omiyage?

Today I walked into my office to find a pack of panty hose on my desk with the word "present" on it in English. I'm not sure how to react. Is it a joke? Sincere? A gift left by one of the crazy tea ladies?

I've been here 15 minutes. So far, I'm doing what I always do when I don't know how to act : pretending the situation doesn't exist.

jidohanbaiki (japanese vending machines - modern ... marvels?)

Not much is convenient about living in rural Japan, but I should mention the impressive number of vending machines. In my town, they mostly offer cold and hot beverages, but elsewhere in the country you can get almost anything from them. PhotoMann showcases an interesting array.

photos from the weekend

Sorry for the wonky colors/occasional black and white photos. I've alluded to this before, but my camera is dying a long and drawn-out death, so I did what I could to camouflage the occasional neon green tinge. Eventually I'll buy a new camera, but it's not a priority yet.

Sampling of Kansai

Although I visited what is arguably the newest big city in Japan (Kobe, which was pretty much rebuilt after the 1995 earthquake) as well as arguably one of the best-preserved old cities, what struck me most is the difference between Kansai and my own home in Kanoya on the Osumi peninsula. First is the ease of transportation: despite Japan's train reputation, my own area lacks railroads. There's also the higher concentration of foreigners, the ease with which English was spoken, the younger demographic... a different Japan.

new and traditional

I spent a pleasant weekend visiting a random sample of places in Japan's Kansai region - Kobe/ Himeji/ Nara. I hope to go through the bulk of my photos tonight (my camera behaved for the most part). I'll hold off blogging about my trip, which highlighted some Japan extremes, in the sense of 'traditional Japan' versus 'newness in Japan' (the last is a very awkward avoidance of the loaded word 'modern').

Speaking of which: it's true a lot of 'new' comes of out Japan. But if you're curious about the 'traditional,' or at least the more rural and hidden, try PingMag's newish rural-artisan-focused sister site, PingMag MAKE.

is kobe beef less watery?

A recent post on New York Magazine's Grub Street blog proclaimed Amou strawberries the Kobe beef of, well, strawberries.

The berries are grown on Kyushu and, coincidentally, I live on Kyushu. Although fruit in general is crazy expensive here, the strawberries cost me about 750 yen for ten, rather than the $4 per berry it apparently will cost in NYC (plus I don't have the guilt of destroying the planet over a strawberry flown in from the other side of the world).

I doubt this is a shock, but the strawberries weren't so impressive. Sure, they were large and sweet... but so are the strawberries sold here for about half the price. Strawberries are still in season on Kyushu, but these "Kobe beef" strawberries aren't half as good as the berries I used to pick myself in Wisconsin for a tenth of the price.

So, yeah - boo to overpriced, overhyped berries with giant carbon footprints (in America, at least).

c'mon japan, cut me a little slack

When I lived outside the country, Japan radiated a sort of technological smugness..the world's fastest trains, robot parking, flying cellphones and what not. So now, I can't help but wonder how is it that this country of bullet trains and dog translators has managed to make my life so utterly difficult.

Never mind language barriers (ie getting a stub today with the English word "delivery," implying a delivery was attempted, but with everything else in Japanese), racism and random tactily-ignored laws (can no one in Japan drive?). I speak of simplistic matters of mind boggling inconvenience - like ATMs that can balance your checkbook but close at 3 pm.

Case in point: I forgot to pay my internet bill on time this month (yes, I realize this is my fault). And now I'm not allowed to pay it. Unless I go to the post office. Before 3 pm. On a weekday. In the city that's a half an hour away from where I live and work. This is the only way to pay it.

back

I'm back in Japan, arriving in my apartment in Kihoku about 27 hours after leaving my parents house in Illinois.

(Actual plane time: about 18 hours, plus two layovers, necessary because I spent two extra days with my boyfriend and the direct flight into Tokyo didn't include enough time to transfer from Narita, the international airport, to Haneda, the more-or-less domestic airport. I flew into Nagoya from San Francisco.).

I enjoyed my break - 10 days on St. Thomas, followed by 2 days in Chicago - although the length of time I was away makes being back in Japan feel more awkward than usual. Back to studying,ね？

Also I just discovered this series in the Times. Part of me - the part that resents arriving in Chicago from　St. Thomas at 2:30 AM due to a 5-hour flight delay blamed on 'weather' that wasn't, that nearly burst into tears two days later in San Francisco due to an almost-missed connection resulting from another delay out of Chicago, and that is still sore from trying to sleep in seats designed to sap your will to live - really enjoyed 'A User's Manual to Flight 21C7.' But that part is also glad to be reminded about 'Why Do We Do It, Really?'

Happy New Year!