"South of the lab, east of the world" – my (short) pilgrimage through Japan by petri dishes, eppendorfs, etc.
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Karaoke after farewell dinner! I tried the pink dress but it wouldn't fit. And me singing Haruka Kanata, remembering 'Talentos da Casa 2010'
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Bar mar - Spanish bar in Hamamatsu. Delicious sangria and tapas while listening to David Bisbal and for some reason, Shakira
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So the working part of the exchange is finished.. I'm gonna miss the pipetting and all the people here.
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Nagoya! (Part 1)
This weekend me and my fellow in comings decided to make a quick trip to Nagoya. It is the closest big city to Hamamatsu, and besides being a big business centre and industrial metropole, it has some nice sightseeing spots, according to My Rough Guide book. On Friday afternoon we got on the train (not the Shinkansen, though.. Too expensive for such a short trip), And we headed west.
The trains in Japan, unlike Portuguese ones, have the conductor’s cabin separated by a glass so we could see the conductor. And, I don’t know if this one had some kind of OCD, but he did this routine, where he would lift his hat a little then would point forward and then would check his timetable. He did this about every 2 minutes! Another curious thing is that whenever there where workers from the railway company by the sidetrack, they would compliment him with their arms stretched to the side, and the conductor, once again would lift his hat a little.
When we arrived at Nagoya we went straight to the subway station to visit the castle. A beautiful impotent construction surrounded by a beautiful garden. The best part: the air conditioning! I know that Portugal has been very hot in this past few days, but I think that Japan isn’t much behind. Apart from the 30 something degrees temperatures, the humidity adds a je ne sais quois.. Anyway, this was not the original castle which was destroyed in a big fire in 1945. But inside, there was a collection of samurai swords and armours and a floor with a mock samurai village where you could feel like walking a few century’s back.
After the castle we went to Naka district - the shopping district to try and have some dinner. We wanted to try one of Nagoya’s traditional dishes - tebasaki. It means literally wing/arm/something and that’s what it is. A chicken wing with a special blend of sauce and spices. Delicious! Well, at least it looks like it. We never got to the restaurant hat was recommended in the tourist centre because apparently it was closed. So we ended up in a small place, where there was a machine and the machine was your waiter - you had to put the money in and then click on the chosen meal and then a little receipt would come out and you had to give it to the flesh waiter.
With our belies full we finally went to our hotel (while passing through tons of other tebasaki restaurants). It was a 1 star hotel, just behind the train station. We where a little reticent (the price was just 2000¥/pax), but besides the small size of the room, the rest was just great! Amenities everywhere! Tooth brush and paste, room slippers, shampoo and body shower gel, fuzzy towel. You name it! We couldn’t be more relaxed after an eventful and “sweatful" day!
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Earthquake safety helmet... at least I can reach it from my desk
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Meet the yuru kyara
One of the things that come to mind when you think about Japan is the cute manga characters, and those little toy dolls, mascots and so on... But recently, the yuru kyara (cute character) made their debut. You can see one of these little guys related to any city, or even police station, post office, airports. Moreover, these mascots are very popular, having their own fan clubs, websites, conventions and there is a ton of merchandising surrounding each one: pendants, cell phone cases, bracelets, little toys, you name it!
So, I decided to start a thing here on the blog. I am going to make a post about each yuru kyara that I find.
The first one is Ieyasu-kun. The Hamamatsu city yuru kyara!
"Kun is a name prefix used in Japanese society, usually directed towards boys who are younger or the same age as the speaker. Ieyasu-kun, The Daimyo of Success is a Hamamatsu mascot based on the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu, who built Hamamatsu Castle, and for 17 years used it as his base for various battles, subsequently conquering the whole realm. The mascot was created to commemorate the city's 100th anniversary and will be appearing around the city spreading his cheerful energy among Hamamatsu citizens."
(Source: http://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/foreign/english/topics/201104_01.htm)
Cute, isnt he?
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Pipetts indeed
So on mondays there's a journal club and a meeting on my lab and afterwards everybody (I mean, everybody except the head of the group) get together in a room and silently fill the pipett tip boxes for autoclave :). What about that?
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First "party" in Japan
Friday night, what better to do than to eat out with my new japanese friends?
They took me to a ramen and gyoza restaurant. As usual, when we entered the premises very employee made a big fuzz and welcomed us rather enthusiastically.
As for the food, I must tell you that I don't know how the japanese get to be so skinny. Ramen (for those who don't follow Naruto) is like noodles with vegetables and meat or fish or what not, but in a sauced water bath (almost like soup, but way better). I ate some with pork and sesame spicy sauce. Gyoza are japanese dumplings (I became a dumpling lover while in Taiwan 3 years ago), and have also that thin layer of pastry that involves vegetables finelly sliced and meat (see photo).
In the table there was like a button that you'd press to call the waitter who would be on our table in a minute (again, very helpful and cheerful).
During dinner came the talk about going out and drinks, etc, and they proposed that we buy some drinks and go to my room and have a small gathering.
And so we did. So me, and 4 girls and 2 more guys went back to my room, and somebody went out to buy drinks.
You must know that in Japan there is a huge tax on beer, but somebody just ended up buying Asahi - a brand of japanese beer. It wasnt bad, but it is a little less bitter and has less gas than portuguese beer.
Anyway, when we arrived home, I told them they could seat anywhere - bed, chair... - but apparently, that is this japanese tradition that when you come to other peoples house you seat on the ground because usually they dont have a sitting place for everyone. And thats what they did. Bottom line: drinking, talking and eating fried chicken and more gyoza on the ground!
Great way to finish the week :)
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The Japanese naming system.
In Japan, it is tradition for families to have just one name so the woman when married loses her "maiden" name and adopt her husband`s name.
When publishing papers, many japanese adopt a middle name for better distinction.
The exception is the Emperial family in which every member has just the first name (so, the oposite of the portuguese royal family)!
One of the princes is a scientist and has some papers published and uses his only name.
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First day of work... first "japanese" dinner
The Tumor Pathology Lab, will be my 2nd home for the next 4 weeks.
Everybody was very welcoming and this is a very welcoming place. Maybe the fact that most people walk around wearing slippers helps this "home notion". And Ill tell you that I am considering joining the fashion. It is most convenient, as you have many rooms in which you have to walk with the appropriate footwear, and is a complete pain having to unlace your shoelaces and take your shoes off and vice versa everytime you want to get your samples from the -87degrees fridge...
I have my own desk with my own japanese PC and keybord, which takes a little time to get used to because there are some things out of place and if you are not careful you will turn the japanese letters on. Also, these are the times when knowing some shortcuts helps (being the most popular Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V), because the menus are in japanese.
But enough about work. The dinner!
Chihiro and some friends took me to taste a Shizuoka perfecture delicacy: Nikomi Hambagu. This is like a big ball of ground meat, served with some vegetables. Most like a round hamburger. The curious thing is that the hambagu comes in those hot plates still crisping and the waitresses come to the table, cut your big ball of meat in two with a biiig knife and it keeps grilling on the table, making all of this mess of oil droplets around. So, you have to take your table paper and hold it in front of you (see picture).
Bottom line: not only fun, but also D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!
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