A Year in Japan...and Beyond!

Canoeing!

2009-08-26T03:17:00.015+09:00

Monday, my DH and I went canoeing. We went to Ding's Dock in Waupaca, where you can rent a canoe and go on a 3 hour canoe trip. (A three hour cruise! Watch out for desert islands!)

First, they take you to the start on a pantoon boat, with your canoe.

The weather was perfect -- not too hot, not to cold, no wind.

The majority of the route was smooth water. Some places were shallow enough that we hit rocks on the bottom. When we got stuck, my gallant DH would get out and walk the canoe through to deeper water.

Here is a little water lily. We see them on the Trestle Trail in Menasha, too. I had never seen them in the wild before this year.

Here is a sign, telling us we are on the right route.

At one point, we encountered a family of five in three canoes who had left before us, but had trouble getting through the rapids and more rocky areas, so we ended up passing them. Being in only one canoe made it less complicated than for us, but it was a little hazardous having that many canoes in a small and rocky area. I hope the parents try this again by themselves once the kids have grown up and I hope the kids appreciate the parents doing this kind of thing with them.

At the end, there is a phone with a direct line to Ding's Dock. Just call, and they come an bring you back to your car. By the time the pickup van came, the family we'd passed had reached the end, so we all road back together. My DH and I are already planning on doing this again next year.

Mameshiba

2009-08-02T02:20:00.003+09:00

Anyone who likes Monty Python will agree that British humor is different from American humor. Maybe I should write "humour".

Anyway, Japanese humor is really different. For one thing, the Japanese language is very conducive to puns. Also, characters or mascots are very popular in Japan. Hello Kitty is probably the most famous. But there are others. One that I encountered was Mameshiba.

"Mame" means "bean". Shiba is a breed of dog. And "mamechishiki" means "trivia".

Pictured below is a Mameshiba key chain. It looks like an edamame (soybean) pod. The little beans inside are attached so you can pop them out an infinite number of times. The company that makes them also makes a bubble wrap key chain that you can pop infinitely, and one that is like ripping open a Fedex envelope.

Anyway, besides keychains and plushies, there are some cute mameshiba videos. The first is here, subtitled in English. I really like them, but I guess it will depend on your taste! So, go take a look!

There are some language tidbits for those of you studying Nihongo. Before anyone starts to eat a sit down meal, for example, they say "Itadakemasu!". This is said before meals, like grace. The after meal phrase is "Gochisosama deshita", which the girl in the second video says. It means, literally, "It was a feast," although she doesn't mean that! The man in the fifth video also says it.

In the fourth video, the woman is stirring natto. Natto is fermented soybean and either you like it, or you don't. I tried, honestly, but I don't like it. It's supposed to be very good for you, but I'm afraid it's something you have to have eaten from childhood. It seems that people in Kanto (the area around Tokyo) like it, but people further south don't like it as much.

Anyway, enjoy the cute videos!

Japanese Education

2009-07-29T10:09:00.002+09:00

Earlier this spring, I told you how surprised I was that high school is not compulsory in Japan, nor is it free. I'd known about the dreaded college exams, but there are high school exams as well. And in a strange switch from the norm in the US, public high schools are seen as better than private schools. Apparently, I am not alone in this surprise. Here is a snippet from an article by Philip Brasor at The Japan Times.

High school is not compulsory in Japan, and even public high schools require tuition fees. In Tokyo, students have to pay a little more than ¥10,000 a month to attend public high schools. That may not sound like much, but they also have to take a test to get into these schools. If they fail and want to continue their education then they have to attend a private high school, which are, needless to say, more expensive than public high schools — and easier to get into. Basically, all you have to do is pay.

It's an unspoken but generally held belief that private-school students are on the whole scholastically inferior to public-school students. Parents with enough money will send their kids to cram schools at an early age, thus ensuring that they can pass the test to get into a public high school (and, later, a national university), while kids from less affluent families are not able to afford cram schools and thus end up attending private schools, where they have to spend a lot of money in order to graduate. And with more parents losing their jobs due to the recession, more teens are not going on to high school simply because they cannot afford to.

You can read the whole article here.

Remember, ¥10,000 roughly US$100, so that's not a whole lot. And I know that American high schools have extracurricular fees, so they are not entirely "free".

Perhaps, this does help the higher achieving students. They are not dragged down by standards that must slow down a bit for students who, due to ability or attitude, will not meet higher standards. And students can choose among many high schools to try to get into, not just the one in their town or section of town. At least one of my students was planning on boarding while attending high school. It's like charter schools here -- different ones specialize in different areas or different academic levels.

Some are connected to a particular university, and have such high academic standards that their graduates don't have to take the entrance exams for that university. And some of those high schools have affiliated junior high schools, grade schools and kindergartens. A kindergarten entrance exam that will get you into a top university later in life -- no pressure there, huh?

And lest you think those that don't go to high school are being too short-changed, remember that Japan has a higher literacy rate than the US, despite having the most complicated writing system on the planet. Plus, they will have sat through 3 years of foreign language instruction (English). Since Japan has a 6-3-3 system, the end of junior high school is a 9th grade education in the US. So, their American counterparts have optionally likely had 1 year of a foreign language. Those who don't go to high school can start apprenticeships if that is what their career path requires.

Overall, I am still kind of amazed at this system. Given the importance that East Asian cultures, including Japan, give to education I was stunned that high school was not required. But the system seems to work, and it keeps the 3rd year students in junior high school focused. SAT's aren't 3 years in the blurry future -- they are now!

Cats

2009-05-20T01:20:00.006+09:00

I could be a cat. I love seafood and I love naps.

Here are my role-models!

Orangie Boy.

Tashi
(AKA Pish Posh, Tashball, Tashmonster)

Tama
(AKA Tamtam)

Lake flies!

2009-05-11T08:02:00.004+09:00

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all moms, but most especially, mine!

While the weather here is nice, no mom would want a nice cook-out by the Lake Winnebago on Mother's Day. Here is the reason: Lake flies. They hatch like clockwork around Mother's Day. They swarm and get all over everything for about a week, then they are gone.

They don't bite, sting, spread disease or eat crops. They just land on everything, stink and stain when squished and make make a buzzing noise. They come out of the lake, mate and die. A good storm will get rid of them. And the cats like them, so none stay around in the house for long!

The fish love the larvae, and for a while we thought the zebra mussels might have done the lake flies in. Zebra mussels are an invasive species here. But after two or three years of no lake flies, it was back to normal.

Here is a story about who lake flies came to Lake Winnebago. Apparently, lake flies thrived in a lake or two in Africa. Some professor at a university in Chicago thought, "I wonder if they would also thrive in Lake Winnebago." He brought them here and they did, indeed, thrive. If it's true, it's just another reason for the rivalry between Wisconsinites and folks from Illinois , especially those from Chicago.

So, instead of gardening, I can only plan what I'll plant when these nasty bugs are gone. Luckily for me, I mowed the lawn the day before the hatch!

Flying

2009-05-07T12:23:00.005+09:00

I like flying. Not commercial flights -- although I don't mind them as much as most people. I like flying in small planes. Luckily for me, I have a good friend who owns a 2 seater plane. Last Sunday was nice, so we went flying.

Here is the inside of the plane.

We flew over southern Wisconsin, by the Dells, Lake Delavan and Devil's Lake.

The cool thing about this plane, is that if you see something that looks interesting, you just fly over there and get a closer look.

Here is a dam. In the middle, you can see the lock.

I think this area is very beautiful.

We also played with some thermals. These are columns of warm air. Since heat rises, so does warm air. So if you find one, you can just fly in tight circles around the thermal and gain altitude for free -- no need to adjust the throttle. You can see birds do this as well.

I have more pics -- go here to see them.

New kitty!

2009-05-03T22:24:00.004+09:00

Hey, everyone, meet Tama!

As you know my baby, Moogie, passed away last year. She was 19. She was my first kitty. At the time, we got her, we had TD and Clark. We'd gotten Clark just a few days before Moogie, so they were buddies. TD thought she was a human, Clark acted like a dog. But Moogie knew it was best to be a cat.

I knew I'd have to get another kitty when I got back. I started looking at the Neenah Animal Shelter website. On the website, you can see the cats and dogs available for adoption. I was looking for a kitten.

In the petfood section at Wallyworld, there are pictures of kitties and goggies at the shelter wanting new homes. Rob saw a cute kitty named Greta . Long story short: Tama is Greta's new name. She was brought in to the shelter after being found outside. Since Greta isn't her real name, I decided to change it to Tama. Tama is a very popular name for female cats in Japan, and my friend in Australia has a kitty named Tama as well. She is about two years old, and had just had a litter of kittens before being brought to the shelter.

Her coloring is called "dilute tortie". She looks like a black and orange tortoiseshell that had been left in the sun to fade. And she has cowlick on her chin that looks like a goatee.

At first there was a lot of yowling and hissing when all the cats were allowed to meet in person. Now they can all be in the same room with only the occasional growl, hiss or yowl.

Tama is the smallest of our three kitties, but don't worry about her! I've seen her tackle Orangie, who weighs almost twice as much as she does, and chase him down the hall!

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

2009-04-03T14:09:00.011+09:00

My father is a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It's actually a mostly outdoor museum, with exhibits of plants and animals in the Sonora Desert. He had a training session, so Mom and I wandered around the Museum. Since it's spring, there were a lot of flowering plants.

Here is the website for the museum: www.desertmuseum.org. If you're ever in the Tucson area, be sure to see it!

They have demonstrations of some desert birds called Raptor Free Flight. Today we saw the Chihuahuan Raven, a Great Horned Owl, a Harris Hawk, and a Ferruginous Hawk.

Here are the bird pics. First the raven:

Here's the owl.

The Harris hawk

The Ferruginous Hawk

Back in the US!

2009-03-30T05:09:00.008+09:00

I'm back in the US! I flew from Narita (Tokyo) to Dallas to Tucson. I got lucky -- only a short delay taking off at Narita, but no disruptions to my plans. Previously, I'd flown directly to Chicago, with no other stops. That's good if you want to buy any liquids at the duty free shops, or bring your own.

I had planned on taking the train to Utsunomiya, then a bus to Narita. But Mr. Yamagi very kindly insisted on driving me to Utsunomiya. En route, we stopped at this shrine, then had a nice hamburg steak lunch.

The horse chestnut (栃の木 - tochi no ki) is where the name Tochigi comes from. Many things in Utsunomiya are named Marronnier this or Marronnier that, since "marronnier" is French for horse chestnut. The bus from Utsunomiya to Narita is the Marronnier Bus. So, if you are headed toward Utsunomiya, anything with "marronnier" in the name is a good guess!

Here is my last meal in Japan -- a tempura and rice set. Yum!

Now I'm staying with my parents inTucson. It's nice to have so much free time to spend with them and I could get used to the retired life very easily!

2009-03-22T21:11:00.014+09:00

I've been working on preparations to go back to the States. Here is my last adventure: The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Harajuku.

Most of these pics need no captions -- they speak for themselves!

The Saint himself showed up.

They played "The Minstrel Boy" (or "The Moreen")

Here are the Bretons. The theme this year was Celtishness in general, so Bretons, Scots, etc all showed up. Even the Irish setter and Irish wolfhound clubs came.

Here were 2 actual Irishmen who gave me commentary during the parade.

One of their friends who marched in the parade.

Harajuku and Meijijingu

2009-03-08T22:10:00.030+09:00

On Saturday I went to Tokyo for a business meeting (doesn't that sound posh?).

After the meeting, I went to Harajuku because I haven't been there before. Harajuku is known as a teenybopper's shopping district, which is why I hadn't been there before. But Meijijungu, which is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the Meiji Emperor and Empress is in Yoyogi park. Yoyogi park, like Ueno park, is a green oasis in surrounded by urban Tokyo. Tokyo University, or Todai, which is the nation's top university (imagine if you combined Harvard, Yale and Stanford) is nearby, so I imagine students find the park a good place to relax.

I'm guessing that the annual Tokyo St. Patrick's Day parade will come through here.

Here is a Wendy's in Harajuku. I haven't seen many Wendy's. When it comes to hamberger places usually I see McDonalds, Freshness Burger and Mos Burger.

Here is a Demiglace Bacon Cheeseburger set. Yum!

These plaques comemorating the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.are on a bridge.

In case you are hungry, here are some vendors ready to feed you. The closest is takoyaki, which are balls made of octopus in batter. The joke, of course, is that there are 8 octopus balls per octopus. HT next is yakisoba, or stir-fried noodles. There were also okonomiyaki, which are savory pancakes with cabbage, shrimp, etc. Okonimiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese foods.

This is the first torii gate leading to the shrine.

Kimono never go out of style.

Here are some French wines that have been donated to the shrine.

Here is the more traditional sake. Japanese gods like sake, which is OK!

Here is the final gate. I have finally found a Shinto shrine that has no stairs.

Here is taiko drum at the shrine.

This light looks like the sort that would fit just fine at my house! I like the arts and crafts/art deco/Japanese combo.

Here is the shrine itself. The proper way to pray at a Shinto shrine is very simple.
Toss a coin or coins in the box. Ring the bell once - pull the rope. Bow twice. Clap twice in prayer while thinking about your wish. Bow once.

People write their wishes and prayers on ema, or small wooden plaques, which are hung up by the shrine. I saw them written in many languages: English, German, French, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, etc.

Starting Final Countdown!

2009-03-01T22:10:00.006+09:00

Well, I have less than a month left in Japan. I am both looking forward to coming home and already missing unique features of Japan.

Today, I started looking around my apartment for things that I could start sending home. I wondered how this room that started out with nothing but a futon and my suitcases could get so full of stuff! Then, I caught the next train for Utsunomiya and went shopping at Bell Mall. Go figure!

My tastes in food have changed a bit. 　　None of these pics are mine.
I've learned to like mayonnaise. It may be the ubiquitousness of it here, or it may be that Kewpie mayonnaise is more to my liking than Hellmann's. Yes, that is a Kewpie doll on the bottle. According to their website, Kewpie introduced mayonnaise to Japan in 1925, and

I've learned to like clams, or maybe I'm getting them fresher here and like them that way.

I haven't learned to like natto.

I love dango, and will have to learn to make them at home.

I have tried and like gin. Thanks, Brian!

I am looking forward to pizza (anything with corn on it is not pizza!), bacon at reasonable prices, olives, cereal snack and cheese. Just looking at this list tells me I must keep walking as much as I have been...and keep eating Japanese sized portions!

I'll like having the mobility that a car offers, but I'll miss the trains. There were only a few times that weather caused delays. And if I miss the train leaving Karasuyama, it's another hour until the next one. But, they are on time, and easy to ride. I get on, and leave the driving to JR. I don't have to know the route between here and there, I just need to know which train to get on. And no hassles with parking either! I can read, listen to music, sleep, whatever. Give me an internet connection (or a dead tree time table) and I can get myself almost anywhere here.

I'm definitely coming back to Japan.

Snow! (again)

2009-02-20T22:20:00.004+09:00

It snowed last night. Of course, then it turned to rain when it was time for me to walk to school. But it was still pretty.

We watched a movie this afternoon in the gym. I don't know the name, but it was a group of guys (and a girl) goofing off, and pulling pranks and the police officer who tries to stop them. I didn't understand a lot of it, but some of the physical humor was very funny. It was filmed in Karasuyama, so I had a lot of "Hey, I know where that is!" moments. I'm going to try to buy a copy of it.

Here's the snow.

Ueno Park

2009-02-15T18:48:00.023+09:00

Yesterday, I went to Ueno Park in Tokyo. It's a very big park, just outside Ueno Station. The first time I was there was in 2007. The area that is Ueno Park was originally Kan'eiji Temple. That was destroyed during the Meiji Restoration. The land for the park was granted in 1924. The National Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and several other museums are there. There is also a Zoo.

I went there to see an exhibit at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum called "Morris to Mingei". I'm a big fan of arts and crafts style, and art nouveau, as well as Japanese art. William Morris was part of the beginning of the English arts and crafts movement.

When I got to Tokyo, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The little thermometer I have hanging on my purse indicated 80 degrees at one point during the day.

First, I went to Tokyo station. Maruzen bookstore is one of the few places that open at 9:00 in the morning, and they have a large English book section. Maruzen is on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. That's the side that looks like the original station.

En route, I saw this on the side of an ice cream vending machine.

Maruzen had a display of cat art. While it was all very cute stuff, it was priced out of my range.

On the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, is the Yaesu Book Center. I had never been there before, although the bookstore in Utsunomiya station is a branch. This one is eight stories high.

Here is a statue outside the store. Japan is like this -- old Japan and bleeding-edge technology blend seamlessly.

The foreign language (books in foreign languages, mostly English) section is small, but they had a neat series of bilingual business books.

Back at Ueno station, I found a very long escalator.

Here is the Panda Bridge between Ueno Station and Ueno Park. There is a very large Panda statue just outside the station exit there. It's a good landmark if you use the coin lockers, like I did.

There are homeless people living in Ueno park, and I couln't always distinguish between the men who were retired and enjoying the weather, the ones who were recovering from the night before, and the ones who lived there.

In Ueno Park, here is the National Museum. I visited here in 2007. It's a very nice museum, especially if you like Japanese art and history.

There are all kinds of performing artists in the park. This guy was pretty good.

Here is the TokyoMetropolitan Art Museum.

Of course, I couldn't take pictures of the exhibit. Morris' things are more neo-gothic, in my opinion. He worked with textiles and furniture and anyone who wanted to decorate a house for D&D would enjoy his stuff. I wouldn't mind a room of it, but I like the later craftsman style.
After I left the exhibit, I saw and exhibit of bonsai trees. Most bonsai are not as small as the ones you can buy at Target.

Here is a cute umbrella sculpture.

There are signs in the park warning not to feed the birds or cats. There are also people in the park who do just that. I found a statue, and before I could take a picture of it, I saw a cute black and white cat. It was shy, but a man (who the cat obviously knew) held the cat for me to take its picture. I had some cat treats in my purse and was able to buy some photo ops. But there was another man who knew what this kitty really liked -- cheese. He even gave me some to feed the cat.

Note: not only is it legal to drink in the park, but you can buy beer there as well. It was warm enough to enjoy a nice cool one.

A crow.

Here is the statue.

Here is another kitty.

Here are several torii gates.

Some trees were blooming already. I think they are plum blossoms.

There is a little island in a lake in the park with a Benzaiten shrine. Benzaiten is the Japanese version of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati. She is the goddess of music and eloquence, and also one of the Seven Lucky Gods.

Ducks!

Here is the marshy lake in the middle of the city.

All in all, it was a very nice day. I even got home at a reasonable hour!

Shinjuku on a Clear Day

2009-02-11T12:22:00.012+09:00

Sunday, I went back to Shinjuku. That's where the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is. I went there when I first came here, but Sunday was clear so I was hoping to get better pictures.
Here is the TMG Building. I like the architecture, it looks a little Wrightesque to me.

For free, you can go to the 45th floor, where there are two observatories. I went to the north observatory. And here is what I saw.

Yes, that is Mt. Fuji! Mt. Fuji is about 60-70 miles away from Tokyo. Great, huh?

This picture is a little dark. You can see a "green roof" on the building down there. Green roofs have plants on them. They are designed to reduce the heat levels on urban rooftops, and reduce the heat island effect.

After that, I went to the port area of Tokyo. Near Toyosu station is a large shopping mall called La La Port. There is a smaller La La Port just outside Utsunomiya Station -- that's where the Utsunomiya Yodobashi Camera is.

Here is the mall.

And more of it.

There are cruises on the Sumida river. Too bad I didn't have time to take one!

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Market and Restaurant.

The end of the line.

A neat entrance to the Toyosu Station.

Where am I?

2009-02-04T00:35:00.003+09:00

I finally figured it out -- Nasukarasuyama is 514 miles/827 km south of my house in Oshkosh. Better late than never, right?

Here is a gratuitous kitty picture taken on my way to work Tuesday.

Ashikaga

2009-02-02T21:33:00.030+09:00

Saturday was rainy and crappy out. I went to Utsunomiya to do some shopping. I bought a book, just released Friday, that contains some Obama speeches, Japanese translations and a CD for listening. It's for the school so I got reimbursed. This is not the first such book -- apparently these books are best sellers, which is odd for a language text.

The weather was nice and sunny on Sunday, so Etsuko and Brian invited me along to go to Ashikaga. Here is a view of mountains from the backseat. These are mountains near Nikko. This view reminds me of Tucson, a bit.

Here are some more hills along the tollway.

When we got to Ashikaga, we found the wind was a lot stronger than we'd expected. So it was *chilly*!

There is a school in Ashikaga that was founded in the 9th century. The school taught Confucianism and I Ching. It was finally closed during the Meiji Restoration. Here is a gate.

Here is a carving on the gate.

Here you can see the building with its thatched roof.

Compare with the tile on the gate's roof. I love these old tile roofs.

Here is a famous old and large wisteria. Of course, it's not blooming now.

Another picture of the school.

A nice, small garden.

A statue of a mendicant monk.

Another garden.

Here are some winter plum blossoms.

Here is the pagoda. You can see a plum tree to the left.

Here is a building made of Oya stone.

Here is a cat sculpture I saw while walking around Ashikaga.

It's the year of the cow, so here is a painted stone cow.

Also in Ashikaga is the Kurita Ceramics Museum. The pieces on exhibit are mainly from the late 17th-18th century. During this time, only the Dutch were allowed to trade with Japan. Many pieces were clearly made for the European market, but most look like Imari porcelain.

Here is the inside of one exhibition hall.

I found a nice piece to use as an urn for my Moogie.

It's February now, so I have less than 8 weeks before I go back to the States. I'll try to get as many pictures for you as I can!

Paella in Japan

2009-01-25T21:26:00.021+09:00

Today the International Culture Association cooked paella. This is the same group that cooked won ton soup and mabo tofu, and had the Christmas party. Mr. Yamagi is the president of this group.

Mr. Yamagi had introduced me to Sr. Bravo few weeks ago. He is a Spaniard living in Karasuyama, as a potter.
I tried to use my rusty Spanish, but my brain can only do one foreign language at a time, apparently. I was trying not to combine Japanese and Spanish vocabulary, and trying to remember which grammar set to use! Yikes!

The sentence I wanted was, "this meal was delicious." In English and Spanish, the past tense is contained in the copula (was). In Japanese, it's tacked onto the adjective. So, my poor brain was trying to add a Japanese past tense ending to "delicioso" (delicioshikatta?), and not even thinking about the gender of "cocina". And I started out using the Japanese word for "this".

Back to the cooking!

Mr. Yamagi

Mr. Bravo.

Here are our ingredients. Seafood, veggie and rice.

We divided into six groups to cook our paella. Here is part of my group.

Olive oil, chicken, onion, peppers and squid.

Soup and rice were added, and simmered to cooke the rice. Here, shrimp and clams are added at the end. The clams were previously soaked in wine.

A room of hungry cooks!

Mr Yamagi and Sam, another ALT in Nasukarasuyama. Sam is from Kenya.

Here is the end result!

Delicioso or oishii, it was yummy!

Tax refund

2009-01-23T07:03:00.006+09:00

I got my tax refund! Well, the one from the Japanese government anyway. It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing, and a lot better than having to pay in.

My employer took care of it. If I had had another job, I would have had to do it myself. They asked me how many dependents I had, how much money I sent my dependents outside Japan and how much I paid for health insurance and retirement. The refund was added to my January paycheck. Nice!

Snow!

2009-01-18T09:15:00.006+09:00

It's been slow here -- not much to report on. It's cold, but not as cold as Wisconsin.

One day last week, I looked out as saw snow! OK, so it was really just a heavy frost. But it looked nice. It was also the same morning that my pipes froze. This building is cinder block and not well insulated. And because heat rises, and I'm sleeping on the floor, it's always chilly when I get up in the morning.

So, here are some pics of the snow/frost.

Test Day

2009-01-11T23:44:00.004+09:00

Today I took the J-Test!

The J-Test is a test of practical Japanese language ability. An alternative test is the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). But, with the J-Test, you take the test and they tell you what level you are. With the JLPT, you have to choose a test level, then you either pass or fail.

I took the easier test, levels E-F. I'll let you know how I did when I get my results!

It must have been test day. I saw several of my students at Utsunomiya station. They told me they were taking a test. They were very surprised when I said, "Me, too! I'm taking a Japanese test." They have to take an entrance exam to get into high school.

My test was near Omiya station, which is 2 1/2 hours away by train. I had intended to stop at Makudonarudo for lunch, but it was crowded (I checked two of them), so I decided to try KFC. They had a "Beer Set", which was advertised by saying that beer made chicken delicious. It wasn't as hot or delicous as McDonald's, though. One piece of chicken, fries and a small beer was 700 yen.

When I got done with lunch, I headed toward Tokyu Hands. On the way, I saw this. Yes, that is a man dressed as a cow, singing. It is the year of the cow, but how strange! I wasn't the only one taking pictures.

On the way home, I ran into some students again. I got to keep my question booklet from my test so I showed them my test booklet and they showed me their English test booklet. I hope we all did well!

BTW, for another gaijin look at Japan, check out this blog: Loco in Yokohama Some of it may not be totally SFW (subject and/or language -- your mileage may vary depending on where you work), but Loco writes interesting stuff. Check it out!

Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館)

2009-01-05T22:08:00.019+09:00

I went back to Tokyo again on Sunday. I had arranged to meet my friend Kazumi and go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum.　　She brought her friend Mitsuko.

Mitsuko has a kiln at her home and she gave me a beautiful vase she'd made herself!!

This picture was taken using auto-everything.

This picture was taken with manual focus using Live View on the the Canon. I also used the aperture priority setting. Either way, it's a beautiful vase, don't you think?

This is the second time I've met Kazumi in person. The first time was, we figured out, three years ago when I came to Yamasa for the second time. That time, she gave me detailed instructions on how to get to a station near her house in Chiba prefecture, including how to get to the right platform at Tokyo Station. This time, we just agreed to meet at the west gate of Ryogoku Station (両国駅）. I feel so accomplished! For those of you who want to go to the Museum, it's right outside the west gate of the station.

Tokyo has been a big city for a long time. It was previously called Edo, and the Edo period of Japanese history started when the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved there in 1603. By the mid 18th century, Tokyo had a population of more than a million. By 1965, it was the first city to have population of over 20 million.

Back to the museum. It has several large models of the Edo-era city. It also has a good overview of the Tokugawa shoguns.

Currently, there is a taiga drama on NHK called "Atsuhime". It's about a princess in the time leading up to and during the Meiji restoration (1868). The museum has some pieces actually owned by the real Atsuhime. Sadly, photography is not allowed in that exhibit.

Here are some pics.

This is a picture of a 1/30 model of the area where the townspeople lived.

This is a model of the Nihonbashi area.

This is a model of buldings in Edo Castle.

I can't go to Tokyo Station without going to Maruzen bookstore. Here are some lights outside the Oazu building where Maruzen is. Just go out the Marunouchi North exit and there you are.

Kamakura

2008-12-29T17:15:00.033+09:00

Sunday, I finally went to Kamakura. It takes about four hours by regular train. If you can get the right train from Utsunomiya, you can go all the way to Kamakura without changing trains.

I got off the train at Kita-Kamakura (Kita = North), and visited Engakuji. It's a Rinzai Zen temple. Rinzai Zen focuses on sudden enlightenment, using koans. A famous koan is "What is the sound of one hand clapping." The other major Zen school is Soto, which advocates gradual enlightenment.

Here are my pics:

Then, I went to Kamakura Station, and took the Enoshima Line (a private, line that is not part of Japan Rail.) to Hase. In Japanese, it's Enoshima Densha (Enoshima electric train), so usually called just Enoden.

Here is a Buddhist temple, named Hasedera.

It's cold in Tochigi (0-7C) - but I saw daffodils in Kamakura.

Here is some beautiful woodwork.

From a hill near the temple, you can get a good view of Kamakura.

My new camera and polarizing filter let me get a good shot of goldfish.

There is still some fall color to be seen as well.

There is a Shinto shrine near Hasedera is in a cave!

Finally, I went to see Kamakura's number one tourist draw.
This statue used be in a building, but the building was destroyed by a tsunami.
This statue is 13.35 meters tall. It's not the biggest Buddha statue in Japan. There is a 120 meter tall statue in Ibaraki. The statue in Todaiji in Nara is 14.98 meters.

For 20 yen, you can go inside the statue.

Here is the back.

Here are slippers for the Buddha.

A shop had some kitties; so of course, I had to take pics!

There are a lot more temples to see in Kamakura so I'll try to get back again.

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A funeral

2008-12-23T15:33:00.003+09:00

Last Saturday, I attended my first funeral in Japan. My friend's mother passed away after a long illness. I had never met her but funerals are as much for those left behind as for the deceased. My friend was relieved that she didn't have to worry about her mother any more, happy that her mother was with her dad again after 20 years, but of course sad because she will miss her mom. So I am both happy and sad for her.

Most funerals in Japan are Buddhist, but this one was Shinto. Japanese funerals are everything you could hope for in a funeral: respectful and proper.

I was able to find out what is expected of attendees from my friend, online and one of the teachers at school. Guests bring money in an special envelope, and receive a gift in return. It includes salt to sprinkle on yourself when you come home from a funeral. From what I've seen it's for purification and/or to scare away spirits that follow people home from funerals.

In the US, wearing black is not necessary at funerals anymore. In Japan, it's an absolute necessity. Women wear all black, including black hose. Mean wear a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. (You can tell if a man in a black suit is going to a funeral or a wedding by the tie: black for funeral, white for wedding.)

I was the only woman not wearing a jacket, but I was wearing a black cardigan over a black turtleneck with a black skirt and hose. Pearls are the only jewelry that is proper. I didn't have a pearl necklace, but I wore pearl earrings. Earrings aren't technically correct, I don't think. But most Japanese women don't have pierced ears and some folks don't like the look of empty ear piercings. Very small pearl earrings were my compromise.

The funeral was held at a ceremony hall. There was the room that the actual funeral took place in, and an overflow room which had a large screen TV on the wall. That's where I sat. I kind of like the idea. Everyone can see well. And if, for whatever reason, you end up with a sparsely attended funeral, the smaller main room would still look full.

My friend's mother filled both rooms. Like I said earlier, I never met her. But the fact that she raised my friend to be the good and kind person she is, speaks volumes about her character. All of it good. And, yes, I cried.

A Great Day

2008-12-18T21:27:00.002+09:00

Sorry, no pictures today. I lent my little camera to some students to take pictures of their club activities.

Today, I had five classes with the 3rd year students. I played "Jingle Bells," after I gave them a copy of the lyrics with some words blocked out. Their job was to listen and catch the missing words. I have a set of D&D dice (bought at Tokyu Hands) that I use to pick volunteers, since they each have a number from 1 to around 30.

Then, I taught them how to make paper snowflakes with which to decorate Christmas cards. While they did that, I played other songs on my Christmas CD. So, basically, I got to make paper snowflakes all day while listening to Christmas music.

I kept thinking of KP's sign that says, "Some of my best friends are flakes." Especially with one student, I thought, "Flakes made by a flake. Cool." But he's very nice, just a bit odd. Yeah, I know, pots and kettles...

And while everyone around Oshkosh has been enjoying -17˚C, it's 8˚C here now. I have yet to put the liner in my fall coat. And my desk is close to one of the kerosene heaters in the teachers' room. (Although, I keep almost tripping over them in the class room. I can just see it now: I'll be one of many killed by them each year, but in my case the thing won't even be turned on!)

Tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Yamaki took me to Clover for dinner. I've been there twice with Etsuko. Mr. Yamaki knows the owner, so we got some extra dishes. One was a yummy sashimi dish, there was deep-fried burdock along with a burdock salad, and sherbet made from hand squeezed tangerines for dessert. My steak was not at all over cooked, and everything else was delicious!

So, at this point, I am feeling fat and happy. I hope everyone has this kind of day every so often!

Christmas Party

2008-12-14T17:58:00.009+09:00

The international group here put on a Christms Party. I went with Mrs. Yamaki. Their real name is Suzuki, but there are a lot of Suzuki's here. So Mr. Suzuki is often called by his shop's name, Yamaki.

There was a dance group that put on a show.

The Girl Scouts were there, too, as well as a couple of my students. A group sang Christmas songs, first in Japanese, then in English. Finally Santa gave gifts to all the foreigners and children.

Of course, there was a lot of delicious food!

When told that I would miss the bus back to Kanai (my neighborhood), I said that I'd come with Mrs. Claus -- it was Mr. Yamaki that had been Santa!

Here are the younger Girl Scouts doing their routine. It included music from "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea".

Here are more Girl Scouts. The two on the right are students at KJHS.

All told, it was a fun party! Some people I know, and great food -- what more could I want?

Hachiko

2008-12-07T15:36:00.007+09:00

Last weekend I went to Shibuya. Shibuya is another shopping district in Tokyo, but I came for something else.

There is a famous statue of a dog named "Hachiko" right outside the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station. Hachiko's story is famous in Japan.

In the early 1900's a professor at Tokyo University had a dog named Hachiko. Every morning, the dog would walk with the professor to Shibuya station. The professor took the train to work, and the dog would go home. The dog would then meet the professor at the station in the evening.

At one point, the professor suffered a stroke at work, and died. Hachiko kept showing up in the evening when the professor's train came. This continued for years afterwards.

When Hatchiko's story was published, he became famous. Loyalty is an important virtue in Japn, so a story about such a loyal dog was a hit with the public.

Here is the statue of Hachiko.

Here is a photo of Hachiko.

Playing with food

2008-12-03T22:26:00.008+09:00

There are lots of things in Japanese grocery stores that I never saw in the stores in the US. Some, I knew what they were and what to do with them. Others, not so much.

In the seafood section, there are what can only be described as pink blobs. At first, I had no idea what they were, and later I suspected they were fish roe. I wanted to try something new, so I looked for a recipe using them and found a tarako spaghetti recipe.

Here are the ingredients.

First is tarako is salted cod roe. I've had onigiri (rice balls) with tarako inside them before, and they are yummy!

Of course, I hadn't seen them raw before I came here. I don't know about you, but I think they look like a small pair of lungs! These are the roe in their casing, which is very thin. So, first I had to squeeze and scrape the roe out. Since this was Y580, or $6.25, I won't eat it too often.

Some butter to cook in....

Next, is cream. I never said that this was a healthy dish!

And spaghetti, which isn't very cheap here.

Lastly, some powdered nori (seaweed) to sprinkle on top.

Here is the final product! It was delicious!

Nekobukuro

2008-11-24T19:36:00.007+09:00

On Saturday, I visited a part of Tokyo that I had only passed through previously -- Ikebukuro　(池袋）. It's north of Shunjuku, and on the Yamanote Line.

Tokyu Hands is a chain of stores I first found in Nagoya. I love these stores! They have a really neat collection of stuff -- DIY, decor, health gadgets, travel goods, craft supplies, and what not. There is one in Ikebukuro, which has a unique section on the top floor: Nekobukuro.

Neko (猫）is Japanese for cat. This is a place where you can pay money to go and hang out with 20 or so cats, along with other people, for as long as you like (within their business hours). It's only 600 yen, and a nice lady was handing out 100 yen off coupons on the street outside, so I HAD to go!! Before you say, "Who'd spend money for that?", remember that most people in Tokyo live in apartments and can't have cats or dogs.

They have several different breeds of cat. Plus, they have all kinds of walkways and steps for the cats. Being cats, many of the cats were sleeping. Or trying to. Not all the cats were out among the people. Some were in their living quarters -- visible but not pettable. And it was a small area, so only so many people could get in at once. Overall, it was pretty fun for me.

Here are some pics. You can see all the kitty pics here.

Here are some of the walkways for the cats. The one with the steps goes through a hole in the wall.

This one is a "mike" (mee-kay). That refers to the three colors, white, black and brown.

Vending machines

2008-11-24T19:18:00.006+09:00

I'm going to make several small posts, instead of one big one -- it will make handling the pictures easier.

It's well-known that vending machines are common here, and that they sell darn near anything. The most common one, though, sells beverages. Both hot and cold beverages are usually available, with coffee coming in small cans. I've also had hot lemonade. There are also the sort of machines that dispense your drink into a paper cup.

I've seen machines that dispense alcohol -- beer and sake-- but I haven't found any around Nasukarasuyama.

I haven't seen a lot of machines selling food. I saw a few at rest stops, like the ones near Disneyland or Mt. Fuji. These included machines that heated your food so it was hot when it came out.

The ramen shops that sell tickets for the food right by the door don't count.

So, I had to take pictures when I saw these.
.
This one is selling a variety of snacks.

This one is selling the equivalent of energy bars.

This one is new to me, though. It's selling books!

It's Fall!

2008-11-21T18:37:00.003+09:00

It's fall/autumn for sure. I saw some frost on the ground going to work today. Next month the heaters in the classrooms get turned on. Yay!

Actually, the classrooms aren't the bad part -- it's the hallways. On sunny days like today, the sun shines into the classrooms which also have around 30 live bodies in them. The hallway is on the shady side of the building, and the doors to the school are left open, so cold air comes in, and goes down halls. There are no fire door separating the stairs from the halls, all the halls are cold.

Yesterday was the third Thursday in November (also payday). What that means is the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau is out. I had never had any, so I bought a bottle. It was Y1950 for 750 ml. Wine is spendy here. I was surprised to see that American whisky sells for about the same price here as it does in the US. Beer is anywhere from Y115-350 a can, and you don't save any money by buying a six-pack. They sell cans that are the same size as American beer, as well as a larger can. Wine, however, is expensive. (The exchange rate, as I'm writing this is $1 = Y95, meaning the dollar is weaker than normal.)

My impression of the wine: meh. But it is only a few weeks old...

Shichi-go-san

2008-11-15T20:40:00.008+09:00

Today is Shichi-go-san (七五三）. It's literally "seven-five-three". It's a festival for girls age 3 and 7, and boys age 3 and 5.　　Parents take their children, to the shrine. The children also receive special candy that is supposed to ensure healthy growth and longevity.

I went to Futaarayama Shrine, in Utsunomiya. Here are the steps to the shrine. Behind the wall on the left are some buildings being torn down. I don't remember what they were, and have no idea what will go up in their place.

Here is a cute little girl. The skirt-like part of her outfit is actually hakama, which are very wide legged pants.

This boy is also wearing hakama, and looks very unhappy about something!

Here is another girl all dressed up.

Fall Festival

2008-11-09T14:51:00.021+09:00

Here is tengu mask. You can't really see it, but the nose is really long. Tengu are supernatural beings in Japan. They are demons, but not necessarily bad ones. It depends on the tengu, I guess.

Here is some carving on the temple.

This nice lady and her daughter agreed to be photographed. You can see the difference between a very young girl's kimono and a married woman's kimono.

These dog balloons appear to "walk" on their paper feet. They sold quite well.

Here is the procession going into the temple. After this, the head priest chanted a sutra and some prayers.

This is the mikoshi. I think every temple and shrine has one, and they are carried around during festivals. Later we passed this group going down the road.

Here are the men with the tengu masks.

Here you can see the shoes the men with the masks are wearing. They don't look like fun!

Here is the little girl in her kimono again.

Some fall color....

Nikko again

2008-11-02T07:20:00.018+09:00

Yesterday I went to Nikko. I have a new camera to try out -- the Canon 450D/Kiss X2/Rebel XSi, depending on where you live. I'll blog about it later. The Nikko area has lots of hiking trails, with varying degrees of fall colors.
Here is a view of the mountains from just outside the JR Nikko station.

I walked to the Tobu station and took a bus to the Kirifuri waterfall (霧降の滝). There were lots of other people there as well, and many had bigger and better cameras than me, as well as tripods. So, at least in Japan, carrying around a DSLR doesn't make you stick out!

After a short hike, here is the waterfall.

After that, I bought a stick of dango. They are roasted mochi (sticky rice paste) balls with a sweet syrup on them. Yum!

I walked up the road a bit. This sign warns about wild monkeys in the area. I didn't see any, but I know that they like to steal things, and you're not supposed to feed them. I think the idea is to keep their caution around humans intact to avoid ugly interactions.

Further up the road, I found another road that had been blocked off to cars. After walking down that road, I found another hiking trail. It was rocky, in some it was more diagonal rocks, than a flat trail, but it followed a beautiful creek. And, as you can see, I wasn't the only one taking pictures there.

Here is a weir. It's a small dam, used to control the water, and there are many of them in the area. Some are over 50 years old, and have been designated as historical structures.

When I returned to Utsunomiya station, there was a display of HUGE chrysanthemums, or ogiku (大菊). The Emperor's seal is a chrysanthemum.

I had a mushroom burger at MOS Burger, with onion rings. That's one place where you can get onion rings. Usually, things that looks like onion rings here are actually squid rings.

Then, I found a craft shop in the station. I hadn't gone upstairs in the Paseo shopping area, and this was on the 3rd floor. I found some nice Noro yarn, and got enough to make a muffler.

All in all, a nice day!

R.I.P. Moogie

2008-10-27T23:11:00.002+09:00

One of the problems with going overseas is that life goes on at home, and sometimes you miss things.

Moogie, my kitty of over 18 years, passed away Sunday morning (Saturday afternoon, there). She had had reduced kidney function for a number of years, and it finally caught up with her. I've missed her since I got here, and I'll miss her even more when I get home and she's not there.

I hope we spoiled her as much as she deserved. She was the first cat I had from kittenhood, and she'll always be my #1 kitty.

All cats have their own personalities. Among the other cats that have graced our home with their presence, TD thought she was a human, Clark though he was a dog, but Moogiechan knew it was best to be a cat. Especially one that had her humans wrapped around her paw.

Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts about Mugs.

Taiwanese Cooking

2008-10-19T19:22:00.009+09:00

Today, I went to an event put on by the local international society. It was near the library in Ogane (which is part of Nasukarasuyama). Some nice ladies from Taiwan showed us how to make won ton soup (ワンタン汁) and mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐). Of course, we had to consume it afterward.

Here is Ms. Hoshi, from the Board of Education. She speaks English very well, and is very nice. She has spent time in the UK, and knew that Nixon is a Scottish name.

The lady in the blue scarf and the lady cooking here were our instructors.

Here are our wontons. For soup, you don't have to be fancy. Just put a wonton skin in your palm, spread with the filling, then close up your hand to seal it up. Fast and easy!

Here is the entire group. Even some guys learned to cook! Besides the Japanese people, there were people from Taiwan, Korea and Mexico. I was the lone American.

There was enough that I got leftovers to take home. The soup is already gone. The mapo tofu was a little spicy, but Rob would like it, I think.

Persimmons (柿, kaki)

2008-10-19T19:05:00.003+09:00

Do you know what the fruit in the clip art to the left of my blog are? They are persimmons, which ripen this time of year (in Tochigi, anyway) and are a symbol of fall.

They are also quite good to eat. There is a persimmon tree next to the coin laundry, and the lady who owns both was picking them when I did my laundry on Saturday. The man who was helping her gave me these two. They are soft and sweet. Yum!

If you find them in the grocery store, be sure they are soft. Apparently, if they are eaten before they are soft, they have a chalky taste.

There are lots of trees full of them right now. Some will be eaten as is, and the rest will be dried.

Lunchtime, part II

2008-10-18T10:30:00.002+09:00

Here are a few more details about lunchtime at school.

Once everyone has their lunches, one student stands up at the front of the class. Everyone puts their hands together, and says, "Itadakimasu!" Literally, it means "I accept (this food)", but it basically functions as grace.

If there is extra of anything, the teacher will go around and ask if anyone wants any. Some students trade food, or give away parts they don't like. Technically, you're supposed to eat everything, but in practice that doesn't happen. The teachers seem more concerned that all the students have their aprons on, and that everyone who isn't lactose intolerant has at least taken a carton of milk.

At the end, the same student stands up at the front of the class and the whole class says, "Gochisosama deshita!" That means, "It was a feast, " but functions as after-lunch grace.

Then everyone puts their paper and plastic garbage into their milk cartons, and flattens them. These are thrown away, empty rice boxes are put in the insulated boxes they came in, extra food is dumped in the buckets it came in in and dishes, chopsticks, sporks and trays are put in metal baskets. The students that dished up lunch take everything down and load it on the truck to go back to wherever lunch came from.

Then, everyone goes to the water fountains (more of a long sink with several faucets) in the hall to brush their teeth. The faucets turn, so they can be faucets or bubblers.

Lunch menus are published monthly. They list what lunch is, what the veggies are for each meal, what the carbs are (bread, rice or noodles), and what the protein sources are, as well as how many calories are in each lunch.

Lunchtime

2008-10-16T21:08:00.008+09:00

Today's entry is about -- you guessed it! -- lunch!

School lunches are delivered to the school each day. I get my lunch in the teachers' lunch room, and take it to wherever I'm eating that week. I eat in a different classroom each week.

The trays, food, chopsticks or sporks, boxes of rice and bowls are brought to each classroom. Some students are assigned the task of dishing up the lunches for the other students. (I think this assignment changes weekly). The students then bring their lunches to their desks, which are grouped according to the plan for that day. It might be by gender, row, blood type, or some other method.

Everyone in Japan knows his or her blood type. Different blood types are supposed to have different personality characteristics. I'm a type O, which is supposed to be agreeable, sociable and optimistic, but vain and careless. You decide if this has any merit.

Anyway, here are pictures of several different school lunches.
Hamburg steak, spinach salad, soup, rice, milk and custard. The rice comes in the red box, and is hot. The paper spoon on the rice box is for the custard.
Today's rice has furikake in it.

Remember wrestling opening cheap milk cartons? These have a hole to poke with your straw.

We have fried squid on a stick and a salad; chicken, carrot and potato stew, rice and milk.

Another stew, salad, bread with butter and sugar, milk and yogurt. Note the metal spork, and another paper spoon.

Saba (makeral) and seaweed salad with chikuwa (fish paste), pork and veggie soup, rice and milk. the little packet is furikake, which is spinkled on the rice.

More fish, spinach and beansprout salad; a dish of chikuwa (the round things with a hole in the middle), konnyaku (the grey things) carrots andwieners; rice and milk. I love the wieners, like the chikuwa and can't get past the color of the konnyaku. Konnyaku is basically flavorless, so it can't be called bad-tasting -- I just don't think food should be a grey gel with black flecks in it. The fish is great.
Here is a close up of the fish.

And the other stuff. It isn't a soup, and not really a stew either.

Stew with noodles; breaded and deep-fried quail eggs on a stick, tuna and spinach salad; milk, and a custard tart.

Salad and dressing; curry; rice; milk and frozen lemon jelly. I never cared for curry before -- it was too spicy. But I love Japanese curry -- it's a sweet curry. Compared to Chinese cuisine, Japanese food is sweeter in general. The jelly is like jello, only it's made with kantan, also known as agar-agar. That's a seaweed product. If you remember that gelatin comes from hooves, a jelly made from seaweed doesn't sound that bad, does it? Plus, it doesn't melt at room tempurature. It's actually quite good semi-frozen.

Overall, school lunches have been quite good. They range from 750 to 950 calories each, so many days, I don't need to eat a lot for dinner. They try to get a good mix of things in each meal, which is why you don't see a single vegetable served by itself. I pay Y5100 each month for lunches, so that's a good deal.

Nikko (日光）

2008-10-13T16:03:00.026+09:00

Yesterday, I went to Nikko. It's a famous place in Japan that is actually in Tochigi prefecture. It's also easy and inexpensive to get to. I had hoped to see some fall foliage (紅葉 - koyo), but there wasn't much yet.

But there is plenty to see. Tokugawa Ieyasu's mausoleum is there, along with several shrines and temples. Tokugawa founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was born in Okazaki Castle, which I've visited before.

To get to Nikko, I went to Utsunomiya, and took a train to Nikko. Tobu Railways also operates an express train from Tokyo to Nikko. Here is some harvested rice, seen from the train.

Here is the JR Nikko Station. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It started operation in 1890.

The weather was beautiful, but it's a long weekend, so it was crowded. There are a lot of good hiking trails, but you have to take a bus from the train station in Nikko. With the crowds, what would normally be a 45 minute bus ride was taking 3 hours. So I stayed in Nikko proper and walked everywhere. I love my hiking boots! And I'll come back to Nikko for the hiking.

Nikko is surrounded by mountains. It's been a summer getaway for Tokyoites for centuries.

This is the sacred Shinkyo bridge.

Here is a view of the Shoyo-en strolling garden. Another week or so, and the maples will look gorgeous!

This is Sanbutsu-do. It's the largest temple in the Nikko mountains.

Usually, I think of zen-like simplicity when I think of Japanese architecture. However, the mausoleum and shrines were built to amaze and impress. So, there is a lot of ornate detail.

Have you heard about the "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys〔三猿）? They are a carving on one of the buildings in Nikko.

Another famous carving is the Sleeping Cat (眠り猫）. You have to pay extra to see this carving, and go up to the shrine behind it.

As an aside, I am voting by absentee ballot this year. I have my ballot, but I need to have an American witness that I voted my ballot without anyone doing it for me. The only other two Americans that I knew in Nasukarasuyama have since moved. So, I brought my ballot along with me, since Nikko is a touristy place. I managed to find a nice American (Thanks, Elizabeth from Ohio!) to witness my voting and sign my envelope so I can send it in this week.
Here you can see how crowded it was.

There is plenty of nature around, too. These cryptomeria (a cypress called Japanese Cedar) tress are TALL!

Let no-one accuse the Japanese of taking religion too seriously.

Here are some more pics for your enjoyment.

Sushi and Onsen

2008-10-05T11:31:00.019+09:00

Yesterday's weather was beautiful -- warm and sunny!

Etsuko and I went to a Genki Sushi restaurant. This is a chain of conveyor belt sushi (回転寿司 kaiten-zushi) restaurants. I think there are some in America as well. Here is their logo. The face is supposed to be genki-- energetic and ready to do anything-- not angry.

If you haven't eaten at one, here is how kaiten-zushi works. You sit at the counter, or in booths. A conveyor belt goes around the sushi preparation area, and the counter and booths are on the outside of the conveyor belt. You choose whatever you like as it goes by. The price is indicated by the color of the plate. You can also order specific pieces, which is what Etsuko did, in order to not get something that has been orbitting the chefs for too long. There is a Genki Sushi in Karasuyama, by Coco's, but I hadn't been there. We went to a different one, because we were going to some other places too.

I didn't eat ALL this sushi -- some pics were taken of items on the conveyor belt.

After making ourselves fat and happy, we went to an onsen. An onsen is a public bath, with hot water to soak in. They are segregated into men's and women's sections. Depending on the onsen, there will be multiple sorts of tubs and saunas to soak in. And depending on geography, they may or may not have water from a hot spring. Raku-no-Yu, in Okazaki was a very nice onsen, with saunas and a good variety of baths. It's entrance fee was ¥700. This one was OK, but didn't have the variety. It's partly publicly funded, so the entrance fee was ¥600.

After removing your clothes in a locker room, you take a shower and clean yourself thoroughly. Then, you get into the bath. The water can be warm, hot or very hot. Sometimes, the bath has jets, sometimes, not. The water at this onsen is supposed to be good for the skin. I hope so -- my tends to be dry. I love onsen. Some people may be bothered by being undressed in front of strangers, but I enjoy the soaking too much to be bothered by that.

The hot water melts away any stress you have, and you leave feeling completely relaxed, refreshed and totally clean.

After the onsen, we went to a cosmos festival. This is the time of year for the cosmos to start blooming, and there was a park that had fields of them. The Japanese seem to love flowers and seasonal things.

I finally got a quilt for my kotatsu, so I am ready for the cool weather this season.

Gadget Hunting

2008-10-01T19:27:00.018+09:00

It's getting cooler here. I've started using my heavier blanket and drinking hot beverages. I bought a kotasu. It's not a gadget per se, but a very useful Japanese item. It's a low table, with a heater underneath. The top is removable, so you can put a futon (quilt) over the table to keep the heat in. Then the top is put on top of the quilt, so you still have a hard surface. I have a light quilt underneath, like a rug, but I haven't gotten the other quilt yet. My friend may have an extra to lend me. Since they are warm, cats like to lie under kotatsu, so there have been some designed so the infrared from the heater doesn't hurt cats' eyes. This is a picture of the complete set up...it's not mine.

Saturday, I went to Tokyo again. I went to the Tokyo Station area, Shinjuku and Ginza.

I wanted to look at DSLR's (Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras). Panasonic has introduced a new format that isn't really a DSLR, since it has no mirror. But you can still change lenses and whatnot. Also, there is a geotagging accessory for the new Nikon, which will add longitude, lattitude and altitude data to your pictures.

First, I went to Tokyo Station because Maruzen bookstore is nearby. It has a large foreign book section. I found two graded reader sets for reading basic Japanese. Each has five books, and a CD of the stories being read.

In the same building JAXA (Japan's NASA) has a shop with a display. There is a space suit set up so you can have your picture taken "in" it. A nice lady there took my picture and gave me a picture of Tokyo taken from space.

Then, I went to Shinjuku. This shirt was in a shop in the Station. If it hadn't been ¥3000, I might have bought it.

My first stop was Kinokuniya bookstore, which also has a large foreign book section. At the station, I was checking my map to see which exit I wanted when two high school boys offered to guide me there. I could have found it myself, but I could tell that they wanted to practice their English. They were both very nice, and had recently spent two weeks in Australia.

My next stop in Shinjuku was the Nikon showroom. The L Tower Building is accessible from the station without going outside. Nikon is on the 28 floor. There is a very nice view all around the floor. There was a nice photo gallery -- the current show was pictures taken along the Silk Road. There is also a nice view inside the showroom -- lots of beautiful cameras! I played with the D90 for a bit -- compared to my little camera, the autofocus is FAST! It's bigger than the Olympus E420 I was originally looking at, but the menus are well laid out, and the camera feels solid but not too heavy. Of course, it's in a higher price range than the Olympus.

Herere two pictures of Tokyo from the 28th floor of the L Tower Building.

I had hoped to eat at an English Pub called the Hub, but it doesn't open until 4:00, and I wanted lunch now. So I found a spot in the station that had a hamburg steak, fried egg and bacon. I asked for an Akiaji beer to go with, and was surprised to get a 22 ounce bottle, instead of the smaller one I was expecting. Oh well.

Here is what the market looked like in Shinjuku Station. In the bottom section, Yahoo is the fourth company on the left, up ¥300 for the day so far.

Then I was off to Ginza, which is famous for top brand shops like Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Mitsukoshi and Matsuzakaya department stores are here as well. The two companies were founded in 1673 and 1611, respectively. This is a picture of Mitsukoshi. This picture was taken at 5:00 pm and you can see it's already turning dark because daylight savings time is not used here.

Also here is Sony's showroom. I read on the website that the building design was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim museum in New York. But this building is square. On the inside, it's kind of a spiral. You look at one section, point-and-shoot cameras, then go up 4 steps to the next section, laptops, then up more steps. You can see anything made by Sony, including the stuff that is sold in Japan, but not in the US. There is also an overseas shop which sells models compatible with other countries' electrical and TV systems.

There was a display about a kabuki play that was filmed by Sony, so it's showing on the screen outside the building.

My last stop was Itoya -- a 9 story stationary store. Granted, the footprint is nowhere near the average Office Max in the US, but the selection of Japanese pens and other fiddly bits makes up for that. Some people love stationary/office supply stores, others don't see the attraction. I'm in the first group. I've had to get a bigger pencil case, because I keep finding neat pens and pencils.

Autumn Equinox

2008-09-23T18:53:00.008+09:00

Today is the autumnal equinox. It's a national holiday in Japan. Both it and the spring equinox are days to visit family graves and pay one's respects.

My friend was going to do that today, so I went along for the ride. She dropped me off at a large 100 yen shop while she visited some family members.

On the way, we stopped at a veggie stand. This stand had pick your own edamame. Edamame are soybeans that you boil and eat. Usually with beer.

To cook them, boil them in salted water for 10 minutes.

To eat, stick the pod in your mouth and use your teeth to pop the soybeans out. Yum!

I tried growing these once in Wisconsin, but the bunnies ate my plants.

Here is one of the beans.

On the way home, we stopped at a dahlia garden. This garden is one man's hobby. He also does amazing ink and brush paintings, which he invited us to see.

Mt. Takao - 高尾山

2008-09-17T20:57:00.008+09:00

Monday, I went on another mountain hike. This time it was to Mt. Takao, which is 599 meters tall, and to the west of Tokyo.

It started out as a very foggy day. Here is a picture from the train, leaving Karasuyama.

Most of the trains are JR (Japan Rail) trains. But the quickest and cheapest route from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi, the nearest station to Mt. Takao, is run by Keio. Here, Hello Kitty is warning us to keep fingers away from the door on the train, as they can get caught.

I took a chair lift from the bottom of the moutain to 462 m, from 224m at the "base". It's quite steep.
Even part way up the mountain, the view is great.

I walked a short while on trail #1, to the monkey park.

Here is Dad's counterpart in Japan. I think he enjoys talking about the monkeys as much as Dad likes to talk about the birds and animals at the Desert Museum.

They have 7 babies this year.

I didn't see Dana or Connor, though.

The main trail is paved and fairly easy. I saw parents with baby strollers and people with small dogs.

I turned off trail #1 onto trail #4. This trail is unpaved and runs along a ridge. It has a suspension bridge, too.

I made it to the top. You can tell it's the top because of all the people and the shops. A beer was 670 yen at the top, which is why I didn't buy one. As I went down, the price of beer also went down.

I went down on trail #1.

Here is Yakuin temple, which is on Mt. Takao. It belongs to a sect of Shingon Buddhism. Shingon similar to Tibetan Buddhism, which is different from other sects of Japanese Buddhism such as Zen or Tendai.

A foggy day.

Blast from the Past

2008-09-15T20:15:00.004+09:00

I went on a trip today, which I'll blog about later. On the way back, I saw some Girl Scouts on the train. Back when I was a kid, I was a Girl Scout. Among the neat things I got to do were camping and going to a horseback riding camp. I think my fondness for hiking came from all the camping I did.

Anyway, there was either a senior scout or the leader and two high school aged girls, in their uniforms. So I asked if I could take their picture, and said that I had been a scout when I was a kid. They agreed. Later, when the girls were getting off the train, they gave me a scout pin and bandanna! Cool! Thanks to the young ladies from Troop 14 -- these will be among my favorite souvenirs of my trip.

A very belated thanks to my parents who were scout leaders. Because both my parents were involved in scouting, I got to go camping with both the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Plus we went camping as a family. What fun!

Respect for the Aged Day - 敬老の日

2008-09-15T20:03:00.002+09:00

Today is Respect for the Aged Day. So, Happy Respect for the Aged Day to the aged among you. If you have to ask if you are included, you are. This aged blogger got the day off from work -- a nice enough gift for any occasion!

Click here to see more information about Respect for the Aged Day.

Microwave

2008-09-14T17:17:00.003+09:00

I remember when microwave ovens first came out. Yes, tomorrow is Respect for the Aged day, a national holiday in Japan...but I digress.

Anyway, when they first came out my first thought was that there wasn't anything they could do that a stovetop or oven couldn't. Then my parents got one, and they gave us one when Rob and I got married and I've had one ever since.

Until I came to Japan. I had considered buying one when I first came here. I based that on the price I paid for my last on at Wal-Mart. I remember seeing the small, dorm-sized ones for maybe $30-40 and figured I'd get one of those.

They are more expensive here. I haven't seen the small, cheap ones at all. They generally run at least 10,000 yen, although I'd seen some for a little as 7900. But when I saw the lower priced ones, I didn't have a car available to transport it. So I decided I could live without one. I have a stove top and a rice cooker.

Unfortunately, some food processors have caught up with the idea that everyone has a microwave, and make things that can't be properly heated up any other way. I've seen pre-popped popcorn. microwave popcorn and Jiffypop popcorn, but no regular popcorn. And cocoa mixes call for hot milk instead of hot water. I'm nervous about cookikng milk on the stove because of its tendency to burn.

So today, I was very happy to see that Beisie had a microwave on sale for 4980 yen. AND I was with my friend who has a car! So now I am ready for winter, able to prepare hot beverages easily! (Hot lemonade, anyone?) I'll also be able to reheat anything I get from the deli, as well as my own leftovers.

Of course, now I have to figure out where to put the rice cooker, since the microwave takes up the top of the fridge....

Mushrooms and Sunshine

2008-09-08T19:56:00.005+09:00

Here is why I try to carry my camera with me wherever I go. I saw this mushroom on my way to school today. No, I won't try mushrooms I find in the wild. I'll only go mushroom hunting in the produce section.

There are several varieties of mushrooms available at the grocery store -- some that I've never seen before.

And here is a picture of a rare sunny day. I was able to air my futon for a bit when I got home today. The weather report promises much less humidity in the near future. It's getting a little cooler -- right now I have my verandah door open and a fan running instead of the aircon.

Kirin Akiaji

2008-09-07T20:01:00.003+09:00

Continuing with the beer theme, here is a seasonal brew from Kirin. It's called Akiaji, "Autumn Flavor". It's a Märzen/Octoberfest style beer. Not bad.

You can also see my souvenir glass from yesterday. It also says, "Save the Planet Drink Beer".

I like the theory that beer is the reason people settled down and became farmers instead of remaining pastoralists.

Yokohama 横浜

2008-09-07T11:48:00.036+09:00

Yesterday I went to Yokohama. I traveled around a bit, and have lots of pictures to share with you!

I went to see Sojiji, which is the head temple for the Soto Zen sect in Japan. Soto Zen focuses on gradual enlightenment though meditaion. The Rinzai sect, in contrast believes that sudden enlightenment is possible and tries to achieve this through koan, or riddles/puzzles. "What is the sound of one hand clapping" is a famous one.

Near a small wooded area, I saw a woman who brought food for some feral cats. Of course, I took pictures.
You can see the short and bent tails on these cats. That is quite common among cats in Japan, and is the origin of the Japanese Bobtail breed. These guys were cute, not to skittish, but definitely made me want to take them to a vet to get cleaned up a bit.

I then went to Yokohama's Chinatown, which is the largest in the world. The first shop I saw could be any New Age shop anywhere. They even sold dreamcatchers!

A lot of shops had panda themes.

Here is a Chinese gate in Chinatown. There are several in Chinatown.

This is the smallest and most specialized bar I'vee every seen. Apparently, they like to focus on doing only one thing -- serving Guinness. But they don't do it particularly well -- it wasn't staffed when I went by.

Here is why I went to Yokohama in the first place: Beer.

There was a beer festival in Yokohama. Earlier in the year, there had been one in Tokyo and Osaka. It is organized by the Japanese Craft Beer Association. For an entrance fee of Y4100, you get a 50 ml glass and are free to sample the over 120 beers offered.

I tried Japanese craft beers, a Tahitian beer, Belgian Abbey beer and a Palestinian beer. But my favorite was the sweet vanila stout. If you like the idea of Guiness floats or Guinness cheesecake, you'd like this.
Here is a line of folks waiting to get in.

This is inside Osambashi Terminal, where the festival was held. As befits a building on the end of a pier that serves as a terminal for passenger ferries, it had a nice nautical design.

Here are happy samplers.

These folks are taking a food break.

Here is the ham on a stick that I had.

Yokohama has some interesting old architecture. This building is nicknamed "King Tower", because the top looks like a king's had on playing cards. Sailors could recognize Yokohama port by these towers. It was really the prefectural office.

It was destroyed in the Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and rebuilt in 1928.

I think it's beautiful. I love weathered copper!

This next building is "Jack Tower". It's the Port Opening Memorial Hall.

There is also a "Queen Tower", but I wasn't particularly looking for these when I found them. I asked a man at King what the building was, because I liked it so much. He also pointed "Jack" out to me.

Here you can see all three towers-- I've marked them. They are in order, left to right, King, Jack and Queen. Queen was a customs house. Since it was a national building, it was designed to be taller than King, which was only a prefectural building.

I left Yokohama at 18:17 and didn't get back to Karasuyama until after 23:30. But I didn't take the shink. I will definitely go back to Yokohama.

Ise Shrine Tour

2008-08-30T21:22:00.049+09:00

Last weekend, I joined a group tour organized by Yamasa to the Grand Shrine at Ise in Mie prefecture (just west of Aichi). We rode in two vans for a two day trip.

We stoppped at Meoto Iwa (夫婦岩), or the Wedded Rocks. The rocks are near Okitama shrine. It was rainy and the sea was rough.

You can see a small torii gate on the larger (male) rock.

Okitama shrine is dedicated to the goddess of food. So naturally, we had some at Ise. I'm not a big fan of gyudon (beef on rice), but I had some of the best gyudon ever!

Near the restaurant we saw some Taiko drummers.

The shrine at Ise is the most venerated shrine in Shinto. Photography is prohibited near the actual shrine at Ise. It is unusual in that it's purely Japanese in design, with no influence from mainland Asia.

Supposedly, it contains a sacred mirror, which is one of the three imperial treasures (the others being a jewel at the imperial palace and a sword at Atsuta shrine). Only the emperor and a priest at the shrine can see the mirror, and they never do.

Every twenty years, the sanctuary is built on a site next to the current shrine. The mirror is moved to the new sanctuary, and a new shrine is built around it. Meanwhile, the old shrine is dismantled and the parts are used to repair other shrines.

After wandering around Ise some more, we went to our lodging for the night. We stayed at a minshuku, which is family run inn. The women took up two tatami rooms, five in one and three in the other. We had a great seafood feast. The picture is on its side because Blogger is trying to be smart -- it thinks my original needs rotating.

You can see that each person has several dishes to eat, as well as some shared plates of really good sashimi.

The next day was nice out, so we went to Goza beach. The water was cool and clear.

After Goza beach, we continued driving and came to this lookout point.

From here we went to Toba and Mikimoto Pearl Island. Kokichi Mikimoto developed the technique for making cultured half pearls, and used a technique developed by other Japanese to make cultured round pearls. His company was one of the first Japanese companies to gain international recognition.

We saw a staged demonstration of women pearl divers.

We then took a car ferry to the Atsumi peninsula in Aichi prefecture.

We stopped at another beach, which appeared to be good for surfing.

You just don't see scenes like this in Wisconsin....

That evening I started packing for my trip to Okayama and to send my things back to Tochigi. I had a great time in Okazaki. But from now on, I have to keep up my Japanese language study!

Trains in Japan

2008-08-29T14:00:00.004+09:00

Trains in are very punctual. You can set your watch by them. You can time critical scientific experiments by them.

Occasionally, however, acts of God interfere with the precise timekeeping instrument that is the Japanese rail system. This happened when I was taking a Shinkansen (called the "Shink" by some gaijin, in the Japanese fashion of shortening words) from Nagoya to Okayama.

I had bought a ticket ahead of time for a Nozomi, the fastest train. Nozomis are all reserved seats, so I would be guaranteed a seat. For routes between Tokyo and southern Japan, the fastest Shink is the Nozomi, followed by the Hikari and the Kodama. The faster trains don't stop at as many stations.

A bit of trivial: Train directs are determined by whether the train is going toward or from Tokyo. If it is going toward Tokyo, it is going up (nobori), if it is going away from Tokyo, it is going down (kudari). So a Tokyo-bound train from Nagoya and one from Sendai are both going in opposite directions in absolute terms, but are both nobori trains.

After racing around like a chicken with its proverbial head cut off packing and sending my boxes and suitcase, I raced to the post office to mail a box home to the US. Then, I raced as much as one can with a small rolling suitcase in tow to the school to drop off my key, then to Okazaki Station. I made it with several minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, when I got to my platform at Nagoya for a 11:15 train, and all the boards were referring to trains that leave at around 9:00. There was a lot of rain near Tokyo (where the trains originate), and all shinkansens were delayed over two hours. I finally got on an unreserved car for Hikari going to Okayama. After a stop or two, an empty seat was available, and I arrived at Okayama two hours later than planned.

When this kind of thing happens, railroad employees hand of official excuse slips for employees to show their bosses. Fortunately, I wasn't going to work!

The second time I experienced train delays was yesterday. I was coming back from Mito, and there was an accident somewhere in the Kanto area, plus heavy rain. So the whole system from Oyama to Karasuyama was mess up. Luckily, I did make it back at around 10:00 at night.

Leaving Okazaki

2008-08-25T09:21:00.003+09:00

I had a wonderful time this weekend, but don't have the time now to blog about it properly. I'll do it in a few days, I promise!

I've spent this morning working on leaving Okazaki. It's not very easy, besides the fact that I'd rather stay. I have a large suitcase and 3 boxes to send back to my apartment. The takkyubin service is very convenient for doing this. There is a convenience store by the station that will take packages to be sent by Kuro Neko (Yamato Transport).

BUT, when I called them I was told that they open at 9. My train is leaving at 10:28 and I have to drop my key off at the school, so I wanted them to come by 10. I was told, "Chotto...". Literally it means "(It's) a little (inconvenient/difficult)." But what it really means is, "No."

OK, fine. I'll pay a cab to come get my stuff to the conbini. The teacher I was with this weekend called the cab company to request a cab to come at 9 am. No, Yamamoto House is too close to where I want to go. They won't come.

FINE. So, I carried my stuff one box/suitcase at a time. Of course, today it rained. I got the last box there before 9, since that's when the truck comes for the next pickup and I want all my stuff to stay together. As I'm coming back to Yamamoto House, what do I see parked there? A taxi!

Grr.

So, I asked the driver who he was there for. It was me. I told him that the company had told me they wouldn't send anyone and I didn't need him. Of course, had I waited and hope for a cab, there would have been none....

More on Food and Prices

2008-08-19T21:03:00.017+09:00

I continue to be equally surprised by which foods I can get and by which I can't easily get here. For instance, eating from the deli is a cheap way to get some pretty good food: sushi, onigiri, fried fish, gyoza, salads, etc.

Cheese, on the other hand is expensive and comes in very small quantities. I've also been told that some of it is best described as "scary". I haven't splurged on cheese yet. That may be part of the reason that I've lost 9 kg since I came here.

Today, I saw a jar of olives. I haven't had an olive since March, so I sprang for a small bottle of olives for ¥318. Mmmm....olives!

Here are some pics of Japanese food:

Here is a salad combo from Domy, the local grocery store. All the salads here have a vinegar dressing. The one on the lower left is a tako salad. Not to be confused with a taco salad, this one has tako -- octopus in it!

This is a very small bag of fish and chips. It was good. I bought a hotdog on a stick afterwards, then I was full.

Finally, the eatery on the corner in this picture will have to change its name if it ever opens a branch in the US!

For those of you with aging eyes like mine, it says "Coffee & Pasta FAT".

This is a spicy noodle dish that another student ordered. She thought it was very spicy, which means I'll never try it.

Here is a rough cost of living comparison. Currently, at $1=¥109.75, gas is $6.22/gallon here. I'm glad I'm not driving!

Atsuta Shrine

2008-08-15T23:45:00.008+09:00

Yamasa was closed for Obon yesterday and today, so yesterday I went to Atsuta Shrine with two other women from school.

Atsuta is the second most revered shrine, after Ise. The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣), one of the three Imperial Regalia is housed there, although nobody gets to see it except the emperor and certain priests. It was last seen during the enthronment of Emperor Akihito, but not by the public.

As a side note, speaking of the Imperial family, Crown Prince Naruhito climbed Mt. Fuji on the 8th, too! He had tried earlier, but had to turn back because of weather.

Like most Shinto shrines, Atsuta is rather plain. Shinto shrines are also regularly torn down and rebuilt. The area around Atsuta is a nice park, though.

Sake for the gods.

A nice shady park for a stroll.

The shrine at Atsuta.

A replica of the sword.

Some flowers in the park.

A turtle and koi in a pond in the park around the shrine.

Mt. Fuji

2008-08-10T22:22:00.025+09:00

Here are some facts about Mt. Fuji:

It is 3,776 m (12,388 ft) high.
The official climbing season is July-August.
It is an active volcano, although the last eruption was in 1707-1708.
The "san" in "Fujisan" (富士山) means "mountain". It is not the same "san" that is used after people's names.

The Yamasa group of 19 people left Aoi Hall at about 3:15 Friday afternoon. Our Fearless Leader told us we had one last chance to choose to go to an onsen instead. This will be his 9th climb. The bus took us to two rest areas, then to the 5th station on the Fujinomiya route. There are several routes up Mt. Fuji, and most people start at the 5th station of whichever route they have chosen.

Fujinomiya is the shortest route, starting at 2,400 meters. There are 7 stations after the 5th station: 6, new 7, 7, 8, 9 and 9.5. New 7 and 9.5 were put in after the originals, and the originals were not renamed.

I had with me my camera and case on my belt, 2 liters of water, 2 half-liter bottles of a Gatorade-like drink, the shell of my Columbia jacket and a fleece jacket, ear muffs, scarf, biking gloves, lots of sweet snacks and energy bars, 2 energy gel-drinks, sunglasses, a walking stick, rain pants, sunscreen, ibuprophen, anti-diarrheal medication, a can of oxygen and ID, a flashlight and batteries, all in my backpack. I wore jeans, hiking boots and a biking t-shirt (not cotten).

We reached the 5th station at about 8:30 at night. Since we were told that this would be the last clean toilets we'd see, I decided to take advantage. They certainly didn't smell clean, even from several feet from the door. I took the first stall I could find, and used it even though it was Japanese style. I assumed they all were. When I stood up, my camera case slid off my belt, right into the toilet it went! ARRRRGH!

I went into the shop to see if anything could be done. The answer I got: "Sho ga nai." (Nothing can be done.). Crap. I wasn't so worried about the camera -- I'd get another and EVERYONE else had one, so I could get pics later. But I had just gotten a 4GB card for mine that I didn't want to lose. I had pics on there that I hadn't unloaded. Crap! I looked down there with my flashlight. Omigosh, I could see it! It was sitting on top of, well, you know....

I went back to the shop, and said, "Kamera ga miemasu! (I can see my camera!)"
Shop guy: "Mieru? (You can see it?)
Me: "Hai! Miemasu!"

So he came and looked, and he could see it too. So, he found a hook on a stick and got it out for me! Woo-hoo!!! He plopped it in a sink for me to wash off. Lots of domo arigato gozaimashita's later, I dared to peak inside the camera case. My camera and extra cards were DRY!! I tested the camera -- it worked!! I put the case in a plastic bag that I'd brought for garbage, tied it up tight and put the camera in a zippered pocket.

I told everyone that we'd had our one disaster and all would be well afterwards.

So, we started climbing. And climbing. We would climb to the next station, then wait for the whole group to get there and rest. Then we'd move on to the next station. At about the 7th station, I asked our Fearless Leader where exactly was that onsen he had told us about. Too late, he said! So, I kept climbing. It was dark, so I used my flashlight.

Then, the trail got a little easier. The distance between stations got shorter, it was less rocky for a bit, and my sugar buzz hit. I'd consumed both my energy gel-drinks, lots of the gatorade drinks and a lot of rock candy.

Our group passed and was passed by a group of Marines several times. They are stationed near Mt. Fuji. They sang cadence songs as they went, and we could tell when the song was cleaned up because there would be a slight pause as the leader remembered the clean lyric.

Large portions of the trail have ropes by them. These are both to hang onto, and to let you know which chunk of rocks is the trail. The whole trail has a lot of switchbacks.

Unfortunately, around here one guy had to drop off and go down a station. He'd gotten altitude sickness. He was one of the fittest guys in the group, but that doesn't prevent altitude sickness. The only way to know if you'll get it is to get it. You can get just a headache, or nausea, or diarrhea or worse symtoms. So our poor friend stayed at a mountain hut, where you can rent half a futon for about 8000 yen, or around $80.

Near the top, there is a torii gate. Mt. Fuji is sacred in Shinto, so the top is a shinto shrine. Around the 9th stations, it started getting rocky and I thought it would be a pain to go down.

We reached the top at 4:00 am on Saturday. It was dark, and it was very cold, but we'd made it!! WOO-HOO!!!! We were at the top of Mt. Fuji!! I'd actually climbed a mountain!! WOW!

We were on the "wrong" side of the mountain--we had to be at the top to see the sunrise. The Marines went around the crater, and we went to the top of a peak where an now unused weather station was. Several other people were there as well. Our Fearless Leader pulled a glass and a can of Guiness from his pack, and poured a glass of Guiness. Photos were taken, and the beer was drunk. I had a swallow. It was very good at 3,776 meters.

The sunrise was glorious. Absolutely beautiful. The Japanese did a cheer. We went to a platform on the weather station, and were able to see the shadow that Fuji casts. Wow.

We came down from the little peak, and everyone went to get postcards to send from the post office at the top of Mt. Fuji (there is one), buy walking sticks or souvenirs, or just rest.

We left the peak at around 6:00 am. It got warmer just because the sun was out. I was very happy to be able to see the trail to go down, especially where it was rocky.

I tried to drink my water, but I'd lost the little mouthpiece on the drinking tube. For awhile I was able to drink without it, but I must have been just too tired. At the next station, I went to transfer the water from the backpact bag to a bottle, and discovered the bag was empty! I'd drunk almost 3 liters of water and gaterade on the way up. Yikes. Fortunatly, our Fearless Leader had part of a large bottle of Aquarius that he "didn't want to carry". I asked him how to say "mensch" in Japanese. After telling him what "mensch" meant, I got a reasonable answer: yasashii hito.

Climbing down is hard, even when it's not rocky. Mt. Fuji is a volcano. So, there is a lot of pumice. Even the gravel is pumice. And gravel likes to shift when you step on it, so your foot likes to slip forward and you end up stopping with your weight on your toes. Ouch. A good walking stick helps a lot.

About the same time as we collected our friend, it started to rain. Then it started to hail. Around here, I got behind the group. When it stopped hailing (or I got below the hail line), and it kept on raining, I got my rain gear out.

Before, the rocks were points of stability -- a good place to step compared to the shifty gravel. Now, they were wet and slippery. I didn't make good time to the next station. When I reached the next station, everyone was still wandering around the shop, so nobody noticed how late I was. Yay!

After a bit it stopped raining. There were only a few more stations, then finally I reached number 5. Yay!!

We got on the bus around 11:30 on Saturday morning. It was decided that we would forego the trip to a waterfall that had been scheduled. That was OK with me.

We stopped at one of the rest stops, and got back to Aoi Hall at around 3:15 on Saturday. I dragged myself back to my room (Hooray for being so close to school!), took a shower and crawled into bed.

Today (Sunday), my legs still ached so I went to an onsen that I have been to before, and wanted to go to again on this trip to Okazaki. I was much improved after soaking in hot water and sittting in saunas.

I'm glad I went, but I won't go again. If you go, here are my tips:

Climb at night. It's cooler, the sun won't burn you. It's easier to climb than descend by flashlight. There will be fewer people coming the other way. If you make the top in time, you'll see a great sunrise.
Wear good hiking boots that go over your ankles. You will have plenty of opportunities to fall and turn your ankles anyway.
Bring plenty of liquids. At least 3 liters. 4 if you are generally thirsty or a guy.
Bring non-aspirin pain-relievers and anti-diarrheal medication. Even if you don't need it, you'll be a hero to anyone who does.
Bring sweets and high energy foods.
Either bring a light, collapsible walking stick or buy one at the top. You won't need it on the way up, but you will need it on the way down. If you buy wood one at the top, you can get it branded at each station on the way down to make a souvenir.
Wear tough biking gloves. The rocks are pumice and you will either fall on them or have to hang onto them. Pumice is sharp.
Bring a proper backpack with padded shoulder straps and a waist strap.
Bring sunscreen and sunglasses. The atmosphere is thinner and therefore less protective as you get higher up.
Go in a group. You can encourage each other, and someone will know if something happens to you. It will be a lot more fun, and you can share pictures afterwards.

So, here are a few pics:

Sunrise, from the top of Mt. Fuji.

A few nearby mountains peeking through the cloud layer.

Mt. Fuji's shadow, as seen from the top.

The top of Mt. Fuji looks like Mars, except for the other climbers...

Here you can see the switchbacks on the trail.

Here we are finally seeing some plants. You can also see the slope of the mountain.

Tidbits

2008-08-06T21:18:00.008+09:00

There is a song that I've heard played at the seafood section of several grocery stores. It's called Osakana Tengoku (おさかな天国). Apparently, it was a hit song at one point. It has several almost-puns in the lyrics, so it's kind of funny too, or so I've read. You can watch You Tube video of the song here.

For several evenings, I've heard a cat outside Yamamoto House. Not loud or long enough to be annoying or anything like that. Just enough to make me curious about the cat. Well, today I went out late to go the grocery store, and came across a cat sitting on a car. I think this is my serenading cat.

I now have a video game!! I bought a Nintendo DS Lite today. For very academic reasons -- really! There are several "games" available for studying kanji (Chinese characters) and improving your handwriting of them. I now have two kanji "games". The one I got for handwriting was so popular that when it first came out, stores restricted purchases to one per customer. The initial supply actually sold out. Now, imagine trying to sell something like that in the US for people to improve their handwriting!

Today we had our safety session for the Mt. Fuji climb. After that, I went shopping with another woman in my class for any supplies we didn't have. I guess I'm one of the few that brought hiking boots to Japan. I have high energy food, a water bag with straw that fits in my backpack, some oxygen, clothes for hot and cold weather, sunscreen, a hat, a parasol, a camera, and various other things to deal with the possible ugliness of altitude sickness. We are going most of the way up Friday night, finishing up on Saturday morning, then coming down. I was told not to plan anything for Sunday. Still, I'm looking forward to it!

More Pictures!

2008-08-04T07:34:00.004+09:00

I am going to post more pictures in a Picasa Web Album. The first set are from my trip to Mt. Mitake.

Just click on "Mt. Mitake" above to see the album.

Let me know if you have any problems seeing the pictures (or not!).

I'll work on creating more albums. The albums for trips will include a map, so you can see where I am at the time! Unfortunately, the map will be zoomed in and in Japanese. Just click on the "-" to get a better view, plus some English labels.

Brewery Tour and Fireworks

2008-08-03T12:15:00.017+09:00

The observant reader will notice that I've mentioned beer not infrequently on this blog. There is good reason: it's hot and humid here, which makes beer the ideal beverage.

Today I have an especially good reason, though: I went on a tour of Asahi's brewery in Nagoya with four fellow students. I've been on brewery tours before, so even though I didn't understand all the explanations, I do know the general process. This brewery makes canned beer.

The tour guide used keigo the whole time -- that's polite Japanese used by shop keepers and when speaking to higher-ups. It was good practice for us to try to follow it.

Everything was pristine and efficient, and there were large signs indicating what was going on for the tourists. After the tour, we all enjoyed a few glasses, even though it was before noon. I didn't know that Asahi made a dark beer -- I will have to hunt that down at a liquor store. We sampled some jerky, which I liked. I bought a small bag if it.

They have breweries in other parts of Japan, as well as two Nikka whiskey distilleries. My souvenir was a small bottle of 10 year old single malt whisky. My hubby will get an Asahi hat.

Asahi also owns Loewenbrau, Jim Beam, Absolut, Jose Cuervo and Bireley's.

After the tour, the other ladies when to a matsuri (festival) in Nagoya, while I went to Sakae (a part of Nagoya) to go to the Maruzen bookstore there. Amazingly, I only bought one book.

Zoning in Japan is interesting. As we were walking from the station to the brewery, we were tallking about how you can see old next to new, and see a rice field in an empty lot, surrounded by buildings. As if on cue, we came across this rice field which illustrates the point nicely.

Lunch/Dinner was a hamburg steak with a sunnyside up egg on top at Denny's, along with a melon soda.

In the evening, the our dorm's Ojiisan (caretaker) who lived in an attached house, had a party for us on the roof for Okazaki's hanabi matsuri. That's a fireworks festival. They make a large majority of Japan's fireworks in Okazaki, so that's the theme of the city's festival. A lot of people come from other parts of Japan to see it. Most people go to the castle, but we beat the crowds by going upstairs! There were two hours of fireworks, great food, and some icecream that Ojiisan made himself.

I wish I had a yukata to wear -- I have two, but they are in the States so I didn't feel like buying another. But I had a great time!!

Studying

2008-07-30T20:40:00.007+09:00

I don't have a lot to report, except I am really enjoying studying Japanese in Okazaki. Here are some pics of my dorm building.

Here is the outside. The first window to the right of the part that sticks out is mine.

You go in under my window (not the garage door), then up stairs to the balcony, and here is the door to my floor.

There will be a fireworks festival on Saturday. Okazaki is famous for fireworks, so this should be quite good. The caretaker of Yamamoto House, Mr. Yamamoto, will have a party on Saturday for everyone here. Then we can watch the fireworks from here.

The weather is hotter here than in Tochigi, but it's less humid, so that's better. It's also sunnier here than in Tochigi. I have a green umbrella, and I have a phone strap that indicates the UV level. I tested using my green umbrella as a parasol, and aparently it wasn't blocking the UV rays much at all. So I bought a black parasol. Japanese ladies use them a lot. They are more comfortable than wearing long sleeves, and easier than reapplying sunscreen. So that's one Japanese habit I've picked up.

Another odd thing I've seen is the light switch for the toilet room is usually outside the room. I can imagine every Japanese child going through a phase of turning the light off when other people are using the toilet!

Walking the Nakasendō

2008-07-26T20:52:00.007+09:00

Today, I did something I'd wanted to do for a long time. Before the Meiji Restoration brought trains to Japan, the Nakasendō was an important road. When the Meiji Restoration modernized Japan, some parts of the country got left behind, like parts of the Kiso valley which were formerly important towns on an important road. In the 1960's residents of some of these towns decided to preserve and restore their Edo-era appearance. They did, and the tourists came.

There is an 8 km. (5 miles) section of the old road between two of these towns, Magome and Tsumago, that is now a hiking trail. Magome is in Gifu prefecture and Tsumago is in Nagano prefecture. Today, I hiked that trail.

Part of it is the original stone road. I thought about the porters who got to carry people in palaquins while wearing straw sandals. Part of the trail is gravel and part of it is paved. There are a few short stretches where you have to walk on the highway.

Being Japan it is, of course, hilly. It took me 3 hours to do. It was very beautiful, with woods and the occasional waterfall. It seemed like a route a party of D&D characters would use!

I took a train to Nakatsugawa, then a bus to Magome. I hiked between Magome and Tsumago, and waited for over an hour for a bus to Nagiso, then took a train to Nagoya, then back to Okazaki. All in all, a full day!
Here is a view of the area before I got to the trail.

Here are some views along the trail.

Here is a straw horse I saw in Tsumago. It makes sense that there would be a horse in this area -- the "Ma" in Magome means "horse"

Fun in Okazaki

2008-07-24T20:47:00.005+09:00

Today I had a placement test, and then orientation. I finished the Minna no Nihongo series the last time I was here. But due to a lack of practice, I will be re-doing some of it. That's OK, though. I haven't had a lot of opportunities to use some of the grammar points, so this will reinforce them. Language learning is a "use it or lose it" endeavor.

There have been some additions to the campus since I was here last, including an indoor tennis court and a community learning center. I had lunch at the campus cafe, which is a bar on weekends. I've met several interesting people as well.

I went to Aeon mall with a fellow American afterwards. From where I am staying, it's worthwhile to take the bus from the train station. In cooler weather, I'd walk.

The road sign above says "Silver Road" in the blue section, which I'm guessing is sort of like the "silver seats" on buses and trains that are reserved for the elderly, pregnant, infirm or those with babies. Underneath it says to watch out for the elderly.

Okazaki has an unusually high number of traffic accidents, in part due to the high rate of car ownership. That in turn may be due to Toyota's headquarters being nearby. Also, even though there are a lot of cars, the roads are the same width as they have been for a long time. The city is not laid out on grid. Originally, Japanese towns and cities were purposely NOT laid out on a grid to make it harder for invading armies to invade.

Classes start tomorrow. There are 23 classes per week, with only 3 on Fridays. Next week the "intensive" bit kicks in!

I'm in Okazaki

2008-07-23T09:43:00.003+09:00

I got to Okazaki at around 8:15 am. The night bus was uneventful, except that the bus was waiting across and down the street from where another woman and I were expecting it.

I'm staying at the Yamamoto House dormitory. It's very nice, and closer to the school and train station than the dorm I stayed in the other times I was here.
My room has a fridge with freezer (the white and yellow thing in the pic). The fridge is bigger and nicer
than the one I have in my apartment! And there is a TV. I'll just leave it on when I'm here for listening practice.

The drapes are closed because the sun would beat in otherwise. There are a lot of noisy birds outside. It's hot here, but not as muggy as Tochigi.

Since I was here last, there is a new grocery store between here and the school, and a new shopping area with movie theaters by the Student Village, where I stayed before.

Beer index

2008-07-19T07:08:00.004+09:00

I check the weather on the Japanese Yahoo! site each day. Today, I discovered the beer index! From what I can understand, it's an index of optimum beer drinking conditions. From the map, it looks like you can't go wrong with a cold one anywhere in Japan today.

Less fun, but equally useful to those of us who must hang our laundry out to dry, is the laundry index.

Last Day of the Term!

2008-07-18T19:43:00.003+09:00

Today was the last day of the term at school. I am now on vacation through the end of August. I am celebrating appropriately.

Japan has some very inefficient systems. A good example is the immigration offices. For most things, there is a fee to be paid. But you can't just pay the fee at the immigration office. That would be efficient. Instead you must buy a stamp to pay with. But you can't buy the stamp at the immigration offices. That would be somewhat efficient. No, you must go to a nearby convenience store to buy the stamp.

However, some things in Japan are very efficient and /or convenient. An example is the bottle of Corona I bought to celebrate the end of the term. Everyone knows that Corona calls for lime juice. If you live by yourself, you must either buy enough Corona to use up the lime or bottled lime juice you bought for the Corona, or throw away some lime or lime juice. In Japan, Corona conveniently comes with a packet of lime juice attached! Isn't that great?

What will I do on my summer vacation? Unlike the real teacher at the school, I am on vacation for the whole summer vacation. I am going to Okazaki, near Nagoya, to a Japanese language school that I've attended twice before. I'm also going to do some travelling on weekends, so I'll have some interesting things to post.

I can't say enough good things about the Yamasa Institute, and I'm not alone in my opinion of the school. First, it's convenient. You can study from 4 weeks to years depending on your inclination , available time and finances. Secondly, it's affordable. The school is not for profit. Finally, Okazaki is a nice city. It's less expensive than Tokyo, and conveniently located. Also the school owns its own housing, so housing is affordable and close to the school. And all that wouldn't matter much if it weren't a top-notch school. In terms of contact hours, you really get value for your yen. If anyone is interested in studying Japanese in Japan, go to www.yamasa.org. They also offer lessons online.

It's been very hot and very, very humid. It's not global warming we should worry about, but it's global humidity!

Critter update

2008-07-17T20:41:00.002+09:00

The civet died that day, and when I went out later, someone had removed it. Later and several blocks away, I saw a bag of trash that had been ripped open and dug through, so maybe it got into something that it shouldn't have.

At work I mentioned that I'd seen one near my apartment, and nobody else had seen one in the "wild". I had read that they are nocturnal, so the fact that I saw it out during the day means something was wrong with it.

Laughed at by Students

2008-07-17T20:28:00.004+09:00

Yesterday, a couple of girls laughed at me.

On Saturday, I had gone to Sports Depo in Bell Mall in Utsunomiya to buy some more things for my Mt. Fuji climb next month. I found this:

I had read about canned air conditioning, and was actually looking for such a thing. Hey, a Japanese company sells ties that have a fan built in them, so why not? The canned air that you use to dust out keyboards is cold, so this would be just another use for an existing product.

I was in the teachers' room, and two of the girls that were helping with osouji (cleaning) were complaining that it was really hot. Which it was. I'd brought my can in, so I said, "Come here, I'll show you something. " I gave each a spray on the back, which they liked. I showed them the can, and said, "Air conditioning!"

They looked at the can more closely and laughed.

It turns out it IS cold air that is being sold here. But it's intended to be used in case of injury -- like an ice pack.

My pride was not injured enough to need my canned ice pack -- after all, my can of cold air still does what I want it to do!

Wild critter in my yard

2008-07-13T06:59:00.006+09:00

Today I woke up to hear a crow having a fit outside. It sounded like it was right outside my front door. When I looked outside, I didn't see a crow, but I did see this.

From what I've been able to figure out, it's a masked palm civet (ハクビシン or 白鼻しん）. It is not native to Japan, but they do live here. This one appears injured -- it's walking in circles and every so often one of it's paws would turn upside down. They are nocturnal, so I normally wouldn't see one in daytime.

I will leave it alone.

Spoiling Cats

2008-07-11T18:52:00.005+09:00

Today, I was accused of spoiling my cats.

I was in the grocery store and ran into another English teacher who lives in my apartment building. We compared basket contents, and she wondered why I had canned cat food in mine as we are not allowed to have pets. I explained that when I send a box home, I send treats for my cats. Don't look at me that way. They are NOT spoiled. Much. Well, OK, but they deserve it.

No, I don't label the cat food as such. First, I give the folks at home credit for knowing not to eat anything with a cat on the label. (Why are pet food and baby food the exceptions to the rule that the product itself is pictured on food container labels? If they aren't exceptions, I don't want to know.) And second, we all know that any cat food I buy is probably good enough for people as well.

This one is bonito and shrimp.

This one is tuna, with crab added.

This one is first rate tuna.

Rainy Season is Over!

2008-07-10T23:13:00.004+09:00

On Tuesday, I was told that rainy season is over for this area. Mind you, it was raining at the time.

Here are some unrelated pictures:

Here is a rice field, showing how tall the rice is now. This field is between my apartment and a shopping area with a Wal-Mart like grocery/general store, a book/video/CD/videogame store, a cell-phone store, a clothing store, a restaurant and a 7-11. There is also a drug store inside the grocery/general store.

Here is a nice flower garden. Even if people don't have a yard, they often have a pot or two of flowers.

Here is a view down a street near my apartment. On the left, you see some green netting near and on a wall. That is a garbage collection point. Everyone in the area puts their garbage out in the same spot. The garbage truck doesn't stop at every house. The green netting is to put over garbage bags, so they don't blow around at all. This area is mostly houses, but there are also apartment buildings and small shops.

More on Weather

2008-07-06T20:55:00.003+09:00

The humidity is due to Rainy Season, or Tsuyu (梅雨) or Baiu, which literally means "plum rain". The Ume, which is really a Japanese Apricot ripens at this time.

I like plum wine. I also like umeshu, which has ume in the bottle. But I've found a few more ume beverages to enjoy.

Here is a small can of ume soda.

Here is some sparling umeshu (sans ume in the can). It's also not as sparkling as I was led to believe. The flavor is, well, "subtle". But it's in a can, so I didn't have high expectations for it anyway.

Oh, the Humidity.....

2008-07-05T21:45:00.010+09:00

You've all heard, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity," right? Well, it is SO true!

This is looking down from across the street from the school on Friday morning. I have never experienced humidity as high as it was then.

This is the same scene Friday afternoon, after the sun came out. You can see much further!

Finally, Friday evening, a thunderstorm came through. Saturday was hot and humid, but not as humid as Friday!

During June, some mornings it would be cool and humid. It was impossible to stay dry, even though I wasn't really hot at all.

The classrooms have no airconditioning or fans. The only ventilation is opening windows in the classroom, and on the other side of the hall. Usually that's enough, but not Friday. Plus, every so often a bee or moth will fly in the room and distract everyone!

Independence Day!

2008-07-04T17:31:00.001+09:00

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day! A big "Thank You!" to the service men and women and veterans, who made this holiday possible!

Digging in the Dirt

2008-07-01T23:00:00.007+09:00

Last Friday, I got a memo and asked an English teacher what it was about. It said that on Monday morning everyone would clean the school grounds in the morning, and I was asked to participate if I could. Well, why not?

So, Monday I showed up in work clothes (athletic wear) like everyone else. Unlike everyone else, I had no idea what this would entail. I thought it might get called off since it had rained a lot on Sunday. It turned out all we were going to do was weed the flower beds. In this case, all the rain made the job much easier.

There are several flower beds, including one for each of the classes. There are 4 first and second year classes and 5 third year classes. So, there are 13 classes.

I love gardening, and I agree with Mom that digging in the dirt is great therapy/relaxation. I miss gardening, so I really did enjoy this.

Of course, all the kids had to line up by class first. Then, there was a short speech. Then we sent to the appropriate flower bed to weed. We also picked all the blooms off the marigolds. I know marigolds need to be dead-headed to keep them blooming. And I suppose that nobody is going to look at them every day to just pick the dead blooms off. So, all the flowers came off. Later, during cleaning time, we took the piles of weeds and flowers to the compost bin behind the school.

Here is a flower bed that didn't get done, to show you what they looked like before.

And here is an "after" shot.

Popularity is on the up-trend

2008-06-28T20:33:00.005+09:00

This weekend's trip was just a shopping trip to Utsunomiya.

Among other things, I found some interesting t-shirts. There are plenty of t-shirts with what I call decorative English on them here. You can also see examples from all over, not just Japan at www.engrish.com. Japundit also has examples on a regular basis.

I have some from my first trip to Okazaki. Here are my latest acquisitions:

"Evryday Happily
Having more than enough delight"

The next one has stuff on both sides!

The front:
"Livre D'Images
Popularity is on the up-trend du to its flexible idea
Renew your mood with your chin
Now, I have a rech feeling
These are my favorites
Handing the popularity on to the
next generation
Livre D'Images 921"

And the back:
"Luxurious feeling of the best quality
I feel comfortable
with my heart
exhilierated 921
Livre D'Images
These days, I feel
like I'm not myself We will
in the gap of your heart
Blowing away the
Cobwebs"

Personally, I don't think it's bad English because I don't think it's a failed attempt at a serious translation of something into English. (It may be the actually be the most ingenious marketing campaign directed at foreign English speakers in Japan!) And even if it were a serious attempt at translation, it still wouldn't be as bad as the bad Japanese or Chinese tattoos that you can see at Hanzi Smatter. I mean, I can just take the shirt off.

Sounds of Japan

2008-06-27T17:34:00.003+09:00

I have a watch and an alarm clock, but I can tell certain times of the day by the sounds outside my apartment.

For instance, there is a produce shop that has metal roll-down shutters that make a loud screechy noise when they go up or down. The shop opens at 7:30 am and closes at 7:00 pm, every day.

There is also what I think is a temple bell that rings at 6:00 am and 6:00 pm. Its tone is very low, not very loud and slow. I haven't pinpointed where it comes from. And I haven't figured out how many times it rings. It's one of those noises that you don't notice right away. You just gradually become aware that you're hearing it. .............Bong.............Bong.............Bong.........

The sewers along the roads are covered with concrete blocks that aren't cemented down. They make a distinctive rattle when cars drive on them.

Cars also beep when they go backwards. And most Japanese back into parking spaces.

I can hear the "all aboard" horn from the train station all the way from in front of the school in the morning. I think it's because the train station is down in the valley, and the school is up on the hill. The train station is 9 minutes away from my apartment in one direction and the school is 15-20 minutes in the other direction.

Speaking of the school, Westminster Quarters sound at the start and end of each period. "The Entertainer" is played over the loudspeaker system during osōji, or cleaning time. I'll never think of that song the same again!

Finally, there are LOTS of birds. Noisy ones. There are also crows. Karasuyama means "Crow Mountain," and it got the name honestly.

Rice cooker cooking

2008-06-26T19:18:00.004+09:00

I made a rice dish in my rice cooker with the stuff I'd brought back fromTairaya. It was good, and I shared some of it with another ALT who lives in my building. He is new to cooking, so I thought he'd appreciate it. And he did.

Today, I went to Tairaya and got some more salmon and made the dish again. Here is a rough recipe for those of you who can wing it in the kitchen:

1 measure of rice (use the cup that came with your rice cooker)
Toppings (use the toppings of your choice; here is what I used)
1 myoga, sliced
3 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Salmon with skin and bones removed
About 1/3 cup chopped onion
1 T soy sauce
1.5 T sake
1.5 tsp rice vinegar

Clean the rice as usual. Put the rice in the cooker, and add the usual amount of water. Put your toppings on the rice, then add the soy sauce, sake and rice vinegar. Put some sake in the cook to0, if you wish.

Cook the rice as usual. Let it sit about 10 minutes after it's done. Flake the salmon with a fork, then mix the toppings and rice together. Serve.

I will probably get two meals out of this. YMMV (Your mileage may vary.)

There is a bit of a pun here, as both sake (the alcoholic drink) and salmon are "sake" (さけ) in Japanese. The Chinese characters, or kanji, are different: 酒 and 鮭.

Here is the myoga.

And the shiitake mushrooms.

Here is everything before cooking.

And afterwards.

And ready to eat!

You could probably add peppers, garlic or other spices to taste. Experiment and have fun!

How far does your yen go?

2008-06-22T13:25:00.018+09:00

To give you an idea of what I'm buying at grocery stores and the cost of food, here is the result of today's shopping trip:

7.5 grams cinnamon: ¥113

2 liters of mikan flavored drink: ¥168
Mikan refer to all native oranges, but mostly to mandarin oranges.

1 can ume flavored Chuhai: ¥108
Chuhai is an alchoholic beverage. Ume are often referred as plums, but are actually related to apricots.

15 ready-to-cook gyoza: ¥145

1 can loquats: ¥98

1 bottle (.5 liter) Aquarius: ¥ 98

Most sodas and such in .5 liter bottles are ¥98 in stores, and ¥120-150 from vending machines. They are about the size of a 16 ounce soda bottle.

Aquarius is like Pocari Sweat: not too sweet, no describable flavor. It's made by Coca-Cola.

3 cucumbers: ¥100
These are thinner than in the US.

1 Kiwi: ¥128

1 Onion: ¥39

1 piece of salmon: ¥250

Garbage bags for burnable trash (10): ¥130
You have to buy these to put out burnable trash.

4 pieces of fried fish from the deli: ¥ 218

1/4 Hokusai cabbage: ¥99

10 eggs, size M: ¥198

3 Myoga: ¥99
(similar to ginger-- I haven't tried them yet)

1 pack of fresh shiitake mushrooms: ¥158
This is probably the best deal, compared to the US.

Grand total: ¥2,149 = $20.01 US.

I'll put the salmon, myoga, some shiitake, some onion and some hokusai in the rice cooker with some rice to make dinner tonight. The rest of the hokusai will probably end up in a stir fry, or okonomiyaki. Yum!

This weekend's trip

2008-06-22T10:17:00.018+09:00

This weekend's trip was to Shinjuku -- another section of Tokyo.

I had been to the Maruzen store by Tokyo station, which has a large foreign language (English and other languages) section. The Kinokuniya store in Shinjuku also has a large foreign language section. There is also a Tokyu Hands store -- it has all kinds of household things.

Unfortunately, it was very cloudy, so the pictures aren't the best. But it didn't rain, so that's OK.

The first place I went was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. There is a tourist information office there. I found one sheet guides to the different sections of Tokyo. They appear to have better maps for free than the guidebooks that I spent good money for.

The main reason to go here, though, was the view. You can go to the 45th floor for a view of the city. It's a very fast elevator. I think it went up to the 45th floor faster than the elevator where I used to work went to the third! Had the weather been better, the view would be better as well. But the price is right, so I'll try to go there again before my year is up. Meanwhile, here are some pics for you!

Here are some pictures of the building from the ground. There are two towers, connected at the bottom.

Here are people in the other tower looking out.

You can see I don't have a filter to eliminate window reflections, but here is the view.

Here is the other tower.

Here's another view. You can see that there is some greenery here...

This was taken from the ground. I don't know what building this is, but I think it looks cool.

After that, I went to find Tokyu Hands and Kinokuniya. The first thing I found out about Shinjuku station is that you can't get from the east and west exits directly to the south exit. The west exit took me to the Tokyo Metropolitan building, but I wanted the new south exit to get to the Takashimaya Times Square, where the stores are.

At one point, I found a McDonald's and thought that would be a good place for lunch and trying to find out where I was in relationship to where I wanted to be. It was noon, so it was very crowded. But a bacon lettuce burger is very good! I figured I was on the north west side of the station -- and I wanted to be on the southeast station. I did finally find Takashimaya Times Square.

The Krispy Kreme in Appleton may have closed, but here's one in Shinjuku!

Here is a promenade outside Takashimaya Times Square, where Tokyu Hands and Kinokuniya (and Takashimaya department store) are located.

There was a slight earthquake while I wrote this. A little rattling, but not much.

Holy Mackerel!

2008-06-17T21:57:00.008+09:00

It's what's for dinner!

If you remember, I bought a book that tells how to clean fish that comes closer to a natural state than I'm used to. I had eaten mackerel (鯖 saba) in miso sauce at school and it was pretty good. So Sunday, I decided to try to make it myself.

The recipe was for four people and called for one mackerel. The smallest portion I found at the store was a half of one. As you can see, that's ¥198 , or $1.83 US. I had to cut off some fin, but at least the head and innards were gone!

Here it is cooking. There is a paper lid in there to keep it from getting jostled around and breaking up while simmering. They are used a lot here, but you can also use parchment paper. For less delicate foods, they have drop lids made of wood that fit into the pan and sit on top of the food. This keeps the food under the liquid, and also keeps it from jostling around too much.

Here is the result. The recipe said that one-quarter fish should be one serving, so I planned to save half for the next day. But I really liked it, and had read that mackerel should be eaten on the same day you buy it. So I was a pigasaurus and ate the other two pieces, too!