Monkeys and Firewoks Don't Mix

Hiking outside Kyoto. Saw more monkey poop than monkeys. Flaming or non.
I have no idea what the sign says (translation to come..) and it would seem monkeys in the area don't either.

Took the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto last weekend to do a little exploring and cultural/historical with David and Miki. Basically walked around town in the off and on rain and took in the sights and sounds.

Kyoto has a lot to see and is especially beautiful in the fall and winter with the snow and changing of the seasons. So, Well be back to see what we missed.

As for what we did see: Lots of river birds, Geisha, Temples (Shinto and Buddhist), student art show and two hours worth of rice between Tokyo and Kyoto.


I'm kicking myself for not getting some picks of the full-dress geisha, but it just felt to odd to get that pick. Same way it it's weird to take pics of Amish walking down the street just doing what they do. So, sorry. You'll have to take my word for it being something to see.

Not to far from the part of town we saw the Geisha we rolled by this piece of irony: love motel with "ladies hospital" conveniently located next door. There were a lot of kids running around this area now that I think about it.

Got into town about mid-day Friday so just did a little river walking as most of the sights to see where closed.

But we did get to a few Shinto temples before they shut down where people were walking through hoops and ringing bells for luck and prosperity. People often write well wishes and prayers on planks of wood and leave them at the Shinto alters. This one cracked me up -- probably for the sheer fact that I could read it. It got me wondering if the ones in Japanese were as funny.


Next day we did a little hiking outside of Kyoto and visited the site of Japan's first Zen Buddhist temple. The buildings are only about 100 years old tho the site is about 700 and the original gardens are still in tact.

The temple was a short walk from the river banks pictured to the left here. It was a pretty short trip, but the company was good and it was nice to finally ride the Shink and see another Japanese city.

Kyoto station is pretty cool with about two miles of escalators this picture is only about half way up one side of the station .


And it's open air at the top of each side. There is a catwalk that spans from one side to the other at the top of each escalator run. Pretty amazing design to look at, if not practical. Sandra Joy at center for scale, David and Miki at right. Below, you an see the hills around Kyoto and down into the station from the top of the stairs. All in all, good little trip.

So You're Thinking About Japanese Lessons...

This is the naked man who talked at me for 30 minutes straight... and the beer he bought me.

Went to an Onsen resort in Chiba with some folks where we got separated after nap time. Figured I'd just go back down to the hot springs and chill until the non-Japanese speaker in the group was discovered to be missing.

All was very peaceful, until my friend here showed up with English skills on par with my Japanese, much beer in

 his belly and baseball on his mind. I've watched enough Japanese baseball highlights to know just about every Japanese name in Major League Baseball. So I know that was one of many topics I was not talking about.

So after about 15 minutes of listening to this guy I realized how shameful it is that I've got no Japanese skills -- at all. In the 16th minute it became a test of wills between me and  the other naked guys Chatty Kathy was annoying. 

Who had the nerve, or English skills,  to tell me to take a hike or do us all a favor and tell him to zip it? NONE.

Fourteen minutes and a lot of smile-nods later, I won that test of wills. And got a few brews for my trouble.

While inspiring, I still haven't started Japanese lessons. Soon, though.

What Whale Tastes Like

I've been in Japan for about four months now and have been meaning to get this blog going for some time. Whale sushi seemed like as good a place to start as any.

If you've been watching the news you may be aware of some of the government-backed "whale research" that takes place here in Japan. A good bit of that research ends up on dinner plates. It did mine, anyway.

As a recent arrival, I figure its not my place to dog down the ways of my host country too much. The Japanese have a rational for it and with some decent explanation. How valid, I'll leave up to you. http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/files/whaling.html

So to the quick...
I went for a little Kaiten sushi (the stuff that moves around the room on a conveyor belt on little plates) down in Chiba. Low and behold what comes down the line, behind some tuna and squid, but what you see above. A Japanese friend we were dining with identified that ruby goodness as whale.

Being on the fence as to whether this is a cultural difference or absolute evil, this seemed like a fast track opportunity to form an opinion. It looked good -- for whale you get in a department store sushi chain restaurant.

Based on taste alone, I believe the Japanese are engaged in a sovereignty pissing match with the rest of the world. There's just better Japanese food to put in your mouth.


Special thanks to Ben and his battered-fried-fish-English palate for confirming this.

So what's it taste like.

It definitely tastes like it's from the ocean, but not like fish. Using good sushi as a reference, it's bland. Not a lot of flavor to speak of. The texture is a little tough. Very much lacking that melt in you mouth freshness you get from a good slice of tuna or salmon.

Yeah, that's about it. Not the worst thing that's been in the pie hole and not the best.

So the opinion: for a first-world country that can eat anything it wants -- and there is a lot of good stuff to eat in Tokyo http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2901640.ece -- "whale research" just doesn't need to happen.

Backing this opinion was the whale DNA I ingested (or my conscience). That night I had dreams of building a whale in the middle of a large Japanese style tatami room that I couldn't finish. And another where I was diving in about 20 feet of water where I snorkeled a lot as a kid. I was trying to bury something in the sand and take something else that wouldn't budge from some rocks. knew I was dreaming and could probably breath underwater if I let myself. I was just about to take a deep breath-full of water when I woke up.

As timing would have it, I'm starting this blog just before going home for some vacation and I'm very much looking to the sweet burrito-induced dreams of So. Cal in the coming days.

Next entry: How to nod and smile when having a one-sided conversation with a naked Japanese man.

--ジム