Hooray for Public Transportation!!

Melissa - First, I should clarify that I'm not technically "Prince Charming," but merely Cinderella's prince. Unlike the Disney version, who is dark headed and all, this prince is blonde. So I suppose you could say that I'm merely the generic version of a Disney classic. As for the geisha thing, let me do some more research. I've already heard interesting things about some modern day counterparts to geisha and I know that there are geisha in nearby towns - I wanna give you the scoop (and do it properly)!

Mom - your question can be easily tied into the next blog that I was writing, so I'll answer it first!

Japan is so clean - and not to mention safe. Public transportation (trains and planes) and bikes are just as popular methods of travel as driving a car. The trains are so clean. I obviously haven't experienced them in hot weather, but in cold weather they are warm - they even heat the seats! They are punctual most of the time. The Japanese philosophy about being on time - they always try to be punctual because they feel that if there is a set time for something, to be late is to be rude and disrespectful of everyone else's time. If you can imagine, I enjoy this philosophy :) This goes for work, dinner plans, trains, and well…everything really.

(adverts on the subway)

Our park is very clean as well - spotless even. You know why? Because there is a very hard working team of people who always are cleaning it. The other day I was walking through one of the more officey type buildings and in one of the stairwells, there were a few people attacking the stairs with toothbrushes - scrubbing every little nook and cranny! I was impressed!

Taxis are expensive here. They are nice cars, they get you where you need to go without having to wait on a train or anything, but they are cho (much) expensive! I don't take them if I don't have to. However, if you go out about about in the city and are out kind of late, it's almost impossible to not take one home. The last subway is around 11:15 or so. If you don't catch that, then you either walk or cab it. My favorite function is that the driver can open up the back door with a push of a button so that you don't have to do it. And another sign of how safe it is in the town is that people can sit up in the front seat if they choose - and there is no divider between that seat and the driver. Coming from America, it feels so much more personal to be in a cab like that than one that's so divided. A strange feeling, initially.

So I suppose this is where your question comes in, mom. I feel very safe in Japan. According to Wikipedia (I know it's not the most reliable source). Their crime rates are considerably low - some of the lowest in the world for first world countries. Now, that's not to say that stuff can't happen. As for our group of entertainers, there are those who go out and have a good time and are respectful of the country that is playing host to them and all of their customs. Then there are others who maybe aren't quite as respectful - the laws and culture are different than America, but they still behave like they are in America - or they maybe think the laws are stupid so they break them anyway (these are all suppositions and hypothetical situations btw - I personally haven't seen law breaking - I've only experienced attitudes of "that's silly so I'm not going to follow it" with regards to rules and regulations laid down in the house or at work. The mentality is more what I'm getting at. Of course the reasons behind the mentality I won't know for sure, but that's how it comes across in those few people who act that way). Those people who choose to behave that way would be the ones who could get into trouble. But, on the whole, I feel like the bunch that we have here is a great one!

As for crime and trouble on the whole, you can rest assured that if something was stolen from you or some wrongdoing was had, it would be somewhat of an anomaly. Japan is so safe that there aren't laws against public intoxication - and what time do bars close down so that people can get home at a safe hour? Some of them not until 8 or 9 am. Now of course one could argue that a whole night of partying is not that safe. :) I, for one, would not recommend it (and almost surely won't try it) merely for the repercussions one would face the next day...and possibly the next. But, when told about the nightlife in Japan and why - unlike so many other countries - there isn't a last call and some bars don't even open until 3am, the only real reasons anyone could give me was that it was safe enough here to do that. This is definitely a country of contradictions and surprises though. I always pictured it as a place where people worked extremely hard and they were very reserved and formal and polite and to a fairly great extent, that is true. Most all of the Japanese that I met are all of those things - maybe not VERY reserved, but somewhat reserved (compared to foreigners).

Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling a bit now. The point of all of this last bit was to say that if you are a good citizen you shouldn't have any trouble. I have even heard stories of people leaving wallets and purses in restaurants or even dropping a passport on the street and either getting it back the next time they went to the establishment or someone picked it up on the street and turned it into the police who made sure that the person got it back. Just the other day, my Cinderella and I were coming home on the train after Magical Starlight Parade rehearsal and she accidentally left a glove on the train. As we walked away, we heard someone raise their voice and as we turned around, a man came up to us and gave Mary back her glove that she had dropped in the seat. The brief ordeal was still long enough that the man could have conceivably missed the train by getting off of it to give Mary her glove, but he did anyway! (and thankfully he didn't miss it).

Alrighty, I'm off to work. More to come soon! In a while, I think I'll have enough material to do a random facts/fun thoughts of Japan blog.

Love you all! Talk to you soon.

March & good beginnings

Well, as promised, I am going to be updating my blog a bit more frequently now that I have finished the rehearsal process. The past 2 weeks or so have been filled with rehearsals - mostly in the afternoons and evenings for both Sesame Street (SES) and Magical Starlight Parade (MSP). Did I mention I was Prince Charming? :)

Rehearsals aside, any spare time that I've had has been spent, cooking, shopping for things, eating, and or course socializing. Beginnings of contracts are always a bit on the busy side, because not only are people in the midst of rehearsing, but they are forging relationships with all of the people they will be working with for the duration of the contract. I admit, although I have found a good group of people that I tend to gravitate toward, I am still being a social butterfly at the moment. There are so many people here and I find almost everyday that I'm running into someone new! Most of the Gaijin are here now. There may be a couple more coming here in the next week or so, but rehearsals have pretty much commenced (or in some cases, including mine, completed) by now. About the only cast left from last year that is still performing and will be until the end of March is the Monsters cast.

The coffee shop that I stopped at for a few minutes on Tuesday

A typical street in town at night (this one near Shinsaibashi)

So our unadvertised or "soft" opening was on Sunday of this week and our official "grand opening" was on Monday. That day was with press and all. Then lucky me, I got my days off right after that! So Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off and then I work the other 5 days of the week. Monday I had my final dress rehearsal for MSP and so that was later in the evening when I got home. I met some friends at the local USJ hangout - Urizun Bar - and had a couple of drinks there then went home and slept in!! Tuesday was a romp around town with friends, exploring more of the Shinsaibashi area. I actually headed out on my own, got off at the station before Shinsai and walked the rest of the way down, taking my time to stop at shops on the way and look at stuff, or to pop in to a coffee shop or tea shop and survey/taste the goods there. I stopped at this one coffee shop on the way and ordered a latte and a little sandwich. I just looked at the menu and picked something that I thought looked good. After eating it, I'm pretty sure I had ordered a spam sandwich that was grilled and seasoned - and I admit, it was tasty! I'm not sure if I've ever had spam - if I did, it was a long time ago and the reason I haven't had it since is because of the stigma/lore surrounding it, but alas, if that was indeed what I had (I'm 90% sure), it was good! I made my way to a Mexican restaurant to meet people for a late lunch and then after that we roamed a bit more and bar crawled a bit to end up at a place called Cinquecento (informally known as Martini Bar) where this guy that my friend Charity is kind of seeing works. We spent a bit of time there and then called it a night - we parted ways and then Charity and I stopped at a nearby grocery store to grab a couple of things before the train ride home. After getting home, one of our Nihonjin co-workers Maachan called us and told us he was at Kaigandori House in one of our friend's apartment. So we went up there for a bit and I ended up playing video games until fairly late - I felt like I was hanging out with Carson Kerr :)

Restaurant in Shinsaibashi area (I liked the facade and the sign)

Today was another explore day. The weather was a bit nicer than yesterday and I rode my bike along with my friend, Angelo, into town and we grabbed coffee mid-morning and sort of explored the area. He had a haircut at 1, so he did that and I just kinda hung around. We drove all around a neighborhood called "Minamihodie" and through Shinsaibashi again (can you tell this is a popular destination?) and then we decided over a late lunch at a waterfront cafe that we were going to go to the movies and see The King's Speech with Colin Firth. Movie theaters in Osaka - very nice. A ticket is expensive (around $20 USD) and the English movies that they have range from being brand new (if it's supposed to be super popular/ a blockbuster) to being about a year old or so. Popcorn and drinks are a little cheaper, but the expensive ticket cancels it out. Anywho, I loved the film! We rode our bikes home at dusk and then I came up to do some much needed laundry and I cooked a delicious and healthy dinner - omelette with greens and garlic, topped with salmon and a stir fry of tomatoes and bell peppers!

Building near my house

That dome in the background is part of the covered market near my house with the best grocery store that is somewhat convenient to us

My latte today - sun and moon! Angelo's was Snoopy

Cool apartment building in Minamihodie

Closer shot of the apartment building

Tomorrow is a big day back at work. I have a park publicity photo shoot for the Sesame show and then I do 4 shows and then I have the opening of the Magical Starlight parade. That will be my longest day for a good while. Alrighty, it's time for bed! More to come soon - I've got topics brewing such as Japanese fashion, boys vs. girls, and public transportation. I'm sure they will develop more as time goes on, but does anyone have a preference, or other suggestions about things you would want to know about Japan?

What are your stereotypes about Japan? I'd love to explore that! Leave some comments!


P.S. Bruno Mars is all over the airwaves here. Nearly overtime I go to a store or bar or something, I hear him being played. That's not an exaggeration.

Tata!

Lack of...

Dear friends and family. I would love to be updating you with news of all sorts of comings and goings - and have lots of other pictures for you - however, at this point in the game there's not much exploring going on. I'm spending hours a day indoors working on my show and quite frankly, it's too cold to ride my bike around and take a bunch of pictures :/ On top of that, I think I'm still adjusting to the food and everything. My insides are slowly getting on track though and I feel much better today than I did yesterday!

In other news, I love my Nihonjin cast. With rehearsals going on, ALL of the swings for each role are there so it's a lot of people - but once the show is going on, it'll be 4 singers - 2 western & 2 Japanese plus Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and the newest Sesame character, Digby. They created Digby just for this show and we are introducing him to the Japanese here. I suppose if he goes over well, they might put him in the Japanese version of the TV show...we'll see. I can't wait to show you a picture of this character though. A huge pink dinosaur with the biggest head ever. And the neat/funny thing about all of these characters is how seriously the Japanese inside of them take their job. Once that character goes on, they are in character no matter what - even during rehearsals! So I actually feel like I'm working with Elmo and Bert and Ernie right now. :) Dedication.

Well, I'm doing laundry for the first time...wish me luck!

Expect March to be a deluge of pictures and updates ;)

Rehearsals/I've been here a week!

Okay, so it hasn't been a whole week - but it will be tomorrow!

I've learned so much in just a week. It's a bit overwhelming to sit and process through it all, so again, this may be a little choppy as far as subject matter goes and my thought processes.

First off, let's start with food :) Yakitori - if I could liken it to anything else that westerners are familiar with, it would be something along the lines of Tapas. Most yakitori dishes are chicken based - although, if my experience is any indication, they offer more than just chicken usually. But whatever it is (hearts, skin, neck, breast), it is put on skewers and then grilled. Just like any restaurant, there is good Yakitori and then not so good Yakitori - and I have had the privilege of tasting both! AND chicken hearts, when cooked well, are great! (This was dinner tonight which is why I brought it up)

In this same vein, there are a lot of misconceptions of Westerners (Americans in particular...and I can say that because I am an American) about the Japanese and their health/diet. Let me clear some things up for anyone who was wondering. The Japanese people are wonderful at recycling. They are very advanced when it comes to technology. They are very clean. Despite all of this, they have funny notions about what health is and what is good for one's body. Sushi, I suppose is relatively healthy - but Japanese people, like everyone else, have different tastes - and some of them don't like sushi. There actually aren't any sushi places that are super close to where I live - (plenty of yakitori though). Tempura is not good for you. Yakitori probably isn't especially healthy for you. Most of the Japanese/Asian food that I have come across so far isn't very healthy. Their bread is more like pound cake. They put sugar of some sort in SOOO many products - including their toothpaste. Their snacks aren't especially healthy. It's really hard to eat smart here - unless you do a raw food diet or know where to go to get stuff. This is something that I'm learning now and hope to be quick to pick up on, because chocolate covered cornflakes aren't going to cut it for breakfast, people.

Also, some (maybe) sad news for my friends and family. I've been telling everyone that I was going to be in a Hello Kitty show. Well, this just isn't true. I thought I was, but I'm actually in a new Sesame Street show that they are doing. The funny thing is that the guys who are in the Hello Kitty show thought that they were going to be doing Sesame Street! So 3 days ago we started rehearsals on the Sesame Surprise Show. I'm excited about it - it's actually going to be a really cute show. I never thought I'd get a kick out of doing a children's show, but I can't help but smile at how cute and fun it is during rehearsals. We're singing "I got a feeling" by the BEPs as well as a couple of not well known songs (perhaps originals). I think the only other song people would recognize would be "if you're happy and you know it." :) Oh, and did I mention that it's all in Japanese? The four Westerners that are in the show are the only ones; the rest of the cast are Japanese (granted half of them will be playing Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster).
Thankfully, I don't have too many lines to learn. More singing and dancing and reacting than anything else. I am excited though, because I'm sure to pick up some of the language faster if I'm around the Nihonjin more often! The only downside/difficulty is that it makes communication during the rehearsal process more of a task. It would probably save a deal of time is we all spoke one language fluently...oh well! A great learning experience.

A few other thoughts:

Where is the good coffee, Osaka?

I know I said it before, but I LOVE MY SHOWER!! Oh and I had my first experience with the high-tech Japanese toilets the other day. They bring a whole new level of meaning to the term "throne." Heated seats, warm water jets that clean you so you barely have to wipe, and a small bank of other buttons that I was scared to push! So cool - and handy!

I said this on my facebook status, but I need to say it here. I love Shinsaibashi!! Now, I'm really disappointed because at some point, this lengthy paragraph that I had written about it got deleted with my trying to add a link so I'm slightly frustrated that I have to redo it on top of being tired, but Shinsaibashi is THE place for shopping, restaurants, nightlife, with a side of arcades and businesses. Mostly the shopping though! And wandering down any one of the streets that bisects the main covered thoroughfare that contains all of the shops will offer a myriad of restaurants with quite the variety of cuisines. If you are looking for something in Osaka, whether it be a style of food, a brand name, or just a particular item, chances are Shinsaibashi has it. Or so I've been told. The main thoroughfare that runs north to south directly over the train station there is a lovely big road with several lanes in the middle and two single lane roads on the side and a lovely landscaped/tree lined median separating them from the many lanes in the middle - think Las Ramblas in Barcelona, except there's traffic in the middle instead of pedestrians. One block east is the covered street I was talking about, and at one point there is a bridge that crosses a wee canal, and looking down the canal from either side of that bridge, with all the people there, you could feel kind of like you were in Times Square, as it has gobs of lighted signs and billboards! All that to say, I can't wait to explore more!!

Alright I'm yawning uncontrollably now and I have written more than I believe I originally intended to. I'll write more soon and have more pictures to come as well. It's difficult to motivate oneself to get out and photograph, especially when you have to walk/ride your bike everywhere in the bitter cold. You just want to stay inside and be comfy when you can!

Love you, everyone! I am enjoying Japan as well.

First Impressions

Well, this is the first time I tried adding pictures before typing instead of inserting them afterwards. I'm getting frustrated with trying to move them around, so just know they are in reverse order of what I wanted. The above is a picture from my balcony this morning. Needless to say, when I first got here to Japan, I was struck by how industrious Osaka looks. I suppose it makes sense - it's right by the water, there is lots of fishing and trade and such. So as nice as it is that we live right by the water on our own little island, the sight isn't necessarily the prettiest. At least not in the daytime.

When I arrived on Monday afternoon, a man named Senichi Yamamoto greeted me at the airport to pick me up. Many of the Japanese people here, including him, have asked me if it was my first time to Japan. Hai - I say. "Oh you speaku Japanese?!" iie - (no) is my response and then I continue in English saying that I am starting to learn, but not enough to have a conversation. I am impressing a few people with my limited language skills though :)

We picked up Roel (pronounced Rule - not Raoul), my lovely Dutch counterpart and then made the 30 min drive to Kaigandori house. My new home!

Now i could give you a detailed - blow by blow account of what we did that night and then the following 2 days, but to maybe shorten the length of this post a bit and save you from reading for a good 20-30 minutes, I'll just stick to thoughts and occurrences and information you might like to know.

So, I told most of you all that I was going to be in a Hello Kitty show - well that's not true. The first night Roel and I were given our scripts and lo and behold, we are in a Sesame Street show :) Now, apparently, interest in Sesame Street goes all the way up through high school here in Japan (especially with the girls). Probably something to do with the "cute" puppets. Everything here is "cute" by the way. From illustrations on packaging to warning labels in elevators to ads for different stuff. Everything has these cute animations. And sounds. Lots of little jingles and sounds here. You might hear a little tinkling song and shortly thereafter see a truck turning down the road and think "ice cream man!" but you would be wrong. It's the garbage man.

Back to Sesame - Roel and I were both told Hello Kitty and were put in Sesame and Aaron and Max (who got here last night) were both told Sesame and are in Hello Kitty. I guess someone got their wires crossed somewhere. I'm not too bothered by it - I'm still makin some good money in Japan :) I also learned yesterday that I'm going to be Prince Charming in the Magical Starlight Parade! The link provided shows you the last part of the parade - the Cinderella part - you don't have to watch the whole thing, but you'll get the idea. Throughout the year, I'll be part of different things so I'll have various rehearsals to keep me busy. With late summer, Halloween, and Christmas, my most busy time will be between August (busy season) and January 10th (the end of Christmas).

I like my room - it's a nice size. As far as things to make it "homier" I am slowly working on that. It's rather creamy/beige but there is something called "dozo" which is basically "it's yours" or something like that. It can be used in conversation to be like "go ahead [and speak]" but in this case it refers to a room of discarded items from other USJ performers who are getting rid of stuff at the end of their contracts. At any time, I can just go down there and pick stuff out of boxes and baskets and piles of things to help spruce up my apt! From decor to kitchen utensils. Everything besides what originally comes in your room has to go at the end, so it's like Goodwill for the new performers but free!

My neighborhood, as I said before, is a bit on the industrial side around the edges, but it's cute. Except for the Japanese characters on awnings, you would think you were in a quiet area of Astoria, NY the way all the buildings are. And the way they light things at night is very pretty. I think evening is going to be my favorite time here. Things get quiet because most of the traffic around the house is work traffic and people heading to their factories and stuff - but there is a shopping area with a giant Ferris wheel attached to it that is beautifully lit at night.

I'll talk about this in the caption of the pic with the yellow towel, but bathrooms and showers here are pretty awesome :)

The atm that I use is cool. In America, our banks give us books to keep track of our transactions. It Japan, you have the same thing, but you stick it into the ATM and it prints all of your deposits and withdrawals for you! Very cool :)

The vending machines here are awesome. They kind of look like those old fashioned cigarette machines, but they have drinks - and you can get them cold OR hot. Blue labels are cold and red are hot! Why can't we have that?

Their transit system is very cool, clean, and 98% always on time. The Japanese are big on punctuality. To them, if you are supposed to be somewhere at a specific time, it's rude to be late. It says to the person who IS on time that their time isn't important to you. It's very selfish. So there really isn't "fashionably late" over here.

As I said, everyone over here has been very nice. The Japanese are very polite and for the most part very honest. In all cases for USJ performers who have lost wallets over here (even in Tokyo), they all got them back untouched! You don't find that in America often. Now, I'm sure there are bad apples and instances where that doesn't happen, but in general, and in the case of everyone who has worked here, if you lose something, it will either be sent back to you or held where you left it so you can pick it up!

Full sized grocery stores are kind of hard to come by. But all servings and things are rather small. Most people stop by the grocery every day to pick stuff up. There are things I recognize and things I don't. It's hard when buying sauces or canned goods. Produce is fairly easy. Either you recognize the vegetable/meat or not. And fish is CHEAP! I had 2 fresh salmon filets for about $4!

I guess that's all that I got for now. I got my cell phone yesterday. It does a lot of things which is cool I guess, but for doing so much, the graphics sure do suck compared to our phones.

I'll caption all of these photos (remember they are in reverse order!) and I'll write more soon I'm sure. Love you all!

This picture is sideways - but it is of my shower. It's a whole room!! Apparently it's Japanese custom to rinse off before getting in the bath - but they have given me a whole room to do so in. I just shower :) but there is also a full length mirror in there and little containers for soap and shampoo. I LOVE my shower. The toilets are also cool. Flushing one way is less water for pee and flushing the other way will do the full tank for poo. And a lot of the public toilets have heated seats and a jet spray to clean you afterwards - bringing back the bidet. Ha! Oh and they are big on sorting trash here too. REAL big. EVERYONE recycles.

A view of my room from the front door

My wee kitchenette. No oven (a microwave on top of the fridge), one gas burner and everything else underneath that counter, above the microwave or in my all-purpose shoe/linen/pantry closet by the front door.

This is a view from USJ of the Ferris wheel near my house. If I lived on the opposite side of Kaigandori, I would have a view of this as well.

I didn't get a picture far back enough to see the Universal arch but this is the main ticketing entrance of the park with the Hollywood dreams coaster in the background

A billboard on the citywalk

The lounge area in the house - this was taken the night we arrived. It was kind of messy, but it has everything.

From the lounge looking into the front hall - again messy because they are preparing all of the rooms for the newcomers.

Packing

I suppose all I really have to share with this is that packing for a year is difficult. What do you take? What do you leave behind? It's a task that's both daunting and rewarding. It is daunting because you are trying to get everything that you might need packed into 2 suitcases, a carry-on, and a personal item (hopefully without going too much over the weight limit!) You have to go through a whole laundry list of items to sort through and see what you might need and what you can get by without.

For that same reason, it is also somewhat rewarding. As I've filtered through my possessions, I realize just how much "stuff" I have. Only a handful of it is stuff that I'm packing - stuff that I need to get by for the next year. The rest of it is nice to have, but I can live without it. I've sorted through many a box and drawer in this process and gotten rid of a few things. It's been refreshing! Also makes you realize how fortunate you are to be able to buy "stuff" and not struggle with the necessities like so many people of the world are.

Which brings me to this - TRAVEL!! If you have not been outside of the US, you are missing SO MUCH. Traveling to a 3rd world country allows you to realize how rich and fortunate even the "poor" are in America. Traveling to a developed country makes you realize how cheap everything is in the states and how fortunate we are to have the luxuries we do. Plus, travel broadens your horizons - you realize how similar we all are and yet you will experience culture and customs that are so foreign to us here. So see America, but save up and go see another part of the world. You won't regret it.


P.S. Vinsanto is often served as a digestif after espresso - and is best tasted slightly cooler than room temperature...in case you were wondering

Monday Night Cooking

Almost every Monday night, my sister, Meredith, cooks a vegetarian meal (as she is a vegetarian) for herself and a friend or two. Naturally, it being Monday night and I being her brother, we cooked a delicious meal - together!

Yesterday, we made a trip to the DeKalb Farmer's Market to purchase the majority of our ingredients. Not only does this market have an abundance of everything fresh that you might need, there are also spices, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, sauces, and goods that you probably have never heard of before. Or if you have heard of them, you have never seen them stocked in your local grocery store. And it's cheap!! Needless to say, I was in heaven and envy my sister's proximity to such a store.

With our fresh ingredients we made a black bean and rice salad including the aforementioned ingredients along with celery, scallions, cilantro, and oranges and a homemade citrus and cinnamon dressing. We also made our own hummus accompanied with warm pita, a side salad (with fresh cherries and sunflower seeds and a homemade dressing), and apple slices with Port Salut - one of my favorite cheeses. Meredith invited her good friend, Caroline, over and she brought a little wine with her. Such a delicious meal with a side of good conversation and fellowship!

In other news, I've been traveling the southeast for the past week and I have been so blessed to visit with so many good friends - some of whom I didn't expect to see before I left for Japan. Today, I got to spend time with one of my best friends, Brittany. She and I did a lot of catching up, chatting, laughing, and learning. Brittany, among other things, is my first friend who has really taken an interest in my progress with the Japanese language. I showed her how Rosetta Stone worked and then I let her do a beginning lesson. I think she enjoyed it! :)

I also have a new toy. I just purchased a Panasonic HDC - TM700 to take with me to Japan so that I might better document my life over there and share it with you fine people on my blog. I don't have the connector cord with me so I haven't been able to transfer pictures to my computer yet (else I would have some of the food that we cooked tonight), but I will be posting videos and pictures from future endeavors along with the blog.

It's lovely :)

I leave for Japan in 6 days! I think I am ready...no, I know I am ready for this adventure. Please pray for smooth flights/layovers!

xo