The Guch and too much Hooch

I have Tuesdays off, as do my roommates Masako and Tetsu, so we decided to have dinner at the Guch (our house) last Tuesday. Wanting to introduce me to a new Japanese dish, they cooked suki-yaki, which is beef slices simmered in soy sauce, sake, and sugar, along with other vegetables and tofu. Whisked raw egg is used as a dipping sauce for the meat and vegetables. Masako and Tetsu provided the delicious meal, while I provided the alcohol. We started off slow, just a few beers, but once our roommate Judy got home from work, we opened a couple of bottles of wine. And then our roommate Cat came home, and we broke out the rum. At one point in the night Cat, Judy, and I all put on Halloween costumes, and then somehow Judy convinced us it would be a good idea to put a mustache on Cat and a full beard on me (using eyeshadow). I looked like Yitzhak from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Judy just pretty much had eyeshadow all over her entire face. I'm certain pictures were taken and I have no doubt they'll resurface in some form of blackmail later in life. Regardless, it was a fun night and a rare moment for us residents of the Guch, as we rarely get a chance to hang out together due to our conflicting work schedules.

Japanese Snacks I

Despite the obvious exceptions, Japan feels a lot like America. However, one way in which it's vastly different is the food. The snacks are often seafood- or curry-flavored. Two examples of popular snacks are dried squid (pictured to the left) and some sort of baked noodles that have a kind of cheesy curry taste. The dried squid looks like dry, shredded chicken, but it's actually really flavorful (very seafood-y with a slightly sweet, teriyaki-type flavor). It's a popular snack to have while drinking beer, and because it involves a lot of chewing (think beef jerky), it's not something you can just inhale like a plate of nachos.

Kiwis, Touch Football, Cross Dressers, and Transformers

This Monday is a holiday in Japan (Sports Day; I don't get it, but hey, holiday means no work!), and because my days off are Sundays and Tuesdays, this means I get a 3-day weekend. Woohoo!! Filled with the sort of elation one gets after finishing a long day of work before an extended weekend, I called my friend Simon and asked if he'd be up for grabbing a few beers and a bite to eat. He was game (as Simon always is when beer is involved), so we met up in Umeda and wandered for about an hour in search of non-Japanese grub. Because you see, while I love Japanese food (it's simple, healthy, and yummy), I'm quite sick of it at this point. And you'd never guess this, but Japan is full of Japanese restaurants. I know, right?! Who'd of thought? And so we walked through the arcade, bright lights flashing everywhere, people standing outside their restaurants calling for us to come in for sushi! Tempura! Okonomiyaki! Takoyaki! No, no, no, no. We just weren't in the mood for anything involving soy sauce. Finally, we reached the end of the arcade. There were no bright lights, no cheerful beckoning, and very few people. And there it was, in a dark corner of an otherwise flashy street, like a beacon of hope: a Kiwi pub. And its name? Kiwi Pub. The menu? Meat pies, fish and chips, fried chicken, and grilled sausages. Nary a grain of rice in sight. We were sold.

The pub was in a tiny, non-descript basement, with flashing disco lights. It was so small, it was like one of the house parties I went to in college. The crowd was welcoming; a mix of Kiwis, Aussies, and Japanese (and one American--yours truly). Simon and I sat down, famished, and split a pizza, meat pie with mashed potatoes, and fish and chips, washing it all down with a couple of beers. Hey, I said we were hungry! (And thirsty.) The owner, Mike, gave us some kuava to drink, which tasted like floral-scented water and made my tongue feel funny. It's a Samoan fruit, used for medicine (at least I think that's what Mike told us).

As we were gathering our stuff to leave, Mike invited us to play touch football with all of them the following day at a nearby park. We were given a small map and felt like members of an exclusive club.

Sunday...

On Sunday we showed up to a beautiful park in Umeda. It was a sunny day and the weather was nice and cool. There was some sort of festival going on, and after a quick inspection, we determined that it was something similar to the gay pride festivals in America. There was live music, free condoms, AIDS awareness pamphlets, and loads of 8-foot-tall cross dressers with painted faces, giant feathered wigs, full-body leotards, and 10-inch heels, which we may as well call stilts because these heels take some endurance to walk in. It was a friendly, happy crowd, but we continued on our way to the dirt field on the other side of the festival to meet up for some touch football, which I think is just Australian rugby without the tackling (but don't quote me on that). Simon, bless his heart, is always trying to explain these things to me, but not being fluent in Australian (not to mention Athleticism) makes it difficult for my thick skull to absorb sometimes.

The touch football group was a mix of people from the pub the previous night and some others: a nice guy from Canada, named Mark, and a guy from Georgia, whose name I can't remember, so let's call him Georgia. Georgia had his son with him, named Takoma (Tako for short), and so Tako and I played dinosaurs and Transformers while the guys played a couple games of touch football. Later, Simon showed me how to throw the ball while spinning it, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm kind of a natural. I refused to play, however, because it involves a lot of running, and as you know, running is not my forte.

Eventually Mike got the barbeque going and we dined on roasted sausages, chicken, and beef, the beer flowing as usual. As it got darker and chillier, we said our good byes, circled the gay pride exhibit a few more times, and finished our night with a couple more beers. It's the kind of weekend that fills you with renewed spirit.

Yodogawa Fireworks

In Japanese they call fireworks "fire flowers," which I think sounds pretty and suits them better. The colorful robes the women are wearing in these pictures aren't kimonos but yukatas, which are a traditional garment worn during summer festivals and fireworks displays (or so Wikipedia tells me). They are a casual form of kimonos, and very lovely, but much less expensive, and made from cotton rather than silk. It rained mercilessly, and it was hilarious seeing women, who had obviously put in half a day's work on their appearance, run squeeling while their boyfriends desperately tried to hold tarps over their melting facades and giant hair.

I attended this event back on August 9th (I'm so behind, sorry). Please click here for pictures.

Arashiyama (western Kyoto)

This is western Kyoto and quite different from the Gion area. As much as I love bustling city life, I think I prefer this area, which was so beautiful with lushly green mountains, a river clean enough to swim in, and a bamboo forest that felt 10 degrees cooler (the sun is merciless). It's apparently best in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, or in autumn when the leaves begin to change. It's only about an hour's train ride from my home, which makes it an easy (and cheap) day trip.

I went here on August 3rd, and it was quite possibly the hottest day of my life.

Click here for pictures.

Koyasan's Candle Light Festival (Obon week)

On August 13th, which is Obon, a Buddhist holiday here in Japan, my friends and I attended the candle light festival in Koyasan. This was during the hottest part of the summer, at a time when the temperature was easily climbing its way into the 100s and the humidity was, like, 200 percent. Koyasan, however, was high up in the mountains and felt at least 15 degrees cooler.

The reason for the candle light festival is to light a path through the Buddhist cemetery (at night! eerie!), and lead the ghosts of ancestors to the main temple. And Japan claims to not celebrate Halloween! You will see food left on the altars, as it is believed that the ghosts are quite hungry and need to nosh on something before heading back to the grave (this makes me think of zombies).

When asked what they do with the leftover food after Obon, one of my students said, "A long time ago we put the food on wood rafts and set them on fire before sending them out to sea. Now we just throw it down the garbage disposal."

Please click here to see my pictures of Koysan's candle light festival.

Fushimi Inari-taisha

This shrine, 40 minutes by train from my home, lies at the base of Inari mountain, and is prayed to for wealth. The foxes you see in my pictures, which the Japanese call kitsune, are thought to be messengers for the gods. There are statues of kitsune all over Fushimi Inari (I thought they were dogs until Em corrected me). The 10,000 torii, bright orange and weaving their way up the mountain, are the coolest part about this shrine. When we reached the top we were rewarded with an amazing view of the city. Afterwards we bought some roasted chestnuts (which are disgusting--who knew?) and headed to Nagai Park to get our drink on and play a little frisbee.

You can see my photos of Fushimi Inari here.

Bicycles (the new car)

Bikes are the way to get around here in Japan, which is fine and wonderful except that it's illegal for them to ride on the SUPER WIDE, NOT AT ALL CROWDED street, so instead they ride on the narrow sidewalks where it's shoulder to shoulder people. They will think nothing of running you over, and you'll be lucky to get a precursory "ding ding" from their stupid little bell before your foot is broken. Old ladies are the worst, as they have little direction and often aim for the thickest part of the crowd, shoulders hunched, eyes determined. Afterwards they glare at you for having the audacity to be walking on the sidewalk.