Dudes, I was remiss about Christmas!

It's been DAYS AND WEEKS since I last posted. I am a terrible blogger. But that's OK, because while not posting I had lots of fun, and fun is good. I spent the week before Christmas doing lots of work, and I also went out dancing a few times, hit the beach, and learned about cricket from my cousin. (Yes, I listened to the rules of cricket for TWO OR THREE HOURS.)

So here's my take on Christmas traditions at home and abroad--and hereby I promise myself that as 2009 rolls along, I'll be a more responsible Albatross.

Of course, the biggest difference between Christmas in Australia and in Canada is the weather--and the difference between summer and winter then spreads out to change a whole variety of traditions. Swimming not skating, barbecue not turkey (or AND turkey), fresh mangos (mmmm) not mandarin oranges from afar... the list goes on.

Some popular Christmas things I've noticed here are outdoor markets, big carol sings--in parks or on beaches--and going to the beach for Christmas/summer holidays. But overall, Christmas isn't as big a deal here. Outdoor decorations on houses are much more rare. I think it's because Christmas isn't alone--in Canada, Christmas vacation is the only thing to be excited about in the cold weather of December. Here, you can totally ignore Christmas and still be excited about summer.

Whether it's because this is my first Christmas as a working person rather than a student, which is to say the first time I've worked right up until December 24th, or because of the different weather and traditions, I totally didn't see Christmas coming. It was just like WHAM. I spent the holidays with my aunt, uncle, and cousins--it was interesting because their family and my own have kindof similar Christmas things in some spots, inherited from my aunt's and mother's family, but it's all inflected by the climate/national traditions. So while I missed the home ways, I also enjoyed the Australian versions.

After Christmas, we all went to the coast, to Jervis Bay, for 4-5ish days. I'll tell you more about that later, with PICTURES. But let me just say there was a lot of ocean.

"Seasons greetings" to all, and I hope your holidays have been as radtacular as mine!

Katsurahama

One last shot of Japan. I took some photos of Kochi's most famous beach with a disposable camera in mid September, and while they aren't AWESOME SHOTS, I love the film-y quality of them.

Wedding at Meiji Temple in Tokyo

A huge crowd of tourists watched this wedding procession. I felt bad for the couple at first, but then I realized that if they hadn't wanted a huge audience of foreigners, they wouldn't have gotten married at a huge, famous temple in Yoyogi Park on a Sunday.

Kyoto Tower

A man in a suit looks out from Kyoto Tower.

Temple Workers in Kyoto

In Kyoto I took a bunch of photos of people cleaning and working at temples. I just put the whole batch on flickr.

(Now there's just Tokyo, and I'll be up to Australia!)

A Chatty Post About Nothing, Really

Yesterday I bought three mangos for five dollars and ate them all in the course of the afternoon. This was not entirely a good idea, because then I didn't feel very well all evening, but man was it fantastic at the time. I highly encourage you to try it, but only if they are good mangoes and only if you are as enthusiastic about mangoes as I am, which is not really likely but who knows?

I would say "I think I will do it more often" but today someone told me that if you eat too many mangoes (like WAY TOO MANY, like THREE IN ONE AFTERNOON REPEATEDLY) you can become allergic to them. That is not cool at all. I will act with more restraint in future.

Also, I'm working at an ultrasound clinic. This means I see three or four pregnant ladies a day two or three days a week. Or more if it's busy. Today, I saw one lady who was 19 weeks pregnant but you couldn't really tell, and one lady who was 7 weeks pregnant but looked like "WHOA THERE'S A BABY IN THERE I THINK." Pregnant ladies are mysterious. I'm also learning a whole new vocabulary of medical/pregnancy words. It's pretty cool.

I'm kindof excited because my third-of-the-year-ly book tally is super high! It's only November, so I have a month to go before the end of this four month period, but I'm already on my 21st book. I haven't been reading more just to make the number higher, or anything. I'm just excited because it's really thrilling that not being in university or Japan means I can maybe read more than one book a week. Actually, 21 so far is about 7 a month. Imagine how many more books I can read over my lifetime than if it was 4 a month! Like, LOTS! Hope this continues now that I have one of those pesky job things!

The best book I've read since September is Carlos Zafron Ruiz - The Shadow of the Wind, which I recommend if you like books, Barcelona/Spain, and/or mysteries.

What are you reading? Is it any good?

Fushimi Inari Shrine

This was one of my most anticipated destinations in Japan--mostly for the photo ops. I'm not sure I did as well as I would have liked, though. I'll have to go back next time.

In Australia, I now have a part time job as a receptionist. I'm still working at the cinema for the moment. Hopefully this means I'll be able to do some travelling in January!

Australianism of the Year

(Because let's face it: I'm not going to get around to posting another of these before January.)

First of all, let's confirm that we're all right-thinking English speakers here. Yes? Yes. So what's that coffee drink with chocolate in it? A mocha. Mo as in moment, ka as in car. Everyone with me?

Here in Australia, it's pronounced mocka... like mockingbird. What is that! As an American friend and I were saying on the weekend (we had both encountered this strange and disturbing phenomenon independently), does a mocka really sound like something you would want to drink? No, no it does not.

Those true blue Aussies are dead set wrong on this one.

What's your philosophy of travel?

I've been in Australia for nearly two months, now. I've spent a lot (a lot a lot) of time looking for work, a lot of time just having a break (including a week paralyzed by mysteriously sprained bits that doesn't really count, because I WANTED to get out of bed, really!), and some more time tooling around Sydney in a fairly random manner. I've seen lots of stuff, but I haven't made an effort to go for the tourist sites. Heck, I still haven't seen any living kangaroos. And, since I've been here for a while now, people are starting to ask me what my travel plans are. Which other parts of Australia am I going to see?

The truth is, I've barely thought about it yet. For one thing, I don't have the funding at the moment to just go wherever I want. But for another, I'm really enjoying just living in Sydney. I know, it would be a shame to come to Australia and just hang out in one state (I've also been to Canberra--and I'll go to Melbourne, which is the next state over) and not to see rural areas. But I also don't have any huge motivation to go to any particular place. (Well, it would be nice to see Uluru [Ayre's Rock]. But let's face it--not a great solo backpack trip destination for a non-driver.)

Someone I was talking to yesterday asked me about this, and on hearing that I didn't have plans, said something like "Anyway, it's the experience of living in a different place that's important." I think that might be my philosophy of travel.

So what's your philosophy of travel? When you visit a country, do you want to see all of the famous sights? Travel EVERYWHERE? Or just get a taste of life as it is for the locals?

...and while we're at it, any suggested short trip destinations in Australia?

More Japan

Flowers are also in bloom in Australia, since it's spring here... I'll try to get to THOSE photos in a week or so!

Lately...

...I'm such a bore! Sorry, guys--my first month in Sydney hasn't been thrilling. Oh, I'm definitely enjoying myself. For one thing, it's nice to have a break and do nothing. But I've spent a horribly large percentage of my time looking for work. So far, no huge success. (I do have a part-time job, but I'm not getting enough hours to fill a teacup and besides, it's pretty lame.) But I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and hopefully soon I'll not only be gainfully employed, but also doing more interesting things.

Until then, I leave you with more photos from Japan. I'm STILL behind!

(Oh, and isn't it great about Obama!)

I'm not in Japan...

...but I still haven't uploaded all of the photos yet.

The rest of Chikuriji Temple on in Kochi is on my flickr page now, and I still have tons of shots from Kyoto and Tokyo to post! Aaaaah!

(Australia update: got a job at a movie theatre, still looking for something more BOOKish... still no home internet, alas!)

Getting (Upside) Down in Sydney

So, ladies gentlemen and others, I have been in Australia for over a week and I still don't have an internet connection! What are the odds?! Actually, it looks like I won't have one for a while.

Stuff I've been up to:

- walking from Coogee to Bondi Beach (pronounced bondeye, I still can't say the bon part right) (okay, yes, I only did that once, it DOES take a couple of hours) and then getting KILLED by ocean with real waves
- shoving my resume in the face of 90% of Sydney booksellers (so far one interview! our fingers and toes are crossed)
- watching TV... my cousins have a TIVO thingy and it is SWEET
- speaking ENGLISH
- catching up with foods I've missed (dear cheese, our long-awaited reunion is deliciously pleasurable)

That's about it! I still have about 60 billion photos from Japan to upload, so I'll hopefully get to that soon.

My second musical this week...

Today I went to see the friends and family preview of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, which my cousin is working on.



It was FABulous, darling.

In Australia

Dudes, I am totally upside down right now.

Stuff I'm Going to Miss About Japan

1. the food
2. the challenge of learning a new language
3. all of the awesome moss
4. a confirmed source of compliments--anyone I speak to in Japanese
5. the food
6. the people
7. train travel (although I might get some of that in Australia too??)
8. the food
9. speaking Japanese (it's been kindof fun lately)
10. lots of stuff I haven't thought about missing yet

What is this "Takarazuka"?

What did I go to buy tickets for three mornings in a row? What did I sit on the ground in line for three hours for this morning and, indeed, finally get to see? What is really awesome?

Takarazuka!

To quote the all-knowing Wikipedia, it is "a Japanese all-female musical theater ... Women play both male and female roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions - most of their plays are Western-style musicals...." I generally enjoy a good musical but am not a huge fan, but Takarazuka is just extra awesome. Even though I didn't understand much, it was super fun to watch. It's just so over the top, and the women who play men are super good at it. Today I saw The Scarlett Pimpernel, and the Pimpernel himself, in particular, was fabulous fabulous. Even though the haze of Japanese, the character's personality came through really well.

I really enjoyed the rad alto voices (the male parts). Also, there was a women-playing-men-playing-women scene, in the noble theatrical tradition of Kabuki and Shakespeare, and I love that kind of double-bend stuff.

Anyway, now I have a huge crush on Aran Kei, the star of Pimpernel. (The soloist at the beginning of this medley/preview video.)



かっこいい！！！！！！！

My Last Week in Japan

Sunday, September 21

Farewell party, Kochi style--that means old men I've only met once or twice getting drunk and trying to speak in English. It also means really heartfelt and charming goodbyes from my English students and friends. It was really too short!


Monday, September 22

Lunch with a new acquaintance I wish I'd had more time to get to know, and her daughter (my age) who again, I wish I knew better! Plus awesome karaoke with my favourite band, The Nudy's--the three of them are my closest friends from this summer. Then LIGHTNINGFAST cleaning of my room (passes the landlady's inspection with no room to spare) and off to Ino with Ayumi's mom, my patron saint of moving.

Tuesday, September 23

I caught an early bus from Kochi to Osaka, and from there a train to Kyoto, where I arrived around 4:00. Around then, I realized I'd left a bag of souvenirs and my favourite shawl on the bus. I called the bus company and arranged to pick it up the next morning in Osaka. Then I washed my clothes, took a stroll around Gion and fell asleep in my treacherously man-filled hostel room (see previous entries).

Wednesday, September 24

I went early, around 8, to Kiyomizu Temple (I beat the school tour rush, so it was perfect timing) and then headed to Osaka for my lost Sakamoto Ryoma socks. Unfortunately, when I got there I found the bag had gone to Okayama instead. Oops. I got it sent to Kyoto for the next morning... now almost as well travelled as I am! Then, back in Kyoto, I went to Tofuku Temple (no relation to tofu) and then Fushumi Inari Shrine, where I had an interesting long chat with a Japanese photographer. (I'll get to the pictures soon.)

Thursday, September 25

I met up with Sachiko, the aforementioned daughter of an acquaintance, who is going to art school in Kyoto, learning to make rad traditional sculptures. We visited the flea market at Kitano Tenmangu shrine, Nijo Castle, Sanjusangendo, and the Kyoto Tower. Phew. We also went shopping in Shijo Kawaramachi (book! English book!) and ate parfaits with dubiously flavoured ice cream (did they forget the sugar in this?! we are the entire scoop trying to figure out why it was so wrong) in the mall above Kyoto Station.

Friday, September 26

I got soaked trying to go to a shrine in a FOREST in a RAINSTORM. Without an umbrella. I'll have to go there next time, because I gave up after walking only a few metres. Then I dried off over coffee in Gion, where I saw but didn't photograph two maiko. I checked out of the man hostel, and went to see Ryoanji again (I saw it on my last trip to Kyoto and was really inspired). I saw a maiko entering the temple as I left, and was almosssst tempted to follow with flashing camera, but decided not to be rude. Then I picked up my bags from the hostel and hopped on a luxuriously fast shinkansen to Tokyo.... where I promptly got lost in Shinjuku station and only barely stumbled into my appointed hostel.

Saturday, September 27

In the morning, I went to try to buy Takarazuka tickets, but no such luck. So I went back to the hostel and scouted some interesting museums. I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, which took longer than I expected. Then I went to Harajuku, where I saw Meiji Shrine (and a Japanese wedding procession--lucky!) and then wandered around in teen-y Harajuku eating crepe and buying cute socks. In the evening I tried to go to a bar I'd heard was good, but got lost and went to the wrong place, and then when I finally found the right one, it was too packed and I was too tired to wait to get in--so much for being able to stay out late in Shinjuku!


Sunday, September 28

In the morning, I went to try to buy Takarazuka tickets, but no such luck. (Sound familiar? I'm going to try once more tomorrow!) Then I went to Tsukiji, where the fish market was closed on account of it being Sunday, but where I ate tasty salmon roe. Then I met a friend, and we had coffee and checked out the swords in the Tokyo National Museum.

Which brings me back here, staying boringly in the hostel because my FEET ARE KILLING ME. One more day in Tokyo--hopefully including a Takarazuka show--and then I'll head to a hostel in Narita town tomorrow so I don't have to get up TOO early to catch the flight on Tuesday.

Pictures soon, but oh my god there are sooooooo many.

I have found hell...

I have found hell, and it is Shinjuku Station. Last time I was there, I fainted (I would refer you to the blog entry, but it's all rather embarassing and I'd really prefer if you didn't read it again), the time before that I got lost for half an hour, and this time I wandered around for 15 minutes or so, carrying half of my worldy possessions, trying to find the right subway line. Fortunately, I did not faint. (It was close.)

The thing that's so diabolical about it is that the signs are confusing, and moreover whenever you FINALLY AT LAST reach your destination, you almost always realize there was a much better way to get there in a quarter of the time.

I decided to stay at a hostel in Shinjuku so as to be able to go out playing in ni-chome and not turn into a pumpkin at midnight, but while roaming Shinjuku station I had to ask myself... is it really worth it?

Displaced Dragonfly

More pictures! In early September I took a day trip to Nakamura, about 3 hours by train, to check out the dragonfly park there. It was rad.

My friend and I took a walk with the founder of the dragonfly park. He very specifically took us to the spot where this little guy lives, and pointed out that it's a Taiwanese species. It lives in Japan now because of global warming, which has made the climate much as it formerly was 300 degrees of latitude south of Shikoku.

Find the Heron Game

Still catching up with photos from... eep, August! Today I've posted Ritsurin Park, where I stopped on my way home from Hiroshima.

Funny, 'cause the home I was heading for is no longer! I moved out on Monday, and departed Kochi yesterday. I'm in Kyoto now until the 26th, and then Tokyo until flying to Sydney on the 30th.

(For anyone who still remembers my original plan, and is thinking "Dude, why is she still in Japan??" -- I changed it up. I'm leaving Japan September 30, as previously mentioned, and will be in Australia until March 9th, stop in Singapore for three days, and then back to Canada in the Vancouver-Victoria area on March 12.)

This is just to say...

I'm in Kyoto. I picked the wrong hostel. It's full of men.

Hiroshima Trip Photos

What you lookin' at?

In Nara, there are many deer and many stone lanterns.

More photos on flickr.

In a Hurry in Gion

Phew. My last batch of Kyoto photos are finally up!

Still to come: Nara, Hiroshima, and all of the stuff I've done in September.

Only 9 more days in Kochi!

Noise In Japan

Public noise is very different in Japan. While at a concert or festival, you can expect the huge audience to sit in near-absolute quiet during a performance, on the other hand as you walk down the street you may encounter a wide variety of loudspeakers.

There's political noises--from the scary right-wing propaganda vans to the Communist Party, out on a street corner bright and early in the morning with big banners, politely introducing themselves. "Hello! We are So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and so from the Communist Party of Japan! Excuse us for disturbing you! .... message I don't understand... thank you for listening!" *profuse bowing*

(Personally, I like the communists better, even if they DON'T blast wind band oom-pah music with Japanese lyrics of presumably but not necessarily political content, like the black vans I've heard lately.)

There are also recycling trucks a few times a week that drive around with a megaphone announcing what they're collecting. "Bring out your dead!" (Well, I assume not... but who knows, really?) Similarly, advertising cars blast what sound basically like normal radio ads from megaphones on their rooves.

Finally, there's town music. Kochi City doesn't have music, but Ino town, where I stayed in May, does. At I think 17:00, loudspeakers sprinkled liberally throughout the area (really, I was in a fairly rural place, not the centre of town or anything) play a nice pleasant midi tune, I suppose to let everyone know it's time to go home from work now! or something like that. It's kindof cute.

And THEN there are the incessant cicadas, but I guess that's not EXACTLY the same...

Sunday Market

Today I went to the Sunday Market, and this is what I bought! I love the cheap fruit and vegetables, especially since fruit is WAY WAY scary expensive in grocery stores here.

The Sunday Market is about 1km long. I find the best strategy is to walk for one or two blocks and check out the prices, and then go back and buy the best deals, because not all farmers are equal...

For example today I got too excited and bought a really expensive pear when I could have had TWO pears instead. Sigh...

Also, the katsuo tataki (katsuo is a fish, bonito in English--tataki is a method of preparing something where you sear its outside and leave its inside raw) comes from the permanent Hirome Market, which is near but not the same as the Sunday market.

PS. Click on the picture, and it will become LARGE.

All of that moss doesn't grow by itself, you know.

I'm still sifting through the HUGE HUGE HOLY CRAP LIKE TWO GIGABYTES worth of photos I took on my trip in August. Today's upload: Ginkakuji, the silver pavilion (not actually silver, but soooo much amazing moss in the gardens!) and the Path of Philosophy along the Biwa Canal.

Japanese Word of the Day

はちきん (hachikin)

This is a word in Tosa-ben, the local dialect in Kochi prefecture. The etymology is "hachi," eight, and "kin," gold... apparently that leads to "eight golden balls" (I don't know where the balls come from). It means a strong woman.

What is the deal with women having to have balls to be strong? It bugs me. I don't want any male anatomy, thank you very much.



I taught English for about 7 hours today and now my voice is cracking and I turned down a chance to go dancing with new cool acquaintances because I am sooooo tired. Too bad.

Shiny!

Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion, in Kyoto.

Nara to Kochi to Hiroshima to Kochi

I've covered a lot of ground in the last two weeks--about 40 hours in a train, in fact.

After spending two days in Kyoto (5:27-14:38), I met up with my friend Akari in Nara (12:30-13:15). We went to see Kasuga Taisha (Kasuga Shrine), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I actually enjoyed the walk there most, 'cause it's lined in beautiful stone lanterns.

Then we went to the BIGGEST WOODEN BUILDING IN THE WORLD, Todai-ji (Todai Temple) which houses a 14.98 metre tall statue of the Buddha, which is remarkably enough NOT the biggest one in the world--or even the biggest in Japan. That was pretty cool.

Then I got to hang out with Akari, see the tea her family grows, drink homemade umeshu (plum liqueur that is one of my favourite things in the world), go out for rotating sushi, and THEN hop another train back to Kochi (15:45-23:00, because I sprung for an express).

Last Saturday I spent the day teaching, but still spent an hour on the train going to and from the class I teach for an English school in Noichi (12:19-12:48, 16:09-16:40).

Then on Sunday I headed to Hiroshima (10:45 - 19:00). I had time that evening to meet a random Italian girl at the hostel, and we went with her Japanese friend for Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, whichi I failed to take a photo of.

I spent half of the next day at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and half trying to go to art museums that turned out to be closed because it was a Monday, finding time also to eat another Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki without taking a picture of it either.

On Tuesday I left Hiroshima and headed to Takamatsu (9:25-13:30) on the way to Kochi. In Takamatsu, I spent a few rainy hours exploring Ritsurin Park, which is really beautiful. I didn't eat Takamatsu's famous Sanuki udon (it has since been suggested to me that I go back and do so). Then I headed home to Kochi (16:48-22:04), in time to prepare for a meeting the next day in Noichi (13:45-14:19).

And I still have ONE DAY of unlimited train travel left on my ticket. I can go anywhere in Japan, but since I must use local trains only and am limited to one day, I am planning to stay on Shikoku. Where should I go?

Trivial Things I Like About Living In Japan Episode 3

The rain. (It's heavy. It makes a good sound. It's a breath of fresh air in the muggy heat of July and August. It feels good when you stick your head out over the edge of the balcony and get a little bit wet.)

Yosakoi Photo #4: The Music

Each Yosakoi team had music playing from a truck leading the group. Often there were live elements--usually singers, but in this case, a rad drummer.

PS: The last of the Yosakoi photos are on my flickr page now! Yay!

Kyoto Continued

On my second day in Kyoto, I started with the Kyoto Museum for World Peace at Ritsumeikan University. It's really well done and I learned a lot about WWII from a Japanese perspective. It was interesting to me that though the exhibit was really extensive, there was very little information about the Holocaust. I feel like if I were in a Canadian peace museum, the focus would be on the Holocaust over the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Confirm/deny?

One of the roles of peace museums in Japan is to talk publically about Japan's crimes in the past, at this exhibit did a very good job. Accompanied by a history of peace activism in Japan, it really felt like history portrayed in a balanced way. I wish we had more of that in Canada--a version of our history that portrays the bad alongside the good, falsely minimizing neither.

Anyway after that, I did stereotypical tourist things. I went to Kinkakuji, the temple with the golden pavilion (seriously, it's shiny!), and Ginkakuji, the temple with the silver one. (Unfortunately the silver one is a) not actually silver and b) under restoration right now... but it was find becuase there was TONS OF AWESOME MOSS there!) The two are particularly popular. Then I spent an hour or so wandering along the "Path of Philosophy," along the Biwa Canal, from Ginkakuji to Gion, the geisha district.

I was lucky enough to catch sight of an apprentice geisha, actually. I had been wandering around in the touristy area nearby for a while, and finally I stumbled onto the street where all of the tea houses actually are. I was getting my bearings and looking at all of the awesome old buildings, when a Japanese man spoke to me over my shoulder in accented English: "Look! Over there. A maiko." I looked, and indeed, even had time to snap a photo. (Although I felt kindof bad--the poor girl was being photographed by I don't know how many eager foreigners. I guess that's part of the job these days.)

Then I stopped at an Irish pub for G&T and headed back to the hostel. (I read somewhere about the Irish pub in Gion, and just didn't think my visit would be complete without going there.)

The next day, I woke up early to partake of the hostel breakfast (not so great as it turns out) and then went to see a beautiful and very old rock garden at Ryoanji Temple--laid out in the 1400s. After Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji, it was my third UNESCO World Heritage Site of the trip. Then I hopped on a train to Nara!

And I'll tell the rest of the story when I get back from my SECOND trip, to Hiroshima! (I'm leaving tomorrow morning!)

Oooooops, I did it again....

So this morning I literally fell onto the train at exactly 5:27 AM, having run from a taxi just in time to catch it as the bell rang announcing its departure... I travelled on slow local trains for a long long time, eating only plain riceballs that I had forgotten in my rush to add salt to, and wearing only one sock... (no, seriously!)

and then about 9 hours later, I arrived in Kyoto only to find that the place I was supposed to stay, in a Buddhist temple, was in fact housing someone else. I wasn't that surprised--last night I realized that I had failed to SEND the email confirming my stay. But I had a hard time finding out. I sent an email when I realized--no reply. I showed up to check-in time and rang the bell--no reply. Finally I phoned. I heard the phone ring, and someone picked up. They really must have heard me ring. I guess not answering the bell means "no vacancy"? In any case, oops. I brought one backup hostel phone number and a sketched map.

And now here I am, having found the BEST HOSTEL I HAVE EVER BEEN IN, probably much better off. (Hence the unexpected intarweb access.) I did get lost on the way and end up in another taxi, but even counting the travel it's still cheaper here, and they also cook breakfast AND I have a four-person dorm to myself AND the girl at the check-in desk has a cute smile! (This is the first time for me to use my Hostelling International membership [thanks Aunt!] and I must say, I don't know if all HI hostels are like this, but I will certainly endeavor to use it more in future, and if you are ever in Kyoto, Utano Youth Hostel is rad.)

Today I dropped by the Emperor's palace for a quick visit, wandered around in downtown Kyoto for a while trying to find Gion (I think I got almost there, but I was hungry and it was getting late so I turned around and gave up), and had an interesting conversation with a sushi chef. Now that I'm not in Tosa-ben land, suddenly　ｍｙlanguage skills have skyrocketed!

Certainly this is my favourite disaster so far, considering that I have actually saved money because of it!

Yosakoi Photo #3: THE HAIR

The third most amazing thing about Yosakoi is the CRAZY, CRAZY HAIR. (#1: rad dancing; #2: people volunteer to dance for two full days in 30 degree plus weather)

This hairstyle is not even one of the most intense I saw. I kid you not.

Anyway, I'm off to Kyoto and Nara for a few days. When I get back--yes, still MORE Yosakoi photos!

Yosakoi Photo #2: Famous Team

This is from last Sunday night at the Yosakoi festival. I was lucky enough to be sitting super close to the stage--literally ON the net fence that was the limit of where you were allowed to sit, in fact--if off to the side rather than in the centre. (Wouldn't that have been nice!) Anyway it was a great view.

Apparently this team is particularly famous; I saw them perform several times, and indeed, they are GOOD. Probably they've already started working on the routine for next year.

August 15

Today I went to Susaki City to have dinner at the home of two of my students, Mr. Picturebook and Most Advanced (ages 6 and 8 respectively). Their house turns out to be a newly-built Japanese/Westen cross (hardwood floors, sliding doors, Italiany balustrated terrace thing) basically on a cliff overlooking the pacific ocean. There's only one other house in sight, just beautifully forested rocky coastline. I chatted with Mr. P and MA's parents about Canada (what are the top selling points of Canada? I could only think of the amiable politics and general familiar comfortability) and Japan (what surprised me most about Japan? a mukade on my pillow), and watched the moon rise and the sun set over the ocean, wishing desperately that I had brought my camera.

Apparently the higher up hills you get, the cheaper land is in Japan. Opposite to Canada. In any case, I kindof wish I had a few billion yen (or whatever) to build a nice place in Susaki, too. The view would even make up for living in rural Japan.

Then I came home to my OTHER part-time job. My landlady has gone to Kyoto with her son and his family, leaving me in charge of twice-daily walks for a golden retriever whose name I can neither pronounce nor spell. His favourite hobbies are dragging me along the banks of Kagami River, and eating grass that other dogs have peed on (both forbidden passtimes). I'm to walk him for about half an hour twice a day, and usually return sweating from 75% of the pores on my body, almost in tears from the frustration of having to stay out so long in the heat (heat and onions are the only things that can make me cry) and dragging the dog away from pee-spots.

Two interesting sights tonight, though:
a very pregnant lady with a big dog off leash--near disaster!
and a super-tall white guy doing Tai Chi.

Of course the dog only speaks Japanese, so lately I've been screaming "SAIDO" in bad katakana a lot lately. I also had an interesting katakana moment when the dog's family took me on a demo walk. The six-year-old girl asked her father how to say something in English. "Urufu," he replied. And to me, "Natibu no hatsuon wa?" (What's the native pronunciation?) All I could think of was the Japanese band Urafurus, and I figured that probably wasn't it.

It turned out to be "wolf". Go figure.


(Coming this weekend: more Yosakoi!)

Yosakoi Photo #1: DANCING BATMEN

The most surprising, and perhaps most amusing, part of the Yosakoi festival was the team of dancing batmen. I think there were about six batmen, a witch or two, and three clowns.

I really don't know why.

Yosakoi!!

This weekend in Kochi is the Yosakoi Festival. That means fabulous costumes, music, and amazing dancing!

Yesterday I stopped to watch on my way home from a teaching job, and randomly met a lone travelling German girl. So instead of watching for a few minutes and then making my way home, I watched with her until the end and then went out dancing. Then we met up today again, and spent the day swimming in the sea, looking at wax figures of samurai, watching Yosakoi, drinking shochu (hey, you gotta keep hydrated in this hot weather) and so on.

This is probably really boring to read, so I'll save the blabbing until I've uploaded my pictures. There's a lot to look forward to, including dancing Batmen. Yes, plural. And the festival isn't over yet, either!

Cool Bookish Thing

The other day I bumped into this awesome book site on the interwebs. You give it an author, and it shows you that author in a constellation of others, so you can see what people who read your favourite books are also reading. It's definitely surprising sometimes! I suspect it will be a good way to find new stuff to read, too!

http://www.literature-map.com/

Worth checking out for sure.

Oh yeah, and you can feed your preferences to the AI here. For example, right now Neal Stephenson and Roger Zelazny aren't connected. What! I intend to ammend this situation post-haste.

Fire spinning

Taken at the Kagami River Festival the weekend before last. Fire spinning is rad.

Shimanto Gakusha

So the second part of my little Nishitosa holiday was a weekend at the Shimanto Gakusha. It's a renovated school that now operates as an I don't know exactly what to call it--I guess a hotel or resort or something like that. It's very cool, a very casual place. Very much a summer camp feeling. As well as accomodation and food, they have a guided river experience every morning and evening, and a woodworking instructor and possibly, at busier times, other courses (they have instruments, computers, and a bookish looking classroom, so they're set to do many cool things).

Anyway, the best thing about it in my view is that they accept volunteer labour in return for food and sleeping space. Yay! I got a sweet little tatami room on the edge of the woodshop, all to myself (I was totally expecting a dorm situation). There was even air conditioning! I was also expecting that I might be doing a lot of work, but that wasn't the case either. I helped to serve breakfast and supper, portioning out prepared food onto dishes and arranging dishes on trays (each one exactly the same!!). That took maybe four hours each day, two in the morning and two in the evening. After breakfast, I did whatever light cleaning needed doing, and the rest of the time was mine! I also helped out with the cleanup after kayaking, but just because I was at the river and felt like it.

The first afternoon, I learned to kayak in Japanese which I have to say I'm rather proud of. I didn't crash! Okay, I cheated by already knowing how to canoe. But still! The Shimanto River has way more current than any place I've ever canoed, so it was a fun challenge. It also reminded me I really like paddling (I always think this every time I go canoeing, too; some time I should do something about it). I also went out for a kayak spin the second day.



Other than that, I wandered around the area, snapped river photos, read, and took a quick afternoon bike ride. A bike, a book, an ipod, and great scenery are definitely ingredients in my perfect afternoon. It was a really great experience--I'm planning to look for more work-for-staying-in-cool-places opportunities in the future.

The Shimanto River

Here it is!

This photo was taken from the bridge near the hostel I stayed at two weekends ago.

Japanese Word of the Day

暑い　あつい atsui
Meaning: HOT

Right now it's in favour as a greeting. ”暑い、ね！”　(Atsui, ne! It's hot, isn't it!) is the first thing after hello to say to anyone you meet. No matter where, no matter what the time of day.

It's so hot!!!!!!

Last Weekend in Nishitosa

Let me preface by saying that it is INCREDIBLY HOT HERE. I'm sure I sound like a broken record--I've been complaining about this to everyone I speak to. But it really is. Remember the conventional fire safety wisdom that if your door is hot to the touch, you shouldn't go out? During the day, my door is always hot to the touch. That is how hot it is. Eeeeeuuugh.

So anyway, last Friday at 4:00 AM (!!!!! for serious.) I set out with my neighbour and the other two members of her band. The Nudy's (that's the band's name) are all from Nishitosa, so they were looking forward to seeing family and friends as well as playing a show. We got to my neighbour's house around seven or eight. The band got right to practicing, and I got right back to sleep. They woke me up to go with them to their rented practice spot around eleven, and I spent the rest of the day being a hanger-on as they practiced and got dressed up in yukata for the show. I also went swimming with my neighbour in the (thigh-deep) stream outside her house.



Around three we headed to the area where Nishitosa Festival was being set up. It was a big lawn belonging to some kind of big building, right on the Shimanto River. A nice place for a party! It was the first Nishitosa Festival in ten years. There were several performanced lined up--some kindergarden students did a Yosakoi dance (not very skillful, but incredibly cute) and a local cultural group did some amazing drumming. Then there was some nice acoustic background music, followed by a short set from The Nudy's. Unfortunately, there was a schedule problem and they got abbreviated into only a couple of songs--after that, there was a live radio show. I would have liked to hear the girls play longer, and their friends and family definitely agreed!

Later, there was a bon-odori, a big circle dance. There's a special Nishitosa dance that has been danced for years and years(I forget how many, but a lot). I joined in.... much to my later regret, because a photographer from a PREFECTURE-WIDE newspaper snapped a photo of me dancing, and a couple of days later, there I was in full living colour. When I first saw it in Nishitosa, I didn't mind, because I figured it was local... but since I've returned to Kochi all of my students have been waving newspaper clippings at me. I will not post a copy here, because my dignity is already bruised enough! Hmph! Anyway, we stayed at the festival until it ended, and helped to clean up and take down the tents.

The next day, we went out for breakfast with my neighbour's father and older sister, and a former member of the band. It was nice to see her dad again especially--he played the father in The Face of Jizo when we put it on here in May. After that, the older sister very kindly gave me a lift to the Shimanto Gakusha, a kind of adventure-hotel-resort-hostel-thing. It's in a building which used to be a school, right on the bank of the Shimanto River.

And then I spent the weekend there, working for room and board, which I will write about in another post another day!

See you next week!

I'm going to Nishtosa village (population about 3000!) and a youth hostel on the Shimanto river for the weekend. Photos when I get back!

Akaoka day trip

Last Friday I went with a friend to Akaoka. The town is about half an hour or 45 minutes from Kochi by train. The train was the first awesome bit--we lucked out and got a "conductorless train" (but there was totally a guy sitting in the front, so what the hell) with a balcony-like outdoor space! So we spent most of the trip outside, getting blown away by train speed wind and watching the scenery.

When we got to Akaoka, we wandered through the streets. It's a very old town, and there is a lot of great traditional Japanese architecture. We were "OH ENGLISH HELLO"d by the lady working in a handmade/used goods store, and must have spent at least half an hour looking around inside, there was such a crazy amount of awesome stuff there. Old and new jewelery, obis (the ties for kimono), pretty traditional and modern sandals, old dishes and umbrellas, and even a couple of ancient and VERY awesome-looking cameras. I bought a children's obi to wear as a scarf, and was somehow given an umbrella... no, not just an umbrella. The raddest umbrella IN THE WORLD. It is neon pink and black plaid. I bless the previous owner who broke the curly part of the handle, thus enabling its being given to me many years later.

We also saw an old house than has been taken over by vines! Check out the pictures on my Flickr page; there are many! It looks like the house is TOTALLY FULL OF VINES but according to the neighbours, it's just between the window and the blinds inside. Anyway it looks creepy and awesome.

Then we made our way to the Ekingura, a museum of the paintings of Hirose Kinzou (known as Ekin). They're really dramatic story-paintings from the Edo period, and 23 originals remain in Akaoka. They're displayed outside for one night every year at the Ekin Festival, which is this weekend... but alas! I am not going.

And then we went one town over on the train, and ate awabimushi (abalone on rice) right beside the Pacific Ocean!

Trivial Things I Like About Living In Japan Episode 2

Particularly good pineapple juice.

Propaganda time!

The right wing in Japan is a little bit scary. They have these black vans that drive around, playing nationalist speeches and traditional Japanese music on loudspeakers. The music can sometimes be heard from up to two or three blocks away.

I wonder if it's an effective political tactic?

Japanese Word/Phrase of the Day

らっぱ飲み　(rappa nomi)

Literally, trumpet drinking; it means drinking wine directly from the bottle.

Please use it often in your daily life. (よく使ってください！)

Yeah, that was just showing off. So what!

Hanging Up 1 Million Cranes

I'm waaay behind with this whole blogging thing, so forgive me for posting a week late about what I did on the 30th of June, which is hang up a bunch of paper cranes. (Actually, I didn't do much--as usual, I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, so I did whatever I could see needed doing and then fell back on the convenient role of photographer.)

For the last 20 years, Grass Roots House and Peace Wave have been decorating one of Kochi's shopping arcades with 1 million origami cranes. The cranes are made every year by local elementary school students (and some old ladies). They're strung onto long strings, probably over a meter long, which are then hung on wire circles. Then the circles are tied to large bars in the upper reaches of the shopping arcade. The bars are lowerable using pulleys operated by button-push, and I am pretty sure they were installed just for the yearly crane hanging. The result is really beautiful.

And I think it's successful activism, too! The crane-making brings up peace topics in elementary schools--Mana and I made two recent visits to schools in Aki, in both cases to assemblies in honour of the beginning of the peace festival, and at both of which that school's contribution to the cranes was on display. I'm not sure if all schools do assemblies and the same kind of clear educational efforts as the schools we visited, but I hope so.

You mean... squid have eyes?!?!

A couple of Thursdays ago Mana and I went to Aki again to give another school presentation. On the way back, we stopped at a fish market. There were a lot of fish... mostly whole fish.

There were also cephalopods.

But most excitingly, there were squid! I had never seen squid eyes before. They are kinda cute, like cartoon characters. (Which came first: squid eyes or cartoon characters?!) It was exciting.

Canada Day Fireworks

Canada Day fireworks in Japan, you ask?

Yesterday I coincidentally met with a few friends who were planning to set off fireworks along the Kagami River. Unlike in Canada, small/medium fireworks are legal, and a summer tradition. I've seen young people setting off fireworks along the river a few times while walking there, so it was cool to do the same, and although I am not a big Canada Day celebrate-er, it was fun to accidentally do something special for Canada Day in Japan.

This photo demonstrates why fireworks might be illegal... but don't worry, no injuries!

Trivial Things I Like About Living In Japan

Moomins. When I was a kid I had one Moomin novel, Comet in Moominland. I really loved it, but for whatever reason I never got my hands on any others. Moomins are rare in Saskatchewan. In Japan, however, they thrive, and I am enjoying it! I've bought The Finn Family Moomintroll in English and in Japanese, and plan to attempt reading it. (It's quite hard for me.) And I have Moomin biscuits and Moomin tissue. It's rad.

Right now I'm reading...

Kabuki Dancer, by Sawako Ariyoshi. I didn't seek it out or anything--the English selection at the local library is kindof slim, and this just happened to be sitting there looking interesting in between Little House on the Prairie and Jeffrey Archer.

It's a historical fiction about the woman who founded Kabuki dance. It was first published as a serialized novel in 1972, which I think is interesting. Serializations are still cool in Japan... in Canada/North America they've been out of style for what, fifty or more years? Why? I think I might like to read a serialized novel.

Anyway, the book. I am really enjoying it. It has strong main characters with approachable, understandable voices, and that's probably the number one quality I look for in a book. It's also sneakily educational. Ariyoshi slips a lot of history in there while the reader is looking the other way. I'm not a huge historical fiction reader, but I think to qualify as good HF, a novel should include a hefty amount of real historical info without getting dry. I enjoy historical fiction more when it exudes the air of being well researched. (How can I tell? What am I talking about? I don't know!) Kabuki Dancer does indeed do this. I am getting a pretty good Japanese history lesson. And since I am in Japan, it's timely!

I'm only about halfway through the book, but so far I recommend it.

I'm also listening to George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones in audiobook format. I read most of it once before, but got frustrated and didn't read the very ending. (GRRM is known for killing characters, and I am known for wanting characters to stay alive.) The jury is still out, since I'm halfway through this one, too... but I'm planning to finish it...

Book Roast

The other day I heard about this cool looking new site. It plans to be a cool interactive place to find out about new books and also have a chance to meet authors in-person-on-the-internet.

I doubly appreciate this, as a reader and as a (former, and possibly future) doer of internet book marketing. I think right now, at this exact moment, authors and publishers are starting to really embrace the web in a big way. Authors (and aspiring authors) are big bloggers, lots of publishers big and small are Facebooking, and so on.

There are TONS of opportunities out there to interact with authors online--way, way better than shyly sidling up at a reading to ask for a signature, which is honestly quite impersonal. On the internet, you can actually have a conversation. But in spite of that, I'm not sure if those opportunities are really being taken advantage of! Perhaps it's because when I wrote a publisher's blog it was a fairly new blog, and because it was aimed at children (not known for being big bloggers) but in my experience, there are lots of wasted opportunities out there. That means authors out there who would LOVE to be having great dialogues with their readers, who are in fact writing to their readers... and being greeted with a resounding silence. The readers aren't there!

But they should be. Go there, readers! Go to Book Roast and chat up an author. They tend to be interesting people to talk to, and in my experience, most of them don't bite.

The Bridge Near My House

Every now and then in the evening, when I think the mosquitos of Kochi haven't had enough to eat, I go out for a walk. Here's a photo from last night of the bridge a couple of blocks from my house. The river is the Kagamigawa (Mirror River).

Peace in the Classroom

Last night around one, just as I was turning down the covers, Mana called to me from the balcony. She was going to give a talk at an elementary school in the morning--could I come? Thursday is a work day for me, so of course the answer was yes. Unfortunately the next thing she said was "Let's leave at 7." Ouch.

Anyway, the next morning, Mana and the peace museum director and I set out for Aki, a small town about one hour by car from Kochi. The drive alone turned out to be well worth waking up early. On the way, we passed through a lovely wide plain, full of the biggest rice fields I've seen yet (about half the size of the average SK wheat field), and in the back seat I had an excellent view of Kochi's hills fading into the distance. We drove along the coast for a little ways, too, and it was a really nice view as the Pacific Ocean goes. The elementary school we were bound for was even more charming. Aki is a hilly area, and it was a cloudy day, the kind of clouds that are lower than the hills. The school is right next to some rice fields, and the view through two of the school's buildings to brilliantly green rice fields to misty mountains was wonderful. (Alas, no photos.)

But that's not the good part! Mana was giving a lecture about Grass Roots House and about peace to the grade four, five, and six students. We arrived half an hour early, and watched the entire school in an assembly. The school had recently made about 3000 paper cranes, which were arranged in strings and hanging on the stage. To open the assembly, they sang a beautiful little song about peace. (I'll post the lyrics in English here some time soon, I hope.) Then the principal spoke, and after that one student from each grade showed a piece of calligraphy they had done and read it aloud. They were simple child statements like "War is bad," but I was incredibly impressed by the fact that these kids, from age five or six, were already thinking about serious world issues. Can we say the same in Canada?

I think Japan has a really bad rep for its history curriculum--war crimes are not in textbooks, things like that. Today I really saw another side. Of course, I don't know what is or isn't in the textbooks, but Canadian elementary school history textbooks lie, too, both by omission and in flat out untruths. I think it's amazing that Japanese schoolchildren talk about how important peace is in school, that they hear about things like Article 9.

At least as far as I recall, I didn't hear about doing our part to make peace in the world in school except on Rememberance Day. (Please tell me I'm wrong!) But clearly here, it doesn't take a national holiday to bring up this topic, and they ask that their first grade students speak up about it, not just lay a wreath. There is a Peace Tanabata Festival coming up in July, but it wasn't a holiday today. (In fact, isn't that more amazing? There's a local yearly festival here that's about peace. More on that in July.)

I had a chance to say something to the grade four five and sixes, and while I was scared out of my pants that I would make a grade three level grammatical mistake, I told them that this experience they were having was incredibly valuable, that not everyone in the world hears this kind of conversation in elementary school and that they should feel very lucky to have access to it, and do their best to think hard about what they were learning. (Much less eloquently, because hey, Japanese is hard.)

Mana tells me that this kind of assembly and conversation used to be common practice in Japan, but that it is becoming more rare. I say, good job to the schools that are continuing it--and may it spread, not shrink.

3m Okonomiyaki

Today I went to a festival of sorts in the park in downtown Kochi. A gigantic okonomiyaki was being made. Okonomiyaki is best translated into English as Japanese pancake, but it's full of cabbage and such and topped with sour-ish sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed, and dried fish flakes--not breakfasty at all.

This huge okonomiyaki was being eaten in the park as well, but I wasn't patient enough to stand in line in the rain... I just took photos of the cooking and went on my way.

Albatross Cam

Watch albatrosses on camera. Very interesting!

ゆずのかわ

I cooked something which may resemble Japanese food last week.

On my first Saturday in Kochi, Mana took me to the local farmer's market. In one booth, I saw what I thought was a bag of yuzu (a type of citrus fruit). I approached with intention to buy it, but the farmer whose booth it was explained that it was ゆずのかわ--yuzu skin. (You can eat the skin.) He then explained that you could make something with yuzu skin, and gave me a sample of such a thing. He also, I think, explained how to make it. I only caught a few words, but I since the bag of yuzu skins was only 100 yen, I figured I would give it a shot.

The words I caught were shoyu, which is soy sauce, and katsuobushi, which is dried flaked bonito--bonito being a fish for which Kochi is famous. I also understood his explanation that you only needed to take the seeds out of the bag of yuzu skins. So, I removed the seeds, chopped the skin up, and threw it in a pot with katsuobushi and soy sauce, and this is what I ended up with. I don't think I got the proportions right, and maybe I missed something--it doesn't taste like the sample the farmer gave me. So I won't post a recipe or anything. But it was an interesting experiment, and the result is not bad!

Japanese Word of the Day

Today's word is むぼう (mubou).

As an adjective (mubou no), it means "hatless; bareheaded."
Describing a state of being (mubou de), it means "without a hat; with one's head uncovered."

In kanji (Chinese characters) it is written 無帽.A homonym is 無謀, which means "reckless(ly), rash(ly), thoughtless(ly)."

Most days I am むぼう... I'll leave it up to you to decide which kanji that should be written in.

Jimbocho

I spent May 28th in Tokyo, on my way back to Kochi from Korea. In the afternoon, I met up with Aya and Kiyo for coffee and karaoke (and shochu, to go with the karaoke--yes! shochu at 2pm!). But before that, I had a few hours to kill. I decided to seek out a mytical Tokyo location...

(no, not the store that sells only things people have lost on the subway, though I'm determined to look for that one next time)

...the book district. The area is called Jimbocho. I forget where I heard about it first--maybe a tourist web page, or maybe a secret meeting of book-lovers on a mysteriously ill-lit streetcorner late at night.

I didn't have much time, so I only walked for a couple of blocks, but on one side of the street, it was ALMOST ALL BOOKSTORES. Imagine the pain--all of those books, but almost nothing I could take home and read! It's for the best, really. I don't need a suitcase full of books (although I certainly do want one).

I actually ended up buying an electronic dictionary. I went into a shop selling stationery, and right inside the door, discounted electronic dictionaries. I had just been into a bookstore, where I found a Japanese-English kanji dictionary--a huge tome worth about $80, which looked like it might take a week or two to learn to use. I also checked out the Japanese kanji dictionaries, and they just looked scary. The electronic dictionaries suddenly looked much more appealing. Plus, mine is pink.

I would have a whole bunch more voyeuristic bookshop photos to show for my book district experience, except that it was raining. Next time in Tokyo, I'll have to go back... perhaps I'll find a bookstore with a good English novel section. And I should really buy some souvenirs...

Kochi

I moved into my apartment in Kochi last Friday. It’s a pretty average bachelor suite size—not extravagantly small, as apartments are in the Canadian image of Japan. I arrived to find a great crop of household objects: no less than three futons, enough blankets for Saskatchewan winter, all of the dishes a person could need except knives, a laundry basket, curtains, a floor chair, and even a fridge and rice cooker, on loan. I’m lucky to have found this job, I think—any job that comes with a co-worker considerate enough to seek out free household stuff for you is a good bet. (The majority of the stuff came from Ayumi and her mom, but nonetheless.)

I spent the weekend lazing about on two of the three futons, meeting up with Ayumi (and relying on her help to get a cell phone and other sundry Japanese-requiring tasks), and getting towed along to various events by my enthusiastic neighbour and co-worker, Mana. I got a tour of the local farmer’s market (I bought apple jam [!] and carrots), and went to an anti-nuclear arms demonstration and a punk (“neo scum,” actually) show, where a 30s+ looking man dressed only in leather underpants played a techno background for his rhythmic spoken word (as far as I could understand he was telling stories about junior high school) on a synthesizer, the type where you create sound by touching a small pad in different ways, attatched to said leather underpants. Fortunately there were a couple of really good bands later on to make up for the experience.

It's going to be an interesting summer.

Korean Ties

If you look closely, you can see that some of the ties are wearing necklaces!

I have an internet connection now!

The internet and I are back together at last. It looks like it's going to be a long term relationship this time, not an off and on affair like it's been for the last couple of months. We're going to be really happy together!

And on Tuesday night, I won a flower pot in an Okinawan dance contest!

Good Things

I'm slacking! I've only been writing blog entries when catastrophe occurs (of course, that seems to be surprisingly often, but still). So I'm going to start writing about the things that have gone RIGHT.

Starting with... cool non-tourist experiences!

In Taiwan, as well as fabulous touristing organized by Inky and Victor, I really enjoyed food from dodgy-looking little restaurants which I suspect many tourists wouldn't touch. And I couldn't have gone there either, without being in the company of Mandarin/Taiwanese-speakers! One great food experience was near the beginning of my trip. We'd gone to a park a ways outside of Taipei, and we stopped in at a temple to have lunch. Yep--a temple.
(Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera when we got out of the car to eat that day, or I'd have a picture to link to here.) Food is cooked and served in a temple, and there are open-air chair and table areas nearby to eat in. Inky, Victor and I chose five HUGE platters of food: duck, shrimp, squid-and-tasty-green-vegetable, fried noodles, and bamboo. We actually managed to eat almost all of it, and it was really really fantastic. (There's a picture on Inky's camera--I'll post it when i get a copy.) I also had a lot of fun just meandering around parks in Taipei. It was really relaxing and pleasant.

Ayumi's place is in a suburb of Ino town, which is about fifteen minutes from Kochi. The area's population is 90% over 60. It's really tiny, and kindof nestled in between a river and the region's hills. There's a lot of farm-land--small sized rice fields in particular--in the area. So it was cool to see a really rural place. Also, I played ping-pong with Ayumi's grandmother, which was really fun.

And when I stayed in Maebashi with Aya's family, we barbecued (yakiniku) and had a takoyaki party (fried octopus pastryish thing)--fun home stuff. I had my very first kotatsu experience. I think Canadians need to pick up the habit of putting a heater under a table and enjoying the results. Oh, and I also played ping-pong. I'm getting almost able to actually hit the ball sometimes!

In Seoul I stayed overnight with the family of a friend of a friend (yes, you read that right) and had fun playing with her (the friend's friend's) terribly cute little nephews. It was also cool to see a traditional-style Korean house! Also in Seoul (and this is something I think few people would care about, but I got a kick out of it) I, a Canadian, ate Nagasaki-style pho in a "Californian Pho Restaurant". In Seoul. It doesn't get much more international than that.

See? Good things have also been happening to me! And from now on, I'm going to try to write about them more.

Look, pretty flowers!

Distracting you from the tales of my folly that lie below with this pretty flower. I saw it in Maebashi, Gunma-ken, Japan, with Aya and her grandmother.

Overseas Flight Mistakes: Episode 2

Why is there always an episode 2?!????

I thought my ticket to Korea was for the 21st. Somehow--whether through misunderstanding or divine intervention--it was for the 20th. I didn't read the e-ticket closely enough when I looked at it in advance, so I didn't realize that I was a day late until the 21st.

Fortunately, I got a partial refund and found another cheap ticket for tomorrow--a last minute surprise type of ticket--so I can still go. But really. AGAIN.

There must have been a mistake on the assembly line somewhere. I seem to be missing critical parts. When does the warranty expire? Can I be returned and replaced with a new model?

Travel Horror Stories: Epsiode 2

Episode 1 was riding on the back of a motorcycle. You probably weren't scared, but god damn it I was.

Anyway, the moment at hand. There's a bit of background involved, so bear with me. This last week I have been unlucky enough to end up with a bizarre medical problem. I got a cold while working on the play in Kochi, and circumstances lead yeast to grow in my mouth. That sounds gross, and it is gross. It looks like a B-movie monster. It also took me a couple of days to figure out what the gross white stuff taking over my hard palate was.

The day I realized it was there, I had just arrived in Tokyo with Aya. She thought it looked like strep. I was a little bit skeptical because it didn't hurt, but I got some hardcore cold medication from a random pharmacy. That night, we met up with Paul and Renee in Shibuya for dinner and beer.

As we were about to leave the restaurant, I went to the washroom. I happened to look into my mouth. The B-movie monster was growing. It was freaking me out. I decided to take another packet of cold medication. This should fix my possibly-strep, right?

(I have to interject here for a moment to mention that Japanese cold medication is hardcore, and the medication I bought is extra hardcore. It is a cocktail of ibuprofen, some kind of ephedrine, some things that are too hard to read in katakana, and codiene. And remember, I took this when I had just had a beer. I swear, I didn't know what was in there at the time.)

So we all left the restaurant, planning to go to a karaoke box somewhere or maybe to explore Shinjuku nichome. We boarded a nice crowded JR train to Shinjuku. I was being polite and wearing a sicko-mask, because maybe I had strep. I started to feel a bit hot. Then we got off the train. It was crowded, and I think I tripped or something, because Paul and Renee grabbed my arms.

Good thing too, because just at that moment, surrounded by the river of people pouring out of the train against the current of the river of people pouring into it, I proceeded to faint in the middle of Shinjuku station. Apparently the expressions on the faces of the suits around us were pretty priceless, but unfortunately I missed out, because I didn't return to the present until my head hit the pavement. (Don't worry, I didn't even get a bruise.)

Anyway, Paul and Renee escorted Aya and I back to our hotel instead of out on the town. The next day I found an English-speaking doctor, who told me that the stuff in my mouth was probably herpes simplex but maybe not, and then the next next day I talked to my mother, who suggested it was more likely yeast, which is what it is acting like, so I'm going with that. Half a bottle of iodine rinse later, it seems to be going away. Of course, the yeast really has nothing to do with my incident in Shinjuku--it just made me worried enough to take medication when I shouldn't have.

The real lesson here is: don't mix beer, codiene, and subways.

Best Engrish So Far

Spotted April 29 in Ino-cho, Kochi-ken.

Stuff I Did in Kochi

I'm in Tokyo right now, with Aya on the way to visit her grandmother. I'll be with them in Gunma until the 21st, and then take off for Korea.

But since I've been remiss (busy and away from internet connections, really), an update on the last couple of weeks is in order. Here's an incomplete list of what I did in Kochi, in no particular order:

- went to awesome caves
- ate sea snake
- directed a play (The Face of Jizo,　two locations)
- helped to re-paper rice paper walls
- got naked in public several times (onsen!)
- ate whale (tasty!)
- asked a lot of stupid questions
- saw another mukade and killed it
- saw Polysics and didn't kill them
- saw some local punk bands and really enjoyed it
- sang karaoke
- walked around outside in a typhoon (not as exciting as it sounds, just a serious rainstorm)
- went fly fishing, and broke the rod after about 10 minutes (it was a very old rod)
- got a job in Kochi, so I'll be going back there to do more rad stuff from June forwards!

Mukade!

Last night I got a scary surprise. It was about 12:30 and I was just about to drift off to sleep. I heard a scratching kind of noise near my head, and thought perhaps a spider was crawling onto the futon or something, so I got up and turned on a light. To my shock and horror, there was no friendly palm-sized spider creeping around on the floor, or a geji-geji, which I had seen before... there was a mukade, a giant centipede, on my pillow, crawling around just where my head had been only a moment before!

Unfortunately I didn't quite have the presence of mind to take a photo, so the one you see here is from the web. This morning I learned that those things BITE, so I'm glad I ran away to sleep somewhere else instead of sticking around to observe the beast.

And now, heading back to my regularly scheduled giant insect safari...

Taiwan -- Last Shot

Two Ways

It's the 26th now and I'm in Kochi, Japan. But looking back for a moment, on the 21st I had an interesting conversation with Victor about values. In Taiwan, he said, it's considered more important to be practical and efficient than to look good. Inky's apartment is a good example. From the street, you enter a battered metal door. You walk up four flights of old stone stairs. The paint is flaking off the walls and it doesn't look particularly clean. But once you reach the apartment door, inside everything is very nice. The walls are freshly and tastefully papered, the floor is recently tiled, the bathroom is nicer than most in Canada. From the outside, you would never know. Restaurants are often the same way. They don't look so hot... but the food is really good. So in some ways, Taipei city doesn't look good. But as Victor says, it is still a very nice city--very convenient. Everything is cheap, and often of good quality under the surface grime. Practical concerns are more important than appearances.

In Japan, appearance is valued more--and I have to guess that it outweighs practicality, based on the waiter I saw sweeping the sidewalk in front of his establishment in Tokyo. Partly it means everything takes a lot more effort, and partly it means everything is a lot more expensive.

Victor's perception of Western countries is that we succeed in taking care of both practicalities and appearances, and wondered how that works. My response was that it's essential to maintain appearances. It's impossible to attract customers without looking good, so businesses are forced to do so. But Canada appears to still maintain balance in terms of effort and cost.

I'm not sure--do we really do both in Canada? How/why?

Calla Lilies in bloom

We drove through the village of Juhzihu last Friday, in the middle of calla lily season. The area was full of calla lily farms, often u-pick-em style, and we had lunch in a tiny restaurant decorated with dozens of lilies.

See also: tonnes of new photos on my flickr page.

I am a Motorbike Babe

This weekend we went four hours via (slow) train to Hualien county, on the east coast of Taiwan. The trip was stunningly beautiful--we went mostly along the coast, and it was mountainous and incredible. In Hualien, we did a number of things--we went to see Liyu Lake (which is named after carp, because it is shaped like one), we went to a night market, we drove up into the mountains to Taroko National Park and saw many beautiful things. All these I will post images of later. The pertinent detail is only this: yesterday, from Hualien City to Liyu Lake, we rode motorbikes.

I have never been so scared in my life.

There are three of us--Inky, Victor, and I. Inky and Victor drove, and I clung for dear life behind Victor, no doubt making the whole affair much more difficult by being stiff as a board and freaking out if we went above 30kph--or, rather, freaking out all of the time. But, through a great exercise of sheer will, I managed not to throw myself off of the bike in sheer desperation, and here I am, alive to tell the tale. But really, I much prefer to drive than to be a motorbike passenger.

Yes, I drove! And yes, before you ask, that is illegal, because no, I do not hold a driver's license in any country. But I survived, and Victor survived riding behind me, so even though I only drove on long straight relatively low-traffic stretches, perhaps I have taken a first step towards a place among the many badass motorbike babes of Taiwan. It was awesome!

National Palace Museum

Here I saw a jadeite cabbage and a piece of rock that looks like meat.

.000001% of Taipei's motorcycles

I'm in Taiwan right now!

Kaminari-mon

I went even though it was raining. Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate), a cool crane parade of some kind I ran into (more on flickr). I know I know, why am I blogging from Tokyo?! I should be out doing stuff. I think I'll take a walk.

1000Y/day in Tokyo

CHAOS!

If all had gone according to plan, I would be on a plane to Taiwan right now. Unfortunately, yesterday it was revealed that my working visa is single-entry... and yes, I knew that before, but somehow I didn't really absorb the fact that that meant "no leaving the country and going back in (unless you have a re-entry permit)." Oops. Alas, immigration offices are closed on weekends, so no re-entry permit for me. I had to cancel the flight, and for now my fingers are crossed for a partial refund or a reschedule from the travel agency, who I can't contact until Monday. Really really oops.

As a result of that situation, I'm learning two new games:

1. Konbini love-love game~!

When I did currency exchange, I was planning for 2 days, not 4. So this morning I had 1000JPY ($10CAD) in my pocket. It's Sunday, so the nearby currency exchange is closed, and my Visa doesn't seem to work in ATMs it should work in. What to do about food? No problem! The kobini (that's katakana for convenience store, for those not in the know) has saved my stomach. Any 7-11 or Lawson or whatever has tons of super cheap food. This morning I ate a 150Y steamed bun, and for lunch I have 200Y seaweed salad in the hostel fridge. That leaves about 600Y for noodles or a bento for supper. Close, but possible... sure can't do THAT in Victoria.

2. Musical beds game!

I'm actually extraordinarily lucky--there are free beds in the hostel both tonight and tomorrow night. They're both different rooms though, so I'm switching dorm rooms every day! And, also lucky, the hostel takes credit cards. Whew.

It's raining today, so my planned photo expedition to Kaminarimon is still on hold. I'll probably go to a nearby (free) craft museum instead.

That This is Real, This is Tokyo Moment

In fact, I had already been in Japan for four hours or so. It didn't happen when I looked out the airplane window and saw Japan for the first time. It didn't happen in the aiport, with all of the signs in Japanese. It didn't happen when a lady in kimono was next at the baggage delivery counter, and no, not when we arrived at the hostel, with its sliding door and vestibule full of shoes. Nor any of the moments between those, on the train, or walking past temples or even the Kaminarimon gates. No, it wasn't until Shibuya.

Kiyo suggested that we go out, if I wasn't too tired, to meet his friend. We took the subway down the whole Ginza line, from Asakusa station to Shibuya station. And it was there, as we left the station: the crosswalks at the corner of Shibuya Centre-gai. Centre-gai itself. The unbelievable masses of people, just crossing the street for no special reason. That was the Tokyo moment.

And then we went to an amazing little restaurant; we had to duck to get in the door, it appeared tiny from the street. But we went down, around, down, me thinking all this time "Well, this is the end of it then," three sets of three wide steps lined with tables, and there under the ground was the real centre of the restaurant. So cool.

And then I took the subway back to the hostel by myself, my first night in Tokyo out after midnight.

A fortuitous beginning indeed.

The travel/book dilemma

My biggest, most common packing error is "Ack! I brought too many books!"

So what to do about an 8-month trip, the first five months of which will be in a non-English-speaking country? I was planning to read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, but yesterday I discovered that it's not 3 hefty mass market paperbacks like I thought, but seven, SEVEN regular sized mass markets or 3 HUEG 1000-page trades. So basically three hardcovers, in weight and size.

Maybe I won't carry that around in my backpack.

The only other good option I can think of is to bring Middlemarch or some Dickens and plan on reading at the pace of a snail, but considering the amount of airplane and train time I'm likely to have, that sounds like a sad prospect indeed.

Any travel reading suggestions?