Castle Mania

I've become really interested in Japanese castles these days. I visited a number of them in the past, but only recently did I decide to count how many I've been to. And then I had to think about how many I've actually been inside vs. how many I've just seen from the outside.

11 (15 if you count the "outside only" ones) is not bad, I think. But there's a lot more out there.

Most of the castles nowadays are modern reconstructions. Some - like Fukuyama Castle - are pretty shabby concrete shells with second-rate museums inside. (Sorry, Fukuyama, I gotta tell it like it is.) Other reconstructions attempt to recreate the original style of the castle, down to the building methods and materials. Kanazawa Castle is a faithful reconstruction, but it lacks the main keep - the building that most people think of as the castle itself.

There are a handful of original castles still intact - only 12. Himeji Castle is without a doubt the most famous. If you only see one Japanese castle, you have to see this one.

While there's something to be said for authenticity, sometimes original castles are disappointing. Although Hikone Castle has some fantastic grounds and an insanely-popular mascot, the main keep is tiny and boring on the inside. Conversely, Nagoya Castle makes no attempt at an authentic recreation (except for the outside), but the museum is one of the best I've seen in Japan, inside or outside of a castle.

A while back, I bought a deck of cards with a different Japanese castle on each card. When I was on vacation this winter, I got the idea to visit all of them. Most of them are easily accessible from the main train lines, and it gives me a good reason to travel to new places in Japan. I have less than a year left here, so I want to make the most of it.

I whipped up a custom Google Map of all the castles in my deck, plus some others on a list of 100 famous castles. Click the link near the top, or just click here: http://www.invisibletokyo.com/p/japanese-castles.html

More goods

The laptop didn't get fixed in time for me to fly back to Japan, so I'm posting on a borrowed laptop. Well, actually a gifted laptop, given to me by an ALT friend who was staying at my place. I know I'm doing him a favor in a way by accepting some of his unneeded stuff, but that doesn't detract from his generosity. Among some of the other things he's given me:
- A camera tripod.
- Winter clothes.
- Some books.
- A katana. I know.

Maybe I'll be able to survive a bit more comfortably this winter.

Thank you, and may the wind be always at your back, Mr. House.

Drivers sit on the left side now

Hey everyone,

I'm back home in L.A. for the next week and a half. Unfortunately, my laptop got busted, so I have to get that fixed.

Yesterday was really disorienting. In a way, it's weirder than it was when I moved to Japan. You would expect things to feel out of place when you move to a new country, and they do. But when you come back, everything's almost exactly as you left it. People go about their business and they don't realize what a shock it is for you. To an extent, there is no shock, but when you're expecting a shock and it never comes... well, that's a shock on its own.

I tried to get into a car's passenger seat on the wrong side when I got picked up from the airport yesterday. Between that, and being really tired, I decided not to drive. After a good night's sleep, I'm not feeling much jet lag anymore, so I feel okay driving now. I may put everyone's life in jeopardy, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

Green Miracle

I used to wake up in the mornings to my radio. The station varied, but I think the one that made the best wake-up music was the indie rock station whose name I've now forgotten. I don't consider myself an indie person, but there's something to be said for a varied playlist, instead of the same 6 songs that you've already memorized. The downside of this is that so often you hear a song you really like, but you don't know its name. But hey, if you can manage to write down an unusual phrase, a quick Google search should take you right to a lyrics site, and your song quest can be fulfilled.

Now try that shit when you don't speak the language the song is in... at least, not well enough to understand more than 5% of the words. Sure, you'll catch a few, but those are bound to be very common phrases that won't help you identify the song.

I hear catchy Japanese songs all the time, but finally I captured the identity of one particularly sneaky one. Should I be ashamed that it's a boy band that sings it? Meh.

Enjoy Kiseki (translation: Miracle) by GReeeeN.

Days alive

One hot, sticky, internet-less day back in August, I got bored and figured out how many days I had been alive up to that point. It was around 9500, which got me thinking: that's not too far off from rolling over, odometer-style, to a nice round ten thousand.

I calculated when that 10,000th day would be. If I'm going to be strict about it and try to celebrate it down to the minute (give or take), it works out that I turn 10,000 days old at 5:35PM, December 6, 2009.

But there's two problems. First, I was born during the summer, with Daylight Savings Time in effect. So when the December clocks say 4:35PM, only then will I be a whole number of days alive. The other problem is that I'll be in Japan on that date, so I need to celebrate when the clocks in California say 4:35. This turns out to be 9:35AM, the next day.

So at 9:35AM, on December 7, 2009 - I'll celebrate being 10,000 days old.

By an interesting coincidence, it's also the 68th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and I'll be in Japan for it. No, they don't celebrate it as a holiday or anything.

If you're around 27 and a half years old, your 10k day could be right around the corner. You can find out when yours is on this site: 10k-Day. Though if you're really hardcore, you'll calculate it by hand, like I did.

It's snowing! And there will be cake.

Merry Day-after-Christmas everyone. It snowed (though not all that much) in Wazuka for the first time this season. Not quite in time for Christmas, but pretty close. As a native Californian, I believe I'm obligated to become giddy over this, or something like that. I did go outside to catch some snowflakes on my tongue, so I think that qualifies.

Last day at work before our short winter break. Apparently we're going to spend the afternoon cleaning the BOE building, though it gets hardly any use.　大掃除 (ōsōji), they call it, which literally translates to "big cleaning". Yay.

Because it's the day after Christmas and everyone in Japan has already eaten their Christmas cakes, the local store was just giving the remaining ones away this morning. Giving them away. As in, free cake. This country never ceases to astound me.

I bought one to share with the BOE, and I'm enjoying it right now. The cake is most definitely not a lie.

Two things

1. I'm not happy.
2. It has nothing to do with being in Japan.

Not quite the post I wanted to make. No, I take it back. It's exactly the post I wanted to make. I just don't like reading it in my own words.