Annnddd done.

With this (mis)adventure.

It was great trip for culture, new beers and seeing old friends. I got lost in 5 or 6 different historic towns and got to see how those areas actually look now. How the locals really are, not some polished and shined version they roll out for tourists. I learned that the Japanese are either super polite or insulted me as I walked past. Yes, I do know what 'gaijin' means. No, it isn't very friendly. I also found it isn't true that Japanese women throw themselves at Americans.

Don't worry parents, I was never really in a position to meet people my age partying. I spent my nights praying, sleeping and reading about culturally important mounds of dirt.

And I did a lot of thinking. Good thinks, bad thinks, fantasy thinks, but since I couldn't talk to anyone I had to talk to myself. I swear I'm not crazy. But I'm glad I got out of Chicago for a while. This town is awesome, but too much time in any one place will drive a person crazy. And I have finally decided which stupid pile of code I want to work on next: financial trading. Hah! I don't think I have the skill set for it, but I will try to win a hedge firm over with my wit and charm.

Heh, I will be on food stamps in 2 weeks if I actually have to rely on my wit and charm.

And I figured out some other stuff, but that stuff is boooring and just helped me realize that being a programmer is fine, so long as its exciting stuff.

So this thing is done, its green-ness will know no new posts. If you want to get a hold of me, shoot an email to coffeepac@gmail.com, or aim: bink189 or telegram: wait, shit, Western Union closed their last telegram offices, didn't they? So, no telegram. hah! Suckers.

Okinawa!

I have made it. It is my last stop on the vacation called Japan. I got in a couple of days ago, but haven't been online. I've been out doing stuff like going to aquariums, getting horrendously drunk and playing video games. All the things you expect from a vacation.

I am now out on Brett's tiny little island of 700 people. It is relaxing. Today I headed over to the beach and just chilled out. I jumped in the water and then sat around some more. I hiked up and around a mountain and now I am freshly de-salted and ready for some more video games. All in all, a good day.

Okay, that's it for me from Japan. I will post something when I get back to Chicago, which is in like 3 days, I think. Its hard to look that far into the future when surrounded by so much gorgeous island.

Cheers everybody!

Double Post Day!

Because I still can't read Kanji

So I can't figure out how to get blogger to show up in English. Most sites have a helpful, 'Click here if you don't speak the local crazy words!' link. Not blogger or any google properties that I can tell. So, I just click on stuff on and hope.

Note to self: its the ORANGE button with the crazy marks on it that posts entries.

Today was relaxing. I swung over to a man-made pond that is of the Chinese style, or something. All I know is that it was very calming. Then I, uh, well, that was about it. Oh, I swung by the Raumen Stadium again and once again, came away utterly stuffed. I attempted to vote today, but alas, kanji on the ballot.

Tomorrow I trek to Okinawa for fun in the sun and beaches! Oh, and meeting up with some friend of mine named Brett. I hear he's down there still.

One more week and I no longer face the threat of deportation for major cultural snafus! Which, while good for me not being incarcerated, means the vacation is almost done. Le-sigh.

Fukuoka

The awakening!

What has awakened? I have no idea. It just seemed like a good subtitle. Or, really, maybe I have. I am now not worried in the SLIGHTEST about rolling into a town completely unannounced and being able to acquire reasonable housing within 30 minutes of exiting the train station. Heh, good thing this is the last time I'll have to do that on this trip. Hoo-ray for a skill I won't need until it is rusty with disuse!

After securing a Ryokan where I will rest my tired body this evening, I headed over to Canal City which is a gigantic COMPLEX of buildings that create one giant super mall. It is a work of, well, commercialism I guess. But in the center building on the fifth floor is the Ramen Fight Ring. As mentioned before, this is where makers of ramen go to determine their worth. You are either exalted on high and given a proper shop on a busy street selling to the salary men, or you are cast down to make burgers and fries at McDonald's all the while moaning in pain and agony each time grease kicks up from the deep fryer and you think to yourself, 'these hands of mine had the power for such good, and they are but charred rememnants of crappy fries and flavorless meat pods. WHY GODS! Why have you cursed me so!'

Needless to say, I approached with due trepidation that my choice would be deciding the fates of men and women for DECADES to come!

Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit there, but there actually are 8 restaurants which specialize in noodles from different parts of Japan and the East Coast of the mainland, ie, China and Korea. I hit up a Chinese Ramen noodle stand I think. I am not totally sure because the signs, you see, they are written in Japanese. And I still don't speak Japanese. It was very tasty and after I eat lunch tomorrow I will cast a vote at random. Hee... I am a capricious god!

Afterwards I ambled over to the folk museum where I saw a bunch of stuff about the history of the Fukuoka/Hakata area. Crazy stuff. They used to make POTS! Next door was an old house that had been rebuilt and had an old tradional loom being operated by, at first glance, what appeared to be someone from 300 years ago. Turns out, he was only 80-ish! He was trying to make something, but the loom was being very, very bitchy.

After that was another temple (le shock!) and now I am hanging about online dorking around with photographs, blogs, emails and other things which are done on the interweb. Tomorrow will be another big park, some asian art and then, I dunno, maybe a game of murder-death-kill with the dude next to me who thinks I should be able to clearly hear his video game.

EDIT
Updated photos and added a new video from Harajuku. It was too big before to upload. Oh, and the photo link should be straigtened out now.

Hiroshima - day 2

The day of drawings.

Not by me, and not even just drawings. I was wandering around a park in Hiroshima when I stumbled upon the museum of contemporary art. I do not understand modern art usually because I am an idiot. Much like I do not understand most literature or the appropriate times to belch. I am a simple man and I do not get complicated things. So I was not planning on going in. However, there was an exhibit called 'I.Toon' Now sufficiently intrigued, I went in.

There is a man named Yuichi Ito, I believe, who founded a studio named I.Toon. They do animation and claymation for full films, shorts and advertisements. I had never heard of this guy or this studio before but I was very impressed with the work. I suggest you all swing around and check this guy out. Specifically his fantastic shorts 'Beanut Brothers.' They are in English and they are hilarious.

Afterwards, I wandered over to the manga library where I saw a bunch of nerds standing and sitting around reading manga. The place was huge. None of it in English that I saw, but a cool thing none the less.

Afterwards, a quick trip to another beautiful garden and I was done for the day. I think I am at my travelling end. I slept for like 10 hours last night and was groggy and tired all day. I can not wait for Okinawa and the beach-y life that will bring.

And my photo sharing is on hold, again. The wonderful people over there need to explain why AFTER I sent them money they have banned my email address. I have no idea if you can still get in over there, but you can try.

Tomorrow I leave for Fukuoka where I will eat so many noodles it will be phenomenal. They have a ramen noodle floor in a department store with noodles from all over Japan. After your meal(s), you vote for your favorite! I can't wait.

Noodles, noodles, noodles...

Hiroshima - day one

No attempt at a funny subtitle today. It was a rather somber day.

I spent most of today walking around the Peace Park and Peace Museum. These were created to honor the people that died on August 6th, 1945, when the Enola Gay dropped the bomb on them. It was very moving.

I am not going to attempt to say more then that about it except that if you do ever come to Japan, I strongly recommend spending a day here doing just that, wandering around the Peace Park and Peace Museum.

I also walked over the reconstructed Hiroshima Castle. It is quite large and houses a museum of historical bits and bobs from the Hiroshima area.

There will also be tons and tons of new pictures, I finally found a computer that will let me plug in. Finally.

EDIT
Photos uploaded, about 150 in 4 new folders: Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima. Photos are not all named, I will finish it later when my eyes don't feel like bleeding.

Osaka

Where stuff is boring.

I have done no sightseeing in Osaka and do not plan to before I leave tomorrow to head to Hiroshima. Partly, this is due to timing. I got in later yesterday then I expected, I woke up late today and it has also rained all day and tomorrow I am leaving at 11 am. The second reason is that there isn't much to see here. Nothing significant at all, really. I asked some natives I met here yesterday what I have to see, then eventually suggested a castle that is 1.5 hours away from here, Himeji. Looks quite nice, but its forever away.

I am also starting to loathe weekends here. Typically, on saturdays and sundays, I wake up late and then lounge around for awhile before scaring up food somehow. But I can not do that here. Well, not in my boxers as I usually do. Most coffee shops demand pants. So I am having this weird inversion of what portion of the week I like. I now like the 'work week' portion more then the weekend.

I ended up in a bar called Murphy's last night and drank Guiness, green-dyed Sapporo and I think Jager. I am not entirely certain what the shot was, I was entirely too busy flirting. There may be a trend there. I tend to drink Jager accidentaly, or unintentionally is the better word there, when flirting. I wonder why. Maybe the black licorice taste makes me think I am more attractive? Possibly that the same black licorice taste will make kissing more enjoyable then, say, tasting like an ashtray? I am not sure, but I will investigate this more later.

And of course I went home alone. I have only vague ideas of what to say to people in attempts to endear my self as a friend and someone who's company should be tolerated for a few hours in a bar, to say nothing of how to convice a girl that yes, I am an attractive option for makeouts. I thought my isolation and lack of social skills was bad in Chicago, hah, nothing to make you self concious and unable to form cogent thoughts like not speaking for days at a time. And then when you do, having other native english speakers congratulate you on your 'Engrish.' Really, quite fun.

I think I am going to get a coffee, some food and then go to bed. I have bought a spy novel because that feels like the proper thing to read when staying in a capsule hotel. Yes, I am sleeping in a very spacious coffin that has a tv. Its awesome.