Monday, August 11, 2008

Jessica and I just got back from Japan. This was the best holiday we've had in years. Japan is Jessica's dream location. The place that she has always wanted to see. Mine was Ireland (which we did in '98 and did not disappoint).

I had a ton (I actually just spelled it tonne. It kinda seeps in through osmosis. weird huh!) of vacation time left. If you work on a holiday here not only do they give you time and a half but you also get a day off in lieu of working it. That and four weeks of vacation. Four weeks, people!! I had to fight badgers at Borders to get two weeks off after working 10 years.

It was a last minute kind of trip after finding a great deal so we had about two weeks prep time. Jessica tapped into some kind of Virgo recessive gene from her Mom and churned out this detailed itinerary involving maps, subway and bus routes, timetables, weather calculations, etc. etc... ( thanks to Harvey for helping her with that!). It was like we were breaking into Japan and we had to disable the security system. I was waiting for the laser pointer, powerpoint presentation, and.......... catsuit.

Japan was always kind of a scary prospect not only because of the size and expensiveness, but also because of the extreme language barrier. I encountered that before in Egypt. When you can't even read the alphabet it can be a little difficult. We prepared ourselves by checking out a slew of Japanese language books and cramming for useful phrases. Also we rented Shogun the '70's miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain. (not only was it entertaining, we learned some key Japanese phrases pronounced like a seductive British John Wayne, "Ko-nichi-Wa, baby.") . Jessica wrote down every possible variation on the theme of, "I don't eat ANY animal products!" Which is a very hard thing to communicate to a culture that considers pork a vegetable. Whereas I wrote down things like ,"That was delicious.", "I really do have a reservation." and "Could you please tell which train goes to Monster Island?"

We both mastered the phrases, "sumimasen, arigato gozaimasu, and gomen nasai." (Excuse me, thank you very much, and I'm sorry.) and the most used "wakarimasen" which is "I don't understand."


Tokyo is a psychedelic mix of neon and noise, noir and newness. We got around the city thanks to J's maps and my compass. The thing that amazed me most was the friendliness and helpful people in a city of that size. I love Tokyo, and much to her surprise Jessica did as well. It has been awhile since I have been in a large city. Kapiti, while gorgeous, is like living in Mayberry, so it was good to breath a little smog again. The Japanese are light years ahead of us in toilet technology (and yet they still have many Asian squat toilets. It's a conundrum.) Any toilet that comes with instructions is okay in my book. I love a city where a large number young people dress up in the coolest outfits and hang out in the Harajuku district. They read manga, and have little cartoon characters representing everything. I also love a city where I am of average height for the first time in my life! And best of all.......They had a Krispy Kreme.





So what did we do in Tokyo? We shopped. I bought ice cube trays that make ice in the shape of false teeth. It's soo cool. ahem

Kyoto (the anagram lovers Tokyo) was a little disappointing at first glance, but when you start to look you find all these wonderful secrets the city hides. We visited temples and shrines. Kyoto is arguably the cultural center of Japan. You see geisha walking small alleys virtually unchanged for 500 years. Hawkers stand outside the shops welcoming passers by. One of my favorite places we visited in Kyoto was Kiyomizudera. The temple dates back to 798, but the present buildings were constructed in 1633. The temple takes its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means pure water, clear water or limpid water. It is notable for its vast veranda, supported by hundreds of pillars, that juts out over the hillside and offers impressive views of the city. The popular expression "to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu" is the equivalent of the expression "to take the plunge". This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive jumping from the stage, one's wish would be granted.

The fall is 13 meters, but the lush vegetation below the platform might cushion the fall of a lucky pilgrim. However, the practice is now prohibited. Two hundred and thirty-four jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.4% survived. (I wouldn't want to see the .4% guy)

We decided just to walk from our hotel in Gion to find Nanzenji. We found ourselves up in the wooded hills and came across this little shrine built into a small cave. It was incredible to feel so far away in this serene untouristed spot and yet know the rest of the city was just five minutes away. On way back down we stumbled (okay maybe not stumbled) across a very large bell. (How large was it?) It was soo large that it takes 17 monks to ring it!


We took the bullet train back to Tokyo for our flight home. Again we were lucky in that the flight wasn't that full. The flight back was even longer because we had to fly from Tokyo to Christchurch to Auckland to Wellington. I got questioned a little by security while in Christchurch. Okay guys anyone who has been on a plane for 14 hours looks like a terrorist!

It was a great trip. And surprisingly, we didn't spend all that much. It was one of those rare vacations where you feel invigorated when you come back. We find ourselves looking at the teach English in Japan jobs online. hmmm. I'm pretty sure given half a chance we would go back.

Mainly because I didn't get to Monster Island.