Continued

My brother and I left Hokkaido for Tokyo, where there was a lot to see. We never made it to Akihabara, the world capital of awkward and mildly unnerving shops, but we got to Odaiba, an artificial island that was home for the temporary exhibition of the life-size Gundam, an 18 meter tall statue with a movable head and light-up capabilities. There were a lot of grown men who came to the site and repeatedly remarked about how awesome it was. We also traveled very close to the location of the school I did study abroad at in order to go watch a baseball game. The game was enjoyable, though as it was about to end, I did something rather unsavory yet entertaining in the end. There was a group of businessmen sitting in front of us, and they were all very drunkenly cheering. I began to explain the dynamics of the group as I perceived it to my brother. I think he thought they were related in some way. I mentioned that they sat down according to hierarchy, with the highest guy at one end and the youngest, newest guy at the other. The two higher-ups conversed the whole time and paid for all the drinks, while the younger guys generally kept to themselves. As I explained, I (also a bit intoxicated) did not hesitate to speak in loud English and point directly to the men's faces. One eventually noticed and asked me a couple questions about my country of origin and so forth. I answered, and my brother mentioned something about it being embarrassing that I had just been caught pointing right at them. I laughed it off and mentioned that I could probably get them to buy me a drink quite easily. This was never my actual intent, just a cultural observation that I thought was fairly true. The men initiated conversation yet again, and I mentioned that I studied abroad in the area and considered myself a fan of the home team. They lauded me, shouted a few words at their superior, and within a couple minutes, a fresh drink was in my hands. After the game ended in a disappointing 9th inning come-from-behind (there is a single Japanese word to express this, which is convenient) loss, we wandered outside. We walked through the parking lot and passed the best exit. I spotted a path that would take us out and started heading in that direction, but my brother wasn't having it. There were other people going there, but it was in reality a dark path leading into a group of trees. In no way did it appear to lead somewhere good. I got annoyed because I claimed to know the area well (read: alcohol) and we eventually got back to where we should have gone. Sorry about that.

After that, we went to Kansai, a region that includes Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, and other important spots. We hit Kobe while on our way out of the region just to see a few things. For example, there is an area of the harbor left in the same state it was after the Kanto earthquake. We also had a small discussion about the potential differences between Kobe beef and Japanese beef. I still believe that the American concept of "Kobe beef" is really just Japanese beef that we decided to stamp a particular city name on. Kobe beef is indeed slightly famous, but not very. Similarly, there is a restaurant in my American hometown that advertises Kumamoto oysters. Kumamoto is just north of Kagoshima, and they are famous for horse meat, not oysters. Hiroshima is famous for oysters. Osaka was really nothing particularly notable when compared to Tokyo. I found it to be much like any other big city. Nara is a sort of miniature Kyoto. It is a short distance from Kyoto, the most famous city in Japan for viewing temples. But it also houses a lot of temples and shrines that make for a good day trip. It also has the deer park. In Nara and a few other places in Japan, there are wild, tame deer that roam free in the city but typically do not wander very far. They are encouraged to stay by the tourists that buy food for them on a daily basis. When they spot you, however, they get somewhat violent. They immediately recognize the food you are carrying to be rice crackers specially formulated for deer and helpful for urinary tract health. The last part may not be accurate. Either way, they come at you and bump you with their heads. The females come off as merely impatient and unfriendly, whereas the males with antlers are frightening. They can easily achieve the perfect swinging angle to ram you in the crotch, so the crackers quickly turn from food into bait. I had to throw well-timed crackers away from me in order to make them leave. Fortunately, after you run out, showing them your empty hands calms them down, and they go back to pooping everywhere. Kyoto is Kyoto. It has temples. I went to Kiyomizu-dera for the first time and wrote an ema, which is a wooden tablet that you write a wish on and has a picture of some animal on the back (originally a horse).

I'm doing all of this writing while at work, so I will do it in little installments over the next while. There's a lot to catch up on. As for current little news: I hit my first thing in my car! I was doing a three-point turn hurriedly to let a guy into a parking lot and misjudged the distance between my front tire and a wooden sign post. I pulled the thing down and had to straighten it, but it was easy and there was no damage to the car. The post had a little chunk missing. Oh well. I learned that I should take my time no matter what and also trust myself when I'm thinking, "Hey, I'm probably gonna hit that." Bye, America!