Talking About Money...

Earlier this week my co-worker James and I were at the local McDonald's (well, technically it's one of two in this city) for a quick bite to eat between classes. I mentioned in the course of the conversation that one thing I probably won't see when I go back to Canada is the lowly penny. That led to talking about the American one dollar bill (James is from the USA) and the refusal of Americans to replace the bill with a coin as has been done in Canada. James knows of the loonie and toonie and at that point in time he went on like "You guys have what...oh yeah...that loonie and toonie". He stopped right there and his face lit up. "You know, 'toonie' is perfect because it combines the English 'two' with the Japanese 'ni'(二)". That took a second to sink in for me. I've always thought of the two dollar coin name as "toonie" instead of "twonie" which is probably how James thinks it's spelled. So there you go. A little bit of word play based on the name of a coin.

The Yonezawa Textile Museum

Inside the Yonezawa Textile Museum, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I was first introduced to Yonezawa's textile legacy...I don't remember exactly when. Sorry for the jest but now that I think about it I'm not sure when I first was made aware of it. Nonetheless, the creation of the textile industry here was a part of the restoration of the city's fortunes in the late 18th century.

Based on a friend's recollections I presume the old weaving and dyeing shops and factories were active in large numbers up until about 35 years ago. She told of how, as a child, she always heard the sound of the looms clacking away all day and how the river was coloured by dyes discharged by the shops. She was a bit surprised as an adult to find that the natural colour of the water was not the hue she remembered as a child. I'm guessing those small factories and shops were superseded by modern facilities around that time frame. Either that or they modernized their equipment and methods of dealing with effluent.

One thing which surprised me was the location of the museum. It's only a couple of blocks from my home and I've passed the building many times in the past year without being aware of its occupants. The reason why I had checked to find the location of the textile museum was because a friend and his family were visiting from Canada and I was looking for sites to take them to. So it was a pleasant surprise to find the place was "In front of [my] eyes and nose", as some Japanese might say.

Preserving Obon Odori

Obon Odori Musicians Playing and Singing a video by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The video clip for this entry shows members of the Yonezawa Obon Odori Preservation Society performing in the Machi no Hiroba (trans.: open space town square). This was very interesting to me as it featured traditional Japanese musical instruments (shamisen, flute and taiko drums) and a couple of vocalists. Back home in Canada we had the more standard single drummer on a stand in the centre of the rings of dancers with recorded music played over a PA system. I suppose that arrangement can be found in numerous communities in Japan too.

This particular Obon odori was different in that the dances were mixed in with other elements such as ensemble taiko drumming and a recording of an old song played over the PA (with lyrics wondering about what the world would be like in 31 years when the 21st century begins). There was only 1 "yatai"/foodstand unlike the many which can be found at other festivals. As such this event was more about a community association showing what odon odori was like in the days prior to PA systems and recorded music. My co-worker friend who didn't seem to be aware this event was organized by an Obon odori preservation society wasn't impressed by it. I suppose he hasn't been exposed to the modern version.

All in all I found this to be an intriguing event. It was Obon odori with a different agenda: its purpose not just to serve as a means for citizens to go out and have fun but also to educate. While its aims aren't that much different from the Obon odori I've attended in Canada and the USA, the atmosphere of the event was quite different. It wasn't about the descendents of Japanese emigrants abroad laying claim to their ancestral culture, it felt more like the Japanese trying to reach back into their past and make it relevant. In my eyes the ideals and goals are similar but the context was very different.

Showing the knot I tied...

Showing the knot I tied..., a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

..No I'm not going to show the front view shot. Let's just say I'm not 100% sure about the expression on my face at the time the photo was taken.

Nonetheless, I'll be taking this ensemble out for a spin tonight. An acquaintance has asked me to hang out at the Yonezawa Joshien beer garden tonight. Supposedly there's a decent selection of food items at the beer garden so it might be safe to just munch there rather than making dinner before going.

I'll also be wearing my yukata when I head out to catch the fireworks on Monday. The reason why the fireworks display is on Monday is because it's always held on July 30th. Supposedly it's an hour long pyrotechnical display with a much earlier start time than the fireworks events back home in Vancouver (7:30pm start here as opposed to 10pm back in Vancouver).

Now if we could only do something about the over 30˚C heat...

The full set

The full set, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I got my new made to order yukata last Sunday. Right now it's still in the paper wrapping it was delivered in. One can't see the pattern of small crosses in the fabric until the photo is viewed in its highest resolution.

I got a quick lesson on how to tie the obi last night. Fundamentally it's not a difficult task but there are plenty of details which must be attended to for the final result to look right. I suppose I ought to be practicing nightly but right now I just want to toss myself back onto the sofa and relax. I guess practice can wait until tomorrow...

Obi and geta

Obi and geta, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

These are the elements of my yukata ensemble which I picked up this week. How I got to here is a bit of tedious story so I'll spare my audience the details. Anyways, I now have a yukata on order from a local kimono and yukata making shop. It was interesting going through the process of picking out a fabric, picking out a matching obi (sash) and geta (wooden clogs) to my liking. I went with the bright light blue obi because it will be in contrast with my navy blue yukata. I could've gone with something a bit more staid but I figured I'd go with a colour which stands out.

One thing I found myself doing when picking out the fabric for my future yukata was that I was consciously using a set of rules I had learned when picking out Western style clothing. So in a way I found myself thinking that perhaps I ought to not go by those rules. After all a yukata is a bathrobe which over time has evolved into a form of outdoor casual wear for the summer months. It's humble beginnings are a few steps away from the kind of price I'll be paying for its distant offspring in the second millennium.

I expecting to receive my new yukata sometime close to the end of this month. So it will be a while before I post a photo of it here.

日本酒

日本酒, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I have no idea if the Tencho-san at Odaidokoro decided to serve sake in wine glasses or if he got the idea from somewhere else. Anyways, it was a brew (I read somewhere that sake is technically a beer and not a wine) and it went down well with the appetizer (which is referred to as "o-toshi") which came with my meal. I didn't order that much that night. Just this sake, kara-age octopus and deep fried Camembert cheese balls.

A Bit Out of Place

A Bit Out of Place, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

This is a record of one of those pure dumb luck moments in life. I had wandered over to take a photo of a mural painting on a shutter door to a building which is going to be demolished. I took the photo, turned to my right and there smack dab in my field of view was a Maryland licence plate. I hadn't noticed it when walking over to take the photo so I was quite surprised to see it there.

There's one thing I do which I've started to take more notice of recently: I often turn the hot water handle on a faucet without remembering that it takes a good two or three minutes for warm (not hot) water to come out. This is a far cry from back in Canada where hot water could be trusted to come out in under a minute (or so I recall). The point is that turning on and running water from the hot water side engages the water heater which uses gas. So running water through the heater and turning it off before the water gets hot is a waste of fuel. It may not be much but it's something I can conserve during the summer months. The winter months are another story unto themselves.

One last thing.... Back in February when I visited Kyoto with my mother and a group from the Vancouver Buddhist Temple I was asked to read and write a short article about the English translation of book "The Buddha's Wish for the World" by the Gomonshu-sama. The article was to be published in the Hongwanji monthly newspaper. It took me a little longer than I had expected to get that done but apparently some people were pleased with the results. The publishers of the book, the American Buddhist Study Center, have asked my permission to post an abridged version of the article on their web site. It's not a big deal but I'm kind of tickled pink. I guess all those years of writing COBOL code and requirements documents didn't completely damage my English writing abilities.

My new bicycle

My new bicycle, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I had been eying the bicycles lined up in front of a local bike shop for some time. The hand me down "chari" I was riding had seen better days but it was still functional. The front tire was bent up, the front light worked from time to time, the brakes squealed when applied, the basket had rusted off and the frame had a sprinkling of rust on it. It wasn't glamorous or charming but it did the job.

Last Sunday I pumped up the tires a bit and headed off to the gym. Along the way I stopped at a light and then a loud "Bang!" sound went off. The front tire of my bike had exploded. The sound of it going off was like that of a pistol. I didn't have a patch kit or tools on me so I turned around and walked the bike home.

I carted the bike over to the bike shop to ask how much it would cost to replace the front tire and put in a new inner tube. That was going to cost me ¥5000. I hummed and hawed about it. I checked out the cost of a low end bicycle similar to what I had. The cheapest one was ¥19800 and one with a three speed shifter was ¥22800. I said "What the heck" and decided on getting a new bicycle.

The bottom line is that I can't afford not to own a bicycle (given that I don't own a car). My quality of life certainly takes a hit if I don't have the mobility a bicycle affords me. The train station, the gym, the movie cineplex, Book-Off, and a bunch of other stores I check out regularly are all at least a mile or more away from where I live. Some of the little morning or afternoon shopping excursions I've undertaken would be day long treks without a trusty two wheeled steed.

"Cut Throat 2012"

Gig poster, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

That's the title associated with the concert I went to on Friday, May 4th. I had seen Aiko and Hisae perform previously as 時既に遅し so I went equipped with a pair of foam earplugs. When I met Aiko I explained to her that I was using the ear plugs to preserve my hearing. She was cool with that as she said one can still hear most bands even with them in. How true that was.

Essentially I was treated to a handful of very loud and often fast playing bands. The styles of music ranged from standard punk, fast metal punk to deathcore punk. In other words the differences were there to be found by those who know the genre to some degree. If anything the most fascinating element of the night's proceedings was the youngest member of the audience: a young boy who I would've pegged as being about 12/13 years old. I suppose there wasn't much harm (other than to his hearing) as the deathcore band's vocals were completely incomprehensible. Of course I have no idea what impression he will have of watching a couple of the bands being showered with beer.

Oops!

Oops!, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The situation was like this: I sitting close to the bicycle parking area in front of Ueno station while drinking the coffee I had purchased at the nearby Starbucks shop. I hadn't been able to find a seat in the store so I went outside and found a place to perch myself. At some point in time I heard a crashing sound in front of me and I looked up to see a scene of a young woman looking at about seven bicycles which had fallen over when she had moved hers. I took a photo of that and wondered what was going to happen next.

The woman was making a call on her cell phone and she started to walk off with her bicycle. I thought to myself "Well there's a sight for those who think Japanese people are so polite and courteous. This gal is going to leave the mess she created behind." As it turned out, that wasn't really the case.

She went around the row of bicycles whilst still on the phone. She stopped next to the first fallen bicycle, put down the kickstand for hers, and then tried to raise the first of the fallen units with her free hand. Nothing came of that. About a minute later a young man came trotting over whom she greeted. He went about righting the fallen bicycles while lightly admonishing the woman for having created the mess.

And that pretty well was the end of that. A small case of "What the heck am I going to do?" solved by a knight in a cotton t-shirt and denims in the middle of one of the world's largest cities.

Cheers!

The Problem of Revitalizing a Small City Downtown Core

Look, Obachan!, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

First, the Mister Donut shop in the photo has closed now. So Heiwa Dori has become a little bit more forlorn. Supposedly it was a bustling retail strip in its heyday. The building which the Mister Donut shop was in housed a Popolo department/clothing store, Jusco, a bowling alley and a shopping mall. Today, demolition of the building is being held up by the last remaining occupant, an Outami izakaya restaurant. One local has said that if they don't move out soon, the city will build a new library on the Machi no Hiroba park across the street and wait for the restaurant to move out. Then that building will be torn down and a new Machi no Hiroba park will be made on its location.

The culprit for the abandonment of the old downtown core was a form of urban sprawl and lack of public transit. When the Sati(sic) department store (now Aeon) opened up in the Chuo area it drew customers away from the core by offering free parking. After that, other major retailers moved operations onto the road running across the northern part of the city. Essentially the area evolved into a Japanese version of a strip mall road. The only business left in the old downtown core are the Onuma department store, a few aging retail stores, a few public service offices, a handful of hotels, some restaurants and izakaya (most which do the bulk of their business at night) and lots of bars. I've been told the area has gone downhill a long ways from its former glory.

In most places I've visited in Japan the train station is an integral cornerstone of the centre of a community. In Yamagata it seems that isn't the case all the time. In some places such as Yonezawa it didn't happen from the beginning as the line couldn't be punched through to the old city centre without tearing up the fabric of the community. In other places, rail lines ceased operations and a dependency on vehicle traffic grew. There are exceptions such as Takahata where the rail line was straightened to accommodate faster trains such as the Yamagata Shinkansen and the town centre found itself a mile away from the new station.

It's interesting to see how these communities have evolved. In the future I'd like to find out more about the history of the area in the past one hundred years or so. But it might be a tricky task. For example, I haven't found a photo online of the old Yonezawa city hall which stood on the site of the Machi no Hiroba. Nor have I found a photo of the old Yonezawa castle. There must be at least one of each out there somewhere...

"I Do Love a New Purchase"

My new fridge, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I think it was a trip to Hard-Off (yes, that is the name of the store) back in March that set off the events which led to a new refrigerator arriving on my doorstep today. I saw the price on a used fridge there and though that it was affordable. But there was a two-fold problem to deal with; getting it to my apartment and disposing of my old one. I did a bit of shopping and decided that a new unit was still affordable and delivery was included in the price. I got a 10% discount by paying for it with cash. Disposal and recycling fees were extra. It's not a big unit by anyone's standards with a volume of 118l which is equivalent to 4.1 cubic feet. But it's a good enough size for one person.

Other sundry stories:
On Saturday night I was telling some people the story I read about three drunk young men in Canada who came up with the great idea of stripping down and riding a shopping cart through an automated car wash. I've told the story to some of my students and the reactions have varied from laughs to bewilderment to incomprehension. Anyways, this time I told the story in Japanese (except I didn't know the Japanese word for "automated car wash" so I had to come up with a substitute which my audience understood) and was quite surprised when one person quickly blurted out "I'd like to do that!". Yes, she was a bit drunk too. Let's hope she doesn't carry through with that little bit of "cultural exchange" I gave her.

Another off the wall situation: I was teaching a class of three boys aged 11 & 12. The trio is made up of two brothers and a classmate of the older brother. I had asked the younger brother a question during a drill and one of the older boys just kept talking away. The boy I had asked the question of got annoyed with that and told him "Shut up!". That had me floored. I can honestly say I have not taught those boys that phrase. So where he picked it up I have no idea.

Short glimpse at an April snow storm

Short glimpse at an April snow storm a video by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The video clip says it all. A blowing snow storm in April. At some points in time the snow was being blown in at almost a horizontal angle. I stayed in the cafe where I shot the video from until it abated. Yet, when I went out at night there was snow falling again. With Ohanami schedule for April 22nd I'd like to see things warm up quickly. As it stands the odds aren't very good that we'll have any cherry blossoms to view when the day comes.

Stormy Weather

That's not dandruff...they're snowflakes., a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Yesterday a strong storm blew over most of Japan. I remember reading that offshore wind speeds of higher than 100km/h had been recorded. Inland where I am we had the power lines dancing and the building shaking a little. Some students, especially the younger ones, stayed home. A co-worker told me that he looked out on his balcony this morning and found a pair of slippers, perfectly lined up as if waiting for someone to step into them, sitting there. A bit of an odd discovery if I should say so myself.

One thing that happens in such situations is that the trains are halted once the wind speed gets too high. A friend who once worked on the Yamagata Shinkansen recalled being on trains which were halted for half an hour under those conditions. If the wind speed were to pick up again at the 28th minute (or so) then they'd have to sit there for another 30 minutes. That's just the nature of the business.

Aside from strong winds, we're still getting small amounts of snowfall. April Fool's Day was several days ago and this joke of "It's spring...Ha! Ha! No it isn't!" is starting to wear really thin. We're planning an Ohanami party at work for staff and students. Given the conditions I have no idea if there will be any bloom on the day we've picked which is April 22nd. We can't hold it the following week because it's the start of Uesugi Matsuri and Golden Week. By May 12th or so we expect all the blossoms to have fallen.

Someone asked me online "How far north are you?". The snowy conditions don't have that much to do with our latitude (it's 37.9˚N). It has a lot to do with geography I think. The cold air comes rumbling in from the Sea of Japan and slams into the mountains surrounding the city. We're at the southern end of a basin plain ("bonchi" 盆地 in Japanese) and in a pocket with low mountains to the west and higher mountains to the south and east. The elevation of the city is only 267m (compared to 1048m for Calgary).

I learned a new word today: "Antifebrile". It's a medical adjective describing something which can reduce one's fever. As a noun it is the agent which reduces fever. I had asked around the class if anyone had allergies and one student said she was allergic to "genetsuyaku" (解熱剤). Her electronic translation dictionary had brought up the English definitions of antifebrile and antipyretic. I made a note about the former on the class record. It's just one of those things which is peculiar enough that you want to keep track of it....

Spring Snow and Other Things

Spring Snow, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The photo was taken on March 26th. Yet, it snowed again on April 1st. Has this been a long winter? Yes. When I look at photos taken by some of my contacts on Flickr I see subjects like their kids' Sakura Matsuri. I have no idea when we're going to see anything blossom around here but at the rate we're going it might be around the same time as Uesugi Matsuri which this year is being held from April 29th.

Nonetheless the snow has melted enough such that virtually all roads and sidewalks are clear. That means I don't have to resort to walking everywhere. That's a welcome change. It'll be nice to be able to go a little farther when exploring this city.

Speaking of exploring, I didn't do too bad in March walking about. I found a Jodo Shinshu temple which is affiliated with Nishi Hongwanji (the same main temple which the Vancouver Buddhist Temple is associated with), a hobby shop and a pretty good gyoza shop hidden on a side street. I also managed to trek out to Yamagata to watch a friend play a gig there. So in spite of no car and a long winter I've managed to get out and about.

One place I checked out today was a restaurant called Silk Road. It's run by an Iranian fellow and he specializes in Persian cuisine. The food is quite tasty (I ordered a chicken shish kebab dish) and the atmosphere is much like the Persian restaurants I've been to back home though not quite as polished and snazzy. All in all it was a welcome treat to be able to go out and try something different.

I Just Can't Put My Finger On It

Scene in Yamagata City, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I passed by this shrine in Yamagata city as I was making my way to Music Showa to see a friend's set at a concert. The shrine itself is an odd creation with a concrete building, with touches of traditional Japanese architectural style, standing ahead of a traditional wooden construction shrine building. I didn't stop to take a second look at the striped safety cone standing there in front of this architectural mash-up so I'm not quite sure if it is a permanent fixture or not. I'm really not sure if this scene is absurd, funny or just plain wrong. In a way I can't put my finger on it to say which of those it is.

As for the concert in question, it was an interesting affair. A lot of the people in the audience were high school students (the guitarist for HALENCH MUCUS asked for a show of hands and quite a few went up). I didn't know anything about the acts on the bill save for the band my friend plays in (they play a sort of "emo" thrash rock with a touch of influence from the Japanese psycho underground movement) so I had no expectations with respect to what I was going to be listening to. In general the acts were bands that would fit the standard mold of Japanese indie rock: power pop/rock units with the standard lineup of guitar, bass and drums. All were competent musicians and some were better than others. The headline act called Est Infection (no, I don't know why that name was chosen) was a trio of high school students just finishing their third and final year. Given that they were all graduating, and most likely going separate ways, this concert was their last one together. It goes without saying the set was emotionally overwhelming for at least one member of the band. There was a fair bit of chatting and reminiscing between songs so it was touching...to a certain point. I would have rather they kept the chatting short and sweet and focused on going out with a bang. But that's just my opinion.

The one thing that struck me as odd about the concert was that the audience more or less just stood still. Applause came after the routine "Arigato" at the end of every tune...never right after the final note had been played. I couldn't put my finger on the reason for that either. In general I have found audiences in small venues to be a reserved lot but this group was so much more so. I talked about this with the fellow who drove me back to Yonezawa and he didn't have any theories on it other than it being something to do with the demographic; an audience with a lot of high school students in a dry concert hall. We had both been at a concert in a bar the previous night and things there had been significantly more livelier. The other factor I observed was that the headline act wasn't playing the kind of music I'd identify as being easy to dance or party to. They were skilled musicians who leaned towards what I'd call "shoegaze" rock. It's great to listen to, it's well arranged and it's thoughtful but it's a far cry from anything George Thorogood ever played (I picked him to make my point because I was listening to his songs today). The sign on the door of the concert hall which said "No diving off the stage" pretty well told me that not all Japanese audiences are polite and reserved. There have to be some crazies out there somewhere...

A Walk Up to Asakusa

Foot of a Guardian, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Feb 19, 2012

The chronicle of the day is straight forward; we were met at the hotel by my mom's friend and family (husband and son). We didn't have any plans laid out ahead of time so we just headed off and walked in the general direction of Asakusa.

One neighbourhood we passed through was Kappabashi (literally "Water Imp Bridge"). The area was well represented by stores aimed at serving restaurants and households. The most interesting of course being the stores which sell the ubiquitous models of food seen in the fronts of restaurants all over Japan. I picked up a very nice bread knife for ¥2300. There was a cheaper one for ¥1600 but I didn't see it until after I had paid. Nonetheless I'm happy with my purchase.

Lunch was had at a restaurant which was part cafeteria and part made to order. It was reasonable, the selection of dishes was quite large and the tamagoyaki were fresh made and very tasty.

After that we made our final approach to Sensoji. Along the way we passed theatres which I believe are dedicated to manzai or rakugo acts. Or perhaps not. Perhaps they specialize in comedy and variety acts such as those celebrated in the movie "Warai no Daigaku" (The University of Laughter). All in all it's not the type of theatre one sees in other parts of Japan, let alone Tokyo.

The other entertainment flashback we encountered was a kamishibai story teller. This is the type of show where a person sets up a box made to look like a stage and they tell a tale while flashing paintings or drawings held in the box. Once again this is a form of entertainment rarely seen elsewhere nowadays.

After parting ways with my mom's friend we took a rest and then made our way out to Ebisu. My mom hasn't been there before so I thought it would be a nice place to visit. As my luck would have it not all the buildings and shops there were open. So there really weren't any places to get a bite to eat. To add insult to injury the Ebisu Beer Museum and the pub were closed.

All in all this was a good day. Being able to see a face of Tokyo which I hadn't seen in previous visits was a good thing. It demonstrated once again how this giant metropolis can pleasantly surprise you no matter how many times you visit it....

1446h - Unmarked lines to the horizon

1446h - Unmarked lines to the horizon, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

I wasn't where I had planned to be but perhaps it was better that I wasn't there in the sense that I was striving to make a statement. So this was the moment as I experienced it and this was the place. It was where and when I paused to think about that terrible day last year and all the victims.

Dropping in on Matsuyama

Dogo Onsen, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

We arrived in the coastal plain city of Matsuyama in the early afternoon. The train ride was straight forward. I snapped a photo of the Inland Sea simply because it was the closest I had been to salt water in a long time. Yes, I'd love to be out paddling again. One cute (literally!) coincidence on that train; the woman selling refreshments and box lunches was the same woman who had worked on the train we had taken to Kotohira the previous day. I certainly can't say I've come across that kind of chance meeting on a JR train in all the times I've been riding back and forth across the country.

The city of Matsuyama is a pleasant place. It's not a massive metropolis nor is a backwoods small city. Like any Japanese city there are confections to sell to the tourists. In the case of Matsuyama they're "taruto", sponge roll cake filled with a variety of sweet pastes but I suspect the traditional filling was sweet red been paste. The profile of the city centre is dominated by the large hill where the Matsuyama Castle sits. It's an impressive structure and it's the genuine article not a concrete reconstruction as seen in many other cities. I have no idea how it escaped destruction at the time of the Meiji Restoration. Perhaps because it was only completed in 1859 (or thereabouts).

One place which I didn't get around to enjoying until the following morning was the famed Dogo Onsen. I have no idea how old the structure is but the place has been in business for centuries I believe. Of course it has been modernized but the essence of the place is probably the same as it was at the start of the twentieth century. The bath which I entered was close to the entry way and, though not the most spacious one I've ever been in, it certainly was nice and hot. I do wonder if there are other baths in the place...there have to be more.

From Koyasan to Kotohira

The old light tower, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

This light tower was one of the few sights I was able to take in at Kotohira. We had arrived there mid-afternoon just about half an hour or so before check-in time at our hotel. It had been a long haul from Koyasan to Kotohira so only Mr. Nomura and I took the time to walk around and check out the town. Amongst other things we found a dusky old store selling ceramics and pottery and a similarly dusky old hobby shop run by an elderly couple. The hobby shop was a throw back to the shop I had frequented when I lived in Hiyoshi in my junior high school days. It wasn't large by any stretch of the imagination but it was filled with the kinds of things that once captivated young minds. A sign of a slow down in business was the fact that they didn't stock adhesives. There isn't enough demand to warrant stocking it as their stock would dry out on the shelf. So they only bring it in on special order from their suppliers in Osaka.

The highlight of the day was the journey to Kotohira and the morning services at Ekoin. We took in morning sutra reading in the Hondo of Ekoin and then stepped outside to wander up to a nearby shrine dedicated to Bishamonten, the Japanese Buddhist god of war. Their we observed a service which involved a chanting of sutras and the burning of oils and incense over flames. For me this was a truly unique experience as it was my first experience to Shingon sect rituals and proceedings.

There's one thing I saw on our trip to and from Koyasan which I found a touch odd and perhaps even a bit disturbing: palm trees. You don't see palm trees in the Tohoku region and I don't recall seeing them much elsewhere. But there they were popping up all over the place along the Nankai train route up to Koyasan. I was starting to get the feeling they were an invasive species. Perhaps they are indigenous but I highly doubt that. Anyways, I certainly wasn't expecting to see palm trees as I headed into the mountains of Wakayama.

Another Rainy Day in Kyoto

Another rainy day at Ryoanji, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Feb 13. 2012:

Yes, this entry is not in chronological order with respect to the dates of my trip. Sorry about that...I'll try to keep this one short.

In my past trips through Japan I've been one to cram as much as I can into one day. This time, the day took care of that for me. Or did it?

After our 6am service and breakfast we made our way back to Nishi Hongwanji and paid a visit to the Nishi Hongwanji international affairs office. Following that we were given a tour of a couple of the buildings on the Nishi Hongwanji grounds (we've been through them before but a different guide means you hear about different things). Then we had to decide upon what to see next.

For the simple reason that I wanted to check out the train going there, I suggested we visit Arashiyama. No one else in the group had been there before (or hadn't been there in recent memory) so off we trekked out to Arashiyama for lunch and a short walk around. It started to rain so I purchased an umbrella before following my mom into the Misora Hibari "Za"/Museum. This isn't the sort of place most Canadians would ever set foot in but my mom is a fan of sorts of the late singer so it was right up her alley in terms of interest. She was given a discount on the admission fee for showing her passport (one of the benefits of bantering in English when you look Japanese). Yes, she tried to get a similar discount at other sites. Our other two traveling companions ended up checking out the Zen temple across the street from the Randen Arashiyama station (I believe it is Tenryuji).

The next stop was Ryoanji. We grabbed a cab to get there because I for one wasn't exactly sure how to get there by train or bus. The last time I visited Ryoanji it was raining quite steadily. The same thing this time. Some things don't change.

We briefly debated visiting Kinkakuji but decided we had done enough. There was some thought given to taking a bus back to Kyoto station but I found a sign indicating a close by Randen station. So off we headed to it on foot. Along the way we passed a shop where they made wooden boxes. As I was at the back of the pack I didn't get the chance to explore and so I made do with a quick photograph of the store front. Another place to check out the next time I visit the area...

Welcome to Ekoin

Welcome to Ekoin, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Feb 14th, 2012 - A trip from Kyoto to Ekoin, Koyasan.

The day's events were relatively straight forward. First our group attended 6am service at Nishi Hongwanji and then waited for Mr. Nomura's "Kamisori" ceremony to take place (in the ceremony he was bestowed his Buddhist name or "Homyo"). After that we made our way to Koyasan, our destination for the night's accommodation. That involved a train ride to Shin Osaka, a subway ride to Namba, a wait for the train to Gokurakubashi station, a cable car ride up to Koyasan and finally a bus ride to Ekoin, the Buddhist seminary where we spent the night.

It was a taxing trip and we arrived late in the afternoon. So there was little opportunity to do any site seeing. I took a short walk into the centre of the village and bought some local confections (some of course intended as "omiyage"). I cut that walk short in order to be back in time for a meditation session.

The mediation session was a good experience. I managed to get away without having to latch my feet into the semi-lotus position we were instructed to assume. I could get my (right?) foot latched onto the inside of my left knee but I don't have the flexibility to get my right knee within six inches of the tatami floor. So I opted for a cross legged position. If I were to give a quick assessment I'd hazard to say that the Shingon approach to meditation is not as strident as the one many Westerners envision. There is no master walking behind you to administer a crack on your shoulder with a rod. Or so I recall the monk who led us through our session telling us. The interesting point of practice we were taught was to focus our sight on a point about a meter ahead of us. That facilitated the half open gaze which is depicted in Buddhist art and statues. Of course it also leads one to the danger of falling asleep.

There had been talk of a night time tour up to OkunoIn but the weather conditions, steady rain with a bit of wind, prevented that from taking place. So we settled down for a quiet night after enjoying a vegetarian meal.

This was my second visit to Koyasan and my first night's stay there. It was a much more relaxed affair than my previous visit which was a four hour whirlwind tour consisting of a walk from Ichi-no-Hashi to Okunoin, and visits to Danjo-Garan, Konpo Daito and Kongobuji. Somehow I managed to squeeze a late lunch and time to eat an "ishi-yaki imo" into that. While I did less this day it's not to say I got less out of the experience. Of course, there was the next day's service to come...

Kyoto...Again

Toji Pagoda, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Day one of my February vacation: I arrived in Kyoto anticipating meeting up with my mom and her travel companions. While I was in transit between Tokyo and Kyoto I received a message on my phone from Rev. Aoki advising me that the group's arrival would be delayed by at least two hours. As it turned out they arrived about three hours late. Thus they had spent close to 25 hours on the Twilight Express train for their trip from Sapporo to Kyoto.

On the other hand I had woken up to what was more or less blizzard conditions in Yonezawa. The taxi trip to the station was highlighted by the site of a man braving the elements while riding his bicycle. This was prior to 7am in the morning too. Takes all sorts to make the world go around I suppose. Aside from that the trip to Kyoto was relatively uneventful. I first caught sight of Mt. Fuji from the train somewhere south of Utsunomiya. In spite of the fact that it's "just there" I always seem to attach a bit of importance to each time I catch sight of Japan's most famous mountain.

Given that I had time to kill in Kyoto I picked a nearby location to visit. My destination was Toji, a temple whose five story pagoda I've seen from trains in the past but never gotten around to visiting.

In the literature one receives when entering the central compound of the temple is the statement which partly reads as "The body is Koya, the heart is Toji". I presume "Koya" is Koyasan, the mountain top headquarters of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Toji, which houses many artistic treasures of Esoteric Buddhism, was passed to Kukai (posthumously known as Kobo Daishi) around 824AD. He had the temple expanded and made it the central seminar of the Shingon sect.

One amazing thing about the collection of Buddhist art and statues at Toji is the simple fact that it exists. The main buildings of the temple seem to have all been destroyed at least once by one form or another of natural disasters in the history of the site. The pagoda which had caught my eye was rebuilt in 1644. Given that some of the statues were imported from China then one can get a feel for the immense cultural value of the collection.

Being a member of a Buddhist sect which generally only features one Buddha in each temple, visiting a Shingon sect temple can be a bewildering experience. There can be a sizable contingent of Buddhas and gods housed in some sites. Sorting them all out when you're not versed in the background of Shingon can be quite a challenge.

The rest of the day was straight forward: meeting up with the rest of the group, having dinner, helping my mom unload the things she had brought over for me and getting to bed early in preparation for an early start the next day...6am service at the Nishi Hongwanji.

It Seems Like Ages Ago...

Man in the Moon Pub, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Yeah, it does seem like ages ago when I had lunch at the Man in the Moon pub in Kyoto. I did a fair bit of traveling after that. Went to Koyasan, Kotohira (home of the famous "Konpira-san" temple), Matsuyama, Okayama and then Tokyo. Of all those, the place which took the most energy out of me was Tokyo. The hustle and bustle of the big metropolis didn't jive with me after all the running around across the countryside of Kansai and Shikoku.

As for Kyoto...it was fine. The days were a bit long given that we attended 6am service at Nishi-Hongwanji each morning. When I say "we" I mean my mother and her two travel companions from Vancouver who had come over to Japan as the Vancouver Buddhist temple group tour for 2012. The original plan had been to for a group from the temple to come over in 2011 but the March 11 disaster derailed that. Nonetheless I managed to visit two spots I haven't visited previously; Toji and Arashiyama. Both were nice but I think I'd like to visit Arashiyama when the season is fall. The autumn foliage is supposed to be very colourful up there.

As for the Man in the Moon pub: the grub is okay and they have a somewhat limited selection of draught beers. I read that their other location is better. But I won't write this location off as a disappointment. It has a nice cozy atmosphere and I could enjoy my pint of Guinness while reading the Japan Times and watching a football match. Can't complain about that...

The Night Before Leaving for Kyoto

絆, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The On reading for the character 絆 is "han" or "ban". It's Kun readings are "kizuna" or "tsuna(gu)". I'm in a bit of a rush tonight because I'm leaving for Kyoto early tomorrow morning so I don't have time to investigate further.

Anyways, I took a whole pile of photos last night and tonight of the snow sculptures carved for this year's Yonezawa Snow Festival. The festival officially started today so the grounds were much more crowded than last night where it was the last of workers carving their snow lanterns and a handful of the curious wandering around. I did enjoy the energy of the crowd tonight. Plus the light show made things more interesting.

Ah yes, "wandering around". I taught a class yesterday where I wrote "wander around" on the board and said the phrase. One of the students said "Arisu"? That had me stumped because I suspected she meant "Alice". The connection eluded me for half a minute. Then I figured it out. Yes, this student had thougt "wander around" sounded like "wonder land". It happens...I suppose.

Saturday Morning Thoughts

First off: My kotatsu is too comfortable. I've already foregone going to a coffee shop before work. I suppose I have to put away my futon and get ready to go to work...eventually.

Last night I found out something interesting about the two high school students (equivalent to grade 10 students in Canada) I teach on Friday. I'm not talking about how I managed to keep them relatively awake through class either (typically they're dead tired and on the verge of falling asleep). It's that they were born two weeks apart. One's birthday is January 28th and the others birthday is on February 11th. I suppose they're aware of that as they've been attending classes together at our English school for at least 5 years.

As for their level of fatigue late on a Friday evening: that's to be expected. From what I understand they're going to school virtually every day of the week. Not only do they go in to attend classes but they also go in on weekends for a handful of other activities. For example, one of my students showed up early for the class I teach, which starts at 7:45pm, because club activities wound up early. I believe they usually come in after a whole day of classes and club activities. I suspect they don't get home for dinner because they usually show up wearing their school uniforms and carrying their school work. The junior high school students I taught (I no longer teach them on account of a change to my schedule) were roughly in the same boat. One kid was always on the verge of falling asleep one me. One night I just let him pass out.

Oh yeah...my secret weapon for keeping the high school kids awake: Take no Ko no Sato chocolates. (^_^)

What's Missing?...

Recently I've found a type of bread I like sold in the pastry section at the local Onuma department store. This particular type of bread is white bread with a bit of rye grain mixed in. So it's not as sweet as most of the usual white bread I've experienced here. Plus, it's sold in an unsliced loaf form which is not square! That's utter heresy! Virtually all bread loaves in Japan are box shaped with a square or rectangular cross sectional shape. I suppose the idea of a slice of bread with only two 90˚ angle corners would befuddle most Japanese who haven't traveled abroad.

The other thing which I haven't found yet is good old brown bread. Never mind whole wheat or 60% whole wheat bread. I thought I once located brown bread at my local Yo-ku Benimaru supermarket. On closer inspection I found I had been deceived. It was chocolate bread. Given that I'm allergic to chocolate I can safely say I won't be trying that product.

So I found myself with bread, milk and eggs. It took a while but I realized I had pretty well everything I needed to make French toast. My latest trip to Yo-ku Benimaru found me happily in possession of a spice jar of ground cinnamon and pure Canadian maple syrup. The maple syrup I chose was the less expensive of the two brands they had on sale. Both were in 250ml bottles but one cost at least ¥500 less. Nonetheless, this morning I was able to enjoy French toast for breakfast. But there was one thing missing.

I realize not everyone does this: I like to spread peanut butter on pancakes and French toast and then top off the mess with maple syrup. Yes, some of my friends back in Canada thought that was odd. So there I was enjoying my breakfast and thinking "There's something missing here...". Yup. I wanted peanut butter. French toast with real maple syrup is good. But I like mine with a bit more oomph.

Amongst the expats I work with we've come upon the topic of peanut butter at least once. I don't remember if I've been told that it's sold at Yamaya. Yamaya is a liquor supermarket store which sells import foods on the side. I think it's the only place in town you can buy cheddar cheese in a form other than cracker sized slices for ¥198. I recall buying a brick of US cheddar cheese there for about ¥498. The problem is that Yamaya is quite a distance away from where I live and I don't have a car yet.

So I did a quick search online for "peanut butter". Aside from the usual suspects (Wikipedia, et al) I came across this blog entry which talks about different spreadable peanut products available in Japan: http://www.rockinginhakata.com/2009/02/16/936/. Frankly speaking I wouldn't touch Skippy peanut butter with a ten foot pole back home. But I guess asking for Adam's natural unsalted peanut butter (http://www.adamspeanutbutter.com/) is just plain out of the question. So I may have to compromise. The alternative is make your own but I don't own a food processor (never did own one back home either) so I don't think this recipe will be one I'll try: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_75311_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html.

Anyways, enough about food...I'm getting hungry again!

Connections...

Statue of Nitobe Inazo, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

The last couple of days I've made a few connections which had escaped me (one for a while and one overnight). The latter one I'm going to leave off of this blog entry given the subject matter. Nonetheless, the connection I hadn't figured out for a while was why Victoria, BC and Morioka, Iwate prefecture would be sister cities. Victoria is a city located on the sea. Morioka is landlocked and not all that close to the ocean. In comparison, Vancouver's Japanese sister city is Yokohama. Both cities are harbour cities.

It wasn't until I saw a photograph I took of a signboard at the entrance to where this statue is located did I make the connection between the two cities. Nitobe Inazo, educator and diplomat, was born in Morioka and he passed away in Victoria, BC. Yes, I believe he is also the namesake of the Nitobe garden at UBC in Vancouver.

Of course I had read that Nitobe had passed away in Victoria in the Morioka Hall of Distinguished Citizens but I sure hadn't made note of the significance of that fact with respect to the question of Morioka's sister city. In fact, I had seen the Victoria-Morioka friendship totem pole after visiting the aforementioned hall and was only then made aware of the relationship between the two cities. So here I was sitting at home a month later, uploading the photos I took in Morioka and finally making the connection.

Brunch Has Been Delayed

Frozen raw eggs, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

One of those weird moments in life: The shells on these eggs had cracked and so they ended up becoming frozen solid in my refrigerator. I was going to make soft boiled eggs but decided to warm them up just enough to be able to peel them. Now I'm waiting on them to thaw out so I can cook them in a frying pan. Frankly, I've never had eggs freeze solid on me before.

Of course this isn't a reflection on how cold it actually is here. Generally outside temperatures hover around zero ˚C. Since it snows constantly there usually is cloud cover. So you don't get those crisp clear and cold winter days like one encounters in the Prairies or Eastern Canada. Mind you, we have rather thin cloud cover right now: last night I was able to observe a full moon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8936205@N02/6664551727). With that in mind the temperature projections are in the -8˚C to -11˚C range this week.

あけましておめでとうございます。

あけましておめでとうございます。, a photo by dtk_guy on Flickr.

Okay...So this shot is with the back side of the banner showing. Can't be helped. It's at the end of the bridge and trying to take a shot of it from the other side would involve defying gravity.

I did make it out to Uesugi Jinja (shrine) on New Year's day. I had caught a cold earlier in the week and still hadn't really recovered from it. But after a conversation with one of my local acquaintances I decided that going on a subsequent day just wasn't in the spirit of things.

The visit to the jinja was very different from my one previous memory of New Years in Japan. That happened back in the 1970s and for whatever reason I believe our family went to the Kawasaki Daishi temple. That within itself is a bit odd because it's a Nichiren temple and we're not members of that sect. What I remember from that day are the crowds, the large number of monks chanting "Namu Myo Horenkyo" and a couple of men who looked like WWII Japanese Army vets seated by the side of the road. I couldn't read the signs they had placed before themselves and my dad wasn't interested in explaining them to me. All in all the experience was a fair bit different from what I had this year in Yonezawa (without having to mention there wasn't an iota of snow in Kawasaki that day).

PS: The kanji on the banner can be read as "Bi" or "Bin". It represents the name "Bishamonten" (毘沙門天), the Japanese Buddhist god of warfare. In Buddhist mythology he is known as Vaiśravaṇa, the chief of the Four Heavenly Gods. Uesugi Kenshin, a daimyo lord of the Uesugi clan prior to their arrival in Yonezawa, was a fierce samurai and Buddhist who was believed by some to be an avatar of the god.