kgil

What goes around, comes around!

My friend, Kirsti, who I randomly ran into at  a Japanese grocery in Seatle three years ago,  escorted some of her students to Tokyo as part of an exchange program her university has with several Tokyo universities.

It is always wonderful to have someone from my

Which of theses things is not like the other?

Which of these things is not the same?

Ah Japan!

My friend, Ian, had a visit from his cousin, Mika.  I was invited to see a show at a pre-MTV Music Awards Event.  My name was put on a list and I got in to see the show.  It was really good.  I was surprised to find out that Ian`s cousin is very well known in Europe and was actually performing at the MTV Music Awards the next evening.

Here are some links...

 http://www.mikasounds.com/uk.php

http://www.myspace.com/mikamyspace

My pictures do not do the performance justice.  I was one of a handful of gaijin.  The Japanese stand very still and do not make any noise when watching a live show.  I had a good time, even if the crowd was a bit dull.

I stumbled across this little gem while headed to the Thai Festival.  Sometimes getting lost is the best part of  my day.  This shrine is located next to Harajuku station nestled in the corner of one of the largest parks in Tokyo, Yoyogi Park.  One turn from the hussle of Harajuku and you are transported to a different time.

The pull of the Thai Festival soon faded as we walked through the tree lined paths and found ourselves in a strangely peaceful place in the center of Tokyo. 

Summer has officially arrived...I have been to my first festival of the season.  All these things that were so foreign to me last year bring me a comfort and familiarity this year.  I love the drumming and all the families coming out to enjoy the day on the temple grounds.

I saw a wonderful performance of a lion dance put on by a local group.  There were stages set up and ofcourse the required food stalls serving an assortment of foods only available during the summer, at these festivals.

It has become part of my routine to get drinks after work on Fridays with my lovely co-workers.  It is a good way to unwind after a long week of teaching.  I am not always able to stay for the entire night but this one turned out to be a good one, as I had no previous plans.

We hit our regular spot for beers and taco-yaki.  Those of us who were not pulled by other plans, wandered to our afterhours udon shop.  A lovely street stall dedicated to the enjoyment of udon and alcohol. 

Strangely enough I was befriended by a Japanese man who had studied Spanish in college at Kanagawa University, where I currently teach.  We spent the evening chatting along in Spanish to the great amusement of my co-workers who don`t know a lick of Spanish but speak several other languages, quiet well. 

For a few hours I found was able to have a good laugh and stand out linguistically amung my peers. 

Boys` Day falls into a block of holidays  known as Golden Week.  I had the entire week off and went in search of the traditional symbol of Boys` Day - big fish kites and BOYS.

I had the pleasure of stumbling across a small festival in Yokohama and got more than I could have ever expected.  Not only did I get a lovely sunset view of kites flying over a river.  I was entertained by a group of young boys walking their fish.  The game was to throw a small goldfish into the river and walk a bit, pick it up, show it off a bit and then follow it along until they once again scooped it out of the water and took it to the next stop.

I returned to Japan just in time for a series of birthday celebrations.  The standard is to invite people to a resturaunt and order nomihodai - all you can drink and/or tabehodai - all you can eat for about $30.  It makes for a nice party. 

I have been rather weak at actually taking pictures lately but these are a few from other peoples` cameras.  Within a month`s time of my arrival I found that I attended five birthday parties.

My birthday is around the corner and am looking forward to a good party.

Sadly, my friends Yumi and Andy will be returning to the US in a few months.  Andy is a great outdoorsman and has infinite patience for my unwillingness to go too fast.

We met up in Kamakura, tried to rent bikes but got beat out by the other 200 people in line for bikes.  We walked to the famous Buddha where again we were surrounded by other people on this weekend pilgrimage.  This week in Japan is the equivalent of our Christmas holidays in the US.  There are three national holidays packed into one week so everyone picks up and heads out for some family time.

We got to the beach and saw some fantastic kites!

The sun and sea out weighed the crowds.

I am living in a large guesthouse in the Sugita neighborhood of  Yokohama, south of  Tokyo.  The accomodation is basic but cheap and flexible.  As I am only in Japan on a four month contract this room serves me well.

I share a large kitchen and living room area with 20 other housemates.  It reminds me of  living in the co-ops in college but much, much cleaner and everyone has a job so things stay pretty quiet.

Here are some photos and a link with house photos.

http://www.interwhao.com/english/g_sugi.html

Walking through a rather non descript mall with a friend after dinner, I ran across this large plate of plastic food.  It is not uncommon to display a plastic replica of the dishes available at a resturaunt but this had an added flare I had not seen previously.

ENJOY!

I had a weekend filled with birthday celebrations but only took the camera out at this one.  These are some of my workmates.  We all got together to celebrate our PCs birthday.  Daihei is our campus liason, he deals with the administrative side of things on campus and keeps us all from going mad.

I went to a cooking class taught at a small community center in Chiba taught by my friend, Andy.  There were about 12 of us making pizza.  For many of the Japanese people it was the first time they had ever made pizza.  We had twelve wonderful pies piled high with numerous ingredients.

A recurring theme in my adventures in Asia has been food on a stick.  This is where China took the prize.  Here are some of my favorites...

Let me know what you think.

I visited Beijing for ten days to see a good friend I knew from Austin.  This has been on my to do list for a little over five years.  I was so glad to have a visit and see some amazing places.

I staid in downtown Beijing at a hostel about ten minutes from the Forbidden City.  Yue was able to take some time off of work and show me around the city.  It was a wonderful opportunity and I felt so lucky to have such a good friend to take care of me.

I tried to make comments on the individual pictures, there is too much for one entry.

I went to a Kabuki performance in Tokyo the day after arriving back from Texas.  I jumped straight from drinking beer in a honky tonk bar to watchng men strut their stuff in kimono.   I saw the Spring performance of  The Chestnut Tree and the Death of Kokingo.

I was not able to take pictures in the theater but can tell you it was a wonderful experience.  The costuming is everything Japan is known for - white faced actors in elaborate kimono and large black wigs, decorated from head to toe in a regal beauty seen only in Japan.  The staging was simple with only a few props but every move was disciplined, many scences ending in a "jazz hands" stop motion movement.

The scene portraying the death of Kokingo highlighted the acrobatic moves and martial art talents of the actors.  Scenes were elaborately choreographed and used many old fashioned special effects - trap doors and moveable areas of the stage.  The overall affect reminded me of Japanese comics and showed again the influence of  Japanese style on modern film.

The entire performance had a live musical accompanyment, usually a Japanese harp and a small drum.  Muscisians were switched out at intervals of about 20 minutes and were sometimes included in the scene and other time set behind a small screen. 

Lucky for me there was an English translation headset available and I was able to stay awake through most of the performance fighting my jetlag and the cramped seating arrangements.

I finished my first contract in Japan and headed back home in February.  I got back just in time for some of the best weather Texas has to offer and miss out on the worst of winter in Japan. 

These pictures are a bit random but capture a few moments of the time I spent home.  I laughed a lot and enjoyed seeing so many friends.  I was able to pick up some work in Austin and catch up on all my Texas cousine.

My only disappointment was that Barton Springs was closed for cleaning during the time I was in Austin.  I will be back in July - if  didn't see you this time, I will see you in a few months.

This was my first experience ice skating in Japan.  I met up with a group of friends in Yokohama.  We all got together in late afternoon for a couple of hours of  iceskating and then off to the mandatory tradition of onsening.

We had a grand time figuring out how to manouver on the ice.  Half of the group had never been on any form of ice in their lives.  The rink itself was quiet small but very charming, especially as it got darker and the full moon rose over the sea.  Some of the skaters even had mini-lights attached to their skates - kowai!

After skating we headed out to the onsen.   The baths were outside on the sixth floor - girls on one side, boys on the other.   You could see the stars and have a relaxing soak with friends.  It amazes me how the Japanese love their communal bathing. 

We all got together for dinner at the resturaunt located inside the onsen.  If you look closely at the photo with my friend Andy and Yumi, you can see a guy passed out at the table next to us.  We slowly but surely took over his table, he did eventually wake up with some encouragement and made a very gaijin impression on the rest of the onsening guests.

This is my friend, Pinn.  She is from Thailand but is married to a Japanese man.  They are the coolest people and so hip I can barely stand it.  I met her at a Stitch and Bitch event that I attended to connect with little old ladies, like me, who like to knit/crochet. 

Well, I had no idea how cool handcrafting had become!  I found myself amungst a group of likeminded ladies with such creative ideas and some even running their own businesses.  

We had lunch and toured a very funky area of  Tokyo called Ebisu.  We saw an exhibit of fasinating photographss and then hit the Hagendaas Ice Cream Shop for some very overpriced but delicious treats.

Several of my students and friends hosted a good bye party for me.  What a treat!  We had a private room and what seemed like a never ending supply of food and drink.  They even had the bartender make me a drink based on my personality.  It was VERY strong but sweet and in a very shapely glass. 

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you for all the love and friendships that I have received here.