Saturday August 2, 1997: noon
My goodness, is it evr hot out. I was real smart and went for my run at 10:40, so I just got back - at peak temperature time. Ugh! But actually, I did a bit of exploring today - I found some really narow back streets somewhat nearby (the prospect of getting lost was too tempting to resist)... I found lots of traditional Japanese houses with their beautiful gardens... lots of rice paddies and farmer's fields, of course. It was really great... coulda been a bit less hot! My guess is that it was 36C. Hmm... today I MUST try to book something for my Obon holidays. I'e been leaving it to the last minute, I mean, the holiday is in a little over a week! OK, I'm going to look at some maps now and get in gear!
1pm
Oh wow! This is so cool. I looked at my map and decided aht I'd like to do Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka on my trip... so I got out my youth hostel map and checked to see if each city had one.. they did. Ok, good, but then came the part where I had to phone them up and make reservations (I was told that EVERYTHING would be taken in Obon)... Now usually this would be OK, but I was a bit concerned about doing it in Japanese. Anyways, I phoned the Nagoya place, and not only did the guy understand me, but they had room, and I took it! Coolness. Next I phoned a hostel in Kyoto but it was full. That's fine though because there are about 4 hostels in Kyoto - so I phoned the next one, booked it for 2 nights! And finally, I phoned one in Osaka and booked for 3 nights. Wow! It was cool to be able to do it all in Japanese, but even better was that I actually GOT places to stay! Anyways, my plans are that I'll spend the Tuesday night and Wednesday day in Nagoya, the Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday day in Kyoto, then the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Osaka. On Monday I'll head home, but only late at night. I'll spend the day somewhere... I don't know where yet. Should be a blast! Now I have to find out what to do while I'm there. Somehow I don't think it's going to be hard to keep me entertained...
Oh yeah, I'm staying in youth hostels for all 6 nights, which is probably my cheapest option at 3,100 yen ($40)/night. Sure, I'll have to share a room with a bunch of people, but that's OK with me, well, for a week at least. Ok, my soba is ready to eat so I'm outta here...
Sunday August 3, 1997: 10am
OK, I saw this girl yesterday who was actually talking on the phone while riding her bike. It looked so... crazy.
Oh, and you know that trucks here actually *tell* you which way they're turning. As in, there's a recorded voice that says "This truck is turning left... this truck is turning left", or the Japanese equivalent. I mean, this just isn't on the occasional truck... as far as I can tell, this voice is featured on *every* truck. It makes me wonder, who THINKS of these things??
Monday August 4, 1997: 4pm
I've been working on this "bug" all day... actually, it's a bug I've known existed for about - oh - 2 months now, but have put off because it's kinda a biggy. Real big. Like... my applets don't show up in MS Internet Explorer... just Netscape. Uh huh...kinda a major bug, considering that my applets have to work in like, 3 different versions of Netscape, and 3 different versions of MS IE. Anyways, that's not the point. The point is that I just found out that this bug has a mind of its own. My applets give funny exceptions on my main computer, don't even SHOW UP on my other machine, and works fine n' dandy on Gupta-san's 2nd machine. OK, bugs I can take, but bugs *with attitude* really just tick my clock. Ah well, so is life.
ok ok ok, I lie. Not all day. A good portion of my afternoon was spent talking about trains, planes, and automobiles. Ever see that flick? Funny, I recall. Not the point. The point is that I got Hidaka-san to help me out big-time with getting train schedules, etc, so that I can actually GET to those youth hostels I booked. Not the point. The point is that I get to take the SHINKANSEN, I think. Woooohooooo... bullet train, here I come!
Of couse, it's gonna set me back a goooood chunk of money. Ah well, I was prepared for that. This *is* peak season, so I'm told. Hmm... are you ready for this? Wait a sec, I'm the one paying. Ok, fine, am *I* ready for this? It's gonna be... oh... $130 for one way! Yacks! And that's just to Nagoya! Of course, from there I should (in theory) be able to travel on local lines, which is cool.
Oh yeah, I vote that Japan has the loudest darned crickets ever heard.
And the strangest looking cockroaches (ew). Black with white polkadots anyone?
And the most annoying dog right down the street who insists on barking at all hours of the night. I actually vaguely recall, in some sleep-lacking stupor (due to this dog) yelling "Shut UP!" as loud as I could, as though (a)the dog could hear me, and (b)the dog could actually understand me, if he happened to hear me. Well, that's just the way it goes when I'm half-awake, half-asleep. I guess I just hink every dog should be as perfect as Max. Awwww...
5:15pm
Yes, I *am* confirmed to ride that Shinkansen-thing. Oh yeah... and would you believe that not only is it my quickest (a duh) option, but also the - *gasp* - cheapest? Rock on, I'm goin' to Kyoto!
PS. Kids, don't try Microsoft at home.
Tuesday August 5, 1997: 10am
The sky around Fuji-san this morning was so neat -- I don't think I've ever seen so many shades of blue before! Pretty funky lookin'. The sky itself wasn't clear, which was what made it so cool. The pale mountains in the background and the surreal clouds in the foreground...
8pm
Wow, the Wonder Years! I guess since I'm not usually home on Tuesday nights, I - uh - really miss out. Oh yeah, just look what happens to you after you've been away from Canada for a few months! Things like the Wonder Years are, well, worth mentioning! It's kind of like in Indonesia when I would sit down on a regular basis and watch the old "Batman"s, ya know, with the *biff* and !!pow!!. Hmm... I shouldn't be admitting this...
Oh yeah, today I got _plenty_ of advice on my trip. Like... where I should go to meet the Japanese mafia! Awrrrright! Oh wait, maybe they said to NOT meet the mafia. I'll have to double check. Anyways, most people are kinda wondering about my choice of Osaka... they don't seem to think that there's much to see (other than the mafia). While I'm there I'll probably hop down to Kobe, or over to Nara. Hey, I've got a limited amount of time!
Oooo - I actually bought the train tickets today, and it was less than I thought -- 21,000 yen ($240) for the round trip. Ok coo, cuz it's the Shinkansen.
I seem to be causing a bit of a fuss because I'm travelling alone!! I guess that's not so common around here. Speaking of travelling alone, the 3 Indian guys are planning on going to Hakone over the break and climbing Fuji-san. Now, what I just found out is that NONE of them have a Jap/Eng dictionary. Woha! They're psycho! I mean, I'm not so paranoid as Jason, who carries his in his bacpocket at ALL times... but I *do* own one and take it with me on day trips and stuff. The even bonkier thing is taht none of the 3 guys speak Japanese... at all. Well, Gupta-san can say "Please wait a second" and things like that, and Shravan-san has been learning to read hiragana and katakana... so basically, they're holding on to their English... but in Hakone... I don't know if it's gonna work! Well, it will *definitely* be an experience, I'm sure!
Wednesday August 6, 1997: 8:30am
Ooo - there are supposed to be thunderstorms today!!
10pm
Well, so far, every Japanese person that I've told about my upcoming trip has had the EXACT same reaction. First I say "I'm going to Kyoto!", ya know, all excited-like. So they say "Oh -- Kyoto.. lots of temples. But so HOT! Worse than Tokyo!" So sensing that I have to redeem myself and my trip, I change tactics and add "Well, I'm also going to Osaka.." - which unfailingly gets the response "Osaka! That's even _hotter_ than Kyoto!!". Oh man, you can't win everything. But hey, I get to ride the Shinkansen!
Ooo, this morning I did some actual training on my run, and boy did it ever hurt! In that good kind of way, of course. Anyways, I was right near the end of my run, where I turn off the river, when I see a runner coming towards me. He looks familiar - I think nothing of it as he's passing me because, after all, he IS just another runner out at the same insane hour as me (it's barely past 6 at this point) OK, so as he passes me, he does a little U-turn thingee, starts running beside me, and starts to chat in Japanese. Surprisingly, it seemed completely natural to me that he should do this, I guess it's just the runner in me. So we ran for a bit and talked. Next time I see him I'll be sure to say hi!
Tonight was calligraphy lesson night, and wow, was it ever fun! I told Sensei and the gals how I was going to Kyoto... and ya know what followed... Anyways, I hear that it's gonna be hot in down in that area...
SO, instead of doing one hiragana calligraphy and one kanji calligraphy, instead she said taht I'd do one calligraphy with *4*, count 'em, 4 whole kanjis!! Yoiks! So I got to pick one out of 2; I chose "Tokonatsu no shima", which the dictionary translates as "island of everlasting summer", but I translate as "tropical island". Well, I suppose the former is more poetic. Anyways, let me say that these kanjis were not easy! I was getting a bit frustrated at times, but all in fun.
On the way home I was treated to a display of beautiful fireworks! What _is_ it about fireworks that make them so - enrapturing? I mean, everyone (including me, of course) stopped dead in their tracks for about 5 minutes to watch. Then reluctantly shuffle away slowly, still staring up at the sky. I guess we were in the right place at the right time.
Oh yeah, as a little sidenote here, I still think Microsoft SUCKS. To keep a long story short (betcha thought I couldn't do that), I spent a good part of my afternoon getting zilch done cuz of MS's darned bugs. But I'm not bitter at all. Really.
I saw a young guy this morning just sitting by the river playing his guitar. I was incredibly close to going over and listening - maybe chat... but then I thought that maybe in my state of extreme smelliness/sweatiness, I'd probably scare him away. But maybe tomorrow.
10:40pm
Ooo - how could I have forgotten! I was invited out to a drinking party. On Friday. Yep, there's no disguising it under a false name like "Welcome party", or "Farewell part", or "Just-cuz-it's-a-Friday party"... plain old "drinking party". So of course, I accepted!
Thursday August 7, 1997: 7pm
Weird. On the news just now they showed up close coverage of a hotel robbery in Tokyo, presumably today. Anyway, what was so strange about it was that when the robbers ran into the hotel and demanded money from one of the clerks at the front desk, no one else paid attention! I could see that people were still checking into the hotel (like 3 metres to the right of the robber), guests were still talking in the lobby, and kids were still playing around!! I thought the robbery was a joke, put on by the TV channel!! I mean, these guys had guns! Ok, well as they were leaving, one of them was caught by the police - and I swear that none of the spectators hangin' around even blinked an eye, collectively! They really *do* do things differently here...
Well today my second computer screwed up royally, undoubtedly as a direct result of Microsoft, but, I'm not bitter about that.
So this morning I ran an hour later than usual so that I could meet Suehiro-san (bike lady) so that she would know I'm, like, not dead. Well I didn't see her, but I saw that guy I met yesterday. Let's call him "Spock". So I saw Spock about half-way through my run. Again, he turned around and ran with me. This time though, he joined me til the end... so about half an hour. OH yeah, and we also ran by "long-sleeved-dress-shirt" dude - I'm sure I've talked about him before, but here's a short refresher: Every morning I see "long-sleeved-dress-shirt" dude on my run. He's also running, but what makes him so noticeable to me is that he runs in warm-up PANTS and a LONG SLEEVED DRESS SHIRT (hence the name), every day, 15C or 40C, without fail. Oh, and he _never_ says hello to me (but I'm - uh - not bittttter about that). Well, as we were running by LSDS dude, Spock slowed down so that he could chat with the guy. So now there's the 3 of us running along the river. And unlikely sight, I'm sure. One female gaijin, one middle-aged Japanese guy, and one elder guy dressed like he's heading over to the TSE... all running together, in Hino. Gee, even *I* find it strange.
Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah... I got my first phone bills last week (I say phone billS because there are 2: one local and one int'l) and had to pay them by Monday. No 40-day payment period, thankyou very much. I don't think this would go over very well with Waterloo students! Anyways, back to my little story here... I've been meaning to pay these bills all week, but first I had to ask someone *where* to pay them. Well, this morning I decided to look at the bills myself to see if I could figure it out. And I read that you can pay your bills at any - um - "conbeniansu stoah" -- convenience store?! Like, like I can pay my phone bil at the 7-Eleven across the road? At any bank? At any post office? This *IS* the definition of convenience. So at lunch, you know what I did. That's right, I walked out of that Epson building, crossed the road, walzed into that 7-Eleven store and said "Hi, I'd like to pay my phone bill, thanks very much". And faster than you can say "Seven Sequential Sumos Say Sorry", the girl had taken my bill, read in the BARCODE on them with a barcode reader (uh duh) and had rung it into the cash register. I was stunned. Baffled. I think my mouth dropped 4 inches. It made my day, that is, until Microsoft came along.
9:45pm
Lightning storm! Lightning storm! Ok, so there's no thunder and no torrential downpour, but the lightning is moderately closer to a thunderstorm. Anyways, this is really cool, it's flashing about every 6 seconds, and it's bright enough that it lights up my whole room, even through the curtains. Funky.
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