お金、総持寺、二宮、吾妻山公園、神社

There's a reason that you see so many kanji in the title of this post. I'm a bit backed up! This post is all about stuff that happened in my last week, so it will have to count towards last week's total. Expect at least two posts on this week later, now that I am fully (fully?) adjusted to my routine.

お金： This is the Japanese word for "money." I just wanted to share a little moment of cultural adjustment that I had a while back. In the States, I never carry around change, because I pay for almost everything on a credit or debit card. However, in Japan, cards are not accepted as frequently as they are back home, and coins are the norm up to amounts of ¥500 (about $5!). So I finally went to a 百円 (hyaku-en) shop and bought a little coin purse. Here's a picture to show why I needed it:

These coins alone are worth more than ¥2000 (about $20)! Crazy!

総持寺： Read sooji-ji, this is the name of the Buddhist temple that I visited with my IUC classmates on a field trip Friday afternoon (Wikipedia page here). Both the grounds and buildings were quite spacious, and it was like being in another world compared to the daily grind in bustling Yokohama. Not only did we have a private tour with a monk, but we all did zazen meditation! Well, we tried, at least. The whole group meditated for twenty straight minutes, but I couldn't go more than thirty seconds without thinking about how badly I wanted to collapse the circle that the meditator is supposed to make with his hands while resting them on his lap or legs. You wouldn't think that would be the most painful part, would you? The seating position would probably be the most uncomfortable thing except that my right leg fell sound asleep within a couple of minutes, so soundly that when we stopped it actually succumbed to involuntary spasms. Anyway, I took a million pictures, and here are a few:

This one is not part of the temple. I believe these are sculptures one can buy for one's garden, although I'm not sure (at first, my classmates and I thought they were headstones, and we were a bit shocked). These were sitting behind a fence right next to the sidewalk on our walk from 総持寺 back to the train station to head home.

No such display would be complete in Japan without the ubiquitous Kitty-chan.

二宮： Ninomiya, the home of my (other) second cousins, where I spent Friday night. This meant a fun ride of about 45 minutes on a rush-hour Japan Railways (JR) train out of the city. On Saturday, I went with one of my second cousins to 吾妻山公園 (Azumayama Kooen, the latter word meaning "Park"). The park surrounds and includes a very big hill or small mountain. From the top, one can sometimes see Mount Fuji, and we thought that might happen because it was sunny on Saturday, but no dice. There were clouds around Fuji. But, we could see other mountains. This Google map will show you about where I was when I took the following video panorama:

Notable points in the video: you can see the Pacific Ocean for the first half in the distance, and I believe the spot where Mount Fuji sometimes makes an appearance is around 00:18.

Lastly, 神社 means "Shinto shrine," and I stopped by one on the way down the mountain! Here's a shot:

体育祭、教会、etc.

Apologies that it's been so long since I've posted. A lot has happened in the past week! I'm almost done with my first full week of classes (it's Thursday night here), which I've enjoyed. The level of the IUC classes is above anything I've ever experienced before, I think because the program is mostly geared toward graduate students who have spent more time with the language than I have. At first, I panicked a bit, thinking that there was no way I would be able to learn much when I was struggling to even keep track of what the topic of conversation was. However, I've now mostly adjusted to the pace of instruction. I think it's actually a good thing that the class is taught the way it is, because I have to be paying full attention at all times to keep up, which is probably optimal for language improvement, if a bit taxing. In particular, we do a lot of reading in this class, and the texts are way more complicated than anything I have read before in Japanese. They feel like scholarly journal articles, only more difficult to read. But, the topic of our current readings is translation, which is especially interesting to me and also a possible future career path.

To the title of this post: the first three kanji are read taiikusai and literally mean "body rearing ritual." The actual meaning is a school event basically equivalent to a field day. The last two kanji are read kyookai and literally mean "faith/teaching association/meeting." Actual meaning: church, of course!

I went to my second cousin Miyuki's 体育祭 on Saturday. It was quite a cultural experience. My field days in elementary and middle school were on weekdays, and they were just for the students (i.e. there were no onlookers). However, this event was well-attended by parents (although mostly moms, which, as my obasan explained to me, is the norm after children leave elementary school). I was the unofficial family photographer for the day and took a few potentially interesting pictures:

Just in case you were wondering what an urban Japanese public middle school looks like, here you go (a view from behind, with the track in the foreground).

My obasan and I ran errands in between events, and we walked by this restaurant on the way back. You're looking at fugu, the infamous pufferfish of Japanese cuisine that is lethally poisonous if prepared incorrectly. Apparently my second cousin is some sort of assistant chef at this restaurant, although he doesn't prepare fugu himself (one must take a special test to demonstrate that one can prepare it safely before making it in a restaurant).

I also took a couple of videos at the field day. Apparently, Blogger will only let me post one now, so I'll get you the second one later:

This one is hilarious. It's a minute-and-a-half clip of the 部活リレー or "club activities relay." I could comment at length on how amusing I find this, but you'll probably get the idea if you just watch it.

As for the rest of the weekend, the other notable event would be my first visit to the Anglican Cathedral of Yokohama. More on that later, because I really should be getting to bed now (up at 7 to get ready for class). Anyway, you're probably too busy laughing at the video to digest much more information now.

One last quick note: if you take only thing from this post, let it be this:

I love Japan.

Cheers.

帰り道の写真

Title: "Photos of My Return Home"

Today, it was full-on sunny for the first time since I arrived in Japan on Monday, so I figured I would take some pictures on my walk back from the Pacifico Center. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. My second day at the IUC began with the much-anticipated (not really) クラス分け発表 (announcement of class divisions). The IUC Summer Program students have been divided into 6 classes of 6 students each. It's unclear to me whether the 6 classes are taught at 6 different levels or whether some are third-year level, some fourth-year, some fifth-year, etc. I believe it is the latter, though. Anyway, my class is called 夏柳 ("summer willow," although I don't think the names really matter at all), and it's taught by 城先生 (Zyoo-sensei). I'm assuming/hoping that we're doing something equivalent to Yale's third-year Japanese course. 城先生 seems quite nice and energetic; she speaks quite quickly, all in Japanese of course, forcing me to pay attention and develop my listening skills. This is surely a good thing, if a bit taxing. I have a good bit of homework this weekend, I think—more on that when I figure out what exactly I have to do.

So anyway, to the pictures. I took quite a few, so here are some highlights:

The Pacifico Center in which the IUC is located (on the fifth floor).

The Ferris Wheel at Cosmo World.

Landmark Tower, inside and out (pictures snapped from the staircase on the second floor and from across the street).

I'm assuming that this serves to keep people from jumping onto the expressway. Yikes.

A JR (Japan Railways) train passing over the street.

Wouldn't you know, Japan has grafitti too! However, it seems to me that even Japanese graffiti can somehow look clean and orderly, at least compared to its American counterpart. I like the map.

Landmark Tower and what I believe is the 横浜銀行 (Yokohama Bank) building. I did a brief about-face to snap this on my way home.

Those cars are parked right up to the wall as far as I can tell, and as you can see, they jut out a tiny bit out onto the sidewalk! Not a bit of space wasted.

Plans for a 結婚式場 (wedding chapel). I found this very amusing, so I snapped shots of the sign on the construction wall:

The grand opening is next spring! You'd better start trying to make your reservations now. Check out their website.

I don't take this road to get home, but it meets my route at the spot from which I took this photo, and I find it pleasing, so you get to see it, too!

I'm standing on the sidewalk. This family parks its bikes right there. Pretty convenient, and they stay out of the rain.

Not my house, but I like the manicure that they gave this tree.

警察音楽隊

Today was my first day at the Inter-University Center. We took a placement test and then had a brief orientation. Most of the placement test went pretty well (the grammar and speaking sections), but the kanji were pretty tough. There was a section where you had to write readings for different kanji compounds, and I barely knew more than half. Then, there were two passages to read with multiple choice questions following. There were so many unfamiliar kanji in the passages that I was mostly guessing. But, the point of the test is to separate the students in the Summer Program into several levels, and I think I'm supposed to be near the bottom anyway based on how much I've studied (two years).

More interestingly, on my walk back from the IUC (about 1 o'clock), I went through two very impressive malls. The first is called Queen's Square, and the second was the famous Yokohama Landmark Tower (Randomaaku Tawaa). Both were quite clean and upscale. Anyway, in Queen's Square, there was a concert band playing live! I couldn't figure out who they were for the longest time, until I finally moved to a spot where I could see a banner with their English name on it: "Kanagawa Prefectural Police Band." I pulled out my camera to snap some video, but apparently I forgot to put my battery back in it after charging it. Oh, bother.

A picture of what I believe is the same police band I saw today, snatched from Google Images.

Anyway, I Wikipedia'ed (sp?) "Police Band" in English, and I was directed to the page describing the English rock trio formed in 1977. If you happen to read Japanese, check out the Japanese Wikipedia's article on police bands (the kanji for which are the title of this post, read けいさつおんがくたい keisatu-ongakutai). So I'm guessing that we don't have these things in the Anglosphere? Anyway, I thought it was pretty neat. They had flyers of various sorts, and I think I took the kiddie version, probably because of the pictures. I can't really read it, but I think it's general safety tips or something.

I wish American police played such good concerts. Maybe people would buckle up more if they did?

First Pictures of Japan

I've been in Japan for two days now and am really loving it. I couldn't have asked for a better living situation. Check out the view from the little balcony outside my room:

Unfortunately, it was pretty gray out when I took those pictures, as you can tell. But Yokohama looks beautiful in its own way even then. Pretty sweet, huh?

That tall building in both pictures is the Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan. The IUC is just a couple of blocks behind it. I walked the route to the Pacifico Conference Center, where the IUC is located, yesterday with Tomoyo, my father's cousin and the mother of the Meiri family, and Kazuyuki, the son who is my age. Tomoyo timed the walk, and apparently it took 20-25 minutes, but it felt much faster than that to me, perhaps because everything here is eminently fascinating to me.

I don't know where to begin recounting all of the little discoveries that have marked my time here so far, so I'll just share one that came to mind when I wrote the word "fascinating." Yesterday, the three of us had lunch before walking to the Pacifico Center. Kazuaki (the father of the family) had picked up what he (correctly) thought was some nice bread the day I got here, and Tomoyo suggested that I have some of that for lunch. She pointed to the fridge and told me that peanut butter and jelly were to be found there. I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and started eating. A little bit later, Tomoyo looked at my food and was quite surprised to see that I had made a peanut butter AND jelly sandwich! She explained that in Japan, it's normal to have a peanut butter (ピーナッツ "piinattsu") sandwich or to have a jelly (ジャム "jyamu") sandwich, but to put the two together is, apparently, really quite something. I explained that it's highly traditional in the States, to which she replied, "びっくりしました！" (I'm surprised/amazed).

I had thought that I would be more inclined to post quite often on this blog before I arrived here, but I've had so much fun settling in here that I've had to make an effort. Perhaps once I'm in a routine, posting will come more naturally. For now, though, I am so enjoying immersion in Japan that removing myself to reflect seems almost a hindrance.

Tomorrow morning (Thursday), I have to be at the IUC at 9:45 for a placement test, interview, and orientation, so I'm off to bed now. I'm quite tired from spending hours studying kanji in preparation for the placement test. So although it's morning at my home base, I'll sign off with "お休みなさい" (good night).

Safe Arrival!

Just a quick post to let you know that I have arrived safely in Yokohama. The trip was long, but I definitely think it was worth the effort! The relatives who are hosting me are very kind and welcoming, and I have a nice room (pictures to come later).

P.S. Jet lag hasn't really hit yet, probably because I slept for a few hours on the plane. It's just before 10 pm here. I think I might be actually accomplishing my goal of not getting jet-lagged at all (knock on wood)!

Almost There!

Leaving the house in just over six hours now (hopefully) ... everything is packed, and I couldn't be more excited!

T Minus 3 Days

Hello, readers!

I figured I would break the silence and write another pre-departure post, this one to catch you up on what I have been doing recently and to provide more details on my travel.

I am leaving the house early on Sunday morning (we'll see if we make it out the door by 6:30 am) to fly from Reagan to O'Hare in Chicago, then from there to Narita (Tokyo's international airport). The local time in Japan when I land will be 3:00 pm on the next day, Monday 15th June. Of course, that will feel like 2:00 am to me, since Japan is 13 hours ahead of the East Coast in the summer. Stay posted to see how I deal with more jet-lag than I have ever faced before (the most having been a 5-hour difference in London, 2006).

Last week, I bought a 14-day Japan Rail Pass to use after my classes end at IUC on the 31st of July. The pass gives foreign tourists unlimited use of almost all Japan Railways (JR) trains for a set time period of 7, 14, or 21 days. Travelers must obtain an exchange order before leaving for Japan and then exchange it at one of the major train stations in Japan.

Today, I was a bit nervous about the fact that I had not given much thought to buying an electronic Japanese-English dictionary to use on my trip. The Light Fellowship guidebook recommends one. I asked my little brother if I could rent his Nintendo DS for the summer, since I had read that one can buy a Japanese-English dictionary program for the DS for much less money than a separate apparatus costs. However, he did not want to part with his DS and instead suggested that I see if an application was made for my iPod touch. Sure enough, I found ShinKanji, whose full version only costs $5.99 on the iTunes App Store. I just installed it, and everything seems to work! I think it has all the features I need, including kanji input by drawing with my finger on a grid on the touchscreen of my iPod.

I am notoriously prone to procrastination of packing for trips, but the effort begins in earnest tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Look for a couple more posts before I depart. I am getting more and more excited for the trip!