A Milestone?

I haven't been blogging for very long or very often, but today I feel I have reached a significant milestone as a blogger. Today's previous post attracted the first spam comment. I've turned on word verification for comments. Hopefully this will deter Professor Howdy and his friends.

「日本はどう？」

Where one might ask "did you have a good time?" in English, in Japanese, the question I usually hear is a more open-ended "how was it?" My 3-year-old equivalent vocabulary seems to cover most cases well enough; I tend to stick with using "good" or "fun", sometimes throwing them both together for "goodfun", and this seems to be sufficient. But yesterday, when a coworker asked, "How was Japan?", it was not my vocabulary that made answering difficult. How can I sum up five months of exploring, traveling, studying, sightseeing, working, learning, and living in Japan? "Goodfun" just doesn't seem to do it justice. Tomorrow I will return home and although I am very much looking forward to the comfort of familiar places and people, I will miss this place and these people.

I don't think I would have it any other way.

Goodbye Japan. Thanks for all the goodfun times.

台風

For me, the typhoon has meant little more than crowded trains and some rain, but it is having more severe effects on others. Read more about the typhoon in the news.

More is Less

The more Japanese I learn, the less I feel like I know. For example, when I first arrived I was having trouble understanding anything spoken at a normal rate. Now, after 4 months in Japan, I am often able to group what I hear into distinct words and phrases, turning one featureless blob of sound into smaller, more manageable (although no more understandable) chunks. I can often pull out a few (typically small) chunks I can understand (usually things like 'today' or 'I think'), but with most sentences, that still leaves me with about a dozen words I don't understand. That's 12 times as many things that I don't understand!

分かる？

One of the great things about coming to Japan is being immersed in the Japanese language. It seems there is no better way to learn a language than to be surrounded by it on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, my language skills have improved considerably since coming to Japan, but, like many other things, my ability to understand others varies a little from day to day. Of course, there are days when I feel like I will never understand this language. And then there are days when I feel like I will never ever ever ever understand this language.

Perusal.

All of my email at work is, not surprisingly, in Japanese. This means I can hardly understand any of it so I have resorted to using Google Translate to quickly get a rough idea of what an email is about. If the topic appears important enough for a more careful translation, I'll start looking up individual words and picking apart the grammar into understandable chunks. Although the Japanese to English leaves much to be desired (it is in beta), what comes out is almost always amusing. Here is today's translation.

The web [kurieitazu] September edition of July 29th sale has reached. “The design part 62 which with main special edition style seat &JavaScript is expressed” “WEB chestnut thornback tar second life enrollment” giving brown machine side, the magazine rack it leaves upper. Perusal.

Benifits of Living Alone

Japan's summer weather — hot and humid — makes the commute home from work in long pants and long sleeves a little bit miserable (although I'm lucky enough to not have to wear a suit every day). One of the good things about living alone, however, is that after I'm home, pants (and all other clothing for that matter) is strictly optional.

社長

On our second day of work, the company president treated Richard and I to lunch. Along with the President's secretary, the CTO, and one of the division managers, we headed up to the 25th floor of our neighboring building. Once inside the restaurant, the chef came to ask what he should prepare. Kimura-san, the president, asked the chef to make foods that foreigners could enjoy. We were not disappointed. The meal included some tempura, grilled eggplant, a few unidentified items, and the most delicious sashimi I have ever had in my life. The pieces were large and thick, a beautiful deep red color, and a taste that was simply too amazing to describe. This was definitely one of the best meals I've had in Japan, right up there with the Bing lunch and dinner. In addition to our amazing food, we chatted (mostly in Japanese) about our experiences in Kyoto and what we wanted to do in Tokyo. It was relaxed and pleasant; a nice way to meet the president. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work at KBMJ. Since it is such a small and young company, there are a lot of opportunities that wouldn't be available in other places — I don't think most people get to eat lunch with their company's president on the second day of work!

自己紹介

Every Tuesday morning KBMJ holds a company-wide meeting. Everyone more or less works in a single open room so such a meeting is fairly easy to hold — a portable PA system is set up and people stand in front of their desks to listen to announcements and introductions. Everyone tends to pay close attention (as you might expect in a Japanese company), so it was very noticeable when Richard and I walked in a few minutes late to our first real day of work. Unfortunately, this embarrassment didn't save us from the task of giving short self introductions very shortly thereafter. (Hello, my name is Jeffrey. I'm a 3rd year student at Stanford majoring in computer science. I'm from Utah. doozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.) After the company-wide meeting was over, I was shown my desk and introduced to my supervisors. I had barely sat down when a brand new MacBook was handed to me, mine to use for the summer. I don't think I could have been more excited to get started! The only bad thing about this is that I'll have to give it back in 2 months. I spent the rest of the day configuring my new computer, installing software, and learning to type on a Japanese keyboard (ALL of the punctuation is in a different place and THERE IS NO BACKSLASH). I was also given the task of learning Ruby, a programming language that has gained some popularity recently, and my neighbor, Shin, helped me get my computer set up for developing in Ruby on Rails, KBMJ's framework of choice for writing web applications. Altogether it was a good first day of work.

First Day at KBMJ

This will be my second time in Tokyo, the first coming at the beginning of Golden Week a couple of months ago. I still remember my first impressions of the city as the Shinkansen made its way into Tokyo. The gentle female voice announcing in proper British English that "very soon we will be making a brief stop in Shinagawa before arriving in Tokyo" stirred me from my sleep and as I awoke, I took a look outside the window. The Shinkansen had already slowed to snake its way through the giant glass and steel buildings, beautiful and impressive in the early afternoon sunlight. Little did I know that in a couple of months I would be working in one of those buildings! KBMJ, my company, has offices on the 14th and 16th floors of the Shidome Sumitomo Building (汐留住友ビル). After getting off the train in Shinagawa, correctly Transferring to the Yamanote Line, getting off on the wrong stop, getting back on the train to get off at the right stop, navigating nearly a mile of poorly marked underground pedestrian walkway, we made it back to the impressive building we passed on the Shinkansen. Mr. Moriwaki from the HR department met us and after taking care of some paperwork and a brief introduction, we were sent to find our apartments in nearby Akihabara.

Japan & Energy Reform

I have just finished my final paper for Professor MacDougall's class, Japan in Contemporary International Affairs. The paper, Japan's Quest for Energy Security: Reforms and Responses since the Oil Crises of the 1970's is available if you would like to read it. Comments are appreciated.

"An Odd Couple"

The national systems (of Japan and the United States) are extraordinarily disparate, to the point of incompatibility. Japan's penchant for explicit planning, for administrative guidance, and for collective national action could not be further from the norms and preferences of the United States.

And yet...

Sharing between Japan and the United States remains a possibility primarily because it is so difficult to picture a set of events in the future that would effectively reduce the interdependence between them. Japan appears to have few options other than to live alongside the United States, even if in constant discomfiture. Except for the possibility of a sporadic unfriendly gesture, the United States is unlikely to block Japan's choice to remain in the American camp, as long as the Japanese elect to remain there. The two countries seem doomed to continue as the odd couple, sharing little in habits, values, and aspirations, yet unable to make any other choice but to accommodate themselves to one another's existence.

Raymond Vernon, Two Hungry Giants.

Word of the Day

trilemma

Yes, it's exactly what you think it is. The definition, from the OED: A situation, or (in Logic) a syllogism, of the nature of a DILEMMA, but involving three alternatives instead of two.

I am currently working on my paper for Professor MacDougall's class and after encountering trilemma in one of my sources, I am seriously considering making an attempt to work the word into my own paper.

Can you hear me now?

Today, I received this message on my phone:
"Thank you for using SoftBank. Your recharge account expired on 2007/06/26. You are not able to make calls. Recharge now and enjoy more our prepaid service."

Interestingly enough, in Japan, most cell phones receive calls for free, but now that my prepaid credit has expired, I can't make calls or send emails. Fortunately, recharging is just a few clicks away on SoftBank's website.

Phrase of the Day

Today, while riding on the bus on my way to school, I stood next to a woman who was reading a book for learning English. The book had one conversation for each day of the year and today's conversation was between a pair of travelers. It went something like this:
A: Beautiful day, isn't it?
B: Yeah it is. You're up early.
A: I had some time so I repacked my backpack
B: I see. Well, I can't hike on an empty stomach so I bought some beef jerky. Want some?
A: No thanks, I'll order room service

I couldn't help smiling at the very Japanese-like English conversation, and be impressed with this woman's determination to learn English. I can only imagine what I look like when I whip out my kanji flashcards on the bus to practice for the next day's quiz.

ザーザー

We are now well into the monsoon season which means it rains all the time. Today's rain is especially intense, having caused a small flood in the walkway next to the Kajiwara's house. Fortunately, because it is much cooler today than yesterday, it isn't as sticky and, as Otousan said, is a good day for studying.

硫黄島

On June 18, 2007, Japan officially renamed the Island of Iwo Jima, restoring it to the pre-World War II name, Iwo To. The misnomer stems from a mistake made by military officers as they moved in to occupy the island after the Battle of Iwo Jima, understandable since tō and jima are two pronunciations for the kanji '島', meaning 'island'.

BBC Article

Don't Use Metric

If you live in Myanmar, Liberia, or The United States, you might not understand this previous post. Here is a map of countries that don't use the metric system, from Wikimedia.

Earthquakes

According to Professor Hayashi, one of the teachers at SCTI, Japan's landmass is only 0.28% of the world's, but Japan has 17% of the world's earthquakes over 6.0 on the Richter scale.

漢字

I've found it much easier to learn and remember kanji here. It seems that seeing them on street signs, store fronts, the bus, and everywhere else helps the pictograph-like characters stick in my mind.

Broken

This is a button on the bus used to inform the driver that one would like to get off at the next stop. It is the only broken thing I have seen in Japan.

Computer

Today my computer arrived from home and is in working condition. The backlog of posts will float onto this blog as I have time to write them.

Use Metric!

Today, in our quest to answer the question, 'How big is Deni?', I found out that I am 164cm tall.

Kyoto during World War II

My host father is 77 years old and has lived in Kyoto since before World War II. Kyoto, he explained, was one of two cities saved from the intensely destructive firebombing of World War II. However, on one occasion, a bomb landed nearby. I was very surprised the one time a bomb landed near my house, he said. It was scary.

Japanese Students

One of the best things about SCTI was the opportunity to take a class with a few Japanese students. In Professor MacDougall's class, Japan in Contemporary International Affairs, we had 4 auditing students from Doshisha University and Kyoto University. It was a great way to meet more people and make a few Japanese friends.
I had heard that college students in Japan spend very little time studying, preferring instead to join clubs and participate in recreational activities so I was surprised with how well the Japanese students did in class. Part of our classwork included small presentations; the auditors' presentations were interesting, sophisticated, and at least as good (if not better) than most of the ones given by those of us who were actually taking the class for a grade, even more impressive considering everything was in English. Certainly it seems that Japanese schools are doing something right, especially if they can do so well in a class while studying so little, but I also suspect the caricaturization of Japanese college students as idle and not hardworking is probably not correct.

Birds of a Feather...

On the bus, it seems to me that people attempt to sit next to others who are similar to themselves. For example, middle-aged women sit with other middle-aged women, young salary men sit with other young salary men, elderly ladies out to purchase groceries sit by other elderly ladies out to purchase groceries, and no one sits next to the foreigner.

Takigi Noh

Occurring only once per year, Takigi Noh is a special performance of the ancient Japanese Noh theater. Kyoto's Heian Shrine serves as a magnificent backdrop for the evening's dramatic performance, drawing a crowd of several thousand. Because Otousan and I arrived over 3 hours early, we were able to get excellent seats in the 2nd row, but even with an hour to wait before the performance began, all available seating and standing room had quickly filled up. This did not stop the continual announcements requesting that we please take up as little space as possible as more people continued to squeeze into the shrine.

Although it was crowded, the weather could not have been more perfect. Pleasantly warm with a refreshingly cool breeze, everyone relaxed, chatting with each other in anticipation of the show. Many people had brought a bento to snack on during the wait. As the sun began to go down, Shinto priests set on fire three large piles of firewood and several smaller braziers surrounding the stage, continuing to refuel them throughout the night to provide lighting for the performance.

Developed in ancient times by courtiers and performed by the cultural high class of Japan, Noh is known for it's attention to minute detail and subtlety; the slightest reach of a hand, turning of the head, or movement of the body is almost always significant. However, the plots were not overly complicated and armed with my English summaries, I was able to follow along quite easily. The Takigi Noh performance is composed of a set of plays separated by short intermissions. Traditionally, one of the intermissions is filled with Kyogen, a comedic and less stylized theatrical art form. This night was no exception. The Kyogen story revolved around a servant whose master had sent him on an errand to deliver sake. The servant encountered and old friend who managed to convince him to drink the sake instead. Both men became drunk and hilarity ensued.

The Kyogen was amusing, but the final Noh performance was perhaps the most exciting. The story, set in China, revolved around three lions who guarded an ancient and special bridge. The lions, dressed in fantastically ornate costumes and masks (the original suGOku kirei), ran and jumped fiercely around the stage, sometimes frantic with sudden gestures and movements, stomping on the floor for emphasis. At the peak of story, as the 12-man chorus reached it's loudest volume yet and the complex rhythms of the Otsuzumi and Kotsuzumi drums rang out into the night air, with the firelight dancing across the stage, one of the actors (in full lion-kimono regalia) did a standing backflip over one of the other actors. It was a suitably dramatic ending for a night whose atmosphere of excitement and enjoyment was unforgettable.

Otousan's Map of Kobe

Today we went for a school field trip to Kobe to visit a museum concerning the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. Upon hearing of our visit to Kobe, Otousan drew me a map advising me to visit (among other places) the ocean, a monorail, China Town, an onsen on the mountain to the north (via cable car), the section of town built in western style, the longest suspension bridge in the world, Shikoku, and Himeiji Castle. Can you find them all?

Needless to say, we weren't able to make it to all those places in just the few hours we had after our field trip finished, but we enjoyed strolling through China Town (all of one small block) and eating items purchased from shops along the street.

京都駅

Kyoto Station, perhaps one of the coolest train stations in the world.



You can read more about this awesome structure on Wikipedia.

Fushimi Inari

Also called "Torii Mountain", Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for the thousands of bright red-orange torii that cover the paths that crisscross the mountain on which the shrine is built. For a small sum, you too can have a torii engraved with your name and placed on the mountain.

Technical Difficulties

A few days ago, the computer I brought to Japan started running really really slowly. I spent most of Sunday troubleshooting the problem, trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally, the Intel Processor ID Utility gave me an answer.


Yes, that's correct, the Intel Pentium 4 processor in this computer, which is capable of running at 2.4GHz, has slowed down to a crawl, puttering along at a measly 0.31GHz. Great. This computer would be state-of-the-art in, oh, 1998. Of course, the computer still turns on, but since the processor is so slow (it can't even keep up with my typing -- I have to periodically pause to let it catch up), everything actually takes 8 times as long. That doesn't seem too bad, I suppose. Let's see, quick estimate... I should be able to get everything I was planning to do in the next 4 months done by about, uhm, 2011.

Hoping this was a software problem, I downloaded the latest drivers and utility updates from Toshiba. Installation went smoothly, but after rebooting, I was faced with the following message.


Fantastic. The computer I brought to Japan, which is not even mine (my laptop broke the day before I left; on such short notice I was fortunate enough to be able to bring my dad's), basically doesn't work and there appears to be no way for me to fix it.

Someday I will have a computer that actually works. Until then, this blog is officially on hiatus.

宮島

Itsukushima Shrine on the island of Miyajima is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the three most scenic places in all of Japan.


Miyajima is somewhat far from Kyoto (a couple of hours by Shinkansen), but thanks to the generous contributions of the Bing family, our whole program was able to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima and see the great torii. Other highlights from the trip included enjoying a meal of Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki, a sobering trip to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, our delicious Bing dinner, hiking up our yukata to slosh through through the mud and water at 10PM so we could pose for pictures under the great torii (only possible at low tide), and spending most of Saturday climbing Mt. Misen — we went all the way to the top of the island.

広島

A couple of pictures from Hiroshima, including the A-Bomb Dome, one of the few structures that survived the atomic blast, and the Peace Memorial Park Cenotaph, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the atom bomb.

Big or Small — You Decide!

When I was in the 3rd grade, I read a small book about conservation and the environment. I remember one section particularly well because it suggested practical ways to start living more conservatively. One suggestion was to place a jar or carton filled with rocks in the water tank of your toilet so that you would use less water with each flush. This is great for water conservation but the accompanying loss in flushing power makes the rocks-in-the-tank solution less than ideal. Although reduced effectiveness was my mother's stated reason for denying my request for an empty carton and rocks, I'm sure it had just as much to do with the fact that she didn't want a 3rd grader mucking around with her toilet. Fair enough, but I never let the idea of a variable-water toilet die and I think if I ever had a few spare days at home, I would try to find a way to make it work. Well, it looks like the Japanese have beat me to it. It's brilliant. Most of the time, you need just a little bit of water, but, as my mother correctly pointed out over a dozen years ago, sometimes you need all 2.5 gallons.

Fountain Hopping

Apparently, people in Japan also go fountain hopping. Although some of us were interested, we resisted the urge to join them.

My Desk

三十三間堂

Today, Otousan took me to 三十三間堂 (Sanjūsangen-dō), a famous Buddhist temple that is over 900 years old. The temple features a gigantic seated Buddha surrounded by 1000 life-size statues of the same deity. In addition, the temple contains 28 guardian deity statues and famous statues of Fujin and Raijin, the gods of wind and thunder. The main hall is 120m long and the sight of 1000 life-size gold-covered statues is an amazing one. Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed, but you can read more about the temple on Wikipedia.

同志社の明徳館

The Stanford Center is located on the second floor of this building, Meitokukan. It is where I have class, eat lunch, and hang out with other students during the day.

Matsuri

There was a small festival in our neighborhood last weekend so my host father and I went to watch the procession. Here are some pictures.

Imperial Palace

Some pictures from the imperial palace in Kyoto.

East and West

Here are two articles about differences between people from Asia and North America.

Researchers found Japanese and Americans look to different areas of the face for clues about another person's feelings. The Japanese tend to look more at the eyes while Americans focus more on the mouth. Full Report

Researchers found differences in the aspects of pictures that people paid attention to depending on the person's cultural background. Those with European background tended to focus on the one or few prominent objects in a scene while people with Chinese background tended to spend more time examining the background and how the main items relate to the rest of a scene. Asians raised in North America were between the other two groups. Full Report

Deliciously?

Sometimes I wonder about word translations. The following word makes perfect sense, except for the sense of it meaning 'deliciously'. Can someone tell me how to use that in a sentence?

旨く 【うまく】 (adv) skillfully; well; deliciously; aptly; cleverly

Courtesy of Jim Breen's WWWJDIC Japanese-English Dictionary Server

There's a reason it's called "studying abroad".

After a week of orientation sessions and few classes, followed by a 9-day-long holiday, it's finally time to get started with the "studying" part of studying abroad. (The "abroad" part, aside from a 14 hour plane ride and 16 hour time adjustment, has so far been more or less manageable.) Two hours of Japanese this morning began the routine that will include 9 hours of Japanese class a week as well as the usual load of quizzes, problem sets, midterms, readings, papers, and presentations. Better hit the books.

Overheard in Kyoto

I’ve reached the point where I’m able to understand words and phrases from the conversations of people I pass walking on the street. Unfortunately, that’s also all I can understand when I’m trying to have an actual conversation with someone.

日本語

Even though we have not started Japanese classes, my language skills are improving dramatically; I’m noticing almost daily improvement just from listening and talking to my host parents. I can even understand some shows on the T.V. if I know the vocabulary and I can recognize the kanji from many of the stops on the bus I ride to and from school 「まもなく、千本今出川です。」

よかった日

Today, I got back and forth from school without incident and my ability to understand Japanese is improving. I feel like I’m settling in a bit and I’m able to relax. After a delicious dinner with my host family (Japanese soup broth with chicken and vegetables), we watched a samurai show on the T.V. and had a little chat. It was a good day.

Rice

I’ve been here four days and had a total of 12 meals. All but 2 have involved significant quantities of rice. So far, the food has been excellent.

Juice

When referring to anything that isn't water, when talking to foreigners who can’t understand your language or 18-month-old children who can, you can always call it “juice”. 「ジュースを買って名前を書いてこのれいぞうに入れて飲んでください。」

部屋

My Room:

賀茂川

Today’s adventure included a trip to the city office, an informal tour of Kyoto University, and crossing the Kamo River. The Japanese government requires all aliens who will be in Japan for more than 90 days to register with the local city or ward office. Hiroki, a student from Kyoto University, took Stephanie Cheng and me – we both live in Kita-ku (北区) – to the local ward office. After helping us fill out our alien registration forms, he showed us the Kamo River (賀茂川) and gave us a tour of Kyoto University. (Hiroki informed us that Kyoto University is commonly referred to as Kyodai, a contraction of “Kyoto University” in Japanese, “Kyoto Daigaku”. Similarly, Tokyo University is Todai, from “Tokyo Daigaku”.) Here, Hiroki and Stephanie cross the Kamo River using the path made of large stones, some of which are shaped like giant turtles.

Customs Inspections

As we wait in line to pass through customs in Kansai Airport, a large, bright yellow sign with red lettering informs us, “Strict inspections being carried out for the prevention of terrorism.”

Jackets

I sit down and look around me as everyone else finishes boarding the airplane. A few rows in front of me, to the left, a pair of younger guys are sitting down. They both take off their jackets and, after crumpling them up, unceremoniously stuff them into an overhead bin. In the row in front of me, an older Japanese couple has just sat down. They carefully remove their jackets, folding them into neat little squares. A brief discussion ensues on the suitability of the folded jackets. A decision is made and after one jacket is refolded, both are carefully placed into the overhead bin that contains the owners’ luggage.

Mailing Address

Jeffrey Spehar
Stanford Program in Kyoto
Doshisha University
Karasuma Higashi-iru, Imadegawa-dori
Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8580
JAPAN