Today is day 1 of the typhoon. It's supposed to hit bad tonight, but right now it's just raining incessantly. It honestly feels like normal Kyoto weather. For any of you who haven't been to Japan, let me just tell that Kyoto is like Japan's version of Seattle. If it isn't raining, something's wrong. Honestly, I'm still wondering how Kyoto isn't a tropical rainforest yet. With regard to the weather though, there are a couple things that are different. The rain is blowing sideways. It's like when you turn on the TV, and you see the rain and you go, "Wow, I'm glad I don't live there." Oddly enough, I live here, and it isn't that bad. In fact, it's kind of fun except for the fact that you can't really go out. And if you do have to go out, it's miserable. The other thing that's different is that the river next to my room is pretty high. It's probably around a meter and half so far. I'm really thinking to go take a picture.
So, the question is, "What do you do on a typhoon day?"
For me, it's probably things that aren't that interesting. I'm sitting inside reading articles about the Meiji Era (明治時代), 1868-1912. I actually have a presentation on it this Tuesday. For those that are a little lax in their 1800's history, think post-Commodore Perry. This is the time when Japan opened up to the rest of the world. Therefore, I'm researching things like wars, the constitution, reforms, and so on. Since I don't know about every third word I read right now, it's killing my head. In the good news, I'm learning lots of new words.
I'm eating rainy food as well. I woke up this morning and made ochazuke, making sure to put some salmon in there for personal enjoyment. And although it's not rainy food, I also ate something called warabi-mochi (わらび餅). Sometimes it's like a gelatinous-type mochi, but the one that I bought is a little different. It's actually honest to goodness mochi, filled with an (あん), or sweet red-bean paste. Normally, I don't really like an, but it's great in this. Warabi-mochi is quite popular with kinako （きなこ）powder over-top. Kinako powder is a sweet soybean flour. Wiki actually has these labeled as dango, which I guess the ones that I ate technically are, but they were still labeled warabi-mochi in the store. Unfortunately, the taste is a little difficult to explain, but you'll just have to take my word for it that they're delicious.
The typhoon is supposed to get much worse tonight at 9 and be bad through tomorrow. Of course, I have class, so I'll be going there.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Of Illiteracy
Looks like I'll experience my first typhoon either May 29th or 30th. It's supposed to land here in Japan with winds up to 100 mi/hr. It will be an interesting experience to be sure. I'm thinking of going to invest in a poncho.
I saw an article the other day from the National Institute for Literacy that was talking about literacy rates in the US. Recently, they had done a survey and found that the rate of functional illiteracy in Detroit was 47% in adults. I'd like to be able to give some excuse for why that might be, but I can't. It's an absolutely abysmal number of people who can't get by in their daily lives with simple reading tasks. This includes things like reading labels in stores and on medicine, reading instructions, and reading signs. I have no clue how or why the number is so high.
And you know, before I came to Japan, I wondered the same thing. I asked myself, how could people possibly get by being illiterate? While I was in Egypt, unable to read even the Arabic alphabet, I was struck by how difficult it was to just get around. Yet, I was only there for a couple weeks, and so, I learned the words that I needed to know and nothing more. In Japan, where I've been living for almost a year now, it's been different. I am, for all purposes, illiterate.
I never thought I'd say that. I never thought I'd come right out and say, "No, I can't read" until I came here. And then, I've realized just how difficult it is, but also how easy it is to just learn a few words to get by with your daily life. It's not hard to learn the simple directions and kanji. Children do so every day in school. The problem comes when you go to an area where you've never been before, and you're surrounded by characters that you've never seen before or that have multiple readings. There are Japanese who come to different cities and say, "How do you read that? It has more than reading." This begs the answer, what is the literacy rate here then? And that's what's so impressive. Japan is praised by numerous literary societies and studies of having a literacy rate at or above 99 percent.
Although of course there are some people who will be the exception, and no one knows all of the kanji. That's just impossible. There are an endless number of them. But in comparison to Detroit where you have such a huge number of individuals who are functionally illiterate, I find this amazing. Japanese is not an easy language to learn. You have thousands of kanji and two alphabets to learn. Within those kanji, there are an multiple readings of most of them. Some of them are old and rarely used, but yet, most people still understand either how to pronounce them or what they mean, and this I feel is something worthy of praise.
Yet, how is it that American English with the 26 letter English alphabet has so many individuals who can't read? Although these are purely personal, I feel that there are reasons for this. Unlike Japanese, English is not a phonetic language. We have ways of spelling things that for children and non-native speakers seem counter-intuitive. As you learn the spelling rules, it becomes much easier, but there are still times, and especially after I've come to Japan, that I've noticed that I cannot spell things. As an adult with a college education, that at times is frightening. If I find it difficult, how can I possibly expect non-native speakers to grasp those rules? English also has many more sounds than Japanese. This means that there is just more phonetic sounds to learn. Third, although I find English grammar strange, when I've spoken with English language learners, they disagree. Many actually argue that it's easier than their native languages. Therefore, this can't necessarily be the problem. With any language, there are easy and hard things. This depends on an individual's previous linguistic knowledge. Despite all of these reasons, none of these really approach the main problem: What is it that's contributing to this plague of illiteracy?
After much thought, this is the reason that I've decided upon - it must be an education issue. I know there are individuals who will blame the teachers or even the schools,but this is a bigger problem. If it was simply the teachers or the schools, I feel like the problem would be more widespread. But no, in my opinion, I feel like this is a governmental issue. The No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to prevent problems like this from occurring, but it backfired and penalized schools that needed help the most by withholding funding. Instead of this, these schools need to receive more funding, and it needs to be country-wide. Unfortunately, to do this, money is needed. But, you know, so much money is spent on other things when it would be better spent elsewhere. There are those who will argue with me and say, "But my child goes to private school" or "My child is home-schooled. I don't think I should pay for this." And to those individuals, I understand. I do. You spend a lot of money on those institutions, but at the same time, this isn't an option. If we want Americans to be competitive globally in the future, they have to understand their own language before they can possibly start learning a foreign language. These individuals who cannot read now are not stupid, not by a long shot. They've learned how to live without a skill that seems as simple as breathing to the rest of us, and so, that's how we know they're not only adaptable but clever in their adaptability. They simply need the education.
Although not everything should be exchanged between cultures, this is one of those things that the States can learn from Japan. It's time for Americans to stop spending money on useless things, or things that we want but don't necessarily need. Give up on the idea of that new flat-screen TV and donate a few dollars to schools.
I saw an article the other day from the National Institute for Literacy that was talking about literacy rates in the US. Recently, they had done a survey and found that the rate of functional illiteracy in Detroit was 47% in adults. I'd like to be able to give some excuse for why that might be, but I can't. It's an absolutely abysmal number of people who can't get by in their daily lives with simple reading tasks. This includes things like reading labels in stores and on medicine, reading instructions, and reading signs. I have no clue how or why the number is so high.
And you know, before I came to Japan, I wondered the same thing. I asked myself, how could people possibly get by being illiterate? While I was in Egypt, unable to read even the Arabic alphabet, I was struck by how difficult it was to just get around. Yet, I was only there for a couple weeks, and so, I learned the words that I needed to know and nothing more. In Japan, where I've been living for almost a year now, it's been different. I am, for all purposes, illiterate.
I never thought I'd say that. I never thought I'd come right out and say, "No, I can't read" until I came here. And then, I've realized just how difficult it is, but also how easy it is to just learn a few words to get by with your daily life. It's not hard to learn the simple directions and kanji. Children do so every day in school. The problem comes when you go to an area where you've never been before, and you're surrounded by characters that you've never seen before or that have multiple readings. There are Japanese who come to different cities and say, "How do you read that? It has more than reading." This begs the answer, what is the literacy rate here then? And that's what's so impressive. Japan is praised by numerous literary societies and studies of having a literacy rate at or above 99 percent.
Although of course there are some people who will be the exception, and no one knows all of the kanji. That's just impossible. There are an endless number of them. But in comparison to Detroit where you have such a huge number of individuals who are functionally illiterate, I find this amazing. Japanese is not an easy language to learn. You have thousands of kanji and two alphabets to learn. Within those kanji, there are an multiple readings of most of them. Some of them are old and rarely used, but yet, most people still understand either how to pronounce them or what they mean, and this I feel is something worthy of praise.
Yet, how is it that American English with the 26 letter English alphabet has so many individuals who can't read? Although these are purely personal, I feel that there are reasons for this. Unlike Japanese, English is not a phonetic language. We have ways of spelling things that for children and non-native speakers seem counter-intuitive. As you learn the spelling rules, it becomes much easier, but there are still times, and especially after I've come to Japan, that I've noticed that I cannot spell things. As an adult with a college education, that at times is frightening. If I find it difficult, how can I possibly expect non-native speakers to grasp those rules? English also has many more sounds than Japanese. This means that there is just more phonetic sounds to learn. Third, although I find English grammar strange, when I've spoken with English language learners, they disagree. Many actually argue that it's easier than their native languages. Therefore, this can't necessarily be the problem. With any language, there are easy and hard things. This depends on an individual's previous linguistic knowledge. Despite all of these reasons, none of these really approach the main problem: What is it that's contributing to this plague of illiteracy?
After much thought, this is the reason that I've decided upon - it must be an education issue. I know there are individuals who will blame the teachers or even the schools,but this is a bigger problem. If it was simply the teachers or the schools, I feel like the problem would be more widespread. But no, in my opinion, I feel like this is a governmental issue. The No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to prevent problems like this from occurring, but it backfired and penalized schools that needed help the most by withholding funding. Instead of this, these schools need to receive more funding, and it needs to be country-wide. Unfortunately, to do this, money is needed. But, you know, so much money is spent on other things when it would be better spent elsewhere. There are those who will argue with me and say, "But my child goes to private school" or "My child is home-schooled. I don't think I should pay for this." And to those individuals, I understand. I do. You spend a lot of money on those institutions, but at the same time, this isn't an option. If we want Americans to be competitive globally in the future, they have to understand their own language before they can possibly start learning a foreign language. These individuals who cannot read now are not stupid, not by a long shot. They've learned how to live without a skill that seems as simple as breathing to the rest of us, and so, that's how we know they're not only adaptable but clever in their adaptability. They simply need the education.
Although not everything should be exchanged between cultures, this is one of those things that the States can learn from Japan. It's time for Americans to stop spending money on useless things, or things that we want but don't necessarily need. Give up on the idea of that new flat-screen TV and donate a few dollars to schools.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Of Fathers
You know, I realized something today. Regardless of background, fathers are the same the world round.
I went to the grocery store like normal, and there was a young couple and their son in the store. The son was having a blast pushing the cart, mom was in front telling him to hurry up, and dad was in the back helping to distract the son.
In classic dad-style, every piece of suggestive selling was picked up.
Dad: "These dumplings look good. Do we want them?"
Mom: "We don't need them. Put them back."
Dad: "Please? They look really delicious."
Mom: "Ok fine, but nothing else."
Dad: "Of course." And then he proceeds to look like a kid in his candy shop with his new purchase as he shows the son what delicious dumplings they'll get to eat.
Five minutes later, and it's more of the same.
Dad: "What about these batteries? Don't we need batteries?"
Mom: "No, we don't need batteries."
Dad: "But I think we need batteries. I have this electronic thing that needs batteries."
Mom: "We have batteries in the house."
Dad: "But they were the wrong kind..."
Mom: "We have the right kind. You just didn't see them."
Dad: "We have X type?"
Mom: "Yes."
Dad: "Ok...."
What is it about suggestive selling that fathers seem so susceptible to?
I went to the grocery store like normal, and there was a young couple and their son in the store. The son was having a blast pushing the cart, mom was in front telling him to hurry up, and dad was in the back helping to distract the son.
In classic dad-style, every piece of suggestive selling was picked up.
Dad: "These dumplings look good. Do we want them?"
Mom: "We don't need them. Put them back."
Dad: "Please? They look really delicious."
Mom: "Ok fine, but nothing else."
Dad: "Of course." And then he proceeds to look like a kid in his candy shop with his new purchase as he shows the son what delicious dumplings they'll get to eat.
Five minutes later, and it's more of the same.
Dad: "What about these batteries? Don't we need batteries?"
Mom: "No, we don't need batteries."
Dad: "But I think we need batteries. I have this electronic thing that needs batteries."
Mom: "We have batteries in the house."
Dad: "But they were the wrong kind..."
Mom: "We have the right kind. You just didn't see them."
Dad: "We have X type?"
Mom: "Yes."
Dad: "Ok...."
What is it about suggestive selling that fathers seem so susceptible to?
Friday, May 20, 2011
Of the JLPT
I know it's little late on this post, but I've gotten distracted by some other things recently. Studying for the JLPT Level 2 (日本語能力試験２級), doing some work, making friends, and trying to enjoy the sunshine before the rainy season (梅雨) kicks in. I actually have a cool event to talk about, but that will be the next post because I don't have a lot of time right now.
The JLPT has been revised in the past year to try to make it more accurate as a way of judging a person's language ability. Just like the past, there are five levels to the JLPT, with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.
In the old test, there was a huge jump between level 2 and level 1. The difference was approximately 1,000 kanji. Level 1 is also infamous for using kanji that even Japanese people rarely use, such as the characters for "this, that," and the like. Due to this, even people who live in Japan for years can still fail the test. Moreover, Japanese have been known to fail the test. The new level 2 has been made more difficult to try to decrease this jump. However, due to this, it means the new level 2 is more like the old level 1, so it is extremely difficult.
The test is composed of several parts: Reading, Grammar, Kanji, and Listening. The reading section is full of several passages around a page or two. There are questions at the end. The grammar section is pretty straightforward. You have a part of the sentence underlined and you must choose the appropriate phrase. The kanji section is sentences with words in them, the correct kanji or pronunciation must be chosen. Finally, the listening section is full of several passages. The tape is played, and you must choose the appropriate response.
On the surface, it looks relatively easy, but in reality, it's fairly difficult. The test takes several hours, and it tests your syntax, grammar, and listening abilities. Some things that make it difficult are the wealth of Japanese expressions that are put in. The only way to know these is by memorization unfortunately. Japanese grammar is also something that can be deceptively simple. In some ways, the Japanese language is very straightforward. Combination is relatively simpler than the way that it is in English, but things that are written and things that are said are completely different. If you spoke the way that you write in Japanese, you would sound like you're from the Edo Period (1608-1800's). For those that aren't familiar with Japanese periods, it's basically you speaking like samurai. Although it's not technically wrong, it's extremely strange. Imagine if you went around speaking like Shakespeare all the time. For this reason, learning the usage of these grammar points is a little difficult to say the least. Since you can't practice them in conversation, you have to go read vast amounts of things like newpapers, books, and really old historical-type novels in order to understand.
And that roughly, is the JLPT in a nutshell.
The other day unfortunately, I took a practice test and didn't pass the listening section. You'd be amazed at how much seeing a person's face is useful to a conversation. It's why talking on phones here is so difficult, and why I'm proud when I achieve it, despite how sad that may be. I was a couple points shy of passing, and although my friends assure me that that is something to proud of, not passing is not passing, and so I need to work harder. I'll continue to do my best.
Now, we'll see if I can pass.
Michelle
The JLPT has been revised in the past year to try to make it more accurate as a way of judging a person's language ability. Just like the past, there are five levels to the JLPT, with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.
In the old test, there was a huge jump between level 2 and level 1. The difference was approximately 1,000 kanji. Level 1 is also infamous for using kanji that even Japanese people rarely use, such as the characters for "this, that," and the like. Due to this, even people who live in Japan for years can still fail the test. Moreover, Japanese have been known to fail the test. The new level 2 has been made more difficult to try to decrease this jump. However, due to this, it means the new level 2 is more like the old level 1, so it is extremely difficult.
The test is composed of several parts: Reading, Grammar, Kanji, and Listening. The reading section is full of several passages around a page or two. There are questions at the end. The grammar section is pretty straightforward. You have a part of the sentence underlined and you must choose the appropriate phrase. The kanji section is sentences with words in them, the correct kanji or pronunciation must be chosen. Finally, the listening section is full of several passages. The tape is played, and you must choose the appropriate response.
On the surface, it looks relatively easy, but in reality, it's fairly difficult. The test takes several hours, and it tests your syntax, grammar, and listening abilities. Some things that make it difficult are the wealth of Japanese expressions that are put in. The only way to know these is by memorization unfortunately. Japanese grammar is also something that can be deceptively simple. In some ways, the Japanese language is very straightforward. Combination is relatively simpler than the way that it is in English, but things that are written and things that are said are completely different. If you spoke the way that you write in Japanese, you would sound like you're from the Edo Period (1608-1800's). For those that aren't familiar with Japanese periods, it's basically you speaking like samurai. Although it's not technically wrong, it's extremely strange. Imagine if you went around speaking like Shakespeare all the time. For this reason, learning the usage of these grammar points is a little difficult to say the least. Since you can't practice them in conversation, you have to go read vast amounts of things like newpapers, books, and really old historical-type novels in order to understand.
And that roughly, is the JLPT in a nutshell.
The other day unfortunately, I took a practice test and didn't pass the listening section. You'd be amazed at how much seeing a person's face is useful to a conversation. It's why talking on phones here is so difficult, and why I'm proud when I achieve it, despite how sad that may be. I was a couple points shy of passing, and although my friends assure me that that is something to proud of, not passing is not passing, and so I need to work harder. I'll continue to do my best.
Now, we'll see if I can pass.
Michelle
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Of the Approaching Summer
Do you know what's really weird about updating this blog? Whenever I'm not about to write the blog, I have tons of ideas. Literally, I think I say, "I should blog about that" numerous times in my daily life, but when I finally sit down at this computer, do any of the ideas ever come to me? No. Lovely.
Life continues here in Japan. We've entered what could only be termed the early summer. It's around 27 (80 Fahrenheit) or so every day, and it's also raining like no tomorrow. Apparently there was a tropical storm in the Philippines within the last few days, which is part of the reason that it's so rainy in Kyoto. The other reason is just that it always rains in Kyoto. Even when it's not raining in the rest of Japan, it's raining in Kyoto. I think Kyoto is secretly the Seattle of this country.
Do you know, when I came here, I thought, "How on earth does moss grow 5 feet up on walls?" I'll be honest. I'd never seen moss at eye level before except on trees. I definitely never expected it to be on stone fences. As I came to live here though, I understood. If it rains virtually every day for thousands of years, then moss can grow wherever moss wants to grow. At this rate, it could even grow on the ceiling. So yes, it's either that Kyoto is trying to compete with Seattle, or that Kyoto has a not-so-secret desire to become a tropical rainforest, in which case it's on its way. 27 in the day, 90% humidity, and when it rains it only gets more unbearable.
Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder what will happen in the disaster-stricken parts of the country. Right now, businesses are trying not to use their air conditioners. Some have even gone so far as to require their employees to wear short-sleeve shirts or tank tops. I'm not sure how long this will continue though. It's possible that Japan might change it's working hours, start earlier in the morning, and end earlier in the day. The only issue that I have with this is that the hottest part of the Japanese day occurs around 1:00. That means that you would still have your employees virtually dying in the offices. In this case, it might be better to suggest a siesta type system (you never expected to see Spanish on here, did you?). If this is put in place though, there would still be energy problems. The trains might have to run later, and businesses would have to keep their lights on longer. Honestly, right now, there's no good solution.
Life continues here in Japan. We've entered what could only be termed the early summer. It's around 27 (80 Fahrenheit) or so every day, and it's also raining like no tomorrow. Apparently there was a tropical storm in the Philippines within the last few days, which is part of the reason that it's so rainy in Kyoto. The other reason is just that it always rains in Kyoto. Even when it's not raining in the rest of Japan, it's raining in Kyoto. I think Kyoto is secretly the Seattle of this country.
Do you know, when I came here, I thought, "How on earth does moss grow 5 feet up on walls?" I'll be honest. I'd never seen moss at eye level before except on trees. I definitely never expected it to be on stone fences. As I came to live here though, I understood. If it rains virtually every day for thousands of years, then moss can grow wherever moss wants to grow. At this rate, it could even grow on the ceiling. So yes, it's either that Kyoto is trying to compete with Seattle, or that Kyoto has a not-so-secret desire to become a tropical rainforest, in which case it's on its way. 27 in the day, 90% humidity, and when it rains it only gets more unbearable.
Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder what will happen in the disaster-stricken parts of the country. Right now, businesses are trying not to use their air conditioners. Some have even gone so far as to require their employees to wear short-sleeve shirts or tank tops. I'm not sure how long this will continue though. It's possible that Japan might change it's working hours, start earlier in the morning, and end earlier in the day. The only issue that I have with this is that the hottest part of the Japanese day occurs around 1:00. That means that you would still have your employees virtually dying in the offices. In this case, it might be better to suggest a siesta type system (you never expected to see Spanish on here, did you?). If this is put in place though, there would still be energy problems. The trains might have to run later, and businesses would have to keep their lights on longer. Honestly, right now, there's no good solution.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Of the Tomb of Go-Uda
Two posts today. I'm feeling generous.
I went on an adventure through Arashiyama (嵐山) the other day. Arashiyama is one of those places that you can spend hours in and still not even know everything about it. In fact, the first time I went, I ended up in touristy Arashiyama, and I wondered, "Why would anyone care for this place? It's a tourist trap." But then I began to explore more, and what I've found has actually peaked my interest.
Western Arashiyama is certainly full of tourists. There are people pulling the carts, and you can buy gifts for your friends and family that are seemingly "classical" Kyoto: Fans, sweets, etc. But if you know where to go, you can find more than that. Arashiyama has some of the best umeshu (梅酒), or plum wine in Kyoto. It also has numerous onsen, or hot springs, spread throughout the mountain. In the past, Arashiyama was a natural retreat for the esteemed and wealthy. There are old temples and shrines designated as World Heritage Sites hidden among its bamboo forests and old red-bark trees.
Eastern Arashiyama is virtually empty. Although it is still filled with the old temples and shrines, it is primarily a farming area now. The rice paddies are a verdant green, and it's not unusual to see herons and hawks diving into the lake around to catch fish. Perhaps most interesting is when you pass these farms, and hike up into the mountain that is rather aptly named Storm Mountain. When we started our hike, we were at ground level, but as we progressed, we rapidly entered a mist just below the clouds. I separated from my friends for some pure hiking and went into the bamboo forest around us.
As time passed, I realized that I had turned onto a trail that was more for wild boar, or other game than was really meant for people. It was literally so narrow that I could barely stretch my arms out, and there were numerous instances of bamboo and such torn up. Although it was of course fun to travel down it, I was alone, and didn't feel like meeting any snakes, pigs, or bears, so I turned back in order not to worry my friends too much. We continued our hike up the mountain and eventually came out onto a clearing with to large ponds and a hinamatsuri (ひな祭り). It's far past hinamatsuri, it was in March, and to still have it set up was to say the least, a bit strange. We looked at it for a minute, and then walked past the koi ponds and further up the mountain.
There had been a small family feeding the koi, but now we were alone. Just as Mathilde had suggested before, we were standing in front of the imperial tomb of Emperor Go-Uda (後宇多天皇陵). From what I was able to gather about his history just from searching online (I haven't found anyone who knows of him yet), he was the second emperor by the name of Uda, and he was the 91st emperor of Japan. He succeeded Emperor Kameyama and preceded Emperor Fushimi. He ruled over three eras, the Bunei (文永), the Kenji (健治), and the Kouan (公安) during the 1200s. His tomb's official name is Rengebuji no misasagi (蓮華峯寺陵), meaning approximately the Lotus Flower Ridge Imperial Tomb.
I went on an adventure through Arashiyama (嵐山) the other day. Arashiyama is one of those places that you can spend hours in and still not even know everything about it. In fact, the first time I went, I ended up in touristy Arashiyama, and I wondered, "Why would anyone care for this place? It's a tourist trap." But then I began to explore more, and what I've found has actually peaked my interest.
Western Arashiyama is certainly full of tourists. There are people pulling the carts, and you can buy gifts for your friends and family that are seemingly "classical" Kyoto: Fans, sweets, etc. But if you know where to go, you can find more than that. Arashiyama has some of the best umeshu (梅酒), or plum wine in Kyoto. It also has numerous onsen, or hot springs, spread throughout the mountain. In the past, Arashiyama was a natural retreat for the esteemed and wealthy. There are old temples and shrines designated as World Heritage Sites hidden among its bamboo forests and old red-bark trees.
Eastern Arashiyama is virtually empty. Although it is still filled with the old temples and shrines, it is primarily a farming area now. The rice paddies are a verdant green, and it's not unusual to see herons and hawks diving into the lake around to catch fish. Perhaps most interesting is when you pass these farms, and hike up into the mountain that is rather aptly named Storm Mountain. When we started our hike, we were at ground level, but as we progressed, we rapidly entered a mist just below the clouds. I separated from my friends for some pure hiking and went into the bamboo forest around us.
As time passed, I realized that I had turned onto a trail that was more for wild boar, or other game than was really meant for people. It was literally so narrow that I could barely stretch my arms out, and there were numerous instances of bamboo and such torn up. Although it was of course fun to travel down it, I was alone, and didn't feel like meeting any snakes, pigs, or bears, so I turned back in order not to worry my friends too much. We continued our hike up the mountain and eventually came out onto a clearing with to large ponds and a hinamatsuri (ひな祭り). It's far past hinamatsuri, it was in March, and to still have it set up was to say the least, a bit strange. We looked at it for a minute, and then walked past the koi ponds and further up the mountain.
There had been a small family feeding the koi, but now we were alone. Just as Mathilde had suggested before, we were standing in front of the imperial tomb of Emperor Go-Uda (後宇多天皇陵). From what I was able to gather about his history just from searching online (I haven't found anyone who knows of him yet), he was the second emperor by the name of Uda, and he was the 91st emperor of Japan. He succeeded Emperor Kameyama and preceded Emperor Fushimi. He ruled over three eras, the Bunei (文永), the Kenji (健治), and the Kouan (公安) during the 1200s. His tomb's official name is Rengebuji no misasagi (蓮華峯寺陵), meaning approximately the Lotus Flower Ridge Imperial Tomb.
It was surprising. Only here where you have such a blend of ancient and modern culture do you run into imperial tombs which are nestled among the forest. Completely quiet, you wouldn't even know it was here unless like us, you were just exploring. Even then, it'd be somewhat of a miracle to find it. And so with that, it was another treasure to add to the memories that I've made here in Kyoto.
Of A Cooking Life Lesson
Yesterday, I decided I'd make something delicious. It was going to be a pork dish with some ginger and other ingredients, but mainly ginger. And let me just say, that it looked fantastic online. With that said, the same was not true of my cooking. You know, normally, I make things up, sometimes use recipes, and I almost always end up with something delicious, or at least edible. Last night's dinner was edible, and that's about where it stopped.
Someone had spilled something in the fridge unfortunately, coating most things in some sort of stick junk. I cleaned it up, but certain ingredients could not be salvaged. That's where dinner started.
From there, I looked at the remaining ingredients, and said, I can make this work. And it's true, I could, if I had one ingredient more. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what that ingredient was. I stared at it, searched for it in dictionaries, Googled it, but to no avail. The ingredient simply would not turn up, and so, in classic Michelle style, I decided it must not be important. Any ingredient that doesn't turn up easily can't possible be useful. I figured it was one of those optional things. Unlike baking, cooking has optional ingredients. This is the point at which I should've figured my logic was less than logical. And here was the beginning of the end.
So I made my dish, added the ginger, added the few vegetables I had left over, and made my sauce to cover my pork in. I taste the sauce, and I realize, why, that's a tad salty (keep in mind it's mostly soy based with a little rice vinegar. So I add some stuff, and hope for the best, tasting it all the while. I finally finish my dish, and taste it, and it's....edible.
Three guesses as to what I left out. I went back to Google, still no dice. Asked SoJeong, she guessed it was some sort of stock, but she wasn't sure. Asked Tai today, and yes, it was chicken stock. I left out chicken stock. Do you know how important of an ingredient that is? I bet my dish would have been awesome if I'd had it.
In other news, I made some genuine American hamburgers with a touch of basil, rosemary, onion, and garam marsala with a side of the famous rosemary potatoes for dinner tonight. I even had some fresh pineapple. It was much better.
Source:
にんにく豚飯 (クックパッド)
Someone had spilled something in the fridge unfortunately, coating most things in some sort of stick junk. I cleaned it up, but certain ingredients could not be salvaged. That's where dinner started.
From there, I looked at the remaining ingredients, and said, I can make this work. And it's true, I could, if I had one ingredient more. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what that ingredient was. I stared at it, searched for it in dictionaries, Googled it, but to no avail. The ingredient simply would not turn up, and so, in classic Michelle style, I decided it must not be important. Any ingredient that doesn't turn up easily can't possible be useful. I figured it was one of those optional things. Unlike baking, cooking has optional ingredients. This is the point at which I should've figured my logic was less than logical. And here was the beginning of the end.
So I made my dish, added the ginger, added the few vegetables I had left over, and made my sauce to cover my pork in. I taste the sauce, and I realize, why, that's a tad salty (keep in mind it's mostly soy based with a little rice vinegar. So I add some stuff, and hope for the best, tasting it all the while. I finally finish my dish, and taste it, and it's....edible.
Three guesses as to what I left out. I went back to Google, still no dice. Asked SoJeong, she guessed it was some sort of stock, but she wasn't sure. Asked Tai today, and yes, it was chicken stock. I left out chicken stock. Do you know how important of an ingredient that is? I bet my dish would have been awesome if I'd had it.
In other news, I made some genuine American hamburgers with a touch of basil, rosemary, onion, and garam marsala with a side of the famous rosemary potatoes for dinner tonight. I even had some fresh pineapple. It was much better.
Source:
にんにく豚飯 (クックパッド)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Of License Plates
Since I've arrived in Japan, I've been continually perplexed by one thing: Japanese vehicle license plates. In relation to everything else, I'm sure this is a minor problem, but it really has kept me in a continuous state of bemusement, and so today, I've decided to fix it. I've asked friends, read articles, and after much research, I can finally say that I understand the basics.
Like all things related to the bureaucracy, it's unnecessarily complex. Here's what I've found:
Source:
日本のナンバープレート (Wiki)
Like all things related to the bureaucracy, it's unnecessarily complex. Here's what I've found:
- License plates (or ナンバープレート), are issued by the national government except in certain circumstances. These primarily include when the vehicle is considered a small motor vehicle: for example, motorcycles. In this case, the license plate will be issued by the local municipal government.
- Although plastic plates are being introduced, most plates are still made out of aluminum. The size of your plate and numbers will depend on the size of your vehicle.
- The color of your license plate and numbers depends on how many cc's your car is.
- General vehicles (though at times 360 cc vehicles are included) receive license plates with a white background and green letters if they are for home/personal use. They receive a green background with white letters if they are for business use.
- Other light vehicles (below 660 cc) receive license plates with a yellow background and black letters if they are for home use, and a black background with yellow letters if they are for business use.
- Two-wheeled vehicles (bicycles, motorcycles, etc.) that exceed 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background, green letters, and a green border if they are for home use. The opposite is used for business use.
- Two-wheeled vehicles below 250 cc are issued license plates with a white background and green letters for home use, and the opposite if they are for business use.
- Otherwise, plates for official business (ambulance, etc.) are issued plates with white background and red letters. Though there might be a case where they have a red background and black letters (as in police officers).
- The number that goes above the other numbers depend on further cc values within those previously mentioned. The hiragana depends on how many people can sit in your car.
- The amount of • (ten) or dots that you receive along with the main numbers depend on when and where the plate is issued.
- Your city name will be displayed in kanji except for special circumstances. These include foreign dignitaries' and military vehicles, along with those that seek to go abroad with their license.
Source:
日本のナンバープレート (Wiki)
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Of Golden Week
It's Golden Week（ゴールデンウィーク）, which means basically it's a week of holidays here in Japan. Golden Week is not so much holiday in and of itself, but rather it's known as being a period of rest. Businesses will often close during this time, and actually I think my post office is closed again. If I need to mail anything, I'll have to go to Kyoto Station (京都駅). Back to the point, Golden Week is also called Oogon-shuukan (大金週間 literally golden week), Oogata-renkyuu (大型連休, large holiday), or just GW for short. Typically, families will make trips during this time, and it's a good time to meet up with people who are far away that you don't see very often. Actually, places like Hawaii normally boom during this week with the flood from Japanese tourists. This year, however, more people are going up to Touhoku (東北) to try to boost the economy up there.
Golden Week officially starts on April 29 and it goes till May 5. April 29 is celebrated as Shouwa Day (昭和の日), and it is meant to be a reflection on the late Emperor Hirohito's reign. May 3 is Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日). On this day, people are supposed to remember the 1947 Constitution of Japan. This gave Japan a parliamentary system of government, and basically created the emperor into a figurehead. This constitition is also known as the Postwar Constitution (戦後憲法) or the Peace Constitution (平和憲法), due to its Article 9 which prevents the Japanese from waging war, or in effect, having a military itself. Therefore, the Self-Defense Force is really an extension of the police force here in Japan. The article itself (taken from Wikipedia because I don't have the Japanese Constitution on hand) reads as following:
Finally, we have Children's Day (子供の日). Originally called Boy's Day (端午の節句) it's a day to celebrate children and think of their happiness. On this day, the carp streamers (鯉幟) are risen to show the male children in the family. This is done in the hope that the boy will become a strong and healthy man. A picture is here. The black carp is the father. The pink one, I believe, is the mother. And the blue one is the boy.
For this reason, Golden Week ends up being a lot of fun. You get to hang out with people, and spend some quality time not working. It's a good change, though of course I'm still busy studying from the JLPT and trying to improve language-wise. Tai's of course still job-hunting. I'm off to Arashiyama for a few hours. Take care!
Source:
Article 9
Golden Week officially starts on April 29 and it goes till May 5. April 29 is celebrated as Shouwa Day (昭和の日), and it is meant to be a reflection on the late Emperor Hirohito's reign. May 3 is Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日). On this day, people are supposed to remember the 1947 Constitution of Japan. This gave Japan a parliamentary system of government, and basically created the emperor into a figurehead. This constitition is also known as the Postwar Constitution (戦後憲法) or the Peace Constitution (平和憲法), due to its Article 9 which prevents the Japanese from waging war, or in effect, having a military itself. Therefore, the Self-Defense Force is really an extension of the police force here in Japan. The article itself (taken from Wikipedia because I don't have the Japanese Constitution on hand) reads as following:
第九条 日本国民は、正義と秩序を基調とする国際平和を誠実に希求し、国権の発動たる戦争と、武力による威嚇又は武力の行使は、国際紛争を解決する手段としては、永久にこれを放棄する。
二 前項の目的を達するため、陸海空軍その他の戦力は、これを保持しない。国の交戦権は、これを認めない。The English translation if you're curious is here:
ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.Green Day (みどりの日) is celebrated on May 4. It's a day to be close to nature.
Finally, we have Children's Day (子供の日). Originally called Boy's Day (端午の節句) it's a day to celebrate children and think of their happiness. On this day, the carp streamers (鯉幟) are risen to show the male children in the family. This is done in the hope that the boy will become a strong and healthy man. A picture is here. The black carp is the father. The pink one, I believe, is the mother. And the blue one is the boy.
For this reason, Golden Week ends up being a lot of fun. You get to hang out with people, and spend some quality time not working. It's a good change, though of course I'm still busy studying from the JLPT and trying to improve language-wise. Tai's of course still job-hunting. I'm off to Arashiyama for a few hours. Take care!
Source:
Article 9
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