happy fun time

you know that feeling after you've had an awesome experience? that inevitable high that starts to die down to a low? you suddenly feel like you aren't used to the everyday life because you've been surrounded by the rush of exciting new experiences and great people. and you get the sudden urge to wear a hakata. oh, wait. that might just be me...

i just got back from japan and i am a bag of mixed emotions - thrilled by the comfort of my own bed and apartment. jetlagged and tired beyond belief. reveling still in the highlights of a great trip. withdrawal from the 35 people who were my ball and chain for two weeks. sigh. i love traveling.

some highlights:

No To Go: japanese people think it's rude to eat on the go. if you walk the super crowded streets of japan, you will notice that no one has a latte or candy bar in tow. and if they do, they are stared at with disdain. in turn, there are very few public trash cans around. this might explain the clean streets. hmm...they might be on to something.

Namjatown: one of my favorite places in Sunshine City (that is really what it's called) in Ikebukuro. it's like a hipper adult game arcade/fun house, but Japanese-style. they have fortune-telling cats and a mystery/haunted house, complete with lanterns with huge tongues sticking out, but one of the best parts is Gyoza Stadium which is made up of about 12-15 stalls that sell different kinds of gyozas. YUM!! after we polished off about 20 of those each, dodger and i went over to Ice Cream City (yes, kids, it DOES exist!) to find another 10 or so stalls of different variations of the creamy dessert - soft-serve, gelato, homemade ice cream, mega-sized waffle cones and more! it also included an ice cream museum with an overview of the kinds of ice creams, flavors and waffles over the years. you can also buy some by the gallon to take home.

Za Za Zen: my take on the overnight zen temple stay: one of those things you do once in your life and never again, like Times Square on New Year's Eve. you wake up at 4 a.m to eat, meditate and clean the temple. you sleep in freezing cold temperatures at 9 pm at night. you eat at this long table where your 5 eating bowls have to line up perfectly and you clean them using only your chopsticks and a japanese pickle that you saved from dinner. and you drink the water you cleaned the bowls with. (i get the idea, but yeah, ewww, i know.) and you get yelled at when you do something wrong (or hit with a stick if you go to the super serious zen temples). i get the whole thing about having these formalities and rituals to help clear your mind and focus your thoughts, but i need my comforter and some dishwashing liquid please.


Arigatou-Gozaimasu: Japanese hospitality is like nothing else in the world. at my homestay, our "mom" drew a bath for me, cooked an amazing meal, including my favorite foods as well as broccoli and lettuce from her garden - after a long day taking care of two kids - a 4-yr old and a 1-yr old. the father bought us presents and chased after us all the way into the train, past guards at our departure station to give them to us. and at every turn at a restaurant, bar (mind you, there are no tips at either) or retail store, there is a greeting, smiling face, and warm welcome. and most importantly, never once did i see the Japanese show a sense of entitlement about what they should or do have, the way some of my American classmates, i'm embarrassed to say, expressed explicitly and implicitly ("i don't care if that's the way they do it in their country, i can do what i want").


McDippers: I am embarrassed to admit that i hit the MckieDs while i was in Japan - only once i swear! BUT, if you do happen to go there, you need to try the Fish McDippers (think chicken nuggets but fish) with wasabi sauce. yum!

Dangerous Liasons: Mix some crazy grad students, lots of sake and some Van Halen, and you get a dangerous karaoke night. poor matt got clawed in the face as a result of another friend's debaucherous leap off the couch during Van Halen's "Jump."

Sushi Breakfast: You have GOT to go to Tsukiji fish market if you get the chance. yes, another 4 am trek, but totally worth it. after seeing warehouses full of hugh-normous fish carted away, we headed to the sushi stalls for breakfast. one of the best sushi meals i've ever had! long live the benitoro!

Ohayou Hayao Miyazaki: i got to visit the famed Ghibli Studios, home of the awesome Hayao Miyazaki films. We got to see his desk and the deck he watches his sunsets at. I am such a dork. I can't wait to catch Howl's Moving Castle when it comes here in June though!


I See Celux: i got an inside peek into an exclusive VIP club called Celux, started by the Louis Vuitton folks, for those customers deemed as influencers/trendsetters. after a rigorous application process, this small group of shoppers get sneak peaks into products, fashion shows, hip parties and cool seminars. they also get access to this cool salon/lounge on the top floor of the Louis Vuitton flagship store that we visited...

It's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it that counts: everything about Japan is efficient. from the orderly, but super-packed subway lines to the tiny hotel rooms, everything is small or crowded, but strangely pleasant. hotel rooms had the best shower water pressure i have ever had in my life, the mirror de-fogs for you and the toilet seats are always warm. subway stations were immaculate, always had tasty snack stands and people politely parted when people came out of the train. amazing!

All in all, i really loved my trip and i think that i love and respect a lot of things about japanese culture that just don't exist here in the states. there's tradition yet modernity. discipline but enjoyment. respect through and through. not to say that there are a lot of things i still don't agree with - repressed sexual issues, the state of women, etc. but there's a lot that could be learned by them even if we americans think we already know it all...