We are family

Here is a very old picture of my mother, father and me. Gosh, I can't believe how young my parents look. I'm pretty much just posting it for it's "cuteness" factor. AND to prove that Asian babies are the cutest babies there are ; )

Cleaning with a purpose

So I just learned that my new roommate's luggage will be arriving this Saturday (Feb 4th) and the roommate herself will be moving in next Tuesday (Feb 7th). Her name is Anzu Funayama and as you probably guessed by the name, she is Japanese. Which is good for me because I get to practice my Japanese : )

Since my last roommate left, my belongings kind of slowly made their way on to the other unused bed. I like to spread out because I think I am a bit claustrophobic. I don't like having lots of papers or objects cluttered on my desk because it prevents me from thinking clearly and working effectively. So instead of putting things away, I've been putting them on the other bed instead. But now, I have to clear that bed for the new roommate.

I think humans are wired to work more efficiently when there is a deadline or a certain incentive to get the job done. Before I learnt that my new roommate was coming, I had started to clear up the other bed but was doing so very slowly. I wasn't in any rush. But now, because there is actually someone coming, I've accelerated my pace lol. I now have only a few papers to put in order. My side of the room is pretty much all used up. All my shelves and closet space are being used. It's really amazing how much you can accumulate in just a short amount of time.

I'm excited to meet my new roommate. The room feels a bit empty ever since my previous roommate left. Hopefully we'll get along. There's always this fear when you meet someone for the first time, whether or not you'll get along with the other person. And because we'll be living together in the same room for almost half a year, it's much better if we do happen to get along. I'll keep you posted!

Harajuku & Shibuya

Last Sunday, I went to 3 different places, all three known as popular fashion districts in Japan: Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya.

I think it was my third or fourth time going to Shinjuku. From Tokai, it takes about an hour by train. I felt pretty comfortable because last time, I had no difficulty finding the stores I wanted to go see. But for some reason, this time, just getting out of the station was a problem. Shinjuku is a huge station because it connects to so many other lines. There's a central passageway, a west exit, a south exit, an east exit... I think I wandered about 15 or 20 minutes, just trying to find the right exit. Finally, I gave up trying to find it on my own and asked someone for help. At least I know I can do that now, ask someone for directions. But I also do have a sense of independence and so I try to figure out things on my own first. But if that fails to work, then I resort to other methods ; )

So finally, after getting out of the station, I set out to find Kinokuniya, my favorite bookstore in Japan. And there are two in Shinjuku. You would think I would have been able to find at least one, but once again, I walked for about 30 minutes before I decided to ask for help again and then had no difficulty finding the bookstore.

Then, I went back to the station to take the Yamanote line two stations down to Harajuku. Harajuku is reknown for its street fashion. Unfortunately, I didn't really get the chance to witness this street fashion because I walked right away to Shibuya. And I don't think I really came close to the heart of Harajuku so that's probably another reason why I wasn't able to see the fashion-forward (and a bit eccentric, at least to North Americans) Harajuku fashion. But I'm planning to go down there again so next time I'll pay more closely attention.

Takeshita Street: a pedestrian-only street in Harajuku
with many boutiques and restaurants

Using the little map in my "Discover Japan" book, I walked down to Shibuya. I wasn't really sure if I was going in the right direction but I just kept walking. I came across this park with I assumed was Yoyogi Park, as it was written on my map. It did turn out to be Yoyogi Park. At the time I didn't know it but Yoyogi Park was one of the main venues for the 1964 Summer Olympics.

After again seeking directions from a few pedestrians, I finally found what I was looking for: the famous Shibuya scramble crossing. A scramble crossing, which is (quoting Wikipedia) also known as a "X" crossing (UK), a diagonal crossing (US), or a scramble intersection (Canada), is where all vehicular traffic is stopped to allow pedestrians to cross in every direction, including diagonally.

On the way back, I also took this photo to illustrate how meticulous the Japanese are.

It's a screen in the train that displays the train's information. Via the screen, the clients (people riding the train) are informed that the train is currently running a bit late because of the snow. In Canada, I've never seen anything similar to this. If the bus is late (in my experience, buses are pretty much always running late), customers aren't given any reason or explanation as to why the bus was late. Sometimes I think the amount of information given in Japan is a bit excessive but at other times, it sure does come in handy.

So that was it for my little excursion. But guess who I met at the Shinjuku station the way coming back? The Iranian girl who lives in the room adjacent to mine! I was in shock because you don't expect that in a big city like Tokyo. In my small little town back in Canada, it's a given. Any time you go into town, you're sure to see someone you know. But Tokyo? VERY rare.

Shaken, not stirred

I experienced my first earthquake today!! And it was awesome! I know I should maybe feel a bit more frightened but ever since I arrived in Japan, I've been waiting to experience one. And apparently, there have been some since I've been here but they were not strong enough to be noticeable. But this morning, around 7:45 AM, not long after I woke up, I felt one. Actually, during the first wave (there were four in total), I was sitting on the toilet bowl, and all of a sudden I just felt this kind of ripple go through the building, shaking the whole building. It's weird to explain, but it's as if the whole building was moving at once. I wasn't even sure it was an earthquake until other people came out of their rooms with frightened faces. Then, back in my room, I felt a second wave, stronger this time. The standing closet in the corner of my room started shaking. It's such a cool (and scary) feeling to feel the ground under you move.

I talked to my dad after and apparently, the earthquake originated in Yamanashi Prefecture. It was 5.4 on the Richter scale but I was then told by my grandmother that its magnitude was only about 3.0 when it reached Hiratsuka Prefecture, where I live.

In our dorm, they announced that if the quakes started again, everyone was to meet down in the lobby and together, we'd go to a designated place on campus. But luckily, the quakes didn't start up again and I was able to go to judo practice. And that was it for my first earthquake experience. I'm sure it'll happen again a few times before the end of my stay. Looking forward to it ; )

School's out for spring!

Officially done classes as of yesterday. All my tests went very well and were surprisingly pretty easy. My lowest mark, as I expected, was my listening comprehension, but I still finished with great grades. So I'm pretty satisfied with this first semester. I learned a lot of new vocabulary, grammar, kanji, and I improved my reading, speaking, and listening skills. On top of that, I now know the campus and its surroundings and I understand the train system fairly well, so I'm able to go pretty much anywhere I want to.

Now, it's spring break in Japan. In Canada, our spring break lasts about a week only but here in Japan, we get two months off. But I'm going to keep studying Japanese every day. It's a bit harder to do on your own of course because there's no teacher helping or pushing you to learn. But next semester, I really want to get into a much a higher class so I'm organizing my own Japanese study class : P And, on top of that, our teachers gave us a lovely present for the spring break: homework! Yay!!! lol so I won't be stopping my Japanese language studies completely.

Here's a video taken from Youtube I found was fitting for this time of year : Haru yo koi  (Spring, come!) It's a pretty famous song in Japan, sung by Yumi Matsutoya.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami

I finally finished reading this book. I think I started it during my flight to Japan. For the longest time, it was just sitting on my bed table, picking up dust as I bore through more interesting books. Then finally, because I don't like things left unfinished, I decided it was time to finish it. It's not that it isn't a good book. In fact, there were times when I read chapter after chapter without realizing it. But there were also a lot of parts with extensive reflections and/or descriptions that were not as easy to read and so my reading advanced veerrry slowly. Page 164... page 165... page 165 and a half... you get the idea. I should mention though that it was the perfect book to read before going to sleep. Just interesting enough so that I was motivated to read it but not so interesting that I'd stay up all night reading it. After a few pages my eyelids started to close.. and voilà, that was my signal to close the book and fall asleep.

Now about the book, more specifically about its content lol. It's the weirdest book I have ever read in my entire life. Weird because there are many elements of the story which seem to happen only in the characters' heads. And there are "things" that happen, but these "things" aren't given a name, and we can only vaguely imagine what they are. So to say the least, it was weird. On the author's Wikipedia page, fiction, surrealism, and magical realism are listed under genre. Which maybe gives you a better idea of what I mean. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. I started reading it because a Japanese friend of mine back home told me Haruki Murakami was her favorite author. I was looking to immerse myself into Japanese culture so I brought two of his books along with me to Japan. One down, one more to go! After that, if I want to read more of him, they have plenty of his books at the bookstore.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Believe it or not (I didn't believe it at first), it snowed in Tokyo!!! Apparently it's pretty rare but I was pretty happy : ) I had prepared myself for a snowless winter. But, yesterday I believe it was, I woke up to see snow outside my window. First thing I did was get dressed and rush out to take some pictures. Which I am glad I did because the snow was very short-lived. By the end of the day, most of it had already melted away. But I still have proof!

This is (was) the soccer field

My usual gear: I think everyone on campus knows who I am thanks to this hat.
"Oh look, here comes the Canadian girl!" lol

These pictures are taken with my new camera sent to me all the way from Canada by my parents. It's a lot lighter, in fact so light in comparison to my other camera that I always feel I'm going to drop it. But the definition is soo much better. I think I had around 4.0 mega pixels with the old one, and this one is around 16.0 mega pixels. Which makes for greater pictures but they also take a lot more disk space... and more time uploading on to the blog. I'm not exactly sure what the space alloted for this blog is, but if I happen to max it out, I'll probably just create another one. Don't worry, I won't stop writing!

Tacos

I also made tacos yesterday, as you can see in the picture above. They only have the hard taco shells here which I don't really like, but hey, I wanted to make some tacos so I had to make do with what I had. Quite yummy : )

Riddles (continued)

Well... I must admit I'm disappointed. Our teacher finally gave us the answer today to the riddle I hadn't figured out yet: nisemono which translates to "counterfeit" or "fake".

So if we go back to the riddle, the person who makes it doesn't teach it. I find the word "teach" misleading, but then again, it's translated from Japanese. The maker doesn't tell the truth about his product to be more exact. Then, the person who has it doesn't know it. And finally, the one who knows it doesn't want it. So it makes some sense but I was expecting more of an A-HA moment.

But my brother suggested "mistake" as a possible answer. And I do like his answer a lot better. The person who makes it doesn't teach it. The person who has it doesn't know it. And the person who knows it doesn't want it. Makes sense, right? So way to go bro! I shall tell my teacher your answer tomorrow and see what she thinks. : )

Nazo nazo (riddles)

Just so I don't leave you too bored during my absence, here are a few riddles for you. In Japanese, they're called nazo nazo. One of our teachers wrote them on the blackboard for us last Monday. We were already given some of the answers but there's one that nobody has figured out yet and it's annoying me. I like riddles and I like thinking about the answers for a short amount of time but after a while, if I haven't figured it out, I just need to know the answer or I go crazy. It stays on my mind until someone tells me the answer.

Here is the one nobody has figured out yet: (our teacher is going to give us the answer next Monday but maybe you can guess the answer before : P ). Here is my best translation of it in English:

1) The person who makes it doesn't teach it. The person who has it doesn't know it. And the person who knows it doesn't want it. What is it?

Now here are a few others to which I already know the answer.

2) Everyone is born with one, and even though it's ours, everyone else uses it.


3) Even though you cut it over and over again, you can never cut it.


4) The longer we live, the bigger it gets, but it's something we don't want.


5) The person who makes it doesn't want it. The person who buys it doesn't use it. And the person who uses it doesn't see it. What is it?


Enjoy! See below for answers. Answers are written in white so just highlight the answer with your cursor.

1) Still unknown for now...
2) a name
3) water
4) age
5) a coffin

Exam week!

The first semester is finally coming to an end. Today was our last Japanese class for the semester. Exams start next week!

Our exam is divided into different parts. We have lecture and comprehension, listening comprehension, written composition, oral comprehension (we have to prepare a speech and be ready to answer some questions), vocabulary, kanji, and finally grammar. Probably the hardest for me is listening comprehension. Compared to when I first arrived, I have definitely improved but it still remains one of the hardest things for me. Because sometimes, I can concentrate and listen as attentively as I can and I still won't understand what's being said.

Probably the easiest part is the grammar. I'm pretty good at remember grammar rules so up until now I've fared well on that component. Thanks to my great memory, memorizing vocabulary words and kanji characters has also been fairly easy. But now, instead of being quizzed on only a limited of number of words and characters pertaining to the chapter we're working on, we are being tested on ALL the vocabulary and kanji characters we've learned since the beginning of the semester. So it's a lot more challenging. And I better get on it. Off to study now! Heads up: I probably won't be updating my blog until exams are over. After that don't worry, you'll be hearing lots from me : ) Wish me luck!

Japanese calligraphy

For our last kanji class, we got to do shodou, Japanese calligraphy. Shodo is an art form of writing Japanese characters by using a brush and black ink. Our teacher brought some paintbrushes, paper and some ink and we all got the chance to paint our favorite Japanese characters.

It's actually harder than it looks. Because I like to draw, I thought it would be easier but I think it was more difficult just because I am so used to drawing with a sketching pencil. I'm used to drawing lightly and carefully applying pressure with my pencil to sketch the shape I want. With drawing, you can go over your lines, erase, and start back over. But with calligraphy, you have to be a bit rougher with the paintbrush, pressing harder here and then releasing the pressure in other areas to form the nice wing-like lines. The way the ink splatters on the page isn't always predictable... and you definitely cannot erase if you make a mistake.

Our kanji class

guess what these two characters mean? (Hint: it's a martial art)

Introducing okonomiyaki (and the master of okonomiyaki)

Okonomiyaki can best be described as a Japanese pancake. The name comes from okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki, which means grilled. I first had okonomiyaki about two years ago when I came to Japan with my father. We stayed at the Iwasa's house and Shigenori (a.k.a. the master of okonomiyaki) cooked some delicious okonomiyaki for us.

When I came to Japan in September, I didn't really remember what okonomiyaki tasted like but I remembered that I had really liked it. So I decided to buy some at the grocery store not long after my arrival. And I'm really sorry to say this (I hate wasting food) but I threw the whole thing away after just one bite. It was horrendous! Now, I wasn't sure if it was because the grocery store's version was just bad or if my memory of okonomiyaki had somehow been distorted.

I was able to test that on my last day at the Iwasa's house, on January 2nd. Shigenori cooked up some okonomiyaki (the real thing) and confirmed that I really do like okonomiyaki. Tip: never buy okonomiyaki at a grocery store if you truly want to taste the real thing.

Now introducing okonomiyaki 101:

First step: the ingredients



The master at work



Showing off : P

Putting everything in place

Waiting patiently while it cooks...

And voilà! The finished product.

Can it get any earlier???

Today I experienced my first kangeiko (寒稽古). I looked it up in the dictionary and it translates to "mid-winter training". Every year, during the coldest days of the year, morning practice starts at 5:30 AM. We only do it for a few days but it's very meaningful. As it was explained to me, it's meaningful for Japanese to be able to wake up early and train.

Today's morning practice was quite exhausting. The waking up part wasn't too hard. Sometimes I just don't want to get out of bed but today, I didn't have any problems with it. One problem I had was getting out of the dorm. Because it was so early, the doors were still locked. So I couldn't get out! But thankfully, I know I can get out by jumping out the kitchen window. Unfortunately, the two Russian girls didn't know that and were late to practice.

We did some warm-up exercises, some wheelbarrows, jumps, etc. And then we did 10 newaza (on the ground) randoris of 4 min. I was just exhausted after.

Today, I also had two big tests. So that means I couldn't sleep during class like I often do (lol). And, on Thursdays, I have a class during the fourth period as well, which finishes at 4:40 PM. Judo starts at 5:00 PM. So it was an especially long and tiring day for me.

Tomorrow, practice starts at 5:30 AM again. So I'm off to bed now to try to squeeze some zzz's in. Oyasumi !

My grandmother and me

My grandmother, Masako

I finally got the chance to see my grandmother!!! It's weird because even though I'm in Japan, (instead of in Canada), I don't get to see my grandmother because she lives about 2 hours and a half away from Tokai University. I don't yet know how to get to her house in Yaita, located in the Tochigi prefecture. And for her to make the trip to Tokai takes a lot out of her. In Canada, driving that distance is almost nothing, especially for people who live outside the city. I'm used to driving every day into the city, which usually takes about an hour. But in Japan, that same distance takes about twice as much time and is twice as exhausting because there are constantly people around you. So up until now, I hadn't had the opportunity to see my grandmother. We'd been exchanging letters and recently, she also learned how to use Skype. Amazing, right? lol I think we were all a bit surprised, including her, when we found out that she now has an account on Skype. We talked a few times and I think she now has the hang of it. She knows how to accept and end a call... which is pretty much all you need to know.

But it's never the same as meeting someone in the flesh... which I finally got to do the other day! I finally met my grandmother! She came to Tokai and we ate lunch together. I showed her my room and the dojo. And thanks to my Japanese classes, my Japanese has improved leaps and bounds and we were able to talk about so many different topics... and actually understand each other : ). Two years ago, when I visited Japan with my father, I barely knew any Japanese. Of course it was great to see my grandmother then, but we couldn't exchange and communicate the way we can now. And it's only going to get better. : D

So to my grandmother, who faithfully reads my blog (she can understand a bit of English):
愛してる！また今度会いましょう！楽しみしていますよ。: )

Kanji of the year

I learned recently in my kanji class that a kanji (Japanese character) is selected at the end of each year to represent the year that has come to past. The kanji is chosen through a national ballot and then announced on December 12 (Kanji Day) at Kiyomizu Temple. (I didn't even know there was a Kanji Day).

So the kanji chosen for the year 2011 is..... (drumroll) : Kizuna, which means the bonds between people. Here is a picture:

 
On Wikipedia, if you're interested, look up "Kanji of the year" and you get a list of all the characters that have been selected so far and a little explanation as to why that specific character was chosen.

For this year, I think you already must have a good idea why kizuna was chosen. With the earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese rediscovered the importance of bonds between friends and family. It could also represent the bonds between Japan and other countries. After the earthquake and tsunami, other countries offered their help and support to Japan (I'm just extrapolating here). On Wikipedia's page, it also mentions that kizuna represents the bonds and teamwork between the members of Japan's women's national football team (Nadeshiko Japan) who won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

After kizuna, wazawai (disaster) and shin (tremor) came in second and third place respectively. I find it amazing that even though the past year was very difficult for Japan (and they're not out of the woods yet), a positive kanji such as kizuna was chosen. It just goes to show that even during times of hardship, some good comes out of it.

In class, we were also asked to choose our own kanji of the year to represent our own life. I chose the kanji shin, which means "new".

I chose it because 2011 has been a year of new beginnings for me. I began a new life here in Japan, I met a lot of new people and made many new friends. For the first time I'm living alone and I'm doing a lot of new things I never would have imagined I'd be doing. And I know there's still a lot more to come. : ) I really like this "kanji of the year" concept so I think that from now on, I'll be choosing a kanji every year.

Hakone Ekiden

Now I've been wanting to write in my blog about this for some time but haven't gotten to it until now. So on January 2 and 3, I watched the live broadcast of the Hakone Ekiden (officially called Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race) on television. And I had to write about it because I was just amazed by it.

Every year, on January 2-3, twenty universities from all across Japan participate in a relay marathon. The first day, the runners run from Tokyo to Hakone, and vice versa on the second day, coming back to where they started. The race is divided into 5 sections, so multiply that by two (for the two days) and you have 10 runners in total per university. As in a normal relay, the next runner can't start until he is given the sash from the previous runner. The 5 sections are not divided equally, ranging between 18 and 25 km.

I was glued to the tv during the broadcast. I find marathons so amazing, and even more amazing are the people who run it. To run at such a fast pace for such a long period of time is just mind-boggling to me. At the end of the race, some of them can't even stand and as soon as they give their sash away, they just fall to the ground because their legs are physically unable to support them. This is really pushing the human body to its limits. It's really incredible what the human body is capable of.

Tokai University participated in the Hakone Ekiden but unfortunately, didn't fair so well. They ended in 12th place, out of the 20 universities. Toyo University came in first place with quite a lead.

(Picture taken from Google)

It was inspiring to watch, because the biggest part of the race is mental. These runners know they can run the distance, but they need to keep pushing mentally, reminding themselves that they're not tired, that they're going to keep going on. All the time I was watching it, I just wanted to run lol. And I've now added to my Bucket list : Run a half-marathon. : )

A Japanese style New Year in Kyoto

Along with my Japanese parents, Shigenori and Reiko, and their three boys, Daisuke, Kenzo and Yoshiki, we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto on December 31st. It takes only about 2 hours to get there.

Waiting at the bus stop (from left: Reiko, me, Yoshiki and Kenzo)

The Shinkansen

After arriving in Kyoto, we got our luggage checked in at the hotel before going to visit the Gion shrine.

The Iwasa family (from left: Yoshiki, Kenzo, Shigenori, Reiko, Daisuke)

I think it's time I explain a bit about my "Japanese parents". I've been referring to them as such but haven't really explained how I came to know them. They are actually my father's friends. Back in the days, when they were about the same age as I am now, Shigenori, Reiko and my father were all students of International Christian University (ICU). Shigenori and my father both stayed in the Canada House, along with other foreign students. In fact, Shigenori was apparently the first person my dad introduced himself to. And now, about 30 years later, they're still good friends and when they learned that Yuki's daughter (me!) was coming to Japan, they immediately welcomed me into their family. And they've helped me so much since I've arrived, helping me obtain the necessary documents for my life in Japan and making sure that I always have everything I need. Thank you! : D

So back to Kyoto. Later that evening, we had supper at the hotel along with Shigenori's mother, aunt, and his brother and his wife. We ate some very traditional Japanese food. I can say without a doubt that I tasted the weirdest textures and tastes that day. Sometimes, I didn't even know if what I was eating was a piece of meat or a vegetable. Let's just say it was a very interesting gustatory experience. But the food presentation was exquisite. I think the food decoration took longer than the cooking itself. Here are just a few photos:

The bowl in the upright left corner was made out of ice.

Our lovely server

All the dishes were so nicely plated and they came with one plate at a time. So our supper lasted over 3 hours! Halfway through the supper, the Kouhaku started so we had 4 cellphones laid out on the table to listen to the show.

The Kouhaku is a special music program that runs on New Year's Eve and features Japan's most famous and/or popular artists. Kou means red and haku means white and this is because there are two teams, the red team and the white team. So all the performing artists are divided and the two teams compete and at the end, a winner is declared. It was a great show. I was looking forward to it because I've been wanting to get to know more about Japanese music artists. I was surprised to hear a few songs that I recognized from listening to them in the car with my dad while driving to Winnipeg.

Then, at around 11 o'clock, we ate some delicious soba and then it was time for bed.

*  *  *

The next day, we ate some traditional food again for breakfast. Then the adults handed out otoshidama. Otoshidama is money given to children on New Year. And I received my first otoshidama!!! I'm not going to tell you how much lol but I'm definitely saving the money for my life here in Japan because everything is expensive here.

After breakfast and presents, we visited the Kitanotenmangu Shrine. It's one of the several hundred shrines across Japan dedicated to Sugawara Michizana, a famous scholar and politician. Sugawara Michizana is associated with Tenjin, the god of education, so many students will visit this shrine to pray for academic success. In Japan, in order to enter high school, you must pass a difficult entrance examination. It's a very serious matter. After their regular school, children will go to juku, a cram school, to study for the exam. Last year, Kenzo came to the shrine to pray for a successful high school entrance examination. And he passed! So this year, to thank the god of the shrine, he brought back the o-mamori (a kind of amulet) he had bought last year. And this year, since Yoshiki is going to be taking the entrance examination, he bought some o-mamori to help him succeed. I was also given an o-mamori, 技芸上達, which reads Gigeijoutatsu. Apparently, it means that I will improve in my art or craft. : )

Job accomplished: Kenzo giving back his o-mamori

Yoshiki with his grandmother and newly bought o-mamori

The shrine was so crowded. We wandered a bit around, stopping at a few booths along the way.

The crowd coming in as we were trying to get out

Drinking amazake: a traditional sweet drink made from fermented rice

Then, we ate lunch and shortly after it was time to take the train back home already. A short trip, but a very interesting trip, especially for me. I got the opportunity to see how New Year is celebrated in Japan. And I got to spend it with family : )