Japan - AX Tokyo 2004
Copy all the blog stuff here, also link to pictures.
Contents
January 2, 2004
Whoa. I'm going to Japan.
Well, I finally got my tickets and final info from NTA. (By FedEx no less!)
It's a weird thing tho...
Ever since I first heard about this back at AX'03, I was of the "Wow. Japan. Too bad I can't go." mindset. Knowing that I could never possibly afford such a venture, yet with that .00001% ethereal glimmer of hope that maybe, some miracle could happen that would allow me to go. Then, a couple months later, the miracle happened: some much needed work. Money started pouring in and before I knew it, I had the $250 for the down payment. Depression turned to elation as I FAXed the signup form to NTA with my credit card number on it. But even after I received confirmation of my deposit payment I still could hardly believe I was going... almost like it was still kind of a dream and not real. Even after I paid the full amount on the November due date (I *barely* made it!) I could still hardly believe it... surely I must be dreaming or something. It almost seemed unreal.
Today I receive the envelope from FedEx, and with trembling fingers I tear the thing open and uncover the goodies contained within. I gaze at the plane tickets and the luggage tags and the final itineraries and all within. And suddenly a relalization hits me. I am holding the plane tickets. They exist. They are real. (believe me, I must have pinched myself 1,000 times just to make sure I wasn't dreaming) My mouth opens and I utter "I'm going to Japan. Whoa." (said in Keanu Reeves "Matrix"-like manner) And that's exactly the feeling that came over me.
Of course now I"m so excite that I can't even sleep. :P
January 6, 2004
A Fistful of Yen
Yeah, I know, it doesn't quite have the same ring to it as the Sergio Leone spaghetti western. Oh well...
Trip preparations continue in earnest here at Chez Borg. Today I went down to the friendly neighborhood Wells Fargo, plunked down $1,250, and walked away with ¥127,000. Fortunately, since I hold a Wells Fargo bank account, there was no fee involved. I decided to do this right now because (a) I'd get the best rate, (b) It's already done and I don't have to worry about it any more. I also converted Pam's money for her -- might as well, since I was there. Again, one less thing to worry about.
Meanwhile, the prep work continues. Many thanks must go to the folks at NTA and the AX Tokyo message board for answering our many questions about traveling to Japan. Without them, and the excellent guide book they recommended, we would be totally lost! Of course, we may end up being totally lost anyway, but at least this way we have at least the illusion of being prepared. :-)
I did something totally stupid the other day. I accidentally dropped my passport down the back of my bookcase. :P I had to empty out most of it and move the sucker to get it back. Took about 6 hours including the clean-up. Unfortunately things didn't go back in quite the way they started out as, so now the bookcase protrudes slightly, and gets in the way of my mouse arm. :P One of these days I have to go through the whole thing and clean it out - there's a lot of crap in there.
I posted in the Iron Fans Online board, asking about the possibility of visiting Iron Chef restaurants while in Japan. (We're also big IC fans) Anyway, one of the posters contact me privately, and we have arranged to have lunch with him and his wife at Ristorante Massa (Kobe's restaurant)!! All of us are really looking forward to this.
Anyway, so much to do... I better get back to it all. We leave in just over a week!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!
January 13, 2004
I Hate Packing! :P
Yes, it's true. I hate packing. And with under 24 hours before we depart, I'm STILL not fully packed yet! :P Plus, it turns out I need to do some laundry too??!??
Fortunately, I'm roughly 85% packed, so there's not much left to do.
It's weird. Even though we have the plane tickets, even though we've typed up and sent out our itineraries, even though we're furiously packing, the reality of "we are going to Japan!" STILL hasn't fully sunk in. I don't think it will fully sink in u ntil we are on the plane, or maybe not even until we step off the plane in a foreign airport. It's a weird thing, really.
The computers are just about ready to go. I've encoded several anime series (that way I don't have to lug the DVD's with me, possibly lose/damage them, etc.) so that we'll have something to watch on the excruciatingly long plane flight. I also got, thanks to Mom, a second laptop battery. I can't get a straight answer out of anyone as to whether the airplane has power plugs or not, so I'm bringing fully-charged batteries just in case. And I intend to introduce Pam to the wonderful world of anime!! I figure I'll start her on something dramatic, with no ecchi or other weird stuff... Haibane Renmei sounds as good as any. Plus it doesn't have any high squeaky voices that she dislikes. :) I also might show her Chobits or maybe Noir, another excellent dramatic series. I also brought, for good measure, Spirited Away and Nausicaa, since we will be visiting the Ghibli Museum and it would be nice for her to see some of Miyazaki's films beforehand.
I also re-discovered my GBA!!! I found it, oddly enough, sitting behind the stereo receiver on the A/V shelf. How it got there I have no idea. Unfortunately I managed to lose the charger/power plug for it; fortunately, Software Etc. had an aftermarket one for $10. Works just fine, and it even takes 100v voltage, so it will work in Japan. I also picked up a Mad Catz hard case and headphone adapter (lets me plug my own headphones into the GBA). And I picked up some games too -- Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Sword of Mana (thanks to the excellent folks on the AX Game Room forum for these recommendations). I also picked up Advance Wars 2. This should be more than enough to keep me occupied on the plane. :)
Here's the odd thing about the GBA: I hadn't used it for MONTHS AND MONTHS. So I figured, surely the battery on the thing would be DEAD, DEAD, DEAD. But it WASN'T!!! I played Advance Wars on the thing for 3 days after finding it, and only then did the red warning light come on. Weird. I thought rechargable batteries gradually lost their charge over a month or three.
Anyway, time to get back to packing and laundry... :P Gotta go to bed SUPER EARLY tonight; since we have to be at the airport at least 2 hours before departure time, and we depart 11:35, we should really be there around 9. And it takes us 3 hours to get to the airport (allowing for traffic). Uggg...
"Dodge THIS!"
We narrowly dodged a bullet tonight...
About 2 months ago we went luggage shopping, because the bags we had were totally inadequate to the task of taking us and our schtuff to Japan and back. So, after some looking around, we found a great luggage deal at Costco, of all places. A 29" pullman with really nice wheels and stuff for $80. Nice, roomy, big enough for the thick winter clothes that we'll be needing (and the inevitable collection of souvenirs we know we would be acquiring).
When NTA sent us our final trip documents, I read the baggage allowances. Rather, I MISread them. You're only allowed a certain size of baggage for both checked-in and carry-on. The dimensions (length + width + height) have to be under 62 inches, for checked, and 45 inches for carry-on. Weight has to be below 70 lbs (for checked) and 10 lbs (for carry-on). Well, we both felt that we were fine in the weight department; however we weren't so sure about the dimensions. So I whipped out the handy dandy tape measure and measured our new bags. Depending on whether we included the wheels and handle in our measurements, I got either 61 inches or 68 inches. But here's the catch. I mis-read the allowances as *82* inches rather than *62* inches, so I thought everything was fine.
Well tonight Pam wanted to double-check (it's a good thing that she did!) and so we re-measured it, and this time she correctly read the 62 inches figure. Oops!! And considering that the fee for oversized luggage is $200 (OUCH!) we did NOT want to take any chances. But here we were, 7 PM at night on the night before we leave, and we need new luggage.
Thankfully, both our Moms came to the rescue; they had baggage that they lent us that fit within the necessary parameters. We had to empty our current bags and re-pack into smaller bags, but at least now we won't be penalized.
Oy. What a moron I am. As Ruri might say, "dburr no Baka!"
January 14, 2006
Can't sleep...
...too excited!
Yep, it's 1 AM on the morning when we leave. In order to beat the morning traffic and get in to the airport with time to spare, we really need to leave here by 5 AM. But neither of us can sleep. :P This being our first international trip, and our first trip to Japan and all. We've been looking forward to this for soooooo long. And even now, there's still a voice in our heads saying "No way... this isn't happening... etc."
Itinerary is up!
Pam typed up a pretty concise and to-the-point itinerary of our travels in Japan. It's available for your viewing pleasure at:
http://www.borg-cube.com/japan2004/itinerary.html
I'll be adding to it as we know more details (i.e. what places we'll be seeing, etc.) so please keep reloading often!
Ok Don We Get Up In THREE HOURS
Now how do I get him away from the computer again for lights out? :)
He will snore in the car on the way, of course, but I have to drive!!!!
I think I'll hit the circuit breaker ;)
Five AM Trip Day
Well, we're awake :) Don't know how. Just wanted people reading this to know we didn't sleep thru our alarm!
January 15, 2004
We have Arrived!!
So here I am, sitting at the Ikebukuro Mamboo (the one on 2F of the Sunshine 60 bldg), sipping a Calpis and munching on some curry...
The NTA flight out of LAX was smooth and uneventful, aside from a hour-long block of turbulence about 4 hours into the flight. (It was shaky but not too bad. And the food was GREAT!!!!) Wheels-up at about 12+15 PM local time, and touchdown occurred at 4:30 on the next day, local time. Customs couldn:t have been easier - they basically looked over my passport and stamped me, no questions asked. (and here we were obsessing about And check-in couldn:t have been easier - kudos to the NTA guys for streamlining the check-in procedure; all we had to do was show our passport and they handed us a packet with our keys, AX badges, and program guides. I must especially thank Yozo Kawazoe who went above and beyond the call of duty to assist me in getting Ghibli Museum tickets at the last moment as well as securing reservations at the Iron Chef restaurants!!
So, our first night in Tokyo. Wow. Driving into the city was an amazing thing. Slowly we saw the buildings getting higher and higher and more and more clustered together... then came the lights. But the full impact didn:t hit until after we had checked into the hotel and started exploring. Lights everywhere. Think Las Vegas multiplied thousandfold and you:ll begin to get the idea of what I'm talking about. Tons of people, mostly the young set, milling about and having fun. And every storefront lit up brightly and many of them loudly hawking their wares. Excitement was definitely in the air!
Tonight's mission was in search of two things: food and Internet access. Both were found in the same place, an "Internet manga cafe" called Manboo. Thanks to Kat for pointing this place out in the Places to GO near AX thread on the message board. After a bit of a shaky start we found it, and here we are.
Gonna go to bed soon, as we're both wiped. But thought I'd pop in and give a little heads up. So far we're having a blast. Tomorrow... AX Tokyo starts!!!! And dinner at La Rochelle to boot. Yomigaearu Iron Chef!!!
Beep's Follies (Beep)
This will be the part of this web log which I will get teased about, I am sure! But I've only been on the Japan trip one day and already I have a nice list of silly things I have done.
I could NOT sleep the night before the trip. So I was exhausted even before the long flight when at the LA Airport. I was looking for a store that sold paper so I could make some notes on the flight. Of course I found no paper, even after walking to several stores. Plenty of melatonin, but no paper. So I was really tired when walking back to the gate where Donald was waiting with our WAY TOO MANY bags.
I had to use the bathroom, so I went in. There were these strange things on the walls but there had been so much in the international terminal that was geared toward the Japanese that I wondered if they were some weird kind of Japanese toilets. I was so tired that it took a while to dawn on me that they were urinals and that I was in the men's room! Just as I was starting to get a clue a man walked in. I said "sorry I'm in the wrong place" and he just laughed and laughed...
So then we got on the plane. As the flight went on I starting sweating, more and more. The stewardess thought I had a fever. I think she was scared of SARS! But the girl who sat next to me who was also going to the anime expo asked me if I didn't have anything cooler to wear. I was decked out in a heavy sweatshirt and sweatpants, and carrying a heavy coat. No wonder I was HOT. She then asked me if I didn't get the trip information that the Japanese heat rooms up to 80 degrees. Of course I missed that memo! I brought only warm clothing! She thought I should buy a t-shirt while I am here. Well that's going to be interesting, with the Japanese generally smaller and me at my post-steriod weight. Doubt they know about "plus sizes". Maybe I can find a store for sumo wrestlers.
Later tonight, when we were at the hotel, I was using my phrase book to ask for extra pillows from the hotel staff. My eyes were blurry cos I have been up for about two days, and I read the entry next to "pillow" in the dictionary by mistake. It turns out that, in a good Japanese accent, I was asking for two birth control pills. No wonder the poor girl had a blank look. Glad I finally caught that mistake...
It's going to be an interesting trip!
January 16
Well, I've only got an hour at the internet cafe tonight. It seems to be more expensive to be here on weekend nights or something. And I used most of the hour finding the booth I was assigned to!
One reason I am here is supposedly to help Don get around Japan. I don't mind the idea of it. His payment of money he owed me from years ago is what enabled me to come on this wonderful trip. And he did most of the research and preparation for the trip, too. The least I can do is help him find stuff.
Unfortunately I suck at it.
One reason we stayed at the hotel we did is that it is very close to where the anime expo is. You don't even have to go outside. It seems that for most people, the folks at the tour desk held up four fingers and they were all able to go out of the hotel and find the escalators and go up to the fourth floor.
I don't know where I took us. We probably walked to Korea. Or at least through all of the huge Sunshine City mall complex. It also occured to me, as I was trying to follow signs, that I don't read Japanese. I don't know why I never thought of that before.
It all worked out well, though. By delaying us for God only knows how long, we arrived at the anime expo just in time for Don to be recognized by someone he knew from Santa Barbara City College. I am always teasing him that he gets recognized by people from there everywhere we go, but I honestly didn't expect that to happen our first day in Tokyo! Go thousands of miles; doesn't matter. You can't escape Santa Barbara.
This man, Kier, has lived in Japan now for six years and speaks Japanese. So naturally we stuck to him like rubber cement. Poor guy probably came to Tokyo in the hopes of meeting gorgeous women, and now he can't shake us.
Well Marina asked about the toilets. The one in the hotel is very interesting. It is Western style but with a ton of extra buttons you can push and have things done to you. I'm not sure what things. I'm afraid to find out.
The ladies' bathroom at the anime expo, color coded in pink so even I couldn't mess it up, has a view of Tokyo and a potted tree inside. I'm just glad we don't have to use the tree as a toilet facility. There are western style toilets and I was pretty happy to see them. However, ominously, there were also these toilets that looked like urinals on the ground. I guess the idea is to squat. Very clean, but the logistics worry me. I am no squatter. That's not something fat people with arthritis do. Also, what do I do, take off most of my clothing before going to the bathroom? I am wearing pants for God's sake! I now see why most of the women here seem to be wearing skirts.
I'm convinced the reason for these toilets from hell is that the Japanese want to go to the bathroom without touching any possible germy surfaces. Japan is my mother's ideal country. The TV character *Monk" would be right at home here. Surgical-looking face masks are seen everywhere, as are white gloves. Even on the flight over here, hot towels were brought to us to clean our hands before each meal. Naturally these were untouched by staff, carefully handled with tongs. I want to learn the Japanese word for "germs" just so I can have the fun of screaming it at the top of my lungs one day and clearing the room. What can I say? It's a fantasy. The problem is, I'm going to go back to the US and find it absolutely filthy. Just thinking about my dirty apartment makes me queasy.
It also turns out that one of the rudest things you can do here is blow your nose in public. Naturally, I now have a cold. It is not a bad cold but it is the kind where you either blow your nose regularly or periodically sneeze so hard that you make a mess of yourself. So I am opting to blow my nose. I hope I don't get thrown out of the country. The dirty looks are piercing.
I didn't realize Americans were so loud. We are the loudest people in every store we go into. And I'm Italian-American which I supposed makes it worse! Tonight in a book store we were stared at as much as if we were green men from Mars. I wish my phrase book had an entry for "I'm from Mars". That would be fun to go around saying.
January 16, 2004
I want to live here dammit!!!
NOTE: Yes I know this entry is late. I didn't complete it until Saturday night. You'll see why later on in this message.
I'm ready to pack the rest of my stuff and give my landlord his 30 days. I want to move here so bad that it hurts.
We have now completed our first day in Tokyo, and so far we have had an absolute blast.
We finally got up around 10. Actually I was up as early as 9 (all times henceforth will be in local time, btw) but Pam didn:t fully wake until 10. We weren't ready to leave until around 11:15. Fortunately we had gotten drinks and breakfast-type items at a handy dandy convenience store last night, so we had stuff to take our pills and wake up with. Green tea service in the room as well, which was great.
Speaking of convenience stores... it seems like here, there are about 10 convenience stores per capita. Seriously. Within, oh, say, 2 city blocks, I swear there are like 10 convenience stores. And you regularly find rival convenience stores right next door or across the street from each other. You gotta wonder what these guys' business plans look like. "Competiton: 5 of em right next door to us..." Family Mart and Lawson's seem to be the two top brands (at least in this area), but we also saw several others, including one which we were hardly expecting, AM/PM. (But no, we did NOT see any AM11/PM7's. Rats. And I wanted a Special Cosmic Bath too!)
We finally got to the convention center around noon, which is when the opening ceremony started. Oddly enough, I ran into someone I used to go to school with (at SBCC)!! I swear, everywhere I go, I seem to run into someone I know, or someone from Santa Barbara. I call it The Cult of Santa Barbara. Are YOU a member???
The show opened with the wonderful Anison singer MIQ (The Artist Formerly Known As MIO) who sang a few anime themes. She is GOOD. Even Pam was grooving to it. Then there was the usual intro stuff, and each GoH (guest of honor) was introduce and he gave a brief speech. It was a good opener, lasted about an hour, so it wasn't too long and boring.
After the opening ceremony, we went to lunch with Keir. We stopped at a really nice restaurant that specializes in Hokkaido cuisine, which is in the mall that connects the hotel to the convention center. Now THAT is what I call a MALL. Those of you who know me in SB probably know that I call the Pacific Vew Mall in Ventura the "Mall of Doom". Well, this mall is even doomier. At least four stories of wall-to-wall stores and restaurants. Anyway the food was excellent, and we got to sit at a traditional low table on the wood floor where you have to remove your shoes and you sit cross-legged on mats. All three of us had the same thing: rice in a rectangular bento-style wood box topped with various toppings; salmon and salmon roe and something else which I forget. It included miso and green tea, and it was wonderful.
After lunch we strolled around a bit and eventually wandered back to the expo where we watched a 2-hour presentation on the history of OAV. It was fascinating, and I got to see clips of various OAVs spanning the 20 year history of the medium. I saw some series that I recognized, but many that I didn't. In any case it was very interesting to see the different artistic styles, character designs, etc. and to see how OAV has evolved as a medium. Even Pam was getting into it and learned a bit too.
After that we attended a panel by Fred Gallagher, aka Piro from MegaTokyo. I didn't get to hear most of it unfortunately, as our seat was in back and the acoustics weren't that good, but what I did hear I found fascinating. Fred is a neat guy and I would have loved the opportunity to talk to him one-on-one and even get his autograph. Alas, I had nothing suitable for autographing (feh! I wantee to get a MT book before leaving for Japan, but there wasn't enough time!), and I missed the autograph session because I wanted to sleep in.
After the MT panel, we kicked around for a bit and then attended... the UNDER17 concert!!! They are an anime/Jpop band and I hadn't heard of them until AXT. On a whim I decided to go on WinMX and do a search and I found three songs; I liked them a lot, and os I decideed to go. Besides it was included with the con admission. I have to th ank Keir and Pam for putting up with my whim; the concert was loud and it probably wasn't their cup of tea. So, guys, if you are readintg this, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Anyway the concert ROCKED and I had a good time. It was very high energy, with tons of fans waving around their light sticks, jumping up and down to the beat, and shouting out the lyrics. It was great!!! Most of the songs I did not recognize, but for the two that I did (these being the ones I found on WinMX) I got into the wh ole jumping around and moving the body thang. It was great.
After that, we decided to go drinking in the Shinjuku district. Shinjuku is basically "party central" in Japan, with all sorts of entertainments (yes, even *that* kind of entertainment). The place is also lit up like Las Vegas times a thousand: TONS of neon, billboards, etc. So bright that even in the dark of night, it still looks like it's full daylight.
But the area of Shinjuku we went to was not like this. This "old quarter" is reminiscent of old Japan: narrow, cobblestone streets, lots of small hole in the wall businesses, etc. And when I say "hole in the wall"< I MEAN *hole in the wall*. Most of these places are smaller even than the closet in my apartment. Stretch your arms out at both sides and you will be touching wall. Pam will describe the place more in her entry, but it was, in a word, cool. Small hole in the wall with a couple barstools and a counter, and we had to scrunch up just to fit in it. The owner was a real character, boisterous and ribbing us constantly (but in a friendly manner). And the barmaid was a perfect foil for him, always putting him back in his place. There was much drinking and carousing, and singing too! Yes, they had a karaoke machine, and yes, we did karaoke! I sang "Every Breath You Take" by the Police, which I actually sort of know the lyrics to (although I needed some help in a few sections). There was this one guy there who spoke almost no English, and sang badly to boot, but he put so much *soul* into his songs that you just had to give him mad props. And he was very good-natured about it; nice guy.
We didn:t get back to the hotel until 3 AM. In Japan, trains stop running at midnight, and so we took a cab back to the hotel. Cabs are an interesting experience in Japan; when they pull up to the curb, the rear door automatically opens. You are NOT supposed to touch the door! When it opens, you get in, and it closes automatically too; then you tell the driver where to go (which is rather difficult, as almost NO Japanese cabbies speak English), he drives, you get there, and the back door automatically opens. THen you pay the fare and get out, and you get a receipt. We were out like a light, and didn't get up until 10:30 Saturday morning.
Saturday's entries will come sometime tomorrow (Sunday). Aside from the usual trip report, I'll be posting a trip follies feature similar to Pam's, as I've built up a few follies of my own by now. Anyway it's almost midnight local time, we're getting tired, and I'm way over my Internet usage time, so I will sign off. Good night, and GOd bless.
January 17, 2004
Beep's Follies Jan 17 (Beep)
For January 16, see the bottom part of what I wrote in the original Beep's Follies entry. Don told me not to just append any more but instead to do a new entry each time so I will do that from now on.
You wouldn't want to miss the exciting things I wrote about Japanese toilets, so be sure to check it out!
Speaking of toilets, I got to use one of the ones with the heated seats today. I have arthritis in all my joints and the heat is a good thing. Of course you can't sit on the toilet forever, unless it is in your house. Maybe I will bring a heated toilet seat back. Other people are buying electronic equipment but why should I follow the crowd? Also that would give US customs something really interesting to examine. Liven up their lives a little bit.
(The heated toilet seat was at Iron Chef Kobe's restaurant (the Italian chef) by the way. Boy was that nice. Amazing food, lovely atmosphere. Don took me to lunch! Also he arranged the whole trip with a guy named Mitch whom he met on the Iron Chef web board. Mitch was great to us; he has been to Japan and Iron Chef restaurants many times. We got to meet Kobe, take pictures, get autographs...a wonderful experience).
Someone walked in on me at the toilet at the Internet cafe tonight. Fortunately it was a very apologetic young girl, and I had my back to her and was almost dressed so she didn't see much. This is the kind of thing that if it has to happen, better to have it happen thousands of miles away from home where you will never see the person again.
I may have a few enemies. Got an evil look from an older man on the train today, when I saved a seat for Don that he seemed to want for himself. There was no way for me to explain that Don is legally blind and I have arthritis and we were having trouble standing on the moving train. So he'll just have to hate me, forever. He looked like he remembered WWII or something, anyway. I should have blown my nose at him. Incidentally, if you are lucky enough to get an actual seat on the train, the seats are complete with butt warmers.
I am indebted to Don for bringing generic Claritin. I am allergic to cigarette smoke and a lot of Japanese people smoke. Also I seem to have a cold. It is not a bad cold as colds go, but it is one where you have to blow your nose periodically or you sneeze all over yourself. So naturally, blowing your nose in public in Japan is considered the height of rudeness. I wonder if having snot all over your face is considered polite. Or maybe Americans have more snot problems than Japanese do. Anyway, it's not like I can fit in. I am twice the size of most Japanese, wearing different clothes, talking loudly in a different language. I can't "pass". So I may as well blow my nose to complete the effect.
Tonight I am taking good care of myself, drinking a gel preparation called "vitamin lemon" which is full of vitamin C and other things, and planning to get to bed at a reasonable time. Last night we weren't so health-oriented. We went out drinking with Kier. He took us to the most interesting area, an old section full of tiny drinking establishments. We could not take pictures because it is not permitted. The bar that is Kier's hangout has an owner who is quite a character, and a barmaid who puts him in his place. The bar is a very small room with a few chairs at a counter. Don and especially I had to suck in our guts just to get to a chair to sit down. The bar owner was gesturing toward us and making a hand gesture like he was talking about a pregnant woman. The international symbol for "fat", I suppose. He asked Kier in Japanese if Don and I were a couple, and if so, how we had sex with us both having big stomachs! I made Kier tell me what he said. So I told Kier to say back to him that fat people "do it" better. The bar owner, not skinny himself, seemed to like this. Broke the ice I guess, lol.
So we had the best time there. The bar owner insisted we do karaoke songs. Don did "Every breath you take" and I did "You're So Vain". Keir did several songs; he has a good voice. For some reason the bar owner kept telling me I looked like Cindy Lauper. Also that I was beautiful. So finally when the bar owner said "pretty hair" in Japanese, Kier was going to tell him to stop hitting on me. But it turns out that this comment was directed toward Don! I guess gentlemen really do prefer blondes. I think all of us at home should tell Don he has pretty hair periodically. I'll bet he would love that.
Turns out I like a Japanese drink that Kier introduced me to. It is some kind of barley liquor with green tea as a mixer. I've always said I'll drink anything with green tea in it. I also mentioned I wanted to try sake, so the owner gave me some as we were leaving. I thought it was good but the owner insisted it was a terrible brand. Wonder what a good brand tastes like.
I also loved the potato salad we were served at the bar. It had apples in it. I love apples. No one gives me potato salad at bars at home. Maybe that's why I never go.
Well I just ordered some fried rice. I tried to ask for no egg. Think I got extra egg. Fortunately, Don loves fried rice. He'll have to eat it. I saw some nice cheap things on the menu that I thought were some kind of rice ball. Almost ordered them. I was trying to ask what they were and I heard a murmured "taco" while they were trying to find the English word. I remembered that Kaoru had taught me, when she came to stay with me in the US, that "taco"is octopus. Dodged that bullet.
There is a drink I really like which is a kind of milk soda called by the ridiculous name of "calpis". Sounds almost like cow piss. I've had it before in the US but only when our friend Charles has taken us to the Japanese market he goes to in Silicon Valley. Since I am not going to drive six hours for Calpis, I am drinking as much as I can here. It is actually one of the free drinks at this Internet cafe. Think I'll go have another six glasses to save money. Cheers!
Don's Follies
Well, I've do9ne some really stupid thyings myself, so it's probably time I started posting them.
On our first day of the con, we got lost finding it. The hotel and the convention center are connected by a huge mall, which is nice in that you don't have to walk outside in the bitter cold, but it means that you have to walk through a very large and confusing mall. So naturally we got lost. We eventually found our way into some sort of convention... yup, you guessed it, THE WRONG CONVENTION. Fortunately we quickly discovered this and beat a hasty retreat, but there were some rather bemused stares pointed our way.
So we went back to the mall. As we were gazing around trying to find the right way to go, we spotted... something that looked like an information kiosk! Well, we asked, and in spite of the language barrier, we somehow made our intentions clear. Or maybe it was the convention badges hanging from our chests. Anyway they pointed us in the right direction. But just as we were about to leave, I spotted something I wanted to take a picture of. So without thinking I whipped out the camcorder... and promptly whacked the poor informnation kiosk girl in the head with it. Owww. And I was so flabbergasted by my mistake that my brain instantly locked up, and I couldn't for the life of me remember how to say "I'm so sorry!" in Japanese. So we sort of slunk out of there as discreetly as we could.
Later that day, at the con, I needed to go to the bathroom. Finding the bathroom proved to be a challenge, but fortunately once we found where they were, it was easy to tell boys from girls: not only are they labeled with the international symbols for men and women, but the rooms and doors were colored blue for boys and pink for girls. How thoughtful. So I went into the boys room, and crawled into a stall, only to find that it had one of those weird squatting toilets. I was too tired to deal with this, so I was looking around in confusion when I saw things on the walls that vaguely looked l9ike urinals. And they WERE urinals!! After relieving myself I went to wash my hands. Well, I couldn't for the life of jme figure out how to turn the water on!!! There was no knob or switch, and I tried waving my hand under it to see if it was an automatic faucet, but it didn't work for some reason. After doing this for several minutes some guy took pity on this poor hapless gaijin and went to the adjoining faucet and waved his hand under it. Water came out!! I sighed and walked over to that faucet and, surely enough, it worked. So either my faucet was dead or I wasn't doing it properly. Then drying my hands was another challenge. In Japan, almost no bathrooms have paper, they instead have those electric hand dryers. Except these were like no hand dryer I'd ever seen before. There was no visible button, and no pipe-like spout where the hot air comes out. Instead it looked kind of like a paper towel dispenser with a big horizontal slit cut in the front of it. I scratched my head trying to figure out what to do. I was about to stick my hand in the sloot but was afraid that I might get electrocuted, so I decided not to risk it. Instead I wiped my hand on my jacket, which drew quite a few reproachful stares. Turns out that sticking my hand in it was the right thing to do after all. Oh well. Now I know.
Well, that's about it for now. Until next time...
A Keitei To Call My Own
Just thought I'd drop a quick note to let you all know that I now have a keitei, or cell phone, in Japan. I got this Friday evening actually, and it has already saved our butts on several occasions. Plus it's great for hooking up with friends and stuff. I'll write more about the actual phonhe later.
My phone number, if you are within Japan, is 090 3816 3050. If you(re calling from the US, use 011 81 90 3816 3050. (If you're calling from a diffrent country, then sorry, I can't help you; you're SOL.) If you can spare the bucks for a quick call to Japan, please feel free to give me a call. I promise I won't tie up your phone lines for hours. Note that, from the west coast of the US, Japan is 17 hours ahead of us. So 8PM PST would be 1PM JST the next day. I am just curious to see if this thing can receive calls from overseas. I don(t think that I can make calls to overseas from it, however.
Call me!
Yomigaeru Iron Chef!!!
Yesterday, we had a lovely lunch at Ristorante Massa, Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe's establishment. It was the experience of a lifetime, and the food was absolutely out of this world. We even got to meet The Man Himself, and took a photo with him! The staff was very friendly and bent over backwards to see to our needs and comfort. I'll post more later (I'm running late for an convention event) and hopefully I'll be able to post pictures as well!
We're gone and the place falls apart (Beep)
Well we came to our Internet cafe hangout for lunch in the hopes of being able to catch some people on chat... but the place is deserted. Not sure if we'll be back here later tonight, but of course home folks will be fast asleep by then. I would like to come back cos it is our last day in this area and I want to take advantage of cheap net access while I have it, but we do have to pack tonight as we start a five-day tour tomorrow. But Don may actually want to see some of Japan tonight instead of staring at a computer. He also wants to leave here soon to see some of the anime expo we supposedly came here for. Is he unreasonable, or what? ;)
Kudos to Chad for emailing me and telling me there is a place to get Calpis in LA. I now feel like I don't have to come back to the US with a bunch of heavy bottles of it in my suitcase!
Might also want some of this Royal Milk tea, too. I got some from a vending machine and out popped a hot little can! I'm pretty impressed with vending machines that can do both hot and cold.
I'm going to have a really tough time getting Don on the plane home. He's going native. He seems to have learned some Japanese from watching all that anime at home and he pops out with all kinds of phrases. Today he told the maid who wanted to clean our room to come back in a few minutes. I was like, how the hell did you do that???
I seem to remember reading that there is a foreign language center in the brain that is separate from where the native language resides. This would make sense to me, as now that we are surrounded with a foreign language, we are both finding it hard to keep other languages out of our heads. Don keeps muttering long-forgotten Korean words at me. I have French and Spanish popping into my head constantly. Also, I keep wanting to say "arigato gamsahamnida" (thank you in Japan plus thank you in Korean) instead of "arigato gozaimas" (proper thank you in Japan). I really hope I don't say what's in my head by accident one day. People are confused enough around me.
January 18, 2004
Beep's Follies Jan 18
I am so tired today. I am not sure why. Painful joints too. It is a good thing Don wanted to see some of the anime shown at the expo. All I had to do was sit in the dark. I'm good at that; it's a skill I have. I need to get a job doing it.
Actually I liked some of the anime. It was nice on a big screen. Also, for some reason, there weren't all those high-pitched voices that I don't like (shades of excel saga). I just can't stand anything screeching at me...
I am eating my first non-Japanese food since I got here. Don ordered some french fries here at the internet cafe and I am stealing some. I really crave sushi; we haven't had that yet! I am so looking forward to it. But they don't have it here at our hangout.
We have to get up early tomorrow cos we start our five-day tour. I'm dreading packing when we get back to the hotel. I hate packing anyway, and this will be a challenging packing job. We are going to have to pack overnight bags for Hakone and have our main bags shipped to Kyoto. That's how people seem to travel here. They take trains and subways and things and ship their bags to their hotels. I guess the bags wait there for your arrival. Couldn't do that at home; someone would undoubtedly steal your bags, or lose them. I was told I can ship some stuff now to wait for me for when we come back to Tokyo in five days! Amazing system.
It is already 8 pm and I haven't eaten, showered, packed, etc. And have to walk back to the hotel. But Don is busy using a rented printer and isn't leaving yet, and it is very comfortable here in this soft chair...hope I don't fall asleep, though, as there is an hourly charge for sitting here. I think I did fall asleep for a bit while watching the anime. It is no reflection on the anime; I really was interested in the story. I'm just having one of my tired days. Wish I could postpone them all till I'm at home. I could just sleep for days on end there, and not miss anything really exciting. Of course I have some really thrilling stuff to do about a medical bill in collection and grievance letters to write. Somehow that is not much to look forward to. Maybe I will just stay here.
I miss family and friends, of course. But not the service you get in Santa Barbara. At home I have had to get up and go get water from the kitchen in restaurants, after waiting hours to be noticed by the waiter/waitress who is busy flirting with some attractive member of the opposite sex. And many times there just aren't any waiters or salespeople or anyone you need; I think everything goes for rent and there is no money left over for employees. As for food, forget it. I think it is the incredible prejudice against overweight at home. People assume I don't need food and should not order any. Once I was in Robinson's looking for a nice coat for my mom. I asked the snotty salesperson to unlock one of the leather coats so I could look at it. You should have heard the derision in her voice when she absolutely refused to do so, saying "We don't carry anything in YOUR size".
I don't make friends easily at home either. I do everywhere else I go. I think this problem is one reason I left the Santa Barbara area at age 17. If I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't have come back. I think the place is beautiful but I don't seem to hit it off with most of the people. Whenever I am travelling I am able to make friends instantly, but I have few home friends after being a Santa Barbarian since 1975. Don't know why that is, but may have something to do with the culture being athletic and out-in-the-sun. Even when I was skinny I was a klutz. It's not a good place to be poor, either.
Anyway, Japan is quite different. All you have to do is put an expression on your face like you might need or want something and twenty people rush over to you to see what they can do for you in stores and restaurants. I'm getting so spoiled that I might not be able to eat out when I get back.
As I write this, I am chatting with Laura and Diskiller. Laura is up at 5 am after a party; she is in Minnesota! Only I would go all the way to Tokyo just to use AIM. This computer addiction is pretty serious. I should go cold turkey but don't want to have dangerous withdrawal symptoms while so far from home! And Don said he just sent me an email, and he's sitting right next to me. That is scary. Just like our talking on chat when we are at home about fifteen feet from each other on our respective computers.
Well it was exciting getting a phone call from Chad today. Too bad Don would not let me speak to him! The call came while we were in an anime screening and Don didn't want us making noise and causing an international incident. It seems Don can't make overseas calls but can receive them on his rented cell phone.
A phone call just came now. Wish Don had answered it. I would have liked to have talked to whoever it was, I am sure. But he was in terror of offending the people here at the internet cafe by talking on the phone and disturbing them. Like I said before, he is going native...he will be fully Japanese soon. The way he is eating these french fries, like they are an interesting foreign dish...
I hope he remembers some of his English when we go back. I'll have to get him a phrase book for it.
January 19, 2004
Beep's Follies, Jan. 19: The Naked Truth
(Written in Hakone; posted at an internet cafe in Kyoto) Tonight we are staying in Hakone, a resort near Mt. Fuji. The hotel is called Kowaki-en and is gorgeous. We feel very lucky to be able to see such contrasting views of Japan. Tokyo was exciting with bright lights and stores and street hawkers. Hakone is peaceful with lakes and streams and cedar, pine, and cherry trees, mountains and snow.
On the way here from Tokyo we had a comfortable bus ride (very nice for us as only 8 people plus our professional tour guide ended up taking this tour). After lunch we also had a ferry-type boat ride across a spectacular lake and took a ride up a mountainside on a thing that looked like a Disneyland ride, a car suspended on cables.
Our tour guide had told us on the way that Mt. Fuji is only visible an average of 60 days per year, and it looked like we weren't going to see it. Even when we were at the base of it, at the beautiful place where we had lunch, it was surrounded in mist and invisible. She told us there is a legend that if you see Mt. Fuji on your first trip to Japan, you are very lucky and will be coming back to Japan.
Guess we are coming back! We had gorgeous views of Mt. Fuji the rest of the day! Ha!
They are selling black eggs everywhere; these have been boiled in the hot springs and the minerals turn them black. Our tour guide also told us that the legend is that every one of these eggs you eat grants you an extra seven years of life. Wish I could bring myself to eat even one, but I have hated eggs since I was old enough to spit out food.
Tonight we all went to an Italian restaurant the tour guide took us to, as it was much less expensive than the restaurants in the hotel. I had pizza! The crust is quite different from home. Also I had a nice Japanese citrus drink made from some special fruit.
On the bus ride I had been telling one of our fellow passengers that I lived on the east coast for a time but when I got arthritis I had trouble keeping my balance on icy sidewalks. You would think that would have been enough information, but I had to demonstrate this on the way back from the restaurant. Despite walking more slowly than anyone else and trying to be careful, I slipped and fell on my behind. Broke nothing; very little bruising; injured dignity.
One of the people on the tour said if I had to fall I picked a good time. Because our hotel has hot springs! I have always wanted to try a hot spring. This is something Don had his heart set on to do when we were in Japan, as Japan is famous for them. We did not know we would have this for free here at the hotel.
The way this hotel has you partake of the hot springs is via communal baths. Yes, that is being naked in front of strangers. I keep using what is becoming my trip mantra, "oh well I will never see these people again". Men and women are separate at this one which was some help.
The hotel gives you a special Japanese garment and sterilized (they are even labeled as sterilized!) slippers to wear down to the baths. Naturally I did not fit my garment. I almost did, but the upper part of my anatomy would not stay IN it. (Japanese women seem to be much smaller in that department. I even mistook one for a man at the baths; fortunately I didn't say anything to her). It turns out you can ask for different sizes but I did not know this.
So there I was in the undressing room, in my black pants and sweatshirt with the huge American flag on it, while everyone else is wearing this beautiful Japanese robe. Guess there was no mystery about where I was from.
The custom is that you must wash yourself thoroughly before entering the baths, which I did. I had trouble turning the washing water off but someone helped me. Then I went into the indoor bath. It was hot and felt so good on my aching muscles and the sore spot where I had fallen on the ice. I got brave and tried the outdoor bath too. It is very cold outside but you are only out there for a second. Before the trip, I had whined to Don that doing hot springs would be impossible if they were outside, as it is so cold in January. But I ended up liking the outside ones better. There is something nice about breathing the cool air and sitting in the hot steaming water. And you don't smell the sulphur when you are in the water; I don't know why not.
Some Japanese people gave me dirty looks, mostly older women. Perhaps they think Americans are unclean, or it is that World War II thing again. But some of the younger ones seemed interested in talking with me. I wished I had had my phrase book.
When I got out of the bath I showered and then wanted to wash my hair. There were tons of bottles of things but I didn't know which was shampoo. So I picked a likely-looking bottle and got a Japanese woman's attention and pointed to my hair. She said "hai" for "yes" so I washed with that.
In the locker room area (except they have baskets instead of lockers) I got more help from someone else as to which bottles were what. Two of the bottles were for face lotion, one to be used before the other. Then the third bottle was hair conditioner. The woman I was talking to told me that foreigners can't read the bottles, so she thinks the hotel saves money as only the Japanese use the products. We both laughed.
I noticed a slight lupus rash on my face but thought it was just from the heat of the hot springs. Turns out they sterilize the things with UV light. I am so sensitive to UV that I have gotten sick from the lights in Long's Drugs. So for me to go hang out under UV is probably a beep's folly! I think I got out in time, though. The hot springs are really HOT; you don't sit there for hours. Unless you want to become a wrinkled prune. (update: I am feeling ok today Jan 20)
Special to Mr. Doobie: through lunch today, all the people we ate meals with in Japan had their sun trine my sun! All pleasant conversations.
Special to mom: it was wonderful to hear from you today. Please call again. I cut it short because I was worried about using all of Don's cell phone minutes, but it turns out we do not get charged for receiving calls. So call again and we will tell you more about Japan! In fact, everyone call us! I am the one who told Don not to spend money on this cell phone so naturally I am the one who loves using it :) I love getting phone calls! Just dial 011 81 90 3816 3050.
Beep's Email (Beep)
I am trying to check my email every time I get to the net. Use beep@west.net or xbeepx@yahoo.com.
Beep chat (Beep)
I am not always able to get on borgchat irc chat. Since my computer is not here I am dependent on the java interface which is not always working.
So when I am online I am going to AIM and using the name "borgbeep".
It's Onsen Time!!
This will be a time-delayed blog entry. The hotel we're at (the Hakone Hotel Kowaki-en) does not have any form of Internet access; this is more of a resort/vacation hotel than a business hotel, so there isn't the ubiquitous business service center or anything. Plus there's no Manboo around either. Drat!
First, a recap on our last two days in Tokyo. On Saturday, as I mentioned earlier, we ate at Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe's restaurant, Ristorante Massa. What an exquisite experience! Ristorante Massa is a gorgeous restaurant, with wood-paneled floors, elegant tables and chairs, and a beautiful view of the Ebisu area. It was also very small and intimate - I'd estimate the seating capacity at 30 people (assuming all tables are stuffed to the gills). At 12:30 when we went, there were only about 15 people there; by the time we finished at 2:00, we were the last ones in. The service was, of course, top rate. The wait staff and maitre d' were all very friendly and accomodating, and helped us with the menu (it was written in both Japanese and Italian, so Pam, being part Italian, could understand some of it, but we still needed some help). They also took pictures with us. We even got to meet Kobe himself! He came out of the kitchen after he was done cooking, and talked brieflu with us, signed autographs, and took a picture with us. He's very shy, especially since he has celebrity status with us IC fans - in Japan, to average Japanese, he's just an average restauranteur.
We ate lunch with a friend I met on the Iron Fans message board. I had posted asking about information on Iron Chef venues, and he sent me a private message. When he found out that I would be traveling to Japan, we discovered that our trips coincided and he suggested meeting for lunch. We exchanged cell phone numbers and agreed to meet at 12:15 at Ebisu Station. Well, it turns out that we got lost finding the meeting place, so my prepaid cell phone came to the rescue! We were able to call him up and describe our whereabouts to him, and he came in and found us.
The food was out of this world. The first course (appetizers) consisted of several cold meat items, two pasta courses (one of them being a sweet potato gnocchi in a sort of cream sauce), a main course (for me, it was wild venison with vegetables), and a dessert consisting of gelato and a cake of some sort. It was all exquisitely delicious. I felt like one of the Iron Chef judges, and had to restrain myself from breaking out in my Rosanjin scholar imitation.
After lunch we headed back to the hotel and took a bit of a nap. We woke up at 7:00 PM - and I had wanted to attend several events during the afternoon! Oh well. I also wanted to go to the Masquerade which started at 7, but we didn't get there until about 7:20. We caught (literally) the tail end of the masquerade - 2 short acts. Then MIQ came on stage and gave another wonderful performance. She has such an incredible voice. I understand she sings the themes for Aura Battler Dunbine, and I am seriously considering getting that series, not only because i have heard good things about it, but because she does the song.
Yes, apparently the masquerade started promptly at 7, and there was NO seating rush. This is so unlike American cons, where you have to wait in line hours for a ticket, then wait again for hours for a seat... only to find that they ran out of seats, so now you have to wait yet again for a space in the overflow room. And if those run out... well, it ain't a pretty picture. This is why I actually liked AX Tokyo, even though many people said it sucked because it was so small. Hey, I betcha the first ever AX-USA sucked too because it was small. These things take time to build momentum, people!
After the Masquerade we just wandered around Ikebukuro and of course stopped in at Manboo and got our Internet fix, then went back to the hotel and slept.
Sunday morning we got up at 11, and rushed over to Manboo to eat brunch and check to see if anyone was on chat, since 11 AM Japan time is about 6 PM Pacific time. Unfortunately no one was there :P Where were you guys??!?!? We paid our bill and headed back to the con, in time to catch some screenings in the video room. We saw Gadguard, which seems to be some sort of space/giant robot anime (we're not entirely sure because we missed part of the first episode, and it was in Japanese with no subtitles). But I liked it, and I think I'll try and pick up a fansub or something once I get back to the States. Next we saw the tail end of GITS-SAC, which was great because it was an English dub. And not a bad one either. After that we saw .Hack/Liminality, which I hadn't seen before. Now I'm really starting to get into the .hack story, which of course means that I'll need to buy all the games, finish up .Hack/Sign and get whatever else is out there in the .hack universe. Oh well, I didn't really need all that money anyway. The .Hack/Liminality showing was an English dub (again, not a bad one either) so I am looking forward to getting my hands on this. I understand that a Liminality DVD comes with one of the .hack PS2 games??? I gotta find out about that...
Thus ended AX-Tokyo for us. Pam really liked it, especially the video rooms. I liked it because it was small, and therefore not too overwhelming. Our last night in Ikebukuro was spent wandering around looking in stores. We went into a HUGE (8 stories!) anime store called ANIMATE. Unfortunately we didn't stay long because we needed to get up early the next morning, when the Post-Convention Tour departs. After our usual Manboo dinner/net fix, we promptly came back to the hotel, packed our bags, and crashed.
Monday morning we departed Tokyo at 9:00. Part of me was sad because we were leaving Ikebukuro, a really cool place that I wanted to explore some more. But part of me was glad to move on the tour and see more and different parts of Japan; besides, we'd be coming back to Tokyo on Saturday. Our bus got stuck in bad traffic, mostly because it was snowing!!! People had to stop and put chains on, etc. The snow was absoulutely beautiful. Being a California boy, I have never seen it before, and it was amazing!! Driving through beautiful white-covered countryside was very surreal and beautiful.
At 12:30 we arrived at the Highland Resort Hotel, for lunch. And what a feast it was! It was a multi-course meal. The first course included several cold appetizers, including something that looked and tasted like Italian ham (prosciutto), some sort of chicken, some sort of fish, and something else. Next came the soup course, consisting of the most wonderfully creamy and sweet pumpkin soup I've ever had. Then came the main course... a beautifully prepared, and thoroughly yummy steak. I don't think it was Kobe beef, but whatever it was, it was wonderful!! Finally we ended with a sorbet of some sort atop a chocolate cake like thing. All the food was absolutely delicious. I felt like an Iron Chef taster even though we weren't in an Iron Chef venue. And the restaurant itself was in a round builiding with windows all around, offering a lovely view of the snow-covered countryside. What an experience!
After lunch we hopped back on the bus and drove to Lake Ashi, whereupon we hopped on a ferry boat and took a cruise on the lake. The boat was a dual-hull (catamaran) design, and was super stable... even more so than the Catalina ferry, which I thought was pretty darn stable at the time. The lake was beautiful, and we got to see many little towns and temple-like buildings along the shoreline.
After the cruise, we disembarked at a ropeway (aerial cable car) station and proceeded up Mount Whatsitsname (Yes, I forget the name of the mountain we cabled up. They gave us a souvenir ticket, so when I find it buried in my luggae somewhere I'll update this blog entry with the mountain's correct name!). The aerial cableway offered a breathtaking view of the snow-covered countryside... as well as of Mount Fuji! There is a saying in Japan that, if you see Mt. Fuji on your first visit to Japan, you are an extremely lucky person and will be visiting Japan again soon. Well, we saw Mt. Fuji three times during this day: twice while driving on the bus, and also on the ropeway. Woot! That means (in Ah-nold voice) "Well be baaaack!!" At the snow-covered summit, we got out of the ropeway car and had a few minutes to frolic in the snow. I threw my first snowball at Pam!! (and even got it on videotape!) There wasn't enough time for her to launch a retaliatory strike at me... hahahahaha!!!!!!!
After we cabled back down the mountain, we hopped back on the bus and drove to our final destination of the day, Hakone. Hakone is a lovely little resort town world renowned for its many natural hot springs. And you can smell it in the air -- sulphur and other minerals. The smell wasn't super strong tho, in fact it was rather pleasant.
We stayed in the Hakone Kawaki-en Resort Hotel. As the name implies, this is more of a resort hotel than a business traveler hotel, so there was no Internet access or business center to speak of. The rooms, however, were beautiful: much larger than those of the Sunshine Prince hotel where we stayed previously. The beds were a bit larger and softer as well. And it had a toilet of doom too!! One with the butt-warmer and the thing that sprays your butt with nice warm water!!
We proceeded out to find a place for dinner; the tour guide knew of a good Italian place in the mall just across the street. Unfortunately it was not as easy to GET across the street... the snow had turned into ice and was super slippery. I totally ate it once that night (fortunately I didn't injure myself severely, but I did get it on tape!) and Pam lost it once on the way back from dinner (again no major injuries, thank the gods).
The mall was pretty cool. It wasn't really a "mall" by Western standards; rather, it was all one BIG store, but it had many sections full of different stuffs... foods, drinks, souvenir type things, arts/crafts, etc. There were all sorts of cool things there. I found a great tea that is made with red peppers!! So it gives you a nice warm kick as it goes down. They were giving out free samples, and after tasting it, I bought a box. I should have bought two or three, it was so good. I'm hoping that either Mom or Michelle or someone can find it when they go down to LA's oriental towns. I'll keep the box so that they know what to look for.
The Italian meal itself was pretty yummy, and reasonably priced. I had a New York steak flavored/marinated with garlic and a cup of the most creamy delicious corn soup I've ever had. All for about 20 bucks (including the consumption tax), which is about what I'd spend at home (Santa Barbara, CA) for a similar meal. But the quality was much better. I don't think it was Kobe beef either that I had that night, but it was yummy nonetheless.
The real treat of the day, however, came upon our return to the hotel. As I said before, the town we were staying in, Hakone, is known for its natural hot springs. And it just so happened that our hotel had one right in it!! And it was free to guests!! So naturally we couldn't pass this opportunity up.
The hot spring was presented in "onsen" fashion. Onsen is a traditional Japanese type bath house. In Japan, bath houses don't have the same gay/AIDS/etc. connotations as they do in the States, especially in San Francisco. It's same sex bathing: all males in one room, all females in another. Here's how it goes: You walk into the bathhouse wearing a Japanese robe (Yukata) and slippers (I forget the Japanese name of these). These are provided by the hotel. You remove your slippers at the threshold where the floor ends and the straw matting (tatami) begins. You walk barefoot from there on. You then go into a dressing room/locker room, tho instead of lockers, you have little cubbies in the wall, with a wicker basket in each one. You remove your clothes (ALL of your clothes - yes, you go in buck naked) and put them in your numbered basket. You then proceed into a shower/rinsing room. You DO NOT use soap and water in the bath itself; instead, you use soap and wash and (THOROUGHLY) rinse your body in an adjoining room before you go into the bath proper. This room had a traditional Japanese washing apparatus (a pool of water with a long handled cup; you dip the cup in the water, and pour water over yourself). This particular room also had shower heads on handles that you could use to rinse your body. I lathered up with body shampoo, did my hair with hair shampoo and conditioner, then turbo-washed myself with the shower head. I say "turbo-washed" becuase it felt just like that: I made the jet SUPER STRONG because I wanted to get every trace of soap off. Then you step into the actual bath, only in this case, it was a bath using the hot spring water. And when I say hot, I mean HOT!! You had to go in slowly (they had steps leading into it just like a swimming pool), and slowly adjust to the heat. Once you were fully immersed tho, it felt GOOOOOOOD. I felt my trip-weary body melt into almost nothingness, and with it melted away all of my cares and troubles... they just floated away on the steam-filled breeze. This bath had both an indoor bath and an outdoor bath; the outdoor bath, though it sounds bad (you have to be out in the cold! aiee!), actually wasn't bad. There was a brief initial shock of cold, but once you re-immersed yourself in the water, it felt soooo good. I must have soaked for a good hour, and the only reason I left is because I started feeling my heart beat funny. Upon returning to the room, I dropped into a lovely restful sleep.
I remember thinking about all the anime that I had watched with bath scenes in it -- Niea_under 7, Chobits, that episode of Evangelion with the final Angel, Mahoromatic, etc. No, there weren't cherry blossoms floating delicately in the air like in Love Hina, but it was still a very beautiful and magical and wonderful xperience. I remember being quite self-conscious at first... I mean, here I am, buck naked with a bunch of other naked guys (well, not a bunch, there were only maybe 4 other guys). Sometimes I can be a real prude. But once I got into it, it was not so bad. I mean, they weren't all pointing at me and laughing at my, er, inadequacies or anything like that. Everyone was basically minding their own business and enjoying their bath, so I did the same.
This morning we got up and had a lovely buffet breakfast, for free! (It was included in the tour) There was a mixture of Western style (bacon-like substance, sausage, eggs, toast, etc.) and Japanese (fish, miso soup, etc.) foods. I had a lovely cross-continental breakfast. We then proceeded to Odawara Station by bus. At the station we caught the Shinkansen, or bullet train, to Kyoto. There are three types of bullet trains: the Nozomi, the Hikari, and one other train whose name I forget. The Nozomi train is the fastest, but unfortunately did not stop at Odawara. We took the Hikari. But at 180 mph, the Hikari's no slouch. We were amazed as the countryside, buildings, other trains, etc. whizzed by us at dizzying speeds, while we sat in absolute comfort and stability. And the trains run *on time*, no questions asked. It was freakin' awesome. Upon arrival in Kyoto, we checked into the New Miyako Hotel, right across the street from the station!! Ultra convenient, and we had all the food venues in the station to choose from for quick and cheap meals. Our room at the Miyako is nice, perhaps even nicer and bigger than the room at Hakone. And it has a Toilet of Doom too!! We stay in Kyoto for two nights, leaving for Kurashiki on Thursday morning.
Well, that's about it for now. This Internet cafe is a bit pricier than Manboo, our favorite Ikebukuro hangout, so the bill is adding up. Time to run!
Beep's Follies - Jan 20 (Beep)
I am typing this from an Internet cafe in Kyoto. The first thing we did when we got to the hotel was ask about Internet access! This one is not as cheap as our favorite one in Tokyo, but it is not bad.
We had a great trip here on the famous "bullet" train. We were not on the fastest train, as the fastest train does not stop at the station where we got on. This train "only" travelled at 170 mph. And it was so smooth; puts trains at home to shame. This train is electric but they are working on building an even faster magnetic one.
We are missing a trip to a beautiful temple right now. This was not scheduled in the tour but our tour guide offered it. Don and I are having a bit of trouble keeping up with the tour group when we walk places. He needs to go slowly to look for steps and my body just doesn't handle fast walking no matter how much I will it to. This is something I often have trouble with at home. People just don't want to walk slowly with me, so if I don't know where we are going, I risk getting separated from the group and also lost. It's a problem.
We decided to let them go to the temple and we may join them for dinner. Besides, we needed our Internet fix! I wanted a phone number for a friend of mine who lives near here and that was stored in my email. And I STILL haven't had sushi and I am hoping to get some across the street at the train station now. The food at train stations is very good here.
There is a prepaid tour of Kyoto we are to go on in the morning. I hope we will be able to keep up...cos I want to go on that one. Guess we will find out! I am going to look up the Japanese word for "wait!"
