Five Festive Days

Just as I experienced my first (minor) earthquake last week, I'm now currently enjoying my first Japanese snow (which isn't settling, but there's been a lot of it blowing about the place on and off all day). As a result, I'm in the mood to tell all about my Christmas, which kicked off last Friday.

Friday 22nd - Saturday 23rd December: Second Royal at Metro, Kyoto

Having become something of a fan of Halfby, I was keen to see him and the rest of the Second Royal crew celebrate the end of the year live in Kyoto, and on the night we finished our lessons for the Christmas break. Perfect timing! Well, better timing than I had when I went there. I'd never been to the club before, so to scope out the place before others arrived, I got there half an hour early. When they said it was by Keihan Marutamahi exit 2, they weren't lying - it clearly was called Metro for a reason. With music playing, but no one on the front desk, I decided to take a look inside, and walked in, no questions asked, to see a band warming up. It took a few minutes before someone came up and told me politely they weren't open until 10pm. Never mind! I went for a walk, and then met Brett at the station for the proper entry time. Being one of the first to arrive, we each got an exclusive compilation CD (plus everyone got a badge with Thames Beat written on it, which I later discovered to be a Britpop-influenced Japanese quartet). As other friends arrived, we got some drinks, got some seats and enjoyed the festive selection of tunes on offer (and I brought along my flashing Ho-Ho-Ho! Santa hat, which got some nice comments).

Then, we got a selection of live music from a number of bands who all seemed to be composed of members from each other's bands (the drummer in particular popped up for all four of them). First was Meton Milk (pictured), my favourite of the evening, offering Supercar-esque rock that had just about the most perfect sound levels I've ever heard for a live band. Next was solo guitarist Satoru Onu, who I think was singing in English, but always had a look of intense paranoia in his eyes that was somewhat offputting. Still, he got better as the tunes got more rock and roll. Then came Wednesday, perhaps the happiest two guitarists I've ever seen. Their chirpiness and constant grinning would no doubt win over X-Factor voters. They were then joined on stage by a new lead singer to become the band Rufus (see what I mean about interchangeable band members?), who were the biggest hit with the crowd thanks to their easy, sunshiney, very marketable pop-rock. Throughout the live bands, I chatted with a few of the other attendees, particularly Paul Weller fan Datsu, his girlfriend Ri, and some guy who just kept saying "I'm Crazy!".

It was also during this time that we noticed our star dancer of the evening, a middle-aged Japanese man dressed in black, who was the very definition of 'fish out of water'. He spent the entire evening in the middle of the dancefloor, his eyes apparently closed, lunging his head slowly from side to side towards those around him, sometimes getting right in their face. Sometimes, he'd even include a bizarre hand gesture. It was both hilarious and a little creepy, particularly when his moves were in the direction of the ladies, but we figured he was too out of it to be of any real threat.

It was past 1am before the DJ sets began, introduced by Second Royal M.C. O.S.A. dressed up as Santa and swigging a 1 sho bottle of sake (1.8 litres), which he would later offer up into the crowd when he hit ground level (I dutifully agreed to much appreciation). First up was Fredo, and from that instant I was sold on the Second Royal party experience. Terrific choice of tunes and exactly the kind of music I was after. Plus, I managed to grab a remix CD of his thrown out into the crowd (which didn't get released until a week or so later). By the time Halfby (pictured) came on, the crowd was smashed and sweaty, but that didn't stop some truly rambunctious behaviour. Myself and Brett ascended to a table above the crowd, and our synchronised dance moves (joined by a perspiring topless Japanese fella) drew much attention from our fellow party-goers. When a bizarre remix of Itsy-Bitsy-Teenie-Weenie-Yellow-Polka-Dot-Bikini played, my knowledge of the lyrics astounded many. Indeed, there were a great many tracks I knew, from Franz Ferdinand to Fatboy Slim, Beastie Boys to The Jam. But there were also a lot of English-language tracks the Japanese contigent knew word for word, but had never passed my ear drums before. The DJs were all terrific, but what really got the crowd going was the free-for-all nature of the event as we headed into the wee morning hours. They all intermingled with the crowd, attempting a number of stage dives (unsuccessfully), hugging, high-fiving, pointing and air-guitar-playing like crazy. It all came to an end around 5.30am, but I managed to get a brief drunken thanks from the M.C.. As I was leaving, I also stopped Halfby and fellow DJ Handsomeboy Technique for a brief chat. Halfby was elated when he found out I'd listened to his album and that he had a gaijin fan! He said that I should come to their next show in January - a very tempting invitation.

Indeed, the party at Metro was one of the best nights clubbing I've ever had. The music was absolutely spot-on throughout, everyone was so nice and friendly and the atmosphere was that of jovial jubilation. And I made the front page on the website - well, at least my arm did (the Polysics sweatband was good for something after all). We made the slow trip back to Mukaijima, and slept through most of the day. We needed the energy of course for tomorrow was...


Sunday 24th December: Universal Studios Japan

Myself, Ilan, Parn, Baptiste and Neil all headed super early to Osaka to spend Christmas Eve at Japan's copy of Universal Studios. As we queued up, our excitedness reached silly six-year-old child levels as we saw the tracks of a giant rollercoaster that had not been alluded to in any promotional paraphenelia, but the anticipation subsided when it appeared unopened (it turns out the ride, Hollywood Dream, is scheduled for a Spring 2007 opening). Nevertheless, there was plenty more to keep us occupied. As the only Universal Studios veteran (and something of a theme park expert), I decided we should head to the end of the park first and then work our way back, as the queues wouldn't be so long as those for the entrance. And it seemed to pay off. So here's my attraction-by-attraction breakdown for everything we did, with a final score based on actual enjoyment versus waiting time.

Jurassic Park - as we queued, I learned the Chinese for dinosaur (konglong - which means scary dragon, but also is used to insult a woman so ugly, men flee in terror from her). We refused the ponchos, as it was rather sunny and we'd have the whole day to dry off. The actual ride was just as good as I remembered, with some impressive anamatronics. When the T-Rex appears, everyone screamed, but the final drop was truly terrifying! 9/10

Jaws - a shark adorned with a festive garland hung outside as a photo-op. I pretended to kiss the anus of a wooden frog. This was a proper ride unlike the version in Hollywood which is embedded as part of the studio tour. What a great job it'd be to be the ride tourguide! You get to chat, interact and act, weild a (fake) shotgun, sail through explosions and kill a shark! 8/10

Waterworld - it seems Coca-Cola still rules the seas in the future thanks to their ride sponsorship (with signs in English, Japanese, Thai and Chinese). Kudos to all involved, getting very wet on a cold December day. A little bizarre to see it all in Japanese, but mighty impressive stunt work and hammy comedy villains. The Kevin Costner-alike looked like he'd eaten several Christmas lunches beforehand judging by his quick-tiredness and running speed, and I could've sworn the final climatic plane crash was bigger in the States, but I guess I was just smaller. 7/10

Terminator 2: 3-D - pff! Did you really think that waiting time would scare us? Actually, we were in within an hour. The intro from the CybderDyne host was just as good in Japanese as in English, with Californian lips and teeth replaced with insincere customer subservience you see everyday here. The 3-D footage made my eyes go funny at the start, but it was soon business as usual, with Arnie and co taking out all kinds of robots and gloopy metal monsters. 8/10

E.T. Adventure - the biggest mistake of the day. This time, the waiting time was a genuine three hours or so (I lost track - but we played several rounds of 20 Questions and I phoned Jona in Hokkaido). But the real reason I wanted to go was because E.T. says your name at the end; what better opportunity to exploit foreign lack of understanding to make everyone's favourite alien say a naughty word! But which one to choose? Nothing too obvious or vile I thought, and something that might sound like a name to the untrained ear. So I decided on good old Twat! As we finally made it to the entrance, we had to tell a member of staff our name: "Um...Twat?". "Towato?" comes the reply. "Hai...T...W...". She begins to type and I can't finish, such is my attempt to stifle my sniggering. She hands me my 'passport' which we present to another member of staff before we board our 'bicycles' for the ride. The actual ride is a somewhat uninspiring chase as we try to escape robot police officers before heading into space, whereupon we use our magic to save E.T.'s homeworld and all the disgusting creatures that live there (which I pretend to shoot with my finger-gun like the grown up I am - hell, I've already pretended my name is a swear). It's like Steven Spielberg's It's A Small World After All, and I want out as soon as it's over. But then comes the moment we've all been waiting for! There's E.T. - and he calls us one by one, and then: "Meerriii Kurisumasu...TWAT". Joy and rapture! But it only slightly makes up for the rest. 4/10

Back to the Future - a little long a wait but we got to hear all the great tracks from the trilogy's soundtrack. I got a little bored in the queue, and decided to do this (listen out at the end for Baptiste's WTFing):The actual ride was as genius as ever, and Baptiste in particular seemed to really enjoy going back in time (he previously announced his desires to become Doc Brown when he grows up, and despite little scientific grounding, he's not far off). 8/10

4-D Cinema - with only a 20 minute queue and Spider-Man closed (which Haruna has since told me is the best ride there), we said 'what the hey?' and headed off to see Shrek's 4D Adventure (4 dimensions basically meaning you wear 3D glasses, but your seat shakes and you get squirted with water). But as we were ushered in, expecting a choice of what to catch, it became clear we were going to be watching Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic instead. To be honest, I wasn't hugely disappointed - I can imagine a Shrek short would involve another bout of embarassing karaoke numbers. We stood craning our necks up at the screen for the intro that went on far too long. Once we sat down in the cinema, the actual film was quite fun, and worth it just to see Cookie Monster eat a giant U.F.C (Unidentifed Flying Cookie). In 4-D! 5/10

Aside from the attractions, we also got to see the tallest Christmas tree in Japan, we met the REAL Hello Kitty (I'm positive it was her!), I stood on a very young girl's foot (by accident, I'll have you know), my body-popping was better than someone who does it for a living (but I was hesitant to demonstrate as I wouldn't have wanted him to lose his job) I ate a very sloppy Mos Burger, and we entertained ourselves listening to a mad drunkard on the train back to Kyoto.

It was an enjoyable day out, but the main problem (excepting the inevitable queues and over-priced food, drinks and souvenirs) was that everything felt a good 15 years old, while the park was only now celebrating its 5th anniversary. As the majority of rides are based on the U.S. rides, themselves based on 20-30 year old films, it felt somewhat outdated. Even the video introductions featuring younger Spielbergs, Schwarzeneggers and, um, Thomas F. Wilsons dubbed into Japanese, were a bit old hat. Never mind, I was full of festive cheer, and ready for proper Chrimbles!


Monday 25th December: Christmas Day

I woke up around 9am, and opened my stocking in bed while listening to Christmas Carols. I also opened two presents, and ate a big breakfast while watching Peep Show and Hamish's stunning performance of 'Hey There, Panda Bear' from the Millfield Showcase (genuinely brought tears to me eyes). I then called Baptiste to check our plans for the day, and we headed out into Shijo for shopping and (what I thought was going to be) a late lunch. We met Parn and then later Haruna, and I bought a 2007 desktop calendar, then headed to Meidi-Ya store to check out the foreign foods they had in stock. Most of them were just American brand equivalents of already readily purchasable goods in Japan (do you really need US Doritos when Japanese Doritos are exactly the same?), but at least they had Marmite (and a Triforce logo). I decided to get a tin of chilli and a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels.

It had since become clear late lunch was to be supper instead, and while there was a bit of confusion assembling the rest of our party and a one hour wait before we could be seated, we finally got into the restaurant for my first yakiniku feast - two hours of all you can eat and drink, in which you barbecue platters of meat and vegetables over a charcoal grill. Yummy. It made up for a lack of a traditional Christmas roast, but a phone-call from home during our meal was a welcome treat. Absolutely stuffed, half headed home, while me, Baptiste and Neil headed to Round One for a bout of arcade gaming. I won Mario Kart GP as usual (despite forgetting how to drift), then played AfterBurner Climax (which was super-confusing and hard), before plucking up the courage to give GuitarFreaks and DrumMania both a go. Beginner modes only, but I think I've got the hang of them both and I'm itching to give them another shot. We then realised we had 10 minutes to catch our last train! Convinved we wouldn't make it in time, we decided to forgo our pass and take the different line as it had later trains, then change at Tambabashi - which thankfully turned out okay. Phew! Despite it being 1am, I stayed up to make raspberry jelly for tomorrow like a proper host would.


Tuesday 26th December: Boxing Day

This morning gave me the chance to finish opening all the lovely cards and envelopes that had been sent and for which I was most grateful. Thank you everybody! I then headed to the supermarket for provisions, and ate a little lunch while watching the Queen's Speech online. Unfortunately, today was very wet indeed, and I had invited my friends all the way out to Mukaijima in the pouring rain for food, drink, games and movies. But the weather hadn't dampened our spirits, and we gathered round anyway, snacking on chocolates, nuts, mince pies, crisps and the jelly I'd made. However, it was Baptiste's stellar crêpe-making skills that won us all over. Absolutely oishi with jam and sugar - c'etait delicieux, Monsieur Retailleau!

We then got together and played (in Japanese) the You Say We Pay Interactive DVD game Hamish had got me for Christmas. It was a lot of fun, but slightly hampered by the fact that many of the visual clues were of British television personalities, which made it exceptionally tricky for my French, Thai and Chinese opponents (the Impressions round was a disaster - only the presence of Kermit the Frog and Arnold Schwarzenegger won us any You Saw We Pay pounds; but what a crossover film that'd be!). We then watched Bad Santa, which I think got it's point across despite the (harsh) language barrier - wisely, the only phrase Ilan decided to adopt was "Are you insane?". We then braved the rain to take the train saying "Are you insane?" all the way to Shijo for a karaoke session avec Neil and his two friends. While the majority continued well into the night, I wasn't in all-nighter mood and Parn had to call home, so we left before the price was hiked up. It had been a knackering few days, but a well-earned chance to kick back and forget about work...just as typing all this up has put back my work schedule by a good few hours. Bah! I'll start properly tomorrow, right?

Wow, almost 3000 words. If only my dissertation could be about 'stuff that happened' with no analysis or research - I'd be set!

To see loads more pictures from my days out and in, visit my Flickr page.

Chrimbletide

For everyone I didn't send a Christmas card to, just print out this image (thanks to the Second Royal site for the reindeer, Willis for the pic of me at Santacon 2005 and Kyoto JR Station for the big Christmas tree), write a seasonal message on the back and pretend I sent it to you!

Anyway, thanks to everyone who sent me presents, cards and gift packages - haven't really opened any yet (of course, I will have to wait until after the Queen's speech, which will be around midnight in Japan), but I will try to convey my gratitude in some shape or form in the very near future.

Until then, Merry Christmas everybody!

Rory

Party or DIE!!!!

Just before I gear up for a heady week of partying and festive cheer starting in just a few hours time (what with it being Christmas and having a two week break from lessons), it's probably about time I gave a rundown of some of the wacky weekends I had earlier this month.

First off was the Mukaijima Gakusei Centre Year End Party, on 2nd December (a little premature for a year end party I think). I had just got back from teaching three women English in Osaka, filling in for my friend Brett who couldn't make it that weekend - and it was a very interesting, fulfilling experience I'd like to have the opportunity to try again. And the pay was excellent too! I dumped my stuff in my room, then headed to the adjacent seminar house where most of the Mukaijima residents were gathered. And a select number of non-Mukaijima Doshisha amigos had also come along (some of whom had already begun the celebrations by going on a tour of Fushimi sake breweries during the day). After a few speeches, it was food and drink time, with four chefs cooking up some yummy Japanese food has everyone nattered and mingled. Then came the entertainment, which consisted mainly of Mexican dancing and acoustic strumming. And all hosted by Mukaijima's only male Japanese resident, Katsu - dressed as a chicken. During the show, I met a fellow English person, Josy, who was friends with Dries from Doshisha. And it turns out that she studied Japanese and History at SOAS (just like me)! She was now working and living in Nara after graduating in the summer and we spent a long time chatting away about Kashiwagi-sensei, Angus Lockyer, and Messrs. Kelly, Dykes and Chu (with whom she studied Korean with). It was inspiring to meet someone at the other end of the university tunnel and it's a shame we didn't meet before. Bizarre!

The final party part was a true or false quiz about Mukaijima and Japan, and despite some vague questions and incorrect answers, I managed to win a Hello Kitty flannel. However, a quick swap with Sarah resulted in a climber's chalk sack, which played host to my beer cans for the remainer of the evening.

The party then moved into the Mukaijima basement, which was seldom used, but they did a bang-up job of converting into a proper nightclub (with lighting provided by the Japanese DJ crew), not something that happens everyday, so I made full use of it. As the party kicked off, a circle formed, and as myself and Josh busted killer moves in the middle, it looked like we swifly killed off the competition - no one dared follow in our dancesteps! Nevertheless, the grooves continued afoot, and everyone was jumping about like loons soon enough (even if the DJs couldn't mix for disco fudge). However, by midnight, many people had to call it a night, as some had trains to catch, while others had an exam the next day.

I retreated to behind the bar and despite not being officially appointed bar staff, no-one seemed to care by that point. I helped myself to the hefty selection on offer, with a raft of spirits and liquors to mix with alongside the cans of beer and Cocktail Partner, and stopped charging anyone else for drinks. I'm no expert on Japanese licensing laws, but I'm sure it's not 100% legit to sell alcohol in a makeshift bar in the basement of a student dorm - I saw myself as something of a people's champion. And when I found a bottle of cinnamon After Shock - which stunned the Japanese barflies with its 40% alcohol content - I was letting people share a taste of my sugary shot youth. It was now MY BAR!

By 3am, the only people remaining were me, Marcus (from Germany who I've karaoke'd and watched TV with many times), and the Japanese lighting and music crew. Well, I say Marcus remained, but by that point, his Japanese, English and German had all mushed into one incomprehensible slur - all I could make out was him asking for another whiskey and coke, each time with a little less whiskey, which he'd still pay for every time. After more chatting and drinking (and I drank a lot), it was time to pack it up and pack it in at 3.30am. Nighty night.

Next weekend was myself and Tal's trip to Nagoya! We met at Kyoto station after I'd sent postcards and greeting cards to the UK, and boarded our coach for the two and a half hour trip. It was cheaper and more convenient than train-hopping, even if the Shinkansen could get us there in 40 minutes flat. Plus, it was exciting going on the motorway, just to have a look at Japan from a different point of view - the road-user. On the outskirts of both cities, we were 'treated' to some of the crummiest looking hotels I've ever seen. Faux Arabian spires, castle decor, the travesty that was the Hotel London, and the uninvitingly named Hotel Charon (would you want to stay at a hotel named after the ferryman who transports dead souls to Hades?). As we approached Nagoya, we also got to see what Lenka described as the Japanese version of Las Vegas - even more hotels, gaudy pachinko parlours, comic shops with massive signs - but everything was far more...grey.

Nagoya itself is actually rather nice though. We met the whole SOAS Nagoya crew of Lenka, Mikael and Bobby at Nagoya station. Despite not being very hungry, we decided to have a look at the restaurants on the 17F floor of the station - but when we spotted an Indian restaurant called Maharaja, there was no question we had to eat there. Tal and I had only just been talking on the coach about how we would love a decent curry - lo and behold, our destiny awaits! I ordered the deluxe set which included three curries, shish kebab, tandoori chicken, salad, naan and rice. It's amazing how an appetite can develop when presented with the possibility of really lovely food. And boy was it delicious - exactly what I needed, and we all left with a spring in our step, and spicy food in our bellies.

Before heading to the gig, we took a walk around Nagoya's main shopping areas, complete with wonderful Christmas illuminations, a massive fountain and tower, another ferris wheel (it seems as much of a prerequisite of a major Japanese city as a city hall - Osaka has two!) and a bright green laser fired into the sky for apparently no reason - maybe Nagoya was dangerously below the average light pollution Japanese cities produce, or it was a Batman-esque signal for a flourescent green superhero.

We said our goodbyes to Lenka and Bobby, and met Mikael, who'd brought his American friend Matt (who's ID card photo had RAPIST written all over it - but he was too nice to be a real one) along, at the Polysics venue. Which was on the 8th floor of a department store - a little strange, but once we were inside, you wouldn't have been able to tell otherwise. There was a little confusion as to which department store at first as the shop was called Parco, but after trying Parco South and Parco West, it turned out to be at Parco East - very helpful...Despite the ticket stating it included a drink, it seemed we had merely paid for the chance to buy a drinks ticket for 500 yen, which we could then exchange for a kids size portion of beer (if kids could drink beer). We dumped our stuff in the coat room (which was a bank of lockers which could only accomodate for about a third of attendees) and decided to take our places. Undeterred by the density of the Polysics fans that had already gathered in the small cramped gigfloor, we pushed and weaved ourselves towards the front and myself and Mikael began a loud conversation about how we were on the You-You-You DVD, hoping it might get some nearby fans interested - mmmmmmm....no.

Then, soon after 7pm, the show began. No warm-up acts or introductions. Just pure Polysics -very loud and very live! The band was on top-form, Hayashi tearing up the stage with the kind of energy few humans possess. There was even some wonderful synchronised dance routines amid the chaos. The Japanese fans were moshing furiously despite barely being able to move in any direction other than up (images from Chemistry class of densley packed molecules in solid masses flashed through my mind). It got unbelievably hot and sweaty - it was not soon before I was gasping for air and realised how useful the Polysics towels and sweatbands other fans had bought were. Indeed, on the official Polysics blog, Hayashi says:

クアトロ全体が蒸し風呂＆ゆでダコ状態になった！！！！
(The whole of Quattro became a steam bath and I felt like a boiled octopus!!!!)

While I wanted to move closer to the stage, I encountered a deadlock of couples clinging tightly together in the storm - it looked as if most of the girls had fainted under the heat anyway. It didn't matter, as despite being five rows from the front, the natural height advantage gave me a clear view. I still sang, screamed and shouted along, making all sorts of the strange hand gestures one invariably does at gigs. At one point, I was pointing and resting my elbow on the shoulder of the guy in front of me...until I realised it wasn't his shoulder but his girlfriend's head.

As for the actual music, well it was brilliant as ever. Kaja Kaja Goo was something like the second song, there was a wonderful slow-stomp version of Commodoll that provided a welcome breather, and many of the tracks from Now is the Time!. While there was no Black Out Fall Out, we got to see plenty of songs that only the Japanese fans knew, including a great interlude which consisted of all the band members talking very quickly over one another. By this point, the salty sweat was blinding my eyes as if I'd just taken a dip in the ocean. I'd forced my way even closer, and Hayashi's crowd interaction reached new levels of madness - from classic stage diving to trying to stick as many of the crowd's fingers in his mouth as possible. While I didn't get the digit sucking treatment, I got arm, foot and guitar contact.

Seemingly as echausted as the band, we were still ready for the encore onslaught, and they racked up an amazing four encores, during which they spoke a little bit about the new album in the works (a new single, Catch On Everywhere, is released on 31st January) and generally catching their breath. Final song was as I hoped: You-You-You - which brought the house down. But that was far from it. After disappearing off stage briefly, this mad electronic music began. The band returned with the two male members brandishing noise-making plastic mallets and the female members armed with Polaroid cameras. They then preceded to bash the heads of the crowd a la Whack-a-Mole (I got 3 confirmed smashes in a row), while Kayo and Fumi took snaps and tossed them into the crowd. Absolutely astonishing stuff, and all wrapped up by 9pm. The Polysics blog goes on to say it was their best live show yet, and the prospect of their 10th anniversary show in March in Tokyo is a tempting one indeed.

Drenched in sweat, aching all over and pretty much knackered, we waddled out of the venue. Matt and Mikael bought Polysics t-shirts and changed into them, and while I did buy a t-shirt, sweatband and towel, I didn't want to use my new purchases on my sweaty self. So we headed out into the chill of night, which did little to help my stinky soaked situation. Refreshed after a trip to the convenience store, we toyed with the idea of heading back to Kyoto that evening, but it turned out the last coach had been at 7pm.

Mikael said we could stay at his place, but guests were strictly prohibited and it seems he lives with a bunch of childish snitches who we needed to avoid at all costs. Despite the security risks of us trying to get in earlier than we'd planned, we made a go for it anway. Matt and him scoped the area, then Matt went in and unlocked a back door. We climbed over a fence, and ninja'd to the door, removed our shoes, and hot-footed it into Mikael's room, closing the door behind us. We'd succeeded, but now it was the time for sleepy time on the floor.

We woke around 11am, and with showers prohibited because of our secret entry and no cash, we decided to get the next coach back to Kyoto (the Nagoya Robot Museum will have to wait another day). That same weekend, Tingshan was visiting from Tokyo, and before she went, I met her, Baptiste and Parn at Kyoto station for some yummy omelette soba and Calpis Chu-hai.
For Tal's view on the Polysics trip plus a few photos, click here!

Phew! If you've read all the way down to the bottom, congratulations. I plan to post a Christmas message soon, reports on some upcoming parties and outings as well as some more general thoughts and ramblings, plus more film and CD reviews, as well as casting my critical eye over an amateur stage production of a love story between a girl and Godzilla. I'm going now, bye!

A Positive Blur

For shame, I have not been posting as much as I should be in recent times, but the past couple of weeks have rushed by so quickly, it's been hard to keep track of everything that's been going on. It seems like whenever I'm not studying, I'm at either going braindead watching drivel on the internet or attending a nomihodai/karaoke fest. So here's a brief rundown of some of the highlights that pop into my brain:

Nintendo World 2006
Baptiste and I travelled to the Nintendo World 2006 event at Intex Osaka to join the masses for their first taste of Wii (the first and last pun on the console's name I'm going to make). Hundreds had turned up, from all age ranges and usually with a DS in hand, queuing for hours to get their hands on the new machine for just a few minutes. Apart from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3 hour queues and closed off by the time we got there), biggest attraction was Wii Sports, with most of the show floor taken up by the various minigames included in the package. I opted for WarioWare: Smooth Moves (ingenious), Super Mario Galaxy (return to form) and Sonic and the Secret Rings (fun but weightless), and our patience was rewarded. A lot of fun for Nintendo fanboys such as ourselves. Of course, now it's out in the US and only days from its Japanese and European release, writing about my experience feels somewhat redundant. Still, when I'll have a chance to play one properly again is uncertain.

Children of Men
I'm probably going to give this a more in-depth review on RoryView, but this is the first time I've been to the kinoplex since my arrival in Japan. Usually, it's 1800 yen a cinema ticket, but we have a ticket shop at Doshisha for discount concert/film/theatre tickets, as well as for flights and train journeys. So I got 500 yen off. The Kyoto Movix multiplex is pretty massive, and doesn't really reveal it's size from the exterior alone, as it's part of the covered arcades that run through Shijo. I got a little thrill using the escalators - at first I thought they didn't work, but as I approached, they powered up and started automatically! Wow!
After a little short animation, and trailers for that Kevin Costner - Ashton Kutcher sea rescue film and Casio Royale (in which Bond spells BOOBIES on a calculator to synth music), onto the main feature, Tomorrow World (as it is known in Japan - which makes more sense when you see the film, but still a rather generic silly replacement). And it is perhaps the best film I've seen this year. Truly excellent stuff, and well worth catching on a big screen for a more involving experience. As I said, proper review soon.

Arashiyama
The whole of Kyoto seemed to descend on Arashiyama in western Kyoto (that's the west of Kyoto, not a district home to cowboys and gunslingers) in the last weekend of November to catch the kouyou (autumnal leaves) before Jacobian Frosties and his Winter Minions strip the branches bare. The weather was a blessing and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Stunning reds, oranges and yellows throughout the area, especially in Tenru-ji, which I had visited in the summer back in 2004, but looked amazing this time round. We spent hours walking about, snapping piccies like billy-o. We then ventured into the bamboo groves for a decidedly different but just as impressive natural spectacle. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning - shame it only happens once a year.

Meeting Ayaka
Ayaka, who lived down the road from Flat 1, Whitfield St, with Hiroko, was back from Egypt (again), so I went to meet her at Shin-Osaka after her flight had arrived. Realising there was sod all to do in the local area, we headed to Kyoto to have a walk around the station area. We did a bit of shopping (got my dear mama a birthday present), spotted a few items I would purchase a couple of days later (a coat now that it is chillier, some ace Christmas cards and a cheap little Resident Evil 4 toy) and then we decided to take a peak at Kyoto Station's giant Christmas tree. As we went up the escalator, we were ushered onwards by...well, ushers, and realised we'd unwittedly walked into an open-air concert called 'Cool Beat in Kyoto' celebrating 15 years of a local radio station. We stuck around for a few songs from a lady and her drum accompanied by a Jerry Sadowitz lookalike on guitar. It culminated in an interesting singalong version of Close To You which took a good few minutes to get an iota of enthusiasm from the shivering crowd. We then decamped to a nearby Starbucks for hot chocolate and chit-chat before Ayaka left for Nagoya and I went back to Mukaijima.

Pool
As part of Doshisha's anniversary celebrations we had three extra days off, so myself, Baptiste, Aleksi, Dominik, Brett and Nic were in the mood for bowling on a rainy Monday afternoon. After my second lunch of the day, we headed to the bowling centre (via a couple of games of Mario Kart GP Arcade), but it was a bit too expensive. Instead, we settled on a few hours of pool, in which we all proved to each other we're all a bit rotten when it comes to hitting the balls, let alone potting them. Still, it was fun enough, and while we didn't get round to the darts tournament (I wanted it to be like Shenmue again), we will always have our time in the photo booth. It was a seated one this time round, but from the demo pics, it really looks as if it were designed for two petite Japanese girls and not large, strapping foreign folk such as ourselves. We crushed ourselves into the frame for several snaps, but when it finished, an error message appeared and we had to seek assistance from a member of staff - it looked like we broke the machine. However, it was only a minor technical hitch, but it meant that the machine had automatically selected our pics for us while we had been dilly-dallying. We added a few 'cosmetic' touches and out came our glorious pics. Our tomfoolery is now forever with the ages. We were then given a free chance each on a UFO Catcher game (those claw grabbing machines). Seriously, if you pay to play any of these you are an absolute tool. A real muppet. Probably with a nagging girlfriend, pleading that you spend £1 a go trying to get that A Nightmare Before Christmas/Winnie the Pooh/Lilo & Stitch pillow that's deliberately unreachable and/or stapled down to the bottom of the toy chamber. Toy Story is full of lies. No surprises, we didn't win anything.

Doshisha Eve
The main Imadegawa campus had been transformed into a mini music festival site as part of the 131st anniversary of Doshisha's founding. The big tree at the west entrance had been converted into a lit up Christmas tree, countless stalls peddling their food goods to every passer-by screamed for attention (I only gave into the fried ice-cream), classrooms were taken over by the university's many societies (though I didn't venture indoors) and two music stages vied for our attention. Rock was on the agenda for most of the acts, of wildly varying quality and stage presence. Best of the night was probably a nu-metal covers band, and while I didn't know any of the tracks (Parn recognised a couple), they put on a good show and had matching boiler suits (always a plus to see a band in uniform).

And now for a double bill of bizarre english. First from my old frying pan. Having developed a strange metallic taste in my mouth over the past months, I thought the cheap cooking utensils might have had something to do with it, but research suggests otherwise. Nevertheless, I bought a new frying pan with the base inscription "I will enjoy a delicious meal by new kitchen goods" repeated over and over in a circle, creating a strange hypnotic effect. However, my previous pan will always hold a special place in my heart for this winning blurb, accompanied by a kettle and a cup of tea with a lemon slice perched on the rim:

Roses
Practical cooking!
Tool collection to make you the best chef your dear one.

And finally, how could I let this delicious chocolate pass by without a purchase:


Now, it is supposed to be pronounced A-SE, and is apparently Italian for 'board' or 'plank' which still doesn't make it sound very appetising, but probably refers to the shape rather than the taste. And it is actually pretty tasty, as you'd expect from Morinaga. We spent a good portion of a lunch time asking each other if we wanted a piece my Asse, and so on and so forth. It seems toilet humour rules supreme - from Wii to Asse, eh? DAMN IT! Another pun on Wii! Ah well...

Pictures from some of these escapades can be seen on my Flickr page and Baptiste's own photo galleries.

In Review

This is just a quick post to point out that I have set up a fresh new blog to run alongside this one. RoryView (groan) is where I plan to review all the latest CDs, films, games, and the like that I consume on a regular basis. I've got quite a backlog of CDs I've been listening to (both purchased and rented from Tsutaya), so I hope to give my verdict on them all - well I am the host of London's best contemporary alternative Japanese pop and rock radio show! Well, maybe not best...but you get the idea. First up, I've reviewed the latest Polysics single. And be sure to check it regularly as I hope to review media and entertainment as frequently as I do my day-to-day existence...

Rory: Cultural Learnings of Japan for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of UK

Friday 3rd November - Nara

Today was Bunka no Hi (Culture Day), so what better way to spend it than a trip to Japan's former capital and home of really old things, Nara. Besides, it's only a quick trip from Mukaijima and we were meeting the SOAS contingent of Nagoya's Nanzan University for the weekend. We arrived in the afternoon and headed through Nara park towards the Todai-ji. The deer had seemed to disappear from my last visit, replaced with bustling crowds in town for the Shosojin Treasure exhibition displaying national treasures that only see the light of day for a brief period each year, and this being a national holiday, it seemed like everyone in Kansai was making the pilgrimage. We focused on seeing Nara's big attraction, the Todai-ji and its massive Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha - pictured above), the largest wooden building in the world and only two thirds its original size as well. I came here in 2004 and still knew my way around, but was again impressed at the scale of everything. The lovely afternoon sun and autumnal colours were out in force, and the deer were now far more plentiful (though recently rendered antler-less). We met Mikael and Bobby inside the Daibutsu-den and then took a walk around the eastern side of the complex, climbing up to the balcony of the Nigatsu-do for sunset views of Nara. It was dark as we passed through Nara park to meet up with Lenka and then we all went out for a delicious okonomiyaki supper (mmm...Calpis Chu Hai and Pizza Okonomiyaki) with Aussies Natalie (from Doshisha) and Jarred.


We then descended upon the nearby Sega arcade for games of Street Fighter, Rockman 2, Air Hockey, Virtua Fighter 5 and Taiko no Tatsujin 8 (see Lenka and Baptiste getting into the beat above), before rounding it all off with a photo-sticker booth session. The whole procedure was very confusing and really pushed you to make quick decisions for photo selections, print methods and the like - at one point, we thought we weren't going to get any photos at all, but lo and behold, out they came and by golly are there some choice gurns and positions being pulled. Shortly after, we headed back to Kyoto, Lenka to Tal's place, Bob and Mike to Mukaijima, where we ate snacks and watched Space Travelers.

Saturday 4th November - Balls and Torii

My glittering football career continues apace! This time, Kenta and chums were playing in a football tournament taking place at the Kyotanabe campus as part of the Doshisha Sports Festival. Our team, Onahaku F.C. International (being the only non-Japanese player, I geuss I'm the 'international' part), was one of 32 competing in the two-day knock-out tournament at the campus, which is home to the large university sporting grounds. I hadn't been to Kyotanabe before, and it was a lovely agricultural area, with the campus itself comparatively massive to the Imadegawa one.

We were to play the first match of the day, so it was an 8am start to meet up with Kenta at Mukaijima station, even though are actual game did not begin until 11am. Nevertheless, we met up with other members of our team (some from last time, including the irrepressible Uza, others I hadn't met before), and started to do a bit of kick-about practice. Unfortunately, Brett, who can actually play football and does so in a team based in Osaka, was under the weather and couldn't make it, but we managed to get someone on temporary loan to fill the gap (it seemed that between match transfers were being employed by every team anyway). The pitch itslf was located at the top of the campus (near the horse-riding area and the inline-skating) and the astro-turf was a welcome change from the sandy baseball grounds of my previous match.

Again, I opted for right midfield. I figured that as the matches only lasted 15 minutes each this time round, that the match would be over before I got too knackered. I think I played a little better this time, and while my input had little bearing on the overall score, I was happy that we actually won this time, a convincing 2-1 victory. This time, I only picked up a minor injury from punting the ball too hard, causing a little bleeding from my right big toe, but nothing too traumatic. Our next game would not be until tomorrow, so I bid my team-mates adieu and headed back through Kyotanabe.

I had not realised that this weekend was a broader Kyotanabe festival at the campus, with the sports competitions and demonstrations just a small part of it. There was a music stage with a beatbox pop song covers group called FullTone perfoming and many Doshisha societies were running a variety of stalls. I stopped in my tracks when I saw a Chicken Kebab stall, with Japanese onlookers marvelling at the food preparation which I consider so matter-of-fact in the UK with the same kind of awe I probably feel when I see your average Japanese meal being prepared. It was 500 yen for not very much and I had to queue for 20 minutes, but it was so worth it and I had a nice little conversation with the Turkish guy running it.


I returned to Mukaijima and Bob, Mike, Baptiste and I decided to head to Fushimi Inari-taisha for a late afternoon/early evening stroll. Famous for its thousands of red torii lining up the mountain path and its numerous stone foxes, a walk up Mt. Inari at night is a thrilling atmospheric experience, like a ghost train without the "boo!"s, allowing you to fully appreciate the eerieness of it all. As we passed through the winding gates as it became dark, we stumbled across many small graveyards and shrines, encountered various cats and spiders and walked through an area not unlike Ewok village from Return of the Jedi.

We dropped back into reality when we ate at Shakey's again (can't beat pizza/pasta buffet) before an evening of bowling with Doshisha, Kyoto Gaidai and Nanzan students. The Japanese organisation of the bowling experience is perhaps more complex than a typical Pure 3 Maths question, as we had to be split up into two groups of 8, then into groups of 4, then into pairs. We were told that half of us would have to wait half-an-hour to play, but then we played at the same time on the same lanes anyway! Plus I had to get special shoes for my (comparatively) colossal feet. Nevertheless, we had a good time and I managed to get a few satisfying strikes.

Unfortunately, I'd been led to believe this was to be just the start of a heady evening of entertainment and that I wasn't going to sleep before my next footie game the next day (which kicked off at 9am). As a result, I deliberately missed the last train home, only to find the majority of people calling it a night and everyone us saying there was no plan afterwards all along. Downtrodden, those staying in Mukaijima walked from Shijo to Kyoto station (about 20 minutes) and got a taxi back home (which worked out as only 600 yen or so each).

Sunday 5th November - Fireworks on the Field

Well not literally, but with a lack of Guy Fawkes festivities, I was going to explode on the pitch - a soccer explosion that is! Unfortunately, it isn't ideal waking up at 6am on a weekend morning, and much of the time getting ready was panicking about not being able to get in touch with LiLiang. He'd been at the bowling the night before and had promised to play this morning, but was not responding on his mobile, room phone or room buzzer (it later turned out he had missed the last train back and had to stay with one of our classmates - but again, player transfer was easy). Brett was coming, but a difficult train journey meant he was running late.

Nevertheless, the team got themselves psyched up for round two. It was a very warm morning (warmer than any November morning had a right to be - you could see the wibbly waves of heat at pitch level). We played to our best abilities this time around, but it was not as easy a match as last time. Brett arrived a few minutes before the end of another brief game with the final score 1-1. Penalty time - eep.

Either out of politeness or foolishness, they nominated me to take the 5th crucial penalty. As my time approached, both teams had seen all their shots hit the back of the sack. No pressure then. I stepped up to the plate, positioned the ball, and turned to face the goalmouth. And so worried was I that I'd miss the goal entirely, I decided to play it safe - and pretty much passed the ball to the keeper. Hnnnnnn...oops! Never mind. I returned to my team-mates who were supportive of my crapness; besides the game wasn't over yet. Our opponents' turn...and they miss! Joy of joys, and sighs of relief all round. Now it was captain Kenta's turn. He runs up, kicks...and the keeper saves! Oh dear. And when the other team scored their next penalty, it was all over. At least our loss wasn't completely my fault, and I guess if our team captain couldn't score, then I can't be expected to do much better, right? Though admittedly Kenta's shot was far better.

We were out of the tournament, but spent the rest of the morning kicking about some more. Brett joined in the game following ours, and we stormed the pitch every time there was a gap between matches or one of the halves was taken up with another penalty shoot-out. We even squeezed in another full fledged friendly with another team in between official games, which was far more enjoyable with the pressure off. It was a good morning's entertainment and exercise and I still had the rest of the day to do absolutely nothing - what else are weekends for?

Be sure to check out MyFlickr photos in My Links for more Nara and Fushimi piccies!

Ghoulish

While Halloween is recognised in the UK as an excuse to watch horror movies, buy fake blood and indulge in childish shenanigans, it is celebrated on a greater scale in Japan, with seemingly every shop taking on a supernatural theme. My personal favourite was the giant inflatable vampire Mickey Mouse outside the Neo Mart in Shijo, complete with cape and pointy fangs. Try telling the kids that their favourite Disney mascot has become a blood-sucking Lord of the Undead - though admittedly, he has done far worse; how's about raping a snowman while Goofy does the nasty with Minnie?

Two Halloween parties were on the agenda this year, with the first being held for residents at Mukaijima Gakusei Center and Kyoiku Daigaku students. Looking around the shops for costumes proved somewhat fruitless, with few under the 3000 yen mark (£15 for a novelty item of clothing I will wear twice?). Among the ghosts and witches, there were some particularly Japanese cozzies, with Ringu-esque wig and robe kits, and, of course, Hard Gay accessories (if you don't know who I mean by that, don't be afraid to click the link, as it is mostly innocent).

I decided to create my own costume, and thanks to the local 100 yen shop, my total costume price amounted to around 400 yen total. I give you the most evil medical practitioner known to humankind...Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon. The outfit consisted of a shirt and tie (already owned), a raincoat, a red permanent marker (for blood splatters), pinhole glasses (to make reading/watching TV/driving/etc. less harsh on the eyes) and driving gloves with the fingers snipped off. All in all, I think it was a very effective costume indeed.

I had already helped make a couple of decorations for the party - a couple of pink pumpkins (the orange paint had run out), which were displayed on the wall as we entered the hall near Sumizome station. There were familiar faces (a bunch of fellow Doshisha amigos plus Taavi, Risto and Marcus) and many unfamiliar ones too (I was surprised to see adults and small children present for what I expected to be more of a student shindig). Anyway, there was lots of food and punch to keep us happy and while not a lot happened, apart from someone turning off the lights mid-munching, it was a good try-out of my costume for a bigger party on actual Halloween organised by Kyoto Gaidai at an underground bar called Den-en near Sanjo.

While the food and drink was a complete rip-off, most of Kyoto's costumed youth appeared to be gathered here. The Nightmare Before Christmas played on a big screen, people posed in their spooky get-ups and various party games were organised, including a rock, paper, scissors tournament and bingo (after a disastrous start I was one away on two different lines, but, alas, those numbers forever eluded me). Highlight of the evening were the two live bands, one playing mellow jazz and the next playing some groovy funk, followed by good ole party standards like Johnny B. Goode. I got my groove on, I can assure you - it was like the Enchantment Under The Sea Dance all over again! Then came the costume competition, which I entered but failed to even make the audience judging round! I mean, it wasn't the best, but it was certainly the cheapest and completely home-made! Surely there must be some kind of achievement prize for that! Never mind...Tal and Anthony were runners up for their samurai garb, so I guess that's some consolation. Of couse, no-one can compete against a transvestite - particularly when he had the uninitiated completely fooled.

You can view my Halloween party pics on my Flickr page. Halloween is also central to my Engrish of the week. While scouting for costumes, nestled next to the official Jason Voorhees Friday the 13th hockey masks were unofficial imitations that chose a rather roundabout way of differentiating themselves from their inspiration:

FRIDAY 13 DAY
KILLER MAN MASK
SHOCKING HORROR
THIS PRODUCT
GLOWS IN THE DARK

And as an extra special treat, I knocked out a new movie edit on YouTube. I downloaded footage of Biohazard 4D-Executer, a 3D thrill ride a la Terminator 2: 3D, or maybe Captain EO, based on the Resident Evil series. It was entertaining to watch, even if the CG is rather basic by today's standards, and it probably loses its impact on a little 2D screen. Neverthless, I've cut it up with the Gorillaz track 'M1 A1', which features samples from George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (see what I did there?). It's no Cheeky or Bouncy, but it only took me an hour, and for that I think it's fine.

NOTE: Said movie has been removed from YouTube for Copyright Infringement. Oopsie-daisy!

Such Sights To Show You

Here's a selection of images I have gathered from the past month and a half of my time in Kyoto that defy categorisation, logic and explanation. But despite all this, I'm going to try my darndest to make sense of them all. Give them a click to enlarge (reminds me of some spam I've received before).

I tells ya, you try to start a conversation with a lady and she just freezes up and ignores you. It's like Mannequin all over again! Just joshing of course. This was at the Nishijin Textiles Center, which was informative but had some bizarre elements, namely the kimono show. Hordes of camera-toting tourists gathered round the catwalk to see kimono-clad models walk a bit, smile enigmatically, stare into middle distance and walk off. I didn't know how to react - do I smile politely at them? Should our eyes make contact? I just found the whole experience rather strange (plus fellow Doshisha student Josh was convinced one of them was really a guy).

This is the Godzilla statue outside the local entertainment emporium. Its such a strange, brilliant shop. I've only bought a YMO CD off them, which I had to quickly return (this being Japan, it was a Super Audio CD, only compatible with special Sony players, but, of course, this being Japan, where customer service is top priority, I got a full refund), but it is purchase haven. CDs, DVDs, comics, capsule toys and a vast library of console games from all makes and eras (the Super Famicom corridor is something to behold), and all at competitive prices. But past the card games section, it reveals a further section, with clothes, arcade machines, imported action figures, and guns and ammunition (well, the BB variety). It's certainly worth a trip for anyone around Mukaijima way.

The front gate of Doshisha always has big painted boards advertising upcoming events which always catch the eye, none more so than 21th Century F.B.I., concerning films about everyone's favourite alien-chasing bureau. Someone could make a fortune proof-reading English in Japan, but it would make it all less fun, wouldn't it?

The Shijo covered arcades are weirdness central. What better way to demonstrate than Colonel Sanders outside the KFC (or just 'Kentucky' as it's predominantly known in Japan), dressed in samurai attire.

Or how about Mr. Giraffe Man, advertising the nearby Cybex internet den? We first saw the giraffe outside without a man inside, just resting by the building. It was only some weeks later that we realised it was a costume, and the giraffe could go walk about. I love how his little legs don't really fit the rest of the character.

Unfortunately, this photo isn't so clear, but it is a lit up sign for a very scary looking hair-dresser. In tight white suit and pink-orange hair, he looks like he was kicked out of the Scissor Sisters for being too camp. Would you let this man near your head? The sign does attract attention, but everyone who passes just points and laughs, so I don't know how he keeps in business. I assume it's all a front for some seedier operation, but I'm never going up those stairs for a look.

And finally, a pic of me in an electronics shop, playing Everybody's Tennis on PS2 through some telly-specs, which were glitchy, not especially comfortable and tricky to view the entire screen with. Another case of technology before technique, but it makes me look like a member of Polysics, so I enjoyed it anyway.

In other news, I'm referenced on the Adam and Joe Xfm Podcasts! Download episodes 4 and 5, and while my voice isn't featured, I get namechecked at the end of the former and start of the latter. I had phoned into Crap Commentary Corner, where they play an excerpt from a DVD commentary and you have to name the film and people speaking. As it was Resident Evil, I knew immediately, phoned in and won. Then I had an in-depth conversation with Joe about zombies and Resident Evil 4 at which point he said "Let's meet tonight at the Virgin Megastore Piccadilly Circus". Later on in the show, they joked about meeting up with me later and I thought I'd text to see if they were serious. No reply, but me and Pete went along anyway as I wanted to buy a few CDs. No show, but no real disappointment.

The following week I think I went back to Somerset, but listening to the subsequent podcast a year later, it turns out that wasn't the end of it. In podcast 5, Joe says that he feels bad he didn't meet up with me. Apparently, not only did he get my following text, but other listeners texted in to ask if we had met up! He then asks "Rory, if you're listening, please call in" - but that week I wasn't listening...oh, what could have been! Never mind - at least I am forever enshrined on the podcasts...and I will be sure to make reference to it next time I enter a competition. That's if the show is on when I'm back in London. Anyway, be sure to check out podcasts 4 and 5, but it's worth listening to them all, as they are funny shows indeed (especially Joe's diatribe on R. Kelly's In The Closet single soap opera).

More Things Keep Happening

Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd October

As promised, here's last weekend's adventures. It's super-long, but at least there're pictures to break up the brain-numbing waffle elsewhere...

Tokyo Bound



Today, I was missing lessons to head to Tokyo for a two-day trip. I caught the 7:46 Nozomi Shinkansen from Kyoto station to arrive at Shinagawa station in Eastern Tokyo just after 10am. On the way, I did a little bit of Japanese practice, but as my folder was missing after lessons the previous day, I had to make do with SOAS materials. While I slept for most of the journey, I did get to see the vast silohuette of Mt. Fuji from my window, surrounded by fog, looking far larger than I remembered it being.

Foundation Meeting

I travelled to Roppongi to the 33rd floor of the Ark Mori building to visit the Heiwa Nakajima Foundation, who were providing my scholarship for my study in Japan. My ears popped in the lift and the view from their window was filled with fog, but the nearby Tokyo Tower was in plain sight. Another scholarship student (a girl from Vietnam studying in Tokyo) was also present, and we sat at the table at the end of the office as I was presented with a folder filled with facts and information, as well as a booklet on the Foundation's founder and a dictionary for correct kanji use.

The office then gathered together (about eight employees total) for a sushi bento lunch which I happily munched through, but, try as hard as I might, I really couldn't finish it all. While we spoke in Japanese, they were all very attuned to keeping the questions as easy to answer as possible, and were very interested in my thoughts on Japan, my study and interests. I also brought along a few photos from Somerset and East Anglia, which helped no end as a focal discussion point and a visual aid for talking about my family and where I live. I had my photo taken a few times, and they also showed me photos of Tanaka-sensei visiting the office, and a Heiwa Nakajima representative visiting other members of the SOAS Japanese faculty in London. They were all very friendly and helpful (even offering to help track down my childhood friend Kitaro) and were extremely appreciative of my British prezzies of Duchy Original choccie biccies and a National Trust calendar. I had been a little nervous about meeting them and hoping I'd live up to their expectations, but they were all supportive and enthusiastic, leaving me feeling suitably buoyant.


Pete's 21st Birthday Party


Last time I had seen Pete, we were shaking hands at Green Park London Underground saying, "Next time we meet, we'll be in Japan". Jump forward a month or so later, and we're outside Waseda Underground meeting again. Bizarre, but cool. I get a brief tour of one of Waseda's campuses, and then I to visit Pete's space prison quarters which aren't quite as oppresive as I had envisaged, but then I guess I didn't encounter any of the 'wardens' (or forced to fight to death on a spiky turntable platform a la Flash Gordon). We meet with Hanako for coffee (hot chocolate for me, thank you) and soon we're ready to go out. Now that Pete's a man of 21 years, my present is a Nishijin textiles tie; perfect for job interviews for management positions in Japanese zaibatsu.

We all head out for an all you can drink session in Shinjuku and I'm reunited with most of the SOAS Waseda alumni, plus John Dykes, Esq. currently mixing it up in Tokyo Gaidai. I also meet a couple of Edinburgh University Waseda posse, and we exchange information about the Edinburgh University Doshisha students I've come to know - it's a small world after all. We all squeeze into three tables of space, but most of the screaming, chanting and drinking games come from the central table, buoyed on by the organisers, two mad Japanese girls. I decide to spend my time drifting from table to table, before settling down with Dykes and Rory Chu, topping up each other's beers while catching up, telling tales and making plans for the year ahead. When the evening comes to an end, I am muchly sloshed, but lucid. While the majority our heading karaoke-wards, I decide that if I'm going to make it to the hostel I have booked into in time, I should make tracks. I bid the partygoers adieu and take the train across town to Minowa.

Night at the Hostel

The train journey to the hostel is about 25 minutes, during which I get a little emotional, having just said goodybe en masse to many SOAS amigos and then to receive an elated post-birthday email on my mobile phone from Hamish. It could be a side-effect from all the alcohol though, another one of which appears to be increased Japanese speaking ability. I successfully asked the man at the train platform where the correct exit for the hostel was and once I arrived I had a conversation for over half-an-hour with the lady at reception. We talked about universities, binge drinking culture, the North Korea crisis and Japanese history - in particular, she said I should walk down the block to look at the whore-houses...she was emphasising how this area had been the the Edo pleasure quarters, the floating world, and how a map of Tokyo with the circle line and the Chou line drawn through it resembled the Yin-Yang symbol, with the aristocratic area and the pink district in direct contrast of each other. Not sure I quite bought it, but interesting nonetheless. It brought back a lot of memories sleeping hostel style at the Tokyo International Hostel from my pre-university trips. Chris had recommended the place to me, and at 2000 yen a night in a 10-backpacker dorm, it weren't bad at all. Comfy beds, clean washing facilities, good chummy atmosphere. Of course, noise from fellow travellers late night and early morning, but those are the breaks. While my Japanese certainly impressed the members of staff (the morning receptionist couldn't believe I had written the Japanese for mobile phone myself - as even native speakers forget how to), I kept schtum about my credentials amongst the other guests...didn't want to create a scene.

Ueno Park

With the morning free, and having to change trains there anyway, I decided to take a stroll around Ueno Park. I had been there before, but mainly just to visit the Tokyo National Museum (one of many museums that are situated there), so I took the opportunity to stroll around the grounds. I visited the statue of Saigo Takamori, samurai and dog-handler; Kiyomizu-Kannon-do, a temple modelled on Kiyomizu-dera which I had visited the previous weekend; the Gojo fox shrine, atmospherically filled with ominous cawing crows; a big pond with paddle boats...I took some pics, but haven't uploaded them yet as they're not very good or interesting. Also took a quick trip to the big toy shop near the station, but there was little that took my fancy.

Meeting Ian


I met Ian for Lunch in Mejiro where we had a tasty pasta set lunch and talked at length about Japan and the pros and cons of the Japanese experience. It seemed that even now my fresh observations of food, finance and frivolity here clicked with Ian instantly, and he gave me lots of little pieces of advice for surviving life in Japan. It was a very enjoyable meeting and he was over the moon with my gift of Gentelemen's Relish. Hopefully, he'll be able to come to Kyoto at some point, but if not, I will return to Tokyo in a few months time.

Mikael's in Town

While in Tokyo, I got a message that Mikael was in Kyoto this weekend for the big festivals. Once I had got off the Shinkansen, we endeavoured to meet up but meeting with Baptiste was a mission unto itself, involving much running around, exasperation and telecommunication - if it wasn't for the fact my phone died, it would have been just like 24. After 30 minutes, we finally met up and kept the anger to a minimum for the sake of everyone. Tal and her Gaidai chums were having all you can eat pizza at Shakey's (yes, Shakey's) in Shijo, but by the time we got there, they'd already sodded off. But that didn't stop myself, Baptiste, Mikael and his Nagoya buddy fitting in half-an-hour of pizza and assorted junk for ourselves. We then decided to decamp to a karaoke box for an hour of soul-filled singing and called it a night.

Jidai Matsuri

The Jidai Matsuri is one of Kyoto's big three...and we missed it. Baptiste and I miscalculated when the festival was going to end, and turned up to find everyone leaving and packing up. Bum. However, we still managed to savour a bit of post-festival atmosphere, and visited the Heian Jingu shrine where it climaxes (there was still a bit of pomp and circumstance going on behind closed doors). Ah well, there're two other big Kyoto festivals in the summer we'll make certain not to miss. Besides, our day of festivity had only just begun.

Riverside Music

While we waited to meet with friends to head to Kurama (see below), we decided to have some drinks and snacks in Sanjo by the Kamo river, a popular meeting place and general hanging out area. A mini-concert was underway, with a big Japanese flag with 'Under the Bridge 55' written on it waving above the amps. The acts were just a bunch of students a mix of open-air music spanning various musical genres. Most interesting was a screeching punk act who represented the first signs of student political activity I had witnessed in Japan. Through the mad synth, kicking microphone stands, river running and megaphone shouting, their message was 'Sayonara Americans, Konnichiwa Japanese!' and their lyrics included 'Showa! America! Showa! America!' - alluding to the feeling that Japan today was designed by the Americans for American purposes (which is kinda sorta true to an extent). It was too dark to get any footage of them on my phone, so instead, here's the act before them, a little male singer, strumming away to his own version of The Monkees' Daydream Believer - with a, shall we say, unique singing voice:



Kurama-no-Hi Matsuri


My final flutter of fun was a trip into Kurama, deep within the mountains of northern Kyoto, for the annual festival of fire. The trains were packed heading there, so much so, we walked to the next station along to avoid the queues at the main change point. We thought we weren't going to see anything when we got there (Tal had already given up, and Mikael, who was already there, was not sure exactly what was going on). Hundreds had descended upon the little town to visit the shrine where the festival climaxes, but we decided to head in the opposite direction, which turned out to be a good idea. Every house had a little fire outside, and the scent of smoke filled the air - it was like a premature Guy Fawkes night.

Then from the end of the road, a procession of torch-bearers appeared, chanting as they walked up the hill towards the temple. We got a good vantage point outside a smaller temple where they were luckily to make a brief stop before heading on. Behind the initial procession, loinclothed men carried massive burning torches across their backs, as others urged them on and kept the flames alive. They were followed up by further torch-bearers and taiko-drumming to keep them going. Once they got to the temple next to our position, they raised the massive torches and aligned them beside each other. After a few minutes, they again rested them on their backs and continued the slow climb onwards. It was a magical and satsifying experience, complete with atmosphere and wonder. Having had our fill of flame, we walked to the next station along. Its a beautiful area at night, looking deep into the surrounding forests and marvelling at the stars above. As there's only one train track, the ride back was absolutely packed, but everyone was so happy to have seen the festival that it was all good fun. Parn, Baptiste, Mikael and myself then headed to Imadegawa for a late-night Mos Burger and so another action-packed weekend came to a close...

Things Keep Happening

Things do indeed. And in order to keep up with my adventures, I'm going to have to do a big old splurge of recent events from the past couple of weeks. I'll do last weekend in the coming week and the weekend before that now...if that makes any sense.

Friday 13th October - Sunday 15th October

• Karaoke Marathon - after having spent all afternoon with my newly installed internet, I was invited to join various Mukaijima residents (studying at Doshisha and beyond) for a spot of karaoke at the local Shidax centre, just a brief walk from halls. Upon entry, the faux-grandeur was overwhelming, with 'gold', 'marble' and a winding staircase in the lobby. We booked a room with the decor of a Spanish restaurant and so began the singing session. Bowie, Beastie Boys, Blur and Beck were my artists of choice (though I did dabble in a bit of Polysics and YMO for Nihongo's sake), but Tarvi and Ritso (the Finnish Jay and Silent Bob in appearance, but anything but in reality) kept things varied with spirited anime themes and angry rock anthems respectively. We soon turned off the score system that would cause cartoon cracks to appear on the screen for woeful renditions (it seems it wanted Anarchy in the UK to be sung by a Celine Dion-alike), and let rip. As the tunes went on and the 'all you can drink' booze flowed, members of our party called it a night, until it was just me, Tarvi and Ritso. At 4.45am. Having started at 9.45pm. Yes, I made up for my lack of recent karaoke by doing it for seven hours straight. Good stuff.

• Thai Dinner - Having finished watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith as part of Mukaijima Gakusei Centre 'Movie Night', we went for a big Thai meal at the restaurant handily located just next to Doshisha's Imadegawa campus, as Parn's mum was in town. As Thai food barely extended beyond fishcakes and red/green curry, it was an eye-opening and eye-watering experience. Some items were super-spicy for my tastebuds, but it was mostly delicious and a very enjoyable evening all round. Araoi! (Apologies to Thai people everywhere for my attempt at writing "Delicious" in your native tongue).

• Class 5A Daytrip - our appointed class figurehead, Chan from Korea, decided to organise a little outing on a sunny Sunday for those class members who could make it. Little did we realise just how in-depth and interesting it would be. And how many free samples we'd nibble on. We went around Sanjo and Shijo, down familiar streets and the not so familiar, before arriving at an anonymous block of flats. Little did we know lunch was to be a free meal at a Korean Protestant chapel! With the greatest hospitality, we had big bowls of spicy vegetable and rice soup (though I passed on the kimchee) and engaged in conversation with the regulars. This was followed by a trip down Nishiki Food Market for donuts and tofu ice-cream, before a walk through Gion, through Yasaka Shrine, up to Kiyomizu-dera, via many local sweet stores, offering countless samples (accompanied by scary little Geisha bots, that nodded a little like the wind-up razor-toothed dolls from Barbarella).

  I had visited Kiyomizu on my previous trip with Harry, but it was lovely to go again, and I did few things I didn't do last time. For instance, I attempted to walk with my eyes closed from one love stone to another at Jishu-jinja, but missed my goal, therefore dooming my relationships forever...or something. Plus, I drank from the Otowa-no-taki waterfall, which is said to have therapeutic qualities and improve school results (which I guess compensates for buggering up my love life). A return visit at night in the autumn is a must. It wasn't all good though - I left my sunglasses somewhere up the hill (a habit which is continuing rather worringly, having left my file in class, and then leaving a recently purchased storage folder at the supermarket). And an octopus ball covered in horrible Japanese mayonnaise (to my mind, the foullest condiment known to man) left a taste in my mouth that lasted a day. I'm similarly afflicted as I type. Last night, I was all set to cook some bacon with my new frying pan, but what I thought was cooking oil turned out...well...not to be. I decided I'd cook it anyway, but the bacon just burnt horribly. Desperate for a bacon butty, I chowed down on it anyway, and while I liked it at the time, I now have a horrible burnt metallic taste in my mouth over 24 hours later, like I've swigged battery acid and am turning into some kind of ManTank a la Testuo II

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Back on topic, I took photos using Chan's camera, but have yet to receive them back, but once I do, I will stick them up on my brand new Flickr account! For now, I will leave you with a couple of treats for making it this far. First, my mad quote of the week (which actually comes from several weeks ago). I got a message from the Gakusei Centre office informing me that my bank manager wanted to seak to me regarding a bank transfer from my UK account:

...the manager has a duty to clarify what are you going to use the money for, probably to prevent an illegal trade or money supply to a terrorist. (But can you imagine a terrorist saying "Yah, I' m going to buy a nice launcher with this money." ???) Anyway, please contact...

And instead of pics, here're two short little mobile phone videos of Japanese technology in action. First, the aforementioned Geisha Bot:



And, having previously seen animatronic road worker signalmen in Tokyo two years ago, here's the next generation - little digital men on orange screens waving a flag. What's great is how it's not a cartoon of a man, but an actual image of a road worker scanned in. Unnecessary but genius:

The Church of Paragraph Writing

It is about time I actually wrote a bit about the very reason I came to Japan in the first place: to be educated at Doshisha University of course. I've just finished my third week of lessons, so I have a pretty fair idea of how the term is going to pan out from hereonin.

We have 3 hours of Japanese language classes, divided into 2 90 minute sessions, Monday to Friday from 9am. And with the journey from Mukaijima taking around 50 minutes total (with good connections), that means it's an early start every weekday and a lot of commuting time to kill. Luckily, Baptiste is my regular travel buddy, so our strange conversations and earphones of music get us feeling as genki as we can possibly be, given the circumstances. These language lessons are split between those that cover a general set text filled with kanji, grammar and vocabulary for the week ahead and classes that deal with particular aspects of Nihongo (listening, speaking, reading, etc.). Then, after lunch, we have additional courses we can pick and choose.

On Mondays, there's Japanese Life and Culture 1, which consists of visits, trips and hands-on experiences - so it's my 'fun-time' class; so far, we've been to a traditional sweets museum and shop, a textiles centre, on which I will write more about later, and a kimono-trying on session. I'm particularly looking forward to the 'Incense Listening' class in a month or so...whatever it entails. Wednesdays include my additional Japanese language seminar, which is fast-paced and tricky, but just the kind of thing I should be studying, and Ancient Japanese history, while Thursday features Japanese Law and Politics - which was billed as being taught in English, but has ended up with us flitting between Japanese and English throughout each sentence. Tuesday and Friday afternoons are my free afternoons, but I've yet to really cash in on these opportunities with the amount of homework and various bits and bobs I have to get done.

Ah, the homework. It all seems quick and simple, but there's so much to keep in my mind, I rarely manage to do everything that was needed for the day ahead, but have probably finished another exercise not due for a week. But I'm getting there...one day at a time.

The teaching style is mostly very much like SOAS, though there are certain differences. For a start, while in one week last year in London, we would have only 4 different tutors in the Japanese classes, here we have double that, as there's a mix of full-time and part-time staff. It makes you realise just how hard Tanaka-sensei, Kashiwagi-sensei, et al work, with the same hours and amount of teaching, across different classes and year groups. Another change is we have male Japanese teachers, who turn out to be my favourites.

Matsumoto-sensei would be a legend in the making, if it wasn't for the fact that he seemed to already achieve legendary status based on word-of-mouth via my predecessors at Doshisha. Every class he teaches is just filled with such energy with a healthy dash of self-deprecating humour that you can't help but join in. Now that our class has gotten chummy with each other, it makes for some very entertaining off-tangent discussions, all in an atmosphere where you don't feel like a fool if you make a mistake. Plus, he never fails to give thorough explanations for trickier language aspects, peppered with pitch-perfect textbook-quality examples. I consider myself very lucky to have 3 lessons with him a week. The only other regular male teaching staff member in the Japanese language department is Manita-sensei, who has a rather bizarre sense of humour which others find a little disconcerting, but he always cracks me up, so I can't complain.

Perhaps the most unsual class so far has been a writing comprehension class which has introduced me to The Church of Paragraph Writing, which, via the aid of post-it notes, is designed to optimise one's essay/notice construction to make clear and precise sentences in the best structure possible. The three tenents of Paragraph Writing remind me of the Hardeep Singh Kohli documentary on Scientology (and the opening verse to Queen's It's A Kind of Magic):

1. One word, one meaning
2. One sentence, one point,
3. One paragraph, one topic

I've yet to fully understand what it all really means, but I am intruiged to see how it all plays out. Similarly, the speaking class is built on repetition, repetition, repetition. In particular, the 'Shadowing' exercise, in which we all recite scripted conversation together, turns into a babbling mess, albeit an entertaining one. Perhaps we can all do it to music over the coming weeks; every school and kindergarten I pass on the way to Mukaijima station - and there are a fair few - seems to have singing, music and learning off by heart pouring out every day, so this seems like a university extension of such a teaching method.

As for the actual classrooms, if you've seen Battle Royale, you have a pretty good idea already - chunky sliding doors, raised platform at the front with stand and microphone, big green chalkboard. A green little National/Panasonic is plugged into the wall beside the chalkboard and turns out to be a hoover box for chalkboard wipers, which reveals why the board's are always so immaculate after a day's scribbling. However, my biggest bugbear are the desks. The majority of them have the ability to fold out in front, but that means there is zero legroom and I frequently bash my shins against the folded desk half - leading to frequent cussing and my football shinjury taking even longer to heal (scab gone, still pink and tender). I don't know how anyone can cope with such stunted seating space. And furthermore, the little cubby holes under the desktop cause further knee bashing and make forgetting your work folder even easier (as I did today...very annoying).

So, at the mo, its a bit of a mixed bag, and the schedule is really taking its toll on my waking life, but, in the words of Mr. Bedingfield, I gotta get thru this...

And on a completely unrelated note, in case you hadn't take note, I note that two teaser trailers for Hot Fuzz are now available to view in all their hilarious glory here and here. The self-references! Wells locations! Souljacker Part I by Eels! How's that for a slice of fried gold?