I've heard of human spontaneous combustion, and I surmise a weak postulate: that a man can in fact explode from doing too many things at once. This past week has been fantastic, and I hope you will listen to how fun it has been!
Last Tuesday, I spent ALL of my time in-between classes training in 2 fighting games for the PS3, Soul Calibur 4 and Street Fighter 4. Both of them are amazingly complex, yet I find it more difficult to learn and apply skills in SC4 over SF4 for a few key reasons:
1) Use of 3 dimensions over 2 dimensions
2) Greater number of different button-combinations for techniques
3) Greater amount of characters available to play
Both of them are a challenge to learn, but my years of experience playing Smash Brothers (especially the summer of playing in the House of Pain) have given me the skills in timing, reading attack precedence, and creating mind-games that are easily transferable to these fighting games. Gotta love virtual competition haha.
I've been helping out with the Environment and Ecology Club here by harvesting the leeks, onions, and spinach we planted several weeks ago and selling these vegetables to AIU attendees and affiliates. I also posted some small flyers in the computer lab that had some suggestions to save paper on them. I feel like my "peasant farmer" experience with the EEC, joined with recent knowledge of buying organic vs. buying local, has led me to a personal conviction to renew my membership at the cooperative market in Ithaca and support local farmers. I'm hoping they sell white rice, which is such a great food staple and I hope to cook with it a ton when I move into my apartment at IC this fall. Ah, I can see myself now; riding my badass motobike to the local farmers market and chatting with locals while buying fresh, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables... Okay, kind of dorky but it sounds balanced and good to me haha.
In more JAPAN related news, I spent this past weekend playing with ADORABLE little japanese children! (There is a large chance that I will either marry a japanese woman or adopt a japanese child, either way I'm getting my hands on one!). My fellow students and I introduced ourselves in front of 100 squirming kiddies and their parents on a rainy saturday morning. It was an optional celebration day at the school, and there were games and activities set up all over. I helped out by operating the raffle booth in a flashy orange yukata (robe) and white headband. One kid in particular was wailing and flailing because he wanted one of the prizes, pretty funny to watch actually haha. I brought my own gifts for the little rugrats; sea animal & star stickers, and those little wooden airplanes that you assemble. Not only did I get paid and fed a FANTASTIC set lunch of fried chicken, rice, miso, and salad, but I also took pictures with the stage performers dressed as popular Japanese cartoon characters. The main one is known as Anpanman, and I find it clever marketing that this character is used to sell bread (In the cartoon, he gives his friends power by pulling off his bread-face and giving it to friends).
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
My Time as a Buddhist Priest
Every year in Yuwa, the locals hold a festival honoring their shinto roots. I took part in this festival by transforming into a shinto priest and participating in the local parade. I wore the traditional priest clothes; a yukata robe covered by more white robes, a black hat, and very uncomfortable wooden sandals called getta. Several international students joined me in this event. We were assigned to help the older men by carrying the portable shrine (mikoshi) as well as very tall staves with banners attached to them.
The female head priestess and her nobly dressed priests began the ceremony with various chants in and around the temple. It's hard to say what they were doing, since it was all in japanese and a dialect that is difficult to understand. In any case, after some time of this ritual prayer and bowing we took our leave and began the hour long parade into town. Many of the villagers gathered outside of their homes and greeted us with bows and smiles. I kept greeting everyone with a "konnichiwa" and a huge grin on my face, eliciting a chuckle from several amused villagers.
We arrived at another temple in the middle of town to commence in more ceremony. This time, all of the priests were sitting in a large tatami room, and at certain times we would all bow toward the shrine. What caught my interest the most was a live katana demonstration by one of the priests; it was almost as if his soul and the sword's were one, and together they danced before us to please the kami and aquire their blessing. I was impressed at the priest's form, speed, and economy of motion.
This ceremony was followed by a delicious bento lunch with beer and sake. Oh yeah, those priests could drink! It was a very humid day, so a little buzz was motivating for us all to complete the our procession through the rest of the town. We arrived at one more small temple, and were given a small shot of sake to drink! One more run through the town, and we finally ended up back at the first temple. We all circled the temple a few times before finally ending the ceremony.
I was completely exhausted by this event; it was the hottest day in Japan so far and the stiff wooden shoes I was wearing were too small for my feet. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience this local custom, and to see such an old tradition still celebrated in this modernizing world. However, I don't expect to ever desire the monastic life or to wear those uncomfortable getta again; I now have a new level of understanding for the pain women endure when wearing high heeled shoes.
The female head priestess and her nobly dressed priests began the ceremony with various chants in and around the temple. It's hard to say what they were doing, since it was all in japanese and a dialect that is difficult to understand. In any case, after some time of this ritual prayer and bowing we took our leave and began the hour long parade into town. Many of the villagers gathered outside of their homes and greeted us with bows and smiles. I kept greeting everyone with a "konnichiwa" and a huge grin on my face, eliciting a chuckle from several amused villagers.
We arrived at another temple in the middle of town to commence in more ceremony. This time, all of the priests were sitting in a large tatami room, and at certain times we would all bow toward the shrine. What caught my interest the most was a live katana demonstration by one of the priests; it was almost as if his soul and the sword's were one, and together they danced before us to please the kami and aquire their blessing. I was impressed at the priest's form, speed, and economy of motion.
This ceremony was followed by a delicious bento lunch with beer and sake. Oh yeah, those priests could drink! It was a very humid day, so a little buzz was motivating for us all to complete the our procession through the rest of the town. We arrived at one more small temple, and were given a small shot of sake to drink! One more run through the town, and we finally ended up back at the first temple. We all circled the temple a few times before finally ending the ceremony.
I was completely exhausted by this event; it was the hottest day in Japan so far and the stiff wooden shoes I was wearing were too small for my feet. I am glad I had the opportunity to experience this local custom, and to see such an old tradition still celebrated in this modernizing world. However, I don't expect to ever desire the monastic life or to wear those uncomfortable getta again; I now have a new level of understanding for the pain women endure when wearing high heeled shoes.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
2 Weekends; Happy children, creepy theater, and Nuclear power
It's been a while since my last update, so this may take a while. Bear with me though, as there is a lot to talk about!
I woke up at 8am on a rainy saturday to drive an hour to Diazen city with a few other students. We got to hang out with a massive group of Japanese children, maybe 150 or more, and their parents at this father's day assembly. I had forgotten how amazing little kids are, just seeing them run around aimlessly makes me so happy. I spoke with a few boys and girls in Japanese, asking them how they are, how old are they, what grade are they in. Sometimes they even answered in English, which impressed me and also reminded me of how bad I am at japanese. I'm still a toddler! We did group exercises together; it was like being on an episode of The Wiggles.
After all the shenanigans were over and the kids were dismissed for lunch, I handed out stickers for them all to enjoy. When the first few airplanes, helicopters, and racecar stickers were handed out, I had little wide-eyed Japanese kids surrounding me, eager for a cool sticker of their own. Ah these little kids; they are like the toys that I will want in 10 years (after a few pets and a few jobs I suppose haha).
Me and the other AIU students visited the children's school and playground next. They have so many cool things; pet turtles and fishes, TVs, posters with Pokemon to help them learn Hiragana letters. All of us were invited to come back, and I will be so happy to hang out with kids in a classroom environment. I want to teach them little kids games, like Simon Says and Duck Duck Goose. Maybe I'll modify these games a little bit... it would be good experience for me as a game designer hahaha.
To contrast with this exciting day, my Sunday evening was one of the most depressing experiences of my life. I went to see a traditional Japanese theater production, called Noh, that took place on top of a large hill. It was raining that night (which seems to be the customary every year), all of the audience that was in the outside seating had to wear many plastic ponchos.
The performance itself was terribly creepy; the motions of the actors were robotic, their voices somewhat monotone with extended vowel sounds, and the music (drums, flute, chanting) made me recollect native american tribal rituals. I had to stop and think to myself... was the Japanese upper class that REALLY that boring in the 16th century? Thank god I live in modern times, with such wonderful distractions as video games, anime, and rock music.
Jump forward one school week: I find myself on a bus heading to Rokkasho village, home of several nuclear facilities. If you really want to know more about this place, feel free to ask and I'll tell you everything I know about nuclear energy, disposal, fusion, and storage. However, my brain was so full of information from that day... seriously, I discussed the use of radio isotopes as a way to measure cell propogation, with a real-live Japanese scientist! Perhaps later I'll make known my personal opinions on the use of nuclear energy as a viable energy source for mankind.
We spent one night at a lavish onsen hotel. Ohmygod I was in heaven; the meals were dynamite, the rooms were traditionally made, and the hot baths were all nude. It was sex segregated, and there was a hot bath outside that offered a wonderful view of a majectic waterfall and the surrounding nature. While soaking in the warm waters and emptying my mind of thoughts, my awareness soon fell on the large divider that separated the male and female baths. Curiousity took hold, and desire soon won over morality as I snuck over to have a peek at the ladies. There were some older ladies (bleh!), but fortunately there was a nice view of some well-bodied japanese ladies, soaking in the steamy night. Say what you will about right action and right intention, but I had to indulge my childish curiousity (not to mention ninja sneakery) in that moment.
I took a japanese robe as a souveneer, which is actually socially appropriate to wear all around the hotel. I saw many japanese, young and old, wearing these like casual wear. It will certainly make for a nice bath robe back in the U.S... by the way, I've been missing home like CRAZY and I can't wait to return with stories and being able to express myself in a full english vocabulary, not to mention catching up with friends, eating fast food, having the freedom of driving a car, and finding out what Metal Gear Solid 4 updates are available.
I woke up at 8am on a rainy saturday to drive an hour to Diazen city with a few other students. We got to hang out with a massive group of Japanese children, maybe 150 or more, and their parents at this father's day assembly. I had forgotten how amazing little kids are, just seeing them run around aimlessly makes me so happy. I spoke with a few boys and girls in Japanese, asking them how they are, how old are they, what grade are they in. Sometimes they even answered in English, which impressed me and also reminded me of how bad I am at japanese. I'm still a toddler! We did group exercises together; it was like being on an episode of The Wiggles.
After all the shenanigans were over and the kids were dismissed for lunch, I handed out stickers for them all to enjoy. When the first few airplanes, helicopters, and racecar stickers were handed out, I had little wide-eyed Japanese kids surrounding me, eager for a cool sticker of their own. Ah these little kids; they are like the toys that I will want in 10 years (after a few pets and a few jobs I suppose haha).
Me and the other AIU students visited the children's school and playground next. They have so many cool things; pet turtles and fishes, TVs, posters with Pokemon to help them learn Hiragana letters. All of us were invited to come back, and I will be so happy to hang out with kids in a classroom environment. I want to teach them little kids games, like Simon Says and Duck Duck Goose. Maybe I'll modify these games a little bit... it would be good experience for me as a game designer hahaha.
To contrast with this exciting day, my Sunday evening was one of the most depressing experiences of my life. I went to see a traditional Japanese theater production, called Noh, that took place on top of a large hill. It was raining that night (which seems to be the customary every year), all of the audience that was in the outside seating had to wear many plastic ponchos.
The performance itself was terribly creepy; the motions of the actors were robotic, their voices somewhat monotone with extended vowel sounds, and the music (drums, flute, chanting) made me recollect native american tribal rituals. I had to stop and think to myself... was the Japanese upper class that REALLY that boring in the 16th century? Thank god I live in modern times, with such wonderful distractions as video games, anime, and rock music.
Jump forward one school week: I find myself on a bus heading to Rokkasho village, home of several nuclear facilities. If you really want to know more about this place, feel free to ask and I'll tell you everything I know about nuclear energy, disposal, fusion, and storage. However, my brain was so full of information from that day... seriously, I discussed the use of radio isotopes as a way to measure cell propogation, with a real-live Japanese scientist! Perhaps later I'll make known my personal opinions on the use of nuclear energy as a viable energy source for mankind.
We spent one night at a lavish onsen hotel. Ohmygod I was in heaven; the meals were dynamite, the rooms were traditionally made, and the hot baths were all nude. It was sex segregated, and there was a hot bath outside that offered a wonderful view of a majectic waterfall and the surrounding nature. While soaking in the warm waters and emptying my mind of thoughts, my awareness soon fell on the large divider that separated the male and female baths. Curiousity took hold, and desire soon won over morality as I snuck over to have a peek at the ladies. There were some older ladies (bleh!), but fortunately there was a nice view of some well-bodied japanese ladies, soaking in the steamy night. Say what you will about right action and right intention, but I had to indulge my childish curiousity (not to mention ninja sneakery) in that moment.
I took a japanese robe as a souveneer, which is actually socially appropriate to wear all around the hotel. I saw many japanese, young and old, wearing these like casual wear. It will certainly make for a nice bath robe back in the U.S... by the way, I've been missing home like CRAZY and I can't wait to return with stories and being able to express myself in a full english vocabulary, not to mention catching up with friends, eating fast food, having the freedom of driving a car, and finding out what Metal Gear Solid 4 updates are available.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Bond Between Teacher and Student
I'm at my desk, slowly sipping from a cup of mildly-bitter green tea, after drinking sake from my samuari sake cup. This cool, slightly damp Monday, I write to you from my room. I hear the sounds of birds sharing the news, passing cars from the main road, and the humming and clanging of machinery that is building AIU's fitness center.
I glance to my shelf and see the gift Sakamoto-sensei gave me last weekend, a palm-sized rabbit made entirely out of Jade. This was a momento from my day of fishing (we caught nothing haha) and relaxing, as well as the evidence of a unique bond being created here. I recall the time at the harbor; it was a fruitless trip as far as the catch was concerned, but I experienced the elements of deep-sea fishing. Casting the weighted fishing line, interpreting the sonar device that measures both the current depth as well as underwater activity, and driving the boat around all filled me with the joy of becoming more than who I was yesterday.
I returned to Sakamoto sensei's home for a home cooked dinner, desert, and authentic Chinese tea ceremony prepared by his wife. We had a pleasant discussion, and Mrs. Sakamoto helped me create my own Kanji name. For each Kanji, I chose the syllabic character that I thought most suited some important elements of my personality at this time.
-"Ku", I chose the Kanji that holds the meaning "carpenter" or "industrious."
-"Ri," meaning "rational" or "science."
-"Su," representing "defend" or "save."
Here's my interpretation of the characters placed next to eachother; Chris (kurisu) is the "rational carpenter who defends." Then you may ask, what does this mean? Defends what? At the moment, I can think of 2 personal examples:
1) By learning about and making video games, I am attempting to defend their existance in the eyes of skeptics who see them merely as "time wasters." I am constructing both rational arguments and playable games to get my points across.
2) My study of martial arts is a process of building a mind-map for self-defense. Through practice and understanding, I am learning skills that may come to be used for protecting either myself or another.
Then, I was TOLD to sit in a full-body massage chair and play Japanese video games! If all of this wasn't enough, I took him up on the offer to borrow some bikes for the semester. Such kindness and generosity, what an awesome pair of Japanese folk! We've already made plans to have a barbeque on July 4th (Independence Day woooo!) and I can't wait!
I glance to my shelf and see the gift Sakamoto-sensei gave me last weekend, a palm-sized rabbit made entirely out of Jade. This was a momento from my day of fishing (we caught nothing haha) and relaxing, as well as the evidence of a unique bond being created here. I recall the time at the harbor; it was a fruitless trip as far as the catch was concerned, but I experienced the elements of deep-sea fishing. Casting the weighted fishing line, interpreting the sonar device that measures both the current depth as well as underwater activity, and driving the boat around all filled me with the joy of becoming more than who I was yesterday.
I returned to Sakamoto sensei's home for a home cooked dinner, desert, and authentic Chinese tea ceremony prepared by his wife. We had a pleasant discussion, and Mrs. Sakamoto helped me create my own Kanji name. For each Kanji, I chose the syllabic character that I thought most suited some important elements of my personality at this time.
-"Ku", I chose the Kanji that holds the meaning "carpenter" or "industrious."
-"Ri," meaning "rational" or "science."
-"Su," representing "defend" or "save."
Here's my interpretation of the characters placed next to eachother; Chris (kurisu) is the "rational carpenter who defends." Then you may ask, what does this mean? Defends what? At the moment, I can think of 2 personal examples:
1) By learning about and making video games, I am attempting to defend their existance in the eyes of skeptics who see them merely as "time wasters." I am constructing both rational arguments and playable games to get my points across.
2) My study of martial arts is a process of building a mind-map for self-defense. Through practice and understanding, I am learning skills that may come to be used for protecting either myself or another.
Then, I was TOLD to sit in a full-body massage chair and play Japanese video games! If all of this wasn't enough, I took him up on the offer to borrow some bikes for the semester. Such kindness and generosity, what an awesome pair of Japanese folk! We've already made plans to have a barbeque on July 4th (Independence Day woooo!) and I can't wait!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Planting rice, judo tactics... I become more Japanese by the day.
This past weekend was quite eventful. I met my host mother on Saturday, a nice japanese woman named Atsuko. We spoke about our lives for a while, and I found out she has a shy, introverted son who is in 8th grade. Atsuko has difficulty communicating with him, and after school he just goes home and plays video games (sounds too familiar haha). I look forward to meeting him and pulling him out of his shell a little bit. Maybe I can be a model for him, show him how to relate to his mother and get involved in some school activities.
On Sunday, I planted rice with some fellow students. It was a fun experience; sloshing around barefoot in cold mud was humbling to say the least. The first task was to create rows and columns in the mud, so we could plant the rice more efficiently. Then, all the students entered the muddy field to begin planting.
For 30 minutes, I was an expert fieldhand; my left hand held a large chunk of the rice-plant, and my right hand was used for pinching off a few strands of the plant by the roots and submerging it just a few inches in the mud. It was a challenge to stay in the rows we marked, and the many farmers who were standing by helped us by throwing us advice, encouragement, and some more rice-plant when we would run out (those who couldn't catch the plant that was thrown at them instead recieved a splash of mud and laughter from the rest of us haha). I got 4 leeches on my legs during the planting, which I had to rip off of leg when we cleaned up and left the field. I guess I'm a pretty tasty meal haha.
I'm really enjoying Judo Club, and I'm starting to understand the human body in a completely new way, the aspect of physical balance. We usually warm up on the tatami mats with stretching, rolling, and crawling around. Then we move to practicing ukemi (quick recovery), many types of throws, some groundwork, and anything we can think of. Finally, we spend about 30 minutes with Randori, which is a freeform grappling encounter.
The Environmnt and Ecology Club is starting to become more active. We've been meeting weekly, and now we've starting planting green beans and lettuce. We've got some activities to plan, and we're currently trying to devise ways to regulate the amount of paper printed in the library. I suggested that instead of overtly controlling the amount a student can print, we offer a system of rewards to positively encourage limited paper consumption. Now we need to come up with prizes that will actually encourage this behavior!
It's really difficult to get into the habit of making websites! Besides making the time to work on the websites (I'm in Japan, there's other stuff I can be doing!!!), the part I struggle with is adding a mechanic to the site that I have no idea how to do, mainly because it takes so long to find out how to do it, then actually impliment it. The payoff is great though, to learn a new technique that will benefit future projects. I'm trying to develop the habit of spending 1 hour a day working on websites/games, and my current goal is to finish Your Image Center's updated website by the end of this month. Then I'll move on to adding a shopping cart to the site, making my own website, taking on clients, making money, becoming an independent adult, yada yada.
Tonight I'm meeting Atsuko-okaasan (mother) at Kappa Sushi! If the weather is nice, I'll hopefully be going fishing this weekend with Sakamoto-sensei on the sea. If so, I'm gonna catch red snapper and make sushi, not to mention be ON A BOAT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU&feature=PlayList&p=ED9441CFC963F147&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1
On Sunday, I planted rice with some fellow students. It was a fun experience; sloshing around barefoot in cold mud was humbling to say the least. The first task was to create rows and columns in the mud, so we could plant the rice more efficiently. Then, all the students entered the muddy field to begin planting.
For 30 minutes, I was an expert fieldhand; my left hand held a large chunk of the rice-plant, and my right hand was used for pinching off a few strands of the plant by the roots and submerging it just a few inches in the mud. It was a challenge to stay in the rows we marked, and the many farmers who were standing by helped us by throwing us advice, encouragement, and some more rice-plant when we would run out (those who couldn't catch the plant that was thrown at them instead recieved a splash of mud and laughter from the rest of us haha). I got 4 leeches on my legs during the planting, which I had to rip off of leg when we cleaned up and left the field. I guess I'm a pretty tasty meal haha.
I'm really enjoying Judo Club, and I'm starting to understand the human body in a completely new way, the aspect of physical balance. We usually warm up on the tatami mats with stretching, rolling, and crawling around. Then we move to practicing ukemi (quick recovery), many types of throws, some groundwork, and anything we can think of. Finally, we spend about 30 minutes with Randori, which is a freeform grappling encounter.
The Environmnt and Ecology Club is starting to become more active. We've been meeting weekly, and now we've starting planting green beans and lettuce. We've got some activities to plan, and we're currently trying to devise ways to regulate the amount of paper printed in the library. I suggested that instead of overtly controlling the amount a student can print, we offer a system of rewards to positively encourage limited paper consumption. Now we need to come up with prizes that will actually encourage this behavior!
It's really difficult to get into the habit of making websites! Besides making the time to work on the websites (I'm in Japan, there's other stuff I can be doing!!!), the part I struggle with is adding a mechanic to the site that I have no idea how to do, mainly because it takes so long to find out how to do it, then actually impliment it. The payoff is great though, to learn a new technique that will benefit future projects. I'm trying to develop the habit of spending 1 hour a day working on websites/games, and my current goal is to finish Your Image Center's updated website by the end of this month. Then I'll move on to adding a shopping cart to the site, making my own website, taking on clients, making money, becoming an independent adult, yada yada.
Tonight I'm meeting Atsuko-okaasan (mother) at Kappa Sushi! If the weather is nice, I'll hopefully be going fishing this weekend with Sakamoto-sensei on the sea. If so, I'm gonna catch red snapper and make sushi, not to mention be ON A BOAT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfISlGLNU&feature=PlayList&p=ED9441CFC963F147&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Kakunodate and Tazawa- Samuari Town and Beautiful Lake
The rhythm of life in Akita has settled into a driven composition of academics, clubs, friendships, and personal projects. Classes are fairly easy and I think my first Japanese test on Friday went well. Before the semester is over, I'll be writing papers on the Bushido (samurai code of ethics) and the presence of martial arts and military influence on traditional Japanese theater. My first Judo session was fun, and I think I've grasped some of the basics of groundwork grappling. For Ecology and Environment Club, I'll be helping to promote some long-term green projects to be carried out here at AIU, including planting trees and (hopefully) getting an Akita pet!
This weekend, many Japanese and international students took the opportunity to visit some of the beautiful locale in Akita Prefecture. First stop was Dakikaeri Gorge, a natural gorge turned to tourist stop. There were some interesting old buildings, a shrine, an old well, and a suspension bridge allowing access to the small waterfalls. At one point on the stop, I noticed a small statue on the top of large rock structure. I wanted to get a picture of it, so I held my camera in my mouth by its laniard and hopped into knee-high, chilly water. A steep rock climb followed, and I made it to the buddhist statue. A few old-looking 10 yen coins lay at its feet, and after some pictures I left a coin and made a wish. The decent from the top of the rock was much easier: from the high vantage point I could see an easy, walkable path around the sloping backside of the rock! I was also able to catch a small frog by the lake, and I let it hop out of my hand and onto a startled Hannah.
Lake Tazawa is Japan's deepest lake (423 meters), with beautiful, clear blue water and plenty of tourist distractions. I was tempted to rent a motorcycle or ATV for 30 minutes, but I decided to save my money and ride a space-ship paddleboat with some friends for 500 yen. There were plenty of overpriced, locally made trinkets, but nothing stood out as a must-have souvineer. We also viewed the Tatsuko-hime statue, a large golden woman standing on a tall cement base that allows her to "stand on water" just off the shore. I'm not sure of the legend behind her, but somehow she became a dragon that now lives under the lake.
Kakunodate, a samuari town that has existed since the feudal times of the 1600's, still retains a sense of tradition despite necessary modernization. The old-style manor architecture and drainage ditches contrast with the newly cement-paved roads and large traffic signs. We were provided tickets to view the Aoyagi Samuari family Manor Museum. I was getting exhausted by this leg of the trip, but my interest was peaked by the large collection of ancient katana, tanto, yari, full body armor, spears, and even some western-style rifles. I also spied what appeared to be the first prototype motorcycle; a bicycle fitted with large machinery and pedals for accelation and braking. Before leaving the manor, I managed to aquire a samuari sake cup that will make a fine addition to the other shot glasses and epic goblets I use for drinking.
That's about all the news to report for now. I continue my long-term ambitions of website development, body-mind training, and game design. Go play my first game now, it's cute and simple! Let me know what you think of it!
http://www.playcrafter.com/#gameID=46043&invitedBy=12128
This weekend, many Japanese and international students took the opportunity to visit some of the beautiful locale in Akita Prefecture. First stop was Dakikaeri Gorge, a natural gorge turned to tourist stop. There were some interesting old buildings, a shrine, an old well, and a suspension bridge allowing access to the small waterfalls. At one point on the stop, I noticed a small statue on the top of large rock structure. I wanted to get a picture of it, so I held my camera in my mouth by its laniard and hopped into knee-high, chilly water. A steep rock climb followed, and I made it to the buddhist statue. A few old-looking 10 yen coins lay at its feet, and after some pictures I left a coin and made a wish. The decent from the top of the rock was much easier: from the high vantage point I could see an easy, walkable path around the sloping backside of the rock! I was also able to catch a small frog by the lake, and I let it hop out of my hand and onto a startled Hannah.
Lake Tazawa is Japan's deepest lake (423 meters), with beautiful, clear blue water and plenty of tourist distractions. I was tempted to rent a motorcycle or ATV for 30 minutes, but I decided to save my money and ride a space-ship paddleboat with some friends for 500 yen. There were plenty of overpriced, locally made trinkets, but nothing stood out as a must-have souvineer. We also viewed the Tatsuko-hime statue, a large golden woman standing on a tall cement base that allows her to "stand on water" just off the shore. I'm not sure of the legend behind her, but somehow she became a dragon that now lives under the lake.
Kakunodate, a samuari town that has existed since the feudal times of the 1600's, still retains a sense of tradition despite necessary modernization. The old-style manor architecture and drainage ditches contrast with the newly cement-paved roads and large traffic signs. We were provided tickets to view the Aoyagi Samuari family Manor Museum. I was getting exhausted by this leg of the trip, but my interest was peaked by the large collection of ancient katana, tanto, yari, full body armor, spears, and even some western-style rifles. I also spied what appeared to be the first prototype motorcycle; a bicycle fitted with large machinery and pedals for accelation and braking. Before leaving the manor, I managed to aquire a samuari sake cup that will make a fine addition to the other shot glasses and epic goblets I use for drinking.
That's about all the news to report for now. I continue my long-term ambitions of website development, body-mind training, and game design. Go play my first game now, it's cute and simple! Let me know what you think of it!
http://www.playcrafter.com/#gameID=46043&invitedBy=12128
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Oga- Home of the Evil Santa
On the second day of Golden Week, a group of merry travelers made a trip to the Oga Peninsula. Christof, Ayaka, Miki, Yakari, and Weston rented a car and made the 2 hour journey to the home of the Namahage. This local tradition is similar to Christmas in the west; both celebrate the New Year and revolve around cleansing people's souls. However, the mascots for this holiday are demons that storm the village and threaten to take away all the bad children... A little negative reinforcement never hurt anyone, right?
On the way to the tip of the peninsula, we visited a seaside aquarium (pictures going up on facebook soon). I've gotta say, I didn't know penguins were so awesome, they can just shoot out of the water and land on their feet, ready to waddle about their business!
When we arrived at the tip of the peninsula, everyone was starving. We decided to eat at a cheap, traditional sit-down restaurant located at the end of a row of stores. I had some octopus in my Ramen, and a bottle of hot sake to help me enjoy the view. Afterwords, I decided to buy a black, stylized bokken (wooden training sword) and a souvenir for Tianna.
The tip of the peninsula itself marks the 40th degree north latitude... yeah yeah boring I know. But what's neat is that there are a series of rock formations that line up to mark the latitude line. These rocks are split down the middle, and when you stand in such a way to see through the split on all the lined-up rocks, you know you are standing on the latitude line.
We were all pretty tired on the return trip, but after returning the rental car we decided to do Purikura! I'll never get tired of these japanese photo booths, they're insane and adorable. Dinner was a sampling of sushi, yakitori (meat stick), fried rice, pizza, and salad (plus sake and ice cream for myself) for about 1000 yen per person. So cheap!
The cab at Wada Station couldn't take all 5 of us back to AIU, so Weston and I saved some money and made the hour walk home. All in all, it was a fantastic day trip and I've pretty much decided where I will retire. My grandkids are DEFINITELY getting a visit from the Namahage a.k.a. Evil Santa.
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