Ever wake up on an airport bench in Japan, hop a plane, end up in China a few hours later, and think to yourself, "Where am I and why am I here?" That was my morning. But I have arrived in Beijing and I'm staying at the Jade International Youth Hostel down the street from Tiananmen Square. I'm in a shared room with four beds. Why do they always give me the top bunk? You know, I haven't had a shared room in a hostel since Athens, Greece. In the Greek islands, shared rooms were sold out so I had to pay double for my own room. Egypt and India were so cheap I didn't have to stay in shared rooms. Anyway, it's back to no privacy and meeting strangers.
Last night I hopped the Yamanote line in Tokyo and popped out for a quick hello/goodbye to Shibuya [photo above] and Harajuku. It was amazing to see how familiar the streets were. I realized that I covered a LOT of ground last time I was in Japan. Still, there's much more I haven't seen and I'm going to have to return someday. This time around, it was all about taking it easy [aside from climbing a mountain] and spending time with friends. I was extremely sad to leave yesterday. I realized that I hadn't really had time to hang out with anyone from the States since Anthonette came out to Italy. I was really craving the comfort of people who knew me. I was really really bummed as I thought about getting back on the road to strange places and faces.
My first impressions of China- the air quality is not so wonderful. And there are a lot of Chinese people here. They're everywhere dude. Somehow I managed to hop three buses through the city to find my hostel. It's really funny to have these exchanges with people who speak no English. They just spew out words at me, I smile, and nod.
I was dying to brush my teeth and then I wondered, is the water safe to brush with here in Beijing? They say it is but I don't know if I want to mess with it. I miss you, Japan water. Man, I'm in China. So weird. I guess it's time to find food.
Tokyo Typhoon and Other Adventures
0 Comments Published by Tony on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 9:47 PM.
The day Typhoon Fitlow was due to hit Tokyo, I raced out to the Chinese Embassy to pick up my second visa. Lots of sprinting through streets that morning. The weather was eerily nice in Roppongi. As soon as I had my passport back in hand, I shot back to Tokyo station to race over to Nagoya. I was meeting my friend Tania and her sister Elsie there around 11 and heading out to Kyoto with them in the afternoon. I had been overly optimistic in thinking I could run to the subway, get from Roppongi to Ebisu on the Tokyo metro, hop the Yamanote JR to Shinagawa, and jump on the Hikari bullet to Nagoya by 11am. That's a lot of frookin' trains!
Once I was on the train, it felt like I was escaping the typhoon. Passing through Shizuoka, the rains and gloom were approaching. But in Nagoya, things were pretty rosy. I was thrilled to see another familiar face in Japan. We grabbed food from the local mall before grabbing the next bullet to Kyoto. Mall food in Japan isn't like the string of fast food joints you get in the US. There's everything from onigiri to sushi to bentos to an amazing French bakery (The smell of fresh bread from Johan's made me salivate as soon as it hit my nostrils. Pavlov would be impressed.) It's a dangerous place to be when you haven't had anything to eat and your pockets are full of Yen.
Hours later we were in Kyoto looking at temples, Buddhas, and pagodas. Real geishas shuffled around the Gion area as the sun went down. A beautiful rainbow spread across the sky, stopping people in their tracks. Camera phones were snapping away. The three of us decided to have Shabu Shabu. Marbled beef, enoki mushrooms, and 'invisible noodles'. Pretty tasty. (Thank you Rich!)
When it was time to grab a train back to Nagoya, we encountered the typhoon madness. While we were enjoying our walk around Kyoto, trains were shut down and delayed throughout Japan. We packed into parked trains like sardines, clueless to what was happening. Announcements would come over the PA system and hoards of people would shuffle out of one train to another across the way. Eventually we made it back to Nagoya. Tania and I grabbed some steaks at La Piedra. The beef was so good I was making those uncontrollable 'mmm' sounds with each bite.
The next day we had a late start and ended up in Hiroshima after dark. We took a walk through the Peace park before trying to grab the next bullet back to Nagoya. But after a mix-up we were stuck. It took a half hour to find a hotel in Hiroshima that wasn't booked up. We settled on a Comfort Inn and had a late meal at Watami. In the morning, the girls headed to Miyajima and I took one last walk through the Peace park before a five hour journey back to Pin's.
Last night we grabbed Indian food for dinner and hung out in a park afterwards. I had fun playing with a huge sculpture that I've deemed "The Shimizu Ring of Wonder":
Japan's been a nice break from lonely and rough travels. The best part's been spending time with old and new friends. But in a few hours, it's back on the road again on my own. Next stop: Beijing.
I was on the shinkansen the other day doing some writing and I found these scribblings in my notebook. I thought I'd digitize them.
First was this weirdness while I was trying to get to the Agra Cantt train station back in August:
I'm rushing out to the street from the Sheela Inn to find an auto rickshaw when I'm approached by this young kid who's directing me towards an auto and an older gentleman standing beside it. We negotiate a price and I'm off to Agra Cantt Station. I thought the older guy was going to drive but the kid jumped in. The roads were full of people and every one of my senses was being bombarded by stimuli. Three camels linked together wandered across the street. People were shouting. Food was frying. Honking in every direction. We're racing through all of this, swerving around cows, kids, bikes, merchants. I'm thinkin', man, this kid's good! I wonder how old he is. I look through my pocket for a tip, I'm so impressed. I think about asking how old he is, my guess was 13, maybe 14. I say nothing though, he's 'in the zone'. We finally reach the station, I get out, and as I look up at him I'm startled to discover that in the light, this kid's actually a mustached man in his thirties. I'm very weirded out, I still tip him, and he smiles as I dart to the platform.
Next is an excerpt from Paul Theroux's article "The Exotic View" (1977):
It seems natural to dream of the exotic as to dream at all. We are born with the impulse to wonder and eventually to yearn for the world before the fall in which we may be the solitary Crusoe (with his bad conscience he is rather more credible than Adam); and who has not dreamed of being a princeling with a jeweled sword, marching across an eastern caliphate? In a sense, the literature comes later. Because the dreamer's perfection emphasizes that it is unattainable, man searches for proof that it is not. And whatever fantasy one has reveals one's peculiar hunger. It might be very simple: The island paradise. Or it might be complex: The oriental kingdom of silks and plumes.
And there's the random dialogue I scribble everywhere:
I'm a dreamer. And the thing of it is, my dreams come true. I just don't know when, where, how, or with whom. So I'm constantly on guard because at any moment, that could be it.
While in my mountain hideaway...
There is no humanity without humans. Why do you think you have to do this alone?
Really?
My tombstone will read: I did it all for Love.
Who am I talking to?
I have the perfect role for you in my fantasies and damn it, you've already nailed the audition. Yet you seem to have no interest in the part.
I finally made it to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on time. Turns out my little mistake of obtaining a 'single-entry' visa in Rome is going to cost me in a big way. At least $100 big to replace it with a multiple-entry visa. Though it's valid for a year so if I want to come back to China soon, no worries! ::sigh:: I almost was out of luck for a second as I was also informed that I no longer have any pages left for visas in my original passport. Then I remembered, I have a second passport sucka! Anyway, I have to head back into Tokyo tomorrow morning to pick it up. Problem is, there's a typhoon (check out the satellite imagery) coming. Hopefully it'll wuss out tonight and the trains will run on time. There's nothing like zipping to Tokyo on the Fujikawa Limited Express to Shizuoka to hop the Shinkansen to Shinagawa. Makes you feel like you've got something important to do.
I think I've become onigiried out. Oh, and why is it so hard to find an internet cafe in Tokyo? < rant>There was one every ten yards in Vishist, India and that was in the Himalayas! I guess if you were visiting Los Angeles as a tourist you'd be hard pressed to find an internet cafe. (further research back at headquarters reveals that Kinkos is the place to look for net access in Tokyo... over 100yen/15 min though) I've been field testing the Sony MYLO around Japan. Free wifi isn't so readily available. That or the little MYLO just can't pick up signals very well. I'm telling you, internet access is the one thing that keeps me from leaving the house. I'm just completely disconnected from free communication like email or Skype. Cheap travel phones... why can't we have those? < /rant>
Labels: Japan
Ever since I first saw the majestic Mt. Fuji in Japan, I'd wanted to climb it. Although I enjoy the outdoors, I wouldn't say I'm the "outdoorsy" type. I don't know why I was so determined to make the hike up this dormant volcano but it was on 'the list' and the main reason for being in Japan at the end of August.
I woke up early on Sunday and headed to Lawsons to buy an assortment of rice balls. I caught the train- Shimizu to Fuji to Fujinomiya - and hopped the bus to the Fujinomiya 5th Station on the mountain. (3000 Yen roundtrip... underwritten by the Phil Z. Foundation, THANKS PHIL!) From this station at about 2,500 meters, all you could see was clouds. It was a beautiful day. I was told that it takes an average of 5 hours to hike to the top and 3 hours to come down. Pin's friend Brian told me I could do the climb in 3 hours. I had about seven hours until my bus would return to pick me up. Time to move.
Since the climbing season is officially over (hence the lack of bus service), most shops are closed on the mountain. I quickly perused the souvenirs and snacks at the 5th station and decided that I didn't want to drop more Yen on a can of oxygen. I quickly hit the trail and within minutes, I felt a bit winded. Pin had warned me about problems with altitude sickness (the mountain reaches over 12,000 feet) so I was a bit paranoid. He'd experienced headache and nausea which just about ruined his whole climb. I could feel my pulse growing a bit rapid but breathing wasn't too much of a problem (though it's funny to see me struggle to speak on the video). I mentioned thinking about this freediving record holder I'd read about who trained her body to go without breathing for more than six minutes. I kept telling myself how amazing the human body is and how we constantly challenge ourselves.
I didn't stop to rest much at the stations on the way to the top. I snacked and drank water while I climbed. I was mostly trying to stay ahead of this European woman who was on the bus with me (my stupid imagination made me pretend I was being pursued by foreign agents). I listened to a couple of lectures and had been thinking a lot about humanity and our relationship with the planet. After a while, thoughts turned from, "What can we do as individuals to contribute more to society and the environment" to "Must reach top, hungry, so tired".
And then I made it. Took about three hours. It was an amazing view. High above the clouds. Sunshine, cool breeze. I felt pretty good for having made another dream come true. I met some Americans who lived in Tokyo and they shared pepperoni and Ritz crackers with me. I also polished off the last two onigiri and had a granola bar. I wandered around the crater a little before making the descent. There wasn't much time to hang out as the bus would return in just a few hours.
As soon as I started to make my way down, I got a pounding headache. A lot of people practically run down the mountain but I could barely walk as each rough step from one rock to another made me feel like I was being punched in the head. I took it very slow. The headache brought on the nausea. I wanted to stop and just sleep but I had to catch the bus. I took a Tylenol, drank more water, and kept moving. It wasn't until about the 7th station that my head stopped pounding. The relief from pain was so great, I started to run down the hill towards the fifth station. I passed the Americans and we all agreed, "Once in a lifetime experience... emphasis on the once". My legs were like jello back at the 5th station. I climbed on the bus and took off my sweaty shirt. Before we left, I caught the sun setting into the clouds. Fujisan. Done.
I was eager to get back to Shimizu for a hefty bowl of ramen but I mistakenly climbed onto an express train that not only went past Shimizu to Shizuoka but was also not covered by my rail pass. It was a sleeper train. Rice balls! They charged me 1240 Yen for a twenty-five minute ride and a bed I never touched (though each bed had sheets, a hanger, and a kimono). The way I look at it, I paid 1240 Yen for a JR Railways kimono. East side!
Food, folks, and fun last night in Shizuoka. Yakitori and 80's music took me away from the internet on Friday night. This afternoon we headed down to the water to BBQ with Pin's friends. No grill? The meat counter at the local market will loan you a pan. We grilled up at least five different meats and ended it all with a big yakisoba stir-fry. Way too much food even for my American stomach. Later in the evening we went to see Ocean's 13. Entertaining but not entirely satisfying.
I've been burning through money in Japan. There's just too many delicious things to eat and drink here. I could eat onigiri (rice balls) all day long. And I've just found a bakery making strawberry mochi cakes. All of this spending and I haven't even gone anywhere yet. This all changes tomorrow morning when I attempt to tackle Mt. Fuji. The climbing season has officially ended so after consulting with Pin and his friends, it was decided that I should do a daytime climb instead of freezing my onigiri up on the mountain in the middle of the night.
Possible outings for this week, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Takeyama, Hiroshima, Hijemi, Osaka, and Sendai. If you've got some favorite spots in Japan, let me know.
I attempted to find a bus to Mt Fuji last night but when I arrived at Fujinomiya Station I couldn't make heads or tails out of the bus signs. Everything was in Kanji. I asked some local youth if there was a bus to Fujisan's 5th Station and after consulting with each other for five minutes in hushed Japanese they replied, "No bus". The JR officials were equally as helpful due to their lack of English. I felt a little frustrated because I couldn't find the schedules for the southern stations on the net and I was sure there would be some sort of guidance for us foreign souls who just like to show up to places unprepared. In the end, the weather seemed a bit too harsh to do any hiking anyhow. No worries though, with the JR pass, I didn't lose any extra money on this exploratory mission to Fujinomiya. I tried to catch a film instead but I arrived too late for the last shows at 9pm here. By the way, my two reasons for stopping in Japan are to climb Mt. Fuji, which is done at night so you can catch the sunrise at the summit, and to see Pin, which is usually done at night because he works in the day. (Pin, there's a gay joke I could have made about rising but I'll keep that humor off the blog) The bonus to visiting Japan is the excellent food, meeting Pin's friends, the comfy bathroom, and hopefully meeting up with a few other friends from Cali.
This morning I found myself getting caught up in web surfing again. It actually started last night when I watched at least a dozen Human Giant skits on YouTube. I'd never heard of this show on MTV. Aziz Ansari, awesome. So this morning I got up and spent at least an hour watching videos at Collegehumor.com which led me to the Amir/Streeter Prank War on Vimeo.com. So painfully fun to watch. I also watched a technology video on CH that led me to TED.com
Finding TED was like finding an undiscovered tomb in Egypt. I have no idea if there will be anything of value in it but it is so full of seemingly valuable 'stuff' I'm overwhelmed. I can't believe I'd never heard of this Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference held annually in Monterey, California since 1984.
I'm downloading furiously... it'd be awesome if I could just get the whole website zipped. In my "if I was a wicked rich and could do this trip over again" fantasy, I'd have a staff of college students who would just sit and download material like this for me, rip new films with handbrake, and put together a top 100 of international music. It'd all be loaded onto my ipod for flights and train rides, waiting in lines, and insomnia. I wonder if there's a market out there for 'pre-loaded' media players. There has to be. For instance, I go to "Tonyisagenius.com" and punch in that I'm taking a trip to Japan. For a hefty fee, I get an ipod shipped to me with JPop music picks, a Japanese phrase audio program, maybe a Murakami audio or e-book, and heck, a couple of Kurosawa films or the Ring horror series. Similarly, I could ask for the 'global consciousness' pack which would give me a series of talks from TED on relevant topics. I doubt there's a service like that. The licensing issues and costs would be complicated. But like I said, if you're rich enough, I'm sure there's someone who could put it together.
You see how I got off on a tangent here, just telling you about finding a website?
I wish I had figured out how to increase my learning capacity. I admit I have a problem focusing. It's my imagination, it's out of control sometimes. It takes me twice as much time to read things because every interesting new tidbit makes me think about the past, the present, and/or the future in reality and make-believe.
I should go now. I have emails to reply to. A wonderful land of culture and beauty, just a train ride away and I'm stuck on the net!
This morning I found myself getting caught up in web surfing again. It actually started last night when I watched at least a dozen Human Giant skits on YouTube. I'd never heard of this show on MTV. Aziz Ansari, awesome. So this morning I got up and spent at least an hour watching videos at Collegehumor.com which led me to the Amir/Streeter Prank War on Vimeo.com. So painfully fun to watch. I also watched a technology video on CH that led me to TED.com
Finding TED was like finding an undiscovered tomb in Egypt. I have no idea if there will be anything of value in it but it is so full of seemingly valuable 'stuff' I'm overwhelmed. I can't believe I'd never heard of this Technology, Entertainment, and Design conference held annually in Monterey, California since 1984.
The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).Now many of these amazing talks are available on this website for free. The best part, they're downloadable and ipod ready! I've been downloading random talks on the topics of culture, environment, technology... talks by people like Tony Robbins, Al Gore, Dean Kamen, Hans Rosling, Blaise Aguera y Arcas. It's incredible and I think it'll be amazing to watch these lectures while I travel the world. If I had a lot on my mind before, this is going to make me bleed from the ears. Scott, this is the kind of web site I'm sure you've stumbled upon. If not, check it out. I just downloaded a talk by Will Wright talking about his new game.
I'm downloading furiously... it'd be awesome if I could just get the whole website zipped. In my "if I was a wicked rich and could do this trip over again" fantasy, I'd have a staff of college students who would just sit and download material like this for me, rip new films with handbrake, and put together a top 100 of international music. It'd all be loaded onto my ipod for flights and train rides, waiting in lines, and insomnia. I wonder if there's a market out there for 'pre-loaded' media players. There has to be. For instance, I go to "Tonyisagenius.com" and punch in that I'm taking a trip to Japan. For a hefty fee, I get an ipod shipped to me with JPop music picks, a Japanese phrase audio program, maybe a Murakami audio or e-book, and heck, a couple of Kurosawa films or the Ring horror series. Similarly, I could ask for the 'global consciousness' pack which would give me a series of talks from TED on relevant topics. I doubt there's a service like that. The licensing issues and costs would be complicated. But like I said, if you're rich enough, I'm sure there's someone who could put it together.
You see how I got off on a tangent here, just telling you about finding a website?
I wish I had figured out how to increase my learning capacity. I admit I have a problem focusing. It's my imagination, it's out of control sometimes. It takes me twice as much time to read things because every interesting new tidbit makes me think about the past, the present, and/or the future in reality and make-believe.
I should go now. I have emails to reply to. A wonderful land of culture and beauty, just a train ride away and I'm stuck on the net!
Labels: Japan
Thank you Pin & Sarah- Ramblings
0 Comments Published by Tony on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 6:31 PM.
I didn't do much yesterday except for catch up on sleep. In the afternoon I went grocery shopping at Seiyu. It's one thing for me to visit a foreign food store but to be hungry at the same time. I was there forever, trying not to buy every weird looking snack they had. I also resisted a trip to Mister Donut. Last time I was here, I was lured to that shop everytime there was one in sight. You see, Mister Donut has these cute little prizes every week that you can get by redeeming points. But you've gotta buy a whole lot of doughnuts to earn points. I started bringing doughnuts to people as guests. How sweet this American comes bearing sweets. Oh no, I just needed the set of Pon de Lion glasses madame! I digress.
I got a little freaked out while paying for my bread, milk, Fruity Orange, bento box, and assorted potato snacks... everyone was taking their grocery basket to a separate table and pulling out their own bags. A woman was bagging her food in Disneyland Tokyo bags. I didn't have any bags, what do I do? Fortunately the store did in fact provide bags but if you bring your own, you're not only reducing waste but you also save a few Yen on your purchase. Ah Japan.
In the evening I met another one of Pin's JET buddy's, Sarah, for dinner. We had a great time. I poured out my life story for a good hour. Funny part was, we had just joked about how some people annoyingly pour out their life stories after just meeting someone. Hope you didn't mind Sarah. Thanks for grabbing the bill guys. When we got out of the restaurant, we ran right smack into a Japanese lowrider. He drove off before I could get better pictures but man, weird.
HA! No sound!? And I deleted the original video files. I'll never cut a video late at night again, after, um, snacks. It's probably better that whatever I was rambling about is lost forever.
I got a little freaked out while paying for my bread, milk, Fruity Orange, bento box, and assorted potato snacks... everyone was taking their grocery basket to a separate table and pulling out their own bags. A woman was bagging her food in Disneyland Tokyo bags. I didn't have any bags, what do I do? Fortunately the store did in fact provide bags but if you bring your own, you're not only reducing waste but you also save a few Yen on your purchase. Ah Japan.
In the evening I met another one of Pin's JET buddy's, Sarah, for dinner. We had a great time. I poured out my life story for a good hour. Funny part was, we had just joked about how some people annoyingly pour out their life stories after just meeting someone. Hope you didn't mind Sarah. Thanks for grabbing the bill guys. When we got out of the restaurant, we ran right smack into a Japanese lowrider. He drove off before I could get better pictures but man, weird.
HA! No sound!? And I deleted the original video files. I'll never cut a video late at night again, after, um, snacks. It's probably better that whatever I was rambling about is lost forever.
I woke up feeling so happy to be in the comfort of Pin's apartment. I think I said, "Japan... It's so not India!" I think I got up too early though and was lured into an internet binge for a couple of hours. Online payments to make, people to Skype. I met Pin and his friend Rebecca for sushi near Shizuoka station. The restaurant had a sushi conveyor belt as well as a touch screen computer to place orders. When you are done, they scan chips inside the plates and give you some sort of smart card to take to the register to pay. Japan dude. In the restaurant the night before, the table had a button on it to summon the waitress. Service.
I spent the rest of the afternoon searching for a haircut joint called Snip Snap. I was failing miserably until I gave in and went back to Pin's to consult a map. What is it with me and wandering foreign places without a map? I've wasted hours lost in the heat this way... though I do discover neighborhoods much better this way.
The video below gives you a taste of my day. I mentioned walking around the streets here is like walking on a movie set because a) it looks so different from home and like something out of a 'movie' and b) it's so clean, like a movie set (on a film set everything is controlled, even the grime) And the vending machines... so convenient. I'm walking around sweating and I think, "Boy, I sure wish I could have a cold drink right now" Boom, a vending machine within 20 feet. Pin claims there's one vending machine per 7 people here or something insane. I dunno. I must say, it ain't cheap. I do miss the 50-cent water in India.
Pin's new place has one of these toilets that I thought was so great the first time I used one in 2004. The water is fresh, it's actually the water that refills the tank for the next flush. And I forgot to mention in the video that it also has a heated seat!
Later in the evening we went to the harbor in Shimizu for drinks and snacks while checking out the lunar eclipse. A little cloudy but still pretty special. I've been in such a good mood here. Too many days of rough travel perhaps. I really need to figure out where to go in the few days I have here. I wish I could stay longer but my budget's already hurting enough. I'll try to head to Mt. Fuji soon and do some day trips to Kyoto, Nagoya, Tokyo, and see Hiroshima.
It's deja vu all over again. I'm back in Japan after my first visit in 2004, incidentally, that was also my first trip out of the United States (not counting Mexico... in California, you don't count Mexico).
Tokyo is the polar opposite of Delhi. It's immaculately clean here. My friend Pin is hosting me and rushed me straight to a restaurant to treat me to a big meal of sushi, fried chicken, drinks, and tofu dessert. Mmm! I'm in heaven and everyone's Japanese.
Gotta wash the travel dirt off me and get to bed. Oyasumi!
Labels: Japan
