Week 40: N

N brings us a NASTY, NAUSEATING entry: NATTO. [From Wikipedia]: Nattō is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis. It is popular especially as a breakfast food. Nattō can be an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slippery texture.

See this woman? Doesn't she seem sweet and jolly? She is not. She is the harbinger of despair. If you see her, run for your life!

Most of my students love natto and eat it every day. I would have to side with my fellow natto taster who said that she would rather eat her own vomit than ever eat natto again. It looks about ten times better than it tastes.

Naggy-town. Poor NAGOYA. I thought that if I took this picture from an artsy angle that you would look more exotic. I don't think it worked.  (At least you don't have a lot of tourists clogging your streets.)

An old fishing boat on the NAGARA river in Gifu (about half an hour away by train).

NIHON (or NIPPON): My host country for this leg of my journey. It means the origin of the sun or, as we call it, the Land of the Rising Sun. I just wish the sun would rise a little later. Since they don't observe Daylight Savings Time here, the sun rises at 4:45 in the morning and it is already dark by 7:15 at night. I had to search for a long time to find a Japanese flag. Not many flying on the buildings here. (I know that the picture is backward, but I guess it doesn't matter with this flag.)

Signs of the times (2)

This sign has bewitched me since the first time I saw it. I wonder what Samantha is trying to sell?

Obviously, I have to put nail & foot scuba diving on my list of things to do while I am in Japan.

I'm trying to get a job here.

Uhmm....this is a store for electronics ... really. Now, what kind of electronics I couldn't tell you. It is the sister store to Book-Off.

Maybe not so crabby after all.

Happy Birthday (to me)!

Happy birthday, dear Debura. Happy birthday to you! (The Japanese don't like to see two consonants together.)

How sweet are these girls? (Yes, it is very, very important to always do the peace sign while taking pictures.)

Serenity Now!

Sometimes I'll come across these beautifully serene scenes, and all that comes into my head is Jerry Stiller yelling, "Serenity Now!"

Week 39: M

The L entry was a little LAME, so I traveled 2.5 hours away on the bullet train this weekend just to bring you M.

MIYAJIMA Island. Named one of the three most beautiful places in Japan by a Confucian scholar/traveler in 1643, Miyajima Island lived up to its reputation. It is famous for a few different things. First and foremost, the floating tori gate:

Next, the deer that roam free on the island.

Also famous for the world's largest wooden rice spatula (I'll spare you the picture) and sweets in the form of maple leaves filled with chocolate, bean curd, cream, cream cheese and other delights. Since we forgot to take a picture of these treats, I'll share a picture of a Japanese MAPLE tree.

(Thanks to the photographic stylings of Ms. J. MARTENS for the above two pictures.)

The background to the island is the sacred MOUNT MISEN (home of a Buddhist shrine). It took us just under two hours, but we eventually climbed to the top at 535 meters.

Wait! One more M! MURAKAMI: Since I arrived here six weeks ago everyone has been telling me to read at least one of Hiraki Murakami's novels. I finally got around to checking out one of his books from the library for the trip. I had never heard of Murakami before, and--as these things go--over the past six weeks I've been seeing his name everywhere. I've just started the Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and it is fascinating. Murakami seems to confound modern critics, because no one knows how to label his work. A post-modern humorous mystery writer fusing fantasy and reality while commenting on the social alienation and collective consciousness of a nation? Or something like that.

Week 38: L

LICE, FLIED:  Mystery solved! Do you know why the Japanese say "flied lice" and "Debola" and "happiry"? Because they don't have a sound in their language that sounds like an L or an R. Instead, they have a sound that falls somewhere between L and R. Therefore, they can't hear the difference. Here's a flog:

LEGGINGS, black. THE must-have item for university girls. (That and striped shirts, flowered skirts, and polka dot sneakers ... all frequently worn in the same outfit.)

Keep to the LEFT: The Japanese drive on the left side of the road. Crossing streets isn't a problem since everything is so regulated by crossing lights that you don't even have to look for oncoming traffic because they would never dare to go on a red, but I have been having problems with bicycles on the sidewalk. I'll hear a bell ringing behind me, and I freeze in panic. Then I have to think... move to the LEFT.  I've started carrying my keys in my left hand so it will be a reminder which way to step. Same problem with going up and down stairways, passing people in hallways, going up escalators, etc.

Week 37: K

(OK, Roberto, this one's for you!)

For K week, KAITEN Sushi. Kaiten sushi means sushi delivered on a conveyor belt. Fresh (one hopes) sushi is sent from the kitchens on a conveyor built throughout the restaurant. You grab what you want as it comes by. They figure the bill by counting the number of plates on your table and charging you a certain amount per plate. (In this case, about $1 per plate.)

These are takoyaki, commonly referred to as octopus balls. No, not what you think. They are balls of batter and fried octopus.  Tasty!

Thanks to my dining companions who sacrified and came with me to the kaiten restaurant for K week!

A walk around my neighborhood in Nagoya

The Kita Ku (Northern Ward). Famous for being only a few stops away on the subway from an interesting part of town.

Well, it's not purty, by it's (my temporary) home. Is it troubling that our school put us up in a building with prison stripes?

Some container gardens. When all else fails, go for volume.

Sometimes a container garden doesn't quite work...

Considering the fact that I've seen a lot of neighbors out working on the maintenance of their homes, putting a new coat of stain on their wooden fences and doing other projects, I can't imagine that they approve of this house. (I, however, am a fan of the blue gutters.)

The lights reflecting off the windows of this place caught my eye.

Some MEN I've been seeing in Japan

Here are some men I've been seeing in Japan.

(Actually, one of the big fashion trends is the girls wearing dapper little straw boaters, but I've never seen a man wearing a hat like this.)

Kabuki-style manliness

If all goes well, we'll be able to watch some sumo matches in Nagoya at the beginning of July.

Signs of the times

Does this sign mean what I think it means?

How can you not think that this is pronounced Take-a-shit-a?

Odd name for a clothing store.

You, too!

And, some more English ... which really isn't English.

Week 36: J

Tokyo, JAPAN. Week 36 saw me visit Tokyo, Japan's capital, for the Golden Week holidays. 

Tokyo was a JUST a little too.....

JUST a little too complicated. This is part of the subway map. With city lines and private lines intersecting the city, all with competing colors and fares, it is one complicated mess.

JUST a little too modern. I prefer seeing historical sites when I travel, so maybe Tokyo wasn't made for my tastes.

I was, however, able to find some older buildings and places.

JUST a little too disturbing. This sign for a doll store was our landmark to get us back to the hotel.

These girls engage in Cosplay, or costume play, where people dress up as characters from anime. We also went to a Maid cafe, where waitresses dress up as French maids and address you as master or mistress and serve you by drawing hearts on your food with ketchup. At the end of the meal they issue you a card with a certification of your majesty. All very odd and overpriced ... and all the rage in Tokyo.

This picture is from a street where they sell wholesale restaurant goods. Since many restaurants have these plastic models of what's available for dinner displayed in their windows, I guess that it is natural to see these items for sale, but it still seemed strange to see plastic roast beef and gravy.

JUST a little too crowded. Nothing like a little window shopping on a Sunday afternoon. There were actually two policeman outside a creperie stand to keep the lines in order.

By the way, it is a great idea to travel to Japan with a tall blonde (ours is in the bottom left of this picture). You can always find at least one member of your group when in a crowd.

JUST not very smart. Agreeing to meet up in Tokyo (and the world's) busiest intersection was not our wisest decision of the trip.

JUST friends. Even though Kristy and I shared this tiny bed in our tiny Tokyo hotel room, we are still just friends.