Chocolate-covered potato chips

Omiyage is big business in Japan. Every town or city of any size or importance has a store selling boxes of packaged sweets, cakes, cookies, dried squid, or whatever the town is supposed to be famous for. People buy these as souvenirs to bring back to co-workers and associates. It's a nice custom when not taken to extremes, though I always feel bad for the people in those stores staggering under the weight of eight or nine boxes and obligations. ^_^

What you see here are Royce's chocolate-covered potato chips. They are omiyage from Hokkaido; Royce have a number of other chocolatey products, but this is probably their most well-known.

I was given these as a gift this time, though I have had them before. I'd say they are good for a novelty. The chocolate on its own is sweet and fairly nice; the chips are satisfyingly crunchy, and also oily and salty. I love chips and I love chocolate, but together? The whole 'sweet and salty' combination was just too weird for me, and I didn't like them.

That, and the fact that any time I try to eat them, even eating half a dozen gives me stomach pains. I speak as someone who has, in the last 24 hours, eaten two cream puffs, a Tim Tam, a slice of pizza, a donut, a cookie and a strawberry cream cheese tart, with impunity. However, I know some people like them, so I would recommend at least trying them for the novelty. ^_^

Weekend trip

I went away for the weekend to visit Osaka, Nara and Kobe. I took the Willer bus as a cheaper alternative to the shinkansen. I'd recommend it if you're going from Nagoya to Osaka; it's somewhat longer than the train ride but the scenery is nice, if you're not in a hurry. If you book at least a couple of weeks in advance you can get a small discount.

This same bus company does quite a few routes around Japan, including overnight buses, which might be a good option if you want to travel overland without such high prices as the shinkansen.

Osaka, Nara and Kobe are, I think, all places where you could see the main spots in a day each. Of course if you stayed longer you could do them more justice and see more in each, but I felt like I got a good taster of the highlights of each. (As opposed to Kyoto, which is also in the area; I think it's better to give Kyoto at least 2-3 days.)

For three cities that are so near each other - very easy and quite cheap to travel to Nara and Kobe from Osaka - the three are quite different. Nara offers old-style Japanese charm, with lots of little meandering streets with Japanese-style architecture, small cafes, temples, shrines, gardens. Kobe is more of a bright, modern harbour city, which reminded me quite a bit of Yokohama and struck me as a good place to live. Osaka is a lively city of tall buildings, second only to Tokyo as a hub of business, nightlife and energy.

Travelling around there reminded me again how lucky I am to be living in Japan, where I can go out my own front door and see places like these without even taking a plane.

Ukai

Ukai, or cormorant fishing, on the Nagara river 

Fireworks light up the night sky. All around me, people look up from their elaborate bento dinner boxes, turning around for a better look out the back of the boat. The ukai is beginning, and it's the last one of the year.

Ukai is cormorant fishing, a tradition dating back 1300 years. I am in Gifu city, capital of Gifu prefecture, and the cormorant fishing is the town's major tourist draw. 

The sightseeing boats

In ukai, cormorants go out with a fishing boat. They've been trained to catch fish, with a ring around their necks to prevent their swallowing them. Each boat is manned by three or four men: the master, who supervises the birds, hauling them back onto the boat when they get a catch. There's also someone to take care of the fire, an assistant, in the middle, and a helmsman at the back.

Here in Gifu, there are six boats that set out each evening, each boat with a fire bobbing from the bow, sending sparks out into the night. The job of cormorant master is passed down through families, and the current masters are a mix of young and old. Every day, the order of boats to set out is determined by lot, as the first boat to leave gets best pick of the fish.

We in the tourist boats wait by the riverbank for the ukai boats to pass. We were sent off with enthusiastic taiko drumming by some local kids, and waited on the boat, eating and drinking and watching a passing boat of girls dancing with fans.

The fireworks mark the beginning of the the ukai, and it's not long before we see the boats themselves. The cormorants are tethered to the boats, which are gliding slowly along in the water, and bobbing, diving and swimming around in a mess of dark shapes. Every now and then, the master will dive forward to grab one of them out of the water and wrest a fish from its beak, before throwing it back in.

These cormorants don't have a bad deal. It takes time to train cormorants to fish; the fisherman obviously want to take good care of them. They're brought in from another prefecture, which sells cormorants to those 12 locations in Japan that practise cormorant fishing. They only wear the neck rings while fishing, and the fishing itself took less than an hour. Their lifespan is far higher than those of wild cormorants.

The fish themselves are sold to the hotels along the Nagara river bank, and they don't go cheap! I heard they can fetch 7000 yen per fish!

If you're interested in seeing ukai for yourself, well, you've missed the ukai season in Gifu for this year (it was May 11 - October 15), but there may be other places you can see it.  

Regarding this ukai in Gifu, it costs around 3000-3300 yen. You can choose from three departure times. If you go with your friends and want to make a fun night of it, choose an earlier time and bring food and booze; you can enjoy more of a festival atmosphere. If you just want to see the ukai, you can take the later slot; all three departures will observe the same ukai. I think it was worth seeing, but the actual time we spent able to see the boats clearly was only a few minutes.

One other good thing about Gifu is that it's not that difficult to get to the ukai site. Gifu is only 20 minutes from Nagoya; then the bus to Nagarabashi (the stop nearest the ukai fishing) is another 15 minutes. This bus is easy to find - platform 11 at Gifu station - and the site easy to find from Nagarabashi bus stop.

Promoted ^_^

I was teaching a class on 'describing appearance' the other day, and getting students to describe me.

'Am I short, or tall?' I asked. (NB: I am a little under 5'2".)

They looked thoughtful. 'Middle height,' one said at last, and the others all agreed.

It was the first time I've been considered medium height. I suppose I am, here. I felt quite chuffed at my promotion. ^_^

Buses

I haven't taken buses as often as I've taken trains, but there are two main kinds: the kind where the bus has a flat fee, and you pay as you get on, and the kind where the fee increases the longer you ride.

From my experience, city buses in Kawasaki and Yokohama are the former, 'flat fee' type, but in more countryside places, the latter is more common. When I went to Nikko, Hakone, Izu and Gifu, I encountered the second type.

With the 'changing fare' buses, you usually take a ticket as you get on the bus. You may enter through the middle on some buses, and exit via the front. This ticket will have a number on it; if you look at the front of the bus, there'll be a list of numbers with fares below them. This shows the current fare for people who got on at your stop.

So, for example, if your ticket has a '3' on it, look on the board for '3' and it might have '200' (yen) under it. As you travel, this will likely increase, sometimes alarmingly. Hahaha. I've paid more than 1500 yen on some such buses.

I usually screw up when I go to pay and put my money in the wrong place; it seems like the bus driver doesn't really check the tickets at all. I think you're supposed to just chuck coins and ticket in the same, big slot at the top.

Another pitfall about bus travel is that minor bus stops often have no romaji (English characters) on them at all, though major bus stops, and the buses themselves, should.

Despite this, in general, buses in Japan are much easier to ride than in Australia. In my city, at least, there is no guidance whatsoever as to where you currently are, where you might stop next, and where you should get out. In Japan there's a constant narration, telling you what the next stop is; some buses also have screens telling you the next stop.

The bus I was on the other day also had a TV screen playing ads. Leonardo DiCaprio was advertising Bridgestone tires. I mean, that's cool and all, but I don't really see the natural connection between Leo and Bridgestone...?

Photos

Japanese people have a bit of a reputation for taking pictures. Is this justified? I think they do take more pictures than the average Westerner, though not more than the average Westerner living in Japan. There are a few photography trends I've noticed (some of which are not unique to Japanese people).

First, people are more likely to take photos with their phone than with a camera, unless they are actively sightseeing or at a special occasion.

Second, never offer to take a group picture, or you'll get an avalanche of 'oh, with my camera too, please?'s.

Third, people *do* do the peace sign a lot, especially youngish people. I'm afraid I have also caught this disease.

Fourth, Japan has a phenomenon called 'puri kura' (print club), where you go into a little photo booth with your friends and take pictures of yourself lightened to eerie, otherworldly paleness, then debase them with random little hearts, words, flowers and other bling. It's fun. ^_^ Most easily found in game centres (video arcades), but if you have no Japanese, good luck, because most of the machines have time limits, so by the time you realise the screen has told you to go around the side to edit your pictures, you'll have lost your chance, ha ha ha. (speaking from experience now)

Fifth, there is a rather nice culture here where if someone takes a picture of you at some event, or a picture of the two of you together, they will often print off a copy to give you. This is made easier by the 'instant photo print' machines, found particularly in electronics stores, but in other places too.

An odd aspect of this, however, is that people will print and give you even photos of yourself that are grotesquely unflattering, blurry or poorly shot. I really do appreciate the thought, but there are occasions where it would be kinder to keep those photos to yourself, ha ha ha.

Women Only

The other day I was riding to work in the women's-only car, and a man got in. He was running in at the last second, relieved to make it onto the train before the doors closed. It took him about half a second to realise: 'oh...' and his shoulders sagged.

He turned to face the door. There was a notice on the door explaining that this was a women's-only car during peak hours. The man made a point of reading this sign, following the words with his finger. The car was such a packed mass of women that he had no chance to make his way through to the next car without attracting more attention.

I felt bad for the poor guy. Next stop and he was out and across the platform like a hare.

A lot of trains have certain cars designated 'women's-only' during peak hours. They say this is to deal with unwanted pervy attention from gropers. I don't know that intentional groping is really the big issue; I think it's more just a matter of making both sexes feel more comfortable. Men don't have to deal with the awkward 'aaagh, where do I put my hands' and accusing looks, women don't have to travel to work pressed against the body of some random businessman. These trains do get very crowded.

Toilets

One of the exciting things about coming to Japan is the toilets.

Well, okay, there are an awful lot of squalid and smelly 'squat' toilets, which inspire considerably less joy. But Japan is also the home of the Washlet, an all-singing, all-dancing toilet with heated seat...

A standard model

Anyway, I'm blathering. Basically, toilets in Japan come in three kinds: squat toilets, normal toilets, and high-tech electronic toilets with control panels. The most basic of these latter come with some kind of bidet. The sophisticated ones have more buttons than the Apollo 11.

A fairly typical design might have four main buttons - 'stop', 'bum', 'bidet' and 'fake flushing sound', to mask the sound of your shame. There will also be buttons to increase the water pressure from 'weak' (='bracing') to 'strong' (='enema').

Useful toilet kanji:
止 = stop (you should identify this BEFORE pressing any other button)
弱 = weak
強 = strong

This is my own toilet!! In my own apartment! Isn't it exciting!!

Other key buttons should be illustrated with handy pictures. ^_^

Other toilet functions I've encountered include being able to select the position of the bidet nozzles, massage seats and other buttons I've never dared press. Fully utilising some of these toilets could become a kind of ongoing hobby.

One other funky function of many toilets is their 'no touch', 'eco' system where a sensor detects that you've gotten up, and flushes the toilet automatically. What this invariably means is the toilet will flush about three seconds before you're ready, forcing you to wait and then flush it again. It may even flush multiple times before you're ready. And it really gets going if you're just going into the cubicle to change your clothes. I don't quite understand how that makes the toilet 'eco'.

The alternative is that the sensor doesn't detect anything at all. The absence of a touch button robs you of any power to do anything but walk back and forth between door and toilet, sitting down and standing up again, hoping something you do will trigger it.

Taking trains

If you live in a Japanese city you will soon become familiar with trains as a mode of transport. Of course you can also take buses, but buses mostly run within fairly local areas; they're good for taking you to areas not near stations, but they aren't a good way to cross a city. 

If you're coming to Japan for the first time, one of the first things I recommend doing is picking up a metro map from the airport or a major train station. 

Be aware that Tokyo, and Yokohama, have more than one railway company. You have JR (Japan Rail), which operates trains all over the country; they also have lots of stations throughout Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture. Many cities also have their own subway, like the Yokohama City Subway, and the Tokyo metro. So if you pick up a Tokyo metro map, it may not have all the JR stations on it; likewise, a JR map may not have subway stations on it. Also, if you have a special pass that allows you unlimited use of a particular line - JR or metro or whatever - you probably won't be able to use it on other lines.

How to ride a train

1. Check the map and fare

It shouldn't be too hard. Let's imagine you're at Yokohama station and using JR. You go to the ticket machines and there is a big JR map above them, showing the different stations and the fee for each. (Occasionally at less important stations, this map will be all in kanji, and you're screwed. Hahaha...)

You see that it will cost you 450 yen and that either the Tokaido line or Keihin-Tohoku lines will take you there. The Tokaido line has considerably fewer stops between Yokohama and Tokyo, so it will obviously be faster (though they run less frequently and there may then be less opportunity of getting a seat).

2. Buy a ticket and check the route

Now you know the fare, you can put your 450 yen in the ticket machine and buy a ticket.

If you do not have a map or a clue where you're going, you will want to check the map to see some of the other stations in the direction you want to go. Once you get in the station, it's more difficult to find full railway line maps (though they are inside the trains themselves), and if you're going to a smaller station, it might not be immediately obviously which direction train you should take, since most trains and platforms are labelled with two or three main stations in that direction, eg 'for Kawasaki, Shinagawa, Omiya' or 'for Kannai, Ofuna'.

(If you use trains regularly, you might want to buy a card like Suica or Pasmo. That way, rather than buying a ticket every time you go to a station, you can put credit on the card and swipe it over the card reader on ticket gates. These can also be used in selected vending machines, buses and stores bearing the Suica/Pasmo logos.

If you plan a lot of travel in one day, day pass tickets are also possible.)

3. Go to your platform and check the type of train

Then put the ticket in the ticket gate - take it as you go through - and now you can go to your platform. Check the signs for your platform and destination. Sometimes, as with the Tokaido line, one train line will have more than one platform, and occasionally, one platform may have more than one train line (or lines that change their name after a particular station).

Once you're on the platform, you can find maps of the line you are on. You might have to walk up and down the platform to find one, but they do exist. These maps should also show the route of the local trains (stop at every station), rapid trains (stop at some stations), limited express trains (stop at major stations), etc. This is important as if you're not going to a major station, the rapid/limited express trains may not stop there.

One other point is that some kinds of trains, including some limited express trains, require reserved seating and therefore an extra fee. If this is the case there will usually be a ticket machine on the platform itself. The Tokaido line has regular trains with 'green cars' for those wanting the comfort of a guaranteed seat; these green cars require a reserved seat and extra fee, but you can ride on a regular car for no extra fee.

4. Changing train lines


If you have to change train lines, it's not too difficult. Unless you're changing to a different railway (eg, JR to Keikyu, Yokohama Subway to JR), you shouldn't need a new ticket or to exit through any gates, but can change within the station on the same ticket you originally purchased.

5. Getting out


Once you get out, put your ticket in the machine again, and the machine will eat it.

Incidentally, you can enter a station on the cheapest possible ticket, and then travel anywhere you like. If you've gone further than the price of your ticket - eg, you changed your mind and went further than you expected - the gates won't let you out until you've paid the balance. But you can easily pay on exit. There are 'fare adjustment machines' inside train stations, in which you can top up your ticket (or Suica/Pasmo) so you can get out.

Train times


First trains usually start running at or after 5am. Last trains are often around midnight, maybe as late as 1am. It depends where you're taking it from. A station near the end of the line will obviously have a later 'last train' than one near the beginning. Also, some last trains don't go all the way to the end of the line. And if you're changing trains, you gotta be aware of the time of your last last train! I speak from experience. Taxis are expensive in Japan, and if you get stranded too far from your station, you might end up sleeping in an Internet cafe or doing all-night karaoke (again, I speak from experience ^_^).

In short

I made taking trains sound more complex than it is. Actually, taking trains in Japan is *usually* quite simple, provided you know where you are going and what lines to take. Again, I strongly advise getting a map, or at least checking carefully where you're going before entering the station. And make sure what kind of train you are getting on, whether it's a local or rapid...

Links

I've plugged these site a couple of times before, but check out Hyperdia, through which you can plug in any two station names in the country and it will give you the possible routes, cost and travel times between them.

Japan-Guide also has a good section on transportation, for example, Transportation in Tokyo.

Japanese Pet Peeve: Feeling the sun on your skin... or not

I went on a Japanese cruise ship, and one thing I noticed was that very few of the Japanese passengers actually used the swimming pool. When I asked them why, their answers were either 'I'm too shy', or 'I don't want to get the sun on my skin'.

If you live in Japan, you will notice that even in warm weather, many ladies will wear long sleeves that cover their skin. Some also carry umbrellas, even if they are only walking a couple of blocks in the sunshine.

In Japan, white skin is the beauty ideal, rather than tans (although this is less true for men). So I'm not sure whether the sun safety ideal is a result of health concerns about UV and skin cancer, or a desire to prevent cosmetic effects like a tan, freckles or wrinkles.

I currently work at a university. The weather has been gorgeous all week - about 26 and sunny every day - but one thing I've noticed is that, in striking contrast with Australian universities (and Australian *anywhere*, really), nobody was sitting outside. There is outdoor seating available, it's just that I'm always the only one enjoying it. I brought this up with my students and they agreed they didn't sit outside. Why? 'The UV,' they said.

Coming from the Land of Skin Cancer, Australia, I appreciate that this is very sensible, and much better than the opposite extreme of lying in full sun for hours to get a tan. However, I feel like we should enjoy nice weather when it comes up. That's why it's a pet peeve of mine - it feels like overcautiousness to me - especially when you feel you can't walk outside with your skin exposed to the sun for even one minute. Or swim in a pool on a 35 degree day (why not put on sunscreen? And lie in the shade after you've finished swimming?) My culture has instilled in me a sense that when the weather is nice, you should be out there enjoying it.

The other day it was cloudy, with no sunshine, but it certainly wasn't raining. We went down to a river in the countryside. A lady was clambering over the rocks while holding an umbrella aloft. To protect her from the non-existent sun. For some reason, I found this sight depressing.

Impressions of Nagoya

I've been in Nagoya for a little while now, so what's it like?

Okay, Nagoya is in central Japan, between Yokohama and Kyoto (but closer to Kyoto). It's the fourth-largest city in Japan; at around 2.2 million people, it's smack between the populations of Yokohama (3.6 million) and Kawasaki (1.3 million).

Since Nagoya is a reasonably large city, I expected it to be bustling and lively. I knew it wasn't a major tourist draw, so I wasn't expecting many sights to see, but I thought the vibe would be similar to other Japanese cities I've visited, which includes masses of cool little streets full of shops, restaurants, businesses, bars and people.

Instead, I found the city to be pretty boring. Last weekend I was walking around Nagoya station thinking 'this is the main station?! Where are all the shops? Where are the restaurants? Where are the people?!' I walked around the station in every direction; all I found were a smattering of shops and one (admittedly large) department store. There may well be more but they weren't very visible.

This is, like, one street back from Nagoya station. Look at it!!

Any time I ask someone 'where should I go in Nagoya?' or 'where are all the shops?', people say, 'Sakae'. If I listen to friends and students, it seems Sakae is the only place people go to hang out. And Sakae is somewhat livelier, with more places to hang out.

Another thing that struck me - I suppose because food is such a priority for me ^^; - is that 90% of all Nagoya restaurants seem to be noodles-in-broth restaurants (ramen, soba, udon), or katsu or curry rice. I mean, I like these things, but not all the time.

My impression also is that Nagoya is a more car-oriented city than Yokohama, Kawasaki or Tokyo. In those three cities, restaurants, shops and businesses tend to cluster around train stations, which become hubs of energy. Even quite small and insignificant stations would have several shops and restaurants immediately around it. In Nagoya, while this is still the case, it's to a lesser extent. Things seems to be a lot more spread out, where you have to consciously make a trip to a specific store to get what you want, or research what kind of place you want to visit before you can go there. I find it a bit frustrating, because I was used to going somewhere and being able to just wander around and find lots of cool stuff serendipitously.

But I must admit, in this regard, Nagoya is more like my own hometown in Australia.

Nagoya is known as an industrial city, and there are a lot of factories. I drove from one side of the city to the other, and the city itself looked like a lot of electrical wiring and construction work, though I suppose that's the same in other Japanese cities.

On the plus side, despite the industrialisation and power lines, it does somehow feel more spacious. My own neighborhood in Nagoya feels like it has some greenery, gardens and proper houses, not just apartment blocks and concrete. When it rains it smells fresh. And that is a boon.

Oh, another interesting (albeit random) thing is that supermarkets here don't give you plastic bags, but you are expected to bring your own bags from home. I've talked before about how much excessive packaging most Japanese food stores give you, so this really surprised me. Good for the environment. ^_^

Anyway, these may or may not be accurate impressions; I've not been here long, after all. I wouldn't really recommend Nagoya to visit, but already I like it better than when I first arrived, as I've gotten to know people and had some good times with them. I suppose in the end, your feelings toward a place are a collection of memories; good times can transform even an uninspiring place into a fond recollection.