The Tokyo Motor Show

Went to the Tokyo Motor Show on Sunday, and it was amazing. Though a bit daunting due to the size of the exhibition and the number of people, the exhaustion gained by the end of the day was well worth it. Whether or not you are a car enthusiast, these bits of eye candy are sure to satisfy...

This was a strange, shifting prototype bike... it was constantly changing its structural configuration.


At first we weren't sure if this was meant for use on land or sea... but then we saw that it did, indeed, have wheels.


Hey Mom!




Good ol' Harley... a taste of home.


The exhaust... the exhaust...




This is a partial view of one of the four buildings housing the show.

The below picture exhibits a phenomenon that we observed throughout the show. (Notice the men to the rear of the car.) Most of the men at the show were not concerned with the cars, but were preoccupied with the ladies. It was like a modeling shoot for some of these women. Once, we even saw a woman surrounded by men with flashing cameras, and there was no car to be seen! I felt sorry for these girls, as they had to incessantly smile for hours on end, but I guess that's what they are paid for. I'm not really complaining though, for they certainly added to the scenery...

And here she is. The car that I just can't get over: breathtaking in person; the kind of car that just puts a smile of disbelief on your face. Enjoy.







P.S. Happy Halloween!

The Godzilla Report

Brandon, my friend, you have waited long enough, but not at my hand. I thought that it would be pretty easy to find such a tremendously conspicuous lizard walking the streets of Tokyo, but I was wrong. As popular as we Americans think Godzilla is here in Japan, the Japanese give me a far different impression. I have asked several times about Godzilla and Godzilla related items, but they are nowhere to be found. This is the ONLY thing I have come across in the two months that I have been here. I will let the picture speak for itself. I will keep my eyes and ears diligently open, but I fear that the pickings are slim...

Health and Sports Day Traveling: Kyoto

So, as for our degree of enjoyment for Kyoto, it was certainly in a great deal of fluctuation. Kind of like kissing a big, dead fish (see picture below). It was something that sounded like a good idea, smelled and tasted funny, but you knew that it would be a memory you'd keep for a while...

Kissing a big, dead fish outside a restaurant in Shinjuku, where we caught our overnight bus (8 hours) out of Tokyo to Kyoto.


First temple we visited in Kyoto


some pretty cool drain pipes


Engrish words to live by

Now, no trip to Kyoto is complete without a stay at the Uno House. What claimed to be a traditional Japanese ryokan actually turned out to be a garage that was converted into a... well, it was still a garage, just people were supposed to sleep in it. This place was undoubtedly memorable, but not really in a good way.

Our beds were roll-away mattresses with mismatched covers. The place was ripe with the smell of mildew, which even graced us with its presence in the towels. There were two showers for however many people were staying there (obviously a lot because we were told we were entering a four person room, but actually there were five.


Here's a picture of our mystery roommate. (That's my bed at the foot of his. The cockroaches liked to crawl up and down the legs of the bed.) The list of notoriety for the Uno House goes on and on, but what do you expect for 1500 Yen per night? We should be thankful that we got so much extra value(?) thrown in at no additional cost!


This is a train on the way to Nara. I just wanted to show that there are cars for women only at specific, high traffic hours of the day, when the businessmen tend to get a little too touchy-feely.




There was a traditional Japanese wedding going on at this shrine that we went to. Well, traditional aside from the fact that the groom had blonde hair and blue eyes.


View over Kyoto from the Silver Pavilion


Sake and wishes on the right side of the picture

We rented bicycles from the Uno House, and they were nice to throw in a flat tire at no extra cost. When I called from a bicycle repair shop, I wanted to make sure that they would foot the cost of the tire replacement, since it was because the tire was too old, and not because of misuse. After exchanging "Please come back to Uno House," and "I cannot, because I am very far from Uno House with a flat tire" seven more times than necessary, the mysterious Uno (the owner of the Uno House) insisted to the man on the phone that I should be responsible for 1/3 of the cost, because I was riding it and it broke. I asked them if they were just waiting for a guest to use the bike and have the tire pop so that Uno wouldn't have to pay for it. There was silence for a while, and then, "Please come back to Uno House." After some more jovial conversation, I gave up and decided to foot the bill and work it out later. We talked to our friend the bicycle repairman, who was extremely helpful, and then, instead of a complete tire replacement, he just used an old tire to patch up the the worn areas. It was much cheaper and lasted throughout the day. And what's more, Uno House was so impressed with the lower price that they refunded me in full.

Wishes on a tree

I must seriously suggest using the Kyoto International Tourist Center, because, I mean, look how happy Gary is. They were insturmental in hooking us up with Hotel Iroha, a real ryokan (for only 500 yen more). This place had real tatame mats, gave us robes, and had a public bath...

I went to the bath late at night to catch this rare glimpse of the onsen for you. You wash up around the sides before getting into the center tub. I was highly satisfying with the shave I had there.


The Golden Pavilion


I've determined that the rock garden is the predecessor to the modern Etch-a-Sketch - beautiful designs are created then erased naturally by the shaking of earthquakes


Pretty

Okay, so I must say that in the end, even with Uno's curse upon us (flat tires, everyone getting sick from the mildew, have a roommate lose a lot of money, etc.), Kyoto wasn't really like kissing a dead fish. It was more like this Big Sandwich I bought before getting on the Shinkansen (bullet train) back home - reminiscent of "the lovely flavour of the wind in the meadows." The Shinkansen was basically like riding in an airplane on the ground, without the turbulence. It was really relaxing and exciting.

Kyoto was the start and the end of the trip, but for organization sake, the Osaka side-trip edition is being released alongside Kyoto.

Health and Sports Day Traveling: Osaka

Osaka is one of the less traditional areas of Japan, and is one of the shrewdest in terms of business. If the prefecture of Osaka was a country, its GNP would make it the tenth most prosperous nation on Earth. Osaka even has an "American Village."

The moat of Osaka-jo Castle




This is the largest stone in the whole castle. The "Octopus Stone" has a suface area of about 60 squre meters, and its estimated weight is 130 tons.


Osaka-jo castle


View from the top


Osaka is the orgin place of Okonomiyaki, which is a large pancake made with seafood, meat, and vegetables. It literally means "cook what you like" because it is an inexpensive combination of foods that is cooked-to-order. We asked a security guard where the number one okonomiyaki place was, and he walked off from his post with us for about 20 minutes to lead us to the best place. I heart Japan.


A ferris wheel on top of a building?


The Umeda Sky Building - Modern Japanese architecture at its finest

Health and Sports Day Traveling: Nara

Gary, Nick and I traveled to Kyoto over the long weekend that we got for Health and Sports Day. I wish that we had some of these holidays in America (this is one amongst the likes of Respect for the Aged Day, Ocean Day, the Star Festival, etc.). There was a lot to cover for the trip, so I thought that I would divide it up into tasty, easy to digest segments.

We arrived in Kyoto via overnight bus (8 hours) on Friday morning. Our first big excursion occured on Saturday, and as much as I would have liked to have saved its description for last, I think it necessary to be logical and start with Nara. It was here in the Nara basin that Japanese civilization first appeared.

So, we may have sat on the train to Nara for so long that it started going back in the direction we came... at least when we got off to turn around the view was scenic


Misty Nara pond


Rain runoff overflows the memorial

It was quite wet when we first arrived in Nara, and our plan was to get something to eat while we waited out the rain. We asked at the busstop, and found the name of a restaurant that served traditional Naran food. By the time we got there, our shoes and socks were soaked. I felt bad when the waitress aligned our shoes for us because we had not placed them straight, but was impressed once again by the sheer sense of duty. Our meal was delicately fragrant and aromatic. Not a big meal, but utterly satisfying. We had noodles cooked in tea and sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves.

One of the best meals I've had in Japan


Calmer waters after lunch

After the meal, we put our wet shoes back on and headed toward Nara-koen, Japan's largest city park. Though we had heard a lot about them, it was still a surprise to see some of Nara's 1500 tame deer walking freely through the park.

The Notorious Naran Deer


Five story pagoda and Eastern Golden Hall from the early 15th century


Making friends

The Daibutsuden was really impressive. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but it was massive. Look at the size of the people, and that should give you some idea. When we reached this point we knew that all the traveling and rain had been worth it.

I also would like to take this time to mention that the pink umbrella you see in the picture is not mine. It was borrowed. No really, it was. Cross my heart. Japan has an interesting system with their umbrellas - there seems to be a universal pool of shared umbrellas all over the country. I'm pretty sure that there is a complex Japanese formula somewhere that takes into account all the umbrellas lost versus all those 'borrowed,' and it proves that in the end, this results in everyone being happy. You simply leave your umbrella at the door (for it would be rude to get the floor wet) and pick either it or a different one up on the way out. If you don't have an umbrella, feel free to grab someone else's, because they'll be sure to find one somewhere else. It seems really nice that everyone is so willing to share, but I guess I'm not used to living in a country where everyone is so promiscuous with their umbrellas.

Hall of the Great Buddha - one of the world's largest wooden structures (187 feet wide, 164 feet deep and 157 feet high)

This picture doesn't do justice


The Daibustu (Great Buddha) - the largest bronze statue in the world - over 1200 years old and 53 feet high, weighing in at 550 tons, incorporating 290 pounds of gold

The Great Buddha was astonishing; it was hard to take it all in. There were several other statues around the way, in addition to this wooden pillar. This particular pillar has a small square cut through it, and supposedly if you pass through it, it is thought that the path to enlightenment will open up to you. I had only seen children and women pass through it, and was afraid to be the stupid gaijin (foreigner) who tried and got stuck in the pillar (because there was a crowd circled around), but I decided that I'd never have a chance like this again. When I squatted down, I thought there was no way that I'd be able to fit, but after some pulling, I slid right through. Quite exhiliarating, I must say. Oh, and feel free to ask me any perspicacious life questions you may have - since passing through I have felt the clouds dissipating overhead and the world grows clearer...

On the path to Enlightenment


A really big bell






View of Nara

Despite the intermittent showers, Nara was one of the greatest stops on the trip, perhaps my favorite. In fact, it was so good that the rain actually enhanced the mountain scenery. Stay tuned - more to come from the trip to Kyoto...