DCA or Bust

In just a few hours, my butt will be fast asleep on a beautiful All Nippon Airways jet.  I'm looking forward to it after an extremely long and tiring day.  Those Japanese flight attendants sure do their best to make you comfy. 

True to form, the packing got done at the very last moment, but it's done and whatever is in the suitcase is in the suitcase.  I plan on relying heavily on clothes I left at home.  So if you see me wearing a Redskins jersey and some hot pink pajama pants- don't judge.

All the foreigners I know have warned me about reverse culture shock.  I haven't given it too much thought, but I can definitely see the potential.  So when you see me, it might be best to speak quietly and add lots of sound effects while I talk.  How else will I know you are paying attention?  Please also be sure to cover your mouth while you laugh.  And if you hand me something- you'd better use two hands because I may freak out if you dare to use only one.  No big deal, right?

See you in DC!

The List

We're coming home next week!  It's going to be a short but sweet visit.  We are super excited about the wedding of two dear friends, and next Friday night is sure to be an event to remember.  While that is obviously our number one priority, we are compiling some other things to do as well.  Mainly eat.  Oh, and catch up with all our wonderful friends and family of course!  But also eat.  To be as efficient as possible, we've begun compiling a list. 

In no particular order:

Taco Bell
Ledo (preferably with cans of Coors Light)
Dim Sum
Popeyes (Spicy, of course)
Cheese (preferably including Roccolo from Cowgirl Creamery)
Wine (preferably red and full-bodied and preferably served with above)
Greek food (anything with lots of feta cheese, red onions, and olives)
Jaleo
Strong coffee
Our parents' cooking
Salads (no iceberg lettuce and no mayo based dressings)
Bread (must make teeth hurt when chewing)
Cool Ranch Doritos
Chips with Helluva Good French Onion Dip
Cherry Coke (the real stuff- no time for Zero)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

I could go on for ages, but these are just some of the most important items on the list.  How can all this be done in one short week?  I'm not sure, but it's going to be fun to try! 

What would YOU miss eating if you were overseas?

Neighbors

We are moving tomorrow!  Why?  Because we are overachievers.  It's not enough to come halfway across the world to live, work, and go to school.  We have to be in a prime location too.  We have to be within walking distance to a 24-hour supermarket that sells, wine, cheese, and cured meats.  We have to live near a park so we can go for runs have picnics.  The list goes on and on.

So we took advantage of some discounted rent (due to all those foreigners who fled Japan).  After tomorrow night, we'll be living in Nishi-Shinjuku.  I'll be sure to report more on the new 'hood shortly.  For now, I'd like to pay homage to the neighbors I've come to know and love here in good ol' Motohasunuma.

As Bob would say, these are the people in the neighborhood:

Yakitori guy- I'll miss the wonderful smell of chicken skewers grilling every night.  You always smile and say "konichiwa" when I see you.  Sometimes you offer a beer.  We've never taken you up on it, but I'll miss you!

The little old lady who lives in the end unit- You are such a stickler for the trash rules!  You are often seen hunched over, sorting plastic, glass, aluminum, and cardboard.  I'll never know if you do this of your own accord, or if you are some sort of designated trash official.  Carry on good woman!

The Ramen Shop couple- You served me my first meal in Tokyo.  For that, I'll always be grateful.  I'll also miss watching Mrs. Ramen Shop cleaning the windows with steaming hot water every Tuesday and Thursday morning. 

The guy who wears all black and sleeps standing up at the station entrance- You scare me a little, but I've grown accustomed to you.  I hope you make it safely back to your own bed.

Mamasan- While we only ate at your restaurant once, you'll always be Mamasan to me.  You fry your tempura with care, and you put your customers to work getting beer glasses.  You seemed to genuinely care for our enjoyment, and I really liked the meal.

The Magogin (small grocery store) cashiers- You always speak such long polite sentences to me.  This is especially appreciated even after I had you ring up the order 4 different times because I didn't have enough to money to buy everything I put in my basket (I didn't need those taco flavored chips anyway).  Your patience is a virtue!

The little old lady who screams at everyone- You are not to be confused with the lovely trash lady.  You are scary and mean, and you yell at everyone.  I'll never forget how you shocked me the first time your screams were directed at me.  I'm sorry if I walked too close to you on the sidewalk.  I didn't know it was your sidewalk.  Now I know.   

There are many others I will miss, but these are just a few of the people in my neighborhood...the people that I meet each day!

So long, neighbors! 

More Sakura

After visiting the cherry blossoms last Friday, we decided we wanted to see more.  Sunday afternoon brought a trip to Yoyogi Park near Harajuku.  Sunday in Harajuku is always a crazy and crowded experience, but the weather was great so we headed out.  I had heard that Yoyogi Park was a big party spot during cherry blossom season, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

The video does not do the madness justice.  I could barely hold out my phone long enough to take this 15 second clip for fear of being trampled.  There were people as far as the eye could see.  I didn't even realize the park was this big.  It was insane!

Everywhere you looked, people were eating, drinking, and laughing.  DJ's were playing music.  People were singing karoke, dancing, and just enjoying life.  It was incredible.  We both wished our friends were here to share in the festivities with us!  We know some of you back home would have been right at home here.  We enjoyed the people watching for as long as we could.  The lines for the bathrooms were frightening, so we soon left the park.

Even the guys waited for almost an hour to use the facilities!

Still wanting more sakura, we headed to Nakameguro for a somewhat calmer experience.  This area of Tokyo feels very European.  There is a long river lined with trees and cute Japanese lanterns dangle in between.  The river is bordered by restaurants and cafes on both sides.  Each shop had a small table set up outside to sell wine, sake, beer, and pink champagne to match the flowers.  I even found one shop selling Boursin on crackers!

 

Even as darkness fell, people still sat around eating and enjoying

One shop lined up empty champagne bottles as they sold them

Admiring cherry blossoms is exhausting.  We had planned to come home and cook dinner together, but we ended up at a cute Italian restaurant instead.  After a day of crazed drunken people in the park, and long walks along the river, there's nothing better than sharing a bottle of red wine and eating pasta with the person you like most.  Another great Tokyo day!

Sakura

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for... a post about my first sakura season in Japan!

Yesterday was in the mid 60s but quite cloudy and windy- not the best day for a picnic, but we went anyway.  After much debate over where to go, we settled on Chidorigafuchi.  This park and moat area is outside the northeastern part of the Imperial Palace.  It came highly recommended from more than one source, especially for the small rowboats that could be rented for 30 minute intervals.  We didn't have one of those blue tarps that everyone seems to have, but we grabbed a bath towel and decided that would do for a picnic blanket.

Are you wondering what amazing spread we prepared for our first hanami?  Pasta salads?  Deviled eggs?  Homemade rice balls?  Nope- it was off to the conbini for some cheap food and drink.  What a strange assortment we ended up with:

Sandwiches, maki rolls, and strange Doritos

For once, the main event wasn't about the food but the atmosphere.  I was afraid no one would be out enjoying the blossoms after officials asked people to refrain from over celebrating.  While there were probably a lot less people than usual years, it was still a very festive atmosphere.  You couldn't help but get a little giddy with all those beautiful blooms around!

While the blossoms themselves are obviously beautiful, I most enjoyed seeing all the Japanese people having a good time.  The people I interact with tend to be very restrained.  They are hard-working business men and women who don't have a lot of time or patience for fun and games (I know this- I've tried to play games in class).  But the blossoms bring out the kid in everyone.  As soon as the shoes come off, everyone is sitting on their tarp- eating and laughing.  I even saw a few women picking up fallen blossoms and putting them in their hair.  The sakura truly represent the spirit of the Japanese people- usually quiet, but bold and beautiful at times.  I'm so glad I could enjoy this time of year.  We even got a little tipsy off our canned drinks.  And those boats?  They weren't running them.  I guess they had to show some restraint after all.

I'll leave you with a short video of some Japanese people enjoying hanami:

7.4 Quake

We just had a big aftershock/quake.  It lasted for what seemed like forever (around one minute).  I had almost forgotten what that felt like.  Two small things fell off the shelf here.  The news is warning coastal areas about possible tsunamis.  I really hope that doesn't happen.  Apparently there has been no major damage and no issues at the nuclear plant.  Stay tuned. 

Spring has sprung

There's still a slight chill in the air, but spring is officially here.  Back in DC, the signs of spring are a little different.  The changing of the clocks is probably the first signal that warmer days are coming.  The reopening of the Penn Quarter farmer's market is another indication.  You can always count on seeing a few young DC staffers in flip flops too.  Here in Tokyo, there is one major sign of spring that everyone agrees on.  Cherry blossoms!  They've only just started blooming, but they are EVERYWHERE.  They really do brighten up the otherwise grayish tone of the city in general.  Earlier today, I went for a run jog, and I was just mesmerized by how many trees there were in my little neighborhood alone.  I've been looking forward to this season since I came to Japan, and it's finally here!

While the sakura are certainly nice to look at, it's not the only reason to be excited.  Japanese people love having hanami parties during this time.  Now, I have been to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC on many occasions.  There are tons of people swarming around Pennsylvania Avenue eating noodles out of plastic containers and spending money on origami cranes.  Some of them dress up to look "Japanese."  It's crowded, crazy, and hardly authentic.  I heard this year DC even had the nerve to charge an admission fee.  Outrageous.  But hanami parties in Tokyo are much different.  While there is a long story about how they came about, basically you sit under the trees and drink the day away.  Companies send out their lowly interns or junior employees early in the day to reserve spots under the best trees.  Later, the rest of the department comes out with their canned drinks and enough food to feed an army.  It's a time when people connect with each other in a way that's usually quite uncommon.  People have been talking about it for months, and I'm excited to finally be able to participate.  

Unfortunately, in light of the recent disaster, many hanami parties won't go on as planned.  Apparently officials have told people it isn't appropriate to participate in public drunkenness when there are people who have lost everything.  While no one is prohibiting them, many parks aren't going to help facilitate the usual debauchery.  I think this is very sad.  While the merits of drinking during the workday in public can be debated, hanami is about more than that.  From what dozens of Japanese students have shared with me, it's all about national pride.  The sakura symbolize the spirit of the people themselves.  Despite environmental hardships, these beautiful little blossoms come back year after year.  Their beauty is enjoyed for such a short period of time- you have to cherish and celebrate their arrival.  I totally dig it.  And I think that NOW is when people need to embrace their Japanese pride more than ever. 

I'm glad to see that many people are having hanami parties in spite of the recommendations not to.  Yesterday, we stumbled across these lovely people in Nishi-Shinjuku:

Japanese youth enjoy Domino's pizza and beer- just like Americans!

I don't think these people are being inappropriate at all.  Yes, there was a devastating earthquake and tsunami three weeks ago.  Yes, everyone is slightly tense about the situation at Fukushima.  Yes, people have lost loved ones, homes, and all their possessions.  But the Japanese have a saying about life going on.  Tragedy happens everyday, somewhere in the world.  It can't be helped.  You must go on living.  In this case, I find the public drunkenness absolutely inspiring.  I look forward to experiencing it myself later this week.  So yes, please continue to pray for Japan.  But don't stop enjoying spring- the Japanese won't.                  

Social Network

I've officially been in Tokyo for over five months now- can you believe it?  Time has flown by, and in just a few short weeks, we'll be back home for a visit.  This blog has been a really great way for me to keep all of you up-to-date, but it has been hard for me to hear from all of you back home.  I've decided to do something I swore I'd never do...

I'm going to join Facebook.  I know, I know!  It's about time, right?  I haven't been on any social networking sights since Asian Avenue in high school.  While I still have my doubts, I think it is the best way that I can keep up with all of your lives.  I'm tired of not being able to see the same pictures you all see of each other!  I want to know what it means to poke someone!  So after much debate, I've decided to just go for it.  I can't promise I'll update very often, but I'll try.  Please add me as a friend!  There are a million people with the same name as me, so here's a link to my profile page.