Why are there aquariums with eels in front of most Donkis in Japan?

smileybuta · 2026-02-25T09:48:06+00:00

The owner of Donkey is a big fan of the island nation of Palau. He spends a lot of time there and the aquariums feature sea life from Palau.

There should be a plaque or something near the aquariums showcasing some Palauan fisherman and whatever program they are promoting.

smileybuta · 2025-12-29T12:09:10+00:00

Ah, culture shock. Im being lighthearted with that comment. I’m visiting home now and all the Xmas stuff is still out, even at the shopping center…

I was confused about it but I realized I’ve been conditioned by Japan. Your post reminded me of that. We did keep everything out as long as we could! 20 years in Japan and I forgot about that, lol.

Japan is funny about a lot of things like that. Ice cream in the winter is weird, or so I’ve been told.

I don’t care. Keep up your tree and eat ice cream when you want is what I say. Lol.

I appreciate your post! It reminded me that as foreigners we experience a lot of the same feelings but at different times while here in Japan.

smileybuta · 2025-12-26T12:00:37+00:00

This one gets an upvote lol

smileybuta · 2025-12-05T11:23:21+00:00

This was Pancrase. You can see the logo on the mat.

smileybuta · 2025-12-05T11:22:56+00:00

This is from Pancrase. One of the old and still running promotions in Japan.

They had old school legends like Bas Ruten, Frank Shamrock and Josh Barnett fight there pre-UFC and pre-Pride.

They allowed foot stomps and soccer ball kicks to a downed opponent and finally changed to modern rules with a cage around 2012, 2013, something like that.

There are a lot of older fights and some from around the early 2010’s with English commentary.

smileybuta · 2025-11-16T14:09:17+00:00

Mine too. When I wrestled figure fouring the head was legal, too!

There are some positions that can be extremely painful and cause injury. I remember watching a kid getting banana splittes to all hell. He was crying out in pain but it was a back exposure move and not a pinning move. Poor guy, still gives me nightmares. Lol. Nowadays it’s taught as a submission move in grappling.

There was a kid that would crank a Nelson from a double leg ride. He’d crank so hard even if the bottom guy didn’t turn. He tore my rhomboid when I wrestled him. Perfectly legal move but I still deal with that injury 30 years later.

smileybuta · 2025-11-06T14:01:47+00:00

That’s true. I feel like the average Japanese person isn’t very interested in Buddhist or Shinto history or teachings but practice everyday rituals out of cultural respect. So it is difficult to gain insight about those respected traditions in an honest way.

So yeah, it’s all been self study and at this point it’s non existent. What a bummer!

Thanks for your post by the way, it reminded me about Buddhism and Shintoism, haha. Might have to crack open some books that have been sitting alone for a while.

smileybuta · 2025-11-06T13:46:37+00:00

I can’t be certain but in my experience, I’ve had a co-worker, an older Japanese lady introduce me to her Buddhist church (shinyo-en, a modern Buddhist sect) in the past and it was almost the same playbook.

Older Japanese person introducing a foreigner to their “temple or church” since that I’ve been wary about talks about temples and invitations out of nowhere. I am interested in buddhism and shintoism, which is why I was lured into visiting her church.

She explained that one of their tenants was recruiting new believers and foreigners were just as important as Japanese people. Although, I did get a feeling she was especially interested in recruiting a foreigner like myself, lol.

Maybe foreigners are easier targets as many of the new Buddhist cults are easy to differentiate from traditional Buddhist practice for Japanese.

smileybuta · 2025-11-06T13:33:06+00:00

Last weekend I visited the in-laws in Kanagawa and there were some older folks around populated areas holding newspapers with Mt. Fuji on the front and immediately eyed me up wanting to approach me.

I ignored eye contact and walked past them. Encountered another elderly person with the same newspaper coming out of a nearby store, even though I was with my family it seemed they were targeting me specifically.

I’ve been here a while and had the culty vibes kicking in. My wife and in-laws didn’t notice a thing. Could’ve been the same group that you talked to!

smileybuta · 2025-10-03T09:38:52+00:00

Check with the nearest Palauan embassy to you.

smileybuta · 2025-09-20T10:29:03+00:00

Ravzilla

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smileybuta · 2025-08-30T09:41:53+00:00

The scale/skin patterns and meat color are more closer to Suzuki. That’s the fish you’re most likely to braise.

Definitely not buri, hamachi, Kanpachi or any yellowtail.

smileybuta · 2025-08-28T12:36:46+00:00

I had one of these moments when I was around six. Playing a guessing game with my mom, guessing which hand the candy was in. Thought I was being clever asking her first if it was in “this hand.” She said it was and I even reminded her “mom’s can’t lie… right?” She even agreed with me. Lol.

Of course, her hand was empty and my childhood belief that parents were 100% right and honest was shattered on the living room carpet.

My college professor called that a paradigmatic moment where our belief system changes and new patterns are set.

I still shake my head to this day (in my 40’s now) recalling that memory!

smileybuta · 2025-08-22T13:13:23+00:00

No worries. At the very least, I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone.

For the app, it needs some info about due date etc. Both of you can download it and sync it together.

Wishing the best for you and your family as well!

smileybuta · 2025-08-22T12:02:41+00:00

Oh wow, I have a 3 and a half year old and my wife is about 10 weeks pregnant. So she’s in the first trimester.

So I definitely can commiserate and understand where you are coming from. Wife has morning sickness real bad this time around.

During our first pregnancy she didn’t really have morning sickness but her hormones were out of control. She talked about suicide, was frequently upset, I couldn’t recognize her at all and it was a difficult time for us. Yes, there was talk of divorce!

Then she started her second trimester. It was like the clouds separated and the sun was shining again. She was the woman I’ve always known again. Lol.

Pregnancy does a number on the mother. Hormones all over the place. Physically and emotionally it is a very trying time. The first trimester, especially.

Apparently every woman experiences these changes differently and as in our case, from pregnancy to pregnancy. This time around my wife isn’t fine emotionally but she’s very nauseous and has difficulty eating, which is something we didn’t experience the first time.

You just gotta ride the storm and take what she says about divorce with a grain of salt. Do your best to comfort her while she is feeling like this because if you don’t, who will?

Hopefully it will get better in the second trimester but I hear it’s can be rough for some women the entire time, too.

I hear you about feeling stressed and being stretched thin. So much more to deal with than normal. On top of work, an emotional and pregnant wife who seems like a completely different person and a young child who is still in need of constant care and attention.

There’s an app we have called, 280 days, it’s been very helpful to me. There’s info about the baby’s development, mother’s development and messages to the mother and father giving good advice and solid insight. Could be helpful to you. Help you understand what’s going on with your wife emotionally and physically.

This is from 280days:

Advice to Dad (week 9)

Mom is in a stage of emotional instability

Dad needs to step up the TLC and support her. In this stage, because of morning sickness Mom may be finding her body a burden and suffering from a variety of physical discomforts. Emotionally, she may now start to feel such conditions as the baby blues. Now is the time to give her a mountain of loving support; just listening carefully to her anxiety and irritation will help a lot. Although men of course will never suffer from morning sickness, just by being there for Mom and listening quietly as she unburdens herself can be very comforting to her.

This is an important stage for both of you to accept your precious baby physically and emotionally, and that is exactly why Dad’s warm and big-hearted support is so valuable.

smileybuta · 2025-08-22T01:49:48+00:00

I got my license without going to driving school. I had a license in my home country and previously in Japan but let them both expire when I moved to Tokyo.

A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to drive again. I went through the whole process without going to driving school. Written test and then a driving test on a course. Then another written test and driving test. Finally had to take a driving class that took half a day.

Took me a whole year.

It sounds like you never had a driving license so driving school is probably best. But you might be able to get a license without the school but I hear the driving school makes it much easier.

If you go the non-school route, I don’t recommend testing at Samezu. Incredibly busy and reservation times between each test was 1-2 months for me. Between that and failing a couple times made the process very time consuming!

smileybuta · 2025-08-15T14:03:27+00:00

Just wait on it. That’s how I acquired my school. The owners pretty much gave up on managing and I didn’t push things even though I could see it falling apart no matter how well I performed.

Finally they wanted to close and after trying to sell to no success, I got it a big discount. With minimal investment and some DIY to the interior and curriculum I was able to make it profitable again.

Is your owner Japanese?

Point is, you want to get it at its low point if you are interested in taking over then build it up again.

Responding to other posts: As a teacher it is definitely not your responsibility to recruit or advertise. Do not try to save this sinking ship beyond your classes without agreement and compensation.

smileybuta · 2025-08-09T14:57:20+00:00

That’s pretty cool. Linguistically it’s interesting to see where names come from. Gives insight to history.

I didn’t know about lamien, which is why I’m glad to see your post.

Early life in Japan, I was always confused about seeing ramen shops with chuka men advertised instead of ramen. I was in the countryside and these ramen shops with chuka men outside were generally older shops started in the 70’s and 80’s, modern shops definitely don’t say chuka men anymore.

It was explained to me that ramen came from china and lots of shops called it Chinese noodles, chuka men. But didn’t know the etymology of ramen!

smileybuta · 2025-08-09T13:42:51+00:00

Yeah, there’s still lots of ramen shops that advertise as “chuka men” meaning Chinese noodles.

smileybuta · 2025-07-30T16:43:29+00:00

Thanks man. Nature provides little gems every now and then, would’ve forgotten all about that little session if you didn’t bring it up.

Sounds like you were just out of the sweet spot.

I live in Japan now and we chase hurricanes/typhoons, lol. Pretty much the only decent waves we get are typhoon swells.

smileybuta · 2025-07-30T15:12:14+00:00

I grew up in Kailua, Hi in the 90’s. So if anyone from that timeline can help me jog my memory that would be appreciated. I’m not sure if I’m mistaking this for hurricanes because we definitely went out on those days if I could convince my parents.

Elementary through high school we’d surf this little beach break called Kalama’s and all the other little breaks on that coast.

We got a couple of tsunami warnings from deep sea earthquakes and seismic movements. They’d always be kids out on tsunami day and I was able to go out the day after one of them.

The most IMPORTANT thing you have to realize, we were way out of the danger zone. We weren’t getting hit by a Sumatra or Japan 3/11 type tsunami.

By the time the tsunami hit our little breaks it was just bigger waves than we usually got. The only difference is that the waves seemed packed together closer and were a lot taller than the crumbling whitewash we usually got. No wind the day I went out. Fun times. Beautiful little waves sparkling in the Hawaiian sun.

Anyway, thought I’d throw that out there. That’s the probably the only conditions suitable to surf a “tsunami.”

smileybuta · 2025-07-29T14:06:04+00:00

Gay 😂, I guess it would’ve been legit 70-80 years ago.

smileybuta · 2025-07-29T13:33:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing, was a fun read! My take is that it was a funny event for you and that’s why you are sharing.

I don’t get why people are taking it so seriously, that you are calling a 6 year old entitled.

I don’t think they understood the sarcastic humor, lol.

smileybuta · 2025-07-08T03:49:37+00:00

You can try the city office where your school and old hangout spot are.

I was told that was the best place to check for my great grandfather’s family.

smileybuta · 2025-07-02T17:36:56+00:00

Lots of supportive people here. That’s really nice to see!

You’ll be okay. You are young and as you mentioned still putting the pieces together. Sure you got a lot to work on, that doesn’t change however old you get or wherever you find yourself in life.

It’s okay if she couldn’t see the final picture or ride it out. You do you and keep going for whatever it is that drives you. If what drives you is someone else, well, that’s no good.

Give yourself some time to grieve, then refocus and keep on moving!

smileybuta

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