Hopefully it's not difficult to play an .amr file- this is close to sunset- what you hear a lot of out here- running water, birds, and that weird bug sound in this clip
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Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
So who all is actually reading this?
I check often for comments and there hasn't been a single one - let me know you're there, kudasai!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Trying to remember what happened a week ago isn't usually too difficult, but there are constantly moments here, now, where I know important details will slip my mind if I keep waiting so long to write anything down. It ends up sounding like a bunch of expository drivel and really isn't what I intended to do with this blog.
At dusk here every day coming from the woods on the hills, a staggered chorus of eerie sounds repeatedly swells and peters out in a distracting rhythm. It's gone by the time it gets dark, I'm still not sure whether it's the frogs or some locust-like insect, but there's nothing like it in New England. It's really captivating.
There are a Lot of frogs here, probably because it's so wet for so long, and the tanbo seem to be a great place for tadpoles to grow up. Rainwater, lots of it, runs down from the hills in streams like the one we go swimming in every day after work. I got here at the end of the rainy season, so there was a ton of water coming down the hills. Relatively large channels, built who knows when, border everything like gutters or small moats- houses, streets, fields- and the water seems to be distributed pretty evenly through the land between the hills. I always want to call them mountains, but they're not really mountains like the Rockies or the Appalachian mountains or anything like that. Some of the French girls here have hiked in the Alps and so they think it's pretty funny when anyone calls these ones mountains. They are impressively steep, regardless. There is a lot of bamboo and cedar growing in the forests here too, so they have a very different look than the woods back home, even from a distance. Anyway, there are lots of frogs, mostly tiny ones in the grass and the fields, which always have water running nearby- and since there's so much green here, there are pretty much little frogs everywhere. They sing at night, too. During the day, a bird with a really amusing call can almost always be heard in the trees near the fields - I was told they're uguisu, a kind of warbler. I had read sometime in the past few months that images of uguisu in ume (plum) trees are iconic in Japanese artwork, so I actually knew what they were talking about, which was nice.
In the hatake (field), a noticeable number of small metallic aqua blue beetles hang out under the kuromame plants, and white cranes fly overhead on a regular basis. I think cranes like to eat frogs as well as fish. Snakes also like frogs, and we saw a big one a few days ago, about 3-4 feet long, checking out a ledge in a terraced group of fields we were working on. It was almost completely apathetic to our attempts to chase it out of the field, and I think it was nearly half an hour before we got it to leave. There is at least one kind of poisonous snake here, but I'm told they're hard to miss. There are lots of spiders that weave those big spiral webs, and barn swallows (we have a nest on a rafter in one of the garage-type rooms, so the adults are constantly flying in and out of one of the side windows- it's a good thing there are so many insect eaters around here- even with them, some of the mosquitoes are big enough to knock you over) and also some skinny little type of bird that runs around on the road in front of the house and constantly bobs its tail. There are electric fences bordering all the forests that get turned on at night to keep the deer and wild boar from coming into the fields and eating everything. They put out big traps for raccoons, but I don't think they catch many. Where I got off the bus in Sasayama the first day, there was a snail climbing the stone wall outside someone's house with a shell about the size and shape of an Oreo cookie. I saw a couple of lizards running around on a low rock wall today- it was hot as hell, so it seemed perfectly appropriate. A couple of days ago, I was sitting outside early in the morning on the curb in front of the house when something bounced out into the street to my right- what looked like two ferrets were jumping and rolling around in the middle of the road. They played there for about ten seconds and took off- apparently weasels live out here too!
All the roads are very narrow, did I mention that? A couple of us took bikes out to find a local convenience store around sunset today- the road we took is considered a highway, and they do drive pretty fast down that way, but the whole thing is only as wide as a lane and a half of Boston road. We decided to come back the other way, around the back side of the hill instead- there are some fields back in that neighborhood that we work on so we thought it would be simple to find the way. We got a bit lost, of course- the road patterns here are so different than what I'm used to that I have a hard time navigating them, even though I might have a good idea of where I am in general. However, we did come across a gorgeous old kitsune (fox) shrine that I need to retrace my steps and find again so that I can get a closer look and take some photos.
I have an atrocious sunburn on my shoulder blades right now that I got through my shirt, and I'm not sure why since I spent less time in the sun today than I normally would while working. Need to figure that out- it was kind of a dark shirt and was soaked through with sweat... My arms were bare and they're fine. I brought a ton of sunblock with me. Field work is interesting- yesterday it was pretty dry so instead of wearing those horrible rubber boots, a couple of us just wore socks to weed a bean field. It was a lot more comfortable! I haven't worn my running shoes much- haven't been for a run either, but a New Zealander arrived recently that's interested in getting back into it, so maybe I will pretty soon. It's so damned hot during the day, though.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
At dusk here every day coming from the woods on the hills, a staggered chorus of eerie sounds repeatedly swells and peters out in a distracting rhythm. It's gone by the time it gets dark, I'm still not sure whether it's the frogs or some locust-like insect, but there's nothing like it in New England. It's really captivating.
There are a Lot of frogs here, probably because it's so wet for so long, and the tanbo seem to be a great place for tadpoles to grow up. Rainwater, lots of it, runs down from the hills in streams like the one we go swimming in every day after work. I got here at the end of the rainy season, so there was a ton of water coming down the hills. Relatively large channels, built who knows when, border everything like gutters or small moats- houses, streets, fields- and the water seems to be distributed pretty evenly through the land between the hills. I always want to call them mountains, but they're not really mountains like the Rockies or the Appalachian mountains or anything like that. Some of the French girls here have hiked in the Alps and so they think it's pretty funny when anyone calls these ones mountains. They are impressively steep, regardless. There is a lot of bamboo and cedar growing in the forests here too, so they have a very different look than the woods back home, even from a distance. Anyway, there are lots of frogs, mostly tiny ones in the grass and the fields, which always have water running nearby- and since there's so much green here, there are pretty much little frogs everywhere. They sing at night, too. During the day, a bird with a really amusing call can almost always be heard in the trees near the fields - I was told they're uguisu, a kind of warbler. I had read sometime in the past few months that images of uguisu in ume (plum) trees are iconic in Japanese artwork, so I actually knew what they were talking about, which was nice.
In the hatake (field), a noticeable number of small metallic aqua blue beetles hang out under the kuromame plants, and white cranes fly overhead on a regular basis. I think cranes like to eat frogs as well as fish. Snakes also like frogs, and we saw a big one a few days ago, about 3-4 feet long, checking out a ledge in a terraced group of fields we were working on. It was almost completely apathetic to our attempts to chase it out of the field, and I think it was nearly half an hour before we got it to leave. There is at least one kind of poisonous snake here, but I'm told they're hard to miss. There are lots of spiders that weave those big spiral webs, and barn swallows (we have a nest on a rafter in one of the garage-type rooms, so the adults are constantly flying in and out of one of the side windows- it's a good thing there are so many insect eaters around here- even with them, some of the mosquitoes are big enough to knock you over) and also some skinny little type of bird that runs around on the road in front of the house and constantly bobs its tail. There are electric fences bordering all the forests that get turned on at night to keep the deer and wild boar from coming into the fields and eating everything. They put out big traps for raccoons, but I don't think they catch many. Where I got off the bus in Sasayama the first day, there was a snail climbing the stone wall outside someone's house with a shell about the size and shape of an Oreo cookie. I saw a couple of lizards running around on a low rock wall today- it was hot as hell, so it seemed perfectly appropriate. A couple of days ago, I was sitting outside early in the morning on the curb in front of the house when something bounced out into the street to my right- what looked like two ferrets were jumping and rolling around in the middle of the road. They played there for about ten seconds and took off- apparently weasels live out here too!
All the roads are very narrow, did I mention that? A couple of us took bikes out to find a local convenience store around sunset today- the road we took is considered a highway, and they do drive pretty fast down that way, but the whole thing is only as wide as a lane and a half of Boston road. We decided to come back the other way, around the back side of the hill instead- there are some fields back in that neighborhood that we work on so we thought it would be simple to find the way. We got a bit lost, of course- the road patterns here are so different than what I'm used to that I have a hard time navigating them, even though I might have a good idea of where I am in general. However, we did come across a gorgeous old kitsune (fox) shrine that I need to retrace my steps and find again so that I can get a closer look and take some photos.
I have an atrocious sunburn on my shoulder blades right now that I got through my shirt, and I'm not sure why since I spent less time in the sun today than I normally would while working. Need to figure that out- it was kind of a dark shirt and was soaked through with sweat... My arms were bare and they're fine. I brought a ton of sunblock with me. Field work is interesting- yesterday it was pretty dry so instead of wearing those horrible rubber boots, a couple of us just wore socks to weed a bean field. It was a lot more comfortable! I haven't worn my running shoes much- haven't been for a run either, but a New Zealander arrived recently that's interested in getting back into it, so maybe I will pretty soon. It's so damned hot during the day, though.
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Monday, July 19, 2010
Where was I?
The night of that first full day, I really wanted to take another long walk, but I think I was ready to drop by 8:30. They don't do daylight savings here, though, so it did get dark really early. I wouldn't figure that out for nearly a week, however, and thought I was just out of my mind from suddenly being on the other end of the earth, thinking it was getting dark way too soon.
I had eaten plenty despite the vegetarian thing- there are dango, cracker and cookie stalls all over the place, and on top of that I got inarizushi and an enormous apple from the supermarket down the street (it was tiny, and reminded me of New York) though that meant I wasn't really eating any vegetables. Knowing I'd soon be picking my own dinner more or less every day made that easier to run with, though. Asakusa at night is very peaceful- there were a few tipsy businessmen talking really loudly while stumbling home, and some outdoor restaurants were open with people sitting at tables on the sidewalks, but it was pretty quiet. There were a lot of nicer looking bars and restaurants that seemed to be open, but since I don't eat most things they'd serve, I was alone so I wouldn't drink, and I speak so little Japanese, I didn't go into any. They are mostly very small and cozy- looking almost like residences, and I'd love to check some of them out again if I spoke more or was with other people, but that night it was fun just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. There were still more places open on the main roads, but I tried to stay away from the convenience stores for the most part, since they're full of really interesting snacks that I didn't need.
I got up the second morning a little later, closer to 7, and walked around with my hotel coffee one more time before I'd have to leave. I actually had to go back to the post office a second time so I could mail stuff I'd bought back home, since I'd picked up a lot of omiyage that I really couldn't fit in my overstuffed bag.
It was sad to leave, but there was still so much more to do- I squashed everything into my giant 35-dollar-on-amazon backpack (I think it must have weighed near 45 lbs with everything) said goodbye to the hotel staff and made one last lap around Nakamise Dori (basically just means central market street- Asakusa's had a big market there for hundreds of years, I think) ... Then went down into the train station to start making my way towards Osaka.
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I had eaten plenty despite the vegetarian thing- there are dango, cracker and cookie stalls all over the place, and on top of that I got inarizushi and an enormous apple from the supermarket down the street (it was tiny, and reminded me of New York) though that meant I wasn't really eating any vegetables. Knowing I'd soon be picking my own dinner more or less every day made that easier to run with, though. Asakusa at night is very peaceful- there were a few tipsy businessmen talking really loudly while stumbling home, and some outdoor restaurants were open with people sitting at tables on the sidewalks, but it was pretty quiet. There were a lot of nicer looking bars and restaurants that seemed to be open, but since I don't eat most things they'd serve, I was alone so I wouldn't drink, and I speak so little Japanese, I didn't go into any. They are mostly very small and cozy- looking almost like residences, and I'd love to check some of them out again if I spoke more or was with other people, but that night it was fun just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. There were still more places open on the main roads, but I tried to stay away from the convenience stores for the most part, since they're full of really interesting snacks that I didn't need.
I got up the second morning a little later, closer to 7, and walked around with my hotel coffee one more time before I'd have to leave. I actually had to go back to the post office a second time so I could mail stuff I'd bought back home, since I'd picked up a lot of omiyage that I really couldn't fit in my overstuffed bag.
It was sad to leave, but there was still so much more to do- I squashed everything into my giant 35-dollar-on-amazon backpack (I think it must have weighed near 45 lbs with everything) said goodbye to the hotel staff and made one last lap around Nakamise Dori (basically just means central market street- Asakusa's had a big market there for hundreds of years, I think) ... Then went down into the train station to start making my way towards Osaka.
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Sunday, July 18, 2010
At six AM, there were people up walking around, but Asakusa was very quiet with everything still closed. I don't think I've posted a lot of photos yet but it gets very busy around Nakamise Dori during the day- a bit like Faneuil Hall on a Saturday, I guess- but much more interesting, to me at least. I was able to get some pictures of the statues and temple buildings without a ton of tourists (or all the actual Buddhists come to pray at the temple) standing around. It's also at least 5-7 degrees cooler that early in the morning. The summer heat here isn't a lot different than Boston, but it is still hot enough that I was sweating through all my clothes. Foreigner, check. Scary tattoos, check. Disfigured right hand, check. Giant sweat stains all over my clothes, check. I swear, even now at the farm, we're out in the sun and I soak my clothes through with 'ase' like a sopping sponge wrapped in kleenex while all the other workers are wearing sleeves and pants and are merely sticky. I'm just naturally not a very 'kirei' person, I guess.
Anyway, getting here last week, I caught the end of the rainy season, so at least there's that. Gen-san says it's just 'starting to get hot now'...
When I had looked at a map of Asakusa before leaving, the area I wanted to see seemed huge- what I didn't realize was that all the streets on the map were narrow paths that would mostly only fit a single lane made for a pretty small car. The main roads with 4 or 5 lanes and a bike path are only as wide as an average street in downtown Boston, and the roads are all filled with small shops. Locally owned stores are sort of a popular thing to be getting into right now at home, but here there seem to be few chains, and the ones you see really stand out. There are a ton of 7 Elevens and Baskin Robbins though, and McDonalds, of course.
Walking around and seeing everything was so interesting that I decided to stay another night so I could just spend the whole day wandering around Asakusa.
It's a great neighborhood, though of course I haven't been to other parts of Tokyo yet. The people at the hotel were wonderful and were very patient with my crappy speaking skills, even teaching me a lot more than I knew when I walked in, and so when I go back to Tokyo I may stay there again and take the train to see other parts of the city.
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local shrine and -swimming hole!-
Sorry the pictures are sometimes really blurry - I pick from thumbnails so it`s difficult to tell how focused they are.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Where was I...
So getting to Asakusa was easy. Paying fares on the train here is different though- you pay more or less depending on how far you go, so you can pick any amount when you get on, but you have to stop at a 'fare adjustment' machine on the way out so you end up paying the proper amount. I got that part down without trouble, but I got confused by the gate while leaving, and stood there staring too long after inserting the ticket, and missed my chance to walk out. The gate only stays open for about 8-10 seconds, and after that you're stuck. The attendant saw me standing there looking so confused and let me by after a moment, but for all he knew I hadn't paid enough or something. Slightly embarrassing- I could probably have explained what I did in Japanese if I'd had the time, but he just let me through, so I didn't say anything except thank you. It was about 6 PM when I got to the hotel, which was really like 500 yards from the exit, but once I got to my room after talking to the people at the front desk for a minute and blaming my incoherency on exhaustion, I took a shower and went right to sleep. I had wanted to spend the first night checking out the neighborhood, but I hadn't accounted for the traveling part being so draining! So what ended up happening was that I woke up at about 5 AM the next morning, which turned out to be a good thing...
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