07/21 - A Sumo's Gotta Eat

 Let’s eat ‘til we fall

then pick ourselves up, and head

back into the ring

This morning I woke up in my capsule in the hotel in Osaka with Yoshi at the curtain ready to start the day. We took advantage of all the grooming products that are complimentary in the washroom and headed out for the day. Despite a comfortable rest in the capsule, I definitely felt like I hadn't slept very much since leaving Tokyo. The two of us headed to Abeno Harukas, the tallest building in Japan. The building just had it's grand opening in March, so it is a new spot to check out. Even for people from Osaka. After a brief visit, Yoshi and I headed to Namba to meet my other friend. 

At this point, things got a little bit confusing, as the other friend we met is also named Yoshi. Yoshiya (from now on), who I had been staying with is born and raised in Japan. The Yoshi we met grew up in Canada, but his family is Japanese and he's been living in Osaka for the last three years. I attended UBC with him and we share a lot of friends back in Vancouver. We found him near Namba Station, after a bit of confusion. Who would think that Exit 15B and Exit B15 are two totally different places?! 

It was cool to see Yoshi and catch up a bit. Reminiscing about UBC while in Osaka is a bit of a trip. Yoshi was nice enough to show Yoshiya and I around some really cool parts of Osaka. We checked out the area around Namba Station which has some amazing long covered strips of shopping that seemed to stretch for miles. Then we walked over to Ame-mura, or Amerikamura, which means American Village. The district is very interesting, with it's own Statue of Liberty and tons of "American" shopping. There's a lot of hip hop culture around and it's very interesting to see the Japanese take on some of the styles. There's a lot of Jordan brand products kicking around and some very interesting basketball jerseys, both old and new. Yoshi made me laugh by pointing out a Scottie Pippen jersey which had Pippen written on both the front and back. He was also full of good information about some famous spots I might never have known were famous without him pointing them out. Such as Triangle Park in Amemura, the Ebisubashi Bridge, which is another place with a reputation for picking up girls and the famous Glico "Running Man" sign (read a little more about those last two here). 

For the final part of our stay in Osaka, we had to experience some of the culinary delights Osaka is famous for. For that we continued to explore the Dōtonbori area, which is associated with the term kuidaore and the character Kuidaore Taro. According to Wikipedia the term kuidaore means "to ruin yourself with the extravagance of food. But it is also associated with a longer term that incorporates the phrase "eat 'til you fall". Yoshi introduced us to the term and walked us down "Eat 'til you fall" street where we got to see the character Kuidaore Taro, who is famous for eating until he falls. Apparently he is visited by sumo wrestlers before the tournament in Osaka each year as well. The three of us started some eating of our own, buying some amazing takoyaki and a beer from a street stand. It was incredibly tasty and the beer was positively mood-altering under the baking sun. Then we headed inside  to a restaurant for some air conditioning and okonomiyaki. Having eaten delicious okonomiyaki several times already in Japan I was excited, but in no way prepared for how good this would be. It definitely ranked among the most delicious meals I've ever tasted. I'm still baffled by how a dish that is primarily cabbage and cooked in front of you on your table could be so incredibly delicious. 

Having eaten substantially but not enough that we would fall down, Yoshiya and I said goodbye to Yoshi and headed on the train back to Nagoya. I would have loved to spend more time in Kyoto and Osaka, but I had to go for the whirlwind trip because of my timing and Yoshiya and I had a great reason to rush back to Nagoya. SUMO! We got back into town and made our way to the stadium, which is located right next to Nagoya Castle. Unlike in Tokyo, I managed to get a ticket, though Yoshiya and I did have to buy expensive ones, because there were almost no seats still available. In North America we use the term Box Seats at stadiums frequently, but I never knew how inaccurate it was until I went to sumo. You actually sit on a box, which has a small space for your shoes and bag at the back and is sectioned off with metal poles. The box platform seats four, but is just a square, so two people sit in front of two others, everybody on pillows. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but very cool. 

The sumo battles were very entertaining, as was the ceremony attached to every aspect of the sport. Even the modern advertising that was shown in the ring between match-ups had to be on traditional sumo banners. The introductions of the wrestlers were fantastic and old skinny men sang their names before they battled. The crowd also really gets into it, shouting things out on cue and cheering on their favourites. One rather drunk guy really got behind a young hot shot sumo named Endo, screaming out his name over and over. "ENNNNNN-DOOoooooOOOOO!" The crowd thought it was hilarious. There were also many women and children who were just as into the sport as the men, despite it being a men only sport, and a very niche one at that. I was surprised to learn from Yoshiya that one fan tradition is to throw your pillow at the ring when you are unhappy with the referee's decision or with the outcome of a match. I didn't fully believe him until I saw it with my own eyes. We also saw a referee get knocked down by a sumo, which is supposedly very rare. It was an incredible experience going to sumo and I'm so happy to have been able to do it in Nagoya. After the tickets sold out in Tokyo I didn't think I'd get the chance, so it was awesome that I did and that I got to share the experience with Yoshiya, since it was his first time going to it live as well. 

After the match Yoshiya and I walked around the outside of the castle grounds for a bit, then went to eat some Nabe. Nabe is a Japanese hot pot dish, which is more commonly eaten in winter, but I was definitely on a roll trying out the famous foods of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, so we figured why not go for some. It was again delicious. I fear if I lived in this region of Japan I might have to become a sumo myself. 

To cap the day off, I took a nap while Yoshiya completed some work to prepare for his week ahead and then we watched a movie. It was really nice getting to spend so much time with Yoshiya and at least a few hours with some other really good friends on my adventure outside of Tokyo. 

Today's haiku are fairly obvious in their references to Osaka's fame and sumo, but I should take a minute to explain more about yesterday's reference to Osaka as the Second City. That term is often used to describe Chicago in the context of the United States and I have a theory that it Osaka and Chicago share many similarities. They are both the second huge city in a highly populated region of their country. They are both famous for food. They both have some famous Skyscrapers and architecture. They are both famous for comedy. AND they are probably the last two places in the world where Scottie Pippen jerseys are for sale. I shared my theory and reasons, except for that last one, with Yoshi while I visited and he didn't shoot it down. So I think I'm onto something.

Pictured: Buzz in Ame-mura and Osaka's Glico sign.

07/20 - Open and Closed

The arduous path

can lead to the best treasures

and the sweetest rests

When you’re ready

let’s hit the Second City

and tuck ourselves in

Today I woke up and headed on the Shinkansen once more, this time only a short trip from Nagoya to Kyoto. In Kyoto I met my friend and former student Erika and her friend Ai. I was surprised to find out Erika had driven to the station and was going to drive us around to some different destinations in Kyoto. It felt very odd being in a car for what felt like the first time in ages. I was only in a car driven by a friend once, for a very short ride in Tokyo, and only in a taxi twice in my entire 11 weeks there. Erika's car was nice too, even featuring a Canadian stuffed animal and it was a pleasure to be driven around with air conditioning to some absolutely incredible places.

The first place we went was Kinkaku-ji, or the Temple of the Golden Pavillion. It is one of the most beautiful, serene places I have ever been, even though there was tons of people visiting on account of it being a holiday weekend. Walking around the temple and the gardens and surrounding area was fantastic. Having seen so many temples already in Japan I did not expect to be nearly as impressed as I was. Seeing the gold of the temple in the sunlight and the beautiful water and fish surrounding it was superb. 

Next up we went for some lunch, where I ate one of the most delicious meals I've had in a very long time. It was curry-soba, so essentially curry and noodles. It wasn't like a curry flavour though, more like a creamy soup or stew. It came in a huge cast iron pot and was absolutely scrumptious. The girls just ate some very fancy desserts which were pretty incredible as well. 

Full of noodles, the ladies shepherded me to our next spot, the Fushimi Inari Shrine. The place is rated the number one tourist destination for foreigners in all of Japan and it didn't disappoint. At first it seems like a beautiful, very orange temple, not remarkably different from many other places I'd visited. The main difference I noticed at first was the high usage of foxes in all the decoration. As you begin to walk in through the shrine though, you quickly realize the place is unlike any other. The path is lined with torii, or gates, of which Erika had said there was about a thousand. It sounded like a lot, but I had no idea how far the paths stretched. Turns out there's more than a thousand as there are new ones being added all the time. Each gate is donated by a Japanese business or person. Some are very old but some are brand new, all painted orange and almost identical except for the varying size. The path circles up the mountain and actually takes two the three hours to walk. It's like doing an extended Grouse Grind in North Vancouver except with slightly easier terrain and constantly walking under orange gates. It's one of the most difficult places to explain to other people. Even with the use of pictures it's hard to get across what it's like to be there, so I can see why it is such a highly recommended place to visit. 

After Fushimi Inari, Erika, Ai and I went to Gion, which is known as the historic Geisha district. Both Fushimi Inari and Gion are settings in Memoirs of a Geisha, however I have not read the book or watched the movie yet. The area is very nice and old style. The storefronts are all wood and you can't really see in, making it difficult to know whether each place is a restaurant, shop or spa. Just around the corner there is also a very famous Kabuki theatre as well as some famous spots for tea. We strolled along as it got dark, checking some things out. I also had a really good green tea ice cream/drink. The city deserves it's reputation as a beautiful spot. The whole place has a nice, calm feeling, with canals and the river breaking up the city centre full of traditional architecture. To finish my time off in Kyoto the three of use sat by the main river/canal and had a nice rest. Lots of people were out for the holiday, sitting on the grass like us, or on patios or rooftops overlooking the water. 

After a busy day I was pretty exhausted, but I had to carry on to Osaka, to meet Yoshi, who was traveling down from Nagoya, as well as our friend Shohei. I met the two of them at Shin Osaka Station and we all went over to Umeda Station. There we walked around the entertainment district and got some delicious food, before playing some darts. It was a really fun night. I was amused by Shohei's tour guiding when he told me a small plaza we had walked through was famous for having guys sit there and try to pick up girls as they walked through. Another funny thing that happened was that a ton of guys flew through one of the main intersections we were at on Japanese motorbikes. They were all wearing masks and revving their engines to make as much noise as possible. Shohei and Yoshi informed me that they were actually Yakuza gangsters making their presence known, but to my untrained eye it looked much more comical than I can ever imagine a motorcycle gang looking in North America. It was somewhere between Hell's Angels and Shriners. 

To finish off the incredibly long day, Yoshi and I checked into a capsule hotel for men. I was very excited for the experience of staying in one, and once more was not disappointed. After we checked in we locked up our shoes in a shoe locker, then locked up our bags and clothes and changed into the clothes they give you at the hotel. The clerk came running in as we were changing to give more clothes to Yoshi, which were for me. I asked why I couldn't just use the clothes in the locker like Yoshi and he told me "he said you are too huge." Once we changed we headed upstairs to the lounge area, where they have a restaurant, tv area and a manga lounge where guys are hanging out reading comics from the library provided. Men of all ages were hanging out on chairs and on the floor, chatting, eating and reading, despite the fact it was about three in the morning. We sat down and watched the last two holes of the British Open, seeing Rory Mcilroy finish off his victory. When the golf ended we went to the onsen, or spa area. It was way nicer than I expected, with many different hot tubs all with open windows and vines and plants at their sides. We had to go in naked, which is standard and first wash using the squat style showers. I was very surprised after getting naked to notice that there are fully clothed women working in the nude area of the men's only capsule hotel. It was very relaxing though, and I was again surprised by how busy it was between three and four AM. 

Finally, we went off to bed, where I walked down the halls lined with sleeping men and crawled into my capsule for the first time. It was equipped with a shelf, plug, control panel for temperature and for the small TV inside. I had to sleep diagonally if I wanted to fully stretch out, but it was actually pretty comfortable. It also didn't feel very claustrophobia-inducing, because even though there were plastic walls on all sides, the entrance closed with a wooden mat pull-down curtain. I feel like I could easily stay in capsule hotels in the future without any reticence. 

Today's title refers to both my day as a whole in a kind of sarcastic way, the way Fushimi Inari is in nature yet almost tunnelled off with gates and of course the capsule I slept in. The first haiku refers to the time I spent in Kyoto, which at times included some strenuous trekking, but also led to absolutely amazing spots and some exquisite rests. The second haiku is about heading to Osaka, which is often considered Japan's second city after Tokyo. More on that in tomorrow's entry.

'

07/19 - Getting Around

They call it luggage,

for perfectly good reasons.

More here in Tokyo

Make haste Shinkansen.

To Nagoya, and beyond,

“Hasta la vista.”

This morning I had a successful apartment inspection and said goodbye to my home since May 1st. I'll miss the loft, since hanging out up there always satisfies the kid inside me that never had a treehouse, the clean lines and simplistic design, the powerful shower and the way you can basically get the entire bathroom wet, and the glorious, heavenly air conditioner that makes not fainting regularly possible. I won't miss the minuscule kitchen that makes it difficult to cook anything, or how there is hardly any furniture and certainly no comfortable furniture, or banging my head on the washroom door at least three times a week.

I headed out with an astonishing amount of bags, that made my apartment inspector wonder if I was crazy or just freakishly strong, and met my dad so we could walk to the train station. It was definitely on the arduous side, thanks to my ability to overestimate how much a non-Sherpa human being can carry and because of the absurd humidity. I said goodbye to my "dear old dad" part way through the train journey and met my favourite Calgarian in Tokyo, Clayton, at Shimokitazawa station. I dropped my stuff off at his place after a trek through the hipster community he lives in, and then had a much needed regroup and shower at his apartment. 

Feeling rejuvenated, and like a baseball player who had been swinging a weighted bat and now feels unfathomably powerful swinging a regular one, I set off with one measly backpack to head to Shinagawa Station and catch the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train, down to Nagoya. 

The train was a bit late, which is rare for Japan but seems to be much more common with the Shinkansen. While waiting, I was entertained by some other passengers waiting for the train who looked pretty cool, but also completely ridiculous. It was a guy and girl, both with outrageous style. The guy had about a foot tall mohawk and the girl was wearing a full matching bright floral-patterned outfit, complete with a matching bucket hat. On the Shinkansen, I had a reserved seat and it was definitely the lap of luxury compared to the trains I've traveled on around Tokyo the last 11 weeks. I enjoyed a beer with a snack and took in some scenery before it got dark and I spent some time enjoying my book. It felt like a very short journey, as in less than two hours I'd made it the approximately 350 km to Nagoya. Once at the sprawling and elegant Nagoya Station, I walked through a mall to get to the Subway line to head two stops over to the popular area of Sakae. When I walked outside I was pleasantly surprised to see Nagoya TV Tower, nicely lit up, and some other nice urban scenery. Strangely, the vibe of the city immediately felt different to Tokyo. Some of my Japanese friends had told me this was the case, but I didn't expect to notice it myself so easily. 

I met my good friend Yoshi in Sakae and we headed to his apartment, which is situated under a massive billboard of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I dropped off my stuff and he changed out of his work clothes before we went to grab some supper. He took me to the most famous place for Nagoya chicken wings. Apparently Nagoya is known for its chicken wings and they did not disappoint. After eating we headed to a night club, my first trip to any such place in Japan. The place was massive, with six floors, including a locker room in the basement for you to store your stuff. The different floors had different music styles, with many types of dance music and one hip-hop floor which was my favourite. With your entry you got four drink tickets, which Yoshi wanted to use entirely on Jaeger Bombs, since the price of the drink didn't matter for each ticket. The biggest drawbacks of the place were that it was absolutely packed, was filled to the gills with cigarette smoke and closed at 1 AM. After the place shut down Yoshi and I headed to meet his friends at another, much smaller venue. To my complete surprise, when we entered the place I saw the outrageously dressed duo from the Shinkansen on stage playing to a crowd of energetic fans. It was awesome!

By the time Yoshi and I got back to his place I felt like I'd been awake for days. It definitely didn't feel like the same day that started with the mundane act of an apartment inspection. 

Today's second haiku features lines from movies that are all super popular in Japan. It's interesting seeing how popular certain aspects of American or Western culture become so big in Japan, while other popular artifacts are completely ignored. Lord of the Rings, or Rord of the Lings as some of my students spelled it this term, is the inspiration for the first line. Since the Shinkansen travels so fast I thought it worked to use Gandalf's line which inspires his horse to travel great distances with great speed. The second line is a reference to Buzz Lightyear's line "To infinity, and beyond!" I love how popular Toy Story is in Japan, as it is a personal favourite. Buzz is everywhere, and he would be at home in the futuristic confines of the Shinkansen, and under the space age design of the illuminated Nagoya TV Tower. The final line is a reference to the Terminator himself, since Yoshi happens to live under a massive Schwarzenegger billboard. He says his area is a bit dangerous, but how can you not feel safe with a forty-foot Arnold protecting your building. 

07/18 - Big Buddha, Little Island

That’s one big Buddha

and not all that far away

one little island

My dad suggested we get out of Tokyo for a bit of a day trip while he was visiting. With the days running out on his visit as well as my time in my apartment and my stay in general, today seemed like a good day to do it. I planned a trip for us to go down to Kamakura and Enoshima, south of the city. We took some trains in the morning, making the trip all the way down. When we got to Kamakura I used my orientation skills and we had a nice walk to Kōtoku-in. The area leading up to the famous temple is very nice, with some cool shops and nice local scenery. There are some cool little things to see, like the red-hooded lady statues pictured below and signs featuring one of the earlier uses of the Swastika, as a symbol of auspiciousness in Buddhism. 

The temple itself, Kōtoku-in, is very impressive, standing at over 13 meters. We paid just 200 yen to get in, about 2 Canadian dollars, and immediately after passing through the pay gate, it was pretty awe-inspiring. The Buddha statue, which I knew was going to be big, was much more grandiose than I expected. The area was fairly flooded with tourist groups, yet there was still an air of calm around the Buddha. You could pay to go inside, for just an additional 20 yen. It was definitely worth the 20 extra cents to see the inside, feel the inside workings and have a chance to get a glimpse of the construction methods. The Buddha is made of many large metal panels attached to each other. My dad said he found the place very impressive and I had to agree. There is even a poem by Rudyard Kipling about the destination, called "Buddha at Kamakura" which you can check out here. I especially like the line about "beef-fed zealots".

Following the beautiful sights of Kamakura, my dad and I hopped on the very old tram-style train line that runs over close to Enoshima. Enoshima is a small island/peninsula just off the coast. It is connected to the mainland so you can walk right onto it. The place is very picturesque, with a temple and an observatory right in the middle of the tiny island with beaches surrounding it on all sides. It also offers great views of Mt. Fuji, but unfortunately it was a hazy day so you could only just barely make out the outline of Fujisan. On top of checking out the temple, after taking the escalator that goes up the steep hill, my dad and I did go in the water for a bit, which was nice. I also got to sprint up the steps after he forgot his sunglass clip-ons, which was a good workout, but not the most enjoyable thing to do.

It was a long trek back home after, but it was nice to be greeted by Aykut when we got back. He came and had some tea with us as I organized my stuff to move out of my apartment the following day. I'd be remiss not to thank my good friend Kaz back in Vancouver, because he recommended Enoshima. My mom kept asking me if I'd go to the beach, which I wasn't really dying to do, and Kaz suggested going to Enoshima and doing Kamakura the same day. It is definitely a worthwhile day trip coming from more Northern Tokyo, and is a place I'd spend a lot of time if I lived closer.     

07/17 - Lost and Found

Elevated ground

looking down on the city

playing an actor

With no work on the docket anymore, today I headed off to have some fun and check some things out with Aykut and my dad. We went to Shinjuku first to walk around and head to a destination I’ve wanted to go to for a long time. I’ve already spent quite a bit of time in Shinjuku, but considering the station is the busiest in the world and has about a million exits, and the surrounding area often seems just as busy as it is inside, there’s always more to find. One cool thing I spotted was an MLB Café. I had no idea something like that existed in Japan and almost certainly would have eaten there if I had not been with two lovely gentlemen who don’t care about baseball about a hundredth as much as I do.

The destination I’ve been waiting to visit is the New York Bar, in the Tokyo Park Hyatt Hotel. The bar and restaurant is super nice, is located on the 52^nd floor of the hotel, features an astounding view, has delicious drinks and incredibly accommodating staff. However, the real reason it’s a destination for me is that it is the setting for many scenes in one of my all-time favorite movies, Lost in Translation. We needed to get some directions from a different Hyatt hotel in order to find the Park Hyatt, but the walk was very nice. It took us past the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and through some cool city parks and plazas, some very cool architecture and some of Tokyo’s biggest broadcasting buildings. When we got to the hotel we went in and discovered there was still some work to do. The place is like a convention centre and there was a big on-stage performance going on in one part of the massive lobby. We asked for directions and found the hotel lobby area, up one floor. The atmosphere was immediately lovely once we went up. Aykut commented about how even the carpeting was incredibly plush and bouncy. We had to take two elevators to get up to the 52^nd floor, as you have to walk through a second lobby and by some really nice lounges and a restaurant on the 47^th floor to get to the exclusive elevator to the New York Bar. When we got all the way to the top we were greeted by three different women standing in front of a panel of windows showing off the amazing view. We discovered, unfortunately, that Aykut wouldn’t be allowed to stay because he was wearing shorts, but they still offered to show him around the bar before he left. My dad and I stayed and had one drink before rejoining him downstairs on the 47^th floor. We both ordered a Dark and Stormy, which was very tasty and enjoyed the surroundings. The place is pretty exquisite, but the layout is not exactly what you’d expect from the film.

For supper, the three of us went to Ikebukuro to meet Aykut and I’s PC, Satoko, for supper. Aykut needed to get some letters from his students he’d forgotten at the school and was relieved to be getting them back. Our quartet went to the restaurant I’ve been to and written about twice before, Gottsui, the place with the rubber chickens and the crazy staff. This time our entertainment came in the form of me requesting a rubber chicken for our table and from the place’s new drink promotion. The promotion involved rolling a die to get a deal on a whiskey and coke. There were three potential outcomes, one for rolls of 1-6, 7-9 and 10-12. However, the Japanese on the poster was incorrect and the concept was so counterintuitive that Satoko spent a full half hour discussing it with our server. We couldn’t believe how long it took before we finally got our drink orders in. It was a moment fit for Lost in Translation. We all had a nice meal and it was fantastic to spend a bit more time with Satoko, even if it was thanks to Aykut forgetting something and us all having to do a bit of running around to meet up. 

After supper we all went to the batting centre in Ikebukuro and hit some balls, played some crazy air hockey, and made my dad play the drumming game Aykut and I enjoy playing for the first time. The air hockey was crazy because after a goal with one of the normal size pucks about 40 smaller pucks all came flying down onto the table. The team of Aykut and Aengus won the air hockey matches, but at least Satoko and I are the best in the batting cage, and while Aykut is getting pretty professional, my dad needs a bit more fine-tuning before he can say he's perfected the art of virtual traditional Japanese drumming.