Kouyo

It is already December. I've almost been in Japan for half a year! It is weird because I still don't really feel like I have been here that long. It seems every week is just a few days, and I realize my apartment hasn't actually been completely clean for over 2 months. Which I don't understand, since I rarely do anything after work most days. I think it is just that after work the last thing I want to do is clean my apartment, and on the weekend the last thing I want to do is stay at home.

That being said, December is going to be a busy month. Today I had five classes that I made an "American Christmas" quiz game for. Unfortunately the students seemed a little less enthusiastic than I hoped, but I guess I should be use to it by now. Sometimes I wonder how I ended up as a teacher, and why.

Speaking of teaching, this Friday I have to go and be Santa Claus at a Kindergarten. To be honest I am terrified. Both by the fact that there is going to be an immense language barrier between both me, the kids and the teachers as well as the pressure of being Santa and working with very young children. I usually don't know what I am doing when I am teaching or visiting elementary schools, but this is a whole new level of confusion and fear. I am hoping for the best! How difficult can Kindergarten Japanese be anyway right? Just worried that I won't understand the directions on what to do from the teachers.

My Japanese is definitely not progressing at the rate that I want it to. Even living out in the middle of nowhere doesn't force me to use Japanese because there isn't really anything I want to do, or know to do! It bothers me that I don't feel more involved at my school and in my community after being here for 5 months. I can't understand my schools morning meeting, I definitely can't read my mail (most of it I just ignore), and most of all I can't express myself both because of language and culture. I still feel odd just sitting in the staff room barely talking to anyone.

One thing I did accomplish though is seeing "Kouyo" (Autumn Colors) at my favorite temple in Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera. I saw it the last night that they light up the leaves and it was beautiful.


Kiyomizu-dera Autumn Light Up


Silhouettes

Another great thing is I didn't have to see it alone. Earlier that day a British friend of mine, who is also a JET, called me and asked if I was heading to Kyoto to look at the Autumn colors. When I said I was planning on going to Kiyomizu-dera it was settled and we decided to meet up. It actually helps to have someone to talk to for 30 minutes in the freezing Autumn air when you are waiting for the trees to light up.


Louise and I chillin' at Kiyomizu-dera.

Anyway, hopefully going to Thailand in less than two weeks will help ease my frustrations and depressing moments that I am having with my daily life in Japan. The ridiculous thing is that I am taking off a week of work to go teach kids in Thailand! Sometimes I wonder why they hell I am doing this. I have to make lesson plans, sell Christmas cards, and buy presents for MY VACATION!

Something is telling me it is the right thing to do though, although it seems hectic and anything but relaxing. In a way I think it will be a real learning experience for me. I have never done any volunteer work of this type, and in a way I hope I will gain something valuable. Many times I feel unappreciated and lonely in my current situation and I hope that for at least 7 days I can change this.

Not to mention I will be visiting a good friend for a day or two and also spending two days lazy on a beach watching the sun set over the ocean.

In the mean time I have a lot to prepare for making December very busy! Santa visits, normal work and Thailand, both the journey itself and the volunteer work I will be doing.

Cult Museums and Other Things

This weekend was relatively eventful! Saturday I decided to go visit the Miho Museum in Koka, Shiga. I was amazed at this place since it was literally in the middle of NOWHERE! Besides the exhibits being about average for most museums, the architecture was just amazing! The place was designed by the same arcitect who created the pyramid at the Louvre in Paris.



Miho Museum


You walk through a tunnel to the museum.

The more interesting thing about this museum is that it is run by a cult! How else could you make something so amazing in the middle of nowhere right? The religion is something associated with the Church of World Messianity. The sect that the Miho Museum belongs to is Shinji Shumeikai. The religion basically believes that you can channel divine light to heal people.


Apparently that bulding is the Shumei temple, non-members not allowed to check it out.

But it isn't just because of this religion that the museum could have been built. The museum was the dream of a woman named Mihoko Koyama, founder of Shinji Shumeikai, and one of the richest women in Japan.

After checking out this place it was off to Kyoto for some Churrasco (Brazilian BBQ) with some other JETs. It was delicious and I esspecially liked the Caipirinha (Brazilian National Cocktail). All you could eat meat and salad for two hours! Amazing!

Sunday I decided to go on a bike ride out to a place called Eigenji (temple) to look at more fall colors.


Beautiful Japanese Autumn


Stone Buddhas


Eigenji

After this we stopped at a pretty impressive onsen. Unfortunately when we left it was raining, but luckly not very hard.

After arriving in Yokaichi city (half hour train ride from Hino) I decided to stop at a McDonald's and ended up running into some of my students. When I asked them what they were up two, they responded "nanpa" which means picking up girls. So after a small chat with these students I headed back to the station to go home and end my weekend.

Autumn Change

Coming from Montana, a state covered by mostly evergreens, being in Japan is a treat. The trees during Autumn are so beautiful. This weekend I went on a hike with two of my English teacher co-workers up the tallest mountain in my town. Unfortunately since I live in a very mountainous part of Japan, it is rather alpine, much like Montana.


My English teachers half way up the mountain!


My small town in the valley below. Can you even see it?

So in order to catch the beauty of the changing landscape I took a 2 hour train ride north to a town called Kinomoto with about four other ALTs.


Beauty


Zen

It is these moments in my life when I am surrounded by such beauty that I know I am blessed. Even though I feel my life is far from ideal and wish many times I could go back and change decisions in my life, where I am in the moment can sometimes be amazing and knowing that my current path has lead me there brings me a small amount of satisfaction. In the end we can't change our past, but we can definitely change our future. Although we will never know if we ever did, since the future only happens in the present.

I remember hearing once, "Change with the seasons." If seasons are for change, then Autumn must be the time to change your colors and how people see you. I am still reaching for my goals in life, to become the person I want to be. To find complete happiness in knowing that I have experienced the many aspects of life. This is why I wander.

Soon I will be wandering again. In less than four weeks I will be in Thailand! I still can't believe it and have not done any further preparations. I need to buy a large backpack and get my gears in motion so this trip doesn't sneak up on me.

I am definitely looking forward to it, but for some reason traveling just doesn't seem the same anymore. It seems like a lot of work. My real freedom is bound by my job. I can't really go get lost, because I have to be somewhere. I can't be as spontaneous because I have responsibility. One of my friends gave me a philosophical article about how "No One Should Ever Work" and would definitely say it is worth the read if you are interested in such things, it definitely made me think about the idea of "free time." It is crazy how most societies downplay play and deem work as noble. A hard worker is good! While I agree, I feel some of this logic is twisted. Do we become slaves to our work? How much can it change us?


One step closer.

If Autumn is a time for slow change and the New Year to start a new...

The moment is for skateboarding samurai gangstas!! Wait...what?


Remember to wear safety gear.

Philosophical Picnic #1

True enlightenment is never self proclaimed or sold.

Remember this for when dealing with those that believe they have more 'advanced' and 'evolved' information than the rest, or bold enough to call themselves a higher advanced life form. When true enlightenment is obtained, it is realized that what we know is very little and that absolute truth can never be explained and only experienced internally.

Before enlightenment, humility is learned.

This is not to say those that share their experiences towards the path of enlightenment are false, there are many teachers in the world. But those with actual understanding can only offer assistance, never a method, and never attach a price to wisdom.

The greatest philosophers and teachers of our time have been poor, simple and kind. They did not rely on money, but on their own knowledge and the compassion of those who loved them for their knowledge.

Books in the modern day are an exception. It is a company that usually publishes a book, not the author. If the teacher wants to distribute his wisdom to others, he will write. If he wants many others to read he will publish. If it is to be published, the publisher will want profits. So do not be fooled by the smoke and mirrors of modern society to find some truth. Just be aware, that those who consider themselves enlightened still have much more to learn.

Finally, enlightenment can only happen to those who seek it. Fear of knowing that what we know is nearly nothing, is the largest obstacle to face.

The ego is ultimate, the truth is infinite. To face both with all eyes open is undefinable.

Cultural Cognition #1

This will be the first of many entries that will be entitled "Cultural Cognition." It is an attempt to reflect back on things I have noticed in Japan over a period of time which seems to be standard in society and culture. I hope to shed some light on misunderstandings about Japan and also question based upon my observations. Since this is the introductory entry, it will be rather introductory...rather than specific.

First lets talk about Japan as a country. It is a country of rapid change. Japan was late in coming out from it's feudal era, compared to the rest of the world, which is said to have ended in the late 1860s. The time before this was the time of legends, ninjas, samurai, martial arts, geisha and an overall culture of mystery. Most fiction of Japan takes place before the 1860s. The rest is remembered in history. Most history isn't internationally well known until after 1941 with the bombing of pearl harbor by the Japanese. The most unforgettable being that the first (and only) atomic bombs were dropped and detonated on a live population in Japan during 1945. Then the country of samurai became the country of salary men. Bamboo forests replaced with neon. Fields of rice to fields of concrete. Or well, this is what many people think. In all reality, Japan is still somewhere in between. Where the salary man is in many ways still the loyal samurai, working hard for their company instead of their fief.


Trading in the Katana for tie.

A highly developed nation with huge concrete metropolises like Tokyo and Osaka but also having lush bamboo forests, rice fields that meet the mountains, and no central heating. I live in the later. My neon is the stars, my apartment so freezing in winter that I have to put my vegetables in the refrigerator so they don't freeze, my crowds the migratory birds. It seems when people think of Japan, they think Tokyo. Although Tokyo is part of Japan, I would say it is the least like the rest of Japan. I myself misunderstood Japan to be the robot wielding cybernetic ninja capital of the world, that is before I came here and saw differently. Las Vegas still puts the lights of most Japanese cities to shame, and a 10 year old American probably has more electronics than a 10 year old Japanese!

The Japanese people, considered honorable and polite. This is true for the majority, but honor and respect are declining in popularity as those younger than 30 don't care about these traditional values anymore. There are punks everywhere in the world, and Japan is no exception. With this uprooting, it is harder for older generations to respect the younger generation and thus the vicious cycle is in full swing.


Rockabilly anyone?

Japanese people have weird concepts of race. Being a country that is basically 99 percent Japanese with most foreigners being from other Asian countries or Japanese-Brazilians, xenophobia and racism are everywhere. Being white in Japan is the major minority. Unless your in Tokyo which just looks like if you replaced New York's white population with Japanese and the Asian with white, but still yielding a pretty decent mix. In my town of 23,000 people, I think there is one other white guy that I see out of the corner of my eye when I am walking the narrow streets. Otherwise most are Japanese, although my prefecture is a special case in having many Brazilians. On many government signs in Shiga prefecture, the second language is Portuguese. I can walk down the hall at my school, and I normally hear Japanese, but it isn't unheard of to hear some Brazilian kids going at it in Portuguese. Overall, a pretty cool experience although I know that many Brazilians are highly discriminated against by the Japanese police.

Teaching English I always come across, "I can't learn English because I am Japanese." Which is strange. Why not? I know many Japanese that speak English well. How do you explain Japanese-Americans? But the same goes if you are foreign (not Asian), you can't understand Japanese (which you can play to your advantage) or know how to use chop sticks. If you say "Hello" in Japanese you speak very well and then get flooded with a language you are only just learning, and if you can use chop sticks, you are "amazing."


Blendy: Japanese coffee company.

The food, is amazing! Half the reason why I came back. But honestly, Japanese people don't eat sushi very often, but white rice everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some foods also like to play with my gage reflex, but it's all apart of the experience! The modern Japanese diet isn't more healthy than the American one, although the obesity rate is much lower. 5% compared to 35%. Unfortunately this is slowly changing, both due to the convenience of Japanese junk food and American influences such as McDonald's. Will Japan continue to claim the worlds longest life expectancy with the amount of cigarettes the majority smoke and binge drinking from societal stress combined with Micky D's?

Where will Japan be in the next 100 years? The last 100 years have changed so much that I could technically talk to a 90 year old man who's father was a samurai, remembers the bombs being dropped on Japan, the U.S. occupation, the rise of Japan being the strongest economy in the world, to the present day that we live in now. That is more change than most current 1st world countries see in 200 years! It surprises me that the slogan used by Obama, "Change," is so popular in a country that has been anything but the same for the last few decades.

Pure

So last week it seems like I finally got over a cold that I seemed to have longer than two weeks! It is great to be able to breathe again. Unfortunately after the weekend I feel like I might be coming down with something again. Working with kids and riding public transportation isn't the best way to keep colds away. Not to mention Japan seems to have a fear of soap, so in almost all public bathrooms there is no soap! No wonder swine flu became a pandemic here. Glad I brought that small bottle of hand sanitizer from America with me.

Anyway the last few weekends haven't been too bad. Last weekend I went to Hikone to take a quick look at a candle festival where a street was lined with a bunch of different candle configurations.

Hiko-nyan (Hikone Cat) Hikone's Mascot

Overall a pretty relaxing weekend with a lot of time sitting in my apartment doing who knows what. Just relaxing, which was a pretty good idea since the following week was pretty busy.

Most of the time at work I feel pretty useless but this week I was super busy, which was a great change of pace but nothing I would want to do every week. I actually helped plan a class and make a worksheet which I rarely do for my junior high school classes. Not to mention during this class people from my town came to watch it. Afterwards my Japanese Teacher of English said to me that they enjoyed the class because it looked like the students had fun! Which is great, and hopefully will help keep my reputation up since I am not too involved with my local community. Thursday was a super busy day because a bunch of classes were added so I had the maximum amount of classes, which is 6, and taught seventh through 9th grade all in one day!

Although the weekend is only half over, I have nothing else planned for this weekend. Yesterday I went to Osaka to party with some other JETs that live on the west side of the lake and who I rarely ever see. So in order to put myself more out there, I decided to tag along since it was an open invitation event. The plan was to go to a couple bars and then to a club called PURE.

After going to a normal style pub we went to a place called Cafe Absinthe, where they obviously sell Absinthe and where you can try shisha. I am not a smoker, but I do like to indulge in new experiences and I would have to say this experience was very pleasant. I both tried a cherry flavored tobacco that was filtered through alcohol and a apple/mint tobacco filtered through water.

Our hookah.

After this we decided to head to the club called PURE. Honestly, at first I had my doubts about this place. It is known as a foreign hangout that can be pretty sleazy which really makes the club's name, Pure, ironic. Probably not a place I would go to by myself, but since I was with people I gave it a shot. Also since you only have to pay about $40 to get into the club and can drink all you want it didn't seem like a bad deal, especially considering I couldn't go home until after 6AM when my first train left Osaka.

Overall the music was good and although it was pretty crowded everyone seemed friendly, except for some other foreign guys who were obviously only there for one reason. Thankfully my height intimidates people, so I had no issues. Overall I think the night was a good learning experience, especially on how to be more social in a situation that I am not 100% completely comfortable with.

National Culture Day

In Japan on November 3rd there is a holiday called National Culture Day. It basically is suppose to be a day where culture is displayed in museums and other venues. But most importantly it is a day off of work! Instead of going to a museum, which I think always will be displaying some sort of culture, I decided to take my day off and go to the city of Moriyama where the famous winter sports store called Moriyama Sports was having a huge sale!

Now I was lucky that I knew about this sale. On Monday at work someone left a flier next to my desk that showed some snowboard gear and that had huge 50% numbers written all over it. I am guessing it was my supervisor at school, and although nothing was explained I guess he figured I would take a look at it and hopefully understand what it meant, and understand I did!

So a 1 hour train ride to Moriyama and it was well worth it! I have been looking for a jacket in Japan for about 3 weeks now. Everywhere I go it is too short for my height or my arms. I figured, this snowboard store must have brands like Burton and 686 that carry normal sizes right? RIGHT!

Now normally a Burton or name brand coat can cost about $600 if you want it insulated and about $150 if you are just looking for a shell. Unfortunately my brand new Burton shell went missing before I left for Japan, so good Karma had to come into play this time around right? TOTALLY RIGHT!

Japan is a very fashion conscious country. Actually, basically everywhere I go I almost feel under dressed. This worked out in my favor largely today. I walked around and found a coat that was about $50. It was apparently waterproof and was just a shell. Before I decided on purchasing it though I took a look upstairs, and so very glad I did. At first I saw the normal fare, bright colored geometrical patters that are becoming very popular with the "hey look at how awesome I am" group of kids. I myself like a more subdued solid color like military greens, tans, browns, etc. Looking at the price tags of about $500 on most coats or $250 on a nice neon green and purple coat with pink squiggles and triangles all over it, I was about to give up and buy my somewhat poorly made coat I found on the first floor. Then I turned the corner...

A sign saying, "Last year." So I figured, OK, lets look. EVERYTHING on the rack was $100. Jackets that were once $500 are $100, once $250 now $100. I figured it was a strange way to mark down items, but what the hell. Also another score, they were American sized with all the specs in every language including my own, English! Now the hard choice to pick which jacket. Since almost all the left over sizes were XL, because I am guessing there isn't many XL sized people in Japan, I was very excited.

I narrowed it down to two jackets. A Volcom Thinsulate jacket or a 686 Down jacket. I am generally not a huge fan of down since it seems to like falling out and leaving a feather trail everywhere, but when asking the girl at the store which jacket she recommended she said the 686 Down jacket. Which basically meant, it looks cooler. I kind of agreed since the coat seemed a bit longer all the way around. Plus the shell material is thick and if it is waterproof I shouldn't have to worry too much about wet feathers. Not to mention wearing a down coat always reminds me that I am in the military for some reason (the smell?), and I guess that is good when I want to be kicking ass on the mountain.


New coat and pants.


Inside of my coat, it's apparently an artist edition. Sweet!


I wonder if the Gortex pants can double as rain pants. Useful!

Next was to find some snow pants. After looking around, some blond hair Japanese dude that definitely looked like he belonged on a skateboard or snowboard said in Japanese, "Look at this one over here, if it your size I would get it. See it says Gortex, so you will stay dry. That's my recommendation anyway." So Burton Gortex snowpants, $100.

All in all I got a $500 686 coat for $100 and $600 Burton snow pants for $100. Nothing like getting over $1000 worth in gear for $200. I was very impressed! Both in the prices and that I found stuff that fit me in Japan, and fit me well nonetheless! One thing I learned from this is, Japan might have some of the best pre-season sales that I have ever seen, as long as you go for last years fashion.

If I had more cash I might have considered getting a board while I was here, could probably have gotten a board and binding set for about $400. Now I am kind of wishing I brought my gear from the U.S. to Japan. I am not sure if it is even possible to ship that stuff here or how much it would cost. Most likely I can get away with renting gear this year, except I will have to purchase some snowboard boots from zappos.com along with some warm socks and maybe a few more pieces of footwear. Apparently zappos has started shipping internationally, but it costs around $60 to ship a package.

If you are wondering how good the snow can be in Japan I am only about 3 or 4 hours away from what are known as the Japanese Alps and about 1 and a half hours from a smaller mountain in my prefecture.


This is not Switzerland. Japanese Alps.

Amazing there is that and then beautiful beaches only 2 hours away in the summer time.


Wakasa Wada Beach. The Japan Sea.

Japanese Halloween

So Halloween is technically not a Japanese holiday, but since there are about 30 foreigners in Shiga we decided to have a JET Halloween Party at a bar/club in Kyoto.

In an attempt to find a costume, I left for Kyoto earlier. While browsing though various costumes that were for people much shorter than me, I decided to purchase a large rainbow afro wig. Granted it wasn't a great costume and it made me $17 poorer, but at least it was SOMETHING! Especially in a country that doesn't traditionally celebrate Halloween, although it is becoming more and more popular amongst University students due to American influences on youth pop culture.

Now that I was dressed as a man wearing a large afro, I was hoping to grab some lunch with some other JETs before the party. Unfortunately I had a little mishap and got lost, so I couldn't meet up with them.

So I went to the club and ordered some food there and a beer. I am not a big club person, unless there is something worth listening to. Since it was just an ipod plugged into the speaker system, I didn't really want to dance. I need a band or DJ that can actually get the crowd moving. It basically reminded me of a High School/College Halloween dance. I don't really like dancing, but I do like music that makes you dance or at least go a little crazy once and a while.

Rainbow Psychedelic and Japanese Potter.

Anyway, since I was unimpressed by the environment and couldn't get into it I think I started to get a little bummed out. I don't know why exactly, maybe because I am just getting over a cold. I had a choice to stay in Kyoto and find some actual DJs and maybe hang out with some other JETs but I just wasn't in the mood.

I was hoping for an awesome Halloween, but unfortunately it was bust.

Leaky Faucet

If you were lucky enough to catch this post about 24 hours ago, you would have read a long personal rant. For sake of realizing that that probably isn't that enjoyable for many people to read, I decided to delete it and make my rant shorter.

Basically what it boils down is that I am dissatisfied with some of my decisions in life, or more accurately my lack of action upon ideas and goals. Basically I am not attaining my goals except a few superficial ones that I set for myself. I feel like I am wasting, or at least not using my time wisely. It seems like ever since I graduated high school and could actually start making choices and living my life I have been at a constant struggle between who I am in the moment and who I want to be. Surprisingly these two people, although myself, are different.

Hey do you like yourself?

After pondering over some things, I felt like I am wasting the little time I have here in Japan. But then stepping back I realize that I am not wasting my time since I usually do pretty cool things like ride a bike around Japan's largest lake. But I feel I am not utilizing my time to the fullest to achieve my goals. Many times I just feel lazy and worn out, but I realize this is not from doing nothing it is just from spinning my wheels most of the time, especially when it comes to social aspects in my life.

Living out in the countryside of Japan makes it even that much more difficult for me to find a social circle. Which I already feel I have issues meeting and becoming good friends with people in an easy environment. I just don't know how to meet locals, specifically my own age, in a relaxed and social environment. I met a 22 year old girl who is doing an internship at one of the elementary schools I teach at in my town and she grew up here, but is currently going to school in Tokyo. So I asked for some advice. I figured someone my own age who grew up in this town could offer me some insight on something fun to do. Unfortunately her answer was the same as everyone else's, in that there is nothing to do. I also found out that I am probably more out in the sticks than I previously thought since apparently my town has monkey sightings once and a while! WhooHoo!

The country does offer good sunsets, although through a cell phone lens.

Ah then there is the story of the leaky faucet. My kitchen faucet squirts out water, but I have fixed it with duct tape (Red Neck?). So far for about 3 weeks. This method seems easier at the moment since communicating with my supervisor in Japanese about a cracked faucet seems more difficult than the current solution. Plus since I haven't been utilizing my time productively after work, mainly napping and relaxing, my apartment is a mess and don't really want my supervisor to stop by to look at it.

I guess I am just feeling isolated, lonely and bummed. It doesn't help that the sun sets at about 5PM now, making my evenings even less exciting since solo adventures seem to be inhibited, or rather unmotivated, when it is cold and dark. Makes me really want to find a group of friends in or close to my town, or even a better option: single sexy female.

Nonetheless today I took a train ride to Hikone and bought a $40 used Timberland jacket shell. Don't know if the price was really worth it, but it fit me (no easy task in Japan) and with some waterproofing spay it may even be good for a light rain shower or snowboarding.

I also saw a weasel scamper across the mall's floor. Seriously! Highlight of my day. Haha.

So at least I went somewhere over this weekend. Can hardly believe I arrived in Japan 3 months ago. Teaching for 2 months already. But at the same time ONLY two months. Somehow I am in a paradox, it feels like I should be doing more and having more experiences somehow, but I have only been here for a short amount of time and looking back have experienced so much already.

I guess it is just that the experiences I want to experience the most are not being experienced. If that makes any sense. The battle continues between who I am, and who I want to be...letting opportunities and time slip between my fingers like the water slips between the crack in my leaky faucet.

The Tale of a Large Lake and a Tiny Bicycle.

This past weekend I rode 165km (110mi) on a bicycle around Japan's largest lake, Lake Biwa. It was an organized event with other JETs who live in Shiga, and overall a great experience. Along the way we saw many beautiful things and had a few interesting conversations.

We started out in Nagahama (a city north of me) around 9AM. Here I rented my bicycle, but not just any bicycle mind you. I rented a mamachari which are generally close distance bicycles with baskets mounted on the front for picking up groceries. If I was 5'4" it may have been a good size for me, but basically it was like riding a BMX bike for 110 miles. You can kind of see these 'speed demons' in the picture below.


Southeast Shiga represent the mamachari


We rode many miles and through a few tunnels and mountains. I was even lucky enough to see a huge monkey while riding through a mountain pass. AWESOME! Then we ran into some rain, which sucked since all I had was a 100 yen ($1) raincoat which was slightly small and just allowed my jeans to get soaked completely.


Heading to the mountains


Japan is not all neon.

Anyway, after enduring the elements and seeing a few more sights we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast called B.B. Dylan. Apparently the owner is a Bob Dylan fan, so the place had a weird atmosphere of Bob Dylan apparel, Disney toys and random Japanese stuff. Then it was off to an onsen (hot spring) to rest our tired bodies. Usually I don't like going to onsen with a lot of other people, there were about 8 in our group, but I knew it would help me through the next day of riding.


To infinity and beyond!

So after returning to B.B. Dylan and playing a card game resembling "Mafia" but with werewolves for 3 hours, I slept like the dead. Only to wake up 7 hours later at about 7AM. Thankfully my body was generous to me, and wasn't sore. We had breakfast, coffee and then hit the road. It was a great day with no rain and more beautiful scenery and even a few weird places like a Holland Theme Park.


Like inter dimensional travel to Holland. What?


Wind surfers loading up

Towards the end of the day, especially the last hour was very tiring. If I had to go any farther, I am almost positive I couldn't make it. My leg muscles were about ready to give up due to both biking nonstop for hours and also being cramped on my bicycle. But we were rewarded with an amazing view, as if it could only happen in a dream.


My favorite picture. A sacred rock, pierces the heavens.

Overall, it was a victory and a weekend well spent. Unfortunately I am extremely tired today and have to go to work, plus I feel like I might have a sore throat. Thankfully I only have to teach one class, which usually I find boring but today am very satisfied sitting in the office.

On another note, my Thailand plans are coming together. I purchased my tickets to Thailand for about $650 and have been accepted into the volunteer program. So I will be in Thailand from December 19 - January 1st. Currently my plans are volunteering in the jungle and then heading down to the south islands to sit in paradise for a couple days. SWEET!

Onward to Osaka

Osaka! A city of big lights and great eats! A bustling metropolis who is only dwarfed in size by Yokohama and Tokyo. In a way, I think it is the gem (as far as metropolises) of Japan.

Osaka is in Kansai, which is the most historically rich part of Japan. It is next to the old capital Kyoto or only a half hour or so out into the country side and it is known as one of the best places to eat in Japan. Many times Osaka is considered Japan's culinary capital. While Tokyo may be bigger it is also more expensive. Also Tokyo seems to be covered mainly with black ties and suit coats where although Osaka has it's fair share of salary men, at night the colors come alive and Osaka becomes a whole new animal. People say that the people of Osaka know how to work hard, but they also know how to play harder. From my experience, this is probably not far from the truth.

Saturday morning I headed out to Osaka to tour a beer factory. It was pretty interesting to see, and the tour was in English so I could actually understand it. Plus we got 3 free glasses of beer. SCORE! After this I was trying to find a group that I would have the most fun with. It takes me about $20 to get to Osaka, so if I spend that much to get there, I want to make the most of my time.

I decided I would go with a group to eat Mexican food, which is a rarity in Japan. So after a pretty pricey and small portion of enchiladas (nothing like the price/produce ratio in the U.S. when it comes to Mexican) it was off to a bar to relax for a while a couple hours since the night was young and we were deciding what we were gonna do.

After a bit more wandering me and two fellas decided to find a club. Which I was pretty stoked about since I really don't like clubbing in the U.S. (at all) but have never been to a Japanese club. Lucky for us, what we had in store was something to write in the record books.

We actually didn't enter the club which I think was called "Soundroom" until about 1AM. We found it at about midnight but there was a $25 cover charge. So since we all burned a lot of cash, we decided to think about it. The place looked awesome though, on the outside it was somewhat Reggae and the inside sounded like they were pumping some good House music. Plus, it wasn't a foreigner club, which I heard pretty much suck and are left for the tourists and the ex-pats that are afraid of cultural integration, or are just looking for a chick that likes English speakers.

Anyway, so we entered. The first room had a semi-decent live DJ mixing tracks on LP. It was a bit more laid back resembling a lounge instead of a dance floor with the bar to order drinks and a place for people to cool out.

Through another door was the dance room. Which had some amazing awesome music that definitely had a taste of the 70s disco inspiration. These DJs knew how to play it, and were skilled because they also mixed everything live. Now I am no dancer, but the base was pumping and I just decided to let it go. Since most Japanese guys don't dance anyway, Japan is the best place to go clubbing because even if you do a little, you will get complements on how well you dance. The club was a good place (would definitely go back) with pretty awesome people, from those we could hear, but around 5AM it started to get a little sleazy and that night we decided we weren't for it. So after 5 hours of 'dancing' we left the club and headed to our capsule hotel to get 3 hours of sleep.


The capsules


Inside the capsule

Surprisingly I could fit in these capsules, they were relatively comfortable. Normally I heard if you were over 190cm you couldn't fit, but these definitely were 2m long. So awesome. Not bad for $35 a night.

The next morning was spent finding an English book store and then off to Otsu to watch a festival. Overall 2 packed full days, the first where I starting drinking at noon at the beer factory and didn't end until 5AM at the club, running on 3 hours of sleep, to the next day watching a pretty sweet festival and finally crashing at about 11PM in the comfort of my own bed.


Traditional in the city.



Large carts to be pulled throughout the streets.

Coffee, Thailand, Typhoons OH MY!

As you may have guessed, I will be talking about coffee (sorta), Thailand, and Typhoons!!! AWESOME!

First, Coffee.

Yesterday I traveled 1 hour for coffee at a Starbucks, for a "date." Since it is hard for me to network in the sticks I have turned to the worlds largest network, the internet. After many fruitless efforts I got a reply from a 28 year old woman who lives in Kyoto! YAY! Although 28 is closer to the end of my datable age spectrum, I haven't been on a date for...a long time and if anything coffee is awesome! We both basically agreed that we were just looking for friends at the moment though. Which is fine by me because I like to get to know my women before I decide to begin anything serious.

Anyway, I was ready to meet this woman, who actually I didn't know her name, occupation, appearance (yes I never saw a picture of her), or anything really except we would meet at Starbucks at 6PM. At first sight, I would say she probably wasn't my type although I am sure having her charms. In other words it wasn't love at first sight.

Anyway, talking to her was fun. We both knew enough English and Japanese to basically carry on some conversations from about 6PM to 10PM. The good thing about 28 year old Japanese women is generally they are more mature than the early 20 year olds that almost seem like they are 16 (as far as mentality goes anyway).

Overall a good experience, and possibly a good friend. Which is great because everyone I meet builds to my ability to meet more people. Granted in the end this is probably not who I am looking for as far as a girlfriend.

Second, Thailand.

So I have been meaning to go to Thailand for some time now. Seriously for about 2 years since I made an amazing friend that lives there. I was planning to go in May during Golden Week, but I just caught wind of a volunteer opportunity in Thailand for abandoned children. Basically I would go to a remote part of Thailand and teach English and do other stuff (hopefully) while there. The place is called Baan Unrak and it is in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand. You can read more about the organization here http://www.baanunrak.org/

Overall it seems amazing. Yoga in the mornings, vegetarian food (although I myself am not a vegetarian) and best of all, it doesn't seem to be indoctrinated with a religion. Just people learning to be good without relying on the fear of eternal damnation if they are not! AWESOME!

If I end up doing this, I will volunteer there from December 20 - 27th. Christmas in Thailand with a bunch of cute little kids, sounds like a pretty sweet deal. The only problem is, I will probably have to take off quite a few days of work especially since I will probably want to stay there during New Years to travel a bit more on my own, visit my friend, and see a Thai New Year firework display!

There seems to be some things that I need figure out first though. Before I go I have to sell 300 Christmas cards (made by the children) for 100 yen ($1.10ish) a piece, which seems like a lot since I don't know many people in Japan. Even if I convince all my Japanese teachers (who don't even celebrate Christmas) to buy one, that is only like 30 cards... So I might have to employ my family and friends overseas to buy these handmade cards and deposit money in my U.S. bank account while I send a stack of cards to them. So with this said, if you you are reading this (especially if you plan on sending out Christmas cards this year) you should contact me and let me know if you would be willing to buy a handful of cards. All the money goes directly to supporting the kids within this organization, as far as I know anyway.

Third, Typhoon!!

So today I actually asked if I could take a personal holiday. I think I get 20 days a year, and in a way looking back I wish I didn't take it. But when I woke up today I was REALLY tired (maybe almost feeling sick) and didn't have any actual classes to teach this day (I was told yesterday they were cancelled). So most of my day would have probably consisted of sitting at my desk staring at my computer and trying to look busy when in all reality DOING NOTHING! Instead sleeping till noon and playing my Nintendo DS seemed like a better plan. Hopefully my supervisor wasn't too mad, or it didn't cause too much trouble calling him at such short notice. He said in a text message, "OK you can take nenkyu (holiday) today, but next time I would like you to tell me earlier. Have a good day!" After thinking how precious my personal holidays really are, I decided this will probably be the last time I will use it in this way. Since if I go to Thailand I will probably need to use about 10-days and then will want to use as many as I can when family visits.

Oh right typhoons...

Japan is going to get pummeled by a typhoon for the next few days. I probably actually missed some important info at work (if I would understand it) about typhoons and what to expect. But for those who don't know a typhoon is basically a hurricane, but in the Wastern Pacific Ocean and are generally stronger due to the warmer waters of the Western Pacific. Or so I am told. Since I am in central Japan and surrounded by mountains, hopefully the damage will be pretty minimal, but we are still islands and although the main part of the typhoon hasn't hit us (and won't for 2 more days) it is pretty rainy now.

That's all for my rather uneventful adventures for the beginning of October.

English Hike

So the weekend has come and gone once again, and I decided I should share a bit of my activities since it wasn't an event-less couple days.

I kicked off my weekend early by inviting another assistant English teacher to my place to make okonomiyaki. Fortunately my cooking abilities passed the test. I thought it was pretty delicious anyway.

Saturday was a volunteer day for me. Since I am still trying to meet locals I decided to volunteer for an "English Hike" around Omihachiman City, a city about an hour away by train from where I live, Hino. I actually went there not knowing much except that we were going to walk around the city and go to some places like museums, shrines, etc., and then we would have a short quiz in English afterwards.

I woke up at 7AM and made my way to Omihachiman by 9:00. I signed in and joined with a few nice people from Shiga Bank. Unfortunately it looked like my group wouldn't really lend me to my peer group age since the average age seemed to be hovering around 40 with maybe the youngest being two girls in their late 20s or early 30s (I find the age of Japanese women hard to gauge sometimes). Either way, they were really cool and after a while I realized I lucked out.

The first place we went was up a ropeway to a mountain top where an old castle use to stand and saw a great view of the city. Before volunteering I was told I would have to pay for all my entrance fees and whatnot, but my group was paying for mine. I guess it pays to volunteer to speak in English to bankers...


It isn't the ocean, but a huge lake. Lake Biwa

After a few more wanderings at about 50% English capacity we stopped for lunch. To my surprise we were going to eat Omi-beef. Now outside of Japan Omi-beef isn't really well known, but I am sure most have heard fo Kobe-beef. Omi-beef is basically the same grade of beef in Japan which also translates as EXPENSIVE! For about 10 small thin slices of beef to throw on your individual grill along with a few other things like a salad and miso soup the cost was about $40. So besides getting a free tour of the town I scored a lunch that I otherwise may have never eaten in my life! I was also given the advice by the 55 year old-ish banker (far right in the picture below), "I would recommend Japanese women." Which I found to be a bit of awkward advice, but nonetheless good to know I guess...


My group, minus one guy who had to leave early.

All in all, although I was hoping to find a few people to hang out with on the weekends during this hike, it was pretty interesting. Better than my Sunday which consisted of laundry, sleeping, watching the movie "7 years in Tibet," cooking dinner and watching confusing Japanese television

Speedanki

*This is a post for those interested in learning Kanji for studying Japanese, if you have no interest in such things, this post may be boring*

Recently I have had a lot of downtime, both at work and in my 'free' time. In order to curb my boredom and try to make use of the free time I am given, besides drinking coffee, watching movies, TV, video games and long naps (which are all great btw) I decided to tackle the 2000 some required Kanji (Chinese characters) used in the Japanese Alphabet.

Since I am pretty lazy, as reflected in my day to day hobbies mentioned above, my previous efforts to make my own 2000 some kanji cards have been pretty...bad.

While bored at work one day (happens a lot) I decided to search for a web based kanji flash card site. While stumbling across a few, I came across http://www.speedanki.com/ which seems to serve its purpose.

Now it seems no system is perfect, especially a free one, but this one seems pretty good. It separates the required 2000-ish kanji into four levels that correspond to the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test).

The site gives it's own recommendation on how to study but I found that it doesn't incorporate a very good way to learn how to write the kanji. So I will share how I have been using the site for those interested. (You must have already mastered the Japanese kana alphabets to use this site to full potential)

Within each of the 4 levels that the kanji are separated in, you can sub-categorize the kanji into "Unread," "Read," "Familiar," "Mastered," and "Review."

The "Unread" folder is for Kanji that I have no idea what it is. I can't even read it.

The "Read" folder is for Kanji that I can read and can somewhat grasp the meaning.

The "Familiar" folder is for Kanji that I know the meaning, reading, and somewhat how to write.

*I practice writing by just reading the hiragana and simply writing the kanji in a notebook*

Once I can write the kanji, know its meaning and read it somewhat confidently I put it in the "Mastered" folder.

I then practice some other kanji, sorting them through these folders. After a few days I look at the "Mastered" folder and move what I know to the "Review" folder. When all kanji from one of the four levels is in the "Mastered" and/or "Review" folder I move to the next level (for example 3-kyu). I repeat this process, and then will try to test myself after some time with the previous levels, moving the kanji I don't know back to appropriate folders.

Like I said this system isn't perfect though. It doesn't actually teach you how to write the kanji (stroke order) or the kanji "on" and "kun" readings. But what it does do is let you learn kanji compounds and vocabulary while learning kanji, which in my opinion might even be better than learning the abstract sounds that each kanji make since you will be able to learn and recognize new words.

I think this is a good alternative or support to flash cards such as those made by White Rabbit Press, especially since you don't actually have to keep track of real cards.

In Other News

My school has confirmed cases of New Type Influenza (Swine Flu). Student populations seem to be dropping pretty quick.

I have also been lazy recently, and wish I wasn't. Today I decided to come home, watch a movie, and go to sleep. Just to wake up at 11PM so that I can prepare to go to bed at 12AM. Hopefully the extra sleep will keep my body's immune system strong to keep away the SWINE!

I think living in a foreign country can be extra stressful on the brain, because everyday life and work is just a little bit harder and more complex than in your natural environment/language. It amazes me that I can sleep for 10-14 hours and still be tired some days.

Silver Week

Time to finally talk about what I did during my Silver Week vacation. Right now I am at work writing this blog, yes it is probably bad work ethic, but right now I am not really sure what to do for the next hour or so and I am EXTREMELY tired so my brain is not functioning very well to think critically for lesson planning.

Anyway, as you can read in my previous entry, I arrived in Fukuoka on Saturday 19th. After my long bus ride I figured it was time to get clean. The awesome thing about Japan is you can go to an onsen (hot spring) for an average price of about $3 - $20 depending on how resort like or classy it is. I for one am actually not a huge fan of Japanese onsen. I just can't relax fully when sitting completely naked in a warm bath filled with other naked men. But if the time is right, such as really needing a bath after a long journey or the onsen seems extra awesome or has a long history, I usually will take a venture in. Actually I find it easier for me to do onsen hopping alone instead of with friends, just because I know I will probably never have to see the strange naked men in the onsen again.

At about 8AM I went out to search for a pretty nice onsen that cost about $15, but alas it turns out the onsen didn't exist anymore. It was actually a really odd conversation I had at a convenience store trying to ask where this onsen was, when technically I was standing over it.

Me: "Can you tell me where Shiroyama-onsen is?"
Clerk: "Shiroyama? This is Shiro...do you know the address?"
Me: "No... But I looked at a map, and it was suppose to be around here."
Clerk: *consults co-worker* *pulls out map* "Oh, it is this building?"
Me: *confused* "This building?! What floor is it on?"
Clerk: "No...the onsen doesn't exist anymore. This convenience store was where the onsen was."

Yeah, I was a bit embarrassed and I am sure the clerk was thinking "What the hell was that?," not to mention this was all in Japanese, which probably made it more amusing...for him.

So anyway, after about 3 hours of wandering around and taking a wrong train, I arrived at an onsen in Futatsukaichi city, normally only about 20 minutes outside of Fukuoka city. After a bit more wandering and talking to another convenience store clerk for directions, I arrived at what I think I was looking for. In all reality I think I was suppose to go to another onsen which had outdoor pools and stuff for about $5 but I ended up at one that cost about $1 to go into and only had two pools. It was weird to, because when I walked in it was mainly old people and a Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) covered in tattoos. Anyway, I didn't care too much, just figured get clean and get out. So after scrubbing down and sitting in the hot spring for about 10 minutes, I decided it was about time to leave before the Yakuza got enough courage to start talking to me.


Onsen Entrance

After feeling refreshed I wandered around Fukuoka for a couple more hours and got some food. Then decided, I better be on my way to Kumamoto.

About this time I found out I was super tired. Got on the bus and basically wanted to sleep the 2 hour ride away. After laying back for about 10 minutes, plugging in my ipod and falling asleep a cute girl sat next to me on the bus. WOW, that has never really happened to me in Japan before but although I was like "sweet" my mind was more focused on the rhythm playing in my ears and the nap to come. After about an hour, I was awoken to realize that cute girl that was next to me must have been equally tired because she was basically passed out, half laying on me... This would be surprising in a place like America, but in Japan people will literally sleep anywhere (or on anyone in this case) whenever they have the chance. Later she got up and left to get off the bus, not one word was exchanged between us.

Arriving in Kumamoto I paid for a coin locker to throw my backpack, although small and not very heavy, the heat and humidity makes wearing one...sweaty. Then I was off to get some drugs (read that as lots of caffeine) and wander around for a couple hours before I was to meet up with friends at 7PM for dinner.


The city lights of Kumamoto

Dinner was great! Well, I am not too sure about the food, but the company was awesome! Afterwards we went to my old hangout place "Jeff's Bar" talked to the owner, Jeff, and had a few drinks. Even ran into some people I knew when I was a student there. Honestly this bar is a place I really wanted to go to while I was in Kumamoto. Lots of memories.


Some friends and I at Jeff's Bar

After this, about 1AM it was time for me to find a place to stay. Unfortunately most of my friends had plans the next day or had someone else at their house, so it looked like they were going to help me find a hotel. But because it was Silver Week, every place was booked full. I was just about to say, "Hey no worries, I will find a place." Then go find a nice patch of grass by the castle wall and call it a night. But just before the search was about to end, my friend Yoshino said I could stay at her place. It was an hour drive out of the city, but I was really thankful. Also Yoshino's parents are super cool, and somehow her father wanted to speak philosophy with me in Japanese. Somehow I could understand most of that, but still can't understand how to pay my rent when my supervisor talks to me...wtf?!

Anyway, a few hours talking and it was off to bed. The next day I just lazed around Yoshino's for a while, and even had an awesome breakfast made by Yoshino's dad and mom. Then it was off to the city where I went to visit the international dorm (my old home). I met some of the new students and hung out a bit. Then I was off to try to find another place to stay. After no luck, my host sister called me and said, "Are you staying at my house tonight?" So obviously, I said yes.

It was good to see my host sister and host father although the other sister was gone and the mother was too.

The next morning I left early to catch a train into the city for a festival. I was suppose to be meeting one of the new exchange students from Montana, Lauren. After a bit of searching I met up with Lauren and we watched the rest of the festival, got some coffee, wandered around even more (I was looking for another shirt because I ran out of clean ones), and went to visit the castle. I love Kumamoto Castle!


A parade of horses


The festival continues.


This ninja wears glasses.

The night was finished off with meeting back up with my sister and her friends for Karaoke. I also remembered how lonely and isolated it was when I first got to Kumamoto, so I invited Lauren along. It was a good time, I think I sang the most I ever had at Karaoke, and I also ate Basashi! Basashi is a delicacy in Kumamoto, and for the whole year I lived there before I never ate it. I guess I couldn't get over the cultural barrier of EATING RAW HORSE!!! When I left Kumamoto last year though, I promised myself I would try Basashi if I ever returned. So that I did, IN KARAOKE from a styrofoam plate. Very classy...especially for your first time trying something so...weird?


Karaoke Time

Anyway, although some people might hate me (I even hate me a little), raw horse is not that bad. It may even be tasty...although hard to admit. To get over the cultural shock of eating horse, I had to remember... If I eat cows, chickens, fish, etc. What is the difference? If I was in India, eating a cow would be insane! In the U.S. we don't even have holy horses, so it shouldn't be that taboo. And when thinking about animal intelligence between different species, who are we to judge the intelligence of certain animals? I think it is near impossible to even understand their "culture" "language" etc., if we even acknowledge that they have one. Anyway, enough about horses.


In Japan the saying, "I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse," is taken pretty literal.

My last day in Kumamoto, September 22nd, was basically spent saying goodbye to everyone I could. We were thinking of going to Mount Aso to see some flowers that were blooming there but instead I decided to have lunch with a friend before she left for exchange to Australia. We ate okonomiyaki (it is like a savory pancake) at a place called Daimonji where I went often as a student. It was weird, she was the last person I saw last time I left Kumamoto and dropped me off at the bus station, just like this time.


My size is very apparent when standing next to my host sister and father.

But before I jumped on my bus I needed to get some drinks (non-alcoholic ones) so I stopped at a convenience store (you may notice Japan runs on convenience stores). Then I was off to the bus stop, I missed the bus by about 2 minutes. This was a very good thing though, as it turned out I didn't have my wallet. This was dangerous because I had no way to get money, or have extra money, my credit cards and bank cards were in there and my Foreign Registration Card was also in there. It is illegal for a foreigner to not have their passport or registration card on them at all times. Police can stop you whenever and ask for it, and if you don't have it, you can be arrested. So LUCKLY I remembered, I probably left it at the convenience store. So I ran back, and thankfully it was there, money intact.

Caught the next bus back to Fukuoka and endured the extended bus ride thanks to Silver Week Traffic.

My last day was spent in Kyoto going to two temples and trying to find some cool stuff to buy. I even had the chance to run into a toothless old Japanese man when I was sitting in a small temple alone, he offered me a Nashi (Japanese pear) and some traditional Japanese sweets and told me something about an old saying, "If you eat sweets made of anco (sweet azuki bean) you will not get sick." I figured with all the swine flu in my area, I needed all the help I could get.


A view of Kiyomizudera, one of my favorite temples in Kyoto.