Yokie from Muskogee

One of these is not like the others!

2011-04-25T21:52:00.010+09:00

All foreigners look alike.

White- CHECK!

Male- CHECK!
Part Bald Head- CHECK!
Part Shaved head- CHECK!

In America: You shaved your head! You look like Uncle Fester!

In Japan: Eeeh! You look like

a)Bruce Willis! OR b)Jason Stratham!

One of these is not like the others!

Here I go again...

2008-09-11T20:07:00.010+09:00

...but not on my own.

I didn't even check to see when my last blog entry was. It just seems like last year I was welcoming a son （Kai：海）into the world.

So, I'd like to take this time to welcome his sister, Maya (真彩):

Here she is at roughly 100 days!

And here they are together:
The studio occasion is Maya's o-miyamairi .
(please click to learn what that is!)

So how is that for an update? I will be back before kid number three! Just kidding! I'm kidding about the kid number three. Can you imagine?

Yankees, Rabbits, The Undead, The Office

2007-07-04T00:06:00.000+09:00

To prove that I have been out and about here are a few pics from the last couple of months. Enjoy!

Doesn't this cloud look like a rabbit? This might be one of those 'you had to be there things' but I was impressed. Also, rabbits and Japan go hand in hand.

Here's a picture of my desk at one of my schools. I'm not supposed to be taking pictures as there's a chance a student's pic could end up on some kind of unsavory website but I think I'm in the clear with this one. I'm right in front of the Principal and Vice-Principal: joy.

At lunch the other day, I was enjoying my quite fresh sashimi and sushi when my fish started twitching. Within a few seconds, Noriko's and J-Pop's fish also started to go ZOMBIE. That's fresh seafood!

If you can't read it, the guy on the left is wearing a NY Yankees hat and is number 55. That would be Mr. Matsui. The guy on the right is dressed in typical chinpira clothes. A chinpira is a young punk, young gangster wannabe, young yakuza/mafia guy. Chinpira is the old word. Nowadays, they are called Yankees! That's your Japanese slang less of the day.

Nothin' But Kai

2007-07-04T00:00:00.000+09:00

Nothing But Kai- Just so you know we are still out and about, here are a few pics of the little ninja nearing three weeks of age. Thanks for dropping in!

The Time of Kai, 1:39 am

2007-05-06T21:50:00.000+09:00

There are a few words that the first time (and sometimes subsequent times) you hear them spoken, your life changes. "I love you" tops the list and "I don't love you anymore" is also sure to make your day.

I was headed to a student's house when Noriko buzzed my cellphone. The five little words that changed my life were: "I think my water broke." I plotted the quickest route back home (in Japan, u-turns are easier spelled then done) and called my student to cancel class.

I got Noriko loaded up and to the hospital at around 5pm. They ushered us into the delivery room and the waiting game began. Around 8pm with the waiting game still on, one of the nurses announced visiting hours were over.

About midnight, I got the call from the hospital. "Noriko-san's husband? Please come to the hospital. Do you understand? Please come to the hosiptal- to the fourth floor. Please be here in thirty minutes."

I ran the three blocks to our parking space and took off. It was all I could do to remember to stay on the left side of the street. At the hospital, I took the stairs and sprinted up the four flights. I swung open Noriko's door and presented myself ready for action.

I asked Noriko how soon the pushing would start. She nonchalantly looked up from the bed and said it would be "a long time away." Catching my breath, I sat down on the floor.

Fifteen hours later (that's twenty-two total hours for you math nuts), with three nurses and a midwife on the business end and me on the other end, my son entered the world.

"KAI"

"海"

April, 11th, 2007

1:39 pm

2006 Pictures/Video of Horseback Archery

2007-03-08T14:03:00.000+09:00

I took these pictures and recorded this footage in 2006. Enjoy.

2nd Demo of my battojutsu sensei...

2007-03-08T14:00:00.001+09:00

Here's another video of my sensei doing some "tameshigiri" at a local politician's fundraiser.

Engrish Quiz 2

2007-03-08T13:27:00.000+09:00

Here's the long awaited, followup to the not-so-popular Engrish guessing quiz!

First up, a little establishment named "Zero Care." What is it they apparently have zero care for?

What gives this little devil cause to scream for his Creator?

What would you pay for a simple, cotton tshirt with "Honey I HEART U" on the front and "DSQUARED Always Fresh MotherF@cker" on the back?

And for a couple of other questionable (at least in my book) marketing ideas:

KISS is the new spokesmodel for the Canon camera model of the same name. It looks like Godzilla signed on, too. I can make the obvious connection: KISS the band/Kiss the camera. The commercials feature kids painted up as Gene Simmons' the Beast, running to and fro having one heck of a time. I don't remember the original KISS having such a family-friendly image.

Lastly, why would anybody name their clothing brand "Glory Hole"? If you don't know what a glory hole is, then it's best to just leave it alone. I am not responsible for what an internet search might yield. Minors (and most adults) not allowed.

Thirty-First Things, First

2007-03-08T13:03:00.000+09:00

For those of you that didn't know, we are expecting our first little one in May. Actually the due date is May, 5th (Last weekend she was 31 weeks). Not only is it a holiday in Mexico, but it's one in Japan, too: Boy's Day. Nationwide, families with sons will put out scaled down models of samurai armor and weapons. Without resorting to wikipedia, these items are all symbols of boys growing into strong men. Needless to say, it would be quite auspicious to be born on that day (and be a boy). Oh yeah, it's a boy!

I finally got Noriko to stand still and let me take a picture. I had to convince her that it's not fair that everyone over here can see her while everyone back home doesn't get the chance.

If all goes well, I can finally put all those things I read about in dog-training books to good use. Sit. Stay. Get in the box. Pee on the newspaper.

Once, a niece of mine, convinced I had a cold heart, told me "One day, when you have kids, you'll care." Now, where does a pre-ten year old get this kind of thing to say?

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Return of the Yokie

2007-03-08T12:54:00.000+09:00

MIC CHECK ONE, TWO... IS THIS THING ON?

I was looking at the previous blog entry and seeing that it was dated Dec. 23rd, I tried to find the most recent one. After a couple of clicks I realized that that was my most recent one.

What happened to all those funny things I had to say and all those funny pictures? What kind of wacky things have been going on over here?

Anyway, I'm back (I think) and I hope we can get caught up in the next few posts.

Sempai Claus

2006-12-23T15:09:00.000+09:00

For those of you that haven't seen Sempai Sean Connery and Kohai Wesley Snipes in Rising Sun, sempai is the word for people in your dojo/group/company, that are your superiors. This relationship between sempai and their kohai is very important in Japanese circles.

Following in this tradtion, my main battoujutsu sempai (and I think the senior student/assistant sensei), Yamahara-san, has given me several things: two books, oranges, apples, persimmons, and now, a new (used) obi and a new (used?) suburi-to.

The obi and the suburi-to. On the bottom is a regular bok-to so you can get a size comparison. Suburi means "swing" and to (tou) means "sword." Bok means "wooden." A suburi-to is used to develop sword arm muscles. This particular style of wooden sword is patterned after a boat oar which was made famous by Miyamoto Musashi and his duel on Ganryu Island.

Closeup of the design on the obi. It's either a rooster or some type of phoenix imagery. The same bird is on the sword bag that Noriko made for me from an old kimono obi.

Condo For Rent

2006-12-23T14:46:00.000+09:00

The family has been renting out a condo to a serviceman. A real estate company handles the tenant finding and all the paperwork. We just found out that the current tenant and his growing family need more space. I went with J-Pop to inspect the place before he signed off on the tenant's contract.

There's a chance that Noriko and I will be moving into it. It all depends on if the real estate company can find a new renter. It would be a nice place to live but I'd rather rent money go into the in-laws' bank account. The ceiling on some servicemen's rental allowance is about $1,600 per month and coincidentally, that is about what most places charge them. A civillian or a Japanese citizen could get it for a few yen less. Some real esate companies specialize in housefinding for military people and their families.

The front and back side of the building. Our condo is on the second floor, third from the end.

A view of the walkway in front and of the front door.

Looking down the hall toward the front door and of the living room area (taken from a similar looking spot that would be the dining area).

Halfway down the hall is the room holding the tub/shower, the dual washer/dryer machine, and the sink. The toilet has it's own little broom closet room, next door.

Here's the tatami room. Only brand new houses with progressive Japanese people don't have them. There are two more rooms that have some kind of cushiony faux wood look to them.

And finally, here is a view of the balcony and from the balcony. It overlooks a little neighborhood park.

It would be kind of scary to move into it. That would be one more action suggesting a longer term stay, over here. On the other hand, I could finally have some privacy, guests could actually come visit, and I could finally make good on my offer to friends and family of, "Of course, you can stay with us!" The condo is about 10 minutes from the nearest station (as opposed to my current 29 minutes) and about 20 minutes closer to Tokyo. For you students of Miura Peninsula geography, we are south of Yokosuka, now. This condo is between Yokosuka and Yokohama.

International Cultural Fair

2006-12-14T16:16:00.000+09:00

November 26th, I met up with a new friend of mine, Jeff (from Idaho) and a student of mine, Shigeharu (American Name: Mr. Rapids, from Japan). We all attended an culture fair that was going on downtown. The main reason I attended was because my samurai sword sensei was going to be doing a cutting demonstration.

Soga Sensei bowing at the start of his demonstration

I was able to record the action and now, for the first time on Yokie from Muskogee, you can see video! Many of you already got an email from me with a link to this video.

They also performed a jodo (short staff) demo and a local jr. high did a kendo demo.

Later, we ran into another student of mine. She is a sado (tea ceremony teacher). Shigeharu treated Jeff and I to cup of tea.

Left to right, Endo san, old lady, Shigeharu san, Jeff san

S.T.I.L.O.W.I.Y.A.E. (Martial Arts Update)

2006-12-09T19:18:00.000+09:00

Aikido:

Lately, I've been happy that I didn't give up on Nishimura Sensei. A few months ago, he seemed to be going downhill. Recently, he's been showing me a few more tricks up his sleeve.

We've been working on what I call "sensing the invisible lines of weakness in your attacker's energy (stilowiyae)." I'm sure there is an aikido term for this, but that wouldn't make much sense for any of you non-aikido people. At the end of class, for lack of correct terminology, I told him, "I can't see your power line." or "I can't see your power direction."

He promptly had me grab him some more to demonstrate that he understood my issue. I knew he understood, from the way he repeatedly "stilowi(my)e."

The reason I brought it up at the end of class was so that he might remember our conversation during tomorrow's class.

It's frustrating to not be able to exactly do it. (Today's new word is frustration/yokkyuufuman/欲求不満/よっきゅうふまん.)

But through this softer kind of sensitivity training, I can see how easy a strong attack could be defeated by someone that can sense these things. Aikido can get really mindblowing, at times.

Sometimes you feel like your partner or sensei is somehow shutting you down on purpose (they do know what you are going to do, after all), but then you try to kind of shut them down (well.. more like resist a little bit/lot) and you just make their job easier. For all of you non-aiki people, it's really not something that's easy to explain. It almost has to be felt.

Takakura Ken from "The Yakuza."

Toyama Ryu/Soga Ryu Battou-Jutsu

We had another round of tameshigiri (test cutting), last night. Sensei brings in rolled up tatami mats for cutting. We stick them on Christmas tree stand contraptions and cut them to pieces. It was my third time to attend a tameshigiri night. The first time, I only worked on kesa giri cuts (diagonal downward cuts). The second time, I did kesa giri and kiri age (upward diagonal cuts). This time, I worked on kesa giri and kiri age, again. These cuts are designed to enter a human body at the neck and leave below the armpit on the other side of the enemy's body (kesa giri) or to enter from below the armpit and exit on the other side, from the neck (kiri age). So, during my second time at doing the upward cut, my sword kept getting stuck in the target. It looks so easy on the Samurai Channel! When you mess up, it feels like you tried to hack through a tree branch with a dull machete.

Last night, though, I was able to cut through the targets. When you perform a successful cut, it feels like cutting air. The first thing I thought was "Wow, I guess performing hundreds of practice swings does help!" I frequently see men in parking lots or at bus stops performing practice "air" golf swings. Lately, I've been doing "air" sword swings. Or, when nobody's looking, I use my umbrella.

Mostly Engrish! (Slightly Television and Cooking)

2006-12-03T12:40:00.000+09:00

For those of you that don't like your coffee "perky," how but a cup o' depression?

What are you looking at?

If you're happy and you know it, c_ap your hands!

F...oxxy lady!

Human Man keep out!

Here's a shot of the new tv. HD is pretty clear!

I finally offered my assistance in the kitchen. The parents are pretty sure about my skill and usually keep me out. I always do the dishes, but sometimes, the food is just sooo good that I'd also like to help out in preparing it. J-Pop entrusted me with the job of slicing cucumbers for the salad. I got started right away and marveled at the thin slices our new slicer could produce. I failed to notice my middle finger (positioned on the bottom side of the cucumber) was in line to be next sliced. I finished up the salads and then pointed to the last one. "The one on the right is mine," I said to J-Pop. "Why?" he wanted to know. I showed him my finger and said, "Because a piece of my finger is in it." They haven't let me back, since. Sashimi is raw fish. Basashi is raw horse. I wonder what the word for raw human is?

round-flat-round

P.S. The quiz in the last post is still going! I demand some participants (diferent from smartypants)!

Quiz, Extremists, Robots (again!)

2006-11-25T13:45:00.000+09:00

What better way is there to display some strange advertising other than having a quiz? What will you win? Maybe I could send the first winning answer to the first picture, the item that it's advertising? That might be a little ambitious of me but let's give it a shot.

And your guess is?

This banner got my attention and while the seated schoolgirl pulling up her stockings got my attention, I had not idea what I was supposed to buy next. What do you think it was?

Actually, I just wanted to post links to the two stories below but they don't have anything to do with anything going on over here.

1. I don't know what my robot kick is, but here's another story that is certainly leading to Tomorrow. I keep thinking of the medical droid that put Luke Skywalker's hand back on.

2. Extremists exist in all religions!

Robots, Aliens, Pizza, and Turkey

2006-11-24T17:54:00.000+09:00

"Just give it electricity, and a robot can work for long hours, even doing repetitive work, and you don't have to worry about labor laws," Sudo said (from here).

I just think it's pretty crazy that quote is not from the Tom Selleck/Gene Simmons hit movie Runaway or that lesser known movie about robots by that Fresh Prince guy. The future is now! Robots are among us (if you live in Japan). I haven't had any sightings yet (that I know of) but I'll be on the lookout.

"It Is The Future. He fought the horror of robots programmed to kill."

We headed up to Yokohama today to get a new stamp on my spouse visa. My previous one runs out in January. I've never been to New York but I've heard it's a melting pot. A true melting pot is the waiting room for immigration services. I saw Koreans, Africans, Fillipinos, Chinese... I even saw a fellow American but I don't know if they want to let him stay longer. He was wearing a ballcap, sweatshirt, shorty-shorts, running shoes, and black knee-high socks with pink neon stars all over them. The Africans and Koreans were really giving him the look-over.

You don't make appointments for these types of services in Japan. You just show up, take a number, and wait your turn. The ticket dispenser displays how many people are in front of you (33 today and we waited an hour) and a little digital sign above each window lets you know what number they're on. If you get there early enough, it's not that bad of a system.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we ate at a pizza buffet. I think it was pizza. There was salad pizza, which tasted like chewy toast with some lettuce and dressing on top. There was also corn pizza (corn OFF the cob). Speaking of corn off the cob- it's pretty popular as a topping for biscuits at bakeries.

There might be some debate as to what American pizza joints serve authentic pizza. There's brick oven, thin crust, thick crust, pizza bread, cheese crust... Most agree, that even bad pizza is good pizza. In Japan, most pizza is bad pizza. The cheese is flavorless and overall, it's just kind of bland. In all fairness, I haven't had anything from Pizza Hut or Pizza-La-La (I can't afford the $30 price for one) but I have had the occasional piece from the random bakery, the supermarket variety, and the place mentinoed above (Shakey's Pizza- We ordered "The Lunch Viking!"). I've heard rumors that the Navy Base sells American pizzas and I've even seen people carrying five or six home on the train.

Getting back to turkey, I've only seen once, since I've been in Japan. It's part of a petting zoo at a nearby nursing home. It's pretty sickly looking and I'm not sure it would make for much of a Thanksgiving dinner, much less a 12" roasted turkey breast sub with double cheese (from America) on a toasted wheat bun.

Happy Late Thanksgiving to all!

Optimus Prime

2006-11-22T11:36:00.000+09:00

UPDATE: A few pictures of Jeremy surfaced and I added them to his page, here.

It's pretty nifty. It has two headlights. Both are powered by a generator and one strobes all the time, while the other only comes on at night. J-Pop dragged us to D2 (kind of like Wal-Mart and Lowes combined) and declared this was the bike for me.

I sat on it in the store and everything seemed ok. Noriko pleaded with him to let us shop around a little and try to do some bargain hunting but he would have none of it. It was this bike and it was that day. It's designed to fold up and it fits into a carry bag. You can ride to the station, fold it up, hop on a train, and roll away at your destination.

There are just a few things wrong with it:

1. It's really heavy. I guess to make it small AND sturdy, they had to thicken up the walls of the tubular pipe that make up its frame. Despite its very low gear ratios, I usually have to walk it up hills.

2. I have the seat at its highest setting and it's still too short. The seat position in relation to the height of the handlebars also causes sever back pain.

3. The sleak, sporty seat is a little too sleak. It feels like a dull splitting wedge covered in leather. The longer I sit on it, the more painful it becomes. I usually end up halfway on the bike, perching on the seat with one of my hamstrings.

The seat also does something to nerves in my seat region. Usually after I stand up, I have trouble walking. I can't help but think of those "ergonomic" racing seats that were causing bicyclists to become impotent.

So, I'm taking offers if anybody would like to make one.

Until next time, as Optimus Prime would say, "Transform and roll out!"

Aikido Test and Enbukai

2006-11-19T16:06:00.000+09:00

I had my second aikido test, last month. This one was for 4th kyu. I was completely stressed out, beforehand. Would I have to lead the bok-to (wooden-sword) suburi (swings) counting? Last time, I had to do some counting and although I've been able to count to ten, since my elementary school goju karate class, I got a little confused. How much ukemi (protective falling) would I have to take? We always do a burnout session at the end of our classes and our tests are no different. In fact, we usually have to do more. Last time, I had to do sixty and it completely zapped me.

To answer those questions: I did not have to any counting. However, the test emcee did try to tell me to join in with the others in the kiai (shout) with each cut. We never practice kiai in our dojo so I feel a little self-conscious when I try to sound off with an "OI! or "UUU!" during techniques. Regarding the ukemi, I only had to do forty. I was a little surprised as I still had some get up and go left. No complaints though. Doing ukemi in rapid succession is very tiring.

Also, today was the Yokosuka City Aikido Kenkyukai International Enbukai. An enbukai is basically an exhibition or demonstration. Numata Sensei is the main teacher for Yokosuka so this was his day. Other "shihan" (master teacher) have their own enbukai for their respective areas. Twice a year, we have a large enbukai with all of the AKI dojo in attendance.

At the moment, Misakikai Dojo is comprised of myself, Nishimura Sensei, and sometimes, Aoki Sensei. While it's beneficial to train with many partners, I'm getting some benefit from my circumstantial private lessons.

The Misakikai Dojo portion of the enbukai was Nishimura Sensei and myself doing some techniques to a short musical piece. We did:

Nishimura Nage/Me Uke:

Suwari Shomenuchi Ikkyo Omote and Ura(2x)

Suwari Shomenuchi Nikkyo Omote and Ura (2x)

Suwari Shomenuchi Kokyu Nage that turned into a Tachi Iriminage

Tachi Shomenuchi Iriminage (2x)

Me Nage/Nishimura Uke:

Katate Kokyunage (4x)

Katate Shihonage (4x)

Nishimura Nage/Me Uke:

Shomenuchi Kokyunage (3x)

View of Students Warming Up

I did have one surprise during the day. I'm only a member of Misakikai Dojo. Occasionally, I train at Numata Sensei's dojo. One dojo lined up for their demo and realized they were one person short. One of the guys (the emcee from the testing day) told me "Mo hitori!" I jumped to my feet and ran to the empty spot. I didn't know the song or how long it lasted. When things are unexpected there's no time to be stressed out.

A horse is a horse, of course, of course...

2006-11-05T12:39:00.000+09:00

..., especially when it's "basashi." That's Japanese for "raw horse meat." In Japan, it's a delicacy (As Noriko sometimes tells me I'm not, when I exhibit ungentlemanly behavior, as in,"You're not a delicacy.").

J-Ma and J-Pop headed far south, a couple of weeks ago, for Kumamoto City's Country Gold Festival. In Kumamoto, horse is a regular dish. I was sitting around trying to think of how it may have been started. My best guess is that being hungry was the first step, long ago. J-Pop was happy to have some sent in a cooler, upon his return home.

It was about $20 for maybe a dozen thin slices. I only ate two of them. One for a taste test and the other just to make sure the results were conclusive. I can't say it had much of a taste. It was a deep, dark red, without any of the little white, fatty lines that is seen in beef. It's supposed to be quite healthy when compared to the other red meat.

I did feel a little guilty, afterwards. Horses are our friends, right? I mean, I wouldn't eat dog, would I? Or would I? I definitely wouldn't eat cat. There's a bear farm up north and I wouldn't mind taking a swipe at having a couple of bites of that (cooked). J-Ma explained that eating horses look different than riding horses. I mean, milking cows do look different from the other variety.

During our meal, I couldn't help but try to make a few horse jokes. "I'm so hungry I could eat..." or "Hi Ho Silver, Away!!!!" as I swallowed. Unsurprisingly, I was the only one that got them.

"Horse! The other red meat!"

"Got horse?"

"Horse. It's what's for dinner."

You get the idea.

These are a couple of pics of Charlie Nagatani. He's been organizing Country Gold for the past 20 years. His mission is to create bridges of friendship between cultures through country music. I think plans for the first Country Gold in China have been underway. This year's headliner was the Charlie Daniels Band. J-Pa's review: "He didn't move around much."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basashi This entry has some interesting information concerning the history of eating horsemeat. There's also a list of countries and their horseeating practices. I'm not alone, after all. Don't judge me too harshly. How does the saying go? Don't judge me until you've ridden a mile in my saddle?

That's all. I better wrap it up. My voice is getting hoarse. Please comment and give me any more puns you can come up with.

Signed,

Wilbur

What Happened To October?

2006-11-05T12:28:00.000+09:00

Somehow, the entire month of October passed and I posted nothing. Did our Yokie from Muskogee simply not see anything new? Did he not do anything new?

Actually, a lot was going on. I'm going to try and get caught up in the next few entries.

I've also decided to combine my martial arts blog with this one. For those that want to see what that's all about, I think: http://aikisearch.blogspot.com is the link. From now on, I'll just post the new entries, here.

Also, my digital camera is broken. It didn't survive a second trip to the top of Mt. Fuji. I barely survived. The lack of new pictures and the lack of new entries goes hand in hand.

So, until the next entry, I leave you with this shot. That's Noriko riding an elevator. I'm outside waiting for it to arrive on my floor. I don't know if the monitor is a security device or if it helps one decide to use the stairs or not.

Lead singer taking applications for country band

2006-09-24T23:29:00.000+09:00

I came home to find J-Pop watching a dvd from a friend. It was footage of a concert put on by The Warter Front Band. These guys are American and were playing at a honky tonk in Tokyo, called Little Texas. I have a one word review of their performance: TERRIBLE!

I told J-Pop they were really bad and they made my ears hurt. This was before they covered Okie From Muskogee. They were truly a train wreck. During Lukenbach Texas, the band-leader/drummer/lead vocalist did a terrible Willie Nelson impersonation, singing nasally with the end of a drumstick pushing one of his nostrils closed. It was so off that it didn't even sound like a bad Willie impersonation. Trust me, I know what a bad one sounds like (my own!).

I feel really bad for the Japanese audience that had to sit through this show. They may not even have known it was so terrible. While having been exposed to two guitar greats (my brother and stepfather) has made me a little of a snob, I put it aside and gave the bassist and the two leads (who seemed to be sharing one guitar) a blank page. I'm not sure the members knew they were playing in a band, together.

I guess it doesn't take much to get a few gigs in Japan, playing country music (or maybe any kind). From today, I am looking to make a band. If any of you would like to get a taste of "life in a hillbilly band" (thanks Waylon!) or would like to "rock the suburbs" (thanks Ben Folds) with me, please let me know. I know at least one venue (Little Texas) that would give us a stage.

The leader and drummer

The missing blues brother on bass and a lead guitarist

Lead guitarist #2 sharing the lead guitar while the other lead guitarist plays the air guitar (which is all his own).

He has his guitar back.

So what!? I'm jealous! These guys looked like they were having a good time.

Signs, Motorcycles, Motorcycle Gangs, Motorcycle Gang Signs

2006-09-21T11:20:00.000+09:00

Any ideas? Whose fear is exploited in this show (the audience's or the dolphins')? Is it loosely based on The Rocky Horror Picture Show?

I made an appointment to get my hair cut at the American. After second thought, I decided to cancel it. There was just something about the name that turned me off. While American "Pig" is appealing as a bar's name, it just doesn't make sense for a har salon.

There's a foot tunnel nearby that has been the victim of some budding vandals/grafitti artists. This one is "F the Police!" YIKES! I don't know why anyone would want to say that. The police don't bother anyone (including the criminals).

Here's some more, in the same tunnel. "Ooyabe _______ is the best!"

(You can fill in the blank.)

This depiction of a motorcycle leads me to believe it's the work of local motorcycle gangs (seriously).

Speaking of motorcycles, I found this one in February or March. I should have turned it in to the police. If nobody would've claimed it in six months, I would have been contacted to come on down and pick up my new ride! As it is, about a month ago, it vanished. I could've joined a motorcycle gang.

The Last Day of Summer: July 18th, 2006

2006-09-15T23:09:00.000+09:00

I've finally set my mind to doing this entry. I can't do more until this one is finished. For the time being, expect no eloquence. And in trying to express my wish to cut to the point (is that even the correct idiom: get to the point/cut to the chase?) I've avoided cutting to the point. On July 18th, 2006, my best friend passed away. He was actually more than a best friend. I don't know what that word might be, but he was it. We met in second grade (this year we'd be in about 28th grade) and from then on were inexplicably linked. There wasn't one weekend that passed from elementary to college that we weren't at the other's house. In the case of college, it was easier- we were roommates. Anyway, nothing I can say in this blog will express the loss in my mind and heart. I'd just like to put up a few pictures with a few comments, maybe.

Jeremy really liked this picture. I don't know who took it or where they were.

This picture was taken at a birthday party for his daughter during one of her early visits to Houston (She's much older now).

The next few pictures were taken during what was one of the best summers of my life.

Friday night, I would drive to Tulsa and we'd hit the single scene. We'd get up Saturday and go bouldering. Saturday night, "...on the rocks." Sunday morning, we'd be on the rocks. We were in our late twenties and holding on to them as tight as we could.

Before I go, let me tell you about a couple of dreams I had. They both left me feeling better. In Japan, in the late summer (the season that just passed), every neighborhood has a festival. It was/is believed that the spirits of the ancestors come back to visit. At night, a stage is decorated and festive music is played. Attendees dress in summer kimonos and there are special dances performed on the stage and in a circle around it. I dreamed Jeremy was at one of these parties and just dancing away. I woke with a nice feeling.

Just last night (and perhaps the impetus for this entry), I dreamed I was at a reception for Jeremy's funeral. We were all standing around (friends and family) when Jeremy showed up. Nobody was surprised and it was almost like it was a scheduled visit. He made his rounds hugging people and saying goodbye. Lastly he hugged his family and myself. He told us all not to worry and that he was happy and doing ok. I held back my tears while he was there and wished him well. We had a final embrace and a "Take care, see ya later, man." With a final look around the room he just vanished.

Well, that's all. That's all I have to say in this medium. I'll have an actual essay in the days to come. Anybody that would like to read it (when it's available), please leave me a comment and I'll make sure you get a chance.

And please, leave a comment. Especially, if you knew him.

The top of Mt. Fuji- One of Jeremy's final resting places.

Update: A few more pictures have surfaced.

Pirates of Ft. Gibson Lake

with Melissa

Before/After Jeremy's wedding

LEFT: With Jeremy and Phil, before we headed off to an apartment we shared. RIGHT: One year later

Business With Pleasure- Shaken, Not Stirred

2006-08-13T16:31:00.000+09:00

Over the last few weeks I have attended functions thrown by some of my students. I know the pros and cons of mixing business with pleasure but in this land of "Yes" I couldn't say "No."

My group class (pictured above) requested that I attend a "Welcome Party." They rented a little cafe called Chapter II and we had the entire place to ourselves. It was pretty small and you can see most of the sitting area in the picture. These people are all very nice and the dinner was wonderful. I'd heard some tragic news that day, so for a couple of hours they helped me forget. The man (Shigeharu) brought some sho-chu (alcohol) and wine. As you can tell from his red face, he was pretty tipsy. He got a little rowdy but the women all minded their manners. Please note that eveyone seems composed and good mannered.

IN CONTRAST:

Yesterday, I was invited to head to the beach for a BBQ with another student of mine. This one lives just down the street. I can see their balcony from the window of our shower. In the picture above, he's the one on the left. He's Kosuke and the guy on the right is Yoshi. Yoshi loves Levis, Lee, and Harley Davidson. At one point, Yoshi ended up naked and was running up and down the beach with either a blow up beach ball or a sand castle bucket covering his private area.

This picture is Kosuke's son, Ryunosuke. He's quite a cute kid. I've finally been to their house enough, that he doesn't run in fear.

Here are Kosuke's little brother, Norisuke (left) and Shibaki.

The beer was flowing and while I did have a few I did not end up naked or doing a bellydance with anyone. After spending time with him as a teacher, it felt like I was going undercover while we were at the beach. I kept getting the feeling that I was going to be made. It felt like Kosuke was some kind of kingpin and I was being drawn in to be part of the gang. I didn't have to do anything to compromise my ethics (like extort money from some shop owners) and I didn't do anything to require me to cut off my little finger as an apology, either.

I think that Shigeharu-san would've enjoyed the antics of this group better.

Random Pictures Come Together 2

2006-08-13T15:05:00.000+09:00

I was minding my own business when I heard a ruckuss outside. A couple of kindergardeners were answering the call to nature outside my window. All the little ones have to wear matching hats and backpacks that identify them as little ones.

So, here's the restaurant that shares the same spelling of "Jory" that Noriko chose to put on the official documents. Jolly- that's me!

This little guy reminds me of home. He bays and barks and howls at the drop of a hat. I used to help take care of seven beagles. This little guy is just down the road. He's about the unfriendliest little Snoopy that I've ever seen. He started growling at me during this photo.

Doesn't this snubnose .38 look a little too realistic? It's just a cap gun. I think one sign of an advanced country is one that that requires the end of toy gun barrels to be hunter orange. Of course, they are a little behind the USA when it comes to having enough armed robberies or accidental shootings of children to warrant the marking of toy guns as toys. As much as I hate hunter's orange and with or without enough handgun crime, I still think it's a good idea.

Here's Noriko running out the door to work. She is not missing a leg, she's just fluidly putting on one of her shoes in midstride.

Self-Portrait per Carly's Request

2006-08-13T14:49:00.000+09:00

OK. The first picture is not exactly a self-portrait. It might be after about fifty years. The next picture is the closest thing Yahoo can come up with. The setting is actually Tokyo. I do have similar clothes and the head is a little too big with not enough hair. I'm working on slimming down but I think it's close enough.

Wrong Turn

2006-08-08T09:28:00.000+09:00

Mistakenly, a friend went to the following page, and was taken by surprise at my newfound zealousness (zealotry?zealousy?).

http://muskogeeyokie.blogpsot.com/

You Are What You Feast

2006-08-05T07:32:00.000+09:00

In 5th grade, I was responsible for coming up with the holiday bulletin board display in the cafeteria. I can't remember how I came to be responsible for this chance to get my work out in the public eye, but I took it pretty seriously. I needed something catchy, yet something that promoted good eating habits. Elementary students don't always have nutrition on their mind when selecting a meal. I finally came up with "CHRISTMAS TIME IS EATING TIME, BUT REMEMBER, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!" I felt something was missing, but for the most part, I was satisfied. My teacher, Mrs. White, cut out out all the letters. As she finished, I figured out what I needed. It should have read FEASTING. EATING was just not festive enough. I pointed my idea out but was quickly shot down. "I am not going to cut out all of those letters, AGAIN!" Mrs. White informed me. Not wanting to cause trouble, I obediently took my seat. All she had to do was cut out an additional "F" and "S."

So, people are always asking me, "What's the food like?" and "Do you really eat raw fish?" If they knew better, they'd be asking things like "Horsemeat? Some people eat it raw?" Anyway, I've compiled a few pictures of some good ol' fashioned home cooked meals.

a typical weekend breakfast

Japanese stew

sushi

Most restaurants have a display of wax recreations of their offerings. When everything has a strange name and the menus can't be read, this is extremely useful.

more sushi

One of J-Ma's desserts from a French bakery. mmmmmmm... I have a theory about J-Ma and her desserts. She always picks up the expensive ones. If they're not over $4 each, then they're not fit to eat. Occasionally, Noriko and I pass a $1.00 stand and we supply the sweets. J-Ma will eat them, but with a turned up nose. She's a dessert snob.

What does this restaurant offer? Spaghetti, soup, and...? (I wonder if it's eaten raw or cooked?)

some tempura

some more tempura

lunch

oysters

dinner

Dating Day in Kamakura

2006-08-05T07:21:00.000+09:00

Below, are a few shots from a recent outing to Kamakura.

Area Around Kanazawa: Kiriko in Wajima, a Castle, a Temple

2006-08-04T20:18:00.000+09:00

In Wajima, we went to their local matsuri festival. They carry these towering portable shinto shrines (kiriko), singing and chanting.

Each neighborhood or shrine had their own kiriko and it was a contest of sorts to see who could make the best one.

They used to carry them along the streets but now there are too many low hung power lines. They are pretty much restricted to a parking lot.

This area is at a cliff where a head priest was pushed over for being a boozing womanizer. I think the story has it that the monk that did it was jealous.

I thought this set of stairs looked just like the entrance to the amusement park in Spirited Away. Oink! Oink!

This is the site of an old samurai village.

They've rebuilt some of the village. Above is an example of what the street would've looked like.

Here's an aerial view of a model, showing what the entire place was like.

Here is the oldest, non-replica castle tower, in Japan.

This map shows the original layout of the castle. The tower is in the upper left hand area of the complex.

The tower's purpose was simply to keep an eye on the surrounding territory.

Access to the upper floors were by steep sets of staircases. This saved space and also prevented one's enemies from rushing up them. They seemed as steep and narrow as the stairs in Iwabe Castle.

Here's the entrance to Eihei-ji. It's the head temple of a temple here in Yokosuka that has Noriko's dad's family at rest.

On the grounds of Eihei-ji

Inside Eihei-ji

So you can get an idea of how large this complex is, here's the map. The first picture was taken at the far left of this map.

Finally, at Haneda Airport, there were these cool little displays. It's some kind of paper mache mixed medium.

Kanazawa: A funeral, a parade, a wedding, a sunset.

2006-08-03T14:36:00.000+09:00

We returned to Kanazawa to take care of unfinished business. The waiting period was over and it was time to take Noriko's Uncle's remains to his final resting area. This pictures shows the view from the restaurant where we ate lunch, after we finished up at the temple. See the green roofed building that doesn't really match the others? That's the temple. I just noticed that that tree looks pretty big, too.

It just so happened, there was a major Kanazawa festival while we were there. Every year, they reenact a wedding procession of a famous samurai- Maeda. The dashing lad in the above picture is portraying Mr. Maeda. Apparently, this guy is a famous actor. As he passed, so did a huge throng of fans. Mostly women and they were all holding up there cellphone cameras, screaming, "Look at me! Look this way!"

A famous wedding? Well, this girl is portraying the girl that was married on that day, long ago. She was an 11 year old bride. Maybe I'm just not old fashioned enough, but that seems a little young! I didn't even scream "Look at me!" but I managed to catch the lucky lady's attention.

This is what I'd call a Glamourai. He looks like the other member of KISS and I had to ask if he was supposed to be some kind of undead samurai. That would be cool.

The parade was a good time to show off Miss Kanazawa (I don't know which one she is- does it matter?) See that girl with her arms crossed? See that look she's giving her date? I think that's the same look Noriko gave me when I took the picture.

Not dressed in golden armor or a silken kimono, nobody seemed to interested in this lone boy scout. He didn't seem too plussed, either.

This samurai was very antsy about his antsy horse. They both seemed to be sharing their first day on the job.

The procession ended at Kanazawa Castle, just like it did, back on that happy day. J-Pop snapped his picture. I have no idea who those other two people are (The two on the far right- the two on the far left are Noriko and me).

Also, on the day's schedule, was a kabuki kind of thing where two guys fight each other to a draw (they are trying to win the honor of fighting a dragon-thing). After a tie, they both fight and defeat the dragon.

Across the street from the castle is the Kenrouken Park. During this holiday, they open the gates and light up the park. Here is a couple enjoying a romantic view within the walls.

A sunset in Wajima

...

Arithmetic and Anniversaries (The Walters Come To Tokyo)

2006-08-03T12:50:00.000+09:00

Noriko and I got married on June 1st, 2005. She would've preferred May 5th, but we couldn't make the arrangements, in time. It was important for her to have an easy to remember date. Since 5-5-05 had already passed, the best I could come up with was "six minus one equals five." After 5-5-05, Noriko was thinking about waiting a year for June 6th. I had to convince her that no preacher would marry us on that day.

6-1-06 came (rather quickly) and just happened to coincide with the day that Joey, Noriko, and Zoey(sp?) Walters would be in Tokyo. They were visiting from Oklahoma and we couldn't think of a better way to spend our anniversary. Other than seeing us, their primary destination was the Studio Ghibli Museum.

The Walters riding on the bus to Studio Ghibli Museum.

View of the museum door from its rooftop. I don't have much to say about the museum. For one, it was about two months ago. It's a fun place for fans of animation and especially for fans of Miyazake (Spirited Away, Howl's Flying Castle, the upcoming Tales of Earthsea). There's a short animated film that only plays in the museum and several exhibits that revolve around his movies and characters.

Here is my favorite decoration in the whole building. They are the little animated coal balls the boiler room in Spirited Away.

I'm not much of a Tokyo wanderer. I've been two or three times and I'm always awed by its size and sprawl. It very much seems like a city out of Blade Runner and at night, with all its lights I think of the city-planet of Coruscant. I was waiting to meet up with them for a second day of sightseeing when I turned around and saw something straight from those movies:

A famous manga artist designed one of the ferry boats that is open for passage and river cruises. I was quite shocked to turn around and see this futuristic vessel. My first thought was that Tokyo is a city of the future.

The futureboat pushing off from the docks. I was disappointed in the boatman's uniform. I at least expected them to be decked out in some kind of cross between Logan's Run and Buck Rogers.

Homeless people have set up virtual cities along parts of the waterway. They are called "kojiki" which means something like, "Give me food!" Some of hovels have a sense of permanency about them.

We met the cyborg ferry, returning from it's trip upstream. We were on a regular looking boat and I decided it's cooler to see the futureboat underway than to be on it.

This picture shows Shinjuku (I think). I was amazed at the number of people.

I looked more closely and realized, in the background, farther along the sidewalk, were MORE people! That may have been the most people I've ever seen, in one place. It was even worse than the time I went to the Muskogee Civic Center, when they had there Christmas $100,000 Drawing (See, you had to be there, in person, to win. Since then, they've changed the attendance stipulation in their contest).

Here is a shot from Shibuya. There were even more people, here!

I leave you with another of my pieced together panoramic pictures. This one shows Shibuya.

I See Japanese People (and the Miyagase Dam)

2006-06-29T07:58:00.000+09:00

Let me begin, by saying, "A few weeks ago..."

Yokosuka City Hall organized a free field trip. They were going to use a lottery system to pick forty lucky citizens to travel to the Miyagase Dam and see firsthand, where the water they drink comes from. Noriko mailed in my application card and we sat back to wait for the drawing.

The next day, J-Pop told a coworker to put me on the list. J-Pop is an engineer and section chief at city hall (in the waterworks department!). I'm glad to see systems like the lotto being abused. The poor guy whose job was to make sure I made it back to the bus at appointed times seemed pretty nervous and stressed when he'd have to rush after me pointing to his departure schedules.

I joined my fellow senior citizens outside city hall and took my place on the bus.

We had a pretty swanky bus. They pulled out all the stops. There were chandeliers and multicolored track lighting. It was about a two hour ride.

Our first stop, for lunch, was at the Miyagase Park. This park (flood plain?) is located below the dam and is a pretty large park. I pieced together this panoramic. I need more practice.

Here is a view looking back across the open flood plain. That large staircase with the mosaic tree is where I took the panoramic shot.

There was also a little area near the top of the stairs with a stream and some shops.

At the dam, before they turned us loose, we had to suffer through a thirty minute video presentation put on by the front desk person. They are really big on uniforms in Japan. In the Pokemon cartoons (I watched them when I was younger, about 28), all the women that work at desks or in a civic role (nurses, police, etc.) are drawn identically. I used to think it was just some Pokemon thing. But after going into department stores and museums, I saw everyone wearing the same uniform, unique to that particular store. So with all of the women with the same hair, same clothes, and same features, I could see where Pokemon drew its parody. Or maybe that's why you shouldn't watch things like Pokemon as an adult. I'm going to stick to Inuyasha.

Dam Specs: Height: 156m, Crest Length: ~400m, Catchment Area: 213.9km-km

(I have more specs available. Email me if you want them! haha.)

I don't know if I was the only one that was a little nervous about being at the foot of a dam in a country with so many earthquakes. Some of my first impressions of the dam was that it looked like something out of Halo(tm). I probably was the only one thinking that, though.

In the walkway at the base of the dam. Again, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if a quake hit. The "ghost" in the picture was trying to get out of my shot. I think it's funny how most people will run and sprint from a camera flash. I think it's not funny how some people will walk right into a camera shot (foreshadowing).

Here's a shot looking up the staircase (I wanted to use them but the gate was locked). There's also a cable car track on the left. It's 200 yen one way. I saved my money for the cafe au lait vending machines. Again, I'm pretty much just walking around thinking about playing Halo.

A shot of the reservoir.

A shot looking downstream.

I live in a large metropolitan suburb of Tokyo. It's famous for hosting a huge US Navy base. That means there are tons of Navy people roaming around. That means there are tons of ex-Navy people roaming around. I must be off the beaten path. I'm always surprised that during most of my excursions, I'm the only foreigner. It's nice in the sense that I can get a small feeling for being a stranger in a strange land. Of course, I can head down to Dobuita Street and see all the swaggering, drunk sailors I want. I usually shy away from that part of town. Actually, that's the only time in Japan I've been looked at menacingly. It was by some young punk sailor! I'm too old for that so I just chuckled.

Catsup

2006-06-13T01:13:00.000+09:00

Kasagake offials

Here I am playing catch up (again!). While I'm on the subject, the Japanese love to put ketchup on their eggs. Do Americans like to do that, too? Spaniards? Anyone else? I know that I don't, so I was able to save some of my scrambled eggs from being ruined the other morning, by catching the cooks in time. I have to go into my "upcoming entries" folder and pick out whatever set of photos keeps me from being current. Right now, "current" is that we just returned from Kanazawa (my 3rd time!) where I was witness to many new things.

Back to my game of catch up and what sounds like a broken record to me. A couple of weeks ago...

As a refresher:
http://muskogeeyokie.blogspot.com/2006/05/flash-cause-horse-to-be-very-frighten.html.

This time, we headed to the seashore in Miura. This particular demonstration of horseback archery is called kasagake. The previous entry was about yabusame. Yabusame is a mixture of demonstrated skill and a ceremonial prayer, while kasagake is more of demonstration and competitive event.

While the yabusame was done in a straight line, the kasagake was done along the bend in a section of beach. I only have a few pictures, at this time, as I borrowed J-Pop's digital camcorder and have a ton of video.

Waiting for their turn

Sideview of the Kasagake officials

Lone horseman

We took a walk along the ocean after the demonstration.

Here's a photo of a dead thing I found.

Return to Kanazawa

2006-06-09T18:25:00.000+09:00

We're heading to Kanazawa tomorrow. We have to go through the final motions of putting Noriko's uncle and grandfather to rest. Their bones have been in the house for 40ish days and it's time to take them to their final resting place. I'm positive it will be another learning experience for me.

In the meantime, all of my viewers and visitors (I KNOW YOU ARE OUT THERE. MY SITECOUNTER SHOWS AN AVERAGE OF 22 PER DAY!) can take a look at the following blog:

http://321letsgo.blogspot.com/

It's mainly of a scifi or comic book slant and the writer has put together 4 podcasts. He's in Spain and uses them to practice his English. If you don't like comics or scifi, you're on your own.

More about some of my visitors:

One visitor arrived from this link: http://arigatous.livejournal.com/400413.html
"five arigatous and i finally made it."

I've had visitors from New Zealand, Russia (surely related to the link above), Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, and all over the U.S.

So, while I'm away, at least send me a link to your blog (if that's from whence you came) or say hello.

Gracias! ありがとう！Спасибо! Terima kasih! Cam on! Thanks!
(if you can't find your language, go here: http://www.travlang.com/wordofday/159.html.

Kinugasa Castle

2006-06-09T17:27:00.000+09:00

Noriko and I have been trying to spend some "dating" time, as she calls it, together. So, if she has the day off, we might go spend a couple of hours in a karaoke booth or if it's a nice day, we might take a stroll. For a few months, I've been seeing a sign that says "Kinugasa Castle Ruins- .8 km." Next to that is the sign for Kinugasa Park. There's also a Kinugasa train station and a Kinugasa bus stop.

For a complete write up on the area, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka,_Kanagawa.

The short version and the part that applies to Kinugasa is quoted, thusly:
"Heian period- In 1063, Muraoka Tamemichi established Kinugasa Castle in what is now Yokosuka. He took the surname Miura. The castle fell during the Battle of Kinugasa in 1187."

That's about all for the history of the area, that I can find in English. There's a good sized sign at the site that probably tell the rest of the story.

Noriko, on the steps to the temple near the top of Kinugasa Mountain.

All that's left of Kinugasa Castle is a wooded hill. There's a little clearing at the top with a couple of benches (we had a picnic). A little dirt path takes one from the street (Kinugasa bus stop), up the mountain to a temple (undoubtedly it served this castle and nearby samurai- still functioning), and then on up to the top of the hill. Strategically, it's easy to see why somebody might put a castle up there. The trail goes on from there to Kinugasa Park (next time) and then on to Kinugasa Station.

It's hard to imagine that samurai used to run around all over the place. Well, actually, it's kind of easy to imagine since I've seen so many samurai movies, but I'm just used to being in the U.S.A. and taking hikes, thinking "This looks like a place where samurai would run around."

Noriko on the far side of Kinugasa Mountain.

The view from the top. One of the only views I've seen, still untouched by electrical towers and apartment buildings.

On the way back, I spotted a snake! I've emailed a guy about what kind is it, but he has yet to respond. It was stuck inside somebody's garden. I herded it down the fenceline until it found a hole.

Here's a closer look at its markings, for identification purposes.

Within seconds of continuing, I spotted another snake on the path! I couldn't believe it. I love to find snakes! This makes the third snake I've seen since being in Japan.

Green Uraga and Ham.

2006-06-05T10:14:00.000+09:00

I had my last hike with the Uraga people. These trips have all been pretty similar. The same group leader identifies local flora and sometimes tells a related anecdote or some trivia. There was a new group co-leader on this one. As always, with a new group, since I'm the token white guy, I have to say that I'm from America and that's I'm very happy to meet everybody. As this was the fourth time with this group, I felt kind of silly going through it all again. The new guy pointed to a dandelion and asked me, "What is this?" I said, "Tampopo?" He said, "No! No! In English!" I said "Dandelion." He agreed and said something about French people using the leaves to clean their teeth (maybe). He ended our act by delighting that the walking group was now international.

I heard the word for "bug" during this identification. Some kind of insect is born inside this "fruit/seed" and eats its way out.

I heard something about a toothbrush and from watching some people mime, these little cone things can be used as a primitive toothbrush (I think!).

This scene is typical. Our leader scampers up a rock to identify a sprout of green and the rest of us take notes.

Here's a picture of tsurana. It has a naturally salty flavor and during my first Uraga hike we ate it, tempura style.

We took our lunch break and the little groups and loners all did their own thing.

What's my thing? I roam around the rocks peeking into all the nooks and crannies. Does anybody know what exactly the thing in this picture is? It looks like it could be pried off the rocks with a sharp knife (which I don't have in Japan).

View from the hike.

Part of the trail.

During lunch, they passed out some kind of questionnaire. They'll never know what I think of their program!

Along the shore. There are always people out clamming and seaweeding. I think they can also find octopus and sea urchins.

These trees and rock features reminded me of Dr. Seuss illustrations. Or is it Mr. Seuss? I always get Dr. Spock, Mr. Spock, and Dr. Seuss mixed up.

Takatori Yama

2006-05-26T19:34:00.000+09:00

A couple of weeks ago (if you've been following, I went on three or four hikes last week- that's why the last few entries all start similarly), I went with Takahashi-san's and Murata-san's group from city hall. They're the ones that like to get dirty and splash about in local rivers and along the seashore checking the quality of the water. I just can't imagine the group from my other three hikes getting too dirty.

Our destination was Takatori Yama (Hawk Mountain). It turned out that I only saw pigeons up there. Proud of my Japanese, I told the guy next to me that maybe it needed a new name, Pigeon Mountain. He wasn't impressed.

As usual, we stopped at a few points along the route to check out the water. If there's any fence jumping and bridge diving to do, Takahashi-san is our man!

Takahashi-san, at it again.

It's not quite like the floating huts I've seen on TV in Vietnam or China, but I wonder what it's like to live over this small river. During summer, I bet the bugs are terrible. Also, I can't help but suspect sewer somehow ends up here.

As usual, this hike had its adventurous moments. I think these moments are the most heartracing for me. I have all these grandparents scuttling around on rocks and I'm just waiting for one of them to fall and break a hip. It's very stressful! I bet their kids don't even know what they're up to.

There was a water tank at one of our little summits. It had this teensy lock on the gate and this warning for potential terrorists. I feel safer. That's why I only drink sake!

Here's the view would-be terrorists would have after being deterred.

(Folks, I'm not making light of the terrorist threat. I'm only making light of the light precautions that are in effect.)

I was walking down the trail when I heard Takahashi-san yelling, "Jory-san! Jory-san!" He was pointing around the corner of the big cliff I just rounded. Suddenly seeing the giant figure of a person startled me and the rest of the crowd had a good chuckle.

The lady on the right is the one that is bowing in the picture, above. She also tried to adopt me for the day, on a couple of occasions. She was really nice but I avoided her a little bit. I simply couldn't understand anything she said. And one time, she went on and on.

There was a spacious clearing near the summit of the mountain. Near the middle of it was a big rock. That's were we took our lunch break. That's Takahashi-san on the rock playing Lion King. He has to make sure we are all accounted for.

At the summit, there was a little observation tower. Here's the view down on our lunch rock.

This view from the observation tower shows the big Buddha. Can you find it?

How about now?

On the side of the mountain is a famous temple. It's nestled in a small valley and the access to it seems to be carved between these two rocks. It had a very private feel to it.

We were milling around, admiring the scenery, when the head priest opened his door and invited our entire group to come inside. Apparently, this was our good fortune. More than a few people passed me saying "Our good lucky!" We were then treated to a 30 minute speech on the history of the temple. Needless to say, I didn't understand a word. People are always telling me, "I bet your Japanese is getting better!" Yes and no. Yes, if you'd like me to order some food for you- no problem. I can even get us on the right bus or train. I can even talk a little sword or weather. But, I cannot discuss the history of Buddhist temples. Instead, I played a little game in my head. There was about twenty of us inside the temple. Half of us are sitting in seiza (how Japanese people sit). Even for most Japanese, sitting like this for an extended period of time becomes excruciatingly painful. I took it upon myself, to be the last holdout. I pitted myself against some veterans of the game. One by one, a lady over there would change positions. Next, the man in front of me changed to "Indian style." Finally, it was down to the last three. I couldn't even feel my legs. That's not true. I could feel they were still there because they were hurting. Suddenly, the priest concluded his story and invited us to come "behind the curtains" so to speak and look at all the artifacts up close. That was really cool, except I couldn't stand. Long after everyone else was up and about, I was finally able to shuffle forward. A few of the grandmothers asked if I was OK.

Deep in the Heart of Tokyo

2006-05-26T18:08:00.000+09:00

Two Sundays ago, the J-folks treated us to a concert. We all flew to Dallas for an afternoon of country music. Not really. We actually headed to the 11th Annual Lonestar Picnic, in the Tokyo suburb of Tokorozawa.

It was a pretty entertaining day. I'd say the place to get into the country music scene is in Japan. As long as the music is close, you don't really need to have the lyrics down.

Here's a picture of the headliner: J.T. Kinehara. He almost looks just like George Strait. He really wasn't that bad and I have a copy of the CD he recorded in Nashville. It has one his own songs, She Called Me Japanese Willie.

However, this fella here was the closest thing to a Japanese Willie at the show. He even sang The City of New Orleans. I seemed to be the only one in the crowd that knew this tune. I don't think most Japanese country music fans stray too far from whatever's new and current. He's also the only act that had a harmonica.

Here's a picture of the Wildwood Roses. They were a pretty big hit, as the dance area quickly filled when they started singing. This is a shot of her doing some kind of Shania Twain thang.

I tried to use the digital zoom and get a closer look at her Twain thang, but only managed to get a shot of J-Pop. By the look on his face and the body language of the other two guys, I'm guessing her Twain thang was close enough to the real deal!

They are probably dancing to lines like "I'm fwom the countwy and I wike it that way," or "God [bwey] the day I discover you..." But the music was spot on. It was kind of strange. If you didn't really look at anybody, but just scan the crowd, it looked like any group of Native Americans or Hispanics, in Oklahoma, having a hoedown.

Apparently, this hipster's image of "western attire" is something different. It might be how they're dressing in west Harajuku. Incidentally, his group had the loudest whoopers and hollerers. They were also drinking the most.

These guys know exactly how real cowboys are expected to dress. The American flag guy had on Ol' Glory sunglasses and earrings. He was quite the glamourboy. The other one is just your regular rodeoer. I saw a couple of guys with what looked like cans of Skoal in their back pockets.

Here's J-Ma and Pa getting jiggy with it.

A little rodeo clown.

J-Ma going solo.

One of the three members of the "Wake Up Tulsa" dancing club. A lot of gangs were wearing their "colors."

J-Ma still going solo.

A Man in Black (he looked like a Japanese Lee Van Cleef) offering "Willie" some firewater, while an A's fan looks on.

This cowpoke was pretty drunk. He sat down behind me and gave me a shoulder massage for about 5 minutes. He kept yanking back and hugging me. He announced a few times that I was his new American friend. The people with whom he shared didn't seem to care. He had some basic English, because he works on a U.S. base. He made his kids come down and say "Hello" and "Nice to meet you." They later came back down to give me a rice cracker. His wife seemed like a good hearted woman that fell in love with a good timin' man.

Here we are! I'm wearing the only western shirt that I brought to Japan. She's representing, by wearing a ballcap with the face of OSU's Pistol Pete on it (At least Oklahoma was represented in Longhorn territory).

How does your garden grow?

2006-05-24T23:52:00.000+09:00

If it's like mine, it grows by a couple of styrofoam boxes from the fish market, every couple of days.

As with most people, there is a strong tradition of growing a garden in my family. It doesn't have to be a sprawling acreage (though some in my family have had just that). It can be just one little patch of something. Anything will do, as long as it's edible (or at least the picture on the package of seeds, of what was supposed to grow, is edible).

This is the area of the yard that is now mine. It was pretty weedy until I decided to have a garden. Jpop was going to just spray the ground with weed killer. While he likes trees, bushes, and flowers, he seems to have a healthy disdain for grass. I'm not sure what the big deal is. Even if there was grass, it's not like it would take all of ten minutes, or less, to keep it trimmed (Today, I weedeated the grass that does grow and it took about 3 minutes).

Here's J-Mom putting out ant poison. Sometimes, the little tasks I do, domino into little tasks for them. This time, I uncovered some ants when I did some yard cleaning. She decided it was a problem. I'm not really sure what harm they were doing in the yard. I guess, ants are to Jmom, as grass is to Jpop. She's smiling, because she thinks I sneak around and take pictures of them doing weird things, to post on my blog. She's thought that ever since that early early post of mine, that shows Jpop sleeping under the coffee table. She tells all her friends that she has to always make sure she's wearing makeup, because she might end up on the internet.

We decided to plant a small garden. It was sparked by noticing some tomato plants on sale at the neighborhood market. We bought three tomato plants and two cucumber plants. I found a couple of old styrofoam boxes and began my garden.

The next day, J-Pop got wind of a garden in his yard. It turns out, that they love having a garden. They just never have the time to work it. What with their full time jobs and afterhours country dancing, I can understand that. They whisked me away to the Japanese version of Lowe's (D2) and we picked up some more potting soil, two more tomatoes, and some kind of red pepper things, and a couple of eggplants. Upon returning, Jpop showed me where all the yard tools are stored. He then disappeared into the garage to return with three more empty styrofoam boxes.

I made one more trip, a few days later to a different supermarket and picked up some sick looking eggplant and some green, red, and yellow peppers. I filled up the rest of my remaining spaces and put the sickly eggplants in their own pots.

A lot of people, away from home, look up at the stars or moon at night, and are comforted by the fact that their loved ones can look at that same moon, on the other side of the world. I found a different way. By working in my garden, however small it is, I can see my Dad. As it turns out, I spend a lot of time out there.

These rubber tabi boots are the most comfortable yard shoes, I've ever worn.

Jpop doing some yardwork on a different day. He can stand on top of a rickety 6' stepladder and the thing doesn't even shake. He stood up there and with an electric, telescoping hedgetrimmer, flattened out the tops of his trees. He could bend over, lean out, turn around, anything, and the ladder wouldn't move. As unimpressed as you are right now, go out and stand on the top step of one. If you can mimic his catlike agility, take a picture. I want to see it.

The Old Man and the Seaweed

2006-05-24T22:33:00.000+09:00

Last week, I went on two hikes with the same group. The first hike was to teach us (us, being limited to those fluent in Japanese) what seaside plants are edible. The second hike was just a flower identification hike. Again, for me, they were just a couple of chances to stroll about and have a picnic with a group of elderly strangers. The group leader was the same for both hikes. To be fair, I'll admit that Noriko went with me on the first one. She was going to take notes so we could investigate the plants at our convenience. Below, are some shots from those two days.

From the second hike. There were pools of water, everywhere. The rocky area here is underwater during high tide.

That white building is somebody's seaside house. We walked by it later. They have a really nice view from their back porch.

Seaside View of Tokyo Bay

Navigating the rock path.

Our plant sensei is some kind of professor. He apparently knows a lot. He's also pretty funny. I guess. He usually had some extra info to impart and when he was done, everyone would laugh. Except for me. Sometimes I laughed, but it was usually at something else.

Here's another view across Tokyo Bay. Those mountains across the way are in Chiba.

Plant: Some kind of pine tree? I heard the word 'matsu.' I know a guy named Matsushima and the first part of his name means pine tree.

A man drying out wakame seaweed. All along this part were little piles of seaweed.

I had this bright idea to take a picture of all the edible plants and create a photo log.

As our walk sped up and the pictures proved too difficult to take with my camera...

...also, I was preoccupied with trying to take pictures of butterflies.

This man spoke English, rather well, considering he was 70ish and hadn't studied English since high school. He kind of wandered around and did his own thing (like me). Maybe he wasn't even Japanese! For the second walk, I was adopted by him. I like the beach towel, hanging up: Looking for the lost rhythm (or something).

Here's our sensei explaining something. I actually understood this time. On our previous hike, we harvested the root of this plant (hama daikon). It's called that, because you can prepare the root, similar to how you'd prepare an actual daikon (big white Japanese radish). After our edible plant hike, we went back to an Uraga City building and prepared some of our wild edibles for lunch.

"The flash cause the horse to be very frighten."

2006-05-24T20:57:00.000+09:00

This post is way past due. Especially, considering it is one of the coolest things I've seen, so far!

The weekend after Troy left, I headed back to Kamakura to see the Yabusame festival. On the surface, it's archery from horseback. But, like many things in Japan, there's always more. For those of you that want to know the "more" part: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabusame. I'm not here to teach you Japanese culture and history. Furthermore, chances are, you didn't come here to learn about Japanese culture and history.

As I was sitting around killing time, still in my pjs, J-Pop and J-Ma showed up at my door, fully dressed and asked if I was ready.

I asked, "Ready for what?"

They answered that we were going to Kamakura together. In their many years in the area, they themselves have never seen Yabusame. Noriko was working, so it was just a dad, mom, and son day.

We got there about 11 a.m. and it rained for the next 3 hours (that's also how long we had to wait for the shooting to begin).

There were wet pigeons.

There were wet cheerleaders.

There were wet spectators.

First of all, don't ask me why there were cheerleaders. I just take the photos. As you can see, all of the open umbrellas negated my height advantage, in the crowd. It was mostly old ladies and at the slightest drop of water, they'd open their aquascutum (sp?). Later, when it quit raining, the occasional raindrop, disturbed by the wind, would fall. Fwwwt-pop! Fwwwwwt-pop! All the umbrellas would spring open.

The lane that the archers rode down was fairly long. Targets were on one side and people crowded in to see everything. We moved around but finally settled in one spot. We stood there for about two hours, waiting for it to start. J-Pop didn't look too comfortable. I asked if this was going to be his first time and last time. He said yes.

We were stationed at the first of the three targets. I didn't notice, until now, the ninja in my picture. I bet his pictures are better than mine!

Where's the ninja?

The release!

In flight!

Contact!

Reloading.

Each archer had to hit three targets. We could see them hit or miss the first target. After that, a woman on the loudspeaker would announce the next two. Before the announcements, we already knew the results. You could hear the crowd cheer or gasp at the next two targets.

I did my best to capture targets being hit, but my angle prevented the money shot. In this one, he had just scored on a small ceramic disc. The targets were varied. The first run was a bouquet of flowers. Next was a bullseye. After that they hit a board and for the end, a small ceramic plate. That's what can be seen, if you look hard enough, on the ground and disintegrating, in this last picture.

The title of this entry is a quote from the loudspeaker. She would frequently announce, in English, that the flash of a camera is prohibited. Apparently, in the past, it has proved to be very distracting to the horse and the archer. I can only imagine what happened. Incidentally, the only person in our group to get in trouble for using the flash, was an elderly JAPANESE man. Maybe they should've made the announcement in Japanese, as well.

Unrelated Photos Come Together To Make An Entry

2006-05-17T13:53:00.000+09:00

I've never seen any (except in the mirror) but here's proof of other Okies in the area!

For those of you that aren't too sure of my location: Go to Tokyo. Go south to Yokohama. Keep going south until you hit Yokosuka.

Here's what it looks like to ride an uncrowded bus. I actually know most of the people in this shot. They're part of the hiking crew that I run with.

Here's the building where I have my group English class. It's about a 12 minute walk from the house.

I'm pretty sure that Some People aren't too proud that I came to Japan, but hopefully, those Same Some People would be proud that I cleared out some land (two bags of weeds!) and planted three tomato and two cucumber plants (more to come).

The last of the homo sausage. Did you get yours?

The house that Noriko's grandparents used to live in. We were driving around one day and she pointed it out.

Toroi-san in Japan: Part 4

2006-05-13T10:36:00.000+09:00

Continuing from the last entry on this topic, one night at the Uno House, Troy and I came hobbling in. As usual, the "lobby" was overcrowded with hiking boots, sandals, and sneakers. It was always a test of balance to come in, carrying a backpack and try to balance on one foot while taking off the shoe on the other foot. I was doing my regular act and Troy had already shed his shoes. He disappeared into the dining/common area.

Immediately, I could hear some garbled Engrish. Then, I could hear some garbled Japanglish (from Troy). Soon, I heard a pleading, "Jory-san? Jory-san?" After that, I heard Troy saying, "Wakarimasen (I don't understand). Jory-san?" I finally finished slipping both shoes off and stacking them on top of the hiking shoes pile. I headed into the dining area to see what was troubling Troy, so much.

One of the Uno House denizens (guest? resident? homeless?), the old man with no teeth and in gray polyester long johns, had blocked Troy's with an outstretched hand. "What you need?" He was asking.

"How we can help you?" Another Japanese man chimed in. This guy was the front desk person that actually checked us in.

I told them, "We have a room here. We are staying here."

Mr. Long Johns directed his attention to me, "Are you German?" As he said this, he used his eyes to point at Troy.

My brain was still translating "Are you German?" and was reacting a little slow, because this was an unexpected question, when he said "English?"

I said "Yeah, we speak English." Suddenly, he bowed and immediately got out of the way, apologizing.

Back in our "room" we couldn't figure out what that was all about. Maybe they received a fax from Interpol about two suspicious Eurotrash German hostelers.

The photo above is just a random picture, taken by Troy, in Kyoto.

Everywhere we went, couples were wrapping themselves in the downhanging branches of the cherry trees. Caught up in the moment, I posed for Troy.

Just a couple of more pictures of sakura.

On one of Troy's last days here, we took him to Kamakura. It's often referred to as Little Kyoto (or something like that: the other Kyoto or Kyoto of the East- you get the picture, but I could be confusing it with Kanazawa). Above Noriko, Troy, and some other person are enjoying being in my picture.

Above, is a picture of the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) in Kamakura. Troy treated us the 20 yen each and we all went inside. Ignoring the previous days' lessons, Troy banged his head on the way out. Immediately murmurs of "The tall foreigner banged his head!" could be hear from the line behind us.

On Troy's last day, I accompanied him onto the train and made sure he had enough knowledge to find his way to the airport. On that same day, Kamakura was hosting a parade, so I made a little sidestop. All of the shinto shrine members gather in the streets and each shrine has a float that is carried on their shoulders (the men, anyway) as they make their route. Mostly, I think it's just an excuse to be noisy. I asked a Japanese person what the festival is for. Their answer, "It's for tourists."

Some chanting revelers carrying their float (mikoshi).

Part of the Kamakura Police Drillteam. Does the Muskogee P.D. have a drill team? If they did, I wonder what their uniforms would look like. I was surprised at the number of young women in the K.P.D.

While waiting for the parade to start, another foreigner struck up a conversation with me. His name was Chris and he currently lives in Okinawa with his girlfriend (she's from Hokkaido). That would be like moving from Alaska to live in Hawaii. He teaches at a university and freelances as a photographer/writer for a military magazine. He also takes tons of photos to put online with a company that sells stock photographs. He had just about finished his one thousand and something-th photo when we met. In the picture above, that's him in the corner.

Chris explained that he had to take up his current position because of the sun's location in the sky and because this avenue, with the cherry blossoms and the shinto arch are uniquely identifiable with Kamakura. The problem was that most of his shots that showed this view, only showed the backsides of the paraders (He too, was surprised at the women of the Kamakura P.D.).

He was a really nice, smart guy. After the parade, we had some coffee and we talked a little about teaching English, training in the martial arts, and the Kamakura Drill Team. If you'd like to see some of his work, you can go to http://www.travel67.com. I'm sure that he'd also be tickled if you needed any of his photographs for your own projects.

Earthquake #4

2006-05-03T16:50:00.000+09:00

While waiting at a stoplight the car began shaking. We gave each other that "I wonder what's wrong with the car" look and then it stopped as the light turned green (or blue?) and we drove away. A few minutes later, we got a call from some friends (we were on our way to their house) and they were just making sure that we survived the earthquake. I'm getting so desensitized that I don't even know when they're happening. That's the way I like it. I just hope that's where it remains. We had a 3 but in Shizuoka it was 4.

Toroi-san in Japan: Part 3

2006-04-28T08:11:00.000+09:00

I'm finally back to finishing up Troy's PERFECT vacation in Japan. At least, this account is my side of the story. It's been a few days since my last Kyoto entry and I'm trying to catch myself up. I've done and seen a lot, since then. The first night was spent on a bus, then two nights at the Gojo House (lovely place)...

After two nights at the Gojo House (a lovely place) we were going to have to check out. We couldn't check in at our next place until that night so we needed a place to stash our luggage. The friendly staff at Gojo offered their office. It was a safe enough place so we accepted. We were then off to Hiei-San. The Gojo staff offered some valuable advice on the easiest route to the nearest bus that would take us there. We weren't ready for the easiest routes yet. It involved catching a nearby train and then getting off at the appropriate stop and catching the bus to the mountain. Instead, we hobbled back to Kyoto Station and caught the bus from there.

Hiei-zan is one of my favorite places in Japan. There is a huge temple complex (Enryaku-ji) that sits on top of the mountain and is home to the Tendai sect of Buddhism. This complex is historically known for its warrior monks (sohei) and their political power in the region. The morning we went was rainy and foggy. I was sad to miss the views that I caught the last time I was here, but the fog added to the atmosphere of being in this ancient complex (founded in the 700s). We mistakenly took the bus to the last stop at the summit. The only things up there are a nice view (on a clear day), restrooms, and some kind of open air flower garden with reproductions of Impressionist paintings along the sidewalk. While I was in the restroom, Troy checked out the flower garden. I think he really did it to get a chance to interact with the pretty girl in the ticket booth. While I was waiting for him to come back from the garden, I found a Japanese tourist waiting at the bus stop who seemed to have made the same mistake as us. She also meant to get off at the previous stop to look at the temples. The best thing to do as a tourist in a foreign country is to find a native tourist and follow them.

When it was time to catch the bus and go back to Kyoto, I just had to find another tourist going to the same place. They lady we followed earlier, waved at us and disappeared on an earlier bus. Thirty minutes later, the bus we were going to take came to a stop. Surprisingly, the Japanese lady was on this bus, too. Red-faced, it turns out that she took the wrong bus, again. And she speaks the language! I was starting to not feel so bad. Just so you know, we knew this was our bus, from repeatedly asking all the previous buses, "Does this bus go to Kyoto Station?" Finally, I found an old man that was going to Kyoto Station and we just followed him.

Back in Kyoto, it was time to find our next hotel (the word hotel used loosely): The Uno House. We walked back to the Gojo House (a lovely place), retrieved our bags, and set out. All I had in way of directions was a highlighted spot on my tourist map. I didn't have too many other directions, after all how hard could it be to find a guest inn? I didn't tell Troy that I had searched that first morning in Kyoto for this place and failed. I didn't think he could handle it, what with his knee pain, hunger, and the rain that was now falling on us. At this point, buses and taxis were still off limits. We were still saving money.

As we got closer to the pink mark on my map, I finally told him that I really didn't know exactly where it was. I just knew we were close. Right about then, I saw a guy that looked like your typical dirty hippy backpacker (don't get me wrong- we looked the same way: tired, carrying backpacks, wearing a funny hat, in dirty clothes, etc.) round a corner about two blocks ahead of us. I told Troy to come on and we picked up our pace to catch up with the guy. As we rounded the same corner, I caught a glimpse of the guy sliding a door shut behind him, down what looked like an alley. I hurried over and on the door was the sign "Uno House." We cheered. We were wet, tired, hungry, and in pain so it was a small victory, albeit a short lived feeling of victory.

We opened the door and what struck me first was the pile of shoes in the cramped entryway. There was the guy we followed and in front of him there were about three more people. Beyond that it was kind of smoky and noisy. Troy and I exchanged nervous glances as we struggled with taking our shoes off and balancing with our luggage. One reason we were nervous, was because I was thinking that we didn't get private lodgings at this place but we had to share a tatami room. We didn't feel too comfortable with this crowd since we don't drink sho-chu or smoke hashish. To our delighted surprise, Noriko actually did get us a private room.

We followed our host past a tiny dining/lounge area full of an assorted (young Japanese lady, young American with dreadlocks speaking Japanese, and old Japanese guy in gray longjohns, and a couple of Europeans) group engaged in some lively conversation. We went through a door and entered some kind of laundry area/hallway with a large sink. Off of this hallway was a door to the two showers and the two doors to the restrooms.

We went down another hallway (I noticed we were walking off of the damp concrete floor, on top of boards that were covered with blue tarps-strange) and turned a corner. What I noticed most was the strange mix of architecture in this building. I didn't know if we were in one building or in some kind of series of shanties.

Our host finally brought us to a "hallway" that ended in a small stairway. Our room was on the left. He handed us two white sheets. They had UNO HOUSE written in a black marker and three of their edges were unhemmed and coming unraveled. They looked more like the stuff the guy from The English Patient was wrapped up in.

Our room was painfully tiny. There was room for us to lie down next to each other and then to stack up our bags, next to the wall. In one corner was a little space heater that reeked of kerosene. We shut the door and collapsed on the floor, against the wall. Needless to say, our exhaustion had almost gotten the better of us. We were grumpy and complaining. We couldn't believe this place. I left to go the bathroom and turned down one hallway, only to have my socks soaked in a mystery moisture from the floor. Troy had also done a little exploring. We realized that we were in an alley and that some kind of makeshift roof had been built over the top of a few smaller building. The stuff on my socks was probably rainwater. We couldn't believe what a dump we were in. Around ever corner was another corner and sometimes a mysterious fire-escape kind of stairway disappeared into the shadowy recesses of the loft/attic areas. Boxes were piled up and for some reason the phrase "Cambodian flophouse" came to mind (Note: I've never been to Cambodia and am not entirely sure what a flophouse is). Defeated, back in the room, Troy slumped against the wall and started to open a little pre-wrapped rice ball snack. He was actually going to eat that for dinner. Instead we decided to go for a little walk, calm down, and get something warm to eat.

It's amazing what some good warm food can do for your mood. With warm bellies, we returned to our quarters and were in somewhat better spirits. The entire place was filthy it wasn't that filthy! The staff was rude but they weren't that rude. Our room (and now our things) reeked of kerosene but it's not like we could smell the cigarettes from the lobby. It was strange to be locked up in this perfect cube of a room with no windows. I definitely felt like an out of work samurai wandering around Edo looking for somebody to buy my sword arm. I was just missing the cheap sake. We reminded ourselves, we were getting what we paid for. This room was about $20 per night from each of us. Oh how we missed The Gojo House (a lovely place).

Earthquake #3

2006-04-24T11:53:00.000+09:00

Is a catfish this small (Magnitude 1) really something to be so proud of?

We had another earthquake last night. I don't really mind if there's ONE earthquake in January and then another one in April (small ones mind you). But, to have two within a couple of days of each other? I'm not sure I even quite grasp the idea that the earth is actually shaking.

Earthquake #2

2006-04-21T16:35:00.000+09:00

In my effort to appease the giant catfish spirit that lives under Japan, wiggling its tail, I'm posting another catfish picture. This one was found in Wichita, KS and that is a basketball in its mouth.

I had my second quake last night around 3 am. It was a 3 where I am. I awoke to some rattling and shaking, realized it was an earthquake, and went back to sleep. More can be found at the link below:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/21042006/2/world-strong-earthquake-strikes-eastern-japan-3-injured-tsunami-danger.html

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2006-04-20T16:30:00.000+09:00

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREVIOUS POST TITLED "206" YOU MIGHT BE MISSING SOME BACKGROUND FOR THIS POST. THANK YOU. THE MANAGER

Seriously! Stop reading this until you've read the other! The morning after Noriko's uncle passed away, the hospital called and asked us to come get his belongings. We promptly headed over and picked up a couple of bags. One bag, contained some of his mail, his wallet, a watch, and just some loose odds and ends. It also contained the remains of his father (J-Mom's father and Noriko's grandfather). Since he was living with his parents at the time of his father's death (the mother has been in a nursing home for the past 4 years), he was the caretaker of his father's remains. Since he was estranged, Noriko's mom hasn't known the whereabouts of her father's bones. Finally, she had them.

There was another bag of items, as well. This bag contained several photos of her uncle partying and several photos of his current/ex? girlfriend. There was a crucifix, a statue of a saint, a bible, and a few pictures of a baby. Oh!? And what is this? It's a little container. Hey, I've seen that kind of box before! It looks like a little funeral urn box! I can't tell you the surprise at having some unknown baby's remains in your possession. One minute you're getting this voyeuristic peek into a dead man's life and then suddenly your faced with a dead baby. That's a big "What the $%$$?" As if, I wouldn't be seeing and doing enough new things, later that day (see previous entry).

So, for the record, let me just say that there were three boxes of bones and ashes in the house yesterday evening. We searched some more and found some kind of record of a religious ceremony done for the baby. It contained the name of an unknown Japanese man and the name of a non-Japanese woman. From other evidence, we deduced it was the Filipina (ex)girlfriend's name. Other evidence, namely being, a few pictures professing her love to Noriko's uncle (with names) and a couple of letters from the lady to the uncle that were written from the Yokohama Immigration Detention center. We don't even know if this lady is in Japan, in jail in Japan, or somewhere else. I also found some kind of folded up packet of a powder hidden in the robes of the saint. We put it back, not knowing what it was (drugs? remains?).

Noriko called Immigration to find out about the lady and to ask what we should do with all the "stuff." They didn't know. They said to call the police and tell them we had the remains of an unknown baby and that it wasn't ours. A huge argument followed between the police and Noriko. The claimed they couldn't accept a baby's ashes. Noriko's main argument was that if she found a wallet, they would take it. Instead, she found a dead baby with the names of the parents and they didn't want anything to do with it. Finally, a couple of officers on mopeds dropped by to check out the scene. They suggested taking the stuff that wasn't "ours" back to the hospital.

That's what we did, but I still can't help but wonder, "What the &^%%?"

This is a picture of the Catholic saint that was in the bag. Anybody know the name? I found the strange packet of material inside the gown. Notice, it's also wearing a bracelet. It's probably for somebody else that died.

206

2006-04-19T22:18:00.000+09:00

For those of you that tuned in to see the ongoing accounts of Troy-San's trip to Japan, I'm sorry, but you'll have to come back later.

I attended my first Japanese funeral yesterday and would like to talk about it a little bit. I'm not sure how much or what to say, because a lot happened and my senses are still digesting all the stimuli.

So, a couple of days ago, Noriko's estranged uncle passed away. I never met the man (estranged) but apparently he'd been sick with cancer for some time. After the hospital called, J-Mom wanted to see him before he was removed to the morgue. Noriko and I took her to the hospital. We got there about an hour after he passed. He was only 43 but he looked like a man in his late sixties.

The next day, we met with some other members of the extended family and had a small wake for him. There were ten of us and this first consisted of going up to the closed container, bowing, lighting incense, ringing a bell, and bowing again. Next, they opened the refrigerated container and slid out the open-faced coffin. After that, in turn, and then as a group, we took flowers from a box and placed them around his head and body. In my life, so far, this is the most interaction I've had with a deceased person. Finally, J-Mom put a white cloth over his face and the workers put the lid on.

We then left in a four car convoy (the hearse and J-Mom were in the front) and headed to the crematory. This was a pretty large building and it appear to be made of granite. It sort of felt like a modern castle. Some workers unloaded the coffin and wheeled inside on a cart. We followed them to a long narrow room with a bay of doors lining one side. If anyone remembers when crew of the Enterprise launched Mr. Spock out of the airlocks for a funeral in space, this was the feeling I had. The elevator-like doors opened and the coffin was transferred some kind of rack and as the doors closed, we all bowed again. We then retired to a waiting room on the second floor. We had beverages and a couple of snacks. About an hour and a half later, we were called back downstairs.

We entered a sideroom and in the middle was huge cast-iron gurney. On top of it, was what I quickly determined to be the uncle's earthly remains. Two attendants came in and stood at each end. On one end was an urn and at the other was a container of hashi (chopsticks). In my state of taking the day's events in, it just occurred to me that this was the part I had only read about in guidebooks. The hashi-attendant handed out the chopsticks and we made two lines along opposite sides of the metal gurney that was still radiating immense heat. In pairs, each team would pick up a bone and place it into the urn. For clarity, that would be two people, four chopsticks, and one bone. Like I said earlier, I was already beyond my previous experiences with laying out several flowers around the body. Now, I was actually "handling" the remains. It was a humbling experience? I'm not sure if that's the right word, but it definitely causes one to think about one's place in the world.

When I first saw the remains and the bones and the chopsticks, my brain was a little slow to process what I've read about in guidebooks and connect that with what I was now faced with. I didn't know whether to stand back, under the guise that I'm not really family, or to get right in line. Finally, being last, I was paired up with J-Mom's cousin (Tokuji-san's and Tomoko-san's brother). He waited patiently while J-Mom called me over, "Jory-san! O-hashi! O-hashi!" The slight reluctance on my part was not that I didn't know what chopsticks were or what I was supposed to do with them. I quickly took my spot across from Shinji-san and looked down at the remains. Most of them were unrecognizable fragments but a few were still identifiable as ribs. I was more worried about "Which bone do I grab? Will I drop it? Will it be heavy?" than with the macabre side of things. Thankfully, Shinji-san picked out the bone and waited for me. I gingerly placed my o-hashi around it and together we dropped it in the urn.

After everyone had a turn, the attendant (the attendants were more dressed like bus drivers or tour guides than in the black three piece suits that I kind of expected) brushed the rest of the remains into the urn. He then produced a pestle and packed everything in a little tighter. He picked up the urn and walked over to another setting and placed it next to a couple of other bones that had been separated from the group. J-Mom, J-Pop, Noriko, and Tokuji-san followed him to the table. A couple of people completely vacated the room, Tomoko-san and two other ladies lingered by the door, and I just kind of stood halfway between the final goings on and the door. The attendant pointed out what the bones were and then placed them in the urn. The final piece was part of the cranium. After the lid was secure, the urn was wrapped in a cloth and then placed in a decorative box.

The cars were brought around front and we headed to dinner. I was still in a little shock from all of the new things I had seen. But to everyone else, it was just a normal funeral. We had our own room at a seafood restaurant that specialized in a variety of crab dishes and occasionally my eyes drifted to the box in the corner. After dinner, I carried the box out to the car. I can't tell you how worried I was that I'd drop it or that the paper handle on the bag it was in would break.

That's all. We put it on a little table where we'll be burning incense all the time and in a few weeks, all of us/some of us/I will be going to Kanazawa where the remains will stay at that side of the family's temple.

NOTE: I wanted to share this experience, because, in the West, as mourners, we don't handle the body. Sure, there are the times when a grieving spouse/child/parent will cling on to and hug the loved one, but rarely is it a group activity. I just wanted to be able to describe the above parts of a Japanese funeral in its context. After participating in the moving of the bones to the urn I decided that I had to know why this was done. Most sources just say its part of the Buddhist ceremony. I wanted to know why is it part of the ceremony? What is its significance? If I'm going to be handling the bones, I want to know why. Also, if I'm going to be telling this story, invariably, people will ask me, "Why?" And there will be a few, "That is completely wrong/disgusting/crazy/bizarre." I just wanted to present the whole rite in context and then with some background.

I finally found one source, online, that tried to explain a little of the human side:

Even though this part of the ceremony is emotionally difficult for some people, particularly children, and many Westerners might find it somewhat distasteful, Japanese consider it a significant part of the ritual of death. Yujiro Yamanaka calls it Âan important stage of saying good-bye.
It touches on the whole social meaning of the funeral he said. From the dead person's viewpoint, this is the ceremony where they are taken care of, held by their family and close friends. And for the living, we really know he has turned to ashes and bones. If you do this with your chopsticks, it really forces you to feel what has happened to your beloved.
The association with death is the reason Japanese never pass food to each other directly from one set of chopsticks to another.

http://www.cremationassociation.org/html/article-japanese.html

I also sent out a few emails to Japanese friends (that have a good grasp on English) and one sent me:

It is said that there is a river called Sanzu no kawa between our world (living human world) and dead world (heaven/ hell). The dead have to cross this river and it is called Hashi watashi (crossing river).
When we pass the bones into the urn after the cremation, we make a pair and pass the bone with chopsticks made with bamboo and other tree (using different kind of chopsticks, they divided into our world and dead world). This is also called Hashi watashi (chopsticks crossing). So, the bereaved family does Hashi watashi and wish the dead person can cross the Sanzu no kawa safely.
Also it contains the meaning that the bereaved family could divide their sadness into pieces by doing it with other people and pray for the dead to go to the other world.

When we put the bone into urn, we put the foot bone first and head last because it helps the dead stand.

Did it help your understanding about Japanese funerals? I hope that you could understand my English. Everything has meaning and it comes from sincerity and respect others.

I don't know about you, but I feel better.

Toroi-San in Japan: Part 2

2006-04-17T00:07:00.000+09:00

If Troy had been worried that I didn't have a full day planned, he would've been dead wrong. In fact, he was almost dead after our full day. We both were. About a week before coming to Kyoto, I used a free guidebook and a book I brought from home called Hiking in Japan. Using these two sources, I planned out a great day hike for us. I linked up a couple of walking routes from the free book with a hike from the other one. We'd see about 5 temples and hike up to the top of Daimonji Mountain. Our return route, down the mountain, would drop us off back near the beginning. If you could just see the map, it would make perfect sense.

The first site we stopped at was Kiyomizu-dera. Sure, this place is an important place as far as important places go. I'm sure there are several stories about several important people that have been here or that did something. But, I like this place because it kind of reminds me of the place where Bruce Wayne learned ninjutsu in Tibet, in the film, Batman Begins.

Next, we headed out for the Philosopher's Path. This path is mainly a walkway next to a little river that essentially makes up the easternmost north-south boundary of Kyoto's main tourist area. Since I'd been to Kyoto before, I didn't take many pictures as most of them would have been repeats of the last time. Even though he had never been here, Troy didn't take too many, either.

After the first leg of our trip (the non-mountainous leg), we took a break and had some ice cream from a vending machine. I then produced the fabulous Hiking in Japan. I've had this book for about 4 years and I was excited to finally get to use it. It contains step by step, landmark by landmark, instructions for hiking trips all over Japan. It should be titled Forcedmarching in Japan. It took us up the trail with little problem. The banner that's equivalent to our "Only you can prevent forestfires." was moved (I've always thought that temporary landmarks like banners or homeless people should be avoided. They're not always in the same place day after day or year after year). We also kept seeing the elderly coming down the trail. This motivated us in that it must not be too far or too hard.

At some point, on the way to the summit, Troy admitted that most of his deathmarch-style walks have been on flat pavement. Actually, I don't know if it was an admission or a realization. We also encountered some really "nice" concrete staircases, near the top.

Above is an accidental near-panoramic view of the Kyoto area from Daimonji-yama. Until now, neither of us knew just what a sprawling mess Kyoto was. In the fall, people light huge bonfires in the shape of Japanese characters on several of the mountainsides that border Kyoto. I think the fires are supposed to help remind spirits which way heaven is. We didn't know it yet, but we could've used some bonfires to direct us back down the mountain.

We took our lunch at the bonfire spot and took in the view. We rested his knees and my pinky toes. Oh, I forgot to mention his knees? The climb to the top and the subsequent staircases were hell on his knees. Additionally, he had only recently recovered from an aikido-related knee injury. My problems were just the opposite. Walking on a flat surface, severely exacerbated my blisters. Climbing and descending used a different part of my feet. Since, I've been climbing/descending since I came to Japan, that wasn't a problem. Up and down, I'd speed up and Troy would fall behind. On level areas, Troy would speed up and I'd fall back. Our team, instead of exhibiting our strengths was exhibiting our weaknesses.

The guidebook (See picture above) from The Ornery Planet series, instructed as to continue on to the true summit and then down a trail on the other side. After a few false summits, we finally began to descend. It was fairly easygoing until we entered the treeline. There were several little sidetrails. The book mentioned a few of them. As for the rest, we just took the one most traveled. We still saw the occasional fresh-looking hiker meeting us.

HOW THE BOOK FAILED US (or how I failed as a mountain trail guide)

According to the book, we were supposed to follow these little yellow-painted, concrete markers. We found our first one and it seemed like the book couldn't go wrong. After all, you can't just dig up 500 markers and move them (like you could a homeless guy or banner). Another good sign was that they headed down the mountain, toward Kyoto. The book was clear, when the trail forked or at an intersection, "Follow the yellow markers." Three times, we lost the marker. We'd turn around and find some yellow or red tape on some trees and follow them until we found another yellow marker. A couple of times, we weren't even on a trail. As we would slide down a steep, dirty incline, we'd wonder out loud how those two, clean, fresh-looking guys, thirty minutes earlier, made it up this part. A few times, Troy (lightheartedly?) threatened my life.

Above, you can see what Troy saw. I kept this distance because Troy's 6' 6" tall. He has an amazing reach. At this distance, he can't get me. Notice that I've got our trusty guidebook in hand.

We persevered and as the sounds of the city grew louder, we grew more relaxed. Our mountain path dumped us out in about the middle of The Philosopher's Path. This spot was way off course. Amazingly, we followed yellow markers all the way to the bottom. The markers took us through an electric fence, too. Troy said, "What does that sign say?" I was tired and quickly snapped, "Troy, I don't read Japanese!" As I started to grab the wire (it looked like a plastic strap), Troy said, "No! Don't touch it!" I decided to take a look at the sign and sure enough, there was the kanji for "electricity," the Japanese word for "danger," and a sketch of a hand touching a wire with sparks all about it.

We came out through small graveyard and stepped over a surprised street vendor and headed home. Along the street, Troy's pace picked up and my hobble returned.

I finally put bandaids on each of my little toes. After a full day of walking, though, the blister simply started to come out from under the bandaid. It's been eight days and my little toes still hurt. Troy took great satisfaction that my toes were killing me as much as his knees were him. It reminds me of a time when Phil (a sometime sufferer of kneepain) squealed in pleasure once when some knee pain slowed me down on a hike. What's wrong with people?

Toroi-San in Japan: Part 1

2006-04-16T22:03:00.000+09:00

March 30th to April 9th, a friend of mine from Oklahoma came to visit me in Japan. He flew into Osaka, took a bus to Kyoto, took another bus to Yokohama, and then took a train to Yokosuka. What follows is an account of that trip. None of the names or places have been changed.

I took the train from Yokosuka to Yokohama. Four people later, I found the departure point in downtown Yokohama. I had a hard time following Noriko's walking map and about twice doors and gates on my route had already been close and locked for the night. The bus itself drove on the tollway and stopped every two hours at rest stops. Finally, seven hours later, I stepped off the allnight bus at 6a.m. and Kyoto welcomed me with near freezing temperatures and snow. All I had was a fleece jacket, a knit cap, and a decorative handkerchief. The above picture is the view the early morning citizens had. It didn't help that, in addition to lack of sleep, I had a severe head cold, a wet hacking cough, and was shivering.

I had about 7 hours to kill while I waited on Troy's plane to land in Osaka and for him to successfully book a bus ride from the airport to Kyoto Station. I decided to do a little recon and find the two guesthouses we'd be staying at and check out an early morning aikido class at the Kyoto Budo Center (See other blog for details about that!). A little recon= I walked one hour and couldn't find the first guesthouse so I walked about 30 more minutes to the Budo Center. I then had to wait about an hour and a half until the class started. This didn't improve my various ailments and conditions.

After the aikido class, I headed out to find the other guesthouse. I found the street, turned around once, consulted the map, realized if I'd just walked about 100 more feet their sign would've come into view, turned around and found it. I started to develop a new problem during this 4th hour of almost nonstop walking- blisters on my little toes! It was about noon and they told me check-in was at 3. I left my backpack and headed out again to get to know the area a little bit and kill some time (and worsen the condition of my toes).

2:30 pm found me outside the Gojo Guesthouse, eating a snack from the 99yen store and watching my wristwatch. By this time, I had developed a limp in my right foot. I started to wonder why I mailed myself these shoes when I first left Oklahoma. Three o'clock finally showed itself and I checked in.

The best I can tell, a guesthouse and a (youth) hostel might be the same creature. It's cheaper than a hotel and the sink, bathrooms, and baths (if they have them) are communal. Many times you share a room with strangers. We had reserved a private room for two. The Gojo House being my first experience with one, I didn't know what to expect. It was a decent little room and reminded me of the kind of room I had seen many times in samurai movies. All it lacked was a bottomless sake bottle and a "geisha." I knew Troy would like it. As soon as I checked in, I pulled the futon out of the closet, cranked up the heat, and passed out.

Three hours later, the batphone rang. Troy was in Osaka and would be in Kyoto in less than two hours. I assured him that I'd be at the station and we said our goodbyes. Once outside, I spotted

Kyoto Tower, which is directly in front of Kyoto Station. I walked (my limp was gone for the time being) the twenty minutes to the station and tried to figure out where his bus would land. His ETA came. His ETA left. I lingered around the end of the station where I could see the sign "Airport Limousine Buses." I even saw an empty bus with "Airport Bus" written on the side. Still, there was no sign of Troy. I walked back down one side of the station. I walked back up the same side. This searching (wandering around) went on for about 90 minutes. I made about ten circuits of the stationhouse.My limp had returned and I had no idea where Troy was. He finally got through to me on my cellphone:

"Jory-san!"

"Hey Troy! Where are you?"

"I'm where the bus left me."

"Are you in the station? Can you see McDonalds? Go there!"

"No! The bus left me on some street. I can't see McDonalds. I got cold so I went inside this hotel to have a Coke and warm up."

"Hotel? You can't see the station? It's a really big building that says KYOTO STATION."

We finally found each other. The bus dropped him off on the side of the street away from the station. Of course, he had no idea what he should be looking for. There were large buildings all around him. He did the first thing anybody is supposed to do when they realize they are lost. Stay put!

Since I knew where the hotel- err guesthouse was, there was no need to get a taxi. We promptly set out on foot and I lead this stranger in a strange land to his first night in Japan.

Gojo Guest House: http://www.gojo-guest-house.com/gojo-guest-house/gojo-e.html

Wajima- North of Kanazawa

2006-03-30T18:54:00.000+09:00

There's a little town?village? North of Kanazawa called Wajima. If you refer back to the earlier map it's on the tip of the peninsula just above Kanazawa. They have a well-known morning street market. J-pop and J-ma bought several things at the market. I say "things" because I'm not sure what they were. This area is also famous for black lacquered boxes and utensils. The place where we ate lunch gave us free lacquered chopsticks! Near Wajima, is the head temple of the temple where we fixed up flowers for Tokuji-san's wife and for J-Pop's grandparents (see earlier entry). It was so quiet and peaceful inside the temple walls.

Inside the temple grounds.

The street market.

An old grandmother peddling her wares!

I love the fountains that are outside of shrines. Okay, you wash your left hand. Then you wash your right hand. Next you are supposed to rinse out your mouth with water from your left hand. You are clean! Proceed to the shrine!

The seaside of Wajima.

So you know how small of a village?town? Wajima is, this old lady is about the only thing that caused congestion. I have no idea why she was walking down the middle of the road. There were about 8 cars behind us.

Kyoto Bound

2006-03-30T18:38:00.000+09:00

I'm off on yet another trip. This time, I'm heading to Kyoto. I have a friend coming to visit and we're going to meet up in Kyoto. This trip ought to be interesting. I will be facing the world of Japan without my wife/interpreter. I'll try to take different pictures than I took from my trip to Kyoto two years ago.

Until we meet again.
J-San.

Some Sights on the Second Day in Kanazawa

2006-03-25T10:58:00.000+09:00

Kanazawa, like most Japanese cities I've seen, has a river running through it. This entire area of Japan has been largely untouched by war since the 1600s (or close- I can't remember from the pamphlet).

Kanazawa, like Kyoto and Kamakura, wasn't firebombed during WWII. Many old districts survived being destroyed. Above is one such district that has many old storefronts. We went in one that now is a teahouse. We got to see what the rooms may have looked like for people getting entertained by geisha.

We also made it Kanazawa Castle. Much of it has been rebuilt as the first Kanazawa Castle is long gone. Being on top of a hill, fires caused by lightning strikes has repeatedly burned it down in the past. Since the town has survived wars, blueprints existed and so they've been able to recreate it pretty much just like it was. Like most castles, it was designed with defense in mind. The steps in the picture above were made uneven. This made it difficult to quickly rush up the stairs if you were going to storm the hold.

The statue above commemorates the Satsuma Rebellion samurai. They were, in part, inspiration for the movie The Last Samurai.

Here are a couple of shots from Kenroukuen Garden. It's one of the most famous gardens in Japan. It's considered to be in the top three (I think). That's 1st-3rd out of... millions? It's next to Kanazawa Castle and it truly is beautiful.

Sakura Blossoms!

Our First Stop, The Second Day in Kanazawa

2006-03-24T14:59:00.000+09:00

We headed to J-Mom's cousin's house. Tomoko-san. They live in the same building that houses the temple. It's kind of a small temple and the outside isn't all grand and ornamented.

Tomoko's husband is the head monk and their son is also a monk. They hang out in the temple in kimonos until business calls them and they take off. He sat and read from three different scrolls, rhythmically banged some wooden sticks together and rang a bell. If I knew more about what was going on, I'd happily tell you. Towards the end of the ceremony, we all took turns bowing at the altar and lighting incense. The wooden box to the left of the frame is what J-Mom now has in her bedroom. I was the last to go and the procedure was like this: Walk up to front. Bow to Monk. Kneel. Bow to front. Take incense. Bow. Put in burner. Repeat two more times. Bow. Return to seat.

The reason for our visit was two fold. Above is a picture of the feast we were to have that night. The kids dressed up in kimonos and one little girl performed a fan dance that she's been practicing. The food was great. There was so much sushi and sashimi there. I was seated across from a guy whose daughter is married to a German and he insisted that we share some conversation. I couldn't understand a word he said. It sounded like "Ne Jory! Ne? [japanesejapanesejapanesejapanese] Ne Jory? Ne!?" Ne kind of means "Isn't that right?" I just kept nodding my head. Also, Tomoko's husband, after a few glasses of wine, decided he could speak English. He went about explaining to me the differences between Shin Buddhism (his sect) and Zen Buddhism. Needless to say, I coudn't follow much of it. Zen reaches satori from inside and Shin gets it from Amida. Also, as demonstrated by both Shin monks present, you can still drink, marry, and have a normal haircut.

A picture of Tomoko and her grandson Rito.

Tomoko, her daughter-in-law, Rito, and .... Rito's sister.

Tomoko was extraordinarily nice. I'm sure she appreciates me checking in on her dad (Tokuji) but you could tell she was just kind-hearted. After the dinner party, her son and his friend leaped up to say goodbye to me (we didn't speak the entire party). One kept feeling my arm and forced me to feel his arms and back. They both also backed up to me to find out who was the tallest. The friend was the same height and the young monk was a touch taller. They were both tall by Japanese standards. I forgot to mention that both young men were extremely inebriated. This caused them to be very gregarious and loud. The young monk escorted me to the taxi all the while massaging my lower back, while repeating, "be good! be healthy! take care!" I tried to walk faster to detach his probing fingers but he stayed attached. Five arigatous and I finally made it to the taxi.

Earlier in the day, we went walking and I noticed a good deal on a bok-to (wooden sword- see other blog). It was about half the price of the ones in Yokosuka so we bought it for Noriko. I didn't carry it out to the taxi so I didn't know where it was. As I sat down (in the front), I asked Noriko and parents "Bok-to ga arimasu ka?" Do you have the wooden sword? To this, the driver chuckled loudly. I didn't know, but while the young monk was escorting me out they had been asking (more appropriately described as 'carrying on'- they can be noisy) each other "Where's the umbrella? ( I had it).

Rito feeding the pigeons.

Lunchtime

Ahh. I kind of remember what work is. Sort of.

2006-03-24T12:39:00.000+09:00

I just got back from my first private English lesson. I almost forgot what it's like to perform a service and then have someone give you money for it. At least one lady I passed on the street noticed the spring in my step. It's a group lesson and the rate I charge is about half off what I advertise (and most other people). But I still make a nice hourly wage. Now, all I have to do is fill in the rest of the days of the week. It's a group of 6-7 "older" people. I'd say 40-60ish is the age range. There is one man and the rest are ladies. The class is two hours long so I was kind of worried about how much material to cover. I was surprised that I had material from my lesson plan left over. At least, I can use it for the next time. I have to go find a cubbyhole for my stash now. Or, give it all to J-Pop and J-Ma for last week's food. Anyway, it felt good and I feel more motivated to get back on the prowl for more students after my upcoming Kyoto trip.

A sakura tree on the way back from my class at a nearby zen temple.

On my way home, I passed the little koi creek (from an earlier post- it's name is Iwato River). The last time I tried to feed them, the koi in the uppermost pool were very skittish. I'd throw crumbs at them and they'd freak out, flitting about underwater. Today, with a spring in my step, I found out why. I rounded the corner to witness three young boys throwing rocks at them. I said (translated from the Japanese) ,"Aha! Now I understand!" One little boy scrammed and the other two circled each other not knowing whether to stick around or not. "Now I see. Somtimes the fish are afraid! It's because you have been hitting them with rocks!" One boy said, "Sayonara!" and they both split. Punks. It's rough being a superhero, eh UJ?

The First Stop of the First Day to Kanazawa

2006-03-23T12:48:00.000+09:00

We headed out last week for Kanazawa. J-Mom's cousin's husband is the head priest at a temple and J-Pop hired him to handle some kind of ceremony for J-Mom's father (He passed away four years ago). From my very limited knowledge of Buddhism, I think the spring solstice is one of the days when you go to the cemetery and pay your respects. I'm guessing that's why we went around March 21st.

Here is a view of the cemetery at the nearby temple. This layout is Japanese style. Nobody is buried here. Cremated remains are kept under the stones.

Here is a picture of Tokuji-san's wife's (J-Mom's aunt) marker. He hadn't been there, yet, so we washed it off, put in some fresh incense, flowers, and water.

Here is another view of the cemetery's layout.

The J-Units straightening up the appearance of Noriko's great grandparents' markers.

Our next stop was the Ooyabe (our neighborhood name) Cemetery. This cemetery has two functions. One we already know and the other is as a park. There's this huge grassy square with a fountain in the middle. In the spring, many people with their families congregate here to enjoy the weather. You can't really see many graves from here, because of strategically places shrubs. The entire area is finely manicured. The only thing that breaks the serene scene is the almost constant sound of crows cawing. The cemetery is located within a ring of wooded hills so plenty of birds call it home. Considering crows are supposed to be the spirits of the deceased it's kinda fitting in a disturbing way.

So, you carry this little bucket and ladle to the headstone, wash it off, put some flowers in a vase, and light some incense.

Here we are posing with J-Pop's father's grave. He's the only family member at this cemetery.

Bumper Sticker (I'm back!)

2006-03-22T19:34:00.000+09:00

I'm back from my midweek trip. But, you'll have to wait for pictures. In the meantime, check out this statement being made on a bumper sticker. What do they have against Chevrolet? I haven't even seen a Chevy since I've been in Japan. I wonder if eating worms is a really bad thing in Japan. Frankly, I'd rather have a Chevy. At least it's in English and not Engrish. (Notice this thing has a whopping payload of 1000kg! How many worms can you fit into your Chevy!?)

Going to Kanazawa

2006-03-17T22:46:00.000+09:00

It's going to be quiet around here for the next few days. We are going to Kanazawa for the weekend. It's the vernal equinox and I guess that's kind of a memorial day over here. We'll be going to the cemetary of J-pop's J-pop in the morning and then heading out on about a 6-7 hour drive. The daughter of Tokuji-sama lives in Kanazawa and her husband is a monk there. His temple is where we're having some kind of ceremony for J-Ma's father. The map is messed up but the red wording says Kanazawa. The word on the right says Tokyo. I live south of Tokyo. As you can see, it will be from one side of Japan to the other. I will see you in a few days!

Mie, Myself, and Noriko

2006-03-17T00:04:00.000+09:00

Mie and Noriko

We dropped by and saw Noriko's friend, Mie, today while running some errands. She's my new favorite Noriko's friend. She saw me my second day in Japan and now two months later, saw me and said, "Eh? What happened? He looks different! Did he lose weight?" Dear, sweet Mie.

Engrish Lesson: That'll be the day!

2006-03-14T21:09:00.000+09:00

I was walking by too fast to actually see what was in this store. I think it was sporting goods. I'm thinking about going back until i can find out when "THE DAY" is.

The Oldest Bonsai (as requested)

2006-03-13T07:22:00.000+09:00

J-pop was holding his country dancing class in the living room, today, so I decided to make myself scarce. Today's dance was "Urban Grace." It's done to Keith Urban's For the Grace of God. I had Aikido at 3pm so I took off early to walk to Tokuji-sama's house. I had a couple of his towels to return and J-Ma gave me some food to give him. He answered the door with a smile and invited me in. My Japanese must be improving. We talked about his cactus and bonsai collection, the differences between Japanese, English, and Russian (he was in Russian for three years- part of the time as a POW!). We compared our upcoming busy schedules. We also talked about J-Ma's cooking and he gave me some tsukemono (various pickled items) to take back to her. And those are just the topics I remember!

When I get the chance, I take requests. Saur, from the "Uncle Tokuji" entry, wanted to know about Tokuji-sama's oldest bonsai. The three bigger ones on this top shelf are somewhere between 50-100 years old! He said he didn't know for sure their ages. He just added that after he's dead they'll live on.

My mom always asks me, "Son, is everyone being nice to you?" Other than the clandestine group that punctured my tires, the answer is "Yes." On the way back from Tokuji's house I decided to take a shortcut. Of course, I got turned around. I saw some lady on her knees in her garden and asked her to point toward the Supa Great (my landmark). Instead of pointing, she jumped to her feet and walked me halfway to it! I felt so bad. She was wearing slippers and was covered in soil. I kep telling her not to worry, that I knew my way now, but she wouldn't have any of it. Finally, she pointed to the building. I repeated my apologies and gratitude and she answered in English, "It is my preasure!"

Two days ago, an old lady bowed for my attention to ask me if I was cold. She was wearing a jacket and I had on a t-shirt. She was excited by my reply of "I'm ok." and exclaimed how "genki" I am (genki- good, healthy, doing finE: depends on context).

Also, many kids run by yelling, "Harro!" after they pass.

So, yes. People are being nice to me. I haven't tried entering any "Gaijins not allowed" strip bars or "Japanese Only" geisha houses, yet. If I have any run ins with the long arm of the yakuza, I might change my opinion.

Back to Tokuji-sama. At dinner, last night, I told Noriko that he is one cool dude. J-Pop wanted to know what about him? Isn't he one cool dude, too? So jealous!

Uncle Tokuji

2006-03-10T13:14:00.000+09:00

A few weeks ago, after our snow and ice, J-Ma's cousin called to ask us to check on her dad. He had slipped on the ice and hurt his leg. The cousin lives across Japan in Kanazawa. Her dad, Tokuji Ohira (last name, first name) lives less than a mile from where we live. We dropped by and found him moving very slowly. He's 78 years old so I really didn't know how fast he normally moved. He was cute and seemed cozy in his blue long johns. He is a retired fireman. I think J-Ma's dad was a fireman too. He was also in WWII. All I know he went to Russia. He could still remember how to say "Thanks." He had about 100 bonsai in his front yard. He also had a little greenhouse that was full of cacti. I had never (and have yet to) seen so many bonsai in one person's yard. Many houses have anywhere from 1 to 20 arranged around their yard. I can't wait to see some of his when Spring comes and they bloom. Yesterday, we went to see him again. After I posted about that visit in my other blog, I was reminded that I had these pictures. To see more about Tokuji and see his picture, click on the following link:

http://aikisearch.blogspot.com/2006/03/tokuji-san-family-heirloom.html

Mikasa, su casa.

2006-03-09T18:48:00.000+09:00

Wednesday, we had a few chores to do in the downtown area so we had many hours to kill. I found a couple of shirts on sale and we had lunch with J-Pop. Below is scooter, bicycle, and motorcycle parking outside of the big shopping center (which can be seen in a previous post). I think the areas can be rented.

There's also a large public park near the city hall building. It houses the famed Battleship Mikasa from the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It ain't the Batfish! Pat tried to take Noriko to see the Batfish but it was closed. She said she also always wanted to see inside the Mikasa, but nobody would take her. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Mikasa There's the link for those interested in the ship and not Noriko's childhood regrets. She still wants to go inside the Batfish, too.

We were still in "town" by the time Noriko's parents got off work, so we ended up eating out. The top floor of a big shopping building (More's City) is full of various restaurants. The food was really good but I enjoyed the view the most. It was fun to watch the early night life down below. There is an elevated plaza above the intersection that connects two shopping centers to the Yokosuka train station. There are usually many people standing around and sometimes I see some picketers. I never know what they're picketing and Noriko always steers me clear of them.

Pizza Guy

2006-03-07T17:10:00.000+09:00

I went on another hike today with the nature lovers. This time we hiked up a beautiful mountain stream. Above is a picture of a Japanese pizza guy. They ride motorized tricycles. I haven't had any Japanese pizza yet- it is about $30 for one. We're still saving. There will be no hiking pictures from today. I am way too exhausted. I wish that pizza guy would come to my house.

My other blog comments are now turned on.

2006-03-05T10:49:00.000+09:00

FYI, I just noticed that my other blog (for aikido and iaido- see link to the right) didn't have the comments turned on. I've been wondering why I get visitors there but nobody says stuff like "hey cool!" or "take my picture off!" or "it's the eighties and i'm sticking with the ladies!"

Sorry about that!

Engrish Lesson, For Mature Audiences

2006-03-05T10:39:00.000+09:00

Would anyone like me to give them some Homo Sausage? I really don't need to say more. But I will. This tasty treat is about 6" long and as big around as my thumb. It comes in an appetizing, fleshy shade of pink. Either way you decide to translate "homo" it doesn't make for a pleasant thought. Does eating this make me "curious" or does it make me cannibal? As far as I can tell, it's really made from fish. Which parts of the fish, I couldn't say. Actually, I think you can buy it in the Korean Market in Tulsa but they call it Seafood Sausage. Anyway, Jpop introduced it to me today. We each ate half during breakfast.

I hate it the most in Japan.

2006-03-04T18:15:00.000+09:00

Pictured to the right, is the thing I hate the most in Japan (well, right after vandals with icepicks). You might not even know what you are really looking at. You are looking at the dreaded right-hand turn across incoming traffic. First of all, I'm on the wrong side of the road. Second, THEY are all on the wrong side of the road. The stoplights are horizontal instead of vertical. The light is blue and they call it green (or maybe it's green and they call it blue). You ease out into the middle of the intersection, remember to "keep left" and when there's a break, gun it! "It" being your 660cc engine. For this manuever, I have to turn off the radio and look over my sunglasses. It takes all of my driving powers.

Busy Morning

2006-03-04T11:20:00.000+09:00

I went outside this morning to get the car ready to take Noriko to the station and noticed that all four of my tires were flat! I was a little shocked. I coudln't see any puncture marks or nails and all the valve stem caps were on tight. Also, all the other cars parked on the side of the street (illegaly- like mine) were just fine. My first thought was that it was a racial attack! I got a very minor feeling of what it might be like to be singled out for race alone. I occasionally ponder this as I meet and see Japanese people. Anyway, J-Pop was pretty sure the tires were just old. A couple of cracks could be seen in the tire creases. At any rate, the neighbor was washing his car and he came over to have a look. The towtruck driver was giving his inspection. Three street workers came over to look. It was pretty busy. I guess they found out that J-Pop is the master of things below the street (his job as a civil engineer at city hall) and he followed them off to give some advice on whatever they're about to do, below our street.

UPDATED: So we're back from the tire place. They said all four were punctured in the sidewall. I knew it! I'm gonna be hiding outside with the family heirloom tonight! Well the neighbor claims it has happened to him more than once (a suspect!). We'll see.

Yokohama Business

2006-03-04T08:58:00.000+09:00

We had to head to Yokohama yesterday to take care of some business. The first picture is a row of tiny little drinking bars. This street (next to a river) was lined with them. This area is also supposed to be bad with homeless people. There was a policeman or two standing about every two or three blocks. Waiting to cross the street I saw one. Coming from a small city in Oklahoma, I haven't really seen my share of homeless people in action. Yeah, we have the regular people that are constantly in the mall or at the library just hanging out, but I'm pretty sure they at least have a cot at the shelter to sleep in. This guy I saw was digging through a trash can next to a drink vending machine. When he'd find a can, he'd down whatever was left in it. In elementary school, the last drink was 90% spit. That might be preferable to whatever was left in these cans. Dogs have a better life than this guy. They at least have somebody following them around with a doggy bag.

Marketing Genius

2006-03-02T12:57:00.000+09:00

Sometimes, the best marketing is to be direct. Reach out and talk to your intended customer. Hard Off is a second hand store. It's just two stories of pawn shop stuff. I would almost rather be caught going into a porn shop than spotted frequently at Hard Off. Hey that gives me an idea for the name of porn shop.

Incidentally, across the street from Hard Off was a very small second hand store. It actually had better stuff. I saw one thing that I wanted to buy. It was a rock paperweight in the shape of Texas. J-Pop and Ma would've loved it. I concentrated, cleared my head, and asked "How much does this cost?" This brought some considerable action in my direction. The shop owner hurried over and began teaching me a few new words. He also excitedly pointed at his calendar.
I said "Ahh.. I see."
With that being settled, he then proclaimed, "California!"
I replied, "Nope. Texas."
He answered, "Ah... I see."
So many things in that junk store (including some old porn dvds I could use to open my new store) and the only thing I wanted to buy was not for sale.

Complaint Dept.

2006-03-02T12:50:00.000+09:00

Above: Not what you wanted to see. But close!

To whom it may concern:

Yokie from Muskogee has recently received several complaints from loyal readers. "Where are your posts?" "Where are new pictures?" "What are you doing over there?"

I've taken my camera out twice with no memory card. Another day, the most interesting thing I saw was a lady trying to catch poop from a large golden retriever wearing a rainsuit (the dog was wearing it- not the lady). What? You mean you wanted to see that?

Neither rain, nor snow, nor clothes!?

2006-02-26T10:07:00.000+09:00

Saturday morning, J-Pop helped me go over my map of the Miura Peninsula and trace my previous hikes with a highlighter. It's kind of surprising how far I have walked. I'm used to maps of the USA where the scale is pretty big. I forget how small Japan really is (roughly the size of California). It renews my interest to hike the entire country!

After breakfast and mapwork, J-Pop and Ma decided to take me sightseeing.

Our first stop was Perry Park. Commodore Perry landed near this spot. It has a small museum and a huge memorial stone. Thanks Commodore for opening Japan up with your black ships!

Next we headed to the location of an Edo era (1603-1867) lighthouse. I was really impressed with this old wooden structure. Then J-Pop ruined the illusion. He showed me that the wood was really concrete made to look like wood.

A view across Tokyo Bay to Chiba

It wasn't until seeing these rocks break the surface of the water that I could really see where many rock gardens get their inspiration.

This is the oldest electric lighthouse in Japan. It was made in 1869. The lady on top was bidding us to come up for the view (200 yen ea.)

View from the lighthouse

These young fellers are on a work field trip for the post office. The guy kind of in the middle (in a suit) spotted me in the lighthouse and announced in English that he was cold. I agreed that it was a little cold. We then shared a broken English/Japanese conversation about me being married, not in the military, him being single. I told him not to worry and to enjoy being single. And finally I found someone to compliment about the Japanese Post Office's mascot (see picture below). I could tell from their reactions they agreed with me. Before we left, I had to pose for two pictures with them.

The Post Office Mascot (go-go boots, vinyl shorty-shorts, and vinyl tank top?)

A small cemetery near the lighthouse trail and ocean.

Fisherman on an outcropping near the lighthouse park

My Secret Identity

2006-02-22T15:50:00.000+09:00

I don't know why I'm doing the "Captain Morgan was here" stance. I was feeling majestic and in need of a stiff drink, maybe. And no, I'm not going to a funeral. Just because I'm in a suit doesn't mean somebody died (that I know). I had to meet a group to discuss English lessons! I thought that many of would like to see "Professional" me. It's kind scary. Where are my cargo pants?

My secret identity.

Maeda River Trail Misc. Pictures

2006-02-22T10:15:00.000+09:00

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" shrine at a street corner.

A wall of shrines at a temple along the way.
Our lunchtime view.

More critters from the creek.

Somebody told me this shrine was important to find.

See? There are trees in Japan.

This cat snuck up on me during lunch.

A boat. In the ocean.

I'm only showing the picture above and the picture below to express that during the first couple of hours of the trip, I had to use the restroom so bad. The aural and visual stimuli provided by these sights (and more) did not help my condition. During some stops I'd notice some members of the party missing. I just knew they were sneaking off and taking care of business but I wasn't sure. I couldn't take the chance of sneaking off and being discovered. It might have disrupted the group dynamics.

Maeda Kawa Trail

2006-02-21T18:06:00.000+09:00

The J-Fam decided to send me on another walk. J-Pop called his friend from work who volunteers his time, once a month, to lead expeditions around local freshwater sources. He and his group check the water quality and check the floral and fauna (mostly fauna). I had to meet a lady named Murata-san at a nearby bus stop. From there, another lady joined us, and about three buses later, we arrived at our starting point.

We started at the ocean in a place called Sagami Bay. This lady dashed into my shot and I decided to keep it. When you're shooting pics and saving batteries, it's kind of like making a B movie. You only do one "take" of a scene. If it were a clear day, you could see Fuji in this picture. As an alternative, look at her cap. It's roughly the same shape.

I snapped this picture when I thought the entire group arrived. I can't remember the leader's name (Hatakashi or something similar), but he's standing on the far left. The man in blue is over 80 years old- amazing. This group had about 20 years of age on the group from my other walk. Still, I was the youngster. In jeans and an olive drab jacket I felt kind of uncolorful. They all made introductions and after the leader spoke I noticed some movement away from me so I knew it was my turn. Leader (English): Now you introduce by your own self. Me (Japanese): My name is Jory. Now I am living in Japan. I'm from Oklahoma. [pause: everybody else had a much longer intro] In Oklahoma, we don't have an ocean." I was greeted with applause and polite laughter, followed by murmurs of "Such good Japanese!" By the way, everybody says this, even if all you've said is "Nice to meet you."

We stopped at our first water quality testing site. I was still new to the group dynamic so I just stood around and watched. The lady in the red vest is Murata-san. She adopted me the most. After all, she's the one that made sure I made it to the trailhead.

This was our second stop. We stopped about three times. People would busy themselves with whatever test or measurement they were required to do. The leader's job was to dash into the river and find little animals in his net. He had one other netter that did his best to find some specimens. I was wearing sneakers so I did not grab an extra net and help. If I go again next month, I will definitely get some rubber boots.

Foreground: The leader's technique for finding stuff. Background: His helper.

To my surprise, he found all sorts of things in just a few siftings of muck. A fish called ayu (Ahh! You!), baby dragonflies, shrimp, and various waterbugs.

He also found some snail thingies that are somehow important to the feeding of young fireflies.

The leader had an experienced eye for finding things. Here is a very large group of frog eggs and a few tadpoles. He called me over to this find and said (he spoke basic English) ,"Do you know this one?" Unknown to him, I looked up the word for frog earlier and quickly replied "Frog eggs?" He's not going to pop quiz me.

The group checked the water but they also took time to unblock mucked up creeks. The leader jumped a fence and proceeded to poke the ground with a stick and two more rubbered fellows quickly picked up on the task.

The trail was quite varied. We walked on roads and through cane and bamboo so thick that you couldn't see your footing. Before we tromped off through the jungle above, I heard whispers of awe, "First time to go this way!" For most Japanese that have never trailblazed before, they were very excited to get to try this out.

We walked directly up one area of a small river. Rubber boots would have been very handy for this area. It took all my skills, learned in the jungles of Oklahoma, to not put my shoes underwater.

The leader climbed this mudwall, used a garden trowel to dig out little steps for the rest of us. He then produced a rope from his backpack and set up a railing. Now this is my kind of hike!

The most scenic part of the walk was along the trail of the Maeda Kawa (kawa=river). It was a manicured trail and there were stepping stones along the sides of it that crossed it many times. I would definitely like to come here again on my own.

We broke for lunch and I decided to get a snapshot. The guy closest to me is Kawasaki-san. He was extremely nice and we managed to have a few little conversations. The lady on the right rode with me and Murata-san from the busstop. The oldtimer is next. Our leader is in the back.

This crew wast crazy for kinoko (mushrooms). There was a very large amount on the underside of this tree and Kawasaki (with a little 1-2-3! help from the leader) scrambled up to knock them all down.

At the end of the walk, the mushroom spoils were divided. I passed for my share of the booty since I didn't know what I'd do with it.

I guess our leader had been here before, because he took those of us that wanted to walk, up a hill to some kind of rural dwelling. I think they make charcoal here from wood or bamboo.

The goal of this little sideventure was this photograph hanging on the ceiling from one of that lady's sheds. It's a picture of the Prince and Princess who visited this place once. Talk about off the beaten path.

At the top of one corner of a bend in the river was this little shrine. Those people on the left are getting water from a natural spring that feeds here. There were about 5 more people and three cars lined up to get water. It's supposed to make great coffee.

I'm ont sure about the total distance. It was less than my other walk, but it took longer with all the detours and river navigations. At the end we all said thanks to the leader and once again he said a few words and the group all turned to look at me. This being my cue I said I had a lovely time. Once again, I was greeted with applause and bows. That's really a great feeling. You can just say something simple and you're greeted like you just won the election. I almost don't want to learn anymore Japanese.

Okurahoma-Jin

2006-02-20T16:55:00.000+09:00

It's been raining here for the last couple of days so I haven't been out much. I was just sitting here going through some picture folders on my desktop and was looking at a couple from a couple of days before we left Oklahoma. Some of our friends met up with us for a bon voyage lunch. I said thanks that day but I still feel appreciation for all of them. They became our friends (some more recently and some farther back) and helped us in life.

So, thank you and arigatougozaimasu!

Yoshie, Joey, Noriko, Yukiko, Noriko, John, Kumi

T.J., Troy, Yoshie, Joey, Noriko, Yukiko, Noriko, Kumi, Part of John's Head

Adopt-a-Gaijin Walkathon

2006-02-18T16:01:00.000+09:00

The family decided that I needed to go on an organized walk. They checked in the paper and found one. Today I went with the walking club from 9am to 3pm. We hit about three different parks in Yokosuka, for about 13km and then we all went our separate ways. I was the only gaijin and I was the only person uner 50 years old. But these old people could really move. The pace was quick and steady. In all there were over 100 people on the walk. One man started up a conversation with me from the beginning. Sofue Marabu was the name on his business card. His American travels are limited to excursions to Hawaii. As the walk started, a lady named Takayo kidnapped me. She adopted me for the day. During bathroom breaks, old people would wander over to say (in English) ,"How do you like Japan?" and "Is the walking fun?"

Picture by Sofue Marabu.

I thought some of these people were waiting for a bus. In reality, they all signed up for the walk. Before we did our group warm up exercises, they asked me to come to the front and introduced me. My introduction was met with clapping and bows!

About 2/3 of the trail was off the road and in tree-lined paths. The bamboo groves were cool.

The guy with the megaphone spoke a little English. His job was to tell people when to take a break and what time we'd be moving on, etc. His English was just good enough to tell me what time we were leaving. At different times, people would sneak up on my side and demonstrate their English skills.

Low-fat view from the top of the Plum Orchard Park.

Regular view

Takayo-san took this picture of me. I tried to get a picturd of her but she politefully refused. She's not maried and lives in Tokyo with her 93 yearold mother. She lived in Nebraska for two years working on the Winnebago reservation so her English was pretty good. I'm wondering if on these types of events if somebody always adopts the token white boy. They might even take turns.

The observation deck at the top of the plum orchard

Here is a view of the group leaders. I felt like part of a demonstration. They walked with the flag of their club. Here,they were just inviting everyone back in a couple of days for a different hike. One old man, walked up to me and said "If you enjoy this walking, please join us again." Everyone ws really nice.

Here's a view of what the train station map looks like. At first, the only thing it resembled was a wall out of the engineering room from Star Trek. But I can finally use (all alone) this to decide what train I want to take home.

After leaving the train station, I decided what's thiry more minutes of walking? I shrugged and began the walk home. In Japan, I don't know street names. Some streets don't even have a name. I have to be creative and find landmarks. For example, the above sign always tells me which way to go. He's pointing home. It's a very low-tech navigation system.

Super Great and AVE

2006-02-18T15:28:00.000+09:00

I've had some requests to show a couple of supermarkets. Two of them are within walking distance.

Noriko returning from her first time ever down these stairs in her neighborhood.

This is a view of the breezeway for the grocery that is closest. It's called "Super Great." I think. Or current parking spot is next door.

Walk down the stairs and you can go to this larger supermarket called AVE. It's part of a large chain. The correct pronunciation rhymes with navy.

"I am Caine."

2006-02-15T17:53:00.000+09:00

Wednesday was my second day alone. I lazed around the house until about 11am and then decided to go for a five hour walk.

Start walking uphill, from Castle Iwabe, as if you hare headed to the parking spot. Halfway there, you will be looking down on this little neighborhood tucked away into a little valley. Noriko always dismissed my urges to run down the million steps and back up to have a look, so I decided to head down on my own.

After coming down the steps, take a look back up and say, "Dang that's steep."

Keep on walking, take a look at the entrance to an old bomb/storm shelter that will be on your left. Tepidly peer into it. Noriko told me that she's scared of them because a crazy homeless person could be hiding in one. That just makes me more curious! Where is Jeremy and a rope?

So you can get a grip on my level of Japanese, I could read/understand this sign without help!

This creek/storm drain runs next to the road for a nice little stretch (I also found out later, that J-Pop was in charge of building this project). As you can see, the course of the water is terraced or stepped. Each area has to fill and then spills over into the next.

Imagine my surprise when I peered over the railing and saw koi. That is one of the cool things about Japan. There are little surprises everywhere I look. This includes private yards. Half of them contain immaculate little "zen" gardens. Every little terraced area of the "creek" contained about 5-10 koi. Some young and some old. I'm guessing that in a heavy rain, little ones get washed down to the lower levels. I wish I could catch some and sell them in the States.

This orange koi was almost glowing gold. It was very beautiful.

Another example of some of the little surprises, here is another one: a Shinto shrine tucked away. I almost missed the mon (gate to a Shinto shrine) and the staircase beyond.

I'm still new enough in Japan, that I can't wait to see what's just around the corner or at the top of a temple/shrine staircase. The little spaces seem so quiet and tranquil.

The shrine is guarded by four of these fellows! J-Pop does a good impression of one these (squatting and baring his teeth). Many of our conversations include quite a bit of miming from both of us.

The Kurihama Hana no Kuni is a major Spring attraction in this area. Hana no Kuni means Flower Land. It's a huge flower garden. As you can see, it's not so flowerful at the moment. The entrance is under that bridge you can see in about the center of the picture. It's another nice steep walk up to the top.

Gojira!!!!The first thing I saw as a crested the hill. Not a good thing while strolling around Japan.

A children's park is at the top of Flower Land. This jungle gym is the largest I've ever seen. You can also climb inside Gojira's belly and then slide out of his butt. Cool.

This slide was actually a thousand little rollers. Cool.

Overlooking part of the port; Perry Park is down there somewhere. Oh yeah- I live by the ocean?

Overlooking part of Yokosuka

Two hours later, I made it back home. I felt better. I know how to get to a couple of places now. I have a better idea of my neighborhood in relation to the surrounding neighborhoods. I just have to decide, where will I go today?

Home Alone

2006-02-14T17:48:00.000+09:00

Today was my first day, alone. J-units went to work. Noriko had her first day at a new job. Iwoke up with them and drove Noriko to the trainstation. The drive back (also my first drive alone) was a little exciting. For my chores (so they'll feed me tonight), I had to sweep the floors, vacuum the floors, hang the futons outside in the breeze (more like a gale), disassemble the kotatsu (see earlier post) and hang out all the blankets associated with it, clean the toilet, do the dishes, and fold laundry. I drove to the supermarket (where we have a parking space rented- also I think somebody took a pulltab from my private English teacher flyer) and picked out two little desserts for J-Mom and Noriko for Valentine's, I stepped in dog business, watched some TV, and I ate leftovers for lunch. I also watched an episode of Top Cops from the late 80s. I'd feel a whole lot better about this role, if I had an apron.

I bought two identical treats like the one on the far right. One for Noriko and one for J-Ma. In Japan, the women give the men a gift (so J-Ma already bought the other four cakes) on Valentine's Day. The men return the favor in March.

Ask and ye shall receive!

2006-02-14T17:39:00.000+09:00

J-pop and J-ma are always cooking for me and beating me to my own laundry. If I glance sideways at a shop window, J-pop almost rushes in to see if they have my size (which is LL in Japan). Last night, with the help of a translator, I conveyed to them that I would like to do something more than washing dishes to pull my own weight. At the moment, I am still a housespouse. It turns out, J-pop has been thinking of cutting down some trees that line one side of the property. In the picture, it's the row of evergreens that runs diagonally from one corner of the frame to the other. They're not that big. But, I don't know if we have a saw, aze, chainsaw, etc. And whatever we get/have- I hope it's size LL.

Taking Care Of Business

2006-02-14T17:28:00.000+09:00

UPDATE: The above dog is not it, and forgive me for not getting a picture, but a dog walked by me today, carrying it's own pooper scooper. I was dumbfounded. Photo-op passed.

So, in Japan, yards are usually very small (in or near urban areas) or nonexistent. Anybody with a dog has to take them for a walk. I see dogs all the time: little dogs, big dogs, dogs in t-shirts, naked dogs, etc. I also see dogs doing their business. Usually, their pet human, probably trained at human obedience school, deftly catches their business before it even hits the ground. I have never seen dog business on the ground or road- until today. I stepped in the only pile of business in Japan. I can't believe it. Thank you for your support.

Horsepower to Ponypower

2006-02-12T11:33:00.000+09:00

Side by side comparisons. The SUV on the left is a regular size, 4-Runner type car. The truck on the right is some kind of miniature flatbed.

Even next to Noriko, the car is obviously volume-challenged.

Our "new" car was delivered Friday night. It's a Suzuki Wagon-R. It boasts an engine of 660 cubic centimeters. I have no idea what kind of horsepower it has. We filled up the tank at the reasonable price of 149 yen per liter. I think that's about $5 a gallon. It's about four times as expensive to buy gas, but we actually need to use the car about four times as less. There are many models of 660cc engine cars: trucks, SUVs, vans. They are easily spotted by size and for some reason their license plates are all yellow. The top picture was taken at our parking spot that is a 5 minute walk from the house. However, Noriko just got off the phone and found us a new spot that is about 2.5 minutes away.

Shrine of the Fox

2006-02-11T08:37:00.000+09:00

Tucked away in the neighborhood.

We were out walking the other day (actually it was dusk) and took a sidestreet. Tucked away, down the street and around the corner, was a little quiet nook. It looked like a little park. Inside the fence was a little Shinto shrine dedicated to the fox. Don't ask me to explain Shinto. It is Japan's original religion (if religion is even the right word). I'm not sure how Shinto people worship or what they are saying/thinking when they clap their hands and pray at a shrine. However, Noriko gets a kick out of telling other Japanese people that I'm, in fact, Shinto. They always say, "Honto(Really)?"

Through the "mon" and down the sidewalk.

Noriko thinks that this shrine was originally on someone's property. As the property was divided into lots and sold, the shrine remained intact. The little area around the shrine was so quiet. It seemed like a good place to sit and read or just get some peace and quiet. While I was taking these photographs, many people walked by and never even glanced inside the gate.

Closeup of older fox statue.

Closeup of newer statues.

View from the inside.

Here is what's inside the little house. A little wooden area in the middle (I think where the kami hangs out) and a ton of little fox figurines.

From my light googling on the subject of foxes and Shinto, I found out that originally, the kami associated with the fox was a man with two foxes at his feet. The foxes were his messengers. Now, mostly the fox is depicted. Like in many other cultures, the foxes and other animals are messengers of the gods. Shrines to the inari or kitsune are supposed to be the most numerous in Japan. This particular one is nothing special except it's close to our house and the first one I've seen.

For those interested in further study:

http://www.comnet.ca/~foxtrot/kitsune/kitsune1.htm

http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/oinari.shtml

FYI: You can click pictures to make them bigger!

2006-02-08T01:19:00.000+09:00

For those of you that don't know, you can click on any of the pictures in this blog to view them at a larger size. Also, I'm pretty sure, that if you want a copy for yourself, you can "right-click" and then select "save as."

This particular photo is just a streetscene from Yokohama. I went there on Monday to register with what I call an English teacher's stable.

Sacred Places

2006-02-08T01:08:00.000+09:00

If you look over the top of the white van but below the top of th light post you might be able to see Mount Fuji. I saw it for the first time, this trip, last Sunday after aikido class (see Link section for directions). It's always shocking to see something like that when you're not expecting it. If you're from the plains, you can see how cultures around the world have come to respect, revere, and worship the mountains as gods themselves or as homes to the gods.

This is one of the giant shopping complexes in Yokosuka. I call it the Daiei Mall but I don't know if that's the local term. There's more on the left side fo the frame but it wouldn't fit in my eyepiece. It's big. I'm not even sure if I've seen it all yet. I heard that there's a floor of nothing but restaurants and I haven't seen that yet. I'm pretty sure it goes underground at least one level, also. I guess the mountains of long ago have had to give up some popularity with the malls of today. I wonder which of the two deserves more of our worship?

Poaching and Politicking

2006-02-07T23:18:00.000+09:00

Mei: less than one year. You have to get them hooked on phonics at a young age.

Hayato at the park near his apartment.

Hayato flashing his gang sign at the ramen restaurant.

A couple of days ago we met up with Hitomi and her son Hayato. Hitomi is Noriko's friend from jr. high. We dropped by to chat them up and to establish a friendly candor with her son, Hayato. He was able to say "How are you?" I get kinda nervous around the children of her friends so I'm doing what I can to feel more at ease around Japanese children, in general. Partly because I'm not there 100% as a friend, and I'm trying to subtly demonstrate I could teach their children something. Hitomi insisted on treating us to lunch and since we're the "charitable" type, we accepted. I had Canton Ramen. I don't really know how that varies from just plain ol' ramen, but it was pretty good (and warm on a cold day). Just so you know, actual ramen is 1000x better than the cup noodles you buy at the grocery store. And it is on the cheaper side here. A giant bowl is usually 5 or 6 bucks.

The kid in the top picture belongs to Yumiko (she's in an earlier entry). We accompanied her to a shopping center where her oldest kid (Yui, 6) attends an English class. It was a good chance to watch a kids English class. There really wasn't much to it other than a lot of jumping and singing. And kids yelling.

Shoyu and Tail

2006-02-05T21:49:00.000+09:00

The Japanese Blowfish

I'd like to say that I missed a day of posting because Blogger.com had some technical problems. While this did delay my previous post, it's not the whole truth. The whole truth involves a couple of four letter words: fugu and sake. Fugu is Japanese blowfish. Yes, THE poisonous one. You have to sign a liability release form in restaurants prior to ordering it. Noriko's parents mail-ordered a packaged dinner ($200!!!) and two days later we feasted! I don't remember signing anything.

We had fugu sashimi (pictured above), fugu skin peelings, fugu stew (both pictures below). Fugu sashimi is cut very thin. The thinner the piece, the better the cook. It is served on a decorative dish whose pattern is meant to be seen through the slices of fish. J-Pop and Ma were a little disappointed the dish we received wasn't more colorful.
Fugu from the stew.

Fugu stew: fugu, cabbage, mushrooms, tofu (and some seasonings)

According to the experts (actually I guessed and they confirmed), the poison is in it's liver. Either one of my mutant powers is immunity to fugu poison (how cool!) or I didn't get any bits of liver in my bowl. Fugu-man would be a good name and the costume would be easy enough. Now we're getting around to the part where I passed out soon after supper (and neglected my blog). Before supper, Noriko yelled upstaris to me, "Are you going to drink with Dad tonight?" I imagined a couple of tiny shots of sake and said ,"Sure! After all, we're eating fugu tonight!" I also halfway thought that maybe the sake would help neutralize any poison I might ingest. Well it turns out our little sake glasses were full size water glasses. I sipped on and finished one during the sashimi course of the meal and needed a refill by the time the stew was ready. Me and J-pop had a few good laughs about some things I can't remember. J-Pop had the tail of the fugu floating around in his. I have to admit, I was a little jealous. I wanted something floating in mine. Soon he was in his usual prebath position, prone on the floor, half asleep, repeating English words he knew that were related to the "potato recipes" show we were watching, "Sweet potato. Baked potato. Fried potato." I was on the other side of the kotatsu (see earlier blog entry for definition of kotatsu), prone, silently repeating those words, half asleep.

Seeing I was headed for dreamland, Noriko suggested I hit the sack. Now you know the whole story behind my missing blog entry. The fugu was good. The sake was good. The potato was good.

Note: We also had lightly fried sardines and aji (a very tasty fish). You can see those pictures in a later entry about my favorite thing in Japan: the food!

Definitions: Shoyu- pronounced SHOW (as in "show and tell") and YOU, soy sauce

Business Opportunity

2006-02-05T08:54:00.000+09:00

For any of you interested in making some big money, I have found an item that is not yet available in the States. I don't know what they call it over here but I call it the Hannibal Lechter Face-Shrinking Sleep Mask. You wear it in your sleep to make your face smaller. The more I think about it, the more I've realized that I haven't seen many Japanese with oversized faces. They all seem to be about the right size. I have noticed many people wearing surgical masks. Noriko tells me it's because of allergies and colds, but I think they're hiding the Japanese secret shame of a large face. To tell you the truth, when I first saw it, I was kinda hopeful it was an anti-snoring mask. If any of you have some marketing ideas, let's get started!

Warning: Doutor Ahead. Expect A Slow Day.

2006-02-02T21:46:00.000+09:00

Just because there was no earthquake today, I didn't go skiing, have a job interview, and I'm posting a picture of a coffee shop, doesn't mean that it was a slow day.

We went to city hall, the post office, met a translator, city hall, lunch, shopping, the mall, (oh yeah, that coffee shop in the picture after lunch) the 100 yen store (much better than the 100 penny store in the USA), dinner, and finally back home.

Whenever we meet her dad for lunch, or J-Pop as I'm going to start calling him, he likes to have coffee afterwards. I'm usually not a big fan of afternoon coffee (or morning coffee for that matter) but this coffee is GOOD. They told me Doutour is a pretty big chain over here. It's pretty small and smoky so it won't be on my list of possible places for private English lessons.

OK, OK, so it was kind of a slow day! :P

P.S. However, tonight is the eve of Setsubun. All I will say is that I'm supposed to hang the head of a sardine outside and maybe a clove of garlic. J-Pop and uhh... J-Ma? won't let me. It has something to do with the potential odor. That's all I can say. I better save the rest for tomorrow, in case it's another slow day.

That damned giant catfish!

2006-02-02T09:41:00.000+09:00

Probably what the catfish god looks like, only bigger.*

I almost forgot. Last night was my first earthquake since I've been here. The door started rattling like someone was trying to get in. Naturally, I started to jump to my feet to defend the castle. It was finally time to lead some poor ninja down the stair/trap! Before I was fully up, the rest of the house trembled a little bit. At this point my eyes were kinda big and Noriko, Izumi, and Yoshie were all looking at me with wide eyes. They then started chuckling since I seemed to be confused. Hello? The earth is shaking! Why is everyone just drinking tea like nothing happened?

Today's news said it was a 5.4 and the epicenter was in Chiba. I think that's across Tokyo Bay. Noriko just looked over my shoulder and reassured me, "Don't worry. It happens all the time."

More tea, anyone?

*If you are the guy holding this catfish and you are reading this, please don't sue me. I'll take the picture off. Have fun noodling!

Short version of my 2nd job interview: I said, "No."

2006-02-01T15:27:00.000+09:00

So I went to my second job interview. It was for a position as a teacher at a private school. The building was traditional and moder at the same time. It was very beautiful and the director and his wife were both extremely kind. They have been in business since 1971. The founder has developed everything himself: the teaching method, teaching props, the business plan, etc. They have a teacher's room with desks and materials for creating props. Really, it was a nice setup.

They offer about $2500 a month as a starting salary. From this, they deduct $900. The school pays your homestay family $600 a month (yes, even though my homestay family is in actuality my family I would be required to pay them) and they pocket the other $300 to help keep running the homestay program. I couldn't understand why we couldn't just skip the whole homestay process. Why are they keeping my $300? I'm not even working there and I feel cheated. They also supply a company vehicle. So, I'd have to rent another parking space. That would be about another $120 deduction. The work week is 4o hours and the pay has 10 hours of overtime already figured into it for the month. This puts the basic wage at about $12-15 dollars per hour.

The workday would be as follows: Go to the school HQ in the morning. Prepare the lesson plans for the day. Head to the first location. Head to the second and third (and maybe fourth class) and then head home. Some days, the teachers have to help with office duties and do some substituting for other teachers. And you frequently have to video and audio record your classes. You also don't get paid until you turn in all of your lesson plans and recordings for the previous weeks.

Other things I didn't care for were some stipulations in the contract. Upon completion of the contract, the teacher can't teach in the same prefecture for two years (without written consent). This would be like being told you can't teach in your home state for two years. You also can't teach for free or for fee at any other location while employed.

The actual interview wasn't so bad. They actually need someone ASAP to fill a recently vacated position. The director queried me on how would I teach this/that, open, and long/short. I knew it was a trap and that the obvious answers would be wrong. I went ahead and let the jaws snap shut so we could get on with the process. He knowingly nodded and then proceeded to demonstrate the way that he designed. The way that Cambridge "borrowed" from him. I agreed that his way was a lot better.

Next up was for me to give my rendition of The Eensy Beensy Spider and Old Macdonald. Well I did my best. I changed the lyrics back to "itsy bitsy" but my poor little spider had quite a time climbing up the waterspout. It also had some time getting washed out. I have no personal recollection of ever singing that song with the gestures (It's time to learn). Also, the animal I chose was an oink oink here. I usually sing that song in the shower or on a long drive so I've ended up with some strange animals on my farm. By the time I got to "...he had a ______..." I realized I hadn't chosen an appropriate animal, yet. Finally "OINK" came. Ihave to admit that I wasn't exactly prepared to do any singing. I was more prepared for a rendition of "El Paso" or "Folsom Prison Blues."

Everything else was pretty straightforward. They gave me a contract to take home and asked to call them the next day. If I accepted, I would visit a class and then suddenly take over the class for a few minutes. They would watch my performance and determine if I'm trainable. They told me, "Don't worry. Of course you won't do well. You haven't been shown our method." Walking into their traps in the interview was one thing. I didn't like the idea of doing it again for an audience.

Today I called him and had to break the news. He sounded genuinely upset. They were really nice people and so I did feel a little bad. But I'm trying to run my own business called Me, Inc. There would've been too much running around and there were too many clauses allowing them to keep me under lock and guard. Back to the classifieds!

Engrish Lesson 2:House of Pain

2006-02-01T01:41:00.000+09:00

I'm too lazy to see what "pain" is in French. In the meantime, let's make fun of this restaurant's name! I wonder what the pain du'jour is?

It's nice to see what one can expect when they visit this clinic. I bet that's one cold stethoscope. I wonder what the good doctor is hiding behind his back?

Use the Force

2006-02-01T01:10:00.000+09:00

When away from the familiar (Green Country) I've noticed something strange about my thoughts. Actions or thoughts that were introduced or taught to me by someone back home, trigger a memory of that person. For example, I was thinking, "Where am I going to change the oil in my clown car?" Suddenly, an image of my stepfather teaching me to change the oil in my first car hit me (Love you and miss you!). Another time, I was trying to "rig" up something and my Dad's voice lectured me about "Okay Engineering" (Love you and miss you!). It's like Obi-Wan giving me hints on how to destroy the death star. I guess it's a way to keep loved ones close that are far away. I'll let you know when I start talking back to them. And Mom always asks, "Why don't my children ever listen to me? (Love you and miss you!)"

p.s. Mom, what's the correct punctuation for the above construction? Does the final punctuation go inside the parenthetical note? Does the parenthetical note go inside the quotes?

Batphone Bar Code Scanner Update

2006-01-30T23:41:00.000+09:00

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

2006-01-30T23:29:00.000+09:00

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

2006-01-30T22:57:00.000+09:00

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.