i woke up and made it out into daylight around 9am. i grabbed a few rice balls and stopped in an internet cafe to get my bearings and have some coffee. i got through to Nari and planned to meet him by his office around 2pm to get the keys to his place so i could go home and shower and change. in the meantime, i went to Ueno-koen, a large park in tokyo that has a huge selection of museums. i chose the Japan National Museum, and toured its permanent collection which contained many buddhist art (statues mostly), japanese dress, laquerware, samurai armor, swords and scrolls. some really beautiful works of art, and a few gave me more ideas for the new planned tattoo (it's nearing time and i think i've about concluded on the design. wait and see folks). the museum took me a few hours and took a winding walk through the park to see a few temples and a huge pond filled with lotus blossoms (the lotus is a buddhist symbol as the flower grows up from the muck at the bottom of ponds and swamps, and given its stunning beauty, is a symbol of purity). at this point, i was completely done with sightseeing and kind of over taking pictures, so i don't have much documentation from this part of the day.
after a great chinese food lunch (some kind of noddle soup, i don't know, i pointed to it on the menu), i went to Roppongi to amass some Takashi Murakami merchandise - very happy with my purchases. then to see nari for coffee, where i got to catch up a bit and see him for the last time (it was his bday and he had plans to go out to a super nice dinner and spend a night at a hotel/spa to pamper himself - those being outside my interests and monetary capacity, i thanked him and told him we would see each other again soon). despite not seeing nari later, he let me use his place to shower and change and wash and relax, which i did, in spades.
my mother has a good friend here, named Yumiko, who i had contacted when i first got to japan to see if she had some time to meet and chat. we both found that time on tuesday night to do just that. i changed into some of my japanese clothes, and looking quite dapper i headed to tama-plaza where yumiko picked me up, took me to see her home, and then we went out for korean bbq. over grilled tongue, sirloin, ribs, veggies and edamame, we talked about my impressions of japan. she teaches japanese, so throughout she kept dropping new words for me. i am a fairly quick learner with language, and i actually feel decent now about being able to use simple expressions and words here - at least, enough for greetings, exclamations, thank yous, and ordering food and beer. yumiko told me i'm a very interesting person to talk to - i guess that's about right, i had quite a holiday here and there's so much to tell and talk about. she also tried to assuage my concerns about offending all the japanese by the various customs and rules that i might break. for example, japanese are wary of tattoos and tanktops are disrespectful to be worn into restaurants and certainly temples. but, i told yumiko, on hot days when i'm hiking, i would be dying if i weren't in a tanktop, so often i end up going into a restaurant or a temple both in a sleeveless shirt and showing my tattoo. she said that as long as i was conscious of my faux-paus that it was ok. i said that i was happy to be forgiven by her, but to others, who don't know my inner turmoil (somehow stand the heat and offend people, or, sweat myself silly in order to save face) might not have the same opinion. she said she often feels the same in america, e.g., where it is impolite to slurp noodles or drink soup directly from the bowl, and that when she inadvertently does something like that, she feels like the odd one out in the room. that led into conversations about how i felt humbled to be the only white person in a room, and given my height, a very noticeable one at that.
hours later, i said my goodbyes and went back to gaytown to meet carlos miller for a drink! carlos and i met in nyc a year and a half ago. he is a dancer and now is part of a troupe called Trocadero, and has been on tour in japan for 2 months. our paths finally crossed, so after dealing with yet more delayed trains and rain and getting a little lost, i met him at Dragon. also, fun for us, nahik was at the bar (not working, and drunk as a skunk). i was really happy to walk into that bar and have the bartender i had met one night, three weeks earlier, run up to me and give me a hug, AND remember my name. great feeling. i talked with him while waiting for carlos, and then the three of us chatted it up. nahik and carlos are both dancers. we have all lived, or do live, in new york. we all love japan. easy getting along there. i think carlos will head back there tonight, as nahik mentioned he is bartending and, i think, has a little thing for carlos.
saying our goodbyes, carlos and i went over to advocates for a few drinks. nothing too much happening there, we went over to arty farty. the bar wasn't quite happening, but the music was alright and a few people were dancing. we ran into ed, one of the guys from the ny symphony group i had met in osaka. carlos, being a dancer and drag queen, quickly owned that dance floor. we requested songs, drank and danced until the bar closed three hours later. way fun - super way fun. we met this cute japanese, Tetsu, 22, from okinawa, now living in tokyo working for the summer at a clothes store called Soho, who was a dancing fool and had all these moves straight from michael jackson (the hand movements, the side-to-side head bob). terrifically cute. and he was major energizer bunny - did not stop for hours. carlos was fun to watch, jumping on stage to "drag" perform "get me bodied." a blast a blat a blast.
when the bar closed, we weren't quite done. carlos and i invited ed and tetsu to come along. ed was easy, but tetsu wanted to rest until the subways started so he could go home. i told him it was my last night in tokyo, and apparently that worked because he came along with us for another drink at advocates where we chatted about sex and the city (how ridiculous it is that carrie can afford her apartment and clothes and shoes writing a sex column in a tabloid, and how miranda has any time at all, being a partner in a law firm), comics and mormons (trying to explain to tetsu what a mormon is was fun - i saw my biases coming through pretty quick, but i owe nothing to the mormons, so if one more japanese thinks they are a bunch of backwards, over-birthing crazies, well, the better for me). all the bars being closed, we all bought beer from the corner store and went to carlos's hotel (on tour, he stays in hotels, and on this bout in tokyo, he was in his own room at the hilton). more fun times. the music was far more relaxed, but we were drinking, laughing, snapping pictures and having a gay old time until about 7am when we all just kind of passed out. a ridiculously fun way to spend my final night in tokyo. ed is a charming man and tetsu is just the cutest thing around and carlos, well, fantastic to reconnect. haven't seen him in awhile, and maybe it's the want to actually speak english to another gaijin, but my connections with old friends here have been amazing. i couldn't have scripted a better night (well, maybe one thing, but we are too drunk to find ourselves in carnal positions. besides, i have that to look foward to when i get home, becuase there is a sexy boyfriend at home for me ;) ).
i woke up at 10 and quietly said my goodbyes to carlos and made my way out for some breakfast and to nari's. and here i sit, finishing my final blog and thinking "man! this is one of the best three weeks of my life, and i am so thankful for everything that has come my way. i am lucky indeed. i love japan very much and have adored everyone i've had the pleasure to meet. i will miss the country, its food and its people, though i am beginning to look forward to being back in new york. i hope these memories and lessons stay with my always and i hope i return soon."
all my best, and until i'm back in the states, ja mata ne.
(oh! i just got a little choked up!)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Nara to Tokyo in a Day
monday i returned to sightseeing, for the last time. (to be fair, at this point i am both tired of sightseeing and a little tired of blogging, but i am going to make the final push to get it done. if i am good about it, i can embed photos from my trip into the blog entries and have a good journal for posterity, memories and reflection). i got an early train from osaka to nara and stashed my pack in a locker at the train station.
nara was, years ago (8th century), the capital of japan and today houses numerous UNESCO-protected landmarks and sights. of note for me is Taijo-ji, a zen temple complex with the largest wooden building in the world, which was constructed around the largest Buddha statue in japan (for those of you paying attention, i had seeing the second largest in kamakura). when i got to the train station, i went to the visitor information center to get a map and the woman at the desk said i looked like a student, and for students they offer free walking tours led by japanese university student guides. i wasn't going to argue with a free walking tour, so i got paired with a japanese girl named Yuki Kobayashi, age 22, majoring in british literature(!), living in nara, planning to go to work for a travel company upon graduation. given her major, her english was fantastic. the tour guide thing is something she volunteers for once a week during the summer. i had a really good time with her - it is a very nice thing to be able to converse freely and easily with japanese and not have to use slowed-down, broken english for comprehension.
on another obscenely hot japanese summer day, we headed out, armed with fans, towels and water, for nara-koen, a sprawling park that contains most of nara's sights. the park is also filled with free-roaming deer. so cute - little baby deer! i saw more than a few children try to feed one deer with these biscuits that are sold on the corners, and then get swarmed by all the other deer who want in. it must be scary for the child to be surrounded by these strange animals on all sides, but it was side-splittingly funny for me. yuki told me that once she had spent a few hours drawing in the park, and a deer came and ate it. sad, but funny.
wrapping the sights into a close-knit narrative, we saw the second largest 5-story pagoda in japan (the first, toji-ji is in kyoto, and beats nara's by only a few centimeters). we saw taijo-ji (the building had to be constructed around the buddha, it's so immense. honestly, that temple was worth the visit in and of itself. the building is near miraculous and the statues inside and stunning works of art. i constantly marvel at the combined delicacy and fortitude of japanese architecture). we saw another few temples at the top of a hill that overlooked all of nara and the mountains beyond (one had a thousand-year-old tree (!!) that because it had been there when the temple was constructed, the temple was built around the tree in order to preserve it. amazing). we saw some shrines (karagawa-jinja, e.g.) where i learned some more about shinto (shinto worships nature and at the altars at many shrines there are no statues, but rather mirrors so that the supplicant sees herself, the torii and nature upon approaching the altar. brilliantly beautiful philosophy. did i mention how much a love the fact that the mono-theistic god of the western fold is almost completely absent here - portuguese first brought catholic and jesuit missionaries in the 16th century, and various shoguns either permitted them to proselytize or alternately, to be banished. the meiji emperor expelled many of the christian priests and, i believe, near decreed that japan make a return to shinto and buddhism. there is still christianity in japan, but it's scarce. it's just nice to see a society that isn't bound by the propaganda that binds mine).
nara was, years ago (8th century), the capital of japan and today houses numerous UNESCO-protected landmarks and sights. of note for me is Taijo-ji, a zen temple complex with the largest wooden building in the world, which was constructed around the largest Buddha statue in japan (for those of you paying attention, i had seeing the second largest in kamakura). when i got to the train station, i went to the visitor information center to get a map and the woman at the desk said i looked like a student, and for students they offer free walking tours led by japanese university student guides. i wasn't going to argue with a free walking tour, so i got paired with a japanese girl named Yuki Kobayashi, age 22, majoring in british literature(!), living in nara, planning to go to work for a travel company upon graduation. given her major, her english was fantastic. the tour guide thing is something she volunteers for once a week during the summer. i had a really good time with her - it is a very nice thing to be able to converse freely and easily with japanese and not have to use slowed-down, broken english for comprehension.
on another obscenely hot japanese summer day, we headed out, armed with fans, towels and water, for nara-koen, a sprawling park that contains most of nara's sights. the park is also filled with free-roaming deer. so cute - little baby deer! i saw more than a few children try to feed one deer with these biscuits that are sold on the corners, and then get swarmed by all the other deer who want in. it must be scary for the child to be surrounded by these strange animals on all sides, but it was side-splittingly funny for me. yuki told me that once she had spent a few hours drawing in the park, and a deer came and ate it. sad, but funny.
wrapping the sights into a close-knit narrative, we saw the second largest 5-story pagoda in japan (the first, toji-ji is in kyoto, and beats nara's by only a few centimeters). we saw taijo-ji (the building had to be constructed around the buddha, it's so immense. honestly, that temple was worth the visit in and of itself. the building is near miraculous and the statues inside and stunning works of art. i constantly marvel at the combined delicacy and fortitude of japanese architecture). we saw another few temples at the top of a hill that overlooked all of nara and the mountains beyond (one had a thousand-year-old tree (!!) that because it had been there when the temple was constructed, the temple was built around the tree in order to preserve it. amazing). we saw some shrines (karagawa-jinja, e.g.) where i learned some more about shinto (shinto worships nature and at the altars at many shrines there are no statues, but rather mirrors so that the supplicant sees herself, the torii and nature upon approaching the altar. brilliantly beautiful philosophy. did i mention how much a love the fact that the mono-theistic god of the western fold is almost completely absent here - portuguese first brought catholic and jesuit missionaries in the 16th century, and various shoguns either permitted them to proselytize or alternately, to be banished. the meiji emperor expelled many of the christian priests and, i believe, near decreed that japan make a return to shinto and buddhism. there is still christianity in japan, but it's scarce. it's just nice to see a society that isn't bound by the propaganda that binds mine).
as yuki and i were walking, i came across a pair of prescription glasses on the street, near a train station. they were rather strong - i tried them on and could barely walk straight. i decided to try and find a lost and found. we first went to the station's information booth, but the lady there directed us to the police station nearby. this, after thanking me profusely for my kindness. at the police station, the attendant did not speak english, so yuki translated for me and we left the glasses there with instructions as to where we found them. that woman as well was just bowled over that someone would go through all this trouble to turn in a pair of lost glasses. first, it wasn't very much trouble - maybe 15 minutes of my time. second, they were heavy prescription (probably reading glasses) and someone is really going to miss them. third, this is to make up for all the other social protocols i have broken while in japan; leave some of them with a lasting impression of a kind american.
finally, after many an hour of walking and talking, yuki and i parted ways and she headed back home and i got some food and had a brief stint clothes shopping (work! got a way cute shirt/tie/vest combo). i did a little more shopping in the area, but it had begun to rain so i decided it was a good time to move along with the train traveling. i had an hour trip back to osaka station, and then from there, i needed to transfer to the shinkansen bound for tokyo, which would take an hour. at osaka station, there were storms, and many trains were delayed. ok, seriously, japanese subways and trains are generally efficient, but when they aren't, this gaijin can get a bit stressed - the platforms keep crowding with more and more people (all of whom appear incredibly patient and calm, the precise opposite of a scene in union square when a train at rush hour is delayed), announcements for the delayed train are all in japanese, when the train does arrive, people are getting shoved into the cars (literally!). it's a mad scene, man. i won't miss that. but, count it up for another crazy experience i have had in japan.
hours later, tired and feeling more than a bit dirty (sweat and rain... mmm) i got to tokyo. it was nearly 9pm, so i decided simply to put my bag in a locker and go out to the gayborhood and sleep at the internet cafe or sauna. i made it back to shinjuku-ni-chome and went to Dragon, the first gay bar i went to in japan. wait, backtrack two minutes for dinner - i went to what is called a shabu-shabu (?) which is a small restaurant with a bar, where at each seat is a hot plate, and you order raw meat and veggies that are put in a wok, and you stir fry it in front of you and eat it up with a plate of miso soup, rice, egg and kim chee. did i mention i love japanese food? my friendly bartender Nahik was not at dragon, but i chatted with another who i remembered (though his name still eludes me). i hung out there for a few drinks and then an aussie named Martin who has been in japan for about seven years came and chatted me up. we talked about my travels, about japanese culture, about australia and about living in japan. but after awhile, martin started bitching about things he doesn't like in japan and kinda just being a debbie downer. not wanting to have my happy cloud rained on, i said my goodbyes and moved on to advocates. things were a little more happening there, and i met another australian (tim?) who was quite nice and a few locals who were fun casual conversation. finally the exhaustion of my traveling caught up with me and i excused myself to the sauna to sleep.
one more day to go...
finally, after many an hour of walking and talking, yuki and i parted ways and she headed back home and i got some food and had a brief stint clothes shopping (work! got a way cute shirt/tie/vest combo). i did a little more shopping in the area, but it had begun to rain so i decided it was a good time to move along with the train traveling. i had an hour trip back to osaka station, and then from there, i needed to transfer to the shinkansen bound for tokyo, which would take an hour. at osaka station, there were storms, and many trains were delayed. ok, seriously, japanese subways and trains are generally efficient, but when they aren't, this gaijin can get a bit stressed - the platforms keep crowding with more and more people (all of whom appear incredibly patient and calm, the precise opposite of a scene in union square when a train at rush hour is delayed), announcements for the delayed train are all in japanese, when the train does arrive, people are getting shoved into the cars (literally!). it's a mad scene, man. i won't miss that. but, count it up for another crazy experience i have had in japan.
hours later, tired and feeling more than a bit dirty (sweat and rain... mmm) i got to tokyo. it was nearly 9pm, so i decided simply to put my bag in a locker and go out to the gayborhood and sleep at the internet cafe or sauna. i made it back to shinjuku-ni-chome and went to Dragon, the first gay bar i went to in japan. wait, backtrack two minutes for dinner - i went to what is called a shabu-shabu (?) which is a small restaurant with a bar, where at each seat is a hot plate, and you order raw meat and veggies that are put in a wok, and you stir fry it in front of you and eat it up with a plate of miso soup, rice, egg and kim chee. did i mention i love japanese food? my friendly bartender Nahik was not at dragon, but i chatted with another who i remembered (though his name still eludes me). i hung out there for a few drinks and then an aussie named Martin who has been in japan for about seven years came and chatted me up. we talked about my travels, about japanese culture, about australia and about living in japan. but after awhile, martin started bitching about things he doesn't like in japan and kinda just being a debbie downer. not wanting to have my happy cloud rained on, i said my goodbyes and moved on to advocates. things were a little more happening there, and i met another australian (tim?) who was quite nice and a few locals who were fun casual conversation. finally the exhaustion of my traveling caught up with me and i excused myself to the sauna to sleep.
one more day to go...
Final Osaka Time
woke up in fukuoka around 8am and had myself a small breakfast of toast and eggs, and then went to the train station to pick up my bags. i had thought about walking around town, but my energy was sapped and all i wanted was to not have to travel - so, i called up cindy (who had already headed back to beppu) and got my train back to osaka. on the way i alternated between sleeping and reading Shogun.
this time in osaka, i had a hostel reserved, and a few train stops from JR Osaka, i walked into J-Hoppers. a nice,. quaint hostel. nicer than some ive stayed in while traveling europe, but nowhere near as nice as K7S Kyoto (probably the best hostel ive ever stayed in. that, or the hostel joel and i stayed in while in lima). i did some laundry, checked some email and took care of some showering. once again, i found myself lacking any motivation to sightsee or do anything. i thought about going to a museum or to Osaka Castle, but i just couldn't gather the energy. so, instead, i took a little nap and then headed over to the gay area, where i took a few hours at a video game arcade, playing who knows what, but having a blast watching others play. the video games in japan are miles ahead of the states - there is some fantasy type action game where the play is controlled by playing cards placed, and moved about, on a large lcd screen. it's intense, man. for dinner, i went to a conveyor belt sushi shop - 25 people seated around the sushi chefs, and dividing the two is a conveyor belt circling the bar stuffed with plates of sushi, sashimi and nigri. each plate ran 130 yen - i had 11. quite good - beats the heck out of the conveyor belt shop in midtown. this fish was fresh. i watched it being cut and rolled before my eyes. fun experience.
following dinner, i went back to physique. did i find my favorite local osakan gay bar? hideki was there, and i also met another bartender (off duty) named taka (he is 38 but looks 25, and did university in wisconsin). that makes three bartenders i know at physique - hideki, taka and brendan (the guy from the other night mans the bar on saturday night). i also spent time chatting with a way cute guy named Kai (?) who works for a cable company and doesn't much like his job. he lamented how much he'd like to visit the states, but doesn't have the money. him, hidek, taka and i talked movies, pop culture, the japanese language and boys. we talked about the value of individual versus collective identity (values of american versus japanese culture). i wondered if the collective nature of japanese culture is beginning to change with today's youth generation. i would think it's hard to predict until they actually get older, but there seems to be more youth staking their own ground and being different from the generation before them. kai was a very shy boy, and totally blushed when i told him how cute he is. very charming to see. we closed down the bar at 1am and i said my goodbyes, got a goodnight kiss from kai, and went to sleep. taxi home followed by some snack food from the corner store (rice ball and cold noodles).
this time in osaka, i had a hostel reserved, and a few train stops from JR Osaka, i walked into J-Hoppers. a nice,. quaint hostel. nicer than some ive stayed in while traveling europe, but nowhere near as nice as K7S Kyoto (probably the best hostel ive ever stayed in. that, or the hostel joel and i stayed in while in lima). i did some laundry, checked some email and took care of some showering. once again, i found myself lacking any motivation to sightsee or do anything. i thought about going to a museum or to Osaka Castle, but i just couldn't gather the energy. so, instead, i took a little nap and then headed over to the gay area, where i took a few hours at a video game arcade, playing who knows what, but having a blast watching others play. the video games in japan are miles ahead of the states - there is some fantasy type action game where the play is controlled by playing cards placed, and moved about, on a large lcd screen. it's intense, man. for dinner, i went to a conveyor belt sushi shop - 25 people seated around the sushi chefs, and dividing the two is a conveyor belt circling the bar stuffed with plates of sushi, sashimi and nigri. each plate ran 130 yen - i had 11. quite good - beats the heck out of the conveyor belt shop in midtown. this fish was fresh. i watched it being cut and rolled before my eyes. fun experience.
following dinner, i went back to physique. did i find my favorite local osakan gay bar? hideki was there, and i also met another bartender (off duty) named taka (he is 38 but looks 25, and did university in wisconsin). that makes three bartenders i know at physique - hideki, taka and brendan (the guy from the other night mans the bar on saturday night). i also spent time chatting with a way cute guy named Kai (?) who works for a cable company and doesn't much like his job. he lamented how much he'd like to visit the states, but doesn't have the money. him, hidek, taka and i talked movies, pop culture, the japanese language and boys. we talked about the value of individual versus collective identity (values of american versus japanese culture). i wondered if the collective nature of japanese culture is beginning to change with today's youth generation. i would think it's hard to predict until they actually get older, but there seems to be more youth staking their own ground and being different from the generation before them. kai was a very shy boy, and totally blushed when i told him how cute he is. very charming to see. we closed down the bar at 1am and i said my goodbyes, got a goodnight kiss from kai, and went to sleep. taxi home followed by some snack food from the corner store (rice ball and cold noodles).
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Beach Day (and Night)
saturday i headed to fukuoka, a large japanese port city on the island of kyushu. it is known for ramen and late night partying. i headed down to visit cindy. of course, i overslept from the late night before, but yet somehow made it from my capsule to the train to fukuoka in 35 minutes. i am one quick lad when i need to be. and, let me just say, bless japan's train system - so many trains, so easy, and the bullet trains are fast! a shinkansen could get from new york to DC in an hour and change. we're talking speeds up to 250 mph! so comfortable, so fast, so wonderful. makes traveling easy.
i got to fukuoka station around noon, met cindy and together we grabbed some food from the supermarket and went to the beach. the beach in fukuoa actually reminded me a little of california - relaxed vibe, surfers, long stretch of beach, blue waters, and the buildings were strakly non-japanese and reminded me, in a less bourgeoisie way, of huntington beach. we went around the sand and down the pier to sit with cindy's friends, mike and arena (bf/gf - mike is in undergrad at cindy's university). mike is from vancouver but has lived in fukuoka for three years. arena is japanese, but is an avid traveler, having spent the most time in south africa. they were both very warm and friendly, and combining them, cindy, sushi, sun, breezes and warm, ocean water made a heavenly mix for a perfect day. honestly, that beach time may be one of my favorite days - unexpected, lovely, relaxing. gosh!
and cindy is just fucking awesome. first, i love that i haven't seen her in ten years (and only recently began emailing again), but that our conversations and interactions were easy and flowing, as if we'd been friends for years. that is a sign of a good person. cindy has grown and flourished - a beautiful, accomplished, worldly, traveled, happy person. after some time at michigan state, cindy moved to DC and interned for two years in the us senate - first for spencer abraham and then for daniel moynihan. then, deciding politics wasn't for her (at least the us senate) she moved out to fukuoka to begin study in rural development, where she is currently getting her phd. she has lived in japan and taiwan. she has traveled all through southeast asia - indonesia, east timor, china, thailand, korea - not to mention european countries. her knowledge of these countries is in depth and intelligent - much shaped from locals. she was in taiwan during the big elections a few years ago. she visited the DMZ in korea. she has been to conferences all over the world. she trained as a boxer. she bartended for three years at the biggest club in fukuoka (the happy cock). i could listen to her stories for hours - i am so happy for her, and so happy to have seen her again. she has climbed the list of good people i know in my life.
after some time on the pier, and then on the beach itself, watching a slew of japanese bands (one did a decent cover of "all along the watchtower," another butchered "american idiot") we headed to an internet cafe to relax and shower. then off to happy cock.
the club is not very big, but it was packed. first, all the floors were covered with sand, and beach tables and chairs were set up. everyone is in shorts and tanktops, or shirtless, with sandals. being a straight club (i think i was the only homo), i was both feeling a little out of place, and, rather turned on by the amount of shirtless japanese and blacks in the bar. (aaron! you can't touch!). the music was a mix of good hiphop remixes and bad reggaeton - half liked and half not so much. cindy was bartending, and she was working it! that bar was crowded, and cindy was all over the place, pouring drinks, entertaining the crowd, having fun. so fun to see her in her element. i paid 3500 yen for all i could drink - i think i well used that value to my advantage. after 2.5 hours, the club had gotten way to crowded, hot and hetero for me. if i am going to be crushed with people, sweating profusely and in a mob of drunk, dancing people - they better be gay men. hetero clubs are fine, but i need friends who aren't bartending there - i met some good people through cindy (she is well liked. a guy named greg chatted me up for a good while, saying "any friend of cindy is a friend of mine") - but it just got too much for me. so i went back to the internet cafe, watched some cartoons and went to bed.
i had a blast in fukuoka - seeing cindy, the beach, the club, the ramen on the street! ah! i'm very happy i rearranged to get down there. i just wish i had some more time to see the city, and more of kyushu. but honestly, i think i am beginning to tire. constantly on the move, not speaking the language, a transient traveler leaving people i meet in one city to go to another where i know no one, sleeping in hotels, hostel dorm rooms and internet cafes, on trains, sweltering heat - i can thrive like this, but i may be close to my time for now. if i were to keep going, i would need a nice week off - beaches and air conditioning. so while i love japan - and i am definitely considering giving my new job a two year try, and if i don't think it's for me, then just move to japan - i am ready to go home soon. i am excited to see Nara on monday and excited to have some more tokyo time, but getting home on wednesday will be nice. i am very excited for what's waiting for me. (hint: my two favorite males).
i got to fukuoka station around noon, met cindy and together we grabbed some food from the supermarket and went to the beach. the beach in fukuoa actually reminded me a little of california - relaxed vibe, surfers, long stretch of beach, blue waters, and the buildings were strakly non-japanese and reminded me, in a less bourgeoisie way, of huntington beach. we went around the sand and down the pier to sit with cindy's friends, mike and arena (bf/gf - mike is in undergrad at cindy's university). mike is from vancouver but has lived in fukuoka for three years. arena is japanese, but is an avid traveler, having spent the most time in south africa. they were both very warm and friendly, and combining them, cindy, sushi, sun, breezes and warm, ocean water made a heavenly mix for a perfect day. honestly, that beach time may be one of my favorite days - unexpected, lovely, relaxing. gosh!
and cindy is just fucking awesome. first, i love that i haven't seen her in ten years (and only recently began emailing again), but that our conversations and interactions were easy and flowing, as if we'd been friends for years. that is a sign of a good person. cindy has grown and flourished - a beautiful, accomplished, worldly, traveled, happy person. after some time at michigan state, cindy moved to DC and interned for two years in the us senate - first for spencer abraham and then for daniel moynihan. then, deciding politics wasn't for her (at least the us senate) she moved out to fukuoka to begin study in rural development, where she is currently getting her phd. she has lived in japan and taiwan. she has traveled all through southeast asia - indonesia, east timor, china, thailand, korea - not to mention european countries. her knowledge of these countries is in depth and intelligent - much shaped from locals. she was in taiwan during the big elections a few years ago. she visited the DMZ in korea. she has been to conferences all over the world. she trained as a boxer. she bartended for three years at the biggest club in fukuoka (the happy cock). i could listen to her stories for hours - i am so happy for her, and so happy to have seen her again. she has climbed the list of good people i know in my life.
after some time on the pier, and then on the beach itself, watching a slew of japanese bands (one did a decent cover of "all along the watchtower," another butchered "american idiot") we headed to an internet cafe to relax and shower. then off to happy cock.
the club is not very big, but it was packed. first, all the floors were covered with sand, and beach tables and chairs were set up. everyone is in shorts and tanktops, or shirtless, with sandals. being a straight club (i think i was the only homo), i was both feeling a little out of place, and, rather turned on by the amount of shirtless japanese and blacks in the bar. (aaron! you can't touch!). the music was a mix of good hiphop remixes and bad reggaeton - half liked and half not so much. cindy was bartending, and she was working it! that bar was crowded, and cindy was all over the place, pouring drinks, entertaining the crowd, having fun. so fun to see her in her element. i paid 3500 yen for all i could drink - i think i well used that value to my advantage. after 2.5 hours, the club had gotten way to crowded, hot and hetero for me. if i am going to be crushed with people, sweating profusely and in a mob of drunk, dancing people - they better be gay men. hetero clubs are fine, but i need friends who aren't bartending there - i met some good people through cindy (she is well liked. a guy named greg chatted me up for a good while, saying "any friend of cindy is a friend of mine") - but it just got too much for me. so i went back to the internet cafe, watched some cartoons and went to bed.
i had a blast in fukuoka - seeing cindy, the beach, the club, the ramen on the street! ah! i'm very happy i rearranged to get down there. i just wish i had some more time to see the city, and more of kyushu. but honestly, i think i am beginning to tire. constantly on the move, not speaking the language, a transient traveler leaving people i meet in one city to go to another where i know no one, sleeping in hotels, hostel dorm rooms and internet cafes, on trains, sweltering heat - i can thrive like this, but i may be close to my time for now. if i were to keep going, i would need a nice week off - beaches and air conditioning. so while i love japan - and i am definitely considering giving my new job a two year try, and if i don't think it's for me, then just move to japan - i am ready to go home soon. i am excited to see Nara on monday and excited to have some more tokyo time, but getting home on wednesday will be nice. i am very excited for what's waiting for me. (hint: my two favorite males).
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Osaka Nights, Part 2
i woke up the next morning with a complete feeling of lethargy. constant travel caught up with me, and i found myself without the urge to do anything - walk, talk, sightsee. all i wanted was to eat, read, sleep and watch movies. i did this all with reckless abandon. breakfast consisted of toast stuffed with egg and ham, some salad and coffee, over some reading of James Clavell's "Shogun," my newest read. the narrative is engrossing and vast, and like my murakami book, a timely piece of reading.
i passed the afternoon at a comic cafe streaming superhero cartoons on the internet - watched Ultimate Avengers 1&2, and then rewatched the final episode of Lost season 4. a great way to avoid the sun on a hot day and to recover some lost energy cells. seriously, these internet cafes are amazing. 3$/hour to have a private cubicle, with closed door, a reclining chair, a playstation/tv/computer, free drinks (nonalcoholic) and access to a shower/bathroom and all the comics you can read. i would love this in nyc. ultimate avengers was so-so - i don't need to see any more. after killing enough of the sunshine and heat, i showered up and headed to tennanbashi bridge to watch the Tenjin Matsuri festival boat parade and fireworks.
Tenjin Matsuri is one of the three biggest japanese summer festivals. i am unsure what aspect of culture it celebrates, but it brought up THOUSANDS of people swarming the bridges and streets, many with kimono or yukata on. the banks of the river were lined with carnival games and street food (oh my word - okonomiyaki on a stick, yakitori, ramen... good gracious!). there was an incredibly friendly and festive vibe in the air as boat floats mde their way down the river, captained by japanese in full traditional garb, banging drums, singing, dancing... another view through a new lens into a foriegn culture. just standing on the bridge and people watching was fascinating. following the boat parade, as the sun set gloriously over the city skyline, fireworks began to light up the sky. what the fireworks lacked in intricacy (new york's 4th of july explosions were better) it made up for in intensity - over an hour of stacatto blasts lining the sky with whites, blues, reds, yellows and greens. the festival, like Gion Matsuri in kyoto, rocked. later on, a guy i would meet named Sean told me he has grown tired of the festivals. i can see that, after a few times they all look the same. but, for a new-to-japan gaijin, i savored every little bit and not only saw the festivity and beauty, but again had time to ponder the differences in life when a country has such an old culture. american festivals are not nearly as unified, don't have nearly the amount of enthusiasm (ok, maybe gay pride) and are certainly not marked by as much child participation as here. so refreshing and wonderful to see. (oh, and being tall finally helped - there wasn't a crowd i couldn't see over).
making my way out of the festival, drenched in sweat, milling about with too many people to fathom, in a part of the city i didn't know, led to me becoming lost. for over an hour at least i wandered, drinking beer (yeah, you can drink on the street) until i came across a subway station that i used to get me back - i had overshot my own station by at least a mile. but no worries, a night view of the city filled with festival-goers made up for my sore feet and sweaty brow.
i gave myself yet another shower and headed back to physique, where i ended up spending my night until the bar closed at 4am. i chatted with hideki again, and met a canadian named Sam (from new brunswick, now living outside of Kobe), an aussie now living in osaka named Brendan, a japanese named Yutaka, in a pink michigan t-shirt (how's that for a conversation starter) and a japanese gay guy and his fag hag. i must have talked to brendan for hours - he moved to osaka eight years ago, never having been to japan, but knowing he wanted to leave small town australia. brave move that has paid off; he loves japan and loves osaka. he is living with his partner of seven years (living together for four). talk of our own relationships - me gushing a little about joel - led brendan to begin to tell me all of his relationship's problems, from his sex life to open relationships to individuality to petty fighting and on and on. they are way in love but brendan feels he needs a break - not necessarily forever, but for a time. that came up after i mentioned that joel and i had broken up and while we were apart we were able to get everything on the table without a fear of consequences. hindsight is 20/20, so its easy to say that the breakup may have saved our relationship, but i tempered that from brendan - i can't as well put myself into that situation, especially when they have lived together for four years. finally, i was able to move the conversation to calmer waters and listened to him talk about life in japan, nightlife/gaylife and his future work ambitions. he'd be someone i would be friends with if i moved to japan.
then, the japanese gay guy (shideki?) and his fag hag invited me over to drink with them. i knew early on from body language that shideki was a timid guy who thought i was quite cute. unfortunately, he was drinking too much too fast and was rather out of it, so i spent much of my time talking with the girl about tattoos, us/japan culture, gaydar and music. finally, when she went to bathroom, shideki tried to make out with me, which may have been welcomed except he was so drunk that the whole process was a little awkward. i was happy when the girl came back to take him home. at this point, the clock had reached 4am and it was time for bed - tomorrow to fukuoka to see cindy.
Tenjin Matsuri is one of the three biggest japanese summer festivals. i am unsure what aspect of culture it celebrates, but it brought up THOUSANDS of people swarming the bridges and streets, many with kimono or yukata on. the banks of the river were lined with carnival games and street food (oh my word - okonomiyaki on a stick, yakitori, ramen... good gracious!). there was an incredibly friendly and festive vibe in the air as boat floats mde their way down the river, captained by japanese in full traditional garb, banging drums, singing, dancing... another view through a new lens into a foriegn culture. just standing on the bridge and people watching was fascinating. following the boat parade, as the sun set gloriously over the city skyline, fireworks began to light up the sky. what the fireworks lacked in intricacy (new york's 4th of july explosions were better) it made up for in intensity - over an hour of stacatto blasts lining the sky with whites, blues, reds, yellows and greens. the festival, like Gion Matsuri in kyoto, rocked. later on, a guy i would meet named Sean told me he has grown tired of the festivals. i can see that, after a few times they all look the same. but, for a new-to-japan gaijin, i savored every little bit and not only saw the festivity and beauty, but again had time to ponder the differences in life when a country has such an old culture. american festivals are not nearly as unified, don't have nearly the amount of enthusiasm (ok, maybe gay pride) and are certainly not marked by as much child participation as here. so refreshing and wonderful to see. (oh, and being tall finally helped - there wasn't a crowd i couldn't see over).
making my way out of the festival, drenched in sweat, milling about with too many people to fathom, in a part of the city i didn't know, led to me becoming lost. for over an hour at least i wandered, drinking beer (yeah, you can drink on the street) until i came across a subway station that i used to get me back - i had overshot my own station by at least a mile. but no worries, a night view of the city filled with festival-goers made up for my sore feet and sweaty brow.
i gave myself yet another shower and headed back to physique, where i ended up spending my night until the bar closed at 4am. i chatted with hideki again, and met a canadian named Sam (from new brunswick, now living outside of Kobe), an aussie now living in osaka named Brendan, a japanese named Yutaka, in a pink michigan t-shirt (how's that for a conversation starter) and a japanese gay guy and his fag hag. i must have talked to brendan for hours - he moved to osaka eight years ago, never having been to japan, but knowing he wanted to leave small town australia. brave move that has paid off; he loves japan and loves osaka. he is living with his partner of seven years (living together for four). talk of our own relationships - me gushing a little about joel - led brendan to begin to tell me all of his relationship's problems, from his sex life to open relationships to individuality to petty fighting and on and on. they are way in love but brendan feels he needs a break - not necessarily forever, but for a time. that came up after i mentioned that joel and i had broken up and while we were apart we were able to get everything on the table without a fear of consequences. hindsight is 20/20, so its easy to say that the breakup may have saved our relationship, but i tempered that from brendan - i can't as well put myself into that situation, especially when they have lived together for four years. finally, i was able to move the conversation to calmer waters and listened to him talk about life in japan, nightlife/gaylife and his future work ambitions. he'd be someone i would be friends with if i moved to japan.
then, the japanese gay guy (shideki?) and his fag hag invited me over to drink with them. i knew early on from body language that shideki was a timid guy who thought i was quite cute. unfortunately, he was drinking too much too fast and was rather out of it, so i spent much of my time talking with the girl about tattoos, us/japan culture, gaydar and music. finally, when she went to bathroom, shideki tried to make out with me, which may have been welcomed except he was so drunk that the whole process was a little awkward. i was happy when the girl came back to take him home. at this point, the clock had reached 4am and it was time for bed - tomorrow to fukuoka to see cindy.
Another Round of "Japan is a lot different than the States"!
japan has virtually no crime. if you ask people about it, there are three examples you might hear: mob violence (though rarer now), drunk people in certain areas starting fights with the wrong people - usually the drunk foreigners, and domestic violence. but there is virtually no theft or violent crime (not saying domestic violence isn't violent, but you get it). much of this comes from culture and the economy - i think that violent crime in the states stems from many factors, but the two that lead and that are very tied together is the class struggle/underclass and child-rearing. i don't think that everyone out there is a bad parent, but i think good parenting goes a long way. some parents aren't bad by choice, but that the environment in which children grow up isn't always conducive to good growth (factors in and out of the home, often related to economics). in japan, there isn't the class differentials as in the states, there isn't really an underclass (at least that i've seen or heard of), and family culture and respect goes a long way. there are so many little customs and rituals that everyone follows (cindy told me that it's very difficult for a gaijin to learn all the customs, and that japanese just expect that gaijin won't know them - i'm sure when i'm in restaurants, i am doing something wrong, and, tattoos are offensive here - so that as a gaijin, there are two choices - go for broke and try to learn everything, or, just accept that you're a gaijin, be respectful, and hope that no one else looks down at you - cindy suggested some elitism towards foreigners stemming from their lack of knowledge of public etiquette and custom).
as an example i noticed early on, japanese don't jaywalk. ever. there can be no cars in sight to the horizon, and japanese won't cross on a "don't walk." the first few times i crossed the street, i went when there was room, as i and others are apt to do in nyc. then i realized i was the only one doing so, and sure that all the japanese on the street corner were saying to themselves "there goes a gaijin." i don't jaywalk here now.
as an example i noticed early on, japanese don't jaywalk. ever. there can be no cars in sight to the horizon, and japanese won't cross on a "don't walk." the first few times i crossed the street, i went when there was room, as i and others are apt to do in nyc. then i realized i was the only one doing so, and sure that all the japanese on the street corner were saying to themselves "there goes a gaijin." i don't jaywalk here now.
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