Japan has a lot to offer in terms of sightseeing. With Tokyo nearby, we’ve overlooked some of the local sights. We found ourselves with a couple free afternoons last week, so we took advantage to explore Kawagoe and the area surrounding our neighborhood a little more.
Neighboring Tsurugashima is a couple miles from our apartment. It’s a scenic walk when we cut through Oisezuka Park.
Lotus flowers grow from the pond near Oisezuka Park.
The lotus flowers are starting to bloom. They grow out of the shallow ponds around the park. There’s a walking path with benches around this pond, which makes it a great place for a relaxing walk or to sit and listen to a local plucking away on her shamisen.
This woman was playing the shamisen, a three-stringed instrument similar to a guitar.
This side of the Iruma River (入間川) is home for many local farmers. The rice paddy fields stretch the length of the river. It’s also home to a lot of wildlife, including a family of ducks who worked their way up and down the rows.
This mama had three little ducklings following her through the rice paddy field.
We originally headed for Wood Bakers Pizza in Tsurugashima, but the restaurant was closed unexpectedly. We found some really great Indian food nearby with naan larger than my head.
Head-sized naan at New Darjeeling Indian Restaurant
A few days later we headed into central Kawagoe and the Koedo (or “Little Edo”) area. Edo was the name of Tokyo until the mid-1800s. This is the historic part of Kawagoe. But, first… pizza! The pizza shop in Tsurugashima also has a location in Koedo and it was open!
Margherita pizza and a Shikkoku from Kawagoe’s own Coedo Brewery
It was a little after lunch, so we were the only customers in the place. The pizza is cooked in a pellet-fired oven using Traeger pellets from Mt. Angel, OR and Strawberry Mountain pellets from John Day, OR. They framed the bags and hung them on the wall as decor.
The Traeger grill and pellet bag at Wood Bakers Pizza in Koedo.
The staff was laughing a bit when I started snapping pictures of the pellet bags on the wall, but when I explained Watashi wa Oregon kara desu or I’m from Oregon! they got pretty excited. They pulled pellets out of the bag for me to smell and showed me their Traeger grill in the shop. We sounded out Ponderosa Pine together. Great pizza and more new friends!
Stomachs full, we headed for Kita-in, a Buddhist temple originally founded in 830. The temple burnt down in 1202 and again in 1638. Because of the site’s importance to the Tokugawa shogunate, following the 1638 fire, several structures from Edo Castle were transferred here. Since Edo Castle was destroyed by fire in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the structures at Kita-in are the only remaining structures from the original Edo Castle.
Gohyaku Rakan, or 500 disciples of Buddha.
One of the highlights of Kita-in is the Gohyaku Rakan, or the 500 disciples of Buddha. There are 540 hand-carved statues that are so unique in design that no two are alike. The local legend says that if you feel each of the statues in the dead of night, one will feel warm to you. When you return during daylight, you’ll find that the statue resembles you. Since the statues were gated off during the middle of the day, I’ll have to assume the legend is accurate.
Closeup of a few of the Rakan at Kita-in
Along the way, we passed Naritasankawagoebetsuin Hongyoin Buddhist temple. We were drawn in by the rhythmic pounding of Taiko drums and haunting Buddhist chants. In addition to the shrines, there were also great statues, including the gate protector who didn’t look like someone you’d want to run into in a dark alley.
The guardian at Naritasankawagoebetsuin Hongyoin Buddhist temple.
Kawagoe has several more sights to see, but since they’re spread across town and we were racing the rain, we decided to save them for another day.
We had a couple breakthroughs in our eating out adventures in the last couple weeks. I’ve mentioned before that it’s tough to find a vegetarian meal in Japan without going to a speciality shop, which are also few and far between. The awesome website vegi-navi.jp is starting to change that. Sites like Happy Cow are great, but they tend to focus on vegetarian/vegan-only places. Vegi-Navi adds in the local places that might have only a single veg meal on the menu, which is all you need sometimes.
The sign under this Thai boxer says they have “World-Famous Thai Food.” I’m not gonna argue…
We were in Tokyo last week and ended up getting a couple good meals out. First stop was Tinun, a Thai place in Omotesando across from the Toyko Metro station. The lunch menu was NOT vegetarian-friendly, but the waiter was very helpful. We explained our eating preference and together we came up with a couple dishes that could be modified. We ended up with Pad Thai with tofu and a Thai Fried Rice. Both were really good.
This Taiwanese place was a hole-in-the-wall down a side street. Always the best!
We were back in Ikebukuro around dinner time, so we headed toward one of the places we’d pre-mapped. We came out the wrong station exit, but fortunately I recognized the landmarks for another place we’d pre-mapped! According to vegi-navi, it’s called SENJOUTEUCHIGYOUZATEN. The poster inside the three-table restaurant said “Sen Jou Dumplings,” which is both accurate and easier to say.
The owner, I’m quite certain, sold us the veggie gyoza at the Taiwan Festival we attended in our first week in Japan. Her first question was “Are you vegetarian?” which was a good sign. She had a nice mix of veggie and meat options, but two complete vegetarian set options. We ordered one of each and got a table-load of food. Multi-colored gyoza, rice, veggies, soup and a mock-meat stir fry.
As we left, she introduced us to the cook—who also happened to be her mother. I told her we were already contemplating what we’d order next time.
Vegetable tempura set from Tempura Tendon Tenya.
The best find, purely for convenience purposes, might have been Tempura Tendon Tenya. Located in Crea Mall, the open-air shopping hub in the heart of central Kawagoe, they have a full English menu (!!) and several set options. The rice set comes with all-you-can-eat rice and noodle sets are also available with soba or udon. The only “oops” in the meal was some dried fish shavings (katsuobushi) on the spinach, but it was easily brushed aside.
Last weekend, we headed west (without our camera) on the JR Kawagoe train for the first time, pointed toward Alishan Organic Cafe in Hidaka City. Only three stops and a bus ride from our station, this will be a return destination. The cafe menu is 100% vegetarian and mixes a standard menu with seasonal specialties. We ordered a donburi bowl (rice bowl) with mock-meat and veggies and a teriyaki veggie burger. Both came with a salad and fried panko-crusted potato ball. Excellent, clean-tasting food. They also have a small store with hard-to-find organic and vegetarian products.
I really enjoy cooking at home, but it’s also nice to find some places for those days where cooking just isn’t in the cards.
While in Japan, we’re hoping to take advantage of our ability to see some different parts of the world. Places like Beijing and Seoul are just puddle-jumpers now and Sydney is about 10 hours away. But Japan itself offers a lot of travel opportunities as well.
We took advantage of a university conference in Fukuoka Prefecture this weekend to see a different part of Japan. Fukuoka is on the north coast of Kyushu (one of the four large islands of Japan) and is Japan’s sixth-largest city. It’s also ranked 12th on Monocle Magazine’s 2013 list of the world’s most livable cities. We could definitely see why. More on that later.
The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Narita Airport
Narita Airport is east of Tokyo and it took two-and-a-half hours by bus to get to Kawagoe when we first came to Japan. We took the train this time, which requires a trip on a Shinkansen—a Japanese bullet train. The trip to the airport only took an hour and 40 minutes. No more bus for us!
The airport process was a breeze as well. Being a domestic flight, there wasn’t a lot of hubbub to get to the gate. The train station is in the airport, so you make your way through the terminal. Japanese television reporters stop you to ask about Japanese pop stars (yes, this really happened… I doubt they’ll air it as we weren’t very impressive). Security consists of the standard carry-on X-Ray, but we didn’t have to remove shoes, belts, etc. or even empty change from our pockets. We could bring liquid through as well, but the security officer required us to remove the lid so they could smell the contents.
Our plane boarding from the tarmac.
After a short wait, we were directed to the Friendly Airport Limo (a bus with standing-room only) which took us from the gate to the plane on the tarmac. We waited while they finished the inspection, but it was 20 minutes from the time they opened the door until we were airborne. Very efficient and pleasant flying experience.
Falafel set at Kebabooz Sudanese restaurant
The two-hour flight arrived around dinner time, and despite some travel snacks, first priority was finding food. We had a few places mapped out in advance and chose a Sudanese falafel and kebab restaurant called Kebabooz in the trendy Daimyo neighborhood. The small restaurant (five tables total) was down an alley, which was in another alley, which meant it HAD to be good. The chefs/servers were listening to ’90s American gangster rap at an appropriate volume. A warugaki (bratty child) amused the other diners with her antics.
The food was amazing… easily a top-5 Japan meal. You could watch the hummus being handmade-to-order in the kitchen. The best thing on my plate was the salata aswad, a Sudanese eggplant salad. Basically it was eggplant potato chips covered in a spiced yogurt. I could have eaten it all day.
Is it a clock? Is it a fountain? Yes.
We headed back to the train station so we could get checked into our hotel before dark. We were highly amused by the fountain/clock on the main street by the station. Whether it was the fact that the fountain was an accurate digital clock or that two traditional Manneken Pis-style statues were making sure the fountain stayed full, we’ll never know.
The view from our room at the Hilton. Fukuoka Tower is in the center and Hakata Bay is at the right.
We stayed at the Fukuoka Hilton, which was actually the cheapest hotel in town thanks to a summer special rate. We had an unbelievable view from our 8th-floor window of Fukuoka Tower, Momochi Seaside Park and Hakata Bay. The tower glows at night thanks to 8,000 half-mirrors attached to its outside walls.
Saturday was the conference, so I was left to my own devices for the better part of the day. I stopped at a couple different stations to see what was happening in other parts of Fukuoka, but eventually ended up back at the area by our hotel. I walked down the main street and worked my way down to Fukuoka Tower. For 800 yen, you can ride the elevator up to the observation tower, but I opted for the free selfie. An oversized novelty camera with a small shelf offers instruction on how to get an up-the-nose shot of yourself in front of the tower. Mission…. ACCOMPLISHED!
Up-the-nose selfie in front of the tower? Check.
Just past the tower is Momochi Seaside Park. The beach stretches along Hakata Bay and seemed to be a hotspot for Fukuoka’s young folk. Sunbathers dodged beach soccer and volleyball games while fisherman wandered past the barricade on the pier to catch a few of the jumping fish in the bay.
Beach soccer and volleyball at Momochi Seaside Park.
Our hotel was attached to the Fukuoka Yafuoka! Dome, home of the SoftBank Hawks baseball team. I bought a ticket for the right field bleachers and a vintage Hawks t-shirt and made my way to the ballpark.
The Hawks plethora of mascots join the Baystars mascot for some funky, funky dancing.
The hometown Hawks were hosting the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. The hour before the game was mostly the Hawks seven (count ’em, seven!) mascots joining the Baystars’ overstuffed bear mascot in dancing to the latest American pop songs. An acrobatic cheerleading group flipped and tossed each other about to the amusement of the crowd. Some ceremonies that seemed to move the crowd were performed. I clapped along at the appropriate time despite not understanding a word of it. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown, which in Japan includes a batter from the opposing team taking a ceremonial weak cut at the pitch.
By the time 2 p.m. rolled around, I’d forgotten why I was in this big dome with all these people. Oh yeah… a baseball game! It was an exciting one, with a dominating pitching performance by Hawks starter Kenichi Nakata and each team trading a big inning at the plate. The Hawks came out on top, winning 4-2 and sending the crowd into a balloon-blowing frenzy.
Hawks Win! Hawks Win! Hawks Win!
We were able to share the sightseeing activities on Sunday. We started with breakfast at Bakery Kitchen Raggruppi, a small bakery down—you guessed it—a side alley. Google Maps totally missed the mark on this one, but a nice lady who was heading out for a refill on her water bottle walked us several blocks out of her way to the restaurant.
The restaurant offered all-you-can-eat homemade bread with some seasonal treats and an omelet in its upstairs cafe. My plate included a cold kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) soup while the Mrs. had a light potato salad. Some tuna and several large slices of prosciutto had to be navigated, but it was a small price to pay for a great breakfast. We grabbed a few treats in the bakery downstairs on our way out.
Taking a nap among the lilypads at Maizuru Koen
Directly across the street is Maizuru Koen and Ohori Koen. The parks butt up against each other, but apparently are distinct parks. Along the main street, Maizuru Koen greets you with a pond full of lily pads. Large cranes perch in the trees and willow trees fall over the dirt path. Literally steps from a busy street, it was like being in a different world.
A restored turret in the Fukuoka Castle ruins complex
The ruins of Fukuoka Castle are also part of the park. Centuries-old stone walls are visible throughout the complex and a few of the old buildings have been restored. It’s an active restoration site, so new pieces of the old buildings are being unearthed and are open to the public.
A long path leads into Ohori Koen. A large pond is circled by a walking path. Visitors can rent rowboats or swan-shaped pedal boats or just sit along the edge of the pond and enjoy the view. In true Japan fashion, there’s a Starbucks on site, so you can also enjoy a dark chocolate Frappuccino along with the view.
Boaters enjoy Ohori Koen on a perfect Sunday morning.
I mentioned Fukuoka’s ranking as one of the world’s most livable cities. Tokyo is actually ranked higher on Monocle‘s list, but I preferred Fukoka’s vibe. The city’s layout is much more of a western-style than Tokyo, which made finding things a lot easier. There was a ton to do without the mass of humanity that comes with a day-trip to Tokyo. Parks and public spaces are numerous and the city has made great use of its bay front with shopping, restaurants and recreational opportunities. The area around Fukuoka Tower is the city’s cultural center, with a large public library, park space, the city museum and sports fields all leading from the main street to the bay front. The transportation system is straight-forward and convenient.
Granted, it was a small sample size, but Fukuoka is definitely one of my new favorite Japanese cities. I’m hoping we’ll get a chance to compare it to Osaka, Kyoto and Sapporo before we leave.
Monsoon season is officially upon us. There’s been a glorious break in the rain this morning after four straight days of downpour. The rainy season is called tsuyu, or “plum rain” as it coincides with the plums beginning to ripen. Apparently we can expect this ark-worthy rain until mid-July.
On Saturday, we braved the elements and headed to Shibuya in search of Kuumba du Falafel. A wrong turn out of the train station sent us in the opposite direction, so no falafels for us, but we’ll try again someday. Apparently the owner of the restaurant begrudgingly serves some of the best falafels in Tokyo. An interview quoted him as saying “If there was somewhere else that sold [good falafel], I’d close this immediately and go and eat there every day instead.” Reviews say the service is rough and the owner closes the shop at random, but it’s all worth it for the food. We’ll see!
Luckily, in a bit of serendipity, we ended up near another restaurant we’d been wanting to try, but was closed on our first attempt. Nagi Shokudo vegan restaurant is buried under the sidewalk on a back street in Shibuya. It’s a tough find, but having stumbled upon it once before, we were able to find it pretty easily this time.
The lunch set at Nagi Shokudo in Shibuya. A tofu curry, falafel and deep-fried soy meat with chili sauce.
The food was fantastic. We ordered the “A” set and the choose-your-own set. Both came with a cup of miso soup and bowl of brown rice. The “A” set was a deep-fried soy meat sautéed in a dark soy sauce with green onions alongside a green salad and a relish plate. There were several options for the choose-your-own set. We had tofu curry, deep-fried soy meat in chili sauce and falafel.
I get the sense it’s popular with vegan/vegetarian tourists as another group of Americans came in after us, but there were also a few Japanese people having lunch. We’re learning more and more that vegetarianism is not a popular or even well-known diet in Japan, despite the country’s Buddhist history and the Buddhist’s traditional vegan diet (shōjin ryōri). It’s certainly not experiencing the trend-bump that the diet has seen in the U.S. in recent years.
After lunch, we did what one does in Shibuya and hit the shops. I gather it’ll be a popular rain-dodging activity in the next few weeks. The best stop was on the food level of the Shin-Q Department Store across from Shibuya Station. An excellent wine shop sampled some New Zealand wines, a couple of which we brought back with us. We completed a very French dinner menu with a loaf of rustic bread from one of the bakeries and a wedge of stinky brie from a cheese vendor.
All in all a successful rainy day in Tokyo. Hopefully we’ll have a few more dry days mixed in before cabin fever sets in.
Japanese shrines are impressive, but there’s a sense of “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all.” Small, local shrines are everywhere. However, the history of these shrines is still inspiring and the major shrines can be overwhelming.
Not surprisingly, the tradition is still celebrated throughout Japan. One of the largest celebrations—and wildest—is the Shinto celebration of Sanja Matsuri (Three Shrines Festival) in the Tokyo district of Asakusa. An estimated two million people visit Asakusa during the festival weekend to watch locals carry portable shrines, or mikoshi, through the district’s streets.
We set up shop at Hōzōmon Gate. From there, we could watch as the mikoshi were carried up Nakamise-dori, the main street leading to the temple. Each mikoshi is ornately decorated with gold sculptures and wood carving. We were there on Saturday, so we missed the three large shrines carried on Sunday, but those shrines cost approximately $400,000 each to build. These aren’t your usual weekend parade floats.
Shrines are carried up Nakamise-dori toward the main temple.
Approximately 100 mikoshi are carried through Hōzōmon Gate on Saturday. They stop briefly at the gate to pay respects to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy. Those carrying the shrines shake and rock them to energize the kami seated within the shrine.
A shrine is carried through Hōzōmon Gate
Even the kids are involved, lugging a heavy shrine around town with a little less excitement than their adult counterparts.
The kids carry their own shrine
The mikoshi are then carried to Hondō where they are blessed by Shinto priests before being paraded through the 44 neighborhoods of Asakusa.
Hondō, the main hall
The video below captures the energy of the parade. You can hear them chanting Soiya! Soiya!
As I’ve mentioned before, getting around without a smartphone in Japan requires a lot of planning. Before heading somewhere new, I spend a lot of time on Google Maps. Each trip usually includes a new lesson about what not to do next time.
This past weekend, we headed to a new-to-us part of Tokyo. The final destination was to be the Tokyo Island Fair in Hamamatsucho, preceded by a lunchtime stop at Island Veggie, a Hawaiian-style macrobiotic restaurant in Hiroo.
The “mile walk” from the train station to Hiroo was probably closer to two miles. We walked right past the restaurant once and also found a train station about a block away. Add “don’t trust ‘fewer transfers’ on Google Maps” to the list of lessons learned. But, on the sunny side, we saw some cool stuff along the way, including some awesome architecture.
A modern glass building appears to be hatching from this standard concrete structure.
Eventually we did find Island Veggie and enjoyed a great vegan lunch. The menu was entirely in English and the staff spoke it perfectly, which is always a nice surprise at meal time. We’ll definitely be back to try more of the menu. On this day, we had a teriyaki veggie burger, a falafel burger with fries, a soy milkshake and homemade lemonade. Healthy-naughty food is always a treat.
Teriyaki burger and Falafel burger at Island Veggie
Since the walk to Hiroo was more than we bargained for, we decided to take the train to Hamamatsucho instead of walking as we’d originally planned. The first stop on the line was Roppongi, Tokyo’s high-end midtown, which we’d been meaning to check out. We jumped off the train and did a lap, which is about all Roppongi deserved as far as I could tell. It was a lot of shopping and eating, but the open-air mall near the station did have some decent views.
Tokyo Tower and a park with a heart are visible from the Roppongi Hills complex. A playground with multiple slide options is part of the residential section of the mall.
Back on the train, we headed for the waterfront and our original destination. The Tokyo Island Fair highlighted the food and culture of the Izu and Ogasawara islands. These islands were formed volcanically, so they’ve never been part of the continent. As a result, they’ve evolved on their own and feature plant and animal life unique to the islands. The Ogasawara chain is known as the “Galapagos of the Orient” and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
The festival was held at Takeshiba Ferry Terminal. The terminal serves all of the small islands and opens up into Tokyo Bay, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. I’m not big on astrology, but I’m an aquarius, the water sign. I love the Willamette Valley, but if I didn’t get to the ocean about once a month, I’d start to get a little claustrophobic. It had been about three months since I’d last seen real water, so this was a treat. A little spiritual cleansing.
A little water time on the Takeshiba waterfront.
Unbeknownst to us, our real reason for coming to Japan is to try ALL of the ice cream. This milk ice, made on Izu Oshima island, was fantastic. The best way to describe most Japanese ice cream is that it tastes “clean.” I’m sure an island with an active volcano that last erupted in 1990 could use a good milk ice.
Milk ice… awesome!
As with any place in Japan, the best treats are usually at the front of the longest line. Well, there’s another theory out the window. The front of this line had snails. Giant snails. Still in their shell. Looking like some sort of hose in the engine of a souped-up car. Suffice to say, we skipped that line.
What are these mollusks? Snails. That’s right… giant, nasty snails.
There were plenty of activities to keep the kiddies entertained as well.
Kids gather around a tank with baby sharks and rays from the islands.Tropical fish circle another tank at the Island FairKids paint little figurines as part of the Island Fair activities.
When we got off the train in Hamamatsucho, we saw the Tokyo Tower, another landmark on our to-do list. Two birds, one stone… great! The tower is Japan’s second-tallest structure with a design inspired by the Eiffle Tower, although slightly de-classed by the industrial white and safety-orange paint job.
It’s your time to shrine!
Zōjō-ji temple, a beautiful Buddhist temple, separated us from the Tokyo Tower. Much of Zōjō-ji was destroyed in World War II. The oldest structure on the grounds, Sangedatsu Gate, was built in 1622. Walking through the gate will free a person from greed, hate and foolishness.
The massive Tokyo Tower
We finally arrived at Tokyo Tower where dozens of other tourists joined us in taking up-the-nose pictures trying to get the whole tower in the frame. 1,420 yen (about $14 USD) will get you a great view of the city from the observation deck, but we’d seen enough of Tokyo for one day and headed home.
Supeingo is “Spanish” in katakana, which is the set of Japanese characters for foreign words. To my untrained ear, it sounds like “spango.”
As a former Spanish teacher, I’m always on the lookout for Spanish words and phrases. A part of me is still in “I have to tell my students about this” mode. Even in Japan! I have found many examples of a Latin presence in this part of the world. A family registering with city hall. A young woman in Japanese class. Several of my students are Latino. I find these glimpses familiar, more so than overhearing Americans on a crowded street in Tokyo.
Last week, I had the chance to sit in on a beginning Spanish class at the university. I can’t remember whether I was invited, or (probably more likely) I invited myself. Several students mentioned taking Spanish class and I was intrigued at an opportunity to compare it to my own experience teaching.
I arrived with the two students. The seats were assigned, but a seat near them was open. While we waited for the professor, I asked one of the students why he decided to take Spanish, and after crowd sourcing for a bit, he came back with the answer that most of the students thought it was an easy class. Ha. I have heard that before.
The professor walked in to a class of about 30. My students introduced me in Japanese and she conversed with me for a bit in Spanish. That was probably the first time I communicated well with a Japanese person in a foreign language. Maybe some day that language will be Japanese. If she was feeling any emotion at my surprise sit in, she didn’t show it. I admit, I tried contacting her in advance but had no luck. What bad manners! But, here we were.
Going over subject pronouns in supeingo class
A flurry of conversation in Japanese. Understandably so as I taught my own students a foreign language in their native language.
The students were passed out a quiz. I grabbed one. It was on beginning vocabulary—teacher, student, etc.—and how to make nouns plural based on number and gender. Ah, this I knew! I was going to ace this quiz. Except for the Japanese prompts. Afterwards, she called on students to give answers and she wrote them on the board. Students corrected their own quiz.
The professor called on me to answer a question. I told her in Spanish that I couldn’t read Japanese but I thought the answer was x or y. My student leaned over and whispered that she told me I was wrong. She only wanted to hear x as the answer. How mortifying! That was a good lesson for me in how my current Japanese students probably feel. They might know the answer, but they have no idea what I’m asking.
After the quiz, students orally reported their score to the teacher. Again, I quietly asked my student about that. What’s to stop a student from calling out a higher score? He said, “She trusts us and we trust her.” This would never fly in the U.S. Also, again, interesting to me my own students’ reactions when I either ask them to grade a neighboring student’s paper or I just take the paper when the quiz is over. They may be used to grading their own and doing so honestly? What a concept.
More Japanese. A video on Toledo, Spain appeared. I was interested because I spent some time in Toledo in college. I could get the gist of the video because I knew the context. That was basically the theme of the class for me. Even though it was conducted in Japanese, I could understand what she was teaching. It actually helped me learn some Japanese vocabulary. It was a fun, brain teaser. My mind was fried by the end of the two hours.
I thanked the teacher as I left and we had a mini conversation about Toledo. I asked her if she had ever seen it in person and then proceeded to thank her/apologize for my presence.
The next day, we went to a Celebration of the Americas/Cinco de Mayo festival in Tokyo. Again, a lot of cross-lingual communication. I had fun talking to some of the food vendors asking them to describe what they were serving. There was food from Colombia, Peru and Spain. Not the most authentic in the world, but I’ll take what I can get!
At some point, a young Latina translated a Japanese menu into Spanish for me so that was exciting. Yes, exciting! I got a high out of feeling understood and an exchange where both parties communicated with each other!
I look forward to my next encounter with supeingo.
Another weekend, another Tokyo adventure. This time we set our sights on Chiyoda, home to the Imperial Palace, the National Gardens, National Archives and Japan’s legislature, known as the National Diet.
Of course, the day was planned around the potential for good eats. We actually found Loving Hut on our first try instead of aimlessly wandering the streets of Tokyo for hours on end. The restaurant is part of an international chain with a goal of providing people access to affordable vegan food. There’s one in Portland with more of a Chinese vibe.
“Be vegan, make peace” say the fine folks at Loving Hut
This location took a more traditional Japanese approach to its menu, but with an awesome weekend twist: VEGAN BUFFET! The fat kid inside me screamed with excitement. All you can eat with no “what’s in this” moments to worry about.
My big, fat vegan lunch
I only took a picture of one plate, but I didn’t stop here. Hoax ham, faux fish, counterfeit chicken—not their real names, but I think I just populated my vegan restaurant menu! “Eel” sushi and veggie pork-stuffed buns (nikuman is the traditional pork-filled bun in Japan) alongside curry, sautéed vegetables, gyoza and fresh rolls. And the “meat”-on-a-stick didn’t stand a chance. I haven’t been so full since we’ve been in Japan.
After eating like a man going to the electric chair, we needed a walk. We were situated right between two great tourist destinations. Chiyoda City to the left, Tokyo Dome City to the right.
We started left and made our way to the Imperial Palace. The original site of Edo Castle, the grounds have beautiful gardens and parts of some buildings date back to the 1600s. Just entering is impressive as you cross the moat designed to protect the palace and enter through massive gates.
No alligators in this moat… as far as I know
Skyscrapers from modern Tokyo peek around corners of centuries-old stone, once again blending the old with the new in the way that only Tokyo can.
Tokyo’s skyscrapers peek through the old stone walls of the Imperial Palace
The gardens were in full bloom with every color in the crayon box, although we’d just missed the sakura by a couple weeks. Equally colorful carp swam in the ponds, showing off for their human visitors.
Trees and flowers in bloom
While the east garden is highlighted mostly by the wide-open park space at its center, the outer garden is more densely populated with flora, including 260 trees representing each of Japan’s prefectures.
A crowd of Nikons and Canons surrounded a bush in the park. Turns out they were capturing one of the days more beautiful and simple sights. Viktoria captured several wonderful photos of this butterfly feeding on the blooms.
Just… wow
After feeling like we’d seen the grounds, we explored the nearby area. We walked through the Kokyo Gaien National Gardens across the street. A beautiful scenic walking path again gave glimpses of new Tokyo while encasing us fully in nature.
The Tokyo Skytree sneaks into view through Tokyo’s real trees
The area is also the home to the Science Museum and Nippon Budokan, the arena where many “Live at Budokan” albums were recorded, including the dynamite Cheap Trick recording.
We headed back the other direction toward Tokyo Dome City, site of the massive Tokyo Dome, home to the Yomiuri Giants.
Japan’s Yankee Stadium
The Giants are Japan’s version of the New York Yankees, owners of 22 Japan Series titles and Japan’s Babe Ruth, infielder Sadaharu Oh. In 22 seasons with Yomiuri, Oh slugged 868 career home runs and won nine Central League MVP awards. I’m sure I’ll gush about Oh more when we return to visit the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame, located in the Tokyo Dome.
The complex is full of restaurants, shopping and an amusement park. Kids of all ages seemed to be having a good time with the different rides and activities.
You hear the screams from the roller coaster before you see the riders
We walked around for awhile and took it all in before finding dinner. We settled on pizza since it’d been awhile since we’d had any. The restaurant served Neapolitan-style pies and the food certainly impressed more than the service. We were seated in the “international” section, next to a couple young men traveling from Iran and a young European couple.
On the way home, we decided to stop in Shibuya for the full, nighttime experience. We were not disappointed.
Shibuya at night
Tokyo’s Times Square was lit up like a Christmas tree and thousands crowded the area heading out for a fun-filled (and booze-filled, from the looks of it) Saturday night on the town.
While in Shibuya, we went to the towering Tokyu Hands department store. Floor after floor of everything you’d ever need. We bought cards (the ones with glue-free envelopes) and light fixtures while perusing fitness items, beauty products and a great Hello Kitty display.
Tokyo provides a lot of opportunity for tourism, shopping… your typical big-city stuff. But, the gems of a city are in the alleyways and parks. We found an abundance of both as our Tokyo adventures continued last weekend in Harajuku.
The fashion scene was pretty subdued that day, but these girls were dancing in Yoyogi Park.
Our primary purpose for the visit was Tokyo’s Earth Day festival in Yoyogi Park, another of Tokyo’s fantastic public park spaces. Hundreds of vendors sold food and goods and non-profit organizations used the opportunity to reach thousands with their messages.
One booth demonstrated how you could pop corn with a reflector and sunlight.
Sun-popped popcorn
Others reminded us of our need for the ethical treatment of animals, our food and ourselves. Not being able to read food labels is actually one of the few real downers of being in Japan. We do the best we can.
Booth reminding us where fur really comes from…
A live band filled the air with covers of American classics. A spot-on rendition of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” was followed by a rockabilly take on Elvis Presley’s classic “Hound Dog.”
The Japanese Janis Joplin
The biggest draw to these things is usually the food, and Earth Day 2014 provided some great eats! Veggie “meat” on a stick, steamed “pork” buns and…
French fries as long as my arm.Deep-fried, cheese-filled avocado. Yes, you read that right…
Then there’s the innovative, weird and just plain Tokyo. A dog in a backpack, a truck that turns plastic into oil and whatever that thing is.
Then, there’s this.
After the festival, we explored Harajuku. Shopping is abundant, of course, but there are little pockets of awesome all over the district. We grabbed some amazing raw milk ice cream in coffee at Shiroichi.
These guys were really enjoying their ice cream towers from Shiroichi.
We walked up Takeshita Street, which is the crammed-with-tourists home of Harajuku’s fashion movement. The video screen captures visitors in their last seconds of freedom before crowd-induced claustrophobia takes over.
The camera on Takeshita Street’s gate projects visitors onto the screen. Viktoria is in the gray sweater at far-left.
We finished our big day out at Baird Brewing. At some point I’ll write a post about the beer “scene” in Japan, but on this day, we found a good one. Bryan Baird, a brewer with Pacific Northwest connections, has brought true craft brewing to Tokyo.
Baird Brewing’s Harajuku Taproom
The pub food was fantastic—we had grilled tofu, shitake mushrooms and edamame—but someone should tell the Japanese that you need to serve some carbs with beer approaching 10% ABV.
Reminders of home surrounded us in the corner of the bar. A postcard from Portland sat on the shelf to our left. Oregon breweries were well represented in the swiped coasters that lined the top of the bar.
Before we left, the bartender asked where we were from. I told him Oregon and he got very excited. He says “hold on…” and heads into the keg cooler. He comes back out with a 22-ounce bottle of Portland’s own Upright Brewing “Seven” and a big smile on his face. Apparently he’d just returned from his own craft beer pilgrimage to the Rose City.
I look forward to the opportunity to explore those alleyways again soon.
People have asked, Why did you move to Japan? Where are you? What are you doing?
We have been here for a month and I have taught for about a week, so I feel I can now answer such questions as a true expert. 😉
Why did we move to Japan?
From the beginning: Traveling has always been a passion of mine. I got the bug in college with month-long study abroad classes in Spain and Russia. I studied abroad for a semester in San Juan, Costa Rica. Robert and I have traveled to Mexico several times, exploring areas off the beaten path.
After I got my master’s in teaching, it was always my desire to teach abroad. But I was hired at a local school district and got swept up in a series of jobs teaching Spanish for four years. I wouldn’t change this experience for anything, mostly because of the relationships that I formed with my students. They are among my favorite people on Earth!
But, I felt like I hit the ceiling in my school district. I worked part-time and had been laid off twice previously. Year to year, there was no certainty. There was also a lack of professional development and leadership in my building.
So I reluctantly left teaching for a job as a trainer for the government, teaching adult abuse investigators throughout the state. This job paid twice as much as I made teaching. (Did I mention yet how underfunded public school educators are?) Again, I am happy that I was hired and I became proficient in the job. But still, this wasn’t the right fit for me. I applaud the people that I met who do this difficult work.
Lesson learned: high salary does not equal satisfaction. But, I have a master’s degree—couldn’t I have both salary and a position working with students?
In October, I heard about a few openings through a program at Willamette University that sends educators to a Japanese university to teach English. I had thought about applying for the position the previous year, but I was reluctant. After all, I didn’t speak Japanese and I knew nothing of the Far East.
Long story short, I took a leap of faith. I’ll never forget the phone call I got on November 30 informing me that I was hired. A chance to revisit a dream not yet forgotten!
What are you doing?
Before going to Japan, I started teaching in January at Tokyo International University of America (TIUA). TIUA is a part of Willamette University. Students from the university where I am teaching now in Japan come to Willamette to study abroad for a year.
Some of my students at TIUA. I’m in there somewhere!
At TIUA, I joined a cohort of other teachers that now has 10 members. We are the second group to be hired and we have signed contracts for two years. We join a group of 10 teachers who have already been in Japan for a year. The university is hiring four more teachers this September.
Teaching at Willamette was my first foray into the world of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). When my family came to the US, I was thrown (I think the technical term is “mainstreamed”) into public school long before there were English as a Second Language (ESL) programs so I know firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate the English language.
When I told people I was going to teach English, I think the response I got implied, “oh, just English? I know so-and-so who taught English in such and such. It was easy.” Um, no. I think most Americans (and all people really, no matter the country of origin) are ethnocentric and think their native language is easy and don’t know the difficulties learning a foreign language past taking Spanish for two years in high school umpteen years ago. More about this in a later post.
In late March, Robert and I moved to Japan and I now teach at Tokyo International University (TIU), a private university in Kawagoe, Japan. My position is called Global Teaching Fellow (GTF) in the School of Language Communication, Department of English Communication.
The GTFs on an advertisement on the train from Kawagoe. I am on the top row, second to last.
I teach six classes and their names are extensive, but mostly they focus on the following skills: reading, writing, speaking and/or listening in English. The students are divided into sections based on their TOEIC score. The TOEIC and the TOEFL are tests that measure students’ English proficiency, each with a slightly different focus.
I am teaching sections 5 and 12 of the freshman classes and 4 and 8 of the sophomores; a mix of beginner and intermediate students (well, mostly beginners—more on that later!). My class sizes are between nine to 12 students each. I have a total of 41 students. A huge feat considering I’d have these kinds of numbers in just one class in public school.
My weekly schedule
I work from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days and usually some preparation on Sunday. I have never had six “preps” before (six separate classes to lesson plan for) so this has been a huge lesson for me in staying organized. It is hectic most days, but I like staying busy and productive. I teach on the fifth floor of our building (our offices and the English Plaza are on the second floor). I am also very happy and thankful to be in the same classroom for all of my classes.
My classroom
In my schedule, I have weekly time assignments in the English Lounge. This is a modern, newly renovated area on our floor where students come and practice using English. They can play games, order coffee, check out books, etc.
Oregon Cafe and English Plaza
For speaking class, students are required to sign up for 10 sessions in the English Plaza per semester. I check to see which students have signed up to speak with me and then we have conversations on topics ranging from their hobbies, travel time on the train (most students commute between 30 minutes to two hours one way to school) and their favorite member of One Direction or J-pop (Japanese pop music) artist.
Where are you?
We live in Kawagoe, Japan. It’s about 30 minutes train ride north from Tokyo. The prefecture (district/county) is Saitama. Kawagoe is the Sister City of Salem, Oregon. I have about a 15-20 minute walk to work. I love my commute. I don’t miss our 90-minute daily commute at all! I think we live in the perfect location. Close enough, but far away enough from both work and Tokyo.
Kawagoe is a college town. There are advertisements for the university on most of the trains, including one with all of our pictures. The GTF program is under the Global Teaching Institute, which also includes the TIUA study abroad program at Willamette University.
Moving here has been difficult and quite a roller coaster. But I am excited to have the chance to teach again—in a university setting no less!
Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be sure to address it in a future post.
