September 28, 2008
Sumo!
After eight years in Japan, I finally made it to a sumo tournament. It was really amazing!
Actually, I have had a very busy weekend! I met Glenn on Friday night for what was supposed to be a glorious, two-hour, all-you-can-eat Brazilian Steak feast, but the restaurant was booked, so we settled for Tony Roma's (another first for me in Japan, by the way). Afterward, we had a few drinks at Legends in Roppongi before I rushed to make my last train.
Saturday morning I woke up early and was back on the train to go to Mito-san's barbecue in Izumi Tamagawa by 10am. If you time the journey right, it is about an hour and a half trip. At Fujisawa, If you accidently get on the local train instead of the express it is closer to two hours. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly in the best condition for making judgement calls. In any case, I made it. I wish I could have stayed longer, but Max had invited me to the sumo tournament so after a short stay I was off to ride the rails some more.
The Tokyo-based sumo tournaments are held at the arena in Ryougoku. It is my first visit to the area and I would like to go back and explore some more. The Tokyo-Edo museum is also there and seems to be worth a visit. Anyway, we had amazing seats courtesy of Max's friend Takako. In the left-hand picture below, she is on the left and that is Max in the middle.
We were in row six, which is in the "sunakaburi" seats and basically means that you are in range of the salt that the wrestlers throw around to purify the ring. In practical terms, it means that you cannot eat anything there. On the other hand, we all got these giant bags of food when we left to make up for it. The right-hand side picture is advertising...they would circle the ring on an irregular basis.
Sumo is very complicated so I am not even going to try and explain it. But, I will leave you one more picture of the sumo wrestlers lining up before the start of their matches.
After it finished, Max and I went to Hub in Korakuen for a few drinks and once again I ended up on a late night train home. Today...I have nothing planned. Woo!
June 25, 2008
EIGHT YEARS! unbelieveable!
So, like I mentioned in the last post, I just realised that I have been in Japan for eight years as of today! I cannot believe how quickly it has gone. I am practically 40 years old now, so I have been having a lot of these weird, life-perspective thoughts recently. I really should get a job so I do not have time to think of these things!
I am trying to recall the most memorable times I have had here, but I keep getting stuck on the last two years. Really, my life has changed so much since I stopped working and all those hours in the office, airports and meetings that made up my first six years have kind of blurred together.
Anyway, no fancy pictures or amazing insights this time around.
Posted by Kirk at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)December 06, 2007
Lovely Fall day
Some people might be surprised to hear me say that Fall is my favorite time of year. I know that probably half of the posts on this blog are about the beach, which is a summer place, but nothing beats a sunny fall day when the temperature is crisp and cool with the leaves changing colors and lots of them on the ground so that you can run through them and make a real mess.
Today was a day like that and it was absolutely lovely.
We went to Meiji Shrine in the morning and also walked around Yoyogi Park a bit. Did I ever mention that one of the coffee places I like to go is at the entrace to Meiji Shrine. In Fall and Winter, they close off part of the patio and warm it up with this giant heater. I should have taken a picture of it...it is very cool.
Anyway, here is some fall colors for you:
Those guys standing around look to have spent the night there. Great view when you wake up, but probably it is a bit TOO cold to make sleeping there worth while.
This picture is by the fountains in the middle of the park. I was surprised to realise that it had been three months since I headed over there. I remember sitting on one of the benches sweating like crazy. Weird.
I have a lot on my mind recently. For example, where am I going to take my next holiday. Or even more acute...what am I going to do tomorrow afternoon while the rest of you are working! Hmmm, I won't go into too much detail. In any case, it was great to get out today.
Posted by Kirk at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)November 30, 2007
Yum! Salt!
If you visit the blog regularly, you have probably noticed that I am making more of an effort to write something these days. Most be the terrible guilt I felt for not posting anything for a month.
Anyway, I am in Zushi tonight and while I was walking from the station to my apartment I saw the Japanese kanji for "salt" on a sign and that reminded me that I took a picture last year of a salt shop in a small village on Sado Island.
So, I found the picture and here it is.
Of course, it is probably not a real salt shop. Or a real village for that matter. I mean people live there, but it is more of a tourist attraction - everything is maintained as it was in the Meiji era (I am making a lot of assumptions here...it has been over a year since I snapped the photo!).
In any case, the most important thing is that I liked the photo and I am finally publishing it. The other thing to keep in mind is that I have a very strange memory. I usually can't remember what day it is, but I could remember one photo among the thousands I took over the last couple years.
November 28, 2007
Tokyo Tower
This is a picture of Tokyo Tower. Actually, it is a few weeks old, but probably it has not changed very much since then, so I thought I would post it.
If you live in the Minato area, it is pretty hard to get away from Tokyo Tower. In fact, I can see it now as I am typing this. There are all sorts of cool facts about it, which I do not remember, except that it is very tall. There is also shops at the bottom, which are really fun to shop at if you like cheesy souvenirs. And I do!
It was cloudy in Tokyo today and I was thinking about sunny weather so I looked through my recent pictures and found this one. Woo!
Posted by Kirk at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)September 25, 2007
OK, OK...here is an update
Well, it is probably safe to say that the worst of summer is over. It can get pretty warm during the day but it is always cooling down at night. So, no more air conditioning for this year, I hope.
Here is a picture of Zushi Beach taken from the rooftop of the building. Just because I can! It's nice, right?
I have not been up to anything much recently...kind of boring, but that is good. School is over (ya-y!) and I think I will be slowing down a bit next term: three days a week at most instead of every day. And that should give me some time to get things done. Like, getting the Zushi place in order, for example. I will be happy when that is all finished. I did get some furniture, however...
That is not the best picture, but the delivery guys came at the last possible moment and I really had to rush out of there because I was going to the baseball game with some of the students. I suppose I could have been late, but I was the one holding the tickets. Whoops.
Anyway, that was kind of a disaster in itself because we had 10 tickets but 11 people arrived. I gave one to everybody and went off to buy one more as close to them as possible. Unfortunately, it was standing room only. Instead, I went to the beer garden and watched the game on TV.
There is a 1,800 yen all-you-can-drink special, it lasts from 6pm until the game is finished. I did not notice last time, but we are all going back on Wednesday. There are even "beer girls"! Well, they do not carry 15kgs of beer on their back, but everything else is the same.
Well, I should make an effort to update this more as I was told today that a lot of people depend on reading this so that they know what I am doing without talking to me. Or something like that.
Posted by Kirk at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)September 10, 2007
whoops...been awhile
Well, the apartment is finished. In fact, it has been such a long time since I wrote that in the interim, I have spent five nights there. Pretty cool, right? Unfortunately, I haven't done much in the way of furnishing it, although I do have some things being delivered over the next week.
Anyway, it has been a really busy three weeks. There was an end-of-summer beach get-together (no pics), two (2!) beach bar closing nights (Zushi and Hayama), and a typhoon. Since all of this has happened down in Shonan, that is usually when I am fired up to write about it...but I do not have an Internet connection down there. So, that is my lame excuse.
Anyway, here are some post-construction, pre-furnished pictures. If you look closely, you will notice that I have all the basics...pillows, iPod speakers and booze.
I did order a rug, some tables, and a couch/day bed thingy and they will all be delievered over the next week. I am making progress...its slow, but steady.
Goodbye bars on the beach!
So, the beach houses on Zushi Beach closed on August 26th, which is a Sunday. My first two nights in the apartment were the Friday and Saturday and I had planned to head back to Tokyo in the morning. When I found out that Sunday was the last night, I stayed a bit longer. It was really nice...there were so many people out just enjoying the beach and having a good time. Me too.
On the following Friday, Hayama Isshiki Beach also closed. I really HAD TO GO. So, I did. And it was crowded! I was the last to order a beer at the Blue Moon (woo!), so that was good. I spent some time on the beach, leaning back, listening to the waves and drinking my beer. That was also good. On the bus to Zushi, I chatted a bit with these two women that had come down to see the musician that was playing at the bar. Supposedly, he is rather famous. It was kind of embarassing to admit that I had no idea there was a live show going on. Ooops.
Here are a few pictures of Zushi (left) and Hayama (right).
So, a lot of people ask why the beach houses and bars do not stay open longer as summer lasts as good three-six weeks after the arbitrary August 31st closing. Locals will tell you it has to do with the jellyfish, which tend to hang around a lot in September, and typhoons. Well, we had a typhoon last week, and if the pictures are any indication...it is a good reason to close up. I imagine the bar owners who have been slow about taking their buildings down wish they had not procrastinated.
First, here is a look at Zushi Beach. The picture on the left was taken on 4 Sept...the one on the right on 7 Sept.
The tide really surged on the back of the storm, taking a lot of the loose sand of the beach and undermining the foundation of some of the remaining buildings. I imagine 120kph hour winds did not help much.
I could not help but take the picture of the leaning bar and the fake roman statue. Very strange.
I really like these pictures for some reason. On the left, you can see a trap and buoy that has been washed in to shore. That is OK, its the surfer in the background that makes it look cool, I think. I like the one on the right because of the lighting and the wind blowing the mist off the waves. It was much more surreal in real life.
In summary, the bad news is that the beach is torn apart and the beach houses that had yet to be taken down were damaged. But, the wind and waves were good if you like surfing!
August 08, 2007
Enoshima Fireworks 2007
I met up with Laura yesterday in Enoshima for the fireworks. It was excellent, but more on that in a minute. It was actually a full Shonan day but I will get to that in the next post.
As for the fireworks show, this is the second year in a row that I went and it was really good. This year, we went to Katase Enoshima Beach, which is the one right in front of where the fireworks are set off. It was crowded and we paid 5,000 yen for the right to sit on the beach, but it was still well worth it.
While we waited for the sun to set, we were treated to a rare summer view of Mt. Fuji...looks good, right?
Just watching everyone was a lot of fun!
And as I mentioned a few times before, the fireworks were very cool. As one would expect, the pictures do not do the show justice, but here they are anyway.
The downside came afterwards. They expected 140,000 people, which is fun until everyone tries to get on the train at the same time. I thought waiting an hour would be enough, but it was more like two and we did not actually get on a train until after 1030pm. Fortunately for me it was the Shonan Monorail...love that train! I got home around 1am.
Posted by Kirk at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)July 29, 2007
Zushi Fireworks
Like I mentioned below, on Friuday I went to Zushi to watch the fireworks from the roof of the building my apartment is in. It was absolutely awesome! It was fantastic!
I tried to get pictures, but they did not really come out so well...this one looks good enough for the blog, however, and gives you a good idea of what we could see.
I met up with Laura, the Ishiwatas )from the real estate agency and construction company) and Toshi for the show and required after firework drinks. Here are some others...I will save the drinking photos for another time.
Summer is here (Enoshima and Kamakura)
Well, I was lazy on Friday and skipped school. Instead, I went to the beach. Surprised? Actually, the plan was to watch Zushi fireworks from my the roof of my new apartment block, but I went early...about seven hours early.
So, I got off the train in Ofuna on a whim and ended up taking the Shonan Monorail to Enoshima. That is such a cool train. I imagine it looks pretty ugly from the ground, but you do not really see the skyline-destroying metal track from inside the train. It is VERY quick...13 minutes. Enoshima never seemed so close.
Anyway, it was crowded as you can see from the picture below.
I spent an hour or so there before moving on to Kamakura. I took the train part of the way...actually, I love the Enoden Line, but more for the sightseeing then the trasport...I got off at Inamuragaseki and walked the rest of the way. The bars on these two beachs are absolutely incredible...I can't believe they are only there two months out of the year. Here is a convenience store...as you can see it is not a stand at all!
There is also West Park Cafe and China Quick Resort, as well as the MTV Cafe. Quite fancy...
Posted by Kirk at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)July 08, 2007
Back to Japan (and Hayama)
So, I am back home. The flight was miserable, but never mind that. I have not done very much since I got back. It is also weird, because I have not really met up with anyone either. The same thing used to happen when I was working, but I always assumed it was because I was away for six weeks, not six days.
Anyway, I went down to the beach to check on the apartment (more on that next entry) and to see if I could squeeze come beach time in if the weather was good. And it was.
So, here are some pictures, including the obligatory one of the Blue Moon, first of the year!
As you can see it was very crowded, even though the beach itself was absolutely empty. I found out later that it is because most of the guests were there for a wedding party. Despite that, I got a table in front so that I could sit back, drink a beer and enjoy the ocean. And like always, I intended to have just one, but stayed for four.
Here are some other shots, starting with my first view of the beach coming in, a view from my seat, a tanabata tree and also some hula lessons on the beach. It was fun.
I still left at a reasonable hour and was home by 10pm. Not sure why, since I had nothing to do. Maybe I should have stayed longer. I am really looking forward to my apartment being done, so I can skip the two-hour train ride home!
Posted by Kirk at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)March 24, 2007
I got my driver's license! 免許証を受けました！
I should have posted this sooner, but I haven't spent anytime at home this week. Anyway, I went to the driving license center in Samezu on Tuesday to take my final exam and I passed!
I was so pleased...I really did not know how many times I would have to go to this place and take the test before I was lucky enough to get a passing score...turned it I only needed to go once. I did not have a good feeling after the test was finished, but an hour later when they sent me to get my picture taken I realised for sure I had done it. Woo hoo!
In a way, it was anti-climatic...after two months of classes and driving practice, I got a small piece of paper and put it in my wallet. And that was it. It is nice to have, however.
Posted by Kirk at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)Hiroshima/Miyajima again (も一度広島と宮島へ行きました)
I took a few days to head off to Hiroshima and Miyajima - a repeat of a trip I took last year at the same time. I really like it down there - it is super relaxing compared to Tokyo and Miyajima is one of the three best sights in Japan, so how can you go wrong.
Here is O-torii gate in front of Itsukushima Shrine at sunset...
This time I stayed at Ryoso Kawaguchi, which is just off the Omotesando Shotengai and close to the Five-Story pagoda. It is a small place, but the people are very nice and the food was absolutely incredible. Really! They also have the bath with the HOTTEST water, which means Japanese people should especially love it. I felt like a lobster, but I could ease myself in without embarassment, because the baths are all private.
As one does, I spent a lot of time walking around the main part of town taking pictures...here are a few more of the torii and also a wedding party that was at the shrine when I entered. There was also a documentary crew doing some filming...that was strange - even more strange was to see them two hours later in front of my hotel in Hiroshima. They may have been doing a documentary about me?
The highest point on Miyajima is Mt. Misen at 550m...more importantly, there is a monkey park at the top. I really need to catalogue all these monkey places someday. In any case, they have some new warning signs that are worthy of being shown - so cool! - and I saw a prayer/plaque that was so sad, I have to post it. The last picture is a monkey trying to escape from me - he does not know there is no where to go.
From Miyajima, I took a high-speed boat directly to the A-bomb dome (原爆ドーム）, that is a picture I took as we were arriving. I did not really spend much time sightseeing in Hiroshima - I walked over to the castle, but it was late in the afternoon and I decided I would save going in for some other time. One place I do have to mention is the Choco-cro/St. Mark's Cafe at the end of Hondori...because really this is the coolest branch they have. I went there last year also, but did not realise that there is a second floor that you reach by escalator or that there is a woman playing a grand piano when you get up there. I love that place.
Again, I stayed at the Hiroshima Aioi Ryokan. It is super convenient to everything and very quiet. Well, except for the company puting on the floor below mine and the whole "saying good night after drinking loads of sake" seemed to go on forever.
Posted by Kirk at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)February 22, 2007
Jimbocho (神保町) - book stores and coffee
I met Alex for yesterday - he works in Awajicho and there is not much there. I take that back...we went to a very good Italian place for lunch, but that is about it.
However, it is really close to some cool places. One of those is Jimbocho, and after lunch I walked around there for awhile. Here is one of the main intersections and it is quite a contrast to some of the newer parts of the city.
This area of Tokyo is well-known for all the bookstores. I walked by a lot of them, but maybe I will have to learn Japanese before I ever stop in and buy something. Having said that, I love book stores and no matter where you are or what language you speak, a certain level of comfort always exists. So, I really enjoyed "just walking around".
With lots of bookshops, there is inevitable a lot of coffee shops as well. I wandered down a small alley that had a couple that looked very cool. One was a jazz cafe, which is on the left below. The other cafe (on the right) is just kind of funky and I stopped in there. I loved it, except that fitting the chair, table and my apparently too tall frame together wasn't working. Still, very cool place and it is a bar at night, so maybe I need to go back and drink something a little more fortifying.
I finished up by heading over to Suidobashi to catch the JR train home. I would have wandered a bit more, but I had to go to the driving school last night - I will write all about that soon. It is interesting. Here is the "waterfont":
Oh, Alex...happy birthday.
Posted by Kirk at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)February 11, 2007
A stroll around Tokyo, I mean Okutama (奥多摩)
Well, actually, both are correct.
I took the train up to Okutama (奥多摩) this morning, mostly because it is probably the farthest you can go by train from the center of the city and still be in Tokyo. Really...it took two hours to get there. Check out the link if you want more info on what is there.
Here is a picture of the town taken from a trail on the south side of the valley. I walked up this way for about 30 minutes before I realised that I had no idea where I was going or what I would see.
So, Okutama is a lot like most places in the countryside: very quiet and peaceful, but everything seems to be old and a bit run down. It is nice to get away too, but I am not so sure I would want to live out there. Well, if I gave up drinking and talking it might be a good place to go.
Having said that, it was lovely. At one point I was walking along the road next to the Tama River and I thought to myself this place is really like Hakone...but farther away...and with fewer onsens.
Well, I suppose it makes sense that it is quiet.
Anyway, after I walked up the side of a mountain for 30 minutes, I walked back down and had a coffee at the first coffee shop I found, the strangely named "Hemlock", not a name that inspires confidence. And when I walked in at 11am the only other customers were banging back cup after cup of sake). After that, I went to an onsen for a bath, had soba near the station and came home. Whew...
Here are some pictures of the town. On the left you see the train station, on the right, part of the commercial district, heh heh.
And a few more...the picture on the left looks like a gravestone/headstone carving shop. I was walking up the trail and all of the sudden I popped around a curve and all this was laying out in front of me. On the right, some random building with the mountains in the background. I also took a few pictures of temple stuff, but I figure I have 100s of those already, so no need to add more.
I really enjoyed it, but it is a bit long for a day trip, unless you leave really early. The onsen was very nice, if not a bit crowded. I spent 20-30 minutes in the outside bath and felt absolutely refreshed. It is called Moegi-no-yu (もえぎの湯) and is only ten minutes walk from the station. There are other places, but this seemed to be the most popular.
You should check it out sometime.
Posted by Kirk at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)February 07, 2007
Kurihama and the Black Ships (久里浜の黒船）
I went down to Shonan again yesterday...still looking for that elusive apartment by the beach. Really, this would be impossible to do if I was working!
Anyway, I decided to do a bit of exploring afterward and headed off to Kurihama, which is about 20 minutes by train and at the end of the Yokosuka Line. There is really not too much there.
Kurihama sits on the entrance to Tokyo Bay, however, and is one of the places where US Admiral (Commodore) Perry and his so-called "Black Ships" landed on their way to Tokyo. There is a small park and museum just across the street from the beach. It is free, but there was not much to look at. This is a monument erected in the early 1900s to commemorate the landing.
And here is the rest of Kurihama...the beachfront road is named Perry Street as you can see. Also a picture of the entrance to Black Ship Shopping Street. There were also a ton of restaurants named "Black Ship...".
I imagine it could get difficult to meet people in this town:
"I'll meet you at the Black Ship restaurant!"
"Wait! Which one!"
and so on...
In any case, the weather was really nice. I could sit out and read my book with my jacket off and the sun beaming down - really it felt like Spring to me.
Kurihama is also where you catch the Tokyo Bay Ferry if you are headed over to Chiba and I have wanted to make that trip for awhile. On the other side of the bay is Nokogiriyama (鋸山), where you can find a buddhist temple, some good views and a lot of onsens. Unfortunately, I really did not prepare myself for an overnight trip (i.e. make a reservation to stay somewhere), so I was not sure I would cross over.
I opted to let the ferry schedule decide for me. If I got to the ferry terminal and a boat was waiting, I would go. If not, I would get back on the train and go home. This is a picture of the ferry leaving without me. I arrived at the terminal at 2:28pm - the ferry left at 2:30pm. Oh well. I also added a picture of pristine Kurihama Beach to balance things out. I really hope to make it to Nokogiriyama next time.
As for an apartment down at the beach...I am still looking.
Posted by Kirk at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)January 10, 2007
Enoshima sunset
Today was one of those absolutely stunning winter days in Japan. It is getting colder here, but the sky was clear and one could be forgiven for thinking it was springtime...at least in the sun. The picture below is Enoshima and Mt. Fuji from the road above Inamura Beach.
To take advantage of this, Laura and I headed down to Shonan and walked from Kamakura to Enoshima. Make sure to check out her blog, which should have much better pictures! It was warm enough that we could sit outside at the Sundish Cafe across from Inamuragasaki Park and admire the view. We hung out around there until sunset, snapped a few pictures and walked the rest of the way to Enoshima.
On the left below is the Zushi/Hayama coastline taken from the road between Kamakura and Inamuragasaki Park. On the right you can see everyone lining up to take pictures of the sunset. This is one of the things I love about the beach in Japan...seeing people make an effort to watch the sunset everyday. I grew up in California and this makes sense to me, but it is easy to lose touch with simple pleasures like that when living in the big city.
And here are a couple of sunset pictures. The colors at sunset were amazing and lasted well into twilight. It was so nice walking down the road with that kind of visual pleasure (too cheesy??). I really liked it.
January 09, 2007
Zushi beach sunset
This is one of those pictures that seems so great on the camera, but loses its appeal when you download it. I was terrible excited on my way home from Zushi yesterday because the beach was so lovely. Still, it is blog-worthy, so here you go. But you should know it was much better in person.
Anyway, I went down to Zushi/Hayama for the first time this year to look at apartments to buy. I arrived early for my appointment, but instead of walking to the beach I went to Starbucks and read my book...I figured I would hit the beach afterward.
The quick rainstorm did not figure into my plans at all. As I finished up with the real estate agent I could hear this "plink...plink" sound but was totally baffled at what it could be. But, it was quick...no rain at all when I got out and walked. Just the ominous clouds. Mt. Fuji was visible barely, but none of this snaps turned out. Did I ever mention how much I like Zushi and Hayama?
Posted by Kirk at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)January 02, 2007
Meiji Jingu (明治神具)
Well, Laura and I did make it back to Meiji Shrine for some pictures. And we also went all the way through, which we may have reconsidered if we had known how long it would take! But the pictures are generally good and this is a not-to-be-missed chance to see the shrine at night, when it is very lovely.
We were in line for over two hours before we finally made it in, which was probably about one hour too long. It is incredible how many people were there. Laura tells me that over 3 million people visit Meiji Jingu over the new year's holiday, making it the most popular in Japan. It seemed like most of them were in line in front of us!
One thing that surprised me is how few locals were wearing traditional clothes. There were a few, however, and when I could, I took a picture. The picture on the left is at the entrance to the shrine. The one on the right is inside the temple grounds. They are both lovely, right?
Like I mentioned before, Meiji Jingu at night is absolutely lovely. This is sort of what it looked like, although the pictures do not really do it justice. The pictures below with the wide spaces covered in tarps show where people are expected to make their offerings. Really...that tarp is covered in coins!
After making an offering, people go to make wishes. Now that I think about it, it makes good sense to pay upfront. I didn'y make any, but this is where you go to do it...
And here is one last picture of the crowds inside the temple.
January 01, 2007
Happy New Year
Well, after 18 months of writing a blog you would think I could come up with a better title for this entry! But, we were out until 4am last night, so you have to cut me a little slack.
I met up with Nuala and Laura and we had a fantastic time.
Things kicked off around 9pm with a few snacks and drinks at my new place. I was a bit worried that Japanese TV would let me down, but we found a countdown show that featured Japanese men wearing loinclothes being chased down so that tails could be pinned to them. Absolutely brilliant and in line with my expectations for quality TV.
At midnight, we went over to the local shrine (Tenshin Jinja) and rang the bell. It was very cool and I wish I had some pictures, but my camera battery died as soon as we left the apartment. Ugh. Anyway, there was hardly a line at all and we reckon our turn at the bell rang in the new year, so that was very cool. It was surprisingly personal, with maybe ten people in line or watching and two priests there to watch over things.
We celebrated that by spending some time near the kerosene heater drinking champagne and taking pictures with various groups of locals that came by.
All of that was merely a prelude to the real plan: a visit to Meiji Shrine in Harajuku. This is the most visited shrine in Japan over the holiday period (or one of the top three...Laura told me twice, but my brain was soaked with alcohol), so it is a major undertaking. BUT WELL WORTH IT!!!
First of all, the streets around the entrance are all closed down...and with all the neighbourhood stores closed to, it seemed like a completely different place. The road from Meiji Dori to the temple entrance was lined with stands selling the typical holiday fare and there was already quite a crowd of people walking around.
Having taken care of our bell-ringing duties in my neighbourhood, we did not need to wait in line to see the actual shrine itself (for those of you familiar with Meiji Shrine, it was already back to the sake wall at 1am). Instead, we detoured to all the stands, shops and boothes catering to the post-prayer crowd, drank a bottle of rose, and watched everyone enjoying themselves.
Sometime around 3am, sanity prevailed and we headed home. Well, after a brief stop at Choco Cro, possibly the best place in Tokyo to drink your first coffee of the year. Then again, I love Choco Cro, so I might be a bit biased.
I have charged up my camera and I will call Laura soon to see if she wants to brave the crowds one more time so I can get some pictures.
Posted by Kirk at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)December 14, 2006
Kappabashi - all your kitchen needs and a big giant head
Kappabashi is the area in Tokyo dedicated to kitchen and restaurant supply stores. I always hear of it mentioned in reference to "plastic food", which is sometimes displayed in front of Japanese restaurants. On a side note, when I first came to Japan, this did not seem strange as I could not red any Japanese and a handy visual display was welcome. As I am writing this, I wonder why Japanese people would need plastic food displays.
In any case, it has to come from somewhere and Kappabashi is the place. It is not just plastic food, however, as some of the pictures below show. There are also shops for furnishings, signage, uniforms and kitchen supplies.
So, how do you find Kappabashi? Head West from Asakusa towards Ueno on Asakusa Dori. When you see the giant chef's head on the Niimi Building, you are there.
I spent fifteen minutes walking around after my language school's end of semester outing to Hamarikyu and Asakusa. If I am feeling motivated later, I will post some photos of that, but I probably have a million on the website somewhere already.
In the meantime, these are shops that sell the signboards, giant plastic pigs, red lanterns...and the latter is where you can go when you have lost your appreciation for things that are new. No indication on whether they sell to cats.
December 06, 2006
Lovely winter days in Tokyo
I have been carrying my camera around with me for the first time in a long while, so I took some pictures. This time of year is really nice in Tokyo - it's very bright, although the trade off is that is not very warm. (If you are in London - ha ha).
Anyway, I walked through Azabu Juban with one of my classmates Sharan after school today and ended up on a road that I had never been on before. This is right behind Roppongi Hills, which really seems to stand out against a cloudless sky. Here are a few pictures:
To balance the old and the new, I also got pictures of a sake shop and a temple entrance. These have no signifcance to me whatsoever, except that I happened to walk by them for the first time today. It seems like a nice street.
Japanese class - arggghhhh
There was a passing reference to school up there, so let me follow up. The semester is ending next week, which is good because I am really burned out on studying. I feel like I am not learning anything, but someone told me that is when you are learning the most. (or did I just make that up to feel better about the whole situation?).
I felt like this at the end of the last two semesters and later noticed the improvement, but it is not much comfort when I am in class flailing away without understanding.
On a positive note, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test was last Sunday and I feel fairly confident that I passed Level 3. We find out in February.
I have to decide whether to keep going or not...my school is 40 minutes away and it seems a bit too far for three hours a day and there are a lot of schools around here. Fortunately, I do not have to decide today.
I am off to Echigo Yuzawa for a quick overnight trip tomorrow (woo hoo!). You might remember that I went last April and it was fantastic. Yuzawa had its first snow this last weekend, so I am looking forward to seeing that.
And I will head over to my sister Terri's in the US in two weeks and stay through Christmas. That should also be fun. (It better be fun Terri, heh heh)
Posted by Kirk at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)October 09, 2006
Fuji-san from Hayama/Zushi
I woke up entirely TOO early on Sunday (6ish), especially as I had nothing to do. Sometime around 10am, with the sun shining and the sky looking brilliant, I headed down to the beach.
Thanks to the huge storm that blew through late last week taking all the pollution with it, the sky was incredibly clear. And that means Mt. Fuji is easy to see: this is what it looked like at sunset from Morito Beach in Hayama.
When I got to Zushi, I walked over to the beach. There were lots of people out enjoying the weather, but not so much that it felt crowded. Very cool. Here are some more Fuji pics.
My real destination was Hayama however, so I headed that way. I usually take a bus or taxi, but this I time I walked. It did not take as long as I thought it would. A real estate agent told me that you could bike from the south end of Hayama to Zushi Station in 30 minutes. That seems about right.
I spent a little time on the beach reading, but mostly I walked around town trying to get a better feel for things. You know, what the stores and restuarants are like and how far away places are from each other. Highlights include Morito Jinja, which is absolutely brilliant and I already know that is where I want to be at New Year's. It is right on the water, with a small waterfront park on one side and a beach on the other.
I had coffee at Mells Cafe, right on the waterfront. One of the pictures below is taken from there. The other one was taken just after sunset at Morito Beach. It's lovely, right?
The reason I want to get a feel for Hayama is that I am wondering whether I should move down there. I looked at a place near the beach a few weeks ago and really liked it. It is also less than half the cost of what I would pay in central Tokyo for an apartment.
Unfortunately, it is a two hour commute EACH WAY, making it supremely impractical for work/school. And I do not know anyone down there.
But it is the BEACH.
I have to decide tomorrow. I wonder what I will do...
Posted by Kirk at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)October 07, 2006
Yamagata and Zao Onsen (山形・蔵王温泉)
Surprise! I am back after a month of not writing. I have been really lazy about it recently - mostly because I have been looking for an apartment and that has been boring AND tiring. Hopefully, that is finished.
Anyway, I went up to Yamagata and Zao Onsen this week. It was a very quick trip, just over 24 hours, mostly because the weather was awful. I had hoped to do a bit of hiking, but instead it rained like crazy and I ended up coming home early.
I stayed at Hotel Oak Hill in Zao Onsen, which I highly recommend. The staff is super friendly, the food is excellent (well, except for the steak fried in butter, which was not exactly the healthy food I was looking for!), and the baths were first rate.
This is the view from my room and also the room itself. Very nice.
Like most places outside of Tokyo, people are very helpful if you stand around and look confused. Fortunately, I am really good at that. But, Zao Onsen was very, very quiet. It was kind of spooky. There were people at the bus terminal and at my hotel, but that was about it.
The hotel was very busy thanks to a busload of people going to see the leaves changing colours. Apparently, this is a very good time to go see that in the surrounding mountains, so I was looking forward to it. Here is what it looked like in town.
Unfortunately, that is all I got to see because it started pouring rain over night and in the morning conditions were awful. Too wet to hike and too windy to take the cable car. The hotel staff recommended I check out Yama-dera (山寺) instead, which is closer to Yamagata. I considered it, but after 40 minutes on the bus back to Yamagata I opted to hop on the train back home instead.
I killed some time waiting for my train by walking over to the remains of Yamagata Castle. Kind of cool, but 45 minutes in a cold drizzle without an umbrella means I am sick as a dog today. Here are the pictures my suffering produced:
I am glad I finally got to Zao, although I wish I could have spent some time on the mountain itself. The hotel was brilliant, which made up for it, but four hours each way makes it unlikely I will be going again soon (2h45m - Yamagata Shinkansen; 45m - bus to Zao).
September 04, 2006
Sorry! I have been busy...
I cannot believe that it has been so long since I wrote something. It is not for a lack of things to write about. I have been to Hayama a few times more (once for the 10th anniversary party on the 26th and again for the last day of the season on August 31st) - there are some pictures down below. And not to mention the Sado Island trip on the 19th that will probably never be written about. Oops. That was good fun.
I have been super busy. Now that I am not working, I had to go around to a bunch of different offices so the government and other similar agencies know what I am up to. That took two days, but I managed to do it all myself despite my limited Japanese language ability. In that sense I am proud of myself. Well, we will see if I did it right or not.
And I am still taking Japanese language classes everyday. It is really tough right now and I feel like I am regressing...too much grammar and not enough practice. I am in one of those spots where I feel like I am not making progress no matter how much I study. Arrgghh, not much to do but keep my head down and grind it out.
My big challenge now is to find a new apartment. I am hoping to find something in Shirogane or Azabu Juban, but eight trips to Hayama in August has me thinking a move to that area could be a good idea. It is tempting...I love the beach lifestyle. But a 90 minute commute into Tokyo everyday is less appealing and I will have to start working again at some point. In any case, I have to be moved by the end of October, which does not give me too much time.
Anyway, enough of the small talk. Here are the last pictures of the summer from Hayama. Well, assuming I do not go down next week. Heh heh.
Hayama - August 26th
The weather was not so nice in Tokyo, so a few people decided it was not worth the trip down. As you can see, it was beautiful on the beach. Since a lot of time has passed, I will not go into too much detail. Altogether, there were 10-15 of us down there.
I think Yoko invited about half of them. Glenn came down with his lovely daughter Alex and we had a few walks down the beach - that was cool. My former assistant Ikuko also came, which is a surprise...she does not seem to be much of a beach person, but maybe I will change her by next summer. Then again, she got stung by a jellyfish, so she might never want to go back.
This is me, drinking my beer. See how tan I am. Very cool.
Hayama - August 31
What an awesome time. I went down with Laura...our second trip down to the beach this summer. No swimming becaise of the jellyfish problem of the previous week, but we hung out on the beach for awhile before heading up to the Blue Moon for some well-deserved drinks.
It was really an eventful day. There was an earthquake (!)...much less scary on the beach with a beer in your hand until I remembered they sometimes cause tsunamis. More importantly, it was the last day of the season for the bars and beach houses. And the lifeguards. You can see them here talking to the staff at the Blue Moon. They went to all the bars to say sayonara.
Back at the BLue Moon, drinks were 500 yen and it seemed to be a mostly local crowd...we left at 1015pm, but a lot of people looked to be staying on for the after party. I wish I could have stayed a bit longer.
On the left, this woman was sitting in front of the bar at one point and she was so lovely, I had to take her picture. And here is some footie on the beach. They played until it was almost dark - looked like fun. Not nearly as much fun as I was having, but better than getting your arm broken. Or being stuck in Tokyo all day because you have a job, ha ha!
Anyway, here are some sayonara pictures as the sun set. No more Blue Moon for ten months. How will I survive?
August 23, 2006
今週の葉山の訪問
昨日ローラといっしょうに葉山一色海岸へ行きました。事業のあとですぐ電車に乗って新宿へ行って彼女に会いました。湘南新宿線に乗り換えて、２時半ごろ葉山に着きました。東京では天気があまりよかなかったが、葉山ではよかったです。３時間ぐらい海岸で泳いだり、ゴロゴロしたりしました。あとで、ブルームーンでビールを飲んだり話したりしました。
来週はブルームーンが開いて終わてざんねんですね。
これは今週の葉山一色海岸の写真です。
帰りにバスでこのCMを見ました。英語でいみがちょっとへんだから、わらいました。「ドルフィーん・ホラーショー」というイベントです。８月３１日までだけだから速く行ってみて下さい。
August 16, 2006
すみません．．．昨日も葉山へ行きました
今週は休みです。もちろん、葉山へ行きました。
天気があまりよかなかっただけど、海へ見たかったです。１２時半ごろ家を出ました。葉山に行く前に逗子を散歩しても、２時に海岸へ着きました。葉山では東京でより天気がよかったです。
２時間ブルームーンの前に泳いだり本を読んだり写真をとったりしました。そして葉山一色海岸を散歩しました。これは他のビーチバーです。
下の写真は海岸です。
あとでブルームーンで晩ご飯を食べながら日の入りを見ました。
毎度は７時ごろ帰るつもりだけど遅く留まりました。夕べ、９時１５分に海岸を出まして１１時帰りました。今日も行きたいでも雨がふっていると家に留まっていってざんねんですね。
Posted by Kirk at 10:36 AM | Comments (1)August 08, 2006
もう一度葉山一色海岸へ行きました!
月曜日も葉山へ行きました。よかったですね。
事業のあとですぐ電車に乗りました。四谷から葉山まで１時間半かかるから、２時に海岸でいます。少し食べて、パラソルとベーチベードを貸しました。３時間ぐらい泳いだり、ゴロゴロしたりしました。
写真は海岸の所からとりました。
あとで海岸を散歩しました。左の写真を南の方からとりました。葉山一色海岸はあまり大きくないですね。平日はこんでいないで気持ちがいいです。みんなは仕事があると行けないと思います。それに、葉山で駅がないから不便です。込んでいないことが好きだから、大丈夫です。
日の入りの前に「ブルームーン」というバーへ行って、ショーワを浴びて飲み物を注文しました。ちょっと晴れて富士山が見えますか。ふつにブルームーンへ行って、いい所だから。これはブルームーンからとった写真です。はじめて午後で見たんです。
ビールを飲みながら日の入りを見ました。あとで、他のバーで晩ご飯を食べて、波の音を聞きました。仕事がないことが好きですね。海岸のバーは今月の３１日までだけ開いています。何度行くかな。
Posted by Kirk at 07:39 PM | Comments (4)August 05, 2006
葉山のブルームーン・Blue Moon Hayama
すみません。あとでこれを日本語で書くつもりです。
I have finally made it to the beach. Actually, it is my third time this summer, but the first time I went back to Hayama. It was so nice, I wish I could go everyday!
The benefits of not working are starting to appear. I finished school at 1230pm, went home, grabbed a bag and hopped on the train. Well, actually I sat around my apartment for thirty minutes in a mindless stupor too, but never mind that. I was on the beach at 330pm!
I went to Hayama Isshiki Beach. The weather was perfect. Sunny, beautiful blue skies and a gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean. The only surprise is how empty the beach was. I have never been on a weekday so I did not know what to expect. Unbelieveable.
I spent a few hours swimming and reading my book. After that I walked down the beach and saw this wedding party. I wanted to take more pictures but my camera appears to be dying. More on that some other time.
After that, it was up to the Blue Moon for a few drinks and dinner before heading back. Again, it was not very crowded despite it being a BAR on the BEACH on FRIDAY night. Not that I am complaining. It seemed to be a lot of locals as people would stop by for a drink and walk off again. And the man at the bar seemed surprised when I said I lived in Tokyo. I told him I was not working anymore and he said I should come down more often. I could not agree more.
The sunset was nice. Later, there was a half moon over the water and you could see the reflections off the breaking waves and the calm water of Sagami Bay behind it was glorious. I wish I could have taken a better picture.
Anyway, I dragged myself away at 8pm and was home by 10pm. Much better than sitting around at home all day. Hayama is so lovely.
Link:
葉山のブルームーン
August 02, 2006
江ノ島花火大会・Enoshima Fireworks
昨日、私と学生の友達スさナは江ノ島へ花火を見に行きました。よかったですね！
四谷から２時に（昼ごはんのあとで）行ってひまだから鎌倉にしました。行く時は東海道線に乗って一時間ちょっとかかりました。あそこから江ノ島まで歩いて行きました。夏で鎌倉の近い由比ガ浜海岸（葉山･江ノ島も）でバーと売店があるからおもしろいです。行ってみて下さい。人がおおぜいいると思いますが、でもあまりこんでいませんでした。平日かもしりません。
私たちは「Sundish･サンティッシュ]というカフェよって、コーヒーを飲みました。
４月も鎌倉から江ノ島まで歩いて行きました（下のリーんクを見てみて下さい・英語で）
江ノ島はこんでいたが、にぎやかでした。売店が多いでした。私たちは海岸で「ビーチハウス」という店から席をかして、飲み物を注文しました。あそこから花火がよく見えました。天気が完璧で、２５℃ぐらいだと思います。私の日本で花火を見た時の中で一番よかったです。素晴らしかったですね。
帰る時はあまりかんたんではありませんでした。江ノ島から二時間半ぐらいかかりました。三十分ぐらい片瀬江ノ島駅の前に待ちました。１１時に帰りました。楽しみました。
すみません、カメラをうちで忘れたから、写真はありません。下の写真は藤沢町のトープパージから借りました。
リーんク：
2006 江ノ島花火大会
サンティッシュ（Sundish)カフェ
私は四月に鎌倉･江ノ島の話
July 17, 2006
猿島: 赤くなりました
日焼けしました？違いが分かりません。とにかく、今顔が光っています。
昨日猿島へ行きました。猿島は横須賀の近いにあります。三笠公園から、お舟に乗って、１５分ぐらいかかりました。猿島という所だけど、猿はありません。ざんえんですね。
友達は毎年この週末にバーバーキュをします。（去年も行きました） 楽しました！いい食べ物を食べたり、ビールを飲んだり、喋ったりしました。およぎたかったけど、海がつっめたでした。みんなは日本人だから、たくさん日本語を話しました。よかったです、でも私は日本語をまだ話しやすないから、恥ずかしいです。（ともこ、春子：すみません）。
ほかの日米学院学生がいました！彼は一週間一回英語を勉強しています。いい学生と一致しました（先生が厳しいから．．．先生はこれを読んでいますか）。でも日本語だけ喋りました。
とにかく、これは猿島でとった写真です。右の写真はみんなさんがお帰りの舟を待ちました。
猿島のあとで、横浜スカイスパへお風呂に行きました。素晴らしいでした。これはスカイビルの１４階にあります。お風呂に入ったり、リラクセーションルームでぼうっとしたりしました。
横浜スカイスパは花火を見る所の近いです。日本で花火は人気があります。方は弁当をたべたり、ビールや酒を飲んだりします。夕べ、ゆかたやきものを着ている人が大勢いました。下の写真はあまりよっくないです、すみません。左に、みんなさん花火を待ちました。右に、花火です。
リンク：
猿島
横浜スカイスパ
横浜花火大会２００６
Sarushima sunburn
I went back to Sarushima yesterday. Thank you Tomoko and Haruko for inviting me again...I really enjoyed it. The weather was cloudy, but I managed to get a nice sunburn. Ot is it a tan? I am not sure what to say in Japanese...in my dictionary, it says the same thing (hiyakesuru). Anyway...
There are still not any monkeys on monkey island, which I find very confusing. We did not do any exploring this time, so I cannot be sure.
We had some good food, a few drinks and I even swam a little, but the water was so cold, I did not stay in very long. It was refreshing, however. If you are an intense reader of this blog, you may remember that I did this last year. In fact, it was the very same barbecue, Tomoko, Haruko and their university friends go there every year on the sunday before Marine Day (海の日), followed by a trip to the Yokohama Sky Spa to clean up, and then to watch the Yokohama fireworks.
It was good fun and we chatted a lot, mostly in Japanese...a real test for me. After awhile, my brain switched off and I found it harder to concentrate. That is a little embarassing, but I will get better next time, I hope. And one of the guys I met is also a student at Nichibei in Yotsuya, which was a big surprise. We agreed that it is a good school, mostly because the teachers are very strict. And the child of one of the couples kept calling me "paaata", which we eventually figured out must mean Harry Potter. That is a first for me.
The spa was very cool - basically an onsen on the 14th floor of the Yokohama Sky Building. I bathed and went to the relaxation room and spent my time staring out the window thinking about nothing at all. Lovely!
And afterwards, we headed off to watch the fireworks, which were very close by. I love to watch the fireworks in Japan. It is usually very crowded, but it is a nice tradition. Many people go out wearing their yukata and kimono. Last night was no different and it makes Yokohama seem like a small town. Good fun.
Links:
Sarushima information
Yokohama Sky Spa
Yokohama City fireworks homepage
July 09, 2006
Does this really happen in Tokyo?
I almost never have problems with taxis in Japan. The drivers are usually very honest and will take you wherever you need to go with no fuss or unnecessarily long detours. This stands in stark contrast to New York, where it seems they are always trying to chisel an extra buck or two out of you.
I say usually, because tonight I got one of the dishonest ones.
I was on my way home from Shibuya to Akasaka. This is usually a simple drive - you take Roppongi Dori all the way. It is also kind of long, so I started browsing the Internet on my mobile phone to pass the time. When I looked up, we were in Omotesando, which (if you live in Tokyo, you know) is not the right way.
I asked the driver if he knew where we were going, which he said he did. Then I said that this seemed to be the very long way to go, to which he did not reply.
If you live here you already have figured out he was taking me for a ride (no pun intended). If you do not live here, it is explanation enough to tell you that instead of the straight line between where I got in and home he figured a big giant loop was better and about half again as expensive.
Needless to say I was not happy.
When we got to my building I asked him how much it would have cost if we went the direct route instead of the long way. When he started to explain, I interrupted him and asked him the same question again. I did not want any answer that did not include "X" yen (and that being substantially less than what was on the meter). He started to say something else, and again I told him I did not want to go sightseeing and that I wanted to know how much it cost to go the regular way.
He gave in. Now I am happy. Thank you Nichibei.
Posted by Kirk at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)June 11, 2006
Good vegetarian place in Shinjuku
Did I just write that? Unbelievable!
Anyway, it is true. The restaurant is called Piman (ぴーまん) and it is right in front of Shinjuku-gyoen. That is the restaurant on the left...the other picture is Shinjuku-gyoen from the restaurant.
I was talking to Satomi this weekend and mentioned to her that I was trying to eat healthier, including more vegetables. She recommended this restaurant, so we headed over there today.
The restaurant takes nutrition seriously, well, as far as I could tell with my limited Japanese. There is a wide range of vegetarian dishes and an incredible number of fruit and vegetable drinks/yogurts. The menu is designed so that you can order a drink that addresses various health issues. I ordered the one for people that smoke.
I usually do not write about restaurants here, but this one really stood out. I hope to go back regularly.
Preyash, if you are reading this...sorry I did not know about this when you lived here. It is much healthier that an order of chips at the pub.
Posted by Kirk at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)June 04, 2006
I hate crows
Why can't crows take Sunday off? I do not like them. They are big, ugly and make a mess by tearing open garbage bags on the street. Did I mention they are loud? Despite all that, I usually do not pay them much attention other than a silent curse when I see them.
I was out for a walk this morning when a crow swooped down on a girl walking in front of me. I had almost reached her so when it flew by I also ducked. She must have thought I was a bit strange for about a second, but she rightly hurried off.
My initial reaction was that the crow must have its nest nearby, because they have been known to attack people when the think the nest is threatened. Then I thought if that is true I should see where that crow went because it might attack again.
Because it was first thing in the morning all that thinking took longer than it should, which is annoying as the damn thing did swoop down on me me next. No contact, but it did wake me up a bit.
I hate crows.
Picture from Japundit.com
Posted by Kirk at 10:00 AM | Comments (1)June 02, 2006
Kusunoki Masashige statue
Last weekend, I met Christine and we walked around the area near Tokyo Station. At one point, we saw this. It is a statue of Kusunoki Masashige and you can find it in Kokyo-gaien between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station. This is one of the first places I went when I came to Japan six years ago, so it has some personal significance. For a long time, I had a similar picture in my cubicle at work. I am not sure where it is now.
Kusunoki Masashige (楠正成) was a 14th-century samurai that fought for the emperor against the Kamakura shogunate. He is one of the great heroes of Japanese history, with a reputation for great cunning and bravery matched by unswerving loyalty to the emperor, even in the face of certain death. There is all you could ever want to know on this website. And the statue is very cool.
I know there is a rule about statues that has something to do with the horse. If one leg is up in the air, the person died in battle or something like that. If anyone remembers, let me know. And probably you should do it quick before I forget that there is a rule in the first place. I wish my brain was bigger so I could remember more.
Posted by Kirk at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)May 14, 2006
Meiji Jingu and Harajuku
Another weekend, another small trip. Yesterday, I went with Phurba, Hannah and Christine to Harajuku. The weather was not really very good, but we managed to do quite a bit.
We started off with a quick trip to Meiji Shrine. I am sure anyone who has been to Tokyo already knows all about this place so I will not go into detail. Because of the rain, it was not too crowded, which was nice.
After that, we walked over to Harajuku and went through Takeshita Street, which is well-known for being the style capital for young Japanese. I spent most of my time dodging umbrellas (see picture below), so I do not have much to report on the latest fashions. Fortunately, this also left us close to Spyros, a very nice Greek restaurant with good food at amazingly low prices. The service is also very good. I really like that place.
After lunch we went to the Ota Memorial Museum to look at this month's exhibition from its collection of ukiyo-e. They have the largest collection in Tokyo (and probably Japan?). I am not an expert by any means, but they are very beautiful and worth a visit - if you live in Tokyo and have not been there, you should go.
We finished up with a coffee and chocolate croissant at Choco Cro, which I have mentioned before. Despite the crap weather, it was a very good day.
明治神宮と原宿
昨日学生たちと原宿のそばへかんこうに行きました。１１時にJR原宿駅の前にフルバさんとハンナさんとクリスちーヌさんと会いました。
雨が降るから、天気があまりよっかないです。明治神宮（めいじじんぐ）へ行って、散歩したり写真をとったりしました。下のはめいじじんぐです。
あとで原宿の竹下道りへ行きました。下の写真を駅がわの入り口からとりました。たくさんかさでした。私のせが１７８ｃｍだから、少し危ないでした！竹下道りは若いものの流行型で有名だし、にんきがあります。
歩いて行くから、おなかがすいていました。ギリシャのレストラン"Spyros"へいって、昼ごはんを食べました。安くておいしいで、サービスもよっかたです。ギロビーフを推薦します。
昼ごはんのあとで太田記念美術館にいって、浮世絵を見ました。太田美術館には一番大きい浮世絵の収集物です。毎月は新しいショーです。この美術館が好きで、行って見て下さい。
Posted by Kirk at 07:29 PM | Comments (0)May 09, 2006
Subway stylish
I almost forgot: when I hopped on the subway at 8am this morning I saw the strangest thing. As we waited for the doors to close, a man slipped onto the train.
At first, I noticed the maroon trousers, leather jacket and the most atrocious perm I have seen in awhile. It was so bad, it took a minute to realise he had rounded out the outfit with a large can of beer. I suppose I would drink to if I looked like that in the morning.
I wish I had a picture, but you should be glad that I do not.
Posted by Kirk at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)May 06, 2006
Crowded Yokohama
Have you been wondering where all the Japanese go on Golden Week? I know where: Yokohama.
We went down there yesterday to check out the Ramen Museum near Shin-Yokohama station. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had the same idea. When we arrived at noon, there was a line down the block to get in. That is the line of yellow umbrellas in the picture on the left below. It was not raining - the umbrellas were to provide some relief for the mid-day sun.
The attendant told us it would be thirty minutes to get in, but that was only the beginning. Once inside, there were waits of 45-60 minutes at the individual shops (the picture on the right shows the sign board). I like ramen. I love ramen. But an hour and a half was too much.
We headed to Chinatown instead. It was also insanely crowded...most restaurants had lines out the door and along the sidewalk and you did not walk down the street as much as shuffle along in a chaotic queue. Satomi knew a few places that were good and we eventually found one, served our time in line and ate lunch. I thought it was very good, but I could have eaten cardboard and thought the same thing.
Fortified by lunch, we walked over to the waterfront and over to the Landmark Tower/Minato Mirai shopping area. It was nice to be outside, but there were too many people out. And I still want a ramen.
横浜：ラーメン博物館と中華街
昨日も休みでした。いい天気でした、でも少しあつかた。私は聡美と会って、新横浜ラーメン博物館に行きました。たくさんのりかえだから、旅行がこんらんしました。１１時に白金高輪駅で南北線にのりました。（目黒駅のあとで、目黒線です）。武蔵小杉でときゅとよこ線にのりかえて、きくなで横浜線にのりかえて、新横浜をおりました。
駅からラーメン博物館に７分ごろ歩いて行きました。おおぜいいました！一番上の左の写真で、多くれつにならっているの人がみえます。れつのかかりは「３０分ぐらい待って入ります」と行きました。そして博物館の中に４５－６０分のれつがありました (一番上の右の写真)。おなかがすいたから、横浜中華街（ちゅかがい）に行きました。
中華街もおおぜいいました。あこで歩いて、おおぜいいないのレストラントをさがしました。ついに昼ごはんをたべました。おいしいでした。昼ごはんのあとでみなとみらいまで歩いていって、公園で散歩して、かいものをして、かえりました。
May 02, 2006
Asakusa and Odaiba (浅草とお台場)
This week is Golden Week in Japan, which means I am on a week-long holiday! I met up yesterday with some of my Japanese classmates to go to Asakusa and Odaiba. The weather was great, so it was good fun.
As I have to write a journal in Japanese for what I did this week, I posted this entry in Japanese...killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. The pictures are self-explanatory, so take a look.
昨日休みでした。いい天気だったら、私と学生たちは東京でさんぽしました。
１１時ぐらい浅草駅であいまして、なかみせどりでゆめのせんそじへ行きました。写真をとって、ひるご飯をたべました。左の下の写真で雷門の前にいました。右の下ので(five-story pagoda*)です。
ひるご飯あとで水上バスにのって日の出桟橋でほかのふねにのりかえってお台場でふねからおりました。下の写真をふねからとりました。左は浅草で右は東京トーワで（六本木ヒールズもみえます）。
お台場で富士テレビビルからパレってタウーんまで散歩しました。あこでポリネシアカルチャーショーをみました。おもしろでした。五月七日まであったらいってみて下さい。
トヨタショーカースをみて、Venus Fortでぶらぶらして、晩ご飯を食べました。９時にお台場でゆりかもめせんにのって、新橋へ行きました。あこでいろいろの電車にのりかえって、かえりました。
たのしました！
* すみません．．．"five-story pagoda" は日本語で何ですか。
UPDATE: ありがとう！えとさんは ”five-story pagodaは五重塔（ごじゅうのとう）です。”とこたえました。
Posted by Kirk at 11:44 AM | Comments (2)April 29, 2006
Ninja madness!
When I was growing up, I thought ninjas were cool. They were samurai on steroids (not that anyone talked about steroids then, but you know what I mean). And mysterious as they were, you knew enough about them to know they were extremely scary.
* They dressed in black
* They were silent (and probably invisible)
* They used exotic weapons like throwing stars and nunchuks (sp?)
* They could fly, or at the very least jump 20 feet in the air
* They were mystical
In other words, ninjas were great for video games and comic books.
So, are there any ninjas (still) around? This article, on Grand Master Masaaki Hatsumi of the Bujinkan Dojo, says there are. Hatsumi-sensei is also the only living student of the last fighting ninja, who earned his spurs as a bodyguard in Japanese-controlled Manchuria before World War II, reputedly killing one Chinese bandit by taking his eye out of his head. Which is exactly the kind of story that makes ninjas so menacing.
As a result, when Nuala said she had tickets to see the last ninja himself make a presentation at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan last week, there was no way to say no. (Thanks Nuala!)
On the plus side, a man came in wearing some pretty cool looking samurai armour so that people could take pictures. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera, but Kevin did and if he ever sends me a picture I will post it. Also, Elton John and Mick Jaggers' bodyguards were there (not sure why that is cool, but it gives me the chance to do a little name dropping).
But the downside had to be the presentation itself - there was nothing on "ninjitsu" (ninja art of war) and instead of stories on silent infiltration and battle, we heard that the ninja's role is to protect nature and a host of other simple platitudes. Have ninjas become PC? There was also something about training in San Francisco and Cleveland, but I might have got that part wrong. In any case, listening to him answer questions was like trying to grab smoke: there was nothing to get a handle on.
At one point, Laura said the art of ninja is avoiding questions by slapping yourself on the back. I had to laugh, but not too loudly. If you are interested in ninjas, there are a couple of things you can do.
If you believe in the stereotype, you should head over to the Ninja restaurant in Akasaka. Not only do you get served by these secretive warriors, the food is better than what is served at FCCJ.
For more information on the real last ninja, you can visit his website here. In James Clavell's Shogun, ninjas were contacted by whispering your request in a certain temple at a certain hour. Using the website is probably easier.
Posted by Kirk at 05:26 PM | Comments (0)April 23, 2006
Mt. Fuji (富士山) - a much better picture
Laura sent me her photo of Mt. Fuji from Inamuragasaki Park. It gives you a much better idea of how impressive it looked.
Thanks Laura!
Kamakura and Enoshima (鎌倉 と 江ノ島)
Thanks to an early morning call from Nuala, I was more active than I usually am on a Saturday. You see, Nuala was calling to invite me along for a beach stroll from Kamakura to Enoshima with her, the Lauras, Kevin and Paul. Despite the modest hangover and lack of quality time sitting on my couch recently, I was easily convinced.
And with good reason, because it was an excellent day.
We walked along the beach from Kamakura to Enoshima. That is about 7 kilometres, but the weather was excellent, so it was very nice. It was also good to be reminded how close Shonan is, especially with summer almost here!
We walked the first leg from Kamakura to Inamuragasaki Park (follow this link for a description of some of the local beaches), where we stopped for a glass of bubbly to celebrate Laura's birthday.
It was unbelievable warm and lots of people were there to enjoy the good weather and views of Mt. Fuji (!). Unfortunately, it did not come out so well in the pictures - in person, it really was awe-inspiring. It is rare to get a clear view of Mt. Fuji, when you do it is always a suprise at how big it is.
After that, we went across the street to the Sundish restaurant for lunch. Coming down from the park, it seemed too good to be true: outdoor seating on a sunny day at the beach - especially because this stretch of coastline is impossibly crowded in summer.
Well, it was too good to be true. The wind was much stronger there and it clouded up a little - instead of a balmy 20 degrees it seemed more like 10 degrees (or less?). We bundled up, finished our lunch and moved on. This could be a good spot for afternoon drinks in the summer, but it was still too early in the season yesterday.
After walking farther down the beach (and past the fishing village), we eventually ended up at Enoshima (Omiyage Island), where we spent an hour poking around. It is a nice place to go, but it seemed a bit over-the-top...then again, we were all fairly tired by that point.
CORRECTED!
先々週から日本語をべんきょうしています。これから、ブローグを少し日本語でかくつもりです：
鎌倉と江ノ島
昨日鎌倉から江ノ島まで歩いて行きました。いい天気がだたら、たのしみました。稲村ガ崎でのんびりして、チャンパインをのみました。あこから富士山がみえまたら、きれいでした。そして江ノ島にいって、散歩しました。渋谷に行って、ばんごはんを食べて、帰りました。
April 05, 2006
Miyajima - one of the three most beautiful views in Japan
I am in Miyakjma now, which is just outside Hiroshima and about 600 miles from Tokyo. I took an early train from Tokyo (733am!) so I had all afternoon to look around. It is amazing here. So much that I took 170 pictures. As a result, it will take me awhile to go through all of them, including some prime photos from the monkey park at the top of the mountain (can't swing a cat in Japan without hitting one of these apparently).
I did not think I would have access to the Internet, but there is a free wi-fi hotspot in my ryokan for some reason - very weird as they have a fixed-line connection you can pay to use. Anyway, I should make this quick in case they catch on.
I thought these would be a good start, however. This is O-Torii gate and since every advertisement for Miyajima has a picture of this, I thought I would show you some of mine. I took the first one from the ferry on the way to the island (about 1pm)...the second one, I took at 6pm. Notice that the tide has gone out so much that you can walk up to it. Which I did...very cool.
I will post some more pictures tomorrow when I get to Hiroshima, including monkeys and more cherry blossoms.
Posted by Kirk at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)April 04, 2006
Yotsuya cherry blossoms
OK...one last look at cherry blossoms for this year. I had to go to Yotsuya this morning for a regulatory seminar, which meant three hours of sitting in front of a computer in a windowless room - ugh. After that, I was more than ready to spend some time outside.
Fortunately, there is a very nice walk between Yotsuya Station and Kioi-cho and the cherry trees there still had their blossoms. In fact, this seems to be prime property for o-hanami and the path was lined with groups out for one last look. You can see some of that on the left. On the right, is one of the late bloomers, apparently.
The path is an embankment with Sophia University on one side and sports fields on the other. It ended at the Hotel New Otani in Kioi-cho, just north of Akasaka. I found out that Kioi-cho is derived from the first syllable of two people and the Ii family, which had a residence there at the start of the Meiji Restoration. I do not remember the first two names...but they obviously start with "Ki" and "O". There is a sign next to the entrance of the Hotel's Japanese garden if you are interested...
And that should do it for cherry blossoms.
I am off to Hiroshima and Miyajima for the rest of the week.
Posted by Kirk at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)April 01, 2006
Shinjukugyoen and cherry blossoms
Shinjukugyoen (新宿御苑) is one of the best places to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo. I went on Friday morning with Laura. It was excellent!
Here are some pictures of the cherry blossoms...these are nice, but they only give you an idea of how beautiful it was.
There were lots of people in the park. You have to pay ¥200 to get in, but that did not seem to matter. It was very festive, like being on holiday. They seem to be having fun!
March 31, 2006
Imperial Palace - Tokyo
Nuala somehow convinced me an early morning stroll around the Imperial Palace would be a good idea...and I am so glad that she did. This is one of the most popular jogging spots in Tokyo. And it is also a beautiful walk if you look at the palace instead of the road. If you are really focused, you can forget that you are in the middle of one of the world's largest cities.
We met at 7am at the Palace Hotel and started off. You should always go counter-clockwise when doing this. I am not sure why, but this is what most people do. It does help that you get the uphill part of the walk out of the way first, I guess. Here are a few shots of the moat and palace walls from the Kudanshita side...
As you can see, it was a beautiful morning...a bit chilly, but not a cloud in the sky and the cherry blossoms along the way were in full bloom. And at 7am, there was not much traffic, so it was very quiet.
This could be one of my favourite cherry blossom pictures...I cannot believe that it turned out so well. Too bad it was so early, as this would have been a good place to celebrate o-hanami with beer or sake. Maybe I will go back later...
It only took an hour to walk around and that includes walking back from the palace to Akasaka/Roppongi. That is Nuala on the left below...I am on the right - not quite sure what I am doing in that picture, but it does prove I was there and not making it all up.
Thanks Nuala!
Posted by Kirk at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)March 30, 2006
Well, that's not so bad then...
More earthquake news!
The latest study on the potential impact of a major earthquake in Tokyo estimates 5,600 people would die in a 7.3 magnitude quake. This estimate, from the Tokyo Metropolitan government, is less than the 13,000 fatalities forecast by the central government.
Of course, a healthy dose of skepticism is probably required as the new lower estimate has been published even though we know now that some supposedly earthquake-resistant buildings have not been built to code. And the expected fatalities is less than the number that died in tiny Kobe when that city was hit in 1996.
The study also estimates 9,500 of the 14,500 high-rise elevators would be out of commission. Only 9,500??? Probably the last place I would want to be after an earthquake is geting into an elevator anyway, but I am lad to know that the option will be there.
Posted by Kirk at 02:37 PM | Comments (0)March 28, 2006
A sunny afternoon in Odaiba
What better way to spend a sunny (pre-) spring day then go to Odaiba? Actually