a history of me

Thursdays are my lightest days of the week. I only have two Japanese classes in the morning and nothing in the afternoon. Yet I kept myself quite busy outside the classroom today and had a bit of fun along the way. I also found myself frustrated by yet another difference between here and back home. I guess every day is going to have ups and downs like this.


Rather than go house to house, Japanese garbage is collected via neighborhood collection points like this one.


Cigarette vending machines are common but with a catch: they shut down 11PM to 5AM. Check out those awesome prices!

I was up early and off to the Hirakata city station this morning to complete my homework assignment for my Justice class. I told you it would make you laugh, so here it is: I had to take my picture at a print club machine. While these machines are uncommon in the States they are very popular here. However, I had yet to see a single one anywhere in my travels around Hirakata. I figured the best place to go to find one would be at the station and just look for a busy place schoolgirls might hang out.

My first thought was to try the VIVRE department store. I had not been to this particular VIVRE but I remembered the one in Ishinomaki was like a mall unto itself and it was teeming with teenagers. Sadly, the Hirakata branch was closed when I visited at 9AM. I headed back for the station to check out a building marked on my map as "Amusement Center." The building looked quite from the outside but the floor chart indicated some kind of arcade on the fifth floor. Sure enough, when I entered the stairwell I could hear the loud music from upstairs.


Heading up the stairs I spotted this amusing example of Engrish

As I approached the fifth floor I was disappointed. The games were in there all right but the entrance was roped and taped off. I don't know if they were under construction or if that's just how they close for the night, but everything about it said "go away." If that wasn't clear enough, as I reached the top step an alarm went off and a light turned on, apparently part of a motion detection system. No need to wait for the translation, I left immediately!

Back on the streets, I had one more idea. I had been to an arcade last week in this area and if they were open (it was 9:30 by now) they would certainly have two or three print club machines. Sure enough, they were open and they did have three such machines! They all charged the same price, 400 Yen, so I picked one at random, lifted the heavy curtain and walked inside.

If you have an image of a American photobooth, forget it. These things are designed with squealing teenage girls in mind. There's enough space inside to hold four or five schoolgirls at once. I set my bag down, put in my money and began navigating the on-screen menu. I didn't have any idea which options were the best, but somehow I was given a choice of three backgrounds (from a larger selection). I picked snow, autumn, and the Pyramids. Each background was photographed twice. I did my best to strike amusing poses but I had to keep my knees bent in order to stay in the shot; it seems I'm taller than the average print club customer (Japan is great for my self-esteem in that lone aspect).

Once the shots were done, I had to go around the booth to another screen where I could draw or write over the pictures. I tried my hand at it but I think I pressed the "done" button prematurely. Then the pictures were being prepared and it took a noticeably long time; I think I even had to watch a commercial first? Maybe it was just explaining the process to me and I couldn't understand. Whatever I did, it worked, and the results are visible below.


There's something very surreal about photographing a photograph.

I had another breakfast at the station's Yoshinoya then I returned to campus to do my e-mail business before class began at 11. In the computer room I found myself next to a young lady from both of my Japanese language classes (and I think one other class as well). She had actually introduced herself to me yesterday when she realized that we were seeing each other a lot. I remember I was a little gruff at the time but for the life of me I can't remember why. I think when I'm sitting down in class I enter a certain frame of mind where "friendly banter" does not compute. Believe it or not, I have to concentrate really hard to appear normal to other people; conversation simply does not come naturally to me and any distractions are terminal to the process.

Yet I digress. In the computer room, we were able to converse and somehow the subject of exercise came up. I made it clear I was going to exercise after class since I had the afternoon free. She said she was looking for someone to exercise with so she asked me to check it out and get back to her about it. She then asked me to e-mail her my information so she could contact me (a wise idea, since we were both sitting at computers). Minutes later, we were in class together. So I'm not sure how it all happened but I may have myself a workout partner.

Spoken Japanese came first where we continued our review. I think we have a test on this next week. Then came Written Japanese and I'm starting to really notice the difference. Aural and oral skills simply aren't used much in the Writing class, it's almost all studying or writing kanji so class is on the quiet side. At one point the teacher held up some signs with simple Japanese words on them. Most of the class knew them all but I think I went the extra mile when I identified 仕事 (shigoto) even though the teacher was holding it upside-down and backwards. This prompted a "You're good" remark from the girl next to me (she is different from the other girls I have mentioned previously). As with most compliments I didn't know what to say other than "Thank You." I guess the teacher picked up on my eagerness so she asked me to write something on the board: 新しい (atarashii). I don't like to show off (maybe a little ^_^) so this felt a little awkward to be put on the spot. I get the sense that some of the other students feel this class is moving too fast or the teacher isn't actively "teaching" enough. For me, it's right up my alley. Give me kanji and give them to me quickly!


What's for lunch? Take a look! Some are actual dishes, some are merely plastic models.

After class it was time for another cheap lunch. I ended up having lunch with the same girl from yesterday and I'm pretty sure her name is Megan but she's not the same as the other girl named Megan who I didn't see at all today. We were joined by some guy I've never met before and I forgot to ask his name. The two of them traded homestay family stories which I don't have since I'm in the dorms. When we left, she mentioned that she was going to the gym as well so I told her I'd see her there.


With an election coming up soon campaigns are hitting the streets in vehicles like this.

After an excrutiatingly warm walk home I hit the gym for the first time. Guess what? It's totally crazy and different in there! Firstly, there's no towels. There is a water fountain but no spout to fill a bottle. The machines are all unlike any machines I've seen before and most of them operate on hydraulics rather than lifting weights. The hydraulics only seem to have six settings so what I do when the maximum level isn't enough? Megan was there but she seemed in the midst of her own workout thing so we didn't really talk much. There were a few hand weights so I did get in a semi-decent workout but the whole experience was...dare I say it...frustrating. >_< It would have been really nice to just pick my workout up where I had left it but it seems I've got more adjustments to make here than I realized.

After the workout I tried to chill out back in the dorm for a while, keeping my attention busy so I wouldn't get hungry too early. As I found myself wasting time for the sake of wasting it I decided to just go out and start walking while the sun was still up. Furthermore, I walked in an entirely different direction than I had walked on previous food searches; I walked out of the dorm and turned left instead of right.


Some random views from my stroll.




A dirt park doesn't seem like much fun...

...but then I spotted a Super Fun Happy Slide!!! Sadly, it was locked shut. What's up with that?

My stroll took me through a kind of apartment complex that struck me as "lower" income. I don't want to say "low" because it seemed like there were plenty of cars parked there and some of them looked pretty nice even. As I walked I encountered a trio of young girls on bicycles who decided to approach me and say "Hello." I greeted them in turn and this led to a quasi-conversation. I demonstrated some limited Japanese by explaining that I was going for a walk to find a restaurant. This impressed them. They also took notice of the Nike swoosh on my T-shirt. Internally I felt like a corporate sap but I smiled politely.

Then came the big request: 英語を教えてください ("Please teach [us] English")! Now I was in a spot. I just started looking around and naming nouns that I saw, hoping I could teach them the English equivalent. But they already knew everything! Car, dog, head, eyes, hat, cat...these kids were not novices. You certainly wouldn't get similar results in an American schoolyard! I think the only word they didn't recognize was "bicycle." After a few minutes of this (which attracted a few other passers-by) I politely asked if I could go eat dinner. One sped away on her bike but I did capture the other two with my camera.


Is that "peace" or "victory?" The world may never know...

After strolling out towards a highway and turning down what seemed a major road I passed several small, closed izakaya. I was getting a little disappointed until I saw a big, friendly looking restaurant on the corner.



It was a conveyor belt sushi restaurant! These places are fun because they're cheap and you don't need to say much at all...just grab the food right off the belt! I saw a lot of crazy things pass in front of me: corn, sweet potatoes, various cakes and sweets, a big piece of melon, even a hot dog on a stick (I had one). The strangest had to be (wait for it) horse meat! Ewww...I know, that's a little creepy. Too creepy for me to try, in fact. Maybe next time! I leave you tonight with a still-life photo of sushi in motion.