River Life

You never know what kind of life you'll run into on the river. Dogs and cats are no surprise, but it's always a special day when you can see a baby goat dressed up and river rats checking out the cherry blossoms.

Sunday Struttin'

As far as a I can tell, these guys dance to rockabilly in front of City Hall every Sunday afternoon. With slicked hair, scuffed shoes, and a formidable boombox, they dance individually in a small rotating circle to almost no fanfare. A couple friends quietly sit and watch. These guys dance with a controlled intensity, one that is recaptured after every short break and sustained throughout the afternoon. The music, the clothes, and the dancing would be nostalgic for someone who grew up seeing Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis on TV, but it is more likely these guys were part of the Stray Cats generation. I have seen larger groups in Nagoya and Tokyo, always doing more or less the same thing in a very public place. I bet every major city has at least a few groups. You can go so far as to call this a sub-culture, one that has now come full-circle after brief periods of mainstream popularity. Hats off to the brave three of Kyoto.

Roof Beams

All kinds of people work on weekends. Employees of restaurants or stores are expected to do so, as well as police officers, fire fighters, and teachers with papers to grade. Sometimes it comes with the job, and sometimes it doesn't. It's not rare to see a few business suits walking with briefcases on a Saturday or Sunday, but lately, they've been outnumbered. Donning paint-splattered canvas bell-bottoms, layers of sweaters, and scratched up helmets, dozens of construction workers come in to work on the unfinished buildings on my street alone. When I bike to the grocery store, I pass a crane reaching high up into an apartment building, complete with a pair of workers directing bike and pedestrian traffic around the site. It's a similar scene in other parts of the city as well.
The word around town says it's all related to the consumption tax going up this April. Projects are being pushed along, things need to be done sooner before the cost goes up, which means working weekends for a lot more people. It all starts to make sense, but questions loom. When April does come around, will we see a drop off in the amount of construction work being done? Is that why so many workers are willing to work on snowy Sunday mornings? As noisy and irritating as they can be at times, I can't help but admire their dedication, and hope it all pays off for them.

Christmas Eve Mission

Christmas Eve began with a mission, a tag team journey to the happiest burger this side of the International Dateline: Smile Burger. It was cold, more so than usual, and the sun was making its way down past the distant shadows in the western part of the city. There was a buzz in the campus air, the unique kind reserved for the beginning of an extended break, with chatter of trips and gatherings, and not of upcoming tests nor reports. But we were different, we had a mission.
We biked through 400 meters of foot traffic, followed the river, broke multiple traffic codes of the Sanjo bus terminal, and got a rainy, up-close view of the shops and umbrella wielding tourists of Gion. Hung a left on a small road, and up a hill we went for a few minutes, the cold refusing to let us slow our pace. We reached the main road at the top of the hill, full of traffic and tourists as always. Smile Burger was just a block away and it was still early, but unfortunately it was also Tuesday. As the metal shutter pulled down in front of the store said, they're closed every Tuesday.
So we compromised. We settled for a far inferior fast food burger that really couldn't be any further from a Smile Burger. But it's Christmas Eve, and that's where the minuses end. The food and the restaurant were warm, and we settled right in for over an hour, into the plastic seats on the second floor above the storefront. As I watched our illegally-parked bicycles (and a dozen more) being rained on outside, I thought about this burger. Yes, it tastes the same here as it does back home, and probably just about everywhere else in the world. It's a nostalgic taste, and I'm all the more impressed with the human digestive system when I think about how many I (we?) had growing up. But when I'm tasting it, I can't help but think that the last one I had was probably at the Staples Center while watching the Kings, and it probably cost $11. The price aside, that made me happy. It could have been a coke, a bag of peanuts, or chocolate-covered popcorn to take me back, but this time it was that distinct, internationally reproducible taste.
We went back up the hill to Smile Burger a few nights later. It was rainier and colder, but that really only made it more delicious.

Push

Last week's break in the school schedule brought a few days of down-beat in a semester that's been very up-beat. With the school lounge, library, and dining commons closed, the McDonald's around every corner was a very capable substitute. With its second and third floors, smoking section, light speed service, and bossa nova in the background, it would seem completely unrelated to its American twin if it weren't for the food. Some people sit for hours, punching into a laptop, flipping through stacks of folders and books, or thumbing away on a smart phone. This atmosphere is subject to change of course, as it's not uncommon to find throngs of high school students doing lots of talking and very little studying. Business professional, studying student, or high school chatterbox, it's pretty clear that quite a few people go there to do something besides eat.
My first November break in five years is followed by the nostalgic short push through the weeks leading up to the holidays. A push through lengthy assignments, cold morning bike rides to school, late night rides home, and everything in between. Beanies, scarves, instant noodles, and slow-cooked broths should do the trick. No sign yet of the first snow of the season, but the temperature will be down to 0 Celsius a few days this week.

Test to Test

Test week comes to an end tomorrow, but the studies will continue to be in full-swing. The Japanese language proficiency test is laying in wait at the beginning of next month, ready to dry my eyes, drain my brain, steal my heart, and take up four hours of my Sunday afternoon. Luckily, we have a few days off this week for the anniversary of our school's founding. While I intend to partake in a few school festivities with my Jo Niijima mustache, and upon completing all assigned homework, I plan on devoting a significant amount of time to vocabulary and advanced grammar. There should also be time for some long awaited visits to Mt. Hiei, Daitokuji, and Kitano Tenmangu. Sharpen the pencils and heat up the coffee, it's game time.

Free Books

The first floor of the School of Commerce was lined with about three dozen cardboard boxes, all filled with books that seemed to have fulfilled their roles in the curriculum, but did not garner enough demand to be re-sold and re-used. Or maybe there's a faculty member who is simply a nice person and likes to give people free books. Posted signs saying "Free books, take as many as you like." would suggest one or the other, but based on the selection, I would guess it was the former.
There were countless handbooks to accounting, four inches thick, and even analyses of past markets, global and domestic. Making our way swiftly through the boxes before our Japanese literature class upstairs, my friend from Taiwan picked up a book on English conversation, the curly fry in a basket of regular fries. I stuffed my bag with two books, one on the history of the American television between 1925-1941, and the other on advertising in Japan in the 1980's.

With mornings and nights regularly below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, I now have plenty of excuses to stay in, drink hot tea, study, and of course get a lot of extra-curricular reading done. There is also a lot of gathering, cooking, and baking to be done. We're still waiting for hints of the first snow this season, with simultaneous feelings of excitement and fear. Will the snow be as beautiful without a warm car to drive around in? Or will it be even more calming now that I don't have to drive around in it?

Walking to School

Last Sunday I joined a club at my school called the "Walking to School Project". My school has a main campus in the city, as well as a campus out in the countryside, a fair 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) away. I rode an early morning train out there, got a little lost along the way, but made it with time to spare before our 9 a.m. departure time. Just over a hundred of us walked single file, two by two, or three by three, slowly making our way from the fields and highways of the countryside to our main campus in the city. We walked for a few hours at a time, took some breaks, had lunch in a park, and played some games along the way. We made it to our destination at around 7 p.m., with 100 plates of curry and rice waiting for us in the dining hall. Walking that far really made the curry taste better, but the next two or three days were a struggle: getting up from my futon, climbing the stairs to class, and especially walking around after having sat for an hour or two. But it was worth it, and would be a lot of fun to do again. Here are some photos:

No Rain

Two typhoons in just over a week, but we were lucky enough to not get hit very hard from either one. The rain was here for a few days, but classes continued as normal. It finally cleared yesterday afternoon, leaving a blue sky and rainbow bright enough to interrupt class for a minute. I'm impressed with what the camera on my low-end phone can pick up.

Hooves

Buried in my weekend punch list, well below the grocery shopping, apartment cleaning, and grammar studying, and just above updating the blog, was the task of tracking down a pair of affordable dress shoes. Tools such as Google, and...well, there really is only Google, would direct me to the hip, fashionable store around the corner, or possibly to one of the dozen ABC Marts in the city, a chain shoe store. With all of those undoubtedly out of my price range, and being too impatient to order anything online, I venture out after Sunday lunch to find a pair of hoof covers. It took me all but fifteen minutes, finding a small, old store that must have slipped through the cracks of time, Google, and free market economic theory.
The old couple greeted me nervously, but seemed to relax after some small talk in Japanese. The husband moved some boxes and cleared the way, and the wife showed the various black dress shoes they had to offer. When I came across the winning pair, I double-checked my size in centimeters, and the husband grabbed a box from the top of a tall stack near the back.
With this quick and unexpected solution to my predicament, I had plenty of time to get back and study some more grammar.

Camera Shop

Wheels

The new wheels for the coming year.

A Place to Sit

After weeks of preparation, registration, and anticipation, classes and lectures finally began this week. With tables packed, and groups and allegiances being established, even the brand new building and enormous dining hall seemed to have trouble meeting the demand. Those looking for a place to sit, eat, and chat would surely find a seat outside on the benches, near the mosquitoes and gigantic ants. Those who want to sit and study should go no farther than the library, where a seat and desk is almost guaranteed.
The last few days have had a bit of a chill, but I'm expecting another hot day or two before the autumn winds comes around in full swing. The city's sights are gradually being invaded by 6th graders from elementary schools from around the country on their school trip. They are most often recognized by their bright yellow hats, traveling in groups of three or four, or forty. A chance to see the colored autumn leaves around the city is what brings most tourists here in the fall, similar to the blooming flowers in the spring. I'm personally hoping to see some snow here this year, and making my way over to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, when that happens.
This morning I biked my way around Nijo Castle, up a small street, around a bend, past a driving school, and through a local shopping street to get to my usual grocery store. There are closer grocery stores, but this one is certainly worth the trek. Even if it's only to see this very realistic mannequin sitting outside one of the stores along the way. At least he found a nice place to sit.

Ramen Experiment #1

Ingredients: fresh ramen noodles, red miso, garlic, sesame, green onion, bean sprouts, maitake mushrooms, and a hard-boiled egg.

What's the buzz? Tell me what's a happenin.

It might be the elevator, or maybe a generator or spaceship of some kind. My ears have more or less gotten used to the few minutes of buzzing and rumbling that happens randomly throughout the day, or night, or early morning. How did this slip through the two-paged, detailed description of this place? Alas, there was no buzz nor rumble when I came here for a preview, nor were there voices of construction workers and machinery echoing all the way to my view-less veranda.
It's been a week and a half since I moved into my apartment, and yesterday I finally set up, configured, and reestablished my connection with the world wide web. Not having it made it easier to focus on tasks at hand, like buying necessary items for the apartment, and uh, really that was it actually. I made regular rounds of the recycle shops and 100 yen stores, and may have been seen biking up and down a Sanjo shopping street while carrying a futon, or a desk, or a rice cooker and hot water boiler. The apartment is at a point now where I can start the school year, no problem, but there are still a few additions to make. Hopefully I can keep it just uncomfortable enough to force myself to go out and do things, but still be able to come home, study, and relax. Comfortably uncomfortable.
It took the empty kitchen here to remind me how well-stocked my kitchen in Gifu was. A week and half in, and I'm halfway through a bottle of olive oil, nearly finished with 1 kg of rice, and have tossed down four bundles of udon and two of soba. The overall leader of my meals has been natto, rice, and miso soup (8); followed by curry and rice (7); udon and vegetables (4); soba and vegetables (2); mapo eggplant and rice (1); salt and pork tsukemen (similar to ramen) (1); sesame pork katsu (1); and one Smile Burger. The last item, that of transcontinental fame, wrapped in unprecedented legend, ever-elusive, and exclusive to a one-manned small shop in eastern Kyoto, costs about 20% of my weekly budget for now, and I think that will make it all the more special when I have it.
No internet forced me to get a ton of reading done as well, mainly Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe, and Fraud by David Rakoff. Both fantastic. I've also fallen into a pretty good study schedule, now that most of the apartment is set. School orientation was last week, and tomorrow is the day we officially register for our classes. There's an opening ceremony this weekend, classes officially start next week,  and the avalanche of things to do will come roaring.

Back and posting

Four years, four cities, five jobs, three JLPTs, and dozens of Smile Burgers later, I am back in the Heian period capital. I'll be studying full-time and working part-time, and I'll do my best to share some adventures, updates, and photos along the way.
I have just arrived and have nothing to report that any jet-lagged traveler wouldn't report.  For a nice quick read, I posted the Holstee Manifesto courtesy of Brain Pickings . Brain Pickings always has great reads, so check it out!

Hotels and Sightseeing/Baseball

I'll be in hotels for the next few weeks with my family. We've been sightseeing, and plan to do plenty more. So far I've taken them to Nijo Castle, Gion Corner, Kaitenzushi (sushi on a conveyor belt), Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Mr. Donut, and numerous breads, coffees, and mochas.
The first thing we did that I had never done before was go out to Osaka and watch a Hanshin Tigers baseball game! It was really fun, very different than baseball in America. Fans have organized cheers and chants, and every player on the Tigers has his own chant for when he is up to bat. Because of this lively atmosphere, it was very easy to stay interested in the game the entire time, though it was unfortunate our Tigers lost. The three of us swore our allegiance to the Tigers before the game, so we're willing to stick out a few losses. There is also a more friendly atmosphere than in American baseball. Both teams' mascots were friends, and when a player on one team got hurt, even a player on the other team would check to see if he was okay, which I feel like I rarely see in American baseball. There was a little bit more of a Disney-type of feeling with the whole fans/mascots thing, but that's somehow justified by the fans' diehard attitude in supporting their team. Most people were chanting, most were wearing some kind of awesome combination of jersey or hat or towel. They either wear the towels around their necks or around their heads as bandanas, which I think are really cool. Having fans so into it made it a lot easier to have fun, maybe I can bring some of that atmosphere back to America!

Finishing Up/Smileburger

So things are finishing up here at my apartment. I don't know if I'll be completely done moving out by Saturday, which is when my dad and cousin arrive, but Sunday is the official move out day, so definitely by then. I bought a cardboard box to mail winter clothing and a few other things home in advance, to free up space in my luggage for gifts, etc. I'm also figuring out a way to send my bike home, since the bike shops here will buy it for virtually nothing, and in actuality I probably wouldn't get anything in return that comes close to this bike's value to me. My bike and I had a bit of fall the other day, and though there are only a few more scratches on each of us, I'm sure it has made it that much harder to get anything for the bike.
These last days have just started to be filled with various good-byes, with some leaving right after the last day of school, others starting vacations with families, and one friend of mine on a mission to Tokyo to look for a job. This afternoon my friends and I had hamburgers at the best burger place any of us have ever been to, and we're a rainbow coalition of America, Scotland, Britain, and Japan. The place is called Smileburger, and they serve huge, delicious hamburgers for about $10 each, which is reasonable considering how big and good they are. In fact, half the fun in going is my Scottish friend's enthusiasm for the place. While we all agreed it wouldn't be our last trips to Smileburger, it might have been the last one with all of us together. It's a place I plan on taking any guests that come visit Kyoto.
It's gonna be tough packing everything up and moving out, but it'll happen one way or another. Going through everything will bring back memories, and probably also remind of things I forgot to do. The plus in all of this is that I get to see all kinds of family members, and then eventually go home and see everyone there too. It'll be nice to be home, but it'll also be sad to leave this great city :)

Photos from my film camera

These were all taken with my plastic white camera throughout the semester, and I finally got them developed. This first photo is from Kiyomizu Temple.

The view from my building.

These next few are from our bike adventure we had a few months back.




This restaurant is somewhat near place, I like the sign. It says the day's special on the board.




This was this crazy band we saw in Osaka, they were loads of fun.




The Kamo River, which I had an epic fall into yesterday...

Finals Done

~~~, I am actually done with finals. I didn't think they would ever end. We had tests everyday for the past week, every morning, and sometimes again in the afternoons too. I finished writing my paper for my writing class, and after I have my friend look over it, I'll email it to my teacher, and then well, officially done! I guess the finals can explain the recent lack of posting. Not only was there not time to post and write, there really wasn't a lot to post or write about. Studying is studying, and figured I shouldn't post about that.
I have a week until family members arrive, so I'll be doing some last minute preparations for them and packing up stuff so I can move out of my apartment and into hotel after hotel after hotel with the family. It'll be great to see all of them, and I'm excited to introduce them to all kinds of things here. I know a few non-touristy places that I think are great, and I'll only search for more since they won't always have a local to show them around :)
Well, this next week should be filled with plenty of adventures, so expect many posts!