hakone pola museum

Met jorge at Shinagawa's lovely new Shinkansen Station and grabbed some 'bucks while laughing about the wireless access; apparently in order to get wireless access you have to go to the given URL...chicken and egg, anyone?
Anyway we got on our train and sped to Odawara in 30 minutes. The station was packed with everyone else going to Hakone, so we had to leave the station, line up, and loop back in to get on the local going up to Hakone. The train was packed but we got up to Hakoneyumoto Station in another 30 minutes. From there we did the out-and-in again to get onto the local local hill climber to work our way up to Gora Station. The station had photos of Swiss Alps trains (Switzerland uses Japanese trains or something) and it was quite a ride. The train would go up to a station, then backtrack, stop, the driver would get out, run to the other end of the train, and drive up to the next station. We switch-backed up the side of the mountain a couple times, each time stopping and waiting for the down train to pass as there's only one main track. Pretty cool, actually. At Gora Station most people were getting on the cable car to go up to the very top and ride the ropeway gondola, but we got on a bus and headed up to the Pola Museum. The bus driver was taking those mountain road hairpins at speed, so we got another adrenalin rush before being deposited in front of the glass and steel magic of Pola.

First we got lunch, of course at one of the outside tables, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and tolerating the fairly clueless staff. Then we checked out the art; not bad, but it's the building itself that is so cool. Finished off with some cake and coffee and postcards, and then got a cab to go back to Gora Station. With everyone else, we jammed onto a train and switch-backed down to Hakoneyumoto Station, got on a small bus and headed to Shohachi.
We checked in and got a stupendous meal, lay around for an hour enjoying our food coma, and then it the hot springs bath before heading back up to the room for some well-earned sleep.

tv moving

Met Kev and Todd outside Will's place, Stevie showed up relatively on time, so they brought the car around back and we went up to Will's to get his TV. We had a dolly, but damn that's a heavy tv. Got it downstairs, into Stevie's car (damn that's a heavy TV) and packed everyone into the car, Sachiko on Will's lap, me jammed between Will and Todd. We got to my house and Stevie managed to get his car right up in front of the building. We carried the TV upstairs to my apartment, and damn that's a heavy TV. Hiroko's parents watched amusedly as we wrestled the widescreen beast upstairs and onto the TV stand. Then we brought my TV down, into the car, and off to Kevin's we went. Got to his place with only a wee bit of traffic and a long detour thanks to the car navi, got the TV into his place, and his TV into the car. Then off to Todd's. A wee more traffic, and then we lugged his TV up to Todd's building and into his apartment. Said hi to Amy and off to Roppongi we went. This time the car navi was giving Kevin problems, but Stevie redeemed his manliness by using the voice-recognition to plot a course to Roppongi Station. Those fools went to get food, I went home to have dinner with Hiroko and the in-laws, enjoying the huge, panoramic expanse of my newly acquired Toshiba.

quirky japan homepage

Things to do and other information on the quirky japan homepage.

fashion by blogger

Guess what I got in the mail today?

time for o.j.

No Akihabara practice today. Which is just as well because I was in a meeting that ended so late, by the time I got to practice it'd be over. So I checked some email and headed downstairs to buy the cash sales traders a round and listen to them abuse each other. Thoroughly entertaining, and some of the absolute smartest guys we've got in the company. Wicked fast wits, the lot of them, and they tell it like it is, whatever 'it' may be.
So I bought a round, got my orange juice in the next round, and listened in as they abused each other, each others' wives, the job, life, and anything else that popped up. With the stress those dudes are under every day trading and selling, I can see how several relaxing beverages can help unwind from a typical day in the market.

speaking of diabetes

I remember growing up in Munster, Indiana (see 'armpit of chicago' in the USA atlas) there was this kid around the street named D.J. which I think stood for Doug Johnson. I guess he was my brother's age, and as much as my brother was a misfit problem child (read: had more fun than I did), D.J. made my brother look like a cherub. He was also, as I recall, diabetic, and a real stupid one. I remember seeing him inject himself with insulin a couple of times, and I also remember him being really really mentally unstable, which I'm guessing was caused by his blood-sugar levels getting all out of whack, because as far as I recall he didn't do any of the things diabetics are supposed to do, specifically watch what he was eating.
I remember back in those days of Munster, the summer mosquitos as big as baseballs, whenever we screwed around my mom would scold us with a "don't be like D.J." so now it's my turn to give my mom the same advice!

mama

The good news is, she's not just lazy. The bad news is, she feels tired all the time because of Type II diabetes. The good news is, she is now really motivated to try the Atkins low-carb diet. The bad news is she has to go low-sugar diet, too.
The good news is she'll be hitting the gym and getting lots more exercise. The bad news is papa will gloat "I told you so" every chance he gets. (^^)

more gyoza photos

More photos from Brown Princess, Z.

kill bill

Finally saw Kill Bill with Todd and Will & Sachiko and Roland & Anthea. Loved it! Exactly what it was trying to be: a tribute to Saturday afternoon Kung Fu Theater. As Hiroko says: "It's a Top-of-the-line, big budget, B movie." I think most folks who didn't like it were expecting something more Tarantino-esque. I guess if some no-name Hong Kong director made this flick, it'd be accepted for what it is: ridiculous fountains of blood, melodramatic acting, cheesy dialog, lots of wirework.
Julie Dreyfus totally looks familiar, and of course is fluent in Japanese, which is a shame because my one major complaint is that Uma tried and Lucy Liu should've tried harder, but I was laughing along with the Japanese audience every time she opened her mouth. Reminds of Sean Connery in Rising Sun.
Chiaki Kuriyama was awesome, but she died too quickly! Man, she's got the Evil Eye like no one else has. I certainly hope she gets the chance to play more whacky/psycho roles, especially in Hollywood, because she's got some juice, and it's not just the school uniform. She was killer in Battle Royale, literally.
Next movies to see: Matrix: Revolutions and Lord of the Rings III. Have to try and see Lost in Translation when we're in the states in December. Even daboo said it was great.

nishizoe & kusu wedding party

Went to a cool place, The Orbient, in Aoyama for Spike and Kusu-chan's wedding party. I was styling in my blue kimono with NYC bling-bling. Spike and his boys put on a great Water Boys show, and at then Kusu-chan changed into her naughty nurse outfit and Spike into his baby blue velour adidas track suit. Many photos taken. Many drinks drink'd.
Saw Chimi for the first time in forever. She's cranking up for the Honolulu Marathon and dancing like a Takefuji Girl. Been busting her butt at work for a couple months as she's got some big project about to go live. Don't think it's the Japanese Gold Box, but she promises it'll be something good so I have to spend lots money. She's really loving her job, which is sweet because working at Morgan Stanley was really bumming her out, and I'm glad she's found something she enjoys so much.
Mieko and Tomo are so cute together; they're finalists in the bakappuru(Baka Couple aka Pair of Loons) but have some strong competition from Will and Sachiko, and of course Spike and Kusu-chan.

spike and kusu-san wedding party

Went to The Orbient in Aoyama for Spike and Kusu-san's wedding party. Cool place and we enjoyed the Water Boys show and crazy video of how they met. I was styling in my kimono with NY bling-bling. Talked to Chimi whom I haven't seen in a while and she looked good and is loving her job. She's got some big project going live soon, so hopefully it'll be something I can spend more money on!
Took lots of crazy photos before walking back to Shibuya with Hiroko, then bussing home.

full house

Lots of folks showed up for practice at Iidabashi. Kiyokawa-kun ran the Waseda kids through kata, booming in his loud voice like only a young buck can. I focused mostly on Kawamoto-san, this being her first practice and the first time she used her new sword. Sekido-san and Nakayama-san did their thing, and I popped in on occassion to make a few points and try a few things. It was relaxed and noisy, with everyone doing their own thing at their own pace. Just the way I like it.

kill bill

Good review of Kill Bill. Will be seeing it this weekend.

muromachi

Sekido-san brought in Niina-gosoke's previous sword and handed it over. Wow. It's a Muromachi era sword with a wicked sori. 950 grams of 400 year old steel, registered in Kumamoto Prefecture, and it feels much deeper and warmer than my modern-made cold, hard blade.
Tough to describe, but that old steel is just...warmer, like thick stew.
The hamon is sugu and notare, with very subtle hataraki; mostly chikei. The polish is a working iai polish, but I might have to drop some cash and get a really nice polish, because I'm sure there's alot more going on in there.

Tanaka-sensei was late to practice so I ran everyone through basics and started kata work. Then Niina-gosoke showed up to take some photos. Spent the rest of the regular class teaching a beginner, and the last hour Tanaka-sensei ran us through the last 10 kata. Damn but that blade feels good to swing. I can feel my techniques changing, and hopefully it will be for the better!
Niina-gosoke said Oka-san in Shiga-ken called and said the repairs and polish to my modern blade will be 50,000 yen -- cheap! So I'll probably send him my other blade, my cutter, to have it repolished and have a shirasaya made.

Note: see sword blade terminology and sword glossary for definitions of terms.

grand theft auto 3

Guess I'm a bit late getting GTA3, but it's finally available in Japan and as I have a Japanese PS2, I couldn't use the English release. Anyway this game is as great as everyone says. Never mind the random street interaction, the huge city, the tiny details like newspapers blowing across the street, etc. Just stealing a car and driving around listening to the radio is fun enough, never mind killing rival gang members and pimps. Hours of good clean family entertainment!

gyoza party photos

Too much eating:
gyoza.

asthma

Ah the joys of the icy-cold grip of death on one's lungs.

gyoza

Too much eating. Hiroko and I started chopping veggies about 1pm, and by 6pm the apartment was packed; one table was a gyoza-stuffing sweatshop, the other table a gyoza-eating contest worthy of primetime television. Chie made crepes, Tomo brought his famous brownies, Amy played with empty plastic bottles, the iPod fed random tunes through the tv speakers...did I mention the gyoza? Pork and cabbage, chicken and mushroom, shrimp and onion, beef and tomato. And then the playstation 2 fired up so that Ollie and Chiori could shoot vampires. Beer and wine was consumed with wild abandon. Gyoza was made. Gyoza was eaten. Gyoza was put into ziplock bags and shoved into people's pockets; no one escaped empty-handed.

timing is everything

Sekido-san just got his sword back from the polishers and he's selling it. If I'd known this earlier, I would have jumped all over the chance. As it is, he's showing it to Takeda-san this weekend, but if I'm lucky Takeda-san won't like it and I'll have a chance to buy it. It's the same length as my sword, only about 80 grams heavier and 400 years older. I think I'll send my sword out to get cleaned up and sell it, using the money to (hopefully) buy Sekido-san's.
The one he has now and the one he's replacing it with were both Niina-gosoke's personal swords, so there's no doubt as to the quality. If only my timing were a bit better, I would never have bought my modern blade in the first place, and would have bought Sekido-san's sword when Niina-gosoke was first selling it.
In other issues of timing, getting that front foot timed correctly with the sword strike is the big issue of the day. Niina-gosoke ran us through several different kata, illuminating the simple fact that they're all basically the same; sword cuts and foot steps at the same time. If only it were that easy.

i am an idiot

So I got home from practice last night and realized I didn't have my uniform, which I usually carry around wrapped up in a cool blue furoshiki (big piece of cloth.) After cursing myself for several minutes, I got back on the mightier steed and drove all the way back to Akihabara. Needless to say, it was nowhere to be found, and the building was already closed.
Drove all the way back home with one eye on the curb, wondering if I had left it on the back of the Mightier Steed, forgetting to put it under the seat after taking my helmet out.
This morning I called the Chiyoda Park Plaza and as a matter of fact, they did have a black uniform wrapped up in a blue furoshiki. It was left sitting next to the elevator on the 4th floor.
I emailed Sekido-san about some homepage additions and casually mentioned that I forgot my uniform, and he replies something to the effect of "Yeah, I saw a furoshiki that looked just like the one you always use, and thought to myself 'That looks just like ren's. Uncanny...'" Thanks for mentioning it, buddy.
Anyway I ended up spending all bloody afternoon driving back and to Akihabara to get my uniform. Where in the hell do all these people come from, driving REALLY BADLY in the middle of the day? And how do they not absolutely kill each other when faced with the tremendous stupidity of their fellow drivers? And lastly, what moron decided to replace all the Ginza traffic lights with brand new, ultra-modern super-bright LED lights and pave the street with some magical gray-painted blacktop that is absolutely wonderful to drive on, but decided NOT to change the traffic light software, so even with the new lights and pavement, all twenty lights change to red at exactly the same time? I'm no fluid mechanics engineer, but that has got to be the least effective way to move traffic down a major artery.