Japan, Bugs, Biscuits and no Tea Bags

Don't know if I'm any good at this blogging thing or if I've even got any better since i first started writing a blog. Also don't know really know why anyone would want to read it apart from the people that i know and that's to see what's going on, but to be honest i quite like doing it even though it takes me what seems like forever to write one so i guess I'll keep doing it.
Wish i was i bit more prolific though at writing and could find a few more interesting things to waffle on about but there again we all wish for lots of different things. Although I'd like to be more prolific etc it's not exactly at the top of my wish list think the Ferrari and the Lear Jet come a lot higher up and even they're not at the top, in fact don't really know what is at the top, the top of the list changes from day to day depending on how I'm feeling.
Guess deciding what is at the top of the list is like picking your favorite movie or food something like that, i always think to say something is your favorite means it's your best or the one you like most and there are so many good things out there it's always hard just to pick one, but there again that's my opinion and as I've said before everyone has one, an opinion that is. The problem with opinions is that as well as everyone having one which is not a problem some people think there's is the only one worth anything and that can be a problem, but i digress back to the blog.
I've been in Japan about 5 months now with probably as many to go, just going to rant on about Japan for a while now, well not rant on exactly as to rant is to harangue or attack something at least that's what the dictionary says.
Just going to talk a bit about my observations and such about Japan since I've been here, I'm actually here working but have not spoke much about it and i don't really intend to in this blog but i am going to add a couple of photos of the site, what it looked like when i got here in June and what it looked like a few months later so you know i am doing something. The one on the left was taken on the 13th June and the one on the right was taken on the 12th September from exactly the same place, you can see what difference three months makes, will probably do this again in another month or so.
Got to say Japanese workers are good and fast, they like to dissect everything put it on a drawing so that there is not chance of a surprise and all the problems ironed out before work starts, this normally leads to a million question and can be frustrating but when i Japan and all that. Think this is why they're so good at things, mass producing cars and electronics etc everything is well thought through well drawn up with nothing to chance. The other reason they're good at this sort of thing and probably why we don't have a car industry anymore is pride in there work.
On a construction site though there are things you just don't know and won't until you get further down the line, not the best way here but that's the way it is, it's sort of hard explaining this especially as most of the things we design and build are one offs and the next one is usually slightly different always changing. All in all the Japanese work ethic is great and everyone wants to do a good Job and on time, safety and honesty is also high here doesn't' seem to be any problems on either front.
There's also a big difference in thinking over here for instance we were in the train station a few weeks ago, think it was when Ben and Tristan were here. like i say we were in the train station and either B or T had dropped one Yen (a penny) we were in a rush going to Roponggi for a night out so we left it in fact in the UK you probably not bend down to pick it up not worth the effort, it's only a Penny or a Yen in this case, Japanese guy saw one of them drop it called them back they were going to walk on but he pointed to it picked it up and gave it to them, took us longer to go back and pick it up than it was worth, in the UK everyone would just have left it, if it was 50p or so some one would have picked it up but probably not shouted you back for it, talk about thinking differently.
I also like the way you can pay bills over here as well, since I've had the apartment have had gas, telephone and electric bills all i do is walk to the 7/11 on the corner or the street at any time of day or night and pay them there you don't need to go near a bank or anything like that. At the 7/11 you don't have to know any Japanese just show the bill they scan the bar code you give them the money job done, everything has a bar code on it here so am sure you can pay a lot more at the 7/11 talk about convenience store.
There are lots of things that are good about Japan same as England, err did i really say that about sunny old England.

There are quite a few frustrating things here as well though but won't go into them too much now but one of them is the way rules are enforced in everything with no lee way no gray fudgy areas that we all love, even the smallest of little things here if there's a rule associated with it that's the way you need to do it, all in all though everything is going OK.

Another thing that frustrates me a bit well a lot to be honest driving here reminds me of Mississippi in the US, the roads aren't as big here but just the same people drive in both lanes doing the same speed and you just can't get past, it's a pet hate really but it frustrates the hell out of me.

Right changing the subject check out the size of the bug or what ever it is that we found the other day lodged in the door to our office, by the way that's not my hand did not know what the hell it was, for all i know it could have bit, stung or poisoned you, what a whimp I've turned out to be so just pointed it out, before i knew what was happening someone had picked it up, they did tell me the name but it was Japanese and I've slept since then.

That's pretty much it for now looks like I'm working again this weekend, if i get chance I'll try and and do something.

Just made a cup of tea and discovered a disaster in waiting, it was the last T-bag i had in my little glass tea bag pot, went to the cupboard to get some more only to find it bare, I'd just used the last T-bag I'd borough from the UK, will have to scourer the shops tomorrow, I'm told they have PG tips somewhere in Utsunomiya.

On the plus side today i bought these biscuits, or should i say Cookies and they're good, don't normally buy biscuits but may have to get some more of these.