Back in time - sort of

Tokyo has an uncountable (at least for an idle monkey trainer) number of museums scattered throughout the city. Last weekend, the Idle Monkey Trainer wandered over to one such museum, the Fukugawa Edo Museum. This is a rather modest musuem of a recreated Edo-era piece of town. The indoor, life-size model shows several typical buildings and streets as they would have been laid out in the 19th century.


Even at that point the city held close to a million people, about half of whom were samurai-class, in rather tight quarters. The above is a the typical room of a married couple (minus one wall). Volunteer guides are eager to escort visitors around the museum floor, offering a bit of history and quizzing visitors. Incidentally, during the explanation of this house, the answer to the guide's question about where they kept their underwear is not, "They didn't wear any?"


The museum comes complete with canal and boat (a main form of public transport on what was already "reclaimed" land.*) And, this being spring in Japan, nowhere is complete without blooming cherry trees.



Those interested in seeing a bit of the way Edo was, will find the musuem a short walk from Kiyosumi-shirakawa station on the Oedo and Hanzomon subway lines. Admission is 300 yen for adults.


Also just a couple minutes from the station is Kiyosumi Teien (Garden). The garden is full of large stones, providing pathways through the shallower portions of the pond and allowing up close encounters with what appear to be well-nourished but still very hungry koi (carp).
As with any pond or garden in Japan, there are also plenty of turtles, some balancing.
There is also an open space away from the pond which has an enourmous cherry tree and memorial for the Japanese poet Basho, with one of his poems carved in a large stone. "The sound of a frog, jumping into an old pond."
In many ways it is quite typical of Japanese gardens, but offers a nice retreat from the constant concrete buzz of modern Tokyo for 150 yen admission.

Sakura Blossoms and Booze

Spring has arrived in Japan, and although it is a little early for the sakura blossoms, the parks are filling with people getting drunk under the trees.

This is, of course, the time of year that people look forward to for months. Preparations can be very involved or spur of the moment. From April 1st it will also be the responsibility of the newly graduated employees to hang out in parks to hold spaces until their new bosses and co-workers get out of work and can get drunk under the trees.

It's also the time of year when you get out your pink dress, fuzzy paws and camp out and dance by mountains of garbage. Women, too. 

Special thanks to the newly certified doctor who slept in the park overnight to hold on to the prime spot in Ueno Park next to the dancer.

Enoshima, Kanagawa

On Enoshima, an island sitting only about an hour south of central Tokyo, there is a set of caves containing various carvings of Buddhist statues. Access to the caves is obtained by either walking over the island or by taking a boat from the causeway. The boat costs 400 yen per person. Walking is free, unless you opt for the escalators to the top, which run 750 yen for use of all three, and to reach the caves you still need to walk down the other side.

 

The approach and entrance to the caves have obviously seen some fairly recent renovation, with a wide concrete bridge arcing around the cliff faces and keeping visitors safely above the rocky flats (and more interesting things). Along the cliff wall the old access path is still visible (though crumbling) and looked a lot more fun. Once inside, vertical fish tanks (sans fish, but the first sporting a little blue plastic dolphin) line a tunnel to the main cave. There are also some historic photos of some early tourists to the site adorning the walls.

 

The 500 yen entrance fee includes the use of a thin candle lamp, the necessity of which the idle monkey trainer failed to see. The main cave itself is relatively well lighted. Plexiglas separates the statues and the lighting from the visitors. The ceilings are low, and covered with one of three things: wire caging to keep rocks from falling on people, Plexiglas to keep water from falling on people, or foam padding to keep people off the roof. All are secured with large, exposed bolts, so caution is necessary. A good deal of the time you are in the caves will be spent in a hunched position if you are over four-feet tall, more if you’re over six-feet tall. The cave system is not very extensive, however, so it is not a long time.

 

The second cave is even more disappointing. In its farthest reaches is a plastic-looking dragon (safely in a fenced area), surrounded by black lights and phosphorous rocks. Despite the natural occurrence of phosphorous rocks in the area, the bright colors of these rocks appear false.

 

The tidal pools that can be accessed along the rocky and wind-swept coast near the cave entrance turned out to be largely devoid of life apart from some plants. I did spot one, very small, dead crab. (There was more live sea life seen at the sushi shop during dinner than witnessed while on the island.) Still, the few merchants along the route sell (or perhaps rent) small nets for kids to use in trying to capture anything they might find. There were a few intrepid youngsters giving it a try, but not seeming to have much luck.

Researchers in Japan have taken one step closer to fulfilling the dreams of many otaku (generally lonely, comic-obsessed, socially awkward, single men who keep Tokyo's 'maid cafes' busy). Spending $2 million dollars, they have developed a robotic catwalk model that can move her (animation-inspired) face to show "emotion".  With the build of an 'average Japanese woman,' the robot will make her fashion show debut over the weekend. 

Although it is now claimed there are no plans to commercialize this particular robot, I have to wonder if in a country so anime (animation)- and robot-obsessed, and one in which 'love dolls' can be rented and delivered like pizza, if we won't be seeing a sex-bot version in the next few years.

You can see the creepy little thing here:

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=100425&newsChannel=oddlyEnoughNews

Views of Hakuba, Japan

The Idle Monkey Trainer managed a weekend out of the city and on the snow at the end of February.   The conditions were more like late March, with melting snow and emerging rocks and streams. Still good times were had. 

The start house from the downhill at the 1998 Winter Olympics has seen better days and  appears to have fallen into disuse.

"Chicken Gyoza" a rather unique take on the regular dumpling, or some sort of freakish (but delicious) mutant offspring of chicken wings and dumplings. 

Mall rats

The economic downturn in the global economy has spawned reports of doom and economic malaise across the world. The Japanese press is no exception, with near daily reports of on the troubles of the major exporters of consumer products from cars (who would have ever believed Toyota would face trouble) to electronics.

The Japanese consumer has never been the driving economic force that the U.S. consumer is (was). Still, the reports of malls going under in America (I have heard one commentator speak of “ghost malls”) has not spread to Japan. If the Idle Monkey Trainer’s Sunday afternoon visit to the newish Koshigaya Lake Town Mall, a scant hour’s train ride from central Tokyo, is any indication Japanese malls are booming.

The mall sprawls across a couple of kilometers (and takes nearly 25 minutes for Japanese television reporters to walk across) and is divided into two sections called Wind and Forest (there was no forest anywhere to be seen). It has somehow gained a reputation for being cheap. Personally, I am not so sure. The mall is packed with the usual retailers that are found in Tokyo’s other shopping districts, with no real discernible difference in price, at least as far as I could tell.

In some ways, however, it had distinct advantages. The most prominent, to the Idle Monkey Trainer anyway, was the space. Despite the number of people, the mall does not feel overly crowded, though there were still lines of 30-plus minutes at KrispyKreme and Cold Stone Creamery – just as you’d expect in Shinjuku.

Kamakura sits sandwiched between ocean and low hills, about an hour and a quarter by train from Tokyo. For a time, known appropriately as the Kamakura period, it served as the seat of power. Now Kamakura draws tourists from Tokyo and around the world. Last Saturday it drew the Idle Monkey Trainer – a frequent enough occurrence.

 

On this occasion, however, I took a stroll along the trail of the Seven Happy Gods. Starting at a small shrine and cemetery near Kita-Kamakura station, the trail leads through a total of seven shrines – one for each of the Shinto deities. Completing the trail is supposed to bring happiness and good fortune.

 

According to the website Shonan Sport Site, the trail takes three hours to complete, not including time to enjoy the quiet of the shrines or to take photographs. Thinking this to be the case, I was prepared for a walk twice the length of what was actually required. In fact, three hours was the total amount of time I took, including time to search out statues and dally a bit at each shrine.

Not all the shrines have a statue of the god to be found. The first, however, does have a tall statue of the happiness god, waiting in a cave (as the sign informs) for one to rub his belly for luck. My own belly, not as developed, is probably not as lucky.

The route wanders past the largest and perhaps most well visited shrine in Kamakura, and touches on a small island. The trail then takes to the less traveled streets and shrines.

The third shrine boasts blooming flowers year round, and even some of the trees were in on the act, despite it being mid-January.

Stop four housed a little statue of finely carved wood in a glass case, and a more easily photographed stone carving of the same god. Shrine number six on the trail featured a large green roof that (to my eye at least) resembled a turtle shell. It was then a bit of a walk to the sixth shrine.

Having gotten a later jump on the day than had been hoped for (owing to a bit of idleness in the morning), it was nearing closing time for the sixth shrine. With a few minutes to spare, however, a short statue of the god Ebisu was the reward for a trip up a few flights of stairs. In the spring and early summer this shrine opens its “trail of prosperity,” leading up the hill behind the main shrine building and through famous azalea blooms. The garden area also offers good views of Kamakura and the beach.

 

Knowing it might be too late (everything seems to close at 4:30 p.m. in the winter) a visit was made to the final shrine. Fortunately this final stop did not have an entrance gate, and indeed even the room that holds the sacred masks was still open (for a nominal fee of 100 yen).

 

As the light faded on departure from the shrine, an elderly resident of 20-plus years explained (three times) and made it understood (once) that after a few minutes’ wait, the enoden (Enoshima Train) would eclipse the shrine entrance. This, apparently, is a sight to behold and entices photographers from around Japan.

And so, idly, I waited.

Tournament Hockey

On the past Sunday, January 18th, the Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA) took to the surface in Tokyo to compete in a showcase tournament ahead of the start of a ball hockey league. Despite play that ranged from poor to mediocre and only scoring a total of three goals in four regulation games, TSHA managed a 2nd place finish. It took six shooters in a shootout for TSHA to advance over the Ushida Tigers. The team representing the Japan Street and Ball Hockey Federation (JSBHF) took first in a sudden death overtime.  You can read the full account of the day on the TSHA website. 

Learning Japanese

As I was looking up the word 電動 (electric) this afternoon, the dictionary I was using came up with this example:

電動じゃなくて手動のマスターベーションでは十分な刺激が得にくい
It's difficult to provide adequate stimulation through manual masturbation.

Nikko, Japan

The town of Nikko lies about a two-hour train ride north of Tokyo in the hills of Tochigi prefecture. Famous for its temples and shrines, Nikko is also well known for monkeys. So, on a clear January 3rd, the idle monkey trainer ventured forth to experience the town.

 

The main attraction of Nikko is a rare clustering of temples and shrines, called Tosho-gu. The complex is the final resting place for the Tokugawa Ieyasu (died 1617). Now a World Heritage Site, the complex stands out among Japanese temples and shrines for a couple of reasons. The first is the proximity of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. The second is the bright coloration of the buildings. In contrast to many temples and shrines in Japan, those at Tosho-gu are brilliantly adorned with gold, as well as the more traditional red.

 

Along the walls and eves are also numerous intricate carvings of animals and people. Perhaps the most famous of which are the three monkeys covering their eyes, ears and mouth to symbolize the Buddhist doctrine of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” (see photo at top) and the sleeping cats. The latter are reputed to be near life-like due to their intricacy (and require an additional 530 yen to view). 　

 

Up the mountain from Nikko are the Koggen Falls and the Nikko National Park. The falls take a spectacular drop from a lake, and are reputed to have drawn forlorn and unrequited lovers to make a final leap for centuries. Once source has it that more people jump here than from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Other sources have said that the national police each winter take advantage of the freezing of the falls to dive the pool at the base and remove the summer’s leapers. Sadly, it gets dark in Japan very early in winter, and when the idle monkey trainer arrived at the falls it was well past dark. Only the faintest ghost of the falls could be seen in the cold light of the crescent moon.

The only other let-down of the day was that Nikko’s famed monkeys were nowhere to be seen. And so, the idle monkey trainer remained idle.

Happy New Year

The idle monkey trainer has been too idle to even update the blog in over a month. My sincerest apologies to both my readers. And Happy New Year! May your year of the ox be a good one. (And yes, I fully realize that the animal sculpture pictured above is not, in fact, an ox.)

We are the champions -- of Kariya

The Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA) got on a fast train last weekend to join the 3rd annual Kariya, Japan ball hockey tournament. It was a less than ideal day for ball hockey, with steady and at times heavier rain persisting for most of the day. In the end, however, the sun came out and the TSHA faced off against Ball Hockey United, who had made the trip from Canada as part of a sister city exchange. The only two six-man teams, meaning no substitutes or line changes, battled hard for the trophy, but it was the TSHA that took the prize, dominating play throughout. 

You can read the full report here.

The 2008 Yamato Cup

The inaugural Yamato Cup was held October 11, 2008 at Amazing Square in Tokyo. Determination of who would win the coveted Golden Godzilla game down the the final seconds, when the final shot hit the post as time expired. In the end, Team Korea rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Tokyo Street Hockey Association (TSHA) 6-5. The final game was hard fought by both teams, and those in the arena were treated to fast-paced, back-and-forth ball hockey.

In the challenge for third place, and the slightly less-coveted Silver Gamera, the MHL Misconduct defeated the Boring Sponge with an impressive performance by the fast-passing, talented team. Tied at the end of the first half, the Misconduct opened up the game in the second half and cruised to victory.

Full details of this year's tournament can be found at www.yamatocup.com/2008. Information on how to be involved in next year's tournament can be found at www.yamatocup.com/2009.

German Beer and Sausages

On a brilliant autumn afternoon, the idle monkey trainer took time off from being entirely idle to indulge in the sights, sounds, food and, most importantly, brews of the German people. And as with any fine showcase of German tradition, it was held in Yokohama, Japan.

For two weeks, crowds of people, mostly Japanese, cram into long tables to eat German sausages and drink (expensive) German beer, all while polka bands, clad in lederhosen play. (In what would seem to be a break from true German tradition, however, there was also plenty of Japanese edamame, fried noodles and fried chicken.)
The final day was no exception, as the weather was perfect for an afternoon of drinking.

猿島 - Monkey Island

Being the idle monkey trainer, it seemed only fitting to visit Sarushima (Monkey Island)(pictured above). Monkey Island is the only remaining natural island in Tokyo Bay. It is located only a few minutes by boat from Yokosuka Naval Base, the forward deployment spot for the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington.

Visiting on the day the George Washington -- a nuclear powered vessel -- arrived in port, meant that a protest was inevitable. Being a Thursday, however, may have dampened participation. Or people really don't care. In either case, there were only seven elderly protesters at the station.

Bypassing the protest, we indulged in a couple of local beers - Sarushima, Yokosuka, and Admaarali (named for Admiral Togo), whose flagship from the Ruso-Japan war in 1905-6 did some serious damage to the Russian's Baltic fleet.


It was then off to Monkey Island. The island was used over various centuries as a fort and gun battalion, defending the bay up through the Meiji era. Remnants of the fort still remain on the island. Monkeys, however, do not reside there.

Upon realization of this fact, I was left to ponder why it was called Monkey Island. So with no information presenting itself, I developed a couple of theories about why there were no monkeys. These of course were based solely on the idea that the name Monkey Island implied the presence of monkeys, at least at the time the island was named. If that was true, then the monkeys had been wiped out by something. I formed two theories:

1. The monkeys were eaten into extension by the numerous kites that hover above the island. This theory, however, supposes that the kites hunt monkeys and there was no evidence to support that. The kites witnessed on Thursday showed more scavenger tendencies. Therefore, theory two came into being:

2. The soldiers posted on the island ate the monkeys into extinction. Again, there was no evidence that the soldiers ever ate monkeys.

Neither theory, however, was nearly as interesting as the real source of the name Monkey Island. The real story runs thus:

A boat of Buddhist monks were traveling in the bay by small boat. A massive storm came up and threatened to swamp the boat. A white monkey appeared before the monks and beckoned them to the safety of the island where the monks could ride out the storm. (White, in Japanese folklore, is often representative of ghosts or spirits. Why a monkey, however, is not really clear.)

Global Tito Update

After several months, Global Tito has finally been updated with some pictures from the Trail of the 47 Ronin.

And if that seems like a morbid route to follow, keep in mind this is Japan and you can always make it cute. For example, you can always collect all 47 Hello Kitty Ronin (conveniently available just outside the Sengaku Temple entrance.)

The Last Festival of the Season

Over the weekend the Idle Monkey Trainer ventured to Konandai, Yokohama to take part in what will be the last festival of the season (for him, anyway). The small shrine in the neighborhood hosted a local festival with only one event: a mikoshi.There was also only one food stall at the shrine, selling hot dogs.

This particular festival had a limited number of participants, and a fortunately smaller mikoshi than during previous experiences. This was fortunate in that the Idle Monkey Trainer stands several inches (centimeters) taller than most people in this country. The result was a Sweaty Monkey Trainer, with a sore shoulder. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable evening.It was just a good thing the festival did not last too long.

An Idle Thought

If PETA had been around in the early days of mining, would we still have the expression "a canary in a coal mine"?

The American Pastime, in a Japanese Style

The Idle Monkey Trainer, after several years of living in Japan, finally made it out to "the old ball game". Like anything borrowed from another culture, adjustments to local norms is likely. In the IT industry, this is referred to as "localization". And baseball is no exception. The Japanese have localized it.

I had read and heard about the differences from others. But, for a while I have wanted to experience it first hand. So, last weekend I made my way to Yokohama Stadium to see the Yokohama Baystars take on the Tokyo Giants. (I see no point in going to a dome for a baseball game; the point of baseball to me has always been to sit in the sun and drink beer.)

The differences were apparent before the game even started. The first difference was presented to us when we reserved the tickets. A friend of the Idle Monkey Trainer made the reservations for tickets through a friend's husband who works for the organization. He apologized for the current bottom-of-the-league ranking of the Baystars. We were also asked which team we supported so that are seats would be in the right place. Fans are divided to keep tempers in check and the fists from flying. About half the stadium was full of Giants fans. Arriving just after 2:00 for a 2:30 first pitch, our party was greeted by the classic strains of "Take me out to the ball game". The song is not repeated in the 7th inning stretch. There were also more cheerleaders and costumed characters -- the black pig at the left is the mascot of the Tokyo Broadcasting System, owner of the Yokohama Baystars -- running around the field than I have ever seen at a U.S. game. The fans keep up an almost constant cheering and singing, in turn with their teams' respective at-bats. There are also specific songs/cheers that rise up after each run is scored. The Baystar's song ends in three cheers of "Bonzai"!



The game itself does not show much difference, in terms of rules or play anyway. The only obvious difference being that when a pitcher hits a batter, the pitcher will tip his hat in apology. I am more accustomed to the U.S. style of staring the guy down. Interestingly enough, on this afternoon, both pitchers were from the U.S.. Williams, starting for the Giants and lasting 2 2/3 innings, only tipped his hat to the first of the two batters he hit.

In the end, the Baystars won 4 - 1 over the Giants (who are, by the way, the NY Yankees of Japan - with every negative -- and perhaps positive -- connotation that conveys).

Taiko Sushi

The idle monkey trainer was fortunate enough to be introduced to Taiko, a sushi shop of some renown in the Asakusabashi area of Tokyo. The fish was very good - fresh and tasty - and very reasonably priced, as are the drinks.

1500 yen, built for two

Taiko is also famous for its nightly round of じゃんけん (janken) or game of rock-paper-scissors. Each night at about 8 o'clock, give or take the whims of the owner, a game of rock-paper-scissors is played to give away several prizes. On the night I was there the prizes included a package of ramen soup mix (a house specialty, and extremely good - and cheap), a store t-shirt, a basket of fruit, which included watermelon, cantaloup, plum, peach and grapes, 200 grams of sashimi-grade tuna and two Sendai steaks, to be taken home by the winner. All prizes are give out during the game, and if the owner wins, the round is replayed.