0 calorie), so no sugar. If I don't get cancer from this thing, I could be onto something here. But if it sounds too good to be true...

...it usually is. Looks like Fiber 7500 Plus Vitamin C packs between 16 and 84 mg of Vitamin C per 100 ml. Again, this is a 500 ml bottle, so we must multiply that by 5. That means there's between 80 mg and 420 mg per bottle. I'd say that's a pretty big variance. Ok, to be fair, all we really need is about 60 mg a day, though more Vitamin C never hurts (our bodies constantly use the stuff, but since it's one of the only water-soluable vitamins it can't be stored). So in that respect, this drink is adequate. But if you're looking to pump Vitamin C, like if you have a cold or something, you'd be much better off with either supplements or something like Vitamin Water, which contains about 2.3 - 12.5 times as much.

For those of you who aren't as interested in looking for and crunching the numbers for stuff like Vitamin C content, just be aware that vague labels are a reason for caution. You may not be getting exactly what you think.

Just Another Manga Monday #7

American Manga? Yay or Nay?

Every time I walk into a Borders, Books a Million or Barnes n Nobles I immediately head straight for the manga aisle. I can’t even control it anymore; it’s just instinctive. Over the past couple of years I’ve noticed some American mangas permeating the section…which I do not appreciate. I think the first title I saw that confused me was a World of Warcraft series. I guess there is a general assumption that anyone who reads manga is therefore nerdy and must be into video games as well. Next, I saw a Star Trek series. I don’t think it was too long after the newest movie came out. Once again, I was turned off and never opened it. Last year the newest craze in American manga was the Scott Pilgrim series *(though actually Canadian). I admit I was a little intrigued because my friends were so into it and it was rumored to have many nerdy references. Eventually I saw the movie, courtesy of my brother. I decided to give the series a read, but I was more curious to see why it is placed in the manga section as opposed to the graphic novel section.


Now, I don’t know if there is a definition of what ‘manga’ is supposed to be in the United States so I’m just going to go with what’s obvious to me based on years of experience. Words tend to change their meaning based on geography and culture so if you’re in Japan you can probably offer some different insights and I can’t wait to hear them. (For example I was thinking of the word ‘anime.’ In Japan doesn’t it refer to any cartoon, whereas in the states it would only be used in the context of Japanese animation?) Well, anyway, ‘manga’ to me is a Japanese style comic book, generally read from left to right, which follows certain themes (friendship, love, conquering opposition, etc.).

In reading Scott Pilgrim I tried to determine- would I consider this a manga?




Similarities and Differences:
Style. The most obvious difference to me was the artistic style. The characters are drawn in a more ‘chibi’ fashion I guess you could say- short, stout. Maybe this is because they’re *North American and fatter? The eyes are still drawn large but the style is just a little sloppier in comparison to Japanese books. It is not as inspiring or breath-taking to me. I wouldn’t consider it art as I would often consider the other manga that I read.

Ultimate Venus and Scott Pilgrim

.

.

.

Alichino and Chobits below

Content. The content is so very very different. I don’t think I’ve ever read a manga where a character is called an ‘Asshat.’ I guess that’s something a translator would never put in. Maybe I’m not reading vulgar enough manga to make the comparison, but I stick to my guns that the content is different. The sense of humor and references are very *North American. I don’t know if I can describe it any better than that; it would be like trying to describe British humor. You know it when you see it but can’t especially put it into words.


Themes. Friendship and Love. Finally a match! Based on the themes alone, I would put Scott Pilgrim into the manga category. The series is basically a gigantic love triangle. Scratch that.. octagon? Too many to count. But within the story exists the overlying theme of true love between Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers and the relationships with many friends along the way. Now I can be nitpicky here and point how completely different the dynamic in these friendships are between those of other manga friendships, but I was just happy to find a match. Unfortunately that is still in the back of my head. They’re so *North American about it. Sarcasm, making fun of each other, the prolific use of ‘your mom’ jokes…


In conclusion, I’m going to have to say that… whoever decided *North American graphic novels like Scott Pilgrim should go into the manga section is a complete Noob! The artwork doesn’t do the category justice and the content doesn’t fit the spirit of the genre.

If you liked the movie Scott Pilgrim though you should definitely give the books a read (there’s only six). Like all book/movie pairs there are many differences and you will be surprised.

* = Edited as of 4/08/2011

Pedestrian Rage

I'm taking a little break from my tonsil adventures to revisit an old topic I covered in my Four Biggest Aggravations of Japan. There has since been some rearranging and I decided my number four ranked aggravation has shot up to number one: "Nobody Pays Attention While Walking". Actually it shot way past one. Putting it on a list of aggravations is like putting Jack Nicholson from The Shining on a list of people with a case of the Mondays.

I'm a pretty happy guy. My emotions stay level and I never lose my temper. Yet whenever I'm outside and walking in Japan I am constantly angry. And not just a little T.O.ed, I'm talking a barely contained simmering rage. Why is this? NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION WHILE WALKING. Actually, that's not fair. I can't make such a broad sweeping generalization about a society. I'll be generous and say half the people don't pay attention while walking. Meaning 50% of the population are pedestrian inept, sidewalk novices, incompetent at strolling, and jerks. In video game terms, they have poor path-finding.

The other day I was making my weekly trek to Tsutaya to rent some DVDs. As usual, people weren't paying attention, but that's OK. When I see someone down the block walking towards me on one side of the sidewalk while they are engrossed in a novel, I always move to the other side. I don't mind getting out of the way of people with everything being equal. But there are some times when I refuse to move out of someone's way. One of those times is when a precedent has been set:

Diagram 1

As you can see in diagram 1, me and the Green Guy are simply walking down the block like two normal human beings about to pass each other. Jerk Salaryman isn't aligned with either of us, but that's OK. He can keep walking straight and we'll still be able to pass without trouble, though a bit close, or he could take a step over and fall in line with Green Guy thereby making this problem free. Green Guy passes me which set the precedent. Everyone now should walk on their left!

Diagram 2

I've been here long enough to know better than to assume people will simply use their senses to take in information, process that information, and decide on what logical action to take. So I looked at Jerk Salaryman to see what he would do. We briefly made eye contact at which point he ignored the precedent and did not take the only two options available. In diagram 2 you can see instead he fell in line with me and began to look absolutely anywhere except straight ahead. He exaggeratedly examined signs, looked straight up at the sky, straight down at his shoes, and in general made a big show of how he was not paying attention.

This is unacceptable.

Similar things happen every time I'm out walking but this time, for once I am sure, was absolutely on purpose. I refused to move over and continued to look right at him as he pretended to not notice that I existed. As we were about to collide he finally relented, looked at me, and stepped out of the way. I glared at him. And that was it. But that wasn't it! I was still angry! Angrier than I had been in a long time. And it was mostly from confusion. WHY DO THAT? Why purposely walk at someone, pretend to not pay attention, and try to get them to move out of your way? Why does this sort of thing happen so often? I replayed that brief couple of seconds in my head as I walked, this time grabbing him, shaking him, and demanding an answer. Why do you and your ilk do this?! I must know what thought process can end with trying to make simply walking down the sidewalk difficult!

Even if I had imagined the part in the beginning where we made eye contact and he really was oblivious to my existence, he still inexplicably moved to one side of the sidewalk without first checking if anyone was there. At best he deserves to go to foot-traffic court and lose his walker's license for such a grievous moving violation.

The most frustrating part about all of this is there is nothing I can do about it. I can't adapt now and purposely not pay attention. I'd feel like a jerk if I was always playing chicken to see who could pay attention the least. Also, not watching where you're going seems awfully dangerous.

Anyway, am I alone in getting angry about this? When I'm out walking I feel like the last bastion of sanity on the sidewalk but they say crazy people think everyone else is crazy so... maybe I am! Maybe people see me and say, "look at that maniac, using his eyes in order to avoid obstacles. What a loon!"

Please comment on my sanity below.

(I like turtles.)

Kinda Cool Commercial

Don't be too quick to judge...though the kid could have saved a lot of time and concern if he had just explained what he was doing...

Top 10 Video Game Soundtracks: Part 2

I must admit that I peeked at Shadow's list before finalizing my own. I did have the games in my head, but I hadn't ranked them yet. We have a few of the same choices, but the more notable commonality is that we're both pretty biased towards Super Nintendo (though Shadow has a few NESers, as well), which I think is a sign of our age. I'd be willing to wager that younger gamers' lists would tend to include more Playstation titles. 

While I like to think that we have pretty good taste in music, I'm sure a major component of this is the nostalgia factor. Sure, many of these games have awesome soundtracks, some of which have been performed by orchestras and quite beautifully rearranged, but when it comes to art, "best" is relative. Regardless, here are my picks:

10. Zelda II

Ok, definitely not the most renowned of the series, but they gave it a good shot. While The Adventure of Link felt more constraining and difficult (in a bad way) than its predecessor, I really thought the soundtrack was very good, excepting the town music, which was a bit on the dull side. The Palace Theme was even carried over to Super Smash Bros.: Melee.

Favorite Titles: Palace Theme, Title Theme

9. E.V.O. Search for Eden

This is one of my more underrated picks, I think. Throughout the years I've played through it quite a few times; even partially in Japanese. It was a solid game all around, but perhaps didn't make it due to its original (hence risky) concept. The thing I loved about this soundtrack was its versatility. Mysterious, sad, tense, lighthearted - there were tracks for quite a number of different moods, and each fit perfectly. 

Favorite Titles: The Ocean, Dinosaur's Land 2

8. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys

Another underrated SNES game. Although I've never played any of the other Ys games, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Its soundtrack was very apt, with music both exhilarating and creepy.

Favorite Titles: Ilvern Ruins, Boss Battle, Lava Pit

7. ActRaiser

Ah, finally a more popular title! ActRaiser has been recognized both for its excellent soundtrack and overall high quality. Not only did the game include graphics that were crisp and nice for its time, but it offered variable gameplay - some parts being overhead shooter/sim type levels and some taking the form of side-scrolling adventure stages. Likewise the music ranged from blood-pumping epicness to the calmer "watch your civilization grow"-type piece "Birth of the People."

Favorite Titles: Filmore, Bloodpool, Birth of the People

6. Soul Blazer

Back to the underrated. Soul Blazer is another one that I've revisited several times. Often compared to the Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma (considered the same series by some), Soul Blazer shares similar story and gameplay elements to ActRasier, as well. You must free the souls of those imprisoned by a mysterious evil force, and rebuild the world!

Favorite Titles: Lonely Town, Leo's Laboratory, World of Demons 

5.  Lufia II

From here on in all of my picks are pretty popular games. The Lufia (Estpolis in Japan) series may not have the largest fan base, but its fans tend to be rather enthusiastic. I had a hard time choosing just a handful of favorites from this one. The emotions! Such a good game!

Favorite Titles: Sinistral Battle Theme, Grief, The Last Duel, The Mystery Lady

4. EarthBound

Known as Mother 2 in Japan, this one has a cult following in America, and for good reason. Perhaps one of the quirkiest RPGs ever developed, it did everything right. Cute and visually appealing sprites, memorable characters and enemies, superb story, and ever-fitting music. What I mean is that every track fit. EarthBound may not be a soundtrack I would choose to listen to on my iPod, but when you're playing it, every track sets the scene and mood perfectly.

Favorite Titles: Onett, Boy Meets Girl, The Jolly Flying Man

3. Final Fantasy IV

Also known as Final Fantasy II in America, this was one of the relatively earlier works of genius composer Nobuo Uematsu. I hear we're up in the double digits now. This was one of the earliest "good" RPGs that I ever played. By that I mean that it had an interesting story, characters that I cared about, and a soundtrack that I really enjoyed listening to. Its Boss Battle made a guest appearance in Super Mario RPG. And hey, it even gets a reference in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Favorite Titles: Red Wings, Boss Battle, Golbez, Theme of Love, Melody of Lute

2. Final Fantasy VI

I wasn't as kind as Shadow and decided to allow Final Fantasy two slots on my list. Not sure what I can say about this one that hasn't been said. It was a masterpiece all around. I'm just nervously waiting  for them to re-release a crappy 3D-ish version for the DS. If you haven't played this game you must not be an RPG fan.

Favorite Titles: The Decivise Battle, Cyan's Theme, Aria Di Mezzo Carattere, Epitaph

1 Chrono Trigger

One of the best games of all time, period. Graphics that were top-notch for SNES, awesome characters, amazing story, immense replayability, and outstanding music. I'm glad Square didn't milk this one for a bajillion sequels, because it would have been cheapened.

Favorite Titles: Corridors of Time (Zeal), Yearnings of the Wind (600 A.D.), Chrono's Theme, Frog's Theme, Ayla's Theme

And those are my picks. How about you?

Japan and My Tonsils: The Healthcare Strikes Back

Read Part 1 here.


Part 2

When last we saw our hero, me, I had just recovered from my first bout of Japanese strep throat. I had taken the four days worth of antibiotics, which seemed to do the trick. I felt better, my fever was gone, and my throat was pain free. I was a little concerned however, since my tonsils seemed to be a little swollen. I decided not to worry too much and went on with my life.

After another couple months I got sick again, went to a different doctor who became my primary care physician, and got more medicine. Again, only four days of antibiotics. Then two months later I got sick again. Another four days of the same antibiotics. Three months later, sick again. Four days of antibiotics. I would have been concerned except my doctor seemed incredibly unconcerned. I would go see him, he'd ask what's wrong, and I'd say the same thing as always. He would laugh, "Haha! Again? OK, here's your four days of antibiotics." This went on for years. I kept saying I should have my tonsils out but the doctor said it wasn't necessary. In hindsight, I should have gotten a second opinion. Maybe I could have convinced someone else to give me stronger medicine for more than four days and finally had this strep knocked out for good. I still wasn't confident enough in my Japanese, though, to go to a non-English speaking doctor. And when it comes to English speaking doctors in Japan, the pickings are slim.

Two months ago, over the winter break, I went back to America to visit my family. Two days into the trip I got strep again, as usual. Fortunately I was expecting this and already looked into how my insurance worked to make sure I'd be covered. I was excited. An American doctor with American drugs. The strength of American drugs was probably best summed up by Jerry Seinfeld who said, "Figure out what will kill me and then back it off a little bit." I got ten days of meds at two grams a day. That's almost seven times more powerful than the Japanese meds for over twice as long. Each pill was almost the size of a Werther's Original. It was some powerful stuff. I felt better after two days but of course took the pills to completion. I hoped this would be the end of it.

A month later, back in Japan, I got sick again.

I went back to my normal doctor for the last time. I brought the empty bottle of the giant America pills as proof and explained that if these didn't work, then obviously weak pills for four days wouldn't either. I asked him again about surgery or his opinion on taking literally any other option instead of the same pills for four days. He said he still didn't think I needed surgery. It was just because of this dry Japanese air that I was getting sick. He said he'd try something new though. He handed me my prescription, reminded me to gargle, and sent me on my way. It wasn't until I picked up my meds that I realized it was a prescription for the same pills as before, for five days.

I took the pills but after four days I saw little improvement. It's a bit scary when antibiotics stop working. I realized I needed a change. I needed stronger drugs, or surgery, or something. I didn't really know what to do. I decided to leave that to the professionals. I noticed there was an ear, nose, and throat doctor near my house. My Japanese had improved by this point and I felt confident that I could make myself understood. I went and at first I thought he was great. He looked at my throat with a bunch of different shiny metal sticks and depressors and magnifying thingies. He even wore that classic doctor's reflective circle on his forehead. He seemed confident until I told him that I was already on antibiotics. He asked to see them and I showed him. "But these are for five days! These aren't working?" No, I told him, they weren't. I showed him the American med container and pointed out how much stronger they were. I asked if maybe he could just prescribe me more meds to take with these antibiotics. He sat there with his head down looking at his notes, taping his pen, and muttering "geez, what to do..." Eventually he made a decision, wrote me a script for more meds, and I left.

I was happy. That doctor had seemed to take this seriously. He hadn't laughed and brushed it off like I was used to. I looked at the prescription and was pleased to not recognize it, meaning it was something new. I had hope. I took the prescription to the pharmicist to have it filled. She asked if I had any questions. I asked her if I could take ibuprofin with this medication since I found ibuprofin was always good for pain and fever. She said, "well... this is ibuprofin... so no." Wait, what? I asked her to clarify; these aren't antibiotics? "Nope! Ibuprofin! Here you go! Odaijini!"

Ibuprofin?! A pain killer?! I don't need a pain killer! I need a strep killer! I was frustrated. I went to two different doctors and neither of them seemed to be taking this seriously. Then I started thinking, well maybe it's not serious. Maybe everything I've heard from others and the entire internet is wrong and strep isn't actually dangerous. Maybe I could just let my body fight it off on it's own.

No. I want my tonsils out. I'm sick of them and I want them out, I finally decided. I will deal with these amatures no more! It was time to find a surgeon.

In America, as far as I know, all ear, nose, and throat doctors are also surgeons. They're all qualified to remove tonsils. I wasn't sure of the situation in Japan but I decided I needed to find a good one. If he didn't do surgery then maybe he could recommend a hospital that does. I put my request on Facebook to see if my Japan based friends new of any good doctors. I got a reply from Paul's (this site's owner's) girlfriend, Yoshie. She had taken it upon herself to do research and it appeared there was a famous doctor that was only about 40 minutes away. A famous doctor? Sounds great! I went immediately.

What followed was the most bizarre experience I've ever had at a doctor's office. It cannot be put into words. Except it will be.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, Japan and my Tonsils: Celebrity Doctors and The Looming Surgery!

Bizarre 1987 Commercial

I'm not sure I really have to say anything about this one. Just...yeah.

Top 10 Video Game Soundtracks: Part 1

There's been a lot of talk in recent years about "Cool Japan." I've previously written about how I don't consider "Cool Japan" a solution to any of the country's problems. That's not to say I don't think Japan is cool. I think certain products of Japanese culture and ingenuity are plenty cool. Exhibit A: the video game. Although Japan hasn't yet cornered the video game market completely, it's certainly become the juggernaut nation of the industry. And so in this post, and one or two future parts, we're talking about video games. Specifically, video game music.

I think many gamers would agree with me that more than graphics and gameplay, the most memorable element of many a great game is its soundtrack (second to a well-written story, of course). With this in mind, I've decided to run a short series on video game music, written by JADJ's more hardcore gamers. I'm curious to see how our lists compare, and what you guys think. Feel free to tell us what you think in the comments! But this introduction has become too long. So, Shadow, take it away:

I love video games. I love music. And I'm pretty fond of that land mass across the ocean called Japan. So when Paul approached (cornered) me, and asked (demanded) me to compile a list of my top 10 favorite Japanese video game soundtracks, I was more than happy (forced) to do it.

A few things to keep in mind before we get started. First, he said favorite, not best soundtracks. As games evolve, and the capacity for music storage grows, the soundtracks get more in-depth. Soundtracks today contain full orchestras; games of the early 80's sound downright primitive in comparison. I'm not saying, from an artistic standpoint, that my top 10 are the greatest musical masterpieces of all time. I just dig them groovy beats.

And secondly -- there are certain game series out there that can easily dominate the video game musical world. You know who you are. I've made a conscious decision to only allow one game from any particular series. As a result, some of your favorites may not appear on the list at all. Tough tanookies. So, all that said...here we go.

#10 -- Blaster Master

A story about a boy who chases after his runaway frog, and winds up in a sub-terranian world full of radioactive mutants. The gameplay was wonderful, if unforgiving. This game was HARD, and to this day I've never beaten it. But it was the music that truly stood out. Spooky, optimistic, fear-inducing...and one track full of pure 8-bit heavy metal awesomeness. Far as I know, there are no song titles. It's all good, though. It's all good.

Favorite titles -- It's all good.

#9 -- Contra

If Blaster Master was unforgiving, then Contra was sadistic. 3 lives, danger coming from every direction, and your buddy keeps stealing your extra lives. The Konami Code was made famous in Contra, giving the player 30 lives instead of 3...not that I needed them. Musically, the catchy beats don't quite fit the surroundings, but they are catchy. Very catchy.

Favorite titles -- Jungle Theme, Enemy Base, Energy Zone

#8 -- Castlevania II

If it wasn't for Game Genie, I never would have beaten this. It's not that it was too difficult...I'm just not a big Castlevania fan. But there's no denying the music. Then again, with song titles like "Bloody Tears," how can it NOT be good?

Favorite titles -- Mansion, Bloody Tears

#7 -- Goonies II

American gamers never saw the original Japanese Goonies game for the NES. American theatergoers never saw a sequel to the Goonies movie. American gamers shook their heads in confusion when Goonies II was released for the NES. Then they popped it in, and bopped their heads to the beat. Each area has a song very unique from one another, and each one is nicely done. Even better? An 8-bit version of Cyndi Lauper's "Goonies R Good Enough!" Score!

Favorite titles -- Underground, Goonies R Good Enough

#6 -- The Legend of Zelda

Choosing only one Zelda title wasn't easy. Ocarina of Time had the salsa-tastic Gerudo Valley, A Link to the Past had The Dark World's marching beat, but it's the original that truly stands out. Not the largest collection of songs in a game, but any gamer worth his thumbs can hum each tune at the drop of a rupee.

Favorite Titles -- Overworld Theme, Dungeon Theme, Death Mountain

#5 -- Metroid

I was tempted to go with Super Metroid over the original, mainly because the latter's "Lower Norfair" theme is arguably the most fitting, chilling song of the series. But the original had it all -- the heroic Brinstar, the baffling Norfair, the haunting Kraid's Lair, and the simplistic, yet spooky Tourian. As if exploring a hostile alien environment by yourself wasn't scary enough.

Favorite Titles -- Brinstar, Kraid's Lair

#4 -- Chrono Trigger

The higher up we go on the list, the harder it was to place these games in a proper order. Chrono Trigger could easily be at the top of anyone's list, and who would argue? As I write this, I've yet to see Paul's list, but I'd bet good money this game is on his. Top 5, easily. The man's a sucker for Frog. How good is the music of Chrono Trigger? Orchestras worldwide have performed concerts of this game's playlist to sellout crowds.

Favorite Titles -- Schala's Theme, Magus' Theme, Tyrano Lair

#3 -- Mega Man 2

Best soundtrack of any Mega Man game? Sure. But top 3 contender for favorite soundtrack of all time? Well, yes. Each of the 8 robot bosses were given a theme that can stand the test of time. Catchy as they were, it was the first Dr. Wily stage that truly stands out as an accomplishment in video game music composition. For it's time, it was epic.

Favorite Titles -- Dr. Wily Stage 1, Bubble Man, Metal Man, Wood Man

#2 -- Final Fantasy VI

A case of favoritism? Certainly not. Yes, Final Fantasy VI is my favorite of the series, and while other Final Fantasy soundtracks are wonderful, the music is at its best in right here. Final Fantasy VI was the first game that made me truly take notice of the musical composition, and how important a soundtrack could be to a game. Not only are the songs wonderful, but there are a lot of them. 14 character themes, a collection of battle themes, each town has its own theme...and they're all winners. Cyan's noble tune, the tribal Veldt theme, Shadow's ode to the spaghetti western genre...oh, and a 20+ minute opera that upped the ante for every video game soundtrack since. Sephiroth's theme from VII may be more popular, but the final battle of VI, against the demented Kefka, will have you dancing mad. You...you see what I did there? I'm so clever...

Favorite Titles -- Dancing Mad, Terra's Theme, Shadow's Theme

#1 -- Earthbound

So much can be said about this game. The plot, the characters, the symbolism, the...fuzzy pickles. And then there's the music. Music plays an important role within the game, as the characters are on a quest to collect 8 melodies from around the world in an effort to save humanity. What strikes me about the music in this game is that it's so outstandingly diverse. The main characters travel the world, and the music reflects this, influenced by real-world styles -- the Middle-Eastern Scaraba, Asian-influenced Dalaam, the snowy Winters, to name a few. The battle themes shook things up, set to trippy kaleidoscope backgrounds, and taking sample melodies from such places as Super Mario Bros, the Little Rascals, Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode," the Beatles, and many others.

But it's the theme played at the beginning of the final battle, "Pokey Means Business," that I want to single out. My favorite piece in the game, and possibly my favorite video game theme of all time. The music of a final battle is often when composers put it all out there, throwing their most impressive efforts out to the world. For Earthbound, the player spends all these in-game hours immersed in an incredible, melodic journey full of memorable tunes. And after all those hours, all those battle, when you finally reach the main villain, that pudgy little brat whose always been just out of reach, and the opening notes start to play, it's...not impressive. Decent, but not "epic" by final boss standards. So you choose your attacks, the battle begins, and you're lulled into a false sense of security. And that's when it happens. Pokey unleashes a series of attacks, and the music goes from optimistic to an all-out, pulse-pounding heavy metal assault. And suddenly...this battle wasn't as easy as you thought. Hearing this theme for the first time became a "where were you when...?" moment, and I can vividly remember it to this day.

Favorite Titles -- Pokey Means Business, Kraken of the Sea, Boy Meets Girl

So there you have it. 10 games, 10 incredible soundtracks. Honorable mention should be bestowed upon the wonderful Metal Gear Solid 2, Rygar, and plenty of others in the Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and Metroid franchises. And had this not been a Japanese-only list, you're damn skippy that Donkey Kong Country would be up here, too.