tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139849712010-04-23T18:06:31.199+09:00i'm not as sad as dostoevsky, i'm not as clever as mark twainmehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1159404179118245662006-09-30T16:17:00.000+09:002006-10-17T04:47:19.076+09:00

If you’ve stumbled upon this blog by chance, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mehan and for one year, I lived and worked in a small town called Oirase, in northern Japan. This blog contains my thoughts, ramblings and photographs from a year of working, traveling and living in the Japanese countryside. So pull up a seat, pour yourself a cup of tea and let me tell you a tale.To my loyal

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com199tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1159403977946145202006-09-30T16:09:00.000+09:002007-02-08T10:26:36.883+09:00

Every July, Goshogowara City (on the western, Tsugaru side of Aomori prefecture) holds its annual fire festival (himatsuri). The purpose of the festival is to pray for fertile soil and a good fall harvest. This is accomplished by parading giant dragon floats around town and into an open field, where they are burned. Fair enough.Upon arriving at town hall, we were directed to a changing room where

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1156133499031487212006-09-16T18:59:00.000+09:002006-09-19T02:34:14.496+09:00

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve seen my fair share of strange things in this country. You’ll probably also recall that I’ve eaten a variety of strange animals including whale (a highly endangered species), puffer fish (a highly poisonous species) and wild boar (a highly delicious species). So when I tell you that the adventure that I’m about to relate to you

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1156030213925426062006-08-29T00:25:00.000+09:002006-08-29T13:34:38.046+09:00

Every summer, the Tobu-Kamikita board of education (which oversees schools in Oirase as well as in the neighboring town of Rokunohe) organizes a special day out for differently-abled students. Taking place in late June, this picnic of sorts allows the students time outside of the classroom to bond with their teachers—as well as with each other. While some of you may recall my critique of the way

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1155242224005117222006-08-12T11:22:00.000+09:002006-08-13T00:39:00.453+09:00

Seeing how I’m wrapping up coverage of what essentially turned out to be my last substantive trip to Tokyo, I figured that this might be an appropriate time to belatedly tend to a little spring-cleaning. So here they are, the odds and sods: random photographs shot in Tokyo over the course of the last year that never seemed to fit in anywhere else.After visiting the city a few times, I stumbled

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1155242947956841512006-08-11T17:49:00.000+09:002006-08-13T00:40:51.760+09:00

One fateful night during my Tokyo trip in early June, I retired to my hotel room in Ueno, exhausted after a long day of sightseeing. I had resigned myself to munching on a convenience store sandwich and watching a little TV before bed, nothing all too exciting to be sure. By rights my night should have ended on an uneventful note, if only I hadn’t been in Tokyo where one never knows quite what to

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1153436525320960522006-08-09T17:27:00.000+09:002006-08-11T05:01:32.733+09:00

First opened in 1882, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo is Japan’s oldest and most famous zoo. Situated in the west end of expansive Ueno Park, the zoo is only one of the many museums, temples and other public institutions located in the park. Since the park borders Ueno station (one of Tokyo’s largest Japan Rail stations, through which both the central Yamanote line and the high-speed Shinkansen pass) the park

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1151921499989865522006-07-27T00:40:00.000+09:002006-08-10T05:13:56.146+09:00

Constructed in the mid-nineteenth century by the Tokugawa Shogunate, the artificial islands of Odaiba originally housed fortresses designed to defend Tokyo Bay from would be invaders. Following the success of the1985 World’s Fair in Tsukuba, Odaiba’s main island was re-envisioned as an international showcase for technology and ultramodern living. However, with the burst of the bubble economy in

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1151923167072168092006-07-05T13:01:00.000+09:002006-07-05T14:05:52.916+09:00

Yokohama’s Chinatown (Yokohama Chuukagai) is the largest Chinatown in Japan and one of the largest in the world. Boasting hundreds of restaurants, shops and various other curiosities, the neighborhood has become one of the Tokyo area’s must-see tourist spots. Having been reared on Sunday dim sum in Chicago’s Chinatown, I couldn’t resist stopping by for a look around and a bite to eat.

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1151920399953377492006-07-05T12:02:00.000+09:002006-07-05T13:23:05.520+09:00

First opened to the public in September of 2001, Tokyo DisneySea is one of the newest Disney theme parks and also one of the most popular. The nautical-themed park is located in Chiba, just outside of Tokyo and adjacent to Tokyo Disneyland, (which was, until recently, the most popular amusement park in the world). Both parks are owned and operated by Japanese entertainment conglomerate the

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1150987805285260812006-07-03T10:39:00.000+09:002006-07-03T10:48:37.946+09:00

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve probably realized that Japanese people love museums. I’m fairly sure that there are more interesting, strange and downright baffling museums per capita in the Tokyo area than there are anywhere else in the world. And we all know how beloved ramen, Japan’s supposed “national dish” (despite its Chinese origins) is. So it only makes sense that

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1151329603360627192006-06-27T23:51:00.000+09:002006-06-28T00:10:27.920+09:00

When lost in a maze of concrete, inundated by logos as far as the eye can see and blinded by flashing neon, it becomes easy to think that there isn’t any space left in Tokyo for creative expression. You would be wrong however, as the city actually has a long history of street performance. Sure, the paint-huffing hippies and subversive happenings are nowhere to be found in Shinjuku these days,

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1150816504325331902006-06-22T13:05:00.000+09:002006-06-22T23:36:39.336+09:00

During my most recent trip to Tokyo a few weeks ago, I started to notice a theme emerging as I moved steadily through the city from tourist trap to tourist trap. Rather than reflecting my own personal tastes, this common thread seemed to have more to say about Japanese perceptions of leisure and entertainment. You see, Japan is full of so-called “amusement parks,” although most of these

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1150121179217451882006-06-19T23:38:00.000+09:002006-06-20T08:44:25.853+09:00

In early spring, Japanese children of all ages can be found lacing up their running shoes, carefully painting banners and practicing complicated dance routines. Spring is undoukai season in Japan and schools everywhere are rife with excitement leading up to the yearly sports festival.I was invited to attend three separate sports festivals this year but due to schedule conflicts, I was only able

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1150121990724461562006-06-18T23:37:00.000+09:002006-06-18T23:42:59.033+09:00

Greetings internet denizens! Long time no see, eh? Well, after my trip to Tokyo and the requisite two weeks spent in shock at the discovery that summer still hasn’t come to Aomori, I’m about ready to return to the world of blogging. I’ve got a considerable backlog at this point, so you’ll have to bear with me while I play catch up. While traces of humidity have been slowly creeping into the

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1149774539368954172006-06-08T20:11:00.000+09:002006-06-08T23:09:23.476+09:00

I’ve recently been using the classic game Twister a lot at my elementary school English clubs as it seems like a good way to teach words like “left,” “right,” “foot” and “hand”. Plus the kids love it, so I never have to coerce them into playing. Well, I’ve been meaning to share the box artwork from the Japanese version with you for some time now and having to use it last week jogged my famously

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1149081815399127132006-06-02T18:04:00.000+09:002006-06-02T18:09:52.333+09:00

Potentially, there are a lot of negative things that you could say about Tokyo: it’s too big, too crowded, too noisy, too expensive. One thing you can’t say, however, is that there’s nothing to do. It’s essentially guaranteed that at any given time there’s something to do, see or experience in the city that will be of interest to you. Case in point: Matt and I received a text message from Megan

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1149081467418558252006-06-02T11:45:00.000+09:002006-06-02T12:01:10.980+09:00

Tucked away in Chiba, just east of Tokyo, is the Bandai Museum, an altar where the nerdy come to worship. Bandai is the world’s largest manufacturer of toys and also runs a visual division that’s responsible for numerous movies of the “guys in funny rubber suits” genre, as well as a lot of anime. Having heard that they had a sizeable Godzilla collection on display, Matt and I decided to

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1149003693230321112006-06-01T23:33:00.000+09:002006-06-02T11:52:21.133+09:00

Tomorrow night, I’ll find myself crammed into a child-sized seat on a coach bus for eight hours, uncomfortably making my way, yet again, down to Tokyo. Although this will mark my fifth time in the city, I still have yet to write anything of real consequence on the topic of the eastern capital. As you might recall, I copped out last time by writing about temples and the Ghibli Museum-thereby

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148908834923592412006-05-30T23:54:00.000+09:002006-05-30T23:58:06.550+09:00

Shortly before departing on our (g)weeklong adventure, I found myself discussing our travel plans with Tachibana-San while en route to one of my schools. He had actually made a trip out to Kyoto fairly recently and had a few recommendations for me. He took it as a given that I would be visiting the Golden Pavilion-everyone does-but recommended two slightly less popular attractions that I might

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148479206972483612006-05-29T20:49:00.000+09:002006-05-31T13:55:15.073+09:00

Ah, Kyoto. Japan’s capital for almost eleven centuries, one of the nation’s ten largest cities and essentially the only major city whose historic landmarks were spared during the Second World War. Or, as Matt put it, “Just another big Japanese city with a bunch of castles and stuff”. It’s no wonder that Kyoto is often considered the cultural heart of Japan-its 1600 Buddhist temples and some

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148308489556183472006-05-24T15:26:00.000+09:002006-05-24T19:46:37.700+09:00

When we last left off, Team Gweek was exiting the island of Shikoku and rocketing towards the Kansai region with reckless abandon. It was well past midnight when we finally arrived in Kobe, essentially Osaka’s twin city. After stopping at a konbeni to obligatorily ask “Where’s the beef?” (nowhere to be found, if that convenience store clerk is to be believed), we pressed on towards our

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148269711102611562006-05-23T22:07:00.000+09:002006-05-23T23:11:47.626+09:00

It’s a slow day at the office today, so I thought I might take a brief respite from the non-stop Gweek coverage to tell you a bit about my weekend. Prepare yourself, for what follows is an account of exhilarating events that could only take place in the land of the rising sun. On Friday night, we headed down to the coolest bar in Hachinohe, a somewhat recent discovery. As much as I would like

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148199269524652402006-05-22T12:00:00.000+09:002006-05-22T14:37:23.306+09:00

The smallest and least populated of Japan’s four main islands, Shikoku has little to offer aside from farms, small towns and mountains. So basically, it’s just like Aomori but warmer. Until the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project was completed in 1988, the island was only accessible by ferry and plane making it a somewhat isolated, insular region. This network of bridges, including the world’s

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13984971.post-1148186385584670752006-05-21T12:18:00.000+09:002006-05-21T16:26:23.476+09:00

Miyajima is a small town on the sacred island of Itsukushima, a small oval-shaped dot of land that lies southwest of the city in Hiroshima bay. The island has long been considered sacred in the Shinto faith and until recently, births and deaths were not allowed on the island lest the site’s purity become compromised (accordingly, women and the elderly were sometimes barred from entering). While

mehanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13717276088142381358noreply@blogger.com9