Saturday, June 28, 2003
Tokyo. Got the crap knocked out of itself in the Second World War. Probably for the better as far as business goes in the long run because it allowed them to turn tons of underdeveloped land into business megaplexes. Today, I experienced Tokyo for the first time. I would say it's like New York, it's probably the closest American analogue that I have witnessed, but in reality, it's nothing like New York. For a city where most of its workers can't even afford to live anywhere near their jobs, there are literally 342 metric assloads of people, give or take an assload. And talk about audio/visual overload. You would think that Japan has developed all of the technologies it has solely for the purpose of advertising. And for some reason, I just can't escape the advertising influence of Coca-Cola. Maybe it's living in the city where they have their US headquarters and then visiting the city where they have their East Asian headquarters. On second thought, maybe it's something else.
If you added up all of the people I have seen in my lifetime and compared it to the number of people I saw today, today would probably win out. I see why Japanese people have such a clean culture. I can't imagine how quickly a highly communicable disease could spread if they weren't a very clean society as a whole. I know the whole shoes off in the house thing was primarily to protect the tatami floors of many traditional homes, but I can see why the tradition still stands even today. Plus the added bonus of fewer carpet stains = less frequent cleaning so you can spend more time building my television and my digital camera. I am sure that is the reason Japan became such an economic success.
I can see why Japan is doing so much research into alternative energy sources. These guys really know how to throw a party. Every single night. I know it was a Friday, but the streets were as crowded tonight as they were in Atlanta during the Olympics in 1996. Shoulder to shoulder, ass to ass. It was insane. I played dumb American tourist to a T. I was so busy gawking at all of the sights and sounds that I bumped into several people throughout the evening. At least I wan't wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
I did some calculations (nerd!) based on my per diem allowance vs. my actual budget and realized that I will likely have a healthy surplus. So, in accordance with Japanese expectations of foreigners, I bought some consumer electronics. Well, a consumer electronic, singular. I broke down and bought a Sony digital camera. It's been long overdue for me to buy one and I wanted to be better equipped to share the Japanization of yours truly. And it's always fun to have a new toy.
One more thing before I sign off this evening. Apparently, I underestimated how sexually repressed the average Japanese male really is. I came to this realization over the course of the day through a very bizarre series of events. The initial stimulus was at a department store. Now, land in Japan is quite valuable and this is witnessed by the fact that most of the stores in Tokyo are vertical, exactly the opposite of our arrogantly wasteful shopping complexes in the States, but we have successfully proven our testicular fortitude and abundance of resources by building them like that. Back to the story, I was going up floor by floor in one store, checking out the various wares, from furniture and air conditioners to audio equipment that I would likely trade women for. So, I ended up on the 7th floor, the end of the escalator sequence. Surely something very cool exists around this corner. My buddy Leaor would have been in heaven. Not because it was a total sausage fest, which it was, but rather because I had stumbled across the pornography floor. Yes it was accidental, remember I can't read a damned thing here. Now, porn itself is really not that disturbing. Read my blog from a few days ago and you will find verification of my views on pornography. But what I did find disturbing is the fact that more than 70% of the stuff in this room was cartoon porn. I mean, what gives? The best I can figure goes something like this. What do the Japanese cartoon women and your typical Japanese woman have in common? That's right, nothing. Large breasts, supple, yet firm and round buttocks, and I am sure you know which category I am describing. And no, I am not being so ignorant to say that ALL Japanese women lack these traits, notice my careful choice of the word 'typical.' I have seen some Japanese women I probably would not trade for the aforementioned audio equipment. There are just not enough of those types of women to go around. Especially for the types of guys who watch cartoon porn. But I shouldn't denigrate these guys any further. Those guys probably made my camera.
If you added up all of the people I have seen in my lifetime and compared it to the number of people I saw today, today would probably win out. I see why Japanese people have such a clean culture. I can't imagine how quickly a highly communicable disease could spread if they weren't a very clean society as a whole. I know the whole shoes off in the house thing was primarily to protect the tatami floors of many traditional homes, but I can see why the tradition still stands even today. Plus the added bonus of fewer carpet stains = less frequent cleaning so you can spend more time building my television and my digital camera. I am sure that is the reason Japan became such an economic success.
I can see why Japan is doing so much research into alternative energy sources. These guys really know how to throw a party. Every single night. I know it was a Friday, but the streets were as crowded tonight as they were in Atlanta during the Olympics in 1996. Shoulder to shoulder, ass to ass. It was insane. I played dumb American tourist to a T. I was so busy gawking at all of the sights and sounds that I bumped into several people throughout the evening. At least I wan't wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
I did some calculations (nerd!) based on my per diem allowance vs. my actual budget and realized that I will likely have a healthy surplus. So, in accordance with Japanese expectations of foreigners, I bought some consumer electronics. Well, a consumer electronic, singular. I broke down and bought a Sony digital camera. It's been long overdue for me to buy one and I wanted to be better equipped to share the Japanization of yours truly. And it's always fun to have a new toy.
One more thing before I sign off this evening. Apparently, I underestimated how sexually repressed the average Japanese male really is. I came to this realization over the course of the day through a very bizarre series of events. The initial stimulus was at a department store. Now, land in Japan is quite valuable and this is witnessed by the fact that most of the stores in Tokyo are vertical, exactly the opposite of our arrogantly wasteful shopping complexes in the States, but we have successfully proven our testicular fortitude and abundance of resources by building them like that. Back to the story, I was going up floor by floor in one store, checking out the various wares, from furniture and air conditioners to audio equipment that I would likely trade women for. So, I ended up on the 7th floor, the end of the escalator sequence. Surely something very cool exists around this corner. My buddy Leaor would have been in heaven. Not because it was a total sausage fest, which it was, but rather because I had stumbled across the pornography floor. Yes it was accidental, remember I can't read a damned thing here. Now, porn itself is really not that disturbing. Read my blog from a few days ago and you will find verification of my views on pornography. But what I did find disturbing is the fact that more than 70% of the stuff in this room was cartoon porn. I mean, what gives? The best I can figure goes something like this. What do the Japanese cartoon women and your typical Japanese woman have in common? That's right, nothing. Large breasts, supple, yet firm and round buttocks, and I am sure you know which category I am describing. And no, I am not being so ignorant to say that ALL Japanese women lack these traits, notice my careful choice of the word 'typical.' I have seen some Japanese women I probably would not trade for the aforementioned audio equipment. There are just not enough of those types of women to go around. Especially for the types of guys who watch cartoon porn. But I shouldn't denigrate these guys any further. Those guys probably made my camera.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
First, to set the record straight, I am usually really good about checking my html, but I really goofed recently when I tried to link to my buddy Josh's page. To make up for the blunder, I've added him to the links section on your right.
So, the Mudman forecasted pictures for today. Good news is that the forecast came true. After spending countless hours transferring images to the computer from a borrowed digital camera, this website now features Muddyvision 2000®!!! Somehow, the 2000 extension doesn't seem so futuristic anymore.
So, here are the links to the images I've added. No, I'm not actually putting them on this page. I want people to read it, not spend an hour downloading it. That's the secret to the registered trademark for Muddyvision 2000®!!!, but don't tell anyone, that's just between you, me and the Colonel. Yeah, he was dumb enough to trade the recipe for that one. Can't blame him, with the all futuristic sounding 2000!!!...
What I've intended is to go back and insert the images where they seem most appropriate. But, not to eschew my devoted readers, I've also included them as a simple list. Keep in mind, they may seem out of context now, but who's keeping track?
Oh, and you will find that like two of the pics are rotated 90 degrees CCW. I didn't have a photo editor to right them and the camera would display them rotated, just not transfer them rotated. If it's really a problem, for those two, you can either look at them laying down on your left side or you can rotate your monitor.
My Fellow American
My Craptastic Bike!
The Ninja says...look for me on rooftop.
Mt. Tsukuba doesn't look far from home.
Are we there yet?
Halfway up Mt. Tsukuba.
Entrance to the shrine.
A pond in front of the shrine.
Who needs an MBA, we're the only place for miles!!
Golf anyone??
Can't they just make hot dogs out of this crap instead? (Beef tripe)
Meikei Pictures
A workaholics dream. Going to work during your summer vacation.
Unsuccessful spin-off idea from the BBC's "Changing Rooms." ChangingShoes !!
Mehdi sensei (Dr. Ahmadyar)
The school uniforms.
For Leaor. Meikei = National HS Rugby Champions
This one makes the school look dark and desolate.
A student did this!
Student sculptures in the courtyard.
With bushes!!
Artsy-fartsy shot
Well, that's about it for today. Tune in tomorrow when I won't be spending most of my time coming up with unfunny link captions.
So, the Mudman forecasted pictures for today. Good news is that the forecast came true. After spending countless hours transferring images to the computer from a borrowed digital camera, this website now features Muddyvision 2000®!!! Somehow, the 2000 extension doesn't seem so futuristic anymore.
So, here are the links to the images I've added. No, I'm not actually putting them on this page. I want people to read it, not spend an hour downloading it. That's the secret to the registered trademark for Muddyvision 2000®!!!, but don't tell anyone, that's just between you, me and the Colonel. Yeah, he was dumb enough to trade the recipe for that one. Can't blame him, with the all futuristic sounding 2000!!!...
What I've intended is to go back and insert the images where they seem most appropriate. But, not to eschew my devoted readers, I've also included them as a simple list. Keep in mind, they may seem out of context now, but who's keeping track?
Oh, and you will find that like two of the pics are rotated 90 degrees CCW. I didn't have a photo editor to right them and the camera would display them rotated, just not transfer them rotated. If it's really a problem, for those two, you can either look at them laying down on your left side or you can rotate your monitor.
My Fellow American
My Craptastic Bike!
The Ninja says...look for me on rooftop.
Mt. Tsukuba doesn't look far from home.
Are we there yet?
Halfway up Mt. Tsukuba.
Entrance to the shrine.
A pond in front of the shrine.
Who needs an MBA, we're the only place for miles!!
Golf anyone??
Can't they just make hot dogs out of this crap instead? (Beef tripe)
A workaholics dream. Going to work during your summer vacation.
Unsuccessful spin-off idea from the BBC's "Changing Rooms." Changing
Mehdi sensei (Dr. Ahmadyar)
The school uniforms.
For Leaor. Meikei = National HS Rugby Champions
This one makes the school look dark and desolate.
A student did this!
Student sculptures in the courtyard.
With bushes!!
Artsy-fartsy shot
Well, that's about it for today. Tune in tomorrow when I won't be spending most of my time coming up with unfunny link captions.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Apparently, my subconcious is not satisfied with my living arrangements. I tried to burn the building down while I was preparing dinner. I guess I could make up a whole bunch of crap about how I was preparing a glorious meal of baked ziti, topped with fresh grated parmesan, with steamed asparagus and carrots seasoned with cloves and honey. The truth is, I was just making toast. Of all of the foods that one can concoct in the modern kitchen, it seems like the art of toasting bread has posed the greatest threat to culinary safety throughout history. What happens to vast, amber waves of grain when provided enough activation energy to begin combustion? The same thing that happens to your wheat bread when given enough energy, that's what. If I had to single out one appliance that has posed the greatest threat to humanity over the last century, I bet most people would be with me when I say the toaster. The combination of fuel, oxygen, heat...the triangle of fire, complete in one appliance. Well, I knew I smelled toast too early after putting it in. Aw, move over Rover, I had to take over and get the vent on before the smoke detector went off. I turned on the obnoxiously low range hood, the bathroom vent, I was using the front door like a giant, hinged fan, just please don't let that smoke detector go off. I was lucky this time, except for the fact that my wheat bread looked more like 'buckwheat' bread now. And the fact that my apartment smells like burnt toast. I guess it's better than the pesticide smell that dominated before now. With my luck, tomorrow it'll be both of those smells combined. Mmmm, burnt poison toast...
Words, words, words.... boring. I know. I was dumb enough to believe the myth that consumer electronics are cheaper in Japan. Liars, all of them. I would fare better ordering in the US, having it sent to my US address, then having my wife mail it to me in Japan. That would still save me money. So, I did some research. I don't know how recent the data is, and the price isn't this skewed by any stretch, but apparently a basket of goods and services that would cost $100 in the US would cost the equivalent of $182 in Japan. I believe it after going to the grocery store. Split be costing mad bank. Like, $4 for a box of cereal that would cost like $2-$2.50 in the States. More than $2 for a dozen eggs. It's almost as cheap to eat out every meal. As long as you're not a fat American, at least. Back to my point, I was going to get a digital camera of some sort when I got here. Wasn't decided on video or regular old still shot, but I was convinced that it would be cheaper in Japan. Not only is it more expensive, all of the menus and stuff are in Japanese! I haven't been able to locate a store where they even sell them with English menus and buttons, nor do any sales people know where to go. Anyhow, Nathan has a digital camera and he has let me borrow it for tomorrow. In summary, hopefully, I'll have some pictures up tomorrow. Now, I'm not going to get all Anne Geddes on ya'lls asses or anything, but I should have some pics of the school, Ninomiya house, and maybe some from that mountain that fah-shizzled all over mah nizzle this weekend. Keep an eye out. Okay, now put it back in Mr(s). Literal, that's just gross.
Words, words, words.... boring. I know. I was dumb enough to believe the myth that consumer electronics are cheaper in Japan. Liars, all of them. I would fare better ordering in the US, having it sent to my US address, then having my wife mail it to me in Japan. That would still save me money. So, I did some research. I don't know how recent the data is, and the price isn't this skewed by any stretch, but apparently a basket of goods and services that would cost $100 in the US would cost the equivalent of $182 in Japan. I believe it after going to the grocery store. Split be costing mad bank. Like, $4 for a box of cereal that would cost like $2-$2.50 in the States. More than $2 for a dozen eggs. It's almost as cheap to eat out every meal. As long as you're not a fat American, at least. Back to my point, I was going to get a digital camera of some sort when I got here. Wasn't decided on video or regular old still shot, but I was convinced that it would be cheaper in Japan. Not only is it more expensive, all of the menus and stuff are in Japanese! I haven't been able to locate a store where they even sell them with English menus and buttons, nor do any sales people know where to go. Anyhow, Nathan has a digital camera and he has let me borrow it for tomorrow. In summary, hopefully, I'll have some pictures up tomorrow. Now, I'm not going to get all Anne Geddes on ya'lls asses or anything, but I should have some pics of the school, Ninomiya house, and maybe some from that mountain that fah-shizzled all over mah nizzle this weekend. Keep an eye out. Okay, now put it back in Mr(s). Literal, that's just gross.
Monday, June 23, 2003
Making the current top 10 list of groovy things about Japan: close and open buttons on the elevators that actually work! Still holding on to #1: vending machine beer!
What is it about girls in life science and boys in physics?!? I am a science teacher and I still can't figure it out. In the upper level science classes at Meikei, it's boys in physics, girls in biology. I feel like the answer is obvious, but I just can't get a grasp on it. I think my perspective is skewed because I'm too close to the front lines, so please, enlighten me by clicking on the 'Shout Out' button below this post. Totally opposite from what I work in, the science department is dominated by men. Eight full time staff in science and one of them is female. I'll give you one guess as to what subject she teaches.
First, I don't have cable at home. No, I'm not one of those people who are all high and mighty about not having cable, boasting my intellectual superiority because I don't watch TV, implying that I do something more productive with my time such as reading books, or running numbers. Heck, sometimes I wish I had cable so I could change the channel away from Trading Spaces or watch the scrambled nudie channel hoping to score a glimpse of a booby. No, I'm just a workaholic that understands economics and the fact that I don't want to pay that much per unit time of television watching. In other words, I'm a cheap bastard. Well, since someone else is footing the room bill, I decided to go for the cable option. It was pretty much the only way I could watch anything in English, so why not?
So, I'm flipping channels after dinner tonight and I come across the music video channels. Surprisingly, they were all actually showing videos, even MTV. So, interested in knowing more about what makes Japan rock, I decided to tune in for a few minutes. If you think rap in the States is bad, you should see this crap. You may even start to like good old American rap. No wonder these folks love Michael Jackson and Britney. Hell, Michael Bolton might be preferable to some of the craptacular selections I endured. One video was for some Japanese equivalent of the teen pop goddess. I couldn't understand a word she said (in Japanese, duh) but I could tell it was meaningful because of the gigantic, ultra-slow hand gestures the singer produced while simultaneously rocking the hips slowly, but rythmically. Not to mention the overabundance of digital 'fairy dust' in the video. I don't know the current state of affairs in the music video industry in the States, but I really hope it's not this bad. Unfortunately, no scrambled channels here.
What is it about girls in life science and boys in physics?!? I am a science teacher and I still can't figure it out. In the upper level science classes at Meikei, it's boys in physics, girls in biology. I feel like the answer is obvious, but I just can't get a grasp on it. I think my perspective is skewed because I'm too close to the front lines, so please, enlighten me by clicking on the 'Shout Out' button below this post. Totally opposite from what I work in, the science department is dominated by men. Eight full time staff in science and one of them is female. I'll give you one guess as to what subject she teaches.
First, I don't have cable at home. No, I'm not one of those people who are all high and mighty about not having cable, boasting my intellectual superiority because I don't watch TV, implying that I do something more productive with my time such as reading books, or running numbers. Heck, sometimes I wish I had cable so I could change the channel away from Trading Spaces or watch the scrambled nudie channel hoping to score a glimpse of a booby. No, I'm just a workaholic that understands economics and the fact that I don't want to pay that much per unit time of television watching. In other words, I'm a cheap bastard. Well, since someone else is footing the room bill, I decided to go for the cable option. It was pretty much the only way I could watch anything in English, so why not?
So, I'm flipping channels after dinner tonight and I come across the music video channels. Surprisingly, they were all actually showing videos, even MTV. So, interested in knowing more about what makes Japan rock, I decided to tune in for a few minutes. If you think rap in the States is bad, you should see this crap. You may even start to like good old American rap. No wonder these folks love Michael Jackson and Britney. Hell, Michael Bolton might be preferable to some of the craptacular selections I endured. One video was for some Japanese equivalent of the teen pop goddess. I couldn't understand a word she said (in Japanese, duh) but I could tell it was meaningful because of the gigantic, ultra-slow hand gestures the singer produced while simultaneously rocking the hips slowly, but rythmically. Not to mention the overabundance of digital 'fairy dust' in the video. I don't know the current state of affairs in the music video industry in the States, but I really hope it's not this bad. Unfortunately, no scrambled channels here.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
This entry will be for both today and yesterday. Sorry I didn't get around to an entry yesterday, but after reading this one, hopefully you will understand why I didn't.
Nathan and I got up early on Saturday morning for a trip to Mt. Tsukuba. We left around 7:30 or so in the morning. I did find a 3-D map online to give you an idea of the area and scale. If you look at the map, we live in the SE portion of the red cross marker in the center. Mt. Tsukuba is the mountiain directly north, marked as 876 m high. Well, after looking at that, consider the fact that we biked there. It looks like about 15 km from the scale, right? Now follow the actual roads. I estimate from the 2 hours it took us w/ non-stop cycling that it was at least 20 miles to the point on the mountain where you start hiking. Keep in mind that the map doesn't show the switchbacks so well. Or the incline, which we walked the bikes up for the last mile and a half or so. Also consider the nature of our bicycles. Not rough and tumble mountain bikes, not fancy racing bikes, but plain old commuter types bikes, with handlebar basket and all. I think some bikers we asked for directions were making fun of them. But back to the story...
So, after about five 20-oz. bottles of water and 3 hours after we started, we finally made it to the point where you walk up. It was awesome. There was a huge shrine to some type of frog god or something with all of these smaller buildings around it. People would come up, toss some money in a big cage type contraption, do some really short type of prayer and then clap their hands together twice, then say something else, then leave. It was very interesting, to say the least. Hopefully, I will have some pictures on Monday.
Then, we started to ascend the foot trail up the mountain. After climbing about 100 feet or so of 50 degree incline, we realized we had missed the trail. Thank goodness because I don't know if I could have done that the entire way. Then we found the real trail. It wasn't so bad, and somebody had pretty much tamed the trail with reinforcing logs to make stairs, and it was well traveled enough to be free of shrubbery and weeds. It was a pretty awesome forest, emphasized by the fact that the only thing you could hear was yourself most of the time. I could even hear my heart beating. Maybe that's because the trail was insane. Small incline for 100 feet, totally insane incline for 300 feet, level off a little for 50 feet, back to insane for 150. The mountain would probably not have been as difficult if we had ridden a bus or drove to the walk up point, but it was definitely working hard to make me its bitch. Throughout the 2.3 km trip, mostly huge incline, there was even partial penetration at some points. But in the end, it was I who was victorious and the mountain was indeed MY bitch.
I was famished at this point and I had run out of water about half way up the trail. Thankfully, there are restaurants and shops at the top. Easier to access when you use the cable car, but that was not our mission. The first thing we did was have a drink. Now, most of the people up there were drinking beer and smoking. I really wasn't interested because my lungs were sore from a combination of the trip and the high altitude and I sure as hell didn't need to feel more light-headed than I did. So, we tried their equivalent of Gatorade, called, I kid you not, Pocari Sweat. Why would you call a drink sweat!? I guess we should be thankful it wasn't Pocari $*it. It was the kind of drink that was only consumable after a long bout of physical exertion. We stopped at a restaurant and had some soba, or unbleached wheat flour noodles. It was a pretty good meal. Then I had an awesome ice cream sandwich. It was like a typical one, but with waffle-like outside and crunchy chocolate and vanilla ice cream inside. Thinking about it makes me hungry for another one. We looked around a bit, took a few pictures, looked around some more. Then it was time to head back. Let's just say this, I really appreciate Mayer's discovery of the Law of Conservation of Energy.
The bike ride down the road portion of the mountain was scary dangerous. Keep in mind the type of bikes we had and the fact that I have yet to find a helmet that will fit my enormous cranium anywhere (remember where I am and the typical consumer here). My brakes don't work as well anymore, not that they were that great to begin with. We had to stop for a few minutes at the bottom to let them cool off. Water sizzled off of the brake housing on the rear wheel. Looking back at the mountain one last time, we started the 15 mile or so ride back home.
After a quick shower, I filled the tub up with cool water and sat there for probably an hour. My legs were very sore, still sort of painful today. Somehow, I missed the back of my right hand when I was applying sunscreen and I should have worn a hat or started using Rogaine.
After that, we went to a restaurant a block away from Ninomiya House. We had passed it the night before and it smelled wonderful. We figured out why. It was a Korean barbecue joint, the kind where they bring you meat and you cook it on the grill at your table. We couldn't read the menu, so we picked stuff at random from the half-price specials menu. I ended up with some beef ribs and he got some other beef cutlet. Both were great! Score! So we ordered some vegetables. I tried ordering this vegetable plate with zuchinni, squash and something else, but apparently he thought I only wanted one and I ended up with the 'something else.' It was 'deliciously different,' I think I would say. I think it was some sort of pickled cabbage with crushed red peppers, but I don't know and I don't want to ponder it much longer. Think about the ice cream sandwich again...mmm... So, still hungry and feeling brave after our first triumph over illiteracy, we ordered the other two special items, thinking they would be similarly good. Well, we were 50% right. One plate was obviously meat, the other... well, it looked like maybe it was chicken meat. So we called the waiter over to ask if we needed to cook it and he said yes, just like the others. So, I was dumb enough to ask what it was. He told us that the last part we ordered was from the ribs and the back of the cow through broken English and pointing to body parts, then he said that this was from the stomach. I got the message, it was intestines. Beef tripe. yummy. So, not wanting to be rude, we cooked it thoroughly and ate it. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't taste like chicken. We made sure to keep some of the other meat to make sure the meal didn't end with cow guts. Needless to say, I got a real good look at the kanji that made up that menu selection.
That was pretty much the end of the day. I was way too tired to write something coherent so I decided to wait until today. If something interesting happens today, I'll be sure to make another entry, ok? I promise.
Sayonara suckers,
Muddy-san
Nathan and I got up early on Saturday morning for a trip to Mt. Tsukuba. We left around 7:30 or so in the morning. I did find a 3-D map online to give you an idea of the area and scale. If you look at the map, we live in the SE portion of the red cross marker in the center. Mt. Tsukuba is the mountiain directly north, marked as 876 m high. Well, after looking at that, consider the fact that we biked there. It looks like about 15 km from the scale, right? Now follow the actual roads. I estimate from the 2 hours it took us w/ non-stop cycling that it was at least 20 miles to the point on the mountain where you start hiking. Keep in mind that the map doesn't show the switchbacks so well. Or the incline, which we walked the bikes up for the last mile and a half or so. Also consider the nature of our bicycles. Not rough and tumble mountain bikes, not fancy racing bikes, but plain old commuter types bikes, with handlebar basket and all. I think some bikers we asked for directions were making fun of them. But back to the story...
So, after about five 20-oz. bottles of water and 3 hours after we started, we finally made it to the point where you walk up. It was awesome. There was a huge shrine to some type of frog god or something with all of these smaller buildings around it. People would come up, toss some money in a big cage type contraption, do some really short type of prayer and then clap their hands together twice, then say something else, then leave. It was very interesting, to say the least. Hopefully, I will have some pictures on Monday.
Then, we started to ascend the foot trail up the mountain. After climbing about 100 feet or so of 50 degree incline, we realized we had missed the trail. Thank goodness because I don't know if I could have done that the entire way. Then we found the real trail. It wasn't so bad, and somebody had pretty much tamed the trail with reinforcing logs to make stairs, and it was well traveled enough to be free of shrubbery and weeds. It was a pretty awesome forest, emphasized by the fact that the only thing you could hear was yourself most of the time. I could even hear my heart beating. Maybe that's because the trail was insane. Small incline for 100 feet, totally insane incline for 300 feet, level off a little for 50 feet, back to insane for 150. The mountain would probably not have been as difficult if we had ridden a bus or drove to the walk up point, but it was definitely working hard to make me its bitch. Throughout the 2.3 km trip, mostly huge incline, there was even partial penetration at some points. But in the end, it was I who was victorious and the mountain was indeed MY bitch.
I was famished at this point and I had run out of water about half way up the trail. Thankfully, there are restaurants and shops at the top. Easier to access when you use the cable car, but that was not our mission. The first thing we did was have a drink. Now, most of the people up there were drinking beer and smoking. I really wasn't interested because my lungs were sore from a combination of the trip and the high altitude and I sure as hell didn't need to feel more light-headed than I did. So, we tried their equivalent of Gatorade, called, I kid you not, Pocari Sweat. Why would you call a drink sweat!? I guess we should be thankful it wasn't Pocari $*it. It was the kind of drink that was only consumable after a long bout of physical exertion. We stopped at a restaurant and had some soba, or unbleached wheat flour noodles. It was a pretty good meal. Then I had an awesome ice cream sandwich. It was like a typical one, but with waffle-like outside and crunchy chocolate and vanilla ice cream inside. Thinking about it makes me hungry for another one. We looked around a bit, took a few pictures, looked around some more. Then it was time to head back. Let's just say this, I really appreciate Mayer's discovery of the Law of Conservation of Energy.
The bike ride down the road portion of the mountain was scary dangerous. Keep in mind the type of bikes we had and the fact that I have yet to find a helmet that will fit my enormous cranium anywhere (remember where I am and the typical consumer here). My brakes don't work as well anymore, not that they were that great to begin with. We had to stop for a few minutes at the bottom to let them cool off. Water sizzled off of the brake housing on the rear wheel. Looking back at the mountain one last time, we started the 15 mile or so ride back home.
After a quick shower, I filled the tub up with cool water and sat there for probably an hour. My legs were very sore, still sort of painful today. Somehow, I missed the back of my right hand when I was applying sunscreen and I should have worn a hat or started using Rogaine.
After that, we went to a restaurant a block away from Ninomiya House. We had passed it the night before and it smelled wonderful. We figured out why. It was a Korean barbecue joint, the kind where they bring you meat and you cook it on the grill at your table. We couldn't read the menu, so we picked stuff at random from the half-price specials menu. I ended up with some beef ribs and he got some other beef cutlet. Both were great! Score! So we ordered some vegetables. I tried ordering this vegetable plate with zuchinni, squash and something else, but apparently he thought I only wanted one and I ended up with the 'something else.' It was 'deliciously different,' I think I would say. I think it was some sort of pickled cabbage with crushed red peppers, but I don't know and I don't want to ponder it much longer. Think about the ice cream sandwich again...mmm... So, still hungry and feeling brave after our first triumph over illiteracy, we ordered the other two special items, thinking they would be similarly good. Well, we were 50% right. One plate was obviously meat, the other... well, it looked like maybe it was chicken meat. So we called the waiter over to ask if we needed to cook it and he said yes, just like the others. So, I was dumb enough to ask what it was. He told us that the last part we ordered was from the ribs and the back of the cow through broken English and pointing to body parts, then he said that this was from the stomach. I got the message, it was intestines. Beef tripe. yummy. So, not wanting to be rude, we cooked it thoroughly and ate it. It wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't taste like chicken. We made sure to keep some of the other meat to make sure the meal didn't end with cow guts. Needless to say, I got a real good look at the kanji that made up that menu selection.
That was pretty much the end of the day. I was way too tired to write something coherent so I decided to wait until today. If something interesting happens today, I'll be sure to make another entry, ok? I promise.
Sayonara suckers,
Muddy-san
