Standard Japan travel journal

Conclusion

2006-12-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

I just handed in my last assignment of the semester today. Christ, four months has shot by amazingly fast. Pardon the cliché, but it honestly feel like only yesterday when I arrived back in Calgary and started school two days later. I've been in Japan withdrawl ever since. While I was happy to see everyone here again, things definitely felt different. By complete fluke, I started talking to this girl the other week who had been travelling around the world for the better part of the last four years. I asked her how she ever got accustomed to living back at home. In a very straightforward manner, she said she still hasn't and doubts that she will ever be able to get entirely back to the way it was. I definitely share the same opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I love my life and the friends and family that I am lucky enough to be around here. But at the same time, I also have a lot that I left behind in Japan which I miss everyday that I'm not there...
Its so true... International travel messes with your head.

This here is my last photo drop of my Japan trip. I'd like to dedicate it to Benny and the Jets... living the dream in the world's largest Chinatown.

August 29, 2006

Everybody loves trick monkeys
Odaiba.

Fuji Television Building

Rock n' roll

Shiori and Lisa and the ferris wheel

Future thesis of mine

Rainbow Bridge

Dinner in Odaiba

August 30, 2006

Nikko

Nice little place. The scenery and temperature reminded me so much of Japser or Banff in the summer time with one important exception...

Jasper or Banff do not have super rad wild monkeys

This one here almost bit Lisa in the face.

The monkeys run the show in Nikko. This one here is posting as lookout while his friend is in the store trying to steal things... and I'm not even joking. Moments later the theif monkey gets shooed out by the owner, flips over a bike and then runs into some narrow alley.

September 1, 2006

Indirect rent payment as well as the greatest meal I have ever had.

I felt so out of place here. The average person in the room probably had the same amount of money in their pockets that I would ever dream of making in a year.

Elevator mirror fun

New York Bar. top floor

Myself, Saori, Yuya, Kazuki and Shiori

scotch.

About as content as I've ever been

The end of yet another all-nighter. After the Park Hyatt, we decided to continue on with the classiness and go shoot pool and darts and eat ramen. Top drawer.

September 2, 2006

Shinagawa Aquarium

penguin

Two reasons I wish I was in Tokyo right now.

Spetember 3, 2006

Last supper in Ebisu.

September 4, 2006

tv screen in front of my seat showing the sunrise outside.

Actual outside.

In Vancouver. Lagged and confused

...all eyes on July. 184680分...

東京 dump #2

2006-09-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

So yeah, after a few days in Shizuoka, I got back to Tokyo and continued my exploration of the various cities within the city. From each train stop it would seem, Tokyo changes its style and pace. Places like bright, noisy, crowded Shibuya or Shinjuku contrast more mellow areas like Ebisu or Daikanyama, and are completely black and white to places like Itabashi or Urayasu. I guess that would be a good point about Tokyo; if you ever become tired with one area, all you need to do is take a relatively short train ride and start all over again.

Aug. 23, 2006

At first I thought that scene in Kill Bill where she flies into Tokyo looked so over-the-top fake. After actually seeing parts of the city like Shinjuku, things kind of make more sense.

Aug. 24, 2006

Roppongi Hills shopping center/office building

super refreshing mist

Inside Roppongi Hills. If West Edmonton Mall looked as half as cool as this place, I would actually want to go sometimes.

Tokyo from the 52 floor. Kind of smoggy as was the usual during my visit.

Cool looking buildings

Looking out the window

Park area just outside the mall

Roppongi Hills Africa enjoys a slightly better standard of living than regular Africa... I think.

Giant spider statue. Apparently there are others in existence in various cities around the world including Ottawa.

Colosseum style performance area

Aug. 25, 2006

Went walking aimlessly and stumbled upon this, the National Soccer Museum

Very well done and neat looking, but not really updated since the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.

Continued my stroll and ended up at Ueno park.

building

oh, the unbearable tension! (click to enlarge if you don't quite get it)

guy who rocked out just a bit too hard.
-on the ueno train station pedestrian overpass (may also make more sense enlarged)

Aug. 26, 2006

Daikanyamers

robot vending machine. sweet.

The glory of beer. This is Yebisu Garden Place (http://gardenplace.jp/english/), a beautiful square with beautiful buildings named after a really good beer sold in Japan. The district/city where this is found is also named after the old brewery.

On the 39th floor of one of the buildings located on the square. Don't exactly know how that preying mantis managed to climb all the way up.

pretty tree

Chateau Restaurant Taillvent-Robuchon. Sounds classy.

Kazuki and Saori

Eiff..-*cough*-Tokyo tower.
-taken from Roppongi Hills

quick trip to Fukuroi

2006-09-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

On the 21st I relapsed with my Shinkansen habit and went to visit my friend Mina who lives in a small town in Shizuoka prefecture called Fukuroi about 2 hours from Tokyo (while riding the train that stops at all the stations). Kyle and Lisa were there too, so it was like a little Canada convention. Also met some of Mina's co-workers and good friends who were really friendly and super funny. They all spoke in the (*edit*) Kansai dialect (Hakata dialect? what the flip! that's in Kyushu... gosh.. what an idiot!) of Japanese which is sort of the equivalent of cockney in English, so at times they were a little bit difficult to understand. And by a little I mean I didn't know what the hell they were saying. On the way to the beach (by the way, we decided to go to the beach that day) they taught me some vocab and good times were had.

Swam in the ocean for the first time in my life. Besides the taste of salt water and the occasional jellyfish sting it was alot of fun. I'm definitely a huge fan of beaches in Japan. I'll have to check out the ones in Fukuoka when I go back. Word on the street (actually there are no words on the street, it was Kyle told me about them) is that they're even nicer.

Keeping it real tourist style

The beach

mountains. wait no, still the beach

Kyle, Liser, and myself

Stayed at Mina's family's house for a night. It should be known that while the Japanese steriotype of small, cramped living spaces does hold up in many parts of the country that I visited, especially the cities, it is by no means a standard everywhere. Small towns for example allow for more building space. Example, Mina's place

Rin-chan, Mina's dog

tatami room in Mina's house

Where I slept. Sweet place. You could even drop the curtains by remote. Scarface style as Kyle pointed out. Very impressive.

Outside

Defying the steriotype

Us at lunch

Some unknown dog that walked up to us and refused to leave. Mina looking at it in confusion.

At the train station.

Tokyo from the shinkansen

Toe-key-ohhh! -photo dump numéro un

2006-09-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

From August 11th to my return yesterday (September 4th) I spent all but four days in the world's biggest city. I must say it was quite the experience. Despite being exhausted at times by the sheer size and population density (not to mention the incessant wall of sound and bright flashy lights) as well as being unimpressed by the cold nature of its inhabitants, I am already missing it and will be doing my damndest to get back there as soon as possible. The reasons for this are the amazing challenges/experiences everyday offers there as well as the unbelivable people living there that I am fortunate enough to be friends with. I've come to the realization that you could be in the lamest, most boring, crappiest, (insert negative adjective here) place on Earth and still manage to enjoy yourself as long as you have the company of people you have fun being with. Not to say Tokyo was lame boring or crappy-it was very far from any of that- I'm just saying that the friends I hung out with while I was there overshadowed any of the negative aspects of the city. Maybe you picked that up already and that explanation was simply beating a dead horse, but whatever, I typed it anyway and am too jetlagged at the moment to delete it. so whatever. harhar

For the first 2 and a half weeks there, I found myself living by myself in an apartment in a part of Tokyo known as Itabashi. I was quite happy to discover I am able to fend for myself in a place like Tokyo without dying. Goldstar and two extra checkmarks for me. My friend Shiori, who had to go back to her hometown for family matters was kind and trusting enough to give me the key and let me have at 'er. While I would have loved to spend more time with her, I am so thankful for her generosity. Are there any other organs that I could donate without dying? Christ, I should just put a footnote on my donor card saying "forward all to Japan".

Anyway... gross harvesting talk aside, I had a fantastic time in Tokyo seeing the sights, walking aimlessly and meeting with people, some of whom I hadn't seen in over a year. Good times all the time.

Here are some photos.

Aug. 16, 2006

Fireworks festival in Harajuku

Aug 17, 2006

Girl giving out ads for one the many maid cafés in Akihabara. For those who haven't heard of them before, maid cafés are basically like any other over priced establishment where one buys coffee, sandwiches, desserts etc. except that all the staff dress as maids. As such, these places tend to attract a very er.. interesting clientelle. Akihabara is well known for having many of these interesting people.

Lots of concrete. Akiba Square

Aug 18, 2006

Daikanyama, probably my favorite district/city in Tokyo

If I see any more Luis Vuitton I am going to fucking puke. It seems like every third person in Japan (especially Tokyo) has a handbag, wallet, suitcase, ..scooter seat with this design...ughhhh.

Some sweet grafitto tagging

Aug 19, 2006

Ohhh Japanese television. They have this talk show with movie/tv star guests where the host is a real-live chimpanze! It is the most amazing TV show I've ever watched. It't called the Chimpan News Channel. I would have taken a photo of it, but I was incapacitated by laughter everytime I saw it.

Aug. 20, 2006

Train station and DoCoMo tower
-harajuku

Takeshita (pronounced "tah-kay-she-tah" for those reading it differently) dori. This a street filled with many shops and people. Standard spot to go to if you're in Harajuku.

Cosplayer in Harajuku

Ginza. Everything here is so expensive. You get to feel like you're spending money just by walking around here.

For RyHei

At a birthday for Yuya, a friend of mine. In Shinjuku.

Yuya and Saori

More to come soon.

Shizuoka

2006-08-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

From July 23 to August 11, I was passing time in a city called Shizuoka. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much to the city. Compared to place like Tokyo or Kyoto, it doesn't have much in terms of major tourist appeal. However, when I was making my flight reservations at Nippon Travel (travel agency), I was fortunate enough to begin a conversation with a native Shizuokaite (proper term? probably not) who informed me of all the city and the surrounding area had to offer. She even went as far as to create a portfolio for me including maps and personal comments about each place. That coupled with me knowing people in Shizuoka, compelled me to stay there longer than originally planned. Here are some photos.

I am unbelivably thankful to my friend Mayumi who, for the duration of my stay in Shizuoka, put up with my garbage, took me around everywhere, and let me stay at her place free of charge (as far as I know). Just to let everyone know, she's got first dibs on my spare kidney if she ever needs it! (first photo: fun with long shutters and nightime highways. photo taken by Mayumi)

Eyhhhhhhhhh! (fonz style) Sketchy photo I know, but I feel that it adequately represents my state of mind during my stay in Shizuoka.

Shrine in Shizuoka (i'll find the name of it later). At first, I thought we only had to climb these stairs in order to see the shine. At the top however, we were informed by an old man (who kicked our asses and got to it way faster) that it would take another15-20minutes of hiking.

The women here can do everything in heels! Example: Mayumi and a 20 minute mountain climb.
-Standard 'Tarantino foot fetish' shot.

The shrine

Shizuoka from the top of the mountain

Nihon-daira hanabi taikai. We could actually see the fireworks shooting from the ground 400m away. super rad. It even made the one in Hiroshima look lame.

Kunozan Toshogu

kool kids at Nihon Daira. mayumi and myself

Inconspicuous tourists

Fireworks next to the ocean

Miho-no-matsubara. 650year old tree

Shizu at Dusk

Shizuoka is famous for its tea. Fields and fields of it are seen everywhere in and around the city. Example: here. Taken from the SL (and oldschool train)

le train et moi

suspension bridge at the end of the line

leaf in the river underneath the bridge

stylin' in Yui (a neighborhood in Shizuoka known for its old houses). I found those beautes as I was walking around downtown. They were 10$ so I just couldn't say no. Plus Mayumi said they'd make me look like an asshole (or at least something along those lines) so that sealed the deal.

Well ventilated outhouse on the side of the road.

We climbed up some iffy metal staircase on the side of the hill (bugs spiderwebs crazy attacking birds and all!) and ended up on this road and with this view.

One of the old houses in Yui

Cool looking house in Yui

Rented a car and went tripping. This here is about a couple hours out from the train station. Gorgeous place. Mayumi, what was the name again??

falls and one of the many fish swimming upstream

Sweet hair at the falls

Bamboo

Hey look what's that? Hey, I think its the OCEAN!

Our badass ride.

X-treme outside the moving car shot

cool bridge

respect your hunchbacked elders!

Aug. 15: Yasukuni Jinja

2006-08-15T04:02:00.000-07:00

Going to make a Shizuoka post soon, but it will take some time since I did spend about 3 weeks there and as such have many things to write about and many pictures to post

But for now I'm going to post my Yasukuni Shrine pictures which I took today. I must say, it was quite the powerful experience. Times like these i really wish I knew more Japanese. The things I did pick up were only good enough to make me want to know more.

Its pretty difficult to explain the significance of today due to my time restrictions, but please if you don't know about the controversy surrounding the shrine, or the prime-minister of Japan visiting it, please read about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_shrine .

Media helicopters swarming overhead at 7:45am (there had to be at least 3 or 4 others outside of this shot)

Side entrance of the shrine where Junichiro and his black toyota posse left from

Gentle looking security

Koizumi leaving

Yasukuni Shrine

People who I believe either are or related to war veterans

Yakuza looking type (notice the guy holding the umbrella for him). There were alot of these kinds of people around. I'm not totally sure if they were yakuza though...I didn't think to ask.

A conservative type perhaps??

Old man walking back and forth in the crosswalk in front of the shrine entrance screaming slogans at the top of his lungs which I unfortunately couldn't understand. For or against the visit? I'm not sure.

Rock n' roll.

anyone know who this is? everyone around me was taking her picture, and I later saw her on tv, but i don't actually know her or her significance. (*update* this here is the grand daughter of Tojo Hideki the Prime Minister of Japan as well as a general during the Second World War. Props to Mina and her family for helping me out with this!)

protesting the official visit

shield wielding riot police. the front guy was staring me down for the longest time. I was quite the intimidated.

Kyoto

2006-08-15T03:23:00.000-07:00

Went to Kyoto (6th 7th of august) to meet with my friend Yukiko and to become the ultimate tourist. Because of all the shines temples, beautiful architechture and goods it is really hard not to. From all the cities I've been to in Japan, Kyoto definitely had the largest foreigner count. From what I saw, I would put it in the same category as summertime Banff.

Kyoto is without question the most interesting city (in terms of old mixing with new) that I've ever been to. You can be walking along what appears to be your standard consumerist street complete with shops restaurants and malls and then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, come accross a giant shrine or some other traditional Japanese building/monument. I definitely spent to little time in that city, and will need to go back again sometime and explore further. While I was there I checked out the Heian Jingu shrine and the Ryuanji temple with Yukiko. I stayed at her family's place and (once again) was very warmly welcomed. So many people here in Japan that I'm endebted to...gosh! what the flip?

Heian Jingu shrine

Garden of Heian jingu shrine

same

"

Ryuanji temple

The most beautiful mall I have ever seen.
-At Kyoto train station.

fun with mirrors flashes and timers

mall

sunset through mall window

Treated way to well in Nagoya

2006-08-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

what the flip!??! You go to sleep with the computer on and your blog entry in the works and then you wake up in the morning, the computer is in hibernation mode and your writing has dissappeared? what's the deal with that?

anyway, here's what I thought would be a breif sum up (it is brief in terms of recounting of events, but still long in writing) of my two day trip to Nagoya which took place on the 29th and 30th of July.

arrived at the train station at around one and met with my friend Mariko and her dad, Mr. Ishida. From the station we hopped in their car and drove two hors north of Nagoya to a traditional style village called shirakawa-go.

the trip was a very welcome surprise for me for two major reasons. First, it gave me a chance to chat with a friend who I hadn't seen in over a year and second it gave me a chance to have half-assed bilingual conversations with Mr. Ishida who is probably as enthusiatic about learning english as I am with Japanese. Since our ability to express ideas and opinions in eachother's languages is sketchy at best we relied alot on Mariko to act as our interpreting/translating middle person. That too was quite fun to see.

On the trip, I also unintentionally recieved a lesson on how Japan's toll gate system works. Apparently, there is a pre-paid card which one inserts inside his or her car which sends a signal to keep the gate open. Unfortunately, Mr. Ishida forgot to do this. This resulted in the gates dropping a few metres in front of us and us blowing right through them like one would do if they were trying blast through a police blockade. I felt like such a bad ass in that modest Toyota sedan. The toll booth people seemed pretty apathetic about the whole incident and looked as if they wouldn't have really cared if we had kept on driving. We didn't though, so once everything was sorted out, we continued on our way.

Shirakawa-go was a beautiful place definitely check it out if your ever in Gifu prefecture. Along with the houses and yards village being like nothing i've ever seen before , the surrounding landscape was absolutely stunning. In terms of natural beauty, the area between Nagoya and the village is defintely one of my most favorite.

The entire time spend with Mariko and her dad, I was treated excessively well. From the pricey gas (about 1.49$/L) required for the trip my admission, my lunch etc: all of it was paid for. Way too nice. And then as we were driving back to the city, Mariko started searching for an adequate accommodation for me to stay in (They live an hour from Nagoya, so it was decided that it would be best if I stayed in a hotel near the train station). Flipping though her traveler's guide book of Nagoya, she started talking with her dad. At first I thought they were simply discussing places which would be good around the station, but then they started talking really fast in Japanese to a point where it became basically a different language to me, and before I knew it a room was booked and paid for in my name. Despite my pleas to pay for it, Mr. Ishida would hear nothing of it. All he said was that he already paid too many taxes and that "[he] wanted to spend money! [he] NEEDED to spend money" (said while jokingly pounding the steering wheel). While I didn't really understand the logic to the argument (still don't), I finally gave in and was extremely grateful instead. I owe them quite alot. If you're reading this Mariko, for the hundreth time, thanks so much.

Once I parted ways with the Ishidas at the hotel, I went back to the station to meet with my friend Shin. Had some food and drinks and talked for a while. It was alot of fun despite being brief. Unfortunately, I caught him the day after an evening of significant drinking with company so needless to say he was pretty hungover and ready for bed. After I saw him off at the train station, I fell back on my typical routine in Japan and wandered aimlessly. Ended up going to the 52nd floor of the Marriot, having a terribly over priced yet delicious scotch being terribly under-dressed (everone's expensive suits shirts dresses and pants to my jeans and ratty shirt and ball hat) and then calling it a night (hahah no not at the marriot, but still a really nice place).

The next day, I met with Mariko again, went to Nagoya castle, strolled around the city together, then hopped on the shinkansen and went back to Shizuoka where I left all my stuff.

Shirakawa-go right before my battery dies. (you can see half of one of the trad houses on the right hand side)

Mariko and myself at Nagoya castle

scale. (mariko at the bottom left)

Top of Nagoya castle (top of middle building is where I had my scotch)

much needed clarification. GenkiJACS= radical

2006-08-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

hi all. Still in Shizuoka. Still really enjoying things. Having problems uploading photos at the moment, so I'll try to find another computer as soon as possible. But for now, formalities:

As most of you already know, the purpose of this blog is to keep friends and family informed about my experieces during my two months in Japan and to avoid the insincerity of mass emails. However, in an email which I have just finished reading, it has been brought to my attention that I am in fact using the internet and there exists the potential for those outside my target audience to read my entries. While the idea that people who do no know me would be influenced by (let alone read) my shoddy writing completely boggles my mind, I guess it is possible in theory. Therefore, certain things should be clarified.

In my post about my first day in Fukuoka I talked about being stranded and on my own with no known contacts in the city. While all of that really happened and I don't think I was excessively malicious in the things I said, I forgot to follow up and fully explain the mix up. As it turns out (surprise surprise) my own negligence was to blame for my homelessness. In an email sent to over a month in advance by GenkiJACS, information including the names of my host parents, their contact numbers as well as detailed directions to their house from the airport were attached. However, due to the sketchy nature of my university webmail account and (more importantly) my poor reading abilities, I failed to open that attachment. GenkiJACS was in no way at fault.

I have nothing but good things to say about the teachers, staff and the organization of the school during my stay. When I get the chance I would really like to go back and take more classes. Everyone associated with Genki are major reasons why I'm so fond of Fukuoka. I learned alot, met a bunch of really good people and had fun in the process. My apologies if I left an impression contrary to that. mon mal.

For anyone studying Japanese I would definitely recommend checking them out->
http://www.genkijacs.com/

doing the tourist thing in hiroshima

2006-07-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

i love the shinkansen.

To date, it is the most entertaining and most comfortable form of transportation i have ever used. Despite being (sterio)typically known for their short stature, you would not believe the leg room offered on these japanese trains. Being misinfored about the legth of the trip from Fukuoka to Hiroshima by my host mom (she said 2 hours when it was actually about half that) i didn't get a chance to rest. I would eventually push my sleepless streak to about 40 hours. As such, minor details like the signs at the front of the cars reading 'reserved' and 'non-reserved' did not compute... I kept wondering why the hell people with assigned seat tickets kept bumping me from my place. I had a total Homer Simpson moment, when i kept looking back and forth at the big orange (english) reserved light and then at my general seating ticket. It took me until the next day when i headed off to Shizuoka to figure out what the deal was.

When I got to Hiroshima, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It wasn't due to any fears related to navgation (i had a map, and besides, i had already managed well enough in Fukuoka); it was because of my paranoia about how i, and my striking resemblance to your standard american citizen, would be recieved by the people of the city (you know... because of the whole war thing, and a certain infamous event which you may or may not heard of). I learned pretty quickly though, that both my worries and feelings of ease we horribly invested. After leaving the station and walking around with all my things in the hot sun for about 15 minutes without seeing any recognizable landmark which were listed on the map, I decided to randomly ask a passerby. Mrs. Fujimori (something like that, but i'm almost positive i've forgotten her name), doing her best to contain her laughter, informed me that I had left on the wrong side of the station and would be required to retrace my steps. With sweat already pouring from my face, and my right knee about to give out, I took a moment of silence, envisioned destroying something expsensive in the middle of a field (office space style, of course), took a deep breath and hyped myself up for more fun in the sun. I thanked Mrs. Fujimori, and started heading out on my way. Just then, a car containing her husband pulled up. He waved at me, as if he already understood the situation, and Mrs. Fujimori quickly offered me and my burdensome luggage a lift. Thew drove me right to the door of my hotel. I don't know which supernatural figure i payed off, but I have been having some pretty good luck on this trip (don't worry, i just knocked on the biggest piece of wood i could find)... maybe it was that 20yen i threw at Buddha in Asakusa.

Once I got set up in my room, and took my second shower of the day, I decided to stroll around randomly. As I was passing the train station, I noticed multiple lines of hundreds of people, many in traditional robes (yukata for the women, ?name which i forgot? for the men) boarding buses. Eventually, my dangerously large curiosity kicked in, and I decided to ask someone. I learned that everyone was going to a summer fireworks festival. At that point, my dangerously large interest in fire and exploding things kicked in, and i hopped in line.

Hiroshima (and I'm assuming the rest of Japan) definitely does cut corners with their firework festivals. Delicious food and beer were available in copious amounts, live bands played, people sold trinkets and everyone had a grand old time. Then there were the fireworks. Lasting literally for an hour, they made Canada day in Edmonton look like a terriblly lame joke. Did you know that you can make crazy glasses, cats, and bursting semi-sphere designs with fireworks??? I sure didn't.

The next morning I became an all out tourist. I more or less checked out all the spots that the foreigner-friendly (english only) sidewalk signs/maps suggested i see. If it wasn't for the uneasy feeling i had the entire time i was in it, i would say that the peace park is an amazingly beautiful place. I ended up spending alot of time around the a-bomb dome. I soon realized that even the best photographs cannot even begin to convey the impact that place has on an individual when seen in person. While terribly, horribly, painfully cliched, it was quite the moving experience.

After leaving the park i was feeling pretty down. I decided to cross the street and mope around the Hiroshima baseball stadium where there appeared to be some sort of junior level baseball tournament going on. The long line of cheerleaders that crossed my path quickly lifted my spirits.

After that, I walked over to the Hiroshima castle and surrounding area and quickly checked it out. Again, a very impressive place, but by the time i got there I was kind of fed up with seeing the staple attractions and opted instead for some cheap ramen. I'll check out wikipedia for some additional information. Maybe I'll do it while eating cheap ramen, and relive both experiences.

and theennn...
picked up my gear, hopped on a train, and headed for shizuoka, where i am writing this now

kind folks with a car

firworks festival

guess where

Peace park

shrine for the dead (arch), and dome

A-bomb dome

Hiroshima Castle

getting tore up and passing out in the hot sun (sort of.)

2006-07-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

so i went on another adventure with kyle last friday. it was my last day in fukuoka so i thought i'd make it worthwhile. one of the many great things about japan is the abundance of convenience stores that sell two dollar tall cans of beer which can be consumed more or less wherever you please. In the case of kyle and myself, that place just so happened to be directly outside the Family Foods, accross the street from the bar/club that was selling it at twice the cost. It was a beautiful thing. Needless to say (or perhaps there is), i didn't sleep that night. Drinking establishments close here at six am, so we literally partied till the break a' break a' dawn.
-Eventhough I'm making efforts to avoid excessive exposure to english while here, rocking out with Kyle was definitely good times... oi! mite mite! sabishi-ne?!! *ringring*. harharhar. best of luck friend. digdigdig. see you when we get back.-

While drinking and shennanigans were an essential part of the evening, it wasn't a complete gong show. Before I met up with kyle, i went back to tenjin station to check out the musicians that i had seen the friday before. Again, I was so impressed. I listened to and talked with a super friendly guitarist named Kama. He was pretty happy that i was speaking japanese and that i liked his tunes, so when I bought his most recent LP, he gave me his other two discs as a gift.
...acts like that, combined with the general friendliness of people and the physical beauty of Fukuoka has made me fall in love with it. Somehow, I would love to return there and make it my home for a while.

After some post-bar aimless wandering, delicious convenience store fried chicken, and shit-shooting on the post office steps by the bus stop, i was off to my host family's house one last time. Got home at around half past seven, and was greeted at the door by pops. After a much needed shower, last minute packing, breakky, and some photos, I was ready to step out and be on my way to my next stop, Hiroshima. Ma and Pa had different plans however. While all i really wanted to do was pass out on the shinkansen, it was decided that I had to see a famous fukuoka park before i left. Exhausted, famished and still slightly inhibriated, i could barely contain my excitement at the thought of a multiple hour walk in thirty degree weather not to mention with a humidity rate of something like a million percent...ohhh boy! while i know they meant very well, their fast paced, (to my ears) incomprehensible discussions and indecisiveness caused me to nearly bite my tongue clean off on more than one occasion. as the day progressed however, i was able to shake off the day-after burnout and genuinely enjoy my final outing in Fukuoka. Seeing the giant koi battles as well as the old man getting mobbed by pigeons made the walk completely worthwhile.

Eventhough, I'm still having a blast, I already miss the city. I left Fukuoka a little wiser, a few cds richer (actually seven... their local music scene is too good to ignore), and filled with nothing but good memories. If i am ever to mysteriously dissappear, there is a good chance that I'll be found there. That, or I'll have been abducted by some disgruntled homicidal postman. Really.. its either or.

At GenkiJACS, Harumi-sensei, Evan (co-owner of the place), his wife Rie-sensei, moi, and Mika-sensei

Yuki Tanaka

Kama

Fukuoka in the morning from inside a bus

the Haritas

Ohori Koen

Giant koi. apparently the white ones are rare?

pigeon mugging

Fukuoka dome (right) and tower (left of center)

host parents. steps of old stone fortress

man-made river filled with lilly pads

for the ladies

leaving time

2006-07-20T17:17:00.002-07:00

I will never cease to be amazed at the sight of women running in high heels. How they don't misstep every second stride and tear every single ligament/tendon in their ankle is completely beyond me. Attention isnt even paid to the heel strike; they just look dead ahead and keep on givener. Here in Fukuoka, high heeled running is a daily occurance. Every time I see it I feel like applauding, but then quickly restrain myself, because that would just be weird.

The fact that people have places to be coupled with their fashion sense results in this phenomenon. As Kyle observed, people here get done up to go to the convenience store. I have yet to see a single person wearing sweat pants or hospital scrubs on the street. Quite the change from Edmonton. I will say nothing further on the subject :)

...

Today marks my last day of formal classes in Japan. In the last two weeks I've learned a lot, but really, two weeks was way too short. The teachers here were really good, and a lot of fun to hang out with after class. One teacher, Mika-sensei, has the most amazing taste in music. We did a list exchange the other day, so before i leave, i plan on heading to the local music shop and purchasing some discs. Zach, worry not. I am making attemps to spread the western musical enlightenment (sunset rubdown by the way?...scrumtrilescent). Also, if you ever need headphones come to Japan. For example, at the local electronics shop, my $70CAD headphones are about 35$. its insane. and its like that for most of them too. I'm required to bring a drool bucket and a minimal amount of yen everytime I go.

Speaking of leaving, today is also my last full day here. I'm kind of choked about it. Up to date, I love every aspect of this city. It has everything. I must come back here soon. It would probably be a lot more fun too if I wasn't constantly studying, and had my own place-kind of like Kyle. I met up with him last Sunday and had a grand ol' time. Went to a club that reminded me so much of any stock top 40 club in edmonton, except alot more japanese party people. Fashion-wise, there must have been 200 japanese Eddy and Senai's. It was really amusing to see how similar things were. Hiphop will eventually unite all the people's of the world and bring about lasting peace... I'm sure of it. All Israel and Lebanon really need right now is some Little John. As a final comment on that evening: running in the streets in fukuoka at 2 in the morning fueled on glenfiddich with a mo-ped helmet is quite enjoyable... I will say nothing further on the subject.

Going to go now. I leave for Hiroshima tomorrow and will stay there for two days. I'll probably put something up again sometime after I get to shizuoka on Sunday night. Until then, stay in school, drink yo' milk and keep on keeping on.

some crazy cabbage/rose dealy on a sunday promenade

i guess that would be me here

some organized hip-hoppers tearin up da club.

nanshoto? kyle, tomoyo (our guide for the evening), and some drunk guy who was initially passed out on a concrete block.

kyle rocking out with the helmet (apologies for the quality. wrong camera settings)

i promise you I'm sober(ish)

Outside a maid cafe (props to Vladimir the Finn /anti-christ for completely ruining this photo)

strung out on coffee

2006-07-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

'he's got the crazy eye!' - Klaus. The Life Aquatic
-2am. wired.

***here's some photos a few days later than expected (i kept forgetting my camera cable at home!!!)

mister donut is a pretty sweet place. for the equivalent of $2.67CAD you can drink as much coffee as your bladder can stand. i can't remember exactly how many cups i had, but my best guess is that the the number was fast approaching, if not entering into the double digits. i had a pretty bad case of the shakes for a while.

to my original dismay, eventual good fortune 'misa-do' (as the locals refer to it) closed down at 2. this meant that i had 3 hours to kill until the yamakasa race with no place to study or sleep. so in response, i walked around aimlessly. ohhh the things i saw... bongo playing hippies, drunk young women congregating at the local karaoke bar (by bar, i mean and entire giant building), drunk young male foreigners hastling those same women, homeless people and their elaborate cardboard pens, some friendly musicians- one of which reminded me so much of my good friend paul. ohhh my.

if ever in a relatively large japanese city, i highly recommend pulling at least one all nighter strolling randomly along the main drag.

i'll post som e pictures and further explanations on either monday or tuesday

cracked out self portait 10 cups later

really good local musicians in tenjin station

Tenohira, Tanaka, and myself

Fukuoka cityscape (at night!)

lanterned street as daylight breaks.
-before the yamakasa race

Fukuoka in the morning

-i like it here

i've got blisters on me fingers!!

2006-07-14T03:15:00.000-07:00

woke up to helter skelter this morning. my host dad has very good musical taste.
Along with providing me a rockin good wake up, the song also coincided nicely with my predominant mood of the day (nono... it had nothing to do with charles manson...sickos). As I got out of bed, I think I took with me John Lennon's frustration as he screamed the famous last line (if you haven't heard it->Helter Skelter- The Beatles. listen). For the first time since I've gotten here, I started to get really annoyed with the fact that I cannot express myself to, or understand what is being said by others around me. I guess speaking and listening at the level of a 3 year old retarded child has started to wear on me. I've since shaken off the feelings of resentment, but the sense of urgency still remains. I have to learn this language. I plan on getting blitzed on coffee at the friendly neighborhood Mister Donut this evening (they've got all you can drink caffinated beverage! radical). Worry not however, I haven't gone completely insane. There is logic to this.

Tomorrow morning, beginning at 5AM, there will be a very big/important festival taking place. Its called the Yamakasa festival, what it is (or at least what it is comprised of) is a race of hundreds, maybe over a thousand locals racing giant floats in the streets by carrying them manually. Yesterday, they paraded the 7 floats along the course and my christ did it look hard. At one point, a guy in the front buckled and almost fell under. Fortunately for him, his posse backed him up and pulled him up. huzzah for teamwork.->To get back to the point, my all nighter will be pulled in order to observe how these floats are raced without anyone getting killed in the process. Does that make it sounds less obsessive? Perhaps?? no?... shit

to hell with it. let the coffee binge begin.

the most elaborate old man scooter ever (to be fair, the people who sit on the top are selected by participation experience, not senility

oisa! oisa!

generational bonding: newborns to 80 year olds participated in the event

standard cute kids picture

gratuitous bare ass shot

worry not! consumerism will survive nuclear apocalypse! (underground mall in tenjin-fukuoka)

learning things in fukuoka

2006-07-12T17:01:00.001-07:00

hi everyone.

i regret to inform you that i completely copped out on the hobo plan, and instead chose the safe, air conditioned confines of a cheap western style hotel right next to the school. I offer you my most sincere apologies.

since my minor problem the first day here, everything has been going very smoothly. I must admit though, my initial homeless situation was actually a lot of fun. After I left, the internet cafe where i made my last post, I stumbled upon this Buddhist temple (by stumble, i mean I walked accross the street)... they seem to be every around this area. There were 3 people at the front steps of the temple about ready to go in. I didn't want to disturb them by my ignorant foreigner presence, so I was planning on just continuing my walk down the street. One of them noticed my curious glances however, and I was very quickly welcomed in. An extremetly enthusiastic man in his 50's, who I only know as Jo then began to teach me about various aspects of Buddhism (for example Ah and Ohn, the two giant statues on the front steps), as well as the distinct differences between silence and tranquility. Our conversation consisted of both broken Japanese and broken English as he had studied it years ago and was very eager to try it out. He was very proud of the fact that he was instructed by two Oxford professors. As a result, there was no way I could insist on my 'Japanese-only' rule. He was a super friendly guy and really helpful as well (he suggested I seek out scholarships from Japanese companies to help out with my language studies. to my japanese friends that may read this->do you know anything about this? do these scholarships actually exist?). We parted ways by him warning me about the crazy traffic, which seemed sort of random considering our previous discussions. Useful advice nonetheless.

The next day I went to the GenkiJACS school and began my studies. The classes here are pretty intense, and alot of stuff is thrown at you in a very short period of time. While I'm learning so much, I'm starting to think the 2 weeks that I've planned on being here will be way too short.

While I'm in Fukuoka, I'm staying with a host family; the Haritas are a married couple in thier 50's who are amazingly kind and accomodating. The husband, Ryuichi is an energetic guy who is into Eric Clapton, Led Zepplin, and Jimi Hendrix (fuken a!), and who compliments me constantly on me on my amazing (-ly horrible) japanese. He is far too kind. Mrs. Harita is just as nice, although I think likes to challenge my speaking a little bit more, which is exactly what I want. Although they're only in their 50's they remind me so much of my traditional french catholic grandparents (just switch jesus with buddha).

The other students at the school are alot of fun to hang out with as well. Last night after school, some of us went to a local onsen, which is like a canadian hotspring except with nudity and consequently, gender specific pools. Let me tell you, there's nothing more relaxing than sitting in 40degree water, with a bunch of old naked guys in the vicinity.

After that, we decided go next door for a beer and some sushi. The cool thing about this restaurant was that we literally got to catch our dinner. The tables are all on two giant boats which are immersed in a giant pool of water containing an abundance of fish. The tables come complete with fishing rods, hooks and bait, so whenever you feel hungry, you just set yourself up and cast a line. While it was a little expensive (Canadian equivalent of about 32$ including beer) the experience alone (food was amazing too) was well worth the experience.

Fukuoka in general, has so far been amazing. Like my friend Kyle, who is also here at the moment (www.kyleinjapan.com), I'm gradually beginning to fall in love the place. Everything around here (at least though gaijin eyes) is interesting. I'll take more pictures to make my point.

but now, i got to go learn some things.

english switch-off.

me looking like a jerk at the fishing restaurant
(important part of the picture is the background)

fellow japanese students and myself

cntd.

2006-07-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

so because the school never sent me info. about my host family i currently have no place to stay.
i have one of two options to choose from in my mind.
1. find a hotel, clean up, stay the night and go to school first thing in the morning
or....
2. do it up hobo style and pass out on the front step of the school underneath my luggage.
hmmm... what to do what to do....

anyway. time at the internet cafe (that's where i am right now by the way) is almost up. i'm off to find a room.
bye for now.

PS: for all those looking to lose some weight: to hell with dieting! just come to fukuoka and walk around carrying a 23kg bag, you get rid of all of your excess in no time!!
by the end of this trip, i plan on looking like Christian Bale in 'the Machinist'... minus the rugged good looks of course!

fuk-ed in fukuoka

2006-07-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

hahaha i was kind of hoping something like this would happen just so i could use that incredibly clever title.

I arrived in fukuoka today which found on Kyushu the southernmost main island of Japan. I got to the Fukuoka intl. about 50 minutes late due to a delay in Tokyo. besides that though it was pretty easy going. I must admit though, i got a really weird feeling when we were flying over hiroshima.

so i got here, and as soon as i got out of the plane it was like stepping into a furnace. I've been told its 35degrees out here today, and the humidity is unbelievable. Oddly enough, despite the disgusting amount of sweat exiting my pores, I'm enjoying it so far.

Anyway, so to the fuk-ed part. I got to the airport, and didn't see anyone waiting for me, so I got in a cab and left for the school. The lady driving was super nice. I understood maybe about 60% of what she was saying, be we were still able to have a half assed conversation in japanese. About 15 minutes later i got to the school, eager to meet the teachers and perhaps my host family. Unfortunately however, the school was closed (god or no god, things always seem shut down on sundays).

july 7 2006 11:16PM. still not dead

2006-07-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here finally is the more detailed version
got to Narita airport at about 4:30PM the 4th of July. Getting here was relatively smooth, besides the mixup in Calgary (flight time got changed, which required me to hop on another flight). When I arrived, I picked up my baggage, bought a train ticket and headed off to Nippori station about 80 minutes away where I met my friend Shiori. As soon as the train surfaced from the airport underground, I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. To avoid looking like a complete moron I covered my mouth with my hand and acted as if i were deeply contemplating my existence. Over the intercom I kept hearing the name of my station, but couldn't really distinguish the words before or after it... I now know how my dog feels when it hears certain key words like 'dinner' or 'car ride'. I met Shiori at Nippori (again with no problems) and from there we took another train to her home district of Ikebukuro. There, I met some friends of hers who are some of the coolest people I've ever met. We hung out until about 2 in the morning eating and drinking, and them showing me the ropes. I couldn't have asked for a better welcome... it was way more than I merited.

That night I stayed in a small business hotel. It was kind of sketchy, but it had air conditioning , a shower and free internet, so i was more than happy with it. The next day, I went to Shinjuku with Shiori and checked out what there was to see. What an unbelievable place... lights, sounds, some kid in a pink vest rapping non-stop about eyeglasses (i filmed some of it but i have no idea how to post it)... so unreal. For the next two nights I stayed at another hotel in Shinjuku which was really good despite the fact that it was right next the the Yamanote train line (literally 3 meters away from my room window). I also checked out Shibuya, which was twice as crazy as Shinjuku in terms of amount of people, lights and sounds. If you want to experience steriotypical Tokyo, go there. Shiori again acted as my guide... The hospitality she showed me was unbelievable, especially since her and her friends are right about to write final exams. I felt so guilty. Eventually though, she suggested that I just stop apologizing for everything. While planning my trip I was kind of worried about getting in the way, so thats one of the main reasons i'm in Fukuoka studying right now.

From Shinjuku, I left to another district of Tokyo called Urayasu. Compared the the first three areas, this place was like a ghost town. The whole place (spare the station area) was as active as a small Alberta town on the weekend. After being perpetually surrounded by sound for 3 days, it was really eerie and a tad discomforting... very nice nonetheless. I met up with my friend Yuka, and the next day with Mayumi. Checked out Asakusa shrine, which was beautiful but a bit of a tourist trap. That night I stayed at a place near Haneda airport, and after that caught a plane to Fukuoka....

So yeah, there's a very brief recap of my first few days here. I'll try to keep things up to date from here on in. here's some more pictures though.

me, out.

i don't deserve this...

shiori, friends and be (from left, Kabe-chan, Haruka, Sho, Kosuke, me, and Shiori)
-izakaya in Ikebukuro

ikebukuro

denny's...Just dissapointing.
(notice Sho carrying my 50pound bag. He insisted I swear!!!)

Rikkyu University (Shiori, Sho, Haruka, Kosuke, Kabe-chan's place of study)

my favorite picture.
(shiori in shinjuku)

token phallic image (DoCoMo tower, Shinjuku)

jebus is *everywhere*.. watch out!!!
(shinjuku)

???

Mindblowing Shibuya

indeed.
(shinjuku)

temple of some sort in Urayasu

Some pretty flowers, fly and coy
(temple in Urayasu)

safari marc at asakusa temple

2006-07-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

onwards and upwards

test

2006-07-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here we go.
With 36 hours to spare I have finally created some sort of makeshift journal for my Japan trip. Apologies for the uninventive name and use of a chimp-simple blogsite. whatever though... I made something on the internets... by myself! allow me this small victory.

Anyway, for the next two months I hope to write about my rad adventures while I'm on the other side of the world. So yeah, if anyone is interested, give this a looksee once in a while.