Allow me to open this short entry with a quick quote. I’m stealing from myself here, when I posted my Tainan pictures. “Tainan is way cooler than Taipei for the lazy casual cultural tourists. … Here’s an analogy for you SAT-prep nerds out there. ‘Tainan’ is to ‘Taipei’ as “Kyoto” is to ‘Tokyo.’” You see, if you’re not a person who wants to shop, you might run out of stuff to do. Granted, I got to stay at a super trendy boutique hotel, eat lots of western food that I’ve missed so much, and generally feel pampered. But it wasn’t a particularly “Taiwan-y” experience. It was the same experience you can get in any large city anywhere. I loved the museums and temples that we got to see, but at the end of the day, I really wished I’d spent more time in Tainan. Incidentally, I’ve heard the same from friends who’ve also traveled to Taiwan. Oh - one last interesting thing that happened is that I bumped into some JETs from my area at random in the middle of Taipei. I was chillin’ out at Cold Stone Creamery (for the second or third time) and they walked right in front of me. I shouted out to them and we caught up for a second, but we were all sort of shell-shocked at the abrupt coincidental meeting. Ha ha. Seriously, what are the odds that that happens unplanned? 
Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Trips
This was so weird, it really deserved its own post. No but(t)s about it. I went to a restaurant in Taipei called 便所主题餐厅 in Chinese, or “Modern Toilet” in English. It is exactly what it claims to be. A restaurant themed entirely around toilets and other bathroom fixtures. You can visit the official English site here or the official Japanese version here. Here’s a quick video that I whipped up.
It was an interesting experience all around. All of the tables are converted plumbing fixtures, most surfaces are tiled, the dishes are all special ceramic novelties, and the real bathrooms are relatively difficult to find thanks to their inadvertent camouflage. Ha ha. Specialty teas come in urinal cups, but you can purchase a take-home pee bottle to go. while I’m sure it was, I actually found it hard to feel like the place was properly sterilized / clean. Kinda makes sense, I guess.
The main dishes in the toilet bowls were great. (I actually realized that the bowls are self-contained chafing pots when I watched this video! You can see a little bit of flame under the lip of one of them.) I had the Thai curry and made a bad poo joke about how my meal won the prize for resembling its eventual end state. Oh,come on, dining in a place like that you can’t help but make a few bad poo jokes. Don’t judge me. 
The sides that come with the main dishes were really lousy. I didn’t bother finishing anything but the rice and curry from my main dish. The included soft serve at the end was similarly disappointing - and not only because it wasn’t solid chocolate to complete the effect. It’s also non-dairy and you can really tell. It’s super watery and doesn’t really taste of chocolate or vanilla…or anything else, actually. That’s probably due to the fact that they offer monstrous portions in their desserts. I saw a few parfait/sundae frankenstein bowls pass by us, and I’m telling you, you’d need a hungry soccer team to kill one off. No wonder they don’t use quality stuff - they’re going for quantity. It’s all part of the spectacle of the thing. Having said that, the fries were freaking amazing. Worth your time? Sure, it’s a restaurant themed for the bathroom! Take the chance when you get it. After all, when nature calls…
Deas Culinary, Customary Drivel, Humor, Media, Photos, Trips, Video
My favorite place in Japan from a tourist’s point of view is probably Fushimi Inari Taisha, the large shrine to Inari, diety of cereal grains and business. It’s a really quick train ride away from central Kyoto. If you read Japanese, you might be interested in the official site.
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.
Deas Customary Drivel, JBMatsuri, Media, Photos, RIH Entries, Trips, Unsolicited Commentary
I went to Taiwan recently, and I thought I’d share a few of my pictures. I won’t pretend to know anything, because this was one of very few times that I did absolutely no research about the country I was visiting prior to…visiting. I knew woefully little about Taiwan before I stepped off of the plane. I basically knew that Tainan (台南), Taipei (台北), and Taiwan (台湾) all share kanji. I knew that Taipei was the capital and that Tainan was the more cultural city, being the oldest on the island. I knew the basic gist of the country’s political history from my Asian Studies classes back in college…but that’s pretty much it. 
And if I’m perfectly honest, I still don’t know very much. So I’ll leave the instructive sounding stuff to other people and just show you random shots that I liked for one reason or another. I’ll sum up stuff that I “learned” after the gallery.
I did “take away” some observations, in spite of my total tourist mentality (or perhaps due to it?). 1) Tainan is way cooler than Taipei for the lazy casual cultural tourists. I’ll elaborate on this when I post my Taipei pictures. Here’s an analogy for you SAT-prep nerds out there. “Tainan” is to “Taipei” as “Kyoto” is to “Tokyo.” 2) The ridiculous stuff is often cooler than the famous stuff. I honestly thought the Anping Tree House was cooler than Anping Fort, which is the more historical and more widely known attraction in the same area. 3) The Dutch were freakin’ influential EVERYWHERE. Ha ha. Going through the museums and histories, I often found myself wondering if things had gone differently, would Dutch people rule the world? 4) Night Markets are the coolest thing to do by a long shot. Way cool. Still couldn’t bring myself to try stinky tofu, though. (臭豆腐 = literally “smell” + “bean” + “rot” according to my limited / Japanese understanding of the characters. [Obviously, 豆腐 is "tofu" normally. I separated it for effect.] Whew. Very accurate name.) Most people who’ve tried it say that they love the stuff, but dude…..I had to hold my breath to walk by the little stalls selling it. I’m all for expanding my formerly uber-picky culinary horizons, but I just don’t think I’m there yet. By the way, the English “fermented tofu” seems redundant to me, since tofu is “fermented soy bean curd.” But yeah, that should tell you how pungent it is - it’s twice rotted! Ha ha. 5) Walk everywhere you can. Only take cabs for long distances. You get to see so much more of the city. Anyhoo, like I said, I’m still unfortunately ignorant of a lot of cool stuff in Tainan, but I got to know the city over a few days. Good times. More on the Taiwan trip - specifically Taipei - later.
Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Photos, Trips
That’s right, I took some pictures of this year’s cherry blossoms in THREE DIMENSIONS. To view these 3-D pictures, you need to be able to cross your eyes. (Sorry!) If you have no idea what this is about, check the original post. These pictures were all taken early last week at Osaka Castle. Stopped there after arriving in Osaka from Taipei, before hopping on the Orange Ferry back to Shikoku. Lemme know what you think! Note - usually clicking on my thumbnails will open the larger versions in an overlay - this time they’ll open in a new tab or window. Some folks said they wished that they could get a larger version - so I linked to the edited originals. They’re big. 
Hope that works. Enjoy!
Leave me a comment, and if you liked this article, consider submitting it to JapanSoc! (Or if it’s already there, vote for it in the Upcoming section!)
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Alas, another of my island schools has closed. 今治高等学校大島分校, or Oshima Branch School (attached to Imabari Minami Prefectural High School). I’d taught there for 3 years. I watched this class - only 12 seniors, the only students in the school this year - come in as freshmen. Quite an emotional day all around. Murakami-sensei led his homeroom to the front of the gym, where they received their diplomas in front of the audience, several cameramen, the mayor, and me. The music was provided by the brass band from Minami High School, which sounded amazing as they played their rendition of Angela Aki’s latest hit. The band was roughly three times the size of the graduating class. Ha ha. Next came the official closing ceremony, where the school flag is given back to the city. Afterward, the graduates made their way to their old home room for one last intimate moment. Murakami-sensei delivered a thanks speech, and presented each student with a special certificate, separate from their diploma. He shook their hands, they wept, yelled their thanks to their parents who lined the back of the room, and sat down again. I was really, really proud. I went in afterward and shook their hands and congratulated them individually. What a day. I started with seven schools, and now I’m down to five. But I have great memories of both that closed. Side note: I usually do not show my students’ faces in pictures out of an abundance of caution, but these are no longer my students!
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