Nouvelles de Toke

The End Is A Beginning

2007-08-30T12:54:00.000+09:00

The question has been asked what will I do with the blog now that we're no longer in 土気 (Toke), so after giving it months of thought, I've decided to do two things: 1) I will no longer post on present happenings in this* blog; however, 2) I fully intend to post retroactively in order to flesh things out a little more. To accomplish the second aim, the content for posts will come from various sources--journal entries, moleskin scribbles, photo libraries, receipts, and video. The idea is to develop a well rounded adventure that will provide interested parties with information/education/entertainment for some time to come. It will also serve as a good testing-ground for various blog add-ons. I want to make it more beautiful, more user friendly, more interactive, more resourceful.

A big virtual hug to you for spending some of your time with this blog. And a hug to Google/Blogger for making it possible to stay in touch with so many people while we were abroad. Japan wasn't nearly so far away as it was in 2001.

Fin

*I do plan on beginning another blog somewhere, sometime in the future, and when I figure out the details probably this blog will link to it.

Leaving

2007-08-03T22:46:00.000+09:00

After nearly three years of tortuous abuse, being over-worked, and having to endure tasks well beyond the scope of normal expectations, our Nikon ES5200 has decided to call it quits. If only it had stuck it out for one more week, I might have been able to back up the chronicles of our last week in Japan with photographic evidence. As it is, words shall have to suffice.

Moving out of the apartment was a hassle, but the hassle was par for the course. I must say I didn't like dropping a thousand dollars on various moving-out expenses when the money could have been better spent helping the Japanese economy through the purchase of consumer goods and services. Oh well. With the luggage restrictions being tighter than when we came three years ago, I cannot possibly fit any more stuff in our suitcases anyway.

It was hard to say goodbye to the teachers and office staff at Toke High School. They have all been such a big part of our experience here, and thanks to them, the experience was mostly very positive. They went far out of their way to accommodate us, and if ever they decided teaching in the public schools was not their thing anymore, I could heartily recommend they open up a B&B or Hotel and cater to foreign students and tourists. We were showered with gifts at my going-away party, and then to top it all off, Aonishi Sensei and Wakamatsu Sensei went the extra mile (actually, the extra 20 miles) and drove us and our luggage to the hostel here in Narita, where we'll be staying until we leave.

More Drinks From Outer-Space

2007-07-18T23:31:00.000+09:00

Not long ago, I posted about Ice Cucumber Pepsi. As it turns out, the stuff didn't last more than a week. So either it was wildy unpopular, or it was just a one time, flash-in-the-pan marketing ploy. I read somewhere they only made a few hundred thousand bottles, so probably it was the latter.

At any rate, we never tire of trying out new drinks here in Japan! Enter one Cheerio 700: Blue Cider. I didn't have the change to buy one but I got a picture (just in case it's another short-lived brand) to share with the blogosphere.

Need To Brush Up On My German

2007-07-18T21:22:00.000+09:00

For a second there, I got it confused with Freud (as in the Psychoanalyst) so I took the pictures, but then I found out freude means "joy" (according to Google Translation it does) but I decided to post them anyway because it would have been funny.

Almost New Testament Shoes

2007-07-18T21:10:00.000+09:00

Shield of Faith?

- Check.

Sword of Truth?

- Check.

Helmet of Salvation?

- Check.

Breastplate of Righteousness?

- Check.

Shoes of Violence?

- Um...

New Flavors

2007-07-17T11:02:00.000+09:00

I tried Mare Tapioca Gelato. It tasted like saltwater taffy.

I would have liked it, except I was dehydrated and horrifically thirsty, so it made my already leathery tongue feel like sandpaper.

I hadn't considered that Mare means "ocean" in Italian. Instead, I was concentrating on the association of tapioca pearls with -- what else? -- tapioca pudding.

Fun Flavored Junk Food

2007-06-18T08:18:00.000+09:00

One more thing to love about living in Japan: Weird food-flavor combinations. For instance, why not try mixing up Kit Kats with fruit flavors? The pineapple one was a bit too piney for me and the orange one made me think of Orange Pekoe tea (even though there's no orange in Orange Pekoe tea) but hey-at least I got to try them!

I also tried the new Ice Cucumber Pepsi yesterday and am hailing it as the best thing since 7-Up Gold. It had that sort of refreshingness that cucumbers have, and still somehow tasted like cola, but without the sticky syrupy feeling of cola. I'm not a soda drinker, but this is one flavor I am going to try again.

What A Cool Pet

2007-06-07T09:46:00.000+09:00

We were in Yokohama with Brian last week and came across a man in the street who was out walking his pet tortoise. We just turned the corner after leaving a convenience store and nearly fell over a group of children who were petting, hugging and trying to ride the poor animal. The kids were all under five (I hope) so they probably didn't know any better, and in their defense, I wanted to hug it too.

More Fun With Engrish

2007-05-30T19:17:00.000+09:00

More Ads

2007-05-20T22:27:00.000+09:00

...indeed.

A Guy Can Dream

2007-05-12T21:56:00.000+09:00

Someday, when I have the money laying around, I am going to order one of these chairs. This model is only five thousand dollars, and unlike all the earlier models I've tried (because every chance I get I try them out...for about 15 minutes at a time or until the sales clerk comes and kicks me out), this model actually adjusts for height! It can accommodate someone my height! Other cool features include:

a remote that can be easily understood, regardless of what language you speak,
a joystick that pops out from a hidden access panel on the arm of the chair, which adjusts the depth of the rollers and their speed,
it remembers 3 different peoples' sizes, and
it doesn't use that much electricity.

The lady working at the store was probably the nicest I've encountered in three years of massage-chair "shopping"; not only did she not kick us off the chairs (you should see the old men who just camp out there on weekends, with their smelly socks oiling up the nice pleather upholstery) but she took the time to explain in clear Japanese how the chair operates and where we can find dealers in America (New York, etc.).

Product Marketing Strategies

2007-05-04T09:38:00.000+09:00

These are individually wrapped hamburgers being sold at our local grocery store. I like the baseball theme. Probably, Roots coffee company doesn't have anything against Mexicans, but I thought the wording on the can was awkward enough to merit posting a photo.

Flowers

2007-04-29T08:29:00.000+09:00

Flowers! Everywhere flowers! I like living at this latitude. There are so many flowers! Flowers, flowers, flowers!!! I wish I knew what they were called.

Lunch

2007-04-26T22:44:00.000+09:00

This is what I had for lunch today, along with a "drink bar" (all-you-can-drink soft drinks, tea, etc.). It's a "negi-maguro-aburi-salmon-don", or, a, "bowl of rice topped with green onions, raw tuna and roasted raw salmon". And of course some fish eggs, cucumber, shredded daikon, seaweed, a dollop of wasabi, and some sort of sweet-sour Japanese sauce.

Cost about ¥890.

Coming Home From Tokyo

2007-04-12T20:36:00.000+09:00

I spotted this all-too-common sight and couldn't help but want a photograph. Big news today.

Fushimi Inari Jinja

2007-03-31T00:12:00.000+09:00

Fushimi Inari Jinja at night is a fun thing to do if you like hiking and aren't too spooked by many many many many shinto altars and statues and torii gates. I believe it said it was 4km round-trip, but since the maps along the hiking trail are notoriously disorienting, probably we walked a good deal more than that. We started at 9:05 and ended around 10:30.

Philosopher's Walk

2007-03-30T22:21:00.000+09:00

Of course, each time I visit Kyoto, I try to find new places to visit. The Philosopher's Walk, however, is worth visiting every time I'm in town. I fell in love with the Higashiyama area from the first time I visited during the peak momiji season, and this was the second time we've been to see it during the hanami season (a day or so early, but some of the sakura blossoms were out).

Ninja

2007-03-27T22:46:00.000+09:00

Iga Ninja Demonstration

Today we continued our adventures in the Kansai region by heading out east to Iga-Ueno to see the home of the Iga Ninja.We spent far more time getting to the Iga Ninja Museum than we did at the museum, but after reading up on the history of the Ninja, it seemed worth the trip. These kids certainly thought so, too.

Laurie & Kerri got ninja-certified:

Kamakura & Yokohama

2007-03-25T23:12:00.000+09:00

The 7:05 direct train to Kamakura.
Wasabi Potato Chips, Koala Cookies, Cafe Au Lait.

Met 2 girls from Edogawa High School. They moved so we could sit together. They had a clean, mature look about them and were friendly.

Weather overcast but warm enough.

Got more overcast.

Went to Engakuji. Saw a crane catching fish in the zen pond. Enjoyed tea after climbing 141 steps to the Bell Tower. Walked to Kenchoji and picked up Imo Soft on the way. At Kenchoji, we got to see a Starving Buddha on display. Also, we entered a building and were able to walk around back and admire its garden. From the back of Kenchoji we continued towards the Tengu shrine place. Bought an omamori there and took pictures. Then we walked to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Ate 6 giant takoyaki balls and a fakey frankfurter. Walked Dengokuoushi to Hokokuji. Was given directions by a nice man riding his bike. Hokokuji blew us away.

Walked back to Wakamiyaoji Street and checked out a Kamakurabori shop (too expensive). Then went down Komachidori to Kamakura Station, took the Enoden line to Hase Station and got out. By that time it was raining. Healthily. All the folks getting off the train (at least a hundred) were queueing up to get cheap umbrellas at the only 100円 store immediately outside the station, so we weeded our way through and ran up trhe road, ducking under eaves where we could and keeping our eyes open for umbrellas. Laurie went into an electronics shop where she was given a spare umbrella by the owners. Soon after we found a shop selling umbrellas and picked up a blue, a green and a pink one for 300 yen a pop. They were small. Next, we made our way to Kotokuin to see the Buddha. Waited with Laurie under the 山門 while Kerri & Brandon went in. Then we made our way back to Hase Station, picking up some more imo soft on the way. And croquette. By then the rain was slower and had nearly stopped.

From Hase we went to Kamakura station and then to Ofuna where we transfered to another line. From there we continued on to Ishikawacho Station which is just on the edge of Yokohama Chinatown. We walked around. Nearly ate at a restaurant but left because of the cigarette smoke and the long wait for someone to come take our order. Instea, we bought 豚まん (Laurie and I traded curry for chashu) and ate it at Starbucks. From there, we walked through Yamashita Park and headed towards the Ferris Wheel. Laurie treated everyone to a ride. It takes 15 minutes to go around once. On the ride, we got a peep in the windows of X Hotel. After this we walked to Sakuragicho Station and took the train to Yokohama, where we waited for the 19:22 direct to Kazusa Ichinomiya.

On Mom's 28th Birthday

2007-03-25T22:56:00.000+09:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

During your Japanese birthday, we:

nearly tried octopus...

...did play air-guitar with a daikon radish...

...hugged some imitation-wood vinyl rugs.

Lastly, we went out for dinner (Brandon's treat!) and had a great time hanging out. We figured that's what you'd want to do, so that's what we did.

Have a wonderful day!

Love,

The Japanese Contingent

Hidden Things In Kamakura - 1

2007-03-25T11:24:00.000+09:00

In the back of Kenchoji is a shrine/temple dedicated to karasu tengu (crow beaked mountain goblin-gods). We found it on accident last time we were in Kamakura, only because we'd been hiking in the mountains and our descent landed us there. So we decided to come back. And good thing we did, too, because one of them blessed Laurie.

Okay, not really. But there are a lot of statues on the side of the hill that are very photogenic. Kenchoji could make so much money if they sold little army-figure-sized versions of these.

Turns out, this part of the temple was created in the 1890s after a priest had a dream in which he was told to enshrine the tengu, and in the war years the statues were confiscated because they were made of iron, so the ones we saw yesterday were put there in 1979. In any case, I was so excited to see it I had little trouble getting up the 250+ stairs.

The Beauties of Kenchoji

2007-03-24T20:50:00.000+09:00

Long the top-ranked Zen temple in Kamakura, Kenchoji continues to impress me every time we visit. This time we also were privileged to see a special exhibit of a rare starving Buddha statue. I am still looking into whether this piece is owned by Kenchoji and is merely being displayed because it's spring (many temples "air out" their collections of national treasures once or twice a year in order to keep dust from settling and so they can charge you to see what they've got) or because it is possibly on loan from somewhere. In any case, starving Buddha statues are rare and this is the first time I've seen one in the flesh, so-to-speak, outside of a textbook.

I'm guessing by the presence of the 5 colored curtains hanging around the hall that this is a pretty important cultural property.

Also worthy of note is the marvelous dragon painting on the ceiling. In Japanese mythology, dragons were the guardians of the sky. Being sky creatures, they were also water-deities, and therefore it was thought that a dragon would protect the buildings by warding off fire.

Here you can see the stylized clouds around the outside of the painting.

While we're at it, how about I throw in a picture of common items found in temples. The big bronze bowl is a bell, and so is the little one that's on the desk in front of it, and so is the interestingly carved wooden mokugyo on the pillow to the right. I had the chance to sound one of the big bells off one time. The sound lasted for well over a minute.

Finally, a shot of a garden.

Picking Up Brandon & Kerri

2007-03-23T23:11:00.000+09:00

Today's exciting items:

A policeman standing on the platform at Monoi Station. (Monoi is a barren, not-busy place).
Another policeman between Narita Station & Airport Terminal 2, tapping me on the shoulder and asking me if a bag is mine or not.
Thinking, "Hm...I could be riding next to a bomb!"

Kerri & Brandon Arrive: Days 1 & 2

2007-03-23T21:27:00.000+09:00

I’ve only seen Narita-san (it’s like saying, “Mr. Temple” but that’s what it’s called) from the train, as usually when I’m going to Narita it’s for picking people up or dropping them off at the airport, but someday I hope to go see it.

On the ride home this cute little girl kept furtively glancing over at us, and so I casually included her in the picture. She was too shy to say hello, but I could tell she really wanted to play with us.

This morning we were all up early and the momentum carried us to Showa-no-Mori, where one Mountain Sakura tree is still faithfully carrying the torch, so-to-speak, while all his plum tree brethren have long since ceased their blossomings.

After visiting Toke High School, we all went out at noon to Chiba City. Laurie and I are breaking Kerri & Brandon in for next week's trip to the Kansai region. We kept them on their feet from noon until 8:30. No rough terrain yet. That's tomorrow. Here the are just out the door.

Brandon looked so good today. I think that girl was checking him out.

We stopped at the library to see what Japanese books are like. Kerri gets quite absorbed with her reading. She likes to read big books. Ha ha.

And one more before bed:

I Think They Meant "Gentle"...

2007-03-15T21:32:00.000+09:00

A lot of construction is going on in our town lately. This sign is from a recently completed set of apartments.

I tried thinking of an appropriate comment for a good ten minutes before posting this, but only inappropriate things came to mind.

Updates

2007-02-27T21:23:00.000+09:00

Just 2 days ago I finally started to look my age. Prior to that, I felt I looked both younger and older, but not 27. Maybe it was a good hair day, I don't know. Anyway, today in class I realized this is the age my first Japanese ALT was when he taught me in my first year of Japanese. Maybe that's why this year's sophomore class is so endearing to me (lucky for them, too, because their work ethic isn't exactly bent on English mastery of late).

Two thoughts occurred from this:

I should get in touch with Toyama 先生. Even though it's been a while since my last correspondence with him, I can reasonably assume he would be happy to hear something from me since I know I'd be glad to hear from some of my students in 10 years or so.
I should conform this blog to my original intentions, which were to post bilingually, and to keep things short, frequent, and media-rich.

The day being well spent, I'm saving item #1 for another time; concerning #2 however, I just started up a parallel blog for Japanese entries. So for anybody interested in reading (and correcting!) my Japanese, please take a look. Nouvelles de Toke in Japanese. There's not much there currently, but depending on how long my current spirit of revival holds out, I may just be able to duplicate some of the posts here in Japanese. Approximately.

And now, to keep things media-rich, my favorites of the day:

豚まん, contains pork. So why not make it look like a little piggy? I'd still eat it.

I had to take a photo of this one. Canned bottled water. Only ¥100, too.

Wishlist: Recording The Beatles

2007-02-18T14:01:00.000+09:00

It recently occured to me that someone reading this might have an extra hundred dollars laying around they don't yet have a use for. If you happen to be such a person, I am here to help. This morning I found just the thing to take your anxiety away. Take that worthless hundred dollars, buy me this book, and have a wonderful day!

Today's Photos

2007-02-10T20:42:00.000+09:00

I went to Showa-no-Mori this morning and took a few pictures (okay, like, forty) of the plum trees which are blossoming now. If I didn't have a stuffy, runny nose and sinuses more tightly packed than a 7 o'clock commuter train from Shinagawa to Shinjuku, I would be able to tell you about how wonderful the scent was. But as it happened, I could barely smell anything. Just a second of sweet cinnamon and then it went static on me. Even that was enough to recall those times when I haven't had a head cold. Simply put: Ume blossoms are better than any other blossoming of any plant I can think of, year-round. They even beat out the lilac bushes in Grandma's backyard in summertime. I swear, if Heaven gets fashioned for each of us differently, mine will have a giant grove of always blossoming plum trees somewhere near the entrance...

On a different subject...
I'd thought I'd finally found a great place to upload photos online in Picasa. I tend to like everything Big Brother Google does for us, because Google likes to do things massively and freely (take Blogger, for instance, or Gmail). However, I just found out that my limit for pictures there is 250MB and they do something funny with their compression (I know because the buds in the top photo of this post should be much deeper red and the contrast and saturation levels are muddied somewhat on all the photos compared to the originals). Turns out I'd have been better off with Flickr because there I have no limit so long as I only upload so much per month. I don't like Flickr, though, because Yahoo! owns it and the more Yahoo! touches stuff the less useful and more Spam-filled it gets. Alas...

Is there no company out there who will give me unlimited uploads forever and charge me nothing? And have all the best options and add-ons? And do my ironing?

Hinamatsuri Displays - ひな祭りの品物

2007-02-02T12:01:00.000+09:00

On March 3rd, the Japanese celebrate Hinamatsuri, also known as the Doll Festival (and sometimes the Peach Festival because it used to occur during peach blossom season). It's mainly a day for families with girls, and part of the celebration includes displaying Hina Dolls.
[You can read more about the festival here and here if you want, but this post is just going to be about the displays.]

"Hina" can be understood to mean little and cute, small and lovely, or miniature ("matsuri" is the Japanese word for festival) and the prominent little cute miniature things around Hinamatsuri are certainly doll displays. They can range from $20 up to $2000 in price, and are made of all sorts of materials, mostly porcelain or plastic made to look like porcelain, and also really nice fabric. My understanding is that the principal characters are the Emperor and Empress, and the others are their retinue. Smaller sets display only the royal couple and instead of the various lords, ladies and servants, it is popular to include ornaments such as lamps, lanterns, tiny food offerings, flower petals (especially peach blossoms), and various symbols of long life or good fortune or love (cranes, rabbits, cherry or plum blossoms come to mind). Over the past few weeks I've made it a goal to snap as many photos of these as I can. I've posted the full set on Picasa if you want to see them all; meanwhile, here are some of my favorites with a few comments thrown in for good measure.

This one I'd say is a typical display, excepting the fact that it's glass-enclosed. But it's got the royal family, three court ladies (sannin kanjo), some flowers, lanterns, a wagon and what seems to be a mikoshi, with some peach blossoms blooming on the gilded wall in back.

This one is smaller, and is made out of Japanese fabric. Notice that the couple are seated in peach blossoms, and that adjacent displays also have peach blossom motifs.

I like this variation a lot. The royal couple being rabbits, it makes sense that the food should be carrots instead of rice dumplings! Also worth mentioning is the background of plum, pine and bamboo trees (these trees have a special meaning, and are featured together especially during the winter) and the cherry blossom fabric underneath the display.

This set is from a sort of Kmart-like store, where you can buy goods of all kinds at low prices. It's got all the trappings of its more expensive relatives (the flower arrangements, food offerings, multi-layered kimono, and folding screen background) but if you take a closer look you can tell it's not of the highest caliber. Even so, I believe it was around ¥2000 ($16).

On the opposite end of the price-scale, we have here a set from the Sogo Department Store's 9th floor, "Ye Olde Japan-Style Goods" shop. (They don't actually call it that, but it does a good job of selling totally upper-class, high-end products in a patriotic way. I imagine the Japanese who shop there feel nostalgic for the good ol' days without remembering that back in those same good ol' days, no one could afford this stuff.) Priced at ¥189,000, it's the most expensive couple on this post. I wasn't sure if the small chest of drawers came with, but I think it was supposed to.

This is a closeup of the dolls. It's not in focus, but you can tell that the material used to make their clothes is real, and the Empress' hair below the braid looks like doll hair. I doubt they make them anymore, but some time ago, Hina dolls were made with human hair.

The Hinamatsuri itself doesn't occur until March 3rd, so I have a few more weeks to collect photos. I'm curious to find the biggest, most audaciously expensive display. The other day at a train station I saw a poster advertising a huge event down in Katsura, where they fill up an entire street with dolls, so maybe we'll go check that out too if there's time.

Tokyo Next-Generation Game Show

2007-01-20T21:37:00.000+09:00

Went to Makuhari today to see what's coming up in video games this year. While not altogether as impressive as expected (it seemed geared towards elementary school children mostly--Pokemon, etc.), it was still a sight to see, and had I the patience to stand in line for a mere 72 minutes, I too could have tried my hand at cooking, fishing, or off-road racing at the Nintendo Wii booth. Instead, I opted to take pictures and post them online. I took videos too.

Here's one I took while walking around. It had gotten really crowded and I wanted to show how much; ironically, just as I started moving the crowd thinned out, so admittedly the video isn't all that interesting.

This one is of some kids racing their cars. It was cool to see so many hobbyists enjoying their thing. Hot Wheels had a booth too, where kids were encouraged to race their favorite Matchbox cars down a ramp.

This last one is from Hudson-soft's booth. In it, a kid gets pointers on fishing with the Wii controller.

A Post

2007-01-15T22:00:00.000+09:00

That’s the dilemma when you don’t have a comfortable office chair from which to post blog entries: either there’s not much going on and therefore little motivation to catch up on posts, or there’s so much going on that there’s no time to sit down and type something up. The last months of 2006 were full of the first problem, and from December until right around now it’s been the second one. But enough is enough. What few readers are left deserve something. So here’s a list of what’s coming down the pike:

        •        Photos from Kerri & Bradford’s Wonderful Winter Wedding, along with captions and miscellaneous info.
        •        A photo tour of American Christmas lights
        •        I’ll be posting photos of Japanese goods. Things I think make decent souvenirs, such as things that have significant cultural, historical, or artistic value, and also some information on where they come from and what they cost.

I think that’s a tall enough order to start with.

A Great Day To Be Outdoors

2006-11-22T18:00:00.000+09:00

Every time we walk there, I thank God that we live in a part of Japan that has such a big park as Showa-no-Mori. At any time of the year there are so many beautiful things to see.

This fall, the trees are singing at the top of their lungs and the open fields and fresh air are constantly inviting us out for a walk. And this morning, I brought the camera.

Recent Pictures

2006-11-17T21:58:00.000+09:00

We've been up to lots of things lately. I have been trying to learn more CSS so I can personalize the blog template to my liking, so hopefully soon some changes will happen.

Other than that, we went to Kamakura last Sunday and decided to climb Mt. Takao on Monday. Originally we'd planned on a 2 day getaway in Kamakura, but we tired ourselves out climbing the Ten'en Hiking Course from Zuisenji to Kenchoji (I'll retroactively post some of that later), so the 2 days in Kamakura turned into 1 day in Kamakura and 1 day in Western Tokyo. And I must say we were impressed enough to want to come back and climb it again.

Mt. Takao is one of the more accessible "mountains" in the Kanto region. It's about an hour or so from Shinjuku station, which is perhaps an hour and a half from where we live. So in just around 3 hours, we found ourselves at a nice place for a hike. Here are a few pictures.

Mt. Takao is popular because it only takes an hour and a half to climb, and if you don't feel like doing the steep part, you can take either a ski lift or Japan's steepest cable car to about the mid-point, and from there the rest is a cinch. Also, Takao-san has some really nice views of Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, and there's a neat Temple on it known for it's Tengu. Here are some pics.

Season Shot

2006-11-09T13:04:00.000+09:00

From the "wish it were possible, wish it were true" department. Click on the image below for the link.

What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid

2006-08-29T22:03:00.000+09:00

So, it's been too hot here to do anything except wag my tongue and wish it was winter. That and play online games when things cool off towards evening. This one's a no-brainer but very addicting. Don't let the Japanese writing put you off. Simply click the top line to start and after that, just choose where you want to start the explosions. The goal is to keep the explosions going for as long as you can.

"Chaos Theory" (My pitiful high score is 142)

During cooler, more cerebral times, I used to play thinking-games like these:

"3D Logic" (I beat all the levels, ha!)

"Blueprint" (I beat all but 2)

Bug Photo

2006-08-22T07:49:00.000+09:00

We found this little guy on a walk the other morning just before 7 a.m. He turned colors when I used a flash on him (sort of a translucent opal kind of look) but then he was nice enough to pose for this shot.

The coolest part is I didn't have to do any tweaking--the photo just turned out really good (IMHO).

Fireworks in Chiba 千葉みなと公園の花火

2006-08-07T13:14:00.000+09:00

We decided to try going to the fireworks this year. First we stopped in Chiba City and bought our yukata at Uniqlo. The people were nice enough to help Christine and Laurie with tying the obi and making sure they were wearing everything right.

Then we bought some food to take with us and took the monorail to Chiba Minato. Once there, we walked towards the park and found ourselves a spot to watch fireworks from. It was really nice to see so many people dressed festively and enjoying the day.

The fireworks went from 7:30 until 8:45. The brochure said there were 4 themes (flowers, sports, international-something, and I forget what else), but for the most part I couldn't tell the difference. Except some of the fireworks really did look like flowers, and during the sports part there was a baseball one. I forget when, but there was also a smiley face firework that I hadn't seen before.

We caught a few minutes on film too.

When it was all over and everyone started for home, we began to realize the number of people who showed up was really high. From Chiba Minato all the way to Chiba Station, the streets were packed with people. We guessed tens or hundreds of thousands, if not a million people were there, but truthfully we couldn't tell.

Now That's "Convenience"

2006-07-29T20:49:00.000+09:00

Everybody talks about what we'll do when we run out of fossil fuels in 20 years, but how many people do you know who have asked the more important question: "What are we going to do when the oxygen runs out?"

The wise and future-thinking people at our local 7-Eleven have come up with their answer: Oxygen in cans.

If you look closely, you'll see that it's available in grapefruit and strong-mint flavors.

Interesting fact: There are 11,069 7-Eleven stores in Japan. You can find out interesting trivia from their website if you look here.

Critters of Late

2006-07-25T23:03:00.000+09:00

We walked from Togane to the beach a few weekends back, and on the way encountered a plethora of creatures, including (but not limited to) several varieties of spiders, a snake, and other odd looking bugs. This first one looked alot like a flying spider when we first came upon it, but judging by the photo, I'm now more inclined to think of it as a bee. So we settled upon calling it a Spider-Bee due to its possible eight legs (not to be confused with Spelling Bee - haha).

The caterpillar was cute. Probably it will decimate some entire species of plant this year, along with its mates.

This spider is the freakiest. If you want to go to bed with a case of the willies, click on the picture to enlarge it, and see it in all its fuzzy, wooly glory. Its body was easily the size of a good shot-glass, which is big, for spiders.

Another spider with a sort of mummified-skeleton-with-two-fangs look, sporting this year's fashionable yellow and white stripes. I see this kind a lot.

This last spider was caught making dinner, so the picture isn't as clear as the others, but you should be grateful for that. It's speed and the way it manipulated its victim were enough to creep me out. Just be happy I'm not posting the video.

...And then just this morning, we went for a walk through Showa-no-Mori down to Konakaike Park and around the rice paddies there, during which time we encountered some really tiny frogs.

...and a beetle. I'm not sure of the name for this kind, but I know you can buy them in stores for pets. They're also popular in a video game called ムシキング, or King of Beetles, which is a hyper-simplified fighting game (think Street Fighter II but with less buttons!) that kids love to play.

See By The Moonlight Half Past Midnight Time To Be Home An Hour Ago

2006-07-16T21:49:00.000+09:00

Went to a going away party for several Chiba ALTs last night. It started at a club in Togane called "Replica" which used to be known for the band (comprised of the owner and his family) that played Beatles covers there.

After that, we moved on to a Karaoke club, Mankeki-Neko until two in the morning (ugh). Tony & Louise let us crash at their place until this morning, and that was that.

While My Ukelele Gently Weeps...and Screams, and Curses, and Casts Spells...

2006-07-16T14:24:00.000+09:00

The artist's name is Jake Shimabukuro, I am told.

Funny.

2006-07-04T15:41:00.000+09:00

Chuck Norris Facts

On A Sunny Day

2006-06-21T22:16:00.000+09:00

The local Bon Maison shop has a giant pot filled with rain water, tadpoles, and in summertime, lotus flowers. The color really was so bright I had to squint just to look at them.

Trial and error

2006-06-16T11:42:00.000+09:00

Lately I have been perusing the various methods of sharing pictures on this blog. While uploading hi-definition stills is always a safe bet, I wanted to take a look at slideshows, perhaps to up my readership (who knows?).

So the previous entries used RockYou (or is it YouRock? I can't remember) and this one is from Bubbleshare.

Around The World in 80 Minutes

2006-05-20T18:10:00.000+09:00

Our last day in Kinugawa Onsen was very rainy, so we couldn't go river-rafting as we'd planned. Instead, we took a short taxi ride to Tobu World Square and enjoyed unmatched views of the world's greatest architecture. It took about 80 minutes to get through it all, and all of the exhibits were really cool. According to the brochure, the models are 1/25 replicas of the originals, and in most cases, artists and/or architects actually went to the original sites and made measurements and stuff.

At Kinugawa Onsen

2006-05-19T12:00:00.000+09:00

The Wisconsin-ALT Mid Year Recontracting Conference is a nice big way to say it, but it's more like a small workers' retreat, since the number of ALTs on the Wisconsin-Chiba program are a handful (this year there are only four of us) and the locations chosen for our get-togethers are usually nice spots for tourism outside of Chiba prefecture. Last year we ventured west to Yamanashi Prefecture and stayed at a ryokan on lake Kawaguchi, which is in the Fuji 5 Lakes Region and has a splendid view of Mt. Fuji; this year, we went north to Tochigi Prefecture and stayed in a cozy little hotel in the resort town of Kinugawa Onsen.

We took a private train from Asakusa in Tokyo and chatted for 3 hours as the landscape changed from urban sprawl to countryside. After changing trains only once, we ended up at Kinugawa Onsen Station, and from there it was about a 10 minute walk to our conference site: the quaint, if a bit run-down Hotel New Sakura. Once we found our rooms and divvied up the beds, we all gathered together for our conference meeting.

I think it lasted an hour, tops.

The rest of the time was spent partaking in intercultural-awareness activities (i.e. touring famous places, eating Japanese cuisine, and enjoying the hot-spring spas).

The hotel is situated along one side of the Kinu river. I got up early on Thursday to walk around and see what there is to see and found that Kinugawa has 5 bridges, and the three that I covered had little stamp stations on them, so of course I got out my trusty notebook and stamped. I asked the front desk workers at the hotel when I got back and they gave me a map with the Kinugawa Bridge Stamp Challenge on it. The brochure said that if I mailed it in to somewhere they'd send me a neat-o little plastic charm, so I resolved to obtain all 5 stamps the next chance I got. I found out Friday morning, while braving the torrential downpours on my noble quest, that the stamp stations don't exist anymore (except on the bridges I'd already been to) and that the Bridge Stamp Challenge was finished who knows how many years ago.

Aside from the Bridge Stamp Fiasco, the town is a nice place to walk. Basically you go up one side of the river gorge and down the other side, crossing bridges whenever the mood strikes. A very scenic place, and I can see how it'd feel even more cozy in the wintertime.

Of course I took pictures.

Random Scenes From Japanese Life

2006-05-11T19:31:00.000+09:00

Every so often we go walking around from place to place, and see interesting things. The first one is common enough. A farmer plowing his rice field.

The next one is of a 24 hour rice vending machine. The funniest part is that ATMs in Japan close at 7 or 8 p.m, so if you need quick cash some weekend whilst out on the town, you're out of luck; yet if you suffer late night hunger pains for a steamy bowl of sticky-rice, help is just around the corner!

This last one is cute. But at twenty bucks a picture was enough for me.

All Aboard the X-ray Bus!

2006-05-11T17:11:00.000+09:00

Yup, it's that time of year again. Gather 'round and get your number, because the X-ray Bus is comin' to school.

-Actually, this was approx. 2 weeks ago, but I didn't want let it get lost in the shuffle.

I also got to take a pee test, but I'll spare you the pictures of that one. And they wouldn't let me sign up for the poo test because I was too young, but I figured I'd try to sign up for all these tests while I still can, seeing as we pay for health insurance each month. Anyway, the pictures...

Popularity

2006-05-08T19:55:00.000+09:00

After garnering rave reviews here for my work here, the famous "snif" picture was brought up (see comments on the former link above). While not Japan-related, it merits posting because I have one of the few extant copies left of the famous picture.

Said to be done during his Shiftwork Period, Dad's "Snif" conveys a message of harmony and universal understanding through juxtaposition of class-conscious, bourgeoise meta-norms (personified in the angular geometry of two dogs meeting for the first time) with a mundane, relativistic narrative of power-struggle and information-exchange symbolised via the spatial relationship of dynamic forms wrought by the force of the artist's deft penstrokes. The fine draftsmanship of the work belies the primal ruggedness of its overall message while slyly obfuscating the almost too obvious normative approach to pen-and-ink drawings taken by the artist to this theme (an approach said to be definitive of his style during that period).

More Recently

2006-05-06T21:53:00.000+09:00

This week, the weather stopped flirting with Spring and made it official: from here on in (until the rainy season) it'll be warm and getting warmer. So to celebrate, all the flowers are blooming. These tulips were donated to Toke H.S. by the Takeyama's, the same people who dressed Laurie in kimono when they had us over for a nice Christmas dinner.

We recently walked to Togane from our apartment (it was a Saturday or two ago, actually) and got to see the rice fields beginning to turn green.

Even more recently, we took the train to Togane and walked from there to the ocean (an 8km jaunt for anyone keeping track). The wind was chilly, so we stayed long enough to browse for shells (didn't bring a comb) and have a picnic of onigiri and bottled tea before heading back.

Most recently, the Koi-Nobori were hung up in Showa-no-Mori. Koi-Nobori are windsocks that look like giant, colorful goldfish. The largest ones are probably 12 feet long or so. If I could figure out where to buy the big ones I'd for sure send some home so Dad could hang them up with his flag collection.

Does it work like an ugly stick?

2006-04-22T20:00:00.000+09:00

I almost bought a pack just to see what they'd do if I hit someone with them.

Kyoto in Spring: Day 2

2006-04-19T09:19:00.000+09:00

Kyoto in Spring: Day 1

2006-04-16T21:02:00.000+09:00

We spent our first day in the west end of town. We took the JR Sagano line from Kyoto station out to Kameoka and then walked a quarter mile to take the Sagano Romantic Train back in towards town. The Romantic Train follows the winding rapids of the X river , and tunnels through a few of the monkey laden hills on its way to Arashiyama. Many people take the train from Arashiyama, but we elected to start out of town so we could avoid traffic and enjoy a quieter ride.

On our way from the train through the bamboo grove, it began to rain. The wind picked up so we could hear the bamboo trees knocking against each other.

When we made it into town, we picked up some overpriced cheap umbrellas to stop the rain (works every time) and then we sauntered over to view the famed Arashiyama Bridge, which looked better than it did last fall when we visited with Brandon, but still wasn't as breathtaking as it is in the postcards. I found out that in summertime, the area around there is popular for comorant-fishing. That's something I'd like to see--they go out at night in torch-light, and let the birds fish for them. The birds are kept on a leash and a ring is slid around their throats so they can only swallow the little fish, the big ones they bring back to the men in the boats.

We also had an opportunity to pick up some of the best koroke I believe I have ever had. While it didn't last long enough for the camera to get a shot, we did happen across a charming lawn decoration that I couldn't pass up. I believe these are three Jizo statues, but I am not sure whether or not there is any symbolism in their gestures or accessories.

A Festival for What??!

2006-04-10T12:24:00.000+09:00

This weekend we stayed home and caught up on our sleep, housecleaning, and exercise. I began to sort out the 1000 or so photos from our trip and should have some up soon.

We did not go to this festival in Kawasaki. [Warning: It's got private-parts in it!]

...maybe next year.

Justice Redefined

2006-04-04T09:05:00.000+09:00

We just got back from a 4 night / 5 day vacation in Kyoto and I've around 1000 photos to sort out. I hope to post some soon. For now, though, how about another fine example of what people can do with English when you're not looking.

Happy Birthday, Dad

2006-03-10T09:40:00.000+09:00

Today is my Dad's birthday.

Or at least, it's his birth-date over here.

Recently I've been remembering a lot about times spent with Dad in the Great Northwoods. I can't say exactly how many times we've been "up North" and I couldn't point out more than a handful of places on a map that we've been to (because we've been to many and because my memory stinks). I know that Dad's taken us, as a family or one-on-one or in small groups up somewhere since I was very very small. So some memories are blurry and post-natal and deeply ingrained. Others, fortunately, are more clear and recent.

Last time I went camping with Dad it was just the two of us. I just finished college and had no job, and it was early summer or late spring time. We drove a long time. Maybe 8 hours? 12? (like I said, my memory...) and we camped somewhere near the Canadian border. Aside from the two ancient fogies who rented us their campsite and possibly one or two other groups, we were the only humans around for several days.

The stars were visible. The air was clear. We brought along too much junk food and ate all of it. I got to see a loon go fishing in 3 feet of water right after I got done bathing in it. We picked wild fruits growing on tiny islands in the middle of a lake. I don't remember what kind of fish we were after or how many we caught. Really I remember just images and smells and such. But my favorite part of the memory, as with any memory of being in the wild, is the part that includes my earthly father.

Jason and Kerri and I have been lucky to have such a dad as ours. He's humble and honest and generous and loving. He isn't a perfect human being, but he's never hidden that from us, and so we've never had to carry a lot of baggage with us into our adult lives. He taught us to pray and he showed us what it means to repent. He's hard working and fair. And he has a way with words that inspired me to study linguistics in college, if you can believe it.

Unfortunately, today I have no alchohol in the house. Not a drop of liquor. So I'll have to raise my glass of tea instead, and next chance I get to mix a Brandy Ol' Fashioned ("Sweet"), I'll drink it in his honor. If any of you reading this know my Dad, wish him a happy birthday when you see him. And if you can, give him a hug. If there's one thing I hate about being in Japan today, it's that I can't grab a hold of my dad and give him a hug and tell him I love him in person.

Happy Birthday, Pop!

Little Known Fact

2006-02-17T21:36:00.000+09:00

At once elegant and elaborate, kimono are meant to complement the women wearing them. I think this one looks rather nice on Laurie.

Of course, men can and do wear kimono, but generally (excepting TV stars and sumo wrestlers) the color and design is more subdued.

One interesting thing I learned about men's kimono concerns the article known as haori (羽織), which is worn over the top of everything like a tuxedo jacket, mostly during formal occasions:

Even though the outside is simple and plain, it's the inside of these jackets that's the interesting part. Take a look.

The little round man above is Daruma, a favorite of mine and a character you're likely to see a lot of in Japan. You can read more about him here.

A Suprise Snowfall

2006-01-23T18:00:00.000+09:00

Last year it snowed twice. The first time was a sort of dandruffy snow that amounted to a cold, dry version of sleet, and it was gone before it hit the ground. The second time it melted the next morning, but we did get sopping wet playing in it, and the snowman we made in the park took nearly a week to collapse in the heat (I gave him my good hat, too...).

Well this year we got some real snow. Even the roads had ice! It nearly felt like home. Except here we can walk around in sneakers and not worry about frostbite, unlike back home. Also, there are no snow-plows or trucks spreading rock salt on the roads--just neighbors who, lacking anything resembling a driveway, take it upon themselves to shovel out a sizeable part of the street instead [see below]. Which means that we've had to risk breaking our necks (or backs, or arses) every time we go out of the apartment, because most of the roads and sidewalks are left untouched.

Still, the snow is beautiful and reminds us of what we're probably missing, and it justifies my having bought a nice poofy down-filled winter coat this year, too. Anyway, on to today's quiz quesiton:

What's the difference between a snowman in the U.S. and a snowman in Japan (other than the language they speak)?

Dinner at Ichinoyu Shinkan Ryokan

2005-12-22T21:28:00.000+09:00

Here you can see the courses we were served for dinner at the ryokan. I'm not certain of any of the names of things, but I'll try to explain as best as I can. Starting from the top:

1. An appetizer platter consisting of tuna salad salad, also peppered, rare beef, eggplant with a sort of BBQ sauce , pickled (?) fish, and a really yummy, beautiful thing that seemed to include couscous and was wrapped with raw fish and onion (I think, maybe; anyway, you can't see it as it's behind the tuna salad salad).

2. A nabe pot of mussels, carrots, bacon, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, and Chinese cabbage.

3. Shrimp, calamari, and daikon in a chicken, um...glaze? (it was the consistency of a really thick Chinese sweet-sour soup, and you can see the chicken bits floating around in it).

4. Pickled vegetables.

5. Red Snapper, mmmm!

6. Yuzu Sorbet for dessert.

The meal was delicious. Interestingly, it was also required. You see, normally, when making reservations to stay at a ryokan, you can opt out of dinner. However, today is the beginning of the winter holiday season, so the ryokan required everyone to have dinner. But we figured if we were going to have a vacation and stay at a nice place, we may as well pay the extra ¥3000/person and enjoy ourselves. And so we did.

Boat Ride on Lake Ashinoko

2005-12-22T20:00:00.000+09:00

We took a little excursion to Hakone this week for an early Christmas vacation. Money and time permitted one night and two days, otherwise we'd certainly have stayed some more. Hakone is a very popular vacation spot for Japanese and foreign visitor alike, and is noted for its spectacular views of Mt. Fuji, a nice big lake complete with odd 17th century-styled warships, and hundreds of hot spring baths, as well as local woodworking crafts known as yosegi-zaigo.

We took a ride in one of the above mentioned boats (modeled after King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden's "Vasa") during our trip. This picture is from the main deck, looking north-ish towards Mt. Komagatake, which has an observation tower at its summit. The white cloudy sky to the left of it is obscuring the aforementioned view of Fuji-san, but he was there. Also, you can see the red torii gate at the water's edge, marking the entrance to Hakone Jinja.

A Cool Playground

2005-12-22T19:00:00.000+09:00

The Hakone Open Air Museum has a really neat play area for kids. Check it out. Kids can climb into various nets...all the way to the top! Or, they can swing on the balls that look like drips coming from it. Oh to be little again...

Post of the Day

2005-12-15T20:27:00.000+09:00

I haven't blogged anything recent lately, because I've been getting some old news up. So you'll have to scroll down to see it, or even check the archives. I finally took a Saturday and went through a lot of pictures from Brandon's visit back in October, and so a few posts are sneaking in through the back door. When I figure out how, I'm thinking of adding a new sidebar option where you can see the newest post, not just the most recent dated post. (I do a lot of retroactive posts on this blog.) Believe it or not, Brandon has a blog about his trip here, but you'll have to ask him for the link.

Anyway, it's mundane, but here's some news:

We bought a kerosene space heater. I guess they don't sell them in the U.S. much anymore because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. But they're big sellers over here. Cheaper than other methods of keeping warm.

Anyway, this is what it looks like.

Bunnies!

2005-12-06T20:48:00.000+09:00

Click on the picture above and be sent to an hilarious site I just happened upon. You can watch your favorite movies in about 30 seconds, done by bunnies. This one should put everybody in the Christmas spirit.

Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T22:10:00.000+09:00

It’s Thanksgiving, but we didn’t get the day off. Nor has their been any football games on TV. But we still have plenty to be thankful for, and to celebrate, we even had something resembling a Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to the Stove Top® Stuffing and Instant Gravy mom sent us a while back.

I hadn’t remembered the gravy until after I’d finished the chicken, so instead I made the chicken oriental-syle (sort-of). Oh, yeah, it was chicken, too. Ha! The only place we know around here where we can get turkey is at Subway--and it’s one leg at a time, for around four bucks a pop (¥460).

Storm Troopers Take Tokyo

2005-11-23T21:21:00.000+09:00

No longer content to dominate feeble galaxies populated with Ewoks, Wookies and Tusken Raiders, an advance detachment of Storm Troopers accompanied Darth Vader to a local electronics shop here in Tokyo tonight. Our new overlords soon provoked a counter-attack from local Rebels after taking an unarmed Japanese woman (see below). Equipped only with Keitai Blasters, Rebel forces set their guns to stun, as it wasn't certain whether or not the Empire had dispatched any Star Cruisers within striking distance. We were able to capture this footage, and left before the fighting escalated, so what happened to the woman is anybody's guess.

The "official" word from the Imperial News Service denied reports of an upcoming invasion and insisted that the unannounced appearance was only a publicity stunt for Darth to promote his new movie. Imperial News also reported that the woman was a well known smuggler of pirated DVDs. Local accounts differ, however, and as always, everyone here is taking the Empire's "official" report with a grain of salt.

Hokusai

2005-11-23T20:00:00.000+09:00

Today was as close as we can get to Thanksgiving in Japan for two reasons: First, it's the day before Thanksgiving, and Second, it's a national holiday and the theme is something like "Thanks to Workers Day".

So we met up with Akiko and Tetsunori to go see the Hokusai Exhibit at the National Museum. The leaves at Ueno Park have finally turned colors, so today was as good a time as any to go and have a walk. Actually, thousands of other residents thought so too.

We got to the museum around 10:30 or so, and the wait in line was only a half hour long. When we left sometime after noon, the wait had trebled.

* * * * * * * *

Naturally, photography was prohibited inside the museum, but the trip was well worth the price: over 500 original works were on display, and were shown in order of six stages of Hokusai's life as an artist. We also got to see all the prints from his famous 36 Views of Mt. Fuji series (including #2 above), several samples of his Manga sketches, and many of his paintings (including the one below).

While we were there, we also made sure to visit the statue of Saigo Takamori and his dog. He continues to be very popular with Japanese people, as does his monument. Incidentally, the 2003 movie, The Last Samurai is sort of based on him. Sort of.

Marvelous Curry Party

2005-11-12T22:33:00.000+09:00

Tony & Louise had us over for a sumptuous curry meal as a birthday present to me. And man what a wonderful gift: bellies full of excellent food! I say bellies, because I tried my darndest to eat as much as possible, and I hope for her sake Laurie did too. Does that man know how to cook or does he know how to cook!

And the twosome make a grand pair of hosts. Always engaging in conversation, banter and witty remarks, always hospitable, likeable and amicable. Truly these two are born Entertainers, in the "have some folks over for dinner" sense of the word.

I asked Tony a little bit about the process of making a curry, since it's his hobby and I was curious, and it turns out that there is a lot that goes into making one from scratch.

Some even take days to prepare, and all take various spices in differing quantities, put in at specific times and at certain special temperatures. I fancy myself lucky that taking a picture of the curry isn't nearly so time-consuming or difficult (else I couldn't hope to master it). So here's as much as I can share. You'll have to see Tony and Louise if you want anything more palpable!

What's in A Name?

2005-11-10T20:55:00.000+09:00

This one’s out of order, but that’s because if it were in order (chronologically), probably no one would see it.

We went to Yokohama with Brandon and made sure to stop by Chinatown. Yokohama has Japan’s largest Chinatown, so if you’re ever in the mood for Chinatowns, and you only have Japanese locations to choose from, well then I guess Yokohama’s the best decision to make.

Not that that’s the only reason why we went. Anyway, I had to snap a shot of this restaurant.

...Hungry, anyone?

Bye-Bye Brandon!

2005-10-19T21:05:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow we've gotta take Brandon to the airport. He's been here for two weeks, and we have tons of stories to tell yet (in time, all in time, people).

Fly safe, Buddy.

大阪料理 - Osaka Cuisine

2005-10-17T23:30:00.000+09:00

After enjoying the view from the Floating Garden Observatory, Shige led us to a swanky okonomiyaki restaurant somewhere on the 17th floor of one of the many buildings in Umeda.

That's what it looked like before it was cooked. We didn't waste much time taking pictures after it was done cooking.

After the excellent repast, our man Shige took us to one of his favorite haunts, Org. He said he likes it for the ambience and because it's food is so "...organic" It was here that Shige and Laurie both agreed that, despite being full, one always has a second-stomach for dessert. I’ve since learned that there is a Japanese term for such a thing. It's called 別腹, (betsu-bara, literally "separate-stomach"). And good thing we all have them, too! Because the dessert was excellent!

Many thanks for showing us around, Shige!

Fushimi-Inari Shrine

2005-10-17T16:17:00.000+09:00

Before heading south to Osaka, we stopped for a visit to the famous Inari Shrine in Fushimi ward. Best known for a walking path made of thousands of torii gates, it's also worth visiting if you want to ensure yourself a good harvest, as Inari is the Shinto god in charge of such things.

Inari is often depicted as a white fox (above), and Inari shrines are to be found throughout Japan. You'll know you're at one when you see statues like this one. Another indication of an Inari shrine, I am told, is that typically the torii gates at Inari shrines are painted vermillion.

You can see on the map that the torii gates cover quite a distance. (They are the orange scribbles following several sloping hills towards the mountains in the background.) There are literally thousands of gates there, each one donated by some individual, family, or company. While unfortunately we didn't have time to trek the entire path, we did get to see the first few hundred meters or so, and it impressed us enough that we're eager to return (someday...).

Umeda Sky Building

2005-10-16T21:55:00.000+09:00

We met Shige at the Umeda Sky Building sometime after sunset. This worked out nicely, though because the view from the "floating garden observatory" is equally as incredible at night as it is during the day. I can say that because now I've been there at both times (coincidentally, the last time was with Shige, too).

The Umeda Sky Building is really two buildings, capped off at the top with the aforementioned "floating garden observatory". The observatory is round-shaped, and on certain days I've heard tell that they have some type of fogger device that makes it look like you are viewing Osaka from on a cloud once you are on the outside deck. It is well worth visiting if you ever find yourself on the North side of Osaka with seven hundred yen in your pocket. For that price, you can go up to the top and see for yourself what I'm talking about. If you happen to have more than that in your pocket, then check out the basement. Down there they've reconstructed an Edo-era street and filled it out with Japanese style restaurants. We didn't go, but I saw some photos and ads for it while we were on our way through.

On clear days you can see quite a few local landmarks, and on clear nights you'll see quite a bit too. We counted five or six ferris wheels, among other things. Osaka Castle seemed like a tiny plastic model of itself among the modern buildings. Here is what it looks like from between the towers, looking up from ground-level through the ring of the observatory.

Unfortunately, only one picture of the view turned out, but here it is:

Pigeons

2005-10-15T21:04:00.000+09:00

While in Kyoto, I happened to get a really nice close-up of a pigeon. I don’t particularly like pigeons.

Kiyomizudera

2005-10-14T21:33:00.000+09:00

Chip liked the view at Kiyomizudera too.

In Kamakura

2005-10-10T14:39:00.000+09:00

Me and Brandon took a quick two-day jaunt to Kamakura, thanks to the advantagest of the "Kamakura Free Kippu", a ticket that goes round trip from Chiba City to Kamakura and back, allowing unlimited travel on trains within Kamakura for the two days.

One of our stops was Hasedera, a temple in the Hase district of town known for it's really old Kannon statue that purportedly washed up from the ocean some eight hundred years ago. It's a beautifully laid-out temple and enjoys perhaps the best view of the ocean of all the places I know of in Kamakura, owing to the fact that it snakes along the side of a steep hill overlooking the shoreline.

Anyway, at the temple, if you go in, you might get the opportunity to gain mucho-karma. By spining one of these babies around (it works much like an old fashioned, by-hand grain mill), you gain the same amount of karma as you would if you'd read every one of the sutras (=scriptures) inside.

Brandon's Here!!!

2005-10-07T22:50:00.000+09:00

NW19 arrived at 5:26 p.m. safe and sound! Then we met up with Laurie in Chiba city forty minutes later and hit the nearest kaiten-zushi for a late supper. Currently, Laurie's demonstrating one of our favorite PS2 games here: The Taiko Drum Game (I don't know the real title, but that's close enough for now).

Details to follow. Pictures too.

Ah Um...

2005-09-20T12:09:00.000+09:00

'pologies for the dearth in posts lately.

Our computers are both broke.

But keep yer fingers crossed, for we are due to be visited by none other than the Digital Magician, the Samurai of Silicon, the Hotwired Handyman of the West: The Great Brandoni!!!

[Check back in a few weeks for updates]

Typhoon

2005-08-26T00:28:00.000+09:00

Since 11 a.m. it's been raining, raining, raining. Wind and rain pelting our flimsy apartment walls and windows. I don't find it scary at all, but it is rather fascinating to be on the edges of a typhoon. They told me today that it's supposed to be here in Chiba sometime tomorrow, which I guess means this is just the outer part of it now. I sure hope it means that they don't run the trains tomorrow. Then we get a three day weekend!

Engakuji - Kita Kamakura

2005-07-27T12:37:00.000+09:00

A carving on a door to one of the buildings at Engakuji, and some yummy iced green tea.

Jizo Statues at Hasedera

2005-07-25T09:27:00.000+09:00

Rather than continue this long dry spell of no posts, no news, and no pictures, I figured I could at least pop off a picture.

These are Jizo statues. Jizo are bodhisattva who are considered to be guardians of unborn, aborted, and miscarried children, and also they generally protect and are merciful to those in need. All around they're a good deity for most general purposes and are among the most widely visible icons in Japan.

It is common for people to put a red bib on the statues, or to dress them somehow (usually the color is red) when they mean to thank the deity for services rendered, or to mourn someone's loss and pray for their guidance through to the next life.

These ones here have been given baby clothes and toys, most likely for a child who died young or was aborted.

Asakusa

2005-07-21T20:24:00.000+09:00

Melissa and Laurie in front of the famous (and huge) lantern at the entrance to Asakusa Shrine.

A Bug's Life

2005-07-11T20:32:00.000+09:00

We met this big little guy on our way home today.

We took our time getting out of the apartment this morning, and made it to Onjuku by this afternoon. At about five or six o'clock, we were waiting at the station for our train home. Sitting on a bench, reading, Laurie and I were surprised to find this beetle bumming around. And bumming he was. You'd call it moping except he didn't seem depressed. At first I was afraid he'd scare Laurie, since the first I saw him, he was maybe three feet from her feet. But she wasn't scared. Then we took some film and pictures of him as he went on his merry way, antennae wiggling, towards the far end of the platform by the smoking section (I didn't see him light up, though).

It was either that or more pictures of Onjuku, in which case I may as well rename the blog. We've been there six or seven times, now. More than almost any other destination. But that's not a complaint! This time we got me a bright pink inner tube and I went out to catch some waves with the surfers!

Idioms

2005-06-24T15:40:00.000+09:00

Today being the first day that's muggy enough to turn on the fan, we've been having quite the conversation here in the English department while enjoying the breeze. Amongst several interesting tidbits I'll share just a few that I wrote down (the rest simply got lost in my terrible memory, but anyway, here goes):

The Japanese have a nifty expression when speaking self-deprecatingly about their garden:

うちの庭は、猫の額ほどのひろさです。
Uchi no niwa wa, neko no hitai hodo no hirosa desu.
"My garden is as small as a cat's forehead."

Another interesting expression is used when Japanese wish to comment unfavorably on the small quantity or size of something. For example,

私の給料は、雀の涙です。
Watashi no kyuuryou wa, suzume no namida desu.
"My paycheck is as small as a sparrow's tears."

Lastly, though this one isn't an idiom like the two above, it's still relevant because I wouldn't have heard it were it not so hot out today.

暑いな畜生!!!
Atsuina chikushou!!!
"this weather's for the beasts!" Or possibly, "Damn, it's beastly hot out!"

I'm told not to use this last one in formal, polite, or any but the most casual of situations.

Perquisites

2005-06-22T13:52:00.000+09:00

I just wanted to brag a little.

I came home for lunch and managed to get a photo of it before I ate it all. Salmon fried with pineapples and onions, a bowl of rice, and miso soup with a cup of houjicha tea...(only the main dish and the tea cup are in the photo, but you get the idea).

Indeed.

This is one of the best parts of this job. I live five minutes' walk from school and get a forty-five minute lunch break everyday. And on days when Laurie's not working, she makes things like this for me. All the time!

Onjuku Redux

2005-06-19T15:21:00.000+09:00

This weekend I decided to keep the backpack on my lap.

So we made it to Onjuku Beach with all our stuff.

The weather was wonderful. The sun felt all the more warmer and closer because it was hiding right behind a waxy layer of clouds. Every once in a while it would peak out along with a hint of blue sky, but mostly it was a delightfully overcast day, the perfect atmosphere for being at the beach.

Friday night at eleven I'd started reading a novel, Eragon. (Laurie caught me around five in the morning sitting at the kitchen table with a headlamp--still reading.) So naturally, yesterday, I had two items on my agenda: finishing the book and having a nap!

I finished the last couple hundred pages as soon as we found a spot to lay down.

Then we played in the water for a while.
Next time I'll wear swimming trunks when we go to the beach.
(wet underwear makes for a sore train ride home...)

There were lots of surfers out, too. It looks really fun. If only surfboards weren't a thousand dollars...

Lastly, I had a nice lazy nap. Long enough for a weird uneven tan-burn to mar my otherwise lovely skin.

Onjuku

2005-06-13T15:44:00.000+09:00

A lazy hour or so ride to Onjuku. The kind of train ride where, when you get off the train, you stretch, yawn, and look about with glazed eyes before plodding off to leave the station. The kind of train ride where, if you put your backpack full of the day's supplies (things like, say, "lunch" "swimming clothes" "beach towels") up on the train's overhead carrier, you forget about it when you get off the train.

Yup.

It was just that kind of train ride.

Star Wars III 1/2: Sith Vacation

2005-06-10T10:06:00.000+09:00

Today the 1A students continued their journey to computer mastery.

We have been working on a tutorial where they learn how to find images on the internet, copy them and import them to Photoshop, and then manipulate them. Today we succeeded in finishing the tutorial with modest success. Overall, I am pleased with their performance. The force is strong with this bunch.

The finished result looked something like this:

They seemed to get a kick out of it. Of course, the hardest part was getting them used to the basics. From there they had few problems. Clearly, when students are interested in the subject matter, they can overcome almost any language barrier.

A Red Herring and Then...

2005-06-07T15:31:00.000+09:00

Found this today at the Devil's Dictionary. For some reason I thought it was funny. It reminded me of a very productive hour I spent in philosophy class once. Something about Hegel, I think.

That, and I was just reading peoples' online opinions about the latest news from Apple (they are switching to Intel chips). Of course that was a rabbit trail which led to another set of opinions about the slow death DRM (Digital Rights Management) is causing the Fair Use / Creative Commons community.

But that has relatively little (if anything) to do with life here at Toke.

* * *

Today's classes were Monday's classes. That's because yesterday (Monday) we didn't have class.

Why not?

Well, because we had Tuesday's classes on Saturday.

Yup. On Saturday we had 4th, 5th, and 6th periods from Tuesday's classes during the same time that we normally have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods during the weekdays.

We had class on Saturday so that parents could come and see what they are like (it had something to do with the PTA I think). As Murphy's Law would have it, I had nothing to do from noon until 4 except be at work (the weather was lovely), and nobody came to observe the classes I was in!

もったいない. [That's Japanese for "such a waste"]

But I had a really great time with the students. For whatever reason it didn't seem to register with them that they were in school on a weekend. (All I can say to that is, when I was in school, weekends were sacrosanct. You couldn't get me to take classes on a weekend. That was a special kind of punishment.) So it was actually really productive. We did a warmup game and some brainstorming, and their enthusiasm seemed to really spark their interest in the lesson at hand. It was just the thing to raise my spirits, too. I actually didn't mind going into work after that. And sitting around all afternoon wasn't too bad, either, since there's always more lessons to plan and papers to shuffle.

June So Soon

2005-06-01T14:01:00.000+09:00

Today is June 1st.

The past two days were rainy, cloudy, and cool. This morning, of a sudden, decided to change that into clear and mildly hot. By afternoon, Japan was back to its characteristic humidity. It's the kind of persistent humidity that never fails to bring to mind how a frog must feel. Not quite sticky, not quite slimy. Not completely uncomfortable, but certainly not comfortable. This kind of weather is the kind where, unless you're going to get sweaty via workout or hard labour, there is no perfect set of clothes to wear, because no matter what you choose, it won't feel right after twenty minutes anyway.

But lest that sound like a complaint, it's only going to get hotter. And stickier. And more humid.

Really though, it's not so bad. Myself, I've resolved to get used to it and I figure if I exercise enough then when I go shower it'll feel like I'm drying off, and when I dry off I'll feel like there's a cool breeze blowing.

* * *

This morning I began familiarizing the first year students with a vocabulary exercise. Basically, students stand in a group and pass a ball around. The person with the ball must choose an adjective and pass it to someone else, who in turn must say the opposite adjective (hot / cold, pretty / ugly, etc.). It seemed to go over well.

Also, Harada 先生 was kind enough to scrounge up an extra internet cable, so now Louise and I don't have to share. Immediately upon receiving it I ran a software update and I feel much better. Now if only I had wireless...

The photo library is presently undergoing reorganization, so I won't be adding any pictures for a little while. In seven months we've taken over five gigabytes of photos, and it's recently become a necessity to plan out a storage-retrieval scheme. I can only imagine what other people go through. I know a guy who takes three or four times as many photos and keeps up a website to boot.

昭和の森から/ From Showa-no-Mori

2005-05-30T16:43:00.000+09:00

この写真は、昭和の森からです。平成十七五月二十一日。

This picture was taken from the lookout in Showa-no-Mori, 05/21/05. It's actually a panorama made from 3 or 4 pictures I took and then merged in Photoshop™. If you click on it you'll be taken to a page that offers a more full-sized view.

I'm not certain, but I think the lookout at Showa-no-Mori might be the highest point in Chiba Prefecture. As a whole, Chiba is a flat penninsula. There's a series or range of hills south of here, though, that might be higher. At any rate, we are approximately halfway between Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean here, and about a 20 minute walk from our apartment is all it takes to see such a nice view. That is, when the air is clear enough. Most days we can't see that far. I'll have to check, but I think that the lookout is twelve miles from the beach, as the crow flies.

One weekend we decided to see if we could walk to the ocean. It took about three and a half hours at a mild pace. That was back in January.

The beach that's just barely not visible in the photo is a famous one known as Kujukuri Beach. "Kujukuri" means "99 li", and "li" is an old Chinese measurement. So Kujukuri is like saying "Ninety-nine Miles" but with a slightly literary flair. Anyway, I hear tell it's the longest beach on mainland Honshu or the longest one with nice sand or whatever. I wouldn't know. I haven't gone there yet, I don't think. The one we ended up walking to this past winter was south of that. ...Or maybe that was Kujukuri, but we were on the southern stretch of it.

In the middle of the picture you can see rice paddies that are filled with water. Just a few weeks ago the rice was barely poking through the surface, but now it's a few inches above the water level. Also worthy of note are the two twin buildings in the center-left of the picture. These are apartment buildings, and aren't anything special in-and-of-themselves, except that that's where the next town over from us is. It's called Oami. From where I took the photo to Oami's train station (which is near those two apartment buildings) is about forty-five minutes to an hour on foot. We often make the trip because right below the lookout is a park adjacent to Showa-no-Mori called Konakaike Park (小中池公園) which has a most enjoyable slide I like to ride on. The slide is as long and twisty as a waterslide, but it's not just polished metal--it's got roller thingies on it like on an assembly line. Kids bring a piece of scrap cardboard to sit on and have a great time. I usually don't have any cardboard, so my pants get a bit dirty, but it's loads of fun to go down. Also at Konakaike is a pond (you can see a section of the dam and a small slice of the pond in the photo, right above and to the right of the trees on the bottom) where we go to visit the koi. Koi are carp, but that's a bit misleading, because they are really the most colorful fish you could hope to see in freshwater. So I like the word koi better than carp. "Giant Goldfish" also has a nice ring to it. As a matter of fact, I've got a picture of them:

They love crumbs. It's very entertaining to throw them bits of food and watch them jostle around and play bumper-fish with each other.

Where is "Toke"?

2005-05-30T14:17:00.000+09:00

土気 / Toke [pronunciation = "t" + "okay" ] is part of the Midori Ward of Chiba City, which is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. And actually, I live in Toke's neighboring municipality, Asumigaoka [pronounced "a soo me gah oh ka"], but I'm 30 seconds' walk from Toke. As far as I have been able to find out, Toke is the older of the two, and Asumigaoka started as something of an extension. But now they are two different municipalities. I live in one and work in the other. Not to worry, though: my commute is merely just a five minutes' walk.

So to add to the confusion in detail, let it be known that I will use Toke and Asumigaoka in my posts, but for the most part you may think of them interchangeably, unless you really are a stickler for geography (I know I am), in which case you'll just have to wait until I find a good map and figure out a way to post it.

For now, though, some URL's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba%2C_Japan
http://www.city.chiba.jp/english/data/index.html

This map shows ticket prices from Toke Station.

Children's Day: Koi Nobori

2005-05-04T13:30:00.000+09:00

On Children's Day, there are many of these giant goldfish wind socks everywhere. This string was hung across the lake at Konakaike Park

子どもの日は、たくさんおおき鯉のぼりがあります。このは、小中池公園からとりました。

While in Chiba City

2005-04-10T20:00:00.000+09:00

We went to Chiba City today to do some shopping and to hang out somewhere other than Toke. Had a lovely sandwich and coffee from Dotours. Also, we ran into a life sized teddy bear. I think he was advertising a new pachinko parlour that has just opened.

Illuminating

2004-12-19T07:51:00.000+09:00

The clip begins with a yaki imo salesman loading more wood in his stove and hoping to lure some business. We next proceed to cross the street to Chiba Chuo Park (Chuo means "middle" or "downtown" by the way) where all the trees have been decorated with Xmas lights. The Japanese call it "Illumination", which somehow sounds more pure and Christmassy than I'd have expected.

Illuminating

2004-12-18T23:00:00.000+09:00

Nouvelles de Toke

The End Is A Beginning

Leaving

More Drinks From Outer-Space

Need To Brush Up On My German

Almost New Testament Shoes

New Flavors

Fun Flavored Junk Food

What A Cool Pet

More Fun With Engrish

More Ads

A Guy Can Dream

Product Marketing Strategies

Flowers

Lunch

Coming Home From Tokyo

Fushimi Inari Jinja

Philosopher's Walk

Ninja

Kamakura & Yokohama

On Mom's 28th Birthday

Hidden Things In Kamakura - 1

The Beauties of Kenchoji

Picking Up Brandon & Kerri

Kerri & Brandon Arrive: Days 1 & 2

I Think They Meant "Gentle"...

Updates

Wishlist: Recording The Beatles

Today's Photos

Hinamatsuri Displays - ひな祭りの品物

Tokyo Next-Generation Game Show

A Post

A Great Day To Be Outdoors

Recent Pictures

Season Shot

What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid

Bug Photo

Fireworks in Chiba 千葉みなと公園の花火

Now That's "Convenience"

Critters of Late

See By The Moonlight Half Past Midnight Time To Be Home An Hour Ago

While My *Ukelele* Gently Weeps...and Screams, and Curses, and Casts Spells...

Funny.

On A Sunny Day

Trial and error

Around The World in 80 Minutes

At Kinugawa Onsen

Random Scenes From Japanese Life

All Aboard the X-ray Bus!

Popularity

More Recently

Does it work like an ugly stick?

Kyoto in Spring: Day 2

Kyoto in Spring: Day 1

A Festival for What??!

Justice Redefined

Happy Birthday, Dad

Little Known Fact

A Suprise Snowfall

Dinner at Ichinoyu Shinkan Ryokan

Boat Ride on Lake Ashinoko

A Cool Playground

Post of the Day

Bunnies!

Thanksgiving

Storm Troopers Take Tokyo

Hokusai

Marvelous Curry Party

What's in A Name?

Bye-Bye Brandon!

大阪料理 - Osaka Cuisine

Fushimi-Inari Shrine

Umeda Sky Building

Pigeons

Kiyomizudera

In Kamakura

Brandon's Here!!!

Ah Um...

Typhoon

Engakuji - Kita Kamakura

While My Ukelele Gently Weeps...and Screams, and Curses, and Casts Spells...

昭和の森から/ From Showa-no-Mori