The Lurches of Tokyo

While walking to and standing in Shinjuku our first night in Tokyo, Ross and I noticed a few mixed couples. Invariably comprised of a young Japanese woman and a tall, pallid white guy. I mean REALLY tall and with the look of an undertaker who has not gotten sun in a number of years. Not a goth look, just kind of sickly.

We have seen this combination a few other times while trekking through Tokyo. Not something we have seen at the other cities we have been in. Then again, the sight of a gaijin in the Kansei is still somewhat rare.

So we were wondering if being tall and pallid is a part of the mythic gaijin stereotype? Or maybe, because the guys looked so weird, we just noticed them more? A mystery we will never solve; neither of us is particularly tall and I sure as heck ain't pallid!

Shinkansen to Tokyo

This morning we went to the Shin-Osaka station and boarded the bullet train for Toyko. Ross and Misato slept much of the way there while I worked on the presentation I was going to give later. I just input the final bullet points into TextEdit so that I could copy & paste it into Keynote later.

We quickly checked into our rooms, met in the lobby and headed to the subway station to meet our college buddies Yuki & Kento. Kento met us at the station and drove us back to their condo, where we met their new daughter. Maeri is quite cute and energetic! And they all seemed very happy.

Because we had plans for dinner later we left after a couple of hours. Kento drove us back to the train station and we headed to Shibuya. I LOVE Shibuya, just for the sheer novelty of being in an ocean of people.


We went to the Hachiko statue outside the station to meet John and Shizu. Ross was not all that impressed by the "ocean of people" that I kept harping on. The Hachiko statue is a popular place to meet one's friends or a blind date. After looking around at the crowd Ross stepped to the side and looked out at the intersection just in time to witness a pedestrian crossing.

"Holy shit," he yelled. That was about my reaction the first time I witnessed this spectacle. That particular intersection has the most pedestrians crossing during a light change than any other intersection on earth. It is truly amazing to witness.

John & Shizu met us and we followed them to a nearby restaurant. We had our own private room and the food was great! Shizu is a longtime friend of Misato from Osaka and her husband has lived in Tokyo for 13 years. We talked, ate and drank quite a bit of sake. We all had a great time!

When we got back to the hotel and went to our rooms. Misato was still hungry so we grabbed a ramen up the street. Ross had headed out on his own, still a little buzzed from the sake we had earlier.

We were in the middle of Roppongi, which is packed with gaijin bars and other forms of... umm... entertainment. So Misato and I figured Ross could cut us loose at night and easily find a good time.

Lunch with a Tokugawa

We all woke up a little earlier this morning and caught a train to Kyoto, where we transferred to a local bus. After a short ride we got off at one of the temples which was having their monthly flea market. Misato loves going to these temple markets!

She regretted not buying a goblin rooftop cornerstone which we say during our last trip. And I was still pondering buying a tsuba; something I had intended to buy years ago. The original plan was to purchase one tsuba as a keepsake for each trip to Japan but, being the cheap person that I am, I've never done so.

My wife wrote identical "I'm lost... please help me" notes for Ross and myself. The notes instructed the poor sap who found us wandering aimlessly around the temple market to kindly guide us back to the southern gate. Ross and I contemplated pinning our retard notes onto our shirts but thought better of it.

Not much caught our eye and there were no rooftop goblin faces on sale. There were some nice old muskets and kimono. I saw a nice tsuba with a horse design but walked away from buying. After walking around a bit more I was convinced to go ahead, try to talk the guy down a bit and get it. I did like the design quite a bit and had always wanted to buy one. So I finally purchased it and I am glad that I did so. I really don't care what it is really worth or how rare it is; I simply like the design and am glad that I have bought what I hope will be the first in my collection.

After the market we caught the bus to Gion and met one of her uncles. He is a direct descendant of Tokugawa. We all waited in the lobby of the depaato for my mother-in-law, who finally showed up 30 minutes later. She is probably the only person in the entire country over the age of 5 without a cell phone, or keitai. We really need to get her one.

The lunch we agreed on, at the top of the depaato, was quite good. Ross and I ordered beers but Misato had to sneak sips when her relatives had their backs turned or when they were otherwise preoccupied.

After lunch we all walked to a nearby kissaten and they sat and talked. We walked her uncle to the station then boarded our train for Osaka. We got out at Yodobashi and Misato took her mother to buy a new pair of shoes. Ross and I grabbed another coffee and sat outside until they arrived.

We finally caught the train and walked back to the condo.

Home and Dry

Once back on the right track we boarded the subway train and exited near Misato's condo. It was a station I had used on previous trips but always following my wife, so once again we were turned around and a bit lost. I saw a tako-yaki restaurant across the street and thought it was familiar but called Misato to ask how to get to her home.

We made it back to the condo then talked her mother into accompanying us to a yaki-niku restaurant not too far from their home. I asked how long this mom & pop restaurant had been around and was told that they had opened their doors almost 30 years ago! The food was good... with the exception of some raw, marinated slices of beef liver that my wife ordered for herself. I tried a bit of it but did not like it at all.

Misato and I have not eaten beef since our last trip to Japan. We so happened to be in Japan during the first confirmed case of Mad Cow disease in the U.S. Since Japan was the number one importer of U.S. beef and tested 100% of the food that they eat for such diseases, the country refused (and continues to refuse!) the import of U.S. beef. The U.S. tested something like 0.3% of their beef going to market for Mad Cow. Now they have really chosen to look out for the interest of the public over the interest of industry, the U.S. now tests 0.7% of their beef going to market. How kind!

So Misato has been on something of a beef binge in the few days that we have been in Japan!

After paying the bill we returned to the condo. Ross and I talked about what to do tomorrow. I could tell that Ross wanted to go out drinking tonight, but both Misato and I were both exhausted and not interested.

I mean, what were all of our parents doing at our age? I doubt going out drinking every night. I do want to get out and have some fun but I know that my wife, who had more than her fair share of partying, is not all that into bars or clubs anymore. But I am sure we will go out a few times while here. I doubt nearly enough for Ross, but oh well.

Tomorrow we may end up going to Kyoto. I would also like to go to Yodobashi and update my blog.

I fired up my Powerbook tonight in order to begin jotting notes in order to prep for the presentation next week. I still have 4 days to complete it and since I am good at talking in public I am not that worried. It will not be a long, involved talk. Just a brief discussion with a few examples on bridging the gap from 2D principles to 3D tools. I have all the stills and clips that I need so all I need to do is put it all together.

Search For Good Ramen

After stopping at the Starbucks, we walked along Gion Street. It was just after 5PM so there were no geisha or maiko out yet. Since Ross and Misato were hungry we went looking for food. But my wife got her mind set on ramen so we went in search of a good ramen restaurant in the area. We found a couple but they were all closed until 6PM.

I was starting to get hungry now and a bit irritated that we were wandering around Gion looking for ramen. Misato recalled that there was a good ramen restaurant at the top of a depaato on the opposite corner so we went there. And it was in fact quite good!

After eating we returned to Gion Street, walked a bit more then caught the train back to the Osaka eki. I had left my laptop in a station locker so I retrieved it then we boarded another train.

After exiting Ross seemed to want to go out, but we had no idea where to go. The area that Misato lives in is quite domestic and mainly condos and houses. There are some mom & pop restaurants and I am sure some bars but nothing obvious. Since Misato had been falling asleep on the train home and was not going to accompany us I told Ross that I would go home with my wife.

Hopefully we will get a chance to go out in Tokyo. At the very least we will be in Roppongi so he can head out on his own quite easily.

Kyomizu Temple

This morning we decided to go to Kyoto; I am sure Ross was tired of the somewhat industrial Osaka City. Mainly because at night there was not much to do since his hotel was a few minutes from Misato's condo which is in a residential area.

We had something of a late start and I wanted to upload my blog at the Yahoo in the Yodobashi depaato. Misato went off to exchange funds at a nearby back at Yodobashi while Ross and I went to the Yahoo BB. Although I had a card and free internet access the previous visit I was directed to a sign in English which said that only local Osaka residents could sign up. The fact that it was in English was interesting; obviously sick and tired of us traveling gaijin using up their free broadband.

The previous trip my wife signed me up using the address of her condo, but I no longer had that card. So we went next door to an internet cafe. I was trying to set up a wireless connection but could not do so before Misato returned. A normally easy task on a Mac was made a little more difficult by the fact that all of the instructions were in Japanese. So I called it quits since it was getting late and we needed to catch the train to Kyoto.

We went to a counter in the Osaka station and activated our JR rail passes, which will allow us to ride any JR train to any part of Japan (including the shinkansen or bullet trains). Then we all bought some bread, since we had not eaten breakfast, and boarded the train for Kyoto.

The ride to Kyoto from Osaka is interesting and serene. It is a rural area with nice, old houses. I suppose the people living in those areas can work at either Osaka or Kyoto.

After our arrival at the Kyoto Eki we followed Misato upstairs to the tourist office, where she picked up several brochures and flyers of events we may want to think about attending later. Then we left, caught a bus and disembarked a few minutes later on a street near Kyomizu Temple. The bus was packed, mostly with school kids also going to the temple.

The three of us walked up a narrow stone-paved street leading to the temple. The streets leading to the temple are lined with shops selling sweets, food, ceramics (Kyoto is known for ceramics, with Kyocera being one of the largest such companies, now a powerhouse in manufacturing cell phones) and items made of kimono fabric. It was a pleasant walk and we stopped in a few shops along the way. At one point we passed a group of teenaged school girls who began to gawk at me (for some reason I attract more attention than Ross, who is also gaijin). One of the girls said, "kakui" to her friends, which I think means something relatively positive. I at first thought she might have been shrieking in horror to her friends. ;0p

Kyomizu Temple is gorgeous!
I had been there during my first trip to Japan in 2000 and remembered the great view of the city from the hillside temple. And the temple itself was just as special this time as the first. We walked around and took lots of pictures.

My wife talked Ross into going to an adjacent shrine in order to pray to a god of relationships. Ross tossed a 50 yen coin to the statue, rang the bell then bowed for a few seconds in prayer. It was funny and he was embarrassed because only young girls had been performing the ritual. He was not only the sole gaijin praying at the shrine but the only man to boot. We figured one of the 16 year old girls ahead of him would end up being his bride one day!


On the way down another street from the temple, just after leaving a pickle store (not like the huge American-style pickles), someone grabbed my shoulder from behind! I turned to see an older gentleman gesturing and saying something in Japanese & broken Enlgish which I could not fully understand. I initially thought we was going to accuse me of stealing or something (a truly sad reaction... life in the U.S.). Turns out he wanted me to take a photo with the group of students he was attending to! Although it was a bit embarrassing I complied.

After the photo I ducked into an alley, produced the stolen package of pickles that I had stuffed into my pants and... okay, just kidding!

Later we passed a burial site of a famous samurai whose picture we had seen in a Hollywood restaurant Ross had taken us to maybe a year or so ago. Misato stayed behind but Ross and I paid the 300 yen and walked up to the burial sites. I was a memorial to the many samurai who were assassinated by the shinsengumi.

We walked down another beautiful Kyoto street enjoying the view then found ourselves in a temple area just outside of Gion Street. I thought we were heading away from Gion so I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case.

A Constant State of Lost

The adventure began when the train that we were on stopped and EVERYONE exited. We waited for a moment then I thought it wise that we get off also. Then people began boarding but from the opposite platform. As expected, the train was local only and headed off but in the opposite direction, from which we had come. We boarded another train shortly thereafter then exited at Nanba and before leaving the station asked someone "Den-den machi doko desuka?" Luckily the girl spoke quite good English (with a British accent!) and helped us out. She seemed somewhat irritated and Ross conjectured that her mother was forcing her to help us so as to use the English lessons they had paid so much money for. Maybe so.

Anyway, we realized that we had not exited at the correct station. Well, this was the station we were told to exit earlier but that was not correct. So we walked in the direction that we thought the Electric Town was but discovered quickly that we were not heading in the right direction.

I stopped and asked a shop girl how to get to Den-den Machi. She only spoke Japanese and I got a little information out of the exchange.


Stopped at a Yoshinoya and ate tori-niku bowls then headed back to the main street to try to walk to Shinsaibashi. On our way up the main street we saw an attractive young woman wearing a nice business suit riding a jitensha. She had her keitei at her left ear and, when stopped at a light, would rifle through papers that she had in the basket at the front of her bike.

Back to our journey; we were not heading in the right direction. So we stopped for a coffee and I had an epiphany the "to-ru" meant a tall coffee. Ross and the girls working at the counter got a kick out of my reaction. After the coffee we walked and eventually asked a young boy how to get to Shinsaibashi. He seemed a bit confused so an older gentleman stepped in and helped us out. Once again the directions were in Japanese but I managed to get enough out of it to set us straight.


We exited the train we had been told to board by the man back at Nanba (full circle!) and walked north to Shinsaibashi. We were turned around a couple of times. Finally I convinced Ross that I did not recognize any of the shops we were passing, so we turned back. And good thing; we were NOT heading in the right direction... once again.

While walking we saw this tiny little building sandwiched between two highrises. Looked funny at the time; an obvious holdout, refusing to sell off their property to developers.

Osaka-Jo

Last night Misato informed Ross and I that we were on our own for today. She is going to spend a day with her longtime girlfriend Noriko so we would need to fend for ourselves.

I think Ross and I will visit Osaka-jo (not a local brand of coffee, "jo" means castle) then maybe head back to Yodobashi depaato so that Ross can buy a smaller camera. I think I am going to look out for a nice prosumer HD camcorder but will wait until I go to Akihabara. Should be a ninteresting day for Ross and I... I have NEVER been on my own in Japan...

... Ross, Misato and I left the condo at around 10:20AM so that we could catch the train and go to the next station (Shin-Osaka) where Misato would meet her longtime friend Noriko for a day of catching up. We looked for her a little while at the platform and she eventually arrived. We all briefly exchanged hellos and I introduced her to Ross and vice-versa then Ross and I left and went to the platform for the JR "Osaka Loop" train.

We made it to the Osaka-jo Koen eki without incident but soon found ourselves a little turned around finding the castle. We located a map, realized it was upside down relative to how we were facing then made our way to the castle entrance. There were busloads of school kids, many of which said "hello" and "goodbye" in English. Most of them had drawing pads and were sketching the castle.

Ross and I went to the top of the castle and rather quickly worked our way down to the bottom. I could have lingered longer since the history is more familiar to me than when I first visited the castle 5 years ago. But we were in and out pretty swiftly.

Ross and I bought a refreshment once we were done with the tour, drank them up then walked to the station. Of course we chose a different route than how we arrived and found ourselves turned around. We finally made it back to the JR line platform and boarded a train that would take use to Nanba from which we would walk to Den-den Machi, Electric Town.

Yodobashi Ca-Me-Ra!

We disembarked at Osaka eki and walked to the Yodobashi depaato. Just to briefly look around and kill some time. Our plan was to take it easy the first day since Ross was a little under the weather and we were all still a little tired.

I was pleased to hear that the were still playing their jingle which could be heard through the entire building as well as outside. It was an adaptation of "Glory, glory hallelujah" and has been burned into my brain for the rest of my life.

Ross was amazed at one of the washer/dryer machines. Opening the hatch was like what you would expect of a hazardous waste storage bin. Or something you would store cryogenically frozen alien eggs in a sci-fi movie, minus the obligatory burst of liquid hydrogen when the inner hatch swings open. It was pretty cool. One of the shop employees came over and described the features of one of their newer washer/dryers. It has a three-shock suspension system rather than the typical two, so you could stand a cigarette on end while it was running and the cigarette would not tip over. And the manufacturer described it as "whisper quiet," which in Japan means literally that.

While walking to meet Misato, who had left us to make a phone call at a public phone (not an easy thing in a country where EVERYONE has a cell phone), we passed an attractive young woman. Her tshirt had the 20th Century Fox searchlight logo. I thought nothing of it but on closer inspection saw that it said "20th Century Fuck" instead! Ouch! And on the back it said "Not for children under 17."

After a brief walk to Pokemon world, just as a novelty, we headed up to the top of one of the buildings in the area for lunch, which was quite good. Then a $5 cup of coffee which seemed to piss Ross off to no end. You can get cheaper $3 coffee all over Japan, at a Mister Donut or Starbucks or many kissaten you can find, but one should expect to pay $5 fora cup at a restaurant or hotel lounge.

Shinsaibashi & The Fuzzy Mizukakejizo

Next we caught a train to Shinsaibashi, the Picking Bridge where young adults meet to pick up their dates. We walked around a bit, window shopping, before meeting my mother-in-law for an early dinner.

By this time Ross had formed a hypothesis about Japan, which I have simply called the "Kameny Hypothesis." Ross has come to believe that every young woman wearing an item of clothing with the camouflage pattern will without exception be hot. Time and time again his hypothesis was confirmed and on my casual perusal I would have to agree with his theory. But I am sure, Ross being an astute scientist, he will continue to gather empirical evidence to bolster his theory.

Once we met her mother at the station we walked down a few side streets to a well-known kushikatsu restaurant. It was dark and we passed a small shrine with a half dozen or so people worshipping there. It was a small outdoor shrine with a spring of natural water and a small stone statue as the centerpiece. The prayer ritual required the person to pour the pure water over the statue, in the form of a man. This particular statue, or "mizukakejizo," was COMPLETELY covered in moss from having been doused thousands and thousands of times.


We eventually arrived at the restaurant and I realized that my wife and I had eaten at one of their other restaurants during my last visit to Osaka. Kushikatsu are small skewers dipped into a light batter and deep fried. Served with vegetable sticks, several condiments and sauces and, of course, a beer with a creamy head of foam. (Note the unapproving look on my wife's face for taking this photo in a crowded restaurant!)

We ordered omikasei, or chef's choice, which basically assures that he will cooked up the freshest and best ingredients of the day until we cannot eat anymore. Dinner was good!

It was only about 8PM and we were all sleepy, so we headed back home, dropped Ross off at his hotel then went to bed.

The Morning After

The flight, although 2 hours delayed, was actually pretty smooth. The food was great and the new Bose noise canceling headphones that I bought are an engineering wonder. Of course my iPod started acting up again, but I doubt I will use it any time other than the return flight, although I had hoped to use it to make quick audio recordings in the train stations; it has always been difficult explaining how tetsudoin speak so that their voices sound like machines.

Since I was going to be awake the entire 11 1/2 hours it was a good thing that the movie selection was good; War of the Worlds, Batman Begins (which my wife geeked out on being able to watch again... for her 4th time!) & Cinderella Man.

Picking up our luggage and getting through customs was a breeze! We met Ross in the baggage claim area and then bought tickets for an express train out of the Kansai Airport and into the main part of Osaka. Of course that was impossible for me but even difficult for Misato to decipher the machine which dispensed the 'kipu' or train tickets.

As usual it was a TOTAL pain dragging our multiple large bags. We EACH had 2 large bags and a carry-on, my wife having filled an entire large bag with gifts for our friends and family. So we dragged the bags up and down stairs and through narrow walkways as we navigated the two train stations to get to Shin-Osaka 'eki.' Actually, one station past Shin-Osaka, but I cannot remember the name.

We were met by Hayashi-sama then checked Ross into his room. It was Lilliputian! I am sure Ross kinda freaked out at how small it was but we decided we would change it for something larger... after eating. We walked down the street to a local mom & pop 'okonomiyaki-ya' that I had been to during my last trip. They have known Misato and her mother for years.

The food was GOOD and relieved my growing exhaustion headache. And Misato and her mother seemed to be having a blast chatting with the owners of the okonomiyaki-ya. The area surrounding my wife's condo has quite a few mom & pop stores and restaurants. And it is one station away (walking distance, actually) from the Shin-Osaka eki, which is one of the central stations in Osaka. So the area is quite convenient and nice.

After eating and downing a couple of beers we walked back to Ross' hotel, changed him into a larger room then walked with Hayashi-sama to the condo.

I was so exhausted that the floor seemed to shift underneath my feet in the shower! No kidding! Apparently I laid down and passed out asleep without being aware of anything around me. Normally it is difficult if not impossible for me to fall asleep with lights on and movement nearby, but not last night.

We woke up this morning at around 9AM; her mother was already awake and eating 'asagohan.' I removed the numerous gifts from our luggage and shifted everything of mine into a single bag, which I then stuffed inside the larger bag. The condo, like all Japanese condos, is small so we are trying to conserve space.

I'll shower and eat a small breakfast. Hopefully Ross, who is still in bed and feels that he may be coming down with a cold, will be up and ready to hit the streets soon!

Waiting At LAX

It's 2:02PM and we are sitting near gate 117 at LAX.

I did not crawl into the bed until 6:30AM this morning & the fatigue is starting to creep up on me. Because I have a difficult time sleeping on plane flights I try to stay awake the night before so that I am so tired that I have no choice but to fall asleep; it has never once worked but I am going to try it again anyway...

...you'll never believe it, but my wife was late getting ready to depart but we made it to the Van Nuys Airport just in time to buy our bus tickets. Our good neighbor Jim picked us up and dropped us off at the Van Nuys Airport; it was a big help. We made it to LAX in about 30 minutes and spent just as much time getting out luggage screened and checking in. Not too bad all thigns considered.

Our friend Ross found us waiting in line to get our luggage xrayed. He was smart and bought JAL tickets. Well, he booked his trip far later than we did so he really didn't have a choice. We bought Thai Air tickets. Our flight has been delayed twice by an hour each time.

The plan is that Ross will wait for us then we will take the train into Osaka together. Misato drew him a detailed map and wrote detailed instructions, but I imagine Ross would prefer to wait as long as our delay is not so great. But he may get bored and venture out on his own.