Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Islands.
I just had a great trip to the southernmost islands of Japan, which are part of Okinawa prefecture. I went to the Yaeyama Islands as well as the main island of Okinawa itself. Here's a little roundup of my adventure.
Day1
So my friend and I had a pretty early flight from Haneda (6:45AM), which was kind of miserable, but allowed more time during the first day. The flight from Tokyo to Ishigaki Island (the most inhabited of the Yaeyama Islands) was about three hours, and it still amazes me that they don't ever check your ID when flying to anywhere within the country. That being said, Tokyo airports really outshine those of Americas. Service is so much better, everything goes faster, and security is less of a hassle (ie. you don;t have to take of your shoes and you can bring liquids, which they check by using some strange machine).
Anyway, upon arrival to Ishigaki, we took the bus to our hotel, and then proceeded to the port, where we had lunch. I had the local speciality "Goya Champuru." A Goya is a kind of cucumber like vegetable that is extremely bitter. Following lunch, we headed to the port to take a short ten-minute ferry to the nearby Taketomi Island. White sand roads, traditional houses, and ox-carts all add to the atmosphere that can be found on the Island.
My friend and I opted to take the ox-cart tour of the island, which was very special, and I learned that the river-oxen had come from Taiwan, along with several varieties of plants. (Speaking of plants, I noticed many similarities between the foliage of New Orleans and that of Okinawa.) After the ox-cart tour, we rented bicycles and rode to the nearby "star-sand beach" or 星砂の浜. One of two in Japan, the other being at the nearby Iriomote Island, the beach is made up of little pieces of star-shaped sand, which are actually the bodies of little sea animals.
The allure of finding the star-shaped sand, which was more or less everywhere, wore off rather fast, but I was still amused by long, black sea-slugs (poking them made them spit water) and other sea critters around the beach (hermit crabs, sea anemone, corals, etc). There were also many cute beach cats lounging languidly about. Because I am a unique personality, I took several pieces of dried coral and a rock that was shaped like a skull with me as souvenirs.
After returning the bikes, we walked around the village, which was very peaceful. They had a nice tower overlooking the city, and there was a lot of interesting plant life. I couldn't help humming/singing the Okinawan song "Shima Uta," the music video of which was probably filmed on the island.
Of course, this song was played everywhere during the trip, and including on endless repeat during each plane ride. I'm kind of sick of it now.
Upon returning to Ishigaki, we had a nice beef dinner of Okinawan cow, followed by dessert, the milk of which was probably from Okinawan cows too. We then returned to the hotel for some needed rest and relaxation.
Day 2
On Day Two, we went to Iriomote Island. Our plan was sadly Azumanga Daioh inspired, and it ended up being somewhat of a failure. We intended to circle the island within the day, but we didn't research the times of anything, and made the mistake of buying return tickets from the wrong port.
While we missed out on the Urauchigawa River tour, and thus the Maryudo Waterfalls, we at least got to visit the Iriomote Wildlife Center. On the island lives a very rare wildcat called the Iriomote Yamaneko, or locally Yamapikarya in Okinawan. There are less than one hundred estimated to live on the island, and it's only been 44 days since the last car-related accident involving the endangered creature. It's very sad. The wildlife center is dedicated to this animal, and houses one cat in captivity, which due to a car-related accident has a paralyzed arm and an odd twitch of its head (and so cannot survive anymore in the wild). The cat is separated from humans, but visitors can watch the animal via a live-feed cam.
The cat's name is 'Yan,' and is a 13-year old male. (The average lifespan of the cat is presumed to be about ten years.)
I was very touched by the plight of this animal, and will dedicated a future post for a more detailed discussion of the animal.
Anyway, after the Wildlife Center, we walked to the ox-cart crossing to Yubu Island (oxes can walk to the island when the tide is low), and had lunch at a little local restaraunt. While the local speciality of the island is the Zashigani or 'Coconut Crab,' a really creepy looking animal, it wasn't offered on the menu, so I settled for the local wild boar.
We then returned to the port, walked around the little town/bought some souvenirs, then returned to Ishigaki, had dinner (don't remember what), and returned to the hotel. We then planed our final day in Yaeyama to return to Iriomote to try and make the northern island cruise.
Day 3
As luck would have it, after waking up at 5AM, skipping breakfast, and walking roughly three-miles to the port in the drizzling rain, we discovered that the ferry to the northern port of Iriomote (Uehara) was canceled for the day...and I have no idea why, the weather wasn't that bad. We then had to redo our plans for the day, and settle on the slightly less interesting southern river tour.
Anyways we returned to Ohara port on the southern end of Iriomote, to make the 11AM tour (the only one available). It was a nice tour, even though it was a bit cold, windy, and a little drizzly. My Japanese wasn't good enough to understand the boat driver/tour guide, but there was a lot to take in, and I probably knew more than most about mangroves (the special plant of the island). The tour concluded with a short trek through the 'jungle,' which the island is probably 89% comprised of, to see the oldest mangrove tree in Japan. I wondered how someone randomly discovered the tree, but it was huge.
What surprised me was how much trash there was around the mangroves, despite how uninhabited the area was. People are dirty, but at least the Japanese aren't quite as bad as Americans in this respect.
After returning to Ishigaki, we ate a quick lunch and then headed to the airport to take a short 40-minute flight to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. There wasn't much to do in Naha, so I was a little worried about what we'd do there, but upon arrival, we found our hotel to be very nice. Thankfully my friend, Japanese-American, found a great tour for the next day, which would take us to a Pineapple farm and the Okinawan Aquarium, which is the second largest aquarium in the world.
Day 4
So the final day, we woke up early and took a bus tour to first the Okinawa Aquarium. It was about a 2-hour drive, but well worth it. It was perhaps the best aquarium I've ever seen; the three whale-sharks and all the deep see-life were pretty awesome. I was glad to see the tropical sea-life on the other side of the world. I didn't know Manatees/Dugongs existed in Okinawa, but apparently they do, even though very rare.
After the aquarium, we traveled on to a Pineapple farm, which turned out to be a tourist trap. It was interesting to try all these foods, wines, and snacks made from pineapple though.
After returning to Naha, we had only two-hours till our flight, so we walked around for a bit and then went there. After a 1.5 hour flight from Naha to Tokyo, here I am now!
For those of you in Japan, or really anywhere, Okinawa is the place to visit! Especially in the coming months when it'll be warm enough to dive and snorkel! I think I wanna move to the islands now!
Day1
So my friend and I had a pretty early flight from Haneda (6:45AM), which was kind of miserable, but allowed more time during the first day. The flight from Tokyo to Ishigaki Island (the most inhabited of the Yaeyama Islands) was about three hours, and it still amazes me that they don't ever check your ID when flying to anywhere within the country. That being said, Tokyo airports really outshine those of Americas. Service is so much better, everything goes faster, and security is less of a hassle (ie. you don;t have to take of your shoes and you can bring liquids, which they check by using some strange machine).
Anyway, upon arrival to Ishigaki, we took the bus to our hotel, and then proceeded to the port, where we had lunch. I had the local speciality "Goya Champuru." A Goya is a kind of cucumber like vegetable that is extremely bitter. Following lunch, we headed to the port to take a short ten-minute ferry to the nearby Taketomi Island. White sand roads, traditional houses, and ox-carts all add to the atmosphere that can be found on the Island.
My friend and I opted to take the ox-cart tour of the island, which was very special, and I learned that the river-oxen had come from Taiwan, along with several varieties of plants. (Speaking of plants, I noticed many similarities between the foliage of New Orleans and that of Okinawa.) After the ox-cart tour, we rented bicycles and rode to the nearby "star-sand beach" or 星砂の浜. One of two in Japan, the other being at the nearby Iriomote Island, the beach is made up of little pieces of star-shaped sand, which are actually the bodies of little sea animals.
The allure of finding the star-shaped sand, which was more or less everywhere, wore off rather fast, but I was still amused by long, black sea-slugs (poking them made them spit water) and other sea critters around the beach (hermit crabs, sea anemone, corals, etc). There were also many cute beach cats lounging languidly about. Because I am a unique personality, I took several pieces of dried coral and a rock that was shaped like a skull with me as souvenirs.
After returning the bikes, we walked around the village, which was very peaceful. They had a nice tower overlooking the city, and there was a lot of interesting plant life. I couldn't help humming/singing the Okinawan song "Shima Uta," the music video of which was probably filmed on the island.
Of course, this song was played everywhere during the trip, and including on endless repeat during each plane ride. I'm kind of sick of it now.
Upon returning to Ishigaki, we had a nice beef dinner of Okinawan cow, followed by dessert, the milk of which was probably from Okinawan cows too. We then returned to the hotel for some needed rest and relaxation.
Day 2
On Day Two, we went to Iriomote Island. Our plan was sadly Azumanga Daioh inspired, and it ended up being somewhat of a failure. We intended to circle the island within the day, but we didn't research the times of anything, and made the mistake of buying return tickets from the wrong port.
While we missed out on the Urauchigawa River tour, and thus the Maryudo Waterfalls, we at least got to visit the Iriomote Wildlife Center. On the island lives a very rare wildcat called the Iriomote Yamaneko, or locally Yamapikarya in Okinawan. There are less than one hundred estimated to live on the island, and it's only been 44 days since the last car-related accident involving the endangered creature. It's very sad. The wildlife center is dedicated to this animal, and houses one cat in captivity, which due to a car-related accident has a paralyzed arm and an odd twitch of its head (and so cannot survive anymore in the wild). The cat is separated from humans, but visitors can watch the animal via a live-feed cam.
The cat's name is 'Yan,' and is a 13-year old male. (The average lifespan of the cat is presumed to be about ten years.)
I was very touched by the plight of this animal, and will dedicated a future post for a more detailed discussion of the animal.
Anyway, after the Wildlife Center, we walked to the ox-cart crossing to Yubu Island (oxes can walk to the island when the tide is low), and had lunch at a little local restaraunt. While the local speciality of the island is the Zashigani or 'Coconut Crab,' a really creepy looking animal, it wasn't offered on the menu, so I settled for the local wild boar.
We then returned to the port, walked around the little town/bought some souvenirs, then returned to Ishigaki, had dinner (don't remember what), and returned to the hotel. We then planed our final day in Yaeyama to return to Iriomote to try and make the northern island cruise.
Day 3
As luck would have it, after waking up at 5AM, skipping breakfast, and walking roughly three-miles to the port in the drizzling rain, we discovered that the ferry to the northern port of Iriomote (Uehara) was canceled for the day...and I have no idea why, the weather wasn't that bad. We then had to redo our plans for the day, and settle on the slightly less interesting southern river tour.
Anyways we returned to Ohara port on the southern end of Iriomote, to make the 11AM tour (the only one available). It was a nice tour, even though it was a bit cold, windy, and a little drizzly. My Japanese wasn't good enough to understand the boat driver/tour guide, but there was a lot to take in, and I probably knew more than most about mangroves (the special plant of the island). The tour concluded with a short trek through the 'jungle,' which the island is probably 89% comprised of, to see the oldest mangrove tree in Japan. I wondered how someone randomly discovered the tree, but it was huge.
What surprised me was how much trash there was around the mangroves, despite how uninhabited the area was. People are dirty, but at least the Japanese aren't quite as bad as Americans in this respect.
After returning to Ishigaki, we ate a quick lunch and then headed to the airport to take a short 40-minute flight to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. There wasn't much to do in Naha, so I was a little worried about what we'd do there, but upon arrival, we found our hotel to be very nice. Thankfully my friend, Japanese-American, found a great tour for the next day, which would take us to a Pineapple farm and the Okinawan Aquarium, which is the second largest aquarium in the world.
Day 4
So the final day, we woke up early and took a bus tour to first the Okinawa Aquarium. It was about a 2-hour drive, but well worth it. It was perhaps the best aquarium I've ever seen; the three whale-sharks and all the deep see-life were pretty awesome. I was glad to see the tropical sea-life on the other side of the world. I didn't know Manatees/Dugongs existed in Okinawa, but apparently they do, even though very rare.
After the aquarium, we traveled on to a Pineapple farm, which turned out to be a tourist trap. It was interesting to try all these foods, wines, and snacks made from pineapple though.
After returning to Naha, we had only two-hours till our flight, so we walked around for a bit and then went there. After a 1.5 hour flight from Naha to Tokyo, here I am now!
For those of you in Japan, or really anywhere, Okinawa is the place to visit! Especially in the coming months when it'll be warm enough to dive and snorkel! I think I wanna move to the islands now!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
SAPPORO
I just got home from Sapporo, which, for those who don't know, is the capital of the very frigid north island/prefecture of Hokkaido. Two of my friends and I went to see the Snow Festival or yuki matsuri, which was something I had really wanted to see while I was in Japan.
Day 1:
We had an early flight, and so arrived at the airport around 7AM. It was strange because I took the first train out of Kodaira, and it was not crowded, but still fairly populated, which surprised me at 5AM. The flight went by very fast, I think it was only an hour and a half, but we had a 40-minute train ride from the New Chitose Airport to Sapporo. Thankfully, our hotel was close to the station.
After setting our things down, we had a brief lunch at a gyōza shop, and then walked down the lanes of the festival, enjoying the massive snow and ice sculptures. We then stumbled upon what I think (I forgot) was the old Meiji-era city hall of Sapporo. It was a very nice looking building.
After walking around aimlessly, we returned to the hotel for a short rest, then headed off to dinner. We unfortunately made the poor chose of choosing a rather gimmicky and expensive crab restaurant. It was a disappointment, but the crab was at least fresh and delicious. In order to make up for our lack of a proper dinner, we enjoyed donuts and McDonalds (American style).
We then returned to our hotel for rest.
Day 2:
Our big planned day! We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. We took an 8:45AM tour bus to the Asahiyama Zoo, somewhere outside of the city. It was around -1°C, yet they still had emu, lions, jaguars, orangutans, and giraffe's out in the cold. Weird. Some guy was throwing snow at the tiger, and I was about to go over to him and say 「性格悪い！」but fortunately for him, he got bored and walked away. Now I know why tigers maul people.
At the zoo we saw the "march of the penguins," which was probably one of the most famous things in Hokkaido. I'm not sure, but maybe. It was kind of cute.
I also saw those little "sea angel" creatures, which was pretty cool.
After returning from the zoo, we chilled in the hotel, and then decided to revisit the festival and get special ramen (which was free, thanks to our tour package).
Before going to sleep, we watched "Roman Holiday" on television. Audrey.
Day 3:
We really ran out of things to do, but we tried to make the best of it. We went to the Sapporo Beer Factory, which was more of a mall than a factory, and enjoyed some nice craftworks from Hokkaido artisans. We then had lunch at the festival - I had a nice lamb stew - and wandered around some more.
We tried to make a snowman, but a security guard came and absolutely WRECKED it after we left. Depressing.
We walked around some more then bought our お土産’s. I thought of getting my younger brother some of these algae balls you can keep as pets, but thought that they probably would get taken in customs, lest they turn out to be some sort of invasive species.
Our return flight was uneventful, and we spent the entire flight watching Vicky Christina Barcelona, which was a little strange. It was entertaining though.
It was nice to get out of freezing weather and return home. I feel like I want to return to Hokkaido in the summer, but I don't think I'd ever really feel the need to go to the Snow Festival again.
Day 1:
We had an early flight, and so arrived at the airport around 7AM. It was strange because I took the first train out of Kodaira, and it was not crowded, but still fairly populated, which surprised me at 5AM. The flight went by very fast, I think it was only an hour and a half, but we had a 40-minute train ride from the New Chitose Airport to Sapporo. Thankfully, our hotel was close to the station.
After setting our things down, we had a brief lunch at a gyōza shop, and then walked down the lanes of the festival, enjoying the massive snow and ice sculptures. We then stumbled upon what I think (I forgot) was the old Meiji-era city hall of Sapporo. It was a very nice looking building.
After walking around aimlessly, we returned to the hotel for a short rest, then headed off to dinner. We unfortunately made the poor chose of choosing a rather gimmicky and expensive crab restaurant. It was a disappointment, but the crab was at least fresh and delicious. In order to make up for our lack of a proper dinner, we enjoyed donuts and McDonalds (American style).
We then returned to our hotel for rest.
Day 2:
Our big planned day! We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel. We took an 8:45AM tour bus to the Asahiyama Zoo, somewhere outside of the city. It was around -1°C, yet they still had emu, lions, jaguars, orangutans, and giraffe's out in the cold. Weird. Some guy was throwing snow at the tiger, and I was about to go over to him and say 「性格悪い！」but fortunately for him, he got bored and walked away. Now I know why tigers maul people.
At the zoo we saw the "march of the penguins," which was probably one of the most famous things in Hokkaido. I'm not sure, but maybe. It was kind of cute.
I also saw those little "sea angel" creatures, which was pretty cool.
After returning from the zoo, we chilled in the hotel, and then decided to revisit the festival and get special ramen (which was free, thanks to our tour package).
Before going to sleep, we watched "Roman Holiday" on television. Audrey.
Day 3:
We really ran out of things to do, but we tried to make the best of it. We went to the Sapporo Beer Factory, which was more of a mall than a factory, and enjoyed some nice craftworks from Hokkaido artisans. We then had lunch at the festival - I had a nice lamb stew - and wandered around some more.
We tried to make a snowman, but a security guard came and absolutely WRECKED it after we left. Depressing.
We walked around some more then bought our お土産’s. I thought of getting my younger brother some of these algae balls you can keep as pets, but thought that they probably would get taken in customs, lest they turn out to be some sort of invasive species.
Our return flight was uneventful, and we spent the entire flight watching Vicky Christina Barcelona, which was a little strange. It was entertaining though.
It was nice to get out of freezing weather and return home. I feel like I want to return to Hokkaido in the summer, but I don't think I'd ever really feel the need to go to the Snow Festival again.
Hiltons.
I had another odd dream last night, and have no idea what inspired it. I dreamed that I was clubbing with Paris Hilton and her sister in Miami at a club that was a muffin factory.
End of Classes and Delicious Food
I don't like to mince words, but I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. Somethings are still weird, but I'm ready to forgive. Let's see where that takes us.
Moving on, I promised a long update, but I am afraid I have instead neglected to write anything since final exams began and ended.
As for things regarding Waseda:
The allure of the university has worn off. The original ease of the classes amounted to nothing more than sheer boredom and a waste of time. I do not know what my grades will be, but I am under the impression they'll be good. Waseda's SILS program rounds everything above an 80 to an A, and everything above a 90 to an A+. We'll see what happens, but GW only requires me to pass the classes to achieve credit.
Japanese class certainly had its ups and downs. I'm glad that in the end I had several friends to share the time with. The three hour classes were difficult to pay attention in. While I wish I had learned more grammar, I did learn a lot of vocab and kanji. Still, there was a lot of busy work, which I wish I didn't have to have labored over.
Creating Values in Business turned out to be the most interesting class, while Media Economics turned out to be utterly useless. I did learn a lot in (postwar) Japanese Literature and American Advertising History, so I guess they weren't hopeless.
I sound a bit negative, but I am really fairly stolid in the matter, and I am actually looking forward to choosing classes next semester. Though I am slightly intimidated by the new online course selection process.
Moving on to more positive things, I had the best dinner the night before my final exam at the Prince Hotel in Shinigawa. It was the best buffet I have ever had, and rivals that of the New Orleans Yacht Club's various buffets (I am a sucker for Southern cookin'). My host family treated me.
I am afraid these photos don't do justice to the meal I had (I also only took pictures of 2 out of the 7 plates of food I gorged over), but just appreciate this little peak. I had fresh lobster, steak, tuna, various sashimi, sushi, and tempura (along with multiple flavors of salt: wine, deep-sea, green tea, etc). Of course, I had multiple preparations of salad and vegetables and breads. Finally, there were almost 50 different types of desserts covered in that gold and silver foil, which I had a good sampling of. It was amazing.
If anyone in Tokyo wants to go with me for lunch one day, it's 3000 yen for all you can eat. Dinner is a lot more expensive.
Moving on, I promised a long update, but I am afraid I have instead neglected to write anything since final exams began and ended.
As for things regarding Waseda:
The allure of the university has worn off. The original ease of the classes amounted to nothing more than sheer boredom and a waste of time. I do not know what my grades will be, but I am under the impression they'll be good. Waseda's SILS program rounds everything above an 80 to an A, and everything above a 90 to an A+. We'll see what happens, but GW only requires me to pass the classes to achieve credit.
Japanese class certainly had its ups and downs. I'm glad that in the end I had several friends to share the time with. The three hour classes were difficult to pay attention in. While I wish I had learned more grammar, I did learn a lot of vocab and kanji. Still, there was a lot of busy work, which I wish I didn't have to have labored over.
Creating Values in Business turned out to be the most interesting class, while Media Economics turned out to be utterly useless. I did learn a lot in (postwar) Japanese Literature and American Advertising History, so I guess they weren't hopeless.
I sound a bit negative, but I am really fairly stolid in the matter, and I am actually looking forward to choosing classes next semester. Though I am slightly intimidated by the new online course selection process.
Moving on to more positive things, I had the best dinner the night before my final exam at the Prince Hotel in Shinigawa. It was the best buffet I have ever had, and rivals that of the New Orleans Yacht Club's various buffets (I am a sucker for Southern cookin'). My host family treated me.
If anyone in Tokyo wants to go with me for lunch one day, it's 3000 yen for all you can eat. Dinner is a lot more expensive.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Doppelganger.
In order to celebrate Doppelganger week, since I missed out on Pokemon month, I thought, well, "Who is my Doppelganger?" Fortunately, the answer was easy, sort of. Thanks to friends and random people, I have a growing list of people who resemble me. That's right, THEY resemble ME. Anyway, here is a truncated, alphabetized list.
Edward Norton (in Fight Club)
La Roux
Naruto Character/Anime Character
Patrick Wolf (circa: Magic Position)
Prada Model
Robert Pattinson (according to my sister's friends)
Ronald Weasley
This Kid (my mother was convinced he was me)
Young David Bowie (according to Vidal Sasoon)
Others:
- Brother of a Japanese celebrity.
- Some Hong Kong celebrity.
- Harry Potter (from the book, not the movie)
- Every Weasley
- Luna Lovegood's personality
- etc.
Oh, and of course:
Lady Elaine Fairchild
Edward Norton (in Fight Club)
La Roux
Naruto Character/Anime Character
Patrick Wolf (circa: Magic Position)
Prada Model
Robert Pattinson (according to my sister's friends)
Ronald Weasley
This Kid (my mother was convinced he was me)
Young David Bowie (according to Vidal Sasoon)
Others:
- Brother of a Japanese celebrity.
- Some Hong Kong celebrity.
- Harry Potter (from the book, not the movie)
- Every Weasley
- Luna Lovegood's personality
- etc.
Oh, and of course:
Lady Elaine Fairchild
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