Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

Random title, but this is a fabulous song so let's go with it.

The Yalies made one last group 遠足 (field trip) to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. It was hands down awesome. I'm a huge fan of Miyazaki's films so it was a personal treat, but the grounds are so lovely I think even non-Ghibli studio fans would like it. In order to get there, we all met at Kichijo-ji station and then walked down Kichijo-ji street and through Inokashira Park to get to the museum. There are a lot of nice shops and cafes along the way, so it sets a good mood for a visit to the museum which according to their website is:

A museum that is interesting and which relaxes the soul

A museum where much can

be discovered

A museum based on a clear and consistent philosophy

A museum where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy, those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel

A museum that makes you feel more enriched when

you leave than when you entered!

Yeah~ I'd say the museum was a bit trippy. I especially like these rooms that were crammed top to bottom with all these gorgeous photos, books, and just random props that I assume Miyazaki uses for inspiration for his films. So gorgeous! I seriously want to plaster my room with pictures of rice fields and the like when I get back to Chicago. Alas, people aren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but there are some pretty nice ones at this site called GhibliWorld (along with other news updates on what's going on at Studio Ghibli.) Check it out if you are so inclined.

Side note: I guess a lot of the stuff at the museum is for little kids like the huge plushy Cat Bus from となりのトトロ, but sometimes it's nice to just step out of the urban jungle that is Tokyo and go on a mini-adventure through the woods.

PS. If you feel like heading to Mitaka, don't forget you have to buy your tickets in advance at Lawson's Loppi Stations!

The Time Warp

Obviously I fell into an abyss for the last few days/weeks/month so let's just pretend we've fished our handy little time machine out of our ４次元ポケット (4-dimensional pocket) and... what? Gasp! You don't have a 4-dimensional pocket?! And worse, you don't know recognize the pop culture reference?!?! For shame--> let the school lesson begin.

I'm of course referring to the ４次元ポケット of ドラえもん (Doraemon), only the coolest robotic cat ever. It's a famous manga series that developed over time into a huge franchise... So much so that pretty much any tourist site you visit in Japan is assured to have Doraemon paraphernalia. Once I even found Doraemon pencil cases in a dollar store... in the suburbs of Illinois. If Chuck Norris is everywhere at all times, I think Doraemon would come in at a close second.

ドラえもん was probably my first exposure to Japanese pop culture. I remember being all of 7 years old and watching this crazy blue bear-looking thing going crazy for dorayaki and using these cool gadgets to help his friend run away from the neighborhood bully. Up until I did PII program I was pretty consistent with getting ドラえもん keychains and stuffed animals when in Japan, but I've since become won over by the cute overload known as リラ熊... more on that in another post.

The basic premise of the Doraemon series is that he was sent back in time to help out a cheeky little boy named Nobita so that he doesn't ruin his future and that of his descendants. Nobita, being really lazy (which gets annoying after a while), always tries to use one of Doraemon's gadgets for a quick solution, only to have things blow up in his face. Things turn out well in the end, but only after Nobita has learned a lesson about the wrongness of procrastinating, lying, etc.

Anyways, I'm going to go back and write entries for the weeks I missed. I think I can even be sneaky and list them under the dates when they should have been posted so sorry if that's confusing at first. For now at least, back to the future.

Viva La Vida

While visiting Wilma, one of my old suities at Yale, I had the good fortune of being treated to a nice dinner by members of the Light Fellowship Committee. I had already left for Okayama by the time they arrived in Tokyo for a site visit, but I was lucky enough to catch them on my way back through Kansai. We all know there's no such thing as a "free meal" so part of the dinner included being gently grilled about our experiences in Asia and what we wanted to do in the future. One of the subjects that came up in convo was what impact being able to do a bit of extra travel (generously provided for in our fellowship) had on our overall experience in Japan.

My first reaction was to reply, "Well it lets me make my obligatory round of visits to old host families," but I knew that wouldn't fly, so I think mumbled something about it giving me a chance to think about Japan and my studies from a different perspective. The truth is I didn't want to admit that traveling to new places in Japan doesn't give me the same sense of awe that it did when I was a kid. Without boasting, I can say that I've been most to most major tourist sites in Japan... more than once. Once you've seen one shrine, you've seen them all. Or maybe not.

One of the places I visited in Kyoto was Fushinami Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社). Wilma told me there were a lot of cool statues of foxes, so I thought maybe I would be able to pick up some cool fox-shaped souvenirs. Also, I figured I might as well make a trip of it since I've already been to the other major Kyoto sites: Kiyomizudera, Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, the Imperial Palace, Sanjusan Gendo, etc.

The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Japanese god for wealth (particularly fertility, agriculture, and worldly success.) As for the foxes, besides being cute, they are believed to be Inari's messengers. If given tasty offerings like fried tofu, you can expect them to entreat Inari on your behalf. I prayed that I might cram enough into my head to successfully pass the JLPT １級 ~in a way asking for a "wealth" of knowledge, but I didn't think to bring fried tofu (>.<)~#$%^ so we'll see...
Having spent the better part of the day power-walking around downtown Kyoto, I arrived at the shrine around dusk when most shops had already closed down and more people were leaving the shrine than entering it. In other words, the place had this eerie tranquility about it that made me wish I hadn't watched Friday the 13th before I left on my trip.


As I started ascending the mountain on which the shrine is situated, I was delighted to realize that although it was my first time visiting Fushinami, it wasn't the first time I had seen the shrine. I remember it quite vividly from the end of the movie Memoirs of a Geisha where the main character runs through the famous 鳥居 (torii - gate) as a child. I'm not a huge fan of the movie for its storyline, but in any case, the cinematography is beautiful and the ending scene made a strong impression on me.

Also--> flashback to freshmen year. Second semester I watched a lot of videos for French class, one of which was about Jean-Claude and Christo -two famous environmental artists- who created a piece called The Gates in Central Park a few years back. For coming from two totally different sources, I think it's cool how they look so similar~ but then again I'm no art buff. Jean-Claude and Christo also did a piece here in Japan, but it was back in 1984... alas I was but a fetus.



It's hard to describe, but seeing the shrine was like going back to an old haunt that you can almost hear whisper to you. To someone who's seen loads of shrines, it might be said that Inari is not all that different. But that's just it- it was familiar and so, kind of comforting. Paltry as it may seem, I think what I got out of this trip is that seeing, doing something interesting doesn't necessarily have to equate to doing something new. In fact, it's just as fun and profound when you find things that are somehow related to previous experience or knowledge. Over the years, I think it's those kind of connections that have kept me studying Japanese. I never really connected with the culture of other languages I studied, so it was that much easier to quit.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that getting to explore Japan (or East Asia) is a lot more than just buying cool souvenirs (though I do love getting the cool cell phone keychains!) It really is a chance to take a breather from the book learnin' and just think.

Happy Meal

Some weeks ago, the Yalies took a field trip to the ramen museum in Shin-Yokohama. I think the term "museum" is loosely applied here. They do have a small exhibit on the development of ramen on the ground floor but it's minimal at best. I would say it's more like a consortium of ramen shops from all across Japan put together in a building made to look like old-time Japan. Oh! With a really cool gift shop that sells all sorts of random ramen-related paraphernalia like chocolate ramen. While I found the museum itself a little disappointing, I felt well-rewarded with the chance to eat a variety of ramen.

The faux working-class neighborhood design was out of this world. It was like taking a step back in recent time (1958 to be exact)... a rare opportunity given that Japan is also all about modernization or the ancient past. For cool replicas of Japanese neighborhoods of yesteryear on a larger scale, Odaiba is also a lot of fun.

And the ramen.... OMG, amazing. We settled on a shop from Hakata, Fukuoka. It's called Hukuchan Ramen. One of their signature styles (and that of most ramen shops in Kyushu) is by making a thick broth called tonkotsu using pork bones and adding fresh, crushed garlic to the ramen. The fresh garlic really added a kick. I even tried it with instant ramen and it tasted delish. Try it, eat it, love it.

Wild Horses

A couple of weeks ago, IUC sponsored a trip to see 流鏑馬神事 (Yabusame Shinji) in Kamakura. I really had no idea what it was when I signed up, but someone mentioned archery and since I've always been a fan of Link (of Zelda fame) and think it would be totally boss to learn how to defend myself with a bow and arrow, I figured, why not?


Clarification: we did NOT get to do archery like I had originally supposed --can you blame me for hoping?-- but we did get to watch a very cool archery contest. As I found out, Yabusame Shinji is a Shinto ritual involving an ancient style of Japanese archery on horseback. It dates back to the 6th century when it was created to amuse the gods, though it was brought to 鶴岡八幡宮 (Tsurugaoka Hachimangu) in 1186 by the founder of the Kamakura shogunate, Yoritomo Minamoto. While humoring the gods is by itself a very worthy cause, the ritual was also considered a means to make sure warriors could bring their A-game with bows. (It should be noted that Yabusame is considered neither a sport nor a marital art, but a ritual.)

Through my many trips to Japan, I've had the good fortune to see quite a few Shinto rituals. This was easily one of the more interesting ones. For one thing, in no other Shinto ritual that I have seen can I say that the ceremonial garb looked like rodeo costumes- seriously! When one of the archers passed by in what essentially looked like a red laquered cowboy hat, I had to take a double take. I did a little research and found out that the various costumes correlate to different eras in the history of mounted archery. The archers in the red cowboy-ish hats are wearing clothes from the Edo period. (Specifically, the red hat is called a kishagasa and was designed to cut wind, thus explaining the similarity to the shape of a cowboy hat.) The track consisted of three targets, each made to roughly simulate the size of a samurai's front body armor. When the archers would start flying down the track, they would let out the same piercing howl. I assumed they were doing the same thing tennis players do when they yell as they swing their rackets, but actually the archers were yelling "いんよいんよ” (IN-YO-IN-YO) which means "darkness and light." I'm not sure of the significance and I suppose it works, but if I had my choice I'd probably yell something more like "Fly mighty and true!!!" That's a mouthful though, so then again maybe not.

Day Tripper

Speaking of outings, three weeks ago we had Yokohama Day! Basically, the students got to choose between three “courses” of going to an art museum, hiking, and yay! touring the KIRIN Beer Factory!! (Guess which I chose.)

1st stop: Yokohama Archives of History
Before the hops, yeast, and malt magic, we stopped by the Yokohama Archives of History. Of all the places I’ve been to in Japan, Yokohama has the longest history with foreigners (and probably the best-kept records of it.) It was pretty fascinating to see the early portraits of Commodore Perry. Some of them were pretty dead on, while others were… pretty unforgiving… both in their portrayal of wrinkles and incorporation of a few extra demonic features here and there. (For more cool photos that visualize the history of Yokohama and Japan in general, check out here.)


The exhibit on how much the city has changed topographically was what I found most interesting. Specifically, I was a little surprised when I found out that where I currently live, Pacifico Yokohama, and basically all around Minato Mirai 21 was once, in fact, water. That’s right, good old H2O. Apparently, a good chunk of the current coastline of Yokohama is actually reclaimed land. I suppose I shouldn’t find this surprising since Japan is an island nation and therefore in a tricky spot when it comes to acquiring more land. However, perhaps because I’ve seen what happens when reclaimed land gets … well, reclaimed by nature (think: Venice and Mexico City), I was fascinated by this little info nugget and had to pick up an old map of Yokohama in the gift shop so I can point out where my apartment would be floating if I magically went back in time to Edo Japan.

2nd Stop: 大さん橋 (OSANBASHI PIER)
We stopped by here for lunch. I’m not all that into architecture, but the unusual setup was fairly interesting. I think it’s post-earthquake inspired, but judge for yourself. It’s a nice lunch spot given the great views of Minato Mirai it affords, only mind the strong winds... my chopsticks nearly got blown away.
Final stop: KIRIN beer factory
The beer factory is a short train ride out of Yokohama. When we arrived, we were greeted by several images of this… fluffy, marshmallow-esque image in the lobby. It’s KIRIN’s mascot for environmental issues called エコジロ (ECOJIRO). I theorize that he’s made from the froth produced by brewers yeast, but really who knows? He points out all sorts of interesting facts like how the average beer bottle lasts 8 years (about 24 trips to/from brewery to customers) AND even where to find the bathroom.

Apparently, he’s kind of a big deal. He’s got his own homepage and a series of online books.

Now, if the little crème puff toilet guy wasn’t puzzling, the random Egyptian-façade decor of the lobby was. I figured it had something to do with the history of beer and after consulting my friend Wiki, I found out that beer does indeed go as far back as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

How to Serve a Perfect Mug of Beer
1. Pour beer in from approx 30cm above the glass, making sure to pour slowly at first and then faster to fill the glass with froth.
2. Start pouring beer slowly again when you’ve got a 50:50 ratio between froth and body. Keep pouring until the froth reaches a centimeter above the glass.
3. Wait for a bit and then pour more beer *slowly until the froth reaches just a centimeter and a half above the rim. You should end up with a 70:30 ratio of beer to froth.
4. Enjoy perfection in all its glory.

Frankly, I thought it was too much of a hassle to wait that long to drink my beer… haha, just kidding- I poured mine before the demo, so sadly missed out. However, the guy who tried it swore it tasted better, so I think I’ll have to try it sometime in the future.

SOS (Rescue Me)

Today's the big day, that is to say, my last day of freedom before IUC starts. Having read a previous Light fellow's blog on the importance of the first two weeks which basically consist of around-the-clock placements exams, I have been sufficiently scared into studying like crazy at the last minute. Don't get me wrong, I made sure to brush up on my Japanese during the summer... just not to the point that I feel I can confidently walk into Pacifico Yokohama... yet. I still have a few more hours and if anything, studying at the last minute is a confidence booster, right? Though I recall I had no problem tackling the placement exams for PII, this time the stakes are a bit higher. IUC is like the Olympics of Japanese studying... or at least, the qualifying events. Unlike my first yearlong stay in Japan in high school, I want to make sure I don't spend the majority of my time reading Doraemon comics and helping friends with their English. つまり、がんばります。絶対負けたくない！

My first few days here in Yokohama have been going well so far. I had no problems getting from the airport to my apartment courtesy of the airport limousine and a taxi. I have to admit I was kind of dismayed by the sparseness of the apartment, but a quick stop to a hyaku-en shoppu and some posters/pictures that I brought from home really spruced up the place. While I had purposely arrived early to make sure I was over jetlag by the time school starts and more importantly, to register with the Japanese govt. as a foreign national.... I uhhm kind of had a bit of trouble figuring out where to go to register also how to get there. By the time I mastered googlemaps (which btw is awesome- I can literally see the street I'm living on!!) the office was already closed for the weekend.... Win some, lose some.

As a consolation, I went to Shinjuku Friday night to meet up with some Yalies!! It'd been waaaay too long since I'd been in Tokyo and it's just as crazy as I remember. We went to a cool gyoza place for dinner and then ended the night with karaoke. Great night all around, though I was a little sketched out by how crowded the midnight train from Tokyo back to Yokohama was. I was definitely ready to karate chop some salarymen who were getting too close for comfort. %!^#(>_<)*#!@