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.
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