Japan Hipster

Carlos got a Japanese haircut last night in the fancy kids hair salon in Takashimaya (click to see their website) It was a cute haircut to begin with, but then the stylist Japanesed it up with some gel and he looked like a little rock star.

4 Down, 2 To Go

Now that we're well over the hump, I think I'm starting to appreciate Nagoya (and Japan for that matter) a little more. I have to admit that in the first few months, I was a having a tough time acclimating. Plus, it's pretty clear that in a city so large, it takes a long time to see all that it has to offer. For example, in the last two days alone, we've discovered (with the help of our friend, Glen) two great restaurants! One of them actually serves decent burgers and shakes.

We still have some exciting times ahead of us here too: Anamaria, Carlos' nanny from NOLA, will arrive in mid-September, and Jenny's cousins, Jeff and Catherine, will be here in October. The biggest trip we have left will be to Hiroshima. As a history junkie, that should be pretty surreal.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more installments!

-David

Relax... let all your worries fade away.

For all of the talk about Japanese never letting their guard down, we have seen some pretty funny things that indicate another side to that story. In the Jusco department store we go into for groceries, kids clothes, phone cards, etc., there is a department that sells massage chairs. There are about 9 massage chairs lined up in rows of three (and columns of 3! I can do math!). Every time we go the chairs are filled with people sacked out getting their chair massage. Head down, probably drooling, shoes off.. relaxed as if they were in their own living rooms.

Today we went and saw that not only was everyone comatose in the chairs, but there was also some dude riding on a bucking bronco machine. He was just sitting there... bucking... there letting his head wobble with the movement of the machine looking blankly out into the rug department while he bucked on his bronco. Gee, it is Wednesday afternoon... in JAPAN (!) I think I'll go buck on the bronco at the department store for a few hours.

There were also two people on the fat vibrating machines vibrating away.

Holy Drill Team Nightmare, Robin

Had I any snarky mocking tendencies, which I do not, I would find a treasure trove of things to make fun of in the Nagoya Domatsuri Festival that took place this weekend. Thousands of people come in hand-sewn flashy costumes with dance moves they have practiced in front of mirrors all over Japan. If you go out at night, it is not hard to find teenagers intensely rehearsing their "big finish Broadway dance moves" outside in the reflections of glass buildings. Half of me is always psyched that they are doing what they want and not so cynical as to need to stand and make fun of how into something they are while being so remarkably mediocre at it. The other half of me is standing there making fun of how into something they are by while being so remarkably mediocre at it. OK. More than half of me is making fun.

The parade goes down a big wide avenue on both sides of the street. Dance teams of up to 100 or so do this big crazy dances that look really hard and complicated. It was roasting hot this weekend, so they must have been dying in their satin costumes. Each dance troupe follows a truck float with 1-3 people on top screaming into the microphones things like "ARIGATO GOZIMAS" and "KONICHIWA" and what I would guess, if I spoke Japanese would be something like "WE ARE THE DANCE TROUPE FROM HOKKAIDO. WE LOVE TO DANCE AND SING AND SHARE GOOD TIMES TOGETHER! YEAH! WE ARE CONSTANTLY HAPPY AND VERY VERY VERY HIGH ENERGY! SOMEBODY PLEASE PRESS THE OFF BUTTON ON ME! IT IS ON MY BACK ABOVE MY BUTTOCKS ON THE LEFTHAND SIDE! HELP!"

We lasted about 30 seconds at this parade. See the video below.

CALL THE AUTHORITIES

David put the recycleable plastic bottle in the wrong bin!!!

Rumpus Rice

One of the reasons I am excited to move to New Mexico is to have someone (my parents) witness the craziness of Carlos and to hear what comes out of his mouth on a regular basis. As I am sure most children do, Carlos likes to make up words. His favorite made-up word is Jacamo (hock ah mo). He says Jacamo all of the time and then follows up with the question we usually ask next "What is jacamo?"



Or his interpretation of songs/poems/Life.





This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had rumpus rice, and this little piggy had none...





or





ABCD E UP G HIJKLMNOPQRSTUV WX ONE and Z





or





Can you open the tushie? This means please stand up so I can bang on/pat your tushie.





or





When he gets into a taxi (after he hails it by raising his arm really high and saying "TAXI!") he points and says either "straight!" or "straight-o". Recently, he has started to tell the taxi in Japanese how to get to our house (I kid you not). He says in this little teeny voice... "Higashiyamamotomachi". He does not get the whole thing out in a way that any non-parent would understand, but he does think that he is just as capable of telling the taxi where to go as we are.





and





He somehow tricks us into giving him snacks... he says "Do you want a cracker?" and we repeat what he says out of habit to make sure we understand him... "Do you want a cracker?" at which time he says "OK".

He is geniunely funny. He just sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star at the top of his lungs in the Takashimaya department store packed elevator this afternoon and screams his name anytime we are anywhere that he thinks he might produce an echo.

Big kisses to all and enjoy some rumpus rice, on me.

Jenny

Tomica

We have two favorite play places to take Carlos. One is Shimashimaland (that play area I blogged about earlier) and the other is the Tomica store in Oasis21 (this outdoor/indoor mall area with lots of room to run around). Tomica makes toy cars, trucks and little city scenes. They have this great play area that the kids take their little shoes off and go nuts with all of the toys. Below is a video I found on youtube of the Tomica store in Nagoya. You can see the fiberglass floor with cars and trains running underneath and the 9 billion little Japanese kids playing. Carlos is not in the video.



Hopefully, you won't see the bully who clapped his hands in Carlos' face, then poked his cheek then pinched his cheek until David had to intervene and say "NO TOUCHING!" to the little boy who had no idea what he was saying but knew he was one pissed off daddy.

David's Pet Peeves

Ok, so I like the experience we're having here in Japan. Jenny, Carlos, and I are getting to see things we would never see in the States, and we are truly having a unique experience. Plus, this has been a rich professional opportunity: In preparing my lectures, I'm learning more than I could have ever imagined. But, and you knew from the title there would be a "but", there are many things about Japan that really irk me. And I have to get them off my chest...

(1) Recycling. In Japan, they don't just recycle plastic and glass, they separate and recycle EVERYTHING. It took Jenny and I about a month to figure it out, and it is still incredibly annoying. (Sorry Al Gore.)

(2) No trash cans. You would think that a country so bent on recycling would provide the population with a place to throw things away. But, NO. There are NEVER any trash cans in public places- EVER. We have to store our trash in Carlos' stroller until we get home.　Ugh!

(3) The food. I realize that many people like genuine Japanese food. I actually expected to like it since I like sushi in the States. But, over the long haul, it's rough. I find myself craving things like true American burgers, and not stuff that's waterlogged or pickled.

(4) My pillow. It's basically a sheet stuffed with beans of some sort. I'm serious.

(5) The bikes. When there's a hill in the city, you better watch out. These folks do not slow down, and sometimes you feel like decking them

Ahh. I feel better.

Forget Sippie Wallace

Sippie Wallace sang an old blues song called, "Don't Advertise Your Man." She suggested that women with good men "be wise" and "keep your mouth shut" if you have a good man. Well, given that mine is in Japan and nobody here is reading this... I am going to take a gamble and advertise my man.

Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary and I love David even more than I did when we got married. He is the greatest person I have ever met. He is kind, loving, sensitive, smart, loving, really, really, funny and does the laundry. And of course, he is a perfect father. I do not know how I got so lucky, but I did.

I love you, David Kutz! (You too, Choochie)

Not So Cute Fashion Coming to a Gap Near You

When we first saw how the younger women dressed here, we were horrified. Black knee socks/thigh highs with everything... jean shorts, short skirts, khaki bermudas. And they are always paired with some cheap high heels that look like the kind little girls get with the princess sets... plastic with feathers and pearls. Hideous. I thought... phew... this will never catch on in the United States.

I was wrong. It is in everything... Urban Outfitters catalog, Vogue... you name it. Ashlee Simpson (left) is sporting the look... and it is not pretty.

Once you have your black knee socks, you pair those bad boys with a nice little skirt like this....

And a top like this....

And possibly some shoes like...

And some hair clips like this....











You are ready to karaoke all night long!!!!!

Mt. Koyasan

Koyasan is the home to Shingon Buddhism. In the 800's Kobo Diasho was a buddhist monk who traveled to China to learn this particular type of Buddhism. Once he became a master, he came back to Japan and the Japanese government gave him the Koyasan area to open a temple and monastary. Don't ask me what Esoteric Buddhism is, but this is how they describe Shingon.

There are over 100 temples, an incredible cemetery with 200,000 graves, and a beautiful mountain setting. We were there to see the memorial week (Obon) lantern festival. Beginning at 7PM on Monday we, along with what seemed like 10,000 other people) hiked up the mountain through the cemetary to one of the temples. People lit thin tapered candles with sticks on the bottom and placed them into long strips of styrofoam covered with tinfoil. There were thousands and thousands of candles going all of the way up the mountain. When we got almost to the temple, the monks had set out beautiful washi paper lanterns to line the path. At the very top sit two temples. When we got up to the one at the very top, we could hear this low, monotonous chanting from a distance. On the inside of the temple, monks in black embroidered robes sat chanting with one elder monk. People threw coins into the temple area where the monks sat (just on the floor not at the monks), lit incense, and prayed.

The whole experience was incredible... though frustrating with a stroller and the most aggressive group of human beings alive... who just push right through.

During the day we saw beautiful temples and gardens. Some photos below.

OK. Going to bed.

Kisses to all

The Ryokan Experience

A traditional ryokan is a Japanese inn. You stay in rooms with woven tatami mats and futons. The downmarket ones that we stay in have shared bath and bathrooms... which can be charming. The temple we stayed at in Koyosan... not so charming. There are three potential Ryokan issues: Food, Bathing and Bathroom. I will skip the details on the problems with the latter issue.

The room was great, but the shared bathrooms, while clean, were a little too shared. Ideally, if you don't have your own bathroom in your room, you at least have a room to close the door for a little privacy. Then there is the bath. Whether staying at an onsen (hot springs) or a ryokan with shared bath, you are probably going to end up scrubbing down with some strangers... and it is very intimidating.

BATHING
David has graciously agreed to show us how bathing should be done vs. what he does. I am going to interview him about his recent experience bathing with a very efficient Japanese bather in Koyosan:

Jenny: David, tell us what you saw. I know it is traumatic, but hold back your emotions and share.

David: Well, I first saw that there were shoes in front of the door to the bathroom, so I knew someone was in there, and that I'd be bathing with him. When I got in I saw an older Japanese man hunched over a plastic stool he had flipped over and was using as a bucket. The bucket was filled with soap and water and his glasses were floating inside. He dipped his rectangular washcloth in and began to furiously bathe himself, grunting and moving at an incredible speed. I felt silly standing underneath my shower head, carefully washing myself at a leisurely pace.

Jenny: When you say furiously bathe himself... do you mean he was mad? Describe...

David: No, it's just that he had probably done this a million times, and it was all very efficient, mechanical. He somehow managed to throw all of his stuff into a bucket of water, dip a rag in the bucket, slap himself with the towel, and walk away feeling clean. I, on the other hand, needed to carefully rinse, wash, and then rinse again.











BAD












GOOD

Yes... bathing with the ultra-clean Japanese people can be intimidating. You think they are noticing that you did not grab some part and scrub the hell out of it in the way that you should. They are all professionals. And the reason it matters is not only because you don't want them to think of you as a dirty American, but because you then get into one giant hot bathtub and soak with them. So, you don't want them to think you are adding pollutants to their nice little human teapot. Best to make a big show of it. And if you want a towel to dry yourself at the end? Too bad. Somehow you have to use the wet rag you just bathed with to dry yourself off. Will someone show me where the van for the Ritz Carlton is?

FOOD

When you stay at a Ryokan, you generally get a traditional dinner served either in your room or in a big room with lots of cushions and trays for you to eat your food. We like the in-room meal because Carlos isn't going to every other person begging for food or just plain swiping it.
The food at other ryokans has been pretty intensely Japanese... a whole 5 inch sardine split in half with the head on cooked in salt, a square of tofu with some chives on it, and some orange soda - if you please. The temple food was all vegetarian and all nasty. Water-logged tofu dumplings, water-logged vegetables (we don't know why everything was water-logged), lots of slimy stuff. Here are some photos of the dinner and the foods we rejected.
























We were so hungry we even resorted to crab poppers... whole crab you are supposed to just pop in your mouth and chew!!! Ick.































The room was lovely, though. They almost always are. Beautiful and soft tatami mats and freshly plumped futons. A bit slumber party with Carlos who babbles for about 90 minutes ("train, no train, hi mommy, are you hungry? do you want a cracker? Come in!") before finally shutting up and falling asleep.
























Here are some pictures of Carlos. He is so cute you could just eat him up. He is also very naughty...shocker. Double click on the middle one so you can see his precious laugh when he thinks he has tricked David.

Koyasan and Osaka - Remix

I have taken the gross posting down... I think my mother was horrified... sorry. Seriously, how gross are these things? I mean, ick. I guess they are just overgrown karp, but look at those nasty lips?! They were in the pond in front of the most incredible temples and shrines in Koyasan and we were so horrified that we had to photograph them.

OK. Onto more mature things. We just got back from two nights in Osaka and two nights in Koyasan - supposedly the holiest mountain in Japan. I will go more into the trip later in the week, but we had a ball.

Osaka is incredible. It is what I expected Tokyo to be. We took the Shinkansen train from Nagoya to Osaka on Saturday. Osaka was crammed with people. It was like Mardi Gras or after the Yankees win a World Series (which they will do again!). And people are so aggressive. The old and infirm go arm in arm like ruthless gangsters happy to trample you if you are in their way. BUT what a cool city. Amazing architecture...













































The red building is the aquarium... it is this fancy schmantzy aquarium that costs twenty whole dollars per person and they cram as many people in as possible. We went on Sunday and figured out that the Japanese do not believe in fire codes. Again... Yankees after winning world series/Mardi Gras. Not fun. The building was crazy and we did peek at a few cool fish (but only over the heads of 50,000 people. The bottom building is the Suntory museum. We didn't go into the exhibit (Disney, no thanks) just did a diaper change (David's diaper was dirty) and checked out the building. The architect is Tadao Ando, a famous Japanese architect. The whole thing is on the port, so the juxtaposition of the buildings with the water and all of the ships made the architecture even more incredible.

Then, we just ran around Osaka with crazy Carlos. We walked through Amerimura (a Greenwich village-like neighborhood) and through the long shopping arcades. We went on this huge ferris wheel and finally collapsed in our mediocre, but perfectly adequate, hotel.



















More on everything next week. Not that we haven't mentioned this before, but Carlos is seriously hysterical. We do this little routine with him where he hides (always been a big hide and seek guy) and we say... "is it...." and ask who it might be (anything from a noodle to mama) and he says no. But we say... "is it Morty Finklestein?" and he says "From Boca?" So funny.

We got some bad ass toys, so we will be putting them together and showing them off once we do. Japan is great.

Jenny
p.s. stole all the photos off the web except for the vagina fish

Top Secret Trip

Don't tell Carlos, but we left him in daycare and went to Kyoto for the day. I actually had to pout for a good 20 minutes to get David to come with me. There was a ceramics fair in Kyoto and I really wanted to go. Round trip from Nagoya to Kyoto on the bullet train is 100 dollars for a half an hour trip. Ouch. But we were both happy to be on the train without Mr. Crazypants and I was happy to go shopping.

We bought beautiful ceramics from the artists. Everything was insanely expensive because it was all hand-painted and handmade. We bought some wedding presents and a few things for us. It was nice.

Headed to Osaka and Mt. Koya (the holiest mountain in Japan) to stay at a temple for two nights. Will be back online when we get back next week.

Big kisses.

Likes and Dislikes

Top Five Pet Peeves in Japan

1. You have to get 3 inches from the automatic doors for them to open. For some reason the automatic doors don't open until you have your face smashed against them. Annoying when you have a nice pace going.

2. Dive bombing bicyclists. I hate to use the word Kamikaze... but KAMIKAZE. They are aggressive bikers who don't care if you are in their way when you are walking up a hill and they are climbing down.

3. Nobody speaks Spanish. This one really kills me. Nobody speaks English and even fewer people speak Spanish. I always try to talk to people in Spanish... because that is what comes out of my mouth. Nobody knows what I am saying.

4. There are no trash cans anywhere. Try and find one, I dare you. For a country that is all about the recycling (see my third or fourth blog entry), they sure do not give many opportunities for you to recycle outside of your home. I don't understand where people put their trash. There are a gazillion products and everything has its own wrapper, so where do they put it?

5. People nod saying yes when they have no idea what you are talking about. You think your ten minutes of pointing, nodding, and dictionary searching have resulted in a mutual understanding of what is going on... but no... they have no clue what you are saying, they are just being polite by smiling and nodding and saying "hai!" (yes).


Top Five Great Things

1. People genuinely love children. Everybody from the taxi drivers to the high school students (see above) think kids are cute. They play with them, they wink at them, etc. Almost all restaurants are child-friendly and have kids bowls and spoons ready for action. Nobody freaks out of a kid is having a tantrum or doing something they aren't supposed to.

2. It is so clean and efficient! After New Orleans, it has been such a nice change to be in a clean city. There are people with long silver tongs that pick up the tiniest piece of garbage on the ground and everyone cleans up after themselves.

3. Beautiful art and fun things to buy. I like the kids stuff the best, but there is incredible art, caligraphy, ceramics, etc. everywhere.

4. It is a totally different culture, yet we feel completely at ease here. It is clear that we do not have any grasp on what the culture is really like here. We don't speak the language and we don't understand the dynamics of being foreigners here. Having said that, everyone is so kind and warm. They seem to have a genuine curiosity about who we are and where we are from and an acceptance that we don't know all the rules and couldn't possibly learn them.

5. The food is fresh and delicious. As I mentioned yesterday, the food here rocks. Everything is so fresh tasting. There is great coffee, great pastries, the sushi is perfect. There are whole pickle stores and restaurants. The noodles are incredible. Thank god we don't have a car and have to walk 4 miles a day up hills!

A Peach of a Peach

I just ate the best piece of fruit I have ever had in my life. The produce here is insane. Not only is it perfect looking, it is perfect tasting. Things do go bad more quickly than in the U.S., but I think because we breed fruits and vegetables for long truck hauls and not taste. I cannot even describe how great the food is here. Tomatoes are sweet and flavorful. The pinapples are syrupy with a hint of tartness. The peaches are like candy. The peach is what I just ate and although I did peel it to get rid of the fuzzy skin, the fruit meat was crazy delicious. It was like what the first peach ever made tasted like. MMMMMMMM.