Tokyo: Saturday

All right so here it is: the blog post about Tokyo. Finally, I've stopped being so lazy and I'm going to do this. Let's start, shall we?

So in Japan, there is a week that is rightfully known as Golden Week. No, it has nothing to do with King Midas, but it is actually their version of Spring Break.  In the US, we have a week off from school during spring known as Spring Break, but here in Japan, there is a chain of 3 days or so with nothing but holidays so school is out from Thursday-Sunday. Heck, we also got the Monday off too, so I only had school on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was the week starting on April 30th.

So I went to Tokyo with my friend Nikii from the Friday evening where we took the Overnight bus until Sunday evening when we took the bus back. So really it was only 2 long days of Tokyo shenanigans on Sat, May 5th and Sun, May 6th. Nikii actually arranged most of it since she wanted to go to the Dolpa (aka Dolls Party) on Sunday. I had never been much into dolls, but it ended up being really fun and interesting to see something new (for me) and to see how a convention is done in Japan. I DID book the hotel, which was actually a hostel of the Khaosan variety. It ended up being really cheap and a really nice accommodation to boot!

The overnight bus itself wasn't too bad, though it was kind of hard to sleep for me because I have such long legs and we were only on the standard bus, but it was all good in the end! It was cool to see Japanese highways and to see the city from a different perspective other than train.

So we get to Asakusa where our hostel is, and we drop off our things and start our sightseeing early on, though still a bit tired from the bus ride. We went to Kaminari-mon Gate and Sosenji Temple for sightseeing and shopping. The temple and gate were both really beautiful; the architecture is truly a sight to behold. The shopping was also really enjoyable, especially considering the variety of things to buy. I bought a really nice pair of jika-tabi for about 3000yen (almost $40), and they are really comfy and great for walking.

 After shopping though, the crowds were getting really crazy: a sign for us to LEAVE! Afterwards, we decided to head to anime otaku heaven a.k.a. Akihabara (or Akiba for short)! The crowds were big there, too. And rightly so:

Huge buildings with billboards like this EVERYWHERE. You can find pretty much ANYTHING anime/game/geek related things here. I did my fair share of shopping for sure, especially in the six floor Book Off =)

We also did a little cosplay, well Nikii did anyways. I just wore my yukata :3 We even did some cosplay karaoke, which was mostly a breather session but still lots of fun. There were a lot of maids in the streets advertising for their maid cafés, which are very common in Akiba.

Clearly, Akiba is one of those places in Tokyo you HAVE to go to at least once, even if you are not an anime otaku, just to see the geek culture and all the different walks of life, kind of like Harajuku, which will be discussed in the post about Sunday.

After tiring ourselves out from all the excitement from Akiba, we then went back to our room at the hostel to relax. Later, we met up with Nikii's friend from high school, Manami. She was incredibly nice and friendly, and she took us to Tokyo Tower. So all those handkerchiefs and knickknacks I see with the Eiffel Tower engraved on the outside....nope, it's actually Tokyo Tower, and it really does look like its French counterpart. However, Tokyo Tower definitely has its own charm, and the lights at night when we went were really spectacular. We went up to the observatory to see Tokyo from above, and the view was just unparalleled by anything I have seen.

A picture is worth a thousand words (like in Final Fantasy X-2) :P

Afterwards we were greeted by a new set of tower lights.

A great end to an amazing day ^_^

Are Japanese people afraid of pigeons?

Just a short thought kind of post before my longer post later.

So I was walking to the store, or as I like to say supermarché, today and on the way, I noticed these 2 girls like freaking out over this pigeon. Like they literally STOPPED and would not go a single step further until the pigeon was out of the walk way. I was sitting there thinking, "Wow really?? It's just a bird lol.", but then I thought about it, and that certainly wasn't the first time I have seen that.

So then, I thought why does it seem like more people (maybe mostly schoolgirls idk) in this country are afraid of pigeons than perhaps in my home country? I know I can't make sweeping statements about an entire population, but in my experience so far living in this country, I do see more people cringe in fright over this bird here than I usually do in the US. But why is that?

Well, here's my theory. When I came to Japan, what I noticed about this country, even in big cities, is how CLEAN it is. I don't know how they do it, but Japan is amazingly clean. Also, I noticed that even some of the people very much try to stay clean oriented, even the guys. When I heard how long some guys take here to get ready in the morning, I'm thinking "Wow, I'm sorry lol...", especially considering my at-most 20 minute routine to do, you know, the normal things to keep myself nice and fresh! Although, there are PLENTY of American men who take just as long in the morning à la Jersey Shore. But I think it really depends on the person, hands down, especially considering those times I go into Book Off and the shounen manga aisle smells RANK of B.O.  And the whole handkerchief thing: everyone here keeps one around because public restrooms usually won't have paper towels, but I just wipe my hands on my clothes. I don't really care either way! I'll talk about Paris Syndrome in another post, but it does go along with the whole cleanliness thing here.

So what does this have to pigeons? Well, inherently, pigeons are very dirty birds, and so maybe because Japan is seen as a very clean place (at least in my eyes), people freak out. Whereas, the reaction people have in the US is to either ignore it or chase it (if you're like me!).

Just want to say that hopefully none of my posts come across as offensive! I try to be really honest with my blog posts in order to convey how I actually feel and what I personally observe during my stay here. I love being here in Japan, and I'm sure my blog shows that, but sometimes it's fun just to blog about differences and cultural norms that I find funny and/or ridiculous. Love you all and stay tuned for more! =)

Carrie Oakey

No, this post isn't about a person, but KARAOKE! :D

So I just want to say right now that Japanese karaoke is AWESOME!! Like American karaoke doesn't even compare, though rightly so since the karaoke machine is a Japanese invention.

So how does it work in Japan? Well you can sing alone or with friends; it's more fun with friends but sometimes it's nice to sing alone too. You go the counter tell them how long you want to sing for (anywhere from 30 minutes to all night long) and they give you everything you need plus your room number. The price varies depending on place and time, but it's usually very reasonable. There are even drink bars included at most places, and one place I went to in Takatsuki has all you can eat ICE CREAM (which makes the American in me happy! ;P)

Once you get into the room, there is a touch device with a screen on it near the machine. You use it to select the songs. If you don't know Japanese, prepare to spend lots of time fiddling on it xD For this reason, I suggest going with friends the first time you go. Once you get the hang of it, picking songs is really easy, and there are thousands and thousands of songs to choose from. Not only is there JPOP, but there's also a lot of foreign music, anime/video game music, and KPOP and other genres. Once you pick a song, it'll appear on the screen and you can start singing! You can queue up songs too, so you can have a long list of songs that play one after another.

If you pick Japanese songs, don't be afraid of kanji because there are furigana readings for most if not all kanji on the screen :) Also, if you pick any foreign song, there will ALSO be furigana above the words. Some songs have backup and some don't, it all depends.

 Karaoke place in Takatsuki

 Kawaii ne ;)

Bottom line: If you come to Japan, do karaoke! It's a lot of fun for groups, easy on the wallet, and a big part of Japanese culture! The worst part about it for me is when I go back home to the US because there is nothing as good as this...at least where I live.

Hanami

So the season of sakura has hit Japan, and what does that mean? HANAMI TIME!!!

So what is hanami?

Basically in a nutshell, hanami is having a group picnic near sakura (cherry blossom) trees which may or may not involve sake. Since the sakura tree blossoms are rather evanescent, hanami season doesn't last for a long time, usually only a couple of weeks. However since this year is chillier than usual, the hanami season is even shorter.

Luckily, I've been to three hanami parties: one at Minami Senri, one at Ryokuchikoen for the Beer Olympics, and  a yozakura, or evening hanami, at Osaka Castle. They were both a lot of fun, and it really is a great way to hang out and socialize in such a pretty setting.

A popular food during hanami is dango, which are little mochi dumplings served on skewers, and there are special hanami dango which include a pink one, a green one, and a white one on a skewer. There is a saying:  花より団子 (hana yori dango) which means dumplings over flowers which refers to practicality over aestheticism because the pretty pink flowers will only be there for a short time. There is also a pun of this saying, which is the title of one of my favorite dramas, 花より男子 （also hana yori dango), Boys Over Flowers ;)

Trash in Japan

I love recycling, I really do. But I'm not a huge fan of getting up at 8am to do it ><

In Japan, recycling is a huge deal and very much a part of everyone's daily lives. Since Japan is an island, they can't afford to create a large number of landfills of unrecycled trash, so instead everyone recycles, which I think is pretty cool. How the trash gets sorted depends on the city you're in. In Suita, we separate 3 ways: bottles and cans go in one, recycled paper and cardboard go in another, and then most everything else is put in もえるゴミ(moerugomi), or burnable garbage. Trash is collected on Mondays, Weds, and Fridays, though sometimes you can only take out a specific kind of trash on a certain day (I just take it all out on Monday since you can take out all 3 kinds on that day). And you HAVE to take it out between the hours of 7am-9am... my least favorite part of the trash ordeal :(

The trash task seemed kind of daunting at first (since of course I didn't want to make a mistake xD) especially with what is considered burnable by Suita standards, but the Japanese students were more than willing to help me out!

Some cities do require specific bags for specific kinds of trash, but at the dorm it doesn't really matter thankfully. I don't know if it's a Suita thing or just a dorm thing, who knows.

Classes start tomorrow!

So I start classes tomorrow!! I've got Japanese in the morning at 10:40am and then Japanese Lit. at 1:00pm, just 3 hours today :) I'm pretty set as I've got everything situated now, well except for.......


My bank book, the people at the bank messed up and misspelled my middle name on the cover >_< So I think I have to get a new one, but it's no big deal. So if you have a complicated name (like my middle name Christian, apparently xD) and you have to set up a bank account or whatever, be prepared! I have seen quite a few versions of my middle name, but you can't really blame them since Japanese people don't have middle names! CRAZY GAIJIN WITH SO MANY NAMES xD

Well it shouldn't be that hard to switch one letter on it hopefully. Heck I even used an ATM with my account today. You can actually stick the ENTIRE bank book in the slot and deposit money that way, no card necessary. Pretty neat huh?

Also, I had Indian food for dinner at this restaurant called Pariwar which has student discounts :D It was incredibly delicious, especially the naan omg....

First Week in Osaka! (Part 2)

So going off on my first post for this week, I wanted to talk more about cultural nuances of Japan that make it interesting and unique in many situations :)

Let's talk about passenger trains! Well obviously America doesn't do well in this category as most people just drive around in cars, which gets really old after awhile since I HATE driving =/ In Japan, you can take the train and get ANYWHERE. And the train fare isn't too bad either, plus there are ticket discounts and the like as well. Trains are an important part for Japanese commuters and workers. The interesting thing though is that Japanese trains are well known for being VEWY VEWY quiet inside; it can be considered rude to talk loud inside a train. However, Osaka might be an exception to that rule as people still chat a lot inside the train, and other people don't really seem to mind all that much (at least I think, I can't read minds).

So next, the crime rate in Japan is like reaalllllly low, and honestly, I feel pretty safe here in Japan. Even walking alone at night feels incredibly safe, which is a rarity in the rather ghetto city of Columbia. I was thinking about why this is, and I've boiled it down to three things:

1. There is no Second Amendment. I fucking hate the Second Amendment in the US, and I think it leads to more problems honestly. Sure without guns, people could find other ways to be violent, but I don't know if it's really so easy to say that.

2.  Collectivist society. I think because of how collectivist Japan is as a country, there are so many pressures put on the individual. If one were to steal in Japan, not only would that affect the individual, it REALLY affects family. It would be a full blown scandal.

3. Okay call me what you want, but I think the fact that Japan is such a homogenous society is a contributing factor. I'm not saying it's a good thing to be a homogenous society, it's more of a double edged sword in my opinion, but I do think because there's no (if any it would be very rare) race drama like in the US.

I'm not saying crime doesn't exist in Japan, but the rate is quite lower. As I type this, I notice my USC email with crime alert emails *sigh* I don't want to go back to USC....


Now to talk about FOOD. First, I want to dispel some myths about Japanese food:

1. It is all expensive. FALSE! While there are definitely a larger number of places that are pretty expensive, it is actually not as bad as you might think, at least in Osaka. Grocery stores are pretty much the same as the ones I go to in the US in terms of price. Also, as always conbini food will never let you down and it's always really cheap. Or if you like McDonalds, there are cheap options on the menu there ;P

2. All they eat is seafood. FALSE! You can find plenty of choices other than seafood. If anyone tells you otherwise, well they're dumb ;)

3. There are only Japanese restaurants. TOTALLY FALSE! There are plenty of international choices. The most common places I see other than Japanese food are French pastry shops, burger joints, and Chinese restaurants.


So all in all restaurants in Japan are all really good; I haven't had a bad meal yet. The presentation has been really stellar in a lot of places, and the food is always well prepared. When you go to a place that serves REAL ramen, you won't want to buy Maruchan shit ever again ;)


Well, that's all for this post. I'm getting more into the groove of things, so I will be posting on a more regular basis! :D

First week in Osaka! (Part 1)

Ok so, this is going to be a bit of a long post, since I was either too lazy to update it or sick from a cold. I am feeling much better now though!

Ok so I moved into my dorm about 3 days ago, and so far, I am loving it! It's in a really convenient location; in just a few minutes in either direction you can find a little mall and, of course, lots of conbini. The room actually feels kind of like a hotel, in a good way! I also have a great view from my balcony. The only thing that bothered me was the pillow, which was ROCK HARD because it was filled with beans >_<. I bought a new one at the nearby Aeon Mall.

The dorm is also 2 train stations away from campus, which isn't bad at all, but walking is 40 minutes from campus, so hopefully I can find a good path to take. Speaking of trains, the ones in Japan are very convenient and handy. Once you get used to reading the map and knowing which direction you're supposed to go, it's super easy. Though the train does get super crowded at times ESPECIALLY if you're going to and from Umeda at rush hour. At least you don't have to worry about pickpockets as much as in Paris.

Next, I want to talk about SHOPPINGGGGG LIKE OMG. So shopping in Japan can get pretty expensive. Like clothes, CDs, and DVDs are outrageously expensive. However, the merch I REALLY care about: ANIME AND VIDEO GAME paraphernalia. My goal while I'm here is to buy all the games and anime stuff I want that I cannot get in the US and bring it back to the states =) That way I don't have to spend a crapton of money at anime conventions in the US. For example, I bought a figurine of Sheena Fujibayashi from Tales of Symphonia for 500 yen (about $6.50), which in the US would probably cost around $15.

Also, where else can you go to a Pokemon Center? ;)


Well, I don't want to make this into too much of a wall of text, but I will end this post with my perspective so far as a gaijin (foreigner) in Japan. First, I want to say that no matter where you go, it is ALWAYS good to learn a bit of the native language of the country; you will be more respected in this way. Japanese people are all very helpful when you ask and are very willing to point you in the right direction.

That being said, I do get a lot of stares from people. Not really in a good or bad way, but probably because I LOOK foreign. I mean how often do you see a tall 6'2" (190cm), bearded, blue-eyed, white guy in Japan? Not as often as you might think, especially when considering Japan's very homogenous population. ;)

Also, since I have a cold right now, I am very eager as of late to get tissues, but they are not as easy to find as in the US. So what does a gaijin do? Well people on the streets actually hand out business cards and fliers in little tissue packets for free. However, a couple times, even when I passed right by them, they did not give me any at all or they looked away and didn't make eye contact. I'm not really sure why, maybe because they assumed I wasn't a permanent/native resident of Japan, which is mostly true, but oh well! しょうがない/Shouganai, as they say (It can't be helped). Thankfully though, as I was getting used to the whole tissue ordeal, there were some Kansai volunteer students who were so nice as to give me some of their own tissues :D　ありがとうございました！

Well, that's it for now! Hopefully I will be more proactive in updating my blog, now that my schedule is starting to become more regular, and hopefully my cold will go away completely in the next couple days! I am having SO much fun so far! :D Everyone at Kansai Univ. is super nice and friendly ^_^

じゃあまた！

Arrival

7am in the morning. Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs. Gotta have my food, gotta have onigiri.

So yes Friday references aside, it's a nice Sunday morning here in Osaka. I am sitting in my room at the Ramada hotel admiring the nice view from the 15th floor. My 17 hour combined flight journey was very long, but I did get to catch up on some of the movies I didn't get to watch. By the time I got off the plane, I felt like a zombie, which is probably why I didn't take too many pictures on the first night. I was so tired and ready to get through immigrations and whatnot. I finally met up with my friends, Jonathan and Shinpei, and Shinpei's girlfriend, Ami. Shinpei drove us all to the Aeon Mall which was in a seemingly suburban looking part of Osaka. We went straight for the food court, which was filled with so many different restaurants to pick from. There was even a McDonalds, a KFC, and a Baskin Robbins. I decided to settle for a nice bowl of pork ramen and it was incredible and TOTALLY worth the 630 yen =)

After that, we decided to head for the Ramada hotel. On the way, we stopped at a Lawson convenience store (or コンビニ) for some drinks. I got a delicious sparkling peach drink to fulfill my thirst for fruity beverages :P I have to mention how grateful I was that Shinpei drove us all because:

1. I hate driving.
2. I hate driving in big cities
3. Japanese people drive on the LEFT ;)

So we get to the hotel and check-in, and I was out in minutes, ready to say　おやすみ！ (good night!)

The hotel is really nice, and the view is spectacular. The bathroom is where I made some fun discoveries. The toilets are quite interesting, in that they spray water at your bootay to help clean up those dirty areas :P

Today, it's just me and Jonathan off to explore the city. Stay tuned for more updates!