starting with japan...

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Nature's Toys

Who needs Sponge Bob when you've got beetles the size of your fist?

Monday, June 26, 2006

SLEEPY

I am so very tired this morning. The alarm was set for its usual time, but my eyelids were far too heavy upon its ringing to rise. So, I snoozed for an hour. I tend to be against this alarm clock function, because, as with many things in life, it is a slippery slope and really who can hit snooze just once? But, sometimes the need arises, and I don't think that getting to bed at 4am on Sunday morning helped. So, this Monday morning is slow. And the sluggish speed is only intensified by this rain. Ah, this rain. It seeps into the brain and makes me more tired. Must somehow in the next ten minutes, find the energy needed to teach fruit to fifty four year-olds. I can't wait until nap time.

Friday, June 23, 2006

東京 だいすき!


My time here in Japan (in present position at least) is winding down and therefore so too are the opportunities to travel and see this country. As small a country as it seems, Japan is filled with treasures and amazing sights and I haven`t even begun to make a dent it seems. With this time constrain in mind, I took a couple days of vacation last week to head to Osaka for a Ben Harper concert and then on to Tokyo to finish out the week and weekend.

The concert was great. If he is coming to a city near you, I recommend that you go. I had only heard his new album Both Sides of the Gun a couple of times before going, but its well in to the rotation on the ipod now. Some good political commentary woven throughout, a favorite track of mine at the moment being Better Place (the war version). We actually ended up getting backstage passes after the show (I am convinced that this is an easier thing to do in Japan a. being a foreigner and b. because fewer people seem to make the effort) after catching the DJ`s eye. Its amazing how much nicer the clean-up crew treats you when you flash the special VIP sticker. So, we kicked it back stage, drank some beers, burnt some down, with the band. Didn't meet the man himself though, zanen.

Then it was on to Tokyo via Shinkansen the next morning. Hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji before I leave, I got a reservation on the "Fuji side" but as is often the case apparently, it was too overcast to see anything. Not even an outline. So as I rode on north, I superimposed images in my head onto the scene through the window. This mental collage will have to suffice for now. The four hour ride (I took the slowest kind of bullet train, though as many a children's thermos reads, Shinkansen is the Way to Go!) was a nice rest time after the concert and leading up to the busy weekend of city exploring that lay in wait. I arrived to an overcast though warm Tokyo city at around 1pm, checked in my pack at the station and set out to see what everyone has been talking about.

I can firmly say, after running around Tokyo for four days, rising early, getting to bed late, in order to see as much as possible, that I love Tokyo. I can also confirm that it is huge. I have many times questioned peoples preference in cities when it comes to Osaka and Tokyo, but I now understand what a hard task that is, for they are so different, the most basic difference being their size. For this reason, I found myself comparing Tokyo to New York instead.

Like New York, Tokyo has many different areas, that are divided to a degree into the Northern, Central and Western parts of the city. The subway system, though daunting at first sight, it pretty simple, and paired with the inner-city train system, make Tokyo a fairly easy city to navigate. And like New York, each area, each neighborhood has a distinct feel and flavor. Be it Ginza, which I noted as the 5th Ave. of Tokyo, or Harajuku, full of younger folks dressed to impress (or astound), each area was its own experience for me. In addition, the planned parks and green spaces had me thinking about central and prospect parks.

Having scoured some guidebooks before going, I managed to check out a lot of the highlights: Shibuya, Asakusa Shrine, Yoyogi park (jugglers, singers, drummers, fountains), Meiji Shrine (just a short walk from the teeming, narrow streets of Harajuku, a calm, tree-lined oasis), Tsukiji Fish Market (Japan loves its fish, try the maguro, oishii), Roppongi (saw a great art exhibit at the Mori Art Museum on African Modern Art), Jinbocho (a University area with an awesome "book store street"), and a boat ride under the many bridges, with some family friends. I also managed to fit in many good, strong cups of coffee and bagels (nothing like the Bageltique, but a welcome meal change nonetheless), in addition to some great sushi and soba. In addition to all these city sights, I stayed with a friend that lives about an hour outside of Tokyo city, in the inaka of Tokyo if you will, and so got a chance to see the green country-side surrounding the metropolis. Lush green, and quiet, it was much more like my home back in Wakayama than the concrete jungle of Tokyo, but reminded me of one of my favorite things about Japan--wherever you find yourself, rural countryside is never far away.


As is often the case these days, the trip left me refreshed (though tired), but made decision-making about the future more difficult. The more I travel and visit exciting cities, the more my love of urban living is reaffirmed, but also the broader my options begin to feel. The idea of staying in Japan longer and moving to a big city begins to feel tempting. Though so does living on a farm for a while, since I am most sure that my future is more likely to hold city rather than country. I guess we will just have to wait and see how the cards fall.



(pics, t-b: outside of Harajuku train station; back stage with Leon, Ben's drummer; graffiti near Yoyogi park; chinese style garden near the Tokyo dome; Meiji Shrine; book store in Jinbocho; Tsukiji fish market street; view of Tokyo Tower from Mori Building in Roppogi)

Monday, June 19, 2006

Mirror for the Sun


Landscape-wise, I think that right about now is one of my favorite times this year. Yeah, it is humid and raining a whole hell of a lot, but the hydrangea are out in all their seven-shades-of-purple glory and since the rice has just been planted, the stalks are short enough to not completely hide the fresh water they stand in. The water then acts as a mirror. Everything is shimmering, everything is reflected. It is quite lovely.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

when you misplace family, or if you are going to lose something, lose it in Japan (circa 4/25)

Sometimes when traveling, the important lessons are learned early and the remainder of the trip benefits. Such was the case when the family came to visit me in Japan last week (actually two months ago), all six of them (mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, grandma). Not two hours after I had greeted them at the international arrivals, did our hard-headed, know-it-all natures show themselves and we scattered in different directions with intentions of catching a bus south to a train station and then on to gobo. Unfortunately due to failures in communication however, we all had different ideas about when the bus left, who was following whom and who was buying the tickets. This type of situation is not out of the ordinary, but it was a first in Japan.

We all managed to re-group except for my dad and my grandma. One bus came and left and then another as we scored the receiving level of Kansai airport, searching for them, mumbling annoyances at their failure to stick with the group (typical Roberts behavior)all the while. But soon a third bus came and left. Reluctantly and still in a humorous mood about the situation, we turned to the loud intercom and couldn't stop from laughing as Molly Momii and John Roberts were paged throughout Kansai. But there was no response, and again we waited.

Had we been in many other countries other than Japan, I might have panicked at this point. However my experience of finding a cell phone on the slopes in Nagano, having cheap ballpoint pens and disposable water bottles returned, being given hand-held direction when lost many times and knowing people that have left goods unattended for days to find them untouched, I have come to think of Japan as a country where most things lost, go returned (exceptions to the rule are unavoidable, I have known people to have their underwear taken from the beach...).

Another half hour passed. With no sign of members six and seven of the group and paging from two different information booths continuing to turn up nothing, our level of worry and puzzlement increased. It was just weird. Getting more frustrated with each other and anxious over the situation we made our way up to the third floor and talked to the police. We handed them pictures (taken hours before) passport copies and detailed description. They seemed a little perplexed and concerned at the thought of a 61 year-old and an 81 year-old lost in the airport. They shut down their police booth, we teamed up and dispersed, intensifying the search. "We are going to find your family" they said.

Train stations were called as were bus companies. I asked a friend to scan the Gobo train station just in case they had somehow found their way there. Our family turned search party decided to split up, my mother, brother and I heading down to Gobo to secure a base there and my aunt and sister sticking with the professionals at the airport. We had just reached Wakayama city when I called my sister, who finally had some news. Turns out that my grandma, the 81 year-old whom my aunt was worried about being disoriented and confused, had managed to lead her and my father all the way to Gobo and to their small hotel. Amazing I tell you. I can only hope to be like her when I am 81. My friend Emi had tracked them down and they were currently chatting. Hence, we headed down to Gobo, and we were all, for the second time that day, reunited.


I would like to thank the country of Japan for being so safe and the Japanese people for knowing how to track something down.

free counter