van Marley

It’s been a week now since I’ve been back, and slowly I’ve been readjusting. The trip was amazing and I’d highly recommend Japan. The people are extremely nice and friendly. There are so many beautiful places to see. Hiroshima was an unexpected surprise and a must-see on par with Kyoto I think. And then there’s the food. Just be bold and open-minded. However, next time I’ll probably pass on the raw chicken.

I’m in the midst of moving to San Diego to start my fall semester at UCSD so I’m going to have to wait to summarize the trip, but if pictures speak a thousand words, then 4,388 pictures should say enough. Don’t worry, there’s only 1,300 and change on my Flickr site.

I do have a cool little memento of the trip I’ll upload soon so be sure to check back in the next couple days.

If you see any pics you really dig, rate them and I’ll create a ‘best of’ folder to spare people the misery of sifting through so many pics.

Cheers -
Jason

There was a time when traveling abroad where your needs were simple: a hot shower, clean bed, and maybe a Post to mail some letters back home. Perhaps, if you were a true high roller, you might even develop some of your photos while you were there rather than wait until your return home. Nowadays you play hopscotch from one internet wired hotel to the next, and if that fails, you dart into an internet cafe on-the-fly and catch up on your email. At night in the hotel the darkness of your room is interrupted by little green and orange lights, like thirsty little fireflies that desperately need recharging: camera, ipod, computer, cell phone. Check.

This age of fast-charging, ultra portable, interconnectedness is both a godsend and the curse. I love it and hate it, but it is what it is. I can say that I didn`t feel like I was truly on vacation until I was unable to access to any of it. One doesn`t realize how much background noise it creates in your life — we`ve become so adept at tuning it out. I think now I just want to go spend a week with a good book camping out at a beach. Hmm, except, I wonder if I`d be able to recharge my camera there, and what if I need to change my hostel reservations? And of course, how would I update my blog!? Sigh.

Update: New rule when updating your blog, if you`re so tired you can`t see the keyboard, wait until the next day. Thanks KK for the editorial services. I`m a bad spellr, doh!

Kobe, and I don`t mean Bryant
Not sure what today is. It’s late so this will be short, but I’m
currently in Hiroshima. I left Wakayama two days ago and headed to Kobe area. Wound up staying at a hotel overlooking the ocean in Tarumi. I got adopted temporarily by a local family with 3 kids who took me around town and then had me over for lunch the next day. Got to try cold soba noodles (popular summer dish), and Japanese mountain potato, which is another new fav dish. Tonight was kind of mellow. Just hung out on the beach and watched the fisherman with the amazing Akashi Kaikyo Bridge as a backdrop.

The following day I hit more of Kobe proper which was interesting - a bit touristy in some parts, but impressive considering much of the city was leveled in the last big earthquake there.

Hiroshima
I checked out some of Hiroshima today but the museum was closed so I`ll catch that in the morning before I head to Kyoto. I really like it here. Can`t quite put my finger on what it is yet. It`s quite modern looking and there`s the ever present reminders that this was the site of the first atomic bomb dropped on a population in human history. The Peace Dome (or Atomic Bomb Park for locals) is really quite something. There`s a building still standing that you`ll recognize one I upload it, and a memorial for ground zero - quite a somber atmosphere there, but otherwise the city is thriving and has a fun/energy about it.

More updates to come including more photos. I`m in the process of doing an indepth head-to-head comparison of the most popular convenient stores: 7-11, AM-PM, Lawsons, or Family Mart (a.k.a Famima) Right now it`s Famima, but I`ll be sure to explore the others some more. You can buy everything there from good sushi dinners, souvenirs from your fav local soccer team, toiletries - you name it. Stay tuned.

Stats:
Strange Food Count: 34. Tried the infamous nato the other night. Not nearly as bad as I was led to believe. I was told it tasted like everything from a dirty dish rag to dirty feet. It`s fermented soy bean and wasn`t that bad really.

Photo Count: I`ve currently gone through about 4GB of memory cards and still have a week to go. I needs to find me a computer ASAP and dump this cr@# onto a CD.

Hours of Sleep: Improving. No longer operating on 3 hours a night like before. Racking up about 7 a night, although, I still wake up around 5h30 - 6h00.

Credit Card: Student Loans $alot, New Car: $even more, 2+ week trip to Japan when you`re currently unemployed: Priceless. As a wise man once said, `How can you put a price on a good time?` Oh wait, that`s my line, scratch the `wise man` part…

Coffee Laboratory
Since I never bothered to look at the time difference here, I seem to have gotten over the jet lag rather quickly. Actually, because of the 24/7 Tokyo craziness, I don’t think I ever experience jet lag since I just stayed up late and got up early, not wanting to miss out on anything. Now, I’m dead tired at 10h00 and tend to wake up around 7h00. This is quite a nice change from my LA ritual of working until 3-7h00 a.m. , then getting up at 10-11h00.

I started the morning off by going to a local kisatten (cafe) and enjoying several thimble-sized cups of coffee while overlooking a river. The cafe owner, like many people here, spoke a little English so we spent the better part of 2 hours trying to have a conversation. They don’t use espresso machines or French Presses here, rather, it looks more like a mad scientist’s laboratory. See accompanying photo.

A Trip to the Sea
Later that day we had lunch again at To-chan’s restaurant. This time a pork cutlet curry dish with enough sides to feed 11 people, and all for only $5. Not everything in Japan is expensive. Towards the end of the meal, Jason’s coworkers invited us to join them on a 2 hour drive out to the coast to scout out a camping area for an upcoming trip for the students at the school. The tricky thing about driving in Japan is not really driving on the opposite side of the road, you actually pick that up pretty quickly, it’s learning how to navigate these narrow roads. There really is no speeding since most of the cars are powered by lawn mower engines. At times, especially on the more remote mountain roads, you’re really driving on a glorified side walk barely wider than your already miniature sized car.

After a hike down into some caves, and then a stroll along the rocky sea shore, we headed back into Shimizu-Cho.

How to Have a Private Onsen, or, How to send 15 naked Japanese men running for the changing room.
Somehow despite expending no energy whatsoever during the day — other than the walk to lunch — we were exhausted when we got back. In Japan, there’s no better way to soothe a tired body than a nice hot soak in the onsen. For those of you who don’t know, Japans volcanic foundation results in numerous natural hot springs or onsen. In a country steeped in rituals and traditions, the onsen come with perhaps the most important and complex I’ve encountered to date.

So, if you are thinking about coming to Japan, print out this list of handy onsen tips and spare yourselves the humiliation.

Shoes
It’s no surprise you have to take your shoes off when entering a home, but in stores and restaurants, this is usually not the case. A good guide is anytime you enter a store and there is a single step up onto the main floor, take your shoes off there.

Towels
The towel you buy after you forget to bring you own is for washing up, not drying off. Make sure to suds up and scrub every inch possible of your body and then some. And no matter what, don’t leave any soap residue on your body.

Change Room
Pretty self explanatory. You go here first, strip down, and then carry the small hand towel in front of your private parts. I assume this is to show modesty before you jump in the tub with a bunch of naked dudes you’ve never met before. (And they used to be mixed until MacArthur laid down the law post WWII)

Bathing Room
Ah, here comes the complex part. Sit yourself down on one of the stools. They pretty much look like milking stools for those of you with farm experience. There’s a shower nozzle, two kinds of soap and a wash basin. One is shampoo, the other is body soap. I couldn’t read which was which, so to be safe I just washed everything with both. Make sure you scrub every single part of your body imaginable. If you’re confused, follow the 20-2-2 rule. Based on observation, you scrub the skin off your body for 20 minutes, then dip in the hot tub for 2 minutes, jump into the sauna for 2 more minutes, then go home.

It’s well known nearly all Japanese men (and women) have no body hair. Most assume it’s genetic, but I think there’s a more plausible explanation. From a young age, onsen is a regular activity. In the washing process, the men scrub their hair follicles straight out of their arms - sort of like a gentle epilady. Do this over a lifetime and of course you’ll never have to deal with annoying body hair. Mystery solved.

We just copied the guy next to us and thought we had washed sufficiently (a solid 15 minutes), but as soon as we entered the hot tub, the previous occupants immediately decided to evacuate it like a shark alert had been sounded. Turns out, the guy next to us was leaving, and just washing up one last time before going home. Who knew?

Each onsen has it’s own mix of minerals and magical properties. This one was supposed to help digestion. I haven’t had diarrhea today so it’s possible, but I can assure you it makes your skin baby soft.

We wrapped up the night by making dinner at home, which at best could be described as edible. Today is another relaxing day with a bike ride in the afternoon followed up with a night of ramen and drinking at a local restaurant with some of Jason’s coworkers.

Next up, Wakayama, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto and finally Tokyo. Stay tuned…

An Amazing Morning
After tying one on last night and going to bed at 2 or 3h00 am, we had to get up at 6h30 as Toru-san, the restaurant owner, wanted to take us out to a famous rice field nearby. Probably in his late 40’s, tan, with a full head of thick, black hair, and a few distinguishing wrinkles, Toru-san had the subdued calmness one expects of the Japanese, yet all the energy of a teenager.

Rice Fields
I got my first ride in one of those tiny utility trucks as he took us all around the area. Our first stop was at a rice field I think he owned. You can’t imagine how tiny some of these roads are, and at one point, we really were on a path barely wider than the car. Had we driven off the path, I’m sure the dense forest would have stopped our plunge down the mountain. Not a drive for those afraid of heights.

The river here meanders between the steepish, rolling mountains, and at one point forms a distinct U shape. Nestled in the middle is a beautiful rice field, subject of numerous photos, calendars and postcards. We got to walk through the fields and I encountered the origins of my nemesis the night before: some of the rice was gown for eating, but a certain patch was grown to make sake. We stared each other down. The rice had won the war last night, but not the battle. I would live to fight another day.

Japanese Farm House
Next we stopped at his farm house on the hillside overlooking the rice field. This was a real treat and surprise. He brought along some coffee and snacks and we just sat out on the front porch and enjoyed the morning. It was a rare treat for a Westerner and I realized I’ve been quite fortunate in all my travels. I’ve never been confined to tour buses nor isolated by language barriers. I’ve always managed to either live with locals, or encounter someone like Toru-san and I can’t imagine traveling any other way.

Sightseeing Godfather Style
Jason had to go to work, but we continued our tour of the area which included roadside kisatten across from a replica Golden Gate Bridge spanning the river. We hiked up into the woods to his uncle’s sansho farm (spice), cruised through someone’s garden and grabbed all sorts of fresh vegetables for his restaurant, strolled through a lumber yard which was so clean and organized it bordered on being antiseptic, and then back to the house. At each stop, Toru-san waltzed in like he owned the place, perhaps they were all relatives, but I got the sense that he was basically the local Godfather.

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
I returned home at 10h30 am, and basically slept the rest of the day. We did hit up a restaurant next door and encountered the delightful To-chan. Chan is an ending one attaches to women’s names and is usually reserved for close female-to-female friends, or, extremely close male-female friends. I think. To-chan is well into her sixties and runs her restaurant on her own. She whipped up some fresh Curry Pork Cutlet for Jason H., and a sort of vegetable-sea food noodle soup for me.

Of all the people we’ve met here so far, she was the most boisterous and outgoing. She was also a little liquored up, which further added to her charm.

By 10h00, we were out for the night.

Lost in a Forest
At last, a quiet moment to collect my thoughts and put pen to paper, so to speak. I’m currently in Shimizu-Cho, a remote little village tucked away among the hills about 4 hours south of Osaka. There’s only a few hundred people here and the resemblance to my home in Belgium when I lived in the Ardennes is uncanny. Just cut the roads and cars in 1/2, and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. It’s incredibly green here, and the forests are so dense with pine, bamboo and shrubs that they are for the most part impenetrable.

I’m staying with my buddy Jason Haldeman who survived Japanese 1 and 2 with me at Santa Monica College. He just arrived to begin his three year stint teaching English with the JET program. We literally lived 10 blocks away from each other in LA, but I’ve hung out with him more here than I did there. Funny how life works like that.

Anyway, I’ll be here for the next five days catching up on some much needed sleep, allow my credit card to cool, and hopefully improve my Japanese before the week’s end. Each day is pretty fun as I see significant improvement in learning the language. I can ask the HELL out of directions. So good, in fact, people respond to me as if I was fluent. This is a problem. I still understand close to nothing they tell me, and usually rely on which direction they’re pointing to as my clue as to where I should go next. I’d say it works 60-40.

Sake Bombed
I was already running on fumes after sweating 10 lbs. of water walking around Wakayama City earlier today on my train ride down here, so I was probably not in the best condition for drinking. We hit a local restaurant and of course quickly struck up conversations with the other patrons. The owner came over later on with some bottles of soju and sake and sat down with us. Well, one must live in the moment, and the moment required I share drinks with him - who am I to be rude and refuse? Some people call it Irish bulimia, others a drinking problem, I just call it having a good time. But after the third time throwing up I finally gave in and switched to water. (update: sake is a clean burning fuel - no hangover!!!)

Ever the scholar, I improved my vocabulary and learned the Japanese word for drunk is yopporai. How interesting.