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I can speak Japanese!

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 08:07 AM

Sa... nihongo ga sukoshi hanasimasu. This morning I finished listening to the last of 90 Japanese lessons on CD. I started on May 13, and I listened to each of the 90 lessons three times. On May 13, I knew two words of Japanese and nothing about the language's grammer. Now, I have a large vocabulary and I can express many basic thoughts. I'm far from fluent, and I only know the more formal "polite" variety of Japanese. I think I'd have an easier time making myself understood than I would have understanding something being said to me. I have no idea how useful (or necessary) my skills, such as they are, will be when I'm in Japan. For me the lessons were more a form of brain exercise, the chance to learn something completely new while driving in my car. And next week I'll start testing my skills, such as they are, under fire. We leave for the airport on Saturday, and fly to Japan on Sunday morning. We arrive at Narita airport on Monday afternoon, and we'll be in Tokyo Tuesday morning. (Monday night New York time.) This should be interesting...

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2006 08:10 AM

I think you're turning Japanese, I think you're turning Japanese, I really think so

cooby Nov 15 2006 08:11 AM

You should find a Japanese baseball forum, post something, and see whether they understand you

metirish Nov 15 2006 08:27 AM

Sounds great Yancy,hope you have a great trip.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 08:41 AM

Thanks. Me too. I have a nagging fear that I've bitten off more than I can chew. We'll see! The challenge will be part of the adventure. (For the record, we're doing this with two kids, ages 10 and 5. And we're not part of a tour. We're going to be on our own, at large in Japan. It's our first time in Asia, so we're bound to encounter some surprises.)

ScarletKnight41 Nov 15 2006 08:45 AM

I'm sure that you and the family will have a wonderful and memorable trip :)

cooby Nov 15 2006 08:59 AM

How long are you going to be there?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 09:15 AM

Ni shukon. I mean, two weeks.

cooby Nov 15 2006 09:18 AM

That sounds like a great trip! Do you have the money all figured out?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 09:21 AM

Sort of. I know that 1,000 yen is about $8.50. At least it was a few weeks ago. So when I see the price of something I'll be able to roughly translate the cost. We're going there with a good supply of cash, but probably not enough to get us through the trip. We'll have to find ATM's there that will recognize our bank card, which I understand is tricky but not impossible. (In Europe you can use just about any ATM, but in Japan you might only be able to get cash at bank ATM's. We may have to try a few machines before we can get cash. Hopefully it won't be too frustrating.)

cooby Nov 15 2006 09:23 AM

Well, think of the money you'll save it you can't get any! I think you're going to have a blast

metirish Nov 15 2006 09:38 AM

I'm sure you've researched all this Yancy but about the ATM I went to ask.com and found this.... Money •Japanese bank ATM machines generally have limited hours and surcharges outside normal bank hours. Citibank ATMs are open 24 hours a day as well as ATMs at a few branches of Japanese banks. Of course, there's also a surcharge if you use a machine that does not belong to your bank. Only a few are open on Sunday (and are so marked). None are open on national holidays! (However, this may be changing for the better.) As opposed to the US, Japanese ATMs allow high cash withdrawals (at least a few thousand dollars equivalent). There are some ATMs in Japan which accept American ATM cards, but they are also scarce and tend to be in touristy areas. • Japanese banks are notoriously slow. Use ATM machines as much as possible. Yancy are the kids looking forward to the trip,how long will the flight take?

Edgy DC Nov 15 2006 09:39 AM

I have it on good authority that third base should be 300,000 yen. Don't pay more than that for third base.

metirish Nov 15 2006 09:46 AM

Here's the link I found,apparently you need slippers to visit many temples,shrines and castles. http://members.aol.com/ghmarcus/tips.html

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 09:47 AM

I'll probably be in touristy areas from time to time too, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for pasting that, though. (CitiBank, huh? I seem to remember hearing something about them recently.) I can't really worry about surcharges. It'll be a drop in the bucket compared to the total cost of this trip. (The plane tickets were free, though, which helps a lot. I got them with miles instead of dollars.) My son, 10, is looking forward to the trip. I think my daughter, 5, is half excited and half filled with dread.

Kong76 Nov 15 2006 02:47 PM

Have a great trip, I'm way jealous! If you happen to have any currency when you get home I'd like to buy the smallest denomination bill you might have if you don't plan on keeping it and exchanging it. Friends and co-workers have been bringing me currency from all over the world for twenty years and you're the first to venture to Japan.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 02:57 PM

The smallest paper note is 1,000 yen, and it's worth about $8.50. If I come home with any I'll let you know.

ScarletKnight41 Nov 15 2006 02:58 PM

Yancy - bring us back some BoBeer!

cooby Nov 15 2006 02:59 PM

Yancy, I think it would be fun if you wore a Boston Red Sox cap.

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2006 03:02 PM

when lovers turn to posers show up in film exposures just like in travel brochures Discovering Japan -- G. Parker

Johnny Dickshot Nov 15 2006 03:17 PM

Have fun. Pack twice the money and half the clothes.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2006 05:48 PM

[quote="Johnny Dickshot":2cpneruv]Have fun. Pack twice the money and half the clothes.[/quote:2cpneruv] That's probably a good idea.

Willets Point Nov 16 2006 06:33 AM

Wear flannel and write often. Enjoy your travels.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2006 07:17 AM

If I get on the Internet at all, I'll drop by whenever I do and post a note in this thread. And I'll peek at the sports headlines to see if the Mets have signed anybody or made any deals. There are English-language newspapers available in Tokyo. I'm not sure if I'll see any once we get out of the capital, though. I may come home and have a lot of Mets news to catch up on. I'm hoping my first reaction when I get home will be, "Wow! They got Dontrelle Willis for Anderson Hernandez?!?!?!"

cooby Nov 16 2006 07:28 AM

If that happens, we'll send a posse over to tell you

soupcan Nov 16 2006 07:34 AM

I'm jealous - have a blast.

Willets Point Nov 16 2006 07:36 AM

[quote="cooby":3ndppts0]If that happens, we'll send a posse over to tell you[/quote:3ndppts0] Are you covering airfare, cuz I'd love to be part of the posse if you are. :)

cooby Nov 16 2006 07:38 AM

No, Mets will. That's important news! We can all go! (plus by then Yancy will be dying for a former banker to show him how to use the ATM)

Willets Point Nov 16 2006 07:41 AM

We can bring him some statehood quarters.

cooby Nov 16 2006 07:48 AM

What state are they on these days? Ah, a little bit of trivia I'm glad to not know anymore...

ScarletKnight41 Nov 16 2006 07:49 AM

North Dakota. The year will finish with South Dakota. 39 down - 11 to go!

Edgy DC Nov 16 2006 07:55 AM

So, what's the early line that South Dakota sticks Mt. Rushmore on the back?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2006 07:57 AM

It's either that or they show Custer getting massacred. (Or the cast of HBO's Deadwood.) I'm guessing they'll opt for the mountain. But an Al Swearingen coin would be fun.

Willets Point Nov 16 2006 08:06 AM

Yup! ©

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2006 08:10 AM

I hope that bird doesn't poop on Teddy Roosevelt's glasses. In true CPF style, an "I'm going to Japan" thread has quickly turned into a discussion of South Dakota! No wonder it's so hard to find old discussions!

cooby Nov 16 2006 08:18 AM

Somebody should start a "Cross Reference Forum"

cooby Nov 16 2006 08:52 AM

Yancy Street Gang: Jetsetter who travels to Alaska, Japan, other unusual climes every few months... Exotic female coworkers who suddenly disappear... Speaker of tricky foreign languages... What DOES he do for a living?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2006 08:54 AM

[quote="cooby":2293ft2c]Exotic female coworkers who suddenly disappear... [/quote:2293ft2c] Are you referring to my imaginary girlfriend with the hyperactive bladder?

cooby Nov 16 2006 08:56 AM

That's the one. We know what she was really doing -- walking around taking pictures of everyone with her little camera pen. One of the rougher women found out and offed her!

metirish Nov 16 2006 08:56 AM

What does E Pluribus Unum mean....

dgwphotography Nov 16 2006 09:00 AM

Directly translated, it means, "Out of many, one"

cooby Nov 16 2006 09:04 AM

Have you considered the possibility that your mysterious, missing office sprite might be Edgy's "S"?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 16 2006 09:06 AM

Oh, no, she isn't missing at all. She's still around. I'm just at a different desk, so I no longer have a view of who's going to the bathroom and how often. I saw her just this morning.

cooby Nov 16 2006 09:11 AM

Dang. That just kinda wrecks my whole fantasy about both ladies...

seawolf17 Nov 16 2006 09:19 AM

A CPF long distance lust triangle would be funny as hell.

dgwphotography Nov 16 2006 09:33 AM

Wolfie - where have you been? Willets and Soupcan have been fighting over Cooby for years...

SteveJRogers Nov 16 2006 07:22 PM

Hey have fun on the trip! Pics are a must when you return.

cooby Nov 17 2006 07:57 PM

Have a nice trip, Yancy

Benjamin Grimm Nov 18 2006 09:31 AM

Okay, that's it. I'm outta here. I hope to keep up with baseball news through the Japan Times, a local English language newspaper. Their website offers MLB coverage, so I imagine their print edition does too. Biggest Mets news to be decided while I'm away will probably be the Tom Glavine decision. Any other signings will probably wait until after I return. If you need to contact me, I left my itinerary with Bobby Valentine. If I don't check in while in Japan, I'll see you all when I get back! Sayonara!

Edgy DC Nov 18 2006 10:40 AM

Sayonara.

Rockin' Doc Nov 18 2006 08:58 PM

Have a great trip. It should be a great experience for the entire family.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 21 2006 11:28 AM

It's 3:20 a.m. in Tokyo. I am still not acclimated to the local time; we went to bed at 8:30 last night and I woke up a little while ago. I'm killing some time on the free internet connection here in the ryokan in which we're staying while the wife and kids are still asleep. Im starting to get tired again; hopefully I will be asleep again soon. So far we ve spent one full day in Tokyo; the time zone difference made us lose all kinds of time that we will make up when we return. We just did some exploring, walked around in Ueno Park and took the kids to the Zoo in the park. We ate at a traditional Japanese restaurant where you sit on the floor and cook your pork and onion pancakes on a griddle embedded into your table. Our hotel is what's called a ryokan; we're sleeping on futons in a little room with sliding screens. We have the top floor all to ourselves and can walk out to the roof and see the view of the neighborhood. I got the news about Moises Alou. Ick. Not pleased. Soriano to the Cubs is probably causing a lot of tooth-gnashing in Philadelphia. Going back to bed. I'll try to check in again if I get the chance.

Edgy DC Nov 21 2006 11:30 AM

While you're there, take some time and teach yourself the gyroball.

metirish Nov 21 2006 12:57 PM

Very cool Yancy...you do seem a little delirious though....meet Abe yet?

Benjamin Grimm Nov 24 2006 01:10 PM

Delirious? It's probably this strange keyboard. I can now understand why some writers prefer to write in longhand; if you're not comfortable with the tools you use it inhibits the way your thoughts flow. Anyway, the trip is going well. It's 5 a.m. now and I'm up for the day. We haven't completely gotten in synch with the time zone. We've been going to bed early and getting up early. Last night we were all out by around 8:30. In a couple of hours we leave Tokyo and head for Hakone and the National Park that includes Mt. Fuji. We're having a good time and keeping very busy. The biggest problem is eating, especially feeding a finicky five-year-old. We're managing though. I am going through Pop-Tart withdrawal though. When I get home I'm going to gorge myself. I don't know if I'll be checking in again before I get back to the U.S. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I couldn't watch King Kong this year, but in his honor I did wear a King Kong shirt. As always, he and Fay Wray were close to my heart that day.

soupcan Nov 24 2006 06:24 PM

Glad you are having a good time. What's the food like? What exactly is the issue with what your kid will and will not eat there?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 03 2006 05:33 AM

Tonight is our last night in Japan. Tomorrow we fly back to Dulles. It has been a great trip, very　インテレs陳g安dうぁtジュyst

Benjamin Grimm Dec 03 2006 05:35 AM

Somehow my keyboard got kicked into Japanese mode.　Weird.　I will post a more complete report of the trip when I return to the US and a normal keyboard. Hope everyone is doing well.　Talk to you soon!

cooby Dec 03 2006 08:49 AM

Have a safe trip home Yancy. And hurry up, I for one am anxious to see what "very　インテレs陳g安dうぁtジュyst" really means.

Centerfield Dec 04 2006 12:33 PM

I hope he brought us some cool souvenirs.

Rockin' Doc Dec 04 2006 01:20 PM

I can see it now. For Christmas, we'll all receive a package and inside it will contain a set of these with the inscription "Yancey went to Japan and all I got was this pair of chopsticks". Hope you had a great trip. Welcome back to east coast time.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2006 07:24 AM

Well, I'm back! My plan is to write a long essay recapping the entire history of Japan, from prehistoric times, through the various emperors and shoguns, to the Meiji Restoration, World War II and the postwar years. I'll stay up until about 2 a.m. writing it, and then I'll post it here. When I'm not showered with love and appreciation in response, I'll go ballistic and start cursing at everyone. How's that for a plan? Actually, the trip was terrific. In a way that's hard to explain, the trip got better within hours of our return to the United States. Once we returned to an evironment in which we were comfortable, the whole trip crystalized and I was able to better appreciate what we had been through. I have stories to share, and photos, and maybe even some video. I won't get into it all now, but if you guys are interested I'll post my recollections here. It's nice to be back, though, both in the U.S. and in the Pool.

Edgy DC Dec 06 2006 07:26 AM

You heard about the Jose Reyes-Kevin Millwood, deal right?

soupcan Dec 06 2006 07:32 AM

[quote="Yancy Street Gang":q9r471mg] if you guys are interested I'll post my recollections here. [/quote:q9r471mg] Totally dude, can't wait. Post away!

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2006 07:41 AM

[quote="Edgy DC":1n0bhxed]You heard about the Jose Reyes-Kevin Millwood, deal right?[/quote:1n0bhxed] Hmmm. I did hear about Tom Glavine re-signing with the Mets. There was a small article in The Japan Times, which I was only able to get on days when I was in a train station. I also heard about Roberto Hernandez signing with Cleveland, but I didn't know that we had lost Chad Bradford to Baltimore (I guess he didn't like pitching in the postseason) until I had returned. I didn't see too many indications of how baseball crazy Japan is. I did see a pickup game of baseball being played in a park in Kyoto. The kids were in their late teens, and they were playing hardball, with the pitcher winding up and throwing heat. I also saw some team merchandise on sale in stores; the Carp in Hiroshima and the Tigers in the Osaka/Kyoto area. There was a Tokyo Giants team store in the train station in Tokyo. I also saw a memoribilia store on the island of Miyajima, outside of Hiroshima, that had autographed Carp jerseys and bats. Most of the signatures were in Japanese Kanji, and the occassional gaijin signature really stood out. (Joe Little was one that I remember.) As for MLB stuff, I saw Ichiro in his Mariners jersey on a few subway ads, and one poster in a subway station with a photo of Cal Ripken. Ichiro was selling some kind of beverage. I don't know what Ripken was selling. One store in Kyoto was selling MLB caps, including one black and blue Mets cap. I didn't see anyone wearing Mets gear (except when I looked in the mirror.) I probably saw about a dozen Yankees caps on people, and a smattering of other teams, usually the Dodgers or Giants. I saw one Padres cap. I didn't see any Red Sox apparel on anyone, but the Red Sox were frequently on the TV news shows, which I didn't understand. It was obvious they were following the Daisuke negotiations, but I didn't understand what they were saying. One time we saw a nihonjin (that's a Japanese person) wearing a Yankees cap and my daughter pointed to him and shouted, "Look Daddy! An evil hat!" I explained that it's not polite to point and shout like that, but that yes, it is an evil hat. But we shouldn't blame the wearer, he probably doesn't know how evil the hat is. I have another Yankee story which I'll share later.

MFS62 Dec 06 2006 07:44 AM

[quote="Edgy DC"]You heard about the Jose Reyes-Kevin Millwood, deal right?

Edgy, how could you do that?
If someone with jet lag reads that, it could drive him suicidal.
And we want to read his essay.
Please tell him you're joking.
Please.


Of course, after he posts his essay, you can tell him you weren't kidding.

Later

Edgy DC Dec 06 2006 07:48 AM

As for MLB stuff, I saw Ichiro in his Mariners jersey on a few subway ads, and one poster in a subway station with a photo of Cal Ripken. Ichiro was selling some kind of beverage. I don't know what Ripken was selling . The question is whether Ripken knew what he was selling.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2006 07:50 AM

He was holding a mug of liquid feces. That's all I know about it.

Edgy DC Dec 06 2006 07:57 AM

Missed you. Baseball was dying while you were away.

seawolf17 Dec 06 2006 08:03 AM

When I'm not showered with love and appreciation in response, I'll go ballistic and start cursing at everyone. He was holding a mug of liquid feces. That's all I know about it. Baseball was dying while you were away. I'm laughing so hard I'm crying here. Yancy, write as much as you want, because Japan is the one place we've been dying to go for years. Welcome home.

cooby Dec 06 2006 08:20 AM

[quote="Yancy Street Gang":37q8noe2] When I'm not showered with love and appreciation in response, I'll go ballistic and start cursing at everyone. How's that for a plan? .[/quote:37q8noe2] Will you do it for several posts in a row? Welcome back, Yancy

Rockin' Doc Dec 06 2006 08:33 AM

Great to have you back in the soothing waters of the pool, Yancey. I look forward to reading your accounts of your trip to Japan.

metirish Dec 06 2006 09:15 AM

Welcome back Yancy....what was the weather like there?

ScarletKnight41 Dec 06 2006 09:35 AM

Welcome home Yancy :)

Benjamin Grimm Dec 06 2006 09:41 AM

Pretty mild. I think we lucked out on that, and that it was more mild than typically. The temperatures were in Celsius, which I don't really relate to, but I can tell you how it felt. Up until around December 1, we were wearing t-shirts and windbreakers. After that we were okay putting a sweatshirt between the t-shirt and the windbreaker. A little bit of rain, but not too much. The weather was mostly pretty nice.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 11:00 AM

Okay, time to share some photos. I'll start with the ones related to food. Here's one that one of our fellow CPFers might relate to: I can only describe these as Buddha Boogers. On the package we see Buddha picking his nose. Inside is what looks like a big ball of chocolate and nuts. I was in Rome a couple of years ago and I don't recall seeing anyone selling Jesus Boogers. It seems that in Asia they have more of a sense of humor about their dieties. Yes, there's Kellogg's in Japan, but alas, no Pop-Tarts to be found. Pop-Tart withdrawal wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I posted a recipe for octopus balls (takoyaki) in another thread yesterday. I took this photo of the ingredients at a takoyaki stand in a park in Kamakura. This looks like a refreshing beverage. Who wouldn't enjoy downing a bottle of sweat? It's a very popular brand; you see Pocari Sweat all over Japan. This guy was selling fried meat on a stick on Miyajima Island. My kids got the chicken. I got the glazed tentacle (below) As I said in the post that I made from Tokyo, eating was sometimes a problem. We often had to resort to convenience stores, like this 7-Eleven (also known as 7 and iHoldings) in Hiroshima. Along with 7-Eleven, we also relied on FamilyMart, ampm, and Happy Lawson. This is the kind of convenience store merchandise that we didn't buy. A lot of dried fish parts in small plastic bags. We'd tend to get little trays of meat and rice and have them microwaved in the store. Unfortunately, 7-Eleven, Happy Lawson, etc. don't have any seating. We'd have to eat our meal wherever we could. This is my little girl eating spaghetti in an alley behind a 7-Eleven. Pretty pathetic, huh? We were really fish out of water in Japan, and we had to be a little unconventional at times to get by. It was part of the fun, part of the adventure.

cooby Dec 07 2006 11:11 AM

You would eat this or this but not this? Japan looks like a good place to go if you want to lose some weight. But other than the food, it looks wonderful and I'm glad you all had a good time!

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 11:19 AM

"Other than the food it looks wonderful" but the food part is the only part I've shared so far! Actually, I would try the dried bags of fish parts if I knew what to do with them. I didn't know if you were supposed to take them home and cook them, or rehydrate them, or crumble them into your cereal. I could have just munched them out of the bag, I guess, but I'd risk being a real goober. Doing that might be like eating spoonfuls of mashed potato flakes from the box, or crunching on uncooked rice. There's little that I won't try, short of liquid feces. But I do need to know what it is and how to eat it. And that was my biggest problem, too much stuff was unrecognizable.

soupcan Dec 07 2006 11:20 AM

[quote="Yancy Street Gang"]

Awesome! I think that is very　インテレs陳g安dうぁtジュyst

cooby Dec 07 2006 11:24 AM

I see what you mean about the fish jerky. But did you try the pizza la? I think I'd be snorking down the tomatoe soup and Sugar Frosted flakes

cooby Dec 07 2006 11:29 AM

Show some gardens!

metirish Dec 07 2006 11:31 AM

got the glazed tentacle (below you're a brave man Yancy...

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 11:33 AM

It was actually pretty good. It was very chewy; very difficult to rip off that first bite. But once I got going it was tasty. I have some palace and garden shots coming, cooby. I'm trying to pace myself here. Meantime, if anyone has any questions about anything at all about the trip, just let me know.

Edgy DC Dec 07 2006 11:39 AM

Oh, tentacle.

metirish Dec 07 2006 11:42 AM

I have a few. 1 ) Did you find the people friendly,do you tip when eating out and stuff. 2) Is the smog in Tokyo really bad?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 11:52 AM

I didn't notice any smog in Tokyo. It was a clean city too, by the way. No litter, no graffiti. And no tipping! It feels strange not to tip, but it's not the custom there, and I read that if you give them too much money they get embarrassed or insulted. So you have to resist the urge to tip. So you end up paying the exact amount of the bill in restaurants, and the exact fare to cab drivers, even when they help you load and unload your luggage. The people were unbelievably friendly. I've seen my share of contempt for Americans when traveling in Europe, but there wasn't the slightest trace of that in Japan. Prior to the trip, one of the books I read was The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, by Ruth Benedict, a cultural anthropoligist. The book was researched during World War II and published shortly after the war ended. Benedict was charged with finding out about the Japanese so that we could better understand our enemy's thoughts and perceptions. (Because the war prevented her from going to Japan, she had to conduct her research by talking to Japanese people who were in the United States.) One of the things she wrote is that the Japanese are very polite and rarely rude. Even if they don't like you, they'll mask their feelings under a veil of politeness. So maybe some of that was going on with a salesclerk or a waiter here and there. But maybe not. There were so many people who went out of their way to be friendly and helpful when they could have just ignored us that I know the friendliness had to be genuine. A lot of Japanese people enjoy talking to Americans, either to get a chance to find out more about us or simply to practice their English. I had heard about that before the trip, and our experiences bore that out.

Edgy DC Dec 07 2006 11:55 AM

Now we know why Bobby Valentine was being so friendly. He was following Japanese custom and masking a deep-seated contempt.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 01:27 PM

Oh, there was one more food image I had meant to share: We saw this in a store window. The place seemed to be a small specialty grocery store. It may be hard to tell, but it's a basket of dead snakes wrapped in plastic. In case you're wonderng, the ¥4300 translates to about $37. A bargain at twice the price.

cooby Dec 07 2006 01:44 PM

No, it's not hard to tell, blah

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 01:59 PM

Okay, cooby, to make up for the snakes, here are some garden photos. The capital of Japan is now Tokyo, but it used to be Kyoto. They still maintain the Imperial Palace there, although I don't think the emperor uses it much, if at all. Here are a few shots of his garden: In Japan you see a lot of tree branches propped up by poles, as in the photo below. They like to have branches grow horizontally; instead of cutting off these branches they encourage them, and prop them up with sturdier and sturdier poles as the branches grow heavier. This is one of the more extreme examples: I took this picture in the gardens of Nijo Castle in Kyoto. The photo isn't upside down; you're seeing the sky reflected in the pond. This isn't a garden photo, technically, but it's kind of scenic anyway. This is in Nara, just outside of Kyoto. The town is full of tame deer, and here's one in a scenic situation.

metirish Dec 07 2006 02:02 PM

Great pics,especially the one with the sky reflected in the pond,that's just an odd thing to do with the trees, you see that a lot?

cooby Dec 07 2006 02:25 PM

Those are beautiful. If I were the emporer, I would want to spend all day out there. On that deer picture, what are those hearts made of?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 02:46 PM

[quote="cooby":276ajsuv]On that deer picture, what are those hearts made of?[/quote:276ajsuv] I don't remember! But my guess is that it's a thin kind of wood. A lot of times at the shrines and temples (I don't really know the difference between the two) people would write down their prayers or wishes and hang them up in a designated area. The hearts look like an example of that. Sometimes the prayers are written on little pieces of cloth and they're tied to strings that hang in rows on a rack. Usually the prayers aren't written on anything too permanent; they probably get cycled out every once in a while. I remember seeing materials at some of the temples. They'd provide you with a marker and something to write on, and then you'd hang your prayer. I imagine that you would make a donation when doing this, but I'm not sure of that either. We didn't do it, and I don't recall seeing anyone else do it, although we did see worshippers at the majority of these temples.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 07 2006 02:49 PM

[quote="metirish":geal6jnq]that's just an odd thing to do with the trees, you see that a lot?[/quote:geal6jnq] Yes, you do. Usually they're for more horizontal branches, and the poles are thinner, because the branches are thinner. I'm no gardening expert, but you can tell by looking at the trees that the Japanese take a different approach to them than we do in America. I don't know if they cultivate them to grow at different angles, or if they merely don't discourage it. But in Japan there are a lot of branches that are propped up where they'd probably be cut off in America.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 08 2006 01:00 PM

Time for some more pictures. Here are some random photos of things that look Japanese: Pagoda in Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo. This was taken on the island of Miyajima. Miyajima again. And again. And again.

Centerfield Dec 08 2006 03:18 PM

Yancy, how was the flight?

Johnny Dickshot Dec 08 2006 04:01 PM

Love the shots. More!

cooby Dec 08 2006 06:18 PM

Dumb questions: Why are those gate things submerged? Is that lion/dragon made of silver?

Benjamin Grimm Dec 09 2006 04:59 PM

[quote="Centerfield":39fv21wz]Yancy, how was the flight?[/quote:39fv21wz] Not bad. It was 14:05 from Dulles to Tokyo, and 11:20 back. (Thanks, tail wind!) Both flights departed and arrived on schedule, which was good. I think a 14-hour flight from Washington to Tokyo is tolerable, where a 14-hour flight from Philadelphia to Boston would be a nightmare. When you know the flight is going to be long, you prepare yourself for it. I brought plenty of reading material, there were movies playing on the little TV screen in front of me, and we were served two meals and a snack. I learned this week that the longest non-stop commercial flight is currently 17 hours, from JFK to Johannesberg. So our flight wasn't too far short of the "record."

Benjamin Grimm Dec 09 2006 05:02 PM

[quote="cooby":38lrtnmh]Dumb questions: Why are those gate things submerged? Is that lion/dragon made of silver?[/quote:38lrtnmh] I think it's bronze. I saw other statues that I knew were bronze and they looked like that one. I don't know why the gate is submerged. (Both photos are of the same gate, but from different angles.) We often saw gates in front of shrines. This one was in front of a shrine that faced the water. Maybe they need to be a certain distance away, so they had to build in the water. This is only a guess. There was much that we saw that we didn't fully understand.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 11 2006 09:12 AM

More on cooby's question, from Wikipedia: [quote="Wikipedia":qhlyfy10]The dramatic gate (torii) of Itsukushima Shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions, and the view of the gate in front of the island's Mount Misen is classified as one of the Three Views of Japan (along with the sand bar Amanohashidate, and Matsushima Bay). The gate has existed since 1168, though the current gate dates back to 1875. The gate, built of camphor wood, is about 16 metres high and was built in a four-legged, (yotsu-ashi) style to provide additional stability. The gate only appears to be floating at high tide; when the tide is low, the gate is surrounded by mud and can be accessed on foot from the island. It is common practice for visitors to place coins in the cracks of the legs of the gate and make a wish. Gathering shellfish near the gate is also popular at low tide. At night, powerful lights on the shore illuminate the gate.[/quote:qhlyfy10] Whenever we saw them, the gates were in the water. We were on the island for about seven or eight hours; if there was a low tide during that time we weren't aware of it.

cooby Dec 11 2006 06:12 PM

Thanks :) Those pictures are all really lovely...

Benjamin Grimm Dec 11 2006 06:18 PM

Glad you like them. There's still more to come.

MFS62 Dec 22 2006 07:39 AM

[quote="Yancy Street Gang":2qkuchyn]Glad you like them. There's still more to come.[/quote:2qkuchyn] We're waiting. But if they're anything like the first ones, we know they'll be worth waiting for. Later

Benjamin Grimm Dec 22 2006 07:44 AM

Oh, jeez, I am falling behind on this, aren't I? I'll try to get my act together. Sorry for the delay! (I'm just trying to heighten anticipation, I guess.)

cooby Dec 22 2006 08:06 AM

Remember, Yancy leads that full and desirable life of sitting near the ladies restroom.

A Boy Named Seo Sep 19 2008 01:20 PM

Grimm, How's your Japanese two years later? Use it any since?

Benjamin Grimm Sep 19 2008 01:26 PM

Not much. I still speak it around the house which doesn't do much other than drive my family crazy, but it helps me remember it a little. (Sometimes I realize that I know how to say something in Japanese, so I do so.) I probably speak a little Japanese every day. And I did get to use it a little bit when I was in Hawaii last month, but only for simple things, like "you're welcome" and "excuse me." I've been thinking of doing something to freshen up my skills and maybe enhance them a bit. Like trying the Rosetta Stone CD's, or maybe even taking a class at the community college.

A Boy Named Seo Sep 19 2008 01:36 PM

Someone here at work left the Rosetta Stone app on a computer and I've been trying to polish my Spanish up some, but I don't use it consistently enough. I did the first few lessons of Japanese and French one day for fun (I really dug the French). The only thing I remember from Japanese are my numbers 1-10 and how to say cat. There's a few peeps in my building from Mexico and they make fun of the Rosetta Stone stuff, the lame sentences you have to construct, and the formality of it, but it's expanded my vocabulary enough to have basic conversations with those same peeps. I'm not even sure how much it costs, but I'd say it's pretty good.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 19 2008 02:02 PM

It's pretty expensive. I think the full set would cost between $500 and $1000. I used the Pimsleur Japanese and took the lessons in the car, and they really worked for me. I was by no means fluent, but I was able to talk to cab drivers and hotel clerks and waiters, etc. Those lessons are expensive too, but I got them cheap on eBay. I paid much less than the sticker price.

A Boy Named Seo Sep 19 2008 02:22 PM

¡ Ay Caramba !