The Return

Despite Shane's attempts otherwise, I am alive and safe after a harrowing night on windy Japanese mountain roads. At the moment I am sitting in the lobby of my Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn), awaiting 7:00 PM at which time I am going to be served some sort of traditional dinner I may gag down.

Today was another slower day, but these things have happened recently that have not been discussed: Shane almost smashed into a motorcyclist; Shane almost smashed into a car; Shane almost smashed into the guard rail bordering the tiny road; Shane smashed into a curb (well okay... not "smashed"... but he did scrape it); Shane got hopelessly lost and was saved by Luke's exquisite sense of direction; Shane got totally drunk out of his mind and spent a bit too much money; Shane got lost two blocks from where we were staying and wandered around like a deer in headlights for about fifteen minutes; Shane drank a bottle of extremely chlorinated city water and got sick; Shane spanked me; Shane watched me kill a hobo; Shane is constantly in tune with his temperature and feels obligated to inform me of any changes whatsoever; Shane blew out his second knee (of two) and is currently in pain; Shane packed a bag that is twice the size of mine (half the size of ME) and cannot seem to figure out how to make it not dig into his neck, thus resulting in a constant update about how his neck is feeling (bad or worse, mostly terrible); and Shane thinks the universe loves him as much as it loves me (which it does not).

I think this entry will be subtitled "The Many Faces of My Traveling Partner: Complaining or Uncomfortable."

Talk to you in a day or so.

current mood: hungry

Into Infinity

I get the feeling that I am missing something. For the past six days I have a constant nagging... something... that I can not possibly put into words. I have only been here less than a third of my trip and I already have mostly passed the "tourist" stage and gone into some sort of other state that I am not sure how to cope with.

Today Shane and I drove around in our rented car and tonight we are going to head off onto some mountain road and either drive off a cliff (or sleep for the night). We continue to take pictures at all possible junctures and those of you with Facebook accounts can view them in my "Japan" album. Those of you who are not on Facebook will have to just deal with the gem I uploaded as my current profile picture.

I am sad that I do not speak Japanese at all enough to communicate in any way other than crude gestures and mostly not-understood English. I get the feeling that I am more in a "living in Japan" mode and as such want to get out there and actually meet people, which is harder to do without a common form of communication.

In any case, I believe this is probably my first real "blogish" type entry and as such I will leave you with some sort of quote or something.

"It is not the technique, it is the heart." - the guy that tried to coach my unsuccessful carp fishing attempts, whose name I've forgotten...

current mood: blah

Star Date: WTF?

I do not know if you can see my videos, but I am attempting to upload one that Shane made so you all can watch it.

On another note, I forgot to mention that I went carp fishing yesterday; that was a fun time. Today was more laid back and I am not really in the mood to write anything... but I am in Kyoto now, so, "go me!" as they say.

Toodles.

current mood: contemplative

Day IV

Describing today in one word: jingo!

I do not even know where to start. I: went to the fish market again and tried squid; walked down Ginza strip when there were cars present and did not recognize it; spent most of the day with two really rad New Zealand mates; attempted to go to the Imperial Palace East Garden but was thwarted by my not reading ahead and knowing it is closed on Mondays (and Fridays... but that does not apply to our story); ate a waffle cone ice cream sandwich; went to the Sony building only to find my sole purpose of going there (video games) was moved to an entirely separate building far, far away; went to 'Electric Town' (finally) and discovered it consisted mainly of lots and lots of strip clubs and/or nudie shows (perhaps it was not 'Electric Town' after all); went to the biggest electronics store I have ever seen and was essentially tempted by nothing; royally pissed off the nice old Japanese man working behind the counter at the Youth Hostel we've been staying; killed a hobo; ate dinner at a 'pasta' place, which had an old west motif and played reggae music; was assaulted by a drunken Japanese film director in said eating establishment; switched residence to a Capsule Hotel, which has convinced me to become drunken Japanese businessman so I can stay at one every night; and said goodbye to my new friends in Tokyo, for tomorrow I head on out to Kyoto!

Seriously, capsule hotels rule!

current mood: rejuvenated

Day 3

Today was a good day.

I: rode in a human-pulled cart (forgot what they are called); got a free massage from a deluxe Japan model (chair); bought my first souvenirs; went to the Tokyo National Museum; enjoyed disaster awareness day at the park; got some free food from a nice old lady, who only knew four or five words in English yet still felt the need to tell me about her son (or daughter... I could not really tell because she kept changing references) and her new cell phone; found out what the souvenir I bought earlier is actually used for (a cell phone dangly thingee); saw some Shinto temples and had my fortune told by a stick; bathed in incense for good luck; tried yet again to go to 'Electric Town' but was thwarted by a bad sense of direction; watched Shane attempt to pick up a Japanese girl (who is convinced he would have succeeded if she did not already have a boyfriend); discovered that they eat 'Corn Mayo Pizza' (and apparently like it); took a shower for the first time (in Japan); got annoyed at Shane for his crappy Japanese, which he thinks is pretty good even though he cannot get across basic phrases (though I do not really know if I can do it either); killed a hobo; was totally confounded when I received my lunch (because apparently you light the pan underneath on fire to keep it warm), and, finally, I touched a raccoon for good luck with money.

current mood: clean

Day Two

Wow. That is what I have to say about today. Wow.

In not-so-chronological order: I woke up at 6:00 AM; went to the fish market and saw the craziness; ate sushi at a sit-down traditional sushi restaurant; rode the subway for the first time ever; became The Pigeon King at the park; saw Peppi the Clown do a silly performance; played some form of leap frog with a team of Japanese baseball players; went to a Buddhist temple and prayed; went to Ginza Strip where the fashionably hip hang out; bought a donut thing which apparently had delicious fruit filling; killed a hobo; saw the eternal atomic bomb flame memorial; almost got smashed by weird truck/tractor/wagon-type vehicles (multiple times); sampled various sushi dishes along the street which may or may not have been actual samples; played with Barbies and Legos in the middle of the street; shot so many pictures that the camera died and we could not shoot the last portion of our trek; saw a homeless person gathering where they all sat in orderly lines and got bananas and other food; ate ice cream for breakfast; sat by as my party members drank beer in the street at noon; discovered a secret stash of alcohol at a local coffee shop; played on a Japanese playground; and went on the one final excursion, which can only be described as "holy-crap-what-the-heck-just-happened?" (please inquire for more details once I am home, as the story would take too much time to type... and I am not sure I want to relive it just yet...).

All-in-all, I'd say it was a fan-freaking-tacular day. Also, I do not think I am ever coming home.

current mood: uncomfortable

Day One

So... I am in Japan. How is that going for me, you ask? Freaking awesome. So far I have: embarrassed myself in front of countless crazy Japanese people; eaten some noodles that I ordered from a vending machine; had my first awkward conversation with a Japanese person who was speaking English; had the best seats in the whole plane (twice!); was lost in Tokyo; almost was run over; tried to crush a can of hot coffee from a vending machine and failed; got hopelessly confused during a customs fiasco; rented a mobile phone for keeping in touch with said crazy Japanese people; realized that I maybe should have bought and brought a warmer coat; killed a hobo; watched Thunderball (the best Sean Connery James Bond movie in the entire universe); and also thought I lost my wallet, passport, money, and everything else (that I would be screwed if I actually lost) on multiple separate occasions. I would say it is going well. Tune in next time! Same bat time! Same bat channel!

current mood: accomplished