Japanese Square Dancing Convention

Sunday was a terribly rainy day. Now I know why the umbrella is the most popular accessory. After going to mass we went to find the Japanese Square dancing convention that was taking place at the Cultural Center here in Yokosuka. And Yes I know. Japanese Squar Dancing, and it is exactly what you think it would be. We followed the poofy dresses on down it find a ballroom filled with older Japanese couples doe-see-doein'. Now the Square Dancing that I have always known back in the states is one of those iconic things of Americana, the red, white and blue dresses, hats and western-style shirts and the twangy western music, and essentially all things campy, tacky and in bad taste. But Japanese square dancing is a combination of techno electronic music, eye catching fashion and no cowboy hats. It was fun to watch them but we left after only a while, seeing that we were the only gaijins there and we were getting looks. I didn't get any pictures or video of them myself, but I did find a few videos on Youtube that look like they took place in that same ballroom and directed by the same guy. Enjoy.

This sunday after going to mass Aunt Kathleen, Calidghe and I went to see some Japanese Square Dancing. Yes I know. Apparently there was a square dancing convention being held at the Cultural Center in town so we thought that we would hit it up seeing that it was square dancing, which is one of the most Americana red white and blue and campy thing that you can do in the United States. Now add into the mix some old Japanese people, some light techno and poofy dresses. That is essentially what it was. I must say that the square-dancing fashion of the Japanese is much more fashionable. The women still wear the poofy dresses, but they are more fashionable by far. no bootsHere's videoof some Japanese folk Dancing. I think this might even be done by the same guy who lead the folkdancing hoedown that we saw. Enjoy.

Nagoya Castle

Calidghe and I woke up at the crack of dawn to board a bus that would take us to Nagoya City in central Japan. The bus ride was long but bearable. I must say though that the rest stops in Japan are quite nice. They have anything and everything you could ever want in them and plus many of the toilets even in the public restrooms are those fancy singing toilets that do all kinds of fancy stuff.

Nagoya Castle was beautiful. To get there you had to walk through beautiful gardens and trees. The first glimpse of the castle is a magical one. It just peaks out through the trees and it's robin's-egg blue sloped roof makes you remember that you're not in Kansas anymore. The inside of the castle is a museum which talks about the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Edo period in Japan's history. The Edo period is the period of the Samurai and the strict class hierarchies. Very cool. One of the popular and recognizable features of the Nagoya Castle is the two golden tiger-headed fish things that top the castle. They are everywhere and are super popular in the gift shops.

After that Calidghe and I went to an Indian food restaurant in downtown Nagoya and then went window shopping at all the high-end store they have there. The Louis Vuitton Store was very beautiful and a doorman in a tuxedo and white gloves stood at the front.

After that we went a Shippo Cloisonne Art Village and made some enambled glass jewelry. The art of Cloisonne used to be a very profitable trade and the jewelry and fine pottery artworks that they made sold like hotcakes. Nowadays a trade that was practiced by 800 is now down to 70. So to carry on tradition into the genrations to come, the Shippo Art Village was created for those who want to learn the art in a more artsy-craftsy way. It just goes to show how times are changing in Japan where tradition is being more and more pushed to the side and the younger Japanese find little appreciation in these trades and tradition. The employees and volunteers at the Village were so nice and polite and patient considering that basically none of them spoke an ounce of English. Those that did were so cute in their attempts.

The trip was a blast.

Sushi, 100 yen stores and japanese Italian food...

Yowza!!! Today was a dining experience to say the least. Today I ran my butt off at the gym on base, and I will have to pay for it tomorrow- sore muscles. So since I started the day off so well, I think that I should be entitled to stuffing my face, right? So after John got done with school for the day, we drove to a favorite Sushi place. It's also really popular with the Yokosukans. The place is set up with individual booths and a conveyor belt that runs through the entire restaurant. Then when you are seated, all you have to do is pick up whatever looks interesting as long as it isn't someone's special order. I decided to try all kinds of things. Tuna, Salmon, shrimp, also these salmon, salmon eggs and cucumber sushi which was quite good. There were also a variety of different deserts that went around the conveyor belt and the one that I picked up resembled large french fries covered in honey. And in fact, I think that's what they were. And they weren't too bad either.

For dinner we went to the Sayizaria which is a Japanese Italian food restaurant. Expecting pizza you get pizza with octopus on it. Or Spaghetti with a raw egg over the top. YESS. I didn't try any of those considering that I had been adventurous enough for one day. Stuck with the cheese pizza.

We also went to a 100 yen store which is like a japanese dollar store. they are amazing with anything that you could think of there.

I'd also like to point out that everyone in Japan rides to cutest little bicycles ever. They all have the basket in the front and all the girls look so pretty in them especially when their outfits coordinate with the colors of their bikes. Those Japanese girls strike again!! So Fashionable. Also, the umbrella is also another accessory that the japanese carry rain or shine. It could be a non-rainy overcast day and the women will have their umbrellas out. Very strange.

Tomorrow Calidghe and I will be going to Nagoya Castle and also going to a Cloisonné workshop in Nagoya City so I'll have plenty of pictures of the castle and trip in the next few days.

On The Base, blue street and Pepper Lunch

Here's the view from the computer/Calidghe's Room




Blue street-sorry so dark


Today Aunt Kathleen showed me all over the base. It is not terribly big and is easily walkable on foot. I am afraid though because ALL THE BUILDINGS LOOK THE SAME. Everything on base looks alike so that will be hard to navigate at first. I went to my first Japanese Starbucks today and well, everything was the same. There was a little confusion in the order-taking process, but other than that it was nice. Even the cup markings are universal here. The base is nice. There is a wonderful work-out facility and a nice area to run right near the water. I can't wait to get out there and run. I've been bad about exersizing in general so with the wonderful excuse of getting to run by the coast line is a good one.

I also got to meet John's middle-school summer class today. Uncle John teaches English and of course as summer school is, everything is a bit more laid back. Classes get out at noon and class sizes small. The kids seemed to enjoy "Mr. Sevigny's" class very much and he is a big hit at the school. Kids even request to have his class. Yep that's my uncle.


Aunt Kathleen, who also teaches, is taking the summer off and so she had plenty of time to show me around town. I also applaud he wonderful driving skills and how easily she manuevers past the close traffic and tight spaces. Kudos.


Today me and Calidghe went to feed and take care of the cats of some fellow teachers who went back home to the states for the summer. Apparently, the house smelled really bad before, even Michael said it smelled bad, which according to Calidghe, that means that it is REALLY bad, unlivable even. When we got there though, we ran into the Housemaid who comes once a week to clean the apartment. The lady, who was Japanese, was not expecting us, and didn't want to let us into the apartment. Eventually she let us in after Calidghe explained to her that we were not robbers. The cats were nice. Their names are patches and spooks and both were rescued from the humane society in Yokosuka. Spooks is my favorite.


For dinner we went to a place called Pepper Lunch which is a wonderful place. Instead of ordering your food regularly from a menu, here you order vending machine style with buttons that have the different meal options and price. You pick what you want, put the coins in the slot, and then you we a reciept and had that to the waitress. The food is great and comes partially cooked on a hot skillet-like plate and cooks when you push it around . I got the standard pepper steak which was super tasty. We also took a stroll down blue street Which is called so because the buildings are blue and it is the main shopping area. It has anything you could ever want there.

So I am here! Wednesday

The plane ride was nice. i sat next to the cutest Japanese kids and also next to this awesome guy named Mark from Seattle who did comedy acts and was planning to tour through Bangkok Thailand and then backpack on through to beijiing for the Olympics. I admire his bravery. He quit his job, doensn't speak an ounce of Chinese, and has hardly no plans set up for his trip. Very brave. he was cool and kept me entertained for a good portion of the trip. I wish I would've gotten his e-mail.

Anyways- Getting into Japan wasn't as scary as I thought that it was going to be. I just followed the signs in english and filled out all the paperwork correctly. It was actually quite fast too. And thankfully, my Aunt Kathleen, Uncle John and my cousin Calidghe were right there to find me. My other cousin Michael couldn't be there due That was the scariest part was whether or not that I could find them. In the airport I even saw my very first Harajuku girl, the girls who dress in crazy anime-like fashions. They are very cool to see but aunt Kathleen says that they are very shy and stand-offish to Gaijins.

the cars in Japan are like how they are in England, with the driver's side on the left and the passengers on the right and you drive on the wrong side of the road as well which has been terrifing to say the least. Thank God my uncle is a crazy driver because you would have to be. He's also a crazy-good driver and can zip-though just about anything and drives like a local. I don't understand also how he does it because alot of the signs and such are also in Japanese without the english translation, and somehow they do it.

Calidghe has a pretty good grasp of the language and I am impressed by that. I can barely learn spanish let alone a language that uses a combination of Kanji, hirogama and romaji all of which have different characters and all are used in Japanese. Uncle John says he's alright at the language and Aunt Kathleen says that she's not too confident. Michael apparently according to the rest of the family is the worst. I'll have to see about that.

Once I got my base pass we went to the Daiei Mall to get something to eat. I'm totally sweaty and gross from the flight but don't really care. Oh my goodness though- the shopping! The Shoes! All in petite sizing! It's so nice because the Japanese are tiny. But then again, everything is really exspensive, but we'll see. I just envy those japanese girs (and even the guys) for their uncanny sense of fashion.

We went to this place to eat for Gohan, Uncle John said it was the first place that they went to eat when the got to Japan and so they thought that they would take me there. Apparently though, tommorrow is going to be saved for the Shoubu Shoubu which I have no idea what that means but apparently it is supposed to be a unique and intense dining experience. I can't wait.

I tried to add some images of the Daiei mall and the base but I'm not sure if they are showing. I'll figure it out and post them later if I need too. I'll have more later!

Introduction

It scares me that the trip is almost here. It seemed like just yesterday the idea of Japan was on low heat on the backburner of my mind. And now The trip is a little over a week away. Yikes. But I couldn't be any bit happier. I'm thrilled to have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something like this.

The name of my blog was inspired by a book I bought called Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller. It's a great read and has gotten me more than pumped for my trip. Wa as I learned from reading her book, is Japanese for Harmony. How poetic? Yes I know. I realized though that harmony was something that I was looking for as well in my travels. I am praying that I have some magical epiphany or enlightenment that most people expect to have on such trips. Just as in Italy or France your "supposed to" fall in love, Japan is where you are supposed to find wa.

I plan on attacking Japan with a carpe diem attitude and really hope for the best. I just hope that I don't make a fool out of myself while doing so (but we all know that I will). I plan on blogging all about my trip so that you will all know what kind of fun/trouble I'm getting into.

So until next time...