These Boys

The boys are just spectacular little human beings.  Although they don't listen about 30% of the time and get cranky about 15% of the time, they are soaking this all in.  Rafi (7) has mastered chopsticks and is trying to learn everything he can about everything.  He wants to learn how to say things in Japanese and how the Shinkansen works.  He is very independent and wants to take the elevator by himself and meet us at the bottom.  When we take the stairs, he lines up and takes the escalator with all of these random Japanese people... just slowly making his way down (or up) while we wait at the end.  He is incredibly cute and bats his eyelashes asking for things like 100 yen to put into the little souvenir machines (we call them "cranky machines" because they have cranks.  He is both rotten and genuinely hilarious.  He wakes up every morning wanting to do every single thing he can possibly do. Learn everything, do everything, make everything, clean, cook, do jumping jacks.  He is a real live firecracker.  

In all fairness, he can also be a pain in the butt.  But he is a cute one and David and I really stink at keeping a straight face when we are mad.  He is also a snuggle bug.

Carlos(11) is equally wonderful and very different.  He is the kindest and most thoughtful 11 year old boy who ever was.   He brushes his brother off when he has sand on him (or rice, Rafi leaves every meal with rice somewhere on his body) and kisses and hugs him all day long.  Carlos always wants everyone to feel good and happy.  He is an old soul.  Like his brother, he is also truly hilarious.  He says things like "Rafi makes me feel young again."   His interests are basketball, movies and his friends. He loves to talk about all three.  It makes him feel good and happy and loved to have a few close friends who he knows have his back (just like his Mama). He doesn't need a gazillion friends, just a few solids.   His ability to quote full scenes of movies makes me think his study skills will be just fine.  He has had a fantastic time here and has loved retracing his steps from when he was a baby. He loves hearing about what he did in what hotel or temple when he was 18 months old.  

Together, they have been (mostly) magical.  While Rafi still bolts to be the first one to the elevator to push the button and Carlos can forget how strong he is when they play, they are thick as thieves.  This trip has taken them to a new level of closeness and it is so sweet to watch.  They laugh so hard they cry and are constantly hugging.

The best thing is listening to their conversations... Deep things like Rafi asking if the gum Carlos is chewing is good, trying it himself and then pausing until he issues his own judgment.  Or when they walked into the onsen and saw a naked old Japanese dude and Rafi said, "this place does have a nice view" and they both lost it.

It is a privilege to be their mom.  That is the truth. 

Carlos took this selfie.

Fancy breakfast in Naoshima

Naoshima pumpkin

Green Bears and the Handsome Gorilla

The Nagoya zoo seems to make international news on a regular basis. We spent lots of time there 10 years ago, because it was close to our apartment and we had a 1.5 year old who loved to go.  It is a beautiful little zoo and, like all things Japanese, well thought out and very sweet.

But, the news it makes is not always so positive.  The Green Polar Bear Incident and the Depressed Polar Bear Incident, for example. 

And now, the Handsome Gorilla... 

He is hot (ikimen)and cares for the children (ikumen) and apparently has many other qualities that Japanese women want, but Japanese men may not have.     We went to see Shabani, but he must have been resting away from the harem, smoking a cigarette, painting or doing yoga as he was nowhere to be found.

 Rafi, Carlos and I rode these little paddle boats while David had a beer in the A/C.... He's no Shabani, apparently.

Hunter Gatherer Dining

Thanks to... of course... Glen and Tina... we went to this hilarious fish for yourself restaurant.   It has little clear rivers running through the restaurant filled with Snapper and a few sharks.  In the back of the restaurant, there were pools of more expensive fish.  Our table got two bamboo fishing poles and two little foil packets of small raw shrimp to use as bait.

You would have to be affirmatively bad at holding your arm above a specific place for more than 5 seconds not to catch a fish with the fishing pole.  There were lots of them and they were hungry.   And if you cannot catch a fish, there is a special area that you can go and just use a net.  Every time someone catches a fish, someone bangs a giant Japanese drum.

Kai and Mya catching the first fish of the night.

Here is Carlos' catch.

Poor fish were so hungry, Rafi caught two without bait.  Apparently, an empty, shiny hook looked delish.

Mr. Rafi with a net assist from C.

Eating the newly offed fish seemed meaner as sushi than cooking... but maybe that's just me.

In other news, Japan is in a Hawaiian mood.  Lots of Hawaiian themed restaurants and events.  You can kind of tell they are just in on the trend and will go back to normal or the next trend because the decor seems to be temporary.

Exhibit A... Hawaiian shirt on a hanger.

 I can't lie... this was delicious. BBQ sauce or mayo.

 Frozen watermelon mojito.  Not Hawaiian...but delicious in the crazy humidity and heat.

Laziest blog post ever - Trip to Osaka.

Osaka is everything I thought Tokyo would be, but less overwhelming.  A bit of Times Square with the flashing ads on the buildings, but with both the old and new Japanese aesthetics at play.

This sign is carved wood.

I love this building.

Delicious yuzu chuhai (my drink) and okonomiyaki (savory omelette/pancake thingy)

Before dinner...

After dinner...

Thanks to Glen and Tina we have these awesome sun visors.  If they didn't look so insane, I would wear them every day in NM. They are sunglasses for your whole face instead of just your eyes.  They are awesome.

Delicious and giant cotton candy!

The Best Sport Ever in the History of Best Sports

I am as enthralled by Sumo as ever.  It is the perfect sport for me.  It is aflame in culture and history, drama and organized crime. The matches are no more than a few minutes, and they are explosive battles of strength and strategy.  We were obsessed with sumo last time we were here and, once again, we cannot stop watching.

Sumo is over 1,500 years old. It is a wrestling match with two men trying to force the other out of the sand ring or force them to fall/touch their knee, etc.  There are rules and moves. You CANNOT punch the other guy in the face.  You CAN, however, slap him across the face as hard as you possibly can.  This shock and awe move seems to be pretty effective to this untrained eye. It is usually the first thing they do and it is crazy to watch happen.  ("holy crap did he just slap that guy?! Is that even allowed?) It is shocking and loud and looks so painful and makes you realize, this isn't just a pushing contest.  You CAN give him a wedgie.  You CANNOT grab his crotch. You CAN kind of choke him, but you CANNOT actually choke him. I am unable to tell why some choking moves are allowed and others are not.  No hair pulling, either.  We saw a sumo get disqualified after a win because he pulled on the hair of the other guy.  (For more, see http://www.sumotalk.com/rules.htm).  And apparently, just moving out of the way so the other guy dives for you and falls on the ground is legal, but not honorable.

There are ten ranks of sumo. The highest is the Yokozuna (we have always pronounced it "yo-ko-ZOO-nah", but I heard the sumo announcers say "yo-KOO-zoo-nah").  When we were here last, there were only two yokozuna.  There was an older one named Asashoryu and a new one named Hakuho.  Asashoryu has retired, and it sounds like Hakuho has the all time record for wins.  There are now four yokozuna and one is Japanese (many sumo seem to be Mongolian, but there are also Bulgarian and Japanese sumo).

In the mornings, except during the tournaments, there is sumo practice at a sumo stable (where the sumo live and train).  This is apparently an up and coming Japanese sumo.  We are adopting him and changing his name to Brian.  He loves to cuddle and something tells me he will love the enchiladas.

Here is Tina, wondering if this is sumo training or the Thunder from Down Under auditions.

The 2017 Nagoya Basho is on and sumo wrestlers (rishiki) are everywhere.  They are in their yukata (summer robes) and wooden sandals.  They are giant men with shiny black hair in a bun on top of their heads.  They are not allowed to drive, so we see them walking and in the train stations.  They seem so sweet and area always happy to take a picture with you.

 Here is one taking a taxi after his match.

 The two guys on the sides were not necessarily that excited for a photo. I'm guessing they lost and just wanted to go home. The middle guy, however, was so cute and smiley.

Sumo ritual is deeply connected with the Shinto religion. In front of the tournament hall, there is a Shinto shrine (ok. I don't actually know what it is, but that is what it looked like to me).

Once you get into the auditorium, there is a giant mud raised square stage with crude steps cut into it. On the top of the square in a circle 14 feet in diameter marked with what looks like a straw or rope   border.  If you push the sumo out of that border, you win.  If he touches any body part except the bottom of his feet inside the circle, you win.

As each level of sumo starts their set of matches, they come down the aisle together (east and then west) and walk around in a circle wearing these beautiful embroidered aprons.

Then there is the match.  Super short, but intense and so much fun to watch.

Lots of yummy food and fun things to buy.

My beautifully wrapped bento lunch.

Yummy ice cream

 Sumo rice cracker that tastes like cardboard

Sumo candies.

Disaster!

I seem to find myself in man made and natural disasters a wee bit more than I'd like (See LA Riots, Northridge earthquake, 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina).  Our friend Glen (he who knows everything) found the perfect place for me!  A disaster museum.

The Disaster Preparedness Museum is to prepare people for specific kinds of disasters, earthquakes, a fire, a typhoon, etc.   And, you get to act out these things first so you can be prepared when they really happen. In the span of an hour, we were in an earthquake, saved ourselves from a burning building and experienced a typhoon.  Exhausting.

Here is our earthquake... clearly we were unable to follow instructions and would be dead.  No offense to my cute husband, but this is not his forte.  

Here is the nice lady who watches you die.

Then we watched a 3-D video of a typhoon from the 1950's while we sat on tatami mats in in a traditional Japanese "home" while we were impaled with flying timber and drowned.  That went well.   No real suggestions as to what to do when that happens, but at least it won't be our first time going through it when we actually do die in a typhoon. So, there is some comfort.

Finally, we were shown what to do if there is a fire in a restaurant.  Cover your nose with your shirt and stay low.   Here is the restaurant facade they made (fake food and all). Rafi wasn't so into going through the fire, so we sat and listened to the other suckers scream and come falling out of the door on the left.

Here are a few windows with some suggested items you might want to put in your disaster preparedness kits!  My favorite is the hand exerciser, presumably to help you prepare for pushing rubble off of you?

Mya and Rafi are on the scene.

 Rafi and Carlos bonding after near death experiences.

What does it all mean?

The reason I named this blog 10 years ago "The Deaf Anthropologist Goes to Japan," is because I am the equivalent of a deaf anthropologist.  I have no idea what anyone is saying or what anything means.

So, this sign, for example, clearly lays out unacceptable behavior on a subway.  I get that  #1 is that you should wait until everyone who needs to get off at the stop gets off before you get on.  The #2 photo states the obvious "don't be a jackass" rule of not putting your bags on the seats next to you. #3 proves that Manspreading is a global problem, not just limited to NYC. #5 - don't jabber on your cellphone.  But WTH do 5 and 6 prohibit?   Don't hump the backpack in front of you?  If you do, your crotch will explode?  Or #6?  Are we focusing on the music headphones or the salaryman flirting with the 12 year old school girl?  I do not know! Any guesses from the 2.5 people reading this blog?

Then there is this.  Super clear that this is a university where you can train to be a scientist or a nurse who takes people's temperature or even a cameraman. But what, exactly, does the guy holding the balls do?  What high stress and high pay Japanese job does this guy do?  Ball holder? Juggler?

And here is this? What is he advertising for? Hair mousse? Vests? I don't know.

These photos all taken on the trip with my friend Tina and to get fancy manicures.  They don't actually get the grime out from under your nails, they just shellac 20 layers of toxic gel on your nails.