"Didn't that movie used to have a war in it?"
Date: Thursday, December 16, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 15:48 JPN (10:48PM US)
This will be my last entry on my trip to Japan. Pretty much everything has been said, and there's really no point to continue considering I've been out of the country for about three weeks now. Time sure flies, so quickly that Japan feels like a dream. When I arrived back in LAX it was startling how familiar everything felt, like I never left at all, which was slightly depressing. I was hoping my experiences would provide me with a bigger shock, some sort of indication that I learned something or changed in some way. Instead the only indicators I had were a huge bag full of stuff and horrible jet lag. Maybe three months just wasn't enough. Slowly though, I've been missing more and more the sights and sounds, the food, the closeness of things, and the whole experience. When I look at my souvenirs and my pictures it makes me realize just how much more there is to see and do. I'll definitely be going back again. With that I've realized that I never did put up any pictures of ICU, which was the main reason for my travels. It's a pretty bad school (no offense), but I guess it made for some entertaining stories, and a lot of the people there are really cool.
The main entrance to ICU. The trees lining the street are cherry blossoms. You can imagine how beautiful it must look during Sakura (cherry blossoming).
Views from and of the main ICU building, the Honkan. I had all my classes here.
An idea of how important bikes are in Japan. You see all manners of people riding bikes, from kids to men in business suits.
My bike. Even though it was ugly and noisy it got the job done. Most bikes, regardless of the owner's gender, use the girl configuration with the
frame connecting the front and back sections recessed to the pedal area. So no, I didn't buy a girl bike by mistake. They're all like that.
A little garden I passed by every day on my bike route to school. There are a ton of small gardens everywhere all growing pretty much the same thing.
It's fun to watch as the plants slowly grow from sprouts to full on vegetables.
And how could I forget my desserts post. Sweets in Japan are rather expensive, so naturally my first hand exposure to such foods were limited. Most restaurants don't serve dessert anyway.
This is Mr. Donut, the Krispy Kreme of Japan I guess. It's ok... rather expensive and not that soft actually.
#1: These pies were in a department store. #2: There's a ton of fruit on them. These guys were expensive. They looked incredible though, I bet they're
like the best pies you'll ever eat.
Awesome pastries in a supermarket. There's a point where you don't want to eat food so much as save it and look at it.
Chocolate covered bananas. The sprinkles are hard and crispy, my kind of sprinkle. I should've gotten more of these.
Pastry shops are everywhere and are delicious. Warm, extremely soft, fragrant, sometimes flaky on the outside. Pretty much everything you'd expect at
a good bread store. There's a fascination in Japan with French things. I've seen a lot of French restuarants and pastry shops. Fine by me if it means
stuff like this.
So that's it. My trip. I hope you all enjoyed my posts and were entertained, informed, and even enticed by my words and pictures. I've received many
favorable comments along the way which I greatly appreciate and was constantly encouraged by. Thanks so much for your patience and perseverance in
reading through my longwinded and far between entries. Most importantly, thank you for your attention and interest in my blog, the likes of which were
the reason I started and continued to the end. I hope I am able to share more adventures as they come along and that you'd join me once again. Until
then, sayounara!
- Brian Wada
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 8:24 JPN (3:24PM US)
Will this blog never end?? The last set of my random pics.
Japan's attention to detail many times means extreme accomodation for all manners
of people. Here we see three faucets that each serve a different purpose, plus
a neat little drain and handrails. I've never seen a more useful water fountain
before.
takosu and takoraisu. My first and only taste of Mexican food in Japan. Gotta say
that the real thing is definitely better.Apparently there are Chipotle restaurants
in Japan, under the name of Frijoles or something.
Okay, where am I now?
This contraption is a single potato, cut with a continuous circular slice and
deep fried. It's completely awesome, but I refused to buy one because given that
potatoes cost less than 40 cents a piece I was not willing to throw down 400 yen
or more for it. I just let other people buy it so I can take pictures.
What Japanese candy lacks in taste (it's just pure sugar) it makes up in really
cool aesthetics. Knowing full well I would never eat it (or wouldn't enjoy it),
I still wanted to buy these guys, but alas I held myself back.
This is a bag full of ramune-flavored drink I found at the Kawagoe Festival. It
was really good, but it had a hole in it and before I knew it my hands were
completely stained blue and sticky. It didn't help that I still had to navigate
the extremely packed festival for 20 minutes before I found a bathroom. Also, my
camera just couldn't pick up the true color of this drink. It was a more brilliant
blue-teal that was too stunning to not buy.
On our way to the Tokyo Motor Show we stumbled across this neat little booth that
was selling wrapped boxes for 300 yen. Some of the things hidden in the boxes
were pretty amazing things like a Nintendo DS or Wii. Albert, the most
enthusiastic of us, had the misfortune of getting the absolute worst prize. You
can see the disappointment seething through his smile. Another prize was this panda
with eyes on its nose. When you get gypped, they really rub it in that you got
gypped.
The Tokyo Motor Show. Among the coolest cars there were the Lexus LFA supercar
and this matte black Lotus. What I would give to own one of these. Also, with
the cars come the race queens, who were being swamped with photographers. Just
as I was about to leave this girl stands right in front of me, as if asking me to
take her picture. So I did.
Unko-san, or Mr. Poo. I cannot believe it. Where was he when I was a kid? He
would've made my childhood 10 billion times happier.
If you ever wonder where some people get their crazy outfits, look no further.
This store was on the famous Takeshitadori street in Harajuku, a jam-packed
alleyway with really nothing interesting, except if you're into this kind of
fashion.
This is my house in Japan, apparently. The two kanji read "Wada." The first
character means "crop" and the second means "rice field." So, my ancestors must
have worked in the rice fields way back when. Maybe that explains why I enjoy
gardening.
This building is Wako, the most prestigious department store in the Ginza
District. Inside you will find $1000 sweaters and $350 ties that look
exactly like the $20 sweaters and $10 ties at the local shop. Their watches
and clocks, however, were pretty unbelieveable. I felt really retarded walking
around the store in my shirt and ripped jeans, but hey, tourists can do anything.
Everywhere you turn there is a visual treat waiting to be seen. Even looking at
the ground reveals that manhole coverings get artistic treatment. Art in Japan
is an amazing thing.
We walked down this long path all hyped up to see this temple, me spilling my coke
along the way, only to find out it was a stupid picture. The site was under
renovation, with only the front wall exposed. How hilariously disappointing.
This is not a Lexus LS model, it is the Toyota Celsior. Lexus is a fairly recent
brand in Japan. Because of this, you see a lot of high end and luxurious Toyotas
along the street.
I hate this keyboard. Look how small the spacebar is. I had to deal with this
all semester.
Throughout my entire time in Japan I never once saw this car move.
The one and only high class musk melon. How a melon can warrant so much money
really makes me curious. Perhaps I'll buy one some day.
This guy was handing out fliers in a silver basket helmet and cape. He didn't
even seem embarrassed, I guess it's a normal thing.
Japanese bums asleep in Shinjuku station. They're pretty clean, and make cool
forts out of cardboard boxes.
Some of these products my dad distributes. Can you guess which ones?
This adorable guy is a mameshiba, or bean dog. They are these nonsensical
characters that have no point of being other than to look extremely cute. I'd say
they succeeded.
One of their great commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjmQw3JaTsE
Mount Fuji. I was fortunate to see it on a crisp and crystal clear day. It is
pretty breathtaking.
More Thomas the Tank Engine. I should've come here when I was a kid.
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 9:18 JPN (4:18PM US)
I have a lot of random pictures of Japan, and since the last post was all writing, I guess this one will be all pictures. When I first started this blog I had all these ambitious ideas, one of which was making a story out of pictures with me striking action poses in random locations. Also I thought of doing poems and photoediting stuff, but all that went by the wayside due to time, resources, and motivation. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Do I regret it? Not really, you know how long these blog posts take?? All I have now is just several interesting shots that need explaining.
First meal on the flight to Japan and first picture of my trip. You were right, Liz. Asian airlines are much nicer than American companies. The food was good, and
dang I should've kept that Coke can.
Who says there's no trash in Japan? This little pile was right outside the site of the Gundam statue in Odaiba. At least the trash is all in one spot rather than
scattered across the park.
That's right, drool at the awesomeness that is the Black Wii. Most likely they'll start selling them in the US, but you've seen it here first, folks. My friend actually
went and bought one, but sadly these consoles are region-specific, meaning that games sold in America won't work on it. I dunno if the same is true with the controllers.
Maybe I should've bought one.
Just one of the endless number of cramped, rundown alleyways chockfull of stuff. They all look the same, narrow roads, tons of signs, and hundreds of power cables
overhead. You find the best restaurants around here. Also the most intimidating for those who don't speak Japanese.
At first I had no idea what these yellow lines were, and they're everywhere. They are guide paths for the blind, quite an amazingly simple accomodation that should
be more widely adopted.
Vending machines are everywhere, from crowded streets to the middle of nowhere. During the summer when it gets ridiculously hot and humid, these things are a godsend.
Aside from melon soda, the Fanta Grape is one of my favorite flavors. Also, they sell these neat drinks where at the bottom of the can is a layer of jelly and you
have to shake the drink to mix it with the juice. Speaking of juice, they're amazing as well.
The Honda IQ. Sorta like the Smartcar, but slightly bigger. Sadly, they don't sell it in the US, because I would've wanted one.
This guy is Piipokun, the police mascot. The name is an onomatopoeia of the sound of the siren a police car makes. Everything is cute in Japan, that includes their
law enforcement.
Japanese releases of American movies. Kinda neat how they find it necessary to use different movie posters for different countries. The big letters on the Bolt poster
read "Boruto." Also, when I was there they were just releasing Pixar's Up. But it's not called Up, it translates roughly to Old Man Carl and his Flying House. I wonder
what was wrong with "Apu."
If you ever feel homesick an American chain is always right around the corner, whether it be McDonald's, Starbucks, KFC, or in this case, Wendy's. If the US does
anything better than Japan it's fast food. Japan's portions are much smaller, and they don't give out free refills.
Shibuya's ridiculous crosswalk. These kinds of crowds cross this one street every single time people are allowed to cross. Really makes you realize just how packed
Tokyo is. I don't even know what's so great about Shibuya, but people seem to be there.
A picture from a bridge right outside my apartment. The rail system is huge and complex, utilizing multiple tracks, cars, lines, and services. I really don't know
how they're so impeccable when it comes to arriving on time.
A neat little fruit bush seemingly growing right out of the concrete. The fertility of the land is still evident even through all the development.
I just realized I repeated one of these pictures from a previous post. Oops. There have been a ton of festivals around Nakano since I've been here, and even more
elsewhere. They're all about the same. Tons of booths and the same foods like yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, karaage, and other fried foods.
I couldn't believe this one. Animal Collective is an obscure band even in the US. And to have it here in Japan, and one of their older albums at that, I was shocked
to say the least. I found it in one of the Marantz players at the Kichijoji Yodobashi Camera. The first one I opened too. I guess it was meant to be. Too bad the
soundstage was pretty bad, what with the background noise and narrow room, but it sounded good no less on the Focal tower speakers. Animal Collective's Feels, check
it out sometime.
Instantly I thought of the Simpsons when I saw this. And then I saw a waiter walk by in a cowboy hat, it was too perfect. The food isn't the most American, but to
their credit they had onion blossoms.
Waiter: Howdy gangstas! I'm average American Joe Salaryman waiter.
Bart: These prices suck! 10,000 yen for coleslaw?
Lisa: Don't you serve anything that's even remotely Japanese?
Waiter: Don't ask me; I don't know anything! I'm product of American education system. I also build poor-quality cars and inferior-style electronics.
Homer: [cackles] Oh, they got our number!
Welsh Corgi! They're everywhere! I could never touch though, for fear of the owner's wrath.
Me looking incredibly disappointed upon discovering I bought an $8 cantaloupe and not a Japanese melon. The cantaloupe was the best I ever had, but still, it's not
what I wanted...
Haha. So weird.
There is this universal fascination with Pikachu, Doraimon, and, strangely, Thomas the Tank Engine. Never would've guessed that one. You know, it might actually
be a Japanese import, redubbed and reedited like Power Rangers or Macross. I just can't see any other reason for loving Thomas the Tank Engine so much.
If it's freaky just seeing this while walking along the street, imagine what it must be like to be in the same room.
Really? To a point where it wears the map down to the metal? Tourists.
Artwork is much more integrated into daily life in Japan. It makes things so much more pleasant to look at, including no smoking signs.
Oh, hello Mr. Pilot Darth Vader. You want to buy those pillows? Why sure, we have everything here, we are Tokyu Hands!
At the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. The place was pretty small and didn't allow pictures inside, but I liked it. The drawings are incredibly meticulous, and the
watercolor backgrounds painstakingly detailed. In one room they had stacked every drawing used in their most recent film, Ponyo. The pile was enormous, and goes to
show just how much work is invovled in an animated movie. We also got to watch a short film exclusive to the museum. It was about a water spider that falls in love
with one of those bugs with long legs that can skim the surface of the water. I forget what they're called.
Our amazing movie that we watched, Kamui Gaiden. It involved pirates, ninjas, people wrestling with great white sharks, pulling spikes out of their eyes and necks,
and a ton of random killing. It was the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen. I never want to see a ninja movie ever again.
That's thirty pictures. More later.
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 00:14 JPN (7:14AM US)
So I'm home now. On November 21 at 10:00 in the morning I hopped on a 2 hour bus ride from Kichijoji to Narita Airport for my flight at 2:55. The check-in and subsequent immigration stuff went surprisingly well, which left me and fellow EAP student, Justin, a few hours to kill. I believe we used that time well by endlessly complaining about certain individuals on the trip. On the flight they served two surprisingly good meals and showed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I thought, well, kinda sucked. Our flight seemed pretty short, even arriving an hour early at LAX. I started listening to 'Going to California' by Led Zeppelin as we neared LAX, and I was surprised at how well the lyrics fit into how I was feeling. Lines such as 'made up my mind to make a new start, going to California with an aching in my heart' and 'took my chances on a big jet plane, never let them tell you that they're all the same' were pretty poignant at the moment. After all of that, now I'm here back in the States, still suffering from jet lag (no other way I would write my blog at 7 in the morning) and still freezing. I guess even Cali has its cold days.
Anyway, I think now is a good time to recap my experience abroad. Japan is a great place to visit and to live. Here I list the top ten things I liked and hated. Yes, there are bad things about Japan, believe it or not. #1 is the best/worst and #10 is least best/worst. 10 worst things about Japan:
1. Bureaucratic Red Tape - Everywhere, from government, to my school, to phone contracts there is an endless amount of rules, forms, and absolutely no exceptions. I never felt like I was done with papework, and when combined with #3 in the list, the effect is paralyzing. Many times the rules don't even make sense, put there apparently because someone thought that perhaps Japan was a little too awesome, and decided it needed a little worsening. For instance, I had to submit a withdrawal form to leave the school, which involved me running around campus getting things signed by people I've never seen before. Sometimes the people I asked didn't have the authority to sign off my sheet, or I would lose certain privileges as soon as I did get it signed. At the end I had to return my student ID for their records, even though I'm pretty sure the information already in their files was used to make my ID in the first place. Bahh. The ultimate worst thing about Japan. If you're on vacation there, be glad that you don't have to deal with National Health Insurance and Alien Registration.
2. Weather - When I first got to Japan it was too hot. When I left it was too cold. I can't blame Japan for having real seasons and also I'm spoiled by the consistent warmth of California, but jeez, when you're hottest day is 9 degrees celsius and the sun starts going down around 3 you know something's wrong. I was so tempted to buy a huge jacket, but knowing that the style couldn't possibly fly in the US and that there was no room in my luggage anyway, I had to resist. The worst was biking to school in the morning while it was cold, windy, and raining.
3. Language Barrier - I can't speak Japanese. Nobody in my family speaks it, they didn't offer it in high school, and engineering doesn't require a language class. I entered Japan on a blank slate which makes it a little difficult when you want to eat udon but you don't realize that the sign right in front of you says, well, 'udon.' Your experience in Japan will be infinitely more enriching if you know Japanese.
4. Congestion - I was really getting tired of this at the end. At first I thought it would be hilarious to be in one of those jam-packed trains to Shinjuku with my face pressed against the window and my body smashed against ten others. But after a while it gets old when every time you want to stretch your arms you accidently hit someone. Also the sheer density of the buildings and the tiny rooms gets quite claustrophobic. One of my first observations about the US upon returning were the huge, wide, and empty streets. Compared to Tokyo, Orange County looks like it's been evacuated.
5. Japan Attracts Strange People - There are weird foreigners here. I feel like the majority of the people who go to Japan go for all the wrong reasons, whether to try to hit on girls, endulge in anime/manga fetishes, or play endless amounts of Gundam fighting games. Yep, my program had its share of socially awkward and strange people. On a slightly unrelated note, I remember in Akihabara a scene where a small Japanese man in a dress shirt and tie was rapping advertisements in front of an electronics store. The rap was hilarious in of itself, but the best part was the huge and clueless European family expressionlessly staring at him. They had no idea what was going on. They even looked a little lost.
6. Bugs - They are huge. From enormous garden spiders to killer hornets to millions of cicadas, the bugs are disgusting and terrifying. Also in the summer the mosquitoes come out and ravage everyone's legs. It's not so hot when a girl wearing a miniskirt has legs covered in scar discoloration.
7. Places Open Too Late/Close Too Early - Part of the reason why filling out forms and getting things taken care of was so difficult was because most places close before 7. Even places important like the city ward close at 5, making it difficult to coordinate errands. Trains stop running around 1AM, greatly stinting the night life. Many times people just opted to stay out until 5AM when the trains started back up.
8. Close-Mindedness - Another nice thing about America is that people are lazy. They don't want to deal with complications so there is incentive to bend the rules sometimes. However, in Japan people follow the rules straight as an arrow. Sometimes people are robotic in their job duties, I wish there was a little more independent thought, especially with the nonsense rules.
9. Racism - A nice thing about looking Japanese is that I get none of this, but it doesn't stop me from hearing stories of incessant staring or the cops giving foreigners a hard time. When we would order food at a restaurant, the waiters would always look at me, even when the white guy next to me would be the one speaking Japanese. Also historically Japan has a reputation of doing all sorts of awful things to other ethnicities. Their treatment of the indigenous Ainu mirrors the United States's treatment of the Native Americans.
10.Music, Movies, TV - We saw a movie called Kamui Gaiden... it was retarded. The TV shows aren't so interesting, but that might've been because I only had twelve channels. Japanese Pop music I never liked, but the street performers performing pretty much everywhere are great.
10 best things about Japan:
1. FOOD - What can I say that I haven't already said in my food post? When I say food I don't just mean the meals, it's literally everything. The candies, desserts, bakeries, drinks, snacks, they're all unbelieveably amazing. Even their jellybeans are incredible. Every day you spend around two hours eating meals. That's a lot of time devoted to food. Now, when those two hours now become the best two hours of your entire day, you can see why the food here is such a big deal. One of my favorite meals was having all-you-can-eat sukiyaki right after judo practice with a cup of melon soda at my side. At the end I was ready to blow.
2. Endless Amount of Things To Do - I spent three months in a single city, and yet I still didn't do everything there is to do. Countless alleyways jam-packed with restuarants line every district. There are dozens of museums, shrines, parks, and other public spaces. Literally, the list of things to do and see goes on and on and on. One of the coolest things I didn't do was go to a dog cafe, where you pay about $10 to play with a bunch of dogs for an hour or so. I wonder if they had welsh corgis.
3. You Can Buy Anything - You really can. There are stores that are eight stories high, each floor dedicated to something different from the next. If you want $100 chopsticks, premium turntable needles, or backpacks with leather spikes it's only a train ride and a few buildings away. When I say everything I really do mean everything. Sometimes the amount of stuff is so overwhelming it becomes impossible to choose any one thing to buy. Many times I spent entire days lost among the wares. It was pretty awesome.
4. Transportation System - Everybody takes the train, walks, or bikes. The trains are on time to the minute every single time, are extremely clean, and take you pretty much anywhere. The system is so safe that I frequently saw little kids going to school by themselves, riding the train then taking the bus. Bikes are everywhere, and parking is plentiful. I bought a used bike to ride to school and it came with a light, lock, and basket - everything I needed right up front. They really know how to make it painless to get around.
5. Service - All the shops and restuarants have friendly staff that are really patient and attentative. Sometimes they go very much out of their way to help you, even for small things. Also they always greet you when you come in and say goodbye when you leave. I got a haircut at a salon and my stylist showed me out the door and waved as I left, which was sooo tight. As a foreigner who has to struggle to communicate every time, I am quite grateful for such wonderful service.
6. Attention to Detail - Soda cans have a little dip right behind the pull tab so that if you dont have fingernails you can still open it. Little things like this showcase the thoroughness of many things in Japan. There is definitely a perfectionist mentality here, from the food to the fashion to even the pencils.
7. Kids/Dogs - Unlike kids in America, the kids in Japan are well behaved, quiet, and wear short shorts and safari hats. I wanted to take pictures of them, but this is the best shot I could get because I would feel too much like a pedophile to take it when they were looking. Also the concentration of shiba-inus and welsh corgis is unbelieveably high. With their beautiful coats and perpetually smiling faces these are the best dogs in the world. All the dogs are also well behaved, and seldom did I hear one bark or see one jump on a person.
8. Rich Cultural Heritage - Temples, shrines, museums, you name it, Japan has an interesting history that still permeates into everyday life. Aside from the tourist attractions, there are numerous small shrines scattered throughout the city, in the middle of neighborhoods and everything. I find it neat that at ramen shops they cut their boiled eggs in half using a string tied to a five yen coin, which is considered good luck.
9. Lack of Obnoxious People - For the sheer density of people living in Tokyo it's amazing just how few annoying people there are. When you are packed in a train going to school in the morning you really appreciate this societal emphasis on manners.
10. Contraptions - A jelly bean box has a flip-up dispenser. Refrigerators have doors that can be opened from both sides. Phones act as credit cards and train passes. The amount of neat inventions here is a constant source of awe.
*EDIT: I forgot to mention safety. This should've been pretty high on the list, as I have left my door unlocked many a time but nothing was ever taken. This man ran after me because I dropped a 1 yen coin at the station. And yes, you often see little kids going to school by themselves. I've never felt threatened in Japan, which is the way it should be everywhere. This took a while. I didn't realize I had so much to say, and I didn't even put up many pictures. I suppose that will be for next time. The posts will come much sooner now that I am far less busy than before, so stay tuned.
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 15:48 JPN (10:48PM US)
This will be my last entry on my trip to Japan. Pretty much everything has been said, and there's really no point to continue considering I've been out of the country for about three weeks now. Time sure flies, so quickly that Japan feels like a dream. When I arrived back in LAX it was startling how familiar everything felt, like I never left at all, which was slightly depressing. I was hoping my experiences would provide me with a bigger shock, some sort of indication that I learned something or changed in some way. Instead the only indicators I had were a huge bag full of stuff and horrible jet lag. Maybe three months just wasn't enough. Slowly though, I've been missing more and more the sights and sounds, the food, the closeness of things, and the whole experience. When I look at my souvenirs and my pictures it makes me realize just how much more there is to see and do. I'll definitely be going back again. With that I've realized that I never did put up any pictures of ICU, which was the main reason for my travels. It's a pretty bad school (no offense), but I guess it made for some entertaining stories, and a lot of the people there are really cool.
And how could I forget my desserts post. Sweets in Japan are rather expensive, so naturally my first hand exposure to such foods were limited. Most restaurants don't serve dessert anyway.
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 8:24 JPN (3:24PM US)
Will this blog never end?? The last set of my random pics.
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 9:18 JPN (4:18PM US)
I have a lot of random pictures of Japan, and since the last post was all writing, I guess this one will be all pictures. When I first started this blog I had all these ambitious ideas, one of which was making a story out of pictures with me striking action poses in random locations. Also I thought of doing poems and photoediting stuff, but all that went by the wayside due to time, resources, and motivation. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Do I regret it? Not really, you know how long these blog posts take?? All I have now is just several interesting shots that need explaining.
Bart: These prices suck! 10,000 yen for coleslaw?
Lisa: Don't you serve anything that's even remotely Japanese?
Waiter: Don't ask me; I don't know anything! I'm product of American education system. I also build poor-quality cars and inferior-style electronics.
Homer: [cackles] Oh, they got our number!
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2009
Current Location: Home
Time of Entry: 00:14 JPN (7:14AM US)
So I'm home now. On November 21 at 10:00 in the morning I hopped on a 2 hour bus ride from Kichijoji to Narita Airport for my flight at 2:55. The check-in and subsequent immigration stuff went surprisingly well, which left me and fellow EAP student, Justin, a few hours to kill. I believe we used that time well by endlessly complaining about certain individuals on the trip. On the flight they served two surprisingly good meals and showed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I thought, well, kinda sucked. Our flight seemed pretty short, even arriving an hour early at LAX. I started listening to 'Going to California' by Led Zeppelin as we neared LAX, and I was surprised at how well the lyrics fit into how I was feeling. Lines such as 'made up my mind to make a new start, going to California with an aching in my heart' and 'took my chances on a big jet plane, never let them tell you that they're all the same' were pretty poignant at the moment. After all of that, now I'm here back in the States, still suffering from jet lag (no other way I would write my blog at 7 in the morning) and still freezing. I guess even Cali has its cold days.
Anyway, I think now is a good time to recap my experience abroad. Japan is a great place to visit and to live. Here I list the top ten things I liked and hated. Yes, there are bad things about Japan, believe it or not. #1 is the best/worst and #10 is least best/worst. 10 worst things about Japan:
1. Bureaucratic Red Tape - Everywhere, from government, to my school, to phone contracts there is an endless amount of rules, forms, and absolutely no exceptions. I never felt like I was done with papework, and when combined with #3 in the list, the effect is paralyzing. Many times the rules don't even make sense, put there apparently because someone thought that perhaps Japan was a little too awesome, and decided it needed a little worsening. For instance, I had to submit a withdrawal form to leave the school, which involved me running around campus getting things signed by people I've never seen before. Sometimes the people I asked didn't have the authority to sign off my sheet, or I would lose certain privileges as soon as I did get it signed. At the end I had to return my student ID for their records, even though I'm pretty sure the information already in their files was used to make my ID in the first place. Bahh. The ultimate worst thing about Japan. If you're on vacation there, be glad that you don't have to deal with National Health Insurance and Alien Registration.
2. Weather - When I first got to Japan it was too hot. When I left it was too cold. I can't blame Japan for having real seasons and also I'm spoiled by the consistent warmth of California, but jeez, when you're hottest day is 9 degrees celsius and the sun starts going down around 3 you know something's wrong. I was so tempted to buy a huge jacket, but knowing that the style couldn't possibly fly in the US and that there was no room in my luggage anyway, I had to resist. The worst was biking to school in the morning while it was cold, windy, and raining.
3. Language Barrier - I can't speak Japanese. Nobody in my family speaks it, they didn't offer it in high school, and engineering doesn't require a language class. I entered Japan on a blank slate which makes it a little difficult when you want to eat udon but you don't realize that the sign right in front of you says, well, 'udon.' Your experience in Japan will be infinitely more enriching if you know Japanese.
4. Congestion - I was really getting tired of this at the end. At first I thought it would be hilarious to be in one of those jam-packed trains to Shinjuku with my face pressed against the window and my body smashed against ten others. But after a while it gets old when every time you want to stretch your arms you accidently hit someone. Also the sheer density of the buildings and the tiny rooms gets quite claustrophobic. One of my first observations about the US upon returning were the huge, wide, and empty streets. Compared to Tokyo, Orange County looks like it's been evacuated.
5. Japan Attracts Strange People - There are weird foreigners here. I feel like the majority of the people who go to Japan go for all the wrong reasons, whether to try to hit on girls, endulge in anime/manga fetishes, or play endless amounts of Gundam fighting games. Yep, my program had its share of socially awkward and strange people. On a slightly unrelated note, I remember in Akihabara a scene where a small Japanese man in a dress shirt and tie was rapping advertisements in front of an electronics store. The rap was hilarious in of itself, but the best part was the huge and clueless European family expressionlessly staring at him. They had no idea what was going on. They even looked a little lost.
6. Bugs - They are huge. From enormous garden spiders to killer hornets to millions of cicadas, the bugs are disgusting and terrifying. Also in the summer the mosquitoes come out and ravage everyone's legs. It's not so hot when a girl wearing a miniskirt has legs covered in scar discoloration.
7. Places Open Too Late/Close Too Early - Part of the reason why filling out forms and getting things taken care of was so difficult was because most places close before 7. Even places important like the city ward close at 5, making it difficult to coordinate errands. Trains stop running around 1AM, greatly stinting the night life. Many times people just opted to stay out until 5AM when the trains started back up.
8. Close-Mindedness - Another nice thing about America is that people are lazy. They don't want to deal with complications so there is incentive to bend the rules sometimes. However, in Japan people follow the rules straight as an arrow. Sometimes people are robotic in their job duties, I wish there was a little more independent thought, especially with the nonsense rules.
9. Racism - A nice thing about looking Japanese is that I get none of this, but it doesn't stop me from hearing stories of incessant staring or the cops giving foreigners a hard time. When we would order food at a restaurant, the waiters would always look at me, even when the white guy next to me would be the one speaking Japanese. Also historically Japan has a reputation of doing all sorts of awful things to other ethnicities. Their treatment of the indigenous Ainu mirrors the United States's treatment of the Native Americans.
10.Music, Movies, TV - We saw a movie called Kamui Gaiden... it was retarded. The TV shows aren't so interesting, but that might've been because I only had twelve channels. Japanese Pop music I never liked, but the street performers performing pretty much everywhere are great.
10 best things about Japan:
1. FOOD - What can I say that I haven't already said in my food post? When I say food I don't just mean the meals, it's literally everything. The candies, desserts, bakeries, drinks, snacks, they're all unbelieveably amazing. Even their jellybeans are incredible. Every day you spend around two hours eating meals. That's a lot of time devoted to food. Now, when those two hours now become the best two hours of your entire day, you can see why the food here is such a big deal. One of my favorite meals was having all-you-can-eat sukiyaki right after judo practice with a cup of melon soda at my side. At the end I was ready to blow.
2. Endless Amount of Things To Do - I spent three months in a single city, and yet I still didn't do everything there is to do. Countless alleyways jam-packed with restuarants line every district. There are dozens of museums, shrines, parks, and other public spaces. Literally, the list of things to do and see goes on and on and on. One of the coolest things I didn't do was go to a dog cafe, where you pay about $10 to play with a bunch of dogs for an hour or so. I wonder if they had welsh corgis.
3. You Can Buy Anything - You really can. There are stores that are eight stories high, each floor dedicated to something different from the next. If you want $100 chopsticks, premium turntable needles, or backpacks with leather spikes it's only a train ride and a few buildings away. When I say everything I really do mean everything. Sometimes the amount of stuff is so overwhelming it becomes impossible to choose any one thing to buy. Many times I spent entire days lost among the wares. It was pretty awesome.
4. Transportation System - Everybody takes the train, walks, or bikes. The trains are on time to the minute every single time, are extremely clean, and take you pretty much anywhere. The system is so safe that I frequently saw little kids going to school by themselves, riding the train then taking the bus. Bikes are everywhere, and parking is plentiful. I bought a used bike to ride to school and it came with a light, lock, and basket - everything I needed right up front. They really know how to make it painless to get around.
5. Service - All the shops and restuarants have friendly staff that are really patient and attentative. Sometimes they go very much out of their way to help you, even for small things. Also they always greet you when you come in and say goodbye when you leave. I got a haircut at a salon and my stylist showed me out the door and waved as I left, which was sooo tight. As a foreigner who has to struggle to communicate every time, I am quite grateful for such wonderful service.
6. Attention to Detail - Soda cans have a little dip right behind the pull tab so that if you dont have fingernails you can still open it. Little things like this showcase the thoroughness of many things in Japan. There is definitely a perfectionist mentality here, from the food to the fashion to even the pencils.
7. Kids/Dogs - Unlike kids in America, the kids in Japan are well behaved, quiet, and wear short shorts and safari hats. I wanted to take pictures of them, but this is the best shot I could get because I would feel too much like a pedophile to take it when they were looking. Also the concentration of shiba-inus and welsh corgis is unbelieveably high. With their beautiful coats and perpetually smiling faces these are the best dogs in the world. All the dogs are also well behaved, and seldom did I hear one bark or see one jump on a person.
8. Rich Cultural Heritage - Temples, shrines, museums, you name it, Japan has an interesting history that still permeates into everyday life. Aside from the tourist attractions, there are numerous small shrines scattered throughout the city, in the middle of neighborhoods and everything. I find it neat that at ramen shops they cut their boiled eggs in half using a string tied to a five yen coin, which is considered good luck.
9. Lack of Obnoxious People - For the sheer density of people living in Tokyo it's amazing just how few annoying people there are. When you are packed in a train going to school in the morning you really appreciate this societal emphasis on manners.
10. Contraptions - A jelly bean box has a flip-up dispenser. Refrigerators have doors that can be opened from both sides. Phones act as credit cards and train passes. The amount of neat inventions here is a constant source of awe.
*EDIT: I forgot to mention safety. This should've been pretty high on the list, as I have left my door unlocked many a time but nothing was ever taken. This man ran after me because I dropped a 1 yen coin at the station. And yes, you often see little kids going to school by themselves. I've never felt threatened in Japan, which is the way it should be everywhere. This took a while. I didn't realize I had so much to say, and I didn't even put up many pictures. I suppose that will be for next time. The posts will come much sooner now that I am far less busy than before, so stay tuned.