It’s flu season in Japan right now, and Tokyo seems especially hard hit this year. I was sick 2 weeks ago, and here I am, sitting in my futon, sick again. Yuko has been at home with the flu for a few days now, and I just have my fingers crossed hoping I didn’t get what she has.

Update: And I’m not alone: “Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been forced to cancel his entire schedule for Monday and take the day off sick for the first time since he took office due to a cold.” (Japan Today)

Some of you might remember me alluding to a possible new writing opportunity a while back, and I can finally announce that I’ve become a Japanese correspondent to Gizmodo, part of the Gawker Media empire. A couple of months ago, I had the great pleasure of spending some time with the man behind Gawker Media, Nick Denton, as well as Gizmodo’s editor Joel Johnson, while they were in Tokyo for a week. We’d discussed about me doing something for them, and now my first post is up on Gizmodo. So if you’re into gadget related news and views, expect some Japanese flavour from me over there (and probably lots of pics).

Also, if you are aware of interesting gadget/technology related happenings in the city, do let me know. I’m especially interesting in the fashion or social aspects of Japanese gadgetry, trying to find trends and out-of-the-ordinary ways that the Japanese have integrated technology in their lives.

I’ve started putting up the pictures I took in Singapore on Flickr. The best thing to do is probably to subscribe to my Flickr RSS feed to find out when new ones are posted. Also, you’ll notice that I recently added a section in the sidebar that shows the last 5 pics uploaded to my Flickr account. I’ll probably end up posting around 50 or so pics.

As for the trip, well, it was a lot of fun, but the return was a bit rough — after an overnight return flight (around 6 hours) that arrived early Tuesday morning, I then had to go teach six classes in the afternoon. I think two days was enough to do and see the things that we were interested in. I mean, speaking as a person who has lived and travelled in Asia for quite a few years now, I can’t say that Singapore offers that many exciting sights. The city has two clear highlights when it comes to attracting tourists: food and shopping.

For the food, it was heaven (and cheap). Buffet breakfasts at our hotel, roti prata (and egg prata) in Little India, some dim sum in Chinatown, Malaysian satay and mee rebus ( and mee siam) at the Lau Pa Sat hawker center, some delicious curry at Boat Quay on an outside terrace (it was such a treat to be able to have all our meals outside). I’ll even admit to having a whopper at the airport on our way back — what can I say, I hadn’t had one in ages.

As for sights, we did enjoy walking around, visiting parts of Little India and Chinatown (although a bit too touristy). We really enjoyed walking in the Botanic Gardens not too far from Orchard Road (nicely illuminated at night), and then hiking at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve — trekking in the midst of monkeys! The Raffles Hotel is quite nice (not just the lobby, but also the inside courtyard, especially at night, with the outside bar). I went there for a Singapore Sling (it was invented at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar in 1910), but had to exit the bar as soon as I walked in. Definitely one of the worst atmospheres I’ve ever felt (music and the crowd). Luckily, you could sit outside on the balcony, which was enjoyable. A bit of a surprise towards the end of the trip was the absolutely stunning Asian Civilisations Museum (Empress Place). We had a few hours to kill before leaving, and since it was raining, we thought the museum would be a good thing to check out. Ridiculously cheap (S$5), it offers a very innovative mix of multi-media displays, in a tastefully arranged setting. I quite enjoyed my time there, and the three hours I had was barely enough time to enjoy most of what was on offer. I probably wasted a good 15-20 minutes alone relaxing on some cushions listening to middle-eastern chants on headphones.

And the shopping? Well, that’s not really my thing, especially not the big mall and brand approach to it. The only thing I bought for myself while there were a few Singapore design/architectural magazines I found at Borders: ISH, SPACE, DESIGNER, and D+A. Actually, I wouldn’t mind having access to a big Borders-like English bookstore in Tokyo.

All in all, it was a nice way to spend a weekend, and the food was killer. Compared to a city like Hong Kong, it was refreshingly clean and much easier to interact with the environment and people because of the English used everywhere. Zipping around in taxis (with very friendly taxi drivers, representing all the ethnicities of the city, music and all) was very convenient and cheap. It didn’t have the chaos and excitement of other Asian cities, but it still made for an interesting stay. Oh, and did I mention how good the food was?

Big thanks to everyone who chimed in with suggestions on things to see and do in Singapore. I’ve been highlighting stuff in my guide these past two days (I bought the one from the Insight Guides collection, a series I’ve been buying for a few years now — I’m a very visual person, and I have a hard time getting excited when I use the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet ones). Man, I am going to be in serious danger of gaining a lot of weight, even if I’m only there for two days. Everything I’ve highlighted pretty much revolves around food — I cannot wait to check out the hawker centers!

Another thing that’s nice is that our hotel was upgraded to a nicer one, and our flight leaves a few hours earlier on Saturday. It’s all because Yuko got angry at the travel agency person we were dealing with, because he made some mistakes (same as usual, when writing my full name, Jean-Sebastien Snow, even though I went through every letter, giving examples), and did not really apologize. I guess if you get visibly upset, they’ll try to smooth things over by upgrading with stuff, which is certainly great for us.

And as far as photography goes, I’m so glad to be using Flickr now. I’ve always had a hard time in the past with putting pics I take during my travels on this site, since this blog is rather specific about what it covers, and I didn’t feel like they belonged here (so I’d try to limit what I posted). But now, I’ll just use Flickr to share my Singapore pics. I’m seriously thinking about upgrading to a pro account.

My last posting of the year. I’m at home, finishing a cup of Kirin Namakuro after a great meal (assorted foods from the Seibu depa-chika). The TV is tuned to KOHAKU – just now we enjoyed a quite powerful rendering of the theme song for SHINSENGUMI, this year’s NHK taiga drama. I’m ringing in the new year the same way I always do: some flipping through the various TV specials (I want to catch some of the K-1 fights), a bit later we’ll prepare some soba, after eleven I’ll put it to 99’s annual year ending Okamura extravaganza, and then after midnight we’ll head to the Gokokuji temple for hatsumode (praying for a good year). I’m a bit worried about the walk there though, as we had a lot of snow today, and the streets are presently all slushed up. If we can’t make it to Gokokuji, we’ll just go to a smaller Shinto shrines near our place.

To all you readers, huge thanks for following the site this year. As you can see, I’ve been getting busier and busier with various projects, and here’s hoping that 2005 will be even bigger and better!

A change of plans. Instead of heading to Kyoto, this morning we made reservations for a trip to Singapore! It’ll be our first time there for the both of us. I’ve never had that much of an interest in going there, but it ended up being one of the best packages available right now, and from doing a bit of online reading, it looks like there should be enough stuff to see and experience during the 2 days we’ll be there. I’d of course love any recommendations (even websites) from anyone who’s been there, or anyone who lives there: nice shops, cafes, etc. I’m really look forward to the markets in the city, and getting some street stall food (it’s what me and Yuko enjoy the most when we travel in Asia).

I like this bit, from Pico Iyer reviewing Donald Richie’s JAPAN JOURNALS: 1947-2004 in last week’s TIME (Asian edition):

I definitely see myself in that second category, along with Richie (whose book I plan on picking up). You can read the entire review here.

I got my business cards in the mail today, and they look so nice. Again, a million thanks to Jesper for the design. You know, NCM, his design company, is currently available for some new jobs.

I was chatting with NCM designer extraordinaire Jesper last night, and was telling him that I wanted to get some business cards done. He quickly volunteered to design some (to my relief), and without any directions from me (except maybe to keep it simple), he quickly came up with these. I absolutely love them, and I think they represent me very well.

Here’s what my dad does.

You’ll notice a new logo in the sidebar. I’ve always been a big fan of the Superfuture site, and as of now I’m writing reviews for them, as well as news bits. My first review, of Pause Cafe, is up. And a big public thanks to Wayne, co-creator of the site, for the excellent Superfuture t-shirt. It rocks.

Update: And I forgot to mention that the Superfuture t-shirt is by Loopwheeler. Very nice indeed.

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary, as well as Yuko’s birthday. Yuko, I love you now and always…

A friend of mine lent me FINAL FANTASY X INTERNATIONAL (so you can play it in English) earlier this week. I can’t stop playing, it’s taken over my life. Help…

Paul moblogged me right back the other night, at Pause. And speaking of Paul, I hope it’s OK to tease you a bit by saying that he’s getting ready for the upcoming launch of something really cool, that will make it so much easier for you to enjoy the city. It’s coming very soon. I’ll of course be letting you know as soon as it’s launched.

Just a quick note to say that I lost my mobile phone today. I think it dropped out of my pocket on the train. I’ve just had the number disactivated, and don’t know yet what’s going to happen after that (when Yuko gets back from university, we’ll check with JR and the police to see if it’s shown up anywhere). Couldn’t have happened at a worse time, as we are definitely not rolling in money right now. I’m posting this to alert the people that might try to contact me on my mobile, and won’t be getting any answers. Moblogging is obviously on hold also.