Bom, como vcs sabem eu to indo pra Miyazaki…. Jah contei isso???
Que seja….
Vou estar um
Bom tempo dentro do trem e … Como ainda sou ser humano… tenho que comer.

Aí está a janta dos campeões: bentou(marmita), café e… “merda de 7%” conhecida também como chu-hi de limão.

A viagem de trem foi reservada pelo meu professor… Que após indagado a respeito dos assentos reservados do trem bala respondeu solenemente: “você é candidato a PhD e como tal, faz parte da elite.”. Tô podendo e nem sabia.

Pena que esse trem não tem internet e tomada disponível como o anterior. Já é o segu do shinkansen de hoje!!!

Há várias vantagens de viajar de trem bala:

- Todos os tickets (a não ser dos trens Nozomi) estão cobertos pelo JR Pass portanto você viaja para onde quiser e não paga um centavo a mais;

- Os trens são todos super pontuais e não exigem check-in, então você não precisa chegar 1 hora antes como no caso de viagens de avião;

- Existem shinkansen a cada 10 – 20 minutos para os principais destinos portanto você não precisa fazer reserva ou comprar muito antes… em todos os casos chegávamos na estação e comprávamos o ticket para o próximo…o máximo que esperamos foi 30 minutos, isso por que não queríamos viajar em um vagão fumante e ainda se perder o trem sempre tem o próximo a poucos minutos;

- As poltronas inclinam bem mais do que avião e os espaços para as pernas são bem maiores, portanto você se acomoda bemmmmm melhor.

O problema fica na questão das malas:

Na parte de cima existe uma espécie de maleiros (tipo aquelas em ônibus) onde é possivel acomodar até uma mala pequena sem problema algum, além de todos os seus pertences de mão. 

Na parte de trás da última poltrona existe um espaço onde se pode guardar a mala e até dependendo o tamanho da mala tem espaco para ficar na frente das suas pernas sem problemas.

O maior problema não é mala no trem bala… o maior problema é chegar com a mala até a estação que o shinkansen vai sair… Se o seu hotel for bem próximo da estação, ótimo… caso contrário a multidão é tanta nessas estações, além das escadas, degraus, afffff me canso só de pensar…. Fora o peso da mala ne?!!? (se você for que nem eu que leva o armário inteiro)

Eu bem que tentei nessa viagem fazer uma mala mais compacta e leve (JURO)… Não deu muito certo… Se bem que para o meu padrão até que as malas ficaram levíssimas… mas como seriam cerca de 15 dias no Japão mais 5 dias na china entre amostras para fornecedores e presentes a mala ainda ficou pesada (devo admitir)… então decidimos que acharíamos outra forma de resolver o problema das malas….

E foi a melhor coisa que fizemos…. é claro que se paga um preço, muitas vezes não muito barato… mas foi o jeito que arrumamos e se voltássemos lá com certeza faríamos o mesmo.

O nome do jeitinho milagroso chama-se TAKYUBIN que nada mais é do que o correio japonês… 

Na maioria dos hoteis eles mesmo te ajudam… você pede para enviar a mala para o seu próximo destino pelo TAKYUBIN, entrega o endereço do hotel que deseja que eles entreguem, deixa a mala, recebe o comprovante e 1 dia depois aguarde que sua mala estará no seu quarto de hotel.

Sim… é simples assim mesmo!!!

No comeco ficamos meio receosos e tal… principalmente pelo fato de demorar 1 dia… mas nada poderia dar mais certo.. Fizemos uma malinha de mão com as coisas básicas que precisaríamos para esse dia que ficaríamos sem mala (não esqueça das coisas de valor também) e lá partimos; as malas chegam antes mesmo de você fazer o check-in e a maioria dos hotéis ainda deixam elas direto no seu quarto.

RÁPIDO, PRÁTICO E SEGURO.

Platform, Omaha train station, 2009. Photo by Walt Baranger

So I’m sitting in a hospital lobby in Culver City, being entertained at long distance by my friend Walt, who’s making a cross-country train run aboard Amtrak’s historic California Zephyr. He’s sending back lovely digital images of snow-covered mountains and glowing sunrises.

Then, he arrives in Omaha, NE, from which he sends…this.

When you hear people wailing about “America’s crumbling infrastructure” — a topic so expansive that it takes up a sizable chunk of Google — this is one example of what they’re talking about.

This looks like something left behind by an air strike — 50 years ago.

“OK, some of the Amtrak stations are impressive,” he wrote. “Some are cute. Some are merely functional. But really — can’t something be done about Omaha?”

Good question. The old historic station in Oakland, CA is in no worse shape than this, despite structural damage from the Loma Prieta earthquake — and it’s been abandoned for 20 years.

If anyone knows a good reason why this platform should be in such a sorry state, I — and probably a lot of Amtrak passengers — would love to hear it. Between waiting through train breakdowns and pulling into sights like this one (and Walt has done both on this trip), how much confidence would you have riding Amtrak?

Back in the day when trains were your best travel option across the continent, the California Zephyr was one of America’s premier trains. This virtual museum site will give you a glimpse back in time at the way she was. This YouTube video will give you a taste of today’s version.

One ill-timed piece of falling metal and some Amtrak passenger — or their next-of-kin — is going to own both Amtrak and Omaha.

Come to think of it, where on Earth is the City of Omaha in all of this? The neglect so visibly evident in this pic gives new meaning to that old railroad expression, “asleep at the switch.”

The California Zephyr carries about 350,000 passengers a year — which means that every year, just over a third of a million people will be going home with this image in their heads when they think of Omaha.

That’ll bring in a lot of out-of-town business — or it would, if rust collectors held conventions.

All this makes even less sense when you find out that Omaha converted one of its old train stations into a pretty cool little railroad museum, the Durham Museum. How could they do that, while letting the actual working passenger platform deteriorate into this?

If this were, say, Omaha, Japan instead of Omaha, NE, both the mayor and the head of the local chamber of commerce might have committed suicide by now. The shame would’ve been that great.

This is not to suggest that Omaha’s city fathers or Amtrak executives should be out looking for swords to fall on, but I refuse to believe that this is the best a major American city — and the national railroad serving it — can do.

Acho que uma das principais preparações que se pode fazer antes de viajar para o Japão é sem dúvida nenhuma adquirir o JR Rail Pass. Ele é um anjo salvador dos turistas não só na cidade mais cara do mundo (Tokyo) como em toda as cidades do Japão.

Esse passe garante transporte entre todas as cidades do Japão utilizando os shinkansens (trens bala), permite que você se desloque dentro das cidades quando for usar as linhas da JR e ainda inclui o ferryboat entre Hiroshima e a ilha de Miyajima. Com isso o turista economiza e muito; mas atenção: esse passe só está disponível para aqueles que vão ao Japão com visto de turista. E não é válido para os trens bala Nozomi (que são os mais rápidos).

O transporte público é excelente. Existe trem para todo o lado das cidades, porém o grande defeito é que nada é integrado, portanto toda a hora que você desce em uma estação para trocar de trem você deve pagar novamente a tarifa cujo preço vai depender da distância que você vai percorrer. Na frente das máquinas de compra de ticket (sim lá é tudo na base da máquina) vai ter um enorme quadro com todas as linhas saindo e chegando a estação que você está. Em cada estação você encontra o preço que deverá pagar.

Muitas vezes esses quadros estão apenas em japonês, quando você ficar na duvida de qual o valor deverá pagar sempre pague a tarifa minima. Quando chegar na estação de destino passe em uma das máquinas que ficam perto da saída chamadas de Fare Adjustment e ele te dirá se deve pagar algo a mais ou não.

Porém se você tem o passe você pode andar quantas vezes quiser em quantas estações desejar que, SE FOR LINHA JR, não pagará nada. Basta apresentar o passe para os guardinhas na entrada e na saída das estações. Eles ficam bem ao lado das catracas.

Grifei bem o fato de ser JR Line por que em todas as cidades há as linhas de metro e as linhas privadas, dentre estas a da JR Line. Portanto esse passe não serve para as linhas de metro. Não que isso vá fazer diferença já que há linhas JR para todos os principais lugares.

Quando for comprar o passe veja exatamente qual a duração da sua estada não só em Tokyo mas no Japão como um todo. Existem passes para 7, 14 e 21 dias. E eles começam a valer a partir da data que você for em uma das agencias da JR (eu troquei na estação de Shinagawa) e pedir para validar o passe, nesta hora você vai poder decidir a partir de que data você quer que ele valha. Antes disso ele não é válido, sendo apenas um voucher!!!!!  Portanto veja direitinho as datas.

Para usar os shinkansen é um pouquinho diferente. Você deve ir a um dos pontos de venda do trem bala (como se fosse comprar normalmente) e que existem em todas as grandes estações de trem. Quando for comprar escolha o destino, o horário (para as grandes cidades existem trens balas a cada 10 – 20 minutos) e mostre que você tem o passe…. nenhuma taxa ou valor será cobrado. Se te cobrarem, algo está errado.

Geralmente os atendentes são sempre bem gentis e falam inglês o suficiente para te atender e tirar todas as suas dúvidas. Além disso, você também pode pedir os horários dos trens que você precisa pegar para chegar na estação em que precisa pegar o trem bala; para dessa forma não perder o trem (que sai pontualmente!!!!). 

Enfim… JR Rail Pass é a salvação para todo o turista não ir a falência para se locomover no Japão. Não esqueça de cuidar dele com todo o carinho, de levar para onde quer que você vá e deixá-lo sempre a mão, já que vai precisar mostrá-lo tanto na entrada quanto na saída de cada linha de metro e se for perdido você nao conseguira uma segunda via.

Jr Lines

Tokyo Monorail

P.S.: Clique nos mapas do metro para ver em maior tamanho.

(Ảnh lấy từ internet. Em ứ có time để chụp cái tàu em đi, huhu)

Vừa về đến YKC là up luôn cái bài này lên lun, cho nó nỏng. Cẩn thận không phỏng … mắt nhá bà con. Còn bây giờ là đi trang hoàng nhà cửa đã

Viết trên Shinkansen

Vậy là một tháng ở Fukui cũng đã trôi qua, giờ đây tôi đang ngồi trên chuyến tàu trở lại YKC. Tàu đã đến ga Nagoia. 12h58ph Japan. Còn hơn 1 tiếng nữa chúng tôi mới xuống tàu Shinkansen để chuyển sang một tàu khác để về YOKOHAMA. Tại thời điểm này tàu chạy rất êm, có lẽ là tôi buồn ngủ nhưng lại là có lẽ, tôi thích viết hơn.

Không hiểu bây giờ tôi đang lắc lư theo tàu hay lắc lư theo điệu của một bài hát thiếu nhi nữa. “Như một hòn bi xanh, trái đất này quay tròn, vô tình ta cùng chọn nơi này làm quê hương. Này em trong mỗi con tim, nhớ mang quê hương của mình.”

Thỉnh thoảng tai tôi lại ù đi, có lẽ vì tàu chạy quá nhanh chăng? Hay nó đang leo lên một ngọn núi nào đấy. Từ shinkansen tôi có thể nhìn thấy nhiều thứ: Nhà cửa (dĩ nhiên) đường xá (hiển nhiên) và biển. Biển xanh rờn xa tít tắp. Có khi cảm thấy như mặt biển còn cao hơn cả con đường mà tôi đang đi qua… Và núi. Cái hùng vĩ mênh mông của đất nước này như thu hết vào tầm nhìn.

Tàu đang lao xuống, bây giờ bên trái tôi là chênh vênh con đường nhỏ. Con tàu không chạy thẳng từ trên xuống mà nó đi xiên. Tôi chợt nghĩ đến mẹ. Một liên hệ có vẻ không hợp lí, nhưng lại có ly do của nó. Mẹ đau chân nên mỗi lần xuống cầu thang, mẹ lại đi nghiêng, đi chéo từ bên này sang bên kia cầu thang, như vậy đầu gồi sẽ đỡ phải co hơn, và sẽ đỡ đau hơn….

Tàu đang vào hầm. Bên ngoài tối om. Và tự nhiên bừng sáng khi đoàn hầm ngắn đã lùi lại sau lưng….

Tàu nghiêng, có lẽ vì một góc cua. Bây giờ chúng tôi đang ở trên cao. Tầm nhìn bị che khuất khiến tôi có cảm giác như tàu đang … bay…

Bây giờ không còn thấy biển nữa, biển mất hút sau bao la những cánh đồng, những “ngôi làng” Gọi là làng thế thôi, nó chẳng giống làng Việt. Tôi gọi là làng chỉ đơn giản vì nơi đây không có những toà nhà cao tầng, ở đây lại có những đồng ruộng. Đường ra ruộng được trải nhựa, thẳng tắp, sạch sẽ. Những mảnh ruộng cứ như những miếng bánh được cắt bằng bàn tay một gã đầu bếp lành nghề.

Tàu đến một ga khác. Bây giờ nhìn ra là biết bao người đang đứng chờ tàu. Có một thằng nhóc đi trước mẹ nó (có lẽ thế) lấc láo tìm chỗ. Cái lấc cấc của con trẻ vẫn đáng yêu.

Tàu lại rời ga. Có lẽ nó chỉ dừng khoảng chưa đầy 1ph, chỉ đủ cho tôi viết được 2 dòng trên.

“Mỗi lần như thế em thấy tim mình xao xuyến” Đang nghe đến câu đấy… Ờ, xao xuyến thì phải, tôi không nhìn ra ngoài nữa, miên man nghĩ về nơi mà “ở nơi đó em sẽ bên anh, dù gian khó ta mãi bên nhau, ta sẽ yêu nhau đến muôn đời”. Lại nghĩ, giá mà bây giờ ngồi cạnh tôi lúc này là anh, để tôi có thể tựa đầu vào vai anh nhỉ? Biết đâu một ngày nào đó, cũng trên một chuyến tàu thế này….

Thi thoảng cô tiếp viên trên tàu đi lại hỏi xem khách có nhu cầu mua gì không. Tôi không có y định mua gì, chai nước lọc chuẩn bị từ nhà vẫn còn 1/3. Hình như tôi đang đi giữa hai ngọn núi, cứ như mình sẻ núi để đi vậy, sát sàn sạt hai bên toàn cây là cây. Và biển, trước mắt tôi bây giờ là biển, à không tôi đang đi qua biển. Có lẽ là một cái nhánh nhỏ chảy ra biển. Và bây giờ thì biển ở ngay bên cạnh. À không biển đang ở bên dưới chúng tôi. Tôi đang bay qua biển, thật đấy!

“Răng nỏ vô, ông cho hắn vô đi chứ” Đấy là giọng thằng cháu tôi khi 4-5 tuổi gì đó. Nó đọc để ông ghi âm, nhưng chả thấy cái đài nó “nói năng gì” nên nó tưởng là giọng nó chưa được thu vào. Haha…

Biển đã lùi lại sau lưng, có vẻ con đường trước mắt thẳng tắp nên tàu bớt lắc lư, bớt nghiêng hơn.

Lại là một ga khác, nhưng tàu không dừng. Bây giờ thì tôi không biết là tôi đang đi đến đâu. Một nơi có lẽ nên gọi là thành phố trên núi. Những tòa nhà cao ngất và xây nghiêng. Cứ như sắp đổ đến nơi.

Một cây cầu phải đến hơn 20 nhịp bắt qua một con sông, à không hẳn là sông, chắc lại là một nhánh rẽ từ biển. Ít nước và trông có vẻ đẹp, hoặc là vì nhìn từ xa nên thấy thế

“Sóng biển xanh rì rào, cành lá rung lao xao…” Tôi đang nghe một bài hát thiếu nhi về mùa hè. Ở đây không còn là mùa hè nữa, nhưng hôm nay trời nắng đẹp. Chúng tôi vừa gặp một con tàu đi ngược chiều. Và bây giờ lại là một cái hầm. Hầm dài nhất từ nãy đến giờ.

Tôi ngừng viết và lôi ảnh của cháu ra xem. Nhớ, nhớ cái thời đấy, thằng nhóc gầy đét, cứ mong nó lên được cân nào hay cân đấy. Nhớ cái thời mà mỗi lần đi học về tôi được đi đón nó, nhét nó vào cái giỏ xe rồi hai o cháu về nhà. Có lúc tôi ko cho nó vào giỏ xe nữa, tôi bế nó, một tay bế một tay lái xe. Nghĩ lại thấy mình liều. có lúc tôi ngồi yên sau, cho nhóc ngồi yên trước. Đôi khi nghĩ như mèo mẹ tha mèo con vậy. Một con bé gầy tong teo, tha một thằng nhóc gầy đét đe đi khắp nơi. Nhớ cả khi tôi đã ra Vinh học, về nhà nó lạ, nó ko cho bế, và tôi khóc. Ơ hay, đâu ra lắm nước mắt thế.

Khi tôi ngẩng đầu lên thì lại là một cái hầm. Có lẽ tôi cũng sẽ dừng viết ở đây, ngồi nghe nhạc và hồi tưởng một chút về những cái kỷ niệm thời tuổi thơ. Cũng sắp đến lúc phải xuống tàu rồi….

Bây giờ là 13h50 JP 30-10-2006

Links:

• http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen
• http://masviajesmasriqueza.blogspot.com/2009/05/video-tren-bala-shinkansen-hikari.html
• http://estanbojosaquestsjapos.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/els-directius-de-renfe-i-alguns-ministres-shaurien-de-deixar-caure-per-aqui/
• http://www.detalls.org/2009/10/tren-bala.html

Música: Silvia Comes & Lídia Pujol – El cuento de los dos suicidas (3,5MB – mp3)  -  play  |  download

Japan television is showing a mad scene at Tokyo Station tonight with the night-time arrival of the country’s most notorious killer, Ichihashi (市橋) from Osaka. Only in Japan are criminals transported across the country by high speed rail. I cannot imagine what it would be like to share a public rail car with a violent criminal. For Japanese the speed and efficiency of the rails make it a natural way to transport even the worst criminals. The police transported him from Tokyo Station to Chiba by car. This is the end of a two year search, with the suspect hiding through cross-dressing and plastic surgery.

I finally emptied the contents of a jam-packed video-camera last week.
For whatever reason, this is the only thing I feel compelled to put up for the moment.
I’d emptied it to make room for footage of my hike at Jirisan this past weekend, so that should show up some day, in some form.

This was on the Shinkansen in Japan, going from Hiroshima to Shimonoseki. It’s remarkable how unremarkable going 300km/hr can be.

A video from Youtube showing off the N700 Shinkansen. I personally think this is one of the best looking Shinkansen trains. There has been some news about Japan offering the N700 to the U.S. Hopefully they can get it for their California system.

Today was another day of traveling but I had enough time to also do some sightseeing. Taking the subway in Tokyo was much easier than it was yesterday, since I knew what I was doing. I discovered that when I put Y200 in for my Y160 ticket, I didn’t get change back. Must be exact change only when paying with coin. Shrug. It’s only 50 cents. Tokyo station is absolutely huge. The shinkansen area of the station is quite fancy, there were lots of vendors around as well as bilingual signs. I was unable to reserve a seat that was both non-smoking and window, so unfortunately I don’t have many pictures of the ride. As a consolation prize, I took lots of notes and will recreate the trip as faithfully as I can. For the record, though? Hikari (light) trains have tons of legroom and I would gladly take a shinkansen back to Canada if there was a bridge across the Pacific Ocean.

To start! Man am I glad I am taking this trip while it’s light out. There’s so much to see. The weather today was perfect, 20C in Tokyo and 24C in Osaka according to the morning forecasts, and clear skies. If this keeps up I will not be needing the sweater I packed. Tokyo is full of tall buildings with large, colourful signs, some I can read, most I cannot. There’s all kinds of shapes and sizes of homes, there’s really no good way to describe them all. Huge high rise apartment complexes, small little one level dwellings, etc etc. I was surprised to see what looked to be the bridge in Karakura Town in BLEACH. Said town is based on an area in west Tokyo, so it’s entirely possible that was the bridge that inspired some of the town. The surroundings certainly looked like the anime. Aside from death gods, ghosts, super-powered humans, and monsters running around.

Soon after I realized we were on elevated rail for the first leg of the journey. Take that, Skytrain! After passing through Shin-Yokohama station, there came to be many more trees, and more green space in general, than in the urban jungle of Tokyo. Farms started popping up, interspersed with residential areas. I’m not sure what was being grown; whatever it is was a short plant of some kind.

Feeling very thirsty, I silently wished a vendor would come by so I could buy a water bottle. Surely enough, after a little while one did! I managed to complete the transaction entirely in Japanese, I’m so proud of myself. mizu ippon wa ikura desu ka? Amidst the many heavily forested mountains, I saw one taller than the rest, with a snow-capped, cratered peak. Seeking confirmation, I worked up the courage to ask another passenger: are wa fujiyama desu ka? Yes, it was Mt. Fuji! I really wish I could have taken a photo, but it’s hard to say if it would have turned out with the train traveling at over 170km/h. Maybe if I’d fiddled with the settings to minimize shutter speed. Also, fujisan is an acceptable way to reference Mt. Fuji. Anyways, there’s lots of mountains southwest of Tokyo, more than I thought there would be. I guess it makes sense since Japan is a Pacific Rim country.

A while later, we passed over some rivers. The riverbanks were totally built up, between buildings or docks for small watercraft. It looked like there were marinas. At Nagoya station, someone brought on a boxed lunch, it looked quite fancy an well-presented, from what I could see without staring or looking over his shoulder. I will have to get a bento at some point myself. Seeing a tall, traditional building, probably a shrine, in the midst of modern housing was an interesting juxtaposition.

At Gifu-Hashima station, I was able to take a couple pictures while the train was stopped. Soon after we departed from there, I saw a very strange-looking building. Long, narrow, convex, and covered in solar panels, it’s Sanyo’s Solar Ark, a solar power plant and something I really want to see up close. I will have to investigate the feasibility.

After Maibara station, the landscape got very flat. There’s lots of farms, and very narrow streets running through them. They must either be one-way or for motorbikes. I saw a lot of mopeds on the roads. I’ve also seen a lot of laundry hanging out to dry from people’s balconies.

That’s about it for the shinkansen, it arrived at Shin-Osaka station and off I went to find the JR Kyoto line to get to Osaka station. shin means new in this context, by the way. So I’m going from New Osaka station to Osaka station. For the Narita Express and the shinkansen, I needed a reserved seat, but for the other JR lines all I need is my rail pass. Cool, less to worry about. Boo, less easy souvenirs. Unlike subway tickets, because I show my rail pass tickets to a human I don’t lose them when I’m done.

In Japan, you drive on the left side of the road. Convention also dictates that on an escalator, you stand left and walk right. In Osaka, you stand right and walk left, like back home. I learned this the hard way when I was blocking the way for people trying to walk down the escalator. sumimasen!

I found the Osaka Loop Line, which took me to Shin-Imamiya station, where my lodging for the next week and a half. Check out the video on that page, it’s more or less what I saw on my way there from the train station, but add about 50% more parked bikes, and several bikes in motion weaving around you. My room is basically the first one you see in the video, but mirrored. Interestingly, I have to step up into the washroom. I would prefer the extra foot or so to give me more headroom so I don’t have to stoop down when showering.

I spent about an hour in my room, unpacking a couple things and building up the confidence to go out in search of food. My Japanese language skills are poor, most notably that I know almost no kanji, basically just the numbers. I decided to head for Festival Gate, since it’s right next to the station and looked cool when I came in. Turns out the amusement park is closed, but all the nearby shops and eateries are still open.

So, off to janjan yokocho alley. At this point I’m still feeling pretty anxious. I spend a while wandering around, pondering simply getting something prepackaged. I see a place where the menu sign outside is partially in English and note them for future reference. I wander more, finding one of the many convenience store chains in the area. This one I get a discount at for staying at Chuo Oasis, but I resist and soon wander back to the restaurant I saw before. The waitress does not speak English, but ultimately I manage to order some kushikatsu – Skewers of various foods, battered (not tempura!) and deep-fried, served with a very delicious dark liquid sauce. I played it safe and ordered five chicken skewers to start. oishi katta! I soon followed up with three potato and two pork. They were good, but the pork was too fatty for my tastes. The chicken won.

Feeling refreshed after this, I go exploring more. First I find doubutsuenmae, a covered shopping arcade like janjan yokocho. I just took it slow, looking around and trying not to feel overwhelmed. After that I looped back north and into shinsekai, which supposedly has a bit of a seedy reputation but I felt perfectly fine there, perhaps since the crowds were smaller and it was more open. Most of the pachinko parlors I saw were in janjan yokocho.

As it went past 5:00, it began to quickly get dark so I started making my way back towards the hotel. On the way I stopped at a vending machine and bought a bottle of Pepsi Shiso. It’s minty and greener than Mountain Dew! I’m not sure if I’d have it again. It’s certainly interesting. Angelica was quite surprised to hear I found it on my first outing.

At this point I’m quite tired and have been working on this post for over two hours, so I’m going to throw up pictures and be done with it now.

• tokkaido shinkansen platform in Tokyo: 1 2
• The view from my room: day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 night 1 night 2
• tsuutenkaku: day night 1 night 2
• doubutsuenmae: 1 2
• 24 hour supermarkets: 1 2
• janjan yokocho alley: 1 2
• shinsekai: 1 2
• Mystery tram to who knows where?
• Joshin Computer Store J&P
• Spa World
• Statue in front of Spa World: 1 2
• Pachinko parlor at Shin-Imimaya
• The hotel at night
• Pepsi Shiso and a water bottle
]]> http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/shinkansen-to-kyoto/ Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:49:37 +0000 Chris http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/shinkansen-to-kyoto/ http://asiandiscovery.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/a-little-bit-of-this-a-little-bit-of-that-and-a-lot-of-awkward/ Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:59:59 +0000 Luc Lauzon http://asiandiscovery.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/a-little-bit-of-this-a-little-bit-of-that-and-a-lot-of-awkward/ http://xerx.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/amazing-shinkansen-punctuality-youtube-video/ Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:00:57 +0000 xerxster http://xerx.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/amazing-shinkansen-punctuality-youtube-video/

You gotta hand it to the Japanese for their amazing ability to keep trains on time

]]> http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/game-7-nagoya-dome-nagoya-dragons-vs-swallows/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:50:10 +0000 dayers75 http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/game-7-nagoya-dome-nagoya-dragons-vs-swallows/

Hey There,

It was a shame to leave Fukuoka after just the one day.  I’m not sure if there is anything to do there, but it would have been nice to be there for another day.  I’ll say this, the hotel we stayed at was the best so far.

We took the Shinkansen back to Kyoto, where were going to stay for the next couple of days, to see the Dragons and then the Tigers.  Riding the Shinkansen is fairly comparable to riding Amtrak, but the trains go much faster.  I wish they had bullet trains in the US (you could go from New York to LA in the time it takes to fly there).  The actual ride on the train is pretty comfortable- you don’t notice the speed unless you’re outside.  The seats are fairly comfortable, a bit more spacious than an airplane’s, and there is a curtain on the windows so you can block out the sun, which heats up the car.  Also, instead of a dining car, a girl pushes a refreshment cart throughout the ride.  You can buy tea, coffee, soda, beer, candy, food (wrapped bento boxes) and snacks.

When we got to Kyoto, there was a light drizzle, the first time there was real rain during the trip.  While some people on the trip lamented that their umbrellas were packed, the misty rain was similar to what we get in Seattle, so I didn’t care.  We were staying at a hotel called the Kyoto APA Hotel, which was very near the train station.  Unfortunately, there were three hotels with the same name within a few blocks of each other and we didn’t know which one was ours.  We got it on the second try.

Nagoya is about two hours from Kyoto using the trains we took (combination of commuter train and subway).  By the time we got there, it wasn’t raining anymore, but it was grey.  If it was just a bit cooler, it would have been just like Seattle.  Or London.

The Dragons are owned by Chunichi, which is a newspaper published in the Aichi prefecture, which includes Nagoya.  The Dragons are a pretty successful team.  While they may not win a lot championships, they are almost always very competitive.  The are often compared to the Dodgers because their team colors are the same, and they write “Dragons” on their uniform in the same way as the Dodgers do.






Like the other teams, the Dragons have a number of mascots.  In their case, none are actually dragons, at least not like any dragons I’ve ever seen.  The mascots will pose for pictures before the game.






Since the first game, I had been enthralled by the organized cheers and chants.  In most cases, there is a clapping rhythm along with the vocal chant.  Starting with the Lions game, I started clapping along with the rest of the crowd (at that game, unfortunately, I was rooting for the “wrong” team).  While each team has a unique set of chants/songs (some parks even distribute lyric sheets), there are a few chants that are the same for all teams.  I was determined to learn that one, since it was by far the easiest (just two words, one of which is the players name).  But what was that word?

I recruited the others in our group to listen closely during that particular chant, and eventually, we got it.  So, if you’re ever at a Japanese baseball game and you hear this chant, you can sing along (you’ll need to know the player’s name):

Clap. Clap. ClapClapClap

Clap. Clap. ClapClapClap

Clap. Clap. ClapClapClap

“Kattobase [Player's Name]“

Kattobase means “get on base” or “get a hit.”  When you call out the player’s name, it has to be three syllables.  For example, if the player’s name is Arai, you would say “Kattobase Ah-Ra-Ee.”  In some cases, the player’s name doesn’t have three syllables (many have more) or do not fit into the chant.  In those cases, they use a nickname, they say the name faster (ex. Ka-Wa-Saki), or they only say part of the name, which I guess is sort of a nickname.

This chant is a bit more fun with boom sticks (two plastic sticks you can bang together).  In fact, everything is more fun with boom sticks…

The Dragons won the game, 4-2, beating the Swallows, who were quickly becoming my least favorite team.  Unfortunately, we were going to see them at least one more time on the trip (in Yokohama).

]]> http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/game-6-yahoo-dome-fukuoka-hawks-vs-eagles/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:09:27 +0000 dayers75 http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/game-6-yahoo-dome-fukuoka-hawks-vs-eagles/

Hey There,

We took a long trip on the Shinkansen, going from Tokyo down to Fukuoka.  Up until then, you could set your watch to the Shinkansen.  The time it was supposed to leave was the time it left; the time it was supposed arrive was the time it arrived.  On this day, we left Osaka a little late and we ended up being about a half hour late to our stop in Fukuoka.  We almost got off at the wrong stop.

There were eight of us going to Fukuoka, four were assigned to one train car and four were assigned to another.  Between our two cars was a smoking car.  The train stopped at a station at 2:39pm (which was the time indicated on our ticket), but the name of the station was not Hakata, which is the station we wanted.  In our car, the four of us had a quick discussion about whether or not to get off the train.  On the one hand, it was the right time, but on the other, it was the wrong station.  After much deliberation, we decided not to get off the train and it pulled away from the station.  We tried to see if our friends were waiting on the platform, but didn’t see anybody, assuming they were still on the train.

Of course, we could have just walked two cars back to see if they were there, but that would mean having to walk through the smoking car.  Smoking areas in Japan are different than smoking areas in the US in that the enclosed space is absolutely filled with smoke- if cigarette smoke didn’t smell so bad, you’d think it was cloudy.  So, for the next five minutes or so, we argued about who would trek back and see if our friends were still on the train.  It occurred to us that maybe we shouldn’t care about our friends, since they didn’t seem to be too concerned about us.

Finally, two of us decided to brave the smoke and find the others.  I’m happy to say that our friends were still on the train.  So, if we really should have gotten off the train, then they’d be lost with us…

The shock of the Shinkansen not being on time foreshadowed the game we were going to see that night, but more on that later.

Fukuoka was a nice looking town and I wish we had more time to spend there.  Unfortunately, we were leaving the next day for Kyoto.

Back to baseball, since that’s why I was in Japan in the first place.  This night, we were at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome in Hawks Town, Fukuoka.  Hawks Town is a small shopping village around the Dome.





SoftBank is a wireless service company, like AT&T and Verizon.  Their chief competitor is Docomo and has an exclusive contract for the iPhone.  They also own the Hawks.  Sadaharu Oh used to manage the Hawks, but retired at the end of the 2008 season, which was a shame because last year the guys on the tour got to meet him.

The Yahoo Japan Dome is the only retractable dome used in the NPB.  It was closed the night we were there, which was odd because it was a very nice night.





The SoftBank Hawks have more mascots than any other team (they have 8).



This was a pretty good game.  The Hawks were winning 3-1 going into the top of the ninth.  My friends and I were looking forward to the post game interviews and celebration.  Unfortunately, the Eagles scored two runs to tie the game.  All of a sudden the game was tied 3-3.  The bases were soon loaded and I turned to the guy sitting next to me and said “it’d be weird if there was a grand slam right now.”  And lo and behold, the next pitch went over the fence and the Eagles were up 7-3.

After the grand slam, the entire dome was silent, even the cheering sections.  In the bottom of the ninth, the Hawks scored one run to make the score 7-4, which is how it ended.

Unbelievable…

]]> http://jaredinnakano.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/shinkansen-at-sunset/ Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:13:20 +0000 tokyo moe http://jaredinnakano.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/shinkansen-at-sunset/



Just returned from a trip to the Japanese countryside. The shinkansen or bullet train has speed and beauty. Seeing the pink and purple sky at sunset over the train is magical.

]]> http://floathereforever.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/bye-bye-tokyo/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:42:40 +0000 floathereforever http://floathereforever.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/bye-bye-tokyo/ http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/game-2-skymark-stadium-kobe-orix-buffaloes-vs-chiba-lotte-marines/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:30:20 +0000 dayers75 http://dayers75.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/game-2-skymark-stadium-kobe-orix-buffaloes-vs-chiba-lotte-marines/

Hey There,



Picture of the Shinkansen board

After a 5 hour game, we had to wake up early the next morning to take the Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Kyoto.  It was warm in Tokyo when we left.  Kyoto is south and by the time we got there (about 11:30 AM or so), Kyoto was pretty hot and humid.  Kyoto was a stopping point for us (we stayed there overnight).  The game was in Kobe, which was about a half hour away.

The Orix Buffaloes split their home games between the Kyocera Dome in Osaka and Skymark Stadium in Kobe.  Originally, there were two teams- the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix Blue Wave.  Orix is a rental car company (like Hertz or Avis).  You may also know the Orix Blue Wave because Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners used to play for them.  Kintetsu and Orix merged and decided also to merge their teams.  Because the two teams had their fan bases in Osaka and Kobe, the new Orix Buffaloes team decided to split their home games between the two parks.

When we got to the game (around 2:30PM) it was sunny and hot, so hot in fact that our seats were almost too hot to sit in.  Fortunately for us, Orix is not a great team and the park was empty, so we were able to move to another section in the shade.







During the early part of the game, we were joking about how this game could go into extra innings.  Imagine our surprise when the game actually did go to the tenth inning.  Chiba scored three times in the top of the 10th, then Orix came back with two in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t score the third run before the last out.  While it ended our streak of twelve inning games at 1, I think we were secretly glad there was a winner.

Compared to the Tokyo Dome, I felt that Skymark Stadium was more comfortable and seemed more fan friendly.  Skymark Stadium was my first experience with Mascots and Cheer Squads.

All the teams have multiple mascots.  There is usually a boy mascot and a girl mascot, and usually a couple of other mascots as well.  I think the mascots are mostly there for the kids, but even the adult fans get a kick out of the mascots.  Before the games, people get autographs from the mascots and I even saw a few people wearing jerseys with a mascot’s name on it.

As for the Cheer Squad, they are probably most similar to the dancers at an NBA game, but more wholesome.  They are out before the game, during the middle of the fifth inning and the middle of the seventh inning (seventh inning stretch).  They dance for the audience and lead the seventh inning song with the help of the mascots.

Here are some pictures of the Mascots and Cheer Squad for Orix:



 

]]> http://japaninsight.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/japanese-customer-service-in-action/ Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:31:33 +0000 punafish http://japaninsight.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/japanese-customer-service-in-action/

I’ll preface this post by saying that this is a personal record: it’s the first time I’ve ever posted twice in one day. Don’t get used to it…

When I train non-Japanese clients on Japanese expectations of customer service, I do my best to paint a picture with words. But there’s no substitute for direct experience, and for this reason I always encourage clients to visit Japan to benchmark “the best in the world.” When it comes to serving customers, Japan is indeed the cream of the cream.

But if you can’t visit Japan then the next best thing (for folks in Hawaii anyway) is Big Island Candies. The next best thing after that is seeing Japanese customer service in action via the magic of youtube.

Below is a short clip taken on the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Atami. The bullet train is my favorite way to travel in Japan. It feels like a cross between a train and an airplane. What’s really cool is the food and beverage service. It’s not free, of course, but the quality is way above airline food, and the service is exceptional. And they even serve beer! Another subtle but wonderful aspect of the bullet train is that they welded all the rails together so there’s no annoying clickity-clack to deal with: it feels like you’re flying…minus the turbulence.

Yeah, they really know how to take care of customers here. But don’t take my word for it–check it out for yourself. (I figured that if a picture is worth a 1,000 words then a video is worth at least 10,000, no?) The clip below is of the “snack lady” doing her job with dedication and professionalism. What impresses me every time is how the servers bow before entering and leaving the train car. The conductors do the same.

So take heed America: we’ve got a long way to go to match the Japanese level of customer service. The only negative I can think of is that the high Japanese standard has spoiled me; now I’m ruined for life. Can’t imagine anyone else ever measuring up.

So here you go, the shinkansen snack lady in action:

]]> http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/eki-flash-tokyo-station-shinkansen/ Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:25:33 +0000 Chris http://chrisatwaseda.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/eki-flash-tokyo-station-shinkansen/ http://momijitomitsukoshi.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/day-22-arrive-tokyo/ Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:16:19 +0000 mitsukoshi http://momijitomitsukoshi.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/day-22-arrive-tokyo/

Well, hello all! We have reached Tokyo and boy, am I glad to be back online. I’ve felt so cut off for the last couple of days and it kind of makes you a bit homesick, when you are used to having email availability every single day! Even 18 months ago we managed with very limited contact when we were here, but now I must have internet-dependency (NOT good!!).

Views from our room – 16th floor





So, since I last blogged from Nagasaki, we have travelled up to Hakone (about an eight-hour train trip), spent three nights there and then today, did our last stint on the Shinkansen from Odawara to Toyko (about 35 minutes). It was quite a sad occasion, knowing that it would be our last ride on the Shinkansen (we will be using local trains around Tokyo).

It’s going to be even sadder on our last trip to Loft, our last time of saying ‘arigato goziamashita’ (you must leave out the last ‘i)’, our last time of hunting down a bottle of champers in the departo, our last time for repacking the suitcase (actually, not), our last time of washing in the basin (not, again), our last time for blogging from Japan (until next time) blah blah blah – you get the idea.

Peace Park – Nagasaki



I might just finish up with a whole stack of photos for now – we have taken about 2500 (seriously!!).

Kaiseki Ryoori – Nagasaki

(Yes, that is a hollowed-out lime containing fish eggs – oh, yummmm!)



Kaiseki Ryoori – Hakone Yumoto

(Yep – a few days after the above, in a different place)





Hakone Ropeway – over Kowakodani

(Live volcano)



Little boy getting Peter’s signature after a quick interview, as part of his English lesson excursion

(Peter did 2 interviews & I did one, before we escaped. There were about 30 kids looking for gaijins to practice English on. There were about 5 gaijins on the cruise. One of the questions was “Can I take a picture with you?”. I wonder if they would have understood “sure, if you want to break your lense”. Hahaha We had to sign their book at the end of the interview as proof that they had completed their assignment. They were so earnest and so sweet! I will say that now, because when I get back I will cry if I try to say it!)



Lake Ashi



My bathroom for the last three nights



Tori Gates – Lake Ashi



I’m going to do a special blog for Fuji San!

See you soon.

]]> http://troutfactory.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/typhoon-melor/ Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:03:58 +0000 Trane DeVore http://troutfactory.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/typhoon-melor/



Typhoon Melor blew through Japan last night, killing three people and injuring 64.  A few typhoons a year usually make their way to Japan, but for some reason the main force of the typhoons almost always seems to bypass the Osaka area where I live.  My very first experience with a typhoon warning came on the day of Osaka’s Tenjin Matsuri festival.  My friend Richard and I were trying to decide how serious the typhoon warning was, and what the likelihood of Tenjin Matsuri being canceled might be.  As it turned out, there wasn’t a hint of a typhoon and Richard and I had a great time at Tenjin Matsuri.  After that, every time there was a typhoon warning there would — at most — be some strong winds and a little extra rain, but nothing to write home about, really.  The photograph above was taken during one of these mini-typhoons, but the wind looks a lot stronger than it actually was because of the long exposure time; in fact, all of the trains were running as normal and nobody was closing up shop and battening down the hatches.

I did have a pretty harrowing experience one time getting caught in a typhoon while riding the shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka.  The train came to a halt at one of the smaller shinkansen stations along the route and promptly parked there for four hours until the winds began to subside.  The woman next to me told me that one time she had been on the shinkansen when it had to be stopped during a typhoon and they ended up spending the night at the station.  “Hotel Shinkansen,” she called it.  Luckily our train didn’t become an impromptu hotel, but it did take over eight hours to get to Osaka rather than the usual two and a half.

Last night’s typhoon was definitely the real deal.  The strong winds began kicking up around midnight, and by two in the morning there was a general tumult of howling and clattering while huge gusts of wind literally shook the walls of the house.  I had to sleep with earplugs in to block out the sounds from outside, but even so the wind was so strong that sometimes I woke up because an exceptionally loud thump  or shake made itself known despite the earplugs.  At one point I decided to go out on the balcony (the lee side of the house) to watch the storm outside.  Through the grey of the night I could see the tall trees down at the local junior high school bending and swaying in the heavy wind, while sudden gusts shot through my back yard twisting the branches and vines in every direction.  What was intense about the bending trees and flying branches wasn’t the strength of the wind, but rather the speed of the forces involved and the rapidity with which they would change direction.  Standing on the balcony it was easy to feel the different pressures and densities of the winds as they moved over and between the houses, and it was easy to remember that air is a liquid with currents that can be as violent and dangerous as the most vicious ocean tides.  Alone on the balcony, in the middle of the night, it felt almost like my house was a ship, anchored in the vastness of the ocean, standing completely still in the middle of a tossing sea.

]]> http://jaredinnakano.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/japans-most-notorious-criminal-transported-by-shinkansen/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:23:14 +0000 tokyo moe http://jaredinnakano.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/japans-most-notorious-criminal-transported-by-shinkansen/


Japan television is showing a mad scene at Tokyo Station on the midnight news with the night-time arrival of the country’s most notorious killer, Ichihashi (市橋) from Osaka. Only in Japan are criminals transported across the country by high speed rail. I cannot imagine what it would be like to share a public rail car with a violent criminal.

For Japanese, the speed and efficiency of the rails make it a natural way to transport even the worst criminals. The police took him by car from Tokyo Station to Chiba. This is the end of a two year search, with the suspect hiding through cross-dressing and plastic surgery.

]]>