So a few days ago, on the 27th, was my Tita Elvie's birthday here in Japan.
A few days earlier, Sa-chan and the kids surprised her with dinner and presents, since they couldn't make it out for her real birthday date. We had a lot of food, and were drinking and exchanging stories, when I found out that Sa-chan and Uichi-san were inviting me for some drinks and tsumame at the izakaya downstairs. Sa-chan got really loaded, and it was hilarious because earlier she'd been making progress speaking English/Japanese with me, but she couldn't talk anymore at dinner. As we were leaving, she kept a hold of my arm, refusing to go near Uichi-san and kept whispering stuff to me in Japanese about him like I really knew what she was saying. Good times.
Then on the 27th, I ended up getting her this really nice orchid plant, and it turned out well since she said that just the other day she was thinking that she needed more flowers in the house. Later that day, I was trying to set up dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with my cousin, 'cause I know that they haven't been there before, and they like to eat, so the big portions would be perfect. I had a few moments of worry when my cousin suggested that we go somewhere nearer, since it's in Sakae, since my aunt usually likes the izakayas, like myself.
But my aunt and I turned out to be more alike than I thought, and she was up for somewhere new, so she convinced my uncle, and off we went. Luckily, unlike other American restaurants like McDonalds, KFC, and Denny's, it has not been Japanized, and had large portions of food for relatively cheap, which made us all happy. Plus, the best part was when I asked the waitress, (who was awesome by the way, because she spoke to everyone in Japanese, except for me when she realized I spoke English, and even offered an English menu for me), if they did anything special, since it was my aunt's birthday. I was expecting them to provide her with a birthday cake surprise, and maybe sing to her, but I was pleasantly surprised as well, when she announced to the entire restaurant and got everyone to sing to her. All in all, it was a very fun night. Here are the pics from those two nights: Happy Birthday!!!
But for those of you wondering how old my aunt is, just believe me when I say that she's still got it, regardless of what age she is.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Utopia: Retroactive Post
So the next day, after going to Nagoya Jo and Tsurumai Koen, we decided to go to this public bath house, or onsen, since I had heard of them and I knew that they were a Japanese tradition.
Maybe I first need to explain how baths in general work here in Japan. Actually, let me show you what the ofuro *bath looks like:
So on the top, is obviously a bathtub, and the other is a picture of the area for you to shower. Notice that unlike US bathtubs, the shower area is NOT the bathtub. This is because it is typical for Japanese to take a hot bath at night, to help them go to sleep. However, if you are a member of a large family, it gets to be very expensive if you have to fill and refill the bath water with each persons' bath. Therefore, the process here in Japan is that usually the father first takes a shower to clean himself before going to soak in the bath tub, and then the next person follows that process all the way down to the youngest member of the household, with everyone sharing the same bathwater.
Now I know that that might seem gross at first, and I was a little weirded out by this, until I realized its practicality, as well as the fact that it's virtually the same as if you were in a hot tub with other people at the same time. In fact, that ends up being grosser, since most people don't shower before they get in the hot tub. The only significant difference is that you're naked in the ofuro, and you're not, unless you're skinny-dipping, in a hot tub.
Plus, one really neat thing about Japanese baths is that they're a lot hotter than US baths, which makes them more like hot tubs. My aunt had said that she was going to take a bath after my uncle after dinner, and I was surprised that he had left the bathroom some time ago, but my aunt was still cleaning up the dishes and everything, so I asked her if she was still planning to take a bath. She answered yes, so I asked her, puzzled, if the water wasn't cold by now, since my uncle had finished a long time ago, and she explained that in Japan, the water is all regulated by a central heating control in the kitchen. It is especially used for baths. Of course, you can modify the temperature of your water by adding more cold water, but this way you can set it to be up to 46 degrees Celsius and get a really hot bath going. Anyway, that's how Japanese baths work at home.
In public, they work much the same way. Everyone showers and then you go into a hot tub, but you're doing it nude. My uncle had asked if I was okay with that plan, since it would involve being naked in front of other people, but I said that I was up for the "Charrenge," and that I had to do it, because even if I'm not accustomed or comfortable being nude in public, I didn't want to miss out on a tradition that I wouldn't be able to experience once I got back to the US. So we went to this place called Utopia. My aunt told me that men and women did bathe separately, so I didn't need to worry about that. Now please forgive me in advance for all the blurry pictures, but I was pretty drunk when I took them.
At first I was expecting a kind of wooden building or something like what I've read about of Middle Age bath houses, but this is nothing like that. It's completely modern, and very much geared to the family-oriented crowds. It has saunas and cool water pools as well as normal hot tubs, both indoors and out, and some of the baths even have different bath minerals added to them for arthritis and rheumatism, etc...Outside of the ofuro, you get changed into one of their yukatas, and you can go to the gaming arcade, they used to have karaoke boxes, go and get a massage or a pedicure, sleep in one of the quiet rooms, watch a movie in their movie theater, play go, which is like chess, or go and have a drink and food downstairs in their restaurants. It's great.
My uncle had to deal with an emergency at work, so we went ahead. I took a bath, chilled in the sauna till I couldn't stand it any longer, dunked in the super cold bath, and then went back to the bath and sauna. After we were sufficiently warm and pink-cheeked, my aunt and I got drinks and ice cream to help cool us down. I watched this movie called Shinobi, which I really liked, even though I didn't understand it fully since it was in Japanese and no subtitles. But it was still good. I'll look for it on dvd and maybe bring it to the US.
After the movie, my uncle had arrived and taken a bath. He had brought Chu-hi and a canned cocktail drink for me, since they were way more expensive to buy inside. I didn't realize how thirsty I must have been, because I killed that drink. Of course, I also failed to recognize just how little food I had eaten throughout the day, because that one can with 5 lcohol hit my system like a series of shots and before I knew it, I was drunk. My aunt had the best time getting funny pictures of me, so please enjoy: Utopia She'd make you proud, Pat. Anyway, it was a good experience, and if any of you are ever here, I'd recommend that you see for yourselves. All right, that's all for these pics!
Maybe I first need to explain how baths in general work here in Japan. Actually, let me show you what the ofuro *bath looks like:
So on the top, is obviously a bathtub, and the other is a picture of the area for you to shower. Notice that unlike US bathtubs, the shower area is NOT the bathtub. This is because it is typical for Japanese to take a hot bath at night, to help them go to sleep. However, if you are a member of a large family, it gets to be very expensive if you have to fill and refill the bath water with each persons' bath. Therefore, the process here in Japan is that usually the father first takes a shower to clean himself before going to soak in the bath tub, and then the next person follows that process all the way down to the youngest member of the household, with everyone sharing the same bathwater.
Now I know that that might seem gross at first, and I was a little weirded out by this, until I realized its practicality, as well as the fact that it's virtually the same as if you were in a hot tub with other people at the same time. In fact, that ends up being grosser, since most people don't shower before they get in the hot tub. The only significant difference is that you're naked in the ofuro, and you're not, unless you're skinny-dipping, in a hot tub.
Plus, one really neat thing about Japanese baths is that they're a lot hotter than US baths, which makes them more like hot tubs. My aunt had said that she was going to take a bath after my uncle after dinner, and I was surprised that he had left the bathroom some time ago, but my aunt was still cleaning up the dishes and everything, so I asked her if she was still planning to take a bath. She answered yes, so I asked her, puzzled, if the water wasn't cold by now, since my uncle had finished a long time ago, and she explained that in Japan, the water is all regulated by a central heating control in the kitchen. It is especially used for baths. Of course, you can modify the temperature of your water by adding more cold water, but this way you can set it to be up to 46 degrees Celsius and get a really hot bath going. Anyway, that's how Japanese baths work at home.
In public, they work much the same way. Everyone showers and then you go into a hot tub, but you're doing it nude. My uncle had asked if I was okay with that plan, since it would involve being naked in front of other people, but I said that I was up for the "Charrenge," and that I had to do it, because even if I'm not accustomed or comfortable being nude in public, I didn't want to miss out on a tradition that I wouldn't be able to experience once I got back to the US. So we went to this place called Utopia. My aunt told me that men and women did bathe separately, so I didn't need to worry about that. Now please forgive me in advance for all the blurry pictures, but I was pretty drunk when I took them.
At first I was expecting a kind of wooden building or something like what I've read about of Middle Age bath houses, but this is nothing like that. It's completely modern, and very much geared to the family-oriented crowds. It has saunas and cool water pools as well as normal hot tubs, both indoors and out, and some of the baths even have different bath minerals added to them for arthritis and rheumatism, etc...Outside of the ofuro, you get changed into one of their yukatas, and you can go to the gaming arcade, they used to have karaoke boxes, go and get a massage or a pedicure, sleep in one of the quiet rooms, watch a movie in their movie theater, play go, which is like chess, or go and have a drink and food downstairs in their restaurants. It's great.
My uncle had to deal with an emergency at work, so we went ahead. I took a bath, chilled in the sauna till I couldn't stand it any longer, dunked in the super cold bath, and then went back to the bath and sauna. After we were sufficiently warm and pink-cheeked, my aunt and I got drinks and ice cream to help cool us down. I watched this movie called Shinobi, which I really liked, even though I didn't understand it fully since it was in Japanese and no subtitles. But it was still good. I'll look for it on dvd and maybe bring it to the US.
After the movie, my uncle had arrived and taken a bath. He had brought Chu-hi and a canned cocktail drink for me, since they were way more expensive to buy inside. I didn't realize how thirsty I must have been, because I killed that drink. Of course, I also failed to recognize just how little food I had eaten throughout the day, because that one can with 5 lcohol hit my system like a series of shots and before I knew it, I was drunk. My aunt had the best time getting funny pictures of me, so please enjoy: Utopia She'd make you proud, Pat. Anyway, it was a good experience, and if any of you are ever here, I'd recommend that you see for yourselves. All right, that's all for these pics!
Hanami: Retroactive Post
Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've either been a bum and too lazy to put in the work of putting up all of my new pics, or out and about, and taking the damn things. But here's what I've been up to so far.
The weekend before last, signaled the start of the hanami, which is when all the sakura *cherry blossoms go into bloom and everyone goes out to enjoy them in the many parks around the cities of Japan. This is a huge deal: the news is full of stories, following the wash of pink as it flows up from the south to cover the country. The reason why its such a big deal, and why everyone goes out to see the flowers, is because its so fleeting: the blossoms only bloom when it gets warm enough and then once they bloom, they're gone with the next rain or the next day of strong winds.
I think it's great that people take the time out of their schedules to recognize the momentary beauty of these flowers and maybe reflect on the briefness of our lives. In short, it's the Japanese way of stopping and smelling the roses. Which is really important for them, since one thing that I've learned since I've gotten here, is how much of a workaholic nation Japan is. I think they value their free time a little more than we do, and it explains why they tend to drink so much and maybe do some of the crazy things we sometimes see. And why they love karaoke so much.
Anyway, on the Saturday, I went with my aunt and cousin Uichi-san to Nagoya Castle, though I'm supposed to make sure that I call it Nagoya Jo if I'm ever taking a taxi, since if I ask for Nagoya Castle, I'll get driven to a love hotel-and I'm still not sure what exactly that means, but I think I'll stay away just in case. So, here are my pics of the castle: Nagoya Jo.
Nagoya Jo is one of the largest castles in Japan. It is a famous symbol, because it was the home of one of the family lines of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu (shogunate), a military dictatorship which ruled Japan from 1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. I actually also visited his childhood home, Okazaki Castle, the following week. I'll post another blog for those pics later on.
Following that we headed over to Tsurumai Park, (where it snowed that one day), and ended the day celebrating in true Japanese fashion with a picnic under the trees lasting into the night. It was too cold for my cousin Uichi-san, so he went home. Meanwhile, my aunt and I are left to spread out on our little picnic mat alongside many other parties of varying sizes. We got there around 5 or so, and already, there were drunk people wandering around, especially drunk Americans.
My favorite was when one of the drunk Americans stumbled into a group of young Japanese people, and the Japanese guy that he had ran into had also been doing some drinking, and so his group happily started to chant, USA, USA! After that, he passes them and starts to head to his group, but of course the mat with me and my aunt sitting on it is in front of him. I wish that I had been able to get a picture of the look on his face, as his eyes took us in. It was hilarious, knowing that were right in front of him, but he looked as if we had appeared out of nowhere to him, because he was so drunk. Oh, funny.
Later on in the evening, there is a group of maybe four older Japanese men, Im talking 60 or so, thats got a mat next to ours. They seemed friendly and one of them asked if where we were from, since it was obvious we werent Japanese. My aunt responded saying that she was from the Philippines and that I was visiting from the US. My aunt tells me that he was surprised to find out that I was her niece, since they thought that we were just friends. They chat a bit more and give us a can of beer, which we share, to be polite. Fast-forward to when I get back from using the restroom, and my aunt tells me that the guy that had talked to her earlier had asked if wed come and join their group, but my aunt had to refuse, since we were actually waiting for her husband, my uncle.
I'm sorry if I think that this was hilarious, its just that I soooo saw it coming when they first talked to us. Anyway, later, my uncle gets there, we buy some of the slightly over-priced vendor food, have a drink and then head home since it was starting to get cold. Not the most exciting hanami, but it was still enjoyable. Apparently, it gets pretty crazy later in the night, once everyone has had more than a few drinks, and people end up dancing and singing and stuff under the trees. My aunt told me that when she and my uncle were younger, they did that. Maybe if some of you guys come to visit me in the next spring, we'll have a wilder time! So, start saving up, okay?
The weekend before last, signaled the start of the hanami, which is when all the sakura *cherry blossoms go into bloom and everyone goes out to enjoy them in the many parks around the cities of Japan. This is a huge deal: the news is full of stories, following the wash of pink as it flows up from the south to cover the country. The reason why its such a big deal, and why everyone goes out to see the flowers, is because its so fleeting: the blossoms only bloom when it gets warm enough and then once they bloom, they're gone with the next rain or the next day of strong winds.
I think it's great that people take the time out of their schedules to recognize the momentary beauty of these flowers and maybe reflect on the briefness of our lives. In short, it's the Japanese way of stopping and smelling the roses. Which is really important for them, since one thing that I've learned since I've gotten here, is how much of a workaholic nation Japan is. I think they value their free time a little more than we do, and it explains why they tend to drink so much and maybe do some of the crazy things we sometimes see. And why they love karaoke so much.
Anyway, on the Saturday, I went with my aunt and cousin Uichi-san to Nagoya Castle, though I'm supposed to make sure that I call it Nagoya Jo if I'm ever taking a taxi, since if I ask for Nagoya Castle, I'll get driven to a love hotel-and I'm still not sure what exactly that means, but I think I'll stay away just in case. So, here are my pics of the castle: Nagoya Jo.
Nagoya Jo is one of the largest castles in Japan. It is a famous symbol, because it was the home of one of the family lines of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu (shogunate), a military dictatorship which ruled Japan from 1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. I actually also visited his childhood home, Okazaki Castle, the following week. I'll post another blog for those pics later on.
Following that we headed over to Tsurumai Park, (where it snowed that one day), and ended the day celebrating in true Japanese fashion with a picnic under the trees lasting into the night. It was too cold for my cousin Uichi-san, so he went home. Meanwhile, my aunt and I are left to spread out on our little picnic mat alongside many other parties of varying sizes. We got there around 5 or so, and already, there were drunk people wandering around, especially drunk Americans.
My favorite was when one of the drunk Americans stumbled into a group of young Japanese people, and the Japanese guy that he had ran into had also been doing some drinking, and so his group happily started to chant, USA, USA! After that, he passes them and starts to head to his group, but of course the mat with me and my aunt sitting on it is in front of him. I wish that I had been able to get a picture of the look on his face, as his eyes took us in. It was hilarious, knowing that were right in front of him, but he looked as if we had appeared out of nowhere to him, because he was so drunk. Oh, funny.
Later on in the evening, there is a group of maybe four older Japanese men, Im talking 60 or so, thats got a mat next to ours. They seemed friendly and one of them asked if where we were from, since it was obvious we werent Japanese. My aunt responded saying that she was from the Philippines and that I was visiting from the US. My aunt tells me that he was surprised to find out that I was her niece, since they thought that we were just friends. They chat a bit more and give us a can of beer, which we share, to be polite. Fast-forward to when I get back from using the restroom, and my aunt tells me that the guy that had talked to her earlier had asked if wed come and join their group, but my aunt had to refuse, since we were actually waiting for her husband, my uncle.
I'm sorry if I think that this was hilarious, its just that I soooo saw it coming when they first talked to us. Anyway, later, my uncle gets there, we buy some of the slightly over-priced vendor food, have a drink and then head home since it was starting to get cold. Not the most exciting hanami, but it was still enjoyable. Apparently, it gets pretty crazy later in the night, once everyone has had more than a few drinks, and people end up dancing and singing and stuff under the trees. My aunt told me that when she and my uncle were younger, they did that. Maybe if some of you guys come to visit me in the next spring, we'll have a wilder time! So, start saving up, okay?
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Real NEWS!!!: Retroactive Post
Okay, so this is not a late April Fool's Day joke: I just found out that I got into the JET program!!! I'm so happy and excited, but I'm also worried because I don't know if I'll be placed in Nagoya or not, and I won't find out until later. However, I've also got an interview with another teaching company called NOVA next Tuesday, and it's possible that I might get accepted to both of them...Anyway, just had to let you all know. I'm heading out, but I'll post pictures of the last few days soon. Take care!
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