January 21, 2005
Aaron's Going Away Party Pics (In Progress)
Cursed Paparazzi: Aaron, Ipe, and I kicking it at Tabetneka.
Aaron - the reason why parents worry about their daughters.
January 20, 2005
Holiday Season
Merry Christmas ...
And a Happy New Year
My loyal roommate Aaron returned home to Australia, and the thoughtless bastard took his computer with him, leaving me to walk ten minutes in almost freezing weather to the nearest internet cafe whenever I needed to check my email. Understandably, I haven't been able to update my blog recently, because it takes time and time is money especially at an internet cafe. But once again, we have the internet at home.
Nabe Party: Me and Kimiko in back and Chika, Yuuko (hungry apparently), and Yukko (with raw meat) in front.
So just to update everyone: I stayed in Nagoya for Christmas and New Years (in fact, actually had to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas Day, and maybe even the following day). But some Japanese friends invited me to a nabe party at Sakahara-San’s apartment the night of the 25th, so it wasn't a total loss. Nabe, for those who are at a total loss, is a kind of Japanese stew. Everyone congregates around a pot (usually on a portable gas stove) and food is thrown in and eaten as it cooks, which can go on for quite some time. And of course, it's customary to drink sake, shochu, beer, etc. while eating. At this particularly party, we had sukiyaki nabe, where beef and vegetables are cooked in a kind of BBQ sauce, then dipped in raw egg before eaten. Anyway, don't tell my mom.
Oh, speaking of strange food, I had the opportunity to try raw whale and horse with Aaron before he left. We tried three different cuts of whale (skin, tongue, and meat). My understanding is that in Japan people can only eat whales captured for “scientific research,” so as you can imagine it can be a bit pricey. Luckily, we were being treated. We also tried something with sea cucumber, which is unappetizingly crunchy. The horse wasn’t bad though.
Yukko and I on the steps of Osu-Kannon.
On New Year’s Eve, Yukko and I met Sakahara-San at Osu-Kannon, this Buddhist temple near a huge outdoor shopping mall in town. I wanted to hear joya no kane, where the temple bell is struck 108 times (with what is essentially a log suspended from ropes), in order to protect the listeners from the 108 worldly desires that human beings suffer from. (Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition by the way?) But we only stayed for about 10 of them, so I guess I’m screwed on the other 98. Osu was a little crowded but not too bad – mostly with teenagers in tiny skirts (and of course their boyfriends/accessories) despite the freezing weather, which after living in Japan for a year and a half no long comes as much of a surprise.
Purifying my hands in freezing-ass-cold water at Atsuta Shrine.
After midnight, we headed to the renowned Atsuta Shrine (Shinto), which was packed with people. We couldn’t even see the main part of the shrine, were visitors are supposed to throw money and pray. So we drank some hot sake, had some kishimen, and were on our way. Anyway, it was the most memorable New Years I’ve ever had, no so much because it was exciting, but because it was the first New Years in recently history that I was actually sober enough to recall.
The blind leading the blind: Yukko hadn't been on a subway in five years and Sakahara-San was a little tipsy, so I can only imagine their conversation. I was busy checking out the white-clad hipsters to the right.
Yukko and I eventually made it made to Atsuta a few days later. Those are barrels of sake in the background.