Thursday, August 02, 2007

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

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!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

One Week To Go!

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!!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Nikko World Heritage Site - July 2007

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.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Good memories

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.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

In the bag

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!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

New beginnings

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!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Kanji of the Day

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.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Free Hugs and Big Bellies

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!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

There's Something About Natto

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.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Hong Kong Trip - Golden Week 2007

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.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Spring Holidays -- Bye Bye Tokyo!

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!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Tokyo's favorite mountain - Takao-san

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.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Too many pictures!

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!