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Quick note: pictures will be at the end, because I don't want to go through and insert.
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What is in a blog? Is it truly a way to record, to reflect, to share? Or, is it a narcissistic expression of our inner desires to be heard, to be important? Why does it need to be an or; what if a blog is an, "and"? I don't have the answers, but a little introspection about motive never hurt anyone.
Anyway, I had a good New Year. Why? Because, wonder of wonder and miracle of miracles (so I'm apparently in a sing-song mood today) I was visited two spirits...in mortal form. Their name: parental units. Now, I know that some people are non-too fond of that term. They allege that it degrades parents into a more robotic form, that such a term degrades. While that is a valid point, the term, "parents" is itself problematic due to the implicit assumption of two parents. When I say parents, people seem to assume, "mother and father" if they don't know me very well, or they ask which parents if they do. Parental units, on the other had, assumes neither gender nor genetic relation--at least for many that I choose to associate with--and instead implies both an emotional relation and a societal one...at least for me. Urban dictionary, I have found, has several posts that disagree with my definition, but since neologisms are wishy-washy at best, I'm not all that bothered.
So, my father and step-mother came for a visit. Their first day was spent doing some sight seeing by foot, as I still had work and they were a little intimidated by the metro system. To be honest, I was quite intimidated at first as well. For those who are used to it, however, the entire system is absurdly simple. The trains are separated by name, and each name is also given a color. If two trains overlap for a large portion of their line, then they share a color. As such, once you know which line you want to go on, you just look for that colored platform, and so long as you know which way to go, you will be fine. How do you know (he...and we're stopping this right now) where to go? Well, nominally there is are maps of the lines. There are also tour guides, travel centers, and information centers. For those of us who live over here, we also have these amazing gadgets called smart phones, which have this handy app which lets you input your destination, and it will tell you how to get there. It even tells you how much you should expect to pay to get there. And it's free, because the great deity Da Google is benevolent, kind, and kind of filled with hubris, but we love it anyway.
Out first day together was spent in Konosu, where I live, and Omiya, the nearest big hub. Our first stop: my apartment. Their first comment: this is smaller than we thought it would be. I have made no secret that my apartment is small, nor that it is also bigger than I thought it would be. However, given Western standards, it's still fairly small...OK, that's not quite true. Given US standards...this might be comparable to New York in terms of smaller size...OK, fine, given the standards of what seemed to be most of the people that I was interacting with in the place that I happened to be living, this apartment is fairly small...especially for suburbia. My father really wanted to find a hotel out here--no one who lives here thinks that one exists--but by the end of that day, he was fairly glad that we didn't. Why? Because we fairly thoroughly explored my city in about three hours. We went out to the fields--the wall, by the way, at the end of the city is actually just a guard rail on a bridge--and saw Fuji San.
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Quick note: While we would say Mt. Fuji, in Japan mountains and volcanoes are given the honorific, 'San' after their name. Since Fuji does reside in Japan, referring to it as Fuji San seems more appropriate.
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We then came back and had lunch, where I introduced them to mochi, a kind of rice paste desert that is very common in Japan. Often it is filled with red bean paste, and to say that it is somewhat of an acquired taste would not be an understatement. Still, they got to try some rather authentic Japanese food. After lunch, we went the other way, out to Konosu Stadium. On the way, we saw a street that I have mentioned once: the bad idea street. Why do I call it that? Because it is about a car and a half wide, and to fill up the extra space, the city decided to plant trees...in the road...that all of the cars have to drive around. Why did they do this? I don't know, nor do I know why anyone would drive down that road when just a block away is a perfectly acceptable alternative. But that's Japan for you.
While we were in Konosu, I also taught them temple etiquette, which is actually quite simple. First, one must purify by taking a ladle of water at the appropriate place. Water is dripped onto the left hand, and then the right. Water is then poured into a cupped left palm, where it is then brought to the lips. This water can be spat out or swallowed--or this step can be skipped if the water is bad. Any remaining water is then poured down the handle. To then pray to the god/ goddess/ spirit/ what have you that resides within, one must first ring the bell at the front of the temple. Then, you throw your offering into the collection bin, and bow twice. This bowing is followed by two claps, and then a prayer. The prayer is followed by another bow, and that's that. Congratulations, you have just prayed to a Japanese deity, of which there are many. It really is true to say that one cannot go very far in Japan without tripping over a small shrine of some kind.
Following Konosu, we caught a ride into Omiya, where we had two destinations: 1) the Disney Store, 2) the Hikawa Shrine. At Disney, we bought tickets for Tokyo Disney, which we could use at either Disneyland or Disneysea. At about $62, these are way cheaper than their American counterparts, and if you think that there must be a catch, there is. A long catch. But we'll come to that later.
When we entered the Disney Store, it was all but empty. There were a couple of people wandering around looking at things, and one person getting tickets, so the process of getting up to the register was relatively straight forward. Getting the tickets was not, since what transpired was my parents telling me what they wanted, and me communicating that to the lady behind the register. My Japanese, I will say right now, is not that good, but it is at least somewhat useable. What truly made the difference is that I have learned how to really simplify my English to make it far more comprehensible to learners. I am still working on simplifying further, but am much farther along than I had realized. Anyway, once the details were hashed out, I went to purchase a present for my sister. While exploring the store, I had noticed that there seemed to be a few more people than when we had arrived, but it was not until I turned to go to the cash register that I realized how many. The line for Disney tickets was starting to stretch ominously close to the door, while the line for the cash registers had met the other and was now running parallel to it. Somehow, we had arrived at an odd calm before the complete and utter onslaught of people, and had we arrived a few minutes later, it is doubtful that we would have had the patience to wait in line. Little did we know that this was but a small portent of things to come.
The temple was, as usual, quite beautiful, as was the walk from and to the station. Eventually, we ended up at Shinagawa station, the closest station to our hotel, the Grand Prince. To me, at least, it looked like nearly any other station: the shops along the walls, the ticket booths and familiar travel agency, and the multitude of people. My oh my were there a lot of people. But we made it through and up to the hotel. I got my own room, and what a room it was. It was about the size of my apartment, yet uncluttered, and it had amazing heat and an absolutely superb view that looked right out at the Tokyo Tower. And it had heat. For those who don't know, my apartment has a high ceiling. As such, it is a bit of a pain to keep it heated. But this room had heat, and not only heat, but heat in the bathroom as well. Most of the apartments that I have been in over here have heat in one room, and that room does not include the kitchen or the bathroom. But, joy of joys, a heated bathroom. It even had an actual bed. Truly, for those days at the hotel, I was utterly pampered by things that I had taken for granted back in the US.
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Here's the thing: the US uses up a ton of natural resources--in fact, too many. Like most people that I grew up with, there was a strong belief in the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), so we did indeed try to reduce our use of resources. However, living over here where the standard of living is not only lower, but actually rather sustainable compared to our levels has made me appreciate a) how much I do have back in the states, as well as b) just how much we would have to give up in order to live more sustainably.
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Once I was settled in, we went out for dinner. We considered eating at the hotel, but dad-gum that food was expensive. Instead, we went to a noodle chain that I had not heard of. It was tasty, it was delicious, it was about as filling as the stuff that we could have had in the hotel, and it was a heck of a lot cheaper. And so, that night, I went to bed satisfied with my life.
The next morning was glorious! A shower with an actual shower curtain! I don't mean to sound ungrateful for what I have--I really am quite thankful for my apartment, which really is quite a bit nicer than it could be--but everything in that hotel room was just so familiar to me! Because it was a western style room. But, does that make it any better--or any worse--than a Japanese style room? I can say that it was probably better than my apartment, because my guess is that the hotel probably catered to a certain layer of society that could afford a nicer apartment. Also, having all of that heat in every room was nice, rather than centered in a single area. Having said that, I don't mind sleeping on a futon, nor am I exactly harking to get back to an American internet connection. It is what it is, and I am thankful for this experience.
Back to the story, we met up in the lobby at around 8:00, and then went out for breakfast. We found this neat little cafe, and dined there rather than Starbucks--which I was a little thankful for. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so I tend to feel strong connections with Starbucks, but when traveling it can be best to go try different things. Plus, since it was enclosed--the Starbucks was open to the station which, while probably nice in the warmer months made it frigid in the winter--and it made for nice people watching. This being the week of New Years, lots of people were traveling, which means that we saw lots of families, and lots of children. Because Japan is a country with a birth rate below the replacement level, you don't see as many children as one would expect, given the population--at least in Tokyo.
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As a fun note, the same applies to cars. That comes from having invested in really good public transit. Hint hint, America, hint hint.
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After breakfast, we hopped on the train for Harujuku, and visited the Meji Shrine--still as shriney and fantastic as ever, though now the stairs were covered by tatami mats. I must admit, I haven't been that close to one in quite some time, so it was interesting to touch it. It was also interesting to speculate at the sheer volume of people that would make them decide that covering the stairs with tatami mats was their best option, as well as lining the path to the shrine with rope so that no one could go into the forest. Glad that we visited when we did, just saying. Our real point of visiting Harujuku, however, was to see a friend of mine and have lunch together. And lunch we did, at a place called Max Brenners, after we stood in line for about fifteen minutes. Now, this was not a long line, nor a particularly popular one--that honor went to the two hour line for popcorn just up the street--but it was the first line that my family and I stood in together, and these things have special nostalgic memories.
We arrived to find that we were there about half an hour before it opened, and the line was already ten people long and growing. Thankfully, we had the good fortune to jump right in, for the line grew quickly behind us. The food itself, I will just say, was delicious. Father had some chocolate waffles, I had a strawberry-chocolate crepe, and my friend had chocolate fondu. All of it exquisite and delicious. On top of that, we all had good conversation, so all in all a good first morning around Tokyo. Lunch over, we parted ways and briefly went to another few stops, including Shibuya crossing. My parental units being big fans of the Amazing Race they just had to see it, but I had no clue why. We then went back to the hotel for a few minutes, and then off to the imperial palace.
I do rather like a good travel story, and one of my favorites from my own life is my attempt to get to the Vatican. I was in Italy with my father and step-mother, and we had spent the morning at the Roman forum (that itself was a fun adventure involving a shady tour group that turned out to be completely legitimate and got us into more places than we had anticipated), and we were planning to go to the Vatican after lunch. Being used to this sort of thing, we decided to walk, and walk we did...into an absolutely enormous thunder and lightning downpour. It was our last day in Rome, and therefore our last chance, and by gosh golly we were going to make it. We trudged up stairs, through parks, past monuments, and all the while in the mindset that we were getting somewhere. And, when we checked the map, we found that we had been. Not in the wrong direction, as we had feared, but instead just more slowly than we had thought. Far more slowly; completely and utterly drenched, we were only half way there. So, we made the decision to turn around. Sure enough, once we got going in the other direction the rain slowed, and finally stopped as we got to the hotel. I still saw some really dedicated guys playing soccer in the rain, so it wasn't completely a wast. Plus, we got a really good story out of it.
I bring up this story, because...let's just say that our trip to the imperial palace didn't go as anticipated. It is actually a popular jogging place, and having seen some fairly impressive sights, including the exact spot of one of my favorite (and now framed) pictures, we decided to walk the perimeter of the imperial palace. Because it really doesn't look that big, it's an interesting part of town, and we saw tons of people jogging it, so it can't be that far. And it really wasn't, given the amount we traveled while they were here. At the time, however, after a hard day of walking and eating--and both of my parentals still jet lagged and me still resting from work--that 5K was a bit more than we were expecting. We did it, though, and the sight of the Tokyo Station at night was gorgeous, with the all of the nearby trees lit up like starlight.
Back at our hotel's station, we decided to explore the nearby complex. We went to a nice aquarium, saw a dolphin and a seal show, and had a good pasta dinner at a place where we were Oregon appropriate in terms of dress...which basically means that we were the most under dressed people there. Following that long day, we all went to sleep absolutely exhausted, but excited for the next day.
All of our days were that jam packed. The next day, we went down to Kamakura and, after a few missed attempts, managed to find the Indian restaurant where I had dined last. Considering that I basically tripped over it last time, it's amazing that we found it at all. Still, we got some nice pictures, some good oohs and ahhs, and even hiked a bit. That night, we wandered around Ueno park, and we made sure to visit the Benten-do. We then walked around the perimeter of Ueno lake, and--once again--crashed after dinner. However, we all made sure to wake up for midnight on New Year's Eve, and gathered in my room to watch the Tokyo festivities, which turned out to be...nothing, except the bong of the Shinto bells. True, it was very different from what we expect in the west--which some members of the family were more disappointed about than others--but there was a beauty about the stillness and reverence. After all, New Year's--side note: we're now in the year of the horse, so they have horse everything (I even saw horse sashimi, which is raw horse meat)--is supposed to be about honoring both the past and the future with this sudden--and arguably arbitrary (in that we could have put the date anywhere within the year and it would still work...given the names of the month, February would actually make more sense)--and even though the Japanese do have the bonenkai--literally a year end party, or forget the year party--parties before New Years' where the goal is to drink so much that you forget the year, but on New Year's itself they stop to spend time with family in quiet reverence...at least so we hoped.
The first was spent at Tokyo Disney Sea, a Japan only Disney theme park. Never again will I complain of lines at Disneyland anywhere in the US. Through luck and a bit of opportunism, we managed to ride about seven rides--the electric train (I'm counting it as a ride, because it had a line and moved while we sat in it), 20,000 leagues, Storm Riders (which got me wet!), Aquatopia (which took two tries because it broke down when we were half way through the line the first time), Sinbad's Journey (It's a Small World meets the ball of plot), Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (no relation, apparently, to the movie), and Journey to the Center of the Earth. I do not like roller coasters; I will say that here and now. I don't get any enjoyment from them. I will do them once, these days, to make others in my group not feel guilty about leaving me behind--which I'm fine with--but I really do not enjoy them for a multitude of reasons. Thankfully, only those last two really count. Indiana Jones was decidedly more intense than its Disneyland counterpart, and Journey ends with a rocket uphill and then a sizable drop. However, considering the limitations on space that everything has in Japan, it is still amazing just what they were able to do and create.
Having said that, be warned that the lines are killer. Though not as long as Disneyland, as far as we could tell. The longest wait time that we saw--for a new ride, although a Toy Story 2 ride, so it couldn't have been worth it--was 220 minutes. 220 minutes! For a Toy Story ride. And there were people getting into that line as we watched. The longest standby line that we stood in was less than 10 minutes, and that was Sinbad. Actually, the longest standby that we stood in was for the Little Mermaid line, but we left after 20 minutes when my dad realized that 45 minute meant 45 minutes for a thirty second ride. Speaking of 45 minutes, that's about how long it took to get through the Indiana Jones singles line, which was the longest that we waited for a ride. The longest that we waited for a fast pass ride was about half an hour, although by the looks of the roped off section, it could have been a lot longer. I'm just glad that we went on an off day; on normal days, things get even more insane.
The next day, my parents departed. They left me their Suica cards, in case another person visits me, and a little bit of yen. I am not ashamed to say that I shed a few tears when they left, but then went back to my apartment. After being spoiled by the hotel, the first day was a little brutal, but I'm readjusting to the colder climate. I think what helped the first time was that the change was gradual, whereas now it was sudden. The rest of the break was spent resting, cleaning, and getting ready for work. I played some video games, stayed up way to late reading (I've really got to stop doing that), and binged on a TV show by watching an entire seasons in one day--well, first I finally cracked and bought the digital season, which was totally worth it. Just like boomerang, it does always come back. I may also have baked and promptly devoured an entire loaf of honey bread. As such reports can neither be confirmed nor denied, due to lack of eye witness testimony, we can only confirm that there now simultaneously exists and does not exist a Schrodinger's bread. Taste witness reports, however, give it a delicious rating.
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Since I held back a pun in the last paragraph, I feel no guilt in delivering this one that, when I came up to it, left such a look on my face as to give me a nice bubble of space on the train:
Do you think that Jane was a breath of fresh Eyre for Rochester?
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So, what did I learn. First off, I rather enjoyed being a tour guide. Planning activities, navigating tickets and other purchases, delivering fun information, it was all a blast. I have never really done much like this before, aside from a few tours of prospies down at Willamette, and I found that I was actually kind of good at it. Will I be a tour guide some day? I don't know, but I'm starting to get the feeling that just doing one job at a time might not be the way that I exactly work. I also learned that I have become far more adept at navigating this society than I had thought, as well as the fact that I know more Japanese than I thought I did. It's still not a lot by any means, but it's enough that most clerks would speak to me in slow, simple Japanese, rather than the hesitant, broken Japanese that my parent's got. I also confirmed that I will be way more thankful for so many things when I eventually move back to the US, as well as the fact that I would indeed miss some things in that move as well. When will that move happen? I don't know yet; I'm still keeping things as open as possible and trying not to think about it. Now, however, is not the right time, and I am excited to go back to work tomorrow.
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As an added note, I have decided that tomorrow I am a door mouse who was turned into a human and can only stay human by telling no one tomorrow that I am a door mouse and by teaching good classes. And this is why when, some day, I wind up in a relationship, the person I end up with will either have to be really patient or rather creative.
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Anyway, this has been another adventure in the austentatious. If you liked me, tell your friends; if you hated me, tell your enemies; and if you didn't care either way, then tell everybody. Good night.
Picture time, assuming that my phone doesn't flip out.
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| An amazing scarf a certain doggy made. Note the bells and Charter marks. |
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| Suddenly, with two people the apartment felt half as big. |
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| Suited up and ready to fight crime...or sight see, whichever comes out way. |
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| The view from my room. A quiet parking lot, and and unobstructed view of Tokyo Tower. Hyperbole alert: Best. Hotel. Ever. |
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