The Perfect Architecture Company

Extended Hiatus

2008-09-20T22:46:00.002-06:00

With just under 900 posts this blog will be going into extended hibernation. After keeping it up to date for three years I need a break from the format. I am still around on Facebook daily if anyone needs to contact me.

First Stony Plain Images

2008-09-16T08:09:00.005-06:00

So I returned to Canada with two guests from my old days in Koriyama. Kumama, my host mother, and her niece, Yumiko. I might of missed mentioning that in the swirling business of past months. We will be touring around Alberta this week before they return to Japan and I return to a some what normal life here. It is nice to return home with some Japanese friends to lessen the culture shock.

Flying

2008-09-15T04:00:00.000-06:00

I have previously scheduled this blog to upload about the time my plane takes off from Tokyo. This will be the last time I am in Japan for a long time.

Last terrestrial post

2008-09-14T07:55:00.002-06:00

It might not have been evident from the last couple of posts that I have arrived safely in Koriyama and have been preparing for my departure with Kumama and her niece for Canada. That is the case. I haven't taken many pictures here because life seems so normal, but tomorrow I will try to snap a few. My last meal in Japan was Sukiyaki, a stew of sorts, quite rare in Hokkaido but possessing the deep complex flavor I was seeking. It was a special treat because we sprung for the good Japanese meat which I always find so tender.

Ueno

2008-09-13T19:28:00.002-06:00

Ueno is several things; here I will discuss Ueno Park, where several of Japan's best cultural assets are located, including the national museum. I really think the Tokyo National Museum is a world class museum. Encompassing several buildings, its collection is extensive, with many notable pieces. I especially liked the modern styled and darkly lit Gallery of Horyuji Treasures. I've been to that temple before outside Nara. It's the oldest standing wooden structure in the world. In reality, after visiting, it's not very impressive except for the "No Smoking" signs absolutely everywhere. But the treasure became property of the Royal household decades ago and is now displayed beautiful in its own building. A notable excpetion about that time period (c. 800AD) was that Japan and Buddhism were still very poor at that time, thus that pieces are not very big. But somehow I liked the quality and intimacy of the smaller works over the following period. Just lots and lots to see at this huge museum and in the park on a busy afternoon.

3 pictures that deserve an explanation

2008-09-13T02:04:00.005-06:00

So I'm trying something a bit different. Instead of putting up some nice aesthetically pleasing pictures I thought I would post some images that need a bit of explaining to make clear. I regret not having more time to put into the details at this point. One may have heard, Japan is going through a national leadership race at the moment and one of the candidates made a stop at Shibuya's scramble as I was arriving. The picture can't capture the number of people stretching to see and hear the speech. With so many windows there any many good vantage points. It was an odd feeling having so many thousands focus their attention on one point.

Early this morning I made a pilgrimage to Tsukiji Fish Market for some world class sushi, stopping, for a moment, to watch the tuna auction. There are actually two auctions going on at once, and they can be identified as the little heads above the crowds.

Here I was obviously talking about something deep. Feeling poor and drained from travelling across a great swath of Japan. My friend Miki introduced me to the izakaya/yakitori ya san where her parents 40 years had previously gone one dates. For a place to survived in the heart of Shibuya amongst the thousands of constantly changing restaurants and massive construction projects most have taken equal parts luck and determination. The placed was packed with salary men looking for cheap, but excellent, food. The wings were amazing. I don't think I'll ever have bar wings again.

Kumamoto Castle

2008-09-11T01:36:00.003-06:00

I passed Mount Fuji on the Shinkansen going north today which means I must be in Tokyo! Not much time to post but here are some pics from Sept 8th and my trip to Kumamoto Castle. Amazing castle, definitely worth a trip, but I didn't enter the main keep because it's a 1960s reconstruction and after seeing the crown jewel of Himeji-jo in that respect, the tourist clogged main keep of Kumamoto didn't offer a big draw.

Kyoto

2008-09-10T00:13:00.000-06:00

I'm in Kyoto and have been for two nights now. Please expect a deluge of pictures in the next couple of posts as I can't stand the thought of typing out a long post in an expensive internet cafe using a Japanese keyboard with its infinitesimally small spacebar.

Kamamoto to Kyoto

2008-09-07T17:18:00.002-06:00

Soon I'll be off to Kyoto. I'll be covering a huge span of Japan in a short time today by Shinkansen. I'm exicted. But first I have time to visit Kumamoto Castle. I'm not exactly sure of my internet connectivity in Kyoto but I will try to keep my readers updated.

Sakurajima

2008-09-07T05:16:00.000-06:00

Early yesterday I took the ferry over to the volcanic island of Sakurajima and from there rented a bike to tour a national park formed after an eruption nearly 100 years ago. Beautiful unbelievable alien scenery. Not too much time today to describe my journey in detail but please enjoy the pictures!

Kagoshima is Cooler Than Me

2008-09-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

With it being so hot this far south, iced coffee is something that takes the edge off the heat. Iced coffee in a can is controversial with drinkers but with so many coffee shops in Kagoshima, such sacrifices need not be made. I think I've found the top coffee shop in Kagoshima, whose location is as difficult to describe as its ambiance. Down a street onto a narrower street, finding the store's 5m wide facade took luck. Carefully cut stone frames etched glass. The inside is not what I'd call inviting - cozy, atmospheric, moody maybe - but not welcoming. Inside reminded me immediately of a Victorian science lab as envisioned by an Japanese anime director. Fine carvings; dark woods; smokey; glassware placed on every ledge. Jazz playing so softly it lets the tinkling of glass hang over it. The lighting set so low most of it comes from the sun streaming through the front. Inside everyone but me is wearing glasses. Nobody seems to talk unnecessarily. The three servers are wearing short white coats and black bow ties. They use very formal Japanese spoken quietly. I watched one of them hand sort a bowl of coffee beans and then sell it for 30 dollars. Mass produced ice cubes are shunned in favored of hand cut pieces from blocks of ice. Sure the iced coffee took 10 minutes to come and cost nearly 7 dollars but I have to admit I was impressed: it kept the strong deep flavor coffee needs without excessive sourness or bitterness. Taking a picture would cause such a commotion as to shatter the tranquility of the interior.

News From Kagoshima

2008-09-05T00:49:00.006-06:00

I'm behind in posting the number of pictures I'd wanted for Kagoshima but I hope to make for this deficit by writing about this fine city. Arriving yesterday, the train tracks followed the bay as we headed toward the station, offering a great view of Kagoshima's famous active volcano, Sakurajima, all the way to the staion. [Pictured above] Everyone I've talked to loves their volcano and some of the stories they share are amazing. An orange haze over the night sky. Waking up to ash on the ground in the morning ever-so-often. They say it anchors their view. Grounding it. I've only been lucky enough to see contant steam rising from the cone, comfirming that it is, indeed, a completely 100% active volcano. History - as everywhere in Japan really - plays a strong roll here. They are crazy about the Meiji Restoration here, lending Kagoshima its own archtiectural style; a sort of cross between bad dated French Rococco made in the 80s and Japanese. Being this far south, Kagoshima was an early center for astronomy in Japan. Astrology symbols have been cleverly worked into everything, from place names to business cards. This morning I walked up Shiroyama, both for the view of the city below and volcano across the bay but also because the area, now a park, was where some of the earliest astronomy observatories were built in Japan. I also found an onsen at the top of the mountain that overlooked the city and volcano. It was a bit pricy (but very luxerious inside) and gave me a great view of the volcano - relaxing too - all to myself, without the crowds of noisy tourists. Well worth every yen. The water was natually a product of the valcano across the bay and is known for the high amount of naturally occuring ions in the water. The thing to eat in Kagoshima is a type of pork, called black pork or kuro buta, so that is pretty much what I eat everyday. Pork on rice. Fried pork. Pork Soup. It's all very good especially considering I don't mind spending the energy seeking out where the locals eat. The local alcohol is Shocho, a type of potato spirit. Kagashima was located far from historical Kyoto and Edo and thus was considered a poot back water. The scarce rice that was grown was sent to Edo, leaving the population the lowly potato. I personally find the stuff a bit dangerous as it goes down so smoothly one doesn't really know how much they've consumed. Still, I will have to get over my fear and try some. But where!?!?! This city has more tiny bars than I could of ever imagine! I had read about it beforehand but wow! And I say this with full wieght of my knowledge of Japanese cities and bars. There are thousands of bars, each maybe sitting 8 or 12, some are duds, others are uber-cool. But how can one ever find the one they want? It's nearly impossible. Whole windowless warehouse size buildings filled with new bars to discover. I'll try to get a picture to illustrate my point. Tomorrow I'm off to Sakurajimi itself to hopefully walk on the lava fields. New land right below one's feet.

Two things I learned about Miyazaki

2008-09-03T19:31:00.003-06:00

Yes yes; now I'm In Kagoshima, but this is about Miyazaki; The weather yesterday evening was wonderful. A balmy 27C with a slight breeze. I tried to find a patio to sit on but patio-culture seems non-existant here in Kyushu. I guess for most of the year an air-conditioned escape is preferable to the humidity. But the Miyazaki beef was excellent! Interestingly, my food costs have been less then expected. Everyone I've asked has told me that cheap food is tastes best. Miyazaki feels like a mix of Sapporo and Singapore: It's very green, though not quite up to Singapore's exulted status, but feels like a smaller city, so one doesn't feel so lost. Some how Miyazaki is knowable. Kagoshima on the other hand puts many a Tokyo neighborhood to shame in the coolness of its bars and restaurants.

The only thing I did today

2008-09-03T02:35:00.004-06:00

The only thing worth mentioning today: I headed off early to the Miyazaki Prefectural Museum of Art. Again, my early riser status paying off; given me practially the whole musuem to myself. I say "practically" because - given the Japanese preference for over-staffing - the musuem was well staffed for me. At least considering everywhere I went I was watched carefully for a possible question. The Fine Arts museum is placed in the Culture park along with the history musuem, concert hall, prefectural libray and municipal temple. The park itself was mosly pavement which seemed a bit un-inviting, let alone un inhabitable, in the Miyazaki heat. The Fine Arts museum is made of white marble with stark modern lines. Some of the stones were very big. The museum had some big name pieces I wanted to see; Picasso, Miro, some minor works of Van Gogh. The pieces were brought to Japan in the mid-80s when Japan had a bubble economy and lots of cash to spread around the world. As things cooled off, big works made their way to museums. The museum had more surrealist works than I normally like. I'm just never impressed by that style. One interesting piece seen below was puzzling; a wall of glow-in-the-dark material - posted for your enjoyment:

Tomorrow on to Kagoshima!

Is Anyone Following This?

2008-09-02T07:44:00.001-06:00

I have this reoccurring thought while I'm in here; I can't believe I'm in Kyushu and not Hokkaido. This picture is the best I could - to date - to capture that idea. The lantern, I'm still in Japan; The palms, I'm definately not in Hokkaido anymore.

I always considered Hokkaido a kind of the backwater of Japan, but now traveling in some of the more remote regions of Miyazaki-ken, I'm surprised how forgotten some parts seem, such as in the local train system, seemingly lost in the 1950s.

In the morning I hit Obi Castle. For once my early-raiser persona paid off; giving me free rein of the whole castle. I only consider this a minor castle after seeing the crown jewel of Japan: Himeji Castle.

In the afternoon I went to the famous Nichinan Coast and saw the temple on Aoshima. It's a small island first established as scared in the 9th centery AD. Amazingly dense brush mixed with the ocean breeze and rare geological forms to banish the humid heat of the day.

Miyazaki Day 1

2008-09-01T06:55:00.005-06:00

Not too much to report except that I've made it to Miyazaki-ken in southern Japan. It's much less humid that I assumed it was going to be due to a slight constant breeze off the ocean. The locals still claim it's because it's fall, but I assure my Canadian readers all one will need here is shorts and a t-shirt.

One last Yakiniku and Sunset

2008-08-30T17:46:00.001-06:00

My last meal in Shikaoi was understated by some standards but I wouldn't want it any other way. In many ways it captured the essence of Japan for me. I headed out to the Mogami's farm after a busy day of last minute packing, cleaning, and good-byes to pounce on some barbecued beef, pork, oysters, salmon, lake fish and veggies. It has been unusually cold and rainy - fall-like in every respect - for the last couple of days but today we were blessed with a warm summer evening. Mrs. Mogami kept apologizing it was just us huddled around a grill but it was nice to give them my full attention while slowing down a bit after a whirlwind month.

I should probably update readers about me upcoming travel plans. It is true that my three years in Shikaoi wind down tomorrow at 9:30AM as I make my way to Sapporo and from there, on Monday, to Miyazaki-ken. If you have a map handy; look at toward the south of the southern island of Kyushu.

I said I promised some pictures

2008-08-29T18:29:00.005-06:00

I promised some images and found myself with some time today so I'm squeezing an incredibly busy week into a short post with a couple of pictures.

There were a lot more people at my English teacher party and there were a couple of good shots but none of them made them back to me in time for this post. Last sunday we had a party at the farm of one of the teachers and though it felt like fall (much like a Canadian summer) I think everyone had a good time.

This is our host's father manning a a very rare in Japan pizza oven. We also had roasted sweet corn and bread from the oven. Simply amazing!

And what's a party without fireworks?!?!

The next night I had the formal town's good-bye banquet. I couldn't really take any pictures during the cermony because I was integrally included in the program. Here I am afterward with some of the teachers I worked closely with.

Here I am with some people that mean a lot to me: my badminton club. I have a lot of kind words to say about them. Last night too they surprised me again by making elaborate plans to take me out. I was impressed that they would even organize such a night because they are all so busy with their own lives. Needless to say we all drank way too much and it was fun to talk about badminton in minute detail for hours.

All the photos in this post as less than steller so here is one artsy shot for the road.

Monday is done, Friday is almost done.

2008-08-29T04:10:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I will admit this blog has been pushed back to back burner - way to the back burner - as I get ready to leave. But I promise more updates with pictures in the future; once I get down south. Things have been amazingly busy here as I move my life back to Canada and I ask for the reader's patience and understanding. I have offically finished my last day of work. In the last two weeks I have said good-bye to hundreds of kids, in addition to all the cards and heart-felt messages I've received, my students have left me one more gift I am sure to take with me to Kyushu: A cold! No doubt a result of the hundreds of hugs and handshakes I've received. Hopefully the abundant heat and mangos or Miyazaki-ken will banish it!

Monday is done, Friday is almost done.

2008-08-29T04:10:00.000-06:00

3 Days of Fun

2008-08-24T02:42:00.002-06:00

Last night my DJ gig went very well. It was much smaller than in the past but I have no pretensions about my DJ status in the world and would rather play my private good-bye party to 40 greatful friends than hoards of nameless fans. Saturday night deserves a much longer update at some point in the future. Today - soon - I'm our the door to the English teacher good-bye party and then tomorrow night I have the big town good-bye party. I'm just going to keep my head down and a smile on my face and enjoy my last couple of days in Shikaoi.

800th Post

2008-08-21T00:17:00.002-06:00

This is the 800th post on The Perfect Architecture company and it's kind of a pathetic post because it just filler so readers know I haven't completely forgotten about it. Things are moving very rapidly toward the close of my time in Shikaoi before I am off for short tour of Japan. I have so many things in the air it's amazing. I have so many small things to do and everything has to be done perfectly in order for it to come off smoothly it's amazing. I am starting to see some of my students for the last time as I rotate through my schools this week and next and that is a weird feeling. I have thought a lot about the best way to do it by nothing comes to mind. Nothing can really expresss what sunshine they brought to my job daily, nor can any situation capture the finality of our meeting. And the absolute finality of it is the really pressing issue. What to do about it? What impressing to leave? Can I even control that aspect? I like to think my students will remember our classroom times more but one can't take that for granted. A last piece of good news has finaly come my way - it was about time some luck broke my way - I have been comfirmed to play one last DJ set this Saturday at the Pure Malt Clubhouse. I plan to blow the roof off the joint with some great friggn tunes.

Bon Odori Time!

2008-08-13T00:26:00.003-06:00

One last festival was on my calander this month. Yesterday was Shikaoi's Bon Odori. A summer festival where people return to their hometown to honour their ancestors. The cumulation of the festical is a large dance in the center of town. My office had put a group togather but I choose to mingle in the crowd instead and visit. It was great see so many people who I don't get to see nearly often enough but with the topic of my imminent departure coming up so often it was not the happiest of occasions. The music is kind of this slow 2-1-2 with lyrics about farm life and such, with maybe a couple of songs about how hard fishing is. I couldn't catch many of the words because they used very old polite Japanese but I liked the music enough to think my ear has finally grown accustom to the wierd tones and harmonies they use in traditional Japanese compositions.

Attack of the Moth

2008-08-12T01:03:00.002-06:00

About the only thing worth reporting above and beyond how busy I am in Shikaoi, is that the number of moths has increased exponentially the last couple of days. The reasons for the increase are not well understood but it is kind of creepy. No pictures either; those buggers are hard to capture. In continuance of porting my online self to facebook I have put up some more pictures there. This blog has not been abandoned, I just don't feel I have the time to blog in depth here.

Elbow deep in details

2008-08-05T00:13:00.003-06:00

So many little things to do before I leave, none of it particluarly fun. I spent a good portion of the morning trying to figure out what I need to change my work visa to a travel visa for the couple of days at the end of my stay before I go home. It should go rather smoothly as the restrications are not nearly as comprehensive as getting the work visa in the first place. I'm planning two trips at the same time (and this I kind of like because I love details). One for me of southren Japan. I really wanted to see the South after living in the North for so long. Still the most southern I've been is Wakayama-ken. I would feel incomplete if I didn't see it before leaving. Secondly, my parents and I are working on a plan to have my old host-family the Tsuchiya's from Koriyama travel home with me and stay with us for a couple of days. It will be an honour.

Eating Like a Champ

2008-08-03T17:13:00.005-06:00

Finally I am writing this under clear skies today. For the last week it has been humid and overcast leading to a weird set of conditions where it was super foggy every morning (a point I will return to in a moment) and we saw the temperature hold steady day and night at 20C. It's so humid. One always feel sticky. Even whist sitting in the office without any movement one sweats. I don't want to complain too much because things could be worst. I could be in Tokyo. Where not only would I have to put up higher temperature and higher humidity. I would be forced to look at people in suits while doing so.

Raining Saturday and Sunday, the last of the rain cleared overnight, letting us wake up this morning to blue skies. By the end of the week we should be in the 30s again. I have mixed feelings about this; after so much wetness a spike in the temperature might make the humidity worse, but at the same time I am happy to see the sun again.

Last week I ran four mornings and each of them in the fog. Really dense fog. It was quite magical and refreshing as long as one was safe. I don't normally see much traffic on the country roads I run on, especially last week since most farming work seemed to be on pause for the weather. The dampness left my feet - which under the best running circumstances should be kept dry (hence the fancy shoes and socks) - looking a bit tired. But no one ever died from blisters. Furthermore, on the long end of an hour, other body parts are hurting much more than toes. Being not so hot for summer I did a super-human effort on Sunday - 18km. I don't know the exact time but I remember being very happy with the pace. I know for sure it was 18km because I ran out to a distance sign way in the friggn middle of nowhere saying Shikaoi was 9km away and then back again. It rained twice during that period. It wasn't too bad because all my gear is super-quick drying, super-breathable, but I've never really liked running in the rain, as refreshing as it feels, because of the whole wet foot issue again. The house was so hot I decided to take a swim in the evening again. That was 50min in the pool.

It is my working philosophy that the only way to really safely achieve this level of fitness is to eat - a lot. That's a good thing because I love food. I'm not dieting as such but to not starve myself I follow how much I eat pretty closely. I know that for someone my size, even just sitting in the office digesting and then in front of the TV drooling I can burn anywhere from 2000-2500kcal. A long run is easily over a 1000kcal and then swimming too is probably just under 1000kcal.

As a treat for lunch, and as a result of being super tired, I broke down broke down and went to 7-11, which actually has pretty good ready made food, but, as I have mentioned before, they are all super high calorie. There is a rumor they use butter fried rice for their rice balls, which would make sense because I really don't know how else one could pack 200kcals in a rice ball that small. Booya! So that was 750 calories right there. For dinner I made myself some pork curry, in which I doubled down on the pork content with both chunks of pork and lean ground pork plus carrots, onions, and for me, though not traditional, broccoli (the stems are great in curry). I had a huge portion and I can imagine that was around another 750 calories or so. Something sugary for breakfast and I hope I had enough to eat yesterday.

Another twist to such overcast and humid weather last week was that I did no laundry. Things were looking a bit bare for work this morning. On Monday I had put in a load of towels and quickly came to the conclusion the effort was futile. Nothing was going to dry inside my house or out. Happy to see the sun this morning, I was up early for a walk along the river (no run as I thought my legs deserved a break) and put in a load of laundry before I left and did another when I got back before I ate breakfast and before I left for work. I plan to throw in the towels again that have been sitting there week damp in their little drying room as they would probably pass for a science experiment at this point. Even now its so hot. Why is it so hot here? I think I we've moved to the surfact of the sun. I think my body is melting. I can barely think

An Average Summer Night

2008-07-30T02:01:00.003-06:00

I'm getting a bit nostalgic about Japan and hauled my camera around with me for a change last Saturday. I got some good pictures and put them up on facebook. This should probably serve as a hint that I'm slowly porting my digial-self to facebook so that is where you'll find me in the future. It wasn't a hard choice since everyone's there. If someone is having trouble seeing the images please contact me below or through email.

S and L July 19th Wedding

2008-07-27T18:11:00.004-06:00

I can't speak too much about the wedding because things are moving so fast in Shikaoi I risk missing something here. Needless to say, it was a great wedding, the bride was beautiful and I was happy for the chance to visit with so many friends and family. Most of my whole week in Canada is a blur. I vaguely remember a couple of hamburgers, potato chips and nice summer evenings. I had so much going on I forgot to carefully record my time in Canada with photos. Thus, there are few pictures of me from the week. It never really crossed anyone's mind to take out the camera. The Birdsell's are very happy to now have five in the family.

My Mom and I before the wedding in front of the house. Man we clean up nicely.

A short composite shot of Sean and I with the the ring bearer Colton and flower girl Aliya.

The parents of the bride and groom.

Sean and Laura's first dance.

Returning to Japan

2008-07-24T17:46:00.003-06:00

Things are slowing returning to nomral after a couple of odd set backs yesterday. One that has surely rippled through cyberspace at this point was that my plane out of Vancouver was switch at the last moment causing a nearly 5 hour delay and me to miss my connecting flight to Sapporo (which also happened to be the last flight of the day). The airline automatically rebooked me on the first flight out the next day, put me up at the airport hotel, gave me some food vouchers and sent me on my way. Nothing too crazy marked my short in Osaka except for extreme boredom. I would have liked to explored my surroundings a bit but it was so hot and humid I mostly confined myself to the hotel and the maze of air conditioned tunnels that connect everything in Japan. I also tried a $7 Godiva Chocolate milkshake; except for the small size, it was very good. No pictures sadly. Lastly, when I got to my car at Shintoku station, its interior was predictably oven-like hot. I opened up the driver-side window to let things circulate and the thing slammed into the door, refusing to roll up again. I'm not sure why after a week of no use, plus years of working perfectly, it broke on the one afternoon it would have been nice for things to go smoothly, but in anycase I just added it to the list of things to do. I had to get on it quickly as rain was predicted for that night. Now I'm strictly focused on returning home and some travel plans in September. Tonight: badminton.

In Shikaoi

2008-07-23T22:15:00.001-06:00

I finally got into Shikaoi about 45min ago to little fanfare. I don't seem to have been missed. Also, it is very hot. That is all.

Not connected

2008-07-23T07:07:00.002-06:00

I didn't quite make it home as expected. Because of a massive delay in Vancouver I missed the last connecting flight to Chitose. Now I am bidding my time at the airport hotel in Osaka. All is well and I am fending for myself.

Tomorrow: Home?

2008-07-21T21:05:00.002-06:00

Early tomorrow I will make the trek to the Edmonton International Airport and from there find my way home. Please expect the next update to be from Japan and a full post about my trip to come.

Two more days

2008-07-20T16:11:00.002-06:00

The wedding was beautiful and went off without a hitch; just as you would expect a Birdsell wedding to go.

Top Gear

2008-07-18T11:31:00.000-06:00

Things are still progressing rapidly in Stony Plain. Wedding actives are moving into high gear.

CANADA

2008-07-16T21:10:00.001-06:00

Yes. I did make it home. Now onward with wedding actives. BB

In transit

2008-07-14T20:40:00.000-06:00

I've scheduled this post to go out just as I'm leaving on a jet plane for Tokyo then onto Canada. Things will porbably be quiet here for a couple of days as I plan to hit the ground running when I get to Stony Plain with wedding preperations.

Lighting Quick Badminton

2008-07-14T00:58:00.005-06:00

I just finished some chocolate ice cream compliments of my boss. I won't lie: being so hot, it really hit the spot. On to reporting about my badminton tourney yesterday; it ended as expected: Played some good badminton but eventually lost. The second match (after which the picture to the left was taken) was the only match we won two straight. We heavily leveraged our shots against the clearly less skilled player for which I feel bad but can honestly say, considering the speed of the game, it was by no conscious choice on my part, just instinctive reaction. We lost the 1st and 3rd matches for a number of reasons. Not that I need consoling; the scores were very very close. We brought both matches to the final set and then went to deuces. The second match might have produced some great highlights on my part but the other 2 matches were real slogs. A lot of winning when teams are so even comes down to getting some good breaks, which I don't mind because we definitely made them earned it and I I played some good badminton in the process. My only goal was to play hard and not make a fool of myself. In the 3rd match the opposing team really hammered my partner, which was a mistake on their part considering how poor my backhand is. In any case, my partner, Uda-san, was really hurting after that. The other story of the day was the heat. It was a very hot day in Hokkaido yesterday making the gym, where over 200 players were located, very stuffy. I actually delt with it quite well; one might almost say I'm use to it but that would not be the compete truth as it was a highly uncomfortable experience. Just watching others play while waiting for your games caused one to sweat. Play then was sweat-drenching. The sweat I've gotten past in my athletic career but it made areas on the court deadly slippery. I brought towels and extra jerseys and socks to switch into through the day and managed fine. My only complaint has to do with the new fangled scoring system introduced a couple of years ago. Rally point scoring really penalizes errors. I will admit here that the lose in both games was due to the shuttle hitting the rim of my racket. Curse that sound forever! Losing - and winning - by an error is greatly unsatisfying. Previously the double serve style mitigated errors and focused the game on kill shots. What really bugs me about the change, however, is that the rally point system was said to be brought in to the make the game more exciting for spectators, but, like most sports, the majority of badminton played globally at any one time has no spectators. It's being enjoyed by the simple folk of the world. Finally, I would like to give credit to the organizes for making the divisions so balanced which made playing enjoyable and rewarding for all.

Two Stories About Friday

2008-07-11T01:08:00.003-06:00

This first story comes courtesy of Kamihoronai kindergarten. While patiently waiting as a group for a student to return from the washroom--trying to fill time as there is little point in progressing when classes are so small--the kids were more anxious than usual to ask questions of me. However, upon asking them to stand and state their questions, they repeatedly offered comments instead. Being so young--all five and under--they seemed unable to grasp the concept; but they came close. Example comments include what one boy wanted for his birthday and that a girl had seen a cat on the way to school, etc. This brought quizzical smiles to the teachers' faces. Finally a teacher stepped in and explained, as only a kindergarden teacher can do, what was expected. But still something was missing. "Questions" from that point onward included a length query about how my car could carry pets if needed and one of the youngest kids there, rising to his full stature, summoned all of his courage to say in a big voice he loved bananas.

I bring this up because it's an interesting language point and, furthermore, I intended to melt the hearts of my readers with a simple story of the curiosity and boldness of youth. Having not yet been exposed to years of conditioning, young kids are not shy about much, and so when studying clothes today the grade 1 and 2s were immanently interested in the fact "zubon" were called "pants" in English, whereas the same terms, "pants," in Japanese means "underwear". Being the shy Canadian I am, I was hoping to leave the discrepancy there, but as they weighed with this new language oddity in their minds, they turned their eyes toward me, the inquisitiveness and curiosity in them impossible to ignore. I knew teaching the word "underwear" was unlikely to corrupt them for life, but the homeroom teacher seemed to think it would be a good idea if we drew pictures first to make the connection. The boys did an admirable job, drawing the boxers in great detail on the blackboard, making sure to including both the elastic waist and fly. The girls debated about the details too long and so that also fell to the boys to represent, but here the drawings ended up looking more like eyeless unrecognizable animal outlines. I think we are safe for a bit longer to call their minds unsullied by the complications of adulthood.

Neglected? Kind of.

2008-07-10T00:47:00.003-06:00

My Mom left Shikaoi at 9AM this morning She is leaving the Stony Plain deligation early: Mostly for wedding preperations, as we ramp up to that big event, but also--this being her 4th trip to Shikaoi--she has seen most of the sights (several times) before. Today's goodbye was not nearly as difficult as years past as I will be returning home myself (for the wedding) in exactly six days. That takes a lot of the pang out of long goodbyes. I continued on with my busy day; trying to keep my head above water; working through some things in the office for next week to get them out of the way. I was going to post some pictures here but my mom ended up putting them up on facebook (long story) so please check them out there. Immediately next on my schedule is the Ikeda Badminton Tourney this Sunday.

Welcome Party to White Snake

2008-07-06T06:17:00.003-06:00

Mrs. Usui and Janet embracing at the July 3rd Welcome Dinner.

A little bit of the spread provided at the Welcome Dinner.

July 5th at the 2008 White Snake Festival.

Launching a lantern into the waters of Lake Shikaribitsu.

Early Pictures as Proof

2008-07-02T07:04:00.002-06:00

These pictures are pretty self-explanatory. I have posted them in chronological order.

At the airport.

Outside Chomin Hall before the arrival.

Inside Chomin Hall in Stony Plain Hall with greetings.

I hope my Brother and Dad see this

2008-07-01T22:33:00.001-06:00

No sign of my Mom in Shikaoi yet but the count down is into its last hours. I will update when I get the chance later tonite.

Pictures before liftoff

2008-07-01T00:38:00.002-06:00

Spinning Plates

2008-06-30T01:56:00.002-06:00

I'm just a bit too busy today to put much thought into posting. I had a phone call a little while ago from Mrs. Cowan and my Mom and they are in the country (at Narita) but won't be joining us in Shikaoi for a couple more days (due to their travel plans in Sapporo). I will try to put some pictures up tomorrow to tide everyone over. (I finally bought a mouse but forgot it today. Go figure.)

Are You Metabo?

2008-06-28T01:22:00.000-06:00

Metabo is a phrase one now hears often in Japan: "Do you have Metabo?" "Are you Metabo?" Metabo is a Japanese shortened form of Metabolic syndrome. Technically, the term encompasses a constellation of factors, most easily described as fat around internal organs. But to put it more bluntly, if you have it, it means you're fat. I only learned the history and science behind this phrase researching this post. The issue is well covered in a New York Times article which describes a new policy whereby the Japanese government has legistated the measuring of everyone's waists between the ages of 40 and 74. The limits were set - 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women - by the Japanese Diabtic Association. It was approved solely on economic grounds; a slim population is a healthy one, thus reducing healthcare costs. I guess one must just fight on until they are 75 before you can really let yourself go. What exact mechanisms are available to governments to force citizens to closely control their weight? The policy includes previsions, amoung others, that penalize firms whose employees don't lose a certian percentage of weight. Quite amazing really, but not out of line with what I know about Japan employers.

In looking at the empiric evidence, it's just as fuzz as any other time one tries to find consensus in the scientific community. And while it's not so cut-and-dry that these sorts of policies save lives, they will almost certainly save money, which is why the government felt okay to move ahead with what is a pretty radical suggestion. (Incidentally, everyone on the panel agreed a beer belly is ugly.) I can only really speak to the male side of the equation, from which I understand that male belly fat is (metabolically and hormonally) active tissue. This is a curse. It means one's belly fat basically has a mind of its own; it gets hungry, it wants to stay. However, I totally throw my support behind methods that measure total body fat - which is what a tape-measuring method, in rough form, is capturing - than pure weight. I'm not an expert in the field, but its clear enough to me that BF% is a far better indicator of overall life-expectancy and health, furthermore, in an effort to be transparent, I agree with it enough not to even own a scale. (But in an effort to be even more transparent, I must admit it's not really a big concern in my life at this point anyway.)

So suddenly everyone in Japan is looking down at their stomach. Far from having a benign affect, it seems to have given everyone a complex, and I believe this is where the term Metabo actually fits in. It's been written that the term obesity has negitive and exclusive conotations, while the term Metabo is more inclusitive. The myrid of publications sprouting up to deal with the issue portray it as never the fault of the person, as if personal chocies had nothing to do with it. Though I must admit, the shift in perception does seem to give people the feeling they can be cured, and that something can be done about it, which I guess is key it in the first place to taking back your life.

[The photo accompanying this post is popularily assoicted with this term. It's a poster from a company informing employees of the new policy.]

Strawberries

2008-06-26T00:48:00.000-06:00

The Door to the Men's Bathroom is Out to Get Me

2008-06-25T00:31:00.004-06:00

This happened the other day at Sasagawa Elementary School and I'm only getting the opportunity to blog about it now. It continues the theme started in a pervious post of structures trying to kill me - why I can't imagine; I love architecture. For some reason, completely beyond me, beyond the furthest probabilities, the school has recently settled in a very strange way that only allows easy entering of the washroom but jams the door when exiting. It's hard to explain the sheer mathematics of the thing: entering is fine, but somehow, upon exiting, the angles and pressures are such on the jam when pulling the handle it leverages the door tightly shut. And the harder one pulls, the more strongly it gets wedged. Visiting that school for years now, one just expects it to work how it did in the past. It's hard to describe the panic that sets in: not being able to leave, not seeing any obvious problems. It surprising how quickly the human mind jumps to a scenarios whereby one is found days later, eating toilet paper, in a room that was never locked. I mentioned it to the other male teachers and they shared their similar stories and sympathies.

Recently my students have been letting slip they know I'm leaving. When they mention it my heart normally sinks a bit and I feel like I'm losing my balance. It's easier to answer the young kids questions because I'm forced to describe it in super-easy terms. My Family lives far away. Would you want to live far away from you family? etc. However, the older kids deserve more direct and detailed answers. Luckily, a pattern seems to be emerging that hints at a way to solve this dilemma. They are most concerned with the idea of me returning. This lends itself to an explanation where I can admit it hurts to be leaving Japan, but that I will be forever returning and this is not the last time I will be standing on these shores.

The Last Epic DJ Gig

2008-06-23T00:21:00.000-06:00

[Better late than never. Here given humbly with my apologies. I'd been waiting for pics that still haven't arrived.]

Finally struggling past the gloomy skies that chased us for most of May, we had the perfect summer evening for a party. The headliner turned out to be actually quite famous, a former bassist in a now defunct rock band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant. Judging from the fans' reaction - decked out in leather jackets and black boots, and the type of music he played - it must of been a pretty cool band back in its hey day by my estimation. When introduced I had to confess I had no idea who he was. He all took it in his stride but his groupies did not. But I ended up with my own set of groupies after my set too, so the balance of the universe was restored. As mentioned previously, my set did not go smoothly. At one point completely losing power to the mixer (a nightmare scenario behind the decks) but my tunes were solid and I pulled through.

I envisioned a set that included all of my favorite tracks but not ignoring the fact this had to be played in public to people that wanted to party. I set out to create a set that I would want to hear on a summer Saturday night. I wanted a set that rocked and rock it certainly did. I am especially proud of the fact - possibly I will get a t-shirt made up - that my set caused the party to get a noise citation. "Too much bass." So sadly the last couple of track were missing a bit of "oomph" in the bass compared to the start, but on the otherhand, it's not every day I turn up the music past 11. North American trainspotters would have noticed some of the more mainstream tracks and question my ability to pull it off, but in Japan, I could do it with style and aplomb. My set generated the atmosphere a cool underground party populated by beautiful people. I was especially happy to drop a fave track of mine and a secret weapon or sort; a track so obscure, deep and twisted its name has been lost to the internet, possessed of a bassline that is truly space-alien, planet-smashing, earth-shattering in dimensions, and so epic is begs to be played (very) loudly. It's worth repeating, I felt especially honoured by those friends who joined me to celebrated my last DJ gig on these shores. I hope I gave them a performance to remember.

Is my house trying to kill me?

2008-06-18T00:53:00.003-06:00

As a jaded 26 year old, I still manage to surprise myself sometimes. Last night during my swim [insert long sad story about my left foot sore from running] I managed to swim 15 minutes continually (actually just a little more to make sure I'm on the safe side of that statement). A feat I never thought possible. And yet, with months of work, I was able to do it at a pretty good pace. I will admit to touching the bottom but only incidentally as the Shikaoi pool is kind of strange in having a mechanical bottom that is set at 120cm. Far too shallow to be called a deep end. I guess if anyone besides me was there they could do pool running. I still hate swimming, but I think it's safe to say I've graduated from being like a rock in water, to a cat, next will be a camel, then raccoon, an apple, then on to a deformed puffin, blind penguin, injured shark, and after that, maybe... maybe... a fish, as my swim teacher keeps encouraging.

As to why my house is out to kill me - I'm sure it's crossed the mind of others - I dinged that soft spot right under the knee cap yesterday when I was getting out of the ofuro (shower). Hurt like heck and I have a bruise today. Who would design such an object to be at that exact height? In anycase, I will be more leery of innocent dealings with my house from now on.

Lastly, and also related to my sore knee, I went running this morning before work and loved it. I felt way more awake for the rest of the day and it was beautiful to run in the stillness of the morning. The fog was burning off the fields as the sun peeked through the clouds. Quite a nice way to the day. I was much more stiff than usual - that wasn't a particularity good feeling - but there are some things I can try to alleviate that (mostly better stretching) before I give up. My only other possible ailment was my sore right knee. The joint was quite sore. But not a sharp pain that would have normally caused me to turn back. Altogether, I've been running injury-free recently - thankfully! - I think this is mostly due to the decrease in milage that has come with swiming. And injury-free running makes me happy.

Also, please don't expect any pictures for the next couple of days as my USB computer mouse died (it was my old counter-strike gaming mouse that served me well) and the idea of photoshopping with my laptop's touchpad causes me to involuntarily shutter and imagine a torture worst that sober karaoke.

2008 Edmonton Folk Fest Performers Line-up Rant

2008-06-17T20:22:00.001-06:00

Remembering it's June, curiosity got the better of me and I meandered over to the folk fest website to checkout whose performing this year. Bad idea. Now I'm jealous. Just taking the highlights of the mainstage: Amiee Mann, beautiful voice, great song writting; Hawksley Workman, good live; Joan Osborne, she was great last time; Michael Franti and Spearhead, always a party; Broken Social Scene, awesome Canadian superband, played Fuji Mountian Rock fest last year; The Duhks, bluegrass-funk? great song writing; Chris Isaak, great chance to see him live. And I've made no mention of the numerous performers doing workshops... Bah! What a year to be in Shikaoi when the Folk Fest line up for 2008 looks so so good!

I haven't forgotten

2008-06-16T23:49:00.003-06:00

I haven't forgotten my blog or my promise to post about June 6th's DJ gig. That is still in the pipeline, mostly finished. Things have been slow this week as the weather improves and I get ready for my mother's arrival in two weeks. Running was really awkward yesterday as I wasn't as into as I usually am. Thirty minutes into it I was still considering turning back but I'm glad I didn't because I finally lossened up and enjoyed it, getting in my usual 1h 10min, but at a much slower pace than usual. Thankfully things turned around in the second half. I mention it because I find it curious; normally I love my runs and can't wait to get out.

Japanese News for Friday the 13th

2008-06-12T23:31:00.005-06:00

I was trolling the Japanese news sites for something funny to post. Normally the entertainment section does not disappoint. Today we learn that Ai Kago, ex-member of the hugely successful girl group Morning Musume, had a cigarette while visiting Hong Kong. How this stands as national news I have no idea, but it might be tied to the fact she was caught smoking as a member of group when she was just 16. Her comments were a bit disturbing, noting on her website, "This is not good. I hate myself." Commenters on the story were less harsh toward the her, leaving their wrath for the website, "This might be the dumbest story ever put on [japantoday.com]...which is an amazing feat."

Finding a humorous story this week was difficult as the rampage in Tokyo, whose news I'm sure has spread to North America, has continued to ring across society. A couple of points about where it occurred; Akihabara, now popularly shortened to Akiba, the geeky electronic section of Tokyo, is in the process of evolving, but to what is not clear. The area is becoming more mainstream, tracking the growing popularity of geek culture at home and abroad. Statically, violent crime is down, while during the past couple of years, random violent crime has ticked up slightly. The area were it happened was a Sunday only pedestrian-zone right near the station. Also, the coverage was broad and detailed because of the intense use of video cellphones.

An interesting facet to the case was that the suspect broadcasted his events up to the attack on the massive Japanese web forum 2chan. That is a forum so big it has developed its own culture. It's traffic carefully measured because such a large segment of the population uses it. It is events like these that further solidify the site's influence on Japan. I don't blame the owner for not catching the comments as the site is truly massive. Furthermore, in regards to liability, I picture ISPs and forums like phones line, in that the owners (with some exceptions) can not be responsible for what is said on them. It would completely kill the industry instantly if such a burden was placed on them. No one would ever rationally take on that type of liability.

The attacks in Akiba mark yet another in a series of knife attacks in Japan over the past decade that is important background information to understand the reactions. Story commenters internal to Japan focused on the role violent film and television played plus the stress and pressure Japanese face to conform. Story commenters external to Japan turned the conversation toward Gun Control; that if only guns were easier to own and carry this kind of tragedy would not occur. While I see their point I still believe at least some attempt should be made to stop these tragedies before they happen, which would mean addressing the issue at the bottom of this tragedy: mental illness.

Unfortunately, the Japanese Parliament has also seemly missed the point too. Instead taking the opposite approach of actually considering nationally regulating all blades over 4cm. From my perspective this is just pure absurdity. Arguments of practically and gigantic bureaucracy aside, I suppose some of the misplaced reaction might stem from a cultural stigma toward mental illness, however, in this case, I suspect we are watching a political reflex (to look like one is doing something--anything--about the problem) rather than anything malicious.

アイスクル

2008-06-10T22:59:00.003-06:00

Music Comes a Knocking

2008-06-09T20:30:00.000-06:00

The delivery man finally came and dropped off my new iPod nano, thus ending one of the longest weeks ever with no music (half a week actually). It's a slick little thing that is far smaller than I remember from handling in the store. I complained about the proportions when it was released but upon handling it for the first time the design really does work. The dimensions are so small and it is unbelievably thin. I haven't tried the photo or video stuff but that looks pretty cool. I don't have all the cd covers inputed in iTunes so it looks kind of lame but I can see the possibilities. Podcast experiences are much improved.

A blog for all Mondays

2008-06-08T19:55:00.000-06:00

This blog is just a place holder unit I get a detailed post together about the Sound Festival. I'm actually waiting for pictures becuase it completely skipped my mind to take any with my camera. Everything went great but I cannot say smoothly. I really appreciate the people who came out to enjoy my last DJ gig in Japan with me. Also on Sunday I attended Shikaoi Sho Gakkou's Sport Festival which made for a busy weekend. In years past the weather has been horrible--threatening rain all day but never enough to cancel--yesterday we enjoyed summer in all its glory. I wore a hat and shorts for the first time I can remember. The tug-of-war was monumental, herculean even. And the 5/6 exercise display, where they build a human tower, was epic. It was impressive watching their concentration and gumption. And with one big push they had a 4-story tower.

One Last Day

2008-06-06T02:01:00.002-06:00

I've got too many plates in front of me to pretend I can keep the blog updated as well. I have one great post ready to go that I just need to put the finishing touches on. That didn't happen today. I also look forward next week to updating my readers about how how my DJ set went. A huge weather systeming is moving over Hokkaido tonight but there is a high-pressure system right on its heels, which means sun. We could see summer temps as soon as Sunday. I can't wait.

Another thing to post about

2008-06-02T23:50:00.002-06:00

Past all life saving measures, beyond the collective wisdom of internet forums, my blue iPod mini, gifted to me by my own grandmother, has died. I'm a bit shaken as I had not been planning to upgrade my iPod--not even remotely tempted--so sturdy and steadfast has been its performance over the past 3 years. But replace it I must, and fast, because a day without great tunes is like a day without sunshine. Speaking of no sunshine: I can't believe we've made it 3 weeks with nary a break in the clouds. Though it's now June, the best we can manage today is a half-blue, half-hazy attempt at summer. The reason I suspect by the week's end things could look better is because the forecast warms up. Heretowith the day's high temp could have been mistaken for late Fall or early Spring. I'm getting sick of it. RIP little blue iPod.

Ready, Set, DJ!!!!!!

2008-06-01T17:51:00.006-06:00

I showed up at school today and was told class was cancelled, that's okay because that gives me the chance to update cyberland on my upcoming DJ gig June 7th at the Pure Malt Club house. Word on the street is that I'm on right before the headliner. I think I'll be a major disappointment to the headliner (a radio DJ and bass guitarist from Tokyo) because I have no intenion of doing a polite lead-in set: I plan to drop big primetime tracks, blowing the roof off the place and shaking the dance floor in the process. I'm planing to play all my favorite tracks as this is probably the last time I'll DJ in Japan. My evolution of DJing in Japan has been strange, with each gig getting bigger and bigger. This is by far the biggest gig to date (250!?!?), drawing people form the surrounding towns and nearby Obihiro. I kept telling the promoters I'm an amateur--I moved to Japan with only the MP3s on my computer--but they don't care. They must really like my music. I have double checked with the promoters that they'll have a sufficient number of subwoofers on hand because this set is all about bass (and the word "get" shows up in my playlist often; I don't know what that means).

On a related note, there has been some discussion as to whether or not it's me represented on the poster. The only other possibility is that it's the headliner, but the short brown messy hair, pouty lips, and look of complete concentration, not to mention eyebrows that look like live catapillars, suggests it could be me. Your thoughts?

Friday Afternoon

2008-05-30T00:11:00.004-06:00

I really meant to post yesterday but I was writing something else and then the day just ended. Although... there really isn't much to report. Same cloudy skies. Same cool weather. It's actually sunny right now but those words deserve to be in quotes because there is no blue sky. That might actually be worth reporting: strange weather. The forecast continues this way into next week, almost the third week straight. But my horoscope today, don't they all, said to look on the bright side, so I guess I should be happy it's not raining. Friday is almost finished. Downhill from here. I'm going to grab some ramen for dinner before badminton, or, more accurately, lose at badminton.

Bobby Banana

2008-05-27T00:13:00.003-06:00

I went in to buy some fruit last week and was confronted by this. Why anyone would buy fruit without a cute character on it is beyond me. Purchase products not represented by cute characters at your own risk in Japan. Here we see Bobby Banana confirming Dole's commitment to the same great taste in every banana. Ola!

曇り

2008-05-26T00:05:00.002-06:00

It's another piss poor day here in Tokachi. A second Monday in a row of rain, which might seem fitting given it's Monday except that stretched between these two points is a week of rainy weather, and when not raining, cloudy. Only the most modest of blue streaks have blessed us. I'm starting to get a bit edgy because in actuality this socked-in weather has extended past a week and seems determinded to stick around. It's cold and laundry takes forever to dry. Running in overcast weather isn't such a trial but today, as with every Monday, everywhere is closed where I could possiblity run inside and I'm too much of a wuss to the brave darkening wet skies after work. I just thought I'd fill everyone in on this crummy weather. All I wish for now is a sunny day worthy of sunglasses - a day worthy to be called summer.

Afternoon not in the office

2008-05-23T01:50:00.001-06:00

One of my schools broke new ground today. On Friday's during lunch it's normal for a pair of grade 5/6s to interview a student over the PA system. It's seen as a way to entertain students over the lunch period. I don't see the problem with expecting students to talk to each other over the lunch period but that's just how it's done here. Today, for the first time in the program's history, they interviewed a teacher, Nakajima-sensei. And, from knowing the results, they picked the perfect student to lead the interview, Shodai-kun. Keep in mind this school has under 50 students and all the questions were prepared beforehand. Shodai is a polite, engaging grade 6 student that is a pleasure to teach. However, it can be said, he has his own way of doing things. From my comedy training, I'm use to thinking of off-the-wall questions, but Shodai, wheather purposely of not, raised it to an art form. Most of his questions were met my long puases as Nakajima-sensei struggled to put his thoughts togather. Shodai had a line of questioning about bananas, their history and what goes best with them. Lucky for Nakajima-sensei, he likes them. "How healthy!" Shodai noted. The teacher was asked to name something he is ambivalent toward, the more accurate Japanese translation being something that he neither likes nor hates. This was met by the longest puase of the interview because it's not everyday one is asked their opinion on something they are ambivalent toward. We teachers could hear Nakajima-sensei straining to answer. When asked which student he didn't like to teach, Nakajima-sensei deftly deflected the question. The only part of the interview to go off script was a number of probing questions about Nakajami-sensei's visits to the emergency room delivered with the force of a seasoned reporter. I was eating with the grade 1s at this was happen. They seemed to have forgotten I was coming that day which is odd for a country I find so detail oriented. They had split my potions, which they assumed to be extra, between the grade ones, given each an absurbly large portion of both salad and rice (only 3 students); more than they could possibly finish. This raised the level of confusion near the end of lunch because there are strong rules agasint not finishing one's lunch. They gave us that cute look where they tilt their head and give you an expression like they have no idea what's going on. Eventually some had to go to waste because, after knowning where their hands have been, there is no way I'm eating it.

The Doughnut

2008-05-22T00:43:00.007-06:00

This elitist of a doughnut showed up at 7-11 a couple of months ago and, needless to say, since then, I've been dying to try it. 7-11's in Hokkaido have a reputation of being the test bed for future products before they roll out nationwide. The number of novel food items passed through has never ceased to amaze me. It always concluded the same way, one day they would be there, the next gone - discontinued. This particular doughnut is made specially for 7-11 by some high-end Tokyo pâtissier, though one could argue, being placed in 7-11 questions such a pedigree. Upon learning the doughnut had a whooping 376 calories I was amazed: Had the makers stumbled onto sometype of rift in the space-time continuum? Had they bent the laws of physics to make such a sinful deight? It was like staring at some type of new energy source to power the future. The secret is partially clear: deep-fry sugary rich goodness and then dip it in chocolate. Many times I passed the shelf, knowing that one day it would be gone and imagining the shear eastacy of bite after dite, but resisted. Today was that day. My co-workers and I learned a value lesson: I need to eat more sugar because I had a nasty post-sucrose crash and my co-worker don't ever want see me eat sugerbecause they get along with hyperactive Blair. (I jest!)

Drying out

2008-05-21T00:38:00.002-06:00

Shikaoi is drying out after nearly 30 hours of rain after the remains of a typhoon passed over Hokkaido. Little of the rain and wind was left compared to what fell on southern Japan but it was still enough to be called stormy. A patchy dark sky is all that represents the tailend of the storm today.

Zoo

2008-05-19T00:30:00.005-06:00

In leu of a cancelled class, I was invited to accompany the grade 1s and 2s on their field trip to the Obihiro Zoo. I'll skip a description of the sorry state of Japanese zoos and instead go right to the story: The weather was actually looking very ugly the day of, the only reason it went ahead is because the forecast for the backup day looked even worst. Drizzling rain; forbidding skies; dropping temperatures; that's what we had to work with. The kids were mostly happy to trounce around the empty park; the teachers close behind to make sure no one put there fingers where they weren't suppose to go. It was set up in a novel way with the grade 2s partnering with groups of grade 1s. Some groups managed to pick a plan and stick to it easily whereas other groups encountered a bit of drama in deciding what to see first. And no matter how many times the grade 2s were told not to run, everywhere poor grade 1s were left behind to be matched up at a later point by the teachers. Opening up a world of future disappointment, asked what animal they wanted to see the most, a common answer was the cheetah, of which the Obihiro Zoo has none. Of existing animals, most kids made a b-line for the hippos. The group I was with drew great pleasure from encouraging a sleepy polar bear into the water. The seals were also very popular due to the fact the water was very low and we could get very close to them. And, predictably, though we were at a zoo, about 20 grade 1s and 2s surrounded a tree with a lone terrified squirrel in it to their great amusement and created a highlight of the trip. For me, the petting zoo portion was most memorable; nothing was more heart-warming than watching the joy spread over the kids' faces as they discovered the world of rabbits annd guinea pigs. My smile refected in their shrieks of laughter. Everyone remained warm enough until we sat down for lunch. As soon as we stopped moving everyone got cold. To keep the children's spirits up, I never once complained about the weather (until later and only to the teachers), and led a rousing rendition of "Do the Hokey-Pokey" that even attracted the attention of the nearby giraffe and zebra. I wasn't particlarly tired until we got onto the bus and one by one the grade 1s started to fall asleep. At that point I started to feel my own fatigue. An interesting histoical note, I have been to this zoo once before in 1997 as a high school exchange student. I had completely put it out of my mind until I saw the monkey.. pit...? Kind of a sad state of affairs but re-living a zoo experience through my students I must admit I had a good time.

This elephant came over to see what all the commotion was about and stayed to watch us.

I don't get it

2008-05-15T23:45:00.001-06:00

My grade two's must have been to a check up recently because they were all over me today; grilling me about my dietary choices; checking for grey hairs (still none) and generally poking and pinching me. I don't exactly see its connection to health but eventually I was declared "safe", their only word for "healthy" gleaned from baseball. I was also harshly hushed by this same class for talking during Pokemon at lunch. As a treat the teacher allowed them watch Pokemon and I was caught babbling on about something when they wanted to watch the action. As for me, I don't understand the attraction of poorly drawn, poorly voiced anime, but the students seemed to like it. In the end, I might as well tried to carry on a converation with a carrot for how enchanted they were with the video. I couldn't keep up with all the characters and each's motovation. Did you know Pokemon characters differ vastly in size? I was admondished for thinking Pika Chu was the cutest as evidently that title is held but some... other... thing. I am reminded about the time I started to watch the first Harry Potter moive ten minutes in; I couldn't all the different characters straight nevermind what they were talking about. I was eventually kicked out of the room and thus ended my brief encounter with Harry Potter's world.

Blog Housekeeping

2008-05-14T00:12:00.005-06:00

I'm a bit late to the party for this post. Just some blog housekeeping I thought I should mention: I should have been more on the ball for such a momentous occasion. On May 8th my 10,000th individual reader loaded The Perfect Architecture Company since I started keeping track three years ago from somewhere in Gifu prefecture, Japan. The whole thing is a bit anti-clamtic since it turned out to be just some random person coming through google looking for "boy company architecture." (???) That is only one example of the some the strange architecture search combinations my blog manages to drag in. Search engine hits have increased in the past year as my blog has slowly worked its way up the google page rankings (onto the first or second pages). I can only imagine how depressing it must be to find my blog at the end of a link for perfect architecture. Suckers! In an effort to hoist this wreath of honour on a regular visitor, rather than someone who just stumbled onto my blog, never to return, I would like reader 10,001 to please step forward. If you live in Smokey Lake, Alberta, please identify yourself so you can claim your prize. You were the 10,001st visitor at 10:33 PM on May 8th!

The answer is: "Yes!"

2008-05-12T00:14:00.004-06:00

I decided to take the wedding invitation I received into school to show the teachers since many are of marrying age. You see, from an anthropological perspective it's an interesting cultural artifact. The young teachers commented on it's modern style and completeness (including maps, RSVP information, and such). It led to questions about how big Canadian weddings are compared to Japanese weddings (Japanese weddings are generally bigger because one is obligated to invite everyone from work, but on the other hand, people pay their own way), and I had to talk them out of the idea that all North American bachelor parties are like the ones that make international headlines or are represented in Hollywood movies. I thought the invaitation was pretty novel myself and the answer is yes - I will be attending.

2008-05-09T01:05:00.002-06:00

The bottom picture is of an especially sad sakura tree. It seems like just last week I was making fun of Albertans for their late snow and yet this was staring me in the face when I got to school this morning. It was only raining in Shikaoi (but cold), but the school, located on the plateau above Shikaoi (where I sometimes run), could not escape the the slushy fluffy snow. The kids actually seemed alright with it where as the teachers walked around like they were looking for the nearest cliff to jump off of. Being on plateau, there might have been a slim chance for that, but I knew in this case the plataue was only bordered on all sides by sharp ravines more likely to mame than finish the job completely. It would of been premature in anycase as the snow melted straight away but left a chill in the air. I'm wearing in the office now in my down vest over a sweater. I can also happily report I finished the lesson planning I needed to do for next week. Now all I have to just pick it up and go to class. My word, that's a good feeling on a Friday afternoon.

A story about Japanese Badminton

2008-05-07T23:04:00.005-06:00

Last week as I walked into the foyer of the Sports Center for badminton, my club members, already arrived, looked at me as if I was glistening cooked meat. Perhaps pulling a wagon of heavy gold after me? The reason behind this warm welcome was that, including myself, they reached a quorum and could now hold the annual club meeting as scheduled. I wasn't particularly looking forward to a meeting when I'd been expecting badminton but I grinned and bared it in light of how generous they've been to me. Though most talk about yearly financial statements went over my head, but I thought it humorous enough to note here that while there are barely 21 members, 12 of which pay dues and 7 of which come regularly, they run the club like it's a 10,000 strong non-profit organization with activities around the globe! Looking at the numbers in detail, I realize now there is no way our merger fees could ever cover the substantial cost of shuttles. I had no idea we used so many each year! A board of directors and annual meetings are crucial requirements to securing funding. It quickly became apparent the real sticking point would be positions on the board. The opposite problem of having everyone wanting the same position: there were not enough regular members to fill even a handful of the required positions within the club. This devolved into an abusrd spectacle of people taking multiple positions or assigning people not present to positions considered ceremonial (case in point, poor Ishida-san, not seen in months because of his bum knee, has to play park golf in September). In this respect it was the only corner cut. In this act I was basically dead weight because I'm leaving in a couple of months or I could have very easily found myself on the committee-to-plan-a-badminton-festival.

7 pic from Spring

2008-05-07T00:44:00.001-06:00

Tragedy Strikes Shikaoi's Sakura!

2008-05-06T06:33:00.004-06:00

Actually not really. Or at least I'm part of the problem. Saturday and Sunday - most people in Shikaoi having the same idea - I used the sunny weather as an excuse to put off chores. Marking the air for two days was the smell of cooked meat and bitter charcoal. I fully planned to finally take pictures Monday: Monday came and was not only overcast, but miserably cold and rainy. Not the best conditions for photos. Tuesday came and I made a special effort to get out but it was windy, an effect of the storm moving on out to see. No close ups were possible. Between the strong winds and long rain, there were more petals on the ground then on some trees. I did get some shots and will put them up tomorrow. Between running and swimming today (and doing 170 push ups - Booya!), I worry even this post will become incomprehensible, and thus don't trust my photoshopping skills at the moment. (How's my spelling?) Tomorrow, tomorrow I promise! Also this week; a great badminton story. Acutally a badminton meeting. Those Japanese keep me on my toes. I also have some photos from Honshu that I eventually want to put up onto facebook. A "best of" of sorts.

Good news in Shikaoi

2008-05-02T22:56:00.002-06:00

I never heard back yet if Shikaoi is getting the space port but the Sakura were in bloom today which is perfect timing because it's Golden Week and everyone has four days off in a row. That kind of news is liable to put anyone in a good mood! I'm not doing anything too special (but do plan on eating myself into a coma). One of my goals, other than getting a handle on spring cleaning and preparing for my future departure, is to run everyday. I just got back from an expectionally good run on the plateau above Shikaoi. Empty roads finally filled in with green fields on either side and everywhere along the horizon dotted with pink and white cherry trees. I was thankful I don't have any pressing injuries at the moment. It was the first run in a while that nothing hurt (comes with the territory of long distance running). I will get some pictures of the Sakura up probably tomorrow.

The Season for Fresh Winds

2008-04-30T23:52:00.002-06:00

Spring had been so sunny. Everyday waking up to blue skies. We were spoiled in Shikaoi for the months of March and April. Now Nature has taken back some of our good fortune. It rained all Sunday and though the rain has stopped by this point it has stayed overcast all week, keeping it rather cool. It makes runs during the day okay, but runs at sunset out of the question because there is no warmth in the air. A holiday in the middle of the week Tuesday has thrown me completely off. I basically had the nightmare scenario of two Monday's this week, one on Monday and another Wednesday. Friday came quickly enough though, with a full day of classes tomorrow. I have one goal to get a new avatar up soon to represent the season change. Me in my snow jacket no longer seems appropriate. I have also be doing other writing which means less time for blogging. Please be patience. I'm still living here, eating, running, etc., as normal, even if you don't hear from me. I promise a big update soon because I am coming up on a 4 - count 'em four - day weekend. Gonna have some Barbecue under the cherry blossoms!

Sakura Watch 2008

2008-04-30T01:31:00.002-06:00

This year I'm especially lucky as I'll be able to see the cherry blossoms twice because they bloom at different rates across the country. In Sapporo an email from a friend informed me they were already out earlier this week which means it is only a matter of time before they reach us here in Shikaoi. I noticed a tree just starting to bloom in front of the elementery school on Monday but no other signs. The buds I've seen are just about ready to reveal their glory so reader's will have to tided themselves over with the images provided until then.

Spring in Shikaoi

2008-04-26T18:54:00.002-06:00

At the Core of Every Child....

2008-04-24T23:50:00.007-06:00

...Is a Nuclear Reactor! Or so I have come to believe after witnessing another example of my student's unlimited energy. I don't understand how I can run for over an hour no problem but just watching my grade 3/4 split is tiring. For this to happen on a Friday is no great tragedy because I can be home from badminton by 10:05PM and in bed soon after. Class started easily enough, easing into a listening activity whereby I explained the days of the week and what I did on each. Grasping ficton to make my real life more intestering, things became slightly absurd, such as, I go dinosaurs hunting on Sundays. Beforehand I stressed that it was a listening excerise and moved topic to topic quickly so as to leave them no chance to comment on tangential points (which, to their curious minds, can always be found). After class the homeroom teacher and I agreed the exercise was well executed to their exact English level (or rather just slightly above it) and thus was challenging enough and engaging enough to be called a success. From there things revved up. I'm not sure why, but their after the action du jer became to jump up on certain words. A pattern to the trigger could not be discovered. They were doing their work so we let it slide thinking they would eventually tire themselves out. Just take a look around where you are reading this right now and imagine if, for whatever reason, on every 7th word or so you and your co-workers or co-habitants, jumped up. Wouldn't that make you tired? After all the jumping up, we moved to the next activity on the lesson plan: an activity about the days of the month in the gym. In a cloud of excited noise and bubbling voices we made our way to the gym where the months of the year had been carefully posted on the walls. We preceeded to ask them questions where the point was to charge as a group the the answer. But they would just keep running, and running, and running. By lunch, my only saving grace - and much in keeping with my students' sense of homour - was pinned on Super-Curry-and-Rice-Power.

Land of the Surreal

2008-04-23T00:50:00.005-06:00

I was thinking of misspelling surreal in the title just to make the post more surreal. I was coming in the door today when a normally quiet coworker from the other side of the office came over and asked me, is there a deer in Shikaoi elementary school? This was totally out of left field and took me by surprise. After I apprised myself of the situation I was able to answer with no great certainty that I remember a stuffed dear in the foyer of the school but hadn't explicitly noticed it recently. With no context it seemed like an absurb question. I must have seemed very uncertain because they phoned right over to find out for sure: where was the stuffed deer? Just get right on that, I thought. What could be going on that they need to know right this instant about the stuffed deer? I love living here; it keeps my mind supple.

Doubts of Spring

2008-04-22T00:26:00.003-06:00

Okay, I lied. No interesting stories today. A very normal straight-forward day. All my students were very impressed that I was able to go inside the Great Buddha at Kamakura. It sparked many interesting questions; the most pressing being did I touch the inside. I guess they expected the sculpture to ring like a bell. Being 121 tonnes of brozen, the walls are far too thick to make any noise other than a claustrophobic "thud".

Monday Just got Different

2008-04-20T20:12:00.002-06:00

I laughed all the way to school today and back out again. Class was cancelled - in fact the school was closed - and no one told me! Thus, having found myself with previously unknown free time, I set about working on another pressing project which does not include making a long Monday update here. Sorry. Stay tuned as I no doubt will commit several cultural faux pas this week and manage to smile my way out of them.

Introducing Grade 1s to English

2008-04-18T00:23:00.002-06:00

This week I've been in many of the first English classes ever for the new grade 1s. I'm not daunted at all as I've been through the process in years previous but they all come to the class with a mixture of fright, cuteness, energy and curiosity that's very heart-warming. They're still very new to the school environment and the overwhelming number of things expected of them. They come to class shrinking under the weight of all the new experiences. In an effort to combat this, especially in the smaller schools filled with older bigger students with no smaller kids in which to commiserate and play with, we had a bit of a welcoming ceremony today that included interviews and games. The rest of the school was in the gym doing last minute preparations while the guests of honour were waiting on the other side of the door. At the time of the big unveil - no kids! Evidently we took too long and they went into the music room next door out of boredom and curiosity. Shame on us. The multiple choice quiz about the new grade ones carefully crafted by the grade sixes, to show they aren't all that bad, had some unexpected answers. One of the new grade ones is a perfect picture of exhaustion this week. He's overwhelmed by all the attention but sits patiently, feet not touching the floor, shoulders sagging, and, to his credit, eyes still bright. His eyes are so big it's like a window into the innocence of his soul but I don't know what to say about the three front teeth he's missing creating a black gap when he smiles or laughs. Previously interviewed by the grade sixes to make sure everything went smoothly, on the first question, given three choices of which he like best - oranges, bananas or strawberries - he changed his answer and picked the fourth - grapes! - to a great roar of laugher from the audience. We declared the first question a practice round and reminded him of the rules. On next three questions he exposed a habit of shaking his head to the answers he didn't like and staying as still as a tombstone for his preference, trying to act nonchalant. I don't know if it was an unconscious act or if he still didn't understand the rules but it sure was refreshing humour in an all to mad world.

Busy in the Office for a Thursday

2008-04-17T00:59:00.002-06:00

Got into the office a bit later than I had wanted to. Returned to a desk full of messages and an office full of people for no discernible reason. This update will have to be quick because other stuff on the list need to get done before work ends. There is always the option of staying late, but that would cut into a run, which this week has turn into a stationary bike workout because of a continuing foot injury. (I wish I could just cut the thing off.) I've been surprised how hard a bike workout can be if you push yourself and I am counting my blessing that it doesn't hurt my foot at all. The sunsets in Shikaoi have been spectacular lately as a result of a rather dirty atmosphere. It has stayed dusty and dry for a week and though it's hazy enough to dull the mountains during the day, the west around 5-6 PMish is fiery orange. Tomorrow is Friday and I will be sure to include a story.

Tokyo is Busy

2008-04-15T01:21:00.006-06:00

[click to expand thumbnails]

We decided to make Kamakura, about 50 minutes from Shibuya by train, a day-trip. It has an interesting blend of history and style that I had not been aware of previously. Historically, it was a mountainous, sea-side retreat outside Edo for temples. Today it's still a retreat, but as the area was swallowed up by greater metropolitain Tokyo, it now severs as a sea-side weekend destination for Tokyo-ites. Kamakura positivily glows with a laid back surfer mentality and high-class style. The crown jewel of Kamakura is the Great Buddha. Again bronze. The makers also felt motivated to equipped the Buddha with gaint slippers should He feel the need to move around. Lead inside the Great Buddha, Uncle Terry and I were in awe of the structural prowess of ancient Japanese. Footnote: In 1252 a tsunami came quite far up the valley and wiped out the temple covering the statue, leaving only the rock supports Aunt Judy and I rest on, but, attesting to the strength and weight of 121 tonnes of bronze, it didn't budge the statue, leaving the statue open to the elements as we see it today.

Calling Kamakura, "little Kyoto" with its shrines and narrow streets would not seem out of place. We entered Hase shrine almost by chance as we wondered past and its manicured bursting gardens drew us in. It turned out to be quite a find. The garden up the side of the mountain behind the main temple complex was peacefully shaded and offered a great veiw of Kamakura beach and the ocean. The oppurtiunity to enter a real cave shrine on the grounds was also memorable (but didn't offer any good pictures because it was so dark). It was a beautiful spring day, sunny, and neither too hot nor too cold, with all sorts of flowers starting to appear. I couldn't ask for more; but there was!

This tree-lined avenue sits between two roads with traditional shopping on each. With the cherry blossoms just starting, it was crowded with people heading to Kamakura's main shrine. Simple but amazing as the crowd's good mood was infectious. It's worth noting that the streets to my right (out of frame) are narrow and old, dating back to the very beginning of Kamakura itself, and lined with traditional stores offering sweets and ceramics. It offers a very good glimpse into what traditional Kamakura might have been like.

A sampling of pictures from Harajuku on Sunday: A Tokyo institution that's influential nation-wide and offers some of the best people watching in the world. The picture directly about shows the critical JR Yamanoto Line train at Harakuji station. Past the station in the picture is Yayogi Park where we took a break from the dense crowds of Harajuku in the shade of massive cyrpus trees.

These people probably have very normal day jobs but cut loose on Sundays to re-create a 50s motocycle gang - that dances (this is Japanese we're talking about). Sadly, this kind of activity has been in decline by government ordinance since it's peak period around 96 when the whole block would fill with combative sub-culture groups dancing. Harajuku might be the one place Japanese show their rebelliousness with acts like these. I'm also aware the bagpipers also use the park for a practice area. I haven't seen these guys out before and felt lucky to see a true counter-culture experience in Tokyo.

While walking back from Harajuku we decided to follow the JR line to our hotel. It offered a quieter residential look at Tokyo in contrast to the high-energy streets. Though pedestrain and car traffic is down, the high-density architecture does not stop.

There is too much movement at the Tsukiji Fish Market to be caught by my camera. This time we were able to catch the very tail end of the Tuna auction, an event, I was told, whose adminance was highly limited. We followed the other tourists with cameras and walked right in. The rest of the market is open to the public, if one is willing to risk life and limb walking through a huge working fish market.

Best. Sushi. In. The. World. Okay, some readers may want more infomation than this; but perhaps others will think details on raw fish are already too much. If you walk through Tsukiji and like seafood, without doubt at the end you will be hungry. Tucked away in this market the size of a city are many restaurants. The quality is normally very good because the locals eat there. I was looking to revisit a traditional sushi shop that Sean and I had found the year before. Chefs no longer look down on frozen tuna, making un-frozen tuna something of a lost speciality. I had the Meguro (tuna) course for breakfast and $32 got me 8 peices of Heaven. From left to right; two pieces each of meguro, normal tuna; chu-toro, slightly fatty; O-toro, the good stuff from the tuna belly which is very fatty, bordering on creamy and buttery when actually in the mouth. The texture, of course, is beyond reproach, making some Japanese sushi and most foreign sushi seem rubbery and inconsistent in comparison. Lastly there is Aburi-o-toro, where the prime O-toro tuna belly cut is lightly chared with a blow torch. This melts and releases some of the fat, thereafter convincing anyone of tuna's fatty richness supremacy. In addition to this feast, and in an ode to gluttony that normally does not hold me, I ordered their daily recommendation which happened to be O-toro from the Pacific near Spain. That ran me another $5 each for two. It might seem unothodox to eat sushi for breakfast or even under any curcumstances order such expensive sushi, but the same quality and quanity bought in Ginza would bring a considerably higher tab.

Monday Delays

2008-04-14T01:26:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow I will post the final installment of pictures from my trip down South in March. It's sitting about half done at the moment. In class today we were discussing adjectives and one of the grade three girls I already consider bright stated firmly that an afro-donned character was "funky". How cool is that?

Two Highlights

2008-04-10T01:27:00.008-06:00

[click to expand thumbnails]

I really do love each Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto but as it happens both highlights are from Wakayama Prefecture. Some explanation should be given on how I got to know this wonderful area. Some good friends of mine are originally from Wakayama. Suggesting that they have a slightly different character than Hokkaido-ians would not be out of place (like the different between Albertan's and Newfoundlander). The way they talked about Wakayama drew me to it. It possessed qualities that everyone should witness before they die and offered many quintessential Japanese experiences. And it should not be forgotten they were also the first to introduced me to the fine produce of Wakayama. Wakayama-ken is located just south of Osaka on the coast. It is the southern most prefecture in Honshu, not Yamaguchi-ken as is often believe (even by some Japanese).

The train ride through the mountains to ancient Mount Koya proved the interior of Japan is exactly like I imagined. Knife-edge sharp ridges so rugged only the flatness areas could be settled, and even those are scarce. Most of Japan's interior areas are like this, its harsh geography at odds with its beauty. Though the distances by map are not great, it still takes forever to get from one point to another because of the winding paths trains must take. (And there was a cable car after that!)

Mount Koya has a long and complex history, being both a town and a temple. Established in the 9th century as a buddhist retreat by Kobodashi (774–835), it is now the center of the sect he founded, Shingon Buddhism. I found Koya-san more religious than other places I've visited in Japan with the possible exception of Kyoto. It's one of the only places I've visited where seeing Monks and Buddhist pilgrims in exotic garb is a common sight on the streets. Chanting emanating from dark sacred spaces is carried on the wind.

About half of the 100 temples around Koya-san offer temple lodging, so this was a natural place to stay. Sharing the Shojoshin temple with practicing monks, its old wood infused and darken with incense, was like stepping back in time.

Our temple lodging was ideally situated (as in sitting right beside) one of the main attractions - in both terms of beautiful and history - of Mount Koya; Okunoin. It's a bit hard to explain all that the area contains but needless to say it's a UNESCO world heritage site: Part historic temple, part mausoleum for founder Kobadashi, part pilgrimage site, part graveyard, there was enough to keep busy for days. Okunoin is situated in a valley created by five mountains in a very scenic and ancient cyprus forest. 500,000 Japanese graves are located there, a number that is hard to fathom. The most historical graves, comprising a significant number of famous people from Japanese history, are buried up the main path to the temple.

Reenforcing my belief that earlier risers are not crazy but indeed blessed; getting up early basically gave us an entire world heritage site to ourselves (compounded by the fact we were visiting in the low season). The sunlight was golden, cut into slivers by the tall trees, the atmosphere crisp and fresh, and the zillions of paths wandering through the hills where ancient graves lay void not only of crowds, but also people. The tragedy of Okunoin is that everywhere one looks there is an amazing view to photograph. Eventually, I did the smart thing and put my camera away, for fear of missing the experience I came for. It was better to let my senses soak in the mountain. My pictures represent only a fraction of what we saw that cool spring morning. A different world awaited us as we retreated back to the center of town around 10 AM. Under a different sun, the character of Okunoin changed, drained of its magic. (Lost in no small part due to the arriving tour buses.)

For years I've held steadfast the goal of seeing a real example of the quintessential Japanese coastlines portrayed in wood-block prints and tour brochures. I was not let down upon arrival as the real thing looked practically from a story book. Postcard perfect coast stretching for kilometers. The dots of tiny islands, trees gripping for dear life on top, looked like they dripped from an artist's brush. Speaking as a prairie boy, Sea Kayaking is one way I can enjoy the ocean (and even then I will only admit to liking it a bit) and in Wakayama it really does offers one of the best ways to appreciate the sharp cliffs and dark volcanic rock that makes up the Japanese coastline. Because the shore is so steep, it's incredibly easy to get close to the tiny islands. It's magical approaching them in the silent and smooth kayaks, dodging around them, admiring the scant green vegetation that clings on top. There is the unmistakable feeling at being at one with the waves. The water was a warm turquoise and clear right to the rocky reef bottom. With our guide Taishi, we ducked under a towering tidal bridge, explored shallows caves and in general enjoyed how close self-powered transport can get to nature.

Osaka is Delicious

2008-04-07T07:42:00.004-06:00

Click to enlarge. My comments follow.

Something akin to what seasoned travelers do when Tokyo Disney is off the table; We take the Shinkansen! Here we are catching the train from Shinagawa station in Tokyo to Shin-Osaka station.

Authentic veiws of the Namba district of Osaka. The top is Dotomburi Canal, most likely cursed. And second, Dotomburi Street, named for the after mentioned canal. I have nothing witty to add.

Enjoying the good weather we walked around the old fortifications of Osaka Castle one morning. We saw lots of locals taking advanage of the great early spring weather like us and bus loads more tourists on the way to the castle. We decided to passed on the castle since it's a fairly modern reconstruction that pales in comparison to Himeji Castle, which can only be described as the "very real thing".

My sharp eyed Uncle and Aunt spotted a mexican restaurant high above the Shinbashi shopping arcade that has been in continuous operation since the early 80s. A sure sign of quality in my books. We had happy hour (at prices for Carona we couldn't say no too). Tastes eaten denied for years nearly brought tears to my eyes.

This picture bears repeating. Sure it's funny I'm distracted by this thing on the ceiling, but the location is insane. Namba station is one of Japan's largest. (And it doesn't even have a Shinkansen line!) It's an indoor labyrinth of shops, department stores and exits that no one in their right mind would build. But, wait, its size does have purpose. Utilizing all usable space, it also protects travellers and shopper alike from the deluge accompanying the rainy season and offers a controlled climate for the humid Osaka summers. You'll be partway there if you imagine a bigger verison of the Vancouver international airport with less windows that's older and more confusing; all filled with a hundred times as many people. That should give the reader a rough idea. What really blows my mind is that it isn't even the biggest station per square foot in Osaka. That title is held by the imposing Umeda/Osaka station north of Namba. People have actually been lost inside. I've gone through it by train but never stepped off.

On our day trip to Nara, about 40 minutes from Osaka, on the grounds of Nara's historical park, we visited Kasuga Shrine, which is famous for its lanterns. My pictures don't do the temple justice with it's thousands and thousands of lanterns of every description. It was an awesome sight that has to be experienced.

Also located on the same park grounds is Todai Temple. Probably Japanese for "very big". This temple nearly turned me into a Buddhist. It's an awesome sight. The top image is the Buddha's house, so-to-speak. Still the largest wooden structure in the world. Inside is a brozen Buddha statue of mind boggling proportions surrounded by a fiery goldern mandala that recalls heaven. Here the majestic entrance gate is seen from the temple. One has to imagine entry from the proper direction to get the full impression of what it must of have been like for anicent worshippers to approach the temple.

To help the restoration of the temple roof there was an option to buy and donate a ceramic roofing tile under a sign stating that purchase guaranteed eternal tranquility. Under the supremely peaceful face - but fierce eyes - of the Great Buddha, Uncle Terry empty his pockets. Why am I writting the one writing then? From the "drop-in-the-ocean" dept.: they only need another 199,999 tiles to finish the project.

As yes, the Nara deer. It bears repeating to never ever even give said dear the slightest impression one might be carrying food. And who would be foolish enough to actualy try to feed them? Don't say you haven't been warned.

The day after we had fugu we all noticed colours seem brighter and Japanese food more tasty. Everyone liked the fish but not all the vegtables were recognizable to Albertans. And I got to pet a puffer fish. How cool is that? I was really hoping it would puff up. Some gourmets look down on fugu, saying it's just for the experience, but what an experience! Besides, in reality, fugu does sometimes make it to the plates of fine restaurants. The place we visited took the preperation and presentation of fugu to the a high degree of seriousness. Only accepting the highest quality fish between 1.2 and 1.3 kg. Noticing later in other tanks fugu distinctly fell below and above that magical 100 gram range.

A preview of next week

2008-04-06T06:32:00.002-06:00

I finished a super run tonight before a dinner. I've been running a couple times since I got home but kept the pace slow. This was the first time really pushing myself. Everything felt great. With running everyday I'm use to a certian amount of soreness and tiredness. Giving me something to worry about, I often wonder if permanent damage has occured. But inevitably, with a couple days off, as this last trip proves, I heal up wonderfully. Over 100% even; considering I'm bursting with energy from not running. Tonight as I type this out, listening to my headphones, I'm comforted by the familiar soreness that comes from a good effort. Tomorrow, as normal as the sun rises, I to will thankfully be back at 100%. Which leads me to the business at hand: Tomorrow we tack pictures from Osaka and then, after that, my favorite post to write will be of my two highlights of the trip, sea kayaking and Koya-san. We're not finished yet!

Kyoto is Peaceful

2008-04-03T22:10:00.008-06:00

This post represents the commencement of a series of long-form posts about my March travels. It represents only a fraction of the photos taken in addition to reflecting only a fraction of all there is to see and do in Kyoto. After my brief stay in Kyoto, I was leary to return to Tokyo even to catch my flight. [My comments follow the images. Click to enlarge.]

Here my Aunt and I are looking out over the celebrated rock garden at Ryoan temple in northern Kyoto. The rock garden is centuries old and the whole temple is now a UNESCO world heritage site. Designed by a mysterious master in the early 1400s, the garden is still raked every morning, giving the impression that little has changed over the centuries in regard to the daily routine of this temple. If one is lucky enough to find a seat on the covered veranda, one can begin to feel the temple's calmness wash over them, at least until a korean tourist askes for your spot.

Koto-in is a ancient bastion of the Japanese tea ceremony and is situated in the much larger Daitoku-ji temple complex in northern Kyoto. Daitoku-ji and it's twenty-four associated sub-temples consitute the center of Rinzai Buddhism. Despite the massive numbers of tourists in Kyoto itself, oasis of calm can be found, reflecting a temple's historical atmosphere. I was happy to capture a little of what it must have been like in the temple's hayday. It sure was a peaceful place. Note the solitary stone lartern that represents the resting place for the ashes of the founder of the temple, a samurai, whose name, I must apoligize, I forget, who dedicated his life to Buddhism and the tea ceremony. It's about 600 years old and looks it if you get to it. Surprisingly, though the site is both a UNESCO world herigate site (what can I say; they're thick on the ground in Kyoto) and old, the lack of barriers and emptiness only adds to the effect that one is stepping back in time. (Until the distance sounds of airplanes bring you back.)

Here is the man himself, the head of the Rinzai-sect of buddhism. He doesn't remember me from when Sean and I bumped into him in a nearly empty temple last year on a rainy Kyoto day. He sure is a happy follow and lucky to boot; Daisen-in is the abbot's residence and home to one of the best examples of Zen rock gardens in the world, rivaling only the previously mentioned Ryoan-ji. The garden is slightly different in character in that, instead of mimicking the ocean like Ryoan-ji, it represents the landscape in miniature. And it really does pull it off convincingly with immaculately manicured plants and natural rocks set at exact angles. No pictures of the garden allowed, which was fine by me, all the better to soak up the experience.

Kiyomizu-dera is important both municipally and nationally. Due to the temple's high altitude, the cherry blossoms were just barely out but the view from the veranda and wonderful architecture make it worth the trip alone. Needless to say, it's also a world heritage site. Please ask uncle Terry what he bought that is connected to this temple - that exact spot actually. Easily the best find on the trip! Despite the beautiful buildings, the temple is actually named for a spring at the bottom supposedly possessing magically properties. However, the only thing the water carries in Spring is dangerous bacteria. Luckily for us, the spring was clear that day and we each drank our fill. The choices were study/academic luck, love luck or business luck. This is in stark contrast to last year when I drank several life times worth of sacred spring water with Sean at a near empty Kiyomizu-dera. I think I'm covered for life now.

Okay. Finally here is a place Sean and I didn't go last time becuase it was closed for the New Year's holidays; Nijo Castle. Not quite as impressive militarily as Japan's Himeji Castle, it is still important enough to be called a world hertigate site because of it's architectural importance and priceless painted silk screens. It recalls nothing of the austere Kiyomizu-dera, instead - because of the shoguns need to perpetuate his weath and power over the emperor - it has a much more glamourous flamboyant style with gilt-gold and fine carvings. Ninja fans will also appreciate Nijo castle; in constrast to the grandeur of the rooms, it is a labyrinth of secrets doors and booby-traps. My favorite being the nightingale floors that are made to squeak as a person passes over them making ambush impossible. In modern times the squeaking continually plays in visitors' ears as they tour the building to great effect.

I would be remiss not mentioning the dinner on the last night before we parted ways. I am very greatful to my Aunt and Uncle to have the opportunity to return to Yoshizen. There is a lot to say about a meal this caliber, in addition to all the contrasts between what we assume Japanese cuisine to be and the reality. There were thirteen courses, each more grand than the last. The next morning we were sure to write down each before we forgot. I was feeling especially lucky because spring mountain vegtables (sansai) were in season which means one can eat plants in their young stages that aren't normal that good or even edible. I love sansai soba or tempra but Master Yoshi took everything to another level. In the picture, Master Yoshi is to the right and while Mrs. Nakai, our kind and helpful friend, sneaks behind the bar to take a picture. Not too many pictures tho, we were busy eating! A big thank-you to my Aunt and Uncle!

From the restaurant, feeling content from a meal boarding on the divine, Mrs. Nakai guided us down a street known for its night view of the Sakura. The streets were pretty full but we quickly gained strength as our spirits rose in tandem with the other merry onlookers; everyone's mood buoyed by the sight before them; happy Spring had finally come and offered them such bessings as Nature saw fit.

And it bares mentioning one last time (I promise it's the last time); everywhere blooming cherry trees! Amazing!

Paging Dr. Usui

2008-04-02T19:41:00.006-06:00

Returning to Shikaoi: Making his first formal appearance on my blog is someone whom I'm fortunate to call friend; Kazuteru. Last night in characteristically understated Shikaoi fashion with a meal at Tori-sei we lemented his eminent departure from Japan and celebrated his acceptence at Stanford Unviersity in sunny California to do post-graduate research on DNA I can't possibly understand. So - thou I'm sure he'll hate it - it's Dr. Usui to the rest of us mere mortals. It's equally uncommon for someone from Shikaoi, or Stony Plain for that matter, to be accepted to Stanford and thus, I feel, it's a cause for great happiness. Timing was perfect as my house was still empty from the trip and I had to eat, right? Above is a picture of Kazuteru looking academic and stately and, in fairness, to placate him, I have included a picture of me stuffing my face with some of the best onigiri on the planet. (Since discovering Tori Sei riceballs I can barely face the 7-11 variety. Tori Sei's are shaped by hand and filled only with the highest quality ingredients. My favorite would be salmon, caringly grilled over charcoal right at the restaurant, giving the rice ball a succulent burst of internal flavor, matched with slightly salted rice.)

Notes

2008-04-01T18:53:00.005-06:00

To sort through my thoughts from all that has passed since my Uncle Terry and Aunt Judy arrived will take some time. I think I will work my way backwards. Today in the office I was surprised to find that I may or may not be going to a teacher conference this week. I have returned full speed with other commitments on the near horizion too. Next week the new school year starts. I will neglect things at home and go for a run after work of which I'm very excited. Driving back from the airport last night I was relived to be out of Kyoto's traffic which had been slow, packed and daunting due to people viewing cherry blossoms from cars (not to mention the traffic of Osaka and Tokyo which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy). To have the streets before me empty of tail lights was a relief. With no street noise around, my house was deathly quiet which took no time getting use to. I couldn't have asked for better traveling companions and I thank them for their generosity. We covered an absolutely gaganitic amount of stuff culturally though not that much ground geographically. Some highlights do come to mind which I'll detail in the coming days but importantly I want to mention how perfect our timing was (part of the plan) to see Honshu in full bloom. Abolsutely everywhere we looked one could see trees in bloom, most of them sakura but some were fruit trees. It's hard to impress on the foreign reader just how amazing and fortunate a sight it was. Below is an image of an average - average - street in Kyoto. Amazing!! Also included is a picture of my travel weary mug that will soon be radicadly changed when I find where I put my shaver.

Kyoto

2008-03-30T23:52:00.002-06:00

I can't complain about the grey dreary weather because for the most part the weather has been day after day of great, warm, glad-to-be-alive spring sunshine.

The weather has slowed but not stopped the Sakura's march to glory. Tomorrow my part of the trip ends but tonight we feast!

Another Update

2008-03-30T07:28:00.003-06:00

Today in Kyoto we saw Ryoan-ji with its famous rock garden and the Daitoku-ji temple complex where we met the national abbot of the Rinzai sect of Buddhism. Mid-day it started to rain and we were forced inside where we walked through the luxurious Nijo Castle before heading out to anicent Pontocho for dinner. Tomorrow is our last day together and we are planning to see Kyoto's twin crown jewels of Kiyomizu-dera and Sanjusangendo before quietly watching the cherry blossoms which thankfully have been in prime form for our entire journey. For our last dinner we will be returning to Gion to Yoshizen for a meal fit for an emperor.

Arrived in Kyoto

2008-03-29T08:44:00.002-06:00

We went from this in Osaka:

To this on the coast in Kushimoto, Wakayama:

We also Sea kayaked today. Everyone returned dry.

Lots more to add but we arrived late in Kyoto and we start touring early tomorrow.

Surviving Fugu

2008-03-27T03:47:00.003-06:00

Just like a TV drama, this post is titled "Surviving Fugu", and just like a sitcom writer, I am again under gun to get a post finished before the deadline. As evidenced by this post, I have survived a return visit to the same restaurant Sean and I visited in 2006. Uncle Terry had a hard time with the tofu on offer and an unidentified vegetable I have taken to calling "the space vegetable". By showing interest in fugu, the kind owner actually got one out of a tank and I was able to have the unique experience of petting it. Reality betraying my imagination; I was surprised it didn't puff up. Light on the details, I will skip to the end and reveal that the meal calumniated in an out-of-this-world rice porridge utilizing the broth from our fugu and vegetable nabe (stew). [click the small thumbnails to enlarge]

Though are hotel is near this point, it is not nearly as busy in front of the hotel. The fugu restaurant, hidden from guide books and tourists, is a couple of blocks forward from this point, down a narrow road, and into an unasuming, kanji-strewn store front.

I promised my aunt to include some pictures. Here taken from the Osaka Castle grounds. Great weather for a walk with the locals.

Also at the request of my aunt, a silly picture of me. Here something shiny has caught my attention.

Day Trip

2008-03-26T07:05:00.002-06:00

Today we did a day trip to Nara, Japan's ancient capital.

The Great Buddha, no other description need apply.

We also visitied Kasuga-ji, a Shinto shrine known for it's lanterns. Nara is, of course, known for its tame dear.

Sometimes the best things in life are free

2008-03-25T04:21:00.004-06:00

Just to tied everyone over until a full update:

A picture from the Tuskiji Fish Market. Later I ate some of the best sushi in the world while Uncle Terry watched.

The above is a picture from Okunoin on Mount Koya. Worth the effort to get out there, espically in the low season, which can best be describle as having a world UNESCO site to ourselves.

Osaka!

2008-03-25T03:35:00.002-06:00

We've safely arrived in Osaka from our night on Mount Koya. Getting up early and walking up to Okunoin was quite an experience. I'd like to write about it move fully but time is scarce and we have to get ready for dinner. Tomorrow the really Great Buddha of Nara. Pictures and text to come!

Sunday in Tokyo

2008-03-23T07:44:00.003-06:00

Went to a couple of places today. First on the list was Shibuya's Omotesando for some shopping and then on to Harajuku for some of the best people watching in the world. Saw Yayogi's Meiji Shrine and caught Mario and Miki for lunch. Later we walked down the JR line to get back to the hotel. Though inclemental weather was predicted, because we packed rain gear, the weather stayed beautiful. Above a view from Omotesando toward the station. Below, a look back toward Harajuku from a different station. Tomorrow morning - early - Tsukiji Fish Market; and later on to Mount Koya for a night in a buddhist temple (read: no internet.)

Short on Time

2008-03-22T03:52:00.003-06:00

Today, amongst other things, we saw the 800 year old Great Buddha at Kamakura. Very cool. Also notable was the weather, which was great, and seemed to put the normally rushed people of Tokyo in a tranquil state. (Click to enlarge)

Terry says Wow

2008-03-21T08:51:00.002-06:00

We've safely made it to Tokyo. Tomorrow a day trip to Kamakura.