Oh, my stars and garters!

How to spend your day off:

Trains and toilets, and the quiet end of a great trip.

Where were we? Leaving Nara. Leaving Nara on a bullet train.

After enjoying the turtle pond, we took the Kintetsu rail line to Kyoto Station, bought two tickets for a super express Nozomi train to Tokyo, and were on our way. 

A friend on Twitter asked for some pictures and video of the experience for her son, who is a big train fan. I was more than happy to help:

There was a rather good looking conductor at Kyoto Station.

I took video of a bullet train (not ours, obviously) leaving Kyoto Station. 

Our supercool train approaches the platform to whisk us away to the future.

One of the nicest things about traveling in Japan is that refreshment is never far away. We settled into our spacious seats with the snacks I bought on the station platform...

and watched the Japanese countryside warp by at 165 miles an hour.

We spent a little over two hours on that train, and I loved every minute. Except the minute when I had to wake the guy in the aisle seat so I could use the bathroom and then clumsily tripped over his briefcase on my way out. I didn't love that minute very much at all.

But other than that, it was great. I wished I could immediately ride the shinkansen back to Kyoto and then to Tokyo again. 

Instead we checked into a nice hotel with an even nicer view.

I'd wanted to cram some more Tokyo fun into our last night, but the cold I'd been ignoring for three days would no longer be denied. We ate dinner at a nondescript restaurant close by, and I planted my aching head on a pile of fluffy pillows and looked out the window, thinking about everything we'd seen in the past few weeks and resting in anticipation of the long trip back to Austin.  

Oh, we also used the fancy remote-control toilet in our hotel kind of a lot. I finally figured out the massage feature, and it's just...well, never mind. Although the toilet did make a lot of beeping noises, which made the experience slightly less soothing.*

Not all toilets in Japan** are that fancy. In public restrooms, it's a crapshoot: will you get a basic Western toilet? Or the slightly fancier version of the Toto Washlet, with a washing nozzle and a speaker that emits a musical flushing sound to mask your noises? 

Or will you open the stall door to find nothing but a pole and a hole, and, if you're lucky, a roll of toilet paper? 

Apparently some people have problems figuring those out. In case you were wondering, I had no such confusion and got the hang of them pretty quickly. (There was a lot of beer around for the cherry blossom festivities, so I had ample opportunity to practice.)

That's about all I have to say about toilets, and that also pretty much brings us to the end of our trip to Japan.

In closing, here is a picture of a cherry tree losing its blossoms on the grounds of Sanjusangendo in Kyoto. I can scarcely believe we were anywhere so far away and so beautiful just a couple of weeks ago. 

*I almost forgot. You should never play around with the air drying function until you are completely done with your business. Trust me. No reason!

**Sometimes I really love Wikipedia.

Nara way

I got bit in the butt by the deer of Nara.

They are considered sacred and have the run of the town. Vendors sell deer cookies so people can feed the deer.

Those people should be very, very careful, is all I'm saying. They will stop at nothing to get those cookies, including nipping yours truly in the ass. 

Deer-filled Nara, which served as Japan's capital in the 700s, is walkable, charming, and serene. It has a turtle pond.

We toured Tōdai-ji Temple and saw its great Buddha.

For scale, you could fit your head inside one of its nostrils.

After getting molested by deer and seeing the temple, we walked up to the highest point we could find, looked out over the city, ate some rice balls and fish, admired the view some more, and then walked back down.

By the time we got to the bottom it was late afternoon and a gusty breeze had kicked up, blowing the cherry blossom petals to the ground in masses. Little girls squealed and chased them as they spun and settled into drifts. Adults tried to capture it all with their cameras.

The petal blizzards were pretty but also meant the blooms, already fading, would be gone very soon.

The deer just ate them.

Nara was the last real day of our vacation--the rest would be devoted to travel and logistics. I doubt we could have chosen a lovelier place in which to say good-bye to Japan and relax before the long trip home.

Kyoto: Looking at flowers; eating bugs

If I have any regrets about this trip, it's that we didn't spend one more day in Kyoto. The cherry trees were at their peak, the people are a little warmer and more sociable than in Tokyo (and seem to speak more nuanced English too), the food is meticulously prepared and delicious, and it's just a beautiful city, maybe the prettiest I've seen.

They call the cherry blossoms sakura and the act of enjoying the sakura hanami, and so we hanami-ed the shit out of all that sakura.

We walked a lot, along Philosopher's Path, which was lined with trees, and in Maruyama Park, where they lit up the trees at night so people could have picnic dinners beneath them.

We ate a lot too. There were dozens of food vendors in the park, so we had fried chicken, octopus balls, steak-on-a-stick, and ice cream.

We also ate at a 547-year-old noodle shop that provided the soba noodles for the Imperial Family when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The broth was so good; it had the richness and tang that I love in any food, and it was finished with a sliver of yuzu peel, a fragrant citrus that is a lot like a Meyer lemon. I am going to crave that soup for a long time, I can tell already.

The most memorable meal of the the whole trip--maybe ever--was at Okariba, an izakaya joint in north Kyoto that's owned and run by a game hunter. We'd read he served what he bagged, and since the menu was in Japanese we just indicated that we were hungry and thirsty and left the rest up to him. He did not disappoint, bringing us boar on skewers, bear jerky, rare venison, smoked goose, dry sake, sweet plum wine, snake liquor, and liquor infused with terrifying Japanese hornets. Then he asked if we wanted the house specialty. This turned out to be candied locusts and bee larvae, served with a toasted rice ball for dessert.

The bee larvae was a little squashy for my taste, and the locusts were a tad...pointy, but everything else was delicious. We chatted with the owner a little between courses; he was funny and friendly, and like everyone else, he was excited about the cherry blossoms. He even gave us a little bottle of plum wine for the road.

It was delicious; it was fun. We marched happily back to the train station and were so distracted by the fun deliciousness that we took a line going further out of town instead of inbound and had to figure out our way back with a half-hour left of daily train service to spare. Stupidity! Alcohol! Adventure!

Eric has some pictures of the meal here.

We toured a beautiful, freaky, and very moving Buddhist temple and a slightly boring castle. We saw a pair of geishas walking to work in the entertainment district and a whole passel more arriving by taxi. We drank beer and poked through shops and visited the modern art museum because it was just right there.

But mostly we just walked around Kyoto, looked at flowers, and stuffed our faces. Maybe it was best we left when we did. Two days of that was fantastic; three days might have ruined us forever.

Oh, kin, Okinawa!

We left Tokyo last Friday for a five-day visit with Eric's sister and her family.

The nephews are at that good age where they are old enough to get your jokes.

Although not so old that they think your jokes are lame.

We screwed around on a number of beaches.

 

And investigated tidal pools as amazing as any aquarium.

My sister-in-law and I got great pedicures. (How the hell do they do that?)

I don't know; Okinawa is an island of many mysteries.

It was a really good visit, and it was hard to say good-bye yesterday. We're in Kyoto now. It only took us three hours to get here, but it seems like a world away already.

Light and...Light!

Cherry blossoms, or sakura, in Ueno Park. Sakura's a very big deal in Japan, and festivities were largely canceled this time last year because the nation was mourning the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Everyone we talked to said this year was going to be even more meaningful as a result.

I can't speak to that, but on our last day in Tokyo we walked along a path where all the trees were very nearly in full bloom, and everyone looked so damn happy, picnicking, strolling, taking pictures, drinking beer. We ate takeout sushi and takoyaki under a cherry tree and rented an excellently shitty swan-shaped paddle boat on the park's main pond.

Our Japanese lessons were actually very useful that afternoon. We were able to shout "abunai!" (look out!) just before a boat collision and "gomenasai!" (sorry!) after one.

After we turned in the swan boat, we took the subway over to Jingu Stadium for a good old-fashioned Japanese baseball game. You can BYO into the stadium, so we bought beer and bento boxes from the vendors that line the sidewalk on the way to the stadium. Of course they sold food inside too, more bentos and ice cream, and there were girls with keg backpacks selling draft beer and guys with little portable stands offering mixed drinks. I find these practices extremely awesome.

We'd intended to sit on the Yakult Swallows side and root for the home team--and the underdog--but we screwed up and ended up sitting with the Hanshin Tigers fans. That was ok, though. Tiger fans were a little more passionate, and since they won 3-0 we got to see everyone go nuts, clicking their click sticks and high-fiving every single person within reach when they scored runs, kind of like how Catholics shake hands during the sign of peace. Good stuff.

That about finished up Tokyo for us, although we'll spend one more night there before we fly home next week. Tokyo is a fantastic city to visit. It's vast, clean, and safe, and it varies so much from neighborhood to neighborhood that it's almost like visiting another town entirely every time you emerge from the subway. Which is comprehensive, intuitive, and fun as hell to ride. We did learn we should figure out our precise destinations ahead of time after some rather pissy half-hours spent lost here and there. Still, for a city that large--and largely without street names--it's remarkably easy to navigate.

Now we're visiting family on a Marine base in Okinawa, where the weather and the vibe are much warmer. No cherry blossoms here, but there are beautiful beaches, lots of hibiscus, and, of course, our people. More on all that in a few days, and then on to Kyoto!

Light and Dark

Yesterday we took the train a little ways out of town to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum. It was charming, comfortable, and inspiring. They don't allow photography inside, and at first I was bummed about that, but I quickly changed my mind. It was nice to see families roaming around and interacting with the displays instead of posing in front of everything, and I can't be the only amateur photographer to sometimes feel relieved to enjoy something special without worrying if I'm taking good enough pictures of it.

I do wish I could have taken a video of the huge, three-dimensional Bouncing Totoro zoetrope. It stopped every few minutes so everyone could see the individual figures and how the animation works. Invariably more people would wander in while it was stopped, and when the lights went off and it started up again they would all gasp--it was that cool.

I could go on and on about the place, but instead I'll link to Hayao Miyazaki's vision for the museum and say that I thought it was realized pretty much exactly.

After all that joy and whimsy, we took the train to the dark and disreputable-seeming Nakano Broadway Mall so Eric could shop for Japanese monster figures. Man, that place was a fascinating mess. Antique shops, overflowing toy stores, doll parts stores, cosplay outfit outlets, military surplus shops, a Michael-Jackson-themed-crap store, and regular low-end mall stuff like women's apparel and costume jewelry. Most of these places were run by glowering people of indeterminate age. (I didn't take many pictures there either, mostly because I was scared to ask.)

I snapped up a pair of striped low-top Chucks that were on sale for about $35 and looked at a pair of Super Mario Brothers high tops that were really awesome but $90 and not in my size.

Less awesome was the bunch of lighters and wallets and stuff like that with Nazi swastikas on them in a case in the back of a figurine shop. It is shocking and unpleasant to just bump into a swastika in real life like that; it simply doesn't come up that often in the U.S.

The whole mall smelled like 70 mazillion cigarettes had been smoked inside. Also a big storm that was rumored to be shutting down train service later was bearing down, so people were pulling their grates down early. I wasn't sorry we went there, but I was glad when Eric found what he was looking for so we could skedaddle.

Now, for good measure, here is a picture of a sign advertising nose-hair trimmers at a variety store in Ginza:

And here is a very lovely scene in Shinjuku National Garden today, where the cherry blossoms are just beginning to come into bloom:

Two more nights and one more day in Tokyo, which is incredible but starting to kick our asses. I'll be glad to get to Okinawa--and some family--on Friday.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park near Harajuku is probably the best park I've ever seen.

Tokyo is a crowded city, and it seems like people mostly cope with that by being quiet and exceptionally courteous to each other. Yoyogi Park is where everyone goes on Sunday to stretch out and make a little noise.

We saw a flag corps, frisbee players, cosplayers, jump ropers, and soccer players.

We saw people busking and practicing all kinds of instruments.

We saw Tokyo greasers, a group of rockabilly dudes who dress up and dance all afternoon at the entrance of the park.

We saw four nearly naked men paint each other gold and then do a fierce and funny dance. I don't know why.

The best thing, though, was the drum circle. No snark; it was joyful, it was loud, it was good, it made everyone happy.

Then, as we were dawdling near the entrance, we saw at a group of people streaming into the park in a line with their 10 Siberian huskies. Each dog was dressed like a maid, a cheerleader, or a sailor. It happened so fast I didn't have time to get my camera, so I drew you a picture:

Then it was time to go, because after that there was no way Yoyogi Park could get any better.

Lag time!

Hi! We are up early in Tokyo, drinking canned coffee and planning what will probably be a slow, jet-lagged day.

The flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo was uneventful, except that an overhead bin sprung open when we were taxiing and a bunch of bags fell out. Everyone gasped; no one was hurt. Also one of the flight attendants looked eerily like Mitt Romney, if Mitt Romney were comfortable around people.

Is this hotel room very small, or is this beer very large?

Last night we ventured out for a quick dinner, but despite my excitement I was so tired I felt kind of sick, so I passed out at 8:30 after half a beer in the hotel room.

Sorry, but if I see a train that looks that sad, I'm taking a picture of it.

Now I'm fairly rested and eager to explore a little. We are staying near a bunch of embassies and not too far from the Diet Building, so the neighborhood is clean, quiet, and decidedly unsexy. Actually, it reminds me a little of the Capitol Complex in Austin, but with Yoshinoya beef bowls instead of Thundercloud Subs and Doutour Coffee instead of Starbucks.

Oh! I almost forgot. We were on the plane with LMFAO, all of whom looked completely miserable except for their promoter or manager or whatever. He looked pretty happy, probably because he was the only one in first class.

Tiny gifts

This weekend Dan helped me make these buttons to take on our trip.

When Eric and I were in Japan last time, we noticed that almost every time we had a friendly conversation with someone they would give us a tiny gift before we said goodbye.

photo by krotpong!

This woman, who said she hung out in the Osaka train station hoping to practice her English on tourists, folded us little origami cranes. An elderly man in Ohara gave us coupons for free coffee at McDonald's; a man at a bar in Kyoto bought us drinks and gave us hard candies.

Nothing extravagant, just thoughtful little items passed around as social lubricant. I thought it would be nice if we had something to offer in return this time. Hopefully some superhappy buttons will do the trick.

I also got a bunch of these lip balms because I like Sierra Nevada's beers and also they cracked me up. Beer-and-mint flavored lip balm, made with real Cascade hop oil! They actually have a light, pleasant scent and seem pretty moisturizing. I was relieved to see they came with a safety seal because I wouldn't want anyone to think I was fobbing my used Chapstick off on them. 

So now all our planning and most of our shopping for the trip is done. We just have a hundred tiny tasks to do in the next few days, plus I want to spend lots of quality time with Willa and Stinky before we go. I love to go places, but man, I hate leaving those guys behind.