JAPAN TIME: January 2011

Well, I'm back home!

...In Chiryu, Aichi. It certainly is beginning to feel like home.

Fair warning: this entry is going to be very long as I will be documenting a whole lot of stuff. So let the page load, go out for coffee or something, and them come back and read it!

First of all, some things I have to get out of the way: Happy New Years once again to those whom I didn't directly confer with on the day - which is most of you. We had a blast and I hope you did too.
Special thanks to the Nortons, one for showing up and being a part of it, and another for providing me with the most thoughtful gift of all time. Thanks Dave - you know exactly what I like!

Let's get into it.

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THE MAP

Click to enlarge

- 23rd: Nagoya -> Kyoto
- 24th: Kyoto -> Nara -> Kyoto -> Hiroshima
- 25th: Hiroshima -> Miyajima -> Hiroshima -> Nagoya (end of school-paid trip)
- 26th: Chiryu -> Tokyo
...
- 2nd: Tokyo -> Chiryu
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Kyoto

Fushimi Inari shrine Heian-jingu Temple

I've been to Kyoto a few times before, but being the cultural capital of Japan, I hadn't even come close to seeing everything it had to offer. Luckily for us, one of our teachers lives in Kyoto (and commutes twice a week to school) and was able to drive us around for the day. (It turns out that he's retiring next year too - talk about good timing!) Kyoto is my favourite city in Japan.

Places we went:

Heian-jingu

A gorgeous temple with a massive torii gate over the road leading to it. The temple grounds themselves have multiple buildings each with the same unique green-and-orange colour scheme; this seems fitting as there is a large yuzu tree near the center of the grounds. Behind the temple buildings is an expansive and well-taken-care-of garden with many different types of scenery, including a wide lake that you have to cross via hopping from well-placed rock to well-placed rock.

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion)

After passing the big parking lot and seemingly-endless row of vending machines (including one that sold disposable cameras), we enter the preserved garden that houses the temple covered in gold leaf and placed in the center of a lake. It may sound cheesy at first, but the pagoda-like structure looks absolutely stunning with the surrounding forests and its vibrant and warm reflection on the water. The grounds also have a twisting garden to explore.

Sanjūsangen-dō (1000 Buddhas)

"No pictures" was a policy strongly emphasized inside this place, so you'll just have to picture it: a long wooden building houses a reported 1000 Buddhist statues of the goddess Kannon, each uniquely carved of wood and standing at least 3 or 4 feet high. Alongside the Buddhas are the 28 guardian deities, as well as Fūjin and Raijin, and a massive version of Kannon in the center with over 40 arms each holding a different thing.

Fushimi Inari

The shrine is just the base of this labyrinthine pathway - using torii gates as a guide, it twists and winds up the side of a mountain, stopping periodically at graveyards, worship points, or vending machines. We went at night, allowed ourselves to get lost, and told ghost stories. It is one of othe coolest places I've been to in Japan as of yet.

Other things we did:

Had a buffet lunch at a posh hotel on the school's bill. It was niiiice.
Went to an art museum where we got in for free because our teacher knew someone who worked there.
Rode the Shinkansen for the first time.
Had some delicious ramen at Kyoto station.

Nara

We went back to Nara primarily because we love deer so much. We spent most of the day running around the park playing with deer and visiting familiar locations. Later on in the afternoon, we spread our reach to parts of the city and went to places that looked like tourists wouldn't go. It was a lot of fun and a good day trip.

Hiroshima

We didn't spend too much time in Hiroshima, but enough to have drinks with a Japanese friend from Vancouver, to see the Peace Museum, bomb dome, etc., to tram around the city and visit Miyajima, and to have it snow on Christmas morning. The dome was a moving sight, on that crisp morning, as the snow lightly fell while the sunlight pierced the exposed rafters. Birds lighted on the so-called phoenix trees nearby (trees struck by the bomb but re-blossomed soon after), and a far-off musician struck lonely chords on a guitar from across a wide river.

Miyajima

Miyajima is famous for one thing: the torii gate in the water. However, when we arrived, I was informed that we had a different agenda: to scale the mountain, a supposed day-long leisurely hike that took you from one side of the island to the other to see all the temples and natural sights. The thing was we only had a couple hours on the island before our ferry back to Hiroshima, so I wasn't exactly sure how we were planning to manage this. As bumbling foreigner luck would have it, we stumbled across a pathway that cut directly up the mountain Grouse Grind-style, and hiked a straight 2.something kilometers to the top. It was rigourous, tiring, and a whole lot of fun. The icy peak with the whirling snow coud do nothing to us Canadians, as we had already stripped down to t-shirts and were sweating and panting. Then we ran to get the ropeway back down and missed our ferry by 2 minutes. Thankfully, another one left 5 minutes later and no connections were missed!

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TOKYO

Click to enlarge

The above map is a legend that I'll refer to to help you guys visualize whereabouts we were. It's NOT a pathway that we took. I will use square brackets and the corresponding letter, like so: Asakusa Station [A].
Since I recorded the days manually in a written journal, I'll write on a day-by-day basis.

DAY 1 (Dec. 26th) - ARRIVAL

We arrived after a long train ride (6+ hours) in Asakusa, Tokyo [A]. The hostel was a bit out of the way, but I don't mind a 10 minute walk (if that) to the nearest station and the Tokyo subway lines can get you anywhere from there.

We met Alecks in the lobby as he had been patiently waiting, and after shelling out our monies for the stay, we dropped our luggage and got outta there. As it was already evening, we went to Ueno [B], which was only a short train ride away, and checked out a bit of the night life. We spent the first night eating at a 299円 izakaya (where John had a waiter spill alcohol on him - a rare sight), and afterwards Alecks and I had our (read: my) first taste of Tokyo game centers at a nearby Taito (Taito made Space Invaders - you may have heard ot it). They had a game near the front where your controller was a large plastic table and your controls were either bang on the table, or flip it in an angry rage. It was glorious, and with just the right amount of slow-motion.

DAY 2 (Dec 27th) - DISNEYLAND

[Note: Tokyo Disney isn't on the map. It's southeast of Tokyo Station [K], about one map down and one map across]
We had decided to go to Disneyland. This is mainly because my two colleagues had not ever been to one, and also I figured I should add another one to my checklist. It wasn't all that expensive, if you can avoid eating too much and buying merch.

The day went well, despite being very cold (December? What?). We planned our fastpass rides out perfectly and got to do virtually everything we wanted, including Thunder Mountain which was closed for the first part of the day and had 100+ minute lines for the rest. We caught it near the end when the line was below an hour.

All in all, Disneyland is Disneyland, no matter where you are. There were notable differences, such as the iconization of many of the more classic rides (Tiki Room + Lilo and Stitch, Haunted Mansion + Nightmare Before Christmas) but to be honest they could have done this to all the Disneylands - I'm not exactly a buff. Also, rides like Star Tours were all-but-deserted, as the Western favourite doesn't suit the palate of the Japanese. Ah, and how could I forget? The replaying of CAPTAIN EO, a 3D dance-battle masterpiece starring Michael Jackson made in the late 80s, was a huge hit.

DAY 3 (Dec 28th) - EVERYWHERE

Today we decided to get most of our orientation out of the way. After buying a day pass to the Metro, we explored Asakusa [A]'s open-air marketplace and Asakusa Kannon Temple, which would prove to be a popular spot on New Years. Following that, we moved to Akihabara [C] which was close by.

Akihabara is known for its otaku culture, but I won't go too deep into that here. Basically, there are a lot of electronics, video games, anime girls, and cosplayers. We only took a brief look today, but I knew that at least Alecks and I would be heading back. There were also a lot of kebab stands. No idea why.

Next, we hit up Ikebukuro [D], as per request by Alecks. It had a decently busy shopping mall street and Sunshine City, another large mall - but I never made it there. I went into a nearby arcade and found Street Fighter 3: Third Strike machines (my favourite game) and Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition machines (only available in Japan), and so that stole a few quarters and minutes from me (actually 100円 coins - but yes, minutes).

Next was Harajuku [E], known for its major shopping street and crazy fashion people tend to employ there. We ate crepes and left. Following that was Shibuya [F], near Harajuku. It's famous for its tall buildings and huge diagonal intersection that is often featured in pictures of Tokyo. We ate at an izakaya again and ordered a ton of different kinds of food from squid to pizza to fried chicken hearts. It was all good!

It was getting dark when we went to Roppongi [G], and we hung about near Roppongi Hills taking pictures of Tokyo Tower and discussing the implications of the giant spider statue coming to life. Finally we met up with Nao, John's friend, and had ice cream (I had the sweet potato ice cream just because it sounded weird... it just tasted like ice cream). Then, we walked to Tokyo Tower, oo'd and aa'd, and left.

Our final stop was Shinjuku [H], where we saw the red light district and all the manga cafes and lots of illumination, and then went home.

DAY 4 (Dec 29th) - ELSEWHERE

We used this day to travel outside of Tokyo. We went to Kamakura in the morning, and Yokohama in the afternoon. Did you know that Yokohama is a sister city of Vancouver?

Kamakura was very neat. The city itself seemed large, yet very thin, like a single road winding very long. We visited various temples and shrines, and saw the Daibutsu (Big Buddha) on display there. It's apparently one of the (if not the) biggest stone Buddha statues!

The rest of the day was spent in Yokohama, where we promptly headed for the Raumen[sic] Museum. Basically what it was was a gathering of different styles of ramen made by different famous shops around Japan, all in one little 1950s recreation city inside of a building. It was surreal, but I wasn't going to argue with the best ramen. The first thing we tried was miso ramen from Hokkaido, and it was likely the best bowl of ramen I've ever had. The others were good, but nothing to write about. While we were looking for the Hokkaido place, John asked one of the attendants, who promptly switched from Japanese into loud and broken English. He was very helpful and friendly. "PLEASE HAVE A GOOD... NOODLE!"

Afterwards we went to Chinatown (which Yokohama is famous for) and basically just spent some time trying to comprehend the surroudings. Lights everywhere, stores selling weird and old things, famous food vendors, and pandas. Lots and lots of pandas. I had some really good dumplings that were baked with soup inside them.

We met up with Julian again as he was staying nearby, and walked around the seaside. We saw an outdoor skating rink and I pleaded someone to go with me, but they all had excuses. Finally, Alecks took pity and agreed and it was a lot of fun.

Due to the hostel being booked this night, after returning to Tokyo we decided to spend the night in a capsule hotel. It was not so bad - actually kindof neat, but for some reason the temperature was waaaay too high and there were no fans or anything. It felt like an incubator. Also they're not soundproof so I woke up to everyone else's alarm in the morning...

DAY 5 (Dec 30th) - FREE DAY

The day we dubbed "free day" was when we split up to do our own thing in three groups: Brittany, John, and myself and Alecks together. We experienced such things as:

- went arcade-hopping in Akihabara
- beat down some scrubs in SSFIV:AE
- stared longingly at the empty Third Strike machines
- played a urinal game in Club Sega where it measures the amount and strength of your urine and pits you against a computer player. I lost.
- Alecks dumped his water bottle in the urinal. He won.

- found a great retro games shop that had a crazy selection of games, unfourtunately all in the Japanese format. It was a tiny shop, but it even managed to have an N64 hooked up with SSB going. Why can't our stores have this stuff?

- went to lots of other otaku shops
- went to Ikebukuro again, but there was nothing there
- went to Sugamo [I] to try and find a unique arcade where my favourite Third Strike player used to frequent. We were unsuccessful and I decided to do some research and come back the next day.
- went to Shibuya [F] to find a CD for Alecks - successfully!
- explored the expansive Tokyu Hands
- after getting a text from John, we found a ramen place called Basa Nova[sic] that sold "green curry tsukemen", a type of ramen. It was reeeeally delicious!
- went to more arcades

- went to bed

DAY 6 (Dec 31st) - NEW YEARS

Please excuse the following narrative.
This day for me was all about finding that arcade I mentioned earlier. I was afraid that it would close for the holidays (as some stores do) and so this might be my last chance to visit or perhaps I was already too late. My main reason for wanting to go was because they sold DVDs of my favourite player in action that you could only get from this one arcade - I had to make it there.

After using Google Maps to locate it (it suggested that we were only a block away from it last time we were there), I headed back to Sugamo [I] alone to find it. However, it did not seem to exist in that location. I questioned some of the locals, none of whom had any idea what the heck I was talking about. In a post-frantic depression, I dragged myself to a nearby arcade to perhaps ask them if they knew about others in the area.

My spirits were lifted momentarily as the staff's face perked at the mention of the name. "Ah!" he said. "Just a moment!" and headed to the back room to perhaps confer with a colleague. I grinned broadly and sighed with relief. Of course they would know. I mean, it does exist. Google Maps confirmed that much for me.

Less than a minute later he returned just as briskly as he had left. "Sorry, I have no idea where that place is," he said with an apologetic smile. And that was it. I thanked him for his time, somewhat in a daze. Was I crazy? Was someone playing a trick on me? Where was this place??

I was about to leave the arcade when I had the notion that the fellow had at least tried to help me, so I should show him a little patronage. I sat down at the SSFIV:AE box and dropped a couple hundred yen trying out new things. Before long, two of the staff were behind me watching me play - something that never happens in an arcade. I was a bit weirded out, but soon enough, the man I talked to before bent down to hand me a sheet of paper when I was between rounds. It was a print out of directions to the place I wanted to go. "Nishinippori," he said. "That's where it is."

I thanked him multiple times, but briefly enough (I was, of course, still playing - there are no pause buttons on an arcade box) and finished my game. Apparently what had happened was that the location - and name - of the arcade had changed recently, something that his colleague had known. What Google Maps had shown me was a ghost of the old arcade... not there anymore. Armed with this new map, I deciphered the kanji, plotted a course, and headed to Nishinippori [J].

With a little bit of walking around, I had found it. What was once "Game Inn Sakura" was now "Gamespot VS", and I stared at the small blue banner pasted on the side of a nondescript building: "Gamespot VS 3F". My heart pounding, I stepped into the cramped foyer and hurried up the stairs.

The building was very quiet, and as I climbed, I wondered if I was in the right place (something I'd been doing all day). There was trash all about: broken TVs, worn-out shoes, bags of things. In fact, the volume increased as I climbed, and before long blocked the entire stairwell. I paused, hesitated, and turned around.

Back in the foyer, I noted a small sign in black letters telling me to "Please don't use the stairs - you can't get up that way! Use the elevator." I sighed, mentally reminded myself to look before I leap, and ascended to the third floor.

The experience was spectacular, but I can't even hope to impart that on most of you so I won't go into details. Just know that the coupling of the success of finding the legendary place after so many opportunities for utter failure and the insanely cool environment the arcade possessed made me feel wonderful. I purchased my DVDs, watched professionals play my favourite game, was offered to play against them, got defeated at the hands of professionals. An unparalleled experience.

...

Anyways, it's NEW YEARS EVE!

I hadn't eaten the whole day, so I pressured Alecks and John (after meeting up with them) to go get food. We had various half-plans for the day, many of which turned out to be duds. We went to Meiji shrine near Harajuku [E], but people were still setting up. We messed around in Harajuku for a bit, exploring the food vendors, and I finally got to try a ramen burger. Also, we saw Ayumi Hamasaki's concert getting ready to go - just thought I'd mench. We went back to Akihabara [C] and that lone 3S box was finally in use, and I got to play some great games against people closer to my level.

Finally, after much unnecessary transit, we headed to Tokyo Tower and the nearby shrine, Zojoji, to celebrate the new year. Julian was there, and so were thousands of other people crammed into the temple grounds. There were bonfires and lights and monks chanting, and they handed out balloons with wishes attached to them, to release when the clock struck midnight. It was an impressive sight when it finally did.

Then, we all poured into the temple to pray (known as "hatsumoude 初詣 ", the first temple visit of the year) and it took something like an hour to get all the way through (there were a LOT of people there). Afterwards, since we had no hostel again, we went to Shibuya, had a few drinks, and found a manga cafe to sleep in.

DAY 7 (Jan 1st) - WRAPPING UP

- woke up without having slept much
- ate brekkers at a Matsuya (delicious)
- went to Meiji shrine again, saw all the people going to pray
- went to Harajuku [E] again for crepes
- walked through Omote-sandou
- went to Asakusa temple again, saw more crowds
- slept properly in the hostel

DAY 8 (Jan 2nd) - REGAL RETURN

So apparently the Emperor of Japan and the rest of the royal family only show their faces to the public on two days, and this is one of them. I was the only one left (Brittany went home early to be with her host family on New Years, Alecks had a plane to catch, and John wasn't keen to come) and so I headed on over to the once-closed Imperial Palace.

The amount of people was mind-boggling, and the event was over so quickly, but it was certainly a great experience. It was amazing to see everyone get so excited. I'll never understand it myself, but I was waving my flag with the rest of them.