A Nihon Christmas Story

I know it is not right to exploit poor, defenseless, innocent Japanese school children, but I can’t help it. I was born and raised in Cleveland. This is something that I have thought about doing since I applied for the JET program in November of 2005. What you are about to witness may not be funny to those people who are not from the land of Cleves, but it is my tribute to my beloved hometown and a movie that is as much of a holiday tradition in my family as “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Without further ado…

Thanksgiving in Japan

Undoubtedly, one of the toughest times to be away from family and friends is during the holidays. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I think it’s because there isn’t a lot of hoopla around this particular holiday, just really good food and hanging out with people you love.
This year, even though we were missing home, we were lucky enough to be asked to two Thanksgiving dinners. The first dinner was on Thursday, November 24th, proper Thanksgiving Day. It was kind of strange because I had the day off work, too. Not because it was American Thanksgiving Day, but Japanese Labor Day. Regardless, no school means more time to eat. Another ALT in our town, Aura, was nice enough to invite us over to her apartment for dinner. Her mom, dad, and younger sister were visiting from California and brought a beef brisket and a turkey stowed away in her checked luggage. Oh boy! All together, there were going to be about 13 people for dinner. Our job was to bring the mashed potatoes. I had gone to the store the night before to buy the supplies, but for some reason the store was closed. No problem, I thought, I can go to the store in the morning. Little did I know that Murphy would pay me a Thanksgiving visit and would slap his law right across my turkey!
Most supermarkets in Japan open at 10:00 am. Aura had asked us to be at her place for noon. No problem. I was set to walk out the door at 9:50, when I heard voices outside. No it was not Murphy, but Asada-san, the housing manager for the Ito Board of Education. He and a crew of three other men came to put in our new bathroom window. To make a long story short, after some chit-chat, it was 10:45 before I got to the store. The line at the store was long; the traffic home was horrid; it took me forever to peel the potatoes; the water wouldn’t boil; the hand mashing was a PAIN; (mashed potatoes are not as easy without an electric hand mixer) needless to say, we were late. We got to Aura’s house about 12:40.
One of the things that was POUNDED into my head before I left for Japan was how the Japanese are a people of promptness. They are on time and they expect other people to be as well. Needless to say, I felt terrible. I apologized when I got there and the several Japanese people that were there, along with everyone else, were extremely gracious, but I still felt bad. (Oburr, if you are reading this, I am still sorry I was late!)
Dinner was being put on the table when we got there, but we had just enough time to make the international debut of a long standing Hudak Family Thanksgiving tradition; the shaking of the butter. It started at my preschool, Appleseed, but my family adopted it maybe 15 years ago and has been a beloved Turkey Day activity ever since. Fill a glass jar with heavy whipping cream, add salt to taste, and take turns shaking it until the cream actually “pop” into butter (just like the pilgrims did it!). The person holding the jar when that happens is the winner and usually gets a small prize like candy (just like the pilgrims did it?!) It was a great way to keep the kids out of the kitchen while my mom cooked.
Several of the other guests tried it, but they didn’t seem as excited as I was. Except, that is, for one of Aura’s mom’s friends. In her limited English, she told me that she wrote a newsletter to cancer patients and was going to write about the “magic cream”. It made me happy:)
The dinner was really nice with the brisket, turkey/ham, mashed potatoes, cheese, bread, cookies, seven-layer dip, and even a quasi-pumpkin pie.






We stayed for a few hours, but a food coma started to kick in, so Paul and I headed home relax in front of the TV.

Our second Turkey day was Sunday, December 3rd. Our friend Katie organized a Thanksgiving picnic down in her town of Minami Izu. Katie had been cooking like a crazy woman for days before trying to get everything ready. It's hard to prepare food for 15 with an oven the size of a microwave!

I was worried about eating outside, but it turned out to be a really nice day. We had dinner at a park next to a river. There was tons of good food and good company.

I brought the butter shaking here too and it was received with a little more enthusiasm...

It was a cool day, so to warm up and burn off some calories we started playing the unofficial national sport of Japan-dodge ball. Using two-liter bottles of pop, we made a court and had some pretty intense games.

We ate and played until the sun was getting ready to set, then we packed up our cars and headed back to Ito.

All in all, both Thanksgiving feasts were great and definitely memorable!

The Feel of Tokyo

I logged into Myspace today and this video popped up. I think it totally captures all of the things about Tokyo that are amazing and foreign. At the same time, it captures the home-like feel of a big city. I am intrigued by this feeling. Anywhere in the world you go, a big city has certain sights, smells, sensations, and emotions associated with it. It could be because I've been watching a lot of "Sex and the City" lately, but I am wishing that Lisa and I had checked the "city" box on our JET applications instead of "suburban town." At the same time, I doubt that Tokyo would feel the same if we lived in it every day. I guess you could say that Ito is like New Jersey to the Big Apple. We have everything we need here, and the countryside is gorgeous, especially now that fall has taken a firm hold of the landscape, but Tokyo is just right-over-there! I think I just convinced myself that Lisa and I have a prefect arrangement. But if any of you come to visit, rest assured we will be making a trip to the Big Sushi!

On a side note, I am reminded of several conversations I have had or overheard lately. A lot of people today bash capitalism as the root of all evil. Let's face facts, though. Without a profit motive and free enterprise (cornerstones of said root of all evil), there would be no reason for so many people to gather in one place. Without all those people buying and selling in one place, there is no city. So if you Heart NY, or any other metropolis, tip your hat a little to the rat race, that economic system we sometimes love to hate, Capitalism.


Posted By:Myles

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Oh, and let me just give a shout out to all my New Yorker Family, especially those who still live there--mad props goin' out to Staten Island Ronnie n' Alan WHAT WHAT!).

Comments

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to tell you that we appreciate you reading our blog. Sometimes, though, it feels a little empty here. I was wondering if any of you would consider leaving comments once in a while. You don't have to gush about how much you liked it. A simple "Hey you guys!" will do. You could even share your own experiences that are similar. The reason I'm saying this is because the counters on blogspot are sketchy and don't often report actual numbers of people who have visited our blog. Also, like any good book, some of the coolest stuff is in the footnotes (or comments).

Some folks have hinted that they don't know exactly where to look for the "add a comment" button, so I have included some photos for you. At the bottom of every post to the blog is a bar that shows the date and number of comments. It looks like this:

Click on the word "Comments," and the pop-up window that results will have a space for you to type, an identity list, and a submit button. It's really convenient, because every comment you leave will be emailed to us. It also alleviates confusion, as some folks have emailed us that they loved soemthing in the blog, but since it's not tagged to a specific item, I have no idea which post they loved, so that I can write more about that. So, if you really like (or hate) something in the blog, feel free to roll on down to the comment bar and say something about it!

Dr. Jones, I presume? No, uh, Sugiyama?

So, the other day I got an email from Lisa's supervisor at City Hall. He said that he might have some part time work for me, and that he wants me to come down to City Hall after I finish at Higashi Elementary School to talk about it. So, Wednesday, I finished early at school and walked the 500 feet from Higashi Elementary to City Hall. When I arrived, Toshi had me wait for a moment while he went to look for the people who needed to talk to me. About 5 minutes later, he came back to where I was sitting and said, "Ok, they are ready."

We walked into the lounge that overlooks the park outside Ito City Hall, and Toshi Introduced me to Sugiyama-San, who, it turns out, is an archaeologist. Sugiyama-San is doing research on the Edo period. Apparently, Ito played a large part in the power struggles that went on during the Edo period.

Back in those days, the Emperor of Japan was more of a figurehead who represented the Spirit of the Country. The real seat of political power was the Shogun's throne (pronounced Show-goon). One of the most Famous, and first Shogun to hold major power from Edo (modern-day Tokyo) was Tokugawa Ieasu. Tokugawa is the Shogun that befriended Anjin-San in James Clavell's Shogun, a book about the Edo Period, adapted from actual events surrounding the lives of Tokugawa and William Adams, who is quite famous in Ito, as it is where he docked his ship when he arrived in Japan for the first time. Apart from making Englishmen into Samurai, Tokugawa was extremely busy during his day. He militarily conquered many of the feudal lords of Japan and united them under one Shogun, himself.

In order to maintain their loyalty, Tokugawa set the Daimyo ("dime-yo"--Japanese Feudal lords, who controlled the Samurai) to a task. He commissioned the construction of a castle in Shizuoka called Sumpu Castle. Each Daimyo was bound by honor and threat of death to supply equipment and manpower for the construction of the castle and its grounds.

As it turns out, one of the Daimyo lived on the Izu Peninsula. This area has an abundance of strong stone, so the Daimyo set his craftsmen to the task of carving out stones for building. Another advantage to this area was its close proximity to the sea, so that the rocks could be loaded onto ships and sent to Edo (Tokyo) or Shizuoka, wherever the building materials were needed.

Apparently, each stone cut by the Daimyo's craftsmen was marked with a symbol, either of the craftsman or the Daimyo's family crest. These rocks are strewn all over the countryside in Ito and the surrounding areas.

So, starting in January, it will be my job to hike up into the woods in search of these marked stones. When I find them, I will have to note their location on a map and report my findings to Sugiyama-San, who will compile the locations for his research.

As they were telling me all of this, my jaw kept wanting to fall open on the floor, but I kept a fairly calm poker face. I will be working two days a week for about $60 a day doing something I have dreamed of doing since I was a kid. The whole time I was sitting there, the music you are now hearing was flowing through my mind! I was glad that there were no Nazis involved, and I already married my Marion Ravenwood (except her name is Lisa Hudak, but she's just as full of fire, and, dare I say, Spunk? HAR!)

So, that's the news. I am going to go play Indiana Jones--hopefully I won't be gored by any of the Inoshishi (wild boars) that are fairly common in the woods around Ito. Hopefully, I will have something to talk about in updates to this story. Wish me luck!

Second Anniversary Soak!

A week before our second anniversary, a couple of my students (Yumi and her father, Seiji) invited us to go with them to a hotel near Shuzenji. Seiji is a retired businessman who spent most of his career managing and owning hotels. He and his family still own the hotel they took us to see. It was a beautiful place with ryokan and modern style rooms. Yumi did all the decorating when they bought the place, upholstering chairs and putting in new carpeting. Here are some pics of the interior:

On the left is a shot from inside one of the ryokan rooms. Tatami mats and low tables typify this kind of space. On the right is a pic of us with part of the Murakami clan. Left to right: Yumi's nephew, Keisuke, Yumi, I, Lisa, and Seiji.

The hotel was located in central Izu, and was right on a river with beautiful landscapes. Japan is an artist's paradise. Unfortunately we arrived after dark, so I couldn't take pics of the outside, but if any of you come visit, we will definitely go over there.


The Murakamis didn't know it, but they gave us a really great anniversary gift. The hotel has a private outdoor onsen. The Onsen is very traditional and luxurious. The Murakamis gave us a complimentary 45 minute soak in the onsen, and so we really enjoyed ourselves.

This is the stone floored shower area of the onsen. The wood stools and buckets were a nice touch. The bamboo walls and wooden support columns made it feel like we were stepping back in time.

This is the onsen itself. It was beautiful to look at, and even nicer to soak in. The wicker screens reveal a lovely view of the river on which the hotel is situated. The weather that day was cold and rainy, so the hot water made it rather foggy in the onsen.

And finally, a shot of us enjoying the hot water! The floor of the onsen was tiled with large flat rocks. There were also volcanic rocks used to make seats in the water. This picture was taken in front of a waterfall that supplied more hot water to the onsen. The chilly air above the water felt exhilarating in contrast to the heat of the onsen. We soaked for about 30 minutes, then got out and dried off. After we made use of the foot massagers in the changing room, we walked our highly relaxed bones back to the lobby and had some green tea. What a great day it was!

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Fall Festival

Every 15th of October, the Japanese gather in many towns to celebrate and welcome the coming of Autumn. In the northern territories of Japan, the leaves have already begun to change color, and the weather is starting to dry out and get cool. This holiday festival is hosted by the various cities' shrines in conjunction with various homes and businesses who sponsor parade floats. A few days before this festival began, I noticed that there were long ropes tied up just above head level and running the length of the streets in town. The ropes had jaggedly cut pieces of paper hanging from them. I asked around a bit and finally learned from one of the ALTs that these are a representation of waterfalls. The water pours down on your head to purify you. It is a common practice in Japan to pour water over the head of a god's statue as a way of requesting a blessing or good fortune. In the shopping district here in Ito, there are seven gods of good fortune hidden at various spots among the shops with little fountains and a ladle for each god's head. it's one of the many fun little walking tours you can take here in Ito.

So, anyway, on October 15th, we got in the car and drove about 45 minutes from Ito to a small town on the west coast of the Izu Peninsula called Toi. Toi, we had heard, was hosting a wonderfully large festival. It was a beautiful day, and the scenery on the way there was great, but when we arrived, there wasn't much of a festival going on. There were only 3 food booths, and no kids' games or anything. There was a large stage set up with a Taiko Drum section, so we watch a little bit of the shows. Here are a couple of videos from that:

Here is a bit of the Taiko drummers in action.

Here is a traditional Autumnal dance performed by one of the ladies' social clubs of Toi. I'm not sure what all of this symbolizes, but it is beautiful to watch.

Since there wasn't much going on at this festival, we decided to take in Toi's real claim to fame: The World's Largest Flower Clock and acupressure walkway. This was a bit like some of the spots in America--largest ball of twine, tallest cheese wheel, etc. The acupressure walkway was about 150 feet of sheer foot agony. Supposedly, if you make it all the way around (barefoot), you will increase your health and well being by a huge amount. I think the relief of no longer having jagged rocks poking into the bottoms of my feet was what they intended me to interpret as a general feeling of health and well-being.
Here are a couple of photos:

A bit disappointed by the meager faire at the Toi festival, we hopped back in the car and drove to Ito, which we had heard was not even celebrating very much. We were sorely mistaken and should have stayed in Ito all day! When we arrived back in Ito at about 5 pm, there were booths set up all over the central area of town selling okonomiyaki, squid balls, shrimp, yakitori, corn dogs, candies, toys, and all kinds of stuff. People were everywhere, and everyone was already drunk (everyone over 20, that is). Then we saw the parade floats. Before you scroll down to the picture, try to imagine the streets of Ito at dusk. Japanese people everywhere lines the streets, swaying back and forth to hold tight on their three sheets to the wind. Many are laughing, sharing a toast, or just catching up on old times with friends they haven't seen in a while. There is music everywhere, the smells of festival food, and excitement fill the air, and then the most beautiful procession of parade floats begin to pass by.
This Float is a typical parade float for festivals. It is entirely made of carved and inlaid wood, and covered in lanterns that I later found out bear the names of various sponsors for the float. I was in awe of the sight of these floats. It was like something out of a dream. An American Expat who lives in Usami was there and laughed at my response to what he called a very heavy commercial advertisement. He was right, it turns out that many of the lanterns have names for local hotels and tourist spots in Ito.

Here is a shot of the procession coming down the street toward us. The people on the floats are from various families and businesses, and they waved and shouted greetings to their friends and neighbors as they passed by. It was all great fun. Each group passed by a table at which were seated judges, but I am unsure as to the criterion for judgment. There were dancers like the ladies you saw earlier, and a number of other acts. The next thing we saw was the "portable" shrines. I put portable in quotation marks because these shrines are portable in the sense that they are not bolted to the ground, but it takes anywhere from 30 to 150 people to carry these things down the streets. Here's a video I shot of one of the shrines making its way down the street. I apologize for the sideways view. One of the reasons I have taken so long to post this is because i was looking for a video editor that could fix my error. I thought that the camera would automatically recognize "up" like it does for the photographs, but alas, no. At any rate, here's the clip:


Later in the evening, I got some footage of a portable shrine carried exclusively by children.

Later in the evening, I heard a bustle and strange noises and laughing coming from the crowd, so I nudged my way onto the street to see what was happening. Unfortunately, I didn't have the video camera ready for what I saw. At first, I thought it was a bunch of geisha pulling a parade float, but as they got closer, I realized it was about 25 Japanese men in drag, highly intoxicated, and pulling the heavy wooden parade float behind them in a flat-out run. Here's the only picture I got of them before they sped past us. It was a riot. Everyone enjoyed laughing at their friends, neighbors, and relatives dressed in drag.

So, that about wraps it up for the fall festival. The next big festival will be New Year's Eve, and i should have some good fireworks shots from that. Sayonara for now!

Playstation 3--Akihabara--11-11-06--Long Narrative PART 1

***Before I get into this, I would like to take a moment to praise and thank Lisa for joining me in the authoring of this blog. You can see her entries with the tagline "posted by Risa Sensei" at the bottom.***

Our friend, Kessler, back in Jacksonville, desperately wanted to have a Playstation 3. As it turns out, the release date for the Japanese PS3 is a week before the US release, so if I could manage to get one here, Kessler would have it in his hands a few days before anyone in the U.S. So, last week, I took a recon trip to Tokyo on the Shinkansen (which incidentally, is *the way* to travel in Japan, and riding it makes me wonder why we haven't gotten with the program in the high speed train business in the U.S.). Here are a couple clips of the Shink (as we Gaijin call it) in action:


But I digress. Where was I, ah yes, the reconnaissance mission. I took the metro to Akihabara and found three possible places where I could pick up a PS3 on opening day. I asked everyone I could find who spoke English what the best strategy was, and they all said one of two things which I will paraphrase here:
1- I don't know, We have no information, etc.
2- Get ready to wait on line!

This trip was further clouded by the news that Sony was planning only to release 80,000 PS3s in Japan. Still, I decided that opening day for a game console as solid as this one seems to be would be an experience I shouldn't miss while I have the chance to see it in Japan. A week later, yesterday, I went back to Tokyo and checked into a ryokan in Asakusa. Ryokan are traditional Japanese hotels with a futon (pronounced "ff_tone," not "foo-tawn"--the underscore means that the sound is either diminished or absent) and tatami (no accent on the second syllable--so instead of "ta-taa-mee," it's "tata-mee") floors. I checked into the ryokan at about 4pm, and took a brief rest in the room. I had walked from Akihabara (Ah-K_ha-ba-ra") to Asakusa ("Ah-sah-k_sa")--about 40 minutes. Since the trains stop at midnight and don't start until 5am, My plan was to wake up at about 3 am and walk back to Akihabara so I could be at the front of the line. At about 5 pm, I decided to go grab a bite to eat. While I was out, I thought I would check by Yodobashi Akiba, the electronics store where I thought the chances were the best for getting a PS3, and see what was cooking there. I had checked a few of the fan-boy blogs and they said that the Japanese were not yet lining up in most places, and by the way they were written, the blogs seemed to suggest that this PS3 launch was no big deal for the Japanese. They were either mistaken, or intentionally misleading. When I exited the metro station in Akihabara outside Yodobashi Akiba, there was already a line of over 100 people at 6pm. The PS3 was slated for to begin selling at 7 am the next day, so I checked with the people waiting to make sure they were waiting for the PS3. Upon hearing confirmation of my fears, I uttered several expletives under my breath. The words of the hotel concierge echoed back to me, "If I wanted a PS3," he had said, "I would go to Akihabara tonight." Damn it! I rushed back down the stairs into the metro, flew over to the ticket kiosk and hopped back on a train to get to Asakusa. On my way back to the ryokan, I stopped at Family Mart and began to stock up on supplies, whisking them quickly off the shelves: pringles, 4 canned coffee drinks, 3 beers (by the way, there is no open container law here, and tall-boy cans are de riguer street gear for the partier), Pocky chocolate snacks (mmm), 3 onigiri (stuffed rice balls with a nori seaweed wrapper) a sushi bento, and a V8 for vitamins. I paid for the all-nighter supplies and ran back to the ryokan, where I snatched up my backpack, stuffed the supplies inside, filled up a water bottle, and ran back downstairs to check out. I wished I had stayed in Akihabara and seen the line developing so that I could've saved the 5000 Yen for the Ryokan. At any rate, it was nearing 6:30 by the time I raced out of the hotel back to Asakusa's Ginza Line Station. I hopped the Ginza line train. The two stops to Ueno station and subsequent transfer to the Hibiya line for Akihabara (another two stops) seemed to take forever. I stopped by the bathroom one last time before heading out into the Tokyo night to find the end of what I knew was going to be a long line. Check out Part 2 of the story HERE.

Playstation 3--Akihabara--11-11-06--Long Narrative PART 2

Link to Part ONE
The line was now a snaking entity that began at the entrance to Yodobashi Akiba and wrapped around the metro entrance to end on the street corner half a block away. My heart sank, but since I had made a decisive move by checking out of the hotel, I figured I would tough it out. I think I should mention here that Tokyo is the safest city I have ever been in, which is really saying something given its enormity. I have seen people plop down for a nap in public areas with little fear of someone swiping their bags. The Police here are good at what they do, but they are a bit like the Maytag Repairman, and spend a great deal of time helping people with directions due to the dearth of real crime in the city.

At any rate, I hopped into line with little hope of coming out of Yodobashi Akiba with a PS3, and almost immediately, a security guard from the store (I thought he was a policeman at first, but then I noticed he had no pistol and the initials S.G. were embroidered above his badge, which was also embroidered on his crisply ironed shirt) began to raise his voice at me in a barrage of incomprehensible Japanese. I understood, "You...this...no! Why...you...here?" As you can see, my Japanese is improving, as I would have understood none of it when I first arrived in Japan. I responded, "pu-re-su-te-shyo-n-su-ri." He replied loudly, "This...no...you...no!" I responded, "Wakarimasen," and turned toward the others in front of me in line. The guard laughed when I said I didn't understand and said, "Wakarimasen! Ha ha ha!" He then began to verbally accost three more gentlemen who had now joined the line behind me. I watched them respond to the guard and did as they did, namely, stare off into space away from the guard and act like you didn't know he was talking to you when he taps you on the shoulder. Luckily for us, about 30 people showed up at the back of the line behind us just as he began to really let this other guy have it. The guard now began haranguing the people behind us. It wasn't long before the orders changed, because he switched from what I found out was "You are not allowed to line up here," to "Please move aside and don't block the sidewalk."

At this point, there were about 10 security guards walking around shouting for people to stand out of the way. I watched traffic go by on the street, and saw people gawking at us. Oh, great, I thought, I am going to have to camp out on this street corner tonight! Strangely enough, I was wrong, because the line began to move, and quickly so. We walked about 20 meters toward the store. I began to feel excited, as I thought perhaps the store had decided to open its doors early. Then I realized that ten more guards had begun to move the line up ahead so that it did not block the metro entrance.

I stood with the three fellows nearest me and tried to strike up a conversation, me in broken Japanese, they in broken English. When you say "Eigo o hanashimasu ka? (do you speak English)" to someone and he responds "Choto, choto, (a little, a little)" be prepared for choto to mean "not at all." So I broke out the Pringles and my dictionary and tried to make some allies in the struggle for a PS3. The guys around me were gemu-otaku (gamer fans). It turned out they were my age, and had been playing video games since way back. For those of you who don't know, Otaku can mean simply, "fanatic" or it can mean "nerd without a life whose only ambition is to be immersed in something inane." There are Anime-otaku all over Akihabara, some of whom dress up as their favorite characters. There are Otaku for every pastime in Japan, and last night, the streets were filled with gemu-otaku.

The line we were in was moved a few more times so that we now faced the street where we started and could sit down. I shot the breeze with the people around me as best I could for an hour or so, when, suddenly, the line began to move. Only it was the back of the line that was moving, and people were now running around to the front entrance of Yodobashi Akiba. My new otaku friends motioned for me to join them, so I grabbed my backpack and tried to haul ass behind the others. We turned right to pass under the railroad tracks and a crowd of about 600 people now met the longest line of bicycles parked on a sidewalk that I have ever seen. Of course, gemu otaku not being athletically inclined, they ran right into them, causing a huge ruckus, and I got to see the beginning of the bicycle domino course they had created. At this point, the crowd turned right and converged in front of the store.

I was pushed and carried through the doorway, security guards screaming at us the whole time. I had to ditch the half-eaten can of Pringles, as my hands were full with the dictionary and water bottle. Once I was carried to the escalator, I was able to put them away. The crowd, now about 800 strong pushed its way up six flights of escalators to where the PS3 display was. Security guards screaming the whole time to get out. Last minute shoppers gasped, gawked and laughed at the tide of 800 people now passing by them. I still don't know why the crowd ran into the store like that, but my guess is that someone started a rumor that it was on sale at that moment.

Once we were "escorted" out of the store as well as 800 people can be escorted by 20 security guards, we were formed into a line facing the south entrance to the store. At this point, I was separated from my otaku friends and I had to stand next to a Chinese man with horrible breath (who also spoke pretty good English). We were packed into the small corridor and told not to block it, so we were lined up about 6 abreast in the hallway and everybody's ass was up against someone else's pelvis. We stood there like sardines for about 45 minutes before the guards began to split the lines into two separate queues. At this point, I was pushed into the girl in front of me and had to make my apologies. It turned out hat she spoke English, and we became quick friends. Her name is Cathy, and her boyfriend's name is Takeshi. They were very nice, and we began to share stories, as we figured we would be standing close to each other for quite some time. Here is a picture of the line from where we stood.

After the store closed, the employees came out to help the security guards organize the crowd. They lined up surrounding each of the two masses of people and linked hands so that people would not run back and forth between lines. I still felt as if at any moment they would send most of us home and say that they only had 10 PS3s, so don't bother waiting. At about ten o'clock, things got really serious. The two lines were moved to the front (east) entrance, and then we were marched down into the 4th basement floor of the parking garage. They lined us up 4 abreast and gave each of us a ticket with a number on it. You can imagine how I felt when I got mine:

Seven hundred and fifty fucking six!? There's no way I'm getting this thing!

Next, they changed us from 4 abreast lines to single file lines and corralled us into the parking garage, where we all were relieved for a place to sit. I cracked open a beer, and ate my sushi. Takeshi went to look for food, but they weren't letting anyone leave the garage, so all he could fins was a drink machine. So, I gave him one of my onigiri. After a couple beers, and a 45 minute wait on line to use the bathroom (hey at least they had bathrooms!), I was feeling tired, so I rolled up my sweatshirt for a pillow and tried to catch forty winks on the parking garage floor.

Here's a shot of the inside of the garage:

Sleep was elusive, but I managed to doze for about an hour. I woke up at about 3 am, and watched Cathy and Takeshi play Pokemon on their Nintendo DS for a while.

At about 5:30, the guards and employees told us all to stand up and get back in our original lines by ticket number. Then, I saw two employees come out with bags of another type of card. Finally Cathy heard someone talking, and translated that they would be queuing us up for entry into the store. We were to go around a corner in the garage and exchange our tickets for what she said was a ticket that guaranteed you a chance to buy a PS3. I began to get excited, but my excitement was tempered by the fact that there were 755 people in front of me. The line oozed along, flight upon flight of people rounded the corner in front of us. Then it happened, our line began to move.

I began to smile as I rounded the corner, as I noticed they still had a lot of the new tickets left. The employees handed me a blue bordered ticket and said happily, "Roku-ju giga!" I looked down at the ticket and understood that they were telling me I had access to the 60GB hard drive PS3--the top of the line model. WOW! I was still skeptical about whether I would actually be holding one of those babies in my hands come opening time, but seeing the new ticket brightened my spirits a lot.

It also looked like a bunch of people before us had opted for he 20 GB machine, because I was now number 728! I began to really appreciate how they had run this operation. It started out very chaotic, but by the end I realized that the Japanese had this thing down to a science. The crowd was the most polite and good-natured crowd I had ever found myself in. There was pushing at the beginning, but it wasn't angry pushing. I never feared for my safety. At one point, I thought I was being pick-pocketed, but I looked down and noticed it was just someone's umbrella pushing against my hip. After that, I never felt worried about the type of people I had been thrown in with. At 6:45, the mass of people in front of us began to be moved to the elevators, and the crowd slowly shrank as people were transported to the first floor. I made it to the elevator with Cathy and Takeshi at about 8:00.

I was full of joy when the elevator doors opened, and there were smiling clerks motioning me toward the counter. They signed me up for a Yodobashi points card that gave me a 10% discount, and I approached the next empty cashier's counter. A beautiful black shopping bag full of electronic goodness was placed in front of me, and they showed me a list of games to choose from. I picked "Ridge Racer," "Gundam," and a Japanese RPG called "Genshu" or something. I paid around 90,000 Yen for everything, and then walked to the exit. It had begun raining, so they gave us all little plastic bags to put on our shopping bags. It was all very efficient, and I am glad I went through it. I walked across the street to Kinko's/FedEx and sent the new Playstation 3 to Kessler. If all goes well, he'll have it in the US about 4 days before its release there.

UPDATE--Kessler has received the PS3, and is setting it up in his house as I am writing this.

The Human Tsunami

As we were following the clues for the scavenger hunt, we found ourselves in an area of Tokyo called Shibuya. Immediately we knew something was going on. There was an electrifying buzz of human activity around the place. People were waiting anxiously for something, but what?! I could hardly stand the suspense when it happened. The flood gates opened, the dam broke, the human tsunami hit. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people all of a sudden poured in toward the ten of us, cameras and camera phones in hand, running and screaming like someone were giving away free sushi! It all happed so fast, I couldn’t even turn the camera on! Apparently there is some popular Japanese TV show called Kisarazu Cat’s Eye and the five very handsome young male stars were making an appearance in Shibuya near Tower Records. It was hysteria! Girls screaming and crying. Suddenly the proper and reserved Japanese (mostly women) morphed into a vicious, uninhibited mob! The whole thing lasted about 2 minutes. The five guys walked down the stairs and into a waiting van, and off they went. So there I was in the midst of this momentous moment in Japanese history, and not even a picture to show for it! But I do have a shot of the famous intersection outside Shibuya station where thousands of people cross the streat each time the light changes.

Akihabara “Costume Shop”

After wandering though the Circuit Citys And Best Buys of Tokyo, I turned my attention to finding a Halloween costume. We noticed some “characters” on the street who pointed us into what we thought was the right direction. Watch as Paul demonstrates is mastery of the Japanese language and culture:



Following their instructions, we came to a rather large building and, sure enough, in the 8th storey window there were costumes. Eager to see if they had anything to fit us Westerners, we headed into the building and up to the 8th floor. As the elevator doors opened, I realized we had definitely stumbled into something quite different than we anticipated. The costumes, French maid, cheerleader, nurse, school girl, all seemed to fit a certain, how shall I say…theme. Upon closer inspection, I realized either one of two things 1) the manufactures of these outfits are disgustingly cheap and scrimp on material or 2) these outfits are see-through! Yes, we had inadvertently stumbled into one of Tokyo’s many sex shops. Maybe this is where they were hiding all the technology! Embarrassed and disappointed (Take your minds out of the gutter—Disappointed that we still hadn’t found a costume), we left to continue our search. It does make you wonder about the “characters” in the video… After hours of fruitless shopping, I decided I would simply wear the Minnie Mouse ears, nose, tail, and gloves I had found in the apartment and Paul would be the ever popular “Big Western Guy in Jeans and a T-shirt”. I think the true art of a Halloween costume is not in how much money you spend, but in how people react to you. Case in point: The old knife-through-the-head-band. It’s surprising, funny, gruesome…in a word-classic. I had more fun with that one scary accessory than I did with the whole hunt. Here are a couple of videos of the fun we had with this prank:



Katie tries to get a laugh out of poor Phuc, but he seems intently concerned with her health.



Melody Stealing the spotlight from the Harajuku Cos Play Girls
It might not work, so you can watch it HERE.

The hunt itself was difficult. I think our group was a little too big and people had different ideas of how they wanted to attempt it. Honestly, I didn’t care about the hunt. I just wanted an excuse to go to Tokyo, have some guidance as to some good places to see, and hang out with my friends. I was happy with the day. I got to see some really cool areas of Tokyo.

Our Trip to Tokyo

On October 27th, Paul and I journeyed to the capital of Japan to take part in a Tokyo Halloween scavenger hunt hosted by a charity called Pepy-Ride for the JET members. This was to be our first big weekend trip since Paul’s arrival so I took “nenkyu,” Japanese for a vacation day, on Friday so we could extend it a bit. We left Ito at about 10 a.m. and reached Tokyo by noon. It really is so close! The people on the hunt arranged for us to stay at the Sakura Hotel. It is a hostel/discount hotel which is very sparce, but clean, which is all that really matters. We checked in then tightened up our walking shoes and set out to explore.
We first stopped and got some lunch at a supermarket close to the hotel. Supermarkets and convenience stores here all have bentos, or boxed lunches available all the time. It is made daily and ranges from sushi to sandwiches, from onigiri to ramen. It’s pretty cool. We at our lunch on the street corner (really no benches near our hotel), then walked to the Imperial Palace.
My Lonely Planet guide says that the gardens of the Imperial Palace are some of the most beautiful in the world. Unfortunately, it is closed on Fridays! Oh well. With Tokyo being so close, I know we will be able to see the gardens before we head back to the states. This picture is the moat around the Palace grounds.

After being denied at the Palace, we jumped on the Tokyo Metro and headed for Akihabara, a.k.a. “Electronics Town" (see picture below). Before I get into the adventures of Akihabara, let me just say that Tokyo has a fabulous mass transit system. Not only is it EXTREMELY convenient, but for a city of over 8 million, it is unbelievably clean. It is a testament to the respectful culture of Japan.
Anywho, back to Akihabara. We set out looking for a place that sells video games. Our friend Kessler back in Jacksonville had asked Paul to find him a new video game console that was being released in Japan. While Paul was fixated on video games, I was keeping my eyes open for a costume shop for the Halloween Scavenger Hunt the next day. This area is pretty amazing in that it is store after store of electronics. I mean literally, blocks of electronics stores. They all basically sell the same things, but it was still pretty cool. I have to admit though, I thought there would be more weird technology. The stuff we saw in Akihabara was normal, i.e. Cameras, i-pods, video cameras, etc. I had always had an idea in my mind that Tokyo would be filled with amazing gadgets like a toothbrush that plucks your eyebrows or a device that clasps a woman’s bra as it massages her back. But alas, I have seen nothing of the sort.

Here are some shots of Akihabara's video game arcades:

This is a 10 person linked soccer game at the Sega arcade. On the next floor, hey had a 10 person linked Yugioh quest rpg. The table tops in front of the people playing the game are sensitive to the magneticly imbedded Yugioh cards and the players can use them in the video game.

This is a guitar player video game with an actual guitar attached to it. It was featured in the movie "Lost in Translation."

The Joy of Teaching in Japan

Teaching English as a Foreign Language is a tough, sometimes frustrating job. There are moments, however that make it all worth while. Aside from getting my students to pronounce my "Cleveland A" (It really does warm my heart), what you are about to witness is the highlight of my week...

Hanagasa Dance Festival

Two weeks ago, the International Relations Committee in Ito helped to sponsor a festival for Haganasa Dance. Many volunteer dance clubs came out to show their stuff at the Ito Sky Dome (Sky Dome is like a shopping mall that is a long, covered atrium). They had traditional Yukatas (a light, summer version of the Kimono) and taiko drums to go with the music. Haganasa is a dance style where the dancers walk in line with decorative hats and they make stylized movements. I'm sure the movements have some kind of significance, but I couldn' find anyone to tell me about it. Anyway, this is a good chance to talk about the Japanese pentiant for celebrating.


There are many festivals throughout the year. Japanese people celebrate the changing of seasons, historical days, and religious holidays. They don outfits with bright colors and go out to enjoy each others' company. This is a good time to talk about a myth about the Japanese. I have heard it said that the Japanese are overly temperate and emotionally repressed. The large number of festivals throughout the year puts the lie to this statement. Japanese people enjoy a good party! Many of them drink like fish on these days of color and music. It was a relief for me to see that they can cut it loose as well as any Gaijin and better than some.

Here are a few pics of the festival:


This is a photo of the line dancers walking up and down the aisle in their Yukatas.

They even let the Gaijin join in the action! The International Relations Committee gave us all leis and Haganasa hats. Then they showed us a few steps and we jumped into the line and danced our way around Sky Dome.

The Dancing was great fun, and we got laughs and smiles from the other dance teams. They really enjoyed our willingness to join in the fun. Here are a few videos:



Here's the motion of the line dance.



These are the taiko drummers.



And, here is the goofy gaijin trying to do his best.

A Slice of Japanese Culture

I have had requests to talk about the Japanese people, so I will use the event of the Haganasa Dance Festival in Ito to illustrate the cultural flavor of Japan. Our experience thus far is that the Japanese people are overwhelmingly kind-natured, and willing to meet you half-way and then some if you show the slightest effort at trying to integrate.

Many people will tell you that the Japanese are cold and distant. I think this may be the case in business, since the Japanese do not like to make decisions without a great deal of thought, and so they often come across as aloof or cold when negotiating. In their every day dealings, however, I have found the people to be gracious, and welcoming. They value politeness and harmony highly. As such, I have experienced things that would not happen in the U.S. For instance, if you ask a Japanese person if there is something available to do or to make, they will often offer to take you there, make it for you, or do it for you before you have a chance to say that you are only curious. Lisa and I have learned that we have to be careful what we ask about, because we will often find that the person we ask scurries off to take care of the thing we asked about. We find that humbly thanking them brings a big smile to their faces.

Bowing
Bowing is a common sight. Japanese use it in introductions, in saying goodbye, in saying thank you, and in apologizing. There are varying degrees of bow depths, which can be intimidating for an outsider, but the Japanese learn these bows from an early age. Basically, if you are bowing to a senior or superior, you bow low. You do the same if you are thanking someone or apologizing. I have found that it is possible to get into a "bowing loop" because the Japanese will always return a bow, so at times, you can get into an awkwardly long set of bows back and forth. The other night, I saw a group of businessmen leaving a restaurant bowing for like 2 minutes. Then two of the men got into a taxi, and the other two waited on the corner until the taxi pulled off, and continued bowing as the others drove away. People even bow from their cars if you let them enter traffic, or if they cut you off and want to apologize.

Bowing replaces handshaking, and can actually be a quite warm way to greet someone if done properly. That being said, I should mention that Japanese typically reserve physical contact of any kind for family and loved ones. At church, we offer a bow of peace instead of a handshake. If a Japanese person hugs you, you have probably saved the life of his child or something amazing. That being said, many Japanese enjoy trying to imitate Western greetings, and will offer to shake your hand, but as a rule, I don't offer to shake anyone's hand unless they do it first. I bow and say "Hajime Mashite [bow here]" to people my age, or "Dozo[bow here] yoroushiko onegaishimasu" to a superior. The first one is a general "nice to meet you," while the other is a humble request to look with favor on you from that point forward.

One of the major issues that Americans struggle with is the idea that the Japanese do not want to be an inconvenience to anyone, or to be inconvenienced by anyone. This is a very strong theme in the culture, and one of the main areas where it comes into play is with things like parking places. Parking places are very precious here,as there is a limited amount of space. People rent parking places for thousands of Yen a month, so if you park in a space that isn't yours, you can really stir the pudding. I have heard that businesses have feuds over who gets to use parking spaces nearby.

Maybe
In addition to the above, it seems that the Japanese find it awkward socially to say no. Often they will tell you maybe when the answer is definitely no. For example,
Paul: "Is the store open at midnight?"
Japanese person: "Hmmmmmm, maybe?"

EEEEEEEEEEE?
The Japanese have a funny way to express irony and doubt. They have a non-vocabulary sound that they make. It sounds like the letter A (which would be the letter E in Japanese) with a slight amount of U in it. For instance,
Paul: "I love sushi!"
Japanese: "EEEEEEEE?"
Paul: "Oh yeah, they have sushi restaurants all over America."
Japanese: "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?"

The sound is not short. Depending on the amount of doubt or irony, they extend it. I have heard EEEs that go on for up to 2 seconds. It is also accompanied by wide amazed eyes. It sounds like this.

Unh
Another sound commonly heard in Japan is the unh. It is often used to indicate agreement or understanding. It is much like our "uh-huh" but shorter and it seems to imply more meaning. I have heard Japanese people pick up the phone and after the initial "Hai. Mushi mushi!" which means hello, the entire conversation is a string of these.

Domo, Dozo, Sumimasen, Gomennasai
Typically, the Japanese consider it rude to lose their tempers in public, so most of the time, you will find that they try to remain polite. This makes it difficult to determine if you have overstepped your bounds. The Japanese get around this by apologizing A LOT. Often, they apologize before they do something. Sumimasen is a word you often hear in Japan. It means many things. It can mean: Excuse me (if you bump into someone or would like to pass by), I'm sorry, or thank you (as in, I'm sorry I made you work so hard to please me). I also hear domo a lot. When combined with arigato, domo is a very polite way to thank someone. But I hear domo all by itself in common parlance. It seems to be a way to apologize and thank others for tolerating one's inconvenient actions. It is often followed by Hai, dozo. Hai dozo is a way of saying, "Don't worry about it, it's a gift to you" You can say Hai, dozo when opening a door for someone or giving them a gift, or when accepting an apology. This is so often said that it takes on a character like the EEEE? It can often sound like, "HaidooozooooooOOO," where the final OOs rise in pitch as they approach the end of the phrase. Gomennasai means basically, "Forgive me" and is used when you are late to arrive, or have caused a large inconvenience, like blocking someone's path with your car.

I have not experienced grudge-bearing here. It seems that if a proper apology is given, the Japanese are extremely tolerant. The only difficulty is knowing the things you may need to make a proper apology for doing. Basically, if you have the ability to treat others as if they are your guests, and try not to inconvenience any of your guests, you can really make a lot of friends here, as they do the same thing.

Garbage
The garbage system here is one of the most confusing things I have ever seen. The Japanese have a lot of enviro-whacko ideas ingrained in them (e.g. Kyoto accord), and as with all environmentalism, it isn't always backed by science. For instance, in a land so convinced that the earth is about to boil, it seems strange that they burn 3/4 of the garbage, much of which is plastics that release CFCs into the atmosphere. That being said, I think the main reason why the garbage system is so strange is because they really don't have a lot of space for landfills. So they separate their garbage into groups: Burnable and non-burnable. But it isn't that simple.

Non-burnable garbage is further separated into recyclable plastics, steel/tin, aluminum, glass, and finally, awkward things (couches, beds, etc.) There are different days of the month when the different types of garbage will be picked up, and it is considered very rude not to pay attention to these days. Burnable trash is picked up 3 times a week, but you can not put it out the night before. It must be placed at the pick up place no later than 8:30 am on the proper day. Also, the bags are specific to the task. You can not put trash out in a regular grocery bag, it must have a label on it that says it is burnable garbage. Most of the grocery stores use these, but some don't. The non-burnables are a different tale altogether. Glass, aluminum, steel, etc. are picked up twice a month on different days. If you have any awkward items, they must be broken down as far as they will go and you have to make special arrangements to have them picked up. This has been by far the most difficult aspect of Japanese culture for us to learn.

This post is becoming too long to talk about the dance festival, so I will get back here and write another one about Japanese fun and arts. Sayonara for now.

Fresh Seafood in Japan

Last Friday, Lisa and I were invited to dinner with some of the teachers from Higashi Elementary, where I do part time team-teaching, and where Lisa was assigned all of last week. They gave us a map to the place, right on Route 135-beachfront. Luckily I can now read hiragana, because they labeled the spot on the map in romaji, but the sign out front was hiragana only: Haruhira Maru. We took the bus from our house because drinking and driving is strictly forbidden (In Japan, there is no legal blood alcohol level, so even if you have only one beer, you are considered to be driving uner the influence. The people are very conscious of it, and will remind you not to drive if you order a beer at a restaurant--ironically, there is no open container law, so you can walk around drinking all night if you like). Anyway, we arrived at Haruhira Maru at about 6:15, but couldn't see anyone from our group inside. Lisa and I began to question our ability to read hiragana, so we walked around the block and, unable to see anythign that contradicted our first impression, we returned to the empty Haruhira Maru. I went inside and tried to ask the server if this was, in fact, the right place. She said it was, and when I said, "Higashi elementary," she smiled and pointed upstairs. We were led to a room where all of our colleagues were waiting for us. The principal, assistant principal, and several of the teachers were all present. The room was a traditional Japanese retaurant-style with tatami mats and low tables (which make it difficult for a fatty like me to get comfortable).

The tables were already set with plates full of treasures from the sea. Here is what the place settings looked like:













After we had greeted everyone, we sat down in front of the lovely decorative plates full of sashimi and a large shrimp. We were exchanging pleasantries with everyone when Lisa suddenly flinched. I looked over and asked if anything was wrong. She quietly said, "I think there's something moving on my plate." Keep in mind that since we have been in Japan, we have been getting used to living an older apartment with slight bug problems (the topic of an upcoming post), so we both get the crawlies rather easily. That being said, just as she was telling me, I noticed something on my plate move out of the corner of my eye. As I turned to look more closely, the girl (one of the teachers) across from me began to wince in fear as she noticed something moving on her plate as well.

Upon closer examination, we all realized that the shrimp so delicately and beautifully arranged on our plates were all skewered, but still alive. Yoshimi, one of the 1st grade teachers, picked hers up for a demonstration of the movement capabilities of a skewered shrimp. Watch and be amazed, and listen for my maniacal laughter in the background.


Needless to say, this did not make it easy for Lisa (and, to a lesser extent, me) to feel good about eating a gourmet Japanese dinner. So we ordered beers all around, which came in 40 oz. bottles (we spilled a little for our homies). The asst. principal was in the mood to drink, and get others drunk, so he suggested I switch to Chu-Hi, a combination of tea and hard liquor (in stores, called "Convini" you can buy Chu-Hi, bu it's more like a wine cooler). It was quite good, and dinner flowed well from that point on.

So, after we all settled down, and some of the ladies moved the offending shrimp out of their direct lines of sight, the servers brought in the next course, tempura fried fish. A whole fish, battered and fried such that if you decided to eat it, you ate it all. It was actually quite good, and so was the sashimi. The little fish that was sliced up to make some of my sashimi was actually garnishing the plate (you can see him in the picture). They also had a personal barbecue setting for each person, and they lit sterno under it so we could grill our pumpkin, onion, peppers and squid. They also served enormous scallops that were delicious. In acuality, all of the food was wonderful, and to take revenge on it for scaring my wife, I ate the hell our of the shrimp that was trying to crawl off of my plate (Sebastian and Ariel would hate me!). After all was said and done, we exchanged toasts and thank-yous, and said our goodbyes. It was a nice evening after all. Please email us if you plan to visit so we can make reservations at Haruhira Maru!

Oh how the Japanese love to soak!

温泉

This is the Kanji for "onsen" (pronounced "own-sen") , a Japanese hot spring. It is important to distinguish between an onsen and a regular public bath. Many people use the words interchangeably, but I have it on authority from onsen afficionados that only a natural hot spring can be called an onsen. I have no pictures to show, as I really don't relish the thought of having my ass turned into a convenient place for naked Japanese feet because I snapped a photo inside an onsen. Suffice it to say that you can easily imagine this without living color. Anyway, as hinted at above, onsen are naked public soaking baths. Lisa and I have been to the onsen a total of 5 times since we arrived in Japan. Now, before your dirty little minds get working, remember that it is highly illegal for members of the opposite sex to enter an Onsen together(unless you pay 1000 Yen per hour for a "family" room, or it's a REALLY remote place, I've heard). So there are two sides for boys and girls, respectively.

People make a big deal about how ritualized it is to get ready for onsen, but I haven't had a problem with it. I think there is something very relaxing about scrubbing every inch of my body and getting squeaky clean. Lots of men bring their whole grooming kit in and shave, brush teeth, etc. in the onsen's shower area. When I say shower area, it's important to remember that I don't mean stalls with standing room. There is a shower nozzle on the wall, but in onsen, you sit (or squat) to shower. They provide little stools, and so you bring all your stuff in and sit there and scrub up. In order to avoid offending anyone's sensibilities, follow three rules:
1. Do not swing your stuff around when you walk in--cover with a small towel.
2. Scrub completely, but don't be freakish. A good ten minute shower with soap all over you will do
3. Do not get soap or your wash cloth in the onsen.

So, basically, you just wash thoroughly, rinse thoroughly, and then walk modestly into the VERY HOT water of the onsen. It's a LOT hotter than any jacuzzi back home, so if you visit, be ready. It took me a few tries to get used to it, and I still feel a bit like I am boiling in the water. But what's fun is to get out and shower off with cold water until I feel normal again, then hop back in. I guess the longest I have soaked is 10 minutes, but I repeat the process of soak-cold shower-soak a few times in an hour. After an hour of this, I come out of the onsen cleaner than I have ever been before, and every muscle in my body is relaxed. The level of relaxation I get from an onsen soak is unparalleled by anything else I have seen that costs less than 5 Dollars. A massage is better, but costlier. The onsen Lisa and I go to is 200 Yen for an unlimited amount of soak time, and there's a massage chair (Like the ones at Brookstone) in the locker room! The hot water also has minerals in it so many skin blemishes tend to fade after a good soak. Anyway, it's really great to go to the onsen at about 8 or 9 at night, soak till about 10 and then go home for a really great sleep. So that's the blurb about the onsen. When are you folks coming to visit?!

Komouro Yama

Last weekend we went to a place called Komouro Yama, which means "Little Omouro Mountain." The mountain itself is only about 500 meters above sea level, but it has a beautiful park surrounding it to which we will return in Springtime because all of the plants will be in full bloom. There were some wonderful flower arrangements at the top of the mountain as you can see here:

The park is a favorite place for soccer games and picnicking. On our way up, we saw several Japanese families sitting in the grassy areas reading and playing with the children. It was quite tranquil. One of the great attractions of Komouro Yama is the cable lift that takes you to the top. A ticket for round-trip is 400 Yen. The cable lift is a one-person ski-lift-type-basket that never rises more than 4 or 5 feet above the ground as it climbs the mountain. This is great for anyone who may have difficulty with heights. It takes about 3 minutes to reach the top, and the view of Ito is wonderful from the lift, but spectacular from the top. Here you see Lisa about to board the lift, and then up she goes! It was very peaceful here, as I said, and on clear days, you can see Mt. Fuji quite well. We are only about 50 miles from the mountain. Check it out on Goodle Earth if you haven't already. I believe I have sent most of our contacts the placemark for our house. Many of you said that Ito looks all fuzzyin Google Earth. If you want more clarity, tell Google Earth to use 3-D buildings so that you can see more clearly where we live, and then let it sit on that loction for a few minutes so that it can download all the pertinent information on the roads and such. Then, use the tilt/zoom option to position it so you can see where Fuji is (a little north and west of us). Anyway, I took some pictures of Fuji San (Fuji is so great a mountain that a simple "Yama" won't do, so they give it an honorific "San" title, litterally, "Honorable Mr. Fuji" UPDATE--Check the comments, as my Friend Aura has helped explain this anomaly in mountain nomenclature). In the picture I have here, Fuji is the dark smudge covered in clouds in the center of the focal area. Lastly, I have a picture, that I will attempt to retake in the Spring, as it should be dazzling. It may prove difficult, as I took this view while on the way down the lift. As you can see if you click on the photo, the lift path is lined with azalea bushes, and the fields down below that look so green will one day be on fire with the colors of spring. Can't wait! After we got off the lift, Lisa and I shared an ice cream cone. Another blog entry will have to recount the various odd flavorings the Japanese like in in ice cream. This one was flavored from some kind of red flower, but I don't know the name. It was tasty, but different. I will go back and take a picture of the flowers on the sign and maybe put them in a blog entry about ice cream flavors. That about wraps it up for this entry. Please feel free to email me with questions or ideas of what you'd like to see in the blog.