Bad to Good

7-4-08 Cont. (6:28 PM local, 2:28 AM back home)

The Fourth of July has finally started in proper. We were originally planning to have some celebrations near the river, but those seem to have been put of until tomorrow, when it won’t be the Fourth in either America or Japan, which makes no sense. Well, I wrote “we” but really meant some of the others. I haven’t had anything to do with any planning.

Okonomiyaki was a disappointment, to put it lightly. Actually, it was the worst of the many disappointments I’ve faced in Japan. It tasted terrible. It might just have been the stuff added to the batter, none of which am I known to like. I remember the basic principles, so I can try to make better stuff when I get back to the States.

Kazuko does not know what the hell she’s talking about. The woman is a, to borrow a term from The Simpsons, “craptastic” tour guide and planner. We had a choice between a very scary movie that came recommended by the local students, but was entirely in Japanese, and what she called a moderately scary movie with English subtitles. I could have sworn that we voted on the very scary movie, which is what we were originally supposed to watch anyways, but she had us watch the moderately scary one. It was not scary. It was a joke. A bad joke. Nowadays, when you tell people that you’re going to show them a Japanese scary movie, people expect something like Ringu (original version of The Ring). What she showed us must have been a joke, even when it was made back in the fifties.

Then there was the Japanese music. Kazuko said that it would probably be with traditional instruments, not J-Pop (Japanese pop music). I was hoping that her track record of being wrong would continue. No such luck. I’m trying to have as much fun as I can over here, but it really isn’t easy with such a lousy and bossy tour guide. I came over here because I enjoy certain parts of Japan’s modern culture, not Japan’s traditional culture. Turns out that I’d have an easier time experiencing those aspects back in the States than I’m having when I have to deal with Kazuko.

I’m not having fun with Kazuko. My Top Three Fun Things in Japan are: calligraphy, visiting the Yodobashi shops (multiple times), and using my laptop. She planned exactly one of those things. Her track record is not good. Tomorrow we visit Kamakura, which is where the anime Elfen Lied was set (unless that was a different Kamakura). It has a chance of being fun, but I’m not counting on it. Nor am I very optimistic about the last trip on Monday and Tuesday at this point. Or the Sayonara Party (I hate parties). Yeah, Japan has been very disappointing so far. I blame Kazuko for planning lame activities. Not many college students are actually interested in traditional culture, now are they (incidentally, the stuff the local students have led has been more fun that what Kazuko led)? No, if someone is interested in Japan enough to go there nowadays, isn’t it more likely that the pop culture is what drew them here? From what I’ve heard, Akihabara is the place that would most match what I want, but with the shootings that have happened there, we didn’t go.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to go to judo tonight. There were scheduling issues, and I’m not sure of the details, but we couldn’t see it. So much the better, that gives me more free time. Unfortunately, we only found this out after spending 15-20 minutes standing around in the rather hot sports building. To get to the area where we waited, we had to take off our shoes and put on some slippers that we set up for just such a purpose. They were nowhere near large enough for my feet to fit inside, but I still had to wear them (I forgot to mention that we had to do the same thing when we visited the elementary school, so I spent the visit with my heels hanging over the edge of the slippers).

Most of the others have gone out to one place or another. I think there are only three of us in the guest house right now, with one being someone who recently returned. I’m the only one in the main room right now.

Bah.

7-4-08 Cont. Again. ‘Bout 8:17 PM here, so 4:17 AM back home.

Thank you, Tokyo, and Happy Fourth of July! There’s an absolutely awesome lightning storm going on outside right now. I took a video of it. Ryan, Andrejs, and I were all out there together, behind the Taiwan students’ house. We were getting eaten alive by the bugs, and I was the first to come in. Mostly because I was satisfied with what I got before they were. Maybe the coolest natural phenomenon I’ve ever seen.

7-5-08 (6:06 PM Saturday local, 2:06 AM home)

Japanese class in now over. Kazuko gave us our last extra credit quiz today, and we turned in our last extra credit written conversation. Do not ask me what I wrote on mine; it was the product of late-night discussion about how to translate certain phrases into Japanese. I was so shocked that I new the answer that I had to use it in my conversation. It was nothing too bad, and might and up making Kazuko laugh, even. Speaking of the written conversations, I think that one place where Kazuko and I differ is in the level of formality we think should be in them. I use characters that I already know when I write, so they speak in a more casual way than might be usual. It doesn’t seem odd to me because I know them, but she probably doesn’t so… Anyways, I don’t think that some of the points she marked off on my second-to-last conversation were technically wrong, just more casual than she might have wanted. Doesn’t matter, since my score in her class is better-than-perfect thanks to extra-credit.

My slight faith in Kamakura was rewarded. We visited the temple of the Giant Buddha and a couple of Shinto shrines (actually, the first shrine might have been a Buddhist temple as well, I saw signs of both faiths), and all were fun.

I went inside the big Buddha’s belly, which wasn’t actually that impressive, but allowed me to use the phrase “I went inside the big Buddha’s belly.” I also bought a few charms there. The second sacred place we went to had a cave we could go inside. There were hundreds of tiny statues in the cave, and it was lit only by candles. In order to get through the cave, I had to bend over double because the cave got so small. At the same place, there was a very large series of stairs that I climbed up. I thought it would go all the way up the hill, but no such luck. That was quite disappointing, but it still went about halfway up the hill. I should mention that it was very hot today.

After we visited the first two holy sites, we had to go back to the train station and catch a short ride to another location in Kamakura, closer to the final shrine. While waiting for the rest of the group to show up, I went into a 100 Yen store and got a new bag to replace the one my mother sent with me. Last week I damaged the carrying straps ( not sure how I pulled that one off) and then today I couldn’t find it. Yeah, people should not trust me with their stuff. I also bought a Mountain Dew there, since I couldn’t carry my water bottle around for hours at a time in a practical manner without a bag to carry it in.

When we arrived at the last station, Kazuko set us free to get our own lunch. Most of the group went to have okonomiyaki, but five of us (myself included) went to McDonald’s. I had a hamburger from the 100 yen menu. Apparently they serve Mega Macs over here, which have four meat patties and three buns. They also have Happy Books to go with the Happy Meals.

Shortly after we ate, one of the other students who ate at the cheap location found a shop that focused on the works of Hayao Miyazaki. For those who don’t know, they include but are not limited to: My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. There was some neat stuff in there, but nothing I really wanted to buy.

Wandering down the street the Miyazaki shop was on, I realized that there were a few things about shopping in Japan that I hadn’t yet mentioned. Shopping streets in Japan are three-dimensional, not two-dimensional like streets in America. You have to pay attention to all the little nooks and crannies because some of the stores are located below street level and some are on the second floor of buildings. The Miyazaki shop was the most interesting place I found on that street.

The third holy site was the first one I was sure was a Shinto shrine. How was I sure? Because it was the first place where I saw a miko, a Shinto priestess. The structure wasn’t as impressive as at the second, but it was interesting to see the bazaar-like atmosphere that sprang up below the shrine’s staircase. There was a wall of masks that felt very out of place: some were Pokemon, some were from Hello Kitty, some that looked like they came from a Sentai Rangers series, and others that I can’t describe. Interesting note about the bathroom at the shrine: There was no toilet paper. None whatsoever. I noticed it before I needed any, fortunately.

I don’t think we’re going to be doing any Fourth of July celebrations today either. Even if we were, I decided that if I had a new blister today, I wouldn’t go. Turns out that I have a new blister; this time on my left big toe, matching the one on my right. Just going to rest for the rest of the night.

Before I go, I should mention that the local students were the guides for the day.

7-6-08 (9:08 AM Sunday local, 5:08 PM Saturday back home)

I used up the last of my real food yesterday. All I have left is candy. I did that purposefully, so that I would have to set off early today in order to get something to eat. I’m planning on heading off to Machida today and spending most of the day shopping. I’ve heard of a taiyaki place over there (although I just know the general area), and can probably find a place that will serve gyuudon as well.

I’m washing my things for the last time in Japan right now. The washing machine was giving me a surprising amount of trouble that it hadn’t given me before, but I managed to get it to work.

I’m seriously tempted to try to make my way to Akihabara today, since I’ve heard so many good things about it. The odds of the shootings happening there again today are vanishingly small, after all. This is probably a case in which my curiosity would win over my caution except that I have no idea how to get there. I’d probably have to switch trains and even lines in order to get there, and I have nowhere near the understanding necessary to find my way there alone.

7-6-08 (5:01 PM Sunday local, 1:01 AM back home)

Finished my shopping in Machida today. Well, finished for now, anyways. I’ll probably end up going back there on Wednesday. I wasted quite a bit of money on figurines. Now that I actually stop to think about it, I blew over $20. Not good. I didn’t even manage to get the one that I really wanted, either. Moral: Stay away from the coin-operated toy machines in Japan.

It was quite hot today, but I managed to spend most of my time inside where there was air-conditioning. That was what determined a lot of where I went with my day. I saw one place that looked like it had air-conditioning, went in, browsed, and went out a different exit.

I stopped by a 7-11 in Machida. That was the first time I went into a Japanese 7-11. There weren’t any slushies or the sorts of things Americans are used to, but there were meat buns, Makoto’s food. Since I’ve already had one, I didn’t buy one there. I did, however, finally get some rice balls to eat while I was there, as well as something for either dinner tonight or breakfast tomorrow morning, depending on when I get hungry.

I don’t like nori. Nori is dried seaweed. The Japanese use nori in a lot of their foods, including rice balls. The pack I bought had two rice balls in it, with different fillings. I could identify less than half of what I ate. I knew the rice and the nori, but neither of the fillings or the little bunch of extra stuff I was given along with the rice balls. That’s one of the reasons why I wouldn’t be able to live over here: I don’t like Japanese food. Sure, there have been a few good-tasting food items over here, but I wouldn’t be able to take them being the entirety of my diet.

Went into a Japanese arcade, I did. Shouldn’t have done that. I blew 300 yen trying to get a large figurine from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzuki (which was actually only two tries), and it allowed me to get the 100 yen coins that I later wasted in coin machines.

When I say “wasted” I don’t mean “used to get figurines.” I mean “the d@mn machine ate 600 yen and I don’t know enough Japanese to explain the situation!” I should have stopped with that machine after it ate the first 300 yen, but I thought that another try might clear it up. No such luck. Still, I do like the figurines that I managed to get.

I’d like to reiterate that I like Yodobashi Camera. They didn’t have the sort of coin machine I wanted at the one in Machida, but there was a coin machine that shocked me. Not so much that it existed, but that it was somewhere where children could get to it. It also surprised me that that machine was nearly empty. I took pictures of it, but I’m not sure that those are enough to get people to believe me about it.

Apparently, in Japanese McDonald’s ice cream is called a “soft twist.” I’m not sure why. I didn’t plan on going there today; I wanted to find taiyaki and a place to get gyuudon, but at the time I couldn’t find either. The ice cream was very refreshing on such a hot day.

I also saw some kittens in a store. OMOCHIKAERI (wow, my word processor says that word is okay. Did I overload it?)! That is, I WANNA TAKE THEM HOME! But I have my own precious kitties, and the ones I saw today reminded me of them. It was so sad to see them in the store windows. The kittens (and puppies, and bunnies) were all alone in their sections and they couldn’t play with anybody else. SADNESS!

I finally gave up on my attempts to find taiyaki or gyuudon in Machida and went back to the station. I had earlier had a difficult time getting out of the station because I’d wandered into the station’s attached department store and didn’t know how to navigate out. I went back to that department store and made my way through every level, eventually ending up on a floor where I finally found some books I recognized: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series. I was seriously tempted to buy Volume 9, since it’s my favorite of the series, but held off.

I then traveled to the very bottom floor of the department store, and found the place where they sold food. I walked through the various stands, and found one that sold taiyaki. やっと見つけった(Yatto mitsuketta! I finally found it!). I bought one, since I didn’t know how it would taste.

Which brings me to something that I need to address: the Kanon food mission. I set out in Japan on a mission to eat all five of the favorite foods of Kanon’s characters during my time here: taiyaki, nikuman, something with strawberries, gyuudon, and ice cream. Shiori, Nayuki, your foods are okay; the ice cream and the strawberries were fine. Mai, I still haven’t managed to find gyuudon. Ayu, Makoto, we need to talk. Taiyaki and nikuman are not yummy. Stop acting like they are. You are misleading people. Stop it. Diversify the food you eat, and I’m sure that you’ll find something that actually tastes good.

That is all for now.

7-7-08 (8:20 PM Monday local, 4:20 AM back home)

If the reader would please imagine the next sentence in a Ricky Ricardo voice, I would appreciate it. Mai, youse got some ‘splainin’ at do! Thank you. The reason for that sentence is that I have finally completed my Kanon Food Mission, and eaten some gyuudon (or close enough). Mai, you are adorable, but you do not have good taste in food. If it’s just because that was how you became friends with Sayuri-san, that’s fine, but you should specify that that‘s the case.

Where did I finally find gyuudon? In a restaurant that me and four of the girls on the trip found. Why was I traveling with four of the girls who came on the trip? Because I didn’t know where to get food in Kyoto either. Why am I in Kyoto? Maybe I should back up a bit.

Today was the first day of the optional Kyoto overnight trip. Eleven students signed up to go on it, but one dropped out literally as we were walking for the train station, so there are only ten of us, plus Kazuko and her friend, who is acting as a guide.

Kyoto is very hot. I’ve used that to describe Tokyo, but Kyoto takes it to another level. I brought two water bottles filled with ice with me when I left the guest house today, and I was glad that I did so. We visited three temples today, and by the end we were all exhausted.

First up, we visited Kiyomizu’s Temple. The main feature there were three streams of water (streams in the sense of falling in streams, rather than along the ground) that you could drink from. The three streams represent health, wisdom, and longevity. People are only supposed to drink from two of the streams, as to do otherwise is to invite misfortune. I drank from the first and second streams. I have no idea what they represented, as my research has turned up nothing.

The second temple we visited was an accident; Kazuko led us into the wrong one. We got some incense and put it into a burner in front of a gigantic statue, and then went to the proper second temple.

The proper second temple was not very impressive, to tell the truth. The best part of it was that parts of it had air conditioning. The worst part of it was that it had a lot of stairs that were not air-conditioned. Really, though, the Kiyomizu Temple had more stairs just to get to the temple. Actually, the worst part was that my camera’s battery ran out during the visit there. At least I got to have a sluchy-like drink that was tasty even though it gave me brain freeze.

We had to take a taxi to the third temple. It was the Golden Pavilion, a building covered in some form of gold and its surroundings. I really wished that I could take pictures there, but with my camera’s battery depleted… There were also some small places off the path that people could try to throw coins into. I’m not sure why. At the end, Kazuko decided to treat all of us to kakigori (shaved ice). Very nice.

We then returned to the hostel where we had earlier dropped off our stuff. It’s pretty nice here; this is the first place in Japan where I’ve had a comfortable time connecting to the internet. There aren’t any three-pronged outlets as far as I can tell, though, so I’m on battery power. There’s a breakfast buffet, but we’ll have to leave tomorrow before it opens. Pity, as my mouth was watering when I read the description.

And the topic of food leads me back to being in a restaurant with four girls. I spent the time listening to their girl talk, which I am not allowed to repeat under threat of chopstick assault.

Tomorrow we’ll be visiting Nara. We expect to see a lot of deer. And that is all for now.