Leaving

On the way back to Hekinan from the Toyota factory tour, we came across a tract of farmland in Anjo city. The farmers were out harvesting their rice. To my Saskatchewan eyes, it looks like mini-farming, but it's big business out here. Talking about the price of rice in China, or Japan, it's going up, and the people of Asia rely heavily on rice for food. If too many farmers leave their land, rice production goes down and so does the food stock.

The good news is that there is a small emerging trend of young people moving to small farms and working the land. There's even a hip, young, fashion businesswoman (famous for the 'shibuya gal' look) who has started farming and marketing the brand as "Shibuya Rice". ShibOOya is a super cool district in Tokyo. Here she is with her fashion model labourer. They are sooo roughing it.
I like the trademark white towel on the head that male labourers wear in summer. The towel truly is one of the most spectacularly useful items in the galaxy.
Here's the mini-harvester dumping its mini-load of rice into the mini-dumptruck. It appears to be a family affair.
As the harvester goes around, hacking off the stalks, the cranes gather to hunt in the stubble for frogs, bugs, and maybe missed grains too. I had never seen so many white cranes in one place before.

Seeing harvest in action reminded me of the fall season in Saskatchewan. Now that we're leaving, Mandy and i are feeling a little nostalgic about our time here. We will miss life in Japan, although we both agree that it's the right time to go back home. We're leaving behind ready employment, some good friends, and mild weather. But it's just not home, is it? I don't know that i could feel at home in Japan, no matter how long i would live here.

We have a bye bye party tomorrow, and then we're leaving to visit Kelly on tuesday for a while, and then off to Malta/Italy for a proper honeymoon! There's a lot to look forward to.

"The heartbeat of Japan"

In these final days of our adventure in Japan, we are enjoying some free weekdays, seeing some sights in our area that we have missed so far. Yesterday we took a tour of a Toyota car factory in Toyota City, which is nearby. This plant makes the economy-rescuing Prius, the Camry, plus two models i don't think we have in N.A., the Allion and the Premio.

The factory is amazingly huge, covering acres and acres of land. It was the first Toyota factory to reduce its landfill trips to zero, plus it recycles water, purifying it and sending it back to the river from whence it came, and tons of iron waste from welding are recycled into new material.
Here's Mandy in the IQ, a new model that seems to be Toyota's answer to the smart car, but this one has a back seat, which is almost a waste of effort in such a tiny car. I don't know if this model has come to North America yet.

This is the showroom lobby as seen from the museum gift shop on the second floor. The trumpet playing robot does a show a few times a day, which is pretty cool. The wheeled thing in the background is a car of the future, which stands up tall and is mobile that way, and it also transforms into a low-riding sports mobile on the go. It was really busy earlier in the day, but the robot seems to be performing for two this time. Oh well, robots' feelings can't get hurt, at least not yet. Some day though, i think we'll have to be careful about what we say around vending machines and parking meters.

We couldn't take our cameras into the factory and assembly lines, but of course, someone has, and i found a cool video of the welding robots. This is pretty much exactly as we saw it in the Japanese factory.

Fuji-san

James and the Beast!
Night view. We climbed from 8pm until 4am, and when we looked down on the city it felt like we were looking from an airplane. Compared to the world's tallest peaks, Fuji isn't even on the list, but it's still high enough to feel like you've left the earth.
Here we are, James and I, at the windy, freezing summit, with all the other masses of tourists. The number of tourists who climb this mountain make the accomplishment feel a bit weak.
As we descended, the clouds eventually gave way to sunlight, and we could see the sharp cloud line, as if there was a cap of cloud around the mountain that didn't want to touch it.

A view from just below the summit, looking up at all the people.
We got below the initial cloud and could see another layer of puffies far below.
This is a "tori-i", which is a gateway to a shrine. Fuji has the highest one in Japan.
It finally warmed up on the way down. We were so cold at the top!
One last look at the beast on the drive home.

Two castles, one hot day.

After all these months, i still get the photos in the wrong order. This is the interior of Inuyama castle, which is the honourable 'oldest castle in japan'. it is all wood, and the main keep was the only building not destroyed by the big earthquake of 1891. every beam and plank is a national treasure. it was built in the 16th century, which makes this castle not as old as you may have thought the oldest castle in japan would be. many old castles were destroyed by wars and earthquakes. this is the weaponry, where all the spears and swords and things would be stored on the shelves.
Mandy wondered how they got up and down these steps when they were in a hurry to flee or attack. Inuyama castle was built by the guy who, according to what i read, unified feudal Japan. he was a pretty big deal.
Here's the view from the top. we could see for miles in all directions, which is what you want when you build a watchtower. we saw enemies approaching a day's ride away. Ha ha ha!
there's Mandy, deliberating about how to deal with the prisoners we caught from that enemy city.
Here, Mandy is doing a quick repair job of a fallen 1000lb beam. she seems to be handling it quite well. i'll just keep taking photos.
we made the prisoners perform some stunts in the town square. it was all deliciously humiliating for them. Ha ha ha!
Then we visited the hometown Don Jon, Nagoya castle, which is not as old, but is much bigger. This week is the Obon holiday, which is the time when Japanese people remember their ancestors and visit their hometowns. It is also the time, after which, if you swim in the ocean, you are violating the governments stern recommendation to not swim, lest you be dragged into the depths by the departed souls. In Japan, there are some interesting beliefs, but i think only the older generation actually believes them.
Japanese festivals are fun, and you can get a huge variety of foods to snack on. There was dancing and traditional drumming. Fun was had by all. and then we went home.

Japanese is cool

I've been studying Japanese. Don't expect me to know much when i get home though, because it's really a hard language to get a hold of. But in the course of life here, i've come across a few amazing abbreviations that the Japanese people use in everyday talk.

1. Starbucks = "staba!"

2. Personal computer = "pas-con"

3. Digital camera = "digi-ka-me"

4. Remote control = "remo-con" (see a pattern?)

5. Macdonald's = "makk"

6. Kentucky Fried Chicken = "ken-chiki" (that's my favorite one)

7. Apartment = "apato"

8. Convenience store = "combini"

9. Air conditioning = "air-con"

and so on. They are all loan words from english, and i think we could learn a lesson from the Japanese system of abbreves. Think how much less chatter there would be!

Oh the cicadas are noisy! They sound like they're in my head!

Genki Hekinan

It's no wonder people think Japan is a wild place. There was a festival in meek, sleepy Hekinan this weekend that really surprised me. It was called "Genki suu", and basically, it was a song, played repeatedly, blared over the main street (it was recorded, but the brass section was live, and they had to keep up with the recording, over and over and over) and about 90 different groups of people, representing businesses and various organizations, dressed up totally randomly, but doing the same dance, over and over and over, for about four hours!

The song was very energetic and fun, and i didn't want it to stop, really, until the very end. The lyrics promoted Hekinan and how everyone should be really genki. Genki means energetic and full of vigour.

Oh, in the above photo, the tall building isn't a castle or a temple or anything. It's actually a bakery, which some rich local businessman has built up to look just like Nagoya castle, but in miniature.
Hekinan is famous for carrots.
Men dressed like women, women dressed like super heros, this guy dressed like an elementary school student, complete with the ubiquitous "landosel", which every child in Japan carries for around six years. It is designed to withstand all the rigours of an elementary school career, and costs about 300 dollars. Traditionally it's a gift from grandparents.
These guys, as you may have guessed, were my favorite group of genki dancers. They did a great mockery of Japanese schoolgirls. See the video below.
This photo is blurry, but it catches some of the random energy of the festival.

It was crazy to see a parade-type festival, where there were thousands of participants and only hundreds of spectators. Usually it's the other way around. But i guess, although a sleepy town, Hekinan is very genki at heart.

Enjoy the genkiness!

Sumo action

This is a video of the pre-match announcements. During the day, there were about 50 matches or something like that. Each one only takes about 4 minutes, including all the pre and post-match ritual. Before each one, a guy with a fan would come out and chant the names of the wrestlers, beginning with EAST (name), and WEST (name). The ring is divided into east and west.

This match was one of the last ones. I had the impression that it was an upset.

This was the big match of the night! The guy who won has been the champ for the past 7 years. He's Mongolian. The matches are so short, sometimes they seem anti-climactic, like it should be drawn out more, but the tension does build before the match when they are preparing. The crowd really gets into it.

Sumo-!

I notice that i now have TWO blog followers! ah, it feels good to finally have gotten the readership i always dreamed of. now the pressure is on to please both fans. this is where it gets complex. so, to ensure satisfaction for both readers, we attended a full day of sumo wrestling, and i have the photos to prove it. this entry should fulfill all expectations of the readers of a person who lives in Japan. i reckon it should anyway.

when we got out of the subway near the arena, we didn't know exactly which way it was. but just as we were going to consult a map, we saw a huge guy in a japanese robe and his hair up in a knot on his head, walking along. we thought that he just may lead us to our destination.

We arrived at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium at around 9:30am on Saturday, with our friends, Tilly and James, who already had tickets. Mandy and i just hoped that there would be some left, and luckily, there were. We were so early though, and the main events started at around 2:30pm, so we got to sit down on the floor, really close to the ring. and sumo rings are true rings, not like the WWF.

This is a small ceremony featuring the champions. they are supposed to pose and stomp and clap in a show of flexibility prowess. some of them are very flexible. one guy even stuck his one leg straight up in the air over his head. it was impressive. try it, i bet you can't get your leg out to the side! i couldn't.

Sumo is a traditional sport soaked in ritual. it was strange at first, because i expected the wrestlers to be hidden away somewhere in preparation for the day (there were at least 100 wrestlers there), but they were wandering the corridors, going for food at the cafeteria, standing under the bleachers, watching the action, or warming up well in public view in nothing but their straps. at one point i had to go to the toilet, which required a trip through a narrow corridor underneath the bleachers. walking down the corridor, all i could see were sumo wrestlers at the end, and a few even standing in my way. it was a bit of a squeeze walking through.

In the morning all the matches were rookies and lower-ranked guys. it was still pretty good because they were often equally matched, and there was a lot of variation in body type. some of them were shockingly skinny guys, and some of these did quite well. it's not only size that matters in this sport. however, in the photo above is featured Yamamoto Yama, an up-and-comer who is the heaviest Japan-born wrestler in history! he weighs 550lbs, and he tossed this little 340-pounder out of the arena with little effort.

as the day progressed, so did the caliber of fighting and the consistency of body type. the champion league wrestlers all look quite similar, except for the odd foreign fighter who was obviously white. now, the top wrestler is Mongolian, and there is a Russian and a Georgian (the country) in the top 10. it is still very Japanese, but foreigners are widening the audience, it seems. the foreign fighters work very hard to learn Japanese language, and to align themselves to true sumo ways.

The guy facing you is the Russian, i believe. he's a force, but he lost this match. the two sumo wrestlers standing at ringside are the ones who fought the previous match, and it is custom for them to stand there and serve tea to the next fighters. very courteous. we saw no sign of anger or temper, but honour, especially from the losers, who exit the ring first and turn to bow before they leave. sometimes it's humiliating, i think.

this was the Yokozuna, the number one fighter right now, and has been for about 7 years. he's the one in grey, and he won his fight. some of them last only 5 or 10 seconds. the longest one was about 30 seconds. maybe a minute. they're all very short.

the guy behind us took this photo. he was the loudest yeller in there, yelling the names of his favorites, and heckling other guys. people were loving it, and once, when i turned around, he apologized to us for being so loud, and said, "stress, stress", so i guess this is his stress relief. then he went on screaming his lungs out. it was good fun.

Sumo seems to be made for spectators. it certainly doesn't seem to be made for the wrestlers. they are treated with respect and are usually well-paid, but i don't think it's worth the risks. they have to be hugely overweight, give up a normal lifestyle for a life of regulation and training, and deal with a short lifespan. and what if you get injured? then you're just fat and hurt. i wonder what kind of skills they develop that help them in every day situations. after they retire, i think it's really hard for them to stop the eating regime they were used to, and probably impossible to lose any weight. ...i think i'll pass. i've given it a lot of thought.

Hekinews

*** Update ***

The peppers from Mandy's pepper plant in fact ARE hot peppers, and were used to season a batch of salsa.

In other news, the salsa was delicious.

And now, you're up to date.

Long time no see

It's been a while since i posted, and truly, we have a lot of adventure and fun times. sometimes i don't realize how much we actually do until i reflect on it. i've been lazy lately and haven't been writing much in my own journals, but the blog, you know, because all my eager readers are waiting, keeps me writing at least a little. it's just so great to have the multitudes' patient ears.

the rice-growing season is in full swing, and the fields are lush green. this photo was taken a few weeks ago, and now the stalks are much taller, and the water is usually not as pond-like, and more muddy. i am always amazed at the vegetation in japan. it is rampant! i'm surprised that it doesn't burst through pavement and swallow houses up.
I guess it was two weeks ago now, that a few of us went to two little villages on a bus tour. my japanese teacher, Nobuko-san, arranged it all and came with us. we met her at the Hekinan train station, but ended up running late. in the panic, all i thought was, "here's a good photo op".
I had often wondered what it would be like to see a traditional japanese village. and here it was, right under my feet. it did not disappoint! everything was still there, the way it must have been for hundreds of years. however, the locals understand that throngs of curious folk want to have a gander at their heritage, and are capitalizing on it, lining the narrow cobblestone roads with souvenir shops and tourist services. it feels half real and half theme-park.
the views were real and beautiful. i always like the tiered fields. there are not many level spots to farm on, so they build the fields up level. or dig them level, not sure which.
i loved this thief-deterrent device. beer cans. i bet it keeps the foxes out. yesterday we saw a really freaky scare-crow system. there were some mannequin heads stuck on the tops of these tall poles, poking out from the bushes they were guarding. a bit disturbing. i guess people do what they must to protect their hard work.
we walked from one village, called Magome, about 9 kilometers through the forest to another village called Tsumago. they are famous old villages and always go together when people talk about them, so they become like one place, "Tsumago-Magome". the kanji is almost identical for them.
we stopped at a waterfall to refresh ourselves from the hot humidity. if you enlarge this photo, you'll see a stone that looks not unlike a gorilla creature sitting and looking at Megumi.
lunch time! the lady on the bus tour talked our ears off the whole of the 2 hour trip to Magome, talking about all the things we would see, how far we would go, what we would eat for lunch, over and over and over! it was annoying because her voice was really loud. we wanted to look out the windows in peace, but nope. we had to hear about the bento lunch we would all really enjoy and exactly of what that lunch consisted. it all went as expected, so she did her job thoroughly. thankfully, she was less talkative on the return trip.
this is some kind of memorial or shrine thing, but i don't know for sure. i do really like the photo for some reason.
as we walked, we crossed the border from Gifu prefecture into Nagano prefecture, and we spend some minutes jumping from one to the other, and declaring into which one we had jumped. it was vastly entertaining. not as thought-provoking as 5 corners or whatever that famous place is, but still fun.
here is an old building in the forest.
we passed many interesting fields and houses on the way. lots of tiers! just so many. there's our pal Megumi again.
i don't know why a person would glue straw to a horse, but here it was, a straw-glued horse. maybe it's rain gear. anyway, the poor thing could hardly move, or see.
Mandy among the tiers. i think she was looking for frogs at the time.
Well, where else in Japan would you see two old guys chatting?

Yesterday we went to the beach. i didn't bring our camera, but other people brought theirs, and so maybe i can steal photos from them to post on here. my memory of the day is preserved in my mind and in my sunned back and shoulders. it's a bit tender today...

Today we're relaxing. Mandy's ambitious though, and our kitchen is a salsa/ice cream/sushi factory. I should help her because the burden of chopping veggies is a heavy one. I can help!

Perhaps shorter entries would help my readership, but sometimes a long entry is necessary to weed out the non-committal types.