In addition to my Okinawa post, I've added photos of Okinawa, Himakajima, Yagoto, and Sakae. Additional photos of my dorm and Kyouto are soon to follow.

Also, in light of the sporadic nature of my posts lately, I have officially re-implemented the little known Scott's Weblog RSS Feed. I'll keep it up to date with complete copies of all subsequent posts, so you can feel free to read using the RSS reader of your choice. I'm heading back to Tokyo over Spring Break with Steve and Jared, so more happenings are apt to appear hear soon.

Half an hour later our fellowship was fully assembled. For the sake of identify-ability, I've assigned each person a character class in traditional RPG fashion. Our group consisted of Jared the bard, Steve the dwarf, Ryan the squire, Loren the knight, Aeko the sorceress, Maiko the rogue, and Yasuhiro the bard #2. As we presented ourselves at ANA flight check in counter #1, I imagine we seemed a right motley crew. We were immediately redirected to a distant little counter at the far right side of the terminal where'st a sign reading 'Group Ticketing' stood, not quite visible from over in futsuu no counter land. A short trek later we received our tickets, split them randomly, and headed for our terminal, number 11. The sight that awaited us was one so terrific and unbelievable that there was no room for doubt that the trip was going to be good. How good? Pikouki good. First, some quick background- since Japanese uses two syllabaries instead of an alphabet, words can rather easily become six or more syllables long, and thus be a bit of a pain to say. To compensate, many longer words and compounds in Japanese have compacted versions- Tokyo Daigaku (University) becomes Todai, Dance Dance Revolution becomes Danrebo, atatakai (warm) becomes attakai, etc. Hence, Pikachu + Hikouki (airplane) becomes Pikouki (my own brain child, I'm eager to note), our venerable means of conveyance to Okinawa. Not to disappoint, the interior of the plane sported Pokemon head rest cloths (I stole one) and Pokemon cups.

Damn, I'm on a Pokemon plane, this is pretty crazy. But low, more surprises were yet in store. Not being entirely without eyesight, I noticed (not nearly as quickly as Loren or Ryan, however) that there were perhaps no more than fifteen other men on our full flight. Apparently Okinawa in February is a girl thing. Whatever the case, as our plane took off about 12 of the girls raised their hands in the air and went 'wahhh' in roller coaster like fashion. A few minutes later, one of them started accosting Ryan- and then Loren- and then the rest of us. Apparently they'd just graduated (college) and were traveling to Okinawa to celebrate. Two of them, Asuka and Kyomi, are planning to study abroad in the US and thus were quite eager to make some American friends. All in all, it made for the most interesting plane flight I've had to date (unpleasant memories of Northwest In-flight movies spring to mind.) Ryan and Loren did the phone email exchange game (seemingly the primary tenet of Japanese social life), and have been keeping in correspondence since (conveniently, the girls live rather close to Nanzan.) But back to things actually Okinawa related. After about two hours we arrived in Okinawa, greeted by pleasant temperatures approximately thirty degrees warmer than back in Nagoya. The clear skyways and ramparts from the airport out to the adjacent monorail deck yielded a pleasant view of the surrounding foliage (the usual fair with numerous palm trees added in). The monorail was a small two-section model that ran perhaps twenty stops- our hotel was located seven stops down the line at Makishi eki. Being rather impressed by the exceedingly clean windows, I decided to take a brief movie of the surrounding cityscape.

Having paid approximately $270 for round trip airfare and bedrooms, I was expecting, say, something resembling a prefab POW hovel from the 1970's with some nice engrish tacked outside. Clearly kami-sama was on our side, however, as the hotel had complimentary breakfast, ample lighting, and awesome shower/ bath combos (in the nice Japanese style were the whole bathroom is water proofed with a drain somewhere, so you can run around the thing and spray water everywhere without worry). I'd also like to note that the hotel had these awesome compressed sponge things and three different soap substances (body wash, shampoo, conditioner) which were re-supplied everyday. After dropping off our luggage we headed out for a cheap dinner at a nearby Taco place down the road. I enjoyed some Taco Rice. After dinner we did a little bit of exploring down the main street where dozens and dozens of (identical) souvenir [read: crap] shops defined a bright, lively path extending a mile or two across the island. Statues of the local guardian deity, a Shisa (lion-dog looking thing), were particularly abundant. Prices ranged from about 10-1200 dollars, depending on what size shisa you were in the mood for. I was in a small chisa mood.

The next morning we woke up at some early hour (probably before 9), nabbed complimentary breakfast, and set about finding an open beach. With remnants of winter still lingering about, many beaches hadn't officially re-opened, but thanks to some quick intelligence by Aeko, we were able to find one. Approximately 4 minutes into our walk to the necessary bus stop, we bumped into a friendly, middle-aged Japanese taxi driver parked on the side of the road. Wearing one of those beige knitty looking vest things, he had that credible small town old guy air about him. Which was fortunate, as he soon persuaded us to employ his services, having offered a "hyaku en" discount off the bus fair. Shortly after departing, he started to give a rather persuasive monologue as to why some place X would be more interesting than that-beach-Aeko-had-found Y. X's and Y's being rather equal at the time, we soon found ourselves whisked off to some highly remote location where various incarnations of kami-sama (god) were said to dwell. A veritable polar bear plunge ensued, with much shivering and contemplation of 'why the hell didn't I bring a towel', which soon migrated into 'maybe I could subtly make use of that shirt lying down there...' which further digressed into 'what if I simply stay in the water'. After many a frigid thought, I somehow found myself dry enough to re-dress to 80% capacity (my undershirt was soaked through, and thus un-wearable for the remainder of the day.) Two hours or so after arriving, we met back up with our convoy (taxi drivers) who had returned to take us to Okinawa World (A.K.A. tourist trap, part #2.) Our first stop in Okinawa World was the hebi (snake) museum, which was pretty neat, though filled with lots of rather disgusting splayed apart snakes and rodents. Directly adjacent to the museum building was a miniature amphitheater- the location of a brief 25 minute snake show which proved entertaining, though full of jokes which when passed through the Scott Japanese Language Babel Fish (S.J.L.B.F. for short), amounted to approximately 011110000100101001000. Afterward, we ventured through an elaborate, exceedingly humid cave (thus ensuring the my undershirt remained water laden for the rest of the day) about 3/4 of a mile in length. Within, blue, green, red, and white lights provided illumination which culminated in a bizarre (and somehow creepy) Batman Christmas lights display. In a rather nihon rashii (typically Japanese) manner, we exited the cave via escalator.

We finished our stay at Okinawa World by watching a fun, crowd-interactive dance performance which involved lots of percussion instruments and brightly colored clothing. For dinner, we ate out at a steak restaurant just down the street from our hotel. I had a rather tasty pepper steak.

The next morning we visited a rebuilt Sino-Japanese style castle, then headed out in search of another beach- this time, via monorail. Bitter winds and seaweed patty monstrosities (they call them "Goya Burgers") put up a strong resistance as our fellowship made its way towards the long aspired to little beige square (nestled amongst a swath of less exciting grey matter) indicated by our map. It took about 2 hours. Upon arriving, I proceeded to entertain myself by writing various dumb things (in Japanese of course) in the sand. A few minutes later we walked over to a nearby park; one of those systematically green affairs with lots of concrete paths with children's play areas and homeless people tucked inside. We spent most of our time on a particularly dangerous seeming jungle gym. A twenty foot steel pole acted as an anchor for a web of inter-tangled ropes which tapered outward towards the ground, while four patches of fabric located at each corner (at its base) could be jumped upon to swing the whole structure back and forth. Jared and I quickly made it to the top, from which I took a couple photos of Maiko and Steve.

That evening we headed out to one of those girl photo place things (they probably have a name, though I'll take care never to remember it.) Generally, it's a building packed with theoretically non-identical photo booth things where girls (and occasionally their boyfriends) have their picture taken, then use a stylus to draw lots of cute [stupid] things on top of it. In exchange for your time and five dollars, the booths spit out several dozen miniscule postage stamp size copies of your highly colorful, 'cute', photos. Steve and I had fun sticking little clipart mushrooms and those turds on a few of them. Also of note, our bards (Yasuhiro and Jared) performed impromptu jam sessions for unsuspecting (though highly amused) high school girls. To top off the eve, we happened to walk by a radio studio shortly after a show had started- a loud speaker located just outside the studio window was relaying broadcasts out into the square. Jared and Yasuhiro took the opportunity to play a particularly well-coordinated piece (Yasuhiro playing samisen, Jared a small hand held percussion set.) The radio personality woman broke off mid-sentence, amused, and informed her audience of the foreigners* who had started playing music outside her window. Naturally, the glass was sound proofed, so she apologized to our bards for not being able to hear them play.

*It's worth noting that Yasuhiro is quite Japanese, but due to his highly outspoken nature at the time, she assumed he was a foreigner.

Our final morning went by quickly (and sadly lacked a Pikouki.) However, I did have the opportunity to wake up to an old guy staring at me rather conspicuously. Despite sitting four feet away from (a now awake) me, he continued to stare at me unperturbed. My compatriots soon informed me that he had been staring at me most of the time I was sleeping! Weird old guy (I suspect he's never seen anyone sleeping before.) On the flight back we bumped into the girls again (Ryan and Loren got pulled into a photo with them), grabbed lunch, then returned home.

Later on Matt and I visited the Nagoya science museum on some random weekday, which was A) devoid of life (except for the tour guide like women who were simply standing about exceedingly idly), B) only three dollars to enter, and C) packed full of interactive, well designed exhibits. Ah, and lest I forget, Matt and I were able to enjoy the most thorough planetarium show I've ever seen- it explained parallax, Cepheid variables, and a host of general star related information- all in Japanese (packed with those amusing katakana pronunciations of everything.)

"Do you like ramen?" 'mm, I like ramen' [to his brother, Matt's host father] "Order two ramen. He says he loves ramen, but it's been so long and he hasn't been able to try any" (makes piteous face) Repeat for every other dish served on that particular night, and you get a sense of Matt's rambunctious, eager to treat host Uncle. Large, jovial, and not remotely Japanese-like in his habits, he was hilarious. "nihongo ga jouzu!" (Your Japanese is good)- "Oh, I know that movie jouzu" (proceeds to make chomping Jaws hand motions.) Having lived in America- in Ohio I think- Matt's host uncle had a large repertoire of bilingual puns. He sat over at our end of the table (which held about ten people), while Matt's host parents were stationed at the far end (Matt's host mom always finds his behavior embarrassing, plus she figured that he'd want to sit near the English speaking crew.) All in all a very fun evening as I was treated to dinner by Matt's host family at a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Nagoya (a bit of a car drive, so not quite sure where.)

A Semester in Review
Last semester's theme: travel: constantly. I've never really traveled much in the past, so last semester was quite a change. Hoh, I was tired! But it was fun, and it helped to remind me that I was, in fact, in an actual foreign country type thing- Nagoya proper (and in particular, the region around Yagoto Nisseki eki), has been annexed into the Scott Sphere of Influence (SSI), and thus does not feel too foreign now a days. The shopping districts with their masses of people and various adornments is still, and likely will always be, a bit foreign for a non-mall shopper type like myself. Sa. <-- A wonderful expression in Japanese, generally used by males. It captures apathy so succinctly and well that I fear it will slip into my English vocabulary. sa. Now, what will this semester's theme be? While I'd like to say study (I'm taking one additional academic course this semester to help keep me genki), I think a more accurate theme will be becoming able-to-at-least-pretend-to-be-able-to read a newspaper written in Japanese. Our vocabulary and reading quizzes in IJ400 both require an unpleasant deal of kanji pack'n, so I think I should at least be able to make a dent (ding, more like) in the 2,000 standard kanji one needs to know.

In the absence of my traveling nakamas (translates to friends/ companions/ family/ etc), I've been spending much more time with my dorm mates. Recent events include enjoying the Chinese New Year, going to Peppers (the always empty but really good Mexican place about 12 minutes away), and watching each other play Dirge of Cerberus on Vanessa's playstation. Kendo won't be starting up for a few weeks yet, so I think I might pick up another club to fill in my afternoon time.

I'm off to Okinawa tomorrow with my fellow CS major crew, so I'll be out of town (and a bit warmer) for the next four days. I've got a fresh camera in tow and on hand at all times, so many more photos should crop up soon. Back in a few, more updates there after.

Though the weather was a bit dodgy for most of the trip, the foliage was spectacular with vibrant yellows, reds, and greens with little to no hints of brown. Eventually we ended up at the shrine of 10,000 gates, an impressive, highly dispersed series of paths and stone shrines which wound their way deep into a nearby mountain. All the gates were a sharp orange with a black border of sorts at the top, ranging from pocket book size up to the far more ubiquitous eight foot tall model which enclosed the various stone/ moss walking paths. Resting underneath an already dense canopy of bamboo trees, the gates, being placed only a few inches in front of each other, established a rather dark, en-shadowed tunnel into the mountain. That's about 14 Scott points right there. We spent some time wandering the various paths just outside the nearby bamboo forest, taking photos of the moss covered, oft foreboding grave like monuments which were dotted with lit candles, lanterns, and sculptures of dragons/ small demon like creatures. Due to the native topography, the shrines would often stretch up the side of the mountain, winding little stone paths upward with occasional streams slipping downward in counterpoint. Over the course of the next four hours we wandered along an ill-defined "dear path" as Matt called it, which worked its way through the bamboo forest towards destination unknown. About halfway through our hike we made it to 'the summit', or in this case, the topmost major shrine with a large sitting area where perhaps 10 older men and women sat in silence, resting (they didn't seem very genki). At this point we also noticed a rather well defined set of stone stairs- the normal way to get to up there. Not being overly fond of hiking, Matt can be seen making a particularly exasperated face upon realizing this. Likewise, I can be seen making a rather stupid expression. Either way, a bamboo forest is quite scenic to hike through- particularly on an already dark, rainy day which lent the whole area a wonderfully surreal feel (fog abounded). Our hike continued, eventually bringing us to an even higher, completed isolated shrine located in a small circular clearing. Off to the side of this clearing was a narrow tunnel which wound its way very steeply down the mountain- I took to doing a sort of double tap bounding run down the mountain (really fast and fun- and I didn't even die!). The path seemed to have been defined by a stream, as it cut sharply and steeply into the forest ground, occasionally ceilinged by horizontal, fallen bamboo stocks. It would make a nice movie set. Towards the bottom we encountered a decrepit, definitely not-on-the-tour type hovel which was two stories and in a state of complete disarray. Beyond the damage to the stone structure itself, there were quite a few abandoned knickknacks, including a bike, mattress, some china, and other parcels. It was terrifically dark and ominous within (the kitsune sculptures outside compounded this feeling.) A few minutes later we emerged from the forest into a small residential district. The shrine being no where in sight, we approached a nearby biker for directions. 'basu wa tooi' What? This is Kyouto, buses should go everywhere (they're the mainstay for tourist transportation due to the rather limited subway.) But ho! We weren't even in Kyouto anymore. How do we get back? You need to climb back over the mountain! Woops 0_0 A second inquiry later, we discovered that there was a bus- which could take us to a JR train station- which could take us back into Kyouto. About 50 minutes later we made it back, grabbed dinner, and slept hard. The next day we continued our game of space invaders with a few more temples, then headed home to Nagoya proper.

Our inn was right by the dock side, so we immediately checked in and headed up to our rooms. Dropped luggage, headed downstairs for prearranged dinner. Not only was the meal extremely large, providing about 5-9 plates worth of sustenance to each of us, it was also entirely seafood. That rice? Smattered with octopus chunks. The soup? Clam, also smattered with octopus chunks. That glob of raw matter? Some form of fish. Fried stuff? Fugu. I tried most of it, but it was all still a bit too alien for me to appreciate as anything more than was-crawling-and-or-slithering-ten-minutes-ago-thing. Food aside, the meal itself was quite enjoyable. We had been given a large, traditional style (read: austere) room with one long black table in the center and a stage area off to the right. After the meal, we all headed upstairs to the "onsen" in brown and beige two part 'yukata's (approximately a bathrobe.) The bath was located on the 5 floor of our hotel, so there was a great night time view of the harbor and distant shoreline. Afterward, my compatriots indulged in some spirits- except for Eric, who had brought his PS2 and was playing Gundam Seed vs. Zaft the entire time. After the others departed to bed, Fred, Greg, and I accompanied Eric as he went to take pictures outside. The night time air was probably about fifty degrees, though the constant off-sea wind brought it much closer to thirty (particularly enjoyable for Eric who was wearing light summer clothes with his yukata on top.) We wandered about for a bit near the docks, then made our way to a short jetty (500 feet?) which encircled the beach area. Being adventurous (or inebriated), Greg crawled off the far end of the jetty onto the neighboring boulders towards this man who appeared to be doing something in the near-complete darkness. A few minutes (and a lost scarf later), Greg returned. Apparently the man out there had been night fishing. Being overly nice to complete strangers in typical Japanese fashion, the fishing guy inquired if we had "Asobi ni kuru?" ('come to explore/ have fun.') As we walked back along the shore the man treated us all to some coffee/ cocoa from the nearby jidouhanbaiki (vending machine), then headed over to a small concrete ledge where a small butane burner with some instant ramen on top (dinner?) was sitting. Thoroughly exhausted and frozen through, we returned to the dorm at perhaps 3:00'ish and departed to bed. The following morning I hit up the bath once more (in lieu of the all seafood breakfast which the others had ventured off to.) Soon after we reconvened, then returned home to Nagoya proper.

And then came Osaka (the following weekend)
Conveying the ghetto'ness of the part of Osaka near Dobutsuen-mae station is a challenge a bit beyond my current proclivities, but even so, below are a few enlightening highlights presented in a brochure like fashion.

Welcome, fellow traveler: Are you male and ill-shaven with an interest in smoking and alcohol? Then make yourself at home on the streets of Osaka where you will find exciting social opportunities with other men just like yourself at every corner. Need help carrying your luggage? Simply strap some carts together and walk them down the highway! The local drivers will certainly oblige by politely driving around you. Tired of sappy, uninteresting hotel receptionists? Our hotel wait staff are well known for their interesting appearance and amicable manner. Hate having all that annoying extra space outside your hotel window? You will be glad to know that the local buildings are no more than sixteen inches apart, allowing you to comfortably crawl into neighboring residences at your leisure.

And yes, everything mentioned above is based on people and places encountered in Osaka. Amy and Matt kindly deemed it "Detroit, Japan." Phew, our inn receptionist was really creepy. Everyone else working at the inn was quite normal looking too- yet for some reason they chose to put the most disturbing individual I've seen in the last year at the front desk. Think Jaffar when he'd turned into a that freaky old guy midway through Aladdin. The other parts of Osaka were thankfully far nicer, with quite a few museums and local attractions to keep Matt and I busy for the day (not to mention a Mandarake, cough*). We spent most of our time at the Local History museum, which in addition to being full of impressive life size and scale models of structures and people, also afforded an excellent view of the nearby Osaka castle.

From Osaka we also made a brief day trip Nara, which was packed full of temples, bowing deer (their polite way of asking you for food), and a montage of impressive foliage. Oh, and a large Buddha (see the photo section for lots of blurry Buddha goodness). The city is best captured by photos, so make sure to check out the photo section even if you aren't in the mood for blurry Buddha.

Death by Exposure on Fujisan
Five exhausted hours later, I woke up. Holy hell, it's freezing! We hadn't turned the heater on in our room: it was about 50 degrees. After carefully weighing my chances of freezing to death and dying before I could make it to the extra futon/ blanket stack at the other end of our room, I finally got up, grabbed another futon, and tossed it over myself. I then realized that both Amy and Matt were also awake. As we were all freezing, our collective desire to get out of bed to try and find out where and how to turn on the heater was about 2. Eventually I crawled out of bed, put the heat on 'high' (there wasn't a temperature setting), and waited 20 minutes for the layer of not-freezing air to make its way down from the heater on the ceiling to our futons on the floor.

The Cheese Come'th
Having been well chilled and unfed for the last 20 hours, my low gas light had been on for about an hour by the time we left the inn on Thursday morning. Hoy, a pizza place! A guy was standing outside smoking- 'excuse me, are you open?' 'yes, come in, come in' It was a quaint little place, filled with all those random knickknacks that I always identify with small, home-owned restaurants. Concerned about the possible presence of Mayo on his pizza (they do that here), Matt asked the guy what ingredients were used. Slightly balding and grey haired, the man was probably 50 something. He turned to face a clear cabinet filled with various vegetables and cheeses located near the door. 'Tomato...' Turns back towards us 'Mozzarella...' Turns back towards the cabinet 'Umm...' Matt took the direct route- 'Does it have mayonnaise?' The man paused for a moment before regaining his composure. 'no, no mayonnaise.' Apparently the thought of mayonnaise on a pizza was as foreign to him as it was to us. About twenty minutes later, three sausage and one mushroom pizza arrived- it was some of the best pizza I've ever had (top ten anyway.) The mozzarella was very creamy, and tomatoes were only used sparingly. I devoured mine (as well as some extra that Amy had left over), and thus become revitalized for the second leg of the journey.

After a short bout of wandering, we found Homeikan, our traditional Japanese style inn located just a few blocks from Tokyo University in a small, very quiet residential district. At the door we were greeted by a well kempt Japanese man in a blue suit who seemed to have a perpetual, very mild (and somewhat effeminate) smile. Not only was he fluent in both Japanese and English, he also had this phenomenal pseudo British/ Australian accent. A brief tour of the inn ensued, during which we were shown the bath facilities (there were no western style individual showers), the souvenir counter, the troth-style sinks for brushing our teeth, and our room. The room was comfortable, though a bit austere, with tatami mats on the floor and a central table where various tea amenities were placed anew each day. One end of the room had a set of horizontal sliding windows which opened out onto a small ledge running directly over the main entrance of the inn, while the opposite end housed a small hearth like area, with a highly contorted tree husk next to a statue of two bears catching a fish (which was as large as the smaller of the two bears.) Every night a maid would stop by at 7:00 to put out our futons and prepare our beds, and every morning at 10:00 she would come by to put them away and drop off fresh Yukatas (bathrobes.) It was rather cozy. Whenever we left, came back, or passed by the main entrance on the way to the restroom, the staff would always greet us with a warm welcome, good morning, goodnight, or take care (in both Japanese and English.)

Tourist Stuffs
We set about doing the usual touristy thing, visiting a few nearby temples, then ate some yakiniku at the same place we had found last trip. Incase I forgot to describe it before, Yakiniku involves one ordering plates of raw meat, then grilling it on the small grill located in the center of the table. Getting to the restaurant is a bit of a challenge, since it's located on the fourth floor of a building with a very narrow, winding staircase which is shared with several other vendors. Once one squeezes through the line of people waiting in or traversing through the stairwell, one can then continue on to the comparably narrow restaurant area. Numerous recessed and suspended lights provide ample illumination- which contrasts well with the black walls and ever-present smoke wafting about from everyone's grills. It smells quite nice, and the staff, like those at nearly all service venues in Japan, is very energetic and eager to be of assistance.

Afterward (it was only 7:30'ish), we headed over to Ginza, the super expensive shopping district. Frequent use of under lighting, raised walkways, skyways, and splashes of greenery amidst the skyscrapers resulted in a rather decadent, futuristic feel. Though we only toured through a few stores, the area itself was well worth a visit. Whilst walking on one of the raised walkways, Amy and I saw Andy and this girl from my IJ300 class. "Hi guys." Andy just stared back in shock, swore, and continued to look disbelieving as I said "bye guys", as we passed each other. The odds of such an event transpiring were, naturally, essentially zero.

To top off the evening, we headed to Roppongi in search of some desert. Similar to the last time we had gone there, Roppongi was once again packed with hordes of people, many foreign, who were mulling about. Unfortunately Roppongi's fairly (really) sketchy, as it goes, and Amy and I weren't too successful at finding desert. Someone found me, however. During our search, Amy and I passed by this old Japanese guy wearing an overstuffed blue jacket (seemingly homeless.) Not so inconspicuously, he walks right behind me rather noisily. Hm, this is awkward. So I turned around and asked 'Excuse me?' He grunted. Grunted??!?! Ahh, scary old Japanese man just grunted. So we kept walking, and he moved to my right side. I'm not sure what he intended, as he seemed rather feeble. So I stopped at a crosswalk- the light was blinking green (soon to turn red.) Old guy stops too. Ah, crap it. Amy and I ran across the six lane wide intersection and escaped freaky old guy. We later nabbed desert at a konbini.

The next day, Friday, we headed off to Asakusa to do some Christmas shopping. Similar to Osu back in Nagoya, Asakusa is home to a large, open air market laid out in a four square block grid. At the core of the grid lies several temple structures surrounding the main shrine building. Just outside the shrine are the various food vendors, and beyond that, souvenir, clothing, etc, shops abound. After about two hours of shopping, we stopped by Tokyo University (aka "Todai" : Tokyo + 'daigaku' [college/ university].) The Campus has that old brick/ vine/ ivy league feel to it, with ample statues and green space. Impressive, though relatively small. A short trip to Akihabara ensued. We finished the day off with an excellent meal at Fridays. Like Dennys, the Fridays here are also a class above their stateside compatriots (though more expensive as well.)

On Saturday we visited the Meiji shrine. Though located not far off the center of Tokyo, the shrine grounds maintain their rustic feel thanks to acres of encircling forest. Adding to the already pleasant atmosphere, there were many children walking about in small kimonos (with mom guiding the child while the father stands a bit back/ in front and takes photos and video.)

As evening approached, we headed off for Tokyo Tower. Being a fan of Clamp (a popular manga studio who showcases the tower in many of their works), I of course had to go up the thing. Danielle and Matt found the eight dollar ticket to be a bit un-motivating, so they ended up waiting at the bottom (boring.) It was around eight when I went up, so the tower itself was fully under lit in a strong orange glow which slowly faded into a deeper purple towards the top. The elevator shafts leading up to the observation decks were open sided, thus affording an excellent view of the tower infrastructure during transit. The upper observatory (250m) was sold out, so I was only able to go the lower one (150 meters up.) The view was the best I've ever seen. Whichever direction I looked, dense, complex conglomerations of illuminated buildings and roadways stretched outward for miles. Adding to the fun, 3 x 5 foot windows were set into the floor of the observation deck- you could see straight down, 450 feet. It looked pretty far. Danielle let me borrow her camera, so I'll see if I can post some photos of the tower here.

Our trip ended with two curious little amusements. First, the Starbucks toilet. This thing was even cooler than the one in Koji's father's house. Not only did it spray, dry, and warm, it made 'realistic' flushing noises- prerecorded- with adjustable volume. Feeling self conscious? No worries, just turn on the flushing noise. Worried about the smell? No worries, just turn on the 'Powa' "deodorizer." Hoo hoo. The second little amusement was this small, blue garbage truck that was slowly driving around Tokyo eki (right near the starbucks.) The truck was about three feet wide and ten feet long, with an older, gray haired man in a blue work outfit driving it. But! As it drove around, it played music- original Tetris music. Nothing else, just Tetris. With that in mind, we headed home- via our upgraded Shinkansen tickets.

NOW
Not so much. Currently sitting out on the back edge of the laundry drying area/ porch thing, enjoying the very nice (65 degrees and sunny) weather and view of the sloping hill opposite the back of the dorm. Pardons, I know it's been quite some time (two weeks, egad!) since the last update, but not too much has transpired since then. I just completed midterms week, which went smoothly despite my becoming rather sick and missing a day of it. A brief overview ensues. History: Due to the professor's affinity for dates and names of people no one has ever bothered to remember, it was a bit more difficult [boring] to prepare for than usual, but I spent a while on wednesday typing up my notes and throwing together a quick powerpoint, so I felt reasonably prepared. Translation was a bit disappointing. When the surface area of a test is less than that of my wee laptop, I can't say I find it satisfying. The thing was a single, one sided, 11x14'ish piece of paper. Hmph. My Japanese language test volley (five parts administered over the course of 2 hours and 25 minutes) was ok, though not quite up to my hopes. Gnark, that's what I get for being sick and sleeping the entire day before with no preparation whatsoever. Shoudo went well- we had no test, and got to do (esssentially) 'free style', which was fun. I was even fortunate enough to sit near the site of a disturbingly well informed discussion of the bugs and regional differences of the early Final Fantasy games.

Apart from Academics, I've mostly been keeping busy with Kendo practice (which has been five days a week the last two weeks because of the upcoming match.) We've started using armor for practice, which has two interesting effects. On the ooh, I've always wanted to do that front, we (the "Ryugakusei" / exchange students) get to hit each other and practice for longer- Matt and I even got to have our own mini-match. Plus, it's always amusing to observe the politics of 'how hard am allowed to hit this person?' which seems to perpetually stymie the other Ryugakuseis. Being naturally a bit removed from political matters, I just swing as hard as I can (the armor's good, so it doesn't hurt.) On the otherhand, the helmets are necessarily extremely tight, clamping down your ears so all that Japanese which normally has to travel about two mental miles before it can reach Scott's aural processing snickerbox now has to bash through a wall of fabric and fiberglass too. I don't catch very much when I'm wearing the thing.

In sad news, the Kendo club's 'season' ends on November 19th! It will resume in February, but until then I'll miss going to practice everyweek. I'll have to practice on my own a bit.

On the adventuring, otaku-ish (geek) front, Matt, Danielle, Amy, and I are returning to Tokyo this week during the school festival. Class ends early on wednesday, and then we have Thursday and Friday off. On the way there we'll be stopping at mount Fuji for a short hike, then staying in Tokyo for the remaining three days.

On the event front, Danielle, Matt, and I went to see a Taico drum performance last Saturday night. They were performing in a free outdoor concert held in a large, ornate garden amphitheater. It was raining off and on, but the seating area was almost entirely full even so. There were about seven performers who used a variety of drums, ranging from 'normal' drum kit size up to a four foot diameter monster. They each had two very large wooden 'drumsticks' (actual name unknown, and I don't have google access to educate myself) which they would slam into the drums, whilst periodically shouting something. It was loud. Very satisfying looking too. The volume and energy was phenomenal, resulting in a very involving, powerful performance. We arrived a bit early, so we were also able to listen to the solo guitarist Ikuhiro Akazaki perform for a bit. All the pieces were strictly instrumental and very skillfully performed via acoustic guitar. I was so impressed that after the performance, I went and bought his CD (CD's here cost $30, so much impressing was needed.) Whilst purchasing the CD, Ikuhiro walked up to the little desk they were selling them at and asked if I wanted his signature. Wow! Ok. He complemented my Japanese, signed the inside cover of the CD I just bought (and drew a guitar), then stood up and shook my hand. Wow. I was impressed. Danielle was too, so she also bought a CD and got his signature.

While starting to plow through my translation homework Monday night, I received a call from Matt. "Hey, my family's going to a public bath, want to come?" Though I knew my translation would take several hours, I opted for the more adventurous path and headed for Tenma-cho, Matt's host family's home turf. The bath area itself was broken up into several distinct pools- the 40.5¼ Celsius pool, the 41.5¼ Celsius pool, the 18¼ Celsius pool (freezing), the sauna-like pool, the waterfall bathtubs, and the electric pool. They all were exceedingly relaxing- except for the electric pool. On one side of the electric pool are three submerged sitting stations with arm rests on either side. Hm, I guess I'll try sitting over there. AhhhHHHHh. My legs suddenly became very weak and hurt- holy crap! I jumped up- it was actually electrified! There was a current running through the water which causes one's muscles to spasm, hurt, and generally become unresponsive. I tried waving my hand in front of it: it hurt, then went numb! As Matt put it, "it feels like your bones are grinding together as your joints are pulled apart." Thus I contented myself with the other pools. The outdoor pool was an easy favorite. It was surrounded by a few beach chairs and tatami mats, with little containers you could use to toss hot water on wherever you wanted to sit/ lie down. An hour and a half later, Matt and I headed out (along with his host dad, sister, and her friend.)

As for the final topic of today's post, I am going to be living in the dorm from now on. In addition to Rin's harshness, the CJS (Center for Japanese studies) was upset by our mutual inability to contact my host family. I don't imagine it will bother the Matsumotos too much. Hopefully the boys will enjoy the Sakuboto (reverse blade wooden sword) souvenir I left in their care :) All in all, it should make life a bit easier.

Amidst the fields of Academia, my classes are going well. Though largely review, IJ300 is proving quite worth while, as the teachers are really, really good, and I'm learning everything thoroughly. Right now we're covering honorific language (something I've long wanted to master.) In general it's an alternate set of verbs/ verb conjugations you use to show respect when speaking to people you don't know well or who have a higher rank (teacher, older classmate, etc.) It's very polite, so I'm hoping I can make my Japanese a bit more cultured by using it fluently. History class is still a snooze, but the material itself is interesting. Shoudo (calligraphy) kept me awake this time, somehow, and I managed to produce a decent "Nihon" kanji (the characters for 'Japan'.) Intermediate translation is tough and time consuming, but satisfying. The class discussions about language differences and specifics of grammar patterns are very insightful. All in all, a good time.

I've been fairly busy lately, so there's much to talk about, but I haven't had enough time to type it up yet. I'll try to catch up on happenings this weekend.

And back to walking. There was a lot of it to be had. About 45 minutes worth. Not sure where the Meitetsu Obata stop was (I passed by ten different bus stops), I decided to ask a random passerby as we waited for a walk signal. After a bit of juggling, she pointed forward and said 'Ah, It's down that way, but you have to go pretty far.' I thanked her, then continued onward as she quickly peddled out of view (this becomes relevant later.) So I kept walking. About ten minutes later, I stopped to inspect a bus info chart to see if the buses that stop there pass through Obata. Oy, kanji. Whilst I tried to guess which kanji on the list might read as Obata, the girl suddenly appeared again. 'Sorry, I made a mistake earlier.' Holy crap, that was ten minutes ago. Yet another not in the US moment. She explained that it's actually forward and right, but then inquired where I wanted to go. After a bit of explanation, she gave me a bit of further direction, but then suggested 'but it would be much faster if you take the train, over there.' I thanked her for saving me (literally- I've noticed people find it funny when you do so) then made my way to the Meitetsu train station. Not only do they own a bus line, but a train line as well. Also of note, Bryan's host father happens to be the owner of the hole enterprise. Wow. So I walked for a few more minutes until I came upon the train station. The station master pointed me to the proper platform (number 1, bound for Sakae), and I proceeded to wait a bit. Not being completely oblivious, I noticed that, despite the station being very crowded, there was not a single man in sight. I knew that 'female only' train sections exist in some parts of Japan- had I stumbled onto a female only train? A few ponderous moments later, the train pulled in. Male radar on full intensity, I scoured the train (visually) as it came to a stop. No men! The doors opened along the length of the train- and one guy came into view. Phew, ok. I hopped aboard the section with the one guy, and made my way for Obata.

15 minutes later, we pulled into Obata eki. The station master quite helpfully pointed me in the direction of the ward office, and I ventured onward, my goal now in sight. Seven minutes later, I entered the ward office, picked up my alien registration, and departed less than two minutes later. Alright, heading back home. This time I took the Meitetsu train to Ozone (a stop on my Meijo line) and transferred from there. Pretty quick. I was now an officially registered Alien living in Japan. Nice.

We checked in, dropped off our packs, then headed out to meet up with several of our compatriots from Dickinson who were in the area. We stopped by their inn [waited forever], encountered a jammed shoe locker [eventually fixed] and headed off towards Akihabara, the electric city of all things Scott impulse buys. Our first stop was a small [relatively speaking] eight story, but quite narrow, bookstore. My otaku-vision quickly honed in on the manga and artbook area on the fifth floor. Zoooom. The motherload was just a few blacks away, through the 'East West Passage', a tunnel which passes under a wall of skyscrapers next to the Akihabara subway stop. According to eyewitnesses reports (Amy) 'I was in my element.' It was pretty neat. Exiting the tunnel, a very large, very bright, sign packed avenue with titanic posters of anime characters and electronics came into view. The place is packed with dozens and dozens of massive, 5-10 story shopping stores with hundreds of roadside resellers nestled in all the gaps in between. ooh. Our first stop was Gamerz, that store which Di Gi Charat is a mascot for. ooh^2. About an hour (and many dollars) later, we set off for the next super massive anime department-store-thing. For reference, most of these stores had Gundam floors with hundreds of models, 'history' books, reference guides, and of course the droves of DVDs. As I've come to be painful aware of over the last few years, Japanese DVDs are simply not purchasable. That series over there? 2 episodes (48 minutes) per disc- for 50 dollars. What!? Yes, they charge about 1-2 dollars a minute for DVDs in Japan. Moreover, individual DVDs of certain series come with their own artbox to hold the rest of the series- up to three different boxes for three dvds for 70 dollars a piece. Ouch. Why would one need three slightly different boxes for the same three DVDs? Collectability. I'd noticed it peripherally whenever I purchased goods in the past, but in Akihabara it became clear. The retailers and customers have a mutual respect for the goods that are being sold. Nevermind if it's a crap book from a series with a 10 cent story- they'll wrap it superbly, place it in a perfectly sized bag, and slide in cover protectors for each individual item, all with the utmost care. And that's something I'm willing to pay a premium for (though in Japan it's generally just assumed that all goods [and customers] are honored in such a manner.) Not many things are cheap in terms of quality out here. That $70 shaver I picked up? Not only does it work perfectly, but I can shave in under a minute without a single ripped out hair. Nice.

So, back to Akihabara. The streets were packed with throngs of people with representatives of the various stores shouting 'welcome's and handing out fliers. Notably, there were quite a few (five on Saturday) dressed up in maid outfits and offering photo opportunities. When we were browsing Animate (large anime store), Matt noticed this girl dressed in a bizarre white frilly thing. Curious as to whether she was cosplaying or simply dressing super weirdly, he went up and asked her (and got his photo taken.) Cosplaying is the act of dressing up as a character from a story to show one's appreciation for that character/ series. So yes, she wasn't cosplaying, but simply dressing very oddly.

The arcades in Akihabara (and Japan in general) are extremely lively, active social venues with hordes of games, photo booths, and much, much gambling. Pachinko places are everywhere (and always very loud- when the automatic doors open as one passes by, the sound is oft deafening.) My current favorite arcade game over here is F-Zero GX, a futuristic (insane) racing simulation with a 'cockpit' you sit in which swivels about as your car inverts, drops, or otherwise flies around zero-g race tracks on alien worlds and in space. It also shakes fairly hard when you hit a wall. Ah, and of course I've played a bit of DDR (though I'm still not very good on a arcade style pad due to the recessed sensors, baf.)

Saturday morning Matt, Danielle, and I headed off to the Imperial Palace whilst Amy babysat our lethargic cohorts (Frank and Adam.) Though we weren't able to enter the palace since we hadn't ordered tour tickets in advance, we did get to walk through the surrounding tree gardens and thoroughfares. The grass rivaled that of a professional golf course. We nabbed a quick lunch, then headed off to Asakusa shrine. Due to the large crowd of tourists they draw, famous shrines tend to have massive (several hundred stores large) flee market like areas surrounding them. It's a bit awkward when you see the people stoically listening to sermons (of sorts) amidst noisy masses of tourist/ shoppers. The incense smell great though (I bought a pack for 30 cents and happily carried it around for a while.) Mind you, everyone else tossed them into this little pit thing directly across from the incense-seller, but I had fun toting it around.

Despite our valiant (actually, largely apathetic) attempts to meet up with our compatriots, they instead ended up spending a few hours at an English used bookstore. Ah well. Danielle, Matt, and I happily returned to Akihabara. Several stores (and hours) later, we set off for Shinjuku for dinner. Since we traveled mostly by subway, the city ended up having a highly segmented feel- each subway stop felt like its own, distinct city. Roppongi and Shinjuku were particularly active, and thus overwhelming. In Shinjuku we had Yakiniku (an eating style were you receive raw meats and cook them yourself on a small grill in the center of the table.) We also grabbed a quick (and expensive) desert in Roppongi, then headed back to our Ryoukan to a much awaited bath. Though slightly intimidating initially, the baths quickly became 'old school' after Matt and I bravely ventured into one on friday night. And they're really, really comfortable. You wash yourself thoroughly at little wash stations located near the bath (a cross between a pool and a jacuzzi), then soak for a while. The water was very hot, but tolerable, and perfectly clear. Very much appreciated after a 14 hour day of walking and more walking. And yes, there were five other Japanese guys sharing the same bath the second night (only one the first night.) Along the same adventurous lines, I've also karoke'd several times- as I know essentially no song lyrics, I find sight-reading and singing random Japanese songs to be an enjoyable alternative. Plus, it's good reading practice.

On Sunday we paid Akihabara one last visit (sigh), then met up with Amy and Adam (Frank had left a bit earlier) at Asakusa. After a bit of shop browsing, Adam headed out (he's attending a college nearby for the semester) and we continued on to Tokyo eki. We had an early dinner, then retrieved our previously stowed items from a locker in the station and prepared to depart via shinkansen at seven in the evening. Two sleepy hours later, we were back home. We'd woken up fairly early on Saturday and Sunday, so I was exhausted. I returned to my temporary home, Yamazato dorm (located a convenient five minutes off campus), dropped my belongings, and rolled into bed.

Matt, Danielle, Amy, and I have already made reservations to return to Tokyo during school festival week ^_^

On the school front, my five tests (none of which count towards my grade) in IJ400 didn't go as smoothly as I'd like, so I'm going to visit IJ300 this week and see what it's like. In addition to the kanji gap, there seem to be numerous grammatical exceptions which I haven't covered explicitly in the past. Whichever I decide, I'll have completed at least IJ400 level Japanese (which focuses more on conversational, normal Japanese, and doesn't introduce much new grammar), and thus should possess a reasonable degree of fluency by the time I leave. If I do enter IJ300 I plan to continue expanding my vocabulary through reading/ memorization beyond the course requirements.

After a bit of wrestling, I think the site should finally display properly in Internet Explorer and FireFox (there were some issues with scaling the sides of posts to make the window edges contiguous.) On another note, I must sadly report that my camera can no longer successfully write to its memory card with any consistency, and thus is effectively dead. However, since all my friends have digital cameras, I'll continue to post photos of places we go etc.

Koji's father definitely falls into the endearingly eccentric category- he wore a blue shirt with sleeves and mid-section rolled up (his stomach was showing), is about fifty something, and is very inquisitive about all things not-Japanese. After saying 'hello' I immediately received three exclamations of 'wow, your Japanese is good.' (I think a foreigner being able to say any Japanese at all must seem impressive.) Every few minutes he would send a question my way; 'How old are you?' 'How long have you been studying Japanese for?' 'Where do you want to go in Japan?' 'Do you drink?' He was very amused by the fact that I didn't drink and asked me no less than three times throughout the evening (with a bemused smile) 'sure you don't want some?' A bit later one, one of Koji's brothers asked me if I had ever had Nato before. Upon hearing that I hadn't, he went and retrieved some from the fridge inside. Koji's dad showed me how to prepare it (you stir it vigorously then add the little fluid packet.) 'douzo' I took it. It looks like the webbing that spider in The Lord of the Rings uses, but brown and a bit chunkier. As I picked it up, I noticed that Koji's dad and two brothers were all staring at me with an eager 'something disgusting is about to be eaten expression.' I don't think any of them like Nato. It didn't have a scent, so I picked up a glob with my ohashi (chopsticks) and downed it. A little gross, but too mild to be really offensive. 'How is it?' 'It's ok.' 'Do you like it?' 'A little' 'Woah, he's a real Japanese.' An excited, surprised conversation between the three of them ensued. As I continued to eat the Nato they watched me in something approaching awe. Note for future reference: If you ever want to wow a Japanese family, eat some Nato.

I played frisbee/ soccer for a bit, which was nice since I got to impress them (and learn that 'umai doesn't just mean 'tasty', but also 'good/ impressive') It was kind of funny to listen to since they cycled through the same three words (umai, jouzu, and sugoi) about five times. Eventually it was just Yuki and I playing frisbee (he has an awesome backhand) in the park nearby. By the time we returned to the house everyone had gone inside. Koji's mom greeted us with moist towels and an invitation to head inside. Though really, really reserved Koji's mom seemed super considerate and nice, being highly attuned to what other people around her might want (a refill on that drink, a pillow, to sit in the shade, etc.) Inside, I found Koji, his dad, and his brothers lying on the wooden floor (sans pillow) unconscious. I guess the drinks had gotten to them -_- Koji's mom showed me into a nicer room adjacent to where the guys were sleeping incase I wanted nap as well. She also gave me a pillow. Nice. She also gave me "Drink it Black", a chilled coffee drink which promised to be "100% Real Coffee." Not so nice. But I didn't want to seem ungrateful, so I drank it all (super nasty) and spent the next hour and half perusing my Inuyama castle brochure whilst the guys napped.

As cool as the rest of the house was, I have to say that the toilet takes the cake (and washes and dries it too.) When you put down the lid, a quiet little motor starts going. My deduction: it's an air pump to keep foul scents from wafting up. On the right arm of the seat, there are four buttons (3 with two states, one variable) which can spray your derriere with water, blow warm air, and change the temperature of the seat itself. It also has that highly amusing two-way flush knob with a 'big' and 'little' option that lots of toilets seem to have out here. On top of the toilet is the sink- when you flush the toilet, water starts to flow out of the faucet. Instead of getting funneled off directly to the sewer/ septic tank, the water flows downward into the toiled bowl itself, filling it. Smart.

Dinner was quite good, with some discussion about hurricane Katrina, tornados, and where I live. The car ride back was a pleasant affair, as we passed by various baseball fields, 'golf courses', and shinkansen rails, and I talked a bit with Koji.

This coming weekend the family bathroom is undergoing repair, so I'll be staying in the school dorms at Nanzan. Or I would be, but I'll actually be heading off to Tokyo! It should be fun. I'll be departing friday afternoon via shinkansen, then returning much poorer on sunday (likely by the much cheaper, but slow, bus.) I think I'll get a prepaid phone this week. Receiving calls on them is free, so it should be reasonably economical (and the standard mobile phone plans here aren't a good value.)

Oh, and to clarify: passages in double quotes are direct quotations, while passages in single quotes are my translations of what they said (with the notable exception of banter with my friends at CJS [Center for Japanese Studies], I converse solely in Japanese.) Well, I try to (with varying success.)

After one week of classes, I've come to the following conclusions.

1. I need to sleep for at least 11 hours before History or Calligraphy. 'Now, everyone sit up straight, hands poised like so, and let your emotions flow out into the kanji. That way, you won't become tired and can continue for hours' -Calligraphy professor, an older woman who seems to have a permanent grandmotherly smile.
2. Every word in Japanese means everything. Click here for a helpful example from my jisho (Japanese- English dictionary.) All those fan translations of anime I've been watching over the years? Lies, all lies.
3. The cafeteria food is really, really good. Homemade good. So far I've tried the Curry, Kishimen Curry, Tempura Kishimen, and fried chicken.
4. Having the Japanese pronunciation of your name differ by one character from someone else in your class is very confusing (makyu-san vs. mankyu-san.)
5. Those discounted student text books look a lot less discounted when you notice the $19.95 printed on the back left corner of the book you paid $46.95 for.

Elsewise, mostly keeping up with the studies. I'm debating whether I should switch to IJ300 or not- while 400 is a bit above my current level, 300 is definitely well below. Depending on the results of the four tests we have taken this week in IJ400, my teacher may or may not allow/ advise me to switch. If I do stick with 400, my main obstacle will be contending with a massive kanji deficit (about 250.) Hm, we'll see how that goes.

Ah, and before I forget, I had another random stranger is really nice moment the other day (actually two.) I took the wrong bus (different line, same bus stop) and ended up going someplace random. When the driver realized I had gone the wrong direction, he insisted that I not pay! He also told me where to pick up a bus going in the right direction. Nice. Except that bus stopped a few stops short (it was a city bus, instead of my usual meitetsu bus.) So then I asked another random stranger how I could get to Sangenya, and he directed me to the proper bus stop and told me which buses were the right ones and which one's were not.

This weekend I'm doing the touristy thing with Danielle, Ami, Matt, and Jennifer. We're going to check out Nagoya castle, then peruse various subway stops for locations of interest.

I've only had orientation/ placement tests at school thus far, but I think classes will be fun, albeit a bit intense. Instead of meeting throughout the week, most classes meet in single 1.5+ hour chunks. I managed to place into Japanese 400, which is great, but I think it will consume me. The language classes meet 15 hours a week and are 8 credits each (versus the standard 2-3.) I know enough grammar/ vocab for it, but only about 1/3 of the necessary 400 kanji! I'll need to study a *bit*. It should be good. I'm also taking Intermediate Translation, Japanese History, and Calligraphy.

Meanwhile, I'd call my homestay situation 'Harry Potter Style.' Or, if I nihon-go it, "Hari Pota" style. The room I stay in on the 3rd floor is the only one which lacks air-conditioning and a bed. Fortunately they gave me a fan, so I've been able to fall asleep on the perpetually humid, 80+ degree nights. It's a good thing I like hard pillows, because the one in my room is a rock. Not literally, no, but terribly close. If I'm ever worried about being assailed on the street, I can just take my pillow with me. *whap* blunt killing weapon. My host Dad (Koji) and kids (Shunta and Yuki) are very nice, laid back, and inviting. Koji works for a UPS-like company from 6:00am to 9:00pm six days a week, so he is often absent from dinners etc. My host mom is generally in charge of my care, and though generally nice definitely has a distinct 'mom mode' wherein she eats one's soul (not really.) I did solve the mystery of why she never lets me explain anything in English ('English is not allowed' she would say.) She can only read/ write it, not speak it/ understand it verbally (and no one else in the family can understand it at all.) Cross cultural schisms ensue!

My chores are limited to cleaning the dishes- a seemingly simple task. But not, as I soon learned. The dishwasher is 'lower voltage than in America, so weaker', thus one cannot put many pieces of silverware near one another. However, 'it cleans better if you put them closer', when it comes to cups, bowls, and other top shelf items. Of course, certain items (used daily, bah) must be washed by hand. The blue fish is to be used for cleaning the stove top, while the red fish is to be used for cleaning china, knifes, the cutting board, pots, and Peter Rabbit dishes. Ok. The dishwasher is to be run every night so that the sink is clear for when she wakes up in the morning to make breakfast. Wanting to retire early, I asked what I should do if I want to go to bed before Koji has dinner (as late as 11:00pm). She indicated that I should wash everything by hand and Koji's dishes could be done the next day. Ok, I'll do that. Next morning: "Ano-ne, Skotto" (infamous words, translates to 'By the way, Scott' and flags the onset of a chastising discussion.) Apparently if I leave Koji's dishes to be washed the next day, I need to wake up in the morning and clean them before Rin (host mom), makes breakfast. Ok. 'What time do you wake up?' I asked. 3:00am. WHAT? Yes, she wakes up at 3:00am everyday to make breakfast. Not wanting to clear the sink at 2:50am every night, I decided that staying up till Koji finishes was the best option.

Next stop? Laundry. Having heard tales of my friend's host parents doing their laundry for them, etc, I wasn't too worried about being allowed to use the house washing machine. I asked my host mom if she would teach me how to use it, and we headed upstairs. A fairly nifty looking device with various LED readouts, the washing machine is rather Disney EPCOT Center-ish in appearance. I put in my laundry, and she indicated that I can just leave all the dials as is. Ok. "Senzai wa doko?" Eh? I didn't know what senzai was. She pointed to the detergent. Oh! I was expected to get my own detergent. That I had not though about. "Ano-ne, Skotto" 'You're staying here for a year, so you can't use our things. You need to buy your own things. Understand?' Ahhhh! Crap Crap crap, I did something dumb again. I say that I understand and apologize. 'Now Scott, if you hadn't bought detergent, why did you ask me how to use the washing machine?' Ahhhhh! I attempted to say that in America detergent was cheap and no one cared if you used some, but I don't think I got my point across. Sigh, this will be a challenge.

Ok, last stop: Family time. Saturday morning I had orientation at school (delayed a day because of a typhoon last week), and later went to Sakae, a shopping distract/ park, with a few friends. Not returning home until the afternoon, I thought I should spend some time with my host family. On my way upstairs I heard a video game being played in my host parent's bedroom, where I presumed Yuki and Shunta were playing. I asked if it was alright for me to come in, and Koji said "ii-yo" (sure.) Inside, Yuki and Shunta were playing a video game, Koji was reading a 700 page guide to the video game, and Rin was using a laptop on the bed. As I entered, I asked Yuki if I could watch him play. "ii-yo" As I started to sit down, I noticed Rin starring at my with a rather shocked, blank expression. I asked 'Is this ok?' a few times, but she didn't reply before Yuki said 'it's fine, sit down.' I sat down and watched them play for a bit, and Koji asked me if I understood that game (which seemed very complex, a turn based strategy RPG.) He was impressed when I said 'A little.' About 20 minutes later, shortly after Koji left the room, "Ano-ne, Skotto." Crap. 'This is a private room, so even though Koji said it was ok to come in, you can't come into this room. It's ok for this time only, but you mustn't come in here.' I apologized, sat for a few moments, then left the room once Yuki and Shunta finished playing their video game. Fifteen minutes later, Rin informed me that they were heading out and I should watch the house. Ok. I walked down the stairs from my room so that I could see her when she was speaking, at which point she re-affirmed 'You mustn't enter this room, ok?' (pointing.) Eck.

Phew, with that out of the way, some clarification: absolutely everything else has been awesome. Rin's food is very good (and healthy), and she has a fairly impressive tolerance for horribly painfully long attempts at communicating (of which there have been several occurrences.)

The city has a pleasant, communal atmosphere to it which makes wandering around more fun. Even the public transportation system is enjoyable, with polite 'thankyou's and 'excuse me's in abundance. And I have had a few pleasant conversations with Rin (those which didn't start with "Ano-ne, Skotto") during which time I talked about school, or the differences between America and here. Or, most recently, her explaining to me their need to repair the bathroom on the 23rd, during which time I would live somewhere else temporarily. At least, I think that's what she said. Repairs and 'returning afterward' and 'your room' were in there, so that's my guess.

Everything's just a little different over here, which is good because it keeps things interesting (and me awake, even though I keep waking up at 7:00'ish.) I even discovered one perk about having the hottest room in the house: I can dry my clothes very quickly ;) (They don't have a drying machine.) Phew, epic post #2, owari! (finished!)

Forms flitted about and much bureaucracy was had, though surprisingly little time was exhausted. 50 tenuous minutes of the nearest bathroom is on the other side of that desk at the end of this 200 foot line later, I made it to customs. Having been asked very politely 'Are you Scott McHugh?' by an airport attendant during my previous wait, my bags (along with those of my friends), had been retrieved for us (the other passengers had to wait at a carousel and pick the luggage up themselves.) Wow. At this point, I knew I was not in America. At the customs 'stop' of sorts, I had a brief but pleasant conversation with the inspector who didn't inspect or look at any of my luggage, and continued on. The airport itself was immaculate and heavily staffed, feeling surprisingly inviting for its size. (More on that later) My host family found me as I exited customs into the main terminal. Yuki and Shunta (11 and 10) acted as my guides of sorts and helped me find my way to the airport shuttle. And all was well- I hadn't puked on my host family, and I was nearly to their house. But low, little did I know that their house was 2 hours away by train, bus, and foot.

Hoy, I finally arrived at my host family's house, a three story apartment-like-thing with a sign reading (in English) MATSUMOTO. Koji (my host dad) helped me carry my luggage upstairs to my quaint little room on the third floor. Having briefly entertained the prospect of sleeping on my DDR pads in the past, I was only mildly phased by the two inch thick futon (which I had at first thought was a blanket) which would serve as my 'bed.' Whatever. 27 hours of being awake does much for apathy. Plus, it was exciting.

Stomach still ailing and exhaustion fighting my adrenaline from being in a new environment, I found myself toted off to dinner at a nearby restaurant. I couldn't read anything (I know almost no food kanji), but everything was accompanied by a pictured (and stuck on the wall.) The table had a small grill in its center with various vinegary-looking condiments on the side. Wanting to play with things, I noticed a small bell like object with a faux marble finish next to me on the table. Press Press. Despite appearing to be a button, I couldn't get it to depress at all. Ah well. No less than 3 different waitresses came by in the next two minutes, though my host parents hadn't decided on their order quite yet. It was a call button. Sneaky. So dinner continued, and some conversation ensued. End result? I threw up! But, fortunately, not on (or within view of) my host family. I had been ok until I ate a ball-of-pepper-tasting-thing sneakily disguised as meat with green goop on top. We returned home about half an hour later, at which point I immediately retired on my wee futon. Arrival in Japan: Success (host family not puked on.)