The First Week

Hello again, you're here cause either you want to be or because my agents have forced you to be. For the latter group, don't worry, they won't hurt you. Much. Anyways, let me get on with it and regale you with some of my latest journeys and observations.

First off, Japan is hot. Hot and wet. Those who've spent the summers south of Maryland know the conditions well enough, but trust me, it's worse. Every day I have spent here has been done with a constant sweat that finds my back and creases to be a wonderful place to stay. The whole affair reminds me of a joke I once heard about Florida. You take a shower the first day you arrive and for a whole week you're still wet.

Next up is the cityscape. I remember my parents complaining about some of the newer houses constructed around Cary. There was no space to be had between them, they gripped; one could spit from one house into the next. If only they could see things here. There really is no space to be had anywhere. The houses are practically built upon one another; a resident can find it easy to watch his neighbor's t.v as they eat at their table. They don't even have to ask to turn up the volume, they can hear it just fine. Yards are non-existent or a courtyard is created by a tall fence with some small trees growing out from them. And the roads, my god, the roads! What is a two-way road here is barely larger than a single lane back in America and the cars, of course, are made to accommodate. But it is not dirty, no, far from it. Even in such confined spaces, it's rare to see any filth or trash littering the streets or taking up space on the sidewalk. A small mercy it may seem, but it really does begin to impress you as the days go on.

Bikes are easy to purchase, but there are some real differences regarding them here. I bought a used bike for around seventy bucks, thinking it to be nothing more than a toy really, but that is not the case in Japan. Here, it is a vehicle and is to be treated as such. Your bike is registered with the government, much like a car, and so proper i.d tags are expected. Failure to produce any can mean a quick trip to the police box, if they like.

Scarcely three days since I've bought the bicycle and I already feel like I've gotten absurd use out of the thing. Trips to school and the store are quick and the return trip is easy as a basket comes standard with most bikes. I've even taken it on a trip around the town, sightseeing and the like, and finding a delicious ramen place a lot closer than I thought. Since getting a license is unlikely while here, I do advise getting a bicycle but be mindful. There are places alongside the road to ride them, but they, like the roads, are tight and clogged with other riders and pedestrians. And the gaps and pitfalls are many. Speed here comes with a price, so be cautious as you go along your merry way.

I made a trip to Kyoto just yesterday, and though the weather was disgusting, the city was not. A quick twenty minute train ride from Hirakata station to Kyoto's only costs around seven hundred yen and it is well worth the price. Some of Japan's oldest buildings can be found there along with much of its cultural heritage. A maiko, a Japanese cultural entertainer, is not exactly a common sight but they are not rare either. Temples are vast and many, and offer unique sights and meanings. I was not able to see some of the famous one, but there will be time for those. Green tea based food is popular in Kyoto, with many cafes offering a variety of them. They range from cakes and breads to ice cream. I tried the ice cream myself and though it was a tad bitter to my tastes, I still found it to be worth the attemp. Just make sure to have a tissue handy when you try it; it tends to run.

Within the course of this week, I have had ramen more than any other foods. Each place you find tends to differ from one another, even if only in subtle ways. Some may have a richer flavor, others may go with increased heat. Personally, I prefer the richness. The first place I went to was across the street from the university, a small place with enough seating for perhaps ten people and a cheery man with a good commanding of the English language. The ramen I chose was pork and soy, which was good but not truly to my liking. Just my preference, really. An interesting note about his store though is that he offers a free beer with every gyouza order you make.

The second place I went to came after an extended trip around town on my bike. It was a larger store operated by women only, as far as I could tell, and I ended up dirtying my pants by spilling sesame oil over my pants (don't worry, it came out). After some gyouza, I ended up finishing off one of my friends bowls. The owner offered to refill the soup for me, which I obviously didn't turn down, and ate my fill. Definitely better than the first place as the whole dish, noodles and all, tasted savory and rich.

The third place was in Kyoto and supposedly it was the most famous shop in town. True or not, I can certainly vouch for the taste and style. Upon entering the store, called Ichiran, you are greeted by a vending machine which will produce whatever ticket you need for your desired meal. After that, you are greeted by a server who hands you a sheet of paper upon which you mark your desired meal. Want a little richness or a lot? there's a mark for it on the sheet. Harder or softer noodles? one for that too. Want some spice and meat with that? Yeah, yeah, shut up, Matt. After you receive the sheet, you are escorted to a bar where you can sit down and eat with dividers between you and your neighbor, or have them opened up to allow for conversation with your group. You then mark your choices, and slide them forward towards a small window before you. The waiters and chefs are behind it, but you never get to see their faces. Aside from a few small openings, a wall stands before you. All you can see of the people behind it is their waists and hands as their voices come out to you. It was definitely the best place I had the pleasure of eating at so far.

Now in Japan, there is a service that a choice number of bars offer that is every frat boy's dream. It is called nomihoudai and it means all you can drink. For a set price, you are waited upon and brought refreshment whenever you have need and the drink options are limited but many, ranging from beer and wine to shots and sake. It is considered polite, however, to order a meal as you drink, so if you didn't really come to eat you can split a small order of something between a group of you and save a couple of bucks. It is an experience worth enjoying, for those who can stomach it, and I recommend that if you try, you should do so in a large group.

And that pretty much sums up my first week. I haven't created a fixed schedule for the updates yet, but I have committed to doing at least two. I'll try to create a third if I have the time for it. In the mean time, I plan to see and do more, so please wait for the next.

The Flight Over

Hello, everybody, and welcome to my stories of my journey to Japan. It is going to start off slow as I acquaint myself with others and the area around me, but don't worry. It will take off.
Speaking of taking off, let me talk about the twenty hours I spent in airports and planes. On Friday the 23, I said my farewells to those who came with me to the airport, my sister and dad, went through the irritating process that is airport security, and, after an hour of waiting and a bagel with cream-cheese, boarded for the first leg of my trip, a short hour plus flight to Detroit. Once I disembarked, I had forty-two minutes to dash over to the gate of the next plane, but not before deciding to stop to pick up one of those neck pillows i saw others wearing. I thought it would prove useful (It didn't).
The second flight was five hours long and it took me to Seattle, a city I would've loved to check out, but didn't have the time to do so. I spent the first thirty-minutes reading my copy of Game of Thrones, tired of it and went to try to something on the television screen in-front of me. I failed in that, but my efforts were noticed by the man to my right. He was from Virginia, originally born in an Italian colony somewhere in Africa (I apologize, I cannot remember where) and for an hour we conversed about a number of things briefly, politics, school, language, religion and food. Pizza, we agreed, was the best bread-based food either of us had so far tasted.
Now let me say this about planes: I've come to detest extended flight. No matter your medium of travel, you are forced to remain sedentary, be it plane, train or automobile; but at least the latter options give you somewhere to move about. With planes, its either up to the bathroom or stay seated. It's not like the plane can pull over somewhere so you can get out to stretch. It was the second flight where I started on the path of contempt. Two hours or so in, and I grew sore from sitting down. The seats were far from pillowy, and I was really beginning to dread spending eleven hours aboard the next flight. I slept or picked up my book again for the remainder.
In Seattle, I had the time needed to grab a quick bite, a grilled chicken sandwich which was chewier than I would have liked, then went aboard my last plane. I don't have much to say about the final flight. My neighbor was an old Japanese woman, so I barely even considered talking with her. Instead, I spent most of my time catching up on movies. I saw Ironman 3, the best of the three in my opinion, Louie C.K's latest HBO special and Goodfellas. Otherwise, it was spent attempting sleep, reading or eating. I was served a dinner and breakfast during it, a frozen dinner tray of katsudon pork and an egg and cheese sandwich. Due to my meal in the airport, I felt stuffed after dinner was finished.
It was on this last flight, somewhere between Louie and an attempt at a nap, that I started to think of what lay ahead of me. I knew what was behind me, the routine and the comfort in it, but in front of me, what was there? I was leaping into something I had never truly contemplated before, something novel and unknown. It was strange to me; never before did I deal with anything truly alien to me and yet now here was a real foreign land that I now had no choice but to go to. A realm of opportunity and discovery was laid before me and all that was needed was the will to take it for all it was worth. And so I landed in Osaka airport with this thought embedded in my head. I have the desire to explore, to see what the Land of the Rising Sun held, and I am eager to sink my teeth into all that it has to offer.