Chiba Zoological Park

10.17.07

This little boy pictured above was on the monorail with us.
He was very excited to have the opportunity to ride it for his first time.

This is the The Chiba Zoological Park Entrance.

Today before our first class (Lauren's was at 3pm and mine was at 4pm), Lauren and I took a trip to the Chiba Zoological Park. We took the Sobu line to Chiba, and then took the Chiba Monorail to the Zoological Park. We were just as excited to be there and the hundreds of little children running around with their colored hats; each different color represents a different age group.

I really loved their little hats. These ones have a cute little green ribbon at the top too.

I was very impressed with the Zoo and all that it had done to provide really nice homes for the animals that lived there. There were a lot of animals that I hadn't ever seen in a zoo before. I should also mention that I hadn't ever been as close to certain types of animals as I had been today. I was about 2 feet away from a penguin and a few others. Of all the animals there, my favorite ones were the spider monkeys. It was amazing how the used their tales just like a fifth hand. They were so agile and made climbing the cage walls look so easy. I wanted to get in there and play with them.

I was able to get so close to the spider monkey.

We also saw some monkeys that reminded me of Jack (the monkey) in The Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The orangutans were so big! One of them climbed down and was sitting next to a glass viewing area. I was going to take a picture, because he was so close, but I couldn't bear to do it. He looked so sad as he sat there with his body propped up against the glass, wringing his hands. I wish that I could've spoken to him. I don't know what I would've said or asked, but he looked like he needed to be comforted.

The Chiba Zoo is also famous for it's red pandas because of the two babies (twins) that were just born. Lauren and I participated in a contest where you can vote for the names of the two female red panda babies. I chose Miku and Sumi. This week was the second week that the two red pandas were allowed to be seen in person by the public. They were spending their debut frolicking in the grass. It was really cute.

Here is one of the baby red pandas.

For some reason the neck of this giraffe looked so odd to me. It reminded me of a cartoon; when the character is facing you they look fine, but when they turn to the side, they're as thin as a piece of paper.

The prairie dog performance being watched by eager children on class trips. This is one of my favorite pictures from today. (I also liked one that Lauren took one of me pretending to be a flamingo but I still have yet to get it from her.)

The zoo had a really large collection of guinea pigs in the petting area, and if you looked up on the wall you could identify them each by name.

Tomorrow I will wake and go to the Funabashi fish market with Hiroko. Until then, I need to take a nice hot shower because it's starting to get colder here as winter approaches. For some reason my pictures won't load right now so you will have to wait for them until tomorrow (sorry).

Random Shout Outs: I'm sorry Ada, but I misspelled the name of the store. It is Carrefour just like you said. Sorry about that. Yes Hu, "I'm home!" (person 1) in Japanese is tadaima and okaerinasai is the response (person 2).

Ogino san & Company

10.15.07
Monday, and what a good Monday it was. Usually Mondays carry a negative connotation, but I prefer to think of them as a fresh start. I woke up bright and early today in order to get some of the planning done that I had put off during my busy weekend; Sunday is my weekend. I finished planning and decided to go to talk to some of my good 'ol American friends online, check my email, and see what was going on in the world.

Around 10:30am I dashed out of my apartment and headed to Marine Fort Community Center, which is about a 5 minute bike ride from my school in Kaihin Makuhari, to attend my first session at the Japanese Class for Foreigners. I had emailed a lady by the name of Ms. Ogino (Ogino san) about participating in the class a few weeks ago. Because of some holidays, today was the first Monday that I could actually go. The class was from 11am-12:30pm, and I was partnered up with two ladies from the Baytown/Kaihin Makuhari area (they both live near my work). Their names were Matsushita san (Ms. Matsushita) and Nakamura san (Ms. Nakamura). They were both very supportive and taught me a lot of new phrases. Ms. Ogino stopped by our table a few times to explain things and pat me on the back. Everyone was so welcoming and kind!

There were about 10 or 11 students, and out of them all, my Japanese skills were the lowest. I really didn't mind. If you think about it, everyone was once in the same situation as I am in now; they knew very very little. Some of the students were Korean, some were Chinese, and one was from Tunisia. I thought it was really interesting to find out that one of the volunteers (the class is free) learned English from a man who was from Buffalo, NY. When Ms. Ogino explained that to me, I couldn't help but smile. This world is so big and yet so small at the same time. What a paradox.

I really enjoyed myself and although my self introduction was a little shaky, I did my best. When it was time to go, everyone helped clean up and waved goodbye. Here are some of the phrases I learned. Some of the spellings/spaces maybe slightly inaccurate but I did my best. Japanese is written in hirigana, katakana, or kanji and there are no spaces between words.

watashi no namae wa sheila desu. buffalo kara kimashita. watashi wa sodegaura ni sunde imasu. nihon ni wa ichi nenkan iru tsumori desu.

This means:
My name is Sheila. I come from Buffalo. I live in Sodegaura. I will be in Japan for one year.

By 12:30pm it was about time for me to get some nourishment. Since I had to run out of the house, I only had time to pack a tangerine (mikan) and my first daifuku. Daifuku is a dessert/snack made of mochi (rice paste) on the outside with anko filling (sweet red bean) on the inside. Daifuku dai suki desu! (I love Daifuku!) I also stopped at the convenient store (combini) and bought some onegiri and some "refreshing and exciting mango tea beverage" as the packaging on the carton said. I was so proud of myself when I found out that I had bought my favorite onegiri (tuna and mayo in the middle) without Lauren's help reading the katakana on the wrapper. I had a really nice lunch by myself in the park.

I went to Carfour (a store like Tareget or KMart) to get a new notebook for my Japanese lessons. I also wanted to pick up a protective screen sticker for my cell phone because mine is starting to peel off. I couldn't find one I liked, but I did have the courage to ask a saleswomen for help. And, I did all in Japanese! I thanked her and bowed many times after she pointed the way to the cell phone accessories.

My lessons went well. This week I'm going over family, reviewing adjectives, and trying to get my kids to use more English and less Japanese. It's a constant battle, but I'm determined to win.

Halloween Party Meeting

10.12.07
In a few minutes I will be leaving to ride my bike to work, which generally takes me about 3o minutes. I have 6 classes today; 1 in the morning and then 5 in a row tonight. In between my morning class and my evening classes, Lauren and I will be meeting with Hiroko to go over what we had in mind for our week long Halloween celebration. Since each of my classes only comes once a week, there is no other way then to have Halloween parties with each class. Hiroko told us that each class will be divided into 30 minutes of instruction and 30 minutes of fun. Lauren and I agreed that the instruction portion of the class should go along with the Hallween theme as well. In my opinion, we have some really great ideas and I hope the kids enjoy them. I promise to write about them later but for now I have to go to work!

Nikko

10.7.07
After taking several different forms of transport (foot, JR train, and metro), Lauren and I finally arrived at the Asakasa train station. It took us a while to figure out where we needed to purchase our “All Nikko Pass” that is only available to foreigners looking to stay in Nikko for only a few days. The pass is very economical since it includes a round trip train ticket to Nikko, unlimited bus fare around Nikko, and other discounts on some of the Nikko attractions. We found the little shop selling these passes and were waited on by a sweet natured Japanese woman who clearly told us what train we would have to board. She also gave us some other information about the different Nikko busses; those that would take us to the more popular Nikko attractions.

Since our train wasn’t scheduled to leave for another 45 minutes, Lauren and I agreed that we should rest our bones at the three story Asakasa Starbucks. Lauren ordered some Earl Gray tea and a croissant. It was really early and she needed the caffeine. I think the two tea bags left in her venti (large) container should’ve done the trick. I got some strawberry and banana juice and a cinnamon scone. The juice was good and the container was cute. It even came with an intriguing retractable straw. It was really quite relaxing sitting in the suede chairs, listening to the background jazz music, all the while, waiting for our watches to tell us that it was time to leave.

Starbuck's Juice

We walked to the platform and waited for our train (Tobu Nikko Section Rapid) to arrive. There was a train waiting to go to a nearby location on the same track. We couldn’t help but take advantage of this perfect photo opportunity. Our train arrived about five minutes after the previous train left. We got on and positioned ourselves in two face to face window seats. I couldn’t help but feel a rush of excitement as our train pulled out of the station. It wasn’t long before the rooftops and crowded city streets of Tokyo were replaced by far reaching green farm land and quaint country homes. I saw some statues in the tall grass, and after asking Lauren her opinion, she explained they were Japanese graves. We also passed a local temple in the center of a patch of trees, a cucumber factory, and some beautiful gardens. Some of the stations we stopped at where so small; simply a platform in the middle of a field of crops. Lauren and I took a big gulp of the fresh air as the train doors were opened briefly at these small farm towns. I love the bustle of the city but the country air is so much sweeter.

We were taking pictures and waiting for our train to come.

The Japanese countryside/farmland.

When we finally arrived in Nikko, we walked through the station and out into the streets filled with tourists buying gifts from the various souvenir shops to take home for their friends, families, and work. In Japan it is customary to bring back presents (omiyage) after going on vacation; even it’s only for a day. Since it was an early Sunday afternoon when we finally arrived in Nikko, there were many visitors walking around. We walked down the main street of Nikko and headed towards our Japanese inn. Our senses were busy taking in all they could. We arrived at the Joshiya Inn, a Japanese style inn run by a nice Japanese couple. There was a little confusion about arrival times but all was worked out and we were given the keys to our small but comfortable room. Of all the people staying at the small inn (it had about 5 or 6 rooms in total), there were quite a few foreign guests. The majority of them were German. We unloaded our belongings and headed out into the Nikko streets to see what we could find. We stopped to get some freshly made senbei crackers rapped in seaweed (nori). It was deliciously salty. We walked passed Nikko’s sacred bridge, which matches the bright “apple” red color of the shrines. Just past the bridge was the entrance to the Nikko National Park. This park houses some of the most famous temples and shrines in Japan. In 1999, an international pact for the protection of these 8^th Century shrines was signed; thus, justifying their cultural importance as it was recognized by the world.

The Sacred Bridge of Nikko.

We first went into the Sanbuto (three Buddhas) or Rinnoji Temple which held three huge (8 meters tall) gold Buddhist statues sitting on lotus blossoms: Batohkannon (a horse looking god), Amida Nyorai, and Senjukannon (a god with many arms). Many people come to visit this temple to pray for a peaceful nation and world peace. Lauren and I wondered if the states were made of solid gold or if they were only decorated in gold leaf. As we left, there were zodiac statues in glass cases; you could offer prayers to your respective sign if you wished to do so.

As we walked out of the temple it was a little hazy outside. It only took me a minute more to realize that the sweet smelling incense that drifted through the air was the culprit. We walked past a prayer room filled with small little stools. A lady in was sweeping the “alter”-like space as we looked on with interest.

Next we went into the Toshogu Shrine complex that held some of the more famous shrines including the three monkeys (hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil), the sleeping cat, and many others. We took our shoes off in order to enter a shrine (I don’t know the name of it because they took my ticket with the name on it at the entrance before I could protest.) that is known for being the first roofed shrine. Most shrines are open, but a roof was added to this particular shrine so that the Shogunate would be able to visit during both the wintery and rainy months. There were also paintings of various Shoguns that decorated the walls and ceilings. These were very old and when they were first done, revolutionary pigmentation and painting techniques were used.

This is was taken at the Three Monkeys Shrine.

The carving on the shrines is very very intricate.

The Toshogo Shrine Complex

The third and final shrine that we went into was the Yakushidoh Shrine. It is known for the giant dragon that fills the entire ceiling. The legend has it that the dragon only hears the prayers of those that are directly underneath it; so that they are looking into its eyes. The guide demonstrated this effect using two wooden blocks. When he clicked the two blocks together on the other side of the room nothing exciting happened, but when the blocks were clicked together directly underneath the dragon’s gaze, the sound reverberated within the shrine. The guide also said that if you look closely the dragon’s eyes will shake with the sound like he’s looking right at you. There were lots of “oooo’s” and “ahhh’s” from the crowd of people surrounding me.

By this time it was getting pretty late and Lauren and I were about ready to go to bed so we headed back to our Japanese inn after getting something to eat.

10.8.07
After waking up at 7:30am, Lauren and I enjoyed our Japanese breakfast which included salad, rice, miso soup, tea, and a plate of other Japanese foods such sweet egg, salmon, uba (a very thin tofu that is the specialty of Nikko), and some vegetables. It was a lot of food and I tried as much as I could fit into my stomach. We had a big day ahead of us and I would need lots of energy.

On the way to the bus we stopped into a woodcarver’s shop. The owner was a very nice lady who told Lauren that she had just recently opened the shop this past April after working as a wood engraver for many years.

We took the Tobu bus up a very windy mountain and stopped half way up to ride the rope way. Lauren told me that the bus driver was warning the passengers that they should expect delays due to the weather. Evidently the night before there had been several mud slides because of the rain. The road was very curvy and we were both very glad to get off at the rope way stop. We were both feeling queasy. The rope way was very short (a three minute ride) and the view from the top was amazing! We could see Lake Chuzenji, which was our next stop after the rope way, and Kegon Falls. Kegon Falls, for all intense purposes is fed by Lake Chuzenji. From the entrance of the rope way we were about 1274 km above sea level (that's about 792 miles).

This is a picture of the rope way from the ground.

A picture of the rope way taken from its summit.

We got back on the bus and went all the way to the village of Lake Chuzenji where we first went to take a look at Kegon Falls. Kegon Falls reminded me of the waterfall I saw in Ithica (it starts with a T but I can’t remember it right now) with friends. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing. Next we decided to visit one of the local onsens because we heard that they are unlike any other. It was very relaxing and we were about to head back until we realized we hadn’t seen the lake itself! We walked up and down the main street and were surprised by some of the things we saw. For example, we saw someone selling uba ice cream. Tofu flavored ice cream? After seeing the lake we headed back down the windy mountain roads.

Kegon Falls

Lake Chuzenji

When we got back to Nikko it was around 6pm and already dark. Lauren and I stopped into this restaurant not far from our hotel. It was a little place with notes, dollar bills, and photos tacked up all over the wall. We ordered dinner, but while we waited, we couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling and walls covered in mementos from tourists that had eaten in the tiny little place. Perhaps the diversity of the customers was partially due to the sign that said “Vegetarians Welcome” in and also listed some of the other menu options in Spanish. I laughed when I noticed an MTA metro card pinned up on the wall right behind me.

The Foreigner restaurant. If you look closely you can see
an MTA metro card in the lower left corner. :)

Lauren and I walked back to our room, watched SMAP, and went to bed. Our second day in Nikko was complete and we had enjoyed every minute of it.

10.9.07
Again we woke up for our early breakfast, finished packing, and said our goodbyes to the kind inn keeper and her husband. We stopped to get some last minute souvenirs and were just in time to catch our train back to Asakasa.

We were welcomed back to Asakasa with holiday travelers; it was a public holiday and everyone was walking the streets. We dropped off our bags in a train station locker and decided to walk around Asakasa which is known for the traditional Japanese goods sold by its markets. We walked through the shrine gates and into an area in front lined with shops. We ogled around, went into the shrine, and looked at a flower arrangement competition. Lauren explained to me that flower arrangements in Japan are very particular. Plants must be specifically placed in order to maintain order within the arrangement. This placement represents members of a family (i.e. the father, mother, and children) and their roles within the family. I had no idea.

The shops are decorated for autumn.

The Asakasa Shrine is bustling with people on this day off (national holiday).

Japanese Style Peeps?

We walked around a bit more and were ready to head home. While, I missed the fresh country air of Nikko, it was nice to walk into my apartment and sit down on my bed. You can say either “Home sweet home” or “Uchi sweet uchi”—whichever you prefer.

10.10.07
Today Lauren and I went to the market by our house and the florist introduced himself to us. Yes, us gaijin are easy to spot; we stick out like a pink elephant in a field of green grass. He said “Hello!” and asked us where we were from. When Lauren said a sentence in Japanese he was very delighted and complimented her on her skillz. He also asked us to give him English lessons. To this we replied that we could come to the market often just to talk to him. We told him we would see him later and he told us we were “beautiful”.

10.11.07
Back to work today! So until next time, I hope you are all doing quite well!

Promises Kept

10.6.07
I must say that my first day of vacation went pretty well. Lauren and I cleaned around the house because we both agreed that coming home to a dirty house was not something we wanted to experience. I wanted to write lots of interesting information this week, but as I said in my last entry, it was quite busy as far as classes go. I had to also pack today because we will be leaving the house at 8am to catch our train to Nikko.

Lauren and I went to Chiba on Thursday and walked around a bit before heading back to teach our classes at 3:15pm. We brought our lunch (onigiri or rice balls) and sat down to eat at an Starbucks outside café. Lauren went in to get herself a Mocha Java Frappacino while I sat outside and people watched. There was a little green grasshopper bouncing around a nearby table and a few pigeons poking around our table.

Yay for Chiba and yay for soccer!

Also on Thursday, Lauren and I went out for Hiroko’s birthday. We went with Harumi, Hiroko’s son who's name is Masato (Harumni and him were just married last summer), and Peggy. We had lots of fun and really enjoyed ourselves as we made okonomiyaki and monjayaki (a soupier version of okonomiaki). For her birthday Lauren and I got Hiroko a really cute little plant with small purple flowers and relaxing bath salts. On Friday, Hiroko told us that she used the bath salts that night after returning home from her party; she really loved them.

Me, Masato, Hiroko, and Peggy.

Maju in the background with edamame in the foreground.

This is my matcha (green tea) ice cream-"girl cement" style.

Speaking of baths, Lauren and I decided to use our bath tub for the first time this Thursday night. Baths here in Japan are very different compared to a western style bath. Before getting into the hot tub of water you must thoroughly clean yourself. After you are clean, then and only then do you enter the bath. Lauren and I bought a rose scented bath cube to add to our bath; I say “our” because rather than wasting the entire tub of water after each person is finished, multiple people use the same water. Why waste clean water? My bath was very warm and calming.

Yes, they have KFC in Japan. For just over 600 yen you can get soup,

chicken (with sea weed on it) and onigiri (rice ball). Good thing I don't eat chicken. :)

Hello Colonel Sanders!

Kate Devoe, this is my present to you, side-pony and all.

Thank Goodness It's Friday

10.5.07

Don't worry, I'm daijobu (ok)! I've been very busy this past week and I haven't had time to post as much as I wanted to. Today was my last day of teaching before my five day long break. Lauren and I will be going to Nikko on Sunday and we are both really excited to get out of the area around Tokyo. We need the break and fresh air!

Today between my 11am lesson and 4pm lesson I walked around Kaihin Makuhari; basically making a really big loop that ended in the park. I stopped and looked in the windows of shops as I passed by on the street. I saw a few that looked really interesting: a tea shop down the street from school, a rival English school, a little florist, and some others. I should also mention that the shop right down the street, that reminds me of a G rated Spencer's Gifts, is chocked full of Moomin memorabilia. I'm going to have to go back and buy myself a present sometime. I walked through the park and stopped to pick up a green foam ball for a mother that was playing baseball with her little 7 year old son (most fathers were still working at this time of day). She said "arigato gozaimus" while bowing. I returned her bow before walked over to lean against a shady tree and write some letters. It was relaxing to sit there in the shade and listen to the kids playing and the birds singing. It was a beautiful day today-the perfect temperature. A little beetle with an orange head was chilling with me too. He gave me some advice while I was writing my letters.

Tonight we (Harumi, Lauren, and I) treated Hiroko to dinner for her birthday, which was today. You should've seen her face when Lauren snatched the receipt from out of her hand just before she had a chance to read it. She was very grateful, and we were happy to have had the chance to do something for her in return for all she has done for us.

I will post some pictures from this week tomorrow. I promise.

Random Shout Outs: Thank you Alex Korting for your French post card. Also, thank you Jon Newman for your post card. I was unaware that Stone Mountain is known for having the largest exposed mountain face (granite) in the world. That's very impressive! To everyone else, I wish you all the best!

Lunch and Purikura

10.1.07
Today I had lunch with one of my campers from LCLC named Yumena. I believe I taught her sailing when she came to stay in the United States for the first time four years ago. When she came, I remember her being very shy, timid, and sad to be so far away from home. It didn't help that she hardly knew any English and did not have any friends. Little did I know that the same ladies that helped her come to the United States that summer would be my employers four years later. It's funny how things work out this way.

Anyway, I had been talking to Yumena on Myspace.com after she friended me not too long ago. I told her that I was moving to Japan for a year and we were both excited to find out how close we live to one another.

I called her when I got to the Tsudanuma station. I was going to meet her outside the station until I turned around and saw her talking on her phone (keitai) walking in my direction. Perfect timing! She introduced me to her friend Eriko and we all walked to a little restaurant called Goemen Spaghetti where I ate spaghetti with chopsticks for the first time in my life. I don't know what my Italian relatives would say, but the experience went well; it wasn't too embarrassing.

Afterwards, they took me to a game shop to get our pictures taken in the photo booths. This experience of "photo booth-ing" is called purikura in Japan. Before I explain what it entails, I would like to say that the game shops are basically full of games that remind me of "the claw" from Disney's Toy Story (see 3 Miscellaneous, 3.1 Squeezy Toy Aliens). You invest your tokens to win all sorts of prizes, but you must be savvy enough to grab the prize from the right angle. The shops are huge, bright, and I must admit, rather loud. Just about every game has it's own little song. Therefore, all of the songs added up leads to a crazy cacophony of cute little jingles.

Back to the purikura! I was expecting to see one little photo booth tucked away in a little corner of the game shop, but was very surprised when I saw about six of them all full of girls sporting school uniforms. They must have been there on their lunch break. Even though there were so many girls ahead of us, it didn't take long before we stepped behind the curtain of our very own purikura. It as fun and after selecting the best pictures, you had the option to personalize your pictures. Here were some of the final products (Yumena emailed these to me from her phone. Yes, you also have the option to send two pictures to your phone.):

The interesting thing about this picture is the fact that I blend into the background. I was wearing a green sweater that was the exact same color as the green screen behind us. Yumen is on the left, me, and Eriko on the right.

My lessons were alright today. I am slowly learning that it is okay to be "mean" in order to gain control of the class. As Lauren says, "you're not being mean, you're just practicing classroom management". I really think this experience teaching in Japan is good for me. I'm learning to be more assertive, commanding, and in order to do both of those things you have to be confident in yourself. So overall, I'm learning to be more confident.