hand truck

 

In Japan, this is not how you move a box. Maybe because I am tall, it is much easier for me to use a hand truck, like this one. 

Texas Okra

Texas okra. Just to prove my claim "Yes, we really do eat okra."

Sayonara

Hello, hello. Happy Thanksgiving. The turkey is in my stomach, and my family has been in their "Turkey coma", so I had a chance to jump on the computer and start up the new blog. The new blog's name is Reconstruction in MA, and the link is also <-- over there in the sidebar.

Yes, things are changing... but I hope this isn't the last post on this blog. I reserve the right to return in the future. "Tokyo Top Down View" is my place for insight on Japan, and job permitting, more insight will appear at a future date. (That means I want to find a job where I am in Japan, at least as a traveller.)

But for now, gear down from Tokyo's urban zaniness and get ready for some New England countryside. Hope you enjoy the new blog.

Breakfast in America.. and Lunch.. and Dinner..

Sorry to keep you all waiting.. my plans got derailed. I brought the laptop to Texas for my Thanksgiving trip, but I didn't bring the battery charger. We'll see if I can borrow a computer for a couple hours to arrange everything for the new blog.


Fine reading material from the plane

In Texas, most things are how I knew them--no big change. There's a lot of empty space here.. and a lot of food. Luckily I found a good cheap pair of sneakers to work off the calories. Suburbia has very cheap shopping, even if every store has the same stuff...

PS Today I saw the movie "Borat." Very clever! I think all foriegners in Tokyo would enjoy it also. But I felt a little strange enjoying it. Many of the jokes are against the US-- especially the southern US, where I am from, and where I was watching the movie. But maybe I'm safe because it seemed like most of the audience didn't notice the jokes enough to be offended.

Boom, I'm gone

The weather in the Boston area is unseasonably warm, wet, and windy. Low, damp little clouds blowing across the sky. I'm sitting on the 2F of a farmhouse, windows open, and a breeze rushes across my leg as it props up the computer. The air smells of the old house's must, and also of grass from outside. This bedroom, double the size of my entire Nezu apartment, echoes from the sound of my typing, my Dad's voice downstairs, and the wind blowing through the trees outside.

On the flight here I couldn't rest--I thought a lot about Japan, my life, and what I want to do. I miss my friends in Japan very much. Where would I like to work? What job would I like to do? What is my goal for the future?

I don't know--except, I know, in the next 15 minutes my goal is to sleep. I've been up for 27 hours.

Coming soon: blog future, blogging as a coping mechanism, and "Reconstruction in MA"

PS More about Massachusetts.

alive.. and moving

I hate moving. This photo represents only about half of my life. The other half is meeting as many people as possible in the short time remaining, and living in denial about the upcoming departure from the country I've called home the past two years.

Word of the week: *gack* 

I'm alive! I'm getting sunburned in Palau. More to come later!

Moving = Expensive, but.. SHOGANAI

As many of you know, I'm moving back to the US soon. I've got a lot of quirky Tokyo photos that have been waiting in the wings, but today I'll post what's on my mind.

I'm used to things being expensive in Japan, but usually I justify the price because I'm getting something I enjoy. "Enjoy" and "moving" don't go together.

Step 1: Get price info to ship items back home. (Not everything will fit in my suitcases) For reference, 10 kg = 22 lbs.

Airmail M-bag (Printed Matter Only) 9000Yen
Airmail Parcel (Printed Matter Only) 2 x 4250Y = 8500Y
EMS expdited delivery (2-4 days?) 14000Y
Parcel Post Airmail (7-14 days?) 17650Y

That seemed pretty pricey, so I checked another option: the equivalent of UPS, Yamato kuroneko "black cat" service. I sent them email, but they never sent back to me. (First warning!) A week later I called, but they elected to call me back, in order to have the phone call in English. Next day they called, and I gave them the rough estimate of my boxes. (Roughly, 4 10kg boxes). Price estimate, by Air: 150,000 Yen!

... and finally, for comparison, checking out the price of the reverse trip, US -> Japan, using the good ol' US Postal Service:


So... for all those concerned, all options are expensive (SHOGANAI! = apathetic "What can ya do?"), but the Japan Post Office is the way to go. They have the cheapest option I can find, especially these days, if you consider that the Yen has been weak. (The price for 22lbs by EMS is about $118 USD, respectfully in range with $99.70 above) ... 20% more than I'm used to isn't nearly as bad as 240% the price!

Uhg.. these boxes are heavy. Kilograms are deceptively large, for a person accustomed to lbs! I'm off for the PO..

Metropolitan moment

I went for a jog this evening, to shake the legs out after not having done anything athletic for a couple weeks. I often take a route through a nearby park, around a lake, then pass between a set of museums.

The last part of that route passes me by a wide plaza, which has a low, flat, long rectangular garden pool. (Think Washington Memorial, but smaller.) Jogging near the water, I suddenly heard piano echoing around, as if someone nearby had a portable keyboard. But as I jogged, the sound got richer and richer.

I was towards the end of my jog, and those who run will know that your brain starts to get real simple at that point. Thoughts usually consist of "Do I hurt yet?" "I'm sweating a lot," and "Where am I?" ..and perhaps some endorphins (the body's natural pain killer) were kicking in. The sound was mesmerizing--carried by the water and flittering through the trees--especially when the cello came in.

Eventually I realized it was a live concert, emanating from a museum across the street. The light turned "blue" so I sprinted across. It felt good.

Somehow, I was able to remember the name on the poster, and find this link. Thought I'd share.

Having stopped, it was hard to get back to jogging again. The right kidney said "I want to hear the music." But soon a light rain started falling--motivation to slowly jog home. It was a nice urban moment.

Racism in Japan

Lance's Shortlist of "Well-known Things About Today's Japan":

• Sushi
• Lots of car companies
• Lots of sex-crazed men
• Not liked within Asia

The last one follows from WWII, and many neighbor countries feeling that Japan has never psychologically paid for war atrocities, and still have a superiority thing going on. Today's post is my take on that. (Short version.)

From what I've seen in my 2 years here, most Japanese people don't believe themselves to be superior, as a race. But they do believe themselves to be different. And within Japan, they like their way best.

Japan is an island, geographically and culturally. It's hard for them to see the logic of the rest of the world. So the rest of the world considers them sexist and racist. It can cause problems, for example, this foreigners' activist site. (The stuff there is true, but luckily not so wide-spread as to matter to 90% of visiting foreigners.)

But, like China, Japan is changing quickly. I keep wondering when Japan's Women's Liberation movement will take place.. divorce is on the rise, woman-owned business is on the rise.. In the 2020's I wager that some incarnation of women's lib will make the news.

In the end: the strangeness of Japan is a big reason why I like it. With homogony comes low crime, a high level of respect and courtesy, and a high quality of life. But I don't feel comfortable with the "obey elders even when they're wrong" concept (also known as the "never ask why" concept), and the "I'm a woman so I'll clean your dishes now" mental programming. For me the good points cancel out the bad points.

PS From the above website, an essay describing an American's experience on a socially harrowing Japanese bus trip. Having been "lost" from a bus trip schedule myself, I could really relate--sans married woman, of course. A great essay.

Subway Ad Zaniness!

That's real fake hair stuck on the poster, folks!

I also like the actual-size replicas of Meiji chocolate (not pictured)

Click to zoom in, click to appreciate

I think the message is the following: Whales hate it when you burn garbage (all garbage in Tokyo is inscinerated), Polar bears get embarassed if a cigaratte sees them with acne, then Penguins get attacked, and finally Sprokets We DANCE! Of course, it's all a symbolic metaphor to say "If you smoke down here, we the Japanese collective will cast evil glares of derision at you, but we won't actually do anything about it unless we're wearing a MTA uniform."

I have no idea about this one.

What an appealing photo! Sign me up on the "Stick that thing up my nose" waiting list!!

One building over another

What do you do when space is tight on campus? How can you circumvent pesky building preservation laws? ... The answer in Tokyo is to build your new building to physically encapsulate the old one.


New Over Old

Interconnectivity

When it's "inside" it looks different

Software is Amazing--Yay Hugin!

I'm so geeked out that my favorite generalized image manipulation program (GIMP) can expertly stitch photos together to make a panorama, with the plug in "hugin". (There are many other panorama plugins I could choose from if/when I use my LINUX machine.) Even though I didn't take care about the exposure or camera angle, it did a pretty good job, eh? I love the fish-eye effect, too! New toys! (Free ones at that!)

..I'm gonna go take some more photos now..

Hair Product Resupply!

Been a year since I bought hair gel. Now, once again, I have my Long-Keep GEL Super Hard. But.. luckily, I found another handy product.

Morning Hair Fix Water

Sometimes the Japanese translation is all you need to know. Worth $5 just for the bottle.

Cars of Tokyo

Subaru mini-compact



Subaru mini-compact

I strongly doubt this little buger adheres with Subaru's US all-wheel marketing strategy. They also make mini pickup trucks and vans. Small cars are honestly needed here because there's many roads where a medium size car won't fit.



A very sporty (looking) Toyota wagon



CLOSE UP: A very sporty (looking) Toyota wagon

"As enjoyable as communing with Nature is the comfort of cruising through the tree-line boulevard."

... Comparing with Engrish on t-shirts, I'm guessing that Engrish on cars goes through at least one grammar check by a native speaker. This gives me all kinds of ideas for my next car. ^_^



Smart! (designed by Mercedes)



a-hem, "Green" Smart, that is. I doubt this leaf laminate is supposed to be peeling off.



Cute matching interior

I'm guessing the interior was the motivation behind the zany leaf-pattern laminate. I don't know if these cars would be safe on US highways, but they are perfect for city driving. Wish I would see more on the streets of Tokyo. (I've only ever seen 3 in the 2 years I've been here.)

One Smokin' Problem.

Click to zoom in--trust me!

Somehow, the news that smoking is bad for your health has not yet made it to Japan. Suckin' down a pack a day of vanilla flavored lung cancer is normal for many girls and guys--especially 20-something girls and any age guys. And apparently it's more-or-less expected on the job in the salaryman crowd and for construction workers.

It reminds me of recordings from old radio commercials: "I'm a doctor, and I smoke Philip Morris!" ... Time warp city! There's the whole "magic line" smoking/non-smoking section too--that is, if there's a non-smoking section at all. About 10% of places I go to have a smoking section. Only 1 is non-smoking--an American rotisserie place (Roti, in Roppongi, highly recommended!)--but they have outside seating where I've even smelled a cigar once.

I'm on a soccer team with a 50/50 mix between Japanese men and foreigners, and a few of the guys suck down a "to-ba-ko" in between games. That even shocks other smokers!

I'm sure some day that Japan's collective conscious will wake up and decide smoking is bad. But when will that be?

You've got a straw!



LONG STRAW FOR DRINKING

... In case you were wondering what you'd use a long straw for..

Quiz! What's this fruit?

Bonus Question!! What bodily fluid might it taste like?

ouch

Where it hurts

concussion: n. 1.) An injury sustained after a blow to the head, where the brain has impacted against the skull, resulting in dizziness, headaches, and possibly many other worse things if it's bad enough. 2.) One of several annoying* injuries you can get playing soccer.

{*Annoying: when the symptoms exist but are not as obvious as visible blood [which hardly hurts in comparison], and so the game doesn't stop, and no one cares really, and even a doctor can't do anything about but say "rest--oh, and be careful." Other annoying injuries are broken bones in the foot.}

Unexpected head-butt at soccer practice, 3 days ago. It happened right at the end of the hour: it was quick, so no one saw it. And the other guy (very shy, quiet Japanese guy, & kinda weird) apparently wasn't hurt at all, so everyone just thought I was tired. ==>No pity! But it wasn't that bad: nowhere near strong enough to loose consciousness, and I got ice on it fairly quickly, and I took the afternoon off... and now I feel much better.

However, the smack was really hard!! Right between the eyes--I think the symmetry of it added to the pain. Remaining symtoms: the occasional headache, and as you can see in the photo, there's some red flecks on my forehead. The skin there feels rough & a little itchy today. (I never paid so much attention to my forehead before.) If it turns blue I wouldn't be surprised--that skin was really crushed!!

If e'er a more blatant cry for overseas blog pity there was, me eyes seen it naught.

5 paperclips

For the past year, I've had an "equipment" research grant to pay for expenses. It's been really great: it paid for the conferences in Hawaii and Kyoto, and a computer. It's a fringe benefit that comes with being a researcher in most contries. (Now you know why we went to grad schoo.) But, like many things, in Japan it's strictly different.

The money expires at the end of August, so I had to spend it. ALL of it. To get to exactly a 0 Yen balance, I bought 5 paperclips for 1 Yen each.

Of course, the required beurocratic paperwork (in triplicate) came with a paperclip of it's own. (For free.)

In the US I never knew the details of my grant money, because wherever I was, the chemistry department always has a dedicated "buisness" office. They're experts at making the money slosh around. And I think that US funding agencies don't care if you don't spend all the money--in Japan, if there's surplus, they subtract that from your next grant. You didn't need that 1 Yen last time, so you won't need it next time... Pretty nutty.

"Camera Returned!" Story, Pt 2

Need your help, folks!

With the help of a Japanese pal, I called the number for the guy who returned my camera. Upon 2 calls, there was no answer except for voicemail. After the second call, my friend left a brief message, explaining who was calling--but the voicemail cut off before completing the full effect of my thanks.

What should I do?

My friend suggests that I could simply send the guy a gift whether he wants it or not. (In addition to his phone number, I have an address.) Assuming I could find a service to do so, I was thinking a 6-pack of beer. Seems a fitting summer gift in Japan for a guy.

Other options include: B) nothing. The effort was made. C) Try calling back again at a different time of day. D) ____(your_suggstion_goes_here)____

"Camera Returned!" Story, Pt 1

A couple posts ago, I announced the birth of a new camera. Today, I'm delighted to announce the ressurection of the original one!

It was returned!!... Only in Japan. (I think--post your opinion below!)

It was over 2 weeks ago that I lost my camera. That night was slightly rainy, and I was running to catch the last train... ...and somehow the camera (in it's black case) must have jostled out of my pocket. The next day I went back to the station, and with the help of a Japanese friend, I reported it lost.

By all accounts, this camera was gone, and I mean "bye bye" (to use a direct quote). We all knew it: the gruffy police man (who barked instructions about the lost item form), my Japanese friend, and even me.. we all figured it was gone. Heck, I even bought a new camera that day!

But lo and behold, I got a call from the police station yesterday. The camera was found! Come to the station!


We Are Serious Police Figures


I gathered my Japan Foreigner ID, passport, and the original box that the camera came in, with serial number, as instructed by the original gruffy policeman. But through the front door of the Yotsuya police station, past the plastic "police people" figures with moving LED banner sash, the lady behind the "Lost items" desk seemed ready to give it to me without all that. I guess my long description was detailed enough that they KNEW it was mine.

It's great to have it back--especially the photos! But who knows what they thought when they looked through the memory. Intermixed amidst typical snapshots--sunsets, friend's new baby, blurry party shots--were some of my quasi-artistic moments like the ones below. I wouldn't be surprised if they thought "What was he thinking?" "Does he really need this back?"


Semi-Artistic Subway Photo #1


Semi-Artistic Subway Photo #2

Anyway, I'm very pleased. We're all one happy family again. I'm abundently outfitted with cameras; my backpack floweth over.


My Camera Family: Older brother (left) and Younger brother (right).

Soon to come, Part 2: "O-REI." That's when I contact & thank the guy who returned it. Along with the camera, the police station gave me a form with his name & info. Apparently, in Japan the tradition in this case is that I give him a gift, worth 10% of the item returned. Cool eh?


Question: Would you expect this to happen where you live? I might expect it in a real real small town in the US, but not a big city!

31 with a bang

With a summer birthday in Tokyo, I decided to invite a bunch of friends for a fireworks picnic party last night. Although there were a few tense raindrop moments, it turned out to be a very nice evening! (Thanks to all of you who attended!)

Of course, with the new camera, I HAD to take some photos. Looking over the photos this morning, I've discovered a few cardinal rules about fireworks. What follows is the result of a careful analysis.

Why You Shouldn't Photograph Fireworks

1. Fireworks happen at night. You didn't buy that $5000 reconnaissance camera, so you can't take photos at night. Remember that flash that always comes on? Well you can't use that for fireworks.
2. Photos don't move. No expansion, no fast-then-slow, no glittery falling things, no wandering after-effect spinny bits (which are my favorites)
3. They're far away. You're a sane person, and you elected not to sit directly underneath kilogram upon kilogram of speeding, fiery, gunpowder boom-ness for a reason. Sure, you can try the zoom, but I refer you to item #1.
   

4. Your hand shakes. For fuzzy bits, (above) it might look OK, but in general it looks weird (below). On the plus side, you're still alive, 'cause the leading cause for camera jitter is your heart beating.
   

5. You don't want to be one of those geeks who carries a huge tripod around. You're quite satisfied to be an entirely different kind of geek. (Namely, a type of geek who isn't strong enough to carry around said tripod.)
   

6. The tripod you ARE geeky enough to carry is too small. Still, the above was the best photo I got of the fireworks. After a while I kinda like the look of the people in silhouette at the bottom. If only I knew who those people where...
   

7. Everyone else is enjoying a pleasant outdoor experience, and you're staring at a small TV screen in front of your face.

...But, I wasn't the only one staring at a screen: a shot I didn't have time to grab was at 30 degrees to the right or left. You could see a sea of dim lights, as people tried to capture the moment on their cell phones or digital cameras. In Japan it's become second nature to grab the camera any time there's a touching moment. But in hind sight, I wonder if some things are better enjoyed with the electronic equipment turned off. Especially for something as difficult to capture as fireworks..

stork visited me

Happy Birthday, everyone! As a gift to myself for finally going senile, I lost my camera and bought a new one. The camera is dead, long live the camera, and therefore we hereby announce a new family member. The differences are black and white.



And no, when I say "black and white" I'm not making a clever reference to the kind of pictures they take. I literally mean the color of the camera. Other than that, it's almost the same camera. ...But hopefully white is harder to loose. Same logic applies to the yellow case.

And I'll be sure and tell you when I do loose this one, so we can keep accurate records. Let's see.. I wrote about the previous camera on October 16, and I lost it 3 days ago. So it lasted 9 months. ... eh.. *gack* Even the euphoria from buying new toys can't quell that one. Well, one can hope that it turns up, but..

Since no camera is actually useful out of the box, I also picked up a SD Memory card. But this time I got a snazzy one which folds in half so you can read it in a standard USB drive. (In the see-through case, just left of the camera above.) All-in-one, multi-compatible stuff like that really geeks me out. ..In a warm and fuzzy good way, that is.



And, like last time, I also purchased a clear plastic sticker to protect the screen from scratches. The above shot is me applying the "PU-RO-TE-KU-TAA" to the camera. Ya see, when I loose my camera, I want the person who finds it to be able to peel off the protector and have a scratch-free surface. I'm just considerate like that.

...

In all seriousness, normally I wouldn't buy a camera so soon after loosing the last one, but tomorrow bright and early I'm going on a trip to the foothills near Mt. Fuji. Photo op! So I need a camera. .. Look forward to a picture-filled post next time! Cheers

オノマトペー, Japanese onomatopoeia

If you know the green t-shirt I have (and love) with the above "hi jou guchi" emergency exit sign, then you know something I bought from a cool online store. It's a company run by an entrepreneurial American that imports wacky Japanese stuff to Japan fanatics, mostly back to the US. He's actually a good writer, and I was reminded by the influence he had on my image of Japan after reading the "store news" email that's sent to customers. Here's a snippet:

I've always been fascinated with onomatopoeia in Japanese, with the differences in how "sound words" work between Japanese and English. Animal noises like "woof woof" (in Japanese: wan wan) are different, of course, but the mechanisms are the same, as with other words, like "twinkle twinkle" (kira kira) or "drip drop" (potsun potsun). The Japanese also assign sounds to odd actions, which we would never think of creating. The "sound" of eyes looking left and right is "kyoro kyoro," and this term is applied to a guy who is being unfaithful to his girlfriend by looking at other girls. The sound of snow falling has a sound word, too, "shin shin" ("sheen sheen") which summons up pleasant images of whiteness outside a frosty window. There is a "sound of silence" in Japanese, too, which is "shiiin" ("sheen," with a lengthened vowel). When someone makes a joke that isn't funny, it's common for someone to crack wise by saying "Shiiin!" to highlight the lack of laughter from the first person's joke. It takes time to get used to concepts such as these, but it's all part of the wonderful mystery that is Japan.

The company is J-Box, and they have lots of interesting-to-strange stuff. But a word of warning: J-Box's parent site is J-List, which is aimed at foaming-at-the-mouth college boys. It's hard to find a T-shirt without some kind of sexual connotation. If you surf J-Box long enough you may be inadvertently switched to J-List.

Interestingly, because of the "over 18" content there, J-List is blocked to me from here in Japan, even though I can walk 100 yards to any convienence store and find worse! Still, J-Box is highly recommended. Especially when it comes to buying me gifts. :)

World Cup = OVER

For me, the fact that it's over is more important than who won. :) Well, sort of.


Italians cheer, Frenchmen leer

I've been watching the world cup (especially the first round games, when the US Men's National Team still had a [theoretical] chance) at an English pub near my apartment. And because 1) the USA and Italia were in the same first round group, 2) I'm the only American strange enough to be a soccer fan, 3) my Italian officemate is a soccer NUT (like 90% of Italians), it's been a fun few weeks.

However, it's wrecked havoc on my sleep schedule. Today/Yesterday/Whatever, I slept from 10:30pm - 3:30am. That's a problem, because the game started at 3. My alarm was apparently sounding (loudly) for an hour from 2:30, but I was totally oblivious to it. For most of the games I would simply stay up without sleeping, but I was tired today from having played... soccer.

The final game tonight was OK, but not excellent. I missed the first half, which apparently was better. They got tired. We were tired, being 4am, so it was understandable. Eventually, with the score at 1:1, and the French star Zidane going insane (what a way to be remembered: responding to provocation with a blatant head-butt-to-a-tall-guy's-sternum), Italia won on free kicks. We were all celebrating Italia style (above picture).

But what was interesting to me was the below picture.


Photos with Italian Flag: 100Yen

Many Japanese were equally as enthusiastic as the Italians, and many people wanted to have photos with the Italian flags that instantaneously appeared after the last shot.

I'm not surprised by the desire to join the crowd, because after all I was rooting for Italia as well. (Why? They beat us in the first round. So now my claims that we had a hard group are justified--I can say "We lost to the world champions!!" I guess that's kind of like getting 5th or 6th place.)

The level of enthusiasm was surprising. Through the series, I noticed a lot of Japanese rooting for whoever was winning--the mood of the moment, and especially the passion of the Europeans watching was the main thing. I suspect "feeling the moment" was the reason that most of the Japanese kids there chose to watch at an English Pub. Japanese soccer nuts are moderately few, greatly outnumbered by baseball nuts and equal in number as F1 nuts, golf nuts, and tennis nuts. For my American audience, think hockey fans. (Diehard but not the biggest group.)

..anyway, the World Cup ended on a good note: the silver lining from being late for the game is that I'm awake. I'm off to work. Ciao

3 Tokyo Snapshots

Indoor World Cup Mock-Field TV cafe

Wish I'd known about this before today! Also, wish it was closer to home for that dazed 6am shuffle back home.



Where's Japan-ish?

Zoom in to count how many "Only in Japan" items are pictured here. I count at least 4. (And no, it's not raining!) (... or even sunny.)



Green breath

And lastly, another Engrish gem. I found this one on the back of a restaurant's point card. (Very popular with new restaurants and hair salons, to cultivate steady customers.) Interestingly, the restaurant is about 1 month old, and not named "The Leaf"