The Daibutsu and Journey To Takeo, Saga!

Here is a friendly sumo wrestler I happened upon in Haneda Airport. On Sunday, our group of 158 teachers went their separate ways to their host cities. I'm now doing my city stay in Takeo City which is in the Saga Prefecture in southern Japan with 14 other American teachers. I'm currently enjoying 80 degree weather AND the many sights, sounds & tastes of Japan. Life is good!
Before leaving Tokyo last weekend, we were actually given an ENTIRE day to roam the city and its environs. After much debate, I settled on a small side trip to the city of Kamakura. This city is known for its many temples and shrines, as well as the main attraction; the Daibutsu. Roughly translated, it means the great Buddha who is pictured above. HUGE! My group jumped off of the train and made our way around the city by visiting several temples and shrines. I purchased what I'm calling my shrine book, which is essentially a blank book similar to a journal. At each temple & shrine that you visit, you may have calligraphy and a stamp with the appropriate seal/symbol written in the shrine book for a mere 300 yen. (Roughly, $3.) I love watching the guys do the character writing...thus the picture below.

This free day was one of my favorite days. We got to take a train, which I love, even though it wasn't a shinkansen i.e. bullet train. I have yet to experience one of those, unfortunately. While riding the train, there was a little girl dressed in full kimono regalia. So adorable!

Here are some of my random Japanese observations:

• Flashlights & sometimes even helmets are located in all hotel rooms due to the high frequency of earthquakes here.
• The normal workday for a Japanese school teacher is 8am-7pm. That's time AT school, just to be clear. Some teachers are known to work until 10-11pm. I'd fit right in. :)
• There is a high rate of suicide in Japan and common methods are to throw oneself under a train or to hang oneself from a tree near Mt. Fuji. Gruesome.
• Japan has the highest number of vending machines per capita which sell beer, sake & cigarettes in addition to the tamer offerings of coca cola and water.
• Rock, paper, scissors is the most popular game to play. Especially if you're in elementary school or at a village festival. You can play it one on one or with hundreds of people.
• Manga is literally everywhere. I see large collections at restaurants and even in my hotel's laundry room.
• Pink is popular-I've seen pink pay phones, pink metronomes, pink toilets...
• There is a strict dedication to recycling EVERYTHING! Which is wonderful. We need to take note!

Until next time...peace.

Fresh Fish, Kabuki & a Japanese Garden

Poor fishy...but not as unfortunate as the squirming mass of eels I saw being massacred by a man with a sharp knife. Yikes! And one must keep a close watch on where one walks when in the market, as the workers are constantly dumping buckets of some sort of liquid (or something else entirely!) on the floor. Many of my friends were splashed by it. GROSS!
Those are massive tuna being prepared for auction. Seems odd that they're just laying there on the ground! This isn't the best picture but it was difficult as the public viewing area is incredibly small. It was also difficult to maneuver your way through all of the trucks and carts who speed by you en route to their destination. Small children and the fish market=BAD IDEA! Not only because of gruesome eel beheading, but also the crazy speeding truck drivers! And they let tourists go ANYWHERE! Pretty awesome though that I got to see these tuna right after they were caught...probably on their way to some sushi restaurant. Evidently, having a sushi breakfast is a common activity after going to the Tsujiki Fish Market, but after rising at 4am to go (and I didn't go to sleep until 2am!), I was more than ready to return to my hotel for a short nap before starting my day.
This session presented on kabuki theatre in the hotel was interesting, but obviously not as cool as seeing the real thing. The woman in the kimono was doing a traditional dance, which was accompanied by the seated musicians. There are vocals, which we were luckily given a translation to watch along with the dance. The subject matter was surprisingly humorous!
This 400 year-old Japanese Garden sits on the grounds of my hotel and I have a great view of it from my room. I finally took some time following lunch one day to stroll through it. I came across some beautiful Japanese bridges, a wedding party having photos taken, a short-tailed cat-who obligingly sat for a quick photo (not appearing here!) and many carp, which I could actually see from my hotel room on the 24th floor. They're HUGE!

I'm WAY behind on this blog, but it's been difficult with all of our activities to find a solid chunk of time to maintain it. Still loving every minute of being here in Japan! I am so lucky to be a participant in this program! Many more things to tell you about. Stay tuned!

Tokyo is AMAZING!

I've arrived-safe and sound!

Wow....this photograph looks like a fake, but I assure you, I was just there! In the background is a Buddhist Temple named Senso-ji Temple. As we took a little bus tour on our first full day here, we were dropped off in the Asakusa area for a tempura lunch, (basically deep-fried anything for those that aren't familiar) followed by free time to explore this amazing temple.

Check out the Asian girl in the photo. EVERYONE does the peace sign here. They think it's cool.

Let me catch you up. It's been awhile since I posted my "stress in on" message!

I arrived in San Francisco on Sunday for an orientation session. At the session, we were informed that because of government cutbacks, we will be the last JFMF delegation of teachers. I'm SO glad that I applied last year. To think that I might have missed this...! After orientation, we were taken to the consulate general's home for a reception, which was very elegant. Men in tuxedos serving beverages are always a welcome sight! I had to carefully maneuver the food offered, as I had no way of knowing where shellfish would be lurking. I'm happy to report that the epi-pen is still intact.

I have to say, the teachers participating on this trip are AWESOME! We're a diverse bunch, but everyone is super-friendly and I've already made friends with whom I know I'll keep in touch!

After a loooooong flight over the Pacific (10 hours), we arrived in Tokyo and checked into the hotel. I ventured out to a sushi place with a small group of my new friends. It was amazing, of course! After dinner, we asked where the locals hung out and were told to go to a soul place called "Susuren." It was surreal to be sitting in Tokyo and listening to James Brown and "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire. Great night!

Today, we had more orientation, followed by the aforementioned bus tour, where we saw the Diet Building (Basically the Japanese House of Congress), the Imperial Palace and the Senso-ji Temple. We returned to the hotel to see a presentation on Kyogen theatre, which is traditional japanese theatre that's over 600 years old. Performed in a sing-song sort of voice, it's a little different, but really interesting. They also use face masks for characters portraying the devil, animals or ugly women. Nice.

Favorite sights: Hello Kitty Public Bus, a store called "Books & Drugs" which is literally a book/drug store, Tokyo Tower-which looks remarkably similar to the Eiffel Tower, all the boisterous school children who obsessively wave at you when they see you!

Tomorrow morning, I'm planning to leave the hotel at 5am to check out the Tsukiji Fish Market which is a whole-sale fish market. Giant tunas galore! Look for my story later on Thursday!

Sayonara!

The Stress is ON!

Konnichiwa everyone!


I'm about to leave for Japan in TWO DAYS! Wow, hard to believe it's actually here!


For those that don't know too much about this experience that I'm about to do, let me tell you!


Last December I applied for the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund after learning of its existence at a class on travel opportunities for teachers. The application deadline was just a month later, so I thought, why not? So I did, and by some miracle, here I am, mere days away from departure!


I depart on Sunday for San Francisco, where I'll undergo a day of orientation to the program followed by a dinner with the Consul General. I've been told the home is on a hill in downtown San Fran, overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Not too shabby! During this orientation, I'll get to meet the other 159 teachers and administrators who are participating in this trip. These are teachers from all over the US. It'll be really cool to spend time with people from such a wide variety of locales!


I depart for Tokyo on Sunday. And then the adventure truly begins. Following my initial stay in Tokyo, I'll head south to Takeo, Saga. In Takeo, I'll attend a Japanese school as well as stay with a Japanese family. After one night in a ryokan, (which is a traditional Japanese sort-of hotel) I'll head back to Tokyo to share our experience in Takeo with other members of the experience.


To say that I'm stressed is an understatement, but under those stressed feelings, I'm also VERY excited.


More soon...