What was I thinking?

So I've made a horrible mistake and started playing video games again. My free time is now consumed by Mega Man 2, Tecmo Super Bowl, Super Metroid, Zelda:Ocarina of Time and the like. This re-discovered addiction has already caused me to be late to one English class, one frisbee practice, and one dinner. Throw in Bejeweled Blitz and I'm spending more time in front of my computer doing nothing than ever.

Sleeeeeeeep

...is something I need to do more of. The last few weeks have been crazy busy, with stuff on the weekends requiring me to get up before noon (I know! Insanity!). Now that college football is here, I can more or less say goodbye to sleeping in on Sundays, and lately even Saturdays have seen me getting up before lunch time due to poor sleeping conditions (I pass out at a friend's house and wake up with my wallet poking me in the butt and sore eyes from sleeping with my contacts in) or activities that require my attention (shopping before doing things in the afternoon).

It used to be so easy to sleep til noon on a Saturday and still catch most of the college football I wanted to see, but now that USC games show up at 7-9 am, that's out the window. I've tried recording the games and watching them later, but I always end up getting a text or seeing a status on Facebook or something that spoils it for me.

With my now twice a week English classes, the gym, basketball, and taiko (plus normal things like laundry, cleaning, prep work blah blah blah), there's not a single weeknight I'm not busy. Time to get re-organized and re-oriented I think.

Silver Week Travels

So this week Akina and I took off for Kyushu. Japan just finished a 3 day holiday M-W stretch referred to as Silver Week (Golden Week happens in May every year...Silver Week had never happened before). Amongst the highlights:

• Leaving Wadayama at 11 pm, sleeping at a rest stop somewhere in Yamaguchi at around 4 am, getting up at 8 to drive down to Kumamoto and not getting to the castle until 1 pm. Traffic was a beast in Kyushu.


• Kumamoto Castle was average at best, but the ramen down there was amazing. Also had horse sashimi and a horse burger before going into a volcano-powered hot spring up in the mountains.


• Fukuoka was drizzly, but we made it to the Ramen Stadium at Canal City and had a couple different kinds of ramen...super packed


• Also went to Mariona City for outlet shopping and I came back with 2 pairs of shoes, a jacket, a shirt and some undies for about $100...not too shabby. Also, AKB48 was doing a concert there for some reason.


• Ate hormone nabe, which was actually delicious, in Fukuoka, followed by 2 bowls of ramen...all after 10 pm.


• Hit up a foreigner bar called FuBar and saw my buddy Joel for the first time in 7 years.


• Ordered the Ramen Walker - Kyushu Edition


• Swung by Hiroshima for some okonomiyaki on the way back, got back to Asago at about 11 pm.

Names of ramen places eaten at:

• Daikoku Ramen (no relation to Daikokuya in LA)


• Daimaru Ramen


• Murasaki Ramen (Ramen Stadium)


• Ichi Ryu Ramen (yatai)


• Taiho Ramen


• Gensuke Ramen (Ramen Stadium)


• some random rest stop in Kita Kyushu

What on earth?

I was making flash cards for class and using some clip art CDs that one of my schools keeps on hand for such situations. I came across some rather questionable content, particularly since most of these pictures seem to be very childish and mainly intended for use in elementary school. As you can see, there's a couple of images of condoms included, as well as one of two people about to kiss. Just thought it was unusual for there to be sex education material.

Apparently I STILL don't know what I'm doing

A couple of weeks ago I got a facebook message from my Jeremy, my USC freshman year roommate, saying that he was going to be in Japan for a bit and that we should meet up. Since I hadn't talked to or seen the kid in at least a year or two, I decided I'd do whatever was in my power to get down to where he was on any particular weeknight.

Turns out he was in Kyoto on a Tuesday, so I made plans to leave right after school. Including the drive, it's a good 2 hour trip down to Kyoto, and the special express trains that run from out here don't show up very often. If I get the 5:25, I can get to Kyoto around 7 and catch last express back at 9:30, perfect for dinner, a beer or two, and some conversation. I had about an hour to get from my apartment to Fukuchiyama after work, a drive that takes about 35-40 minutes when I'm driving at my normal rate (80 kmh, usually in a 50kmh zone). The road has a few signals, but is mostly just open road...the problem lies in the fact that it is almost entirely one lane, with no passing areas.

I got out on the road by 4:35 to make my 5:25 train, thinking 50 minutes would be plenty. Wouldn't you know it, I got stuck behind a kei-truck going about 3 km under the speed limit the WHOLE WAY. This is a kei truck

They satisfy the kei class of cars in Japan, which means they have an engine no larger than 660 CCs. They're also often loaded with fertilizer/cement/plants/animals and driven by men over the age of 70. As one can safely assume, being stuck behind one of these on a one lane, no-passing road can lead to extreme ageism and road rage.

Anyway, I'm stuck behind this guy and contemplating passing him across a double yellow, on roads that curve with the mountain we're driving next to. I could do what I've seen young folks do here, and go into the right turn lane (remember, the lanes are opposite here, so this is like a left turn lane back in the States) and just gun it when the light turns green again, but I'm thinking maybe I can still make it. So I follow grandpa all the way into Fukuchiyama and get to the city abuot 8 minutes before my train actually leaves.

He turns off the road, and I gun it. Wouldn't you know it, someone with no business entering the road comes in out of a convenience store parking lot. There's no one behind me for at least 200 meters, but this jackass decides he HAS to go now. Again, very common in Japan. I brake fairly hard and basically sidle up right behind this veeeerrrrryyyy sloooooowwwwwllllllyyy accelerating hatchback. He's only on the road for a block or two (which agains forces me to ask why he felt he had to cut me off) and then I'm approaching the station. I search for a parking lot and find one, throw my jacket and camera bag over my shoulder, and sprint into the station. The clock reads 5:26, and I gasp at the gate attendant "did the 5:25 leave already?" He looks very slightly sympathetic and says "yes, just now." By missing the train, I now have the choice of waiting for the next one, which comes in an hour (putting me in Kyoto at 8 with a 9:30 return) or driving further towards Kyoto in the hopes of finding a station that has more regular trains, and hopefully a later last train.

I take a glance at the map, and notice that a Sonobe station is where the local express into Kyoto starts. I punch that into my phone's navigation system and I'm off. It's a good 40 kms to Sonobe, and it takes me about 45 minutes with traffic. I get there, park, and wander into the station. I call my friend and let him know it's going to be an hour later, but this way I can stay out til after 10. I'm looking at the platforms and train schedule trying to figure out what to do, then get on, throw my headphones on and go to sleep.

About 20 minutes later I'm woken up by a conductor telling me I have to get off. It's the last stop, he says, and I glance outside to see a tiny station with no people in it. This is clearly not Kyoto, and when I ask how to get to Kyoto from there, I'm informed that I went the wrong way on the line. I've now got to wait 20 minutes for the next train, go back the way I came PLUS the 35 minutes to Kyoto. Dinner is now moved back from 8 to 9-ish.

Eventually I get into Kyoto and everything's fine and dandy. We have some good food, a beer, and talk about old times and new. I get on the 11:30 local back to Sonobe, get in my car and drive the 90 minutes back to Asago, getting home at about 2. I suppose it's all a lesson in not rushing when you don't have to (like I did at Sonobe) and leaving earlier than you think you should, especially when you have to deal with septugenarian farmers driving oversized power wheels on one lane roads.

Move-in On Up!

For the 3rd time since I've been here, I'll be getting a new car. Since my last lease was brand new, I have to return it to the manufacturer, apparently so they can insert it back into their fleet of rentals/leases, and get a new one. I could have opted for the same exact car and paid the same, but being the foolish spender (at least with my JET money) that I am, I thought I'd upgrade. I was driving the Daihatsu Mira Custom before, a nice small kei car (kei being any car with an engine 660 CCs or smaller...no that isn't a typo) but small for lots of luggage or my main concern, snowboarding. I've put almost 16,000 kilometers on that car (a nice even 10,000 miles for those unaware of the conversion rate) in about a year, and am ready to change.

My new car will be the Daihatsu Move X Vs, the next level up in the model line. It's got more leg room, an adjustable (forwards and backwards) rear seat to accomodate luggage and best of all, a split folding rear seat back (the Mira comes down in one piece). This will be much easier to fit snowboards and gear in, as well as a possible 3rd person, for both boarding and other road trips. It also has an audio jack for an mp3 player, keyless ignition, and a bunch of other fancy features I can't wait to try out.

Just got word today that the car is ready and while I'm going to miss my Mira, I can't to make the move to the Move.

Summer's Almost Over?!?!

So my summer has officially flown by. The first 3 weeks (July 19-August 9) were spent in Sapporo attending SIL Sapporo Nihongo Gakko, a Japanese study school that attracts mainly JETs and folks from Taiwan. Pretty expensive, but I did 2 great homestays, met some cool kids and ate a ton. Here's the first and most important part of the trip: the food!

Making Umeshu / 梅酒を作る

A friend of mine came over the other day with a kilogram of plums and said "let's make plum wine!" You throw rock sugar, plums, and some alcohol in a jar and in 3 months you have delicious plum wine!


この間友達が梅を１キロ持ってきて「梅酒作ろう」って言った。砂糖、梅、酒をビンに入れて三ヶ月が経ったらおいし～い梅酒が完成！

Wash plums and puncture the skin with a fork so the juice will come out.

Dry them well.

Layer them in the bottle with sugar

We made one with brandy and one with Japanese sake

Adding honey to the brandy version to make it a bit sweeter

In goes the good stuff!

Me adding sake to my bottle

This is more or less how it went into the closet for 3 months :) I'll put another post up when I know how it tastes :D

Taiko Update

So I just got back from playing a show at a festival at a Kyoto Temple. It was my first time playing a song called Sato no Uta, and we placed two songs that I've played before, Miyake and Kassen. I believe Kassen and Sato no Uta are original Wadayama Torafusujindaiko pieces, but Miyake is a song that's played in various forms by groups all over the world.

Miyake is played with the drum placed horizontally and struck from the side. You spread your feet, keep your back straight and bend you knees so your weight is supported by your thigh muscles. When the inside hand closest to the drum strikes the head, your weight is shifted over your outside leg. When you use your outside hand, you shift your weight over your inside leg to allow your bachi to reach the drum. Solos and the basic rhythm require a great deal of shifting back and forth, which means lots of work for your quads. A ton of fun, but for it to look really cool, you've got to get down low and stay there the whole time...tough for someone as inflexible as me.

For Kassen, I play the odaiko or large drum. It's got a drum head about 3 feet wide and is placed on a stand at about chest height. Playing is done with your elbows at shoulder level and your elbow acting as the only pivot. It kills my triceps, but is maybe the funnest one I've played so far.

The song I learned most recently is Sato no Uta, and it's got a combination of choreography and complicated sticking that took me forever to get down, but looks really cool when everyone is playing in rhythm.

I'll try to get some video up at some point, but here's some pics of our group.

Sanjinsanjin Ramen 山神山人

Was in Akashi taking my written driving test last week (jeebus, 5 hours in the DMV for a test that took me less than 2 minutes) and stopped in Nishi-Akashi on my way back for lunch. One of the teachers at my base school had given me a card of a place she went to in Kobe. Sometimes it's nice when you blab the same thing about yourself (I love ramen) so much that they remember :) Anyway, I found Sanjinsanjin Ramen pretty easily.

It was fairly quiet because it was about 2 pm on a Wednesday, meaning their main clientele (you know, people with jobs) had already come and gone. I ordered a set menu that came with their normal ramen and a pork bowl.

The ramen was darn good. Some of the most addictive soup I've had in a long time, better than the stuff I had in Tokushima at Toudai, better than Ichi-ran in Tokyo and certainly on par with the stuff I get at Jaran every other week or so. It was thick, almost creamy, with none of the gross fatty bits that contaminate the sight of the soup (I don't care if it's in there, I just don't like seeing it). The pork was thick but SO soft and succulent and the noodles were very thin and firm. Great stuff and I can't wait to try and go back on the 14th after my driving test :)

Ramentary: Zundouya Ramen

Feels like forever since a ramentary, dudn't it?

So my buddy Mark's co-worker suggested a spot called Zundouya Ramen in Himeji and since we were heading down there to look for gear for Taj Ultimate (the ultimate frisbee tournament next month), we stopped by for a taste.

There's 4 spots in Himeji alone, with another slated for Osaka in 2011. It's a pretty funky little spot, with reggae music in the background and all young folks working there. Our cute waitress had like 4 wristbands and a sweet blond hairdo underneath a towel. Zundouya does tonkotsu ramen, with varying degrees of thicknes (4 levels from assari to kotteri) and they also allow you to choose the kind of noodles you want (we both went thin). Mark got the chashumen with kotteri broth and I got the normal ramen with normal broth. We also sprung for fried rice and gyoza (because hey, a bowl of meat and noodles floating in fatty pork broth just isn't bad enough for you).

The table had garlic cloves and a garlic press in case you wanted to up the deliciousness at the expense of your companions' noses, but we abstained. My ramen came with negi, some absolutely melt-in-your-mouth-like-butter pork slices, a slice of nori (seaweed), a full soft boiled egg and a fair sized serving of those afore-mentioned thin noodles. It was pretty darn good. The oil in the broth kept the heat locked in the broth so when you pulled a serving of noodles, they were far hotter than the soup you'd sip from the top of the bowl. The entire bowl was fairly well put together, but I felt like the noodles were a bit too soft considering I asked for them to be firm.

The real star of this meal was the fried rice, in my opinion, which is saying something considering I liked the ramen. A little smaller than most ramen places I go to, but with some nice ingredients and without any hint of oiliness. The gyoza was average.