Japan's Hottest Summer in 113 Years

July 6th and August 23rd - Interactive Forum
Interactive Forum is a competition in which a select number of junior and senior high school students in Japan get the opportunity practice their English conversational skills. Students sit in groups of about 3 or 4 and discuss various topics. The topics for junior high school students are things like ‘hobbies’ or ‘my favorite place.’ High school students discuss topics that require some deeper thought, like ‘should only English be spoken in Japanese classrooms?’ and ‘should Japanese high schools have cafeterias?’

My role in Interactive Forum both times (once in July and once in August) was judge. The judges rate students based on their individual performance, which includes English fluency, not using any Japanese, and so on. They also evaluate students based on their performance within the group: Were they afraid to make mistakes? Did they monopolize the conversation? Things like that.

While judging this kind of competition may not seem like the most difficult task, I actually found it to be quite challenging. Students put an enormous amount of time and dedication into preparing for these competitions-I’ve worked with some of my students for Interactive Forum before. And speaking English in front of a panel of different English teachers is probably scarier for the students than I can imagine. So I wanted to be as fair as possible when judging. But of course when students who are practically native speakers are thrown into the mix, I feel conflicted as a judge: give more points to the ‘native speaker’ who clearly deserves to win based on my judging criteria sheet, or give more points to the Japanese student, who might benefit more from the confidence boost that winning would give them.

While this bothered me a bit, I was glad to see that in the end, a number of different awards were presented to students for various things. And I hope that whether or not students won this competition, they walked away feeling accomplished and proud of themselves for having tried something so intimidating. I always tell my students that they are very brave for entering Interactive Forum. I know that if I were in a similar competition for people who are learning Japanese, I’d be proud of myself just for having the guts to go!

July 17th-20th: Osaka and Kyoto Adventures
Ben and I visited Osaka and Kyoto in July. And while I hate to say it, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of this trip was the HEAT. It was almost unbearable. Usually, Kyoto is one of the hottest places in Japan during the summer and this year was no exception. Not to mention that this year’s summer was the hottest one in Japan in 113 years. But other than that, we had a great time visiting the Fushimi Inari Shrine (my favorite place by far), the Golden Pavilion, Kyomizudera, and other popular spots in the area. And as we ate a quick lunch before heading home, we saw a wedding take place in Kyoto Station! Kyoto Station is Japan’s second-largest train station and one of the largest buildings in the country. It includes a shopping mall, movie theater, and tons of restaurants, smaller stores, and omiyage (souvenir) shops!

July 24th-28th: Tokyo Orientation
Tokyo Orientation takes place every year in Tokyo to welcome the new JET participants to Japan. The JETs stay at the luxurious Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku for 3 nights and attend various workshops during the day, that will hopefully help them arrive in their prefectures feeling more confident about their roles as ALTs.

I was happy to go to Tokyo for this orientation. It was nice to get away from school for a few days and stay in a nice, air-conditioned hotel!  My duties as a TOA (Tokyo Orientation Assistant) were as follows: (1) spending the night at an airport hotel near Narita Airport and welcoming new JET participants at the airport the next day (2) riding the bus with new JETs to the hotel in Shinjuku, while giving them announcements about Tokyo orientation and taking care of paperwork (3) assisting other TOAs in the hotel’s hospitality and information centers, which were open during the day (and night:/) for JETs who had questions, needed to use the internet, iron their clothes, etc. The orientation was a lot of work but definitely worth it in the end.  I was able to stay in the Keio Plaza Hotel for free during the days I worked and I met a lot of great new and current JETs from all over Japan.

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...

Holy Land

Recently, Ben and I took a trip down to Osaka and Kyoto, which are southern areas in Japan.  Our Osaka travels brought us to a cat cafe called Holy Land.  It was a little dirtier than the cat cafes we've visited in Tokyo, but the cats here looked really interesting.  Ben thought one cat had eyes that looked like an aliens and we saw the biggest cat we've ever seen - no joke. The cats also got pretty excited when the food came out which made for a good, and at times frightening, experience.



Photo: http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~mokei/image/japanmap.gif

 

We're ready when you are, Ben!

Is it time yet?!



Score!



Check out my tail!



Summer in Japan: How I'm Celebrating (and Surviving) the Heat

1) Plenty of drinks. Especially Vitamin Water (my favorite), Aquarius, and Pocari Sweat. The teachers that I work with and I have been lugging 2L bottles of tea, water and sports drinks to school.  It makes sense and is way more practical than buying a billion vending machine drinks each day.

2) Yukata searching. I finally bought my first yukata at Uniqlo in Tokyo last week. A yukata is a Japanese garment, similar to a kimono. But yukatas are much cooler because they are designed for the summer.  The best part was that I got it on sale for 2900yen (about $29)!

Kiyomizudera, Kyoto
July 18, 2010

3) Staying inside whenever possible instead of going out. It’s true. It has been just too hot and muggy to go outside. Oh, and air conditioner. Lots of air conditioner. The AC has been blasting in my apartment every minute I’ve been in it for the past month or so.

4) Umbrella buying. It’s interesting how umbrellas never disappear in Japan. You’d think that there would be a season here when umbrellas aren’t necessary.  That doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, I’m seeing just as many umbrellas nowadays as I did during the winter. July was rainy season in Japan so having an umbrella then was pretty crucial. Now it’s August, and while the rain has subsided, it’s still common to see people using umbrellas to shade their faces from the sun.  When I visited Kyoto two weeks ago, it seemed like everyone was using umbrellas (including me).  Kyoto is one of the hottest places in Japan during the summer because it is surrounded by mountains.

5) Overusing the words “atsui” and “mushiatsui”. “Atsui” is the Japanese word for “hot” and “mushiatsui” is the Japanese word for “humid” or “muggy”. I’ve been hearing (and using) these words countless times each day for the past month. Once the weather cools down, it’ll be back to “samui!” . . . “It’s cold!”

6) Tons of ice cream. The other day I conquered the “triple challenge” at Baskin Robbins. If you buy two scoops of ice cream you can get the third one for free . . . that is if you can handle the challenge. It was pretty intense, but I was able to do it. And soon (maybe already), they’ll start making the snowman summer special: two scoops of ice cream stacked on one another, decorated like a snowman, and placed in a cup.

7) Ume juice making. Ume are small Japanese fruits that resemble apricots. They can be used to make umeshu, a Japanese liquor, when they are green and ripe. Instead I made a basic juice, using only ume and sugar. They say you can drink the juice after three months, but supposedly it’s better if you wait for one year. I’ve had mine brewing for about a month and a half and I think I’ll wait a year to see how it turns out. 

It's important for the ume to be completely dried out before using them to make juice.
Photo: <http://beyondboulder.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/ume-jam/>.

8) Trying a variety of cool Japanese summer desserts (most of them courtesy of my Japanese teacher, of course).

Strawberry flavored kakigori (shaved ice). This is a little different from shaved ice in the states because kakigori often contains sweetened condensed milk.  Sounds unappealing, but is actually really tasty!

Kakigori at Kinkakuji, Kyoto
July 19, 2010

Azuki shiratama: Shiratama dumplings are small, white, chewy, and sweet. They are made of glutinous rice flour. Mixed with azuki beans, this makes a light, healthy dessert.

Anmitsu: A cool dessert made of small clear jelly squares, fruit, and anko (bean paste). It’s really healthy!

9) Listening to the cicadas. A tell-tale sign that summer has started in Japan is when the buzzing of the cicada insects returns.  Their sounds have oddly enough become a kind of background music to my life during the summers in Japan. I even heard the familiar drone of cicadas in the background of a drama I watched here last summer.  Next year, when I hear the cicadas again, I'll be packing my bags to go home and getting ready for the next adventure!

Too bad gardening gloves weren't on my 'to buy' list for JET

Usually, my Sunday mornings consist of sleeping in late, having breakfast and talking on Skype.  Nothing out of the ordinary.

But this morning was a little different. From 8:00a.m. to 11:30a.m. I joined my neighbors in the front of our apartment to pull weeds. This reminded me of how kids in Japan clean their own schools. Everyday at 3:15p.m. when the school bell rings, students move to their assigned cleaning areas. Mine is a hallway right outside the teachers' room, where a handful of students and I sweep.

But anyway, this is how weed pulling day went. My friend Jen and I started out by spraying each other with some bug spray that everyone was using.  After that, we waited while some men from the apartment sharpened our tools on small blocks.  Finally, we were handed old gardening tools and began to work.  I didn't have time to buy gardening gloves and Jen only had one pair, so she lended me a glove and we both worked with one hand for the whole morning.

The garbage area outside my apartment

Pulling weeds didn’t sound too appealing when my alarm went off at 7:50a.m. this morning (not to mention I stayed out last night at a local bar in Hitachi watching the Japan vs. Holland World Cup game with friends). But it actually wasn’t as torturous as I had imagined, mainly because Jen and I stuck together the whole time. It was nice to get some exercise for a change and even see some neighbors that I rarely get to see.

Everything went smoothly except for one little accident (plus our occasional “mushi” (bug) run-ins). My friend June cut his finger pretty bad half way through the morning and ended up going to the hospital to get it looked at.  This was after Jen and I convinced him that it probably wasn’t good that his finger tip had turned blue. And the paper towel and black electrical tape he had wrapped around his finger just didn’t look right.

We came together for a break at about 11:00a.m. and the man who led the weed pulling handed out Aquarius drinks to everyone and asked us to work a little bit longer. Our apartment is surrounded by several huge weed patches and I knew that there was no way we’d conquer the masses of weeds, but it felt good to know that we were helping a little bit.

Finally, we were told that we could stop, but nobody had left yet so Jen and I joined a group of other neighbors to finish bagging some branches. Once all the garbage bags were tied and piled, we were handed a new container of drain cleaner, thanked for our hard work, and dismissed.

While pulling weeds may not sound like the most exciting way to start the day, today I realized that good company can make even the most dull-sounding task more enjoyable.

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.

The Amazing Race...or something like it

Some days, living in Japan feels more like training for a show like “The Amazing Race” or “Survivor,” except that I’m the only competitor in the race. Today was one of those days.

Without a car, getting around in Japan can be tough.  Especially if the weather takes an unexpected turn for the worse, like it did last night.

Today was my first day at a new school, Sawa High School. I was determined to get there as early as possible because it was my first day and punctuality is highly valued in Japanese society. In Japan “on time” usually means 10 or 15 minutes before you are supposed to be somewhere. So this morning I told myself I would make it to my new school on time, even if it killed me, which I feel like it almost did.

Rewind to last night. I couldn’t sleep at all because out of nowhere (the weekend weather was warm and comfortable) it got really windy and cold.  The wind banged against my windows and doors, keeping me up for part of the night.  I knew that getting to school was going to be difficult.

My journey to Sawa began at about 7:00am. I had two options for getting to the train station: biking or walking. It was so windy outside that I thought the wind might blow me off my bike as I rode to the station. But there was no way I was going to walk the 25 or 30 minutes to get there in this weather... or so I thought.

JaLaLa Cat Cafe, Akihabara, Tokyo

I don’t know what gave it away first: the entrance
door handle shaped like a cat paw, or the sleeping
cat with a fluffy head rested against the main window. In any case, Neko JaLaLa Cat Café was easy to find.

The café is nestled in a quiet area away from the booming electronic stores on Akihabara’s main streets and it looks more like a small house than a café. But even so, there are plenty of reasons why this cat café deserves recognition.

This café provides humorous English (actually more like “Engrish”) bios of the cats. One bio emphasizes the size of a cat by saying something like, “He’s big like a cheeseburger, big like Tokyo Tower!”

JaLaLa is also unique because it has customized pillows, curtains, and even key chains that feature the cats. The pillows and curtains decorate the café  and the key chains are sold for about 500 yen near the front counter.  And that's not all!

The day I was there, customers were presented with a small souvenir on the way out, a JaLaLa calendar featuring…guess who?

While paying, I couldn’t help but to admire the huge cat sprawled across the front counter, sleeping in the same position as when I had arrived. The cat looked completely at ease as it rested, unknowingly attracting passerbys and drawing visitors into JaLaLa.

Food for Thought

I spotted this while walking home from school a few weeks ago.  It's painted on the ground in front of a small dog salon near my apartment.  I guess inspiration can be found anywhere.

Happy Girls’ Day!

On March 3rd families in Japan celebrate Hinamatsuri, the Japanese Doll Festival commonly referred to as 'Girls’ Day'.

Girls’ Day is a day for families to celebrate girls and wish them health and happiness. Families place fancy "hina" dolls on platforms covered in red carpet in their homes to celebrate this special day. These dolls represent the imperial court of the Heian period, including the Emperor, Empress, and other court members.

There is a tradition that says if the dolls are not put away immediately after Girls’ Day, then the girl who lives in the house won’t get married or will get married really late. Yikes!

I was lucky because my Japanese teacher prepared a few popular Hinamatsuri dishes for me on the Tuesday night before Girls' Day. She made "chirashizushi," which is basically a colorful sushi plate, including mushrooms, finely shredded omelet, shrimp, green vegetables, etc. I also tried "sakuramochi," which means "cherry blossom rice cake." The rice cake part was pale pink pale and it was filled with azuki bean paste, and covered in a salty leaf. Both were beautiful and delicious!

However, I have to admit that I was actually a little disappointed on Girls’ Day. I had been looking forward to eating Baskin Robbins' "Hinamatsuri special" with one of my friends that evening. Pictures of the special sundae that I had seen showed multiple scoops of ice cream topped with two doll-like candy figures of a boy and girl surrounded by candy flowers. When we got to Baskin Robbins on March 3rd, I was shocked and sad to discover that they were sold out.  Perhaps the girls who work there were afraid to keep the dolls out too late...and I don’t blame them.

http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/events/2010/02/11/hina-matsuri-japanese-dolls-from-the-tsuji-family/

“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...

Relax Bearing in Cat Cafe #2!

Last weekend, Ben and I checked out a different cat cafe called Calico (how appropriate). He had been there before but it was my first time. This cafe was a 100x better than the first one we went to in Harajuku.  Here's why:

--> this cat cafe is two stories.
--> it houses 20 different cats, representing 17 different breeds!
--> there's a separate little room with huge glass windows and bar seats for people who want to eat while they cat watch.
--> you can actually feed the cats at Calico- this definitely made the experience more worthwhile.  Our little containers filled with shredded chicken created some intense competition!

There was only one problem with this cat cafe: it was kinda hard to pay...

I wonder which one will be next?

poncho or umbrella...doshio?

You would think that after living here for almost six months I would be used to the weather, but I'm not.  For some reason the rain always catches me off guard.

It was sprinkling when I walked to Japanese class today, so I stopped at a convenience store to buy an umbrella.  I've learned not to take chances when it's drizzling outside and I have a long walk ahead of me.  I've owned five umbrellas since I moved to Japan (three are in good condition and two have died due to heavy winds) but today I bought a poncho.  I thought this was a good idea for a change and it was, even though when I put it on, about a quarter of my arms were still exposed and I couldn't get it to button in the front.  I guess it's the Japanese version of "one size fits all." 

After class, it was raining pretty hard so my Japanese teacher gave me an umbrella because clearly my poncho wasn't going to do me any good.  Why didn't I just buy an umbrella earlier?  Oh well, now I have one more to add to the collection.

"I'll have an iced tea with my cats, please"

Last Sunday, my friend Ben and I FINALLY found the cat café in Tokyo that we’ve been trying to locate for a while (It’s on the 5th floor of a building that’s hidden down a tiny alley in Harajuku -no wonder why we couldn’t find it for so long!)

The café, called Chamamo, was much smaller than I had imagined, but totally cool nonetheless. In this particular café there were nine cats “on staff”. It cost 1200 yen (about $12) to get one drink and spend one hour in the café. Before entering, we were instructed to wash our hands and change into slippers that the café provides.

The girl who works there introduced us to some of the cats (one of them is named “Lunch”). She told us we could pet the cats and play with them, but we weren’t allowed to pick them up.

The cats at Chamamo even have space to roam around in the ceiling.  Skinny pieces of criss-crossed wood decorated with leaves are situated about three feet under the actual ceiling so the cats can climb around up there if they want.

Ben and I wrote in the guest book we found on a table in the café. We found entries from people all over the world, like Germany and Taiwan. Our entries were among only a few written in English. The best part of the guest book was scoping out the different sketches of cats that visitors had drawn.

Before heading out, we groomed ourselves with the lint roller they provide at the front desk. Ben said that at a different cat café you can actually feed the cats-that’s where I’m going next.

You know it's influenza season in Japan when . . .

not only is everyone wearing face masks, but they also dispose of them on the streets. I can’t help noticing them on the sidewalks as I walk to and from work.  This kind of litter is far from what I’m used to seeing in California.

It's also interesting to observe the variety of masks.  I’ve seen a Lilo and Stitch mask, a cheetah print one, and even one with a cat nose and whiskers on it (which I immediately sent home to dad, of course).

Some are small, covering just the mouth and nose while others are larger, extending from under the chin to right under the eyes. Some have thick elastic straps to go around the ears while others have thin straps.  I even saw one mask with extra padding to cover the exposed areas on the sides of your nose…talk about ultimate protection, right?

I’ve tried wearing masks a few times but haven’t been able to keep them on for more than an hour or so. I guess it’s one of those things that takes some time to get used to. Some people don’t even take them off to smoke a cigarette or get something to eat. They simply pull the mask down under their chin until they’re ready for it again.

I’m not really sure whether or not these masks actually prevent influenza or keep people from spreading it, but I do know this: if I ever spot a Relax Bear mask, I’m buying it.

"Break me off a piece of that kit-kat bar!"

I'll gladly break myself off a piece of any kit-kat bar I find in Japan, even though I've never been a huge kit-kat lover.  What's so special about a plain chocolate wafer, right?  Wrong.  I've found that Japan's kit-kats are far from plain.  Actually, they do sell the plain ones but why would anyone buy a plain kit-kat when they could get a wasabi one?

Pictured: royal milk tea, strawberry, orange, ramune (sports drink), ginger ale, wasabi

Not Pictured: vegetable, green tea, banana, chocolate pudding, white chocolate, watermelon, grape, cherry blossom, caramel, maple syrup, kiwifruit, aloe and yogurt, vanilla bean, blueberry, mixed fruit, kinako (soybean flour), strawberry cake...

Autumn in Japan

                                                                         

Happy X'mas!!

Christmas in Japan vs. Christmas in America:

--> a Japanese snowman is made out of two snowballs instead of three (see picture below).
--> Christmas presents in Japan are placed near beds, not under a tree.
--> Christmas stockings aren't common in Japan.
--> many Japanese students spell "Christmas" or "xmas" like this: x'mas
--> most of the students and teachers I've talked to aren't familiar with candy canes and can't figure out why they're shaped the way they are.
--> I keep seeing skinny santa clauses (big surprise)
--> Japanese people usually send New Year's cards to family and friends, not Christmas cards.
--> Fancy Christmas cakes are an essential part of a Japanese Christmas.
--> In Japan, Christmas is usually a holiday for couples, not families.
--> for some reason, EVERYONE seems to know and love Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You"