Winter Wonderland in Nikko!

Before heading to Nikko, the only thing I knew about the place was that it was a World Heritage area known for its shrines and temples.  For some reason, probably lack of research on my part, I had no clue this place was up in the mountains.  Stepping out from the train station, I was greeted with a stellar view of the mountains hovering over this cute little mountain town.  :)

Although my pictures won't do it justice, the temples of Nikko were spectacular and rightfully deserved World Heritage status. 

Toshogu Shrine

Buddha statues that filled the forest

The famous little red bridge of Japan is also located in Nikko....

Best little red bridge ever :)

My night in the guesthouse here made me really appreciate my apartment even MORE than I already do.  I guess that's what happens when you share a room with 4 other people, and one of them is a 70 year old man from El Paso,Texas who likes to snore. A Lot.  I think I slept about one wink.

The next morning I woke up and was greeted with a beautiful and unexpected winter wonderland!!  After exploring all of the temples and shrines on my first day with gorgeous, sunny weather.... to see everything covered in snow, gave the place a whole new atmosphere.  It was unbelievable really.

Futarasan Shrine area

On my way out of Nikko, I had about 45 minutes to kill before catching the train.  I walked into the tourist information center and was planning to just warm up and browse around for a bit.  Before I knew it, there were 3 Japanese women surrounding me and speaking, obviously, only Japanese.  I kept trying to explain to them that I had no clue what they were saying but apparently they didn't care because they just kept right on chatting.  :)   I was finally saved by one lady who spoke a tiny bit of English.  They then sat me down for some traditional Japanese green tea and sweets.  Don't mind if I do.  :)  One of the older women tried to teach me how to make the froth on the green tea using a whisk made of bamboo, although I'm not sure she was too happy with the results because she made me do it twice.  :)   Soon after I failed to froth the tea perfectly, I found myself trying on Japanese wedding kimonos.  Lesson learned, it pays to stop in the tourist information center on your way OUT of town.  :)

Lady who tried to teach me how to make froth...and my eyes aren't open :)

I don't know why I look so tall

More Japanese Culture!

 After talking with many of my students over the last few months, I've learned a little bit more about the Japanese school and work culture.  Get excited.  :)

The majority of the Japanese high schools have regulations that restrict their students from having a part-time job while attending school.  The only exception is if one of their parents has passed away and they have to help support the family.  Otherwise, there are very few high school students that have jobs.  They are expected to focus solely on their studies.  Quite honestly, after being here and seeing their daily routines, even if they wanted to, they wouldn't have a time for a part-time job.  After school, they usually attend a cram school, and then after that many students will go to an English school.  There are some days they are attending 3 different schools.  I don't know how they do it....and maybe that's why when they finally get to my class and I ask them how they're doing....they respond...."I'm sleepy."   :)

Some of you may have already heard the rumors that the Japanese people work like crazy.  I would like to clarify that.  The rumors are true.

The Japanese professionals here DO work like CRAZY.   They have vacation days to use, but guess what?  They don't use them.  Although they have the "choice"and the "free will" to take vacation, they really don't have that choice.  One of my students admitted that this is one of the negative parts of the Japanese culture.
Although they have the vacation days, there is ABSOLUTELY no way they will use them.  
When I asked my student what would happen if he used his vacation days, he laughed as though that would obviously never happen....but then said, NOTHING would happen.  He wouldn't get fired and he would still have his job.  But there's no way that he would ever take vacation because that's just the culture. If you take off of work, it makes it seem like something else is more important than your job (Ummm.....Am I missing something here?)

This is one of the reasons the Japanese government has actually made it mandatory for people to take off of work.  With certain companies, they have set vacation days, so everyone has off on the same day.  It's also one reason why Japan has a lot of public holidays... it forces people to take off of work.

My Japanese friend used to work in an office in Tokyo, and she explained that she wasn't allowed to leave the office until the boss left.  And yes, this is an actual  rule.  About 2 nights a week for a year, she said she would finish her work, and would have to sit there for an extra 2-3 hours until her boss left the office!  Sometimes he was even there for personal reasons.   Let's just say I'm sure as hek glad I'm not working in that office!!!

Exciting stuff hey?  :)

A Taste of Culture and Etiquette

WELL. I finally know what it's like to experience an earthquake.  As a matter of fact, I was "lucky" enough to have had two in the same week. Lucky me.  :)
Rather than my alarm clock waking me up one morning, it was a lovely little earthquake instead.  I sat on the edge of my bed to try and "evaluate" the whole situation.  Surprisingly enough, I actually felt pretty calm.  Either that, or I completely froze and didn't know what the hell to do.
The other one happened during one of my adult classes.  The building suddenly started to shake and I think my heart jumped out of my body for one whole second.  And then it was over. And on with class we went.  :)

After being here in Japan for about 5 months, here are a few of the things I have learned about some of the Japanese culture and etiquette. There are, however, so many different aspects and intricacies that make up this culture, this doesn't even scratch the surface.
But here are a few just to give you an idea...

There are often times many little gifts that are given here in Japan. After receiving a gift it is customary to say thank you at least 3 times.  You should obviously say thank you when you receive the gift, another thank you the next time you see the person so they know you remembered their gift, and the next time you see them, a nice little hand written note would be a nice touch.
It's also polite to give a gift after receiving one.
The other day I brought my manager a little item from the bakery that I visit.  Literally, no less than 60 seconds later, she came into my room and said she had cookies for me.
I also gave my Japanese friend a single piece of candy, like one little starburst. The next time I saw her, she gave me a WHOLE pack of Japanese candy.
 It's IMPOSSIBLE to give a gift here without getting a gift in return.  So what I've concluded is that I should give everyone here a gift.... because I'll probably get something even better back.  :)

When on a train or public transportation there are many unwritten "rules" to follow.  Always sit with your legs closed and have your bag neatly on your lap so it isn't in anybody's way.  If you're reading a newspaper it should be folded a certain way so as not to disturb the person next to you. And of course there's no talking, which they do out of respect for one another.  I do have to say there are times this is nice, especially if you're not in the mood to talk to people...but other times it can just be a little TOOOO quiet.  Although there could be hundreds of people on the train, you would still be able to hear a pin drop.

Always, ALWAYS, take off your shoes upon entering somebody's home.  And be sure to have a pair of socks with you....going barefoot isn't very polite.
NEVER wear the slippers for the toilet anywhere else except for in the bathroom.  And yes, there are special slippers for the toilet in not only people's homes, but in businesses and schools as well.

Here are a few things Not to do:
Dont talk with ur hands in ur pockets- it's considered very rude.
Dont stick ur chopsticks in ur rice -This display is only done at Buddhist funerals so it's seen as a very bad omen at the dinner table.
Don't eat while walking- it's seen as bad manners and "ugly."

I'm pretty sure I have accidentally broken almost all of these "rules" already.  So that's something I'm still working on.  :)
 

Allison and Shannon Do Japan!

I think it goes without saying that when one of your best friends comes to visit to help celebrate the holidays in Japan, amazing things are bound to happen.  Here's a glimpse into our Japanese holiday vacation.  :)

The first night Allison arrived, we went to THE one and only bar that feels so like home to me...let's just say Best First Night Ever.  Japanese guy sits next to us...and although he couldnt speak any English (and of course our Japanese is not yet fluent) he just kept giving us "presents." This was pretty much a foreshadowing of what the rest of our trip would be like.  :)

LOVED this guy  :)

 We were lucky enough to participate in a half marathon just a few days into our trip...the weather was sooooo freaking beautiful and pretty sure we were the only foreigners.  :)  Although I think we missed the memo to dress up as a Japanese anime character....

Pokemon or Pikachu?  I'm not sure...

We took a trip down to the Okinawa islands for a few days and decided to rent a car one day and cruise around.  We somehow found what seemed to be a hole-in-the-wall car rental shop....which was perfect...spoke with a man who couldn't understand us and we couldn't understand him, barely showed any form of ID, signed a paper, and we were off!   We may or may not have gotten lost a few times, somehow ended up in a random Japanese tiny town bus station in which 3 Japanese old men bus drivers drew us a map to a Sake Brewery we were trying to find, saw some amazing beaches and of course accidentally drove on a sidewalk.  To sum it up, it was a great day with the rental car.  :)

I have no clue what he's saying

Our "map" from the bus drivers 

Zamami Island

The Japanese tradition for Xmas is to celebrate with, you guessed it, KFC. We of course decided this was the obvious choice for our Xmas dinner as well...but little did we know that we were supposed to make a reservation for the chicken literally months in advance!  After about a 2 hour long ordeal with lines out the door, we FINALLY got our fried chicken.  In search of KFC we stumbled upon a pretty awesome Xmas concert.  Merry Xmas to us and the Colonel.  :)

Xmas at KFC!

Please note the cow and pig

Our time in Tokyo was pretty hectic since there were millions of Japanese buzzing around for the holidays...especially at the Tsukiji fish market.  It's the World's largest wholesale fish market with the World's freshest sushi....so this place is absolutely nuts.  There are mini trucks everywhere blasting through people...pretty sure Allison almost got taken out more than once, fish guts and blood, and not to mention everywhere you look you see a poor little fish take his last breath.  And the sushi here actually was unbelievable...fresh as fresh can be.  :)

Gross

Typical day in the fish market

 Our lovely place for relaxation in Tokyo was the capsule hotel we stayed in....this place was AWESOME.  The capsules are pretty small, but yet big enough to sleep with your luggage in there if you want.  They even had a TV and cute lil dimming lights....let's just say I was pretty much in Heaven in this thing...especially because I was falling asleep to Japanese Ice Skating.  Allison loved the slippers here.  :)

Cool slippers

Our time spent in Mt.Fuji and Kyoto were full of some spectacular world heritage sights....

Mt.Fuji at dusk

Kinkaku-ji -Golden Pavilion, Kyoto-actually made of real gold

 We rang in the New Year in Nara which of course could not have been a better place for us.  Started the night off in our hostel with some episodes of Sex and the City, beer, popcorn and a few other travelers.  Ended the night at midnight with all the other Japanese at one of Japan's most famous temples.  They all wait in line to go into the temple at midnight...we didn't realize there would literally be about 10,000 people in line...so we just observed the Japanese at their best.  :)

Beginning NYE w/some beer and popcorn  :)

Someone's new favorite animal

NYE at the shrine

Oh and how can I forget the fact that we tried snake sake.....

Not sure why we did this....

During....

After...

Cheers to such a great time in Japan with such a great friend.  Oh and by the time Allison left, her Japanese was near to perfect.  :)

Bits of Randomness in Japan

Over the last 3 months I have to come to learn more and more about the Japanese culture as each new day passes.  One of the first being that saying goodbye is quite the process here.  It's not just one goodbye and that's it...there are about 3-4 "goodbyes" while maintaining eye contact the whole time until you literally can't see that person anymore.  I've had some adult students actually run into the wall on their way out of the classroom because they are saying goodbye and walking while looking back at me the whole time.  They then bump into the wall, laugh nervously, and book it outa there.  I wish I had a picture to insert here but unfortunately I don't.  :)

Serving  Christmas cake at a Japanese Xmas party isn't as easy as it sounds.  There is a way of doing absolutely everything here...and the serving of Xmas cake does not fall short on that list. To make a long story short, it took over 20 minutes to systematically place a piece of cake on every student's plate.  I was quite impressed, although not at all surprised to see that not ONE child touched their cake until everyone was ready to eat.  It finally came down to me actually having to tell people they could eat!

Japanese type version of Christmas Cake :)

Santa and his helpers...and yes his beard is real!  :)

Wreath Making  :)

Going on a hike in Japan is also a very orderly ordeal.  I went with my two Japanese co-workers and before we even started the hike, one of them said "Ok this should take us approximately 300 minutes. " Extremely precise to say the least!  She then laughed about it and apologized because she admitted that was a very Japanese thing to say.  :)
The mountain we climbed was SUPER crowded...and as some of you who are familiar with hiking know, usually when slower people are ahead of you, you can pass them or they will even step aside and let you pass.  In Japan, that is of course considered rude and it's best to wait in line.  SO, although there might be someone moving as slow as molasses in front of you, you wouldn't dare pass them as that isn't the right thing to do.  It was pretty interesting and cool to see all of the Japanese in their hiking mode.  :)

The very orderly line when hiking in Japan :)

Prayers before the hike

Miki and I at the top of Mt.Tsukuba  :)

 My friend Dave and I took a road trip to check out the tallest Buddha statue in the world.  I had absolutely no clue that this was here in Japan, let alone pretty close to my house.  It's in the Guinness Book of World Records and really is a beautiful site to see.  :)

Diabatsu - World's tallest Buddha Statue

Typical Japanese garden

A Room full of thousands of Buddha statues  :)

It's Sumo time!

As luck would have it, I arrived in Japan last month at the perfect time for the beginning of  one of the biggest sumo wrestling tournaments.  Figuring out the subway, catching a train, and getting in line by 7am to snag a ticket was well worth the early wake up call.  AND it was also the opening day of the tournament.... so I was fortunate enough to be able to see the opening ceremonies as well. Lucky me.  :)

Opening Ceremonies

The line for tickets well before 7am

Before going to this tournament, I had never seen a sumo match and I don't even like wrestling.  AT ALL.  I just wanted to see what the hype was all about.  BUT, I am now the biggest sumo fan ever.  Ok well maybe not ever...but I am definitely a sumo fan!  After watching Sumo matches literally all day...from 8:30am-6pm....I definitely have a new found respect for this sport.

My BFF

There are soooo many rituals in this competition it is unbelievable.  It actually made watching wrestling SUPER relaxing and at times I felt like I was in a meditation center. Weird, I know.

A couple of the the rituals they do:  they throw salt on the ring to get rid of any evil spirits.....that's also why they stomp their legs on the ground.  They are "crushing" any evil spirits that may be there.  And all of the rituals they do are offerings to the God.  I feel like a nerdy history buff right now but sumo wrestling is a tradition that dates back over 1500 years and a lot of the traditions from back then are still preserved today.  It's pretty cool.  :)

The "referees" change kimonos about every 30 minutes.  One of my favorite parts :)

The arena we were in was pretty amazing....We could bring in our own food and drinks...SO of course I enjoyed the matches with some lovely Japanese beer and sushi.  :)  The crowds at these tournaments go nuts....especially for the Yokozunas....aka the grand champions.
Oh and there are also ladies that walk around with mini kegs on their backs....no joke. :)
I tried to snag a picture but they were too quick...

Kokugikan Stadium, Tokyo

Until the next Sumo Match....

Surviving the First Month in Japan

Here are some of the things that I've learned after my first month in Japan....

1. There are many earthquakes here. Awesome.

One of the first things one of the trainers tells us as I'm expressing my nervousness about earthquakes is...."Seriously don't worry, they're not bad at all.  I'm trying to think...I don't even think there's been one this past week..."  Perfect.  So basically she can recall earthquakes on a weekly basis.... Are you freaking kidding me?
A couple weeks later on my Japanese phone I see a message that says "earthquake." What on earth is that supposed to mean?? Did someone text me this?  Does it always say this?  Maybe it's a warning?  I later come to find out that yes, there was an earthquake (which somehow i didn't feel) and I'll get a text message with alerts...so I guess that's good to know?

They also have a city-wide loudspeaker that I am pretty sure is used to inform us about storm conditions...but unfortunately i have no clue what they're saying...all I know is that when I hear someone talking at 4am, I know there is most likely going to be a typhoon that day....

My amazing start group...all of whom have felt the earthquakes...I'm somehow the only one who hasn't :)

2. Driving on the left side of the road in Japan is NOT a piece of cake.

On my first drive here in Japan (yes I somehow have a car) I was quite nervous to say the least...but
forty minutes later I successfully arrived at my apartment....besides of course the two curbs I ran over and the side mirror of someone else's car that I hit...SOOOO, not too bad for the first drive in Japan I guess.  :)
Oh and I may have been having problems with the windshield wipers as I kept thinking I was turning on the blinkers...I couldn't figure out how to turn them off....so maybe the distraction from the wipers is why I hit that car?  I'm not quite sure....

Still Best Friends :)

3. "Yield" Signs are actually Stop signs.

 I also soon found out that a red sign that looks EXACTLY like a yield sign, is actually a stop sign. But then again, I wouldn't know since I can't yet read Japanese.  But yes apparently this a stop sign.  Again, good to know since I had been whizzing through them on my first drive.  :)

I love signs that I can't read....especially while driving

4. Taking out the trash and recycling is a project here that I should get paid for.

The garbage and recycling procedures are SUPER strict here to say the least.  Everything has to be placed in certain colored bags and taken out only on that particular morning that it is scheduled for.  I'm still really not quite sure exactly what goes where since the schedule is not surprisingly in Japanese, but thank goodness for pictures right?  :)

Hoping to find an english chart :)

A little ridiculous

5. Grocery shopping is STILL not easy.

It took me over 3 days and a purchase of shower gel to finally figure out where the lotion was and what it looked like.

6. Things are very orderly here. VERY ORDERLY.

In the park the other day, a man was cleaning up his dog's "stuff."  It's not like he just used a pooper scooper or a little bag and was on his way.  That would have been way too easy.  He LITERALLY carried a kit just for this special occasion.  After his huge St.Bernard dog went to the bathroom, he spent the next, no joke, 10 minutes sanitizing and cleaning the grass with all of these cleaning items he carried in his what I like to call "Dog bathroom clean-up kit bag."  Only in Japan...

Oh and the sunsets from the park right next to my house have been absolutely amazing :)

The entire sky was literally PAINTED this night :)