11/15/2008 (Kinkaku-ji/Hirano-jinja)
Shots from the crowded Kinkaku-ji, abandoned Hirano-jinja, and one or two from around Kyoto.
11.16.2008
PIC UPDATE: Pictures from Kinkaku-ji and Hirano-jinja, Kyoto.
２００８年１１月１５日 （金閣寺・平野神社） << click here!
11/15/2008 (Kinkaku-ji/Hirano-jinja)
Shots from the crowded Kinkaku-ji, abandoned Hirano-jinja, and one or two from around Kyoto.
11/15/2008 (Kinkaku-ji/Hirano-jinja)
Shots from the crowded Kinkaku-ji, abandoned Hirano-jinja, and one or two from around Kyoto.
10.15.2008
The Tokyo Report
Part I: 到着 (touchaku: ARRIVAL)
Friday, October 10, 2008 8:02pm
After much planning, the moment had finally arrived: we were taking our scheduled Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Tokyo at 8:02pm, and arriving around 10:30pm. Excited beyond measure, we hopped the local train and made all the necessary transfers to get from Keihan's domain to Japan Railway's massive Pan-Nipponese realm. Keihan had the nicer service, but JR had the Shinkansen, so we had little say in who we got to choose to take us to Japan's capital at blazing speed.
This part of the trip was met with little difficulty. Our Nozomi train left on time and arrived as such, too. The flight was smooth (albeit slightly motion sickness-inducing), and, as indicated by my subconcious desire to use the word "flight," was very similar in feel to air travel in terms of accomodation.
Once we got in at 10:23pm, as our ticket promised, we ran into our first issue: we were staying with a bunch of other friends who had already checked in at Narita Airport's rest house, which was well over an hour away from were we had arrived, JR's Tokyo station... and during the day, getting there would be no problem. However, unbeknownst to us, the last direct train left for Narita Kokusai Kuukou at around 9:00pm.
Damn.
We had to improvise the way home, which we did the best we could. We found a commuter homeliner train bound for Chiba, and after paying the 500 yen fee to board, we got ourselves on the way to about the halfway point between Tokyo Station and Narita Airport station.
Once in Chiba, we hopped the train bound for Narita, two stops away from the airport, whose distance is a considerable distance by any non-wheeled means. So we knew we were condemned to take a taxi, but we wanted to get ourselves as close as possible, so we quickly jumped on a ticket machine and got from Chiba to Narita.
Only problem was we got the wrong ticket. We got a limited express ticket for a local train (this 特急／普通 dichotomy doesn't really exist with Keihan; you get a ticket, you can hop a lim. exp. or local)... but after a minute or so of insecurity before the JR Narita station attendant, we were (slightly reluctantly) let through.
Taxi time.
Japanese taxis are comfortable, direct, and insanely expensive after the 2km mark. They give you a flat rate for traveling within those 2km, but thereafter, you get docked a little more money for traveling 200m or so, which builds itself up after a while. Thankfully, we were a group of three, so our total 3000 yen travel bill was much more easy to digest.
The taxi travel itself would have been more sane if customs hadn't tried to bust us.
We pulled up to an entrance of Narita Airport, which is a gateway between the worlds of Japan and securityland. When the customs officials walked up and saw that we were foreign, they asked for some form of ID (which we had), why we were entering the airport, whose name the hotel rooms were under, and so on and so forth. This was conducted between me and a customs guy in 70% Japanese, 25% English, and 5% "huh?".
I would NOT decry the experience as racism, however; it's pretty logical not to let anyone into an airport if they don't have a decent reason to. It's just that the whole dealing with customs was a stress factor that compounded with the whole rushed experience. Besides, we were let in.
So, after we were waved off, and our amazing driver bid the officals farewell with a contemptuous-sounding "BYEBYE~", we went laughing off into the bright lights of Narita International Airport.
Part II: ゲームの大会 (geemu no taikai: THE BIG GAME SHOW)
Saturday, October 11, 2008 6:00am
Our main reason for going to Tokyo was the Tokyo Game Show, a once per annum event showcasing the up-and-coming events in the Japanese gaming world. A decent fraction of these games are released or developed worldwide as well, so it becomes an excellent chance for not just native Japanese gamers to get a taste of what's to come, but it gives foreigners an excuse to hop to Japan and get with the program.
This event took place at the Makuhari Messe, a huge convention center not terribly far away from the Chiba nexus (getting Gibsonian enough for you yet?). Thankfully, this was easily accessible by JR trains, so transportation issues were not a factor.
What was a factor was the sheer number of people going to this event. In order to keep a mob of tens of thousands of hungry gamers in check, TGS and Messe staff made the huge line go around the entire convention center, eventually fencing us into smaller lines that were let in one at a time. Our line got in at about 10:30 to 11:00am. The exact time escapes me at the moment, unfortunately.
And so the hungry herd was fed its information. Our entire group stayed until closing time at 5pm, and Tiff and I were off essentially doing our own thing that entire time. We spent most of the time checking out little snippets of games, but didn't actually get to try a huge amount of game demos for the impossibly huge wait times (upwards of 1 to 2 hours to play a small snippet of an incomplete game).
Still, the experience was unreal, even if we didn't get to go willynilly because we didn't want to waste our time on a line for those cursed game snippets. Unfortunately, though, the games that both Tiff and I wanted to see at TGS were mostly no shows. Even then, we got our fill of gaming updates in that 6 to 7 hours of wandering amidst incredibly dense clouds of info and crowds of info gatherers.
After the event had ended, our larger group of travellers regathered and split off again (most wanted to go to the anime haven of Akihabara (秋葉原 - the field of autumn leaves, an ironically beautiful name, no?), while Tiff and I wanted to stop by the classier Shibuya (渋谷) and Harajuku (原宿) areas). However, after both shards of this broken group got food at the same time at different places, we actually ended up gathering at the train back home for Narita Airport at the same time, without going to where we wanted to go. The Akihabara group was too tired, and Tiff and I realized that the last train for the airport was coming up way too soon to do any exploring.
What a lucky coincidence, eh?
So, we got back to the airport without any difficulties (the customs barrier between the trains and the airport is much friendlier), and tried our best to get a decent night's sleep for the next day, which we had originally planned out as starting off from TGS, with Tiff and I later branching off to do our own thing in Tokyo.
This changed, though.
Part III: 東京… また会いましょう (toukyou... mata aimashou: TOKYO... LET'S MEET AGAIN)
Sunday, October 12, 2008 5:30am
On the way back to the Messe the next day, Tiff and I decided that there wasn't nearly enough at TGS to keep us coming back for more... especially with the insane crowds. So, we bid farewell to our train-faring compatriots at Chiba station, and continued on the train for JR Tokyo Station.
Since we had checked out of the hotel earlier, we had our luggage on us, which we quickly stuffed in a 600 yen coin locker near the stairs for the platform. The country of convenience.
From there, we hopped on the JR Yamanote line (the lime-green designated circular route that pierces the heart of Tokyo's many central wards), which took us on a 30 minute ride to Shibuya. Like the Shinkansen and Homeliner, the Yamanote line was adequately bilingual in its announcements, a huge hint to just how many tourists and other forms of foreigner are wandering helplessly through the so-called Metropolis of Tokyo (東京都）.
(And when you actually get to see just how many foreigners are around, it feels nothing less than strange, even being a foreigner yourself.)
So, we got off at Shibuya, the Times Square of Tokyo, and like Times Square, it was a fleeting interest, perpetuated by shiny lights and the sheer number of how many damn people were clogging up the crosswalks and the 109's. We even accidentally put ourselves on the shady backstreets and didn't get much out of it, aside from the fact that someone put a love hotel right next to a perfectly good Shinto shrine.
Thus, we dashed right out of Shibuya and took the Yamanote a couple of stops up to Harajuku, a more laid-back sector of Tokyo, with the jam-packed Takeshita Road lined with small clothes shops and other such establishments with articles for sale cheaper and more interesting than those in that ward two stops down.
Despite some places being just as built up as Shibuya, everything just seemed to have a more... pleasant feel in Harajuku, from the lesser treaded backstreets, to the Harajuku Girl-filled forestreets.
There, we had some Lotteria (a good burger shack that seems to have its closest Kansai base in Kyoto... please correct me if I'm wrong; I thought it was delicious), and later stopped by this really cool music-oriented coffee shop called Jet Robot. Then, after a little bit of shopping, thereby picking up some ridiculous T-shirts, and a lot more wandering (cursing our legs for only being able to travel so far), we made our way back to JR Tokyo Station.
We had a lot of time until our night bus came, so we just sat out in front of this mall directly in front of the station, admired the cool Tokyo night, and so found a simple way to enjoy our last day (but not last time) in the Tokyo Metropolis before grabbing some bento boxes from the AMPM in the mall, searching frantically for our night bus, and hopping on that Catatonia Express that would leave us behind in a daze at JR Kyoto Station.
Friday, October 10, 2008 8:02pm
After much planning, the moment had finally arrived: we were taking our scheduled Shinkansen train from Kyoto to Tokyo at 8:02pm, and arriving around 10:30pm. Excited beyond measure, we hopped the local train and made all the necessary transfers to get from Keihan's domain to Japan Railway's massive Pan-Nipponese realm. Keihan had the nicer service, but JR had the Shinkansen, so we had little say in who we got to choose to take us to Japan's capital at blazing speed.
This part of the trip was met with little difficulty. Our Nozomi train left on time and arrived as such, too. The flight was smooth (albeit slightly motion sickness-inducing), and, as indicated by my subconcious desire to use the word "flight," was very similar in feel to air travel in terms of accomodation.
Once we got in at 10:23pm, as our ticket promised, we ran into our first issue: we were staying with a bunch of other friends who had already checked in at Narita Airport's rest house, which was well over an hour away from were we had arrived, JR's Tokyo station... and during the day, getting there would be no problem. However, unbeknownst to us, the last direct train left for Narita Kokusai Kuukou at around 9:00pm.
Damn.
We had to improvise the way home, which we did the best we could. We found a commuter homeliner train bound for Chiba, and after paying the 500 yen fee to board, we got ourselves on the way to about the halfway point between Tokyo Station and Narita Airport station.
Once in Chiba, we hopped the train bound for Narita, two stops away from the airport, whose distance is a considerable distance by any non-wheeled means. So we knew we were condemned to take a taxi, but we wanted to get ourselves as close as possible, so we quickly jumped on a ticket machine and got from Chiba to Narita.
Only problem was we got the wrong ticket. We got a limited express ticket for a local train (this 特急／普通 dichotomy doesn't really exist with Keihan; you get a ticket, you can hop a lim. exp. or local)... but after a minute or so of insecurity before the JR Narita station attendant, we were (slightly reluctantly) let through.
Taxi time.
Japanese taxis are comfortable, direct, and insanely expensive after the 2km mark. They give you a flat rate for traveling within those 2km, but thereafter, you get docked a little more money for traveling 200m or so, which builds itself up after a while. Thankfully, we were a group of three, so our total 3000 yen travel bill was much more easy to digest.
The taxi travel itself would have been more sane if customs hadn't tried to bust us.
We pulled up to an entrance of Narita Airport, which is a gateway between the worlds of Japan and securityland. When the customs officials walked up and saw that we were foreign, they asked for some form of ID (which we had), why we were entering the airport, whose name the hotel rooms were under, and so on and so forth. This was conducted between me and a customs guy in 70% Japanese, 25% English, and 5% "huh?".
I would NOT decry the experience as racism, however; it's pretty logical not to let anyone into an airport if they don't have a decent reason to. It's just that the whole dealing with customs was a stress factor that compounded with the whole rushed experience. Besides, we were let in.
So, after we were waved off, and our amazing driver bid the officals farewell with a contemptuous-sounding "BYEBYE~", we went laughing off into the bright lights of Narita International Airport.
Part II: ゲームの大会 (geemu no taikai: THE BIG GAME SHOW)
Saturday, October 11, 2008 6:00am
Our main reason for going to Tokyo was the Tokyo Game Show, a once per annum event showcasing the up-and-coming events in the Japanese gaming world. A decent fraction of these games are released or developed worldwide as well, so it becomes an excellent chance for not just native Japanese gamers to get a taste of what's to come, but it gives foreigners an excuse to hop to Japan and get with the program.
This event took place at the Makuhari Messe, a huge convention center not terribly far away from the Chiba nexus (getting Gibsonian enough for you yet?). Thankfully, this was easily accessible by JR trains, so transportation issues were not a factor.
What was a factor was the sheer number of people going to this event. In order to keep a mob of tens of thousands of hungry gamers in check, TGS and Messe staff made the huge line go around the entire convention center, eventually fencing us into smaller lines that were let in one at a time. Our line got in at about 10:30 to 11:00am. The exact time escapes me at the moment, unfortunately.
And so the hungry herd was fed its information. Our entire group stayed until closing time at 5pm, and Tiff and I were off essentially doing our own thing that entire time. We spent most of the time checking out little snippets of games, but didn't actually get to try a huge amount of game demos for the impossibly huge wait times (upwards of 1 to 2 hours to play a small snippet of an incomplete game).
Still, the experience was unreal, even if we didn't get to go willynilly because we didn't want to waste our time on a line for those cursed game snippets. Unfortunately, though, the games that both Tiff and I wanted to see at TGS were mostly no shows. Even then, we got our fill of gaming updates in that 6 to 7 hours of wandering amidst incredibly dense clouds of info and crowds of info gatherers.
After the event had ended, our larger group of travellers regathered and split off again (most wanted to go to the anime haven of Akihabara (秋葉原 - the field of autumn leaves, an ironically beautiful name, no?), while Tiff and I wanted to stop by the classier Shibuya (渋谷) and Harajuku (原宿) areas). However, after both shards of this broken group got food at the same time at different places, we actually ended up gathering at the train back home for Narita Airport at the same time, without going to where we wanted to go. The Akihabara group was too tired, and Tiff and I realized that the last train for the airport was coming up way too soon to do any exploring.
What a lucky coincidence, eh?
So, we got back to the airport without any difficulties (the customs barrier between the trains and the airport is much friendlier), and tried our best to get a decent night's sleep for the next day, which we had originally planned out as starting off from TGS, with Tiff and I later branching off to do our own thing in Tokyo.
This changed, though.
Part III: 東京… また会いましょう (toukyou... mata aimashou: TOKYO... LET'S MEET AGAIN)
Sunday, October 12, 2008 5:30am
On the way back to the Messe the next day, Tiff and I decided that there wasn't nearly enough at TGS to keep us coming back for more... especially with the insane crowds. So, we bid farewell to our train-faring compatriots at Chiba station, and continued on the train for JR Tokyo Station.
Since we had checked out of the hotel earlier, we had our luggage on us, which we quickly stuffed in a 600 yen coin locker near the stairs for the platform. The country of convenience.
From there, we hopped on the JR Yamanote line (the lime-green designated circular route that pierces the heart of Tokyo's many central wards), which took us on a 30 minute ride to Shibuya. Like the Shinkansen and Homeliner, the Yamanote line was adequately bilingual in its announcements, a huge hint to just how many tourists and other forms of foreigner are wandering helplessly through the so-called Metropolis of Tokyo (東京都）.
(And when you actually get to see just how many foreigners are around, it feels nothing less than strange, even being a foreigner yourself.)
So, we got off at Shibuya, the Times Square of Tokyo, and like Times Square, it was a fleeting interest, perpetuated by shiny lights and the sheer number of how many damn people were clogging up the crosswalks and the 109's. We even accidentally put ourselves on the shady backstreets and didn't get much out of it, aside from the fact that someone put a love hotel right next to a perfectly good Shinto shrine.
Thus, we dashed right out of Shibuya and took the Yamanote a couple of stops up to Harajuku, a more laid-back sector of Tokyo, with the jam-packed Takeshita Road lined with small clothes shops and other such establishments with articles for sale cheaper and more interesting than those in that ward two stops down.
Despite some places being just as built up as Shibuya, everything just seemed to have a more... pleasant feel in Harajuku, from the lesser treaded backstreets, to the Harajuku Girl-filled forestreets.
There, we had some Lotteria (a good burger shack that seems to have its closest Kansai base in Kyoto... please correct me if I'm wrong; I thought it was delicious), and later stopped by this really cool music-oriented coffee shop called Jet Robot. Then, after a little bit of shopping, thereby picking up some ridiculous T-shirts, and a lot more wandering (cursing our legs for only being able to travel so far), we made our way back to JR Tokyo Station.
We had a lot of time until our night bus came, so we just sat out in front of this mall directly in front of the station, admired the cool Tokyo night, and so found a simple way to enjoy our last day (but not last time) in the Tokyo Metropolis before grabbing some bento boxes from the AMPM in the mall, searching frantically for our night bus, and hopping on that Catatonia Express that would leave us behind in a daze at JR Kyoto Station.
9.23.2008
PIC UPDATE: Pictures from Fushimi Inari, Kyoto.
２００８年９月２０日 （伏見稲荷大社） << click here!
9/20/2008 - Fushimi Inari-taisha
Mostly shots of the torii-ful shrine of Fushimi Inari.
9/20/2008 - Fushimi Inari-taisha
Mostly shots of the torii-ful shrine of Fushimi Inari.
9.13.2008
A brief summary of the past week.
Weekend: Lots of fun. Went to some izakaya (essentially restaurants that serve small to medium-sized dishes, and are really fun to go to in decent sized groups), did some karaoke (also fun to do in decent sized groups, and there are plenty of songs in English and Japanese, as well as Korean, Chinese, and Tagalog), and just generally had fun over all hanging with both our Japanland and gaijin friends.
The week thereafter: Classes and the end of orientation. I ended up getting put a level ahead in Japanese, which means I have about four or five chapters worth of vocab, grammar, and kanji to catch up in. So far, it hasn't been too bad. Grammar was a breeze, and I have a decent part of the vocab down. I've even picked up a surprising percentage of kanji by just tracking down their definitions on my own.
Otherwise, my classes aren't too bad, but I might drop one of my afternoon lecture classes if I maintain my current level of Japanese, given that even the professors recommend that we keep our classes down to four (two Japanese classes + two afternoon lecture classes), as opposed to the five Tiff and I had (Tiff dropped her fifth, I'm still waiting to see if I'll be in a high level for both my Japanese classes).
In other news, we both bought bikes for cheap (I got mine for ￥6500, and Tiff's was ￥7000), and I've started to help Tiff learn to ride. She's been doing pretty well for herself, but I want to make sure she's an expert in steering and braking before she gets out on the mean streets of Hirakata.
Unfortunately, no pictures... yet. I'm gonna try to get out and get some pics of the general area, but my ability to do that will be dictated by what's going on tomorrow and Monday, which we have off (Respect for the Aged Day, YES).
Oh, and one awesome fact: because of TD Commerce and Japan's ゆうちょ銀行 both dropping the ball on charges, I don't get hit with any fees for international transactions.
And last, but not least, our addresses:
(one of our names here, only use one!)
c/o Center for International Education
Kansai Gaidai University
16-1 Nakamiyahigashino-cho, Hirakata, Osaka
573-1001 JAPAN
The town name is quite a mouthful (penful? ... painful?), so here it is, broken up: naka miya higashi no - cho.
Also, I have to stress that you must not forget to write either my name or Tiff's in! Writing both is no good because we have separate mailboxes, and if you just don't put a name, CIE will assume it's theirs and just open it right up. I know you're not sending us bombs or anything, but we'll have to go through a whole ugly bureaucratic process to get it (like everything else in Japan).
The week thereafter: Classes and the end of orientation. I ended up getting put a level ahead in Japanese, which means I have about four or five chapters worth of vocab, grammar, and kanji to catch up in. So far, it hasn't been too bad. Grammar was a breeze, and I have a decent part of the vocab down. I've even picked up a surprising percentage of kanji by just tracking down their definitions on my own.
Otherwise, my classes aren't too bad, but I might drop one of my afternoon lecture classes if I maintain my current level of Japanese, given that even the professors recommend that we keep our classes down to four (two Japanese classes + two afternoon lecture classes), as opposed to the five Tiff and I had (Tiff dropped her fifth, I'm still waiting to see if I'll be in a high level for both my Japanese classes).
In other news, we both bought bikes for cheap (I got mine for ￥6500, and Tiff's was ￥7000), and I've started to help Tiff learn to ride. She's been doing pretty well for herself, but I want to make sure she's an expert in steering and braking before she gets out on the mean streets of Hirakata.
Unfortunately, no pictures... yet. I'm gonna try to get out and get some pics of the general area, but my ability to do that will be dictated by what's going on tomorrow and Monday, which we have off (Respect for the Aged Day, YES).
Oh, and one awesome fact: because of TD Commerce and Japan's ゆうちょ銀行 both dropping the ball on charges, I don't get hit with any fees for international transactions.
And last, but not least, our addresses:
(one of our names here, only use one!)
c/o Center for International Education
Kansai Gaidai University
16-1 Nakamiyahigashino-cho, Hirakata, Osaka
573-1001 JAPAN
The town name is quite a mouthful (penful? ... painful?), so here it is, broken up: naka miya higashi no - cho.
Also, I have to stress that you must not forget to write either my name or Tiff's in! Writing both is no good because we have separate mailboxes, and if you just don't put a name, CIE will assume it's theirs and just open it right up. I know you're not sending us bombs or anything, but we'll have to go through a whole ugly bureaucratic process to get it (like everything else in Japan).
9.05.2008
PIC UPDATE: Pictures from Kyoto trip.
２００８年９月５日 （清水寺） << click here!
9/5/2008 - Kiyomizu-dera
Mostly pictures of Kiyomizu-dera, a temple in Kyoto. Text update when we can/feel like it.
9/5/2008 - Kiyomizu-dera
Mostly pictures of Kiyomizu-dera, a temple in Kyoto. Text update when we can/feel like it.
Small update.
We registered for classes yesterday! On the day before, we gaijin students had to pull a lottery number out of a box... James had 33, I had...317. But I got two out of three of the classes I wanted to take. As for the third one, I'll try it next semester; assuming it's available. I should probably find that out. Fortunately I'm taking another course that same professor is offering, so I can just ask him.
Anyway, aside from two Japanese language courses, I'll be taking a Shinto class, Japan and Its World to 1860, and The Dynamics of Modern Japan. I met with the Shinto class professor yesterday morning and she was really, I mean REALLY awesome. I also want to take a course she'll be teaching next semester called Death In East Asian Thought.
Well, now that James and I have internet access on our own computers, we'll probably be updating here more frequently. But for now, I should head to the futon.
Anyway, aside from two Japanese language courses, I'll be taking a Shinto class, Japan and Its World to 1860, and The Dynamics of Modern Japan. I met with the Shinto class professor yesterday morning and she was really, I mean REALLY awesome. I also want to take a course she'll be teaching next semester called Death In East Asian Thought.
Well, now that James and I have internet access on our own computers, we'll probably be updating here more frequently. But for now, I should head to the futon.
9.02.2008
Arrival.
So, right now I'm in the Center for International Education's computer lab at Kansai Gaidai. How I got here entails a pretty uneventful story.
First off was the most stressful part: checking in at Kennedy, and even that wasn't so bad. It was just being completely flustered at how much anarchy the check-in desk seemed to be consumed in. That and almost getting denied our tickets right off the bat because United was unaware that we had our visas permitting us to stay long enough for the return trip in May. Fun.
Customs was a breeze on the U.S. end, and soon enough, we found ourselves on the Boeing 757 that just happened to be bound for San Francisco. Can't really say much there, 'cause I either was sleeping, or was in some kind of catatonic unsleep state.
(Also, this was my first time being on an aircraft larger than a Piper, but the only thing that really got me was the sheer force behind the takeoff. Dramamine saves lives.)
San Francisco was easy, too. We didn't need a second customs check, our baggage was taken care of, and we had a bus cart us over to the international terminal. The worst part of California was having to pay $5 for an Internet terminal (airports don't believe in free wifi, and I found that out the hard way -- SAD DAY).
About 20 minutes after that, our Boeing 777 started the boarding process, and we were on our way to Japan.
It only took 10(!) hours.
Sleep was hard to find, and catatonia decided to stay in Cali. So most of my flight was spent either flipping between movies, listening to the crap radio, or staring at a GPS map while listening to crap radio.
I did manage to find some opportunities to sleep, but it didn't make the notion of the flight any easier to swallow.
Then we landed on the artificial island of Kansai International. The Japanland customs check was even breezier than Kennedy's, save for the long lines. Soon enough (after negotiating the meaning of "north exit" with the customs officer), we were in the main terminal, waiting for the bus to university.
It took an hour and a half to get from Osaka Bay to Hirakata City, but the boredom of the bus ride was alleviated by fellow gaijin who were as in disbelief as we were that we were in Japan, halfway around the world from where we had started, at some point in the afternoon the day before, Japan time, where we understood 100% more of what the signs said, but were 50% as interested.
We soon landed at Seminar House 2, which is attached to our dorm, SH1. After quickly registering and getting our stuff sorted out in our rooms, we got our much needed showers and sleep.
For operating on a time zone that is completely opposite what I'm used to, I got a decent night's sleep. Tiff and I took the walk over to main campus in the incredibly humid weather the next morning (today), and here we are.
We're going through the orientation process right now, which involves us being given a stack of papers and then told "GOGOGO," so wish us the best of luck. Expect pictures soon.
-James
First off was the most stressful part: checking in at Kennedy, and even that wasn't so bad. It was just being completely flustered at how much anarchy the check-in desk seemed to be consumed in. That and almost getting denied our tickets right off the bat because United was unaware that we had our visas permitting us to stay long enough for the return trip in May. Fun.
Customs was a breeze on the U.S. end, and soon enough, we found ourselves on the Boeing 757 that just happened to be bound for San Francisco. Can't really say much there, 'cause I either was sleeping, or was in some kind of catatonic unsleep state.
(Also, this was my first time being on an aircraft larger than a Piper, but the only thing that really got me was the sheer force behind the takeoff. Dramamine saves lives.)
San Francisco was easy, too. We didn't need a second customs check, our baggage was taken care of, and we had a bus cart us over to the international terminal. The worst part of California was having to pay $5 for an Internet terminal (airports don't believe in free wifi, and I found that out the hard way -- SAD DAY).
About 20 minutes after that, our Boeing 777 started the boarding process, and we were on our way to Japan.
It only took 10(!) hours.
Sleep was hard to find, and catatonia decided to stay in Cali. So most of my flight was spent either flipping between movies, listening to the crap radio, or staring at a GPS map while listening to crap radio.
I did manage to find some opportunities to sleep, but it didn't make the notion of the flight any easier to swallow.
Then we landed on the artificial island of Kansai International. The Japanland customs check was even breezier than Kennedy's, save for the long lines. Soon enough (after negotiating the meaning of "north exit" with the customs officer), we were in the main terminal, waiting for the bus to university.
It took an hour and a half to get from Osaka Bay to Hirakata City, but the boredom of the bus ride was alleviated by fellow gaijin who were as in disbelief as we were that we were in Japan, halfway around the world from where we had started, at some point in the afternoon the day before, Japan time, where we understood 100% more of what the signs said, but were 50% as interested.
We soon landed at Seminar House 2, which is attached to our dorm, SH1. After quickly registering and getting our stuff sorted out in our rooms, we got our much needed showers and sleep.
For operating on a time zone that is completely opposite what I'm used to, I got a decent night's sleep. Tiff and I took the walk over to main campus in the incredibly humid weather the next morning (today), and here we are.
We're going through the orientation process right now, which involves us being given a stack of papers and then told "GOGOGO," so wish us the best of luck. Expect pictures soon.
-James
8.21.2008
Testing this blog.
Let's see... James and I leave for Osaka in 11 days. I should be psyched; I should, rightfully, be flipping out and packing NOW in fear I might forget to bring something with me. Buuut I'm not; it's still not quite registered in my head yet.
Going to Japan is something I've wanted to do since I was in high school. Due to financial reasons, I wasn't able to go on the Italy or Greece trips back when I was taking Latin... it's no wonder I can hardly believe I'm going to be in Japan. But it's going to happen. And when I get there, James might have to hold me up to keep me from kissing the ground.
...just kidding.
I'm going to do some shopping on Saturday for things I might want or need in Osaka. Here's the list:
1.) Toothpaste. I've heard Japanese toothpaste is horrible. So I'll go get me some Aquafresh. One tube ought to do, but knowing my mom, I may get two.
2.) Shampoo/conditioner. I've also heard that Japanese shampoo is not all that ...good. I think it was Rich I heard this from, but I can't remember exactly. I love Suave and VO5 anyway.
3.) CLOTHES. I seemed to have outgrown and/or beaten up many of the things I've had since high school. I'll use some of my birthday money to get myself a few new outfits. :D
4.) Omiyage. Sourvenirs... in Japan, it's custom to give little gifts to people who help you out, invite you to their homes, etc. We 留学生 (ryuu gaku sei, study abroad students) were advised to get things related to where we come from, so... I'm gonna hit up either the nearest dollar store or Ocean State Job Lot and see if they've got any nifty keychains or magnets or anything. I'd go with maple candy, but that might be too much for omiyage. "Arigatou gozaimasu, now LET ME ROT YOUR TEETH OUT." ...yeah, no.
I think that ought to do it. Here are some things I want or have to do before I leave the country:
1.) Get a physical. I'm not happy about this one, but eh, it needs to be done.
2.) Visit my grandmother.
3.) Study all the Japanese I've learned some more.
And since I seem to like lists, here's one of things I'm bringing with me outside of necessities:
1.) Hair straightener and curler. I "can't live without" my hair straightener. The curler I can do without, but... it'll probably fit in with the luggage, so I'm bringing it.
2.) Tampons. Not gonna bring a life supply or anything, but supposedly these are difficult to find in Japan... so I think I'll bring a few, even though I have no problem with pads.
3.) One stuffed animal.
4.) Twilight, if I haven't finished it already.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get notebooks and all that in Japan without a problem. I want to pack as little as possible.
Going to Japan is something I've wanted to do since I was in high school. Due to financial reasons, I wasn't able to go on the Italy or Greece trips back when I was taking Latin... it's no wonder I can hardly believe I'm going to be in Japan. But it's going to happen. And when I get there, James might have to hold me up to keep me from kissing the ground.
...just kidding.
I'm going to do some shopping on Saturday for things I might want or need in Osaka. Here's the list:
1.) Toothpaste. I've heard Japanese toothpaste is horrible. So I'll go get me some Aquafresh. One tube ought to do, but knowing my mom, I may get two.
2.) Shampoo/conditioner. I've also heard that Japanese shampoo is not all that ...good. I think it was Rich I heard this from, but I can't remember exactly. I love Suave and VO5 anyway.
3.) CLOTHES. I seemed to have outgrown and/or beaten up many of the things I've had since high school. I'll use some of my birthday money to get myself a few new outfits. :D
4.) Omiyage. Sourvenirs... in Japan, it's custom to give little gifts to people who help you out, invite you to their homes, etc. We 留学生 (ryuu gaku sei, study abroad students) were advised to get things related to where we come from, so... I'm gonna hit up either the nearest dollar store or Ocean State Job Lot and see if they've got any nifty keychains or magnets or anything. I'd go with maple candy, but that might be too much for omiyage. "Arigatou gozaimasu, now LET ME ROT YOUR TEETH OUT." ...yeah, no.
I think that ought to do it. Here are some things I want or have to do before I leave the country:
1.) Get a physical. I'm not happy about this one, but eh, it needs to be done.
2.) Visit my grandmother.
3.) Study all the Japanese I've learned some more.
And since I seem to like lists, here's one of things I'm bringing with me outside of necessities:
1.) Hair straightener and curler. I "can't live without" my hair straightener. The curler I can do without, but... it'll probably fit in with the luggage, so I'm bringing it.
2.) Tampons. Not gonna bring a life supply or anything, but supposedly these are difficult to find in Japan... so I think I'll bring a few, even though I have no problem with pads.
3.) One stuffed animal.
4.) Twilight, if I haven't finished it already.
I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get notebooks and all that in Japan without a problem. I want to pack as little as possible.
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