I'm not dead

Wow, sorry. Never meant to neglect you like this. Quick update: I'm doing quite well and my studies are moving along. I can sort of express myself-ish on a good day when I'm not nervous. That's pretty good progress consideration I couldn't have any kind of conversation when I got here.

Did you know that brown eggs are called red eggs in Japan? At least they are in the grocery store where I shop. Which is called "Valor," and has the slogan, "Quality Living, Good Price" emblazoned across the front of the building.

Right, so, Party of The Future. This was an event held at the house of a communications professor who has some pretty cool ideas about communication. The house was designed by this fellow and has a ground floor and 2 stories above with catwalks going over a courtyard. The idea behind this design is to facilitate interpersonal communication beyond a horizontal plane. It was interesting to see people try this out. We're so very used to communicating with each other on a physically level surface at a standard distance apart. Have you ever really thought about the way in which you talk to other people? I certainly didn't until I got here. Beyond the smaller personal space bubble, it was hard to not yell louder than I needed to speak to anyone above and below me. Also, I found myself talking louder when I was the higher up person.

The party was also a potluck. The food was good, and pretty diverse since the party was attended by many different people: families and individuals and people from a few different countries. Being from California, where we have access to awesome Mexican food pretty much all the time, I got a chuckle out of the Japanese version of chips and salsa. It was more like chips with tomato stew that had been carried through a room that may or may not have contained spices at some point in time. Also, it was a surreal experience to build a sandwich, buffet picnic style, only with chopsticks instead of my hands. It's surprisingly easy once you get over the mental block of lifting a slice of white bread on to your plate with sticks.

This trip was also Alisha and I's first real experience with a Japanese group effort. What would have been a four hour drive turned into a 5 when we made a convenience store stop five times. Granted, Alisha and I don't take any prisoners on road trips. And the fives stops themselves wouldn't have been that big of an issue. Everyone has to eat and use the bathroom at some point, fairly often in a car of 6 people. But do we really need to spend 15 minutes browsing the manga (comics) section of the store after everyone finishes purchasing their stuff. I'm making sound much worse than it was: the scenery was beautiful and our friends were very nice. Let's just say we weren't expecting it.

Next time I'll write about the trip to Nagano in-depth, sans head injury since you got that part already. Prof. Curtis, if you see this, I've been noticing just how many doors in Japan have handles on the push-only side. The things I wouldn't notice without your instruction.

I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Take care.

Osu-Kannon temple and market

Near where I live is a place called Osu-Kannon, home to aお寺(otera, “Buddhist temple”) and open air shopping center. Hereafter I’ll refer to it as a marketplace, but you have to understand that this place is essentially 8 city blocks of storefront, crisscrossing each other with multi-story buildings containing everything from thrift stores to luxury shopping (the kind where someone wearing expensive clothes follows you around to help you spend money faster).

Going from the subway station to the marketplace, you will likely pass through the temple gates and through the courtyard on the way. As I understand it, the patron of this temple is Kannon (I’ve also seen it spelled Kwannon, likely depending on what language it’s being transliterated from). Kannon is a goddess of mercy in Buddhism, and is often prayed to by persons who want assistance from the gods in getting something.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it on this blog before, but scholars of Japan often stress that it’s a place of extreme opposites. This is certainly the case in Osu. The temple is an island of stillness and serenity in a sea of urban life: traffic, smog, high-rise buildings, dirt, convenience stores and people, always people. Stepping through the gates is like entering another world, which is mostly inhabited by pigeons.

Yes, you read that right. At Osu temple you can donate a token amount of money for some birdseed, or you can just hang out and feed them (they’re tame enough to handfeed) if you feel like it. Bear in mind, this is an ethnocentric summary since I’d bet there’s a reason for the pigeons which I haven’t yet found out. I thought you might find it interesting. The courtyard is an excellent place to just sit and reflect on your life in America and what you want to do when you graduate from school then make a mental list of what you need at the grocery store. The perimeter at ground level is obscured by trees, which also cut down on noise, so it’s very peaceful. The temple itself is also quite a thing to see. Unfortunately, the original structure was completely destroyed by fire during the Meiji period roughly 200 years ago. It was reconstructed (meticulously and accurately I expect, it being Japan) in 1970 and stands today as an amazing piece of architecture.

We went inside the temple for a few minutes, just to check things out. The interior was pitch dark except light coming in through the doors and a fire burning in the center of the room, beyond a waist high barrier which delineates public space. You couldn’t even see the far wall. It was very quiet inside and we observed a group of Chinese tourists praying and making offerings. I am not a religious person, but I make an effort to understand (or experience, when I can) other people’s religious practices. I’m a big fan of Buddhism for the most part, mainly because the most widely agreed upon tenants can be ham-handedly summarized by me as: your actions affect others, so take responsibility for them because in the end you’ll help yourself just as much. Also, don’t overcomplicate your life: do what you want in a way that is good for you but isn’t bad for others, including yourself. Come on, how can anyone disagree with that? Yes, yes, I know. Modern life, as defined by the “developed” world, makes it extremely difficult. You can’t even get a drink of water without progressing the chain of hydrocarbon dependence. Fortunately for us all, this is the Japan Adventure Time blog, not the Existentialistic Depression Time blog, so we’ll leave it at that.

The market itself is a remarkably overstimulating place, at least the first time you go. As I mentioned, you can find just about anything there (except cars and real estate). Yes, I mean that you can go to Osu to buy a shirt with humorously bad English, or you can buy a laptop and a washing machine. It’s a strange experience from my own cultural standpoint: all the stores are open to the outside (no doors) and you can buy computers and cameras and stuff. In the US, a similar arrangement would essentially guarantee that the merchandise was stolen. In Osu, the appliance stores have salespersons milling around, ready to tell you all about a microwave oven. There are duty-free shops, which require a certain amount of administrative communication with Japanese customs. There’s also a lot of awesomely good food; you can eat curry, burgers, tacos(!!), okonomiyaki*, and tasty, tasty ice cream, to name a few.

We’re heading to Kyoto early tomorrow morning, but I wanted to catch you up a little bit before then. Next time: Party of the Future and ryokan (Japanese-style inn).

*お好み焼き(okonomiyaki) translates roughly to “cooking as you like it” or “cook what you like.” Okonomiyaki is made of varying combinations of vegetables and meats, usually cabbage, mixed in batter according to the diner’s preference, then cooked flat on a grill. I’ve heard it referred to as “Japanese pancakes” or “Japanese omelets.” However one tries to describe it, it’s simply delicious. If you ever go to Japan, I strongly recommend eating it at least once wherever you go. It’s prepared a little differently in different regions of the country.