Well, the last day of the work year in Japan is good news for me. But first I’ll recap the events of the past week. Umm… Friday I went down to Wakayama with Jen, it was Keith’s birthday and so we were gonna go clubbing. So of course when we get there, the club is closed, even though the calendar says there’s an event scheduled for that night. We ended up playing ping pong and pool at Wakayama JJs instead. Stayed at Keith’s for the night, at lunch with him the next day, then went home when he went back to work.
Sunday, I went to the gym in the morning, then we went for all you can eat yakiniku in the evening. When we got to the place, there was a 2hr wait! Christmas Eve, what did we expect… so we put our names down, and try to look for another place… an hour and a half later with still no luck, we went back to the yakiniku place ><. Work on Christmas Day, I was surprised how under-celebrated it was after all the decorations and lights. I went to Dylan’s place for a small Mexican Christmas dinner. Dylan’s a friend of Anton and Jen, the party was fun, but I had to leave early to make curfew, and so I missed Love Actually :(. By Boxing Day Christmas decorations were virtually gone, it was weird, like Christmas never happened… which it barely did. I got some good gifts in the mail from my family though, which was very nice, including some money from my grandparents and great aunt, which was very much appreciated. And I got a bonus (or maybe taxes back) on my paycheck yesterday, can’t complain about that either. Well, over the past 2 weeks (3 now) a lot of my fellow CJPers have returned home to Canada. Anton, Boon-hau, and Tongxin have left in the Kansai area, and more elsewhere in Japan. No more crazy old man adventures with Anton /cry. I’ll miss you guys, it’ll be a lot different here without you, but keep in touch and I’ll see you back in Canada! CJP Reunion Party Ohhhhh Yeah! Or you guys could come visit me in Calgary! Pffft >< Yeah right.
Mmm, one more night of dorm showers, then it’s… a night on a ferry… and then 4 nights of private showers!!! And then… a night on a ferry… and then dorm showers… That’s right, kicked out of my dorm tomorrow afternoon, and the trip to Kyushu begins. The plan is the same as before, except I’m taking the ferry instead of night train. Should be interesting, I’ll take pictures.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Van Gogh Would've Sold More Than One Painting If He'd Put Tigers in Them
A busy weekend again, though I didn't travel too far. Friday night was a typical gym/dinner/home evening. Saturday was a typical gym/haircut/downtown peanut butter expedition day, followed by Hikari Lightup in the evening.
Pictures will be most effective for this blog... so I'll just write about the other parts. Hikari Lightup, like many of Japan's lightups, involves lights. In this case, as in many cases, trees and paths are lit with lights. This one was a bit different though, as there were lightup displays made by students from Rie's university, which were cool and interesting. There was also a large number of vendors selling foreign food: tequila, tandoori chicken, donuts, hot dogs, etc...
There was also another Christmas concert, which was interesting because they were playing African and Latin American Christmas songs too o.O.
After stopping at Osaka station (Rie needed a computer mic from Yodobashi Camera), we said farewell to Anton and Rie and went to Kyobashi, with the goal of getting drunk as quickly as possible. And by we, I don't include myself. We found an all you can drink (nomihoudai) place, but misinterpreted the price outside, finding out it was a hostess bar too... so we moved on and found Beetle Girl's Bar. 2000-en for nomihoudai shochu. I had water :P.
Keith and Erika came late, I went to fetch them from the station, they wanted beer and not shochu so I went with them for snacks/beer. Then I left to return to the dorm, as the others were planning on clubbing the night away. Made curfew by less than 3 minutes, whew.
Saturday was Kobe, I met up with Keith, Erika, Boon-Hau, and very eventually Tongxin at Kyobashi, then headed for the Bruce Lee Weapons Store in Chinatown. Quite the selection of nunchakus, fake weapons, clothes, posters, figurines, etc... Boon bought a lot, I wonder if he'll have problems with customs...
Next was Kobe Luminaire, home to the largest lineup I've ever seen... about 10 blocks long with the entire street packed with people. Eventually you pass through large arches filled with lights, and at the end of the street is an arena of lights.
Afterwards I bought two hot double chocolate cookies (this is very important (to me)), and we went out in search of dinner. After walking in a very large cold circle we came to where we started... and found the restaurant we were looking for. Mmm, Kobe beef steak... Our meal cost 60 bucks each, for 10 bites of steak, but sooo good. Definitely worth trying once, though meals go downhill from here.
Oddly enough we saw Jen at the restaurant, not expecting her to be there at all! But she was the one to recommend the restaurant to us in the first place.
6 days till Christmas, and I'll be all alone... both Dave and Byron will be leaving this week, and I probably won't see them till after New Years. So I'm all alone for a week :(.
Pictures will be most effective for this blog... so I'll just write about the other parts. Hikari Lightup, like many of Japan's lightups, involves lights. In this case, as in many cases, trees and paths are lit with lights. This one was a bit different though, as there were lightup displays made by students from Rie's university, which were cool and interesting. There was also a large number of vendors selling foreign food: tequila, tandoori chicken, donuts, hot dogs, etc...
There was also another Christmas concert, which was interesting because they were playing African and Latin American Christmas songs too o.O.
After stopping at Osaka station (Rie needed a computer mic from Yodobashi Camera), we said farewell to Anton and Rie and went to Kyobashi, with the goal of getting drunk as quickly as possible. And by we, I don't include myself. We found an all you can drink (nomihoudai) place, but misinterpreted the price outside, finding out it was a hostess bar too... so we moved on and found Beetle Girl's Bar. 2000-en for nomihoudai shochu. I had water :P.
Keith and Erika came late, I went to fetch them from the station, they wanted beer and not shochu so I went with them for snacks/beer. Then I left to return to the dorm, as the others were planning on clubbing the night away. Made curfew by less than 3 minutes, whew.
Saturday was Kobe, I met up with Keith, Erika, Boon-Hau, and very eventually Tongxin at Kyobashi, then headed for the Bruce Lee Weapons Store in Chinatown. Quite the selection of nunchakus, fake weapons, clothes, posters, figurines, etc... Boon bought a lot, I wonder if he'll have problems with customs...
Next was Kobe Luminaire, home to the largest lineup I've ever seen... about 10 blocks long with the entire street packed with people. Eventually you pass through large arches filled with lights, and at the end of the street is an arena of lights.
Afterwards I bought two hot double chocolate cookies (this is very important (to me)), and we went out in search of dinner. After walking in a very large cold circle we came to where we started... and found the restaurant we were looking for. Mmm, Kobe beef steak... Our meal cost 60 bucks each, for 10 bites of steak, but sooo good. Definitely worth trying once, though meals go downhill from here.
Oddly enough we saw Jen at the restaurant, not expecting her to be there at all! But she was the one to recommend the restaurant to us in the first place.
6 days till Christmas, and I'll be all alone... both Dave and Byron will be leaving this week, and I probably won't see them till after New Years. So I'm all alone for a week :(.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I Wonder If You Can Refuse to Inherit the World
Lots to write about. I journied west this week, to the city of Hiroshima.
I departed Friday night with Keith, Jiang 1 and Jiang 2 (both are Keith's co-workers from China). We took the night bus from Tennoji, about a 7 hour trip. Luckily this night bus was much better than the last, with each seat separated (seat, aisle, seat, aisle, seat) and there was a washroom in the back. Which was too short for me to fully stand in.
We arrived at Hiroshima Station at 6am, played cards and ate breakfast at Makudo for a while, then went on a hike to a shrine on top of a nearby mountain. We were mostly just killing time (Kelvin was due to arrive from Tokyo at 10am), but it was a good view.
Kelvin arrived in one piece, but not feeling the best. Another case of food poisoning: he had eaten expired tofu a few days earlier, adding to the list of "Food to Avoid". After taking awhile to plan our day, we made our way to the trams.
The first stop was Genbakudomu-mae, where the Hiroshima Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum are located. The weather was gloomy when we arrived, which seemed to fit the mood of the park. The dome was one of the few buildings left standing after the bomb dropped. We also saw the Children's Peace Monument, surrounded by glass cases holding tens of thousands of paper cranes.
The museum was pretty chilling... first displaying the history of Hiroshima, then showing before and after views of the city. The middle section showed artifacts that survived the bomb... clothes, lunchboxes, a rusty tricycle, a section of wall with a silhouette on it. A huge wall of letters, written by the mayors of Hiroshima, advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons. Pictures of the victims, covered in burns, describing death tolls and how the victims suffered, and teaching the science behind the atomic bomb and radiation sickness. It was a good experience, but difficult...
From Genbakudomu we went to Miyajima by ferry. The island is home to the Miyajima Floating Torii Gate, one of the 3 most beautiful views in Japan apparently. I think for this section a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out my webalbum instead for pictures.
The one interesting thing to note was one of the items in the gift shop... A towel with a picture of two women on it... and when the towel gets wet, their clothes disappear! Or, as the sign beside the towels put it "Surprise! A naked woman appears!". /sigh
Afterwards we decided to check into our accommodations for the night, a type of inn called a Ryokan (Translation: "Type of inn"). Upon finding out that we weren't staying in a hotel I must say I was a bit disappointed, I was looking forward to a private shower... Instead it was very communal, even compared to my dorm, as there were four buckets extremely close together. As in, if the room was full, the buckets must have been touching o.O. But I went at 1am when it was empty, hurray. The room was ok, slept on futons on tatami floors, and I got one of the better sleeps I've had in a while. Probably because the futons are softer than my bed, and because I wasn't listening to any weird music while I was sleeping. (Thanks a lot Brady, your crazy music invades my dreams and makes me think I'm going insane!)
Day 2 we went for breakfast at Lotteria, which serves its pancakes in a burger wrapper, with no butter, syrup, knife or fork. And orange drink sucks. We walked to Shukkuin Garden, which was quite nice to see. Kelvin came up with the idea of using our bodies to spell Hiroshima in Kanji (which was a humorous failure). We also saw the ruins and reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle, and went shopping in Hiroshima's downtown area.
On our walk we passed by a mall where a Christmas Concert was being held out front. To everyone who's seen A Christmas Story (ie, to everyone)... remember that scene at the Chinese restaurant where the staff sings Deck the Halls? Like that, only add another 20 people, a stage, microphones, background music and a bigger audience.
Not to mention the weirdest part. They weren't singing traditional Christmas carols, but religious songs, like "Oh Happy Day". In a population of less than 1% Christians, and after seeing Christmas (er, XMas) as a purely commercial affair here, this was very weird to see and hear.
After trying on interesting hats in the hip-hop stores (Yes, people aren't wearing enough hats, and yes, I want an Indiana Jones style fedora), we headed back to Hiroshima Station for our 7 hour train ride back home.
I departed Friday night with Keith, Jiang 1 and Jiang 2 (both are Keith's co-workers from China). We took the night bus from Tennoji, about a 7 hour trip. Luckily this night bus was much better than the last, with each seat separated (seat, aisle, seat, aisle, seat) and there was a washroom in the back. Which was too short for me to fully stand in.
We arrived at Hiroshima Station at 6am, played cards and ate breakfast at Makudo for a while, then went on a hike to a shrine on top of a nearby mountain. We were mostly just killing time (Kelvin was due to arrive from Tokyo at 10am), but it was a good view.
Kelvin arrived in one piece, but not feeling the best. Another case of food poisoning: he had eaten expired tofu a few days earlier, adding to the list of "Food to Avoid". After taking awhile to plan our day, we made our way to the trams.
The first stop was Genbakudomu-mae, where the Hiroshima Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum are located. The weather was gloomy when we arrived, which seemed to fit the mood of the park. The dome was one of the few buildings left standing after the bomb dropped. We also saw the Children's Peace Monument, surrounded by glass cases holding tens of thousands of paper cranes.
The museum was pretty chilling... first displaying the history of Hiroshima, then showing before and after views of the city. The middle section showed artifacts that survived the bomb... clothes, lunchboxes, a rusty tricycle, a section of wall with a silhouette on it. A huge wall of letters, written by the mayors of Hiroshima, advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons. Pictures of the victims, covered in burns, describing death tolls and how the victims suffered, and teaching the science behind the atomic bomb and radiation sickness. It was a good experience, but difficult...
From Genbakudomu we went to Miyajima by ferry. The island is home to the Miyajima Floating Torii Gate, one of the 3 most beautiful views in Japan apparently. I think for this section a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out my webalbum instead for pictures.
The one interesting thing to note was one of the items in the gift shop... A towel with a picture of two women on it... and when the towel gets wet, their clothes disappear! Or, as the sign beside the towels put it "Surprise! A naked woman appears!". /sigh
Afterwards we decided to check into our accommodations for the night, a type of inn called a Ryokan (Translation: "Type of inn"). Upon finding out that we weren't staying in a hotel I must say I was a bit disappointed, I was looking forward to a private shower... Instead it was very communal, even compared to my dorm, as there were four buckets extremely close together. As in, if the room was full, the buckets must have been touching o.O. But I went at 1am when it was empty, hurray. The room was ok, slept on futons on tatami floors, and I got one of the better sleeps I've had in a while. Probably because the futons are softer than my bed, and because I wasn't listening to any weird music while I was sleeping. (Thanks a lot Brady, your crazy music invades my dreams and makes me think I'm going insane!)
Day 2 we went for breakfast at Lotteria, which serves its pancakes in a burger wrapper, with no butter, syrup, knife or fork. And orange drink sucks. We walked to Shukkuin Garden, which was quite nice to see. Kelvin came up with the idea of using our bodies to spell Hiroshima in Kanji (which was a humorous failure). We also saw the ruins and reconstruction of Hiroshima Castle, and went shopping in Hiroshima's downtown area.
On our walk we passed by a mall where a Christmas Concert was being held out front. To everyone who's seen A Christmas Story (ie, to everyone)... remember that scene at the Chinese restaurant where the staff sings Deck the Halls? Like that, only add another 20 people, a stage, microphones, background music and a bigger audience.
Not to mention the weirdest part. They weren't singing traditional Christmas carols, but religious songs, like "Oh Happy Day". In a population of less than 1% Christians, and after seeing Christmas (er, XMas) as a purely commercial affair here, this was very weird to see and hear.
After trying on interesting hats in the hip-hop stores (Yes, people aren't wearing enough hats, and yes, I want an Indiana Jones style fedora), we headed back to Hiroshima Station for our 7 hour train ride back home.
Friday, December 1, 2006
It's Not Denial. I'm Just Very Selective About the Reality I Accept
Kansai Invasion. I suppose I have to blog about it. But it'll be brief, don't worry.
First off, it was a blast, people came to Kansai from Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Nagoya and Fukui. 20+ people total involved in the events this weekend.
So I'll start up where I left off... Thursday night consisted of an all nighter at JJs... doing everything from basketball to pool to karaoke to DDR vs Boon Hau, it was a blast. I even got to sing Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)! Me and Keith even discovered the Super Famicom (SNES) and spent a few hours playing Super Donkey Kong (Country). Oh the memories, and we still knew where the secrets were. Only got halfway through world 5 before going to bed, but we'll be back to finish it! And then I got 2 hours of sleep in a hammock.
Friday, I went with Keith, Kevin, and Victor to Universal Studios Japan. It was just like walking back into the US (United States, not Universal Studios... though i suppose both would be applicable)! Except of course, for all the Japanese people. The rides were all the same (except in Japanese) with two additions, Jaws and Spiderman. Spiderman was done quite well, half ride, half 3D movie. Lineups were huge compared to the last time I went to US Hollywood (when lineups were about 5-10 minutes). 60-90 minutes per ride usually. We went to Namba for a bit afterwards, since Keith had time to kill before meeting up with his friend, then it was off to Nara for Anton's party.
Party was fun, loud, and full of alcohol. Thanks and sorry to Anton, who had to apologize to the neighbours for all the noise we made. I watched the drinking games from my futon throne, and we watched Neil on Cool! Japan, a Japanese TV show which follows gaijin around to see what they think of Japan. Cool to see Neil on it. Amusing videos of Jen were recorded, cake landed on the ground but was recovered according to the five second rule, Neil succumbed to the effects of eating eel liver combined with too much alcohol, and I slept in my private bed in Anton's closet.
Not a lot of sleep again, 4h max, and then off to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. "None of us is as dumb as all of us" applies here, when the group is too large, trying to get everyone both together and moving is next to impossible. Monkey park was the same as last time, only Boon Hau and Clement learned firsthand why not to stare at the monkeys. And we got to see the feeding this time. And the fall leaves were very cool. However, combine the fact that this is the best time of year to go, plus it being a long weekend, it was very busy. The train ride back to Kyoto was brutal, the worst I've seen it yet in Japan. Kinda like during the Stampede on the C-Train.
Well, after 6 hours of sleep in 3 days, I decided to skip clubbing, I went home and went to bed. Others went to temple light up and clubbing, but I was too tired. My Kansai Invasion ended there, with a relaxing Sunday at the gym and downtown.
First off, it was a blast, people came to Kansai from Tokyo, Hamamatsu, Nagoya and Fukui. 20+ people total involved in the events this weekend.
So I'll start up where I left off... Thursday night consisted of an all nighter at JJs... doing everything from basketball to pool to karaoke to DDR vs Boon Hau, it was a blast. I even got to sing Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)! Me and Keith even discovered the Super Famicom (SNES) and spent a few hours playing Super Donkey Kong (Country). Oh the memories, and we still knew where the secrets were. Only got halfway through world 5 before going to bed, but we'll be back to finish it! And then I got 2 hours of sleep in a hammock.
Friday, I went with Keith, Kevin, and Victor to Universal Studios Japan. It was just like walking back into the US (United States, not Universal Studios... though i suppose both would be applicable)! Except of course, for all the Japanese people. The rides were all the same (except in Japanese) with two additions, Jaws and Spiderman. Spiderman was done quite well, half ride, half 3D movie. Lineups were huge compared to the last time I went to US Hollywood (when lineups were about 5-10 minutes). 60-90 minutes per ride usually. We went to Namba for a bit afterwards, since Keith had time to kill before meeting up with his friend, then it was off to Nara for Anton's party.
Party was fun, loud, and full of alcohol. Thanks and sorry to Anton, who had to apologize to the neighbours for all the noise we made. I watched the drinking games from my futon throne, and we watched Neil on Cool! Japan, a Japanese TV show which follows gaijin around to see what they think of Japan. Cool to see Neil on it. Amusing videos of Jen were recorded, cake landed on the ground but was recovered according to the five second rule, Neil succumbed to the effects of eating eel liver combined with too much alcohol, and I slept in my private bed in Anton's closet.
Not a lot of sleep again, 4h max, and then off to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. "None of us is as dumb as all of us" applies here, when the group is too large, trying to get everyone both together and moving is next to impossible. Monkey park was the same as last time, only Boon Hau and Clement learned firsthand why not to stare at the monkeys. And we got to see the feeding this time. And the fall leaves were very cool. However, combine the fact that this is the best time of year to go, plus it being a long weekend, it was very busy. The train ride back to Kyoto was brutal, the worst I've seen it yet in Japan. Kinda like during the Stampede on the C-Train.
Well, after 6 hours of sleep in 3 days, I decided to skip clubbing, I went home and went to bed. Others went to temple light up and clubbing, but I was too tired. My Kansai Invasion ended there, with a relaxing Sunday at the gym and downtown.
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