Eat, Drink, and be Scary!

Today I went to a Halloween pumpkin carving party at a friends house. While most of the guests at the party used images from a carving book to design their pumpkins, I went a different route. As I carved, people kept asking me 'Is that Mickey Mouse?!' and I'd simply say 'No, it's a bear.' Little did they know, this bear is a huge hit in Japan, and my favorite bear EVER.

Rilakkuma (リラックマ) or 'Relax Bear'

February Highlights

Chocolate raspberry cupcakes that my friends and I made! On Valentine's Day in Japan, women give chocolates to men. On March 14th, men return the favor by giving women chocolates or jewelry.

The Great Buddha in Kamakura on a snowy day.

Cream puff heaven? This was a display outside of a Yokohama restaurant. I don't know whether they actually serve this or not. Either way, amazing!



Yokohama on a cloudy day.



Taking a break at the Sky Cafe in Landmark Tower. Landmark Tower is Japan's third largest structure and has the second fastest elevator in the world. We reached the 69th floor in about 40 seconds!



A Valentine's Day treat.

Yokohama's Chinatown



Chinatown souvenirs. We saw these pepper key chains everywhere!



Nikuman - made from flour dough and filled with cooked ground pork.



"Akai Kutsu," or "Red Shoes." A famous old Japanese song, especially in Yokohama. The song is about a young girl with red shoes who leaves Japan with an American foreigner.

シーバス, or "Seabass." The name of the boat Ben and I took around Yokohama Bay.

A very small me in front of the Red Brick Warehouse.

About to ride the Cosmo Clock 21!



Foot bath? We had no idea what these people were doing.



Rilakkuma paradise.

Apple crisp...Halloween style!

The English Club members at Hitachi Second High School and I usually celebrate the holidays by cooking. This Halloween was no different. We gathered in the school kitchen after school today (since Halloween is on Sunday) for our celebration. I wore my Rilakkuma costume and students wore various Halloween headbands. We made apple crisp, quesadillas, guacamole, and pumpkin pie (made by the mother of one of the students)! The food was great! And a few students decided to decorate the apple crisp with gummy bats when it came out of the oven. Not a bad idea!

The result:

Living a World Away

::Things I Miss From Home::                                     

Nice, predictable weather                                        
Wheat bread                                                                             
Granola bars                                                                             
Dessert aisles (brownie mix, cake mix, frosting)                                                                              
Target                                                   
Deli sandwiches                                                                       
Mexican food (TACO BELL)             
Trader Joe's                                                             
Cereal                                                    
Good cheese                     
The pumpkin patch  
Christmas decorations/food/celebrations
Having space
Central heating          
Driving and listening to the radio                
::Things I Love About Japan::
Rilakkuma
Convenience stores
Delicious, fresh food (always!)
Strange Kit-Kats and Caramels
Great service
Purikura (picture booths)
Cool Toilets (clarification: some are cool, some are scary)
Cleanliness
Daiso (dollar store)
Good fashion
Cute umbrellas!
Kimonos and yukatas
The quality and convenience of the trains
Seasonal foods and activities
Sunrises and sunsets
My kotatsu (heated table)
Omiyage (souvenirs)
Cat cafes and theme restaurants...
                  


Deep Blue restaurant in Tokyo,
Floors and tables are covered with sand and each booth has a private aquarium



To be continued...

No wonder why Japan has the 2nd largest economy in the world...

Because they sell things like Rilakkuma potatoes and there are people like me here, who will buy them in a heartbeat.

10 Months Later in Japan

My Apartment

My apartment looks 100x better than when I first arrived in August of 2009, but there is still plenty that could be done to make it cleaner and more comfortable.

I never forgot what one JET alumni said at orientation in San Francisco last year when asked what the most difficult part of living in Japan was: figuring out the trash system. At the time, I had no idea what he meant, but now I completely understand. See the chart below? I understand about as much of it as you do…and I’ve been here for 10 months.

In Japan, you can’t just throw something away whenever you want. For example, recycle day for paper and plastic products happens only once a month. You can imagine how annoyed I am when I miss that day, which actually happens a lot! And there’s a similar day for other items (light bulbs, pots and pans…), which I have yet to figure out. No wonder why there are trash bags and random odds and ends piled in the corners on the porches of most apartments here. There are even special bags you have to buy for your garbage. The bags I have are blue (for burnable trash), green (not sure what for because I never use these bags), and orange (again not sure what for). On top of that, you can’t just throw a water bottle into your recycle bag. First you have to remove the wrapper on the outside and put that in with the burnable stuff, and then toss the cap into a different bag. I’m still not sure where the caps go, so I have an old blue garbage can filled with them in my kitchen. I could go on forever about the complexity of the garbage situation here, but I feel like the picture says enough.

Other than the excess garbage I have lying around my apartment (which also includes old musty futons in my closets, probably from predecessors long, long ago), things look pretty good! I’ve managed to cover up some of the bad spots on the walls with nice Japanese cloths, a world map, and photos. I’ve learned to get past the fact that my apartment is really old (over 30 years) and will never be as clean as I want it to be.
 
I’ve come to appreciate my apartment for what it is. I’m usually a perfectionist and I need everything to be clean and in good condition, but now I realize it’s not the quality of where you live that matters, it’s what you make of your situation that really counts. 

Japanese Culture

I think Japan is as foreign as it gets for someone like me, who grew up and spent her whole life in California. Before coming here, I thought that one year would be plenty of time for me to become acquainted with the culture and learn the language. But having lived in Japan for 10 months now, I realize that that’s not the case.

I can get around pretty easily now, meaning I know how to ride the bus and the train (and I even have a bus card and a train card!) And my Japanese is good enough to order a pizza over the phone, eat at restaurants, go shopping, etc. So for now, I’m satisfied!

Side note: I find it interesting how seasonal everything is in Japan. There’s even a special time (“Koromogae Day”) when Japanese people put away their winter clothes and take out their summer clothes. On June 1st, students all around Japan begin wearing their summer uniforms to school, which are different from their winter ones. For example, at one of my high schools the girls’ uniform changes from navy blue and brown plaid skirts, white blouses, and red ties to a lighter gray skirt and vest with white blouses. My wardrobe has also changed because of how drastic the temperature change is during each of the seasons.

“let’s enjoy this lovely cake with fresh fruits and whipped cream on it”

My latest obsession has been with a Japanese character named “Rilakkuma.” I talk about him so much that I feel like he deserves further explanation. “Rilakkuma” is a combination of the Japanese words “relax” and “bear.”  The character is a huge hit right now and I can see why.  Who doesn't like a cute bear whose favorite activities include sleeping, watching TV, soaking in hot springs and eating pancakes and custard pudding? 

I don’t think a day has gone by at school in the past four months when I didn’t see something Rilakkuma-related (not including the picture of him saying “I love English!” on my bulletin board).  Rilakkuma has even made his way into my apartment.  So far, I own a Rilakkuma body pillow, pair of socks, toilet paper cover, keychain, lunch bag, stuffed animal, and notebook.  I think I’ve gone Rilakkuma crazy, but oddly enough I know I'm not alone.

I was grading papers at Tokai High School a few weeks ago and came across a paper that made me smile.  The topic was “What is your dream?” Most students wrote about their dreams to get into a good university or make it to the next level in high school, but one girl wrote: “My dream is to own many Rilakkuma goods,” to which I was tempted to respond, “Mine too!”



There is no such thing as owning too many Rilakkumas.

Walking (more like trudging) in a Winter Wonderland!

What: my trip to Hokkaido, Japan
When: February 9th-14th, 2010
Why: mainly to see the famous Yuki Matsuri (snow festival)
Where: Sapporo and Otaru, Hokkaido
How: 19 hour ferry!

source: http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/japan_map.html

After having spent six days on vacation, two of those on a ferry boat and four of them on the coldest island in Japan, last Monday morning was definitely rough.  But I managed to make it to school just in time with omiyage in hand and many stories to share with my co-workers about my trip to Hokkaido, Japan’s northern most island.

February 9th: I left work early to pack my bags and make it to the Oarai port in time to meet my friends and catch the ferry to Tomakomai, Hokkaido.  At about 6p.m. we were off!  We spent 19 long hours on the ferry, but it wasn’t as bad as I had expected.  The massage chairs, ice cream vending machine, curry and rice lunch, and giant indoor public bath overlooking the water definitely helped pass the time and made the ride more enjoyable.

February 10th: We arrived in Tomokomai at around 1:30p.m.  It was absolutely freezing outside so I don't think anyone minded the two hour bus ride we then took from Tomokomai to Gakuen-mae Station (which is only a few stops away from Sapporo station).  After arriving at Gakuen-mae Station, we went to our hostel. I was a little nervous about this because when I imagine a hostel, I think of accommodations similar to those of some college dorm rooms: small, dirty, and cold.  I was so relieved to find the complete opposite at our hostel.  We stayed at the Sapporo International Youth Hostel, conveniently located about three minutes behind Gakuen-mae Station.  I shared a room with three friends and the four boys in our group shared a room across the hall.  The hostel had a washer and dryer, free internet, really nice showers, and a public bath too!

After dropping off our bags, we ventured out into the busy Sapporo nightlife in search of a good bowl of ramen and the amazing snow sculptures we had heard and seen so much about.  We had our first bowl of ramen at a small shop that a teacher of my friend recommended. The best part of this meal was our funny old waiter.  One of my friends is a really big guy.  When the ramen man saw him using a toothpick after his meal, he suggested that my friend use a chopstick instead...haha!

My favorite snow sculpture was the Rilakkuma one of course, but the Disneyland one was cool too.  In front of some of the more impressive sculptures, young girls entertained the crowds with their cute songs and dance moves.  At one point we had to stop at a convenience store to buy little heat pads for our shoes because our feet were so cold.  We ended the night at a local bar near our hotel.  It felt good to relax after such a long day.

February 11th: After grabbing a quick breakfast (I had a long doughnut-like thing with maple syrup swirled inside it), we explored some ice sculptures and even rode down a miny ice slide!  The ice sculptures were neat but would have looked even better if we saw them lit up at night.

Then we went to a different area with more snow sculptures and ice slides. Personally, I enjoyed the festival food at this place more than the attractions. My friends and I ate nikumaki (a rice ball wrapped in meat), fresh bananas on sticks that had been dipped in chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, and french fries.  Unfortunately, the line for one of my favorite Japanese foods, tayaki, was too long.  But the man I found wearing a tayaki hat definitely made up for that...

The Sapporo Beer Museum was next on our agenda.  The museum is made entirely out of bricks and looks like something you would find in a historical area on the east coast of the U.S.  After exploring the museum for a bit, we headed down to one of the lower floors where we tried three different types of Sapporo beer for only 400 yen! Score! We went to one of the beer gardens near the museum afterwards for some yakiniku (grilled meat) and vegetables. After this, the night was still young so we decided to stop at a karaoke place on our way home. We ended up at a haunted house themed karaoke bar that my friend and I had spotted earlier that day. The doors to the rooms in this place looked liked coffin doors . . . I love Japan.

February 12th: The boys wanted to go snowboarding and skiing on this day, so the girls and I decided to explore an area outside of Sapporo called Otaru. Someone told me that Otaru is also known as “the Venice of Japan.” Otaru is northwest of Sapporo; it took us about two hours to get there by train.  Otaru was MUCH colder than Sapporo and it snowed most of the time we were there.  At night it got so cold that my friends and I couldn’t even handle taking our hands out of our pockets to take pictures!

But before it got dark and unbearably cold, we enjoyed nice hot bowls of miso ramen with gyoza, some Otaru sweets, and bought matching key chains as mementos of our trip. 

The night was definitely the highlight of the day. We finally found the famous area we had been searching for all day: a long canal filled with small floating candles. The walkway next to the canal was equally amazing. Tons of tiny candles illuminated different designs that had been carved in the snow. The whole area was really unique and pretty-it kind of had a European feel to it that I loved.

After Otaru, we went out in Sapporo for the night and didn’t make it back to our hostel until around 5a.m., which is why our last day in Hokkaido started out with a late breakfast and a 30 minute back, neck, and shoulder massage…

February 13th: Since we had already shopped for omiyage and seen most of the things we wanted to see on our trip, we decided to take it easy on our last day in Sapporo. This meant waking up late, getting breakfast and then having a 30 minute massage at a place in Sapporo station.

After this, we took an elevator to the top of the Sapporo JR Tower. The tower is 568 feet tall with 38 stories.  The sky view of Hokkaido was great, especially since most of the buildings were topped with snow! The neatest part of the highest story was a little bathroom that was (purposely) built right next to one of the huge windows so that visitors can enjoy the view, even in the bathroom!

We considered lounging at a café until it was time to catch our ferry, but decided it was a better idea to try to see more since we were there. We took a short bus ride to a salmon museum that one of my friends had mentioned.  The journey to the museum from the bus stop where we got off was much more exciting than the museum itself.  We didn’t know that the museum was right next to our bus stop so we walked the opposite way.  After trudging through deep snow for about 30 minutes (looking absolutely ridiculous and getting stares from confused Japanese people) we finally arrived at the museum.  We didn’t stay there very long though and ended up buying hot oyaki and catching the train back to Sapporo after just a little while.  (side note: Oyaki is a small pancake-like dumpling that has some type of filling...mine had apple and cinnamon).  At Sapporo station our whole group had dinner together one last time at a ramen restaurant.  I tried cheese gyoza here for the first time, which I think is a Hokkaido specialty.

The ferry ride back wasn’t too bad, aside from the fact that the only available food was in the vending machines.  This wasn’t a problem though because we were told about it ahead of time and so we prepared ourselves accordingly.  By this I mean we stocked up on instant ramen and snacks from a convenience store near our hostel before heading out.  The ferry left at 1a.m. on Saturday and we slept until around 2p.m. on that day which helped pass most of the time.  Then we showered, talked for a while, used the massage chairs, and ate our instant ramen and vending machine ice creams cones.  The ferry arrived in Oarai at around 7:45 on Sunday night, which gave me just enough time to get home and get settled for school the next day.

The Yuki Matsuri was really cool, but I’ve decided this: next time I venture up north, it won’t be during the ridiculously cold winter season, a time when apparently people aren’t the only ones who require snow gear...