Jun and Robin Go Loco

The Soul of Seoul

2011-10-21T09:32:00.007+09:00

I think we found the core, the beating heart and the real soul of Seoul in the Markets.

The colourful giant mounds of kimchi, the humming chatter of patrons between slurping and chewing loudly with delight at the delicious food. Hand-made gimbap rolls (similar to Japanese maki sushi), sweet and spicy red pepper soup with pounded rice pieces called Tteokbokki and tempura'd everything hot from the oil.

Kimchi

Kimchi seafood, kimchi everything!

Yes that's oil, not water on that "grill".

Gimbap

This Market stall couldn't make these steamed buns fast enough! They had a huge crowd, which is reason enough to try them. Jun had 4 pork buns and I sampled a sweet red bean one...yum!

It wasn't only the food that was pilled and staked to the ceiling in these expansive markets, it was everything else too:

Rolls of colourful fabrics to sew a traditional dress, racks filled with the classic Ajuma look: bright colours, stretchy wicking fabric and anything that portrays you as a professional hiker (but you wear it to the supermarket, and up the mountain). And everything sparkly (they are seriously "girly" girls here).

Such a colourful country.

Ajuma gear.

Wow!! Be-dazle me crazy!

Just in case you need a little more junk in your trunk!

I'm not sure what he was selling, but if I could have figured it out, I'd have bought some!

I hope you enjoyed the Market!

Visiting Dave and Shayna in Gwangju

2011-10-10T01:30:00.000+09:00

One of my closest friend's from University made like many Canadian graduates, and up and moved to Asia to teach English. And now, several years later, and still loving up Korea she and her fiance Dave are teaching University in Gwangju. We went and stayed with them for about a week as they toured us around and gave us the insider scoop to living and working in Korea.

Ahhh Gwangju...where we learnt about the atrocities of the Gwangju Massacre...

Where the soju cocktails go down smoothly...

Where karaoke is the "thing" to do and is oh so addictive...

And brings couples to song...

Where the food is nutritious, traditional and beefy...

Where you can rent board games at the local lounge hall for a fun and "wholesome" night out...

Where there's an endless supply of super shiny sparkly, pink, girly stuff to buy...

and the fashion leaders of the world reside...

Where there's no end to the innovation, and energy abounds...

And where good friends are re-united!

The ancient city of Gyangju, Korea

2011-09-28T05:25:00.000+09:00

This small city on the eastern edge of Korea was an entire history lesson all rolled into, well, many rolling hills. We spent three days sleeping in a 150 year old inn, in a traditional room with heated floors. I loved this in the cooling weather, but Jun and his fever weren't so thrilled, as he sweated through two days and many blankets. When Jun started to feel better we got out and started exploring on foot and by bus. We first headed out of the city to a hilltop temple complex famous for its intricate design.

The painting was all very colourful and intricate in the eaves of the Temple buildings

A well preserved gate where you can see the old style of roof tiles and interlocking beams.

A modern day tin roof, still styled in the traditional form.

Another example of the time and detail that went into the buildings.

Building my own rock pile as many hundreds of other Temple pilgrims have over the years.

I wonder if I'll remember which one is mine on our next visit.

Jun, being a great sport and sight-seeing with me, despite his flu and high temperature.

After the temple we went in search of one Ho on her Road. (hehe *devilish-grin*)

And we stopped to watch this super-sized street gambling game. Can you see the sticks in mid-air?

And we did a bit of shopping, "So cuuute!"

Next we hiked up to another Temple built into the mountain and spotted some Ajuma.

After the mountain we were feeling mature and went to see what these guys were up to at the Museum.

Jun wanted a nap, but we could never quite get comfortable of those Korean pillows.

And here I am, at the end of the day, pulling out my cold fingers to try and count how many zeros were on the bills...man, they do that just to confuse us Westerners.

And here are the rolling hill I mentioned. These are the main attraction in the city and are ancient burial mounds. Kings and Queens were interred this way centuries ago. They were placed in their coffins and then rocks were piled on top of them forming massive hills. The bigger the hill the more important the deceased.

Busan: the perfect welcome

2011-09-16T01:18:00.000+09:00

Busan, is the second largest city in South Korea, with over 3.6 million people, it feel huge, nestled in between the mountain and the sea, it is also the country's largest seaport. We were recommended to a what at first appeared to be a quiet little guesthouse, and turned out to be three great nights filled with new friends, an amazing host, and a great introduction to many of Korea's local food specialties and drink...yes, lots of drinks.

Korean drinking game, where the goal is to flick the tab off the bottle cap and upon success the person to your left and right down more soju!

Chan's Guesthouse in the cool Haeundae beach neighborhood became our home over the next few days, and we found it hard to leave. Located right smack in the middle of the city's traditional market meant Jun and I could try some great new things straight away.

Korean style sashimi.

And here's our lunch being killed/ prepared right before we eat it...

We sampled gimbap, which is very similar to Japan's maki sushi, but with more flavours mixed in. Also Tempura, from a friendly group of sisters at their market stand. We had tempura'd onigiri (Japanese rice balls with filling), which was an incredible mix, and delicious. Along with lots of other veggies, like potato, sesame leaf, pumpkin, and hard-boiled egg and prawns. If we managed not to gain 10 lbs in Korea, we'll be lucky! Especially since we want to try it all!

Our host, also gave Jun a short Sitar lesson, and the rest of the guests were very impressed with how comfortable he felt playing a Norwegian Wood duet with Chan.

We visited the Yonggung-sa Temple, which is a Buddhist temple complex, situated on top of a large rock along the ocean making it rather unique in Korea, as most Temples are hidden away in the mountains or forests for tranquility and privacy.

Haeundae Beach where were staying was super central, unfortunately it was a bit cold for a swim, but we did enjoy a stroll along the sand. It's been a while.

Monks on the beach.

We also indulged in a favourite; Korean fried chicken, with spicy sauce (everything is spicy!), mochi (pounded rice) sticks, lemon sesame sauce and sweet melon salad, now that was a satisfying meal! Topped up with a $10 3 Litre pitcher of Cass beer, and ending with an unforgettable Karaoke sesh: Naraebang.

Japan's Famous Vending Machines

2011-08-20T03:20:00.000+09:00

I know you've all hear stories about the amazing vending machines in Japan, which cook and serve you food at all hours of the night, or see used, and new items of clothing (enough said).

You can get quite a variety of things in vending machines here including: beer and sake, hot and cold drinks like coffee and tea, umbrellas, cup noodles, ice cream cones, milk, and even fortunes from Shrines are sold out of vending machines.

Also, a lot of restaurants are set up, so outside you pick what you want to have an pay for it at a vending machine, then take your coupon inside, sit down at the counter and pass it to the wait staff who bring you your meal. It's a great system, with less staff required for the restaurant, less waiting and its easy to just push the button with the picture of what you want on it. What would I do without the pictures! I'd never know what I was ordering.

With one vending machine per an estimated 23 people (according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association), Japan has one of the world's highest vending machine densities. Machines can be found all over cities, towns and in the countryside. Almost none of them are vandalized, which I guess isn't surprising given the low crime rates in this sauper-safe country.

We here are a few that we've happened upon on our travels.

It was great when the weather started to get colder and we could buy hot soup from the machines. This one we found on the train platform for real on-the-go-luch moments.

Mmmm...cake in a can!

A recent article in the Guardian said:

"In the early 1990s, environmental campaigners in Japan used to highlight the fact that the nation's 3.6m vending machines collectively used electricity equal to the output of one nuclear power station. Such a comparison holds extra poignancy today, of course, especially when you consider there are now twice the number of vending machines in the country that famously just can't get enough of them. In fact, with the country experiencing rolling blackouts following the earthquake on 11 March, a grassroots campaign was launched to persuade Coca-Cola to switch off its 980,000 vending machines to help conserve energy. An executive from another drinks firm was quick to retaliate: "But vending machines constitute a lifeline for residents."

Sarariman

2011-08-15T01:40:00.000+09:00

I wanted to write about a few of our most fascinating groups of people in Japan: The Salaryman

Sarariman (Salaryman) refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. There are even shops for salarymen (and OL's (office ladies- a whole other story) which sell only different basic styles of black suits and white shirts, the standard uniform.

When we ask our students what they did they would say, I'm an employee of 'such and such' company, whereas in our experience in other countries people identify themselves by their trade or actual position with a company, like I'm a graphic designer, an engineer, a beautician. In Japan they may just say "I'm a salaryman."

A little history: Immediately following World War II, becoming a salaryman was viewed as a gateway to a stable, middle-class lifestyle. In modern use, the term carries associations of long working hours, low prestige in the corporate hierarchy, absence of significant sources of income other than salary, wage slavery, and karōshi. The term salaryman refers exclusively to men, and for women the term career woman is used, or OL, Office Lady more like an admin assistant position.

The media often portray the salaryman in negative fashion for lack of initiative and originality. Because of this portrayal, communities may be less willing to consult the salaryman for his emotional problems, which often leads to clinical depression (not recognised as a medical problem in Japan) or even suicide. Corporations are more willing to "fire" salarymen to simply lower costs, and some Japanese students are now attempting to veer off the typical path of graduating from college to enter a corporation and become a salaryman for life. The act of escaping from the corporate lifestyle is known as datsusara and is still quite unacceptable in modern Japan.

How it works: Corporations basically recruit students into their companies, not into specified positions. Job offers are conditional upon not looking at any other companies or listening to other offers. These jobs are basically for life, unless due to down-sizing or failure, the employee is asked to leave in an honourable way (no one really gets fired). If you do leave your company, you are pretty much untouchable by any other company, which makes life in unemployment very difficult.

So, in some ways the salaryman lifestyle is great: life-time job security, good family income (making you an appealing mate), low expectations, working long hours; but not too hard or fast (this would be bad for other employees).

And the negatives could be: life-long employment in the same company doing the same thing 12-16 hours a day, never seeing your family because after your long day, where you are expected to stay in the office longer than your boss, and then go drinking with him whenever he asks and get super drunk taking the last train home. Your hobbies may be sleeping, since you never get to, and the only way to express yourself is super cool socks and a funky hairstyle during the week, almost guaranteeing you belong to some crazy sub-group on the weekends and do something like: dress up as your favourite anime character, go to bondage clubs and sew your skin together, or hang out at cat or maid cafe's looking for some semblance of 'love'.

Just another facinating face of Japan!

Bowlerama!!

2011-08-12T05:53:00.000+09:00

We double-dated in Shibuya heading first to our favourite noodle bar, where Jun attempted the extra large portion again...ouch! And then on to the black light bowling alley with Fred and Jesse on Saturday night and didn't know what we were getting into.

Check out the bowling shoe vending machine!

Jesse had amazing skillzzzzzzzz!

The other bowlers were crazy enthusiastic, jumping on each other and dressed up in costume. We even had a streaker and a human bowling spree!

Those crazy Japanese Bowlers, take this sport to a whole new level!

A Cosplay sample

2011-08-08T22:36:00.000+09:00

We came across this enthusiastic cosplay group in Odaiba near the exhibition centre all dressed up as their favourite characters. As far as we could tell, there was no official event, just lots of young people posing for pictures and complimenting each others outfits. Cosplay (Costume Play) is generally a performance art done by Otaku who are fans of anime, comic books, fantasy, sci-fi or manga. There is a really good quick summary here if you're interested. For me, Cosplay is one of the most fascinating sides of Japan where hoards of people enjoy dressing up and forming a strong group subculture based on being someone else entirely. Many of the participants, otherwise very quiet and reserved are given a chance to be loud and visible by being someone else, therefore never having to break down the wall around them, yet having some social interaction.

We hope you enjoyed the photos, and that you keep learning about interesting Japanese subcultures!

Shimo-kitazawa zawa

2011-07-22T02:43:00.000+09:00

We instantly fell in love with this cool young neighborhood, and took to spending quite a few afternoons and evening here wandering through the alleys of hip overflowing shops, sitting at the counter of our favorite sushi counter, singing karaoke, playing in the arcades, visiting the delicious Izakaya-ism, and of course eating at our hands-down best noodle shop in Japan.

Courtney, Katie, Jesse and I at Izakayaism

Jun indulging in delicious Ramen at our favourite shop.

You can buy pretty much anything in this quirky neighbourhood.

There are so many Izakaya's and watering holes to try, it could take a whole year...and we tried!

I said anything!

One of many funky drinking holes.

Busted!

We definitely got into the arcade spirit while in Japan.

At our favourite sushi train.

I really recommend to anyone visiting Tokyo to hop on the Inokashira line heading out of Shibuya and check out this super cool and off the tourist trail neighbourhood. It's always one of the first places we would take visiting friends, and we miss it already!

Shinagawa Flea Market and Odaiba

2011-07-13T00:37:00.000+09:00

On one of our regular Sunday outings, we decided to try and find another interesting flea market in the middle of the concrete jungle, and we ca,e upon the mishmash two storey Shinagawa Flea Market. It had mostly used clothes and accessories to dig through, plus sore gorgeous and reasonably priced old Kimonos.

Beautiful Obis

After the Flea Market we headed to Odaiba, a reclaimed area in Tokyo harbour to ride the very nerve wracking glass Ferris wheel.

Chilling with Mario at the Panasonic centre.

Trying out the amazing massage chairs at the Panasonic center...we want one of these!

This was some crazy Panasonic invention which is like an interactive projection in your living room which has tv, skype video calls, photo albums, room decor options, libraries, stereo and more....very cool!

Then we went to the arcade and rode the best ride ever!!! Haha, these strange ride-on animals put around the arcade for 100 Yen...hilarious!

Jun loved riding the little giraffe!

Not so rock-star...I totally picked the hardest song and gathered a giggling crowd.

Definitely a Rock-star!

The advertisement on the outside of the photo booths where you can take your pic and doll yourself up. the booth even instantly pales and smooths your skin and makes your eyes look bigger for your printed pictures.

Sunday trip to Kawagoe

2011-06-13T14:00:00.002+09:00

With its main street, lined by massive kurazukuri (warehouse style) buildings, the former castle town of Kawagoe has retained a certain atmosphere reminiscent of past centuries. Consequently, the city has been nicknamed "Little Edo" (Edo is Tokyo's former name).

Kawagoe is an easy day excursion from Tokyo, only half an hour northwest of Ikebukuro on the train.

In the Edo Period, Japanese cities consisted almost exclusively of wooden buildings. As a result, they were very vulnerable to fires, which occurred frequently and could destroy whole city districts.

To store and protect their most valuable goods like rice, people constructed warehouses (kura) with massive, fireproof walls, consisting of several layers. However, this construction style, called kura-zukuri (warehouse style), was very expensive, and only the wealthy people could afford it.

During the Edo Period, Kawagoe was an important commercial town, providing nearby Edo (Tokyo) with timber, rice and other materials, collected from the surrounding region.

Thanks to this prosperous trade, the merchants of Kawagoe grew very wealthy, and many of them could afford to build not only their warehouses, but also their stores in the fireproof kurazukuri style.

In the old times, there were more than 200 kurazukuri buildings in Kawagoe. A few dozens remain today, with most of them lining the town's main street, as seen in these photos.

After wandering around and in the old warehouse buildings, we stopped for a delicious traditional lunch.

This was inside one of the houses, where a tiny stairwell leads to the second floor.

We left the main road and happened upon this sign posted to a school fence.

And this one outside the barber.

Then we visited Kitain Temple.

Built in 830, Kitain is the regional head temple of the Buddhist Tendai sect. Around the turn from the 16th to the 17th century, Kitain was headed by Tenkai, an extraordinary personality, who also functioned as an important consultant to all of the three first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, Hidetada and Iemitsu. Tenkai is said to have reached the age of 108.

This is the Gohyaku Rakan Statues, 540 stone statues of the disciples of Buddha, each with its own facial expression.

Ukiyo-e Drawing

2011-06-13T05:39:00.000+09:00

When I visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo I thought the detail and time that went into this classic Art form in Japan was really interesting, maybe you will too. Here's a quick description mostly credited to Wikipedia (Thank you!).

Usually the word ukiyo is literally translated as "floating world" in English, referring to the concept of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and the realm of entertainments such as kabuki theater, courtesans, and geisha entertainers, all separated from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world.

The art form rose to great popularity in the metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo) during the second half of the 17th century, originating with the single-color works of Hishikawa Moronobu in the 1670s.

Ukiyo-e were affordable because they could be mass-produced. They were mainly meant for townsmen, who were generally not wealthy enough to afford an original painting.

The original subject of ukiyo-e was city life, in particular activities and scenes from the entertainment district, such as courtesans, sumo wrestlers and popular actors. Later on landscapes also became popular. Political subjects, and individuals above the lowest strata of society (courtesans, wrestlers and actors) were not sanctioned in these prints and very rarely appeared. Sex was not a sanctioned subject either, but continually appeared in ukiyo-e prints. Artists and publishers were sometimes punished for creating these sexually explicit shunga.

The roots of ukiyo-e can be traced to the urbanization that took place in the late 16th century that led to the development of a class of merchants and artisans who began writing stories or novels, and painting pictures, compiled in ehon (絵本, picture books, books with stories and picture illustrations).

You may know the famous Artists Hakusai, the famous painter and print maker who did the 36 Views of Mt. Fuji. This being his most popular print: The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Making of ukiyo-e : (Printing using woodblocks)

Cutting the woodblocks Ukiyo-e prints were made using the following procedure:

The artist produced a master drawing in ink
An assistant, called a hikkō, would then create a tracing (hanshita) of the master
Craftsmen glued the hanshita face-down to a block of wood and cut away the areas where the paper was white. This left the drawing, in reverse, as a relief print on the block, but destroyed the hanshita.
This block was inked and printed, making near-exact copies of the original drawing.A first test copy, called a kyōgo-zuri, would be given to the artist for a final check.
The prints were in turn glued, face-down, to blocks and those areas of the design which were to be printed in a particular color were left in relief. Each of these blocks printed at least one color in the final design.
The resulting set of woodblocks were inked in different colors and sequentially impressed onto paper. The final print bore the impressions of each of the blocks, some printed more than once to obtain just the right depth of color.

Animation Station

2011-06-07T05:53:00.000+09:00

Animation is such an intrinsic part of Japanese culture dating back hundreds of years, and renowned internationally, we had to go and check out at least one of the many animation museums in Japan.

The Suginami Museum near Ogikubo station on the Chuo line was a bit rundown, but we did get a good overview about how its all done, which I found really interesting: layers upon layers of pictures. It really makes me appreciate The time that goes into animation. Every little movement means a new layer, a new drawing, another hour: amazing.

We also caught a glimpse the history of Animation going back as far as 1907 and a history of Anime way before that, through traditional Ukiyo-e Drawing to Astro Boy to the ever popular Doraimon.

Plus this old Astro Boy Classic 'Jun' cut.

MMMMMonja!

2011-05-28T13:49:00.000+09:00

Here I am trying my hand at making Tokyo's famous Monjayaki. Much like the Okonomiyaki we first sampled in Osaka and have grown to love. This one is a specialty of the Kanto reagion.

Monjayaki is a type of Japanese pan-fried batter with various ingredients, including seafood, meat, veggies, cheese, noodles and really anything in any combination seemed to be on the menu. The ingredients are finely chopped and mixed into the batter before frying. The mixture is runnier than okonomiyaki, and it has a consistency comparable to a pool of melted cheese when cooked.

Then you eat it directly off the grill using a small metal spatula. Many monjayaki restaurants can be found

near Shinjuku, where we tried the tasty dish with some friends.

Panstar Luxury

2011-05-21T06:28:00.000+09:00

We thought our ferry to Korea from Japan would be just a basic 20 uncomfortable hours on a rocking boat, boy were we wrong.

The luxury started with a one star slightly deep fried buffet dinner, our introduction to Korean food. But I did like the Kimchi!

Afterwards, we were dazzled by an incredible magic show with the most spectacular light show and intense music for some really simple tricks, which had us in stitches. The classic silver rings which interlock- trick lasted a good repetitive 20 minutes.

The signing contest was great until the 1st prize winner walked straight into a pole upon collection of his bottle of wine. I can't imagine what the 2nd and 3rd prizes were, cup noodles perhaps.

I think the boat used to be quite impressive...about 30 years ago when they built it, then stopped maintaining it, and decided to just laminate in different patterns over everything!

The hospitality in Korea is great so far. We've met some really nice people, who have been so helpful and friendly. Jun made instant friends in the on-board Karaoke room!

We easily found a taxi and made our way into the massive port city of Busan, where we'll spend the next few days exploring the city and seeing what Korea is all about.

Bye-bye Japan...and hello Korea!

Tokyo Manners Campaign in the Subway

2011-05-18T02:17:00.000+09:00

I really like all the Tokyo subway posters found all over the place, and these are some of my favourites:

No rushing on the train.

No doing your make-up on the train.

Give up your seat in the priority seat area.

I really like this one!

A sample of other rules and just general ettiquette in Tokyo trains:

No talking on your mobile phone. (They surprisingly get a signal almost everywhere!)
No talking to each other ( ok, maybe not a rule, but definitely the norm).
No eye contact.
Don't appear too happy, its annoying when everyone else is commuting an hour on either side of a 14 hours work day *wink*.
Sleep or at least pretend to sleep whenever possible (so you don't feel guilty for keeping your seat).
Face the doors, not inside the carriage.
No eating or drinking.
Stare at people secretly, not directly.

How to get on the train in 5 easy steps:

Line up on either side of where the door will be when the train stops.
Let all the passengers off.
Calmly and orderly approach the carriage staying in line.
When you get to the doors, step in, turn around and push your way backwards onto the train with your whole body.
Enjoy the silent and swaying calm of your cocoon/commute.

Koenji - yet another cool Tokyo neighbourhood

2011-04-07T12:39:00.000+09:00

This mid-sized neighbourhood on the Chuo line was packed with cool retro shops selling toys, records, and clothes and is definitely worth a visit. I am always encouraging tourists to see these smaller, less central neighborhoods in Tokyo to get a look at real everyday life, not just sky-scrappers and fashion forward teens. We also found an amazing Thai restaurant, that takes us straight back to Khao San Road in Bangkok.

This neighbourhood was largely unaffected by the 1980s building boom and therefore many of the houses and shops in the area are small and reflect the character of pre-boom Japan. Due to its aging retail district and location on a major commuter route, the station area has become a center for small restaurants and "Live Houses" which offer live music. It is also known for having a young population and as a center for suburban underground culture including multiple used record and clothing shops. Oh, and we found a Tesco, the UK supermarket chain that attempted to start up in Japan. Very exciting, baked beans for Jun and English tea for me!

An old school Yakitori stand

An old hair salon

This kids got it all backwards.

Women still dress up in Kimonos for special occasions.

Fly screen for kids

Sweet potato street snacks. Jun hates the smell of these, but I think they taste pretty good. It's just a whole sweet potatoe roated on coals, which you peel and eat hot.

Looking back

2011-04-07T12:05:00.001+09:00

Jun and I are back on the road, and loving it! But we still have so much to say and write about Japan, that we're going to continue posting about Japan amidst our adventures in Korea, Hong Kong, Macau and China while we wind our way back to Canada over the next month.

Please keep reading and enjoy!

xx R & J

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT

2011-03-22T18:06:00.000+09:00

My Mother's Choir, Big Soul Project is taking part in this benefit to help out people affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. If your in Ottawa, join in for an evening of music and cultural performance hosted by the Ottawa Japanese Community Association at Bronson Centre

(211 Bronson Ave).

April 9th starting at 8:00pm

Email my Mom for tickets: clcoull@primus.ca

Thank you everyone for your support!

Photos from the streets of Tokyo

2011-03-17T17:51:00.000+09:00

During the last week, I've gone through so many mixed emotions, starting with fear and uncertainty when the first earthquake hit, to anxiety, to calm now in the week after. Tokyo literally froze as we all watched buildings sway back and forth and felt the earth move under our feet. It was unreal, like being in a movie, and I half expected Godzilla to come around the corner. I spent the next 6 hours waiting for my phone to ring, waiting for the trains to start running, waiting for someone to tell me what was going on.

So, as the days went by and Jun and I watched the news, trying to get on with our daily lives, and as our friends started to leave the city in drones, we stayed calm. Faithful that the situation would be under control soon, and waiting for word from our Governments that it was time to go.

On Tuesday we started to pack and finally made it out of the city by Wednesday afternoon as we ran with our bags through the wind amidst earthquake alarms and calm citizens. I felt guilty deserting my city while on the train with our bags. I couldn't look the other passengers in the eye imagining they were only thinking: "You're going too!" and "Why are you leaving us?, what are you afraid of?" Jun was also sad to leave his friends behind, but we had to just say "Screw this! Let's get the hell out of here!"

At this point along with the guilt, I had felt so much anxiety over the last few days that a strange calm set in. And that's how I feel now. I don't feel the danger, just sadness that I had to leave my Tokyo family: my friends and my students. I hope they all are doing what's best for them as well, and if that is leaving the city, then I hope they have the ability to. I know there must be a lot of people who cannot leave, or feel that they cannot, including some of our roommates.

I'm also heart-broken as we watch the devastation and constant bad news coming from the North. Japan is a solid country, but they cannot fix this alone, and I'm glad to see this incredibly proud nation not being afraid to ask for help. Thank you world for stepping up, but please step it up some more!

So here's a few photos from our last week:

On our way out of the city trying to be optimistic, while reading the Japan times saying "higher than normal levels of such and such have been detected in Setagaya Ward" (where we were!).

Damage from the first earthquake in our neighborhood.

Panic in Tokyo: there was none. Most people continued on with their daily lives (they always wear masks).

Empty supermarkets and people wearing helmets: There was definitely a buying frenzy starting on Saturday when supermarkets actually shut as they ran out of stock. The first things to go were rice, bread, bottled water and toilet paper.

There were massive lines outside of some supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations waiting for already rationed gas. I wish they rationed the TP!

I don't know what happened to this poor boy, the radiation must have got him (just kidding Mom).

Good-bye Tokyo, I miss you already.

Osaka

2011-03-17T11:32:00.000+09:00

Hey everyone...

We are in Osaka, where we arrived last night. It's much further away from the nuclear plant than Tokyo and now we can think with clearer heads to plan our next step.
As in Tokyo, there are very few signs that anything has happened at all.
We will leave as soon as we can.

Jun and Robin

Earthquake etc...

2011-03-14T02:02:00.001+09:00

Hey all.

Just a quick post for those not on Facebook. (Sorry for the stream-of-consciousness style).

Robin and I are safe and sound (so far) in Tokyo. To be honest, apart from the slightly sombre mood, less people on the streets and bare shelves at convenience stores, you would be forgiven for thinking nothing had happened.

The story up North is a different matter. The events unfolding at the nuclear plants 250 km from Tokyo are somewhat disturbing (although nothing compared to the suffering of victims of the Tsunami).

I can't really put into appropriate words, the sensations of the experience on the 11th but I guess the most accurate description would be to say it was like being in a movie. One minute I'm swearing at the elevator for not working and the next I'm climbing up the stairs past the people coming the other way. It took a couple of seconds to realise why the staricase was so busy and then I got the hell out of there.

After filing out into the street, watching the buildings sway and rock and feeling the Earth moving about underfoot, I felt my legs tremble as the a busy metropolis of cars and crowds suddenly came to a deadly silent standstill. The buildings here are incredible though. Any other place in the world would have crashed to the ground, but the construction industry here has strict building codes here as we're living on a fault line and that definitely showed! At nearby stations and cafes, people stood around looking at television screens watching live footage of Tsunamis and fires in complete shock. But then in the typical Stoic manner of the Japanese, everyone just went about figuring out what to do next. No panicking. No screaming. Just get on with it.

Robin and I only managed to make contact at about 1am as the phone services were "rammed" but luckily she had got home safely and I had gratefully managed to grab a couch with friends on the 13th floor of their building and I was at work 10am the next day - YES WORK! (it's this Japanese work ethic thing).

At present there are vague reports coming from the japanese media saying that there may be the possibilty of some radioactive energy being released . CNN is a different kettle of fish with dramatic preposition-less headlines and sensationalist ramblings from "environmental experts". To avoid paranoia, I urge anyone to find alternative viewing. Read this if you want a better and more down-to-earth picture. It'll certainly allow me to sleep better.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12726628

We don't know the full extent of the situation, but we are some distance from the plant so

even with a "meltdown", we should be OK.

There are some scheduled blackouts for tomorrow morning fo rmany reasons including needing electricity to cool the plants.The city of Sendai and Miyagi prefecture are apparently the worst hit with thousand missing and (as you may have seen on TV) a devastating tsunami annihilating swathes of coastline.

We know this isn't quite a "Haiti" but please donate money to to help if you can. We know Japan is a so-called wealthy nation, but anything helps.

http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html
Anyway. We will update over the next few days.

Stay safe

Jun

Autumn colours 2 - Korakuen and Rikugien gardens

2011-02-26T00:42:00.009+09:00

This is one of the royal gardens in Tokyo. The colours in autumn were amazing.

Believe it or not - this is exactly what the trees look like

Autumn colours 1 - a few months late

2011-02-26T00:27:00.002+09:00

Japan is nothing if not colourful. and Autumn has got to be my favourite season.

The Gingko trees and their crisp golden glow are out in full and although I only just manged to catch the back-end of their season, they're still pretty stunning:

Dead Ginkgo leaves

This cab driver wanted me to move

Day trip from Tokyo to Kamakura

2011-02-21T23:00:00.005+09:00

Kamakura is a great small city just an hour from us on the outskirts of Tokyo. Another popular tourist destination and famous for is giant sitting Buddha Daibutsu, we had to check it out. So one Sunday, our outing day, we hopped on the train and settled in for a nice long ride. I love seeing the countryside by train. It is just slow enough that I can get a good look, but fast enough that I don't feel like I'm travelling forever. I'm starting to think that trains are my preferred method of travelling.

It just so happened that we picked the same day as Obama, at APEC to visit Daibutsu, so instead of going straight there, we visited a number of other Shrines, tasted some of the most delicious local fare we've ever had, and took a short hike through the sometimes muddy woods.

Jun took some amazing pictures along the way, and really picked up our first glimpse at the truly amazing colours of Fall here in Japan.

Temple gardens.

This was a beautifully kept temple in Kamakura, where we sat and enjoyed the details and simplicity of the grounds for maybe an hour, just listening to nature and really enjoying the garden how its designers intended it to be enjoyed. The garden was well manicured, minimalist, and had a perfect seasonal balance, so it would look nice all year round. It remains our favourite Fall garden.

The gorgeous Japanese Maple

The maple trees in Japan are very delicate compared to those in Canada. The leaves are much smaller, as are many of the trees, such as this one found in a peaceful temple garden. This is just one of 400 species of Japanese maple.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu).

This is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. It is 13.35 meters tall, and is the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, surpassed only by the statue in Nara's Todaiji Temple, which we visited earlier in the year.

The statue was cast in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. However, the temple buildings were destroyed multiple times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open air.

This is a Nephila clavata (Tetragnathidae) Japanese name : joro-gumo

It is the queen of Japanese arachnids. The huge yellow-and-gray abdomen and yellow-and-black striped legs are unmistakable and a bright red near the tip of the abdomen is another good field mark. The spider makes a large web that looks like the hoof of a horse. The threads radiate irregularly out from both the back and the front of the web, so you can also see the web from the side.

A careful search along the edges of the web usually reveals one or two other spiders, only a third or a fourth as long as the big one. These are males, waiting for chance to mate with the females. The adults all die off with the onset of winter. And did I mention they're 20-30mm long! So I won't be crying when winter hits.

Mmmm...fresh sembe (rice crackers), a new favourite of mine (along with everything else!). I don't think there's any snack in Japan that I've tried and don't like. So far the food is all amazing!

This was a really great day. It started and ended with delicious food and beautiful scenery, and a real taste of Japan outside of Tokyo.

One Fall afternoon at Inokashira-koen

2011-02-11T14:14:00.000+09:00

Our local park, Inokashira-koen, deserves another post filled with more gorgeous pictures

(by my oh-so talented fiance). As the weather changed from hot to cold, we expected to see fewer people out in the park, but as the sun persisted to shine every afternoon, we hardly felt the cold, and although there were less picnickers, everyone else still came out to enjoy the park.

A good laugh

A couple enjoys the peaceful side of the pond

Bicycles, a very common sight in Tokyo where travelling by bike is much more common than by car.

Love boats parked for the season.

As Fall rolled in and the Park changed colors, so did the activities and people wandering through. Although we saw some familiar faces at the market and one famous story-teller who made us smile.

"Eeeeeeeh! Oooooooh! Suuuuugoy!"

This was a hilarious (I assume-not understanding what he was saying) puppet show or sorts, and quite the production.

More gorgeous nature.

Mitake-San Sunday Outing

2011-02-06T23:21:00.000+09:00

Every Sunday this season Jun and I have been trying to get out of the city and enjoy the Fall colours. We were anxiously waiting for the hot summer to come to an end after 5 months of continuous 30 degree heat.

We do like the hot weather, but that was just a bit much for us, so Fall is a gorgeous and welcome change.

So this Sunday we took the train and hour and 40 minutes (pretty far) out of the city to hike Mitake-san, a popular weekend destination for Tokyo-ites.

We decided to do things the easy way this time and grab the bus then the cable car up to the summit. The highlight was a two minute 100 yen trip on a single person chair lift to the very top. Jun could have walked it, as his feet, and even mine at times were touching the ground. Another "Jun's too tall for Japan" moment.

He even had to lift his feet up sometimes!

Good thing for that sign, it was pretty scary on the way up!

We were very surprised this time at the lack of maps and information at Mitake-san. This is very unusual for Japan. The norm here seems to be to provide way more information about everything that you could ever possibly need and repeat it till you go crazy. But not in this small village, when the buses ran behind schedule and the sign posts faced the wrong way. We felt like we'd time warped back to Peru for a minute there. Jun so accustomed to the reliable rountine and scheduling in Japan almost lost it when we fell way behind schedule.

But since I was coming down with a cold anyhow, which has now hit in full force, we ended up doing just a short hike up and around the mountain before heading home.

All in all, we had another great day trip to enjoy Fall. Now we can only hope that the rains stay away and it lasts another few weeks so we can hike a few more mountains.

Another great Sunday hiking near Tokyo. This really is a good city to live in if you like the crazy hoards during the week and the convenience of a quick train ride out into the country-side for some peace and quiet.

Japanese style Christmas

2011-01-30T15:38:00.001+09:00

Christmas in Japan is for couples, so there are all these fancy restaurants that have Christmas specials to enjoy. Families traditionally spend the New Years holidays together instead. And Japan has definitely jumped head first into the commercialism of Christmas, just like home, but adding the Japanese element of 'over the top' to go along with it. So I missed the snow this year, although not the cold, and still got to enjoy Christmas lights (which they call Illuminations, and its quite an Art here) and carols sped up and played on loop in every shop, street and station.

Christmas started with a delicious dinner at a fancy hotel overlooking the entire city. It was delicious, and we tried everything at the buffet! Roast beef, chicken, and a dozen different kids of fish and seafood, not to mention the deserts, and yes, we tried all of those as well, even the colored jelly cubes with beans.

Jun dressed up as Santa Clause for the students at my work during our Christmas party. He was a big hit, and had a great time, saying to all the children "What's your name?" and they'd all say " My name is...." and he'd respond, "Nice to meet you, my name is Santa Clause." like a true English teacher! And with an American accent too, apperently Santa is from the mid-west! hehe...

We hosted a CHristmas pot-luck dinner at our place on Christmas day for all our single dateless friends (since it's a couples holiday). We had a wicked time filling the kitchen to the brim with people and international foods including nabe (soup), roated chicken, sushi, mashed potatoes and St Hubet gravy (my contribustion), apple pie, and lots of Chu-hi, beer, wine and sake! I even decorated the room with magazine garlands and a huge sign, it looked very festive,

Roomies: Joyce, myself and Chio

The nights spread aloing with some new friends. Rory and our housemate Koichi.

Joyce was in charge of 'party games' and managed only to introduce us to a darts game where you have to tell a story: sad, romantic and scary were among the picks on the board. This is Chio holding up this very random game.

Rory bravely eating shark bones in cod roe. Would you try it?

So Christmas was great. Jun spent the New Years holidays working like a mad-man for all the salary-men on stat holidays and I relaxed, watched movies and caught up on my city exploring.

And so that is Christmas in Japan.

Nabe Night

2011-01-17T22:17:00.000+09:00

One of our housemates Bastien is heading back to France in a few days, and so we held a small Sayonara (Good-bye) Party for him and his girlfriend Tomo this Saturday. One of our roommates Chio was generous enough to introduce us to Nabe for dinner.

Nabe is a soup basically that you eat communally as it cooks in the middle of the table. Everyone helping to add the veggies and meatballs and noodles to the pot and they get eaten.

It was delicious, and as always a great night in.

If you'd like to try and make Nabe yourself, here is a link to a great Japanese Cooking website called JustHungry. We made this basic recipe plus a bit of soy milk to make the soup creamy. And we make chicken balls from mince, salt onions and ginger and just dropped them into the pot to cook, instead of chicken pieces.

And of course no meal would be complete without some delicious desserts to try and sake. Tonight we had Baum kuchen, a cake made of thin layers and baked on a long spindle then cut into chunks, which is a very popular in Japan. And also some rice crispy treats in peanut and dark sugar flavor. So addictive!

Enjoying the Summer Sunshine at Inokashira-koen

2011-01-15T10:19:00.000+09:00

A look back to summer...

Inokashira Koen (Park) is just a quick express train from our house, and the discovery of this neighborhood really prompted us to pick our new house no nearby. It's always filled with lively entertainment on the weekends, and students during the week. Creativity abounds and the people watching is fantastic. This Sunday, we had some sunny breaks between the clouds and met up with my work-mate Jesse and some friends for a paddle around the pond.

Jun and I decided we shouldn't go together, as rumors have it that couples always break up after the swan boats. And I'm not surprised it was so crowded, it was more like bumper-boats! A bit stressful for the driver!

There is an Art Market every Sunday too, with lots of interesting characters and Artists to support. We like to buy the postcards that the Artists here all sell, as most people aren't ready to invest in a big piece and they are also largely animators. This Lady below really roped me in! She was a great sales-woman. After 20 minutes of her speaking to me, and me nodding politely having no idea what she was saying, Jun taught me to maintain an angle with my body to the stalls, or I'm easy prey. I have got to work on my bargaining! I'm way out of practice.

The park is filled with people taking advantage of the weather. Kids running around fighting over the one lonely slide, everyone picnicking and enjoying the company of good friends.

Japan is all about the picnic! Sharing food is a real celebration, and it's often more about socializing over the food then actually eating. But when the food is always so good, I can't help but dig in!

There's not much grass in the parks, but that never stops people from laying out their blue tarps and digging in to an assortment of goodies including chicken skewers, dried squid, lots of sweets and of course pre-mixed canned drinks!

This guy is a amazing: He's a trained story-teller that At our picnic, I couldn't help but indulge in this for 100Yen will read you a comic of your choice. cheese-cake-pastry-blueberry-chocolate

And he does this full time! He's wicked. deliciousness!

This Grandfather and Grandson team is amazing! They play country like Japan's never heard before. The Grandfather, an obvious veteran, sings country songs with all his heart. He's got a style all his own and I can bet he's been coming to this park to play for a long time, judging from the crowds on Sunday's. His Grandson, I'm sure , one day just picked up a fan to emulate his hero, and eventually insisted he become part of the show with his proud mother looking on. He does know some of the words and plays along with his harmonica. So adorable, and talented!

Fujisan.

2010-12-24T10:43:00.000+09:00

An ancient Japanese proverb says, "You are wise to climb Fuji-san once and a fool to climb it twice". Climbing Mount Fuji is one of the must-do's in Japan although only roughly one per-cent of the native population have done it. If I had a "bucket list", this would definitely be on it.

The view from Mount Fuji at the start of the climb

My buddy Jason and I set off from Shinjuku station and headed to the 5th station on mount Fuji - a 2 hour bus ride away. On arrival, we were shocked, but not overly surprised, at the over-keen gear-ready hikers donning gaiters and thermal wear. I guess we didn't really think it through, but my brother had done the same climb years ago wearing a vest/singlet/wife-beater, so how hard could it be? We were joined by an interesting 26 yr-old military "vet" named AJ from the States and made our start.

AJ, Jason and I at the first "station"

The mountain takes approximately 7 hours (or so the signs say), so we started our ascent at 10PM to give us just the right amount of time to get to the top before sunrise.

Conformity is the rule of thumb here which, on the plus side, is part of the reason for such a harmonious society (on the surface anyway) and this was never more evident than up on the mountain, as most of our "companions" were moving up the mountain in groups of 50 or more.

Climbing in Japan isn't like anywhere else. The group mentality thing here is always overdone; Classes in gyms here are packed to the rafters, with the rest of the space in health clubs left to the crazy loners, mad enough to want a little space to themselves; Tour buses are the norm, with the spiritual benefits of isolation lost on the 127 million inhabitants squeezed onto a land-mass the same size as California, of which only 20% is habitable. In a country where the way in which others view you is seen as the priority in every situation, it's seems that being led takes away the heavy burden of possibly making errors. That's how I see it anyway...

So, together with thousands of our closest friends, we trudged up the 1700m (from 2200m to 3700m) climb of loose, volcanic rock in an altitude-sickness generating 4 hours - 3 hours ahead of schedule. How we now regretted the smugness with which we sniggered at everyone else at the bottom, feeling very silly and unprepared sitting in the cold and begging for the sun's appearance, not for the amazing view to come but just as an antidote to the onset of hypothermia.

Exhausted at 2AM. Thanks to Janet Wilson for the Hat

But it was definitely all worth it. Watching the dawn unfold here was somehow more glorious than any other, and feeling the warm glow of the sun that morning on my chapped face will, I think, remain with me for a very long time!

Just before sunrise

The view down the mountain at 2am. The trail of lights is from all the head torches!

The same shot at 5am

Kichijoji Matsuri

2010-12-08T11:42:00.000+09:00

We got the perfect introduction to our new neighborhood with the Kichijoji summer Matsuri (Festival). Here you can see that there are groups of people who parade through the streets enthusiastically carrying their shrines Mikoshi (portable shrine). Worshippers put their Kami (or divine spirit) in the small shrine which resembles a building, and it is paraded around the neighborhoods that worship at that shrine.

In the middle of Inokashira-koen (Koen means park), there is a lake which you can walk around, visit the zoo on the island, or rent a swan boat for a romantic paddle. It is less than 10 minutes by Express Train from our house, and a great spot on weekends to hang out and watch the world go by.

There's loads of shopping all around the station, making this a great neighborhood to explore for hours. There is something new around every corner. This is a great alley filled with tiny Izakaya's (Japanese style bars) serving an assortment of Japanese skewers and mugs of beer.

I think we're going to enjoy living here...

Haiku

2010-12-05T10:30:00.000+09:00

People in the street.

All looking at their feet.

Umbrella in the eye

Eifuku House

2010-11-29T14:10:00.000+09:00

So we moved into our new shared house, in Eifuku, a great neighborhood close enough to work to be convenient, and far enough to feel like we're not living right in the heart of Tokyo (which we are). The house is very cool, with 7 rooms filled with an international crowd.

Celebrating with our new roomates, and having "No-mi-hodai" at the local Izakaya. Which is all you can drink plus food for bargain price. It's wicked!

Our address, which is shared with the whole block and posted on the corner, not on the front door.

We live above a baking school. The kitchen, with our short counters and mini stove.

Our spacious room, on the 2nd floor with a patio and bamboo forest next door.

Plastic Food Phenomenon!

2010-11-21T18:38:00.000+09:00

I know I already mentioned the plastic food thing here in Japan, but I thought I'd just take this moment to elaborate.

The practice of making plastic food, originally made out of wax, started in the 19th century and became really popular, an art if you will, when foreign foods started making an appearance on menus in Japan.

People, not knowing what the food was came to rely on realistic looking plastic replicas in restaurant windows to help them order.

Now, plastic food is very common in restaurant windows and pretty much saves me from ordering the horse burger or raw chicken, by showing a me a model of what I'm getting.

So while wandering around Tokyo a couple weeks ago, we stumbled upon "Kitchenware Town" in Asakusa which is a wicked street filled with wholesale shops for restaurants. You can buy anything and everything here, including your very own plastic food. Very exciting!

It's a bit pricey though this steak costs about $30...I hope I didn't leave any teeth marks! I just had to check, it looked so real!

Japan is going to the dogs

2010-10-27T20:12:00.002+09:00

So I totally understand the practicality of owning a tiny-little dog in the city, but I don't get the trend of dressing them up in cutesy, and possibly embarrassing outfits, (come on tu-tus!) and pushing them around in strollers. I was under the impression that walking your dog was so they could get some exercise...well not here.

On the flip side, owning a pair of Great Danes in Tokyo is just cruel, I cannot think of a single space where they would actually have the space to run and get the exercise they needed. So I do think smaller is better when it comes to dog size for the city.

I think the point of having a dog in Tokyo, largely is like having the latest accessory, and they loove to accessorize here. And in this case, they get accessorized the accessories! I ACTUALLY saw a dog wearing sunglasses a few weeks ago! How ridiculous...or maybe not.

Are we selfish to dress ourselves, and protect our eyes and not those of our beloved pets?

I'm not sure if I've ever seen a small dog NOT all dressed up in Tokyo. There is a huge market here for doggy stuff, plush beds that look like houses, hot dogs or four-poster beds are priced close to a full sized futon. Organic food, cakes, shakes are just the tip of the dog food empire here in the city.

Grooming parlours are insanely expensive, and fancier than any salon I've visited. I think the average person here gets their hair done once a month. Styles are constantly updated, and roots never show. And the standard is the same for their dogs, everyone has got to have the latest look.

I don't think they've ever seen the commercial "A puppy is for life, not for Christmas" here.

Sleepy Tokyo

2010-10-17T20:25:00.000+09:00

People in Tokyo have this amazing ability to sleep on the train. I am not exaggerating when I say that some even have the ability to sleep standing up on the train, hanging onto the rings above their heads and leaning into their arm.

At any given moment of the day 5 out of 7 people on the bench in the train are fast asleep. One minute they are texting, reading, watching tv on their phone or doing their make-up and the next minute they are fast asleep with their phone/book/mirror in hand.

Jun and I have been trying to figure out a possible explanation for all this sleeping. And, this is what we've come up with so far:

Japanese people have some sort of gene which makes them very sleepy.
To avoid having to give up their seat on the train, or feel guilty about having one, versus the other 100 people in the carriage who don't, they close their eyes as a hiding tactic, and eventually fall asleep.
People don't sleep much at night, maybe due to living in tiny apartments with thin walls and a noisy city outside, so end up catching their Zzz on the train to work.
People work really hard and very long hours, rarely getting time off to rest and sleep, so the only time they have to relax and nap is on the train.
Most people commute very far to work because they live outside the city, and they just fit this commuting time into their regular sleep hours.
There is very much a culture of after work drinks here, and this cuts into quality sleep hours.

What do you think?

Yosakoi Festival (よさこい)

2010-10-11T15:19:00.000+09:00

These are picture from a really good two day festival which spread from the famous Yoyogi Park to the high-ened shopping street Omotesando in Tokyo.

Yosakoi is a unique style of dance that originated in Japan. Yosakoi started in the city of Kōchi in 1954, as a modern rendition of Awa Odori, a traditional summer dance. Yosakoi-style dancing has spread throughout much of Japan.

The costumes used by yosakoi teams vary widely. Happi coats and yukata are the most predominant costumes and can be seen in a wide variety of colors. However, some groups choose costumes that are based on historical attire, popular fashions, or ethnic fashions.

The style of dance is highly energetic, combining traditional Japanese dance movements with modern music. The completely choreographed dances were performed by large teams or varying ages. There were professional yosakoi schools and town dance teams.

One of the defining aspects of yosakoi dance is the use of naruko: small wooden clappers that are held in the hands of each dancer. Naruko were originally used in Kōchi Prefecture to scare birds away from rice fields.

Since its introduction in 1954, yosakoi has become popular throughout the country of Japan. Now, Yosakoi-Soran festivals are held all over Japan, throughout the year.

In Tokyo, the Harajuku Omotesando Genki Matsuri Super Yosakoi is a two-day yosakoi festival that takes place in five locations in Harajuku and Yoyogi Park. This festival has occurred annually since 2001.

This years festival took place over a weekend of 36 degree heat, and I could not believe the enthusiasm of the dancers as they competed, performed and paraded dancing the entire route cheered on by the crowds of sweating onlookers. I had a hard time standing in the sun and attempted to juggle my umbrella/parasol, camera and water bottle all at the same time, but it was such a great day.

Summer in Tokyo

2010-10-04T04:00:00.000+09:00

So we've been having a pretty good summer so far, aside from sweating profusely from the incredible humidity and above 30 C average heat. We have been getting out and enjoying the summer Matsuri's (Festivals) which are celebrated at all the different shrines in different ways. Most are celebrated with a combination of fireworks and parades where worshipers carry mikoshi, portable shrines through the streets, food stalls and games.

This is a famous shrine called Yasukuni, which commemorates Japan's war dead from as far back as the Meiji-Restoration up to the most recent WWII.

The shrine is also one of controversy, since 1978, 14 class A war criminals were enshrined among the 2.5 million people at Yasukuni. Furthermore, the annual visits by several Japanese prime ministers to the shrine since 1975 have caused concerns regarding a violation of the principle of separation of church and state.

We visited the 4 day festival with our friends Rory and Hanae, which remembers the dead by writing their names on beautiful yellow lanterns which fill the courtyard.

There were several groups which carry the mikoshi from their own home shrines to this main one in a pilgrimage. They walk with the heavy Mikoshi on their shoulders and they have people pushing the Mikoshi back and they forge forward as a group.

The shrine was decorated with thousands of lanterns, some painted by Arts students and some donated by companies and households lining the path up to the shrine. There were many food vendors with lots of delicious treats to try and games to play.

Takoyaki, otherwise known as octopus balls, a favourite of ours. Yaki Tori, chicken skewers, an izakaya standard. Delicious!

Chocolate covered frozen bananas.

I love the Matsuri's because many people go dressed in their yukata's (which are like kimono's but are made of cotton, instead of silk).

Jun started to take this woman's picture and she smilled and said wait,    Taiko Drummer. This kind of drumming is a full body workout,
got her cane and posed for him, saying "Obachan", meaning                    they dance and really perform while drumming on the over-sized
Grandmother, when he showed her the photo.                                        drums.

The never ending city

2010-08-29T06:24:00.000+09:00

This is a picture we took from the 45th floor of the Tokyo Tourist Information Center. You can't see where the city ends...

Twisted Tokyo

2010-08-19T05:10:00.000+09:00

So when our friends from Germany were visiting, I tried to find out what the strangest thing to do in Tokyo was, and what I kept coming across were Tokyo's themed restaurants, so we went to Alcatraz:ER

You might be thinking what we originally thought as well, sounds pretty cool, you get locked in cell, a fed nasty hospital jail food...whatever that is. What could not be great about that!

So first we were handcuffed, walked to your cell and told you cannot leave.

We were all shuffled into a half height cell and we just ordered every drink on the menu...why not!

So apparently 'Hospital Prison' implies sick and sexual, so for starters, as you can see the waitresses were dressed as sexy nurses...nice thong!

And then there were the drinks...our favourite drink was the frozen Penis (banana),

which was very much enjoyed by Fabian, and a close second was the delicious concoction that Lindsay gave a stir with a vibrator.

This brain was particularly tasty!

The 'experience' at Alcatraz didn't really leave us afraid as we'd expected, just slightly disappointed as the atmosphere didn't quite measure up. The music to the restaurant instead of being dark and moody was the latest hip hop hits and TVs looped pictures of happy people at their Birthday parties outside our cell.

I knew we should have gone to the one where you eat sashimi out of a plastic corpse:Cannibalistic Sushi

Delicious Gyoza

2010-08-17T10:05:00.000+09:00

I have been recently inspired by my Auntie Arlene's post on pizza making to start posting some of my new favourite Japanese food recipes that I have been learning here in Tokyo. So here's the first: Gyoza.

This is a delicious and very simple recipe for dumplings which can be served as a main, or appetizer to impress your friends. You can thank me later.

Step 1: Ingredients

All you need for about 30 dumplings is one good sized chicken breast, one small onion and 2T (Tablespoons) soy sauce. We also like to add garlic and ginger, but you be the judge.

Step 2: Directions

First you want to mince the chicken by chopping it a lot. Then finely chop the onions (plus garlic and ginger). Put them in a bowl together.

Add 2 T of Soy Sauce, and get your hands in there to mix it all up.

Then you will need gyoza wrappers, found at your local Asian Grocery Store. They are round, and therefore easy to distinguish from the Chinese spring roll wrappers which are square and best for deep frying (another delicious snack!).

Take a small tea spoon and scoop a bit of the chicken mixture into the center of one wrap.

Have a cup of water on the side, and dip your finger in the water and run it along the edge of the wrap in a 1/2 circle. Fold the dry and wet halves together.

Now, with your 4 fingers behind the wrap, and thumb in front, use your other hand to take a small fold of the wrap from the right and fold it to the Left making a fold on the edge of the gyoza. Do this three times, then press firmly over the entire length of the wrap to make sure it is sealed. The water will help the wrap stick to its self. The trick is not to fill the gyoza too full or it is hard to close.

So now you just do this over and over until the gyozas look perfect and that "oooh" factor can be expected from your friends and family. Cover the completed gyozas with a clean tea towel to keep them from drying out before cooking them.

Heat a dollop of oil in a non stick frying pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot, put the gyozas inside all lined up in a row.

Fit a lid to the pan and let them fry for 1-2 minutes. You want the bottoms golden and the chicken to steam with the heat kept inside by the lid.

Then, take your cup of water, open the lid, and pour about 1/8 of a cup of water into the middle of the pan (not on the gyoza directly) and quickly cover with the lid for some super steaming. This cooks the tops of the gyoza without having to flip them and completes the steaming of the chicken.

Take one out, when you think its done and test it, if the chicken is cooked then its done. What you want is the gyoza to be a bit crispy on the bottom, steamed dough on the top and chicken cooked through.

Perfect. Remove the gyoza onto a waiting serving platter and add the next batch to the pan with fresh oil. I keep the cooked gyoza hot with a frying pan over top, but use your own imagination, or just serve straight away.

For some delicious dipping sauce, mix soy sauce, a touch of vinegar, and mirin (sweet Japanese sauce). Add chopped fresh red chillies for kick or extra finely chopped garlic for more flavour.

*Variation:

Gyoza can also be made using pork (more traditional) or beef (a bit greasier), or even just a mix of veggies.

Step 3: Eat and enjoy!

To serve just dip your gyoza in the sauce and eat...simple, fun and delicious.

I like mine with some edamame and Japanese rice on the side.

Enjoy!

Karaoke nights

2010-08-14T05:13:00.000+09:00

Jun did karaoke once before we came to Japan and has talked about it ever since. The man loves music, has a great voice and does wicked impersonations, so karaoke and Jun are just about the best combo ever. The rest of us hate when he comes along cuz we realise we all sound like shit. Kidding hunny, we love you!!!

So any time we have some friends in town, the poor suckers get dragged to the closest karaoke parlour with us, making for some wicked nights of fun.

Now I have to admit that at first I wasn't really into it, but I am hooked! Even though I sing like Marge Simpson, as Jun likes to tell people "Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near..." I feel like in that little room it really doesn't matter, we're all just having a wicked time. Ohh, and throw in a all you can drink deal and it's on!

Why would we go to the pub and spend 500Y ($6) on a beer when we can pay 1000Y and drink all the beer we can in an hour while having flashbacks to our youth singing NKOTB, Prince and Queen.

Karaoke has its origins in Japan and is very popular here. There are huge karaoke parlours where you rent a room by the hour, big or small depending on the size of your group. The basic set up is a booth around a table and tv, a book of English songs, two mics fancy light settings and remote control used to pick your songs. And, you can order food and drink over the phone to be delivered to your room. Obviously most popular at night, groups of friends regularly go out for karaoke sessions, but the singing can be serious (unlike ours). We've noticed singles practicing their best singing voices, we assume getting ready for the next party. And couples go on dates to karaoke, although the fact that they are booths and open all night makes us suspect more than singing sometimes goes on.

Seriously, everyone says they can't sing and they don't like karaoke, but I bet if you try it you'll be hooked just like we are!

Boho Chic - One of Tokyo's many looks.

2010-08-09T11:11:00.000+09:00

So one of the reasons I was really interested in coming to Tokyo in the first place was to really figure out the how, why and where of fashion in Japan. We are consistently seeing these crazy trends coming out of the country, always a bit toned down though, and I really wanted to see where it all started....and that’s Tokyo.

As a woman, going shopping is like climbing through the little door into Alice’s Wonderland. Stores are extremely brightly lit, and decorated in floor to ceiling pink, lace, shimmery lights, pompoms, mirrors and everything shiny and girly. Sequins, ruffles, sparkles, I could go on...but aren’t you getting a bit of a headache? Ahh, but that comes as soon as you walk by the door, and continues about every 8 seconds as you walk around a store and another sales clerk without actually looking at you senses your presence and shrieks ‘irashaimase’, which sounds more like seeaaaaaaaaaannnnnnn!!!!!!!! in their best Marge Simpson voice. This high-pitch voice is thought to be 'cute'. And cute being the ideal in female sex appeal in Japan, well, we hear it a lot.

And you could also argue that along with sounding the same, they are also all dressed the same. Floral print dresses, skirts, one-piece short or pants-suits are all the rage at the moment. Paired with Anne of Green Gables straw hats, baskets as purses, super high-heeled platform sandals and layers upon layers of t-shirts, tank tops, tube tops and vests in any combination imaginable. The hair for this look is light-brown styled with some type of bangs and loose curls, cheeks are bright and peach coloured, and eyes are big and heavy with mascara.

Oh, and did I mention the length of the skirts??? Well, if they are not straight down to the floor, they are just covering the bum. I’m talking SUPER short. Seriously guys: you would loove it! I put on my ‘old lady’ hat and am often shocked to see these women out in what could only be described as lingerie. Covering what could only be described as the top of their thigh, because there really isn’t much ass there to begin with. And sometimes they look so young... The newest thing I’m seeing is short-shorts made out of ruffles; picture Little-Bo-Peeps underwear...but shorter.

So this is the ‘Boho Chic’ look as Jun and I call it. Boho to the max, to reveal more leg and more sparkle than was originally intended. Actually you could also say that there are about 9 million Nicole Richie clones running around. Scary, I know.

The thing that gets me about the fashion here, and I’m not just referring to teenage girls, these are women of all ages: they seems to pick a style and do it up to the max without ever looking in the mirror and thinking “does this dress look good on me?” So we end up with women not really using their natural potential just wearing what's in style, which is the key to fashion and looking good in what you wear. Three bits of advice: Wear what suits you. Dress to your body type. And always ask for a second opinion.

I wish I could translate and communicate this to all these beautiful Japanese women out here who dye their gorgeous black hair till it is frizzy and blond, who use bleaching products, and wear super high heels without learning to walk in them first and ruin their ankles. I cringe almost every time I see a woman in heels because 10 to 1 they are slanted and she is teetering along uncomfortably or rolling on her ankle every few steps. And with all the super funky runners in the shops, you think they could just accept their height as perfect and wear flats. More fashion inside stories to come...*wink*

Nihon-go

2010-08-02T22:49:00.000+09:00

I thought I would quickly talk about the Japanese language, and try to convey what a difficult time I am having learning it, and why.

There are 3 different alphabets in Japanese. Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana.

HIRAGANA is the first of 2 phonetic alphabets in which each symbol represents one mora (syllable?). Here is an example:

うま= uma = horse

(う= [u͍])(ま=[ma])

Hirigana, a cursive writting style was accessible to women who were denied higher education and is used to write inflected verb and adjective endings, particles, native Japanese words, words where the Kanji is considered too difficult to read or remember, and words in which the Kanji is not on the government-sanctioned list of characters.

The second alphabet - KATAKANA- is also phonetic and represents "mora" but is used for representing onomatopoeia, non-Japanese loanwords(such as "toi-re"(toliet), the names of plants and animals (with exceptions), and for emphasis on certain words. For example:

トイレ= To-i-re

(ト=[to])(イ=[i])(レ=[re])

Katakana are characterized by short, straight strokes and angular corners, and are the simplest of the Japanese scripts.

The third alphabet and by far the most complicated and varied with over 100,000 existing characters is KANJI (although approximately 3000 are in common use).Kanji are used to write parts of the language such as nouns, adjective stems, and verb stems. Japanese had no written form when Kanji was introduced from China in 57 AD, but is constantly being added to as language evolves.: Here is an example:

純= Jun (which means "pure in Japanese)

This can also be written in Hiragana as じゅん (Ji-yu-N)

There are also many new Kanji originating in Japan, or instances where the Chinese character has been modified into an original Japanese character.

Japanese is distinguished by a complex language system reflecting the nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary to indicate the relative status of the speaker, the listener, and persons mentioned in conversation. The language has a relatively small sound inventory, and a lexically significant pitch-accent system.

Which basically means, there are very few sounds, so to me, a newbie, its hard to distinguish words from one another when so few sounds are used repeatedly in different orders and words have more than one meaning depending where they are in the sentence.

Are you following, because I'm already confused! I still see the sentence below as the face of a very happy fellow...I think I have a lot more studying to do. *wink*

The Kusunoki Legacy

2010-07-02T13:36:00.000+09:00

Jun's mother's last name is Kusunoki, and while wandering around the Imperial parks we stumbled upon this statue of Jun's namesake and had to find out what he did to be cast in Bronze. Turns out Jun has a pretty brave Samurai in his history.

Kusunoki Masashige (楠木正成, b. 1294-1336) was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty.

A brilliant tactician and strategist, Kusunoki's cunning defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at Akasaka and Chihaya helped allow Go-Daigo to briefly return to power. However, one of the loyalist generals, Ashikaga Takauji, betrayed Go-Daigo and led an army against Kusunoki and the remaining loyalists.

Kusunoki suggested to the Emperor that they take refuge on sacred Mount Hiei and allow Takauji to take Kyoto, only to swoop down from the mountain, and with the help of the monks of Mount Hiei, trap Takauji in the city and destroy him.

Go-Daigo was unwilling to leave the capital however, and insisted that Kusunoki meet Takauji's superior forces in the field in a pitched battle.

Kusunoki, in what would later be viewed as the ultimate act of samurai loyalty, obediently accepted his Emperor's foolish command, left his death poem with his young son Masatsura and knowingly marched his army into almost certain death.

The battle, which took place at Minatogawa in modern-day Chūō-ku, Kobe, was a tactical disaster. Kusunoki, his army completely surrounded, down to only 73 of the original 700 horsemen, committed suicide along with his brother Masasue, 11 close clan members, and 60 others.

According to legend, his brother's last words were Shichisei Hōkoku! (七生報國; "Would that I had seven lives to give for my country!") and Kusunoki Masashige agreed.

Can you see the resemblance?

*Source: Wikipedia

Enjoying Tokyo's Garden's

2010-06-29T10:51:00.000+09:00

Before we moved to Tokyo, I pictured the city as being nothing but high-rise buildings filled to the rim with people. With everyone living on top of each other is a super overcrowded metropolis. Well, I have to admit there are times when it does feel this way in some of the centers, Shibuya (pictured below) for instance, where Jun works is like this almost 24-7 except the high-rises are filled with offices, shops and hair salons.

But on the other hand, Tokyo has a number of well maintained gardens, where once in a while you can even find a patch of grass to take a nap on. So, as we spend most of our time on the pavement, and unfortunately out tiny flat doesn't have a patio or park outside, we spend a lot of our spare time looking for a nice garden to wander around.

This is our good friend and Tokyo hook-up Rory, enjoying a picnic with us in Roppongi, better known as the Ex-pat district, on a patch of grass amidst some of the most expensive shopping and real-estate in the city.

Eating my bento box in the Imperial Palace Gardens.

It is Iris season and the gardens are in full bloom, with everyone out for a stroll to enjoy them.

Believe it or not, this photo hasn't been altered. We stumbled upon this leafless bush still holding onto some flowers on a windy street corner.

Harajuku

2010-06-28T09:31:00.000+09:00

Harajuku is an area in Tokyo famous for it's teenage fashion, trendy shops and chaotic weekends. This is where the trends start and finish for young Tokyo-ites. Sunday's are a special treat when teens, many who are bullied during the school week get together and admire each others cos play outfits. They dress mostly as Anime characters, although some just push the boundaries of fashion for the many fans and paparazzi that come to see what the incredibly creative minds of Tokyo's young people have come up with this week.

They come with their small rolling suitcases and spend the day chatting, posing for pictures and admiring the newcomers. This is a place where teens who are normally shunned from the group can be part of something and feel special. Bullying I have been told is quite a serious problem in schools here, I have been told, so I can imagine that this is a great day and place for many teens anxious for acceptance. You can see a real appreciation for one another's creative efforts between all these teens. The bridge where they all hang out on Sundays is located between the busy Yoyogi Park, which I previously mentioned and the busy shopping street of Omotesando and Harajuku neighborhood.

This is Takeshita Doori (street) which can only be described as madness on the weekends, overflowing with teens on the hunt for the latest trend, accessory and bargain.

It's also a great place to get a healthy lunch. Yummm...

Check out this new burger at the Loteria, the Korean version of "McDonald's"

I imagine this costume shop on Takeshita Doori is where some of the wild and wonderful styles start.

2010-06-26T02:00:00.000+09:00

So my days in Tokyo go a little something like this: Wake up to birds chirping, in our nice quiet neighbourhood. Walk 4 minutes to the busiest subway line in Tokyo. Climb onto the train by walking to the door in an orderly line and then turning around and shuffling and pushing my way backwards with the other 20 people getting on at my stop, in my door. And yes, when it gets really busy those men in the white gloves come and give us a hand. Check out the video (I can't take the credit) :

So then I spend the next 45 minutes shuffling trains standing like a sardine in a tin can. And nobody makes a sound. There’s very little talking on the trains and absolutely none in the morning. And you aren’t allowed to talk on your your mobile phone, so instead everyone seems to be constantly playing games or watching tv on theirs, none the less staring at their phones to void all possible eye contact. *wink*

So I am working at a day care for ex-pat kids, which means I chase around a whole lot of 1-5 year olds all morning and attempt to teach them a couple of things along the way. It's fun, and so incredibly exhausting! I spend most of my day with the 1-2.5 year olds, the 'Rabbits', who keep me in stitches as they learn, laugh and run around with an incredible amount of energy that I wish I could just bottle and drink every morning.

Jun is teaching Conversational Business English to a variety of students, mostly in one to one sessions. He seems to be coming home with many interesting facts about Japan which is always fun, although is not so hot on the having to wear a suit to work, as the temperatures here rise above 30 and the humidity often in the 60 plus factor....it's steamy!

Jun and I spend the afternoons exploring the many funky and quirky neighbourhoods in the city. Which are really never ending. There is so much to do, I still have about 30 museums on my list to visit, and they all look great. There's also the classic historical sights to see...last weekend we went to Meiji-jujingu mae, a famous shrine, which is very popular and very nice. Located in the largest park in Tokyo, Yoyogi. Although, I just read that the shrine was actually built as a symbol of Imperial power and Japanese racial superiority in Japan*...hmmm. Anyways, there are also loads of great neighborhoods to visit and quite a bit of green space to enjoy. This is the Imperial Palace Gardens pictured above.

There was a wedding taking place at the shrine, this is the end when the wedding party is walked out led by the Shinto priest.

There was also some kind of contest at the Shrine with Bonsai and stone statues. This one was gorgeous, the tree is growing around piece of drift wood that resembles a crane and was more than 60 years old.

*The Rough Guide to Japan

Couch Surfing

2010-06-24T21:19:00.000+09:00

Jun and I were introduced to couch-surfing in South America as we continued to meet people who were using this back-packer oriented social networking site. Basically http://www.couchsurfing.com/ is where travellers offer up, and ask for free couches to stay on. Sometimes its just about meeting people or getting a tour of the city by a local guide. Either way its a great site and we have been talking about trying it out for a while.

So, the opportunity arose when we met a friend Wendy on the ferry in Okinawa who said she stayed with a very nice young couple and their son on the main island. We messaged them right away, and a few days later met Anton, Aki and Lula.

Anton and Aki welcomed us into their home as we were not expecting. Their generosity was incredible. A one night stay turned into 4 and we were very sad to leave. We were instant friends, sharing secrets, dreams and jokes right away. And Lula, their adorable 3 year old, won Jun over by waking him up in the morning yelling "Monster wake up!!!" pronounced more like "Munshtaa Wak Up!!" and waiting to be chased around. This kid was so bad for Jun and I, making us think: if our kids are going to be this cute, then let's just have them now! He was great. I gave him and English book and at a 6 year old level he had most of the English down pat after 2 days...smart and cute!

They lived right down the street from a popular surfing and snorkeling beach which we quickly made our home. And where I napped: my favourite beach activity. We also checked out the local specialty craft of glass blowing, a tradition that began when after the war, as the abundance of left over coke bottles from the American soldiers were recycled into glasses and dishes. And also Ryukyu pottery, a long standing Okinawan tradition.

So, as I said, it was hard to leave our new Couch-surfing friends. And this experience of a family inviting strangers into their home, to help us out, to introduce us to Okinawan culture and life, to show us around and make us feel welcome, also inspired us to someday hopefully do the same for other travellers.

I highly recommend to all out travelling friends that you join up and meet your fellow back-packers and let's help each other out. And if you aren't travelling, but want to help those who are trying to educate themselves by seeing the world, then join and offer a helping hand. The most expensive thing in travelling is often the accommodation...let's make it easier to open each others eyes to the world.

Thank you Anton, Aki and Lula for everything!!

Wax-on, Wax-off.

2010-06-24T18:50:00.000+09:00

For anyone unfamiliar with the Karate Kid trilogy of the '80s, the title above is a quote from Mr Miyagi of "Karate Kid" fame. The relevance is that Karate originated in Okinawa in the 19th century and is its main claim to fame outside Japan. It is also well known for being the main base for the U. S. Forces in the Asia-pacific region alongside Guam with 24,000--40, 000 (depending on what you read) U.S. troops based here. That is a completely different topic, so I will instead focus in the positives...

Finding out the flying from Okinawa to Tokyo would cost the same as a bullet train for a 1/10 of the distance between Osaka to Tokyo...we thought we'd might as well check it out so we booked our flights from Okinawa.

Just our luck. Somehow, with the impetus on not arriving in "Typhoon alley" in July (typhoon season), we'd managed to miss the important information that June was rainy season here. Great. So we spent the better part of a week sitting in the worst guesthouse in the world with no chairs and only solid oak floors to bruise our ankle bones. But at least the island had incredible flora and fauna to keep us interested and "taco sushi" which kept Robin happy!

When the clouds finally parted, we got on the first possible boat out of there and headed for the beautiful island of Zamami.

Now you know how you see pictures in a brochure where the sea is an unbelievable turquoise and deep blue, but when you actually get to the place you realise that it's all lies? Well this was not one of those times!

Two hours on a boat and we were in paradise with top-class snorkeling in warm water and the clear blue skies of Subtropical Japan! Not only that, but our man at the guesthouse here showed us our very own "secret beach" where we could soak up the rays and finally got rid of that Canada winter paste!

Fukuoka-Zen

2010-06-24T15:10:00.000+09:00

On the way down to the Ryukyu islands, we stopped off for a couple of days in Fukuoka and were fortunate enough to visit the Komyozenji gardens and Dazaifu temple - a place of pilgrimage for Japanese students praying for good exam results.

One of the things that makes Japan great in my eyes, is the intense thought that goes into almost anything and rarely does anything happen without a reason.

Zen Gardens are the epitome of the shinto philosophy that everything is alive and therefore all things have a relationship to each other. The boundary between the garden and its surroundings are indiscernible, thus appearing to have been formed by nature itself, and the garden is planted so each season brings a new colour and personality with constant large rocks representing islands in a sea of crisp, white pebbles.

In zen gardens, things are planted with a view to how they will evolve far into the future. This particular garden is over 700 years old with 200 types of moss Pictures speak louder than words:

Miyajima

2010-06-08T15:04:00.000+09:00

So having left Osaka to finally get our asses "travelling", we arrived in this new hostel near Hiroshima with the intention of checking out the war memorial and the nearby island of Miyajima before swiftly moving down to southern island of Japan.

BUT... we hadn't planned for "golden week". The Japanese version of travelling hell was coming up and having finally looked ahead, we realised that not only was all the accommodation booked up solidly, but we would have been sharing all the quiet temples of Japan with millions of others.

Hiso"Marlon Brando" Shimizu

Jelly Shots

So with heads held low, we decided to wait out the madness in this friendly hostel by the sea. Our original misfortune, however, meant 2 weeks of fun and making friends. One of the tragedies of travelling is the seeds of unfulfilled friendships that take root in glancing encounters but can never grow . This was such a time where our forced inertia meant having one of our best experiences of travelling the globe.

Camping

"Miyajima backpackers" with its impromptu musical jams, daily barbecue fests, camping, oyster/mussel harvesting and partying, was the perfect place to stay still and we will definitely be coming back. Thanks so much to Hisa, Yoshi, Ayami, Shinji, Hanako and of course, Brian!

The Daily Oyster Harvest

"Cool?"

Camping in Miyajima

2010-05-24T13:33:00.000+09:00

We had a wicked time camping on the island of Miyajima near Hiroshima.

The boys collected mussels and oysters for the bbq, including this monster, and Yoshi cooked them up.

After our delicious feast which streched hours, we sang and chatted the night away.

There weren't enough tents, so the three of us ladies crammed into the child-sized single tent we did have, at the delight of all the men...thinking pure thoughts as always. And the boys set up in the sand outside. Michael and Andrew built this pretty wicked fortress, although I don't think it kept much cold out as Andrew woke us up at 5 am with Karate chops yelling "I've got to fight the cold!!", and Jun grabbed a rock still warm from bordering the campfire for Oli to hug. Unfortunately Jun came down with the flu resulting from one cold night on the beach after 2 weeks of no sleep in a 32 bed dorm and partying every night. No exageration. We've never stayed at a hostel with a better vibe, which brings everyone together, and for one great night after the other. Highly reccomended Backpackers Miyajima.

We woke up in the morning to a family of pesky deer eating out breakfast and not running away when we yelled and even threw things. I think they were hungrier than we were.

Plastic Fantastic!

2010-04-28T13:56:00.000+09:00

Japan has a very neat, orderly and specific way of going about things. From greetings, to behaviour and even packaging. Everything is presented with so much attention to detail. This emphasis on quality is of the utmost importance to the Japanese. And with this comes so many beautifully presented gifts. In japan it is traditional to bring nicely wrapped gifts when you visit someone. The gift is given, and unwrapped later, never in front of the guest. This seems like a huge industry here as many shops sell specialty foods and cakes beautifully presented.

Food is served always looking elegant and delicious and a feast for your stomach is equally one for your eyes. Actually a huge bonus for me is that most restaurants and food gift shops have 'plastic food' representing what is on their menu. This is great for me as I can't read th menu at all, and can just look at the fake food and point. Perfect. And it's great, the plastic food is made with incredible skill. I'm always impressed at the quality and how real it looks. From representing every ice cream flavour, to pints of foamy beer to bento boxes, they really know how to make plastic look delicious here.

Although there is a downside to all of this, plastic packaging. Japan generates an enormous amount of garbage every day, which is actually quite a problem. They do recycle, but for example, when you buy a bento box, which is like a packed lunch, which you can order from a take-away style shop and they prepare, or buy at the local 7-11 already made. The Bento box is sectioned off with plastic grass, plastic top and decorative plastisized card board bottom. It comes with chopsticks and a toothpick, both in plastic, put in a plastic bag...I could go on. And everything is like this, it looks great, but what are they doing with all that plastic?

Robin's Hiroshima experience...

2010-04-27T15:52:00.000+09:00

All travellers to Japan talk about going to Hiroshima as kind of 'something that needs to be done' when visiting Japan on more than a two week holiday. We pop in and out of the city staying just long enough to read the copious amount of information offered at the Museum and wander the Peace Park. We talk about it in brief over our beers saying there's a lot of information; some feel very sad and others aren't left moved at all.

For me, the experience was very important. One of the things I try to do as a traveller is understand a culture, and understanding the impact that the A Bomb left on Japan and the city of Hiroshima I think is essential to grasping the impact war left on this country and how it has shaped it today.

After wandering through the museum trying to absorb as much information as possible, and there is a lot, I left looking around at the people in the street and on the train and trying to imagine their experience during the bombing, as 20 percent of the current population are survivors. How old were they? How many people did they see die? Were they injured? And how do they feel about Japan's role in the bombing and the U.S.A.?

I've visited the Killing Fields in Cambodia, Aushwitz in Poland and the War Museum in HCMC Vietnam where I've seen the bombs, heard the stories and met the family of survivors of war. Every experience has been different and every time I leave feeling the same way: I just can't understand how can we do this to each other.

Hiroshima - Collateral damage?

2010-04-26T21:53:00.000+09:00

Hiroshima doesn't need much of an introduction.
At 08:15am on August 6, 1945, with clear blue skies over the city and people on their way to work, the US bomber "Enola Gay" dropped "Little Boy" and it exploded 600m above the ground. Within seconds, tens of thousands were killed, with the death toll from radiation and associated problems over the next few months reaching approximately 140,000.

It can be argued that with the atrocities of war committed by Japan, that such a move was necessary to force their surrender. It has been argued that Japan had received a warning to surrender by the allies in the shape of the Potsdam Declaration on July 26. Indeed it had received a warning which was ignored. However - in this warning, there was no mention of an atomic bomb. Three days later, with the Japanese emperor still resisting surrender, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki with the same results. The next day, Emperor Hirohito surrendered saying:

"Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilisation".

Looking further into the occurrences leading up to the war, there is written documentation within the US administration of the time, prompting use of the bomb as a justification for the huge funds that had gone into its development. Japan was already losing its grip on the pacific and was on it's proverbial knees, so was such an extreme measure really warranted or just politically motivated?

It is true - the bombings put a complete stop to "allied" deaths and directly resulted in an end to the war. The question can also be asked - With the same options, would the Japanese have resorted to the same methods? After all, the massacres (most infamously in Nanking )and the Japanese army's ruthless treatment of their enemies prove they were capable of similar evils. Moreover, having discussed the potential pain and misery that continued carpet bombing of Japan's cities may have caused as an alternative method of ending the war, it is a distinct possibility that the atomic bomb - although more shocking and drastic in its measures - may have actually caused less suffering overall.

Walking through the Hiroshima peace memorial and museum however, these issues really become quite irrelevant . First person accounts, photos and personal artefacts of victims have the chilling ability to shove sense in your face. Numbers are easy to brush aside as meaningless peripheries of war. To read a mother's account - watching the charred flesh hanging from her 4 year-old's dying face - brings an altogether harsher perspective to "necessities of war".

It really makes you query what kind of people make the arbitrary decisions about who should live and die. How easy is it to press the red button when you're sitting in an office on the other side of the world? To add further food for thought, the atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima yielded 15 kilotons of pressure. In 1962 the Russians reportedly detonated a Hydrogen bomb (much stronger) which yielded 57000 kilotons.

It's hard not to become cynical when faced with the glaring reality that not only has this kind of thing happened in the past, but having narrowly missed cross-Atlantic nuclear war during the "Cold War" , a USSR-planned attack on China in '69, and plenty of empty gestures ie. treaties and signatures since, we are still no closer to a world without Nuclear weapons.

Don't worry, I'm not growing dreadlocks or wearing Birkenstocks. I just think all this war business is nonsense. In response to a spodd1y RAF air technician who told me, "War is a game of chess", I can only hope that humanity has enough sense and empathy to disagree.

To contribute to stopping the madness please put your name on this online petition.

See you later Osaka

2010-04-24T21:36:00.000+09:00

So...

One of the last things we did in Osaka was to meet up with my friend David who I hadn't seen in 15 years. Being an Osaka resident now and having the knowledge like our own local "Huggy-bear", he took us to an awesome Okonomiyaki resturant where the cigarette stains from the 50's on the wall do nothing but add a certain local charm to one of the oldest joints in town.

Here, your whole table is pretty much a hot-plate and you get a bowl with batter and ingredients such as an egg, cabbage, vegetables and the meat of your choice. You then mix it all up and make yourself a savoury thick pancake with a touch of Japan. add to it some bonito flakes and some brown saucey stuff and enjoy.

A few drinks later, we ended up with a pitstop visit to a Karaoke building. I don't need to explain karaoke... but we had a great time, I ruined my vocal chords and Robin blessed us with her "angel's voice".

Thanks Dave for the "Osaka experience". Now, time to move on south...

Japan's Temples and Shrines

2010-04-24T15:27:00.000+09:00

A major draw to Japan is their ornate Temples, and there are thousands of them.

Shinto is the most popular religion in Japan. Shinto began to fall out of fashion with the introduction of Buddhism from Korea, but soon the two began to be practiced together, and Buddhist Temples were built alongside Shinto Shrines. Shinto does not demand that a person is dedicated solely to their faith, so in this way, Shinto handles many issues found in daily life, and Buddhism is for matters of the next world. In Shinto it is believed that the Gods live in this world, and in many things including living and inanimate objects. And Buddhism stresses the impermanence of the natural world. So basically, with Shinto births, marriages and harvest festivals are celebrated, and Buddhism is exclusively for funerals.This concept may seem confusing for many westerners who belong to monolithic faiths, but for the Japanese it all makes a lot of sense. Here are few pictures of the ones we've visited so far, and I'm sure there will be many, many more.

This is a Shinto monk looking for alms. And the next are wooden cards that you write a wish on and leave at the temple.

These were from a gorgeous Temple in Nara, it was filled with hundreds of lanterns.

The gates of the Temples

At the entrance of most of the Japanese Buddhist temples, you can see a pair of guardians, the Nio (Benevolent Kings), protectors against the evil spirits. According to Japanese traditions, they followed and protected Buddha when he traveled throughout India. One represents latent strengh and the other the begining of the Universe. They look really scary, bearing their teeth, with big eyes and muscles. The entrances are always so ornate, along with the statues, they are carved in wood and have bells that you ring before you pray to make sure the Shinto deity is listening.

I loved this one: 500 hundred different Buddhas at our favourite temple and shrine so far on the Island of Miyajima in the inland sea, Daoshin. We found out later that the Dalai Lama had visited 4 years ago.

Kyoto

2010-04-16T22:53:00.000+09:00

A day trip to Kyoto, once the capital of Japan was hardly enough, with its old merchant district to browse through, hundreds of shrines and temples, and geisha district.

The Geisha district in Kyoto, Gion is filled in the daytime with Miako's (Geisha's in training) getting ready for their evening of entertainment. There are very few Geisha's left in Japan, and most are now in Kyoto. It takes 5 years of training to become a Geisha, and perfect a number of arts. But the numbers of girls interested in joining this old tradition are becoming fewer every year, and now Geisha houses are using websites and blogs to attract new Maiko's.

This is a wedding we stumbled upon at a Temple. The ceremony was very small and quite serious, but you could tell the bride was having a hard time concealing her happiness.

Kyoto has many ancient Temples as it used to be the capital of Japan, and is now the Imperial Capital. It's even said to possibly be the first birthplace of Japanese civilization. Picnicking, is popular, and you'll see these blue tarps all over the parks pilled with people barbequing, and drinking sake at all hours of the day.

Mmmm...sushi!

These beautiful old trees were in the Imperial Palace grounds.

Nara

2010-04-15T17:36:00.000+09:00

We've been in Osaka for just over two weeks, soaking in the sights. It's quite a big city, the second largest in Japan, with a population of just over 3.7 million, things get pretty busy. So it's been a great jumping off point as there are many sights outside the city to keep us busy.

We did a great day trip to Nara, home to the world's largest wooden building, Todaiji ("Great Eastern Temple"), whose present reconstruction from 1692 is only two thirds the original Temple's size, which partially burnt down in a fire causing the Buddha's head to melt. Don't worry, he got a new one, which is important, since he is the world's largest bronze Buddha, Daibutsu. The biggest Buddha I've yet seen, and many temples in the sourounding hills around the city. As usual we walked and walked, until we were exausted trying to see as much as we could of this picturesque small city.

The legend says that if you can squeze yourself through this hole in the base of one of the temple pillars, said to be the size of Daibutsu's nostril, you will be granted enlightenment in their next reincarnation...there was a massive line to give it a try, and despite some struggling we didn't see a single person fail.

There are semi-wild deer wandering all over town, chasing down the tourists who are silly enough to buy cookies to feed them.

This is picture below is Mochi, a new favourite snack of mine. It is pounded glutenous rice with sweet red bean gum inside. Yum! It's soft when its fresh, and has a smooth texture. Traditionally mochi is a New Years treat and is eaten all over Japan...good news for me! Two guys take turns pounding the rice repeatedly while a brave third wets and flips it with his hands. The result is delicious and extremely popular, and also aparently quite dangerous; around New Years many people choke on the super sticky mochi.