October 29 - November 18

As I have fallen into a routine, it has become a bit more difficult to plan sudden trips to the remaining places I would like to go to while in Japan. The main Japanese midterm I had was throughout the first and second weeks of November, during which I didn't go too far out very often. The rest of my time has been divided among schoolwork, Aikido and going out to explore Tokyo with friends. Although the schoolwork can become a bit tedious at times, I noticed that my spoken Japanese has become much smoother than it was when I had first arrived- though I still lack a solid knowledge of vocabulary and kanji in particular, I can comfortably communicate with most locals that I come across... Of course, all of this doesn't quite mean that I have forgotten to take pictures whenever I had come across something interesting.

October 29th and 30th, the Aikido club worked on setting up and running an "okonomiyaki" (japanese-style pancakes) stand together with the Shorinji Kempo club. When I wasn't directly helping create the "okonomiyaki", I had the opportunity to walk around and sample other traditional festival foods made by the various clubs and groups of Oberlin. A stage had been setup in the middle of the campus grounds, where various bands and performances could show their routines. Even though I didn't have much money on me, I decided to spend what I could to try all the different kinds of snacks that I had yet to sample.

Although the stand was setup on the 31st as well, the Aikido club had to perform their demonstration at the "Aikido Enbu Taikai", and left the stand to the Shorinji Kempo club to handle. Many of the top-notch practitioners from the Honbu dojo were in attendance, and the son of the creator of the Yoshinkan style also attended to demonstrate his mastery. I didn't manage to get a good look at the VIP section located opposite from my seat, but according to my club members, the wife of the Japanese Prime Minister (Miyuki Hatoyama), several olympic medalists and foreign ambassadors had come to attend the demonstrations.

On Saturday, November 7th, I went with a friend to a night out in Machida. We didn't quite have a particular destination in mind, but we stumbled upon a "neko no mise", or "cat cafe", where we decided to stay for a while. The cafe was standard in terms of Japan's standards (with books, coffee, internet and etc.), with a special twist; at least a dozen cats and kittens were allowed to roam around the lounging area. They were tame and friendly (if not somewhat lazy), and customers were allowed to pet them after washing their hands. Cat toys were also available to freely use, but I noticed that none of the cats really wanted to get up out of their spots... But I suppose the novelty was worth it, if only for the first time.

October 19 - October 25: Aikido Week

This entire week, from October 19th to the 25th, was the Aikido Club's "gashuku", or training camp. The members rented out an extra large room for meetings and sleeping, and essentially spent the entire week training for their tests and demonstrations when they weren't in class, eating or sleeping. While I usually head to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 to around 7:00, I was in attendance every day this week from 4:30 to 10:00PM.

The room we practice Aikido in. Often, we share it with the Judo club.

For the "gashuku"/training camp, we changed the decoration.

Added to my own exercise schedule, I managed to quickly wear out my legs to the point where they were sore for the rest of the week. Regardless of this, I found the practices fun and engaging; because of the extended sessions, I learned much more about my club mates and techniques than I usually did during the weeks before.

"Takada no Baba" of Shinjuku is where the renowned Honbu Dojo is located.

During both Sundays (October 18, October 25), I attended the Honbu Dojo in Takada no Baba of Shinjuku; being that it was the birthplace of "Yoshinkan" style Aikido, I wasn't surprised to see it populated with masters and lifetime practitioners... comparatively, I felt a bit embarrassed when I joined the same class they were in, and had to demonstrate advanced techniques. Even with the embarrassment, however, I must admit I had an amazing time. Though I originally thought that Aikido would be a good way to exercise and spend time after classes, I've already come to believe that it is something I will want to continue long after I've left Japan.

October 5 - October 18: Two Busy Weeks

Although the sheer number of things on my schedule has made it a bit more difficult for me to update this journal these recent days, I still find time to relax, enjoy myself, meet new people and explore new places. Since I don't personally find the subject of class very interesting to showcase in a journal, I'll stick with updating whenever I do something interesting!

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10/06/09, Tuesday
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Aside from class, I was allowed to join the experiential course and visit the nearby Kyudo (traditional Japanese archery) club's building; whereas my Aikido club has a room designated for usage, the Kyudo club has been assigned its own building. I've heard from some students that apparently Oberlin University has the best Kyudo club available in Japanese universities, and to be honest, I wouldn't doubt that after seeing the demonstrations and facility. The fact that it was raining made it feel all the more movie-like.

The Kyudo club's building; you can see the yumi (traditional Japanese bows).

The Kyudo members demonstrate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3BnmuE2fQI

The building has a moving wall that allows the members to practice.

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10/09/09, Saturday
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Today, I traveled with several international students to Yokohama for the first time. Since the goal was to experience the Taiwanese festival, however, I didn't see as much of it as I would have hoped... Of course, that does not mean I didn't have fun.

We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant before exploring; this dish in particular includes a Peking Duck wrap.

The Chinatown portion of Yokohama.

A food vendor in a shop from Chinatown; these steamed buns were cutely designed.

The schoolyard was decorated especially for the Taiwanese celebration.

09/27/09, Sunday

School's finally begun, and it is as grueling as I had expected it to be. The teachers are nice enough and the words/grammar/kanji courses are challenging, so I'm bracing myself for a rigorous semester... But of course, a journal about classes when I can be speaking about my traveling experiences would be dull, so I'll leave the topic of studies at that.

On Friday (09/25/09), I went to my friend Shouhei's apartment. His girlfriend was over at the time, and we had nabe (or nabemono) for dinner- as far as homemade stews go, I must admit this was possibly one of the best I have ever had in my life. And of course, I had plenty more opportunities to practice my conversational Japanese skills, so I stayed for a few hours after before finally bidding farewell to join some international students at the nearby pub... After a few expensive drinks, the night ended pretty typically (I had to be careful not to drink too much; I had a half-hour walk back to my room).

"Nabemono", which was delicious.

On the Saturday right after that, I spent much of my time resting (after joining Aikido, my body felt like a sack of dirt). Though there was a small dinner at a nearby TGI Friday's, we didn't end up doing too much of anything...

If we had stayed out too late, I knew I wouldn't be able to survive the Machida Festival (Matsuri). Volunteers who had signed up gathered at 11:00 AM, and were dressed in the "uniform" by 12:00. We carried an "portable shrine" known as an O-mikoshi, which weighed in at the range of about 700 kilograms. After parading it throughout the streets of Machida, we brought it back to the starting point and were allowed to explore the Tenmangu Temple and have fun on our own.We were given appropriate clothes for when we carried the O-Mikoshi.

The O-Mikoshi. It weighs about 700 kilograms.

The Tenmangu Shrine looms in the distance of this wonderful festival.

I finally got back to my apartment at around 8:00 PM (with my studies left yet undone at this point), but I must admit that this has been an interesting week indeed.

09/20/09, Sunday

For my last day of freedom (before classes begin), I went with Alex and some other friends to Harajuku. We arrived at about 3:00 PM or so, and didn't see many of the famously dressed visitors- instead, we took a detour into Yoyogi Park and visited the Meiji Shrine.

We were lucky enough to run into a wedding on temple grounds.

"Rockabillies", as they're called, make you feel like you slipped into Elvis' decade.

As luck would have it, we stumbled into several traditional wedding ceremonies amidst the brutal sun (even for late September, it's actually quite warm). After taking a stroll into the park and taking in the atmosphere, we went our separate ways. While some members of the group opted to stay behind or meet some of their own schedules, I decided to head back and look some more for fancy dressers... which this time, I found:

She was even nice enough to take a picture! And what a convenient mask to wear when flu masks are "in style".

I returned in time to meet Shouhei, his friend "Shu" and Joongeun for a Yakiniku dinner. Although I expected some of the usual grilled meat, I must admit I wasn't adequately prepared for grilled cow tongue or small intestine... but it was all great nonetheless.

Would anybody be interested in Grilled Cow Tongue?

09/16/09, Wednesday

Since we've been going to Orientation meetings again, the week has slowed down. After a lengthy placement test process and class orientation, many of us (most of the English-speaking international students) met in Machida Station at 7:30 PM for Laura's birthday.

The original plan was to head to a Shabu Shabu restaurant, but some amazing street performers caught our eyes and we took some time to watch their acts- one group played peruvian music, while the performer after that performed all sorts of interesting acts... as much as I felt a bit apathetic at first, his enthusiasm and extremely wide range of acts drew me in as he continued entertaining the crowd.

A great street performance. His "Robot Story" was amazing. Catch it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXLcTOZKP1o

The Shabu-Shabu was excellent, and worth every yen of the hefty 3000 price. Raw pork and meat is thinly sliced and placed in dishes for customers, where they can dip them into hot water to essentially cook them on the spot and combine them with the rice and vegetables. Furthermore, it was an all-you-can-eat sort of deal as well, making it in my mind one of the best possible deals for meat-lovers.

Some of the best food I've had... but I say that every time I try something new here.

And of course, after that we went to a bar... A British-themed bar in Machida... it was a bit overpiced, but not bad.

Wow, Stefan.

--------------------- 09/17/09, Thursday ---------------------
Today was interesting; after visiting the P.E. class registration early in the morning, I slept until around 2:00 PM. The day before completely drained the amount of money in my wallet, so I decided to go to the bank to exchange some U.S. bills... unfortunately, I didn't realize they closed at around 3:00 PM.

Lack of yen aside, I visited a hair salon that one of the Japanese volunteers (Yuko) recommended to me. Somehow, I had managed to get around alright despite being fairly weak in Japanese, and luckily met a stylist who could understand English. Considering the price came out to around 1900 yen for the works, I would say it isn't bad at all compared to some places in the U.S.!

09/14/09, Monday

09/14/09, Monday

After a day's worth of rest, I was ready for another packed day of fun and excitement. After visiting the bank to exchange some of my USD to yen ($120.00 => ~106 yen), I met with John, Yuko (the other Yuko, who greeted me at the airport), Sally, Tim, Wesley, and Yuko's friend at the Machida statue.

Pictures taken before and from Tokyo Tower.

Our first visit was straight to Tokyo Tower, where we were all able to act like the tourists we were and snap hundreds of pictures within half an hour. The view was amazing, and like all other places of Tokyo, there were plenty of interesting sights to see. Though Mt. Fuji was supposedly viewable, it was a tad too foggy to get a clear view.

After spending some time talking and having fun in the Tower, we shipped off to Shibuya for some exploration and relaxation. After taking a few photos in front of the famed "Hachiko" statue (and more in specialized and high-tech photo-editing booths), we shipped it off to a specially themed bar called "The Lockup".

Yuko and Sally at "The Lockup"! We were really in a cell :(.

After a short jaunt through a horror house-themed area, a girl dressed in a racy version of a police uniform promptly handcuffed me and Wesley, and our group was led to a small cell-like room where we were given interesting drinks and good food- the final price came out to about 7000 or so yen for 6 people... It's certainly not cheap, but I can definitely think of places in Boston and New York that charges about the same, but without any of the perks. Hah!

09/12/09, Saturday

The first day with nothing on my schedule actually turned out to be a rather busy one (though fun, of course). Although only a third of our original group was able to make it, we still had plenty of fun exploring Shinjuku. Along with me today were Linda, Joongeun, Megumi and Hikaru.

Shinjuku is an amazing place overall.

One interesting thing I learned today was that the shoe sizes in Japan weren't as large as those in America- I wear size 11 sneakers (US), and had to settle for 10.5 in the end... and even finding that particular pair took some time for the assistants.

Awkwardly quiet.

On the way back home, the silence of the Japanese passengers threw us off a bit; other than punching in messages/checking information on cell phones, nobody looked up or spoke aloud to anybody else... except our group.

09/10/09, Thursday

I spent much of today getting to know Shouhei (or Shou), one of the students from Oberlin who had volunteered to help the ryuugakusei (international students). After he helped lead a campus tour for my group, he showed me and Joongeun (my neighbor) his apartment, and a nearby 100 yen shop (think dollar store, but with the goods actually being high-quality).

An impressive incarnation of our favorite characters, in Shouhei's room.

After helping us receive membership cards to a supermarket that was attached directly to it, he introduced us to the nearby gyuudon (beef bowl, basically rice dishes with sliced beef and onions, etc.). Though the communication became a bit shaky at times, I can say that the all of us learned plenty of new words.

Gyuudon is fast and cheap, but delicious- especially for tired and hungry travelers.

Introduction and Orientation

Greetings!

For the next 4 months, I'll be studying abroad in the Oberlin University (Obirin Daigaku) of Machida, Japan (in Tokyo, close to Shinjuku). For my friends and university requirements back at home, I'll be keeping a journal in the form of an easily-accessible and hopefully fun-to-read and informative blog.


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09/05/09-09/07/09, Saturday - Monday
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My arrival in Japan was luckily uneventful. I flew two flights (Boston => LA, LA => Tokyo) with my fellow student, Alex Brick, to Narita. Although we had a short scare regarding the whereabouts of Alex's passport, we soon found that the staff of the airport were nice, dedicated, and extremely willing to help a lost gaijin (foreigner) in need.

First sign we saw in Narita Airport... What does the anime picture have to do with the product?...

With all of our items in hand, we were promptly greeted by a student volunteer on behalf of Oberlin University(or Obirin, as pronounced in Japanese). Both Alex and I swiftly found out we needed much more practice in Japanese; learning in the classroom was one thing, but having to understand the native speakers was a completely different playing field... Depressing realizations aside, the day passed without further events; we were shuttled to a hotel, where we were introduced to the program manager, Fumitake Nakamura (the type of awesome guy everybody needs to meet at least during one point in their life). With a fusion style dinner, we simply went to sleep in preparation for the next big day.

An interesting rest stop on the way to Oberlin. The vending machines here are amazing.

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09/08/09, Tuesday
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Aside from a non-eventful trip from the hotel to Oberlin University, I've already met a good number of great people. We managed to break the ice with several students who had traveled in from Australia, and with the local Oberlin students after we arrived. Not long after, I was acquainted with my neighbors (students from Holland, Korea and China), and we were shown to our ultra-clean, high-tech studios.

My room is the second left on the 1st floor. My neighbors and guides are under the roof.

Shouhei, Yuko, Hitomi, Keiko and Megumi showed us the basics of using the Japanese appliances (such as air conditioners, washing machines and bath heaters, which are all in Japanese instruction), and showed us an amazing and cheap conveyor-belt sushi (kaitensushi) restaurant nearby; though it is generally thought that Japanese restaurants are on the expensive side, I was able to eat my fill of all types of sushi and soup with a 500 yen tab (that would be about $5.00, give or take a few cents?).

Inside a kaitensushi booth. Notice the second tram above the conveyor belt?

In particular, kaitensushi is very interesting; you can pick out whatever dishes you like that are on the conveyor belt, or order specific ones (which will come in a cute little tram-like device on a separate track above the belt). Each small dish usually costs around 100 yen, so ten well-made and large pieces would cost 500, for example.

A curious combination of sushi, hamburger and mayonnaise- it was delicious.

My Japanese has been getting a bit better, mostly since I've begun to remember what I've forgotten, but also since I'm beginning to become accustomed to the speed at which the words are being said... but the fact still remains that my language skills are woefully inadequate. If anything, I've definitely found more motivation to improve myself as much as I can while I'm here.


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09/09/09, Wednesday
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Compared to the first few days, today was certainly more eventful. Aside from the typical orientation and informational sessions, my Korean neighbor and I ran into Megumi during her lunch break. Due to the fact that our main languages were completely different (mine being English, with some Korean and little Japanese, Megumi's being Japanese with a bit of English and Korean, and my neighbor's- Joongeun- being Korean with some Japanese and minimal English), our conversation turned out to be both extremely hilarious and helpful in terms of learning more about the languages we were weak in.

Subtle differences make the keyboard a bit tricky to use... How many can you spot?

After the orientation schedule was wrapped up for the day, I went to the center of Machida (which is rather crowded and city-like, despite being south of the central Shinjuku) with my neighbors from Holland to pick up some supplies for our rooms. We found ourselves hopelessly lost on the return, unfortunately, but finally found our path back with the help of some great firemen- it certainly is embarassing... but I suppose no foreign experience is complete without getting lost at least once, hah.

Finally having settled down after some relaxation, I found that my laundry machine had a slightly different setup than the one that Yuko had helped explain the day before. Though I was able to guess my way to the correct settings and try out a test load, my favorite collared shirt has developed a rather bad rip from what used to be a tiny hole I'd wanted to fix... the penalties of illiteracy, I suppose.

I've found at this point that I can at the very least survive in Machida, if only by asking questions such as "where is _____", "what is _____", and etc. (with the proper honorifics, of course!). I'm still hoping I can drastically improve before I leave, but there's plenty of time.