I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet

...luckily, no "skies tumbling down."

Last Night, there was an earthquake in northern Japan. It was 280 miles northeast of Tokyo, but I felt it alright. At first it felt like one of those 'vibra-beds' that you used to see in motels and would give you fifteen minutes of massaging action for a quarter. But the quake got progressively stronger and the (two) dishes in my cabinet started rattling around also. It subsided soon enough and thank goodness there was no loss of life. Thank goodness that nothing crawled up from that earthquake either, iykwimaityd. OK... on to completing my Kyoto series...

Kyoto Calling - Plans are made

Part 2 of a series...

"I think that you don't want to go sight seeing in Kyoto when half of Japan is also sight seeing in Kyoto. But I think that if you leave on Friday morning, we might be able to find a good hotel with a reservation for Friday night. You could stay in Kyoto all day Friday and all day Saturday too. Then, on Saturday evening, grab a box dinner, take the Shinkansen back home and enjoy your dinner on the train."

My thoughts drifted to the Shinkansen, the super fast "bullet train." There are signs for this train all over the Shinegawa station. It looks sleek and fast, even when it is going slow. I was getting pretty excited about having an opportunity to ride on the bullet train.

My thoughts must have been drifting for quite a while, because the last time I had looked at my watch, it was only 1:30 AM. The work week had started with a schedule change. I had to work during third shift - which corresponds to first shift back in New York. My body had adjusted to third shift very easily. Too easily, in fact, because I was getting much sleep during the day time, or at night. By Wednesday early morning, there wasn't much candle left to burn -at either end, much less either end.

"Peter san. I think this hotel is a good one. The Tokyu Hotel in Kyoto, is near the train station, has rooms available for Friday night, and I can get a corporate discount for you! It is 3 AM right now, so probably we should wait before calling to make a reservation."

Kyoto was calling a little bit louder now, and the sound was ringing in my ears. It was not difficult to stay awake until 8 AM when we were able to make a reservation at the Tokyu Hotel in Kyoto. Now, I just had to make it to Shinegawa in order to purchase tickets on the Shinkansen.

To be continued...

Kyoto Calling

Part 1 of a series.

"If you've seen a little bit of Tokyo, then you must make some time to go and see Kyoto. You see, Kyoto is nestled in a valley that is practically surrounded by mountains. It has a rich history - being the center of Japan for over one thousand years. In fact, the people of Kyoto refer to the people of Tokyo as young children because Tokyo has only been the center of Japan for about one hundred and fifty years. If you go, you will get a much better understanding of Japan and her people."

These words were not directed towards me, but I was in the same room when they were spoken. Instead of going in one ear and out the other, the word stuck around in my head for a while and they formed an echo. Kyoto was calling me. The calendar's pages kept turning and I didn't have a lot of time before returning to New York. I decided to answer the call and visit Kyoto as soon as possible.

I knew someone who grew up in Kyoto. "I recommend that you visit Kyoto. Definitely," he said with a smile. We went online and looked for hotel rooms. It turns out that July 21 is a holiday in Japan. With the three day weekend, many people in Japan must have heard Kyoto calling too; only $350-per-night hotel rooms were the ones answering our call for reservations. In the meantime, I was told about wonderful things to see and do in Kyoto - the shrines and temples, the castles, the "Philosopher's Walk", the food, the global warming, the museums, the shopping... "Wait, what? What do you mean, global warming?"
"Oh, since Kyoto is surrounded on by mountains, the heat doesn't really leave Kyoto once it arrives for the summer. And in the winter, the weather is much colder in Kyoto for similar reasons. The cold is trapped in Kyoto for the winter."

Global warming or not, I was not interested in spending an exorbitant amount of money for a hotel or looking for an affordable Ryokan where I could share floor space with others. I mean, what if I missed when stepping over someone in the middle of the night? What could I possibly say, no matter what the language? No, I could not share floor space and I could not afford a pricey hotel. Perhaps my visit to Kyoto would have to wait.

Japanese...

...for Dummies!

After two months (!) I've cracked open this latest "for Dummies" book. It comes with a CD with some basic conversations. However I wanted to pass along this grammar tip from chapter 1:

" The vowels e and u come out as a downright whisper whenever they fall between the consonant sounds ch, h, k, p, s, sh, t or ts. Or, whenever a word ends in this consonant vowel combination."

I count nine different ways to apply this snappy, easy-to-remember, whisper rule to two different vowels for a grand total of eighteen rules. Let me repeat myself. This is from chapter 1!

Tea Time at 8:00

A Japanese Tea Ceremony, to be more precise.

A note came across the internets, asking me to attend a Japanese Tea Ceremony. My colleague had been studying the Tea Cermony longer than he was studying the English Language. This fact impressed me greatly and I felt honored to be invited. The only request was, "Preferrably, you would bring the white socks." No Problem. Before leaving for Japan, I pretended to be the Nicholas Cage character from, "Leaving Las Vegas", and bought new packages of T-shirts, underwear, and socks - both dress & "white" socks. My plan was to minimize the amount of laundry I had to do, not drink myself into a coma like Nick did in the movie. Anyway, I had plenty of brand new white socks. I grabbed a pair of socks and kept them in my briefcase for a week before the Tea Ceremony, so I would not forget them. When the day arrived, one of the people who was also invited forgot the white socks and had to buy a new pair during lunch time. I should have put two pair of socks in my briefcase!

Before I continue, I should tell you that I do not know the Japanese names for all (OK, any) of the things that were a part of the ceremony so the descriptions may not be spot on. One thing that will be spot on is the description of how my knees felt.

More than 20 of us entered the Japanese room - with white socks - through a ring made of green shrubery. This, perhaps, evoked a spring time theme, where we could pretend we were entering a Japanese garden:

...not everyone wore traditional dress

Unfortunately we had to sit on our knees. Mine happened to snap just like when you spread those balsa wood chopsticks that are joined together at one end. This happened more than once, by the way; pretty much any time I tried to move my legs.

We were served sweets while the tea was being prepared:

...those chopsticks were cool!

We had to bow to our server when we were presented the sweets, which was no problem because I lost the feeling in both of my feet at about this time. These things tasted pretty good; the center was filled with a sweet red bean paste. By the way, the people who presented the sweets did not prepare the green tea. After eating the sweets, the tea was being served:

Not.My.Knees.

At this point, I was worried that I would not be able to stand up ever again, and I drank the team presented to me. I did my best to mimic everyone else by holding the bowl with two hands, and drank it quietly. There were several people ahead of my who made a wisping sound as they finished their tea. I found out later that this sound is expected and is a duty of the guest to demonstrate their fondness for the tea. Later, it was also explained that the bowl should be turned twice to the right before drinking the tea so that our lips would not come in contact with the center marking of the bowl. After drinking, we also should have turned the bowl twice to the left before placing the bowl back on the floor.

At this point we were allowed to sit cross legged on the floor, but this didn't help very much; my knees still made that cracking sound. The Tea Ceremony was officially over, and we were able to take a close-up look at some of the equipment that was used:

All of the equipment was made of traditional Japanese materials. I chose to ignore the electrical cord running from the heating element. We were also able to ask some questions. It turns out that the procedures used to make the tea were very carefully done and took many years of study to master. Much of he equipment is also made by the students.

It was great to take part in Japanese culture. There's much more detail to the ceremony than what I provided. If you are interested, wikipedia has a detailed article on the origins and details of the tea ceremony. The only negative part: I had to use my arms in order to exit the room; my feet were not talking to me. I did manage to put my shoes back on and hobbled home while feeling blessed that I could take part in this ceremony.

"Update Your Blog"

...ok already!

I have an update or two ready to go so I have some real blog entries to make. I'm also pushing to get some guest bloggers to participate in this thing. Perhaps if they knew (from the comments) that you readers (all three of you) were interested (ok, mildly curious) in what they had to say ( one word: garbage. Really, about garbage!) then they would be more inclined to post here.