terrible toilets

Toilet stalls in Japan are magical places. They have eight foot walls, toilets with heated seats, and toilet paper for miles. Life at OUA can sometimes be overwhelming. Toilet stalls have become my secret fortresses - places where I can escape from the confusion.

You can imagine my confusion, then, when I entered a stall to find the above monstrosity.

At first I thought it was a bizarre architectural misfire - clearly a builder was drunk and built a urinal on the floor. As I ran across more and more of these the probability of a Japanese drunk construction worker pandemic became less and less likely. People actually use this thing.

It's called a squat toilet - some sort of arcane hybrid of a toilet and the dirt trench latrines I used to dig as a boy scout.

The logistical pratfalls are obvious. Using a public toilet is dubious enough when you're seated - add the challenge of trying to maintain a squat position in the midst of a bowel movement on a urine-pooled floor and you're just begging for disaster.

So what do you do if you run into one of these terrifying little bastards? Hold it. Can't? Find a sink.
Read more!

Activity

Fuck I'm busy.

Not busy with schoolwork. The classes here still manage to be almost terrifyingly easy. I can stumble in with half scrawled sketches and still impress - that is, if the class even meets, which it has a tendency not to.

I'm not busy sightseeing either. Yesterday I went to Kobe - my last sightseeing trip. Really I wish I could see the full size Gundam, but I had to cross that off as impractical.

So what have I been doing? Fun things. Most of them either begin or end with Karaoke and liquor. Cosplay Karaoke, however, was a completely sober decision:


This is unlike me. My weekends are packed, my mondays are headachey, and my wallet is perpetually empty.

I'm finally seeing the real Osaka - the kind you can only see by making the rounds with real Osakans. It's a quirky, gross, fascinating place.

I really wish I had more time here. Read more!

Quip: koban

Japan cleverly tried to disguise the head of a giant robot as a Koban.

Nice try, Japan. Read more!

Quip: tight pants

Today I tried to buy some pants.

Buying pants for me can sometimes be a problem for me in the US. I'm a waist size 33. It's one of the most popular sizes and tends to sell out pretty quickly.

In Japan I have a different problem.

See, guys here are skinny. We're not talking your normal hipster nonsense here - they're stick figures. Tiny stick figures with tiny waists and tinier legs. Because of this they dress mostly in what I'm assuming are doll clothes, since they're obviously too small for humans.

The sizes, of course, are the first problem. Oh, what size are these? 29? Oh, ok. These? Oh, they're an 85. These come in M or L, but we have these in a 4 or 5. Thanks.

They'll have 33 US if I'm lucky - but that only leads up to the next challenge: fit. I always thought that not being able to fit your ass into your jeans was a problem reserved for girls... I was wrong. The only way I can describe these things is Jack Skellingtonesque.

The only thing worse than being a size too large for a clothing store is having a salesperson check in on you trying to force your jeans over your apparently massive American thighs.

Lets just say... I'm never going back to that store. Ever. Read more!

Nara

Today I went to Nara to see the friendly deer and massive Buddha that reside there. Both of these things would make amazing pictures.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera - so until my friends upload some of theirs you're going to have to settle for the above artists' rendering. Suffice to say that playing with friendly deer is the bestest thing ever. Why can't all animals be this charming? Read more!

Tokyo: Shinjuku and Akiba

HI SHINJUKU MY NAME IS SAM

Tokyo felt immediately familiar to me. There was something very New York-ian about the atmosphere - a big city energy if you will. People move a little faster, do business a little quicker, and generally mind their own business more than Osakans.

In Osaka I feel constantly challenged. Everything here is so foreign to me and trying to cope gets exhausting. The hosts' hair in Dotonburi alone is enough to give me headaches...


So Tokyo - with its bilingual signs and thriving (by Japan standards) foreign community was a good vacation.

this mural was near our (sketchy) hotel in Korea Town... not sure what it means.

Before I get started there's someone I'd like to thank...

Dear Swine Flu,

Thank you for infecting just enough Osakans to close my school, but not enough to actually be a problem to anyone. Now, I know what you're going to say: "oh, it's just the sensationalist Japanese news blowing this half baked "pandemic" out of proportion to boost ratings!" And you're right, I guess*.

But you still got your timing just right, and I thank you.

I've seriously wanted to go to this place since I was thirteen.

We only had a few days in Tokyo. The three of us are all nerds, so we went to Akihabara: nerd capital of the world.

Prime minister Taro Aso (a "cool old dude") loves Akiba. He also apparently loves dressing up like a Geisha.

Akiba is home to many wonders. Most of them sell anime or videogames or porn, or any combination of those things. While this concept is nothing new to me it was amazing to see it celebrated on such a large scale.

High Schoolers and High School graduates alike (they call them "businessmen" here) flock to Akiba

I spent most of my time dragging my compadres into arcades. Something about the arcade atmosphere makes me feel like I'm five again... or like I'm a crack addict. I wake up later broke and stinking of cigarettes and shame.

uh...

Other highlights:

the Mandrake Complex
A giant multi-level store with a floor dedicated to old and hard to find manga. Manga from the 70s is amazing; bought some naturally.

Cat Cafe
A cafe where you pay to play with cats for half an hour. Had the most jaded desk person I've ever seen - a study in contrasts? Cats were adorable, probably drugged.

Maid Cafe(s)
A cafe where the waitresses are maids. Not a brothel (important). Went to two. These are crazy, and deserve a full post.

Moments before abandoning in a "dreamland" themed Maid Cafe. It was not a dreamland.

The rest of Akiba was dominated by electronics stores - but really it was hard for me to dig deep into it in such a short time. It's ok, I'll be back.

HOLY FUCK

*Unless my theory is correct and the news is actually making black market deals with medical mask manufacturers. Read more!

aaaaand... back!

Hachikō and I just connect. You wouldn't understand.

Ha! Well that was sure a long-ass hiatus! You see a few weeks ago my mac keyboard decided to stop working. My touchpad, always a slave to trends, followed suit. I had to take the both of them to the mac store where they were torn out and replaced promptly. When it comes to electronics I have no patience for slackers.

Anyways, beard faithful, I missed you guys. And by you guys I mean my assumption that there are actually people reading this.*

I have done so many things! Well, several at least. The most important and most interesting of these was my trip to Tokyo in the midst of a Swine Flu pandemic. The least important being my discovery that hotdog bread on a stick is delicious.

Fun things to come!

*And by people reading this I mean my justification for what is essentially a vanity project.

Read more!

Thomas the Tank Engine... Bus

This is actually a kids' school bus - possibly the greatest one ever. Apparently there's a Pikachu-bus somewhere around here.

I might steal it. Read more!

Salaryman ninja

Simply amazing. Read more!

Giblets

Oh man, I totally fell off the blog horse for a few days there.

I've been spending a lot of time with my new korean friends slash freaking out about actually having homework so I let it slide.

But no more!

Rather than force something profound out of exhaustion I'll use days like these to provide you with what you want - silly little anecdotes about life in Japan. Example:

I heard once that the human brain reads english words principally by judging the word length along with the first and last letters.

You shluod, for epxmale, be albe to raed tihs.

It's fairly interesting - and it explains why I keep thinking this tower says "rapist":

Read more!

Stormy Weather

The weather here is slowly turning from pleasant to uncomfortable.

I've heard that it's bound to happen. First it's warm, then muggy, then rainy. That last part lasts for about a month. Today I got a preview:

It didn't pour so much as drizzle incessantly. It was that gross in-between where you can't decide whether to open your umbrella or not and you always wind up wet regardless. I did not remember my golashes so I spent most of the day sloshing around in waterlogged boat shoes.

I also got my first real animation assignment today: a para-para manga flipbook. Basically I just have to do a head turnaround in a flipbook. I'm trying something a bit more ambitious, though, so it's probably going to take me a good while.

Add that to the other assignments I've incurred in the past few weeks and my workload looks a little waterlogged too.

So it looks like I'm going to have to switch into acting a bit less like an explorer and more like a student. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I suppose it was innevitable.

Oh well. Read more!

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS UNITE

Partied today with OUA's biggest group of gaijin - the Korean international students.

Since we couldn't speak eachother's language we restricted ourselves to a universal language: the preparation and consumption of grilled meats. Once we were full of meats and alchohols we played a bizarre variation on dodgeball where the guys have to guard the girls. Also girls weren't allowed to interact with the ball.

Gender equality? Ha! Well it was fun anyway.

Tomorrow we're all going to the aquarium, which will hopefully result in pictures to be posted here.

Hurray! Read more!

Golden Week

It's Golden Week!

"Golden Week" is the name given to the vacation time granted by the three holidays that started yesterday. The name is kind of a misnomer since we only get three days off in a row. I mean seriously I had class Saturday - this barely qualifies as vacation.

If this was America we would probably have moved the Emperor's Birthday up a week and taken Friday off for good measure. Japan, however, takes both its culture and it's work ethic seriously and so this is what we get.

So, what am I doing for this greatest of holidays?

Well... uh...

Hm.

Alright, I have no idea. Frankly I've been doing so much since I got here that I feel like taking a vacation from having adventures. The things I really miss doing are normal things - hanging around eating snacks and watching TV, for example.

I feel like the language barrier has made it impossible for me to make real friends here. Most of the people I talk to are too taken aback by the gimmick of meeting a foreigner to really speak honestly with me.

That said, isn't 90% of communication nonverbal? Maybe I'm giving language too much blame, here.

Tomorrow I'm going to a party with Korean international students. Their Japanese is much better than mine, and perhaps they understand where I'm coming from as fellow foreigners.

We shall see! Read more!

Church: again?

Today I went to a church that conducted service in two languages: Japanese and, of course, Korean. Wait, what?

I've been doing a pretty good job of jamming myself into the last place anyone would ever expect to be a white person. A Korean international church in Japan is one of those places.

I honestly didn't think it would be so bad when I tagged along with Joyce and Ariyana. I imagined a packed room with high ceilings and loud music. Maybe I'd get a few sideways glances - but before long I'd be out of there. No big deal.

The reality was... not that.


small room, folding chairs, quiet music, staring.

When the four people leading the music started they began to stare. I began to turn red. They continued to stare. I began to sweat a bit and laugh nervously. They stared somehow more intentely.

I looked up - nobody in front of me, nobody behind. I was surrounded by empty seats. I couldn't possibly look any taller, or whiter, or less comfortable. I waited until the end of the service.

Wait, why is everyone staring at me? Well, more obviously. Why is that man pointing?

A moment passes.

"Please" a man says behind me "up"

I stand, confused.

Another moment passes.

"Um... please... come... here" the pastor asks. Some hideous terror/embarrassment expression flashes across my face. The entire congregation bursts out laughing.

There are four of us standing now - the newbies. Joyce and Ariyana are here next to me - because they are good friends.

Pastor says something in Korean. He hands the mic to the girl next to me. She says something in korean. He hands the mic to me. He has fear in his eyes.

"H... hi. Thank you for inv..(stutter) inviting me into your church."

silence

"My name is Sam Thurman..."

silence

"Uh.. I'm from New York. Thank you"

Yes! That got them. Fact: all Japanese people (immigrants included) love New York.

Joyce and Ariyana introduced themselves - Joyce in Korean because, well, she speaks it. Then they all sang a song at us. It sounded welcoming enough.

I had a chance to talk with some people after the service. Everyone was actually very kind. Perhaps confused as to why I was there, but kind nonetheless.* I don't know why I'd expect anything less from church people.

And you know what? The service was quite nice too. Calming and ritualistic in a meditative way, not a brain-washing way. If I spoke Korean I might actually consider going back.

But I don't speak Korean.

*It's ok people, I don't know why I was there either.
Read more!

Church: explication

The pastor shouted something through the mic. Actually, maybe he wasn't a pastor. That's what we called the man in charge* back when I went to church - but this guy bore little resemblance to father John. Father John wore robes for instance, whereas this guy rocked a Hawaiian shirt. He was, actually, Hawaiian. Did this make it ok? No, I think not.

I'm just going to call him Prayer Guy - that sounds about right.

Prayer guy shouted something through the mic. What was it? It was hard to hear. Jump in the air, right? Jump and share? Not jumping prayer.

No, he said jumping prayer. Crap.


I can only laugh at a ridiculous situation for so long before the reality of my participation in it sinks in. Jumping prayer was my limit.

Lyrics projected onto the wall "God's word is always right, his word is my light, with him I'll never fail!" The band cranked out some shallowed out punk music. The irony of a christian punk song was, if only for a minute, precious.

I used to go to church every week. I liked it. I didn't believe - but that didn't really matter. It was the atmosphere. Church was about calm. Sitting, reading, comforting each-other. Stand up, sit down, eat a cracker, have some coffee cake, go home. Relax. It was something to aspire to.

But jumping prayer? No.

I don't want to go to church and yell at things. I don't want to go to church and plug my ears to the pounding pulse of terrible music. I could go to any crappy club in the city and do that. At least there I wouldn't be hounded to give donations.

Thank you, J House, for the free meal. Thanks for being so nice. Thanks for offering English translations of your theological diarrhea.

And thanks in advance for not holding it against me when I never, ever, come back.

*no, not god - the other one
Read more!

Church

Today I went to an international church college night at the suggestion of Hisano-san. Probably... was not the best idea. Well, at least there was free food. Details tomorrow. Read more!

Trash Rules

Japan takes recycling seriously.

Trash must be divided into seven categories: combustible, noncombustible, hazardous, bottles & glass, cans, paper & fabric, and PET plastic bottles. Trash must then be placed in a municipally approved plastic bag and labeled with a sticker (available at your city hall or town office).

Each type of garbage is picked up once or twice per month.*

Large garbage - furniture, electronics, etc. - must be scheduled to be picked up by a trash service at your expense.

Failure to correspond with trash laws will result in the termination of trash services for your domicile. You must then make arrangements with a trash service at your expense.

Paraphrased.

*At my building bottles, for example, are picked up on the third Wednesday of every month. Ugh. Read more!

Kyoto is for Lovers

Love was in the air in Kyoto today. I saw couples laying by the river holding hands, a couple preparing for marriage, and a few too many strange white people giving Japanese women the creepy eyes.

Kyoto still feels a bit like Japan-Land to me - a place where foreigners pay steep entrance fees to stare at pretty Japanese people/buildings. It's hard for me to appreciate Kyoto's Shinto temples when the sound of chanting is overwhelmed by that of clicking cameras.

Nevertheless I did see some very, very beautiful things...



The first of which was this massive "Super Big Parfait" that five of us split. The waitress tried her best not to crack up when she delivered it - that was nice of her. For the record, we finished it.


We walked straight from parfait to temple. Unfortunately I don't know much about the places we visited. Fortunately they were magnificent.


No picture could really convey the size of this temple. The ceilings must have been seventy feet tall.

There was some sort of ceremony going on inside - rhythmic chanting and bells and thick incense filled the room, which was gold leaved and intricately carved - it was magnificent.

No photos were allowed.


Apparently temple grounds frequently house murders of crows. The ones here were roughly cat-sized.


We were lucky enough to see a bride preparing for a traditional wedding.


Nearby vendors sold traditional goods - such as plastic smiling neon feces and bouncing dragon balls. Classy.

We also managed to see a geisha play put on to welcome summer. It was a sad story - one of honor and unrequited love.

The set changes alone made the show worthwhile. Sections of floor were moved away and new ones were lifted into place as the scenery flipped from Autumn to Winter in the background. The geisha were, of course, flawless. They really looked like china dolls drifting across the stage.

Kyoto was much more impressive the second time around. That said, I would still prefer a less packaged experience. I'm sure I'll find it.
Read more!

Mayo

When I think of mayo in America I generally think of a fat slob slathering mayo out of a pop top kraft jug. When Japanese people think of mayo I imagine they must think of the above - the Kewpie baby welcoming them with open arms.

Perhaps this explains why they're so freakin' crazy about mayo.

Want okonomiyaki? You're going to get it criss crossed with mayo. Takoyaki? More mayo. Yakisoba? Probably has mayo in it.

Grocery stores carry Kewpie bottles in a variety of sizes to satisfy your lust for the 'naise. Today I counted five. The largest of the bunch was the size of my forearm. The smallest was about as big as a travel toothpaste - just in case you need some on the go.

Now to be honest the mayo here does taste a lot better than what I've been given in the states. I can't put my finger on it, but it has less of that... uh... mayo taste.

Today I bought my first bottle - an entry level about the size of a small bottle of ketchup. Will I walk away obsessed? Only time will tell. Read more!

Osaka City Photo Adventure 1

I... AM... GLICO MAN!

The entrance to Dotonbori - Osaka City's downtown

A man walking a ferret.

Babs in front of a hip-hop clothing store in America town - SO MANY FUCKING COLORS

Yes, this is me eating brains.

See the worst parts of this picture? That's the stomach. Stay away.

GO THERE

Beware triangular nosed men.

Ramen from a shop in Den Den Town. Better than anything.

uh....

Jennice inside Super Potato - the most amazing videogame store ever.

Porn shops all over Den Den town have a hilarious/surreal/disturbing ad campaign featuring a stoic middle aged woman. Gives me the heebie jeebies.

Read more!

Brains

Spent the day in Osaka city with Babs and Vince.

Despite not really having a plan or any idea where we were going we somehow found everyplace we could have hoped for.

First we wandered through porn shops and videogame stores in Den Den town. Then we headed back uptown to check out clothing stores. Eventually we found our way to the madness of America Mura - a massive America themed network of stores. I'm not sure what America they were riffing off of there, but it wasn't the same one I'm from. It did, however, have an amazing Army/Navy store.

We meandered away from that insanity to the high fashion district. There we looked at things we'll never afford - seven hundred dollar riding pants and thousand dollar boots, for example.

Finally we stumbled accross Dotonbori - Osaka's downtown. Well, perhaps we were called there by the walls of flickering neon signs and giant motorized crabs.

We dodged hawkers and spiky haired androgenous hosts long enough to find a barbecue restaurant tucked underneath a nondescript building. When we entered we had to forfeit our shoes before being lead to our own booth. After some confusion we ordered three dishes, each from a different part of the cow.

I'm just going to say it - brains are delicious. It disturbs me a bit to know that ever person walking around has a treasure trove of fatty goodness sloshing around in their noggin. Maybe zombies had the right idea.

I've lost my camera cable - but as soon as I find it I'll post pictures of all the magical organ-y goodness. It was a good day.

Oh, and stomach is disgusting, FYI. Read more!

Personal day.

Hey gang. I'd love to talk about wacky goings-on today, or even continue some of the posts I've already made, but I'm taking a personal night. That means beer, oreos, and some Steven Chow. I need to recharge my batteries. Read more!

Very, very small pond.

A week or so ago an enterprising group of students photographed me from the eyes up for a tumbler design contest poster. At the time I didn't think much of it. I just assumed that they wanted diversity - the bunch of us from MICA being the only non-asians around made us the go-to guys.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when I walked into the OUA main lobby to be greeted by a four foot high poster of my forehead.

I'm like a local celebrity here. Well, that or the town freak. For the sake of fairness let's say I'm somewhere in between. My skin color and my height are enough to make me the focal point of any crowd. Throw a me-centric ad campaign in there and, well, let's just say I don't blend in.

Sometimes it's a ridiculous ego boost. Oh, hello Japanese Art School! Check out my skin color! Listen to me speak my native language! Isn't it amazing? Just like TV!

There are, however, some days when you don't want everyone to stare at you. Days when you don't have time to shower, or wash your clothes, or put on deodorant. It's enough to make me seriously self-conscious.

So what do I do? Well, either I try and stay immaculate or go for broke and stop caring, I guess. Let's just say I'm moving from the former to the latter. Read more!

Nerd

I spent today in Den Den Town - Osaka city's nerd district. It was awesome.

How awesome? Well you'll have to wait a bit to find out. I just spent the last few hours putting together a model kit, and I need some sleep. Read more!

Aikido, Judo, Kendo, etc. (+do)

Today I went to check out OUA's aikido club. It turned out, however, that all of the school's martial arts clubs were having a joint practice - lucky! Frankly it was more exercise than I've had in years.

The light exercise I handled fine - biking was enough practice for that. I even made it through the judo throws admirably. When the Karate leader said we were going to strength train with sumo, however, things got dicey.

I'm tall, yes, but I am not that strong. Perhaps the leader didn't see the limp noodles (arms?) hanging out of my shirt sleeves when he called the biggest freakin' Japanese man in the dojo to kick my ass.

I actually made it through the sumo with a tie - thank you bizarre leg stregnth. The chariot-style tug of war, however, didn't go quite as favorably.

Basically the man-bear training partner I had looped a belt around my waist. My job was to run as hard as possible. His job was to pull me as far back as possible. After two minutes we switch.

Now, maybe I should have had something more to drink today than an extra large boss coffee. And maybe slim-fit linnen jeans weren't the best training pants. Regardless he wiped the floor with me, metaphorically and in reality.

By the time practice ended I was basically sweating salt. I tried to remain as polite as possible talking to the aikido teacher, a halo of red closing in on my vision. Eventually I broke: "please... very tired... water!"

I sat on the floor next to the water fountain to collect myself. As my vision returned I tried to explain my philosophy on aikido and life to the aikido leader. Even when he couldn't understand my words, I think he understood my tone.

I'm still running on endorphins. OUA really goes out of its way to provide students with ways to exercise. Its a welcome change - one I'll embrace wholeheartedly. Read more!

OUA Festival part 1

Art festival diary, part one:

As I walked towards OUA I heard a petit voice wail in my direction: "SA-MU." Oh sweet god, is that a girl on a motor scooter asking me if I want to ride with her to school? Is that a matching helmet with a star on it? Perfect?

Well, almost. Unfortunately the adorable-ness of Hitomi's scooter/helmet combo was outgunned by the piercing wail of her voice as she crossed the line from giggly to insane. I've found that people here frequently use laughter to cover up their embarassment at not being able to speak enough english. With Hitomi it's something far beyond that. And uncontrollable compulsion, perhaps - maybe prelude to some kind of seizure.

Later I realized that I had never met Hitomi before. How she knew my name is beyond me. I'm keeping my windows shut and locked from now on.

I managed to explain to her that I had to meet my friends - I think she got the message. After walking a bit down the street I ran down a back path to avoid an awkward wave. See, all that exploring paid off in the end.

I met up with Joyce and Ariyana and the three of us went to the festival.

More to come in part II! Including some pictures! Read more!

Art Festival, Karaoke, Insanity

My day started at 9:45 AM with a friendly albeit wildly overenthusiastic scooter girl, and ended around midnight with screaming nerd karaoke. Also I think I'm in a Japanese longbow club.

Is it seriously 1 AM? Full story tomorrow. Read more!

A Thought - Contrasts

A few minutes down the street for me there is a small farm. It sells produce grown a stone's throw away, and is run by adorable old people. Three feet away from that is a DVD machine that sells some of the sickest porn you've ever seen.

Who is the target audience here? Read more!

Clubs

Today I visited CAS - the OUA Comic and Animation Society. Basically it's nerd club. Also it is awesome.

Clubs at OUA are something far removed from what I'm used to back in the states, where I run an Asian Film Club. At MICA, for example, I had to fill out a small packet full of paperwork just to get a classroom one night per week. In Japan every club gets its own room, no questions asked.

They can use this room for whatever they want, and it's theirs 24/7. Walk by the club rooms any day of the week and you'll see students hanging around - working, playing majong, or just chilling out.

The CAS room had bookshelves stuffed with nerd-reading material as well as a large TV hooked up to a mini PC. It was on this PC that they showed us some of their yearly animation reels, as well as several shorts they filmed just for kicks.

Also they publish a comics compilation book every year, which they sell. And they really get it printed from a printer - no xerox here.

I've never seen students (especially art students) come together like this. What would it take to raise this kind of team spirit at MICA? Is it possible?

This Sunday the club is hosting a party. We're supposed to be able to find it by the girl with green hair standing at the entrance. What have I gotten myself into... Read more!

International Party

A MICA class party is a sad affair. Scrawny art students gather around dimly-lit tables, drawn there by free pizza of questionable quality. They force down mouthfulls of mostly cooked dough (covered in something somehow worse than grocery store Ragu) stopping only to breathe or perhaps to complain about the lack of a vegan option.

Today the printmaking department threw a party for the international students - and, yet again, my brain exploded a bit.

They brought in not only snacks but food. Real food. Fresh takoyaki (the pan-fried octopus donuts that I've come to love) made on portable tabletop grills tided us over until rice was ready for sushi. Beer was passed out along with less alchoholic fare, and merriment ensued.

Then we played games. The silly kind of games that require little language and thought. Even the elder teachers participated - I guess they value lighthearted fun more than their MICA counterparts.

Bonus: We left the classroom to the sound of... battle!? And pumping techno music? It was the OUA Gedai Ga(!) club - a club of super nerds that puts on absurdly well coreographed fights in the style of old school Japanese kids' shows.

When they're in costume it's impossible for them to talk into a mic - so they have voice actors providing the voices for them. When we saw them they were not in costume... but still had voice actors doing the talking. This was particularly bizarre in regard to the female ranger, who was being played by a boy.

Say what you will, that kid could high kick like nobody's business. Easily one of the most surreal/bizarre/hilarious/amazing things I've ever seen.

It was too dark to get a decent photo... but they're performing this sunday. Oh yes, I'm there.
Read more!

Nonpost

Today actually went very well. My professor was super patient and spoke a fair amount of english, and I met a decent number of very nice students.

That said my bike tire blew and I had to walk home. I am super exhausted, gang.

So rather than ramble incoherently I think I'm just going to bed.

Goodnight! Read more!

Galoshes

Galoshes are rubber slips that go over your shoes. They have their roots back in the middle ages, but have fallen out of fashion recently because they look retarded. They are, however, practical and cheap.

As I dragged myself through the pouring rain back to my apartment at the end of a difficult day today I found sanctity in two things - my half gallon of boss coffee and my galoshes.

See, I don't speak any Japanese. In a Japanese school in Japan this can be an issue. Especially when your Japanese teacher calls on your to introduce yourself in Japanese and your brain (metaphorically) explodes.

Fortunately (for me) none of the other MICA students spoke any Japanese either - so at least we all looked like idiots together. I think they're putting us in our own section. It's going to focus on basic conversational Japanese since trying to teach us how to write is apparently far too advanced. Maybe they'll give us special helmets to wear, too.

I mean, these galoshes do already make me look like I'm waring safety shoes.

Overcoming the language barrier is going to be as big a challenge as I've faced. I know that there will be more frustrating days ahead - conquering them is what's ultimately going to bring me the most satisfaction.

Classes continue tomorrow. Bring it on!

Read more!

Alien Registration + Some OUA

I took these pictures at a drug store photo booth. There are little photo booths scattered all over Minamikawachi - Mr. Hisano said people generally have them taken for resumes. I imagine in America something like this would raise all kinds of discrimination flags(!) but here apparently not. Regardless the booths have the uncanny ability to make your skin look like freshly molded plastic.

I needed them to fill out my alien registration paperwork, which (thank god for Mr. Hisano) was a relatively painless process. Soon I will be an official Osaka resident!

Also today I had a chance to explore campus a bit!

OUA has a much larger campus than MICA. Its industrial architecture is a pretty far cry from MICAs century old marble staircases. While both have their charms I am a big fan of OUAs escher-esque staircases:



The view seals the deal, though:


Though really what endears me to OUA is the food. OUA has three cafeterias, two small restaurants, and a bakery. So far the food has all been somewhat healthy and (more importantly) exponentially more delicious than MICA's southern fried garbage:


Katsu-don: 440 Yen (roughly $4.50). Contains an egg, onion, fried pork, and rice. Delicious and filling - and it doesn't leave you feeling like you rubbed it all over your face*.

Tomorrow I have my first class - Japanese! I don't really know what to expect, but the way things have been working out it's hard not to be positive.

*Meyerhoff cheeseburgers, I'm talking to you. Read more!

Bike Photo Tour - Minamikawachi

There are a bunch of small bike-only paths around Minamikawachi. Today I explored two of them, hoping to shave some time off my commute.

I left the house around nine. Outside my apartment is a scenic construction yard, complete with grinding machinery and steam vents:

Good morning, steam vent!

There are several Leo Palace buildings, all of which seem to be around some dubious industrial landmark. I guess that's why it's so cheap? Regardless I'm still fond of it, even if it obviously isn't a palace:

After leaving the palace I headed north. This street is pretty typical for the area - a narrow road with no sidewalk or shoulder, farms on either side:

A ways down the road is a graveyard. You can find your way there by the smell of incense.



I really want to poke around - but I don't want to be disrespectful to the people paying their respects. It's so beautiful, though.



Down a bit further is the first trail I wanted to check out. I didn't think anyone used these until a few days ago when I saw a tiny, uniformed middle schooler rattling down the trail.



Making my way down the trail would have been a lot faster if it were better maintained (maintained at all?) - regardless, at the end, I was surprised to find...



A mini peninsula of sorts! There were benches there next to a proper cement path that looped back towards the river.



On the way was a baseball field. All around the river Minamikawach...i...ans(?) were biking, having picnics, and generally enjoying life. It was fun to see.



Further along the path connected with the river bike trail proper. Look closely and you'll see a tiny man walking towards the bridge. He was very, very drunk.



Came out here. Ah! I'd seen this entrance a bunch of times before and had always wondered where it went. I continued towards Meji Mart. Chow time.



I wish I'd had a video camera - that man by the tree was practicing some sort of karate. It looked like he was fighting invisible ninjas! I got so caught up watching him I almost got hit by a car. Worth it.



I passed more farms, mountains in the distance. I wonder if any of those are good for hiking? I stopped at Hana Hana, a local patisserie.




People around here seem to have a fashion sense so honed it makes them impervious to heat. They'll walk around in the seventy five degree sun with leather jackets and sweatshirts on. I wore a light jacket in a vain attempt to fit in - though honestly it's not like I'm going to fool anyone.

I was getting crazy overheated, so I bought this "ICE KUCHEN" from a Hana Hana. I'm still not sure what it was, but it tasted kind of like green tea? I also bought an amazingly adorable little piece of strawberry cake which seemed to be the store specialty. I then scooted the bike over to Meji mart across the street...



Every store here has bike parking since most people either bike or ride scooters. I don't even bother locking my bike anymore - partially because it's a piece of crap but mostly because there's so little theft here.



Meji mart is a compact, fully featured supermarket. It has a surprisingly large produce selection as well as an awesome ready-to-eat section. For the moment I'm living off of the latter - got a bento full of fried things and some chopsticks for lunch and scooted my bad self on home.


Yes.


YES.



Headed back out after lunch to explore another small path. Those of you with common sense might note that eating a meal full of cake and fried things after three hours of biking then biking immediately after is a terrible idea. Didn't occur to me at the time.



This path took me through some awesome farms that all seemed to be teetering on the edge of decay. Accross the water you can see families picnicking. I eventually found my way to another, larger baseball field!



Mr. Hisano tells us that baseball is huge in Osaka - the Hanshin Tigers have some of the most spirited fans in the world. I hope I've got to get to a game. I dig that they still use parasoals here.

This path eventually curved back towards OUA. Before heading home I stopped at Family Mart:



Family Mart is a convenience store very similar to 7-11. This one is always filled with cool looking college dudes and dude-ettes.



Ah, that's what I wanted - sweet Pocari Sweat. "With the appropriate density and electrolytes, close to that of human body fluid, it can be easily absorbed into the body."

It tastes kind of like melon and can be quite refreshing if you can get past the consistency which is... well... "close to that of human body fluid."

Gross. Delicious.

Refueled I made my way back to Leo Palace. I'm glad I took some more time to explore, even if none of the paths turned out to be secret shortcuts. Once classes start I probably won't have much time for leisurely bike rides.

Tomorrow we're going to finish up some logistical things, then Tuesday we register for classes. Exciting!
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