dentist

So I had a little bit of a dental problem this week... Not that anyone cares about my dental hygiene...

Ya the dentist was interesting. My gum was irritated by my wisdom tooth, after a couple of days of gargling with whiskey it was clear it was not getting any better. The pain was getting bad enough I was having trouble sleeping... I had visions of getting my wisdom tooth pulled...

So I found this dentist who was new and famous and really good. After lots of pointing at pictures and grunting he opened my mouth and snipped the inflamed gum out. Yes, he just cut it out. Bled like crazy. I really wasn't happy it but its difficult to speak Japanese with a persons hands in your mouth. Once the bleeding slowed, he put some bitter granular stuff on it. Gave me some pain killers and more bitter granular stuff to go and told me to come back tomorrow if it wasn't better.

Surprisingly, it was better. It was also surprisingly cheap, so I brought him a bottle of sho-chu the next day as a thank you for taking me without appointment and struggling in Japanglish.

Osaka Human Rights Museum

As a 6 foot 1 inch tall white American it is kind of hard to blend in while traveling in Japan... I thought it would be interesting to see the Japanese interpretation of prejudice and discrimination, so I went to the Osaka Human Rights Museum.

Museum is divided into four sections. First section is human rights today. Focused mainly on the right to learn and the right to work. The work section seemed especially poignant to me given that I had been trying to find a job...

Second section deals with our sense of values; those desires (largely ethnocentric) that give a base to our actions in life. Desire for job security, desire for academic status, desire for family togetherness, desire to be beautiful...

Third section is about the activism of people who are discriminated against in Japan. Of course, universal themes of HIV/AIDS, victims of pollution, people with disabilities, and homeless people were discussed but I was most interested to learn about the special issues in Japan: Korean residents in Japan, Okinawans, the Ainu, the Buraku, Women and female roles in Japan, Hansen`s disease survivors, and victims of Minamata disease in Japan.

Fourth section is about human rights and you. Since I was the only person in the museum that morning, I sat and talked with a couple of the guides that could speak English-highly educational discussion for a couple hours.

It definitely is an odd feeling to be the one who is different. I have never traveled to a place where I just plain didn't fit it in, it is eye opening. Its not like I`m the first American to go to Japan, but still people stare on the subways. People avoid sitting next to me on the bus. Girls on the subway point and blush and giggle.

I am certainly not complaining, Japan has been a wonderful experience. The people are the most friendly I have ever met (we Americans could certainly learn something).

Massage that Wagyu!

It`s world famous beef time! Mmm Kobe beef... Ranchers massaging their Wagyu cattle every day? What is this craziness? Is it really that good or is it just hype?

For lack of a better way to find a restaurant, I asked a few people on the street where they recommended to find the best Kobe beef steak. I expected this to be like asking a Frenchman what the best cheese was and where to find it. Impossible! On the contrary, I got several educated suggestions and settled on a place named Renga-tei that sounded fun and within walking distance.

It was a basement joint that looked like a 60`s lounge from the window. You know, the kind where swingers hang out. What was I getting myself into?

To call is simply delicious or wonderful does not do it justice. It is so tender you don`t need teeth, it literally reduces to juicy fibers right there on your tongue. Absolutely amazing. Now you have to realize I'm not much of a beef person. I eat steak a couple times a year, and coming from beef state like Colorado this is not very much. For me to say that a steak was absolutely amazing, is well, a big thing. Thanks for the b-day present Noodlefer!

Some details so you can try it at home. A piece of paper is placed on the beef and then is covered with a copper hemisphere for perfect grilling. Garlic is sliced and grilled and then placed on top of the beef. Served with lightly grilled veggies, a salad and several steak dipping sauces. I hate being an engineer, I`m still trying to figure out how it all works.

typhoon

The first report of an earthquake freaked me out a bit. I hadn't even noticed there was one. The first report of a typhoon freaked me out a bit again. Then i realized why everyone carries umbrellas everywhere, there is a typhoon every other week. There is also an earthquake every other week. Conveniently, they have scheduled them so that they alternate every week and don't overlap. This way there is always something interesting to watch on the news. With pictures so gaijin can understand too.

Some freaky lighting in Fukuoka during the latest typhoon that really messed up the east coast of China. All we got in Fukuoka was rain, but we got lots of it. So i snapped a photo of the blood red sky. That's what it really looked like. The white specks are reflections from the flash off raindrops.

oops got on the wrong train

Saw this sign on the train and figured I must have fallen asleep... No, in fact, there really is a town called Usa in Japan.

Japan for the Man

Talked with some lawyers about how to get a work visa. It was actually an interesting meeting. Yina found the volunteer lawyer service at the local community center. Two lawyers, an interpreter, my friend Yina and I talking about how to get me a job in Japan; weird to have 4 people talking about you in the same room and not be able to understand a word they are saying.

Ive heard bad rumors about the big 4 language schools: NOVA, GEOS, Aeon and Berlitz. Especially NOVA. This meeting confirmed that. The language program JET through the embassy appears to be the exception, but they only do interviews abroad. It sounds like a much better option is to pursue an engineering job consistent with my background.

You need to submit a massive collection of information about yourself, including original college diplomas. You also need to have a second copy of everything that has been translated to Japanese.

The interpreter offered to translate all of my documents for free. This is a big deal, considering a professional translator would charge 30 yen per word. With 20+ pages of documents that converts to about $1500. Ouch.

So my current plan is to enjoy traveling around Japan for another month and keep an eye out for potential jobs. Then I can apply for engineering jobs, have some understanding of what I am getting into and return on a work visa someday.

Anyone with info on working in Japan please send advice! Likewise, anyone looking to work in Japan feel free to contact me, I am happy to share what lessons I have learned.

Traditional Japanese Concert

Today was a day of concerts and festivals! Yina took me to a concert for traditional Japanese music. The first piece was three women each playing a stringed instrument called a koto. Each koto was slightly different: a normal koto, a bass koto, and a soprano koto; no doubt each with a unique Japanese name but I only know the generic name. After each song, they would reconfigure which instruments were to play. The women also played the shamisen, a fretless, three-string guitar with that traditional Japanese sound. Twangy, dissonant and dramatic. A man was playing a shakuhachi, a large bamboo flute with a haunting meditative sound.

They played a variety of songs, some the subject of nature: rain, mtns and the like. One song surprised me, they played a song about 9-11 that is apparently quite popular around Japan.

We took dinner at the Asian month festival. Unfortunately it was raining, but they had a stage set up for various Asian performances and a slew of Asian food stands. we ate Thai shrimp noodles, Chinese rice tamales, gyoza and egg rolls, Japanese veggie pancakes. It was all delicious. The show that evening was Thai dancing. Two women wearing intricate colorful costumes. One with long golden fingernails and wings the other with ornate spinning squares on her back. The men wore a dancing sheep costume with lots of character. Scratching himself. The kids loved him.

Uminonakamichi Seaside Park

Yina took me to the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park. What a fun place; its part amusement park, part traditional Japanese gardens, part zoo and aquarium. One stop shopping for shopping in terms of island amusement parks. And of course, you can ride a giant panda!

The eerie part is that the place is abandoned, seriously I think we were the only people in the whole park. Never have I been the only person on a roller coaster - I think we had to wake the guy up to run the coaster. The roller slides certainly were fun, but oh me arse be hurtin after that one laddie.

The roofless flower museum looked eerily similar to the A-bomb dome in Hiroshima, but it was amazing. There were all shapes and colors of flowers I have never seen before. [mom - you would have loved this one] There actually were fields of flowers everywhere, but still no people.

Great day, thanks Yina.

my sisters photos

From my sis:

We made our first assignment to photograph an object that represents you. I shot a Bonsai tree and a paper airplane. Figured you would appreciate the thoughts behind them both. Bonsai is trying to be sculpted and molded into something strong and beautiful. The paper airplane is flying into the wind, but still holding it's own. Fragile, it can either glide or crash.

Suizenji Jojuen Garden

My first impression of the park is Wow! Traditional Japanese ponds are surrounded by meticulously manicured mounds. The mounds are key because they separate you from the noise and greyness of the city. Suizenji is in the middle of the city yet it feels peaceful like the countryside.

The garden reproduces the 53 post stations of the Tokaido, the important road, which connected Edo with Kyoto during the Edo Period, in miniature form, including a small Mt. Fuji.

Beautiful arched bridges. Motionless cranes waiting to catch fish. Gold, white and brown koi everywhere. A Shinto shrine with red gates at the entrance. What a beautiful park.