Hallowe'en Party!

Firstly, thanks for all the B-day wishes everyone! I had a great night, and realised that I have some good friends here in Japan.

Now, here are some pics from the Halloween Party! I was Suntory Boss, just in case you are wondering.

caterpillar

fig. 6: The biggest caterpillar I've ever seen! I think it was eating its way into the centre of the Earth. It was about the size of my thumb from where it connects to the wrist.

mentaiko

Recently, things have been a little mentaiko around here. Firstly, blogger wouldn't let me post. Then there was a major shitstorm at the office, which took about 3 days to settle. And finally, I had to get a medical check-up sponsored by work.

I woke up early today and waited for Kazuyo to pick me up in her bright red car. About 5 of us went to the hospital for a company medical. When we arrived at the hospital, I realised that I had peed our all the liquid in my body a few minutes before, so I bought a bottle of green tea and chugged it all down. The first test was the urine test and I literally stood in the bathroom for about 10 minutes trying to pee. In the end, imagining waterfalls and fountains, I squeeze just enough out to fill it to the line. Finally!

The next test is height and weight. Very basic. Then an eye-test. I had no idea what was going on. My eyes aren't that bad, but I couldn't tell if it was arrows, hiragana, alphabet, or anything. I hoped to god it wasn't katakana, because even after 10 months here, I still have problems reading it! Eventually, I figured out it was a circle. So I say "maru". And then she enlarges it slightly. "Maru". Bigger again. "Maru". And now she puts it on the largest setting, displaying a circle broken a the bottom. So I realise, I'm supposed to say the direction of the break. "Shita", I say, meaning 'down'. But when she shrinks it down again, I can't make anything out. Like the light bleeding around the circle floods my vision. So I just keep saying shita, because somehow the image of the incomplete circle is burned into my retinae. "shita. shita. shita. shita" So I basically failed the eye exam.

Next there's a hearing exam, which Remi buggered up by mixing up his left and right. Then, after a lame, 30 second check by an actual doctor, we're sent to the X-ray room. The girls go first. And Kazuyo tells me I have to take off my shirt because it has buttons. So I do. But when the radiologist sees me, she points at my belt buckle and says something I interpret at "take that thing off". So I do. Then I stand, in a very familiar way, with my chest against the lead shield. With my back away from her, she tugs at my pants. Tug. Tug. Tug. Until it comes to just under my butt. Of course, she's a doctor so I don't question it. But after I finish I ask the girls: "Did they make you take off your belts too?"
"No"
"Remi, did she make you take off your pants too?"
"No"

..............We laughed and drove outta there throwing our weight into the G-force turns of Kazuyo's bright red car. It was only 5 minutes later that I really needed to pee. Damn that green tea!

Anyways, Jordan is here visiting me. It's nice to have someone familiar around. Yesterday we went to the beach. There were hundreds of jellyfish all washed up on shore. Some pink, some blue.

eiheiji temple

In the temple there's a reception hall with 230 paintings of birds and flowers on the ceiling. It's said that if you find 2 koi and a moon, then you will have good fortune. I stood there, staring upwards for about 15 minutes before giving up. Actually, I don't think there are any fish up there, only birds, but the idea of staring up was very satisfying. I'm sure it's the same reason the Sistine Chapel is so famous. I always thought there's something spiritual about a human looking skywards.

The garden by the main gate, entering from a small mountain path. The Temple is still being used by monks and you see them walking to and fro in their robes.

Light coming through the leaves. The complex is massive, and built on terraces on the mountain.

This is the biggest of the buildings, called the Hatto, or dharma hall. Inside monks were praying to a giant, statue of Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion.

natto and the ocean

Whenever I find myself living far away from home, I always end up beside the sea. When I lived in Scotland, I never took enough advantage of that fact. I mean, I do remember some encounters with seals, going for a dip in the icy-cold North Sea in March, as well as sitting on the cliffs and thinking about the vastness of the waters.

Anyways, I've made myself a promise to enjoy the sea here. So here is yet another picture of the sunset over the waves. I stood there, on the beach in a shirt and tie, amazed at the redness of the sun. The photo is incapable of showing the true red. See, here, if you ask a child to draw a picture of the sun, they would scribble a red blob. Originally, I thought it was just because of their flag. But Japanese people really think of the sun as red...........And maybe for good reason!

Also, I've caught my first Japanese cold. It's been more than I year since I've been sick. First I thought that the viruses here were weak, but now I'm pretty sure that the Japanese diet can make a man immortal. I eat a lot of seaweed here and even eat this thing called natto. It's notorious for being hated by foreigners of all kinds. Basically, it's fermented soy beans. They're very sticky and smell a bit of alcohol. But I swear to you, if you eat natto 3 times a week, it will make you immortal! So I blame myself for skipping my natto these last few weeks.

culture tip #5

the green telephones are specifically for international calls and they never take change. strangely, inside there is still a local phonebook.

Nihon fashions

This is a prime example of Japanese eccentric fashion sense. These girls are dressed in the 'gothic lolita' style. True lolita style has the frills and the little hat, but is usually in a pastel colour. These goths are all black.....except for their cutesy, pink purses. They obviously shop together.

This is a picture of where I work. The second building from the left, which has an old, faded, imperial flag at the top is mine. I work at the top floor on the rightmost side. There is a hotspring on the roof.

lanterns

An installation in the park across the street from where I work. It was fashion week here and the city has been full of surprises.

the samurai house and Hattori Hanzo

fig 5: a garden in the samurai house down the street from me. It's very peaceful and has some of the biggest koi I've seen.

I had a couch surfer stay with me for the last two nights. It was quite interesting since I don't really have a couch. His name is Alex and he lives in Florida. Interesting guy. When he left me he was looking for a man named Hattori Hanzo in Gifu. Well, at least that was his name according to his couchsurfing profile! I say goodluck.

documentary of (almost) conquering Haku-san

So this weekend I climbed Haku-san with Michiyo and Remi. It was an insane experience. And I definitely want to do it again. This time I want to be as prepared as the Power Rangers we saw on the mountain.
We arrived hungry and Michiyo was the only one who brought food: 2 pieces of bread. And so we start the climb...
This is the second pitstop. A place we hated on the way down because it took forever to get down there.
On the way up, we saw the Power Rangers. These people were HardCore...with a capital 'H' and a capital 'C'. We let them pass us so I could take a picture. Then we passed them again. I think they thought we were crazy because we weren't wearing gortex, rain-proof, wind-proof, colourful uniforms.

Third interview was at a lookout in the clouds.


About 5 kilos farther we realised why they were wearing those exploration gear. We saw the first signs of snow, and soon it was slow going over icy trails, skirting treacherous precipices. Then is started hailing, then snowing. But we were determined. Gloveless....and in running shoes.....but determined.
I guess this is where we realised we were ill-equipped. Michiyo reaches the plateau and we rejoice....Remi has a cigarette in celebration. The next part is the serious challenge, though. The peak of the mountain is in sight and the winds and snow has picked up. This is what we Canadians would call a blizzard.
Luckily, we arrive before we freeze to death. The storm was really getting bad and it was hard to see more than a few meters in front of you.

Interview 4: the lodge
That night, I needed to pee so badly, but decided that I'd rather stay awake under the blankets than go out in the freezing cold. It was a long night, but I got up around 5am to relieve myself -- just in time for the sunrise. So I woke up Remi and Michiyo to get this deed done.


We were freezing, waiting for the sunrise. When it stuck it's head out and I snapped a few pics with my gloveless, frozen hands, I looked at Remi and said: "Ok. Let's go."
But Michiyo was adamant that we stay. She told us that she wanted to enjoy it. So I guess, there on the mountain, we discovered that watching a frozen sun rise over the clouds, is really just another metaphor for sex. Us guys were like, "Ok. We saw it. Now, let's go back to bed." While, the girl, on the other hand, didn't feel just satisfied with the peaking crest of light. She wanted to see the completion of the sunrise and enjoy herself while doing it. So there you have it folks! Nothing really changes. ever.

Interview 6: the list
We also forgot to mention gloves, extra socks, and food for two days. But the whole experience was great and I definitely want to do it again. And so I'll leave you with this final tidbit of footage.

culture tip #4

fig 4: origami cranes are given to people who are sick. if someone is in the hospital 1,000 of them are folded as a "get well soon" gift.

a heavy flow day

According to this picture it's going to be a hectic, hard working day. But from the clarity of the water, I can tell that at least I'll be able to think fast.

(Most likely this'll be true because Akiko, our head teacher has gone to a wedding in Texas and so the 3 foreign teachers are sharing her classes.)

1.1618 on the richter scale

So, it turns out that there was a small earthquake last night at around 11:40pm. I felt it because I was in a building on a high floor. When I asked Katy, my co-worker about it, she said that around 11:40 she felt really dizzy. Apparently, if you are walking around in the open and a small earthquake hits, you just feel dizzy. Weird, huh?

Maybe because you don't see anything shaking and the feeling is so small, you just think it's in your head. It was less than 2 on the scale, and I thought it was pretty cool, actually! Man, the Earth is alive!...........and it has gas.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

Last month I had some trouble trying to get my pin number from the bank in Canada. I finally gave up, but I got to speak to about 4 different people from all over the world. If it were a competition, the Pakistani man who tried to speak to me in French wins.....

Anyways, this is a photo of my credit card. No wonder my money was just flying away!

a little shakey

Tonight at around 11:30-ish i felt a shakey-shakey. Mild, as though my neighbour was moving furniture and accidently bumped into the wall near me. I don't know, but it might have been the first earthquake I've felt. I'll let you all know tomorrow.

I also had to post a pic of this little flower that's been growing on the canal wall. It stuck its head out recently and makes a nice addition to my walk to work.

a weekend of reflections

Suntory the Wise

So, while drinking at a nice bar yesterday, I noticed this scrawled on our SUNTORY bucket of ice:



A glassful of drops
each drop is tomorrow's dream
sip your dreams by drops


Man, that guy can do everything! He makes every kind of liquid under the sun and still manages to find time to write a haiku on a bucket of ice! Friggin' awesome!

miraculous return!

Well, I'm back.

Last night I thought I'd check the internet to see if it was working again and Lo! it liiiiiives!!!

I've been super-busy lately. I had a French night on Sunday. Basically it was me, 3 Japanese girls who studied in France, a French couple, and one American traveller, who couldn't speak a word of French or Japanese. Poor guy!

The whole senario tested my abilities as well. See, I find it very difficult to function in 3 languages at once. I remember one time I was in Montréal, talking on the phone to my parents in Afrikaans. I was speaking English to Tom and Phil (from Scotland), who were with me, and French a moment earlier to Amélie, who we were staying with. Even just being able to hear French in the background threw me off. Like my brain would crunch to a halt and I was unable to communicate in any language other than caveman grunts. So last weekend, I tried to avoid the American, but ultimately because his translator. Anyway, there were a few moments where I had to take a break and rezone myself before continuing. I remember, at one point, breaking down in the middle of a French conversation, when someone asked me something in English and saying "chotto matte" in Japanese, when I couldn't think anymore. "Chotto matte" means "wait just a moment".

It was fun though and I think I'm (finally) getting used to the 3 languages thing. The next day, I went to the beach in Kanazawa city. There was a loud bar with many lights, which kinda looked like a circus on the sand; some people having races nearby; and a parachute landing in front of the most vivid sunset I've seen here yet.
Of course the picture doesn't do it justice. So here's another sunset pic!

bah!

well, well, well......It seems my internet has been cut off. I received a call from the company, but because they were using keigo, a formal, polite language, I could only understand about 10% of what they were saying. And that was "Saturday, taking/receiving, last month, bill payment, one week." So.....I guess I answered the skill testing question wrong and they cut my internet.

I'll be back next week. But for now...posts will be slow in coming.

Today is a holiday and I walked around, exploring different libraries in the area. I went to one a few months ago and it was just about the coolest building I've seen here. The ones I saw today matched the big library at Queen's University in Canada. I also walked past a middle school with it's own moat! How cool is that! Not only does it have old-skool samurai walls, but a moat too!

Ok....We'll I'm out. I'll try to post again soon....Keep checking back.

notto-jima and zen pottery

This monday was a national holiday -- grandparents day, I think. Anyway, I went with Akiko and Michiyo to go make pottery on Notto-jima. Notto-jima is an island off Notto Peninsula. Very traditional place and kind of in the wilderness. I haven't made pottery for a long time. The studio was in an old elementary school building, in the inlet of a bay (which was incredibly calm, despite warnings of a typhoon). The sensei was a very charismatic, old man, who helped Akiko and Michiyo in the gentlest manner ever. He let me go free because I seemed to know what I was doing. Although I quickly discovered that there are some fundamental differences in the way the wheel works here. All wheels spin clockwise! When Japanese people draw zero, they draw it clockwise, and apparently, the clockwise circle is a zen symbol. For me, I feel like centering the clay on the wheel is one of the most zen feelings. The clay fights back, shaking your entire body and then as you start to concentrate and focus, there's less struggle. Then one minute you're shaking and the next, everything is still and silent, as if there's no movement at all.

They also shape the pot from the inside out, and they have a variety of tools I'd never seen. One really cool one for making sake vases. I tried to make a sake vase, but mine turned out drunk-looking. My other pot was a success.
This is Michiyo, one of my co-workers. She made a bowl for her dog, Spanky.

Afterwards, the sensei offered us coffee on the porch. The coffee was served in little cups he made and served on a cut tree-stump. It was the most beautiful coffee I've ever had. And when you looked up, this was the view.
We stayed there until the sun set, then went to Joyful, the Japanese equivalent of Wendy's.

Cheriwo

This weekend was filled with craziness and good times. Saturday night we went to this place called ROUND1, which is basically a MASSIVE entertainment centre. It's got everything from batting cages, to bowling, to go-karts, to a basement full of video games. It was fun. We played a soccer game in the rain. It was nihon-jin vs. gai-jin. It was a fun place. And would definitely be worth going back even just for the free video games!

A few weeks ago, my friend Shinsuke invited me to "Come Fes"...And I didn't even know what it was exactly but I was very curious to find out. So I said yes. Today was the day, and it turned out to be a concert festival. Loads of fun!
The second band was amazing! It was mainly girls and the sound is kinda hard to explain. They used a keyboard and an organ, as well as the regular guitar, bass, drums combo. It was a very cute and fun sound and their stage presence was great. I especially liked it when the lead singer put a tiny, little drum around her neck and played it while singing. They also threw flowers into the crowd. The girls threw daisies and the guitarist threw a rose...which I caught! Actually, it basically fell into my hands. but hey!

Then Shinsuke's band went on later and that was a blast. He's semi-famous around Kanazawa and has a CD in the Tower Records here. His band's called Cheriwo, and I've uploaded some of their songs here: Romi & Eden . If that doesn't work you can go to their site at Cheriwo (Thanks Erin) Check it out!

Anyways, it was the drummer's last show and Shinsuke's encore was rather emotional. People around me were tearing up! awwwww....So afterwards, the rest of the bands got everyone on stage and sang a happy song. Like a farewell. It was great! All the musician were dancing on stage and some of the audience were singing along...It might have been a popular song or such. I dunno. Eitherway, I loved every minute of it and felt the emotional high and lows, despite not knowing the people so much. In fact, I think the emotional highs and lows made it all that much better!

from the balcony

I woke up today to the sounds of construction. It's a sunny day and I'm enjoying the warm rays on my skin. I stepped out on my balcony, wearing only some blue Japanese-style pants and holding my 2 litre bottle of Aquarius. On the balcony I could still hear the sound of the children playing near my house, but I also felt the sun glittering off the red roof and saw the mountain shrouded by clouds. My Aloe plant looks happy. It hasn't been doing so well lately and it worries me, since it represents my health, in a way.
In the picture you can see the yellow leg of a construction vehicle sticking out behind the coke™ machine on the right. The mountain in the back is Tate-yama. It's the smaller one of two in Kanazawa. The tall building is a newspaper office and I work near there.

freestyle walking season

Tonight, while walking home, I noticed some bats circling and jump-diving after insects above the canal. They are quite small here but their flight is just as flip-floppy. The sound of the season has changed, though. A few weeks ago it was the buzzing of cicadas, now I can hear the crickets chirping. You almost don't notice it, because after a while you take the sound for granted. The cicadas didn't just stop one day, they gradually died out after their mating cycle. Their loud singing fades out and the chirping takes over. I almost associate the vibration of the cicadas to the intense heat of summer.

Akiko said she said "thank you and goodbye" to a dying cicada. And it stopped buzzing.
Soon it will be Fall and I'll be able to wear sweaters again.

3 cheers to Akiko!!!

Well, I finally joined the 21st Century here in Japan. Today, I finally got a cell phone. The sad truth is that I went about 3 weeks ago to get one and after filling in about 5 pages of forms, the guy faxed a copy of my passport to headquarters. Then I was refused because my passport expired! Damn!

So, Akiko, my head teacher (and good buddy) helped me out by putting me on her family plan until I sort out my passport.
So cheers to Akiko!!! Next I just gotta give up my horse and learn to ride a bike! ( º‿ฺº)

This is a picture I drew the other day. My poor Aloe was reaching off of my balcony to catch a few rain drops.

shrines (and culture tip #3)

Today I went to a shrine high in the mountains. It was a rainy day and the mist coming off the mountains was incredible. My new favourite thing is to go visit shrines. There is something so peaceful about them. It's hard to explain, but I feel at ease around the giant trees, and the rattling bells. Today, I was stuck in the rain under the roof of the spring where you wash your hands. There was something magical about the rain and the enormous tree -- maybe around 5m in circumference. The shrine was virtually abandoned and I sat inside the building on the tatami for a long time thinking.

culture tip #3: the Japanese flag is only flown on very grave occasions and certain holidays. So you never see it in public, except on a few international hotels. Recently, it has been flying to celebrate the birth of a new baby boy to Princess Kiko. This is the first male born into the Imperial family for over 30 years. And now there is a guaranteed successor to the current Emperor, which solves some of the political problems Japan has been having recently.

terra-machi

A few days ago I went to Apita with Remy. Apita is this SUPER-giant-MEGA-store, a little bit outside of the downtown area. It's the size of a mall and sells everything from groceries, to furniture, to clothes. Remy wanted to buy some new sheets and a pillow... Maybe he's in a home-decor phase. From the way everyone talks about Apita, it seemed very far, but really it was only about 30 minutes to get there on foot.

Once there, we wandered around like lost puppies in the game section. Man, Japan has some cool video games! While Remy was shopping, I found a cool garbage can that says: "Merci. Keeping tidy to my heart is happy". And after he checked out we began searching for the correct entrance. This place was like a maze and while wandering around, I almost bought a couch. See, my apartment is japanese style now, which means that I sit and sleep on the floor. Anyway, the couch was this cool, orange colour and the modernist style you might have found in airport waiting rooms in the 70s. I decided against it because we'd have to carry it home.

Finally we found the correct exit and we started our journey home. I kept wanting to take shortcuts and eventually we found ourselves in Terra-machi, the temple district. It was a really good way home. Little streams and canals run between buildings and at every turn there's either an enormous temple or a graveyard.
some history: Lord Maeda, the fuedal ruler of Kanazawa built walls around the city and set up a temple district outside the main gate. This area was the first defense against attacks. It would have been very bad karma to attack a temple, so while the army stalls in front of Terra-machi to debate, the city can get ready for the battle. And even then, they'd still have to get past Ninja-Dera, the second line of defense, a temple full of pit-falls, secret entrances, and highly-trained troops.

water level predicitons

Daily Forecast: quiet day, not a lot of work. introspective. kind of boring.

my day in pictures

Yesterday, my friend wanted to take me to an art gallery in the mountains. The artist, Yumeji Takehisa (1884-1934) was from Kyoto and was obsessed with drawing geisha. There were some really good prints. I was actually really amazed at the level of detail he captured in some of the woodcuts -- printing textures on textures, so that parts actually looked 3D. But his style was just as much Art Nouveau as it was authentic Japanese. Anyway, his style is called "Yumeji Style of Beautiful Women".

This one is unusual for him in that it's an indoor scene. Most of his pictures either have no background or are set outside in the park and streets of Gion.

Anyway, after the museum we kind of got lost and, while walking in the extremely narrow streets of the little town, I discovered this footbath! It was basically just a trough next to the road, where a small hotspring kept pumping lukewarm water. Nice to relax my feet -- especially after the geta ruined my toes when i wore the yukata.

The town is basically a hotspring town, it's very rural and has been around for centuries. But apparently it gets so much snow in the winter that no one comes or goes. While we sat with our feet in the water, Miyuki, my language buddy, started talking to the people sitting next to us. They told her that she should take me to the old Edo Period houses. The Edo period was the Samurai Period, about 1500-1890-ish.

The houses were from the early 1600s, and were village houses. One was where the Landholder lived, the other was their peasants' house and the last was an independent farmer's house. Very interesting.
This is the inside. I thought that there was a simplistic, zen beauty to everything. The Master's house had a silk-worm den, where they made high-quality cloth for kimonos. The den was basically the only fully enclosed space in the house and hovered in the middle, so that you had to climb up with a ladder. A slave slept in there with the worms and made sure to put them back on their hammock if they fell down. The peasants did all the weaving, and created the tatami for the flooring.

On the other side of the houses, while sitting in the rooms with the large sliding doors open, this is the view. The rice fields are becoming gold, a sign that autumn is coming and that they will be harvested soon. Marco Polo wrote that Japan was a land of gold, because when he arrived it was fall and all the rice paddies were shining the colour of gold. And seeing those houses I think I understand, the thatch-roofs also shone gold when I stepped out of the dark interior into the sun.

some beautiful yukata

the girl in the pink beat me repeatedly at darts...and everytime i lost i had to drink some moonshine with a preserved snake in it...........well, the first time i lost on purpose, because i wanted to taste it. but after the first shot i couldn't aim anymore. it slipped steadily downhill from there.

by the way, i'm surprised i'm not blind. that was definitely the most powerful stuff i've ever had to drink.

Kanazawa at night

This is the intersection right where I work. In the background it looks like a park, but in reality it is just some trees planted to hide a promenade of really expensive shops. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, you name it. Personally, I like the trees. By the way, there is a restaurant above the blue sign that has sort of become our hangout. The people there bring us our drinks before we even order. And it's got this ULTRA-delicious, garlic-deepfried octopus. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......yummy.

This is part of the main street. The Labro building is a very cool place. They have a shop in the basement where you can get absolutely anything. Imagine the 'It Store', meets a headshop, meets, an art and design bookstore. They also sell imported candy.

photos courtesy of Jordan Hale