Conveyor Belt Sushi

I've been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant in America but that didn't stop this experience from being a lot of fun. If you've never seen or heard of conveyor belt sushi it works like this:

Step 1: You sit in a booth or at the sushi bar
Step 2: Sushi goes by you on a conveyor belt. You take the sushi you want to eat.
Step 3: Prices are determined by the color of the plate. For example the sushi in the picture is on a yellow rimmed plate which cost 100 yen. If there was a red rim it would have cost 150 yen.
Step 4: You pay for the amount of plates you ate.

The experience of conveyor belt sushi (also called "100 yen sushi" or "train sushi") is a lot of fun but I would say it isn't the tastiest sushi. I definitely prefer eating at a small sushi restaurant where the food is prepared when you order it (or whatever the sushi chef makes in my case since I can't speak a word of Japanese).

Honesty Is The Best Policy

A friend of mine in Hanoi who used to teach in Japan told me that, "The Japanese are the most honest people you will ever meet." He said that if you left your wallet at a restaurant you could come back ten hours later and it would still be in the exact spot you left it with everything inside. I thought this was hyperbole but have already had three experiences that lead me to believe this is true.

On my second day I was in Koryama I went to eat with Katie. Katie and I had come from the government offices which meant I had my passport and a bunch of other documents on me. After lunch I left my folder holding these documents on the floor of the restaurant. Yes, a bonehead move. I blame it on the red-eye the day before. Well, sure enough I went back to the restaurant about five hours later and my folder was waiting there for me with everything inside.

My second boneheaded move was dropping my bicycle lock key at the gym. Luckily I had a spare key at home and could open my bike. However, whoever found my key could have gone to the parking lot and tried the key on the dozen or so bikes that were outside. Instead the person returned the key to the gym workers.

My third reason to believe that the Japanese are extremely honest is because of this:

This box was at the beginning of a hiking trail. The purpose of the box is to put lost things in it that you might find in the forrest. If someone happens to drop their keys or even their wallet, they can find it in this box or at the police station (the police collect items from the box). What's amazing to me is that: a) There is such a box b) Thieves don't just come to the box, open it up and see what goodies are inside.

Having come from Vietnam where I was robbed my first week and am constantly ripped-off by vendors, my guard has definitely been up. However, it is a breath of fresh air living in a place that really values honesty.

Cleanse

After you walk through a torii at a Shinto shrine, you may encounter something like this:

This sink-of-sorts is for people to wash their hands and their mouths before going to the shrine.

If you're a germ freak, you might want to just wash your hands since a lot of strangers' mouths have touched the cups. Personally I just poured water into my mouth without touching lips to tin. I then -- per Paula's instructions -- did a little rinse and spit.

I think the tradition and symbolism of this act is pretty cool. I can't tell you how many churches in Europe and temples in Southeast Asia I've gone to, dripping with sweating from walking around and probably breath reeking of lunch. To me, this simple cleanse is a nice way to show you're entering somewhere special.

Torii

(PICTURE: A torii gate in Fukushima.)

All over Japan you will see torii gates. The gates are usually an entrance way to a Shinto shrine. Symbolically the gates are a border between the normal world and the sacred world. Basically this means one should let out all their sbds* before they walk through the gate.

* Mom, to save you the email an sbd is an acronym for "Silent But Deadly" farts.

Japanese Tourists

The stereotype about Japanese tourists is that they each have a big fancy camera. Well, I hate to reinforce stereotypes but this one is completely true. Even in Japan the Japanese seem to go everywhere with gigantic cameras:

Samurai Jews

There was a very interesting grave at the second waterfall we went to. All around the grave were samurai swords.

(PICTURE: I want a sword by my grave one day!)

On top of the tombstone was this image.

Yuya told me it was a god. Apparently they have a bunch of gods.


One thing I found really interesting though was that on top of a tree stump next to the grave was a pile of rocks.

This reminded me of Jewish cemeteries. For those of who you don't know the tradition, Jews place rocks on the top of headstones to show that they had been there and were thinking of the deceased. I'm pretty sure that is why we do it...and because rocks are cheaper than flowers.

I asked Yuya why people placed rocks on the tree and he said it was a way to make a wish. I thought that was pretty cool. Who would have thought Jews and Samurais have similar traditions?

Bears, Bears, Bears

(PICTURE: This picture would be really ironic if I get mauled by a bear.)

One of the first things Yuya ever told me was to wear a bell when I go hiking. He said that almost every day someone gets mauled by a bear. Frankly, I don't like those numbers and I'd be pretty bummed out if a bear ripped my limbs off. I think that would put a damper on my Japan experience.

Yuya also told me recently that, "This is the most dangerous time for bears because they are hunting before they start hibernating." Okay, I know I'm no zoologist but if I was a bear I would keep my ear out for bells to help fill up before winter.

Waterfalls

(PICTURE: Yes, Yuya is wearing full cameo as he points to where we are gonna hike.)

Koryama isn't exactly Tokyo but it has a ton of gorgeous nature right outside the city. Recently Paula and Yuya took me on hikes to two different waterfalls:


(PICTURE: The first waterfall. Man, my hair looks good.)

Just to reconfirm how beautiful Fukushima is, the authorities posted this sign by the first waterfall:

The sign says that this waterfall made the "Top 30 Waterfall List of Fukushima." Really? Top 30? That's a lot of waterfalls in a small area.

Uyoku Dantai

(PICTURE: A Uyoku Dantai vehicle.)

Paula and I were walking near the station recently and heard the Japanese national anthem blasting from a black minivan decked out in Japanese flags and writing. Paula explained to me that this was a common occurrence in Japan. She wasn't exaggerating because about twenty minutes later, on the other side of town, we saw/heard another black minivan blasting the national anthem.

Turns out these vans are part of an extreme right wing Nationalist group called the Uyoke Dantai. Rather than try to explain about them -- since I would just be quoting Wikipedia anyway -- I'll cut and copy part of the Wikipedia entry here:

Uyoku dantai are well known for their highly visible propaganda vehicles, known as gaisensha (街宣車)--converted vans, trucks and buses fitted with loudspeakers and prominently marked with the name of the group and propaganda slogans. The vehicles are usually black, khaki or olive drab, and are decorated with the Imperial Seal, the flag of Japan and the Japanese military flag. They are primarily used to stage protests outside organizations such as the Chinese, Korean or Russian embassies, Chongryon facilities and media organizations, where propaganda (both taped and live) is broadcast through their loudspeakers. They can sometimes be seen driving around cities or parked in busy shopping areas, broadcasting propaganda, military music or Kimigayo, the national anthem.

Birds, Birds, Birds...

As I said yesterday, Matsushima is considered one of the three great sites in Japan. Apparently though I wasn't the only one who wasn't impressed with the natural beauty because EVERYONE around me on the boat paid more attention to a bunch of seagulls that were trailing our boat then they did to the little islands. I was amazed at home mesmerized everyone was at feeding the birds...until I fed them myself. Yeah, it was pretty cool:

Nihon Sankei

(PICTURE: The tourist welcome site at Matsushima.)

Nihon Sankei means "Three Great Sights of Japan." In Japan, like the title, there are three places that supposedly stand out above all the others. The three places are:
1. Matsushima.
2. The floating torii of Miyajima island.
3. The sand0spit at Amanohashidate.

Recently I checked off one of the three sites by visiting Matshushima. Matsushima Bay is sort of like Halong Bay in Vietnam. The Japanese version has 250 pine-covered islands that have been moulded by wind and rock formations. I know I'm going to sounds like an annoying high school girl bragging about her boyfriend but...Halong Bay is about ten times cooler than Matsushima. In fact, I wasn't really a fan of Matsushima at all and it has disuaded me from seeing the other two "great sights."

The problem with Matsushima is that I felt like I was in a tourist trap. Hundreds of tourists were wrangled onto giant ferries and taken on a fifty minute boat ride around a bunch of islands. It was picturesque but doesn't even rank with the beauty of some of the local places Paula and Yuya have take me to.

(PICTURE: One of the islands of Matsushima Bay.)

Kamikaze

(PICTURE: A kamikaze pilot during WWII.)

I was talking to Paula's husband Yuya the other day and WWII came up. Yuya started to talk about Japanese fighter pilots who would commit suicide by smashing their planes into ships. I said, "Oh you mean kamikaze pilots." When I said kamikaze he started to laugh and asked me to repeat what I said. I said, "Kamikaze?" Again he started to laugh and said, "It is pronounced kami-kaze." I then said, "No, it's definitely pronounced kamikaze." It then dawned on me: I was telling a Japanese person how to say a Japanese word.

There are so many words in English that are really from other languages. It never actually occurred to me before that this wasn't an English word. The English teacher in me immediately wanted to correct his pronunciation...although I was clearly the one who needed to be corrected.

Wives

Sometimes I play a warm-up game with my classes called, "Back to board." Basically I put a student in a chair with his back facing the white-board. I then write a random noun on the board and the students must use English to give hints to the person with his back towards the board. It's a fun game and a good way to get kids talking.

The other day I wrote "Wife" on the board and had a pretty hilarious experience. All the students looked completely puzzled for a good thirty seconds. One student finally said, "It is the opposite of husband." This was a perfect clue in my opinion. However, nobody budged and if anything they seemed more confused. Finally after another thirty seconds a student said, "It is a job. The person must cook and clean." Immediately everybody lit up and the person in the chair guessed the word.

Perhaps feminism hasn't hit its full stride in Japan.

Gardening

I remember when I was a little kid, we gave my grandpa Leo a license plate frame that said, "Grandpa has green thumbs." My grandpa was an amazing gardener to say the least. Well, my mother got the gardening gene from her father and she has passed it down to me. I can't wait to one day have my own house and a garden that I can tend. In Koryama, I'm frequently struck with jealousy when I see some of the "gardens" people have next to their houses. I use the word "garden" loosely because half of them are like small farms. Check out this garden in the middle of town:
I'm pretty sure my grandfather would have loved to have a garden like this!

What Did That Sign Say?

Here's a sign that made me flinch:
Frankly, I don't like how close the wave is to the man in the picture considering the man hasn't made it to the top of the hill.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Whenever I talk about my mother I tell people that she's a living angel. My mother is truly one of the most selfless, good-hearted people you could ever meet. Not a day goes by that I don't realize I've been blessed with such an amazing mother. My mother thinks about other people 365 days a year. Well, today's her birthday so lets all think about her. I love you, Mom!

Pay Parking Lots

Here's something that will eventually catch on in the United States:

What you're looking at is a self-parking pay lot. How it works is that a car drives into the lot and parks in a space. When the car parks in the space, the metal layer rises up making it impossible to drive out. To get the lever to lower, one has to pay a machine when they are ready to go. It's a really efficient system:
1. Drive into the lot.
2. Park (the lever goes up)
3. When you're ready to leave, pay a machine (the lever goes down).
4. Drive out.

The Most Expensive Grapes Ever

One thing that I really miss about Vietnam is the cheap and delicious fruit. In Vietnam you can get a kilo of just about every fruit for no more than two dollars. In Japan it is a different story. Check out how much these grapes cost:

That's 1580 Yen. As of typing this email that converts to $17.60. No, I'm not joking.

All grapes here are not that expensive. However, they are never cheap. That said, Japanese grapes are AMAZING. Katie described the grapes here best for me. She said, "Grapes here taste like grape candy." The grapes are the sweetest things I've ever tasted...but yeah, not worth nearly twenty dollars.

Supermarket Auction

One of my favorite things so far about Japan is going to the supermarket. When you check out at the supermarket the cashiers are sooooooo friendly. They say like fifty things to me which I just nod at. The only thing that they say to me that I actually understand is whether or not I want a plastic bag. If I want a bag I have to pay about a nickel for the bag. They do this to encourage recycling. Regardless of whether you want the bag or not though, you have to put the groceries into your bag by yourself. They have a packing table about five feet from the register where everyone bags their own groceries.

But none of those things are what I love about the supermarket. What I love is that when the cashier is ringing up your groceries she calls out how much everything costs. Basically she scans things and says, "One dollar fifty. Two dollars twenty. Three dollars thirty. Six dollars. etc. etc." Because I don't understand Japanese, I thought the women were actually calling out what I had bought: "Two apples. A bottle of water. Dumplings. Sushi. etc. etc." Paula informed me that they were calling out prices and not products. Regardless it is always entertaining.

Japanese Beaches

(PICTURE: A typical concrete wall surrounding a beach.)

Last year Huyen and I watched the Japanese animated move, "The Grave Of The Fireflies." If you haven't seen the movie it is worth a watch as a good anti-war film. However, this isn't about Japanese animation or reviewing the film. This blog is about Japanese beaches.

In the movie there was a scene that took place at the beach. I noticed in the scene that there was a large concrete wall on the sand of the beach. I thought this was a little odd. Well, having been in Japan for a couple of weeks, I realize it isn't that odd. The Japanese coastlines are almost all lined with concrete. I've been to two beaches so far and both had a concrete wall behind the sand. At one of the beaches there were gigantic concrete tetrapods in rows about 100 feet into the ocean.

(PICTURE: Tetrapods in water.)

I've been doing some reading about these things and apparently it is Japan's way to fight nature from deteriorating the Japanese islands. It makes sense I guess but it sure makes the beaches ugly. I have always thought of Japan as a place that values the beauty of nature. In some ways I'm finding that to be true, in other ways -- like the beaches -- I'm find that is not true at all.

Japanese TV

If you know anything about television around the world, you know that Japan is famous for the craziest game shows. Basically any edgy game show that is on American television probably comes from Japan. Since I joined the gym last week I've been constantly entertained by ridiculous things on TV. I obviously can't understand a word, but don't really have to.

Tonight I saw one of the more bizarre shows yet. Basically about 100 Japanese people started to run around a course in a city (could have been Tokyo or Osaka or somewhere else) and after a few minutes were chased by a black marathon runner. The program was basically twenty minutes of a black guy running after and passing Japanese people. The marathoner ended up passing everyone except two people who crossed the finish line before him. The two people were greeted like they just won the Super Bowl. The whole show felt like a weird version of The Running Man.

I don't know if the intention of the show was to be completely racist but it sure felt racist. That said, and this will sound weird, it was done in an oddly good spirited way. As the black runner ran he was greeted with high fives by the crowds that lined the streets. The marathoner also was waving and smiling the whole time he chased after the Japanese people as if he was having the time of his life. As I watched the show I thought to myself, "This is something that could never fly in America." Can you imagine NBC airing a program where a (fill in this space with a minority group) chases 100 white people? Yeah, only in Japan.

Seat Belts

If there is one example I can use thus far to differentiate my Vietnam experience versus my Japanese experience it is this: Seat Belts.

Nobody in Vietnam wears seat belts. It just doesn't happen. Every time I've been on a flight in Vietnam I've had to help Vietnamese people put on their seat belts because they simply couldn't figure it out. Huyen knows how to put on a lap belt but once she got a little tangled up putting on a shoulder belt. I looked at her as she struggled with the shoulder belt and just said, "Really?" I'm sure this sounds odd but people in Vietnam just don't use seat belts.

In Japan EVERYONE wears a seat belt. I realized this on my first day when my cab driver turned around and told me to put my seat belt on. People in the states often don't even wear seat belts in cabs. Well, at least they usually don't in big cities like NYC despite voice overs from celebrities saying to wear seat belts.

They are so serious about their seat belt use here in Japan that the other day I took a bus from one city to another and everyone on the bus was wearing seat belts. Seat belts on buses? I bet not even 50% of school buses in the states have seat belts on them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Japan is just a really really safe country versus Vietnam which, well, isn't always so safe.

DUI

One thing I've always found interesting/perplexing about the United States is that every state has a different DUI level. To me it's interesting what each state considers too high of a BAC to drive with.

In Japan there is no debate. If you have a drink in Japan you are not allowed to drive. Anything over basically a 0.0% BAC is illegal. On top of that, if a restaurant or bar serves someone a drink they are responsible to make sure that person does not drive. If the person drives and gets caught, the bar/restaurant will get a huge fine. Even harsher, anyone who knowingly lets someone drive after drinking is also held responsible if the person causes an accident.

These laws may seem harsh, but I think the Japanese are on to something. Every year in America thousand of people die from DUI related accidents. How much lower would that number be if there was a zero tolerance policy?

My Classroom

Here's a picture of my classroom. I know what you're thinking, it's not quite as nice as the classroom you had at your university. Perhaps you're saying that because of the retractable walls (nearly the same one my high school gymnasium had), or because of the 1970s rug, or because of the random pieces of paper I've taped to the wall. Yeah, I'll concede that it isn't exactly an American standard lecture hall. That said, it totally serves its purpose.

At my university there are 11 periods every day. Each one of my classes is 40 minutes long. On one hand this is great because after being used to teaching 1.5 hour long classes, 40 minutes flies by. On the other hand, I teach up to 8 classes every day which is almost double the most I ever had to teach in Vietnam. It can be pretty exhausting. The other tough thing is that the students don't come to the same period every day. The students can basically come to whichever time slot they have free on that particular day. This means I've had classes with 12 students as well as classes with just one student. Needless to say, this presents some interesting challenges.

There's actually a lot of challenges that I've noticed in my first week or so. For one, my classes are 99.9% male only. I'm teaching at the engineering school which is probably 90% male and literally none of my classes have guys in them. On occasion I teach a high level class and those have a couple of girls. Having a room of all dudes is very different than my mixed classes I had in Vietnam. Also engineering students generally don't tend to be Type A personalities. It would be fair to call the majority of them introverted (actually, not having girls in the class I think helps in this regards because they aren't as embarrassed to talk). Getting students to talk and have fun is a little more of an effort than it was in Vietnam.

Another challenge has been the extremely different pronunciation problems that the Japanese have versus the ones that the Vietnamese have. For example, the Japanese have a very tough time saying the phonetic /v/ and /l/ sounds. My ear had become very well trained in Vietnam to understand Vietnamese broken English. Here in Japan, I constantly finding myself asking students to repeat things because I had no idea what they said. It's gonna be a challenge, but after week I can already hear a big difference in a few of my students. I think after three months there will be some very big strides...despite the gymnasium classroom.

Eel

Eel has always been one of my favorite things to eat at sushi restaurants. In Japan, they have specialty restaurants that only serve eel. Of course had to try one out.

After work the other day, I rode my bike around my neighborhood until I found a sign that had a drawing of an eel on it. Since I can’t read Japanese, this was clearly a big help. I parked my bicycle in front of the restaurant and walked in. The first thing I noticed was that I was the only person in the restaurant. By “only person” I mean there wasn’t even a waiter or a cook. I let out a little cough and sure enough, the cook/owner/waiter popped into the room. He looked very surprised to see a foreigner. He started to speak to me in Japanese and quickly realized I couldn’t speak a word. He then pointed at the menu on the wall which of course was in Japanese. Prices too.

From what I could gather there were three options on the menu. He kept pointing at the first Japanese kanji, so I said one of the three words I know, “Hai.” That means yes.

The man then proceeded to make me an absolutely amazing meal. Besides the huge portion of eel and rice, he also gave me the greatest tofu I have ever tasted. I’m not a tofu person but this tofu just melted in my mouth. He also prepared a fresh plate of vegetables and a delicious soup for me. At the end of the meal he sliced me a Japanese apple and even gave me one to take home with me. While I ate the man kept trying to make small talk with me and through gestures I told him how much I was loving the meal. He seemed very pleased.

The chef/owner could not have been any friendlier. As I ate the scrumptious meal I kept thinking, “I’m gonna come here ever single week.” That thought ended though when the man gave me my bill: 2,200 yen or roughly $27. Okay, okay, I’m cheap! I’ll go ever two weeks!

Goshiki-numa

(PICTURE: Paula in front of the first lake.)

Paula, my unofficial tour guide, recently took me on a famous hike in the second largest national park in Japan. Apparently Fukushimi is located right near Bondai Mountain, a volcano that erupted 121 years ago (killing 400+ people and destroying villages!).

The eruption formed a whole bunch of lakes and ponds which have different minerals in them causing each to be a slightly different color. The hike winds in and out of these colorful lakes and ponds and is fittingly called, "Five Colors Lakes."

The 8 KM hike was really nice, and despite the day's fog, we could see the various colors ranging from turquoise blue to mustard yellow. As we passed one of the sign markers, Paula pointed out that the Japanese translation signs said that the lakes were actually swamps. My mom’s voice immediately popped into my head: “You didn’t need to go to Japan to see swamps. You could have stayed in New Jersey.”

Toilets and Pajamas

Last weekend I went to Tokyo for a work conference. Westgate put me up in nice hotel around the corner from the conference site. My hotel room was about half the size of a standard Holiday Inn room but had some nice amenities. Specifically there were two things that stood out. First there was the most advanced toilet I’ve ever seen. The thing had a heated seat with a remote control next to it. One button was for a bidet. One button was for a “spray” (a butt shower which somehow differed from the biday). And other buttons/dials that controlled the pressure of the spray and bidet Needless to say, I did a lot of reading at the hotel.

The other cool amenity was a giant shirt/pajama thing that was left laid out on my bed.

I don’t usually wear pajamas to sleep but of course I had to try it. Frankly, I looked pretty good in it:

You know you're in Japan when...

...you're at the gym and King Kong is playing on the treadmill TV screens. Unfortunately, it was the Peter Jackson King Kong.

New Friends

(PICTURE: Paula and Katie)

The teaching program I'm in, per my request, placed me in the smallest city with the most nature they had. I'm in Koryama City in Fukushima Prefecture. If you haven't heard of it don't feel bad. I asked two friends who lived in Japan for a few years about it and they both said it didn't ring a bell.

I'm only an hour and a half from Tokyo if you take the bullet train but this area is considered "the country." There's a whole bunch of mountains not too far from where I'm at and loads of rice fields and forests right outside of my city. Frankly, it's not the most exciting place but it's pretty darn close to what I pictured before coming here.

Since I'm in a small city, there isn't a need for many English teachers. In fact, including me, there are only three teachers in this prefecture that are part of our program (there are some other language schools supposedly). Luckily for me though the other two teachers who are part of my program are freaking awesome. Paula and Katie are sort of like twins. Both girls originally came to Japan as part of the famous Jet program. They did three years with Jet and then stuck around after meeting Japanese men that they ended up marrying. Yup, both girls are married to Japanese guys and both girls speak Japanese. Even cooler, both girls are ridiculously nice and don't mind showing me the ropes in Japan despite me asking them a gazillion questions. I gotta say, I got pretty freaking lucky with my new friends and my new city.

Sushi

Two nights before I left Vietnam, I did something very stupid -- I ate sushi. Sushi in Vietnam isn't good. Period. I've had it a couple of times and always been a little bit skeptical of the fish. Well, the kid I tutor's family took Huyen and I out to the Sofitel Plaza for dinner as a going away present. The Sofitel is one of the nicest hotels in Hanoi and the buffet there is supposed to be very good. I've told many people that I personally think the most dangerous food in Vietnam is the stuff served in nice restaurants since not everything is fresh like it is on the street. Well, I should have listened to myself. I ate A LOT of sushi at the Sofitel buffet and then spent next 36 hours fighting food poisoning. I had a temperature, unbelievable cramps and found that with every sip of water I would spend ten minutes on the toilet bowl. It wasn't pretty and I was sure I wouldn't be able to fly to Japan.

Somehow I made a miracle recovery and obviously made it to Japan. On the second day here my new friend Katie and I went to lunch...at a sushi restaurant. Generally I would avoid a food that just got me sick (I haven't had a Napoleon dessert since I got sick from one about 20 years ago) but how can you say no to sushi in Japan! This is my first bowl of sushi...and it was DELICIOUS!

Yo, Tokyo!

This is my first picture in Japan. Do you see those black boxes above the seats? They are the reason I took the picture. Let me set the scene: I had just arrived in Japan an hour before and was riding the Narita Airport Express Train to Tokyo. I had an assigned seat but decided to sit behind it because someones luggage was placed in front of my assigned chair. Both seats were open behind where I was supposed to sit so sat down and began to stare out the window, enjoying my first views of Japan. Well, about two minutes went by before a train worker walked into the train holding a fancy gadget in his hand. The gadget apparently had received a signal that someone was sitting in a reserved seat who shouldn't have been. The worker came to check my ticket and potentially charge me more money for not sitting in the unreserved car. I showed the train worker my ticket and all was okay.

So why am I writing this as my first blog about Japan? Because, well, Japan is soooo much more advanced than Vietnam. I knew this coming in but BAM it struck me right away with everything. In Vietnam, two weeks ago, I snuck into a train compartment we weren't supposed to be in. After getting caught -- by chance since Huyen's sister asked the guy a question! -- we just had to give the guy a couple dollars and he let us stay. Such is clearly not the case in Japan.

This is going to be an interesting three months!