Life in Japan

Shijo Kyomachiya

2008-10-14T11:15:00.004+09:00

I have been taking Japanese Lessons at Kyoto City International Foundation and last week my teacher invited me to an Ikebana exposition at Shijo Kyomachiya.

Shijo Kyomachiya is a typical Meiji era Townhouse , built in 1910 as a private home to a steel material wholesale dealer, so the house has combined living spaces and store area.

The structure is basically a very long hallway that starts at the front door and ends at the back yard and a series of traditional style rooms to the left side of the hallway. The hallway was designed for tradesmen to gain access to the rear side of the house without having to take of their shoes and the rooms on the left hand side along the hallway were used for business transaction between the tradesmen and the merchants, there are also guest rooms inside the house on the second floor and a storage room in the backyard. On the right hand side of the hallway is a store currently selling traditional sweets and kyoto souvenirs.

Kyoto City Government bought and restored this machiya and opened it as a City Hall named Kyoto City Hall for Industrial Promotion on 11 April 2002 . Kyomachiya can be rented for cultural expositions, like the one I was invited to, and it is free of charge so there is no excuse not to come see this house.

This is a great place to see the inside of one of the many old and narrow houses that line the streets of Kyoto, here are some pics :

This is a well located on the main hallway in the kitchen area:

Along the main hallway there are steps to walk in to the rooms but if you look at the floor board you will see it has handles on it. This houses are narrow and the space limitation does not leave much room for storage so places like the stairs and floorboards were used as extra storage spaces, you can see drawers on the first step of the stairs:

The kitchen still has the original stove and lumber heated furo, I was really impressed with the size of the brick stove, it is massive, looks like it was used to cook for an army more than for a family.

This is a picture of the Mise Niwa right at the entrance (inside the house):

Here is a very short video of the house and a bamboo flute concert (I really dont like the way youtube lowers the quality of the video image, if you guys have any suggestions for a video hosting site better that youtube please post a comment to let me know, I'll be forever gratefull) :

Shijo Kyomachiya
Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto City

Phone#: 075-361-5938
Hours: From 11:00 am to 9:00pm Closed on Wed.

http://kyomachiya.org/index.html

Mata ne !

Kinmokusei (Orange Osmanthus)

2008-10-12T18:40:00.004+09:00

It's the beginning of the fall season and already the noisy bug sounds of summer have disappeared , now the breeze is cooler and the days are shorter and apart from all the product labels and window displays that signal fall is here, there is also something all over Kyoto that signals the season has changed. It's called kinmokusei

Kinmokusei is a shrub or small tree that seems to be in every house with a backyard in Kyoto. You can find different varieties of Kinmokusei trees all over Asia : white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow but for some reason in Kyoto everybody seems to have the same type of orange kinmokusei tree.

The flowers on the Kinmokusei tree grow in bunches and have a very pleasant fragrance, and since so many people have them all over the city ( places like typical neighbourhoods and hospital parks, train stations, but not the more urban parts of town) there is a very citrusy sweet scent in the air that makes any walk a pleasant experience.

I took the picture above while walking around a neighbourhood in Nagaoka , you can see 2 large kinmokusei trees , but all the houses on that street had at least 1 kinmokusei tree in them. Kinmokuseki ga daisuki !!!!!!

Mata ne

Mamboo (sunfish)

2008-10-04T21:04:00.002+09:00

We went to Shimonoseki Kaikyokan, an aquarium in Yamaguchi prefecture.
We had a great day at the aquarium, saw a lot of different types of Fugu or puffer fish , which is one of the things Yamaguchi prefecture is famous for, you can get really good Puffer fish sushi in Yamaguchi , but I'm getting carried away and straying from my main subject which is the Mamboo or sunfish.

I had never in my life seen a fish like this, at first I thought I was looking in to a failed lab experiment (with all due respect to the mamboo fishes of the world) but seriously, this fish looks like its just a head and tail put together, I kept staring at it for a long time and still didn't get used to the sight of it, so anyways, if you also have never seen a Mamboo (or Sunfish as they are called in the states) here is a little clip for you to see what Im talking about.

Mata ne !

Gion Matsuri

2008-07-30T23:09:00.011+09:00

July 1 -31 was Gion Matsuri.

Since the 14Th you could see the girls walking down Kawaramachi and Shijo street wearing their Yukatas, hanging out with their friends or their boyfriends. There are speakers all over shijo, kawaramachi and terramachi streets, they play a melody called "Kon-chiki-chin" non stop to signal the coming of the festival, this melody is later played by musicians on the floats that parade the city.

Everyday the number of people wearing Yukatas increase more and more, and also the amount of tourists gets really crazy, walking to work was very difficult with the streets and the trains being sooooo crowded.

In the afternoon shijo street was closed to the traffic so that people could walk freely to see the floats and take pics and buy things from the hundreds of street vendors that set up shop in this festival. The photo bellow is the intersection of kawaramachi and shijo street you can see the big Hankyu Building on the corner, seeing so many people walking around was surreal.

On Gion Matsuri about 32 Floats are put together using only wood and no glue or nails to hold them together, the floats are massive and they carry musicians, lanterns and very old Persian rugs which are displayed for people to see, you can see musicians in white and blue tops sitting on the inside of one of the floats on this pic, you can see the rugs on the lower part of the float:

It was very interesting to see the stuff you can buy on matsuris and also the crowd was a bit scary but all around a very cool matsuri, if you come to Kyoto in July don't miss the matsuri you'll miss out on a great event.

Here are someimages from the street vendors and floats from the matsuri, enjoy:

Mata ne!

Tanabata

2008-07-08T22:15:00.002+09:00

Yesterday was Tanabata day( the star festival), there were bamboo branches decorated with colored paper everywhere, in stores and family houses, apartments , everybody was displaying their decorated bamboo branches.

You are supposed to write a wish on a piece of paper and hang it on the bamboo branch and after tanabata this branch is burned with the paper ornaments and wishes, this is said to make the wishes go up to the Deitys and then they will make your wish come true.

To me it looked a lot like a summer kinda Xmas, you have a branch that is placed much like a pine tree, and then its decorated with paper ornaments and streamers anything you like as long as its paper and kids have a lot of fun putting these up so taking the presents and Santa out of the picture it is very similar, at least to me it is

Jya ne.

Rain and Rice

2008-06-10T14:51:00.004+09:00

In Japan every year has 5 seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring and the Rainy season.

The rainy season has already begun on the southern parts of Japan and it will make its way all the way up to Hokkaido , just like the sakura blossom route , it starts south and ends north, Ive yet to see my first Autumn in japan so I'm wondering if it will start and end the same way, having grown up on a tropical island this season changing thing is fascinating to me.

In Japan, people love to plant veggies, so much so that its very common for people to buy lots of land just to plant , keep in mind that land in japan is very expensive, so if you live in japan, away from the more urban parts of the city you will see a lot of these planting plots.

Right now the majority of people are growing rice , everywhere I go I see rice fields, so I took a walk around my neighborhood and took some shots:

The picture above has a typical Japanese house with the tile roof and hedge fence surrounded by planting fields.

The picture above has a rice planting machine (I have no Idea what they are called) this one is hand operated but Ive seen some of the guys planting using very modern planting vehicles, planting is a very serious thing here, its not a hobby its a lifestyle.

Rice fields, apartments and modern Japanese houses.

Mata ne!

Jpop top 20 June 2008

2008-06-05T20:40:00.004+09:00

This is the monthly ranking results from the Oricon ranking.

1- Don't you ever stop by Kat-Tun.
2- Summer Time by News.
3- Shuchishin by Shuchishin (羞恥心).
4- No More by Koichi Domoto.
5- Niji by Aqua Timez.
6- Beautiful You by Tohoshinki.
7- Triangular by Maaya Sakamoto.
8- Diamond Crevasse by Sheryl nome staring May'n.
9- Burn by B'z.
10- Anataboshi by Milky Way.
11- Aishiteru by Ryu Siwon.
12- Mother by Seamo.
13- Umiyuki by Jero.
14-Namida no iro by C-ute.
15- Ameato by W-inds.
16- Together by Monkey Majik.
17- 60s 70s 80s by Namie Amuro.
18- Giri Giri Hero by Mihimaru GT.
19- Kiss Kiss Kiss by Buono.
20- Kaeritakunatta yo by Ikimono Gakari (song not available at imeem so watch video plz).

Jpop June 2008

Enjoy!!!!!
Mata ne!

Pictures from Pontocho

2008-05-29T21:59:00.004+09:00

After work is finished I usually walk around in Pontocho hoping to see any Maiko from one of the nearby Okiyas walking about. Pontocho is basically a very narrow street that connects shijo street and Sanjo street and goes along the kamo river so most of the restaurants have an open terrace where you can sit and enjoy your drinks at night time while listening to the river current and also they have very traditional store fronts. I took some pics from this street to show you guys:

This is basically how most of the houses look in pontocho, wooden fences, sliding door entrance, bamboo curtains etc..

I found a very interesting store in Pontocho, they only sell things with rabbits on them and even though their merchandise is super cute , like the Bunny's you see in the picture above, what called my attention more was the fact that the store is a very old traditional style Japanese house and when you walk in you get to experience how small the space in these houses really is.

More traditional style facades, the curved bamboo screen you see on the floor were used long ago by tea houses and restaurants to keep people outside the store from overhearing conversations inside , it is intended to keep people away from the wall, you can see these curved bamboo screens in many places in Kyoto.

The picture above is a display from a traditional sweets shop in Pontocho, the box on the left has hitokuchi warabi which is a sort of jelly with a sweet sesame powder sprinkle on it, to the right is another sort of jelly but this one is mixed with Azuki bean paste, it is called Yokan and it comes inside a bamboo shoot, both these sweets are very very yummy and they have a very light refreshing taste so it is perfect to eat them in spring.

Mata ne!

Change

2008-05-26T23:38:00.004+09:00

Yes, your eyes are not failing you, that IS kimutaku with the bad hairdo and glasses, it's his look for Fuji Tv's latest dorama named "Change" where he plays the son of a politician who is forced to enter the field against his will in order to replace his father and brother after they tragically die in a plane accident.

Here is the preview for the dorama:

Kimutaku, as always, plays the part perfectly and he has been appearing in many cup of noodle commercials recently , promoting their new eco cup while using the look from his character from the dorama. You can see his commercials on this page: http://www.nissinfoods.co.jp/product/cm/

You can watch the episodes of Change as they are still being loaded at Veoh.com , they have only aired until chapter 3 so far so you will have to check back every week to see the dorama same as us folk in Japan. here is the link for the first episode, remember to download Veoh TV so you can enjoy the full episode : http://www.veoh.com/videos/v12001339HhZYjGwP?searchId=927532497320033128&rank=8

Dont forget to visit the Official Change Website

Mata ne!

Universal Studios Japan

2008-05-26T10:05:00.005+09:00

We went down to the Universal Studios in Osaka. The day was cloudy and a bit rainy so it was excellent for walking around and not get punished by the sun and also the park was about 50% full so we didn't have to spend too long on lines to ride the attractions.

The park is themed after different states in the U.S.A so all the signs are in English and there are a lot of American flags around and also the music on speakers throughout the park is American Pop Songs so I got confused when the characters in the attractions spoke in Japanese, it took me 3 rides to get used to it.

We saw Wicked and the songs are mixed , some parts are English and some are in Japanese but the show was very good. There are a lot of foreigners working as performers in this park, I saw more foreigners working there than visiting.

Here are some of the pictures I took while watching the "Fantastic World" performance:

The park, like any other park in the world , has high prices for drinks and food but you can exit the park to eat at one of the many restaurants located right outside the park, like 5 minute walking distance, they offer more variety and more reasonably priced menus.

The park also offers a fast pass , that you can buy to avoid having to wait in line, it costs almost as much as the entry fee but it spares you the tedious time wasted on a 55 minute waiting line.

It was a lot of fun to go so if you're visiting Osaka and you have the time, drop by and have some fun

Mata ne!

Morning Glory

2008-05-21T21:15:00.004+09:00

This morning before work I passed by the Pontocho Kaburenjo Theater, (its 1 block away from work) to do some geisha stalking and see if I could get lucky and snap some pics for you guys.

The show starts at 12:30 and I arrived at 10:30 so my chances were slim but I did get to capture someone, I say someone because I cant be sure who she is, she has a red neckline which would indicate she is a Maiko but her age is not of a Maiko and also her hairstyle is different from a Maiko's also her hair ornaments are special, so I'm not sure if its a Geisha in costume for the Kamogawa Odori wich is now playing , but I am sure she is one of the two since no one shows up to the Kaburenjo theater in that kind of getup unless they are one of the 2.

If you can make out who she is please post her name. tnx

if you would like to know more about the Kamogawa Odori visit these websites: http://japundit.com/archives/2006/07/05/2957/

Mata ne!

Osaka Castle Pictures

2008-05-20T10:09:00.002+09:00

Here are some pics I took while visiting the Osaka Castle:

Before I got there, I thought the castle was the original structure but...... its actually a reconstruction , the castle has a museum inside complete with elevators, theater room, and showrooms.
You can go up by elevator but you must come down using the stairs since the elevators are mainly there for handicapped people , on the top floor there is a balcony .

This next photo reminded me of the observatory at the empire state building in NY, even though it is not nearly as high you get a good view of the city and the souvenir shop is also on this floor, same as in NY.

Mata ne

Bamboo Charcoal

2008-05-19T23:17:00.003+09:00

I went shopping with my friend Mie,
we went to the Daimaru department store in Kawaramachi
while we were looking around, we came across a big stand selling bamboo charcoal which for me was really strange , I mean who buys charcoal? right?

well........

Mie said that charcoal is actually quite commonly used in japan, in her home they use it to cook the rice because it makes it shinier and also makes it taste better and adds a whole bunch of good for you minerals to the rice, she also said that charcoal freshens up the air by taking away bad odors caused by bacteria.

After I heard this I thought I had to try it for my self and so I bought a pack of 3 bamboo charcoal sticks, I placed 2 in the house for air freshening and kept the remaining one for cooking.

I tried the rice and its true its comes out a bit shinier though not that much but the taste is different.

I looked up the properties of this type of charcoal and it actually has a lot of benefits like :
1- absorbs chlorine in water
2-promotes deeper sleep
3 absorbing unpleasant smells
4- releasing negative ions

the list goes on an on but you have to read it for yourself, so visit this website to learn more about how to use this around your house: http://www.can.com.sg/neocan/en/streetwise/shop/black_to_nature/the_benefits_of_bamboo.html

these pages also have great info :
http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles/bamboo-charcoal-benefits.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_2145666_use-bamboo-charcoal.html

Mata ne!

Sakuran - The movie

2008-05-13T13:41:00.003+09:00

Last sunday I got to watch the TV premier of Sakuran the movie.

Sakuran was originally released on January 2007, it is an adaptation of the popular manga version created by Anno Moyoco and it was directed by Mika Ninagawa.

The plot, I'm sorry to say , is the typical story of the little girl that was sold in to slavery to an edo period brothel only to grow up to be the most beautiful Oiran so she could later run away for true love's sake at the end.

ho hum.........

The original manga portrayed Kyoha (the main character) as a foul mouthed strong headed Oiran, but in the movie all that fiestiness and all the effort leads to her running off with the guy that holds her umbrella, and not once is there any trace of Oirans having to have other talents like calligraphy or any artistic skill, it completely centers on sex only.

The story is weak and quite predictable, but........ the graphics were gorgeous, the color saturation and the scene compositions along with the music choice make this movie quite pleasing to watch, it was very well directed, the actors are also an all star cast, there is even a cameo appearance by Oguri Shun as a low rank flower boy.

I personally prefer movies that are based on a good story and don't have so much sugar coating on them but every one has their one preferences, you have to judge for yourself if you like this movie or not.

You can find out more about Sakuran the movie at the official website and you can see the Movie trailer here:

Official Sakuran Website

Mata ne!

May 2008 top 20 Japanese songs

2008-05-09T20:27:00.005+09:00

According to the Oricon Countdown these were the top 20 songs of april 2008 in Japan.

1- Shuchishin by Shuchishin (羞恥心).
2- Mirrorcle world by Ayumi Hamasaki.
3- Burn by B'z
4- Drink it Down by L'Arc-en-Ciel
5- 60s 70s 80s by Namie Amuro
6- Kurikaesu 春 by 244-ENDLI-x
7- Soba ni iru ne by Thelma Aoyama feat. Soulja
8- Tsubasa wo Hirogete by Zard
9- Rizonanto Buru by Morning Musume.
10- Ore ja nayka, kimi ja nakya by 20th Century
11- Double-action climax form
12- Umi Yuki by Jero
13- Wajima Asaichi by Kaori Mizumori
14- Arigatou by Ohashi Takuya
15- Waremokou by Sugimoto Masato
16- Brake the chain by Tourbillion
17- Double Action wing Form
18- Zutto Issho sa by Tatsuro Yamashita
19- Kisha ni notte by Yuki
20- Engine Sentai go-onger by Takahashi Hideyuki

Enjoy

Mata ne !

Working Girl

2008-04-28T19:24:00.006+09:00

I got a J.O.B.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cant believe how fast I got hired, I thought it would take for ever but I applied to all the job listings I found on Gaijinpot.com , I even applied for jobs in Osaka which is about 30 mins. away by densha (metro train), and actually the company that hired me is based in Osaka but coincidentally they needed a teacher in Kyoto so now I'm working on Kawaramachi street teaching to the cutest 6 and 5 year old kids ever.

In Japan, usually , the hiring process is basically a screening process, so you go to a first meeting and then if they like you they will call you back in for a second meeting and if they decide to hire you , you would meet again for a third time to sign contracts and all that formal stuff.

If you are interested in working in japan , most of the job offerings are for English teachers , all jobs have different requirements but they all require you to have a working visa in order to hire you, if you don't have a Japanese working visa but you do have a degree in education and are highly qualified you could find the kind of job offer that would handle changing your visa status, companies like RCS or government organisations like JET , you can check the different job offers at gaijinpot.com and compare the different requirements.

I'm a happy little gaijin right now, yeaeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Mata ne!

B'z

2008-04-24T09:16:00.003+09:00

B'z is a Japanese Duo formed by Matsumoto Takahiro (Guitar, Composition)
and Inaba Koshi (lyrics, vocals). They have been playing Rock Music for 10 years now and they were the first artists from Asia to have their hand prints and signatures put up in the Hollywood's Rock Walk.

They have a new single out , it's called Burn (Fumetsu no Face) it was released April 16 2008 and it is this week's #1 song on the weekly charts.

Here's the video:

I also made a B'z play list for you guys to listen to more of their songs.
Enjoy!

You can visit B'z official website here.

Mata ne!

Puchi Wallpaper

2008-04-21T20:47:00.006+09:00

I have been a bit busy running around going to job interviews so I haven't had much time to post, to make it up to you guys I made this Japanese wallpaper, if you like it leave me a message and Ill post some more later on.

Download 1280x800.

Mata ne!

Zettai Kareshi (絶対彼氏)

2008-04-15T22:27:00.006+09:00

I just saw the first episode of Fuji TVs newest dorama ZETTAI KARESHI, and I must say it was quite interesting, a bit predictable but hypnotizingly good.

This dorama is based on the 2005 manga created by Yuu Watase . The original plot according to wikipedia is basically this:

Riko Izawa has never had a boyfriend and she has been rejected by every boy she has ever had a crush on. When she returns a lost cell phone to an oddly dressed salesman, she mentions wanting a boyfriend so to thank her, he directs her to his company's website. When she visits the site, Riko finds its a site to create your own lover.

Thinking its a game, she customizes and accidentally orders one. The next day, her new lover arrives. Following the instruction manual, she kisses him to wake him up and configure him to be in love with only her. She names him "Night." Three days later, she is shocked to learn that she only had him for a free trial. The salesman, Gaku Namikiri, tells her that she must now pay 100,000,000 yen for Night, or they will waive the fee if she helps them to collect data about how women think and feel to help perfect future models.

Riko must keep Night's true nature of not being human a secret from everyone around her. She also finds herself in a love triangle between Night and her childhood friend Soshi, who declares his love for her out of fear he will lose her. As the series progresses, Night begins to develop real human emotions, enabling him to truly love Riko but also resulting in system malfunctions. When Riko almost loses Night due to the malfunctions, she realizes that he is the one she really loves. She apologizes to Soshi, who moves to Spain with his brother.

As the series ends, Night begins to grow sleepier and sleepier. The problems developed by his exceeding his abilities eventually causes his machinery to stop working, resulting in his "dying." Before he died, he wrote a letter to Soshi to tell him what was happening and asking him to take care of Riiko. Soshi gives Rikko time to grieve, then returns to Japan to be at her side again.

The cast :

Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night
Aibu Saki as Izawa Riko
Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi
Irie Jingi as Hayashi Kota
Nakamura Shunsuke as Asamoto Masashi
Sasaki Kuranosuke as Namikiri Gaku
Maya Miki as Wakabayashi Fujiko

On the TV version some things have been modified , like her childhood friend "Soshi " is now a co-worker and other minor details the good thing is that on the first episode Hayami Mokomichi appears almost naked and super duper sweet, if you've already seen chobittsu this is pretty much the same thing only chi is a really hot guy with intact software and Hideki kun is a really shy girl that doesn't know what to do with a hot guy at her command.

If you have a "thing" for Hayami kun you will love this dorama. If you like love stories you will love this dorama.

Don't forget to visit the oficial website

Mata ne!

GeGeGe no Kitaro

2008-04-14T11:46:00.007+09:00

Hakaba no Kitaro as it was originally called on the 1959 manga by Shigeru Mizuki tells the tale of Kitaro the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe and how it came to be that he now lives among humans defending them from the Youkai (Japanese Folklore Spirits).

Kitaro lost his left eye the same day he was born so his hair covers the empty socket. He wears a stripped vest that was made from the Reishi of his ancestors that lets him travel to hell and come back, his hair can be fired off like arrows, and he has remote control geta and a detachable hand. He is also acompanied by his father who after suffering a terrible illness was reduced to a mere eyeball that sprouted a human shaped body.

This manga is full of Japanese spirits messing with humans, there are also vampires, ghosts, evil people, you get the picture. Shigeru Mizuki believes very firmly in Youkai, and he has written several books about them. All of the monsters in Ge ge ge no Kitaro are authentic characters from Japanese folklore, with the exception of Kitaro and his father Medama Oyaji.

If you like bizarre ghost tales you will probably like this anime. The cast of characters include:

Kitaro –
Last survivor of the yūrei zoku, he is packed with super powers. His hair can be fired off like arrows, and he has remote control geta and a detachable hand. He is also pretty much indestructible, having been reduced to a bucket of bodily fluids on more than one occasion, happily resurrecting himself.

Medama Oyaji –
Kitaro’s father has a vast knowledge of yūrei and yōkai and is also a talking eyeball. Sometimes rides around in Kitaro’s empty eye socket.

Nezumi Otoko –
The rat man who is always messing with kitaro. He hasn’t bathed for over 300 years and he claims to be a graduate of the ghost university.

Neko Musume –
A cute little girl who turns into a raving monster at the sight of rats. Official yōkai type is a bakeneko, a breed of magical cats.

Sunakake Baba –
An odd yōkai from Nara-Ken, she carries sand in her hair which she flings at enemies to blind them. She also runs the yōkai apartment building.

Konaki Jiji –
From Tokushima Prefecture, he is a big crying baby that can increase his weight, crushing anyone who picks him up.

Itta Momen –
A flying strip of cloth from Kagoshima prefecture, Itta Momen wraps around peoples heads when attacking. Fears scissors.

The anime version of Gegege no Kitaro has been redone various times since 1968 and also there are at least 9 movies about this manga and various electronic games dating as back as 1986.

In January 2008 the latest anime version of Gegege no Kitaro aired on Japanese TV, you can see the website for this version here .

If you want to see the 2007 gegege no kitaro movie you can see it a veoh.com , I'm placing a link to the search results for the movie which wasabi82 was kind enough to share with us: http://www.veoh.com/userVideos.html?numResults=10&username=wasabi82&offset=50

you can also find the anime episodes of gegege no Kitaro at :
http://www.veoh.com/userVideos.html?numResults=10&username=JOELDBROOKS&offset=10

In July 12, 2008 the latest movie (Gegege no Kitaro 2) will finally be released but you can watch the teaser here:

More gegege no links:

http://www.gegege.jp/
http://www.yanoman.co.jp/yokai53/index.html
http://www.sakaiminato.net/site2/page/foreign/eng/kitaro/

Mata ne!

Still sick

2008-04-12T11:19:00.004+09:00

So last time posted I said Id go back to fushimi to finish my quest and get my bike. I did go back but only to get my bike back which is now safely parked on its small space sandwiched by the neighbors bikes (its good to be home).

My injuries turned out to be more serious than what the first doctor I went to said they were, yes I went to get a second opinion and my left arm is now in a cast and I have a concussion that gives me dizzy spells and a whole lot of other goodies.

So I'm doing rehab Japanese style, using one of my many furoshikis as a really cute sling and staying in bed drinking tons of green tea. So for now Ill leave you with this pic I took while I was on my way to the doctor, enjoy:

Mata ne !

Bike accident

2008-04-09T22:06:00.005+09:00

I went out to explore and get lost in Fushimi, known for its water springs used to make some of the best sake in japan and in some temples said to cure illnesses.

I visited 2 of the 11 springs and drank a lot of water, the taste of pure mineral water can not be compared to any bottled water. Anyways, I was riding my bike downhill , the sun was shining, the birds were singing , the cool breeze on my face and then I hit the curb and flew out of my bike only to land face first in to a big ugly concrete wall. I busted my face, my left hand and my right leg, it was pretty bad, my bike got busted too. A man was kind enough to help me get up. I had to leave the bike behind and go to the hospital, they took a cat scan and x-rays and thank god, nothing was broken just really badly bruised up and scratched, so Ill live .

On the way back home from the hospital I realized that things could have had gone really really bad, I am very lucky to not have any fractures or serious head trauma. Did drinking all that water at the temple protect me from a worse fate? I don't know , but tomorrow I'm going back, bruises and all , I will visit the 11 springs and get my bike back.

Jya ne

Spring in Japan

2008-04-08T20:59:00.006+09:00

The time for sakura season to end is coming really really soon so I went out and snaped some photos before it{s too late, enjoy!

J-Pop top 20

2008-04-07T18:55:00.008+09:00

These are the top 20 songs on the radio in Japan right now:

Step and go by Arashi.
Taiyou no namida by NEWS.
Wahhahha by kanjani8.
Soba ni iru ne by Thelma Aoyama feat. Soulja.
Pure / You're my sunshine by EXILE.
60s 70s 80s by Namie Amuro.
Sonomama/White Message by SMAP.
Umiyuki by Jero.
Namidairo by YUI.
Home by Shimizu Shota.
Zuttou issho sa by Tatsuo Yamashita.
Futari by Aiko.
Heart Station / Stay Gold by Utada Hikaru.
Waremokou by Masato Sugimoto.
Genkai Senka by Kiyoshi Hikawa.
Kimi station by ORANGE RANGE.
幸せはすぐそこに… by Yoshimi Tendo.
Mata ne by Dreams Come True.
Canvas by Ken Hirai.
Home by Yusaku Kiyama.

You can listen to the songs on this player, press the big play button sit back and enjoy!

(it might not show on some browsers at first so hover around under this paragraph and click , that should activate the flash player but do let me know if you cant use the music player)

Jya ne!

Geisha and Maiko List

2008-04-06T09:56:00.004+09:00

I noticed that a lot of you know the names of the Geiko (Geisha) and Maiko on the pictures that I posted so I'm going to list the names of the ones that participated in this years Kyo odori:

Geiko (Geisha)

Fumicho
Kiminao
Chizuru
Fumiyu
Fukuha (my personal favorite)
Fukuka
Yayoi
Kanachisa
Fukuemi
Chiyoe
Fukuwaka
Fumimari
Haruyu
Fukuaya
Kimina
Komomo (Love her)
Toshihana
Kikuno
Kimigiku
Kosen
Fukuteru
Kikumaru
Kikutsuru
Yusuha
Yachiho
Mieka
Satotsuya

Maiko

Satonami
Satoai
Taneju
Kimika
Miyoharu
Kanasuzu
Kimiha
Miehina
Fukunao
Kikuyu
Fukuhina
Kimitomo
Kimiharu
Kimiyu
Miyofuku
Fukuyu
Fukuya
Harue
Kikune
Kimichie
Toshifumi
Fukuhiro
Fumihana
Tanewaka
Fimisono
Satono
Fukuai
Fukue
Satomi
Kimishizu
Toshiteru
Fukuho
Kimiaya
Toshimari
Toshiyui
Fukukimi

Jya ne!

Kyo Odori 2008

2008-04-05T20:53:00.021+09:00

Amazing, that is the word I think best describes this year's Kyo Odori.

I arrived 30 minutes before the show started so I could attend the tea serving event before the show, they served a white manju cake with Anko filling accompanied with matcha tea, which was delicious, not bitter at all, and we got to keep the little plates they served the manju on as a present, the plates have Kyo odori written on the back

The show was split in to 7 dances, the theme for the first dance was (roughly translated) spring time in Kyoto is filled with beautiful flowers but none is as beautiful as the dancing of Maiko and Geiko (Geisha).

The second dance was love under the "hana tsubaki tree".

The third dance represented a chapter from Genji Monogatari , Ukifune in the Uji river:

The fourth dance was by far the most impressive, Taki-Yasha hime (princes Taki-Yasha) tries to trick Oyano-mitsukuni using magic:

Dance #5 was a relaxed style dance "Fukuchi-yama-ondo" in a comical rhythm (I'm trying to translate from the brochure sorry for being literal)

On the far left is Komomo, she danced in 3 of the 7 dances she is so famous right now, you can actually buy her book about about her life as a Geisha in the Kaburenjo Theater.

Dance #6 was themed after the Kiku flowers that grow on a temple and how they make Maiko happy:

On this picture you can see Kimiharu in the Lavender Kimono, she was on one of the 2 Kyo odory posters this year.

The final dance with all the maiko and Geiko (Geisha) on stage, absolutely jaw dropping:

I cant upload all the photos I took here so Im uploading them to my Flickr.com account if you want to see them go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/54973022@N00/

Jya ne!

Kiyomizudera Temple

2008-04-04T11:46:00.012+09:00

Every year , in spring, the city of Kyoto has night illumination events, so we went to see Kiyomizudera Temple at night, even though it was 10 pm the place was packed and the streets around the temple were very crowded, it's very safe to walk around Kyoto at night enjoying the sights so we had a lot of fun and walked and walked and walked until my feet quit on me.

On the next picture you can see one of the balconies at Kiyomizudera full of people taking pictures, you can also see Kyoto night lights and Kyoto tower.

Jya ne!

Free Japanese Lesons

2008-04-03T13:06:00.022+09:00

I'm obsessing about learning Japanese ASAP, so I spent the entire morning looking for the fastest kind of classes available: FREE ONLINE LESSONS and any sort of Japanese aid that will help me study on my own , this is what I found:

The Sushi Test
I love this site, after you sign up as a member, you go through a tutorial on how to answer the quiz questions and at the end you can see you big empty tray, after that you can start taking the real sushi test, depending on your score you will get a different sushi at the end, so the more times you take the test the fuller your tray will get, I loved taking this test, I'm definitely using it regularly.

http://momo.jpf.go.jp/sushi/index.php?LangFlag=e

Japanese-Online.com
Membership is required, but since its free it's all good. This website has the most comprehensive grammar and vocabulary lessons I've seen online so far.
http://www.japanese-online.com/

StudyJapanese.org

Free online lessons and interactive flash cards, great for studying at home. I didn't have to register to use the flash cards .

http://www.studyjapanese.org/

Japanese Romaji Quizzes:

This page has romaji vocabulary matching quizzes to test your knowledge its also a great way to learn new Japanese words:
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/romaji/

Nihon Mura

This website has no lessons but it does have some kana, kanji, verb form and numbers quizzes which are great practice. Using it was a bit confusing at first , just select from the top menu which kind of test you want and once you are on the new page select one of the options on the left hand side menu.
http://www.nihonmura.net/en/

Japanese Test
Free online Japanese grammar test , you can fill in the blanks in romaji or hiragana.

http://test.u-biq.org/

CMJ
This website has a lot of good tests but..... you have to be able to read kanji on most of them so its a bit more advanced, but it's still a great resource:

http://opal.ecis.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~webcmjml/

Genki Japan

Games and interactive vocabulary lessons, this site makes learning fun, I think the games are kawaii but you learn them pretty fast.

http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/menu.htm

Kanji Practice
Kanji practice website:http://www.dartmouth.edu/~kanji/
katakana, hiragana, kanji tutor:
http://members.aol.com/writejapan/index.htm#how

Teach Yourself Japanese

This website has an outlined plan for learning the basics, it was last updated on 2004 but the lessons are still good.
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/

Joshu

This website covers the basics for studying Japanese at home , it has quizzes to help you out.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/japanese/joshu/basics.htm

Hope you like the links

Jya ne!

Sakura Season

2008-04-02T12:45:00.013+09:00

Visiting Kyoto in April is one of the best trips you will ever have. For approximately 2 weeks a year the city's Sakura trees are in full blossom and it is beautiful, the weather is not too cold and there are spring festivals and night illumination shows.

Japanese people enjoy Sakura Blossom season very much, so information about where you can see sakura blossoms is everywhere , specially in the subway stations where there a tons of fliers and brochures for visitors to take free, there are also these posters that have the local sight seeing maps for each station but these posters indicate at which stage the sakura blossoms on each sight is at the moment so you can better choose where you wish to go. Here is a picture of one of these posters I found in the Keihan Shijo subway station:

The poster is updated regularly since the stages are represented by stickers they paste over on the places where you can see sakura blossoms, this is a close up picture of the stickers they use to update the posters:

Only 2 weeks a year seems like such a short time but if sakura trees blossomed year around I think people would take their beauty for granted, so it is now time to spend most of the day outside walking around and taking tons of pictures and I intend to do just that.

Jya ne!

Greener than Green

2008-04-01T22:31:00.003+09:00

Today I went back to Kaburen-jo theater and got me 2 tickets for Kyo Odori wich will be this next Saturday but........., today more then ever I felt the need to get my butt in gear and start studying Japanese like crazy, as I was selecting the seats I wanted for my tickets I had so many questions I wanted to ask the ticket lady about why the seats in the center rows are not for sale and where is the best view and at what time to arrive and why, etc but all I could manage to do was to pay for the tickets and point to the things I wanted, she was very nice to me and we understood each other as much as possible but this a big kick in the you know where for me.

If you are studying Japanese language right now, study hard, study like crazy, study until you fall asleep on top of your books then wake up and study some more, life in japan is very interesting but you miss out on a lot of cool things if you cant read kanji or speak at a conversation level.

Gambaremasu!!!!!!!!

Jya ne

The Real Thing

2008-03-31T16:28:00.013+09:00

This morning I went down to Kaburen-jo Theater to finally get my hands on some Kyo Odori tickets, since they sell out pretty fast, I went early and got there at around 10:00 am.

As I arrived at the theater there was an old lady dressed in a kimono struggling with the zipper on her purse, I walked by her and said "ohayo gozaimasu" as I passed , she smiled and looked up then said the same thing back to me, then another old lady arrived and said "ohayo gozaimasu oneesan" to the lady with the zipper problem I thought they were really nice ladies by the way they were greeting each other and other people as they made their way in to the theater.

(here she is still struggling with that zipper)

I couldnt find the box office so I went in through a side door that looked like an office and waited after 2 ladies also dresed in kimonos for my turn to ask someone behing the huge counter to tell me where I could buy the tickets .

As I waited I noticed that they had some pretty cool Geiko dolls for a regular office I looked to my right to an open door at the far end of the office and saw a Maiko standing there for about 2 seconds, then she went back in, so then it hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized that this was the entrance for the Geiko and Maiko for rehearsals because right after that the office got swamped with Maikos bowing and greeting each other and making their way in , all dressed in their daytime kimonos, and no white makeup.

I couldn't move but the office had very little space between the door the wall and the counter anyways so I tried to get my self out of the way and not be a bother, there was a really really really, extremely nice woman standing next to me, she too was dressed in a kimono and she smiled at me very kindly and told me that the tickets were not being sold yet that the sales would start tomorrow morning in a little booth outside the theater, while she took the time to talk to me the Maiko that were coming in kept bowing at her and saying "ohayo gosaimasu oneesan, I waited until the door was clear so i could get out and so I thanked the lady to my left and bowed as I went out to the little street in front where there were still more Maikos making their way in to what I think can only be rehearsal.

Some Maiko were coming out of okiyas right on that street, I could not believe my luck. On the picture bellow you can see 2 Maikos that came out of the doorway where now a girl in a sweatshirt and jeans is seeing them off, this girl is a Shikomi now but someday she too might become a Maiko, she lingered for a long time at the door until she could no longer see the 2 Maikos then she went back inside.

After that wonderful incident, I headed to the Terramachi dome area again to go shopping but for the rest of the day I kept thinking about the lady that helped me out at the office, she was way too nice, it was what I can only describe as professional niceness, I think she could have been a Geiko with out her makeup on or maybe it was just a real classy gal in a kimono, who knows.

I'm still in shock though, for me to come from my little country in the middle of nowhere and to have had the luck of getting lost in a room full of real Maiko , not impersonators, not cheap imitations , no, this was the real deal, I'm so thankful for my camera right now.

Jya ne

Family Sunday

2008-03-30T12:48:00.003+09:00

It's Sunday , and my in laws are coming over to visit since sho chan got accepted to an university here in Kyoto, so he will be very close, I wonder if he will visit us often, but anyways, I'm getting ready to go meet them and head off to the campus dorm to help sho chan settle it.

Ive never seen a Japanese campus so it will be interesting, I'm taking my camera with me so I'll be able to post some pics later on.

Jya ne.

Bad Luck

2008-03-29T23:09:00.004+09:00

Today I went to a Tera (budhist temple)and got my monthly Omikuji.

I got bad luck, says I have to pray to god and not do bad things, which is very good advice anyways, so Ill be doing just that this month.

It's now 11:11 pm we just got back from walking around Kyoto all day long, I'm tired and I got my first Japanese cold to top it off, so I'm calling it a day and going to bed after a quick dip in the Furo.

Oyasumi nasai

Telling the real from the fake

2008-03-28T12:09:00.017+09:00

Lately it seems that every time I go to Gion the streets are filled with Maiko in full makeup walking up and down the streets even though it's early in the day. So I took tons of pictures, each time I saw one, only to realize later that out of 48 pictures I took only 1 had real Maiko in it. Needless to say I felt duped.

In hopes of sparing you from this sad sad disillusionment, I'm going to list some ways you can tell if the Maiko you see on the streets of Gion are the real thing or just made up average girls.

But before I do the list I have to answer the question:

WHY ARE THERE FAKE MAIKO IN GION?

Well..... around fifty fake geisha studios, if not more, have sprung up all around Kyoto. They attract more than half a million customers each year. Before when people visited Kyoto, they would just visit the temples but now a days becoming a fake Maiko is the second most popular thing for tourists to do.

As a tourist the idea of getting your picture taken in full Maiko gear and walking down any street in Gion is almost a dream come true, and that is exactly what you can purchase in photo studios in Gion, I took a picture of this studio advertising makeovers :

Japanese girls also pay to get made up in to Maikos for a couple of hours, Ive seen groups of 3 and 4 girls dressed in Maiko gear having fun, posing with tourists, I have to say if I were Japanese and had the dough I'd get my picture taken with my best friend like that too. These are 3 Japanese girls doing just that:

So now that we know why this happens lets move on to how to tell the real from the fake:

Using a wig.
Real Maiko have their hair done every week, they are not allowed to wear wigs so this is pretty easy way to know right away. Wigs have an upside down triangle shape in the center front area, I drew a line around this girls hairline so you can see what I mean, also close to the ears you can see the wig was not well attached on the girl on the left.

Walking with a companion.
Maiko don't need people to help them walk around Kyoto, only people who are not accustomed to wearing Okobo and a big bulky kimono, or people that don't know their way around town do. The girl in the photo bellow had her mother helping her walk around you can see her holding her hand. This fake Maiko is not wearing a wig, for an extra price you can get your real hair done to have your pictures look more natural, but since mom is with her I'm guessing mom paid a lot of dough to have beautiful pictures of her daughter taken.

Age
Maikos are very young girls, mostly teenagers so if she looks a bit older than 30 its a big giveaway sign. You can see on this next picture that the "Maiko" on the left is just a tad bit older than the one on the right.

Tech Toys
Maiko are not allowed to use cellphones, they have to write to people like they used to in the good old days, so any "Maiko" you see using one is a F.A.K.E

Smoking
Maiko don't smoke.

Pierced Ears
Getting your ears pierced is not allowed when you area Maiko so if you see piercing, you know what that means.

Fake Nails or Nail Polish
A true Maiko would never have fake nails on or polished nails either, they are not allowed to do so. So look closely at their hands.

Time of day
Real Maiko only get into their full make up and wardrobe when they have to attend to tea houses which is usually after six , in the daytime to walk around they don't have their white makeup on and they don't use the fancy kimonos either they use lighter more common ones, so if you see a Maiko in full garb at 11 am. you know its a fake.

These are basic signs you can pay attention to tell the difference, but there are a lot more ways to tell the real from the fake, things like hair ornaments and the color of their collar and their hairstyle also the colors of the kimono they are wearing, they way they pose, the way walk , etc

I did get to see 2 real Maiko coming out of their Okiya in a little side street where almost zero tourist were around, I was quite surprised when I saw them walking out , you can see their kimonos are not as gaudy as the rental ones and also their hair ornaments are different, this is the pic:

NOTE: I had originally posted the images without the faces blured but this seemed to upset a japanese friend of mine who on behalve of the girls that got the makeover asked me to cover their faces and respect their happy day in gion as fake maikos, I think that is a noble thing to do so, sorry for the blurs but I really dont need to show their faces to prove my point and this way everybody is happy.

Jya ne!

Homesick

2008-03-28T00:27:00.003+09:00

Today , more than ever, I miss the things that once belonged to me without ever having bought them. I never realized that distance was such a difficult thing to accept.

Before I came here, the thought of living in a country as far and different from my own was , in my mind, an exiting though. Now that I live in exile from all the things that made me the person I am today, I realize, halve of my hart is in Kyoto but the other half never boarded the plane.

I miss my little island by the sea,

I miss rice and beans

I miss plantains very much.

Thinking about moving to a distant country and actually doing it are very different things, the price to pay is very high, and it hurts to have to pay it. In a perfect world Japan would have a little bridge to my country and I could cross it anytime to check up on the people that I love and still make it in time to come back and be with my new family, but life makes you choose, and its either one or the other but never both at the same time.

March 25th was the date on my return airplane ticket, I no longer have the security of having a return date. Now that I live here indefinitely, this new reality is slowly sinking in.

I am very very far from home

This is your new home

I keep saying these things in my mind......

How long does it take to get used to the distance?

I guess this is what adaptation is suposed to feel like...... I miss my home.

Samurai Tour

2008-03-26T09:03:00.019+09:00

Daisuke came over to visit us all the way from Osaka, he is a huge Samurai fan so he had already looked up all the places he wanted to see in Kyoto that were related to the Satsuma Clan and the Meiji Restoration, I know very little about Japan's History and even less about Samurai so it was very interesting for me to find out about these places.

Our first stop was the Ryozen Gokoku Shrine :

Located at 1 Ryozen-cho, Seikanji, Higashiyama-Ku, Kyoto 605-0861, the Gokoku Shrine is right next to the Ryozen "sacred mountain" which is the name of the hill which enshrines the spirits of 3200 participants in the Meiji Restoration movement. Samurai, Soldiers, talented and intelligent minds of that period, 1 Geisha and her Husband, all dead at a young age , mostly late 20's early 30's.

The main attraction at the Ryozen is Ryoma Sakamoto's grave which is the most visited and most advertised attraction, the picture bellow is the entrance to the Ryozen, it's covered with images of Ryoma Sakamoto:

I was very impressed when I found out a Geisha was buried here among all these revolutionaries, her name was Ikumatsu , she gave refuge to Katsura-Kogoro, who was wanted by the Shogunate, love began between them, and they safely entered the Restoration as a married couple, now they are buried next to each other on Ryozen , this is a picture of her grave, it had fresh flowers that day, I guess a lot of people visit her.

After we explored the Cemetery we crossed the street and went to the Ryozen Museum of History. I was able to get an English brochure with my entrance ticket but the information on it is very general, once you enter the museum everything is in Japanese and there was sooooo many interesting things I would have loved to be able to understand but alas I'm just a newbie.

This is a wax life scaled model of Ryoma Sakamoto:

This is the actual blade that killed Ryoma, from what I was told by Daisuke, this blade was specially made to be smaller and therefore faster with the sole purpose of killing Ryoma.

The museum also has a video re-enactment of what happened the night Ryoma died, and how he was killed, and a scaled model of the soy sauce warehouse where it happened.

After the museum we headed to Hamaguri Gomon Gate at the Imperial Park, This is where a memorable event in history happened in 1863. A one day battle between the Shogunate and Choshu took place in Kyoto that was short but very destructive, as the flames of war covered most of the city and lasted for three days. Bullet marks from the conflict remain on the gate to this day. When I saw the bullet marks on the wood I couldn't believe these doors were still intact being outdoors exposed to the elements, it was quite impressive, here are some pics of the bullet marks and the gate:

Afterwords we went to visit the places where the Satsuma clan was based at which is now a days an University , where Ryoma had his import business, the place is still there remarkably enough, and the place where Ryoma was killed at which I was surprised to see is now a conbini, except for Ryoma's import business all that remained from these places are just small stone pillars to commemorate the spots where they once stood.

I learned a lot a yet not enough, it was a really fun day.

Jya ne!

Reading Right Now

2008-03-23T10:20:00.008+09:00

Walking down the Terramachi Dome area, we found a great bookshop and went in to have a look. Since my Japanese reading skills are almost non existing I always look around for books in English and was surprised to find "A Geisha's Journey" on one of the shelves.

I'm a Geiko fan so of course I bought myself a copy, and as I got home and immediately started reading the book, I realized that it's not your typical Geisha story book.

The book is about the life of Komomo and how she became a full fledged Geiko in the Hanamachi in modern day Japan. It's a compilation of comments by Komomo of her memories of training and performing, she points out things that she learned along the way , like how not to upset her elders and how things were difficult and also how she almost quit the life of a Maiko because of how hard their training and demands are, but the book does not get deeeeeeeep in to details like the Arthur Golden book did, oh no, this is a really clean really insightful but not damaging version of what a Geisha's life is like.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Arthur Golden book (Ive read it like 7 times) but that book as famous as it was caused a lot of damage to the Geisha Image and reputation, and a lot of trouble to the Geisha it claims confessed all the secrets of the Hanamachi. People all around the world, in ignorance, think that Geisha are prostitutes and there is no greater insult to their work and their dedication than that.

Komomo's book I think was published in an effort to correct some of the damage done to the Geiko image by books and movies that take advantage of the mystery and the lack of information about Geishas that most of us westerners have and exploit our curiosities with lies and misconceptions at the expense of hard working, dedicated artisans, which is what Geiko really are.

If you are a Geiko fan yourself, I highly recommend picking up a copy of "A Geisha's Journey" you'll be happy you did. You can get a copy from Kodansha International which is the publisher's website or from Amazon.com .

Jya ne!

Lost in Gion

2008-03-19T18:08:00.005+09:00

If there was ever a place in Japan where I wouldn't mind getting lost in, Gion would definitely be it, and that is exactly what happened to me.

Walking along one of Gion's many narrow streets , I ended up at a very peculiar Jinja. Usually, when you visit Jinjas in Japan you will see little wooden boards with people's wishes written on their back side, these boards are called Ema but in the Jinja I came across, the Ema were made of cloth in the shape of cute little dolls. They had people's wishes written on them as usual but i cant imagine these cuties being burned by the monks, which is what usually happens to Emas.

I was lucky enough to come across 2 young Maiko girls who also came to the little jinja in Gion and also took a look at the cute Emas. This was the first time Ive ever seen a real life Maiko, I think I held my breath the whole time they were there.

Jya ne!

J-pop Top 10

2008-03-17T19:54:00.008+09:00

OK , for all the jpop fans out there, here are the top 10 J-pop songs playing on the radio at the moment, you can listen to them on the link to my player list I placed under the top 10 list and I also placed links to the songs lyrics if you want to sing along just click on the song's name.

Enjoy!!!!!!!

1- Sono mama by SMAP.
2- Kimi station by Orange Range.
3- Taiyou no Namida by News.
4- Soba ni Irune by Thelma Aoyama feat. SoulJa.
5- Umiyuki - Jero.
6- Pure by Exile.
7- Te wo Tsunagou by Ayaka.
8- Home by Shimizu Shota.
9- Close to you by Tohoshinki.
10- Tabidachi - Greeeen.

Listen to the songs on my online player (FREE)

Plum Trees (Ume)

2008-03-17T12:52:00.003+09:00

At the arrival of spring, Japan is covered in a blanket of pink and white petals as the plum and cherry trees blossom.

We went to Nagaokakyo Tenmangu to see their Umebashi (plum garden). Plum trees blossom in march and cherry trees in late April, but they are both impressively beautiful.

As you walk through the garden you will notice a strong bitter sweet fragrance coming from the thousands and thousands of tiny flowers on the trees. People get really close to the flowers and smell each different type of ume tree as if comparing which tree has the sweetest smell.

Walking through the park I saw a brief glimpse at an old couple having a bento picnic in a secluded spot under an ume tree, quietly eating, still together after who knows how many years, still visiting parks on weekends, how sweet is that?

Taikobikusu (タイコビクス)

2008-03-11T11:39:00.009+09:00

Yesterday afternoon, while I was washing the dishes and watching TV at the same time, they aired an interview about the new exercise trend in Japan, its called Taikobikusu, as soon as they started talking about this new trend I put the dishes down to watch the full interview because I was soooo curious about this new trend. What is this Taikobikusu about?

The name for the new trend is formed from 2 words, the first being Taiko (Japanese traditional drum) and the second one is Aerobics, mix those 2 words in Katakana and we got:" Taikobikusu (タイコビクス)"

When playing Taiko drums you usually have your arms extended to the front and while banging the drum , the Taiko players usually incorporate a choreography to their movements, making any Taiko performance a must see.

I can easily see how this would incorporate into a great arm workout that is not the usual weight lifting ho -hum routine. If you've never seen a Taiko performance check this one out to get an idea of what I'm talking about:

After seeing the piece they aired on TV I started looking for more info on the web but Taikobikusu is so new that the information available is only in Japanese and on very few sites like this one: Yahoo beauty

The only place where you can get Taikobikusu is in Japan at the moment, but who knows how far this trend might travel. The creators of this new trend are Taiko Lab, they are located in Kyoto and Osaka, you can visit their official website at : Taiko Lab

Osaka Sumo Tournaments

2008-03-10T10:36:00.003+09:00

The Osaka Sumo Tournament began yesterday and will be held at the Osaka Prefecture Gymnasium until March 23rd, You can see the wrestlers information and rank on this web page , when you click on their names you can see their stat page with their pics, I think sumo wrestlers look soooo cute on their pics, but they are really tough guys though.

On yesterdays tournament there were excellent matches, very good wrestlers and then there was Ama (Davaanyam Byambadorj) who jumped over his opponent when he mistakenly started wrestling on his own, later he was easily defeated seen how he fell over almost all on his own; it was an extremely easy victory for his opponent, I don't think he was too happy about that, what was going through his mind on that match? I couldn't believe how bad it was.

I'm dying to go to Osaka since its only 30 Min's away, but tickets are really hard to get since people here love sumo and usually buy tickets in advance. Prices range from 3,000 yen to 36,000 yen (roughly from 30 dollars to 360 dollars)

So I leave you today with a video showcasing Asashoryu , he is known for saying foul things to reporters off cameras and for being one of the bests (if not THE best) sumo wrestlers at the moment.

Yoshio Kojima

2008-03-07T11:35:00.003+09:00

Yoshio Kojima is my favorite Japanese comedian at the moment. He usually appears on TV programs as part of the guest ensemble only wearing his little speedo shorts and saying frases like " Sonna no kankei nee " and "Oppapī " .

I always wonder if he's cold since hes wearing almost nothing, but anyways, the important thing is that he makes me laugh, so I'm posting one of his videos from youtube, enjoy!

Kinkakuji Temple

2008-03-06T13:36:00.009+09:00

Gako chan came to visit us all the way from Yokohama, so we went sightseeing in Kyoto together, unfortunately the weather turned very very snowy, I thought that because of the weather there would be few people site seeing, boy was I wrong, Kinkakuji temple was packed there was a line to get in that looked like a world premiere event was being held inside or something like that, but after we finally made it in it was worth the long line, I think it was a special day, we got to see the temple covered in snow it was beautiful.

Here are the pics:

Getting used to daily life

2008-03-05T08:56:00.002+09:00

The hardest part of moving to a new country is adapting to a completly new culture.
Everyday I learn something new , things to avoid upsetting other people, how to cut sushi, how to recycle, etc

Its very important for me to fit in and be like everybody else, even though I am a foreigner, so Im learning how to cook japanese dishes and how to combine them.

The tipical japanese dinner is composed of :

1 main dish (mostly meat)
1 side dish (mostly rice)
1 soup (can be miso , wakame or vegetable)
2 okazu (mostly made from vegetables)
1 tsukemono(pickled veggies)
1 pot of tea (oolong or green)

after that , if you still have room left in in your tumy, you can have dessert wich can be mochi, manju, uiro, jelly or a more american option like cheescake or fruit.

Yesterday I made my first tamagoyaki, it was pretty good, but the flavors really settle in once the tamagoyaki is cold, dont eat it while its still warm. Here's the recipe:

http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/dailyjc/basic/tamago/tamago.html

Hina Matsuri and Marrige Requirements

2008-03-03T21:54:00.008+09:00

Today was Hina Matsuri , I don't have enough money to buy the really cool hina sets that every one displays in theyr homes, they are quite expensive, some cost more than 1,000 dollars, but they are so pretty they are worth every penny.

This is a picture of a typical hina set:

Someday Ill have a daughter and enough cash to get one of these sets but today is not that day so I made my own litle binbo hina sama display, because I refuse to let the day pass and not have something that commemorates this special day. Here is my picture, I used a cute little doll I bought at a Jinja in Nara and I made a little origami flower , I used a manju box as the base :

Other than that, I went down to city hall today to get the information needed in order to get married to a foreigner in japan, basically they told me all I need is my passport and my certificate stating that I am single in my country , legalized and translated by my country's embassy and that is it, my boyfriend has to fill out a form and also get papers stating which district he is from, after we get all those papers put together and deposit them in city hall then it takes from 1 hour to 3 days to get it approved and then we will be married.

After all that is done I then have to go to immigration office in Kyoto to see what happens after you marry in Japan, Ill keep you guys posted.

Getting Married in Japan

2008-03-02T02:32:00.002+09:00

Ive been away for a couple of days, I couldn't post because I was on the road moving around a lot, but I'm getting ahead of my self, let me start at the real beginning of this.

Back in my country, I started to learn Japanese at Apec University where I became very close friends with my J-teacher Tomoko Sensei, in a period of about 1 year and a half, we ended up hanging out a lot, going to concerts, the movies or cultural activities , things like that , so 1 day a J-friend of hers was coming to my hometown to find out some info about classes at the university and so , we ended up going together to meet him and show him around town, long story short, me and that J-guy are finally getting married.

So now begins the part where I will let you know step by step how the marriage to a foreigner thing works here, Ill be posting as I go through the process, anyways, here is step one but every country's requirements are different so you might want to check with your local Japanese embassy if you are outside Japan right now.

Step 1: Get a legal statement that proves you are single in your country.

In my case, the document is called "acta de solteria" which is basically a statement signed by a judge and 3 witnesses proving that I am not currently married and therefore eligible for marriage, this paper has to be legalized by the external affairs office in order to be legal and valid in japan.

I got this paper before coming to japan so that was no biggie, but, the Latin American countries have only 1 embassy in japan and it is in Tokyo, so I had to travel to take said document to my country's embassy in order to have the document validated as legal and then translated, after I got the translations I now have to go to city hall and see what are the requirements for marrying a foreigner in Kyoto, every state has different requirements so I have to wait until Monday to find out, but there is one thing that is truly giving me a headache about this whole affair; the fact that I have a tourist visa at the moment and cant stay longer than 3 months, my visa expires march 25 which is the day I would have to return to my country, legally speaking.

so Ill be keeping you guys posted as this little dorama unfolds, wish me luck.

Tarento of the week

2008-02-26T23:20:00.006+09:00

This weeks featured tarento is , my personal favorite, Oguri Shun!!!!!!!!!!!!

He has been acting in J-doramas since 1995, he has done 38 so far and he has also stared in 18 J-movies. He usually plays the misterious sexy guy but on his most recent dorama "Binbo Danshi" (currently airing on channel 10 in japan) he plays a poor student who is very optimistic and a little bit goofy.

I have to admit at first I was expecting the usual misterious character but it's actually quite refreshing to see him in a different type of character for a change.

Whats that? you wish you could watch the episodes of Binbo Danshi but you dont live in japan?

Not to worry, I got your back, you can see the episodes that have already been aired at Veoh.com, some episodes require you to download veoh tv in order to see the entire episode but it is totally worth it, also next time you want to watch doramas on your computer it comes in pretty handy , plus , it's FREE.

To view the episodes on veoh.com , visit this link: http://www.veoh.com/search.html?type=&search=binbo+danshi&advSearch=-contentSourceName%3A%28YouTube.com%29

To visit the oficial Binbo Danshi website go to http://www.ntv.co.jp/binbou/

Anpanman

2008-02-26T09:17:00.006+09:00

When I was still living in my country , me and my friends would allways watch doramas and anime series or japanese movies, anything japanese we could get our hands on, but never did I hear anything about Anpanman, so when I arrived here and found a lot of kids wearing t-shirts and backpacks and dolls, blankets, etc... All these things had a funny little guys face on it, so I asked who was that character, it was Anpanman.

Eventhough Anpanman first came out in 1968 he is still very popular , kids love him , so I turned once again to Youtube.com to see some episodes, now Im in love with Anpanman too.

I think its really cute how all the caracters are named after different types of japanese food and also how he saves people from hunger by taking off one of his cheeks (they are made of anpan), overall the series promotes healthy eating , reminds me of popeye.

You can see 15 episodes of Anpanman in Youtube.com by visiting this link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SHPWOoxVRSQ

Enoki Food Poisoning

2008-02-25T21:32:00.004+09:00

Sorry for the late post today, it's now 9:30 pm here , I spent the whole day in bed with a really bad headache and an upset stomach and very very dizzy, I thought I was getting the flue or something like that but it turned out to be food poisoning.

This morning , like every morning , I prepared miso soup for breakfast, I added tofu and enoki, this is not the first time I cook enoki, but it was the first time I undercooked it, turns out, it's very dangerous to undercook mushrooms even if they are edible, I did not know that, so learn from my mistake and if you are cooking anything that uses enoki in it, be sure to cook it well before eating and also dont buy them if they look brownish or slimy.

Genji Monogatari Museum

2008-02-24T15:23:00.012+09:00

The Genji Monogatari Museum introduces the world of Genji in a three-dimensional representation. The permanent exhibitions in the "Spring Room" exhibit a 1:100 scale model of Genji's Rokujo-In residence where he enjoyed his most glorious and exiting days.

The "Autumn Room" portrays one famous scene from the final 10 chapters, the "Hashi-hime" episode where Kaoru sees the daughthers of the Eighth Prince for the first time and falls in love.

While at the Museum you can watch a screening of the "Ukifune" chapter, the movie has no subtitles but you can get a headset whith english translations at the front desk, you can also purchase the dvd version for about 5000 yen at the museums gift shop.

Uji takes great pride in having been the stage for the last 10 chapters in the Genji Monogatari. In Heian times Uji was a retreat for most aristocrats so its only natural to have been featured in such an important tale.

When in Uji you can visit 10 monuments dedicated to the Tale of Genji and you can get the information and map to locate them at the Museum, I personally couldnt go to take pics of all the monuments because yesterday turned out to be "Haru Ichiban" (the first wind storm of spring)

It was really cold and super windy, reminded me of huricane weather back in my country, so I came back home early, but I took a lot of pics for you guys and uploaded them to my flickr account you can see them at http://flickr.com/photos/54973022@N00 , also if you havent had a change to read the Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) yet, I found this great ebook with all the chapters in english at http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Genji/00000010.htm

Here's a little vieo I made to show the illustration mural from the Genji Monogatari museum, I thought the illustrations were gorgeous, enjoy!

Saturday Morning

2008-02-23T11:21:00.002+09:00

Its already saturday, so today Ill be going to the Genji Monogatari museum in Uji , Ill be posting the photos and info tomorrow for you guys to see.

Hina Matsuri Ham Dolls

2008-02-22T08:36:00.003+09:00

Hina matsuri will soon be here (3-3-08), so the local supermarket (Kyoto Co-op) made this ham sculpture of the traditional dolls, I thought it was super kawaii so I took a picture for you guys to see. some supermarkets play a specific song depending on upcoming holidays, so if you go to an Izumiya supermarket you will hear the hina matsuri song non stop.

It's called "Ureshii Hinamatsuri (Happy Hinamatsuri)" I tried to look for a traditional style .mp3 version on line but none were available right now but I did find a midi file so you can listen to the melody and I also found the lyrics, I absolutely love this song:

Ureshii Hinamatsuri.midi

Akari o tsukemashou bonbori ni
明かりをつけましょう　ぼんぼりに

Ohana o agemashou momo no hana
お花をあげましょう　桃の花

Go-nin bayashi no fue taiko
五人ばやしの　笛太鼓

Kyo wa tanoshii Hinamatsuri

今日は楽しいひな祭り

Translation:

Let's light the lanterns
Let's set peach flowers
Five court musicians are playing flutes and drums
Today is a joyful Dolls' Festival

How to take the bus in Kyoto

2008-02-21T08:24:00.005+09:00

Ok, so today Im going to explain how to use the Kyoto bus system to get around Kyoto.

Kyoto city has a very tourist oriented bus system, all signs at the station have English text in them and the bus ticket center workers can speak enough English to give you a brochure with all the information you need and sell you a bus pass (which is all you need ).

Once you exit Kyoto Station through the central gate (right in front of the Kyoto Tower Hotel) you will be able to see the bus ticket center to your right hand side, you can pick up sightseeing maps and buy yourself a 1 or 2 day bus pass that lets you board all the buses on the sightseeing route for an unlimited amount of times within the time span you purchased, I highly recommend getting the 500 yen 1 day pass, if you get lost like I did, you can board any bus and find your way back to Kyoto station and you can save all that money to buy some dango or whatever suits your fancy.

Anyways…… back to the subject

Figuring out which bus goes where is very easy since the bus terminals say which historical places they go to, there are also charts you can easily find at the terminal with all that info and if you picked up the bus route map at the ticket center you will be able to know on which bus stop to get off, don’t worry if you don’t speak Japanese, the Kyoto buses announce the stops for tourist sites in English so you will know where to get off.

Bus Rules:
- Don’t cut in line while waiting to get on the bus.

- You board the bus through the back door and exit through the front.

- While on the bus turn your cell phone to quite mode, it is considered very rude to talk on the phone on the bus , so call people back once you get off the bus.

- If you are paying with cash, have exact change ready (usually 220 yen on flat rate buses) if you don’t have change you can get change right on the bus on the exchange machine, the booklets from the bus ticket center have very detailed information of how to do that, so read them carefully before riding the bus.

- Some seats on the bus are designated for pregnant, disability or seniors so do pay attention to the stickers on the windows before you sit down and if someone is entitled to the handicap seat and you are sitting on one please give your seat to that person and get your self some good karma and a little respect from your fellow bus riders.

- To get off the bus push one of the little buttons on the side of the bus and you will be able to get off the bus on the next available stop.

Other than that, enjoy your bus ride and have a great day, yeay!!!!!

Information links:

This link has the basic kyoto transport information for the bus and subway and also a lot of info about kyoto: http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html

This link has the day pass ticket information with prices and details : http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/info_required/transportation/bus&taxis/

This is the best info link I've found so far, before you come to Kyoto you can download a PDF file with the bus routes and also the Kyoto tourist guidebook on this website , scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says "Visiting Kyoto" http://hellokcb.or.jp/eng/download_centre/index.html

Jero - The Enka Singer

2008-02-20T09:00:00.004+09:00

The first time I saw Jero on TV I though he was going to sing hip hop, judging by the way he was dressed, I was really surprised when he started singing Enka.

Jero was born in the U.S. and actually graduated from the University of Pittsburg as a Computer Engineer. His grandmother was japanese and exposed him to enka music at an early age, so he grew up liking traditional japanese music.

Jero came to japan and participated in a tv karaoke contest show where he was scouted by JVC music, he has then been in japan for the last 2 years taking vocal trainning and will release his first cd at the end of this month, Im definetly looking forward to hearing all his songs, I think he's style can only be described as Pop Enka , I think that enka music will be exposed to a whole new kind of audience thanks to him, but dont take it from me , you can judge for yourself, here is Jero's debut video :

Jero's Blog (in japanese, the dude speaks fluently y'all)

Jero's Website

Kamakura Amida Buddha

2008-02-18T22:36:00.004+09:00

Kamakura (鎌倉市, Kamakura-shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo

Kamakura is mostly known for its temples and shrines. The most visited temple in Kamakura is the Kōtoku-in, with the huge statue of Amida Buddha. This statue was once inside a temple but a 15th Century tsunami destroyed the temple, the statue survived and has remained outdoors ever since.

There are way too many interesting historical sites in Kamakura so if you are only going to visit for 1 day read up and select the sites that you would like to see the most, I found this page with a lot of great info on historical facts and sites in Kamakura .

Visit “ A guide to Kamakura” at : http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~qm9t-kndu/

How to get there:

The fastest way in is by JR Yokosuka Line from Yokohama or Tokyo Station (55 minutes from the latter, ¥890). The JR Kamakura-Enoshima Free Kippu (¥1,110 from Yokohama, ¥1,970 from Tokyo) gets you a round trip to/from Kamakura (local trains only) plus unlimited use of Enoden and Shonan Monorail lines.

A cheaper alternative is to take the private Odakyu line from Shinjuku to Fujisawa, then change onto the rattling old Enoden (江ノ電) half-train/half-streetcar line that terminates in Kamakura. The longer (about 90-minute) travel time is compensated for by views of Enoshima island and the Shonan coast. The Enoshima-Kamakura Free Pass (¥1,430) will get you a roundtrip from Shinjuku and unlimited use of the Enoden line for one day.

Finally!!!!!

2008-02-18T11:26:00.001+09:00

When I first got here I thought that blogging about my everyday life in japan would be the best way to keep in touch with my friends and also to share my experience with people interested in Japan, little did I know I would not have internet connection for almost 2 months, Yikes!

I arrived at Narita airport Christmas day 2007 to meet my boyfriend, move in together and live happilly ever after.

The moving in part was ok but for the first month and a half I pretty much had no way of beeing able to post daily and upload all my images, so, I apologize for the long wait and shall now promise to make it up to you guys by posting daily until the day I die or something like that.

Why did it take so long to set up the internet service?

Good question!!!,
it just so happens that my dear boyfriend rented a Mansion (japanese for 3 room appartment) for us to live in, but the building admistration has already made a deal with a specific internet provider therefore people residing in this mansion can only get the service from them and eventhough the previous tennants used that same internet company the installation waiting time is of about a month, hence the long wait, but we are actualy lucky since some other internet roviders take about 3 months to give you internet service, at least that is the situation here in little ol Fushimi, in Kyoto.

The good part is I now live in Kyoto so I can post about some really cool places.

Arrival

2007-12-28T08:49:00.000+09:00

After a 13 hour flight on American Airlines I finally arrived at Narita airport.

My fist impression of Japan was one of "Great Service" , my luggage was already waiting for me once I got to the luggage pick up area, all the employees I spoke to on that terminal spoke excellent english so I had no problems asking questions and finding the internet area.

You can get your room , limo bus, a shower, anything you need, all on the same terminal , eventhough I can get the same service at the airport back home except for the shower, in Japan the service is more organized.

I made it to the internet area, it costs 100 yen for 10 minutes worth of internet access, there is a change machine right there, 3 vending machines , a smoking section, I was relieved to be able to check my email and let people know I had arrived safely, after that I bought a limo bus ticket to shinjuku, it costed about 3000 yen and the trip lasts about 1 hour.

I met my boyfriend at the bus station and stayed the night alone at a "Star Hotel", I was surprised when I saw the size of the room, the rooms are really small but, once I settle in I realized Ididnt need any more space, the rooms have everything you need, things like a built in alarm clock, tv, refrigerator, bathroom, internet access, hair dryer, etc, I thought the room was very comfy and had a great night.

The next morning I had Tsukemen with my boyfriend at a nearby restaurant, it was delicious.

We went to Ginza spent the night there and yesterday got on a shinkansen to Yamaguchi to spend a couple of days at his parents house for new years, we have been mooving around a lot since I got here so I havent done much siteseeing yet but yet a lot of little things are very interesting to me, Ill try to post some pics for you guys to see.