It's thursday here, and when leave (along with the flight crews that also use this hotel) I will be heading straight to the airport. There's a mall attached and that should keep me busy until I want to get through security. Sad to say, this is to be my last real entry. Sometime after I get back I'll go through and put all my photo albums together with captions and that will come up on here, but this is the last time I'll be writing a real post. After all, this is about me in Japan, and tomorrow I won't be in Japan anymore.
I have decided that to summarize my trip, I will tell you the top 10 things I'm going to miss about Japan.
10- The Time Zone
Now, technically, this one is more of a joke than anything else. I won't miss anything about this time zone in particular, as it is intrinsically no different from any other time zone. But I know I will miss it when I'm tired for three days because my clock is wrong. This is also the reason for my title. I've decided that traveling forward in time is easier than traveling back. Because I managed to get a whole day ahead with only using 14 hours last time, but now it will take me 14 hours to go back in time by one hour. Yes, I will leave here at 4pm the 23rd of June and arrive at Dulles around 3 on the 23rd of June. I won't get to Albany, my final destination until 7:15, but that's not time travel.
9- The Beds
My beds here, even in the hotel, are not the typical western-style mattresses, but rather the futon mattresses that Japanese use. Normally they are on the floor, but in western-style rooms they put them on bed frames. I find futon mattresses to be more comfortable and more firm than western spring mattresses, and I even had one once.
8- The Language
I've been studying Japanese for three years, and I finally had a chance to use it practically. Now, I'm going back to a town where not a soul speaks the language, so my ability can stagnate for the rest of the summer and I can come back to Cornell having forgotten things that I learned. As has happened each year since I started learning it.
7- The Trains
For three weeks, I have been able to go wherever I want for free, traveling more miles in a day than I usually cover in a week back home. And the trains are comfortable, far more than any car, and I don't have to drive them so I can sleep if I like, or just look at the scenery. They're also a lot faster than cars, too, at least getting around cities and taking the shinkansen across country, because they can cut a straight line where cars have to turn. I will miss the daily train travel I have been experiencing,
6- The Drinks
The flavor of pretty much every drink is different than what we have in America. Here they have a bit of a sweet tooth for drinks. This isn't to say that they have a lot of sugar, but on average their sodas are sweeter than the common ones in America. This could be because the cola taste reigns supreme in American sodas, but here you find more sweet flavors, like Calpis' original flavor, Ramune flavor, and Mitsuya Cider. I don't know if I can go back to drinking Coke after this. It has never been my favorite, but now I know there's so much better.
5- The People
I kept expecting it to change, but every single Japanese person I have met has been outstandingly nice to me. People have offered to take my picture for a souvenir on multiple occasions, and everyone here is happy to learn about why I've come to Japan and what I'm doing here. They care a whole lot about a stranger tourist and its something I've grown accustomed to. If I even look lost, someone comes to help me before I even ask, even if I am not in fact truly lost. So that's nice. People in America are all jerks compared to the Japanese.
4- The Melon Flavor
This is a Flavor of both food and drink that just isn't popular (or exists, really) in America, and that is a shame. I've had melon flavored rolls, melon-filled rolls, melon flavored shaved ice, melon flavored ice cream bars, and lots of melon flavored soda. I would even say that it is my new favorite flavor, and now I'm going back to a place that doesn't have it and that makes me sad.
3- The Architecture
So, the square brick buildings aren't anything to look at, but I much prefer the traditional Japanese style to the Victorian style on comparable houses in America. The roof tiling is so nice, and I like the gardens. The modern style buildings in Japan are more innovative and interesting to look at than any I've seen in America, too. Also, the green innovations I've seen in Japan have given me a lot to think about.
2- The Food
I have historically been quite picky about my Japanese food. I'll go to a restaurant that claims to be Japanese even if it isn't run by Japanese people or truly cooked in the right way, and I'll enjoy it, but I won't ever call it Japanese food. There are only two restaurants that I've been to that can compare to the food here, and that includes food that is shared between our two countries. Even the burgers taste better here. Now some, like my girlfriend, would say that I only like it more because I'm obsessed with Japan, and that could be true. But I would rather assume that what my friend from New Zealand at the dormitory told me is true: in America, restaurants are obsessed with portions more than with taste, and in Japan, the reverse is true. That's why I think everything, even American food, tastes better in Japan. Also, the snack foods here have America's beaten as well. The rolls and pastries are amazing and I have found no equal for these bakeries. Also, they have delicious red beans in everything, and I've come to be fond of those too.
1- The Adventure
I'm heading back to a village of a few hundred permanent residents that I've lived in all my life to work a 40 hour/ week job. Everything will be familiar, and even though that can be good as well, I know I will miss the daily adventures I've been going on here, learning and exploring and always seeing new things around each corner. There is a lot to be said for a place that has more than once taken my breath away. I can think of at least three times in which I have come around a corner and all I could say was 'wow'. The massive Cemetary in Kyoto, the amazing view of Mount Fuji, and the Daibutsu at Kamakura were all times like this. I won't miss the blisters, but I'll miss the things I did to earn them.
There it is! I can't believe it's over. It feels like I haven't been here very long at all, but I know it was a long time for my friends and family at home. It's good to be going home, but bittersweet.
It has truly been an honor to write to you all every day, and I hope that when I next see you in person you've all been devoted readers with lots of questions for me.
I'll see you on the other side!
Signing off for now,
Cory
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 22 - It's Day 22 and I have run out of witty titles
Today is my last full day in Japan. Tomorrow I will be writing my blog post in the morning, which to you will seem like I wrote it the same day as this post, but to me it won't be.
For my last full day in Japan, I visited Matsumoto, which is about two and a half hours north of Tokyo. This would have been an impossible day trip from Osaka, but it's doable if you're in the Tokyo area, just remember that the trains to Matsumoto don't run often, so you should plan some extra time for waiting at train stations (I learned this the hard way).
On the way there, I had a pleasant surprise: on the way to Matsumoto, you have a very cool view of the North side of Mt. Fuji. I never got the shot I wanted, which is from the more visible south face. It can be taken from the train from Osaka to Tokyo, but the clouds usually cover Mt. Fuji, and so it hasn't been visible at all on any of my trips to tokyo. Today, however, I could finally see the summit.
You can see the pictures here, but for some reason, it won't let me upload the Mt. Fuji pictures to the blog right now. On the way to Matsumoto the summit was clear, but on the way back a small cloud clung to the top of the mountain.
Matsumoto Castle is also called the Crow Castle, because of its distinctive and unique black coloration. Unlike the Osaka castle, which is a ferro-concrete reproduction created after the original was destroyed in WWII, Matsumoto Castle still has all the original wood and stone work. Where the Osaka castle was a modern museum devoted to what the castle had once been, complete with escalators, Matsumoto Castle instead is completely preserved internally.
Castles in Japan are either one of these two (original or reproduction). Purists to castle hunting in Japan usually say that the original castles are much better than the reproductions because they are 'authentic', but having been to one of each, I would rather say that each has its own purposes and effects. I didn't truly understand the structure of castles until my visit to the Crow Castle today, but the museum at this castle had less of the history of the castle and was more a lesson on its structure. I did learn that it was controlled for 30 years by Takeda Shingen, one of my favorite Medieval figures.
The Takeda Shingen story is long and full of details, so I will give you the summary. For years and years Takeda Shingen, also called the Tiger of Kai, had wars with his rival Uesugi Kenshin, or the Dragon of Echigo. Both were renowned tacticians and they fought to a draw on at least four separate occasions. I like to imagine they had a bit of a friendly rivalry by the end of their conflicts with one another.
The castle was taken by Oda Nobunaga when he tried to unify Japan, which is also an interesting story about the Tiger of Kai. Takeda Shingen was the only Daimyo (Warlord) in Japan with the tactical prowess to stop the Oda conquest from taking over all of Japan. At the battle of Mikatagahara he used his battle expertise to defeat the combined armies of Oda and Tokugawa. He later died of mysterious circumstances in camp and without his leadership his armies soon fell, but one wonders if Japan would ever have unified if he had lived to thwart the Oda plans.
But I digress. The castle itself was magnificent, and not for the first time a nice Japanese person offered to take my picture in front of the castle when I was standing outside. I have decided that Japanese are simply a lot nicer to tourists than Americans are, on the average.
Like I said before, all the original woodwork survived the widespread firebombings of WWII, which some would contribute to luck, but I like to think it has something to do with a legend I learned today. Apparently, a specter of a rice goddess (or something, I don't really remember) showed up on the wall one night and gave the guard a bag of rice. If they agreed to deify the rice and make offerings on the 26th of every month...and this is the word for word translation now...the spirits would protect the castle from "fire and enemies". Which basically sums up WWII. And still the castle survives today, so that could have something to do with it.
Also among my pictures you will see another discovery I made today: my bathroom has a small square of mirror space that is heated, so that it never fogs. I think that's pretty neat.
Cory
For my last full day in Japan, I visited Matsumoto, which is about two and a half hours north of Tokyo. This would have been an impossible day trip from Osaka, but it's doable if you're in the Tokyo area, just remember that the trains to Matsumoto don't run often, so you should plan some extra time for waiting at train stations (I learned this the hard way).
On the way there, I had a pleasant surprise: on the way to Matsumoto, you have a very cool view of the North side of Mt. Fuji. I never got the shot I wanted, which is from the more visible south face. It can be taken from the train from Osaka to Tokyo, but the clouds usually cover Mt. Fuji, and so it hasn't been visible at all on any of my trips to tokyo. Today, however, I could finally see the summit.
You can see the pictures here, but for some reason, it won't let me upload the Mt. Fuji pictures to the blog right now. On the way to Matsumoto the summit was clear, but on the way back a small cloud clung to the top of the mountain.
Matsumoto Castle is also called the Crow Castle, because of its distinctive and unique black coloration. Unlike the Osaka castle, which is a ferro-concrete reproduction created after the original was destroyed in WWII, Matsumoto Castle still has all the original wood and stone work. Where the Osaka castle was a modern museum devoted to what the castle had once been, complete with escalators, Matsumoto Castle instead is completely preserved internally.
Castles in Japan are either one of these two (original or reproduction). Purists to castle hunting in Japan usually say that the original castles are much better than the reproductions because they are 'authentic', but having been to one of each, I would rather say that each has its own purposes and effects. I didn't truly understand the structure of castles until my visit to the Crow Castle today, but the museum at this castle had less of the history of the castle and was more a lesson on its structure. I did learn that it was controlled for 30 years by Takeda Shingen, one of my favorite Medieval figures.
The Takeda Shingen story is long and full of details, so I will give you the summary. For years and years Takeda Shingen, also called the Tiger of Kai, had wars with his rival Uesugi Kenshin, or the Dragon of Echigo. Both were renowned tacticians and they fought to a draw on at least four separate occasions. I like to imagine they had a bit of a friendly rivalry by the end of their conflicts with one another.
The castle was taken by Oda Nobunaga when he tried to unify Japan, which is also an interesting story about the Tiger of Kai. Takeda Shingen was the only Daimyo (Warlord) in Japan with the tactical prowess to stop the Oda conquest from taking over all of Japan. At the battle of Mikatagahara he used his battle expertise to defeat the combined armies of Oda and Tokugawa. He later died of mysterious circumstances in camp and without his leadership his armies soon fell, but one wonders if Japan would ever have unified if he had lived to thwart the Oda plans.
But I digress. The castle itself was magnificent, and not for the first time a nice Japanese person offered to take my picture in front of the castle when I was standing outside. I have decided that Japanese are simply a lot nicer to tourists than Americans are, on the average.
Like I said before, all the original woodwork survived the widespread firebombings of WWII, which some would contribute to luck, but I like to think it has something to do with a legend I learned today. Apparently, a specter of a rice goddess (or something, I don't really remember) showed up on the wall one night and gave the guard a bag of rice. If they agreed to deify the rice and make offerings on the 26th of every month...and this is the word for word translation now...the spirits would protect the castle from "fire and enemies". Which basically sums up WWII. And still the castle survives today, so that could have something to do with it.
Also among my pictures you will see another discovery I made today: my bathroom has a small square of mirror space that is heated, so that it never fogs. I think that's pretty neat.
Cory
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 21 - Goodbye Osaka
When I checked out this morning it was a bittersweet moment. For one, I was glad to head to a bigger room with a shower that doesn't cost money to use and my new reservation for the last two nights was a third of the price of the average price. It's usually a $150/night hotel and I got it for $45 a night. I'm not trying to use this blog for advertising, but I have to recommend Agoda discount hotels for such a great find. Anyway, I got back my security deposit (about $40 that I had honestly forgotten about) and Kazu-san and his wife were both downstairs to thank me for spending my time there and they even offered to take my picture in front of the Dormitory when I stood around for a little while longer to take pictures.
Yes, I have heard your requests to see my living conditions, and so I was taking pictures.
Anyway, I realized that no matter how nice my hotel was, it could not be any nicer than Kazu-san and his wife were to me during my stay. If I ever come back to Osaka, even if I am not staying at the Dormitory, I plan to stop by and rent my bicycles from him. It was very sad to go knowing I won't be going back, and I didn't even run into my australian friend.
He must have been out teaching before I got up, but lately I have been telling him all about what I did every day and he has been sharing his experiences with teaching English in Japan. It was nice to talk to him and I'm sad that I missed him.
Let me clarify one more time why I'm staying in Tokyo for the last two nights. Originally I had planned to hop the Shinkansen from Osaka on the 23rd and go straight to the airport for my flight, but then I realize that my Rail Pass expires a day before my flight leaves. The train from Osaka to Tokyo without a rail pass is about $150 dollars, so I figured why not spend a night in Tokyo for less than that and already be at the airport the day of my flight?
Then, when I was planning to go to Matsumoto castle, which is an hour northwest of Tokyo, I discovered I would have to go through Tokyo anyway, and then I would spend 8 hours on a train to do that trip from Osaka. So I decided to spend a second night in Tokyo so that I could just go to the castle directly from there (tomorrow).
As it turns out, I saved more than I expected. Agoda's website hooked me up with the fanciest hotel I've ever been in, it must be 4 or 5 stars, for $45 a night, and then my landlord charged me less for my stay at the Dormitory because I was checking out two nights earlier. In all, I saved at least $80 and now I won't have to take any more money out for the rest of my trip.
The hotel I'm in now is something else. You can see the pictures here. Here's something you can't see in the pictures: the pillows are filled with goose down. Yes the hotel is fantastic. Also, I have discovered a number of really cool things that I don't think they even have in American hotels. First, I have a doorbell. And there's this switch on my end table that turns off the doorbell button that sits outside and puts a 'do not disturb' light on instead. Also, they have given me complementary slippers and japanese casual wear for my stay. One of the coolest (and greenest) innovation in my room is that in order for anything in the room to be powered, my room key has to be in a socket just inside the door. So when I leave, everything automatically shuts off. It's impossible to leave something running when you go out for the day, and waste electricity.
I got here around 6pm, after going through Narita Airport to get the shuttle bus, and I decided to scout out the area around my hotel. Narita, which is a smaller city outside tokyo, seemed at first to be a hodge-podge of a small town with big hotels. It struck me as odd that there wasn't anything around. But if you walk for about half an hour down the main road and make a couple turns, you get to a large mall (are there any small malls in Japan?) and an entertainment complex with a movie theater and an arcade. At the mall, I had an excellent bowl of curry noodles at a noodle shop. I also spilled some curry on my pants, but I just did laundry so I have enough pants.
On the strip near the huge mall there are countless restaurants, like the Mamma Pasta and a bunch of Japanese restaurants whose names I couldn't read. And some I could but couldn't translate. As you walk back towards the Garden Hotel where I'm staying, these fade into an auto parts district full of dealerships and repair shops and parts warehouses. And then you come to this:
Yes, I have heard your requests to see my living conditions, and so I was taking pictures.
Anyway, I realized that no matter how nice my hotel was, it could not be any nicer than Kazu-san and his wife were to me during my stay. If I ever come back to Osaka, even if I am not staying at the Dormitory, I plan to stop by and rent my bicycles from him. It was very sad to go knowing I won't be going back, and I didn't even run into my australian friend.
He must have been out teaching before I got up, but lately I have been telling him all about what I did every day and he has been sharing his experiences with teaching English in Japan. It was nice to talk to him and I'm sad that I missed him.
Let me clarify one more time why I'm staying in Tokyo for the last two nights. Originally I had planned to hop the Shinkansen from Osaka on the 23rd and go straight to the airport for my flight, but then I realize that my Rail Pass expires a day before my flight leaves. The train from Osaka to Tokyo without a rail pass is about $150 dollars, so I figured why not spend a night in Tokyo for less than that and already be at the airport the day of my flight?
Then, when I was planning to go to Matsumoto castle, which is an hour northwest of Tokyo, I discovered I would have to go through Tokyo anyway, and then I would spend 8 hours on a train to do that trip from Osaka. So I decided to spend a second night in Tokyo so that I could just go to the castle directly from there (tomorrow).
As it turns out, I saved more than I expected. Agoda's website hooked me up with the fanciest hotel I've ever been in, it must be 4 or 5 stars, for $45 a night, and then my landlord charged me less for my stay at the Dormitory because I was checking out two nights earlier. In all, I saved at least $80 and now I won't have to take any more money out for the rest of my trip.
The hotel I'm in now is something else. You can see the pictures here. Here's something you can't see in the pictures: the pillows are filled with goose down. Yes the hotel is fantastic. Also, I have discovered a number of really cool things that I don't think they even have in American hotels. First, I have a doorbell. And there's this switch on my end table that turns off the doorbell button that sits outside and puts a 'do not disturb' light on instead. Also, they have given me complementary slippers and japanese casual wear for my stay. One of the coolest (and greenest) innovation in my room is that in order for anything in the room to be powered, my room key has to be in a socket just inside the door. So when I leave, everything automatically shuts off. It's impossible to leave something running when you go out for the day, and waste electricity.
I got here around 6pm, after going through Narita Airport to get the shuttle bus, and I decided to scout out the area around my hotel. Narita, which is a smaller city outside tokyo, seemed at first to be a hodge-podge of a small town with big hotels. It struck me as odd that there wasn't anything around. But if you walk for about half an hour down the main road and make a couple turns, you get to a large mall (are there any small malls in Japan?) and an entertainment complex with a movie theater and an arcade. At the mall, I had an excellent bowl of curry noodles at a noodle shop. I also spilled some curry on my pants, but I just did laundry so I have enough pants.
On the strip near the huge mall there are countless restaurants, like the Mamma Pasta and a bunch of Japanese restaurants whose names I couldn't read. And some I could but couldn't translate. As you walk back towards the Garden Hotel where I'm staying, these fade into an auto parts district full of dealerships and repair shops and parts warehouses. And then you come to this:
No caption needed.
The yuletide abomination before you is a Santa-themed hotel across the street from mine. Mine looks much calmer and probably costs a lot more money. But still, somehow I think this place could only exist in Japan or maybe Las Vegas.
Oh, and there was a fancy temple down the road that I saw looming over the tree tops. If I have time tomorrow I'll go down that way, but I still have to see Matsumoto castle and finish some shopping in Tokyo first.
Cory
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 20 - Japan Hates Mondays
Tomorrow morning I will pack my bags and head to Tokyo to stay at a cushy hotel (that I am paying a third of the price for, thank you online discount website). Tomorrow I will take pictures of my cleaned room to show you where I've been living. But I spent my last day here doing a couple of things I still had to do.
First, I went to the Human Rights Research Center that I found last week to meet with Honda-san and talk about the Burakumin issues in Japan. I learned quite a bit about the current state of affairs from him. This was the reason I went, because I already have a firm handle on the historical situation.
The basic picture is this: the minority burakumin have traditionally been silently segregated into certain communities, like the Osaka community of Imamiya. These groups have been provided with poorer infrastructure and the people in these communities are usually of low social status. The areas are called 'buraku', and the people burakumin. This I already knew. But I didn't understand why it had remained like this. There used to be institutionalized discrimination, but in modern times that has been abolished and made illegal. So why does it still exist?
Well, the areas they come from are still poorly served, and few people leave them. They often remain in the community because of discrimination from without. This discrimination is often perpetuated by parents or grandparents telling their young children that 'those are bad people'. This is the same way that racism is perpetuated in America even today. But here, people don't want to talk about the issue, the way that they have in America. There hasn't been a massive buraku movement until recently, certainly more recently than the Civil Rights Movement was. So the burakumin continue to face social separation and segregation that borders on self-segregation, but is not truly self motivated.
The problems are that their basic human rights are violated merely because they were born in a low-status community, which was in turn created by human rights violations. This is why it is so hard to break the cycle.
And the side effects are frightening. I recently heard of a happening in India caused by similar class-based discrimination in which a young girl was murdered...by police. The story is graphic and not intended for children (there are details other than the murder that you can probably guess) so I will not provide a link here, because I may have younger readers. Needless to say, this has to stop. That's why the study of issues like this is so important. That's why I came to talk to Honda-san.
At the conclusion of our talk, he gave me information about an online newsletter--in english--that his center puts out, and sometimes talks about burakumin issues. I plan to keep reading it.
I want to apologize for the heavy nature of the above. As a change of pace, let's talk about today's title.
Yes, I think Japan hates mondays, more so than most people. This is half a joke. Nevertheless, where most businesses in America have Sunday as a day off or day with reduced hours (a holdover from the strong Christian prohibition against work on sundays that was popular in early America) in Japan, most museums, zoos, and temples are closed on Mondays.
That was, alas, what happened at parts of the temple I visited today. Luckily, however, the primary complex and fancy gardens were both kept open all week.
The temple, Shitennoji, is said to be the oldest temple in Japan, founded by Prince Shotoku in 593 AD. Shitennoji is a temple in honor of the Shitenno, or four heavenly kings. Tomorrow, the 21st, there will be a massive flea market all across the complex. In fact, today you can see some of the booths in one of my pictures. The structure itself is typical of Buddhist structures. It has a 5 story pagoda and a grand hall and four gates in the cardinal directions. It also has a garden which I assume also doubles as a tea garden. I took a stroll in the garden filled with waterfalls and trimmed trees and fancy landscaping (like stone bridges).
Oh! I almost forgot about the turtles!
First, I went to the Human Rights Research Center that I found last week to meet with Honda-san and talk about the Burakumin issues in Japan. I learned quite a bit about the current state of affairs from him. This was the reason I went, because I already have a firm handle on the historical situation.
The basic picture is this: the minority burakumin have traditionally been silently segregated into certain communities, like the Osaka community of Imamiya. These groups have been provided with poorer infrastructure and the people in these communities are usually of low social status. The areas are called 'buraku', and the people burakumin. This I already knew. But I didn't understand why it had remained like this. There used to be institutionalized discrimination, but in modern times that has been abolished and made illegal. So why does it still exist?
Well, the areas they come from are still poorly served, and few people leave them. They often remain in the community because of discrimination from without. This discrimination is often perpetuated by parents or grandparents telling their young children that 'those are bad people'. This is the same way that racism is perpetuated in America even today. But here, people don't want to talk about the issue, the way that they have in America. There hasn't been a massive buraku movement until recently, certainly more recently than the Civil Rights Movement was. So the burakumin continue to face social separation and segregation that borders on self-segregation, but is not truly self motivated.
The problems are that their basic human rights are violated merely because they were born in a low-status community, which was in turn created by human rights violations. This is why it is so hard to break the cycle.
And the side effects are frightening. I recently heard of a happening in India caused by similar class-based discrimination in which a young girl was murdered...by police. The story is graphic and not intended for children (there are details other than the murder that you can probably guess) so I will not provide a link here, because I may have younger readers. Needless to say, this has to stop. That's why the study of issues like this is so important. That's why I came to talk to Honda-san.
At the conclusion of our talk, he gave me information about an online newsletter--in english--that his center puts out, and sometimes talks about burakumin issues. I plan to keep reading it.
I want to apologize for the heavy nature of the above. As a change of pace, let's talk about today's title.
Yes, I think Japan hates mondays, more so than most people. This is half a joke. Nevertheless, where most businesses in America have Sunday as a day off or day with reduced hours (a holdover from the strong Christian prohibition against work on sundays that was popular in early America) in Japan, most museums, zoos, and temples are closed on Mondays.
That was, alas, what happened at parts of the temple I visited today. Luckily, however, the primary complex and fancy gardens were both kept open all week.
The temple, Shitennoji, is said to be the oldest temple in Japan, founded by Prince Shotoku in 593 AD. Shitennoji is a temple in honor of the Shitenno, or four heavenly kings. Tomorrow, the 21st, there will be a massive flea market all across the complex. In fact, today you can see some of the booths in one of my pictures. The structure itself is typical of Buddhist structures. It has a 5 story pagoda and a grand hall and four gates in the cardinal directions. It also has a garden which I assume also doubles as a tea garden. I took a stroll in the garden filled with waterfalls and trimmed trees and fancy landscaping (like stone bridges).
Oh! I almost forgot about the turtles!
The turtles.
This was taken in front of one of the grand halls. They had a bridge separating two ponds filled with turtles. It seems like Buddhist things are always a home to wildlife. If you remember, there was a spot near a temple on the Philosopher's walk in Kyoto that had five or six stray cats. Anyway, I liked the turtles, so I will share them with you. I also believe in at least one picture per blog entry to give myself to come up with an amusing caption.
Cory
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 19 - Come for the Panda...
I feel like I've started too many of my posts with "today, I...". It's difficult to go an entire entry of a daily journal, however, without using this gem. I've tried various strategies to combat it, including this one you see here before you: self-referential openings. But I still said it.
So anyway, I went to the zoo today. Not just any zoo, but Ueno Zoological Gardens, the oldest and most famous (and also largest, I think) zoo in Japan. It was founded in 1882. This was after the Imperial Government abolished the Shogunate but before there was any constitution in Japan (the constitution was enacted in 1890). The zoo now holds about 2600 animals from over 450 species. So it's kind of a big deal. It also has pandas! Now, I know that there are pandas in zoos in the US, but the pandas are the big draw at the Ueno zoo. In my pictures of Ueno from last week, I took some of various store fronts that had a panda motif. All the stores in the Ueno district have stuffed pandas for sale in addition to whatever else they're selling. They're pretty fond of their pandas.
And you can tell in the zoo, too. There's this massive roped off area like the line to get on a ride in front of the panda enclosure. I showed up early enough that I did not have to wait, but on my way out of the park I saw that the wait to see the pandas was at least 45 minutes, probably longer. They are such a big draw that they have to arrange lines for people to take their turn to view them. And whenever a panda so much as rolls over everyone screams bloody murder. It's both amusing and frightening.
So while I was excited to see the pandas, the most fun can be had away from the large crowds and long lines. For example, they have a rarely-advertised birds of prey exhibit with a number of owl species and quite a few hawks. They also have a vulture who, about halfway through my walk through the bird zone, decided he didn't like all the attention and started making noise and stalking back and forth across the front of the cage, as if getting ready to attack the people below him.
"Get off my lawn!"
The zoo also has a few surprisingly averagely-priced eateries. This seems to be a difference between America and Japan. Put anything in a paid or secured area (like inside zoos, theme parks, or inside the secure zone of airport terminals) and food tends to be priced higher than average. This is because they have a captive and presumably hungry audience. But here, even in the train stations for the long-distance Shinkansen lines, the food is reasonably priced. I was very surprised by how cheap things were at the zoo.
My favorite part was the gorilla exhibit. Because at this time the Ueno zoo has a baby gorilla. He would run around the bigger, lazier gorillas and try to play or bug the other gorillas. He would slap this one other gorilla across the face repeatedly until the bigger gorilla would grab his hand in mid-flight and push him away. Then the baby would run around the enclosure looking for something else to do. I feel like I got a few really good pictures out of the gorillas.
This is my favorite.
But it was a close battle for 'best exhibit'. They also had a reptile/amphibian building kept at an uncomfortably high temperature that contained a ten foot crocodile. It was the biggest croc I've ever seen, and I used to go to Florida every year and do fun things there like go to the Everglades. But I suppose those are mostly not saltwater crocodiles, either. The baby Hippos were also some of the most adorable animals ever. You can see the pictures of all the animals I saw today here and here.
On my way back I was lucky enough to walk past a set of fountains near my dorm that were going through a light-show thing that I didn't realize they could do. The spouts from numerous fountains are illuminated and the colors are constantly changing. I tried to get a bunch of angles, and those pictures are also in the album. But here's one to give you a taste.
Tomorrow is my last day in Osaka, and then I move to Tokyo for the last two nights of my trip!
Cory
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 18 - Rain
If you read my blog every day, you know that I've been to some of the most important Buddhist temples in Japan. Well, today I visited the most sacred Shinto Shrines in Japan, located at Ise, southeast of Osaka on a peninsula.
The area is heavily rural. In many places the train went through acres of farmlands with only small towns or villages separating them. It was the most rural side of Japan I've seen yet. I also noticed I could no longer see the mountains in the distance. This was not just because it was raining, but also because Ise is in a lowland region near the coast.
The train I had to take was a member of the Japan Railways group, or JR, and my unlimited rail pass works for all JR lines. However, this particular train passes over rails owned by another company. This occurs in a couple of different lines across Japan. The result is an additional fee, not covered by my rail pass, on both trips (there and back).
Anyway, once I got there, I bussed my way out to the far shrine. There are two main shrines in Ise, the Geku and the Naiku (or Outer Shrine and Inner Shrine) about a mile or two apart. Both of them are interesting because they show a style of architecture that is purely Japanese. There are no influences from China like you see in Buddhist temples. The roofs are thatched, rather than tiled, and they are capped with crosspieces of wood. On the fancier shrine buildings this wood is colored gold.
The Ise Shrines, both Geku and Naiku, are unique among Shinto shrines in that, by tradition, they are systematically taken down and rebuilt every 20 years. And I mean every structure on the premises. This is partially meant to preserve ancient construction methods, as the construction is always done without nails or fasteners and rather uses interlocking pieces pioneered centuries ago. In many places there are empty plots next to the buildings where they will next be rebuilt (in 2013). You can see the plots in some of my pictures.
The Ise Shrines are dedicated to some of the highest level Shinto kami, or gods. There are also more than a hundred other shrines connected to the two grand shrine complexes. The Ise shrines are some of the most sacred ground in all of Japan. There are a number of side effects of this sacredness. The main complexes, for example, are off limits to the general public. You can go to the satellite shrines and come close to the main complex, but the three largest buildings are surrounded by a vision-obscuring fence over which you can only see the tops of the buildings. Photography is forbidden in the one place you can go inside the fence, so unfortunately I cannot show you what I saw. I will say this, though. The one yard in front of the shrine is filled with black pebbles, and the path is made of white pebbles.
The Ise shrines are partly so sacred because they are believed to contain the legendary mirror Yata no Kagami of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, also known as the Three Treasures. The other two are a sword (Kusanagi) and a jewel (Yasakami no Magatama). These treasures are passed down by the Imperial family and fiercely protected. Each one is an artifact as important as the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence is to the United States. As such, the high priest or priestess of the Ise shrine must be from the Imperial family. Unlike the Declaration and the Constitution, though, the artifacts are kept secretive, and even the mirror's presence at the shrine is not admitted by the government. Still, it was worth it to go to the most sacred Shrines in Japan, even if I could only see their roofs.
Cory
The area is heavily rural. In many places the train went through acres of farmlands with only small towns or villages separating them. It was the most rural side of Japan I've seen yet. I also noticed I could no longer see the mountains in the distance. This was not just because it was raining, but also because Ise is in a lowland region near the coast.
The train I had to take was a member of the Japan Railways group, or JR, and my unlimited rail pass works for all JR lines. However, this particular train passes over rails owned by another company. This occurs in a couple of different lines across Japan. The result is an additional fee, not covered by my rail pass, on both trips (there and back).
Anyway, once I got there, I bussed my way out to the far shrine. There are two main shrines in Ise, the Geku and the Naiku (or Outer Shrine and Inner Shrine) about a mile or two apart. Both of them are interesting because they show a style of architecture that is purely Japanese. There are no influences from China like you see in Buddhist temples. The roofs are thatched, rather than tiled, and they are capped with crosspieces of wood. On the fancier shrine buildings this wood is colored gold.
Like this.
The Ise Shrines, both Geku and Naiku, are unique among Shinto shrines in that, by tradition, they are systematically taken down and rebuilt every 20 years. And I mean every structure on the premises. This is partially meant to preserve ancient construction methods, as the construction is always done without nails or fasteners and rather uses interlocking pieces pioneered centuries ago. In many places there are empty plots next to the buildings where they will next be rebuilt (in 2013). You can see the plots in some of my pictures.
The Ise Shrines are dedicated to some of the highest level Shinto kami, or gods. There are also more than a hundred other shrines connected to the two grand shrine complexes. The Ise shrines are some of the most sacred ground in all of Japan. There are a number of side effects of this sacredness. The main complexes, for example, are off limits to the general public. You can go to the satellite shrines and come close to the main complex, but the three largest buildings are surrounded by a vision-obscuring fence over which you can only see the tops of the buildings. Photography is forbidden in the one place you can go inside the fence, so unfortunately I cannot show you what I saw. I will say this, though. The one yard in front of the shrine is filled with black pebbles, and the path is made of white pebbles.
The Ise shrines are partly so sacred because they are believed to contain the legendary mirror Yata no Kagami of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, also known as the Three Treasures. The other two are a sword (Kusanagi) and a jewel (Yasakami no Magatama). These treasures are passed down by the Imperial family and fiercely protected. Each one is an artifact as important as the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence is to the United States. As such, the high priest or priestess of the Ise shrine must be from the Imperial family. Unlike the Declaration and the Constitution, though, the artifacts are kept secretive, and even the mirror's presence at the shrine is not admitted by the government. Still, it was worth it to go to the most sacred Shrines in Japan, even if I could only see their roofs.
Cory
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day 17 - Everything's bigger in Tokyo
I set out this morning planning to explore some important regions of Tokyo, and it took more time than I had planned.
Well, let's be honest. Tokyo is pretty big. So I shouldn't have been surprised that I couldn't explore nearly as much as I wanted to. It didn't help my mission any that I was on foot and a tight schedule. Still, I managed to scope out the central areas of Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Akihabara today.
I know those are gibberish to most of you. I'll get there.
First I went to Ikebukuro. Forget what I said about the enormous department stores in Osaka. Ikebukuro is home to two of the largest in the world: the Tobu and Seibu dept. stores. I only went to one, Seibu, figuring that they were really about the same. Honestly, it was very much similar to the one in Osaka, except for the size. The Seibu in Tokyo is at least ten stories. And one of them is a full blown supermarket. It was so huge that I only explored a couple of floors, checked the map, and ignored the parts I didn't care about (mostly women's fashion...and men's fashion. I didn't come to Japan to improve my image).
On their food floor there was a vast array of cakes (yes, I know. Now I find cake...), Japanese treats, vegetables, as well as meats and fried foods of all kinds. And fish. The place smelled strongly. It should be noted that the worlds largest Department store is in Yokohama, Japan, and is also a Seibu.
When I finished there, I went over to Shinjuku, one of the biggest shopping districts in Japan. I hear it also has a sword museum, but I couldn't find it. Everything is huge in Shinjuku. There is a massive mall complex in a skyscraper, and four whole floors of it are devoted to Tower Records. That's right. There are four story music stores in Japan.
More interestingly, I've been nearing the end of my book after riding six to eight hours in a train every day for the last week. So I was looking to buy the sequel. I found this.
Well, let's be honest. Tokyo is pretty big. So I shouldn't have been surprised that I couldn't explore nearly as much as I wanted to. It didn't help my mission any that I was on foot and a tight schedule. Still, I managed to scope out the central areas of Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, and Akihabara today.
I know those are gibberish to most of you. I'll get there.
First I went to Ikebukuro. Forget what I said about the enormous department stores in Osaka. Ikebukuro is home to two of the largest in the world: the Tobu and Seibu dept. stores. I only went to one, Seibu, figuring that they were really about the same. Honestly, it was very much similar to the one in Osaka, except for the size. The Seibu in Tokyo is at least ten stories. And one of them is a full blown supermarket. It was so huge that I only explored a couple of floors, checked the map, and ignored the parts I didn't care about (mostly women's fashion...and men's fashion. I didn't come to Japan to improve my image).
On their food floor there was a vast array of cakes (yes, I know. Now I find cake...), Japanese treats, vegetables, as well as meats and fried foods of all kinds. And fish. The place smelled strongly. It should be noted that the worlds largest Department store is in Yokohama, Japan, and is also a Seibu.
When I finished there, I went over to Shinjuku, one of the biggest shopping districts in Japan. I hear it also has a sword museum, but I couldn't find it. Everything is huge in Shinjuku. There is a massive mall complex in a skyscraper, and four whole floors of it are devoted to Tower Records. That's right. There are four story music stores in Japan.
More interestingly, I've been nearing the end of my book after riding six to eight hours in a train every day for the last week. So I was looking to buy the sequel. I found this.
You probably can't read the words, but do you see that lavender color on the floor map? That's a book store. A seven-story book store. Literally the coolest thing I have ever seen. It reminded me of the two-story bookstores I've been to in America, except for the fact that it is mostly Japanese books. But if any bookstore in Japan would have the sequel to my American novel, it would be this one.
I was actually very impressed by their selection of foreign books. Fully half a floor is devoted to books in other languages, mostly English. I found my book, and almost bought a couple more, before I remembered that I was running out of space to pack things in.
After Shinjuku, I went to Akihabara. Akihabara is the center of Japanese "Otaku" culture, which basically means a hardcore fan of a particular thing. This is a big cultural difference from America. If an American in his twenties, working for a business company, collected statues of giant fighting robots from an animated television show, it would be ridiculous. But in Japan, while it is still not a mainstream habit, it does happen. Most of the people in the hobby and model shops were people in suits.
I have puzzled long and hard over why this and many other forms of Otaku culture spring up in Japan while they are thought of as uniformly immature in America. I think it has something to do with the group nature of Japanese society. In high school you most likely wear a uniform and you are expected to be in clubs and devote yourself to that group. The same happens in college, and when you enter the workforce you are likely one of many people working for a massive corporation, and you sort of get lost. My theory is that it's a way for Japanese to be individuated while still being a group member during the day.
I also would like to clarify the difference in Japanese animation "anime" and American "cartoons". I find this also is a reason for the difference in fandom here versus America. In America, "cartoons" are traditionally for children. There are exceptions (South Park, Family Guy), but for the most part cartoons are considered for children. In Japan there is no such distinction. Sure, there are anime for children, but there are also anime for adults, and for specific groups. Certain anime appeal to young men and boys while other appeal to middle aged housewives. It is as diverse as dramas are in America. Also, anime have, without question, an overarching plot that encompasses multiple episodes in a linear way. American television (not just cartoons) is often serialized in such a way that you don't need to watch in any particular order. But with anime, it's all about the story. It breeds a much more plot-oriented audience, which invests them in the characters, and so they remain fans for much longer.
That's my theory, anyway.
I didn't get many pictures today, as I mostly walked in and around stores and they don't like you taking pictures. But here they are.
Cory
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)