Batphone Bar Code Scanner Update

First of all, I don't know why there is a bar code scanner. After reading the manual, Noriko said it's for maybe you're out shopping and you want to know more about a product. You simply scan the code and you automatically have an entry in your address book for the company that made it and their webpage and their phone number. Still it seems strange.

I found a bar code on my spouse visa so I scanned it. It sent me info to a link for the phone's browser to visit a pay dating site. I'm not sure what to make of that!

Ski ga suki! Misc. Photos Part 5

Noriko!

Noriko!!

Jory with removable solar shields.

View out of the 2nd community room (at the ski resort).

Another view up the mountain.

Ski ga suki! Part 4

The weather took a turn for the worse.

Left to right: Yuki, Yunko, and ?????ichiro

The weather took that same turn.

Noriko!

007!

On our last day, the afternoon weather turned into a blizzard. The pictures of 007 and Noriko were taken at the same place on the same day as the second bad weather picture. The winds were gusting and whipping up snow all around. Visibility was very low. These were perfect conditions to practice the skills Toshi Sensei passed on to me (turning and stopping). Also notice the difference in stances between Noriko and me. She is actually standing with the intent to ski. I'm standing with intent not to fall. Let me say this about her ability- she can fly across the snow. Her dad has some kind of ranking (brown belt in Muskogee YMCA GoJu karate terms) and started her out at a very early age.

The trio in the other picture were our tablemates while we waited out the storm and waited on our bus. They're students from Tokyo and were very friendly. Yunko is going to Las Vegas and Los Angeles so she was eager to practice her English. Notice they are all posing. The peace sign is the usual Japanese gesture (Yunko) and I have spotted the elusive "thumbs up" (Yuki) at times, but this is the first time I've seen the "fisticuffs" (?????ichiro). I might start using it, too.

We're home now and warm. Now that I can turn and stop, Noriko is already planning the next trip. I hope Toshi Sensei has another day off.

Ski ga suki! Part 3

The view from our motel. In Japan, it's called a "pension." It's a European thing. It snowed all night so I was anticipating seeing the mountain.

This is the fabulous Teapot Pension and Resutoran.

Here is a picture of Toshi Sensei- the man that brought me down the mountain!

We got to actually sleep in a private room after our first day skiing. It was nice. Well, it was nicer than the community room. There was a bed and a t.v., and a window. For some reason, the word for motel is pension. I'm too lazy or I'd look it up in a French dictionary. It was decorated in the style of Loving, Oklahoma. For those of you familiar with that decor, think of Grandma and Grandpa's "Blue Room." The sinks were outside in the hall and the bathrooms were either downstairs (western style) or down the hall (hole in the floor style). Oh, and a side note: while many Japanese toilet seats are heated, those on the first floor of the Teapot Pension are not. They are cold. They are up-in-the-mountains-middle-of-winter-ceramic cold.

The first day, Noriko was my gentle (not) guide to zen and the art of skiing. I practiced on an almost flat surface and then headed for the beginner's slope. She immediately demanded more of me (things like turning and stopping) and I did my best to refuse. I fell a couple of times and for the most part, things went ok. I actually felt that one day of skiing was enough and thought about how nice it would be to hang out in the community room the following day.

The next day, Noriko announced I was going to Ski School. I begged and pleaded and stomped (while wearing skis) and hid- but she was relentless. She said something about trusting her and blah blah. She dragged me to the office where I met up with Toshi-san. He spoke the kind of English one would speak if it had been 15 years since you went to school in Maryland. They actually called him in from his day off his real job (professor at a pharmacy school) because of his English prowess.

He dragged me to the beginner slope and shortly announced, "You already know how to ski!"

He dragged me to the next level up in difficulty slope, gave me a piece of chocolate and said "Let's go!"

He dragged me to the "adult" ski lift and we headed to the top of what he called the "champion course" slope. He gave me another piece of chocolate and said, "Let's go!" At this point I used one of my favorite Japanese grammar constructions and told him that I looked like a dog being given treats. He laughed and said "no. no. It makes peace for you!" He gave me one more piece of advice before he headed to a point midway down, "Make caution around you!" I replied, "Let's go!"

To say I never fell would be a complete lie. I fell so many times that it was actually kind of fun to speed up to a point of no control and then just fall down and slide, spinning on my back for several feet.

Toshi-Sensei gave me some pointers and commented, that probably my legs are getting tired. I agreed and said that after today and the day before my legs were tired. He suggested we ride the gondola. I said, "For rest?" He looked at me and said,"No! For ski!"

The gondola was the enclose cable car that was the ski lift to the very top of the mountain. I gave in we rode to the summit. There were about four switchbacks from the top to a fork in the trails. I fell down each one. Finally it forked and one way was easier. I fell down about half of that part and finally we made it to the medium difficulty trail. I actually zoomed right along that one. At the bottom, my wise teacher told me, "See! Now that you made it all the way down from the top, this one was no problem!"

I had to admit it. I went kicking and screaming the entire way, but now that I had made it through the fire it was easier and more importantly, fun! Toshi invited us into the instructor's lounge for coffee. From the startled look on the other instructors' faces I could tell that this was not the norm. It looked a lot like the dining room with the kids except it was smaller, noisier and full of cigarette smoke. I will never forget Toshi-sensei. Noriko translated for me, "I feel like I was in plane crash at the top of the mountain and they sent you in to rescue me. Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu."

Ski ga suki! Part 2

Much like the earlier common room, we shared this dining area with about 300 other people. In this case they were elementary and junior high students.

This photo is a view of the main peak.

This view is looking down on the resort from the gondola that goes to the top of the mountain.

Over Noriko's shoulder are the buildings that make up the complex.

We had really nice weather our first day. It was kind of windy, but nothing serious. There were tons of school students on their school trip. Since they're not very big they didn't take up too much room on the slopes. We had to decide between snowboarding and skiing. We decided to go with skiing. The name of the resort is Atadara Kogen (for those of you thinking of coming).

Ski ga suki! Day 1

Foreground: Noriko "smiling" for the camera. Background: Some of our fifty roommates.

The hallway outside our room. Before I went in, these doors gave the impression of several small, private rooms, as opposed to one large room. Where are my shoes?

We left the house to go on my first ski trip about 8 pm. Then we took a shuttle bus at 9 pm to the bigger bus station in Tokyo. From about 10pm to 4am we were enroute to Fukushima. After getting plenty of rest on the bus (as any of you Greyhounders can attest to) we were herded into a large tatami room (see above, the top picture). This was some kind of community room that was unbearably hot. People milled about, played cards, slept (and snored), or like me, rolled from one side to the other sweating.

Skiing with my Yuki Onna

Activity is going to be slow around here for a couple of days. We found a last minute bargain ski trip and we're going to take it before Noriko has to start working and winter is over. She used to be quite an avid skier but hasn't been able to go for the past few years. I've never gone so it will be yet another new experience for me. I'll be back around here Sunday morning (That's Saturday night if you live out East in the USA.

Fool Efficiency

We've decided to buy a cheap car. That's the easy part. Now we have to find one. I definitely wish we could get something silly looking. There are a lot of silly looking miniaturized vehicles here. Vans, trucks, garbage trucks, cherry pickers, cranes, etc. I kind of like the one in the picture above. It says "fuel effeciency" but at the same time it says "clown."

When you buy a car, you first have to give proof that you have a parking space. Otherwise all the little sidestreets would be packed with cars parked to the side. We've found an empty spot to rent that is a 7 minute walk from Iwabe Castle.

Fish Bait

I'm not sure if I understand this sign. Is the giant catfish supposed to be reassuring us? Kind of like Smokey the Bear and forest fires? Or is it a reminder that Japan is just one major earthquake away from sending us to sleep with the fish (in this case a giant smiling catfish)? Either way, I do not like this fish.

When Taka Attack

We crossed a footbridge and saw tons of koi gathering with hawks (taka) swooping down on them. I didn't get to see any koi lose the battle but it was exciting to be so close to nature! (the koi were wild and the hawks probably were, too!)

see you in another couple of babies!

We dropped in on one of Noriko's friends (Yumiko holding Rin) from elementary school. Noriko has always just dropped in and surprised her and today was no exception. The last time she showed up on Yumiko's doorstep was two years ago. Now Yumiko has three little girls. The two girls in the upper picture are also hers. I don't know who the little boy's daddy is. He chased my stocking feet around for a minute exclaiming "Watashi otokonoko!" (I'm a boy!). I finally felt like a strange foreign visitor. We entered Yumiko's apartment and when we turned around to look at the door about 6 neighborhood kids had all crammed into the area where shoes are allowed to look at me.

Secrets of Iwabe Castle 2

It's nothing fancy, but the pictures above show our typhoon doors. The bottom of the house is about 45% windows, but you'd only know it if all the doors were slid out of the way. At night or when we leave the house it always seems like "lockdown" or I'm getting read for a meteor storm. I've seen many other houses with the same kind of setup. It beets getting out the electric drill and the sheets of plywood that I've seen so many Florida and Gulf Coast residents put up.

Interview with a Vampire

Well, I had my first job interview yesterday. I like to call it "the time the head of the ****** Board of Education talked to me and all I could tell him was my name, age, and address." I seemed like a captured prisoner under interrogation:

"I don't know what train station I used!"
"I don't know why I want to teach elementary kids instead of junior high kids!"
(At this time I remembered some advice from one of my books- "If possible, inject some humor into the occasion.")
I said "Watashi no "junior high" wa chotto kowai deshita!" (My junior high was a little scary!"
He laughed and then assured me "Nihon no gakusei wa genki desu!" (Japanese students are good!")

Actually, it really wasn't that bad. He knew my 日本語 skills weren't so hot before we even sat down so I wasn't too upset. There was a job opening when we set up the interview in America. He told us to meet up with him when we arrived. When we called him, he said he didn't think the position was still open but come and talk anyway. The person that was leaving had decided to stay but was still kind of iffy. He'll know more in about a month and then call us back. That gives me time to become fluent, learn the station names, and find plenty of garlic and silver bullets- Wait. That's for werewolves!

The Batphone

We finally signed up for a cellphone. It's the coolest thing. It's waterproof and to take it apart you need an allen wrench. I think it will definitely hold up to my rugged lifestyle. It has a video recorder, camera, compass, bar code scanner, and GPS (I can locate myself or Noriko can secretly track me). It's a flipphone that reminds me of a Batarang when opened. The only thing missing is the Batmobile. Well, and Batgirl, Alfred, and Robin. It has an integrated starmap that also shows the current position of Earth. I'm not sure, but I think it also plays music. Only today we found that the menu language can be toggled to English.


The phone is fine. What sucks is the calling plan. Apparently, in Japan, you don't get "free minutes" or "nights and weekends." You pay a monthly fee and also pay for each minute. The higher the monthly fee, the lower the minute rate. However, incoming calls are free. Unless it's some strange phonescammer that somehow charges your phone if you answer it.

Noriko, the Train, and Subway

Noriko standing outside the station in Yokosuka.

Early morning wait for the train.

Afternoon wait for the Subway.

(I am really looking forward to eating at Subway- one of my favorite places from home.)

View from the bedroom window

View from the bedroom window.

View of Downtown Yokosuka

View of downtown Yokosuka

Secrets of Iwabe Castle 1

In Japanese castles, they used to set up a devious trap. The samurais under attack would flee through a hallway and then down a darkened staircase. At the bottom, they would quickly fold away the stairs, creating a "bottomless" pit for their pursuers to mistakenly fall into. On top of that, they created very steep stairs to make pursuit difficult. While the stairs at Iwabe Castle don't fold away, they are very steep. This is what I see at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. when I have to make the dangerous journey to bathroom. I'm not being chased by ninjas or enemy samurai. I'm just plagued with a small bladder. I have enough trouble navigating the stairs without having someone poke at me with a spear. I usually neglect to put on my house slippers and the floor is ice cold. The one reward after this trip (other than not wetting the bed) is that the toilet seat is heated. It's a great joy to subconsciously expect a cold seat and to find it warm.

Engrish Lesson 1: Baby Shoot

Here is your first Engrish lesson. It's for the product: Baby Shoot: Car Life Support. How many of you with kids have ever needed this handy item?

What are you thinking? It's just a trash bag that hangs behind the head rest!

Head of the House

Here is a picture of my japanese father (otoosan). He operates at full speed and maximum energy until he passes out. He's been going that extra mile- err... kilometer to make sure I have everything I need. You might look at this picture and wonder why he is sleeping beneath the coffee table. The blankets and table make up a device called a kotatsu. It's heated and is actually very cozy.

house on the hill

Here is a view of our castle. We live on a pretty quiet corner in a neighborhood called Ooyabe. It's a two story house with a garage (see the nose of the van) beneath.

The Near West

I finally moved to Japan. I've left (betrayed? abandoned?) family, friends, and a companion animal behind to begin a new adventure. As my departure neared, I began to check out the map. Japan's not exactly the Far East. It's about 3/4 the way around the globe if you go East and only 1/4 the way around if you head west. Using this logic, I assured myself that it was no different than going to California (or Washington). Regardless, here I am. Thanks for reading my first entry about my attempts to live with no regrets.