I was driving home from running errands listening to CJSW, the college radio station here in Calgary, and on comes this tune. It starts off instrumental and builds slowly, guitars and piano getting louder and receding, back and forth. A few minutes in and I’m completely engulfed. I stop in a parking lot and just sit there listening for almost the full 9 minutes and 16 seconds.
After some research I find out the band is a local one from Calgary called The Neighbourhood Council, none of the members being over the age of 20. I searched at three different record stores before finally snatching the second last copy at Melodya Records. Well worth the five dollar investment… wow! Anyway I could yammer on but how about I just go post the song eh?
The Neighbourhood Council - Liver and Tan [alternate location]
Here I am, sitting on the floating airport they call Kansai International after four months in Japan. I’ve got a couple hours to kill before I’m even allowed to check-in at the counter so I figure I’ll write a quick synopsis of sorts. It was definitely a good experience overall. I did learn more about the culture here, but in truth there was a lot I already knew. And I don’t think these sort of experencies are really about reconfirming things you know or about just ’seeing the world’. Those are superficial things that result from travelling. The more interesting and more substantial experience comes from understanding your relation with a new culture. I’d be dissappointed if all I could do is rifle off a list of differences between Canada and Japan… that would be trite and pointless. That, however, is a discourse I’d rather not start unless I can finish it properly… which means I probably won’t post about it again.
Anyway the last week or so has been pretty much non-stop travelling and hotsprings with my dad. Went to Kyoto’s Arashiyama Koen, then to Matsue, then bullet-trained it down Kyushu for the family party, then up to the volcanic hotsprings of Aso….. I’m all Onsen-ed out and ready to study, study, study. My cell phone will be activated sometime this weekend, 519-721-1495.
I biked to the Mitsubishi factory yesterday and decided to see if slip-streaming worked. I ride up behind an unsuspecting kid on his bike and tailgate him for about 500m or so until he finally notices and gets angry. It’s okay though, it doesn’t really help at all.
It was my last day. Spent the afternoon saying thank you’s: to bosses, to bosses’ bosses, to people I’ve never met, to people who probably didn’t know who I was. At times it feels like I’m under a looming imbroglio that can only be kept at bay with courtesy and thank-yous. Anyway I was outside the west-gates by 2:30 for the last time and biked my way home in sweltering 23 degree weather (yes, thats sweltering)
Packing is moving along well. My suitcases get sent to Kyushu this afternoon around 5:00pm and here I am at an internet cafe, wasting time. On that note I think I’ll head back to the dorm. I will be back in just over a week!! I’ll post something more insightful when I’m at the Kansai airport, as I have a six hour layover. Tata,
Pictures are up from the Tsumago/Magome trip. Check em out.
I’ve got a luggage crisis on my hands. Leaving Nagoya on the 20th!
I took Friday afternoon off to take a trip to the towns of Tsumago and Magome in Nagano prefecture. This time I packed the absolute minimum: the clothes on my back, a toothbrush, and two cameras. Woke up in time to catch the highway bus from Nagoya station at 10:00am, which deposited me at some random highway rest-stop just outside of Magome (a 20 minute walk away). Magome is a pleasant little town set on a hill, with shops and restaurants lining the main street. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I wished I hadn’t worn a black shirt. After a brief stop to eat some cold zaru-soba to cool off, I head towards the trail that will take me the 7.7km to Tsumago.
The hike wasn’t so hike-ish, if you’re used to calling the Rockies your backyard. The first 2km or so skirts along roads and little towns. Not to say that it isn’t nice, just don’t expect anything too secluded! The next portion consists of a real hiking trail (smelly leaves, mud puddles and the like), through great bamboo forests. Stopped at a creek to eat my Snickers bar (see: best hiking chocolate bar ever) and snap a few photos before continuing on my way. Eventually I’m back on paved road that ushers me through two towns and then finally, Tsumago.
This place is quite awesome. The town preserves the old architecture, even restricting anyone from selling their properties. They’ve also disallowed any TV antennae or power lines in the town that might mar the historic image (although I counted two or three antennae from the main street… I wonder how much truth there is in that claim). I meandered around town in typical tourist fashion, taking pictures and eating over-priced food.
A few hours later and it was time to find my minshuku. I had to call the place for directions and backtrack to a little village outside Tsumago, but it was only a twenty minute walk. The lady scolds me for not picking up a map at the tourist office like she told me to… but that’s the way I roll. The interior is spectacular: it dates back 130 years to the Meiji era, and all of the intricate woodwork is still standing. I’m the only one staying on that particular night, and after changing out of my clothes I’m treated to the best meal I’ve had in Japan so far. The woman explains that everything is fresh. The fish have been caught in the nearby river (there’s a small fish trap attached to the house), the rice was grown in a field behind the house, the vegetables were picked up the mountain. You could survive quite comfortably being a vegetarian here; if you can eat fish too, then you’re set (miso soup DOES contain fish stock). Chatted with the woman while I ate dinner, and she explained the house and the town and didn’t stop talking until I’d finished eating. I played with the cute puppies for an hour after dinner and then spent the rest of the evening soaking in the bath.
Next morning I was up by 6:45am to shower, because I was told that breakfast wouldn’t be served after 7:30. The lady gave me an umbrella (as it was raining out), and a cool little carved toothpick holder. I think I reminded her of her sons and so she decided to give me gifts and send me on my way. Some of the most interesting people I’ve met so far are old Japanese women (obasans)… Made the long wet walk to Nagiso station, 3.5 windy and hilly kilometers through people’s backyards and through forests.
Sorry to cut it off short, but I have a tattoo appointment that I must get to soon! I will post pictures soon enough.
I took Friday afternoon off to take a trip to the towns of Tsumago and Magome in Nagano prefecture. This time I packed the absolute minimum: the clothes on my back, a toothbrush, and two cameras. Woke up in time to catch the highway bus from Nagoya station at 10:00am, which deposited me at some random highway rest-stop just outside of Magome (a 20 minute walk away). Magome is a pleasant little town set on a hill, with shops and restaurants lining the main street. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and I wished I hadn’t worn a black shirt. After a brief stop to eat some cold zaru-soba to cool off, I head towards the trail that will take me the 7.7km to Tsumago.
The hike wasn’t so hike-ish, if you’re used to calling the Rockies your backyard. The first 2km or so skirts along roads and little towns. Not to say that it isn’t nice, just don’t expect anything too secluded! The next portion consists of a real hiking trail (smelly leaves, mud puddles and the like), through great bamboo forests. Stopped at a creek to eat my Snickers bar (see: best hiking chocolate bar ever) and snap a few photos before continuing on my way. Eventually I’m back on paved road that ushers me through two towns and then finally, Tsumago.
This place is quite awesome. The town preserves the old architecture, even restricting anyone from selling their properties. They’ve also disallowed any TV antennae or power lines in the town that might mar the historic image (although I counted two or three antennae from the main street… I wonder how much truth there is in that claim). I meandered around town in typical tourist fashion, taking pictures and eating over-priced food.
A few hours later and it was time to find my minshuku. I had to call the place for directions and backtrack to a little village outside Tsumago, but it was only a twenty minute walk. The lady scolds me for not picking up a map at the tourist office like she told me to… but that’s the way I roll. The interior is spectacular: it dates back 130 years to the Meiji era, and all of the intricate woodwork is still standing. I’m the only one staying on that particular night, and after changing out of my clothes I’m treated to the best meal I’ve had in Japan so far. The woman explains that everything is fresh. The fish have been caught in the nearby river (there’s a small fish trap attached to the house), the rice was grown in a field behind the house, the vegetables were picked up the mountain. You could survive quite comfortably being a vegetarian here; if you can eat fish too, then you’re set (miso soup DOES contain fish stock). Chatted with the woman while I ate dinner, and she explained the house and the town and didn’t stop talking until I’d finished eating. I played with the cute puppies for an hour after dinner and then spent the rest of the evening soaking in the bath.
Next morning I was up by 6:45am to shower, because I was told that breakfast wouldn’t be served after 7:30. The lady gave me an umbrella (as it was raining out), and a cool little carved toothpick holder. I think I reminded her of her sons and so she decided to give me gifts and send me on my way. Some of the most interesting people I’ve met so far are old Japanese women (obasans)… Made the long wet walk to Nagiso station, 3.5 windy and hilly kilometers through people’s backyards and through forests.
Sorry to cut it off short, but I have a tattoo appointment that I must get to soon! I will post pictures soon enough.
Myself and two guys from work left Nagoya around 10am on Saturday for Kyoto, opting to take a car rather than the bullet train. The drive was nice and relaxing…. except for the damn J-pop playing the ENTIRE two hour car ride; it tested my gag reflex repeatedly.
The first stop was Kiyo-Mizu Temple, because it’s supposed to be beautiful when the cherry blossoms come out. We fought through the throngs of people, but as predicted there were no flowers to be seen save one tree at the front of the gate. Had lunch in below the temple at a little restaurant and then drove around Kyoto to look for our hotel. Turns out they screwed up our reservation, so they booked us into a nearby ryokan. A tiny middle aged lady from the other place comes by on her bike to lead the way, but surprises us by grabbing the keys and hopping in the front seat of our car! She assures us she’s an amazing driver, despite the fact she couldn’t figure out the emergency break for the life of her. After a white-knuckled ride through narrow streets and stories from the lady about how you just have to “show a little” if you get caught by the police, we arrive at our ryokan. I was near tears laughing.
You know what? I’m already bored of telling this silly story! The trip ends with us driving home Sunday night listening to the same J-pop mix, getting lost in the outskirts of Kyoto, and eating a meal at every highway rest-stop along the way. Pictures are up!
Terrible music and great food,
Nothing really new to report here. I’m planning a trip to Nagano for next weekend, as my last excurtion in Japan before heading off to the Kawaguchi drinki….err party. I’m wondering if I should attempt one of the 1000m vertical hikes they have listed in the guide book. Chances are it’s covered in snow and will be a stupid idea unless I found hiking boots, but we’ll see how adventurous I feel when I get there. Probably head to a smaller village nearby for Saturday night, and find an onsen to bathe in… maybe I should just hop in with those hot spring monkeys.
Saturday I’m heading off to Kyoto with Kenji and Furuichi-san (forget his first name!) to celebrate the cherry blossom season. Ironically the cherry blossoms haven’t quite “blossomed” yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t drink sake and pretend. The last few days have been a cooooold 8 degrees, but it should be warming up into the high teens for the weekend.
Alright, that’s all I got. I’ll post again tomorrow sometime.
Two things frightened me as I cruised Wikipedia for 7 hours yesterday.
- Declassified US documents - Pretty much details the US proposal to blow up (decoy) aircraft over US soil, incite riots, etc… to gain public support in order to invade Cuba during the height of the Cold War. I’m sure this is old news, but its chilling to read…
- There is so much more I need to learn and I dont know how I’ll ever be able to do it. I checked out the Artificial Intelligence portal that Wikipedia’s put up and it overwhelmed me. I was, however, able to find a good article on Baysian Networks for people who don’t have a background in statistics.
Scanning the A.I. portal eventually led me to these articles on epistemology and fundamentalism and physicalism and all these other “-isms” that I’m sure were invented to boost the ego of some pompous professor. Despite the overly confusing labels, the arguments are quite interesting. The whole debate about ‘Strong AI’ and ‘Weak AI’; whether conciousness is only a function of external inputs and relations between mental states (ie: machines could theoretically “think” if programmed properly), or if thought is something more than just responese to external stimuli. Arguments mainly revolve around if the Turing test is actually a valid test for intelligence.
Anyway I should jet again… only 30 mins on the internet before I book my appt for a tatoo! (Guess what it is??) My last expense in Japan… the next few weeks I’ll be eating cup ramen and staying indoors.
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edit: Okay the appointment is booked. I’ll be newly inked up on April 10th which should give me enough time to heal before the Kawaguchi family party at the hotsprings. I’m a little worried they won’t let me in with two tatoos, because they associate them with gangs. It’d be pretty hard to mistake these ones for gang tatoos though. It’s true what they… once you get a tatoo, you’ll want to get more. I can already think of two others, but I’ll try and hold off for now.
Also, the new Run Chico Run album is out, which is going to be supported by a Canadian tour. Check it out!
Just got back from a four day excursion to Tokyo. All in all it was a good time and I’ll write about it when I get a chance. I’ve got laundry to do though so I’ll leave you with just a tidbit.
One of the highlights of the trip was going to the top of Tokyo tower and being able to see the entire city lit up at night. Look in any direction and the lights will literally extend beyond the horizon. With all the street noise and the speeding of cars and people it really did feel like the city was a living, breathing organism. And while I was up there I couldn’t help but think that for each little speck of light there was probably a person going about their daily life, completely enveloped in their own world. Behind that window over there might be a family just arriving home from the hospital with their newborn, or maybe it’s a man doing his bills wondering how he’ll scrape enough money to pay his next months rent. I know it’s a cliche observation, but it’s an easy one to forget in the everyday hustle and bustle. It’s one of those things that’ll either make you believe in humanity or completely despise it. Me? I took a picture so I can think about some other day when I’m feeling contemplative. (Perhaps the title of this post will give you a hint to my current sentiments)
I’m really considering getting a part time job this summer. If I can’t score a sweet research assistant job again like last term, I think I’ll send off a resume to the Turnkey desk. Serving coffee to drunk students as they leave the Bomber is probably less attractive than it seems, but at least I’ll be able to get a little homework done.
Boysofsummer.ca invitational bocce tournament… who’s down?