Kanazawa road trip!

Bitten by the travel-bug again, I took advantage of the 3 day weekend and went on a road trip to Kanazawa with Becky, Leigh, and Jun, aka "The Girls".

Highlights: Tojinbo Cliffs (popular suicide location and squid ice cream?!?), the winter white wonderland of the Shirakawa Valley with the "gassho- zukuri" houses (literally "hands in prayer" from the shape of the roofs); building my first snowman ever (!); eating international food (crepes, Italian, and German food); shopping like crazy monsters (spring transition meant tons of sales!); seeing the first beautiful spring blossoms at Kenrokuen (one of Japan's 3 most beautiful gardens); stopping at every Lawson's on the way to stock up on junk food, drinks, and snacks ("niku man"! yummy beef buns); Myoryuji / Ninja Temple (more on that below)...

Lows: Confusing and misleading highway signs; mean Kanazawans; paying too much for 4 people to be crammed into a small remote youth hostel room with no amenities and early curfew; having super low blood sugar and then finding out the Mexican restaurant was closed, then walking all over town to find that the French restaurant was also closed, and the "Thai Cafe" was actually a seedy girly bar, and finally finding a German restaurant with slow, awful service; not being able to take pictures inside the Ninja Temple.

All in all though, we had a good time...

More on Myoryuji Temple / Ninja-dera: The name of this place is a misnomer since it actually has nothing to do with ninjas (damn!). But, it basically has inspired me to become an architect again- it's got some damn cool tricks- underground passages, traps and defense mechanisms, hidden compartments, double sliding doors, etc.

One staircase is hidden by removable boards at a landing. However, since that area was often dark, the hidden staircase doubles as a pitfall.

The side walls in closets swing open to reveal narrow spiral stairs and there's even a room that is too short for anyone to unsheathe a sword, but has a curved ceiling to give the optical illusion that it doesn’t look small or feel claustrophobic.

The risers of the entrance stairs are made with paper and there is a little compartment underneath the staircase so defenders can hide and stab intruders with their spears as they enter (by judging where their shadows fall)!

29 staircases and 23 rooms are all expertly and neatly built into this seemingly 2-story building, but actually it's 4-stories with a 7-layer internal structure with middle floors and middle-middle floors and upper-middle floors...

They say it wasn't built by or for ninjas....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hugs and kisses to those who sent me Valentine's packages and cards!
Well, kisses to Paul and hugs to Nia, Anney, and Chrissi, that is...

It's great to feel loved from across the world.

And more locally, from one of my 3rd year students- a great handmade card, even though my name was misspelled "Rolly" (she fixed some of the mistakes after I pointed it out). I think it's funny that the "Roses are red" poem was also lost on her!



So Valentine's Day in Japan is another one of those western "holidays" that is over- commercialized with that Japanese twist... Apparently chocolate ("choco") companies used this as a marketing tool to promote chocolate and gift giving- but from women to give to men!

Boyfriends and husbands get "honmei ("favorite" / "fated" / "prospective winner")- choco" but many women consider store-bought chocolates too impersonal, so they painstakingly handmake them at home for their lovers. After all the Christmas and New Years decorations come down, the packaged chocolates, chocolate making kits, molds, and wrapping paper hit the shelves at every store.

The part that kills me though, is that (male) co-workers and bosses are supposed to get "giri (obligation) -choco". "Giri" is a very Japanese concept- as in, it's a mutual obligation when dealing with other people- a debt of gratitude and a self-sacrificing pursuit of their happiness, and both people are probably apologizing ("sumimasen-ing") the whole time.

Now, those folks at the chocolate companies also came up with the reciprocal "White Day", on March 14, where men are expected to "return the favor" and give white chocolate and marshmallows to those who gave them Valentine's gifts. However, most men only give (store bought) chocolates and lingerie to their girlfriends. Oh, the irony of it all.

Good god, I just read about "Black Day" in Korea.... It's on April 14, and those who didn't receive anything on Valentine's or have anyone to give anything to, get together and eat noodles in black sauce. Talk about bitter!!

Miyazu High School "International Day"

We held an International Day last week, and invited some foreigners from Maizuru's Polytechnic College to attend. In the past, we have invited local AETs but they always come from commonly known countries such as America, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. so this time, they were excited that our guests were from Malaysia, Laos, Zambia, and China.

However, it seemed like the school was introducing Japanese culture to the guests rather than the opposite. Each of the 6 ichi-nensei (1st years) classes was in charge of one of the guests and had planned a different Japanese activity- including making mochi and okonomiyaki, judo and traditional dancing performances, and playing traditional Japanese games. My only role was to walk around the school with Tanaka-sensei, my supervisor/JTE, and observe what was going on. In a way, this was actually better since we got to see what each class did, but I felt like the students and the guests were really limited since none of them got a chance to rotate classrooms or interact with eachother.

Super Bowl Sunday-> Monday-> TUESDAY?!?

Since Japan is about a day ahead of America, we couldn't watch the Super Bowl ON Super Bowl Sunday- it was going to be aired at like 5am Monday morning, which, of course, was not realistic for any of us to watch on a school day. So Robert kindly offered to tape the game, Andrew & Desirae kindly offered to host the party, and we would all watch the taped game on Monday night- but at that point, the results of the game would already have been posted on the internet and newspapers, so we all had to avoid the internet all day on Monday to not spoil the anticipation. However- the satellite/cable company that Robert has didn't air the game live!!! Instead, they aired LAST YEAR'S game, the 2006 Super Bowl and they were going to air the 2007 one on TUESDAY morning! So the Super Bowl party was delayed by ANOTHER day. Of course, at this point, avoiding the internet was impossible and I found out the results of the game.

But Andrew and Desirae's spread was amazing- two kinds of nacho dip (beef and tofu/mushroom), tortilla chips, fried chicken w/ hot sauce, "buckeyes" (chocolate/peanut butter balls), and a host of other Super Bowl party snacks. I did feel kind of bad that a few Japanese teachers/guests came, expecting to have "conversation practice w/ foreigners" and we basically camped out in front of the TV, but on the other hand, we came to watch the football game! It has been a struggle recently because it seems that many events that the AETs/foreigners go to have been a perfect opportunity for other people to practice their English on you, and less of an event where we just get to hang out. Oh well.

So yeah.... anyway, I haven't really been following sports for the last 7 months, err, well, more like 5 years, since Jeremy, my sports-advisor, moved back to Detroit, so the game wasn't all that exciting for me. With my poor betting record, I wasn't suprised that the I was rooting for the Bears. Good times, good times.

Lofty

This is an amazing seaside "atelier" built by a talented artist / ceramicist (is this a word?) friend of the Yoshidas... His pottery studio is hidden down in the basement, but the house is built on a hill, so the entire back of the house is a wall of windows!

Ikeda-san has the most non-traditional Japanese home I've seen. It's big and airy, with colorful glass marbles embedded into the concrete floor, bright white and turquoise walls, handbuilt furniture, and windows, windows, windows! Instead of solid walls, he separated spaces with walls of French doors and transoms, so the light pours in all the way to the front of the house. His painting studio, is in a double height space, punctuated with huge sculptural branches, dangling with small stones, sea glass, and shells.

The Yoshidas, Simon, and I hung out talking with him and Baku (the son of one of his good friends) for hours on Sunday. Baku is an architect from Osaka, young and hip, and bears a striking resemblance to one of my fellow architect friends, Jeff Hong in NYC. He's moving to Brussels in a few months to work in an architecture office (how rad is ithis?!?) and we're having a weekly English/Japanese exchange at a local izakaya or bar or something so that he can brush up on his English bfore tackling French and/or Flemish. It was the first time in Japan I have heard someone mention MVRDV, Hadid, and other architects!

Bar Loccazitta

A great little bar in Nodagawa, a couple towns away from Miyazu. Jun and I came here last week for a drink and a bite. My vodka soda was watery, as most cocktails in Japan seem to be, but went well with our simple white plate of Camembert cheese and crackers. It was a very New York moment with the small green garnish, lemon wedge, and a small saucer of honey. Next, I had "The Pam"- the plum wine spritzer. It was a moment of internationalization when I saw that several brands of sake and plum wine that I have purchased in New York (the little liquor store on Prince St. in Nolita) were the same ones in this tiny bar in this tiny town!

I was asking Jun about bar culture in Japan- how I think it's weird that if all chairs/stools are full, the bartenders turn away customers in the fear that they wouldn't be able to serve each customer with the care and time that each deserved (versus the American philosophy of "pack 'em in" as tightly as you can, turn the music waaaay up, and get those shots started!) There was a group of girls all sitting together, very made up and fidgety, and there were guys sitting at the bar, and taking over the other grouping of couches. (This, I also pointed out, is anti-social so very rarely are couches seen in bars- and for the obvious reason of having the mess when drinks get spilled on them.) After a little while, a guy stood up and announced the start of the "gokon"- or Japanese dating party!!

This made for a very amusing evening of people watching (and me explaining the concept of "speed dating" in America). The guy had everyone split up and mingle with eachother. At first it was very awkward- listening to these very formal introductions or whatever, but then the drinks were flowing and the chattering and giggling and shrieking got louder and louder. Every once in awhile, the host would cry out for everyone to switch partners and it would start all over again. However, some of the guys didn't know that we weren't part of the party, and he came up and introduced himself to Jun. The host was like "No!! They're not with the party! You can't talk to them!" and everyone laughed at the guy, but they all sort of gave us annoyed and shamed looks as in "then what the hell are you doing here then?!?"

After awhile, we left, so we didn't get to see who hooked up with who. When we were in the parking lot (Jun doesn't drink, so it was all for my benefit....) the host came out on his cell phone and was telling his friends to get there quickly because two people just left the bar and so there are now two open seats!!
more info about group dating

Cod semen...

#1: "Shirako" (literally, "white children"- I just found out now, as I was double-checking the spelling of it- that instead of being fish ovaries as I was told when peer-pressured into eating it, this mass of white beans or brains is in fact, "cod-milt", "soft" or "white roe", or, in layman's terms.... "cod semen". I ate the sperm sacs of the cod fish. When cod milt is gently cooked, its texture becomes even more creamy and custardlike- a delicacy to many Japanese! New Yorkers, you can try shirako here!
"It tastes kind of, like, um, clam chowder!"- Leigh

#2: Slimy okra and nomako (some sort of super chewy lima-bean shaped seafood) swimming in snot-like substance. Kinda tasty, but really difficult to eat with chopsticks!!

#3: Individually wrapped single servings of dried fish, sugar coated adzuki (red beans), crunchy sweet salty snackballs, and the bowl of okra-snot behind that.

Inspiring?

c o n t r a s t

summer... and winter....

SNOW!!!

It finally snowed! These are pictures I took on my walk to school.

Mochi Making

Mochitsuki is the traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan.

1. Polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and cooked.
2. The wet rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine.
3. The sticky mass is then formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube).

Fukuwarai- a traditional New Year's game. Each team draws a blank face and hair on the paper and cuts out eyebrows, eyes, a nose, an upper lip, and a lower lip to assemble a face in like 30 seconds. One team member (Leigh shown here) is blindfolded and the rest of the team shouts directions ("up", "left", "right", etc) for each part of the face. It's pretty hilarious- I did this in a couple of my lower level classes by incorporating the direction words in English, and there we go- "internationalization"!!!

My final weekend w/ paul...

So, during the craziness of the nabe/Azitos night, one of the volleyball team members (who barely speaks English) drunkenly asked a very drunk Paul if he wanted to go snowboarding with him, and was drunkenly taken up on the offer... So, the next morning after Kumi's birthday party, Paul woke up at about 6.30am and went off snowboarding with Haji and one of the other volleyball team members, also a Kaiyo High School student. I had no idea how they fared but I suppose sports and having fun brings people together without words...
I relaxed and cleaned up at home, and was rewarded by an onsen voucher from my landlady- her daughter had gotten married at the Kitanoya Hotel (probably the nicest hotel in the area) and the manager had given her some vouchers to use the hotel's onsen. My landlady kept insisting that Paul and I go together, but since I like them more than he does, and he was snowboarding, I went on my own. They had even given her taxi vouchers, so she called for a taxi to pick me up in front of my house and sent me on my way!

When I got to the hotel, I told them my name, and I was whisked down a long corridor to... the hotel's PRIVATE ONSEN, overlooking Miyazu Bay. I was floored- no wonder she kept insisting that we go together! There's always a communication breakdown somewhere- but she assured me that she had another voucher for him if he wanted to go that night. UMMM, hell yes!!! I had the place to myself for about an hour, showering and then dipping myself into the huge granite tub, then leisurely showering and pampering myself with all the nice lotions in the bathroom. When I went back to the lobby, a taxi was waiting for me with specific directions to my house. Wow, what service.... When Paul got back that night, we went back for another soak, but this time, he needed it much more than me after a full day on the slopes!!

Happy Birthday Kumi!

We threw Kumi a surprise birthday party, with Masami's help. I'm not sure the concept of a "surprise birthday party" really made sense to them since the Japanese really don't celebrate birthdays past like 7 years old or something. Apparently, this was the first year that she's ever received a birthday present from her husband!

Nevertheless, "the girls", Becky, Leigh, Jannie, and I vowed to put our kimono skills to work and wear kimonos to this special event. My bedroom was a madhouse of flying kimonos, nagajubans, and obis. Paul and I hosted the party and had a fantastic time preparing and cooking. With that many people there, we ended up taking down one of my sliding doors and making it the long dinner table! We made a very delicious, rich, fish chowder, roasted rosemary potatoes, and my mom's famous spareribs and pineapples. The rest of the dinner was supplemented with sushi contributions from the girls and (taken from my high school games-popping balloons with questions written inside for Kumi to answer, such as: "When did you get your first kiss from Masami?", "How many boyfriends did you have before you married Masami?", etc.)

Kumi actually had us all over the night before since she had no idea that we were planning the party the next night, and we stayed up late teaching them fun card games like "Slapjack", Sevens", and some other crazy slapping game that Leigh sort-of knew the rules to. Games really do bring people together- it was definitely one of the best nights I've had in Japan.

Miyazu's gems

These are my two favorite places in Miyazu. Turns out, they are right next door to eachother, so it all works out!

#1: dondon-ya is the udon shop run by Akira and his wife- another amazingly cute Japanese couple. His English has been perfected over the years by befriending the AETs in the area (even getting one AET to type up their extensive menu all in English!). His travels in America led him to take the Greyhound bus from LA to NYC, a fun experience, I'm sure. They have a vast collection of Peko-chan dolls, the extremely cute " Milky Chocolate" girl. In his spare time, he paints lighthearted watercolor portraits of himself and his family. In true Japanese fashion, he presented me and Paul with a stack of original postcards and signed each one with a flourish.

#2: Cafe Murataya is a little Italian oasis in the middle of the Japanese countryside. The old tailor in town decided to expand his shop and open up a cafe that adjoins his shop. So, after you get fitted for a nice suit (he has bolts of fine Italian wools, silk ties, and shoes), you can hop across the room and enter the bright airy minamilist cafe for a cappuccino or Italian soda. The fixtures, bright orange chairs, wall mounted radiators, even the toilet are all very modern Italian- and they have a great wall of imported British and Italian candy, cookies/biscuits, teas, and... ILLY COFFEE!! Why did I not find this place earlier????