News time! It seems I will have 2 guests coming for the weekend! The first, whom many of you know, is my best friend Sparks! As you know we've been in the same country for 2 weeks now, but we've been on opposite ends. One tall foreigner draws a lot of looks... I can't wait to see the stares at two! The second guest's name is "Saola". Saola is a typhoon scheduled to come tomorrow afternoon. It's predicted that it won't actually make land fall thought. Sounds weird, but it's exciting. I've never been in a hurricane/typhoon before. It's a bummer it's coming on the weekend (and THIS weekend, too) though, because if a typhoon is bad enough I hear they cancel classes. Now if I can get an earthquake before home I go I'll be all set.

Update time! I went shopping this morning after cleaning my apartment up a bit. Nothing like having company to get yer' butt in gear. I noticed two things at the super market that sort of made sense, but still are a little odd. Soy Sauce and Sake have their own aisles. I guess it sort of speaks to their... popularity? usefulness? necessity? I'm not entirely sure of what to make of it. After I dropped my groceries at home and took a walk. I headed in a random direction for a while and found the "Liberal Arts Campus" of Nihon Daigaku. Unlike the building downtown where I have classes, this place is a lot more spread out. Kind of like Wayne State University's campus. What shocked me the most was the sports facilities they have there. Not only do they have an olympic sized pool, they have a FULL SIZE olympic high dive platform. I never knew how tall those platforms were. It gave me a new found respect for olympic divers. I'll have to find out if I can use the pool though, a swim would feel really good on these hot afternoons. After my tour about town I walked home and decided to write.

On to Q&A round 2
Q:How's the internet connection working out? What do you use?
A:My internet connection is sweet. I have an nice speedy ADSL connection all to myself. I lucked out and have a router in my room so I can hook up to the 100mb/s hard line, or use the 802.11g (54mb/s) WiFi connection. Using bittorrent (to keep up on the Simpsons and Family Guy) I can get speeds of 200kb/s per torrent without loss of connectivity, using WiFi.

Q:Am I willing to look for specific things and bring them back for you?

A:I haven't quite decided, but I'll be here another two and a half months, so there's some time for me to think about it.

Q:Do Japanese males/females take and aggressive approach to forming relationships?

A:Not really. Especially in the south, but also here in the north, Japanese people are very indirect. You almost never get a straight "yes or no" answer if you as a question. The same goes for dating. It's like in high school were you play the ask the friend if the person likes you, then have on of your friends ask the other person out. Word for the day- Ambiguity n: Doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards interpretation, something of doubtful meaning. (from here). The Japanese treasure ambiguity as a skill.

Q:What's some of the slang you've heard?

A:It's difficult to hear slang when 35% or more of what everyone says goes over you head anyways. (Does this mean I can't curse in Japanese? No, but...)

Q:So how's that get a job with the Yakuza thing working out?

A:Well, see the Yakuza are the Japanese Mafia. As a rule of thumb, I stay away from the Mafia. However, I hear that Yakuza are actually nice people as long as you don't owe them money. Some of the people in my class were going to go looking for Yakuza hangouts, needless to say, I didn't join them.

Q:Have you felt "unsafe" or threatened walking down any streets yet?

A:No. This is for 2 reasons. 1) I have an awesome set of "street smarts" (thank you mom and dad.) So I naturally stay away from most situations where I would feel threatened. 2) I'm 2 meters (6'4") tall, I'm American, I usually look like I know what I'm doing, who's gonna mess with me? Literally I feel 100% less threatened here that in the states. Japan is a really low crime county where even the police aren't allowed to carry guns. Shop keeps keep high priced merchandise out on the streets and no one steals it. Hardly anyone locks their bikes up. Heck, the bums don't even bother you.

Q:Are their any ghettos of poor areas around?

A:No. The price of land in Tokyo is too high. Also, being a socialist nation, I think the monetary spread is a little more even. As mentioned previously Ueno park is covered in little homeless tent cities, but that's the only place I've seen it.

Q:Is law enforcement prevalent? What weapons do they carry?

A:Well, there's a "Koban" or police box (mini police station) on every other corner (helpful if you get really lost.) Around the Imperial Palace, there are more. Around where I live, there are less. As noted above, the police aren't allowed to carry guns (though the ones at the palace did.) Some carry what look like tazers (haven't really asked) and almost all carry those extendable metal batons that look like they'd really smart if the officer got in a good whack.

Q:What's overall feel do you get on their thoughts on America?

A:Well, in a lecture on Wednesday the profession went off on post WWII America's treatment of Japan, but I think it really may be a generational thing. Those who lived during WWII and shortly after have a darker sentiment, while the younger generation is more accepting of western culture. The one thing I have run into (which I ran into in the states too, actually) is the whole "this is Japan, learn Japanese! Ya foreigner!" You can't blame them in the states too, the sentiment is the same, you came here, speak our language. And I did come here to learn Japanese, so...

Q:What's Tokyo TV like? What's the best thing about it?

A:One of the things I was looking forward to was Japanese TV. All Japanese language all the time! Cool right? Well, I neglected to think about the part where EVERYTHING is all Japanese all the time. Japanese TV is still pretty cool though. There are 12 station for broadcast TV (I don't have cable), although channel 7 is the all static 24/7 channel, and channel 11 is a "home shopping network". There's a lot of sumo, horse racing, dramas, and news programs. By far though the most popular (the one on the most) is a program with short, maybe 15 minute, videos. There's a panel of people (who I assume are famous) who watch the video at the same time, and you get a picture-in-picture view of their faces as they watch. The best is when something gross of suprizing happens and the panel members make this "O" face. It's hard to explain, because it has no parallel in the states. Of course, there's anime too. How could I not mention the anime. Channel 12 airs 2 hours of new and old anime starting at 6:00pm weeknights. Channel 3 airs older "syndicated" series at the same time. I understand there's anime that airs at midnight several times a week, but I'm too tires to stay up that late.

Q:Are you worried about what the voice blaring over the public speakers out side is saying? Is it in relation to the typhoon?
A:I'm not to worried. Perhaps if I did know what the voice was saying I'd be more worried, but ignorance is bliss.

Hope everyone has a good Vernal Equinox.

Ja Mata Ne.

Tomorrow is another national holiday here. I wish we got the Vernal Equinox off of school in the states. I'm still aching from Kendo yesterday. I don't think I did a proper cool-down routine. Although I'm sure some of you have figures it out, I'm still keeping hush-hush on this weekends plans. I'll be responding to more comments in the morning, as my last response brought a new wave of questions. Which is fine, I am more than happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability. Enough jibba-jabba. It's TV time.

Ja Mata Ne.

What is it about Kendo practice and me getting on the wrong train? I did it again tonight. I got on an express train instead of a local train. The express by-passes my station by about 9 stops. I then had to get off and ride a local back. I'm so tired. Must sleep. I need this upcoming 3 day weekend like whoa. This weekend will be cool for various reasons. Details to follow when I'm not too exhausted to type.

I heard dirty little rumor Sparks might have some form of intarweb... could another update from the boonies be far behind?

Alright, in lieu of today's post, and as promised, here's the update where I respond to questions and comments. Sorry it took so long (-_-).

Q:Can I take some pictures of clothing stores?
A:Yes! I haven't taken pictures yet but I will. (Josi, you've got the style down pat ^_^)

Q:Have you seen any Cos-Play shops ("Dress-up" ala my "Vash the Stampede" costume)?
A:Yes, I visited some while in Akihabara. They're pretty pricey, but the stuff is top-notch. Too bad I'm about 2 sizes too big for anything (T-shirts stop at "L" mostly over here).

Q:What's you school Schedule like? Do you go to school on Saturday?
A:I have class Monday and Tuesday 9:00am to 4:00pm, Wednesday 1:00pm to 4:00pm, Thursday and Friday 9:00am to 2:30pm. I don't have school on Saturdays, but Kendo practice which is extra curricular meets Wednesdays 6:30pm to 8:30pm and Sundays 9:30am to 11:30am (which means I have to leave the house by 8:00am on Sundays). The Train ride to school takes about 40 minutes so I usually leave by 8:00am and get home around 5:00pm.

Q:Hey, weren't you going for a year!?
A:That was sort of the plan. The true plan was go for 3 months, option when I got here for a year. I realized before I left, however, that I need to graduate eventually (if for nothing more than to start on a masters *wink,wink*). Long story short, 3 month trip. If/when I return, next time will be a year or more.

Q:How much does, say a 1/5 of Jack Daniels cost?
A:1545yen or approximately $15.oo for a 1/5 of white label.

Q:Is there a LAN (local area network "party") scene?
A:I've seen billboards advertising "LAN" cafes... I've seen Bawlz (energy drink)... Akihabara exists. The evidence says yes.

Q:Has that game that children play been enacted on me yet.
A:No, I'm not in such an environment. Ask Sparks. (If this is too vague, just go on the next question and pay it no heed)

Q:Will you bring me something back? (What will it be?)
A:Probably. (That's a secret)

Q:Have you walked up to a Japanese person and said *insert rude comment about America's treatment of Japan during World War II here*?
A:No, I like being not-deported.

Q:Are the spiders really that nice?
A:Being a huge insecta/araknaphobe, yes they're really cute actually. (I will take a picture when possible)

Q:Why don't you carry around a map of Tokyo so you don't get lost?
A:Tokyo is a VERY big place, a normal triptych only covers a small area or sector so I'd have to carry around several maps. Besides, there are generally no street names, and maps posted on every third corner.

Some Extra Notes:
-Please watch language in comments, as Sparks says "This is a family show folks" d(^_^)b
-I have more photos than just those I post. I learned in photography class to never delete a photo, no matter how boring. Think about the guy who kept the picture of Bill Clinton shaking Monica Leuinski's hand when everyone else left it on the cutting room floor. When I return home I will make all of my pictures available for anyone who wants to see them.
-tacopunch, if you're reading this please post a comment. I need to know how to bring up the hardware specs of an iBook running OS-X. I need to see if my neighbors computer has a wireless card.

One interesting thing about today. It rained for the second time since I've been here. Only a brief shower, but if broke the humidity... for a while. Hooray, sleep-in day (read get up and study Kanji) day!

Ja Mata Ne.

Akihabara in the morning is a really relaxed and quiet place. The calm before the storm. I returned to Akihabara today for several reasons, chief among them, I really like that district. It's really my kind of town. Second was to buy a "Murse" or "Man Bag" or whatever toy want to call it. They're all the rage over here, and really useful. I carry my laptop, iPod, camera, and a note pad around in mine. Thirdly I came to see if I could get some accessories for my laptop.

I arrived rather early and most of the shops weren't yet open. The streets were almost empty. A real ghost town. While I waited for things to get going, I bought my new bag and sat in a coffee shop for a while. Eventually more and more shops opened up and I started to wander around. I found the component I was searching for and decided to head home. On my way back to the station I noticed that they closed off the main drag to automotive traffic. I then recalled that on Sundays and holidays they close the main street in Akihabara and it becomes a giant walking mall. Pretty cool. Also of note in today's travels, I found the first shop selling Warhammer stuff. (I used to work for Games workshop which makes a game called Warhammer.) That's about it for today.

Ja Mata Ne.

The moral of today’s story: I should have worn shorts instead of long pants.

Today’s plan, as yesterday’s had 4 things on it. Go to Kendo practice, Visit the Imperial Palace grounds, see the Tokyo Metro building in Shinjuku, and take in a movie. As with yesterday as well, I only got half of my list done.

I got up with my alarm at 7:00am as planned. Made ready and was out the door by 8:00. Kendo practice didn’t start until 9:30, but I wanted to have plenty of time so I could find my way. I rode my normal train into Shinjuku, disembarked, and found the entrance to the subway I needed to take. As the subway got moving I wasn’t sure if it was the right one because the subway maps (unlike their train counter-parts) are all in Kanji (the Japanese character set I don’t read well.) But after a while I found a map in the subway car that had “Roman” lettering for station names. Reassured I rode the subway for maybe a half an hour. When the subway pulled into the station I was to switch trains at I found that I was far enough away from the city center to where they don’t put “Roman” lettering subtitles on things for foreigners anymore. Luckily I managed to find the line I needed to take and went up to the platform.

Now, up to this point I’ve been feeling pretty in control of my surroundings. I know Shimotakaido, Shinjuku, and Ichigaya like the back of my hand. I know the JR (Japan Rail) train lines like whoa. I got careless. I rushed for the train sitting on the platform as I came up the stairs. 20 minutes later when the train stopped at a station, everyone got off, and the conductor came and told me to get off, I realized I had the right train line, but had taken it in the WRONG DIRECTION! By some amazing feat of time travel I managed to be only 5 minutes late for the start of Kendo practice.

Kendo practice was, um, interesting. The Sensei (er, instructor) really knows his stuff. The teacher from NiDai (as the Japanese call Nihon Daigaku) who invited students to participate stepped aside to show me some of the basics (how to hold the Shinai, where to put my feet, how to sit Seiza style (ouch).) Shorts would have been better here because there was a lot of foot work and my pants kept dragging on the floor making it hard to move about. After some warm-ups and drills, I took a side seat and watched as the students did 2 person drills. The first one they did involved hitting their opponent on the head repeatedly. They wore helmets (the kind you see people who do Kendo wear…) After that the older (I assume more practiced) students did a sort of match practice, where they tried to score hits on their opponent. After practice was over I thanked the Sensei and my teacher and headed back to the train.

So, I learned my lesson right? Don’t rush for the train, even if you’re mostly sure it’s the right one. Right? WRONG! This time I took the train in the wrong direction for an hour. I changed trains twice (the train would stop, everyone got off, another train came, we got back on.) Eventually the landscape started to roll by… Tokyo’s built on a plain… I got off finally and asked a station master what train to take to get to Ichigaya station (to get to school/the Imperial Palace.) He said there’s be a train by in about 15 minutes on the other platform so I bought a pop and rested a while thinking how unearthly stupid I had to be to get my self in the same situation twice. The ride to Ichigaya would have taken maybe 20 minutes if I had gotten on the right train in the first place… Ungh! But, the Imperial Palace awaited!

I exited the Ichigaya subway station and had to get my bearings. Unlike other places, in Ichigaya, the train and subway stations are separate. I found a map on a wall and charted a course over to the palace grounds. After about maybe 8 blocks or so I came across a high wall with wrought iron spikes at the top and trees on the other side. I figured this was an outer wall to the palace and followed it around for several hundred meters only to find… it was the English embassy. Wow, do they have a nice joint. I’ll have to find the American one some day… following the embassy wall a bit further I spotted the wall across a street and a moat (a dead giveaway) the real palace wall. I crossed the street and followed the moat around the outer wall for a while. Eventually a road bridge crossed the moat towards the walled area so I went over. Continuing to walk along the outside of the wall (now without a moat between me and it (well a ditch)) I noticed to two things most evidently. First, the Imperial palace grounds are HUGE. Take the whole of the mall in D.C., throw in the White House and you’re close. Take the Kremlin and multiply by 4 and you’re on track. The scale of the complex is amazing. And there’s more to that but before I get ahead of myself the second thing I noticed was that funny “I’m being watched” feeling. Even when I couldn’t see anyone watching I had the sense there was a sniper somewhere begging permission from his chief to be able make my head into soup if I so much as stepped wrong. I suppose that comes with visiting another countries seat of power though. After some time I came across a place where the moat running around the palace turned and ran right through it. On the side sans Imperial residence there is a very nice… park, thing. It is in fact the Imperial Gardens. On the way in you get a little tag. There’s no admission, but the tags are used to make sure everyone’s out of the park at the end of the day. The gardens used to be part of the palace proper, but have since been turned into parkland. There are still several spots that have remnants of the old castle. Thankfully there were also signs in English so I knew what I was looking at. (Yes, yes, I’m here to study Japanese, but sometimes it’s nice to know what the **** you’re looking at.) After meandering and taking pictures, I strolled out a different gate than the one I came in. Mistake?

I’m a navigator at heart. I pride myself on having a good sense of direction. I got lost. Not really lost though… I knew where I needed to go, but I was so far off track that it took me a good hour of walking to get back to known ground. In that hour I walked through what is normally a bustling business district (thankfully it was Sunday), under a freeway, and over a moat (the 2nd defensive palace moat) several times. It was hot, why did I wear long pants!? While walking I came to the conclusion that this city waits until you let your guard down before it eats you. The 3 times I slipped today all involved me thinking I was better than the city, that I knew it so well… But the city proved me wrong, and I respect that. Tired and stressed I hobbled onto the train to Shinjuku.

I paused only shortly in Shinjuku to buy a real adapter for my laptop power cord (as opposed to the ad-hawk solution I was using.) before getting on the train home. I’m so tired right know I can barely type. I’m so glad tomorrow is a holiday. I could use a break. All that’s on the docket for tomorrow is relaxing, laundry, cleaning, and homework.

Ja Mata Ne.

**** I posted the pictures in reverse order again! Please scroll down and start at the bottom of the set.

Um, yeah, I found a Japanes parking meter. It looks... different from it's American counterpart. Slightly 

"Oh no, there's a moat there, we can't build a freeway here!" 

I can see my house from here! No, wait that's Tokyo tower, darn another place I need to go... 

Little door in the main door for entry at night after the main doors closed. 

The gate I exited by. Quite large. This being a castle afterall, the path to enter is twisted and rises as you enter to make it hard on an invading force. There are even breaks in the store walls for archers (sort of like European castles) 

One of the guard houses. The second to last on the entrance-way to the palace, it was calles the 100 man post. The guards here were loyal samurai who worked in shifts of 100 men each. 

Fujimi Tower. One of three remaining guard towers, this one was used by the Emperor to view firework shows, the ocean, and Mt. Fuji. The ocean and Mt. Fuji are now blocked out by buildings. 

The base of the tallest building on the palace grounds before Tokyo burned to the ground in 1657. The fire was so hot it melted the gold in the vaults below ground. It was never rebuilt. 

10 meter wide moat, 10 meter tall berm, 3 meter wall, who knows how many armed guards on the inside. They ain't joking around here.  

One of the gate houses for the main Imperial palace grounds. 

When I knew I was in the wrong place. A min-mall? Dirt? No tall buildings for miles? Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... 

Okay, I did dodge the NHK man. He left a very informative pamphlet, in English, in my mail box.