HDE Advent Calendar 2016

“one day - one person - one blog post”, from December 1st - 25th

HDE Advent Calendar Day 18: How I Suck At Japanese And How I Will Overcome It

Hello!


My name is Yuri and unlike my name, I'm 0% Japanese and 100% Indonesian. I've been living in Japan back and forth since October 2014 for two internships (including HDE) before I was hired for a full-time job and moved for good on August 2015.

Today, I want to share how sucky my Japanese is.

Prolog

I've been living here quite a while and my level is still JLPT Nbarrasing (get it?).

And I don't think I'm bad at language in general. Considering that I've never taken any classes other than school and only relied on movies and books, I can say my English is not so bad. English is, in fact, my comfort language. I think and write in English, I read books and news in English. I understand (especially American) TV shows and crack at their jokes.

But my Japanese? My goodness, no.

It's so frustrating. I can understand what people are talking about, but I when it comes to sounding words, I stutter.

So I came up with some theories, of why I suck at my Japanese.

 

Theories of Why Yuri Sucks At Japanese #1: She's Old.

I wonder if it has anything to do with my age. But mind you, I'm not even 30 yet (not even that close. Maybe like, 27 Club close). Am I really that old now to learn a new language?

So I looked it up. Apparently, there are studies saying that age has something to do with receiving new informations, even though apparently it doesn't mean that adult is necessarily bad at it. While kids are more naturally adapted to learning new things, adults use their life experience to learn. So learning a new language doesn’t necessarily get harder with age; it just gets different.

Theories of Why Yuri Sucks At Japanese #2: No Place To Practice.

Let me share a bit about how my life goes on weekly basis.

So I wake up and go to work. HDE has been changing their official language to English, starting last October. And when they said we changed our main language to English, we changed our main language to English. Like, no kidding.

As said in his blog, Our CEO, Kazuhiro Ogura, announced that he would only write and give speech in English. And he did. 

f:id:yurilahar:20161219105129j:plain

                                                                   He's ready to smash you with some English!


All announcement is now in English, if not followed by Japanese. Documents have been translated. Japanese tags and labels are covered by English stickers. The international employees are expected to speak English more to our employees (don't get us wrong, it's always been our pleasures to do so). It's amazing how in less than 2 years here, the English atmosphere has been significantly improved! I'm not saying everyone speaks full-professional proficiency but you can converse lightly just fine.

Then I go home. I'm exchanging instant messages to my friends in English, if not Bahasa. Sometimes I hangout in a common area of my building where 30% of them are gaijin, and the Japanese who live there want to speak English too (or vice versa, but mostly the Japanese give up and use English anyway).

That happens five times a week.

On the weekend, I try my best not to touch work. I will make time to meet some friends who are mostly German or Polish. I call my parents. Then it gets late, I just read something until I fall asleep.

Then Monday happens and we're back to square one.

Theories of Why Yuri Sucks At Japanese #3: She Gets Comfortable.

This is, by far, the most likely one.

People keep saying how scarce English in Japan is. Maybe in other cities, yes, but I'd say Tokyo is not that rare. Especially not in Shibuya; where the biggest contributors to its density are visitors who are either waiting for the green light at the Shibuya Crossing with their selfie sticks, or lining up to take pictures with Hachiko. You'll find some English menus and the 店員 (clerks?) who understand your order.

f:id:yurilahar:20161219102636j:plain

                                                                                  Case in point

I know enough Japanese that gets me by. Technology is getting better, thanks to Kanji recognizer apps and Google Translate who even convert images too.

f:id:yurilahar:20161219103020p:plain

 

Days become weeks. Months become year(s).

I got too comfortable, until I remembered one of my former Japanese classmates told me how he's lived in Tokyo for five years (he's about 50s) and only know 六本木 (Roppongi) kanji.

That really snapped me and scared me a little bit.

--

I know by curling up in a ball and crying my eyes out (figuratively) won't change anything. So I wiped my tears, snorted my nose, got myself a paper and a pen, and started to brainstorms some ideas, of how I would step up my Japanese game with the most effective methods there are.

I came up with some presumably good solutions.

Solutions That Maybe Help Yuri With Her Japanese #1: Go To Small, Local Shops

I went to dry cleaning by my house the other day for the first time. I met this very nice lady and I conversed amicably in our broken Japanese/English.

Then I realized I should do it more often. Not the "bringing my coats every week to wash" part, but the "going to local shops more often" one, since I will be forced to use my Japanese even more often. One friend said how her friend keeps coming to this small ramen shop, just to exchange some conversations with the owner who doesn't speak a word in English.


At least I know a nice lady to start with!

f:id:yurilahar:20161219104729j:plain

                                                                         Although local dog will be better!

Solutions That Maybe Help Yuri With Her Japanese #2: Podcast

I downloaded some Learning Japanese apps, convincing myself that I would learn it everytime I commute to/from work.

Boy, was I wrong.

It's hard to concentrate on commute. There are news to follow and this new feature on Netflix where you can download the movies and watch it offline.

But with podcast can be different. I can still read on my phone, or not use it at all, while listening to it. That way at least my listening skills will boost up!

There is this podcast that I just subscribed yesterday (but honestly haven't listened to it) but I heard it worked!

www.japanesepod101.com


Solutions That Maybe Help Yuri With Her Japanese #3: Joining an Organization

What's a better way to learn something other than putting yourself in something that you like or care about?

So I used to be in this international organizations for 2.5 years, AIESEC, focusing on social issues and leadership. I've been in love with volunteering world eversince.

f:id:yurilahar:20161219104120j:plain


It's not easy to find organizations in Japan because again, my poor Japanese, until few weeks ago where I found this non-profit organization, Mirai no Mori, whose focus on making outdoor programs for abused, neglected, and orphaned Japanese kids. It's founded by mostly international people who have lived here for the longest time. Despite its bilingualism in the organization itself, you still need to use Japanese when it comes to dealing with the kids.


I have been in touch with the President and I really can't wait to join in their activities, moreover my involvement with developing its programs itself. I may give my hands to these unfortunate kids, but they're actually the ones who are the bigger helpers; who show me how fortunate our lives here.

f:id:yurilahar:20161219104440j:plain

Practicing Japanese is just a bonus! :)

--

Of course there are some other old-school ones that I will still do, like (re)taking Japanese class, textbooks, etc. that are undoubtedly successful, too. However, I need something more practical, like light conversations, and I thought I could give above solutions a try!

Again, I can't emphasize enough that this has nothing to do with my company going global. That's like complaining about getting free flow dessert or Shiba puppies! (Did I also mention that they paid for my Japanese class?)


This has everything to do with my laziness and being spoiled with my surrounding. These excuses have to stop. Starting next year, I promise I'll try harder. :)

Thank you again for reading :)


Warms,
Yuri

HDE Advent Calendar Day 17:My reccomend Application

introduction

Hello everyone, my name is Yuta Onari.

Sorry for my posting being late...

Before my start, maybe only few of you guys know about me, so let me shortly introduce myself.

 

It passed about 3 years after I joined HDE.(so fast!)

Now I'm belonging to Cloud Sales&MKTG devision, especially in "inside sales" department.

 This team was established last year, so we are very young.

I joined inside sales team from the beginning of last half period, so this is the 2nd half period for me in my career of inside sales team.

before I came inside sales, I was in metro high-touch sales team.

 

The lowest life

However, at that time, every my performance related to my lifeーboth my private and working timeーwas literally "totally suck".

 I couldn't manage my everything.

For example,priority of task, health, both private and working time, and things like that. I woke up at 5'o clock every day, due to feeling like I have to do something.(but sure, I did nothing till working time.) After I came to company, there were bunch of task and I couldn't decide which task should I do first. There was only few time to take lunch, so I decide to bring rice ball from my home, so I can assure time for work. Usual time I leave the office was around 22~23 every day. After I came back to my home, the only thing I could do was just dive into my bed and sleep like a log. I've keep wasting my money in the weekend, only because that I have no time and mental allowance to use it in the week day. 

 

Nothing went correctly. And what was worse, it lasted after I came to inside team. I was just keep hoping to change these things, But nothing will changes by only dreaming. But one time, one idea suddenly came up to my mind.

 

"I'm in IT Company. Why don't I use IT Tool to change this situation…?"

 

Yes "I" can

After that, I started to define what should I do to change these shitty situation, and I decide to search for 3 kinds of application. which is to control and management

・time 

・task 

・money

 

If I could control these thing perfectly, I strongly belive that this situation will dramatically change.

Finally I decided to use several applications. After started using these, my "jack-assy" life gradually started to change, and now it was completely different from 1~2 years ago.This time, let me introduce what I'm now using and how do I use it to control, management and change my life.

 

・time management=Mystats

URL>>> http://www.mystats.net/jpn/

He is one of my great hero, which completely changed my life. This is time management application, which make it easy to know what did i do in the life. 

f:id:yuta-onari:20161215190230p:plain

This is the sample of interface. You can see comprehensively what did you do , and preview and look back over the past use of time. It is written by both round graph and  percentage, it helps you to review the use of time. For example, how long did I use my time for sleeping, or to self-development. It also helps you to find the usage of your wasting time.

before start to use this, I was so nervous that I have to deal with the task just in front of me, even in weekend. But after start using this, I found some rhythm of my day, and also the wasting time. My rough schedule of daytime was like this.

 

1.wake up→2. go to work→3. lucnch→4.go back to my home→5. sleep.

 

That's it. That’s all. I just keep repeating this 5 times for weekday. What a boring life isn't it? But it's true story! lol

I found that the commuting time and the way of my home, I did nothing by recording it. So I decide to study about "Sales" and "Way to talk with someone=communication skill" by buying some books and read it in these times.

In the weekend, I usually woke up around 10A.M averagely, and fell asleep at 8P.M., because of alchohol. The only way I use my money was to drink alchohol, to forget my bad way of thinking and passed stupid weekday. But I decide to change this horrible habit by meet with someone, talk with my friends, and stimulated my mind. After I talk and meet with many people, I thought what a fuckin way did I think of my work. 

 

Things like that.

Everything started to change by manage my lifetime. Way of thinking, useage of my time, and so on.

 

So if someone thinking like the old "me", I strongly reccomend you to start manage and control life and make it valuable.

 

・task management=Jooto

URL>>> https://www.jooto.com/

She is my competent secretary, which to remind, control and manage my task. 

f:id:yuta-onari:20161215192743p:plain

Here is the sample of interface. It's really similar to the application"Trello", but I think she is more useful.

This can show you which tasks are left and also tells me the priority of each task by change the color of each tasks.For example, if there's ergent tasks, all you have to do is write the task into the board, and put the tag"ergent".Then you'll never for get to deal with, or make miss disidion of the task to deal first.

 

Before I start to use this, my task management ability was shit.(sorry for my bad word.)  I couldn't define which task should I do first, and after my boss told me "how are you doing about this?", I realized that I have to do it immediately. 24/365, he was angry at me. So sorry about that, boss...

 I also didn't consider my colleagues. Because there was no margin everytime, I have to get the answer or decidion immediately, I rushed to them and 100% offended them when I did this.  I really want to apologize about it to all of my related.

However, after I started to use this, it won't occur because I have enough time to think, ask and discuss about one task. Incredible! I think I can't believe this situation at that time.

 

・money management=おカネレコ

URL>>> 2秒家計簿おカネレコ 300万人が使う無料で人気の家計簿アプリ -Appliv 

He is my efficient CPA. After I started using this, I could completely annihilated my barren money, and what is more, I could constantly save my money.

 

f:id:yuta-onari:20161218093733p:plain

This is the sample of its interface. It enable you to see your income and spending by both calendar and round graph by just click the item on the application and amount both in and out. You can see the percentage of total, so if there’s some waste money, you can easily check it. Also you can briefly see the spending by each day. This make you to adjust the spending if you have big waste in some day. 

Again, before I started to use this, I was splurging  as much as I could for alcohol in the weekend. Also my dietary pattern was misery. I only eat rice ball in the weekday, only because I have no time to spend elegant lunch. In the weekend, go to ramen ”Jiro”, my another way to splurge, steadily collapsed my health. Last year’s my weigh was 48kg, though I’m 167cm tall. My BMI was extraordinarily went crazy. I threw up almost every day because of pessimistic.

First thing I did was to change my dietary pattern, I studied each nutrition’s effect and try my best to eat food in a balance. and also quit drinking alcohol by alone.(only with someone!)

Now, my health balance became better and better, my face’s acne were almost completely disappeared. By thinking about money, I also saved my health condition!

 

What is more, these application can use for totally free! I still couldn’t believe that these free guys changed my life extremely!

 

What I learned from this activity

I learned that if you think you want to change something, first you have to do is just believe that you can. After that, make some specifical action. Though you think you can’t come up some idea, just keep believe and you will.  I’ll maintain this habit forever in my life till the end, and want to teach my family and do it together.The keyword is

 

 yes "I" can.

f:id:yuta-onari:20161218093942p:plain

 

Thank you for reading!

HDE Advent Calendar Day 16: The HDE Gaming Awards

Ah, the holidays, a time to sit down and spend time doing nothing but playing games with family. On second thought, perhaps it's the former for some os us.

If there's one word that I would use to summarize 2016, it would be "surprising" especially in gaming. From the No Man's Sky fiasco to Firewatch's ending; 2016 also ends with the release of two games, within a week of each other. 

 

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205132333j:plain

What's your Game of the Year?

What did HDE employees enjoy playing this year? As the moderator of the #gaming channel at HDE, I wanted to find out. 

Keep in mind that a few of the games mentioned were not released in 2016. 

INSIDE 

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205134731j:plain

The world is immersive, surreal, post-apocalyptic and dystopian. I love the amazing puzzles and the dark, primarily monochromatic, silent environment with well designed audio and visual cues throughout the game. It's truly a masterpiece and one-of-a-kind.

- Kenny a.k.a Spicy Chickenny

 

Bloodborne: The Old Hunters

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205141132j:plain

My game of the year is, of course, Bloodborne DLC: The old hunter[sic]. I recommend it to those who like hard core action games and enjoy being tortured.

 - Jerry

 

Dota 2

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205141922j:plain

I would go ahead and recommend Dota 2 for the MOBA enthusiasts out there. It's a competitive, ever-changing online battle game I have enjoyed a lot since it's second year as a standalone game (starting out as a mod before acquired by Valve). Last summer it held its 6th international tournament with a prize pool total of $20,770,460.

 - Bumi

 

Stardew Valley

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205162223j:plain

If you used to love Harvest Moon, you couldn't missed out playing Stardew Valley. "I want to play for one more day in the game" will absolutely lead you to play one more day in the real life. And also, it's more realistic. Tried to ask all girls out for dance, they just simply reject you with "Eww". 10/10 will get rejected again.

- Iskandar

 

XCOM 2

f:id:tokyoincode:20161205163425j:plain

I grew up with the original X-COM series (UFO Defense, Terror From The Deep, Apocalypse, Interceptor), so having X-COM and X-COM 2 as a proper tactical turn-based combat after 15 years gave me that nostalgia back. It also  helps that they’re both polished products, developed by Firaxis, which is a top-notch development house famous for their Civilization series.

- Jeffrey

 

Oxenfree

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Incredible dialog system, interesting story and (spoiler alert) brilliant multiplayer feature.

- Jonas

 

Uncharted 4

f:id:tokyoincode:20161215123337j:plain

There are so many reasons to love this game. This is so far the best-looking video game I’ve ever seen. The story is very good on its own, and it’s a perfect way to close the book on Nathan Drake’s story. They added new mechanics that fits so well with the gameplay. All those elements come together to make such an enjoyable gaming experience (for me, at least).

- Bagus

 

Dishonored 2

f:id:tokyoincode:20161215121342j:plain

Finally, my personal game of the year is Dishonored 2. If you're into stealth games or enjoyed the original Dishonored, then you'll love Dishonred 2. The sequel not only improves on the first game's systems but also adds quite two unique, innovative and puzzle-esque levels. The "Play Your Way" philosophy that Dishonored established and that the sequel expands on, is some of the most fun that I've had in my gaming career.

 

With that all said, the gamers at HDE wish you the best this holiday season, game on!

 

Also, save some cash for the upcoming Steam sales!

HDE Advent Calendar Day 15: Protecting personally identifiable information on cloud service: ISO/IEC 27018

Hi, I'm Tassy.

I'd like to talk about ISO/IEC 27018 that is international certificate of security for cloud service.
It's very honorable to us, so I'll talk the detail of the certificate.

In particular, ISO/IEC 27018 is based on ISO/IEC 27002(ISMS). ISO/IEC 27018 is a certificate to protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for the public cloud computing environment.

I'm really glad to get certified and feel the value of the certificate because we're cloud security vendor.

However, it's not a goal to get ISO 2718 certification. I think that our goal is to provide customers more secure service and so that customers can use our HDE One service with sense of secure.

 


というわけで、このたびクラウドセキュリティサービスである HDE One が ISO/IEC 27018 を取得しました。

プロジェクト開始から認証取得まで6ヶ月しかなく、まさにあっという間でした。

f:id:tassy1983:20161215145158p:plain

It's Award ceremony of ISO/IEC 27018 / 認定証の授賞式!

 

そもそもISO 27018ってなに?といった、所も踏まえて、 ISO 27018を取得するまでの実際をお伝えしていきたいと思います。

ちなみに、現在国内では、BSIジャパン様が唯一の認証機関になっており、弊社で4社目の認証だそうです。

国内クラウドセキュリティベンダーとしては、おそらく初めての認証になるのではないでしょうか。
そうなるとちょっと誇らしいですね。

■What's the ISO 27018 ? / ISO 27018 ってなに?

ISO/IEC 27018 とは、クラウドサービスを提供しているベンダー向けの個人情報保護の認証です。

情報セキュリティとして有名なISMS (ISO/IEC 27002) をベースに、クラウドならではのセキュリティや 個人情報の取扱いなどが決められています。
情報セキュリティの基礎的な部分は、ISMSでカバーしていることが前提となっており、 ISO 27018では、より実践的な部分や現場における運用など、さらに一歩踏み込んだ所を求められています。

国内で個人情報の保護というと、プライバシーマークが有名になっていますが、 プライバシーマークはどちらかというと紙文書を前提とした仕組みづくりを求めているのに対して、 ISO 27018はクラウドサービスを前提にしており、比較するとアクセスコントロールなどが強く出ていると思います。

■What's a merritt of the cert? / 取得のメリットは何か?

やはりビジネス上の安心感だと思います。

クラウドセキュリティサービスとしてのHDE Oneをお客様に提供していますが、 その開発・運用体制が国際基準で確かなものであると第三者認証されるというのは、 弊社を選択されるお客様にとって、非常に安心感をご提供できていると思います。

■What's the hardest thing? / 何が大変だったか?

スケジュールの短さです!

これまで私自身、HDE Oneの立ち上げ時期からサポートからシステムのバックエンドまでを手がけて来たこともあり、 技術的な所は理解しているのですが、ISOを導入するといった事は初めての経験でした。

ISO 27018はISMSがベースになっているので、当然ながらISMSの部分についても全て把握しておく必要があります。
ちょうど2016年のISMS更新にあわせて、いくつか古くなっている社内規定を書き直すプロジェクトも走っており、 かなり混迷を極めました。

また、社内規程に詳しい前回のISMS更新担当は、ほとんど海外に出張していることもあり、 「◯◯について書かれた規程文書がどこにあるのか知りたい」と思っても聞ける人がいない状態も拍車をかけました。

幸いな事に、最大の障害になるであろうと思っていた社内調整については、思ったほどではありませんでした。

これはISMSを通してHDE社内に「セキュリティは大事」という文化が根付いており、現場がかなり協力的だったことに尽きます。

■How do next? / ISO 27018の取得を受けて

クラウドセキュリティーベンダーとして、価値のあるISO 27018を取得したことは非常に嬉しく思います。

ですが、ISO 2718 の認証を受けることがゴールではありません。
認証を通して、よりセキュアなサービスをお客様に提供すること、お客様に安心してサービスをご利用いただくことがゴールだと考えています。

それでは、HDE Oneを今後ともよろしくお願い致します。

HDE Advent Calendar Day 14: Go by motorhome! The seven-day trip to the Canadian Rockies!

Hi, everyone! Here comes the 14th day of HDE Advent Calendar!
I am Akane of the Finance Section in the Business Administration Division.

(Do you remember the 4th post written by Akane-chan? In our company HDE, there are 2 Akane, "茜" and "茜子." And I am "茜子," the other Akane!)

I was born and raised in Tokyo, and now I live and work in Shibuya. Of course, I love here so much. The number of tourists to Japan (adding more, the number of tourists to Shibuya) has increased significantly in recent years. I am very proud of it.

 

However!!
As I am always surrounded by a lot of buildings, I sometimes yearn for Mother Nature....

 

Today, I'd like to tell you great Canadian nature that I've been in this summer vacation.

 

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome on board our Flight. Please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. Please enjoy your flight with us."


All passengers in front of your PC, please sit back, relax and enjoy the short virtual trip. Thank you!

 

1. The travel map

This is the travel map.

 

2. Attention

- The motorhome* is so useful for a long-way and long-term camping. That is because you can cook same as in your house, keep perishables in the refrigerator, and also you don't need to prepare your bed every night!
(* Motorhome is a motor vehicle built on a truck or bus chassis and designed to serve as self-contained living quarters for recreational travel.)
f:id:akaneco3:20161214041449j:plain[Photo 1: our motorhome]
f:id:akaneco3:20161214045615j:plain[Photo 2: in the motorhome]

- We decided to stay campgrounds with shower booths, although we knew that the hot water isn't working for a long time at once. As for it, we went the campground with hot spring. (Most Japanese people love bathing in hot springs. For us, the bath is not only a place to clean our body but also to relax our body and soul!)

- Also, we decided to check Wi-Fi spot every place, but unfortunately some Wi-Fi network is unstable and slow. Besides that, some place I had no reception.

- Anyway, the trouble and the extraordinary are the real pleasure!!

 

3. The itinerary

1st day: 

- Go to Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel at Shibuya
- Ride on the airport shuttle bus to Narita International Airport
- Flight to Vancouver
- Sightsee in downtown in Vancouver
- Flight to Calgary (My parents pick me up at the airport.)
- Ride on the motorhome
- Stay one night at Calgary West Campground

2nd day:

- Move to Banff National Park
- Sightsee in Banff
f:id:akaneco3:20161214041654j:plain
f:id:akaneco3:20161214041346j:plain[Photo 3 & 4 : at Banff]
- Stay one night at Banff National Park Trailer Court

3rd day:

- Go through Route 1A and sightsee at Lake Louise
f:id:akaneco3:20161214044814j:plain[Photo 5 : early in the morning at Lake Louise]
- Stay one night at Banff NP Lake Louise Hard-Sided campground**
(**Hard-Sided campground is only for the campers with recreation vehicles for the safety of themselves. To sum it all up, around this campground we have to beware of bears so that it is very dangerous to sleep in the tent.)

f:id:akaneco3:20161214042243j:plain[Photo 6: beware of bears!]

f:id:akaneco3:20161214041951j:plain[Photo 7: fireworks in the heavy rain]

4th day:

- Sightsee at Moraine Lake

f:id:akaneco3:20161214050129j:plain[Photo 8: beautiful Moraine Lake]
- Go to Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park
- Stay one night at Canyon Hot Springs Resort
- Take a hot spring bath pool (so relaxed!!)

5th day:

- Swim and ride on my inflatable boat at Shuswap Lake
- Stay one night at Kamloops RV Park 

6th day:

- Go through Route 99 (There were so many beautiful scenery places while driving!)

f:id:akaneco3:20161214043250j:plain[Photo 9: Unknown lake]
- Stay one night at Whistler RV Park and Campground 

7th day:

- Back to Vancouver
- Say good-bye to my parents
- Play Pokemon GO for a while because my departure was delayed due to plane trouble

f:id:akaneco3:20161214044334j:plain[Photo 10: Pokemon GO]
- Flight to Japan!!

4.  Last of all

Nature is sometimes very harsh.
But at the same time, Nature gives us real inner peace.
Besides this, everyone that I have met there is so sweet and gentle. (I've met more small animals than human, however.)

You should go whenever there is great nature (especially Canada!), and refresh yourself with fresh air, clean water, greens and wide open blue sky!!

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"Ladies and gentlemen, we have safely landed at Narita International Airport. Please remain seated until the captain turns off the seatbelt sign.
On behalf of our Airlines and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip, and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again shortly."

Have a nice day!

HDE Advent Calendar Day 13: The Best (and Worst) Pizza in Japan

Have you ever eaten pizza in Japan? As an American like me it can be pretty strange. It’s as if someone had pizza once and then told a Japanese person what it was like.  Then that second person decided to open  Japan’s first pizza restaurant.

Whoever described pizza to Japan said, “It’s circle bread with tomato sauce and cheese, and then you put a bunch of stuff on it.” The guy listening asked what kind of stuff gets put on pizza, and then the first guy got hit by a bus and died.

Undeterred, the second guy assumed his friend was going to say, “Stuff like shrimp, broccoli, potato, corn, and mayonnaise. Oh my god! I almost got hit by that bus just now!” But that never happened and our hero had a pizza industry to found.

Right now you’re probably thinking, “Hey, I’ve had pretty awesome pizzas that have used those ingredients before.” That’s true, but you’ve never had an awesome pizza that used all of those ingredients simultaneously. Here it is, and it’s gross.

messed-up-pizza

What the heck is this? Who thought that pizza should be equal parts mayonaise and disappointment?

That’s the second most popular pizza in Japan. Right after PizzaLa’s signature Asparagus-Pork-Eggplant-Bread that’s Soggy with Milk-BBQ Special.

 

This is where Pizza Slice comes in.

Pizza Slice is amazing pizza. They’re not amazing because they changed the game, they’re amazing because pizza is already pitching a no hitter and they let pizza do what pizza does best.

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At Pizza Slice all the pizza has just a single classic ingredient like pepperoni, sausage, or jalapenos.  It’s all cooked fresh in their brick oven that perfectly toasts a thin crispy crust. It’s that perfect balance between heavy and hearty and light and flaky that only exist in the pizza of your dreams… and at Pizza Slice.

Honestly, I’m not even overstating how good this pizza is. Go there and eat it for yourself. It’s right by JR Shibuya Station’s New South Exit. It’s only 500 yen (5USD). Which is great when you don’t want to pay 2900 yen (29USD) for Dominoes Japan’s Pile of Stuff We Found on the Floor Pizza-Medium.

The inscription on the wall outside Pizza Slice reads “SLICE OF YOUR LIFE.” Truer words have never been spoken. I mean, I don't know what it means because it’s hard to understand Japanese-English, but I think that that words rings true deeper than language. They’re the words spoken by the heart. A Pizza Heart.

Full disclosure, one time I went to Pizza Slice and only paid for one slice, but then they brought me 2 more as a mistake. So I was totally biased when I wrote this.

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Go here. ⬆

HDE Advent Calendar Day 12: My favorite thing ~Why am I in Tokyo Dome~

Hi! This is the 12th day of "HDE Advent Calendar", and my name is Imaizumi from Japan.
I'm afraid my expressions may be rude or hard to read, because I'm not so good at English. But please, please, please be patient! I will try hard to write in English!

Why am I in Tokyo Dome?

Now, I'm in Tokyo Dome and writing this.

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Why am I in Tokyo Dome? Because I come here to watch my favorite thing, and today's article is my favorite thing. My favorite thing is this.

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American football!!
Today, I'll write about the fascination of American Football.

Since when did I like American Football?

Just two years ago , I came to Tokyo Dome the same as today. The purpose is to see final game in "X league",which is American Football championship in Japanese company. My previous colleague particaipated in the game, So, I came here.
I was impressed by it. I thought what a fantastic sports!
This is the photo then at that time.

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Since that time I've been interested in American Football.
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Why do I like "American Football"?

I think fascinations of American Football are as follows.

1.Physical American Football is a physical sport.

Players are runnning at incredible speed, and jumping at incredible hight, and crashing into each other at incredible impact.
It's so excited. Please check this Video.

www.youtube.com

2.Smart

Ordinary people think What is required in American Footbaal is only Physical thing.
Is it correct? No,Each player has to be smart.
Understand strategy,reading situation,and predicting next play. All of these are required.

3.Passion

NFL is so interesting and exciting. I think the reason is not only the above reasons but also Passion.
There is only 16 games a season.So, Every game is important in reaching the postseason. So, each player try hard to win to reach Super Bowl.
Every year, I decide to take a day off on the Super Bowl Day. I cannot wait the day!

Rule

But many people think the rule is too complicated.I also thought that. But it's easy to understand.I think American football is similar to Baseball than Soccer.
If you don't know rule, please watch this Video.

www.nfluk.com

 

Thank you for reading.
If you're interested in American Football, I suggest that you should know the rule and watch some game. I assure that you come to like American Football.
Enjoy!!!