LD's Guide to Japan

My year so far.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:16:46 +0900

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

My year so far.

Recently I’ve been posting pictures of my cat, Noboru...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:25:32 +0900

Recently I’ve been posting pictures of my cat, Noboru (“Non-chan”), over at hipstacatic.tumblr.com. I post one a day every weekday, and as of today I’m up to 50 images total. Why not go check it out? Hit the “random” button a few times, and maybe it’ll brighten your day little. And if you like it, give it a “follow!”

This past weekend I got to experience a part of Japanese culture...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:30:22 +0900

This past weekend I got to experience a part of Japanese culture that is fairly well-known, but something I had never seen first-hand: Cosplay. The Toyama Cosplay (short for “costume play”) Fest was held on Saturday and Sunday, and I decided to check it out, not knowing what to expect at all, and was blown away by how many people there were and how passionate they were about it. I had no idea that this is much more than just a hobby for cosplayers; for a lot of people, it’s work, and it’s a whole lifestyle. They spend their time studying their characters and learn the best ways to portray them, and they go to conventions all over the country (there were people from all over at the Toyama convention).

At this convention, they had some rental costumes available for people to try for free, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. The costume (as seen in the pictures above) was for some anime character—I forgot the character’s name—and I had to have help putting it on because I had no idea what I was doing. But once I got it on, I had a great time. Being the only white guy there—let alone a white guy in costume—needless to say I stood out quite a bit, and many many people stopped me to ask if they could take my picture. I felt like a celebrity.

I quickly learned that cosplayers have a repertoire of poses that they use for pictures, that I can only assume they practice quite a bit at home because they go into them seamlessly whenever asked if they can have their picture taken. You can see some of the poses in the pictures above. I tried to do a pose, too, but I felt pretty awkward. hahah. It’s harder than it looks!

Anyways, it was a very strange experience, but it was a lot of fun, and I’m definitely glad I went. I was told that the biggest cosplay convention is in Tokyo in December, and I would love to see that someday—I bet it’s a madhouse! haha

"Nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be efficient, instead offer us a vision of hell. This..."

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:14:27 +0900

“Nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be efficient, instead offer us a vision of hell. This is the reality… We should have been working to develop alternative energy sources to replace nuclear power at a national level, by harvesting all existing technologies, wisdom and social capital. Even if people throughout the world had mocked us, saying, “Nuclear power is the most effective power generation system, and Japanese people are really stupid not to use it”, we should have retained the aversion to nuclear power that was triggered by our experience of nuclear weapons… It is the job of experts to rebuild broken roads and buildings, but it is the duty of each of us to restore our damaged ethics and values.”

- One of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, gave an impressive speech criticizing Japan’s embracing of the nuclear energy policy. The full English translation can be found on facebook, or you can watch a video of Murakami giving the speech in Japanese on YouTube.

This is the most crazily upsetting thing I have seen to come out...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:39:42 +0900

This is the most crazily upsetting thing I have seen to come out of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. I can’t believe how the Japanese government is so shamelessly treating its own citizens this way.

This Is Important, You Should Know About It of the Day: A public meeting between members of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission and residents of Fukushima did not quite go as the government officials had hoped, with attendees demanding to know what is being done to protect residents from elevated radiation levels detected outside the government’s arbitrary 20km exclusion zone, and Nuclear Safety members responding that Fukushima residents don’t necessarily have the right to live a healthy life free from radiation exposure.

Residents are demanding the government do more to reduce radiation level or else provide financial support to those wishing to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Japan seems content to pass laws censoring reports reflecting negatively on their response to Fukushima’s nuclear radiation.

via thedailywhat

From camping this weekend. I’m up in the top right....

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:08:18 +0900

From camping this weekend. I’m up in the top right. Thanks to Chris for the picture!

This was made two years ago by 30 Japanese university students...

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:34:51 +0900

This was made two years ago by 30 Japanese university students upon reflection of their English language education in Junior High and High School. These are their thoughts and pieces of advice to students, teachers, and the “Monbusho” (Ministry of Education).

I know EXACTLY what they mean. I wish the whole nation could watch this.

(Thanks to Sally H. for showing me this)

These are some of the people I spent my first post-Charity-Show...

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:31:51 +0900

These are some of the people I spent my first post-Charity-Show weekend with. They are awesome, and my weekend was FANTASTICally relaxing, including (chronologically): my first gig of 2011 (and my first ukulele-only gig), bowling, poker, meeting with a guitarist, a drummer, and a bassist to talk about forming a band (looks like it’s gonna happen), going to the beach and swimming in the ocean TWO DAYS IN A ROW!, a BBQ with tons of friends, and discovering a great restaurant that I had no idea was no more than a 5-minute walk from my apartment!

I feel so refreshed and rejuvenated for this work week! Bring it on!

Next weekend is a 3 day weekend, and for me it’s going to be all about our neighboring prefectures. On Saturday I’ll head over to Ishikawa, to the West, where I’ll spend the night on what I’ve heard is the best beach in our area of Japan. Then on Sunday I’ll head all the way back in the other direction to Niigata—our neighbor to the East—to camp out in Geo Park, which is supposedly huge and has beaches, volcanoes, hiking, abandoned mines, rivers, etc. I can’t WAIT!

(picture via behealthyeatcleanliveright)

Happy 2nd birthday, buddy. (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:08:11 +0900

Happy 2nd birthday, buddy. (Taken with instagram)

Hanabi Season

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:06:52 +0900

Well, after an intense few days in the theater, the Charity Show is finally a wrap, and it’s back to my regularly-scheduled programming! I got up early and went for a run today for the first time in a couple weeks, and I’m getting ready to play my first music gig in several months!!

Summer is here and it is hot and humid as hell. We’re still in the midst of the rainy season in Japan, so the weather is shit most days, but we’ve actually managed to get pretty lucky with weekend weather so far.

And although they (obviously) do not celebrate the 4th of July here in Japan, summer here brings with it a great many festivals with hanabi (fireworks) shows, and the first one of the season in our area is this Wednesday in Nyuzen (the town next to mine). After that one kicks it off, there will be an average of one big fireworks display per week at various festivals throughout the prefecture!

For various reasons including travelling outside the country for a month, I managed to not see a single fireworks show last summer. To make up for that—and since I have no travel plans this summer—I’ve made it a goal to see as many fireworks as I can (weather permitting) before September. More specifically, I’ve got a schedule worked out and if I stick to it, then I should be able to catch at least 10 big fireworks shows over the next 8 weeks—maybe 12 if I feel up to some longer drives. It’s gonna be a great season!

Happy July 4th to all my American friends and family! Have a great holiday!

Calvin and Hobbes played such a humongous role in my childhood....

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:09:36 +0900

Calvin and Hobbes played such a humongous role in my childhood. I was obsessed. I owned every collection and read them cover to cover, over and over again. I would read them in bed every night until I fell asleep with my nose buried in the pages. Embarrassing story: I even ruined one of the books because I fell asleep reading it and ended up wetting the bed that night (yup, I was a bed-wetter).
I knew the comics so well I could look at the first panel of one and tell you every scene and every bit of dialog that would follow. And yet somehow I still managed to read them over and over and never got sick of it. Even now, I have the entire collection loaded onto my iPad, and reading it brings me the kind of warmth and comfort that you get from your mom’s home cooking. Reading it feels like home.
This (and the above picture) is a link to a nice article, written by someone who shares my love for Calvin and Hobbes, that focuses on Bill Watterson’s attitudes and feelings about nostalgia as they come through in the comic.

This past weekend was “Leavers’ Weekend” here, in which JETs and...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:56:00 +0900

This past weekend was “Leavers’ Weekend” here, in which JETs and friends from all over Toyama go to a campground in the mountains for a night to celebrate our friends who are finishing their contracts and departing from Japan this year. It’s a bittersweet event, but it is marked by some absolutely gorgeous scenery. As I drove through the valley above, the fog lifted for a moment just long enough for me to pull over and snap a picture. I love seeing these areas of the country, and I love the fact that they are only a short drive away from where I live. My resolution this year is to see much more areas like this before winter comes.

I’ve hardly posted anything in the past few months because...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:02:55 +0900

I’ve hardly posted anything in the past few months because I’ve kept myself quite busy. First and foremost, I’m taking part in the Toyama International Charity Show again this year, and have been very busy with rehearsals. We are now less than a week away from opening night, and the show is finally coming together just in time. I’m excited for the show, and I’m also excited to get it done and get back to my normal schedule and normal social life. I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot of fun events and trips because of my commitment to this, which is a little sad, but it’s for a good cause, and it has been a largely positive experience, so I’m happy to be a part of it.

I’ve also been taking hip-hop dance classes one to two times a week, and still LOVING it. We’ll have a studio showcase in October, so we’ve already started working on the choreography for the big show, and I’m really, really nervous, but excited.

So between those two things, plus various other events and commitments, I usually end up with only one night a week for myself to just relax at home and I usually spend those nights catching up on episodes of So You Think You Can Dance and The Daily Show. I’ll post more in the upcoming weeks, when I get back on a normal schedule, but for now I just wanted to give a short update. See you soon!

360-degree view from near one of my schools

Thu, 19 May 2011 18:10:35 +0900

360-degree view from near one of my schools:

It was such a beautiful day today!

Tonami Tulip Fair: Sayuri and I went to the Tulip Fair in Tonami...

Thu, 05 May 2011 23:54:37 +0900

Tonami Tulip Fair: Sayuri and I went to the Tulip Fair in Tonami (a little more than a 2-hour drive from my place) yesterday. These are some photos I took with my instant camera (called a “cheki” camera in Japanese) and scanned into the computer.

The first photo was taken from the top of a viewing tower and the image on the ground behind us is entirely made up of tulips. It is the 60th anniversary of the fair this year, hence the giant “60.”

We really lucked out with the weather, but I think I’m a bit allergic to tulips. My eyes gradually got more itchy and dry the longer we were there, and in the tulip museum building there was a room that smelled so strongly of tulips I couldn’t even enter it. Once we got back in the car and headed home, however, I felt okay again.

Ran my first 5k race ever today! Came in 63rd of 333...

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:32:22 +0900

Ran my first 5k race ever today! Came in 63rd of 333 (men’s division), with a time of 24:30! Feeling awesome! Hear me roar!

At 84, a City’s Last Geisha Defies Time - NYTimes.com

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:23:33 +0900

At 84, a City’s Last Geisha Defies Time - NYTimes.com:

The story of a woman surviving her 4th tsunami in her 7 decades of work as a geisha.

It was a beautiful day, so I went down to the beach to play some...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:03:09 +0900

It was a beautiful day, so I went down to the beach to play some ukulele.

This is Jessie J’s “Price Tag.”

Here’s a short routine we did at one of my recent hip-hop...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:53:06 +0900

Here’s a short routine we did at one of my recent hip-hop classes. It’s a bit unusual for us to do something that doesn’t involve arm/hand movements like this, but it was a fun little combo.

Please give to the Red Cross to support relief efforts in...

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:31:41 +0900

Please give to the Red Cross to support relief efforts in Japan!

For Japanese readers, the QR code above will tell you what to do. For American readers, go here. (via JapanTrends)