Today we traveled from the Aki Grand Hotel in Miyajima (mainland, not the island) to Hiroshima. I believe it is a waste of a trip to Hiroshima to not at least visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. As the epitaph says after the eternal flame, “Rest in peace, for this error will never be repeated.” It is a sight that most in the world need to see, Japanese, American, or whatever nationality you may be. The newest addition to the park, the Hall of Remembrance, was very much worth seeing. It is similar to the Vietnam War Memorial as it is meant to immortalize all those who have died and suffered as a result of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. The multi-media presentation looping at the end of the Hall and telling the firsthand stories of Hiroshima survivors was very moving and well done.
Grabbed some Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki. I am actually not a fan of it. Can’t wait for Osaka in two days, need some real Okonomiyaki. (For those that don’t know, in Hiroshima okonomiyaki is made in methodical layers. In Osaka, it is all just thrown together.)
From Hiroshima we boarded a Tokyo-bound Shinkansen (bullet train) and hopped off at Kyoto. We are currently staying in the Palace Side Hotel, right across the street from the Imperial Palace compound. Swanky. Rooms have internet, I am happy.
Tomorrow is a tour of Kyoto. I am not a big fan of tours, but at least I should be able to take some good video. That reminds me, I need to charge my camera.
I am currently between two businessmen on an Express headed for Ikebukuro. One of them is reading a seinen manga magazine and the other is reading about car parts on his cellphone. At Ikebukuro I will be meeting up with most of my study abroad cohorts to begin the Kansai Trip, a tour of the Kansai region of Japan.
I will be traveling to Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto, and Osaka over the course of a week. Half of the time will be spent on tours (Miyajima and Kyoto), while the other half will be free time (Hiroshima and Osaka).
Now that I have WordPress fixed on my phone, I plan on attempting to update every night of this trip. Unfortunately I will not be able to upload video or photos while traveling to On Location directly, but I will be sending a few via twitter and on Facebook.
Please check back a lot this week to see what I am up to!
Four years ago in the rainy season I made my first trip to Japan as part of the Oregon Intercultural Association. I was young and had no formal education on Japan. No language, no culture, and no history. Everything I knew I knew from pop culture and the occasional book on Japanese samurai. I was naïve and as green as the Gifu countryside.
As I bounded downstairs today at my host home and came face-to-face with my reflection in a full length mirror, a perfect vision of my past self. Yesterday I shaved off my beard, a look that sprouted from my first trip to Japan, and for the first time in four years have no plans to grow it back. I had been lazy today and never put on my contacts, so when I was invited out to meet my host family for dinner in Kawagoe I threw on my glasses. I wore glasses then too, this pairs’ predecessor. The icing on the cake was the red Columbia rain jacket I grabbed to protect myself from the torrent of rain pouring outside. I bought this jacket for the maiden voyage, a guard against a rainy season that never really was. I found myself staring at me, four years ago. Continue reading →
During a load of laundry, I decided to sit down and put together a model kit I purchased earlier in the day. After I finished the first step, I realized it would be a fun activity to film. I apologize for looking like a mess, all my good clothes were in the wash. This may become a monthly activity…
People in Germany cannot currently view this video because I am too lazy to find open source music.
Thank you, Satoshi Kon. Thank you for all the great memories.
Satoshi Kon lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away on August 23, 2010, at the age of 46 (two months shy of his next birthday). The news struck me harder than I imagine it would, and has led me to reflect on his works and how they played into my anime fandom history.
This post is part 2 of 2 for my video coverage of the 2010 Ômiya Summer Festival (大宮夏まつり [Ômiya Natsu-yasumi Matsuri]) in Saitama City, Japan.
As a big fan of traditional Japanese culture, I thoroughly enjoyed my first matsuri (祭, festival) and took the opportunity to get some footage On Location. I will tease you with this first video, of the portable shrine parade, but you will have to continue after the jump to see more!
Summer festivals would not be complete without a parade of portable shrines. Each district within Saitama City (once Ômiya City) has their own shrine and crew to carry it. At the time, I was living in Takahana-machi (高鼻町), represented by the second group of strong men and women carrying the area’s portable shrine. I apologize if the video quality is slightly off, I may have exported it incorrectly. To see more videos, keep reading! Continue reading →
This post is part 1 of 2 for my video coverage of the 2010 Ômiya Summer Festival (大宮夏まつり [Ômiya Natsu-yasumi Matsuri]) in Saitama City, Japan.
It is a popular tradition to watch fireworks (or, hanabi 花火) in the summer during festivals and my host mother was kind enough to take me to the very impressive display at Saitama Park (埼玉公園 [Saitama-kouen]). While the entire show was impressive, I don’t expect anyone to sit through all two hours of it (nor did I record it in its entirety).
While Akira made a rain check on our plans to meet in front of Gamerz in Akihabara wearing funny hats, I was craving some Super Potato browsing and made the Keihintouhoku Line train ride to the Electric City. Continue reading →
A quick note on why there have not been any updates since Vancouver.
While I am capable of updating On Location via my Blackberry, it is hard to make the posts in a fashion I desire (there are also some formatting errors, as you can see from my last post). What actual computer time I have, I tend to spend talking with family. Additionally, it is so humid and hot I can barely think about research or studying at the moment.
Never fear, however, as I have been writing off-line and will hopefully begin editing them for publishing. Once I find a suitable spot to leech wifi or discover my host family’s WEP, On Location will receive the attention it deserves.
I do update my twitter regularly, so please follow me @10khend9 (^_^)
I was joking with Dana about how much I hate traditional prop propelled planes, which should have told me that I would have the pleasure of using one for the flight from PDX to Vancouver (YVR). It was a pleasant flight, however, and I have landed in Canada safely.
I did discover something frustrating and upsetting upon my arrival though. For the purpose of my trip, my cell plan was upgraded to Verizon’s global access plan and I was toldthat I would be able to use Skype on my phone internationally. When I tried to start Skype I was greeted by reality, a message stating “Skype-to-Skype only works on Verizon Wireless in the US.” I hate, more than ever, phone companies.
Skype works as a phone over the internet. I have unlimited global internet. I can get email and browse the web in 220 countries around the world. I can email video to my mother from the heart of Japan and she’ll receive it instantly. I can’t, however, use this fountain of internet for Skype outside the US. My brain just hurts (and so does my heart to a certain extent, I was dreaming of making Skype calls to friends and loved ones from Japan on my phone).
Had I not been told the exact opposite would be the case by a Verizon tech support employee, I imagine I would be less inclined to fantasize about beating the “Can you hear me now?”-man with my Blackberry.
