And Now it Feels Real

Turing over my apartment keys didn't do it, giving up my car didn't do it, but having to leave M&L to go to the opposite direction back on the subway made my return to the US feel completely real.I wont have Internet until Wednesday, I am hoping to adjust by then...

The Most Fun No One Else Had in Japan

Yesterday R helped me clean the road tar off my car for an hour. A nasty job in any conditions, but especially gross in with yesterday's rain and high temps.

Green Tea Kit Kat

Until now I had only been able to find the green tea Kit Kat in a large gift size pack, so upon finding the single serving size I seized the opportunity to try it. I enjoyed it and thought the taste was similar to green tea soft serve.

And on my last trip to Valor I found mango.

Video Tour Part 3

Given that today is the last day I had to park my car, I figured it was safe to post this video...

This is what happens after I get home. Note that I need to use the power folding mirror feature to fit the car in the garage. My mom was video taping and we didn't decided in advance on a signal for her to stop taping so I make a bit of a fool of myself at the end trying to finish the video gracefully.

Too Hot in Kyoto

R and I took the early Shinkansen to Kyoto on Tuesday morning, but we didn't make it there in time to avoid the heat. R planed the trip so that I could use the extra time packing and cleaning, which was a great help.

Our first destination was Nishi Honganji and our second stop was Higashi Honganji which was obscured by construction.
Next we took the subway to Fushimi Inari, at that point it was about 11am and I was already too hot to continue so While R went to take photos I sat in the shade and people watched.
After Fushimi Inari we decided to give up and start taking Taxis between locations to escape the heat. Getting to Kiyomizu by taxi felt too easy to me after struggling to walk or drive there in the past.
Next stop was Yasaka Shrine, we had originally planned to see this shrine after dark given that it is presently Gion Matsuri and the floats would be lit up, be at this point we had decided to get home as soon as we could see all 5 planned destinations.Our final stop of the day was a tour of the Imperial Palace. The tour was in English, but it seamed like most of the other participants we speaking languages other than English.We arrived home before 6:00 which meant that door to door we were gone less than 12 hours, I guess given the Summer heat we can be efficient.

Milk

I wish this was a spontaneous idea, but it was actually a bit premeditated. Recently every time I bought dairy products I would consider the expiration date in comparison to my departure. Finally the day arrived when I could purchase Milk that doesn't expire until after I get back to MI.

Koban

Last Wednesday M arranged a fun dinner with some of the former Japanese assignees who have since returned to Japan. At dinner Y gave me a replica of a Japanese Koban coin, which he recommended I carry for good fortune.

Hiroshima and Miyajima

We started our day in the Hiroshima area on Sunday at Miyajima Island. I took this photo of Itsukushima Shrine on the ferry boat over to the island.
We took the rope way up to the top of Mt Misen where we had hoped to see wild monkeys and a great view, but the monkeys had migrated to a different part of the island and it was foggy.
In the afternoon we went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.And the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park

Manhole Covers 15

Between visiting the dermatologist before I loose my good Japanese health insurance, scrubbing bugs off my car with a toothbrush, and passing my plants on to K this is the best I've got for today.

Traveling to Hiroshima

Over the weekend R and I traveled to Hiroshima. It is about approximately a 6 hour drive so R came up with two places to see on the way and I added another.

First stop Akame Shiju hattaki Falls, site of 48 waterfalls and giant salamanders.The tourism website reports that Salamanders the size of R exist in the preserve, but there was no contest between the two with the one that we saw (Salamander is in the pink circle).Our second stop on Saturday was Yamanobe Road, the oldest road in Japan. We started at Isonokami-jingu then walked for a bit along the road. The shrine had impressive roosters which made noise constantly while we were there.Our final stop along the way was Himeji Castle, the best castle in Japan. I didn't leave us as much time as I would have liked to see the castle and gardens, but we did our best. We started in the gardens and continued on to the castle.

City Grocery Convenience

I have been lamenting the fact that I will shortly be giving up the convenience of walking to the grocery store at a moments notice. As it stands now, I can get there and back in the time it takes a pot of water to boil.

Omiyage Store

So, this is an example of what a store where you buy omiyage looks like.Stacks and stacks of boxes filled with individually packaged snacks.

Seaweed Chocolate

One of the Omiyage that I received today was laver chocolate. Laver is a type of seaweed. It tasted exactly as I expected, like a rolled sushi wrapped dipped in milk chocolate.

Manhole Covers 14

Last Day at the Office

Today was my last day in the office. It was a fun day in that I was got to pass out thank you gifts and try to communicate in Jinglish with many people I will probably not have the opportunity to see again, but it was also a nerve racking day because I had to give a good-bye speech in Japanese.

From the day I first started to work in Japan I have been preparing for this entry as I contemplated daily the pros and cons of the Japanese office.

Pros of the Japanese office:
Toilets with heated seats and a flush noise for privacy
A Cafeteria
Mandatory 5:30 departure on Wednesdays
A locker room
Being able to take a nap during lunch hour
A convenience store in the building that opens during lunch and dinner
Windows that open

Cons of the Japanese office:
The desks are not tall enough for my legs to fit
It takes 8 minutes to walk from my car to the building, uphill
The computers average 5 years old
Having to wait for a shared CAD computer, or arrive early to get one
No trash cans
The Air Conditioner temperature is set at 28C
No Drinking fountain
Cigarette vending machines and a smoking room inside the office

Teetering Shack

While he was still in Japan M pointed out this multistory shack balancing in the air with modern apartment buildings in the fore and background.

Cookies Plus Kit Kat & Bonus Day & War and Peace

Today was Bonus Day at my company. In Japan most (Just my understanding, I don't have time to research the stats) companies pay bonuses twice a year and they account for a significant portion (say 35%) of an employee's yearly income. After receiving our bonus pay stubs a letter from the company president was read to the team. Here is an interesting article with more insight into how the bonus culture works in Japan.

Now updating this post for the third time. I am sleep deprived, which I try not to let happen very often, and thus have poor memory skills at the moment. One of my goals during before starting my assignment was to read War and Peace. I had this idea that I would be board and need things to occupy my time in Japan, which I quickly learned was not true. Today, with just 9 days to go, I accomplished my goal by finishing all 1400+ pages, it was well worth the read!

...and this is what I had scheduled to post today...

I give the cookies plus Kit Kat a thumbs up. The cookie part was a little more wheatie and granular than the ordinary crisp.

Plant Disposal

I have a few too many plants and sadly I couldn't find homes for all of them so I asked the Consultant company handling my relocation how to properly dispose of them.There answer was as follows, "Regarding disposal of plants and dirt, I confirmed with the ward office. It is ok to put the plants and roots into the burnable trash. If it is too big to put into a plastic bag for burnable trash, please cut them. As for dirt, it is not considered as garbage and it should be put in a place such as garden or a park according to the ward office staff."

I hate having to trash my plants, but having to dump the dirt in a city park sounds like illegal dumping and scares me a just a bit.

The Other Side of Tokyo

I'm starting to get worried about all the packing that needs to happen before Friday when the moving company comes to make an estimate. Rather than face the job, and am procrastinating by blogging. This past weekend R and I traveled to Tokyo, the main event being Tokyo Disneysea. As a stop on the 5 ish hour drive we went to Lake Yamanaka, one of the five lakes surrounding mt Fuji that I didn't see on my previous trip. Unfortunately most of the mountain was obscured by clouds. When we reached the Disney resort area we met up with our high school friend A, who has lived in Japan for 5 years, for bit before entering the park. It was my first trip to any Disney and honestly it isn't a place I would visit in the US, but given the number of strong recommendations it received from co-workers I thought I would give it a try. I am not much for rides, and I was terrified on the baby roller coaster that I did ride to the point of not
realizing until much later (as in long after having gotten off the ride) that it had gone outside of the 'mountain.'

On Sunday we started out at Tokorozawa Aviation Museumand moved on to the great Buddha at Kamakura. Two things about this, first thanks to rainy season the sky really was as white as it looks, and second for just 20 yen (about $0.20) we were able to enter the belly of the Buddha.

Packing...Packing....Writing Thank You notes...Packing...agh!

Gaba Medicated Chocolate

I picked out this chocolate from the vending machine in the office and thought it tasted a bit off, maybe like coconut, so did a bit of research. What I easily discovered is that this chocolate contains GABA which is a inhibitory neurotransmitter with a relaxing effect.

1,000,000 seconds

...Actually slightly less than 1,000,000 seconds, but I was asleep when it happened.

Japanese Motorcycle Habits

Motorcyclists are prevalent in Japan and almost immediately after moving here I started to notice their habits and began a collection of photos.

The Backward Helmet:
The Harley Guy:Intense Boots:
Flip Flops:Riding between the lanes:

Flair

When my ICT advisor pulled a scale (ruler) out of his pocket last week and two mini stuffed animals fell out after it I was reminded that I had been wanted to write about the obsession with cutesy flair in Japan. The stuffed animals are not the limit of what he keeps at the office, attached to his scale are Finding Nemo charms and he uses a Chipmunks water bottle cover. While W may be above average with regard to the amount of flair he keeps in the office he is certainly outdone by many OLs. When M was still at the company she kept a collection of Hello Kitty items including a computer mouse and desktop trash can and there is an OL who holds an equally impressive assortment of Winnie the Poo items including a fleece blanket.
In the parking lot flair is taken up another notch. Car decals are common as is loads of stuff on the dashboard and hanging from the rear view mirror. For me many of these cars look like they belong in a High School parking lot rather than one for Engineers.

Environmental Awareness

June is Environmental Awareness month at my company and to support the mission each employee was asked to reduce their CO2 emissions by 1Kg per day. We were provided the sheet below which lists ways to reduce CO2 by modifying everyday activities. It took me the whole month to translate the document, hopefully it makes sense.

Kanji Trouble

From what I have seen word processors and cell phones have been detrimental to Japanese as they try to remember how to write the 1,945 Kanji necessary to be literate in Japan. Word processors and cell phones take Roman alphabet input and change it into Kanji characters giving alternative Kanji options as you type. This eliminates training and frequent practice of writing the characters. At any meeting my team members hope not to be chosen the one to take meeting minutes on the white board. There is not an issue recognizing a characters but recalling which character to use and how it is written. It often becomes a team effort with team members assisting the writer using their fingers to draw out characters in the air.

My Google Map

I've been working on a Google map to include the places I have visited during my stay. Traveling by subway or train doesn't always give me a good understanding of where the places I go are located in relation to each other, so I have enjoyed placing them in a satellite view (a special challenge when the map is in Japanese). This is the link to my map.

Watashi / Nose

In Japan the gesture for “me” is pointing to your nose rather than chest, as I am accustomed to seeing at home. I asked A if she knew the origin of this, she didn’t have an answer, but she argued that it is acceptable to point to ones chest or any portion of the face and not just the nose.

*Watashi is one of the pronouns for referring to ones self in Japanese

Happy 4th of July

I spent the weekend in Tokyo and blogger still isn't posting my scheduled posts, thus the delay.

Of the ten days that I will have spent in Japan for two years I am sad that 4th of July is one of them. It is such a perfect holiday since it manages to combine parades, grilling, hopefully a beach, fireworks, and s'mores.

Ramune Flavor Kit Kat

M&L shared these Kit Kats, but the flavor is not identifiable. It reads ramune (phonetically) flavor. They smelled like bubble gum and the cookie part tasted like lemon.

Peach Blind Taste Test

A's mom sent us some expensive peaches, such a treat! The size was about the same as my farm stand peaches, but the packaging was special.
The insides looked pretty similar, the expensive peach is in the background.I did a taste test first and picked favorite, then recruited R to do a blind test. We both agreed that the expensive peach was better. The flavor was much more concentrated.

Window Secturity Bars

As I looked out off my balcony over the weekend I was reminded of one of the main reasons why I chose the apartment that I live in. The windows of most housing in Japan are obscured by security bars, frosted or both.
Even above ground level many places have security bars.Tiny frosted windows seam to be the norm.