Oldschool Japan

See that tall guy in the baseball cap?

That guy is now my hero.

Why?

We'll get to that later.

Today started with an assembly. We were asked to get all dressed up and sit through some boring speeches, in exchange for free food afterwards.

I wore my dress pants and a white button up shirt, both of which were extremely wrinkled, having not been ironed since being shoved into my bag.

For the THIRD day in a row, it was raining when I needed to make the 30 minute walk/15 minute bike ride to campus. For the past two days, I had just ridden and gotten soaked, since I didn't have an umbrella. But I was damned and determined that I wouldn't get wet today. So even though I had bought an umbrella, I opted to take the bus.

So did everyone else in Japan.

We ended up packed in like sardines, with no room to move at all. And that was BEFORE we stopped to let more people in.

Of course, the irony of it all was that after it got started, it barely drizzled for the rest of the time.

That's 220 yen I'm never getting back.

In any case, once we arrived, they did the usual stuff--introductions, guest speakers, etc. One of the speeches was in Japanese, and was apparently quite funny to those who could understand it. -_-

But all that was pretty unimportant. The main event for the day was the Kyoto tour.

What seemed like the entire school turned out for the event. Slowly but surely, we were all put into small groups and paired with Japanese students, and then we were on our way.

As my particular group got started, a tall guy in a baseball cap, named Greg, joined us. He said that those in charge told him he couldn't go with his speaking parter, for some reason. So, he ditched his group and went with us and his speaking partner, anyway.

With that settled, we headed for the train station.
Here we are, all together...
Except for whoever was taking the picture...

After watching some guy do the moonwalk, we got on the train for Kyoto.
(No, he wasn't really doing the moonwalk... but isn't the picture so much more interesting that way?)
We arrived in Kyoto, and started walking.
And walking.
And walking.

At this point, my blisters have blisters.

We were headed, it appears, to Kiyomizu Temple, the most famous temple in Kyoto. I had actually already been there a few years back, but that didn't make it any less fun.


On the way there, we spotted this adorable statue of a god of some sort.

WHO'S A CUTE LITTLE GOD? YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE!

On the way to the temple, we stopped at a 1,010 Yen store where everything, as you might have guessed, costs 1,010 Yen. They had some pretty cool stuff, and they had some stuff that seriously creeped me out.

Once we got on our way again, we actually spotted (what appeared to be) a real live Geisha.
(Wonder how many times a day SHE gets her picture taken.)

As we started getting closer, we started climbing more and more stairs. Just when I was starting to consider whether it was worth it or not, part of it finally came into view.
As it turns out, the long hike WAS worth it. It's a seriously beautiful place, and rather than try to talk about it, I would just strongly encourage you to check out my photo album for the day, and see for yourself.


After we were done with the temple, we headed out kind of randomly down the street. We decided to stop at an ice cream shop, where I got some green tea flavored ice cream (a local delicacy).
It was disgusting.

Well, it was at first, anyway. Once I started getting used to eating ice cream that tasted like a bitter beverage, it was actually pretty good.

We also happened to see Spiderman hanging around.

Then we piled into three taxis, and went for a bite to eat. I had a hamburger steak, sausage, potato wedges, corn, and a fried egg (?!) served on a steaming, sizzling platter.

It was so slightly not-American, it was funny.
We were also next to a restaurant that I seriously didn't like the looks of...

After dinner, we decided to go shopping/wandering aimlessly. We ended up in an area that was like a street with a roof. Shops on either side, but no doors to get in, and people were riding their bikes and such inside.
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And right in the middle of it all was another shrine. Which is where I saw the most amazing fortune-telling device ever. I just had to get a few vids of it.
This is what it does BEFORE you put money in.
And this is what it did after.


After we were done marveling at the magic paper grabbing dragon, we headed into a shop completely filled with UFO catchers...
Most of them, curiously enough, with a stitch theme.

All save one...

One lone, magnificent UFO catcher with a Super Mario Theme!
As soon as I saw it, I KNEW I had to have a shell or question block.

Now, the game was 200 Yen a pop. I played it two or three times before one of the workers, via one of the Japanese students we were with, told me that the point was NOT, in fact, to grab the item itself. We had to grab a box printed with, what else, stitch on it, and try to get IT into the prize hole--at which point, one of the attendants would open the machine and let us pick a prize.
Now, the box was far too heavy to pick up. Which is why it was perched precariously on the edge, and your job was to lift one end, and rock it over the edge.
I couldn't do it, and ran out of coins. So Greg, fresh from winning a giant stuffed hamster for his speaking partner, took a crack at it. In just a few tries, he had managed to win himself a turtle shell! I knew that if he could do it, so could I.

I was wrong.

I ended up spending about 2,000 Yen on that damn machine ($17.35) and still didn't get it, even though every time I gave up, the guy opened it up and inched it closer to the edge to tempt me to try again.
So Greg stepped up to the plate again. Digging 200 yen out of his own pocket, he fed it into the machine, lined up the crane hand, and shoved the box straight down the prize hole. He reached into the machine, pulled out one of the coin boxes, and wouldn't you know it, he handed it to me.

Success!

I actually hugged the guy I was so happy. XD

So... I wasted almost twenty dollars on some cheap stuffed box.

But can you really put a price on happiness?

Apparently, yes. And that price is 2,000 Yen.

I have no regrets.

It even makes the coin noise when you hit it!

After that, we just wandered around a bit, before deciding to head back.

On the way, we happened to see racism , Buzz Lightyear, and some Engrish.

Which is always fun.

And then we got on the train and headed back, and that was about it.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome trip. Kyoto was gorgeous, the Japanese students that showed us around were fun and friendly, and I got an icon from my youth.

Today's evaluation: Great Success.

Getting there

You know, there's only one way to prepare for an 8-month stay in a foreign country:

At the last minute.

This is because until the day before you leave, the concept will be so foreign that your brain will reject it outright, and refuse to believe that it's a reality. Then panic sets in, and you scurry about your house packing everything you own into two airline-regulation size suitcases. Which is probably about as hard as it sounds.

Luckily, I picked up a nifty tip the last time I visited Japan.

Seal your clothes in a plastic bag, and then sit on them.

Leaving a small opening, of course. This forces the air out, and creates a flattened, compressed version of your clothes, complete with butt-crease going down the middle. It may not be pretty, but it works.

Of course, they'll still WEIGH as much, which is something you have to watch out for--considering that if either of your bags are a pound over, you'll have to pay the fee that's usually reserved for checking an extra bag, which is over $100.

Of course, first you have to HAVE two suitcases big enough.

I only had one.

So, I went shopping for another one. After scouting out three or four stores, comparing prices, sizes, and the durability of the fabric, I finally found one that I thought would work. It was big, and more than that, it was tough looking. A hard case, with tough leather on the corners and other "wear points." I was all poised to buy it, until I bothered to take a close look at it...
And found out it was already coming apart at the seams.

So, I said "screw it," and bought some bright red monstrosity that was lying nearby.

After purchasing said bag, I set to packing. Eventually, everything I THOUGHT I needed was in my new bag and my old one. Unfortunately, the new one was just a LITTLE too heavy. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, I transfered a bag or two of flattened clothing from my red bag to my old green one. Finally, everything in order, I proceeded to zip up the bag. When I heard a sound that I did not want to hear at all.

"RIIIIP."

The green bag, after going through various cross-country trips, had had enough. It split wide open.

So I stood around and swore for a while. Eventually, I decided that I'd just buy a bag on the way to the airport (which was, itself, a few hours away), and transfer everything from one bag to another.

So I did.

Went smoothly enough.

At the hotel, I had my last Great American Dinner: A big effin burger and french fries.

Then, bed for a few hours.

My flight was at 9:15. However, thanks to my pre-registering and entering my passport information the night before via the internet, I only had to show up two hours early!

So I was up at 5:45.

When I woke up, I thought I might vomit.

So, after wrestling my bags to the airport, I checked in for my flight--
Only to find out it had been delayed for an hour due to "unscheduled Maintenance."
My gate number was also 13.

I made peace with the cosmos and prepared for my imminent death.

After that, I made peace with a bagel and some coffee. Tasty.

After that, it was time for the last big goodbye between me and my Mom. It was suitably tearful.

Then it was time for the fun and degrading process of going through airport security!

Now, last time I flew they were restricting liqids and gels to 4 fluid ounces. So, I packed my checked baggage full of all my full-sized toiletries. And got some travel sized ones for my carry on. EXCEPT for my deodorant, which was EXACTLY four ounces.
Once we showed up, the limit had been changed to 3.4 fluid ounces.

We discovered this AFTER I had already checked my bags, making transferring the D.O. impossible. I said goodbye to my spare, which was new and unopened, but decided to keep my 2/3 depleted one, in the hopes that they'd have mercy.

Meanwhile, when I actually got started on going through security, they had us put all our fluids and gels in a quart sized bag. That's when I noticed the sign that said that all fluids had to be THREE ounces or less.

That's right, the amount of fluids you could bring on was actually decreasing as we were standing there.

I threw everything into the quart bag and hoped for the best.

After I got through, I checked my things.

Everything got through--even the deodorant.
Knew I shoulda kept the new one...

Finally, I got on the plane. After what seemed like forever, it finally touched down, and I walked out of the gate into exotic Detroit.

Uh, yeah. I guess I forgot to mention that little layover.

That lasted three hours...

As soon as I found my gate, I had some lunch at a nearby restaurant. Big mistake.

Even though I've never gotten airsick before, I had apparently become vulnerable to it. And eating right afterwards almost made me blow chunks. Some guy in the restroom thought I was having a heart attack.

I killed the rest of the time at the airport by hooking up to the pay-internet service and buying a new subscription to my virus scanner, which had expired a couple days earlier. Before Kansai will even let you connect to their network, they have to probe around your computer to make sure you have the latest edition of a virus scanner and Windows.

I also created this blog at that time, but didn't have time to write in it.

The flight over is kind of a haze. I went ahead and set my watch to Japan time, to get used to it. Not like it mattered--we followed the sun the whole way there. There was no night for TIM.

I read at first, a fairly interesting book about what the world would be like if humans disappeared off the face of the earth. Yes, this is relevant to my interests.

After that, I fell into a pattern. Drift into a fitful sleep for a while, wake up, listen to music, read, or watch the crappy in-flight movie until I got tired again, and repeat.

The movie was, by the way, Blades of Glory--which I do NOT recommend. There's a reason we were watching it for free.


Finally, after about 13 HOURS, we arrived.

I stepped out of that plane... into a muggy, hot, dirty airport. A lot like the one I left.
But, hey. This one had JAPANESE letters all over it, as well as English.

Then it was time for the immigration/customs procedure.
All the foreigners went to one LONG line, while all the Japanese went to several short ones.
Eventually, all the Japanese people were done, and they let some foreigners into the short lines.

After waiting for at least half an hour, I handed a lady my passport, she looked at it and shuffled some papers around, and I was in.

I claimed my bags, which was harder than usual--since they were both new, I didn't recognize either of them. >_>

I got my stuff together, and headed for customs.

I repeated the passport handing over, but this time it was followed by a brief interrogation.

"Hao many membas ah you trabeling wisu?"
the uniformed man asked me.

"What?" I responded.

"Hao many you trabeling wisu?"

"It's just me," I replied.

"Why hab you cam to Japan?"

"I'm an exchange student."

"Am sorry?"

"Exchange student. Kansai Gaidai."

"Ah, o-kay."

And, that was that.


I finally exited the secure portion of the airport, and immediately saw a guy with a sign that said "KANSAI GAIDAI" on it. Actually, there were a few guys.

They all had signs.

I told him who I was, signed my name, and for a mere 2,000円　($17.21) I was guaranteed transport to the university. After he had collected enough students, we were herded to the bus.

My first shots of the trip were rather... um...
artistic shots from the inside of the bus. Feel free to peruse.
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The bus dumped us in the middle of the city, and our guide left with it.
So we all just kinda stood around in a huddle, gaping around at the country.
Eventually, a lady came up and asked "Is there anyone here living in Seminar House 1?"
A few people raised their hands.
"Come with me," she said. "Just leave your luggage here."
"Seriously?" someone asked, obviously not too thrilled to leave his bags lying next to the street.
"Yes, we will bring them to your dorm later. Okay, let's go. House 1 only."

And they were off.

The rest of us stood around and waited some more.

Eventually, a lady came up and asked "Okay, is there anyone here living in Seminar House 1?"
...
"Nobody?"

"They already took them."

"Oh."

Stood around for a while longer.

"Okay, seminar houses 2-4, please follow me. Please leave your bags here."

So we left all our worldly possessions in a heap, and followed.

When we got there, sure enough, or bags were waiting in the lobby.

Spooky.

We were given our keys, and told to go on up to our rooms.
"Do we take our bags with us?" someone asked.

"Just go up to your room."

Oookay.

So, we left our bags again and rode the elevators up to our rooms.

Then one by one, we all snuck back downstairs and got the rest of our bags.

Then we all got unpacked and settled in, and that was pretty much it for the night.

Normally, each room has two people. However, for orientation, we had three, to accommodate all the students who were doing a homestay.

Here's some pictures of my dorm after me and 12 other people trashed it.

TV Area
Kitchen Area
Bathroom
Toilet (complete with water saving hand washing device)
And of course, my room itself.
It's about as small as it looks.
But seriously, it's a pretty nice place.
Especially once you spruce it up a little.
Oh, and here's where I am right now.

By the way, each room has a balcony. Check out the view!

Oh, each balcony also comes complete with an emergency exit to the next balcony.
How do you operate it?

You'll just have to see it to believe it.
Wait, how does that work? I need a visual aid.




Oh, okay. Thanks, Captain America!

And you know what?

That's about all the energy I have to spare for tonight.

Most of you probably stopped reading by now, anyway.

I'll try to get this blog caught up later, I guess.

This is TIM, signing off.

Greetings, Internet, from the Land of the Rising Sun.

Greetings, Internet. It is I, Timzor. I am here to inform you that I am living the dream of every wannabe-Japanese otaku: I'm living in Japan. I'm here for 1-2 semesters, studying the Japanese language and Asian studies at Kansai Gaidai University.

In this blog, I shall detail my experiences, complete with visual photo aids.

Prepare to see the real Japan, as experienced by an American Otaku.

It may be different than you expect.