Trials and Errors

Well I've come to my final night in Kyoto. Though I leave for a supposedly beautiful island, it remains a rather sad time. I've spent the better part of three months with my host family in this city and though there's been awkwardness and a seemingly endless number of hours spent standing on a train I have no regrets about becoming a part of this program. People may come to Japan once in their life to spend most of their time in Tokyo and maybe a day or two in Kyoto and it is a shame, really. They are unable to really see Japan. I do not mean to imply that only international students spending a semester in Japan can 'truly' visit this country but instead that this country is so rich with history and culture it's almost impossible to experience its brimming bucket of existence. Hell, I've been here for this long and I've been lucky enough to have squeezed in a decent portion of that, which Japan has to offer. Going to a remote place like Ozakai in Toyama prefecture probably ranks pretty low on things people want to do in Japan but the radical difference of such a place compared to a city like Kyoto makes it so much more amazing to see.

I guess the truth is that so many countries, especially those in the East, have such long and beautifully intricate histories and while I marvel at Japan's I neglect the others. What makes Japan so interesting is that I have learned that its history is in so many ways linked to China, Korea and others that you are able to see how these other cultures play into the creation of Japan. In the architecture, in the philosophies, in the ceremony one sees it.

Jesus, I'm writing as though I'm leaving the country tomorrow. It will be actually two more weeks until such an event takes place but in the mean time my journey is set to take me, as I might have previously mentioned, 500 miles south of Tokyo to an island that has a current temperature of about 79 degrees in the day time. Now that should be quite a close to the semester: one final taste of warm weather before I plunge into the winter weather of the North East.

Chi Chi Jima is the name of the island to which we are headed. It's history is actually quite interesting in that it has very little to do with mainland Japan. From what I understand at the moment, it has direct roots to foreigners getting shipwrecked on the various islands in the Pacific and making their home on them. The population of Chi Chi Jima is supposedly quite diverse and lacking the overall homogene of the rest of Japan. I cannot wait to get there and see what it is like. Hopefully I'll have at least a bit of internet in order to maybe post some pictures or at least a few lines of text about the place. Well I suppose I'll get some shut eye now. Tomorrow we head back to Tokyo on the Bullet Train, stay one night there, then settle in for a 26 hour boat ride toward what one Colgate professor has called "Hawaii without the tourists." Mahalo.

Gokayama

Pictures taken by Chris Wilhelm

Watch Out for His Left

Yes! Wi-FI hotspot

The title says it all. We're here in rural fishing world Japan and though the inn in which we're staying is devoid of sweet internet pulp we've located a Free hotspot in the Fisherman's wharf in the town about 20 minutes from the inn. So for the past four days we've all been diverting our time normally spent checking email and whatnot towards other means. Mainly collectively watching a lot of anime and taking trips here and there. We're also supposed to be thinking about the 10 page paper we must write but it's so nice to just relax and enjoy our lack of class time and school work.

The place is quite fascinating and beautiful. We're on a peninsula close to the Sea of Japan and in the distance the show capped Toyama mountain range is visible. At the same time, however, there exists a sadness about the town since there is a steady and visible decline of the youth. You have to wonder how a place like this is going to survive with the youth slowly bleeding from the area. It's so gorgeous, though and I'm so glad we've had the chance to see it. It's a place that you'd never visit on a normal tour of Japan. I think we're pretty fortunate.

Tomorrow we're headed towards the mountainous area of Gokayama for a night. Not really sure what to expect but I'm sure a beautiful landscape is in the cards.

The weather has been pretty lousy during our stay so I don't think any photograph taken really captures how beautiful this place actually is. All this typing has worked up in me a powerful hunger so I think I'm going to head off and get some Udon.

Where we're going next week

Thanks to Greg for the pic

Don't say it can't save the world

Completely off topic but I can't help but mention it. This goes into the categories of "Awesome/Rad/Yeah!" and "What the hell took so long for it". COLORED BUBBLES These things sound like they're going to be amazing. If you don't like normal bubbles then you're probably like a witch or something. But Colored bubbles?! Man that sounds soo cool. If you have the time read this article. In addition to color bubbles (not like you'd really need an "in addition to" for COLOR BUBBLES) the dye they created for them is also supposed to be revolutionary or something. Whatever. COLORED-FUCKING-BUBBLES.

thanks to Slashdot for the heads-up.

Basho died when he was only fifty

So this week was actually the last full week of my time living with a homestay in the Fine city of Kyoto. It's pretty sad considering my host family has been really kind and the experience on a whole has left no trace of sour taste in my mouth. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to a change of scenery but after being here for nearly 2 1/2 months, I'd say I've become a little attatched to the city. The final hurdle, in the form of my Japanese final exam, is all that really remains in terms of work. I'm pretty much done studying tonight (though perhaps far from ready) but this shit's gonna go down one way or the other. We're plannin a final Kyoto-drink-filled-hurrah either Friday or Saturday night and then on Monday we leave for Toyama for a about five days. We are actually coming back to Kyoto for maybe two days after that trip due to a scheduling delay but I don't plan on doing much other than some last minute souvenir shopping. After that it's off to the islands.

In Love with Drowning

Wow has it really been seven days since I updated this thing? Time is just burning by like all gets out. To be honest, nothing truly spectacular has happened in the past week. Buisness as usual. On Thursday we went to a few sites such as Kyo Mizu Tera which had a gorgeous view of the surround area though the place was mobbed with sightseers. The nerve of some people. We also went to a part of the Kyoto nation museum and it was pretty interesting despite the buildings rather bland architecture. The place looks like it could double as a highschool science department.

The highlight of the week actually occurred today when I went with Chris to what turned out to be an incredible fabric dyeing shop. "Wait, the highlight of your week is that you went to a FABRIC DYEING STORE?!" Hey fuck you man. FUCK YOU. This place was amazing. They specialize in a Japanese process of natural fermenting pure indigo dyeing that dates back at least 1500 years. Because the dyeing process, involving the fermentation of an actual microorganism bacteria from the indigo plant, actually strengthens the fabric into which it is fixed there have been articles of clothing dated back to the 700s that have not faded in color. The color, "Japanese Blue" as it's nicknamed, is such a deep indigo you're almost scared to get near it without some sort of adequate flotation device.

This shop, called Aizenkobo, is run by a single small family, the Utsukis. The father is actually considered like a living national treasure because the actual process he has mastered is in danger of being forgotten forever and only a few people in Japan posses a similar talent. Many companies instead carry out the cemical version of the process but the color quickly fades to a greyish blue or green. Kenichi-san, the head, has been invited to give talks all around the world and has done so at places like Princeton and Colombia University

The things they have in this store are almost mindblowing. His wife is a fashion designer and some of the clothes Kenichi-san showed to us were stunning. This stuff being all meticulously hand made, the dyeing can take up to 50 days for just one article, it also isn't particularly cheap. However I am getting close and closer to making a purchase using the money I saved up this summer that some might consider foolish and others might just hit me. There's something about the process and the resulting unique color that has attatched itself firmly to my brain. It's so fascinating and beautiful.

I only have about a week to make my decision so I guess we'll see how crazy I am. I need sleep now; tomorrow we're going to climb Mt. Hiei and sees some extra dop fly shit supreme. check it.

Burning Bright

Maybe some day I'll pull up to his Senior Prom in it

Time keeps on Slippin (for your sorry ass)

Well for the asses of those on the eastern coast of these United States that is. It's all on account of day light savings, which, as I have so recently learned, is not "celebrated" in Japan. haha you crazy American farmers. So all you cats are now 14 whole hours behind the land of Japan. Looks like the shoe is on the other foot. How are you gonna run now?! Your shoes are on the wrong feet! God your all so lazy.