We did it!

We did it: So Hannah and I have been celebrating as we are now sustaining life here in Tokyo.

We've had our paydays and thus we feel: "We made it! We moved successfully to another country!"

Thus we went out the other day and celebrated the fact by having a traditional meal of .... Chinese food.  It was very fresh and tasty. Gouza, chicken and chilli prawns. Lighter than the Chinese you get in NZ thats fo sho. It was certainly a step up from dirty old J and M's on Courtenay Place. I did have a small MSG headache though.

Role reversal: In NZ I was often sick and felt a little "unflash" - whilst Hannah would be healthy as the proverbial Oxen. It seems that the roles have been reversed and since we've been here I haven't had any sickness really. Hannah seems to be getting a cold periodically so we're a little worried and trying to ascertain why. We think it may be the daily exposure to the nippers. 

Rock climbing: A good freind of mine Mr D Bunting popped over recently and it was good to see a chum from home (now Melbourne). He assisted me greatly in capturing the vaunted Quintus Maximus for my collection. We also went rock climbing in Shibuya - much to the displeasure of my forearms. He got a Koi tattoo - I can't remember where but it was probably a tramp stamp. Next on the visit list is Mr Nick Wilson. Looking forward to catching up with that guy.

Rainy McSeason: So apparently in the summer here it rains for month - almost non-stop. I had a bunch of my students say that it had come early this year. But the rain stopped after 5 days which was nice. In general the Japanese hate rainy season. It makes them sad. I personally don't mind it - any time it rains without wind is just a gentle reminder of the forgotten horror of Wellington's wind.  Strangely after maybe a month or so of mid to high twenties heat - it has dropped back to a cool - almost autumnal 15 degrees. Winters last stand.

Yum Yum: Hannah and I missioned over to Ueno for some sightseeing and shopping. We stumbled across a little food market. With some omoshiroi food. Some kind of giant deep fried chip spiral thing you dip in powder flavour. A ramen burger and corn on the cobb. It seems there are three kinds of quick quick quick food/meals here. Udon, Ramen and Soba. Everyone has their preference. most people seem to dig the ramen. It's an institution here. You can go to ramen houses with private cubicles so as you're not disturbed by other diners or even staff. My preference so far is  udon. Big fat udon noodles! Ramen leaves me feeling heavy and sickly where as udon is lighter and you can ofter pick and choose various tempura to eat with it. Soba is okay.

5AM: Inspired by Mr Andrew Thom(p)son I decide to make a video of an early morning bike ride through my neighborhood. It was good fun. Check it out! And yes it is bloody light at 5am!

  

Got rhythm?

Ahoy there! Well more time has flown by and there have been more earthquakes! How are you guys?

We've been busy setting up a pattern to our life.

Worky Mc Workster: I'm (Bren) working part-time at One Up English school 5 or 6 days a week. Generally in the evening and on weekends so I'm getting used to being productive during the day. Reading, studying etc. It's a good challenge teaching English but isn't too difficult. Probably the biggest curve ball I've had so far was trying to explain the word 'experience' to a guy with very little knowledge of the English language. Meh - comes with the territory I guess. It has been interesting going back to work after a good 3 months off. 

Tokyo by night

Hannah is working full-time so we can probably live off her wage for now whilst saving mine. Hopefully. Once I'm settled in the job I'll probably start looking for a second part-time job to bring in some ping and occupy the daytime hours.

Transition: Tokyo is an interesting place. We've witnessed the transition from winter to Spring and it is hotting up quickly. Not like the two or three month seasonal transitions of Wellington. It is going to be hot here this summer I'm told. Last year was the hottest summer for a very long time. There could be issues too as the Government is calling for a 25% cut in power usage and of course power usage goes up in summer with the use of aircon in the horrorshow heat. But I guess we'll see what we see huh. 25% is a big request though!

Our other flatty Jim.

Apato life: We're in a nice apartment and it's very spacious compared to most Japanese apartments. We're living with two brtits: Toby and Paul and a Japanese woman called Ryoko. I'm a weirdo. Toby is a acupuncture practicing lawyer with a myriad of fitness methods and a penchant for healthy food. Paul is a teacher of English that has just purchased a moped and Ryoko makes me think of this song whenever I say or hear her name. Ryo-ko-ko-ko Ryo-o-ko-ko-ko. Nice place though. I (bren) have lost a bit of weight and am doing a lot more exercise so that's nice. I have however found a pie supply though so this could all be in vain should they turn out to be the mickey bizz. We like the food here in Japan and generally eat pretty standard Japanese foods. 

G-Week: Coming up here there is "Golden Week" (Ōgon shūkan 黄金週間). This is a major holiday sesaon for the Japsters. They get five weekdays off. With the two weekend days either side. So a nine day break so there are some big holidays taken and plenty of travelling even with the prices soaring. Alas Im Working so we won't be travelling - never mind!

Re earthquakes etc:Everything is returning to normal here. There are still the occasional aftershocks but apart from that it's like it never happened.

Sushi with chums

I understand Welly-Boh is moving into winter rapidly and it's getting cold! Aaahh that crisp autumnal winter air - I used to love autumn in welly. The wind seem to drop off and the smell of the cool air was lovely. Bugger Winter - but autumn I liked.

# 23: I saw this cool plaque by Michael Jordan next to a small basket ball court in Shibuya. I think I'll buy a ball and shoot some hoops with Hannah (last time at Waitangi park she bet me. I had an injury though...) 

The plaque says: Somewhere there is a little kid who approaches the game like I did. He will learn form my example, just as I learned from others before me. He won't skip steps. He won't be afraid. He'll work hard. And someday, he will be greater than I ever was. To that player, I say, this court is for you. Michael Jordan.

His hands were cast in bronze... they were mammoth. It was awesome.

Tokyo Throbs

Ahoy all devoted followers! You are beautiful!

We are still in Tokyo and it is throbbing. Yesirree Bob. Our iodine tablets arrived in the post from the NZ Embassy yesterday - they're to be taken incase of a meltdown which is highly unlikely. To be honest things here are as normal as ever. A few lights and escalators off and that's it.

Blog hog: People should email Hannah and tell her to write a blog. I feel like a blog hog - just a plain ole blog hog. But Han won't blog so it must be me that blogs and hogs. Onward Sir Hogulese!

Yeah yeah yeah. We are good good good here in Tokyo.

Killed seventeen ninjas this week.

Cop flop: We're still in Shibuya (Throbuya). I still aint used to the copious amounts of people teeming here and there - not just in Shibuya - simple everywhere in Tokyo. It really is freakish. As an American cop called Tony I met said: "Some one should tell the Japanese they don't all have to live in Tokyo". Well said Tony - it's even more fun if you do it in Cliff from Cheers voice - if you don't know who that is the pig from Toy Story will do. Tony was an interesting guy to honest. A cop from Chicago. Here's an excerpt from a conversation about guns we had whilst I was taking him to the sento.

Me: So do you carry your piece when you're off duty?"

Tony: Oh yeah  - Off dooty - on dooty - I'd feel naked widout my gun.

Me: You don't have a gun now though right?

Tony: Exactly - I feel totally naked.

In hindsight this was probably good mental preparation for the extreme nakedness of the sento that was to come.

Schmaptors...

Job and blob: Hannah has landed a full-time job. A pretty sweet one too. She's finding it interesting and of course getting used to it. It's in a private school in Hiroo teaching kids. From what the locals tell me. Hiroo is the rich area - kind of like Newtown in Wellington will be in twenty years time... I have a job offer here http://www.oneup.jp/ and am starting this Friday. I have a few other opportunities in the line too, so we are doing okay job wise. Apart from that I have been the lonely tourist this week with Hannah working. Yesterday I went to Akihabara and played some games. In fact I'l be honest I went to the Sega game palace that has pretty much every Sega arcade game played and clocked Jurassic Park. Booya! Punk Raptors didn't stand a chance. 

Hanami: As I have mentioned previously it is the Sakura blossom season and they're starting to fire up their beauty. In Japan it is traditional to go for a Hanami (Hanami (花見^?, lit. "flower viewing"). We went on Saturday with a few NZ expats and a few Japanese locals. It was quite an experience. Basically seas of people go to the park, sit under the sakura and drink, eat and chat. It was a load of fun. This Saturday we're heading down again with a local church to tidy up Yoyogi Park. 

1. Find blossoming Sakura

2. Sit under flowers. 3. Eat, drink and /or talk

By the way Yoyogi Park is amazing - but more about that in tomorrows post.

But here is a sneak peak of what goes down there. 

And here is a picture of a man sleeping on the train to close out the perfect blog post.

"Zzzzzzz" (Translation: That's how I role)

Mr and Mrs Elkano Japanese essentials

We're by no means seasoned pros (jozu) but we've noticed a few things that may help anyone planning on coming here. If you’re seriously thinking of sliding into the Land of the Rising sun then check these out. 

Take my shoes off? What a croc!

Slip on shoes: Yeah a good pair of slip on shoes – or at least shoes with very few laces. Seriously don’t under estimate the need for these. Pretty much everywhere you go you need to take your shoes off before entering and you can save your self an accumulated 7 hours a day by wearing some good sturdy slip ons. Thigh high Doctor Martins are just not appropriate I’m afraid.

Decent slippers: This is an extension of the point above. Without shoes your feet can get cold – especially in winter on the wooden floors (not everywhere has the blessed luxury of heated floors!) But the Japanese are fussy about feet and footwear so make sure they are neatish. Also presentable and lightweight as you’ll need to carry them in your baggage.

Yes very helpful...

Maps: Especially for the first week or so whilst you’re getting used to communication and transpot etc. The last thing you need to do after a long flight is faff around for an hour figuring out where your hostel is. Before you leave your native country print out a map, check it out on google earth/maps.  In fact Google streetview is extremely helpful in this regard. And this is obviously a gift from google that should be utilised for travel anywhere - not just Japan. If you've have an iPhone with a map app then you're golden. I 've seen these used by a few Japanese folk and they're very helpful! But remember if you don't have a swanky phone a bit of paper will do just as well - in a nutshell clue yourself up to make life easier.

Personal items: They say you should stock up on stuff like sunscreen and personal products you may not get here. But I’m not so sure about that. You just end up lugging it around with you. I brought three bottles of my fav Rexona Sport roll-on only to find it here in abundance for roughly the same price. Simply trust the Japanese, they have shiz for everything – make an adventure of it and get some new brand loyalty. The prices here are comparable.

Medicine: Medicine is obviously a bit different. You should stock up on this. Regulations say that you’re not supposed to bring more than two months worth but Hannah did. Japanese Customs is similar to a day of domestic test cricket at the Basin Reserve – you just wander in – they don’t check anything. If you’re coming in the tail end of winter or the beginning of Spring bring Warm clothes. It’s pretty much spring now and it has snowed in Tokyo, Takayama and Osaka which in generally is warmer than both. It’s biting cold - one day it was about 25 degrees – the next – old man winter was fondling my briskets with icicles at a low low 4 degrees.

Language: Kanji – one thing we didn’t do so much was clue up on Kanji charters. They say there are about 2000 Kanji used everyday – that’s on top of the 70 odd hiragana and katakana characters. For the sake of your dining experience clue yourself up on a few kanji. For example this one here 肉 is Meat or niku (I think). Do some investigation and find the kanji for chicken/tori, beef/gyu, and pork/buta. It’ll help a bit. Whilst you’re over here try to read everything. I’ve been here two weeks and starting to be able to read hiragana and katakana characters fluently. It’s a great feeling to look at a sign and be able to pronounce it. But this isn't always a genuine advantage if you don’t know what the word means.

“Hannah! Hannah! That sign says ‘kusuri’ I can read it”

“What does it mean though Bren?”

“I dunno… – but I can read it!”

Katakana is great though as it is basically spelling out English words for you. E.g サウナ - SA - U - NA. Sauna. 

Oh really?           Yeah true ow!

Talk: Try talking to anyone. A lot of Japanese folk have learnt some English – enough for rudimentary conversation anyway. The problem is they’re shy of making an error. So often there is a mutual awkwardness. This is the exact mirror of the way we feel when we stumble through the Japanese language. The thing is everyone wants to talk. The Japanese are relieved if you try speak Japanese or if they try to speak English without you minding the errors. Just always try to melt that awkwardness barrier. Practice one bit of Japanese and nail it with them and that will make them feel at ease. Try something simple like. “Konnichiwa. Genki desu ka”. (Hello. How are you?- or more precisely – are you healthy?) After you drop that bomb you can humbly say: “watashi wa Nihon-go chotto – Nihon-go ga muzukashi” (note this is probably grammatically horrific) it means: My Japanese is little – Japanese is difficult for me. At that stage the other person may try to lock in some English and hey presto you’ve made a best mate for life. High-fives all round.

JR Rail pass: Even though our use of these was screwed up because of the incorrect visa these are still worth their weight in gold. We purchased them for about 150,000 yen. When we did the math it was going to give us the equivalent of over 240,000 yen worth of buses and trains over a 21 day period. Do the math to see the saving there. Don’t underestimate the cost of rail here. As amazing as it is, travel aint cheap – especially the shikansen (Bullet train). Also MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT VISA.

Chums: Before leaving – ask about and make some contacts with people in Japan. Try anything. If you can have someone in Japan especially someone born and raised (playground is where they spent most of their days) here. It will help you in your journey. They can show you the Nihon ropes, introduce you to

Nihon-Jin tomodachi

others and help out with accommodation, cellphones and other stuff. Seriously unless you speak Nihon-go getting a cellphone here is a bloody mission. On top of that if anything goes wrong they can help you sort it out. For example, our trip went balls up because our JR Rail passes were invalid. We would’ve been in the schtoop had we not had our friend Izumi to take us through two hours of reschedules and rejigging. So connect with old school buddies, random strangers, that friend of a friend of a friend - anyone. So many people in Japan are friendly and want to help. They are very hospitable. We had a two-day period where we paid for nothing but a couple of train fares. We were very blessed and thankful to our gracious hosts. 

Shogun by James Clavell: This is an amazing book of fiction. It gives genuine insight into a travelers exploits in the 1600s as he is engulfed by the Japanese culture. It will give you a small but worthy insight into the language and nature of Japanese communication. But more than this it gives you a really good view of Japanese cultural history. The samurai and the nature of social interactions. Even though Japan is a million miles away from the society outlined in the book – you can still see the roots and elements in today’s culture. The other day I was reading about the Captains entrance into Osaka Castle – coincidentally enough later that day I was standing in Osaka Castle. Do it – it’s a bloody good read – whether you’re in Japan or not.

So there you go a few pointers. Give us feedback if you think there is anything else that should be added.

Tokyo oh Tokyo - where for art thou Tokyo

Back to Tokyo: Against the loving requests of family, friends and governments we decided it’s time to go home – to TOKYO!

Japanese hospitality

A Tokyoite woman stopped us in the street when we first got back – “Are you allowed to be here?” She asked politely. “Oh yes” we said smiling. “No problems – Governments don’t know jack!”

It is good to be back though – Hannah and I feel good about it and felt bad that returning might worry our family and friends. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do I suppose.

It really isn’t as bad here as the media made out though. A slight shortage of food on shelves - but nothing major. I’d say the worry is more due to Tokyoites being so used to convenience in abundance. There are a few elevators, escalators turned off and some shops close early but other than that Tokyo seems very much the same. A BUZZING MASS OF PEOPLE! I also think that most of the people that left were foreigners. Dirty dirty foreigners.

But YES! We’re back. We are staying in Shibuya at a fellow New Zealanders apartment. It’s a nice place and cheaper than backpackers accommodation. Cozier too. Today we went around checking out apartments – but to be honest I think we’ll wait until we lock in jobs before signing contracts. We can only afford something tiny and petit at present and we’d need to lock it in for a year so it’s wiser to hold off for now.

Koyasan -4 degrees and beautiful

The Beeb: A lovely gent stopped us yesterday with his cameraman in toe. He was keen to hear our opinions on how Tokyo is post-quake and why we are here despite the supposed risk. It was good though – he talked to us on camera for quite a while and even got a few shots of us walking through the rain with our brolly. Who knows when it’ll be on – pretty soon I imagine – maybe even right now. Keep an eye out if you have the Beeb tuned in.

Apartments: They’re quite funny these little Japanese apartments. They really are tiny. They are very similar to the kind of rooms, bathrooms and features of say planes or boats. Little compartments where space is gold!

Desperate times call for... Starbucks

Rumble in the Concrete Jungle: Despite how excited we feel and the peace we have about returning here. We have noticed there are still loads of quakes happening – some of them fairly decent. In fact there have been about five in the last 24 hours. Here is the Hannah and Brendan procedure for dealing with an earthquake:

1.     Feel earthquake.

2.     Look at each other with wide-eyes and silently communicate and acknowledge that an earthquake is occurring

3.     Briefly think of where you would hide, lay, secret yourself should the quake escalate into devastation

4.     Continue eating udon and wait for quake to stop

There are two things that we miss over here. One is cheese. Two is bloody great coffee they have in Wellington. Desperate times call for desperate measure.

Oh it's raining again. Until tomorrow folks!

Osaka Skyline

Odds n sods - V2

Well well.

Hannah has um... put on a bit of weight.

It's  all go here: We're down in Osaka now but as you can imagine there is a lot of confusion about what we will do. Some folk might say "What is there to be confused about? Earthquakes, tsunami, radiation = Leave Japan guys!"

But it's really not that simple. We have half of our gear in Tokyo, accommodation sorted in Tokyo, job interviews coming up in Tokyo and we feel also our future is in Tokyo. Don't forget we have been planning this trip to Japan for quite some time and thus don't want to chuck in our plans at the merest obstacle that comes our way. One of the reasons we chose to come to Japan was for a new and thrilling challenge - now we weren't expecting a bloody earthquake but c'est la vie as they say in Invercargill. 

The confusion comes from reading so many different news sources and speaking with different people and obviously family and friends fears back home. We have also talked to friends in Tokyo the say it's not as bad there as the news media make it out to be. But still there lurks in the back of the mind a "shiz - what should we do" feeling.

But in summary we thank you for all your concerns - it's amazing to see how many people from all over our lives care for us. Poetically all continue in Osaka as normal.

We'll let you know what we do. Please all know that we are being careful.

P.s. Beyond the horror - we are having an amazing time - we love Japan so much.

Plum blossoms

Han and I with some chums

Spot the Buddhist photographer...

They even have cats here...

H and I at Osaka Jo (Castle)

Stop - Hammer time!

This is Bren and Hannah signing off...  xb xh

Friday, 11th of March

Warming up with ocha

Tectonic tiddly-winks: So yeah the big  news I guess. Earthquakes, devastation and BBC news. We've gone from impotently watching on in New Zealand to impotently watching on in Japan. We're pretty buzzed out guys. Thank you for your concern and prayers. We are safe and sound in Kyoto - but are still trying to fathom what this means to our journey. Horrific poetry - luckily we had looked to go up to the affected area but instead decided to travel down to Kyoto and Osaka. We also would have been in Beppu at this time had our Rail Passes not faffed us - from what I understand this area has had tsunami warnings - I'm not sure if there has been damage there yet. In summary however: Earthquakes - why don't you just piss off please. Praise God though we were not in Tokyo or the affected area. It is sad - very sad - to watch this death toll mount again so soon after watching it mount in Christchurch.

But hey let's move on to lighter notes. Namely, our experience and my inane ramblings.

Shouldn't he have a newspaper
with eye holes cut in it?

Tiny things: They say tiny things please tiny minds. Check out the crossing guys little hat - it's the little attentions to details that count no?

Jentensha-thon: The other day Hannah and I went missioning up to the north of Kyoto on some Jetensha (bicycles). "Ironically they don't have ten speeds" chortled Hannah. It was so much fun - the bicycle is a pretty standard form of transport through out Japan. Not the road bike or mountain bikes you see in NZ - but more of the big wheel single gear roller. It's thoroughly enjoyable though - people don't charge around the place - they gently and majestically roll through the streets. And the best thing: No helmet laws. It can be nerve racking though  and you really need to keep your nerve through out the rabbit warrenesque streets with their blind corners, trucks, mopeds, walkers, and other bikers

They see me rollin - They hatin

Mike Tyson finally gets the
recognition he deserves...

CTRL + S (face saving): It's an interesting society - there is this whole face saving thing. The general notion is that you shouldn't really show your emotions in public. Just the other day we watched on as a bloody great eagle swooped down on this man in a park and snatch this donut out of his hand. Hannah and I watched on in awe and shock - but he kept his head up and he didn't bat an eyelid. It really is quite interesting. The locals seem to have this unapproachableness about them - but should you engage them that veneer shatters into a warm smiling bow of the head, a "konnchiwa" and ensuing conversation.

Monkey heaven: We went to Kyoto Arashiyama monkey park yesterday. In fact we were here when the quake struck - on top of a hill in the middle of the island - which is about as safe as it gets. We didn't feel it at all - but can you be surprised when your surrounded by over one hundred screaming Macaques. We really enjoyed it. After a gentle 20 minute walk up the mountain side you're literally surrounded by these cute native monkeys. Fat ones, skinny ones, young ones, old ones, greedy ones, aggressive ones you name it - they had every macaque under the sun.  Unfortunately we didn't get to witness that ubiquitous shot of the monkey in the hot pool with snow on his head - but never mind. We caught them at feeding time which was cool - I was reminded somewhat of Courtenay Place on a Friday night actually. They were free to roam around and were uncaged which was nice. Although we felt safe you couldn't help but quitely envision one of these guys flipping out and savaging your face in a monkey rage...

Beautiful Hannah with a new buddy

Haiku: We popped up to university and met up with a few academics. One of them an expert in haiku. I've always enjoyed the dirty Haiku poem and remember learning of this poetical form and very young age at Paparangi School. I've written one or two and always enjoy the challenge. It was pretty interesting yarning with this guy (through broken English/Japanese). I was inspired after to write one. Check it out:

Love is not silent;

Its rhythm roars like the sun;

Silences the rain

We have nothing else to say - but a few pictures to sign off with.

Kyoto Manga Museum

"Do you want a knuckle sandwich?"

Kyoto Station - magnificent structure...