その坂の上のお寺から香りが漂いて来る ※ The Sweet Smell of Incense Drifts on a Warm Breeze

今日は、部屋に座っていて期末試験のために勉強しています。５月になってから、天気は暖かくなっています。それで窓を開けたままで部屋で寝たり勉強したりしています。外で遊んでいる子供達と楽しそうな声を聞くといつも盛り上がります。そして、家の近くにあるお寺から綺麗な香りが風で部屋まで漂います。きっと誰かがお祈りしているでしょう。周りには緑もいっぱいあるし、以前と比べると別の世界みたいほど綺麗です。でも名古屋の夏が蒸し暑いことで知られているから、しばらく大変暑くなるはずです。
最近の留学生活で色々な面白いことがありました。まず、先週のゴールデンウィークの前に多くの授業のことを終わりました。それで、学校で様々なことをしました。一番面白かったのは、「もっと日本を知ろう！」というプロジェクト・ワークの授業のために、今学期先生と行った日本の美意識に関する研究を発表したことです。それは、初めてアカデミックな環境でそういう社会的な研究について発表することでした。みんなの前でずっと緊張していたし、日本語で全ての言いたいことがきちんと伝えられなかったとわかるんですが、とにかく最高の経験でした。日本で社会的な研究の結果を使って、観察と印象について発表が出来るようになって、嬉しかったです。先生のおかげで、日本の美意識と社会の理解が深まれました。日本語について少し自信がつきましたが、もちろんこれからも日本語をたくさん勉強しなきゃいけないことも分かりました！そのプロジェクト・ワークの他に、日本語の授業で楽しい「終わりのパーティー」も行いました。でも、普通のパーティーだけじゃなくて、みんなが同級生と先生の前で何か面白いことをさせられたというイベントでした。同級生の友達とスキットもダンスをして、すっごく恥ずかしくて楽しかったです(^_^)。最後に、先生と居酒屋に行って、初めて打ち上げの晩御飯を食べました。食べ物が美味しかったし、面白い話ばかりだったし、楽しかったです！
それから、ゴールデンウィークは本当に思っていたほど色々ないい所に行けました！僕が、一ヶ月ぐらい前からゴールデンウィークの休みのことを知りましたけれど、その時にはもうホテルとか電車が予約が取られたんですから、ちゃんとう旅行ができないことを実感しました。代わりに、名古屋の周りのいい所をインターネットで調べて、友達といきました。藤祭りと海と山と滝も見に行って、素晴らしかったです。後、二人の大学二年生の時からの友達が東京から名古屋に来てくれたので、僕は初めて日本人に名古屋を少し紹介することをしました。やっぱり、中部地方の中でも一週間の休みをたっぷり楽しみました。
今週の金曜日に最後の試験を終わります。それから、関西地方の広島と姫路市と神戸と大阪に行く予定です。その「関西ツアー」について書くのを楽しみにしています。
旅行と探検と打ち上げすることって楽しいですが、実は心には重い気持ちがあります。本気で日本で出会った友達と先生に「さようなら」が言えないと思います。みんなは兄弟達みたいに中がよくて、大事な人なんです。それに、こんなに日本が好きになってから、どうやって家に帰って、普通の生活に戻れるか全然知らないんです。「アメリカにいるみんなは自分がなんだか変わってきたと理解してくれるかな？」とか「日本語を忘れると困るなー！どうしよう？」とか「いつ日本に戻れるかな？」などの悩みがあります。でも、こんな質問が自分で答えられません。ただ、頑張って、残りの時間をゆっくり過ごすことさえできます。みんなはこんな経験があると思います。なんとなくこんな気持ちが自然かもしれませんが、切ないですね。日本、本気で好きになってしまったんです。


それでは、また書くのを楽しみにしています！

I'm sitting in my room on this mild May afternoon, studying for my reading/writing Japanese final. A gentle breeze passes through my open screen door and drifts out through the window. It carries a faintly sweet incense from the temple overlooking my street. Somebody must be praying up there in that dark grove of trees. The toddler next door is playing with his mom on the patio, and breaks out in improv song. My quiet neighborhood is filled with beautiful new greenery, and it looks like a separate world compared to the grayness of just a month ago. May is certainly a beautiful time here, but the impending Nagoya summer is notorious for humidity, and the air is getting a little heavier every week.

There have been some interesting times since I last wrote in late April. Most classes ended just before the Golden Week holidays, and with that came some projects and reports. Particularly stimulating was my final project for an independent research course. In that semester-long class, I researched and conducted a survey on Japanese aesthetics (a topic I chose for myself). For the final project, I presented the results, my impressions, and my arguments in an academic style lecture in Japanese- my first time for that! I was nervous the whole time, and I couldn't express every idea as clearly as I may have been able to in English. But I was thankful for the opportunity to practice. Thanks to my teacher's amazing help, I gained some confidence in my Japanese, but was also reminded just how much I have left to study in the language and the culture. I also got practice in giving an academic lecture, and including accepting commentary and debating with listeners in an audience (important, regardless of language). Besides that final presentation, the three sections of Japanese 500 threw a huge end-of-semester party with the professors. It wasn't a conventional party, because everyone had to do perform some sort of entertainment in front of all the classmates and teachers. Well, it was super embarrassing, but a lot of fun all the same to break out a little bit of goofiness in front of everyone. Finally, we went out as a class with one of our professors to an izakaya, which is a Japanese tavern. In typical izakaya style, everyone sat at a huge group-sized low-table and ate two-and-a-half hour's worth of grilled goods, laughing and joking in loud voices the whole time. I had been to several izakaya's up to that point, but this was my first time in a huge group- it was fun!

Golden Week itself was really enjoyable- I got to go to many more places than I had expected. There's actually a little story there. For those of you who don't know, Golden Week consists of a few national holidays: children's day, greenery day, constitution day, and Showa day (a holiday dedicated to reflecting on the turbulent times in Hirohito's reign). It is one of the very few nation-wide holiday periods in Japan that lasts more than a couple of days, so this is a time of year when the Japanese middle class (over eighty percent of the population, mind you) make their move to get out of town on a trip. Hotels, trains, and planes were booked up months in advance- and yours truly wasn't even aware of what Golden Week was until about a month before. Sure enough, I was much too late to make a reservation anywhere for a trip, so I chose to hunker down in Nagoya and explore the surrounding region through a number of day trips. I went to see a wisteria flower festival (gorgeous), the beach (first time to touch ocean waters in Japan), and a lovely waterfall (inside an enchanting mountain forest). On top of that, two Tokyo-ite friends came to visit Nagoya, and I got to introduce my adopted city to visitors for the first time! Golden Week was a peaceful time to explore Nagoya and get to know the region better.
This Thursday and Friday I will finish my last finals, and then I plan on taking a trip to the Kansai region of Japan: Hiroshima, Himeji, Kobe, and Osaka! I look forward to writing about all of that as well!

Yes, trips, parties, and touring have been great fun, but there is a really heavy feeling in my heart. That's because I honestly don't know if I can say "farewell" to my friends and professors, and this country. Everyone has grown so close to me like extra siblings, and I truly treasure them (although I don't say it so much). I know it sounds juvenile and dumb to worry about this kind of thing. But I don't know how to go return to normal life at home, and leave this place that I grew to love so much more than I had anticipated. How does one do that? "Can I return and perform well in life at home, even though I've changed much more than I know?" "What if I forget the precious little Japanese I know?" "When will I get to come back to this place? Soon?" These kinds of questions are flooding my mind right now, but I can't answer a single one of them. I can only try to enjoy my remaining time here, with my dear new friends in this place. I suppose these feelings of resistance are natural, but they sting a little bit like that sweet pain that I wrote about earlier on this semester. All I can say now is that I really did grow to like my dear Japan, through and through and through.

With that, I'm looking forward to writing very soon!

「僕らはもう、独りじゃない！」※ "We Are No Longer Alone!"

この頃、日本で人気がある世界の終わりというバンドの歌がほとんどどこでも聞こえます。とくに「RPG」という歌は大人気です。
歌詞はこんな言葉です：
「そらは青く澄み渡り、海を目指して歩く、
怖いものなんてない、僕らはもう、独りじゃない。」
ということです。ただのポップ音楽だけあって、深い意味があるかどうかは僕にとってわかりにくいです。そして、とにかくポップよりクラシックとかの方が好きなタイプですが、この歌を日本に来て以来何度も聞いています。
日本に来てからほとんど４ヶ月が立っているので、経験が少しつんだのではないかと思うんです。まず、日本の山と海と田舎と町に行きました。そして、美術館も工場も教会も神社もお寺も学校を見学しました。それに東京で二回も「クール・ジャパン」を経験して、逆に京都で二回も伝統的な日本を味わいました。日本料理や芸術や伝統について学べて、日本文化が少しわかるようになってきたと思います。もちろん、まだ日本でたくさんの所に行きたいです。そして、５月の終わりに帰国したくないほどこの国が大好きになってきました。
でも、RPGを聞くたびに、そのような歌詞を聴いたら思い出すのは、旅行や観光より日本で出会った友達です。僕が日本で友達になった人は、面白くて、楽しくて、いい人です。
この友達と、もっとも素晴らしい一学期を今まで楽しみました。
明るい性格と勤勉さは、みんながあります。みんなは未来の夢を持っていて、これからも色々な素晴らしいことをするような気がします。まだ「さようなら」ではないですが、この大事な留学経験は、もうすぐおわります。このブログで今まであまり友達についてかいていませんが、今回ちょっと書きたいとおもいました。　
RPGは、夢と冒険と人生に関する歌なんです。この留学の冒険で、日本に来れれて、絶対に夢みたいです。この夢の冒険で一番よかったのは、ずっと他のいい人たちと過ごしたことです。アメリカに帰っても、RPGを聞いて、「僕は日本とこの世界で一人じゃない」と思い出します。

These days, there is a very popular band in Japan called "世界の終わり/Sekai no
Owari" which means "The End of the World". Their hit song is entitled RPG, and chorus goes something like this: [translated]

"The sky is filled with a beautiful blue,
So we'll fix our eyes on the sea and walk forward,
For we've nothing to fear, since we're no longer alone."

It's simply a pop song, and I don't know if there is a very deep meaning in the lyrics. I'm not so much of a pop music listener, but this song is simply everywhere, and I've been hearing it ever since I arrived in Japan.
Speaking of which, almost four months have passed since I've come here, and I've had some very lovely times. I've seen the towering green mountains and the sparkling ocean. I've visited museums, factories, churches, shrines, temples, and schools here. I've witnessed "Cool Japan" in Tokyo and tasted traditional Japan in Kyoto two times each. I've discovered and quickly been taken with Japanese art, food, and tradition through these months, somehow becoming a little bit more adept in Japanese culture (perhaps). And I've come to love this place altogether, such that I truly won't be ready to leave in May (except for all my dear family and friends in NC)!

But when I hear this song RPG, I don't recall so much my own travels and touring as much as I recall all the wonderful people I have met here. The friends I've made are funny, fun, and good people who work hard and care about each other. I've enjoyed the most fun semester of university thanks to these people, who come from Japan, America, and many other places in between.
Everyone has a bright personality, a work ethic, and a dream for the future. I have a feeling that we will all go on to do very different things after we part ways in a month, so maybe we won't meet up so much anymore. Of course, it's not "Good-bye" just yet, but I really wanted to write a post in recognition of these wonderful people I've met from here and there.

"RPG" is a hokey pop song about dreams and adventures- I've heard it so many times, I've just had to surrender to it. Through my own study abroad adventure, I've lived the dream of coming to Japan, though it's been sometimes more difficult and sometimes more lovely than I thought before. The best thing about this dream, though, is that I have never once felt alone, and have spent it alongside good friends. Even when I return to America, and somehow hear "RPG"again, I'll remember that! :)

確かにこの歌は今学期のテーマソングになってしまいました。僕が決めませんでしたけれど、いつも聞こえるからなんとなく決まったと思います。(^_^) The theme song for this semester (it was not my choice; it just happened this way). You can find English subtitles in this version, if you select for them in the "settings" : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi9uNu35Gmk

桜は咲いたらすぐ落ちます ※ How Quickly the Blossoms Flower and Fall

この頃、初めて日本の桜を経験しています。桜の少しピンクで白い花がほとんどどこでも見えます。公園にも歩道にも学校にも、どこにも咲いています。冬の時には、たくさんの所景色は灰色がたくさんあって、ちょっと暗いと思いました。でも、桜が咲いたおかげでその所も綺麗になってきました。繊細で、揺れている花の美しさはみんなに愛されています。先日、僕が鶴舞公園で歩いた時に、日本人と様々な国の人たちは桜の木の下で一緒に景色を見ながら楽しそうにピクニックをしていました。その仲間意識の人々をみて、心に嬉しかったです。確かに春が来ましたね。
咲いている木の下に入ると、何も考えられないほど美しいです。晴れの日にも雨の日にも素晴らしいです。でも、しばらくすると、雪みたいに涼しい風で地面に落ちます。桜が普通の花と違って、神聖な雰囲気があるのではないかと思います。静かに咲いて、すぐ落ちますから見るとちょっと嬉しくて、切ない気持ちがあります。この考えは間違えているかもしれませんが、桜の神聖な雰囲気の理由が分かったと思います。
人生の事も、少し桜の咲くことみたいと考えています。色々な経験が始まって、早すぎて終わります。経験だけじゃなくて、子供の頃や学生の頃や誰かの親しい人と過ごす時間などがすぐ始まって、桜の花のように地面に落ちて、自然になくなります。残念ながら何も出来ず、ただ生活を続けなければいけません。でも、その大事な経験と人をいつまでも思い出のうちに入れておくといいです。将来に静かの時に思い出して、もう一度頭の中でその大事なことに戻れるかもしれません。桜も毎年二週間しかに咲いていませんが、日本人は一年中桜の景色を覚えて、わくわくしながら次の桜の咲く日を待ちます。僕は桜を見る時に、もちろん「春が来てよかったなー」と言う嬉しい考えもあります。それに少し切なくて、平和の気持ちもなんだか感じます。

     These days, I have been enjoying the Japanese cherry blossoms for the first time. The delicate little pale-pink flowers have burst out of every corner, spreading over the grey city landscapes, verdant countryside, and steep mountainsides alike. They really are everywhere. Strolling through a gorgeously cherry-tree laden park a few days back, I watched all sorts of people enjoying one of Japan's most endearing traditions: the flower viewing. Flower viewings are simple and really lovely. People go to parks and rivers in groups of close friends, family, or otherwise sports teams and corporations. They typically bring a huge picnic basket, and set up camp next to or beneath a canopy of brilliant cherry trees. There, they will usually consume massive amounts of food (including but not limited to cherry-blossom flavored Haagen-Dazs), and often alcohol (picture cherry-blossom pink beer and wine- I've heard it exists) in the case of grown-ups. On that bright Saturday afternoon beneath a cloudless blue sky, I heard the most laughter and saw the most smiles in one single time so far in Japan. The Japanese are not especially stern people in general, but this cold, damp winter weather has held everyone beneath dark parkas and drab mufflers for so long that it was a real treat to welcome spring in such a joyful way. In entering in underneath the cherry tree groves, one really tends to forget oneself and the cold of winter. The blossoms are a light and high-spirited pink on sunny days, and display a melancholy paleness in the rain.
       The cherry tree is viewed as an almost sacred symbol of the human life in Japan, and I think I know why that is. In a short while, the immaculate little blossoms will drift from the trees on a cool April wind, down to the dirty gutters and streets to disintegrate. Every year the flowers silently bloom and whither away like this. In life, all sorts of wonderful experiences begin and suddenly end. Childhood, years in school, and even time spent with a dear friend abruptly begin, and quietly fade away just as cherry blossoms fall to the ground. The only choice we have is to store those dear times and people in our mind, so that while we may never again have those experiences or meet those good people, we can perhaps manage to go back to them once more in memory. Frankly, I'm awful at writing about poetic things (the problems of a science major), and I don't usually consider such topics. To help explain, there is a rather appropriate adjective that I'll borrow from the Japanese: 切ない/setsunai, which literally means "painful", but is often used to mean "sweet painfulness" in an emotional sense. This "sweet pain" is not a tragic sadness, but rather a deep longing for something that is lovely but perhaps indescribable or out of reach. Maybe parents might feel a sweet painfulness when they send their five-year-old to the first day of school. I think some students feel a sweet painfulness on the last day of final exams, for the sense of accomplishment is accompanied with the fact that all the camaraderie with classmates and professors fades away into the silent, stifling summer air.
Anyway, the Japanese treasure their cherry trees, and look forward all throughout the year to just under two weeks of blossoms. When the flowers finally arrive, it really is a joyful time to celebrate the arrival of spring with flower viewings. Of course there is the sweet painfulness of past memories, both recent and distant, but there is the hope for future experiences as well! I am really glad to have seen the cherry blossoms over here :)

日本でしかみえない物の一つ：日本のすごい電車 ※ Only in Japan: the Amazing Train System

「三分も遅れてしまいましてまことに申しわけございません」とか「お客様、本日市営地下鉄をご利用くださって、まことにありがとうございます」などの丁寧なお知らせをよく聞きます。日本に来て以来、毎日電車に乗っているので少し慣れてきました。やっぱり日本は丁寧さと綺麗さと有能さのイメージで知られていて、日本の色々なところでこういう イメージが見えます。そのところの一つは、日本の電車です。僕は、子供の時から乗り物で電車が一番好きですから、電車について書きたいと思います。
第一に新幹線は日本の電車を代表しますが、普通の電車と地下鉄も有能で使いやすいと思います。日本人の友達が電車に慣れていて、あまりすごくないと考えているかもしれませんが、アメリカのとくれべたらすぐ色々な違いに気がつきます。それに、日本の色々な電車はとてもユニークで日本的な考え方を表すと思います。
ある特徴でとてもびっくりして、感動しました：

１） 駅の綺麗さ。初めて地下鉄に入って、今すぐ駅のきれいさに気がつきました。もちろん名古屋はだいたい綺麗なので、地下鉄だけが綺麗だというわけではありません。でも、アメリカの町の地下鉄と比べると、日本の地下鉄はキラキラするほど綺麗です。(^_^)

２）使いやすさ。東京都大阪のほうと実感しましたが、名古屋の電車は一般的にとても使いやすいです。一ヶ月か三ヶ月に使えるICカードを買って、よく行く駅を決めれば、乗り放題であの場所に好きなだけなんどもいけます。学生にとって本当に役立ちます。そのカードを他の町でも使えます。それに、町で電車の駅と線も多くて、ほとんどどこにも行けます。車を買わずに済む人は多いです！アメリカでは、そんな生活があまりできません。

３）有能さ。５分以上遅れている電車を、日本で見たことが全然ありません。1分しか遅れても、たくさん謝ってくれます。NAVITIME（ナビタイム）というスマホアプリを使えば、電車の時間をみて、その時間をもとにしてスケジュールができます。アメリカでは、電車でいったら、すごく遅れないとは限りません。実は、アメリカ人の友達は悪名高いAMTRAKの電車が５時間以上遅れてしまいました。

４）駅員さんの勤勉さ。駅員さん達はもっとも丁寧です。朝早くても、夜遅くても、いつでも元気で真面目そうに仕事をしているみたいです。いつもお客さん達の安全のために気をつけてくれて、すごいです。僕が駅で道に迷った時に、駅員さんは早くて、笑顔で手伝ってくれました。それから、白い手袋をしていて、紺の帽子をかぶっている運転者の身振りと表情が最初に本当に面白くて、「踊りみたいな」と思っていました。やっぱり日本人が慣れていると思いますが、僕はアメリカから来た人として、少し感動しています。アメリカでは駅員さんがほとんど全然見えません。そしてよく駅員さんが一人しかいないので、危ないではないかと思います。

５）電車の歌。この点は少し関係がないことですが、その特徴にとってもびっくりしました。地下鉄も普通も電車が駅をまもなく駅に着いたり、出発したりしている時に、駅インさん達は線と 先によって別の歌を流します。たいてい明るくて、おとぎ話的な歌ですから、最初に聞いた時にちょっと笑っていました。でも、どうしてその歌を流すかわかります。先日、ホームまで歩いた時に、僕の電車の歌を聞こえたおかげで、いそいで間に合えました。その後で、特に天気が良くなくて、気分が悪い日にその面白くて、短い歌を聞くと少し盛り上がります。とても日本的なものです。(^_^)

この国の電車は日本の良い点をたくさん表すと思います。前に言いましたが、有能さや綺麗さなどの価値は日本で大切にされています。こういう事が、電車だけじゃなくて、ほとんどどこでも見えます。でも、電車でもっと深い観察をしました。日本では、お金のためだけじゃなくて、自分の成就と勤勉さを守るために働いているひとが多いとおもいます。もちろん、世界中でも勤勉な人がいますが、日本で綺麗に見えます。その白い手袋をしている電車の運転者とか、毎日毎日駅を掃除してくれるおばあさんなどの人たちの仕事が単調で大変そうですが、とても元気で積極的に働いています。それを見て、尊敬をたくさん感じます。アメリカ（とたくさんの国）では、給料が低くて、単調な仕事をしている人はばかにされていて、よく悲しく仕事をしていて、とても大変そうです。でも、名古屋の地下鉄で働いている人たちのように尊厳を持って、どんなに難しくても頑張る強い心が欲しいです。

最後に、先アメリカの電車と比べるのは、少し不公平かもしれません。アメリカの電車は本当に良くないですから、日本の素晴らしいのとあまり比べられません。やっぱり、アメリカはすごく広い国なので、そんなに電車の必要がないです。代わりに多くのアメリカ人は車と飛行機を使います。時々それは不便ですが、仕方がありません。でも、電車で表されている日本の価値観が本当に気に入っていて、いつまでも心に入れておきたいと思います。特別なところが違うかもしれませんが、アメリカでもこういう価値観があればいいのになと思っています。

(Translated) "[Dear subway passengers] we offer our utmost humble apologies for this inconvenient delay of three whole minutes." "Honorable customers, thank you for graciously using the municipal subway system today." Yes, I have gotten used to hearing this kind of announcement in Nagoya's subways, though I'm pretty sure an average New Yorker would burst out laughing if anything like this came up on, say, the morning A-train. Japanese culture is famous for its emphasis on efficiency, politesse, and general cleanliness; and in my opinion nothing represents these qualities better than the country's train system. Since I have really liked trains since childhood, I decided to take some time to try to describe the railway experience here.
When most foreigners think of Japanese trains, they picture the shinkansen. The bullet trains are magnificent, but I actually believe the normal trains and subways are just as impressive. Tokyo's Yamanote commuter line is a good example. This single train line transports over three million people in an average day. In the Tokyo area alone, commuter/subway train ridership exceeds thirty-seven million riders every day. So, you can see that trains are quite important here. The Japanese train system represents what I think are some strong points of the Japanese ethic.

1) Cleanliness. Of course, most of this country is generally very clean. The cleanliness in Nagoya is certainly not limited to the train stations, but compared to an average NYC or DC subway stop, the stations over here shimmer and sparkle. And of course, with a clean and bright atmosphere comes a safer and relaxed environment for commuters.

2) Easy to use. Tokyo and Osaka's systems are much more complicated, but Nagoya's is relatively simple. The best part is the ability to buy a magnetic "MANACA" ridership card for a month or three months. In doing so, you can choose your most frequent destinations and subscribe to an all-you-can-ride sort of program, which becomes a fantastic bargain for students like myself! It can even be used in other cities' subway, bus, and the bullet train.

3) Punctuality. I have never seen a train that's more than 5 minutes late, and if they're delayed by even a minute, it's a BIG DEAL. I can use a smartphone application to plan my daily schedule in-sync with the appropriate transportation, so that I know exactly what line to use and how long it will take to get everywhere, down to the minute. And, I can actually rely on this detailed system, because it's simply reliable. Based on my older siblings' (currently residing around Washington DC) experiences, I think it's comparatively risky to plan your day around the DC Metro system, where sudden 30 minute (or worse) delays happen fairly often. And I can't even begin to think about the notorious Amtrak trains, which delay for hours on end.

4) Lovable system employees. Even in the early morning and late night, they always appear chipper and ready to go in their snappy navy blue suits. They greet and thank almost every passenger that goes through the turnstile, and bow to trains coming into the station. Whenever I get lost in the station, they always help me out; sometimes walking with me all the way to where I'm trying to go. Better yet, the white-gloved train drivers do this hilarious routine of big gestures to each other to signal that they're going to leave the station. The first time I saw it, I laughed because it looks like a dance. On the other hand, there are some stations I've used in the U.S. with only one staff member, who sits in an isolated booth and doesn't interact at all with the passengers. DC Metro runs its trains with computers these days, and the token operators who sit in the front have been spotted sleeping by passengers...

5) The train station jingles. You may not have heard of these, and this will probably seem like a really trivial point. Well, I can't deny that it is. But I like them all the same. Train stations play different little songs over the loudspeakers for different train lines, and even different directions of train. The songs I've heard so far vary from 80's style disco, traditional Japanese folk, and classical melodies. They sometimes strike such a drastic contrast to otherwise dreary conditions that it's just comical. Better yet are the huge stations, where several melodies coincide with each other different platforms into one huge confusing din, so you can't really understand anything about which train is coming or in what direction. All the same, I know why they use these jingles. A couple of times I've the song for my train to school (I've memorized it) playing from the mezzanine above the tracks, and thus was able to rush down to meet the train just before it departed.

So, trains (and hotels, convenience stores, etc.) display the Japanese appreciation for cleanliness, efficiency, punctuality, etc. Maybe it is a little silly to devote a whole post to praising something so mundane as a railway system. But, there's something special that I've drawn from my experience with Japanese trains. The white-gloved train drivers, the elderly lady who cleans the local station each day, the ticket agent who greets every passenger through the turnstile... they're rarely noticed or appreciated, and their jobs are inarguably monotonous. But they perform with such an enthusiasm and devotion every day. I've never seen someone sweep a platform so thoroughly as that elderly lady. Based on what I have learned so far, I believe that jobs are viewed by some people here not only as a means of making money, but also as a source of self-purpose and a means of protecting one's own work ethic. I know that there are people who think so admirably all over the world, and I like this idea very much. Low-income jobs receive little respect in a lot of societies. Many people working such jobs are treated badly, and do their work really in a miserable way. I think that one good point of the Japanese service industry is that no matter the job, honest devotion and self-respect on the part of the employee is a near guarantee.

Lastly, I don't think it's completely fair of me to compare Japanese trains to the American ones. Modern America is a totally different country with a vast geography that perhaps leaves little need for railway anyway. I mainly compare because it's just my instinct to compare current experiences with past ones, and also because America's trains are amusingly inefficient, for the most part. But seriously, I want to work so hard as those station attendants in my own job, no matter what that job is in the future. And, even as someone with little experience in the customer-service sector, I really admire the ability to take a simple job and perform it time and time again with dignity and diligence. That's what I've gathered from Japan's spectacularly clean, punctual, polite, and musical train system.

Looking forward to writing soon!

東京の山手線（原宿駅）・Tokyo's Yamanote Line (Harajuku Station)

　

日常生活と冒険 ※ Daily Life and Adventures

3/8/2015
みなさん、こんにちは。最近、楽しくて、忙しい生活でブログを書く時間をあまり作らなかったです。すみませんでした！一ヶ月間に何も書いていないので、今回、本当に色々なことについて書かなきゃいけないような気がします。でも、ブログポーストが長すぎないように少し短縮しようと思っています。それで、ちょっとだけ生活について書いて、後で最近の冒険について書きたいと思います。


日常生活
日本の日常生活が面白いです！いつも新しい経験ができて嬉しいです。今、日本についての観察がたくさんかけると思います。それに、僕の日常生活で、気に入っている日本の物もあります。そんな経験や好きなことについて書きます！

１）和食
日本料理が大好きになってきました。健康にいい食べ物が多いし、深くい味の食べ物もいっぱいあるので気に入っています！でも、レストランの食べ物だけじゃなくて、普通に買える料理とか家庭料理もたいてい素晴らしいです！この頃、家でお好み焼きとオムライスと様々な丼物を作ってみています！作るのは簡単で面白いから、楽しみます。それに、レストランの食べ物も美味しいです。名古屋の名物（赤味噌とえびフライ）と刺身と沖縄しゃぶしゃぶとすき焼きと納豆と色々な種類のそばを食べています！全部が好きです。甘いもの（特に抹茶と餡子が入っているもの）もたくさん初めて食べてみています！これからも、色々な日本料理の作り方を覚えておきます！（アメリカに帰っても、日本料理を忘れてはいけません！）

２）日本で走ること
アメリカにいた時は、よく走ることにしています。名古屋の道が混んでいて、狭いですから、安全に走れる場所は見つけにくいですが、諦めません！最初に走ったところは、やっぱり車が多すぎて、危ないと実感しました。この頃、とても広い川のそばの公園を走しっています。走っている時、町の色々な雰囲気が感じられます。高級な近所もあまり素敵じゃない近所も通ります。工場も小学校も病院が見えて、毎日の生活をしている人々にも会います。学校から通っている学生たちもお年寄りの人たちも犬と散歩をしている人たちも、みんなで川のそばに歩いています。川の隣で踊っているお年寄りも見ました（可愛いと思いました。）別に嫌いな景色だと言えないかもしれないけど、こんな景色が見えて嬉しいです。やはり、「本当の日本」は観光の場所だけじゃなくて、普通の場所にもあります。
(^_^)　

３）名古屋がもっと分かるようになってきました
前にあまり知りませんでしたが、名古屋の色々な近所がわかるようになってきたと思います。例えば、東の方の町はお金持ちの所だとすぐわかりました。次に、金山という町は若者が多くて、賑やかな所です。それから、栄の町には、東京の銀座のように高級なレストランとホテルとデパートがありますが、普通の店とか大きい公園があって、学生にとって楽しい場所です。最後に、大須というアーケード商店街で様々な店があって、あそこで香や着物やカバンなどの物を売っているので何も買えます。でも、すごく大きいので、道に迷わないように気をつけなければいけません！大須のような所が日本でしか見つけられないと思います。探検で名古屋の雰囲気がもっと深く分かってきて嬉しいです。日本で、東京の人々は礼儀正しさで知られていて、大阪人は元気さとユーモアで知られていると聞いていました。名古屋の人々は、何で知られているでしょうか？あまりわかりませんが、僕によると、誠実です。もちろん名古屋だけじゃないですが、名古屋で会った友達が親切で、すぐなんだか手伝ってくれたがっている人です。その点が大好きで、いつまでも覚えます。自分がそういう名古屋人のようになりたいです。留学生として、全ての名古屋の事を採用しました。(^_^)

冒険
最近、色々な経験ができました。まず、学校の遠足でトヨタ工場を見学して、トヨタの有名な制度について教えてもらいました。初めて工場に入りましたので、行けてよかったです。トヨタの制度がすごいと思いますが、その会社について疑問があります。南山大学の経済の先生がおしゃった通りに、トヨタで管理と工場の社員として働いている女の人が少ないことに気がつきました。工場で働いている人で女の人を一人もみませんでした。男女の平等の問題ではないかと思いました。トヨタは資源が多くて、日本を代表する会社なので、もっと平等が発達してほしいと思います。でも、日本人じゃなくて、日本の社会が全部わからないので、こんな問題についてもっと知っておいた方がいいですね。

最初のブログポーストで大好きな「となりのトトロ」について書きましたね。実は、トトロをもとにして、サツキのメイの家が作られました。名古屋の近くにあので、もちろんみに行きました。詳しくて、すごかったです。映画で出る服やお菓子などの小さい物がたくさん入れておいて、びっくりしました。

電車（特に日本の電車）が好きなので、自分で日本の鉄道館に行ってみました。休みの日だったので、家族と小学生がいっぱいいて、僕が一人の大学生だったので少し恥ずかしい気持ちでしたが、やっぱり新幹線の動き方と物理学についてたくさん学べました。日本の古い電車もかっこよくて、レトロのスタイルがあると実感しました。色々な種類の電車は、日本で昔の時から大切ですから、鉄道の展示で日本の社会の発達について学べたと思います。そして、今度新幹線に乗りたくなりました！

それから、恵里の家族に岐阜県の高山と白川御に連れて行ってもらって、素晴らしかったです。高山という町は、「小さい京都」と言われていて、本当に京都みたいと思いました。古い建物がたくさんありました。それに、伝統的な食べ物や芸術を売っている店が多かったです。その町でゆっくりブラブラしたら、古い山の町の雰囲気が味わえました。もっとも美しい日本アルプスは雪が深く積んでいて、夕日の光でピンクと紫いろに見えました。それは一生に一度見えることだったとおもいます。高山から、白川御にも連れて行ってもらいました。その世界遺産の村も綺麗でした。寒かったですから、観光客が少なかったです。三角の形の家を見て、景色を楽しみました。

日常生活でも、最近の冒険でも、日本人と日本の文化について、いつも学べていて嬉しいです。こういう経験で、自分の観察が出来たり、好きな日本のことが見つけられていて、嬉しいです。また、今度書きますね！(\^0^/)

3/8/2015

Hello everyone! It has been such a busy, roller-coaster of a month that I didn't even make time to keep up with  my blog. I really have been up to so much here in Japan that if I were to try to write about everything I've done, I would certainly bore you to death... So instead of that, I thought I would write a bit about my daily life here, and then a bit about some of the adventures I have been on in the past month.

Daily Life 
Daily life in this country is quite a ride for me! All the time I am making new discoveries about Japan and my city, meeting all kinds of people, trying new experiences, and of course making big and small mistakes alike! I decided to write a little about a few major points of my life over here on the far-east end.

1) Japanese FOOD!!!!!
Japanese food... it is so much more than what I ever thought before coming here. It's sweet, spicy, savory, colorful, fried, grilled, fresh, crisp, decadent, light, delicate, deep, sophisticated... and often beautiful to look at. In my three months here so far, I have barely tasted anything that I did not absolutely love. The Japanese have truly mastered the art of combination- all the tastes of the different ingredients just fit together so well. That even goes for food that I didn't expect to go well together at first. This is not to say that I have become a gourmand in Japan (yet)- I'll have to come back with some sort of salary to speak of before I can do that- but I do enjoy the occasional dinner out as well as the cooking I do at home! There are a few simple, at-home standards I've been practicing that are inexpensive and tasty: spicy kimchi with sautéed tofu and collard greens with a nutty sesame paste over rice; soy sauce-covered rice in a thin vegetable omelet wrapping; okonomiyaki (fluffy cabbage hot-cake with spicy syrup and savory Japanese mayonnaise); and of course many Asian hot pot variations (basically Asia's version of a "stone soup"). The two take-home messages from this part about food is: 1) Japanese food is SO much more complex and wonderful than sushi/sashimi/similar seafood dishes that appear in America and 2) if you come and visit I will (try to) prepare something tasty for you that I wasn't able to make before now!



2) Running in Japan
 I think it's appropriate to cover my exercise routine, after all that talk of food (^_-) Yes, even over here I have been hitting the asphalt a few times a week, though it has not been so high of a priority for me as it was back in NC. The streets are often maze-like and very narrow, the cars come surprisingly fast, and to complicate things they happen to drive on the left side of the road. But through my runs, I have gotten to explore the outskirts of my city much more thoroughly. It's possible to travel Nagoya by metro, without ever getting a sense of the geography at the surface level. With a good sense of direction and a little Google route-mapping, it's possible to run plenty far and take in the many different atmospheres around the city's perimeter. Honestly it is not always so pretty; there are more than enough faceless buildings and concrete walls to scar the landscape. But it has been a great chance to observe a very normal and everyday Nagoya, which is actually a rarer thing than you might think. Normally I would gravitate towards sightseeing in the more special neighborhoods, and I am sure that I could spend most of my time in those places if I wanted to. While those spots are also good, I now think that it's important to fight that tendency of mine and explore the unglamorous spots as well. In my running encounters with dog-walkers, lively middle school students, other joggers, and strolling grandparents across the quite outer rim, I feel that I've seen a little more of the "real" Japan than I may have otherwise. Not to mention that I much better understand the geography of my part of the city than I had before.

3) Loving Nagoya
I didn't know this city so much before, but now I feel so comfortable here, as if it were my second home! I've developed a fairly solid mental map of Nagoya and its main features. The eastern side is mainly an expensive residential area. There's not much to do there for me besides go to school. I know that Kanayama is bustling until the wee hours with young people, but it's good for karaoke and cheap food. Oosu is basically a Japanese covered bazaar, filled with every kind of discount good from kimonos to incense to used cell phones. The glittering Sakae city has high-end retail, hotels, and restaurants much like Tokyo's Ginza. Additionally, there are normal department stores, and a wide-open grassy promenade oddly called "Central Park". The east side, Kanayama, Oosu, and Nagoya are just a few examples of the locales that I have come to know well in the past while. I often hear that in Japan, Tokyo natives are regarded for their gentleness and refined manners, while Osaka natives are known for their humor and forthrightness. Seeing as Nagoya is the #3 largest city in Japan, what are Nagoya natives to be known for? In my opinion, it's sincerity. Of course this is only a generalization, and there are plenty of sincere people everywhere. But the Nagoya friends I have made are truly special people- always kind, calm, and eager to help each other out in some way. I really love that kind of person, and I want to become more like that myself! In summary, I have definitely embraced this city, and truly like my life here :)

Adventures
I've done a few things outside of Nagoya this past month as well! First, I went on a field trip with my study abroad program to a real Toyota car factory, one of the many in the aptly named Toyota-city. This particular factory is actually home to global production of the famous Prius model. I am very glad to have been able to go to Toyota's factory, but I actually have a some doubts about equality there. As my native economics professor had predicted before the field trip, I saw no female employees in the factory, at all. Toyota is notorious for adhering to the traditional practice of barring most women out of high management and factory labor positions. I couldn't believe such an issue would exist in a modern company like Toyota, but I discovered that it sadly does. Of course, as an outsider I don't fully understand Japanese gender roles and related principles, so I think that I would like to know more about this issue to develop my opinion further.

I wrote in my first blog post about the beloved My Neighbor Totoro film by director Hayao Miyazaki, one of my role models. As a matter of fact, Totoro is very popular through all of Asia (with a significant following in the U.S. and Europe also), so a life-size replica of the movie characters' house was built for the 2005 Japan World Expo. That replica is just outside Nagoya, and I visited it last month! It was a perfect model, with more details than I ever could have noticed in the film.

I love trains and especially Japanese trains, so last month I also visited the Japan Railway Museum south of Nagoya. It happened to be a national holiday on that day, so the place was crawling with children and parents- that was a bit embarrassing for me as the only college student there. But the exhibits were fascinating. Beyond the amazing bullet train and maglev technology, I also learned a good deal about railway's historic importance in Japan, since its opening to the West in the 19th century. I was also taken by the colorful, classic railway cars from the 1950's and 1960's, which were preserved from before the bullet train era in a main display room.

Finally, Eri's family took me on a trip to Takayama and Shirakawago in the neighboring Gifu prefecture. That was a wonderful trip. Takayama is town located deep within some of Japan's tallest mountains, right in the heart of the main island of Honshu. It is known as "little Kyoto" because of its large historic district and traditional arts and crafts. As I strolled slowly along Takayama's old promenades of beautifully maintained wooden stores, I could taste, see, and smell old Japan all throughout. Foodstands abounded with traditional sweets, from dango (grilled sweet rice balls) to mochi (various soft fillings wrapped in glutinous rice flour dough). The late-February sun shone brightly across melting snow mounds, promising spring's imminent arrival. The Japanese alps loomed on the horizon, still cloaked in stubborn ice and snow; while potted plants at street level were just starting to bud. The sweet scent of fermenting rice wine wafted out of old distilleries, mixing with perfumes and old-fashioned incense from artisan shops. It was such a deeply peaceful setting that I didn't want to leave! Indeed, Takayama is a lovely town. I also visited Shirakawago, an ancient village even further within the mountains. This community of oddly shaped, triangular wooden huts is now a UNESCO World Heritage Sight- one of Japan's many. With snow piled up to as high as 5 feet and the sun having just dropped beneath the towering mountains, the village felt more like a frozen ghost-town. But the scenery was gorgeous all the same, especially when viewed from the top of a nearby hill. After departing from that deserted mountain village at dusk, in just over two hours by car we were back in Nagoya, eating late dinner at a lively cafe near the city center! It is still hard to fathom how close everything is in Japan, coming from a wide-open country like America...

In my daily life and special adventures alike, I am learning so much about Japan and its people. I have also learned more about myself, and the way I see my own homeland- but that's for next time! Until later, thanks for reading! ;)

食べ物・FOOD

オムライス・Omelet Rice

豆腐と野菜とキムチ丼・Kimchi-vegetable-tofu rice bowl

名古屋の栄町・Sakae in Nagoya

 
 鉄道館の電車と昔の看板・Various trains and posters in the Railway Museum

　

メイとサツキの家（本当と映画からのイメージ）・Totoro House (the real one and an image from the movie)

トヨタ会館の車・Concept model in the Toyota Museum

 


              

高山と白川御・Takayama and Shirakawago

はじめまして、東京！※ Nice to Meet You, Tokyo!

みなさん、こんばんは！今週は南山大学の休みなので、空いている時間がたくさんあります。もう週末に恵里ちゃんと初めて東京に行きました。東京に1日しかいなかったので、旅行は絶対に短すぎたと思いますが、今度戻って行くつもりです。でも、あの短い1日の間に色々な所に行きました！朝６時に新宿に着いた後で今すぐ築地に朝ごはんを食べに行きました。後で、銀座も東京駅も皇居も明治神宮も原宿も渋谷も浅草にも行きました！全部の場所は、面白くて楽しかったです。夜にスカイツリーに登って、夕日と夜景を見ました。最後に、名古屋に帰る前に、東京に住んでいる友達に会って、晩御飯を食べました。僕は東京に長い間に行きたかったです。まず、東京は「クールジャパン」と言うイメージの一番代表的な町です。つまり、東京はとても現代的で大きい町ですが、面白い所も昔からある歴史的な所もあります。そして、僕の最初の日本語の先生達は、みんな東京に住んだことがありますから、日本語の勉強の初めから東京の事について教えてもらいました。それは良かったと思います。それで東京に興味があるようになりました。
木曜日の夜に名古屋から東京に夜行バスで行きました。予行バスは、ちょっと大変でしたが、けっこう安かったです。次の回、新幹線で行ってみます。とにかく、午前6時頃新宿駅の前に着きました。その駅は、混んでいることで有名ですがあの時にほとんど誰もいなかったし、全然静かだったし、ちょっとへんな感じでした。でも、バスをおりて、今すぐ新宿の建物を見ると嬉しくなりました。「やっと東京に着いた！」と思いました。

でも、すぐ築地に朝ごはんを食べに行きました。綺麗な朝日を見ながら、賑やかな築地の雰囲気を味わいました。あそこで、朝ごはんで天ぷらが入ってるうどんを食べてみました。今まで食べたうどんで、一番美味しかったです！^_^

それから、静かな銀座を歩きました。築地のたなりにあるんですが、全然違う近所ですね。色々な素敵な店を見ましたが、朝早かったので全部が閉まっていました。有名なせいこ時計が見えました！それから、東京駅で仕事に急いでいるサラリーマンをたくさん見ました。

東京駅の近くのエリアには、高い建物がいっぱい見えたので、ちょっとニューヨーク見たいと思いました。（でも、東京の道は、ニューヨークのと違って、綺麗だと気がつきました）東京駅の前にある皇居に入ってみましたが、あの日にしまっていたので入れませんでした。ちょっと残念でしたが、次の回、絶対に見に行きます！あそこから明治神宮と近くにある原宿も渋谷に行きました！明治神宮は、東京の中にあるのにすうごく平和の感じをします。こんなところを見つけると、いつも嬉しいです。そして、すごい偶然で美しくて伝統的な結婚式が見えました。

原宿で、もっとも面白いファッションの洋服を見ました。ちょっときゃりーぱみゅぱみゅのように明るくて、かわいかったです。でも、ある人のけしょうにびっくりしました。どこでもピンクや黄色のものはいっぱいありました。原宿の中の「表参道ヒルズ」と言うモールに行きました。あのモールの美しい建築と綺麗な雰囲気がすぐ気に入りました！

それから、表参道で渋谷に歩きました。昼ごはんとお菓子も美味しかったし、天気も完璧だったし、渋谷に行った時は楽しかったです。ゆっくり首都の色々なことが楽しめました。満員電車とか、早く動いている群衆とか東京の有名なことが経験できました。渋谷のような賑やかな東京の場所に行くのは、本当にいい気持ちでした。

渋谷の後で最後に浅草とスカイツリーを見に行きました。浅草には、観光客のための店がたくさんありました。涼しい空気は抹香の香りが強かったです。世界の色々な国から来た人も日本人も浅草寺にお祈りしに来ました。みんなが写真を撮ったり、手を洗ったり、とても特別な所だとすぐ分かりました。東京の旅行の事で、一番楽しみにしていたことは、スカイツリーに登ることでした。やっぱり、私たちのタイミングは完璧でした。夕日が見ました。しかも、富士山も夜景もよく見えたので、私達はよく喜んでいました。スカイツリーに登ることは、いつまでも覚えておく経験です。そのタワーの上から、東京の大きさがわかりました。新宿と渋谷と東京市だけじゃなくて、横浜も他の町もはっきり見えました。夕日の灯でキラキラしている建物も小さい電車も車も、全部で美しくて忘れられないイメージを作りました。

ついに、東京に住んでいる友達と晩御飯を食べました！去年チャペルヒルに来た西垣先生と先生の二人お子さんたちとUNCから来て慶應義塾大学で留学している友達に会いました。でも、普通のレストランで食べませんでした。私達が行ったので、自分の魚を釣って、焼いてもらいます。初めてそんなレストランで食べましたが、美味しかったです。日本でしかできない経験だったと思います。先生がレストランを見つけてくれたので、よかったです。（＾＿＾）

それで、夜遅く名古屋に帰りました。東京にいる1日で色々な探検が出来ました。東京が、本当に気に入りましたが、あそこに住む人を尊敬します。物価がとても高いし、電車が混んでいるし、少し住みにくそうです。帰った後で、名古屋は小さい町みたいと思いました。でも、東京を愛する理由もあると信じています。人によって違うでしょうね。まだ、東京で色々な所に行ってみたいですから、戻って行くつもりです。でも、今回初めて行けて、良かったです。ありがとう、東京！

***

Hello everyone! I'm on a week-long holiday from classes at Nanzan U., so I have plenty of free time this week. So, I have an opportunity to update my blog! On the first day of this break, Eri and I made a trip to Tokyo. It was my first time ever to see Tokyo, but because of scheduling conflicts we were only able to spend one day there. For a metropolis like this one, a day doesn't nearly suffice, so of course I plan to go back in the near future. But to our credit, we certainly packed as much as possible into our one day. From 6 AM to 11 PM, we made a non-stop tour-de-Tokyo marathon through as much of the city as we could manage. We visited Shinjuku, Tsukiji, Ginza, Tokyo Station, the Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine park, Harajuku, Shibuya crossings, Asakusa, and Skytree-town. "WAIT," you say, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANY OF THOSE PLACES ARE, GABE! EXPLAIN." Well, the short explanation is that they are all bustling miniature cities that make up part of Tokyo's iconic sprawl, like colored pieces of fabric woven into a huge and intricate quilt. I will show you a little about each one!

Tokyo is often thought of as a representative image of Japan. Even though this idea is not accurate, I can see how the city contributes to the country's distinctive "cool" image that has been marketed through the Cool Japan tourism campaign in the past decade. Tokyo is, after all, a unique and unmistakably cool city. It is a vast metropolis with centuries of well-preserved history, a hub of ultra-modern technology and convenience, an icon for infrastructure amongst Asian cities, a bustling port, the list goes on and on. I am just going to write about the places that we went in our single day there!

We took a night-time bus from Nagoya to Tokyo-Shinjuku, an office district for major corporations and home to one of the busiest train stations in the country... but nobody was there at 6 AM! It felt really odd to walk around the empty city center in the dark, early hours before anyone had come to work. From Shinjuku we went to Tsukiji, the world's largest fish market. In addition to enormous storehouses and a full-scale freightyard for shipping fish in and out, Tsukiji also features a large open-air market area where non-fishermen can find super-fresh selections and even fish-free delicacies. It was amazing! I have never seen so many beautiful and exotic fish, prepared in so many different tantalizing dishes. I was equally impressed at the apparent drive of the merchants, who were wide awake and down to business even just as the first sunlight peeked above the far horizon of Tokyo Bay. For breakfast I tried a sweet omelet (even though I don't usually like eggs) and enjoyed a bowl of tempura shrimp and vegetables over warm buckwheat noodles (the tempura was light and crunchy, not oily). 

From Tsukiji, we had to only walk a few blocks to find ourselves in the Ginza, which is essentially Japan's Fifth Avenue. "Ginza" basically means "silver place"; it was a colloquial name for the home of the coin-minting industry in the 17th century city of Edo. This district features plenty of pre-war Georgian architecture leftover from the late-19th and early 20th century period of westernization, giving it a special old-world feeling. We couldn't afford the Ginza fineries anyhow, but it was enjoyable to marvel at the famous Japanese flagships such as Mikimoto Pearls, and admire the classic Wako Building Clock for a little bit before moving on to more appropriately-priced sections of the city. 

With just a few more blocks of walking, we left the Ginza and landed in the neighborhood formally regarded as Tokyo-city, which is basically the towering financial district wrapped around Tokyo central train station. At that point, I was starting to wonder if we had somehow stepped into a cleaner, somewhat slower-moving version of Manhattan. The tall buildings, the endless streams of taxis, the armies of black-coat-white-collar workers (it was rush hour by the time) all felt so much like an Asian Wall Street. Alas, we made a right turn around the skyscraper and found ourselves in front of the Imperial Palace moat. So, we definitely were not in New York after all. There was the chrysanthemum throne, shrouded in a thick green forest and surrounded further by tranquil ponds; while behind us loomed the Japanese Manhattan. Unfortunately, the palace was closed that day, so we only took some photos from the outside and walked the perimeter of the palace walls- one more reason to go back to Tokyo! 

Next we went to Meiji shrine, Tokyo's biggest shrine. Along the way, I glimpsed the commuter's horror that is the Tokyo subway in morning rush hour, but we made it to Meiji without a problem. Thanks to native friends, I was already used to the typical shrine customs; how to enter and exit, how to make a formal prayer (basically normal praying with bowing and clapping added in), how to wash my hands at the special spring, and so forth. What I did not expect to see was a traditional Japanese wedding parade right through the middle of the shrine. What a reverent and beautiful ceremony it was! Everyone in the area was delighted and clapped for the newlyweds. I was amused to see that their "limousine" was an old-fashioned London taxi cab. 

From Meiji shrine we strolled through Harajuku, the home of Japanese "kawaii" (cute/endearing) culture. Essentially, it is a series of old narrow streets filled with all kinds of brightly colored shops, all connected by a common theme of cuteness. Food, clothes, pets, gadgets, dancing, and musical performances crammed the streets of this bright neighborhood, particularly along the famous Takeshita Street. I must say that I have never seen so many crèpe stalls and iPhone-case stores in one place! I had been a little nervous about what I would find in Harajuku, but after all it seemed (mostly) appealing and very friendly.

  From Takeshita, we visited Omotesandou-Hills, an award-winning underground shopping complex that was recently completed. This hall features a cavernous central area, huge skylights, and constantly changing light displays that made us feel a bit like we were swimming in an aquarium. There wasn't much to see there, but I did try my first cupcake from Magnolia Bakery of NYC there! Perhaps I was a little off the mark with my geography by eating Magnolia Bakery in Tokyo... but cake is cake, in my mind. 

We walked down the old Omote-sandou street towards Shibuya. This neighborhood really was delightful, if not a little too precious. It is compared to the Champs-Elysées in Paris for its similarly romantic atmosphere and elegance... and its not-so-romantic prices. Needless to say, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through there and out into...

 SHIBUYA CROSSINGS!!! Shibuya is, like Shinjuku, another office center that sits atop a huge conglomeration of train lines. The intersection is famous for its throngs of commuters and its Times-Square style signage. But when Eri and I looked closer, we saw that maybe 40 percent of the throng were tourists taking videos of the throng... Which led me to wonder if maybe in some future Tokyo, all the natives will completely abandon Shibuya and leave it to the Germans, Americans, and Chinese to crowd. Anyway, I enjoyed a few minutes Shibuya's mind-boggling rush hour before we traveled to Asakusa-sensooji temple.
Asakusa is a neighborhood in the north-eastern part of central Tokyo. It's one of the largest traditional Japanese neighborhoods in Tokyo remaining after the war. We only spend half an hour or so at the famous sensoji temple in central Asakusa, which is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, or Buddhist god of mercy. The marketplace in front of the temple was filled with sweet aromas of baking bread and fresh sweets. People from all countries came to make offerings, pray, or simply breathe in the sweet incense for good health (which is what we did).

From Asakusa we crossed the glistening Sumida River to reach literally the biggest attraction of the day: Tokyo Skytree. This recently completed broadcasting tower is the second highest freestanding structure on earth (as of now) and stands at 2,080 feet, much higher than any other building in the area. Thankfully our timing in climbing the tower was perfect, and the experience was nothing short of magical. The sun was just beginning to set as we reached the top, and thousands of rooftops reflected its orange light. I saw Mt. Fuji for the first time, its indigo silhouette nestled beneath the setting sun. The sun dipped behind the mountains, and millions of little lights flickered on across the landscape. Twinkling headlights of cars and trains far below moved smoothly across the landscape, like shooting stars in slow motion. I will never forget that picture of Tokyo. From the top of Skytree, I understood just how enormous the metropolis is. There is so much that I have yet to do and see there. Even though we were exhausted from our travels, we had really only seen a bit of it. After descending from skytree, we enjoyed a special dinner with friends living in Tokyo: Dr. Nishigaki, who spent a year in a teaching exchange at UNC last year, and Kristina, a Chapel Hill native who is exchanging at Keio University in Tokyo this year. That was a lovely way to finish off our trip. Once more we boarded the all-night bus (I have since promised myself to take the bullet train next time) and found ourselves back in Nagoya before sunrise the next day. WOW! Nagoya felt like a homely little village after our day in the crushing vastness of Tokyo. Since my return, I feel much more loyal to my adopted hometown, and have a lot more confidence in my ability to make my way around. If I can take on Tokyo, I can certainly handle Nagoya, right?
Anyways, I learned in my one day that Tokyo is a huge, diverse, and altogether cool place to visit. I saw too many dogged salarymen and zombie-like natives to ever want to live there by choice. Living in Tokyo (and surviving) is something that I really respect in the people that can do it! I will certainly look forward to going back soon.