Nothing Special, Just Everything

I feel like I owe you guys an entry, so here we go.
I'm a bit under the weather right now, but by no means has that halted my endeavours(much to the dismay of my immune system) and I have a lot to recap, so let's see what we can do.

A quick note: don't forget to check the comments on the previous entries now and again, because it's not like LJ in that you can't reply directly to someone's comment and have it notify them(a feature I desperately miss).

Now, it might be the most painless way for my brain to handle this, so we're going to work backwards. Please put on your wizard caps along with me and let's do this Merlin-style.

Yesterday, there was no typhoon.

On the day before yesterday(ototoi in Japanese), it was reported that a typhoon would hit on Saturday and man, was I bracing. I was pumped up. My first Japanese typhoon! I heard tales of winds that drove the pounding rain sideways, underground malls flooding, people's umbrellas snapping in two... and I had plans! I was going to downtown Nagoya to meet a friend(Mao, for those who know) and I couldn't wait. I bundled up, scarf, gloves, heavy coat, layers, etc., and...

Well, I guess you already know. This backwards thing isn't so good after all.

Yeah, it just didn't hit. It was practically sunny all day. I don't know what happened.
Regardless, we had a good time in Nagoya despite my burgeoning illness and am invited to Kyoto next week... ON A SCHOOL DAY. Dare I accept?  (yes)

So that's an anecdote for you. Now to the meat...
Hm. I haven't really talked about all the castles I've been to. I've seen four in total so far, and by a longshot Osaka-jo takes the cake. Expansive and gorgeous, it just easily takes your breath away as you walk around the grounds. The other castles I've been to were Nagoya, Okazaki, and Inuyama.

If you're a clever one, you'll have realized by now that I've been to Osaka. Yes, last weekend was our first trip out of the prefecture(bye bye Aichi) and we hit up the fabled home of okonomiyaki for 3 days and 2 nights. It was a blast and I was able to meet up with one of my friends, Risa, who lived nearby where we were staying.

Daiki, me, Risa

We went to Dotonbori (bori meaning "canal" in Japanese, this street ran alongside a long river), which is a single avenue that has a host of different foods to choose from. Being near a shopping/clubbing district, there was also a huge amount of nightlife. The streets were crowded and night, and when we returned the following day, it was even busier! Needless to say, I ate my share of okonomiyaki and takoyaki, as well as sampling the udon and other treats that they had to offer. We stayed in a hostel, which worked out great and was quite cheap.

We also went to the aquarium(which is big and famous) and it was very cool. We saw a lot of things I've never seen before(whale sharks, giant crabs, the immortal jellyfish, capybaras) and I did that thing where you get to touch stingrays and little sharks. It was good fun. Also, I rode the once-biggest ferris wheel in the world.


Aquarium-related images:

 

 

Anyways, this is getting long so I'll begin to summarize.
We went to Monkey Park, which is like a zoo with only monkeys. We saw lots of monkeys. We fed monkeys, threw things at monkeys, and walked around in a cage with lemurs. It was fun.

Monkey-related images:

 

 

I starting learning kendo, and attended my first club meeting, which was intense. A lot of screaming.
Badminton is possibly my favourite class during the week. Last week I cut two of my toes open on a metal dolly during the class but, after thieving a couple band-aids from the infirmary I was back and I even got a chance to go 1-on-1 with the sensei. (I got wrecked)
Um, I watched an episode of Kai as it aired... That's pretty cool I guess.
We had a host of halloween parties for the students that us, the Canadians, had to organize. We carved so many pumpkins. I went as Momotaro(pics to come). Google him if you don't know the story.
The school festival was fun: fireworks, food, Japanese rappers, sweaty, oiled-up, shirtless men in horse masks, all that good stuff. You'll see a lot of it when I get my videos up.

Bunkasai-related images:

 

 

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head but I know I left out so much. Hung out with people from school a lot, biked/walked a lot, played some ping-pong, ate things, drank, got a cellphone, etc. etc.

As always, if you have specific questions or whatever, comment below.

I'll leave you with the usual stuff.

Ikimono (living things) I've seen lately:
- Monkeys(not wild)
- Giant butterflies(wild)
- Whale sharks(not wild)
- a teeny lizard(wild)
- Japanese giant salamader(not wild)
- bats(wild)
- blowfish(not wild)
- dogs(domesticated)

Tabemono (food) I've eaten lately: curry ramen, curry udon, curry nikuman(kareiman), modanyaki, negiyaki, takoyaki, ankoman, nato(never again), miso udon, persimmons, grilled unagi, baby fish in my rice, engawazushi, kanikama, maccha soft cream, anko toast, maccha pocky, kibidango, chawanmushi

Topical tango (words):
げんしょうがく　＝　genshougaku ; Phenomenology
あめんぼ　＝　amenbo ; water strider
かぼちゃ　＝　kabocha ; pumpkin
ソース顔　＝　sousugao ; lit. "sauce face", someone with a "light"(as opposed to striking) face
お面　＝　omen ; mask(men is what's called when you strike your opponent in the head in kendo)
竹刀、木刀　＝　shinai, bokutou ; bamboo sword and wooden sword, both used in kendo
とうじょう　＝　toujou ; entrance of a hero on stage

Random shashin (photo) dump:

 

 

Bokutou Basics

It turns out, after all these years of being fantasy-obsessed, that I don't actually know how to swing a sword!

More on this later.

Past and Future(and Monkeys)

Being charged with the task of comparing Japan's ancient habits with their futuristic technology lead me into compiling an essay on the subject instead. I hope this suffices.

Past and future as one: a concrete handicap access elevator attached to an ancient castle

Much of Japanese culture and customs are based off of convenience - things that are convenient for the very structured lives that they lead, not convenient for laziness. This is what creates the gap between what is considered "past" and "future". This use of convenience is exemplified in Japan's two major religions: Shintoism and Buddhism. Most Japanese people are not religious in the way Western culture suggests we should be, ie. to pick one religion and follow it zealously. Instead, they embrace the most "convenient" sections of each religion, typically taking from Shintoism during happy occasions(birth, marriage) and from Buddhism during sad occasions(death). This is because the nature of each religion best suits the respective occasions and the Japanese people believe that they are better off this way. I tend to agree.

A Shinto wedding at Atsuta shrine

For a very technologically advanced country, much of Japan - on the surface - does not look the part. Just taking a step outside will not shock you with crazy-high buildings or super-fast cars(although Tokyo may be an exception here). Instead, Japanese people focus their technology on things that need to be advanced - the train system, for example. The trains are efficient, fast, comfortable, and stretch across the entire country. Why was so much work put into make efficient trains? Because they're used.

Garbage collection, doing laundry, making food, and getting around on bikes, on the other hand, all seem like they belong in the past. However, they haven't been upgraded because they don't need to be. They all work fine. Using recycled water to bathe in or even wash your clothes in might be off-putting to foreigners when they see the toilet with the remote control and built-in sink right beside them, but it's there because it doesn't need to be changed. People don't need to fly around on hover bikes because normal bikes get the job done with very, very simple technology. I could definitely do with the cheap vending machines on the corner of every block in Vancouver, though.

Another reason why so much "past" is preserved is because Japanese people adore their own ancient culture. For young people, as with most ethnicities this generation I would imagine, rich, old culture is becoming less and less prevalent in everyday life. However, while I would say many young people in the Americas don't care, young Japanese people love most things that deal with their ancient culture and look at it almost with a sense of nostalgia or a longing to cling to it. Ancient ceremonies or things attached to them, like yukata/kimono, tea, prayer, animals, etc., while they have no current meaning, are still worn, drank, practiced or displayed. That is why you can find a stone shrine next to an electronics shop, a crumbling temple metres away from a massive train station, or a 5-floor elevator installed inside a castle.

Me trying to look intimidating after donning a yukata

I suppose that's all for now. I've fallen way behind on posting the pictures I've taken, so I'll probably work on some other way of showing them to you guys. Plus I have like gigs of video that you must see, but no video editing program! I must remedy that. Sit tight.

A proper update will come next week I believe, as things will be happening. For my own reference, places I've recently been to have been Inuyama Castle and Monkey Park, Nagoya Castle, Okazaki Castle, a proper izakaya(ごきぶりホイホイ）, and my school festival(bunkasai).

I will leave you with some random images, and as promised, monkeys.

Further Proof

GracefulDave said, "But if you're not in those photos then it's just as good as Google Images. You could be in serious danger and the killer is masking it with clever blog entries."

Fair enough. Here's a picture of me bowing to a shrine we randomly found in the middle of a marketplace.

Also, I'm not doing the Engrish thing just because it's overdone. I've seen my fair share, but I didn't bother whipping my camera out every time. Engrish.com is always there!
So!

I've finished my first week of school and so far I've already been taken drinking, bowling, to yakiniku, karaoke, and kaiten sushi by my classmates. You may wonder how I get any work done - I don't! Thankfully the courseload is light at this point etc etc.

I "joined" a badminton class during one of my spare blocks, and officially joined the kendo club(which starts next week for me). 

It's been quite hot most days, and when it's not hot, it's pouring with rain(like today).

Places I've been to recently: Nagoya castle, Okazaki castle, an amazing okonomiyaki shop, various shrines throughout Nagoya, Atsuta jingu, Oasis21 in Nagoya(and rode the ferris wheel attached to the shopping mall), and a cat shrine that had a little cat village nearby(I'm not even kidding, there were like 15 little cat houses hidden in the grass and a bunch of "wild" cats lived in them).

Things I've eaten recently: shrimp and pork okonomiyaki, miso ramen, ika sushi, hamburger rolls, anko okashi, anjo nishi, a fish on a platter(skin, bones, and all), grilled cow neck and pig intestines, eggplant, pizzaman(ピッザマン), takoyaki, hotpot with raw eggs, and ika soba.


NOTE: If you guys want me to talk about anything specific, get pictures of something, or do something, feel free to ask in the comments. Obviously I can't promise that all wishes will be fulfilled but with more drive, I'll likely make more blog posts.

Random photo dump:

Topical words:
いか　= ika ; squid
やきにく　= yakiniku ; various barbequed meats
うつせみ　= utsusemi ; cicada husk
グリラ剛　= guriragou ; guerilla strength, refers to heavy rain showers that strike hard in one place and then quickly vanish
バイキング　= baikingu ; viking, refers to the buffet-style of eating
かみなり　= kaminari ; thunder and lightning

I'm in Japan, honest

It wasn't until last night, when my bowl of rice had coiling, purple octopus tentacles in it, that I fully realized that I was in Japan FOR REAL.

Here`s proof, if you don`t believe me

It's only been a few days, and already I've made a dozen friends just by claiming I like Pokemon, seen a wasp the size of a small mouse(deceased, thankfully), got stopped on the street by a restaurant owner who thought we didn't pay but really we had left the money on the table, eaten a pear the size of a cantaloupe, and held a conversation with someone who didn't speak a word of English.

John and Brit, my partners in crime

It's overwhelming, but I don't really mean that. It's just... good. Everything is good. I'm laughing a lot, eating everything I see, and having a good time. I couldn't ask for more.

I may join the kendo club which consists of 4 girls and 1 guy. More to come.

I may also join the tea ceremony club(due to peer pressure) which only consists of girls. I might have to wear a yukata.

Did I mention that my school is 85% female?

Random photo dump:

 


Topical words:
たべさき = tabesaki ; chicken wings
しっけ = shikke ; humidity
ぶんかさい = bunkasai ; cultural festival