BigMike's Big Japanese Vacation

[toybuilt]

that LandCruiser is lookin hot

[furies]

And that was about it from Tuesday.

When we headed back home, I thought the Subway was rather crowded, but Misato said this was pretty much standard. For those like me who have never been on a subway for the first 1/4 of their life, the subs don't run 24 hrs a day, so near 11pm at each station you can get the opportunity of riding the last sub of the day. I think it was around 10:30pm when we headed back home, so people were already trying to catch the sub home. If you miss it, then you would have to take a Taxi home, which is great for the Taxi Economy here, but that's gotta be a pretty penny. When I asked Misato about Taxis, actually it is pretty common to take one, especially between 11pm - 7am. People are out all night partying and boozen it up that they get wasted and can't even find the subway stations. So a Taxi is the only alternative, so the Taxis get some great business at all hours of the night.

Drinking Sake and Beer here seems to be more socialably accepted. Not only are business men getting their drink on, just like in the states, but mothers, grandparents, and even under aged teens are having some good ol times too, as they do not card youngsters. If they look really young then they might not serve them, but typically that is not a question and they are just served. Minimarts do not lock up the drink section after a certain hour, and I've even seen public intoxication too...

Mike
Maybe when Misato gets back, Karen and I can join you two on a trip to Magic Mountain.  We can get both of them on the roller coasters...Karen likes most of them there but has not been on Goliath yet.
Louis

[rEdnECkwHeE1eR]

What up with that SWEET ASS hood scoop    Is it turbo or something?

[BigMike]

haha! I knew you would like that! I don't know, but I've seen it on a couple of them running around the city now.

If I see another Jimmy, I will do some deeper investigation

[BigMike]

Friday, December 30th.

We had been seeing TV commericials and flyers posted in subway stations and on the subs themselves, about a New Years celebration event, that according to Misato, happens each year in Tokyo. It is called "Tokyo Illumination." Also, this year there is heavy construction near Tokyo Station, where the Illumination Event is held, and next year the event will be cancelled due to new Skyscrappers that are going in, so this made for an Extra Special event since we won't be able to enjoy another Tokyo Illumination for two more years.

But before we left home, we stopped back at the Yodobashi kamera (Camera) because Misato wanted to buy an Ipod Nano

So it was a good chance for me to get a picture of the directory listing of this 9-Floor (+7 basement levels for parking) Electronics Superstore.

Look at that Directory. Everything you could ever need, including food, all in one place
First Floor: Computer & Mobile Phone
2nd Floor: Computer Peripherals & Software
3rd Floor: Cameras, Watches, & Personal care
4th Floor: Audio & Visual
5th Floor: Home Electronics
6th Floor: Games, Toys, CD/DVDs & Bicycles



Here are some pictures from inside just the 1st floor.

[BigMike]

So off we went to Tokyo Station.

And WOW. We couldn't even get out of the Station there WERE SO MANY PEOPLE IT WAS CRAZY.

The laides face in the 2nd pic sums it up.

Look at this 4th pic. That is after we **finally** got out of the station and crossed the road. They had police officers with long orange poles keeping everyone up on the sidewalk until the light changed and we were able to cross the street. Just from where we were in this first pic to the fourth pic must have taken us 10 mins to go about 80 feet.

That was just a sea of people, is was pretty ridiculous, we had no idea what we had gotten into

[BigMike]

People were pushing and bumping into us. I moved my wallet and cell phone to my front pockets, and moved the zippers on my backpack to my right side and made sure they were closed.

We would begin to move about once every 3 mins and get about 20 feet. IT WAS SLOW.

We were bottle necked down a sidewalk that had metal barriers separating the "Tokyo Illumination"-flock from business people who were trying to get out of buildings and get home that night.

Then after we made it past a 2nd crosswalk, we spread out a bit and starting making some good time before coming back to a stop. They actually closed down the entire street for about 5 blocks, including side streets, as we just completely filled the street to its brim with people.

Then to make matters worse, when we got closer to whereever we were going, there was another street with equally as many people merging into our street, and on one particular corner, it took a good 20 mins to get around it, a total of about 60 feet.

I would have to say that I have never ever seen this many people in such a small and limited area before in my life. You would just look down the road and all I could see were just heads. One block must have been a 1/4 mile straight before the next corner, and I didn't even know it was a corner until we were about 30 feet from it. As far as I could see down the roads there were people. And being 6' tall, it's not really tall, but it is tall enough to see over the heads of thousands of Japanese people, and after a while of this, I just wanted to lean down and run straight full speed ahead and just knock everyone down like bowling pins. I don't get claustrophobic, it was just a bunch of people pushing and we weren't getting anywhere, and we didn't know how far we had to walk before we got there, but even if we had decided to leave, how the heck were we supposed to go anywhere? Crazy crazy crazy.

Imagine if you placed the Superbowl stadium at the end of your neighborhood street, and then poured 100 thousand fans into your street, that was sanctioned off and had numerous road blocks that narrowed into small crosswalks across other streets. Yeah, it was that bad.

At one point, this very rude lady kept pushing me and pushing me so I just stopped and held my position while a stream of people plowed ahead of me to fill the gap I had created. I felt like a support beam for a bridge over a rushing river. I got separated from Misato, which I didn't realize would be so bad, as it took me about 20 mins just to make my way back to her. I just wanted to knock everyone down and run on top of their heads or something- sheesh, would that have been bad?

[BigMike]

And when we had made it around the last corner, there it was, about another 1/4 down, the Illumination of all our desires





The Illumination of the century!!





The Illumination of the world!!!!!!!!!!!!








WHAT THE HECK??!?!?!?!!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! WE WAITED OVER A HOUR FOR THIS!!!!!

Sure it is beautiful, and of course I am with Misato so I don't really care what is happening, but COME ON. I've seen better things at a Highschool Science Fair. I'm sure there were over 1 gazillion light bulbs, and I'm sure it took a team of Highly-Skilled professionals all 12 months of this year to hook them up, but man, I was expecting some light show that would make the Christmas Tree Lane back at home look like a Lego Set, but I guess this is all Tokyo had to offer... Gauging by the countless thousands of people who crowded and rushed the streets, I guess in Tokyo you just don't have any idea what a real light show could be.

I was Happy, Disappointed, Excited, Curious, Cheerful and basically confused as to what the fuss was about.
But it sure was fun!! Just look at all the people taking pictures from their cellphones!  

[Rocksurfer]

Mike
Maybe when Misato gets back, Karen and I can join you two on a trip to Magic Mountain.  We can get both of them on the roller coasters...Karen likes most of them there but has not been on Goliath yet.
Louis

Goliath is old news, Scream is awsome spinning, droping, and who knows what else goes on while on that thing. I have season passes go all the time, my favorite is still Viper, Scream is fast taking over that position though.

That arch is awsome Mike, pretty crowded, stereotypical Japan in those pictures. I think all the backlighting from all those phones dulled it a little, maybe that's what it didn't impress you so much.

[BigMike]

Actually RS, Furies used to work full time summers at Magic Mountain about 3 years ago, and when Goliath first opened up, he invited me to go with him to an "Employee Only" special night runs of the entire park. We road Goliath like 4 times in a row, I think twice without even stopping at the station, they just never hit the brakes and we just flew!!!!

Furies is the Magic Mountain King in my book

[Rocksurfer]

Actually RS, Furies used to work full time summers at Magic Mountain about 3 years ago, and when Goliath first opened up, he invited me to go with him to an "Employee Only" special night runs of the entire park. We road Goliath like 4 times in a row, I think twice without even stopping at the station, they just never hit the brakes and we just flew!!!!

Furies is the Magic Mountain King in my book

One of my neighbors is a maintenance mechanic there, Co-Pilot has gone with them for those employee only nights a few times. He has told me they do that too. They were on Collausus and the attendants just waved and laughed as they came through the station several times. Oh the cars were backwards too.

[88runner]

did this homeless guy get any money at all
Geez those light must have been really hot the way he's dressed 

[sloyota]

Hey Big Mike,been really enjoying the photo's.My girlfriend is half japanese half irish and she said after seenin your photos she wants to go.if you got time i got a photo that i want to know the meaning of.they say its here name(well as close as they can get it) in japanese.if you could find out for me that would be cool.and her name is KYLA..thanks Big Mike. Wes

anything.there's a photo on  the original post

[BigMike]

anything.there's a photo on the original post

whoops, we talked about it but I didn't write anything down because she needs to research one of the Kanji. She said that those are really old Kanji and are typically not used in names. She's wondering who gave her those Kanji? Her parents?

They are pronounced "Keira" (khe ee rra). She does know that the middle Kanji means "meaning". But she will have to look up some stuff on the internet for some more info

88runner: hahahaha

[BigMike]

New Years Weekend

Wow, talk about updates. Who's ready for a BUNCH OF PICTURES ? ? ? !

So Saturday morning we slept in and just relaxed, and then caught our Shinkansen Train (High Speed Bullet Train) at 5pm.

The train was pretty standard looking inside and out, but we cruised the country at 285 kph (177 mph) !!!!
We made it to Nagoya (halfway) in just 45 mins and got to Kyoto in another 40mins. Under 2 hrs from Tokyo to Kyoto. That is amazing. It would take about 6-8 hours by car to do that.

While we were waiting for our train to arrive, we got a couple drinks at one of the many small Train Station cafe's.
Here's a picture from inside the busy little cafe. I got a 12-ounce Ice Tea for $3 that tasted like garbage. No refills of course

The train station had an obvious sense of "Elevated" Security

Here is a picture from inside car #14.

[BigMike]

We got to Kyoto around 7pm or so.

At first I had no idea what to expect. My only imagination of Kyoto was that it was the original capitol of Japan, dating back from the 1st century during the Heian Period (784 AD, originally called Heiankyoo), and that everyone keeps reminding me of how beautiful the city is, how its in a small remote mountain valley, and how it used to be a "Castle City" with countless Temples and Shrines.

Also I know that there exists a difference between City life and Country-side life here in Japan. I have not experienced it first hand, but I have learned that many things are different such as toilets (hole in the ground), doors (sliding), beds (futons), and how things are more spread out.

So I was kind'a under the impression that Kyoto was more of a country-side city, and that I would not see some conveniences as I have in Tokyo.

But it was just the opposite. Of course, being that Kyoto has been the capitol of Japan up until the Meiji Restoration of 1868, I should have expected to see a well matured booming metropolis that is Kyoto today. Kyoto is home to about 1.5 million people, and about 2.6 million county wide. It has plenty of tall buildings and business men scurrying about the crowded streets of countless shopping districts with exotic brand name depa-to (department stores).

Here is the first picture I took from inside Kyoto Station, which at the time, from the architectural work and abundance of kanji writings, had established in my mind the notion that Kyoto was infact yet a traditional city.

But that would change promptly as we walked into what I feel is one of the nicest Train Stations in all of Japan. It felt more like an Airport terminal then a Train Station.

Here are a couple of pictures from in front of the station.

[blackdiamond]

Just one very odd question...

Are you going to feel short when you get back to the United States?

I am guessing from pictures that you are not much above average height here, but maybe a giant over there 

[Geno]

Do they call you Mr. Mike there?  My father-in-law works in Japan and they all call him Mr. Steve. 

[BigMike]

City life near the station seems much the same as in Tokyo. Soon I found out that Kyoto has a subway system, but it is definitely not on par with Tokyo's. The number of tracks are limited as is their range. The more common mode of transportation is the city basu (Bus) system, which is comprised of many many different lines, numbers, colored system, and such. We bought our tickets, which were pretty cheap I thought ($5 for a full day of unlimited bus rides) and waited at the basu noriba (bus stop) for it to come. Maybe 10 busses would stop at our stop, but they have different Kanji and numbers written on them, so we waited for our bus to come. Of course if you took the wrong bus it would take some time to get back to where you started from to get the correct line.

Here's a pic from the bus. I noticed that some busses are automatic and others are manual. Almost every bus that we rode had a horrible driver who was very jerky, would accelerate even though there is obvious traffic in front of him, and nearly all of them would pump the brakes and make seemingly unnecessary threshold braking maneuvers despite the fact that we had plenty of tire traction and room in front of the bus. A couple of times, being exhausted from walking all day, I got small headaches just from riding the busses. I'm sure it was a combination of their sloppy driving and it making me wonder "what the hell is the matter with you," but seriously, they were not good drivers in my opinion. I made a comment about it to Misato, and she said "oh is he doing that?" I guess sometimes life is easier when you don't think about the mechanical things happening around you

Other than that, the busses are pretty nice. They take much longer than the subways because they make about three times as many stops in between destinations.

We finally made it to our Hotel. Misato had booked one night at a very nice place that she had told me was VERY expensive. Well, VERY expensive to me is like $300+ a night, so I was pretty because I am kind'a running out of money over here So when we checked out the following morning, I was thinking, well, one night, two people, man, I don't have that kind of money. And then it turns out that it was just $110/person. Wow, that was very cheap, especially for what happened here (continue reading). I bet there are some Motel 6's back in the states that charge nearly that. The most I have ever paid for a Hotel room was February night last year (our 1-year anniversary) in New Port Beach, LA for $145/person. And that was just a typical hotel room, slightly larger then what I had experienced before, but nothing like this place................. keep reading.

Here is a picture of the Multipurpose room known as the Bedroom/Dining/Kitchen/Family room

Here are our Kimono (Japanese style bath robes) that we would wear later that evening to the public bath on the basement floor. Public Baths are very common in Japan. I am sure that back when, communities would only have one or two public baths in order to conserve space and hot water. So I got to take a nice shower with 4 other Japanese men, and then relax in a steamy hot knee high bath that I sat in for quiet some time. Even the shower room here in Tokyo is comprised of a one part bath one part shower. Not like the typical Shower/Baths like we have in America, but I mean there is an area which you stand in with a movable/attachable shower head that has its own shower drain. And next to this standing area there is a bath tub with a hot and cold faucet, both in the same room. So I have really been getting used to taking hot showers and then settling down after a long day in a nice hot bath, right here at home, every night. If I were to do that in Fresno, then I would take a shower, and then have to wait for the tub to fill up with hot water while I freeze. So shower/baths are pretty nice here, and after about the 2nd week of doing it, my skin on my fingers and toes now becomes soft and wrinkled within 2 mins of sitting in the bath. It never did that the first 2 weeks, roughly. It takes me back to when I was a young boy and we didn't have a shower at my house.
Anyways, sorry for all this :bull crap:

Here is the closet where the futon (Japanese blankets) are kept.

[BigMike]

Here is the nice otearai (toilet) made by the #1 toilet company here, Toto. Not only does the seat have it's own heater, but if you look closely at the top of the tank, there is a faucet. This is one of the nicest things I have ever seen, and I first experienced it back in 2001 on my previous trip to Tokyo. After you flush the toilet, the water that fills the tank is first ran through this faucet. There is some soap and towels nearby, so after you are done, you just wash you hands, dry them, and away you go. The soapy water then fills and tank and is saved there until the next flush where it is then used to wash out the toilet and add new water. Saves #1 water #2 space #3 time. I think this is a great idea and I don't know why we don't see more technology on our toilets back home.

Yes I have used the toilets that have little squirt washers, and no this was not one of those. In fact, this entire month that I have been here, I have not even seen one of those. The place where I stayed at for 3 weeks back in 2001 had a toilet with the squirter and yeah, they are pretty cool hehehe

Do you see those shoes in front of the toilet there? In every Japanese house (and some restaurants) that I have been in, there is a sunken area with an old wooden shoe rack near the front door and a collection of house slippers. You take your shoes off, put them away, put on some slippers, then step out of this sunken area and up into the actual floor of the house. I am not sure if one is required to wear the slippers, but it is definitely considered disgraceful to step up into the house with shoes on. Even if you put your foot up on the elevated floor surface to tie your shoes or aid in balance, you will be in big trouble There are lots of these kind of underlining rules and traditions that I have had to both learn and accept during my stay in this land.

And here's another picture of the heya (room) showcasing our massive terebi (television).

And a picture of me trying to make sense of a Japanese machi no chizu (city map) of Kyoto. Wearing my Hoodie of course!!

[BigMike]

Are you going to feel short when you get back to the United States?

I am guessing from pictures that you are not much above average height here, but maybe a giant over there

I am just 6' tall, but there have been many places, like the apartment that I am in right now, where I have to duck my head before entering all of the rooms here. My first day in the city I must have hit my head about 6 times on door frames and light fixtures.

But for some reason I am noticing more and more tall Japanese men (and even women). I thought I remembered back in 2001 that I seemed to stand out; I felt much taller than everyone else. But this time, it seems that the average height, especially with the younger generations, it much closer to my height now. I have seen a couple Japanese men who had to of been at least 6'6". I am pretty sure that the average Japanese height must be on the rise, because it also seems that ever single old japanese person is no more then 5'3" tall. I'm talking about those older then 65 or so. Especially here in Kyoto, I have seen a pack of about 6 obaasan (grannies) who must have averaged 4'5". Not kidding. I thought I had walked into willy wonkas factory or something. I have seen janitor doors that were only 5' tall and these old people were walking in and out of them without even ducking.

So there are some unbelievably short people here and also some surprisingly tall people. I think that if I was staying in the country side, I would see more short people (older), but since that is not the case, I am sure it will go unnoticed to me when I get back to LA.

Good question though, pretty funny to think about it

Do they call you Mr. Mike there? My father-in-law works in Japan and they all call him Mr. Steve.

No, no one's called me that yet.

[FATB0Y]

that is a neat toilet

[BigMike]

Hey bd, I just did some research, and according to a couple unknown sources that had like data,

Average Height for American Male: 175.5cm / 5'9" 1/8
Average Height for Japanese Male: 165.5cm / 5'5" 1/8

Average Height for American Female: 162.5cm / 5'4"
Average Height for Japanese Female: 153.0cm / 5'0" 1/4

So with all the shopping I've been doing with Misato (walking around as a minority amongst females), I have been enjoying an average height difference of 8" over all of the Japanese women I have seen around me. WOW That's like an extra head! hahaha So clearly I can look straight over the tops of countless people here.

And now for the real kicker as to why this Hotel was such a sweet deal for just $110/person:

[BigMike]

This was the dinner!! Misato knew about it all along, that's why she chose this place. But I on the other hand, I had no idea what we were gonna do for dinner that night.

Now I'm not much of a seafood guy, being raised SDA, however I do love fish such as Cod/Whitefish, Salmon, Halibut, Tuna, etc. I have been willing to taste new flavors, as this night was the first time ever eating iseebi (Lobster). I don't know what all the fuss is about? It just tastes like salty fish soaked in seawater. Misato was kind of disappointed at me because she said that this Lobster was very fresh and was pretty good quality and I just acted like it wasn't a big deal. Sorry babe! I know how Lobster is very expensive here, but oh well. She knows what I do and don't eat, but I don't mind some ebi (Shrimp) or some taco (Octopus) on occasion

I mean it even included Melon for desert! Melon is really expensive in Japan! Like $20 just for one small watermelon!!

[BigMike]

This fish was freaking the crap out of me. I just can't stand eating animals when I can still see their face. It's like they are watching me eat them and I hate that

[BigMike]

Needless to say we were both pretty stuffed after that meal.

There were about 2 more hours until New Years, so we watched some Japanese shows in TV that were recaping the year. I watched Sydney become the first city in the year 2006 and watched various celebrations around Europe.

Then I heard some drumming in the distance, which got increasingly loader and sounded like it was right out side the window!

Well, It WAS!!

[FATB0Y]

I couldn't eat it either

[BigMike]

That is looking out the 5th story window of our Hotel room.

It turned out that there was an old temple right in between a bunch of taller buildings.

Wow, I thought, my first Japanese Temple experience I was pretty excited to see what everyone had been telling me about. I can't tell you how many times I had to say in Japanese class "koko wa yuumeina otera desu. naka ni hairimashoo" (This is a famous temple. Let's go inside) and "subarashii otera desu ne. kono otera no shashin o totte mo ii desu ka" (What a wonderful temple. May I take a picture of it?) So basically it has been branded into my brain that Japanese temples are so beautiful and wonderful, so I was pretty anxious to see one. Then to find out that one was right out my window, well that was just too cool for school

The drumming that we heard was just one of the many many traditions that occur during New Years, a very important time of the year. Back in Fresno, New Years for me was just a day to get off from work/school and hang out with my friends. But in Japan its different, it means so much more to so many more people. I experienced so many new and interesting things during my three day trip to Kyoto then I probably have during this entire trip to Japan.

There are so many religious rituals that nearly everyone does. But the interesting thing is that very few people in Japan actually declare to religion. If you ask a Japanese person if they believe in either God, Buddah, or reincarnation, you will be very surprised to find that very few believe in any of those.

According to a book that I have been reading about Japan, "religious freedom is guaranteed by law--each individual is free to follow his faith or not, without fear of persecution. Interestingly, if you ask the average person in Japan about religion, he will likely reply, 'I have no religion.' Out of 127 million people, those who espouse formal affiliation with Shintoo, Buddhism, or Christianity--the three main religions--are surprisingly few." The text continues by saying that "if you move to Japan, you will notice that there are numerous religious events at temples and shrines, and even religious parades in the street. And if you visit any of the famous temples and shrines in Kyoto, Nara, Kamakura, and elsewhere, you will see busloads of Japanese tourists with cameras who are just as interested in the sites as you are."

What? That begs the questions as to how it is possible to profess no religion, yet participate in religious events? And what I have learned is that when children are raised and experience life here, religious practices and social customs are woven seamlessly through the yearly calendar and an individuals life. They don't worry so much about whether something is religious or traditional, they do it because they've always done it that way, and their parents and grandparents did it that way, and because it makes them Japanese.

The book compares this to America by how some people only go to church on Christmas. I am not familiar with that since I go to church anyways, but its very interesting to learn about these things.

Every year around 87 million Japanese people go to a shrine or temple on New Year's Eve or during the first three days of January.
I later learned that the drumming I heard that night just before midnight on New Years Eve was that Buddhist temples across the nation ring the joya no kane (temple bell) 108 times to atone for an equal number of sins of the past year. The solemn sound is televised nationally and internationally. And what I was about to learn the next day was that when New Year's Day breaks, millions elbow their way to Shinto shrines to offer money and prayers, and to buy good-luck charms (promising health, wealth, exam success, marriage, pregnancy, and protection from accidents). Then on Jan. 15th everyone goes back to the shrines for the ceremonial burning of the good-luck charms from the previous year, which of course are now rendered ineffectual.

These traditions, regardless of what motivates people to do them, are an integral part of Japanese life. Wow, what a world. Experiencing this first hand, I can now understand what my International friends are saying when they tell me how America has no history. I always just thought "yeah, I know, Columbus came here in 1492 so we only have ~500 years of history." No, I now know that it means more then just that. The history we did have (Native Americans / Alaska) means nothing anymore, and this land is so diverse that there is no kind of standard tradition that we all observe, unless of course it involves partying and getting into trouble.


Moving along, the next morning we had to be ready for what Misato said would be a "pretty good Breakfast" Which it was!

Yup, that was some good eats

Well I've gotta get going, I will try to get all of my pictures from Kyoto up tomorrow, cya!

5pm Thursday Evening,
BigMike

[FATB0Y]

You have a stronger stomach than I do I couldn't eat raw fish

[kneedownnate]

Wow, miss a couple of days and I miss 2.5 pages!  I love the toyota place, especially the ae86s, wish I'd never sold mine   I dig the ducati monsters too, especially the termignonis on the last one.