Family reunion in Japan!

I have difficulty believing it myself but I just spent the whole afternoon and evening with my dad and brother, who I haven't seen (in person at least) for more than 6 months. It feels like nothing has changed. And they just fit in so perfectly into my new life: my dad chatting with the trainers and athletes during the practice and my brother practicing hard with the Tokai girls and even throwing some of them. I almost can't believe that they're actually here.

They first arrived around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I introduced them to the dorm dean and my roommate, gave them a little tour of where I live and then it was already time to go to practice.

My brother practiced with the girls today. Next week, he'll probably practice with the boys at least once, but today, as it's his first day, we deemed it best for him to practice with the girls to get used to the level of training here. So my brother was the only boy there. But he's kind of gotten used to that after years of being the only boy in the gymnastics club in Beausejour, Manitoba.

My brother getting taped up before practice

It was a hard practice. He was pretty tired by the end of it. I'm pretty sure that the girls' practices are not as tough as the guys's but the girls are all strong here and my brother had quite a workout tonight.

At the end of practice, we gave the girls some red licorice as a souvenir from Canada along with some mini Tide-to-go's, which have become one of my dad's indispensable items he likes to have handy, especially at a judo tournament. In judo, if there's blood on a gui during a match, the wearer has to change his gui. And blood is often pretty hard to rub off. But with a little bit of water and these little tide-to-go markers, the blood comes off easily.

Then we took a group picture:

Then some girls came to talk to my brother... as I thought they would. I mean, my brother is a pretty good-looking guy, kakkoii as they say here in Japan. So by the end of their conversation, I think he made two new girlfriends... lol

Girlfriend #1: Akane

Girlfriend #2: Naori

A possible girlfriend #3: Kumiko

Then we went back to my dorm where I cooked supper for them, beef curry udon. Didn't turn out like I had imagined it (when does it ever?) but it was still good and we enjoyed the meal together, which is the most important thing. I said earlier that I have trouble believing this all happened today. But I just have to check my refrigerator to confirm that it actually did: all my three containers of juice have disappeared. And there's only one person I know who can drink that much juice in one sitting... my brother!

Dad and bro: on their way!

My dad and brother are on their way to Japan!!! We were worried for a bit because there have been some illegal strikes going on at Air Canada that could have affected their flights but last I checked, they transferred without any problems or delays in Edmonton and Vancouver and are now on their way to Tokyo, Japan. I am almost jumping up and down. I'm so excited to see my family!!! Unfortunately, my mother couldn't come because it would be extremely difficult for her to get around. There are still many places with no elevators and just the sheer amount of people would be hard to navigate through. But as she told me, she's looking forward to these 2 weeks. She'll be able to r-e-l-a-x, not have to make lunches or coffee, etc. And she'll be acting as our communication tower because we'll all be reporting to her about our activities of the day. : p

For my brother, this is his first time travelling to Japan so everything will be new and exciting. I might be even more excited than he is lol. He doesn't know what's in store for him. I was in his shoes three years ago when my father and I went to Japan. At that time, my father was the guide and I was completely dependent on him for everything. But now, since I've been here for six months already and I have a good hang of how things work, I have a lot of things I want to show my brother: kareoke, hot spring baths, etc. So many things to do... and they're only staying about 2 weeks. So we've got some cramming to do!

Just a heads up: in the next 2 weeks, I'll probably be writing a lot about my brother and father and our adventures together in Japan, so stay tuned!

Winnipegger get-together

Yesterday, I met up with two friends, Kim and Alex, who are originally from Winnipeg but are living in Japan (for about 4 years now) to teach English. They both live in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan so they don't come that often to Tokyo because it's a quite expensive and long trip. But they were in Tokyo for the weekend so we arranged to meet in Akasaka-mitsuke where we ate at a famous Korean restaurant, famous because many celebrities frequent that restaurant.

Chijimi, a Korean-style pancake

Kim

Alex, showing the display of celebrity signatures posted on the wall

We took a lot of trains that day. We went to Harajuku for some purikura, then to Shibuya to see the Hachiko statue.

Hachiko in Japan is known as chuuken Hachiko, meaning "faithful dog". In 1924, a professor at the University of Tokyo adopted Hachiko as a pet. Every day, the dog would greet its owner at the Shibuya station. One day, the professor suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and did not return. But every day for the next nine years, Hachiko came to the station to wait for its master. And so, near the Shibuya station, there now stands a stone statue of a dog, representing Hachiko, the faithful dog.

Then we took a few more trains to get to Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Initially built in the 1850s to help defend Tokyo, it has now become a major commercial area. We rode a giant ferris wheel overlooking Odaiba and Tokyo Bay. We chose to ride a clear cabin so we had to wait a bit longer because there are only 4 clear cabins on the ferris wheel. We were disappointed though because the bottom of the glass cabin was pretty dirty so you couldn't see much. But the view at the top was great. The whole ride lasts about 15 minutes.

The view at the top: you can see the Rainbow bridge

Venus fort: a shopping mall made to ressemble Venice, Italy

A Japanese-style feast

Today, along with the two Russian girls and the Afghanistan girl who are also currently training at Tokai, we went to the girls' judo club's manager's house in Machida (ouf, that's a lot of possessives, hope it makes sense). The manager and his wife wanted to cook a meal for the 4th year girls from Tokai who will be graduating officially tomorrow and we were invited to help with the cooking. I was all excited, thinking we would learn how to cook some Japanese dishes like yakisoba, or tempura. But in the end, we mostly helped to plate the food which is an art in itself in Japanese culture. We had to place the chopsticks a certain way and layer the meat slices and vegetables beautifully to produce a beautiful visual effect.

Hard at work

When it comes to making food for a group of people, the Japanese are incredible. The table was full of plates of meat, salad, soup, dressings, rice bowls, etc, and the food just kept coming. See for yourself:

It's a bit impolite to refuse food in Japanese culture as I'm told but towards the end, I just couldn't eat anymore.

The manager's granddaugther lending a helping hand

A group picture of the graduating girls, the managers and the coaches

Going to the zoo

On Tuesday, my aunt Shizuko and I went to visit the Ueno Dobutsuen. The main attraction we wanted to see were the pandas. I've never seen a live panda and I find them so adorable.

I met my aunt in Shinjuku where we took the Yamanote line to Ueno. The park is just a short way from there and all we had to do was follow the big throng of people exiting the station and making its way in the zoo's direction.

When we arrived at the zoo, we found out the entry fee was free that day because it happened to be the park's birthday that day. Sweet, right? But... because it was free, there were sooo many people that day. And there was a huge lineup to see the pandas, because of course, everyone wants to see the pandas. We asked one of the ladies working there how much time it would take if we decided to line up: 2 hours!!! So we decided not to line up, even though we had come to see the pandas. My aunt is about 80 years old and though standing for 2 hours is not a big deal for me, it's a bit more tiring for someone her age.

Instead, we got to see some elephants and some monkeys. I almost felt like a little kid again, amazed at everything. It's been several years since I last visited a zoo. Everyone goes to a zoo at least once in their life, usually at a young age. But as we grow up, I think we kind of think of zoos as something made for little kids. But I realized that it doesn't matter how old you are, animals are fascinating creatures. The elephants were so big and majestic and the monkeys were just jumping around in their cage, dangling from branches. It was so cool to see.

Some monkeys that look a lot like skunks

Some more monkeys, hanging from their cage bars

A tapir: it has quite an interesting shape, doesn't it?

A very fascinating specimen, my aunt Shizuko : P

We didn't see the pandas this time but my aunt came up with this plan: Next time (on a day where the entry is NOT free), I'll sleep at her house the night before, then we'll arrive at the park just as it's opening so we can be among the first ones to line up to see the pandas. : )

Sakura: a sneak peek

The sakura, the cherry blossom trees, are just starting to bloom now. According to the local people, they're a bit later than usual, probably due to the colder temperatures we've been experiencing here. But now they're finally starting to come out. When my brother and father come in a week, they should be in full bloom : ). I remember when I came 3 years ago, it was just the right time as well and I took so many beautiful pictures. Here's a little taste of what's to come:

2 Halfs make 1 Whole

I first heard the term "half" about a year and a half ago when I participated in the Junior Worlds in Morocco. Using the little amount of Japanese I knew back then, I introduced myself to a couple of the girls from the Japanese team. I told them that I was Canadian but that my dad was Japanese. Their response was immediate: "Ahh, Haafu" (meaning half). That means I'm half-Japanese. The word can be seen as a kind of discrimination like my dad initially told me, kind of like saying "Oh, you're only half-Japanese, not the real thing". But I've chosen to embrace the word, because that's what I am, half-Japanese.

It's quite interesting to be half-Japanese and living in Japan. I get a lot of stares every day because I confuse Japanese. Because I have some Asian features, they can't classify me right away as a gaikokujin, a foreigner. I don't stand out like other foreigners who have blue eyes or blond hair. But then again, I don't look completely Japanese either. I have curly hair, bigger eyes, and sometimes I may not behave like a typical Japanese. Some are just curious, sneaking glances here and there in the train. But others are not as subtle, openly staring at me and frowning. Some people will come right up to me and ask me where I'm from, like the older women do when I go to the hot baths. Just today, I had a long discussion with two Japanese women who were curious as to my whereabouts.

In Canada, my Asian features are probably my most defining features when you compare me to other Canadians. But in Japan, it's my Canadian features that stand out.

I'm proud to be Canadian and Japanese. I have the best of both worlds like my mom always says. I inherited my dad's dark and thick hair but got my brown tint and curls from my mom's side of the family. I have almond-shaped eyes but they're hazel instead of black. My height and body type are similar to most Japanese. And I'm polite and reserved like many Japanese. But I'm also more outspoken and sometimes find it ridiculous that Japanese can talk for a long time without saying much or deciding anything. I really do have the best of both worlds. My dad always says: "Tu ne connais pas ta chance!" which is French for "I don't know how lucky I am." But I'm starting to. : )

Purikura

I don't know why I didn't write about this before. I've gone twice already with my friends to purikura. Purikura is an abbreviation of purinto kurabu, which comes from the English word "Print Club". Purikura are photo booths that can be found in shopping districts like Shinjuku. In these little booths, you can take pictures with your friends. Then you get to edit your pictures: you can add stickers, signatures, hearts, etc. The cool thing with purikura is that it accentuates the eyes. In the final product, everyone's eyes end up looking anime-like, big and glossy.

Many purikura booths lined side by side

Decoration time!

A picture of my roommate and me (unfortunately, I wasn't looking at the camera)

Garbage system in Japan

In Japan, almost everything is designed to save time, to be time-efficient. Even things such as salad dressing. I still remember the first time I went to McDonald's in Japan and I ordered a salad as a side. The dressing wasn't in a little package that you had to rip. That would be way too difficult. Instead, it came in a small container with little slits in the center. When you applied pressure on the corners of the package, the dressing bursts through the slits. I didn't know that back then. I tried different methods to try to open it before finally squirting my friend (who was unfortunate to be sitting in front of me) in the face.

Anyhow, this post isn't about salad dressing lol. Just to show how things in Japan are made to be user-friendly and time-efficient. But the garbage system in Japan is a different story.

Here's a picture to help explain:

This garbage bin is located in Tokai and it's one of the more simpler models. So on the left, we have the bin for aluminium and steel items. Then we have a place for plastic bottles. Next, are the moenai gomi, the items that can't be burned, and finally the moeru gomi, those that can. Now it makes sense to me... most of the time. But you should have seen me the first few months. I couldn't read the signs on the garbage yet and so I usually peered into the garbage to see if my item ressembled any of the items in that particular bin. And I swear, it isn't just me. I see many others, even Japanese, being uncertain as to where they should throw away their garbage. Can anybody tell me where does gum fit in there? In the non-combustible items bin?

Another thing about garbages in Japan is that there aren't enough. I don't know if there exists a ratio, for example 1 garbage bin for every 10 people, or maybe it's measured in surface area, 1 garbage bin for each 10 square meters. But it sometime takes quite a while in Japan to come accross one. Even in obvious places like public washrooms, they sometimes go missing in action.

Happy birthday Vincent!

Today is an important day. Like the 9.11 will be forever remembered in the United States, 3.11 will never be forgotten in Japan. That's when the tsunami and earthquake occured, leaving a whole country in ruins. It was a difficult time for the Japanese. And they are still living the aftermath.

But it's an important day also because it's my brother's birthday today. And not just any birthday, his 18th birthday. He is now considered an adult in Canada. Scary, isn't it? My little brother isn't that little anymore. Where did time fly by?

To my little bro who's reading my blog faithfully, I want to wish you a great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'm sorry I can't be there with you to celebrate today but I'm counting down the days till you come to Japan on my calendar.

I think sometimes distance can do wonders for a relationship. My brother and I haven't argued in almost 6 months. lol. That's partly due to the fact that we haven't been living under the same roof during that time. : p But physical distance also makes you value the little time you have with loved ones even more. I don't get to talk with my brother often because of our conflicting schedules. When he's available, I'm in class and when I'm available, he's still sleeping. And so we try to make the most out the time we have together. I love to hear what he's been up to and share my own experiences in Japan with him.

I know my brother has a bright future ahead of him. He's smart, generous, capable of playing just about any sport (although his favorites are judo, tennis and volleyball), he's a great leader and he always manages to make me laugh. Like the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami, I think he's going to rock the world... but in a good way : ) So happy birthday little bro. Miss you. XXX

Konbini : Convenience stores

Convenience stores in Japan are everywhere. In Japanese, they're called konbini. Within 10 minutes on foot from where I live, there are 4 convenience stores. And those are only the ones I know of. I'm sure there are a few others in proximity I haven't gone to yet. There are many different chains, some of the more common ones include Lawson, 7-11, Family Mart, and Daily Yamazaki.

Back home, I seldom entered convenience stores. But here in Japan, I probably visit one at least 3 times a week. Here's a list of some of the goods you can buy: sandwiches, bentos (lunch boxes with rice, meat, vegetables), salads, snacks, sweets, frozen meals, ice cream, beverages, alcohol and liquor, magazines and newspapers. You can also buy necessary daily items like toothbrushes, shampoo, batters, tape, pens and paper, etc.

Now for the services offered:

- there's always a public telephone, usually bright green
- there's a fax/copy machine
- there's sometimes a mail box to post your letters
- you can take out money from the ATM machine
- you can reserve tickets for concerts or sporting events
- you can also print out digital camera pictures for about 30 yen

They are very convenient and time-saving. For example, today, it took me about 10 minutes to post my letters, call up my aunt and buy my supper. They even heat up your supper for you at the cashier.

My first manga!

Yesterday, I bought my first manga books! I've always loved manga and have tried my hand at drawing them a few times. Here are the two books I bought:

#1: Slam Dunk: a series about basketball players. I'm not a fan of basketball, in fact I usually say it's my least favorite sport. But the judo girls recommended this as one of their favorites so I'm giving it a shot.

#2: Ao Haru Ride: Honestly, I can't tell you what it's about yet, but I think the story is set during middle school. I've started reading this one but I have to stop at every page to look up words I don't know.

The most important criteria in selecting these books was that they have furigana. Furigana are hiragana characters that explain how to read kanji. Therefore, even though there are many kanji I can't read, if they have the furigana, (the hiragana letters), then I can look up the word in a dictionary. If I only have the kanji, then I can't look it up because I don't know how to write the kanji in the first place. I have found this cool website where you can draw a kanji character and then it will show you how to read it, but having to do that for every word would be quite tiring... and I would never finish the book.

Another kind of experience

So far, my experiences in Japan have pretty much all been positive and welcomed... and I guess you could say relatively easy. Easy in the sense that they weren't too hard to deal with. But now I'm experiencing something that is a bit harder to deal with. But I'm supposed to see it in a positive light, see it as another kind of experience here in Japan. At least, that's what my father tells me.

During the training camp in Miyazaki, I collided with a girl, my front tooth hitting her forehead so strongly that my tooth bent backwards. I was able to push it back forwards and didn't think too much of it. But after, drinking and eating was painful and the tooth remained a bit unstable. At my return, I went to see a dentist... who told me my tooth was dead. There is no more circulation from the vein. It was a shock to me. I've always been proud of my nice teeth, which always make the dentists happy during my checkups. To hear that at 20, I already have a dead tooth... was hard to take in. But thankfully, the current treatments are well-developed and accessible. During the next few weeks, I'm scheduled to have three root canal treatments to clean out the tooth to prevent infection. I get to keep my tooth as it is. Because the tooth is dead, the coloring will start to change after a certain amount of time, and so at that time I'll have to look into other treatments.

It's not the end of the world... though it seemed like it a few days ago. My dad is right, it is another kind of experience in Japan. It's not the kind of experience I was hoping for, but at least you can say it's not something many visitors in Japan get the chance to experience. ; )

A week in Miyazaki

I've been back a couple of days already and have been meaning to write on my blog but the Internet connection has been off and on. For hours at a time, everything seems fine and then suddenly, no Internet connection for almost a whole day. Let me tell you, it's very frustrating. I don't have anything to do! lol. That's not true, but a lot of things I need to do (ex. skype my parents, check my email, write on my blog) require the Internet and so I was unable to do that for the past few days.

Finally, I have access so I am writing this now as fast as I can in case the connection goes MIA again.

So... where to start? First of all, to get to the airport is quite a trip in itself. From Tokaidaigakumae (the closest station to Tokai University), we took the Odakyu line to Ebina station, about 25 minutes. Then we transferred onto the Sotetsu line, which we rode all the way till the last stop, Yokohama. From there, we took the Keikyu line to the Haneda Airport. Getting to the airport was almost as long as the flight to Miyazaki.

When I say "we", I mean myself and four other judo girls (all 3rd-year students).

From left: Tomomi, Miyu, Ayaka, Yuuki

It's the girl on the far right, Yuuki, who invited me. Her father is in charge of the Miyazaki high school judo club and was the one who taught us techniques during the camp.

We stayed in a kind of little apartment, sleeping on futons.

The room where the five of us slept

Now about judo, we usually had one practice every day, sometimes two. Practices lasted around 3-4 hours. I think our last practice on Saturday was 4 hours and a half. It was so long! I learned a lot of little gripping tricks and other techniques but I had to concentrate twice as much as everyone else just to try to understand what the teacher said. I know I missed a lot of little details but I think I was able to take in the most important things he was saying.

The camp was fairly small. About 6 girls from Fukuoka University came, and high school girls from the Miyazaki judo club (where we practiced) also took part in the training so there were still some bodies to work with.

The dojo where we practiced

It was a lot warmer in Miyazaki like a lot of people had promised me before I left. But they hadn't told me that it rained a lot... it rained every day we were there, and not just little droplets but hard, pouring rain.

For food, we often bought our meals at the nearby convenience store. You can practically live off convenience stores in Japan, of course not very healthily, but convenience stores in Japan are really, well, convenient. I'm planning to write something on that later because convenience stores are part of Japanese everyday life.

Yuuki's father also treated us to a few meals during the week. I got to taste Miyazaki's famous jidori (charcoal-grilled chicken). Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste a mango from Miyazaki. Miyazaki mangoes are the best in Japan and mango happens to be my favorite fruit but it wasn't the season for mangoes. In the summer, they must be so delicious. But expensive...

Tokai and Fukuoka University sharing a meal (The man in the back is Yuuki's father)

We also cooked one night, and I even ate at my first kaitenzushi restaurant, also known as sushi train. Plated sushi are placed on a kind of conveyor belt which circles around the tables and you're free to pick whatever you want to eat right off the belt. You have to be quite quick though because it circles pretty fast. But the same items also come back around again so you can always get it the second time around.

Helping to cook our meal

Kaitenzushi: Ayaka filling up on green tea while plates circle by 

On our last day, Yuuki's father took us to see Aoshima (= blue island). Apparently, after reading up on it on the Internet (which is now working properly : p ), Aoshima is the only place in Japan where you can see Oni-no-Sentakuita (Ogre's Washboard), which are unique wave-like rock formations. I think Yuuki tried to explain something to me about the rocks, or a story behind the rocks, but all I understood was sentaku which means to wash, and iwa which means rock... and I haven't been able to find anything on the Internet... I think that maybe she meant that clothes were washed on the rocks, or the rocks served as a washing place, or something like that... but I guess I'll never know.

Oni-no-Sentakuita (Ogre's Washboard)

Miyu and me

Then it was time to go back home. I really like airport security when traveling inside Japan. No passport is needed, you can bring water bottles on board, and you don't even have to take off your jacket to pass through security. Now that's what I call effective. ; )