Adrift in Japan

Adrift Elsewhere

Adrift in Japan is over, but the blogging isn't! Come visit me at the new location, Click Clack, where I'm posting (almost) daily photos and a few words about life in Singapore, where I'm currently pursing my MBA at INSEAD.

We're Going!

Packing is in "The Final Packdown" and we're ready to put our Airport in our suitcase and start staging our things for departure. Yes, I said staging. We have so much stuff we have to take a full load to Matt's office of the things we are leaving behind for others to pick through. Then we have another extremely full load which we are taking to the airport with us. We stay at the airport tonight and fly off early tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Wrapping Up

Well, it's hard to believe it's been a year already. Posting has been light-to-non-existent here over the past few months so people aren't really coming by any more but I thought it was important to try to wrap things up a little.

We're going home on Friday (moving out Thursday) which is exactly a year from when we arrived. Today we took care of most of the "official stuff" we have to do to leave, and it's surprising considering how much trouble everything was to set up that it was so easy to undo it all. We went to my bank and deposited all of our small change, which they used the automatic counter to tally up (for a small fee). Then we paid the bills we had with us, and closed that account. Next we headed off to NTT DoCoMo where we cancelled our contracts, had our phones erased and turned them in, and paid off our bills plus our early cancellation fee for the contract. Finally, we went to Citibank where we managed to get them to give us yen for paying bills and settling up we have yet to do plus the rest in dollar value traveler's checks. Apparently if you want dollar cash instead you have to pay a handling fee, and who needs that?

Closing up is apparently easy. It was the ramping up that was hard.

Of course, there's still the packing and the cleaning and the search for a new apartment once we're back in California...

What Not to Buy

"Why you shouldn't buy a T-shirt in a language you don't understand."

which translates as "I'm a stupid American."

This same idea works nicely for other related things like "why you shouldn't get a tattoo in a language you don't understand."

I guess it would be funny to wear it if you do speak the language, but I'm not sure anyone would get the irony.

Paul Frank: a cool designer you shouldn't trust to not make you look really, really stupid.

Sony Stylin'

After months / weeks / days of consideration, we finally bought our new digital camera tonight using our Yodobashi points. It's a Sony DSC-W1 Cybershot. When the T1 first came out, we were enchanted by its small size and its 5 megapixel resolution, but we kept an open mind about what we'd buy. After all, we were still saving up Yodobashi points to cover our new camera. Then we considered the Kyocera / Contax camera that twists, but my dad has it and doesn't love it.

When it came down to it, I was interested in a few specific things in my new digital camera (I say "my" because Matt got the rangefinder for his birthday):

• Relatively small size, but not at the expense of picture quality or other desired features
• Good ergonomics
• Different pictures modes
• The ability to easily take self-portraits, because Matt and I usually forget to take photos of ourselves
• An integrated cover of some type for the lens so I don't have to worry about (1) remembering to take it off, and (2) losing it

This led us to consider the Sony DSC-F88, which I've personally always liked this design because the swivel of the lens lets you see yourself in the LCD while you frame the shot (this is the first model of this type available in the states but the 3rd in Japan), as well as the Canon PowerShot A80, which has a swivelling LCD that would serve similarly to the swivelling lens on the F88.

I had a successful conversation (in Japanese!) with a helper person yesterday about which was better and he took me to the Kyocera camera. Kawai! (cute) he said. I guess 'cause I'm a girl. Then he took me to the Contax one which is the same except with a better lens, but my dad's not thrilled with his and I thought it would be weak to get the same camera. So even though we had a good communication experience I had to pass on his advice.

In the end we decided on the W1. The A80 is only 4 megapixels, it's a little chunky, and the LCD is small (I do like the A80's choose-your-focusing-point function). The F88 is too new yet to have reviews in America, the power button seems too easy to hit accidentally, and, well, it was the most expensive of the three. The W1 is smaller than the A80, has the largest (read: huge) LCD, the best ergonomics (IMHO), and good scene modes (read the review). Ok, it doesn't have a swiveling lens or LCD. We'll still have to hold the camera out in one hand and guess on the composition of the shot. Still, it didn't seem worth it to pay the premium for the F88 just for that capability, and lose other features in the meantime. So, the W1 it is!

I'm charging the batteries now. We'll let you know how it goes. I expect to buy some accessories, like maybe the wide angle lens and the extra flash.

[Sorry for the lack of updates here. Things have been busy... Japanese class is now every day for 4 hours. It's a great class, but I've been tired.]

Back to the Books

I've set myself a goal: to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, level 3, this December. I've started lessons again at a different language school, the
SIL Sapporo Nihongo Gakko.

I'm taking semi-private lessons right now with another American, a Baptist missionary named Steven (Stephen?) who is living in Kita-Hiroshima with his wife and their two children. Lessons are 3 days a week, roughly 9:30 to 11:50 am with 2 ten minute breaks during which the teacher usually gives us something to prepare for the next segment, or Steven and I talk a little, usually in English. I like the current class structure -- class every other day gives me time to do the homework as well as prepare for the next session.

We're working through Minna no Nihongo book 2. It's going better than I could have expected, and we get a lot of good conversation practice. If I was in the class just for fun, I would enjoy it a lot I think. But I feel some stress resulting from my desire to pass the certification exam; it means I need to spend a lot more time learning the vocabulary, including the vocab from the first book that I still don't know. I also have to review a lot of the grammatical structures that I did learn but haven't made it into my active, usable memory yet.

When July comes I think I will be in the their intensive course, which is a two week session with classes 4 hours 5 days a week. Aack! So this is really just a ramp up adjustment time for me to get used to Japanese again. I hope I can pack in not only all the things I'm learning right now but everything from book 1 that I need to refresh before July comes along!

Chez Comme Moi

Yesterday we had lunch at Stellar Place's "cuisine chinois" Chinese-style restaurant with an arrogant French name. From the appearance of the outside, I was expecting more. More innovative food, and, frankly, tastier food. Not that it was bad... it just wasn't inspired.

We ordered lunch sets, which rather than being sets were really a choose-your-own first course, second course and dessert, where the prices just happened to add up to the total cost of the set. I had something like sweet and sour pork (with pineapple) and chow mein, and Matt had... um... I can't remember... and fried rice. My pork was tasty, but the sauce was overly heavy. The chow mein was soggy, even the parts that were supposed to be crispy, and the flavor was basically non-existent. I was nostalgic for the seafood noodles at the Chinese restaurant my parents frequent in Wisconsin. Matt's food, both dishes, seemed better, although he still rated the fried rice lower than at a different Chinese restaurant we went to just last week.

Dessert was definitely the highlight of the meal. Matt had almond tofu (or almond jello) which was delicate and tasty. I had the sesame ball with red bean paste. The ball was crispy and hot, with the insides gooey and delicious. Thumbs up on the dessert... but would I really go back just for that?

Verdict: Ehh. I don't think we'll be back, especially not with another (better) Chinese restaurant just down the hall from this one.

[sidenote: yeah, yesterday's food experiences both hit the "eh" category. not too bad, but not deserving of repeat visits.]

Tanghla

Two new restaurants just opened at Parco, Tanghla and La Maison de Curry (or something like that). Last night Matt and I went to Tanghla and ordered the special course they're offering for their opening. When we arrived, we asked what type of cuisine it was and the woman said "simple, with a little Asian."

Ambience -- nice view of the city. In addition to the western style tables there is a pseudo-tatami area with pits under the table for your legs, and there is a "counter" against the big window so some guests can eat looking out directly over the view. Pretty neat.

The menu was 5 courses and a beverage (wine or soft drink). First course: some sort of shell fish, probably hotate (scallop) diced raw with a dressing, on the half shell. Second course: salad of tomato and cucumbers chopped up and dressed with a heavy dairy based sauce, described as a cheese sauce, although it didn't taste much like cheese. Third course: there were two choices, so we had one of each; seasoned hamburger and fish. The hamburger was tasty but the fish was overcooked. Fourth course: rice (not warm) with shredded crab on top. I wasn't a huge fan. Fifth course (dessert): sliced kiwi with a cheese (probably marscapone) dressing. Yep, three of the courses were uncooked (but pretty tasty) and the two cooked courses didn't measure up except for the hamburger patty. They did have a beer called Heartland beer (or the Japanese equivalent -- Haatrando) which was good and a little more bitter than the regular Japanese beer... more like an American beer.

Anyway, for 1500 yen it was a good price. I think they were offering a deal to expose as many people as possible to the new restaurant and their specials. It was fun and interesting... but I don't think we'll be back.

Verdict: Eh...

Back in Town

We're back from our trip with our parents to Kyoto, Nara, Koyasan and Tokyo. Details soon. After I recover from this horrible bug I got during the trip.

Beer Garden Smackdown!

A couple of nights ago we went to the Kirin Beer Garden for the first time. Now it's time for a point-by-point comparison between the Kirin Beer Garden and the Sapporo Beer Garden.

Location: the location of the Kirin Beer Garden right next to the Nakajima subway station is a huge plus. The Sapporo Beer Garden is not very close to any subway station. There is a bus that goes there, but I've never actually ridden it. Winner: Kirin.

Appearance: Outside, the Kirin Beer Garden looks kind of boring, just a big tall building, and inside the lobby, it looks sort of like sterile hotel reception area. In contrast, Sapporo Beer Garden has a nice setting. The reception area is in its own building that has character. Winner: Sapporo.

Souvenier Shopping: Kirin Beer Garden's souvenier shopping was sadly lacking. Sapporo's reception area has a full omiyage shop, complete with steins and Hokkaido food specialties. Winner: Sapporo.

Room Atmosphere: We sat in Kirin's Space Craft room which was rather modern, and frankly lacking in a lot of visual interest. It does, however, have a large video screen on one wall where you can watch them BBQ oysters and read the specials (well, if you can read Kanji, which we can't). Sapporo Beer Garden has better tables and more character, and just seems like a more authentic place. Winner: Sapporo.

Drinking Experience: Well, I have to hand it to Kirin here. We ordered the Tower of Beer which is really tall and holds 4 liters of beer right at the table (picture coming soon). We drank a whole tower, plus 2 more partial towers. That may very well have been the highlight of the evening. So, even though I think I like Sapporo beer better, the Kirin experience was too good. Winner: Kirin.

Food: The Kirin grill was non-stick, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, that's about the best thing I can say about it. The meat itself... well, the funniest thing I can say about the meat is that they asked us if we wanted "row style" which in the end we figured out was non-marinated and probably was supposed to be "raw." Maybe we should have ordered the marinated meat, because the meat wasn't that tasty. It just didn't have that much flavor, even with the dipping sauce. The pieces were a nice slabby thickness though. In contrast, I really like the meat at the Sapporo place, and the dipping sauce is tastier. And since we're there for the meat... Winner: Sapporo.

Did I have fun at the Kirin Beer Garden? Hell yeah! More fun than I did at the Sapporo Beer Garden? Yep. But, I think it was the good company, the alcohol and the fact that we followed it up with a couple hours of (expensive) karaoke.

Final score: Kirin 2, Sapporo 4.

Matt and I are off for mega-family vacation. Be in touch from Kyoto!