Aggie Gaijin

Biking in Tokyo

2009-06-20T22:45:00.002+09:00

May 23, 2009
I took my first ride with the Tokyo Half-fast cyclists too. It’s a loosely organized group, mostly of expats, that meets for rides and beer, often together. Today’s trip was a beginner’s jaunt, only 30 kilometers from the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi to Haneda airport and back. Twelve of us met; I was the only person not on a road bike, a decision calculated on the basis that 30-k was not that long and a ride through the city would have sufficient stoplights to slow everyone down. I was correct (or the group was kindly cycling slowly), though I did receive much (justified) amusement at the big, bright air pump I carried in my basket instead of a compact pump.

I was encouraged by the attire of the riders – outfits ranged from full spandex to shorts and a white t-shirt. The group was friendly and knew Tokyo. The ride took us through parts of Tokyo that do not appear in tourist brochures – beneath the airport monorail (cement ages poorly), past truck loading zones, through large apartment complexes – as well as parks, riding paths, and major city streets.

Tokyo is the best cycling city I have been in. The cab drivers (and nearly all other drivers) are not aggressive even when cyclists are stupid (I saw two Japanese cyclists the other week going up a street on opposite sides as they chatted, blocking the growing line of cars from moving faster than a crawl. No one honked or did anything). The ability to shift from street to sidewalk, the narrow side streets to travel in, the willingness to go down one-way streets the wrong way (small streets – I’ve seen Japanese cyclists going against traffic on Yamate Dori, a sight that scares me), and a relaxed attitude towards traffic lights makes cycling relatively safe and fun.

The biggest danger is other cyclists, especially those speeding down one-way streets the wrong way. A number are mothers with children mounted fore and aft. The government tried to ban the two-child carriers on the reasonable ground (to this outsider) that the high center of gravity made them dangerous. Parents protested on the even more reasonable ground that a bike was the best way to move small children around the neighborhood. The appropriate ministry relented and decided instead to promote safer child-carrying bikes. A much more sensible response than banning a needed bike.

I also started cycling to campus. This is very different from casual cycling, involving pedaling down major streets (or the parallel sidewalk) or trying back routes and becoming very lost (while seeing fascinating parts of Tokyo). I’m kicking myself for not trying commuting earlier – I confess the distance on the map intimidated me. Add the justified worry about cycling at night and the fact that I sometimes am coming or going from other events and you have a recipe for inaction. The ride is not necessarily for the cautious (or the sane), but it is exhilarating, especially when I find I know where I am.

On a good time (lots of energy, catching the lights), the time to commute is the same as taking the train, not counting a shower. On a bad day, well, let’s not go there. Suffice it to say Tokyo is full of fascinating side streets and dead ends.

I also started cycling to campus.

Obstacles, coursing

2009-06-20T22:39:00.002+09:00

One weekend we went to the obstacle course at Heiwazumi.park. As usual, we took the train, changing at Shinagawa and passing scores of apartment buildings on the Keikyu line. This vertical living was a reminder of how densely populated Tokyo can be and stood in marked contrast to the one-, two- and three-story buildings that spread over so much of the city.

A wonderful part of Japanese culture that partly compensates for the uninspiring neighborhood playgrounds, obstacles are sets of physical challenging courses. Heiwazumi had 45 separate parts and Alex and Caroline finished them in less than 90 minutes and, for Alex, one change of shoes. The obstacle course clearly had not been designed with American personal injury lawyers in mind. Bare dirt cushioned a fall. Large gaps between logs and between ropes provided the chance to fall, sometimes from 3-5 meter heights. In short, it was designed for kids to have fun, not by a group trying to minimize its insurance risk. And our kids did have fun, clambering up and down nets, running along logs, snaking through rope tunnels, paddling a tub, and otherwise testing themselves (and sometimes their parents) for nearly 45 courses. The obstacle course made up for the sparse playgrounds.

Disclaimer Notice

2009-03-06T10:37:00.000+09:00

The following has been strongly requested -
This is not an ofﬁcial Department of State website,
and the views and information presented are ours and do not represent the Fulbright
Program or the Department of State.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

2009-02-27T13:27:00.003+09:00

In some ways, Tokyo indeed is too much like New York. The most we have ever had to wait for a taxi, regardless of time or place (including one foggy night in an isolated area near Zushi) was five minutes. If the day is cold and pouring rain, however, it will take fifteen minutes. Fortunately, we had enough slack in our schedule to catch the high-speed shinkansen to Hiroshima, a four-hour ride.

The shinkansen train was surprisingly bumpy, making writing difficult. The Super Nozomi had a few interesting touches, like the two women, clad in uniforms of light pink and grey complete with caps, walking down the aisle to pick up trash. One passenger in the first row had his stocking feet up on the bulkhead, a surprising lack of decorum.

Hiroshima

Japanese museums tend toward the presentation of objects as noteworthy in themselves and not part of a larger context. The Peace Memorial Museum was a bit of an exception.

The museum had many visitors, judging by the crowds when we went and by the number of urinals near the museum entrance. Oddly, the crowd flow was surprisingly poor considering the assumption of crowds. The dioramas showing before and after views of the city were quite effective in conveying the extent of the destruction.

The most moving exhibits were the remnants of clothes and the tragic story of their owners. Interestingly, most (if not all) of the clothes were from children, possibly a deliberate choice to highlight how the most innocent especially suffered.

The museum did describe how Hiroshima contributed to the war effort and had a little history of the war. Part of one display mentioned the rape of Nanking and stated that estimates ranged from the tens of thousands to 300,000 with 100,000 as the most accepted number.

The exhibits about the destruction and human agony were understated. One section had life-sized figures with skin melting from the heat. Overall, the displays were not too graphic so anyone above 11 or so could tour the museum and learn but without having nightmares. That was no small feat. The museum lacks an effective display that represents visually how many people were killed – a set of small objects (the size of a one-yen piece) might do nicely.

The American story was reasonably well told, though it would have benefitted by including American (and Japanese) estimates of the casualties an invasion would have incurred. Unmentioned were the damage and deaths caused by the American bombing of other cities, bombing which killed more people than Hiroshima. There was also no mention of the deaths caused by the fire bombings of other Japanese cities and the total casualties of the war, numbers that would displace Hiroshima from its pedestal of tragedy. Hiroshima was a horrific tragedy, but sadly only one of many during World War II.
The difference was that one bomb destroyed this city while conventional destruction demanded hundreds of bombers. According to David Edgerton in The Shock of the Old, the cost of building the atomic bomb equaled the cost of building the B-29 fleets that devastated Japan.

Also missing was any mention of Nagasaki – you never would have known that a second atomic bomb was dropped in Japan based on the displays and the museum’s slogan “Hiroshima never again”.

What was impressive is how quickly some city services were restored – electricity in parts within three days – and how many buildings did survive. One graph showed the distance at which different construction materials survived the blast. Modern steel-reinforced concrete buildings did the best.

As well as the destruction and reconstruction of the city, the museum devoted considerable space to the poor treatment of the bomb survivors and to the city's peace and nuclear disarmament efforts.

The souvenirs were fairly tasteful, but not inspiring. We would have liked an inspiring graphic of the Peace Dome with “Never again” beneath it, but that was not to be.

Several monuments and memorials dotted the peace park, including one to Norman Cousins, the American activist, and several to children – children inducted into the war effort, a girls' school whose monument could display “E=Mc2”but not “atomic bomb” due to American occupation censorship, and Sadako Sasaki, the ten-year-old who died of bomb-induced leukemia. She tried to make a thousand origami paper cranes but died before she could reach her goal. The children's memorials consequently have adopted the origami crane as their symbol.

I can understand why: the cranes are easy to make (well, for most of us), inexpensive, and are as colorful as the paper that makes them. The result is long strings with scores of brightly colored cranes. The effect is not at all somber or depressing.

Temporary scaffolding covered the Peace Dome so engineers could test its integrity. The large building was constructed in 1915 and served as an exhibition hall. While damaged, it was still mostly intact, even though the blast occurred only 170 meters away.

The police were out in force around the peace park, a demonstration of force, closing two bridges to vehicles. We saw several troop buses and many riot police with protective helmets, protective gauntlets, and large plexiglass shields. There was no sense, however, of imminent action but more a sense of a routine display. Nonetheless, their presence seemed odd. As Alex remarked, “This is supposed to be a peace park, not a police park.”

The apparent cause was a caravan of sound trucks, decked out in patriotic slogans and flags, blaring loudly away. Was there a rally also? Whatever it was, the Japan Times did not mention it. Were we watching kabuki theatre by a nationalist group and the police whose only result was to cost the taxpayers some money (but justify the riot police) and inconvenience a few thousand motorists?

For lunch, we went to a highly recommended (and expensive) oyster restaurant anchored two minutes from the peace museum. While quite good and with the wonderful service we have come to expect as normal, the best dish was the raw oyster. Some foods are hard to improve upon. On the positive side, Alex was experimenting positively with tempura.

Later that day, Alex and I rode the train to Kure to see the Yamato museum. The museum had a 1/10 model of the gigantic battleship. The museum was really about the history of the naval shipyard at Kure, not the battleship. Kure was bombed multiple times during the war, reflecting its military importance.

The museum was quite correct in emphasizing the Yamato to attract people. How many visitors to Hiroshima would travel thirty minutes to Kure to see a museum of its naval shipyard? Judging by the gift shop, the Yamato was the big draw.

The Yamato played a minor role in World War II. In many ways, it was a T-rex, a dangerous but obsolete dinosaur. Aircraft carriers were the main ships of World War II, not battleships. On the other hand, the Yamato did die heroically, albeit uselessly.

The museum was rather good, showing a good display of documents and artifacts about the construction, life, and products of the shipyard. The museum was on the water and we could see a shipyard across the way with a massive tanker nearing completion. Basic information was in English, but we missed a great deal nonetheless. Overall, a surprisingly good museum.
Lisa and Caroline, in perfect juxtaposition, went to the Hiroshima Museum of Art to immerse themselves in European modern art and the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum to see a traveling exhibition of Bulgarian gold and walk through the Shukkeien garden. The plum trees were blooming and it was a sunny day.

For dinner, we walked to an Italian restaurant – Jyobanni in Katakana, which turned out to be Giovanni. Lisa had an in-room massage that rivaled anything in pummeling that we experienced in Thailand.

Sunday
We almost bought a 2-day pass because it included the ropeway, a cablecar on Miyajima to the top of Mt. Misen. Fortunately, the office selling them had a sign warning potential buyers that the ropeway was closed for maintenance while we would be there. Japan is full of such passes and other deals that need a knowing person to find and use them. Our trip was through a travel agent. The package price for train fare and two nights at a good hotel, the Granvia, cost little more than train tickets bought directly. The package was for only two nights. A third night would have been at the full rate, so we decided to go to a ryokan on Miyajima.

We walked in the morning to the castle (rebuilt like the garden after the war), which we decided not to enter because the kids wanted to return to the children's museum. They spent a good hour there having fun crawling through the climbing structure, which is big enough for an adult (I know, I clambered through, ably assisted by two children as guides), running the trains and playing with other exhibits. Lisa went to the Peace Museum, where we met her, took a mediocre Thai meal, then walked through a covered market street filled with familiar stores and shoppers to get a tram back to the station. During the morning, the sky was grey and chilly, but the rain only started after lunch. It quickly made up for lost time.

We picked up our luggage from the hotel, discovered an impressive shop at the train station that carried an amazing range of Western sweets and treats including Juicyfruit gum (the only place Alex has found it in Japan), European and American chocolates, and chips. Not at all what we expected to find.

We took a JR train to Miyajima-guchi, then walked the five minutes to the ferry. The way was well-marked, with an underground passage to avoid crossing the main street. Elevators on both sides for the handicapped and luggage-laden, though the exit from the train station was only steps (as was getting to the platform at Hiroshima).

The JR and another firm operate the 10-minute, 170-yen ferries. As we discovered after buying tickets for the other fairy, the JR operates slightly more frequently. Most of the ferry passengers walked on and sat in the enclosed seating to watch a film about Miyajima. The adults and Caroline sat outside, shielded from the rain and enduring the cold to enjoy the view of an island misted with grey and clouds coming closer by the minute.

As we left the ferry, a sign announced that the aquarium was closed for renovation and would reopen in 2011. No indication of where the inhabitants go during that time? Aquaria elsewhere?

The minivan was waiting for us (I had called before we boarded the ferry) and took up on a long, winding mountainous road to reach the Iwaso ryokan. With each curve, my heart sank as we moved further away from the ferry. We would be so isolated and dependent on the van. We wanted to see the torii at high tides at night and in the morning. Taking the minivan or a cab would consume much time.

The driver was superb, especially at parking. At one point, he backed into a space with only a few inches between a tree on the right and another van on the left. We were impressed – awestruck might be more accurate.

Iwaso was clearly a large-scale operation with two separate cottages and five floors of rooms as well as banquet rooms. A large lobby and several staff greeted us. The corridor to the room was softly lit, as was the anteroom to our room. We had a big room with two tables, one for eating and another, covered with thick blankets, for sitting together to stay warm. Traditionally, this kotatsu had a stove in the middle and a family would spend large parts of winter there staying warm while the rest of their house was unheated. This modern version had an electric heater under the table and was quite warm.
The room, jarringly, was lit by fluorescent lights, which cast harsh white light on the green walls. A small alcove, separated by sliding doors that served as semi-insulators, housed a table and two chairs that looked out on a creek and hill. It was beautiful.

The kimonoed guide who showed us the room next showed us the hallway, elevator, and stairs to reach the onsen and breakfast room. While most of the family relaxed and played cards, I took an umbrella and walked around. Unpaved paths led to the closed ropeway and a path to Mt. Misen. At one open area with a few picnic tables, a loudspeaker blared out music to a bemused audience of one. Unsurprisingly considering the rain and encroaching dusk, I was the only person out.

I returned in time to join everyone in the trip to the onsen. We donned yukata, making sure we wrapped the left side over the right (right over left is only for funerals), put on slippers until we reached the public area, then switched to plastic geta (instead of the original straw for these thick sandals) to walk to the onsen. Once there, we separated by sexes and doffed our robes. Entering the pool room, we sat on stools and washed ourselves before entering the hot pool.

Concrete was the main material, though the actual pool was a smoother material. The small outside pool looked out on the stream and hillside. To create a greater sense of closeness to nature, the outside room had a row of rocks planted in the concrete and the walk separating us from the outside was made of wooden logs and bamboo shades. Not quite the hot springs set amid moss-covered rocks, the image of the ideal onsen, but quite a good attempt.

We emerged in time for dinner, served in the room next to ours (quite unusual, as was breakfast in a common room: normally the meals are served in your room). The inn had a non-seafood option for the kids, so they ate well, though not as exquisitely as the adults. We ate, of course, in our yukatas.

After dinner, we dressed in our street clothes and boarded the minivan to see the red torii at high tide. This is considered the third most scenic site in Japan (the first two are Fuji and Kyoto). I was expecting a long trip to the torii like our drive to the ryokan. To our shock, the van stopped in two minutes. There was the torii, spotlit and spectacular. We were embarrassed that it was so close. The driver told us not to worry but we did convince him to go back and not to wait for us.

The torii is 16 meters high, big enough for a tourist boat to go through, which one did as we watched. We admired the torii through the rain for a few more minutes and walked back.

Lisa and Caroline took another hot bath, Alex spent 100 yen to catch up on his e-mail, and Jonathan walked back to the torii and then to the ferry dock, which was only a 15-minute stroll. During the stroll, he noticed several deer and passed a hotel where a taiko drumming demonstration filled the air with vibrant sound to the delight of the audience inside.
`
Monday
The big question when we woke was whether we wore street clothes or yukata to the breakfast room. Nothing we had read in the guidebooks or experienced offered any precedent. We decided on yukata, only to glance in and find that the dress de jour was street dress. We hurried back and changed. The kids had a Western breakfast with cereal and scrambled eggs, while the adults maintained their daily consumption of fish and rice.

We checked out and walked to the torii, then strolled through the many buildings of the Itsukushima shrine, built on the water in 593 (and rebuilt in 1168). White-tailed deer wandered around too, looking cute and looking for food (which is why some shrubs had protective wires around them and signs warned visitors against feeding the deer). This shrine was the most picturesque we have visited so far, though some of the Kyoto shrines come close. We're unsure why, but possible reasons include:
*the shrine was a sprawling complex of buildings that did not feel cramped together
*the shrine was not jammed to capacity with thousands of visitors
*the shrine felt built on a more human scale without towering torii and gates or huge halls
*fewer souvenir stores surrounded the shrine (this option lost favor when we exited far from the entrance and found many opportunities to enrich the local economy)

As we walked through the shopping street, we realized how dependent Miyajima is on tourism. We also saw the world's largest rice scoop, a 2.5 ton behemoth that commemorated its creation on this island.

After walking around the shrine we took the kids on a nature walk along the side of a stream. We would have gone on the cable car but it was closed for maintenance. We saw several small waterfalls and went up the hill for over a kilometer from the first marker. The path was rather steep with many moss-covered boulders on the side. Since we had a train to catch and the kids were getting tired we decided to turn around before reaching the summit which was another kilometer ahead.

The kids stayed at the ryokan and read while we walked down to the pier, passing the torii one more time. Unlike our walk up the nature path, the shrine and streets were filling with tourists, presumably daytrippers from the mainland. The minivan brought the kids and luggage to the ferry precisely on schedule and we returned to Miyajima-guchi to ride back to Hiroshima

Orchid Show

2009-02-27T12:41:00.004+09:00

I love flower shows so when I read about the Grand Prix Orchid show at the Tokyo Dome in the paper there was no doubt that I would make a visit. I also thought that Caroline would enjoy the experience; however, I have learned that advertising and experience can be quite different and the crowds can dull the thrill. Thus, I decided that two trips were in order. I went first to explore and see everything that I wanted and to take photos. Then I returned on a school holiday with kids in tow. This cost more as I had to pay for two entrances, but was a very smart move.

The Tokyo Dome is a baseball stadium; indeed the maps for the orchid show mentioned items as being near home plate or second base. However, I must say that the orchids were a wonderful addition to the venue. As I entered the dome along with many others, the entire area had the delightful aroma of a greenhouse. It was very welcoming. Walking down the stadium stairs I had a wonderful view of the entire arena – it was filled with flowers and people.

The entrance to the show was lined with trees made from attaching orchids in pots to white painted trunks with other orchids underneath to form a ring around the base. Each side was identical. This path lead to a pedestal holding the grand prize winners up high so that everyone could see them and take photos without having to wait for those in front to move. Fanning out from this were the various types of competitions with large displays taking up some of the other room.

There were many prizes and areas of competition, which included individual orchid growing, orchid arrangements, bridal arrangements, orchid displays, fragrance, and crafts. One section had table decorations done by different embassies. There was also an area devoted to lectures and demonstrations and about a quarter of the floor space was lined with stands selling orchid plants, cut flowers, vases, fertilizer, etc.

I have never seen anything so elaborate as the incredible orchid displays. There was a display of a peacock with the tail sculpted out of orchids, a wedding scene with the bride’s dress made from orchids, as well as many other artistic endeavors.

The orchids in the fragrance competition were at a height so you could smell each one and they were much more powerful than orchids that I had previously smelled.

There was almost too much to take in and I was glad to have two opportunities to enjoy the show. The crowds were not as bad as I expected, or perhaps I have become used to close contact with strangers. As I was leaving the show I ran into a Japanese friend who was impressed that I had attended and she complained about the crowds. Of course I must admit that since I am taller than the average Japanese I can see over folks to look at the displays. This does improve things quite a bit.

Caroline did enjoy the show and agreed that it was worth the effort to move through the crowds. Alex thought the best part was sitting in the outfield playing an electronic game (He had an option of going to the baseball museum instead but he preferred to save that for a trip with Jonathan.)

So what did I learn from this experience? First, there are many more types and colors of orchids than I ever imagined. Second, in Japan the most common orchids are grown so that the blooms cascade down in a very orderly manner. Nature is not allowed to take its own course. The more exotic ones seem to be under different orders. The less common ones are grown in a more realistic way although they may be just as artificially trained – or so it seems. Third, events during the middle of the week will be attended by more people then you might predict.

Sapporo Snow and Ice Festival

2009-02-25T17:01:00.002+09:00

Since we are only spending one short year in Japan we are trying to find the parts that are truly one of a kind. Thus, I decided to take the kids to Sapporo for the 60th snow and ice festival. At first Jonathan was going to join us, but a previous commitment to speak in Sendai the same weekend prevented this.

I booked the trip through a Japanese travel agent since in Japan packages are usually cheaper and the bigger groups put blocks on the hotels. We were able to get a hotel just a few minutes walk from 2 of the 3 venues.

This was my first trip where I had to negotiate everything without Jonathan and I must admit that I was a bit concerned about my ability to get us where we wanted to be given the crowds that I was expecting.

We left Tokyo midday from Haneda airport, which is closer than Narita and handles domestic flights. This meant that we could take a regular metro train without having to make reservations on the airport express and that we could leave at any time. We had 2 small suitcases that were not heavy – just packed with winter boots and layers of clothing. We dragged them through Shibuya a bit after noon, not too crowded and up the stairs at the Hachiko entrance – no elevator or escalator at this JR entrance. After a few minutes on the JR, we transferred onto a monorail to Haneda. This delivered us to the terminal where we picked up our tickets. The security was wonderful, no lines and no removal of shoes.

After a bit of a scare due to heavy snow in Sapporo – would we be diverted?- we arrived at that city in Hokkaido. It was obvious that Sapporo was ready for crowds. They had volunteers at the airport to direct strangers to the proper place to get into the city. When we tried to wait in the very short line to purchase tickets for the airport link into town we were pulled aside taken to an English speaking clerk – no line at all, and given an explanation of the system and prices. Totally unexpected but very welcoming.

We got on the next train – totally packed with no seats available and stood the 40 minutes it took to get into town. We rode in standing next to a young Japanese who had studied in Colorado and had just graduated last year with a Finance degree. He was worried that we did not know how to get to negotiate the trains, which did not concern me. He was happy because he had decided not to go with a job from Lehman Brothers but instead was working for a non-finance firm.

We arrived at the main train terminal during rush hour, sat on a bench to change into winter boots, pull on gloves and hats, and managed to go one stop on another train to our hotel. Oddly enough we realized that the directions from the hotel had us walking further than necessary, as Alex pointed out, so we took our own route – only needing to ask directions once when we were a block away from the hotel. Every map we looked at had north in a different place making our attempts at interpretation more difficult than necessary. However, downtown Sapporo is laid out on a grid, which made navigation much easier than Tokyo.

Our hotel was a typical business hotel. Very tight fit, no place for storage of clothes, tiny bathroom. However it was clean, warm and had three beds and the location was great.

We set out for dinner and then our first snow sculpture viewing. Dinner was a Chinese restaurant in a small place near the hotel with good Cantonese food. Warmed and fed, we set out to walk the remaining 3 blocks to the Odori park part of the festival. We explored the gigantic snow carvings first. They were totally different from anything we had ever seen. Quite elaborate and very well done. Some had lights internally, all had lights externally, and a couple still had workers adding the final touches. Despite our fears the crowds were very thin. We could always get where we wanted without any problem. I took many photos and never had to wait for people to get out of the way. One section had teams from different countries competing. Some of the countries were ones that you would expect at a snow festival – Norway, Sweden, Finland. Others, such as Thailand and Hong Kong, were not expected. There was also an entire section of sculptures made by local folks and children displayed in one section of the park.

As is typical with any Japanese festival, there were numerous food vendors with various types of possible consumables. The most interesting were the seasoned nuts, but when I saw the 2,000 yen price (over $21) for a rather modest serving I decided that we could have hot cocoa instead.

After a couple of hours of walking around we decided that we had seen most of the park and that we were ready to head back and get into a warm building.

The next morning after a very mediocre breakfast at the hotel (most hotels include breakfast in the price), we headed out to the Tsudome for what we expected would be a morning of tubing. A local train and 5-minute bus ride took us to the site which was jam-packed with people. The rides looked better on paper then in reality. Every ride had a wait of over an hour and Caroline and I became so frustrated that we left the line for the only interesting ride. Instead we had a snowball fight and then went to the only uncrowded area which was for kids to try to ski on one-foot-long bamboo skies tied together with a meter and a half long string. The trick was to pull hard on the string while standing on the skis and steering down the slope. Easier to say than do although both kids succeeded after many attempts. At least the weather was nice with sunshine so that being outside was enjoyable.

Lunch was inside the dome with long lines, horrible food and not enough tables so once you bought the food there was nowhere to sit. We gave up on this site and went back into town. On our way out we ran into a family from our ASIJ bus stop – small world.

We went back to the hotel, stopping for a sweet on the way, then went to Odori park and looked at the small area we had missed Friday evening. We found an ice rink and got coupons to return the next morning – to avoid a wait - and then went and played in the snow nearby. I’m certain we were not supposed to do this, but as we were off to the side and our snowballs could not land on others, no official came by to tell us to stop. The crowds at the park were thicker but as we had already seen most of the sculptures they did not bother us at all. To warm up we returned to the hotel and spent an hour or so reading. After our miserable lunch I decided the kids needed Italian for dinner so we went to the Parco building and had a fairly good meal – no lines - before heading out to the ice festival. When we got outside it was snowing rather intensely. Interestingly, the Japanese understand that umbrellas can be used for snow as well as rain. Since I had not thought of packing umbrellas we had to continually brush off the snow so as to not turn into snow people.

Once again we were able to get right next to the ice sculptures and we watched as one man used a chainsaw to make a splendid fish out of the ice. The sculptures ranged from commercial advertisements for beer to artistic renditions of a phoenix and Pegasus. We had an enjoyable evening and managed to see all the sculptures.

The next morning we awoke to a snowstorm so furious that we could barely see the buildings 2 blocks away and across the street. Luckily it had mostly stopped by the time we were done with breakfast. We checked our luggage with the hotel and found out about options for returning to the airport. We walked to Odori Park and reached the ice rink right on time. Wonderful experience – no line, we handed in the kids’ boots, put on the required slippers so that the socks would not touch the floor, received skates for 200 yen each, placed the slippers in the proper basket and were out the door in 5 minutes. I stayed off the ice to film the kids and talk to the occasional non-Japanese parent. It turns out that my French is better than I thought according to one person who works in Tokyo. An Indian couple told me about a great place to have lunch. After the skating was done we returned to our snow area to build a small snowman and make a small fort.

Although we have traveled to Colorado for skiing several times we had never had a chance to play in wet snow so this was wonderful for the kids and I think they would have gladly spent an entire day doing nothing else. We then tried to find the Indian restaurant, but after a short 10-minute walk with two frustrated hungry kids I wandered into a fancy hotel and asked for the address and phone number. It turns out we were just around the corner from the place.

We had a large lunch with plenty of spice for me and no spice for the kids so everyone was happy. However, we did notice that the snow once again was falling rather thickly. I started to think about the flight and the ability to leave Sapporo in just four hours but did not say anything to the kids. We walked back for one last look at the festival before heading to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Since it was still snowing rather thickly I opted to take the train to the airport instead of the bus. I did not want to drag the luggage through the snow so we had a cab take us to the main train terminal.

At the terminal we bought our airport train tickets from a vending machine after trying to do so from a person. Since we had plenty of time we went into a bakery to get a snack for the plane. In the bakery I saw two Europeans. When I used some basic French to excuse myself as I squeezed by in the small space, they started talking to me very quickly. After seeing my puzzled expression they asked if I spoke English. They wanted to know why in this small shop there were 4 clerks behind the counter. They wanted to know why everywhere they went there were more people employed then they would experience in Europe. I tried to explain this Japanese phenomenon as best I could in the 2-3 minutes I had to spare but they were clearly amazed.

We reached the correct platform only to find very long lines already formed to get onto the train that did not arrive for 10 minutes. I keep forgetting that the Japanese will queue up more than 15 minutes early to get a seat. There were long lines for each of the cars. This lining up is possible because the platform is marked with the exact location of each entrance to the train and the conductor makes sure that the train stops precisely in the correct spot. Nor do Japanese cut into lines. As expected the train to the airport was quite crowded although Alex managed to get a seat after someone got off – much to the dismay of his sister.

Although the kids got to ride in a car, I had to stay in the area between cars with the luggage – there was no place to put it even though this was a train dedicated to running between the airport and the main train terminal. Once again I had a conversation with a Japanese in English. This time I spoke with a woman in her 60s from Sapporo who was learning English and did not have a native speaker to practice with. I spoke very slowly and used common words. I tried a bit of my Japanese with her but my language skills were not nearly as good as hers. She got off after a few stops and thanked me for helping her in English.

Taking the train was the correct choice as even it was slightly delayed. It continued to snow hard as we traveled and we could only see outside when the doors opened at a stop as each window was misted over. When we arrived at the terminal I was surprised to see so much snow built up in the undercarriage of the train.

We were all tired and grumpy at the airport. We quickly got out of our layers of winter clothes – the bathrooms were larger than normal -- and dumped the excess in the luggage and changed out of boots into normal shoes. Alex remarked that the airport did not look like an airport but like a grocery store without any real food. The Japanese purchase gifts for their friends and co-workers when they travel. So you see most items packaged in sets of 6 or 10. The packaging is often more important than the item although you are supposed to get a food product that is unique to the region. Whether it is tasty seems to be less important although that may be my bias.

There was not much for us to purchase to eat on the plane. We went through security only to discover that we had left a water bottle in Alex’s backpack. Instead of making us throw it away they put it in a machine ,which analyzed it and declared that the beverage could be kept. Alex was thrilled and announced that the US should get these machines.

The plane was delayed due to snow but only for about 30 minutes. Surprisingly, queuing to get onto the plane was very unorderly. Unlike the US, the row numbers were not called. JAL did call first class and premier flyers, then people needing assistance, but when it was time for the general boarding, it was first come, first served and you may not have anywhere to put your coat unless you are in the front of the line. The storage space on the flight was non-existent. Even our small rollaboards could only fit sideways although they passed the cutout for being carry-on baggage. Another strange feature was that this 777 had no screens on the back of the seats. When we were served a beverage we were given no more than 4 ounces.

We arrived back in Tokyo caught the trains without any problem and arrived back at Shibuya on a uncrowded Sunday night. We were happy to be home.

Atami Plum Trees

2009-02-25T16:58:00.002+09:00

Before heading to Sapporo I went on an organized midweek tour of Atami to see the plum trees which are the first trees to bloom in the spring. The day was perfect for the trip as we had a bright sunny day. My coat was too warm to wear zipped up and I truly felt that spring was starting. We left from Tokyo station and an hour later we were in Atami. We walked to a park that is filled with plum trees. The park was very pretty with a waterfall and stream running through the center. It also had a hot spring area to soak you feet. (This is very appropriate for Atami which is known for its hot springs. There is even a place to soak your feet as you exit the main train station.) The fragrance was wonderful and I enjoyed being in the warm sunshine. We then walked to a small temple with a tree that was more than a thousand years old. The temple was small and was getting ready for the bean throwing festival that evening.

In Japan on Setsubun children throw beans at a person wearing a devil’s mask and chase him and bad luck out of the House so that good fortune can enter. The bean throwing ceremony of Setsubun is celebrated at temples and shrines all over Japan. This is also festival that marks the last day of winter although some folks might say that February 3rd is a bit early for spring.

At the temple I did learn the proper way to purify before entering the temple, wash the left hand, then the right hand, then drink – but not from the ladle. We then walked down a plum tree lined path next to a stream to the beach to have lunch. The town itself has seen better days and mostly shuttered. It felt like a boom-town that had gone bust with a few older charming buildings here and there. We toured a large older house in the afternoon and had some free time to walk around and then returned to Tokyo.

Catching up in February for December

2009-02-13T22:04:00.002+09:00

December was a time of parties and illness for our family in Tokyo. Each family member has chosen a particular comfort food in Japan. While Caroline climbs Mt. dumpling or requests corn soup, Alex wants ramen, and the adults like spicy Chinese.

Adventures in Thailand

Preparing for a trip is a bit different in Tokyo. Since we do not have a car and the taxis cannot get us close enough to the entrance of the airport train to be worth the 710 yen starting cost we need to walk to the station. We knew that we did not want to drag our suitcases through the streets and onto the airport express train so we tried to contact the luggage forwarding company. The only problem was we could not get them on the phone - and they want you to make a reservation on line in Japanese. So, Jonathan got some assistance from one of his colleagues. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a panic when they did not come to pick up the bags by the time indicated. (This is very unusual in Japan where everything runs on schedule) Of course by that time the office was closed and we could not understand the message on the machine. One more desperate plea to the colleague and everything was fixed and the bags were picked up with an apology from the service More than an hour and a half late.

We left for Thailand at an hour that we are normally never awake. It was strange to see Shibuya still shuttered and deserted. (Goggle Shibuya crossing and you will see what we normally face.) The train station had most of the entrances locked so that we had to go in an unusual way – good thing we had an extra five minutes to find our way. We watched the sun rise from the train and we were startled to see frost on the ground as we neared the airport. One special touch were the fresh flowers in the rest room at the airport – what a wonderful thing.

Check in ran very smooth and we got on a rather old plane with no screens on the backs of the seats. It was packed and we were glad that we only had 7 as opposed to 14 hours for the trip.

Our arrival in Thailand was also met by flowers in the airport –wonderful orchids could be seen through out the terminal. We were soon in the shopping area of the airport and we could tell that we were in a different country due to the much lower prices. Unfortunately the food options at the airport were quite slim and we basically only found dried fruit to eat. This is quite different from Japan where we can find all sorts of food including ice cream in a vending machine.

Customs in Phuket was rather basic – folks were waved through with no questions asked - and we were quickly outside and glad to see a representative from our hotel. This meant that we could ignore all the cabbies try to hustle up some business. The traffic was light and we got to see the various stands and small business that lined many of the roads on Phuket. We were happy to get to the hotel and the warmth was truly delightful. We went down to have dinner where we could hear the ocean and then we collapsed in our rooms. Yes, the best part of this vacation was arranging 2 rooms so that everyone had a real bed and space to move around.

Several relaxing days were spent playing in the sand and getting a daily Thai massage. Anyone who has experienced this knows that for this type of massage you get your limbs moved in unexpected ways. We enjoyed the experience but it is quite different from a Swedish massage.

Everyone finally recovered from their colds and caught up on needed sleep. We took one boat trip to go snorkeling which was fun for 3 of the 4 of us, but Caroline did not feel comfortable in the waves breathing through a tube and to make things worse sitting in the raft while the rest of us explored made her nauseous. The fish were fantastic but the size and number of sea urchins made me focus on my location rather than the beauty.

The resort was not full which made the experience great for us. Something about the economy matched with an airport closing makes people a bit reluctant to travel. However, unlike Japan everyone was happy and smiling. Definitely a different culture.

We changed venue and explored Chang Mai – which is much smaller than Bangkok but still has traffic issues at certain times and places. We rode in tuk-tuks, and in the back of odd trucks, and discovered the necessity of bargaining for transportation. On the one hand we do have more money than the Thai customers, on the other hand it should not cost us 10 times as much to take transportation. We also had to look before entering a taxi to make sure that there were seatbelts.

Every time we bought an item we had to negotiate the price, with the exception of eating in a restaurant. On the one hand this is liberating, on the other hand it makes every transaction lengthy and after a while you just want to get away quickly.

The bathrooms were a surprise after Japan. In numerous places we were warned not to flush the toilet tissue but instead place it in a bucket. This is due to low water pressure, but still not a pleasant fact of life. The streets in town were also an indication that we in a country that had to be careful with its funds. However, most streets had sidewalks which is more than you can say for our home in Texas.

We saw numerous Wats and discovered that the ones we enjoyed the most were not on the map and were delightful finds as we explored different neighborhoods. We went to an open air museum that had different types of traditional Thai houses and stumbled upon an art museum showing children’s perceptions of global warming- next to a traditional ballet school. On Christmas day we hired a driver to take us out into the countryside and to the Elephant Conservation Center. The road there was in excellent condition and the traffic just outside of Chang Mai was very light. The highlight for the kids was the Elephant Conservation Center - both feeding the elephants sugarcane and bananas and ridding. Our best meal came later that day as we went to the Mandarin Oriental. This hotel is an amazing place to explore. The hotel has done a magnificent job of creating an oasis using traditional buildings from elsewhere and recreating a traditional Thai architecture.

We should add that one of the things that we have discovered is how Christmas has become a wonderful excuse for Japan and Thailand to import some of the tackiest parts of the US. The celebrations on the 25th usually have nothing to do with religion and instead they are an excuse to decorate with no restrictions. We saw pink trees and Santa hats in the oddest places.

Our favorite game in Thailand was trying to see how many people could fit on a motorcycle. To our surprise the top number was 4 and the driver did not seem uncomfortable. I wish we had a picture but it happened so quickly that it was impossible. The other amazing thing was to see some women ride sidesaddle and to also see numerous objects that you would not normally think of as transportable by motorbike. This was definitely an eye-opening experience. The lack of helmets was another thing.

We went to Bangkok for a few days where we were surprised by Jonathan’s mother and nephew. The days became a whirlwind of dinners and more sightseeing. The grand palace was fabulous, the traffic less so. We did not directly see any political protests but we saw many buses used to transport protesters to the parliament.

In Bangkok I took a short ride on the sky train. There are things on the Tokyo subway that I missed in Bangkok. In Tokyo in every car you can see all the stops for each line and on the JR there is an electronic sign showing how many minutes for each stop. At each station you can see what the next stop will be from each side of the train and the announcements are often in English as well as Japanese. (Of course this is another reason that we are not learning much Japanese.) All the stops in Japan have numbers and when you are in the station it is easy to see which direction you are going. I had to ask more questions in Bangkok to insure that I was going in the proper direction.

A last minute trip to Hua Hin allowed the kids to play on one more beach before heading back to Japan and it allowed the adults to enjoy the company of some wonderful Thai friends.

We returned to Bangkok the day before our trip and the adults went to the evening market for one last shop and then returned just before the fireworks on New Years Eve at midnight, which were fabulous. Alex adds that he newspaper also said that they shot off 10,000. I am not sure if this is true but they lasted 25 minutes.

Our trip out of Bangkok was rather bizarre. We took a taxi from the hotel instead of the hotel shuttle van to avoid paying NYC prices. We arrived early for our flight and then had to find change to pay the taxi drive since he could not make change for our large bill. Inside the airport check in was easy as was security. However, once you passed through security there was no food and no drinks. We had a 7 hour flight and because you can not take water through security we had no water to take on the flight as there was no place to purchase it. This was very disappointing in an airport that is very new. Once again our airplane was old and did not have screens on the backs of the seats.

Pre-Thanksgiving and Beyond to Kyoto

2008-12-08T09:34:00.004+09:00

Part of being a parent is experiencing life through your children’s eyes and ears, and thus we found ourselves transported back in time to the place where we first played musical instruments. Alex is in the Rookie band and has enjoyed the experience quite a bit – he even has remembered his music and percussion sticks without much prompting on the part of his parents. We went to his band performance and were struck by what can be done with a bunch of motivated kids and two months of practice time as well as how much they can improve with a year or more of playing.

Alex celebrated by going on a Boy Scout campout the next day with Japanese Boy Scouts while his sister attended a friend’s birthday party with an Indian motif – saris and Indian food – what a creative event.

Thanksgiving in Tokyo was a bit odd – first of all this is the first year that we have not traveled to DC to see all of Jonathan’s relatives so we did miss our family. We also greatly missed the food. The other oddity was that there was no mention of the holiday outside of ASIJ so it was possible to forget that it was approaching. Our celebration was very tame – we went out to eat at a restaurant with a buffet – plenty of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, salad and veggies and we each had a piece of pie before leaving. One of Jonathan’s colleagues was able to join us which made the evening a bit special.

The next morning we took advantage of the school holiday to travel to Kyoto for a long three-day weekend. We traveled by Shinkansen so the trip only took 2.5 hours and we arrived by lunch to have our choice of eight ramen restaurants on one floor of the train station. A tasty lunch was had by all and then we traveled out to see the most popular of the Kyoto temples before the hordes descended for the weekend. Kyoto was so popular that we had to stay ten minutes away by train at Lake Bifu. Otherwise, trying to get hotel rooms at a reasonable rate was impossible.

Kyoto has 17 world heritage sites and we did not see all of them, but we had a good overview. Kyoto is a very large city and has the traffic to prove it. We visited during one of the prime tourist seasons. The Japanese understandably love to see fall leaves and we agree that the nature show is quite spectacular. I am not sure that I have ever seen such brilliant red and yellow leaves as they have due to the Japanese maple and ginko trees. The children found something to enjoy at most of the sites we saw, whether it was filling cups with water from the overhead spring at the Kiyomizuderu Temple, or making cricket floors creak at Nijoji castle. They observed a priest ring the closing bell for Chion-in Temple and climbed though over 500 vermillion toris, part of a collection of over 10,000 at Fushima Inari. They were even able to see all 15 rocks in a rock garden from one position at Ryoanji Temple - indicating wisdom (or, more likely, sufficient height). They were also questioned in English repeatedly by Japanese school children on class trips. (We decided that the next time we run into a school group with an assignment to question foreigners in English we are going to give very interesting answers and see what reaction we get).

We averaged two shrines a day, which proved enough to be interesting but not overwhelming for the kids. The cold weather was a bit challenging, as were the crowded buses. Kyoto was very well organized for tourism, which was well because the tourists came. Bus routes and streets were well marked and well traveled. The abundance of souvenir shops and sweet stores testified to the importance of the tourist trade. Kyoto train station was an incredible hubbub of action and movement as the huge flow of visitors mingled with the residents going to the architecturally impressive train station to shop and eat. Definitely not an experience for those fearing crowds.

Nikko

2008-12-08T09:27:00.002+09:00

NIKKO
The day after Disney our family traveled to Nikko for the weekend. We took an express train from Asakusa and Alex thrilled some older Japanese ladies by showing them how to turn their seats to face each other. When we arrived, we traveled up 20 curves to Lake Chuzen-ji to see the Kegon waterfalls. The falls were quite impressive and we managed to dodge the usual crowds due to the lateness of our arrival. We also saw the sun set over the lake which was stunning.

We were only able to do this trip due to the generosity of a couple with a weekend home in Nikko. They were incredibly kind and not only let us stay but also took us on a tour of the local world heritage site and to an amazing Japanese restaurant that has been in one family for 19 generations. The leaves were at peak and Nikko is one of the few places we have been that has not been ruined by too many people or concrete. Even though the shrines of the heritage site were crowded, the town itself was not built up. The scenery was fantastic with huge trees and a sense of history due to the vegetation that is lacking even in Kyoto. We were also able to observe part of a Shinto wedding and see many fabulous kimonos. Because of the 3-5-7 festival for blessing children, the head priest was very busy but he still took the time to sign Alex and Caroline’s goshuincho – seal books –yet another gift from our host.

We returned to Tokyo just in time to welcome Jonathan’s mom in from Thailand. She arrived very tired but in good spirits. The next couple of days were celebrated with many dinners and food shared with new and old friends. As usual it was difficult to keep up with Esther but we were able to show her some parts of Tokyo that she had not seen before and she left wiser and impressed with the service and cleanliness of this huge city.

Disney Adventure

2008-12-08T09:23:00.002+09:00

For Caroline’s birthday the women in the family traveled to Tokyo Disney Sea for an entire day of celebration. I must point out that I have avoided spending vacations with the mouse in the US because an artificial environment that bears no relationship to reality is not my idea of fun and I have no wish to escape to such a place. However, in Japan where much of our life is strange and foreign it was a bit of welcome Americana for our child. Although we were not totally prepared to hear the person portraying Donald Duck to have a high female voice. It was also a bit odd to listen to the familiar songs for the rides in Japanese since all the signs used for decoration are in English.

We were very lucky to be able to go on a weekday which was not a holiday for Japanese children although it was a holiday for Caroline’s school. (In fact we ran into several of her friends at Disney that day.) We took an early morning long subway ride with two changes that included a rush hour experience that Caroline did not like. By the time we arrived at Disney the sun was out and we could tell that we were quite lucky for early November because we did not need jackets for most of the day.

Disney was very nicely landscaped and there were many flowers even though the entire complex was decorated for Christmas. (In Tokyo the Christmas decorations go up right after Halloween.) Caroline went on every thing she wanted two times and she never had more than a 5-10 minute wait. The rides she chose were even tame enough for her mom to enjoy, although I did sit out on one spinning clam shell.

The best part of the experience were the shows – even with a language barrier an extravaganza is still entertaining. The Disney Sea shows made great use of the water and floating boats. Fireworks went off even during the daytime show and there were also many costumed dancers. The evening show included fire as well as colored fountains. Both shows were more enjoyable than I expected even though I did not understand the plots, or maybe because I could not understand the lyrics of the songs. The shows reminded me of a three ring circus because there was entertainment to be had in every direction you looked.

We also caught a Mariachi band performance during our dinner. The group was quite good and reminded Caroline of Texas. Although the songs were all in Spanish the performers did speak a few words of Japanese in their introduction. I must say seeing someone in a Mariachi band speak Japanese adds something to the international tone of Disney. The audience sat emotionless throughout the set although the band finally got them to clap to the beat for one song.

Early November

2008-11-07T14:26:00.003+09:00

31 October, Friday

I attended a memorial service for John Taylor, an archivist specializing in military records, tonight. What made this commemoration memorable was that it occurred at Waseda University and the attendees were Japanese researchers who had benefitted from Taylor’s assistance at the National Archives. Over 63 years, he had graciously and eruditely assisted hundreds of Japanese scholars in addition to tens of thousands of American scholars.

Now, eight men and three women gathered to honor Taylor. I left Titech with professor Yamazaki, whose work on the Japanese atomic bomb gained from Taylor’s knowledge, and Kurihara, a graduate student who had just finished a year working at the National Archives. Upon entering the classroom, a young man took 3000 yen from each of us and gave us a photocopied program and a set of photos of Taylor taken by a Japanese scholar days before the archivist’s death. The program contained a list of participants (I was listed as from Texas “M and A” University, which is better than the usual mistake of confusing A&M with the University of Texas) and brief remembrances from them.

We sat at tables in a U-shape around a desk with a small framed photo of Taylor and a small set of white flowers. We took turns talking about Taylor, his personality, his southern accent (often hard for Japanese and others to understand) and how he had helped and guided our research. I spoke about how wonderful it was to be thousands of miles away from the National Archives surrounded by people who, like me, had benefitted from Taylor’s professional and personal attention.

After we finished, the young man and another assistant distributed bento boxes, sweets, beer, and Waseda University sake (the “spirit of Waseda University” – somehow, it’s hard to imagine my university licensing “the official alcohol of Texas A&M University.” Apparently, Tokyo University has its own brand of shuchu, a powerful spirit.

More comments followed the alcohol. I suggested that there could be no better memorial to John Taylor and the spirit of openness he embodied than to fully fund the National Archives. Perhaps the next president should announce his intention to preserve America’s history and make it more accessible.

1 November
In Yoyogi Park again, it’s impressive to see how many activities considered private in America, such as rehearsing a script for a play or practicing a musical instrument, are conducted publicly in Japan.

NHK, the television authority, hosted an open house and farmer’s market. Part of the entertainment was a four-meter-long boat made of vegetables. Quite impressive.

3 November, Monday

Our first overnight trip to West Izu demonstrated that traveling as a family of four is different than as a couple. Among our pleasant memories of our 1995 visit was staying at a ryokan in Nikko. Seeing a similar experience and benefitting from a friend who booked the ryokan and vouched for us (many ryokan owners who only speak Japanese do not like to rent to foreigners on the reasonable ground that they probably don’t understand the rules, demand extra work, and, in cause of a disaster, would be an additional burden), we set off early Sunday morning.

Not unusually, we took several trains: Shibuya to Shinagawa to Atami to Mishima to Shuzenji, then bus to Toi. Leaving Tokyo is always a visual pleasure as the big buildings disappear to be replaced by mountains, hills, and open spaces. In September, we saw grapes. This time, we saw ripe manderin oranges and persimmons dangling from trees in people’s yards.

From Atami, we took local trains, slower and more jolting than the intercity trains. At Mishima, we stopped to visit a garden and wished we had gone straight to Shunzenji. Unmentioned in the guide, the garden was more a kiddie amusement park with a few small animals in concrete and metal cages than a park or garden. To be fair, we were there off-season, as the empty lake bordering a impressive traditional building testified. The park was busy, however, mainly with small kids and families, though a number of couples and older groups also visited.

One attraction for them was the flower displays. What was impressive on a small scale, decorating with flowers, felt overwhelming on the large scale of an entire house covered from ground to rooftop with flowers.

The hour-long bus ride from Shuzenji in the middle of the Izu peninsula to Toi on the coast was breath-taking in its beauty and sharp curves. The steep mountains were the cause of both. The roads were all in excellent shape, sign of a strong public works mentality (and pork-barreling). After the bus dropped us off at a stop, we called the ryokan and were picked up promptly. The ryokan was a B or C level – fluorescent lights in the room and CRT televisions. More troubling were the smokers.

The proprietors could not have been nicer. They delivered dinner and breakfast to the room and covered the entire table with beautiful food. They wanted to know where we were from, how
long we had been in Japan and more. The only limitation was our Japanese - which we are trying to improve.

The kids enjoyed playing on the deserted beach. They were free to take up as much space as they wanted and could make as much noise as desired. Toi has the distinction of having the world’s largest flower clock, although it was really a concrete clock set into the ground surrounded by flowers. There was also a path surrounding the clock paved with pebbles that stuck out to offer a reflexology path or torture. The kids and Lisa enjoyed the path, I declined to go the entire route.

Toi itself reminded me of Brighton without the excitement. It’s a seaside town, the economy clearly based on tourism from the beach and onsens. At night, it felt almost deserted, though that may just be my Shibuya comparison for any place not jammed with people, aglow with light and noise. The little tourist information center was well located and run by competent folks who also sold bus tickets and, for 200 yen, stored luggage.

What did we learn from our trip?
1. Futons are fine if placed on pads instead of directly on tatami.
2. Buckwheat pillows are not as comfortable as feather pillows.
3. The kids enjoy meat more than fish.
4. Smoke and noise can indeed travel through walls.
5. Vegetables should be more than garnish in a meal.
6. Our taste is not refined enough to fully appreciate Japanese food.
7. A full night of sleep is vital for a full day of activities.
8. Japan has a variety of geography and we need to explore as much as possible and the journey was well worth the effort.

We wanted to take the ferry from Toi to Shuzoaka, but the day was overcast, depriving us of the views. Instead, we took bus and trains back home.

News from Alex

2008-11-04T20:04:00.003+09:00

This is coming from Nihon, land of the rising sun, most likely known as Japan aka land of the rising electronics. The Red Sox rock. Ok, the Rays beat them in the ALCS so go Phillies. The time difference is perfect for watching; the postseason game starts at 8:30 am and ends around 12 am to 1:30 pm. Perfect for my school where lunch is 11:56 to 12:32 and the games are in the later innings and we see the action live. For example, Ryan Howard hitting the 455-foot home run. ASIJ is so amazing and an awesome place for Red Sox fans.

I am doing this blog for homework. You cannot get good gum anywhere in Japan. There are many ways to get cold in Japan. One way is to climb Fuji-san without a jacket. Another way is to ski without wearing ski clothes, run around in the mountains only in shorts, catch a hot (if a cold makes your temperature get hotter would a hot make your temperature get cooler)?

The final way to get cold is to go canyoning. Canyoning is going through canyons wearing a life jacket and falling down waterfalls. I went canyoning with my Boy Scout troop and it was really cold. Our group started out on a river going slightly fast; we rode the current for 100 meters, then we came to a 20-meter waterfall. I was wearing a harness and the guides lowered us down about 10 meters and let us fall. It was really scary. Then we floated for 20 meters and came to another waterfall but we had to jump of this one. We then had to do one more waterfall but going face first backwards. Then we had the option of jumping 15 feet into the water.

We then took a bus back to the place where the city bus picked us up. Then the bus dropped us off at the Shinkansen station and I took the 2-hour ride back to Tokyo Station where we took the JR line (Japan Railways) back to Shibuya station. We walked through the Shibuya crossing and to our place in Shoto, which you can find on Google street view.

The trains in Japan are always on time. You must take a train if you don’t have a car. Even though most people don’t have a car, the traffic is bad. Once or twice every week, the traffic slows our bus down. On Thursday we were late by 31 minutes because of traffic and our bus was one of the first to come to ASIJ. Normally we get in at 8:20.

The ASIJ cross-country season is over. I ran a 3335-meter course (2.1 miles) and my best time was 17.59. A very good time. Today I went to the cross-country pool party where I ate only 3 slices of pizza. I enjoyed cross- country but we had too many practices.

Alex

Tokyo and the five senses

2008-10-19T22:03:00.002+09:00

One of the amazing things that we notice is the contrast between public and private and between places of commerce and residential. Our area is very residential and peaceful. Ten minutes away in Shibuya – which is one of the biggest train stations in Tokyo, the area is far different. In our neighborhood you can hear a pin drop; in Shibuya you cannot hear your phone ring. The same society that has signs in the subway to not use the cell phone and to be quiet and respect your fellow riders has the most obnoxious noise in its commercial areas – one’s ears get assaulted every time you venture near an electronic store. Many stores have employees with megaphones outside to yell about the newest product.

The smells are quite different in the public and private. The Japanese have been rather successful at getting smokers to smoke only at designated spots and not to walk and smoke at the same time. This means that even though more folks smoke here than in America you do not have to be near the smoke when outside. The restaurants are still unpredictable at separating the smokers – some do a better job and some do nothing. The enjoyable smells have to do with food preparation. There are more French bakeries in Tokyo then you could ever imagine and it is quite enjoyable to be near one. The other night while walking home I could tell that a neighbor was preparing an Italian feast – too bad I did not have an invitation for dinner.

The residential areas are very clean and tidy while the more commercial area have trash – not as much as in US cities perhaps, but very visible litter none the less. Unlike the US I commonly see someone cleaning the public area outside an establishment – sometimes with a broom sometimes with a mop, and sometimes with a steam cleaner. However, yesterday while walking down the street a 20 year old in front of me threw his cigarette package – presumably empty - into a flower pot and then walked into a fast food store to talk with a friend. Public garbage cans may not be as readily available as in US cities – but this was still quite surprising.

What few public garbage cans exist are often overfilled, especially in the parks and gardens, with litter on the ground due to lack of space. Once again if it is a free public space the area tends to be poorly tended. I find it odd that parks in NYC and Washington DC are nicer than ones in Tokyo. The areas set aside for children are really disappointing. Usually the ground is dirt – which of course turns to mud in the rain. I have been to what are described as the better playgrounds for children in Tokyo and I have not been impressed. Very little attention is paid to make the area welcoming – these are not spots that invite you to stay for long periods. In contrast to the roads which are overmaintained – the parks are ignored and it shows.

The food available in Tokyo is overwhelming. I’m certain that we could eat out every night for the next year and still not sample all the food within a 15-minute walk of our apartment. Down the street we have Portugese and Italian. Several blocks away is one of the best French restaurants in Tokyo. The noodle shops are too numerous to count – with the plastic food outside to help you see what is offered. The only problem with eating out -- besides the language problem of knowing what you are getting – is the serving size. The servings are often too small for our children. This really encourages you to order an appetizer and dessert and thus turns most dinners into a larger bill than you might expect from just looking at the prices on the menu. The only places where we find larger portions are the noodle shops.

The biggest change for us is buying food at a department store. Most department stores have restaurants on one or two of the upper floors. In addition most have food emporiums in the basement where you can purchase numerous types of prepared food. (The odd part is that you are not supposed to eat in public – so the only way to eat these selections is to either go to a park for a picnic – or take them home.) In addition the large Tokyu (that is the correct spelling) store at Shibuya has a regular grocery as well as a prepared food section. I would love to purchase more at this store but fighting my way through the crowds is rather difficult. Shibuya has the largest public crossing in Tokyo – that is the most number of people crossing the street every 3 minutes. The crowds have to be seen to be believed. This works in Tokyo since very few people jaywalk.

Moving

2008-10-19T21:54:00.004+09:00

We have moved into what will be our home for the next year. The move went well. The passenger van driver showed up on time and everything was loaded and unloaded in less than an hour. (We will not talk about the hours spent stuffing everything back into the original luggage or about how little space was actually used in the van.) Everything went according to schedule except for the internet connection. The wiring person showed up and did his part on time – no problems. However, the password and connection information did not reach us in time. When we placed a call the next day during their business hours (10-6) we discovered that a notice was had been sent to our e-mail (how do you check your e-mail if you do not have a connection?)

Before moving in we had an apartment inspection to go through and look for damage and to show us how to work the security, entrance, AC and kitchen appliances. What was most interesting was that the native Japanese speakers could not figure out how to use the combination oven/microwave: perhaps they only eat out? Nor did they do much better with the AC or security system – touch only these 2 buttons in this order, please ignore the 6 other options for the security system. Please ignore the other setting for the AC, ditto the ventilation system, do not touch the floor heating until it turns cold. Gads, if they cannot figure out the systems why don’t the engineers make simpler systems?

I spent about an hour on line hunting up the Kanji on the oven and was only able to succeed due to a website that understood that this is a common problem (they also had a section for Japanese toilettes which we also have). I’m not sure what is scarier – the need for assistance or the ability to find the answer on google.

So far everything is working quite well in our new place. The hardest part is hunting for specific items that we now need. For example, we have a balcony with a set of laundry drying racks that need poles. (The reason these are so useful is the price of energy, which makes running a dryer a real luxury for most Japanese.) Finding poles took over a week – the Japanese insistence that every single item be removed from the apartment when it is vacated helps create this problem – do you think that the former renters needed them for their new apartment at the same length and width? It took visits to more than 3 stores to find the proper item.

Before the move

2008-10-19T21:49:00.004+09:00

In order to get ready for our move I went up to Shimo-bashi, to buy some odds and ends from a Briton trying to make it in the music business returning to London. A good reminder of graduate student days and how many young people live here. Shimo-bashi was on a local train out of Ikebukuro in the northwest of Tokyo, still on the JR. The apartment, up three flights of narrow stairs, was a small studio that would induce claustrophobia. Somewhat of a reminder of graduate student days and the concept of the individual investing in his professional tools (several thousand dollars of musical equipment were crammed into the room) instead of better living quarters now in hope of a large payoff later.

We signed the apartment lease at Ken Corporation. We were, alas (or fortunately), just regular customers, not members of Ken Platinum, an elite group paying no doubt equally elite prices, so we were ushered into a long room with twelve partitioned meeting areas – table and four chairs – for signing leases. The room remained me of a car dealership.

I picked up my business cards, so I am now truly official. We have to get cards for the family now. I have given the card to a few people and it is impressive to see how they react to the words “Tokodai” (Tokyo Institute of Technology).

Lisa, Caroline and I attended a talk hosted by the Harvard Club of Japan by Robert Dujarric, the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Japanese Studies at Temple University Japan. The venue was the 20th floor of a bank and the view, a wealthy city brimming with light, was spectacular. And a bit incongruous with the topic, ”Japan’s new isolation”. Or not really. One subtheme was that Japan had modernized so successfully and become so economically prosperous that there was not a pressing and obvious need to open itself to the outside world.

The evening was unusual by American standards. Instead of a reception, dinner, and talk, the order was reversed. We arrived a few minutes after the opening time of 6.30 to find a score of people seated quietly in rows of desks (which were a bit short for my legs). Very few people were talking to their neighbors – it felt a bit like the first day of class. By 6.50, the audience had swelled to 50-60, but the volume had not increased. After the talk, we moved to a small buffet and cash bar to mingle and discuss the talk. The concept of the post-talk reception makes sense, but next time we will eat beforehand.

The audience was 2/3 Western, 1/3 Japanese. Several were from the financial world and there was a slight air of uneasiness. One person was formerly from Lehman. At least one ASIJ parent had the same distinction.

Alex's trip to KEEP

2008-09-27T19:21:00.001+09:00

Every sixth grade class at ASIJ goes on an extended three-day campus trip to KEEP in late September. I went to KEEP and it was amazing. K.E.E.P is the Kiosayto environmental educational program. KEEP is about 100 miles north of Fuji-San. KEEP was founded in 1926 when Paul Rusch, an American in Japan, heard from a person about the town of Kiosayto. Rusch went to Kiosayto saw what a beautiful place it was and established KEEP while showing the Japanese how to play American football. KEEP is now a beautiful place with a view of Fuji-San. KEEP is also a dairy farm with tons of cows and really good homemade ice cream and butter.

On Wednesday September 23, 2008 I was at ASIJ duffel bag at my feet ready for KEEP. The bus ride to KEEP was 2 hours long and boring. When we got to KEEP we dropped our bags in the main hall and rested for an hour. I played football with some other kids (I wasn’t that good maybe because I come from Texas A&M) then after we had a rest the 6th grade went on a hike to a waterfall. I being a Texan had to fall into the waterfall and get wet. The water where I fell in was about a foot deep. It was very cold maybe 45 Fahrenheit. The way I fell in the was that I slipped on a rock trying to get to an overhang my friend was on.

We then went on and walked through Kiosayto up to a dairy farm saw some cows and got FREE ICE CREAM but when I got my ice cream (made from the cows we saw) it fell off. I got a second ice cream (not for free 350 yen) and it fell off. A double fall on the same day. We then got back to the main hall and went to our cabins we were going to sleep in. I was in the Amigasa cabin (the name of a town some where in Japan) with 3 other boys and 3 girls. The cabin had a tatami room with futons, a living room with a couch a table and a card table and a bedroom with three beds. There was also a bathroom and a shower. We had the librarian Mr. Swist with us, he slept on the couch. For diner we had spaghetti with curry. Next we read books and then we went to after dinner activities. Then bed we had hot cocoa and told scary stories so unscarred that I went right to sleep and dreamed about a bathtub that night.

We woke up at 7am had breakfast (all you could eat buffet – bacon, eggs, ham, French toast, cereal, milk). Next the group split in two. Our group (with several translators for the Japanese KEEP rangers) started by looking for 4 leaf clovers. I talked to one of our teachers about the MLB penat race (the Red Sox had won the wild card that morning no Yankees in the postseason) I found out he was a Giants fan (no playoffs for the Giants since 2002). Then we went on a nature hike and climbed some trees (I only cared about climbing the trees) and back for lunch. 6th grade then switched groups. My group then went through the trees looking for nature we could put on a piece of cardboard. I used four acorns, a rock, and a pine needle. After that back to our cabins for an hour of rest time. Back in time for diner it was rice with some Japanese sauce I had never heard of. Evening activities again with some reading. Back to cabins for sleep and rest. The cabin also had a Japanese toilet.

On Friday up at seven again and the breakfast buffet. Because it was raining we couldn’t milk a cow so instead we made butter from cow milk (we shook it for 15 minutes). The butter tasted strange mainly because there was no salt in it only fat. Then we had a 2-hour bus ride back to ASIJ with a stop at a highway rest stop, which was much nicer than any stop in the US. They had restaurants, bakeries, nice restrooms, and a convenience store. I had some Ramon noodles for lunch. We got back to ASIJ at 2:58 two minutes before school ended. Then I had an hour bus ride back to our apartment in Shirokane.

I am so happy to be moving to our new apartment in Shoto. Twenty-five minutes closer to ASIJ.

Alex

Thoughts from Lisa

2008-09-26T20:27:00.005+09:00

So what is life like in Japan for this gaijin family? Small things take longer. For example we tend to spend more time figuring out what food to cook – since the English is sometimes incorrect. (For example I foolishly purchased “Chedder Cheese“ slices only to find Kraft American cheese when I opened the package.) Purchasing detergent for the dishwasher was also interesting as we almost got pipe cleaner. Since we do not have anything other than our hands and backs for carrying more trips are made to the grocery store than would occur in the U.S. In addition, the prepared food is better, and cheaper than what we would find in the U.S. so that we often purchase a prepared salad instead of the ingredients. Finally, I have no idea what many of the items are in the grocery or how they would be cooked. I am trying to find a cooking class which would help me with this but so far I have had no luck. Perhaps a good cookbook would be better.

Everyday as I walk down the street in front of our temporary home I am struck by the differences. There is no grass anywhere – only concrete from the street to the buildings. Occasionally you see a window box – sometimes with greenery in it. Much of the architecture is just plain ugly and no attempt seems to have been made to improve the looks of anything. However, once you get off the major street and onto a side alley the view changes and you will find bushes and trees and here and there a fabulous building that would be in an architecture magazine at home. This is also where you find the neighborhood parks. This is the true Japan that most tourists do not see.

If you look in the shop windows you will usually see a very artistic showing of whatever is being sold and the variety is overwhelming. Today I found a store that only sells stuffed bears. Trying to find a specific item becomes near impossible even if you do speak Japanese as many of the shops do not advertise. It is difficult to understand how these various shops stay in business since the rent must be very high and many shops are closed irregularly and have otherwise limited hours. Rare is the shop that opens before 11am. I have been told the best way to find something is to ask everyone you know until someone says yes and is able to draw a map of how to find the correct store. Many of the shops are not on what we might consider the main street but on an alley and sometimes the best places for food are not where you might expect.

Finding places is quite difficult. Even if you know the exact address you can still be clueless. Rare is the street that is marked with a name. Also rare is a map that tells you anything but the main streets and, as an interesting twist, north may be at the bottom or the left of a map – there is no consensus – and it will not be marked. Once you find the correct neighborhood you then have to look at each block to see if you are going in the correct direction as the house are not ordered consecutively but according to age. Thus you need to find the correct block number and then figure out the location. At the more heavily used subway stops the exits are numbered and there are usually several maps, although the place you are looking for may only occur on a later map if it is not thought to be significant. Yes, I get turned around quite often although I rarely am unable to eventually find what I need. Luckily I have been able to use baby Japanese to get directions. The entire process is rather frustrating and it is necessary to build in at least 5 to 10 minutes every time I travel to a new area.

Another striking difference is how much effort is made to keep things clean. We have seen people scrubbing the tile floors of the subway, the handrails of the escalators and steam cleaning the garage floor of a parking structure down the street. Things still get dirty but the city is much cleaner than most and many more people are employed.

Speaking of this the other thing that is very obvious is the over-employment that we see all around us. I rarely see one person doing as much work as we would expect. Instead we see several. The other day we saw an escalator being worked on at a subway station, no fewer than 5 people were deployed to take care of a 2-person job. One person was working and the others were sitting and watching. We spoke to a friend about this and she said that Japan is really a very socialist country but it works and most folks seem to approve. Personal job performance is not important, it is what the company does that counts.

At most counters there are 2 people teamed up to help. For example at each check out station there are two people just to ring up the groceries. One person moves your items from your small basket into an empty basket announcing the price of each item. The other person collects your money at the end of the transaction. At the end of this process I am handed several plastic bags. I then go to a packing station and put everything in the bags.

The effort that is made to have the car fit into the small spaces that are available are truly impressive. On our street there are 3 ways on one block to park a car. To the side of our building is an entrance with a chain that automatically drops to the ground when the sensor of a car that normally parks there is read. Then the car moves onto a lazy susan type of car lift. This then spins the car and places it onto a conveyor belt and this puts it right next to another parked car – on one of 3 levels.

The next garage down uses a sensor to automatically lower metal posts into the ground that are set up at 3 foot increments to prevent non-payers from parking.

The third garage appears to be open but since there are only 2 openings there is little chance that someone will try to park without paying.

Right now I am trying to put together everything we will need in our new apartment. This means that I need to make trips to many different stores to get items such as plastic wrap, drinking glasses, cleaning supplies, etc. We are trying to get some items used but even that is proving to be a several step process. So why are there no Target like stores in the city? Part of the problem is that shoppers have to carry home all their purchases so that big stores would not sell more. (Delivery is an option at some places but there is usually a fee – this is not a discount store sort of option.) The other problem is trying to put together many small land purchases to build one large store is next to impossible. We have seen several cases of a building obviously built around an older structure whose owner refused to sell.

Tama Hills

2008-09-23T00:10:00.003+09:00

September 13, Saturday
Alex ran his first track meet today at Tama Hills, an American military recreational facility outside Tokyo. He had to be on a bus at 7.10, so we played it safe and took a cab to the stop. Because it was the start of a holiday weekend, the outgoing traffic was so bad that we arrived half-an-hour late and the meet did not start until 9.15.

The facility is truly the retreat it is supposed to be. Developed in the late 1930s as an ammunition factory (historical markers at preserved sites provide a brief sense of the place ), Tama Hills has huge trees that line the roads the kids run around. We definitely are not in Tokyo. More developed sections include a miniature golf, horse stable, baseball field, and convenience store. The entire facility is much larger than the little bit I saw.

ASIJ differs from other international schools in its proximity to American military bases and its good relations with the schools there. This means ASIJ can offer American sports because the base schools provide teams to compete against. In contrast, many international schools offer sports on the British model (rugby, soccer, and lacrosse (why this is considered British I don’t know).

Lots of parents showed to support their kids. Many parents drove cars, an act that still impresses me but makes sense if several people are traveling together. The races were short: a two-mile run with the first middle-school boys finishing in 15 minutes, Alex in the middle at 20 minutes (19.50 to be exact), and the rest straggling in. The girls ran next.

The real fun was the convenience store afterward, stuffed with American candies and selling in American dollars. Red licorice – hurray!

Going against travel, the bus ride was short and painless.

Alex, for some reason, was tired that afternoon. Noneless, we walked down to a local bike store. A new basic bike with no gears was $200, three gears was $230 and six gears was $260, including pedals and basket. Considering the hills of Shirokane, six would be the minimum. For lighter, niftier bikes, the prices rapidly escalate. We also stopped at a few local playgrounds, all very small with facilities that our kids really have outgrown – but not quite yet. The ground is gravel, which is preferable to grass that would be torn up quickly, but not as good as an artificial yielding terrain that the playgrounds in College Station have. Still, in a city, it is pleasing to see so many small neighborhood spots that are quite busy.

The neighborhood festival was truly a neighborhood festival. A few games for small kids, three food stands with outrageously low prices (50 Y for cotton candy), and taking up only a limited space. Quite a difference from the overwhelming crowds of Azabu-Juban.

Take me out to the garden

2008-09-23T00:00:00.002+09:00

Before entering the Tokyo Dome, we visited Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens, which shares the same subway stops as the Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Dome City but inhabits a different world completely. A garden established in 1629 (quick, what was happening in North America at the time?), the seventeen acres are a beautifully sculpted, quiet haven of ponds, hungry carp (packets of food are available at the entrance – the visitors are well trained), and a flower calendar so visitors know what is in bloom. Lisa was understandably enchanted and intends to buy a season pass. The park has not been well publicized in tourist literature, possibly because visitors could not spend that much money there? We did spend 220 Y each for soft ice cream for the kids. The strawberry-and-vanilla was better than the edamame.

The garden was gloriously tranquil. Even the designated smoking spots did not spoil the day (the designated smoking spots in the Tokyo Dome were glass rooms crammed with smokers inhaling and watching the game on tv with very good ventilation. A far cry from Luftansa's early no-smoking policy of the 1970s (I believe), which designated half the plane as non-smoking). Definitely a place to return to.

While a presentation of nature, everything was meticulously laid out and cultivated, like an English garden, but far more interesting with greater variation and manipulation.

Take me out to the ball game

2008-09-22T23:50:00.002+09:00

September 14, Sunday
Fortunately, I had Texas A&M to prepare me for a Japanese baseball game. The dedication – fanaticism? foolishness? market opportunity? – of the fans and the cheerleaders on the field at the Tokyo Dome reminded me of nothing as much as Aggie loyalty. We attended the Nomiuri Giants at home versus the Yakut Swallows along with 55,000 or so other fans.

En route to the game we paused for a few minutes to watch a little league game and noted several differences with its American counterpart. There were no bleachers for parents and no fence separating the dugout from a foul ball. Nets lined all four sides to reduce the chance of a ball entering the non-baseball world and causing damage. Most impressively, the batting helmets of both teams were lined up neatly in front of the dugout. When one team took the field, the surplus players stood on the baseline until the inning started, then stood in the dugout during the inning.

The garden and little league game starkly contrasted with the Tokyo Dome and game. The entire experience felt very familiar. The players wore uniforms with their name and team in English, rock songs in English blared out during and between innings, and the crowd roared their appreciation for a good play or hit. The suites were only partly filled while the rest of the stadium was fully packed.

Small differences emerged. Initially the cheers sounded the usual unintelligible chants, but then you realize it’s the usual unintelligible chant in Japanese. The players stats and other information are all in Japanese as are the signs for food. A national anthem did not begin the game nor was there stretching in the seventh inning. The food overall was forgettable (familiar), but the prices only 20-30% above street prices (though more hot dogs were probably sold instead the stadium than in the rest of the city).

Then the big differences appeared. The visiting team wore white pants, not grey (okay, that’s a detail for baseball fans). There was no bullpen; pitchers warmed up on the side. If a player hit a single, two batboys appeared: one picked up the bat and the other the wristguard from the batter. The vendors walking down the steps were all young girls, none of whom yelled (not that they would have been heard). Instead, they smiled and waved and sold sake, hard alcohol and beer from small kegs strapped to their backs.

Many fans appeared to be either standing-room-only types or had descended from the top bleachers to line the rails three and four deep at the main floor. Far, far more than I have ever seen at an American game. Overall, they acted like Red Sox or Aggies fans, very, very enthusiastic about their team. One neighbor and I shook hands excitedly after a home run, as if only by our efforts, by our cheering, by our support we had made that home run possible. And maybe we had.

Like A&M basketball, the Giants had cheerleader gymnasts attired in outfits that would do the Dallas Cowboys proud. Every few innings they appeared on the sidelines and led cheers while doing somersaults. They also provided color for the pre- and post-game ceremonies, including flanking the dugout when the Giants took the field and posing on both sides of the player of the game afterward. When a Giant hit a home run, a cheerleader greeted him with a small stuffed mascot (I assume) (which he threw into the stands to the appreciation of the fans)

Both teams had organized fan sections in the outfield. The Giants’ fans were, naturally, more numerous and had a huge banner (at least 100 x 40 feet, emblazoned with a huge “Giants” and a smaller but still very visible “Adidas” at the bottom right) that scrolled up their section once during the game and once after. Big flags occasionally appeared too and the chanting, cheers, and trumpet calls were too numerous to track. Alex and I visited the section to see hundreds of cheering fans, most dressed in Giants’ jerseys. The heat and humidity of that upper deck were overwhelming.

The ushers provided ticket control, but also but early warning of incoming foul balls by blowing whistles. One ball landed two rows in front of Caroline and Lisa. Alex was jealous.

After the game, the fans remained. First, the player of the game was recognized, given a small stuffed mascot (which he threw into the stands to the appreciation of the fans – notice a pattern?), was asked a few questions, then put on a golf cart and driven around the stadium, throwing balls to fans and, after that, high-fiving them. The cart stopped and he walked down a line of about 50 fans of all ages and shook their hands. These fans had been ushered onto the field as soon as the game ended. I’m assuming they were fans and part of a fan club and had been selected or randomly chosen for the honor. Certainly, they were clicking away with their cameras and mobiles.

The cheerleaders then went to the main sections of fans in the outfield and led them in cheers, aided by mascot-creatures. The big banner appeared again and a good time was had by all for half an hour after the game.

The game itself was good, excellent pitching and fielding, a few impressive hits, and a Giants relief pitcher who nailed two players in the ninth, an opposing batter and his catcher. Nonetheless, he saved the game. Orderly crowds on departure. The price of vending machine drinks in the metro dropped with distance. A 160 yen drink in the stadium cost 140 at the first level and 110 at the bottom.

This and that

2008-09-22T23:29:00.003+09:00

Thursday, September 11.
A frustrating day of mistakes, all mine. I ate at the student cafeteria and chose a noodle option. Turned out I ordered luke-warm udon.

I tried out the Titech gym, which truly was a return to the old days of gym rooms instead of recreation centers of the type that A&M has. This was a weight room where people went to exercise, not to socialize, just like the old gym at A&M. One irritating difference were the barbells. Most gyms I’ve visited have racks of barbells sorted by weight. At the Sheraton Miyako gym, the Oakwood Roppongi gym, and the Titech gym, the barbells are bars with weights that you put on or take off. The advantage of this system is that little space is needed. Instead of a rack of twenty barbells of five different weights, four bars and a set of weights provide the same service. The disadvantage is you spent far more time than you want changing weights with the requisite screwing and unscrewing of the weight holder.

While waiting outside the Indian takeout tonight at Meguro, I looked up and down the street and saw literally scores of restaurants, ramen shops, bakeries, and drinking spots. Restaurants are buried in basements, prominently placed on the ground level, and occupy entire food floors in multi-story buildings. Train stations usually have department stores that have basement food floors with a range of prepared food.

Forgot to mention from a Shibuya Sunday visit: At one department store’s food floor, we saw our first $42 mango. Food at those prices is obviously for a gift where the presentation (this was a very big, flawless mango) was more important than the actual fruit. Similarly, we’ve seen melons (including the square watermelon) for $20-30 and pineapple for $25. All very elegantly presented, but a world away from the fruit and veg we buy at prices higher than the States but not outrageously higher. The exceptions are the grapes, which are also far, far better than any grape we’ve had in the States.

Friday, September 12
We had lunch with Deborah Hayden, a New Zealander, at the Grand Hyatt Oakwood restaurant in Roppongi Hills. She exemplifies the dash, adaptablity, and ability of many of the expat business folks we have met here.

Lisa accidentally took 200,000 instead of 20,000 yen out of her account. I suspect we will use it much more quickly than we expect or desire.

The Fulbright package arrived by messenger tonight as promised. I was impressed by the duplication of earlier material, out-of-date material, and material that would have been very useful months ago.

Both Deborah and some other tech folks I've met mentioned the Japanese penchant for customized equipment and services, especially computer software, that drives costs up, reduces the potential for compatibility, and keeps productivity down. This is not just an inter-firm but intra-firm problem. Each office or division insists its needs are unique so standard software will not do. It’s also a demonstration of the importance of long-term relationships over costs. This situation may be generational; the younger (less than 40) employees realize that their firms have to change or else Chinese and Korean companies will overwhelm them. According to an IBMer, the five biggest firms control only 50% of the computer market, a significantly lower percentage than other countries.

To Fuji and beyond...

2008-09-19T21:15:00.004+09:00

1 September, Monday.
The kids walked themselves to the bus stop, a first. Which is another way of stating that the parents were very tired. A few of the mothers walk with their kids, more to meet and chat for a few minutes with other mothers (never a father) to start off the day.

We looked at a final apartment today. I’m glad we looked before we rented, but I wish we had realized that beforehand; we would have saved a great deal of time and effort. The differences between modern and older apartments are quite interesting: better designed switches, picture hangers on rods in the ceiling to avoid marring the walls, heaters with the shower fans).

From the apartment I went to Titech for the first time. Masanori Kaji greeted me and showed me the museum (Titech dates to 1881) before taking me to my new office. The campus is more compact than A&M, but not as urban as a George Washington University. The subway stop is directly opposite the main entrance. An express takes me from Meguro in five minutes, the local takes eight.

The semester does not start for another month and people are casually dressed. Saving energy is one reason: a “no necktie” sign indicates informality allows the minimum temperature to be raised. Many lights in public spaces, such as bathrooms, are sensor-activated, so they remain off most of the time. A sensible contrast to A&M where many lights blaze away 24/7/365.

The offices of the faculty are filled with books and papers. At least one has papers scattered over his floor. Only one that I saw has a room that might be termed neat. My kind of people.

I met my office mate, Yakov, a Turk who had, like me, spent time at the Smithsonian. He very kindly offered to share the window space with me. The psychological benefits of a view are not to be dismissed (with the exception of a hospital I visited in Oxford that overlooked a cemetery. Sometimes efficiency can be taken too far).

Alex and I took the late ASIJ bus to the Tokyo American Club for the first meeting of his Boy Scout Troop 51. This weekend, the troop will climb Mt. Fuji. I will volunteer to join them.

Why is Japanese print so small? On meishi (business cards), I can understand, but even books (including my textbook) use such small type that reading is hard on the eyes.

The shortcomings of the service apartment are becoming obvious in the kitchen. The ceiling fan extends two feet down and over the stove, putting it in prime position for a certain male to bang his head painfully. No learning curve seems to have evolved. That’s a design flaw (though not for people less than 5'8". The small dishwasher works well, but the person who ordered the full-sized dishes and bowls apparently did not consider its petite interior.

You can tell we’re foreigners – we’re the only people on the subway not dozing, listening to iPods, or reading.

A common sight, whether a house in the countryside or a tall apartment building, is clothes and futons drying outside on balconies. Air drying saves energy and space in small quarters, reducing the need for a clothes dryer. The combo washer/dryer, as Lisa noted, is a poor dryer. Also used for drying is the bathroom, which has a fan in older buildings and a fan with heater in newer apartments. Our new apartment, which is two decades old, only has the fan: we’ll see how well it handles us.

What strikes me as somewhat inconsistent is the focus on recycling (which deserves a future post) and the elaborate, sometimes necessary wrapping that goods, especially food, are packaged in.

2 September, Tuesday
Filling out the paperwork (guessing how this American circle fit into the Japanese square) took most of the day, but we finally applied for an apartment. The form we had to fill was quite daunting, primarily because it was designed for people working for companies, not visiting American scholars. We discussed our answers with the agent before filling in the (small) blanks.

To apply requires a fair amount of information, some of which seems entirely reasonable: Passport, alien registration, income, job. Then there is information (admittedly quite possibly limited to the firm we’re dealing with) which seems a bit intrusive: reason for moving (of the nine possibilities, my favorite was “piano”). A fair amount of information is required about one’s firm, including its year of formation, turnover, my immediate supervisor, &c. To me, what appears most unusual is the emphasis on the guarantor. The information required for that person or firm is quite impressive.

My American circle is partly due to being funded by the Fulbright (in the form of the Japanese United States Exchange Commission, JUSEC), but working at Titech, and partly due to using the Fulbright as my guarantor. We’re waiting to see if the landlord will accept JUSEC as guarantor.

The PASMO card is a convenient way of taking the subways and trains – you fill the card with money, pass the card over the scanner as you enter and exit and the fare is deducted. There is no saving in money, only time (the actual process is faster plus you avoid buying tickets and figuring out how much the fare is). A well hidden secret is that a children’s PASMO exists. Takeo somehow discovered this and I went to the local station today to apply with our kids’ passports. No trouble at all, apart from my poor Japanese. The station attendants helped me fill out a form, translated the names into Japanese, took my money, and we had the kids’ cards. The same cards as the adult version, their names are printed on the card and a little “chisai” (small) is printed on them too.

Since the kid’s fare is approximately half the adult, the savings could be significant. Certainly the frustration factor of understanding which ticket is good for which line is avoided. So why isn’t this advertised more? One reason might be abuse by adults. Metropolis mentioned that police had nabbed a significantly greater number of adults illegally using kid’s PASMOs.

I walked around Shirokanedai-Hiroo today and once again was impressed by the huge contrasts in architecture here. Some of the ugliest and some of the most beautiful, imaginative structures I have ever seen are here, sometimes side by side. Concrete as a rule is unattractive, especially if painted green to resemble the moss-stained wood of a castle (at least that’s what I think the architect meant – the implications otherwise are truly unnerving).

Staircases can be quite impressive. Many spiral staircases – to save space? Some of the modern staircases, wrapped in glass or accompanied by lavish metal, are clearly works of art. Sadly, they are far outnumbered by the emergency staircase bolted onto the building as an aferthought.

Perhaps most striking are the micro-buildings, usually 1-4 stories tall, narrow, and sometimes triangular, clearly designed to fit a specific piece of land. These buildings are often only one room wide at most. My impression is that they represent not only the high cost of limited land in the city, but also a pattern of small land ownership. Acquiring land to build big buildings can be quite an undertaking: for the massive Roppongi Hills complex, decades.

In a way, the buildings are like the small Kubota shovels and other construction equipment that seems so small as to be almost toy-like compared with American equipment, yet performs quite well and actually even better for the small spaces thy were designed to function in. Japan has a great deal of the full-sized construction equipment too.

Wednesday, September 3
A wasted morning, all my fault. I confidently guided Lisa to the wrong subway stop so we never reached the bank. A helpful American took us a few blocks in the direction of Softbank, where the sales representative was not helpful. A visit to Docomo was more interesting: Instead of English speakers at the branch, the sales agent handed me a phone connected to an English speaker, who talked also to the rep as needed. A good way of reducing labor costs by centralizing. Must be frustrating for the rep who just said motionlessly as a conversation passed her by. Docomo had its revenge, however; I could not understand its plan at all.

The older Roppongi area is a bit seedy and ugly. Lots of restaurants and tall commercial buildings. The elevated expressway crossing Roppongi added to the charm. One real estate agent said he could cross the town via expressway at 2 a.m. in 15 minutes. The same commute via local roads 12 hours later would be 2.5-3 hours.

I went to Titech in the afternoon. We have my computer running, hooked up to the internet, and printer. So good to have the essentials.

I visited the gym. It reminds of the A&M weight room of 12 years ago: weights, a few machines, underilluminated and basic, with no accommodation of design or attraction. What’s frustrating is the system of variable weights for a hand dumbbell. Instead of a wall of different weights (e.g, 10, 15, 20 lbs.), there are a few bars that you add weights until you reach the desired amount. It saves space, but takes time to change the weight. Sometimes, efficiency is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Thursday, September 4

Found the bank today, then to Shinjuku to buy Alex and myself sleeping bags. Amazing how much the technology has improved in the years since I last bought a bag. Back to Titech where Lisa saw my office and we both took a Japanese class run by retired volunteers. If I had any illusions about my Japanese, these kind, competent teachers destroyed them.

In the evening, I went to Titech for a Middle School evening. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and excitement of the teachers.

Friday, September 5

Lisa went to the Elementary School day today, while I stayed home and worked until leaving for our Mt. Fuji adventure.
Saturday, September 6
“A person who does not climb Fuji-san is a fool; a person who climbs it twice is a bigger fool.”
– alleged Japanese proverb, passed around the Americans after the climb

When I imagine Boy Scouts climbing a mountain, I think of long lines of hikers cheerfully heading up. The reality of Boy Scout Troop 51's ascent of Mount Fuji (called Fuji-san in Japanese) was somewhat different. Our car of seven (three scouts, two accompanying parents, one parent whose family was taking another car, and one parent whose family was in the States but wanted to do the climb) set out from the old Tokyo American Club, located at the back of the Russian embassy, Friday night at 7.. Alex I reached the meeting spot despite several minutes of not finding the right back of the embassy. Fortunately, several people helped us reach our destination.

The ride took 2.5 hours, including a rest stop (just like an interstate stop, save for greater variation in types of toilet and food as well as significantly higher gas prices) and $38 in tolls. The Scout building held many other scouts when we arrived at 10 p.m/. No real roughing it except for trying to sleep. The scouts had bunk beds, eight to a room, and the adults had either single rooms or a large tatami-room without the tatami. The hall was a wonderful sound conductor, so when we were roused at 5, no one had really slept well. Some scouts had left from Tokyo at 4, which probably would have been the better option for starting a long day with some sleep.

Driving from the building to Station 5, 2000 meters up took nearly half an hour. The two parking lots held 150-200 cars and were already full. Here, as elsewhere, I am impressed by the ability of drivers to park in incredibly tight spaces. I think I could become a reasonable driver here, once I adjusted to driving on the other side of the road. Parking, however, would be beyond my abilities.

By the time we parked, unloaded, and walked to the station, it was 7 and earlier vanloads of scouts had already reached the station and started up in trickles. Tradition (marketing?) recommends buying a walking stick to have branded at each station you reach. What I did not realize is how essential I would find Alex’s stick.

Climbing below the treeline to Station 6 was pleasant, if challenging. The view of Fuji past the treeline was not that attractive, volcanic rock with occasional plants. The real beauty was the weather. Fog and clouds rolled in and out, sometimes dropping visibility to only a few meters, then suddenly disappearing to show where we had climbed or where we had to climb. Alex moved from shorts and a t-shirt at the bottom to jeans, t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, sweater, and sweatshirt at the top. Our hair was wet from the moisture and my glasses misted over several times.

The further we harder the steeper the ascent seemed. Despite frequent switchbacks, the path up was very steep. Our breaks were short and frequent and over the next few hours we consumed the recommended two-three liters of water per person. Our group could tell the oxygen level in the atmosphere was dropping even without using the bottles of oxygen for sale (1000Y at the base, 1500Y at Station 8). The cost of food and liquids rose as we climbed, but considering the difficulty of bringing anything up to the stations, we did not begrudge the cost. The paths were well marked with rope guardrails as needed.

Even though the official two-month climbing season had ended with over 200,000 people ascending and several stations had closed, hundreds of people climbed Fuji today. Rarely were we out of sight of people. We passed some; many more passed us. Nearly all were Japanese from their 20s on up. Most were in groups, especially the younger climbers. Men outnumbered women. Many wore climbing gear, including gaiters, and masks. We discovered why on the descent.

After five and a half hours, Alex and I (our group, reduced from five) reached Station 8 at 3400 meters and he collapsed, resting for half-an-hour on the bench. The station was only a few hundred meters from the summit, which we could see, but his fatigue and a requested turn-around time of 1 p.m., meant I will never stand at the top of Mt. Fuji.

The descent took half the time and was awful. Instead of climbing down a trail, we skidded down long stretches of ash, dirt, gravel, and rocks. I fell twice, ripping jeans and jacket but nothing more. What comfort I could have taken from the many other people I saw falling was totally eclipsed by the spectacle, repeated many times, of single men in bright gear literally bouncing down the slope at high speed. I suspect that was not their first descent, but this is only a suspicion. One of the scoutmasters climbed in three hours and descended in one. We learned from an American Air Force officer that some Navy officers had climbed (and descended) Fuji four times in one day as a fundraiser.

The gaiters kept the pebbles and dirt out of shoes and the masks kept the dust from being inhaled. One scoutmaster had brought duct tape to wrap his troop’s shoes for the descent. It looked funny but it worked well.
I survived the final steep descent by holding on to a guiderope and walking down backward. It looked odd, but it worked.

We drove back to Tokyo that evening, stopping at an excellent ramen noodle shop for dinner. In a land of overemployment, the shop was a model of labor-saving. You choose your dish and bought a ticket from a machine before you entered the restaurant. The waiter took half the ticket and gave it to the cook. When ready, the waiter then matched the ticket with the other half. Simple, efficient, and effective.

In Tokyo on the expressway, we saw an accident that backed traffic up the other way for miles. Ouch. Reminded me of the New Hampshire toll on Interstate 95 South on a Sunday night in summer.

7 September, Sunday.

I woke up today with very, very sore legs and a marked aversion to going down stairs. This made taking the subway somewhat painful at times. Although some stations have elevators and all have escalators, finding the elevators is not always easy and often there are short flights of stairs without any escalators. Although the situation has improved since our 1995 visit, Tokyo is not a good place for a handicapped person or anyone who does not like to walk.

In contrast to the DC or Moscow metros with their long escalators, Tokyo stations tend to have several shorter escalators, connected by small level areas. I wonder if this is because shorter escalators are less expensive, the consequences of one breaking are less serious, or a tradition in building the subways.

To celebrate Alex’s birthday, we went to Kiddyland, an amazing five stories of toys and souvenirs, including one floor devoted to Charlie Brown. What struck me was the branding. Hello Kitty, Barbie, Totto, and many, many other lines were well represented. En route from the subway, we encountered processions of portable shrines behing carried through the streets. Quite interesting and proof that we should always carry a camera.

We then had amazing $21 hamburgers at Zipzap. Especially fun was watching the avocado burger emerge, a beautiful hamburger with half an avocado on top of the burger. We then wandered into a shopping complex, had some superb gelato, and visited the MOMA store.

8 September, Monday

I had intended to look at a surplus bike from an American, but Softbank took so much time that I phoned Lisa to phone the American, who just laughed at my delay. She knew what I was learning.

It took five visits, but we finally have cellphones. The visit we intended to buy phones but the contract was so complex that we wandered out in a daze. A visit to Docomo, however, introduced us to plans even more incomprehensible. The assumption is that any plan will be costly; Softbank at least has a plan that we have a hope of understanding. A policy change banned firms from subsidizing the cost of the cellphone. Consequently, the price of phones soared, but I am told monthly charges did not drop.

Most of the plans are based on a two-year contract with sliding fees, discounts, eye-of-newt charges, and goodness knows what else. Since we are staying for a short time, we paid for the phones fully up front and will not receive discounts. But at least we can talk (with the price varying, depending on what firm’s phones you call). Incidentally, Skype does not work on 0120 numbers, the Japanese 800 numbers.

The sales representatives, almost all female, had an odd mix of technology, ranging from erasable white boards with markers to the latest scanners and directional microphones to softly speak to each other. Oddest of all were the pages of printouts of phone prices. At least one page was arranged by descending cost. Others I could not understand at all.

The second visit to Softbank failed utterly when we could not find someone able to communicate in English. The third was about to end in a contract, except they did not have the phones in stock. So, like the Marx brothers flying across the Atlantic, but running out of gas halfway, we had to go back and start over. The fourth visit found the phones, but I only had my alien registration card and not my passport, so I had to go back and get it. In fairness to Softbank, that was a requirement in the the fine print – the fault was mine. The fifth visit succeeded – we have the phones. Now if only we could figure out how to use them.

I also went to a main post office (not the one down the street) to pick up my registered (or equivalent) Citibank cash card. What seemed odd to me was that Citibank sent our credit cards directly to us, no registration needed. Nor, for that matter, any activation procedure. The cash cards, however, were obviously considered more important, possibly because Japan is still a very cash-oriented society. Many, many more places take credit and debit cards since 1995, but they rarely advertise the fact.

From the post office, I went to Shibuya to buy a Canon printer-scanner for the Mac. Took the wrong exit from the station and lost fifteen minutes trying to figure out where I was. Bic Camera was much quieter than on the weekend. Not quite pleasant, but definitely not painful. Packaging the box for me to carry was ingenious. The salesclerk placed the box on top of a machine that extruded plastic strips long enough to circle the box. He then placed a plastic handle between the strips, taped some bubble wrap over the handle, and I had a convenient way of carrying the printer.

I dropped the printer at home, made a sandwich for Alex, then met him on the late bus to ride to the Tokyo American Club for his Boy Scout meeting. Some of the adults mentioned that they had decided not to climb Fuji because the climb down was so hard. Now they tell me. The troop leadership is, like in College Station, very impressive. The outings sound spectacular, though I think I will avoid any involving mountain descents.
One of the differences between the business community and, at least, this Fulbrighter, is they have lots of support in moving and settling in. Financially, the stakes are much higher (and the resources greater) so the businessman and businesswomen have staff to help them. Those expats are often staying for several years too. A few moms (most of the “reason for being here” spouses are male), when I asked questions, confessed that their husband’s staff had done the legwork.

ASIJ and picking grapes: a sweet harvest

2008-09-08T21:46:00.002+09:00

So after a busy Sunday festival we went to the elementary school orientation for the American School in Japan (ASIJ) on Monday with both kids. (Alex’s orientation is actually tomorrow but he gets dragged along.) At the crack of dawn– or 7:20am we get on a bus to ride to the ASIJ campus. Unlike buses in the US there is a place to hang your umbrellas as you get on – does this tell us something about the weather or about Japanese design? At this point we are still jet lagged so getting up is much easier than normal. The bus ride takes us through the ugliest parts of town – nothing but elevated highways looking out on construction projects and concrete slabs – which combined with the gray rainy weather is not a very welcoming sight. We get to the school at 8:20. The ride makes us more determined to move closer to the school so that the ride is shorter for the kids.

The welcome that we receive at the school is nothing short of fabulous. We are greeted multiple times and asked if we need help. Even though we had been unable to attend an orientation earlier all the teachers and councilors interrupted their most hectic day to help us out. Caroline spends a couple of hours with her teacher while we attend parent meetings – Alex spends the time in the library. We also scope out the information booths in the cafeteria – some information is for the children with the range of after school activities explained. Others are for the parents including a booth for printing your home business card with a map – very necessary in Japan. When we pick Caroline up we spend a couple of minutes with her teacher – Mrs. Bade who was raised in Japan and has been teaching at ASIJ for 7 years. She seems to be a wonderful teacher who is very interested in science and writing. We are most impressed. We are even more impressed after having lunch at school. There is a small kiosk as part of the book store that has a small but nice selection of sandwiches and salads. These come in plastic containers that they reuse. You get a 100Y back for returning these items. They also have a good selection of ice cream and snacks.

The elementary counselor meets with Caroline to see how she is feeling about the move . (He meets with all the new families and makes sure that the children are ok with their new school. Throughout the year he works with each class to help them grow emotionally – some of the adults I know could use his services.) Alex has a similar counselor that works us into her schedule . She has hiked Monchu Pichu and has traveled all over the world – her office is decorated with items from her travel and I would like to spend more time talking with her. She talks with us and then talks separately with Alex. As soon as she hears that we had a Japanese tutor at home she whisks him up to the Japanese teachers so that they can put him at the correct level. I have never seen this type of responsiveness at our Texas public schools – although they might be able to do this if they had the amount of money that ASIJ has as well as the committed parents – the turn out for orientation is quite high and the place is packed. I think both kids will have a great year. Finally, we notice the libraries are very well stocked and encourage the parents to check out books – 25 at a time – to make sure everyone has access to reading material. (We can even get items from the High School if we want.)

After a full day at ASIJ we return by train, finding our way to the Chofu train station through a drizzle. The trip back to our apartment takes three train transfers and ninety minutes; not difficult but I would rather not do this too often.

Tuesday Alex does the same trip again with Jonathan, but this time Caroline and I stay behind and remove some of our things from the bags. I do not want to unpack too much as it will all have to be re-packed when we find a permanent apartment.

Jonathan and Alex return very impressed. Alex will have much more freedom to roam his campus compared to the US and he is very happy.

Wednesday we all get up early and see the kids off – thereby meeting the other returning parents at the bus stop. Mostly wives of businessmen – Jonathan is the only male. Both kids return quite happy so I think we made the right choice in sending them to this distant school.

With both kids in school Jonathan and I get to business finding an apartment. Since we were in total agreement after seeing our first 3 places we split up. We realize that we prefer low-rise apartments and wooden floors. After being shown both western and Japanese places we decide that we prefer Japanese bath rooms – that is we like having the bath and toilette in separate rooms and we prefer the Japanese shower – mainly because it feels much less cramped than standing in a small tub. Our main frustration is that the real estate folks do not understand that the need to be near a late morning bus stop is more important than having a beautiful apartment. They would never make an adult have a longer commute in order to keep the children from a long bus ride

What do 4 gaijin do on their first real weekend in Japan? They travel to Shibuya to check out the electronic stores. Shibuya has an incredible street crossing that has to be seen to be believed – this would never work in US as nobody would observe the crosswalk signs and traffic would be stopped for hours. Japanese apartments are usually rented with no appliances – we spend a few minutes pricing refrigerators and combination washer/driers. The latter sound great but I can state from using one in our service apartment that they still have a long way to go – these take about 4 hours for one very small load. The electronic store is very loud; definitely don’t want to spend more time here than necessary.

On Sunday we were invited by a Japanese friend to travel on a slow view train to the wine district and then try to see Mt. Fuji on another slow train. We had to line up at Shibuya at the entrance to a non-smoking non-reserved car and it is a good thing that we got there a bit early as a line did form, but it was behind us so we had our pick of seats. We did notice a size difference between this and Amtrak – the seats were perfect for the kids but Jonathan did not have room for his knees. The advantage of these trains is that they enabled us to see that Japan is more than just concrete slabs and construction sites. The first train was a double-decker with wonderful viewing possible – that took us to the wine district.

When we got off the train our friend got a cab to take us to a grape harvesting stand. There we were fed a sample of grapes and then we were loaded into a very small van which took us up to the grapes – about a 5 minute drive. We cut a few bunches of very delicious grapes from their over-protected growing spot – each was encased in plastic. (By the way we were told that each bunch is pruned 5 times by 5 people or 25 times.

We then went to an onsen for a quick soak. The onsen was rather typical – men separated from women, one must wash completely before entering, then enter your choice of pools with different temperatures and some inside and some outside. Since the train schedule was inflexible and the lunch possibilities were too expensive for our host to recommend – we have noticed he is rather good at hunting out inexpensive alternatives, we then took a cab to the train station and went to the nearest town for lunch. Then we boarded another train and headed to Fuji. It was getting progressively greener and the landscape was demonstrating why much of Japan cannot be used for building – very steep terrain.

Although the outing was not demanding it was a bit too long for my taste and I was quite happy to take a Shinkansen back to Tokyo, especially since the next day was a school day for the children.

The following day we were shown the empty apartments by one of the real estate people and decided that the top floor with a view but old fashioned kitchen was better than a great kitchen and no view. This is where we will be – very close to the University of Tokyo in the Shoto area – which we were originally told was too expensive. However, we are in an older place – 20 years without a major overhaul and the location is great for the kids- the bus stop is at 7:44 not 7:20 and Jonathan is walking distance to a major train stop. Also there are many eating places within walking distance so I don’t care what the kitchen looks like.

We are told that obtaining an apartment in Japan is the biggest hurdle that we will face during our visit and we feel lucky that the time between our first day of looking and our acceptance by the landlord – they often say no to foreigners – is exactly 2 weeks. We filled out paperwork that shows our income – the real estate folks do not care about savings at all, only monthly paid income which must be at least 3 times the rent. Much of the form is ridiculous – for example it is more important to have a Japanese person who will back you than a company – go figure. At no time do they ask to see anything that one would need in the states. The letters that we fax could be totally bogus and they would never know. Perhaps this is one of the reasons they dislike dealing with gaijin.

The only problem with the apartment is that we have to wait for them to repaint – this is done after every tenant has moved out – steam clean and replace the heater and a.c. unit. We would prefer to move ASAP but this should give us time to hunt down what we need to get started.

And we're here

2008-09-02T22:58:00.007+09:00

21 August

A long flight over. I followed the approach of entering the flight exhausted. That plus Lisa’s Dramamine provided several hours of sleep. Having flown JetBlue recently, the Continental 777 failed to impress. The kids complained about the lack of shows to watch (they did not mention the smaller screens). The adults did not like the lack of room and the tendency to place metal boxes on the floor, cutting down on feet space. The bins were poorly set – not organized for 22 inch suitcase storage, creating much wasted space. Friendly, competent staff, but poor food.

Arrival was uneventful. Fingerprinted at immigration and photographed too all without hassle, then loading 12 bags on carts, green lighted through customs while adding 8 boxes (to be delivered) as unaccompanied luggage. Four suitcases and eight duffels, the latter to be stored inside the former once emptied (and thus saving significant space). Outside the secure area was oddly empty, like arriving at a second or third tier airport. Many signs in English to guide us, including big signs to the baggage delivery service, the greatest boon to traveling since the wheeled suitcase (of which I need to write more). Four firms offered their services; we randomly chose ABC (possibly reflecting my Japanese grammar which had ABC Foods as a firm). Instantly, several staff moved the luggage into one long line, wrapped each bag in plastic (cleanliness or security?) and filled out paperwork. For approximately $16 a bag, the luggage was delivered the next day to our apartment.

Thus, we only had backpacks and roll-on bags to board the bus. This meant that we could then walk the five minutes from the bus stop at a hotel to our service apartment. So much easier than trying to carry everything.

The bus location was well marked; buying tickets was no problem. The young ladies giggled at my Japanese. The bus was called a limousine bus, but the adjective was a tad excessive. We took the waterfront tour to the hotel – some fascinating architecture en route, then walked to the apartment. A walk down the street to a Chinese restaurant, then back for a full night of sleep.

22 August.
A full first day. I went to the Fulbright office in the morning and in the late afternoon we went to Minato City Hall to get registered as official aliens (long suspected by some, but now it’s official). Lisa took the kids around the area, finding two parks.

The Fulbright office was easy to reach. I received an administrative overview and other information. The financial administrator had graduated from Minnesota 30 years ago and had worked for Fulbright since then. He walked me through the finances and gave me 200 kY in bills and two checks for over 2 MY. I could cash them at the issuing bank, just down the road. It felt very odd to be carrying so much money, but I did not feel at all worried. Nor did I feel particularly wealthy because I knew how quickly that money could and would evaporate (at a back-to-school meeting, the middle school principal noted that the 1000 Y bills (about $10) just float out of wallets).

The director emphasized communications and danger. To be exact, contacting Fulbright with any problems whilst still small (including unhappy spouses). The danger was The Big One. The odds of a massive earthquake are low but the consequences disastrous. He emphasized stocking up on food and drink even in the service apartment and to consider keeping a full bathtub. I’m glad to know earthquakes are taken seriously. Another aspect was to keep the Fulbright and the embassy updated on our travels for emergency communication.

We went to Minato City Hall to be registered. How incredibly easy the process was and how helpful the people. Language assistance in English, Korean, Chinese. We went at 4 pm on Friday so we probably missed the long queues of people that the chairs indicated. Helpful young people manned the counters. We left with temporary certification, forms that indicated we existed (needed for opening a bank account &c), and processing for national health insurance. I had to sign a form stating our previous year’s income in Japan was zero. As we are taxed by what we earned in Japan last year, that means our insurance rate is almost free.

The twelve bags arrived from the airport and now line the walls. Tomorrow we excavate and unpack and discover what we forgot. Notice that each bag was wrapped in plastic, presumably to protect it. We had a huge pile of plastic wrap to discard. For a nation that prides itself on recycling, a huge amount of plastic waste from coverings and boxes is generated

We’re still in the euphoric stage – what’s different is exciting, new, and often better. Walking back from dinner we saw a road construction crew at work. Some had vests with flashing red lights. Safer, but a little silly. I’ll go with safer any day.

Similarly, the apartment is very well designed for optimum use of space. There is built-in space on most walls and the closets are well designed with a place to stow the small suitcases. The apartment comes with everything needed to cook – from pot holders to a (small) oven and range. We also have a rice cooker and toaster. All in a space that most Americans would think of as cramped but that serve us very well due to the thoughtful design. We’re staying in a service apartment, a furnished apartment for short-term stays, in our case until we can find an unfurnished apartment. Until then, we are on a bus route for the kids so they can easily go to school.

Going to Fulbright, I figured out how to buy a Passmo card, but promptly put it into the machine just as the attendant tried to show me how to place it over the reader. Fortunately, he opened the gate machinery and extracted it, saving my card and no doubt confirming his opinion of gaijin. The subway indicators are well designed. Every station, in addition to its name, is numbered sequentially on its line. Our stop, Shirokanedai, is number 2 on the Nambuku line, which makes it easy to remember or judge in relation to other stops. The challenge is reading the map. Not only are there many stations, some lines are incompatible with other lines in regards to transferring and tickets. There is an above ground train, underground competing subway lines.

Transferring stations usually involves long distances within stations, like Paris. Except in Japan the distances are given, so you know you have 250 meters to go. Outside the stations are local maps with a fair amount of English. I noticed at our stop there are two evacuation areas marked. We need to go and see them.

Azabu-Juban festival

2008-09-02T20:38:00.002+09:00

And we're off ... almost

2008-08-19T17:00:00.000+09:00

In 27 hours we start for Japan. I much better comprehend the dictum that amateurs fight battles, professionals plan logistics.