Midterm debriefing

みんなさん,今晩は！ (Good evening, everyone!) So, it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted to let everybody know that I was going to Tokyo on spring break. Not only did I make it back alive, but I have a few interesting stories to tell. Unfortunately, if I tried to type out every single thing that happened, I’d be here all night, and since I have to go on a field trip with my art history class tomorrow, I really can’t afford to do that. So, I’m going to have to pare down the details and relate only the most interesting stuff, with perhaps a few excursuses in between. (You thank thank Ms. Deborah “Bee” Mueffelmann for introducing me to Dictionary.com’s “Word of the Day” mailing list. )

Unfortunately, the trip began with some bad news in the form of a phone call from Japanese customs office. My dad had sent some medicine via FedEx, but he accidentally enclosed more than is permissible by Japanese law to enter the country at one time (3 months instead of 2 months). I had two choices, they said: pay $50 for them to destroy some of the medicine and forward the rest to me, or have them send the whole thing back to the States. I thought at the time that it would be faster and cheaper to simply pay the fine; however, there was a catch. First, they had to send me a confirmation form by mail that I needed to sign and return before they could ship my pills. Lovely. I would be in Tokyo the whole week. Oh well, I thought, it’s the only way. Jumping ahead a bit, this Monday I picked up the letter from my school mailbox, signed the papers, and sent them back immediately. There was no enclosed return address, so I used the one on the envelope in which the papers came. Yesterday (Friday), I got a phone call from them asking whether I received the form because they hadn’t gotten it back yet. I said I sent it on Monday. Oh, they said, it probably got lost. We’ll have to send you another one. So, in my best Japanese–pulling out stuff I learned ages ago and fusing it with stuff I learned that week–I attempted to explain that I really, really needed those pills and asked if there was any way they could send them without the form. Thankfully, the woman on the other end understood, and she replied in a very concerned, Japanese voice that she could not help me. It was a Japanese custom (she meant that it was a customs office policy but probably thought I wouldn’t know what she meant or didn’t know how to explain it), and I had to send the form. Therefore, I am waiting for the next installment and have not taken any medicine for about four days plus only half doses for a week before that. Dad says not to worry, but I’m rather tense. I’m seriously considering taking the forms in person to Kansai Airport’s FedEx office on Tuesday–assuming the papers arrive by then.

Aaaanyway, back to Tokyo. The initial group consisted of Sach, Wei, Nick, and me. Trevor had arrived on Sunday and booked a different hotel than ours. After disembarking from the shinkansen, we met up with him that evening in Roppongi and, after a very brief foray, decided to eat at TGIFriday’s on the main drag. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to understand the sheer joy of that meal–despite the price–and it can be summed up best, I believe, in two words: “FREE REFILLS!!!” In Japan, that is absolutely unHEARD of. Despite the smaller portions and higher prices, the food was just as yummy as back home. Needless to say, we had a great time.

Our hotel was called “Hotel Juyoh,” and for 3200 yen a night, it was well-supplied with amenities. Free Internet access via wireless and computers in the lobby, a robe, TV and fridge in room, all the tea you could drink! The rooms were matchbook-sized but comfy… except for the pillow. Japanese pillows are pretty much beanbags, if you can believe it. Traditionally, the Japanese have slept on sacks filled with rice grains, and apparently they never took to the softer, Western style. Go figure. After discovering how much the “pillow” made my head hurt, I used the small floor cushion next to my desk. It worked MUCH better. The only other problem with the hotel was its policy of cleaning rooms every two days. Don’t get me wrong, I love a clean room as much as the next foreign college student in Tokyo, but whoever was responsible for throwing away my earplugs deserves to be shot. But yeah. Nice place.

The next day, the group split up. Sach and Wei wanted to see Tokyo Disney, so they joined up with some other Sem 4 people who were staying in the same hotel as we were. For the rest of the week, it was just Nick, Trev, and I wandering around Tokyo. We spent Tuesday mainly in Akihabara, the electronics district of Tokyo. Basically just a bigger version of Osaka’s Den-Den Town. Duty-free shops, manga-ya, “DVD” (porn) stores, and tons upon tons of computers/appliances/general technology. Not terribly impressive, really. The prices were a mixed bag, i.e. some things were more expensive than America while others were cheaper. It was hit or miss, really. Still, Sach managed to find a PS3 there, and Robert (who came up the next day to visit his girlfriend and buy a new laptop) found a great deal on his new computer. Oh, and one more thing. Trev and I got to play a Gundam simulator in one of the Sega arcades. Totally awesome. You get to sit in a pod-like thing with two control sticks and pedals and an earpiece to talk to your teammates in the pods next to you. The screen wraps around 180 degrees! Futuristic robotic combat that puts me in the cockpit? Yes, please!

Wednesday afternoon was spent in Harajuku, and that night was spent in Ginza. Harajuku was interesting… we went to a lot of weird clothing stores, mostly goth-loli stuff. Trev bought a jacket with more pockets than an opossum and its extended family (with similar coloration). Not many cosplay kids were out that day because it was a weekday, but there was no lack of interesting characters in all manner of clothing and hair styles. If there’s any one place in the world to see humanity acting out its wildest fashion whims, it’s Harajuku. You can see some of the pictures I took of goth clothing on my Flickr page. Matter of fact, all my Tokyo pics are uploaded, but I still want to get some from Nick and Trev. Anyway, in Ginza that evening, we went looking for a nice restaurant to eat and found an excellent spaghetti joint in the Sony building. For $12 I got some tasty spaghetti carbonara and a tiny glass of the mildest white wine I’d ever had. *shrug* I didn’t expect to find good wine in Tokyo. Not a bad evening, all in all.

Thursday was very disappointing. We took trains all the way out west to Shinjuku in hopes of being able to catch a bus to Mt. Fuji after reading in our travel guidebooks that the mountain was open to climbers in the spring as long as they left a travel plan at a ranger station at the base. Alas, the rules have apparently changed since our books were written. The ticket agent for Fuji tours told us we couldn’t even get near the mountain until July when the snows are melted and climbing season officially starts. Poop on toast. We decided we didn’t want to go out there if we couldn’t climb the mountain, so we forsook the distance photo ops in favor of a trip to the Imperial Gardens near Tokyo Station. The gardens were absolutely gorgeous, and since they were closed on Friday, we wouldn’t have gotten to see them if we hadn’t skipped Fuji. Providence, I’m sure. That night, I don’t remember in which district we ate dinner, but I remember that it was a cozy American-style place called “Doobie’s,” after the Doobie Brothers. They even had a recording studio upstairs! Quite satisfying, and we desperately needed a place to chill out after being on our feet all day. Trev parted ways with us there because he wanted to stay the night in an Internet cafe, “for the experience.” In Japan, Internet cafes are pretty posh. For less than $20, you can rent a room with a computer, game consoles, unlimited game rentals, snacks and drinks, and even a blanket and pillows for several hours. It’s actually a really cheap and fairly comfortable way to spend the night, even though you don’t get a full night’s rest. I kinda wished I’d checked one out.

Friday we went to the Tokyo sword museum and Ueno park before catching the Shinkansen home. The sword museum was… wow, I cannot possibly describe to you my joy and rapture at seeing so many perfectly preserved blades, hilts, and fittings from centuries upon centuries of Japanese history. I felt like a little kid again–but with a longer attention span that allowed me to meticulously examine every single one of the displays. Trev and Nick were past ready to leave by the time I had finished walking around the room. Heh, it was totally worth it. Ueno park was really pretty and very large with lots of temples, shrines, and the Tokyo National Museum. The cherry trees weren’t blooming yet (they’ll be open next week. I’ll take plenty of pics), but we still enjoyed the warm weather and scenery. After a brief lunch of takoyaki (not nearly as good as the Osaka folks make it), we checked out the heiseikan of the museum, which houses the historical artifacts. I got to see things like the haniwa and dotaku that I studied in art history class, in addition to a bunch of other fascinating items from all eras of Japan’s history. I was in heaven. Finally, we caught a shinkansen back to Osaka, getting back to the dorm late in the evening. I think we all pretty much collapsed. Of course, there were lots more intervening details, but I’ll save those for telling when I come home.

Since then, I’ve just been getting back in the swing of things, resuming my usual schedule. Sach and Jacquelyn were baptized at Pastor Takeshi’s house today, and we had a wonderful communion service afterwards–their first. I cannot possibly express how joyous and happy the whole affair was, and I felt deeply encouraged and moved by being able to participate in the welcoming of two nascent believers into the body of Christ. Tomorrow, Sach and I will go on a field trip with our art history class to Kyoto to examine some Buddhist art in a couple of temples dating to the Heian period. It should be interesting, as usual, but after the downpours the whole area received this evening, it might be slightly mucky and uncomfortable walking around all day.

Now that you’re all up to date, it’s time for me to say, “Oyasumi!” Time for bed. Goodnight! Don’t forget to check pictures and videos if you haven’t already!