Last post from Japan

Ok, I didn't quite catch up before I left, so I'll have to write up the last few days after I get home.

Right now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight. I really enjoyed my stay but I miss Ron and our kitties so much, it will be wonderful to get back home.

One thing about the trip...I had really wanted to immerse myself in Japanese, but it didn't really happen. With the internet, the familiar is just a click away. I could watch my favorite tv shows through the miracle of VPN (it was kind of cool to be in Japan watching the Amazing Race episode where they visited Japan, and they even went to places that I knew). I could follow my RSS feeds. I had a video chat with Ron almost every day.

But my Japanese is definitely much better now than it was when I got here. One big accomplishment is that I can now more or less read and write kana at speed, which I couldn't do before ("nu, nu, how do you write nu?") My kanji recognition is much better too.

Initially I frequently had to ask people to speak more slowly, or repeat what they said. Towards the end, that was much rarer. I'm now pretty good in situations where the conversation stays more or less where I expect it to, like getting directions, or conversing with waiters. But unexpected things still throw me for a loop. (I ordered some chicken ramen one day and the chef asked me if spicy was ok. Even though it was all language that I knew, I had to ask for it to be repeated because I wasn't expecting it.)

I think the biggest difference between Japanese and other foreign languages I've studied is what I call the "kanji wall". In other languages, if you see a word written, and it's a word you know, you can read it. Even if you don't know what it means, you can pronounce it. And if you have a knowledge of root languages, you can even figure out what it probably means.

Not so in Japanese...I know about 300 kanji, but there are over 2000 in common use. When I encounter an unfamiliar kanji word, I have no idea what it means (mostly...sometimes, because complex kanji contain simpler kanji, I can guess that it might, for example, have something to do with water, but that isn't always right.)

I found most Japanese people to be friendly. Many many people complimented me on my Japanese and always seemed willing to work it through if I didn't initially understand what they were saying. There is a neighborhood Doutor coffee shop where I've stopped almost every day...they sometimes start making my drink as soon as they see me coming in. Today, I told the person behind the counter that it was my last day, and she came over while I was drinking my latte, bowed, and thanked me for my business.

Many aspects of Japanese life remain mysterious. Why, for a country that places such a high value on personal cleanliness, do most public restrooms not have soap? Why are paper towels unheard of, and hand dryers so rare? Why are there so few trash cans around? Why, when you're out and about and need a rest, is it so hard to find someplace to sit down for a few minutes?

It turns out that if I had stayed one more day I would have gotten to experience an annular eclipse of the sun. Oh well!

Time to board my plane.  さようなら。(Sayounara...goodbye.)

Fuji-Q Highland

I stayed at the the Fuji-Q Highland resort, a hotel associated with the park. On clear days you get great views of Mt. Fuji from your room. Unfortunately, it wasn't clear...but you can see the left and right bottom edges of Fuji!

Apparently bears sometimes wander into the park...but if they do, don't get into a boxing match with them!

Unfortunately Eejanaika wasn't operating, but the torii gate leading to the it is still pretty impressive. "Eejanaika" is both the name of an old Japanese festival, and a colloquial phrase meaning "Isn't it great?"

Hamming it up in the Fujiyama coaster car...

The park's newest coaster is 高飛車 (Takabisha), which means both "dominant" and, more or less, "high-flying vehicle." (It loses so much in translation!) It holds the world record for steepest drop, at 121 degrees...yes, that is 31 degrees beyond vertical.

I love the calligraphy and mural in the boarding area...

The coaster packs a huge amount of track into a small area! It starts out inside, in the dark, with a surprise drop and heartline roll, then launches you out in the the first set of elements. Halfway through, you stop and then go up the vertical lift...as you prepare for the drop, the car stops several times, including when you are facing straight down...then you experience the beyond-vertical drop and a second set of elements. It is a great ride!!!

This sign shows some of the park's trademark humor...the Japanese word for photograph is "shashin" so this sign promoting the on-ride photos is titled "Takabishashin"

I really love this promotional image for the coaster!!!

Elsewhere in the park, there is a white-water rapids ride themed around Fortune Cats...the idea being that it's unknown whether you'll come out wet or dry. Supposedly, wet is good fortune, and dry bad fortune. My personal result was mixed...I got wet, but not soaked, so not really good fortune.

The fortune cats overlooking the ride are huge!

But, when you can see their backs, they don't look quite so benevolent. It's hard to see them from anywhere but on the ride, but here is one view.

More humor...the entrance area to Eejanaika looks like the gateway to a Buddhist temple.

But the traditional statue is posed like a bodybuilder, wearing a red thong!

Signs in the entrance area...

And some posters from the queue for Fujiyama, the park's giant steel coaster. The second one looks like a traditional menu, but advertises some of the park attractions, and has a little Mt. Fuji made from pickled ginger.

After the park closed, I had dinner in the hotel restaurant, which has great views of the park.

While I was eating, the fog rolled in, and the park slowly disappeared...it was very cool!

All in all it was a great day, in spite of the lousy weather. The rides were all running in between the periodic short showers, and the crowds were non-existant...everything was a walk-on all day. I'll take that trade-off...

箱根 (Hakone)

On Monday I went to Hakone, a resort area just southeast of Mount Fuji. It is really beautiful.

To get up into the area, you take a train that does several switchbacks in order to navigate the steep slope. You can get off at various places to visit some attractions. The Hakone Openair Museum is a fantastic sculpture park up in a beautiful setting.

The sculptures were interesting!

It has a lot of beautful maples, and an extensive collection of Henry Moore pieces.

At the far end of the park is something more places should have...a foot spa! You could rest for as long as you liked while soaking your feet in a hot-spring fed bath.

Some of the artwork was interactive, like this garden area with sunken paths, and a gigantic play area for the kids.

More artwork:

Back at the train station, I encountered this bit of advice that seems good in general: "Do not touch doubtful things."

Moving on, you then take a funicular further up the mountain, and then a ropeway with fantastic views.

At the top of the mountain you get a gorgeous view of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately the sky was almost the same color as the mountain and it was a little hard to see...almost like a ghost.

Notice the steam at the bottom of that picture? The top of the mountain is an old volcanic crater that still is spewing gas and scorching areas of the ground. The ropeway goes right across the crater; then you can get out and walk up closer to the volcanic area.

All the sulfur gasses were really stinky! But there is a very local delicacy...black eggs, hard cooked in the hot spring water.

I'm not sure what it is in the water that turns the eggs black, but they are beautiful, with some marbling of different shades of black. I was a little dubious, but after you peel off the shell, they look and taste like any other hard-cooked eggs. But they were very very hot!!

After taking the ropeway down the mountain, I took a bus up to the Mt. Fuji area to spend the next day at the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.

原宿 (Harajuku)

Harajuku is a shopping district in Tokyo just south of Shinjuku. It is supposed to be the center for youth fashion; supposedly every Sunday at noon the fashionable kids all come out and strut their stuff. I don't know if everyone was at Design Festa, but unfortunately on Sunday when I was there the fashion kids were nowhere to be seen. But it's still an interesting area!

Right near the train station is the Olympic Arena, built for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It is an impressive building!

It is a very crowded area!!! These two pictures are outside a fashionable mall, and in the narrow street that is the center for youth fashion shops.

This is looking out from the entrance of the mall. It has a really impressive mirrored escalator section as an entrance.

I have no idea what the first place here, "Hysteric Glamor" is, but I liked the name! The second is a tiny little condom shop that has an amazing variety, including some amusing ones with pictures of Rilakkuma ("Relax Bear") on the wrappers.

Harajuku also has a store devoted to Tintin, with this nice Captain Haddock figure, and the Original Fake store, that sells toys and clothes designed by the artist Kaws.

And it also has tucked away a tiny shrine to Inari, with these cool kitsune (fox) carvings.

(Speaking of Kaws, I just read that his "Companion" figure will be featured as a balloon this year in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I guess he has really made the big time!