sixmats.com | Here is Japan

One of Us

2010-01-06T06:00:00.000+09:00

There are some places in the world that embrace their own. Minnesota is one of those places. Minnesotans will celebrate anyone who shares the bond of coming from a place where winter temperatures are rarely above freezing.

Anyway, like in Minnesota, Japanese who do anything overseas are given significant airtime. The problem here is that stories are often misrepresented and footage is cut.

With the Olympics coming up, I have been thinking about this more and more.

I was watching some sporting event the other night, and the Japanese athletes were all shown. Then, at the end when the final scores were posted, none of the Japanese were even in the top 3.

Now I can't remember what I was watching. I can't remember what sport it was. But this happens a lot here. How many times have I been asked how popular Puffy is in America? How many times have I been watching T.V. with my wife and she asks me if the Japanese celebrity-of-the-moment is really as popular as they are portrayed?

I guess in a country as small an as homogeneous as Japan would have this sort of cohesiveness, but just as it does in Minnesota, it gets old after a while. I understand that the home team will generate more interest, but when watching international sports [the Olympics], it would be nice to see more international play.

Maybe I should write down notes before I begin a post.

Country of Plastic

2010-01-04T06:00:00.000+09:00

A few weeks ago I went to the store to find some paper folders - the kind that I used when I was in school. I want to give my students some things that they can use to organize themselves (so I don't go crazy). I went to several stores before I realized that I wouldn't be able to find paper folders anywhere around me; not at 100 yen stores, not at office supply stores.

Then I looked around and I saw all the plastic drawers in my place. The home shopping store hardly had any wood chests or dressers.

I guess plastic has it's uses. Plastic drawers are easy to rearrange and to move. After moving recently, I can attest how important it is to be able to move furniture easily when the wife can't make up her mind on where to put things.

This will be the year I try to cut the plastic out of my life..

Socializing

2009-12-30T06:00:00.003+09:00

I think that Facebook is a great tool, but I think that it could be better. I'm adamant that there should be separate categories of people in your personal network, but until that change is made and everyone is your best friend, I can't use it more than I do now even though I really do want to use it more.

A few of my coworkers are playing Scrabble with each other and I would love to join in, but I'm not ready to let just anyone befriend me. (I already have too many "friends" in my network. I should do something about that.) It's a shame too, I could really use the Scrabble practice.

Who knows, maybe 2010 will be the year the floodgates are thrown open.

Movie Ripoffs in Japan

2009-12-28T06:00:00.001+09:00

Since moving away from downtown Sendai, closer to the inaka-land, I've had to give up a few conveniences. I can no longer pop out of my house and make it to the convenience store and back in under 10 minutes. The grocery store isn't within walking distance. And I no longer have Tsuataya to rent movies from.

I now have GEO, which looks like "geo" as in geothermal, but is pronounced with the Japanese pronunciation, "gay-o". It's not a bad video store - they have even recently discounted all their movies.

Last time I was down there, I saw an advertisement for the new G.I. Joe movie next to the rebooted Star Trek. I picked up Star Trek, and in the next aisle I had to do a double take because I saw G.I. Joe staring at me.

It's not G.I. Joe though, it's G.I. Force. More faux movies.

Here's Terminators.

And Transformer.

Finally The Black Knight.

I guess that Hollywood's reach doesn't extend all the way to Japan. I don't think they would allow these movies to be distributed in the States.

Kit Kat Ginger Ale

2009-12-25T06:00:00.002+09:00

Kit Kat Ginger Ale.

I like Kit Kats, and I like Ginger Ale so I thought it was worth a shot. Besides, it was from my secret santa, so I couldn't let a gift go to waste.

Man, I was wrong. This is why I don't eat chocolate when drinking ginger ale. It did have a ginger ale taste to it though.

Merry Christmas.

The More Mitsu, the Better!

2009-12-23T06:00:00.001+09:00

Last time I went to the grocery store I saw a fruit being displayed. I didn't know what it was, so I asked my wife and was surprised when she said it was an apple.

I usually cut an apple from the top down vertically, but this one was cut across the middle, horizontally. I'd never seen an apple in that way before.

My next question was: Why do they display it that way?

Apparently you can see the quality of the apple in what is called mitsu. The mitsu is the yellowish part that looks like honey (yes, like hachi mitsu - honey).

I'm terrible with trying to judge levels of food quality - I think Kappa Zushi (a sushi chain) is fantastic. These apples I had (pictured at the top) had a large amount of mitsu and were delicious.

The moral - the more mitsu, the better!

Back Home Across the Pacific

2009-12-21T06:00:00.012+09:00

This year I'm heading back home for Christmas. Well, not home really, but back to the U.S. This will be my first time back to the States in three whole years. More depressingly, it will be only my second time out of Tohoku in two and a half years.

With each approaching day, I become more and more anxious. As of this writing, I have 9 days until I make the trip, and am already counting the seconds. I know the plane ride will be a test of patience, and the ride from the airport will leave me squirming in my seat.

There is so much I want to do when I get there, but besides eating, I am interested in taking my camera into the desert. The last time I was in California, I had my little p&s [that I still miss and maybe someday I'll spend the $200 to get it fixed] and I got some really interesting shots. This time I am hoping to get some shots of the stars and star trails.

Until I booked the flight I never realized how much I hungered to get back to the U.S. Hopefully my next trip back will be sooner than three years from now.

The Man and the Santa Clause

2009-12-20T06:00:00.003+09:00

To help get the citizens of Sendai in the holiday spirit, there is a giant Santa Clause in Kotodai Koen (brought to you by the friendly folks at Hitachi).

I went downtown the other night and took some pictures, and I stopped in Kotodai to get some shots of the blue lights (and the Santa). I was hoping to get some shots of people hanging out and looking at the lights, but those didn't turn out so well.

This was my favorite shot of the session. I suppose I should have taken a few steps to the left to have the Santa behind the man, so I'll make a mental note for next time.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about -

Happy Holidays.

Jozenji Starlight Pageant

2009-12-18T13:59:00.000+09:00

Every year Jozenji Street in Sendai is decked out in lights. Every year the lights are put up, and just the same they come down after the holidays. (This year the pageant is from December 15th to the 31st.)

If you look online, there is no shortage of tips and online articles about how to shoot Christmas lights. All of the tips say to use a tripod, so I thought that the pageant would be a good way to test out the tripod I picked up. I got the tripod for free and I'd never used a tripod, so I didn't know what I was doing.

I packed up my remote trigger, my camera, and my tripod into my camera bag and I headed downtown. After I parked, I forgot the remote in the car. It was snowing, so I brought a plastic bag to keep my camera as dry as possible along with my umbrella. Walking through the crowds with all that stuff wasn't fun.

After looking at this picture, I realized that the tripod was free since it isn't very good. The head is crooked.

The following picture was a 13 second exposure. I wanted to remove as many people as I could.

And the last picture is one from Ichibancho congratulating Vengalta for moving to J1. Nice work boys.

The Birds

2009-12-16T06:00:00.002+09:00

On my way home from Morioka, I had to stop off at a parking area to take a bathroom break.

After coming out of the bathroom, the sky filled with crows. They were everywhere. I have never seen The Birds, but I imagine that what I witnessed was something like out of that movie. I have been in Japan for seven years, but have never seen a swarm of birds like I did on that night.

I grabbed my camera and fired off a few shots from the cover of my car.

The lighting was terrible and my lens was slow. I had to use an ISO of 1600 which doesn't work very well at all on a D80. (But I actually like the graininess sometimes.)

The black smudges and streaks are the crows flying around the sky. They successfully bombarded my car a few times before I could get out of there.

From now on, I'm going to avoid stopping at the Chogahara rest stop. I don't want to deal with the crows or any other creatures that might desecrate my car ever again.

Capture the Heat

2009-12-14T06:00:00.000+09:00

I was reading CNET.com, and there was an article about how a data center is going underground in Helsinki to save and supply power at the same time.

I think this is awesome, and Japan could and should do this.

Right now, a lot of data centers in Japan are in Tochigi, or the surrounding area, since there are statistically fewer earthquakes in that region compared to the rest of Japan.

I would think that an underground data center could heat water, they could make a host spring resort above it. At the very least they could use the heat to make hot water a la Helsinki.

Thinking about capturing heat from servers, got me thinking about capturing heat from other sources. I have an exhaust vent right outside my door on the outside of my apartment that is constantly blowing hot air. There must be something I can do with that.

I with the architect of the building at least had the exhaust running under the floor of the living room so it could have acted as a floor heater. I realize this could have been a little problematic. I don't know how repairs would be made with that design. If the gas is at all toxic or nauseous, that wouldn't be good either. (That's also not good having it vented right in front of my front door!)

It would be really interesting if they could make the exhaust system so that you could change it seasonally. Vent it directly outside in the summer, and vent it under the floor in the winter.

Either way, that wasted heat could be put to work somewhere else.

Season's Last

2009-12-11T06:00:00.002+09:00

So long autumn. Winter is finally here.

And played with.

Hoshigaki

2009-12-09T06:00:00.002+09:00

干し柿　ほしがき

Do you like persimmon? I'm not a big fan - whenever I eat them I have bad memories of being exiled to my grandparents house while in elementary school. I've never been a big fan of them.

It's a shame that I'm not since there are persimmon, or kaki, trees all over the place. You can literally pull over onto the side of the road [jump a barbed wire fence] and grab a couple right off the trees. They might not always be good, but they're abundant.

Now is the time, with winter here and kaki about ready to fall off the trees and rot on the ground, to pick them. But, how can one manage to eat all these before they go bad while inside?

Dry them!

My father in-law has taken this up as what seems like a hobby. It's not - he does everything like this - always watching with an eye on the details.

Mt. Iwate HDR

2009-12-07T06:00:00.004+09:00

Next time I'm in Morioka, I'm going to go back here and retake this shot. I tried focusing on the mountain, but I should have concentrated on the foreground. Live and learn.

And another -

Winter Tires

2009-12-04T06:00:00.002+09:00

On my latest drive to Morioka, I kept seeing signs on the road reminding drivers that it is winter, and now is the time to change out the summer tires and put on the winter ones.

Until I started driving in Japan I never thought of changing tires for the seasons. I didn't even realize that people still did change their tires seasonally.

So why aren't all-season tires more popular here? Does Bridgestone have such a hold on the market that they don't want to introduce a product that might cut into their profits? Is Michelin too busy doing restaurant reviews? Has Goodyear been squeezed out entirely?

Does anyone know the answer?

Ancient Proverb

2009-12-02T06:00:00.002+09:00

The body without a head will not go anywhere.

I don't know if that's actually a proverb, I just made it up off the top of my head.

I thought of this after my friend told me stories about his workplace. He works in an office where everyone seems to be afraid of making a decision.

How can an entity survive if there is no one to make a final decision? I cannot believe that a business can be successful without a leader in place who can put the rubber seal of approval on something without having to consult with others. In my experience, the more people that enter a problem to find a solution, the harder the solution is to find.

But that's just me.

Driving With an Eye on Efficiency

2009-11-30T06:00:00.008+09:00

I recently got a Honda Fit. I've always been interested in getting the most out of my gas tank, but this car does what no car I've ever had has done.

Right below the speedometer where the trip odometer was in all my previous cars, is now a series of gages - one of them will constantly show me what my fuel efficiency is at a given time. I find myself constantly eying it, trying to squeeze the most km's out of every liter. (That's hard for me to write.)

I would like to think what would happen if a meter was placed on every appliance in my house. I wonder what would happen if a meter was placed on every appliance in every house. Imagine if you could actually see the amount of energy you are using at the moment you used it. When I read Hot, Flat, and Crowded, this concept seemed like a great idea for the future. But the future is now.

JAPAN: From Prehistory to Modern Times

2009-11-27T06:00:00.000+09:00

I had been eying this book for many years and I finally got my hands on it.

JAPAN: From Prehistory to Modern Times by John Whitney Hall is a very condensed summary of Japan's history. The book focuses on the part of Japan's history I like best - from the sengoku period to the Meiji Restoration.

The early parts of Japanese history were a little difficult to read and seemed tedious at times. The twentieth century was skimmed over, but since the book was published in the 1960's, that was understandable.

Although it's not a completely new take on Japanese history, I would definitely recommend this book for nothing other than a refresher course.

Miyamoto Musashi in Kumamoto

2009-11-25T06:00:00.003+09:00

Miyamoto Musashi was one of, if not the, greatest swordsmen in the history of Japan. (He was also an accomplished painter.) In the latter part of Miyamoto Musashi's life, he lived in Kumamoto and served the Hosokawa clan. There are plenty of reminders of him if you look around.

Below is a drinking well he is said to have used.

Here is a marker marking where his house stood.

Next time I'm in Kumamoto, I want to check out his grave site. It looks like a very tranquil place to rest.

Well, No One Else Is ...

2009-11-23T06:00:00.000+09:00

Back in late August the news is began buzzing with reports of H1N1 [swine flu] outbreaks and an increase warnings from officials. Even thought there were plenty of cases over the summer, the flu didn't get the coverage I thought it should have. After all, people were still getting sick.

At that time, one of the morning news programs was surveying people and asking why people weren't wearing masks despite the threat of the flu. Most people responded, "Well, no one else is wearing them."

It is now the middle of November and flu season is in full swing. Most stores have a bottle of alcohol placed by the front door and I take advantage whenever I see one. I've already had a few colds and something that seemed like it would turn into the flu this season. Last week I went out and got my flu shot. I can't stand wearing the mask - even if everyone else is.

First Time at Hard Off

2009-11-20T06:00:00.004+09:00

After moving I ended up with a mountain of cardboard boxes in the middle of my living room. The problem was that my new apartment is smaller than my old one and I had to get rid of the things I didn't need anymore.

I didn't know what to do since there isn't a Goodwill or a place where I could easily donate my stuff. I think I should have introduced the concept of a garage sale, but instead I paid a few hundred yen and threw the stuff away.

What a waste.

Driving around Sendai near Nakayama where all the stores are, I found Hard Off as I pulled into K's Denki. After browsing through the electronics, I went to Hard Off to see what it was all about.
I wasn't so impressed by the prices, although a guy I know bought a nice Giant Mountain Bike there for 20,000 yen, but I really liked the idea of being able to sell my garbage. They even buy clothes in a section called Soft Off.

I took my guitar amp down to Hard Off since I haven't plugged into it in about a year to test the Hard Off system. You bring your stuff to a counter and they look at it while you wait. Then they give you an offer.

I was offered $15.

I was shocked but agreed to what they offered. It was a cheapy amp that I only used in my room, but still, I bought it for $80ish. I should have cleaned it up a little before bringing it in. I'll file that thought away until next time.

I'll have to check Book Off out before soon.

Freeways in Japan: Is it a Good Thing?

2009-11-16T06:00:00.000+09:00

When I first heard that the new government was looking into making the expressways here free, I was kind of excited. My wife's family is in northern Japan (even more northern than Sendai) and getting there costs anywhere from 1,000 yen on weekends to 4,000 yen on the weekdays and takes about 2.5 hours.

I wonder if making the expressways free is a good thing.

Just before Golden Week, the tolls for the expressways were lowered to 1,000 yen for weekends and holidays. I left Sendai at 9:30 in the morning and it took 7 hours to get to Morioka. Granted this was the Saturday before a major holiday where the [just about] whole country is on holiday, but if the expressways are free, the traffic will be even worse than it already is.

The bigger issue I have is with the environmental impact. Making the expressways free will encourage people to drive more and possibly to go out and buy cars. The additional traffic would burn more gas.

Is that the message the government wants to send?

The one glimmer of hope I see is that if people rush to the roads, JR and the airlines would potentially lower prices to attract customers. That didn't happen when the expressway tolls were lowered to 1,000 yen, and I wouldn't expect that to happen if the expressways become free.

Back to Yamadera

2009-11-13T06:00:00.002+09:00

I've been in Sendai for more than two years now and in that time I had only been to Yamadera once until last weekend. I finally made the move after checking the weather. I thought the risk of some rain in the afternoon was worth the risk. There was only a 20% chance of rain in the afternoon, so why not? So after setting the car navigation to Yamadera, we were off. (Actually I set it to the Yamadera Hospital since it came up first.)

Even though I set the route to take us on back roads, the car navi brought us on the expressway. There is no turning around once you are there, so we went with it. I was surprised the route went as far south as it did, but that's the nature of expressways - especially when there are not many of them.

The drive through the mountains was very nice and I went through Kawasaki that has another grave for Hasekura Tsunenaga. (Or the original.) Actually, that area around the dam is a nice one to just go and hang out.

Around the Yamagata-Miyagi border it started snowing. I like snow, but if it's snowing in the mountains it's probably raining in the lower elevations.

After getting through the mountains and through the city of Yamagata, we made it to Yamadera where it was raining. I grabbed my umbrella and a plastic bag. I wrapped my camera in the plastic bag so that the lens was sticking out the opening. I couldn't see the viewfinder, so I ripped a hole in the bag so I could see. Throughout the hike, the bag kept shifting. As I browse around camera shops for new lenses, I'll be on the lookout for some sort of rain protection as well. If I have to use a plastic bag again, I'll be sure to use a smaller one.

If it hadn't been for the rain, the conditions would have been awesome. I got there at or near peak, so the colors were spectacular.

Omikuji on a rail. All soaked.

This is a formation on a cliff that is said to look like Buddha. The top is the head and the shoulders are right below that.

Learning Japanese in Sendai for Busy People

2009-11-09T06:00:00.001+09:00

After looking around by myself, I finally broke down and asked somebody where to find some Japanese lessons. Most of the lessons I found by myself were in the daytime, and I can't make those (no matter how long of a lunch I would take).

I contacted the Sendai International Center since I really had no where else to turn.

I was surprised when I got the response:

MIA (Miyagi International Association) Japanese Course - 3 months long, classes are Tuesdays from 18:30 to 20:30, next course begins in January. Contact the Miyagi International Association to apply http://www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~mia/index.html

Furisuku - Thursdays 18:00 to 20:00 and Sunday's 11:00 to 13:00. Classes held at Sendai International Center in the Koryu Corner. This class is a language exchange where you help Japanese participants with their English and they help you with your Japanese. It is a conversation class. Email furisuku-sendai@hotmail.co.jp to join.

Hands Japanese Classes - Japanese classes on Tuesday evenings at the Citizen Support Center. You can bring along what you would like to study. If you are interested let me know and I will try to find out more information.

Tohoku Fukushi University - Free Japanese classes on Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 12:00. You bring what you would like to study and they will help you with it. If you are interested email sigma3hukushi@yahoo.co.jp

Tutor - Come to the Koryu Corner at the Sendai International Center and inquire at the information counter about signing up for a tutor. The tutor is free but you must pay for their transportation plus pay for materials like textbooks etc. Also they give priority to those who have difficulty with everyday conversation. You decide with the tutor where the best place to meet is e.g. the International Center. The waiting list can be quite long, especially as it can be difficult to find a tutor that is available in the evenings so I recommend signing up for one as soon as possible.

Language Exchange - You can come to the Koryu Corner and leave a message on our bulletin board to say that you are looking for a language exchange partner i.e. you help someone with their English and they will help you with your Japanese. You work out all the details about when and where to meet with that person. There are many messages on the board at the moment posted by Japanese people looking for help with English so you should find a partner quickly.

I figured I'd share this information with anyone else in Sendai who is looking for lessons.

Thanks International Center!

Back to Ishinomaki

2009-11-06T06:00:00.001+09:00

Ishinomaki is a fishing town / harbor / manufacturing area on the Miyagi Pacific Coast. It's not very far from Sendai, yet in the two years since I have been here, I have only been to Ishinomaki twice - once to visit newly found family and once for work.

I finally got a chance to get back this weekend, and I went to Saint (San?) Juan Bautista Park (サン　ファン　バウティスタ)　where a replica of the Date Maru (Japanese name for the ship) / Saint Juan Bautista (Spanish name) was built.

In the early 1990's, the Japanese set out to remake the Date Maru the same way it was originally built. The Japanese are admirably sticklers when it comes to recreating historical artifacts - see Yamagata Castle.

From what I can tell, they did a very good job. The ship is surprisingly small though. I'd hate to be on it for more than a few hours. The beds the crew slept on were probably too small for me to even curl up on.

I think that they should sail this ship across the Pacific and retrace the original voyage. I know it's been done, and maybe the ship isn't in tiptop condition after sitting in port for 15 years, but I think it would be interesting. (As long as I did not have to participate.)