Mmm mmm good!

Interesting Fact:
It is socially acceptable to slurp your soup and noodles in Japan.  Try it!  It's quite liberating.

Small Revelation

Had a small revelation today...
I've been distraught about how far behind my blog is.  I mean it's already December and I haven't even finished writing about Kirby and my trip to Kyoto/Nara/Osaka.  With each passing week, my list of things to blog about has become dauntingly long.  I have got to get it updated before I go home for Christmas!  Then I realized, I can still write my current thoughts while they are fresh in my mind and work on the older posts at the same time.  I'll just change the posted date and the entries won't be jumbled out of order!  While this may not seem like an epiphany to most people, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders that I won't have to forget the little things anymore.  For instance, like this little gem I wrote earlier today...


The Japanese are often described as polite, respectful, and well-mannered.  I can't say that I disagree with any of these adjectives...but what adjective describes people who don't pick up their dog's poo?!  (I think Americans could also be described by this word).
Everyday on my commute to the Chugakkou (Junior High School) a new "little present" as been waiting for me.  Often, conveniently, in the middle of the sidewalk.
1.  First of all, we don't live in Tokyo.  We live in the inaka, the frickin' country.  It's not like we are lacking in rice paddies and fields to let our dogs poop in.
2.  Secondly, what are they feeding these poor little guys?  I won't go into much detail due to the sensitive and rather gross nature of this blog topic, but let's just say its not normal.  Mutant dog poo.
3.  And lastly, how difficult is it to carry a plastic bag with you?  With the amount of recycling regulations that goes on in Japan, plus the apparent environmental disregard for limiting plastic packaging, plastic bags are not scarce; they are abundant.
My walk back home is not any more safe, as it becomes increasingly difficult to dodge these little doggy bombs in the dark.  I've started walking in the road to miss them, which isn't much safer.  Even if I did find the culprit (or culprits as I suspect.  No one dog is capable of this much damage), I do not have the requisite tact in Japanese to politely say "PICK UP YOUR DOG'S POO!" 

Naked in the Snow - Noji Onsen

Recently I met a very nice co-worker at the BOE.  We've gone out to dinner a couple times and last Friday he invited me to go to an onsen in Fukushima.  Some of my eikaiwa (adult conversation class) students were attending and I decided to jump on the bandwagon.


When I got picked up at 7am, I was already grumpy.  For those of you who have had no interaction with me before 10am, I'm not a happy camper in the mornings.  I just wanted to go back to sleep.  So when we got on the bus and I realized I was the youngest person by at least 25 years, I resigned myself to a long, boring day.  Fortunately, that's not quite how the Japanese do bus trips here...


Just as I'm about to fall back into my morning coma, I hear a "tssst", like a pop can opening (or in my mind - beer).  And lo and behold, my bus buddy has just broken open a 12 pack of Asahi pounders.  Without trying to look too surprised, I look around at my neighboring passengers.  There is whiskey, there is beer, there is sake, there is even chu-hi!  It was like a bar on a bus!  Everyone had a drink and was getting wasted like it was 5 in the afternoon, not 7:30 in the morning!  This lasted all morning, with increasing stops for bathroom breaks.  I started having Lake Shasta deja vu and politely declined a drink.  We stopped at pretty omiyage shops (like souvenir stores) and bought local fruits and ketai charms (for your cellphone).  Fukushima Prefecture is known for its peaches, apples, and mikans (mandarin oranges).


We finally arrived at Noji Onsen around 11am.  It is located on top of a mountain and the view is stunning! Here was where I got to see my first snowfall in Japan.  Sitting in a hot bath, naked, outside in the snow is an exhilarating experience.  The water at Noji Onsen is milky white.  Even though it smells a little like eggs (sulfur), it felt relaxing and supposedly is good for your skin.  The Japanese swear that different onsens are good for different body ailments.  Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content.  A good soak in a proper onsen can heal aches, pains and diseases.  They often visit onsens to treat illnesses, such as arthralgia, chronic skin diseases, diabetes, constipation, menstrual disorders and so on.  Understandably it's very popular with the older Japanese generation.  However, watch out if you have tattoos!  Most onsens, pools, and even gyms, won't let you use their facilities if you have any.


We had a huge delicious lunch, more alcohol, more bathing, and then headed back to Hirono.  I crashed hard on the bus ride home.  Thank God they didn't bust out the karaoke.  

Osaka: Day 2 continued

After "ooo-ing" and "ahh-ing" at the Aquarium, Kirby and I headed back to the station to visit Hep5.  It's kind of difficult to describe this place since it has a little bit of everything.  Floors 1 through 7 are a colossal mall - perpetually packed with teeny-boppers, floors 8 and 9 are a Sega game arcade (if you haven't heard, the Japanese are really fond of their video games) complete with claw-style games, taiko drum games (like dance dance revolution but with drums), and purikura (photo booths that let you edit your appearance), and on top of the building is a 106 meter high ferris wheel.  That's about 348 feet above the ground!!  Not a great idea for someone who is afraid of heights, like me.  Kirby had to practically drag me onto the ferris wheel.  But overall, the experience was exhilarating and I'm glad I did it.

Osaka: Day 2

Woke up early and had gyudon for breakfast (a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a sweet sauce) before catching the train to the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, near Osaka Bay.

The Kaiyukan is one of the world's largest aquariums, comprising of 16 exhibits, 580 different species, 30,000 specimens, and 2.9 million gallons of water!  It's hard to miss since the place is huge!  The architecture is absolutely stunning and is  completed by a modern art piece of dolphins on the outside of the building.  It's not cheap, but it is totally worth it.  We started walking through a tunnel filled with reef fish, followed by taking an escalator ride to the 8th floor.  From here we followed the aquarium's theme "Ring of Fire" through the 16 different habitats ranging from arctic to tropical as we spiraled back down to the ground floor.  The Ring of Fire refers to the volcanic perimeter encircling the Pacific Ocean which Japan is apart of.

We started at the top in the Japanese forest with a skylight ceiling, watching ducks play in the water and Japanese otters take a nap.  Then we went beneath the surface and "walked" into Antarctica.  Here we watched penguins, polar bears, and narwhales.  Onto Monterey Bay, Gulf of Panama, Ecuador Rain Forest, Tasman Sea, Coast of Chile, the Great Barrier Reef, and other ecosystems as we traveled to the depth of the ocean floor.  We saw the odd-looking ocean sunfish (which has the circumference of a truck tire but is as flat as a pancake), and the Japan giant spider crab with its incredible 3m (9 3/4-ft.) span.  But the stars of the Osaka Aquarium are their pair of whale sharks.  

Whale sharks are the largest fish in captivity, at an average of 41 and a half feet long.  Even though is has a huge mouth, the whale shark is considered a filter feeder and is not considered dangerous for divers.  They'll even sometimes let divers hitch a ride.  Additionally, in the whale shark tank were giant manta rays and other species of fish.  Across from the main tank they had a special exhibit on finless porpoises.  This was the only time when I had to criticize the amount of space given for an animal.  The poor animal was just circling it's tank over and over again.  Dolphins and finless porpoises don't belong in captivity.  In case you need some justification, watch The Cove and then tell me what you think.
This was Kirby's first time to an aquarium.  It was pretty obvious that he enjoyed it since he commandeered my camera and took over 300 pictures!  I'm so thankful that we got to share this experience together before he left and I can't wait to take him to the aquarium in Newport, Oregon when I come back home.

Osaka: eat till you drop (Day 1)

Osaka is the third largest city by population in Japan (after Tokyo and Yokohama).   It is known for its food, castle, port, underground shopping arcades, and Bunraku puppet theater.  It also has one of the nation's best aquariums, which Kirby and I had to check out (see the next post for our aquarium adventures).


We arrived in Osaka after a 30 minute train ride from Kyoto in the late afternoon on Friday.  We stayed in a hostel near the Umeda station.  We hadn't really planned out what were wanted to do here (a far cry from my overly detailed itinerary in Kyoto).  Osaka boasts the only Universal Studios outside of America, the oldest state temple in Japan, not to mention America-mura (a fashion district based on America for hipsters) or the "Kitchen District" (a district that sells everything you'd need to open a restaurant).  But seeing that we were running out of daylight, we decided to go to the best place for entertainment after hours - Dotonbori.

Dotonbori (pronouned dou-tom-boree) is a single street, running alongside the Dōtonbori canal between the Dōtonboribashi Bridge and the Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba ward of Osaka. A former pleasure district, Dōtonbori is famous for its historic theaters (all gone now), its shops and restaurants, and its many neon and mechanized signs.  This includes snack/candy manufacturer Glico's giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line, Cui-daore's mechanical drum-playing clown, and the restaurant Kani Doraku's six and a half meter crab that moves its arms and eyes.

Tourists come from all over Japan, and the world, to try Osaka cooking.  There is even a Japanese proverb, "Dress (in kimonos) till you drop in Kyoto, eat till you drop in Osaka" (京の着倒れ、大阪の食い倒れ).  Osaka regional cuisine includes okonomiyaki (pan-fried batter cake), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), udon (Japanese thick noodle), as well as regional sushi and other traditional Japanese foods.  Kirby was in heaven!  We ate Subway (YUM!), drank chu-hi, and just people-watched while wandering down the busy street.  Dotonbori kinda reminds me of Vegas.  No casinos, but people out and about like it's two in the afternoon.  Osaka's population at night is still 2.6 million! (3.7 during the day).  We even found a Krispy Kreme! Unfortunately, the line was around the block, and the boy didn't want to wait all night to satisfy my craving for American junk food. ;)

We also found a pet store!  I was very interested to see what Japanese pet stores were like.  The pet store was packed even though it was close to midnight.  We immediately noticed some big differences.  The puppies are all small dogs (which makes sense in a society where your house isn't very big and your entire family lives with you), both dogs and cats are horribly expensive (think like thousands of dollars), and they don't just sell typical domestic animals.  They sell miniature monkeys.  

Cute tiny little fuzzy things that grab onto your fingers.  They had at least two different species, but this little guy was my favorite.  Extremely expensive, like everything else in Japan, but heart-achingly cute!  I know the environmentalist in me was saying, this fuzz-ball should be in the jungle, wild and free.  But the girl in me was saying I want to put him in a designer handbag and parade him around town!  These completely unrealistic desires are why so many animals end up in humane societies or released into the local habitat, which can have dire consequences.  In fact, I hate to support pet stores at all, but that doesn't stop my heart from melting when something cute and fuzzy looks at me.  Just need to back away from the pet...

Nara: land of people-eating deer pets

Our day trip to Nara didn't begin with the best luck.  We woke up late and took our sweet time digesting yummy crepes and window shopping.  Although, even if we had gotten to the station earlier, it wouldn't have helped.  The train for Nara was delayed and then it was canceled!  Luckily, they switched tracks and we were able to get on our way, but only after waiting around for an hour.

We arrived in Nara around two in the afternoon and our luck hadn't improved - it was raining.  But the rain didn't dampen our spirits; we were too excited to see all of Nara's fascinating culture and check out those famous deer!  We learned that in early Japanese history, the nation's capital was moved to a new site each time the previous emperor died (bad spirits and whatnot).  However in 710, Nara became the first permanent Japanese capital...not that it turned out to be very permanent.  After only 74 years, the capital was moved, first to Nagaoka, and shortly thereafter to Kyoto, where it remained for more than 1,000 years!  But what's important about those 74 years, however, is that during this period was the birth of Japan's arts, crafts, and literature, as Nara imported everything from religion to art and architecture from China.  Even the city itself is laid out in a rectangular grid pattern from Chinese concepts (Frommers.com).

We thought about going on a walking tour of the city, but decided to follow the deer instead.  According to the legend of Kasuga Shrine, a mythological god arrived in Nara on a white deer to guard the newly built capital.  Since then the deer have been regarded as heavenly animals and are protected by the city and country.  This is awesome!  There are hundreds of deer just wandering around the city and they are completely tame!  Well, completely might be stretching the truth a bit.  They will let you pet them and are fairly docile - unless you have deer biscuits ("shika sembei").  Then they will try to eat you.  They will nudge, jostle, and even try to bite for their yummy nom noms.  Don't believe me?  See the video below. <-- (The video isn't working.  I don't know why.  I'm going to try to upload it to YouTube instead.  Sorry!)

After the treacherous walk through Nara's deer park, we entered Todaiji Temple, the premier tourist attraction in Nara.  The temple is not the original (like many temples in Japan) and is only two-thirds of the original size.  Even though it's considerably smaller than the original, Todaiji temple is still the largest wooden structure in the world.  It is 161 feet tall, 187 feet long, and 164 feet wide!  Inside the temple is its Daibutsu or Great Buddha, it is also Japan's largest bronze Buddha.  At a height of more than 50 feet, the Daibutsu is made of 437 tons of bronze, 286 pounds of pure gold, 165 pounds of mercury, and 7 tons of vegetable wax (Frommers.com).  Wow!

However, thanks to Japan's frequency of natural disasters, today's Buddha isn't quite what it used to be.  In 855, in what had to be a ginormous earthquake, the statue lost its head.  It was repaired, but alas, the huge wooden building was burned twice during wars, melting the Buddha's head. The present head dates from 1692.

Both Kirby and I really enjoyed Todaiji Temple.  The sheer size of it alone was enough to astonish even the most traveled tourist.  I wish we could say that we wandered around the rest of Nara's historical landmarks, reflecting on Japan's beautiful cultural heritage, but I just wanted to play with the deer.  Haha!

We ate takoyaki for lunch.  Literally "fried or grilled octopus".  It is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, ponzu, mayonnaise, green laver, and fish shavings.  We also watched a famous shop make green tea mochi.  The cooked rice is pounded with a wooden mallet in a traditional mortar.  Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi.  It looked considerably dangerous at the speed they were working.

Our Nara adventures only lasted an afternoon but were exceptionally satisfying.  Afterwords we quickly headed back to Kyoto before the sun set.

(We would have liked to stop by Fushimi Inari Shrine on our way back to Kyoto but unfortunately we didn't make it before it got dark)

Kyoto: Day 3

Woke up and had delicious ham and egg crepes for breakfast.  The Japanese thought we were strange double-fisting crepes and eating on the sidewalk.  *It's considered faux pas to eat while standing or walking in Japan.  Afterwards we took the bus to Kinkakuji, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.

This Kinkakuji is not the original temple.  In 1950, a disturbed student monk burned it to the ground.  However, it was rebuilt and recovered in gold leaf 5x thicker than the original coating.  Personally, I liked Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion) and its gardens better - more Zen like.  But I have to admit...the temple shining under the sun, reflected on the surface of the pond, turning the water to gold was a magnificent sight.  This was Kirby's favorite.

Afterwards we thought about going to Ryoanji, which is a famous Zen rock garden, and maybe we should have, but we were done looking at rocks and temples.  So we headed to Arashiyama instead.


Arashiyama is a district in the western outskirts of Kyoto.  On the top of Mt. Arashiyama is the Iwatayama Monkey Park.  Ohhh yeah, you heard me, monkeys.  We just followed the sign to the park, paid our admission fee, and started up the mountain trail.  First of all, it was late afternoon, the sun was starting to set, and once you walked into the forest it got pretty dark.  Secondly, the attendant did not tell us anything other than to point at a sign that said:
Do not stare at the monkeys in the eye!
Do not touch the monkeys!
Do not feed them outside!
Thirdly, she failed to mention that the monkeys were wild.

Because we both are naive Americans, we were under the assumption that the monkeys were in cages at the top of the mountain.  We found out pretty quickly that this was not the case.  The mountain is inhabited by a troop of over 170 Japanese Macaque monkeys.  We began to question our presumption when we heard tree branches rustling above us.  Suddenly, a full-grown monkey dropped out of a tree and walked right up to me.  I stood completely frozen!  I slowly turned around to look at Kirby, just to find out that he had booked it up the trail, leaving me to be attacked!  Luckily the monkey was more interested in cleaning his you-know-whats than me.  But that still doesn't change the fact that my boyfriend deserted me because he is afraid of monkeys.

On the top of the mountain is a small building, pond, and an amazing view of Kyoto.  The attendant could tell we were a little unnerved at the amount of monkeys roaming around and invited us inside.  We bought peanuts and apples for 100yen each and walked into a room with wire covered windows.  Monkeys immediately started jumping up onto the fence near us.  They would reach their little arms as far as they could through the fence and stick out their hands.  It was rather cute.  It is remarkable how dexterous they are.  Almost like we were feeding small children...with really sharp teeth. 

I could have stayed there all day feeding monkeys and taking pictures.  I even followed a little baby monkey around for a good 15 minutes trying to get a good shot.  Unfortunately, it was getting dark and I didn't trust these guys at night.  We eventually made it back to Gion (after taking the wrong bus), Kirby tried okonomiyaki (which he liked), and later we headed back out to Pontocho.

That night we hit up a pub called ING (we never found out if it was pronounced "ing" or "i-n-g").  It is on the second story of an indescribable building, next to a shish-kabob joint, and is tiny. The owner is an older Japanese man who is obsessed with rock n' roll, specifically the Rolling Stones.  Only downside was the copious amount of smoke (the next morning I smelled like an ashtray). *almost all bars, and even restaurants, allow smoking.  But the beer was cheap and he took music requests.  So we drank Sapporo, talked with other foreigners, and listened to Queen late into the night.

Kyoto: Day 2

We started our walking tour early Tuesday morning at Sanjusando Hall.  Inside are 1,001 gold covered wooden statues of the thousand-handed Kannon, carved from Japanese cypress during the 12^th and 13^th century.  It truly is a sight to behold, and since they won’t let you take any pictures, you really do have to see it for yourself.  The hall was rebuilt in 1266 and is almost 400ft long – making it the longest wooden building in Japan.  Seeing such an incredible dedication to their beliefs made me want to learn more about them.  But seeing how I’m not terribly religious, I might need to get “Buddhism for Dummies”.

Our plan was to go to The Kyoto National Museum, a World Heritage site, across the street after Sanjusando, but it’s just my luck that it was closed for renovations for the month.  Instead, we walked through the Otani Mausoleum and Toribeyama, where there are tombs as far as the eye can see – over 15,000 to be exact, on our way to Kiyomizu Temple.

Kiyomizu Temple is known throughout Japan for its grand views.  It resides on the top of Mount Otowa, with the main hall constructed over a cliff.  The larger wooden veranda is supported by 139 pillars, each 49 feet high.  The place is absolutely massive.  We got lost several times trying to find our way around.  Unfortunately, all the explanations were in Japanese, so I can’t really tell you anymore than that.  We watched men lining up to try to lift steel poles off the ground, no idea what for, but it seemed like fun, so we tried.  More than a couple young kids were amazed at the giant gaijin lifting it with ease.  His girlfriend? ...ehh not so much!

Below the larger veranda we stopped for a very Japanese lunch: soba, sake, and shaved ice.  *Shaved ice in Japan is nothing like America’s.  It’s served in big bowls.  The ice is light and fluffy, not crunchy, almost like snow, and they pour sweet milk and flavoring over the top.  The most common flavors are strawberry and green tea.

While we ate, we watched the Japanese wait for hours to drink from Otowa falls.  Kiyomizu literally means “pure water”.  I’m not sure if the Japanese think it has special healing powers or drinking it will bring you luck, but it could have been the best water ever tasted and you wouldn’t get me to wait for hours in the sun for a sip.  We could have spent all day at Kiyomizu, but we didn’t want to find our way home in the dark.

We walked down Sannenzaka street admiring the traditional goods and sampling sweets.  I had to practically drag Kirby out of the stores.  A tall American gaijin sampling everything isn’t very inconspicuous.  But we did get to try just about every flavor of mochi (green tea, chocolate banana, chestnut, cinnamon, sweet potato, strawberry, etc).  We also tried our first crepe, blueberry cheesecake.  The Japanese sure know how to do deserts.  Little did we know that they would become our customary breakfast for the next couple days.

We continued our wandering towards the giant statue of Kannon at The Ryozen Kannon Temple.  The statue is a war memorial for the Japanese that died during World War II and is 80ft high and weighs approximately 500 tons.  On to Maruyama Park, we viewed one of Kyoto’s most famous giant cherry blossom trees.  It will not bloom until the spring, but the sun slowly setting behind it still made quite a tranquil sight.  It’s at times like that I wish I had a DSLR camera.  My Canon Powershot is great for quick pics and party nights.  But its pictures don’t do justice for Japan.

We wandered the park, trying to play with wild cats (I’m still dying for something fuzzy of my own), and eventually walked out of the Yasaka Shrine into Gion, which was quite convenient since that’s where our hostel was.

Later that night we went back to Pontocho (and Kappa Sushi for Kirby).  After dinner we wanted to check out the bar scene.  So we went to The Hub, an English-style pub that was recommended for foreigners.  The atmosphere was right – wooden bar top and stools, taps, darts, and pool.  But all the details were wrong.  First of all, they only had Japanese beer – which should have been our first clue.  Everything was overpriced, too many drinks made with Redbull, and cocky Germans who pegged us as Americans the minute we walked in.  Let’s just say we only stayed for one drink.

So we decided to have a little party on our own.  Bought some Chu-Hai from the nearest combini and meandered down the main strip.  We found a crepe shop that served both breakfast and desert crepes!  *The Japanese don’t know how to do breakfast.  Unless you like having rice, miso soup, and fish for breakfast…  We even tried purikura (a photo sticker booth).  At first Kirby wasn’t so keen, but after my begging and pleading, how could he say no?

Unfortunately, we are stupid gaijin and walked around the machine for a half an hour trying to figure out how the dang thing worked!  Eventually we had to ask a nice J-girl how to do it (thank you liquid courage).  Taking pictures in a photo booth is fun.  But editing your own pictures is 10x more fun!  Foremost, the Japanese are obsessed with big eyes (like Westerners) so the machine automatically makes your eyes big and sparkly!  You can change your hair color, plump your lips, write messages, put a cute bowtie on…whatever, it does just about anything.  We probably spent 1 minute taking pictures and 15-20 minutes editing ours.  The nice J-girl even stayed until we were done to show us where the picture stickers pop out.  They are so overly cute and colorful; I want to put them on everything!  No wonder my middle schoolers are infatuated with it.

Wait…what does that say about me?

Kyoto: Day 1

Taking an overnight bus is miserable.  We arrived at Kyoto Station at 7am and found our hostel, but couldn’t check in until 9am so we sat in a tiny coffee shop next door.  Over breakfast we decided to start our day at Ginkakuji: The Temple of the Silver Pavilion.

*Transportation in Tokyo relies on the trains and subways, but in Kyoto, buses are the way to get around.  Even with a colorful map, complete with cartoon pictures, finding the correct bus stop was often a problem. 

Ginkakuji Temple

The street to the Ginkakuji’s main gate is lined with traditional-styled shops selling Japanese crafts and sweets.  We had to try some, of course.  As I entered the pavilion, I realized that Ginkakuji is more about the garden than the temple.  It is absolutely stunning in the morning.  There are Zen sand designs surrounding the pathway and beautifully sculpted gardens up the hill to the temple viewing area.  Despite its name, Ginkakuji is not actually silver.  The shogun died before it could be completed.

Sand Sculpture

Afterwards we attempted to walk down the Philosopher’s path (a cherry-tree lined pathway along the canal to Nanzen-ji Temple, where influential Japanese philosophers were thought to walk along and meditate).  To give us some credit, we did find the Philosopher’s path…we just walked down it in the wrong direction for 40+ minutes.  We ended up considerably far from Nanzen-ji and had to take a bus back.

However, our luck didn’t improve much, as we got lost in a forest of giant spruce trying to find the temple.  It was very calm, Zen-like, and full of random temples, so it wasn’t a complete waste though.  Continuing our walk, we passed under a giant vermillion torii to Nijo Dori and into The Kyoto Museum of Modern Art.  I should have known that the Japanese wouldn’t have the same vibrant, mix-media artwork that the Portland Art Museum has.  The exhibit on display was inspired by the avant-garde movement around World War II.  Severely depressing, not to mention awkward…Afterwards we were so tired that we just returned to Gion.

That night we crossed the river to Pontocho.  Geisha have existed in Pontochō since at least the 16th century, as well as prostitution and other forms of entertainment.  The area is lit by traditional Japanese lanterns and contains a mix of very expensive restaurants—often featuring outdoor riverside dining on wooden patios—geisha houses and tea houses, brothels, bars, and cheap eateries.  As we walked down the narrow cobblestone ally, we realized fairly quickly that we were out of place.  The bouncers (if you can call slender Japanese men dressed in suits “bouncers”) glared, daring us to try and enter their establishments.  We never found out if they were strip clubs, brothels, shows, etc but women definitely were not allowed.  I wonder if the situation might have been different if Kirby was by himself.  I’ve heard stories of bouncers and hostess’ luring male foreigners into such establishments in Kabuki-cho, Tokyo.  I’m glad I’ll never find out.

Exiting Pontocho leaves you on the busy streets of Shijo-dori or Sanjo-dori, where we found Kirby’s favorite restaurant – Kappa Sushi!  If anyone from Japan is reading this right now, they would gasp and say “hontou..?” (really?).  Kappa Sushi is probably one of the most average (aka cheapest) conveyor-belt-style sushi restaurants.  But for a boy who never feels full, getting that much food for only 100 yen (about 90 cents) per plate is practically unheard of.  We ended up going here several times during our stay in Kyoto.

After staying up for 36 hours and a full day of exploring, we were exhausted and went back to our hostel to sleep.

Getting to Kyoto

Our exhaustive trip to Kyoto began with a train ride to Sendai.  Sendai is the capital city of the Miyagi Prefecture, about 2.5 hours north of Hirono.

On our train was a very friendly older man, and after observation we realized, very drunk.  The happy man couldn’t speak English, but that didn’t stop him from trying.  Who says imbibing alcohol is detrimental?  Liquid courage to facilitate cultural exchange!  He even shared and bought us chu-hai at a train stop.  (Chu-hai is an alcohol drink originating from Japan.  Traditional chūhai is made with shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon。Chu-hai sold in bars have low alcohol contents, but canned chu-hai from conbini’s have alcohol levels as high as 9%, woo hoo!).  With the help of our buzz, we attempted to communicate, but during the entire train ride all I could make out was that he really liked Kirby and John Wayne…

We arrived in Sendai during the afternoon and went window shopping down Clis Road (a covered shopping area several blocks long).  We had fun tasting wine and food at a foreign market (it was familiar to us – taco shells, yogurt covered raisens, Doritos, etc) and found our first Subway!  Let me tell you, Subways in Japan put America’s to shame.  Not only do they have a more unique menu: ebi (that’s shrimp) and avocado, roasted chicken with a creamy cheese sauce, roast beef with wasabi/soy sauce dressing, basil mayo!  But the level of care and detail they put into making your sandwich is unreal.  Carefully placing each piece of chicken breast at a 45 degree angle, perfectly spaced apart down the length of your freshly baked bread.  The ingredients are on a completely different level of freshness.  We were in heaven.

We caught our overnight bus from Sendai to Kyoto in front of the station and departed at 7:30pm.  Only a 12 hour bus ride to go…

Back to Tokyo: Asakusa with Kirby

I got the most amazing email on Friday.  My boyfriend, Kirby, had booked a flight to Japan and was landing at Narita International Airport on Saturday….wait…SATURDAY!? as in tomorrow!?

I wanted to make his first time in Tokyo epic; so I tuned my inner-perfectionist and made the most detailed itinerary known to man.  Every tiny factor was accounted for:  train arrival and departure times, transfers, hostel reservations, local attractions, walking tours, good places to eat, and a budget.  We may not have stayed within the budget (Tokyo is very expensive after all), but we did have an epic time.

I jumped on the Super Hitachi train down to Ueno early Saturday morning.  3 hours and a couple transfers later, I arrived at Narita.  The airport is HUGE!  Luckily, he found me first J.  We trained it to Asakusa (Tokyo’s oldest geisha district), spotted the identifiable “golden carrot”, and checked into the Khaosan Hostel for an early night.  This was the first hostel I had ever stayed in, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  It was pretty cool and didn’t feel very Japanese-like at all.  There was a lounge with a TV (in English) and free computers to surf the internet, the staff was friendly and also spoke English, and the beds were capsule-style, which allowed for a bit more privacy.  Kirby said he felt like he was sleeping in a wooden coffin.  They weren’t very comfortable, but no Japanese beds are, so no surprise there.

*Interesting Fact:  in Japan, hotel rooms are charged per person, not per room like The States.  So, if a double queen room is listed as \10000 per night.  It is actually \10000 per person per night.  Spendy!

The next morning we traveled farther south to visit the Hamarikyu Gardens.  It is the site of a villa for the Shogun Tokugawa family in the 17th century.  We had these crazy English audio devices that hung around our necks.  As we walked through the park, it would tell us interesting facts and historical references.  Along with viewing a 300 year old pine tree, serene ponds and manicured shrubbery, we stopped at a traditional Japanese teahouse.  This was Kirby’s favorite part of the trip.  We drank cold matcha (powdered green tea) and ate Japanese sweets in tea ceremony style:

Guests remove their shoes before entering the room, then sit seiza-style on the tatami floor (except Kirby, who can’t bend that way haha).  The confectionary is placed on special paper in front of the tea bowl.  Cut the sweet into smaller pieces and eat a piece.  Then lift the tea bowl with your right hand and set it on the palm of your left; while still holding the bowl, rotate it clockwise twice.  After taking a few sips, the guest wipes the rim clean and passes it to the next guest (in our case, we each had our own bowls).  Then repeat the process until all the foam is gone.  Mmm..mmm…delicious!

Afterward touring the garden, we took a 40 minute boat cruise up the Sumida River back to Asakusa.  As we were disembarking, we heard somebody yell, “GO DUCKS!”  Spinning around to catch the blasphemous antagonists, we spotted a crew of U of O fans.  Insults were thrown, but everybody walked away unhurt.  Just makes you realize how small the world really is...

We walked under Kaminarimon gate (the “Thunder Gate”), through Nakamise Dori (a street of vendors selling traditional Japanese knick-knacks) to Sensoji Temple.  Kaminarimon gate has four statues (the Shinto gods: Fujin, the god of wind, and Raijin, the god of thunder and lightening – hence the nickname, “Thunder Gate”, and the Buddhist god Tentryu and goddess Kinryu).  In the center, underneath the gate, hangs a giant red lantern that is 4 meters tall and weights 1,500lbs!  Obviously we had to be big foreign tourists and take a picture with it.

Nakamise Dori is a crazy, crowded, narrow, covered ally, but down an adjacent street we found a hole-in-the-wall ramen shop.  It was small.  I mean the place could only sit maybe 10 people (so like 5 Japanese and one Kirby).  But he was finally happy with the portion sizes.  A giant bowl of mystery ramen for \300, such a steal!  Not to mention it was delicious!  Sensoji is a Buddhist temple dedicated to bodhisattva Kannon, and the most famous temple in Tokyo.  According to legend, a golden statue of the Kannon was found in the Sumida River in 628 by two fishermen brothers.  Recognizing the sanctity of the statue, the town built Sensoji Temple in its honor.  The statue still resides within the temple but is never shone to the public. 

The original temple was built in 645, which makes it the oldest temple in Tokyo.  However, during World War II, the temple was bombed and mostly destroyed.  It was rebuilt later and is considered a symbol of rebirth and peace to the Japanese people.  At the temple we got to “consult the oracle” by shaking a metal container until a labeled wooden stick came out, then finding the matching labeled drawer gives you a fortune.  Our first fortune was awful!  Thankfully, you can tie the fortune around a tree branch to negate it.  Our second fortune was much better.  We celebrated our good fortune by trying green tea and black seseame soft cream (Japanese ice cream).  Yumm!

After Sensoji, we booked it across Tokyo to catch the Harajuku girls at Yoyogi Park.  Harajuku is a fashion capital of the world and is renown for its unique street fashion.  Every Sunday, young people (not only girls as we found out) meet on the bridge that connects downtown Harajuku to Yoyogi park, dressed in a variety of styles including gothic lolita, ganguro, visual kei, as well as cosplay.  Not every Harajuku “girl”, dresses in these main styles.  When we were there we saw a girl in a rabbit costume and a homeless man dressed like a ballerina.  You never know what you’re going to find in Harajuku.  But the one thing I didn’t expect to find were missionaries.

As Kirby and I were walking by, some boys asked us if we liked gospel music.  I was more surprised they spoke to us, than about what they asked.  So to continue the conversation, I replied yes.  They energetically invited us to come listen to their friends sing gospel music.  Sounded good to me!  Little did I know this would be the most awkward moment of our entire trip.

They led us to a nearby building, up three flights of stairs, into a tiny nurse office – I mean, beds, bandages, the whole nine yards.  This was weird.  It was just Kirby and I sitting in this room with two girls and an iPod player.  Then they started singing…obviously we don’t understand a word they’re saying, but wait, did they just say my name?  Are they singing about me?!  OH YEAH, straight up trying to save our souls.  Invited us to church and everything.  We made an excuse about catching a train and booked it.  Kirby will never let me live that down.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering Omotesando Hills in Harajuku.  Omotesando is like the Rodeo Drive of Japan:  Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada.  Window-shopping heaven for a poor English teacher.  Although there were a couple stores with reasonably priced goods (Nike, etc).  And the stores are just as weird as the fashion, like Condomania – a brightly colored tiny condom store on one of the busiest intersections in Omotesando.  I mean where else can you find a condom store next to Gucci except Japan?

We would have liked to spend the entire afternoon in Harajuku just shopping and people-watching but we had a train to catch.  So we raced across town to pick up our luggage in Asakusa and got back to Ueno in time to catch our Super Hitachi home.  We barely made it too, just 10 minutes to spare.  

Canyoning in Gunma

I tried something new this weekend – canyoning.  When I had signed up to go on this trip to Gunma (the next prefecture over from Fukushima), I was under the impression that canyoning was like hiking in a canyon.  Fail.

My parents are actually the ones that looked it up and kindly informed me that canyoning is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include hiking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, rappelling, and swimming.  It is associated with technical descents and is frequently done in remote and rugged settings that often require navigational, route-finding, and other wilderness travel skills.  …haha…

            Actually, it was a blast!  We started early in the morning and geared up in a full wetsuit, harness, life jacket, waterproof boots, gloves, and, of course, a helmet.  We took a bus up into the mountains and arrived at a calm little stream.  I was thinking, “this doesn’t look too bad…”  With our life jackets on we just bobbed on the surface and floated down the creek.  I was having SO much fun!  But I did mention technical descents, didn’t I?

Our guides stopped us before a river bend and explained some safety procedures.  Like don’t flail your arms when you drop down the waterfall… wait, what?!  Like the 12-meter high (that’s 39 feet for you Americans) waterfall that we had to descend to continue our route.  I started to worry a tad bit then.  But I just sat on my butt and let the water pull me off the edge - screaming and flailing my arms the entire way down.  Such a rush!

The rest of our route was easier but still exciting.  We slid down several more waterfalls – on our stomachs, backwards, headfirst, superman-style.  Unfortunately, my camera isn’t waterproof so I don’t have any pictures from Canyoning or river rafting later that day.  L  That night was also a good time – yakisoba, a bar, live music, and conversing with friends that shared the experience of almost peeing their pants, sliding down a waterfall.  Good times!

Luckily for our sore bodies (and hangovers) the next morning we went to an onsen to relax.  Baths aren’t really a big deal in the U.S. but the Japanese LOVE them!  In a traditional Japanese family-setting everyone takes a bath before going to bed.  An onsen is a term for hot springs in Japanese, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs.  As a volcanically active Japan is, it has thousands of onsen scattered across it.  Talk about a way to get to know people!  Can’t be much more embarrassed if you’re already naked.  Normally onsens are separated by sex (thank God!) but, seeing how it was my first time, of course we went to a mixed bathhouse.   For your sake, I won’t go into any details…