とうかさん Part II

Now for the second part of とうかさん. I meant to write this a long time ago, but procrastination and other things intervened, and I'm writing this long after the fact. But I suppose if you're reading this, this doesnt bother you so much.

The main reason I wanted to go to this festival was because there was going to be a 盆踊り大会 or bon dance every night at the festival. I've been to a few dances in Hawaii, but never one in Japan. What kind of dances would they perform? Which songs would be played? There were many questions I had, and I was excited to finally experience a real Japan bon dance.

Surprisingly, there was enough of an overlap between Japan and Hawaii that I wasnt completely lost. Of the songs they played, I knew 花火音頭, 昭和音頭, and ドンパン節 to name a few. But as to be expected, the かた that they used to dance here in Japan are very different from the ones in Hawaii. ドンパン節 was the closest to what we do in Hawaii; I had almost no problems with that one. But 昭和 and 花火 were quite different. They clapped when we didnt, or used different poses than what we used. It was a bit difficult to get used to; once you get so used to dancing a certain way, it's hard to break that frame of mind, you know? But you'll forgive me if I say that I quickly picked it up. Naturally though, there were songs that we dont do in Hawaii. A few, like まりと殿様 and 日本チャチャチャ I am vaguely familiar with because I've seen this video before (not quite the same, but similar かた), but there were others that I've never heard before. But it was fun! What struck me was the difference in structure in the dance. I'm not talking about which かた are used where; but how the かた are structured, or which ones are used. (This might get technical, so I wont be mad if you skip the remainder of this paragraph.) The biggest difference was that in Hawaii, we use the moon かた　and あけかざし a lot. You very rarely dance very long without it. But that was not the case here. There was a lot of that hand-holding かた and the open かた (similar to moon, but not round). Another difference that struck me was that they did not respect symmetry in the dance. In Hawaii, if you do something on the right, you do it on the left. And if you repeat, you repeat once on the right, and once on the left. Or when it comes to walking, if a multi-step かた takes you to the right, you repeat towards the left. But here, they did not do that. In Hawaii, there is a かた in which you use your right hand to present and turn around. I automatically assumed that when you switch to your left hand, you go back the way you came; not so in Japan. It was difficult, but after a while, I noticed that they would switch to the left hand, but complete the circle. That was such a curveball. Of course, there were others, but since I dont know the proper names, explaining it is a bit difficult. But trust me, my mind was open to ideas that I have never thought possible in the world of bon dance.

During one of the many breaks, I happened to sit next to an older woman. This was partly coinicidence, but from what she said, I imagine it would have happened anyway. This woman was one of the ladies in the center, which I rightly assumed meant that she was a leader. She mentioned that she had seen me dancing, and was curious as to why I was so good (a lie), and where I was from. I mangled up my response, but she got the gist of what I tried to say: that I was from Hawaii, where we have bon dance too, which is where I learned it. Surprised, she called over a bunch of the other ladies and told them my story. Unfortunately, they didnt introduce themselves, so I have no idea what their names are, but I learned that they're the 日本民謡研究会 or the Society for Research on Japanese Folk Music (lofty, arent we?). They're based out of Nagoya, but there was a branch in Hiroshima. The leader of which, I was amused, looked a bit like the leader of my dance group in Hilo. I would like to join their group, or at least go to a few practices, if only to learn dances that I dont already know, but unfortunately, I did not grab any contact information for them. Googling did give me a hit, but according to the map, it looks like it's a bit out of the ways. Furthermore, I only have a little over a month left. ugh, more decisions to make!

After the dance, I meant to talk to the ladies again, but the following happened. As I was walking towards the ladies, I was approached by several people. Basically, it was the same stuff as usual; Where are you from (ハワイ？！), why can you dance so good, blah blah blah. But one guy was a little...more forceful. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, 「ちょっと話聞かせてくれない？」 or "Can I ask you something?" I put a little more faith in ちょっと because his 話 was anything but ちょっと. After the usual stuff, he asked me directly if I would like to go to some island in the Inland Sea for a real country bon dance. Since it was so far away, I was invited to stay at his wife's parents house. Now, I dont know if it's an American thing, or if it's a Hawaii thing, or what, but generally speaking, I dont stay in the homes of people I'VE NEVER EVEN MET. Dont get me wrong, that was awful nice of him, but really? I had never met the guy before, and I was not about to go to some island in the sea with him. He tried to get me to agree, saying that the bon dances there were unlike any I had ever seen (盆踊りは趣味じゃないですか), and that it would be a great thing to experience. After I said I'd think about it for the millionth time, he gave me his business card, and took my phone number. I must admit, he did have a point; any bon dance in Japan would be different from any I have actually been to, a country one even more so. But to be quite honest, it sounded a little too "Burning Man" or something. I dont want to be murdered or something! I still havent contacted him, but I am thinking that I will have to send him something saying I must decline his invitation. Perhaps if I knew him more, I would go, but a complete stranger is something quite different.

My bon dance experience in Japan was both good and bad. It was good in that I was dancing songs I never would dance in Hawaii. And even the songs we do in Hawaii, we do differently. And dont tell anyone, but it was nice to be complimented by Japanese people. And I was invited to a country bon dance, where I'd probably be doing dances not done anywhere else in Japan. The bad was not getting contact information and being invited by strangers. But that's life, isnt it?

This concludes my blogging regarding とうかさん 2011. Back to our regular programming.

Making the Best of It

As we enter the month of June, it is with a heavy heart that I begin to look towards the end of the dream. Classes will end in nine weeks, and I will soon have to return home to Hawaii. I honestly cant believe that so much time has passed, and that my time here will be over soon. Dont get me wrong, I want to go home, and I miss Hawaii so much, and yet, this school, this city, the people, it's all become important to me. But since I cant stop from marching on, I need to make the best of the situation. I need to do what I need to do, experience what I still have not, and crystalize these memories into something much more tangible than the electrical wisps that spark in my brain.

It is surprising and unfortunate, but I still have not spent much time in the city in the nine months I've been here. Besides the shopping district of 本通, I havent really been to the 原爆ドーム Atomic Dome, which was something I really feel like I should visit. I also hear that there's a really good art museum in the city, and while I'm not an art buff, it should still be interesting to visit. And finally, there are several big department stores, like Tokyu Hands, which I havent been to yet.

In the prefecture, there are also places I should really visit. Onomichi is in the eastern part of the prefecture, and has a lot of temples. In fact, most of these temples belong to a pilgrimage route, although I'm not sure I'm willing to do that. And according to my friends that have gone there already, there's a really good ramen shop, run by a Japanese guy that lived in Miami for the last ten years. Also in the east is Fukuyama City. My reason for going there is quite personal: the Matsuo family originated there, back when it was called 沼隈郡, in the village of 千年村. While I dont know where exactly that village was, or where I would look for it, I would like to at least visit the area. If I dont, I will feel that I wasted my time here in Hiroshima prefecture.

To say that I've made friends here in Hiroshima would be a bit of an understatement. I wont deny that we've had our differences, and that under different circumstances we would never have been friends. But we've laughed together, cried together, and had amazing adventures together. Because we'll be going to different places (some to different countries), I want some kind of physical reminder of our time here. The easiest would of course be pictures. We all have digi cams, and I plan on trying to carry mine with me as often as possible. Whether they're of unusual occurences, or simply us hanging out, I want to remember these times. I also want プリクラ with as many people as I can, particularly the Japanese people. Basically the same reasons as the photographs, but because プリクラ are made specifically for friends, there is an added nuance to them.

I havent made my plans to leave Japan just yet, so I dont know exactly how much time I have left. But that's no excuse for being lazy about things. I will use what time I have remaining to make my time in Japan memorable. I dont know when I'll be back in Hiroshima, so I need to do all the things I need to do. And especially for Fukuyama, there is a bit of a personal imperative. And finally, I want physical proof of the friendships I've made here. To that end, I want to take lots of pictures with my digicam, as well as tons of プリクラ. I've got a fun two months ahead of me, I think.

Haircut

The "Before" picture.

The other day, I went to study at the local coffee shop, and decided to get my hair cut this weekend. Every time I would look down at my notebook, my hair would fall in front of my eyes, blocking my view. No matter how I tried to push it back, it would fall right into place. I grew so frustrated that I used my left hand to hold it out of my eyes.

As I was getting dressed this morning, I must admit that I was a bit nervous of getting my hair cut. Growing up, my Father would cut my hair for me. He trimmed my mother's hair, and had cut my brothers' hair too. When I needed to get my hair cut on Oahu, I would visit a barber shop in Chinatown, but even then, that was very rare. I have never felt comfortable with anyone besides my father cutting my hair. I tense up, and get a tingly sensation in my head when they cut my hair. So not only was I nervous about what I would like after my hair cut, but I was also nervous about going to a stranger for it.

The place I decided to go to was Defrag, which opened up not far from the university. Like I said in my last post, the reason I decided on that place was because they're new and dont have many customers. I also figured that since I have nothing to compare them to, if it was a bad place, I would never know. It also was a good place, because one of the other Americans thinks the guy that works there is cute. So after meeting up, we set off to Defrag. I didnt think I needed to make a reservation, because they're almost always busy, but as it turned out, I should have done so. There are two workers there, a guy and a girl. For them, one customer means they're busy. And today just so happened to be the day they had one customer. Politely, they asked if we would come back in four hours. With nothing else to do, we said yes. Somehow, we spread four hours doing nothing between Youme Town, 味しん (lunch), and Cafe Ecran. After the time had passed, we headed back to Defrag.

I couldnt decide which of the two hairstyles I wanted at first, but after hearing my friends' opinions and thinking a bit more, I decided on the first hair style. It was really simple, and not too different from my usual hairstyle. I printed off the page and brought it with me to show the guy what I wanted.

The guy who cut my hair was really cool. He was fairly young, but I got the feeling that he was experienced and knew what he was doing. And as most Japanese in the service sector are, he was very attentive to how I was feeling, asking if he was pulling too hard on my hair and stuff. Since he put me in front of a huge mirror, I was able to watch him cut my hair. He combed my hair straight down to see how long it was (結構伸びてますね。), and misted it with water. Here and there, he began to cut my hair, starting on the one side, to the other. It was actually rather interesting to watch him cut it. I could literally feel my head becoming lighter, as more and more hair got cut off. I didnt get a picture of it, but it was a lot. And that was just the sides! As he cut the back and the top, I got my usual uncomfortable feeling, but I somehow got myself to relax. When he finally started to cut my bangs, I really got happy. The black curtain was slowly lifted away from my face, and I could see the light again! Actually, seeing my lobes was more exciting. With my hair much shorter, you can see my star earrings when you look at me head on, and I could feel the tip of my ear in the air.

After cutting my hair, the girl worker came over to wash my hair. Having your hair washed professionally was the most interesting experience I've ever had. After wrapping a towel around my neck, she lowered my head into a sink. It felt weird to have my hair be washed by two hands that werent mine. And naturally, when it came time to wash the top part of my head, I felt chills all down my spine. I dont know what kind of shampoo it was, but it was an awful pretty smell. Rinising out the shampoo and toweling it dry, it was back to Mr. Man to get it blow dried.

After drying it, I saw him grab a long, metal object. At first, I thought it was a straightener, which I thought was strange. I'm Asian; I have pretty straight hair to begin with. But upon closer inspection, it was a flat iron, and he used it to curl my hair on the top of my head, to achieve the permed look in the original. A bit of hair wax to set the curls, and to set the back of my head, the look was achieved! Although I didnt take a picture at the place (so this isnt exactly what I looked like), I did take a picture when I got back to my room. What do you think?


The "After" picture.

Since I dont have a flat iron (and I'm doubtful I should buy one), I will have to make the curls by myself when I wax my hair in the morning. And also, I needed to buy wax, which was challenging as well, because there's about a million different types of Gatsby to choose from (couldnt find whatever brand he was using). I hope this yellow Gatsby will work.

My friend that came with me said that she really liked my hair, and the British girl we ran into at Youme Town said it looked good, so I guess I'm satisfied with my hair. Dont get me wrong, I dont hate my hair, or wish that I had picked a different hairstyle. But I am very resistant to change, and miss my old hair. But you know what? Hair grows back, and right now is the time in the my life where I need to チャレンジ multiple things. It'll take some getting used to, but I am sure it will happen. I hope that everyone I meet will agree and like my hairstyle.

歌詞の翻訳 I

Way back in high school, before I understood a lot of Japanese, I would spend recesses in the Japanese classroom, looking up kanji. Although I was listening to Japanese music since about age eight, I had never known what they were about. But in high school, I was taught how to use a kanji dictionary, so finally, I was able to get at least a fuzzy understanding of what I was singing along to. However, my Japanese teacher was less than enthusiastic about my endeavours. She told me that translating song lyrics was actually really hard, and that it would be better to stick to texts.

I have never forgotten this piece of advice, and actually, I agree with it. The way songs are structured (particularly Japanese songs), sentences can be fragmented into pieces, with one sentence in two different lines, or two sentences in one line. Also, Japanese lyrics tend to mix different speech styles (mostly polite words with casual ones), which can make translation difficult. But most importantly, I'm not fluent in Japanese, so any translation I produce is bound to have errors or oddly worded structures. Knowing all of this, I still every now and then engage in a bit of translation. Because I have a strong interest in what I'm listening to (I like to know if it's a happy song or a sad song), I try just a little bit harder in understanding the words. And if I want to sing it at karaoke, I can go ahead and read the kanji onscreen, instead of reading the furigana. With all this in mind, I translated one of the songs I am just in love with right now, "近づきたくて with YU-A" from the album "K.J. with...". I've already blogged about why I loved this song, so I'm not going to go over that in depth right here. It'll probably find its way into the translation notes anyway. Just so you know, this is probably going to be long post, so I hope you dont have something to do right now.

Let's begin with the translated lyrics. I didnt try to make them fit the meter of the song, so dont take my lyrics with you to karaoke and expect them to fit. I tried to produce English as close to the original Japanese as much as possible, so some sentences are awkwardly long. Finally, I'm going to make two assumptions right now.
1. You have no interest in the music I like/listen to, so you don't need the Japanese lyrics/pronunciation guide.
2. If you are interested in the Japanese lyrics, you can read Japanese, or find a way to read Japanese. それなら、このリンクをクリックしてください。

では、let's begin! YU-A is the girl singer, and she's in pink. KJ is the guy, and in blue.

I Want to Get Closer to You with YU-A

*I want to get closer to, but I cant get closer to you
I just want to hear those two characters, [Love]
Hey, what do you think of me?
I'm, I'm
I'm still waiting now*

From your point of view, am I even now your boyfriend?
Am I a nice, older sempai? Am I a convenient conversation partner?
Even though you're just a girl friend, whenever we would meet,
Gradually, I started to care for you, and then I became someone that liked you
Without knowing I had those kinds of feelings, you would confide in me,
"Lately my boyfriend is like this, and if this keeps up, it looks like we'll break up"
And I would lend an ear, with a messed up state of mind,
I needed to confess to you, but I couldnt say it, not in front of you, with your head down

*repeat

It's the weekend, you're definitely out with your boyfriend
That day, I couldnt get the sight of your pre-breakup face out of my head
It was Saturday night, and the town was as festive as ever, but I was looking at the TV, not paying attention to what was on
By myself, worrying endlessly, at that time, I got your text
"Hey, can you meet me now?" I responded quickly, and flew from my house
Our meeting place was that family restaurant, I could see you sitting in a window seat
All tonight, I wanted to tell you my feelings, clearly and exactly
If not, let's end this relationship, I cant stand it, just being friends

*repeat

Someday, I wonder if we'll be able to share our feelings?
Even though I want to know you more, are we just friends?

I want to hear it
What are you to me? And more importantly, what am I to you?
What the hell
Is it the same as before, that we're just really good friends?
I won't run away
Say it clearly, even if it breaks the friendship we've had until now
I want to get over this
Any more than this, I cant hold back my feelings

Fine I'll just say it now, one word, "Love"...

*repeat

*repeat

Translation notes:

The sentence in the first verse, the one about the confession, was the hardest one for me to translate. In the original Japanese, it says: 切り出せずにいる告白のタイミング　ただうつむいてる君の前に It comes out as gibberish if I translate it literally (naturally), so I had to improvise. My interpretation of this part is that the girl tells the guy that she's going to break up with her boyfriend. If the girl you liked said that, wouldnt you want to tell her that you like her? But the guy cant say it, because she told him that with her head down. When the target is feeling like poo, you should probably not make your move.

The second verse (and in parts of the bridge-y part) have the words ハッキリ (hakkiri) and　ちゃんと (chanto) in them. Depending on how they're used, they can be hard to translate. ハッキリ means "Clearly", as in "Say it clearly" ハッキリ言おう (which is the original lyrics), so that's easy enough. But ちゃんと is a bit harder. Jisho.org defines it as "Perfectly, properly, exactly". But basically, what he's saying is that he needs to express his feelings for the girl, plain and simple. No misunderstandings.

I learned a few interesting words from translating this song. For example, 耳を傾ける means literally, "To incline one's ear", but figuratively means to lend an ear, similar to English. Also, 別れ際 (wakaregiwa), which means "On the verge of breaking up". This is kind of a grammar lesson, because according to my kanji dictionary (need to double check with the grammar one later), Verb +　際 means "on the verge of verb". I'll have to remember that for later use. Also 悶悶 (monmon), which means "Endlessly worrying". With 際, before I take a test, I can say 落ち際じゃけん、悶悶してるよ！ I'm about to fail, so I'm worrying like crazy!

I already knew this one, but I don't know how to use it like a Japanese person. The verb for "to see" and "to hear" are usually written 「見る miru」 and 「聞く kiku」. However, there are two other characters that mean the same in English, and also are read the same way: 「観る」 and 「聴く」. How do they differ? My understanding is, the latter two have a little more oomph in them. That is, when you hear your graduation song, perhaps, or your grandmother's favorite tune, you 聴く them. When you're looking at something real closely, taking note of every inch of it, you're ‘観るing it. If you use 聞く or 見る, you're just listening, or looking, nothing serious involved. How correct my explanation is, I don't know for sure. 聴く was explained to me by a Japanese teacher, but even then, she wasnt very specific (like is it only used in a literary sense, or is it okay to use in a text message?), and I'm extrapolating for 観る. In any case, this is one of the advantages of kanji: To visually indicate the emotiveness of a word. Isnt the Latin alphabet boring that way?

The number of songs I dont understand is still pretty huge, and the so is the number of songs with awesome lyrics. I have no problem finding another song to translate. And since I need to study for the Japanese placement exam for next term, there is a high possibilty that I will do this again. I have also been thinking of translating an English song I like into Japanese. I recently received the Japanese translation for a Korean song I like, and it got me thinking. I have never tried that before, so maybe it is time to start.

あそぼう

Today I went to a local preschool to play with the kids there. A former HUSA staffer was looking for volunteers to help sing English games, and since I had nothing else planned, I told her I'd go. I dont really care for children; the only experience I have with them is teaching them to swim, and even that I'm usually on edge. Although I was worn out from playing with the kids, I had a lot of fun, and wouldnt mind going again.

There were us four Americans, one Frenchman, and the guy from Indonesia. When we arrived at the preschool, I was amazed. It was the most ornate preschool I've ever been to. My preschool (Kaumana Baptist Keikiland in case you were wondering) was a very small one by comparison. There were maybe three classrooms, a kitchen, and a playground. Because it was run by a church, there was also a sanctuary, but we hardly played there. It was a tiny little place, and a bit on the old side. On the other hand, the preschool we went to (I dont remember its name) was a huge building, with two floors. After entering the genkan like area, there were a few rooms that I could see, as well as the staircase to get to the second floor. The second floor had multiple classrooms as well, and also a reading pit, where I suppose you could gather the children for a presentation of some sort. I've never gone on a preschool viewing trip, but the preschools I know are hardly comparable.

The structured part of the visit was rather short. We were told to introduce ourselves, saying our name, country of origin, and how to say "こんにちは konnichiwa" in that language. As Americans, it was easy, because most everyone speaks English these days. But I think French and Indonesian really threw them for a loop. After that, we sang some songs. One was about animals, and the different sounds they make. In case you didnt know, animals make different sounds, depending on what language you speak. For example, English speaking dogs say "bow wow" or "woof", but a Japanese dog will say "wan wan". Then we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", which was fun. I dont know if any of the kids learned any English from it, but it was good to move around, I suppose. Finally, we ended with "London Bridge is Falling Down", which I havent done in a long time. And when I say "I havent done it", it's because we were eventually included in the game. It was a bit uncomfortable, having to squat down to pass through the arms of the little children, but at least I only had five feet and four inches to deal with. One of the Americans is a lot closer to six feet than I am, and I have no idea how he managed to get down there.

After all that, the American I mentioned above read Momotaro to the kids. Because only one person was needed to read, the rest of us sat amongst the kids. This was the beginning of the hardest part, for me. I can read, sing, and even make crafts with kids with relatively little problems. But I dont play well with kids. I dont want to accidentaly drop a kid, so I dont pick them up, and in my old age, I just dont know what to do with kids. While we were sitting down, one of the boys decided I looked like a comfortable chair, and just sat on me. He wasnt heavy or anything, but with adults, you cant just sit on someone. And when you sit on them, you surely cant lean back into them, and force them into a reclining position. And yet, that's what the kid did to me. One of the Americans next to me mentioned that I looked terrified, and that was a pretty good description of what I was feeling. It's a good thing I know how that whole story goes, because I didnt hear a word of it. I was too busy trying not to scream about the kid sitting in my lap.

That concluded the structured part of our visit. For the next half hour or so, we were allowed to play in the playground with the kids. Although we all went willingly, we were more or less dragged there, with maybe two kids on each arm, and a couple more on various parts of our clothes. It was here that I learned an important lesson: Children are very difficult to understand if they speak a language you dont know. We later found out they wanted to play tag with us, but while they were trying to explain the game to us, none of us could understand what they were saying. As one of the other Americans pointed out, it didnt help that they didnt try to rephrase what we didnt understand, so it was the same jumble of sounds every time. I got a little frustrated because of this. Not angry, of course, but c'mon, these are kids, these arent exactly verbose soliloquies. I managed to get away from these group of kids because I was dragged to the jungle gym type thing. I watched them climb here and there, my heart skipping a beat every time one of them jumped down. I was so afraid that they would jump down and break a bone or something, but they really did enjoy themselves. While we were playing, they asked me all sorts of questions, like how old I was, or if of us were friends. A couple asked about my earrings, and were in awe of my industrial. I havent been a kid in such a long time, it was refreshing to spend some time with these children. Alas, the time came for us to leave, and we sadly did depart. As we put on our shoes, the kids asked us, "Will you be back again?", or "Please dont go!". I left a lot more reluctantly than I thought I would.

To answer their question, I dont think I will ever go back to the preschool. The staffer that organized this short little trip will soon be moving away from this part of Hiroshima, so she wont be going back. And the preschool itself is quite a bit aways from the university. I am told that my predecessor here enjoyed these trips so much he eventually became a volunteer there, but I dont think that will happen to me. While not an unpleasant experience, because it isnt so easy to get there, I dont think I can commit to making the trip very often. But I am happy that I took a chance and went along this one time. I had a lot more fun than I was expecting, and I'd like to think that I made some new, if tiny friends, at the school.

Loose Ends

Today was my last full day in Kyoto! As such, it was imperative that I finish doing everything I planned to do here. I had planned to see the two 本願寺, as well as 松尾大社. If not for a few embarrassing events, today was a calm end to a very fun trip.

My hotel is only a few blocks away from the two 本願寺. They are the head temples for the two main branches of 浄土真宗: The Western Branch and the Eastern Branch (大谷派). While I'm not really a Buddhist, my grandparents and all of them went to Papaikou Hongwanji, and I have a lot of friends that went to the ヒロ本派本願寺. I was originally under the impression that the two temples were seperated by a great distance. But when I consulted a map of the city, I found that they are only a few blocks away from each other. I first went to the 東本願寺, which is closer to my hotel (also visible). The temple complex is pretty large, and is surrounded by a wall and moat. An interesting thing about this temple is that they have a huge flock of resident pigeons that you can feed if you buy a small bag of food (100￥). I like feeding animals, but this was either the most hilarious or the most frightening thing I have ever done. Have you ever seen the movie "The Birds"? In the movie, the birds go crazy and start to swarm (and attack) the people of a little town. That's pretty much what happened to me when they noticed I had food. I tried not to scream when a MASSIVE WALL OF PIGEONS surged towards me; out of reflex (and a bit of fear), I swung my arms around and may have hit a bird or two. I never want to be in the middle of a pidgeon storm, so I dont know if I'll ever be feeding those pigeons again. Anyways, after dealing with that, I headed to the main buildings. I didnt know what to expect, but the buildings were pretty much like every other 本願寺 I've ever been in, except on a much larger scale. Photography was not allowed, so I cant show you what the inside looked like, but if you've ever been in a temple, you can imagine the floor of tatami, and the raised platform where Amida Buddha is placed. After browsing the gift shop, I headed over to 西本願寺. And except for the flock of pigeons, everything that I said about the 東本願寺 goes for 西本願寺. I suppose I shouldnt be too surprised, but I was mildy amused that the two were almost exactly the same thing.

It was here at 西本願寺 that I had one unfortunate encounter. Because this year is a big anniversary for the death of Shinran Shonin, the two temples are undergoing renovation/restoration. One of the main halls of the temple was closed off from public access. However, because I saw a group of people walking around that area, I assumed that people were allowed there. But no, a few seconds later, a priest (trainee, I think) and a security guard came running over to tell me that no, you're not allowed there. Arghh. I quickly sped away to the bookstore, with my tail firmly set between my legs.

I wanted to visit 松尾大社 for a long time now. Mostly because it has a similar name to me, but as it turned out, it's a very peaceful shrine to visit. Getting there was the most complicated set of train transfers I've had to do. From Kyoto Station, I took the subway to 四条烏丸, where I had to transfer to the 阪急線 bound for 桂駅. From there, I had to make a final transfer to the 阪急嵐山線 to arrive at 松尾駅. I think this is the farthest out of the city I went on this trip! From there, I walked up to the shrine. The shrine area is rather large; probably the largest shrine I've been to yet. There are multiple shrine thingies, each devoted to a different 神様. I couldnt read all of them, but I did pray at a few of them. The main shrine was pretty nice too; apparently, its architectural style is different from most shrines. They also have a mini museum type thing, where three wooden statues are on display. I feel bad, because the old man in that section played the recorded explanation of the statues, but I have no idea what they were saying. I need to translate the little pamphlet they gave me. From there, I walked up a short path to where there is a small waterfall. It was here that some noble guy back in the day saw a turtle bathing, which led him to build 松尾大社. Because of the turtle, there were many turtle shaped objects around. I should have waited to buy my mother's omiyage here, because she would have loved to get a turtle お守り with our name on it! But instead, I got a small お守り for myself, as well as a book on the shrine. I highly recommend you to visit this shrine if you ever go to Kyoto. Although a bit removed from the city, it was so very peaceful there. It's also surrounded by nature, what with the forrested mountain in the background, as well as the waterfall and resulting river.

I suppose the unfortunate event that happened here wasnt so bad; in fact, for the temple, it was a very good thing. Because I didnt understand what was going on, I paid double admission to the small museum thing they have. There were two windows to pay at; one near the front gates, and another at the start of the path to the museum. After I paid the second time, I realized my mistake when I saw that she gave me the exact papers that the other window had given me. Oh well, I guess it's a good thing I'm helping out the family business, right?

I made my way back to my hotel, where I promptly fell asleep. I dont know how or why, because today was a pretty chill day, considering I only went to three religious sites. Also, while I had to go a bit aways for 松尾大社, it was mostly on a train, so I didnt even rack up that many steps today. And before sleeping, I had a coffee drink from the downstairs cafe!

In any case, after about three hours of sleep, I put myself together and headed back to ヨドバシカメラ to pick up my rice cooker. My aunty apparently feels sorry for me that I cook my rice on the stove, so she gave me money to buy a rice cooker. While it was fairly expensive, it cooks more rice than a single serving cooker that was the same price, so I got it. To make it worth my while, I'm hoping that we go on picnics and stuff during the spring, so I can have an excuse to make musbi, or spam musubi, or something. Feeling a bit hungry, I headed up to the top floor, where all the restaurants are. I decided on eating at a tempura restaurant, and I'm glad I did. I got the 特製海老丼, which had shrimp, shiso leaf, まいたけ mushrooms, and some kind of fishy thing. The waitress must have thought I was an idiot when I asked if it came with rice (PROTIP: If you see 丼 anywhere on the menu, it comes with rice), but the plate in the picture looked too shallow to have rice. But indeed it did, and the sauce that came with it was really something else. Thicker than the regular tempura dipping sauce, it went nicely with the meal. Another interesting thing about this restaurant is that water and miso soup are refillable. I was quite surprised when the waitress came over and asked if I wanted more miso soup after I had finished it. While it was a bit expensive at 980円, I was very satisfied with it, and do not regret it in the least.

I walked back to the hotel and began to pack. I dont know how, but I managed to get everything I had folded and into my suitcase in about forty five minutes. Which is pretty fast, if you know how I tend to spread out all over the place. However, I think I went shopping a little too much, because my suitcase is way heavier than it was when I got here. I think it's mostly because my rice cooker (which I hope doesnt break >.<), but I dont think all the scallops, ika, and rest of the things I bought are helping. Now that I've showered, all my clothes (except tomorrow's outfit) are packed away. I'm ready to check out at eleven, head to the station and leave on my bus a little after twelve. I've had just a wonderful vacation here in Kyoto. Catching up with an old friend, seeing many cultural properties, and of course SHOPPING! Haha. And while there were a few mistakes and embarressments, I think I can live with them. I will return to Hiroshima happy. ^_^

Wandering about the Capitol

Kyoto is a far more urbanized city than Saijo, and as a result, the amount of walking one does is huge. Today was no different from the other days. I did so much walking, but it was mostly due to the fact that I got lost a lot. When I visited the flea market at 東寺 I got lost in the endless walkways of vendors. When I walked to Tower Records and ended up back at 寺町, I got lost looking for the Nishiki Market. But I did have lots of fun, and enjoyed myself. And of course, I made a generous contribution to the economic condition of Kyoto. Unwillingly, of course. ;)

I had a late start on what I wanted to do today because I was skyping with my parents. I managed to get along without it during the greater part of the semester, but I've grown to enjoy these sessions. Thank goodness for the wonders of the Modern Age! Anyway, I because of that, I only left my hotel at about eleven-ish. I grabbed a bento and headed for the station. One of the teachers in my Family Life in Japan class mentioned that one of the temples in Kyoto, 東寺, has a big flea market and that we should go to it if we can. A little bit of internet searching turned up that it's the 21st of every month. I planned the dates of my trip around this event, so it was most imperative that I go. I wasnt sure what to expect, to be honest.

I havent found a very good map of the Kyoto, but from what I surmised, I needed to take the 近鉄 from Kyoto Station to Toji Station. However, I've never ridden on that line. I had to ask several people for directions, but I finally managed to get to the temple. My friend had told me that she wasnt interested in the market, but I had the completely different reaction. I LOVED IT THERE! There were simply so many vendors. I wanted to see as many as I could, so I tried to walk in a regular pattern, but it is likely I missed some vendors because there were so many. I would go up one row, and see a side path. I'd walk the side path, only to realize that there was another branch! And this all before I saw the rest of the original row I was walking on! The items for sale ran the gamut of junk, antiques and collectables, to handicrafts and vegetables. There were a lot of vendors selling 漬物 and I really wanted to buy, but because they need to be refridgerated, they would be difficult to handle. Also, there was a lot of pottery type things, but those too would be easily destroyed. But what I really wanted to buy was kimono! Specifically a yukata to wear to the bon dances, but I was really open to anything. And especially because I had just bought an obi yesterday (which is a bit too small for me! T_T), I was interested in getting some use out of it. I ran into one of the few vendors that had mens wear, and she convinced me to buy one of the men's kimono she had. While at the time, I felt bad that I bought it because it was so plain and slightly resembled the kimono I already have, I have grown more attached to it when I realised that the pattern of the weave is slightly similar to the blue yukata that Uemura gave to me. I also picked up a haori at the 寺町 market (more on that later!), so if I get my zori sent to me from Hawaii, and some new tabi, I have more or less a complete ensemble! But that means I need to wear it. I refuse to wear kimono to school, so I have no idea when I'll wear it. I suppose the next time we go shopping in Hiroshima City, or we visit some part of Hiroshima prefecture, I'll be the most traditional guy there. Anyway, my haul for the day was pretty good. I got some two bags of dried ika, one for me and one for my father. I also got a tiny set of 七福神 dolls. And when I say "tiny", I mean tiny; they're probably an shorter than an inch. But they're so cute! I had to get it.

東寺 is not only the host of a monthly flea market. It is also a functioning temple complex, with religious services, and the largest pagoda in Japan. It is one of the many properties that have made Kyoto a UNESCO World Heritage site. As a religious site, the temple sells omamori and other good luck type charms. As a Shingon temple, they do a lot of esoteric rituals; one of the more intense ones is one where you write down your prayer on a piece of wood, and the priest burns them while chanting a sutra. There was a lot of that going on, as well as people making offerings of candles and incense to...um, okay, I dont know Shingon too well, so I dont know who, but they were making them. I made one to Kobo Daishi. He has a statue in the courtyard, and I prayed for the health of all the old people in my family. I also gave some money to one of the priest guys that was chanting by the gates.

But what I enjoyed the most (and I HIGHLY recommend to you if you go to Kyoto) was the area around the pagoda. While I was slightly miffed that I had to pay admission, I am totally okay with it now. The pamphlets and explanations were all in Japanese, so I dont know exactly what was going on, but from what I understand, the pagoda was built under Kobo Daishi's direction. It was built to commemorate someone's death (「つまり墓というものなのです」) or something. Enshrined within are four bodhisatvas. They're to protect either the capital or the pagoda itself. Unfortunately, photography was banned within, so I cant show you one of the things that blew me away. The walls of the structure are painted with the various heads of the Shingon sect! While this may sound boring, I'd point out that they seem to be the original paintings; not reproductions, not restorations, but the real deal that was put on when it was built. And it's not behind the glass, or under some kind of touching; while you are expected not to touch them, you could put your face just inches away from them. You cant get that up close and personal with historical artifacts in most museums or displays. It was fascinating to be so close to something that was made hundreds of years ago. After the pagoda thing, I wandered about, and made it to the lecture hall. I dont know why they call it that, because there's no space for a lecture, but it was another fascinating and pretty amazing thing. There are twenty one sculpture things, each depicting a different Buddha, bodhisattva, or other important being in the Shingon theology. Again, you werent allowed to touch them or anything, and photography was banned, but I was so amazed by it. I dont know what it was about it, but there was just something so...awe-inspiring about them. I think the sign said that they were there to help protect the nation or something. To be quite honest, I was more impressed with these statues than I was with the Great Buddha of Todaiji in Nara. I cant explain why, but I was simply captivated.

At this point, I headed back to my hotel, to drop off my purchases and use the bathroom. I wanted to hit the Kyoto Tower Records, because the Hiroshima store doesnt have one of the (many) cds that I wanted to buy. It's a Korean boy band, MBLAQ, and you should click the link. I could go on about them, but that should probably be its own post. Anyway, I had a general idea of how to get there thanks to Google Maps, but it was mostly a lot of walking. According to what I understood, I basically had to walk up 河原町通り and eventually I would see it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that I was simply a few blocks away from 寺町 and basically the entire 四条 area I had been to in the last couple of days! I simmered in mild irriation as I made my way up the building to the ninth floor where Tower Records is. But that all disappeared when there was not only one, but TWO copies of the album I wanted! After looking around to see what else this store had, I bought my cd, CELEBRATED, and then made my way back down. I had planned to go to 寺町　again tomorrow, but specifically to go to Nishiki to buy my parents scallops. However, by the time I made it to the market place, a lot of the vendors were closing up shop. I raced to where I needed to go, but I guess the special price they had was only for yesterday, because today's price was slightly more expensive. But because it's for my parents, I dont mind spending money. I stuffed my お土産 into my bag, and headed back to 寺町 to look for dinner.

Before I leave Kansai, I wanted to try 関西風のお好み焼き. There are two types of お好み焼き: 関西風 and 広島風. Because I've been in Hiroshima all this time, I've had a lot of that kind of お好み焼き. However, I have never had the 関西風 before, so since I'm here, I figured that I should have it. I walked around and made it to a restaurant that had it on their menu and ordered it. While it was delicious and filling, I think I've gotten used to the 広島風, and prefer it more. In my opinion, 広島風 has more vegetables, and because there's noodles in it, its volume is comparatively higher. Thus, you get more bang for your buck. If I get the chance, maybe I'll try the 関西風のお好み焼き, but if I dont get a chance to, I think I'll be okay. 関西の友達、ごめんね。やっぱり広島風の方が好きなんだ！

I spent another wonderful day here in the city of Kyoto. I had so much fun walking around 東寺, and got a real kick out of the national treasures housed there. While there, I also injected a lot of money into the city's economy. Another long walk netted me the KPop cd that I have wanted to buy for a very long time, as well as helped finish my お土産 shopping. Tomorrow is my last full day here in Kyoto. I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm going to be doing. But I still havent been to the 本願寺, which are just a few blocks from here, and neither have I been to 松尾大社. Hopefully I can hit the 本願寺 in the morning, and see 松尾大社 in the afternoon. And during the night, I can spend it packing up. But now it is late, and Terrence needs to go to bed. おやすみなさ～い。

Eating, Watching, Shopping

I was invited to have lunch with my friend's friends, and afterwards watch a maiko performance at the Kyoto Museum of Traditional Crafts. After that, we all went our seperate ways, and I started my omiyage shopping. I normally dont go to bed until one in the morning, but I think I will make an exception tonight. Although today was fun, I definitely walked a lot, and I cant stop yawning.

The restaurant we had lunch at today was called Hale, and was located in the Nishiki Market. It took us awhile to get there, because I think it was everyone's first time there. We had to ask two people for directions, because we missed it several times. Only the door of the restaurant faced the street; except for a tiny little sign, there was nothing to suggest that behind the door was a small little restaurant that specialized in organically produced food. We had the 湯葉あんかけ丼. Photography was banned in the shop, so I dont really know how to explain what it was, but if you've had any kind of どんぶりもの, then you basically have an idea of what I had. It was a set, so it came with 漬物 and tea. I must admit, when I was told where we were going, I was a bit afraid, because (as stupid as this sounds), the healthier the food, the less I enjoy it. But I'm happy to report that I was very, very wrong. The don was very good, and I recommend it to anyone who comes to Kyoto and/or can find the shop.

After a bit of walking and some riding, we got to the museum where the performance was. I had a bit of deja vu when it started. Why did if feel like I had seen it before if I had never been to this museum? After thinking about it, I realised I had seen it, through the wonderful invention we know as Youtube!



That isnt exactly what we saw, but it was at the same place, and I'm fairly certain they did both of these songs. If you ever go to Kyoto, one thing you can count on either seeing or being told to see are the maiko and geiko. On the off chance you dont know anything about them, you can check out this website, which I think is pretty legit. I would go into detail here, but I think it lies outside of the scope of my blog. Since I've been to Kyoto before, I know enough about the maiko to be disinclined to go to everything they appear at, but they are undeniably beautiful and skilled. You dont get to see this kind of dance performed in person very often, so was happy I got to see it, and I enjoyed it very much. They are so graceful! I cant imagine how hard they practice to get that way. After each dance, the announcer woman would ask the maiko a question. I did enjoy this part, because it was really questions about their lifestyle. One was, "Do you put on your own makeup, or does someone do it for you?" The maiko responded that it takes her from half to a full hour to put it on, but she does it herself. Of course, her kimono is put on by a professional dresser (I want to become one!!). Another question was about her typical day, from when she woke up to when she goes to bed. She said that she woke up at around eight or nine, and got dressed for dance practice. After dance practice, she would put on her whole get up to go out and entertain. From about six to eleven, she'd be at various parties doing what maiko do. Finally, she would get home, bathe, and go to bed at around twelve. I suppose it's pretty basic information, but it's quite something to hear it from the horse's mouth, じゃない?

It was at this point that I bade farewell to my friend and her friends. You see, the way her program runs, she's on an American educational calendar. Which means that she has class tomorrow. I decided to head back to the main shopping area at Shijo and Teramachi and do some shopping. The first thing I wanted to do was head back to the Nishiki Market, because I wanted to buy some omiyage for the rents and some friends in Hiroshima. I figure that since I dont know exactly what they want, food would be a good idea. And Nishiki Market is the place for food, though unfortunately the greater part of the food there either needs to be eaten right away or refrigerated. I saw some dried ホタテ, which I knew the rents and my aunty would enjoy, but I didnt get to the store in time. Unfortunately, it was closed, which means I'll need to pay another visit to the market. I did find some small candy type things that I got for my friends in Hiroshima, as well as some 金平糖 for my oldest nephew.

Now that I had some of my omiyage stuff done, I decided to shop for myself. The first store I headed to was Chicago, which my friend recommended to me. They're a second hand shop, and while the first floor has the usual western style clothes, its second floor is devoted to 和服. I headed to the second floor, and indeed, there were several racks full of kimono. As is usual, more than three quarters of the shop is woman's wear, but I eventually made it to the mens section. The yukata section wasnt a bit small, but the kimono section was much larger. I know that men's kimono are duller than women's kimono, but I was a bit taken aback here. There were just two sections: the dark blue section and the brown section. And within each section were either dark blue kimono or brown kimono. While I didnt want the colorful floral prints or dazzling designs of a woman's kimono, I was hoping for something more...interesting. Unfortunately, I already have a dark blue kimono thanks to my sempai, so I didn't really feel I should buy another one. I wanted to buy a haori, but I decided against it because I didnt know when I would wear one. But this was not a bust! I looked over at the obi section, and found a beautiful obi that I decided to buy. The field is a royal blue type, and the design of hammers (good luck, if I'm not mistaken) is worked in gold and silver thread. It's also in really good condition, which made its price of 2000￥ quite a bargain. Part of me wants to buy a kimono from that store just so I can dress up and look amazing, but since I already have what they are selling, it might be cheaper and more sensible to just have my kimono sent her from Hawaii. I dont know, I'm still on the fence.

The other thing that I'm really happy to have bought is a pair of earrings! It was way expensive for two tiny pieces of metal, and they're not the most AMAZING earrings you ever did see, but considering I cant wear most of the earrings I see, I was okay with paying twenty dollars for it. When I entered the shop, I was a bit worried, because I dont know how to say in Japanese, "Excuse me, do you have any earrings that arent made with nickel, because I have an allergic reaction to that, and I dont want my ears to fall off, please and thank you". But somehow, 店長さん figured out what I wanted and said that the earrings I was looking at were made of stainless steel and okay for allergic people (Fun fact: He's allergic too!). They're two black stars, and I really like them. They're simple, and yet they're kinda eye catching. While paying for them, I struck up a conversation with 店長さん, where he complemented me on my Japanese (「僕より上手いっすね」と言ったけど、嘘じゃよね) and was amused that Hiroshima University is in the middle of nowhwere. I want to wear them right now! But I want to clean them first, as well as my ears. I dont have any alcohol with me, but I'm debating whether or not I can get by with just the body wash in the hotel bathroom. I'm pretty excited to finally have some new earrings!

After eating dinner at Moss Burger, I decided to head back to my hotel. My feet were aching, my wallet dangerously empty, and it was getting late (I dont know why, but everything closes so early here! In 西条, most businesses begin to shut down at ten, not a quarter to eight!). However, I couldnt find the subway station that I needed! I walked up and down 四条通り, and a few other streets too, but I simply could not find it. I finally decided to enter the train station, which I knew at some point intersected with the subway station. After walking for about ten minutes down possibly the entire length of the station, I finally made it to the ticket machines for 四条駅. It was at this point that I had an unfortunate encounter with an old person. This tiny little old Japanese lady came up to me and asked me which train she should take. However, there were a few problems: 1. She was speaking Japanese, which (contrary to popular belief) I dont fully understand; 2. I'm like 98% sure she was speaking some form of 関西弁, which I also dont understand; 3. She was an old Japanese lady, and if you've ever met an old Japanese person, you know they dont enunciate well; and 4. I'm not from Kyoto, so I dont know any other line besides the 烏丸線 which links Kyoto station with Shijo. I felt so bad for not being able to help her! If you know me, you KNOW that old people are my weakness. I will do almost whatever they ask me to do, and if I cant, I feel really bad later. I had to tell her that because I was from Hiroshima (white lie, but it's kinda true), I didnt know the subway system well enough. The last I saw of her, she was talking to another guy, and I really hope he knew where she was going. 神様、あのおばあちゃんは安全に行き先へ行って連れましたか。 >____< After making it to Kyoto Station, I had no other mishaps getting back to my hotel.

Today was another good day in Kyoto. I made a few new friends, saw some beautiful dancing, and got in some serious shopping. I am pooped! Tomorrow is Monday, and my friend has school, so I wont be seeing her. I'll be more on my own, which could be a good thing (マイペースでオッケー), or a bad thing (HUGE CHANCE OF GETTING LOST). After a short skype session with the rents, I'm heading to 東寺 for their flea market. After that, I'm thinking of paying a short visit to the two 本願寺 headquarters. I may add more trips in, depending on what I get done, and how much time/money I have. But for today, I think it's time I showered and went to bed.

京都に到着

After a false start yesterday, I have finally made it to Kyoto! I'm going to be spending a few days here, mostly because I wanted a friend of mine is studying at 同志社大学 in Kyoto. I havent seen her in such a long time! And also because there's nothing to do in Saijo. Most everyone is going travelling this break, some to their home countries, some to distant places in Japan, and still others to nearby countries in this neck of the woods. I'll admit, it would have been cheaper to have just stayed in 広島県, but that's why I cooked for myself and saved money! Also, my UHM scholarship came in.

I wont bore you with the details of the bus ride here, mostly because there's not much to tell you about. Well, okay, I did enjoy my travelling partner, and I almost got left behind because I didnt recognize our bus at the rest stop, but for the most part, it was boring and uneventful. When our bus finally stopped at 京都駅, I was very happy. And by "very happy" I mean that I was estatic and smiling like a crazy person. I wandered around in the station for awhile, because it's so big (the second largest in the nation), and there were so many people. But thankfully, with the help of several maps positioned around the station, I managed to get out into the city. It was only a short walk more to get to my hotel, the APA Villa Hotel Kyoto Ekimae.

And let me just say, I want to stay in this hotel again! I booked my room on Agoda, which was recommended to me by my friend's mother, who is a travel agent. And I am recommending it to you, because I got a better deal on that site than Expedia. It was about ten dollars cheaper, which means I saved about a hundred dollars through their booking. But so far, I am enjoying this hotel immensely. The main reason I love this hotel is its location. Like I said, it's only about a block away from the station, which means it is relatively easy and convenient to travel not only to other parts of the city, but also other parts of Japan. And if you're a coffee junky, this is the hotel for you. There's a Seattle's Best coffee shop in the lobby, where you get a 10% discount on the day of your check out. And about a block away is a Starbucks. Also nearby are McDonalds and a Seven Eleven, all cheap eats, although there are many restaurants surrounding the hotel.

But what I really enjoyed tonight was the fact that there is a Yodobashi Camera department store nearby. Yodobashi Camera is one of the best places to go to if you're looking to buy electronics. And in true Japanese fashion, there are floors upon floors devoted to extremely useful electronics, at rather cheap prices. Are you in the market for a new 電子辞書? They have that. Need a new hair dryer with a "Quiet" setting? It's a little expensive, but they've got that. Would you like to buy a cheap rice cooker so you dont always have to wait for the Chinese guys to stop using the kitchen (!!!!!)? You can buy a three cup rice cooker for about thirty five dollars.

Also in the same building are several other stores. I didnt look around too much because I was hungry and they were expensive, but I saw many different clothing stores. There were men's clothes, women's clothes, hats, shoes, you name it, it was probably there. And I saw quite a few things that I wanted. Especially the shoes! I dont buy shoes like some people, but I saw a few pairs that I would have bought with little resistance. And I would like more fobby clothes, so I always look for that, but they tend to be way expensive. Also, my friend that I'm seeing here said she knows a good second hand shop, so I want to check there first.

As far as food goes, there were several choices I could have picked from. The hamburger and steak shop looked really good, but I wanted rice. There was an 揚げ物 restaurant, where you fry your food at the table, but I wasnt too keen on oily food. I finally decided on a restaurant that specialized in 名古屋料理. To tell you the truth, I dont know what that means, because the menu looked like what every other Japanese food restaurant looked like, but it was delicious and worth it. I had a 定食 that had 親子丼 and 鶏唐揚げ, and it came with a dark miso soup and 漬物. The don was a bit eggier than I prefer, and the rice was completely drenched by the 汁, but overall it wasnt that bad. The karaage wasnt as crunchy as I've had, but the pepper thing on the side and the mayo topping made it better. In total, it cost about twelve dollars, but I feel it was worth it. Maybe I didnt enjoy it as I have other restaurants, but considering how full I felt afterwards, it's okay. Oh, and did I mention that the music they played was phenomenal? I felt like I was in some fifties nightclub or something, because of the Ella Fitzgerald music they played. I was definitely not expecting that, but it made for a wonderful atmosphere.

While I do have my laptop with me, I dont have my adaptor card for my camera. So while I can blog and tell you all about my travels here in the old capitol, I cant show it to you. Maybe when I upload pics to my facebook, I'll come back and reedit in pictures that I take. In any case, I am super stoked to be in Kyoto, and I'm hoping that my little vacation here will procede without a hitch. I need to go to bed soon, because I'm meeting up with my friend tomorrow for some sorely needed catching up. 明日、楽しみに！ ^_^

Lingua Franca? I Think Not.

In the HUSA program, we have students from all over the world. Besides us Americans, there are British, Koreans, Chinese, French, and a couple of Germans, to name a few. Since none of us are perfectly fluent in Japanese, we have to use another language to speak to each other. Lately, English has become the lingua franca in the world, a language that various people can speak. You'd think that this would make life easier, that we'd be able to communicate somewhat easily. HOwever, this has turned out to be a false assumption.

I was talking earlier to one of the British guys. He's one of three British people, and they all come from three different parts of England. But, as I told him, I cant hear any difference between them. I imagine that if I listened carefully to them speaking I could hear some kind of difference, but to my American ears, they just sound British. But as my friend explained to me, although they spoke close to Received Pronunciation English (basically Standard British English), the other two sometimes slip into their own accents. One guy is from the northern part of England, and speaks as they do. The other, a girl, is from the London area, and sometimes uses a slightly different vocabulary. Luckily for my friend, he's from the middle part of the country, apparently where the two accents overlap.

Among us Americans, we all feel that we speak "American English", and I dont think anyone one of us has a particular regional accent. That is, we dont have a Bostonian, New Yorker, or Texan. In fact, if no one told me where they were from, I probably would never have been able to guess. It is accepted by all of us Americans that we speak the same language, with the same accent: Standard American English. But according to my British friend (and really everyone else), one of us Americans has a particularly strong accent. They cant fully articulate what it is, but the accent is so strong that it sometimes overruns the pronunciation of certain words. It has been described as a long stream of "grrgrgghrhrgghrhrrg" or something. To be quite honest, the Americans do not understand the problem.

It was at this point that my friend asked me to speak in my accent. Unfortunately, I couldnt perform for him. I was raised to speak "proper English", so using Hawaiian Creole English, aka HCE aka pidgin, has always been a bit difficult for me. However, I've noticed that when I become agitated, eg upset, sad, extremely happy, it starts to come out more. Also, since entering college, I've started using it a lot more. I think it's because I made a few new friends after high school, friends who had no problem speaking HCE. Since I couldnt show my friend, I turned to the great resource that is Youtube, and found this video. It's a pretty accurate and educational video on how a lot of people in Hawaii speak. It's also pretty legit, because I think I've seen the "Pidgin Advocate" before. I linked it on my facebook, but on the off chance you missed it, I'll repost it here:




To be quite honest, I love talking and learning about dialects. Perhaps not enough to push me into linguistics, but I do enjoy looking at the "cracks" in the monolithic thing that is a language. I feel that language education is a bit of a lie. It presents the target language as a single way of speaking, one that all natives of a country or ethnic group speak. However, this is not true. What we call a language is really just a heading, a way of seperating large distinctions in the world. Within a "language", we have different dialects and accents, and even within those subdivisions, there are even tinier divisions. My native language, English is a perfect example: There's British English and American English. Within American English, the English that's used in New York City is different from the English used in California, which is different from the English that's used in Hawaii. And in Hawaii, the English I use is sometimes different from people from another island. I'm slowly learning that the same is true about Japanese. The Japanese that I watch in dramas, that I hear in music, that I'm learning in class, is the dry, dusty, boring Standard Japanese (標準語). But that's different from the Japanese I'm trying to learn, which is the Hiroshima Dialect (広島弁). And 広島弁 is different from what my friend is learning in Kyoto, 関西弁. It is simply fascinating that there is so much diversity! Doesnt it make you want to learn another language?

New Year's in Japan!

Much more elaborate than usual. But also, much more fake than usual. But I still like it. =)


あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いいたします。
Happy New Year's everyone!
^_^

Like Christmas, New Year's this year was very different from previous years. I didnt have ozoni that mother made, nor any kind of mochi at all. And more importantly, I didnt spend it with my family at all. But on the plus side, I did watch the entirety of Kohaku for once, and also I went hatsumode!

New Year's Eve was a pretty low key event for me. During the day, I attempted to clean up my room, which is slowly getting messy again. A few of the other HUSAs got shelves for their rooms, and I'm beginning to wonder if I should get some too. But the main thing I did last night was watching 紅白歌合戦 Kohaku Uta Gassen. For those of you not in the know, it's a big end of the year concert that NHK hosts. Male and female singers are split into two teams (White team for men, Red team for women) and compete. While there is a panel of judges, votes from the audience in NHK Hall, as well as the general public, are counted to determine the winner. It's a pretty big deal, imho. In Hawaii, I had seen it performed before, because both KikuTV and NGN broadcast it. But because of location and licensing, what's shown in Japan is slightly different from what I've seen in Hawaii. So it was a nice change to have the end of the contest to be near midnight on 大晦日.

This year's lineup was a bit different from years past. For one, the hosts were different from the last five years, almost. Nakama Yukie was a judge, when she had usually been the Red Team host. And instead of Nakai Masahiro, the White Team was represented by 嵐 Arashi, a pretty interesting idol group. But what struck me most interesting and a bit sad, was that the singers for each team were different from years previous. There were a couple of regulars, like Wada Akiko, Hikawa Kiyoshi, Koda Kumi (!!!), and Kitajima Saburo. But there were a lot of missing singers. I always do Fuji Ayako's songs at karaoke, but she was absent again this year. So was Mikawa Kenichi, who always has the most gender-bending performances. I usually look forward to Nakashima Mika and Otsuka Ai, but they didnt show up either. As sad as I am that I didnt get to see them perform, I'm happy for them. While it is an honor to be invited to perform on Kohaku, that means that they dont get to spend New Year's with their families. They're human too, and I imagine they like to spend time with their families too.

As for the songs that were performed, a lot of them were the most moving I have ever heard. Not gonna lie, I ended up crying a lot during this year's performance. Kobayashi Sachiko's song, お母ちゃんのひとり言, was about a child reminising about their mother. How their mother may have scolded them when they were younger, but they still loved her for it. And 嵐 performed a song, that I dont remember its name, but it was about ふるさと, or one's hometown. Having not seen my hometown for about three or so months, it was a little heartachey to hear about going back home and cherishing where you're from. But by far the most moving song that was on, was 植村花菜 Uemura Kana's トイレの神様 "Toire no Kamisama". Translated, it means "God of the Toilet", and it is a strange title. But the lyrics were just so beautiful. When she was a young girl, she spent a lot of time at her grandmother's house, and helped out doing chores there. Her grandmother told her, that the reason why she had to keep the toilet clean was because inside lived a beautiful kami. And that by cleaning it everyday, one day she could become a beautiful lady just like the kami. Later, her grandmother was hospitalized, and the day after she visited her grandmother, she passed away. And even though she wasnt the best grandchild, she feels that her grandmother waited special to see her one last time before she left. I have a feeling that this song is true, because she really did start crying when she was performing. As someone who was really close to their grandmother, I really felt something with this song. I think of all the performances, I really enjoyed hers the most.


This is the music video for that song. Maybe one day I'll translate the lyrics. You interested?

Today, New Year's Day, I decided to go to the local shrine and actually do 初詣 hatsumode, or the first visit to a temple in a new year. While there are shrines in Hawaii, I have never actually gone to them, much less do the whole 初詣 thing. So while I'm here, I decided to actually do it. It was actually a lot of fun!



This is the shrine we went to, 御建神社 Midate Jinja. It's located behind the train station here, and part of another srhine complex thingy called 松尾神社 Matsuo Jinja. There was a really long line to get to the shrine, and normally, that wouldnt be so bad. However, this being in the middle of winter, it was FREEZING, so waiting was a bit of a pain. Me and a friend that came with me stood in that line for a while before we were up to the temple. After carefully observing the 日本人 in front of us, we threw our money, rang the bell, and prayed for the coming year. While up there, we also got 御神籤 omikuji, which are basically fortunes. My kanji isnt so good, but between the two of us, (hopefully) we were able to read and understand them. They didnt sound too bad, so we kept them. We also took a drink of the sake that was up there. Apparently, the 日本人 behind us were amazed to see my 白人 friend drink so much sake without problems. We also bought お守り omamori, which are good luck charms. I got a normal one that I'm going to give away as omiyage, and a card one for myself. My friend also bought some お守り, as well as a 神矢. She got it with a little bit of hesitation, because we didnt know what those things were called. I have seen them before, so I knew they were for luck, but I've never bought one myself. Also, my dictionary on my iPod didnt give a reading, so we were kinda shooting in the dark with かみや kamiya, which is the reading for those two kanji. I thought that since we got it, but MS isnt accepting it as a proper input for it. So I have no idea. Haha, oh well.
XD



Like Christmas, I missed out on doing the usual routine for New Year's. I missed another "family holiday", and missed out on some favorite traditions. But I did make up for it with things that I have never done before. While I usually fall asleep halfway through Kohaku, I actually stayed awake through it all. I even got a few good cries out of it. On New Year's Day, instead of spending it lying around the house and calling Aunty, I went on my first hatsumode (is it my 初初詣? XD) and had a grand old time. 2011 surely started out wonderful. I can only hope that the rest of it will be as enjoyable!

Sake Matsuri Part I

I'm in Saijo, a town of the larger city of Higashi-Hiroshima, in Hiroshima Prefecture. Riding the bus from Hiroshima Airport here made me realize how country it is here. However, during the weekend of 9th and the 10th, there were so many people here! Why did they come? To take part of Saijo's 酒まつり (sake matsuri), or Sake Festival. Sake is one of the major products made here, and has been for a while, as far as I can tell. On the first day, I went to the main center of the festival, which is around the train station in Saijo proper.

I met up with a friend of mine at the station, and we walked around the station, going on tours through several sake factories. I dont really remember a lot of what was going on there, mostly because it was all in Japanese and I was lazy to make my brain think. But it was interesting to see the process of sake brewing. I imagine it's the same as beer, because they take the rice and have it ferment with a certain bacteria or fungi. And then they let it sit some more, and take the alcohol as sake. But the most fun part of the tour was that they gave out samples of their sake! The various sake that we had ranged from one that had no burn and a slight fruity taste, to one that was so strong I needed to eat something to get the taste of alcohol out of my mouth. But my favorite was 甘酒, or sweet sake. Still not sure if it has any alcohol in it, but I dont really care. It's made out of the leftovers of sake brewing, and is more viscous than regular sake. That is, it is an opaque white, not the clear liquid that's usually sake. Although I dont really care for sweet things, 甘酒 isnt so sweet. I did enjoy that one a lot.

The other draw of the sake festival is the 酒ひろば, or "sake space". For the one time fee of 1800￥ (or thereabouts), you get to enter the hiroba and have as much sake as you can. That's right, the Japanese have a practice of 飲み放題, which is the fee you pay to drink all you can. As you will come to see, 飲み放題 isnt exactly my friend, and I'd much rather have its food version, 食べ放題. You'll see what I mean.

When you enter the 酒ひろば, they give you your own little ちょこ, which is basically a sake shot glass. I'm not sure how good an idea this is, but whatever. It's kinda cute, I think. Around the hiroba are various stands that have sake from all over Japan. They're grouped by their location, and I think they're supposed to be very expensive brands. But what did I know, right? My Japanese friend and I met up with more of his friends, and we started to drink. Since there was a group of us, we started having a few people get everyone sake by carrying it, but after we cleared a box of senbei, we used that as a tray. And if you think that's slightly crazy, that's nothing; there were people that had real trays, the laquered variety, and were using that to get sake. The Japanese came PREPARED. Not everyone was sitting on tarp and eating cookies like us; some people had chairs and were pulling out the bento to eat.


This is the group of people I was with. There were many more.

Now I can just hear the $64,000 question: Did you get drunk?! Answer: Not really. Sorry for the letdown (LOL), but no, I didnt get drunk. However, at the rate we were going, it was unsurprising that I would end up tipsy. I remember everything that happened, so I can tell you that I started slurring my words, and it was very difficult to walk. Also, I became so happy! I remember smiling so much, and I think I hugged everyone there. According to many people, I turn into a cute, happy little Asian boy. Another thing I found out is that I dont get Asian glow! I know it's not a good thing to be proud of, but that makes me feel better about drinking and my body. My older half brother enjoys beer, and he drinnks often enough. My parents and sister, although not heavy drinkers, have engaged in the practice, with few ill effects (that I know of). So I figured I could handle it. And what do you know, I really could! Granted, I did get more messed up than I was planning, but it's not like two sips in and I turned red and passed out. Not quite sure how many times I got sake, but it was enough.


One of many people I hugged. Note lack of Asian glow.

So Sake Matsuri Part I was a whole lot of fun. I have a better appreciation for sake, and also made a lot of happy (and tipsy) memories. Definitely a good part of the program so far!