going native (Kurashiki, 5/7/2008)

today was 'pretend to be japanese' day. chris and i started by heading off on bicycles to tour kurashiki. by ourselves. it was fun. we weren't sure we would find our way back, especially by our kosuke-imposed deadline, but we managed just fine.

on our trip we explored a japanese grovery store (in case you were wondering, a lot of fish and not a steak to be found). walking through seafood, there's actually a specific octopus section. there is also budweiser in the beer section (but not much, and only by single cans).

after our excursion we met back up with kosuke to help his father tend the family plot. it's ironic that i have lived in america for 27 years, and on my trip to japan i learn how to farm. anyway, we did some watering, cleared out some weeds, and plowed part of the field. it was kinda nice to be outside and doing something productive - plus, it's probably the least we could do considering all the hospitality we've recieved.

after the farming, we went to see Kenji-san's building/warehouse/workshop deal to see all his 'junks' (kosuke, 2008). there must be 6-8 cars on the property, as many motorcycles, a snowmobile, and uncounted tires, wheels, and random car parts (including at least 4 complete doors). this is not counting the 10-12 vehicles on the 'farmland'. or the cars that stay at the family auto shop. or the everyday car that stays at kosuke's house. honestly, to say that the kojima's have 20 cars is probably a gross understatement. and there are at least 4 models that can be found in triplicate (or more). it really is something.

after, we went to the '100 yen' store, which translates, almost exactly, to the dollar store with kosuke's niece and nephew (An and Keita), and for a swim where kosuke used to train.

now it's bedtime. sorry, no exciting new food today, oh, except for the chicken insides. like hearts and livers. but even that's starting to seem rather pedestrian by now. it really is amazing what people eat. and that it's actually pretty good.

oyase me

At The Crossroads of History... (Hiroshima, 5/6/2008)

Taking up the challenge of finding our way back to kosuke's house provided us with a great opportunity. we just didn't think of it until we were already on board the local train to Hiroshima Station.

Instead of just staying on board and heading straight back, we got off two stations early, and hit Hiroshima to see the memorial for the atomic bomb victims.

it really is something to see. there is one remaining structure from the blast (i believe it is the only one left). the walls are still standing, and the steel skeleton of the dome is still in place. that's about it. apparently it avoided total destruction by being almost directly beneath the bomb when it detonated. this devestated most of the building (and hiroshima), but left the structural components. i think it was good to see what happened on the other side of history. americans may think of august 6, 1945 as a good day, when we ended the war, but it did have it's costs. i feel we have an obligation to at least appreciate that.

it's not about right or wrong. i'm not sure there is a 'right'. it may be justified, but in the end, we did what we did, and we have to live with it. even if most of us weren't alive at the time.

there is a more traditional memorial across the river from the A-Bomb Dome. there is a nice park, a pool with an eternal flame type structure, and the tomb for the remains of the victims. the memorial is all in line with the dome, so it can be seen along the length of the memorial. something like the reflecting pool in washington d.c.

I don't know for sure, but i think the victims' remains are interred at ground zero. it seems consistent with the information at the dome (the bomb detonated ~160 meters SE of the dome, ~600 m above ground)

if you don't get the chance to see it yourself, take a look at the pictures. i believe they enlarge if you click on them.

two thoughts:
-experience something is a whole lot different than reading about it. i kind of felt guilty about it, as an american in hiroshima. kinda like taking responsibility for what happened, even if it is somewhat irrelevant. it's humbling.

-63 years ago hiroshima was leveled by the U.S. today it is a huge city. huge. and there are no apparent signs of the trauma. it would be very easy for a visitor to get around hiroshima today (probably on the way to miyajima) without realizing. it's pretty incredible.

Casa Kojima (Kurashiki, 5/5/2008)

alright folks, to start there are two announcements.

1. this post is out of order. i just felt like adding this one off the top of my head, so deal with it. i will post date the entries before it, so be on the lookout.

2. you will notice a lack of pictures with my posts. i plan to add them after I return. if you're still interested,　come back then and check them out. i hope they will be worth it.

onto the show:

first off (after the announcements, of course), happy cinco de mayo. until this year, this was my favorite non-american holiday. now i may have to go with the japanese 'boy's day', which also happens to be on may 5th. must be serendipity.

we went out on a boat with kosuke's dad today. this guy has to be the funniest guy i know that i don't understand. seriously, i have no idea what he says. ever. but he's still funny. must be genetic.

so i saw the pacific ocean today, from a second location. someday i'll see it from the west coast of the US.　　

after the boat tour we went to the don quixote store (i don't think that's how the japanese would spell it, but since i can't read characters, we'll call it even)this place has everything. and most of it you wouldn't want to buy. good thing it's cheap.　

we also went to a traditional japanese tea ceremony. It was kinda cool to experience, although for the most part it consisted of me asking kosuke "what is going on?" or "what did they just say?" followed by chris asking me the same thing. as an important aside, kosuke had also never been to a traditional tea ceremony either, so he wasn't always much help. at this point, chris and I are as japanese as kosuke. as long as you don't count the speaking, or reading, the language deal.

after tea was the japanese barbeque, which was awesome.they cook approximately everything on the grill, and each person sits by the grill to cherry-pick what they want. there's no 'grill-master' to tell you when things are ready. you just jump at what you see, when you feel inspired. it's pretty awesome. especially when you consider that it includes everything. steak, hotdogs, vegetables, rice (yes, rice on the grill), fish, and squid. It wouldn't be a japanese dinner without squid. I've been here for 3 days, and eaten squid at least as many times. actually, it's pretty good. 　

finally, a note on the kojima clan. kosuke's family is awesome. they are extremely hospitable, helpful, funny, and they try quite admirably to communicate with the americans. sometimes it works. many times is doesn't, but i think it's the trying that counts. part of me wanted to write that it must be part of the japanese culture (and that may be the case as well), but mostly i think it comes down to good people. i know my parents would do the same (well, not the same. there would be no squid, and considerably more english. but you get the point), as well as many of the folks i've stayed with in the past (special honors go to the Bergstroms of the St. Paul, MN area).it just goes to show that having friends pays off. especially if they live half-way around the world.

at this point, it's still the morning of cinco de mayo on the east coast, so make it a good one. have a couple of coronas for me (or dos equis, or pacifico, or tecate - you get the idea). i had a good excuse for passing on the mexican beer this year.
sayanora

Kyoto (Kyoto, 5/3/2008)

waking up today, chris asked about the time. kosuke told him it was happy hour, and was entirely correct. in bloomington. it was 8 am in japan. this will definately take some getting used to.

while walking around today, kosuke was telling us about octopus. eating it. he explained that it was probably the texture that would bother us, which he described as "chewy, octopus-like." thanks kosuke.

on the subject of food (ood, as a japanese would pronounce it), everything here is flavored with: fish, soybean, or green tea. this includes, but is not limited to, cookies, candy, and ice cream. seriously. trust me, i've tried each.

Why Japan? The long answer

Meet Kosuke Kojima (koze-key ko-jim-ah). He is a grad student here at Indiana University, also in the Kinesiology Department.

Kosuke is Japanese, and he has a sharpie mustache in this picture. He did that himself. Without any sort of provocation. Really. He's a big fan of Captain Morgan. Not necessarily the rum, just the captain himself.

Kosuke is from the city of Kurashiki (curr-otch-key). It can be found in the southern area of 'main' japan. south of osaka, and about midway between hiroshima and kobe. If necessary, refer back to the japanese map linked in the 'japanese geography lesson' posting.

Kosuke invited pretty much all of the grad students to visit Japan with him. See the sights, hang out with japanese, eat raw or undercooked seafood, and just whatever the japanese do. everyone thought this sounded like a great idea. several wanted to go. when it came down to it, only Chris Brammer and I actually threw down for a ticket.

This is Chris. his mustache is real. and quite a bit more impressive now. Colleen is in the picture with him (she's the one without a mustache). she does not come into the story. at least for now.

so there it is. we're going to japan, riding high-speed trains (hopefully - we will at least ride moderately high-speed trains), and camping out with Kosuke's friends and family in various places throughout japan.

i expect it to be some combination of Mr. Baseball and Lost in Translation. If i get to meet tom selleck, bill murray, or scarlett johansson (or any combination thereof), i'll call the trip a success. I'm hoping to limit the similarities to Tora! Tora! Tora! Here's to hoping!

in case anyone is wondering, yes, i am pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to add pictures, and get them were i wanted them in olnly my fourth blog posting. the benefits of a graduate education!