Taking a page from SakeSwap, I would like to do the same with candy, to make friends with folks in Japan. Ideally, I would like to send unique American candy (particularly Halloween and other holiday candy we have over here) and receive unique Japanese candy in return. If anyone is interested, please leave a comment or drop me a line.

I was sad to hear of my friend and colleague Robert Sanzalone leaving Japan next month. Earlier this year I was invited to Japan to help a Christian missionary with a film project, but was forced to cancel because very little sponsorship money came forth. I’d been planning to meet him and several other folks I know in Japan, but it didn’t work out. At the moment, I have a passport, but still no money to travel, so I’m joining every contest I can and networking with other people in the Atlanta area in hopes that somehow I can do a short trip before next month. If not, ideally, I would like to go myself at least once before the end of the year. Right now I have only the wishes, but I can at least cast my nets.

In the meantime, I mentioned networking. This month I will visit at least one JASG event and that of another similar group. Hopefully I’ll hit it off well with the folks at both.

I forgot that I had more candy pictures from my last candy run that was after this one. My wife and oldest daughter love the Glico caramel candy as much as I do, and my wife asks that I get her some Poifull jelly beans (from the Meiji mini-candy assortment) every time I go. Next time I will make a run for some authentic Japanese ramen and probably try some more different types of candy. Perhaps I can get a membership card and rent some Doraemon cartoons for my daughters to see how much 日本語 I have picked up so far.

One of my best friends bought Go! More Than a Game at Books Japan on our run last weekend. We’re planning to learn Go together. I’ve always wanted to play the game, but never had anyone to play against (in real life) until now. I also want to learn mah jong (the 4-player game) so I can play all of those mah jong games I’ve found. I think the original NES alone had over a dozen of them.

Do I talk about candy a lot? It’s because I have no shame about it any more, after reading Candyfreak last month. This has nothing to do with anything Japanese, but it is an entertaining read.

To anyone interested in rare Japanese video games, I have several Underground Gamer invites left, if anyone wants them. It’s a private invite-only game tracker that specializes in abandonware games from the 70′s up to the 90′s. The ratio rules are pretty strict, but I can help you get started if you like.

OK, it’s time to go and do other things with my Sunday. My friend and I are going to play Go this afternoon. I’ll let you know who wins.