It was the Best of Japan; It was the Worst of Japan

After spending a year living and working in another country, you’re no expert on the culture, but you begin to see patterns and tendencies you’d never notice during a shorter stay. Foreigners bring a unique perspective that natives often miss, like when you can’t make sense of a big mural on a wall because you’re standing too close to it. In the spirit of this perspective-taking, Eric and I have compiled this list of THE BEST AND WORST OF JAPAN. Disclaimer: Not being able to speak Japanese well or read 99% of what we see has almost certainly influenced this list! We are truly NO EXPERTS! These are just some observations. Please chime in, correct us, or add your own perspective in the comments.

THE BEST: Nobody Does it Better

• Service. We have never experienced customer service this exceptional anywhere in the world. Even the gas station attendants (yes, you can still have someone pump your gas for you here!) make you feel like royalty. Employees would rather receive a compliment than a tip, so tipping doesn’t exist here. It doesn’t need to.

No more "one bad wheel!" These carts rule.

• Shopping carts. A purse hook! A slot for your umbrella! Wheels that turn 360° smoothly and easily! Shopping is no longer a chore.

• School schedule. Many people may not agree with me, but I think the Japanese school year makes way more sense than the U.S.’s. The year starts in April, and halfway through the school year, students get 5-6 weeks off for summer break. Students also get a week off for New Year’s and two weeks for spring break. When you add in all the national and prefectural holidays, you never feel like you’re in school for too long a stretch, and the one long-ish break (summer) isn’t so long that all learning and knowledge evaporates!

• Non-litigious society. Why can you pet/ride/feed tons of animals in Japanese zoos and parks? Why can children play with abandon on really fun and potentially dangerous playground equipment? Why can a CEO simply apologize publicly and bow really low on TV when a mistake is made, with no further consequences? Because Japanese people don’t rush to sue for every tiny little thing. 

The Japan Rail (JR) train system has a stamp at every station! Fun to hunt for while you're rushing to your train, fun to collect in a stamp book.

• Stamp rallies (child-friendly atmosphere). Japan does an amazing job of making museums, historical locations, and other attractions just as child-friendly and engaging for kids as theme parks and festivals. At nearly every tourist location, you will find a commemorative stamp (which I have LOVED collecting!!), and at larger places, they have stamp rallies and keyword rallies. Children (and me, of course) can pick up a map at the entrance and proceed through the attraction, collecting stamps or keywords along the way. Then when they leave, they can present their completed map for a small prize. They may not even realize how much they’re learning!

• Milk tea (and vending machines access). I’ll just say it: Milk tea is the greatest drink in all the Earth. And if you want this delicious drink or any other, including tea (cold or hot), coffee (cold or hot), soda, or juice, you will never have to go far. Japan is chock-full of vending machines. They’re everywhere. Thirsty people will never want for a drink here. We’ve also seen more creative vending machines here, including one selling umbrellas during rainy season! Genius.

• Cash society*. Most Japanese people use cash for almost everything. (Credit cards do exist, but they function more like debit cards.) Purchasing what you can’t afford now isn’t a national epidemic here.

You wash up first (stalls on the right), then you relax your worries away!

• Public baths. Most Americans are horrified at the thought of public nudity. Well, get over it, because these baths are so deliciously relaxing that they’re addictive! You never feel so clean or so calm as you do after one of these baths. (And of course the sexes are separated. What kind of country do you think they're running over here?!)

• The culture of cute. In another controversial move, I hereby publicly state that I love most aspects of Japan’s “cute culture.” (Eric may not be so enthusiastic.) I love how there’s an adorable mascot/character for every company, town, attraction, and government agency. (Oddly, though, no school mascots!) I also love how people of all ages and both genders can rock their Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse gear, use cell phone charms, and use cutesy things right out there in public. 

• Combinis (convenience stores). More than mere havens for salty, processed junk food and Slurpees, combinis here fill your need for sustenance AND provide actual convenience. You can pay your bills, buy tickets to concerts and other events/attractions, scan documents, print and copy things… We hardly ever go a day without a visit to either Lawson or Family Mart.

• Obeying the "social contract." Most of us have heard that Japanese people are polite. (Hear that, my Japanese junior high students??) I think courtesy here goes beyond mere politeness. People know to stand aside from the doors when a subway car or elevator arrives. You almost never hear booming bass when you’re out driving. Even children are excellent at turn-taking during games and don’t flip out because they didn’t get their favorite color whatnot.

• Great children’s programming. When you only understand about every tenth word of most TV shows, you tend to gravitate toward children’s programming (where we maybe can grasp one in five words!). We have found kids’ shows here to be colorful, fun, and engaging, but we also like that they give kids credit for more than a three-minute attention span. (And kids here actually do seem to have longer attention spans and to appreciate shows without constant action and flashing images.)

THE WORST: What’s the Matter Here?

Cheap, low-quality junk!!!

• Napkins. How can napkins be at the top of my list of the worst of Japan? Because pretty much every restaurant provides the cheapest, least absorbent, cruddiest napkins you could ever find. You have to use about 15 per meal if you’re a messy eater like me. On the plus side, however, restaurants almost always supply you with wet wipes or occasionally even hot towels when you arrive. But during your meal, you’re stuck with the nasty napkins.

• Work ethic. I don’t mean to say the Japanese have a poor work ethic; I actually mean just the opposite. I believe you’d be hard pressed to find a group of people anywhere in the world who works harder. While this would seem to be a positive, it has created what I believe to be a very unhealthy work culture. (My examples will be from the world of education, but from what I’ve heard these situations occur throughout nearly all work sectors.) Teachers here put in 11- and 12-hour days routinely. If they coach a team or run a club, those hours are even longer and stretch into the weekends. Sleeping at your desk in the teacher's room is considered totally acceptable. There are no substitute teachers, so co-workers must fill in any gaps when someone is sick or has an emergency; teachers come in sick all the time to keep their co-workers from having to pick up their slack. Even sick time isn’t really sick time like we have it in the U.S. If you are sick and just need a day or two to recover from a cold or mild illness, you have to take vacation time. The only time you can use your actual sick leave is when you’re hospitalized or have a doctor’s note saying you have the flu. Teachers also don’t automatically get time off when the kids are off; they have vacation time they can use as desired throughout the year. Many teachers spend prime summer and winter vacation time stuck in the teachers’ room. American teachers work VERY hard, but in general I believe we maintain far better life balance and prioritize the family far more successfully than the Japanese.

The teachers' shoe cubbies at the junior high

• Shoe etiquette. A bit pet peeve of mine here has revolved around shoes. I can understand people removing their shoes to go into someone’s home, but it goes way, way beyond that here. Certain businesses (our apartment company, for example) require you to remove your shoes. At school, you must remove street shoes upon entry and put on your “inside school shoes.” But that’s not all! When you enter certain classrooms or the gym, you have to remove even those inside shoes and enter in your stocking feet!! And I have back and foot pain, so I really can’t go barefoot or in my stocking feet without great pain; I have been surprised many times at places where it never occurred to me to bring my “inside shoes,” and then had to suffer through the event or meeting. Too far, Japan!! Too far!!

• *Cash society. Wait, didn’t you see this up on the “best of” list? Yes, you did, but this element of Japanese culture is a bit of a double-edged sword. Most people buy almost everything they need in person, at an actual retail shop. Amazon.com does exist here, and I’m sure online shopping will grow in popularity eventually, but for now that wonderfully convenient aspect of our lives in the States is generally out of reach. Plus, you have to lug around a LOT of change here! The smallest bill is 1000 yen (about $10), so you end up with 500-yen ($5) coins and 100-yen ($1) coins up the ying-yang.

• Fear of technology. Piggy-backing off the previous item on the list, the lack of popularity of online shopping is a symptom of a much larger issue. Contrary to what most of us might assume, most people in Japan aren’t super tech-savvy. After working in a very tech-forward school district in the U.S., in my school district here I feel like I’ve stepped backward 15 years. Quite a few students don’t even have computers at home. And have you noticed that I haven’t posted a single picture of my students here on the blog or my Okinawa photostream? This is because of a generalized fear of the Internet that pervades school life and even adult life here in Japan.

• Fruit prices. Watermelons are about $15, apples are almost $2 apiece, and don’t even get me started on exotic fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. From what we understand, this is true not only in Okinawa but on mainland Japan as well. (Please correct us if this isn’t true!)

• “Weird” rules. In Japan, what you see on the surface is merely the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on in their society. There are whole reams of often-unspoken rules that govern most aspects of life. We’ve run into a few and have been surprised by how inflexible these rules seem to be! For example, many restaurants simply won’t allow you to carry out unfinished food. Customized food orders or changes are frowned upon. It’s not remotely rude to ask someone their age, because age and seniority dictate how you will act toward basically everyone. One year isn’t enough to go deep on these hidden rules, but we’ve noticed a few. Share more in the comments if you can think of other examples!

• Racism/attitude toward foreigners. An in-depth discussion of this issue is outside the scope of this blog, but we think it’s important to mention. Japan is a very homogeneous society. Even here in Okinawa, where the American military has had a significant presence for many years and foreigners are more commonplace, people of different races still often receive stares and thoughtless comments. Many of our fellow JETs speak excellent Japanese, but people still assume they need translation or can’t understand, even after they’ve proven otherwise. We have heard news reports of anti-Korean signs and demonstrations on mainland Japan as well, so it’s not just an “American thing.” There’s no country in the world that doesn’t have room for improvement in race and culture relations, so we don’t mean that Japan is worse than the U.S. or any other country in this regard. Diversity is just not a way of life here yet.

Super Typhoon Neoguri

So This year's typhoon season here in Okinawa started with a bang. "Typhoon #8" or Neoguri, the worst typhoon seen in Japan fin 15 years hit Okinawa yesterday July 8th. Schools were closed, busses stopped running except this one.

Gambatane!!!! From The Neoguri FB Group : https://www.facebook.com/groups/1437790566506097/

Okinawa was national news again in Japan. Miyako jima to the south of us was in the direct line of site for the Typhoon. We saw people nailing plywood to windows and securing trees with twine. The English NHK news said the winds were going at 110 mph and enough to make a magazine a glass penetrating artillery. 

Thanks NOAA!

Kelly and I stayed indoors and watched as Neoguri whip around our plants. Fun fact they name each typhoon ahead of time and Neoguri means Raccon Dog in Korean, the Japanese have also have a name for raccoon dogs, Tanuki. Many area's in Okinawa were without power for days, most of kids at Kelly's school reported that they didn't have power. School was canceled the day after because of flooding and lack of power in many areas, but they didn't cancel it soon enough to send some kids back.

When Neoguri hit mainland Japan there was a landslide that took the life of 12 year old kid. Lots of areas experienced flooding, it rained about a foot of rain in one day both here in Okinawa in Mainland Japan. 

The Seven Wonders of Okinawa

While I was away in Japan, my school in the U.S. embarked on a One Book, One School program. The entire school community, including parents, kids, teachers, administrators, and staff, read a book together and engaged in discussions and activities around the story. The book the school chose was The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney. The main character, Eben, is bored with small-town life and longs to leave Sassafras Springs behind him as he travels the world in search of adventure and excitement. His dad presents him with a challenge: If Eben can find seven Wonders within the confines of his home town, his dad will allow him to take a train to visit relatives in a big city. This book really touched me, since my own desire for an entirely new and unfamiliar place led me to the JET Programme and eventually here to Okinawa. I decided to follow Eben’s example and search out the astonishing, amazing, and unforgettable Seven Wonders of Okinawa (in no particular order; they’re all equally awesome).

One of many beautiful walkways of Fukushu-en

Fukushu-en

Fukushu-En, a Chinese garden built to commemorate the sister city relationship between Naha and Fuzhou, China, is a well-kept secret. You won’t find it in all the “Naha Sites” pamphlets, and I can’t imagine why. It’s designed as a traditional Chinese garden and is lovely just to stroll through and view, but the little details are what make it so amazing to me! I love the little cave behind the waterfall and the animals of the Chinese zodiac as bridge ornaments. The “attack koi” that you can feed are also lots of fun. These fish have some serious energy when it comes to food.

Churaumi Aquarium's record-setting viewing tank

Ocean Expo Park

No list of the Wonders of Okinawa would be complete without Ocean Expo Park in Motobu. Not only is the aquarium world famous for very good reason, but the other attractions in the park are absolutely amazing and (I believe) underrated. I think the Tropical Dream Center is the single greatest garden/arboretum/botanical-type place I’ve ever visited. The traditional Ryukyu village is fascinating and has outstanding audio you can listen to at each building in English, Japanese, and Chinese. The Oceanic Culture Museum is arranged so beautifully and includes many interesting artifacts and tons of cultural information. Basically, the whole place is wonderful and would be worth a trip to Okinawa in itself.

Main entry area with the restaurant in the upper left

Southeast Botanical Gardens

These stunning and well-kept gardens in Okinawa City seem almost like a secret treasure. They’re not in all the guidebooks or on the tourism posters, but they seriously should be. 

This place attracts a crowd nearly every evening, but we've always been able to get a table!

BBQ House An-An

We have totally fallen in love with yakiniku, grilled meat that you prepare by yourself at your own table. One of our favorite places to enjoy this heavenly food is at Barbecue House An-An in Hamby Town. It’s a good value for the money, and the meat, veggies, and sauce are delish.

From Japan-update

A-Danny Asian Dining Bar

We love A-Danny in Hamby Town! Delicious Indian food and lovely atmosphere. Their naan alone makes them a Wonder of Okinawa.

It speaks for itself.

Air Conditioning

This is a subtropical island. I think I've said enough.

Driving Down the East Coast

A beautiful drive in all four seasons.

Okinawa has some beautiful drives, including the approach to Nago from the south and around the cliffs of Nanjo. But the drive that really takes your breath away is the cruise along the eastern coast. After visiting Hedo Point, the northernmost point in Okinawa, take the time to drive along the east coast, and you will be amazed!

Honorable Mentions

The view from atop the small viewing tower

Taketomi-jima

Tiny, beautiful Taketomi Island, off the cost of Ishigaki in the Yaeyama Islands, is a little gem. A 10-minute ferry ride brings you to lovely beaches, an interesting museum/historical center, and excellently preserved traditional Ryukyu houses and buildings (plus water buffalo rides and an amazing restaurant).

Yohena Hydrangea Garden

Narrow and winding paths of enchantment

While searching for the name of a flower I’d seen around Okinawa, I stumbled across an article about this lovely place in Motobu. A 96-year-old woman started this garden many years ago, and she still reigns over it today. We missed the peak blooming season of the hydrangeas (my favorite flower, BTW), but even coming in at the end, this garden was a sight to see. Hydrangeas and many other beautiful plants grow all around the steep peaks and walkways nestled in a green valley. 

Heiwasozo no Mori

No snow? No problem!

This is a lovely park in Itoman, near Heiwakinen Peace Park. (I couldn't find any direct English-language links to it, unfortunately.) There's lots of room for walking and enjoying a picnic, plus soccer fields and children's play areas. We even saw kids sledding on a hill with actual sleds!! (Remember: This is a tropical island. There's no snow. Get it??) You can also see some sobering reminders of the Battle of Okinawa, like the caves in which people hid to save their lives and which were later taken over by the Japanese army. It's a beautiful spot, perfect for reflection, conversation, photography, or anything else you care to enjoy outside.

Owning a Car in Japan is Awesome

Are you surprised that I'm going to tell you about how important it is to have a car in Japan? "But, Eric, Japan is a country of trains and amazingly awesome public transportation! You don't need a car!" Generally, public transportation is great in Yamato (mainland) Japan; however, Okinawa has little to no public transportation, depending on the area. There is one train system on the entire island, and it just covers Naha (the capital city).

A lot of travelers coming to Okinawa are baffled at the fact the #1 best way to get around Okinawa is by car. (Scooters are also awesome if you have a license and it's not raining) When we moved to Okinawa from the States, we were surprised that a car was highly recommended. This raised a whole bunch of questions for us: Do we need a special license? How much does gas cost? What are insurance costs like? What happens if we get into a crash?

Getting a driving license in japan is fairly difficult, involving at least 3 different written tests and one hard/easy to fail practical driving test. If you fail any of the tests, the process starts all over again and you could be out $2000-5000, from what I've heard. AAA offers an International Driving Permit good for one year costing about $15 (plus the cost of a passport-size photo $10-$15), which allows you to drive in Japan for a year starting after your entry. This is the license we used for our one-year stay.

 An IDP Fetched from : http://hellasydney.wordpress.com/2011/12/

Our trusty and surprisingly hard-wearing Honda Life

Our JET predecessor offered her older Honda Life, a Japanese kei car. A kei car is a very small vehicle (by American standards) with four seats and what amounts to an engine slightly more powerful than an average motorcycle engine, 660cc max displacement. To compare, your average Toyota Corolla has a displacement of 2000cc +.  Kei cars are taxed differently than their larger counterparts, and on the expressway kei-cars pay a cheaper toll; both factors make it cheaper to own a car overall if you decide to get one in Okinawa. 

I don't know how Japanese car insurance companies make money. Most cars, when you purchase them, come with Japanese Compulsory Insurance (JCI), which is basic-level insurance for about $100. Voluntary Insurance is highly recommended and offered by most insurance companies. Our Voluntary Insurance cost about $160. So we paid a total of $260 for not just one year but for 5 years. I guess part of the reason the prices are so jaw-droppingly low is that there are fewer people driving, but still--that's insane.

Cars in Japan are inspected every 2-3 years, and they call this inspection Shaken. Shaken can be very expensive, and it includes the cost of JCI. Since our vehicle was inspected a year before we came, we didn't have to worry about it. According to Wikipedia, shaken can run as much as $600, which I'd gladly play because it includes JCI and the comparative cost of car ownership overall is cheaper in Japan.

" Regular man-tan kudasai" regular gass fill up please in Japanese source

Is this starting to sounds like a dream come true? Cheap kei cars and cheap insurance, right? Well, there's no way of getting around this fact: Japanese gasoline costs $6+ per gallon. As a family, we spend about $30-40 a week on gas. (Remember that we're driving a tiny golf cart-like car.) On the plus side, most of the gas stations or "Gasoline Stando" in Japanese are full-service, meaning we have almost never had to fill our own gas tank. They wash the windows, throw out your garbage, etc. Japanese gas attendants are probably the most energetic employees we've seen in Japan, even compared to those at the FamilyMart convenience store, who all shout, "IRRAASHAIMASEE!" (welcome) when you walk in. Gas station attendants never fail to wow us with their incredible level of customer service. Just this past weekend, one worker noticed our tires were low, and after making sure it was OK, filled all four of them on the spot. When everything is done and you've paid, they bow as you exit the station. Kelly and I will definitely miss the full-service gas stations.

From :http://www.thejakartapost.com/files/images2/taxi%20crash.img_assist_custom-640x363.jpg

So far, we're very thankful that we haven't gotten into any car accidents. Based on what we learned at JET orientation and from reading various books and manuals, this is one situation you want to avoid at all costs. There's really no concept of "fault" in accidents here, so both parties are penalized equally. You could be parked on the street and a drunkard slams in to the back of your vehicle and both of you are at fault. Drunk driving has harsh penalties in Japan a license can be suspended/revoked on a single drink. A fine of $5,000 to $10,000 can be charged depending on how drunk the driver was. 

Japan has a point system similar to California's point system in which I have personal knowledge about. A few minor traffic incidents; speeding, running a red light, etc will net you a suspension.  15 points will net a suspension and drunk driving is 25-30 points which is revocation/removal of the license (They take it away).

Drivers in Japan drive slower than their US counterparts and speed limits are also much lower. The speed limit on the Okinawa Expressway is 80kph (roughly 50mph) on city streets it runs between 30-50kph (18-30mph) there are areas were people speed of course and others where drivers respect the speed limit. I grew up in California where 90 mph is cruising speed and drivers will change lanes erratically; cross 4 lanes of traffic in less than a second, fast lane means the fast lane. So Japan is a rather welcome change to the constant white knuckle driving of California and sometimes Chicago. 

Driving in Japan can at first seems overwhelming, 'They drive on the wrong side of the road?' but isn't too different.  I feel more comfortable driving in Japan than I do back home, and will miss almost everything about driving here. The incredibly harsh punishment on drunk driving, does make the roads safer. Small Children when they cross the road, will hold up their hands so they are visible to drivers who may not see them.  So if you plan on visiting Okinawa or almost any other of the smaller islands around Japan Renting/Hiring a Car will make a visit all around easier. 

Our Okinawa Apartment

Here's how we livin' in Okinawa. By American standards, our apartment is incredibly small for two people but would be fine for a single. We were told that this is a "typical" Japanese apartment, and we haven't visited very many other locals or fellow JETs at home, so we're not sure how ours measures up. It's certainly inexpensive and conveniently located.  :)

The view from the outside! We're on the third floor.

Looking down at the street from the third floor.

The famous LDK: Living, dining, kitchen. From here you can only see the "LD" part.

The Japanese have an apartment code just like we do. You know how we all know what things like "3 BDRM" mean? The Japanese all know what 3LDK means. Eric and I have a 2LDK, which means we have 2 tatami rooms and a single room called an LDK, or living/dining/kitchen. The tatami rooms have tatami mats (seen in upcoming photos) on the floor, and rooms are measured by how many standard-sized tatami mats can fit in that room. (They don't use square meters like we use square feet.) In general, tatami rooms are used as family rooms, bedrooms, and rooms to entertain guests.

Now with a person there so you can see the actual size of our "LD"...

Convection oven (basically a microwave and an actual oven put together) and rice cooker

View of the two tatami rooms and the moveable barrier between them. You could open up the sliding wooden doors in the middle and have one big room, or you can separate them into 2 rooms. Note the tatami mats on the floor.

One tatami room with futons stacked on the floor for sleeping.

The other tatami room with fold-up couch and TV

"Wide shot" of the "DK" kitchen area... (The shot is wider than the actual area.)

Sink/dishwashing area, and fridge.

Portable gas stove and strategic hooks where we keep things we have no room for.

2 bathrooms, no waiting! This is our shower bathroom. It's decently sized. Photo 1.

The rest of the shower bathroom. Photo 2.

The toilet bathroom. Contains a super tiny sink and some tension rods we use for our linens. CLASSY!!

Our balcony is the only part of our apt. that's bigger than average! It's nice and deep and has our washer and lines for drying.

My predecessor left us with lots of beautiful plants and flowers that have bloomed throughout the year. Gorgeous!

Neo Park, Nago Okinawa

So with a population of less than 2 million Okinawa is home to two Zoo's; Kodomo no Kuni + Zoo and Neo Park. Both of Okinawa's zoos are typical asian zoos; small enclosures and you can hand feed most of the animals. Ever wanted to feed an elephant a banana? How about feeding a Giraffe? I sir or madam have done both.

Sorry it's electric, oh and those big wheels are fake :(

Neo Park has one feature over Kodomo no Kuni and that is it's 30 minute train ride which costs about 660 yen above the entry fee. They sell a combination ticket for both the park and train. I've also read they sell a family season ticket too but it wasn't offered to us.

Our ticket, also there's only one stop.

Kelly and I visited during a week day and the park was rather empty. They're are two additional areas; some kind of petting area which has puppies to interact with and a bird/monkey/giant fish enclosure, 300 and 600 yen respectively.

Feed mee!

The First area had lots of birds, waiting for you to feed them. The feed costs about 100-200 depending on which area of the park you buy it from. They will get up in your face if they even think you have food. Some of the taller birds were kinda pushy. The birds even followed us down a path away, guessing we had food.  

The had a sign showing how hungry the birds were. 

We were able to visit the peacock area when the males were trying to court some of the females. 

It's everyone's favorite stock photo!

These birds came right up to us like trained dogs. We've heard of people not coming to Neo park or any other asian zoo because of supposed animal abuse, and granted we saw a few balding ostriches (which could be from heat) the animals looked healthy.

A girl peacock.

Look its a bird!

One of the local birds from the northern area of Okinawa, The Yanabaru Kuina is often unfortunately hit by cars. We had never seen one before, there are signs in Northern Okinawa (Yanabaru) telling you to look out for them.

Toward the end of our stay at Neo park a Llama jumped up on a hill and I saw an opportunity for a movie poster...

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

In almost every video/news piece you see of Tokyo they always shows this crazy busy pedestrian crossing in Shibuya. Yes then Shibuya crossing is very very busy but does not represent Tokyo as a whole. Very rarely did Kelly and I experience massive amount of people everywhere which I think is the assumption that is Tokyo. The subways were clean and efficient, Shibuya station itself supposedly has over 200 exits and we were able to navigate it.

Here is our video of our Shibuya crossing:  

Kobe

So a few weeks ago Kelly and I traveled to Kobe and from my research known for two things; a huge earthquake in 1995 and Kobe Beef™. Kobe is a major port city, one of the first cities  to open up after Japan's 300 years of seclusion. We went for the JET Christian Retreat in the hills of Mount Rokko, which we had a nice time at. 

Kobe is home to one of three Chinatown's in Japan and arguably the best out of the three. We were visiting during golden week os it was very busy and hard to get around.  After grabbing some food at a small resturant, we made our way to Kobe's port area. Like most larger cities Kobe built a tower in 1963 and it survived the 1995 earthquake, that toppled a highway.

This is 50 years old and survived a number of earthquakes.

I really appreciate the timeless design of The Port Tower, I would believe it if  someone told me it was built two years ago in memory of the Kobe Earthquake. While we were visiting the port there was apparently a flee market going on Kelly picked up a Docomo-Dake Plush toy. I wanted to visit the memorial for the earthquake. The city of kobe preserved a small section of the port area that was damaged by the earthquake.

There was a plaque describing the lengths that went into preserving this area. Apparently the area underneath was washed out and they placed structural support underneath so more wouldn't be lost. It seemed to me more a reminder of mortality than anything else, Memento Mori. 

We took the Rokko Cable Car up the first night of the retreat and it had an amazing view of Kobe.

Kobe isn't exactly a headline city to visit in Japan, it has a what I assume a great chinatown minus the Golden Week crowd. I assume the beef taste great, but I don't how much better it can be because we can get wagyu beef in the states and they also import wagyu beef from Australia. 

Because Kelly and I live in Okinawa and the budget airlines, Peach and Jetstar only fly into Kansai and Narita we spent most our first day on trains making our way to Kobe. Which we could have avoided because there is a ferry between Kansai and Kobe Airports that might have saved us 2 hours of travel.  Kelly and I spent two days in Kobe made our way to Japan's cultural heart Kyoto.

Tsukiji Tuna Auction

One thing I wanted to do for a long time was see the daily Tuna Auction at Tsukiji Fish Market. I can't capture in words just how massive this place is. The Photo above is about half of Tsukiji. The other half is the restaurant section open to tourists during morning and lunchtimes with as fresh as possible fish from the ocean.

I first had to make sense of the Japan-Guide Map and compare it with google maps.

From the awesome Japan-Guide

See that purple square I had to figure out where that was located, since I was able to walk from my hotel to it. So for all my fellow Japan Travelers here is the google maps link of where to go, the Osakana Fukyo Center.

In order to attend the auction they tell you the free 'tickets' start going out at 5am, I showed up at 4:30 and they were already at capacity so I tried the next day and arrived at 3:00am and just made it into the second batch of 60 people. They only let 120 people total see the auctions. So i waited with my new friends from New Zeland for 2 hours and talked. Also someone snuck in a beer and promptly spilled in on the floor. 

The way they keep track of you is these bright green and yellow vests. They give you the vests because the cart drivers are insane and will run over you if they don't see you. They warn you not to touch any fish, take photos only in the auction area repeatedly. I still have the paper handout in english with much the same information. 

The time comes for us to move to the auction area, rather quickly. The security guards that handle you are clearly underpaid and extremely good at what they do. It was like a disney ride, a lot of awesome things to see on the way that I had seconds to capture.

What's all the fuss about Tuna? They're delicious! Usually frozen solid and the fish boats catch maybe one a month and can sell from $10,000-50,000 USD depending size and quality of meat. Kelly and I paid for some amazing Otoro, fatty tuna sushi for $18 a piece. Squid in the US is frozen but not in Tokyo! Never frozen squid is amazing. 

Tuna auctions are quick, less than a minute and a dozen tuna were sold, packed and on their way for processing. 

This happens almost every day, I tried to imagine what it would be like if everyday there were a group of excited tourists coming in to watch you work. Most of these guys looked working class Japanese.  

I regretfully missed having breakfast in Tsukiji and walked back to our hotel room.  It was quite interesting to see the transition from night to day.  If you plan on seeing the auction know a  few things; the trains don't run at 3am so your probably going to have to find a taxi or stay in the area, near Tsukiji or Tokyo station. There is a high likelyhood you wont get in on your first try and you might have to try again. They do not take reservations, and prepare for a bit of adventure. 

Sakura in Mitaka, Tokyo

Here are a few photos of behind the Studio Ghibli museum. When Kelly and I visited tokyo it was after the "peak" season for Hanami, Cherry Blossom viewing season but there were a lot of trees still in bloom. I took a bunch of photos near the imperial palace but most didn't turn out well, unfortunately. Enjoy!

But we speak Japanese...

This is one of Ken Tanaka's many videos that accurately depict Japanese/English language barrier. This hasn't happened to Kelly and I because I don't look Japanese enough.

You have to remember Japan is racially homogenous at 98.5% are ethnically Nihonjin(Japanese). Non-Asians according wikipedia article make up only 0.6% of the resident population. 

Sanrio Puroland

Sanrio Puroland is a little over an hour's train ride from Tokyo Station, longer if you don't take the express train. One of the many things to know is that Tokyo is a town and it's own prefecture (state/province) so it covers a rather large area.

'Special Wards', Cities and Towns.

Sanrio Puroland is in Tama 'New' Town(New as in New York, New Jersey) and outside of Tokyo Proper the purple special wards in the map above. So it's pretty far from Tokyo. I would reccomend deffinately planning this for a full day, we got in about an hour or two after they opened and didn't do everything when they were kicking us out of the building when it closes at an early (common for most Japanese establishments) at 1700 or 5pm. We were able to go on most of the rides see one of the 3 shows going on thought the day and see the "Arigato Everyone" Parade celebrating Kitty-chan's 40th anniversary .

Completely Normal

As we walked from the Odakyu Tama Station, we noticed clues we were in the right area. Sanrio Charaters on posters, statues. You turn a the corner and see...

What it looks like on a clear day in Tama.

A lot of photos make it look larger than it really is. I'd guess its about the size of a medium sized mall. There are tons of things to do: rides, special exhibits, games, etc.  Beyond this facade is the entrance, a place to eat, coin lockers and the always present gift shop. Everything is inside so a great idea for a rainly day in the Kanto/Tokyo area.  Check the website for coupons (yes, coupons) to shave off ¥200 yen for the passports which are all you can eat ticket for everything. They apparently sell cheaper tickets that don't cover all the rides, shows, etc. A Day passport at the time of this writing cost ¥3800 (about $38 USD).

On most of the attractions there was an opportunity to buy a commemorative photo ranging  300¥-1500¥ and in my opinion worth it. Characters wonder throughout the park and chances to take photos with them are abound. 

A lot of Japanese attractions have these commemorative photo, tourist trap. I almost always pay for them because, when else are we going to be in Japan? I'd pay more good photos of Kelly and I to have around.  So be prepared to carry a bit more money for these easy to transport memories of the places you visit.

What did I think of Sanrio Puroland? I could say it's an overpriced, aging attraction but that doesn't quite capture it. Throughout our various trips around Japan I've never felt an attraction was crouded or busy and during out week day stay I never felt uncomfortable. I don't know if I personally would have gone out of my way to go visit but Kelly really wanted togo.

I think Japan is generally two faced; there's the weird, cute, different public face and the restrained, formal, quaint face. Living in Japan it's easy to forget were you live, then you visit a place that reminds you of Japan's other face. I have the same opinion of Robot Resturant, you forget that you live in Japan. 

You'll hear about a place and think, 'I'll never go there!' and then you do and it was awesome. That's how I feel about most of my trips, and just how hard it will be to go back to Chicago.

The Shin-Yokohama Raumen(Ramen) Museum

Calling the Yokohama Ramen Museum, a museum is stretching the definition of the word. It does feature a '1:1 reproduction' of a 1950-60's era Tokyo Neighborhood and a small ish 1/2 floor museum, all in Japanese about ramen. The main feature of this 'museum' is the 9 ramen restaurants inside the museum. 

Each of the 9 restaurants have Ramen from different regions of Japan. Although I consider Okinawa Soba Ramen, it is called soba even though it lacks all the things that define Soba, it is neither cold, nor does it have buckwheat noodles. Okinawa Soba = Ramen. I don't quite get why they don't change the name from Okinawa Soba to Okinawa Ramen. For all your Okinawa Soba needs there is a restaurant in Tokyo that will serve you the delicacies of Okinawa, and apparently Yokohama has a Little Okinawa area. Kelly and I walked around the 2 floor down? You enter the museum at ground level at the top most floor, this is much like Sanrio Puroland, like most other buildings in Japan the museum's upper floors(above ground) might be business or residential.

Much to my delight they had vintage motorscooters on display, a bit warn down from visitors thought I hope they kept them in working condition.

Looks like they got a hold of a few Fuji Rabbits, yeah you know the film company Fujifilm they made scooters. Here are a few okay photos of the 'upper floor'.

They had a few 'characters' to fill in the atmosphere; there was a fortune teller, a policeman, and a school girl managing a store. Most of the 'shops' were facades with locked doors. They had a bath house / movie theater stairway, there was a doctor's office, a police station. Kelly has a photo of me using the phonebooth. I was surprised that this reproduction was supposed to be from 50 years ago, reminded me of the small narrow streets in Okinawa. Either Okinawa is trapped in a long ago era or like everything else in Japan not much has actually changed since that time.

Eventually Kelly and I picked one of the restaurants to have dinner at, Ganja. Ganja sells 'Dip' ramen, served and eaten much how soba is. They gave us a bowl of pork marrow soup(its awesome trust me) and a bowl of noodles, you take the noodles and dip them into the soup bowl.

It seems there was a lot of local regular customers visiting. I saw a group of salarymen at one table clearly holding a work drinking party, called a Izakaya. It looks like they sell yearly passes for the locals, it was about ¥300 yen about $3 to get in. The Ramen Museum was within walking distance of the Shin-Yokohama train station. It was about a 45 minute subway train from tokyo, it was possible to take the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) for ¥3500 to shave off 5 minutes of travel. We took the Subway which cost ¥780. 

If your looking for more ramen history, there is in Yokohama yet another ramen museum which focuses around Instant Ramen, The Cup Ramen Museum. Not up in the Kanto region theres one in osaka, the birthplace of instant ramen. 

I first heard of this ramen museum in college and was very happy to be able to finally visit it. Tottaly worth it if you have the time. Shin-Yokohama is a JR and Shinkansen stop meaning you can use a JR pass to visit it. 

Tokyo Tower

Toyko's famous television broadcast tower, Tokyo Tower. Constructed of melted down damaged US tanks from the Korean War, Tokyo Tower stands at 333 meters tall. A feature of many anime.

When we went to visit Tokyo Tower it wasn't crowded, but it was a weekday. Tokyo Tower no longer is the tallest structure in Japan, it's younger brother Tokyo Sky Tree now holds that title.

We only took the elevator to the first platform which cost 820 yen. You really get a sense of how immense Tokyo really is. On foot Tokyo seems like any major Japanese Town, it seems visually like Naha, a bustling metropolis. I had a similar experience going to the top of Osaka Castle. Tokyo subways make traversing Tokyo manageable on foot. 

What I didn't photograph was foot town, which I thought was a mall but it was more of a 2 floor combination food court/museum/gift shop. It is possible to take the stairs  instead of the elevator which they didn't explain was a glass elevator. I have a fear of heights so this was rather a surprise to me.

This brings us to THE MYSTERY BALL!

So around July 10th last year, a team was replacing the top broadcasting antenna, becuase it had received damage from the 3-11 tohoku earthquake.

Not my image found here http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--fmwZlGZ0--/18r5hz881vxbkjpg.jpg

During the repair they discovered a baseball possibly placed inside the tower during it's construction in 1957. Not so much a mystery but a practical joke done by a construction worker waiting for the day it was found.

At the base of the tower there was a busker with a monkey.

Hey kids its a monkey!  That grey thing in the back is one of bases for Tokyo Tower's four "legs".

I guess named Pollo, the spanish name for chicken? We spotted a rather large temple from the observatory. Zojo-ji temple near the base of Tokyo Tower.

We saw the backside with what looks like typical shinto yamato(mainland Japan) graves. It's know for it's Jiso Statues.

From Wikipedia's article on Zojo-ji Temple

Kelly was excited to see these statues as they feature prominently in a Kamishibai Story.  I also got some awesome photos of Zojo-ji's main gate and Tokyo Tower as we walked to our next Tokyo destination.

Geeking Out in Tokyo

At long last, we took our dream trip to Tokyo for the first week of spring break to celebrate our anniversary. When people ask us how the trip was, we’re unable to answer in just a few words! It was just too awesome to put into a quick “It was great!” So we’d like to share a few resources for travelers as well as fill everyone in on where we went and what all we crammed into our visit.  Did we focus on historical locations? Museums? Tourist meccas? Places for anime and manga lovers? Or ALL OF THE ABOVE AND THEN SOME?? Check it out!

Day 1       We arrived in the late afternoon, so we headed straight for our reservation at the Robot Restaurant in Kabuki-cho. I don’t think words can possibly sum up this attraction, so let’s just say that when you go there, IT’S NOT ABOUT THE FOOD! Your meal will be pretty meh; your money (about $50 in U.S. dollars per person) is going to pay their electricity bill! (Just kidding.)

• Bonus super short robot battle video from the Robot Restaurant

Ghibli Museum

Day 2       We hopped on the train and made our way to the Ghibli Museum. We were able to make reservations at the convenience store in Okinawa and print our tickets in advance (required for your visit). What an amazing value for the price!! This museum is inexpensive to visit but highly enjoyable. I do wish the museum staff would translate at least some of the exhibits or even just parts of them; I didn’t feel that much effort was made in this area. Perhaps it’s a long-term goal for them. After the museum we went to Tokyo Tower and went up to the first viewing platform. (There are two levels, and you pay for them separately.) You can see for miles, and the elevator goes at lightning speed! They have a few small areas in the floor where you can look straight down through clear glass. On our way to the train station, we saw Zojo-ji Shrine. Finally, we got some dinner at the very enjoyable Shin Yokohama Raumen Museum. (They spell it raumen instead of ramen for some reason…) You pay a modest entry fee at the door, and then you can wander through their three floors at will. One floor has a gift shop and some exhibits all about the history of ramen, the revolution that was instant ramen, famous people in ramen, etc. The other two floors are designed to look like 1950’s Tokyo, with all the locations a town back then would have had, like a bath house, a police box, a candy shop, etc., not to mention tons of different types of ramen restaurants. You pick which kind of ramen you want and have at it!

Sanrio Puroland

Day 3       I’ve dreamed of going to Sanrio Puroland ever since I learned it existed, and it did NOT disappoint!! We planned to spend a few hours there and spent the entire day, until the place closed. You can see lots of shows, go on a few low-key rides, take pictures with characters, and generally just enjoy the heaping helpings of adorbs that this park offers. This park did a fabulous job with translating not only the maps and show schedules but also nearly everything else in the park (signs, instructions, even lyrics to the musical play!). We cruised Akihabara in the evening and geeked out to our hearts’ content.

Tokyo Skytree from our "water bus"

Day 4  Senso-ji Shrine is one of Tokyo’s most famous shrines, for good reason. Its grounds are spacious and include lots of different buildings. There are also lots of tourist stalls with cool merch to check out and buy for the folks at home! Next we hopped a river cruise boat so we could enjoy Tokyo’s architecture from the water. After about a 45-minute cruise, we arrived at Hama-Rikyu Gardens, an ancient and important garden area in Tokyo’s history. Nearby was Tokyo’s Pokemon Center, so of course we made a stop there. After that, we decided that since the weather was nice, we’d go to a park I had heard about through someone’s blog, Akebono Kodomo no Mori Koen. It was about a 90-minute train ride away, but we thought the park would be open until sunset at least. Much to our dismay, the park was due to close 20 minutes after we finally arrived and walked all the way from the train station (about a 30-minute walk)! So we wish we could have rearranged our schedule a bit and gone there earlier in the day, but at least we got to see it and enjoy it, even very briefly.  (Park hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., just FYI!!)

Hachiko waits for his master

Day 5       Hats off to the friend who recommended the Edo Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum! This is a lovely park/museum with loads of houses and buildings you can walk through, and they’re not only from the Edo Period but other time periods as well. The area was in full sakura bloom as well, which made the entire visit extra beautiful. We then made a brief stop at Meiji-Jingu Shrine, another super famous Tokyo location. We wrapped up the evening by visiting Shibuya, and especially the much-loved Hachiko statue. The famous “scramble crossing” is everything it appears to be and more. Cra-zay. We found a yakiniku place right near the statue and enjoyed a delicious meal and were in awe of how gorgeous the sakura look at night!

• Bonus video: Kamishibai in the open-air museum

Giant Gundam!

Day 6       We were privileged to visit Tokyo Baptist Church on Sunday and were greeted warmly by the people there. Afterward, we hit Harajuku, fashion capital of Tokyo. It was raining, so we weren’t really able to enjoy the sights too much. We just kind of pushed our way through the umbrella-wielding hordes on the way to the Evangelion Store. We’re not shoppers, but we visited two malls afterward: Venus Fort (for the Italian-inspired décor and indoor sky ceiling) and Diver City (for the enormous Gundam outside the entrance). We finished off the day with the Oedo Onsen Monogatari, a very touristy but super fun and luxurious public bath with lots of indoor restaurants and a festival atmosphere.

The gorgeousness that is sakura

Day 7      We spent the morning seriously enjoying the sakura all around the Imperial Palace. You can’t go into some of the gardens near the palace, since it’s the full-time residence of the emperor and his family, but some are open the public, and these were chock-full of spectacular views of the lovely white and pink blossoms, complete with a moat so you could get that “petals falling into the water” thing going on.

If you have a week to spend in Tokyo, these attractions are sure to please. If you only have a day or two, you’ll have to pick wisely, but whatever you choose, have a fabulous time and make sure to really do your research before you go!! Eric spent hours plotting our course on the trains for each day, and it was time well spent. We didn’t have to waste time figuring out where to go because he’d gotten a good handle on it in advance! We can’t begin to imagine how it would have been to visit 20 years ago, or even 5 or 10 years ago, without Google Maps transit directions on your phone!! If you have any must-see tips for us before we leave, please leave them in the comments! We may be able to spend a bit more time in Tokyo before coming home (Lord willing).

Wedding post update

Take a look at the gorgeous photo the bride emailed to me! This is the first dress she appeared in during the reception, but not the first dress she wore that day. To the ceremony, she wore a traditional Ryukyuan kimono; I saw a photo of it, and it was awesome!

You haven't been to a wedding until you've been to an Okinawan wedding!

     The library teacher at one of the elementary schools I teach at invited me to her wedding, which was this past Saturday (March 15). In Japan, only family and possibly very close friends attend the actual wedding ceremony, but MANY others are invited to the reception, including co-workers, friends, distant family, etc. So sadly I can't comment on what a wedding ceremony here in Okinawa looks like, but boy, do I have some comments on the reception!! Hang on to your hats!! (Quick side comment: I sure wish I could give you more photos of this astonishing event, but the room was dimly lit most of the time, and it was such a large room that my little iPhone camera just couldn't keep up. If I'm able to see the bride's professional pictures at work, I will try to take photos of those and share if possible.)

     FYIs BEFORE THE WEDDING:

Wedding gift envelope. The top says something like, Congratulations on your wedding!! And down below in the smaller writing is the couples' names. A friend wrote those for me.

• If you verbally commit to coming, you're expected to be there! There is no RSVP card in your invitation. Brides and grooms here have to speak to everyone on their guest list personally to know if they will be attending.
• Spouses and families of the guests aren't invited unless the bride or groom specifically invites them. As a co-worker of the bride, it was only me she was inviting. Eric had to sit this event out.
• Couples don't register for things here or have wedding showers. When it comes to wedding gifts, everyone brings money. And this is no chump change, either; everyone brings a minimum of 10000 yen (about $100) in a fancy envelope. With about 300 people at this wedding bringing these gifts, you can get a sense of why the couple was able to have such a fabulous wedding!!

OK, on to the reception itself!! I think my jaw hit the floor about ten times during the three hours I was there, so I'd like to try to convey that sense of confused awe by going with a stream-of-consciousness reporting of the sights, sounds, and HUH!?!? of this event.

• Oh, my goodness. The bride's dress is absolutely stunning. Her hair looks perfect and she looks like a beautiful princess. Her new husband looks like he just stepped out of a boy band photo shoot. They have to stand up there at the head table in front of tons of cameras (professional movie camera size and regular camera size as well) and smile and look awesome while they are announced by the professional announcer. Their faces appear on the four enormous video screens situated around the room. Done and done.
• Hey, I'm sitting at my table. At least I know these folks from school, and there's another assistant English teacher there, so one person speaks English! Yays. Hey, where'd the bride and groom go?
• OK, now I'm being asked to go backstage. Huh?! So soon?! I knew I was going to be drafted into a dance number, but right away? What? Everyone else has school shirts to wear? I have none... Guess I'll just wear my dress up there. Oh, they all know the dance and have been practicing but I couldn't because I'm only at that school one day a week? Well, OK, here we go!! Camera people, you getting all this?? (Our little troupe followed the mothers of the bride and groom, who did a traditional fan dance, and a big group of teachers who did an AKB48 number while wearing school uniforms and ties. After us came another traditional dancer. This is all before we've even been there 20 minutes.)
• A video is starting... What am I seeing here? People wearing masks of the bride and the groom are walking around the school doing adorable things. Since she's a library teacher, she finds him in the stacks and "checks him out" with the scanner. Awww!! I feel like I'm in a dance club... The music is constant and pretty loud. Oh, wait, now it's a video made by the students talking about how much they love the bride and how awesome she is!! Adorbs.
• Slide show time! Now we get to see the bride and groom as little kids, when they met, etc. This is something I can relate to; I've seen this before. Still with the music.

Rough idea of the bride's second dress

• The professional announcer is talking again; everyone's turning toward the stage. Wowie!! The bride and groom are back! He changed his suit and has a hat on, but I don't think I can adequately describe her new dress. Super frou-frou, long train, blue and pink flowered, cowboy-style leather belt and hat trim. Words fail me. They're walking from table to table, lighting a candle in the center of each. When they get to the front, they light a huge candle.

The centerpiece candle lighting walkthrough

• Oh, here comes some food. Wow, looks great!! Lots of sashimi, a soup kind of like egg drop soup. Woah, this salad with a big shrimp with his eyes still in tastes really bitter! Think I'm going to leave that one. Oh, good, some meat and veggies, a fish pie in a pastry crust with a really good sauce. I'm holding my own in a convo with the teacher next to me! I've learned a lot of Japanese and can say more than just "the dog is under the table" now! Go, me
• The principal is giving the first speech. No one's listening really... Everyone just keeps on talking away. Next speech, a friend of the groom's. Same thing for him. More slideshows, more dance numbers, I think from former students... Guys doing a comedy singing performance...
• Hey, they're cutting the cake! Wow, they even feed little pieces to each other, too. (My fellow English speaker, who has married an Okinawan woman and lives here permanently and thus has been to many weddings, tells me that sometimes the cake you see is entirely fake except for the small bit the bride and groom eat! The real cake is in the back.)
• It doesn't look like we're getting any cake, though, because the room has turned really dark and the music sounds kind of Egyptian. Dude, there's a guy up front lighting a big fire and sort of juggling it!! Unbelievable. Now the servers are lining up behind him, and he's pouring fire onto each of their platters, which hold an ice cream dessert that goes up in orange-and-blue flames!! They're bringing the platters to us so we can eat our dessert en flambé. It's basically just vanilla ice cream and cake with meringue on top, but seriously. Wow.
• The bride and groom are giving speeches to their parents. Oh, people are getting teary! They're bowing to their parents and it's so sweet. (I later learned that the bride's speech was actually pretty funny, apologizing to her parents for being such a bad kid and giving them so much trouble!!)
• Oh, what is this?? Everyone is getting up! I'm being pulled back on stage!! Not another dance number!! Oh, I'm safe! We're just dancing around the bride and groom and waving our hands all over the place. No skill required. People are throwing the groom up in the air mosh-pit style!! Glad they're not jeopardizing the bride's dress by doing that to her!

The wedding "favors" that every guest received

• We're all lining up outside the banquet hall to thank the families and snap a quick pic w/ the happy couple. We also all receive a lovely gift to take home, which turns out to be five pieces of delicious baumkuchen, a German cake that's really popular here for some reason. Whew!!!

Well, I think this blog post is about as much sensory overload as the actual event!! It reminded me more of a high school prom than a wedding reception. It was just one thing after another, with no time to really talk to the people at your table and certainly no mingling time with the beautiful couple! I can't begin to imagine how exhausted they must have been afterward, if my own mental fatigue at the end of it is any indication. A few things I wonder, and if anyone knows, please do share: If Japanese couples really don't want to go this route (ie., the Super Bowl halftime route), do they have the social freedom to buck the system and do their wedding their own way? Or do family and societal expectations make it so this is kind of the only way to do it? And does what I've described differ much from mainland Japanese weddings??

Haebaru Town Matsuri(Festival) Taiko Performance

So for the last 3-4 months every Tuesday Kelly and I have been practicing with a local Taiko drum circle(Group) that meets every Tuesday at The Haebaru  Community Center.  This video was recording at the town festival, it was more of a recital for all the groups that meet at the community center. There was a balroom dancing group I recorded, a group that played Amazing Grace on the ocarina.  We were the first group to preform and I think the most equipment based group. It was fun.

The Nago Sakura Festival

Nago is a large city in northnern Okinawa. Hanami or Sakura Viewing Festival typically falls around March in mainland Japan comes ealry to Okinawa. While our friends back in Chicago are experiencing freezing weather, Kelly and I enjoyed mid to high 60's this week. 

Himeji Castle Hanami via Wikipedia

The Sakura that blooms in mainland Japan are more pale almost while, and when the petals fall it has almost snow like look. What grows in Okinawa is called "Taiwan cherry" and is a deep/dark pink and the whole flower falls off compared to the petals falling off slowly.

These were everywhere.

The Sakura trees were placed(sic) on a big hill. My understanding is that 'normal' sakura trees are sterile and are man made, I don't know if this hold true of their wild Okinawan brothers. It was fairly easy to get to, parking was available at the Nago Port. We took a free shuttle buss up to the park. It is possible to hike/walk up the "Bazillion" steps for a nice Hanami workout. There was a nice lookout tower to see a lot of the trees.

The Lookout/Viewing area, with alot of benches and tables.

Hanami is usually an excuse to drink and party under that Sakura which we were surprised not to witness. There was a typical Matsuri(Festival) with all the typical, typical for Okinawa Matsuri/Festival food; Yakitori, Okinomiyaki, Takoyaki, Dango, Stuffed Pancakes, etc. Nago is also home to the famous Orion Beer Factory (Brewery). 

These things are everywhere Not my Image.

When you first arrive here in Okinawa and start to walk around every bar has Orion Beer lanterns hanging (btw I would pay big money to find one). Orion Beer is an Okinawan point of pride, similar to Guinness for the Irish. So when we were offered a tour of the factory, I jumped at the chance. Now keep in mind Kelly and I do not drink.

Yes that's what it's called. Source: Instagram user: ryo_shiba

It was a mildly interesting drip. Hops go here into this big stainless steel tank, then it gets moved into another tank and something happens and eventually beer. The tour was all in Japanese, but hey my local Budweiser brewery never have tours

The Legend of Orion Beer...a long time ago, in egypt?

So hopps apparently are very pungent. 

Beer in my opinion proves the existence of God. 'Hey you know that stinky plant? Lets stick it in a pot with some water and let it ferment for like a month, then we drink it.' Like coffee where you mix ground burned seeds(yes coffee beans are seeds) with boiled water and presto coffee. These things don't happen by chance.

I'm not a flower person but these were amazing and the highlight of my stay in Okinawa.

I've lived in Japan for 6 months now and it's been great, but this was the highlight of my visit and something I'll never forget.

I hope Kelly and I get to visit Kyoto during hanami which is supposed to be amazing. I have even more photos on my smug mug account

My Visit to a School on an American Military Base

     Yesterday (January 8th), I got a rare privilege: the chance to see what school is like on an overseas military base. I visited Lester Middle School on Camp Lester* in Chatan, Okinawa, along with a large group of people, including the principal of Baten Elementary School (one of the Japanese schools I visit every week), one Baten teacher, the entire sixth grade of Baten, and another ALT (assistant language teacher, which is my job title here). 

     When we arrived on base, I thought there would have to be a detailed check of every name, every student, and every adult ID, but because we had prepared for this visit months in advance and because Baten does this "visit exchange" every year, we were waved in right away. (This is quite different from when you go on base as an individual. That can be a somewhat lengthy process with lots of ID checking and paperwork.) I look forward to later in the school year, when the American students will get the chance to see a day in the life of Baten Elementary! I think many mutual surprises are in store for everyone. (See my previous post on my observations of the differences between Japanese and American schools.)

     Every Japanese student was partnered with a Lester student, and for a few minutes both groups of kids got to bust out the self-introductions they had been practicing. The Japanese kids had worked on sentences like, "My name is...," "Where are you from?" and "Do you like... (fill in sport, food, or school subject of choice)?" I didn't expect this, but some of the American students had also tried to prepare a few sentences in Japanese! That was a lovely surprise. Then each pair went on a short tour of the school and then right into their normal class schedule. Whatever class the American student had at that time is the one the Japanese student got to attend. Some were able to see and use the American students' laptops, since Lester MS recently began a 1-to-1 laptop program this past fall for all students in grades 6-8.

     While all this was going on, the adults got to meet with the Lester principal and the registrar, who is Okinawan herself and was there to interpret for the Baten principal and teacher. We learned about their enrollment and the fairly high turnover they have in the student body each year as families come and go. They're a fairly large middle school, with about 450 kids currently attending. Another interesting fact we learned is that the government has recently added more counselors to their staff since the kids' parents are being sent on more and more deployments and are often gone for long periods. This surprised me since, in my ignorance about the military, I figured if you were already overseas, then that was your assignment for the duration!! I didn't realize you could be deployed yet again from an existing deployment here in Okinawa. Military kids clearly have a different set of challenges and concerns than the kids I'm used to teaching in the States. We also found out that many American kids seldom or never even leave the base while their parent or parents are stationed overseas, so this experience may be one of a very few where they actually get to interact with native Okinawan people.

     Lester MS is pretty much like any middle school you'd see anywhere in the U.S. They do have some cool classes you might not see everywhere, though; they offer Japanese culture (taught by a native), applied technology (which includes things like robotics, engineering, and video production), and Chinese and Spanish for foreign languages. Their library, I was pleased to see, had many of the latest hot titles my own U.S. sixth graders love, and I noticed that lots of the American students had copies of various Diary of a Wimpy Kid titles, thus proving that series' universal popularity with its target audience! That day the students had been holding a geography bee in the library, complete with professional cameras and recording equipment so the event could be shown via their school broadcasting station.

     Then we all had the adventure of a lifetime: Lunch in a middle school cafeteria! The Japanese students had never had this experience before, so it was a lot of fun to see them gamely trying the milk (pasteurized, unlike the milk at their own school and homes), the lasagna (surprisingly good), the pork tacos, and the frozen fruit desserts. Some Lester students were doing a survey for a class project, so the other teachers and I helped them out by answering a question or two.

     I wished the adults could have lurked in the background with the kids so we could see the interaction between the Japanese students and the American students in more detail, but we went on our own tour and mostly stayed separate from them. I did see some partner groups actually conversing, and when we took our group photo at the end, everyone looked really happy and excited. So I honestly hope both sets of kids had a great experience and genuinely took the opportunity to use their language skills and build a small cultural bridge.

*On the school's Web site, I just learned that the man for whom Camp Lester is named is from Downers Grove, IL!! Imagine that!  :)