Cup of FUN: Update

As we packed our backpacks to leave the ship on our second day in Japan I had a weird realization.  We were setting out for Tokyo and the ship was preparing to sail down to Kobe without us.  We decided to book an overnight bus the next night, Tuesday, to get an extra day in Japan and make the most of our adventure.

We began Monday with a trip to the Cup of Noodle Museum in Yokohama.  It was on the list of things to do and I wasn’t sure what to expect but it turned out really fun.  Kelly and I, along with our friends Rachel and Nicole, walked across the city to the museum and checked out the sites along the way.  Yokohama is one of the many Japanese cities that have a giant Ferris wheel but it was unfortunately closed on a Monday at 10AM.  The hours of operation in Japan are different from back home and I never really understood what was open and when. 

When we got to the museum it was bustling with activity.  There were Japanese children and parents on what I imagine were field trips and we were the only Westerners around.  Fortunately they had a few helpers who spoke some English to point us in the right direction.  It was about $5 to see the exhibits and another $3 to get our very own Cup of Noodle soup we could specially make.  I got a little too excited after drawing on my cup and pick some weird flavors, curry with spicy peppers, crab, green onions and cheese.  After they sealed our cups up we got to put them in a neat little air-pouch to keep them fresh for the next month.  Our pouches were attached to our backpacks for the next two days and I caught a few Japanese people pointing them out and smiling.  We are planning a special noodle eating party later in the month; hopefully Nicole will be okay eating hers since she broke the rules and wrote on the bottom of the cup.

One funny tidbit about the museum was the cartoon video they had us watch showing the story of how Momofuku Ando invented his famous noodle dish.  First it was in all Japanese and since we didn’t get headsets we were somewhat clueless.  The best part was when they showed his trip to America to market the noodles.  The American guy he convinced to try the noodles was a tall, skinny blonde guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt, resting up against a fence post eating a giant burger and drinking a big soda.  It was interesting to see how we Americans are portrayed in the Japanese mind’s eye. 

After the museum we hoped a train to meet up with more of the Residence Life staff in Tokyo for the afternoon.  We met at the Starbucks in Shibuya crossing, a pedestrian crossing where traffic stops in all directions and people flood the streets.  You would think you were in Times Square except it’s full of Japanese and nowhere near as loud.  We watched the scramble a few times and then broke into small groups to explore the area.  Kelly and I went off and walked the backstreets.  We didn’t have much Yen to spend so we just check out the stores and bought some fresh sushi from a market and ate it standing in a small alcove.  Most of the time we were in Japan the weather was partly sunny but only in the upper forties. 

We met back up with our group later in the early evening to go back to the Shinagawa suburb to check into our hostel.  It was my first experience with a hostel which is way cheaper than a hotel and gives you more of a feel for the culture.  The Shinagawa-shuku Guest House was our home for the evening and it was a quaint little three-story building where you had to leave your shoes at the door, wear slippers to your room and then leave them outside the door of your room.  We shared a three person room with Rachel and we each got our own fold out “mattress” along with sheets and the tiniest pillow I’ve ever used.  We couldn’t figure out our heating unit since the remote was in Japanese so we just pilled the blankets on and had an indoor camping experience.  It turned out fine and in the morning when I flipped over the sheet with all the checkout instructions on it there was an entire page in English dedicated to how to use the heater remote.  Such is life.

Later that evening our group all went out to dinner and do some karaoke.  I ate another tasty noodle dish and after dinner we went looking for a place recommended by Time called Rock, Paper, Scissors or “Jan-Ken-Pon” in Japanese.  It was a total bust and we ended up going back to Craig’s hotel to get our inner rock star on.  It was entertaining trying to find Jan-Ken-Pon though.  When we finally found a young woman shopping in a Family Mart convenience store who knew the place, she signaled for us to follow her and literally ran out the door and down an alley, around the corner and pointed it out to us, then ran away.  You just can’t beat the Japanese hospitality. 

Update: I added the video below of the Shibuya crossing

 

Walking and Busing Japan

Kelly and I spent most of our third day in Japan exploring the area of Shinagawa where our hostel was located.  We were trying to save the last of our Yen for eating and to get some snacks for our overnight bus ride to Kobe later that evening. 

We picked up a walking map of the area from our hostel and took to the backstreets to get some culture of everyday life in Japan.  We saw a bunch of beautiful shinto shrines and a lot of historical spots, including a park where they buried a 59 foot whale's bones that washed ashore around 1800s.  It was a fun and cheap day that left our dogs barking by the time we were ready to head back to Yokohama to catch our overnight bus. 

Speaking of dogs, we had a great interaction with a couple of Japanese woman who were walking a pack of poodles.  She let us pet them and they climbed all over us.  It really made me happy because we both miss our dog, Libby, so much.  It was probably the last time we can safely interact with dogs on the street too.

The bus ride to Kobe wasn’t too bad.  We left around 11:30PM and got in at about 8 AM.  The bus windows were covered with curtains and they had these beekeeper looking head covers that blocked out most of the light.  I put my Ipod on to block the snorers which worked well but gave me some weird dreams.  Kelly didn’t do so well and was really exhausted when we arrived back to the ship.

Our two days in Kobe were pretty chill.  Since we had spent five days there back in 2006 we didn’t feel pressured to do everything.  At the last minute on Wednesday I got the opportunity to lead a field trip of about 12 people to Kyoto to a Samurai sword fighting lesson.   It was a fun trip and our tour guide was incredible.  She gave me all kinds of interesting information like how in Tokyo people stood on the right side of the escalators but in Kobe they stood on the left.  It turns out that Japan is split down the middle geographically on how which side is the proper side to stand on.

When we left Kobe on Thursday night they had a marching band on the port terminal to play us off.  They waved giant hands on sticks and we bid them a big sayonara.  It was a great country. 

Kon Nichi Wa from Japan

Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun.   It is nice to be able to connect with the outside world again.  As we arrived in Japan the government forced our ship to disable our internet satellite so I have been dependent on spotty WiFi connections I was able to pick up on my phone.

Today is our fifth day in Japan, second in Kobe, however I am on call today and will be stuck on the ship until we sail tonight at 2000.  I guess technically I’m forced to stay on the ship after that too unless I’d like to swim to China.  I plan on catching up on blogging and organizing my hundreds of pictures in between calls about lost students and missing Ipads.

Overall I really enjoyed my second time visiting Japan.  It’s a beautiful, peaceful country but one of many interesting contrasts.  It’s very common to find a small Shinto shrine situated among sky-rise apartment buildings in a bustling neighborhood.  Japan is also one of the cleanest countries I have ever visited but finding a trashcan seems next to impossible.  

I will recap our trip from Yokohama, Tokyo and Kobe in smaller post to come.  In the meantime, arigatoo for reading.

Believe'n Go!

Fall is in full swing and along with the changing leaves and crisp nights comes the baseball playoffs.  Seeing the crowds bundled up on a cool night reminds me of the baseball game I went to when I visited Kobe in 2006.

The moment I found out I was going to Japan there was only one thing on my bucket list of things to do: go to a baseball game.  We were lucky that the local Kobe team, the Orix Buffaloes, were playing that week against the Seibu Lions.  The experience was everything I hoped it would be.

We took the subway from the ship to the ballpark on a cool April afternoon.  It was funny that the first song we heard when we emerged from the subway was Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."  It turns out the Buffaloes were using that as their fight song that season and the gameday giveaway was a small flag with the slogan on it.

In a ironic twist, the two starting pitchers for our game were both American players.   Tom Davey started for the Buffaloes and Alex Graman for Seibu. The game turned out to be quite an entertaining affair.  It was very interesting to see how the cultural aspects of the game were different from seeing a game in the U.S.  And the actual game itself was very suspenseful and exciting.  It was a back and forth affair with the home team Buffaloes delivering a two-run go-ahead single in the bottom of the 12th inning to secure the win.

Not only were we treated to a great game but it was the crowd and the differences in the game that I found most entertaining.  The Japanese fans had their noise makers and chants, similar to American fans, but they also brought small balloons that each fan blew up and released into the air creating a sea of balloons whirling through the sky then falling back to the crowd.  There was also a two minute firework display after the sixth inning which was very odd since they went back to playing right after.  I have no idea if that is a normal thing or something that was unique to the game we attended but it was impressive.

Sadly when we return to Japan next year we won't be going during baseball season but I am very happy that we had the opportunity to see a game and experience America's pasttime with a Japanese flair.

The Buffaloes mascot  Ripsea #222, a young girl and Neppie #111, a young boy.

Japanese fans preparing to release their balloons.

The flame cannon that was shot off after a home run.