Haven’t updated in a while and lots to tell, but lets start with the bizarre free stuff you get given in Japan.

I may have mentioned this before, but companies love to give people free stuff either as advertising or incentives to join.

Tissues obviously, anyone who’s been to Japan knows everywhere you go people are handing you little packs of tissues with their company logo on. It was one of our jobs at Nova during the free lessons to put fliers in
these and pack them in bags for the staff to hand out at train stations.
My pockets are always crammed with them. Very useful.

Recently however I applied for a new credit card, and was given these goodies…

Free Stuff

Not sure the connection with banks and kitchen sponges but there you go.

Previously we have received crates of beer for subscribing to a newsaper, bags of rice from a bank, a bag of rice from an estate agent and some washing powder from another bank.

All very nice and useful, if a little random.

Related posts:

1. Buying a Shirt in Ashiya and Getting More Than I Bargained For
2. Lucky Bags!!!
3. Presents From Strangers

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Post tags: Free Stuff

At New Years shops, etc sell what are called Lucky Bags. Basically a closed bag containing who knows what, which you buy for a set price and hope to get lucky!

Similar to those bags you get at dodgy markets I guess, where the first one has something of value and all the rest have broken toasters or what not. (At least I assume that’s the scam). Anyway, these are not a scam, but like a New Years Blind Sale.

This year for the first time I bought one! In fact, I kinda bought two, but I’ll explain that later. The bags range from, I guess, 1000Yen up to 100,000Y or more in boutiques in Ginza, Tokyo, etc where you might find gold jewellery or something inside.

Well, we were wandering around the Ebisu festival in Nishinomiya the other week, and as well as all the food stalls they also have lots of game type things, like a fun fair in England. Darts, catching ducks, fish (live ones), lucky tickets, etc etc.

They also have these stores that have hundreds of PSP, PS3, DS games on display and lucky bag looking bags, supposedly with one of these games inside. This time (probably always), they were half price! Down to ￥500! Well, for £2 you got to haven’t you?

I scanned the bags, picked the one containing the best prize and….

My lucky bag..no DS game

I’ve not had a BB gun before, think they’re illegal in England, but here they’re very popular and you can buy them easily. They have machine guns and all sorts. I tried it out later and managed to shoot my hand. Bloody hurt. Put that back in the box pretty quick.

Walking around a bit more, we came across an off license with Asahi Beer lucky bags! Now these were bound to be better – the guy promised us that there was at least ￥1000 (the price) of beer in there. So I tried my luck　again…

Asahi Lucky Bag

Gonna stick to the off license lucky bags in future, but have to wait till next year now…

Related posts:

1. Free Stuff
2. A Very Pleasant Friday
3. Is That Beer?

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Post tags: Asahi, Free Stuff, Lucky Bags, New Years

Wild Turkey Prize

I always look at these and think there’s no chance of winning, (as usually there’s only 1, 2 or 5 of these to be given away), but then it struck me, that everyone probably thinks this, so no-one probably enters.

Aha – I see a great opportunity here.

So since November I’ve been entering, nearly every week (I skip the free tickets to plays in Tokyo – as the cost of getting there would kind of defeat the object), I’ve applied for, amongst other things, a CNN Japan thermos mask, a calender of animals and some McDonalds vouchers.

Never heard anything…until yesterday!
This appeared in the post…

This was from way back in November! To be honest out of all the competition this is the one I wanted to win the most. Yatta!

So my theory was correct…gonna keep sending those postcards in.
Maybe I still have a chance with that animal calender too….

Related posts:

1. Free Stuff
2. Buying a Shirt in Ashiya and Getting More Than I Bargained For

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Post tags: Daily Yomiuri, Free Stuff, Japan

I may have mentioned in this blog before how I seem to be given free stuff all the time by strangers here in Japan (and I don’t mean the tissues given out at train stations), I’ve been given a cup from a bar, free food from Petit Emillion, live fish soup from a sushi restaurant in Kobe, but the weirdest of all happened the other week while my parents were here.

We went to our local wine bar Petit Emillion on a Thursday night and as we walked in there were 4 guys sitting at the bar and one of them turned to me, stood up and waved at me. Obviously I waved back (what was I supposed to do?) but had no idea who he was.
After about an hour or so, they left, and on the way out he came over to me grinning wildly and shook my hand (didn’t seem to speak English, and can’t remember any Japanese he said). Completely bemused I shook his hand back, said hi, and goodbye and gave him a big smile.

Guess he thought I was David Beckham or something! (hey! It’s happened before!)
Anyway, Setsuyasan (the bar owner) later gave us a cake, which apparently the guys had bought for us! Turns out, one of them (the friendly one) works in the local convenince store (a Lawson) and he’s seen me in there.

Seems I go there a lot, but only remember going there about 4 times since January, but I guess they don’t get many gaijin in there.

Been in to see him since to thank him, but he didn’t seem to want to talk and wouldn’t look at me! Guess he was embarassed, or scared I would speak to him in English (a common fear amongst Japanese it seems).
Guess he was bit pissed that night.

No related posts.

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Post tags: Free Stuff

I don`t have many suit shirts (my previous job not requiring a suit), so thought I`d got to Aoyama (big suit discount type shop here in Ashiya) and pick myself up one.

Fantastic service! They measured me up (neck, arm, and worryingly my stomach – “zenzen daijobu” she said, when I looked concerned about getting a reading on just how large it was, that is now my favourite phrase, roughly translated it`s “It`s fine! Nothing to worry about ”
), and then they kept throwing offers at me.

If I buy 3 shirts, it`s almost the price of 2, if I buy some shoes today, I get ￥3000 off, etc. etc. I walked out with, 3 shirts, a pair of shoes, a credit card, 2 tickets to see the Tokyo Giants baseball team play at Osaka dome, and a points card. All for ￥15000 (about £75).
Lovely.

I didn`t have my “hanko” – small wooden stamp with my name in Kanji, the japanese use instead of signatures, so they took my thumbprint. Unusual.

Nice place, gonna go back some time and get a suit, might end up with a free tv or bag of rice.

Speaking of which, Japanese businesses have a strange tendency to give away random items.

My girlfriend was asked to visit her bank, where they gave her a bag of rice! (A bank, a bag of rice, see the connection? no me neither).
A week later she went back, and got a box of washing powder!
One of the guys at work went to a dvd/cd shop and got a free can of Guinness, and after my girlfriend bought a case of Suntory Malts beer, the shop gave her 4 small cans as a sample. Why did she need a sample? She`s just bought a case!

Still, it`s a nice gesture innit.

Related posts:

1. Free Stuff
2. Ashiya Festival and some Wine Tasting
3. Ashiya Festival and the Pizza Selling Stormtrooper

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Post tags: Aoyama, Ashiya, Free Stuff, Guinness, Hanko, Suntory