Monday, October 27, 2008
I'm goin' back!
It's been about three months now since I last wrote, rest assured I'm making plans to go back to Japan, and this time for the whole summer, on an internship of course, this should give me a chance to makes some relationships, make some money, get some experience, maybe get into grad school. All I know, this summer's gonna be grrrrreat!!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
"I may be Japanese but I don't know how to get a Japanese girlfriend..."
A couple of things I think I forgot to mention...
1 On our way to Mt Fuji there was a HUGE envelope in one of the larger hills...don't ask...we asked already for you...the only info we could get was that it was done by some really ambitious artist...'
2 The water that would normally be used to fill the bowl after a flush (that sound of rushing water you hear...yeah that) runs through a faucet first so you wash your hands with it then goes to fill the bowl...
3 While on the topic of toilets, there are ALWAYS two types of flush: "big" and "small" (unless you're at a very public place like a train station or airport). And it takes only a relatively intelligent person to tell what they're for.
4 When buying my movie ticket (which wound up costing about 18 bucks by the way) the lady showed me on a little seating chart which seat were empty...now that's service! Still ridiculously expensive though...but no one seemed to have a problem with it.
So today I went to a city near the one I'm in now called Tsuchiura for the Tsuchiura Festival. Apparently, just about every city and town has its own festival. And just about every family in the town gets a float. There's usually a roster of which families live in the town and for how long so I guess priority goes to families with a long history there. One our way we got gas for my friend's car and I gotta say they really go all out with the service. They wiped the windows and pumped the gas and everything! I learned a couple of kanji. OH I saw a car and thought, "where have I seen you?" Then I noticed it! I was an Echo! A Toyota Echo...but it was called a Toyota Platz! Ryan told me that they changed the names of cars and stuff a lot to market them in the States...and good thing, too...Americans wouldn't by a car called the Platz. We met up with a couple of friends then promptly split again. The music was loud, there were people everywhere, by extension there were girls everywhere...there was good food. It was kewl.
1 On our way to Mt Fuji there was a HUGE envelope in one of the larger hills...don't ask...we asked already for you...the only info we could get was that it was done by some really ambitious artist...'
2 The water that would normally be used to fill the bowl after a flush (that sound of rushing water you hear...yeah that) runs through a faucet first so you wash your hands with it then goes to fill the bowl...
3 While on the topic of toilets, there are ALWAYS two types of flush: "big" and "small" (unless you're at a very public place like a train station or airport). And it takes only a relatively intelligent person to tell what they're for.
4 When buying my movie ticket (which wound up costing about 18 bucks by the way) the lady showed me on a little seating chart which seat were empty...now that's service! Still ridiculously expensive though...but no one seemed to have a problem with it.
So today I went to a city near the one I'm in now called Tsuchiura for the Tsuchiura Festival. Apparently, just about every city and town has its own festival. And just about every family in the town gets a float. There's usually a roster of which families live in the town and for how long so I guess priority goes to families with a long history there. One our way we got gas for my friend's car and I gotta say they really go all out with the service. They wiped the windows and pumped the gas and everything! I learned a couple of kanji. OH I saw a car and thought, "where have I seen you?" Then I noticed it! I was an Echo! A Toyota Echo...but it was called a Toyota Platz! Ryan told me that they changed the names of cars and stuff a lot to market them in the States...and good thing, too...Americans wouldn't by a car called the Platz. We met up with a couple of friends then promptly split again. The music was loud, there were people everywhere, by extension there were girls everywhere...there was good food. It was kewl.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
"Please know the train will...shake."
(] Alert [) If you want to read about the hidden black population in Japan keep reading...if not...keep reading...really I like to see comments, people!
There have been so many candidates for today's title so I'll use them to separate the past couple of days...let's first there was...
"Japanese Communist Party Central Committee"
I'd like to start by saying that there's about 4~5 kilometers (yeah I'm gonna start using metric just because) separating the hearts of Shinjuku and Shibuya...nestled in between are two well known cities, Yoyogi and Harajuku. So even though I didn't know where I was most of the time...everything was within walking distance...but I didn't know that in the beginning. So I got off the train at Harajuku and headed...I guess it was about south and saw these huge gymnasiums...and I mean huge...like two things the size the BCC...well not quite that big but one of them was and the other was about a third the size. After looking at it for a while I decided it would be cool to get a map and figure out where the heck I was. Not being able to find one, I simple did what I always do...I found the tallest building in the area and headed towards it. I turned around in place a couple of times (which must've looked weird) and found two large buildings in almost opposite directions. One, I found out later, was the NTT DoCoMo headquarters in Shinjuku and the other was the 109 building in Shibuya, I think (I actually asked what happened to the 108 building...there isn't one). The DoCoMo building looked bigger...so I went that way. Walking there wasn't so bad except before I realized I was walking in the suburbs between cities...I had lost sight of my target and I was wandering around on small streets...oops. Anyway along the way I found it...the Headquaters of the Japanese Communist Party. "Uuuuuh...yeah..." is what I thought. The good news was I found my target and somehow wound up on a main road after that. I got to it but it turned out it was for business only...no observation deck or anything. Dejected I set out to find the second tallest building in my area...which was harder this time because I was in the middle of a city this time but then I saw something weird. A ellipsoid building that looked familiar. After some thinking I got it! I saw it on the train once, it was the site of the soon-to-open HAL University of Digital Arts or something. So naturally I wanted to go in, right? Turns out it's still under construction...oh well. It still looked kewl...like a huge erect football covered with spiderwebs with two huge baseballs on either side of the base...not phallic at all. Continuing on my new quest for an observation deck, I found a map of the area and I recognized the Tokyo Town Hall from a Sketch Up model on Google Earth. I also remembered that that building had a observation deck! So I made a B-line for it...though...I'm not sure why they call it B-line...it's more like an I-line...sometimes an L-line...but I digress. By the way at this point I was in Shinjuku
"We're Chinese...we don't understand you"
So I decided which view I thought I'd like better, the north view or the south view...I chose the south view though even now I kinda wish I did both...but I only chose that side because I didn't know what I was doing and I followed some other people in. They were checking bags...of course...and when they got to me, my scissors raised a flag...again...but it was ok. They just gave me a like slip so I can get it back when I was ready to leave. So...the deck was on the 45 floor...I was in the basement...the elevator ride took 10 seconds just about...my ears popped to say the least. When I got to the top I was entertained by a rather curious baby and his moma calling him. "This way, this way!" she said but the baby just kept running in random directions stopping to wait for another call to try to echo locate the voice but I guess there were too many voices and he was confused. There were also Gundams to buy up there...for some reason but they were actually more expensive than at Yodabashi, which I figured. So I took in the sights and got in line for the elevator back down. There was this girl...just standing in front of me in line swinging her hair to which I said, in Japanese, "that's dangerous...doing that..." Kinda creepy I know. She went over to her friend seeming kinda confused, then I said, "just kidding, just kidding," in Japanese. At this point she seemed more confused and less entertained...which confused me. On the elevator, I noticed them talking to each other...not in Japanese...something else...maybe Korean I thought...but it didn't sound like Korean...but I gave it another shot. I said, "was that Korean?" in Korean. Then they said..."we're...Chinese...we don't understand you." "GACK!" I thought, "that's what was going on!" My cryptonite! The thing that throws me off so effectively...Chinese! Made me feel pretty bad...not stupid or rude...just the feeling that I need more practice listening to Chinese...ah well. Shaking it off I headed for Shibuya...I couldn't remember why I wanted to go to Shibuya for the life of me though...then it hit me! Hachiko! There's a golden statue of a dog called Hachiko that represents a dog who supposedly sat loyally and waited at the Shibuya station for his human to come back from work. But when the guy died the dog just sat there until *he* died as well. Kinda sad but it does make for a nifty meeting spot. So I went to the Yoyogi station to ask for walking directions for Shibuya. I asked, in Japanese, "where's Shibuya from here," and the guy started to respond in Japanese but then he started making attempts at English and made these weird car sounds I guess hinting at the direction of traffic I should follow but I thought, "I started the conversation in Japanese...don't you think I can understand you?" But I've been getting that a lot. There are three things that are beginning to annoy me...when people go, "oh you're so good? How long have you been here? Where did you learn to speak so well? How long have you been studying?" I know it's because they're interested in me and are only being friendly but every single person I've met just about have begun like that and it's kind of prerecorded conversation for me by now. I just need a t-shirt that says it all then I can point to the different parts I need to say...then there's when I start a conversation and the person insists on speaking English when I obviously understand basic Japanese...then there's hard one; when I start a conversation and the person starts shooting out all sorts of weird technical terms in Japanese at me with no explanation! I mean jeez even in English I'd get confused, man!
"I was born here!"
So I was on my way to Shibuya, when I realized I was headed right back at Harajuku!!! This is when I realized the cities were so close together. This is also when I decided I wasn't gonna pass Harajuku again without seeing someone dressed funny. On my way I heard Japanese that didn't quite sound right...it had some rhythm to it...it had some soul in it...I turned around and it was a black kid of about 15. Now I've seen about 15~20 black guys up until there but none were speaking Japanese. I asked him the thing that annoys me, "man, you're fluent, how come?" but his answer surprised me, I expected, "I've been studying since before high school," or something...but this guy...this guy! "Was born here!" he said...I was like, "word?!" "yeah," he said, "Lucky you," I complimented. It was so cool. He seemed happy enough...and he was accompanied but two teenaged girls so life for him was apparently good. There could've been a chance to start up some kind of friendship there on the spot, but I thought, "man, forget it, yo homes to Shibuya!" a la Fresh Prince...no...nobody saw that comin'? Anyways, I lost them but I found some funny lookin' kids going down some ally called Harajuku ave..."OH you gotta be kiddin' me!!!" I thought...it was right there next to the station!
"It's ok, I got you, come with me, I got your size..."
So I was walkin' down the street thinkin', "man, it would be cool to be born in Japan...and I always said I'd never trade being black for anything but I would trade my birthplace for Japan," I was also thinkin', "this would be an awesome place to get a leather jacket...but nothin' would fit me." Then it hit me...I just saw about 8 Nigerian lookin' guys just standing around back there! I looked a little ahead, thank goodness I'm tall, and I saw about 10 more...if you've been paying attention, you know that the number of black in Japan that I've seen so far has just doubled on this one street! Then the moment of truth came, one of them approached me...we locked eyes and greeted each other with a nod like black people do...then he said, "you lookin' for shoe or somethin'?" Then in a split second a commercial flashed in my head were a French guy approaches a couple, one Japanese woman and one black guy, on a park bench asking for directions or something...in French. Then the Japanese woman nudges the black guy and asks, "what did he say?" but the black guy quickly says, "I don't know English," "heh?" goes the woman. The rest of the commercial is actually quite funny but it didn't matter, I had my inspiration! The native Japanese, black guy, this commercial memory, this encounter on the street with a stranger!!! Without thinking much, I blurted the line from the commercial, "I don't know English!" in Japanese. "So it begins!" I thought. The guy goes, "oh, you don't speak English, huh?" then he continues in Japanese, "ok, that's fine." That's when I realize..."oh, man, what if this guy knows more Japanese than I do...that's not gonna look so good...oh well...here we go."
"Where are your parents from?"
And so continued my pretense. If you know me you know I'm not much of a lair. So thinking I can get out of it quickly, I say, "ah, but you don't have size 33 shoes (they use centimeters to measure things here, shoe sizes are about twice the equivalent US shoe sizes) do you, don't worry about it." "It's ok, I got you," he says carrying some kind of accent in his Japanese...sounded Caribbean. "GACK!" "Come with me," he says. Sweat! "Here, take off your shoes...here try these on...try these on..." No, William, no Bathin' Apes...just American names. Once it looked like I couldn't fit any of the shoes, we moved on to pants. Once we found pants that fit me I had to explain politely, Japanesely explain to him that I didn't come to Harajuku to shop, I came to see funny lookin' people! Then he started askin' personal questions! Where are your parents from? Which of your parents is Japanese? Where do you go to college? So basically I told him my dad, who's black, is from Okinawa (seemed believable), but we live in Gunma (I stole it from Yamato Damacy), and I go to Akihabara Animation Specialty Institute (the only university I thought wouldn't lead to more questions). I think he believed me. I asked him for any kind of interesting place in the area, he pointed me in the direction of a shrine in the city, and high tailed it out of there!!! Usually I want to see the people I'll probably never see again but in this case...
"I've found you, HACHIKO!!!"
So after leaving Little Baltimore in the middle of Harajuku, I felt I was getting closer to a lot people...I could just feel it...that and the fact the buildings around me were getting very tall very fast...that's when I saw it. A...no...three big screens on the side of some buildings showing ads for Soul Calibur 4 and other things soon to come out. The particular intersection I found myself standing at just happened to be the one that is referenced often to illustrate just how dense the Japanese population is. This is where I found this ad for a Japanese singer who sounds just like Sean Paul...his name was Fire Ball or something. When I finally got to the stinkin' dog, it seemed that everyone else had the same idea. The poor dog was all surrounded by people tryin' to get their picture with it. So I found the stinkin' golden hound, now it was about 8pm and I was thinkin' about findin' a place to sleep. So I went to the kouban, the local cops on duty, to get a map of the hotels in the area. He commented on my height and sent me off with a map. I went to the nearest capsule hotel.
"Just as I Thought, Orange Drink..."
On the train back I noticed the British lady's voice saying the English version of the Japanese announcements, "Ladies and gentlemen, please know the train will *short pause* shake." Before now I hadn't really noticed how it sounded (I had always ignored the English, and the Japanese version didn't seem so dangerous) but when translated, it really scared me. "Shake? Shake how?" I thought. I knew what the train did at that point, it just added a new sense of tension to it. Also, because of her accent the word "Tsukuba" always sound like she's saying "Tsukuber", and "rapid service" sounds like "rocket service". I at this point was pretty tired I was still looking forward to the new Naruto movie comin' out here. I got back to Ninomiya, the place I'm staying at with Ryan, and went to the fridge...because I had some aweful tasting gummies. I smelled orange juice poured not too long ago...then I found it but when I poured it...it was definitely orange but...it was too weak in color...no pulp...took one sip...ORANGE DRINK!!! It has been too long I thought...but why Japan, of all places...oh well that brings you up to now.
There have been so many candidates for today's title so I'll use them to separate the past couple of days...let's first there was...
"Japanese Communist Party Central Committee"
I'd like to start by saying that there's about 4~5 kilometers (yeah I'm gonna start using metric just because) separating the hearts of Shinjuku and Shibuya...nestled in between are two well known cities, Yoyogi and Harajuku. So even though I didn't know where I was most of the time...everything was within walking distance...but I didn't know that in the beginning. So I got off the train at Harajuku and headed...I guess it was about south and saw these huge gymnasiums...and I mean huge...like two things the size the BCC...well not quite that big but one of them was and the other was about a third the size. After looking at it for a while I decided it would be cool to get a map and figure out where the heck I was. Not being able to find one, I simple did what I always do...I found the tallest building in the area and headed towards it. I turned around in place a couple of times (which must've looked weird) and found two large buildings in almost opposite directions. One, I found out later, was the NTT DoCoMo headquarters in Shinjuku and the other was the 109 building in Shibuya, I think (I actually asked what happened to the 108 building...there isn't one). The DoCoMo building looked bigger...so I went that way. Walking there wasn't so bad except before I realized I was walking in the suburbs between cities...I had lost sight of my target and I was wandering around on small streets...oops. Anyway along the way I found it...the Headquaters of the Japanese Communist Party. "Uuuuuh...yeah..." is what I thought. The good news was I found my target and somehow wound up on a main road after that. I got to it but it turned out it was for business only...no observation deck or anything. Dejected I set out to find the second tallest building in my area...which was harder this time because I was in the middle of a city this time but then I saw something weird. A ellipsoid building that looked familiar. After some thinking I got it! I saw it on the train once, it was the site of the soon-to-open HAL University of Digital Arts or something. So naturally I wanted to go in, right? Turns out it's still under construction...oh well. It still looked kewl...like a huge erect football covered with spiderwebs with two huge baseballs on either side of the base...not phallic at all. Continuing on my new quest for an observation deck, I found a map of the area and I recognized the Tokyo Town Hall from a Sketch Up model on Google Earth. I also remembered that that building had a observation deck! So I made a B-line for it...though...I'm not sure why they call it B-line...it's more like an I-line...sometimes an L-line...but I digress. By the way at this point I was in Shinjuku
"We're Chinese...we don't understand you"
So I decided which view I thought I'd like better, the north view or the south view...I chose the south view though even now I kinda wish I did both...but I only chose that side because I didn't know what I was doing and I followed some other people in. They were checking bags...of course...and when they got to me, my scissors raised a flag...again...but it was ok. They just gave me a like slip so I can get it back when I was ready to leave. So...the deck was on the 45 floor...I was in the basement...the elevator ride took 10 seconds just about...my ears popped to say the least. When I got to the top I was entertained by a rather curious baby and his moma calling him. "This way, this way!" she said but the baby just kept running in random directions stopping to wait for another call to try to echo locate the voice but I guess there were too many voices and he was confused. There were also Gundams to buy up there...for some reason but they were actually more expensive than at Yodabashi, which I figured. So I took in the sights and got in line for the elevator back down. There was this girl...just standing in front of me in line swinging her hair to which I said, in Japanese, "that's dangerous...doing that..." Kinda creepy I know. She went over to her friend seeming kinda confused, then I said, "just kidding, just kidding," in Japanese. At this point she seemed more confused and less entertained...which confused me. On the elevator, I noticed them talking to each other...not in Japanese...something else...maybe Korean I thought...but it didn't sound like Korean...but I gave it another shot. I said, "was that Korean?" in Korean. Then they said..."we're...Chinese...we don't understand you." "GACK!" I thought, "that's what was going on!" My cryptonite! The thing that throws me off so effectively...Chinese! Made me feel pretty bad...not stupid or rude...just the feeling that I need more practice listening to Chinese...ah well. Shaking it off I headed for Shibuya...I couldn't remember why I wanted to go to Shibuya for the life of me though...then it hit me! Hachiko! There's a golden statue of a dog called Hachiko that represents a dog who supposedly sat loyally and waited at the Shibuya station for his human to come back from work. But when the guy died the dog just sat there until *he* died as well. Kinda sad but it does make for a nifty meeting spot. So I went to the Yoyogi station to ask for walking directions for Shibuya. I asked, in Japanese, "where's Shibuya from here," and the guy started to respond in Japanese but then he started making attempts at English and made these weird car sounds I guess hinting at the direction of traffic I should follow but I thought, "I started the conversation in Japanese...don't you think I can understand you?" But I've been getting that a lot. There are three things that are beginning to annoy me...when people go, "oh you're so good? How long have you been here? Where did you learn to speak so well? How long have you been studying?" I know it's because they're interested in me and are only being friendly but every single person I've met just about have begun like that and it's kind of prerecorded conversation for me by now. I just need a t-shirt that says it all then I can point to the different parts I need to say...then there's when I start a conversation and the person insists on speaking English when I obviously understand basic Japanese...then there's hard one; when I start a conversation and the person starts shooting out all sorts of weird technical terms in Japanese at me with no explanation! I mean jeez even in English I'd get confused, man!
"I was born here!"
So I was on my way to Shibuya, when I realized I was headed right back at Harajuku!!! This is when I realized the cities were so close together. This is also when I decided I wasn't gonna pass Harajuku again without seeing someone dressed funny. On my way I heard Japanese that didn't quite sound right...it had some rhythm to it...it had some soul in it...I turned around and it was a black kid of about 15. Now I've seen about 15~20 black guys up until there but none were speaking Japanese. I asked him the thing that annoys me, "man, you're fluent, how come?" but his answer surprised me, I expected, "I've been studying since before high school," or something...but this guy...this guy! "Was born here!" he said...I was like, "word?!" "yeah," he said, "Lucky you," I complimented. It was so cool. He seemed happy enough...and he was accompanied but two teenaged girls so life for him was apparently good. There could've been a chance to start up some kind of friendship there on the spot, but I thought, "man, forget it, yo homes to Shibuya!" a la Fresh Prince...no...nobody saw that comin'? Anyways, I lost them but I found some funny lookin' kids going down some ally called Harajuku ave..."OH you gotta be kiddin' me!!!" I thought...it was right there next to the station!
"It's ok, I got you, come with me, I got your size..."
So I was walkin' down the street thinkin', "man, it would be cool to be born in Japan...and I always said I'd never trade being black for anything but I would trade my birthplace for Japan," I was also thinkin', "this would be an awesome place to get a leather jacket...but nothin' would fit me." Then it hit me...I just saw about 8 Nigerian lookin' guys just standing around back there! I looked a little ahead, thank goodness I'm tall, and I saw about 10 more...if you've been paying attention, you know that the number of black in Japan that I've seen so far has just doubled on this one street! Then the moment of truth came, one of them approached me...we locked eyes and greeted each other with a nod like black people do...then he said, "you lookin' for shoe or somethin'?" Then in a split second a commercial flashed in my head were a French guy approaches a couple, one Japanese woman and one black guy, on a park bench asking for directions or something...in French. Then the Japanese woman nudges the black guy and asks, "what did he say?" but the black guy quickly says, "I don't know English," "heh?" goes the woman. The rest of the commercial is actually quite funny but it didn't matter, I had my inspiration! The native Japanese, black guy, this commercial memory, this encounter on the street with a stranger!!! Without thinking much, I blurted the line from the commercial, "I don't know English!" in Japanese. "So it begins!" I thought. The guy goes, "oh, you don't speak English, huh?" then he continues in Japanese, "ok, that's fine." That's when I realize..."oh, man, what if this guy knows more Japanese than I do...that's not gonna look so good...oh well...here we go."
"Where are your parents from?"
And so continued my pretense. If you know me you know I'm not much of a lair. So thinking I can get out of it quickly, I say, "ah, but you don't have size 33 shoes (they use centimeters to measure things here, shoe sizes are about twice the equivalent US shoe sizes) do you, don't worry about it." "It's ok, I got you," he says carrying some kind of accent in his Japanese...sounded Caribbean. "GACK!" "Come with me," he says. Sweat! "Here, take off your shoes...here try these on...try these on..." No, William, no Bathin' Apes...just American names. Once it looked like I couldn't fit any of the shoes, we moved on to pants. Once we found pants that fit me I had to explain politely, Japanesely explain to him that I didn't come to Harajuku to shop, I came to see funny lookin' people! Then he started askin' personal questions! Where are your parents from? Which of your parents is Japanese? Where do you go to college? So basically I told him my dad, who's black, is from Okinawa (seemed believable), but we live in Gunma (I stole it from Yamato Damacy), and I go to Akihabara Animation Specialty Institute (the only university I thought wouldn't lead to more questions). I think he believed me. I asked him for any kind of interesting place in the area, he pointed me in the direction of a shrine in the city, and high tailed it out of there!!! Usually I want to see the people I'll probably never see again but in this case...
"I've found you, HACHIKO!!!"
So after leaving Little Baltimore in the middle of Harajuku, I felt I was getting closer to a lot people...I could just feel it...that and the fact the buildings around me were getting very tall very fast...that's when I saw it. A...no...three big screens on the side of some buildings showing ads for Soul Calibur 4 and other things soon to come out. The particular intersection I found myself standing at just happened to be the one that is referenced often to illustrate just how dense the Japanese population is. This is where I found this ad for a Japanese singer who sounds just like Sean Paul...his name was Fire Ball or something. When I finally got to the stinkin' dog, it seemed that everyone else had the same idea. The poor dog was all surrounded by people tryin' to get their picture with it. So I found the stinkin' golden hound, now it was about 8pm and I was thinkin' about findin' a place to sleep. So I went to the kouban, the local cops on duty, to get a map of the hotels in the area. He commented on my height and sent me off with a map. I went to the nearest capsule hotel.
"Just as I Thought, Orange Drink..."
On the train back I noticed the British lady's voice saying the English version of the Japanese announcements, "Ladies and gentlemen, please know the train will *short pause* shake." Before now I hadn't really noticed how it sounded (I had always ignored the English, and the Japanese version didn't seem so dangerous) but when translated, it really scared me. "Shake? Shake how?" I thought. I knew what the train did at that point, it just added a new sense of tension to it. Also, because of her accent the word "Tsukuba" always sound like she's saying "Tsukuber", and "rapid service" sounds like "rocket service". I at this point was pretty tired I was still looking forward to the new Naruto movie comin' out here. I got back to Ninomiya, the place I'm staying at with Ryan, and went to the fridge...because I had some aweful tasting gummies. I smelled orange juice poured not too long ago...then I found it but when I poured it...it was definitely orange but...it was too weak in color...no pulp...took one sip...ORANGE DRINK!!! It has been too long I thought...but why Japan, of all places...oh well that brings you up to now.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
"By 'bird tempura' you do mean chicken tempura, right?"
Yesterday and the day before I've been resting up after my Mt. Tsukuba hike but I did manage to walk around Akiba for perhaps the last time in search of adventures in otaku town. Not much happened though...I ran into a rather cute girl who helped me find my Gundam piece when I dropped it in the street...but not much happened after that...sorry. Today, however, I took a walk south because I remembered there was a movie theater and I wanted to see what was breakin' box offices in the land of the rising sun...it turns out that the Japanese are lookin' at the new Indiana Jones movie as well as Kung Fu Panda, Horton Sees a Who, and The Happening just to name the ones that are from America. Then there's the Hana Yori Dango movie (Hana Yori Dango is a televesion drama) as well as Gegege no Kitarou (Gegege no Kitarou is an anime). But I'm savin' my money for the Naruto movie that's comin' out on the 2nd right before I leave. But if I reserve my seat (which I should do) the price will be $18 instead of $13...yeah movies in Japan are expensive...
It was about that time I went to get something to eat. I went they Japanese equivalent to a 711 but before I went in I was simple captured by some ridiculously good smell. I went into this udon spot next door, got curry udon, sat down and enjoy the best udon I've had in my life...maybe...I was just hungry but it was good. Another culture difference...there's free green tea at every restaurant or at least free water but I haven't seen any soda at fast food joints or restaurants at all...in related news, this is the first time I've spelled restaurant correctly the first time three times in a row in my life!...sadly...that's just about all for today! See you space cowboy!
It was about that time I went to get something to eat. I went they Japanese equivalent to a 711 but before I went in I was simple captured by some ridiculously good smell. I went into this udon spot next door, got curry udon, sat down and enjoy the best udon I've had in my life...maybe...I was just hungry but it was good. Another culture difference...there's free green tea at every restaurant or at least free water but I haven't seen any soda at fast food joints or restaurants at all...in related news, this is the first time I've spelled restaurant correctly the first time three times in a row in my life!...sadly...that's just about all for today! See you space cowboy!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
It's been far too long...
So the last post I made was a week ago so this time you're gonna get a lot of brain vomits because it's hard to keep it all chronological.
Friday Saturday Sunday Monday
If I remember correctly this weekend began with a trip to Tokyo (I don't remember where) to an NSF, yes the NSF, luncheon. It was actually pretty nice. Good food, smart people, and just interesting conversation about things that I had no idea about.
After the luncheon, however, my group was planning to go the Hikone (which is very far from Tokyo) via a rather expensive Shinkansen. I didn't have the money so I plotted a course to get to Hikone with multiple transfers on the local train lines. During this part I found out exactly how nice the Japanese can be...and I'm not sure but I think my knowing a little Japanese makes them a wee bit more comfortable with me. I mean these ladies (yes I had two help desk ladies working with me at one point) were calling buses and train stations to find the best prices and times of departures and were really very concerned that I made it to Hikone alright. I thanked them and was on my way very quickly, actually.
This plan worked out very well ignoring the fact that it took half the night and some of the morning but I made it and I didn't have to pay for lodging since I was constantly moving but that did mean that I was tired the morning after but I did, after some asking around, find the hotel...thing at which my friends were staying. I met five Japanese researchers and we almost immediately set of to see the sites of Hikone, which began with the Castle Hikone. It was actually pretty interesting inside of there as it was relatively cool. In related news, all of the sites we visited began with small hikes up something as if the Japanese have some weird affection for large wooden structures surrounded by impossible moats with very steep stone stairways. It must've been very tiring to be a fully armored 5'7" samurai walking up all those stairs...or maybe I'm a wimp. There was also a little mascot (as there is for every city just about) for Hikone, specifically the castle. It was Hikonyan, a cat wearing a helmet with large horns resembling those on the helmet of the high ranking samurai of the area. After this we went to various gardens, castles and shrines that were all interesting individually but when put all together in one day so start to become tired of walking.
We then went to Nara (the mascot of which is the deer) where we saw a large temple and a five story pagoda. The place apparently was still in construction as the temple that was supposed to be in the center won't be there until 2010 if I remember correctly. It was nice until one of the deer decide to eat my friend's map...then it was great. We went to a museum full of nothing but Buddha statues just about.
After that we went to Kyoto where (I'm sure) we saw our last major landmarks including a small castle plated with gold from the second floor up and a very well built castle. At about this time I realized that most places in Japan were significantly cooler that Baltimore. I figure this is mostly because they have more trees and there houses are mostly made of wood and plaster instead of brick. While brick is stronger and insulates fairly well, it makes the out environment hotter which sucks for walkers...just something I figured. Also they use solar panels here a lot.
We then continued to Nagoya were I saw my first sumo tournament. It has some elements similar to "professional" wrestling in the states, most obvious of which is the art of getting the crowd riled up before an amazing match. The better part of our day was spent walking around the amazing campus of Nagoya U where our PhD we were following around went to study. Researchers at this university apparently had an important role in the invention of blue led technology (if it isn't the case that they were the ones who actually invented them). There was a museum on campus with some old "robots" of Japan long past. There were mostly puppets but there were a couple that were at the most spring powered "robot" servants. Also we got to meet teams that were doing interesting work with lasers and automated guidance systems for cars and a lot of there stuff that I had no idea about but it was fun. After Nagoya we had to part ways...they were going back north on a Shinkansen and I was going south to Osaka while I was down there anyway. So I got on a system of local trains again and arrived at Osaka sometime around midnight.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
I was worried that any hotel in the area would be closed but apparently that's not quite how hotels work but I didn't learn that until a little later. More than scared for lodging I was a little lacking in the food department so I decided to eat first figuring sleep won't be a problem if I starve. I wound up finding a very...very expensive hotel and asked for any cheaper hotels in the area and thank goodness the Japanese are nice because he actually went pretty far out of his way to show me a few. I wound up making and cancelling a couple of reservations but I finally spent the night at a capsule hotel for men...and I gotta say for the money it was pretty kewl. The next morning I set out to explore Osaka. I did the strut for a few seconds but no one seemed to care (if you don't know what I'm talking about look up the Ulfuls). I found a pretty sweet manga store and (after some asking) an even sweeter manga/toy/game/anything else store. This is were I found a ridiculous selection of Gundams for ridiculous prices. Anyway, after I made my shopping list I went back downstairs to leave when I noticed a rack full of little scrap books (I noticed a girl drawing, quite well may I add, in one of them before when I went upstairs) and decide to browse through and apparently the store encourages patrons to show off in them so I drew a little something and left. Upon leaving (I guess this guy saw me but I didn't see him) stops me and tells me he noticed my drawing and wanted to show me some more stores. I told him I had time and he gave me something of a tour of the anime scene at Osaka and oh what a scene it was. By the end of the night I had purchased (using his discount card) a couple of nice Gundam models. We went back to his place where he offered me a night and acknowledged that it was pretty strange for this to happen and it was...a little too strange for me but he did help me find a very cheap business hotel to stay at for the next two nights. During this time I found those Gundam pod arcade games again and decided to try it. I bought a pilot card, put in my "pilot information" and was ready to go but for 5 bucks per two games I could only be ready to go twice. The card however is good for about 200 games. Anyway, the game is a little cooler than I imagined. It was just as cramped but I got to see what Gundam pilots must feel like sitting in the middle of a war with several other robots flyin' around trying to kill you. I came out just about 2nd place in my team (they were 4v4 games) for all of my games. It had a panoramic display that wrapped all around with warnings for incoming fire (in Japanese though...the guy would say, "Look out to the left!" or something) there was voice chat for squad organization...it was crazy...I can't describe the awesomeness...you just have to play it...or something like it. I also managed to eat at Kushikatsu, a place recommended to me but a guy from Osaka I met in Tsukuba, and it was pretty good. There were drunk white collars everywhere though. After a good walk around this pretty big city I took 80 bucks and 12 hours and headed back to Tsukuba.
At this point I realized how cramped and small Japanese city planning was. At some parts of the train ride it seemed like I went the distance spanning maybe half of Baltimore and I thought, "well...I could've walked that." All this to say, their cities are very dense and built up not out and it would be nice if we had a decent train/subway system back home...that's all I'm sayin'!
Friday Saturday
Friday was spent entirely by traveling back to Tsukuba but Saturday we climbed mount Tsukuba which was pretty dangerous because we were climbing through a cloud and it began to rain and the rocks were slippery and all that jazz but we made it alright. Right after that about half our group went to Asakusa for a firework festival which was awesome because it was my first firework festival where there were fireworks on either side of me!!
...and that just about brings me up to today...so...I have a few more musings that I forgot along the way...
first for some reason Japan seems to have some of prettiest black girls ever...food for thought...
the Japanese love building things into things...like bike locks...built into the bike. It's a small metal semi circular hook that swings around the back tire trapping spokes on either side to prevent movement. One can only retrieve the key from it when it's locked. Or fire doors...I've seen more fire doors here than in Baltimore...don't know why. You know, those big metal doors to prevent the progression of fire to another part of a building. Or like traffic cones...sometimes built into the ground as like traffic pillar things like the ones they have in DC around important buildings just not automatic...speaking of automatic...almost all doors here are automatic and to cut down on energy waste you have to hit a button to get in but the ones where you don't have to, you have to get very close to open it.
I chose the wrong country to come to and be tall. At one hotel, all of the doors were about 6' even...I hit my head often.
Also turkey is almost unheard of here besides at Subway and pork is used in everything more so than it is in America (I can't help the fact that the previous sentence can be parsed badly resulting in terrible meanings).
And my feet are 33 cm...the biggest shoe size I've found is about 28 cm...yeah...
Friday Saturday Sunday Monday
If I remember correctly this weekend began with a trip to Tokyo (I don't remember where) to an NSF, yes the NSF, luncheon. It was actually pretty nice. Good food, smart people, and just interesting conversation about things that I had no idea about.
After the luncheon, however, my group was planning to go the Hikone (which is very far from Tokyo) via a rather expensive Shinkansen. I didn't have the money so I plotted a course to get to Hikone with multiple transfers on the local train lines. During this part I found out exactly how nice the Japanese can be...and I'm not sure but I think my knowing a little Japanese makes them a wee bit more comfortable with me. I mean these ladies (yes I had two help desk ladies working with me at one point) were calling buses and train stations to find the best prices and times of departures and were really very concerned that I made it to Hikone alright. I thanked them and was on my way very quickly, actually.
This plan worked out very well ignoring the fact that it took half the night and some of the morning but I made it and I didn't have to pay for lodging since I was constantly moving but that did mean that I was tired the morning after but I did, after some asking around, find the hotel...thing at which my friends were staying. I met five Japanese researchers and we almost immediately set of to see the sites of Hikone, which began with the Castle Hikone. It was actually pretty interesting inside of there as it was relatively cool. In related news, all of the sites we visited began with small hikes up something as if the Japanese have some weird affection for large wooden structures surrounded by impossible moats with very steep stone stairways. It must've been very tiring to be a fully armored 5'7" samurai walking up all those stairs...or maybe I'm a wimp. There was also a little mascot (as there is for every city just about) for Hikone, specifically the castle. It was Hikonyan, a cat wearing a helmet with large horns resembling those on the helmet of the high ranking samurai of the area. After this we went to various gardens, castles and shrines that were all interesting individually but when put all together in one day so start to become tired of walking.
We then went to Nara (the mascot of which is the deer) where we saw a large temple and a five story pagoda. The place apparently was still in construction as the temple that was supposed to be in the center won't be there until 2010 if I remember correctly. It was nice until one of the deer decide to eat my friend's map...then it was great. We went to a museum full of nothing but Buddha statues just about.
After that we went to Kyoto where (I'm sure) we saw our last major landmarks including a small castle plated with gold from the second floor up and a very well built castle. At about this time I realized that most places in Japan were significantly cooler that Baltimore. I figure this is mostly because they have more trees and there houses are mostly made of wood and plaster instead of brick. While brick is stronger and insulates fairly well, it makes the out environment hotter which sucks for walkers...just something I figured. Also they use solar panels here a lot.
We then continued to Nagoya were I saw my first sumo tournament. It has some elements similar to "professional" wrestling in the states, most obvious of which is the art of getting the crowd riled up before an amazing match. The better part of our day was spent walking around the amazing campus of Nagoya U where our PhD we were following around went to study. Researchers at this university apparently had an important role in the invention of blue led technology (if it isn't the case that they were the ones who actually invented them). There was a museum on campus with some old "robots" of Japan long past. There were mostly puppets but there were a couple that were at the most spring powered "robot" servants. Also we got to meet teams that were doing interesting work with lasers and automated guidance systems for cars and a lot of there stuff that I had no idea about but it was fun. After Nagoya we had to part ways...they were going back north on a Shinkansen and I was going south to Osaka while I was down there anyway. So I got on a system of local trains again and arrived at Osaka sometime around midnight.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
I was worried that any hotel in the area would be closed but apparently that's not quite how hotels work but I didn't learn that until a little later. More than scared for lodging I was a little lacking in the food department so I decided to eat first figuring sleep won't be a problem if I starve. I wound up finding a very...very expensive hotel and asked for any cheaper hotels in the area and thank goodness the Japanese are nice because he actually went pretty far out of his way to show me a few. I wound up making and cancelling a couple of reservations but I finally spent the night at a capsule hotel for men...and I gotta say for the money it was pretty kewl. The next morning I set out to explore Osaka. I did the strut for a few seconds but no one seemed to care (if you don't know what I'm talking about look up the Ulfuls). I found a pretty sweet manga store and (after some asking) an even sweeter manga/toy/game/anything else store. This is were I found a ridiculous selection of Gundams for ridiculous prices. Anyway, after I made my shopping list I went back downstairs to leave when I noticed a rack full of little scrap books (I noticed a girl drawing, quite well may I add, in one of them before when I went upstairs) and decide to browse through and apparently the store encourages patrons to show off in them so I drew a little something and left. Upon leaving (I guess this guy saw me but I didn't see him) stops me and tells me he noticed my drawing and wanted to show me some more stores. I told him I had time and he gave me something of a tour of the anime scene at Osaka and oh what a scene it was. By the end of the night I had purchased (using his discount card) a couple of nice Gundam models. We went back to his place where he offered me a night and acknowledged that it was pretty strange for this to happen and it was...a little too strange for me but he did help me find a very cheap business hotel to stay at for the next two nights. During this time I found those Gundam pod arcade games again and decided to try it. I bought a pilot card, put in my "pilot information" and was ready to go but for 5 bucks per two games I could only be ready to go twice. The card however is good for about 200 games. Anyway, the game is a little cooler than I imagined. It was just as cramped but I got to see what Gundam pilots must feel like sitting in the middle of a war with several other robots flyin' around trying to kill you. I came out just about 2nd place in my team (they were 4v4 games) for all of my games. It had a panoramic display that wrapped all around with warnings for incoming fire (in Japanese though...the guy would say, "Look out to the left!" or something) there was voice chat for squad organization...it was crazy...I can't describe the awesomeness...you just have to play it...or something like it. I also managed to eat at Kushikatsu, a place recommended to me but a guy from Osaka I met in Tsukuba, and it was pretty good. There were drunk white collars everywhere though. After a good walk around this pretty big city I took 80 bucks and 12 hours and headed back to Tsukuba.
At this point I realized how cramped and small Japanese city planning was. At some parts of the train ride it seemed like I went the distance spanning maybe half of Baltimore and I thought, "well...I could've walked that." All this to say, their cities are very dense and built up not out and it would be nice if we had a decent train/subway system back home...that's all I'm sayin'!
Friday Saturday
Friday was spent entirely by traveling back to Tsukuba but Saturday we climbed mount Tsukuba which was pretty dangerous because we were climbing through a cloud and it began to rain and the rocks were slippery and all that jazz but we made it alright. Right after that about half our group went to Asakusa for a firework festival which was awesome because it was my first firework festival where there were fireworks on either side of me!!
...and that just about brings me up to today...so...I have a few more musings that I forgot along the way...
first for some reason Japan seems to have some of prettiest black girls ever...food for thought...
the Japanese love building things into things...like bike locks...built into the bike. It's a small metal semi circular hook that swings around the back tire trapping spokes on either side to prevent movement. One can only retrieve the key from it when it's locked. Or fire doors...I've seen more fire doors here than in Baltimore...don't know why. You know, those big metal doors to prevent the progression of fire to another part of a building. Or like traffic cones...sometimes built into the ground as like traffic pillar things like the ones they have in DC around important buildings just not automatic...speaking of automatic...almost all doors here are automatic and to cut down on energy waste you have to hit a button to get in but the ones where you don't have to, you have to get very close to open it.
I chose the wrong country to come to and be tall. At one hotel, all of the doors were about 6' even...I hit my head often.
Also turkey is almost unheard of here besides at Subway and pork is used in everything more so than it is in America (I can't help the fact that the previous sentence can be parsed badly resulting in terrible meanings).
And my feet are 33 cm...the biggest shoe size I've found is about 28 cm...yeah...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
"Yes, the chicken was made with peaches!"
So today like I said, I just strolled around Ikebukuro, my temporary home, to see a few things without hurting my legs...so time for some random musings...
the Japanese separate their trash...combustible and non combustible and sometimes further into plastic bottles, (known as PET bottles because just about all things bottled are bottled with plastic type 1 or PET) cans, or newspapers...just about everything is recycled...and what can't be recycled gets burned. And speaking of trash...there's almost no litter...this can be blamed on the fact that the Japanese are so helplessly kind and considerate to each other and the Earth but that's not the strange part. I want to know how the Japanese streets can be so clean when there are almost no trash cans on the streets!!! I mean I'm walkin' with a plastic bag in my hand for miles and the most I see is a couple of recycling bins for bottles next to a vending machine! I can't even find a trash can in a bathroom half the time...I usually have a hard time finding a public bathroom at that!
speaking of vending machines...they're huge in Japan! and everywhere! On just about every block, even blocks with no large streets, there are vending machines. Why are there vending machines on minor streets? Because there are businesses everywhere! Every home is a store front essentially and I guess even old business owners know that young people love to buy cold drinks on the street.
...the power lines...are sooo tangled...I'm kind of worried...on my walk back...I looked up and thought, "someone needs to take a comb to that thing..."
...the guy who lives next to us keeps pigeons...just thought you might wanna know...
food is pretty cheap around here I got a really sweet bean paste filled green tea rice mochi treat thing for a buck and the rest of breakfast came out to about 5 bucks...
ah yes Pachinko...jesus christ, if you value your hearing don't go in a pachinko joint...the automatic doors opened up and rrrraaaaaaauauuuewwwrrrrr a huge roar came outta the joint. I can't quite figure out how it's played either...but there are a lot of themes...even Neon Genesis Evangalion! There are at least two pachinko joints in the area and I'm beginning to wonder if it's like their version of fast food (there are less macdonalds than pachinko joints...or banks for that matter) or churches (I haven't seen any of those yet).
the Japanese are very aware of their surroundings...they have these mirrors everywhere to help drivers see around the corner for pulling out of driveways and taking blind turns.
I'm not sure if this is normal for a train station in a large city but there's a mall underground in the train station near here...but it's also right next to an actual mall down the street...and they're both huge but the above ground mall is huger. It may not take up much surface area but it's got like 11 floors so yeah...pretty big. One of the floors is taken up entirely by a book store like twice as big as any Barnes and Noble I've ever seen. There's an awesome manga collection of course. You know how there are paintings of strong men and sexy women on the covers of romantic novels in America...well in Japan they have manga style drawings on their covers...which is misleading. I opened up half the fiction novel section before I realized there were no pictures in any of them. There's a movie theater on the 8th floor but there are only two screens...Instan Promise (I think that's what it is in English) and Juno...there's another movie theater down the street from me showing Machine Gun Girl 2 (apparently about the revenge of a girl with a machine gun for an arm) and Star Ship Troopers 3 (I didn't even know there was a 2).
It's normal for store owners to just leave their places unattended...just up and leave...no body watching the register...a black guy eating soba right there...oh well.
the Japanese separate their trash...combustible and non combustible and sometimes further into plastic bottles, (known as PET bottles because just about all things bottled are bottled with plastic type 1 or PET) cans, or newspapers...just about everything is recycled...and what can't be recycled gets burned. And speaking of trash...there's almost no litter...this can be blamed on the fact that the Japanese are so helplessly kind and considerate to each other and the Earth but that's not the strange part. I want to know how the Japanese streets can be so clean when there are almost no trash cans on the streets!!! I mean I'm walkin' with a plastic bag in my hand for miles and the most I see is a couple of recycling bins for bottles next to a vending machine! I can't even find a trash can in a bathroom half the time...I usually have a hard time finding a public bathroom at that!
speaking of vending machines...they're huge in Japan! and everywhere! On just about every block, even blocks with no large streets, there are vending machines. Why are there vending machines on minor streets? Because there are businesses everywhere! Every home is a store front essentially and I guess even old business owners know that young people love to buy cold drinks on the street.
...the power lines...are sooo tangled...I'm kind of worried...on my walk back...I looked up and thought, "someone needs to take a comb to that thing..."
...the guy who lives next to us keeps pigeons...just thought you might wanna know...
food is pretty cheap around here I got a really sweet bean paste filled green tea rice mochi treat thing for a buck and the rest of breakfast came out to about 5 bucks...
ah yes Pachinko...jesus christ, if you value your hearing don't go in a pachinko joint...the automatic doors opened up and rrrraaaaaaauauuuewwwrrrrr a huge roar came outta the joint. I can't quite figure out how it's played either...but there are a lot of themes...even Neon Genesis Evangalion! There are at least two pachinko joints in the area and I'm beginning to wonder if it's like their version of fast food (there are less macdonalds than pachinko joints...or banks for that matter) or churches (I haven't seen any of those yet).
the Japanese are very aware of their surroundings...they have these mirrors everywhere to help drivers see around the corner for pulling out of driveways and taking blind turns.
I'm not sure if this is normal for a train station in a large city but there's a mall underground in the train station near here...but it's also right next to an actual mall down the street...and they're both huge but the above ground mall is huger. It may not take up much surface area but it's got like 11 floors so yeah...pretty big. One of the floors is taken up entirely by a book store like twice as big as any Barnes and Noble I've ever seen. There's an awesome manga collection of course. You know how there are paintings of strong men and sexy women on the covers of romantic novels in America...well in Japan they have manga style drawings on their covers...which is misleading. I opened up half the fiction novel section before I realized there were no pictures in any of them. There's a movie theater on the 8th floor but there are only two screens...Instan Promise (I think that's what it is in English) and Juno...there's another movie theater down the street from me showing Machine Gun Girl 2 (apparently about the revenge of a girl with a machine gun for an arm) and Star Ship Troopers 3 (I didn't even know there was a 2).
It's normal for store owners to just leave their places unattended...just up and leave...no body watching the register...a black guy eating soba right there...oh well.
Random Musings
...there are these yellow strips on all major side walks with raised lines down them and bumps at intersections...they're for blind people...that's consideration, son!
...those card games I was talking about...yes you are to assume that there is a large table in front of you as you play as well as a rather large screen (sometimes touch screen) on the far end of the table that displays the actions of the units, creatures, warriors, soccer players, or horses on the cards...and no there was no interactive pokemon game...sad I know
the gundam cockpit things were sweet enough just to look at and sit in...I didn't get to play...but just sitting in it (despite it being cramped) felt really really kewl...
old ladies walk around at all hours of the night with no one accompanying them with very heavy looking packs...in related news, elderly have terrible posture in general.
I'm not going too far from my bed today on account of my leg still hurting from the Fuji hike and walking miles and hours everyday since then probably didn't help...no Akihabara for today...
...this morning I woke up and went to take a shower...my towel had these green spots on it...they didn't smell like mold but just to be safe...I washed it...
...today was my first time taking a crap in a Japanese style toilet and I gotta say not knowing exactly where the guy was gonna land was nerve wrecking! But it all turned out ok.
...Will, remember when we thought there was only a red frame and blue frame astray gundam? well I found a green frame model and I'm looking for a green frame action figure.
that's it for now, peace!
...those card games I was talking about...yes you are to assume that there is a large table in front of you as you play as well as a rather large screen (sometimes touch screen) on the far end of the table that displays the actions of the units, creatures, warriors, soccer players, or horses on the cards...and no there was no interactive pokemon game...sad I know
the gundam cockpit things were sweet enough just to look at and sit in...I didn't get to play...but just sitting in it (despite it being cramped) felt really really kewl...
old ladies walk around at all hours of the night with no one accompanying them with very heavy looking packs...in related news, elderly have terrible posture in general.
I'm not going too far from my bed today on account of my leg still hurting from the Fuji hike and walking miles and hours everyday since then probably didn't help...no Akihabara for today...
...this morning I woke up and went to take a shower...my towel had these green spots on it...they didn't smell like mold but just to be safe...I washed it...
...today was my first time taking a crap in a Japanese style toilet and I gotta say not knowing exactly where the guy was gonna land was nerve wrecking! But it all turned out ok.
...Will, remember when we thought there was only a red frame and blue frame astray gundam? well I found a green frame model and I'm looking for a green frame action figure.
that's it for now, peace!
"A car is coming! Heads up!"
...hm...I walked up to an escalator yesterday...I thought it was turned off but it was just acting...it was powered down until someone came along to awaken it...it was alive! Yeah it was pretty neat hoppin' on a smart escalator.
I still can't see why dad liked sunny side up eggs...they're kinda gross...slimy...
On with the show!
Today I went exploring Akihabara again and man is it huge!!! I think I got it down finally, though. First I walked up and down the main street then the smaller main streets and so on until I was no longer in recognizable country. I found a cafe underground (I know what I said about basements) and it turned out to be a internet cafe...but it didn't make any sense. I asked, "How do you use this place? There are computers so isn't it bad to eat around here?" She says, "You order a seat and you go in and you enjoy the use of the computers..." But why? That's what I wanted to know. Don't these guys have computers at home?! Then I thought about where I was, a basement in Akihabara...there might be porn involved...so I left it at that. So today I thought I might get somethings done! First locate some Gundams, second find a maid cafe, then find the source of that god awful smell! There are (like I said) several of the same shop in very close proximity which doesn't help a newbie find his way around but I did find several places that sold models and toys but there aren't that many of the latter. Also, I find it very annoying when I'm looking for a gift for someone, find a display for something perfect, ask about the price, and find out it hasn't even come out! What up wit dat?! After the first couple stores I realized I forgot something...the Anime Center! That's right a place devoted to anime in the anime hub of the world! Well I found it and it turns out it's just one (fair sized) room on one floor of one of the two more recognisable buildings in the area. I stood around listening to jokes I didn't really understand from voice actors I didn't really know, then headed out again.
It turns out that smell is just the sewage...no big deal...except it's everywhere!
In the same building, around the corner, I found a 3D workshop...there was a pen/mouse thing...you can use it to draw in 3D! I know right! I didn't get to use it though...aaaanyway, I found a robot hobby joint on an off street. It was kind of cool, like a play ground. The owner told me about a large tournament going on this Sunday at the Civic Center...I think I'm going. You know I don't think I'm particularly scary or surprising to the Japanese people around here but I am memorable (I'm not sure if I talked about the people at Fuji who remembered me for wearing a red t shirt on my head for warmth and eating koppepan bread). This morning I told this lady I was sorry for not giving to her organization and she flagged me down again this afternoon to tell me she remembered me and wanted to invite me to a show in the next town...she seemed really excited...I was really sorry but I couldn't go...kinda like those cute maid girls standing around givin out stuff...really a shame.
I had some apple tea today...and the stuff tasted like a fresh apple...no really...it hurt my teeth and gums a little...
Oh yeeaaaah I went to the SEGA building...and I gotta say, anybody reading this who happen to be into trading card games...give it up 'cause you can't do anything with those chunks of cardboard. I walked in this joint...saw some ufo catchers (prize grabs) got upstairs...and got blown away. In America, we get trading card games from Japan and we're left imagining these creatures exist, fighting each other...in Japan they have these trading card games where you put the cards on a table and you've set up your players in a formation on a soccer field! There was a game where you quickly move your cards to move important units in a war game. There was one card game where you play an RPG with your cards and while moving them, you have to issue other commands via the touch screen...the guy I saw was wicked fast justa tappin' anda slidin'. It was very kewl. And I'm sorry to say someone got dad's idea already. It seems the Japanese are training for a Gundam future already. There are these egg shaped cockpits, you climb in, stick in your pilot card, and go into battle! I asked someone and he said yes, indeed I did need a pilot card to play...aw man. They also had trading card horse racing...weird huh.
In Japan...the soap...just isnt. It's all...thin...not frothy like the soap I know and love. But in general...I don't even get soap...just cold water faucets...or a nice hot towel...ah well.
There toy stores are completely unorganized...besides by series. You could be looking at a display case for some pretty sweet figures then you see the rather expensive figures for you to buy...but then...right next to them or under them...there are some action figures that are cheap as all get out! The prices were 4,992 yen then 1,200 yen then 12,900 yen then like 580 yen then all of the sudden 3,450 yen! I was like, can you keep like priced toys together?!
I tried to stick my hands in the train doors today to let a lady who was in a rush but still kinda late on...it didnt work...oh well...she looked happy I tried.
Walkin back I was startled by a voice saying, "A car is coming, be careful!" in Japanese and I was proud of myself that I didn't take the extra cycle to translate that sentence in my head and good thing, too...I didn't want to get hit, man! But it's cool that certain words invoke, instead of an English meaning, a feeling...a memory...an emotion...a thought...a warning...a...ooh look dinner! Gotta go! Did I mention the girls are cute here? See ya!
I still can't see why dad liked sunny side up eggs...they're kinda gross...slimy...
On with the show!
Today I went exploring Akihabara again and man is it huge!!! I think I got it down finally, though. First I walked up and down the main street then the smaller main streets and so on until I was no longer in recognizable country. I found a cafe underground (I know what I said about basements) and it turned out to be a internet cafe...but it didn't make any sense. I asked, "How do you use this place? There are computers so isn't it bad to eat around here?" She says, "You order a seat and you go in and you enjoy the use of the computers..." But why? That's what I wanted to know. Don't these guys have computers at home?! Then I thought about where I was, a basement in Akihabara...there might be porn involved...so I left it at that. So today I thought I might get somethings done! First locate some Gundams, second find a maid cafe, then find the source of that god awful smell! There are (like I said) several of the same shop in very close proximity which doesn't help a newbie find his way around but I did find several places that sold models and toys but there aren't that many of the latter. Also, I find it very annoying when I'm looking for a gift for someone, find a display for something perfect, ask about the price, and find out it hasn't even come out! What up wit dat?! After the first couple stores I realized I forgot something...the Anime Center! That's right a place devoted to anime in the anime hub of the world! Well I found it and it turns out it's just one (fair sized) room on one floor of one of the two more recognisable buildings in the area. I stood around listening to jokes I didn't really understand from voice actors I didn't really know, then headed out again.
It turns out that smell is just the sewage...no big deal...except it's everywhere!
In the same building, around the corner, I found a 3D workshop...there was a pen/mouse thing...you can use it to draw in 3D! I know right! I didn't get to use it though...aaaanyway, I found a robot hobby joint on an off street. It was kind of cool, like a play ground. The owner told me about a large tournament going on this Sunday at the Civic Center...I think I'm going. You know I don't think I'm particularly scary or surprising to the Japanese people around here but I am memorable (I'm not sure if I talked about the people at Fuji who remembered me for wearing a red t shirt on my head for warmth and eating koppepan bread). This morning I told this lady I was sorry for not giving to her organization and she flagged me down again this afternoon to tell me she remembered me and wanted to invite me to a show in the next town...she seemed really excited...I was really sorry but I couldn't go...kinda like those cute maid girls standing around givin out stuff...really a shame.
I had some apple tea today...and the stuff tasted like a fresh apple...no really...it hurt my teeth and gums a little...
Oh yeeaaaah I went to the SEGA building...and I gotta say, anybody reading this who happen to be into trading card games...give it up 'cause you can't do anything with those chunks of cardboard. I walked in this joint...saw some ufo catchers (prize grabs) got upstairs...and got blown away. In America, we get trading card games from Japan and we're left imagining these creatures exist, fighting each other...in Japan they have these trading card games where you put the cards on a table and you've set up your players in a formation on a soccer field! There was a game where you quickly move your cards to move important units in a war game. There was one card game where you play an RPG with your cards and while moving them, you have to issue other commands via the touch screen...the guy I saw was wicked fast justa tappin' anda slidin'. It was very kewl. And I'm sorry to say someone got dad's idea already. It seems the Japanese are training for a Gundam future already. There are these egg shaped cockpits, you climb in, stick in your pilot card, and go into battle! I asked someone and he said yes, indeed I did need a pilot card to play...aw man. They also had trading card horse racing...weird huh.
In Japan...the soap...just isnt. It's all...thin...not frothy like the soap I know and love. But in general...I don't even get soap...just cold water faucets...or a nice hot towel...ah well.
There toy stores are completely unorganized...besides by series. You could be looking at a display case for some pretty sweet figures then you see the rather expensive figures for you to buy...but then...right next to them or under them...there are some action figures that are cheap as all get out! The prices were 4,992 yen then 1,200 yen then 12,900 yen then like 580 yen then all of the sudden 3,450 yen! I was like, can you keep like priced toys together?!
I tried to stick my hands in the train doors today to let a lady who was in a rush but still kinda late on...it didnt work...oh well...she looked happy I tried.
Walkin back I was startled by a voice saying, "A car is coming, be careful!" in Japanese and I was proud of myself that I didn't take the extra cycle to translate that sentence in my head and good thing, too...I didn't want to get hit, man! But it's cool that certain words invoke, instead of an English meaning, a feeling...a memory...an emotion...a thought...a warning...a...ooh look dinner! Gotta go! Did I mention the girls are cute here? See ya!
Monday, July 14, 2008
"In LA there's nothin' but Mexicans..."
So if you haven't figured it out by now I've been choosing the more interesting quotes from people I've been talking to while in Japan as the titles for these things
So yesterday I had the task of finding my new room for the better part of this week...and my directions sucked...nothings is worse than having directions that seem good but then actually aren't. What made things difficult was the directions referenced things like banks and 100 yen markets...unfortunately for anyone making their way through Japan, there are several branches of banks and stores within spitting distance! Take the bank not only do most of the bank signs look the same (besides the actual name on the sign) but there are several of each bank surrounding the station. Actually, it's that the bank extends through the narrow block so when you go into the entrance of what seems like one branch you can come out the other side through what you thought was the entrance of another branch of the same bank but that doesn't excuse the other signs for the same bank down the street! So I had to flag down some relatively non hurried people for directions and I gotta say, having a neighborhood cop always on duty is convenient as all get out. Keep in mind folk, walkin' up and down stairs still kinda sucks from Fuji so this ain't exactly a pastry promenade (thanks Will). Anyway so I find my place and meet a couple of British dudes who don't know a lick of Japanese and one of them feels a little sick but before I can actually get him to a hospital it angrily dashes out to get directions to find one himself...I think he made it...
Oh yeah, there are these things called Suica (means watermelon if spelled suika) it's a really neat card you swipe to quickly travel by train, it cost five bucks and besides the convenience of not having to pick through your pockets, not really worth it. But the funny thing is the commercial for it. There are these penguins...everywhere! On the tv...penguins...on the posters at the stations...penguins...on the transit maps...Sam Jackson! I...I mean...penguins!!! It's kinda ridiculous. My friend Ryan says, "I still can't believe we were at war with these people, they're surrounded with flowers and cute anime things since birth and they have more respect for each other than the storm troopers had for Darth Vader so they must've been much meaner, war happy people 60 years ago, or we were bigger douche bags,"...I think it's a mixture of both.
So I took a quick stroll around Akiba (short Akihabara) again and took a peak at the stores this time and it gotta say...I was right it's far too bright there. I mean I wear glasses can ya tone it down on the pinks and yellows, please?! Anyway, if you're ever in Akiba...the basements are for porn...and game arcades and if you don't read the signs you can find yourself lured in by game posters into porn heaven...I know I was...what?...I didn't read...moving on! There are cute girls everywhere by the station giving out napkins (remember almost no paper towels in public spots) advertising somewhere or another and I feel bad when I can't accept their adverts because my pocket's already full of 'em and they're standin' there all sad at night all alone competing against their maid rivals for male attention and you wanna give it to 'em you do but your pockets are sooo heavy...oh well.
There's another funny commercial on the trains where a woman is goin' to a yoga spot and she realizes putting her foot behind her head is impossible so she opts for the tea which I am to assume has the same benefits...it's just funny 'cause she's smiling but saying, "Ain't gonna happen," basically, at the same time.
So when I came back, I had some soba (really tasty buckwheat noodles in really salty broth) for dinner when this Japanese dude came in and was wondering how I was able to understand the news so well...and I didn't want to toot my own horn but he was asking for it...I have to say, "I've been studying for 7 years," or, "I've been doing it since high school," or, "I've been training my whole life for this trip," very often. I just need a t shirt that says it. Anyway a little chatting and it turns out the guy has been all over the west coast learning English but can't quite get the pronunciation and was impressed that with a little anime I can sound like a native speaker. Apparently there's a way Koreans sound when they speak Japanese, and a way Chinese sound when they speak but I have a Japanese way and I suppose that's pretty kewl to them. He told me about the Asians in northern California and the Mexicans in southern California and I told him we have about 5 Japanese at Hopkins...and it's sad...and we laughed and I'd like to say we shared a drink but it wasn't that kind of spot...
So yesterday I had the task of finding my new room for the better part of this week...and my directions sucked...nothings is worse than having directions that seem good but then actually aren't. What made things difficult was the directions referenced things like banks and 100 yen markets...unfortunately for anyone making their way through Japan, there are several branches of banks and stores within spitting distance! Take the bank not only do most of the bank signs look the same (besides the actual name on the sign) but there are several of each bank surrounding the station. Actually, it's that the bank extends through the narrow block so when you go into the entrance of what seems like one branch you can come out the other side through what you thought was the entrance of another branch of the same bank but that doesn't excuse the other signs for the same bank down the street! So I had to flag down some relatively non hurried people for directions and I gotta say, having a neighborhood cop always on duty is convenient as all get out. Keep in mind folk, walkin' up and down stairs still kinda sucks from Fuji so this ain't exactly a pastry promenade (thanks Will). Anyway so I find my place and meet a couple of British dudes who don't know a lick of Japanese and one of them feels a little sick but before I can actually get him to a hospital it angrily dashes out to get directions to find one himself...I think he made it...
Oh yeah, there are these things called Suica (means watermelon if spelled suika) it's a really neat card you swipe to quickly travel by train, it cost five bucks and besides the convenience of not having to pick through your pockets, not really worth it. But the funny thing is the commercial for it. There are these penguins...everywhere! On the tv...penguins...on the posters at the stations...penguins...on the transit maps...Sam Jackson! I...I mean...penguins!!! It's kinda ridiculous. My friend Ryan says, "I still can't believe we were at war with these people, they're surrounded with flowers and cute anime things since birth and they have more respect for each other than the storm troopers had for Darth Vader so they must've been much meaner, war happy people 60 years ago, or we were bigger douche bags,"...I think it's a mixture of both.
So I took a quick stroll around Akiba (short Akihabara) again and took a peak at the stores this time and it gotta say...I was right it's far too bright there. I mean I wear glasses can ya tone it down on the pinks and yellows, please?! Anyway, if you're ever in Akiba...the basements are for porn...and game arcades and if you don't read the signs you can find yourself lured in by game posters into porn heaven...I know I was...what?...I didn't read...moving on! There are cute girls everywhere by the station giving out napkins (remember almost no paper towels in public spots) advertising somewhere or another and I feel bad when I can't accept their adverts because my pocket's already full of 'em and they're standin' there all sad at night all alone competing against their maid rivals for male attention and you wanna give it to 'em you do but your pockets are sooo heavy...oh well.
There's another funny commercial on the trains where a woman is goin' to a yoga spot and she realizes putting her foot behind her head is impossible so she opts for the tea which I am to assume has the same benefits...it's just funny 'cause she's smiling but saying, "Ain't gonna happen," basically, at the same time.
So when I came back, I had some soba (really tasty buckwheat noodles in really salty broth) for dinner when this Japanese dude came in and was wondering how I was able to understand the news so well...and I didn't want to toot my own horn but he was asking for it...I have to say, "I've been studying for 7 years," or, "I've been doing it since high school," or, "I've been training my whole life for this trip," very often. I just need a t shirt that says it. Anyway a little chatting and it turns out the guy has been all over the west coast learning English but can't quite get the pronunciation and was impressed that with a little anime I can sound like a native speaker. Apparently there's a way Koreans sound when they speak Japanese, and a way Chinese sound when they speak but I have a Japanese way and I suppose that's pretty kewl to them. He told me about the Asians in northern California and the Mexicans in southern California and I told him we have about 5 Japanese at Hopkins...and it's sad...and we laughed and I'd like to say we shared a drink but it wasn't that kind of spot...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Double Feature "There are usually chickens in the city"/"Maybe you are not a big boy..."
So I forgot to do one yesterday so you get a double feature:
Friday "There are usually chickens in the city"
On Saturday, Ryan basically gave me the keys to his bike and I had a whole day to explore Tsukuba. It's a nice size city with plenty of people, stores, and trees...yes trees! Even though it was the early afternoon and in most places it was pretty hot, in a lot of the places I rode through there were shady paths and forest-like settings. The city, like most of Japan, is built with pedestrians and cyclists in mind. The streets sometimes don't have sidewalks but those are small enough and the speed limit's slow enough that it's okay to walk on them anyway. There are a few interesting landmarks of the city. There's a large clock tower in a park that you can see from anywhere, a very large building almost in the center, a rocket (don't worry, it's retired), a set of plaques with information on the Solar System (there relative distances are reflected along the path on which the plaques stand) and life on Earth (relative time spans also reflected in the distances between plaques), and a lot of science facilities. If America had this many trees and was built for biking like this...well...people would be in better shape enjoy a better local weather. After I was done exploring, I went back to find Ryan and found his roommate who took me to there beginners Japanese class...so I sat in on it. From there Ryan had to do some experiments in his lab so I went home. After a few minutes Ryan comes back with some friends who are going for dinner, so I came along. A member of Ryan's group wasn't coming so he lent me a bike. I met a lot of people that night and apparent didn't eat a whole lot (I was on average 3 plates behind everyone). We stayed out pretty late hanging out and on our way back we heard roosters...yeah that's what I though but apparently it's normal for cities to have chickens...oh well. By the way, the sun comes up at about 4:30 and goes down at about 6pm here...
Saturday~Sunday "Maybe you are not a big boy..."
Yesterday, I climbed Mt Fuji...well not really...I walked up a very painful, treacherous, dangerous path up the side of Mt Fuji starting at about half way...but it still was pretty cool. It started off as a dusty trail then became a slightly steeper rocky trail then it became just terribly steep sand trail...and you think it's hard to walk or run on a beach...try sticking that beach on the side of a mountain. Anyway, after a while it started to get ridiculous. It was the mountain was playin' games with us. All of the sudden (nowhere near the end by the way) we started climbing some pretty crazy rocks...not a rocky trail but a slanted rock wall...no gear just climbing. At the beginning I was really excited, but then it got cold and a few layers later I just wanted to get it over with. Around the middle I started getting tired and it didn't help that we caught with everyone else on the mountain in a sort of stop and go traffic thing...with very comfy looking rocks all around me...I napped at every stop. So this was one of those things where at any particular point on the mountain you can only seen one or two resting stops ahead of you...which makes you feel like you're close to the end...until you get to the resting stop and you see two more ahead of you...which makes you feel like kick the nearest person! Also there were a couple of shrines and gates along the way to which I thought, "Wait til the end to show me something that looks like a finish line!" So we started at about 6pm and at about 3:30am I saw some light on the horizon which gave me some kind of determination to finish the darned thing before the sun came up. I didn't quite make it but I was second in my group to the top. In the beginning we had a buddy system but towards the end we were horribly scattered...and cold...and hungry...and miserable...but we accomplished something...I accomplished it with about 10 pounds more than everyone else around my neck (I had an extra bag of food and clothes just in case...what? I never climbed anything before!). Along the way there were people who were shouting things like, "You're half way there, keep it up!" and at the second to last gate, "You're not finished until you get to the last gate!" to which instead of, "HAI!!!" I wanted to scream, "Give me a break, I'm a city boy who hasn't gotten much rest or food in the last 10 hours!" but that would've been tough in Japanese...but I made it...and got some warm food and tea...which was awesome and I got to see the crater which was also pretty awesome and I got to walk all the way back down the mountain...which sucked eggs!!! On the way up I had to deal with my heels and hands hurting...going down I had to deal with getting warmer faster than I got cold my toes and knees hurting and getting volcanic sand in my face!!! But we all made it back together. On the way back we all hung out at Akihabara...just for a few minutes to get something to eat. There were tons of lights, cosplayers and anime just as I suspected!!! We stopped at a Kebab place and I ordered the Beef Kebab Don: Big Boy...but couldn't finish it...to which Ryan suggested, "Perhaps you are not a big boy..." Jeez! I crawled up and walked down half of Mt. Fuji!!! What more do you want?!
Friday "There are usually chickens in the city"
On Saturday, Ryan basically gave me the keys to his bike and I had a whole day to explore Tsukuba. It's a nice size city with plenty of people, stores, and trees...yes trees! Even though it was the early afternoon and in most places it was pretty hot, in a lot of the places I rode through there were shady paths and forest-like settings. The city, like most of Japan, is built with pedestrians and cyclists in mind. The streets sometimes don't have sidewalks but those are small enough and the speed limit's slow enough that it's okay to walk on them anyway. There are a few interesting landmarks of the city. There's a large clock tower in a park that you can see from anywhere, a very large building almost in the center, a rocket (don't worry, it's retired), a set of plaques with information on the Solar System (there relative distances are reflected along the path on which the plaques stand) and life on Earth (relative time spans also reflected in the distances between plaques), and a lot of science facilities. If America had this many trees and was built for biking like this...well...people would be in better shape enjoy a better local weather. After I was done exploring, I went back to find Ryan and found his roommate who took me to there beginners Japanese class...so I sat in on it. From there Ryan had to do some experiments in his lab so I went home. After a few minutes Ryan comes back with some friends who are going for dinner, so I came along. A member of Ryan's group wasn't coming so he lent me a bike. I met a lot of people that night and apparent didn't eat a whole lot (I was on average 3 plates behind everyone). We stayed out pretty late hanging out and on our way back we heard roosters...yeah that's what I though but apparently it's normal for cities to have chickens...oh well. By the way, the sun comes up at about 4:30 and goes down at about 6pm here...
Saturday~Sunday "Maybe you are not a big boy..."
Yesterday, I climbed Mt Fuji...well not really...I walked up a very painful, treacherous, dangerous path up the side of Mt Fuji starting at about half way...but it still was pretty cool. It started off as a dusty trail then became a slightly steeper rocky trail then it became just terribly steep sand trail...and you think it's hard to walk or run on a beach...try sticking that beach on the side of a mountain. Anyway, after a while it started to get ridiculous. It was the mountain was playin' games with us. All of the sudden (nowhere near the end by the way) we started climbing some pretty crazy rocks...not a rocky trail but a slanted rock wall...no gear just climbing. At the beginning I was really excited, but then it got cold and a few layers later I just wanted to get it over with. Around the middle I started getting tired and it didn't help that we caught with everyone else on the mountain in a sort of stop and go traffic thing...with very comfy looking rocks all around me...I napped at every stop. So this was one of those things where at any particular point on the mountain you can only seen one or two resting stops ahead of you...which makes you feel like you're close to the end...until you get to the resting stop and you see two more ahead of you...which makes you feel like kick the nearest person! Also there were a couple of shrines and gates along the way to which I thought, "Wait til the end to show me something that looks like a finish line!" So we started at about 6pm and at about 3:30am I saw some light on the horizon which gave me some kind of determination to finish the darned thing before the sun came up. I didn't quite make it but I was second in my group to the top. In the beginning we had a buddy system but towards the end we were horribly scattered...and cold...and hungry...and miserable...but we accomplished something...I accomplished it with about 10 pounds more than everyone else around my neck (I had an extra bag of food and clothes just in case...what? I never climbed anything before!). Along the way there were people who were shouting things like, "You're half way there, keep it up!" and at the second to last gate, "You're not finished until you get to the last gate!" to which instead of, "HAI!!!" I wanted to scream, "Give me a break, I'm a city boy who hasn't gotten much rest or food in the last 10 hours!" but that would've been tough in Japanese...but I made it...and got some warm food and tea...which was awesome and I got to see the crater which was also pretty awesome and I got to walk all the way back down the mountain...which sucked eggs!!! On the way up I had to deal with my heels and hands hurting...going down I had to deal with getting warmer faster than I got cold my toes and knees hurting and getting volcanic sand in my face!!! But we all made it back together. On the way back we all hung out at Akihabara...just for a few minutes to get something to eat. There were tons of lights, cosplayers and anime just as I suspected!!! We stopped at a Kebab place and I ordered the Beef Kebab Don: Big Boy...but couldn't finish it...to which Ryan suggested, "Perhaps you are not a big boy..." Jeez! I crawled up and walked down half of Mt. Fuji!!! What more do you want?!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
"The Japanese really know how to treat you right!"
Wednesday~Thursday "The Japanese really know how to treat you right!"
Yesterday marked firsts of many things...my first time away from the East Coast, my first time to Chicago, my first time taking a plane ride, and my first time in Japan.
BWI
As soon as I got into BWI my adventure began quite interestingly. I went to check in my bag and get my boarding passes and was almost confused with another Griffin who was going to somewhere in Spain or something! I almost choked when the guard asked me how old I was at security...anyway I watched my things get Xrayed and my scissors get measured (they made it through BWI and ORD security) and I was on my way to a relatively short wait at the gate! I felt safe because there were two air force men (I think) who were on my same flight. When the plane arrived I noticed it was quite small. Keep in mind, at this point everything was happening so fast and so well it felt like a dream or a movie about someone else...it still hadn't quite settled in that I was actually doing all this. So let me tell you something...I like flying...a lot! Having that air cushion you from below is quite the sensation. But this is the coolest part...I look out the window at some point and it was like someone forgot to paint the background! I was completely surrounded by white!!! I could see the wing but beyond that...white!!! After a roller coaster like plane ride (not in a bad way) I turned to the older gentleman who was next to me and told him how honored I was to share my first flight ever with him and he told me that I should've said that to begin with and he would've engaged me more!
ORD
ORD...is huge!!! Out of the three airports involved in the trip...it's the biggest! This part of the adventure was relatively uneventful besides almost getting lost looking for my gate while trying to avoid leaving the secure areas. So I get to my gate and the plane waiting for me is simply huge!
JAL
I get on and young guy sits next to me...he was going to Australia (he's the originator of the quote that became this post's title). I didn't realize that a 12 hour flight is 4 times longer than a 3 hour flight...it sounds simple but it was long...but there were in-flight movies. There was 21, Horton Sees a Who, some movie starring Keanou(sp?) Reeves and Hugh Laurie(sp?) playing cops, a PGA tour feat. Tiger Woods, 2~3 Japanese movies, a Korean movie, and footage of a Japanese game show (all of which could be viewed in Japanese or their original language) as well as music and mini games. There was free food, blankets and pillows, and very pretty flight attendants. So we flew over Canada and Alaska to save time...and there were points where the pilot or a flight attendant turned off the lights to suggest it was time to take a nap (which I failed at) but what I didn't realize is why those periods were chosen. So normally (when the lights are on) you can look through the window, but when the lights are off they ask that you close your window. I noticed someone sneak a peek and I decided to do the same...and was blinded!!! Last time there was no background...this time the background was emitting it's own light! The sun was reflecting off the clouds or the snow or something but it was simply too bright! We land normally and life was good...really good!
NRT (the fun begins)
So I had to go through immigration and customs...which didn't take long though it was kind of confusing. But when I got out...oh when I got out...there were Japanese people everywhere! Which would be expected but at this point I still felt like I was in some weird part of America (I've never left the country remember and it still hasn't quite sunken in). But anyway, definitely the most energetic and suspenseful part of the day...ok Japanese money is in yen and you can think of one yen being a penny...kind of. Anyway I needed a ticket, which costs about 2500 yen or 25 dollars, to meet Ryan, my friend, so I went to the atm and took out 50000 yen or 500 dollars. I went to by my ticket and had a feeling something was wrong. For an instant (and that was enough) I thought I had taken out 500000 yen (5000 dollars)! I panicked and went around asking different help desks about what I should do to return the 4000 USD I didn't actually have in the bank! No one could help me since you can make deposits to foreign banks (or to any bank with the atm's at the airport) so I decided to convert the money to USD, notify SECU of the mistake, pray that they have my back, hang on to it, and return it when I get back. Good thing I decided to do that because when I went to convert it the guy says, "So you want to take yen to American dollars? ok...*turns his calculator towards me* is this about right?" I look up from my feet...$410...410 dollars!?! "I have 400 dollars!", I thought and shouted at the same time...I didn't overdraw!!! I was so relieved! I grabbed the money, thanked everyone who helped me, got my rental cell phone, waited for the bus, and went to meet Ryan...and life was good.
So everything considered...I had a good first day...and there will be more to come!
Yesterday marked firsts of many things...my first time away from the East Coast, my first time to Chicago, my first time taking a plane ride, and my first time in Japan.
BWI
As soon as I got into BWI my adventure began quite interestingly. I went to check in my bag and get my boarding passes and was almost confused with another Griffin who was going to somewhere in Spain or something! I almost choked when the guard asked me how old I was at security...anyway I watched my things get Xrayed and my scissors get measured (they made it through BWI and ORD security) and I was on my way to a relatively short wait at the gate! I felt safe because there were two air force men (I think) who were on my same flight. When the plane arrived I noticed it was quite small. Keep in mind, at this point everything was happening so fast and so well it felt like a dream or a movie about someone else...it still hadn't quite settled in that I was actually doing all this. So let me tell you something...I like flying...a lot! Having that air cushion you from below is quite the sensation. But this is the coolest part...I look out the window at some point and it was like someone forgot to paint the background! I was completely surrounded by white!!! I could see the wing but beyond that...white!!! After a roller coaster like plane ride (not in a bad way) I turned to the older gentleman who was next to me and told him how honored I was to share my first flight ever with him and he told me that I should've said that to begin with and he would've engaged me more!
ORD
ORD...is huge!!! Out of the three airports involved in the trip...it's the biggest! This part of the adventure was relatively uneventful besides almost getting lost looking for my gate while trying to avoid leaving the secure areas. So I get to my gate and the plane waiting for me is simply huge!
JAL
I get on and young guy sits next to me...he was going to Australia (he's the originator of the quote that became this post's title). I didn't realize that a 12 hour flight is 4 times longer than a 3 hour flight...it sounds simple but it was long...but there were in-flight movies. There was 21, Horton Sees a Who, some movie starring Keanou(sp?) Reeves and Hugh Laurie(sp?) playing cops, a PGA tour feat. Tiger Woods, 2~3 Japanese movies, a Korean movie, and footage of a Japanese game show (all of which could be viewed in Japanese or their original language) as well as music and mini games. There was free food, blankets and pillows, and very pretty flight attendants. So we flew over Canada and Alaska to save time...and there were points where the pilot or a flight attendant turned off the lights to suggest it was time to take a nap (which I failed at) but what I didn't realize is why those periods were chosen. So normally (when the lights are on) you can look through the window, but when the lights are off they ask that you close your window. I noticed someone sneak a peek and I decided to do the same...and was blinded!!! Last time there was no background...this time the background was emitting it's own light! The sun was reflecting off the clouds or the snow or something but it was simply too bright! We land normally and life was good...really good!
NRT (the fun begins)
So I had to go through immigration and customs...which didn't take long though it was kind of confusing. But when I got out...oh when I got out...there were Japanese people everywhere! Which would be expected but at this point I still felt like I was in some weird part of America (I've never left the country remember and it still hasn't quite sunken in). But anyway, definitely the most energetic and suspenseful part of the day...ok Japanese money is in yen and you can think of one yen being a penny...kind of. Anyway I needed a ticket, which costs about 2500 yen or 25 dollars, to meet Ryan, my friend, so I went to the atm and took out 50000 yen or 500 dollars. I went to by my ticket and had a feeling something was wrong. For an instant (and that was enough) I thought I had taken out 500000 yen (5000 dollars)! I panicked and went around asking different help desks about what I should do to return the 4000 USD I didn't actually have in the bank! No one could help me since you can make deposits to foreign banks (or to any bank with the atm's at the airport) so I decided to convert the money to USD, notify SECU of the mistake, pray that they have my back, hang on to it, and return it when I get back. Good thing I decided to do that because when I went to convert it the guy says, "So you want to take yen to American dollars? ok...*turns his calculator towards me* is this about right?" I look up from my feet...$410...410 dollars!?! "I have 400 dollars!", I thought and shouted at the same time...I didn't overdraw!!! I was so relieved! I grabbed the money, thanked everyone who helped me, got my rental cell phone, waited for the bus, and went to meet Ryan...and life was good.
So everything considered...I had a good first day...and there will be more to come!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
New Blog...sweet...
so yeah...this is my first blog...I'll try my best to keep it consistent...
じゃぁ。。。これは僕の最初のブログだ。。。僕は一貫するようにするね。。。
じゃぁ。。。これは僕の最初のブログだ。。。僕は一貫するようにするね。。。
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