Fushigi na Tokoro

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Fushigi na Tokoro
Dec 152011
 

We got our results back from our tests. I passed the grammar/writing test. It was a little tight on the listening test, but I figured it would be tight.

Today was the last JBPP class. We had the Okazaki version of donuts. I forget what they’re called now, but they were good. S-Sensei brought us all kinds of donuts, and beverages as well.

It was a little sad to see everyone for the last time. I had a blast in JBPP, and learned a ton. And I realize there’s a ton more I need to learn still! Good luck to my fellow students, N-san, Z-san, and K-san! Thank you for your patience and understanding!

I made another trip to Kurita for more packing materials, and the Daiso for some more.

I got home, and there was lots of frantic throwing things in boxes, mummifying said boxes in clear tape, and a trip to the Okazaki Main Post Office to send two of them back to the US by boat.

I took a taxi. There was no other sane way to get there!

They laughed when I told them I’d be back tomorrow, but I’m serious. I will be.

Kitto Katta!

After that, I went to ZigZag for the Christmas Party. They don’t call it a Holiday Party here, because Christmas means having a hot date in Japan, or some KFC and cake and some pretty lights… no deeper meanings, so nobody takes offense.

Most Japanese, who are raised in Shinto and Buddhism, have no problems with celebrating Christmas. Considering that the Shinto religion has millions of gods, what’s wrong with celebrating one more?

I gave D-san my store of “edible stuff that I can’t take with me, because I shipped it here like an idiot,” and he graciously accepted it. I hope he can use it. I was really glad he took it off my hands, and I feel like a dork for bringing it all.

D-san hosted the Bingo game and everyone won something… like massage oil, Q-tips, salted Pocky, you name it.

I won KitKats, which made me happy. I love winning something useful and delicious. (I was fine with not winning massage oil.)

I hung out with P-san, T-kun, and some of the guys who have been working locally. It was fun. I probably stayed later than I should have, and I’ll probably pay for it in the morning. Such is life.

I wanted to be with a lot of people tonight, and I wanted to see everyone having a good time while I can, because tomorrow it’s time to leave Okazaki, and that’s a bummer.

I had a blast here, and everyone was great.

Fushigi na Tokoro/The Crossroads of Language Learning on the Tokaido

Yamasa is a strange, ephemeral kind of place. All kinds of interesting people come from all over the world to desperately learn Japanese in a very rigorous setting, and they all work crazy hard to do it, and then suddenly– VOOM– they’re gone.

Mission accomplished, or maybe not, but for whatever reason, they’ve done all they can either afford to or are allowed to by their government or the Japanese government through visas, and that’s it.

So everyone works hard, plays hard, and racks up the best memories they can. Students range from fresh-faced 18 and 19-year olds, to 60+ year olds who are looking for new challenges in life.

It’s a fun mix of people, from a wide range of different cultures, but we all have one thing in common.

We can all speak Japanese!

Stupid FOREX People

In my case, my study was limited by the strong yen/weak dollar. Those guys working the Yen FOREX trade essentially did me in, because everything here is just ungodly expensive for me. It makes me cringe just to think about it.

When I came here four years ago, the rate was 110 yen to the dollar. Now, it hovers around 77-78 yen to the dollar, and it has done so the whole time I’ve been here. I know, because I watch the exchange rate like a hawk. As soon as it hits 78, WHAM, it gets pounded down to the low 77s again. That’s how I know that someone, somewhere, is making a killing off of this.

It’s a shame, because it’s hurting businesses here and keeping tourists away.

Overall Results: Success!

We got our 実力 (aptitude/achievement) test results back today, and I’m pleased with the results. There wasn’t a really big change in my grammar/vocabulary abilities, but I wasn’t too concerned about those. What I was pleased with was the big jump in speaking and writing ability. That was the main reason I came here.

Since I was in a N2-level class, we covered a lot of material I already sort of knew, so there wasn’t a whole lot of new vocab to learn, nor was there a whole lot of grammar to learn. BUT there was a lot of learning “shades of meaning” that I didn’t even consider before. So I got to know the grammar I learned a lot better than I used to know it.

And while my passive vocab didn’t increase a whole lot, my active vocabulary shot through the roof. That’s due to all of the talking and writing in Japanese that I did.

All of my excursions were daily 実力 tests to see how I could handle all kinds of things in a 99% Japanese environment. Things like getting tickets, buying food, finding stores, ordering things, dealing with the post office, dealing with all kinds of people on an everyday basis– all of that was a series of daily exams.

I’m very pleased with my results.

Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, party, and then I head out. *Sniff!*

Last Trip to Anjo

 Japan, Japanese Language, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Last Trip to Anjo
Dec 142011
 

Today was the last big test day, with the big listening and grammar test that covered, well, everything.

As usual, listening was hard, because it was all JLPT-style listening. Grammar wasn’t so bad, because the teachers have been working hard to get us ready for this. We’ve done all kinds of review drills and games to try to get the grammar firmly seated in our heads.

The day didn’t get off to a good start. I got up at 5:30 to finish up my resume and 職務経歴書 (shokumu keirekisho) and send it all to M-sensei, but I forgot to attach the file.

So at lunch, I had to race home and send it, then race back.

Our Conversation Made the Earth Move

We met with local people after lunch to practice our conversational skills. It was a lot of fun. The wild part was when about halfway through, when there was an earthquake that felt like someone had just lifted up the building about 6 inches or so and dropped it with a loud “BAM!” and then it was silent while everyone checked to make sure nobody was hurt.

After everyone confirmed that they were okay, there was a little nervous laughter, and we all went back to talking.

I guess you just get used to this sort of stuff after a while.

All of the local folks were impressed with our conversational skills, and we got to practice our modesty. (Oh, no, I’m not that good at all!)

After that, it was time for JBPP, and time to say goodbye to M-sensei. She taught us a ton of useful stuff. Thanks, M-sensei!

Then I remembered I still had to go to Anjo to buy some 書道 supplies for one of my friends back home. First I stopped by the office supply store to get some packing materials.

I wasn’t thinking, and I bought too much! See, that’s what happens when my brain is hard-wired to just toss everything in my car like giant shopping cart.

So at JR Okazaki, I lucked out and discovered something I had always overlooked: the coin lockers at JR Okazaki! They exist! All five of them!

To get to the coin lockers, go to the BellMart outside the wicket, and look to your left. They’re right there. One stack of them.

I dropped my bags off there, and headed out to Anjo. As I waited for the Aichi Loop Line to come, I took a few snapshots with my IXY. (I love this little camera!)

The info board (which is a monitor) with real time updates on where each train is:
Aichi Loop Line info board

The light was good, so I took a few shots of the platform:
Aichi Loop Line Platform at JR Okazaki
Aichi Loop Line Platform at JR Okazaki
Aichi Loop Line Platform at JR Okazaki

As a freight train went past, I tried to get a shot of it:
Aikan sign, Freight train.

This is probably a better shot:
Aikan sign, Freight train.

The 愛環出 sign is marking the Aikan (short for Aichi Loop Line in Japanese) track.

My train showed up, and I took the Aichi Loop Line to Naka-Okazaki, (Okazaki Koen-Mae for the Meitetsu) then switched over to the Meitetsu line that heads towards Anjo. I got off at Shin-Anjo, and hiked over to the calligraphy store, ready to buy a few things before I left, and to say goodbye.

I got to the store… and it was dark.

Uh-oh.

I checked the hours, and they should be open, but the lights were out. So I mustered up a little courage, knocked, opened the door and asked in Japanese if they were still open.

I got lucky, because the lady there remembered me and turned the lights on for me. Woot. See? That’s that whole “knowing the language and interacting with people” skill paying dividends!

I bought more paper and brushes, and got the 30% discount for knowing the people who run the store. They also gave me an extra brush as a freebie. Thanks! You were all great!

I still need ink, I think. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about that. I may buy it in Tokyo instead. I don’t have time now.

We talked a little bit, then I had to go back home and frantically pack some more.

On the way back to the apartment, I stopped at the Daiso and binged on packing materials and cool things like B3-sized clear files, which will be great for carrying calligraphy paper. I found some resume forms, some sakubun paper, some rubber stamps for my sister (she’s getting her teaching certificate, and maybe she can use these). I got some plastic B3-sized paper cases, too. 100 yen stores are awesome. (But why do I not like dollar stores?)

I packed until 2 a.m., and listened to FM Okazaki while I packed. Then I passed out.

Two days to go, then I have to leave.

Jiko PR, Entry Sheets, Shopping and Shipping.

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Jiko PR, Entry Sheets, Shopping and Shipping.
Dec 092011
 

The grammar re-test went well. We got to go up to the 3rd floor and sit in comfy chairs and take it there.

M-sensei, my homeroom teacher, is awesome. She has gone above and beyond for us. She’s also helping me do some personal reviewing of the bits of grammar I still have issues with. Thanks M-sensei! You rock!

In JBPP, we had to work on our 自己PR (jiko PR), which is this uniquely Japanese part of a resume where you’re allowed to sell yourself, but you have to do it in a polite and socially-acceptable way. So you get to brag a little, but it’s usually stuff about how you’re a great team player, how you respect your seniors, and stuff like that.

It’s completely alien to me in that regard. This is probably the hardest part of writing my resume materials for Japan.

Well, I thought it was the hardest part until we started talking about Entry Sheets, which are essentially juiced-up application forms for companies, but you need to not just write stuff out, you have to do it with panache — but with a socially-acceptable level of panache.

I get it, and I don’t get it all at the same time. It makes my head hurt a bit.

Imagine Me, Buying More Books!

This evening, I went by Imagine at Wingtown around dinner time to grab some 書道 (shodo, calligraphy) books, and maybe some デザイン書道 (design shodo) books, too. Maybe sometime I can leverage my 書道 skills to write a killer Entry Sheet.

I’m boxing up packages for the US as well. It’s kind of a sad feeling. By this time next week, I’ll be on my way to Tokyo, and a week after that, I’ll be back in the US.

Now I’m getting bummed out.

Re-testing and Re-testing.

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Re-testing and Re-testing.
Dec 082011
 

I had the writing re-test due today. That meant that I just had to make the corrections and hand it in. Now that’s done.

In JBPP, I had to work on my 職務経歴書 しょくむけいれきしょ shokumu keirekisho, which is where you explain what you did at your various jobs. Sort of like a US-style resume, only with more detail, and less selling. It’s kind of a pain to write one, but necessary.

Tomorrow is my grammar re-test, so I’m going to cut this short to study!

More Tests

 Japanese Language  Comments Off on More Tests
Dec 062011
 

Today we had our last conversation and writing tests. I already wrote my sakubun, so that part was pretty easy. The only tough bit for me was conversation, and I’m getting better at that.

Really, since I got here, I’ve come such a long way, it’s surprising. I may not have nailed the grammar, but I’m a lot better at expressing myself in Japanese, both in writing and in speaking, and I’m getting better at “Reading the air,” as they call it here. It means that I’m learning all of the little social things that you need to be able to do so you don’t come across as weird/creepy/intimidating.

Calligraphy Lesson

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Dec 052011
 

Today’s JBPP lesson was about taking phone messages. That was good practice, because I can’t always catch everything that’s said to me in Japanese, remember it all in Japanese, and write it all down in Japanese. It takes practice!

After school, I had my calligraphy lesson with S-buchou, who works at Yamasa, and is a fine calligrapher. He creates some beautiful work. There was a small group of about four of us. Z-san from my JBPP class was also there.

Today’s lesson was on the character for dragon, because next year is the year of the dragon, and it’s useful if you want to write 年賀状 ねんがじょう nengajou, or New Year’s postcards. Some people buy them, some do them by hand. Handmade are the best, but they take a lot of time to make.

Just about everyone in the class is better than I am. I’m out of practice, but I also know that even though I’ve been studying for five years or so, I still have a long ways to go.

I can write the characters just fine, but I don’t know how to add the right level of “oomph!” to it to make it as impactful as I’d like it to be.

S-buchou is really into デザイン書道 dezain shodou, or maybe the best way to put it is shodou that has non-traditional artistic elements to it. So instead of just writing the character for dragon, make the character for dragon with the characteristics of a dragon. It makes for really cool artistic expressions of what the artist’s image of a character is.

He’s a really neat person to talk to. I’m so glad my Japanese has gotten to the point where we can chat!

He showed us this one long brush that was impossible to handle. As you use up ink, it goes from being a fluid, flowing brush to suddenly seizing up into some twisted shape. It’s like trying to write with a small animal’s tail, while the small animal is still using it. I want one! (Brush, not animal.)

I love the results I got with that brush. I have a feeling, though, that it will take me 20 years or so to get the hang of it.

S-buchou agreed to meet with me on Wednesday so we can talk about where I can get one. He knows a guy in Toyohashi who made his brush, and can sell me one, too.

Toyohashi is a great place to go for calligraphy brushes (fude in Japanese). It’s a region where they’ve been making them for quite a while now, and the quality is famous in Japan. I’m excited! I’ll probably go to Toyohashi on Saturday.

Kitsutsuki and Mokumoku

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Dec 022011
 

The den/kitchen area bulb went out this morning. Boo. One incandescent bulb left.

We started getting ready for the conversation test on next Tuesday, so we were assigned our partners. I’m with V-san, who saved me that 10,000 yen a few weeks ago. She’s really good. Much better than I am at this. Then again, she and her husband have lived here for a while.

I’ve been going to きつつき Kitsutsuki a lot for lunch, and it’s done wonders for my overall feeling of health. I feel more 元気 げんき genki— lively, and less だるい darui— sluggish.

I started eating there a week or so ago, and the food is great. I had been eating sandwiches from Domy (the grocery store down the street), but Kitsutsuki is more like food your Japanese mom would make. Three ladies work behind the counter, and they do everything from make the food to serve it, to handling the check. They make some wicked good food.

Generally, the best bet is to just order the A set, which is 550 yen, and comes with all the water you can drink.

You get a bowl of rice, a bowl of incredible miso soup, some steamed vegetables, and a main dish of some kind or another. Sometimes it’s stir fry and vegetables, sometimes it’s fried cutlets and shredded cabbage, sometimes it’s a fish thing, but it’s always, always good.

Kitsutsuki is on the Yamasa campus, right next to ZigZag, but not just students eat there. I see a lot of local folks eating there, too.

What I’ve learned from watching the locals eat is that if you dump the main dish over the rice, it tastes really good.

Nagoya for the Umpteenth Time

We finished out the week in JBPP with more practice turning people down.

After class, I took a trip to Nagoya to do some shopping. It might be one of my last chances to do it, since I have a lot of tests coming up (and the JLPT on Sunday. OMG.)

So I swung by some bookstores, looked at some CDs and used games, picked up some doughnuts, and went to Mokumoku again for dinner.

While I was waiting for a table at Mokumoku, who should I run into but the guy I met in Kyoto last weekend! Wow, it really IS a small world. We had dinner together, and I showed him how the restaurant works. We had a really interesting conversation about various economics-related stuff.

Dinner was great, and a lot of fun, too.

After that, I grabbed the 10:30 train home and got back in around 11:15 or so.

Long day, but good.

Genkan Confessional

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Genkan Confessional
Dec 012011
 

I have a confession to make.

I have sinned.

I have generally been a good resident of Japan for the last few months, but I couldn’t help it.

I walked in my apartment with my shoes on.

It just slipped my mind, to be honest. Maybe it’s because I had a long day, and was tired.

I had to go and wipe the floors down, because even I could see the shoe prints on the hardwood floors. A maintenance guy was coming soon, too, so I had to hurry.

He came to change some impossible-to-reach light bulbs that have burned out on me, and to fix my curtain rod, which has been at a rather precarious angle for the past few days.

He was very nice and fixed everything, but now my nice, warm incandescent bulbs have been replaced by the harsh, cold glare of compact fluorescent bulbs. I’ve got two incandescent bulbs left– one in the entry hall, and one in the den, so the mix of light colors looks weird and kind of sickly.

I know CF lights are better for saving energy (and saving energy is big in Japan these days), but I wish they’d fix the color temperatures so they looked more natural.

There’s still lots more testing and other exciting events coming up. Next Monday, I’m having a calligraphy class (wooot!). Next Tuesday, I have another sakubun test and another speaking/conversation test. Wednesday we have to retake the aptitude test we took when we got here, Thursday is for re-tests, and so is Friday.

A full week coming up.

I also went to ZigZag tonight for dinner. The rice was delicious.

Candy Ensures Exam Success

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Candy Ensures Exam Success
Nov 302011
 

We got tested to bits this morning. First there was a listening test, then a grammar test. The listening questions all came from either JLPT practice tests or old JLPT tests, to they were really tricky.

I don’t like JLPT listening questions, because they’re all “gotcha” games. I never have conversations like these with real people.

The conversation flows something like this: “Hey, have you seen the football?” “No, did your mother hide the football again?” “I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll go (unintelligible word) instead.”

And the answer always hinges on the (unintelligible word) bit.

The written part wasn’t too bad, since I studied for it, but my brain is pretty much empty at this point.

I also had to rewrite my sakubun test by the end of 5th period.

Good times.

Candy for Winning Spirit!

S sensei gave out KitKats in out last N2 class today, and explained why. In Japan, a lot of people are superstitious about things to do before tests, and KitKat bars are seen as lucky, because kitto katsu is how they interpret it, which means “definitely win.”

So eating a KitKat before a big test is like psyching up for it.

Also, tonkatsu or katsudon is also good winning food. Basically, anything with katsu in it. Katsu is the word that means “win.”

Stay away from losing or falling things, because when someone fails, they use a verb that really means “to fall.” So avoid anything with “fall” or “lose” in it. (And don’t fall down the stairs and lose your keys on the way to the test, or else you’re doomed!)

I forgot to mention that the omiyage went over well with everyone on Monday, especially the teachers.

I Can’t Quit You…

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on I Can’t Quit You…
Nov 292011
 

We’re learning how to turn down requests these days in JBPP, and I have to say that it’s a total minefield. If you turn down someone in the wrong way, you will give them the impression that their business isn’t as important as whatever it is that is keeping you from playing golf with them.

I suppose it’s difficult in the US, too. It’s hard to say no these days pretty much wherever you go.

My main problem with respect to Japan, where golf is popular in corporate circles, is that I am terrible at golf, and playing golf with me would likely make a client hate me and possibly hate my company. So I would rather have that person play with someone who will let them have a more enjoyable experience.

I have no idea how to politely say that in Japanese, though. I’m working on it!

Postcards From the JBPP Edge, How to Read Japanese Food Labels

 Food, Foreign Languages, Japan, Japanese Language, Photos  Comments Off on Postcards From the JBPP Edge, How to Read Japanese Food Labels
Nov 282011
 

Today was the final exam for my N1 grammar class. I think I did okay. Not great, but good enough. JBPP takes up a lot of time, as do my regular classes, and daily life eats up another chunk. I’m taking this more as an introduction to N1 level grammar, because I know that there’s still a lot I have to learn, so I’m not worrying too much about it right now.

We’re starting to do a lot of reviewing for the upcoming big tests in the main classes on Wednesday. Fun.

I’m a little tired after all the traveling this weekend, but it was fun, and I feel recharged.

In JBPP, we started working on how to mail letters. Snail mail is still important every now and then, so I have to know how to send letters properly. And it’s the sort of skill that transfers over to email as well.

Souvenirs!

Here are a few photos of the souvenirs I bought for everyone in Kyoto. I’m actually posting this from the future, but it fits with my “Kyoto Arc” here.

The cookie/wafer things came in two varieties:
Souvenirs from Kyoto

A fall leaf motif:
Kyoto Souvenir 1

Some kind of grass motif?
Kyoto Souvenir 2

Anyway, they were a big hit with everyone. People like getting stuff.

How to Read Nutritional Info on Japanese Food!

Since I’m just tacking stuff onto this post, I might as well tack this on, too. It’s a really important survival skill in Japan if you have any dietary needs. That skill is how to decipher those labels!

Let’s start with the nutrition info from my cheese slices:
Japanese Food Labels, and How to Read Them 1

So the 栄養 bit above the box is saying “Nutritional Information.” 1æžš means one slice, 18g 当たり means approx. 18 grams. (Well, it means exactly 18 grams, but realistically, it’s approximately.)

Now, let’s analyze the stuff in the box:

  • エネルギー this is “energy,” measured in calories. (They use the more accurate kcal, for kilocalorie, but we just call them calories in the US.)
  • たんぱく質 this is protein.
  • 脂質 this is fat.
  • 炭水化物 these are carbohydrates.
  • ナトリウム this is sodium.
  • カルシウム this is calcium.

The last bit, the 食塩相当量 bit, is just telling you the table salt equivalent of the sodium in the product. So each slice has roughly half a gram of salt in it.

Let’s apply this to convenience store food, because I eat a lot of it. (It’s probably bad for me!)

I bought some butajiru udon the other day. (It’s pork soup with udon noodles in it.)
Japanese Food Labels, and How to Read Them 2

Okay, the 11.11.23 bit is the “best by” date. 2011, November 23 is how you read it. The プラ bit means that the whole thing is recycled with the plastic trash.

Below that, you see 1600w and 500w? Those are cooking times depending on your microwave’s wattage. One minute and twenty seconds for a 1600 watt, and four minutes for a 500 watt. (Useful!)

Now, under that is the actual nutritional information.

  • 1食当たり we saw something similar before, but basically it means “one serving.”
  • 熱量 is our calories again, just using a different way to say it.
  • 蛋白質 is just another way to write たんぱく質, except they used kanji. It’s still protein!
  • 脂質 is back again. It’s still fat.
  • 炭水化物 is also back again, still carbohydrates.
  • Na refers to sodium by its periodic table name.

Everything else is the list of ingredients, and the address of the maker.

Hope this helps you figure out what’s on your plate!

My Manly Hat

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on My Manly Hat
Nov 242011
 

Two of my classmates, N-san and the other N-san, mocked my 1000 yen gloves. They told me that I should have bought them at the Daiso, the local 100 yen shop. Of course, they pride themselves on getting the absolute best bargains, no matter what.

But I’m a little leery of buying 100 yen clothes, because I’m afraid I’m going to get some kind of awful rash or something. “It’s 100 yen for a reason,” is how I see it.

That said, tonight was extra cold, so on my way to ZigZag, when I stopped off at the Daiso to look for light bulbs (mine have been dying off at an alarming rate), I found a great 100 yen 男前 otokomae, or “manly” hat.

I couldn’t find any decent light bulbs, though.

The hat itches like hell, and looks like a 100 yen hat. But it keeps my head warm.

No rash, either. Not yet, anyway.

It’s black, so it makes me look like a burglar in one of those Hollywood “heist” movies.

In other news, D who runs ZigZag says he’ll take my excess supplies. That’s good news. It would be awful if I was forced to throw them away when I leave in a few weeks. I’m sure he can make something delicious out of them.

I managed to find a hotel for Kyoto… for Friday night. No luck at all for Saturday night. The whole town is booked solid. I’ll probably just stay at an Internet cafe. It’ll be an adventure!

Feeling the Heat, and the Cold

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Feeling the Heat, and the Cold
Nov 232011
 

Today was the real deal interview test in JBPP. That was pressure I could feel.

The interviewers were a couple of our teachers, but it was still stressful, because they were asking hard questions, and I not only had to answer in Japanese, I had to answer in the proper degree of polite Japanese.

That’s enough to make my brain melt a little.

I also had to remember to knock, open the door, bow, stand, sit, etc. all in the proper fashion.

It’s a lot to remember, but I think I did okay.

Family Mart Rocks

After class, I went to Domy to get some groceries, and got some good deals on the various stuff on sale, like bananas.

It’s been really cold these past few days, and I’ve been miserable. I really underpacked for the weather, and the lack of American-sized clothes here is killing me. I can’t find anywhere around here that sells anything larger than a medium.

Japan’s XL is America’s M. Well, slightly larger than M, but effectively M, because it’s smaller than L even. Japan’s XXL is just about an L. I’m an XL guy, so it’s been an exercise in futility trying to find anything that would fit me.

Even if I drop 20-30 pounds, it won’t change the fact that I have big lungs, big shoulders, and a large rib cage.

But on my way out of the Family Mart tonight, I got a reprieve. I saw that they were selling Thinsulate gloves for 1000 yen. That will help a lot. They even offered to cut the tags off for me at the register.

That was pretty awesome.

Brief Update

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Brief Update
Nov 212011
 

I got my sakubun test results back: I did pretty well, so I’m pleased.

Today in JBPP, we practiced asking for favors. It appears that doing so requires a great deal of the proper cushioning.

This week looks like it’s going to be pretty quiet, so I’m going to try to go to Kyoto from Friday – Sunday if I can find a room.

That’s going to be hard, because the leaves are peaking, and all of Japan wants to go there.

Cushion Words Are Not a Kind of Pillow Talk

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Cushion Words Are Not a Kind of Pillow Talk
Nov 182011
 

Woot. Friday. The weeks are getting more intense, work-wise.

I talked to one of my classmates, P-san, for a bit. She’s a nice person, and easy to talk to. We usually wind up talking in English instead of Japanese. She’s got a lot of interesting things to say, and she’s been through a lot, so it’s always fun to compare notes with someone who’s experienced a lot.

He Stuffs His Phrases with Cushions!

JBPP was about asking people for favors again, using lots of “cushion words.” Sounds much more comfortable than it is.

The concept is that some things are just not to be broached without a set phrase to “soften the blow.” And these phrases are called “cushion words.”

For example, you might start off by apologizing (without the other party even knowing why, but that’s what works), or apologizing for interrupting, or apologizing for interrupting at such a busy time, etc.

And the request itself is softened, too. “I realize that you’re terribly busy, but if you have a moment today, could you please take a look at this, it would really be a great help.”

That sort of thing, only in polite Japanese.

We use cushion words in English, too, but I think my fellow Americans use much less padding sometimes, at least internally. For dealing with customers, we use a lot of cushion words, too, we just may not realize it.

Beer + FaceBook = Bad Choices

This evening I went to ZigZag for dinner and a beer again.

I was reminded again that people can be scary, no matter what country you’re in. Alchol makes this worse.

Tonight’s example: One of the local women was trying to stalk one of the students online because she fell in love with his hair. To be more precise, she fell in love with a picture of him, so she wanted his name so she could find his FaceBook page… yeah.

So now you know where stalkers sometimes come from: beer + Facebook.

Not to Brag, But I Think I Did Well on My Tests…

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Not to Brag, But I Think I Did Well on My Tests…
Nov 172011
 

The writing and conversation exams weren’t as bad as I thought they would be. It turned out that we could use what we had written beforehand and just copy everything over in class. I’m glad K-san pointed that out to me, or else I would have been totally screwed.

Part of the whole Yamasa experience is learning how they do things here. There’s so much they do here that’s just not how I’m used to doing things, and sometimes the details that everyone just sort of “knows” can slip by a newbie like me.

I really have to ask even more questions than I normally ask!

Fortunately, the conversation exam was pretty much the same as we had practiced in class. I decided to raise the politeness level a bit, and use some of the business Japanese knowledge I have picked up here. I made a couple of mistakes, but overall I think I did okay.

Regardless of test scores, I know that my speaking and writing ability have improved a great deal over the last month of class. Class here is intense, and every day feels like a week of Japanese compared to when I took it in grad school. I wish I had more time and money to spend more than just three months here, but that’s life. I’m trying to wring as much out of this experience as I can, both in polishing my Japanese, gaining marketable skills, and enjoying being here.

One of the lessons I have learned many times over in life is to enjoy things while I can, because I can never take for granted that “Oh, it’ll always be there, so I can just go back.” Sadly, the world is not that predictable.

There’s a Right and a Wrong Way To Open a Door.

Today’s JBPP class was on “How to Conduct Yourself in a Job Interview.”

There’s a whole pile of social knowledge tied into how to open doors, when and where to bow, how to sit, where to put your hands, where to look, all of that. It’s somewhat stressful, because there’s so much to keep straight without one’s head exploding.

Yes, there is a right way to open a door, and a wrong way to do it, down to the number of times you knock. Even approaching and sitting down in the interviewee’s chair is a task that is fraught with peril. For example, never, ever, stand to the right of the chair. Why? Because it implies that you think you’re better than the company, which is represented by the chair.

I had no clue.

Also, never sit back in the chair. You have to sit on the edge of your seat. I’m not sure exactly why– I think it has to do with a feeling that if you sit back in the seat, you think you’re hot stuff, and an interview is not some place to get comfortable and show off. You need to show a certain amount of respect with your body language, and using the chair back does not convey that to Japanese interviewers.

You’re also not supposed to show off. In the US, interviewers expect a certain amount of self-marketing, to the point where job-seekers will point out how often they’ve been indispensable to every organization they’ve worked with. (In which case, why are they unemployed?)

In Japan, you have to walk a really careful line about that, because the culture here frowns on boasting, and loves the whole modesty thing, even if it’s false modesty. As my mother would say, “It’s just not done.” Germans and Japanese have a lot in common that way.

I imagine it’s going to take me a while to figure out how to walk that tightrope.

ZigZag Heals All Wounds

In the evening, I went to ZigZag again for dinner, socializing, and the cheapest Guinness stout in all of Japan. It’s one of my favorite places to kick back and relax.

Yay, ZigZag!

I Regret Nothing… Except Maybe Not Buying a Decent Binder.

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on I Regret Nothing… Except Maybe Not Buying a Decent Binder.
Nov 152011
 

Had to skip first period today because I wasn’t feeling too well. I’m still feeling crummy tonight, but I soldiered on and went to class anyway.

We have a conversation and composition exam on Thursday, and I need to get ready for that. I have to finish my “regrettable episode” essay for that, and I’m racking my brain to think of something suitably regrettable. I’ll look over some of my previous posts for fodder.

I spent all evening trying to organize my in-class handouts, only to realize that it’s impossible with the tools that I have. We get these giant handouts that are the size of giant place mats, and they’re really difficult to wrangle.

I have tried to cut them in two and stuff them into these “clear file” binder things, but while it works well for the JBPP handouts, it’s not really cutting it for the giant class handouts. The JBPP handouts are A4-sized, so it’s easier to fit them in.

I took a look at what some of my classmates do for the general class stuff, and what I think what really need are binders and a hole punch. Trying to fit these giant printouts in a clear file is just not going to work unless I cut the handouts to ribbons.

Oh, those cool erasable pens everyone’s using? Yeah, turns out the ink will vanish when exposed to high temperatures. Better not leave my notes on the car dashboard or anything like that. Yikes.

I Thought I Smelled Smoke…

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on I Thought I Smelled Smoke…
Nov 142011
 

There was a fire this morning down the street. I heard the sirens wailing all morning long. I figured something was up, but since the earth didn’t shake any, I didn’t think it was anything too widespread. S-kun from class talked to the police, and they said it was probably caused by a cigarette– somebody fell asleep smoking. Apparently that happens a lot here.

Unlike the US, Japan still like cigarettes.

I lucked out in one regard today: S-sensei skipped today’s quiz. It was nice to have a break from that for a change. Mondays are still a little rough. Okay, not as rough as they could be.

I learned some fun new phrases in JBPP today: ご遠慮なく and ご心配なく (Don’t hold yourself back, and don’t worry, but very polite versions.) I also learned that 後ほど can be anything from 15 minutes to never. Sort of like “later,” I guess.

Happy Pocky Day!

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Happy Pocky Day!
Nov 112011
 

It’s Pocky Day here in Japan. In the US, it’s Veteran’s Day, because World War I ended on this day in 1918.

But we’re in Japan, and nobody cares about old European wars when you can have Pocky.

If you look at the numbers, 11-11-11, they all look like happy sticks of chocolate-covered Pocky, just waiting to be eaten!

Re-Making the Grade

Yesterday I got my grade back for my Bannou Fuku Meido presentation a couple of weeks ago. Not bad, considering where I’m coming from, ability-wise. I also got to hear about the test results of the first test. I retook the writing portion, because the first take was a bit of a mess. That involved editing my paper and handing it in for a grade, because there was a lot of red ink on that first paper.

But I did really well on the retake, so I’m happy.

At Yamasa You Get Do-Overs

At Yamasa, you can retake exams if you’re not happy with the results. You not only get to retake exams if you flunk them, you can also take them to improve your score.

That said, it’s extra work to retake the tests, so it’s not something to do to try to change that 95 into a full 100 points.

I’m not used to how to study for the classes here yet. In the US, I know how the system works really well. I know what’s expected, and what to expect on tests. Here, the problem is that I’m not entirely sure what’s going to be on the test, and since all of the instruction is in Japanese, if I miss something, I really miss it.

In JBPP news, I got my resume back. It was drenched in blo– err, red ink. I need to rewrite some chunks of it.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll… Or Just Shake.

There was an earthquake last night, or so I am told. Everyone felt it but me. Maybe I was too absorbed in whatever it was I was doing to notice it, or maybe it didn’t leave an impression on me. I dunno. Strangely I’m kind of bummed that I missed it. It’s kind of like missing the Big Event on TV everyone talks about the next day, but instead I was watching infomercials.

We had a pretty intense little earthquake along the East Coast in August. It lasted a good 30 seconds or so, and scared the crap out of everyone from NYC to South Carolina. Where I live in North Carolina, everything was swaying pretty well.

Last night’s earthquake must not have been very powerful, or maybe it was short.

Monkey In My Backyard

In other news, after class ended, I was talking to my classmates when some local police officers ran by, searching for a wild monkey on the loose. They searched all over the neighborhood, but they couldn’t catch the monkey.

I don’t like to get too close to wild monkeys, because they make me nervous. My mom always warned me that they can tear you to bits, and that has always kind of stuck with me. I’m not afraid of them, I just don’t want them near my face… or any of my more removable body parts, to be honest.

The monkey chase turned into a campus event. Some people went out to see if we could find the monkey. No luck. I didn’t venture too far from the building.

When I got back home, the Slingbox crapped out again, then came back. Ah, technology.

I went to Zig-Zag for dinner tonight again. Declan usually has something interesting in the pot behind the bar, and if not, he can whip up something tasty. Tonight was no exception!

A Short Update

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on A Short Update
Nov 102011
 

This is going to be short.

The Bannou Fuku-Meido presentation results are in. I passed. Yay!

In JBPP, I learned how to use the phrase よろしいいでしょうか in a sentence when I want someone to do something, yet I need to be polite. I will probably use this a lot.

For dinner, I made some improvised fried rice with eggs. It came out pretty good.

Resumes are due tomorrow.

I told you it would be short.

They Got the Computer Store, Too!

 Japan, Japanese Language, Technology  Comments Off on They Got the Computer Store, Too!
Nov 092011
 

We have to submit our resumes for our JBPP class tomorrow, so I need a USB drive. I headed to the computer store to pick one up.

First I stopped at Family Mart, because I was out of food. (Except for rice. I have plenty of rice.) Anyway, then I went to the computer store. As I approached the door, one of the guys who worked there regretted to inform me that the store was closed, because it’s moving.

Ugh. Again? First the bicycle store, now the computer store, too? It’ll probably be a pile of rubble in 4 days.

So I stood in the parking lot and had a think. Where is the best place to find a cheap USB drive? I decided to go to the mall and try Aeon, and lucked out. I found a cheap USB drive for 898 yen. All it has to do is last for a couple of days, to be honest. Then I saw the big sale on the Frixion stuff. Score!

I’ve already burned through one of the ink cartridges in my blue Frixion pen. Aeon had them for 10% off, so I stocked up.

I browsed the book store again, and saw some really cool kanji books, but they’re kind of expensive. Maybe later. They look like kanji kentei prep books. (But really awesome prep books.) Downside: they’re 1000 yen a piece. A little pricey. Yeah, I said the USB drive was cheap at 898, but I was only buying one of those.

I also looked at the Minna no Nihongo books with lustful eyes, because we keep running into stuff from that in class. It’s tempting, but expensive. Maybe I’ll check Book-Off this weekend and see if I can find a used copy of MNN.

I stopped by Subway on the way out, then headed home.

It’s The End of the World. Or It’s Just Wednesday and We Feel Like It.

When I got back, something annoying happened. One thing that kind of irks me about living here is that I’ll randomly hear warning sirens– the same kind that you can hear on the tsunami videos– and I can’t tell if it’s police, fire, ambulance, or just Impending Doom. I heard them again this evening in my apartment, and quickly flipped on NHK, just to make sure I didn’t have to duck, cover, and kiss my butt goodbye. (You never know.)

Of course, as I flipped it on, they were showing a news show about how the tsunami warnings weren’t adequate enough, and in some places, told people that a 3m tsunami wave was coming, when in reality a 10m wave was coming, so people who should have fled, didn’t, and died as a result.

It was interesting, but I never could figure out what those sirens were about.

But I’m glad that they’re examining the whole tsunami warning system.

The discussion on the program about how to convey urgency to people was interesteig. Telling people 非難せよ (ひなんせよ hinanseyo “evacuate!”) instead of 非難してください (ひんしてください hinanshite kudasai “please evacuate”) conveys the proper urgency when a massive wall of water is about to obliterate everything. People may hesitate when they hear a more polite request to “please evactuate” (非難してください) versus the more urgent and less formal “evacuate!” or “get out now!” (非難せよ!)

An Unfortunate Episode in my Life? How About an Exam That Keeps Me From Going to Kyoto?

In other news, it looks like no Kyoto trip this week. Next Thursday we have a conversation test and a composition test. We already have our themes to write about– “An unfortunate episode in my life.” Fun.

There’s no way I’ll be able to swan off to Kyoto for a weekend with that hanging over my head. Nagoya, maybe. But Kyoto? No way.

JBPP is really starting to pay off. All of the little lessons we’re learning are starting to accumulate, albeit slowly, in my brain. I realize I’ll probably have to go over all of this again by myself when I go home, but the info is amazingly useful.

We went over e-mails again today, and while it was difficult, I think I’m slowly starting to get the hang of it. Tonight, I have to finish writing my resume in Japanese. Strangely enough, I’m not too stressed about it. It’s easier than doing it in English, because everyone uses the same general form.

Bow Like You Want to Get Hit on the Head

 Japanese Language  Comments Off on Bow Like You Want to Get Hit on the Head
Nov 082011
 

We had bowing practice in JBPP today. I kind of suck at it, so I’m sure I looked like a penguin with a nervous tic. The really tricky bit is the “bow while walking past someone in the hall” bow. The tricky bit is to do it without falling or walking into a wall.

My quick tip for bowing and not looking weird: Present the top of your head to the other person, so they can whack you on the head with a pretend big stick. That’s the polite way to bow. Don’t try to look them in the eyes, it’s creepy.

Also, men put their hands along their sides, while women cross their hands in front of them.

Sounds Like “Yes,” But It Means “No.”

I learned a new favorite phrase “できかねます” (deki kanemasu.) It’s a way of saying it’s not possible to do something without using a negative verb form. かねます (kanemasu) essentially means that something is impossible. So it’s rejecting someone’s request in the affirmative form of the verb, rather than the negative form of the verb.

I love that concept.

Of course, if something is かねません (kanemasen), then that means it’s possible. In that case, the negative form can have a positive meaning. It all depends on what you’re talking about.

Saying Something By Saying Nothing

We also covered あいづち (aidzuchi), which are these great filler words that don’t mean anything at all. Sort of like “uh-huh, yeah, gotcha, ok, sure, ummm,” etc. あいづち are important in Japanese. In fact, just sitting there like a lump and sounding like a textbook makes you come across as, well, weird.

あいづち add a little natural feeling to your speaking style, so while it seems silly at first, it’s all social lubricant I’m learning, and social lubricant is important, regardless of culture.

I did pretty well with あいづち in class, so it turns out I’m an expert at saying nothing.

JBPP has been great at teaching me a lot of cultural stuff I never would have guessed at, but I still have a ways to go.

After class, I compared photos with K-san. K-san has done a much better job of photographing daily life in Japan than I have. She managed to find the fireworks on Sunday. I didn’t go out because it was raining. She is made of sterner stuff! I am made of water soluble components, apparently.

Tested!

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Tested!
Nov 042011
 

Today was my first big test in the main class. There was a listening portion and a grammar portion, and it felt like a mini-JLPT. We had a lot of review coming into the test, and as I said earlier, I went so far as to start a grammar outline (just like I did in law school), but I don’t know how much it helped me.

I also found out about the bread truck lady who comes by on Fridays. She has a truck full of delicious bread, and she sells it out of the back of the truck around 11 am at Yamasa. I bought some sandwiches and some other sweet bread for dessert later on.

It was delicious.

I had a quiz in my N1 class, too. I’m doing pretty well in there, I think. It’s hard.

In JBPP we started to learn how to write Japanese resumes, or 履歴書 (りれきしょ, rirekisho). It’s interesting to me, because there’s less messing around with the format like we have to do in the US. I think I prefer it to writing resumes for US firms, because I’m never sure how far I should go with my design. Then again, the Japanese resume format is pretty strict, but there are parts where you have to write statements about yourself where you can individualize things. I’ll probably have more to say about it when I have more experience with it.

My 外 Becomes 内 When I’m Dealing With Another 外 Group.

We also talked about 内 (うち, uchi) and 外 (そと, soto). 内 is your in-group, be it your friends, family, or your company when you’re visiting another company. 外 are the people not in your in-group. So for business purposes, your clients are 外, and are to be treated as people to be respected. So you use respectful language to them, and not only humble language about yourself, but also your in-group, or 内, in this case your company. So while you might be polite to your boss when you’re in the office, you will use humble language when referring to the same boss when you’re confronted with a client.

We also learned about writing about the weather and the seasons. It’s big here, even in business letters/e-mail. You need to use the right phrase for the early part of November. One would not use the phrase for the end of November, I think. We got a list of all kinds of phrases to use.

Gettin’ Busy.

 Japan, Japanese Language, Technology, Travel  Comments Off on Gettin’ Busy.
Nov 022011
 

Classes are heating up. Things are getting more intense and busier, with full weeks of regular class, JBPP, and electives. We don’t get any holidays this quarter, either.

And I have my first big exam on Friday, which covers 3 chapters of the book. I’m already making a grammar outline. We’ve got a listening/dictation test as well. Fun.

I Found a Better Price, Now What?

So I found the same electronic dictionary I bought this past weekend for 10,000 yen less elsewhere, but I really don’t want to go through the hassle of returning it, then buying another one on the other side of Nagoya. Is there something I can do about it?

The answer is yes!

I got some really useful advice from V-san, one of my classmates. She said to take the electronic dictionary back to Bic, and tell them that I found it cheaper. She said they’re really good about matching competitors’ prices. I’ll have to give it a try this weekend.

We had phone practice in JBPP today. How to answer the phone, hold basic conversations, etc. It’s one thing to do it in everyday Japanese, but entirely something different to do it in business Japanese, with the emphasis on proper use of 尊敬語 (そんけいご, sonkeigo) and 謙譲語 (けんじょうご, kenjogo.) There are lots of complex phrases to remember, which are essentially really polite versions of the same thing. But which degree of politeness you need to use is important to know.

万能服メイド (Bannou Fuku Meido.)

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on 万能服メイド (Bannou Fuku Meido.)
Oct 272011
 

For the past few days after class and in the evenings, I’ve been working with my small group (with T and K… I know their names, but it would be rude to just post them) to prepare a presentation for class today. We had to come up with an idea for an invention, make visual aids, and then present it. In the presentation, we had to explain all of the many functions it had, and things it could do.

We also had to make sure to use the grammar points we’ve been studying in our presentations, and moreover, use them correctly.

So that meant a few meetings in Aoi Hall at various times of the day/night, when we were all free. K and I are both in JBPP, so we’re pretty busy on top of everything else.

I went by the local 文房具屋 (ぶんぼうぐや, bunbouguya, or stationery store) to pick up some magic markers and cheap brush pens to work on the illustration. Might as well put my calligraphy skills to use!

Working on the presentation was pretty stressful, especially after we all got an email from M-sensei, telling us that we couldn’t use notes during our presentations… well, we weren’t supposed to, but if necessary, we could look down briefly, but it might affect our scores. Something like that.

Did I mention that my spoken Japanese is still bad? So this is a bit stressful for me, but I came here to learn how to do stuff like this. So it’s stressful, but educationally so.

It Does What?

We came up with the 万能服メイド, which means it’s “The Mighty, All-Purpose Clothing Maid.” It’s a machine that will grant every laundry wish you may have, and maybe some you didn’t even know you had.

It is not a robot, because none of us could draw one.

Instead, it’s a big box that appears to consume your laundry, and dispense perfectly cleaned and folded clothes. (Or on a hangar if you want.) It’s powered by dreams. Dreams of not having to do laundry.

I’m sure it can even make you a cup of tea while chatting about the weather.

We each had to do a 3-minute presentation. K started, I came in the middle, explaining functions, and T made an incredible sales pitch at the end. His spoken Japanese skills are awfully good.

Still, 3 minutes can be an awfully long time.

I made it through without reading my notes too much, but I still have a way to go to get better at this.

That said, I’m already a lot better at speaking than when I first got here… but yeah, I’ve got a long way to go.

JBPP Stuff

We just finished working on 他社訪問 (たしゃほうもん, tasha houmon, or visiting another company). There’s a lot of cultural “stuff” to remember.

For example, how early should you arrive? Five minutes is the generally-agreed on answer I got. It shows you’re not just punctual, you’re slightly early, but not too early, because that would inconvenience the people you’re visiting. So if you get there seven or nine minutes early, wait outside for a few, then go in as if you just got there.

It’s Saturday, So It Must Be Raining. Also, Wingtown.

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on It’s Saturday, So It Must Be Raining. Also, Wingtown.
Oct 222011
 

It’s Saturday, so that means it’s raining.

Like hell.

I wanted to go to Nagoya today, but I don’t want to drown on the way there. So instead I decided to wait out a break in the rain and bike to the other mall in Okazaki, which is south of where I live. It’s called Wingtown. It’s a couple of stories, but it’s a bit smaller than Aeon.

What it does have, though, is Imagine. And Imagine is a big book store and stationery/music/video/game store as well.

My kind of store!

Imagine is pretty handy if you’re a student at Yamasa, because it has a bunch of different stores all bunched into one.

One of my problems right now is dealing with the massive influx of printouts I get every day at Yamasa. The pages aren’t just A4 sized, they’re more like A3 or B2-sized. Imagine something you’d use as a paper place mat for a really messy kid. Now make it just a tad bigger.

Now what do you do with a pile of 50 of these that you need to keep organized so you can study?!?

For now, I’m going to try the “clear file” solution, which entails getting some A4-sized book-like things that have 20-40 clear pockets in them, and stuffing the sheets in the pockets, folded over. We’ll see how it works.

I also bought a new memory card for my PSP, so I can keep my JP and EN gaming separate. And of course I bought some books to read.

I’ve said it before, I know, but I’ll say it again, anyway. I love Japanese book stores.

When I was ready to head back, a frog-strangler of a thunderstorm popped out of nowhere. Real lightning and thunder, even! It was my first thunderstorm in Japan. With it raining so hard, it was impossible to go back home, so I hung out and waited for it to pass. It took a while, but eventually it cleared up enough so I could go home.

Now I’m going to do some reading!

Running to Nagoya Castle

 Japan, Japanese Language, Photography, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Running to Nagoya Castle
Oct 212011
 

Before I get to the Nagoya Castle trip, an update about classes at Yamasa. My elective classes started a few days ago, and I think they’ll be useful in getting ready for the JLPT N1. I couldn’t get into the writing class, which was a bit of a letdown, but having two extra grammar classes will be a lot of work, anyway.

So, on to the topic at hand. Cherry trees, their blossoms, and why I wanted to go to Nagoya today.

Sakura, Sakura, Do I Know You?

I have never seen a Cherry tree in bloom up close and personal. That’s mostly because I have never been to Washington, D.C. in Spring, nor have I ever been to Japan in Spring.

I suppose I could find them around North Carolina, but to me, most flowering trees look the same. Having grown up in the South, I know of two important spring flowering trees/shrubs: Dogwoods and Azaleas. Really, that’s it. Wisteria, I suppose I can recognize, too, but not much more than that.

So please excuse me if I can’t tell the difference between a cherry and a pear tree in bloom. It hasn’t been in my cultural wheelhouse.

There are times when cherry trees get confused, and bloom out of season. Sometimes when it happens, it makes the news. (Well, it does in Japan.) I’ve seen it twice on the NHK News. Once when some trees in Tohoku bloomed in September, and everyone took it as a sign of hope after the Tsunami, and I saw it again on Monday, when they ran a story about a cherry tree blooming near Nagoya Castle in the park on the grounds.

Since I have never seen such a thing in person, I wanted to go and see it up close.

A Tree Blooms In Nagoya… Right?

Class ended early on Friday, and afterwards, I immediately high-tailed it back to the apartment, grabbed the big, heavy camera (the 60D), and raced to the train station. The castle closes at 5 p.m., but they stop letting people in at about 4 p.m. or so. I got on the 3:00 train, which meant I was really under the gun to get there in time. I got to JR Nagoya at 3:30, then had to run to the subway, change trains, then run to the castle. I got there right at 3:50.

Lucky.

I did the castle tour, because I might as well. The Google reviews on Nagoya Castle are mixed, and for good reason. It’s kind of… plain, to be honest.

Going in:

Nagoya Castle Entry

An outbuilding near the main gate:

Nagoya Castle Outer Building

I saw some deer and crows chillin’ in the dry moat as I crossed to the main gate:

Deer and Crows

And here’s the castle, with attendant souvenir shop. (The building that says おみやげ on it.)

Nagoya Castle Main Building

The good thing about Osaka Castle is that when you get to the top, there’s an outdoor viewing area.

No such luck in Nagoya.

The top floor is enclosed, the windows are tiny, and they were very, very dirty. To top it off, the scenery wasn’t much to look at, either. It was kind of a disappointment.

Instead of crying over getting lemons, I decided to try to make lemonade. So I used the vantage point of the top of the castle to try to find the out-of-season cherry tree, but I didn’t have any luck.

There is a very large park with a lot of trees on the grounds of Nagoya Castle, and I suppose that that area is really pretty in Sping and Summer, so that’s probably worth checking out. It’s fall now, but there are no fall colors yet, so it’s kind of plain.

As I wandered around, I kept looking for the tree.

Here’s the back of the castle from outside the walls:

Nagoya Castle from Behind

And this canal looked kind of cool. Lightroom helped pick out some details:

Canal

Another shot of the castle from behind:

Nagoya Castle from Behind

One More:

Nagoya Castle from Behind

A few shots from the top of the castle walls, overlooking the lake:

View from the Castle Walls

View from the Castle Walls

The Name of this Song is “Please Leave. Now.”

I walked all over the castle grounds, and just didn’t have any luck. Finally, I started to hear music, which could only mean one thing in Japan: “Get out.”

I asked a security guard or two if they had seen a blooming tree, and they told me to come back in March. Translation: “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”

On the way out, I stopped and took a look at some of the Chrysanthemums being prepared for the big exhibition tomorrow. They looked nice, but I didn’t feel like taking any pictures.

Right by the exit, I saw the mascot character. Of course I took a picture:

Ebisubeth... the Nagoya Castle Mascot

After that, I was starving, so I set out to get some food.

The first order of business was to find a post office ATM. Thanks to Google Maps, I found one about a kilometer away. Then it was back to the subway, and off to Nagoya Station.

OMG Noodles

I finally got back to the station, and headed up to the 11th floor, where there were a ton of people (because it’s Friday), and a ton of restaurants to choose from. Picking just one restaurant was difficult, because each one had so many delicious things to try.

I wandered around for about 15-20 minutes before settling on a soba shop. I had one of my favorite dishes, zaru soba, which is chilled soba noodles with a dipping sauce. You get a little pot of hot water to pour over the noodles to get them to unstick from each other, but I made the mistake of pouring too much hot water over it and made a mess. That’s one of the joys of travel: learning new ways to embarass yourself and generally make a mess of things.

But it was all good. The noodles went great with a beer.

Revived, I headed back to Okazaki.

The Flowers of Yamasa

 Japan, Photography, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on The Flowers of Yamasa
Oct 212011
 

Okay, I’m done with the sky.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been taking pictures of flowers, to see how the macro function works on the IXY. It’s pretty good. Not stunningly great, but better than a cell phone camera, and that’s all I can hope for.

So behold, the shy, dainty flowers of Yamasa. (Okay, some of them are weeds, but the still looked interesting to me, and it was something to do in-between classes!)

Flowers at Yamasa

 

I like the detail on the left flower. The right flower is out of focus. A weak point of the IXY’s macro mode.

Flowers at Yamasa 2

 

It’s a little head-on and bulls’-eyed, but I liked this flower. The IXY did a decent job, considering I was hand-holding the camera.

Flowers at Yamasa 3

Flowers at Yamasa 4

 

The IXY did a good job with this weed/plant, too.

Flowers at Yamasa 5

Flowers at Yamasa 6

 

And finally, a shot of the South Okazaki Hospital sign/top floor, with lots of power lines in the way:

South Okazaki Hospital Sign From Yamasa

Next up is a story about my trip to Nagoya Castle. Good times.

The Skies of Okazaki

 Japan, Photography, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on The Skies of Okazaki
Oct 192011
 

In-between classes, I started messing around with my new Canon IXY. Mostly, I took pictures of the sky, because I saw some interesting stuff in it. Yesterday, I saw some neat looking contrails from jets going wherever they’re going. Today, I saw some beautiful shimmery clouds.

Oh, and I also took a photo of a goldenrod weed near the school. Just because.

The 10-minute breaks are welcome, but sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what I want to do for 10 minutes. It’s just enough time to realize it’s not enough.

And now, the photos:

The contrails looked cool, and had a kind of lonely feel to them:

Contrails 1

Contrails 2

Sideways shot!

Contrails 3

Power lines interfere with a lot of my photography in Japan.

Power Lines

It’s annoying.

Power Lines 2

I liked the blue wall and yellow/green plant combination here. Just a weed near Yamasa.

Goldenrod, I think.

I really like this shot. The sky was kind of shimmery, and Aoi Hall was its usual corrugated self. Makes an interesting shot. Thanks, Lightroom!

Shiny Sky 1

Now just the sky without Aoi Hall:

Shiny Sky 2

One more:

Shiny Sky 3

If you look at it the right way, doesn’t this look like a dragon’s head? Just a bit?

Dragon!

The Daily AIJP/JBPP Life

 Foreign Languages, Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on The Daily AIJP/JBPP Life
Oct 132011
 

The way classes are taught here is interesting. It reminds me a bit of high school, but it’s much more thorough.

We have 3 50-minute periods of class in the mornings, from 9-9:50, 10-10:50, and 11-11:50. Then from 11:50-12:40, we have lunch. After that, from 12:40-1:30 we have the last AIJP class of the day. That’s followed by a 1:40-2:30 and 2:40-3:30 block each day for electives.

Oh yeah, we have to pick electives NOW. It’s more of a big deal for me because I missed a few days.

I’m probably going to go with only two, although I can do up to four. JBPP will fill in that last 2:40-3:30 block every day… except when it doesn’t. Sometimes we’re going to have long classes that go from 5th through 6th period, and sometimes we’ll have class during 5th period only, but that’s usually on Fridays.

It’s a little confusing.

Anyway, picking electives isn’t too hard. Because of JBPP I only have a few choices. There’s a writing class I want to try, as well as the N1 and N2 grammar classes. N2 will be good review of stuff I should already know, and N1 will hopefully cover stuff I desperately need to know. The main downside is that they only meet once a week up until the JLPT, then they end.

We’ll see where I wind up!

The way classes are done here in general is intense. We start off just about every class with a quiz, except JBPP. The first class in the day is usually taught by my homeroom teacher, M-sensei (different from the M-sensei in JBPP), who is amazingly nice. She teaches two blocks or so, which is grammar and vocabulary, then in the third block (usually, not always, the schedule changes every week, or so I’m told), another teacher will come in to teach stuff like speaking or reading or writing. Then after lunch, it’s either M-sensei or another mystery block of somethingoranother.

The class is impressively diverse. America, Germany, Greece, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Brazil, and India are all represented. I’m probably forgetting someone. I apologize.

But Japanese is our common language. It’s easier that way.

The cold is almost gone. I still feel a bit lousy, but it’s not nearly as bad.

JBPP: Can I Has Meishi Koukan PLZKTHX!

One of the most important things in Japanese business is 名刺交換 (めいしこうかん, meishi koukan, or business card exchanging). It’s so important that it’s one of the first things we’re learning here. There’s an order to who offers their card first, and to whom, how it’s held out, how it’s received, what you say, and most importantly, where you put it.

The trick to understanding the whole thing from the Japanese side is understanding that business card = person. Once you understand that, many of the rules that seem kind of exacting make sense.

Also, understand that while visitors are treated as socially superior in a non-business setting, they’re not necessarily so in a business sense. If you’re coming to another company to ask for something, you need to show some humility, I guess. This is different from going into a store as a customer, because customers = gods in Japan. (Who else is going to spend money in their stores?)

Also, there’s the senior/junior dynamic as well. Seniority rules. Even if the boss isn’t going to do anything, if the boss is there, then the boss has to lead the ceremonies because s/he’s the boss.

The Basics

Ok, so the basics of meishi koukan are:

First, the order of who offers cards. (For this example, we’ll use a group of people visiting a company.)

  1. Visiting company goes first. (You’re introducing yourselves, after all!)
  2. Seniors first– company seniors, that is. So the most-senior visitor goes first, followed down the ranks to the most junior.
  3. “Home” company goes last.
  4. Again, the highest-level manager goes first.

Okay, that’s not too hard to remember.

So how do you do it?

  1. Offer your card out with both hands, facing upside down to you. (So the other party can read it!) Don’t forget to bow as you’re holding it out.
  2. Introduce yourself as you’re holding out your card, saying what company you’re from, who you are + douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu, or the proper polite variant.
  3. The receiving person receives the card with both hands while bowing as well.
  4. The receiving person takes the card and says arigatou gozaimasu or whatever variant is required due to politeness level required.
  5. Receiving person has to look at the card and study it for a few seconds. Really, take the chance to learn the other person’s name, or ask them about the kanji in their name, etc. Great icebreaker.

Wait, there’s more! Remember, I said that a business card is considered the same as the person you’re dealing with, so a few “don’t”s are in order:

  • Don’t put it in your pocket! (Especially your back pocket!)
  • Don’t use it as a tool! (Especially to pick your teeth!)
  • Don’t write on it!

So we have these precious business cards… uh… what do we do with them?

Okay, now what? Where do we put the cards? The answer depends.

If it’s just meeting on the street, or at a convention, and there’s no meeting afterwards, then put them in a business card case. (You can get one for cheap at an office supply store if you need one.) You’re showing the other party how you value their card, and them at the same time.

If you don’t have your case on you, put it in your wallet. Don’t just shove it in a pocket.

It there’s a meeting afterwards, then lay them out on the table in front of you, like a little seating chart. It’s really useful that way, so you can keep everyone’s names straight. It also shows that you’re trying to learn their names. It’s very courteous to do it that way.

Anyway, you get the drift.

In the US, we use business cards like disposable ads. They’re tossed all over the place, and are only used to keep track of contact info. We write on them, pick our teeth with them, sit on them, you name it. We only see it as a piece of paper that’s handy to have every now and then… but not much more than that. (Hence the numerous goldfish bowls used to hold business cards for raffles.)

We spent a lot of time in class practicing business card exchanges, with a variety of scenarios. It was challenging at first, but I got used to it.

Still, there’s a lot of cultural stuff for me to learn just surrounding business, and we’re only at the point of exchanging business cards. I can see that I have my work cut out for me!

And So It Begins…

 Foreign Languages, Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on And So It Begins…
Oct 122011
 

Finally! My real first day of class!

I still feel like hell, but my fever is gone, so I didn’t really have an excuse to stay home and lounge around. Besides, we’re on the fast track here at Yamasa. Every day I miss is like missing 3-4 days of Japanese at a univeristy. Keeping up is hard work.

I got a giant pile of printouts to work on from when I was sick and missed three days of class. I have no idea what to do with them.

I got my textbooks, too. They have zero useful information in them. I have better info in my Japanese grammar books. I think we’re using them for the readings? I don’t know. There’s a ton of information in the printouts, though.

It was a bit overwhelming for me, coming in sick and clueless. But everyone is kind and helpful, for which I am grateful.

Unmasked.

I tried to use a mask, but my classmates told me to give up on it. They didn’t care if I used it or not. So I bagged it. It was miserable, anyway. My glasses were completely fogged up, and it was difficult to breathe.

I had lunch at Domy (the nearby grocery store). At noon, everyone runs down the street there to buy something to eat. I headed to the bakery and got a sandwich and dessert. I went back to Aoi Hall on campus and bought a drink there, so I could quietly eat and feel miserable.

Then we had more classes.

The main part that sucks is that I missed those first few days to get to know my classmates. Of course, they all seem to know each other pretty well, because most of them have already been here for a while, so I’ll have to deal with that as well.

I already missed the first two days of the JBPP class due to my cold, so I have some catching up to do here as well. There are only four of us in the class, but it’ll be exciting. One of my classmates is in my main class. She’s from Singapore, and really nice.

The other two people are another American, and a guy from Malaysia, who speaks Japanese really well.

The class is team-taught by two teachers, I-sensei and M-sensei, who teach on alternate days. Today we had M-sensei, and we plunged right into introductions and keigo review.

I need lots of keigo review.

After class, I got some money out at the post office and got some food at the conbini. I’m too tired to cook. I’ve been buying a lot of conbini sandwiches. I’m not really getting the most out of my Japanese cuisine experience, am I? Oh well. Food is food, and the sandwiches are pretty cheap.

But I have a lot of scrambling to do to catch up in class.

Stupid cold.

…As A Dog.

 Japan  Comments Off on …As A Dog.
Oct 072011
 

Ugh. I think I caught a cold on one of my trips to Nagoya, because I’m so sick I can barely move, and I feel really gross.

They brew up some downright nasty colds here.

Sadly, I’m going to have to skip my first day of class, and be that mystery guy who doesn’t show up.

No mystery illness, just a really lousy cold.

I’m going to rest up now, and try to get better over the weekend.

We’re Not Through Orientating Yet!

 Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on We’re Not Through Orientating Yet!
Oct 062011
 

More orientation today, and the 入学式 (nyuugakushiki, or school entrance ceremony.)

We got a lot of info about various things, what to do, what not to do, and we introduced ourselves in Japanese.

What I said before about this being the UN of Japanese Language Education? I’m serious. We have a bunch of different countries represented here. It’s very cool.

And of course everyone has to speak Japanese. Unlike most of the rest of the world, instead of English, Japanese is the lingua franca here, which is awesome for me, because I really need to get better at speaking it. Even if I’m just stumbling and fumbling trying to do aimless chit-chat with my classmates, even if they’re my Fellow Americans, I need to do it in Japanese.

How cool is that? (Okay, you may not think it’s cool, but I do.) I’m totally getting my money’s worth!

Then we had all of the formal introductions and attendant ceremonies that go along with a Japanese school entrance ceremony from the faculty and staff. It was educational. The folks here are really nice, and go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

When we were done, we could go to the main building (Yamasa II) and check the board to see what classes we were in. I’m in class 201, which means I’m somewhere in Yamasa’s intermediate level. That’s about right. My abilities are all over the place, so in the intermediate level classes, I can polish the stuff I’m weak at, and reinforce the stuff I already know.

It won’t be easy by any stretch.

I also had to pay a large amount of money for my rent for the next three months. That was painful, but still pretty cheap compared to living in other places… okay, none of them are really coming to mind.

Then again, I requested a single apartment with a bed, and those are the most expensive apartments. But I can’t do futons at all. They kill my back. There’s no way I could sleep on a futon for 3 months. So I consider part of my rent as “bed rental” and a “being left alone from an annoying roommate fee.” I’m totally okay with that.

If you want to go to Yamasa to study and you don’t mind communal living, and you can handle futons, you can save a fair amount of cash by staying in the dorms or in the older shared apartments.

JBPP or not JBPP?

I had an interview exam for the Japanese for Business and Professional Purposes program (JBPP) as well. One of the main reasons I wanted to study here was because I really want to work on my professional/business Japanese. I want to be able to roll those long, complicated sonkeigo and kenjogo phrases off of my tongue with no hesitation whatsoever.

And I want to make sure I don’t make an idiot out of myself in business situations.

So when I found out that Yamasa had a business-oriented program as well, I was stoked.

The interview test was kind of nerve-wracking, because I’ve already had an interview with S-sensei, who gave me the interview exam for the overall placement test. He knows how rough my spoken Japanese is at times. But he’s a good teacher, and a really nice guy.

He said that they’re going to let me participate in the JBPP. I’m relieved. It’s one of the main reasons I came here. If I couldn’t participate, I don’t know what I would have done.

I also got to meet my future JBPP classmates. There are only four of us, but everyone is nice, and way better at speaking than I am.

After all of that, I headed home.

Class starts tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Orientation and Okonomiyaki in Okazaki

 Food, Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Orientation and Okonomiyaki in Okazaki
Oct 052011
 

Orientation at Yamasa started today.

We learned lots of things that don’t apply to me, because I’m on a short-term visa, and will be gone in 3 months. It’s kind of a bummer, but there you go. But there was a lot of really useful information, too, like what to do with my trash.

I’ve been hoarding trash for the last week or so, because frankly, I don’t know what to do with it.

Welcome to Japan! You Fail at Trash!

When I got first got into my apartment, I was checking all of the drawers, and in the file cabinet there was this thick brochure, and in it was this whole dissertation on how to sort trash about 800 different ways.

So I figured that’s what I had to do. I went to the nearest conbini, bought a bunch of trash bags, and went at it.

There are trash bags for all kinds of trash here. It’s mind-boggling. Each type of trash gets its own special bag. We only have the one sort of trash bag in the US, and we pick based on brand loyalty, size, application, and how much trash can it hold before exploding.

In Okazaki (I’ve been told it’s different in other places), ordinary people have to sort their trash into bags of burnable trash, paper, plastic, non-burnable trash, and PET (plastic) bottles.

But wait, you’re not done yet. That milk carton is made of paper, so you think it goes into the “paper” bag, right? Wrong! It gets cut open and flattened (after you wash it out and dry it, of course), then stacked and bundled with twine, and disposed of at the proper place. (Wherever that is.) Same goes for newspapers, glass bottles, cans, and a long list of other things you probably didn’t realize.

You think you can just hide it in the trash bag? HA! You fool! You have to write your address on all of your trash bags, and one of your neighbors (the Trash Shogun) will be checking your trash for “improper items,” and that person has the right to reject your trash.

Yes, in Japan your trash can fail to be proper trash.

And you can’t hope that they won’t see it, because the trash bags are clear. Fun, huh? Makes you think twice before throwing out a lot of stuff, doesn’t it?

So rather than try to actually throw out the trash, I panicked and just stuffed it under the sink in a lame attempt to sort it until I got orders on what to actually do with it.

After orientation, I learned something very important.

I don’t need all of those bags.

Luckily, our apartment complex just has two blue dumpsters, one marked “burnable trash,” and the other marked “nonburnable trash.” At orientation, I learned that I just have to keep two little trash bags, and I can just use any old bags I want.

I don’t even have to write my address on them.

Thank God.

Recycling Back Home

Still, I miss the way we do it Back Home. How do we do it there? Simple: most recyclables go in the blue box everyone gets. Put the blue box outside on your designated day, and a truck comes and picks it up. Usually. When they feel like it.

Vegetables and other kitchen waste can be ground up in the garbage disposal and handled as raw sewage, or you can compost it, or just toss it in the trash. Bulky stuff, like electronics and the like, needs to go to a recycling center run by the county. Hazardous stuff goes to a special center. Not a big deal.

I learned a lot of other useful stuff, too. There’s a grocery store just down the street from the school. Woot. My lunch problem is solved!

I also got a ZigZag coupon. Yay. I hope I can get some beer with it!

After orientation, I went with a group of fellow students to a local restaurant that sells okonmiyaki. It used to be the kaiten-zushi shop, I went to four years ago, I think.

It was pouring rain, so when we got there, we were soaked.

The United Nations of Japanese Language Education

Yamasa does a really good job of mixing up the student body. It’s not just a bunch of Chinese or Korean students with the odd American. There are folks from all over the world here, not just Asia.

The group that went to the restaurant was a good mix. There was a guy from Switzerland, and a woman from Israel. And of course a couple of Americans, and some folks from other places, too. I can’t remember them all, but it was a good mix of people.

Then I went home, dried off, watched some TV and went to bed. Gotta get up early for class.

Placement Test!

 Foreign Languages, Japan, Japanese Language  Comments Off on Placement Test!
Oct 032011
 

Today was my last private lesson.

But first, we had a placement test at 9 a.m. I knew were going to have it, but I didn’t know it was such a big deal.

When I came to Yamasa four years ago, right after I got off the train and came into the teachers’ office, I was given a placement test. It was relatively short, and not too difficult. It pretty much confirmed that I knew some Japanese, but needed a lot of work.

So when I heard that there was a placement test this time, I was thinking, “Oh, it’s probably like the one I had four years ago. No biggie.”

Boy, was I ever wrong.

If I had known that it was going to be that thorough, I might have actually studied for the thing.

Note: If you’re reading this while considering going to Yamasa, you should study some for the placement test. It’s a whopper.

First off was a monstrous grammar test, the likes of which I hadn’t seen in a while. It seemed to just keep going on and on… I think if you do bad things in a Japanese language school and die, this is a bit what Japanese Language School Hell would be like. This test. Over and over.

The questions started off pretty easy. And then they kept increasing the tension until something in my brain snapped.

I have no idea how well I did, because they never told me.

Then we all sat in a room and watched Howl’s Moving Castle while we waited our turn to be interviewed. I never did find out what happened in the movie. I suppose I need to rent that sometime.

So I had an interview test in Japanese with S-sensei, which I floundered through. He’s a very nice guy, who did a good job of pointing out that I really don’t speak Japanese all that well at all, despite what random people may tell me.

Well, that’s what I came here for, so I’m not shocked or anything. I’m glad he was honest with me, and I hope they fix my bad habits.

I went back home after that.

The test started at 9, I got done at about 11:30. It was very thorough. At least this time I wasn’t jet-lagged like I was four years ago. But it would have been better if I had studied a bit… and could speak better.

I wish I had known how big a deal the placement test was going to be, just for my pride’s sake. But it’s kind of tricky– if I study for the placement test, then I might wind up in a class I really don’t belong in, because I don’t really have all of the previous material mastered, instead I know it just well enough to pass the test.

After the conversation test and my talk with S-sensei, I realized that I needed to get into a section that would help me with my speaking a lot. It was rough. So I’m not going to get too worked up over where I wind up. The main reason I’m here is to get better.

Then after I had lunch, I came back to campus for my last private lessons. More tutoring in things I have forgotten (mostly speaking), and then a CALL session, but the teacher wasn’t there. We’ll have to make it up or something.

Tomorrow we’re free to do whatever.

Me? I dunno.

Nagoya? Probably.

Getting Used to Apartment Life

 Food, Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Getting Used to Apartment Life
Sep 302011
 

More classes today. I have a lot of gaps to fill in in my Japanese. Today I have my private lessons, then I’ll probably go to Nagoya to do some shopping. I need to get a wireless router and some kitchen supplies, as well as some sheets ASAP. Those are all top priorities.

I’m getting used to the apartment. I like it a lot. It has some nice features, which I’ll go into some other time.

Shopping List

My B-Mobile data-only SIM card ate about 100 MB of data since I got it in Tokyo, and that’s too much, too fast. I want this to last the whole time I’m here, so I need to pick up a WiFi router to slow down the data drain.

My tablet is also kind of useless without a wireless internet connection. It’s not completely useless, but it’s about half as useful. So I better get a router.

My kitchen comes with a rice cooker (but it’s tiny), a few pots and pans (the “non-stick” pan isn’t very much of one), a toaster oven, a microwave that doubles as a tiny oven, a fridge, and that’s about it for the kitchen. The rest is pretty much up to me.

So I need to go buy a few things to make my life easier for the next few months. I suppose I can just live out of the conbini… but I’d rather make an attempt at not doing that.

Pillow Talk

Something else I found out is that Japanese beds don’t have the same sizes as US beds do, so the sheets I brought don’t fit. It’s like a fat twin or a skinny double, so my US twin-size sheets are too narrow to fit this bed.

That’s something else to buy.

I brought my own pillow with me. I know I sound like an 8-year-old, but I have a favorite foam pillow. It collapses nicely and fits into a Space Bag. I also brought a blanket, so I can just “camp out” on top of the bed for now. Not a huge deal, but I kind of want a bottom sheet at the very least.

That’s it for now. Gotta jet.

Back in Okazaki!

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Back in Okazaki!
Sep 292011
 

Today I made it back to Okazaki and Yamasa again.

I got up early, and grabbed a shinkansen, the Nozomi from Tokyo to Nagoya.

I could have grabbed it in Shinagawa, which would have made more sense, but I know the way to Tokyo Station better, and I didn’t want to get lost and miss my train.

For those of you who don’t know, there are 3 kinds of shinkansen (what we Americans call “bullet trains”) that run on the Tokaido Line from Tokyo to Nagoya, and on to Osaka and points further West.

First, there’s the Kodama. It stops just about everywhere. It’s fast in that it’s faster than an ordinary train, but it’s slow, because it stops a lot. It’s handy if you live in a biggish small town, but it’s not the way to get anywhere really big in a hurry.

Next there’s the Hikari, which stops at fewer places, and is a lot faster. (And more expensive.) This is the train you take if you’re using a JR pass, or if you’re on a budget.

Then there’s the Nozomi, which is just a rocket on rails. It barely stops for anything, and I think it goes around 270-300 Km/h or so. I know that I got from Tokyo to Nagoya in about a little less than 2 hours. The downside is that it’s not cheap.

Another downside: you can’t use it for free if you’re on a JR pass.

Arriving in Nagoya, With Just Enough Time to Change Trains

I grabbed a Nozomi to Nagoya, and got there in a jiffy, then grabbed a variant of a limited express to Okazaki. That bit took about 30 minutes or so.

I was feeling adventurous, so I rode in the front of the train and watched out the front of the car. I don’t know why, but I like to do that.

It’s interesting to watch all of the hand gestures that the engineers, conductors, and construction workers use. I saw something about that on TV a while back. Apparently, it improves safety if you force your employees to confirm each action they’re supposed to take with a specific hand gesture. As long as I get there safely, I’m all for it. It doesn’t look silly if it saves lives.

I got to Okazaki at around 11:50, and got picked up with my 2 monstrous suitcases and was whisked over to the school. It’s a pretty short walk from the station if you’re not carrying 100 lbs of luggage, but add the luggage, and the distance suddenly seems much bigger.

Since everyone was at lunch, I had to wait a while. Bad timing on my part. Fortunately, there were a few people hanging around in the Customer Service department who could take care of me and get me processed. We got my room sorted out (Villa 5, yay!), and then I got a ride to my new digs.

I Get to Stay Here? Really?

As far as temporary apartments go, this one is very nice. It’s a studio-style apartment that’s been very recently built. It’s Japanese-style, but with a bed. (Thank God.) I love Japan, but I can’t handle futons. Last time I was here, I had excruciating futon-induced back spasms. Thankfully, there are some apartments here with western-style beds.

It was also built to take a magnitude 8.5 earthquake. That’s reassuring.

After a few minutes to unload and freshen up, it was back to campus for my first private lesson at 1:40, followed by a CALL seminar at 2:40. It was challenging and a fun to get back in the saddle, as it were.

By then, I was pretty much starving. I staggered over to the Mini Stop to get some food, then spent the rest of the day figuring out the apartment.

Going Back to Okazaki.

 Japan, Japanese Language, Travel  Comments Off on Going Back to Okazaki.
Aug 162011
 

I mentioned earlier that I was dissatisfied with the way my Japanese was progressing when I took the JLPT N2 last month. After talking to Michele, I realized that I have completely neglected my spoken/written Japanese in order to prepare for the N2, which tests neither skill.

I considered my options seriously, and realized that if I want to work in Japan, just having N2 (if I pass it) isn’t enough.

I need better Japanese communication skills.

When I went to Yamasa in 2007, I got a huge boost to my language ability in just 2 weeks’ time. I’m hoping that 3 months can make for a massive turnaround. So I’ll be back in Okazaki in a few weeks’ time, soaking up as much knowledge as is humanly possible.

And trying not to use English.

I’m just a little bit nervous, but mostly excited. I want to get better!

Sayonara, Okazaki; Konbanwa, Kyoto!

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Oct 262007
 

I’m back in Kyoto, safely out of Okazaki now, although I kind of miss Okazaki.

The Sky Is Crying Way Too Much

I’m so happy to finally be dry. Why is it whenever I go to Kyoto, it rains? (Does two trips count enough for a “whenever?”)

It started this morning, during “The TP incident,” and stopped right before class. Thinking that the rain had ended for good today, I rode my bike for the last time to class, made it through class, and when it was over, I was greeted by a total downpour.

I went to the school office to pay my boarding fees– 40,000 yen for two weeks lodging is awesome in my opinion. But for some reason, it wouldn’t take my BofA card again.  Luckily, it took one of my other cards, but I was irked.

Then it was off to Nonoyama Bicycles to return the rental bike with the somewhat embarrassing helmet, in what had become a driving rainstorm.

Here’s a shot of the helmet from earlier in the trip:

Ugly Bicycle Helmet

I learned something else important today: it’s next to impossible to ride a bicycle and use an umbrella at the same time. For me, anyway. I wound up walking the bike there. Either way it didn’t matter, because I got soaked.

Fun.

After I turned the bike in, I went back to the dorm by taxi. It took some explaining to get the driver to understand where the Student Village was. Don’t assume that cabdrivers will somehow “know” where everything is.

While my pants dried, I wasted 30-minutes in a pointless attempt to get some useful info out of BofA.That was 30 Euros down the toilet, by the way. Ouch.

Really, be careful what you use to dial out.

Anyway, the time to get out was fast approaching.

One strange thing about the clothes dryers in the dorm: there was a lint tube leading up from the dryer, but then it stopped short, and just sort of aimed at a vent in the ceiling. I guess the last few inches were covered by hope, faith, and good intentions? I’m not sure how the engineering behind that works.

Leaving Okazaki

I spent 30 minutes in the rain waiting for the bus, gave up and wound up lugging the suitcase and backpack to the station. By the way, lugging 8,000 lbs. of crap around in the driving rain is an excellent argument for traveling as light as humanly possible.

And one day, I might actually do that.

When I got to Nagoya, I had my last meal at the Mermaid Cafe. Then I grabbed a shinkansen to Kyoto.

I’m now in the Comfort Inn Kyoto. Yes, there are Comfort Inns in Japan. The rooms are pretty nice, too. Tiny as hell, but still a lot nicer than the last hotel I stayed in, and cheaper, too. I even get the BBC in English. (Yay! English!) But it is the BBC, so it’s all very depressing.

Overall, I have to say my Japanese has improved quite a bit. So far just about everyone has forced me to speak Japanese. I keep hearing stories about people coming up to foreigners and talking English to them, but I’ve only had that happen once so far.

I’m no Yan-san yet, but I’m trying.  In case you’re not familiar, Yan-san is a chunky foreign guy who teaches us foreigners how to speak Japanese properly in a very cheesy and sappy set of Educational Videos from the mid-1980s, when everyone was trying to teach their kids Japanese.

Now everyone is desperately cramming Chinese down their kids’ throats.

I’m actually a big fan of the Yan-san videos. I always thought they were great, because it was like watching a drama series.

But I digress.

Kyoto Plans

There’s a typhoon offshore, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to do much here. It’s going to rain a bit on Tokyo, but that doesn’t matter to me here in Kyoto.

Unless the weather does something rude tomorrow, I’ll visit some shrines/temples or Arashiyama. Sunday I’d like to try to see the Heavenly Bridge, but I’m not sure how long it would take, and I don’t want to spend a whole day on it.

Monday I head to Nara to my spa hotel. I can’t wait. Tuesday & Wednesday nights are in Hiroshima. Maybe Thursday in Beppu. If I can get my suitcase weight reduced significantly, then I’ll do it. Otherwise, I’ll spend three days in Osaka.

Not much else to report. I get to watch Japanese TV again, so I get to see just how weird it is. (And it is weird.)

The Bells, the Bells! (Because “The Chimes!” Sounds Lame)

 Food, Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on The Bells, the Bells! (Because “The Chimes!” Sounds Lame)
Oct 242007
 

Okazaki Castle happens to be too far away for me to get to today.

But at least I have a way to show you where I am on an interactive map. (It’s in Japanese, but a map is a map.)

http://tinyurl.com/3d6cgv

There’s a zoom-scale-slider-thing at the bottom of the map, to change it from 500m to up to 250 km.

I’m just to the right of the red cross hair on the map.

That green thing above is a high school, and I can hear the class chimes from the school all day long. It’s kind of like being back in school again. Fortunately, I haven’t had the recurring dream where I have an exam in the class I haven’t attended all semester long.

More of My Commute to Yamasa

I took a few pictures of my daily commute to and from Yamasa’s main campus from the dorm. I put some of those photos on yesterday’s post. (About my daily dance with death.)

Here are a few extras:

I go by the coffee shop every day.

Downtown Coffeehouse

I like the lettering on their signs.

Downtown Coffeehouse

Be careful not to step on the covered gutters. Those covers move. Here’s a closeup of one of the Yamasa apartment buildings, you can almost make out the dorm in the back. It’s peeping over that wall.

Okazaki on the way to class

A cemetery on the way:

Okazaki on the way to class

In the distance, you can see big new apartment buildings going up. Okazaki is growing fast because Toyota is close by.

Okazaki on the way to class

I’m getting close to 248, the main road.

Okazaki on the way to class

And here is the Daiso, a 100-yen shop. They’re like dollar stores in the U.S.:

Okazaki on the way to class

There are a few of these tunnels that go under route 248. Here’s the tunnel itself:

Okazaki on the way to class

Once I cross 248, the wall protecting me from traffic disappears. So does the sidewalk. The building with the red letters is the South Okazaki Hospital:

Okazaki on the way to class

As I get to Yamasa, here’s a photo of one of the classroom buildings and the coffee shop/Japanese-style restaurant:

Yamasa Campus

Looking to the other side, here’s the main classroom and administration building, Yamasa II. I don’t know if there’s a Yamasa I:

Yamasa Campus

And here’s the place where I took my classes, the Info Gallery:

Yamasa Campus

Later that day, on the way back to the dorm, I spied this Caution sign on the pole of a Stop sign. I really liked the way the white bits were cracking:

Caution Sign

And here’s the entrance to the dorm, to the right of the laundromat, which is right next to the convenience store:

Laundromat and Hidden Dorm!

And here’s the Mini Stop convenience store, without which I probably would have starved to death:

All Hail MiniStop!

The Donkey Was Surprised, and so Was I

I went to Bikkuri Donkey tonight for dinner, because translated it means “Surprise! Donkey!”

I learned an important lesson today. Don’t go to a restaurant just because it has the word “Donkey” in its name.

I couldn’t get into the hambugu. It’s ground beef mixed with some other stuff, shaped into a patty-like form, fried in a pan, then dumped on a plate with some sauce.

Note that this is not hamburger, which comes on a bun and tastes entirely different.

Hambugu yields easily to chopsticks, which was also a source of dismay. I come from the Land of Meat. In the Land of Meat, we have special knives for eating Meat, and these knives are sharp. The meat we eat usually does not require much more than salt and pepper to be tasty. This dish had far more than 11 herbs and spices in it, and I could barely taste the meat.

Japanese famires (short for family restaurant) cuisine so far has been less than satisfying. I’ve tried 2 different kinds, and so far, I’m 0 for 2.

The Trash Heap Has Spoken!

 Food, Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on The Trash Heap Has Spoken!
Oct 232007
 

Yesterday was interesting.

I got up at 8 a.m. I was freezing, and my throat was killing me. The window had been leaking cold air into my room, and it was right above where my head is on the bed. (Or was– I moved the other way on the bed so my head and feet are reversed.)

I felt lousy for most of the morning. The funny thing is, most of the people I saw on campus were coughing and hacking too. So apparently I wasn’t the only one who got caught in the draft. And no, the window was closed. It just wasn’t well-insulated.

Class got moved to from 12:40 to 1:40, only I didn’t remember being told that. They probably told me in Japanese, which explains why I screwed up. The rest of my classes this week will go from 1:40-4:40, so now I have mornings totally free. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do with that now.

Denny’s

After class, I finally went to the local Denny’s. First off, I saw no chopsticks. All I saw was silverware. Sorry, guys. No souvenirs for you.

Okazaki on the way to class

Let me just say that every meal I’ve had in Japan up until now has been very good. I was surprised to discover that Denny’s in Japan is somehow worse than Denny’s in the U.S. My server was very nice, but the food she brought me was poison.

Drinks. What would I like to drink? How about ginger ale? No, they don’t have that. So she gave me a colorful drink menu to choose from. Hmm… Okay, how about pink lemonade? It can’t be all that bad, right? She brings me something bright pink. It turns out it’s pink lemonade soda so sweet it would put a 5-year old into insulin shock.

I’ll have water then.

Then the puzzle of settling on actual food to eat. My confidence unshaken, I perused the menu. Hmm… American Club Sandwich. I can’t read this other stuff, but the picture looks good.

Well, it looks like a sandwich…

I’ll get a side of fries with that, too. What the heck.

The fries came as an appetizer. They were taramasala mayo fries, I think. All I know is that they came with a pink sauce with little red dots in it. It wasn’t bad. It tasted like mayo mixed with something. So far, not bad.

Then came the sandwich.

I’m getting nauseous just thinking about it. It was a double-decker club sandwich all right, but the first deck consisted of bacon, 2 fried eggs, and ketchup.

Where I come from, that’s already a meal.

We call it breakfast.

The second deck was some sort of chicken in a sweet sauce or gravy, lettuce, and mayo.

And that’s something we call lunch, or maybe dinner.

You might think it doesn’t sound too bad.

And you would be wrong.

They are all foods I like.  And I’m actually amazed that I got it down without bringing it back up. Describing it later to someone, I could actually feel the normal meal I had later try to make an escape from my stomach.

So yeah, Denny’s. Service was great. Food… ugh. Throws self on sword to relieve stomach pain.

I don’t know of any Americans who would think, “Hmm, I think I’ll have a club sandwich. Esther, let’s fry some eggs and bacon, and hey, get some of that chicken and gravy out!”

Just as much as Americans don’t understand Japan, Japanese don’t get us. “American” gets stuck on the most random stuff here: it’s put on stuff that no American (well, no American in his right mind, anyway) would ever eat.

I think it’s just an excuse to for one group of Japanese to try to fool the rest of the country into trying to eat something they wouldn’t ordinarily eat.

“Hey, I know you wouldn’t normally eat a bacon and egg and chicken and gravy sandwich, but you know, those Americans do, and they’re so wild! Now you eat it too, so you can be wild!”

“Mmkay.”

“Now have this American ice cream. We filled a big paint bucket with ice cream…”

Not much else happened yesterday. I spent the evening recovering from that meal mistake, then got a snack at the conbini. Thank you, conbini. You saved me again.

All Hail MiniStop!

My heeeero!

Oh I Looove Trash

Trash sorting is the most disgusting thing ever. I’ll have a hard time taking the shoe-switching thing seriously now that I’ve seen what the landlady does to improperly sorted trash.

If you’ve never been to Japan, let me explain. It’s a small country, with little room for things like landfills, so you’re not allowed to throw anything away.

You have to pack out all of your trash with you, because you will never see a public trash can. If there was such a mythical beast, it would be crammed full of trash that people didn’t know what to do with, or just got tired of carrying around with them all the time.

Okay, that’s only half true.

Trash is supposed to be sorted into burnable trash, paper, plastic/non-burnable trash, PET (plastic bottles), cans, and glass. I’ve been sorting as best as I can, and taking it down to the kitchen, which also serves as Sorting Central.

But apparently, people fail sorting on a daily basis, and the landlady has decided that if you don’t put trash in the right place, she’ll put it ON THE PREP TABLE BY THE TRASH. So when you come into the kitchen, you can see a lovely (and by lovely, I mean repulsive and disgusting) pile of Other People’s Rejected Trash. Things like Kleenex with hairballs, old food containers, old dirty chopsticks, cigarette butts… I even saw a pair of torn dirty underwear.

Let me repeat that last item again, just in case you missed it. Someone threw away their underwear because it was in such terrible shape, and instead of winding up in the trash, it wound up on the prep table in the kitchen by the trash can.

This is the same prep table people make their food on.

So yeah. Japan? Never taking the shoe thing with a straight face again.

Oh, and I’m staying the hell away from the kitchen.

Now I’m hoarding all of my trash until the last day, where I’ll just ninja-sort it and flee, unless I can find a trashcan, which will probably be next to the unicorn and the leprechaun.

By the way, hotels are great for the simple reason that they have trashcans in the rooms, AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO SORT IT.

Oh, you can find recycling bins for the various things you buy from vending machines, but that’s 99% cans and bottles, which does me no good at all.

Blue Monday

 Japan, Photos, Travel  Comments Off on Blue Monday
Oct 152007
 

Today was a slow day. I got up early, fiddled with setting up the website (I finally figured out why it wouldn’t resolve), did my homework, went to class, then rested.

All of the running around from this weekend took a lot out of me.

Lizard on the window

On the upside, I’m learning a lot in the Japanese language classes at Yamasa. It’s tough, but a lot of fun.

I also managed to get all 500 of my Nagoya snapshots processed in Photoshop. Batch scripts, hooray!

Now I just have to finish going through them all, and figure out which ones go up, and which ones go out. I’m getting rid of the duds. Photo editing is hard for me. I love all of my photos, even the really bad ones.

Food-wise, I find that I’m living off of the convenience store food a lot. Maybe it’s because I’m lazy, but the grocery store is far away, and I really don’t feel like cooking. I’m glad I brought those protein bars with me now. Sweet, sweet instant breakfast.

I learned pretty fast how to spot sodium on Japanese nutrition labels. It shows up as: ナトリウム, which is basically the Latin word Natrium, which means Sodium. If you need to sound it out, it’s natoriumu. Pronounce every consonant and vowel.

I’ll try some more real Japanese cuisine when I hit Kyoto and some of the other big cities. There’s a Denny’s right up the street… that’s looking tempting…

Well, as tempting as a Denny’s can look.

The Bicycle from Hell.

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Oct 122007
 

Today I discovered a few embarrassing, yet very important things.

  1. The 2,000 yen/week bicycle you rent will probably look bad no matter what.
  2. The 2,000 yen helmet you get extra somehow makes you look even worse.
  3. The 2,000 yen/week bicycle rides even worse than you thought a bicycle could.
  4. Using the 2,000 yen/week bicycle means that your posterior will severely dislike you.
  5. It beats walking… sometimes?

The 2,000 yen a week bicycle.

I’m going to lay down on my stomach and sob softly into my pillow. Maybe I’ll be able to sit again tomorrow.

I suppose I could just block the memory. Or just create some better memories and hope they drown out my discomfort.

Other Stuff

I’m thinking about going to Nagoya to have some dinner at the station. I could seriously murder a cow right now and just eat it raw.

My teachers are nice, and they’re proving just how little Japanese I really know. That’s kind of sad. But they’re eager to help me, and I appreciate it. I had six semesters of Japanese in graduate school, but then I made the mistake of not studying much the last 3 years or so.

If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Fast.

More Random Stuff

It gets dark quickly here, because they don’t believe in Daylight Savings Time. I kind of miss that, but then again, when I’m in the U.S., and the sun doesn’t rise until 8 a.m. in October, well, that’s kind of messed-up, too.

My in-room phone has a “Morning Call” feature. (What we call a  “wake-up call” in the U.S.) I have no idea how to turn it off. I can set it for whenever I want to, but I can’t set it to “Never.”

My A/C and I keep having little fights over whether it wants to run or not. You’d think 75F would be cool enough to open the windows. You’d be wrong. Okazaki makes Florida feel like a desert. (It’s very humid here for some reason.) Opening the window only makes it worse.

In spite of it all, I’m having a blast. I’m in an unfamiliar country doing strange things, and nobody has arrested me.

Yet.

Jet Lag.

 Japan, Photos  Comments Off on Jet Lag.
Oct 112007
 

I’ve been sleeping pretty much all day, and after a long nap, I’m going to bed to sleep for another 8 hours or so.

Here are a couple of photos of my room in the Student Village at Yamasa, in case you didn’t see the one in the previous post.

My dorm room at Yamasa in Okazaki

 

My dorm room at Yamasa in Okazaki 2

The school has a nice bar called “ZigZag” that serves cheap Guinness. I went there for dinner, but decided to pass on the beer tonight. I don’t want to get any more dehydrated than I already am. I just kept to ginger ale and a cheese sandwich with a salad.

I walked around a little, but I have been mostly sleeping. I’ll be sociable later, when I can be awake for it.

The only thing I’m not used to yet are the hard beds here. At the hotel in Ueno it wasn’t so bad, but here, instead of a mattress, there’s a table-like thing that you pile futons on top of. Now I’ve got this pain in the center of my back. This time next week I’ll be having my little weekend getaway in Kyoto, so I only have to deal with it for a few days.

The other thing that has really irritated me is that the Estonian SIM card that I bought gets a signal, but I can’t figure out how to call the US on it yet.

I ended up renting one from Softbank for 105 yen a day when I got to Narita.

Oh, the final thing that’s driving me nuts– 10 yen coins. They’re huge, and while not worthless, they seem to reproduce in your pockets while you’re not looking.

Time for more sleep now. Jet lag is kicking my butt.

Off to Japan!

 Japan, Travel  Comments Off on Off to Japan!
Oct 112007
 

I have arrived safely in Okazaki. I have a high-speed Ethernet connection in my room, so I am happy. Let me tell you how I got here…

The Flight Over

My flight from Raleigh to Dallas-Ft. Worth left at 6:00 a.m. I’m an international passenger, so I had to be at the airport 2 hours early. (4 a.m.!) To get there, I had to leave home at 3:30 a.m. That means I had to get up at 2:30 a.m.

I didn’t bother with sleeping. I could do that on the plane.

At 3:30 a.m., a car showed up to take me to the airport. It was a Lincoln Town Car. I wouldn’t use one every day, but it’s a great car for riding to the airport.

When I got to the airport, I realized nothing was open yet. The counters didn’t open until a little after 4 a.m. Great! That meant no lines!

Going through security was a bit of work. I unbundled all of my electronics, then did the shoe dance that they want you to do, and I still set off the detector.

It’s a good thing I went through early. I also realized that I packed way too many electronics. (Why am I taking electronics to Japan? That’s like taking baguettes to France.)

My friend Michael was on the same flight to Dallas-Ft. Worth as I was. What a coincidence! But it was nice to have a close friend on the same flight. Michael also did something noble and wonderful which I will never forget– he bumped me up to First Class. Thanks, man. That was beautiful of you.

I got an Admirals’ Club day pass through American, and when I got to DFW, I promptly went to the lounge and recovered from the 6:00 a.m. flight. I love those lounges.

Sadly, the flight to Japan wasn’t so comfy. I was in the middle section of coach on a 777, and it felt like I was flying in a cave. I got a seat over the wings, so it was pretty smooth for the most part, but the 13-plus hour flight was tiring.

I spent most of the flight trying to sleep through it.

I listened to a lot of podcasts. Thanks Leo.

There were LCD TV panels on the back of the seats that show how far away we are from Japan on a little map, and it made the flight seem longer, because it looked as if the plane just wasn’t moving, even though I knew we’re racing through the air at 500-plus miles per hour. We just had a lot of distance to cover.

Arrival in Narita

We made it to Narita on time. I wish there was an arrival lounge for Admiral’s Club members there. I could have used a few minutes to decompress before getting hit full-on with culture shock. And it is a bit of a shock after flying in a dark cave for 13-14 hours to be dumped in a land where everything is alien, including me.

At immigration, they sent me to the Japanese counters instead of the foreigner counters. I guess it was because they had more foreigners coming in than they could deal with, because I don’t look Japanese. At all. (My red hair gives me away.)

Then on to customs. My tenuous grip of Japanese helped me explain my medicine situation, so I got through without being thrown out of the country, but I had to show them my yakkan shoumei, and there was some unpacking and repacking involved.

On to Tokyo

I had to find the Keisei Skyliner, which is an express train from Narita Airport to Ueno Station in Tokyo. It’s about $10-15 cheaper than the JR Narita Express, and it’s slightly faster, too. One tip– don’t buy the first train tickets you see upstairs. Those are sold by a ticket agency who marks up the actual price. Go to the basement of Narita, where the train station is, and buy it from the company.

I made it to Ueno after an hour and a bit, and had to lug my suitcases to the hotel. Silly me, I didn’t realize that Ueno Station has elevators and escalators. So I had to carry the Suitcases of Death up and down stairs. It was tiring. That one-bag idea is looking really good now, and 2 bags just looks dumb.

For my first and only night night in Tokyo for now, I stayed at the Ueno Terminal Hotel. The room was mind-bogglingly tiny for someone used to American hotels, but the room was clean, the service was good, and everything was laid out in a way I could figure out.

First Night in Ueno

My Japanese has come in handy a number of times already. The people here are very polite, and will try to help you if you try to speak slowly and clearly.

After I made it safely to my tiny business hotel in Ueno, I collapsed for a couple of hours, took a shower in a bathroom so small, it boggled my mind some more.

Tiny bathroom

Then I went to Akihabara for a brief look around. (It’s only 2 stops away on the Yamanote line, so why not?) I decided not to buy anything, because I was totally jet-lagged and dazed, and also, anything I bought, I would have to carry all over the country for the next five weeks.

Off to Okazaki

I went back to my room, slept for an hour,  got up, went to the hotel restaurant, ate some pizza, and passed out at 10 p.m. (First time I’ve done that in a while!) I slept in until 5 a.m., then dashed out to catch my 7:36 a.m. shinkansen to Toyohashi.

When I got to Toyohashi, I promptly took the wrong train to Okazaki, but I got there eventually anyway. The local will get you there, just in an excruciatingly slow fashion.

As soon as I got here, they gave me a Japanese language test.

I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

I know it’s important, but man, my brain is just… full or something. It’s probably the jet lag.

The room in the dorm is small, but the staff is nice.

My dorm room at Yamasa in Okazaki

Time for another nap, then some walking around town.

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