Patrick: Fire festival and a lonely stroll through Osaka

Last week on Thursday the DESA students invited us to watch the Gozan no Okuribi (五山の送り火) from a rooftop in the middle of Kyoto city. Given the restriction on building heights in this beloved historical city, anything above the 7th floor would suffice to provide a good view of the illuminated symbols. Here's a quick sketch of the surrounding geography. The old capital city was laid out in a grid pattern with the main axis of symmetry running from the North to South as deemed appropriate by Chinese geomancy theory. The city was and still is surrounded by mountains to the West, North, and East resulting in a horseshoe cap. It is on these foothills that the 6 symbols- (from East to West) 大、法、妙、boat image、(左) 大、tori image - are arranged and illuminated by torches on the day of this festival. The famous 大 that can be seen during the day from the Demachiyanagi Bridge gives the mountain it sits on the name Daimonji-yama (大文字山). The festival that night marked the culmination of the Obon festivities which lasted for about a week and is a period when the Japanese people across the nation take vacations to pay respect to their ancestors' spirits. To tell the truth, I was slightly disappointed by this festival. All the Japanese people I met had hyped up the excitement, and the prospect of seeing these giant symbols lit by torchlight seemed fascinating. Yet a difficult choice must be made to view this festival: 1) choose one symbol and see it close up or 2) head for a rooftop and see all 6 from afar. I'm not sure what it would have been like to see it closer up from, for example, the Demachiyanagi Bridge but the rooftop gave an unobstructed view of 6 specks of light in the distance amidst incessant chattering. Maybe it was just my hunger complaining, though, because getting to see all the symbols at once is a rare opportunity and I'm quite thankful to the DESA students who invited us to enjoy such a great view.

08162007

After bumming around at home the entire day on Saturday I decided to put my free time to good use by exploring Osaka on Sunday. Everyone else seemed to have family visiting this weekend and Megan went off to see her host family so I had to go about it alone.

First stop was Namba in downtown Osaka. I had been here with Hiroki and Mariko before so I still had some landmarks in memory. I ate a quick lunch at a stand-up ramen shop (金龍) along the way to Dotonbori. I had read a recommendation for this shop on some travel site online so I was so excited to see it that I immediately ordered a bowl. Little did I know I would see no less than 5 more of these shops (3 on the same street) as I walked around the area. I headed over to the famous bridge leading to the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade where random guys wait like predators picking up girls as they walk past. This is also the site watched over by the Glico-man in his silly pose, the futuristic Kirin building, and where a snaking line of people lead like a trail of bread crumbs to what has to be the best tako-yaki stand in the area (judging by the everlasting line of people patiently waiting in the smoldering heat to get a plate of 6 that costs 200 yen more than a plate of 8 sold by the stand across the intersection where the cook glared with eyes of envy).

Moving along, I strolled north through Shinsaibashi and headed off East along the way to a district known as American Village or more affectionately, Amemura (アメ村). Here tourists can find McD, American record shops, used American clothing stores, various strangely/fashionably (your choice) dressed young people, American brands, American culture, and Japanese take on American styles. Interesting place. Although the gangsta style was the prevailing trend as none of the stores sold board shorts so typical of Hawaii or SoCal's surfing culture. I asked a store clerk where I could find some and he just laughed and pointed out some overly baggy shorts with glinting silver chains.

After that, I walked a good 20 minutes in the sweltering heat towards Nihonbashi to the East where, according to a website, was located Den Den Town, Osaka's version of Tokyo's Akihabara. It turns out that website was seriously mistaken because after a good hour or so of being lost, I finally managed to find the place right next to Namba station (after a lengthy consultation with a station attendant). Unlike Akihabara where one must weave in and out of alleys, small streets, shops, and street-side vendors, Den Den Town was not so much a town but one major street lined with electronic parts stores, computer stores, adult video stores, manga/maid cafes, model shops, and toy stores. I had had enough of electronics shopping in Tokyo and this day I came on a mission: to return with one of those traditional Gundam models that so characterizes Japan's otaku culture for my brother. And I found just what I was looking for at Osaka Gundam's, a building dedicated to all things Gundams. Luckily it was also the last day of a promotion making everything in the store 20% off.

Lugging the Gundam model around with me and exhausted from a whole day of walking, I headed to Osaka Peace Park to find somewhere to sit and wait for the illumination of the grounds at night. At the park, three bands gave live performances up until sunset and I sat around in the shade watching their groupies. The guy with the Jimmy Neutron hair was cheered on by a small group of guys yelling and dancing along with the music. All the girls were attracted , like iron filings to a magnet, to the center group of four guys who looked the most professional but were drowned out by the ruckus created by the other two bands. The last band had, in my opinion, the best songs but hardly anyone bothered to stop and listen to them. It was a nice day and my exhausted self was grateful for the brief rest but the mosquitoes came out in full force and I suffered bites all over my arms and legs. If only I was with someone with blood more delicious than mine...

When dusk fell, the festival's staff began to light the candles set up lining the streets and the main fountain. They had quite a difficult time because the wind picked up and kept blowing out the candles that were already lit. It wasn't until around 7:30 pm that most of the candles were lit and the skies were dark enough for the illumination to really stand out. I followed the guys with professional cameras and tripods as they made their way along the path leading up to the castle. I'm glad I went to see the castle at night. The candle-lit paths and the illuminated castle was a welcome change to the typical castle sight-seeing that can be done all over Japan.

So by the end of the day, I had thoroughly explored downtown Osaka, managed to find Den Den Town and can finally say that I've been there, and convinced myself to visit Osaka castle with the convenient excuse of wanting to see what the grounds looked like illuminated at night. Now if I had only had some company...

08192007

From the picture below, you can see that I've upgraded to stir-fried vegetables. I had actually wanted to make a salad but realized when I got home that I had bought cabbage and not lettuce. I dunno... cabbage and iceberg lettuce look similar don't they? Besides, I think cabbage is more nutritious. Although, I don't recall ever eating cabbage uncooked..

08202007

Patrick: Midweek update

I've decided that I should write these posts as soon as I get the chance before I lose motivation, making way for writer's block and procrastination to settle in. (yes, those Tokyo posts are still blatantly in progress...) Here are some pictures of what I had to eat at home this week:

First up is homemade Oyako-don (chicken and egg rice bowl). The rice is layered with shredded nori and I bought some cherry tomatoes to give the dish some color. Naturally the chicken was bought as well; crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.. so not like KFC affair in Japan.

08122007

The next one is Yasai-reimen (cold noodles with vegetables). For this one, I was too lazy to go and buy some meat. You'll notice that all my eggs so far have been boiled. I confess that I have not yet mastered the art of eggs-over-easy. Yes, I've watched Alton Brown's wonderful treatment on Youtube about making the perfect eggs but so many unexpected problems arose: the heat was too high so the egg white cooked too fast, the pan's really cheap, didn't coat the pan evenly with enough oil so things got stuck, the pan sucks, the egg yolks broke too early, did I mention the pan isn't all that high-quality...? I think I also had the eggs for too long. Even though they haven't expired yet, according to Alton Brown, grade AA eggs will degrade over time to grade A eggs due to the loss of rigidity in the egg white's protein scaffold as the eggs lose freshness. It looks so easy though when he does it on TV! You'll also notice that the cucumbers are all different sizes and shapes. I experimented with the different ways to cut them as described in my 料理の教科書. My cutting skills are definitely no good. How do they make all the pieces so straight and evenly thin?

08142007

Tonight I had dinner with my co-workers at the lab. Professor Kanehisa, my supervisor, brought us a vacuum-sealed roasted Peking Duck that he bought on his business trip a couple days ago in Beijing. My co-workers had me read the label describing how to reheat it since it was written in Chinese:

1) soak in hot oil for 10 minutes
2) cut into small pieces and stir fry
3) microwave for 3 to 4 minutes

Since we ate it at the lab, where cooking supplies and ingredients were rather limited, we opted for method #3. Also written on the label was the length of time until expiration... 90 days. I don't know if it would have been better to eat it as soon as possible after it was put in that vacuum-sealed bag or wait until the 90th day and after it had been thoroughly checked for the absence of maggots and decay. There must have been ridic preservatives in that thing... maybe now I'll get to preserve some of my youth as well. My co-workers joked that the essence of the roast duck truly comes out only after it's been properly aged. I don't buy that. In any case, we ordered some pizza from Pizza Hut. Oh the delights of finally biting into some cheesy goodness! Though the mayonnaise and pitiful size was a constant reminder that we were alas, still in Japan...

08152007

Patrick: Enough! I think I've had enough

Another week and another fireworks show later, I think I've finally seen enough fireworks this summer. Beginning with the Tenjin Matsuri(Osaka) a little more than two weeks ago, continuing with the Sumida River Festival(Tokyo) last, last weekend, and then the Hamaotsu Fireworks Festival(Lake Biwa) last Wednesday, followed quickly by the Uji Fireworks Festival(Uji) on Friday, my impression of fireworks in Japan has reached a more or less stable plateau on the amazement scale. I have since ceased to be amazed by the packed trains and hordes of people caught up in feverish festival excitement. The sight of girls or guys in yukatas have long ago stopped being a novelty. The absurdly expensive yet tasty street food has become less enticing. And the variation in fireworks are on the verge of being exhausted.

With that having been said, I thoroughly enjoyed the Uji Fireworks Festival. Seeing how I lived with my host family in Uji for the entire SCTI academic quarter, I've developed a penchant for the Town of Genji. The young people were out in droves, the stall managers never ceased their friendliness, the bustling festivities contrasted nicely with the usual calmness of the river currents. And the experience was unlike any other precisely because the location was not as urban, nor was the show as eminent, as the previous fireworks I attended. My viewing location was much closer, allowing me to watch almost directly underneath the thundering explosions. Yet I had two complaints, the first being the loneliness. I lost my coworkers as we wandered around the stalls looking for things to eat. It's not like I was lost but watching fireworks alone is really not all that much fun.. especially watching fireworks alone amidst a sea of couples. The second grievance is the utter chaos that I found upon arrival at the train station. Both the Keihan the JR lines were completely filled to capacity with long lines directed by the police starting from far outside of the stations. I had to wait a little over an hour for 5 or 6 full trains to clear away the mob in front of me. See the excitement for yourself below...

08102007

After I got back to Kyoto city, I went over to Megan's to see Cara who was visiting from Okayama on her way to climbing Mt. Fuji and partying in Tokyo. We went out for some cheap (but rather weak even by my standards) drinks at one of the Moonlight Bars on Kiyamachi.

08112007

Sorry the post is a little out of order but now that that's out of the way, I wanted to put in a few details regarding the nomikai (drinking party) with the people in my lab on Thursday. My coworkers and I, along with a few visiting German researchers from Berlin, went to a yakitori (bbq chicken) izakaya (pub) in Fushimi-Momoyama. This was not the usual all-you-can-eat-and-drink affair that we of the SCTI program typically favored for our outings. The restaurant itself was situated in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by traditional wooden abodes very much like the facades you see lining the streets around historical preservation sites like Kiyomizu Temple. The food, various chicken dishes, were scrumptious and the portions sparing. And seeing how the Germans could really drink, the pitchers and nihon-shu kept coming; only this time each drink came with its very own price tag. And the final bill was, unlike the food, far from paltry. Embarrassing as it was, I had to borrow some cash from a coworker since I hadn't gone to the bank for quite a few days. I suppose as an experience.. an outing with coworkers, sampling various uniquely Japanese dishes and drinks, it was rather nice. Although any more of these and I'm going to go broke fast.

08092007

Patrick: I love fireworks..

Yesterday I attended a fireworks show at Hamaotsu off of Lake Biwa with Mary and her boyfriend, Isaac. Isaac graduated from Caltech and was visiting from Spain where he studies musical instruments on a fellowship. We joined a much larger group organized by the DESA club consisting of other foreign exchange students from Taiwan and Italy. In all, there were around 70 or so foreigners and about 30 hosts from DESA. In order to ensure the quality of our viewing location, the committee members had already staked out a piece of land and laid out a tarp since 10 am. Given the Japanese enthusiasm for fireworks, I'm actually quite grateful because before yesterday my impression of Japanese fireworks have not been great; the past two times (Tenjin Festival and Sumida River Fireworks Festival) we had to settle for watching fireworks behind obstructive trees or buildings. This time there was a clearing and the fireworks were launched a fair distance off on the lake. Still, the explosions were so big that they felt much closer. The only clue to their distance was the noticeable 2 sec. lag between the sounds we heard and the explosions we saw.

We got to Hamaotsu around 5:30 pm and the show started at 7:30 pm giving us enough time to mix and mingle and catch up with some of the people we haven't seen in a while. Some things never change... Shigeo still gets picked on and talked about how he wants to go back and visit Stanford, Kosuke still towered over the others and drank a fair amount of alcohol, Tsura one of the Korean exchange students who we met during the Wakayama retreat still had amazing Japanese skillz, Ken and Yuzo still joke around and made hilarious facial expressions (although I think Yuzo brought his girlfriend instead of Daniel Radcliffe's Japanese counterpart), Mariko and Kanako were as cute as ever... sure brings back great memories (makes me want to flip through the pages of the blog ;). The Taiwanese folks were also interesting to converse with but they refused to use Japanese or English. I found myself switching back and forth from Chinese to English to Japanese but somehow we were all able to get our points across. The Taiwanese students are here for a month of study at Kyoto Zoukei University 京都造形大学; most of them from Taipei. I found it interesting that they didn't know each other and had signed up for the program by chance on the internet. The girls were especially cliquey and you could hear them gushing and screaming during the entire fireworks show...

The fireworks themselves were fantastic. So much variety, so many colors... definitely the best fireworks I have ever seen. I was especially impressed by the width of the launch site which stretched from the far left to the far right on the distant horizon. The explosions were huge and especially dazzling were the ones which seemed to explode right on the surface of the lake resulting in giant semi-circles that looked like glowing hills... it's kind of hard to describe but take a look at the pictures and videos below:

08082007

Patrick: Fireworks, conference, shopping, and sight-seeing in Tokyo

So last week was a blast. I went on a 'business trip' to Tokyo since everyone in my lab was going to the IBSB 2007 bioinformatics conference hosted by Tokyo University. The conference was held from Tuesday to Thursday so naturally I took Monday and Friday off to complete the week. Thanks to Brian, I had a place to stay and on the weekends I got to see pretty much the entire Tokyo crew.. fun times. Here are some pictures before I left for Tokyo, involving a homemade katsu curry meal and a lecture at Kyoto University by nobel laureate and Stanford Medical School Professor Arthur Kornberg. The esteemed old fellow talked a lot about polyphosphate kinase (PPK) among other things.. I then proceeded to have some excellent sushi with Megan, Raunaq, and Nick.

07262007

07272007

I arrived in Yokohama on Saturday. The original plan was to stay with Daryl in Yokohama and explore the city (second largest city by population in Japan) on the weekend but there was the Sumida River Fireworks Festival in Tokyo that day so I ended up going into the capital anyways. Daryl and I had some delicious ramen at the Yokohama Ramen Museum near Shin-Yokohama station. The museum was quite small but featured various types of ramen from across Japan. The interior was also designed to resemble the streets of Japan in the 1970s (I think..).

in progress....

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