Alone in Kudamatsu

Do you hate dentists?

2011-12-14T16:07:00.001+09:00

I finally did it. After four years of paying into the Japanese National Health Insurance program, I did something that I should have done a long time ago. I got a wisdom tooth removed.

I'd like to say, "I got my wisdom teeth removed," but this is Japan. For reasons I can only speculate about, they do it one at a time.

I may have mentioned before how I went to a dentist to get a cleaning and they cleaned my top teeth then asked me to return the next week to do the bottom. I never went back.

Luckily this new dentist I go to speaks English pretty well and is not afraid to clean all my teeth at once. I got a few fillings from him this summer (six fillings means at least four visits) but kept putting off getting my wisdom teeth pulled.

My dentist knows I hate him. Not in a personal way. Maybe I would get along with him if I met him at a bar or something.

During my tooth-pulling visit he asked me if I'd studied any more Japanese. I answered, "hai."

He asked me what I learned. I had actually just come from a lesson, but I'm way to shy to speak Japanese to Japanese people, so I said, "haisha" [dentist].

Of course he acted totally impressed then asked me, "歯医者がきらいですか？" [Do you hate dentists?].

"Hai," I answered.

Then I opened my mouth and clenched my hands together and let him do his thing. Took less than a minute.

He asked me if I wanted to take my tooth home. I said no. He told me I should because it's a souvenir. So he put it in a little plastic tooth case and in my hand. So now I have that.

Hiroshima SketchCrawl

2011-07-24T23:51:00.002+09:00

A SketchCrawl is a drawing marathon around the world where people plan meet-ups in their cities. I've always wanted to do it and finally live in a place big enough where I could find other drawers to come with me.

We had a good time, starting at the Peace Memorial Museum (in the Peace Park) and working our way to the A-bomb dome (stopping at a sidewalk cafe along the way for pizza and fresh squeezed orange juice). It was super hot and sunny, but if we followed the trees' shade the heat wasnt oppressive.

A-bomb Dome

I felt a little rusty but managed to squeeze out 2 drawings I like. Instead of using a sketchbook I went with a clipboard with different colored papers. In the last few years I've really started hating sketchbooks, wire or bound. The clipboard gives you a nice fresh piece of paper with no distracting edges and no guilt about how many you fill.

Peace Memorial

Thanks to Glenn and Chika for coming! Hope we can do it again soon.

[EDIT]

Next SketchCrawl date is August 21st. Visit the Facebook page for details or send me an email.

Summer In Hiroshima

2011-07-20T23:26:00.001+09:00

Rooftop beer gardens, night runs, non-stop fanning, yukata, homemade sangria, coffee Frappucinos, cold showers, sweaty bike rides, watermelon popsicles, sticky bars.

The New Apartment

2011-06-13T02:43:00.000+09:00

Dear Blog,

I am no longer "Alone in Kudamatsu." Havent been for a few years, actually. I just moved with Motto from Tokuyama to Hiroshima. Yup, that Hiroshima, from your history book. But the name "Alone in Kudamatsu" stays. "Living in Sin in Hiroshima" is too wordy.

I love it here in the big city so far. Ive never lived in a real urban place with a population of over a million. Just today Motto and I were walking back from the grocery store and took a moment to notice how huge the high rise we past was. Like a couple of country bumpkins we stood there, noses pointed up, counting the stories. 33. So tall. We were impressed.

Motto: Can you imagine if you were building that?
Me: What do you mean?
Motto: Standing up there working.
Me: It'd be so windy.
Motto: Would you live on the top floor?
Me: Probably not, I'd think about jumping too much.

This apartment is a lot bigger than the one back in Tokuyama. We got a bedroom, a tatami room, a kitchen, a genkan, and a bathroom with a mirror and sink! I was so excited about that. The last apartment had a sink and tiny shaving mirror in the shower and that was it.

Strange noises:

10 p.m. church bells. Church, really?
Upstairs neighbor plays loud 90's Alt rock on Saturday nights.
Nightly slapping sound. Like someone is quickly whacking a fat man's back. Duration: approx 20 mins.

Good points:

Living downtown and can get a burrito, Starbucks decaf iced coffee, falafel and Subway sandwich in one afternoon. I dont, but I could.
Small American-themed cafe downstairs in my building. Serves coffee, cocktails, and Japanese food. The owner has big glasses and a motorbike and we say "konnichiwa" when we see each other.
Okonomiyaki restaurant around the corner has a friendly cook who makes me vegetarian food.
A young vegetable vendor guy stands downstairs with some cheap random veggies some days. Old ladies walk by and buy single cucumbers and slip them in their purses. They all seem to know each other pretty well.
Squeezed 20 guests inside for my housewarming party.
Someone keeps their wifi unlocked and it's super fast.

Bad Points:

Raspberry-chan's new room is on one of our balconies. Motto got sick of being attacked by her and we cant let her chew up the floors and wooden moulding anymore. So she's outside like some sort of animal.

I bought some new furniture and now I finally own a bed. But too be honest I miss the futons.

Motto got that insane bookshelf (pictured left) at a refurbish shop. I told him if he wants to keep his million DVDs Antonio gave him he'd better find something to keep them in.

I tried to take pictures of the place. But a video tour will probably work better. I'll do that someday. Or you could come visit.

I should make a Drunk Vegetarian Guide to Hiroshima to accompany my Fukuoka one.

Moving Time

2011-05-16T22:45:00.001+09:00

りくちゃん
Originally uploaded by JimmyJaneSays

I'm moving to Hiroshima next Tuesday! I swear, no more delays. I've been bringing my camera to work to take pictures of my students doing amazing things like floating, so I wont forget the little demons. I'll miss them!

Racism in Japan

2011-03-23T01:34:00.003+09:00

I have a fever right now, so I apologize if any of this sounds delirious. More delirious than usual. Can something sound delirious? Anyway.

This blog is about my experience as an American in Japan, so I thought I ought to write about this event even though most stories you're getting out of this country have a different feel right now. On Monday Motto [Japanese] and I [American] went looking for apartments in Hiroshima. It's a weird system here. You have to find a real estate company and you tell them what you're looking for, and then they try to sell you something they want to get rid of.

We looked at a bunch of places that were either too far from downtown, old, dirty, expensive, had the bathroom sink in the kitchen, or had the laundry machine in the kitchen. You know, things I'm not ready to settle for.

We found a place that was cheap for the size (3DK) and downtown. In our tired state we decided to take it despite the non-refundable 340,000¥ key money [$4,000 USD deposit]. Motto signed the contract and wrote my name down as his co-inhabiting fiance (he tried to hide the "fiance" part from me, when pressed said it looks better than writing "laundry folder).

Begin Rant.
So today we got a call from the real estate agent saying the landlord doesnt want to rent to us because I'm a foreigner. Apparently he had Filipino tenants before and they ruined the apartment.

Wow. They may know how to queue in line but this is a backwards country. Can you imagine an American refusing to rent to a Japanese? Or refusing to rent to any non-American? That stuff just doesnt go on in most of the civilized world, yet in Japan the real estate agent didnt even seem too shocked. If I were him I'd be like, You call them and say that, bigot.

You hear stories like this all the time in Japan. I was used to the constant stares, being asked if I "want to pa-ti" buy gross men, having to use a credit card to get a cell phone, and people doing black face on TV but this is a new hurtle I wasnt ready for.

It makes me more and more upset when I think about the fact I've been here 3 years, absorbing the culture and trying not to always be the nail that sticks out.

My first American thoughts about this were lawyer! newspaper! we should own that building!

And as far as the fear of me destroying the apartment with Motto, I thought that's why we give him the $4,000. It goes to cleaning the apartment and replacing all the tatami floors when we leave.

This shouldnt be acceptable behavior in Hiroshima, the city of peace, or anywhere. I assure you no Americans living there were Tweeting #PearlHarbor last week.

If anyone is itching to defend Japanese xenophobia and racism in the comments section have fun.

You can reTweet this link to let the word out that things like this are still being allowed to happen in 2011.
End rant.

I'm OK, thanks for askin.

2011-03-15T23:22:00.001+09:00

I was asleep when the earthquake hit. I didnt check the internet or TV before work so when I saw I had three missed calls on my cell after work I panicked. No one ever calls me, especially from overseas. It was my grandma seeing if I was OK. She called again and filled me in on what happened. Then slowly as my east coast friends started to wake up (noon their time) and my family in Texas heard what happened (FOX news must have picked up the story) more and more tweets and Facebook messages came in. I'm not trying to call out other members of my family about the fact that only my grandma in Boston picked up the phone and paid long distance fees to check that I was alive. *ahem*

Anyway, I let everyone know I was fine, and even posted the previous blog post before I found out how bad the earthquake and subsiquent tsunamis had been.

Then the western 24 hour news media really sunk it's teeth into the story. A man was found 9 miles out to sea, a nuclear power plant had an explosion, the cast of Twilight had to evacuate Vancouver.

I could hardly go online without seeing some misinformed person on the other side of the world saying, "Cancel your travel plans to Japan, it's not safe over there!" Jon is coming to visit me next month and someone wrote to him that Narita airport is a mess and he should rethink his vacation.

Other people worry about nuclear fallout traveling to California. Someone on Facebook said that Japan refused to accept help from the US (FALSE). #PEARLHARBOR started trending on Twitter.

My dad is not convinced I'm safe as he sees the press cover the devistation more and more.

Ok, folks. Japan is big. Some plant workers have gotten radiation poisoning. That's really terrible. I think it was 10 to 100 workers. The nuclear power plant was designed to withstand earthquakes and has systems in place to deal with a meltdown. Even if the thing blew up I'd be fine in Yamaguchi. You'd be fine in your home across the ocean. The poor people of Fukushima would have to deal with some shit, though.

A lot of people are missing. They dont even know how many thousands died. It's devastating to the country and will take a long time to bounce back from.

No one should cancel travel plans to Japan. The last thing this country needs is to lose tourism dollars right before cherry blossom season.

EDIT: As I wrote this a 6.0 earthquake hit Shizukoa, south-west of Tokyo. The news anchors have put their helmets back on.

Love, Dad

2011-03-11T21:34:00.000+09:00

So my dad sent me an email that read "I'm getting operated on tomorrow It probably will be on you tube if you want to watch it." I found out it was only a operation on his thumb, nothing life threatening. This is his update for me:

This surgery isn't going so well no food or drink from midnight and be at the hospital at 1120 now they expect me to sit in a chair for 2 hours and wait. I haven't even seen anybody yet. I just told the lady at the desk " they better be saving somebody's life if you expect me to sit and wait for hours." I'm not sure they know who I am and what I'm capable of. Everybody should be glad I'm alone esp if somebody says something stupid and who knows what I might say.

The best part:

So in closing if anything happens to me there are 4 jars of change in the cabinet next to my refrigerator make sure everybody gets one. Don't worry nothing will happen during the surgery. It's the before the surgery that could be a problem.

Then a follow up:

Everything went fine. I guess I asked one of the nurses if she was hitting on me and then I fired everybody .They said it was just going under talk but I was serious.

The weirdest part of this for me is his improved grammar! It's like he thought these may be his last words to me so he hit spell check and everything.

Then a bonus email after today's earthquake in Japan:

Are you ok earthquakes craters in highways tidal waves? Japan is looking scary stay safe. Let me know if we need to send Will Smith and Bruce Willis to save everybody.

Dont you wish you were reading his blog instead of mine?

www.LearnNihongo.com is Live!

2011-03-07T06:11:00.003+09:00

Finally finished a project I've been working on for a while, LearnNihongo.com. It's a website for Motto's online Japanese lesson business. I've been studying CSS feverishly for months trying to make a site that looks professional and can serve as a portfolio piece to get me more jobs as a web designer.

The site has come a long way from this:

You can tweet this link to help spread the word about the site, and follow @learnnihongo for a new Japanese vocab word everyday.

anyone who knows me...

2011-02-12T13:17:00.001+09:00

knows i hate being in a car. especially when it's snowing. i also hate not having access to a bathroom. and traveling really stresses me out.
so imagine my delight when this morning i took the bus to Okayama and found there is no toilet on the 4 hour ride. at one point i almost just got off at a random spot i had to pee so bad.
and then the snow. a sudden storm hit my route, closing the highway and sending my bus up tiny snowy mountain roads. anyone who has ever driven with me knows...
i sat white knuckled, planning my escape in japanese.
"ok, i'll tap the driver and say, TOILET PLEASE."
"no, i'll piss my pants and spend the weekend in the leggings i packed."
"maybe i should tweet my final words."
"there's no reason i couldnt highjack a bus."

so, halfway there and we should have been there already, the driver stops at a rest stop and i run with 3 other women to the toilet for a joyous pee, only to return to the bus to have the driver hand me a bottle of tea while apologizing for the delay.
yeah, im not that crazy, no one else has opened their bottle either.
---written on my phone while staring down the side of a mountain.

Online Art Show. Enjoy.

2011-02-05T22:17:00.005+09:00

My Flickr Pro account expires in 6 days. Dont think I'll renew it, because I dont do the kind of work needed to get people to look at my photos there (like comment on other people's pictures). With that in mind, and inspired by sleepytako, I'm using a highly technical algorithm to post my top 10 photographs of 2010.

And I actually got my camera (Canon EOS DSLR 40D) exactly a year ago next Wednesday!

Complimentary Spam

2011-01-26T12:52:00.001+09:00

What is the point of the fake comments by anonymous on this Sketchblog post? No links, no ads. Very mysterious. There must be some invisible embedded code. Anyone know?

Eating Bugs

2011-01-04T00:38:00.003+09:00

Motto and I brought some canned bugs back from Korea, to share with friends<3<3

I HATE JAPAN, the comic

2010-12-31T16:59:00.004+09:00

Over on my sketchblog I'm posting mini-comics on my top five reasons I hate Japan. We're already at number 4 so hurry up and get over there before all the fun is over.

In other news, just got back from my South Korean vacation. Will I post pictures and witty observations? Perhaps. All depends on whether or not I find the new TVShack URL.

And happy new years from me and my small tribe.

seriously

2010-12-20T01:18:00.001+09:00

you ever been so low?
youre at a bar with an infant, leggings, leather boots, your friends are home. sleeping. youve exhausted your mutual language with the bartender. one more vodka tonic. there is a baby here, with his mom, playing pool. well, im not knocked up. good news.

Mickey looks likes he's gunna fuckin hang himself.

1 A M in Tokuyama.

Comic, yo.

2010-11-27T07:00:00.000+09:00

Put a new small comic up over on the sketchblog, for those of you who dont subscribe to that feed. There are a few new things over there. Not a lot, dont get all excited.

As a side note, my new favorite word is delase. Coined by Motto, this word is a combination of "delete" and "erase" that only a nihonjin could think up.

(Hint: because R's and L's are interchangeable to them.)

Another Yatai Night

2010-11-20T01:07:00.005+09:00

Sometimes I think oh my god, my mother would hate this place.

Then I wanna bring her here so bad.

Dirty glasses, tarp sheets as walls, old oden. How did this become my weekend hangout? None of my friends really come here, except when urged by me (or you're Beth-san). No one enjoys Antonio's brashness, lack of teeth, and random conversation like me and Motto.

But when we want a night out yatai is the first place we think of coming. Strangers up for conversation, 711 wine. Peanuts.

Motto just told Antonio I am trying to transfer to Fukuoka. He looked so sad. No one comes to this wooden ramen shack anymore.

Antonio just said he's expecting his first grandchild. すごい！

OK, I'm writing this from the yatai via my phone.

Watching table tennis. Such an intense sport.

Yatai entertainment center.

Ink Painting Class

2010-11-16T23:22:00.006+09:00

A few months ago Motto and I went to an ink painting class in Yamaguchi City. I'm blogging about it now.

It was one of the most fun things we'd ever done together. We woke up early and drove to the community center. The instructor was apparently a big famous ink painter who really wanted us to learn how to paint asparagus.

Neither Motto nor I really knew what was going on in the beginning. I didnt because I couldnt understand what anyone was saying, and Motto didnt because Japanese people are confusing. We had the wrong supplies. Instead of our bottle of ink we actually needed a black stick (charcoal maybe? condensed ink?) and a block to rub it on. We spent 10 or 15 minutes rub rub rubbing the stick on the block with a splash of water. Then, viola! Ink!

After the ink materialized there was a long explanation that bored me to death as I was itching to pick up my paintbrush. Enjoy the video below to see what I mean.

Finally we were allowed to start copying the teacher's technique to paint asparagus, eggplant, and cucumbers. The teacher painted an example on my paper and then a bunch of old ladies came over and told me it was really good.
"じょうず！"

After 5 minutes of painting vegetables Motto was doing quite well, creating things fit to be hung on our walls, but my veggies sucked and I was bored of them. So I started painting the teacher (I had been staring at him for 20 minutes with a paintbrush in hand, couldnt resist) and then the girl sitting across from me.

And I almost got away with it. Let's just say there was applause. But I'll never know if they were impressed with my paintings or with a foreigner who knows how to apply ink to paper. Motto acted like the whole putting my painting in front of the class and asking me to sign it and a famous ink painter taking it home as a gift thing didnt even happen. I'm not kidding. He didnt say a thing about it. Which leads me to believe it could have been an elaborate hallucination brought on by owing $18,000 in student loans to an art school.

Drunk Vegetarian's Guide to Fukuoka

2010-11-09T23:52:00.011+09:00

I never do this, but I thought I should make my blog a little more useful to the Googling public. Especially after Motto had two occasions this month where total strangers mentioned knowing him through my blog. He so famous.

This past weekend Motto and I went to Fukuoka for a little getaway (my two week vacation in Texas the week before wasn't getaway enough, I guess). We left Sunday morning and decided to drive to save money. We didnt take the highway to save money. We added 3 hours to the 2 hour drive to save money. Money saved, lucky me.

Mana Burger
Our first stop was Mana Burger. Motto knew after that drive I needed to be fed. Being vegetarian in Japan, I find few places that serve real food I can eat. Yes, I can find french fries and iceberg lettuce most places, but everything else is covered in meat or fish juice. Honestly, the majority of people in Japan have never heard of vegetarianism, much less met one. Youre not allowed to go against the flow here.

Mana Burger advertises themselves as "Natural Junk." The menu includes 8 veggie burgers, 2 veggie dogs, french fries, tempeh fries, nuggets, soups and salads. I ordered the Garden Mana, which is totally vegan and is topped with sprouts, avocado, and dairy free Island dressing. The burger itself was good and didnt taste like one of those disgusting Burger King veggie patties. And I was totally willing to fork over the 780¥ (about $9USD) for something I could put in my mouth that wasnt deep fried or bland as hell. (Regular burger is just 580¥)

The Mana Dog on the other hand, meh. It tasted like a nuked tofu dog on a big bun. They also put a big pile of sauerkraut on top, which seems weird. C'mon, isnt relish vegan? But I may just be spoiled from having just been in Texas eating tofu dogs whenever the mood hit me. I could see myself craving those 530¥ weiners in a few months. (They were no Vancouver street dogs by any means...droool.)

I did like the copious amounts of ketchup and mustard available! A rare thing in Japan! They also sell vegetarian food, like ramen packs, tempeh, beans, etc.

〒810-0023
福岡県福岡市中央区警固2-15-20
Tel 092-986-0759
Monday-Friday　11:00〜21:00
Saturday　10:00〜21:00

Marinoa City
Next we went to the mega outlet mall Marinoa City. This was Motto's main reason for wanting to come to Fukuoka. It was pretty cool, I mean if you look at the website there is a Ferris Wheel, Smoking Corner, Children's Restroom. What's not to love? Having just visited America for two weeks I wasnt super impressed, but I could see the appeal if I really needed to get my shopping on. Not like any of the clothes in the entire place would fit me, but there are always accessories and snacks!

Places of note include the LEGO store, Muji Factory Outlet, ABC Mart and Starbucks. Even at discount prices things seemed expensive. Nothing to drive 5 1/2 hours for, especially in the age of internet shopping, but nice nonetheless.

Super Hotel
Looking for the cheapest hotel possible, but something with a private bathroom and locks on the doors, we found Super Hotel. Located downtown and costing only 4,100¥ for two people (with Motto's student discount), and 700¥ for parking it was a pretty sweet deal. The bed was kind of small but the room had everything one needs: a fridge, hot water and tea, a blow dryer, air filter and a unit bathroom. The room was clean but the bathroom had mold in the cracks. I knew that wouldnt be good for my ritual hangover bath.

There was a buffet continental breakfast that Motto *loved* but I didnt bother waking up for, since it was not vegetarian-friendly (or appealing?). Miso soup, rice, boiled chicken, pickled vegetables, kimchi, octopus calpacho, eggs, fish, hamburgers (that just means round ground meat here), and drinks.

Contemporary Bar 「瀧商店」
We didnt know what to expect when we arrived at Contemporary Bar for our 7:30 reservation. Motto just booked the place (we were meeting up with his old university friends) because they had a 2,000¥ (24$USD) nomihodai (all you can drink for two hours*) that included three food options. Plus he called ahead and they said they can accommodate vegetarians.

We were a little nervous when we went inside. Motto explained it was in the "bad boy" part of town (a store called Four Twenty across the street). It wasnt a big izakaya like we expected, but a small place with seating for two parties and a few stools at the bar. It had a nice atmosphere though, and interesting, funky decorations. A milk bottle lamp hung between the red sofas where we sat.

But we had nothing to be nervous about. The cocktail choices for nomihodai were awesome (my favorites, Absolut Vodka and Disaronno were available) and the two guys working were friendly and casual (you can see one sitting at the bar in the video). They didnt make us feel guilty for making them fetch our drinks every 10 minutes. The food was really good too, surprisingly. First a big salad with an array of vegetables, then minestrone soup (creamy and oishii!) and finally a big plate of french fries. It was all included in the 2,000¥ each. There were five of us there and enough food for all, although we did order more because we felt obliged to given how little we had to pay (and we drank all their beer).

And let me tell you, the drinks were strong. I think I had a rum and tonic, three Bulldogs (vodka and grapefruit juice) and two amaretto orange sodas. But it could have been more (who knows at that point). You can see the direction the conversation was going in the video (meaning: Japanese) and for the first hour I just kind of nodded my head along, but I swear by the end I was fluent and the funniest person in the room!

*Japanese people dont seem to see that as a challenge.

Yatai
We took a taxi to a yatai so the boys could eat ramen and drink more. I ordered sho-chu (god knows why), took two sips than wondered up and down the yatai-lined street looking for a toilet. I did eventually stumble into a kombini and use the toilet. I think I may have eaten grilled mushrooms, too. I do know that I was to drunk to argue in Japanese about how I shouldnt have to split the bill. And I didnt want to embarrass Motto in front of his friends.

In the morning I put on my sunglasses, my clothes from the night before, swung by Subway for a Veggie Delite and endured the nauseating ride back to Tokuyama.

Weird Penis

2010-11-06T14:15:00.001+09:00

Yesterday I learned that the same Japanese word means "want to see" and "you look like." So my four year old student wasnt saying he wanted to see my weird penis (by way of introduction, the first time we met). He was saying I look like a weird penis. Precious.
Sometimes I wish I didnt understand so much Japanese.

Cockle Warming Chocolate

2010-11-04T15:09:00.001+09:00

I Make Pie

2010-10-26T23:45:00.000+09:00

Yes, I do. When confronted with a country that doesnt sell prepackaged blueberry pies, and charges 6 bucks for a tiny slice of a pie-like food, I do what any other internet connected American citizen would do. Google an easy pie recipe.

But, my skills are so intense that I merely had to glance at a few recipes to find what they have in common (hint: blueberries, cornstarch, and flour) before entering the kitchen to make my own version of the pie: sugar-free with a whole wheat flour crust. Now Motto and I can pretend the pie is healthy as we devour it in one sitting. Yea, pie!

The whip cream is brought to you courtesy of Motto. I'd like to thank my neighbors for not complaining about our midnight whipping.

Raw Chicken

2010-10-18T00:14:00.001+09:00

Motto's tori sashimi dinner (as I pick pieces of fish off my salad).

Mr Max Music

2010-10-14T18:21:00.001+09:00

Im at Mr Max discount store. Currently playing on loudspeaker: "I Wanna Sex You Up"

That's Customer Service!

2010-10-12T22:02:00.004+09:00

Today when I got home from work Motto told me the story of his day. He went to the bank in the afternoon to sign up for internet banking and the teller was apparently very rude to him. More like passive aggressive, really. She told him he could fill out the form at home and mail it (instead of taking up space in her bank). He called the bank to complain and said it happened before with that lady.

Then tonight when he got home there was a business card from the manager and two packs of tissues in our mail slot. I think he came here to bow and apologize.

I should say Motto isn't a complainer at all. In fact, whenever I try to complain about someone he dismisses it and says "that's not what they meant." So I was surprised to hear this story.

Pancake Juice!

2010-10-06T21:18:00.001+09:00

Yatai

2010-09-08T23:55:00.001+09:00

Antonio-san's obsession with movies led us into an entirely Japanese discussion about the 1998 film Apt Pupil (Japanese title: Golden Boy) and the tragic death of star Brad Renfro, his post-mordeum Oscar snub, and how he was in my favorite movie ever, Ghost World.
Never a dull moment.

Rice Fields and Fireworks

2010-09-06T13:56:00.008+09:00

Maybe I mentioned a few months ago that my Grandpa hooked me up with a sweet deal on a Canon 40D DSLR camera. I still only understand 1% of its functions, and am trying hard not to use it as a point-and-shoot with an amazing zoom. Yesterday I went into the mountains of Kano with Nao-chan to take pictures of the yellow rice fields. She taught me some things about changing the ISO (I think) and now need to spend another few hours with the manual. If anyone has any tips for me or knows a good online tutorial, let me know (anyone, as in the 4 people who would read this far...).

This summer I also brought the camera out to a festival in Tokuji.

See more of my pictures on my Flickr.

One more announcement, I updated my sketchblog, and it has a new address, so if you were subscribed before you should update your whatchamacallit.

Only in Japan

2010-09-03T18:49:00.001+09:00

Popcorn in a bag.

beach

2010-07-30T14:47:00.001+09:00

On the train on my way to the beach today an old woman came up to me and complimented my white white skin.
I felt guilty that I was on my way to damage it a little. But, I am wearing a hat and sunscreen.
Not gunna go in the water...so Im not really sure why Im here.

Tokyo Sciene Museum

2010-07-08T15:07:00.002+09:00

You can see my pictures from my trip to the Tokyo Science Museum here.

Say My Name

2010-05-08T03:19:00.004+09:00

I never thought much about the pronunciation of my name before moving to Japan. I do remember I would get annoyed at Jon every once in a while because I thought he over-pronounced the tt's. It was like he was making a tsk tsk sound at the end of my name.

I, myself, end Jeannette somewhere around the n's.

Since I am in Japan and have all this official paperwork that needs my name written out in characters rather than letters, I had to choose between Ja-net or Je-net. I chose Je. I believe it is for the reason that everyone, including Motto, pronounces my name Ja-net. Or more often, Jaa-netto.

And then there's the Janet mix up. My students always get a big laugh whenever that name pops up in a textbook. I have to explain the difference to seven year-olds; Je-net vs. Jan-et.

Loads of people I have met here have exclaimed, "JANET JACKSON!" after I introduced myself. Surely we non-Asians don't look that much alike.

I thought maybe I should ask my parents how to say my name, have each of them vote. They did it to me after all. Then I remembered, neither of them have ever called me Jeannette. It's either Jen or Jenny (how sweet). I know for a fact my father doesn't even know how to spell my name.

So I was just lying in bed, mulling it over, repeating Ja-net, Je-net, Ja-net, Je-net, trying to remember how I ever pronounced my name before I moved to the land of katakanaization.

So, kids, I've decided it's Juh-net. I will inform Motto in the morning but will continue to let my students call me Japanetto, Gianetto, or Jaa-ne-sensei.

チャチャチャ

2010-04-22T19:57:00.001+09:00

Originally uploaded by JimmyJaneSays

More pictures of Hanami on Flickr.

Wow

2010-04-11T20:02:00.001+09:00

You're lucky you cant read Japanese.

Fashion!

2010-04-07T01:59:00.001+09:00

How would one use this particular type of clothing? Foot goes in one hole, neck through another?
But what do I know about style, I'm shopping with a backpack on.

More on Japanese Students

2010-03-29T23:23:00.003+09:00

Motto came home today with a 12 pack of pink toilet paper.

It's his last week of work teaching, and he brought on a few students to a yaki niku buffet for a goodbye lunch. Motto told me he spent 3,000¥ on lunch and then when he came back to the office later there was a 12 pack of pink toilet paper waiting for him. The office lady must have said who it was from.

When I pressed Motto for more details about why they would buy him a 12 pack of pink toilet paper, or what he thought it meant, he just shrugged and said he felt lucky, because we could really use the toilet paper.

"Why are you writing about my story?" Motto just asked me, "It's normal."

Welcome to the Dollhouse

2010-03-27T02:38:00.003+09:00

Today, a room of 3 and 4 year-olds sat in a circle around me screaming as many mean Japanese words combined with "sensei" as they could. It was like something from a nightmare, where you're totally surrounded and just being mocked. By babies. They were dying with laughter and couldn't be controlled. They would get real close to my face if they thought they had a good one. I just sat there at one point, not trying to stop them, because it felt so surreal.

I'll give you the highlights in English:

"Breast-sensei!"
"Glasses-sensei!"
"Stomach-sensei!"
"Ear-sensei!"
"Penis-sensei!"
"Monkey-sensei!"

I can't remember all of them, and there were probably a few I couldnt understand.

(sensei means teacher, they usually call me Jeannetto-sensei)

Hey Kids!

2010-03-20T01:13:00.001+09:00

Minnie has a delicious treat for you! Yum fun!

SUD!!

2010-03-16T22:14:00.003+09:00

Well, ladies, my blog posts are about to get a lot shorter. You see, nerds all around the internets are cracking their backs and rubbing their bellies and choosing not to trade a master knowledge of memes for unhealthiness anymore. I first heard about this trend from my friend Frederik and soon Krijali was joining in. If the two most otaku people I know are doing it, surely I want in.

Yes, I am talking about the stand-up desk. Or SUD, as I am now calling it (coin!).

So yesterday (actually three days ago, I'm writing this post in 5 minute intervals*) I transported everything out of my big Japanese closet and plopped it in my tatami room (Motto is thrilled), leaving me space for my very own SUD! So far, so good.

I'm not sure how long image editing projects or the total overhaul of my website (in hand coded CSS) will go, but I'll wait a while before I get into that and give my muscles time to adjust. If muscles have memories, they need only remember 3 years ago when I stood at a cash register 8 hours a day. Drawing on receipt tape and brown bags.

Unexpected results: tweets (@jeannetto) are instantly more unbearable; I haven't written a single email (sorry mom); my kitchen is damn clean.

Other results of computer geeks around the world abandoning their chairs may be: less sarcastic responses on forums when you ask a question; your IT guy may soon be able to kick your ass (or at least make it to your desk); bandwidth will be freed up for poor people in Africa. Et cetera.

But like any internet trend, or health kick I go on, what goes up, must come down.

*psych! I wrote this all in one go.

Rirakuma

2010-03-12T02:04:00.002+09:00

Today was one of those days where I woke up chanting to myself, please dont make me go, please dont make me go. But I gratefully ate the okonomiyaki Motto served for breakfast and filled my new tumbler (thanks Sarah) with decaf coffee and off I went. I woke up after noon so it was too late to call out sick anyway.

I love my long train ride into Yanai. I just cant understand how the time seems to double on the way home.

My first class was a trial lesson I was dreading with three 2 year olds and their mothers. The Japanese teacher of the school had set everything up so nicely my anxiety levels dropped a bit when I entered the room. Plus, she wasn't there, so I could continue listening to my podcast. Bonus.

Things started looking up when the first toddler came in and, after being prompted by his mother, announced, "Mayonnaise Shu!*" We played, I danced around like a monkey, and the class went fine.

The next class, though, made me think about the big picture of my life and what the hell I think I'm doing here. It's a bunch of 7 year olds, and they weren't that bad today, they've been worse. As they usually do, two boys just sat in the back of the room playing with their pencil boxes and talking about Pokemon while I wrangled everyone to get their notebooks out and checked homework. No matter how many times I called these boys, how many of my Japanese words I used, how many angry faces I made, how many times I threatened to call their moms, they wouldn't budge.

I realized they are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. And why should I get mad at them, when before the class started I hoped all 8 students were absent so I could be doing exactly what I want to be doing (listening to a podcast laying on my back in the middle of the room)?

And then I started to think, why I am trying to control these kids and what right do I have to? But then I think that the company that pays me would really appreciate me attempting to teach some English and hopefully use the curriculum they trained me to teach. I just hate when the students get to me and I start getting frustrated or caring that they're in balls on the floor wrestling or talking loudly to each other so I can't hear the other students with my good ear.

I'm standing up, pointing my finger yelling, sit down, sit down, sit down. And then it dawns on me I don't really care at all. And I give everyone a piece of origami paper to draw a picture of their favorite toys.

*That's baby Japanese for "My name is Shu."

2010-03-07T20:36:00.002+09:00

A friend of mine Krijali (alias), who is also my go-to for any random technology question I have, has launched a website for his future 2,500 km hike around Japan. I know to you and me that sounds like a horrible time, but apparently he finds that kind of stuff "fun." Anyway, here's his plan:

I will be hiking around the island of Shikoku, visiting the 88 temples of the longest walking pilgrimage in [...] Japan. From there I will trek through the historic roots of Japan on my way to Kyoto. Then I will take an Edo era route, the Nakasendo, through the picturesque mountains of Japan, from Kyoto to Tokyo. After this I will walk the Tokaido route back to Kyoto with a detour in order to climb Mount Fuji.

You guys remember my Mount Fuji story, right?

Knowing him he'll do the mission (I dont know about survive) and take some incredible video and photos along the way. So visit his new site, http://krijali.net/go/, bookmark it, subscribe, whatever, and live vicariously through his adventure.

And yes, I am writing this post to assuage some guilt about constantly annoying him with my tech emails while I redo my website.

Plum Blossoms

2010-03-04T03:50:00.001+09:00

Plum Blossoms I
Originally uploaded by JimmyJaneSays

Spring! Spring! Spring!

Creepy Little Japanese Guys

2010-02-25T22:14:00.001+09:00

Sometimes I think I'm in a Miyazaki film. That's one reason I came to Japan. More distinctly Japanese photos up on my Flickr page.

Tabuse

2010-02-22T13:24:00.003+09:00

The weather's been getting warmer. Yesterday I went out to the [even more] country side to take some photos with Nao-chan and Kris. I kept bugging Kris with questions about f-stops and shutter speeds. We saw some weird cult-like activity, too. Those pictures were all destroyed.

My Flickr photostream.

Squid

2010-02-22T00:48:00.001+09:00

He insists on disgusting me with his native diet.

Listener Mail

2010-02-12T18:32:00.005+09:00

I was laying in the hospital bed this morning, getting a big bag of steroids injected into my veins, listening to a medley of my favorite podcasts, when the "Stuff Mom Never Told You" hosts went to "listener mail" and totally read my view on global deodorantationalism. I just grinned in the bed thinking what a super-geek I am (and how I'm totally going to blog about this later).

If anyone heard the episode already, I am indeed the Jeannette from Japan, with paragraphs and paragraphs to share on underarms. I think Cristen (or Molly) loses her breath at one point while reading my edited down letter.

Click here to download the episode, "Do kids need both a mother and a father?" on iTunes. My email is at the 19:42 mark. I talk about Motto's armpits. Hehe.

left hand keitai typing

2010-02-11T10:15:00.001+09:00

not starbucks, peppermint tea. after 5 hour iv have to work.
today is a bank holiday so the usual entrance and desk was closed. the nurses are different and busy with other stuff, but it only took one try to find a vein today.
i was worried they were giving me the wrong medicine, but they just did it in the opposite order, with the one that leaves a bad taste in my mouth first, pink one second, and im assuming the huge one next.
my usual nurse is actually 2 of my students' mom, who brings me hot towels for my arm. miss her.
hearing status: same.
great, moaning old man just arrived.

My Neighborhood

2010-02-09T18:21:00.009+09:00

Just got my new Canon digital SLR EOS 40D camera in the mail today! Went around my block to take some pictures. The light wasn't great, but I got a few shots. Still figuring the camera out.

:o

2010-02-08T13:15:00.000+09:00

I've been waiting at the hospital for 3 hours and I saw a dead body!!

Drip, Drip

2010-02-03T12:37:00.001+09:00

Liquid Candy!

2010-02-02T15:27:00.001+09:00

Have I shown you this one?

I Have the New iPad!!

2010-01-28T17:19:00.000+09:00

Pull My,Uhhh...

2010-01-28T16:16:00.001+09:00

What qualifies as an emergency?

New Blog?

2010-01-27T23:10:00.002+09:00

I kind of want to start a new blog where I record my progress in learning Japanese. I really hate the traditional way of studying (looking at a book, repeating words in my head until I get distracted) and I was thinking of doing a diary style/web-comic bloggy thing to keep me motivated. I don't know if I'd link it here, because now my Japanese is less than that of a two year old. Maybe I'll get a few posts going and if it's pretty I'll show you all.

Reason for my newfound interest? Besides that I've been here 2+ years? Today Motto forced me to go to the doctor alone (the nerve!). I went because last night I started having weird ear issues and it's all echoey and everyone's voice sounds like robots. I got through it OK but I'm kind of sick of only speaking in nouns.

"Ear hurts."

Also, every night I go downstairs to buy Motto an obento (half price after 9pm & he pays me back). The same guy is always there. He says "konbanwa" and I awkwardly half grin and nod my head at him. Every night. I mean, I don't need to study to audibly say "arigatou gozaimasu," but maybe a little more confidence?

Ok, I'm totally exhausted and over it after writing this. Time to reload Facebook, sip my cranberry vodka and play Sims3.

Coffee for Black People

2010-01-19T19:58:00.001+09:00

Except, I havent seen many around here.

Mary-san no Hitsuji, Hitsuji

2010-01-17T17:18:00.001+09:00

Tanoshii na--!

My Fellow Americans

2010-01-09T03:19:00.001+09:00

Send more, soon.

17 American Days In 5 Photos

2010-01-04T16:24:00.008+09:00

I Missed You, Japan

2010-01-03T16:11:00.001+09:00

Who thought of that name for the shiny gold shoe?

Hameda Airport

2010-01-02T17:55:00.001+09:00

I just used a stranger's nail clipper and it was the best thing to happen to me all day. More travel tales to come. Assuming I ever make it back to Tokuyama.

On the train...

2009-12-14T19:24:00.001+09:00

with a bunch of bags, heading to Hiroshima with Jon. Our flights back home are tomorrow morning. I'll be in the US for 17 days.

Um, OK?

2009-12-06T12:59:00.000+09:00

There's something fucked up going on at my local supermarket.

Wish I Saw This...

2009-12-05T01:34:00.003+09:00

...before I moved to Japan!

My block is "Chikko-cho." I think.

Thanksgiving Yamaguchi-style

2009-11-28T22:20:00.005+09:00

I'm pretty sure at one point I had declared that I would never celebrate Thanksgiving again. I think it was during my high school years. Back when Jon and I would head up to Montreal during the long holiday weekend. Both of us being teenage vegans* (and he being Canadian) meant eating Turkey and hanging out with the folks seemed like a terrible way to spend time off from school. So it was all gay dance clubs, tattoos and lip rings for us. I think I even got my star/feather tattoo on Thanksgiving, to celebrate the Native American heritage on my mom's side of the family. So, yeah, not into Thanksgiving.

But, like many expatriates, I have ended up romanticizing the holidays I was never really into. I don't consider myself jolly or possessing any kind of Christmas spirit, yet I've shelled out $1,000 to fly home to celebrate it this year.

You see, I've spent the last two Christmases in Japan. Alone. On the couch. Trying to get Skype to work. Opening presents from my mom that arrived weeks before but I saved for this day. Really depressing. I guess I can appreciate the holidays now that I'm older and my family is expanding in numbers and in miles.

And then there's Valentines Day, which I've always hated, but since I've learned that in Japan girls are supposed to buy guys chocolate I've totally started to preach the American Valentine's Day doctrine (mostly to Motto, who doesn't care and wants his treats).

So this year for Thanksgiving, Kris and Nao-chan held a little last-minute Thanksgiving potluck dinner at their house. I had been subconsciously preparing for this by hoarding a can of cranberry sauce I bought over a month ago (for half off!) at a foreign food store in Hiroshima. Nao cooked delicious fried tofu and carrots that looked like ebi-tempura. Another friend brought pumpkin pie and a green bean cassorole. I think someone brought a plain doughnut (it was kind of sitting on the table awkwardly). Someone else made mashed potatoes and Shani made fried chicken. No Turkey, no gravy, no pecan pie or football (thank god) but it felt Thanksgiving-esque.

All in all, I was really surprised by how excited I was to see pumpkin pie... and how easy it was to eat with chopsticks!

*Which also means everyone makes a big fuss about what you "can" eat and you have to fight your way into the kitchen to save some potatoes before evil milk and butter gets splattered all over them.

Well, thank god.

2009-11-24T00:07:00.001+09:00

The Hardest Post Ive Ever Written

2009-11-18T00:48:00.007+09:00

This is hard but, I have been lying to you all. For the last six months I've been boasting about my "perfect" life in Japan. You know, my job, which occupies less than five hours of my day, five days a week. My boyfriend, who dressed as the yellow Go Ranger for Halloween, because he's Asian. My new 27" iMac, where I spend countless hours playing Sims. My sweet little bunny. Yes, yes, an amazing life.

The truth is, everything is not as it seems. Those of you who have followed my Twitter may have suspected as much. I've been bruised, attacked, and terrorized. What we once believed to be a half hamster, half squirrel breed of rabbit is now showing herself to be half werewolf. The other half? We still don't know.

I didnt believe it at first, when a friend who was spending the night over told me she heard a little growl. Even when Raspberry attacked another friend, Yen, I thought she was just scared of an intruder and protecting her pile of pellets.

But, slowly, as these things often happen, Raspberry started turning on Motto and myself. For the first few weeks it was only Motto that got the brunt of the blows. And only when he came home from work at night. She didnt lunge at his ankles and growl when he let her out of the cage in the morning. Only at night. Which is where my werewolf theory is developing from.

Her attacks on me have slowly increased. It seems that when she is in her full fury she cant distinguish one ankle from another. After hours of peacefully sitting on the sofa petting her head and watching episodes of Mad Men together she snaps as soon as Motto comes in the door.

A jealous rage? Maybe. But until she learns English, or I learn rabbit Japanese, I will never know. And she's too clever to let me catch it on tape. As soon as my camera is on she has to "poop" in her "toilet."

Blog followers, let me tell you, the hardest part about all this is the embarrassment. When my students ask me about the black bruise on my ankle and then I have to hear them erupt with laughter when I gesture that my "usagi" did it. But, I know in telling my story I can help others speak out against fuzzy pet violence.

I ask that you respect my privacy during this difficult time and direct all emails to my publicist or manager. And don't tell me to get her fixed. They dont know what that is in this country.

Sorry, Jon, she chewed a hole in the gift you sent her, to give room for her ears to poke through. And good luck when you come visit next month. Two words: wear pants.

Michael Jackson Memorial Store

2009-11-16T23:54:00.001+09:00

Are these in America, too? This one's in the underground mall in Hiroshima.

Haunted Island Halloween Party

2009-11-04T00:20:00.009+09:00

After discovering Otsushima a few months ago with Motto, I knew it'd be the perfect place for a big Halloween party. It's a 30 minute ferry ride from my house, there are cheap cabins, and... it's haunted by WW2 kamikaze soldiers!

Halloween night I rented out three cabins, and a bunch of people came all dressed up and someone even brought a real orange pumpkin! (In Japan you usually only find the small green kind.)

First we explored the tunnels and submarine launching site. Then we drank, BBQ'd and watched campy Halloween movies inside one of the cabins on the curtains using a projector. Everyone bought treat bags filled with candy for each other (mine are hanging on my doorknob so Motto doesnt forget to bring them to his students tomorrow).

A slightly scary experience: there was a creepy fisherman biking around when it got dark. A few people saw him appear out of the darkness of the tunnel and then say, in Japanese, "give me fire." Someone asked if he meant a lighter and he grunted in approval. Later, at about 3am Nao-chan and I saw him while we were walking back from the peir. He was just leaning on his bicycle between the camp site's showers and kitchen. I screamed! He didnt react at all, and I couldnt even see his face. When I got back into the cabin some people said they heard me scream, so I asked why they didnt come running to save me. Their reply?

"Well, we discussed it and, it sounded like a happy scream."

On a haunted island, nonetheless.

The next day, after I settled my stomach down by throwing up every time I moved my head, a few of us set out for the Kaiten Museum, which was sad and creepy. But, despite that, it was pleasant because the weather was cool and the clouds had cleared after a rainy morning.

The party continued into the next night, with a few less people, but more cooking, costumes, cocktails and candy.

All in all, it was a good time. But, I'm not likely to host a party again soon.

Big Apple

2009-10-31T02:02:00.004+09:00

The other day I bought a really huge apple. It cost about 500 yen, but I was feeling sad and thought, I've never bought myself a really huge, expensive, apple before. So I did.

It was thiiiis big. It took two days to eat.

Speaking of impulse buys, I also got myself a 27" iMac last Sunday during a trip to Yamada Denki. Anyone who has read my blog or sketchblog for a long time and has been witness to my many fundraisers/complaints knows what a big deal that is.

Edit: damn, I should have said, "Speaking of Apples..." I'll get you next time, pun!

2009-10-20T00:38:00.001+09:00

So windy the yatai may blow away.
(Plus, Motto and Antonio-san love each other.)

2009-10-18T23:15:00.001+09:00

im drunk and on the train. i drank a shot of 96% alcohol vodka without realizing it.
anyway, i have met many people in japan who read my blog before they met me. shout out!

How are you doing?

2009-10-15T22:39:00.002+09:00

What are you up to? Anything new?

No. Maybe. I dont know but, I cant think of anything at this exact moment and if I could, it's nothing appropriate.

Over the last few months the question of What's going on with you? has been annoying me more than usual. I never know what to say, and I always come away feeling like a boring, useless person afterward. "Nothing. Work." Or I start going on about some geeky podcast.

I know everyone's just trying to be polite, but my life is at one of those plateaus where I do relatively the same thing day-in and day-out. No, my company isnt going bankrupt, I dont have any new pets, and no, I havent started my masters degree (as everyone around me over 30 apparently has). Today I made applesauce for the first time. Oh yeah.

I may start answering with, "I'm sorry, arent you following my Twitter feed?"

Here I Am

2009-09-09T19:38:00.004+09:00

Jon thinks I'm dead because I havent updated my blog in 10 days. I didnt think I was that avid of a blogger, but apparently I am. I only like to write here when something cool or bad but Japanese related happens...but, most of my time is spent cleaning the apartment (for the princesses) or what I did today: going into work for an hour then walking to the pet shop to put my nose against the glass of the bunny tanks.

The cutest bunny has been there for a week, but there's a paper post-it that supposedly says "sold" in Japanese. It's even a girl, which is good because Raspberry is too sassy for a man to come up in here and tell her what's what (and pee on her the way boy bunnies do).

So today I had Motto email me the Japanese for, "Is she really sold or can I buy her?" And I showed it to an employee. The employee politely informed me, while bowing, "Haisumimasenyoudesuschottosksjhjdgkjjsdhdjsdesuneonegaishimasu."

Or something like that. I didnt know what that meant, so I stood around a few minutes just to make sure she wasnt swooping her out of the tank and into my arms.

She didn't. And Raspberry has no sister. And I've updated my blog.

Atsui!

2009-08-30T15:30:00.001+09:00

WW2 Nazi Paraphernalia

2009-08-29T15:32:00.002+09:00

That's what I look for in a temporary tattoo.

Fuji Mountain Adventure (Part II)

2009-08-19T01:36:00.002+09:00

I finally make it to station 8 and Yen tells me that there is room at the hut, they just wanted us all there together when we booked. I was so relieved. We get into the hut and we're dripping in the genkan (shoe take-off area). The employee there instructs us in Japanese to put our wet clothes in the plastic bag he provides and hands us pants and shirts if we need them.

I change into some leggings I packed (to put under my jeans if I was cold) and a new t-shirt. Erica puts on my sweat pants provided and Yen is dry enough to stay in her clothes, because she put the frikkin rain suit pants on when it started raining.

We are then instructed to hang up these bags and our backpacks, in a big room full of wet bag and backpacks, as he shows us to our futons. That means my hoodie, jeans, and rain jacket and not going to be dried out, but sit in a plastic bag in a cold room all night.

We get into the sleeping room, where at least a hundred people are laying down like sardines in a row. There are also bunk bed type things, so some people are sleeping in big groups above us. We get this little space to sleep in, divided by a foot high particle wood wall. There are two blankets and four pillows. We have 20 minutes to eat anything we packed before lights out. I cant really eat anything, though. And I am so cold.

As I am laying in bed freezing listening to the snores of Yen-chan, I remember my fuzzy halloween socks that I packed in my bag. I go out to get them, and while I'm up decide to pee, because I dont want to have to get out of bed again. The bathroom is outside. So I put on some provided bathroom slippers and make my way out. There are people out there, in ponchos and headlamps, who are not sleeping, but still making there way up the mountain. I step in a freezing puddle and get to the toilet. Luckily, since I paid 5,000 yen to sleep at the hut, I do not have to pay 200 yen to pee. I bring my cell phone and email Motto. I can't believe the whole mountain has cell phone service.

I get back in bed and stick some pocket warmers into my socks, and this warms me up a bit. I still can't sleep, I am just laying in bed wondering whether I should wake up at 1am and join Erica and Yen on the rest of the trip up the mountain (about 500 more meters). We're already like 75% up. But, if I leave at 1am to make it to the top for the sunrise, the conditions will be pretty much the same as they just were. Dark, raining, cold, and my tight chest and not breathing thing.

I think about how Erica and Yen can probably make it up in 2.5 hours, but it may take me three or four. Three or four hours of climbing wet rocks, in the freezing rain, scared I'll die because I can't breathe.

It really didn't feel like an option. Even while resting in the hut my breathing was jagged and I was using the oxygen can I bought. I still felt dizzy. So, I chose to see Erica and Yen off, but I stayed in the hut until 6:30am. At that point I started to make my way down the mountain. In.my.leggings. (Oh, and I run into a co-worker later---in.my.leggings.)

The only dry clothes I had were my black leggings, tshirt, and rain jacket. I did have rain pants, but those only lasted about 20 minutes, because I fell on my ass so many times and ripped them down the back.

I gave myself a kind of head start, instead of waiting for my friends at station 8 or 7. I arrived at "new" station 7 I sat and ate the most expensive meal in my life. Hot chocolate, corn soup, and bottled water: 1,200 yen. But, it was worth it to be somewhat dry and warm. My sweat was being locked in by my rain jacket, so my tshirt was wet and keeping me cold. But when I took the jacket off I was really cold.

Erica and Yen caught up with me there and we stayed another half hour or so. They showed me pictures of the top. They were really hot, I was still freezing. Then we continued down together.

After that my 500 yen shoes started to give out. The treading was gone, so I was slipping on the gravel, and my toes weren't protected and were just jamming into the rocks as I waddled down.

It really wasn't all bad. It was fun climbing down sometimes, I could breathe easier as I passed the 7th station and the three of us were cracking jokes and having a good time.

We practically ran down from station 6 to 5. The path was dirt and compared to what we just dealt with, a piece of cake. Then we finally did some shopping for souvenirs (why we came to this damn mountain in the first place). I got a few keychains and two magnetic kissing Fuji keitai straps (one's blue, one's pink) for me and Motto. It reminded me of something teenagers would buy. Motto thought it was really ugly on his phone, so I told him he only has to keep in on a few days (he hasnt taken it off his iPhone yet...hehe).

So it took me from 7am to about 1pm (with a big break in the middle) to make it down the mountain.

After the bus ride home we went to a spa for a shower and bath. It was Yen's first time at a Japanese style public shower, so that was fun explaining, Yes, right now you have to get butt naked and follow me into a room of naked old women.

And then at this point I was done complaining, and the other two had their turns.

The green line shows where I climbed.

Read Part I.
More pictures on my flickr.

Side Note

2009-08-17T19:45:00.003+09:00

Just found this on a website, while looking for an aerial shot of Fuji for my next blog post:

Jul. 30, 2009
A fatal accident occured yesterday, again.
69y/o Japanese man from Nara pref. was climbing in a tour,
He left Osaka on a bus around 9pm on 28th,
arrived at the 5th stn. of Yoshida trail around 7am on 29th.
Started to climb around 10:45am, had a break and lunch at the 7th stn.
He felt bad and walked slowly behind the tour.
After a while he crounched losing consciousness.
He was confirmed dead at the hospital later.

Jul. 28, 2009
A fatal accident occured yesterday.
48y/o American man from California was climbing Mt. Fuji with his friend,
and suddenly fell down on the ground at the 8th stn. of Yoshida trail.
Despite treatment by a doctor in the first-aid stn,
he was confirmed dead at the hospital later.

Jul. 25, 2009
Another missing man, 27 y/o Japanese
was found dead at the 8th stn. of Fujinomiya trail.

Jul. 24, 2009
The 62nd Fuji Mountain Race started 7am this morning.
Due to the bad weather, the goal for the "summit" course
was changed to the 5th station.

One of two missing men, 30 y/o American citizen climbed with his co-workers,
was found dead at the 9th stn. of Fujinomiya trail.
It was very windy and foggy when they were on the summit.

Jul. 17, 2009
An English woman injured in a slip on the Fujinomiya trail last night.

Jul. 14, 2009
A falling rock killed a man in a camper
on the Fujinomiya 5th stn. of Mt. Fuji last night.
Click here for more details.

*Note: I took the Fujinomiya trail.

I Don't Want to Die (in a hospital)

2009-08-17T12:00:00.000+09:00

Fuji Mountain Adventure (Part I)

2009-08-16T10:28:00.013+09:00

I am writing this because I cant get off the couch. Not my usual inability to get off the couch due to Facebook addiction and streaming episodes of Law and Order: SVU. I cant get off the couch today because my leg muscles have decided I am no longer trustworthy enough to make decisions for them, and they quit on me.

As I've mentioned before, I have an aversion to mountains and really any steep incline. So, I thought What better way to spend the Obon holiday than climbing Japan's tallest mountain, Fuji-san?

Two months ago I started planning the trip and invited my two friends Yen and Erica along. I booked a hotel in Fuji city, bought Shinkansen tickets, read up on what to pack. I was totally prepped.

The trip started out pretty awesome. Our hotel had bunk beds. We went out for Kansai style Okonomiyaki. We discussed boys and ate chocolate.

The next day, the day of the climb, we took a the 8:30am two hour bus ride up to the 5th station. Most people start the climb from here. It's the point where trees stop growing and clouds hang out. We heard you should give yourself time to adjust to the altitude so we browsed the wandered the gift shop and bought our walking sticks. The sticks are cool because at each station you can get a seal burned into it that says the name of the station in kanji and how high you are. We stayed at the gift shop for about an hour and started the climb at noon.

After station 5 there are six more (station 6, new 7, old 7, 8, 9, 9.5), than the top, station 10. Why they dont rename them, I'll never know.

From station 5 to six I was feeling good. It took about 45 minutes, and I knew that was the shortest distance between two stations. The ground was packed dirt mixed in with a few piles of rocks to climb up.
The mountain wasnt what I expected at all. I thought it'd be trees with a dirt path going up to the top. It was more like the surface of the moon, gray and covered in rocks.

After hitting station 6 I got a little nervous. From the hut you can look up and see how steep it really is. And I couldnt see the next station, there was too much fog. I think this took us about two and a half hours to climb. The ground was really hard to walk on, it was mostly rocks, and you could fall easily if you didnt watch your step.

As I walked and sweat people would pass me, who were coming down the mountain, would say "gambatte!" I didnt know the appropriate response, so I said, "thank you." In English.

From station 6 to 7 I started having some trouble. I couldnt breathe very well and started to wheeze. I could take about 15 steps before I had to stop and catch my breathe. This slowed us down considerably and I felt bad for my traveling companions (who I warned about climbing with me beforehand!).

Despite my breathing issues I continued on, slow and steady and sweaty. It would be sunny than foggy than sunny. But after the sun set it rained. It really, really rained. I had a rain jacket that I put over my backpack and myself. But, I couldnt button it up now, so my hoodie was getting wet. It was too rainy and rocky to put on my rain pants, so I just kept walking.

We were supposed to sleep at the 9th station, but from station 7 to 8 it got really scary for me. My breathing was bad and my chest felt really tight. It was so dark and there were only a few people around. I couldnt quit, it would be an hour walk down or an hour walk up anyway. Station 8 was the first aid site plus a lodge, so Erica really wanted to get me there to sleep, she was worried about the wheezing.

I should not that on the way down Erica and Yen (far ahead of me) saw a man collapse and possibly die. His family was gathered around saying, "otousan" (father) and pumping his chest. His eyes weren't opening. We didnt pass rescue workers climbing up for maybe two hours.

So, while I was wheezing and wet and trying to make it to station 8 the rocks became really hard to climb. I had to use my hands or the rope most of the time. I was taking breaks and breathing from an oxygen can I bought for 1,200 yen a few stations back.

Now, let's talk about money for a second. I felt like I was at frikkin Disney World, not on the most sacred spot in Japan. Everything cost money. The toilets were 200 yen (about $2), the water was 500 yen. Getting hot water for your ramen cup was 300 yen. A can of beer was 800 yen! I dont know who'd be drinking, but damn that's expensive Asahi!

Anyway, at about 7:30, with station 8 in our sites Yen goes up to the hut to ask if they have room for us to sleep (our reservations were at station 9, and we were supposed to get there by 8pm, not happening). She shouts down that she didn't get rooms and I start to tear up, in my mind I'm thinking I'll just start crying and begging to stay there, there's no way I can make it up another level! It would be another 2-3 hours in the freezing rain, and I can feel my lungs collapsing.

Can I say, as you all know, I was born in South Florida. The flattest place in the world. I lived there at sea level for 16 years, then I moved to Massachusetts, close enough to the coast and probably still at sea level. I had never been this high up in my life. I mean, I'd been to the top of Mount Royal (233 meters high) and driven through Vermont, but now I was above the clouds, and at this point in the story 3,250 meters up (about 10,662 feet, or 2 miles). My body didn't like all this. I wasn't having any muscle pain, my legs and feet were OK, it was just the breathing and chest pain, and the added anxiety that I was going to have a heart attack or my airways would close and I'd faint and no one would save me.

Japan is Amazing

2009-08-11T23:14:00.001+09:00

A few nights ago Motto and I hit a 711. He read comics and I explored the ice cream freezer. I was excited to find an actual dinosaur egg being stored between suika popsicles and soda ice. I bought two.

I ate mine on the walk home, but Motto agreed to save his til we got back so we could document the experience. The dino egg is kept inside a balloon, or possibly a tiny condom.

Motto's first attempt at opening it.

My suggestion.

Enjoying the delicious treat.

Satisfaction.

Fireworks

2009-08-10T15:11:00.000+09:00

Beauty Queen

2009-07-27T00:57:00.004+09:00

I just got my hair did--together with Naomi-chan. Another 4 hour ordeal(for the money it cost, it better be a full day event). I got a straight perm and cut. They put this chemical on my hair and wrapped me in saran wrap and let me cook for 30 minutes. They then rinsed it out and gave me a little scalp rub. Then a girl blew out and straightened my hair. I thought we were finished; we hadn't even started.

I'm used to cheap mall salons with bitchy single-mom with over-treated hair, but mostly I'm used to having a few drinks and taking the scissors into the bathroom myself.

She then applied a new chemical to my dry, straight, hair and had me wait again. Then another wash. Then the cut began. I realized I was clenching my fists pretty hard by this time. The hairdresser brought me some English magazines. Celebrity cut mags from 2001. A nice gesture, but doesn't beat the last time when the hairdresser gave me a Japanese "Where's Waldo?"

They tried to talk to me, in English and Japanese. I wish there was a switch somewhere I could press to turn conversation off. I need to learn the Japanese for "please don't worry about being friendly." I'm not a haircut talker, we're not going to become friends, and I'm too nervous to smile and be polite. But, I'm sure they feel pressure (especially the assistants) to be really friendly, as a kind of business model.

I like the cut and perm, though. It's really humid, but my hair looks washed, brushed, and fresh! Now I know why so many white girls have been recommending the straight perm.

Note about the picture: all the little hairs touching my face was totally making me sneeze! I sneezed once in the middle of the haircut. I didnt know what to do or how to warn him it was coming.

Purikura!

2009-07-25T19:53:00.002+09:00

I participated in the ancient Japanese tradition of purikura with Nao-chan.

Applications!

2009-07-22T14:42:00.003+09:00

A new comic added to my Sketchblog...

Motto Fan Club

2009-07-18T21:13:00.006+09:00

Motto mentioned in passing that he wouldnt mind teaching Japanese lessons over the internet in his "spare time" (or meal/sleeping time, as most people call it). So, I of course immediately got started building him a website. It was fun and didnt take very long. I like playing around with HTML code and pop-ups and PayPal. I even used a coupon I had to take an ad out on Facebook. Maybe you will be one of the thousands of lucky Facebookers to see the ad. You'd have to have "Japanese" or "Japanese Language" or "Japanese Culture" as one of your listed interests (god knows, I dont) and you'd have to live in the States...but, who knows. If you see it take a screen shot (feel free to black out whatever unmentionable Facebook group you're trolling).

Now, you might be thinking, "Why would I pay money to talk to your boyfriend online?" Because I know I would. I mean, he doesnt usually make me pay, but... Actually, tons of people here, in Japan!, pay loads of money for Japanese lessons every week. I used to, back when I was capable of book learnin, before I became obsessed with watching King of the Hill reruns on Videostic.com. But really, if people who live in a country surrounded by Japanese would pay to take lessons, there must be something to the word "lesson" that makes you not mind throwing money at it.

Plus he's a real teacher. Plus he giggles a lot. Plus he may agree to do webcam. Plus I'm not even sure he knows what's going on. I'm not asking any of you blog readers to sign up for lessons. I hope I have a more refined audience then Naruto-obsessed-used-Japanese-pantie-sniffing-Nihonphiles. But, do go check out my amazing web-baby-making skillz. It's at http://japaneselesson.jimmyjanesays.com.

2009-07-09T20:53:00.001+09:00

I think he escaped from a fish market.

From my niece, Vyctoria:

2009-07-08T03:23:00.001+09:00

She's on to me.

Pizza Toppings, Yum! puke

2009-06-30T16:26:00.007+09:00

These are ads from (seriously) the best pizza place in these parts of Japan. Most other Japanese pizzas are like eating cheese colored Play-Dough on crackers.

In the mood for avocado and pizza? No problem! And at Chicago pizza they don't even bother cutting the avocado into bite sized pieces! And don't forget the mayo lattice on top. The "L" size (American small) will set you back about $36.

At this point you're asking yourself, "What about corn? I dont consume nearly enough corn everyday." Don't worry. The above pizza includes corn, mayo, AND french fries! Fries on the side? Pffft. This is imitation American food, and everyone knows Americans just pile all their favorite foods into a trough and go at it.

And now a little something for the kids. The Tuna-Mayo mild is a pizza your 12 year-old will be begging to get at. It has everything those young finicky eaters crave: tuna, mayo, chunks of tomato, and CORN! YUM!

But seriously, I wish I had enough money to get one of these. And the Japanese skills to get it delivered to my apartment.

This story will make sense later...

2009-06-15T16:53:00.003+09:00

One of the most miserable experiences of my life. Some years ago (so many that I'm not sure exactly when it was) I went to Montreal to visit Jon, with friends Liz and Jen. We were walking around downtown, it was hot, it was summer, when Jon suggested we stroll up to the Mount Royal park. Everyone seemed excited to go, so I agreed; even though I probably would have preferred to find a nice air-conditioned coffee shop to sit in somewhere.

I should have know this wasnt going to be fun, and I probably should have turned back, when before we even hit the mountain, when there were still houses and shops around us, the ground started to incline and I started to whine. I slowed down considerably, while my "friends" (I use quotation marks because at the time I was sure I'd never speak to any of them again) hopped and skipped and pranced up the hill. I was the fat kid in the Goonies pleading, "wait up guuuys!"

I'm not going to describe how Jon got me to the foot of the mountain because it was too humiliating. I also won't describe how much pleasure some of the company seemed to be taking watching me struggle and motivating me to keep going. Of course, that's just from my side of things. Maybe my dear friends aren't sadistic assholes.

Anyhoo, a few hours later, after me pleading for breaks and receiving few, we made it up the mountain. Hooray. I rested a few minutes, looked over the edge, and then they were at it again. They wanted to find the big illuminated cross. I wanted to kill them all. I wanted to take a nap. I wanted to find a taxi.

So, with my calves on fire we continued roaming around the mountain, getting lost, finding our way, finding the park, becoming bored of the park, getting hungry, descending the mountain. I don't remember much else.

Unrelatedly, on that same trip we all planned to go canoeing. We spent 3 hours driving to a park and spent our last few dollars renting canoes. As soon as Liz and I settled into our tiny boat, in about two feet of water, I started to have a panic attack and had to be brought back to shore. Apparently, I am deathy afraid of water.

Everyone but me squeezed into the other canoe, and went out for a few hours while I sat on the beach with a pack of cigarettes. And no lighter. Because it was Jon's and he thought he may want to smoke on the boat. Son of a bitch.

Note: Jon, Liz, and Jen, if you've read this far, you know I love you guys now, but this is a story about a couple of hours when I really, really didn't. Please feel free to add your version in the comments, but try not to give away why I'm writing this.

FOOD!

2009-05-22T23:07:00.001+09:00

LSL sent me these amazing snacks and candies! Veggie jerky, peanut butter cookies, lentils, black licorice, falafel mix...
THANK YOU!!

Unchi

2009-05-12T22:06:00.003+09:00

I haven't slept in a really long time. All my friends and relatives inboxes have already been filled, so I'm cracking open the old blog.

I told my students today that they don't sell natto in Amerika. They were aghast.

My 15 year old students just sat making fun of me in Japanese while I read from the textbook.

I went to a two hour meeting this morning that proved that the curriculum my company uses is either made by monkeys or hamsters. What five year old needs to learn, "I'm fastening my seatbelt" (virtually unmemorizable) before they understand the nouns seat, belt, or hell---car.

And uh, that's my life right now. Or the parts that I'm willing to share. Enjoy the bunny video below.

Pic-o-eye

2009-05-11T22:09:00.001+09:00

At a public bathroom in TOKYU HANDS, Hiroshima--creepy.

She Don't Need No Sleep

2009-05-08T02:41:00.001+09:00

2009-04-19T21:37:00.001+09:00

Taking up space.

Yum

2009-04-15T21:43:00.001+09:00

Do I need to make a joke about this one?

2009-04-10T02:24:00.001+09:00

I know everyone thinks their bunny is the cutest bunny, but...

Miss America

2009-04-07T15:57:00.001+09:00

Today was not the first time I saw Japanese teenagers publicly mock and taunt a disabled person. What the fuck is wrong with these people?
I recentaly learned Japanese wont eat uncooked carrots, either.

2009-04-05T11:44:00.001+09:00

This bag cost me 5 yen. What kind of world is this?

World News

2009-04-04T17:21:00.001+09:00

Is anyone else worried about North Korea right now? Or is it only something people in Japan are thinking about?
For the next four days Im looking upward.

Happy St Patty's!!

2009-03-14T22:05:00.001+09:00

From the loud ass Japanese bagpiper!