Random weirdness

After work tonight, I wandered over to the local convenience store to grab some food. I used the ATM there to grab some cash -- payday is tomorrow, but I was flat broke tonight. I decided to take out 3000 yen (about $28 at current rates).

Instead of the three ¥1000 bills I was expecting, I got one ¥1000 bill, and a ¥2000 bill. Now, you might think that there's nothing wrong with that. After all, a ¥2000 bill is roughly equivalent to a $20, and after all, that's by far the most common bill used in the U.S., right?

Nope. Oddly, the ¥2000 bill is almost never used on an everyday basis in Japan. A number of stores will actually refuse to take the thing. When you do spend one, it's like spending a dollar coin or a two dollar bill in the states -- the cashier has no place to put the damned thing.

Too bad, really. The two-thousand yen bill has a nice design, with a picture of a temple gate from Okinawa on the front, and an illustration from "The Tale of Genji" on the back. Well, if I do end up spending it, I know that the convenience store will take it.

It's a slow news day in Japan

On the one-hour NHK 10:00 news, one of the three feature stories was on the sudden appearance of BOTS in online gaming. They showed gameplay of "RAGNAROK ONLINE," and explained how 'bots are making the game less fun to play for Japanese gamers. "...and when bots sweep in and take away all the available points, human gamers are made unhappy..."

Happy spring, everyone. I actually had to put away the space heater and take out the oscillating fan today. My co-workers are still wearing the (school logo) sweatshirts, while I switched to the polo shirt a week ago. Today was the first day they didn't ask me, 寒くない？ (aren't you cold?)