Japan Pictures

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With patience, you will see every picture has its own interesting tale to tell.

Japan Day X-XIV : 大阪美しいの

日本からの挨拶

As the title says, it really was 'Osaka the Beautiful'. Im getting to the point where Im forgetting all the great things I see every day, so even though I was only in Osaka less than 24 hours stretched over 2 days, im going to keep this shorter than usual and make this the only part of this 5 day post. Let me see if I can run by some observations first that ive noticed and wanted to mention. Well the other day at the Park City shopping centre (centRE maria, happy now?) i was walking around with Ash and her friends and ran into Pepsi Shoes! Yes, they make shoes. I got the impression they just havent been able to get a good hold into the Nippon market in the beverage business (Coke is really the only Cola you see here ever) so they might us well try to crack it somehow, so why not shoes? They look ok, normal looking casual sneakers, but you can tell they are cheaply made by the feel of them, and the price of 1998YEN, which is around $18. But of course I had to buy a pair, so even though I hate Pepsi, i will proudly wear their crap shoes. :)

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Also in soft drink news, one of my biggest complaints is that you are unable to get Coke with Lemon at home. Of course they have Diet Coke with Lemon, and Pepsi Twist, but not regular Coke with Lemon. Well even though Cola isnt as big here as at home, they are smart enough to have it here! I bought a small can of it on Thursday and it was delicious of course. Not as good as I had hoped, but I liked it none-the-less, and have saved the can for all eternity. Oh and another thing I love here is that it so easy to pay bills here. They do not have checks whatsoever here, you dont get paid by check and you cant pay anything at all by checks, they simply dont have them. So when you get paid its either by cash or a direct deposit into your bank account. So since you cant pay bills by check and you cant obviously go to company headquarters to pay your bills, you go to the convenience store! You take your receipt to any convenience store and hand them the receipt and give them cash and they mark your account, throw the money in the register, and give you a receipt. They also take these utility bills very seriously. Ash paid her electric bill just a few days late here, and one day when she came home they shut off her electric right away, so she went to pay it at the store around the corner, and when she walked home there was already a serviceman putting it back on! Efficiency is key in Japan and its quite an amazing thing. One other thing I love about Japan is it being a collectivist society. Unlike America and more western societies that are all about the individual, alot of countries in Asia (Japan, China, Korea) are more about the 'group'. There are obviously good things and bad things about both ways of going about society, but its very refreshing to be in a place like Japan where everything is thought about in the sense of how what you do will effect the whole, and the good of the community or nation as a whole. Simple things show this. For instance when you are walking around here and you just finished a nice cold Pocari Sweat, you find you have nowhere to throw out the bottle. NOWHERE! Its very hard to find a rubbish can anywhere because recycling is taken VERY VERY seriously here and it shows in having a clean place to live everywhere you go. If you had rubbish cans everywhere like at home it actually tends people to litter more, cause if you cant find a trash can, then 'fuck it, ill throw it wherever I want'. In Japan you hold onto your trash until you are lucky enough to find a recycling bin (hardly ever to you really find a 'trash' can here), or you hold onto it until you get home. Its happened to me alot just being here just 2 weeks. Many times ive had to hold onto my trash until the end of the day when i get home. But its worth it cause not only are you recycling which benefits everyone around you, but you keep everything clean which benefits all around you as well. Of course this isnt true everywhere as Mexico and India are considered 'collectivist' and they are not exactly clean, but in Japan at least this is an example of how they are.

Anyway, Osaka. In short, it was fantastic. We actually didnt get into Osaka until around 7pm, at which point we got off at Shinsaibashi subway stop. Shinsaibashi and Namba are probably really considered the heart of Osaka. Its very crowded, very packed, lots of shopping in all aspects, including high end stuff like Hermes and Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana, all that kind of stuff. We really lucked out in finding that the Comfort Inn of all places has a hotel right in the heart of this massive area with cheap rooms (about $90 a night). Of course the rooms are tiny although modern, especially for Comfort Inn, with flat screen TV's and the works. All rooms in Japan are tiny as space is limited, wherever you go, places are small. But it was a nice hotel room and it was very comfortable. The trick was finding the place. You see, they dont have street names here! I think its Japan in general, but i dont know how they do it outside of the city, cause in Osaka, everything is pinpointed by where the nearest subway stop is. So ok yeah we get off at Shinsaibashi, then what? No joke, you just get out of the stop and walk around and go down random streets and turns and try to find it! We probably could have taken a cab, but whats the fun in that? It didnt take us that long actually, maybe a half hour after getting out of our stop, but imagine getting in Osaka for the first time and youve never been abroad and dont read any Japanese (as Ash luckily can), you would LOSE your mind. SO do taxi drivers just somehow know where everything is? I dont get it. Even when youre walking around you get lost easily if you dont pay attention to anything cause their are no street signs to use as markers to guide you back home! We were lucky as we had another cool little view from our hotel room, and even a nice clean rust fee (of course, its Japan) fire escape to walk out on and see the view. I took plenty of pictures to share which ill post early next week so you can see. At least we didnt get a capsule hotel, which is big here in Japan, again because of space issues. You really have this space age futuristic white capsules that are just big enough for a person to slip in and and fall asleep in for the night. So you can stack these up and have a large amount of people staying in your hotel, and you each still have your own 'privacy', and for a cheaper rate! They also have 'love hotels' here, where you can either pay for a 'REST' or you can 'STAY'. Im sure you can figure out the difference between the two! I thought I had a sense of what Tokyo might be like from Hiroshima, but i knew the second we got to Osaka that i still had no idea until arriving here. Ashley says I definitely have an idea now as Osaka is quite similar in terms of neon lights, and crowds at least, but I cant wait to see Tokyo one day. Osaka is the second smallest prefecture land wise in Japan, yet has the second largest population, so basically they pack just under 9 million people in a very very small area. Tokyo is considered I guess the more modern metropolitan city while Osaka is the more dirty, 'real' city of Japan. To be honest I didnt see that dirty side of it, as it felt very modern here. One dirty thing though is the Japanese businessman here. They all seem like scumbags and they probably are. They travel in packs (collectivist!) and they never ever seem to take those damn suits off. Maybe cause they work 7 days a week i guess, all i know there are so many factors and reasons why they all seem so sketchy and sad, and they all seem to be on the prowl after these Japanese girls. They never ever feel threatening in anyway, they just seem very sketchy and scummy. Off with their heads! We walked around for about 4 hours that night. We went to a Mexican restaurant that Ash likes that was on the 8th floor of this building (everything is about going UP UP UP in terms of living and building new businesses. You take the elevator and one floor is one store. So in other words buildings can be quite small and narrow so a tiny restaurant on the 8th floor has its own floor). It was really good and a good atmosphere except for these horrible awful Americans who were waiting to be seated who just looked at us like we were the creeps when we asked them a simple question. Anti-social rich kid morons. URGH. Speak when you are spoken to you fucking fucks. :) Also we sat next to this big rough Japanese businessman and his lady friend who were chain smoking right next to us. I thought he could have been the Japanese mafia (as Osaka is the hdqtrs. of the mafia here supposedly) but i guess you can tell if one is in the mafia here supposedly if he has one fingertip missing! After dinner we walked around these packed open air and closed air streets I guess you would say. Some buildings looked as if each and every side of buildings were just completely made up of neon signs, edge to edge neon signs as far as the eye could see. It was so bright and bizarre. For the first time I really felt like I was in a city of the future, the kind of image you think Japan to be like from pictures and movies. Everywhere is just spotless clean, everyone is polite and kind beyond imagination, the bright neon everywhere and gigantic mega screens like you have at sports stadiums, but 300x as large, everyone speaking this strange language that makes no sense, and millions of people packed in like sardines moving as fast as ligthing, dressed in their haphazard BIZARRE clothing of the future! The way people dress here is just psychotic. And this is a good thing. People just where whatever the hell they want, what I mean is just pick up whatever is on the floor, doesnt matter how big or how small, and you especially dont have to worry about the clothes matching. Just put it on and go out, you will look good, and they do look good, most of them. One thing that is really out of control is hair. You feel like you are in the future but its like you are in the 1980's all over again. Guys LITERALLY look they all have haircuts out of the 80's band A Flock of Seagulls. All teased and feathered and the guys even have the big puffs of hair that looks like a hair explosion on their foreheads. As Ashley said, its every hard to tell sometimes if someone walking towards you is a guy or a girl. Girls have big hair as well, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt, but alot of the time its just to big for their heads. Ok i was supposed to keep this short! HA! The bottom line is Osaka was fantastic. Futuristic, beautiful, friendly, intense, colorful and bizarre. I really cant wait to come back here soon.

So this is my last post from Japan and I must say I have nothing but amazing feelings about this place. Beautiful people, positive vibes and just a magical place in all respects, and I leave here with but nothing but admiration for the landscape and all the people here. I had a great trip, and again, Ashley was a fantastic host and thank her so much for letting me stay with her for so long.

I cant wait to come back here.

Arigato gozai mashita!
本当にありがとう

PS That picture isnt mine, but I got a few of my own of this Harajuku Free Style!

Japan Day VII-IX : Hiroshima vs. The Hives

So we got up early to begin our trip to Hiroshima and hoped to get there by late afternoon, which was a good goal because we did have slight delays in Osaka when changing trains. Basically we had to take the train from Nabari, the Kintetsu Line, to Osaka-Tsuruhashi Station, which takes about an hour, and much of it through beautiful hills and valleys and then through the dense outskirts of Osaka proper. Once at Tsuruhashi we then had to switch trains to get to Namba station. You have to know that basically Ashley has been a savior on this trip, as she knows the basic Japanese you need to just get by getting around here. She has learned and is able to read a bit of two of the three different 'alphabets' here, and if she didnt know these basics we would be in big trouble. So at this station we then had to take the Osaka subway Midojouri Line to Shin-Osaka station, which is where the JR trains leave from.

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It was actually pretty hot and this station was a HUGE maze, and took us probably 45 minutes to find, granted we were taking our time as we had no deadline or schedule to attend to. One thing I remember vividly was walking through this open area inside the station where there was no ceiling, and there was a bunch of kids hanging out there, and there was this group of girls, some in their school uniforms, and some in the crazy Japanese dress you see pictures of sometimes, and they were doing this weird break-dacing type dance together in front of this huge mirror. They looked almost professional. When we finally found where the subway line was everything was written in Japanese on the lines, which was strange as so much was in English to be able to find your way around the station! Anyway Ash could make out some of the subway map, but as usual, a local older man from the area approached us and asked in English if we needed help and he led us on our way, with a polite bow as well i might add. Once we went beyond the turnstiles all the signs were in English, so it was just a pain the one most important sign, that helps us get INTO the subway, was only in Japanese. When we got downstairs this older man was already in the train and he saw us and he was waving to us and trying to get our attention telling us to get on that packed train, but for that reason, we waited for the next train. What a stand up guy! Boarding the subway cars was interesting because I learned here that everyone lines up to get on the train, even in the subways, where it is clearly marked where the doors will be when the train stops, so we stood in line until the train came. As we were waiting i noticed there were these huge signs in pink on the ground next to where a few subway cars would stop, and they said 'Women Boarding Only'. Unfortunately cause the trains are usually so packed, men feel they can just touch and grope women on the trains, so now there are special cars where women only can get on to avoid this problem. I thought it was so sad and weird in such a manners-centric place, but Ash noted than its partly the women's fault cause they are so timid and dont speak up so that when they are touched by these guys, they do nothing. Of course in America you would get your ass kicked, and the Japanese men know this, so they wont even attempt such disgusting moves on an American girl, or any girl that doesnt look Japanese i guess! Another thing I noticed in Japan, which is prevalent more than anywhere is on trains, is that people sleep whenever they get a chance to 'sneak in a few Z's'! Because the culture is here is so GO-GO-GO and nonstop and working 100 hours a week and going to school 7 days a week, people dont sleep much, so whenever they can get a chance, they try and sleep. When you are on the subway or commuter lines you look to your left or right, and EVERY person is slouched over, eyes closed, and sleeping! Its unreal, and not an exaggeration, EVERY person is asleep!

So at Shin-Osaka we then had to buy our next and final fare which was for the Shinkansen, which is the bullet train, to get to Hiroshima. I heard that trains are very very expensive here and was prepared for it but for some reason it caught me off guard when was told the fare for a reserved seat was 14,440 YEN, which is just under $140.00! This is for a 1 hour and 10 minute ride! But when you board the train and see how immaculate it is, how great the service is (hot towels and smiles anyone?), and how SMOOTH and INSANELY FAST the trains you are, you understand. For instance when we came back from Hiroshima we went with the unreserved cars to save some money (costing us around $90) and of course we had to stand for the first third of the ride and we were going 300 km/hour and hardly even had to hold onto anything, thats how fast and smooth these train rides are! So we lined up at our car number spot on the platform (trains arrive about 1 min before it is scheduled to leave, and then leaves right in time, talk about efficient) to wait for our train. A different train pulled up to let people off and this large contingency of white very European people started getting off the train. Each one of them as they got off were giving us this look of 'Look, other WASP's!' and i decided not to look at them much even though it was interesting, cause i didnt want to look like this obnoxious fool getting excited at the thought of seeing other white folks. Anyway one guy came out with a bright green shirt of the band 'The Hives' and then i started thinking these guys must be models or something, then at the last second both Ash and I realized they werent looking at us cause we were making that fellow white man bond, it was cause they thought we were some crazy groupies, and i looked back and going down the escalator was the lead singer of The Hives going down the escalator! Its especially odd cause I know nothing of this band other than one time seeing them on Letterman and thinking they were good and i noticed at the time how energetic the lead singer was. Strangely he was even wearing the white and black suit thing they always wear in unison. Worse part this is the ONE time i didnt have my camera out and ready, but I did take a picture of the spot and train where this happened, which ill post soon!

So I was expecting Hiroshima to look kind of like DC or Canberra, which were both newly designed cities that were created and designed from scratch, and very very modern and looked very thought out. There were parts in Hiroshima that looked like this, mostly the memorial areas, but despite being a rebuilt city of only 60 years, it definitely looked much older than I had expected, but was clearly much more modern than other Japanese cities, other than Tokyo probably. Ash has been to Tokyo and said she said Hiroshima defnitely looked like Tokyo in many parts, especially at night with all the neon and bright lights. Hiroshima was HUGE. There are about 1.5 million people living here now (compared to just over 300,000 in 1945), but felt even larger than that. The downtown was huge and PACKED with people, and was just never ending looking. Many times I thought it looked like NYC. People there were very nice, but the only thing that made me sad was the fact there was clearly a military base there or nearby, cause we saw alot of American military (sadly, all KIDS, around 18-21 years old) and then families as well, who must be there visiting. It made me sad cause I really hope the Japanese do not get their only impressions of Americans from these people, cause they certainly dont represent most people I know. Huge clothes, gold chains, backwards baseball caps, and clearly preying on local Japanese girls who dont know any better, or what these guys 'goals' are.

So our hotel was the Hiroshima Prince Hotel which was right on the water in Hiroshima Bay, and the view was just amazing. We were on the 18th floor, and we had a HUGE window to look out from. Beautiful mountains and a big bay with boats travelling about all day. I cant wait to post these pictures as the view was quite impressive. After checking in I really wish I had taken a Japanese airline to Nagoya, as the women working at the hotel were all just beyond beautiful. Kind of the image people think all Japanese women look like, which is certainly not the truth! And they even spoke English. Ash's friend Charli actually just said that she just met with a girl who's big dream was to learn English and work at one of these hotels, so it must be a big deal here. It was strange after we got back the first day from eating downtown we went to the water's edge, as the hotel was right at the water, and sat down to chat and we were noticing right then that the water went right to the edge of the area we were sitting at, and I said it aloud that 'are we at the ocean or is this a lake or something, does the water never rise?' and at that VERY second these weird little waves started coming in and washing over the edge and almost seemed menacing especially at night. My first thought was a tsunami was coming at us! Ash jumped up too but then it stopped and we were ok. But it was so freaky, as if something or someone was listening and telling us to GET OUT! Oh one other thing about the hotel which ive never seen in another hotel anywhere else. When you come out of the shower, in the mirror there is a big square that is completely clear, not steamed up at all, right above the sink!!!! Why in hell does this not exist everywhere! GENIUS, and common sense really. And one other thing about bathrooms. At public ladies restrooms, there is a button you can press that will play the sound of a toilet flushing over and over and over. WHY? Cause its un-ladylike to for women to making 'bathroom sounds' when they are using the toilet, and women use to just flush the toilet over and over, so instead of wasting water/energy, they came up with this for the ladies. My goodness!

So on Sunday we spent the day at Miyajima Island which is about a 20 min boat ride away, with a departure point right at the hotel too! When we were waiting for the boat people were staring at Ashley like crazy, which she never got in Nabari that much or in Osaka either, but in Hiroshima people stare like theres no tomorrow. Maybe they thought she was a movie star or something. Anyway the only people not staring was this Japanese couple whom we couldnt tell at first if they were Japanese as they had white sneakers and white socks and shorts on, clearly an American way of dressing. They came up to us and it turns out they were from California. They said they didnt speak Japanese but whenever an announcement was made they knew exactly what to do! Anyway they were really nice people and it was nice to talk to them for a bit. They were on a long vacation starting in Seattle, up to Juneau, then an Alaskan cruise, then to Russia, then Pusan South Korea, then Osaka, and their last stop Hiroshima. The gentleman (his name was Sammy!)had actually been to Hiroshima during the Korean war on leave in 1952, so it was cool to talk to someone who was there only 7 years after the bombing. The boat ride cost $28 to get there and back, and it was worth every cent. Its what you expect scenery wise Japan to look like. Lush forests, streams, waterfalls, friendly deer walking around all over the place, high mountains, and numerous temples of the Shintoism and Buddhist religions. The main temple is the Itsukushima shrine, which during high tide, appears to be floating in the water. In front of the shrine is the giant 16 meters tall torri gate, which is the symbol of Miyajima Island, and stands freely in the water. It looks beautiful during high tide, and during low tide you can go right up to the base of this giant symbol. We also took one of the cable cars over the tops of the trees to the top of the highest peak on the island, called Mount Misen. At the top monkeys run around freely and you are able to walk around with! I have alot of pictures of all this, which I will let do all the talking when I post them next week! Oh and a weird bathroom thing, this time on Miyajima Island! When we got off the boat and was walking to the terminal we walked past the bathrooms, on the outside of the building mind you, and the men who were using the urinals had a HUGE open wall to look outside. So as you are walking past the bathroom you look to the right and their are 2-3 guys about 2-3 feet away from your face just blankly staring straight ahead! The open space goes down to about their stomachs, so, hopefully, we know exactly what is going on below, or what is supposed to be going on below. Ash almost threw up she was so disgusted!

The rest of the day we went back downtown to go to Peace Memorial Park, the A-Bomb Dome, and the museum about the Atomic bombing. I really did not do my research about what any of this was, and I am glad I didnt, cause when I saw what the A-Bomb dome was it really hit me. Evn though I knew the bomb that was dropped in 1945 actually exploded a few hundred metres above the city, for some reason with the word 'dome', I expected a huge crater in the ground, but in actuality is the remnants of the one of maybe 10 buildings that survived the explosion, in parts of course. This building was also just over a hundred metres away from the hypocentre of the bomb explosion, and was originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Products Exhibition Hall designed by a Czech designer. We were walking along the river and then took a left over a bridge towards the museum and then looked towards our right and down the river saw this building and it was just chilling. Even if you didnt know what the A-Bomb Dome was, as I did, the second you see this, you know what it is. Almost compleltely in ruins, the remains have been kept intact exactly as it stood right after the bombing in August of 1945. So we kept going across the river towards the Memorial Centograph, which is an arch that covers this tomb which inside contains the names of all the victims killed in the explosion. When you look through the arch you can see in a perfect line beyond the arch the eternal flame that will stay lit until every nuclear weapon has been removed from the face of the earth, and beyond that the A -Bomb dome, which is across the river. For some reason the fact that this straight line is actually going diagonal through the rest of the layout of this city makes an impact as well. It was really a very beautiful thing to see, and much sadder than I expected. We checked out the museum as well, for which I have some picures from the inside also. It describes the history of Hiroshima from its origins right up until the bombing, and through the reconstruction up until today. There is a whole seperate wing that focuses on the details of the effects of the bombing to the city and to the people, and some very disturbing artifacts and pictures to show the horror of what happened that day. The one thing that effected me and impressed me the most what a display of these numerous letters. Since the day of the bombing the mayors of Hiroshima, past and present, have written letters to the leaders and ambassadors of nations that have nuclear weapons urging them to rid of them forever. What hit me is these letters are written DAILY. Over and over the mayor writes these figureheads telling to stop. It was very moving to see, and I bet means alot to the victims and their families, of which both still survive today. Currently there are still 30,000 survivors of the bombing living in Hiroshima alone. I read that the temperature at the instant the bomb went off, reached 100,000,000 degrees celsius, and witnesses who survived said it was like seeing the sun fall to earth. I have a picture of a display if a picture of a man's eye who looked right at the blast, and his entire pupil was bright yellow, a direct effect of seeing the explosion from the bomb.

ON A BRIGHTER NOT AND ENDING, to keep you updated, i got the Air Greenland sweatshirt in the size I needed at UniQlo in Hiroshima!

ALSO hats off to Ashley, who I know must be getting sick of me by now, seeing me every day and staying in her place. I almost feel bad! She has been a great host and so much fun to be with, I love her to death, and will be out of her hair soon enough, until next time! :)

Japan Day V-VI

So yesterday I walked around what I am sure is considered to be 'old town' Nabari, the area closest to the mountains/hills that surround this small city. This area is more what you are expecting, or hope to get out of Japan. All the streets are narrow and are lined with tiny tiny homes and apartments and Japanese gardens in front of the homes that have 'front yards'. There are also many many little canals i like to think of them as that line streets and go right under some homes, but I am pretty sure, using my detective skills, that they are simply drainage for rainwater, although it hasnt rained for a few days so not sure where the water is coming from. Maybe its a small power source that constantly goes through certain areas maybe? Whatever it is its very picturesque and soothing to hear the sounds of. This area of town like a maze. Even the tiniest streets have alleys that shoot of them and those are lined with apartments and shops as well. Now this is no Tokyo or anything, remember I am only in a town of 85,000....but its fantastic none the less.

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Its funny today I was thinking how I havent gotten any curious looks from people here really, and then wouldnt you know it as I was passing by an elementary school today as they were letting out, and this group of 5-6 little kids came running across the street yelling 'HELLO!, HELLO!'. They completely surrounded me but let me walk, and they were trying to hold my hand and were saying 'good morning, good morning', and tried to say back to them 'good AFTERNOON', and at least one kid got and repeated it. I just kept walking along my merry way until I was about to cross a major intersection and one kid was able to say 'where from?' and i replied back 'America' and all the kids kinda gasped and giggled. It was pretty cute, and it was nice to feel like a celebrity! I took my longer lens out today to try and get some far away shots and i got a few good ones, but its been a bit hard the past few days as its been so sunny with no clouds, but I tried my best as always, and hopefully will have some good pictures to post when I get back. I must add when I leave I am really going to miss all the drinks that you can buy at convenience stores here. There are 2 very popular energy/electrolyte booster type drinks here that i like. One is called 'Polcari Sweat' and is quite good. Its hard to describe, but to say it has a foggy misty feel to it, thats the best way to put it I think. The other energy drink is called 'Aquarius' which is the same as 'Polcari Sweat', but it has a more of a lemon flavor, which is my favorite fruit taste, so you can imagine im obsessed with it. I hope this stuff makes it to America one day. One more drink I had yesterday I have no idea what the name is, but its a fruit drink which is very very light, and consists of banana, apple, pear and milk, and its weird and delicious. Another drink is simply called 'Lemon flavor' (or 'Lemon Drink' maybe) which is just a good non-tart lemonade energy drink again. They love these energy drinks. Maybe cause they arent nearly as nasty as the ones at home, which I hate (david brent), so I see why they like them here. Oh I went back to that restaurant that that I went to on the first day, which Ash & crew nicknamed 'The Cantene'. I LOVE that place. I got the same as before but also got this Japanese friend chicken thing called Karage, which Yung Mei told me to get today actually. weird. and i got a large rice this time. i really stuffed myself and the food was BEYOND good. I have also gotten good with the chopsticks, with previous training from Yung Mei as well, so I must thank her! Im surprised I used them so well yesterday.

Anyway a simple couple days, hence the one post. I am going to Ash's favorite bar tonight so I will update this post later. Then I wont post til Tuesday as ill be gone to Hiroshima for 3 days without computer access! How primitive :)

UPDATE :
Ok it is becoming unbearable how fantastic people are. Obviously there must be this weird creepy undercurrent of hate and venom here, like Blue Velvet, but for now, a 2 week visit, i DO NOT care. It is so nice just to hear that for instance Ashleys friends bike got a flat while we were at this bar, and that she was just going to leave it outside overnight in front of this big supermarket/shopping mall, because, why not? Nothing is going to happen to it and no one is going to steal it. People dont lock their doors here, they leave expensive motorbikes out right in the street in front of their homes, no worries, cause NOTHING will happen to them. There is just this feeling of safety and politeness and R.E.S.P.E.C.T. here that I have never felt anywhere. The darkest ally you pass by, GO DOWN IT, cause their is nothing to hear, nothing to worry about, and their is something special there waiting for you. Ash and I went down this alley, well not an alley, more like about 6 inches of space between 2 buildings, and its dark, but you walk down it and low and behold there is this cute little cafe that is open serving coffee at 10pm. You would never know its there unless you explored this dark cavern of a 'street'. And the bar we went to tonight. Keep in mind this is the old town ive been exploring alot, and its Friday night and still very sleepy and quiet even at night, and we took a right down this slightly larger alley, maybe 12 inches across, and lanterns lit on the street and this little stream has just enough room to exist, and you walk over the tiniest bridge to go into this bar called 'Bless You' and you go in and its dark and mysterious and no one is inside yet with some cool electronic music playing and two brothers who own the place are getting the place ready for the maybe 10 people who will show up all night. Its a lounge, so relaxing with big sofas and the most delicious gin and tonics ive probably ever had, and its spacious somehow in such a tiny place and candles and they give us some free snacks such as hardened french toast which is so sweet and delicious. The brothers are very hip and trendy but without pretense and very very nice and accomodating, and like the Japanese i have experienced, almost feel honored you are there. Afterwards we walked around the back streets and found some more alleys i need to go back and explore cause they are just amazing. Its just beautiful that somehow the Japanese are able to, with having SO many millions crammed into such a small space as Japan, find a way to be tranquil and peaceful with one another and have just a relaxing environment to be in. Its just so inspiring i cant even explain it.

Off to Hiroshima and Miyajima Islandm, and an update to follow on Tuesday (Monday evening EAST COAST)

Japan Day IV

So yesterday I walked around Nabari and took numerous photos, as is my plan today. It seems like im doing nothing, and in a way I am, but I am enjoying it. Im getting to know the town a bit and sort of living day to day life in Japan. I walked around this nasty area that looks like Route 2/Bald Hill Rd in Warwick, just a very long road of crap chain stores, but here if you look in the nook and crannies you can see some very pretty things, which is what I wanted to do to try and get some good photos. I went food shopping as well and searched around the food store. I guess they dont get deliveries at stores here as often as at home because half the food store was empty! But luckily they had the toast again that i liked. A loaf of this bread comes in 5 slices only, as they are the TEXAS TOAST style that i cant get at home, and im gonna miss very much here. I like the loafs of bread here too cause there are no ends. Just 5 slices, and thats it, no ends to cut off. GENIUS!

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I also had an ice cream thing from the market and ate it on this bridge over this not too attractive river, and some other white guy walked back and we both glanced at each other as he passed by. Us white folk gotta stick together!!! When I got home I had a bag of cashews that were good but I think aggrivated the hunger I wasnt aware I had. I havent been all that hungry here but am not used to not having big meals!, and also didnt realize there could be some jet lag, even though i sleep normal hours and im not tired during the day. Anyway I got insanely dizzy and was bit worried but just rested for a few hours and it went away. Then Ashley and I went to BIG BOY restaurant with her friends Katie and Charly. This is their Weds night ritual to go there and then go rent movies (but they dont watch any together which I found funny, they just rent them and go home!). Anyway BIG BOY, like BOB's BIG BOY, was ok. The steak fries were real good, and i got this chicken filet with herbs or whatever and it was ok. Had a strage consistency in parts but it filled me up. Again when we were there they saw some of their students, which they see everywhere. The kids there were Charly's kids, a group of 8 or so high school girls. Its nice here that when kids see their teachers they are happy and get excited and want to talk. At home its usually quite the opposite, and usually involves some planning on how to slash their tires. Anyway the kids were all very sweet. We went to the video store and when we left there we saw the kid from the komona store or however you spell it that I mentioned in a previous post. He was with his girlfriend and was wearing normal clothes (Ash had never seen him outside his school uniform or work attire) which consisted of a black tshirt that had a drawering of a hamburger and it said 'I AM DELICIOUS'. he seems like a free spirited class clown kinda guy. reminded me of some people from home. When we asked who the girl was he made a sign of a heart with his hands and his entire body and said 'LOVE, LOVE'. they were a very cute couple, with bad teeth. Everyone has bad teeth here cause there is no flouride in the toothpaste! On the way home we passed the train station again as we always do and there was one of Katy's students there waiting for a train, and as we approached him Katy explained hes probably going to say 'what up bitches?' or something to that effect. Anyway we approached him and started rapping some Eminem lyrics 'im the slim shady, the real slim shady', something along those lines. i guess he was obsessed with Eminem. Very nice kid. When we left he said 'peace out mother fuckers'! I dont know if its like this in all of Japan but people are so nice here, and just relatively peaceful. Its a nice feeling walking around and saying HI to normal people and being courteous. Its hard to explain the nice feeling you get, but if youve been here before or go sometime, you should know what I mean.

Japan Day Three

So yes ive seen the movie Dodgeball before, but since its the only decent thing here in English to watch, i watched it yesterday morning, and this morning as well. Its worth it, its very funny, but ive watched some Japanese TV which is interesting for awhile, and is as crazy as you are led to believe, buy you can only take it for so long. Im going to the video store today with Ash and her friends tonight as Wednesday is movie night, and will rent a few extras myself to watch when i get up at 6am everday cause of the time difference etc etc. The other choices I have in Ash's collection are 'I am Sam', 'Sideways', 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Hotel Rwanda', so you know, i think ill pass.

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Anyway yesterday was Day Three and it finally cleared up from raining around 4pm or so when Ash got home from work and ate, I left with her to her Japanese class and then I continued walking towards this old part of town which was just so beautiful. The streets were tiny, and some lined with lanterns on the ground, and some lined with streams that you could fall into and break your ankle if you werent paying attention. It was beyond beautiful and I did get some great photos to post when I get home. Its funny when you review your pictures on the camera monitor screen thing-a-ma-bob, and EVERY picture looks perfect, but then you download them and they are blown up to normal size and you realize you are lucky you get a few good ones. Granted night photos are tough, and i took about 160 pix. I deleted then down to 80 on my camera, then downloaded the others, so out of 80 i probably got about 10-20 good ones! But for night pictures that aint bad. When i walked back to the train station all the high school kids were getting home. All students here where uniforms, and like Japanese culture, kids work their butts off too. Getting home from school around 8pm is normal. Very strange to me. Anyway they were all getting SODA POP at the convenience store i mentioned before. When I walked down the underpass under the train station there was this group of Japanese girls who were giggling and saying 'goodbye' 'goodbye' as i walked past them. I just put on a big smile. I learned today too that when people here get their pictures taken in a group photo where you are supposed to say CHEESE or whatever, people here ALWAYS do the peace sign! I took a picture of this picture on Ash's refrigerator that was taken of her and her fellow teachers and all the 'locals' are doing the peace sign!!!! Why are these people so adorable?? Oh as well I learned today that alot of places in Japan you will see the year listed as year 17, not 2005. Reason is alot of people and places still base the number of the year on how long the current Emperor has been in power. SO the current Emperor as been in power for 17 years, thus the date is 17.10.12 (year, month, day). Ahhhh the Empire of Japan. I think my book about this trip will be called 'The Umpire of Japan', just cause it sounds so stupid. Tomorrow I dont know what the deal is, and Friday im going out to Ash's favorite bar here which is guess is pretty hip and cool and sleek and modern, and its down an alley in the little old neighborhood I was in yesterday. Then this weekend going to Hiroshima and Miyojima Island which is about 2-3 hours south of here by train. Going to Osaka next week. Thats all for now.

Japan Day Two

'All right lets see if we can do this in one toke, TAKE!' - Dandy Warhols

Its hard to concentrate as i cant help but sing along with the new Dandy Warhols album im listening to on my iPod, but lets give it a try. So day two i wake up at 830am, and Ash was getting up at 10. i sat there for an hour and a half just thinking about things and then right at 10 i fell back asleep and didnt get up until 1pm. I felt bad, but i needed the sleep and the jet lag was hitting me just a tad, but not bad. Last night I went to sleep at 11 and got up at 630am. Not bad. Anyway we made breakfast and chatted and blah blah blah and didnt leave the house til 3pm! It was drizzling all morning and afternoon anyway and already put a damper on the day, so whatever, laying low this day. We walked back towards the train station (Nabari-eki) and the little village looking area and then under a train track to the other side of the tracks and started walking towards this place Ash likes to go to eat alot. I noticed on the ground something i thought was so cool. On all the sidewalks here, right in the middle, there is this plastic track that runs along the entire sidewalk, and the tracks have straight lines in them all the way to the end of at the street, where the lines become dots. These tracks are for blind people to help them get around. The straight lines mean you can keep walking and the dots mean you have to stop. In a society that concentrates so much on helping other people and being courteous it certainly doesnt surprise me in the least and find it so comforting for some reason.

CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING! When we got to the place Ash likes to eat, no idea what the name is, it had started pouring rain like crazy. This place was so simple and delicious. I got these two litle patty like things, one was a sweet potato type food. There was something else in it definitely but had no idea what it was, but it was good. The other one was a pork/meatloaf kinda filling. They were basically hashbrowns, but with differnt fillings and they were cold. I also got this little meat on a stick, as well as a small rice and green tea and water. At first you kind of get thrown off by the small portions of everything but then its quite refreshing that you are not eating so much and you walk out of there not feeling like a bloated mess. The rice was really really good, different from home, but maybe thats the rice cooker talking. At least it sticks together more, cause if it didnt i think it would be impossible to eat with the chopsticks. Everything really is smaller in Japan. There are a few doorways where I needed to duck my head just a bit, the ceilings are just a bit lower. Its not a big deal but you definitely notice it. Food in smaller portions is very obvious. Cups are so much smaller. Everything is in smaller sizes. For instance cereal isnt that big here. So at the supermarket they have corn flakes, but picture the smallest box at an American supermarket, but cut that box into thirds. One third of that is the size of a box here, and its costs $5-6!! But its ok cause you dont eat as much here. However their bread here is so good, just the normal white bread you get at a supermarket. You can get thin sliced or you can get the thick slices which I bet is like 'Texas Toast' at home. Anyhow Charly met us at this restaurant and then we went to the mall called Park City. Today was a holiday by the way, its called 'Sports Day' but not sure what it involves. Maybe it was for the NASCAR like event that happened when I arrived. Anyway at Park City and at alot of places in Japan when you walk into a building when its raining there are these contraptions that you put your umbrella in and pull back out, within a second, and when you take it out there is a plastic bag over your umbrella so you dont get water over everything in the place youre in. My first thought was that its a waste of plastic over something as simple as water, but they recycle here, and they take it seriously, so all is well. Great idea i think. Anyway we walked through the mall to get to the other side of the building and back outside so we could get to this store called 'Uni Qlo' which is like a Gap or H&M back at home, or more appropriately a mix of the two. Ash shops here alot and wanted to show me something I was gonna freak out about. There were two sections, one for sweatshirts and 'hoodies' (i hate that word) and then regular t-shirts, that had airline logos on them. Most of you know how obsessed I am with airlines so i was freaking out. The best part is they had an Air Greenland hoodie. It was bright red, very soft, the new funky logo huge on the front, and yeah i wanted it so bad. they had Icelandair sweatshirts but sadly the Icelandair one was ugly cause it was on an ash gray meterial. All the other ones were so nice. Nice quality and definitely commissioned by the airlines cause they had their logos and professional advertising going on with these. They had Swiss, Virgin Atlantic, Egypt Air, Air Mauritius, Air New Zealand, you name it, they had it. Heres where the small factor comes in! I tried on the Icelandair shirt, which was ok, different than the sweatshirt, but the XL didnt fit at all. The Air Greenland hoodie they only had in L, and that didnt fit either. DAMN IT! Japanese people why are you so damn SMALL??? But luckily they had an XL Finnair hoodie, that was in my fave blue color and it fit if i stretched it just a bit. And it was only $19!!!! This would hav cost me $40-50 at home for sure. Anyway I was happy. The sweetest part was when we walked into this store, one of Ashleys students recognized her. Now my friend Yung Mei had told me to warn Ash that she would be treated like a celebrity when she was there, and she does get recognized alot by her kids who get so excited yet shy when they see her. They just stare and giggle but in a sweet way, and I saw it before we went into that restaurant. But when we went into Uni Qlo right when we walked in we walked past this aisle and this girl came out of the aisle and all you heard was this gasp of astonishment. She was in total awe that she saw Ashley. She backed up a bit and covered her mouth and made this 'ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' sound and Ash just said 'Hi' and the girl just said 'Ash-uh-ray, Ash-uh-ray' and kept staring like she was Madonna as she walked away. Very cute. Then when I bought my shirt the girl at the counter asked me who Charly was (she spoke English a bit so i guess Charly and Ash are doing a good job!) and said 'oh thats Ashley' (as i thought she was pointing at Ashley). The girl kept saying 'Ash-uh-ray' and i asked if she was her teacher and she just replied 'high school, high school'. So yeah i feel like im walking around with celebrities. Oh yeah parking lots? Yeah no one pulls into parking lots. You back into them. When we were walking through the one at Uni Qlo EVERY car was facing the same way, as they all backed into them. Very weird, I wonder why its a big deal but for some reason it is! We went back into the mall and went to a 100 store (a dollar store) and i bought these two little signs that were in Japanese. (again, obviously! why do i keep clarifying that?) and the woman who rang me up and bowed (i love the bowing SOOOO much i cant even tell you). Then we walked past this store that sold those dresses or whatever they are called that you see geishas wear alot. why cant i remember the name of them? anyway one of Ash's students worked there and he as well was so excited to see all of us. he tried to say my name and kept calling me Andrea. i punched him out. HA! he was a nice guy and spoke just a BIT of english, but he said 'expensive' really well when he showed us this one KAMONA, thats it, not sure if spelling is right but you know what i mean. it costs 700000 YEN. ok im getting tired of typing. lastly we went to one of those machines where you get your picture taken in a booth and then make crazy drawings over them and then stickers come out. Japanese girls are obsessed with them and Ash has students who has NOTEBOOKS FULL of these things, and they are all trying to drag her to the mall cause they want pictures with her so bad! SO now im not sure what to do. Ash works til 430 then has a class tonight so this is the day i have all to myself so now that the rain has stopped for a bit im gonna walk around her town and take pictures. Im a bit worried about the time i have during the week. For the trains i can figure out how to buy a ticket, and i could count between stations, but everything is in KANJI or however you spell it so it will be impossible to figure out how to switch and which platform to use etc etc. At least i have one 3 day weekend im Hiroshima and Miyajima Island, and my last weekend in Osaka! I could sit in one place on this town and just observe people for hours on end and be happy so ill be ok. BYE!

Japan Day One

SO my flights were ok. Without realizing it I think im so paranoid about flying that i just sit there and do nothing. In other words both my flights took off just fine and I think that I thought to myself that the flights took off fine with me just sitting here doing nothing, so if I do something, Im gonna jinx myself. So my 6 hour flight from Boston to San Francisco, and my 11 hour flight from San Francisco to Nagoya, I just sat there. I didnt listen to my iPod, I didnt read my book. I just watched the little TV in front of me, which is torture in itself. I watched Batman Begins 2x, and I had already seen it once. I saw Mr & Mrs Smith. Enough said. And then I watched The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. At that point I realized I must have been delerious cause I thought that was a really good movie. Maybe I just liked that girl from Gilmore Girls who was in it. But it was actually kinda good.

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Anyway we flew over Mt Fuji as we passed Tokyo. Just seeing it from up there was pretty intense. We were maybe 25000 to 30000 ft up and it was just below us, with the top of it just peaking out above the clouds. No snow at the top but just realizing how tall this beautiful mountain was and i was looking down at it was fantastic. I landed at Nagoya airport and had to walk through the airport to get to the boat I was taking to a town calles Tsu, which i guess means 'Port' in English. The airport was brand new and was just so bright and beautiful. Nothing exciting really. So i followed these access tunnels to the water where I had to buy a oneway ticket to Tsu, which for a 40 minute ride was $19.00. Typical airport prices, same as home. I got through the airport I think in 30 mins so I was very very early. Buying the ticket was my first interaction with someone who didnt speak any Emglish. I just said 'Tsu' as best i could, its harder than you think, to get them to understand, and he just held up his finger as to say 'one?' and i nodded and paid. Easy breezy. Everything is so efficient here, just like youve probably heard. Even on a boat like this all the workers have uniforms and head phones to talk to each other, about 5 people working the passengers alone. When I boarded there were two guys standing there and they bowed and I bowed back, and they did the hand gesture which is basically showing you to 'walk this way' towards a seat. People do that alot here, like they are clearing a path for you to walk and kindly gesturing you to walk. SO i got to Tsu and it was this very clean and immaculate small little boat terminal. I had to wait there for an hour so I just stood around and observed the few people that were around. It was dark but there was a good amount of light. There were two taxis there with lights on them that glowed green and of course two vending machines that were so bright it could have blinded you, hopefully I will get a picture of those later. Ashley showed up on time, an hour later (as I was early) with her friends Katie, who is a live wire from Texas, and Charly who is from Seattle. Shes got a rough exterior, but a sweet bad ass basically. We took a taxi to Tsu center to get to the train station, and they got ice cream there. I was too out of it to even think of food, I was so tired after being up for 24 hours at this point. There were so many people walking around with these red outfits which turned out there was this big NASCAR sort of thing going on so everyone went to it, I guess its big here. When we were buying our train tickets there was some American kid, seemed quite nerdy, who was sitting on the station floor and Katie talked to him a bit and all he could talk about was CARS CARS CARS, it was sorta odd to see this kid in the middle of nowhere who was just there for a NASCAR event. The trains werent too packed, got to sit all the way to Nabari, which took maybe 40 mins. There was this group of Indonesian kids on the train who were friends with Katie, and they kept staring at all of us. You get stared at more by other foreigners than you do the Japanese. I learned that way back in the day trading between Brazil and Japan was very strong, and now to this day this bond has kept, and you see alot of Brazilians even in Nabari. I guess its as bad as how we use Mexicans for cheap labor, they do the same with Brazilians. Anyway got to Nabari station and Ashley's town is very cute, at least the area she is in. It feels very small, and kind of has this village feel. Outside the station there is this convenience store we went to where I got apple juice. And its REAL apple juice, not the urine look alike apple juice we are used to. You go to the counter and there are two perfect cute little Japanese girls working the counter. One charges and collects the money and one bags up whatever you purchased. They both had picture ID badges on their uniforms, which was so odd cause in America you are lucky if the convenience store workers have fresh breath, never mind two of them, looking like models, with uniforms, with name badges (how official does the job have to be?!??!!). It was also very very bright in there, and was so cozy cause you walk outside and its just this little village with tiny narrow streets with this bright futuristic convenience store in the center of it all. Anyway went to Ash's apartment which was smaller than expected, but nice. Its 3 rooms. You walk into the house right into the kitchen/dining room. Attached to that is the shower room, and then the toilet room which is seperate, and kinda makes sense doesnt it? However the neither has a sink, there is only a sink in the dining room area of the kitchen/dining room. So 2 sinks in the room. A word about hot water here. You dont just turn on the hot water. First of all you strip down in the kitchen, then you walkin into the shower room which has a small basin which you stand in, and use the hose to wet yourself down. Outside the basin there is a standing area which is a big mat with a drain in the middle. So basically the room is one big shower which has a basin, but all water goes to the same one drain. Now for hot water, its very weird. You feel like youre in a dentists office. There is a machine, literally a machine, next to the basin. There are i think 3 dials on it. Next to the machine is the has valve. SO first you turn on the valve. Then on the machine you turn the dial from 0 to 1, and hold down the dial at 1 firmly, and turn this crank for maybe 3-4 second, then keep holding down at 1 for 20 seconds, then turn to number 2 and let go. Then you go to another dial and turn the shower head on. Basically every place you get hot water in the house has a seperate machine all its own with different ways of turning it on to get hot water! And oh yeah the other two rooms are the bedroom and the living room. Ok some sound is going off that sounds like a nuclear bomb warning you hear 'in the movies' i kid you not! TIME TO GO! End of day one.