Even if you’ve never been, you’re probably already familiar with the site. It was featured in Memoirs of a Geisha. It was also the inspiration for the art installation “The Gates” by Christo and Jean-Claude. The epic arrangement of Shinto gates (鳥居 / torii) packed so tightly together creates an amazing, surreal illusion – you feel as though you’re walking through an otherworldly hallway.

I’ve been to Fushimi Inari Taisha 4 or 5 times now, and it sure doesn’t get old. It’s sort of like Miyajima in that it stands apart from other shrines and temples. If that sort of thing isn’t up your alley, you may find yourself thinking “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” You won’t get that feeling here. Visiting at different times of day, in different seasons, etc. all change the scenery drastically.

I included Fushimi Inari in my old student travelogue from my study abroad days. You can see a video clip that I put together by clicking here (it will open in an overlay) or by visiting the original. I also wrote about it a few years ago when I spent Christmas vacation in Kyoto at the J-Hoppers hostel with friends, including J-Web vlogger/blogger Claytonian.

If you do go, I recommend taking the extra time to wander up to the upper loop past the lakes. I love the view at the top – you can even see Kyoto Tower. Most people tend to go a little bit into it and turn back, imagining that things look the same all the way up. The truth is, the scenery changes. Fox statues, mini-torii and all sorts of devotionals, incense burners, and the like are scattered throughout the area. Perhaps you’ll meet and befriend a shrine cat there like I’ve done on more than one occasion.

The theme for this Japan Blog Matsuri was “your favorite place in Japan.” It’s being hosted by Shane at the Nihon Sun.

This month, the Japan Blog Matsuri is being held at What Japan Thinks, and the theme is “Slow Times in Japan.” Now, while I live on a tiny fishing island in rural Japan, I’m a pretty busy guy. I’m frequently scooting from one school to the next, blogging, networking both on and offline, planning classes, planning trips, starting upcoming podcasts (the rumors are true…), and more. Then it occurred to me – this is the perfect opportunity to announce the special project that I’ve been asked to help with. You could say that my city, Imabari, is having a bit of a slow time with tourism lately. It’s my job to help – and I want your input!

Imabari is an interesting place. I’ve lived here for almost 3 years, and it’s become very comfortable and homey to me. But in all honesty, it’s not a place you’d think of as a tourist attraction. Especially if you’re foreign. It’s not a city of shiny skyscrapers, luxury shopping, or hip new subculture. It’s also not a super-quaint historic piece of pristine Japan. Imabari is somewhere in the middle. It’s a place where around 175,000 people live their lives. It’s a transportation bottleneck that people pass through by bus or train on their way to Matsuyama (or deeper into the countryside, for that matter). It’s famous for reasons that appeal (quite naturally) to Japanese people: it is part of Ehime, which is famous for mikan oranges; it has some killer yakitori shops that avoid charcoal in favor of smashing the chicken under hot metal plates; it sells the famous “ichi-roku” tart; it has an interesting history involving lots of pirates; it produces lots of major cargo boats and nearly 60% of all the towels in Japan; and it has Hakata no Shio.

Not much about that screams “you’ve got to visit here!” to foreign folks. The Imabari City Tourism Board has put together a project to try and help us fix this. I’m one of seven foreigners being asked to pitch in. The PR plan goes something like this: make a survey, analyze the survey, do monitor tours. The monitor tours are the interesting bit. [Disclaimer - I am not being paid to do this work, since it is a volunteer operation, but I am reaping the benefits of these free inner city monitor trips. I am being asked to make some presentations when I'm done, and share some of it on my blog - which I would have done anyway. Ha ha.] The tourism board will create the first trip as a single-day bus tour, featuring some sights that they want to show some attention. We’ll be asked to reflect on the tour, offering our foreign perspective.

Next, we’ll be given free reign to create OUR OWN overnight trips. (That’s a trip that lasts 2 days, 1 night, to be taken individually.) I want to open this up for community input. I want to take a trip that other folks might be curious about, too. So I plan to present you with options I’ve researched, etc. I hope you’ll help me out. Will you? If you’ve read this far, I’d love it if you’d answer this quickie no-commitment-necessary poll.

Most foreign people who come to Imabari are temporary workers, businesspeople, or visiting relatives. It’s rarely makes the cut on a person’s first trip to Japan otherwise. Plus, loads of things aren’t English-friendly or marked well on maps yet. I speak and read Japanese (at JLPT2+ levels, depending on the amount of sleep I get), I’ve got the international association to help me with reconnaissance that I can’t hack alone, and it’s subsidized. We should be able to figure something really cool out with your input.

If this thing goes at all like I think it will, I’ll learn a ton about my city and I’ll be able to share interesting stuff that I learn with you guys. And, you know, we just might be able to make this place a more interesting tourist location for foreigners. The truism that foreigners only travel to places with stations in Japan is unfortunate – and Imabari only has one main station, but there’s much more to it. Imabari is a part of Japan that most people will never see, and it holds some cool secrets. If I can get to those and make them more easily accessible for other foreigners, we could have a really neat experience together. I hope you’ll support me.

I went to my local grocery store and picked up the common Japanese peanut butter-ish products. You can see them in the photo above. Clockwise around the plate from bottom left: ピーナッツホイップ (Peanuts Whip), ピーナッツソフト (Peanuts Soft), Skippy (American-style Peanut Butter*), ピーナッツクリーム (Peanuts Cream), and ピーナッツランチパック (Peanuts Lunch Pack). I’ve done a video review of these products available both on this page and on YouTube. (First video! Go me!) * – American-style IS available in Japanese brands, too! Have no fear!

You can see a closeup of the 4 spreads below. The color differences are interesting, and they actually do reflect the depth of taste in each product, in my opinion. If you’ve ever tried these peanutty wonders, feel free to comment below. Do you agree with my review? Vehemently disagree? Let me know!

Needless to say, the American-style Skippy is my favorite. (But don’t think I’m just a shill for Skippy. I’d take JIF, Peter Pan, or generic American-style PB. Just not Reese’s – the stuff is meant to be in candy, not sandwiches.) Yum! In a pinch, I’d go with the Peanut Soft. This might be because my first experience with Japanese peanut spreads was with Peanut Soft. My poor host mom watched me as I tried to gleefully consume a peanut butter sandwich after discovering that the peanut butter…wasn’t. Ha ha. Once I got used to it I just kept on going with it. It’s not that bad, really.

If you’re one of those folks who really likes to get into the spirit of foods you love, you might enjoy making your own peanut butter. And to that end, I’ve embedded another video here. That’s right, it’s a peanut butter bonus round!

The clip above is from Season 11, Episode 9 of Good Eats, titled “Peanut Gallery.” It features host Alton Brown, one of my TV heroes, making his super-simple recipe for homemade peanut butter.

This post is my entry for the February 2009 Japan Blog Matsuri. The theme is Foreign Food. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to my RSS feed if you liked it, and consider hitting one of the social buttons, too!

So…Bill has posed the question – how will I make the most of my time in Japan? Well, the answer may not be the standard, but it’s true for a lot of people here – I’ll make the most of my time in Japan by getting out of Japan as often as possible. That’s right, folks, I’m all about international travel.

Being an ALT on the JET program is a unique opportunity. I’m young, much of my cost of living is subsidized – so I have some expendable income, and I have the ability to take chunks of vacation whenever the schedule has an opening. Also, I’m geographically much closer to a lot of places of interest than I was when living on the east coast of the United States. Most of Asia is just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I will likely never be in this situation again. I’d better make the most of it, no?

Some folks are far more serious than I am about travel, but I’ve still done my fair share. In my time here, I’ve been to South Korea, North Korea (technically…if you count 5 minutes over the line in the DMZ), Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Philippines. (Posts containing photos and video clips from each trip are available by searching around. Too many posts to link to here.) And I’m currently looking at a trip to Taiwan in March. Of course, I’ve done loads of travel inside Japan as well – again, far too much to even list.

I still want to go to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia*, India*, Russia, mainland China, Australia, New Zealand, and some other spots. But we’ll see. I might be able to knock out 1/3 to 1/2 of that list by the end of my stay here. If not, I’ll at least give it my best shot. That’s how I plan on making the best of my time in Japan. Other than financially saving as much as I can – yes, it’s doable even with travel expenditures – and improving my Japanese, that is.

*Providing they are safe enough for me to go.
** Yes, I borrowed the map from GraphicMaps.com, so sue me. Figured I shouldn’t erase their watermark if I was gonna use their image. Ha ha.

Last Christmas 今はまだ思い出になんてできないよ
でも愛はもう ここにはいない this year
Last Christmas ふたりなら 願いはかなうと信じてた
まだ越えられない 君は今でも special

Last Christmas – I still can’t call it a mere memory
But love – you’re already not here this year
Last Christmas – if we were together, I believed my wish would be fulfilled
I still can’t get over it – you’re still special, even now

出会って気づいたよ 本当は僕も淋しがりやだと
ねぇ君は覚えてるかい？ ふたりで交わした初めてのキス
思えば僕は 君にはたぶん重すぎたよね
わかったふりの強がり 張り裂けそうな my beating heart

We met and I noticed, the truth is that I’m a lonely person too
Hey, do you remember? The first kiss that we shared
When I think about it, maybe it was too serious for you
You pretended like you knew, it was as though my beating heart would burst

Last Christmas 今はまだ思い出になんてできないよ
でも愛はもう ここにはいない this year
Last Christmas ふたりなら 願いはかなうと信じてた
まだ越えられない 君は今でも special

Last Christmas – I still can’t call it a mere memory
But love – you’re already not here this year
Last Christmas – if we were together, I believed my wish would be fulfilled
I still can’t get over it – you’re still special, even now

悲しみもせつなさも 僕たちが生きてる証
失ってみて 初めて知った 大切なもの 大切なひと
もうあの頃には戻れない 君のほほ笑みは戻らない
(Show me your smile)
Ooh ooh この胸の痛みを覚えてる

Our grief and pain are evidence of being alive
When I tried to lose it, I realized for the first time, that it was important, that you are important
I can’t go back to that time, your smile will not return
Ooh ooh – I remember the ache in this chest of mine

Last Christmas 今はまだ思い出になんてできないよ
でも愛はもう ここにはいない this year
Last Christmas ふたりなら 願いはかなうと信じてた
まだ越えられない 君は今でも special

Last Christmas – I still can’t call it a mere memory
But love – you’re already not here this year
Last Christmas – if we were together, I believed my wish would be fulfilled
I still can’t get over it – you’re still special, even now

もうあの頃には戻れない 君のほほ笑みは戻らない
Maybe, next year!
だけど今でも 君は今でも special

I can’t go back to that time, your smile will not return
Maybe, next year!
But even now – you are special even now.

Ok – now that you’ve seen the goods, go try out the iKnow video list! If you want to jump right in and you’re already an iKnow user, you can click one of the buttons below to start the iKnow study application or the iKnow dictation application immediately. DO IT!

This was my first attempt at making a list, and I think I botched at least one thing. There are an equal number of sentences to words, which is messed up. In total there are really only 12 sentences. I pulled the 30 words from them. But I wanted to link the sentences to the words, so I created sentences on each one. It works for studying, but the Dictation gets really repetitive really fast…which might be good if you’re attempting to memorize the song. Yeah….that’s the ticket… But seriously, if you have any list-building experience in iKnow, and you want to help me out, please let me know how I can avoid this problem in the future. Thanks!

Have you ever chatted via webcam? Did you think it was a suitable substitute for a real life face to face sit-down? Not many people do. However, there is a greater sense of understanding and a heightened sense of connection when compared with traditional telephone conversation. The purpose of the technology exists to link people to one another when it is impossible to be near one another in real life. Similarly, watching television is a way for us to “be there” in a way we couldn’t with radio. You see where I’m going with this? Let me say that seeing in real life is not the same as seeing on a screen or through a medium of any kind. However, when real connections aren’t possible, technology can step in and offer up a more meaningful way to interact than was previously available.

The internet is constantly improving upon technologies like these. Take Google Earth, for instance. I can now zoom in on most locales of interest across the planet’s surface. I can count individual cars in Barcelona, or find my old college library from above. That is something I wasn’t able to do until Google Earth (and Microsoft’s Johnny-come-lately Virtual Earth) came out. Until that point it was reserved for spies on TV. Now people use this technology to map their jogging routes. Cool? Yes. Score one point for Google. By the way, to see the island on which I live, click here. To see a chunk of the city to which said island belongs, click here. See? It’s like you’ve been there. But you haven’t. (Well, ok, some of you have.) But you might not have been to the Waseda Central Library on the West Campus! (Ok…again…some of you have.)

The point is, emerging technologies are replacing and overpowering traditional methods of cartography and information sharing. It is more meaningful for you to see a red-roofed library than to hear a name and associate a latitude and longitude, is it not? One gives you an idea of the size of the building, the type of architecture, its proximity to other buildings, etc. One doesn’t. If you think that’s cool, then check this out. I found a site called Tokyo VR Project! It appears to be a work in progress, gathering QuickTime virtual reality captures of various sites in Tokyo. Why is this cool? Well…

Once upon a time, during my crazy college years, I made a video of some birds flying in circles. I took this video outside of 高田馬場駅 (Takadanobaba Eki) and put it up on my study abroad journal. Now, I can link you to a VR file of the outside of Takadanobaba Eki, and you can get a better feel for the location. The signs still match up after 2 years. Cool. Maybe I’m the only one who gets a kick out of it, but it is cool to me. Don’t take that away from me. For a location more interesting to your average tourist, try to match up these two: my video of Asakusa and the VR of the 雷門 (Kaminari Mon) there. (Note, my video is past the first gate and down the shopping street. The VR has 360 pit stops all down the boulevard. You have to advance a few to find the same vantage point. Sweet.)

Anyway, the last thing I wanted to talk about is on the horizon. For those of you like me who photograph stuff during your travels (mundane and incredible alike), this might pique your curiosity. Microsoft has developed a technology called PhotoSynth that is potentially very exciting to people like us. Basically, working from a networked pool of photos (perhaps a submission system on the net, or even a photocrawler bot’s database), this program works to reconstruct a 3D representation of the area along with isolating every single photo’s vantage point into vectored frames. That sounds boring and technical. In reality, it will be amazing if it’s realized. It reminds me of a Minority Report technology, or Blade Runner technology, where zooming in and out do not diminish the quality of the image you’re looking at. Please do yourself a favor and watch some of the videos. Microsoft’s site, while hosting higher quality videos, tends to drag its feet while loading. You can view YouTube versions of the good ones here, here, and here. And for a really seminar-esque explanation, including some really neat tech demos, check this one out too. The last video seems to be related to this Oh Gizmo report about Photosynth.

Anyway, all of this begs the question – will virtual tourism become more popular? I for one believe it will, but I also believe that it can’t possibly be a substitute for real travel. Of course, there are shades of gray there, so I’m all for providing some wiggle room. However, I’m just stoked about using these technologies to find things that I want to see. But I still plan on seeing them firsthand. How about you?

Also…you may take your geek hats off now. This post has finally come to a close.

Playgrounds. Japanese playgrounds.

They have astonished me. I remember reading an opinion in an article for one of my classes in college which claimed that Japan was a child’s paradise. In some cases, that is true. The notion of a socially integrated upbringing, relying on teachers and other community members for disciplinary action and positive reinforcement creates plenty of individual wiggle room for kids. This means that you are more likely, in my humble and often inaccurate experience, to see a mom holding their screaming kid on the train, just letting the siren-like wails reverberate throughout the car. Every once in a while you’ll see a mom get fed up, pop their kid and reprimand them, but it’s not nearly as common as watching a mom cave to a temper tantrum on the street. Kids are babied a bit, in short.

Except on playgrounds. Until recently, that is.

I seriously wish that when I was growing up we could have played on some of the playgrounds that I have seen in Japan. (I found one guy who really was lucky enough. Jealous.) Sam and I gawked at the crazy stuff we saw while on our way to Yokohama’s Chinatown. I mean, look at this playground: awesome. Think back to being a kid – would that not have been the coolest hangout? YES. The answer is yes. Don’t lie to yourself. The Japanese have really darn cool playgrounds. The New York Times did a cool slideshow piece on some funky, more conceptually driven Japanese playgrounds. Admittedly, the really kitsch stuff fascinates me too, but my guess is that you are more likely to come across a cement and metal playground like the one I mentioned earlier from my day trip to Yokohama than you are one of a bunch of plastic animals. Ha ha. It seems that the world of playground design is headed to bright new (plastic-y, abstract) places. Keita Takahashi, the guy behind the popular Katamari Damacy game concept, has even said that it’s his dream to design playgrounds for kids. How cool would that be? He can feel free to design one for me…anytime.

Ah, you are wondering to yourselves, how can it be that these dangerous playgrounds show that children are becoming more prized? Because a horrible rash of safety complaints, mostly related to crime – not sanitation, which puzzles me – has broken out across Japan. The result is that some people are taking the extreme to the other end of the spectrum. Searching for Japan and playgrounds, I popped up mostly negative articles, commenting on the safety issues. Those are the very issues I wanted to share with you all in celebration for the lucky children who get to play on awesome playgrounds. But alas, now there is international sharing of safety checklists. Ugh. Why? There are people (even children) telling Japan that what they do during their recess time is dangerous. (If you read the comments from Mrs. Elzey’s class, you should know that I fully agree with Jay’s take on the situation, am confused by little Haley Littleton’s attempt to change the subject to sibling rivalry and infighting – a tricky tactic indeed for a young playground reformer, think David shouldn’t listen to his mom so much, don’t think that Kelsey understands how cool it is to “put each other in the air,” and feel for Ana and Brianna. They obviously want to give Japanese playgrounds a shot. Yeah, I know, random. Just thought I’d be thorough.) Turns out that I’m actually rather late to the table on this topic. Other bloggers have hit it before. What happened to Japan? Why did they suddenly put the airplane brakes on their super playgrounds? To the dismay of kids who like to jump in puddles, put weird junk in their mouths, and get scraped up once in a while, a new form of playground seems to be on the horizon: the unbelievably safe and clean playground. If I was a kid, I’d be upset. Well, more upset. I’m an adult and I’m upset for the kids who can’t do insane things anymore. Wussy parents have to go and ruin everything.

Sadly, it looks like Japan is going to start handling kids with kid gloves. It happens all the time in America, when some moron sues somebody for something ludicrous. The end result is jaw-dropping reduction in fun for everybody. Come on, Japan. Hold out. Preserve your cool playgrounds. Pretty please with cherries on top?

Exit question: What kind of playground would you rather play on?

This is a non-serious article written in haste for the previously mentioned Japan Blog Matsuri under the theme “Uniquely Japanese.”

I went to Jo’s place again, this time to celebrate the birth of his granddaughter, and met with Masashi from the City Office as well. The three of us dined on hamburg steaks (yes, hamburg, not hamburger), shumai, and whale. Oh yes, I said whale. I have now crossed it off of my list. Horse is next. We then bummed around Jo’s place, went to a bar and sang karaoke, and engaged in your average celebratory merrymaking. Anyway, enjoy the video, and then if you’d like to, read the extended post. I somehow wound up writing about whales, whaling, and Japan. But first, the pictures.

I am surprised at how strongly people react to this topic. I’ve already gotten in trouble with 2 people who were both horrified and disgusted when I told them that I’d tried whale meat. This really put me in a funk. To me, I’d had an interesting gastronomic adventure, and to my good friends I’d committed a heinous crime. I hope that you’ll forgive me if you think me a meat criminal. I don’t like it when people don’t like me or think poorly of me, and I fought with myself over whether or not to publish this post. I’m a people pleaser, and upsetting people is far from my priority list. Please take that into account as you read. If you’re bothered, please find a different post that you’ll enjoy. If you’re ok, then please read on. This is an opinion piece.

When a friend of mine directed my attention to an article in the New York Times, I was amused. There has been some more recent media attention for Japan and its relationship with whales lately. This is due in no small part to the fisherman recently killed in an attempt to help a sperm whale. It’s also highly political, because of Japan’s whaling program. Japan cannot technically commercially whale, because it is a member of the International Whaling Commission and therefore subject to its moratorium, but it does so under special scientific permit. This is a mighty hairy topic for a lot of people. Personally, I think whaling in general (for commercial or scientific reasons) is fine. Don’t get me wrong – I love whales, and don’t want them to die, so please don’t hate me. Ha ha. I simply have no qualms about hunting them. Japan is certain that it could operate a sustainable commercial whaling operation, and I am cool with that. (Whether it is doing so currently under the guise of its JARPA program or not is not for me to say.)

I think most people think of Orcas or Humpback whales when they think of a whale. I also think that most people think poorly of the whaling practice because of the grisly Nantucket sleighride style of harpooning. Something bothers them about killing a graceful, large animal in such an unsightly manner. I certainly understand that. They also bring up the idea that whales are endangered. A “whale” is what, exactly? There are many kinds of whales, and Japan doesn’t hunt them indiscriminately. Japan goes after Minke whales and a few Bryde’s whales each year. Minke whales make up the vast majority of the total take (87% of the total take in 2005, I believe). Guess what? These whales are not endangered. (Though, in the interest of full disclosure, Japan does take very small numbers of Sei, Fin, and Sperm whales. The first two are endangered, the latter is classified as vulnerable.) But Minke whales and Bryde’s whales? I checked the IUCN red list database. Minke whales are still considered “lower risk,” though they may slide into “near threatened” status eventually. Bryde’s whales aren’t really classified at all; they bear a “data deficient” marker. Sure, it may be nitpicky, but the point is – the whales Japan goes after aren’t endangered. In fact, check out this quote from the article to which I linked above.

Most biologists agree that certain species of whales, including the minke, have not only recovered but are now thriving. Disagreement remains, however, about whether they can be harvested in a sustainable way or whether they are now so numerous that, as Japan asserts, they are threatening other marine animals.

One thing I noticed, while thinking about this, was that we handle these stories strangely. I think that the opinion decisions the general population makes, as non-experts, should not be based on feelings. We anthropomorphize animals in the news all the time. Just look at other videos of freak encounters between people and whales. The “angry” whale “attacks” someone. Um, right. The whale reacted to a really odd situation like a whale would. That’s all. This is dissimilar to a shark attack, where the intent is feeding, but the result is a confused freakout. No, no malice was in the whale’s heart for the evil men killing its family. Animals are animals – highly evolved or otherwise. That’s all.

But I digress. We should not take conservation lightly. I’m not a person who enjoys the thought of killing animals, and I’m not saying that I advocate whaling practices, either. I do, however, think that banning them outright is a bit off. I’ve had the pleasure of being to the two most hotly contested whaling countries in the world, now. (That’s Norway and Japan, folks.) While some like to be humorous about whaling (Norway’s “Intelligent food for intelligent people” and “If we had dolphins, we’d kill them too” slogans, for instance – and yes, I find them darkly humorous), I do think it’s worth considering. Overhunting was a problem, and could be again if people aren’t careful. However, with the ability to monitor the whale populations, I see no reason not to allow commercial whaling of viable whales. It is in the economic interest of the companies hunting and profiting from them to keep their populations robust. After all, if the whales go away, the whaling industry goes away. It’s an ironically symbiotic relationship. Lastly, it seems odd to me that for all the outrage toward America and its cultural imperialist tendencies (not my words or beliefs), the American-led environmental movement is given carte blanche and virtually no friction in raising cane about things like this. We haven’t succeeded at managing things in our own country, but we are more than willing to ask others to follow our lead on this type of thing. Check out the case of Yellowstone National Park and the mismanagement of the elk population if you want some really good ponderworthy material. It’s interesting. But I’ll save that for another entry – probably the global warming one. That one is bound to make me tons of new friends too. (Yes. It was sarcastic.)

Anyway, as of yesterday, I have eaten whale. I mean, I had to try it before it was banned. You know? Also, I lied in the video. It has a strong smell, and a heavy taste. Won’t be eating it again, to everyone’s relief, I’m sure. Sigh. Feel free to respond and tell me how you feel about the issue, but let’s keep it civilized, folks. I know people disagree. And I’d love to talk about it. But no flames, ok?