Arrival in Japan 9/14/2014 to 9/16/2014

My flights went smoothly. I got up at 4am, caught a shuttle to the Harrisburg Airport at 5am, and was through security by 5:35. There were a couple slight snafus at check-in, since the self-check-in passport reader didn’t work, and in addition, my bag was 2 pounds overweight. The staff were really relaxed and friendly though, so they let me leave my suitcase on the scale as I pulled stuff out to lighten it. They suggested a pair of jeans, but my fall coat turned out to be what I needed to fall right at 50.0lbs. So I’ve been lugging my fall coat and my sweatjacket (which I was wearing) around all day. 

I ate a hurried breakfast, went to the bathroom, and boarded the tiny place as the airport attendant was calling the last groups of passengers. The flight was only about 25 minutes long, so I don’t think we were even served a drink. If we were, it was either orange juice or water. 

Watching the sunrise on the flight from Harrisburg. You can see the river and trails of fog.

When I got to Washington Dulles Airport, I checked with the United airline’s customer service to see if my bag was going to Tokyo by itself or if I needed to recheck it to get it there. The employee had me show my baggage claim ticket and pointed to where it said “NRT” (Tokyo Narita Airport). “See?” she said. “It says it’s going straight there.” I thanked her and took the Aero train to Terminal B. I thought about getting a massage, but between my heavy stuff, which would immediately destroy any positive effects of a massage, and the fact that the masseuse was busy talking on the phone in a way that didn’t really invite interruption, I decided not to. 

The strange-looking shuttles at the Washington Dulles Airport.

I wandered around, had a stale pizza pretzel from Auntie Anne’s (definitely wished I had asked for the freshest one), and idled away the time. Five hours after arriving, I boarded for my 14-hour flight to Japan. The flight was uneventful, except for some strong turbulence and the surprising fact that I somehow never had to wait for a lavatory. The food was good, as expected of ANA (All Nippon Airways). In addition, they had a special lime drink called “Aromatic Kabosu” (kaoru kabosu), which was pretty good. I guess Kabosu is a type of Japanese lime, and they added some honey to counterbalance the sour taste. 

Dinner

Toray water bottle

The vegetable curry with dinner

I was sitting in the middle seat in a seat set next to the window (there are 3 columns of seats). The man in the window seat, although a nice person, cruelly kept the window shut the whole time while he slept and/or watched Japanese TV shows on his iPad, DS, or other portable electronic device. I got barely a glimmer of sunlight the whole 14-hour flight, despite the fact that we were flying with the sun the whole way. Everyone kept the windows closed against the bright light. It was dark and stuffy. Halfway through the flight, I got bored with my reading materials and I had finished my sewing.. My abdomen was cramping from the air-pressure-related expansion of gas in my intestines. The remote-controlled TV screen on the back of the seat was an old model: small, confusing, partly unresponsive, and slow. There was also no way to turn the screen off, so everyone’s screens put off heat that made the air stuffier. The only way I discovered to darken the screen was either to go to Audio mode, or try to play the one news program that had. I found out with the news program that it wasn’t actually broken, at least not completely. 10 or so minutes after showing black screen (because I selected the program and gave up), all of a sudden the screen flickered to life and an English-dubbed version of a Japanese news program started. The dubbing was pretty good, although a little strange in parts. They didn’t completely cover the Japanese sound, occasionally allowing it to play for relevant video clips or words the news anchors said that weren’t very important. After the program played through once, I changed the language and watched it again in Japanese. 

After that, I watched several anime shows, including Chibi Maruko-chan, Doraemon, Pretty Cure, and Little Twin Bears. The first two were old famous shows that I’d heard of but never seen. The third is the current popular magical girls show. And the last is a very cutesy show geared towards young children (ages baby-5years probably).

During the last 3-4 hours of the flight, my allergies started to bother me. My nose wouldn’t stop running, and my eyes itched and teared. I hadn’t thought ahead about this possibility, so my Benadryl was buried in my carryon suitcase, which was heavy and stowed above us. I decided to wait till after we landed to take the medicine. At least now I know that Benadryl lasts up to 18-19 hours (4am-11pm EST). 

After I got off the plane, I went to the second bathroom we passed. It was smaller than I expected because I was imagining American handicapped stalls, but it was normal size for Japan. I rummaged through my suitcase for my Japanese phone and my Benadryl. I inconvenienced some people because the out-of-the way spot I had chosen was under the hand dryers. I partially assumed that all Japanese people carried hand towels, so they wouldn’t need them. 

At Immigration, the staff member took a very long time looking through my documents. I told her I was a Fulbright scholar, which seemed to slightly reassure her and slightly confuse her but not really help at all. She kept flipping through the visa application papers and resume stapled into my passport. Eventually, she asked the older staff man next to her a question, which he answered. She had the machine take my finger prints and a picture of my face, which normally ends the process, but she continued to flip through my papers. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my back. When I had first stepped off the plane, the humidity had hit me with a shock. I had donned my sweatjacket for convenience, but I was burning to death as I waited for the staff woman to okay my entry. Five minutes later, she finished, and gave me an information sheet and my Residence Card. I waited at the baggage claim for my suitcase to arrive, joined one of the many Customs lines, and then was through the exit. The exit was so crowded! There was a railing across from the exit, and it was packed with people waiting for the arrivals. I made my way past them towards the Currency Exchange area, where I took a moment to get organized. I exchanged my dollars to yen, and then lugged my double suitcases over to the Train Ticket window. There I was able to buy a half-price one-way pass for foreigners from Narita Airport to major Tokyo stations. The line for tickets was full of foreigners catching the next train. When I got down to the train platform, I saw the woman who had been in line in front of me. We made eye contact and had a conversation. She was here on business, going to a small station. I gave her tips on how to navigate the rail system, and showed her the assigned seat printed on her ticket. Even though we were taking the same train, we were in different cars. When the train arrived, we split up.

There was a cleaning staff in bright yellow uniform that rushed onto the train and cordoned off the entrances as soon as all the previous passengers were off. They had less than 10 minutes to get the train ready. After that, they removed the cordoned and let us on. One sickly-looking Japanese girl helped my put my suitcases in the storage area in the front. It was difficult because the other passengers were too impatient to wait for us to put them away. I found my assigned seat and typed this up as I rode to Shibuya Station.

At Shibuya Station, I got lost looking for the Ginza line. A kind young Japanese woman helped me lug my suitcase up and down the stairs until I found the line. People have much better English in Tokyo than elsewhere, although I don’t know if it’s quite at conversational level. At the Ginza line, I needed to buy another ticket, but strangely, on the map it said it cost 310 yen, but on a list of stations for Tokyo Metro it said it cost 170 yen. I bought the cheaper ticket, then went to the station employee to confirm it was correct. He pointed me to the train waiting at the platform and helped me lift one of my suitcases up the flight of stairs to the train. At Aoyama 1-chome station, I had a map but didn’t know where to go. With my suitcases, I hadn’t been able to use the recommended exit, so I wasn’t sure where on the map I was. Fortunately, a kind foreign father with a half-Japanese child who had ridden the elevator with me noticed my confusion and, in English, gave me directions to the hotel. Sweaty and exhausted, I managed to find the hotel with only slight difficulty.

The hotel staff (at least one person) speaks English fluently. Eating breakfast the next morning, I realized why. All the hotel guests were foreigners.

I thought the zipper was suspiciously different. Then found this in my suitcase.

Breakfast buffet

Coffee machine and tiny mugs on the left, then water and milk, then juice and cups.

On the very left, a huge container of yogurt. From left to right, dressings: Lemon, Caesar, Roasted Sesame, and Yuzu & Soy. I had Yuzu & Soy, which was salty and sour in a delicious way. Yuzu is a citrus fruit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzu .

Boiled eggs, strangely-yellow scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fish.

Japanese pickles, rice porridge, rice, miso soup. On the back table, corn flakes, cocoa puffs, and another cereal, and milk.

Small croissants, rolls, raisin bread slices, plain slices, margarine. Second shelf: strawberry jam, blueberry jam, orange marmalade, tongs, butter knife. Bottom shelf, plates and toaster. To the right are sweets that cost extra.

My room is a typical small single. I had some trouble with the toilet the first time I used it. I quickly pressed the flush and shut the lid, and the next thing I knew, gallons of water shot out from under the toilet on the floor towards the sink. Horrified, I threw open the toilet lid to see that the bowl was completely full. After a minute, the water drained to normal level. Since then, I’ve treated the toilet with caution and watch to make sure it flushes right. I guess you’re supposed to hold down the flush lever until the toilet is committed to letting water out of (not just into) the toilet.

Bathroom. Shampoo, rinse, and soap (combination body and hand) are provided above the sink. The sink and bath share a moveable faucet, which has a switch to the showerhead. The shower curtain is on a string instead of a rod. A sanitized cup in plastic wrapping is provided in the bathroom. I also got a showercap from the amenities provided downstairs in the lobby.

The toilet paper roll. Space efficient and rolls smoothly

The treacherous toilet.

I also found my room to be stuffy and warm. I couldn’t figure out the air conditioner; it seemed to say it was on, but nothing happened. I couldn’t manage to open the window either. Later, I was glad about that, since there’s no screen and I spotted a possibly dengue-fever-carrying mosquito fly by. (There’s currently an outbreak of dengue fever in Tokyo, the first outbreak of it in 50 years.)

At least the Hotel Asia Center of Japan has free bottled water and amenities.

My hotel room.

My bed, with the (previously neatly folded) yukata to wear in my room, on it. Above the bed is the air conditioner control and a second pair of light switches for the room. On the shelf is The New Testament.

The neatly folded yukata provided for relaxing and sleeping in.

The air conditioner controller. Top right button is the power button. The lower left two buttons control air temperature, and the right button controls the wind.

Laundry room across from my room. Wash for 200 yen, dry 30min for 100 yen.

Detergent dispenser

Trouser press

Summary/Highlights of My Time in Hikone (Part 1)

I'm going to briefly go over my experience at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities.

Friday Projects: At JCMU, a cultural activity is held every Friday. Attendance is optional, and the activities are either free or cheap.

1/16 Ikebana (Flower Arranging)

The Ikebana teacher demonstrating how to arrange the flowers.

The materials we were given: flowers and branches, the iron base in a ceramic pot, and an instructional handout.

First we cut the branches shorter with a diagonal cut, then made a couple vertical snips on the narrowed end. That made it easier to impale the branches at our desired angles on the iron base.

My finished ikebana piece.

Everyone is finishing up their pieces.

Our finished ikebana pieces are put on display for everyone to see!

1/23 Koto

The teacher demonstrates playing the koto. The koto has 13 strings.

The thumbpicks.

Me wearing the thumbpick before I attempt to play.

Everyone tooks turns practicing simple songs, including "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

English Volunteer: I volunteered a few times to practice English with local high schoolers.

My group and I presenting.

Group picture (different time from previous pic)

Chinese New Year Party (1/19): I found flyers at City Hall (Shiyakusho) for this party, held by local Chinese exchange students and residents. I organized a group of 20 JCMU students to go, but because it snowed heavily that day, only 12 of us ended up trudging 30-40 minutes to the party (we were afraid to use our bikes). At the party we helped make gyoza (dumplings/pot stickers), which were taken into a separate room to be boiled. Many other dishes were prepared as well. Eventually we sat to eat and listen to a speech. There was plenty of people and plenty of food. There were also some performances, which varied in quality but were interesting. I think the language barrier proved to be too high for some of my fellow JCMU students (we were surrounded by Chinese speakers and most of us weren't very advanced at Japanese either), but I managed to make a friend.

My friend as we walk to the party.

Kneading the dough for the gyoza wrappers.

One plate of boiled gyoza. There were many more brought out continuously during the eating.

The many variety of Chinese dishes that were prepared.

Everyone working to roll out the wrappers or spoon filling into them and fold them shut.

Finished gyoza, waiting to be cooked. The round ones that look like tortellini are a "cute" version that I think is supposed to be used for wontons (or something like that). It was a guy who taught us how to do it, and some of the girls made fun of him because it was so cute and childlike. But it was also way easier to do, in my opinion.

The room, so packed that people had to stand or simply didn't fit. Everyone eating their fill and talking (mostly in Chinese).

One of the performances.

The event was mentioned in the Chuunichi Shinbun, a widely circulated newspaper, I'm told. The week after the party, the ladies in the office at JCMU called me over excitedly and told me that I was in the newspaper. That's me in the picture, despite the fact that the subheadline is "Chinese exchange students and the locals." JCMU is even mentioned in the article.

The event was also mentioned in the Kyoto Shinbun, with even a color picture! The kind office ladies at JCMU called both newspapers to get copies for us, and the newspapers got us copies for free!

Fishing (1/25): There was a local fishing event to get rid of invasive species. For 100 yen ($1), you could rent a crappy fishing pole and get a cup of bait (tiny shrimp). If you caught a fish, you brought it to the organizers, who added it to a bin and gave you a cup of sweet red bean soup in return. Strangely, the fish we were catching would probably not be eaten, although they are eaten in the US (I think one of them was a type of bass). My friend managed to catch a fish. My bait just got eaten repeatedly (probably feeding the invaders...). One brutal man next to us stomped on the fish he caught and then threw them back in--but they weren't dead! After several minutes, the fish shuddered and moved. We didn't know what to make of his actions. He seemed like a regular, since he had legit gear.

The cup of shrimp bait we each received.

Equipped with cups of bait, crappy poles, and plastic bags to hold our catch.

The river lined with regular fishers and families attempting to fish with the borrowed gear. Everyone tried to find spots not offensively close to someone else. The areas on each side of the bridge near where the organizers were set up were very crowded.

A regular, with a fancy pole and a tent to block the sun.

The hook and line wrapped up for easy carry.

The unwrapped hook and line.

The pole turned out to be extendable, and therefore much longer than we expected.

I attempted to spear the shrimp onto my hook, but it was difficult. It was easy to tear through the bodies or break the heads off. I never felt like I did it properly. I did get a good tug, but the fish got away with the shrimp. The second time I got a tug, the fish stole my bait and broke the hook too!

So exciting. Watching a red ball bob. Trying to keep my pole at a good height--I didn't want the bob to be hanging in the air, but I didn't want slack line trailing in the water either. Or did I? What do I know?

Bored, so I took pictures of the local ducks, which are not mallards, but instead are grey with black heads and white beaks.

Behind us footballers were practicing on a field.

The stomped fish.

The fish my fellow newbie caught. It flipped around wildly in the bag before it died.

The sign says, reading left to right: "Collection box--Fish preservation/Let's put in invasive fish species!/Shiga Prefecture"

We gave our fish to the organizer, who added it to a bin.

A bin for one kind of fish.

A bin for the other kind of fish.

Warm, slightly sweet red bean soup with mochi (chewy balls made from rice). We each got a cupful, and chopsticks to eat it.

The organizers' area, with the registration tables on the right, the blue bins for the fish, and the table with cups of red bean soup on the left.

 Kyoto (1/26): I visited Kyoto and visited various famous sites with a Japanese friend I met at Pitt.

Parody goods

Kinkaku-ji 金閣寺 (translates roughly to "Gold Palace Temple")

Someone dressed in kimono at Kinkakuji.

Building/shrine with a collection box in front. The roof appears to be thatch with moss growing on it.

Mossy thatch roof?

Grassy thatch roof?

"Rest Area"

Fortune-dispensing machines

A bin to throw away your fortune in.

Fortune-dispensers for foreigners.

My fortune. "No. 17"...sounds mass-produced. Which is normal. At other shrines, you typically shake a box full of numbered sticks. A stick falls out of a hole in the box; you show the number to the shrine's priests and they give you the corresponding fortune. So all fortunes are numbered.

The English version of my fortune. Notice where it says "Your fortune: Quite Good." Omikuji, these fortune slips, are usually split into categories of fortune rankings: extremely good, quite good, good, bad, quite bad, extremely bad.

The Japanese version is in red on the back.

Depending on how good/bad your fortune is, you tie your omikuji to stands like these on the left, or sometimes on the branches of trees. Or you take them home with you, or throw them away, I guess. I'm not quite sure.

These two kindly let me take a photo of them dressed up in kimono for their visit to the shrine.

If you think parallel parking is hard, try to park in this garage. And don't even think of buying a taller car.

We stopped at a cafe to eat green tea-flavored cakes and drink black tea. Green tea-flavored sweets are a specialty in Kyoto; you'll see them advertised everywhere.

An art museum we passed on the walk between temples.

A blue heron and some white ducks. I've only seen ducks like that in Beatrix Potter's illustrations. How strange to come to Japan and finally see them in real life.

The rock garden at Ryoanji Temple.

Decorated sliding doors opened to let in light and air. The floors are covered by tatami mats made from woven straw. At Ryoanji.

I've never seen so many water buckets lined up in preparation for fire. The value the caretakers of Ryoanji have for the temple is clear.

A model of the rock garden.

A garden with interestingly pruned trees.

A tree with mysterious bottles sticking out of it.

A public restroom with a kimono-clad female figure denoting the women's restroom.

Many traditional style houses have figures such as these outside the doorways. The raccoons in particular are common. On the upper right, the poster is advertising Boy Scouts.

Roofs with solar panels are seen more frequently in Japan than in the US.

A building foundation

"Let's keep our town clean"
"Cleaning up poop is an owner's responsibility."
"Household Pet Consulting Office"

Oni, demons, guard the entrance to some temples.

This temple had many stickers on the doorway. They look old, and like they have names of people or stores or something on them.

A toy store we passed.

It would be a strange sight in America, but in Japan it is common to see regular apartment buildings, houses, and stores side-by-side with temples and shrines.

We decided to take the local train to Arashiyama Station, but as we were entered the train station, we encountered some amateur filmmakers.

The machine next to the door is a payment and change machine. The top accepts coins and cards (bus cards and IC Cards, not credit/debit cards), and the bottom (on the right side) accepts bills and converts them to coins.

Arashiyama Station was having a temporary exhibit of kimono fabrics. The fabrics, of various patterns, were wrapped around poles that lit up after dark.

Before we went home, we bought some omiyage, souvenirs, to bring home and share with friends/family. This is konpeito, which is colored, flavored sugar stars.

I also bought nama yatsuhashi, which are triangles of mochi with filling. The box I got had plain mochi with strawberry filling, green tea mochi with red bean filling, and cinnamon mochi with red bean filling. My American friends liked the strawberry ones, but they were all good.

Concert (2/2): One of JCMU staff members is a musician who practices at a facility several stations away. Several JCMU students and I went to watch him perform in a concert.

Statue of a local famous historical figure.

The performance hall had a pipe organ, to our surprise and excitement.

Fascinating sculptures near the station.

After the concert, we went to kaiten-zushi, "conveyor belt sushi."

Hamburger sushi. Not my favorite.

At this store, when you finished eating five plates, you could slide them into this slot to play a game.

On the computer screen, which is used to order food, the game begins!

A little animation plays, during which a battle occurs (volleyball?!). But we lose this round.

And win another! Inside is a sushi keychain.

Each booth has a gatcha-gatcha machine, which dispenses balls with sushi keychains in them when your table wins the game. On the belt, plates of sushi follow namecard plates that name the food, riding through the restaurant. On the upper conveyor belt (currently empty), orders made through the computer arrive, brought quickly and stopping at the table.

Setsubun at Taga Taisya (2/3): I heard about a local Setsubun celebration occurring at a large shrine in the area, so I persuaded the JCMU director, teacher of our Japanese literature class, to take us to the celebration. Setsubun is an annual Japanese celebration. One activity is to buy a 15cm-long sushi roll called ehomaki, and eat the whole thing without talking while facing the lucky direction for that year. Another activity is to throw beans out the door or at someone wearing an oni mask, saying "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Demons, out! Luck, in!)

Taga Great Shrine (Taga Taisha)

The entrance to the shrine.

In front of the shrine is a street full of old fashioned stores selling food and wares.

Someone bought these cookies and gave me one. It appears that this blue-pink-blue on white stripe pattern is a trademark of Taga Taisha.

Right inside the entrance to the shrine is this very steep bridge.

Before the big performance, lots of specially dressed people are gathered in the shrine. They are important locals, I hear.

The crowd slowly gathers in the courtyard surrounded by a catwalk.

The performance begins! Here are the oni!

The priests face off against the oni. The oni shoot spiderwebs, but are repelled by priests throwing beans at them. Many people in the audience are filming the performance.

Despite the onslaught of spiderwebs, the priests slowly force the oni back towards and past the stage to other side of the catwalk.

The oni defeated, this parade of people lines up around the courtyard.

They hold mysterious boxes as they chat casually, waiting for the signal.

It begins! Some of the men loft white-fletched arrows at the crowd. People leap to catch them.

Then they throw hard white rocks at us! Apparently these are mochi, dry and hard, to be cooked at eaten later. People gather as many as they can, some trying to fill plastic bags.

It's a game of catching the mochi or protecting your camera and yourself from them. A celebratory stoning that will bring luck!

Afterwards they gather for a group picture.

Kids join the oni on the stage, dressing up and taking pictures together.

Shrine maidens sweep the catwalk clean.

We're not kids, but we join in anyway.

We're rewarded with the batons of the oni. Whether this is a good thing or not, I'm not sure, but who can say no to pom-poms?

On the walk back to the bus, we encounter an unfortunate sign warning drivers of children. If the sign is this way, how are the children?

I eat ehomaki facing east-northeast. Bought a compass from the 100-yen especially for this (and will never use it again).

To be continued.....