Dinner with the Fujimori Family

Misato and I took a train to an area of Osaka I had never been to before. We exited the station and waited in line for a street-level train that would take us nearer to the restaurant we were meeting Noriko and her family at.

The line to board the next cable car had grown quite long and it seemed that an unusual amount of time had passed since the last car departed. So Misato set off to call Noriko to let her know that we might be a little late and also to ask the station employee when the next car would arrive.

Misato came back after a long time (I was worried that the car would come and she would still be away) and informed me that there had been an accident. I had not noticed the auto traffic also backing up on the streets. Soon after the station employee walked forward and made this news available to everyone waiting. So we all filed away.

Misato called Noriko once again and they made arrangements to meet us somewhere else. So we boarded the subway train and Noriko met us nearby in her car once we exited the station. She dropped us off at the entrance of the restaurant and Misato and I entered while she parked the minivan.

Fujimura-san and his children, Taki and Takaki, were waiting inside and had already started eating.

Taki is their 12 year old daughter. She is very tall (as tall as my wife but thinner), fashionable and a very pretty young girl. Her father is encouraging her to start a small business of her own in an attempt to instill a sense of independence and business savvy at an early age. Quite admirable of Mr. Fujimura. Takaki is their younger son and he is quite shy but nice. I really like this family a lot.

We ate many small dishes and Fujimura-san ordered bottle after bottle of sake, despite the fact that his wife wanted him to curtail his drinking. I stopped counting after the 7th bottle and was getting quite wasted. I have to admit that I was glad when the restaurant kindly informed us that they would be closing soon. It was already an hour past closing time but since Mr. Fujimura was a longtime customer they let us stay a lot longer than we should have.

They dropped us off at the station and we returned home. I did not sleep well that night.

Condo Cleanup

This morning we all woke up and worked at changing the condo around. This meant sorting through all the items Hayashi-sama had accumulated over the years and decided what could & should be thrown out to make space. Not only was there quite a bit to go through, but Hayashi-sama was remiss to throw out anything.

Misato started in the bathroom but we found that we reach a point where we could not do anymore. Then we moved to the kitchen and actually accomplished quite a bit. We removed the large television & broke down the wire stand upon which it sat. Misato also sorted through a ton of books and magazines which she had kept at the bottom of this stand for years.

We found a great photo of Misato taken during one of her runway jobs. She was wearing a black cloak and hook, the surroundings were dark and her white face was the only thing illuminated in the photo. It was gorgeous in a Goth sort of way.

Once this space was empty we sorted through the items in the storage units in front of the refrigerator. With everything removed Misato sorted through it all (Hayashi-sama has way too many dishes for her actual needs) while I moved the three units into the area where the wire tv stand had been. I also moved a matching unit from the living room into the same area.

We are going to buy a smaller tv for that area and the overall change has opened up the kitchen & dining area considerably. We still need to do work in the living room. Of course it would be great if we all spent a month or so going through the entire condo. I would like to sort through everything and try to create an environment where Hayashi-sama does not have to bend down so much. That is when she gets dizzy, bending down then standing up too quickly. It would also be great to install some bars in the bathroom for her to use also.

I've tried to convince Misato to stay in Japan a extra few days but nothing doing. She promises to return to Japan with her mother (who is coming to LA for a visit in December).

Out and About

Didn`t sleep well last night; long story.

After breakfast I decided to head out to Yodobashi by myself this morning. I had intended to trek to Shinsaibashi but it is raining lightly and my wife`s aunt is dropping by from Kyoto in an hour.

Just wanted to get out of the condo for a bit. Time to head back so that I will be there before her aunt arrives. We also have a dinner engagement with Noriko and her husband Fujimori san later tonight...

Sushi in Kobe

Can you believe it?! Almost two weeks in Japan and today was our first sushi meal. Well, not so for my wife; she managed to sneak out for a sushi lunch with her girlfriend Noriko. Remember the day that Ross and I were lost throughout Osaka?

My wife, my giri no haha, and I caught the train to Kobe then a taxi to the Tai Den sushi restaurant. Their doors opened at 11:30AM for lunch. It was 11AM and there was already a line of people outside. This place is supposed to be excellent and since they only have a small counter folks are willing to wait for a seat.

Fortunately, we were near the front of the line so we got a seat at the end of the counter. There were three sushi chefs; our seemed to be the youngest (but middle aged) and the other two ascending in age. The chef furthest from us moved with a rhythm that was almost like an odd sort of dance as he made sushi. I have seen this before but it was never so fun as watching him move. And his face was almost cartoon-like.

My wife, who had been there many times before, sat us all down then told the chef to serve up everything from "here" to the end of the counter! I got the full two pieces of nigiri while my wife and her mother shared one piece each.

Well, it was all incredible. They served things like ika with uni on top. It was all good and a fear began to creep over me knowing that my wife would eat and eat and eat given how good everything was.

I escaped with a nominal bill and a full stomach. We grabbed a small coffee down the road then caught the train to the Osaka station. We went to the bank to exchange some U.S. dollars for Yen and Misato and her mother spoke with a banker about an estate planning service.

Throughout the trip we have been reminded how old her mother is getting and how alone Hayashi-sama is. I feel confident that I could re-enter the U.S. CG workforce if absent for a few years in Japan. Worst case is that I become fairly proficient in Japanese then transition to fulltime teaching if I cannot find work at a studio after a few years.

But I believe my wife should spend as much time as she can with her mother. Even if we are in Tokyo and her mother is in Osaka it would allow us to visit much more often. Also, my mother in law, like her daughter, is a very strong-willed woman. Her siblings have all but given up trying to tell her to do "this" or to do "that" for her safety and well-being. But her daughter has no such qualms. So over time we can help her out little by little, coaxing Hayashi-sama to change certain things and fixing her condo so that it is more efficient, safe and livable.

I am fairly confident I can get a job here in Japan. It will not pay as well but if we can both work then it will be fine. Lots of logistics to take care of; renting or eventually selling the house in Los Angeles. Taking care of three large dogs in a small apartment or condo in Tokyo. But nothing insurmountable if this is what we decide to do.

A Tad Bit Lost

Although I have internet access here in Osaka, some sites only display in Japanese making them all but inaccessible to me... Blogger is one such site. I have only gotten to this point by guessing at what the menus say, mainly through sheer luck and recollection of button placement.

Well... yesterday my wife, mother in law and I went to Kobe to walk around a bit then grab lunch. Kobe is filled with a lot of nice new buildings, mainly becase most of them were damaged beyond repair during the last large earthquake.

We all arrived at Dai-Ten sushi just after 11AM. They open their doors for lunch at 11:30 but there were already a few folks in line ahead of us! This place is supposed to be great and since they only have a small counter it is good to get there early.

Believe it or not this was my first sushi meal while in Japan! And yes, it was GREAT! Not only was the food excellent but one of the chefs moved with a funny, dance-like manner when he assembled his sushi creations. It was fun to watch; tasty and entertaining!

After a bit more walking (we were all stuffed and the walk did us all good) and a stop for coffee we stopped at Yodobashi (were I am now). Misato went off to get some information on... something... and I sat at the icafe checking my email. While outside I soon found myself in a conversation with a couple young nihonjin; one a guy studying Economics and the other a young woman studying English. Her friend was forcing her to flex her language skills, and she spoke English a lot better than I spoke Japanese.

I learned that she will move to Tokyo in a few months and begin working as a JAL flight attendant once she has completed her degree. They asked me my thoughts and impressions of Japan in general and the Kansei area in particular. We talked for quite a long time then when it was time for them to go they asked to take a some pictures with me.

Hayashi-sama went home ahead of us while Misato bought some meats for dinner tonight. While she was shopping I looked for the post office, or yubinkyookyu, which was also in the basement. The door I found was locked but a young woman also heading to the post office offered to guide me there. Along the way we added tow more young women to our posse.

After mailing the postcards to my family I found my wife, she shopped a little longer then we returned to the condo and cooked dinner at home.

Taking It Easy

We didn't have much of a plan this morning. During breakfast Misato and her mother decided to go to a government office so that they could clarify some family matters. Misato and I went ahead by taxi with the intent of grabbing a ticket (they call you by your ticket number) then her mother would arrive a little later.

Although they had called ahead Misato learned that the expert on what she needed to ask questions about was not there that day. So she called the main government office in Osaka and made an appointment on a specific date.

Then we met her mother at Osaka eki so that I could go to the large book store there and then we would eat lunch. I bought a handful of books to help me learn Japanese. A vocabulary book arranged by topic, workbooks for the books we are using in my Japanese classes in LA and a couple of small kanji books.

I encouraged my mother-in-law to buy some books. Reading, conversation and games are all good for the again mind. Of course she declined. Perhaps Misato will just buy her some books before we leave.

We ate lunch at a soba restaurant at the top of one of the buildings nearby.Then the shopping began!

I bought a Hanshin Tiger's baseball cap. Although they had just lost the Japanese World Series the city was still excited and the Hanshin corporation was having a major sale in their department store to show their appreciation to their fans. My wife bought some more beads and the woman in that section gave her some instructions on how some of the display pieces that my wife liked were made. If you still have problems they offered free classes at a later date.

My wife and mother-in-law spent over an hour shopping; closer to two hours. I sat down on a bench and began reading the Harper's magazine I bought a little earlier. They eventually returned with a couple of pairs of pants and a winter jacket for Hayashi-sama. Apparently she is not only stubborn ("No, I don't need another winter jacket.") but, once she concedes, she can be quite picky. So it took a while.

My mother-in-laws combination of stubbornness, impatience and picky taste feels like looking in a mirror and seeing what my wife's personality will be like in 30 years. Luckily, I've an almost diametrically opposing and complementary personality ("Sure, whatever.").

We returned to the station near her home and decided to drop our bags off at the condo and go back to the okonomiyaki restaurant. On the way back we passed a long, black luxury car with a couple of guys in dark suits (not uncommon) and sunglasses (odd, given that it was quite dark out by now). Once we were a good distance away I leaned over and whispered 'Yakuza?' to Misato. She was livid and shushed me immediately.

She said that they were low-level yakuza, the kind that like to cause trouble and extort money from hapless passersby.

After dropping off our bags I grabbed the golf ball & tee sets I had bought from the studio. The couple which owns the okonomiyaki-ya are avid golfers and we wanted to give them a small gift.

By the time we made it back to the condo we were all exhausted. I read a little more from the Harper's then went to bed.

Tsukiji & The Giant Sandals

This morning we all work up early and met in the hotel lobby to start our trek to Tsukiji, the largest fish market in the world. I visited this place the first time I came to Japan and it was absolutely awe inspiring. Enormous and filled with stands showing off some of the largest fish I have ever seen.

But when we arrived there were only a handful of people wandering around like us. And all the restaurants were closed. We had arrived on a day that Tsukiji was closed. The fact that others who actually lived in Tokyo were also there made it somewhat clear that this is not a purely tourist mistake.

We boarded another subway train and Misato took us to the temple at Asakusa, with the gigantic sandals. The narrow streets leading to the temple are lined with old-style stands selling everything from the crackers that Tokyo is well known for, trinkets for tourists and incense for the temple.

As we stepped up to the main temple there was a deep drum beat and we could look inside and see a ceremony taking place. This sight brought my wife to tears because it reminded her of a close aunt who recently passed away.

Buddhism believes that a family should not grieve too long over the death of a loved one. There is a 30 years journey of the soul after death to the final resting place. Each year, for 30 years, the family gathers and prays for the loved one to help them on their journey.

But if the soul senses grief and sadness they will want to return and provide solace to the loved ones left behind, thus making their own journey more difficult.

We left the temple, ate a small breakfast then Misato went to a wholesale bead market that is well known in Tokyo. She is into making her own jewelry and was intent on visiting this building (there were 6 floors of beads).

Ross and I waited outside and chatted with each other, watching the people walk by. Once my wife was done with her shopping we stopped at a JTB office we had seen earlier. It was just a block away so this would give us a chance to make arrangements for Ross' trip up north to Sapporo the next day. Luckily for him Misato handled everything, except the payment of course.

My wife is naturally quite organized and, driven by a propensity to worry, tries to make sure the smallest of details is dealt with. She would actually make a good travel or real estate agent.

Ross walked away with airline tickets to and from Sapporo and should have a memorable and fun time there. I am looking forward to seeing the pictures he takes and hearing his stories of his adventure!

Ginza & Meiji Shrine

Today we went to Ginza, which is kind of like the Rodeo Drive of Tokyo. We stopped into the Mikimoto store and showroom as well as the Nissan showroom. They had a Fairlady Z on display so we climbed inside. A small car but quite nice.

From there we returned to Harajuku, walked around a bit then stopped at a ramen-ya for lunch.

Afterwards we walked across the bridge (where the crazy kids display their fashions on Sunday evenings) to the Meiji Shrine. The walk to the main shrine is absolutely serene and gorgeous. You are in the middle of Tokyo, in Harajuku no less, but they have managed to complete shut you off from all signs of modernity around you.

Tall trees surround you on all sides. They have a nice stream running under a bridge at one point. And there are hundreds of birds. You feel completely engulfed in nature.

The shrine itself is not that old (built in the early 1900s) but quite beautiful. It is one of the most popular and historically important shrines in Japan.

After leaving the shrine we returned to Roppongi and checked into our new hotel, just up the street from where we stayed originally. As usual, we decided to stay in Tokyo an extra day but the hotel we had stayed in was completely booked due to the Tokyo Film Festival.

After settling in and resting a bit the three of us caught a taxi to meet the Sahu family for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. They left early so that they could prepare for a trip the next morning and we walked to a bar in Roppongi Hills. We made it to a nice jazz bar and I was content to sit there, sip a glass of wine and listen to the band. But we decided to try another bar on a different floor.

After sitting and chatting for a while we walked back to the hotel where Ross booked an additional night. Misato and I are returning to Kansei tomorrow evening for other engagements but Ross is hoping to trek up north to Sapporo or some similar adventure. Should be fun!

American Cake

While eating dinner with Shuzo-san he mentioned how he loves collecting small items from the United States. He lived there for most of his childhood and teen years but still finds certain things fun & interesting.

For example, when visiting the U.S. he buys many note pads because the quality of the paper is so coarse. Or ball point pens that draw a huge line, when they work at all.

When he brings his Japanese employees to America he likes to take them to a large department store as soon as he can. He particularly likes going to the baked goods section, pointing to a birthday cake and say something like, "See that thing? So huge and smothered in a thick layer of frosting. But not just frosting, frosting that is a totally unusual and unappetizing color."

My wife nodded vigorously in agreement and, when thinking about it, I can now imagine how a typical American pastry would look (and taste!) to someone from Japan. Shuzo-san noted that everything... EVERYTHING... in Japan is so delicate and refined. He does not necessarily think that all products made in the U.S. are poor, only that it is so different that how the same item would be made in Japan.

At home we often buy cakes from Japanese bakeries. My wife prefers them and I enjoy them as well. Although I often note and hear others comment on the frosting of American cakes it never struck me as something of a cultural novelty.

Ross and the Machine

I was not there to witness any of this, but Ross reported it all to me later on.

He had set out on his own that morning to buy a ticket for the Miyazaki Museum at the nearest Lawson convenience store he could find.

The tickets were purchased from an ATM-like machine. Apparently, Ross believes you could buy a ticket to the moon and back with this machine. but no one working in the store could figure it out. For close to 30 minutes everyone in the store searched through menu after menu.

Ross had actually broke out in a sweat he said. It was such an experience that he stepped outside and wrote about it in his notebook.

Ross loved the Miyazaki Museum. And hearing him talk about it made me wish that Misato and I had gone also. Ross bought a few animation cells and lots of other trinkets. That place is amazing and fun. I cannot recommend it enough for anyone in Tokyo who loves animation and art.

The Roppongi Spider

After breakfast Ross headed off to the Miyazaki Museum on his own while Misato and I met Mari and Emma for lunch near Roppongi Hills.

We walked through Roppongi Hills so I was able to get a good photo of a huge spider sculpture there. Then we met Mari and Emma in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt hotel and walked a few blocks to a small restaurant. We brought the Minnie Mouse backpack for Emma which we had left at our hotel the previous night. She seems to have liked it a lot and so happened to be wearing a necklace with Minnie Mouse pictures all over it.

I needed to go over my presentation a bit more so I told them that I was going to walk back to the hotel. We all walked back to Roppongi Hills and I asked Mari if there was a place where I could buy a simple case for my meishi or business cards. She took me to a very nice shop with an assortment of business card holders. Since I was a little light on cash that day I chose to pass on purchasing one of the $500 cases and used my wife's instead.

Back at the hotel I went over the presentation aloud and trimmed the movie clips I was showing in the presentation.

Once Misato returned I packed up the laptop and we headed out to Polygon Pictures by subway. It was in the middle of Korea Town in Tokyo.

Shuzo met us in the lobby entrance of the studio then ushered us into a small editing room which would serve for the small group attending the presentation. After sorting through some small technical problems I started into the presentation.

I tried to emphasize that many of the techniques which I spoke about generally can be produced using out of the box tools. I also tried to emphasize that the rigs could be simple & responsive. But there was a fair amount of skepticism.

They were kind enough to show me their rig; it was quite complex and a major technical achievement for the one guy who more or less spent 2 years programming their rig on his own. I mean this rig did EVERYTHING. I could only imagine the horror of handing such a rig to the animators at Disney.

Granted, they did a large variety of work at that studio. Perhaps once they begin pre-production on an upcoming tv series and feature animated movie they may work more closely with animators and streamline their rig.

The president of the company took my wife and I to dinner. We went to a very small restaurant but the food was incredible! Gorgeous presentation and the tastes were subtle but delicious. We talked until midnight. Shuzo had great insight into animation and Japan's place within that industry. He is a very smart guy and has a clear plan & vision for not only his company but the potential role of Japan within the animation industry.

Although the hours are long & the pay is not as good as in the States it would be fun working in Tokyo at his company.

The Kameny Categories

So Ross has come up with a number of categories describing the types of young women's fashion. Okay... both Ross and I came up with these categories. And they also include a few male categories.

Camouflage Girls - generally hot & wearing one or more items of clothing with a camouflage pattern

Furries - generally hot & wearing furry clothing (see subcategories below); Ross doesn't like this style for some unknown reason

Furry Hood - Ross thinks these girls are all stuck up

Furry Boots - sometimes with a hood also, but always with furry boots with furry balls dangling from them

Barbie Hair - generally hot but heavily made up & sporting a huge, fancy hairdo with lots of hairspray

Goths - not lumped in with the Harajuku crowd, but groups of "traditional" Goths (typically women)

Corn-Roll Girls - they tend to be younger with a part of their hair in corn rolls

All Star - wearing jeans, a jacket or vest and Converse All-Stars; rather subdued look

Torn Jeans - generally hot; self explanatory

Gaijin Lurch - tall almost sickly looking gaijin, always with a Japanese girlfriend

Cutanical - girls with cute, mechanical voices found working everywhere in Japan (this is one of my terms)

And all women in Japan, Ross believes, must have a closet filled with dozens and dozens of boots with spiked heels and skirts.

We have only seen on pair of young girls wearing differently colored stockings but cannot be sure if they were advertising their "services" per the urban myth.

Harajuku

Next we took the subway to Harajuku. Luckily it was Sunday and all the oddly dressed kids gather there on that day to display their "unique" fashions and eat cake. Took lots of pictures then we headed back to Shibuya. Misato went to buy some shoes so Ross and I grabbed a coffee then walked through the Tower Records building quickly.




After we met up with Misato we headed back then my wife and I walked to Roppongi Hills to meet another couple and their daughter for dinner. We knew them from when we all lived in the Bay Area but they have since moved to Tokyo. Their daughter is incredibly cute and I always love seeing her.

Roppongi Hills is like Rodeo Drive. We ate at an Indian restaurant but the husband needed to leave early to go to work. It was Sunday and he had been away for his birthday, but he still needed to work!

After dinner we took a taxi to their apartment; I was dying to see what $15,000 a month bought you in Azabu. They had a great view of the Tokyo Tower and it was a very large place.

After tea and some dessert we grabbed a taxi back to our hotel. Misato went to bed and I stayed up until 2AM working on the presentation in Keynote.

Akihabara

We started a little early today and headed to Akihabara; Electric Town. It was quite different from what it was a couple of years before. This time it was kind of like walking around at E3; scantily clad girls performing on the streets and at storefronts, lights and noise everywhere... fun!


And where else could you buy all the latest issues of "Cat Shit One?!"











One particularly interesting site was seeing two girls dancing in a storefront to the theme song of this popular Japanese tv show; Densha Otoko. There was a large crowd of guys watching (not odd) but one guy mirroring their dance routine the entire time. It looked weird and a bit pathetic; you had to be there.



Ross bought a new Cybershot; one of the small models so that he could dump the large backpack & camera on short trips.