Tokyo Rampage Photo Dump

Well, finally, here are a crapload of photos of Tokyo.

Friday night, we went to one of the busy city centers and wandered around. There was an alley full of little restaurants...we stopped in one for a beer and some food.














I'm a little obsessed with the trains here. They are everywhere, coming and going every which way, and totally cut right between buildings and neighbourhoods and they're awesome. Here is a picture of one.



This is a picture of the street from the station to my dorm. MUCH quieter!



The next morning we woke up at 4am to hit up the fish market! It was super busy, super huge, and they hated tourists. I swear everyone there was trying to run me over and murder me.






Boss Coffee baby (it sucks).



A couple of pics of early morning Tokyo.




Some temple.




Akihabara aka Electronics City. Lots and lots of huge electronics department stores FILLED with every brand of everything. Also lots of anime stores and people. I didn't get enough time to explore this area, definitely going back. Also, notice the train bridges that cut through the buildings. I know, I'm obsessed.





Finally we went to some other shrine or temple or something. You could buy a tablet and write a prayer on it and hang it here. Kind of nice!



Guess that's it for now! Probably no updates for a few days, just going through the motions of daily life in Tokyo...but if I do snap some more pics, you'll be the first to know. No not you, you!

Sumimasen

Sumimasen means "I'm sorry" in Japanese. It is the single most important word in the country, because everybody is sorry here...all the time. Learn it. I'm sorry for many things, including constantly bumping into people on the trains here, but at the moment I'm sorry for not finding time to post all my Tokyo pictures. Sumimasen! They are coming, I promise.

In the meantime, let me tell you about Japanese hospitality. I just came back from my "Welcome Party," where everyone at the lab took me out to dinner and drinks. They called me "The King" all night and the crazy amounts of food and drink were all covered for me. I was treated to a feast of Japanese delicacies, including many different kinds of sake and all sorts of fresh seafood and they refused to let me pay a yen. Even at the "Second Party" that some of the students decided to throw, they refused any payment from me. My favourite was the deep fried squid tentacles. That's the best bar food there is.

Full update on my weekend Tokyo rampage, with plenty of pictures, coming soon. Sumimasen.

Urine for Men

Just a quick update to say that all is well thus far. The lab is really laid back (despite the bed beside my desk...), make your own hours and that sort of thing. I explored the residential area around my room, and promptly got lost. None of the streets go in a straight line, there are no street names (just a number system that I haven't figured out yet), and no visual aids on the horizon. To get an idea of where exactly I am, look at this satellite image, and start zooming out. It's truly daunting.

Last night I explored a hippie neighbourhood, with lots of interesting clothing stores, bars, and even a shisha bar, which was quite chill. Really nice area. The train ride home was surprising, because it was all just as busy as when I had arrived, and this at 11pm! That's the thing that I'm starting to realize about this place: it's a never-ending stream of people going every which way. You can stand at any one point and there is SERIOUSLY a CONSTANT flow of people going in every direction. It's mind-blowing. Who are these people? Where are they going? Think of Toronto or another big city, and then take away all the cars and replace them with pedestrians and subway riders. That includes all major roads and highways. Everybody. Then you'll begin to understand the chaos that is Tokyo.

I start exploring some of the downtown areas this weekend (Tokyo has no center, just a few different "downtowns"), so I'll start posting up pics of the city. In the meantime, I have posted a sign on the toilet in my apartment. Finally, an explanation about how to go to the bathroom! And to think, all this time I was peeing in the kitchen sink...

Last night at the conference center and...TOKYO!

Well, last night was our final night at the conference center, so we decided to do it up large. We hopped on a bus down to the local town, and myself, two other Canadians and two Americans ended up at some bar in an alley. It was quite hidden. There were only two customers in there when we arrived, and the 5 of us filled the remainder of the seats. It was literally a mom and pop shop, very little English spoken. So we pointed our way to beers and sake and just had a blast with the other customers and the owners. It was pretty fantastic. There were also Japanese game shows on TV, one of which had a bunch of animal names as options, including "sea dog" and "water horse." What?!

Anyway, we managed to get back to the conference center without getting lost, so that was a plus. The early morning today was not pleasant though. However, there was plenty of good news when I awoke: We were finally going to Tokyo, and we could see Mt. Fuji (couldn't get a great shot, but the best I could do is posted below).

We got bussed to Tokyo, where we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Despite the ridiculous transit system here (what?!), I managed to get to my stop no problem. Finding the school and the lab were also similarly straightforward. The campus is pretty big, and very nice. Also, the lab space is great, as is my host researcher. No shoes allowed though, and there's a bed beside my desk for those late nights at the lab!! I hope they don't expect that from me...I'll sleep at home, thank you very much.

My host researcher then showed me to my residence. First of all, the rent seems to be subsidized, because it's only about $630/month, utilities and internet included. I have my own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, desk, and balcony! It's really really nice, and I don't find it small or anything, which I was worried about. The surrounding area is actually very quiet and residential. It's a little out of downtown, so there isn't that hustle and bustle feel to it. All in all, I'm very pleased with my situation, and am very excited to be spending the next two months here. Tomorrow after work I'll explore the surroundings a bit, and Thursday I'll be heading into Tokyo proper for some more exploring. For now, it's off to dinner with the lab. I'm finally here!!

Some touristy stuff and a funny encounter

Hey everybody!

So today we did some touristy stuff with the host family...we went to this area with lots of temples (but by no means isolated). It was SO SO SO crowded. Our host family said it was more crowded than usual because the weather was so nice even though it was rainy season. Anyway, we quickly stumbled through a couple of temples, and saw another bigass Buddha! Much smaller than the one in Hong Kong, but while the HK one was 10 or so years old, this one was 350 years old...so a little more impressive in that respect.

We decided to escape the crowds soon after the Buddha and hiked around a bit in the nearby hills, coming to a much nicer, quieter, more isolated shrine in the woods. That was very nice. After that we had a great lunch at a traditional noodle house, and headed on back.

Anyway, some pictures of the day can be found below. The funniest part of the day came after we got off a super-crowded train. We were part of the pack walking down some stairs when this middle-age Japanese woman started giggling and pointing at me. I thought: "here we go, finally some 'look a white boy' stuff." Because honestly, myself and my German roommate are the only white people on any given train. But I digress. She continues to laugh and point, and taps her friend in front of her on the shoulder, says something to her, points at me, and they both start laughing some more. So I say hi in Japanese ("konnichiwa") which elicits further giggles from the pair. Taking my one word in Japanese as an indication of me being fluent, the first woman turns to me and barrages me with Japanese. I reply "sorry, I don't speak Japanese." She turns back and continues to chatter excitedly with her friend. It's all still a big mystery to me, until finally as we near the base of the stairs, the woman's friend looks at me, turns both her hands palm-up in my direction and shouts: "Beautiful!" As I blushed and laughed, all I could muster was "arigato gozaimasu (thank you)," and the whole incident concluded with the two giggling women disappearing into the crowd.

Paul and Roomie with a Host Family!

Oh man I'm finally out of that conference center for a couple of days (back for a few more days next week GAH!). But yah, our host picked us up and drove us through a town to his place near Tokyo Bay (but not in Tokyo), where his wife made us a FEAST. Really really good food and very nice people. Tomorrow we're going by train to a place with a bunch of temples and then Sunday we're taking a ferry across the bay (maybe I'll see Tokyo?!) to do some hiking in the hills on the other side. I'll finally be busting out the camera again, so stay tuned.

It feels great to be out of that conference center and in the "real" Japan. Just driving through that town got me really really excited. It's so different here, and I really think I'm going to love it. I wish they'd just let me get out there on my own already!

Oh for the record, they actually do have space-age toilets here, and let me tell you, a warm bidet (with impressive aim) set to maximum water pressure is a fantastic way to start the day off right. Sayonara for now!

A quick update...

Hey everyone,

I'm in Japan! Not in Tokyo yet, I'm actually at a conference center 2 hours out of Tokyo. They are treating everyone like royalty here, lots of food, intensive language training, and lectures on Japanese culture and science. The conference center itself is in a very very nice area. I have a hotel-style room with a roommate and our balcony overlooks the Pacific! The days have been very long however, and that's starting to wear me down. We'll be spending two nights this weekend with a host family, that should be interesting. I hope my host family lives in Tokyo! I'll keep you posted, and if I get a free moment, I'll post some pictures of the hilly green scenery around the conference center...tata for now!

P.S.

Okay, so I decided the best thing to do on my last day would be to explore more of HK island, so I did that instead of another out of the city trip. It was worth it just for the pulpy, fresh squeezed mango juice. Anyway, here are some final pics.

Also, I'd like to give a big shout-out to Rachael for putting me up this week. You've been a great host and a wonderful, knowledgeable guide, and without you I wouldn't even have been here. You rock!

So long Hong Kong

Well, this is my last day in Hong Kong. Going to check out another island nearby, then pack up and get ready for Tokyo! I thought I'd take the time now to collect my thoughts on this place...

Hong Kong is a dense, vibrant, multicultural metropolis that is somehow surrounded by fantastic wilderness. It is super high-tech, while at the same time being stuck in the past. You have some of the biggest skyscrapers in the world LITERALLY side-by-side with old, decrepit apartment buildings. You have East intertwined with West. You can go to a local mom and pop restaurant on the street right in front of a TGIF or Starbucks or Subway. You can get CHEAP clothes, or you can check out the super-expensive designer malls. You can take the fantastically advanced subway, or the unbelievably old tram. And some how it all just fits.

I've been staying right in the heart of Central, Hong Kong. This is an area co-inhabited by locals and "expats," Westerners from other countries here for work. One of the things you notice almost immediately is that at the bars and even on the street, you find Western men who obviously couldn't score a date with a garbage dumpster back home with beautiful local women on their arms. It's common knowledge here that many of the local women come to this area specifically to find sugar daddies. I've been told that Hong Kong destroys relationships, including marriages, on a very regular basis because of this. It's really disturbing in that respect.

I actually found the bar scene to be meh, beer is expensive (mostly imports like Carlsberg and Stella), and all the local beer tastes like Molson Canadian. And of course, all the dudes are douchebags. The good news is that there are 7/11s everywhere, they sell beer cheap, and you can drink it anywhere. It is joked that 7/11 is the best bar in town.

This place is full of extravagance. The only cars on the road that aren't taxis are BMWs, Mercedes, Porches, and Ferraris. The transit system is so good here and the roads so tight, a car makes no sense. It's all about the status symbol.

Finally, the environment. This place is smoggy, and it's hot. But when you're walking down the street, you always feel these nice breezes on your ankles. Turns out it's air conditioning pouring out of local stores. Everywhere has the A/C on full blast ALL THE TIME, and they leave their entire storefronts WIDE OPEN. It is so wasteful. There is no recycling, no bottle return. Everything goes to landfill. The entire area is powered by coal and gas plants that are a short ferry ride from downtown. And yet somehow this place is very green...lush nature is always close by, and people here keep telling that this is per-capita a very green city, owing to the density of the population. It makes sense, but it's hard to see when the air is orange, planes are constantly streaming overhead, the harbour is full of boats, and the coal plants are the ones powering what would seem like a very clean subway system.

In conclusion, this city is full of contrast. Future and past, clean and dirty, East and West, natural and urban. And it all comes together to form a fascinating, exciting and depressing place. And I've loved it from the moment I arrived. This has been a week I will never forget. So long Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's nature

Well, the last couple of days I've gotten to see the natural side of Hong Kong. Apparently over 40% of the region is protected park and they're all proud of that, but in reality it's just cuz it's too hilly to build on. Otherwise it would've been ripped to shit, no doubt. Anyway, it's actually pretty nice once you get out of the core. Two days ago I took a tram up the main peak on Hong Kong island. Pretty big tourist trap, but there were some trails that few people ventured on to that we really nice. Yesterday I took a ferry to Lantau island, part of Hong Kong, with a monastery and a big ass Buddha on it. The bus ride there and back was nuts, such tight lanes, and so hilly. But again, quick the tourist trap. Also again, plenty of unused trails. Spent most of the day on them...got mad mosquito bites, but totally worth it for the time away from the crowds, the nature, and the views. Pics from those trips are below, along with a view of the Hong Kong skyline smothered in smog from the ferry ride back. Quite the contrast. Also, went to Hong Kong disneyland with the girl I'm staying with today...pretty blah although the locals were all over it. The best part was the long subway ride...the subways here are so modern and fast. There is a dedicated line that goes one stop to disneyland, and the subways were all custom disney! So ridiculous...mickey-mouse windows and handles, all sorts of disney characters in display cases...jeez.

Pictures!!

HK skyline at night

Couple of night skyline pics for ya! Every night at 8pm some of the more prominent and well-lit buildings of the HK island skyline do a light show to cheeseball music. Here are a couple of shots of the skyline before the show started...this is a BRIGHT city. In the first pic, those rectangles of light are all logos...Epson, Toshiba, etc etc.

Kowloon!

Kowloon is the area of Hong Kong that is on the mainland (i.e. not Hong Kong island). So I took a subway out there today and explored. First of all, the subways are amazing. Second of all, Kowloon is East meets West, minus the West (see pic 1). Here there is no English, and no white food. I got some great buns and walked all over the place. There is a famous outdoor market called Ladies Market that I hit up for some cheap tees and some knock-off Oakleys (see pic 2 for the glasses). I got to try my bargaining skills there, and I think it's safe to say I got ripped off. But I felt like I was getting a deal at the time, so isn't that what counts? I got some great tees...some of them make absolutely no sense, which I love. I'll post pics of those later.

Finally, I learned to be careful what you wish for. Got some sun today, and dear bejesus it gets hot here...I don't think I've ever smelled so bad in my entire life...seriously. Took the ferry back (so ridiculously cheap) and hopped right into the shower. Hopefully tonight we'll get back to Kowloon to watch the light show that the Hong Kong skyline puts on at night! I posted a couple of pics of the skyline as seen during the day from Kowloon.

Bonus pic: What the hell is attach from height?! Needless to say I kept a wary eye on the sky.