Soft Camping in Okutama

Since coming to Japan, I haven't really gone proper camping. There was that one time I slept inside the concrete tube, but you know, none of the traditional stuff. More's the pity, because camping is kind of my thing. I was a boyscout for longer than five years, growing up. I'm a big fan of the great outdoors. It just so happened though that a few workmates of mine decided they would get together and throw a camping trip - mind you, none of the hardcore stuff, but just a simple get away with a rented shack, sleeping bags and campfire. So I got off work and hopped on a two-and-a-half hour train ride to Okutama.
 It turned out to be quite a relaxing get away. Though I arrived at 10 in the night, my coworkers, Akemi, Ty, and Bryan, met me at the station and we got to it pretty quickly. Our rented shack was just big enough to have the four of us lay out our sleeping bags, but we were sure to get some campfire time in before that, and even pull out some fireworks.

Bryan, Ty and I. By our mental age combined, we're 12.

 It had actually been a longer time than I remembered that I had hung out with a group of people who were actually in the same age range as I was.  Even though one of us had to make it back to Tokyo in the morning, we still had the following day off, and we figured we'd make the best of it.

 Though I had been to Okutama once before, coming again in Autumn was definitely a good choice if only for the colors. The region being so choke full of mountains as it is, hiking trails of all lengths and difficulties were easy to find, and gaining some height gave us a good view of the autumn leaves and the scenic countryside towns nestled deep in the valleys. It was hard to believe we were still in Tokyo prefecture, with the air so fresh and not a single busy street in sight.

By the time we came down, though, we were good for lunch, so we rented  poles and plunked ourselves down for an afternoon of fishing. If truth be told, I'm not the best angler out there, but it's not like we found ourselves any random creek. The fishing area was heavily controlled and just about anyone had a good chance of catching fish here. The deal was we had half the day to catch five fish each, after which we were free to do what we wanted with them. Catching fifteen fish between the three of us took us less than two hours in total. We then brought them up and had them cooked on skewers.

Our expedition ended with a dip at a hot spring, and we finally the long train ride back to Tokyo. It was just enough to fill the day, but all in all, it just left me craving for some good old fashioned hard camping. The kind with tents and bears and peeing in bushes. That'll come another time, hopefully.

Takasaki, So Make a Wish

I'll explain this in a minute.

Takasaki is located right smack in the center of Gunma prefecture and is effectively its most populated city. Really, at first sight, it's an area thats doesn't seem to have anything special going for it, if nothing but the fact that it has the one major train station in the whole prefecture of Gunma. A whole lot of people who work in Tokyo actually commute from Takasaki, and I've been through the city a couple of times on my way to other places.
 It's only until I did a little bit of research that I chanced upon a few interesting things about the city, and it turns out that, even though you won't find it in most guide books, there's stuff in Takasaki that make it quite viable for a day trip! It's been on my mind for a while, so I figured today was the day.
 The sightseeing core of Takasaki is actually a 20 minute bus ride from the city center, in an area called Kannonyama. Once there, it's pretty easy to figure out where the place got its name. Overlooking the mountain is one of the tallest statues you might have ever seen.

There's a small temple beside it too!

This big white lady is the Byakue Kannon, one of the aspects of the Goddess of Mercy who figures quite prominently in the Buddhist religion and whom I've encountered before in Nokogiriyama. The mountain being quite forested, she makes for a pretty imposing sight when seen looming over the trees. Plus, she's so white she practically glows. The statue itself has a partially hollowed interior, which can be climbed until the height of her shoulders. Inside are enshrined other deities which can be revered and prayed to, for bestowing such blessings as safe childbirth and good fortune. Or you can be gloomy and pray to the Gatekeeper of Hell. For some reason, that's an option too. At any rate, once at the top of the statue, you get a pretty clear view of Takasaki, and, given favorable conditions, you can see the mountain ranges of Gunma in the distance too. I had no such fortune.
  I heard from someone that the Kannon of Takasaki and the Buddha of Kamakura were built facing one another, but I can't confirm nor deny the claim.

 If you haven't done enough worshiping/sightseeing here, there's an equally worthwhile opportunity to do so just a kilometer or so away. In the very same mountain is a cavern where 33 aspects of Kannon (including another of the very same Byakue Kannon above) are enshrined. Though at first this may seem like nothing but a minor attraction, the immensity of the 33 Kannon Cavern soon comes into evidence as you step inside its damp, dark halls. The entire 400 square meters of cave was hollowed out by shovel and pickaxe, with none of the modern machinery we now have. This feat alone makes the den quite impressive, but the statues themselves are the real treat here. At first individually enshrined in little notches along the walls, the cavern eventually opens up into majestic displays, putting some of the statues up high in magnificent natural-seeming displays. My personal favorite of the 33 aspects was the one in mid-transformation into a dragon. I was thoroughly happy with what I got for my 700¥.

 And of course, Takasaki is also the birthplace of the Daruma doll, further cementing the town's relationship with ancient Buddhism. For those of you who don't know, Daruma is a representation of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. According to legend, Bodhidharma stared at a wall for 9 years in meditation. One version of the legend is that his legs fell off from atrophy. Another says that he once fell asleep, and cut off his eyelids so it would never happen again.
 Either way, in modern practice, Daruma dolls are round, hollow and (traditionally) red. They're a symbol of perseverance, and are built in such a

way that they're very hard to topple completely. Upon receiving one, the person who obtains the doll must make a wish and paint one eye black. Should the wish come true, the other eye must be painted black as well. Of course, having come all this way from Tokyo, nothing would do but to buy one of my own!
All in all, Takasaki's worth the trip, folks. If it happened to be closer to Tokyo, no doubt it would be swarming with tourists, but as it is, you can go there and enjoy all the peace and quiet of Gunma while learning lots and seeing great things. I recommend!

Milestone: 3 Years

In just a few days, three years will have gone and past since I first arrived in Japan. It's been a hell of a ride, but I still intend to stick around for a little while longer. For the time being, here's what I've been up to since the last time I compiled a milestone!

3 Years : Summary

Status:

Job: Children's Fitness Teacher, Pro-Bono Cultural Ambassador
Financial status:  Good

City: Tokyo
Ward: Itabashi-ku
Train station: Senkawa
Residing in: Alien Castle, my apartment.




Cast of Characters:

Major Characters:

Ken Tanaka
Millo, Julian of France
Dario Lupoli of Italy, new father

Minor Characters:

Aala Kansali of Tunisia
Jean-Paul "Papa Lo"  the French Laotian
Nana Takeuchi, the Bawss
Eri Karasawa, who works a different branch
Erika Mochizuki (and Maxine!
Kazue Inoue 

Retired Characters:
 
Kuniaki "Forest" Mori is pursuing his dream of becoming a musician in America!
Sofie Monrad of Denmark
Julian "Shank" Einschenk of Germany
Anton "Foxboy" Jermaine of England
Rodrigue Zapha of France
Clement Sanchez of France




Top Five Highlights:
(since last milestone)

- The Penguin Bar
- Kayaking in Okutama
- My First Ever Bungee Jump
- Aala's Japanese Wedding Ceremony
- The Museum of Shit

Still to Come:
- Final Fantasy: The Cafe
- A Tokyo Halloween
- Takasaki: The City of Daruma
- A Road Trip in January
- The Giant Monster Bar

Interesting Tidbits: Gaijin Radiance

I'd like to share some musings I've had. It may or may not be interesting at all, but I'll put it up here anyway.
Almost three years ago now, I posted about how gaijin exhibit certain effects where ever they go in Japan. I referred to these effects as super powers. Looking back, in most part, I can't say my opinion has changed all that much (though I have exceptionally been proven wrong a few times.)
 But I do want to touch upon something that's occurred to me lately, concerning "Gaijin Radiance". Three years ago, I described it as so:

 If you speak English, you are capable of Gaijin Radiance. Use it. Go to a social event and speak to people in English. If they don't know how to answer you, apologize and find someone else. But if they do speak some English, well, you're suddenly more interesting than before. You're a radiant, mysterious foreigner who'll sweep 'em off their feet and take them to amazing places.

Work picture from quite a while ago.

Lately, though, I've been thinking about that. There are quite a few Japanese people who are very willing to go out of their way to talk to foreigners - and apparently, Tokyo observes this the least of all places in Japan. What I mean is, "Gaijin Radiance" happens twice as much outside of Tokyo than it does inside, where chances of encountering a foreigner are higher.
 The first time I went to practice tricking with Millo, we were instantly approached by enthusiastic high school students who absolutely wanted to befriend us, add us on facebook, and more importantly, practice their English with us. Even just last week, I was sitting on a bench with two work mates when a 78 year old woman came at us smiling, pointing at my American co-worker and saying "what a beautiful face he has! What a high nose bridge he has!"

 Why do some Japanese people go to such an extent to meet and talk to foreigners?
 From what I figure, it's all a matter of "seizing chances."
 You see, Japan is mostly a homogenous country, in terms of its population. According to most numbers, at least 90% of the population of Japan is Japanese. Yeah I know, it's a pretty basic statement to say that "Japanese people are interested in foreigners because there aren't that many." But think on that number - 90% is pretty damn considerable.

Akihabara at night.

 In their lifetime, most Japanese people will absolutely never even have the chance to make a close foreign friend at all, no matter how hard they want to. The average Japanese citizen flows directly from high school to university to a company. And here are the places where you hardly have a chance to meet English-speaking foreigners: Japanese high schools, universities, and companies.
 If you add in the fact that a very high amount of Japanese young adults express at least some interest in traveling, that can come across as a pretty sad reality. So all in all, maybe if you do meet a Japanese person who's interested in befriending you, it may be par for course to think of it as a chance to make a real difference in that person's life. Like I'm one to speak, I know - I've hardly put myself out there and built deep friendships with non-English-speaking Japanese people, in large part due to my own language insecurities. But the more I think about it, the more I see it as something benefiting both parties, set aside the initial awkwardness.
 It's all just food for thought. 

For You Wannabe Defenseless Maidens

Unless you read women's manga, chances are you haven't heard of kabe-don. It's essentially an overused trope that doesn't happen nearly as often in real life as the comics would suggest. The gist of it is, a guy puts his hand against a wall to loom over someone whose back is pressed against it. It's oh-so-tough-looking.
 Apparently, this is now so much of a thing that the Harajuku branch of Sweets Paradise has temporarily re-branded itself into a Kabe-Don cafe, allowing blushing high school girls to put themselves in the manga scenario. With a mannequin.
 Yes, it's a little strange, so, being the investigative soul that I am, I went to have a look myself.

Screenshot from the official promotional video.

 And it was a bit of a hit-and-miss. What I wasn't told was that they only allow you to pose with the mannequin on weekends. I know it mostly sounds like a miss, but I did get to pig out on sweets, so there. Now apparently, the place has a whole lot of equipment so that customers can pick out their favorite scenario, and appropriate sound bits would play out while the mannequin looms over you (such as him talking to you as if you were his childhood friend, for example.)
 Christ, then why not just hire a real guy? It sounds altogether like a more profitable endeavor. Even more so if you get high school students to actually fall in a crush with the guy and keep coming back.
 Why they only do it on weekends is a complete mystery to me though. And here I was ready to try something totally retarded. Mayhaps you'll have better luck than I did.

Brief Note: Storm Warning

I figured I'd just give a shout out that things are looking a little sluggish this month, in large part due to there being typhoons and tropical storms hitting Tokyo successively and putting my plans on halt. There's still a couple of goofy things I've in mind to try in the next few weeks though...

Behold the Controversial Yasukuni Shrine

Today I paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Other than being a shrine of a certain size, it's well known for being the one shrine the Emperor himself must never visit. It's a place of controversy, where the names of everyone who has served and died for the empire of Japan in war has been engraved and laid to rest - including a few of history's most infamous war criminals. Men responsible for ordering the pillaging of cities and the rape and murder of civilians. Many Chinese and Korean in particular look at the shrine's existence as something disdainful, and I do recall having read about a certain incident in which a Chinese man attempted to burn it down with molotov cocktails.
 So I went to have a look at it myself, and, lo and behold, not a single statue of Hitler murdering Jesus to be seen. Yeah, I could've guessed. Without proper context, it's a little hard to see anything controversial here.

But I can tell you what I did see! The Yasukuni shrine has at its entrance one of the most majestic torii gates you'll find in Tokyo, making the walk to the shrine quite nice. There's no denying that the shrine is quite militaristic though. There's a huge focus on war-time Japan here, even going as far as having a small museum next to the shrine.
 Within, all sorts of paraphernalia relating to World War II in particular can be found inside. Heavy artillery launchers, an attack plane, as well as a gift shop filled with postcards and other merchandise displaying Japan's military flag are on sale. It's kind of a strange gift idea for the average joe, but collectors probably dig this kind of thing.
 When it comes to the controversy of Yasukuni shrine, I really think it's just a matter of context. To build a memorial for people who died in service of their country makes all the sense in the world. And yes, even though the war criminals enshrined inside have done unspeakable evils upon the world, that doesn't change the fact that, technically, they do qualify. They didn't eat babies and shit bats. They were once someone's children.

Yeah, I know, it's also that the shrine states a different number of victims from the war than the text books and the records other countries have. I guess that would be the first time religion, science, and history say something different. Oh, wait, it's not? Huh. Isn't that odd.

Beep Boop

While at the Miraikan, I did take the opportunity to meet its other denizens (rather than just the toilet guys.) Though the museum has a very compelling section dedicated to the exploration of space, I found myself more compelled by their robotics section. And seeing as Japan has invested heavily in robotics, there are quite some interesting encounters to be made within the museum. Allow me to introduce you to do the two forerunners!

Asimo struttin' his stuff.

The first of the two is Asimo. Everyone loves Asimo. He's just a few inches over four feet tall and speaks in a high, child-like voice.  Once a day at the Miraikan, Asimo is brought out for a 30-minute demonstration of his capabilities, where he showcases his mobility. He's appeared at many different events, ranging from conducting orchestras to dancing in Disneyland. When it comes down to it, though, Asimo's purpose is to be a personal assistant, and he is capable of recognizing faces, following people, respond to questions, call people by name, and react to sounds, completely on his own. I think Asimo would be fun to have around.

Geminoid F.

 The second of the two is Geminoid F, or Otonaroid (with "otona" signifying "adult".) Geminoid F is an attempt at creating the most human-like android possible, and, at a glance, it's pretty convincing. She mimics the mannerisms of real people, by blinking, shrugging, and using her hands to gesture. Geminoid F, though, is designed to be controlled remotely, allowing an individual to operate her and even speak through her lips with the help of a voice changer. Personally, while I think she's pretty impressive, she's also pretty damn creepy though. Her movements are a ever so slightly angular and broken, and she kind of has a glazed look, with her smiles lacking warmth. It's hard to look at her and not think that this won't somehow eventually collide with the development of sex dolls. Maybe Geminoid would be a little less fun to have around.
 And there you have it! Maybe eventually these will come into the public market, with debatable yet interesting outcomes.