Kyoto and Kiyomizudera

Kyoto was nice. Rain was in the forecast but it didn't. It was cloudy. We went to see Kiyomizudera 清水寺　(pure water temple). We got a little lost on the way once we got to Kyoto, but eventually we got a cab there. It was crowded with lots of other tourists. You'd have thought it was a weekend.

We did some shopping and we saw the temple as well. It was very relaxing not to have to worry about the kids or cater to their needs. We also went to see the 紅葉　(red leaves). I wouldn't say the autumn leaves are as spectacular as the northeast in the states but it was pretty.

It was also nice not having our tour guides around, Ryoko and Sonoe. With all those other distracting elements not being there (the guides and the kids) I found I was much more relaxed and didn't freak when my wife wanted to spend some money on getting gifts for friends back home. I even participated and got a yukata for myself. Brenda helped pick it out.

The Familiar Made Unfamiliar

One of the most baffling aspects of life in Japan for this westerner is the concept of the familiar being made unfamiliar. That is to say there are many conventions here that are from the west like baseball, fast food, fashion (or the lack of it) and retail stores. At first the illusion of normalcy can make one feel at home until you realize something is not quite right. For instance, in an electronics store there will be slogans printed on the walls:

The sign is in English. Do any of the employees speak English? No. Do even half the people who are ever in that store, whether customer or employee, read English? Probably not. Why bother? I don't know, but it is very common. You will pass by many young men and women sporting t-shirts bearing sentiments in awkward English. What would that young Japanese woman do if some foreigner just walked up to her and, without previous introduction, asked her out on a date? He'd just be doing what her shirt read, "Ask Me Out On a Date!"

So, what do you do in the States when at one o'clock in the morning you get the munchies and you have nothing in the cupboard? You jump in your car and head for the nearest 24 hour store like a 7-11 or something. They have those here. Maybe you would be interested in a hot dog, nachos or a slice of pizza even if it has been under a warmer for a few hours.

However, they are not going to have your slice of pizza, nachos or hot dogs (actually, sometimes they do have hot dogs or corndogs--they're not very good!)

What is that stuff? It is the equivalent of a slice of pizza, nachos and hot dogs in Japanese cuisine. Sometimes you'll find squid, octopus, konyaku and various things that you will never find in my mouth.

They do have more familiar items for the finicky western palette.

Ah yes! Corndogs and yakitori in the plastic thingy there. In another compartment just to the left you'll find some dumplings filled with curry or red beans. Yumm!

McDonalds is pretty standard wherever you go. In Japan they do have some quirky additions like McShrimp Burgers, Fish Nuggets and the Japanese love to have a fried egg on their hahmbahgah or cheezubahgah.They are not bad I must say. And McDonald's coffee is still the best!

Love Hotels in Japan

In Japan, people seem to literally live right on top of one another because it is so crowded. Kid's are plentiful and their schedules isogashii (busy). A housewife certainly has her hands full trying to put on dinner on with only a two burner stove. A husband as the committed breadwinner has also a busy schedule and networking after work in the company's favorite pubs certainly does delay him from coming home before midnight. What is a couple to do? How do they get alone with each other and spend some "quality time." Well, in Japan they have "Love Hotels." The concept of a love hotel is very similar to what they might call a sleazy hotel in the States. You know what I'm talking about even if you've never been there. It's the "no tell" motel or the one that charges by the hour. In Japan though, they aren't considered sleazy, they're considered quite normal. They are also called "fancy hotels." Although, it's perfect for the married couple to get away from the kids, you can imagine that this venue also attracts its share of adulterers, fornicators and mistresses.

They usually have interesting names, in English, with neon signs and kitschy decor:










Here you have the City Inn Za Za, Private Space, and Welcome Always.

If you do go into a love hotel, it's quite obvious what you are going there for but no worries, I've read elsewhere that the need for anonymity is met in spades. There is no one in the lobby but there are pictures of the rooms and you select your room by pressing a button. You then pay for it at a black window by slipping the appropriate amount of cash to a faceless person behind it. You are then passed your key. But what if someone actually sees you go there and park your car. No fear! They even have that covered (literally!)







As you can see, blinds prevent you from seeing who gets out of a car and courtesy boards prevent looky loos or jealous husbands from easily identifying the license plates of the cars. And yes, bargain prices for shorter stays:

The rates at this hotel seem to be based on a 6 PM to 12 AM stay on weekdays. Members get a discounted rate.

If you want to see the interior of one of these establishment, you're going to have to go to Japan and investigate yourself because I'm not so bold and if I were...I wouldn't be writing about it for the public.

Delay Fees for Those Who Hate Their Family

Standing on a train platform in Japan is fascinating. There are local trains and express trains and on some lines many variations in between. The local trains make every stop on the line whereas an express train doesn't, therefore at some stations an express train will just go whizzing by quite fast, too. You can tell when a train is about to arrive because they play music telling you when that a train is coming. On the Hanshin line the music is the tune, I've Been Working on the Railroad. If the train is an express and you are at a non-express station there is a different type of music. If you are at a end point station (one where the train is going to 'turn around' and go back the way it came) it sits for usually about 5 minutes then a third type of music will play and that is when people start running even if they wearing high heels.

Sometimes I've wondered what would happen to a person if they stood too close to the track when an express train went whizzing by. Some have discovered on their own, usually intentionally. Committing suicide by train is one way that some commit suicide in Japan. A friend of mine told me that is the way preferred by those who hate their families. You see, the trains run on a tight schedule. Thousands of commuters are relying on the train to get them to their destination or their connecting train on time. If you consider time equal to money, that is a lot of money if a train gets delayed. As you can imagine, someone jumping in front of a train could cause significant delays. Therefore, the railways companies charge the surviving family of the deceased a delay fee. Often the fee runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So it is said that person hates their family if they commit suicide in such way. Very often it is discovered afterward that the person who did the deed had a beef with her mother-in-law over her husband or something to that effect.

This is platform and the railway is below. If you look on the left side of the photo on the left, you'll see a train approaching. A potential jumper would wait until an express train was passing by the station.

The photo below: in the foreground you can see how fast the train passes by and how close the platform is to the passing train.

Eduardo's Bad Day

It was a bad day for everyone, especially Eduardo Haybiff. Monday started out hot and humid with that dumb dog barking at 6:30. The scabby wart on his head was bleeding again. The barking dog wasn't what got Eduardo of the apartment building that fateful morning. The racket was being created twelve stories up. Eduardo could see a woman beating a futon hanging over her balcony. Pop pop pop! "Stop that noise!" Eduardo yelled.

Startled, she lost her grip on the futon. The impact knocked Eduardo's head clean off. At least there was no more scabby wart to pick at.