All that said- let's roll-
Skiing at Zaou
Zaou (pronounced "zow"- in Kanji 蔵王) is an area deep in Yamagata prefecture, famed for it's spectacular levels of snowfall. Interestingly, while trying to dig up a meaning for the Kanji, I came up with any of "wine cellar king," "king of France," "Minister to the king," or the "kings minister." I'm sure I missed some subtlety in the combination of the Kanji, but whatever it is it will continue to allude for a while, it seems.
The ski trip was organized by the younger teachers from around the Murakami area- the idea was to have a rowdy, good time skiing in Zaou and getting to know other young teachers (there was a definite undercurrent indicating that speaking with the opposite sex was encouraged as well). Given this set of conditions, I was expecting to get to see the more ribald side of some of my elementary teachers (and verily did I), but I what I was not prepared for was the announcement that the bus-ride up to Zaou would be an extended nomikai- with frosty beer handed for free to anyone who wanted one or seven or whatever. The time was 8:15 a.m.
(mercifully- we stopped at a convenience store and I was able to pick up some orange juice- it's bad form not to drink at a nomikai- but what you drink doesn't really matter)
Upon arriving at the slopes, we got all our stuff in order, rented skis, and set out for the slopes. The snow was spectacular- as was the storm that spawned it. The entirety of the weekend was marked by howling winds and blowing cloud that crystallized into hoarfrost on every available surface- including the skiers. It wasn't actually that cold, however, and the snow was so abundant and powdery that the skiing was very smooth.
The hoarfrost and snow together also create another intriguing phenomenon that Zaou is famed for, which is the juhyo (樹氷), or ice monsters
(click link for image, not mine- but a good example. I didn't want to murder my nice camera in the climate of Zaou). The most famed juhyo were further up the mountain than I ever went (owing to the storm that was physically blowing over some snowboarders on the upper slopes), but I still got to see some interesting specimens.
The other effect of the clouds was to create a surreal fantasy land (even more so) when struck by the area's tri-chromatic lights for night skiing. American resorts tend to favor incandescent bulbs, which work alright- but at Zaou additive color was employed to produce slightly higher quality light. However, not all the different colors were necessary on the same base, resulting in a psychedelic twilit forest, where people would cast freakish green and purple tinged shadows on the snow. It was, well, pretty cool. (Lest I appear to be over-lauding Japanese ski technology, however, it should be pointed out that the lifts were old-fashioned two-seaters, whose movement could probably be better measured in °K than in Km/h- Japan is contains a number of startling parallels like this- where technology that looks like it could launch a spaceship sits in the same office as a computer apparently built by homo habilus.)
The trip also a provided a good opportunity to get to know my co-workers better in an informal setting, which proved to be invaluable. There's not much to detail here in terms of a blog post, suffice to say that it's great to get to know people.
Next came the New Year- so here it is!
New Years Day
One of my fellow ALTs astutely observed that Christmas and New Years are basically reversed from their American counter-parts in terms of roll. This means that in Japan- Christmas is mostly just a fun holiday, when you might take someone out on a date or go and have a few beers at the local izakaya. New Years, on the other hand, is spent going to temples and shrines with family, and then having a few beers afterward anyway (this is Japan after all).
My new years experience was at a shrine in Murakami, on top of a hill overlooking the Oomachi (大町) neighborhood, which in turn houses part of Murakami's old town (and that's pretty old). After passing through a massive Torii gate (one thing that the Wiki won't tell you is that the Kanji for torii literally mean "bird house"- don't ask me why), I worked my way up a long series of stone (or concrete, or something- they were unyielding, anyhow) steps, festooned on either side with lanterns, this particular shrine's ablution spring (pictured).
The picture below isn't from this actual shrine, but these are more or less the same anywhere you go:
At the ablutions pool I partook of one of the immune-strengthening exercises which the Japanese seem to have a great fondness for- in this instance- washing my mouth drinking from the same dipper as everyone before me- making me ritually clean. I then proceeded up to the summit of the hill.
The shrines were gorgeous old wooden structures, and the hilltop was still covered gnarled trees, affording a stupendously beautiful view of Murakami at night. You'd be looking at it right now, if in a moment of stupendous oversight I hadn't left my camera in my apartment.
I followed the Shinto shrine prayer procedure which is as follows-
1) Wait in line for a chance to pray.
2) Huck a modest sum (50yen, or $.50) into the offering box.
3) Give the huge rope-with-bells a good yank to let the Kami (which can be roughly translated as gods, although like everything else in Japan the flavor of the meaning is a bit different) know that you'd like a word.
4) Place your hands together (as in Church), bow, and pray.
5) Clap your hands twice to indicate that your prayer is over, and stroll away.
The whole process seems very imposing and formal, but Shinto is not like religion as we Occidentals are inclined to think of it- it is a very old folk religion, which, while widely "practiced," mostly confers a set of simple daily tasks upon the worshiper to keep in harmony with the Kami. It has no set canon, nor indeed any canon at all, and regional variances set the tone at each shrine. For this and a number of other reasons, hordes of Japanese turn out at shrines each new years day, and on matsuri days, generally having a good time and assuming that the Kami feel the same way. There isn't the same kind of solemnity you'd encounter in a cathedral, for instance. I felt a little bad about snapping pictures of shrines during ceremonies until I realized that (a) Japanese were doing it too and (b) some of the worshipers were already drunk anyhow.
There'll be plenty more on Shinto later when I get to my visit to the Ueno shrine district, but we'll leave it at that for now. Suffice to say, New Year's Eve was an interesting if not somewhat confusing cross-cultural experience, with a good view.
Speaking of Ueno- it's Tokyo time. Oh yeah.
Jess's Tokyo Holiday Adventure
Jan 1st
I decided, for reasons of speed, to travel to Tokyo by Shinkansen, or bullet train. Also, Shinkansen are awesome looking, and big fun to ride. I submit the following photos.
These trains are so sleek. I can't get over it.
Oh yes Shinkansen, you love the camera.
As I set off, the weather in Niigata was more or less typical- freezing rain and snow, and a colorful gradient of meteorological conditions that come between the two.
As the train made for the mountains, the snow became more assertive:
However, moving East also pulled me away from the water-laden air that covers Niigata and Western Japan for most of the year, and upon emerging from a tunnel, the sun was shining again. (at this point, time passes, and I get into the Tokyo metro area)
Mount Fuji, known locally as Fujisan(富士山), was just visible on the southern horizon:
I arrived at Tokyo Station, without a set itinerary, nor a place to stay. The friendly woman at the information desk gave me a look over and asked whether I wanted the "cheap hotel sheet," I would've been offended, except of course this is exactly what I wanted, and with my slightly unshaven face, long hair, and only a backpack, it would have probably been more insulting to offer me a list of nicer places first. She also spoke passable English (even though I addressed her in Japanese), and wished me a nice stay- and seemed to mean it.
At this point, I'd like to put up some general Tokyo pics. These were taken throughout the trip, but this is just to give an idea of what arriving in Tokyo in general is like:
Here is a bustling train station in Tokyo. I don't know which station it was- they all bustle.
Here are some of the general types of scene that greet a visitor to Tokyo. There's plenty of gratifying busy activity, but also a lot of ugly, sterile concrete.
After getting my reservation, I still had a couple hours until check-in, as well as no real travel itinerary, so the first place I went (second really- the first was a Starbucks) was a cybercafe located on the 7th floor of a seedy building by Shinjuku Station (which, as you may have guessed, is in Shinjuku. Here is the lobby of the building.
In case it is difficult to see- there is a thin layer of grime covering everything, an effect enhanced by a hovering smell of cigarette smoke. I half-expected to here a voice behind me say "Mr. Anderson..."
The cybercafe wasn't quite like what you would think, either. In America, cybercafes (such as we have) tend to be, well, cafes, where drinks can be ordered and the like. This one had vending machines for food and drink, but a live bar for neither. Also the computers weren't lined up in some kind of public forum, but were situated before cushy chairs in isolated cubicles. I think they catered heavily to a gaming clientele (otherwise- why would anyone buy 10 hours in one of these cubicles?). The fellow who greeted me at the desk had many piercings, long black hair, and skin the color of an office printer. I privately assigned him the name "Slim." Slim somewhat sullenly got me set up at a terminal, and I set about researching my visit. I won't tell you what list I came up with, because that's basically the rest of what I visited.
At 3:00 I checked into my Hostel- a bit pricey at 3800 yen/night (about 40 bucks), but located right in the heart of Shinjuku, and a skip and a jump from most of the famous Tokyo places. I got situated in my hostel (with pretty clean bathrooms, but a sofa I didn't sit on for the duration of my stay for sanitary reasons), I set out to check out Tokyo.
The first place I went was Akihabara(秋葉原- autumn leaves field). Akihabara enjoyed a steady rise to prominence from a simple discount electrics district a decade or two ago to the heart of Tokyo electronics and gaming culture. This is saying something- considering that if the worlds gamers were to face a direction in prayer 5 times a day, Tokyo would be that direction. Within Tokyo, Akihabara, to cruelly extrude the metaphor, would be the Kaaba of geekdom- around which scrawny pilgrims swirl en mass. It's distinction has grown such that it is simply known, even on official signs, as "Electric Town."-
This is what the district looks like- more or less. To capture the noise and light and intensity might be possible in some medium, but I know not what. These just give a small idea of the neurological inundation one experiences in this place.
The interiors of the stores more or less reflected the exterior- manga and video game ads were plastered everywhere.
Now might also be a good time to highlight something about Japanese culture that takes some getting used to- and I am talking about porn. The Japanese have historically been much more comfortable with pornographic images and materials than, well, almost any country really. For obvious reasons, I didn't take pictures, but on more than one occasion The posters in the stairwell of a seemingly innocuous game store would suddenly take a turn for the less clothed, or the middle of a section of normal Anime or American import DVDs would suddenly and without warning make a drastic content change. If you were observant, you might have noticed a place called "Love Merci" located in the middle of one of the photographs above. It is, if you read the signs carefully, a sex and porn shop, plunked down right in the middle of a popular family shopping district, about a stones throw from the train station. I don't know if there's any conclusion to be drawn from this, other than to note that some things are just really different here.
Moving along into a slightly less sordid realm, I am pleased to say that Akihabara's stores have the finest assortment of video games that can probably be found anywhere in the world, all for sale, and all compressed into about 1 square mile. This is the DS game section at one of the stores I went to:
There were more games on the first floor too. There are titles here that will never see the light of day, for whatever reason, outside Japan. Resisting the urge to cast myself upon the glittering shelves in a wanton act of financial exsanguination, I limited myself to purchasing a surgery game wherein (among other things) you zap hostile germs out of a patient's stomach with a laser.
Akihabara is also famously home to a high density of game arcades (ゲームセンター :gehmu sehnta- such a phenomenon unto themselves that there is even a book about them-), usually several stories tall, and stuffed to the gills with games of dizzying complexity. In one arcade I ventured into, the games cost 300yen (U.S.$3ish, give or take a bit), and one had to seal oneself in a sort of cockpit in order to play. There were also purikura machines, and in some instances the arcade integrated directly into a pachinko parlor in its upper stories. Here's a photo I sneaked of two chaps playing a Rambo game (the machine for which was the size of a small car):
Next up was Shibuya, (渋谷- something like "astringent valley"- the first Kanji can also mean "to have diarrhea," in case you were curious) known as the Times Square of Japan. I headed to Shibuya because it offers a lot in the way of things to do after nightfall (much of Akihabara, for all its electronic grandeur, curiously shuts down around 7:00), including the busiest (and for all I know largest) Starbuck's Coffee shop in the world:
The staff at this Starubuck's are remarkably efficient (as well they might be), and my small Chai was ready before I was actually able to pay for it.
The two other features for which Shibuya is famous are-
1. The scramble, where, each time the light changes, more or less all of Japan crosses the street. Here's a pic (taken in the dead of Winter, on a Thursday night, N.B. Most of the rest of the time, it's all one can do to see 2 feet in front of oneself):
Shibuya is also famous as the (former) home of Hachiko, Japan's most famous dog. Hachiko was an exceedingly loyal creature, to the point where even after his owner, a train worker, died, Hachiko would still come to the station every day to wait for him until Hachiko expired as well. This story of canine love so moved the people of Tokyo (insert comment about Japanese loyalty and stubbornness here) that there is a train line named after the dog, as well as a relief sculpture and a famous statue- both pictured below:
I spent most of my time in Starbucks collecting my thoughts and writing notes on the day behind me, and most of my time in Shibuya at Starbucks. I felt completely nerve-melted, which, it turns out, may not just be me.
I did get out a bit after finishing my chai, however, so here are some general Shibuya photos to give you an idea:
Thoroughly exhausted, I took the Chuo line back to my hostel, and passed out.
Jan 2
(You should get a medal for making it this far)
I didn't have any set plans for the day in terms of what to see when, so when some of my fellow hostelers mentioned the Emperor's Palace, it seemed as good a place as any to start. After getting off at the wrong station, and having to ask directions at a 7-11 that smelled like food poisoning (before and after), I found my way to the Emperor's residence. The first thing I noticed was lines of cars belonging to Japan's extreme right-wing parties (known as "uyoku dantai: lit. "right wing groups") lining the road:
For those of you who don't want to follow the link- look at it this way. These fine folks want to bring back the good old days of Hirohito. Yikes.
I went to palace with the intention of just looking around, but somehow I'd managed to miss the fact that this day was the Emperor's new year's address. The woman to whom I put the question "is today a special day" was very confused, not because she didn't understand my Japanese, but because somehow the tens of thousands of people streaming into the square seemed to have not tipped me off. But, hey, sometimes you just don't know. In any event, here are some picks of the palace and the rally- I even got one (however distant) of the Emperor of Japan, which I think is pretty cool.
After the Imperial rally, I worked my way over the Museum of Contemporary Art, which I knew to be nearby. The experience proved to be disappointing in a couple ways- the art was OK, but not as spectacular as you'd expect in a museum right next to the Emperor's palace, and the museum restaurant (in fairness to whom, was terribly understaffed- it was a free day at the museum after the Emperor's speech, and 2 waiters were in evidence) took an exceptionally (about an hour) long time to get my sandwich together. It was delicious once they did, however, and I ate under the gaze of a large photograph of a girl, who was sumptuously feasting on her long red hair in a trance-like state. So progresseth the arts.
That evening I decided to go to Asakusa (浅草: "short grass"), home of one of Japan's largest and most important temples. I say one of of, because it's hard to quantify, for one thing, and also Kyoto generally beats out any competition, where temples are concerned. It is also important to note that while there is a shrine at Asakusa, the main affair is the temple (寺). A temple is a Buddhist structure, while a shrine is Shinto.
In the walk-up leading to the temple, however, I was surprised to discover some Christians doing some old fashioned- evangelizing. When I say old-fashioned, I mean a minority trying to win over a majority of Buddhist/Shinto worshipers on their way to the temple and shrine.
What's written on the sign is John 6:47- literally rendered from the Japanese- "I: believing in me people, eternal life have." Obviously it's a lot more eloquent and correct than that when said in the Japanese. It also doesn't say where the quotation of scripture is from- which I found interesting. Typically American Evangelical groups will always tack the citation onto the quotation in situations like this, but this quotation simply says "-Kirisuto," or Christ.
Anyhow, it was obvious that they weren't having earth-shattering success (or indeed, probably any at all) because the crowd pushed forward in an impressive wave onwards towards the temple, to say their new year's prayers. Asakusa is sacred to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, and people typically pray for any number of things. Pics!
The crowd Headed for the entrance was quite impressive.
The front of the temple gate- leading to the temple proper.
These are pictures of the enormous Chouchin (bamboo frame lamp) that hangs in front of the temple. Around the backside of the lamp are the names of donors who contributed at the time of the lamps construction, as another way of donating to the temple:
This is one of the guardians in the wings of the gate. The particulars of the supernatural in the Buddhist mythos are widely varied from country to country and region to region, so I don't really know who we're looking at here. What I was told at one point, however, is that most Buddhist temples have two fierce guardians at the entrance to deal with demons- presumably this is one of them.
This is the front of the actual temple building. Very imposing, very graceful.
This is the activity about the front of the temple. There was another, equally impressive chouchin here, as well as some interesting calligraphy on the front columns. Part of the reason it's interesting is that it is not Japanese- Buddhism in Japan retained Chinese much as Christianity retained Latin (or Greek, depending who you ask). For my part I also haven't the foggiest what it says.
Finally here are the last two- the inside of the temple had some wonderful paintings on the ceiling- due to the push of the crowd I was only able to get one of the dragon- who are regarded as guardian creatures in Buddhism.
There was also a prominent pagoda on sight. I have no idea of it's function, but it was magnificent.
After leaving Asakusa, I went back to Akihabara for a bit (couldn't stay away), and then stumbled back to my hostel and turned in early.
Jan 3
I'd decided to spend my last day in Tokyo poking around what the area around Ueno, and it was probably the best decision I've made in a while.
For one thing, Ueno park contains the National Museum, which after the stuffy Contemporary Museum of Art, proved to be spectacular. I walked in the doors at 10:00, expecting to wonder around for about 2 hours and then leave. I exited 5 hours later, completely gratified and with enough new information about (and photographs of) ancient Japanese history to completely inundate me for a good long while. The bulk of the pictures I took were in the museum- I'll only post a few here, lest I post the entirety of the museum's contents.
The first section featured old Japanese woodworking- the Buddha is one fine example:
It's hard to photograph a sword in a case to make it look nice, but appearances aside this sword was made by none other than Masamune, who, if not the greatest swordsmith in Japanese history, is definitely in the running. Masamune is also heavily referenced in the video game world.
There was also a Taiko performance outside the museum, which I went to check out. I never weary of Taiko.
Finally, I will leave you with the best drawing of a bird I have seen anywhere:
Going to the National Museum is like going to the Ufizi- by the end you might stumble past some masterpiece, your eyes glazed with the overexposure to so much magnificence. All I can say is that if you are ever in Tokyo, ditch everything else and hit the National Museum first- it's awesome.
Next, I worked my way over to an area of Ueno that was dense with shrines (which is most of the district anyhow). This shrine (Toushougu in this case) was notable for for its rows of stone lanterns on the way in. They must be truly impressive when they're actually lit...
This is an impressive little atomic bomb memorial sight. I photographed the explanation (second pic down)- because I feel it warrants reading.
Finally- here is a picture of the shrine house itself. A fine old structure.
I also discovered that there is a winter garden kept near to the shrine grounds, so I payed the 600yen admission, and got to see a largish peony garden, flourishing in the middle of January. They kept the plants warm-ish and safe from snow with straw-hat looking structures (like so)
I also saw a profusion of other flowers (including daffodils!), which was good on the eyes in the middle of winter.
The last place I visited in Tokyo, as dusk fell (aside from Shibuya again, to get another tasty chai and collect my thoughts, and bookstore to pick up a grammar guide), was to a set of Kitsune (fox) shrines, in a almost perfect setting. They were set far back in a little wooded area, accessed through a series of torii, and were part of a larger shrine complex. All the people there (not many, granted) seemed to be going to the Kitsune shrine, however, so that's where I went as well. There were two shrines, one out in the open and one back in a sort of tunnel. I learned that the open one was for love, and the tunnel one was for health. I gave more money to the love Kitsune. Here are some pictures:
The shrine's name- "Flower Garden Shrine."
An excellent sequence of torii leading into the grounds.
This the shrine to Kitsune and love. Note the fox guardians on either side, wearing red capes.
After that, obviously, I went back to Niigata. If you made it through all that- I salute you. I barely did.
The whole Tokyo experience was wonderful (if a little expensive) and has helped to rekindle my love of Japan that brought me here in the first place. I hope you found it interesting.
