Zipping Across Japan

My JR Rail Pass expired yesterday, but not before I got to zip around Japan several times on the Shinkansen, or bullet train. I keep hearing about plans for California to build something similar. I can only hope that it happens in my life time ... perhaps the high gas prices will be fuel enough to get the tracks down soon.

One of my favorite parts of riding the Shinkansen is watching the train agents turn back towards the passengers and bow before exiting the car to go to the next car.

Victory at the Ginkoo!

After 12 years, I finally got my last paycheck from the Japan Times. I worked at that English language newspaper in Tokyo for about three months just after graduate school. When I left Japan, I did not have means to get my money out of the ginkoo. The bank since merged, once if not twice. I tried to get out that last paycheck several times over the past 12 years, but the bank kept telling my Japanese-speaking friends that I would have to either use an ATM card (I did not have one) or come to the bank in person.

Yesterday, with the help of my friend Hisayo, I got my 189,000 yen (if only that was in dollars!) out of the bank. The interest accumulated after 12 years? A mere 10,560 yen (about $10!).

Harajuku Girls!

I am thinking of Violet, the very genki student in my Japanese elective class, who loves Harajuku. I visited that fun section of Tokyo -- my guide book says it is for the spendy and trendy -- and took many photos. For now, however, I must resort to some found through Google images as I am using a 100 yen per 15 minutes machine in the hotel lobby in Yokohama. Whoops. I can't understand the kanji on this computer to know how to upload a photo. Mata ne?

A Kyoto Thought

All of the things we've taken for granted, are, upon reflection, unbelievably wonderful

Noriyuki Namba

What Kind of Hairstyles Do You Like?

That's a question Cesar of Media Academy had for Japanese teenagers. So far in Ena, I've noticed that the boys take great care in their hair, sometimes adding clips! These two boys at Ena High School had some of the more fashionable hair. I am sure to see some crazy hair when I go to Harajuku (Violet's favorite part of Tokyo!).

Hey Mickey! Hey Mickey!

Japanese schools are not all work. Above are students in one homeroom class at Ena High, the area's most academic school, practicing for their school festival, which will be held right before classes start again in September. Another homeroom was preparing for a drama by painting sets on the day I visited. Each homeroom contributes some sort of cultural activity to the festival.

Media Academy: What if we tried this with our advisories?

Win A Free Gallon of Gas!

These are the prices for gasoline in Ena.

The middle sign is RE-GYU-RAA, or regular. The price is in yen and per liter, not per gallon.

A free gallon of gas to the first reader of this blog who tells me the equivalent price of regular gas in gallons and in dollars.

Rest assured, you'll feel great when you get the answer and realize American fuel is still totemo yasui (totally cheap!).

I Should Never Have Tried This...(apologies vegetarians!)

I should never have ordered Kobe Beef in Kobe. No, not because the bill came to $104 for a single meal (actually, that's a bargain compared to Kobe Beef bought elsewhere). Because I do not want to go back to regular American beef ... not even the best filet mignon. (My camera battery is dead, so you don't see my actual steak on this blog.)

Why is Kobe Beef so expensive and so delicious? Some say it is because the cows that produce Kobe Beef are massaged every day and fed beer or sake. But my guide book tells me that it's more likely just the special way the cows are bred and the diet of alfalfa, corn, barley and wheat straw.

While the actual meat was delish, the way the chef prepared it in front of me was just as much of a treat. My steak chef spent as much time getting my garlic slices browned just right as he did cooking the beef.

I was jealous of the customer next to me, a Mexican college student who was traveling in Japan during a break from his studies in Australia. He order the "special Kobe Beef" at $154. He deemed it the best steak he has ever eaten, better than Morten's, better than Argentinian beef. Ah, I think I'll spend the $50 I didn't spend on the BEST Kobe Beef on a nice trip to the sushi bar. I am headed to Tokyo today and have a great tip on a sushi bar near the Tokyo fish market. (And I'll get that soy dipping right this time!)

Ceramics Shopping

Today I went ceramics shopping in Tajimi and Toki, which are both towns in Gifu-Ken. This area's ceramics is called Minoyaki and the above photo is a set of Minoyaki dishes, sake cups and a sake holder. Japanese people usually use many dishes for one meal, not just one big plate like Americans.

Sushi Lovers -- A Lesson from Midori & Hisayo

While eating and drinking in a cute mom-n-son restaurant called Piccolo's last night, my host Hisayo and her sister Midori opened up with me, sharing their horror over a faux pas of foreigners when it comes to eating sushi -- we don't know how to use our soy sauce properly.

The proper way to use soy sauce with your sushi, they tell me, is to make sure you dip the fish side into the soy. And, by all means, make sure you do not dip the whole piece of sushi into the sauce. Just dab the end of your sushi, fish side down, into the soy. Foreigners tend to soak their sushi, rice side down, into the sauce. This collects way too much soy, overpowering the delicious fish.

Midori and Hisayo are experts in soy, by the way. Their family runs a soy sauce (shoyu) distribution business in downtown Ena.

And another tip: Make sure the fish side goes onto your tongue so you can fully savor the fatty tuna, eel or whatever is featured in your nigiri.

Reppin Oakland in Japan

Oakland A's caps in the Japanese countryside! I'm pictured above in "Kip's" store in Ena with the owners, the Katos, and three A's caps. The Katos, especially Ken, are HUGE fans of American culture, clothing and coffee. I used to tutor the Katos' two sons, Kent and Kenny, and loved hearing Ken and his store workers get excited about the Bay Area. Ken entertained both my sisters when they visited with nonstop excitement about American products, places and people, and nonstop beverages and food.

The store is named after Kip's Bar on Durant Street in Berkeley -- a place Ken loved to go while at Cal. Peet's is also repped in the store, along with In N Out, LL Bean, Starbucks, Ruehl, Abercrombie and dozens of other American companies.

Students Clean School -- And Actually Like It!

This is one of the most amazing parts of the Japanese education system to me. Every day, students grab mops, brooms and rags and give their school a thorough cleaning called o'soji. Teachers, principals and other adults at the school also help out. In this video, you'll also see Bill, the Assistant English Language Teacher at Ena High School, pitching in with the garbage. I was an Assistant English teacher in Ena's junior highs and elementary schools 15 years ago, though I was treated more like a guest and did not participate in o'soji. Media Academy students, if you're reading, how about starting this at our school this coming year?

Can You Use Cell Phones in Class?

I visited Ena High School today through the help of my host, Mr. Murai, and his connections at the school. Here Madako, a third year student (senior), answers my questions about cell phones in class. Her homeroom class had just finished preparing for the school festival and was getting ready to do school cleaning before the end of the day.

Izu Maari Maaridu?

My sister visited me in Japan in 1993 and her name created quite a challenge to my friends and co-workers in Ena. The Japanese do not have an "l" sound -- the closest sound is something between a "d" and an "r." So "Molly" becomes what you hear above in the video. Those people in the video and the photo above are my fantastic friends who took English classes with me one evening a week for two years. We met last night at a restaurant in Ena for about three hours of catching up and nostalgia. And, of course, when one of my friends asked me if Molly was married, I just had to have fun with Molly's name. (Konnichiwa, Molly!)

Do you like school uniforms?

Students from Media Academy gave me an array of questions to ask Japanese teenagers during my trip. One of Emely's questions was "Do you like to wear school uniforms?"

So far, every student I have asked has said "Yes." They tell me that they think their uniforms are cute, it's easy to get dressed in the morning and they like wearing what their friends wear.

One boy, Ryohei of Ena, said he liked to wear uniforms in the winter but that they are too hot in the summer. It's been close to 100 degrees recently and the humidity is like none I've ever experienced in America, even in the Midwest. If you want to say "it's hot" in Japanese, say "atsui desu." And "it's hot and humid" is "mushi atsui desu."

Japanese Juku Students Learn About Oakland Teens

Students who showed up for their cram school (juku) class tonight with Kazuko Sensei had no idea they'd be getting a special lesson in Oakland teen culture. Saki, Akane, Yukina, Kota and Ryohei at first seemed quite reluctant/shy to meet the surprise foreign guest (me), but soon started talking a lot when I opened up the Media Academy yearbook for them to see. They were very surprised about many things they saw, but most particularly they were shocked to learn about grills through a yearbook page featuring Media mouth bling. They pointed to students at Media who look like people they know in Japan; they thought Coach Knight looked like a gangster in his spirit week 80s costume; they said that the seniors looked like they were going to the Academy Awards in their senior photos. And one student thought Aiden looked like Orlando Bloom.

Oakland teens would be equally surprised to know that even though these students are in the first week of their one-month summer break, they still go to cram school three times a week and don't finish their classes until 9:30 p.m.

I showed the students video of Media students who had recorded special questions for me to ask Japanese teenagers during my trip. The questions were on topics ranging from hairstyles and school uniforms to samurai swords and Japanese culture. The juku students gave answers to almost all the Media questions while their teacher videotaped them. I'm excited to show Media students the answers to their questions and also look forward to setting up some penpals between Media Academy students and these Ena teens.

For now, here's a little aisatsu from three of the students to Media Academy students:

Japanese English and Stupid Hair

First off, I admit my Japanese is far inferior to even the worst English I read or hear in Japan. As I struggle with this language, I am humbled by my own students who do so well speaking English as a second language at Media Academy.

Nevertheless, I still love seeing some of the funny ways English is used here. Above is a photo of a sign at Hakone that left me puzzled. How would you fix that grammar?

Here are some other phrases that have left me laughing or wondering:
1. Stupid Hair Salon -- the name of a salon in Ena that could cause some serious marketing problems
2. Please Pray for Me, My Husband is Irish -- a t-shirt worn by a Japanese man at a school festival
3. Please don't touch doubtful things -- a sign at a train station near Gora/Hakone

4. You are my hearo -- shirt on teenager at Japanese high school baseball tournament

5. Please do not touch a hand -- sign at art exhibit near Meiji Temple in Harajuku

I'm sure to add to the list. Meanwhile, I hope nobody is making a list of all the stupid things I am saying in Japanese.

Fremont Tiger fans, check this out!

One of the biggest sports events of the year in Japan is not professional, not collegiate, but high school. The Japanese national high school baseball tournament is underway and there are now just four teams left in each ken (prefecture). And as you can see from the video above, the fans go nuts -- at least when their team is at bat. Strict rules allow the fans for the team at bat to stand up, dance and yell out chants for their team, while the other fans may only clap their megaphones together politely while sitting with their mouths shut. At the end of the game, the losing team bows to the winning team and each team then bows to its fans. The tournament gets huge play on Japanese televsion and professional scouts are out and about, looking for the next Ichiro.

I got to experience the tournament first hand today, traveling to Gifu City with my hosts to see Toki Commercial High School fans cheer their team on to 6-3 victory. My host, Mr. Murai, was the principal of TCHS until April of this year when he retired. (Murai is famous in Gifu Ken for being the first college player to dunk a basketball!)

Wedding Crasher

Well, I didn't really crash this wedding, but I did crash the photo shoot. This was a wedding couple having their photos taken outside Fujiya Hotel, the oldest hotel in Japan, in Hakone. The bride was sitting for two reasons: first, that gown is very heavy and second, she towered over her husband when standing.

When I lived in Japan 15 years ago, I did get invited to one wedding. The bride asked me to give a speech in Japanese, probably the most difficult public speaking I've ever done. Like the bride pictured at right, the bride wore a traditional kimono for the Shinto religious ceremony, which only family attended. But after entering the reception in that gown, she changed to a fancy evening gown, and then again to a Western style white wedding dress. The guests did not take gifts, but instead took fancy envelopes filled with cash. The wedding couple gave each guest a bag of gifts to take home. Mine included coffee, cakes, and kitchen gadgets.

Seaside Sashimi

This is why my friend Sumire can be a little picky about her sushi and sashimi -- above is her mother's home 'cooked' raw fish, straight from the fish market in their hometown, Fujisawa. We made our own sushi with fresh crab, yellow tail, squid, fatty tuna, tuna, as well as other raw fish. Totemo oishiikatta!

Asa (morning) Gohan (meal) = breakfast

Minoru, my friend's nephew, chows down on a breakfast sandwich across the table from me on my first morning in Japan.

While this is not the traditional Japanese breakfast of fish, miso, rice, raw egg and fermented beans, it is a typcial breakfast in modern Japan. That day, Minoru's mom served us sausage sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise; grapefruit; broccoli; yogurt and potatoes. We drank both coffee and tea.

Eating Parent & Child

My first meal in Japan was one of my favorites: Parent & Child. No, I am not going cannibal!

Oyako Don. Oya means parent and ko means child. It's chicken, the parent, and egg, the child, over rice.

Three Turns for Tea, 1000 for Coffee

My friend's parents took me to a temple for a tea ceremony, or chadoh, in Kamakura yesterday. At left, you can see the woman who served me matcha, a bitter and frothy drink made whisking green tea powder in a special ceramic bowl, or chawan. To drink tea properly, I was told, you must turn the bowl three times so that you do not drink from the front of the bowl. My friend Hisayo is now studying tea ceremony at age 52. She likely will give me more tips on how to practice tea ceremony as I am staying with her for a few days in Ena.

Drinking coffee is a little easier in Japan -- usually. For the past three days, while staying in Fujisawa City with my friend's parents, I got to help out with the coffee making. Sumire's father likes doing things the old-fashioned way, so we cranked a coffee grinder by hand 1,000 times to prepare the beans.

Tonight, the coffee drinking was easier. My friend Kosaka San treated Hisayo and me to hotto koohi (hot coffee) at a kissaten (cafe) in Ena. Totemo tanoshikatta desu!

Making Beats Japanese Style

These are taiko players I saw at a school festival in Kamakura, outside of Tokyo. School let out on Saturday for Japanese students, but their summer vacation is a short break and does not mark the end of the school year. The school year in Japan starts in April.

Golden Arches and Other Changes

I arrived in Ena City at 12:30 today and soon found out the city is quite different from 15 years ago when I lived here. The first thing I noticed was a good change -- the train station now has elevators to the platforms that are handicap accessible and friendly to foreigners who have way too much luggage. Loads of new buildings, parking garages and a huge business hotel make Ena look a little less inaka, or country, than it looked 15 years ago. Not all the changes are good, however. Ena now has two Ma-ku-doh-na-ru-do-zu, otherwise known as McDonalds. But hey, at least these McDonalds offer something different and perhaps healthier than those in the US -- ebi (shrimp) burgers.

Black egg, onsens & Internet refugees

So many things to write about; only a few more minutes in my Internet cubicle (see description below).

First, the black eggs. Today, I had the chance to lengthen my life by 7 years by eating one black egg and 14 years by eating two black eggs. By my calculations, I am going to stretch my life by 182.5 days. I only managed to eat about 1/14 of an egg boiled in sulfuric hot springs on the top of Mt. Hakone. Photographs to come ... I don:t see a memory stick reader in this Internet cubicle. And pardon the lack of apostrophes. I don:t understand Japanese keyboards either.

Friends Sumire and Takashi and I ventured off to TenzanTohji-kyo onsen (hot springs) in Hakone today. The Japanese love taking onsen and so does this gaijin (foreigner). Afterwards, we ate cold soba and I was told again that my life would be extended. I don't dismiss these claims as the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancies in the world.

And now, I am back in Tokyo, experiencing my first Internet cafe. They didn:t have these when I last visited in 1996. You can rent a cubicle for 12 hours for just about $20, so many young people actually live in these cafes. They're called Internet refugees (Takashi poses as one above). The cubicle I am in right now is called a *flat* -- not because of a flat screen monitor but because you can lay down flat while typing, or sleeping. The cafes also have cheap food and drinks and thousands of manga. And if your shirt or underwear happens to be dirty after putting in a couple of nights here, no worries. The Internet cafe sells those to refugees as well.

Until my next Internet cafe, sayonara!

When in Tokyo, Do Like Americans?

Here's a depressing travel tip I found while searching for a place in Oakland to buy a JR Rail Pass.

Traveller's tip
There is a McDonald’s right outside of the hotel for those that aren’t fond of Japanese cusine. There is also a Denny’s type restaurant that is open 24 hours, but it is overpriced. The cafe next to the McDonald’s offers pastrys, french toast, and other breakfast items. They also have more selections for lunch. The Seven Eleven is very convienent for drinks and snacks. The tour to Mt. Fuji and Hakone was nice, but you are on a bus most of the tour. Very interesting and informative!

And that, folks, is why the Japanese government is requiring companies to measure their employees' waistlines.

What goes around, comes around

Today at the College Summit Institute in Baltimore, I heard the superintendent of Miami-Dade Schools speak about how American high schools need to adapt to our much more global society. (It sounded like he was getting ready to be Obama's secretary of education). Among other things, Rudy Crew wants Americans to look toward cities that do education better than us -- Madrid, Lisbon, Melbourne, Tokyo -- to inspire us to change our methods. He very much likes vocational education and focusing on "occupational literacy."

I find it fascinating that the Japanese modeled their public schools after ours after World War II, during the Occupation. And now we are looking to their schools. Will we go back to a time when we placed value on vocational programs? Japan realizes college isn't for everyone and gives students great vocational training in high school if that's the path they choose.

When I am in Japan, though, I want to see how the Japanese fare with their second language learners, their immigrants, their ethnic minorities in the classroom. All I can remember about immigrant students from Peru in Ena is that they were put into special education classes when they first arrived. I am curious if that is the norm today.

Risa San Ready For Fuji San

Got a pair of hiking poles today in Bay Village, Ohio to help me get up and down Fuji San in Japan (see beautiful photo to right!). This purchase after I learned the hard way from my recent backpacking trip in Yosemite (TEAM AWESOME!) that my knees aren't exactly the best part of my bod.

The Japanese put the word "san" after their mountains. It's not the same "san" that goes after a person's name as an honorific, but another way to pronounce yama, the word for mountain.

The climb up Fuji San will be a first for me. If I follow Yosemite Leonard's advice for Japanese adventures, I will also be eating a lot of Kobe beef and paying for someone to walk on my back.

O-hisashiburi!

O'hisashiburi essentially means "long time, no see" in Japanese. And it's the start of many an e-mail and snail mail I am writing these last days before heading off to Japan.


I was in Japan teaching English on the JET Programme before e-mail was widely used, so I'm relying on snail mail to catch up with most of my friends and let them know I'll be in Japan soon. Luckily, I had the e-mail address of one of my former students, Akiko, and she has helped me get in touch with her "super-genki" mom, Hisayo. Akiko was just in eighth grade when I was her Assistant English Teacher, or AET, at Ena Nishi Chuugakkoo. Now, she is married to an American and living in San Diego. Hisayo still lives in Ena City (Gifu Prefecture) and she is welcoming me to stay with her for "many days." Hisayo is Exhibit A of Japanese hospitality ... such a sweetie!

One of my snail mails made it to Japan today, and I now have another contact! Kazumi (Hara Sensei) was one of the kindest people I met while in Ena. She taught English at Ena Nishi Chuugakkoo and befriended me early on. We went loads of places together and she even invited me to join "Rocky Top," her square dancing club that practiced a few towns away from Ena. Never thought I'd learn steps like the California Roll in Japan, but I did. Yeee Hi!

The Art of Omiyage

Getting ready to visit Japan means buying omiyage -- or souvenirs. This is always difficult for me when I don't know exactly whom I am going to meet. Omiyage should be something that represents where I am from, not some standard gift. Certainly not a gift that is made in Japan! I'm also trying to think of gifts that will be easy to pack, especially with the airlines cracking down on weight. Therefore, California wine is probably not going to work.

Since I am in Ohio right now, a few of my omiyage will come from here. My mom, an artist, is going to paint some nice stationery for me to give to a few of the women who host me. She usually puts flowers on them and this time, I will ask that she put hydrangea or ajisai, one flower name that I learned in Japanese before English. Later today, I'm driving down to Ohio State University to see my niece swim in a big meet, so I think I'll get some Ohio State trinkets for teenagers and kids I meet in Japan. Ohio is pronounced pretty much the same way as the Japanese word for "good morning" (ohayoo) So, I guess that I'm headed to Good Morning State University ... hmm.

12 Days and Counting

I'll arrive in Tokyo 12 days from now. The preparation has begun! I'm thumbing through my Japanese phrase book for quick reminders of the most common phrases that used to come pretty easily to me. The one section that had me laughing was "hairdressing." In addition to teaching me "I'd like a haircut," "I'd like color," and "I'd like a shave," the Loney Planet writers gave me one I wish I'd had ready for my last American hairdresser in Heath, Ohio -- "I should never have let you near me!" (Anata ni tanomanakereba yokata!)

But then again, I doubt a Tokyo haircut will cost just $22 like the one in Heath, Ohio.