Toku's Blog

Saturday, February 18, 2006

....and we're back!

Good evening to you all once again. I have decided upon a change in format for my blog posts here. Rather than dump a blizzard of pictures with sparse commentary, which is both expensive in terms of time and of my available bandwith, I am going to instead post fewer pictures, but select them more carefully and provide them with better captions. In the past I have posted in blocks of 10 pictures or so at a time. I will now post more often, but only post 3 or 4 pictures at a time. I hope that this will obtain for you a richer experience when coming here. That said, let us begin!

I have decided – this time – to introduce my Japanese sensei, or teachers.

Please allow me to introduce Hirata sensei. Hirata sensei is my teacher for Japanese reading and writing, level 2H. He is linguist and professional teacher with a superb teaching style. I can ask him complex and detailed questions regarding Japanese language, grammar, and even slang – and he will always provide a ready answer. Hirata sensei is very soft-spoken, but quite clear nonetheless.

And now I shall introduce to you: Komura sensei. Komura sensei teaches my Japanese Speach class at level 3D. Komura sensei is a very cheerful man, always ready with a joke or some silly sort of thing to make us laugh and keep the mood light. Going to his class is always a positive experience, even when one is tired from staying up late doing his homework assignments – which are a little long. Otherwise, he is an expert teacher, able to keep things simple and understandable to us – enough so that we don't forget – despite the fact that very little english is ever used in the classroom.

When one wants to go shopping here, one tends to go to either Kyoto or Osaka. Up in Kyoto, there is an area called 四条 or Shijō, which means "Fourth Avenue." Along Shijō, there are several shopping districts. When I say "district", what I actually mean is several city block wide covered street sections with literally thousands of shops. Japan actually has a national chain store dedicated to selling...socks. Yes, you heard me right: socks! Anyway, when one passes down one of these covered streets, one tends to see a lot of things: shops, restaurants, MacDonald's, KFC, random temples...wait! temples!? Yes, temples. The area is so old that the temples far predated the rest of it. Rather than buy them out and tear them down, the shopping districts simply surrounded them. So the above picture was taken at a temple that was at least 400 years old, and just outside the main gate to it is a shopping mall. This is much like walking into Crossgates or some other mall, and discovering a full-blown catholic cathedral in one of the store slots.

As always, I have more pictures, but not enough time. I hope that this will hold you over until next time. I hope to post more soon. Ciao!

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Drums please!

Ladies and gentlemen; and now the greatest show on earth! In this tent we feature the wildest, the most dastardly, the cunningest, and the strangest show on earth!

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll draw your attention to the main ring; the show is about to begin! Ladies and gentlemen; it is my honor to introduce - just back from its travels across dark and mysterious AAAASSSSSIIIIAAAAAA - the fantastic, the mysterious, the magical: BANDWIDTH REPORTS. Look at them go! ladies and gentlemen:

Can you belive this?

Thank you; thank you; ladies and gentlemen. Next up is the amazing Mysteriouso from the fabulous and wealthy INDIA!

Monday, January 30, 2006

This is AWESOME!

This is a new phone that can do WiFi Skype telephony! That's right, you can walk into a Panera's or other internet cafe and make and recieve Skype calls! Just like a cell phone. Now, if they'd just make it a GSM so I could slip in my Vodaphone SIM card; I'd be all set. That and allow wired ethernet connections. This is totally cool!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

More photos

Possibly the cutest can of cat food I have ever seen.

Yes, it actually exists. Yes, it actually tastes good. Yes, it is a complete meal in a box.

Japan is so cool. There is actually a man employed with the task of daily scrubbing the columns at my university. I guess that's why everywhere is so clean around here.

This is my bicycle! There are many like it, but this one is mine! My bicycle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, like I master my life. Without me, my bicycle is useless. Without my bicycle, I am useless. I must ride my bicycle true! I must ride straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must ride over him before he rides over me! I will! Before God, I swear this creed...My bicycle and myself are defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life! So be it! Until there is no enemy! But Peace! Amen!

All bikes in Japan have their kickstands in the rear. This kickstand actually locks in place so you can't kick it up accidentially.

This is my front bike lock in the unlocked position. If you press that bar to the left, then a key slides out and locks the bar in place.

This is my front wheel lock. It is engaged right now. That bar slides to the right to unlock.

This is my bell. I like the sound it makes a great deal.

This is the generator for my headlight. You can see the protective bar for the headlight. Almost all of the bicycles in Japan have this design.

This is my headlight. It's not very bright until I start pedaling pretty hard.

This was the group of people who came with me to the korean table. These folks sat at our table.

We went to a restaurant to have korean food. I took this photo of the people who went with us. My roomate Alex is all of the way to the right, and our former neighbor Aaron is in the middle.

This is Tim. He said that I couldn't take a decent picture of him. I think this is a good photo, however.

Friday, January 27, 2006

More photos

Well, here I am, still without my network connection. It's weird. Sometimes it will work - from lounges and the like - but it never works in my room; which is the one place I want to use it from. Oh well, perhaps today.

Anyway, I have some photos to post. I think I'll stick to doing them in groups of nine. Also, I am developing a microformat to make viewing them a little easier. Anyway, here we go:

This was our table at the Kappa Zushi, a sushi bar here in Hirakata. You can see the conveyor belt running past with the little plates on it. Each plate cost ¥105. The yellow-rimmed ones used no wasabi, the red ones did. All in all very good.

This is a view behind us. You can see the way the belt runs out. Eventually, it curves around and comes back.

This is a photo of me and my speaking parters. From the left Kanae-san, me, and Sayumi-san. They are 18 and 19, respectively. Both are english majors and are trying to learn my language. They ask a lot of questions about how to say things, what America is like, etc. They both want to visit New York and New York City. They want to see Times Square, the Empire State Building, and other such like that.

This is the first of three pictures, sort of a panorama, of our neighbors here at KGU: the Komatsu Tractor company's main plant. There is a huge gate complex that I ride past in the mornings. You can't see it here, but it's to the right.

This is the second photo in the series.

This is the final photo in the series.

This is my room. In this photo, you are looking at my side of it. We have an 8-tatami sized room with shouji screens to separate the work area from the main area.

This is the other side of the room; belonging to my roomate, Mark.

This is the center of our room. Here you can see our table. Right now everything is plain, though I am thinking about getting some small thing as a decoration. I haven't decided on that yet.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Well, here I am!

I have arrived here in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan. It's both very different and very familiar. There is a lot of stuff that I recognize from Anime and regular American life, and a lot of stuff that is really new and different. You have no idea how much I already miss Italian cooking! I'd kill for a decent pizza! Anyway; since you are here for the pictures; here they are:

These are my roommates and new friends. Mark is on the right and Alex on the left. They are standing in our dorm's parking lot. Behind them is the main gate, our street and a pretty building behind them. It was snowing earlier that morning, but the snow didn't stick. Alex is leaving us for the dormitory next door.

This is a Nissan Skyline. I am told that it is a very fast car that is not available in the US due to emissions issues.	This is one view from my balcony.
This is another view from my balcony.	Alex really loves the Skyline. When he saw this car, he really wanted a photograph of it. That's actually my super-sized can of coke he's holding for me while I took this photo.
View of clubs' building from podium. This building is also where one can find the gym.	View of the podium from the gym. This is the central podium of KGU. It turns out that it is also a full stage, complete with seating and lights. I have yet to see a show performed upon it.
View of the basketball courts of KGU. They use a wierd sort of astroturf that has been imbedded with sand for traction. That is why it is a light green. I really love the sky in this picture. It is so clear and beautiful.	The Japanese really love their bikes. This is where many students park their machines in order to go to class. Think "Dutch Gold" from SUNY Albany and you have the right idea.
I was riding along past my dorm when I looked to the right and saw this. It seems that much of the space not taken up by buildings is taken up by rice paddies. These things are everywhere. It's interesting how the Japanese have prioritized their space usage.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Here's an idea of where I'll be staying.

I used Google Maps to locate my school in Japan. Then I zoomed in progressively to show the idea of where I will be. It turns out that Hirakata City (枚方市) is a part of Osaka (大阪市). Anyway, here are the pix:

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Talk about brand confusion!

I saw this at lowes and I couldn't resist snapping a photo.

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
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To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

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Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Lunch at Panera's

today,we went to Panera's for lunch. Rick is leaving today, and we wanted to say goodbye.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Last hurrah for the christmas tree.

Well,that's just about it for the tree this year. It lasted for a pretty long time didn't it?

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Happy New Year!

Although it's a bit bit late, I wish everyone a happy new year. May you have a lot of success in the year to come! Although I won't see a lot of you before I leave, I do look forward to seeing some of you when I return in the summer.