#but shinkansen... it's a bullet train. that's what we call it in english. there's no small differences

[nordic-language-love]

english has a perfectly good word for shinkansen (bullet train) and yet no english speakers here seem to use it they literally all just say shinkansen

[moth-who-speaks]

Japanese Log #4

2024/8/24

Information:

When learning to read Kanji, you will come across the concepts of Onyomi and Kunyomi, which are basically the two ways to read a kanji character

Onyomi and Kunyomi are often called Chinese reading and Japanese reading respectively

The historical contact between China and Japan resulted in many Chinese influences on Japanese culture. One of these is the language, even though the indigenous Japanese people already had their own language at the time, it was spoken and not written, so they adopted the use of Chinese hanzi characters to help write their language

These hanzi characters are known in Japanese today as Kanji which literally means han character or Chinese character. During their process of becoming part of the Japanese language, some of their Chinese pronunciations at the time were kept and this way of reading the character is known as onyomi.

Meanwhile these same Chinese characters which kept their Chinese pronunciation were also used to attribute a written form for words already existing in the Japanese language, which resulted in a second type of reading of the kanji character, known as Kunyomi.

What is the meaning between the two?

Looking at the characters that make up the word onyomi we have: On which means 'sound' and Yomi which means 'reading'. So onyomi literally means 'sound reading' because this is the way of reading the kanji character with its original sound in Chinese

Kunyomi translates to something along the lines of 'meaning reading' and is the way of reading a character with the Japanese pronunciation it was given at the time it was adopted into the language

Example(s):

An easy one is the word for 'mountain' in Japanese which is 山

山 can be read as Yama (Kunyomi) or San (Omyomi)

The word for mountain in Japanese, Yama, existed before the arrival of this Chinese character, '山', from China. The character was given the pronunciation yama by the Japanese while also keeping its original Chinese reading shan but changing it to the Japanese pronunciation san.

Even the most simple characters can have many different readings

上 (meaning 'up' or 'above') and 生 (meaning 'life') are two of the first kanji characters taught in the kanji system and also have more readings than many other kanji

上

Kunyomi: ue, uwa, age, aga, nobo

Onyomi: Jyou, shyou and shan

生

Kunyomi: I, u, uma, umare, o, ha, ki, nama, na, and my

Onyomi: Sei, shou

When to use Onyomi Vs Kunyomi:

While there is no method you can consistently apply with 100% accuracy to decide whether to read a character with its Kunyomi or onyomi reading, there are a few tips and tricks people use which can help you get it right maybe 80% of the time

The remaining 20% can really only be learned through memorization with lots of reading practice. Especially when a particular kanji has many readings, you can only become familiar with the various kun and on readings through multiple encounters with the character in different contexts

1. Kanji Compound Words (Onyomi Likely)

Words that are made up of two or more kanji side by side, with no hiragana separating the characters, have a higher chance of being read with onyomi

Like Chinese, these words are made up of just kanji characters, and are known as jukugo (熟語) which means 'compound word' in English. Similar to how we have words like 'bus stop' or 'mobile phone', these are usually represented in Japanese with only kanji

Example(s):

新幹線 reads Shinkansen (the Japanese bullet train). Each one of these characters is read with its Onyomi reading: Shin (新) + Kan (幹) + Sen (線).

公共交通機関 - Koukyou koutsuu kikan (public transport)

自然災害 - Shizen saigai (natural disaster)

携帯電話 - Keitai denwa (mobile phone)

税務署 - Zeimu sho (tax office)

2. Okurigana (Kunyomi Likely)

Okurigana is the name of the hiragana characters that are used to create words in Japanese in conjunction with kanji. Okurigana is normally used for making verbs and adjectives.

When you see a word written with Okurigana, it is more than likely the kanji parts of that word will be read with their Kunyomi reading

Example(s):

The words 行く (iku - To Go) and 小さい (Chiisai - Small)

The く(ku) in the verb 行く(iku - To Go) and the さい(sai) in the adjective 小さい (Chiisai - Small) are called Okurigana. They are hiragana characters that work together with the kanji characters to create a word, in this case the Japanese verb for to go and the Japanese adjective for small.

Both kanji in these two examples are read with the Kunyomi readings (i and chii) in the words above

To apply the point made in number 1, that kanji compounds usually take a onyomi reading, we can look at the word for 'bank' in Japanese which is 銀行 (ginkou)

In the word 銀行, we can see that the same kanji from the above example 行く(to go) is being used at the end of this word (in purple) with its Onyomi pronunciation

行くiku (to go)

銀行 Ginkou (bank)

3. Single Kanji Character (Kunyomi Likely)

When you see a kanji character on its own in Japanese, it's almost always read with its Kunyomi. If you read a stand alone kanji with its Onyomi pronunciation, it won't make sense. This is more of a rule.

Example(s):

家 meaning 'house' is by itself and takes the Kunyomi reading (ie). However, when you see it as a compound as in the word for family which is 家族 (kazoku) it takes its Onyomi ka. If you were to just say ka for the character 家 by itself, it would not make sense.

雨 meaning 'rain' uses its Kunyomi by itself (ame). It changes to its Onyomi, yu, when it becomes part of the kanji compound word 梅雨 (tsuyu) meaning 'rainy season'. If you just called this character by itself 雨 with its Onyomi, yu, it wouldn't make sense.

4. Names of Japanese people and places (Kunyomi Likely)

Native Japanese names for people and places will often be read with Kunyomi but there are too many exceptions for this to be considered a rule

This is important though because place and people names are usually kanji compounds, which goes against the point made in number 1 (that compounds are onyomi)

However, because names of people and places in Japan are usually of Japanese origin, they will typically be pronounced with their kun reading, particularly names of people

Names of places are a lot more difficult to interpret, even for native Japanese speakers, and they often mix both kun and on readings, with no logical order

Example(s):

Last names and places following Kunyomi readings:

山口 - Yama guchi (mountain entrance)

中村 - Naka mura (in/while/during village)

黒川 - Kuro kawa

宮本 - Miya moto

埼玉 - Saitama

横浜 - Yokohama

青森 - Aomori

広島 - Hiroshima

Many times Furigana (pronounciation guide in hiragana) is always written above the kanji at places and on shows when people are introduced to help with pronunciation

How to remember the Kunyomi and onyomi for each character:

There's really only one way to memorize the different readings and that's practice

The points above serve as a guide, but there's many exceptions

[japanesepenguin]

Yamaguchi for New Years, Part 1

+ Well, welcome back; hope y’all had a good holiday; I now resume daily posting; the new year is one of the big holidays in Japan and a time when children and grandchildren travel home to spend time with their parents and grandparents; since Tokyo is a very young city (meaning there’s lots of young people) and contains a big chunk of the overall population, that means there’s a bunch of people travelling out of the city into the countryside during this time — Akina and I among them; so let’s get started; here, Akina texts her sister as we wait in the subway station for a local train to get us to Shinagawa (the big train station I posted before); turns out, there’s a big snow storm between us and Akina’s mom’s house and the potential for our four hour train ride to be delayed

+ Having made it to Shinagawa Station, we check out an omiyage store; I’m not sure what omiyage translates to, but they’re essentially local gifts you buy while traveling to give to people upon your return; here, Akina bought a type of egg snack that’s famous in Tokyo to share with her family

+ The shinkansen is usually called the “Japanese bullet train” or something similar in English; it’s the super-fast train that forms the backbone of the rail network across Japan and stops only in major cities; it’s expensive (the above ticket was ~$200), but cheaper and (for me) better than flying  

+ This is the view inside the Shinkansen station; the sign flips between English and Japanese so I took a picture of the English version so you can see it; there are three types of train: nozomi, hikari, and kodama (fastest to slowest); we’re taking a hikari train, which makes several stops along the way (listed on the sign)

+ This is your view on the train; I’ve spent hours of my life looking at this sign; I was pleased that this time I could read nearly all of this; it’s like a first- or business-class seat on an airplane; roomy and comfortable 

+ Anyways, we’re heading south, crossing out of Tokyo into Yokohama; this takes about 10 minutes and it’s difficult for me to explain how ridiculously fast that is

+ As we continue south, Mt. Fuji comes into view; there’s two sides of the train: the “mountain side” and the “ocean side”; we always sit on the mountain side because it has two seats per row (the ocean side has three); this is a view I’ve seen several times now, but it’s still impressive 

+ Making our way along, about two hours into traveling we come to Toyohashi; this is the city I lived in for a couple months with Nick doing nothing (until I got the job in Tokyo); so Toyohashi has a special place in my heart; that pointy mountain in the back (just to the left of the utility pole) is Mt. Ishimaki, a mountain I’ve climbed and something previous readers would have seen before 

+ We soon come to Nagoya, one of the major cities of Japan; Nagoya is roughly situated in the geographic center of Japan; I’ve visited a few times, but I don’t know much about it

+ After Nagoya, we start crossing the mountains into the core of the countryside on the way to Kyoto and Osaka; and now we enter the snow storm... stay tuned

[sidlyrics]

Organizing the trip

If the events you'll be going to are in the same city as the one you're travelling to, it'll probably be very easy to organize everything, but if you have to move around or go to more than one live, you'll have to look for transport, acommodation, food, etc., so I've made this guide sharing a bit of my experience in case it is useful for someone when they are organizing their own trip.

Transport

Even though it's possible to buy a JR pass, which enables us to take any JR trains, some metro lines and some buses for the period we get it for, we thought it was a bit too expensive. Also, once activated, you have to use it in a certain period of time (that is to say, if you have a 7-day pass, you can't use it on 7 random different days, it will last exactly for a week since you first used it). However, it's true that travelling on train is really comfortable and fast, so if you don't mind spending a little bit more, maybe this option is worth it for you. Thinking that the tickets had been already quite expensive, we tried to look for other alternatives and we found a bus company, Willer, that offers passes for more affordable prices. There is a 3-day pass, a 5-day pass and a 7-day pass, but they don't have to be consecutive days, you have a few months when you can use them any time. Depending on the dates you'll be travelling, you can also get a discount: if you travel only from Monday to Thursday, passes are cheaper. Each day you use the pass, you can take up to 3 day buses and one night bus. After checking our live plan, we chose the 5-day pass including weekends. Also, we always took night buses, so we could sleep on the bus and save some money from the hotel. Night buses usually leave between 10 pm and 12 pm from Tokyo's city center and arrive at the destination around 7 am, so it's possible to use the rest of the day to go sightseeing. Plus, busses are adapted, so seats are more comfortable, they have a thing to cover your head in case you want more privacy, they have lockets to charge your electronic devices, etc. They'll also make a few stops and you can get off the bus to buy something or use the bathroom at the service area.

However, we didn't go to every live by bus, so I'll briefly explain our travel plan:

Bus to Sendai (July 5th) - Day 1 of the bus pass // Live at Sendai // Night at Sendai (July 6th) and train to Utsunomiya (July 7th) // Live at Utsunomiya // Train to Tokyo (July 7th)

Train to Saitama (July 9th) // Live at Saitama // Train to Tokyo (July 9th)

Bus to Kanazawa (July 11th) - Day 2 of the bus pass // Live at Kanazawa // Bus to Tokyo (July 12th) - Day 3 of the bus pass

Bus to Nagoya (July 14th) - Day 4 of the bus pass // Live at Nagoya // Bus to Tokyo (July 15th) - Day 5 of the bus pass

Bus to Osaka (July 17th) // Live at Osaka // Bus to Tokyo (July 18th)

As you can see, the last two trips Tokyo-Osaka-Tokyo weren’t included in the bus pass and I had to buy them separately, but doing that by train can be around 15000 yen, while it was only 5000 yen by bus. For Saitama, since it's only half an hour from Tokyo, you can easily get there by train for around 500 yen. On the other side, since the lives at Sendai and Utsunomiya took place one after the other, we decided to spend the night at Sendai and go directly from there to Utsunomiya (it's half-way between Sendai and Tokyo). In any case, Willer doesn't have buses from Sendai to Utsunomiya, so going by bus wasn't even an option. At first, we thought that it was possible to take local trains, which are slower and, therefore, cheaper, but when we arrived to the train station we were told that there were only shinkansen (bullet train). When you buy your tickets, it's possible to choose a carriage with reserved or unreserved seats. We chose the latter because it was a bit cheaper and, since the train had such a high frequency (maybe it's just that it wasn't rush hour, I don't know), there were a lot of empty seats, so we could sit down. If you look for information about the tickets and timetables online on Hyperdia (you can only check, you can't buy tickets), it might be understood that the price of the tickets will be the one that pops up when you select your seat type.

However, it isn't like that, to that amount on that menu, you have to add the base price that is written in the "fare" column (then, if we choose an unreserved seat, it won't be 3530 yen, but 8040). You can probably picture our faces when the lady selling the tickets told us the actual price. In order to go back to Tokyo from Utsunomiya, there are local trains, so you can choose between going on a bullet train (40 minutes more or less) or take one of those local trains (an hour and a half), which are also a lot cheaper (1500 yen one-way).

Acommodation

As I mentioned before, we were travelling on night buses so we didn't have to pay for a night at a hotel. However, we did have to stay for one night at Sendai. The original plan was to not spend a cent on acommodation and just find any way to spend the night there, but when we arrived to Sendai we saw that it wasn't that simple. At first, we thought that, being summer, since it's hot in Japan, we could just stay at a park or something. But rainy season was a bit longer that year and, once there, it was raining and cold. Since we couldn't stay in the open, we tried to find a place to stay. We thought that, since konbini are open 24 hours and some have an area with sofas or seats to eat, we could just stay there. This might sound like a good idea, but in fact that area will be closed by 11 pm, probably to avoid people doing what we were planning to do. Therefore, now out of options, we finally faced the fact that we would have to look for a real acommodation. Being only one night, we didn't mind sharing the bathroom or bedroom, so we ended up choosing a hostel that was 2000 yen per person. In case someone goes to Sendai and wants to stay there, it was the Sendai Guesthouse Umebachi. It is a traditional house, rooms are for four people and the bathroom was shared (there were two showers, but they are closed so no one will see you). In the mornings they offer coffee, milk and toasts, so we could grab some food before leaving. Plus the staff speaks English. The only problem we encountered was the bed, since it was a futon. It was okay at first, but not being used to sleeping on a hard surface and given that the sun rises early and there are no window blinds, we were already awake at 5:30 am.

Food

Depending on your budget, you can either go to restaurants or find cheaper options. Among those, konbini food is okay. For 300-400 yen there are premade dishes (and they are surprisingly yummy), but for 100-200 yen there are sandwiches, small bento boxes (with omelette, chicken, sushi, etc.) and onigiri (the tuna and mayo one is a hard drug). If you buy cup ramen, you can ask them to prepare it for you, and you can also ask them to heat the premade dish you've picked. If you go to restaurants, there are some Japanese fast food chains, like Yoshinoya, CoCoIchi or Tenya, but I admit we just went in whatever place we found, be it a konbini, restaurant or fast food chain. If it helps, we found out about some traditional food from different cities and I can link to some restaurants we went to, in case someone wants to go to the same place.

Tokyo: Our criteria to pick restaurants was completely random, but we went to some that we liked. In Asakusa, at Kaminarimon Maruka we had some cold noodles. In Shibuya, we ate at a sushi restaurant, Uobei. It is not the best sushi ever, but it's okay and cheap (it will arrive to your seat on a conveyor belt), and in Shinjuku we went to a yakiniku restaurant, Rokkasen. In Ikebukuro, even though it's a chain, we went to Tonkatsu Wako. I love tonkatsu, and the rice, cabbage and miso soup are "refillable", so you could ask for more, it was awesome.

Sendai: There was a restaurant near the hostel that they recommended to us. It is quite small, but the owners were nice and they were fascinated about us being there. The staff doesn't speak English, but they asked if yakitori and sashimi were okay (I loved the sashimi), and we ate that. Some salarymen found us entertaining and ordered typical dishes from Sendai for us to try. I don't remember what the first two were, although one was some kind of oyster and the other one was fish, but the third one was fried tofu (I remember because it was super dry and I didn't like it, but the other two were good).

Utsunomiya: The typical food from this city are gyoza. There are a lot of restaurants in the area near Heaven's Rock, so it'll be easy to find one. There was also a mall (and even though we couldn't find the source, it smelled like there was a pastry shop) and there is also a cafeteria called Barisai Cafe where they sell pancakes, cakes, etc.

Nagoya: Eel is typical from this city, but we were a bit disgusted by the thought of it, so we ended up having lunch at a Okinawan-style meat restaurant.

Travel insurance

Even though it might seem useless, we hired a travel insurance with IATI because we had read that health service in Japan is expensive. After all, it was worth it, because my friend got sick and they wouldn't even sell paracetamol at the pharmacy without a prescription, so we had to go to the doctor just for that and we weren't charged anything, even the insurance company helped us get an appointment for that same evening. Also, the doctor who helped us spoke perfect English and she was really caring.

Internet access

Being two people, we decided to rent a pocket wifi. It is a portable router that works anywhere you go. The battery lasts around 10 hours, but it had an extra battery to recharge it, so it could last a whole day. The good thing about pocket wifi is that there is no data limit and you can connect more than one device. We rented it here. It is also possible to buy a data SIM card. You have different options and prices, depending on the period you want it for, the number of GB, etc. You can order them online, before starting your trip, or just get them already in Japan, since there are shops at the airport where they'll install it for you.

Places to visit

Since we arrived early at each city, we could seize the morning to go sightseeing. I'm writing below the names of the places we visited in case you'll be going to any of these cities and want to check this out.

Sendai: Aoba castle, Zuihoden

Utsunomiya: Oya-ji (you can take a bus directly from the train station), Utsunomiya castle

Kanazawa: Kanazawa castle, Kenroku-en, geisha district (there is also a temple district here, it's signaled)

Nagoya: Nagoya castle, Atsuta-jingu

Osaka: Osaka castle, Dotonbori, Amerikamura

[angelicastravels]

{movin’ on in}

It’s my first night in the apartment. This morning, all the new JETs checked out of the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo and followed their respective supervisors to their placements. Orientation was interesting because I got to meet a bunch (literally hundreds, probably) of people in a similar boat as me, but it was also pretty exhausting—from near-constant seminars to just the sheer number of conversations held.

I didn’t really get much jet lag (or JET lag haha). I have definitely been waking up earlier than I would at home, but that could also be because my roommates did that in the hotel in Tokyo. They kept waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning, while I kept sleeping until just before my alarm at 6 AM. It was great! The quality of beds may also have been a factor—Keio Plaza is a super snazzy hotel with mattresses. You might think that would be obvious, but my apartment has a futon on a bed frame. While I slept on one all last summer, I’m not sure if I really want to do it for such a long time without some extra padding somewhere.

We took a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Shizuoka station. One of the JETs clocked the train going 175 mph via Snapchat. Then we walked about 10 minutes to the station for local trains, took a 30-minute train ride, and ended up near the city’s Board of Education (my contracting organization, or the people I’m working for). Everyone we met, including the ALTs we saw on the way there, was so friendly and helpful. They had papers for us to sign and some official things we needed to do, like register as residents, etc. but the process went more or less smoothly (we had some minor hiccups, mostly because of the English/Japanese barrier), and I think we’re all set now.

Afterward, a very nice current ALT and teacher took me in a van to get supplies for the night. We came to the apartment first to see what was already here, and I and the others were pleasantly surprised at how much my predecessor left for me. I did buy some of the things for me, but he offered to do things that went above and beyond the call of duty, really. The whole place looks clean as well, which is awesome.

I’m literally right next to a fancy supermarket (like Whole Foods, kind of), and a couple blocks away from an ES Spot (maybe like a mini Walmart? They have everything) and Daiso (cute dollar store). Plus, I’m less than 5 minutes from the school I will be teaching at, so everything for daily living seems super convenient to get to. Unfortunately, the thing that is most inconvenient to get to is the Board of Education, where I will be for training for a couple weeks and for monthly meetings later on. I need to allow plenty of time to make sure I get there without difficulty.

I wish I had a bit more time to unpack and settle in before jumping right into work tomorrow, but it’s probably good for me to be up and out of the apartment. I thought I might be a bit lonely on this first night, just based off what other people have told me or asked about, but I honestly feel fine right now. I’m pretty proud that I kept a positive attitude despite some minor setbacks, heat, and weight of my luggage (entirely my fault, but it doesn’t really matter when you’re dragging it around the city in the heat and humidity). I guess this is what they call the “honeymoon phase” where everything is great and exciting, but I’m going to ride the wave for as long as possible.

Maybe I’ll say a bit more on this tomorrow, or maybe tomorrow will just be too exciting and I’ll need to write all about that. We’ll see :)

[levihauser]

高校

6 September, 2019

I’ve started to get used to Japan, although I’ve still got a long way to go before I can speak and understand Japanese.

On the 28th of August, I went downstairs and had breakfast. My host parents think I love cereal more than anything in the world, so they feed it to me for breakfast most mornings alongside an already huge breakfast. This was my first day of eating it, however. They had had me select the cereal I wanted at the store. All the options were sweet and sugary cereals, which I don’t really like. however, there was one that was not: bran flakes! My family and the US and I eat bran flakes with our cereal whenever we have it, and they are not sweet at all. So I pointed them out, and my host father took four bags off the shelf. When I had them, however, they were probably the sweetest thing I had all day. They were completely coated in sugar- and there was a whole bowl of them. I struggled to eat the bowl, then ate the rest of my huge breakfast. 

In the early afternoon, my host father and I went to my school, Matto High School. They sized me for my school uniform (consisting of a button-down white shirt with an M on it and way-too-loose gray striped pants with vibrant blue and red rubber slippers). It was a little uncomfortable, as the teachers just pushed me into a side room with the door open to change. After the sizing was finished, I met some of my teachers. My class teacher (in Japan students stay in the same classroom for most of the day. A class teacher is something like a homeroom teacher), who is also an English teacher and a fairly good English speaker, is Mrs. Kameda. There is another English teacher who is from the US on the JET program, Miss Pike. She is from New Jersey. All of them seemed nice. I also learned that there are two students from the Philippines in my class that are okay English speakers.

After the meeting at the high school finished, my host father and I went and ate ramen at a nearby small restaurant. Up until that point we had not had lunch, so I was very hungry, but the ramen was very good. For dinner, we had some sort of gigantic pork pancake with a side of squid. Being vegetarian up until I came to Japan, I was a bit queasy about eating meat (it also wasn’t the tastiest meal in the world in my opinion).

On the 29th, I read in the morning for a while. I can’t seem to get up as late as I would like, so I have to go to bed early to get enough sleep. For breakfast, I had a sunny-side-up egg and salad, as well as a thick slab of bread with a hefty rectangle of luminescent, half-melted, yellow cheese. It poured all morning. At 11, my host father and I went to the city hall of Hakusan. I met the mayor. I was impressed. I would have thought that the mayor of  city with a population of over 100,000 would have too busy a schedule to meet with a single exchange student. The city hall is a big skyscraper, and we were on the fourth floor in a room for receiving guests. Because of its purpose, the room had a lot of beautiful art from the city.

I had to make a short speech in Japanese, but I had an interpreter who could help me understand and answer questions. I was given a bag of Hakusan-themed gifts and interviewed by several reporters. Just for meeting with the mayor for 20 minutes and being an exchange student, I got in the newspaper and on TV! After the meeting, we spent 3 hours filling out residency paperwork for my time in Japan. Not my idea of a fun afternoon, but it allows me to stay in Japan for more than 90 days.

There was a Rotary meeting of the club that is hosting me that evening, so I attended and had to make another short speech in Japanese. We exchanged Rotary flags (I gave them Perry’s, they gave me theirs so that I can bring it back to Perry), then ate dinner. It was a fancy hotel, so the food was fancy too. It was interesting to hear the Rotary song in Japanese.

On the 30th I had super-sugar-saturated cereal again. My host father got out a board game and just started playing it with me without explaining it all. Somehow I won, despite not knowing the rules until about halfway through (the game was called オセロ in Japanese, which, transliterated, is Osero. I think it is Othello in English). I went for a walk, and when I got back, I cleaned my bedroom and finished unpacking. It took a while, but it was very satisfying. My host mother made sushi for lunch. It was delicious! My favorite was inarizushi (rice wrapped in tofu). I read in the afternoon, then we had dinner (fish, rice, meat, somen, and miso). I went on a walk after dinner, but the sun set as I was walking and I got lost on my way back. I asked a friendly person for directions and she showed me the way (she actually walked me all the way back home, in the opposite direction she had been going). 

On the 31st, I had been in Japan for one week! I studied Japanese for a while, then had breakfast. I went for a walk, then we ate lunch. My host father and I went for a bike ride. Both the walk and the ride were to my high school, so I could practice the route. After the bike ride, one of my host aunts picked me up and took me to her house for a taiko (Japanese drum) lesson. It was interesting and fun, however, I was not very good at it, so I was not too happy when I found out my host dad had recorded the whole thing on video and was repeatedly playing it to anyone who he knew. 

When we returned home, my seven-year-old host niece Yuria and my four-year-old host nephew Shudai were there. We went to a sushi restaurant. It was pretty interesting. There was a counter surrounding the chefs with a conveyor belt that had plates of sushi on it. The chefs made sushi and put it on the conveyor belt, and customers took off any sushi they wanted. The price was assessed by the number of plates each customer had amassed and what color they were (different colors indicated different prices). If you weren’t seated at the counter, you were in a group. That’s where we were. There was a screen that you could touch to pick what you wanted, then a wheeled tray would come speeding up to you shortly on a special track. Whenever it came, Shuudai would shout “Shinkansen, shinkansen!” (bullet train, bullet train). You could take your food, then press the screen to dismiss the tray. We ate sushi and overall, it was delicious, although there were a few things I ate that I wish I hadn’t. We had ice cream for dessert, and both Yuria and Shuudai dropped theirs on the ground. After that, we went home.

On September first, I got up and started to get ready for my Rotary Youth Exchange orientation later that day. At 11, three Rotarians showed up to drive me to Toyama City. The drive took about an hour, and it was very scenic. Lots of mountains! There were a lot of trams on tracks in the center of the road. According to one of the Rotarians, Toyama City, along with Hiroshima, is one of the few cities in Japan with trams like that. They were very interesting, and while some looked new, others looked like beautiful antiques, maybe from 60 to 70 years ago. We arrived at the hotel where the meeting was, and all of the English speaking inbound students were there. There were 12 (I think), so it was much bigger than district 7120, where I come from, in terms of youth exchange. In 7120, there were only 13 outbound students total, whereas here the total of inbound English speakers only almost reached that. There were some students from Canada and the US and one from Australia. I was the youngest. The orientation was long and boring, but all of the students were able to exchange pins with each other, a Rotary Youth Exchange custom, as well as business cards. We returned home, and only my host mother was there, as my host father was at a meeting in Fukui Prefecture. We went out for dinner at a small restaurant. We constituted half of the customers, but the people at the restaurant seemed to know her. After spending quite a while there, we returned home and went to bed.

The second was my first day of school. I put on my school uniform. I had breakfast and left. School starts at 8:35, but I was to be there at 8 on the first day. My host dad gave me a ride there, and I gave a speech to the teachers. Mrs. Kameda led me to my classroom and I made the same speech again to my classmates. We all moved to the gym for an assembly, and I made the speech for the third time, this time to the whole school. Afterwards, all the students took tests. This was the beginning of their second semester after a one month break for the summer (school starts in April here). I was given a tour of the school. It has two courtyards, and is essentially shaped like a hollow rectangle with a hallway through the middle. It has four floors, and my classroom is on the third. Lots of stair climbing! Everybody I met wanted to say hi to me, so that was pleasant. There were no classes on the first day, so I just took the English test and studied Japanese, then went home. The walk takes about half an hour. I snacked and ate dinner, then both host parents went to an oil painting class, so I went to bed.

On the third, I got ready for school and left. There are six periods in a school day, plus lunch, cleaning and homeroom. I’m taking English Communication, English, Math, Music, Modern Japanese, Classical Japanese, P.E., Calligraphy, Art, History, Science, Taiko, Office Skills, and Health. Both the math and the science are what I took two years ago in the U.S. I thought I had finished the day, when lo and behold, I learned that I had to stay seventh period, along with every other student, to study on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I leave at 4:30 instead of 3:30. I had been getting along well with a little help from Google Translate, but at school everyone spoke quickly and used characters I don’t understand, so it was very difficult. My hardest classes have been Classical and Modern Japanese. In Modern Japanese on Wednesday, there was a vocabulary opener, where I had to copy definitions from a dictionary onto a paper. However, while I know two of the Japanese alphabets, the third has thousands of characters which I don’t know that I just had to copy from what I saw, which took a really long time and hurt my eyes. Wednesday was my hardest day of the week. In the U.S., I never really liked Wednesdays, and I had hoped it would get better here, but it did just the opposite.

Yesterday, I went to school. It was my easiest day yet, although that may just be because of the relief of stress from not having to stay at school until 4:30. My host mother had slept in, however, so I didn’t get any packed lunch. Instead, I had to buy something from the school store. By the time I got there, I was at the end of the line and the only thing edible left was half of a stale Nutella sandwich. Not my favorite meal in Japan so far. One thing that’s nice about this school is that the classrooms all have air conditioning because it gets so hot and humid in the summer. However, I’ve been told that there’s no insulation in the winter and they keep it cool, so I’m a little worried. I’ve pretty much memorized my route to school now, so I don’t need my map any more. I walk on a dirt road through rice fields along the way, as well as past two Shinto shrines and across a railroad. It’s a pretty walk. I went to the post office, doubling the time of my walk, but I got to walk by the ruins of a castle. I had no idea that there had ever been a castle in Hakusan. Immediately, I was offered a matcha-flavored ice cream pop by my host dad. It wasn’t bad at all. My host family seems to like eating ice cream at all hours after 10 AM. There was another Rotary meeting and this time the president of my host district, 2610, was the guest speaker. The meeting ended, and one of the Rotarians gave me a ride home. Although my host dad was at the meeting, he had to go to another meeting immediately afterwards. I took my first Japanese bath. It was pretty hot, but still nicer than I thought it would be. I waited this long because try as I might, I couldn’t figure out how to get the water to turn on until I remembered to ask my host mother.

Today, I went to school after breakfast. It was an average day, neither too hard nor too easy, but it was nice because the exhausting first week of school was over. I’ve been here for two weeks now! I’m starting to fall into a rhythm and am enjoying my time here.

My host parents and I

My school’s main entrance

Sunset a short walk from my house

A torii at a shrine along my walk to school

A museum along my walk to school

[btskismet]

Kismet (Chapter 6): a BTS Jin imagines fanfic

First ever fanfic. Contains fluff and some smut. Please read sequentially as it is a long story arc. Please provide feedback! My IG is btskismet.

The trip from Osaka to Kyoto would take an hour. She chose not to take the shinkansen this time since she left pretty early to take the train going to Shunkoin Temple.

After getting coffee, an onigiri and her favorite yogurt from Family Mart, she took her luggage with her to Namba station as she was ready to take the first train to Kyoto station. She decided that she will deposit her luggage at the coin lockers in Kyoto station first before going to the temple.

Jin will have to go straight to the hotel with his car, she thought. He won't have the chance to take a train from Kyoto station by that time because it would be too late.

She knew the stay in Kyoto would only be for 2 nights. But at least it will be quiet and secluded - hopefully no one will recognize him.

The train trip went by slowly, through the sleepy towns and fields. She contentedly watched the houses as they zipped past them, seeing each house look similar to the others and at the same time not because of the minor additions made to each one in terms of structure or decor. 'If I was on a shinkansen, all of this would be a blur', she thought to herself. She knew that was the disadvantage of riding the shinkansen. All the little intricacies that make the quaint houses look so nice can't be appreciated when riding a bullet train.

She contemplated on the itinerary on their stay in Kyoto and where they could go that wasn't too busy. She knew that Kyoto was the hotspot for tourists so travelling around might be a challenge. Good thing they will just be there for 2 nights before they head out.

~~~~

She was walking through the quiet path that led to Shunkoin Temple. A few other foreigners walked with her and she figured they would be her "classmates" for the meditation class. She was always interested in meditation done by Buddhist monks and she found that this is something she shouldn't pass up on this trip.

The Shunkoin Temple is the only temple in Kyoto that teaches mediation in English. It is a reasonably priced session for an hour and the abbot, Reverend Kawakami, answers all questions and concerns during each class before they start meditation. She was excited to learn how to do it properly.

The class is comprised of 20 people. Despite the large number of participants, it seemed that the class would really be a calm one because the Reverend was very accommodating and serene. The participants asked questions on the purpose of meditation, how to do it properly, what are the benefits and consequences, etc. She was pleased to know that it can help her manage stress better because it teaches mindfulness.

Someone asked a weird question in class. "Is it true that meditation can allow you to have a past life regression because your mind is open? I read about experiences other people had when they did meditation correctly.", an eager young lady in the front row asked.

"Meditation will definitely open your mind and provide spiritual awakening and enlightenment but past life regressions are rare, if not at all. Those who start having instances of spiritual awareness may feel that's it but that's not the case.", the Reverend replied.

The Reverend then asked them to close their eyes to start the session. He told them to sit in a comfortable but indian-style position. He taught them to focus on their breathing and for each inhale and exhale, they have to listen to just that. He didn't ask then to block their thoughts but the more they focused on their breathing, the more it would be easier for thoughts to drift in to their minds and out without effort.

She focused on her breathing and made sure to listen to each breath she took. She would inhale through her nose but exhale through her mouth, as was taught. She saw Jin in her mind's eye which made her smile deep inside. Then her thoughts of him faded away as she took a deep breath and released it.

Inhale then exhale... Inhale then exhale...

She saw Jin again in her mind but he seemed to be older. He still had those kind eyes and those full, pouty lips but his face was thinner and his complexion was a little duller. He also had a few creases in the corner of each eye. He was peeling carrots, hunched over a big bowl with peeled carrots. Then he faced her and he laughed.

She felt her own breath again as she inhaled and exhaled. She heard the Reverend's voice but it sounded so distant, as if he was underwater.

Then she saw her hands and she could see that it was covered in dirt and blood. They were trembling and then they got wet because rain started to fall which turned the ground into mud. She was crying and saw bodies around her; people she didn't recognize except for one. She looked up and saw soldiers standing in front of her, soaked in the rain, looking down on her. She started to cry louder, filled with pain and anger, as she looked at the faces of each soldier. In the back, she saw Jin looking at her; his expression was one of sadness and anger. She kept crying loudly until she felt she couldn't breathe. As she was trying to catch her breath, she then fainted.

~~~

She woke up and was startled to find herself lying down on a futon inside a tatami room. It wasn’t dark when she woke but she knew right away that she wasn’t in a hotel or airbnb. She sat up and looked at her watch. It was 3pm. She looked for her bag and saw it in one corner of the room. She went to it and took out her phone. There were several messages from family, from Jin and one from the hotel, asking if she needed assistance in getting there as it was past the check-in time she emailed them she would be there. She sent them a message that she would be there soon.

She racked her brain as to what happened. All she could remember was sitting down and listening to the Reverend, asking them to focus on their breathing.

One of the sliding doors in the room opened and a monk appeared. He bowed in front of her and asked if he could come in so she nodded. He had a pot with tea in it and motioned her to move to the table in the room. He silently poured the tea in a cup and offered it to her to drink. Without a word, she got the cup and took a sip.

“Am I still in Shunkoin?”, she politely asked the monk. He nodded.

“Do you remember what happened?”, he asked her in perfect English. “No. I just remember meditating and focusing on my breathing, just like what the Reverend said.”, she replied.

“Was there anything you heard or saw while you were meditating?”, he asked pointedly.

She tried to recall but just like her dreams, they started to fade as soon as she focused on remembering the details. “I remember seeing people I know, one person in particular and rain and...”. She said ‘tsk’ and shook her head. “That’s all I can remember.”

The monk nodded and poured her another cup of tea.

“What happened, uhh, Reverend...?”

“You can call me as Obousan Shu.”, the monk interjected.

“Obousan Shu, can you please tell me what I did? I really don’t remember.”

Obousan Shu began to tell her how she reacted during the meditation. He said that in the middle of the lesson, the Reverend noticed she had tears streaming down her face. As he was approaching her, she started to whimper but still had her eyes closed. The other students beside her started to ask if she was okay but she wasn’t responding back. When the Reverend reached out and touched her shoulder, she started wailing. He started talking to her and getting her attention while more people around her were trying to speak to her to wake her up. After a couple of seconds, she started to sound like she couldn’t breathe and then fainted. Then they carried her to the tatami room and called one of the monks who studied medicine to check her. When he said she was fine and breathing normally, they let her sleep in the room.

Her eyes were wide after he finished speaking. She covered her mouth and then made a low bow, her forehead touching the table. “Gomen nasai, Obousan Shu-san!”, she said quickly. “Please, it is nothing. No need to apologize.”, the monk said.

She lifted her head and felt the warmth rising up to her cheeks and ears. “I know you’re embarrassed about this but please don’t be. We are just glad that you are alright.”, he said.

“I am sorry for disrupting the class that way. I don’t know what happened to me. I can’t remember anything...”

Obousan Shu chuckled and said: “Maybe it is for the best. I think you meditated and went so close to enlightenment that you saw more!”

He poured her another cup of tea and she sheepishly took it, feeling more embarrassed than she let on.

~~~

Her face was still warm when she boarded the train from Shunkoin temple to Kyoto station. She felt ashamed that the temple wanted to refund what she paid for the class, given that she didn’t finish it. But she protested and said that she did stay in their temple room and it was only fair that they still took her payment. They refused and gave her a full refund and even gave her a blessing for safe travel.

She responded to Jin’s messages (after he sent a flurry of worried messages to her), telling him that she was fine and she would explain tonight what happened. 

To divert his worry, she sent him a link to the hotel so he could check it and told him she was excited to see him again tonight as they still have a lot to plan for the trip to Hokkaido.

As she boarded the train from Kyoto station to head to Arashiyama station, she resolved to let go of what happened and just chalk it up as an interesting experience in her Japan travels. One thing’s for certain though: she felt that sense of enlightenment about Jin. Being with him for a week is definitely an opportunity that she should not pass up. 

~~~

In the hotel, she was thrilled that they got the premiere suite. It was a quaint hotel and there were only 7 rooms for guests so the possibilities of people recognizing Jin were limited. She was aware that they had to be absolutely discreet and any news about Jin on his whereabouts after the concert would be career suicide for him. 

She was sitting in the balcony area, looking at the boats floating on the Katsura river. She could hear the crickets in the area and the soft lapping of the water. She had a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

2245. She checked her phone if she has a message from him as the concert ended 45 minutes ago. She started to wonder if it was hard for him to leave discreetly after the concert. The Kyocera Dome concert they had tonight was the last one in Japan this year and there would be thousands of ARMYs waiting for them to ride the cars on the way to the hotel. Jin did say that he wouldn’t go back to the hotel anymore as he packed all of his bags before the concert and already had them placed in the car. Each BTS member leaves the concert venues and hotels in their own cars for security so she hoped he didn’t need to have any detours or stopovers. His travel to the hotel would also be long - an hour’s drive from there to Arashiyama.

Bliiip!

She checked her phone and had a big smile with what she saw. Her heart raced when she saw the selfie Seokjin sent her with a message that said: In car. See you later (heart emoji).

“This is it! It’s happening!’, she thought. She stood up and plopped face down on the bed, got a pillow and screamed into it. She can’t wait to see Seokjin again. 

 --- to be continued ---

[nashvilletonihon]

How Can A Week Feel Like A Month???

It’s Monday morning here and it’s already hot outside. A stifling, oppressive, humid heat. The kind of heat that saps every last ounce of strength from your body and makes you physically exhausted. I stayed indoors yesterday, barely running my AC because I have no idea how much my electric bill will cost. My only reprieve is the fan circulating hot air around my apartment. In actuality, it’s really not so bad. I’ve dealt with no AC before and while it sucks, it’s not the end of the world. There’s only another month or two of summer and after that I’m sure I’ll be begging for warmer weather again. 

I have officially been in Japan for a week. One. Week. 7 days. That’s it. I feel like I’ve been here for a lifetime already. How have the days gone by so quickly and yet dragged on as if they would never end? This week has been rough. I left Tokyo Orientation on Wednesday and traveled to Kyoto City for, you guessed it, more orientation. Saying goodbye to the friends I had made in Tokyo was incredibly hard but I honestly didn’t have much time to think about it because a 2 1/2 新幹線 shinkansen (bullet train) ride later I was standing in my hotel room in Kyoto City wondering how I even got there in the first place. Thankfully the evening orientation meeting was only an hour long. Once we had changed back into our civilian clothing (I never want to wear another article of business attire ever again) we headed to an 居酒屋 izakaya (Japanese tavern) for dinner. There are 12 new Prefectural AET’s in total. 6 came in Group A and have already been teaching for a few weeks. The 6 of us in Group B arrived this past week and are still trying to wrap our heads around everything. 

Here we all are with 2 current JETs (Jacob & Jonah who are across from me), our Prefectural Advisor Leah and Karino先生, who works with Leah at the Kyoto Board of Education making sure we have all of the information we need to succeed in our new roles as Assistant English Teachers. 

Dinner was wonderful. The food was fantastic and the drinks were flowing. Four 梅酒 umeshu (Japanese plum wine) drinks later and I was actually feeling pretty good about things. For just a moment, I forgot about my stress and anxiety and focused on genuinely enjoying myself. It was...nice. So nice I even considered going out for karaoke afterward but the looming knowledge that I had to give my speech to the Board of Education AND meet my new supervisor/co-workers the next day quickly put an end to that. (Don’t worry, it all went well.)

The next few days sped by faster than the scenery outside of a 新幹線 window. I met 水口先生 (Mizuguchi-sensei), my supervisor who is so incredibly warm and kind hearted. She was there to receive me at my apartment when I rolled up after being in a car for 3 hours, sweaty, smelly, with my make-up melting off and completely exhausted. She showed me around my apartment, helped me to put some things away (they were all in the living room per the cleaning crew), took me to the store to buy some food and personal items and let me follow her around like the lost puppy that I am while I stupidly asked her “What does this mean?”, “Do you like this?”, “What do you use?” She even went back to her house to gather some towels for me to shower with since I didn’t have any. 

AND THIS WAS ALL JUST THURSDAY NIGHT. 

Friday was even worse. 水口先生 picked me precisely at 9 AM to begin a day full of important errands. The first stop was Kyotango City Hall where I had to change my address. 

I should mention that I currently do not have my residency card. Due to a glitch in the matrix there are about 2,000 of us JETs who do not have this incredibly important piece of paper that is vital to setting up a new life in a foreign country. So, you know, there’s that.

Holding our collective breath, 水口先生 and I walked into City Hall hoping against hope that they take the stupid little stamp marked “Residency Card will be issued at a later date.” in my passport as the real thing. With 水口先生 explaining in Japanese and me standing there, passport clutched in my hands and a pleading look on my face, I heard some of the few words in Japanese that I actually know... “大丈夫です.” Daijōbudesu. (It’s ok.) I had to stop myself from sinking to the floor in gratitude. It’s ok. It’s ok.

45 minutes later and I now had a Residency Certificate from City Hall. (Not the be confused with my Residency Card which I still don’t have and still desperately need.) Feeling elated and unstoppable, we headed to the Kyoto Bank to set up an account. An 1 1/2 later, boom, bank account open and bank book in my hand with my card scheduled to arrive in 2 weeks. We even set up automatic withdrawal so I don’t have to worry about taking care of rent and car payments separately. 

After the bank, we stopped for lunch. I think 水口先生 could tell that I was struggling. I had spent the entire morning intently listening to every conversation she had with others to try and pick up on any kind of Japanese I knew. (Spoiler alert, it was ZERO.) She pulled into a quaint little parking lot next to a restaurant called Ma Maison. Upon walking into the establishment I almost started bawling like a baby. It was decorated just like my Grandma Keether’s kitchen. Old school farm equipment, plates, mason jars and herbs hung from the walls and ceiling. Vinyl tablecloths and old wooden chairs decorated the seating area. For a moment, it felt like I was home. 

After lunch, we jetted over to Komori Auto Shop where I picked out a car. (Don’t get too excited guys, just wait until you see a picture of this thing.) 2 hours of discussing insurance, filling out paperwork and setting a date to pick the car up (August 22nd at 8:30 AM) and that was that. I will soon be able to drive in Tango like a regular citizen. Lord help me. And them.

The entire day was going so well. We were on a role. Unfortunately it came to a screeching halt at Y! Mobile, the phone company store where I was hoping to purchase a Japanese SIM card and internet. As of right now I only have internet in my apartment. (THANK GOD FOR THAT.) However, once I step foot outside, I’m on my own. I have no way of looking up directions, getting in contact with people or vice versa. It’s awful. I’ve only been walking around the area that I know, too scared of getting lost to venture any farther. Of all the places I didn’t think my passport stamp wouldn’t work, the cell phone store was not one of them. Who knew they would be so strict when it came to purchasing a phone plan? So now I have to just sit here and wait until my RC comes in the mail. Whenever that is.

Throughout this entire process so far, I’ve been trying to focus on the positives. They are few and far between but I know that it’s only because everything is so new and overwhelming. I’ve started making a list to keep track because if I don’t, the negatives will weasel their way to the forefront. Here are a few of the positives I’ve experienced in the past week:

I remembered the word for vegetables when ordering lunch in the Tokyo train station. (It’s 野菜, yasai, in case you were wondering.)

I have been complemented on how natural my Japanese sounds. (Although I’m pretty sure they’re just being nice.)

I used the self checkout at the grocery store and didn’t mess up or require assistance.

I’ve made a once cluttered and jumbled apartment into my temporary home. (It’s quite nice actually.)

I haven’t cried in 4 days. 

 That last one may seem unimportant, or trivial even, but it’s huge. Especially since I’m on the verge literally every minute of every day. An accurate representation of me would be something along the lines of this...

It’s a process. I just have to keep reminding myself of that. I know that once I get busy with school, (which will be next week after お盆祭り, Bon Festival. https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/obon-festival-2018-in-japan) the time will fly by and I’ll be getting ready to leave for the States again before I know it. I’ve got a mantra I keep repeating: “Take everything in stride. Feel your feels.” I won’t downplay my homesickness or my loneliness. To do that would be to deny myself the very real fact that they are there. Instead, I will make peace with it and remind myself that this isn’t forever. A year will fly by and the memories I make here are going to be worth it. The stories I share with my friends, family and boyfriend back home are mine alone to tell. I can’t let them down. I won’t let them down. 

That being said, I think this post has gone on long enough. I’ll close it out with some photos I’ve taken over the past week. Check out the captions below the pictures for explanations. 

A traditional Japanese breakfast at our Kyoto City hotel. 

Myself, Kelly Bell and Lizzie (UK) at the Tokyo Train Station. (It’s the largest and busiest station in the Japan.)

My all time favorite snack in Japan. おにぎり. Onigiri. (Rice ball.) These delicious little guys can be eaten by themselves, or be filled with any kind of savory treat. My two are ボニと bonito (dried fish skin) and 鰻 unagi (eel).

When people ask me why I won’t be eating fruit in Japan. (These grapes are $8.00!!!)

Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy long post. Hopefully it wasn’t as much of a downer as the last one was. Again, there will be more posts and more positives. Until then...

じゃあまた (See you!)

- レイチェル (Rachel)

[rem-is-best-almond]

Thoughts on the Special DwD Event あなたも私もホントはアクマか!？Are you and I both Devils?! (01.05.2016)

After almost 2 years of waiting for a DVD release for this event, I decided to take it upon myself to use Twitter’s shitty search engine to search Event Reports for it and I honestly don’t regret it??? But at the same time it just added to my salt that this won’t be seeing a DVD release anytime soon :))))))

Note: Contains Spoilers, proceed with Caution though since we all won’t be seeing this any time soon or probably EVER, might as well just spoil yourself 8D These are all based off a detailed Report I read on twitter IN JAPANESE about the full event and it’s the closest I will ever get to experiencing it (which I really REALLY want to) so your guess is just as good as mine unless you don’t understand Japanese then feel free to ask me anything :D

THIS.EVENT.WAS.THE.BOMB.

It was a flurry of Emotions even for me, who basically just read a Report for it so imagine if I actually was there???

Basically, you could call this event something that was meant to be remembered for both the cast and the audience and it’s honestly a shame we won’t have anything to remember it by (Except for Event Reports and I’m SOOO thankful to that person who went through all that scribbling on her note pad throughout the whole 2 sessions JUST to write a full detailed report on it, you’re the True MVP) .

Though onto the actual content during this event, they actually went with something like a Musical Short Story with some fun seiyuu corners in between scripts. The event being split into two sessions: Day and Night, have different titles for the short stories similar to how the anime episodes were titled; The Day session was titled “The Charleston of Reminiscence and Dreams” and The Night Session, “The Minuet of Reunions and Farewells”. Though both sessions are basically the same story, they actually have 2 different outcomes. Meaning if you only bought the Ticket for the Day session, you wouldn’t be able to see the other outcome of the story and vice versa.

Like, can you believe it?? That this whole event was basically built on the concept of having a choice like in an interactive Visual Novel and the choice was whether you bought the Ticket for the Night session or The Day session X’DD  Though those who were willing to pay for twice the price for both Tickets get the best of both worlds and Avex (The main organizer) gets them ticket sales yet doesn’t release a DVD for the Event :))) (I’m salty OK?)

Back to the topic at hand, you can say that this short story was something like a mildly self aware alternative timeline set after the events of the anime that was also the producer’s personal crack fic… with its own good and bad end…yeah, this was wild but it was a good kind of wild and everybody cried at the end (Of the Night session that is, details coming up) so :’D

Here’s a summary of the story…or basically the whole story www:

The story starts off with Lindo narrating about the life of the Tachibana family four months after the events of the Anime ( Which is around the time of this event, Avex you genius), he and Ritsuka continued going to school whereas Maria continues her career as a Translator. Lindo apparently still trains his exorcist skills but of course, hopes that he wouldn’t have to use it again. He then talks about the atmosphere around the school being lonely, noting how lifeless the school’s greenhouse was, or how there wasn’t anybody kicking down classroom doors now, or that weird student flying up and down from the third floor,neither is the pomeranian that was constantly yelping nor that weird chorus that came out from the Third Library every time he passed by it, but most importantly how there wasn’t signs saying “Mushrooms are strictly prohibited”  around the school compound anymore, other than that, life was fine and dandy for this Siscon. On Top of that, Ritsuka’s frilly apron was officially his now as he’s mainly the one doing the cooking in the house www

Meanwhile in the Demon realm, Glax calls upon Rem and gives him a brand new mission to accomplish and that is *drum rolls* to host a Radio broadcasting program and win the heart of all the civilians in the demon realm to vote for him as king now that Maksis is revived wwwwww Urie and Mage wish Rem good luck and were off to spend their own leisure time before he pulls them back and says that Glax wanted the four of them to host it wwww Urie tries to find an excuse saying that he was busy preparing for a party with his butterflies and Mage says that he had to give his underlings Training until Shiki, being the one that actually doesn’t mind joining, chimes in and says that if they hosted the Radio Program in the middle of the night, the broadcast tower in the demon realm might just be able to transmit its signals to the Human realm as well which means that Ritsuka might be able to listen to their program and Urie and Mage were officially in with the group lol.

They then proceed to think of a Title for their Program and decided to go with Shiki’s idea: All Night Makai (Basically All Night Demon Realm www). To which Mage, Urie and Rem (Rather adorably) say out the title in a rather confused tone, splitting the three words in random places among the three of themselves until Shiki got annoyed and asked if they just hated him that much that they aren’t including him in their mini charade and the three of them say that there’s just a weird sense of Deja Vu as if they had experienced the very same thing somewhere… like this was another timeline. The four of them ponder about this with Urie noting that it’s probably true as he had caught wind about how the activation of the Forbidden Grimoire had caused several Parallel worlds to occur which resulted in a confused Mage as he struggles to keep up with their ‘foreign’ language though still mistakes Jikansen (Timelines) for Shinkansen (Bullet Train) in Japanese LMAO. Rem basically explains the game mechanics of the DwD game describes it as two different doors that lead you to several outcomes depending on which door you choose and Mage finally gets it by saying that “It’s just like a Game!” (To which I snickered cause this level of foreshadowing is glorious).

The four of them got back to coming up with a content for their program and came to a conclusion that they’d each do their own mini segments: Urie’s lectures on “Amor” : A sure way to gain the heart of your beloved’ (Urie has some glorious English www) , Rem’s “I’ll tell you what really happened back then” (in which he tells you something you didn’t know about certain scenes involving him in the anime lololol), Mage’s ハジゲテイッチャワ(whatever-the-fuck-those-Katakana-actually-mean) NIGHT and Shiki’s ‘Are you shivering with excitement tonight?” (Where he attempts to make you go ゾクゾクするね～ with him). The program ended up being a success and managed to rake in a 90% rating but Shiki just had to pour cold water over the other 3 saying that it’s because they’re the only Radio broadcasting program in the Demon realm LMFAO. The four then pondered about whether Ritsuka was able to listen to their midnight program.

Back in the Human realm, Lindo decides to listen to some Radio after completing his daily exorcist training and actually comes across their Program but doesn’t recognize any of their voices and isn’t able to catch the pun in the Title wwwww. He thinks of letting Ritsuka listen to it but it dawned on him that she was having a sleep over at Azuna’s and laments that it’d be a long night without her XD At Azuna’s place, Azuna presented Ritsuka with an assortment of Creampuffs from Ritsuka’s favorite pastry shop, Aspiration  (In the night session, Azuna’s showing her newly bought pink pajamas instead) when she suddenly sighs in relief much to Azuna’s confusion. Ritsuka confesses that she had a nightmare where she dreamt of Azuna dying protecting her and was just glad that it was all just a dream ;;; Azuna says that she’s had the same dream too and wonders if it’s something that happens in another Timeline ( geez, I wonder :”))  ) but tells Ritsuka if that were true, she wouldn’t regret a single thing about it, because Ritsuka’s her precious friend. Ritsuka responds saying that she too would do anything to save her if Azuna ever got into trouble. Kaze no yokan starts playing and Ritsuka and Azuna took turns singing each verse, ending it with a duet during the final altered verse of the song.  

The scene changes back to the demon realm and Mage has some big news for the other 3. He heard news about the Forbidden Door connected to the Human realm (I’m assuming it’s the Gates of Gehenna?), which was said to open only once every 99 years, was going to be open in a few days and says that he’s jumping on the chance to go back to the human realm. Urie and Shiki decide that they’re going too but Rem hesitates, saying that there isn’t a reason for them to go there ;w; ( Boy was probably worried about Glax being furious at his departure…) The others urge him to be more open about what he truly wishes for and this is where the script cuts to a session featuring exclusive monologues for each boy (including Lindo), talking about the what ifs of their relationship with Ritsuka (kinda disappointed that the monologue was the same for Rem in both sessions but eh whatever, he had a solo performance at the end after all lol) . The session ends with the Reprise version of Mademoiselle (which had the same arrangement as the one sung by the stage play cast in the first musical, slow and rather bittersweet).

Rem finally decides that he really wants to go see Ritsuka (after 4 months of not seeing her XDD) but rejects Urie’s idea of fooling his father into thinking that they were at the broadcast station by pre-recording their weekly radio program (in the Day session, he agrees to go along with it) and instead says that he’ll try his best to inform his father about this straightforwardly. At night, the gate finally opens and the four of them enter it while hoping that wherever they end up at isn’t a threat to their lives =v= (Shiki on the other hand wants that to happen ww) The four of them ended up arriving back at the third library and the music for Warewa Shikou Gakuen Setokai starts playing (cause why the hell not). Meanwhile, Lindo and Azuna are on their way to the third library after witnessing his exorcist pendant glowing brightly and as Lindo puts it: ‘Fiercely saying “Say Yes!”’(Yeah, wtf lmao) when Ritsuka comes running after them, saying that her king crown was glowing too, much to Lindo’s dismay as he had told her to stay at home wwww. The three of them burst into the library and came face to face with the four devils, much to Ritsuka’s joy as she happily greeted all of them but of course, Rem first :3 The trio immediately surrounded her (before Rem could get to her I assume www) and are onto their usual banter about who she had wanted to see first but is warded off by Azuna’s holy water (reference to episode 8 www) lol. Lindo whines about Ritsuka not listening to him by choosing to chase after them and the trio chirped about how that’s so Ritsuka lmao. While they’re at it, Rem and Ritsuka reconcile with each other and Dance with Destinies starts playing, before being cut off after the first verse as Rem proposes that there is another way that they could be together.

Day Session Ending: Before Rem could make a decision, Glax bursts into the scene, furious that Rem tricked him. It’s revealed that Rem’s excuse for not being able to obtain the Grimoire was because he chose to help a human, which Glax already considers a punishable sin so finding out that it wasn’t only a human but the grimoire itself, Glax drags the four of them back to the Demon realm, saying that he would engrave it in Rem’s body to never do such a thing again as an Arlond ;;; Ritsuka is heartbroken but Azuna and Lindo reassure her that they would definitely meet again someday. We then cut to a scene where Rem laments about how weak he was for not being able to confront his father about his decision  and vows to be stronger so that he could see her again someday.

Night Session Ending: Dance with Destinies starts playing again at the fourth verse and the lyrics are adapted for Rem. He chooses to live as a human beside Ritsuka and the trio note how he has changed and are amused at what possibilities the future would have for the 2 of them. Lindo (Hatano Wataru was unexpectedly crying at this point lol :”) ) asks if that was even possible, and Urie tells him that there’s actually plenty of devils living in the human realm in the guise of regular people and points to the crowd below the stage XD Mage then exclaims to the crowd that from now on, they’re Rem’s senpais when it comes to living in the human world ( AWWWWW). Shiki notices Lindo crying but he denies it and says that it was just his holy water and tearfully says SARUBESHII LMFAO (This part was mostly an ad-lib because it was unexpected www). The story comes to an end as Rem promises Ritsuka to never let her go no matter what and that the both of them will walk together towards the future.

Ah, what can I say, this short story (yeah, short XD) was actually pretty fun and filled with all sorts of emotions. The thing that I’m most surprised about is how Timelines were brought up quite a few times in this story and they even managed to have it related to the activation of the Grimoire. I liked the fact that it was self-aware that it could be a different Timeline on its own (which it was, judging by how Azuna was alive in this story and its rather cracky moments) and honestly thought that it was much more ‘Timeline -themed’ than the movie was even though the theme of the movie was supposed to be “Timelines”. The nods towards the game’s existence and how the different routes in it can also be described as timelines was honestly creative imo and it’s just such a shame that the movie didn’t utilized this concept. Although the songs were mostly reused, I liked the fact that some of the lyrics and music arrangements were adapted to fit the current situation and I thought that it was a pretty smart move by the producers to maintain a sort of live musical feel to it. The only disappointment I have is that I wish Ritsuka had more dialogue and that she’d be the one to narrate the first few lines of the story instead of Lindo. Like I want to hear her thoughts on life after the events of the anime and of course her thoughts on Rem and the others being gone, it felt that she had more of a passive voice in this story and I can’t help but wonder if it’s the producers attempt to not make the story ‘too’ RemRitsu inclined but eh, at least we got a live duet lol (I’ll just hope that they’re saving it for a more serious sequel, let a girl dream). Another thing worth mentioning in this story and probably my most favourite part of it, is the relationship between the four devils. They had so many comical dialogue with each other it’s hard not to love them in this story :3  I also really liked how Lindo narrated the story at the beginning with how oblivious he is about why those things were missing in school www. This is especially hilarious if you know just who those quirky habits belong to =w= Glax and surprisingly, Holland (in Rem’s segment of the radio program) do make an appearance in this story but only as voice recordings, to which I wonder who voiced Holland lol (I hope it’s Subaru =v= ).

As for the seiyuu part of this event. there was actually a segment in between the script where they had to respond to comments from the fans in the audience and decide whether they’re a human or a devil in the day session wwwww , whereas they had to respond to comments about the anime in the night session (Reader: Hatano Wataru). I found it pretty sweet that they actually try to make out who was the person that wrote the comment in the crowd and acknowledge them especially that part where Souma asked a fan if they’re saying her pen name right www (They were debating whether it’s said as U-S-A or just usa lol). Like I mentioned in my summary of the story, Hatano Wataru cried during the finale of the story but managed to stabilize his voice when he was singing Unmei no Coda and BL(U)CK BASIS (short versions of both) right after. He explains that the reason for his tears was that he thought that scene with Souma and Himika was beautiful (He’s such a proud senpai ;w;) so everyone starts calling him Mama Lindo lolol (Souma: Okaa-san? XD). The final cast comments came after Pentacle’s version of Kakusei no air (Which actually has an official recording but it’s only available in the 1st volume of the BD for the anime :”D) and things got emotional for everyone, especially Souma as he started crying during his turn ( He was kinda holding it back all this time) ;;; I actually translated his comment but I haven’t posted it here so here it is:

;w;

Honestly, it’s really such a shame and an even bigger Mystery as to why this Event didn’t have a DVD release. So much heart was put into it only for it to remain as only a memory OTL  At first, I thought it was mainly Rejet’s problem but turns out, it was Avex who was the main organiser and I’m just so???? Though I jokingly think that it’s because the cameraman forgot to record the whole event so they couldn’t make a DVD =v= I honestly hope that isn’t what really happened though cause it’d be really 何で神様？！ORZ and I’d feel really bad for the Cast cause the songs that they only get to perform once live didn’t get recorded , to think that Souma really wanted a DVD release as well…

Overall, this event was indeed a special one and I’ll forever be salty that it won’t be having a DVD release nor an official recording album for the event-adapted songs. Why wasn’t this the movie instead?

[jeremystrele]

The Winners Of The 2020 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards

The Winners Of The 2020 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards

Art

by Sally Tabart

Tjala Women’s Collaborative with their artwork Nganampa Ngura 2020. Collaborators: Amy Scotty, Angela Burton, Freda Brady, Glenda Adamson, Iluwanti Ken, Janie Kulyuru, Mary Pan, Naomi Kantjuriny, Nita Williamson, Nyurpaya Kaika Burton, Rachel Lyons, Sharon Adamson, Shirley Adamson, Tanya Brady, Tjimpayi Presley. Photo – courtesy of Tjala Arts.

Shortlisted artworks. Left: Ngayuku ngura – My Country 2020 by Wawiriya Burton. Right: Nganampa Ngura 2020 by Tjala Women’s Collaborative.

Shortlisted artwork. No Respect 2020 by John Prince Siddon.

Shortlisted artists and artworks. Left: Ginger Wikilyiri. Photo – courtesy of Tjungu Palya Arts. Right: Kunamata 2020 by Ginger Wikilyiri.

Shortlisted artists and artworks. Left: Ngangkari Ngura (Healing Country) 2020 by Betty Muffler. Right: Betty Muffler. Photo – Courtesy of the Artist and Iwantja Arts.

Left: Wanampi Tjukurpa (Piltati) 2020 by Leah Brady. Right: Antara 2020 by Betty Kuntiwa Pumani and Marina Pumani Brown.

On Friday the country’s most prestigious awards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists were held, under slightly different circumstances than usual. Gamilaroi woman and host of The Today Show Brooke Boney presented the first-ever live online broadcast for NATSIAA, a dynamic and exciting celebration of the seven category winners chosen from 65 shortlisted entries.

The biggest win of the night went to Ngarralja Tommy May, a Wangkajunga and Walmajarri artist who took out the Telstra Art Award for his work Wirrkanja depicting his family’s Country, with a prize of $50,000. The six other category winners – Adrian Jangala Robertson, Iluwanti Ken, Marrnyula Munyngurr, Siena Mayutu Wurmarri Stubbs, Jenna Lee and Cecilia Umbagai – each took home $5,000 for their achievements.

There was a wide variety of mediums represented in the winning artists. Multidisciplinary artist and graphic designer Jenna Lee, who won the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award for her work HIStory vessels, used the cover and pages of the Ladybird History Book ‘The Story Of Captain Cook’ to create a series of sculptures based on ancestral vessels. ‘For me, it was never about winning. I love the community that’s formed around the NATSIAA – all the artists follow each other and get to know each other’, says Jenna. ‘It’s so nice that industry experts agree that what I’m trying to say, and make, and the stories I’m trying to tell are important.’

There’s still one major award to be decided – The People’s Choice Award. Take a tour of the NATSIAA virtual gallery to see all the incredible shortlisted projects and cast your vote!

Left: Wirrkanja 2020 by Ngarralja Tommy May. Right: Ngarralja Tommy May, winner of the 2020 Telstra art Award. Photo – Damian Kelly.

Telstra Art Award – Ngarralja Tommy May 

Ngarralja Tommy May is a Wangkajunga and Walmajarri man born in Yarrkurnja in the Great Sandy Desert, and currently living in Fitzroy Crossing. He is a founding member of the Karrayili Adult Education centre where he learnt to read and write his own language and English.

Using etching on metal and enamel paint as his medium, Wirrkanja tells the story of Tommy May’s Country.

‘This is about my Country. There is a claypan, near to Kurtal it’s also called Helena Springs, a well on the Canning Stock Route’, explains Tommy May. ‘My brother was born here. There’s living water (jila) at Kurtal, when it rains it fills up and makes a spring. It runs out this way, flows around the rocks and caves.’

‘Thank you mob in Darwin for this business. Thank you. At last. I feel proud. I’ve been trying all my life, all the time second, fourth, last, sometimes nothing. But I got it now, today. My days, my time this year, I’m the winner. At last.’

Left: Artist Jenna Lee, winner of the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award. Photo – Rhett Hammerton. Right: HIStory Vessels 2020 by Jenna Lee.

Left: Muṉguymirri 2020 by Marrnyula Munuŋgur. Right: Marrnyula Munuŋgur, winner of the Telstra Bark Painting Award. Photo – courtesy of NATSIAA.

Left: Walawulu ngunytju kukaku ananyi (Mother eagles going hunting) by Iluwanti Ken. Right: Iluwanti Ken, winner of the Telstra Works On Paper Award.

Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award – Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee is an artist and graphic designer living in Melbourne (Naarm), whose highly symbolic work seeks to reclaim agency over the historic representation of Aboriginal people in Australia. Created in response to the 250-year anniversary of Lieutenant James Cook’s arrival, HIStory vessels work with the pages and cover board of the Ladybird History Book ‘The Story Of Captain Cook’, stripping back the pages and breaking them down using steam and heat to form modern-day coolamon (ancestral vessels), literally reclaiming history. 

Telstra Bark Painting Award – Marrnyula Munyngurr

On a single piece of bark Marrynula has created a series of smaller works. In Muṉguymirri (which means ‘in small pieces’), Marrnyula uses the cross-hatching grid pattern which is the sacred design for the freshwaters of the Djapu clan at their homeland.

‘Sitting down and doing like on the small bark first, I changed my work like to do like bigger square ones, those big bark. But it’s about same story – about freshwater, but different way, style. I love painting because I learnt with family and with my dad.’

Telstra Works On Paper Award – Iluwanti Ken

Originally from Watarru, Illuwanti is an artist with Tjala Arts in Amata on APY lands in South Australia, where she has lived with her family since 2003.

Walawulu ngunytju kukaku ananyi (Mother eagles going hunting) tells the story of mother eagles bringing food back to their babies, a subject matter Illuwanti is known for painting. She makes the connection between the eagles and Anangu mothers, and how they can teach women important lessons about survival, protection and shelter.

Left: Yoogu 2020 by Cecilia Umbagai. Right: Cecilia Umbagai, winner of the Telstra Emerging Artist Award. Photo – courtesy of NATSIAA.

Left: Adrian Jangala Robertson, winner of the Telstra General Painting Award. Right: Yalpirakinu 2020 by Adrian Jangala Robertson.

Left: Still from Shinkansen 2019 by Sienna Mayutu Wurmarri Stubb. Right: Sienna Mayutu Wurmarri Stubb, winner of the Telstra Multimedia Award.

Telstra Emerging Artist Award – Cecilia Umbagai

‘I’m a young Worrorra woman and live in Mowanjum community 10km outside of Derby in the West Kimberley of Western Australia’, says Cecilia. ‘The three tribes who live in Mowanjum: Worrorra, Ngarinyin, and Wunumbal share their belief of the Wandjina who are sacred ancestral spiritual beings and created the land and control the elements, the flora and fauna, and the humans. We are custodians of Wandjina Wunggund law. I’ve been painting all my life, learning from the elders, sitting with them while they worked, listening’.

Telstra General Painting Award – Adrian Jangala Robertson

Adrian is a landscape painter based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) who works with a restricted palette. His work refers to the desert mountains, ridges and trees that are part of his mother’s country, Yalpirakinu.

His winning work, Yalpirakinu, captures the drama, energy and memories of this important place.

Telstra Multimedia Award – Siena Mayutu Wurmarri Stubbs

At just 18 years old, Yolŋu girl Sienna Mayutu Wurmarri Stubbs was the youngest finalist and now winner in this year’s NATSIAA. Her practice is focused on capturing moments and memories realised through the medium of film. Her winning work, Shinkansen, was captured on the bullet train from Nagoya to Kyoto.

‘This artwork was created when I went overseas to Japan. I actually left home three days after my grandma died – and it was a shock. So I guess this video was a response and how I was feeling in this moment, sitting on that bullet train in Japan’, says Siena.

Take a virtual tour of the amazing 2020 NATSIAA finalists exhibition here! 

National Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Awards Exhibition MAGNT Darwin 19 Conacher Street The Gardens, Darwin NT

[trynabetravelpro]

Japan Post!

I’m headed back to Japan for my 5th time later this November and finally feel confident enough sharing some insights about traveling in this beautiful country. Below are tips about traveling alone, being respectful in Japanese culture and a few great areas to visit/stay in. I hope this guide will help you feel more confident to take a trip, especially on a budget, and do some spontaneous sight seeing/events while you’re there. I’m also a comic artist and illustrator so I’ll be suggesting places aimed at my interests.

So! First thing’s first, I want to say that Japan is SUPER safe and very easy to get around. As a woman I have felt free to wander and get lost, unlike the way I feel in most countries, especially in Europe or the US. It’s a little complicated at first (the train map looks like noodles!) but know that if you get on the wrong train it’s not going to take you anywhere unsafe. It may take you 30 mins to get back on the right track, but it’ll be OK and there will always be people to ask for help. Asking for help from either a train station attendant, policeman (they’re usually in the station exclusively for that reason), or a passerby is totally acceptable and most people will be happy to help you. I have had a few instances where Japanese men wouldn’t look at me after politely excusing myself for asking them a question which didn’t feel great but there was always someone nearby I could ask instead. In Japan not everyone speaks English (though many do, especially in larger cities) so asking questions in simple Japanese is your best bet and, of course, less obnoxious. Here are some phrases to memorize for trains and directions…

First, start with: sumimasen, eigo ga hanasemasu ka? Excuse me, do you speak English? -Eki wa doko desu ka? Where is the station? Kono densha wa Kyoto-e ikkimasu ka? Does this train go to Kyoto? - Asakusa ikiwa kono hommu desuka? Is this the right platform for Asakusa? - Nan-ji ni demaska? What time does it leave? - Kono denshawa dokodesuka? Where does this train go?

Also memorize these simple phrases to help in any situation:

- Sumimasen. Excuse me. (Formal) - iie, Wakarimasen / Hai, wakarimasu. No, I don’t understand / Yes, I understand. - Arigato gozaimasu / arigato. Thank you / thanks. - Sayonara. Goodbye. - Dōzo. After you.

TRAINS:

- When buying a ticket you commonly have to insert the money first and then type in what you need or where you want to go. - All the stations reprised by distance, rather than one fare like New York. Look up your station on the map and determine how much to put on your ticket with the corresponding number. - If you can’t find your destination fare you can purchase the ticket for the lowest possible price and pay the difference at the fare adjustment station when you get to where you’re going. - Keep your tickets, you must insert them on the way out of the station you’re arriving at. - Consider getting a Suica or Passmo refillable IC card. They’re both generally the same and can make traveling a lot more streamlined. Buying tickets at machines is fine, it’ll just take more time and standing in front of the map trying to figure out which station is yours because sometimes the lettering isn’t in romaji (roman characters) and is really obnoxious when you’re late for a dinner date. - Trains stop running around 12:30-1am depending on the train line and what day it is. Weekends it’s open a bit later. Plan accordingly! Taxis are expensive. - if you have a JR pass and taking a JR train you can show your ticket at the manned gate close to the automatic ticket gates, make sure the date is visible for the attendant and you can pass through without a purchased ticket. - Look on the ground at the platform to find the line for the doors. You’ll probably see people lining up to enter the train, just copy what people do! Make sure you aren’t in line for a ‘green car’ which is a more expensive car, it’ll usually be marked green. Train etiquette: - talking on your phone on the train is not allowed. - Take your backpack off on the train. - Just talking on the train is considered rude. - When you get into the train move all the way to the middle, don’t stand by the doors, things might get tight. - Let people off the train first, then get on. - As a rule, just copy what other commuters do.

Passmo: ¥1000 (pink, robot). Suica: ¥2000 (green, penguin). JR Rail Pass: $255~. Great if you’re traveling from tokyo-kyoto and back, or doing several stops in many cities.

I want to spend as much time as I can not having to worry about traveling while I’m out and about so before I go to Japan I check out what routes and stations I’ll be using the most. Google maps is pretty accurate for train routes so I’d start there, just make sure you’re searching in Japan time in Google maps, like don’t check at 4pm EST or else it’ll say the trains aren’t running in Japan, instead, look at 7am or 6pm to get train times for 8pm/7am. I like to star places I want to go on Google maps, that’s been really helpful for when I’m offline and just want to glance at the map to find the best route to the star. Google maps also updates your GPS offline so you’ll always know where in the city you are, even without data. However, I’d suggest getting some kind of data plan with your service provider so you can search things on the fly. I know AT&T does a day by day data package and T-Mobile has it built in or something, but yeah, I’d highly recommend doing that…I don’t know anything about getting phones or SIM cards in Japan and I think it’s pretty complicated so I’d rather pay a little extra for the convenience of using my own phone. Back to trains, I’d also suggest watching Youtube videos and reading forums about train travel to help prepare for what could easily become really overwhelming. All (or maybe most) train signs use roman letters and most have English translations and are VERY convenient and also EVERYWHERE so just look out for signage if things get nuts.

AIRPORTS:

Narita Airport to Tokyo

The cheapest (and usually best) train I take (when I’m not in a rush to get to Tokyo) is the Limited Express (also called Keisei Main Line), which costs about $10 (or $5 if you use a Passmo or Suica IC card). It’s the regular train and not a fancy bullet train into the city. It’ll take you to Aoto, Nippori and Ueno stations for transfers to other lines in about 71mins. Just look for all the orange signs towards the train and don’t forget to buy the ticket first upstairs in the airport. Stand at the sign on the ground that says Keisei Limited Express or Main Line. If your back hurts, you’re tired and just want to splurge and get to your lodging asap I’d suggest taking the Keisei Skyliner (not to be confused with the Keisei Limited Express, it’s confusing), or the N’EX (Narita Express). They’re super fast trains with nice seats that go directly into Tokyo proper but they’re $20-$40. If you’re going to activate your JR rail pass on the day you enter Japan I’d suggest taking these more expensive trains because they’ll be free when you show your JR pass, the same goes for when you’re coming back to Narita. Sometimes choosing is just a matter of which trains are coming sooner and how you feel. These trains are extremely punctual so don’t waste any time getting to the platform if you’ve already bought your ticket. All of these trains pick up on the SAME TRACk so don’t get on the first train that comes or you could get kicked off/take a slow train you paid $$$ for. On the ground there will be strips where the doors for each train open. Stand in line at your train’s place marker and pay attention to the train times on the board. This part is important to remember because you’ll be jet lagged like crazy and it’s important to get on the right train. Optional tip- walk to the front of the train because there will be less people standing and more seats available there.

*Before you leave the airport and walk into customs get all your wifi needs out of the way. Once you’re out of immigration the wifi goes away.

QUICK NARITA TRAIN GUIDE: Keisei Limited Express AKA just the regular old train- $10~one way. could face crowds of daily commuters but I never have. 1h10m. Fastest: Keisei Skyliner: 36 mins to Nippori to transfer to the JR Yamanote line. $23~one way at 1h5m (discounts with a Passmo or Suica card) Comfiest: Narita Express or N’EX: round trip ticket $40 (within a two week period), one way $30. leave every 25-40 mins. 1h30m, way comfier. fully covered by the Japan Rail Pass.

Hanaeda I don’t know shit about Hanaeda. Will update if I have something to say. Below is a great guide for the airport trains!



SHINKANSEN/JR Rail Pass

- Activate your JR Rail Pass at either Tokyo station or Shinagawa station. I’d suggest going to Tokyo station because seats tend to fill up at Tokyo station and it’ll be awful trying to find good seats at Shinagawa if you didn’t reserve your seats. On that note you can reserve your seats at the JR ticket counter, which is highly recommended. - You can now buy JR Rail passes in Japan but they’re more expensive. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/01/national/jr-rail-pass-available-japan-ending-frustration-tardy-tourists/#.WgEgzraZPXE - Watch out for which Shinkansen you get on. Nozomi is an express train that the JR rail pass doesn’t cover so you’ll either get kicked off (happened to me) or fined (thank god it didn’t happen to me). This sucked because our station in Kyoto was air conditioned and it had snacks. The station we got kicked off at was outdoors and there was weird construction happening so it was loud and hot. I guess as a general rule, don’t take an unnecessary risk when you have a good train platform situation. I guess also don’t travel in August like I did. Things were definitely worse when they would’ve been fine if the weather had been nicer. - Hikari is regular express and ok, kodama is the slowest train stopping at all stops, it you’re going from Tokyo-Kyoto do NOT get on the Kodama. - You can buy snacks on the platform or on the train in case you’ve forgotten to eat before your 3 hour trip to Kyoto.

Rough Yen to USD currency conversion: ¥50=$0.50 ¥100=$1 ¥1,000= $10 ¥10,000= $100 ¥100,000= $1,000

***GENERAL TIPS***

- Call your bank/arrange with your bank online and tell them you’ll be in Japan. The first time I went to Japan my credit union actually got the dates wrong and I couldn’t use my card for three days (that was cool). - On that note, bring some cash to exchange when you get to the airport. I tend to bring $300 or more because Japan runs on cash, so you’ll most likely need to get cash out a lot anyway, might as well do it it one lump sum at the airport without all the small fees. Because it’s so safe I wouldn’t worry about carrying around like $600/¥60,000 in cash. - *A note about safety* if you leave your bag in a coffee shop upstairs and go and grab a coffee downstairs it’ll be there, untouched, when you get back. Stealing is very uncommon in Japan and everyone leaves their bags to save their seats. It’s kind of obnoxious when you’re trying to sit down at a Tsutaya coffee shop and there are no seats available because everyone’s put their bags down to save seats while they get their coffee or browse the magazines. Also if you leave your bag on a train it will most likely be there at the end of the line or at some lost and found at a big station. I’d suggest trying to call or going to the lost and found and your bag will most likely be there or they’ll direct you to where it would be. And then maybe they’ll pay for your train ride back home because of the inconvenience you experienced. - Keep your trash with you. Most people have a little baggy or something that they keep trash in until they get home. There are very few public trash cans, especially outside of Tokyo, even in large cities, so don’t buy something with a messy wrapper and expect to get rid of it quickly. Or eat it right in front of the place you bought it so you can throw everything away there. - Keep your passport with you at all times, it’s actually ILLEGAL for you not o have it! Nothing will happen probably but keep it with you for tax discounts (which are usually a waste of time) or entry onto trains that require your passport, like the N’EX. Ghibli also requires your passport for entry. - Consider learning how to squat pee in hole in the ground toilets. Japan has AMAZING public bathrooms and badet toilets, every bathroom I’ve been in is clean and beautiful. BUT if you’re in a park or out in the boonies there will be hole toilets. I had to pee SOOO bad when I was in the park once that I made myself learn how to not pee all over myself in a hole toilet. For women it’s fucking hard. Toilets can be a hole in the wall labeled or described as ‘international’ and specifically women’s toilets can sometimes be found in a different space. You’ll find these in old establishments, mostly. - You can drink in public and in parks. Bring a foldable picnic blanket with you, read a book and drink a beer while enjoying Japan’s beautiful public parks!! - Google maps is usually 100% BAD at finding Airbnb locations. Triple check hotel/Airbnb spots and make sure to get a detailed list of how to get to your lodging. - Try everything in the vending machines. EVERYTHING.

- Going to a shrine is like a good luck charm and is less of a religious thing, feel free to copy the locals when they go into a shrine and of course be very respectful of where to go and not to go. Sometimes it costs to get in and it’s always a good idea to throw some money into the box at the shrine, you’ll see people doing this. It is not rude to copy locals and donate money to the Shinto shrines. While at shrines wash your hands in the little wells before you enter. DO NOT drink the water, you’ll see people washing their mouths with it, it’s not to drink just for washing and cleansing.

- Japanese culture revolves around strict social rules and etiquette to help make everyone’s lives better. It’s a more empathetic society but with the cost of a bit more strict lifestyle. Please keep in mind that a city with 15million people functions only when everyone is aware and courteous of each other. Stand on the left side of the escalator, walk on the right. Follow signs and floor guides. Be aware of your surroundings. - Airbnb is a little illegal in Japan, most airbnbs will tell you not to talk or linger outside your apartment or risk getting kicked out. Just a heads up. - The Japanese do bread better than the French, that’s how I feel anyway, definitely buy some bread or pastries at local bakeries while you’re there. - Before you head out for the day I suggest hitting up your local 7 Eleven/Lawson/Family Mart and grabbing an onigiri and a drink. Just in case! Also maybe before you sleep because sometimes the jet lag can get awful and you wake up at 3am starving. - Take your shoes off before entering a home or a temple. There will be spots to take shoes off before entering, keep an eye out for them.

Ghibli: - Tickets go on sale the 10th of each month for the next month https://l-tike.com/st1/ghibli-en/sitetop - You can enter at 4 different times throughout the day, I’d suggest trying for 10am but 12 is fine too if you can’t get the 10am! plan for 4-5 hours inside the museum. - You’ll probably spend a lot of money at the museum shop, plan accordingly. - Bring your passport. - You MUST print out your Ghibli ticket. There’s not an obvious place to find a printer and printing at 7-11’s without the proper applications can be really tough. Print them out before your trip. In a pinch you can stress print your Ghibli tickets onto 5x6 glossy photos at a 7/11. They laughed and let us in anyway so TESTED. - Inoshikira park is gorgeous on a nice day, I’d suggest planning a whole day in Kichijoji around your museum trip. Kichijoji also has great shopping!! - No photos are allowed inside the museum. - Take notes! There’s a whole section where you get to see ORIGINAL paintings from the studio and it’s fantastic.

Fun stuff! Suggestions!

FOOD/DRINKS - Sushi Daiwa and Sushi Dai. AMAZING sushi at Tsukiji Market. Sushi Dai will have a 6 hour wait while Sushi Daiwa, their sister restaurant right next door, will have an hour wait. It’s less famous but still very good. Expect $40 per person but it’ll be the best, freshest sushi you’ve ever had. https://goo.gl/maps/j9SAvWDwkW42 - Golden Gai, lots of small vendors, 5-6 people per restaurant tops, for after drinks or drinking food. https://goo.gl/maps/ZZgiK2n5fZn - Sakura Tei, Okonomiyaki in Harajuku, https://goo.gl/maps/iYzg2xwYhLF2 - 7/11 or Family mart have great onigiri and sandwiches, plus great general to-go stuff. - Ichiran ramen https://goo.gl/maps/hM7qVP6y7vA2 - Eggcellent https://goo.gl/maps/sZY6mQZvkxj

PLACES TO CHILL - Daikanyama T Site, Nakameguro (beautiful bookstore and cafe spot). https://goo.gl/maps/5AcADepdnyS2 - Tokyo Hands Shibuya, top floor (there’s a cafe and a cool science section) https://goo.gl/maps/f48GRHqGPAn - Meiji shrine, Yoyogi park - Karaoke anywhere. Dress up!!!

NEIGHBORHOODS to visit in Tokyo and wander around. - Kichijoji - start with this amazing bakery and then wander https://goo.gl/maps/ejmjn9DN4Uo - Harajuku - Shimokitazawa - Naka-Meguro - Shinjuku - Shibuya - Nakano (Nakano Broadway) - Akihabara (Get some gotcha pons at Gee store.) - Ikebukuro

SHOPPING - Best alt comics: Taco Che in Nakano Broadway https://goo.gl/maps/PVTM4dcg1tG2 - Tokyu Hands - a stationary and all around amazing store - Daiso 100Yen stores https://goo.gl/maps/dv4XAcBpYUn - Galaxxxy https://goo.gl/maps/fzxQ6jJGQb12 - Muji - a non branded, simple/clean living store - Tokyo Station underground stores. God, like everything you could ever want.   - Super Potato video game store in Akihabara https://goo.gl/maps/eQ2HVRNkoX22 - Sunshine City in Ikebukuro, has Pokemon store. https://goo.gl/maps/4z3gVUokdJn - Do purikura pretty much in any arcade. - Harajuku! Tin Tin store, cat street, pretty much just wander. https://goo.gl/maps/yzJowRr9zcs - Tokyo Midtown Mall, really nice stores and art museums, always events https://goo.gl/maps/NyervLaznt32

Helpful Phrases: *pronunciation tip: Desu ka is pronounced “deska”, ikkimasu ka is pronounced “ikkimaska”

Mizo o kudasai. Water please. Ohayō. Good morning. Konban wa. Good evening. Hajimemashite. Nice to meet you. Konnichi wa. Hello. Gomen nasai. I'm sorry. (Informal) O-genki desu ka? How are you? Toidai doko desuka? Where is the toilet? Aisu/Hotto Kohi o kudasai. Iced/Hot coffee please. Ii desu ka? Is it ok? Hai. Ii desu. It's ok. Okanjo wo kudasai. Bill please. Kore wa ikura desu ka? How much is this? Mo ichido wo kudasai. Please say it again. iie, kekkoudes. No thanks iie, chotto… —No, a little (a less harsh response “to do you like ___” when you really don’t like or want it. Nani. What. Itsu. When. Doko. Where. Ikki. Go. Ikura. How much/amount. Kore/sore/are: this/that/that over there. Irasshai mase. Welcome. Nan mei Sama deska? How many people? 3 ppl (San nin desu) 5 ppl (go nin des) Eigo no menyuu ga arimasuka? Do you have an English menu? Onomi mono wa? Would you like a drink? Omachi kudasai. Please wait. Osusume wa nan deska? What do you recommend? Kore wa nan deska? What is this? Tamago wo nuki ni shite moraemaska? Can I have it without egg? (Shrimp: ebi) hai - yes. iie - no. Jya, mata. See you soon. also matanae O-genki desu ka? How are you? O-namae wa? What's your name?

Casual phrases Majide- seriously?? Uso /Uso desho - it’s a lie! No way! Yabai- terrible!Amazing!

The luggage combo** Tokyo is luggage and cart friendly for the most part, but there are still stations where you’ll have to lug your bags up and down a flight of stairs, keep this in mind while packing and save your back! I’d suggest not bringing a lot of clothes, but enough exactly for each day of your trip, maybe even one outfit less because you’ll probably go shopping. Bring half the week’s clothing if you think you’ll do laundry, most airbnbs have laundry. However some don’t have dryers, it’s hanging only. I bring a carry on suitcase, a rolled up duffle bag inside and a roll top backpack with middle strap. That way you can check the duffle full of dirty clothes and all the non-breakable things you buy and stuff the carry on suitcase with the mugs and delicate things you’ll inevitably want to bring back. Roll-top backpacks are good for spillover stuff and usually nicer on your back. The carryon suitcase will be good for resting your backpack on while waiting around in the airport or for trains. It’s all easy to take a part if you’re going up and down steps and not all the weight will be on one thing so it’ll be easier for your back.

Like I said, I’m heading back to Japan really soon so I’ll update this with any new info I feel is worth adding when I come back ^_^ I hope this helps in the mean-time!!

-nat

[umichenginabroad]

Visiting the Suburban

This weekend can best be described as relaxing and/or serene. Unlike the past couple weekends full of festivals and heavy tourism, this weekend took quite a 180. The group that I usually hang out with actually went to Osaka, but I could never get into the club and partying life which is what many people seem to do. Instead, I stayed behind and visited a friend of my Aunt Mary who lives in Hikone, a more-so suburban area. Buckle in because this could get lengthy. 

A bit of backstory would be okay I guess, it's actually relevant. My Aunt Mary also did a study abroad to Japan when she was 20 years old just like me! It was a part of a program that Michigan State has (and I think UM has too) called JCMU (Japan Center for Michigan Universities) where she paired up with a Japanese student to study and explore culture together. The friend I visited was that same person, so although I may not have many memories of her, she is someone that I can trust completely. So, I visited her and her family. And rather than referring to her as 'my friend' or 'my aunt's friend,' I'll just use her name Yuko. I also traveled with a friend I made from University of Kentucky, Seth (he was in one of the owl pics) because we both wanted to get out of the city for a bit, so he'll be occurring in the pictures. 

Let's not get ahead of myself though, that's not where the trip starts. It would officially have started back in the train station at Nagoya because... I rode a Shinkansen baby, woohoo! Can finally cross that off the bingo card. It was actually a pretty surreal experience. I'm the type to not show emotion very often, but this was exciting. Seth had an app that measured speed and it topped out at 170 mph. It traveled a distance of about 47 miles in about 20 minutes. The pictures I took blurred as you can see, but the sights further in the distance look nice. Might post a video, but they're kind of big and tumblr doesn't like videos. 

After some local train navigation, we arrived and I caught up with Yuko and her son. I'll be honest, I barely remember her, she's only visited the US twice I think. But she was really nice and spoke English very well, I could see why she was great friends with my Aunt. 

But this wasn't going to be a teary-eyed reunion, we had places to see! I know earlier I said we wanted to get away from tourist sights and the city, but hear me out. First we went to Hikone Castle, well, sort of. We went to the base and took pictures of Hiko-nyan, Hikone's mascot character and went in the museum. 

The museum was awesome. Not sure if you could tell in my previous posts, but Nagoya Castle had a ton of tourists; when we were touring that expensive house, the halls were SO crowded. But here, at Hikone Castle, I probably saw less than a dozen people in the museum total. Like I said earlier, really relaxing.

What's that? Don't believe me? Maybe this relaxation garden will convince you. Not sure how my picture sells it, but it was really pretty. Even though it was raining outside, it didn't matter. One look out that door and you could feel the calm. 

Unfortunately, we didn't go to the actual castle because of the rain (it started pouring) and I have a recovering ankle if it wasn't shown before (look back, maybe you'll find me in a cast). According to the map guide, the museum was only 15% of the complex; will have to return sometime. 

As always, have to show off my meals. Yuko took us to a Japanese restaurant where I had eel and... mochi! Yes, indeed, they do sell mochi, so expect that tile's text to be changed back. The eel was delicious; had the texture of fish, but its own unique taste, like it wasn't as 'fishy' if that makes sense. You could also pour tea from that kettle into the pot and eat it like that. It changed the taste quite a bit actually: sorta sweet without tea broth and sorta sour/bitter with the tea broth. I suppose it depends on one's tastes, but I liked it without the tea. 

Our next stop was actually Yuko's house. For obvious reasons, no pictures here, so I'll instead paint your mind. We didn't go inside her real house, more like her studio which is right next to it. She calls it "Salon Grace" and she teaches English to the neighborhood kids if she has time. We actually met with one, a middle school kid, who was super shy and probably didn't want to talk to us. Anyways, you walk in and take off your shoes like Japanese have you do and there are two tables, about the size of a standard picnic table there. Add about 1-3 yards to the length and width and that's about the dimensions of the room. We played Uno, watched a Roomba (never saw one before), and had some snacks. Good time. 

We made a brief stop at Lake Biwa, which I guess I'll put a picture below, but it doesn't look very nice. It was still raining and the winds were rough, so it looks very grey. If you look though, mountains can be seen in the background; and if you look reeeally hard, you might even spot Hikone Castle (it’s not that block on the right). Good luck. 

Probably the highlight of this trip was Taga Taisha or Taga Shrine. The most Shrine shrine I've been to so far. Like, I've been to shrines in Kyoto, but those are full of tourists and hundreds of people. As the picture shows, very few people, the air was so fresh, and we followed shrine traditions as instructed by Yuko. Did you know? At shrines, the path is very wide, but the middle path is reserved for Gods, so you have to walk on the sides. We prayed at the shrine: two bows, two claps, one bow. And I had my fortune told: Super Great Luck supposedly, but I couldn't read it. Apparently it was along the lines of “study well, do well.”

Outside of the Shrine

Inside of the Shrine, taking a picture with God

That's basically the end of that day with some details omitted. We rode back to Nagoya that same day on another Shinkansen, still very cool. I'll briefly go over the bingo card update. I'm impressed you read this far, this got long. 

Of course, shinkansen bullet train is crossed off. A memorable experience that I recommend heavily. New Foods 1-5: Sashimi, Taiyaki, Takoyaki, mochi, and eel. And Conversing in Japanese; this is probably the most I've used Japanese to communicate, so I'm fulfilled with crossing this off. That being said...

Not sure what next post will be about. It'll be a surprise. Till then!

Lajlim Jesse Yang

Aerospace Engineering

Nagoya University Automotive Summer Program (NUSIP), Nagoya, Japan

[superchicalonelyviking]

Four

Hello everyone from Fuji Q theme park next to (you guessed it) Mount Fuji!

We've been in Japan 10 days now and what a fantastic country! We are totally impressed by how clean, beautiful and cheerful everything is here!

We arrived in Sakaiminato, a small port town in the South of Japan, getting off the boat you straight away see Japanese style houses, Japanese style seagulls (huge brown feathery type things!) and of course lots of vending machines! Sakaiminato is a nice seasidey town with lots of sculptures of characters from an anime cartoon series by the artist Shigeru Mizuki, lining the streets. You can go round and get rubber stamps of all the characters! Walking around town there are red lanterns hanging everywhere, lots of really sweet music playing and people greeting you from the shops as you pass. A kindergarten crocodile passed us, all wearing yellow hats and with colourful water bottles strapped over them and every one of them said 'koniciwa' to us, it was extremely cute! We had read that a Japanese way to show respect to people is to bow / nod your head, and everywhere you go people do this in greeting to one another. Everybody is so polite here as maintaining social order is important in Japan, apparently foreigners tend to break the rules (many of them unimaginable) all the time and have no idea, meaning we are a constant source of embarrassment and annoyance. Well I hope it's not quite that bad but we've been trying to fit in as much as possible!

From Sakaiminato we got a train up to Hiroshima, passing lush mountainous scenery on the way. Even the train was very nice and clean and had cute pictures of cartoon characters everywhere ! We got a Shinkansen for some of the way, which is name for the Japanese high speed / bullet trains- it feels like you're on an aeroplane rather than a train, actually looks a bit like an aeroplane too and it's fantastic how quickly you can move between places. The train attendants, on reaching the door at the end of the carriage, turn round and bow before leaving!

Hiroshima is a very nice, progressive and apparently international city (we thought it would be a lot more multicultural here, even in Tokyo it's unusual to see people who are clearly foreign, and apparently 95% of people who live in Japan are Japanese or Korean due to strict immigration laws), Hiroshima is most famous for  being where the atomic bomb was dropped in WW2 and hence most people come to visit the peace park, museum and monuments which serve as a memorial and a message that it should never happen again. The place is very emotive but feels very optimistic too, it is very much about peace rather than divisions. There is a large flame in a shrine which will burn until we reach global nuclear disarmament, a bell which you can strike to send a message of peace, and a children's monument, inspired by a girl who developed leukaemia age 11 and attempted to fold 2000 origami birds before she died but unfortunately didn't succeed, so thousands of school children across Japan send birds they have folded in her memory. There was a busker in the park playing violin really beautifully, after a couple of hours we were so sad that we had to go for Okonomiyaki to cheer up! This is the local dish of Hiroshima and is this fantastic pile of pancake, cabbage, pork, noodles and an amazing sauce, all cooked in front of you! Afterwards we went and balked at how expensive the fruit and veg is here (in the supermarket, about £1 per apple!) apparently due to laws which protect Japanese farmers and govern imports, decided to attempt to cook some of our own meals to save money but subsequently decided this was a terrible idea, we are rubbish at cooking Japanese food and you may as well just pay someone who knows what they're doing! (It's hardly even any dearer) - oh apart from breakfast, we've been having scrambled tofu everyday, you can get a huge block of tofu for around 25p which is about 90% cheaper than in the UK! Also Mat is super happy because the loaves of bread here are sold with the crusts neatly sliced off, initially a disappointment for him, until he discovered that for less than half the price you can buy a bag containing all the discarded crusts!!! Anyhow this probably isn't very interesting so back to Hiroshima...

There is also a beautiful castle, rebuilt in 1958 in a lovely park with the huge temple of the carp god outside, all surrounded by a moat . At the temple you have to wash your hands and mouth with water outside before going to pray in front - to do this you have to summon the gods by ringing a bell, and afterwards clap and bow to signify you have finished. The main religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. I don't know a huge amount about Shinto but I do know there are many gods, and a belief that when people die their spirit goes back into nature, and natural things such as rivers, trees, mountains and rocks are often worshipped or seen as sacred. There are small temples scattered around most places and most will be dedicated to a particular God. We visited some more in Tokyo, where we went next !

Tokyo in comparison with Hiroshima is a huge sprawling city (or amalgamation of lots of towns into a huge metropolis) it is very busy but yet feels strangely calm, I guess due to the attitude there of politeness and consideration not to bother others. Everyone is so well dressed, for example you see lots of people in smart suits and very white starched shirts, children in pristine sailor suit style school uniforms, in fact all the uniforms are very stylish and look brand new, we feel pretty scruffy in comparison! The place we stayed was tatami style with tatami mat flooring, futon mattresses and traditional wall decoration, and you're provided with slippers to use whilst inside the house (although not on the mats, and there's a separate pair for the toilet, it's quite complicated!). We had a few days exploring Tokyo, went to some beautiful temples (visited the temple of the God of Strong Legs, so now our legs are in fine shape) and explored some of the older parts of town, and after we'd finished with the cultural bits went to Joy-polis which is a bit like a cinema complex if instead of a cinema it had loads of indoor rides, and felt more like a giant disco! There is even a rollercoaster themed around sonic the hedgehog where you have to play a guitar hero style drumming game on the way up, and a ride where you're strapped into a skateboard with a big lever attached and it simulates going up and down a half pipe! What really makes the place though is the brilliantly enthusiastic Japanese ride attendants who clap and cheer when the ride begins and when the place closed were all grinning and waving from the exits! We also spent a couple of days at Disneyland and Disney Sea - I was majorly skeptical about this plan but actually it was fantastic, the attention to detail is really incredible, the place doesn't really feel like you're in a theme park so much as a giant pop up book, it's really fun just to explore and go on the kids' rides with all the freaky animatronic characters, some of the sets are actually really impressive! The parades are fun too and there are really good dance shows and a huge firework and light show projected onto the castle at the end of the day. Disney Sea was especially amazing, it is centred round a huge lake with a massive man-made smouldering volcano behind with a rollercoaster coming out of the top. Mat should probably tell you more this as he is the biggest fan but I also loved it!

We also visited Akihabara, Tokyo's 'geek' district, with massive gaming arcades and retro video game shops. Mat played Tetris at an arcade, and was thrilled to get the highest score of the day, before realising his was actually the only score of the day. On the whole Akihabara feels like the big, slightly weird Tokyo that we sometimes hear stories about. It's a cool place!

Near our place was a sushi conveyor belt restaurant where most plates were just 100 yen, approx 70p! So we were loving having amazing cheap sushi.  Everything is ordered from a touch screen, but then is delivered via conveyor belt, with a musical jingle playing just as the plate reaches your table so you know to take it!

On our last day in Tokyo we discovered there are several so called 'Penguin Cafes' in the city, so we're really excited as the Penguin Cafe Orchestra was one of the reasons we were keen to come to Japan- the founder Simon Jeffes visited it (via the trans Siberian!) and wrote a lot of music here in the 70's, and the Penguin Cafe have toured Japan and have a following there. The famous song Music for a Found Harmonium was played on a harmonium found in Japan! So it turns out that some of the Penguin Cafes actually have real life penguins that live there (along with Tokyo's owl, cat, bunny etc. Cafes!), and you can watch them over a cup of tea! We decided against that but instead turned up to a place in Asagaya and on arrival realised it wasn't just any old Penguin themed cafe, it was totally inspired by the music, which was playing inside, with their records on the walls, and we spoke to the owner who also loved the music!

Afterwards we went to a nearby Yakitori place he recommended, very small places where you can buy beer and sake(rice wine) and Yakitori which are small skewers with meat and vegetables, cooked in the window, all the food is prepared behind the counter. It was a bit difficult to order as the people there didn't speak much English and our Japanese is awful but we ended up with lots of beer and skewers and afterwards the chef brought us a platter of leftover   Fruit and salad then served us three different types of sake, each with a different flavour, which were all really good. Later we ordered more sake and were totally alarmed when the waiter didn't stop pouring after filling our glasses, meaning it splashed over the sides and filled up a small saucer underneath but on googling this found out it is a way sake can be served and is a happy bonus as you get a bit more than the glassful! Our original plan had been to go on a Tokyo big night out (by our standards at least) but we loved this place so much that we stayed all night, they also gave us free ice cream too! It is called Kawana. Highly recommended!

Since leaving Tokyo we have been in Fujiyoshida which is a city at the foot of Mt Fuji, and it has been brilliant! I had a giant picture of the Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai on my wall since the beginning of university (for no good reason other than my room needed posters, I saw it at the Keele fresher's fair and liked it), the painting has a picture of Mt Fuji in the background (it's actually one of a whole series of woodblock paintings of Mount Fuji by Hokusai), the picture is still up in our lounge today and I never thought I would actually see the mountain, or that it would be as spectacular in real life!

The first night we stayed in a place we found on air bnb, we were the host Kazu's first guests so we're guinea pigs for his 'authentic Japanese experience', which turned out to be awesome!

On arrival we were given some lovely Japanese clothes to wear and then we had coffee, green tea flavour kitkats and then Kazu got out what looked like a kind of industrial workbench clamp and with it made us some Kakigori, a type of crushed ice dessert! Then we were taken to a study room and he taught us some Japanese calligraphy, using ink and a special brush, including how to write our names- they are written using an alphabet where all the characters represent a phonic, so for example the 'th' of Elizabeth is the same character as the 'th' of Matthew. There are two other alphabets used in Japan, with more than 2000 characters! Often the characters represent whole words rather than just a sound.

After calligraphy Kazu made us some Takoyaki which are these delicious octopus dumplings! And he drove us to a local restaurant for Ramen, and advised us on what to order. As if we thought it couldn't be any better, when we got back Kazu had run us a hot bath with Japanese bath salts so we had a mini onsen experience too!

In the morning Kazu cooked about 5 different dishes including tofu miso soup, cooked fresh salmon, rice, a really nice salad and tofu in a dressing, and afterwards showed us how to perform a tea ceremony and we had delicious green tea, with very tasty mochi which are a Japanese sweet made by pounding rice into a pulp. He also showed us a Japanese musical instrument called a Shamisen, played for us and let us try it. He even had a replica samurai sword! It was all so totally Japanese!

In conclusion it was great and if you're going to the Fuji area look up Kazu's place! Also, we really need to up our game with our air bnb! It's a bit more difficult to think what we would do for an authentic British experience, but any suggestions are welcome!

Whilst in Fujiyoshida we also went to Fuji Q, a theme park Mat has dreamed of going to for ages.  The best rollercoaster was a '4D' rollercoaster called 'Eejenanka', where the seats rotate on their own axis, meaning you go over drops face first, upside down, forwards, backwards... it's really hard to keep track of what's happening and it feels nothing like any other rollercoaster I've ever been on! Our on-ride photo was so beautiful we had to buy it.

There was also the 'Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear', a walk-through haunted house (well actually a zombie hospital) with a reputation of being amongst the scariest in the world. It's really long, it took us about 20 minutes to get through, and you go through just the two of you, feeling alone, rather than with a big group. It was genuinely very scary, my heart was pounding the whole way through, and we were almost tempted to quit at one of the emergency exits part way through!

One afternoon at Fuji Q thousands of fans wearing matching coats turned up and gathered around a big model Sea plane- it turned out they were at a festival for an online Japanese video game - then a girl band came onto a little stage and everyone did a coordinated dance to the theme song. Totally bewildering!

On the last evening in Fujiyoshida we cycled up to a mountain opposite Fuji called Shimoyama, here you hike up through the trees to find the Niikurafujisengen shrine (dedicated to one of Japan's princesses) and a beautiful Chureito pagoda representing citizens of Fujisan, all with an absolutely stunning view of Mount Fuji towering over the town. At sunset it was particularly peaceful and calm. We met several elderly men jogging up and down it as we were nearly collapsed by the side of the path! On the way back down we went to the temple and were surprised by how noisy it was there as they are normally VERY quiet -it sounded like someone was doing some really enthusiastic evening gardening behind it- and then we realised the temple was covered in monkeys! They were leaping around all over the roof and through the trees behind, one of them had a baby on its back, they were super cute!

We went for really good sushi for dinner both nights in Fujiyoshida, it was a small traditional sushi place - somewhere Mat has wanted to go since working at Yo! Sushi (a bit of a different type of sushi experience!) - and the chef was so friendly and told us what all the different bits of sashimi were and how to eat it all! We got to meet his family, wrote in the restaurant guestbook and when we left he gave us a calendar with his name on it and on the second night he gave us a pen! Another recommendation for Fujiyoshida - it is called Musashino.

Next we are going up into the alps to a more rural part of Japan, so we're looking forward to that! Will blog again soon ! Miss you all!

Libby and Mat

[charllieeldridge]

12 Best Things To Do in Aomori – A Travel Guide

Beaming with natural beauty, tasty food, welcoming locals and historical sites, Aomori has a little something for everyone — there are numerous things to do in Aomori to keep you busy!

Located at the northern tip of the main Honshu Island in Japan, the Aomori prefecture surprised and delighted us at every turn, and left us wanting more. 

With easy transport options from the capital city of Tokyo, and relatively untouched nature, it’s easy to see why the Lonely Planet listed the Tohoku region as one of their “Best In Travel” destinations for 2020! 

In this post, I’ll list the top 12 things to do in Aomori, plus details on getting around the prefecture, what to expect, where to stay and more. 

An Introduction to Aomori

The Tohoku region is comprised of Aomori and 5 other prefectures (which are similar to states/provinces) — Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Yamagata. But, the capital city of the Aomori prefecture is also called Aomori.

It’s a little bit confusing!

The pretty nature surrounding the Oirase Stream

During our recent trip to Japan, we visited the Tohoku region but only the prefectures of Aomori and Akita. It was just a teaser of what this beautiful part of the country has to offer.

Tohoku is known for its incredible natural beauty and welcoming locals, but on top of those things, Aomori, in particular, is also famous for its tasty food.

It’s the largest producer of apples (you’ve probably heard of Fuji apples?), has an abundance of seafood on offer (scallops and affordable sushi), and due to the chilly winters, some hearty, comfort foods are served here as well (try the beef bara-yaki, and the vegetable soup kenoshiru).

With volcanoes, mountains, lakes, hot springs, historical sites, parks, and food…Aomori really is a hidden gem in Japan. 

From Tokyo Station, we hopped on the Shinkansen bullet train bound for Shin-Aomori station. The trains in Japan are reliable, efficient, clean…and silent!

Talking loudly on a train is a big no-no in Japan, so we sat quietly shifting our gaze between our laptops and the stunning views outside.

With a 3 hour and 10-minute journey ahead of us, we knew we could get a little work done, but it was hard with the stunning Japanese countryside zipping past our peripheral outside.

Not only are the trains comfortable, but they have plug-ins, free wifi, bathrooms and an attendant that comes around offering drinks and snacks. 

We arrived at our hotel around 4:00 pm, and between that time and when we went to bed, we had so many wonderful encounters with the people of Aomori City.

One man invited us to watch a rugby match on TV with him and his friends, another stopped us in the street to chat about what we were doing in Aomori (and to practice his English), and another just wished us a nice trip.

Our first meal in Aomori was sushi – affordable and delicious!

After meeting some kind people, and devouring some of the freshest, most delicious and most affordable sushi we’ve had in Japan (at Asuka Sushi Bar), it was time to call it a night. 

Our first impressions of this region of Japan were very positive and we couldn’t wait to explore more. 

12 Best Things To Do in Aomori Prefecture

During our previous visits, we spent time in Kyoto, Tokyo and Takayama. But, there are so many more things to see and do in Japan and this time around, we were looking forward to exploring the natural beauty of the country — which Tohoku has in spades. 

There are a few main areas that are of interest to tourists in this prefecture — Hirosaki, Aomori City, Towada Hachimantai National Park, and Fukaura.

Many of the things to do in Aomori are focused around the stunning Towada Hachimantai National Park, which spans 862 sq. km (333 sq. miles). Here’s a list of some of the top things to do in the Aomori prefecture, based on our firsthand experience.

1. Canoeing on Lake Towada

A highlight of our entire trip to the region was the hours spent canoeing on the crystal-clear Towada Lake. 

This crater lake spans between the prefectures of Akita and Aomori, and has a surprisingly undeveloped coastline.

After a quick safety briefing and demonstration from the canoe guide (Ota-san) at Towadako Guidehouse, we were ready to hit the lake. We’ve done lots of kayaking in the past, but surprisingly, neither of us had properly canoed before!

Canoeing on Lake Towada was so much fun!

Finding our balance on the boat was easy and before we knew it we were gliding across the calm, crystal-clear water. This was such a peaceful experience and we enjoyed paddling alongside the colourful autumn leaves and rocky shoreline. 

Lake Towada can be enjoyed year-round, but public transport only operates from April – November. To get here from Aomori City, take a bus to Yasumiya, which is the main transport hub of Lake Towada.

If you have a JR Rail Pass, the bus is included with that pass. To learn more about canoeing on the lake with the company we paddled with, click here, and for more information on how to get from Aomori to Lake Towada, click here.

2. Wander Along the Oirase Gorge in Towada Hachimantai National Park

Flowing from Lake Towada is the Oirase Stream. Running alongside this stream is a 14-kilometer nature trail. This has been listed on many articles as one of the best things to do in Aomori, but for us, even though it was pretty, it wasn’t a major highlight. 

Here’s the reason: it runs along a road.

On one side, you have a beautiful stream, some small waterfalls, and lush forest. But, on the other side of the trail, just steps away, is the road.

I’m sure that it’s not always this busy, but when we visited, it was a long weekend and many locals were here enjoying their day off — which meant lots of foot traffic, and vehicles passing by. 

There’s just something about waterfalls

Regardless of how busy it was, we seemed to be the only ones who minded! And, we still enjoyed the fresh, humid air, the Kumoinotaki waterfall, and watching the local artists painting and photographing their beautiful backyard. 

To get here, take the same bus that you would take for Lake Towada. Starting in Aomori, it passes through the Oirase Stream before terminating at the lake. Click here for details on the bus route — again, it’s included with your JR Rail Pass.

3. Visit the Jogakura Bridge in Towada Hachimantai National Park

This might not be an ancient site, but this 122m high bridge is a beautiful viewpoint! This bridge connects two areas of the Aomori prefecture (Tsugaru and Nambu) and was built in 1995 to make crossing the Jogakura river easier.

When we visited, people were parking at either end of the bridge and walking the length to take photos from different angles. While it’s not somewhere you’d likely go and see just for photos, it’s a great stop in between destinations.

The Jogakura Bridge offers an amazing view of the autumn colours in the fall, and snowy trees in winter.

View from the Jogakura Bridge, gorgeous during the autumn months

4. Eat All The Apples (Everywhere)

Since Aomori is known for its apple production, it’s no surprise that eating anything and everything to do with apples is a must. At pretty much every restaurant, you’ll find some sort of apple-inspired dish.

We stayed at the aptly named Apple Land Hotel, which had a beautiful ryokan style room and apples floating in the onsite onsen. There was an apple orchard in the backyard and a massive restaurant with fantastic food featuring (you guessed it) apples!

Apple desserts, apple curry, apple sauces, apple sake and apple beer were just some of the items on offer and it was all very tasty. 

Another great place to sample some apple delights is at the French restaurant in Hirosaki, Chez Moi. Here, we dined on a 5-course lunch of cod, beef cheek, soup, and dessert — with apples infused into every dish. If you’re a foodie, you won’t want to miss this spot. 

Want more apple action? You can actually pick apples at one of the many orchards in Aomori. Click here to learn more about that. 

Aomori is known for its apples

5. Explore Shirakami-Sanchi Forest (Fukaura) 

The pristine Shirakami-Sanchi forest area is actually a World Heritage Site.

Spanning 130,000 hectares (321,000 acres) across the southwestern part of the Aomori prefecture and the northwestern part of the Akita prefecture, this beautiful place is a great spot to do some hiking around lakes while enjoying the east Asia’s largest virgin beech forest. 

There are numerous trails to explore here, plus 33 lakes. “Juniko” translates to “twelve”, so it’s strange that an area with 33 lakes and ponds is actually called Juniko, but who’s counting?

We spent a couple of hours hiking around there and enjoying the red, orange and yellow leaves reflecting off of the many lakes. This is somewhere you could spend a whole day soaking up the natural beauty. Click here for a great (English) map of the area. 

From Fukaura, it’s a 35-minute direct train ride to the Juniko Station. 

One of the many amazing lakes at Juniko

6. Hirosaki Park (Hirosaki City)

Located in the city with the same name, this large park is a nice spot to wander around.

This is considered one of the top spots to view the cherry blossoms in the springtime (there are 2,600 trees planted here), and in the fall, you can enjoy the autumn leaves.

Not only are the trees a highlight here, but the entire park is surrounded by a moat with small red bridges crossing the water, and historical gates.

The real highlight of Hirosaki Park is the 400-year-old castle — which is the last remaining one from the Edo Period in the Tohoku region.

The Hirosaki Castle’s temporary spot

When we visited, the castle had moved.

That’s right, the entire castle itself was picked up in one piece, and moved 70m!

Apparently, the base was becoming weak, and in order to preserve it, the castle was slowly moved to the side for the structure to be repaired. It’ll take around 10 years to completely restore the base and it’s expected to be moved back to its original place in 2026.

Also, don’t miss the view of the Iwake Volcano from the park! 

Hirosaki Park is open from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and while it doesn’t cost anything to enter the main area of the park, if you want to see the castle, you’ll need to pay 320 yen ($2.95).

You can also purchase a ticket which grants you entrance to the castle, botanical garden and memorial garden for 520 yen ($4.75). From Aomori City station, it’s around a 1-hour train ride to Hirosaki Station. From there, it’s a 25-minute walk to the park, or you can take a taxi.

7. Visit a Shinto Shrine

We’ve seen a few Shinto shrines around Japan, and here in Aomori prefecture, we visited the 1,200-year-old Iwakiyama Shrine and enjoyed the view of Mount Iwaki volcano in the background.

You’ll know you’re at a Shinto shrine based on the Torii Gates at the entrance.

As with any religious building (church, mosque, temple, etc.) there are do’s and don’ts when it comes to visiting and praying at one, but there’s no need to stress and you should definitely visit one during your trip. 

Keep in mind that as a tourist/guest, you won’t be expected to know all of these rules.

Entrance to the Iwakiyama Shinto Shrine

The main thing to keep in mind when entering a Shinto shrine is to bow before entering the torii gates and walk on either the left or right-hand side of the gates, as the center is reserved for the gods.

Before going into the main shrine, make sure to purify yourself with the water out front.

Using the ladle, pour water over your left hand, followed by your right hand, and put some water into your hand to rinse out your mouth (but, don’t swallow the water).

Remove your shoes where signs instruct. Once you’re at the shrine, put a coin into the donation box for the deity. Following that, clap your hands two times, say your prayer, clap two more times and bow.

That’s it. 

Shintoism is a belief in the ancestors, nature and sacred powers.

This faith originated in Japan in the 8th century and is as old as the culture itself. Shintoism has no scripture, books or propaganda and alongside Buddhism, it’s one of the top two beliefs in Japan.

Iwakiyama is one of the most important spiritual sites in Aomori, so it’s a great place to experience this culture first hand.

To visit the Iwakiyama Shrine from Hirosaki, take the Konan bus bound for Karekitai from the Konan bus station, which is in front of the Hirosaki Train Station. It’s about a 40-minute bus ride. Alternatively, you can go on a tour, hire a driver, or rent your own vehicle.

There is a hike you can do from the Iwakiyama shrine to the summit of Mt. Iwaki. This hike takes around 4 hours and if we had more time, we would’ve loved to trek that route. Learn more here. 

More Things To Do in Aomori

During our visit, the Hakkoda Ropeway (gondola) was under repair and sadly we weren’t able to ride it. But, this is one of the most popular things to do in the area, especially in the fall when you can enjoy an amazing vantage point of the mountains covered in fall colours.

Man painting a scene in Oirase

In the Aomori prefecture alone, there are 15 ski resorts. Needless to say, skiing is a popular winter activity here. To learn more about the numerous ski resorts in the area, click here. 

The road between the Hakkoda Hotel and Sukayu Onsen is closed during the winter but reopens on April 1st each year. With high snowbanks on either side, walking and driving through this 10-meter high snowy corridor would be a pretty amazing sight — check out the cherry blossoms one day, and the snow wall the next!

For seafood lovers, don’t miss the Furukawa fish market (Aomori Gyosai Center) in Aomori City. Here you can create your own seafood rice bowl, called nokkedon. Fill your bowl with rice and top it with your choice of seafood — crab, squid, fish, scallops and more. 

Getting To and From Aomori Prefecture

To get to Aomori from Tokyo, you can either fly with JAL Airlines or take the Shinkansen bullet train (which is what I recommend).

We travelled from Tokyo Station to Shin Aomori on the Shinkansen Hayabusa train (using our JR Rail Pass). This journey was around 3 hours and 20 minutes long.

Once we arrived at Shin Aomori, we simply disembarked, walked down some stairs and found the local train line. It was about a 5-minute train ride on the JR Express Tsugaru from Shin Aomori station to Aomori.

Amazing view of the volcano and autumn colours in Hirosaki Park

Train stations in Japan can be a bit overwhelming. My biggest suggestion is to give yourself a lot of time on travel days. Arrive at the larger stations with plenty of time so you’re not feeling rushed or stressed out.

Never be afraid to ask the attendants which gate you should be at, and how to get there. There are plenty of them at all of the larger stations, they speak enough English and are more than willing to help you out.

During our trip in Tohoku, we kept saying that having our own rental car would’ve been the best way to see all of the natural sites of Aomori.

You can do it by public transport, but having your own wheels will allow you to stop at all the amazing viewpoints, and find your own quiet place for a picnic or a hike.

I don’t recommend hiring a car for the entire duration of your trip to Japan (as it can be pricey and public transport is so efficient), but maybe just for a day trip to the lakes or mountains in the area. 

When to Visit Aomori

One of the great things about travelling to Japan, is that it’s a destination that can be enjoyed year-round. Aomori is no exception.

Each season in the prefecture offers something different, so plan your trip around the activities you want to do and the type of weather you want.

To witness the stunning cherry blossoms, you’ll want to visit at the end of April. Hirosaki Park is one of the top spots in all of the country to see the blossoms, so expect crowds, but some incredible photo opportunities as well.  

For those who want to hit the slopes, December – March is when you’ll want to visit. Keep in mind that Aomori is one of the snowiest cities in the entire world — receiving around 20 feet of snow!

The prefecture transforms into a winter wonderland with people soaking extra long in the steamy onsens and partaking in festivals (time your trip for the Lake Towada Winter Story and the Hachinohe Emburi, both of which are held in February). 

For both the cherry blossom season and the ski season, make sure to reserve your accommodation in advance because these are peak months. 

Hirosaki Park with cherry blossoms – what an amazing sight! (Photo Credit: Shutterstock)

If you want to swim in the Towada Lake, do some walking along the Tanasashi coast, experience the famous Nebuta Matsuri lantern festival, and enjoy a hot temperature, visit Aomori in the summer months (August for the festival).

For a cooler, comfortable temperature and to witness the fall leaves changing colour, visit Aomori in October/November. The leaves can be viewed from many parts of the prefecture, but the Towada-Hachimantai National Park and the Hakkoda Ropeway are great places to enjoy the view.

Final Thoughts On Visiting Aomori

Prior to planning our trip to Aomori, we hadn’t even heard of the region of Tohoku, let alone the Aomori prefecture.

Most people have heard of the popular spots in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc.), but if you want to escape the crowds and enjoy a more offtrack part of Japan, don’t miss this Northeast region of the country.

We were here on a quick visit to just get a feel for the prefecture — and even though it was a fast trip, we had a great experience! Due to all the amazing hiking and nature opportunities, we could’ve spent about 10 days – 2 weeks here and enjoyed a more relaxed travel pace. 

When you’re planning your next trip to Japan, consider Tohoku. With easy access from the capital, tasty foods and fewer tourists, it’s an area of the country you won’t want to miss. 

We were invited by the Tohoku Tourism Board to explore the region and share our findings with you, our readers. This is an area of Japan we would happily return to and would love to spend more time here. As with all promotional campaigns on Goats On The Road, all thoughts, reviews and opinions remain our own — despite any complimentary services received. 

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[allcityallcountry]

9/29

I began my day at a coffee shop that I’d passed by many times now on my way to and from the hostel. It is called Camelback Rich Valley, and it is tucked into a little corner shop at the junction of several alleyways. I ordered the only drink I didn’t recognize, and naturally it was called a camelback. It was essentially an americano.

I really love how bike centric this part of Tokyo is. There are bikes everywhere, whether they’re actively in use or lining the streets in front of shops and homes. There is a style of step through electric bike that seem to be very popular, many of which have baskets and child seats on them. It’s very heartwarming to see parents taking their children too and from school via bike. This method of transportation is on the rise in the U.S. but it is in a whole different league over here. If you get lucky you’ll sometimes see little dogs in the baskets which is always sure to get you smiling.

Speaking of dogs, as I was walking back to the hostel I noticed a sign for a cafe that had a menu for people and a menu for dogs. I guess some folks take their K-9 companions out to breakfast. It made me think of T and Netty, as that is something they would definitely do.

Brendy and I had a quick breakfast at a Japanese curry spot before packing up and hitting the road. Today would be my first experience using the Shinkansen. I’d never taken a bullet train before and my excitement grew as we approached the station. The first of what would surely be many bullet trains slowly came into view as we descended the escalator and stepped onto the platform. The trains are long and sleek with smaller windows more similar to the spec of an airplane than the locomotives I’m used to riding at home. The front and rear cabs look like a mix between a rocket ship and a race car.

Brendy and I had purchased rail passes on our first day in Japan. What this meant is that we would be able to take the Shinkansen to the farthest reaches of track as frequently as our hearts desired. With a 3 week price tag of $600, we were going to have to go pretty far south to make it worthwhile. Luckily for us, Brendy has a friend in Kagoshima which is home to the farthest Shinkansen station from Tokyo. At trip on the Shinkansen between those two cities is nearly 300 USD each way so the pass will have paid for itself by the time we get back to Tokyo.

Once we’d taken our seats the train slowly and smoothly moved foreword. Within a few short minutes we were blasting out of Tokyo at speeds I had never experienced outside of an airplane. The train carved banked turns and sliced through straights, taking us ever closer to our destination at Shizuoka station. Objects that were close to the track would fly by so quickly that at times it became difficult to tell what I was looking at. It was hypnotic. Seeing more of the surrounding cities as we moved farther from Tokyo was a real treat. The buildings never really stopped as we traversed the sprawl.

We arrived in Shizuoka and transferred to a rail car which felt glacial in comparison. We arrive in Fujieda to visit one of Brendy’s college friends, Gavin who works on a tea farm in the countryside. He was waiting at the station to pick us up, and after exchanging greetings we all piled into his Honda Kei van. I’d been keen to get inside one of these tiny vans that filled the city streets. Surprisingly I actually fit!

Gavin drove us towards the restaurant where we would have lunch. The new Sandy Alex G played from the speakers which made me really happy. We drove up a TINY street to the restaurant and I finally understood why so many of the cars in Japan are so small. We parked in the lot at Nagomi, a beautiful little restaurant on the hillside that was only open a couple of hours each week serving locally sourced tororo.

Gavin explained that this cuisine hadn’t really ever made its way to the states due to the alien texture and appearance. The meal consisted of several small plates, a large bowl of rice and a selection of toppings. This is where the tororo comes in. Each of us was handed a large pot of what looked like a very slimy yogurt. Gavin lovingly compared it to a giant bowl of snot. We poured the slime over the rice and mixed in wasabi, seaweed and onion. Then we just slurped it down! The slime itself comes from a long root that grows in the mountains of Japan. I can’t remember it’s name but it essentially translated to mountain root. The kind owners of the restaurant brought us fresh yogurt with local blueberry jam once we’d cleaned our plates. I don’t know that I’d be quick to eat this food again, but it definitely ranks up there with some of the most interesting foods I’ve ever eaten.

Next began the tea tour. Gavin drove us to the giant factory that he and his coworker operated. As we moved across the factory floor, Gavin told us all about the machinery and the history of what was once the largest tea factory in Japan. He would spend many night here during the coming harvest. After the factory tour we headed up the mountain to see the tea fields. The roads up to the fields were straight out of an adventure movie. It almost felt like what I remember of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. The tracks were very narrow and littered with debris. At some points the drop on the side of the road was steep and I could look straight down the mountain if I stuck my head out the window. Gavin new these roads well and made quick work of them. Despite the anxiety of the roads themselves the views and vegetation were stunning.

We arrived at the farm and walked along the rows of tea plants, some of which were 60-70 years old. Since this is an organic farm there are a lot of insects to be found. Big black and yellow spiders had set up shop on many of the plants and I was blown away by how casually Gavin would run his hangs through the leaves, essentially grazing these 8 legged creatures. I squirmed a couple of times as he would get close to a perched spider but I could tell by now that he was more than comfortable with them.

We made a quick pit stop to pick up some tea and headed to Gavin’s house for a tasting. Unfortunately (for Gavin) he didn’t have a key to the storage warehouse and the only tea he could find had already been opened. We sat in his kitchen and he explained the brewing process, the different types of Japanese tea and why it was so important that the tea is as fresh as possible. We could both tell he was frustrated that the tea was not up to his standards. When tea is your life I can totally understand the desire to deliver the best possible flavor, especially when the recipient is so unfamiliar. In line with our ignorance toward tea Brendy and I both thought it was great. The flavor stays in your mouth for quite a while after consumption, and the little kick I got from it was very pleasant.

Right around then is when Gavin’s coworker and family arrived. We all managed to fit in their small car and headed off to town for some shabu shabu. Gavin’s coworker, who’s name I won’t even try to spell here runs the tea operation, which has been in his family for 8 generations. He brought along his wife and two adorable kids. They both spoke English well. It was very nice to have a meal with Gavin and the people who were once his host family and now his friends.

The restaurant was a flat fee for all you can eat and boy did we take advantage. Plate after plate of meat and veggies and mochi and dumplings arrived at the table. We dunked everything into the boiling hot pot and scarfed it down. The food was excellent and very filling.

After dinner we returned to Gavin’s house and drank a couple of bottles of very local sake before retiring to bed. Gavin lived in a tradition Japanese home so you better believe I smashed my head on a doorway or two. 3 for 3. Brendy and I laid out our beds on the Tatami mats, closed the shoji and called it a night. Until tomorrow.

[mercurialtraveller-blog]

Clear Sky, 27°C

2-30 Ebisunobanbachō, Shimogyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto-fu 600-8837, Japan

Day 6 Fuji > Kyoto For once we managed to get up on time! This was partially attributed to the fact that we had to check out at 11am before heading on to catch a bus as the first leg of our meticulously planned 5 hour journey to Kyoto. The journey went smoothly - as it should've given the approx. 45 minute Messenger chat/research session Maddy and I had conducted the night prior. We took a bus from Fujikyu Higlands Bus Station to Mishima, grabbed some (cold!) noodles at the station, before catching the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto and then finally grabbing a JR train one stop to Tambaguchi. A short walk was all that separated us from the Airbnb. The only thing really worth mentioning from the journey was that we finally managed to catch a glimpse of the summit of Fujisan! A short time after we boarded the bus Maddy noticed that the seemingly perpetual clouds at the peak of Mt. Fuji had finally cleared; however, it was a fleeting sighting as the clouds were moving back across the front of Fuji, in an opposing direction to our direction of travel. When we realised this we rushed to take photos of the peak, but alas were unable to capture any pictures of note before it was too late. The Airbnb was a fairly simple Japanese terraced house with two twin rooms at the top and a large kitchen/dining/living room on the ground floor. The best feature was definitely the N64 with a wicked collection of games and controllers which were miraculously still in near mint condition. We walked back towards the station to hit up the 7-11 for some alcohol and food, with plans to pre-drink and eat before heading into Kyoto for the night. At Vicki's recommendation I grabbed a couple of cans of 'Strong' 📷 . This is a 9% strength pre-mixed Vodka drink that comes in a 500ml can. I also grabbed a Chicken Katsu ready meal and some noodles to eat when we got back from our night out. We arrived back at the flat, and immediately started playing Mario Kart and drinking. Two things became clear: The competitive natures of Ville and I became quickly apparent and also the ability of Strong to get you drunk very quickly - it's 9% but you drink it pretty much as fast as you would drink a beer! I'm ashamed to say but after a strong start using Kinopio (Toad, in Western Mario games), I switched up to Donkey Kong and Ville started to win - often (to my great irritation) on the very last lap when I'd been first the whole race. We ate some dinner (Chicken Katsu Curry - yum!) and debated whether English or Japanese Ready Meals were better - I said the latter, Maddy and Ville the former. There was some disagreement over what constituted a Ready Meal/which type of Ready Meal we were discussing - I argued that it was just microwave meals that we were discussing, Maddy said that Tesco Finest Eat for 2 for £10 should be included as well... However those are heated in the oven so I disagreed! We researched where we should go out and found a couple of rock bars on a strip of bars in Kyoto and agreed to check those out - we couldn't find anything we fancied in terms of clubbing, and one club said 'no visible tattoos' on the information on the website, which ruled is out and concerned us going forward! Headed into town - lamenting the fact that we didn't have any road beers - and arrived at a rock bar called 'Crunch'. It was completely empty when we walked in, but was covered in (playable) guitars📷 , metal looking trinkets 📷 and the far end was wall to wall in metal DVDs, so we decided to stay for one. The barman was called Mo-chan and was very friendly - he had good English and let us choose which DVD we wanted to listen to - we chose a wide variety including Metallica, Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot, Sepultura, Mr. Big and some Japanese bands recommended by Mo-chan and some Finnish bands recommended by Ville. Strangely enough, the Bullet DVD was from Brixton at a gig that Maddy had been supposed to go to, but was banned by her parents as she was ill, however we did manage to catch a glimpse of what we assumed to be our friend Adriana in the intro, and after a quick Facebook message to her we confirmed it was her. Small world! We carried on drinking, I had two Sapporo beers and two LARGE glasses of sake. I attempted to play along to For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica and completely failed. Two students in Kyoto - a Brazilian named Phil and an Indonesian named Audi came into the bar and we got some recommendations from them and Mo-chan as to where to check out here and in Osaka. We left, a little bit worse for wear 📷 and started the long walk home - so much for bar hopping, we had spent hours in Crunch! During the walk I tried to skateboard on some Japanese dude's deck (and failed - I could barely balance), realised Maddy had crossed the road whilst I was skating, ran to catch up with her, nearly getting run over in the process! Oops! We got home after what felt like forever (45 mins...) and I thanked past-Dave for having the foresight to buy noodles, chowed them down and headed to bed in a drunken stupor...

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