“Amidst the ten-thousand things”: Day six, seven, and eight of Kat’s (not quite) Epic Christmas/New Years 2008 (and technically 2009) Trip (of wonderfulness)

The quote at the top, in case you were wondering, is a reference to the Dao De Jing.  The “ten thousand things” is an oft-used phrase in old Chinese philosophy to mean everything in the known world.  I use it as a reference to that, and because on New Years Eve/New Years Day, I stood in a teeming crowd of at least 10,000 people–most likely more if you put it all together.

I left Kumamoto early on December 29th, heading back to Shimabara.  Insert more wonderfulness of hanging out with my friends there, and then the following day we headed up to Fukuoka for New Years.  

Me and Christine decided to stay with her friend Naoko, a ridiculously nice Japanese women with two (so I’ve been told) adorable sons.  Her sons were with their father on Iki for winter break, and the house was lonely, so–she said repeatedly–she was happy to have us around.

Fukuoka is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited.  Not just because it’s the perfect size of big city–just big enough to have everything I want, not too big to get easily lost, but also because it’s beautiful and really close by.  :)  After meeting Naoko and Christine at the Iki ferry port, we trekked on over to Tenjin for some food and shopping.  (I bought more books–Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and The Tales of Beedle the Bard–as well as more Starbucks.)  On our way through there, we spotted some HI-larious vending machines…

In case you can't read hiragana... that's a ramen vending machine.

Yes, you too for only about three dollars can purchase a steaming hot can of instant ramen.  Just pop open the top, sip, and walk.  

0_0

For dinner I ate with my friends from Shimabara (actual ramen this time, thank goodness) and then we prowled the city, got lost several times (mostly my fault), and eventually I took a taxi back to Naoko’s, excited for the day to come.

Both Christine and I slept in.  We had a hair appointment in the afternoon.  Lemme tell you, although the language barrier is always a problem (I wanted bangs!  Where are my sexy side-swept bangs?!), they certainly know how to treat you at the salons in Japan.  For only a measly $50 (…), I got a full head and shoulder massage, absolutely delightful, and the attention of two, TWO!, hair stylists for over an hour.  I grant you, Japanese hair and White-person hair are two different beasts, but still… it was nice.  

We did some shopping and some more walking, and before we knew it, dinner time had arrived!

Naoko’s father, a seventy-year old who doesn’t look a day over fifty with his awesome Elvis hair, invited us to eat soba for our New Year’s feast.  It’s traditional to eat soba on New Year’s Eve as the long noodles signify having a long life, and maybe the fact that they’re made from buckwheat is to symbolize you staying healthy?  I dunno… but the noodles were delicious.  The little back-alley restaurant we ate in was adorable, and Naoko’s father was a hoot!  The guy’s great.

Naoko, Christine, and Naoko's father at the soba bar.

I remembered how terribly long the lines in Tokyo were when I went to ring the bell with Tomo-chan back in 2006, so I knew we should get there early. Naoko had recommended that we go to a shrine called Dazaifu.  

There’s a long, gorgeous history associated with it, that can pretty much be summed up as thus:  this dude named Sugawara was once a very popular member of the Imperial Court.  He was supposedly a genius–composed a beautiful, symbolic haiku at the age of six.  Somehow he lost favor with the court and so was shunted as far away as possible, i.e. into Kyushu.  He died a lonely, sad man, but with many disciples.  During his burial procession, the oxen suddenly died right where Dazaifu now stands.  One of the disciples, a few years later, decided to build the shrine right over his Master’s grave.  It is said, too, that a beautiful plum tree that used to sit in front of his house up in Kyoto then flew to join the man who’d tended it so well.

There is a pretty nice plum tree at dazaifu, though it wasn’t in bloom yet (they are blooming now).

We ended up arriving at Dazaifu sometime around 11pm.  The line was already past the first tori–there are four total, separated by about 100 or 200 meters each.  I estimate that, during the time we spent waiting and joking and freezing our tushes off, that at least 50,000 people either arrived or left the shrine.  It was chaos, but that beautiful sort of chaos that finds itself rooted in tradition.  Well, I had fun at least.

We'd passed the second tori at this point, headed for the third.

It was already past midnight at this point--probably closer to one or one-thirty in the morning.

A-hah! The pinnacle is in sight!

So what you do when you reach that ever important center is: 

1. Toss in some denomination of money.  This could be as small as a single yen (I went for big money and threw in a whole thirteen yen) or as big as 100 or 500 yen–about one or five dollars.  
2. Clap your hands twice and bow your head over them.
3. Pray or make your New Year’s Resolution or what-not.
4. Open eyes, clap hands again.
5. Push your way out of the crowd and go buy yourself a souvenir!

I know it seems really odd to wait for so long (all told it was about four hours) just for a minute of praying, but there really was this extreme serene moment for me after I threw my money and clapped my hands.  It was nice.  And going to one of these shindigs is an experience I think everyone visiting Japan should have, if just to see how awesomely insane it is.

Note the police officer in the right corner. He's wearing a riot mask to protect him from the flying coins.

I ended up buying just a generic charm (to protect me from harm).  It looks quite nice on my cell phone, thank you, and it makes for a good story when my Japanese friends/coworkers see it.

As we left the main courtyard, it began to snow.  Some of my company were grumpy at that point, understandable as it was very late and very cold, but I could barely believe the beauty.  Despite the loud and celebratory atmosphere in the shrine beyond, behind the coin tossing, the world just became silent and still.  

Christine, Naoko, and I walked back to the car feeling exhausted but satisfied.  (Christine also bought me some anko, red bean paste, which is Teh Delicious.)  I tried my best not to sleep in the car on the way back to Naoko’s, but it was a struggle. When we finally arrived back, Christine and I had a nice, surprisingly long, chat, and then we drifted off to sleep.

Didn’t wake up until past noon, stomach grumbling and ready to book it.  Christine and I had a day of shopping ahead of us!  YAY shopping!  What is life if not to spend extra money?

The main point of the day was to go to… (drumroll please) Costco!

I love Costco.

I have been able to order from Costco Japan online (The Flying Pig), but it’s just a whole better (and cheaper) experience to be able to go to the store.  Costco, Fukuoka, is about an hour outside of the city proper, but it was nice to take the trip.  And, as we climbed altitude, the snow that had fallen the night before turned into an actual blanket on the surrounding hills and trees.  

We arrived in triumph and went to lunch.  Costco Hotdogs!

Only bad thing: they're not Hebrew National.

After Costco we did Uniqlo (clothing), Tully’s Coffee, some sort of backpacking shop with very expensive hiking attire, browsed amidst the silly Engrish t-shirts for kids, and even had someone hawk water purifiers at us.  We eventually made our way to the nearby movie theater for something else I’d been look forward to for awhile–seeing WallE on the Big Screen.  And, plus for us, because it was the first day of the month, it only cost 1000yen.  (Cheap for Japan.)

I loved WallE, in case you were wondering.

I should buy it…

No, I shouldn’t.  Scratch that.

 

Me and my robotic hero.

The following day was more shopping and a return to Iki.

Perhaps one might view the end of this “Epic” adventure as a bit anti-climactic, but I like a little bit of break after a lot of travel.  It was also great to get to know Naoko, to chat with Christine, and to do the guilty pleasure that is a Shopping Spree.  

So that’s it!  (Took me long enough.)  I do have some photos from my day back from Iki, seeing the dolphins, but that’s technically not part of my New Year’s/Christmas trip.  I hope you found it educational.

Next up at the end of the month: Hiroshima and one of the Three Scenic Spots, Miyajima.

And now back to your regularly scheduled broadcasts…

 

To keep you entertained…

…for at least a few minutes, I gift to you several of the good times that were had whilst I travelled throughout Shimabara, Kumamoto, and Fukuoka. (Mostly because I have taken OH SO MANY pictures and I figured that until I edit them, you’ll have no idea how wonderful my time was–because it was teh uber wonderful.  So here’s a few bits and pieces.)

• Made a rockin’ apple pie despite the shortening being all… hard and frozen like. 
• Wandered around Obama (yes, Obama… it’s a city…)
• Ate far too many Sour Cream and Onion Pringles
• Walked (all together over the ten days) more than 50km, I would estimate.
• Sang really loudly to myself (Disney songs, as well as several others, after my iPod battery died) while hiking up and down the side of a volcano
• Got to see a Rhinosaurus dance (he had sweet moves)
• Reached the goal
• Road in a helicopter
• Ate more horse
• Visited a temple that has a history of over 1000 years and acted as an impromptu (and somewhat dirty-mouthed) tour guide for my fellow foreigners
• Bought way too much stuff at uniqlo (but now I have more clothes!  And a dress!  SQUEE)
• Ate a Costco Hot Dog (sadly not Hebrew National)
• Played the eHarmony game with Christine (far more entertaining than I could have imagined)
• Saw some dolphins do dolphin-y tricks
• Watched the craziest damn South Korean movie.  I tell ya, they know how to make them some “Are you sure you weren’t high when you wrote this?” movies that will entertain the bejesus out of you.

It was a rockin’ time, everything went as well as I could have hoped–and often better.  I look forward to sharing more with you in the future…

Happy 2009!

 

Autumn in Fukuoka

There’s a lot of chatter about Japan’s “four seasons” here, as if no other country in the world has four seasons.  I find this a little strange as Iki, for instance, only has two seasons: Really Hot and Really Cold (but no snow).  But, truth be told, depending on where you go you can experience some pretty damn gorgeous landscapes. 

So last weekend, I went to Fukuoka with the other ALTs on the island.  They were all taking the JLPT exam–I wasn’t, my Japanese isn’t quite at the level I want it to be when I take the test–but I decided to accompany them for shopping and tourism purposes.  And let me tell you, it was cold!  The first weekend of December, when we left Iki there was snow!  Real snow!  Just not sticking.  But still, snow!   I bundled up pretty thoroughly for this adventure, but thank goodness for hotels with heat-air conditioners, that’s all I’ve got to say.

On Saturday, Christine and I did some shopping.  This was all in preparation for half of my reason to go: to see WallE!  Finally!  After Sissy spurned me in the summer, I still wanted to see it.  Luckily, it just opened in Japan, so I got to see it on the big screen.  And it was an excellent, excellent movie!  A good moral, friggin’ amazing graphics (they looked so real in the very beginning!), an excellent soundtrack, and a-dor-able characters (“Eve-a!  Eve-a!”).  I lubbed it.  Not quite sure if it replaces Happy Feet in my heart, but still a heavily satisfying movie.

Plus, before the movie, Christine and I spotted this HI-larious example of Engrish:

Christine wanted her face removed. I wanted my body.

The following day, while poor Guy, Christine, and Nathan had to take the test, I wandered through Fukuoka.  It was warmer on Sunday–though still pretty chilly–and the sky switched from dreary grey to excellently decorated blue and fluffy clouds.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited.  Though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t spend too much money, I wandered first into Tenjin, the shopping capitol of Fukuoka City.  Ended up drinking three cups of Starbucks that day (two of which were actual lattes!  I know!  Craziness). 

I wandered around for several hours trying to find the Apple Store.  Because my computer’s been having conniptions, I’ve decided to purchase an iMac.  (Insert uber amounts of blubber here for the prettiness that will be my computer in about a month.)  However, for some reason beyond me, it was hard to spot.  In any case, it wasn’t as if I was rushed, and I got to see a lot of beautiful things.  Much as I know I could never live in an urban area for a truly extended period of time, Fukuoka certainly has a great amount of charm. 

Some artwork outside of a Shinto Shrine. No, I dont know what it means.

Just look at those clouds! Srsly.

So as I was wandering, I happened upon an amazing building.  Okay, probably not that amazing, but I thought it was beautiful, and it just randomly appeared right near the Crocs store.  (I’m addicted to Crocs now, did I mention that?  The fuzzy inner lining = GENIUS indoor winter shoes.)  Not only is it a great example of how to combine modern aesthetics with nature, modern society with carbon-dioxide absorbing plants, but it also offers a great view of Fukuoka from 10AM to 4PM.  I’d arrived around noon–not good sun for picture taking, but still a breathtaking climb up (hey, I’m out of shape) and cityscape.

All shiny and green and red.

You couldnt get a cityscape like this in China--well, maybe in Hangzhou. Too much pollution. Yay, Japan!

There was also a very stern looking security officer at the top who made me feel far too aware of myself.  Still, it was a lot of fun.  And may I comment additionally that wandering around a city by oneself with an iPod can lead to really great times.  I felt like I had my own theme music as I went. 

Which leads me to the next point…

So I made my way to another park (stunningly named Fukuoka Central Park) and happened upon a nice bridge and a place to rest just before my iPod started playing Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader, a song that never fails to make me want to dance.  So… I danced.  In the middle of a bridge.  With Japanese people everywhere who could not hear the music I was listening to.  For four minutes.  And it was surprisingly awesome.  It made me feel carefree and spunky and threw me a piece of my random self that I think I left in High School.  (It’d been a long time since my last random dance party.)  Yeah, I may have gotten some looks, but I like to think I made those very confused people’s day. 

A creepy image that preceeded my visit to the Bridge of Dancing Awesomeness.

In any case, I made my way back to Starbucks for the second cup of the day (Gingerbread Latte = DELICIOUS) and discovered a very nicely stocked bookstore nearby.  I say nicely stocked because usually the western sections of Japanese bookstores leave much to be desired, but this one was almost half of a whole floor.  I peeked into the Rough Guide’s entry on Fukuoka which recommended I visit a place called Ohori Park–only two stops on the train away from Tenjin.  It took some walking to get there (I found it difficult to find the right station to leave from), but once I got there, I was in love.  Such a wonderfully gorgeous park, just smack dab in the middle of iron and concrete!  Plus the Fukuoka Prefectural Art Museum was at one corner, which meant I could fill in my cultural bubble for the week.  Oh man, seriously, this place was gorgeous.  And it wasn’t just the view or the water, but the people running and chatting together, the way the buildings looked next to the trees, and the cool, crisp feel of the Fukuoka air entering my lungs.  It was peaceful and welcoming. 

In any case, it made me really [heart] Fukuoka.  Like woah.

Yeah. Seriously.

Probably the only time you will ever see me give a peace sign in a picture of me.

Sometimes I just do not get Japanese logic.

An explanation of the above sign, because it’s a little hard to see.  There were signs all over the park saying that you couldn’t fish.  However, starting at this side, there were signs showing that it was okay (the blue).  But I have to assume the lake was not separated by an iron wall between the OK-Fish and the だめ-fish… In any case, found these two to be hilarious.  And, at first ,though I thought Orange Jacket was doing a No-No, in fact his line is in the OK-Fish section.

Me in front of a pumpkin statue in front of Fukuoka Art Museum. Check out how long my hairs gotten...

Me being artsy in front of Fukuoka Art Museum while waiting for Christine.

So anyway, now whenever I go back to Fukuoka, I think I’ll make some time to go to Ohori Park.  I’d recommend it to anyone going–and apparently the ruins of Fukuoka-jo is also nearby.  If you’re in the mood for a break from city life and don’t have the time to come to Iki (I think Iki is way more beautiful than this, if in a different way), it’s a great place to visit–and doesn’t cost any money!  The Art Museum is also cheap: 200 yen to see both of the permanent exhibits, and I think 800 yen for the Temporary.  A pretty good deal, I’d say.  But then I don’t really know one thing about art, I just like to look and think: Wow.  Cool.  Pretty.  Interesting.  Huh.  Oh, don’t understand that one at all.  Maybe that’s the point…

Well, in any case, my life is not particularly interesting at the moment, but if you have any questions, I’m always around.

Unless, of course, my computer decides that enough is enough and it really does kick the bucket.  Cross your fingers that it makes it until I have the money to buy the iMac…  I only need $3,000…  ::looks shifty::

Well, I’ll leave you with this last picture of Fukuoka, proof that sunsets in cities can be just as dynamic as those in Arizona–though perhaps not quite as colorful. 

Yeah. Purdy.

 

Oh, Nagasaki.

A few updates before I begin.

NaNoWriMo: Words?  Hah.  Now that’s just funny.  (And depressing.)

Life: Freaking great.  (I had another word and then I remembered this blog is PG.  Well… maybe PG-13.)

So I spent Saturday to Wednesday in Nagasaki for what JET lovingly refers to as the “Mid-year Conference.”  Most of this time was me running around needlessly spending money, though I did manage a few tourist activities (huzzah for the Art Museum!  It was b-e-a-utiful).  I drank too much wine and ate too much Indian food, but hey, when one lives on an island like Iki, I need to get my kicks while I can so that I can adore my tiny island all the better.

Still have not been to the Peace Park though.  Eventually I’ll get there.

So on Saturday, Christine and I arrived in Nagasaki tired but not quite ready to go to sleep in our cute little hostel.  We wandered down to Dejima Wharf (where the dutch used to live back when Japan was like, “Boo! We [heart] isolationism and you’s all white!” and they were like, “Yeah, but check out this cool tech” ::whirs something whirry:: And the Japanese were like, “Oh.  Well.  We’ll build you your own island so that you won’t mess with our populace but we can still take your money.”

Anyway.

Down by Dejima, they were having a Harley Davidson Festival!  Talk about ironic, eh?  Regardless, it was full hilarity.  Just a random piece of down-home American culture stuck right in the middle of Japan.  I particularly liked the fantastic Johnny Cash playing in the background by “Good Time Charlie”–a Japanese man who had barely any accent.

Christine raises her glass (bottle) to Harleys across the world.

With their schnazzy Hog hats.

The best bike of the entire festival. Hands down.

The bike above actually made me want to go out and buy a Harley.  But, aside from the fact that I’d have to somehow figure out a way to bring it back with me to America in three years, I’d also have to get a special Japanese driver’s license in order to drive it, and that just takes way too much effort.

YES JAPAN!

Can we just have a moment for the awesomeness that is Random Japan?

Thank you.

(Oh Jesus.  I just heard CNNj say that Sarah Palin is thinking about running in 2012.  Ok, that’s fine, but please pull yourself together before you do–take a couple classes on Foreign Policy at least.)

Christine being her sexy self.

Ahah. Now what you dont see are all the people fighting to take my picture to the side. Because apparently an American on a Harley is just too much.

Continuing on.

No pictures from the Art Museum–obviously–but the exhibit was on Christianity in Nagasaki (and, to some extent, Japan in general).  For those who don’t know, Nagasaki was essentially the heart of Christianity in Japan for hundreds of years, even through a purge done during that whole “F-you Foreigners!” period.  (Hey, they killed lots of Buddhists, too.  They were equal opportunity murderers… I mean… samurai.  ::looks shifty:: ).

It was interesting to see the growth and abundance of art and how Christianity is interpreted by Japanese artists.  Half of the exhibit was made up of drawings and statues by Funakoshi Yasutake, which were suprisingly powerful.  A charcoal sketch of Saint Anna nearly brought me to tears, actually.   And this from someone who’s not at all religious.  The power of art, I guess.

Monday and Tuesday were spent listening to the dulcet tones of presenters as they told me about life in Japan.  A lot of it was old news, but I did get a number of great new ideas.  I also met some excellent new folks (Isthmus!) and got to catch up with Sabrina and Emily from the first conference.  Those gals are great.  In fact, I’m planning on visiting them next weekend.  Climb some volcanoes.  Go to a few bars (we don’t really have bars on Iki…).  Dance a bit.  Maybe practice some more hangman.

Getting back to the point.

After conference, Christine and I spent Wednesday wandering around downtown Nagasaki near Glover Gardens.  This is this huge, complex park that is a “National Treasure.”  During the late 1800s, some Europeans (ok, they were mostly from the UK) ran to stake their claim in Japan after they opened to foreigners–this is where they should thank the US, a.k.a. Matthew Perry.  No Glover Garden would exist without his big guns.

Regardless, there’s beautiful homes and architecture, a stunning view of the city, gigantic koi of doom, and a sense of serenity that was quite surprising. 

Oura Church, memorial for the 26 Nagasaki martyrs.

Nagasaki.

A famous bridge in Nagasaki.

Christine and I were wandering around, and I happened to look at the brochure and noticed I could do something to make me even more ridiculous.  Well, I’m unable to say no to that so… enjoy?

Oh, that walrus mustache. It gets me every time.

Everyone say it with me, KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

All I needed was a cup of tea to go with it.

Christine and my favorite house. I am in the right corner.

So that’s all I’ve got.  Picture heavy this time, but I do always think that pictures convey a lot more than my words can (and here I’m a writer… what does that say about my writing?  shoot…).  It really was a great time despite me spending so much money, and I’m very happy about it.  Props go to Christine for planning the whole thing and dealing with my inability to make decisions when faced with several things I want to do.  I swear to God, though, when I leave the island again I will NOT spend so much money.

So what’s going on in your lives?  Visited any excellent museums lately?  According to my Aunt there’s a great ikebana exhibit in St. Paul/Minneapolis right now–so if you’re in the area, go check it out and think of me.  I haven’t been able to find an ikebana teacher on Iki, but Taiko, calligraphy, and Flaminco dancing (I know! great, huh?) will fill that void.

 

PotW — August 31 to September 20

Ok, I know it’s more like three weeks.  BUT instead of giving you three photos, I’m giving you a video, which is more like 8000 pictures, anyway.  (Ok, that might be overestimating, but whatever.)

Better titled “What ALTs do when they’re really, really bored.  And silly.”

Pretty usual karaoke until about a minute in.  I encourage you to make it that far.