R.O 9 The Serve US Industry

About a month before my scheduled departure, I sent Matt an e-mail about what would be hardest to readjust to in America. Matt, having gone through actual culture shock, assured me that I had not been in Japan long enough to suffer through intense culture shock. However, he cited that the American service industry as a specific area of troubled readjustment. Upon returning, I see what he means. In Japan, the service industry is a completely different animal.

When you walk into a store, restaurant or other service based area, a customer will usually be greeted with a hearty and often ear piercing "irasshaimase", which means welcome. Prompt, respectful, careful, and attentive service is something that is the norm in Japanese places of business. The customer is revered so highly, that it almost seems funny by American standards. Add to this, Japan's already semi-anal attention to cleanliness, especially when one compares fast food restaurants, and the custom of no tipping you see the amazing Japanesse business paradigm.

Upon my return, I cringed at the sound of my shoes on sticky fast food restaurant floors, or on slow unfocused and often uncaring service. I think that many American service jobs need to remember that it is the serve US industry.

Ganbatte,

DPN

Kara...Okay, Please Stop Singing

Apparently, in Japan when you enter a karaoke shop, you magically become an anime school girl...

Sometime after the Fuji debacle, TBA-chan, some new friends I made, and myself decided to have a fun night out. At this point, I had been in Japan for about 3 months and had yet to do an activity that most Japanese love, karaoke. Karaoke is a phenomenon in Japan. While I believe most of the western world scorns this self respect depriving activity, Japan (where it originated) has created an entire industry based on karaoke. One can walk down the streets of popular night life locations across Japan and find karaoke shops. We decided to visit one in Kabukicho which offered nice sized rooms for groups. We spent the night singing such classics as:

-1985 by Bowling for Soup
-Sung expertly by GHFW-chan, named because he started a flame war based on a guitar hero video

- The Power of Love by Huey Louis
-Sung by myself and accompanied by Napoleon-chan, named because she's french and, according to some, apparently has a "french side" which makes her unfriendly

-Piano Man by Billy Joel
-Sung by TBA-chan and myself

All in all, a great night. I must note that after a few drinks, everyone sounds a lot better than they actually are. I'll give you an example in another post!

Our group would later go to karaoke again, to celebrate the end of finals, and the impending departure from this amazing country. But that's for the next post

Ganbatte,
-DPN

R.O. 8: Bad Traits to Have in Japan...

I was on my train to Shinjuku one morning and, as always, I was wedged between roughly 64 people. I was being elbowed in the spine, elbowing some one in the spine, and getting ready to be pushed by countless Japanese salary men in a rush to get to work...all in all, your average morning in Japan. Suddenly I came to the realization that there are two characteristics which it is better not possess in Japan.

1) Claustrophobia: If you're claustrophobic, come to Japan, and have an early commute to work, may Kami-sama have mercy on your soul. If you recall from one of my earlier posts, I took a video of a moderately filled train. But the morning commute is a completely different beast. Each car is usually packed well beyond capacity and will often require a train worker to SHOVE in any people or limbs obstructing the doors from closing. Add to this hot and humid summers and the temptation to "freak out" is rather high. I am fortunate enough to not be claustrophobic and able to be rather calm under duress, but the sheer amount of people, the inability to breathe in fresh air, and the constant pushing and shoving (as well as praying that none of the men get...overly excited), has tested my patience more than once. If you hate small spaces (which if you know ANYTHING about Japan, you should know that the country is just one small country), you may want to figure out a way to overcome this problem before your flight lands.

2) Overly obese: While this may sound rather...cold hearted of me, I cannot imagine that it would be comfortable, nor practical to be overly obese in this country. Navigating the stations alone requires a certain amount of agility, especially people dodging in Shinjuku. Also, one tends to walk often in this country. You walk up stairs, down stairs and from your station to your workplace and vice versa. True, the train system here can usually get someone fairly close to their destination, but there is an amazing amount of walking required in this country. I'm not saying that the overly obese cannot walk, but again, I cannot imagine its a comfortable situation.
I am in no way suggesting that obese people should not come to this wonderful country, but rather that they be aware of the amount of physical stress one goes through every day.

Now, if you are unfortunate enough to be a obese claustrophobic...good luck and God speed.

Ganbatte,
-DPN

Don't be a Foo', G Part II

So, due to me being exhausted, I made a mistake and accidentally deleted the second half of my Fuji adventure. Here's an abridged version because I'm lazy! TBA-chan and I began our descent down the mountain. Once we reached what we thought was the base of the mountain, we asked a Japanese man and his son how to get to the 5th station. Both men looked at each other and told us we had made a rather large miscalculation and veered off course...to the other side of the mountain. Not only were we on the other side of the mountain, we were in another PREFECTURE! TBA-chan was surprised, but I had an inkling...afterall this type of thing happens to me all the time. They informed us where a phone was further down the mountain, and TBA-chan and I hurried to get there. We were on a time limit because our bus back to Shinjuku left at noon. However, about five minutes later, one of the men we spoke with caught up with us and told us that he and his father were willing to drive us to the 5th station. TBA chan and I were worried, not so much because of getting into a random stranger's car, as much as the social debt that accepting this offer would put us in (only in Japan). But we graciously accepted, and were reassured that it wasn't far, and that it was no bother. Flash forward and hour and a half later, and we finally reached the 5th staiton. TBA-chan and I were amazingly grateful that these kind people would essentially change their days plans to help two strangers, let alone two foreigners. TBA-chan and I bowed deeply as the car left after having given them our e-mail addresses (TBA-chan's very smart idea since it was hard to figure out a good means of repayment). We made it in time, reunited with Eee-chan and Valley-chan and were soon on our way home; battered, bruised, exhausted but satisfied.

Ganbatte,
-DPN

I would like to dedicate these Fuji posts to those wo men who helped us that day. All people should strive to emulate the kindness that these people showed to us that day.

Word of the day is Shinsetsu. This word is an adjective and means nice. Usage: futari otokonohito wa shinsetsu desu. English: The two men are very nice.

Don't be a Foo', G Part I

Back entry for July 11 2008

About a week before the 11th, Eee-chan (dubbed this by my host mother because of his propensity to do the "eeeEEE?" sound that Japanese girls make when expressing surprise...shudder) approached myself and TBA chan about a trip to Fuji-san. Fuji being a rather popular site with a supposed amazing view, we accepted. I also asked the Valley chan to come along for the climb. We had planned the trip so that we would make it to the summit of the mountain at 1 am, which would give us a good 3 hours of sleep before the beautiful Fuji sunrise. We arrived at the 5th station, which is where most hikers start the journey, at around 5-6 pm. After putting our non essentials into a lockers and buying some last minute supplies like walking sticks, we began our journey up Mount Moon...erm I mean Fuji-san (cue dramatic Pokemon music).

We walked for several hours alternating who used the walking sticks, until they were being exclusively used by the girls. Eee-chan and I kept a good pace and we would later find out that we made it hours ahead of schedule. But something that must be noted is the severity of the cold. Once we hit the 8th station or so, the temperature dropped dramatically. It wasn't even so much the temperature itself as the wind chill.

At each station we progressively donned more and more clothing. At the 8th station, I was determined to put on all my remaining spare clothes, and threw on every last shirt I had in my bag. However there was a bit of a problem I hadn't foreseen. I brought a pair of sweats to wear under my jeans, but realized that in order to put them on, I would have to be in my boxers for a few moments. I wasn't overcome by shame or any other such nonsense, but the fear of the cold. But I realized that temporary pain in the now would probably be offset by comfort later on. So I bit my tongue, found a dark place, and striped out of my pants faster than the Hot Cops (if you don't get it you need to watch Arrested Development immediately). There was a momentary black out, or my mind won't let me remember, but it was cold. But I returned to my colleagues successful and now mildly warmer. Eee-chan and I also, for lack of gloves, decided to each wear a pair of socks on their hands. Scoff if you will, but you try making it up Fuji without gloves or a heavy jacket! Circumstances led to the group splitting into two pairs. But I was able to observe some interesting things while sitting at one of the stations. At roughly 1 in the morning a mass exodus not seen since...well Exodus could be seen from my bench. It snaked all along the path up the mountain. Literally hundreds, if not more people were making the late night hike up the mountain, although fortunately our group left before these massive groups and thus were able to enjoy the scenery with relative peace. Most people on making the hike that late wore a flashlight on their forehead of various colors. So as I looked down the side of the mountain, all the hikers made a somewhat beautiful stream of light from close to the 5th station, to where I was. I was also passed by a platoon of Japanese Self Defense Forces soldiers no doubt making the hump up the mountain on some training exercise. This, combined with the bitter cold of sitting outside, and the frequent need to run to the nearby bathroom for warmth, allowed for only a few minutes of sleep here and there. Then the sun rose, and it was an amazing sight. The entire area was lit up and clearly visible. I'm not going to be cliche (this time), and say that the amazing view of the sunrise washed away all the pain. The truth is, that the hike up Fuji-san is exhausting, cold, and painful at times. But the hike a good way to test yourself and your limits and although the sunrise won't strip away the fact that you border on hypothermia, it is still a nice reward and truly a beautiful sight. Besides, looking back on all of it, it was a hell of an adventure. Stay tuned for Part II of my Fuji adventure

Ganbatte,
-DPN

My smile is blinding ne?

M.O.B Questions

Working on it!

Questions: None. Well there probably were but I need to get these entries out asap, so I'm probably ignoring some.

Ganbatte,
-DPN

Put This Drink on the Bill...Murray

An adventure from a date I can't remember.

When I prepped movies to bring with me to Japan, I decided that I wouldn't need many since I should be out and about in the city. But I decided a movie I would need to watch if I ever felt upset was the wonderful Lost in Translation. While of course, the bits and pieces of Japanese society scattered throughout the film provided a good novelty factor, this movie is meaningful to me because of the characters. Both Bill Murray and Scarlet Johanson's characters are feeling isolated and unsure of themselves. This being my first time in a new country, I assumed that at some point I would feel the same type of isolation and want to watch a movie which I could relate to. Fortunately this never happened, but I still am a fan of the film. Upon realization that the movie's famous bar is fairly close by, I jumped at the opportunity to go. Recruiting my new butt buddy Valley chan, a girl from class who we'll call TBA chan (because her official pseudonym is still TBA), Turtle chan (because she's usually late to class), and a new friend of whom I won't assign a name. Because the bar is fairly upscale, and I hadn't worn my suit since I arrived in Japan, I couldn't think of a better opportunity. The ladies followed suit, and soon we were walking the mean streets of Shinjuku looking lovely. However there were a couple of downsides to looking as good as we did that night.

Japanese, more specifically Japanese men, are known for groping girls on trains. This is a common occurrence, and if you read Gaijin Smash's FAQ page, Azrael explains very clearly the scope of this problem. So the danger for my lovely companions for the evening was the very real threat of being groped. I always walked slightly behind them when entering a train, especially a crowded one, in order to make sure a lonely business man didn't get handsy. As for me, the problem lay in the fact that the suit actually made me blend in more. Instead of looking dashing, I looked like a businessman who had just gotten off work. Thus, while the girls gained attention from the Japanese men, I was thoroughly ignored by Japanese women....sigh.

The bar itself was much smaller than pictured in the movie, but I guess that's the power of good cinematography. The bar is surprisingly narrow, and the stage, complete with grand piano, took up a fair amount of room. I requested that we be seated in a small corner area near the windows. I'm a fan of high views of cities, and the view from the bar at night was absolutely outstanding. We sat and ordered our drinks which, being an upscale bar were just as expensive as you would think. We sat, enjoyed our drinks, discussed, and listened to some live jazz.

After departing from the bar, and wanting to flaunt our style that night, we decided to head to a another upscale restaurant. So we trekked back the center of Shinjuku and found ourselves a McDonalds. Thus we spent the rest of the night, enjoying Shaka Shaka chicken, and wandering the streets of Kabukicho. Classy...

Ganbatte,
-DPN

Today's word is Onegaishimasu (pronounced: oh-ne-guy-she-masu). This word means something along the lines of please or please do me this favor. Usage: Vodka martini onegaishimasu; English: Please get me a vodka martini. Usage note: This is one of those words that is very important in order to sound polite, which is a must in Japan. But to be fair there are other words for please, and they all have their specific usage. So this word has a lot of nuances that I really am not qualified to explain. My general rule of thumb, and any Japanese experts out there feel free to explain it better in my comments page and I'll post it later, if I'm ordering something or asking for something not necessitating a verb, I'll use onegaishimasu. For instance I wouldn't use onegaishimasu in this situation; please watch this video. Feel free to research the matter and I'll try to clarify later.

I picked this word simply because it was about heading to a bar and ordering drinks. Nothing too deep about it...

P.S. I love Scarlet Johanson...just thought you'd like to know.

Make New Temples But Keep the Old, One is Silver and the Other is Kinkaku-ji: Kyoto Day III

Final day in Kyoto, we woke up early and grabbed some grub. We would need our energy for the last minute travel and omiage buying. We dropped into Kyoto Tower where the massive shopping spree began. In case I haven't mentioned, omiage are presents for people. So little souvenirs and treats. By this point I had bought few omiage for my friends and family at home, so the pressure was on me to buy as much as possible. An hour, and a significant amount of yen down, I walked away with several gifts I was very happy with. But also, I walked away with a new Shinsengumi happi, I was now fully satisfied with my trip to Kyoto. Nothing too funny occurred afterwards. We rode a rickshaw in an attempt to feel authentically stereotypical, and made friends with our driver/runner. Following this, we headed to Kinkaku-ji to see the golden temple. After this we left at full speed to Kyoto Station to catch our Shinkansen.

That's all I have to say except that on a train back in Tokyo, we saw a man who was laying down across several seats and was sleeping. Because it was crowded, someone called a train worker for help. The train worker attempted to lift the man Kevin Costner style from Bodyguard, but found the man too heavy. So instead the train worker, still supporting the man's legs and head, shook the man like a british nanny shaking a noisy child.

Its a short one I know, but I've quite a few posts to catch up on, and nothing TOO interesting happened on this day. However I want to thank the Valley chan for taking this trip with me, it would've been rather dull otherwise.

Ganbatte,
-DPN

Buddhism is Very Deer to Me: Kyoto Day II

Captain's log, stardate 2533.7 or June 7, 2008

NOTE: THAT IS NOT AN ACCURATE STARDATE SO PLEASE DON'T FLAME MY COMMENTS PAGE YOU PICARD FANATICS! (I speak as if I have actual readers ne?)

We awoke on the 7th rather early, roughly 6 o'clock to be more precise. After discussing the day's plans, the Valley chan and I decided that we had an important priority to see to. We were both suffering from massive Starbucks cravings, but fortunately there was a Starbucks built into our hotel! After indulging in our rather caffiene filled habit, as well as wondering why a woman in a kimono was at Starbucks so early, we went about our way to Nara.

Nara is famous for the Todai-ji temple, which is itself famous for a Buddha the size of Britney Spears' growing psychosis. It took a bit of time, but we managed to get on the train to Nara with no problems. However, as the time passed on the train, the Valley and I slowly drifted off to sleep. This proved a problem because when we awoke, we weren't sure which station we had just stopped. Added to the fact that from where we were sitting we could not see one of the signs telling us the stop. But the Valley and I put our brilliant detective skills to work to determine our stop. It sounded something like this:

DPN: Do you know where we are?
Valley: No...but lots of people are getting off the train
DPN: LOOK THERE, THOSE GAIJIN ARE GETTING OFF THE TRAIN!
Valley: ALL THE GAIJIN ARE GETTING OFF THE TRAIN!
DPN: GO GO GO!

That in a nutshell, is how we determined we were in Nara. I know there are people out there wondering how two Americans can call others gaijin (a term used to reference foreigners in general, which would include us). Well its simple for me really; even though I haven't lived here long, I feel as though I've been here long enough to feel comfortable and at home. I'm not JUST some tourist who is in Japan for a week. I know that sounds arrogant, and it really is, but its just how I felt at the time. Besides, Valley and I were attempting to blend in using our skills at looking asian...

Anywho, we decided that since following the other foreigners had worked to get us to Nara, why not just stalk these people all the way to Todai-ji?! So the trek began following a pair of people from France. We eventually found a series of temples and a pagoda, which we hoped to be Todai-ji. Alas, it wasn't, but it was still very beautiful to see. Also, there were many deer roaming around amongst the people. Nara is known for its high population of deer, and they are left free to wander around! Valley and I decided that feeding the deer would be fun, so we bought the special deer approved cookies and immediately all the deer in the area came rushing for us.

It would have been cute was it not for this one deer who decided the best way to get the cookies from me was to repeatedly headbutt me to the ground, and then keep going until I fed him. Fortunately for the deer, my one weakness is the pressure of deer horns jamming into my liver several hundred times, HOW DID IT KNOW?!



The Valley's experiences at feeding the deer were much less violent, but just as disturbing. While very tranquil, the deer had collectively left a rather suspicious looking stain on the Valley's shirt. Perhaps there was a deer equivalent of President Clinton in the bunch ne?



We did eventually make it to Todai-ji, and after causing a scene by flamboyantly jumping up into the air, an action which drew the attention and cameras of many other tourists, we beheld the work of art that is the Daibutsu. It is truly awe inspiring, and I wish that I my travel companion and I could have come up with something more enlightened that, "I bet he's pretty well hung". But alas, we could not, and the previous statement made for a good laugh so...

Not much to say about the rest of the night, we walked around Kyoto, talked, learned that Kyoto shuts down about as early as a elderly farm town in New Hampshire, and spent the rest of the night at Mr. Doughnut. All in all, a great second day.
Ganbatte,
-DPN

Are there Any Foxy Ladies Here? No, Just Lots of Foxes : Kyoto Day I continued

When you last saw the dynamic duo, they were in quite a pinch. Batman had just triggered the park wide alert system and girl Robin just starred at the absurdity of it all. We spent a good amount of time at the park, watching a lonely guy feed turtles.

Following our stint at the park, we decided to hit up a site Valley-chan had her heart set on visiting, the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Fushimi Inari is a shrine with thousands upon thousands of giant torii gates. Look at the pictures given to see what I mean (or wiki it, I really don't care which). I thought the Valley wanted to visit it to experience the power of the torii gates, but would later find out that she just wanted to reenact a scene from Memoirs of a Geisha...

Ever wonder why Fox McCloud from Star Fox wears that red scarf? The fox god from this shrine is the reason. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle....or magic the gathering match, whichever applies to you geeks out there

The main shrine is at the base of a hill and has an amazing amounts of gaudy decorations and plenty of fox statues. But it is beautiful none the less. Valley and I spent some time taking pictures in front of the shrine and yelling at this group of girls who kept standing in our frames. But, the main attraction was ascending the hill lined with torii gates. After 30 minutes of attempting to take photos of various poses (and running through the gates in a dramatic manner, we began our actual ascent.

The amount of torii is honestly mind boggling. It seemed as if we were in one giant tunnel on the way up the hill. Do you know many decades/centuries it took to create all these torii? No, seriously do you know because I'm too lazy to wiki it. Feel free to leave dates on the comments page. On our way up, we passed a group of American skaters/stoners. As we ascended, we passed them descending and were greeted with, "man that was freakin' amazing", or some other such nonsense. They may not have been high, but its much funnier for Valley and I to believe that they were.

We also learned that people live on various shacks along the mountain, attending to tourists and the shrines. It was fascinating to us since we would pass huts long since closed for the night, but we would see the glow of a TV on the inside, or hear chattering. What a fascinating lifestyle, since the hike up to the huts near the top take some time to reach, and I cannot imagine that people go up and down into town everyday. Thus, many must sit in the huts alone with their families all day long for a good portion of the year. Being the horror fan that I am, I was eerily reminded of The Shining, and wondered if cabin fever occurs in these huts, but more on this at a later article.

Valley and I reached the top of the hill, and found a nice overlook spot with an amazing view of Kyoto. There were benches, but the Valley chan and I being the tough kids we are sat on some rocks. We spent the night just getting to know each other better, and talking about life (which I later learned involved massive amounts of Starbucks between us). It was a great time, and reassured me that the awkwardness that I thought would pervade our trip together would only minimally occur! Thus, our first night in Kyoto came to an end.

Ganbatte,
-DPN

Omake: Since you guys only get to hear my opinions on things, I decided to get the Valley chan's opinion on the Torii gates...and perhaps you'll hear a bit of how she earned her nickname. Enjoy!

Cultural Insensitiity: Kyoto Day I

Hello my dear reader(s), hisashiburi da ne? The following series of posts concern my amazing trip to Kyoto. So sit back, relax and get ready for massive amounts of cultural insensitivity!

June 6, 2008

I left the house at around 7 or 8 and I yelled to my host mom, "yo okasan smell you later"...ahem. I arrived at Yotsuya at roughly 8:30 to meet up with my travelling partner, let's call her "The Valley-chan". After meeting up, we were on our merry way to Tokyo Station. Having factored in breakfast time before we boarded our Shinkansen, the Valley-chan and I decided to search out a Starbucks. Easy in one of the most metropolitan places in the world right? Wrong. But find one we did, and we had a delicious breakfast. After a bit of wandering around the surprisingly run down Tokyo station, we boarded our Shinkansen and set out on our adventure.

Tokyo Station, it looks very charming and not in bad shape, but wait until I show you Kyoto Station.

For those of you who don't know, the Shinkansen lines are the bullet trains which can get you virtually anywhere in Japan faster than a Japanese man in bed...too soon (that one's for you Lauren!)? Valley-chan and I sat down, and relaxed into our amazingly comfortable seats. I was a bit apprehensive because although the Valley-chan and I were in the same Japanese class, we never hung our, or really talked before, which could make for an extremely awkward trip. We hung out for a bit and watched the first half of Super Bad on my laptop before falling asleep. I woke up a bit before her and just started talking to this Japanese woman who was sitting on my right. Valley-chan woke up soon after, and the three of us were just shooting the breeze about sights to see in Kyoto. After getting out at Kyoto Station, we headed to our hotel. It was quite spacious and nice, but Valley-chan and I were surprised to see that the sheets were all pure white...something which was mildly offsetting. But we wasted little time sitting around...except for that hour which we spent sitting around.

"No black light necessary to see just how badly the sheets have been defiled"~Pete

Checking my (really Matt's) travel book, we were on our way to the sites in the immediate area. The first site we saw was the Imperial Palace Park, which is an expansive plot of land save for the buildings from the old Imperial Palaces. Of course, as Valley-chan and I soon learned, we cannot go anywhere without causing a bit of trouble. As we were taking pictures of the outer wall, I decided to take a closer look at the construction of the roof overhang, after all much of these buildings are hundreds of years old. Looking underneath the overhand, I saw it was supported by beautiful pieces of older wood, but that it was holding up amazingly. In my fascination, I neglected to see the gully/moat, and accidentally lost my balance. Using my ninja like reflexes I regained my balance by stepping on the other side of the gully which basically put me up against the outer wall of the castle. Then, to my surprise, I hear a loud wailing sound. As I looked behind me I saw a small black device with a red light being emitted. That's right folks I had triggered a park wide alert system. Looking back and forth between the alarm system and the Valley-chan, I feel I did the most rational and mature decision one can make in that situation...I ran! Of course, Valley-chan in her own maturity (and realizing that they'll probably suspect the guy running away from the site of the alarm as being who they're after) calmly walked away. After the Valley and I had met up and began calmly walking around the park again, we would be passed by a security car undoubtedly looking for us.
On that wonderful note, I'll end this entry for the first half of Kyoto Day I

Gambatte,
-DPN

M.O.B Questions

Hey folks here's the situation as it stands. I'm more than a month behind in posts and am almost at the end of my journey. I can't apologize enough for the delays that have happened, but they have happened so we must move on ne? I have roughly three entries about Kyoto to write, as well as a few more adventures, and of course the ever humorous R.O. posts. There's still more ahead, so stick with it and, assuming I can find time from studying for finals, I'll be doing my best to update you.

Question: Have I been eating sushi? Yes, yes I have. I've had good sushi, I've had great sushi, but I've yet to have bad sushi which is more than I can say about America. To be honest, I've been eating a significant amount of fast food lately. On one level, I eat at those types of places because I miss American food. On the other levels, its that people I know usually want to eat fast food and it is ridiculously convenient and cheap...well cheaper to do so. For instance, when I would eat what one would consider a more "Japanese" style lunch, it could run me as much as 300 Yen more than a standard meal at a fast food place. But the problem is that when I go to a fast food place, I end up ordering more than just a set meal (freaking dollar menu is making me fat at such low low prices!). I guess in the end it evens out, all I know is that I eat at Wendy's and McDonald's because they're near my study spot, Starbucks. But more on my Starbucks obsession in a later post (at this rate cross your fingers for it). Thanks to my dear EP for the questions!

Gambatte,

-DPN

R.O. 7: Toyin' Around with Toilets

As one of the most highly sophisticated nations in the world, Japan is well known for its advanced technology in many fields. One field in which the Japanese are leaps and bounds above America is in the use of technology to aid in the bathroom experience. Toto is a company which produces technologically advanced toilet seats. Do you recall Darth Vader's booth from Empire Strikes Back? I'm fairly sure that the Empire was a client of Toto, they are truly that amazing. Undoubtedly, one of the worst feelings is being shot in the face, but a close second is sitting down on an ice cold toilet seat. Toto has solved this problem. When in Japan and you are lucky enough to sit on a Toto toilet, you will find it remarkably warm and comfortable, allowing for a greater excretory experience! Aside from the seat warmer, a Toto toilet comes equipped with pressurized water spout to sanitize your posterior, if you so choose (I'm not a fan). Before you do this, make sure you check the pressure settings since I can't imagine it is pleasant to have a stream of highly pressurized water shooting at such a sensitive area...but if you happen to enjoy that, go for the goal. I have yet to decipher all the other mechanisms of the Toto toilet, but fortunately you readers have Wikipedia just a stone throw away, so feel free to conduct your own research.

"They" (most likely the same "they" from the first post) say that the toilet is a man's throne.
But the question remains, isn't such a machine just superfluous and just the crazy Japanese spending money unnecessarily? I've thought about this for a while and I've come to my own rationale, which I will now force upon you all. Japan is such a beautiful country, with a wonderful culture and fascinating society. However, the average day for a Japanese person, especially salary men and women, appears to be quite stressful and uncomfortable. Imagine working 10-12 hours a day, everyday. Add a 2 hour total commute to that and you have an extremely long day. As such, the Japanese search for any comforts they can find to make life slightly more bearable.So why not create a device which makes bathroom time (estimated at 3 years over a lifetime) more comfortable? It seems perfectly logical to me, but feel free to comment or leave questions on the topic.

Gambatte,

-DPN

P.S. This post is dedicated to my old roommate Pete who seems to be fascinated with Toto toilets

There but for the grace of God go I...

On the afternoon of June 8th, a man drove a white truck into a crowded area of the popular Akihabara electronics district, Electric Town. At an intersection, the man struck five innocent pedestrians, killing three of them. The man, later identified as Tomohiro Kato, exited his truck and proceeded to cut or stab approximately 17 people. Tragically, seven people died that day.

For a full article from the Associated Press please click here

As a travel blog writer, I have the privilege of showing readers the wonders, humor, nuances, beauty of the country that has become my home. But with that privilege, comes the obligation for me to also report on unpleasant and, in this case, horrific events which take place in Japan. I'm not sure what to say about such a tragedy. What insight can I offer that would convey the horror and madness of the situation, and what solace could my words offer to the victims and their families? So I've decided to tell my little story of fate, I may write more about the situation later, but for now this is the best I can do.

I came home from my trip to Kyoto on Sunday June 8th. It had been a more or less wonderful end to an amazing and memorable weekend. The morning and early afternoon had been spent with Valley-chan exploring sites in Kyoto. After a relaxing day and a calm Shinkansen ride home, my whole host family welcomed me home. My host mother, non nonchalantly told me about the tragedy, in the ever aloof and disconnected way the Japanese talk about such matters. I'm sure that everyone who heard about the news was shocked. While the tragedy itself was disturbing enough, I was struck by a realization. Akihabara is such a unique place with such wonderful and interesting things to see, that I go fairly often. But for some reason life unfolded in such a way that the Kyoto trip, which I wanted to do in May, was delayed until June and the weekend of June 6-8 was chosen because Valley-chan's Friday class happened to be canceled. Had I not been in Kyoto with Valley-chan that weekend, there was a very good possibility that I would have been in Akihbara that day.

No jokes or witty and sarcastic comments today, just something I have been thinking about for a few weeks...

~DPN

Hakone-Matata Part II

When we last left off, I was about to unite people from the original Axis powers on a trip with a sole Allied citizen! I picked up Beru-chan that morning from my home station and we left an hour later for our trip. The car ride was about 2 hours, and Beru-chan and I keep alternating between passing in and out of consciousness. After being on the road we stopped for some lunch at a rather secluded soba restaurant. My host father asked me what I wanted to eat, and I proceeded to tell him. He followed his inquiry by asking "what does Beru-chan want to eat?" (of course that part was in Japanese). I couldn't refrain from laughing as the family had been introduced to Beru-chan officially and now knew his actual name. It was then I knew that to my family, he would always be Beru-chan. Before we arrived at the Ryokan, we made two stops. We first went to a hot spring. To cut you off, there was no soaking in the waters involved. We instead hiked up a massive set of stairs to the mountain side to see...well sulfur. On our way back down my host mother treated us to a nice little treat. An onsen tamago or hot spring egg. Basically, its an egg, boiled in the hot spring. But each egg cost around $2.00 USD, so it must be special right? In actuality there is a superstition that an onsen egg will extend your life here take a look:

Nothing more appetizing than a concentrated ball of evil



"You eat one egg, you will increase you longevity by 7 years. You eat two egg (sic) you will increase your longevity by 14 years." However, you eat three egg and your heart explodes...





Following our "egg-citing" side trip to the hot spring, my host father and mother took us to another site, Hakone checkpoint.

In the Edo period, the Hakone checkpoint served as a way to control who entered and left Edo. My host mother also informed me that it also made sure women (the wives of samurai) didn't attempt to flee.
An exact replica of samurai stationed at the checkpoint. Apparently back in the Edo Jidai, the Japanese and their clothing were pasty shade of blue. Actually, the checkpoint does not know exactly what was worn (in terms of colors) by the samurai stationed at the Hakone checkpoint, therefore to avoid being wrong, they refuse to paint the figures...only in Japan.

When we finally arrived at the Ryokan we relaxed for a bit. I'd never been to a Ryokan before, so it was very interesting to be in a more traditional Japanese setting. Being studious students, Beru-chan and I did some homework before dinner. For dinner we were treated to literally a table full of fishy goodness. It was probably one of the best meals I've had since I had arrived.
At first we sat in quiet just enjoying the sight of the meal, but a large beer and several bottles of wine later, we were all much more chatty.Not too much more to be said about this adventure other than it was a blast and this is why I love my host family!

Gambatte,

-DPN

Hakone-Matata Part I

Back entry for...April?

Greetings loyal readers and fanatic readers alike,

Some time in April, my host mother and host father decided we would take a family trip to a Ryoukan (traditional Japanese inn) near Hakone. As always, I was grateful and excited for the adventure that would unfold. However, they were also kind enough to allow me to bring a friend along for the ride. I decided that, in a wonderful act of kindness, to ask my German friend from the Ueno excursion. You see, until that point, I'm not sure he had traveled far beyond the bounds of the area his dorm is in, and the more popular parts of the Tokyo area such as Shibuya. I asked a few days later and he was more than grateful. I later found out that in order to finalize our reservation, I would need to find out the German's age and last name. The age was no problem I just guessed at 21, but the last name proved challenging. The German didn't (and to my knowledge still doesn't) have a keitai, nor does he check his e-mail as obsessively as most UConn students. Therefore, it became quite a hassle to discuss logistics and discover this information. Then the deadline to find out the German's information arrived, and at the last moment I experienced a eureka moment and remembered his last name! Calling up my host mother, I joyously told her the last name. Arriving home that day, my host mother informed me that I had called a half an hour too late. Distraught over whether I now had to destroy the hopes of this young German college student wishing to go on a trip somewhere other than to his room, my host mother told me that my host father had come up with an ingenious idea. He made up a last name for the German! Asking, what name had been decided upon, my host mother told me that neither she nor my host father could remember, since it was so spur of the moment. Several days later they would later remember that the German had been given the last name "Beru". As such, all further references to the German will be made using the name my host family uses for him, "Beru-chan". Stay tuned to read about the actual details of the trip, on the next exciting entry!

Gambatte,

-DPN

Today's word is: Wasureru. The word means "to forget" and is the informal/plain form of the verb. Usage: Watashi wa kanojo no onamae wasureru or I forgot her name. Oddly enough, I can never remember this verb...

R.O. 6: Ever since I can remember I've been poppin' my collar...coincidently, ever since I can remember I've been savagely beaten by my peers

Picture found thanks to the Google-fu skills of the Valley-Chan

Sorry for the abbreviation in the title, but that was one a long one...

Today's observation will be a cursory look at Japanese fashion, specifically relating to teenagers in and around the city. I have yet to decide if everything the Japanese is trendy or just pushing the limits of fashion for the sake of pushing the limits. Then again, they could all just get dressed as they are having seizures (and the way some of them dress, you would believe it too). As always, this is a massive generalization of more common trends. As mentioned guys have medium to long length hair, often dyed any number of colors. Many wear outlandish colored polos (many still popping the collar), and often wear accessories such as multi-colored hats, scarves and purses. Yes folks, you did not misread, I said purses. Of course, right about now, many are saying, "DPN, every man carries a bag, you for instance carry a laptop case which could be seen as a purse". No folks, when I say purse, I'm talking Louis Vuitton purses that would be purchased in the female section of any American mall. To quote a friend, "as soon as I arrived, my 'gaydar' went off the charts". No, its not that every Japanese male is homosexual, but rather the standards of fashion are significantly different. This is very true, there are things that I CANNOT even imagine wearing back in America, without being absolutely certain that I wouldn't be ridiculed. But fortunately, not many Japanese male fashions appeal to me (phew).

As for the ladies, a common and I must say very sexy fashion that is in vogue are long stockings worn with either skirts or short shorts. Also, most Japanese girls I've seen so far wear heels all day, every day (hears the collective cringes of pain from all American femaledom). I'm not 100% sure how they do it as I was under the impression that heels hurt. But if there's anything we've learned from Japanese history, its that the Japanese are capable of dealing with great discomfort for some perceived greater purpose. Again, the standards of fashion in Japan are different. Americans I've spoken to agree that if an American girl attempted any of these fashions, she would look quite like a lady of the night. But most Japanese women manage to wear these various risque fashions and give off an aura of cuteness and classy sensuality...I love Japan

Gambatte,

-DPN

NOTE: NONE OF THIS APPLIES TO THE COSPLAYERS AT HARAJUKU AND SUCH PLACES. THOSE PEOPLE, WHILE CAPABLE OF LOOKING QUITE SEXY, OFTEN LACK THE CLASS PART OF THE EQUATION AND GO FOR OUTRAGEOUS

M.O.B Questions

Hey all you out there in T.V. land,

I hope all is well in your respective lives. I'm now reaching the point where I am a month behind! Oh well, that's life ne? With several new games, homework, and general apathy factoring into my life, it is hard to find time to update my dear blog. But as always we'll persevere ne? Just for the uninitiated, blog entries are reversed, therefore the most recent post is at the top. In order for much of anyone's blog to make sense, its usually best to start from the beginning. Many of you are thinking how common sense this is, but a certain blonde friend of mine has been reading in reverse order. Undoubtedly, like reading Moby Dick or seeing Who Framed Roger Rabbit in reverse, much won't make sense and the fun will be lost...but then again what fun is there in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, give me good old Moby Dick any day!

Questions: How are my classes?
Answer: They're classes, not particularly the most thrilling way to spend my day, but what can I do. They don't even really make a great conversation piece on M.O.B. Questions! As always thanks to EP for an insightful and thought provoking question!

Gambatte,

-DPN

When Dan's Bed's Rockin....Its Probably an Earthquake

On the night of May the 6th or Morning of May 7th, I was sleeping rather soundly after a productive day when all of the sudden I felt a slight rumbling. I awoke to find the world around me shaking like it was the 1960s and I was having withdrawal from various mind altering drugs. Of course, this was not some hippie trip I was experiencing. To be honest, I wasn't 100% awake and in the beginning thought it was a dream. So laying back down I closed my eyes and attempted to fall back into my blissful slumber. However, this consistent rumbling I felt persisted. Perhaps I was having a seizure, an epileptic fit, or Godzilla was attacking? It took me another 30 seconds to realize that I was experiencing my first earthquake. But, being the sleep enthusiast I am, I realized that there wasn't much I could do about it, and went back to bed. I awoke the next day to find my room and indeed the rest of the house in fine shape. Nothing had fallen that I could see, and the family seemed to be in fine condition. Business as usual followed with breakfast and catching up on the news. The lack of acknowledgment from my host mother about the incident lead me to believe that perhaps it was truly a dream. I would later find out from CNN that the earthquake was quite real and a 6.8 on the Richter scale! Fortunately in my area we only received the aftershocks! Overall there were no fatalities or property damage, but two people were mildly hurt. This goes to show you that Japan is well designed for the earthquakes that plague the nation. However I was haunted by the fact that literally a day before the earthquake, I had scoffed as Matt said Japan was due to have a rather large earthquake soon. So as always, I tip my hat to Matt for his insights into the country he knows so well.

Gambatte
-DPN


P.S. Our thoughts and prayers to all the Chinese who have been effected by the recent earthquake that shook the country.

Random Observation 5: Klan't We All Get Along?

Warning, this entry will undoubtedly be a bit more serious than most.

This is something I've been meaning to write for a few years, and was going to publish as an article in my school paper. However I think that, for the moment, this is the best forum on which to express these thoughts.

As an American, I've long prided myself on America's culturally diverse population and ability to, eventually, assimilate and appreciate foreign cultures. Being in the 21st Century, I was under the impression that most of my generation, peers had grown beyond silly notions as ethnic bigotry and ethnocentrism to the point of xenophobia. I still believe this about most of my peers. However, there still exist many who cannot accept things which are different from their definitions of normalcy.
Roughly three years ago I was exploring the novelty that was my new facebook account. While idiotically wasting time looking around for facebook groups to join, as many college freshmen would do, I stumbled upon various anime related groups. Now, I've never hidden my affinity for anime, nor Japanese culture in general, but I don't consider myself an otaku (or hardcore fan) which I think gives me a greater degree of objectivity about these matters. During my search, a certain anti-anime group caught my eye. I don't personally care that such anti-groups exist, because everyone has the right to have express themselves and their personal beliefs (and I invariably have the right to attempt to rebuke those opinions). On the facebook group's wall were, quite possibly some of the most ridiculous, misinformed and bigoted opinions I have ever encountered;

Can anyone explain how adults watch these cartoons. Not only are they cartoons but there is no storyline and they show naked cartoons being raped. My roomate says he watches them for the nice drawings when all there is nudity. I think these people have a cartoon fetish. It's sad. I'm proud to be an american

Now, let's address the first parts of this quote, "How can adults watch these cartoons"? Because they're entertaining to the people who watch them? I don't know this former student personally, but my guess is that he's tolerant of people watching cartoons such as Family Guy, the Simpsons, and South Park. But of course, shows like Family guy are known for their consistent and ever relevant stories and ground breaking and intricate tales of the human condition. In NO WAY is Family Guy strung together from various random sight gags and non sequiturs held together by a thinly constructed standalone episode plot, but rather an epic saga on the scale of classics such as The Iliad. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable for adults to watch shows such as these.

The biggest problem I have with this person's critique of anime is his final statement, "It's sad. I'm proud to be an american (sic)". HOLD ON THERE COWBOY, so any American citizen who likes anime (and I'm going to assume anything else not made or associated with America) is not proud of the being American?! I hate to burst his bubble -o- ignorance, but if using, wearing, and liking things which are produced from outside America means they are not a patriot, then hop aboard the treason boat their Mr. B. Arnold. If he's so passionate that non-American produced goods are so anti-patriotic then he should probably immediately strip out of all the American Eagle and Gap clothes he is probably wearing, since I'm very sure that most sweatshops that produce those fashionable hooded sweatshirts and faded jeans were made in a sweatshop by foreign labor. While you're at it, NEVER watch the Simpsons, a show which has used South Korean Art studios to help produce cells for the show. In our large scale globalized world, there is very little which Americans buy which has not been helped in production by a foreign nation.
Statements like his are clearly forged in the furnace of post-9/11 "patriotism" in which waving a flag and spouting fanatic American superiority is what makes one a patriot. Being an American patriot is not solely about spouting propaganda, and having a nationalistic attitude. A true America patriot is someone who lives and dies by the words of the Constitution and the principles on which the nation was founded. Principles such as equity, and the ability to accept that which seems foreign. A patriot is one who seeks to have a true understanding of America's history and development and its systems of government. A patriot does not strive for a completely homogeneous and stagnant American population, but rather seeks to incorporate new cultures into the ever changing and growing American identity. An American patriot is one who is willing to respect and be exposed to different cultural viewpoints, even if it is not always palatable. Many people, both Japanese and American, have expressed that being abroad and viewing other ways of life helped them better understand and reflect upon their home nations, and invariable become a better citizen in their home nation. Again, I don't know the person who wrote the rather inane wall post, but my guess is that he and his "proud american (sic)" friends neither vote nor take the time to understand American history and politics beyond the superficial information glossed from from Wikipedia and CNN. Thus, I make and expand a plea that I once made to college students. Please American citizens, you may not always agree with other cultures, but be open to them and learn to accept and respect different cultural views. As Americans, hold yourselves to a higher standard, and rise above the hypocrisy that saturates our nation. Remember that, while to us, America is the best nation in the world, most people from other nations tend to hold the same sentiment toward their own respective country.

Gambatte,
-DPN

OMAKE (Extra): Some more wall quotes and my comments about them (I usually like to shy away from personal attacks on people and their characters when tackling issues such as this, but some of these were just too easy targets to overlook):

1. "I'm so sick of coming home to my room and seeing bright flashes and people screaming in japanese gibberish. It is so retarded and it is hardly an art form. i'm so glad this group exists because i have alot of anime rage. The animation is all cookie cutter, the plots either involve some demon/monster in medieval times or robots in the future or prehaps a robot demon in the present. The dialogue is retarded. Worst of all are those Anime music videos where they take good songs and ruin them by putting them against this animated bullshit. Fuck Akira, Fuck Full Metal Alchemist, Fuck Pokemon. I appreciate art but anyone who considers hyper moving backrounds, blue hair, and mouths that are small when closed and huge when opened can do the honorable japanese thing: killing yourself by Hari Kari.......I am glad i was able to vent."

My response: Clearly a lovely example of American ethnocentrism. Any language outside of American English is gibberish. Geez, why can't most of the world just get with the program and be like America? Also, a man who uses such vulgar words is criticizing others for their "gibberish"? Note, the hypocrisy of ATTEMPTING to use the so called "gibberish" language to make a point, and its Hara-Kiri by the way. Also, for a guy who hates anime with such vigor, he knows quite a bit about them. To quote Shakespeare, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks".

2. "I took Japanese at my school because it was a mega slacker course, but the class was entirely ruined by the mass amounts of anime nerds that also took the class so that they could watch their poorly animated cartoons in their original languages. Their culture is seemingly subhuman. It makes me sick."

My response: Well, at least this guy admits that he is a slacker. While honest, I'm not sure he understands that prefacing by telling us he likes slacker courses really helps his credibility. By "subhuman culture", I'm going to assume he's referencing Japanese Society. Again, clearly any society which is not American based is subhuman, regardless of the fact that Japan is one of the most advanced nations in the world, and produced the Playstation which he probably played in place of going to class or taking his exams and helping advance his own mental development. One day the children of such an insightful man will have the pride and honor to say that their father is the top specialist in charge of the application of sodium chloride to oil saturated potato slices in the tri-fast food restaurant area!

One Man....

Hello anyone reading this blog,

This is a special entry dedicated to a man who had the courage, to attempt a one man spamming campaign against my blog. He did this in order to counter a previous claim I made that it would be hard for one person to effectively spam my comments page (because I really only have maybe 3 readers). On second thought, perhaps courage is not the right word, its more like lack of a life. Also, in the way he always does, he was able to prove a point without using vulgarity, instead opting to use quotes from what I assume to be from that Avatar show about air-bending or some such thing. His one man assault of my comments page reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the 80s, "one man can make a difference" uttered by the late Wilton Knight to Michael Knight. So to my old friend Baidol, you've won this round....but you know I'll get you back.

Gambatte,
-DPN

Cementing My Family Ties aka Oh Deer....

Well my loyal readers, this is another extremely late backlog entry. This entry is for Golden Week. For those of you who don't know, Golden Week is apparently the longest vacation most businessmen are given a year. It takes place from April 29-May 5th and is actually a series of holidays strung together to form a 5 day holiday (although to be fair, 2 of those days are the weekend). So Jeremy, I hope this answers your question! As for me, I skipped my club meeting that day and went home early. My host family was taking me up to their second house in....well I don't know the name of it but its in northern Japan. So we packed our things and were on our merry way at 2100 hours. Its a 3 hour trip and I didn't manage to stay awake for all of it, but for all of you people who cannot do math (myself included), we arrived at 1 in the morning. The second house is this really cool cabin, and although it looks small, it is quite spacious. The family stayed awake for a little bit watching TV and chatting. But after such a long drive we all went to bed fairly quickly
The next day, we had breakfast and the family wasted no time going about their daily tasks. My host mother started cleaning, washing and other similar things. My host brothers and host father went about fixing up the outside of the cabin. I offered to help, but they declined. So for lack of anything else to do, and with such beautiful scenery about, I went for a walk. At first I was just going to find my way into the nearest town and go exploring, but I ended up seeing this little stream with with a path to the side of it. So I walked along the path, which eventually lead me to a more rugged path surrounded by woods. Of course, I continued on following this small stream. Soon I decided it would be more fun to get off the literal beaten path and follow the stream by going through the woods. So that's exactly what I did and my impromptu walk turned into an impromptu hike up the hills surrounding the area. At one point I encountered a rock face that I will call the Mini-Lion King rock face. If you remember the ledge/cliff from which baby Simba is held up by the Rafiki, that's what it looked like....just miniature. Of course, being stupid I decided to climb up the side of the rock face. Now, I'm not saying that I was Stallone in Cliffhanger and scaling a mountain while people are shooting at me and Apollo Creed is punching me in the face oops wrong movie (although I do wish I had yelled "DRAGO" once I got to the top). The rock face was maybe 25-50 feet high. But still, I didn't have my cell phone, I wasn't wearing shoes equipped for hiking, and nobody else was around, so if I had accidently reenacted Mufasa's death plummet scene, I would have been in a significant amount of trouble. But I made it in one piece and sat at the top for awhile admiring the scenery. The hill where our second house sat is pretty high, so from my vantage point on the rock face the scenery was really nice. I tried to get some pictures and video (see below), but they really don't capture the beauty of the area. But onward up the hill I trudged.

The Lion King Rock face...



A shot of how far I climbed


As I was scaling another 10 foot rock face I heard a noise from my left. As I pulled myself up I saw 4 gray flashes rush by me. They had short legs and were gray, so I assumed they were some weird deer, wolves, or that Disney was creating android Eeyores and releasing them into the wild to depress the other animals. Now I will admit, that for a second I was pretty freaked out. I didn't know what kinds of animals were in the area so, if they were some pack of wolves or other very territorial animal I probably would have returned to the second house with one arm and a gnawed leg. I managed to snap a photo of one:


The animal is slightly right from the center behind all the trees


Being fascinated by these animals, I decided to track them for awhile. Don't worry PETA fanatics, I had neither a gun, nor bow or arrow by which to hunt them. I was merely tracking them for the sake of admiring them. I stalked these animals for about 30 minutes before I lost them...too bad because it was really fun.
Soon afterwards I reached the top and began the descent down the hill. Again I decided to not follow the trail. However, because of all the brush and trees I was forced to hop and maneuver around areas to reach the bottom of the hill, imagine navigating the labyrinth, but with 10% fewer minotaurs trying to kill you! I finally made it to the bottom and being in a good mood ran and jumped out from the tree line into a clearing by the street with a giant smile on my face. What I had not noticed was that the clearing was the front yard and driveway of a house. I looked to my left and saw a Japanese man standing by his mailbox, frozen and staring at me. I guess I can understand his mindset though, its not everyday that a random foreigner with a smile on his face leaps out from the woods into your front yard/driveway. I probably looked quite mad...so I turned to him, waved, said "Konichiwa" and went about on my merry way.

I returned to the house to find my host mother laughing on the back deck. I went to the deck to announce my return and she waved me over to look. Down below my host father and host brother #2 were hard at work attempting to construct a brick grill. However their masonry skills left much to be desired. They had a brick cemented to a wooden board (my guess is to test out the strength of the cement). As my host brother picked up the brick, undoubtedly hoping that the board would be lifted along with it, the brick lifted ever so easily from the board. At this sight, my host mother and I became hysterical. It really was a great family moment for us all (do you get the title yet?).

Here are some pictures I took of the stream I followed:









Here is a video of my commentary at the top of the Lion King rock face:

I'm a bit winded as I'm making that video so please bear with my rather poor vocabulary and lack of eloquence! Enjoy!


This is a picture of your hero looking rather dashing if I say so myself...





Gambatte,

-DPN

P.S. They turned out to be some type of Japanese deer

Let Me Throw in Some Excitement....

An absurdly late post for April 29, 2008

Hey Sports fans,
Huzzah Dan's triumphant return to blogging! By triumphant I mean dull. Its been so long since many of my adventures that I have almost flat out forgotten when they occurred. Oh well, gambarimasu ne? So a few of the Japanese guys invited me to go to the All Japan Judo Tournament. Not only would I get to spend a Saturday with some really cool guys, but I would get to see a huge sporting event, and to top it off the guys comped my ticket. The event was held at the Tokyo Budokan. I'm pretty sure the term Budokan means "hall of the warrior way" or something close to it. But inside you wouldn't thing it was a place where martial arts events take place. Imagine UConn's Gampel Pavillion and then add an extra floor or two and you'll pretty much have the Tokyo Budokan. I thought the event itself was going to take at most 3 hours, but it was more like 7 hours. I had forgotten that they would do preliminary rounds, this was a tactical error on my part. You see folks, the chairs at the Budokan are less than comfortable, and offer almost zero back support. So for seven hours we sat in a very uncomfortable position watching grown men throw each other around. However, it was cool to see the best of the best Judoka in Japan throwing down. Some matches came to decision because the two opponents couldn't find an opening, but a few Judoka took as little as 14 seconds to seize victory. When the final rounds came about, the stadium became amazingly energized. People cheering, clapping and just having fun (of course in the organized Japanese way). Add to that an appearance by Asashoryu, one of Japan's Yokozuna (Sumo big wig for the laymen) and it was a great time. I will say that I felt like the audience was on the verge of errupting in jeers when Asashoryu quietly entered and watched the matches. You see, of the two Yokozuna, Hakuho and Asashoryu, Asashoryu is the villain. Could it be because he has an attitude? Maybe. Could it be that he lies to get out of public appearances? Possibly. But my bet is that its the wife beating...but as always I digress. The tournament ended with an emotional Ishii taking the title. Now when I say emotional, I mean sobbing and crying. I was EXTREMELY taken aback by this. There's no problem with crying mind you, but I never imagined a hardened Judoka who has thrown and probably been thrown countless amounts of times crying. But it was a very special moment for me since I was able to see such an important event. Many of these men will probably go on to represent Japan in this year's Olympic games so it was quite an honor. Also, quick fact, apparently stadium food is expensive in every country! See, cultural borders are always easily broken when there's money involved.

Gambatte,
-DPN

Today's word is: Nageru. The word means "to throw" and is the informal/plain form of the verb. Usage: Watashi wa Asashoryu ni isu (chair) o nagemasu. or I threw a chair at Asashoryu(I didn't actually because Asashoryu would probably eat me alive...