I've been watching more Japanese TV lately to try to pick up more of the language and learn new expressions. I don't really watch TV at home, and here it's even worse. Game shows, infomercials and cooking shows are almost all I can ever find. But I did find out about this cute little girl called Natsuko Sone who is a famous professional speed-eater. She can eat 6 Kg (around 15 pounds) of curry and rice in only 23 minutes. She can eat 130 large shrimp in one sitting. She once consumed 40,000 calories in several restaurants in one night. She is pretty amazing and only 21 years old.

Natsuko Sone is known as Gyaru Sone and sometimes as "gal" Sone because the dyed blonde hair and heavy makeup and lacy, pastel colored clothes she wears are from a style called Gyaru / Gal that's popular in Tokyo. On Friday night in Shibuya you can see dozens of groups of guys and girls dressed like this. Yes, those really are toys and fake diamonds manicured onto her nails. The thing I like about this girl is that she's actually a certified chef and weirdly enough, she really looks like she's completely enjoying every bite she takes even though she's shoveling food into her mouth. She looks like she really enjoys eating and enjoys tasting her food. Try to find her on youtube. Most food-eating competitions are so disgusting that I can't even watch them. I remember seeing hot dog competitions on television once where they were so messy and gagging. But Gyaru Sone makes this gross "sport" look like a magic trick and less like a gluttonous orgy.

The thing she's most famous for happened at a women-only contest in Okinawa in 2006. Sone won the race and was filmed calmly reapplying her makeup after finishing first, even as the clock was still ticking. She's also in a pop music group called Gyaruru.