Wanderings and Musings

The iPhone 4 rocks!

2011-08-01T00:36:43Z

I’m not an Apple fan-boy but I do love the iPhone 4. It’s s000o close to becoming the one device I take with me everywhere. If the camera was good enough I can’t think of much else I’d ever take with me.

Seamless… that’s the best word to describe it. It just works! Everything…just…works. How many other things in your life are like that?

My previous “smart phone” (if you could even call it that) was the blackberry. While it did do its basic job. It wasn’t really very smart of helpful.

When I finally upgraded to the iPhone, my world was blown away. Email is amazing and simple to use with multiple accounts. I have instant access without having to do anything, and responding is a snap. Now I truly can simplify and keep the deluge of emails out of my inbox which is kind of my “to-do” list.

Apps are everywhere and have satisfied most of my needs. I especially am fond of Google’s offerings in html that act almost like a native application. I have calendar, tasks, documents, photos, and social apps all at the touch of an icon.

Although I have heard some horror stories about how Apple is handling their app-store, I do like the ease, speed and cost of obtaining new applications from there. I precedence has been set for $0.99 apps, and you can usually find some very well done applications for whatever you’re looking for.

So although I understand why some people aren’t all that gung-ho for an iPhone… I love mine.

Drawing – Beautiful Woman

2010-12-30T00:15:00Z

2010.12.29 – I drew this a few months ago, but never got around to posting it. It’s not anyone I know, but rather a picture off the internet. I just wanted to practice facial features and hair.

Analysis – I’m doing pretty well with facial features and shading, but hair still leaves something to be desired. I think I get too specific with the lines and need to abstract it out a bit more. Any thoughts?

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I’m still alive!

2010-10-19T20:05:02Z

It’s been a looooong time since I last posted… I’m going to attempt to get some stuff up soon.

Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium)

2010-05-30T05:27:46Z

Osaka Aquarium is one of the largest public aquariums in the world and has a tank called the Pacific Ocean with two whale sharks and multiple other species of large fish.

An aquarium is an aquarium, but I’ve never seen two whale sharks up close like that, so it was worth it.

Gallery below.

Gallery

Miyajima and Hiroshima

2010-05-30T05:06:39Z

After seeing Himeji Castle, Korakuen garden and Okayama castle, I didn’t arrive into Hiroshima until late. Too late to see any sights; I attempted to book a cheap hotel.

Having booked a place through hostel world and marked it on my map, I headed to find it. I walked around for maybe two hours in this neighborhood before giving up. Being sure of the map location given by the reservation sight (but apparently not sure enough), I didn’t write down the address or phone number so no-one around me could even help.

Now I didn’t have a place to sleep or even know where to go to find one. I just started walking around towards the busier areas and asking hotels when I found them if they had rooms. Two hotels and two “no room” responses. My feet hurt and I was tired of carrying my bag around… so when the third place said yes, I just paid and went up to my room. It was only after I got into the room that I began to notice I had just checked into a love hotel! I found this pretty amusing that I was in a love hotel, all by myself.

One great feature though was the bathtub. There was a very large bathtub along with a separate shower. So I was able to fill the bath with nice hot water, take a shower, then soak and relieve the pains of the day. Ahhhhh…

Miyajima

The next morning I was up early to head off to Miyajima to see the famous Torii gate. A train ride to the ferry, ferry ride over to the island, then a short walk and there it was. The torii was cool to see sitting out in the bay like it was, but what I found even more interesting was the temple on a hill above. Also called the hall of 1,000 tatami mats, it was never completely finished by it’s starting benefactor. It has some very old paintings and sculpture hanging on the ceiling beams and an immence wooden floor big enough to fit 1,000 tatami mats.

Hiroshima

Back in Hiroshima, I visited the A-Bomb dome. This was a building almost directly under the atomic bomb blast that struck Hiroshima and thus was mostly spared from destruction. A reminder for all, the devestation that man can bring upon himself.

Next to the A-Bomb dome was created “Peace Park” with various art, and other reminders of the effects of war and a call for peace. Sights like the peace bell, the phoenix trees which survived the blast and have continued to grow around their scars, poems and sculptures by famous artists, and the peace flame.

What is sadly evident though is that as a race of people we haven’t learned the lessons and continue to destroy each other in wars and in our daily lives. The never ending conquest for “more” even though what we have now has never been appreciated.

Gallery

Trains in Japan

2010-05-30T04:50:06Z

Trains are a part of life in Japan. In the big cities you take the subway trains, to get between towns you take the long distance express trains called ‘Shinkansens’. I’m sure most everyone had heard about Japan’s bullet trains.

The train times are always efficient and precise. If the train is set to leave at 4:49pm then it is highly likely that they will leave exactly at that time. Only one train I was on was held for maybe 4 minutes longer to allow an arriving train of passengers to make their connection. Because of the precise timing, the trains aren’t usually in a station more than 2 to 3 minutes. People line up at defined markings for where the cars will stop and as the doors open; passengers both disembark and embark very quickly. There are platform attendants along the trains that signal when all is clear and the train heads off again.

Platforms are very helpful in the information they give to get you to your next train. Digital reader boards abound to tell you which track the train is leaving from if you know either a destination or a train number. One problem in busy stations is that trains are arriving and leaving so quickly that only a few can be listed at a time on the board. So you may not be able to easily see your trains info until the last few minutes. However trains for particular directions are always from the same tracks so there should be permanent information showing you which track the trains bound for your destination are at.

Just don’t mess up and get on the wrong one. I am used to the more slow turn around times of flying, my first try at riding a shinkansen was a failure. I correctly found the right track and the board clearly listed my train as leaving the station in about 5 minutes; so I came up the stairs, saw others waiting in line to get on a train, and followed suit. Once on the train, I went for my seat and found someone already in it… puzzled, I took another look at my ticket. Yep, right seat and car numbers. The train began to glide out of the station and I looked at my watch… it was 4 minutes before it was supposed to leave. This is when it dawned on me that I was on the wrong train! Oh boy! Now what do I do? I didn’t panic as I was sure I could always just get off at the next stop and go back, but was there a possibility of hopping off and catching the right one at the next stop? There happened to be a nice man standing with his bicycle by the door and near a time schedule of all the trains. He spoke enough English to help me figure out there was no way I was going to make my connection for the night train to Sapporo. I could get closer and then find a train in the morning, but I had my heart set on the night train, so jumped off at the next stop and went back to Tokyo for the night.

Shinkansens are very fast and run around 200 mph. Some stop at multiple terminals, and express trains can skip quite a few or even only have a few stops. Comparing the pricing to flying it doesn’t seem like a great deal, as you can get cheaper flights to many of the bigger cities. But when you factor in the time to get to the airport and the waiting time, then the efficiency of the trains become apparent. You’re usually starting and ending right in the middle of the city, and there is practically no waiting.

For foreign visitors to Japan, there is an option to purchase a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass) for either 1, 2, or 3 weeks. At first you might question if the pricing is really such a deal for these tickets, but after seeing the prices for individual tickets I am convinced that they are well worth it. Even if you only do a short trip like Tokyo -> Osaka and back you will save money. But if you want to see most of the country you will save a $1000 or more by buying a one or two week pass.

As as example, I bought a one week pass for about $290 and train hopped around Japan to see some of the sights. You can see the routes I took and the costs for each route. I saved easily over $1200 by having the pass.

Route	Time	Cost	Dist.
Tokyo -> Nagano	87 min	7,970 yen	222.4 km
Nagano -> Sapporo	658 min	26,660 yen	1368.8 km
(aborted after I got on the wrong Shinkansen and there was no way to finish the trip)
Utsunomiya -> Tokyo	131 min	1,890 yen	109.5 km
Tokyo -> Himeji	190 min	15,510 yen	644.3 km
Himeji -> Okayama	30 min	3,640 yen	88.6 km
Okayama -> Hiroshima	41 min	5,860 yen	161.3 km
Hiroshima -> Kanazawa	255 min	15,770 yen	624.9 km
Kanazawa -> Sapporo	953 min	29,650 yen	1600.2 km
(time to try again )
Sapporo -> Tokyo	586 min	22,680 yen	1207.0 km
Tokyo -> Osaka	171 min	14,050 yen	556.4 km
========= Totals =========
		143,680 yen ($1528 US)

A great site for finding the right way to get places within the city or routes to take and when they go is http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/ I used it a ton and it was very helpful during all of my travels.

Making reservations is as easy as walking into the Ticket office and telling them the city you want to go to. With the JR Pass, you don’t have to make a reservation and can just jump onto the unreserved cars, but it is also both more full so you may not get a seat, and with tickets you get an exact plan of the trains you are taking and what times they leave etc. I found having tickets enormously helpful both for my own finding of the right train, but also when asking for help you can just show someone the ticket so they can direct you. The reserved seats cost more to the general public so they are often less crowded and I rarely had someone sitting next to me, but for a JR pass holder it just seems to make the most sense for the long journeys.

I know I’ll miss the the trains when I go home. They really make getting around easy and convenient. Back in Spokane, we barely even have bus service!

Gallery

Okayama

2010-05-24T06:11:40Z

At Okayama is Korakuen garden which is one of the top three most famous gardens in Japan. As it was in the middle of the way from Himeji Castle to Hiroshima, it was just a matter of jumping off the train at Okayama and finding the right direction.

The garden is very beautiful even though the flowers weren’t in bloom yet, and as it was the middle of the week and near closing time there were only a few other people strolling the garden grounds.

One unexpected find were the Japanese cranes. Striking birds in black and white with the vibrant red top of their head.

The pictures tell most of the story of the garden I saw, but as always they never can capture the true feeling and beauty.

While finishing up my tour of the garden, I noticed a castle over the tops of some trees. I found my way over to Okayama castle, which was burned down in the war but has been mostly rebuilt to its original state and made into a public park.

Gallery

Himeji Castle

2010-05-23T11:33:24Z

Himeji Castle is an amazing example of Japanese architecture from the Edo period, and one of the few castles that was never ruined through war.

Unfortunately for me, they are currently undergoing repairs on the interior and I couldn’t see inside. But even worse for visitors in the near future is that they will soon be fixing the whole outside and it will be draped in cloth and unviewable at all. The price of keeping it looking like it does though.

See the gallery of pics below

Gallery

Time in Tokyo

2010-05-21T07:29:50Z

After the Golden Week tour I planned to stay in Tokyo for a while, but had no real plans on where to stay.

I put in a few last minute requests for couchsurfing and Byard from New Zealand, who has been living in Japan for the last 10 years, answered to say yes. We set it up to stay Thursday and Friday nights, but in the end I also stayed Saturday night too.

He has a small (maybe even decent sized by Tokyo standards) but nice apartment. It was simple and clean like I like to keep my own place. We had interesting conversations together about living in Japan, relationships and work; and how those things differ from western culture… which they seem to a lot.

I went out walking Saturday morning to see Meiji Temple and Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

Meiji Temple

Meiji Temple is a heavily wooded area with the Temple in the middle. There are museums and some gardens to view, but they all cost an entrance fee and I wasn’t in the mood to spend money while not really knowing what I would see. So I went to the proper temple itself. It is very well taken care of and looks brand new. The courtyard is wide and has a very peaceful feeling. One strange thing that happened is that I had an energy experience (won’t even try to describe it) while I was there, and later someone mentioned that it is a ‘power spot’. I might just go back and see what happens the next time.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Shinjuku Gyoen costs 200 Yen to get in, but as it was slightly raining that morning there were very few people wandering the grounds. I had the place mostly to myself. It is a beautiful Japanese style garden with ponds, bridges, bonzai trees, flowering bushes, Koi fish, many flowers and more.

As I wandered through the garden I found a quiet shelter from the rain and took a short snooze listening to the patter of raindrops in the pond and on the roof. A very relaxing place.

Rippongi

That evening Byard was having a few friends over for drinks, so I met some new people and both practiced some Japanese and helped with some English. Near the end of the party, two of Byards friends were heading down to the Rippongi area for a morning of dancing. I say morning because we didn’t get down to the Rippongi area until about midnight which is when the last trains run. No more trains until 5 in the morning, so it is drinking and dancing until then. You have to really commit to going out and partying in Tokyo!!

We hopped from club to club for a while which weren’t very crowded, then went to a larger and packed club from 2:30am until 5am. The dancing never stopped. When 5am rolled around, we emerged out into the sunlight of Tokyo! A short train ride later and home for a few hours of sleep.

Asakusa Area

To stay for the next few nights, I headed to the Asakusa area which is where most of the hostels are in Tokyo and found a place to stay for a few days. I did some wandering around in the Asakusa area to see the Sensoji Temple, went on a short trip to Akihabara (electric and manga town), bought a bag full of souvenirs and shipped them home from the post office, and relaxed a bit.

Tsukiji Market

One evening at the hostel, I met an American girl from Seattle and after chatting for a bit we decided to head down to the Tsukiji market and some museums the following day. So we headed out the next morning to the Tsukiji fish market about 8am. We decided not to get up extra early (5am) to see the tuna auction, but rather just wander around the open market where local restaurants buy much of their fish. It was interesting to see the huge variety of sea life for sale. Octopii, shellfish, seaweed, crustaceans, and all varieties of fish.

Museums

On to the museums. We first went to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (as she is an artist and really wanted to see the contemporary art) and Tokyo National Museum in Ueno park. I really enjoyed seeing the history of art in Japan and saw plenty of beautiful pieces and artifacts. The National Museum has artifacts and art from many periods including the fuedal periods which are the most interesting to me.

Shibuya

Shibuya is a shopping and business area of Tokyo, and while there wasn’t anything I wanted to do there… it is a place to go to see the busiest crossing in Japan! There is a great vantage point from Starbucks to see out over this mass of people going about their daily business. I sat there for maybe 45 minutes and the constant flow of people never ended.

One thing that is different in Japan is that I don’t feel so confined in crowds as other places. This is both because I am much taller on average and have lots of breathing room, and that the Japanese people are always polite and usually aware of others around themselves. So there isn’t much josteling and bumping even in huge crowds.

One interesting observation or phenomina I have noticed is that I am given plenty of room in crowds here. I don’t know what it is, but even in a crowded subway I was given more than my proper share of space. I know I don’t smell. I attribute it to the ‘Gaijin Smash’ theory that they have this fear of upsetting the big foreigner and that I might go crazy and start smashing things like Godzilla. haha.

Mt. Takao

One day I went on a hike with Anna, who I met on the Golden Week tour, up Mt. Takao. The hike was fun and not very long (only 3.3 km), but the temple on the way down had some incredible carvings out of the wood beams that were amazing. The weather was nice and as we climbed I got pretty hot and went down to just a tank-top. This drew a lot of stares from the Japanese. I wasn’t sure if it was the crazy Gaijin in just a tank-top as they were often wearing jackets, or my tattoo, or my larger size… probably a combination of them all.

Yoyogi Park

For my final day in Tokyo I headed back to Byards to couchsurf again and go to a Thai festival in Yoyogi park. On the way we saw the Harajuku girls (and sometimes guys), and the dancing Elvis’. The Thai festival was packed, and I do mean packed, even for Tokyo. We got some Thai food, which was very bland by what I’m used to as I guess most Japanese don’t like really spicy, and sat with some friends of one of the group. A bit later we went to a Raggae club to listen to a friend of Byards sing. The bar was maybe the size of a normal American bedroom and had about 30 people in it!

End

This was the end of my Tokyo stay for now. I’m off to explore other parts of Japan.ch

Sumo

2010-05-13T09:48:00Z

I really wanted to see two Japanese cultural events while I’m here in Japan. Sumo and Kabuki. And I got the chance the other day to go to a Sumo event. This is actually harder than I had initially thought it would be, as there are only three Sumo festivals per year and then each of the festivals only have 15 days of Sumo.

I was very fortunate for the spring event to be being held while I am here in Tokyo and then to have a group that I met be going so I wasn’t completely clueless about where to go and what was going on.

A friend of a couchsurfer I met had a group of friends going together to the Sumo competition, and she asked if I’d like to come along.

It’s not cheap, as the highest seats in the special Sumo stadium are like $40, while the front row seats are about $120. But it’s well worth the money for the opportunity to see this old, respected and uniquely Japanese sport.

There are matches going on from like noon until 6pm, but very few people watch the initial fourteen matches as they are by unknown but upcoming wrestlers. As the day goes on, the stadium fills up around the time the top ranking matches begin.

The Match

There is a bit of ritual an showmanship about each match. While the actual action of the match lasts only 2 to 30 seconds, the leadup is about 6 minutes.

The wrestlers each begin with ritual mouth cleaning similar to what is done at temples, then the famous high legged stomps to frighten away spirits, before entering the ring (called the dohyo) they throw salt to purify the ring and ward against injury. Then they face each other at the sides of the ring, squat into a pose and do some ritual hand movements that show their hands are weaponless.

Now begins the actual match. They don’t initially begin, but engage in intimidation and psyching up techniques whereby they face off and almost get ready to battle, but then back off and step out of the ring sometimes slapping themselves or yelling. Back to their corners, grab some salt again again to the face off.

They do this a number of times during the 4 minutes they have to engage. The final time out of the ring, they wipe their body off with a paper towel and the audience knows it will be on this time and begins to yell.

This time the huge men clash together and following the rules of Sumo, try to either make any part of their opponents body besides the feet touch inside the ring, or make him touch outside the ring.

Some matches are extremely quick whereby the winner quickly catches his opponent off balance and pushes him to the ground. Others can last longer when they enter a grapple where they both have ahold of the loincloth they wear called a mawashi. Then they begin to either work to push their opponent out of the circle or lift and throw him to the ground.

There are plenty of interesting bits I am leaving out, like the special rules and actions of the referees, the rankings, the processions, the Yokozuna ceremony, and more. It’s a fascinating sport and can be very exciting too for a few seconds of each match.

I’m really happy that I was able to see it in person.

Another interesting part that is very different from an American perspective is that these highly respected and adored athletes then walk through the streets in their Kimonos and are waved to or occasionally approached and bowed to, but never surrounded and accosted like celebrities can be in the US.