I just talked about Easter a bit in Japanese for those here who may not know about it. The top picture is an old family picture from Easter (I'm on the bottom left), and the bottom picture is today's special Easter breakfast: fugu (blowfish). Not exactly traditional fare, but I had to make do.
One of my hobbies is cycling, and I sometimes like to go to a town near Fukui City called Ono, which is also sometimes called "Little Kyoto" (Its temples and traditions are reminiscent of Kyoto according to some people). I think there are any number of "Little Kyoto" towns in Japan, but Ono is a personal favorite countryside getaway for me. Admiring the mountains and fields from a bicycle is very calming.
Friends of mine from overseas who have lived in Ono for a long time usually don't leave town much, but this year during vacation time in August not one person remained there. This means that Little Kyoto was left defenseless. As a fan of war strategy games, I simply could not pass up this opportunity. I quickly prepared for my journey and set out to conquer Ono.
When conquering a country or a town, flags are necessary, so I prepared one. The pictures below are evidence of my glorious victory.
小京都は俺様のものじゃ！
これから大野に行く時ここで泊まる。
From now on when I visit Ono, I'm staying here.
俺様のお清水
My pure spring water
俺様の国際的に有名な半熟味付け煮玉子（越前大野駅の近くのラーメン屋さん）
My internationally renowned seasoned soft-boiled eggs (from a ramen place near the Ono JR station)
この寺町の写真をよく見たら、征服の道具が見える。
If you look closely at this picture of the temple district, you can see the instrument of my conquest.
Using the "4 Secrets of Delicious", as they call it, Hamburger Land boasts a seemingly bottomless list of options of sandwiches and burger varieties as well as shakes, nachos, fried onion peels and more. Also, they play Buddy Holly.
So, basically, someone made a list of things people from the States miss about greasy, roadside diner food and made it into the kind of restaurant you'd expect to see on the set of Back to the Future, complete with appropriate attire.
When I arrived at work this morning I received a pile of student writing to mark. In the pile was some poetry. They were free to choose their own subjects. "Life", "music", "soccer", "the moon" and several other topics made the list. One student decided to match her or his theme to the festivities simultaneously taking place thousands of kilometres to the West (remember, kids, there's a full day's time difference):
America.
Delicious food
and people are very fat.
Hamburgers, sweets, big food.
I don't want to be like them.
Round.
Harsh, but sometimes you need tough love to improve yourself. Especially where weight loss is concerned.
Well, I want to end this post on a happy note, so here's a song to cheer you up from Hugh Laurie.
A few weeks ago I spent a day cycling trying to find a winery I saw advertised while on a previous ride. The picture below illustrates what most of the countryside looks like out in the hills where I was wandering. I did eventually find the place: Hakusan Winery. Wine really has no tradition in Japan, and this particular location has only been in operation for less than 10 years. Basically, they grow a few grapes in the hillside. Not much to look at, but still I had a nice afternoon ride, nonetheless. Not much else to report. If weather allows, I'll be going back to this same area this weekend to do some hiking with an elderly couple that are friends with my Japanese instructor. I've never met them before. Should be interesting.
One last thing, a friend of mine wasn't updating her blog, so I did it for her. You probably don't know her unless if you live in Fukui, but, anyway, if you're curious, here's a link: friendblog
Years ago, when youthful curiosity still fueled ambition, and ambition still burned into life-altering experience, I embarked upon a legendary quest. Though I knew it'd be a solitary venture, I firmly decided that to struggle alone and fail would be worth more to me than dwelling in in the festive company of the multitudes of the "never tried".
To be honest, I can't recall if it was sunny, cloudy or rainy on the day when it all began. The weather brought no portents, which suited me just fine. If I was going to be working alone, it was best that others not receive any clues regarding the immense, impending change in my life. Standing sentinel across the way from the brick-walled location of the coming catalyst, I discretely darted my eyes left and right until I felt certain that no one was following.
Without allowing a moment to reflect, my left foot stepped down from the pavement to the street below. The right followed in kind. No thoughts, no emotions, no regrets. My body would see me accept this challenge whether my mind wanted to or not. I didn't realize exactly what my feet were doing until my hands had pushed open a simple glass door and the sound of bells awoke my cognitive senses. By then, it was too late to turn around.
A middle-aged Chinese man leaning in a chair in the corner looked away from the small television in front of him to see who had arrived. As I drew closer, he swiveled the chair to face me and arose so that he could match my gaze at equal height. "Welcome, welcome," while his face was displaying a broad smile for all to see, his hands secretly slipped me a piece of paper. I glanced at the paper, then back at him, then at the paper again.
"have you decided?" the friendliness he displayed in his tone masked an impatience only I could read. I looked at his face and paused before answering. His smile did, in fact, seem genuine. Perhaps he really did have no idea what a large role he was playing in my destiny. Perhaps he didn't care.
"Yes, I've decided," I spoke to him plainly all the while attempting to hide great eagerness.
"I'd like a bubble tea, please"Bubble Tea is a dessert-like Taiwanese drink combining tea, tapioca pearls, a wide range of flavors and milk. The restaurant I frequented in my university days probably had a least 20 different flavours ranging from plain milk tea to kumquat and kiwi. I vowed to try every flavour before graduating, and, having failed in that quest, must now endure a pilgrimage to the island birthplace of my beloved beverage: Taiwan.
I'll fill you in on cultural/historical details later. In the meantime, please enjoy this video clip of Taiwan's most treasured historical cultural anthem:
A few weeks ago, my favorite little former host sister from Nagoya turned 10. Conveniently, many girls here in Fukui really wanted to go to Nagoya the weekend of her birthday, so it wasn't hard to fill a car with people for the journey over. The Fukui girls, however, had no idea any birthdays were taking place. They had an ulterior motive: a 2 meter long, wooden ulterior motive.
WARNING: the pictures in this entry probably aren't so great to show the kids (even though many children were at this festival)Every year in spring a couple of shrines in Nagoya host festivals in celebration of fertility just in time for spring planting. One festival takes on a female theme and the other has a male theme. The male themed festival draws in the largest crowd, including the most packed group of foreigners I have ever seen in Japan (what does this say about the collective maturity of we non-Japanese residents, I wonder?) There is food (pictured above) to match the theme, and a small parade. During the parade, people marching hand out many cups of free sake to onlookers and encourage some good luck pats on various wooden "structures". The festival ends when the "structure" enters the shrine at the end of the parade. At the end of it all, the Western onlooker can't help but laugh at the large gathering of pale skinned persons and lament the great shame we've been taught to render our own bodies. Would this festival be so intriguing to us if we didn't deem it so naughty? The Japanese don't seem to find much offensive about it. Now, to make up for the strange pictures above, I've added a nice sunset photograph from the Oasis structure in the Sakae district of Nagoya.
Not mentioned in the guide book ,but surprisingly worth a look, was the factory where the most famous of Hokkaido "omiyage" (souvenirs) are made. 白い恋人 (shiroi koibito), or "white lover" as it is often improperly translated to the delight of puerile native English speakers everywhere, makes a very fine chocolate product at this very factory easily reached from the Sapporo subway system.
Outside the factory lights, snowmen and singing animatronic machines were in great abundance. The official factory tour was closed by the time we arrived, but the gift shop was still open. Entering through the side door, which apparently is normally just an exit, we were able to see the whole factory for free. And what a factory it was! Everything a 7 year old could ever want in a chocolate factory without the creepy little green men singing songs about bratty children turning into giant blueberries (they did, however, have creepy singing robots). This place features a toy museum, collections of antique cocoa and coffe cups, a lounge, many strange decorations and the soothing aroma of chocolate in every nook and cranny.
That's right, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig Von Beethoven and Pinocchio all take a break for chocolate in the White Lover Factory.
Elegant 19th century European style architecture and classical artwork made this building one of the most interesting and unusual I've seen in Japan so far. Oh, yeah, and they make chocolate here too.
So, I've been dropping hints that things didn't go as planned. While on the island Infectious Laughter seemed to be getting sick, and, on our last day there, decided to go to the clinic. Turns out that Infectious Laughter had developed Infectious Disease!
He died shortly thereafter.OK, so maybe he didn't die, and maybe it wasn't really an infectious disease. Anyway, food poisoning* led to diarrhea which led to dehydration which led to two nights in a Thai hospital and a complete suction of all his funds. After this, I didn't quite have enough time for worthwhile travel into Cambodia, and Infectious Laughter only had enough money and energy to change his flight to an early departure from Bangkok back to Japan. Thus, only German Speaker continued as planned and I returned to Bangkok to see the poor boy off and explore the capital of Thailand.
The ironic thing about it all is that Infectious Laughter was really worried about getting sick while were planning the trip. He even packed a sackful of medication for head and stomach ailments. On their first night in the country (before I arrived) German Speaker also apparently wouldn't let him eat from street vendors. I, by contrast, frequently nibbled on such delights as these grubs which I purchased from some guy on the island. Also worthy to mention is the fact that grubs like these are the high princess' favorite type of insect snack. I have something in common with royalty!
*the food poisoning, we later discovered, was from something he ate in Japan on the night before leaving. 4 of the teachers who were at the same end of year party as him also developed similar symptoms.
On the evening of Christmas Day we landed on Koh Chang ("Elephant Island"), the second largest island in Thailand. The tropical foliage, laid back atmosphere and warm water made for the most relaxing days I've experienced since leaving for Japan, yet, somehow something didn't feel right. As I gazed through the palm trees into the emerald horizon the very first thought to enter my mind was, "Kumquat. Was kumquat, perhaps, my favorite bubble tea flavor back at the Great Wall in Bloomington? What on earth am I doing in Thailand right now?"
Yes, beautiful tropical island. blah blah blah. Perhaps ten years ago it was a virgin rain forest paradise escape, but today Koh Chang (& the rest of Thailand for that matter) has many of the same problems as the United States. And they're all fat white men. As you can see here, Koh Chang is a true escape from modernity. The island also now features more than a dozen golf courses. Who needs a rain forest when you could have thousands of pudgy European men bringing piles and piles of fresh Euros and Pounds to spend on a relaxing weekend with their new Thai girlfriends? Tourist catered destruction aside, the scenery is lovely. German Speaker and Infectious Laughter both seemed really touched by the sunset. I've seen my share of sunsets and, although less vocal about it all, still ended up spending most of the night this picture was taken sitting on a rock watching the form of the star change slightly at the point it met with the water's edge.
In Le Petit Princeat some point it says that people really enjoy sunsets when they're sad. Maybe we were sad for the island that night. As for me, I think I was lonely for bubble tea. Another example of the island's authentic spirit. A North American First Nations themed Swedish restaurant!
Japan is not known for invention so much as it is known for innovation. Ramen comes from China, but cup ramen comes from Japan. Robotics developed in western science before Japan was a major contributor to the global economy, but today the country has more robots per capita than any other nation in the world. Tea Ceremony, Calligraphy, Martial Arts, Video Games, etc. The list could go on indefinitely it seems.
One of my biggest surprises in discovering Japanese innovations is the Japanese take on baked goods. The word for "bread" in Japanese is non-native ("pan"). It comes from Portuguese as Portugal was the first sustained European contact with the isolated island nation. This country has almost always had a rice-based agricultural system, so it would not seem likely that bakeries would be all too common here. Yet, they are.
Every day on my commute through the Fukui train station I pass Vie de France, a Japanese bakery wherein I frequently stopped for afternoon tea until I finally purchased a kettle for my own home tea-making purposes. When I was studying in Nagoya, I also frequently stopped by a train station bakery on my way home from school. What draws me to Japanese baking is, as already mentioned, innovation. Japanese bakers have taken the proud, long history of European bread making and, in a short period of time, adapted it to create own tradition. Green tea, poppy seed, pumpkin, sweet beans, black sesame and many other flavorings contribute to a style and taste that is uniquely Japanese.
They also produce many items on a seasonal basis. Pumpkin, for example, is very common in the autumn. At the moment they are featuring many sweet baked goods for Christmas (even though less than %1 of the population is Christian people still love to celebrate any holiday that includes cakes and presents). some Christmas tree cakes at Vie de France
On Thursdays now I venture a 1 hour bus ride to the coast to visit a junior high school with less than 40 total students. Classes are small, awake and interesting. I think I'm really going to like it there. The bus ride is scenic with forests and tunnels and fields and mountains. Also, another JET who has become rather popular with ladies because of his perfect teeth and black belt in tae-kwon-do rides the same bus to a school not far from mine. He's an outgoing sort unless if his energy is drained. Either high or low - never in between.
As for me, I'm pretty much always on the quiet side of life. I brought along the book that I purchased in 京都(Kyoto) written by 芭蕉(Basho), a poet who wandered about Japan and let the scenery inspire his work. As it turns out, students in the school are about to read some excerpts from the same book (おくのほそ道：The Narrow Road to Oku). The literature teacher, noticing the book on my desk, asked to me read some excerpts in English to her class. I was struck by a few lines in the opening paragraphs,
"I seemed to be possessed by the spirits of wanderlust, and they all but deprived me of my senses. The guardian spirits of the road beckoned, and I could not settle down to work."
Basho traveled, journaled and wrote Haiku whenever scenery or events inspired him. Reading his works and gazing out into a morning rainstorm on the Autumn mountain forests, I couldn't help but try my hand at Haiku again.
The wind cries against Teardrop reddened mountain leaves Shelter is the storm
That's not the only haiku I wrote yesterday. Inspired by the fact that my only pet peeve is culturally acceptable in Japan (slurping), I vented some frustration. I simply cannot tolerate noises during a meal, but in Japan slurping noodles is very polite while silence could be considered rude. This is supposed only to be the case with noodles, but Japanese men tend to make noise eating anything and everything.
One cup of coffee One hundred desperate slurps God, please strike me deaf!
The climb up Mt Fuji includes 9 steps before reaching the peak. At each step is a station with food and drink for sale. There's also a hotel and a first aid center at one step. Most people begin at the Fifth Station since that's where the bus parking is located. From step 5 it can take anywhere from 5-8 hours on average to reach the peak depending on your pace and congestion near the top. Here's an example of a typical station menu in English. Prices are probably more than double what is typical because it's no easy task to bring these items up the mountain. Yes, that last item is oxygen. Cans of oxygen are available to help tourists deal with the thinning atmosphere. This vending machine is more than 3,700 meters (12,140 ft) above sea level. Those are clouds in the background.
Elegant 19th century European style architecture and classical artwork made this building one of the most interesting and unusual I've seen in Japan so far.
