Mike's Blender - Japan

Sports World Redux...

A student of mine recently commented to me that he didn't like the thought of haikyo exploration as it reminds him of how Japan 'failed'. Interested, I asked him to elaborate a bit, and he started to explain some of the things that really bother me about Japan, and that Alex Kerr outlined so well in his book 'Dogs and Demons'. He started to tell me about Japan's ridiculous spending on construction and public monuments, especially during the heyday of the 80's bubble. It was pleasing to hear that these things are not going unnoticed amongst the Japanese themselves, but at the same time I argued that while they do represent failures, haikyo have their own strange kind of beauty, well some do, at least to me. I've been to Sports World in Izu once before, but the pictures I took back then were junk. Now, with a better camera and more knowledge of photography, plus happening to be in the area, I can finally do it some justice. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Free Beer...

I almost walked out of the supermarket with a bunch of these cans tucked under my arm until I realized that the 'free' on the label refers to the alcohol content, not the price. Before putting them back in disgust, I took a quick look at the label to try to get a better understanding of why anybody would produce, buy, or drink alcohol-free beer. The label says that it contains 0.00% alcohol in it, and I wonder at the necessity of writing zero to two decimal places. Either the beer really has no alcohol, in which case a simple 0% would've sufficed, or it has 0.009% alcohol, and they're just false advertising. However the can does say that it uses a 'yeast free brewing process', so maybe it's true? I'm familiar with, and have reluctantly tried beer with alcohol levels as low as 0.1% before, but I don't think I've ever had a completely non-alcoholic beer before. Hmm... The days where I drank to get drunk are long gone, and putting aside the feeble image of non-alcoholic beer for a minute, if it tastes as good as regular beer, why not make the switch?

Mt. Kawanori Hiking...

Rainy season may not be ideal for hiking, but sometimes you just have to take what you're given. Kumi and I woke up early Sunday morning to grey skies and imminent rain, but we decided to bite the bullet and just head out anyway. Mt. Kawanori is located in Okutama, the westernmost area of Tokyo, and getting here requires a bit of time. Even using the special Okutama Holiday express it still takes a good 2 hours from Shinjuku, so an early start is essential if you want to fit this hike into a day. At 7+ hours, it's the longest hike we've done so far, as well as the most grueling.

Pepsi Shiso (Beefsteak Plant)...

Rumor has it that the president of Pepsi was pushing hard for this year's summer flavour to be 'Pepsi Sashimi', but his board of directors threatened to fire him if he didn't settle down and start behaving himself. As a sort of compromise however, they agreed to let him make the next flavour sashimi related, as long as it was a vegetable. The lab's first two creations, Pepsi Daikon and Pepsi Wasabi ended up being failures.... What to do? The president was dejected but refused to give up. While rooting through a plate of sashimi at the local izakaya, he pulled out a shiso leaf, gave it an experimental sniff, then a lick, and is reported to have shouted out 'Eureka!' before getting kicked out by the restaurant manager.

Nara!

Located in the cultural shadows of Kyoto and Osaka, both which are roughly 30 minutes away by train, Nara is sometimes overlooked on tourist itineraries. This is unfortunate as it's arguably the most interesting part of the Kansai area. Realtively small and rural, it's interesting to note that this city was once, for a brief period, the capital of Japan.

Kyoto!

For the true Japanophile, Kyoto represents the ultimate city and place to be. Every year millions of people, both Japanese and foreigners, flock there in the hopes of finding the exotic dream of 'ancient' Japan. And while this magical place may still exist, you won't find it simply by stepping out of Kyoto station. These days you're going to have to work a bit harder to see it. Kyoto is a study in contrasts. On one hand you've got the traditions of old Japan, the temples, the geisha and maiko, the zen gardens, the love of nature/tranquility, etc, but from another perspective Kyoto sometimes looks like just another big, dirty, grey, modern day Japanese city. In his book 'Dogs and Demons', Alex Kerr bemoaned the loss of 'old Kyoto', called Kyoto station a monstrosity and described the cityscape as 'one of the drearier sights of the modern world'. Opinion, speculation or fact?

Green Tea Coke...

With the exception of Vitamin C Coca Cola released last year, Coke has pretty much been sitting on the sidelines while Pepsi's been getting all the attention with its bizarrely flavoured drinks. The verdict is still out whether Pepsi is doing its image any good by mixing itself with various colours and chemicals, but Coke has finally decided to show Japan that it is just as capable of making a silly flavoured cola as anybody else. Maybe even better? I guess I'm going to find out.

BE Labs Haikyo...

Usually when it rains on a weekend you'll find me stuck glumly indoors, plans such as bicycling or hiking having been cancelled. There is one outdoor activity however where I find that rain is actually preferable to sunny skies, and that's haikyoing. Why? Perhaps it's because the mystery and foreboding of a haikyo are amplified in rainy weather. Add an isolated mountain location, and throw in some mist, and suddenly a rainy Sunday is looking pretty good...