TOKYO TALES - The Adventures of Genki Girl

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

2007-08-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well this is it folks, my last post from Japan. I'm leaving for the airport in a few hours to head to Hong Kong. This will be the end of Tokyo Tales! I hope you all have enjoyed reading about my experiences in Tokyo. I'll definitely start a new blog in Hong Kong, yet to be named and created, and I'm looking forward to starting a record of my next adventure. So to Japan, I say my favorite line from 'The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy'....

So Long, So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish.

Sayonara!

One Week To Go!

2007-07-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well it's official! I am now legally able to live and work in Hong Kong and soon will be a new resident of China. My visa came in the mail a few days ago, so the time has come for me to hightail my tail over to the place that will be... yet again... my 'new home'. I've got exactly one week left in Japan.

You know, all this traveling may be getting a bit excessive! I've realized that when I get to Hong Kong, I would have lived in 5 countries in 5 years! I was in Canada in 2002 at school, then back to Trinidad from 2002-2005, then to Turkey in 2005, then Japan in 2006, and now Hong Kong for 2007. This is ridiculous! Fun... but a bit ridiculous!

I am so glad my new company is taking such good care of me, even putting me up in a nice hotel for two weeks while we find an apartment. In the meantime, whenever Seiji has a day or two off in Hong Kong, he has gone to check out some new places and sent me the pictures to see.

We are most likely going to end up living in a place on Lantau Island called Discovery Bay, which is both close to the airport (for Seiji's job) and a 25-minute ferry ride to Central Hong Kong Island (for my job). This place is apparently expat heaven, with apartments that are huge compared to downtown, and at good prices. It's even got a private beach, not that I would swim in that water! Hard to believe that in the space of three months I could go from living in a shoebox in Tokyo to a 3-bedroom apartment with a seaview in Hong Kong! Amazing how things can change so fast.

And, lest we Trinidadians forget, today is also July 27th 1990, the day of the infamous Coup Attempt by the Jamaat al Muslimeen. I still remember it very clearly... I was downstairs at home, maybe 9 years old, watching TV (TTT!), when suddenly on the news these bearded men came onto the news sets with machine guns, saying they were taking over the country, with the news announcers sitting there in shock and fear. I ran upstairs to my grandmother's place where my family was relaxing and drinking, and told them, come quick! you have to see! there are men with guns on TV! But did anyone believe me? Nooo. Just ignore the poor child. Yes yes Emily, they said, that's nice. Sheesh!

Anyways, if anyone has any requests about goods, gifts or presents that they desperately want from Japan, now is the time to make requests before I ride out. What do you want? Kimono? Sword? Used Japanese Schoolgirl Panties? Send your orders now!!

Nikko World Heritage Site - July 2007

2007-07-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my friend Kyoko and I jumped on a train and headed out of the city to Nikko, a very famous town about two and a half hours north of Tokyo. Nikko is famous for a variety of reasons - mostly for its stunningly ornate temples and shrines, some of which are over 1,200 years old; it is the resting place of one of Japan's first shogun; and it has a world famous wooden carving of the well known 'See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil'. It is also an incredibly beautiful area, with lush mountain peaks, clean rivers, hot springs, waterfalls and lakes. And monkeys! But more on the monkeys later.

The Shinkyo (Sacred) Bridge. Before there were roads connecting the town, the Sacred Bridge was the only way to cross the river to visit the temples built deep in the forest.

We stayed in a small, old fashioned ryokan which is like a bed and breakfast. The room was very lovely, with tatami mats, yukata robes for guests to wear, and an indoor onsen to soak your bones in the hot springs. The ryokan was also a stone's throw away from the temple area, and a very convenient location to explore the town.

A dragon fountain around the corner from the ryokan.

A typhoon had been hitting Japan for many days now, bringing with it an endless supply of rain and heavy clouds. And Nikko, being up in the mountains, was shrouded in a fine cloak of mist, adding to its mystical atmosphere.

The first afternoon was a bit of a bomb -- it was so misty and cloudy, we couldn't see anything! We took a bus to Lake Chuzenji and to try to visit the waterfalls, but it was so misty we could HEAR the waterfall, but see nothing. Disappointing. But while we were on the bus ride back, the funniest thing happened. I was looking out the window, and saw an old lady walking with a bag of groceries in her left hand. Just then, I saw a large, brown animal walking behind her. For a second I thought it was perhaps her dog trailing behind. But suddenly, the animal broke into a sprint, galloped up to the old lady, and snatched the bag of groceries out of her tiny hands, and with a flying leap, disappeared back into the forests. It was a wild monkey! Apparently the monkeys have become a nuisance in Nikko, even stealing food from the souvenier shops.

Anyways. Enough about the monkeys.

That evening we returned to the ryokan tired and hungry, and took a nice, long soak in the hot springs before enjoying dinner.

Above, clockwise from left, you see cold buckwheat soba noodles, some vegetable tempura, a meat stew (covered), grilled fish, yuba made from skimmed soy milk, a seaweed dish, and some pickled vegetables. I love ryokan food. You get a taste of everything.

After dinner and a few beers, we slept for nine hours, and awoke the next day ready to take a close look at the temples and shrines.

Walking towards the temple area.

What amazed me the most about Nikko was the level of detail and handiwork that was put into every aspect of the shrines and temples. It was mind blowing to see the fine wooden carvings, the metal decorations, the patterns and styles, the latticework, and of course, that distinctly Japanese way of creating balance and symmetry. In fact, I realized I spent so much time studying the details of the architecture, I barely took full frontal shots of the buildings!

Nikko has three main sights - the Rinnoji Temple, Futarasan Shrine, and the jewel in Nikko's crown is Toshogu Shrine. We spent about two hours looking at Toshogu alone because it was so detailed.

This is myself and Kyoko outside Rinnoji Temple, with the main building called Sanbutsudo - 'san' meaning '3' and 'butsu' meaning 'Buddha statue'. We were not allowed to take pictures of the phantasmagoric statues inside of the three giant gold Buddhas.

A metal design on a nearby bell, of a man seemingly talking to some fish. I believe this man may be Seiji's descendant.

After visiting Sanbutsudo, the next stop was Toshogu Shrine, which as I mentioned simply blew us both away. First of all it had quite strange colors, a lot of black, white and gold, which is unusual in Japan.

A distant view of Toshogu Shrine, framed by a stone torii (gate).

Say cheese! Posing in front of Toshogu.

One of the famous sights are the 'Three Monkeys' that represent the maxim 'Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil, See no Evil'.

But there are actually eight carved wooden panels here, that show the cycle of life. It starts with the baby monkey clinging to the mother monkey. As the baby grows up, it must learn the ways of the world of how to live an honorable life - how to avoid evil. During adolescence, the monkey looks into the future, unsure of its direction. It gets older, grows up, and looks for a wife. In the 7th panel, the monkey wins the love of the girl monkey, and the last panel shows the girl monkey pregnant, thus continuing the cycle of life.

Toshogu Shrine has carvings and decorations of over 26 different animals, many of them fantasy creatures. Travellers had returned to Japan, describing the strange animals they had seen overseas, such as elephants and giraffes. The artists back in Japan had never seen such things, so many of the animals they carved seem to be combinations of creatures.

The nemuri neko is also a famous animal, and as famous as the 3 Monkeys. It was surprisingly small, and hidden away atop a doorway. If the tour guide hadn't pointed it out, I doubt we would have found it on our own.

The final sight was Futarasan Shrine, built in 782 by the Buddhist monk who introduced Buddhism to Nikko. It is dedicated to the kami or mountain gods.

Visiting this shrine was quite surreal, as it is tucked away deep into the dense forest, with nothing but the sound of birds and running water in the background. Very few tourists were here, making it seem even more quiet and serene.

A god of the mountains protects the temple

Unfortunately we didn't have much more time, and we had to catch the 3 pm train back to Tokyo to make it home in the early evening. I was quite sad to leave Nikko, it was so peaceful and relaxing being there. The air smelt so fresh and clean, the sound of water was everywhere, and the world was bathed in green. I'm certainly glad I got the chance to go before I left Japan.

Good memories

2007-07-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

Last night Seiji and I went to a Turkish restaurant in Ikebukuro called 'Antep', after a region in Turkey. I've been dying to introduce Seiji to the joys of Turkish cuisine but haven't had the chance until now. It was fantastic to eat Turkish food again after such a long time... stuffed green peppers... spicy tomato ezme... Turkish ekmek (bread)... and lahmacun, that cripsy thin baked pita break with minced lamb. It was simply divine. And it was great fun to talk what little Turkish I remember to the highly amused waitress and cooks as we drank a cold Efes beer.

As we sat there, surrounded by Turkish kilims that are the speciality of the town I used to live in, Sivas, with nargile water pipes on the shelves and the blue and yellow evil eyes hanging on the wall, I was flooded with all these memories of those strange six months I spent in the mountains of Central Anatolia. The song of the call to prayer echoing through the cold streets... people walking down the road with steaming lahmacun fresh from the baker wrapped up in newspaper... sipping tiny cups of cay (tea) after a wonderfully cheap and satisfying meal... the smell of doner wafting from the kebap shops, and of course, the emotional quality of Turkish music that makes you want to dance while also envoking tears. Sitting there in the restaurant I was really taken back to my time in Sivas, and I sincerely hope that one day soon I will return to Turkey again.

Just as we were rubbing our bellies in post-meal satisfaction, we couldn't help but to observe the silently dramatic episode that was taking place at the table next to us. The tension hovering over that table was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I'm sure even the waitress was aware of it.

A young Turkish man was sitting with his pretty Japanese girlfriend, and across the table were the boy's parents. They had that look in their eyes of being completely out of their element - strangers in a strange land, probably right out of a small traditional town like Sivas, visiting their son living in the weird world that is Tokyo. The dad was a typical looking Turkish dude, white beard, waistcoat, small pot belly, black cap on his head, cigarette in hand. And his mom was definitely the typical Turkish lady, in a loose fitting dress and a flowery head scarf draped over her head, her wrinkly face unable to hide the worry she was obviously experiencing.

Sure, interracial relationships can be stressful, especially if religion is a major issue, but we couldn't figure out exactly why it was so tense. It was obvious to us that he was introducing his Japanese girlfriend to his parents for the very first time, which must be a strange experience for all of them... but still, it seemed unnecessarily tense at the table. The son stood up and took his father to the nearby bathroom, leaving the Japanese girl to sit nervously with the traditional Turkish mom, neither making eye contact, and both probably unable to communicate two words. We felt really bad for the Japanese girl.

It was only when the son and father returned to the table and they all stood to leave the restaurant that we realized the real reason for the high level of tension... as the Japanese girl stood up and turned to the side to pick up her handbag, we saw the delicate curve of a little pregnant belly under her loose black blouse. No wonder they were all under such stress. The boy's parents are probably thinking what a disaster it is that their precious boy child has knocked up a Japanese girl, a woman from half way across the world who doesn't speak the language or understand the culture or religion. They were probably counting on him returning to Turkey in the future. And who knows what would happen now?

Perhaps the boy are girl are deeply in love, or maybe it was just an accident. Maybe he is marrying this girl. Maybe he will return to Turkey with his parents and never return to Tokyo. Or maybe he'll defy tradition and stay in Tokyo with his girlfriend, and raise a very cute half-Turk half-Jap kid. We watched the family leave the restaurant and walk down the street below, the Japanese girl looking sadly uncomfortable, the parents looking around bug-eyed at the neon city, and we were left there to wonder what would happen to all of them later that night.

In the bag

2007-07-03T21:33:00.001-07:00

Japanese people are apparently not big fans of condoms, but they have this strange and annoying habit of putting absolutely everything in plastic bags. This is definitely one of my pet peeves about life in Tokyo!

Imagine you go to the bakery, and want four sausage rolls. The checking lady will automatically put EACH and EVERY one of those sausage rolls into four separate plastic bags, and then put those four individual bags into another bigger bag, and seal that bag shut with a piece of tape. It drives me absolutely insane! Why do they have to be in separate bags? They're all the bloody same! What an incredible waste of plastic! And how unnecessary! Does every single cookie need to be in its own hermetically sealed bag and then put into another bag? Does every rice cracker need to be individually wrapped? What is up with Japanese people and their packaging obsession?

According to my friend, the Japanese package everything to keep food products impenetrable and clean. This is especially handy when it comes to sharing, because instead of having a bunch of dirty fingers poking in a bag for a cookie, everyone gets their own packaged cookie. As I've mentioned before, people are insanely clean here, except for the strange and revolting city-wide habit that grown men seem to have of digging their noses in great depth on the train. It's quite horrendous!

Anyways! Nose picking aside... back to my bag gripe.

When I go shopping I always try to take bags with me so that I don't end up with a bag FULL of other bags. Yesterday I went to the bakery to buy some bread or some buns, and I went to the cashier and asked her to please put all of them into one bag. I swear to you this chick looks at me like I am freakin insane. Issho ni, onegaishimasu! I say to her with a polite smile. Issho ni? she replies in astonishment. Yes! All together please! Everything together! IN... ONE... BAG! What a revolutionary concept! The cashier reluctantly put them into one bag and handed it to me, and I went on my way. I put my bag of buns into my other grocery bag.

Then, I went downstairs and put all my grocery bags into the basket of my bicycle and unlocked my bike. As I did so, my bag of bread toppled right over, out of the bigger grocery bag, and my poor little buns fell onto the dirty, wet street. The little old ladies walking past me all shook their heads and made that 'tsk tsk' sound, as in, 'stupid gaijin... why didn't she have them in proper bags?'

The moral of the story? When in Rome... do as the Romans, and don't question their customs!

New beginnings

2007-06-10T05:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day -- the day that I officially become part of Tokyo's corporate world. Starting from tomorrow I will become one of 'The Suits', the nameless, faceless, black-suited mass of worker bees that run like hell through the train station as though their life depends on it. I'm excited but also nervous! Rush hour in this city can be overwhelming, and the stories about 'chikan' or 'perverts' on the train grabbing your bamsee during the morning commute are world famous. That's why in the morning, they have the Women Only train compartments. I know which compartment I'll be lining up for tomorrow!

Kanji of the Day

2007-06-04T20:17:00.001-07:00

Now that it has been decided that I am definitely staying in Tokyo for at least another year (if things go well with the new job), I have really got to buckle down and get my rear in gear with this whole language learning business. To live and succeed here, I simply must learn, speak, and read more Japanese.

When I first arrived in Japan I studied quite a lot. The first thing I learned how to do was to read hiragana and katakana. These are the Japanese phonetic alphabet, which means that one 'letter' corresponds to one 'sound' and follows an order and style, such as 'ka ki ku ke ko', then 'sa shi su se so', and so forth.

Here's hiragana -

And katakana -

The funny thing about these alphabets is that hiragana is only used for Japanese words, while katakana is used for foreign words. This means that, for example, the word 'samurai' is written in hiragana, but 'Coca Cola' is written in katakana. This can sometimes make reading a sentence easier, but sometimes it makes it worse because the foreign word is written phonetically in Japanese pronunciation. For example, on the train, you might see this word:

バレーボール

which says 'ba-re-bo-ru'. Even though it may be a word you know, you may stand there scratching your head, thinking, 'what the heck is ba-re-bo-ru?' (volleyball). So when it comes to katakana, you have to start thinking in the Japanese accent!

The toughest part about learning Japanese - but the most crucial part - is learning kanji. Kanji are the Chinese symbols that that Japanese stole and incorporated into their own language ages ago. They are complex and number in the thousands. I see my students practicing writing these complex symbols over and over and over again. It's been said that you need to read over 1000 kanji just to understand a newspaper. So, I've got a looooong way to go.

Even though learning kanji is so daunting and at times seems almost impossible to get a grip of, I have made a pact with myself that every day I will try to learn two kanji symbols, because I doubt that it is possible to remember a bigger group and I would rather not put too much on my plate. Baby steps.

I can read a few kanji already... such as the days of the week... (yes, I am a dirty internet thief, I apologize).

These symbols are meant to represent the elements of the earth.

Sunday - nichiyobi - SUN
Monday - getsuyobi - MOON
Tuesday - kayobi - FIRE
Wednesday - suiyobi - WATER
Thursday - mokuyobi - WOOD
Friday - kinyobi - GOLD
Saturday - doyobi - EARTH

And I know the basics of numbers...

So today's Two Kanji of the Day is to further my knowledge of numbers by including the following:

千 = 1000

万 = 10,000

Like I said, baby steps!

But it is not hopeless. Recently I met a guy who told me that for his entire first year here, he never studied, and couldn't even read the phonetic alphabets, and could barely speak. During this second year in Japan he started studying, and now he is entirely fluent. So, maybe within a year I'll have the hang of this language after all.

Free Hugs and Big Bellies

2007-05-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was certainly an action packed one, and I am exhausted.

When I told my friends about the job offer it started a chain reaction of celebratory dinners and drinks in some interesting night spots. On Thursday night we went to a German pub in Roppongi, which is by far the sleaziest area of Tokyo. Notorious for its high concentration of dodgy foreigners and equally dodgy Japanese men going to hostess clubs filled with Eastern European call girls, it is definitely my LEAST favorite area of Tokyo. I can't say I was too impressed with the German pub, what with $10 US beers and overpriced sausages. And I can't really explain why being in an area with so many other 'gaijin' (foreigners) makes me nervous... maybe it has to do with my desire to blend in to daily Japanese life and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. That's kind of hard to do when all these Nigerian touts are on the sidewalk trying to get you to come into the strip clubs. Eww. Roppongi is just gross. (Note to self - never go back there again.)

Saturday was an extremely lovely day, and I went with two friends to a very funky part of the city called Harajuku. We started off checking out the costumed freaks in French maid outfits and panda bear costumes who hang around by the station every weekend, and we came across a group of people who were holding up signs offering free hugs. They explained that this movement started in Australia as a way to make people smile and now it has spread to Japan. What a bunch of hippie crap!

But this guy was sort of cute, so Machiko and I gave him a hug and went on our way. The next destination in Harajuku was the famous Meiji Shrine, where we were fortunate to see the very solemn procession of a traditional Shinto wedding.

After playing paparazzi, we did some clothes shopping in some very funky shops in the trendy Takeshita Street, ate some crepes, and had dinner at a Thai restaurant where we feasted on green curry and tom yam soup. After a few beers we decided that it was absolutely imperative that we do some karaoke, so I called up my buddy Rich who would drop everything in order to pick up a microphone, which is exactly what he did. Two hours and many drinks later, we all had sore throats and noticeably thinner wallets, but god how I love karaoke.

But the busyness didn't stop there! Oh no! There was no resting at any point this weekend, because Sunday was the big day... the final day of the Grand Sumo Tournament of Spring 2007! I was really excited to go with my pal Jana and her colleagues to see the final day with the best wrestlers and it was a great time.

We started off our day in Ryogoku eating a traditional sumo wrestler meal - chanko nabe - which is a huge, tasty sort of soup that helps the wrestlers get big and bulky.

Filled with chicken, mushrooms, cabbage, sprouts and all kinds of tasty goodness, you put it all in this massive soup pot on the table and cook it yourself. But there was one thing that disturbed me a bit -- there was four egg yolks to put in the pot, and I was told that these eggs are very special because they are not laid by a chicken... they apparently kill the chicken and remove the egg from its belly! Very strange. But you know me, I'll try anything once...

After the nabe, it was time to catch the afternoon sumo matches, so we headed for the nearby stadium.

These guys are truly massive, all towering giants with thighs as big as my waist. Sumo is highly ritualized, with each step and movement having a specific significance. For example, clapping the hands together attracts the attention of the gods; showing your open palms demonstrates that you have no weapon; and lifting the leg into the air and bringing it down with a heavy stamp drives away evil spirits. Each fighter then throws some salt onto the ground of the ring to purify the fighting area. After a lot of belly-slapping and riling up the audience while intimidating their opponent, they assume the position, and charge at each other with the force of a raging bull. It is incredible the kind of power these guys have to be able to lift each other up by the loincloth.

There are many, many other steps of the match that I won't bore you with. Instead, I invite you to watch this wonderful video of the very last fight, from start to finish. In fact the best part is at the very end!

Apparently if the guy you were cheering for loses the final match, you have the right to toss your cushion down into the ring in disgust! It was great fun... I think people do it just for the heck of it, even if their guy wins!

There's Something About Natto

2007-05-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

Since I moved to Japan I have eaten some very strange things -- raw horse, raw sea urchin, raw lobster, raw scallops, deep fried tiny whole fish (head and tail and ribs and all), grilled octopus balls, roasted cow tongue, green tea ice cream, rice balls and red beans for dessert, seaweed salads, corn and potato pizza, curry buns, and deep fried spaghetti sticks, just to name a few. Surprisingly, most of these things taste very good, and did not induce any kind of vomiting. However, over the weekend I had the pleasure and pain of tasting Japan's most notorious stomach-turning food... NATTO.

To put it bluntly, natto is fermented (rotten?) soy beans. It usually comes in small plastic containers, with a packet of mustard and a small packet of sauce, which is all mixed together. It doesn't look so bad before you mix it, but once you do, everything changes. It's an extremely smelly thing, akin to a very strong moldy cheese, and its texture is sticky, slimy, and often compared to the stuff you find in your handkerchief after blowing your nose. Even Japanese people hate this stuff -- or at least it seems that you either try it once and hate it, or love it for life.

This famous foul food is, naturally, very healthy and provides many benefits to the consumer. (Why do we have the cruel life irony that the things that taste so good are awful for us, while nasty natto is a cancer fighting food? It's simply not fair!) So, I figured that I had to give it a try.

Before....

And after...

Ah well. You can't win them all. But at least I can say that I tried it once, right!

To learn more about natto, please watch this fascinating video with instructions in English.

Hong Kong Trip - Golden Week 2007

2007-05-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

I returned to Tokyo earlier today suffering from exhaustion, a lack of sleep, and a wicked hangover after an extremely decadent and indulgent last night in Hong Kong, rubbing shoulders and sipping gin and tonics with the rich and not-so-famous of the city. It sure was a hell of a way to end a jam-packed trip to this very exciting city, but I am paying for it today!

All in all the trip was great. The food was fantastic and cheap, the people were surprisingly friendly and spoke a lot of English, and Hong Kong proved to be an easy city to navigate through. But what struck me the most about Hong Kong on a daily basis was the dramatic scenery which seemed to fluctuate violently between being utterly grotty to incredibly classy. On one corner there might be a dirty little shop hanging deep fried whole duck on the sidewalk, but the next corner has brand name shops like Swarovski, Gucci, Prada and Marks and Spencer. At times it was hard to figure out whether Hong Kong was a nice city or not, but I suppose that is the charm and attraction of a place that cannot hide its colonial history while still keeping with its Chinese heritage. I think that contrast is what makes it such a fascinating place.

Dried goods such as fruits, fish and meat hang in a typical sidewalk shop.

From the second that I stepped off the bus in Causeway Bay to stay in what has to be the worst hostel I've ever slept in, my senses were affronted by strong new smells, a mass of human traffic, skyscrapers looming right in front of lush green towering mountains, and the guttural barking of Cantonese that makes everyone sound as though they are constantly arguing. Even though the hostel was awful, Causeway is a great location because it is close to everything and the transit system is so much smaller than Tokyo.

Of course, half of the joy of traveling is trying out the local food, so we made sure to have a lot of dim sum. Dim sum seems to be a way of life for these people, where families and friends spend hours and hours at the restaurants, ordering a little of this, a little of that, while drinking jasmine tea, chatting and reading the newspaper.

Steamed pork dumplings in a bamboo basket, with hot jasmine tea and a sweet vinegar dipping sauce. A dish such as this costs about US $1. Dim sum is the best way to taste a variety of different things without breaking the bank.

After filling our bellies, we went to do some shopping and saw many cheap street markets and some very expensive shops in the downtown area. Hong Kong is actually quite a visual city, being a place that has developed around the waterfront, so the downtown Victoria Bay area is very scenic. People often commute from other islands or peninsulas to the downtown business and financial center by ferry for just a five minute ride that costs pennies. As we took the ferry over to the Kowloon island, I could only imagine what it was like hundreds of years ago when the bay was full of junks, such as the one in the picture below, but today there is only one that is still in use.

A red sailed junk floats past the Hong Kong Convention Center in the heart of the financial district.

Just behind the Central area is Victoria Peak, which must the country's most popular tourist attraction. It is the highest point in Hong Kong and on a clear day you can have perfect views of the different sides of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, air pollution is so bad visibility is often quite poor. You get to the top by taking a tram, which was opened in the late 1900s by the colonialists who, of course, enjoyed living high above the city, looking down on the locals.

The tram to the top of the peak gives you views of both the city and the exclusive homes on the Peak.

The day that we went to the Peak it was raining, but we did get some nice views. The Peak actually reminds me quite a lot of all the million dollar homes on Chancellor Hill. Even though we could not see the Kowloon side too well, it was still a nice view of the downtown area. This picture shows the contrasts of a 'lush concrete jungle'.

Only the rich and famous can afford to live in downtown Central, which must be the equivalent of living at Central Park in Manhattan.

We also had the unique opportunity to do a very unusual activity in Hong Kong -- we went on a kayak and snorkel trip! We took a bus to a far away peninsula of Kowloon called Sai Kung, which is quite different to the city life, with its tiny European-style waterfront homes, quaint street cafes, yacht club, and no skyscrapers. We caught a boat trip with a group of four others to some of the outlying islands, where the water was crystal clear and very blue, with very dramatic volcanic rock formations. Certainly you can't compare Hong Kong to somewhere like Thailand, but the water was surprisingly very beautiful and clean.

Myself and Seiji, with a retired couple from England, and two German flight attendants. At the captain's wheel was Paul, the director of Kayak and Hike Hong Kong, one of the only tour operators of this kind in a country not known for its natural beauty.

A lone fisherman floats close to the massive concrete pieces of a man-made dam that created a fresh water reservoir while also displacing thousands of locals who lived on the river bed.

The kayaking was great but very demanding, lasting almost three hours. But we did see some wonderful rock formations, caves, coral reefs, and even white sand beaches. We stopped at one beach to do some snorkeling, but only myself and the English gentleman Peter were brave enough to go into the cold sea.

Afterwards, we were all exhausted and hungry, and Paul took us to a fishing village where we were treated to an endless feast of seafood, from steamed whole grouper to crispy calamari, washed down with cold Tsing Tao beer. It was positively divine. Seafood is definitely one of the best aspects of Hong Kong!

The trip ended, as I mentioned earlier, with a wonderful boat cruise sponsored by Seiji's company, who happens to own nine beautiful catamaran cruisers that they use for staff parties and for entertaining guests. We were wined and dined on the boat, and given spectacular views of the sunset at the harbor front as we cruised around. The bright lights of the city certainly made for exotic scenery.

After the joy ride, we were taken to Lamma Island, where we feasted at the famous Rainbow Restaurant that specializes in the freshest and tastiest seafood. It was a bit strange being the only lady amidst a large group of pilots, but they were lovely company, very friendly, and the red wine flowed all night. Just before landing back at the harbor front, I was surprised with 17 very drunk captains and first officers singing 'Happy Birthday' at the top of their lungs. It was a great time, but unfortunately the penalty for such libation was a mind-bending hangover that stuck with me all through the flight back to Tokyo... but it was worth it.

As for the interviews, I believe they went well, so I can only now play the waiting game and see if either of the companies gives me an official offer. If I get the job with the large financial company in downtown Central area I would be thrilled, but in the meantime I suppose I have to wait for that day when I might get the email with either some good news or bad news.

I am just glad that I enjoyed myself so much during this trip because even though Hong Kong has a lot of good jobs, I wasn't sure if I would like the place enough to move there. After all, I am so comfortable in Tokyo and there are so many things that I love about living here. But the more time I spent in Hong Kong, the more that it grew on me - the noise, the smells, the people, the food, the sights. I think it is a place that has a lot to offer, so, we will see if there is an offer there waiting just for me.

Spring Holidays -- Bye Bye Tokyo!

2007-04-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

Well folks, things have been hectic in Tokyo these last few weeks. I went to the big interview yesterday and *think* it went well, but now the best that I can do is wait and see if they decide to hire me.

Going to the interview itself was a real mind trip -- Akasaka is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world and home to the biggest and swankiest offices in all of Tokyo. I must have looked like one country bookie walking down the street looking up at these fancy places, with people all around in expensive suits and Louis Vuitton handbags and Burberry briefcases! The office that I went to has ITS OWN STARBUCKS inside the building. You know you are big when you have your own Starbucks.

Anyways, I will be off tomorrow for Hong Kong for a week and am really excited. Hong Kong really sounds like an interesting place... But this trip is really more about new jobs rather than just holiday. I have one interview at a massive international financial company with over 113,000 employees worldwide, and another interview with a magazine publishing house that has big names such as Maxim, Seventeen, and Men's Health. It is exciting, but also a little daunting trying to break into the big leagues! I sort of feel like a tiny sardine swimming with a school of killer sharks. But it will be great if one of these interviews works out, and I can finally get away from Classroom Clownery and back into the real world of work and editing. So, keep your fingers crossed for me.

In the meantime, here are some older pictures from when Bob was still here that I've been meaning to put on the blog. One day we made a major day trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone. Fuji was beautiful, but I think it is a much more impressive sight from a distance when you can see the whole thing.

After going to the 5th station of Fuji, the bus took us to Lake Ashinoko, and then to Mt Komagatake. Below is a shot of the Komagatake Cable Car that took us up to the top of this volcanic peak, but unfortunately it was so incredibly foggy we couldn't see very much at all!

A few days later we went gallavanting downtown in Harajuku and went to the famous Meiji Shrine. Because it was a Saturday, there were a number of traditional Shinto weddings taking place, and I managed to go paparazzi-style and snap some shots of the wedding party.

We also had a great day visiting the Yebisu Beer Museum, where we had a brief tour of the small gallery of the history of beer in Japan. But the main attraction of the Beer Museum is the tasting area -- for a mere 400¥ you get a tray with four glasses of four different beers. Take into account that in a popular bar, you can pay up to 900¥ for ONE beer. So this Museum was full of drunk people! It was awesome.

These two old geezers -- or 'jiji' as they are called in Japanese -- had Bob and I in stitches. They were quite pickled and kept saying, 'Handsome Papa! Beautiful daughter! She has High Quality Face!'. They kept buying us drink after drink after drink, even when we tried to say no thank you. It was like being trapped in beer heaven with no escape. Eventually the museum closed and we said goodbye, with our bellies full of beer, and our bladders begging for mercy.

I apologize for the blurriness, but let's see how stable YOUR hand is after drinking six beers!

Well that's all for now folks. Coming soon -- pictures from Hong Kong!

Tokyo's favorite mountain - Takao-san

2007-04-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Not even 50 minutes from the neon chaos of Shinjuku is a small town at the base of a very big mountain - Mount Takao, or 'Takao-san' as the locals call it. Last week I was very lucky to have a day off in the middle of the week for a school holiday, and took the opportunity to take Bob hiking on Tokyo's favorite mountain. With a backpack full of goodies, and a bottle of whiskey pre-mixed with water, myself, Seiji and Bob headed off for the wilderness.

We started off walking through the Takao town, a quaint little place, like all of these mountain towns are. Pretty little buildings, traditional architecture, and beautiful temples and shrines.

A shrine hides shyly behind a sakura in full bloom.

The hike itself was quite easy -- since Takao-san is such a popular hiking spot, the routes are all clearly cut and often paved. There is also a cable car and a chair lift that takes you up a steep slope and deposits you up to the start of the trails.

Above, Seiji and Bob take a look at long panels with names of all the people who had died hiking Takao. Just kidding! These are all names of the sponsors who help preserve Takao and take care of the buildings and trails.

There are six different routes you can take, but the most popular one takes you to the Takao shrine.

Takao - and many other mountains in Japan - is said to be inhabited by mischievous forest spirits, known as 'tengu'. These spirits are a combination of bird and human, have wings, and wield swords. They are apparently excellent swordsmen and have no qualms about using their weapons.

According to legend, there are two types of tengu. The first is the 'konoha-tengu' with its red nose and extremely phallic long, long nose. This tengu also carries a magic fan made from a large leaf.

The other type of tengu is the 'karasu-tengu', which has green skin, feathers and a beak. The one below is seen brandishing his sword menacingly. The karasu-tengu is apparently the servant to the konoha-tengu.

I also saw something that always makes me smile -- offerings of sake to the gods. That is something I love about Japanese culture... they certainly celebrate and embrace their alcoholic natures! I mean look at this guy! Look at how happy he is! But then again, I'd be a happy god too if people kept coming up the mountain to bring me massive bottles of sake.

Anyways, we continued on hiking after checking out the shrines, and were stunned by the beautiful and expansive view from the top of Takao. The blue mountains just seemed to roll on and on and on.

At the top of the mountain, many people were picnicking and setting up shop under the sakura trees to cook food and drink a wide variety of alcohol. The funny thing about Japan, is that even when you go hiking in the mountains, at the top there is always some kind of tuck-shoppe selling food and vending machines selling booze! We took a spot at a picnic table, drank our whiskey and ate our cheese and raisin bread and took in the scenery. It was really lovely, a perfect, perfect day for hiking.

After lunch we started our descent on a real trail - not a paved one - and walked for a long time alongside a small river. The area was covered with massive, massive trees (I wish I knew what kind), chirping frogs, and singing birds. Eventually we came out back into Takao town, and found these guys on the side of the road...

My dad said it reminded him of the little dudes on 'South Park' in their snow hats. Cute. After that, it was back through town, back on the train, and back home. I'm just glad I live on the west side of Tokyo and that these mountains are so close. I would definitely like to return to Takao-san one of these days and hike more of the trails.

Too many pictures!

2007-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

So I have too many pictures and I'm not even sure how to put them on the blog! In the past week Bob and I have been extremely busy. We climbed three mountains in the space of four days, saw a multitude of temples and shrines, and sampled a wide variety of Japanese beers. But I will tackle them one by one.

This set of pictures is from Asakusa, the oldest and most recognizable Buddhist temple in Tokyo, dating back over 1400 years. We went on a Saturday morning and walked around this historic and scenic area, made even more scenic by the blooming sakura.

Above, Bob stands under the famous red lantern at the Kaminarimon entrance, said to be one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan.

The walkway leading to Sensoji main temple, lined with sakura.

Here a vendor is making 'senbei' - really delicious crunchy rice cakes. I eat senbei all the time but this was the first time I've ever seen them being cooked!

I also decided to get my fortune, again, even though I know that every time I go to a temple and get my fortune paper, it is ALWAYS a bad luck reading! Check it out below.

Fire breaks out from the sky! Your dreams will not be realized! Marriage and hiring employees are both bad! Sheesh... seems like I just can't win... Bob got a good luck reading... why do I always get bad luck?

After visiting Sensoji, we walked around the streets of Asakusa and next to the Sumida River, and sat down on a street bench and drank a beer. Out of nowhere, this dirty old vagrant appeared and started chatting with us. 'Otosan,' he said, addressing my father, 'chotto samui, ne?' It's a bit cold, isn't it? My father humored the old vagrant, and kindly refused to take the vagrant's rice crackers that he kept offering to us. But things almost turned ugly when the vag took his long, wiry goatee, twirled it into a point, and then rubbed it lovingly on Bob's face. Man, I laughed so hard I almost fell right off the bench. The look on Bob's face was priceless as this random vagrant tickled his cheek! This is why mothers always tell their children not to talk to strangers.

Well, tomorrow you will get some pictures from Mount Takao, where we went last Thursday when I had a blessed day off. And coming soon, pictures from Mount Fuji!

The Big Squeeze

2007-04-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

So the other night, Bob and I went out with my dear friends Taeko-san and Emi-san to everyone's favorite expat pub - Dubliners - downtown in Shinjuku.

It was the typical night of drinking and chatting with random strangers, but that night Bob got quite a few stares from the people around us, because he had a bag of tobacco and was rolling handmade cigarettes. You never see that in Japan, so people are quite curious about what it is. I bet some of them even thought he was rolling a joint!

We left Dubliners to go catch the last train home, and found a state of pandemonium in the station. Apparently there was a big accident on my train line (the busiest one in all of Tokyo) that shut down all the trains for a good 20 minutes. Now, you must understand the Tokyo transit system is extremely punctual, so a 20 minute backup on the train system in the busiest station in the world can cause some serious bacchanal.

Bob, myself and Taeko held on to each other for dear life as thousands and thousands of intoxicated Tokyo-ites, unaware of the train delay, pushed and shoved to try to get up to the platform. The crowd was pushing against us, a mass of bodies all swaying with the force, people crying out in shock at the sudden surge. To be quite honest it was a little scary to be trapped in the melee because crowds can quickly turn into mobs, and mobs can quickly cause some serious damage.

The train finally arrived, and the next challenge was for the people ON the train to get OFF the train and through the mob of people waiting to get on. More pushing and shoving and falling and tripping. This was the first time I've seen the train conductors pushing people into the door to get the doors to move.

Finally, the three of us got to the front of the crowd, and were next in line to get into the next train. I stood there, my arm linked with Taeko's elbow, and suddenly realized... we're next in line, but we're also now standing at the edge of the train tracks, with thousands of confused commuters pushing and shoving all over the platform. I though to myself, what if someone falls, and pushes someone, and they then push some else, who causes more pushing, until finally the crowd accidentally pushes us onto the damn train tracks?

Miraculously, we didn't get pushed onto the tracks, we made it onto the train, and made it home. But it definitely showed me that it only takes one glitch in a well-oiled machine to screw up everything! That, and the fact that Tokyo is just too damn overpopulated.

A World in Bloom -- Hanami at Koganei Koen

2007-04-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't know if words can do it justice, but let me just say I am absolutely in awe of the sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan.

Everyone kept telling me how marvelous the sakura season is, how beauuutiful it is, but I thought I've seen Poui trees in bloom in Trinidad, so what could be the big deal about these cherry blossoms? But seeing the Koganei Park in full, full bloom today was really a jaw-dropping sight. The flowers are so very dense and so intense, when you look up and around you see nothing but pink. No sky... no clouds... no leaves... just flowers. It is like the entire world above your head has suddenly blossomed violently, which, I suppose, is exactly what has happened.

When the sakura trees blossom, the whole of Japan heads outside to enjoy the weather and the flowers, and to reflect on the fleeting beauty of the flowers, and the fleeting beauty of our own short lives. This kind of party/festival is called 'Hanami' and is an important annual event all over the country.

Today was 24'C, so apparently all of western Tokyo had the same idea of going to Koganei and the park was swamped with blue plastic picnic blankets, overflowing with extremely happy people of all ages eating, drinking, singing, dancing, cooking, taking pictures, and simply admiring the beauty of the sakura. Plenty plenty food and drink! In fact, some people enjoyed the hanami a bit too much and had to take a nap to recover!

Bob and I planned to go to a museum today, but we were so damn relaxed at the park we ended up just parking our bikes, buying some drinks, and sitting to people watch, and take in the atmosphere. Also, at most Japanese outdoor festivals, you will find a group of musicians playing flutes and drums, wearing masks and doing traditional dances. Watch the video below to see and hear it!

Bob In The City

2007-03-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

So finally I'm getting around to putting up some pictures of what Bob and I have been doing in Tokyo. Unfortunately the old man was a bit sick when he came and we didn't do as much sightseeing as I had originally planned. But we did however do some very important things --

We ate sushi at a 'kaiten zushi' restaurant, where the little plates go by on a conveyor belt and you grab it when it passes...

We went drinking and gallavanting downtown in the busiest areas...

Bob learnt about the history of Tokyo at a great museum...

We rode the last train home and laughed at all the sleepy people resting on each other's shoulders...

But by far I think the best thing we've done so far is go to Koganei Park to see some cherry blossoms, or 'sakura', in bloom. Note two very, very Japanese things in the picture below - one is the dog in the t-shirt, and two is the woman in the mask!

Everyone told me how beautiful the cherry blossom season is, but I really didn't understand how fantastic it is until we went to the park this morning. The sakura trees only bloom for two weeks, and it is like an announcement that winter is finally over, and the warmth of spring is officially here. Everybody - and I do mean everybody - heads outdoors with picnic blankets, food, sake, badminton rackets, frisbees and dogs to relax under the blossoms.

Today was also particularly lovely because there were a number of people performing music at various locations in the park, and it was really sweet to hear some violins playing classical music.

There was even a band all the way from the Andes, Peru, performing traditional Peruvian folk songs on their instruments. They certainly attracted quite a crowd.

Here you can get some more detail, up close and personal with the cherry blossom.

This weekend we have plans to go do some more sightseeing at some very famous and historical areas, so stay tuned for more pictures next week!

Welcome to Japan

2007-03-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day - my dad arrives in Tokyo in the morning! I hope to god that he will be able to take the train alone and make it to my station. I think he will be okay... the Tokyo transit system is very user-friendly with signs in English and all of the dudes who work in the station are always helping people who are lost. I'm sure he will be fine. Then again.... my dad DID lose his house keys on a daily basis during my stay in Thailand.... hmmmm.........

Trip to Mitake-san

2007-03-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday myself and two friends, Jana and Phillipe, made a trip to Mt. Mitake - or Mitake-san as the Japanese tend to call their mountains - for a day of hiking high in the mountains and deep in the valleys.

We met in Kokubunji station at 9 am sharp, and headed east by train to the small, quiet, secluded area of Mitake. Mitake-san is located in the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, which covers more than 1250 square kilometers of pure bush. I was amazed at how, within 45 minutes, you are transported by train into rural towns, surrounded by mountains, and you can even catch glimpses of people kayaking in the rivers. It is really a different world compared to the neon chaos of downtown Tokyo.

The first step of our journey was taking the cable car up a very steep slope which, according to the guide book, climbs 420 metres in 6 minutes at a gradient of 47%!

At the top, there were, of course, some tourist traps with lots of little goodies for sale, such as this lovely hat.

Or for the very hungry, there were roasting dango - a sort of sticky ball made from rice flour that is very tasty when roasted on an open flame.

Say cheese!!! Yay! I got to be the cable car driver.

After all that horsing around, we were ready to get our butts up the mountain and start the real hike.

First we had to walk through the Mitake town, which was a really, reaaaally small little village with a few shops for tourists and a handful of restaurants. Most of the houses were old fashioned, many made from wood.

We also came across an example of small town life - the trust system.

You will see this is a road-side vegetable stand, but if you look in the top right corner you will see a box. This is where you put the money when you buy something. In rural areas - and even in some places in my own town - you will see this trust system in place.

According to my guide book, Mitake-san has been a popular site for mountain worship for about 2,000 years. Indeed, there were many, many shrines around, such as this one (sorry I didn't get the name).

In the town, we saw a building called 'Oshijutaju' - a ceremonial lodging house for pilgrims going up into the mountains to worship at the Mitake Shrine. The thatched roof was incredible. Unfortunately, the sign did not say how old this house was, but I've never seen a house like this in Japan until now.

After checking out the shrine, we were off again and up the mountain. The trails were very clean and easily marked in both Japanese and English (thank god) so it was really very nice. Further up the trail we came across the most famous shrine in Mitake, the Musashi Mitake Jinga Shrine.

According to the guide book, this particular mountain is considered sacred, so many ascetics would make a pilgrimage to Mitake-san to do rigorous religious training. Indeed there were people of all ages climbing the mountain to this shrine to pray. Below is a view of Tokyo, with fortunes tied onto the wire outside the shrine.

Shortly after that, we decided to stop for a bit at a picnic site and have a bite to eat. Phillipe was kind enough to bring fresh French bread and liver pate direct from France (can you tell he is French?), Jana brought the cheese, and I brought some inari - rice stuffed into these sweet tofu sleeves. The only thing missing was a bottle of wine! During lunch it was so cold and windy it actually began to snow - the only snow I've seen all winter in Tokyo!

After our break, it was back on the path, and deeper into the mountains.

Jana gives this tree a nice hug, saying it was perfect for 'yasumi' - rest! And here is another view from the trail.

Our next destination was Nanayo no Taki, a small waterfall. It was really quite small but the pool would have been nice for a quick dip, if it wasn't freezing! Below, Phillipe ponders his deepest thoughts.

Then it was back on the trail, which got quite steep actually, and higher into the mountain through a long stone trail called the Rock Gardens.

The Rock Gardens led us to the next stop - the Ayahiro no Taki, another small waterfall, but this one was complete with tori , the gate that marks the entrance to a shrine.

Apparently in the summer time, people come to Ayahiro to worship at this small wooden shrine, and sit under the waterfall to cleanse their souls. There was one man there, deep in prayer, and we tried not to disturb him.

After Ayahiro, we had the choice to either head back to the Mitake town, or to keep going, so with Jana the Map Master leading the way, we decided to climb to Mt. Nabewari. Climbing up the steep trail made me realize how out of shape I am, because I was huffing and puffing and easily out of breath. Not good!

But it was worth it when we got to the top, and stood there at an altitude of 1084 metres, and looked down on the world below, feeling the cold wind blowing on our faces, surrounded by nothing but mile after mile after mile or virgin forest. We found a small mountain shrine and decided to take a rest there and eat some cookies.

You will see that in this shrine someone has put a small bottle of sake as an offering, and many people have put coins too. The five cent coin with the hole in the middle is especially auspicious, but I didn't have one, so had to settle for a one cent offering to the mountain gods.

By then it was getting late, and we had been hiking for about six hours and soon it would be getting dark. So back down the mountain we went, from Mt Nabewari to Mitake-san again, and into the Mitake town for some rest and a cold beer in a tiny izakaya run by an old woman whose back was so badly bend her body resembled a question mark.

After we rested our weary feet, we walked back through the town, hopped onto the cable car, got on the bus, got on the train, and instantly fell asleep on our way home.

All in all, the hike was fantastic, very very enjoyable, good exercise, and with lots of different attractions... waterfalls, rivers, rock gardens, 1000-year-old trees, shrines, temples... the only thing I am disappointed about is that we didn't get to see the famous Flying Squirrels that apparently live in the forests! Maybe next time we will be so lucky.

Things That Make You Go 'Ewww'

2007-03-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a day of total freeness. You would be amazed at how many free attractions they have in Tokyo! We started our Freeness Tour at one of the most unique attractions in Tokyo -- the Meguro Parasite Museum -- which holds the honor of being the only official museum in the world dedicated entirely to the study of parasitology.

The museum was small, taking up only two floors of specimens, but its variety was quite incredible and was full to the brim of things that make you go 'eww'. It had every type of parasite imaginable, from things that fly and suck your blood, to worms that crawl deep, deep into your intestine, growing slowly, slowly, making you lose weight. It truly was stomach-turning, but morbidly fascinating!

Here are a few pictures that I snapped:

The creepy crawly alien-looking creature above is actually part of a dolphin's stomach that is infested with parasitic growth. Ewww.

Here is a tapeworm found in a Japanese man's body. It measured 8.8 metres long and the man had no idea he was host to this creature. Hanging next to the real thing is a white rope which shows you the full length of 8.8 metres. It was more than enough to stretch across the room. Eeew.

This one was almost enough to make me never want to eat sashimi again -- a fish with a massive parasite growing in its stomach. Some of the other fish had parasites growing on their eyes and in their gills. Ewww.

This picture, which I have simply named 'balls', is also taken in Japan, but the best part is the drawing on the left, which shows a man walking with his massive, parasite-swollen balls in a sling attached to a bamboo pole. Ewww.

This is enough to turn anyone off of curry crab and dumplins... Ewww.

The Parasite Museum was certainly an interesting and even educational attraction, but we didn't have the stomach to stay too long once we saw all the specimens. In fact I didn't feel like eating after that at all.

So we jumped on a train to Shinjuku and I was treated to the joy of trying out massive new golf drivers for free in the Victoria Golf shop. The best part of this store is the practice range room with equipment that measures your distance and speed. I was quite proud when, on the Ladies Clubs floor, I tried a driver and the lady working there said that I hit just like a man and need heavier clubs! So then we went to the men's floor and again I tried a few more clubs. God it felt good to walk off the street and hit 40 balls just for the heck of it. And I felt like a shiny shilling when the guy showed me the computer statistics, and said I actually hit the average distance of the typical Japanese male who comes into the store. Do I rock or what. When I have some more money I would love to buy some of the clubs I tested, especially the Mizuno which let me drive 200 yards! I can't wait.

After I was through stroking my golf ego and I was glistening with a light sheen from hitting the hell out of those drivers, we took a stroll through Shinjuku.

I tell you, I know I am a beach girl but I really get a kick out of this busy city. Sometimes it is too crowded and you feel you might go insane from the claustrophobia of human traffic. But I love when the evening is drawing near and all the neon lights start coming on downtown. Good fun.

We then walked to the free Government Observatory tower 45 floors up to take in the bright lights of the city as the sun was setting. Later, after deciding that our stomachs were strong enough to handle some food, we went to a small Chinese spot for gyoza and happy hour beer. God how I love gyoza, Chinese dumplings. I must have been Asian in a past life, I just know it.

Anyways, if anyone is coming to visit me, just let me know if you feel strong enough to handle the Parasite Museum! Do you think I should take my dad there???

Shop Till You Drop

2007-03-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

Today I did what all young, hot blooded Japanese people do on a sunny 16-degree Saturday -- I went on an exhausting shopping spree! My destination today was the ultra-trendy Harajuku, the place in Tokyo considered the absolute mecca of youth culture.

Harajuku is famous for shopping, yes, but also for the 'Harajuku Girls' -- those kooky chicks who dress up in a variety of crazy costumes on the weekend and hang around by the Harajuku Station.

There are have different types of costumes: there are the Goths dressed in black with purple hair and multiple facial piercings, Lolitas dressed up like little girls, French Maids complete with aprons and frills, Schoolgirls in naughty uniforms, Sexy Nurses (sometimes also scary nurses, with blood on their uniforms), Superheros, and my personal favorite, the Anti-Goths, who wear a hell of a lot of neon colors, preferably in pinks and yellow.

Anti-Goths and a happy tourist. The baby is the best part of this picture - 'Ooooh! What's this in her hair? Let me grab it!'

Hmm.... what is she? Lolita? Semi-goth? I am not sure. What do you think?

This is the entrance to Takeshita Dori - a tiny, narrow pedestrian shopping street, insanely busy, jam packed with human traffic, and full to the brim of funky shops, quirky clothes, loud music and crepe cafes.

This is also, of course, a place full of stores selling outrageous costumes and accessories.

You too can become a Harajuku Girl!

I found some pretty funky things, but I was looking especially for some funky gifts for my dear knocked-up sister at home, particularly one of those little dangly things that you MUST have hanging from your keitai (cell phone).

But I was especially happy to find a particular item I have been looking for -- masu.

Note: I stole this picture from another website.

These are square cups for drinking sake, and may I say it is THE best way to drink sake. When you are in a restaurant, they put the masu on a small saucer, pour the sake and let it overflow onto the plate. It is meant to be a gesture of generosity. You pick it up carefully and drink from the corner of the cup. These cups are also made of wood, but the ones I bought are made of lacquer.

By evening time, my big toes were killing me as though it were Ash Wednesday, and I felt like joining this guy:

Then, it was back on the train, and home again, home again lickety split. I swear to god Tokyo is waaaaaaay too big and waaaaay too crowded on a weekend. You really do start to feel claustrophobic on the sidewalks because of the massive swarm of people surrounding you at every step. Going downtown is fun but it also makes me glad to live in the peace and quiet of the suburbs!

New experiences

2007-02-28T20:06:00.000-08:00

This weekend was definitely one of new experiences. On Sunday morning, Seiji and I woke up at the crack of dawn, packed the car with gear and booze, and headed on my first Japanese fishing trip. We drove about two hours north of Tokyo to Gunma Prefecture to a small town called Oigami. The drive was quite beautiful, heading north into the snow capped mountains, driving next to lots of cars with skis and snowboards on the roof rack. It was also really lovely to see the always majestic Mt Fuji standing proudly in the distance.

By 10 am we had arrived at the Oze Fishing Lake, and after making sure we had on many, many layers of warm clothes -- long johns, pants, snow pants, turtleneck sweater, hoodie sweater, fleece sweater, heavy jacket, and of course a hat -- we were ready to catch those trout.

The Master Fisherman with his weapons of mass destruction.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I am not a fisherwoman, but rather a golfer. So Seiji had to show me the ropes of how to use a rod -- how to hold it (similar to a golf club, actually), how the reel works, how to release the line, how to reel it in, how to cast, and of course what to do if you feel a bite. It took me quite some time to get the hang of it, and the first time I tried casting I almost tangled my line with this woman next to me. MOST embarassing! However, within the first 15 minutes I had a little beginner's luck and got my first trout! FISH ON!!!! Yay!

By the end of the day, we had caught five plump rainbow trout and were starving and exhausted. In fact, we were so starving and exhausted by 5 pm that we gutted the fish and packed them away before realizing that we hadn't taken a single picture of our catch! Very unfortunate to have no proof of our fish. You'll have to take my word for it.

After packing up the van, we headed to our 'ryokan' for the night - a traditional Japanese inn - with 'onsen', natural hot springs, which are plentiful and incredibly popular in Japan.

Staying at the ryokan was a really interesting experience, the room was beautiful with the traditional style tatami mats and futons. Everyone sheds their clothes and wears 'yukata' - a very nice and comfortable robe tied at the waist with an 'obi' sash. I felt a bit strange walking around the hotel in the yukata, but hey, when in Japan, do as the Japanese, right?

The food that they served was incredible. Luckily we DID remember to take pictures of that.

Here I am, feeling very shy in my yukata, surrounded by many little dishes of wonderful food.

Grilled salmon served on hot rocks, with marinated walnuts.

Little salads of picked vegetables, and a bowl of soup.

Tempura mushrooms, nice and crispy.

You will notice that with Japanese food, much importance is placed on appearance. The food is meant to be visually stimulating and so food is served in very small amounts so that you can enjoy a wide variety of tastes, colors, textures and cooking methods. You would be amazed at how filling this meal was!

After dinner, it was time for me to experience the onsen. Oigami, the town where we stayed, is an onsen town full of ryokans and hot springs. The onsen are separated by sex, so women and men have their own onsens, both indoor and outdoor. I felt a bit nervous going into the women's onsen because I wasn't sure about what I was supposed to do and of course felt a little shy getting naked in front of the other women. But heck, you only live once right? The water is hot hot hot, but once you get in it is fantastic and extremely relaxing. You feel all the knots in your shoulders just melt away. Just lovely.

The next day we checked out of the ryokan and headed back to Tokyo with three bags full of trout. Seiji cooked two fantastic meals with that fish, and it was the first time I ever ate something that I caught. It was quite a satisfying feeling, so we are planning to go back to Oze for trout fishing again in the near future. Next time I will remember to take pictures of the fish!

Purikura

2007-02-18T02:42:00.000-08:00

Today I had a GREAT time with my friend Kyoko when she took me to my first 'purikura' experience - the crazy Japanese photo booths! This very popular phenomenon in Japan comes from the English phrase 'print club', which, when pronounced in a Japanese accent comes out as 'pu-rin-to-ku-ra-bu', which is then shortened to 'purikura'. Katakana is a hell of a thing!

Anyways, you step into the photo booths and you and your friend(s) can strike poses and do goofy things and then play around with the pictures to your liking.

First you have to choose goofy backgrounds in which you can be inserted - for example, you can get you and your friends put into a pot of soup, or sitting on a bicycle. Then after you finish taking the shots, you play around with the shots.

Here is Kyoko adding some touches to a shot using a touch sensitive pen. There are so many different things you can do it is mind boggling!!!!

Above, in the picture on the right, Kyoko and I are drowning in a bowl of takoyaki - grilled octopus balls! Here's a close up!

You can add ALL kinds of things to the photo - stars, umbrellas, tiny cartoon octopuses, cigarettes, Einstein, animals, food, nature, words, phrases, captions, calendars, anything! It is so much fun and the options are endless.

Purikura is my new favorite thing! I can't wait to go again!

Tokyo Tour Guide

2007-02-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

Exciting news!!! Watashi no chi-chi wa Nihon ni kimasu!

(My father is coming to Japan!)

I have many exciting things planned to take him around Tokyo, and also day and weekend trips to some other nearby areas with famous sights, such as, of course the magnificent Mount Fuji. We'll also go to the temples, check out some museums, eat loads and loads of good food, take a boat cruise in Tokyo Bay, and many many other wonderous things.

Also, the best part is that he'll be here in late March, during the important Sakura (cherry) Blossoms when all of Japan is bathed in beautiful pink flowers. Sakura season is the time of year when EVERYBODY goes outside with a picnic blanket and sits under the cherry trees and gets drunk on sake.

Right now in February is the time for Ume (plum) blossoms...

These pictures were all taken close to my apartment. The last picture is of Teruko-san, the lovely lady who gives me origami lessons and helps me practice Japanese. Anyway, ume blossoms are very beautiful, but apparently when the sakura blooms... well apparently it is just mind blowing.

When Bob comes it will be great to have someone to do the sightseeing with, because most of my friends here have already seen it all and done it all and don't want to do it again. But this time I can be both tourist and tour guide and have a travel companion to check all the things I haven't done yet. Awesome. I can't wait!

You want it, you got it

2007-02-09T23:58:00.000-08:00

This is in response to many requests for pictures of these Japanese ladies parading around in short shorts in the middle of winter in high heel boots. Well, you want it, you got it!

I caught this yesterday just outside the train station. Now, I hope all of you are satisfied.

Well I haven't written much lately because sadly I've been sick as a dog. You know, something that nobody tells you about the so-called glamorous life of a roaming English teacher is that you will spend the first 6 months or so going through a vicious cycle of sickness and health in your new country. And I'm not referring to the kind of sick you get from drinking tap water in Turkey. In fact, the tap water in Tokyo is amazingly clean, I drink it every day and it tastes wonderful! It has such a good reputation in Japan that Tokyo Tap Water is now being bottled and sold across the country.

Anyways, enough about tap water. The point is, foreigners are easily susceptible to getting sick in new countries due to climate changes, dry air, or even air pollution from China, like what Gino has been experiencing over in Korea. Ironically, my diet is better and healthier than it's ever been, I exercise and ride my bike daily, but even a good lifestyle is not enough to ward off Japanese germs. That's why you often see people walking around in shops, or especially on the train, wearing this:

Luckily, I have The International Man of Mystery visiting for 6 days to take good care of me and make me lots of delicious mouth watering soups, like nabe.

It is simply wonderful having my own personal tour guide in Tokyo who knows so many great spots with the real, old fashioned authentic Japanese food - you know, the kind of places that only the local knows about. Tonight we are heading to Ikebukuro for a yakitori (grilled meat) place that serves the most amazing grilled liver. Mmm. I'll make sure to take some pictures and put them up tomorrow.

Out all night........ again

2007-02-03T01:18:00.000-08:00

There are only two types of people who ever ride the first train at 5 am on a Saturday morning -- drunks who are making their way home from the bar or club, and hard working citizens on their way to work. I hope to god I am never one of those citizens!

Last night was one of those nights that end with you crawling into bed at 6 am. I work in the evenings, so sometimes on a Friday I decide to paint the town red all night since the trains stop at 12.30ish. First, I met with some lovely people in densely overpopulated Shibuya for some karaoke. Rich, Jon and Tomomi had all been at nomihodai - all you can drink - and were already quite happy, so I had some catching up to do.

Four drinks and a lot of bad singing of 4 Non Blondes, Elvis, and Japanese pop boy-band sensation SMAP, we jumped on the Yamanote line's 12.30 train and got off at Shinjuku to go to the notorious Ni-Chome gay bar district. We barely made it, after a very drunk Tomomi kept trying to put money onto her phone card instead of her train pass.

I love the gay bars. Gorgeous men dancing in tiny shirts? Total eye candy.
Rich spent most of the night talking to Tomomi and avoiding the gay guys, but Jon got a lot of attention. Jon is a very cute Kiwi of Malaysian descent so he could pass for Japanese, and with short spiky black hair and a cute bod, it is no wonder so many guys came and hit on him. In fact, quite a few came and asked me 'whose your friend? is he single?' I think Jon was flattered. Can't say I blame him.

We left the club around 4 am, and stumbled to one of the many 24-hour eateries that serve up hot, tasty food for Tokyo's many night owls. We feasted on bowls of rice, tonkatsu (pork cutlet), chicken, and beef, and sat around for about an hour, talking shit, rehydrating ourselves with glasses of water, and sobering up.

Finally, as the sun came up, we walked to the station and saw a brilliant full moon gently dipping behind Tokyo's skyscrapers as the sun was coming up. Then it was a lot of goodbye hugs, and onto the train. I always feel kinda funny sitting there, tired, red eyed, smelling like an ashtray, opposite some fresh salaryman in his pressed suit heading to work. Poor dudes. Anyways, in the bitter morning cold I rode my bicycle home and went directly into bed. Another successful deviant night out on the town! Mission accomplished.

Stalker

2007-01-27T17:24:00.001-08:00

Smoking laws in Japan don't make much sense to me - for example, you can still smoke inside of a McDonalds, but when you are outside in public they are strict about 'smoking areas' which are often fenced off, so all these smokers are huddled together in a cage surrounding a lone silver ash box. Weird.

Anyway, this is a picture of a sign on a street ashtray outside of a Family Mart in Ginza a few days ago. Signs like the one above are supposed to make smokers aware of the people close to them. But as usual, the translation is quite interesting.

My smoke is enveloping that man over there. Stalker. But what on earth does 'stalker' mean? Is the smoker a stalker? Or is the smoke metaphorically a stalker? Or perhaps 'that man over there' is a stalker? Who knows. Just another fine example of 'Engrish' in Japan.

Japanified

2007-01-21T04:49:00.000-08:00

I've been here about five months now, which is not a long period of time, but I've realized that with enough time, you can get used to ANYTHING. It is normal to have some culture shock when you go to a new place, but eventually with the daily routine of life in this alien environment, the strange things start to become just... sort of... normal, I guess. And your new environment changes you - it changes your habits, your preferences, your mannerisms, the way you speak, the way you move. You have to adjust to so many new factors it is impossible not to be changed. You find yourself doing things you've never done before, like bowing, or apologizing all the time with a polite 'sumimasen'. I realized today in the grocery that this is all part of the process of becoming JAPANIFIED.

So for your reading pleasure, I thought I would compile a little list, called 'You Know You've Been in Japan Too Long When...'. I hope you enjoy!

You Know You've Been in Japan Too Long When...

1. The phone rings and you debate for 3 seconds whether to say 'hello' or 'moshi moshi'
2. You bow all the time to strangers
3. You bow when riding your bicycle if someone lets you go or steps out of your way
4. You choose shoes based on how quickly you can take them off
5. You stop drinking coffee, and instead become addicted to green tea
6. Green tea ice cream is now a normal dessert
7. A typical 'snack' for you is a ball of rice with a plum in it
8. You take a set of chopsticks to your office
9. You know how to say 'no thank you' when the cashier in the supermarket offers you disposable chopsticks for your sushi bento box
10. You no longer think $7 US is too expensive for a beer
11. You have a long conversation with your taxi driver when you are completely drunk
12. You say 'hai' all the time
13. You have little cute thingies hanging from your keitai (cell phone)
14. You avoid eye contact with other gaijin (foreigners) on the train
15. You can understand the arrival announcements on the train
16. You give up your train seat for little old ladies
17. You crawl back into your house to get something you forgot, rather than take your shoes back off or walk on the floor with shoes on
18. You always have a pack of tissues in your bag
19. You think it is perfectly normal to run like your life depends on it through Shinjuku station to get the train
20. You start pouring your friends' beers
21. You say 'itadakimasu' before you start eating, even if you are alone
22. You politely look away from the drunk salaryman who has passed out in his own vomit in the train
23. You enthusiastically say 'Ehhhhhh!' when listening to an interesting story, and enthusiastically ask 'Ehhhh?' when you don't understand something
24. You leave your umbrella outside of a store with complete faith that it will still be there when you return
25. You start doing the 'peace sign' in pictures
26. You always have large amounts of cash in your wallet and never use a bank machine, ever
27. You think a 'loaf' of bread has only 6 slices
28. You always talk about the weather immediately after greeting someone
29. You take your shoes off before going into the dressing room in a store
30. You no longer think it is strange to see a man wearing a Mickey Mouse watch

A True Story

2007-01-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

My last class on a Friday is a group of really bright 16-year-old high school students, who have a very high level of English. They are really into learning the language so teaching them is a breeze, because they will do anything I put on the table for them. Because they only come once a week, I try to encourage as much conversation as possible, to give them the opportunity to practice speaking.

Tonight we played a speaking game called '2 Truths & 1 Lie' where you tell the class three things about yourself, two of them are true, one is a lie, and everyone else has to guess which one is the lie. It works quite well because young people generally love talking about themselves!

Anyway, tonight one of my students was ten minutes late, and she came to class red-faced from running from the station. She sat down, and I quickly explained the activity, and we continued. When it was her turn to say 3 things, this is what she had to say:

'I am late tonight because I lost my wallet and had no money for a train ticket and had to go to my father's office.

'I am late tonight because I lost my house keys and it took me ten minutes to find them.

'I am late tonight because I was in the train, and when the train was coming to Kokubunji station, a man jumped in front of the train, and the train rode over him and he died, and we had to stop, and they could not open the doors, and everyone inside had to wait for ten minutes.'

I looked at her in shock and sort of laughed, thinking that maybe she was joking, or that she had a really wild and twisted imagination. I then looked around the room at the expression on the other students' faces, hoping to God that she was joking.

'Well,' I said to her with a nervous laugh, 'I hope that the lie is the 3rd one!'

'No,' she said, very matter of factly, shaking her pretty head... 'the lie is the story about the keys.'

'Oh my god...' I said, shocked, not quite sure what to say to her. 'The man really did jump into the train?'

'Yes! He did.'

'My god!' I said again, thinking that maybe she was a little upset or disturbed or traumatized by what she had just seen. 'Are you okay?'

'Oh no no, I am okay!' she says with a smile. 'I just don't like being late for class!'

What, me worry?

2007-01-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

There are some days when I really, REALLY wonder why on earth I bother trying to teach these kids of mine. Don't get me wrong - some of them are amazing, intelligent students who are really interested in the intricacies of the English language, who take notes, who ask questions, who genuinely WANT to understand how to use this language.

However, I would say 85% of my students couldn't give a rat's ass about putting even the TINIEST bit of effort into English class. I have only been in Japan for less than 5 months now, and I made the effort to learn how to read hiragana and katakana alphabets, and while I'm not perfect at the reading, I think I do okay.

So tell me, why on earth should I even BOTHER making the effort to prepare lesson plans, games and activities for a class where these kids have been coming to class every week for YEARS, and they STILL CAN'T READ THE F****ING WORD 'SIX'? What sense does it make? What is the point? Years and years of coming to a class, and they can't and won't read the word 'can', or 'five'? Have they learnt nothing? What is going on here? Obviously nothing that I do will encourage or inspire them to try to learn to read or write. And quite frankly, if they don't care, why on earth should I care? Is teaching here just a total waste of my time???????????

Phuket Hash House Harriers - On On!

2007-01-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

I almost forgot! These are some pictures from the Phuket Hash House Harriers. Bob and I joined up with them the very first day that I was there for a Christmas Hash. It started off quite the same as a Trinidad Hash - in fact it looked almost identical!

The Hash was not too difficult, and it took us through some Phuket rubber tree plantations.

After the run everyone drank, of course, and stood around talking shit, until the Hash Master pulled everyone together to do the rituals, the down-downs, and so forth.

Heath takes his favorite seat on the ice block!

The Phuket Hash was kind of strange though, because the 'farang' (foreigners) in Thailand live kind of a strange life. First of all, in Trinidad the Hash is a very mixed sort of group, maybe half-half locals to expats, maybe about half are women, and the people are of all ages, races, backgrounds, colors and nationalities. The Trinidad Hash is a really good reflection of the true rainbow society in Trinidad.

But in Thailand, there are only two groups on the Hash - old white farang dudes, and their young hot Thai wives. Most of the wives don't speak English and they certainly don't go running around in the middle of the day through rubber plantations! Very few women are there to run. In fact, the wives sort of go off into their own group and sit in the shade under a tree (to avoid getting dark, because in Thailand if you have dark skin it means you are poor and work outdoors), or cook all the food. So it was kind of an odd Hash, very polarized, and to tell you the truth, it didn't have a good feel of community and togetherness like it does in Trinidad.

There are quite a few Hashes in Tokyo but I am sorry, it is January and I am not about to go running in this dead cold weather. Hashes are meant to be outdoors, thus, we need the sun! Maybe in the spring I will hook up with the Samurai Hash here.

Where they going? St Anns!

2007-01-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

I have decided that young Japanese women are without a doubt completely INSANE. Every time I go outside, I put on the following items of clothing:

1 long sleeved t-shirt
1 turtleneck sweater
1 pair of jeans
2 pairs of socks
1 scarf
1 pair of gloves
1 skull cap
1 heavy duty winter jacket

And I'm STILL always cold!

But do you know what is the fashion rage in Tokyo this winter?

SHORTS.

SHORT BAMSEE SQUEEZING PUM-PUM SHORTS. With knee-high hooker boots.

Last night was -3'C and these girls are strutting around in SHORTS!!!

Two words for you - St. Anns.

The Land of 1000 Smiles

2007-01-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

Well folks, here I am, back in Tokyo after 15 days in The Land of 1000 Smiles. I am tanned, relaxed, and extremely rejuvenated. I've seen and done so many wonderful and weird things in the past two weeks and taken so many pictures that I don't even know where to start or how to choose which ones to put up!

I suppose I could bore you with descriptions about how beautiful, magical, peaceful, exciting, ridiculous, decadent, funny, debaucherous and romantic Thailand truly is... the simple joy of sipping a cold Singha under a coconut tree as the sun sets over a turqouise sea... the sweat that forms on your brow as you try to eat some spicy tom yam soup... the wind blowing through your hair as you go down the road on a motorbike... the girls on the sidewalk who sing out 'helllllo-massaaaage!' in greeting. But really, I would rather let all the pictures speak for themselves. So here are some general shots of day to day life on Samui.

Roll camera!

Singha beer -- the best way to start your day!

Lunch time at a beach bar.

This tourist is all blissed out!

I must say, I really think my old man made a very, very good choice in moving to Koh Samui. It is small, sweet, peaceful, and life is very easy there. Everything is cheap, everything is pretty, everything is delicious, and there is something to do every night. It's the kind of place that is so sickening idyllic you could vomit!

The main road at Lamai Beach, around the corner from Bob's place.

An authentic Thai massage on the beach.

Sunset on the south coast.

At the end of Lamai Beach are the rock formations Hin Ta and Hin Ya - Grandfather and Grandmother Rock. These famous stone structures have a local folklore attached to it. According to the story, a grandmother and grandfather wanted to help thier grandson find a wife for their son, so they set off from Samui for the mainland of Thailand to do so. But their boat capsized and they were never seen again. According to the legend, their souls were turned into stone - one phallic, and one vaginal.

Grandfather Rock (the totee in the middle)

Oh yah, and if you look closely at the picture above, there are two people making passionate undersea love. I'm quite jealous.

Me, up close and personal with grandpapa.

And close by, directly facing Grandfather Rock, is Grandmother Rock.

Lamai is a pretty active area, but to venture to other areas we rented a motorbike for a day and went about. I even drove the bike once - it was fun! You can also explore the many Buddhist temples, which are bright, colorful and elaborate. The temples in Thailand are very, very different compared to the somber, dignified ones in Tokyo.

Buddhist monks worry about your soul... and about sunburn!

People stick gold foil onto the various statues of Buddha.

We also went into the local markets (which were quite stinky if you ask me, compared to Japan where things are ultra-clean) and saw some interesting food items.

Yum yum! Stir-fried crickets with green onion!

Mmmmm. A big pot of prawns. All for me, none for you!

I also had the unique pleasure of meeting a handsome and charming young pilot from Tokyo who flew all the way to Samui just for four days. This International Man of Mystery accompanied me on a boat trip to the Anthong National Marine Park, a set of islands off the coast of Samui that are protected. We spent the day kayaking, snorkelling, climbing, and getting sunburnt.

The Anthong Emerald Lake

Walking through the rocks.

Goofing around back at Lamai Beach.

Ole years night on Samui was real sweet and relaxing and lovely. We spent the day on the beach, eating and drinking and swimming. That night we all went out roaming around Lamai - we had no plan, no direction, no real idea of what we were going to do. And we ended up finding loads of things to do!

First we went to dinner at a wonderfully cheap restaurant and gorged on duck with cashew, masaman curry, morning glory, spicy Thai salad, and of course, multiple bottles of ice cold Singha. All for about $15 US total! Incredible.

After dinner, we walked to the Samui Shamrock to see a rock band called Ovada.

These head bangers are Bob's neighbors! The first night that I arrived they were all liming next door on their porch and they invited us over for bar-b-que and whiskey. They were very sweet and friendly and laid back, playing with their little 4 year old girl. Little did I know that the next night I would see them in action - and in their wild costumes - on stage tearing into those electric guitars! It was quite a shock compared to the night before.

After that we took a walk to the 'girly-bar' area, where girls dance on the bars and chat with the customers and so on. I know it sounds kind of gross but somehow it isn't vulgar at all (if you can believe that). We found that there was Muay Thai boxing that night so there was a huge crowd excited for the match. Muay Thai boxing uses both arms and legs - half of the fight is kicking and kneeing your opponent.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Then it was the countdown, which was kind of subdued, and after the boxing we walked to the beach to take in the fireworks. And Thais sure love their fireworks! Also, on special occasions, the Thais light up these big lanterns that float up into the sky. It is really beautiful to see hundreds and hundreds of these things in the sky, along with the stars and the fireworks.

Around 3 am we found ourselves at another girly-bar, but we met a lady-boy. Now some of the lady-boys are REALLY sexy and hot and look better than the average woman! But unfortunately some of the lady boys are... well... not.

Thai people are also amazingly kind and gentle to animals. They treat all animals with respect, even stray cats and dogs. The animals are not afraid of people at all, because I suppose they are not used to cruelty. It is quite normal to see dogs and cats walking around or sleeping in the restaurants and bars, and nobody beats them or anything! People are always petting them and feeding them. Maybe it is some kind of Buddhist thing. Or maybe just a Samui thing. Someone was even kind enough to give this doggie an orchid necklace on ole years night.

My last few days on Samui consisted of a lot of fun and games. Bob and I played a lot of pool, went to the shooting range where I discovered I have good aim with a .35,

and played a few games at a bowling alley (where Bob kicked my ass).

It was about that time when I decided that I really did NOT need to go to Bangkok for ANY reason at all because I could not bear the thought of leaving paradise. So I cancelled my trip and stayed to relax and spend more time with dad.

More sickening scenery

At a small fishing village, these kids were more than happy to put on a playful fight game for us, with their Ultraman masks.

And now, after a loooooong trip back, I am home again in Tokyo, and missing Thailand! I could live on Samui EASY. You know, I didn't quite know what to expect before I went to Thailand. When I asked my dad what life is like there, he gave me a strange answer that pretty much sums it up quite well. Watch the video to see for yourself.

Coming in from the cold

2006-12-20T20:32:00.000-08:00

Well this is it - I leave for Thailand TOMORROW! Extremely excited. For those of you who don't know, my dear old dad made a radical life change and moved to Thailand with plans to retire or maybe teach English to make a little extra cash.

Tomorrow morning I am outta here at 5 am and on an early flight to Bangkok, then a connecting flight to Phuket where we will stay for a few days, before heading to Koh Samui which is where my old man lives. On my way back to Tokyo, I'm spending 3 days in Bangkok by myself because even though I have heard back things about Bangkok - big, dirty, polluted, noisy, yucky - I still feel I should at least see Thailand's capital for a few days. But most of the time I think we will be on the beach, or zooming around on a scooter to see the sights.

But with beaches like this....

who knows if I'll make it back to Tokyo!!!

Well my dad has a laptop, so I'm sure I'll put up a few pics at some point. So, everyone, enjoy your Christmas holidays and have a great ole years whatever you may do!

Take care... ki o tsukette!

Dirty talk

2006-12-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

In my continued attempt to learn Nihongo (Japanese), in the mornings I like to listen to these audio files of conversational Japanese lessons called 'Pimsleurs Japanese'. It is quite easy - you listen, they teach you new words, you repeat, they ask you questions, you answer it, they do one side of the conversation and you do the other, it's quite good and easy to remember because of all the repitition.

But today I'm convinced that Pimsleur is trying to teach me dirty talk, because ALL of the conversations seem to revolve around hooking up with the opposite sex!

Allow me to give you an example:

Man: Nanika tabemasuka? Do you want to eat something?

Woman: Hai, tabetai desu. Yes, I want to eat.

Man: Doko de tabemasuka? Where do you want to go eat?

Woman: Anata no tokoro de. At your place!

Man: Hai, ii desu. Yes, I see!

Or here's another example, which I think must be a good conversation for prostitutes:

Man: Nanika tabemasuka? Do you want to eat something?

Woman: Iie, demo nanika nomitai desu. No, but I want to drink something.

Man: Nani o nomimasuka? What do you want to drink?

Woman: Osake. Sake.

Man: Doko de? Where?

Woman: Hoteru de! At the hotel!

At the hotel indeed! Sheesh, obviously these conversations are for people who like to go out and get drunk and get laid! Like Carla! Ha! Just kidding Yam.

My Tiny Universe

2006-12-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

It is really nice having my own place for the first time in my life. My 'apaato' is quite small, but very comfortable for one person. I am very happy with My Tiny Universe, everything is clean and everything works, not like in Turkey where we often took cold showers or ran out of water!

Please allow me to give you the grand tour of the facilities.

When you first enter, you take off your shoes (much like in Turkey) at the entrance before stepping in. This is so that you don't drag dirt and crap into your place and onto your tatami mats. Unfortunately, I have no tatami, which actually makes cleaning a lot easier! Anyways, you will see at your immediate right is my tiny kitchen. It has a tiny fridge, a tiny counter top, and a tiny one-burner flame.

Directly opposite the kitchen is the bathroom. It has one toilet, one tiny sink, and a small bath tub. If you look closely you will see the sink and the bath share the same plumbing - you simply turn a plastic knob to change the water from the sink to the shower!

This is my sparse living room. It has penguins on the curtains (not my choice, my boss gave them to me!), a big sliding glass door to a small balcony to hang laundry, and a 'kotatsu' or hot table. You will notice that in Japan, as in Turkey, you sit on the floor either on a carpet or a mat or cushion, and the table is low to the ground. It must be making my back stronger, getting up and down from the ground over and over again. Also you will notice my beautiful, wonderful, brilliant Macbook.

And finally, my bedroom is a loft up a small ladder. It is nice sleeping up there, and in the winter it is a lot warmer up there than downstairs. But it makes answering the phone a bitch, because I have to scramble down the ladder to get the phone which is downstairs!

I sleep on a futon, which is pretty much a number of small, flat mattresses piled on top of each other, on the floor. When I first started sleeping on a futon - as opposed to my massive cushy double bed that I had at home in Trinidad - I woke up every day with neck and back pain. But now, it is extremely comfortable, and I sleep like a baby.

So, that's about it! The grand tour is now finished. If anyone is planning to come visit me, don't worry, it may look small but there is always room for a friend!

Partners in Crime

2006-12-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is my dear friend, Taeko-san, who is without a doubt the coolest and sweetest person in all of Tokyo.

Now I know it looks as though she is hooking her finger into my bra but she's actually not. It's an optical illusion!

We went out last night to an Irish pub in Shinjuku called Dubliners, the same place where you are guaranteed random people will come up to you and chat like old friends. Last night a very strange bearded old geezer came up to Taeko and asked her if she knew where a good 'love hotel' was. Love hotels are all over the city, it's simply a place where you can go with your partner to get your groove on in privacy for an hour or two or whatever floats your boat. But it's super private - apparently when you go to the 'love hotel' you pay for the room through an electronic machine so that nobody sees you! Anyways Taeko of course told the ''jiji' which is Japanese for ''dirty old man'' to piss off.

Winter in Japan....

2006-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

... is not much of a winter at all!

I snapped these shots this morning on my way to my origami class by the dear old lady who teaches me how to make beautiful boxes and leaping frogs, Teruko-san. I can't believe that in mid-December, it is still like fall. No snow, no nothing! In fact this weekend the weather is going to be a high of 17'C! Incredible.

After the origami lesson, I hopped on my trusty steed - my bicycle - and rode to Kodaira's oldest and biggest temple because I'd never been before. When I arrived I wasn't sure if I could just go right in, but not a soul was around, so I had the chance to wander around quietly in a beautiful garden all alone and enjoy the warm sunshine.

In the garden were carefully manicured plants, small streams, and a variety of stone statues.

I also found one particular statue, that I've seen at almost every temple I've been to, and this statue is always wearing some kind of clothes, like a bib or a hat. After a little research, I found out why.

This is Jizo, the Savior from the Torments of Hell. In Japanese Buddhism, Jizo is the guardian of stillborn, aborted and miscarried babies. While that might be sweet, there is a bit of a disturbing story behind this!

It is also believed that children who die prematurely cause so much grief to their parents that they are sent to hell. In hell, they are sent to a dried-up river where they are made to build monuments made of small pebbles to Buddha. But their work is sabotaged by a cruel demon who scatters the stones, and it is Jizo who comes to protect and help the souls by hiding the children in his sleeves. Mothers who have lost their babies often put red bibs or hats on Jizo so that Jizo may take special care of their departed child's soul.

Kind of odd, no? I mean... if I were a mother who lost my child, the last thing I'd want on my mind is the idea of my poor baby stuck in hell and being terrorized by mean demons! Rough!!!!

Anyways, time for school.

Christmas Party

2006-12-11T05:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was our school's annual Christmas Party, which is a get together for the students, their siblings, their parents, us the teachers, and the managers. It was held at the nearby Koganei Park, and it was a really beautiful sunny day.

I know it's December and it should be winter, but it is really a lot more like autumn. The trees started changing colors a few weeks ago so you still see a lot of beautiful red and orange leaves all over the place. Winter seems to be quite mild here, yesterday was 12'C, which is fantastic, considering this was the view from my living room in Turkey one year ago!!!

Anyway, we had lots of games, such as a balloon race, where you had a balloon on a string around your ankle, and you had to run away from people trying to step on your balloon and pop it.

There was also the tug-of-war....

Where the kids took turns going against the teachers, then against the moms, then against the dads....

Below is a picture of one of my little sweethearts, the one of the left is Aika and she is only 3 years old (see, she is holding up three fingers, she likes to tell people she is three!). She's in my kindergarten class and sometimes they are a REAL handful. On the right is her very sweet sister.

After the party, a bunch of us went downtown to Shinjuku, and ended up in a gay bar with the cheapest happy hour in Tokyo - only 1000¥ and 'nomihodai': all you can drink! Considering you can easily pay 700¥ for ONE drink in a lot of bars, trust me when I say this truly is the best deal in the whole city.

Nomihodai, however, is extremely dangerous. I had a great time but I certainly paid for it this morning when I woke up with a hangover from hell. Ah well, you only live once right! Gotta enjoy yourself now and then.

uhhmmm.......

2006-12-03T20:22:00.000-08:00

I hate to ask a stupid question.... but WTF IS THIS!!!!!!!

Snapped this shot yesterday as I was walking through Shinjuku Station and simply HAD to take a picture. What is this for? What are they doing to this woman? And how can she be so placid and calm when someone is sticking some kind of torture device up your left nostril?

The Singles Scene

2006-12-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

When you live in a massively massive city, it is sometimes difficult to meet new people. So recently I've been testing out the waters of the dating pool! Tokyo is full of single people trying to meet other single people. And of course, one way to try to meet people is to go out to bars.

There is this one place I've been to a few times, an Irish pub called Dubliners, which is very popular with foreigners and English-speaking Japanese people. It is kind of a strange place though... imagine going somewhere that EVERYONE talks to EVERYONE as though they already know each other, where people have no qualms about walking up to you and striking up a conversation. It is like shyness doesn't exist once you enter Dubliners. Really very weird!!

But meeting guys in bars is not always such a good idea.

The first date I went on here was with a Japanese man, but it was quite a bomb. I had gone one night to a little bar in my town with my coworker, and after a few drinks, this Japanese gent next to me struck a conversation. Turned out that he was a general in the Japanese army, and he and his Osaka troops had been posted to Tokyo for 3 months to study English in an intensive course, for 6 hours a day. So his English was quite good and he only lived 5 minutes away at the nearby base.

Little did I realize, I had my beer goggles on, so when he invited me out, I thought 'well, hell, I don't know anyone in Tokyo, so why not?', and I agreed to go out with him sometime. When we DID go out, it was awful, incredibly boring, we had nothing to talk about, nothing in common, and that was pretty much that. Never saw him again.

Then there's the internet. I know what you're thinking - that Internet dating is kind of pathetic and weird and only for losers who can't meet people. But YOU try meeting people in a city of 30 million! In Tokyo it is a really popular thing and surprisingly, the people who are online are often quite handsome, and successful, and just trying to meet someone. Or maybe I am just being naive.

My first blind date was quite decent, we met at a Starbucks and chatted quite nicely for about 2 hours, but he was definitely not my type. He was a little shorter than me, and very thin, and very white being Swedish, and well... you know I am a lot of woman... so I tend to like a strong man! He was nice, but not for me.

My second blind date was with a really nice American guy who was very cool, an English teacher who was also drummer in a band, who had been living here for over 8 years. But sadly, he was one of those types who had his heart broken by his last girlfriend and wasn't quite ready, or willing, to try out someone new. We actually did meet a 2nd time, but then, it just died a natural death. Ah well.

Then I recently met up with an English guy who said he was looking for people to play pool with, so we met, and played pool, and it was nice, and we decided to meet again. So we went out for date #2 on Thursday night after work, and he said he wanted to go for karaoke. I know it might seem strange - two people going to sing karaoke - but in Japan it is pretty normal!

Anyways... I suggest a karaoke place... and we go... and he doesn't like it... he starts to bitch and complain about how shite this place is and gets all pissy about it, which I thought was a big over-reaction. Then after the karaoke, he said, hey let's go for coffee! So I assume we're going to a little cafe or something. But then he takes me to a McDonalds, and then pulls out this 600¥ free-purchase card, and 'buys' two McFlurries with it! HOW CHEAP IS THAT!!! I was quite horrified. There is nothing I hate more than cheapness. And not only was he cheap, he also apparently has a temper. Not a good combination. I don't think I'll be seeing him again.

But I must say, the dating scene is pretty fun! Nobody dates in Trinidad - either you are together, or you are just brushing. There seems to be no real in-between, no casual dates to get to know other people. It is fun to just meet new people just for the sake of it, just go out and lime and see how it is. No strings attached, no harm done. So, for now, looks like the single life is for me.

Oishii Tabemono - Delicious Food

2006-11-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

When people think of Japanese food, they obviously think of sushi.

Above is a picture of 'kaiten sushi' - or sushi on a conveyor belt! Literally. The restaurant has a conveyor belt snaking through all the tables, and you sit and watch as various types of sushi go by, and grab what you want! It is so fun. And at 100¥ per plate, it is a cheap and yummy way to have a nice lunch with lots of different tastes. My favorite is the eel. It just melts in your mouth.

But sushi aside, there is a lot more to Japanese cuisine, such as the wonderful world of noodles! I recently had the privilege of attending an udon-making event organized for foreigners at my local community center. Udon, pronounced ooo-don, is a delicious hand-made thick noodle, which is served alongside salad and soup.

When my hands weren't covered in flour, I managed to get a few shots of the udon making process.

After working the dough into a ball, it is then flattened, by foot, into a large circle.

Don't worry, there's a plastic sheet over the dough!

Then, you fold the flattened circle of dough into layers, and cut them into strips.

The next step is boiling the noodles in a delicious broth of veggies, seaweed and fish flakes. I know that sounds gross but it is really good. The udon is then removed from the broth and cooled in a dish. But what is kind of weird is that they serve the broth and the noodles seperately - but you're supposed to take the noodles from one dish and then put them into the dish with the broth. I guess that keeping the noodles separate, they don't get mushy.

Yum yum. Delicious, but a bit tricky to pick up with the chopsticks.

The day after the udon making, I was invited to a nabe party by the lovely Yoko who cooked us the delicious nabe, which is sort of a stew made with kimchee cabbage, spices, and anything else you want to throw in, such as eggs, chicken, shrimp, or even smoked French meat.

Hmm I wonder what Yana is thinking as she looks so longingly at the nabe? Perhaps..... 'These poor fools.... Little do they know... I'm going to eat all of it. ALLLLLLL!! *evil laugh*'

In Japan, before you start to eat, you say, 'Itadakimasu!' which means 'I'll recieve'. So, all this talk of food has made me hungry, so I'll go eat now. Itadakimasu!

Sensoji Temple - Asakusa

2006-11-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

On the east side of Tokyo is the famous and impressive Sensoji Temple. According to Tokyo history, way back in 628, some lowly fishermen found a small statue of the goddess Kannon in their nets from the nearby Sumida River, and not understanding what it was, tossed it back, only to catch it again and again. Finally they took it to the local temple to get advice, and it was decided to build the Sensoji Temple to honor Kannon. This makes Sensoji Tokyo's oldest temple, and its large red lantern at its entrance is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.

That isn't even the temple - that's just the first gate. After you enter the first gate, you walk down a shopping lane turned into a tourist trap, selling a wide variety of overpriced crap -- oops, I mean, wonderful Japanese souveniers! But once you escape the tourist trap, at the end of the lane you come upon the entrance to the main temple.

Look closely - do you see a cloud of incense wafting in the middle?

Before entering the temple, you have to 'bathe' yourself in the incense smoke to purify yourself. You can buy a bunch of incense and light it in the flames, so incense is constantly in the air at this place.

After that, you are ready to enter the temple.

The main building of Sensoji. As you can see there are a hell of a lot of tourists around all the time and it is easy to forget that this is a place of worship, and that inside the temple people are offering their prayers. They must think the tourists are annoying no? If you get prefer, you can do like these old geezers and just breeze out on the steps.

The Sensoji area is quite large, with lots of little gardens and statues of various gods, and, of course, the big man himself, Buddha. I've learnt that the position of Buddha's hands (postures) mean different things. When the hands are pressed together in prayer, it signifies 'the adoration of power'.

Ironically enough, just outside of Tokyo's oldest temple, is an interesting piece of architecture, at the ultra modern Asahi Beer Brewery with its.... um... unique sculpture on top.

Designed by Phillip Stark, the sculpture is called Flame d’Or, or The Golden Flame. It's supposed to represent a glass of fresh, frothy, golden hued Asahi beer. However, Tokyoites took one look at it, and promptly nick named it 'The Golden Turd'. Seems that the Japanese are not without a sense of humour!

Life in the 'burbs

2006-11-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

So, now you've seen the madness of downtown Tokyo, but I haven't shown you the peace and quiet of life in the suburbs.

Where I live, in the western suburbs, is a really nice and peaceful area. What is good is that downtown Tokyo is so close, so it is easy to experience the big city chaos without having to live in the middle of it 24/7. I live just around the corner from a lovely little river, with a bikiing trail, close to parks and little woods, a golf range and sidewalk cafes and so forth.

In residential areas like mine, it is quite normal to find patches of veggies growing between houses, like in the picture above.

Every Wednesday, I ride my bike on the river trail, cut through the woods, take a short cut through the veggie field, and come out in a nearby town, where a lovely lady named Teruko teaches me the fine art of origami.

This is a little frog, or 'kaeru', and when you press its back for a second, it does a somersault in the air, and lands on its feet! But if you make it badly or lopsided, when it jumps, it lands on its back.

'Tsuru', or crane, which are very auspicious. In fact, the Japanese believe that if you make 1,000 origami cranes, you will get a wish granted.

This one is my favorite - it's a box made from 8 interlocking pieces of paper. Quite pretty eh!

Origami can be very simple or very, very complicated, but I can tell you that you certainly do feel quite satisfied with yourself when you can transform a simple piece of paper into something completely new!

The Mad Scramble

2006-11-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight I headed downtown with Jana and her colleague and drinking partner, Phillipe, who is from France, and we went to the trendy Shibuya area. Shibuya is popular with young people as a shopping mecca, and it also happens to have a small cinema that was showing an interesting film by a Japanese director who was studying the evolution of reggae in Jamaica.

Shibuya is most famous for having the world's busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. At Hachiko Square, seven major streets intersect, and it is also a major intersection of human traffic moving in every direction. I even took a little video of the famous crossing to show you.

As Rupee once sang.... 'WHOOA! LOOK AT PEEEEEEEOPLE!!!'

Did you notice at the very end of the video, at the right hand bottom corner, a guy runs out into the intersection just as the light turns green, and almost gets hit by a motocycle!!!! Heh heh. Good stuff.

Eww.

2006-11-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

I recently had the joy of experiencing my first critter -- a black, horrid looking Japanese cockroach. I woke up one morning, climbed down from my loft, walked into the kitchen to turn on the kettle for coffee, and when I turned on the light, there it was! Sitting on a plate from last night's dinner, munching away on some crumbs.

I looked down at it, it looked up at me, and mid nibble said, 'ohayo!' which is Japanese for 'good morning'. The f*cker didn't even run away! I tried to kill it, but obviously couldn't do so without breaking the plate it was sitting on, so it got away temporarily.

Later it resurfaced, this time sitting quietly on the floor, and it came face to face with the bottom of my boot. I thought it was kind of weird that it didn't even try to escape or run for its life. A reliable source who has been here for 8 years has told me that Japanese cockroaches are surprisingly docile, and accept their death with honor, samurai-style. But now, it is dead. Thank god.

Anyways, the video link below is a real hoot, I stumbled upon it randomly today. I'd love to put the code on the blog but I'm not to keen on stealing from YouTube. So just click on the link for a truly scary video. My cockroach incident certainly cannot compare!!

Click to watch: Japanese Subway Roaches

I feel the earth move under my feet

2006-11-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a scary statistic for you --

20% of the world's earthquakes take place in Japan!

The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where four continental and oceanic plates meet.

Sometimes these plates get frisky and rub up on each other. Sometimes there is some pushing and shoving too, like aggressive drunks in a bar. This is the cause for frequent earthquakes and the presence of many volcanoes and hot springs across Japan. The beautiful and iconic Mount Fuji is actually not a mountain at all, but rather a dormant volcano, and is Japan's highest point. Fuji has not erupted since 1707.

Earthquakes, however, really do happen ALL THE FREAKIN TIME. You sort of get used to it... Sort of. I still get nervous every time I feel one. One second you're peacefully making a sandwich, humming to yourself in the kitchen, and the next second you realize the earth is swaying, swaying, swaying below your feet.

In September there was a 4.2 magnitude quake, and I was in school in the middle of the class. I held on to the table and looked around nervously, but the kids didn't even BLINK! They just chatted like normal through the whole thing as though nothing were happening. I guess they are so accustomed to it, it does not bother them at all.

Today one was measured just off the north coast of Japan's most northern island, Hokkaido, with a 8.1 magnitutde. That is freakin HUGE.

There have been some tsunamis occuring, but I live quite far inland, so I won't be affected at all.

The last major earthquake to hit Tokyo was in 1923, where over 100,000 people died and a large area of the city was destroyed. The scary thing is that they think massive quakes like this happen every 70 years or so. You do the math. Perhaps I chose a bad time to come to Japan!

In Japan, it is sort of scary that earthquakes are simply accepted as an inevitable fact of life. It is not a question of if, but rather WHEN. They all know it is bound to happen - THE BIG ONE - and that hundreds of thousands of people will die. Sort of a strange reality, no? To KNOW without a doubt that it WILL happen, and that there is pretty much nothing you can do about it. 30 million people live in Tokyo today. If tomorrow The Big One hits, can you imagine the devastation? But life just goes on as normal... I suppose all I can do is hope that it does not take place while I am here!

Funny food

2006-11-13T05:34:00.000-08:00

To be quite honest, half the time I'm not sure exactly what I'm eating. The Japanese have a habit of putting really badly translated English onto damn near everything, but still, going to the grocery can be a difficult, frustrating and endlessly amusing task when you don't know what the hell it is sitting on the shelf! Often I take things home and try them out without knowing the name or the ingredients. Sometimes it tastes good... Sometimes I'm not sure what it tastes like... Sometimes I throw it away. No wonder I'm losing weight!

Anyways, because I always carry my trusty digi-cam around with me, I recently snapped some pictures of some funny food that I thought you readers might appreciate.

This is a bottle of ume (plum) salad dressing. Note at the top, it says, 'Food, for ages 0 - 100'. Apparently ume dressing is appropriate for both the pre-natal and the ancient. But once you turn 101, you better stop eating it. Or you die.

This stuff is actually a pretty tasty treat, and yes, it does have whole fish in it. Pop the whole thing in your mouth. Crunch crunch crunch!

Ever wondered why Japanese people are so slim? Two words - portion control. A 'loaf' of bread ONLY HAS 6 SLICES!

This is again portion control - EACH COOKIE is individually wrapped! In fact, this is quite normal in Japan, every damn thing comes hermetically sealed three times over. I am sure they would shrink wrap each peanut if they could. I'm not sure what it is, this obsession with individual wrapping, but it sure does cause a lot of waste.

Ok ok... So this isn't food at all... But I thought it was quite amusing anyways. I saw it in the 100Â¥ store today. Apparently it's for women whose husbands and sons keep pissing on the toilet seat -- you put the sticker of the fly or the bullseye to train their aim! Note the angry housewife, and the apologetic husband and son. Also, at the bottom you will see they have a visual of both types of toilets - both the sitting type, and the squatting type, the same kind I encountered in Turkey!

Ah heck, since I've already deviated from the topic of food, I'll just keep going. This is a shot of my laundry machine. Please note the brand name. ''Fuzzy Logic''. That sounds about right to me!

Emily Sensei

2006-11-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

Ive realized that I have yet to talk about what I'm really in Japan for - to TEACH! I've been teaching at what is known as an 'eikaiwa', or conversation school. All Japanese students get six years of English instruction in their schools, yet everyone sends their kids to eikaiwas for extra practice. And I can say that teaching has certainly opened my eyes to various aspects of Japanese society, both good and bad.

My only kindergarten class is a real trip. It took me a few weeks to figure out exactly what to do with three little girls! Now I know to just play with them for a while, let them go crazy, and then when they've spent some energy, focus on a lesson, which is usually teaching a set of words. For example, if we do 'D', they learn 'desk, dog, dinosaur', then practice writing the words, and counting. The tiny one, Aika, is only 3, and I can't imagine why her mom brings her to English class. A lot of the time, the moms are rich, bored housewives who like boasting that their toddler is learning English. Hey, whatever makes them happy!

The kids come for group classes, and they are a lot of fun because you can play loads of games with them. My favorite game is 'karuta', where you have these flashcards with pictures of vocabulary, and you lay them on the table, and give the kids fly swatters, and then you call out, 'crayon!' and they have to smack the picture of a crayon. Kids seem to be competitive by nature, so games are good. Plus they have short attention spans, so I don't expect them to sit and study for 50 minutes straight. Sometimes the kids are really sweet. Sometimes they are sort of rude. Sometimes they are kind of nasty and snotty and gross and pick their noses! I wash my hands after these classes.

After the kids come the young teens, which are my least favorite, and most difficult students. And this is where the scary part of Japanese society rears its ugly head. There is a massive difference between kids who are ten and kids who are 13 because when they finish junior high, and move into high school, the pressure begins. In Japanese society, there is immense pressure to conform, yet to also be better than everyone else. Parents make their kids join every possibly club, send them to extra lessons and 'cram schools', and force them to study until 9 pm every night. It is a very competitive system, and going to the right university is very important because if you fail to get into a good university, your life is ruined and you are doomed to a life of mediocrity.

Because of the competition, bullying is a major problem in high schools, leading to a high suicide rate. In fact Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and not only in teenagers. It is morbid, but true, that 'salarymen' often cave under the pressure and throw themselves in front of a speeding train. Or if you are disgraced in your job, or there is some kind of scandal, people often hang themselves rather than deal with the social shame. You read about suicide in the papers ALL the time. I tell you, flowing just under the surface of this shiny, happy, perfect little society is a very dark, scary undercurrent.

There is a saying in Japan -- 'The nail that sticks up gets hammered down'. As a direct result of all this social pressure, Japanese youth go from being happy, laughing, silly, normal kids, to being sullen, scared, insecure, paranoid young teens. They refuse to talk in class out of fear of embarrassing themselves in front of their peers. If I ask them to read something, and they come across a word they don't know, they don't try to piece it together. Rather, they stop mid sentence, and look up at me with these big, sad, doe-eyes, and I can see it in their face, inwardly they are pleading, 'PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me how to say this word. PLEASE.' I often get frustrated with this age group because I know that they could do it if they try. But when I get frustrated, I remind myself that their academic day starts at 8 am and ends at 9 pm, that they are tired, and are under a lot of pressure at home and in school. Poor things.

Somehow, these pre-teens survive this difficult time in their life, and sometimes blossom into really cool young adults. The older teenagers are surprisingly easy to teach. The students between the ages of 16 and 19 are great, I really enjoy teaching them. We can do a lesson on any and every topic, and they have lots of ideas, opinions, and varying beliefs, and most of all, they have a good level of English, so they aren't afraid to express themselves. Sometimes I am really impressed by their vocabulary and the way they form an argument or state a position.

Then I have the adults who come for one-on-one lessons. They are usually between the ages of 25 and 55, and come from various walks of life - doctors, nurses, grocery workers. Some are what are known as 'Hobby Housewives' who learn English for fun. Some are young professionals, and some just like to travel. Teaching adults is a breeze, as most of the time they just want to chat with you and practice the English they already know, and pick up some new English along the way. They are a welcome break from the madness of teaching kids, that is for sure!

Generally the job is going well, and it is teaching me a lot about children, which is something I know NOTHING about. In fact, teaching kids is sort of like training dogs, ha ha! I'm sure that by the time this year is over, I'll have a whole new understanding about the world of kids.

Beautiful

2006-11-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today something wonderful happened. I was sitting on the train going to a dreaded regional teacher's meeting, and extremely grumpy from having to wake up early to take the train for an hour. It was such a beautiful day though, crystal clear blue skies, fluffy white clouds.

Just then I happened to glance into the distance, and saw some very pretty mountains, but as the train moved into more open space, I saw it --

MOUNT FUJI.

I grabbed my coworker Hamid by the arm, almost knocking him off his feet, and shrieked like a little child, 'LOOK!! It's FUJI!', and quite a few people around us laughed. But it was so majestic, towering in the distance, so beautiful. The picture above does not do it justice. Mt Fuji is about 1,000 km from Tokyo, and considering the air pollution in a city of 30 million people, it is a rare and lucky occasion like this morning that one is able to see the majestic view with no smog, fog or clouds. It was, in a word, perfect. I can't wait to climb it next year!

Kokubunji Festival

2006-11-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

Today was just a stunningly warm autumn day, so myself and Jana jumped on our bikes and went to the nearby Kokubunji Park for the 23rd Annual Kokubunji Festival.

Like most festivals in Japan, the event consisted of traditional costumes...

dancing...

the carrying of floats from the local shrines...

masks...

drums...

and more man-ass than anyone in their right mind cares to see!

In fact, man-ass is a normal sight at these festivals. The thong is part of a man's traditional costume, which consists of a sort of belt thing that is also looped around your bum. So loads of men are walking around ALL over the place with their rears hanging out of a tiny piece of cloth. Similiar to the style of a sumo wrestler. Yet nobody seems to bat an eyelid... except for me, who took pictures!

Jana is happy from seeing so much man-ass! Ha!

Below is a close-up of some old school slippers made of straw. Did you know that thong slippers originated in Asia? In fact, they make socks that separate your big toe from the rest of your toes so you can wear socks with flip flops. Take a close look at all of the pictures above -- almost every person is wearing the thong socks.

We saw many strange things today. These children appeared to be playing some sort of game where they catch fish with their bare hands and then put them back into the pool. But after being caught over and over, and being taken out of water again and again, the fish of course were going half dead and were not very difficult to catch. But the kids were simply fascinated!

Also, dogs are certainly man's best friend in Japan (few people have cats), and it is quite normal to see dogs in sweaters, t-shirts, or even kimonos. But I think this man was taking it too far, carrying his large dog around in his arms like a small child. Jana and I dubbed him 'the dog lover'. The dog seemed quite content, actually.

After many hours of walking around the stalls, poking about at the things being eaten and drank, and getting lots of freebies from various people who were eager to practice their English, we took a seat by the pond and treated ourselves to some sake and beer.

Kampai!!!!! (cheers)

Crabs in a bucket

2006-11-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

The last train home from Shinjuku is always an interesting experience.

I don't even know if this picture does justice to the mad jam that takes place nightly from Shinjuku Station, dubbed the busiest station in the world, with over a MILLION people travelling through it every day.

The last train of the evening is always full of incredibly drunk people trying to get home, so imagine hundreds of thousands of people all trying to squeeze into the last train home. That is where the pictures of station workers pushing people into trains comes from. And it is totally true!

Once you step into that train, SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PERSONAL SPACE. You will be standing up undoubtedly pressed up against a complete stranger, jammed together like sardines in a tin, your back against their chest, your faces mere inches away, your body parts all touching, and you have no choice but to stand quietly, obediently, until you get to your station. The pushing and shoving is incredible - just when you think there can't possibly be any more room for more passengers to come on board, ten more people squeeze in. It is really quite unbelievable.

But the truly amazing thing is how orderly it all is. There is no hard feelings, no concept of 'get away from me', no rude gestures, no comments passed, no cursing, no elbowing, no fighting, no insults. Everyone on the train simply understands and accepts that this is the way it is, we have no choice but to be squished together this way, so everyone is quiet, patient, and understanding. It is quite a fine example of the mentality of Japanese people -- that the collective is more important than the individual.

The Big Boys

2006-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

What would a Tokyo blog be without some sumo wrestlers?

Yes, the picture is fuzzy, I know. I apologize. But these guys are HUGE and I didn't want to get in the way.

A few weeks ago, myself and the lovely Jana, who is a brilliant German scientist, went to Ryogoku in downtown Tokyo to try to go to the Sumo Museum. Little did we know that there was a massive sumo match that very day, so we were able to grab some shots of the big boys and the action outside the arena. Unfortunately the tickets to the shows were completely sold out way in advance so we will have to wait until January to see it live.

Above, the bright and colorful signs are the names of all the different sumo wrestlers performing that day.

When life imitates art.

How many sumo wrestlers can you fit into one taxi? We saw all these guys get out of a taxi and it was like one of those things in the circus -- how many clowns can squeeze out of a Volkswagon beetle?

Behold..... the McDonalds!!!

This McDonalds picture is a perfect example of one of the facets of the Japanese language. They have one alphabet for Japanese words, such as 'samurai' or 'sushi'. Then there is an entirely different alphabet, used only for foreign words, such as 'McDonalds' or 'whiskey'. Each symbol is phonetic, meaning that rather than representing one letter, it represents a sound, such as 'KA' or 'MI' or 'HO' or 'YU'. So the sign in the picture is read as 'MA-KU-DO-NA-RU-DO HAN-BA-GA'. McDonalds hamburgers! It might seem like a strange system but it actually makes things quite a bit easier once you get the hang of it.

Good vibes and broken hearts

2006-10-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

Dusk at the Meiji Jingu Shrine, in central Tokyo.

At every shrine, you'll find a place where you can purchase a small wooden tablet, and write your good vibes, hopes and prayers to hang up for blessings.

People write all kinds of things in every language imaginable, so I thought I'd share some of the more interestings ones with you.

Bob Marley lives in us all! One love. Bless.

Ahhh the innocence of youth.

This one just broke my little heart..... poor Joe! Erin, go back to him man!

KARAOKE

2006-10-22T01:57:00.000-07:00

God how I love it!!!!!!!!!!!

Karaoke (which, by the way, should be pronounced cah-rah-oh-kay) is without a doubt one of my great joys in Japan. On Friday night, I went out with a very mixed group of karaoke enthusiasts -- three from France, two from Germany, three native Tokyo-ites, and little old me. The French people sang some French songs, Ze Germans sang a German version of '99 Red Balloons', I sang what little reggae they had (UB40 counts as reggae, right?), and the young Japanese man in the first picture entertained us by singing a number of theme songs from Japanese anime shows.

Karaoke here is very different: here you and your friends get a private room, rather than perform in front of a room of strangers. Each room comes with an eletronic device that allows you to select your songs, and you don't even have to go to a bar -- you simply pick up the phone on the wall, place your order in the kitchen, and a waiter magically appears with a tray of booze. It's so great!

Today I went with one of Ze Germans on a hike in the nearby mountains. West Tokyo is actually quite mountainous, and there are many lovely hiking trails. We went to the Ruins of Hachioiji Castle, but honestly it was SO ruined there was pretty much nothing left, other than a few stone walls and walkways. But it was still a nice trek in the bush.

Pretty Buddhist temple in the forest, built to honor those who were killed during the invasion and destruction of the Castle during the 1500s when the clans were fighting for power.

Big fat spider.

These lovely people struck up a conversation with us on the mountain top picnic spot, gave us some tea and chicken, and chatted with us. They were very nice, and were not the only people there using ski poles!

Japanders

2006-10-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Most famous, high-profile Hollywood actors and actresses would never, ever dream of stooping so low as to do an embarassing promotional ad for Cup-O-Noodles in America. Hell no! They're too good for that! People who make $50 million per movie have no reason to promote some crappy product, right?

But in Japan, where they are paid exorbitant amounts to put their names on every kind of ad, from Coca Cola to coffee, those American celebrities who whore themselves out for a Japanese audience are known as 'JAPANDERS'. It was even the subject of the movie 'Lost in Translation', where Bill Murray plays a washed-up Hollywood actor who goes to Tokyo to do a billboard ad for a Japanese whiskey. I've seen quite a bit of Japander-ads myself, which I will, of course, gladly share with you.

Want to be a nice, refined man like Richard Gere? Then get your ass to The Dandy House, Japan's best finishing school for men! (This is no joke.)

Whose the boss of really crappy, disgusting canned iced coffee? Apparently Tommy Lee Jones.

I've also seen quite a few on TV -- such as Meg Ryan sitting surrounded by cute Japanese chicks, in the sunshine, the music playing in the background.. then she takes a sip of a Coca Cola, swallows, and says, 'Mmm... perfect!'

The list of Japanders is very long, and in fact has its own website, with a massive list of awfully cheesy ads done by American celebrities for their adoring Japanese audience. Wanna see more? Check it out at http://www.japander.com/

Weird stuff

2006-10-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Enough with all the scenic temple pictures! Let me show you some weird Japanese stuff.

Anyone whose ever played Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo is familiar with the word 'tankuki', but few know what it is. It's actually a Japanese raccoon dog, and it's also regarded as a mythical creature. People often put statues of tanukis, much like the one in the picture above, outside of their businessplaces, especially cafes and restaurants to make their business prosperous. Mmmm. Nothing like a mythical raccoon dog with a small erection and an enlarged nutsack to stimulate the appetite.

Could you drink something with 'SWEAT' in it's name? COULD YOU?

We've all heard of car parks, but in Japan they have bike parks!

Tomorrow -- few in America are aware of it, but their beloved film stars actually come to Japan secretly to do advertisements for everything from coffee to KFC. I think you'll be surprised who you see.

A different way of life

2006-10-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

'What do you mean people don't steal things in Tokyo?'

I was talking to my mother on the phone a few nights ago when I told her I had just bought a bike.

'But where do you park it?' she asked, concerned.

'Oh, I just leave it downstairs in the apartment complex with the other bikes.'

'What do you mean you just leave it downstairs? What if someone steals it?' she asked.

'People don't do that kind of thing here!'

The picture above perfectly demonstrates the amazingly high level of safety in Tokyo. This 'salaryman', as he is called in Japan, was fast asleep on the sidewalk, outside of Tokyo station, at 4.30 in the morning. Most likely he was out drinking with his co-workers, as is the norm here, and like me, had missed his train home. I had gone with my drinking buddies to an all-night all-you-can-drink karaoke place to kill a few hours. But this salaryman, exhausted and drunk, simply lay down outside the station gate, put a book over his face, and took a snooze until the trains opened at 5 am.

A drunk man sleeping on the sidewalk might not seem like an incredible thing to you. But just take a second to think about what this picture signifies. Imagine that in a big city like Tokyo, at 4.30 am, a salaryman, who probably has a lot of money in his wallet, can lay down, alone, drunk and defenseless, and not a soul will touch him. Nobody will take his wallet, nobody will steal his shoes, nobody will take the gold watch off of his wrist, nobody will gently lift his drunken, sweaty head and nab his briefcase.

It truly is a different way of life in Japan. I'm slowly starting to let my paranoia and distrust of the general public subside. But the concept of public trust is quite new to me. The concept that you simply don't have to worry. That you can accidentally leave your umbrella outside of a store for an entire day, and when you return that evening, you can bet your last dollar that it will be exactly where you left it. People often park thier bike outside of a store with bags and other belongings in the front basket, and nobody touches anything. Imagine that! In Trinidad if you only blink twice someone will steal the chain from off your neck.

But people simply don't do that kind of thing here.

Bizarre, isn't it?

The old and the new

2006-10-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

So far I've only shown you all the pretty pictures of various pretty historical and culturals locations in and around Tokyo. But Tokyo is indeed a modern and futuristic concrete jungle with urban sprawl as far as the eye can see.

About 35 million people live in Tokyo -- that is roughly the same as the population of CANADA. The statistics are pretty incredible, 27% of the population lives on 2% of the nation's land!!!

Yesterday I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Observatory and got some shots of Tokyo from 50 floors up. These pictures give you a glimpse of the other side of Tokyo.

Futuristic lamp posts

View of west Tokyo

Urban sprawl as far as the eye can see

Check out the dude laying down in the bottom right corner -- am I watching him or is he watching me?

Kawagoe Matsuri 2006 - 'Little Edo'

2006-10-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

Anyone who says that there isn't any 'culture' in Tokyo, or that Tokyo 'isn't the real Japan', is either downright crazy or they don't know what they're talking about.

I've only been here for two months, and I swear that every time I turn around there is some kind of traditional festival or 'matsuri' going on, and half the time I run into these matsuris without even trying to. Granted, Tokyo is a modern city, considering it was bombed to the ground a few decades ago, but there are still many places that still hold to the traditional Japanese way of life.

One such place is Kawagoe, and they just happened to have their annual grand matsuri yesterday. Kawagoe is also known as 'Little Edo', since Tokyo once went by the name 'Edo', much in the same way that Istanbul was once Constantinople. Kawagoe is famous for its traditional architecture reflecting of the Edo era -- and for their sweet potato beer -- and their grand matsuri draws tens of thousands of people every year.

The matsuri consists of a street parade of floats, many of which are over 200 years old and have been designated as national heritage treasures of Japan. Each float has two or three levels. The bottom level has musicians playing traditional instruments, such as drums and flutes, as well as a dancer with a specific mask. The top level has a life-sized doll, often representing a shogun or a warrior. The floats, which are made out of wood, are all very uniquely and ornately decorated.

Isn't he handsome? Pucker up baby!

There are dozens of floats that take different routes on the streets, each one different.

Above, a float goes past the famous wooden Bell Tower of Kawagoe.

Above is a close up of one of the dolls on the top of the float.

More dancing, with a Japanese fan in hand.

There were also loads of people participating in the festival who wore traditional clothes.

These ladies knew that everyone was trying to get a picture of them, but they absolutely refused to look at the camera or pose. Personally, I have a feeling the one in the middle isn't a lady at all.

And these very cute little girls also shyed away from the camera, but I managed to get one of them to look at me!

The streets are all insanely crowded as the floats are quite large and the streets are quite small! On the side of the roads, people were selling all kinds of things, like sweet potato fries, sweet potato candies, sweet potato fries, and sweet potato beer. But sweet potatoes were not the only thing on the menu -- what would a street parade be without octopus balls?

Eventually I started to feel claustrophobic in the teeming mass of human traffic, so I got away from the festival route and went searching for another Kawagoe attraction -- the Kitain Temple with its famous 'Gohyakurakan', or 500 Disciples. Finding this temple was quite a challenge, since I can't read kanji and they didn't have any signs in English.

So first I went into a big temple, hoping it would be Kitain, where I stumbled upon this very disturbing statue:

What is up with Anorexic Buddha!!!!!!! How can anyone so emaciated achieve enlightenment? I really wish I could have read the sign, so I suppose it will sadly remain a mystery.

I then walked around in the temple garden, and found these little guys:

I thought, maybe this IS the Kitain Temple, but a quick head count of these little dudes told me that these couldn't be the 500 Disciples, so off I went.

On the street, I saw a bunch of tourists heading in the same direction, and where there are tourists, there are tourist attractions, so like a stalker I followed them, and lo and behold, they led me right to Kitain Temple, and the Garden of 500 Disciples. But unfortunately, they were about to lock the garden! While the attendant was locking the entrance, myself and two French students ran around the back and snuck in the exit while no one was looking.

I was only able to stay for a minute or two, but I did get a few pictures. Apparently the story with the 500 Disciples, in a nutshell, is that each one in the garden represents a different human emotion, so each one has a different face, some are holding certain objects such as fish, and some are in various stages of relaxation, anger, excitement and embarassment. In the picture above, I'm not too sure about the emotion of the one on the left, but the one on the right looks like he is mildly constipated.

'Oh god.. what have I done.... WHAT HAVE I DONE????? SOB!!!!!!'

After being ejected from the garden, I wandered around the temple grounds. At all temples, you can get a fortune paper, but if you get a bad fortune, you are supposed to take it and tie it onto these metal lines so that the bad fortune doesn't come true. The bad fortunes really are bad... they usually say 'employment is bad, marriage is bad, travel is bad', and I should know because I've taken my fortune twice and both times they were bad!

Extreme close up of awfully bad luck.

After that, I was totally exhausted, my feet hurt, I was ready to kill the next person to bump into me, so in a nutshell, I got out of Kawagoe, jumped on the train and went home.

'The Psycho Downstairs'... also known as 'The Episode of the Sh*t Slinger'

2006-10-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

As I wrote in the previous post, myself and the other two teachers-in-training were subjected to a psychotic episode on our 2nd night there. It was truly terrifying, I won't lie. After all, you have just arrived in a new place, you don't know who this person is, he could be a psychotic rapist. So what are you supposed to do when you are locked in your room on the second floor and a stranger is throwing himself against the living room walls downstairs, in the room that just happens to have the only phone?

Just as I was about to throw my futon out the window, take a leap of faith and hope that I landed safely, a teacher who lived next door happened to walk by and see me looking desperately for help. He called the head office, who took a long time to figure out exactly what to do in this situation. It was decided that the three non-psychotic teachers would spend the night by another teacher while they figured out what to do. By that time, the psycho downstairs had become very quiet, and had apparently passed out on the floor, so we packed a bag and slipped out the door like thieves into the night.

Although I was not happy about the situation, one good thing came out of it. Since we couldn't go back to our place, we were forced to go somewhere the next day, so we jumped on the bus and went to the nearby city of Narita, which is a very historical place famous for its Buddhist temples.

Above, Matt (Narita Bye-Bye) and Parker (Shanghai) pose in front of a beautiful wooden building.

This is the entrance to the first temple. All temples have a similar giant red lantern at their entrances which you must pass under, and unfortunately I havnen't even begun learning kanji so I couldn't tell you what the symbols mean.

Detail of the red lantern, with Parker posing below.

Above you will see an ever-running spring with some bamboo sort of scoop things. Before you enter the temple, you are supposed to take some of the water, wash your hands, wash your face and rinse your mouth.

I couldn't help but notice this next to the water spring. Japan is often romanticized as such a mystical place, and indeed temples like Narita are, but what could be more mystical than 'HOT DOG'?

I must say, this temple was absolutely incredible. All carved out of wood, painted with vivid colors, the details are just stunning.

Details from the temple roof. I love the dragons.

Wooden wall carvings of Buddha's disciples. His disciples are often portrayed in various poses of meditation.

A very very large two-tiered padoga, inside which was a no-photo zone.

More beautiful wooden carvings. This lion appears to be chewing on some bamboo?

I caught this modern looking sort of headstone just as we were leaving. The gold actually fits in very well with its surroundings.

These very serene looking gentlemen were welcoming people into a nearby graveyard.

So if The Sh*t Slinger hadn't gone mad, we never would have gone to Narita to see these beautiful temples, so it really is true that you can find a silver lining in any cloud. I only wish I knew more of the language so that I could better explain some of these pictures! A lot of the times, temples and other historical places don't have much English translation, so sometimes I don't quite get the significance or the story of the sights. But that's ok. It is still very easy to at least appreciate what you see.

FINALLY

2006-10-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Damn it feels good to be back online!

So finally, not only do I have a pretty new Macbook, but I also have high speed internet connection in my apartment! I am so happy. I certainly did not expect to have problems finding internet in Japan considering they are the technology leaders of the world. But what I failed to realize is that in Japan, everyone -- and I do mean everyone -- has the internet in their pocket on their super advanced cellphones, so as a direct result, there are no internet cafes. But, those dark days are over, praise jah!!!

The question now is where to start? I've been here in Tokyo for almost two months now and as you can imagine have accumulated a large collection of photos and anecdotes to illustrate what life is like over here. So I figure I will back track and upload some shots from the first few things I saw here, and then update it until the pictures are more current.

So, without further adue, let the blogging begin!

When I first arrived, I spent a week in Chiba which is a city to the east of Tokyo. This is where the school has its head office, and myself and three other new teachers did our training before heading off to our respective branches. At the training sessions we were shown exactly how to be 'genki', which means how to be really enthusiastic, energetic and even a bit silly when teaching children. This being my first time teaching kids, I was a bit horrified at the clownish antics, but looking back at it now, being genki is absolutely crucial to the success of your class!

While I was in Chiba I was lucky enough to catch the annual Obon Festival, a very important Buddhist event on the Japanese calender. Buddhists believe that every year their ancestral spirits return to their homeland in order to visit their relatives, so they are welcomed back with music, drumming, folk dancing, singing, ceremony, fireworks and lots and lots of and lots of drinking.

This is the 'yagura', or central stage where much of the drumming takes place, and around which the festivities revolve. Everyone dances in a procession around the stage. The red lanterns are hung there to guide the spirits to the festival.

Some lovely ladies in 'yukata', or summer kimono, who do the lovely dancing. You'll notice, by the way, that Japanese people ALWAYS give the two-finger peace sign in pictures. I don't know why, but they all do it.

People of all ages line up to take turns at the 'taiko' or drum. The drums were amazing!

And these sweaty gentlemen saw me wandering around and invited me to have a beer with them. The one on the left then proceeded to take a wooden chain from around his neck, and put it around my neck. 'I give you gift, you give me kiss!' he then said. Very amusing. And again, please note the peace sign!

ISN'T SHE CUTE! OH LORSE! She's giving me some cut-eye though.

These Japanese youths were walking around enjoying themselves, and amusing me by doing the women's traditional dance. Nobody seemed to mind though. 10 points for the first person to see how many peace signs are in this shot.

At the end of the ceremony there is a massive fireworks display. Lots of ooh-ing and aah-ing from the appreciative crowd.

So after 5 days in Chiba, I made the move to my new town in the suburbs of west Tokyo. It is a good area, the rent is cheap, I can walk to my school, and it is easy to jump on the train and head downtown within half an hour. The west side is the cool side of Tokyo where all the funky entertainment areas are while the east side tends to be the financial district. In the next post I'll put up some shots of soon.

Here's an interesting tidbit for you: Out of the group of 4 new teachers whom I trained with, I found out that half of them dropped out! The first one, as I may have reported earlier, was fired after having a drunken psychotic episode in the school guest house where we were all staying the very night he arrived. During this episode he threw himself against the walls, screamed 'WOOOOO! HOOOOOOO!!' at the top of his lungs, took a sh*t in the tub, smeared it on the walls, took off all his clothes, peed on the couch, and then passed out naked on the living room floor. He has now become stuff of legend, known as 'The Shit Slinger'. The other guy who is no longer here pulled what is known as the infamous 'Narita Bye-Bye', whereby for whatever personal reasons they decide they are skipping the country. They pack all their bags, go directly to Narita International Airport, buy a ticket home, and then call the school to say that they are leaving the country. That leaves me, and the other guy Parker who is in Shanghai. Only the strong survive I guess?

More on the episode of The Sh*t Slinger in the next post.