February 14, 2005
St. Valentine's with my buddies
After the meeting at the Irish Pub mentioned earlier (and that was after a date with Maki through old streets of Nagoya, lunch with Ken and Maki, bullet train back to Tokyo. Boy, am I adjusting well), I headed back to Hachioji, where two of my high school buddies waited to see me for the first time in 5 years(!). So the night went on.
This picture was taken at a shot/cocktail bar called "Youshu-ko", a tiny but very elegant place in the middle of not-so-glamorous Hachioji downtown.
In our past encounters, we would proceed to the cheapest waterhole and get smashed to the point of passing out, but not this time; Hiroshi, usually the instigator, was married last summer was itching to get home, this being St. Valentine's day and all. The bar was his suggestion, and we jsut had two drinks each (Hiroshi did have a third), enjoyed a nice, civil conversation with the bartender, and didn't guzzle our drinks.
All that made for a really enjoyable evening, without none of the guilt-laden after effects. Thanks guys!
Posted by Akira at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
An Irishman in Tokyo
Been stood up for an hour here at Shannon's today. I am not upset, though: It's about time I sit on this end of the waiting game, the way I am always late for everything. Besides, it's a good time to unwind in the midst of a whirlwind trip around Japan. I have but a couple days left of this stay, and I am about ready to get back to my routines in Seattle. The drinking and eating, seeing so many people on the street, riding the trains... it's all fun and games, but I can see it would be too much pretty fast if I lived here. At the same time, though, I do love the city. I am never going to be ready to leave here -- there is still so much shopping to be done, for one;)
Some American r&b crap is playing over the speaker, there're a couple of scottish guys sitting next to me talking gossip, they seem more adjusted to this Tokyo life than I am - come to think of it, of course they are; I am the foreigner visiting here, they live in Tokyo.
Posted by Akira at 9:56 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2005
A family in Nagoya
健太郎家族に会いに名古屋まで行ってきました。まなみちゃん（２歳）とは初対面。急に変なおじさんが来て大きい顔してたから気に入らなかったみたいだけど、カメラ向けたらちゃんと愛想振りまいてる。かわいいねえ。奥さんの真希さんとは３年前にアイルランドで会って以来です。豆乳鍋がおいしかった〜。またみんなで会いにきてね。
Posted by Akira at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
February 9, 2005
Ten Years
It's been a pretty busy couple of days. I had been getting home past midnight the last few days, so today I decided I had enough, and came home early. Saw the soccer match (Japan narrowly defeated North Korea 1-0), sat with mom & dad watching a few more ドラマ (soap operas). Now I am very sleepy. I believe the late nights and the big city life is wearing me out a bit.
Seeing old friends, new acquaintances sharing food and drinks... it's all great fun. Navigating the megalopolis Tokyo is very tiring though, and I remember that it was one of the main reasons I left Tokyo in the first place. That was nearly 10 years ago now, and it only gets harder to imagine myself living here. Moreover, I see that my ties are getting weaker: fewer people to contact, and those I do contact, I can only spend very limited time with. It's good to see them, for sure. But at the same time, what's the point? We all have 'moved on' in one way or another in the interim years, getting married, taking a job, switching a job, making children, etc., etc. It's not hard to see that continuing to see each other every three years for three hours isn't filling the gaps very well.
Maybe it's important to keep the connections alive, as frayed as they may have become. One thing I can say is that seeing these old friends, it's like peering through a tiny opening to the past. I remember random details about myself and of my old memories. It is a good feeling -- getting to know myself from those good old days.
I bought a digital camera in Shinjuku yesterday. It's a little cute camera, very snappy and easy to use. Now I can record all the details of my life visually, all in their 4-mega pixel, million-color glory.
Posted by Akira at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2005
穴とら屋 （Anatora-Bar）, Mito
Today's visit with grandma, and hanging out with the parents got me thinking about this place a little more. Mito is quite a little urban town, convenient, walkable yet quiet and peaceful. I really would like to spend more time with grandma even though i'd have to introduce myself each time I see her (even after a brief interval) and talk to her more loudly so she hears me. anyways, i found myself entertaining, albeit very briefly, a notion of staying here for a bit, perhaps a month or so every other year or something like that, working from the new house and visiting grandma every so often, enjoying the japanese life. i don't know. maybe not.
We went to see the plum trees in Kairakuen, and saw the Mito Lord Nariaki's tea mansion(or whatever the appropriate description might be). Nice views and interesting architecture, as usual for any traditional Japanese buildings. All that elegance, and how come the urban cityscapes of Japan are so cluttered and anything but elegant?
Dinner was at this izaka-ya, called Anatora. Converted old house that used to be a traditional sweets shop, it was really intimate and warm, and delicious food came in nice small dishfuls. We started with Kirin Meister Draught, I switched to sake and then to scotch (not to self: never order 'mizu-wari'. not the same as whisky with water on the side). Didn't get sloshed or anything, but i did leave my hat behind and had to trek back to retrieve it.
Posted by Akira at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2005
First night in Japan
Got in two nights ago on Friday. Internet situation is not great here; i am yet to connect my laptop, so no uploads.
This new house in Mito is great. The warm floors, clean windows, nice furniture, a big yard in front. My father has this strange collection of plastic miniature anime figures, mostly of Osamu Tezuka ouvres, lined up on the top of TV set. Apparently he collects them at 7-elevens (like kids used to collect those poke-mon cards). The aunt Eiko next door does, too, and mother says they swap pieces to complement their collections. I guess it's a fad, but I am not sure what to make of it.
I had a strange thought as I fell asleep last night. In Japan and other places, people often talk in the car, or at a bar, not facing each other, especially when it's serious. I remember Takeshi confessing to me at Gullivar's bar counter, looking straight ahead, and Dipika's saying her parents always admonished her in the car. Is it so people don't have to look at you in the eye? hmm. Maybe it's a good time to talk when we drive back together to Hachioji tomorrow ...
Going to see grandma tomorrow at the nursery. Let's see if she can remember me ;)
Posted by Akira at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)